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OK, so there was this match at Armageddon tonight and both Edge and Triple H were involved … and Jeff Hardy overcame those odds to win it all, taking home the WWE Title for the first time in his career, and becoming the first wrestler to ever wear the TNA belt and THEN go on to win a major WWE title.

No, this is not a practical joke, a dream, a prank, and you’re not on Candid WebCam. Jeff Hardy really did beat Triple H and Edge to win the title at WWE Armageddon tonight. At long last!

Hardy, often believed to be one of the most under-appreciated wrestlers on the WWE roster both before and after his stint and title run over at TNA, overcame staid and stale booking habits and other long odds to finally win the biggest belt of all … or at least the biggest belt on SmackDown.

Of course, the booking was scripted to make Hardy look a bit flukey for his first major singles title win; Triple H did the heavy lifting, delivering a Pedigree on Edge for the apparent predictable win, but then Hardy hit the Swanton to dislodge Hunter, take his place pinning Edge, and earning the three-count and a free set of luggage… or not, on the luggage.

Let’s hope WWE and Smackdown play it smart and keep the title on Hardy a good long time… like, all the way to WrestleMania, at least.

Looking to change his image, Adam Copeland, who wrestles under the name Edge, debuted his new look on Smackdown this past Friday. Sporting a full beard and mustache, and a shorter, less-glam-rock hairstyle, Edge ended up looking like a cross between Triple H and Big John Studd.

A little acne treatment might have been a bigger help. Don’t count me as a fan of Edge’s new look; his old look made him stand out from the crowd while the new hairstyle does nothing but help him blend into the crowd. Big thumbs down.

First of all, let me stress that I hate how One Night Stand has changed in recent years. Initially debuting as an all-ECW event, then used for ECW vs. WWE matches, the PPV has devolved into just another WWE PPV event, in which the ECW brand is an afterthought. Keep in mind that the only match with current or original ECW members in it was the second match of the night; any other match on the card could have taken place at any other WWE PPV throughout the year.

That being said, the only remnant of ECW remaining in One Night Stand is that all the matches were “extreme rules” matches. Well, not really. More like they were all stipulation matches. Some of these dust-ups were pretty lackluster, but the match of the night has to go to the main event match between Edge and Undertaker for the World Heavyweight Title.

As a TLC (tables, ladders, chairs) match, the stipulation played to Edge’s strengths, as he made a living a decade ago, along with the Hardys, at putting on injury-defying TLC matches that almost shortened the careers of Matt and Jeff Hardy, as well as Edge and his then-partner, Christian Cage.

While Taker is nowhere near as acrobatic, fast and flexible as Edge is, well, Edge isn’t as nimble as he was a decade ago, either. Still, the two men put on an amazing show that proves why TLC matches are so popular… and so rare. If you ever get a chance to see one live, buy a bus and make sure you get there and take a bunch of friends along with.

The excitement was enhanced by having Taker’s career “on the line” based on the outcome of the match; since Edge won, that means that Taker conceivably has been “retired” by Edge, though it is widely expected that this is either an excuse to give Taker an extended vacation, which he takes periodically over the past few years, in order to minimize the abuse on his aging body, or may simply set Taker up to “reappear” on the Raw roster at the WWE Draft, due in three weeks during a special, three-hour Raw episode on USA.

The worst storyline going on on Friday Night SmackDown lately has to be the “Edge is dating Vickie Guerrero” storyline. Granted, in real life, Vickie Guerrero does not have to eternally remain Eddie’s widow. She has the right to move on with her life.

Yet does that real-life fact have to be played out in such a disgusting, in-ring manner? Exploiting real-life tragedies for ratings has long been a staple of WWE programming, but it rarely pays off well; it costs the company fans in the long run and any temporary ratings bump is short-lived.

We all know that in real life, Edge is not involved with Vickie Guerrero, so using that as an in-ring storyline makes the tale seem all that more sleazy and exploitive. More than any other WWE broadcast, SmackDown is in need of some serious home improvements prior to WrestleMania. Quickly resolving and flushing this storyline should be at the top of WWE’s to-do list.

Because the alleged names are already out there, with some hesitancy and regret, Pro Wrestling Views has decided to list the names that the New York Daily News is speculating are the 10 WWE superstars suspended for violating the company’s anti-drug policy.

We applaud WWE for acting quickly to take corrective action, however painful it might be. We also hope that these 10 superstars are not guilty of what has been alleged or, if they are, that they get the help they need to get healthy and get their lives in order. Lord knows, the last thing anyone wants is to see anymore WWE tragedies play out in real life… let’s keep the drama in the ring!

Here goes. According to the New York Daily News, the following WWE superstars have been suspended:

From RAW:
1) Randy Orton
2) Ken Anderson (Mr. Kennedy)
3) King Booker (Robert Huffman)
4) Anthony Carelli (Santino Marella)
5) Darren Matthews (William Regal)
6) Charlie Haas

From ECW:
7) ECW Champion John Hennigan (John Morrison)

From SMACKDOWN:
Adam Copeland (Edge)
9) Shane Helms (Gregory Helms)
10) Chavo Guerrero

From WWE Corporate:
11) Mike Bucci (Bucci is a talent development manager)

Clearly, the Raw roster will be the hardest hit. The suspensions, if this list is accurate, will play havoc with Raw storylines. Orton had been scheduled for an extended feud with WWE Champion John Cena. King Booker was to have been the main feud for Triple H, who is just returned from an extended injury absence.

Mr. Kennedy was at one point scheduled to be Mr. McMahon’s “bastard child,” a recent storyline launched less than a month ago, according to PWTorch.com. William Regal was just named RAW General Manager. Santino Marrella has been a popular newcomer in the middle of a heel turn, and Charlie Haas has been a solid contributor in Raw’s tag-team division.

While ECW was the cleanest, they are the only division to be losing a sitting champion, if the list of suspensions the New York Daily News is reporting is true: John Morrison, previously known as Johnny Nitro, has been a popular heel champ who was in the middle of a program with C.M. Punk.

The impact is minimal for Smackdown; Edge has been out on injury, as has Gregory Helms. Chavo Guerrero was set for an extended feud with Rey Mysterio, just returning from an injury absence; that program will now be cut short, although Tuesday’s Smackdown taping was in the can for Friday’s broadcast prior to the suspensions being handed down.

While the mess left by these suspensions will require minimal cleanup on ECW and Smackdown, Raw will look a shadow of its former self with six superstars suddenly missing.

Mike Bucci, a talent development guy for the company, could perhaps get the shortest shrift of all 11 named so far, since he doesn’t have an onscreen role or fan base.

Terms of the suspensions were not announced; it is unclear if the releases are permanent or temporary, with or without pay.

Let’s trudge through this, hope the last of the big names have been revealed, and that nothing like this recurs any time soon; it’s a lot more fun to report on the story lines than the headlines.

NOTE: WWE has announced that, effective November 1, any superstars who are released for violating the company’s health policy will have their identities publicly revealed. Let’s hope there are no occasions going forward that would prompt that new policy to be exercised. This whole mess just makes me want to pack up and go on a month-long getaway to Rio Las Vegas.

There wasn’t much in the way of entertainment value to be gained from watching HBK’s concussion and attempt to wrestle through it on last weekend’s Judgment Day PPV. While it’s clear Shawn Michaels needs some kind of break from the biz, perhaps even a Kissimmee vacation, what’s not clear is whether the concussion is legit, or whether it’s a storyline excuse to give the aging superstar some time off from the WWE grind.

Right now, I’d have to guess it’s legit, if only because the match seemed pointless to the point of squeamishness. If it was only a storyline concussion to give HBK a few months off, the whole thing could have been way more entertaining in how it played out.

Either way, the result is a non-match that gets Randy Orton back over as a hardcore heel, a “legend killer,” as he prefers to be known in the storyline and the ring. With Edge moving over to SmackDown, and both Triple H and HBK out of action for the foreseeable future, Orton definitely needs to step up his game and become the top storyline heel for Raw … aside, of course, from Khali, who should be feuding with John Cena though SummerSlam, at least.

As recent broadcasts reveal, the WWE’s top four superstars are now clear. The only people considered “WrestleMania main event-worthy” are The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, John Cena and Batista. Arguably, only one of those superstars belongs in that elite group.

Heck, even though WWE claimed Undertaker could lay claim to ECW champion Bobby Lashley’s title just as easily as Cena’s or Batista’s, he wasn’t even featured in the big showdown on SmackDown last week. He finally showed up on Raw this week, but it was too little, too late. Despite ECW being more entertaining than SmackDown, WWE clearly doesn’t respect the promotion.

John Cena is unarguably WWE’s current top superstar and belongs in a WrestleMania main event. But the rest? Well, Batista doesn’t put butts in the seats and doesn’t really belong in that elite group, and if SmackDown wasn’t such a roster wasteland, he wouldn’t be there.

As for Shawn Michaels and the Undertaker, anyone who was main eventing back when Hulkamania was still running wild in the WWF ought not still be main eventing today. And it’s sad, since there are many younger superstars who would be better fits for a WrestleMania main event.

On the SmackDown side, Mr. Kennedy is very close to being ready, and nothing would help him peak better than a WrestleMania main event against Batista. Matt Hardy is also close to breaking through to main event status as a singles wrestler, after years and years of being a star tag-team player and having to make the adjustment to singles wrestling the last couple-three years.

The talent pool is even deeper on the Raw side of the pond. Both Edge and Randy orton are already ready to main event WrestleMania, and would make worthy adversaries for Cena. And if VKM really wanted to call back some memories of Hogan-Andre, he could easily toss The Great Khali against Cena un a man vs. monster type of storyline.

But for now, it seems, VKM can’t look past the stars of two decades ago, so it’ll be a retread of Undertaker and Shawn Michaels sharing main event stages with the current champs. And with ‘Taker having an undefeated record at WrestleMania, they may as well put his address plaque on Batista’s belt right now.

Uninspiring. Predictable. Too bad…