On Friday, December 22, 2006 at 10:17 PM EST Bells will be ringing
By Lennie DiFino
December 22, 2006
Results courtesy of WWE.com
Coming off of Armageddon last Sunday, and just days away from Christmas, the Superstars of SmackDown made one last stop before the holidays in Hampton, Va.
King Booker and Finlay entered the arena seething from their loss to WWE Champion John Cena and World Heavyweight Champion Batista. They demanded a rematch from Theodore Long, and the General Manager refused. He informed Finlay and Booker they would face Undertaker and Kane later in the night, much to the dismay of the King and the Irishman.
During the match, King Booker and Finlay isolated Kane in the ring as they took turns assaulting Undertaker on the outside. King Booker attacked with a chair, and then a low blow and scepter shot by Finlay. The Phenom recovered, and the Brothers of Destruction were victorious.
The personal rivalry between Chavo Guerrero and Chris Benoit continued to pick up as the New Year approaches. The battle over the United States Championship has grown more intense with the accusations of abuse levied against Benoit in recent weeks, and on this edition of SmackDown another twist was added.
As the Rabid Wolverine had the Sharpshooter applied, Vickie entered the ring and hit him with the U.S. title, causing the disqualification. As Benoit left the ring, Chavo Guerrero began a verbal assault on Vickie, and he shoved her to the mat. Benoit made his way back to intervene, and was viciously beaten by Chavo.
Joey Mercury, who was horrifically injured during the Ladder Match at Armageddon, was at SmackDown just days after receiving thirty-five stitches to his shattered face. Mercury told SmackDown fans “the Hardys are responsible for this injury.”
Matt Hardy apologized to Mercury, telling him that he was sorry that he had gotten hurt. “It’s unfortunate, but it was a dangerous match,” he said. As Hardy left the ring, Mercury screamed “fight me Hardy.” After he was refused, Mercury brought out his Armageddon partner Johnny Nitro, who was able to steal the victory with help from the ropes, as Mercury cheered for Nitro to “maim” Hardy.
World Heavyweight Champion Batista wished SmackDown fans all over the world Happy Holidays, and as he began to talk about his year, he was visited by Santa Claus. As the Animal helped hand out gifts to the fans in attendance, Santa pulled out a lead pipe and leveled the champion.
General Manager Theodore Long ordered Santa to fight Batista, and as the Animal was putting Santa on his naughty list, it was revealed to be Sylvan. The World Heavyweight Champion defeated Sylvan and continued to look unstoppable heading into the New Year.
Gregory Helms had a memorable year, becoming the longest reigning champion in SmackDown history. The young champion “wants competition,” and looks to make an impact in the heavyweight division.
Boogeyman answered the challenge for competition, but Helms ran after coming face to face with the worms. Boogeyman then turned his attention to ring announcer Tony Chimmel, who he wormed at ringside.
Former WWE Champion JBL voiced his displeasures with the direction SmackDown has gone, and he placed the blame on Theodore Long for the burning of MVP. JBL also blamed the fans, calling them “sick human beings.”
In other action, four of the sexiest women on television squared off in a tag team match, with Diva search winners Ashley and Layla teaming to take on Kristal and Jillian. Ashley and Layla were able to pick up the victory when Ashley delivered Star Struck to Jillian.
Next week, SmackDown fans will be treated to some of the best moments of 2006.
Tune in each and every Friday night to the CW Network to find out the answers to all those questions on Friday Night SmackDown.