Reported by Adam Martin of WrestleView.com
On Wednesday, March 15, 2006 at 1:59 AM EST

Joseph Benfield sent in the following report:

Bossier City, Louisiana
Smackdown! Tapings
March 14, 2006

The arena wasn't sold out, but the good seats were filled. The top (2--) sections were tarped off, but otherwise the arena appeared nicely filled. The graphic never showed what city we were in, although it was Bossier City. We were sitting not directly behind the announcers, but to the left about 3-4 rows back from the time keeper.

--Velocity Tapings--

-Sylvan vs. Test

Sylvan comes out first, lots of boos. He starts speaking French, then acts confused, saying he thought people from Louisiana spoke French. He insults the crowd some more, then out comes Test! The crowd pops big time, none of us, including my friends and I who considered ourselves "smarks" knew anything about Test working with the WWE again.

Test wins via Big Boot.

-Vito w/ Nunzio vs. Tatanka

Decent match, the crowd was very being Tatanka, chanting along with him, doing the tomahawk hand motions. At one point, Vito attempts going up to the top turnbuckle but slips. A "You F-ed up!" chant starts in my section, but is quickly quelled by event staff.

Tatanka wins via a Samoan Drop.

-Cruiserweight #1 Contender Fatal Four Way
Jamie Noble vs. Brian Kendrick vs. Kid Kash vs. Paul London

This match was very fast paced, what you would expect from a cruiserweight match. London and Kendrick work together through much of the opening of the match, and once they clear the ring, they turn toward one another and respectfully go at it. We attempted a TNA chant when Kash gained some offense, but as you would expect, that didn't go anywhere. As usual, the match ends up being every man for himself by the end.

Paul London wins via a rollup on Brian Kendrick. After the match, the two shake hands and Kendrick concedes the defeat.

-The Gymini w/ Simon Dean vs. The Mexicools, Psicosis & Super Crazy This match was back and forth, with some high spots with the Mexicools. Near the end, the Gymini do a double flapjack on Psicosis and go for the pin. Super Crazy goes to break it up, but Simon Dean grabs his leg.

Gymini wins via pin on Psicosis.

--Smackdown! Tapings--

We open with Tazz and Michael Cole coming out to Tazz's entrance music. All of the lumberjacks come out and surround the ring. The pyro goes off and we begin our first match.

-Lumberjack Match
Fit Finlay vs. Bobby Lashley

The usual lumberjack spots happen, as they take turns beating on either opponent. At one point, Lashley fights off a whole group of them, taking them all out. Near the end, Sylvan runs in with a chair but Lashley sees him, and takes him out. The referee is then busy with getting Sylvan out of the ring then Finlay hits Lashley with his shillelagh, getting the pin.

Finlay wins via shillelagh.

-Backstage Segment: We see MNM looking at the Muscle and Fitness magazine w/ Vince on the cover. Melina comes up and she grabs the magazine, revealing Candice's Playboy. She doesn't act offended, but rather says she is going to leave them to their magazine, while she uses the Muscle and Fitness to take care of her own business. Melina leaves and runs into Krystal, and Melina ends up complimenting her, before reminding everyone that she is the hottest Diva in the WWE. This concluded, then Krystal and Pirate Paul Burchhill flirt, with Krystal calling him a good swordsman.

-Raw Rebound

-Mixed Tag Match
Jillian Hall & William Regal vs. Kystal and Paul Burchill

Burchill seemed quite over, and as silly as the gimmick may seem, it translated very well live. Listen for the Regal Sucks chant, which was probably the only one I managed to get started that will be televised. The match was what one would expect, with Burchill picking up the win with his very impressive finisher.

Burchill wins via The Royal Mutilation.

-Booker T and Sharmell are shown backstage, wary of the Boogeyman.

-Wrestlemania Rewind/Big Hits thing showing the Legends Battle Royale in 2001 that Iron Shiek won

-They show a Diva Video and darken the ring, then a bunch of men come out, obviously obscuring something and placing something under the ring. With the Booker T segment before this, we figure its the Boogeyman.

-Hall of Fame segment

-Booker T w/ Sharmell vs. "The Fire" Jerry Young

Jerry Young of course received no entrance, as he was announced from Shreveport, Louisiana (the neighboring city, the area is commonly refered to as Shreveport-Bossier) so he got the usual hometown guy pop. Sharmell came out wearing a Bee Keeper suit with a crown on top. Booker T dominated the match, then picked up the win with his axe kick. After the match, the Boogeyman entrance starts. I'm not a fan of the gimmick by any means, but the entrance comes across much better live. Also, the Boogeyman was quite over. Booker T goes to meet him down the ramp, but changes his mind and decides to protect Sharmell. He hides her under the ring (and when its lifted up, we could clearly see who else was hiding under there, along with a monitor similar to what the announcers get) and then he gets under there with her. After about a minute, they come out in a hurry, followed by the Boogeyman. He chases them briefly, then gets in the ring. Does his worm thing, then dances around with his smokey stick. Again, I'm no fan, but this was a much more exciting thing live.

Booker T wins via the axe kick.

-Kurt Angle, Rey Mysterio, Randy Orton interview segment.

They showed throughout the show them getting setup with their microphones and headsets, and now comes the interview. It was pretty entertaining, with Orton dominating much of it. Orton starts asking Angle about his health, how it was, then asks about his neck. He follows up by talking about how he RKO'd him then had Henry splash him through the table. Angle says his health isn't the best, but he's here, he survived. Orton turns his attention to Rey, saying that Rey doesn't deserve to be in the main event, that the only reason he is, is because people feel sorry for him. Angle snaps back, defending Rey and saying that Rey does deserve it and that the only reason Orton is in the match is because he took advantage of Rey's feelings. He says Orton doesn't deserve to be in the match. Orton calls Angle a paper champ, saying the only reason he's Champ is because he snuck into a battle royale that HE wasn't in. Angle snaps back, reminding Orton he held the title several times, and asks Orton how many times he's had it. Claims Orton was the paper champ, having held it once and only for a month. He calls Orton a paper challenger. Michael Cole then turns the conversation toward Saturday Night's Main Event. Rey re-assures Angle he will have his back, Angle says he knows, talks about how important this match is and how much he wants to win it. He tells Rey he has his back tonight and tommorrow night (Saturday Night) but that come Wrestlemania, he will treat Rey just as he will treat Orton. It ends up breaking down into one large argument, with every man claiming victory.

-The Fans turn on Tony Chimmel

We noticed throughout the night, much of the WWE staff seemed to be messing with Chimmel, throwing pens at him, or flicking various things at him. It seemed like no one liked him. Well, a fan in a red hat and a blue shirt (sitting almost directly behind the announcers) keeps shouting at him, then Chimmel seems to have enough and starts retorting. I stand up and start chanting Chimmel sucks, which the entire arena quickly follows suit. Even the WWE staff, including a referee, the time keeper, a few cameramen, and a few others start clapping and pointing with the chant, and joining in. Chimmel starts acting like it is making him mad, then the lights turn on one of the WWE Staff who has written "Chimmel Sucks" on a piece of board, and the chants get louder. It really did seem that he was not only unpopular with the crowd, but with his co-workers. One the people I went to the show with starts talking trash, and Chimmel acts even madder (he seemed genuinely upset, and if he wasn't, he was putting on a good show) and starts trying to call him in and such. Of course this doesn't really go anywhere.

This settles down and we see a Mike the Miz promo.

-Road Warrior Animal vs. Matt Hardy

This is back and forth match, with at some point Hardy dominating, hitting Side Effect after Side Effect, but unable to keep Animal down. If we were on camera any, it was likely during this, as my friend in front of me had a neon yellow Matt Hardy sign. Animal sneaks the brass knuckles, knocks Matt Hardy out, then picks up the win.

Animal wins via brass knucks.

The fans boo loudly, and my friends and I are quite sickened at how Money in the Bank is turning out, with both Ric Flair and Animal in the match. Something happens, the referee gets onto Animal, notices the brass knucks, then starts pointing. He leans over to Chimmel and the decision was reversed!

Matt Hardy wins via Referee Reversal/Disqualification!

After the match, another Chimmel sucks barrage begins, with Chimmel seemingly mad again. He grabs a mic and starts talking, but there's no sound. This happens for a little while, then he grabs another mic, still no sound. He grabs some headsets, but again, there's nothing. It is unclear if Chimmel was trying to talk trash and the guys were messing with him by not having his mic on (which this is how it came across, and each time he tried to talk but no sound came out, everyone began clapping, pointing, and laughing) or if they were re-recording some audio. In any case, Chimmel look bothered, but if not, was playing to the crowd very well and actually made sitting through some of the commercial breaks not nearly as difficult.

-Orlando Jordan vs. Chris Benoit

JBL comes out before either man makes their entrance, and joins Tazz and Michael Cole on commentary. Orlando comes out first, to some heat, but not nearly as intense as JBL got. Chris Benoit comes out to a massive pop, perhaps one of the loudest of the evening. This match was typical of many of their previous encounters, if not a bit longer. Benoit hits the usual spots, with an attempted Cross Face, and several German Suplexes. Eventually, Benoit slaps on the Sharpshooter and makes Orlando tap out. JBL comes into the ring and attacks Benoit with a cooler, which draws some of the more intense heat of the night.

Chris Benoit wins via Sharpshooter.

-Backstage interview with Mark Henry & Daivari: Henry rants about Undertaker challenging him, and how he isn't afraid of the Undertaker like he's supposed to be, he's not afraid of his Wrestlemania streak like he's supposed to be, and he's even not afraid of the casket like he's supposed to be. He claims to be afraid of nothing. He calls Undertaker out for tonight, then changes it to Saturday Night. He almost dares the Undertaker to come face to face with him on Saturday.

-6 Man Tag Match
MNM & Mark Henry w/ Daivari vs. Kurt Angle, Rey Mysterio, Randy Orton

Angle starts out the match, but Rey ends up being tagged in shortly there after. Angle and Rey both got huge pops, although I think Rey's was louder. Angle and Orton both seemed impressed by some of Mysterio's moves, and both seemed to be studying him. At some point, Mark Henry was beating on Rey, then Orton would act like he was coming in to break it up, then go back to the corner, then come back in, and it was soon made obvious he was simply doing this to distract the referee so that Rey Mysterio would get further beat on by Mark Henry, Daivari, or both. At some point, after Rey has been beat on for some time, and after several Eddie chants, Orton looks to attempt a blind tag, but it's obvious he wasn't trying very hard and he misses. He mocks the Eddie chants by pointing upwards. After sometime of Rey getting beat on, most of the match infact, Angle gets tagged in. He beats on everyone, with several suplexes, an Angle Slam on one of MNM, an Angle Slam on Henry. He sets up (I believe) one of MNM, tags Rey in, who hits the 619. Angle is distracted afterwards while Orton climbs in the ring, which is his first bit of action in this match. He grabs Rey, throws him out to much heat, then pins one of MNM for the win. He starts to pose, but ducks out of the ring and begins heading up the ramp. Rey and Angle are in the ring, and the usual end-of-show stare down begins, with Orton posing and staring at his opponents in the ring.

Angle, Mysterio, Orton win via Orton getting the pin after a 619.

--Post Show Dark Match Main Event

Teddy Long comes to a nice pop as MNM and Rey Mysterio make their way out of the arena. He announces that he has signed a

Fatal Four way, right now, with Kurt Angle defending against the Legend Killer Randy Orton, the World's Strongest Man Mark Henry, and... this man!! Undertaker's music hits, to a deafening pop.

-World Heavyweight Championship Fatal Four Way
Kurt Angle (c) vs. Randy Orton vs. Mark Henry vs. Undertaker

This match, having been the main event dark match for many of the tapings, is what one may expect. Everyone hits their signature moves, with Orton giving Henry an RKO, Undertaker chokeslamming (I think) Mark Henry later in the match. Angle slaps the Ankle Lock on Undertaker, but it either broken up or he gets out of it. Angle ends up getting the win after, I believe, picking up the scraps from one of the other's finishing maneuvers. I think he pinned Mark Henry, but I couldn't see so well during this match, and wasn't paying quite as much attention as with the others.

Loudest Pops (not necessarily in order):

-Rey Mysterio
-Chris Benoit
-Undertaker
-Kurt Angle

Most Heat:

-JBL
-Randy Orton

Overall Show Rating: I would say 3/5. There have been definitely better shows, but there again have been many worse showings of Smackdown! It was a fun experience, and may have been better live than it will come across on TV.