On Saturday, December 13, 2008 at 2:13 PM EST WWE Smackdown
December 12, 2008
Bridgeport, CT
Report by: Mike Tedesco of WrestleView.com
“Yes, sir, we promised you a great main event…” The WWE video leads us into the show.
This is a hell of a way to start Smackdown! Triple H is walking down the ramp and immediately attacked by Jeff Hardy!! They fight on the outside of the ring hard as Mike Chioda tries his hardest to stop them!!
Within seconds Vickie Guerrero is out on the stage ordering Chavo Guerrero to go down and stop them! Chavo reluctantly goes down, pulls Triple H off Hardy. Triple H immediately knocks Chavo down with a big right hand and continues right where he left off!!
Vickie now signals for more referees to come down. Even Dean Malenko is out there! They separate the two men and Vickie comes down screaming for them to listen to her but Triple H pushes through the referees and Vickie gets knocked on her rear end in the process!! Chavo Guerrero is laughing at her!!
The referees now have them completely separated as Vickie gets up screaming this is her show and to save it for the Main Event! Triple H pretends like he’s going to the back and quickly attacks Hardy again!! The referees insert themselves again and Triple H goes to the back as we go to a commercial break!! That was a great first two minutes for Smackdown!!
:::Commercial Break:::
We come back from the break to see replays of what just happened, including Vickie Guerrero getting knocked down! JR and Tazz announce that Triple H vs. Jeff Hardy is still the Main Event!
In the ring is MVP. No TV entrance again! His opponent will be R-Truth, who comes down rapping with his Slammy Award for Best Musical Performance in hand. Not really much competition there… R-Truth gets in the ring and asks the Bridgeport crowds what’s up.
MVP vs. R-Truth
The referee rings the bell and they both stare off at each other with R-Truth screaming “what’s up” every five seconds. R-Truth then does some stupid dance and they finally lock up and MVP quickly gets a knee in R-Truth’s midsection. Serves him right! MVP clubs R-Truth’s back twice but has a whip into the ropes reversed on him and R-Truth hits a big hip toss! R-Truth asks “what’s up,” goes into the ropes and gets hit with a big belly to belly suplex from MVP!!
MVP hits R-Truth with a face plant and drops a couple of elbows on his lower back! MVP drops a knee to the lower back and covers for a one count. MVP mounts R-Truth for the ground and pound. MVP covers for another one count. MVP then digs his knee into R-Truth’s lower back and pulls back on his chin. The crowd is clapping on for R-Truth as the referee asks him if he wants to submit. R-Truth manages to get to his feet but MVP powers him down and hooks the leg for a one count. MVP sends R-Truth into the ropes chest first and R-Truth backs into a forearm to the kidneys! MVP does it again and hits R-Truth with a belly to back suplex! MVP hooks the leg for a two count!
MVP now locks R-Truth in a Camel Clutch! Somewhere The Iron Sheik is going insane… R-Truth manages to get to his feet but MVP gets a shot in to the kidneys again! R-Truth goes to the corner and punches MVP when he approaches, sending him back a few steps! MVP approaches again and gets hit with another right hand and a kick to the midsection! R-Truth hits a European Uppercut and goes into the ropes but gets caught by MVP and powerfully slammed to the mat!! This strangely only gets a one count. MVP is a little frustrated and yells at the referee!
MVP hits a forearm to the face and whips R-Truth into the corner. R-Truth slowly comes out and gets caught by MVP who hoists him onto his shoulders but R-Truth is able to slide off and roll up MVP get the upset win!
Winner by Pinfall: R-Truth
Match Rating: * ½
MVP is shocked and disappointed. R-Truth leaves the ring not looking like much of a winner by clutching his back in pain.
MVP grabs a microphone and asks the crowd if they think that’s funny and they do! MVP asks if they enjoy celebrating in his misery and apparently they do! MVP says this is his life he’s talking about – his career! MVP says he went from being the highest paid entertainer on Smackdown and the longest reigning United States Champion in WWE history to having almost nothing! MVP says this is supposed to be the happiest time of the year but then damns that and says he still has his pride. He also has more money than any of us! He’s still MVP and he is and always will be better than us!
All of a sudden he’s interrupted by Mr. Kennedy! Kennedy makes his way out to the stage as MVP yells and asks why he’s here. The microphone drops and MVP asks if Kennedy wants to laugh too before having his microphone shut off!!
Mr. Kennedy says that he’s a little disappointed in MVP! Kennedy says this really is the greatest time of the year and asks the crowd if they agree and they do! He says MVP should be overfilled with holiday cheer, not sad faces! Kennedy says he wishes there was something he could do to make MVP feel the way he does and give him a smile. Kennedy realizes that there is! His movie Behind Enemy Lines: Columbia comes out January 6th… 6th! It’s not only a great movie but it’s like the gift that keeps on giving. You can watch it over and over with friends and family. They can laugh and he can laugh and smile. Kennedy then asks him to consider this message of holiday cheer from… and MVP cuts him off yelling! MVP’s microphone gets cut off again and Mr. Kennedy does his name shtick and goes to the back as MVP looks incredibly frustrated!
Still to come tonight: ECW Champion Matt Hardy has specifically requested to be Edge’s guest on the Cutting Edge! Why? We’ll find out tonight!
:::Commercial Break:::
We come back from the break to see the outside of the Arena at Harbor Yard. We now see a recap of the Slammy Awards from Raw. Smackdown tied Raw with five Slammys but Smackdown’s Triple Threat Main Event closed Raw so ha!
The recap then gets interrupted by what looked to be a video feed problem but really it’s a vignette for a new wrestler. He talks about seeing the darkness, studying it and dedicating his life to it. He really likes it and evil – that’s how he’s got here. For over a decade he’s searched and he’s found others to believe. Our mortal power is all he requires and his prophecy will be realized. Our annihilation will not be in vain. We will live on – he shall be our vessel.
We now go backstage where the Bella Twins are talking to one another. They’re interrupted by The Brian Kendrick who puts his arms around them and they push him off! Carlito and Primo then walk up and intimidate The Kendrick a bit. The Kendrick backs up to the Smackdown Locker Room and Ezekiel Jackson comes out asking if there’s a problem. The Kendrick laughs and says now there isn’t a problem. Primo tells The Kendrick “if you’re feeling froggy, then jump!” The Kendrick says he’ll see Primo in the ring and says goodbye to the Bella Twins who give him an “Eww.” Primo then asks Carlito if he can believe those guys and Carlito makes fun of the one line Primo got in! Carlito says he was going to slap Ezekiel but didn’t out of respect for the ladies! That was pretty funny.
:::Commercial Break:::
We get a little replay of the pretty funny acceptance speech from The Miz and John Morrison.
Primo w/ Carlito vs. The Brian Kendrick w/ Ezekiel Jackson
The bell rings and Ezekiel is still in the ring taking off The Kendrick’s jacket. They circle the ring as Primo does his trademark roll before doing anything. They go to lock up but it was just a fake by The Kendrick who does a little dance! They go to lock up again and this time Primo quickly goes down and hits a take down on The Kendrick! The Kendrick looks up angrily.
They now go to officially lock up and The Kendrick immediately takes Primo down with an arm drag! The Kendrick gloats around the ring before Primo takes him down with a quick arm drag! Primo motions for The Kendrick to bring it on! The Kendrick looks down at Ezekiel real quick before charging and getting taken down by a nice leg sweep! The Kendrick isn’t happy about that!
They now lock up again and The Kendrick quickly gets Primo in a hammerlock! The Kendrick has it locked in tight as the fans chant for Primo! He’s getting over! The Kendrick now twists the arm and sends Primo into the ropes. The Kendrick attempts a hip toss but Primo counters into a hip toss of his own! The Kendrick quickly pops up and gets taken down with an arm drag! The Kendrick pops up again and gets hit with a nice dropkick! Primo goes for more but The Kendrick wraps himself up under the bottom rope, causing the referee to keep Primo away.
Primo now approaches The Kendrick and gets hit with a surprise slap! The Kendrick gloats about it and bolts out of the ring when Primo starts chasing! The Kendrick gets behind Ezekiel and the chase is over! The Kendrick taunts Primo from behind Ezekiel as the referee starts counting both men out!
They get back in the ring at the four count. The Kendrick misses a clothesline and Primo begins hitting him with some big punches! The Kendrick is in the corner and the referee backs Primo out. Primo approaches and gets hit with a stiff kick in the quadriceps. The Kendrick then takes him down with a beautiful back heel kick! The Kendrick then dropkicks him out of the ring, right by Ezekiel Jackson!
Ezekiel is approaching Primo menacingly until Carlito comes to stare him down! Ezekiel backs off and Primo gets back in the ring where The Kendrick immediately kicks him in the ribs! The Kendrick now illegally uses the second rope to twist Primo’s neck! The Kendrick gets a shot in to the ribs again, hits a snapmare and covers for a two count! The Kendrick now quickly locks in a modified Cobra Clutch! Primo elbows out of it and hits The Kendrick with a bunch of punches! The Kendrick tries to crawl out of the ring but Primo catches him by his heels however gets kicked off by The Kendrick.
Primo now approaches The Kendrick and gets pulled neck first into the second rope! The Kendrick now stands on Primo’s neck while he’s still on the ropes! The referee gets to a four count as The Kendrick was dancing on top of him! The Kendrick kicks Primo in the hamstring and hits another snapmare before standing on his throat! The Kendrick now locks in that modified Cobra Clutch again. Primo is struggling to reach the ropes and finally does. The Kendrick kicks him in the ribs when getting off. Primo is in the corner and The Kendrick hits a few shoulder thrusts before the referee backs him off. The Kendrick backs up and goes for a knee in the corner but Primo moves!
Primo now begins hitting The Kendrick with some big left hands. Primo hits a suplex and floats over into the cover for a two count! Primo goes to pick The Kendrick up but The Kendrick uses his head as a battering ram, dangerously low in Primo’s midsection. The Kendrick then kicks him in the face, taking him down. The Kendrick then stands on Primo’s chest, using the ropes for leverage. The Kendrick jumps on his chest and gets off at the referee’s two count.
The Kendrick picks Primo up and gets hit with some big left hands from the WWE Tag Team Champion! Primo then hits a nice head-butt, which stuns both of them. Primo approaches The Kendrick but gets hit with a huge forearm, sending him back into the corner! The Kendrick approaches Primo and gets two boots right in the face followed by a big clothesline! Primo then takes him down with a nice back elbow, does a cartwheel and hits The Kendrick with a dropkick, sending him into the ropes! Primo has an Irish whip reversed on him but he counters by jumping onto the second rope with a springboard crossbody for a two and a half count!!
Primo sends The Kendrick into the corner and hits a nice monkey flip! The Kendrick is in the corner again and goes to back body drop Primo over the top rope when he charges but Primo lands on the apron, grabs The Kendrick by the hair and leads him to the opposite side, bouncing his head off the top turnbuckle! Primo now climbs to the top rope but stops when he sees Ezekiel Jackson getting on the apron! Carlito approaches and Ezekiel pushes him into the steel stairs!! Primo is yelling at Ezekiel from the apron then goes to get inside but The Kendrick kicks him in the face and hits an inside cradle for the win!!
Winner by Pinfall: The Brian Kendrick
Match Rating: ** ¼
The Kendrick celebrates by kicking pretend dirt into Primo’s face and dances around with his jacket on.
We now see replays of the Triple H and Jeff Hardy confrontation at the start of Smackdown. Tonight it will be Triple H vs. Jeff Hardy, just two days before Armageddon!
:::Commercial Break:::
D-Generation-X is promoting more holiday gift ideas, mostly plugging their own merchandise. They give the secret to beating the cold weather – wearing layers of DX stuff. Shawn Michaels then pulls out the Triple H bear and makes fun of him. Triple H then pulls out the Shawn Michaels “Village People” bear and says there’s a button where all the hair falls out! Shawn Michaels got upset and said they promised never to speak of this again before wishing us a Happy Holiday from DX and plugging WWEShop.com one more time. That was pretty funny.
Hurricane Helms is in the ring, ready for a match! His opponent – Shelton Benjamin!
Hurricane Helms vs. Shelton Benjamin
This United States Championship is NOT on the line in this match.
The bell rings and they locks up with Benjamin quickly taking Helms down with a fireman’s carry takedown! Benjamin then powers Helms into the corner, where Charles Robinson backs him away. Benjamin approaches again and gets a knee in the midsection followed by a couple of right hands and another knee!
Robinson backs him up again and when he approaches Helms hits him with a European Uppercut! Benjamin is stunned for a second as Helms goes to the second rope and jumps, hitting a nice flipping neckbreaker (Blockbuster) on the United States Champion!! Helms now goes to the top rope and jumps however he is hit in midair with a dropkick! Helms clutches his neck and sits on the apron. Benjamin sees this and baseball slides into Helms, who goes into the barricade head first!
Benjamin goes to the outside and powers Helms into the barricade again neck first! Benjamin gets him in the ring and covers for a two count! Benjamin now locks Helms in a chin lock, digging his knee into his back and pulling back on the neck! That looks really painful. Helms gets to his feet and punches out. Helms goes into the ropes and gets hit with a kick in the midsection from Benjamin followed by a twisting neckbreaker! Benjamin covers with his forearm over Helms’ face for a two and a half count!
Benjamin now begins hitting him with some forearms to the neck. Helms fights back with some punches but Benjamin rolls him to his stomach and punches him a few times in the back of the neck! Benjamin now locks in a head scissors/cross arm breaker combo. That’s a nice move right there. Helms is trying to fight up and gets to his feet, moving Benjamin on his shoulders and getting a surprise two count! Benjamin powers him back down into the same move!
Helms kicks Benjamin off and hits a weak kick to the face. Helms hits a right hand and goes for a whip but Benjamin punches him in the injured elbow! Benjamin now goes into the ropes and gets hit with a back elbow from the Hurricane! Helms hits him with a clothesline and hits the really nice reverse Unprettier! Helms tries to get the crowd into it and sizes Benjamin up from the corner. Benjamin ducks the Shining Wizard, gets Helms on his shoulder for an Electric Chair drop but Helms gets off but gets hit with a neckbreaker to Benjamin’s knee for a two and a half count!!
Benjamin whips Helms into the corner, charges, and Helms rolls him up a la the great Jack Brisco for a two count! Helms hits a low dropkick to Benjamin’s face and goes up to the top rope. Benjamin leaps up to the top for a belly to belly but Helms pushes him off and hits an OK crossbody block for the win!
Winner by Pinfall: Hurricane Helms
Match Rating: * ¾
We see a couple of replays of the high spots of the match and then we go to Tazz in the ring with Hurricane Helms. Tazz congratulates Helms on his victory then mentions that he’s been literally “popping up” week in and week out on Smackdown before returning to the ring last week in a successful fashion. Tazz asks how Helms feels being back on Smackdown. Helms says he feels it’s about time for a new United States Champion! He’s not saying – he’s just saying. I don’t really get the catchphrase…
Coming up next is The Cutting Edge with lifetime rivals ECW Champion Matt Hardy and WWE Champion Edge!
:::Commercial Break:::
Did you know that WWE offers all U.S. Military personnel free tickets to its live events in the U.S.? That’s nice.
Edge is in the ring, which is set up with the Rated R rug and some stools. Edge says there’s just two days left until Armageddon and it seems like his two opponents in the Triple Threat Match for the WWE Championship want to tear each other’s heads off – and with good reason! There’s a long, violent and volatile history between Jeff Hardy and Triple H. Edge says it all came to a head in the wee hours of a Sunday morning – the Sunday morning of Survivor Series. That’s when Jeff was viciously attacked by Triple H! Jeff Hardy’s dream night became a nightmare.
Edge says despite all these overwhelming facts everyone is pointing their fingers at him! Everyone including his guest on the Cutting Edge – a man he’s had a long history with, a man who will face Vladimir Kozlov at Armageddon. He is the ECW Champion Matt Hardy!
Matt Hardy comes down to the ring to a great ovation. The fans chant for him as he sits next to Edge. Hardy says no matter what kind of excuse or spin he puts on the situation, Triple H isn’t the man who attacked his brother – it was Edge!
Edge says he’s sick and tired of everyone blaming him for what happened because he didn’t do it! All he did was step up to the plate when Jeff couldn’t to help out his wife – the love of his life and the General Manager of this show! The crowd boos and he says they may not like it but he did it when he wasn’t even 100%! Edge goes on to say that if he wasn’t sitting here as the WWE Champion then no one would think to put the blame on him!
Hardy says he blames Edge because he knows what he’s capable of – the Ultimate Opportunist! Hardy says he knows more than anyone that he’s the scummiest person on the face of the planet!!
Edge asks if that’s really his proof. He tells Edge to pull his head out of the sand and asks him if he knows how many people want to take his brother out of the picture. Edge says it’s true and to quit being so myopic (good word!)! Edge tells him to look at Raw and ECW. How about a guy like Randy Orton – a guy who’s taken out more people than anyone /* these past few years! How about The Miz and John Morrison? Just a couple of weeks ago Jeff bashed them in the head with a steel chair. How about the Undertaker? Or the man who had the most to lose – Triple H! Edge says all the facts point to his direction!
Hardy says all the facts point to Edge and he came out here to get the truth! Edge asks if he wants the truth and Matt says he’d love it. Edge says the hard truth is the only reason Matt is coming out to get involved in his brother’s business is because no one cares about him! The crowd boos and Hardy gets out of his seat! Edge says Jeff’s problems thrust him into the spotlight. He’s the ECW Champion but if he got attacked the night before a Pay Per View they wouldn’t even be having this discussion! Edge says the biggest truth is people actually care about Jeff Hardy and nobody gives a damn about Matt!
Matt Hardy looks a little upset as the fans shower him with chants of “Hardy.” Hardy then hits a big right hand to Edge, knocking him out of his seat! At this point Vladimir Kozlov makes his way down to the ring. Edge hits Hardy in the back of the head from behind and leaves the ring! Kozlov gets in and hits Hardy with a big boot! Kozlov hooks both of Hardy’s arms and hits a bunch of head-butts to the chest before pushing him into the ropes and hitting the Battering Ram Head-Butt! Kozlov then picks Hardy up and hits him with a Chokeslam variation! Kozlov yells in his face and his music hits. It’s interesting to note that Kozlov’s right eye is completely bloodshot.
Still to come in the Main Event tonight – Triple H vs. Jeff Hardy!
:::Commercial Break:::
We come back from the break to see the highlight of The Great Khali winning the “Damn” Moment of the Year. Khali then kisses Mickie James and we get that bizarre segment that followed afterwards followed by Ron Simmons hitting us with the “Damn!”
In the ring is The Great Khali with Hawkins and Ryder. Hardly anyone is getting TV entrances lately! That’s good because it leaves time for more wrestling!
The Great Khali vs. Hawkins & Ryder
The bell rings and Hawkins and Ryder are deciding on a course of action to take down the big man. Hawkins rolls out of the ring and Khali turns his back to him and faces Ryder. Hawkins now comes in and hits Khali from behind! They briefly double team Khali until he hits Hawkins with a back elbow and pushes Ryder off! Ryder gets thrown over the top rope and lands with a big thud! That looked like it hurt!
Khali now bounces Hawkins’ head off the top turnbuckle and hits him with some kicks in the corner! Khali hits a back elbow and a slap to the chest. Ryder now comes in the ring and Khali goes to hit him and he covers up! Khali then big boots him down! Hawkins comes out of the corner and gets hit with a clothesline! Khali then goes to get the Khali Bomb on Ryder but sees Hawkins on the top rope and catches him in position for the Khali Bomb! Ryder charges and gets taken down with the Brain Chop! Khali then hits Hawkins with the Khali Bomb on top of Ryder and pins them both for the easy win!!
Winner by Pinfall: The Great Khali
Match Rating: ½ *
Ranjin Singh runs into the ring excitedly and Khali holds up his Slammy Award, which looks really small in his hands!
Eve Torres introduces Triple H. Eve asks what his response is to Edge’s theory that it was Triple H who attacked Jeff Hardy the night before Survivor Series. Triple H says Edge isn’t the only one who believes that theory – Jeff Hardy does too. Triple H asks Jeff if he thinks he needed to attack him before Survivor Series. Triple H says not to flatter himself as he was never a big enough blip on his radar to warrant an attack. Triple H says if it had been him then Jeff wouldn’t be here tonight. He says he doesn’t care who jumped Jeff because it doesn’t make a difference to him. He says Jeff can paint his face all he wants but now Jeff has put himself in his path and he will run him down! Triple H says at Armageddon, whether or not Jeff Hardy shows up, the fact is he’ll walk out the WWE Champion!
:::Commercial Break:::
The WWE Smack of the Week is brought to us by AutoZone – its highlights from the Cutting Edge followed by the massive beating Matt Hardy took from Vladimir Kozlov!
The Bella Twins vs. Maryse & Natalya
Nikki Bella is starting the match out for her team against Maryse. Nikki quickly gets Maryse in a waist lock. Maryse tries to break the hold and does, getting a waist lock of her own on Nikki. How exciting. Maryse then pushes Nikki away and does her pose. Maryse then slaps her in the face! Nikki retaliates with a Lou Thesz Press and bounces the back of Maryse’s head off the mat a few times! Nikki then throws Maryse down!
Maryse stalls for a bit before tagging in Natalya. Natalya charges and gets taken down with a drop toe hold followed by a front face lock. Brie Bella tags in. Nikki whips Natalya into the ropes and hits her in the midsection with an elbow. Brie then hits a sunset flip but rolls her too close to the ropes and doesn’t get a count. Opps. Brie Bella hits her modified snapmare and goes for a monkey flip but Natalya powers her over her head in an impressive spot!
Natalya picks her up by the hair and Brie gets a kick to the midsection. Then Natalya pushes her near Maryse who barely hits her. Maryse ducks a slap but doesn’t duck the shoulder to the midsection, sending her off the apron. Brie Bella then turns into a spinning clothesline from Natalya! This gets her a one count. Natalya gets Brie in the corner and tags in Maryse, who kicks Brie in the midsection.
Maryse hits Brie Bella with a forearm followed by a spinning backbreaker. Maryse covers and gets a one count. Maryse bounces Brie Bella’s face off the mat a few times before locking in a chin lock. Maryse then hits the Stroke and covers for a one count. This match sucks.
Maryse hits another kick and gets on her back for the chin lock again. Brie Bella gets out of it and crawls towards Nikki but Maryse grabs her by the ankles and drags her to her corner. Brie Bella kicks her off and into Natalya who makes the tag. Natalya comes in and misses an elbow drop.
Nikki Bella now tags in and hits a dropkick. Nikki hits another dropkick, goes into the ropes and hits a flying forearm. Nikki then grabs Natalya’s arm, climbs to the second and swings off with an arm drag. Nikki covers for a one count. Nikki hits Natalya with a kick but gets caught with a knee in the midsection followed by Natalya powering her into the corner. Natalya charges and gets hit with a back elbow. Nikki goes up to the second rope and kicks Maryse off the apron. Nikki comes off and gets caught by Natalya. Maryse has the referee distracted so Brie Bella dropkicks Nikki, knocking Natalya back and Nikki gets the pin. They added in fake crowd noises to put over the “excitement”. This was absolute crap.
Winners by Pinfall: The Bella Twins
Match Rating: ½ *
Eve Torres is backstage with Vladimir Kozlov. She mentions that he’s been attacking Matt Hardy since he got beat in the Beat The Clock Challenge. Kozlov speaks Russian for a few seconds before saying there is no competition. He will destroy Matt Hardy like he did earlier tonight. After that he is coming for the WWE Championship because one isn’t enough. He doesn’t care who it is – Edge, Jeff Hardy or Triple H. He’s lost his tolerance and all must fall!
Coming up next is Jeff Hardy vs. Triple H!
:::Commercial Break:::
Tazz thanks Guns N’ Roses for the use of their song “Chinese Democracy”, the official theme song of Armageddon! We now get a run down of the card which doesn’t look bad at all!
We now get a replay of what happened right at the beginning of Smackdown with Jeff Hardy attacking Triple H! Triple H is now making his entrance and he isn’t attacked! I’m excited for this match. It’s going to be good.
:::Commercial Break:::
Triple H vs. Jeff Hardy
The bell rings and Hardy immediately gets in Triple H’s face with punches and they scuffle into the corner until Scott Armstrong pulls Hardy off! Triple H comes out of the corner and gets hit with a kick to the midsection, followed by a big right hand and another kick, knocking him down! Hardy was then bringing Triple H across the ring to bounce his head off the top turnbuckle but Triple H goes down and leaves the ring!
Hardy quickly goes outside and nails The Game with a forearm. Hardy hits some big right hands before bouncing his head off the barricade! Hardy kicks Triple H in the midsection and Triple H goes into the ring. Hardy follows and gets hit with a big right hand from Triple H! Triple H bounces Hardy’s head off the top turnbuckle and hits a HUGE right hand that floors Hardy. Triple H then stomps him a few times and Hardy rolls out of the ring.
Triple H goes to the outside and throws Hardy back in. Hardy goes into the ropes and hits a baseball slide into Triple H’s face, sending him back into the barricade! Hardy gets on the apron and takes Triple H down with a flying clothesline! Hardy kicks Triple H in the midsection but Triple H quickly retaliates with a knee. Triple H gets a whip into the stair reversed on him and he goes chest first into the steel steps! Triple H slowly gets up along the barricade. Hardy now runs and jumps off the steps with a form of Poetry in Motion and he lands hard on the floor, as does Triple H!!
Both men are down on the outside for about a minute. The fans are chanting for Jeff Hardy. Triple H crawls into the ring and Hardy follows. Hardy charges and gets knocked down by a big clothesline from Triple H! It’s time for a commercial break!
:::Commercial Break:::
We come back from the break to see Triple H hitting a hard Irish whip to the corner on Jeff Hardy! Triple H hits a right hand and hits another hard Irish whip into the corner! The Game covers and gets a two and a half count! Triple H sends Hardy into the ropes but lowers his head and gets kicked in the face! Hardy then clotheslines him over the top rope! Hardy follows this up with a Plancha and both men are down on the outside!
Hardy is the first one to his feet and hits Triple H with a stomp. Hardy puts Triple H in the ring and charges Triple H in the corner but Triple H moves! Triple H covers for a two and a half count! Triple H now goes for the ground and pound and in a show of realism Hardy tries to cover up! Triple H then powers his arms down and continues punching. I like when they throw in those things to make it look like a real fight rather then them just taking punches which no one does in real life.
Triple H now hits a picture perfect stalling vertical suplex a la the great British Bulldog! Triple H tells Hardy to suck it and drops a knee to Hardy’s face! Triple H covers and gets a CLOSE two and a half count! Triple H now buries his knee in Hardy’s spine and gets a chin lock on. The fans are still chanting for Hardy!! Triple H has him grounded with the chin lock now, wrenching it in every so often. Hardy eventually is able to get to his feet, punches out of the move, sends Triple H into the ropes but lowers his head and gets hit with the jumping face buster! Triple H covers for another CLOSE two and a half count!! Triple H is in disbelief!!
Triple H picks Hardy up by his hair. Hardy responds with some punches but gets taken down by a big right hand and thrown out of the ring! Triple H then bounces Hardy’s head off the announcer’s table! Triple H does it again and puts Hardy back in the ring!
Hardy quickly goes into the ropes, ducks a clothesline and takes Triple H down with his modified swinging neckbreaker! Both men are down but get up at the same time. Hardy ducks another clothesline and takes Triple H down with a running forearm! Triple H pops up so Hardy repeats the move and succeeds! Hardy has a whip into the corner reversed on him but he comes out with another modified neckbreaker! This gets Hardy a two count! Hardy takes Triple H down with a double leg sweep and then hits a double leg drop to the abdomen followed by a low dropkick to the face! Hardy covers for a two and a half count!!
Hardy gets the crowd into it. Triple H blocks a kick but Hardy counters with his flipping mule kick! Hardy now charges Triple H and gets hit with the Double A Spinebuster!! Triple H covers for an EXTREMELY CLOSE two and seven-eighths count!!
Triple H gets up, goes to pick Hardy up but he rolls off and gets Triple H in position for the Twist of Fate! Triple H pushes him off and gets Hardy in position for the Pedigree but Hardy gets out and hits Whisper in the Wind!! Hardy covers for a CLOSE two and a half count!!
Hardy hits a forearm to the back and whips Triple H into the corner. Hardy charges but gets a boot in the face. Triple H comes off the second rope and gets kicked in the midsection! Hardy then hits his Inverted Falcon’s Arrow! Hardy removes his shirt and climbs to the top rope but Triple H catches him with a punch and bounces his head off the turnbuckle! Hardy is on the apron throughout all of that. Triple H approaches him and gets hit with a right hand and a shoulder thrust! Hardy goes for another shoulder thrust but inadvertently gets himself in position for the Pedigree!! Triple H drags him into the ring and Hardy counters with a back body drop!! Hardy now goes to the top rope and goes for the Swanton Bomb but Triple H rolls out of the way!!
All of a sudden Edge runs into the ring and Spears both men down!! The referee throws the match out much to the chagrin of the Bridgeport crowd!!
Winner: No Contest
Match Rating: ***
Edge celebrates by raising his WWE Championship over his head as Jim Ross questions who will win at Armageddon!Quick Match Results
R-Truth def. MVP
The Brian Kendrick def. Primo
Hurricane Helms def. Shelton Benjamin (non-title)
The Great Khali def. Hawkins & Ryder
Brie & Nikki* Bella def. Maryse & Natalya*
Triple H vs. Jeff Hardy *No Contest*
Bump of the Night: The Great Khali hitting Hawkins with the Khali Bomb on top of Ryder!
Match of the Night: Triple H vs. Jeff Hardy ***
Mike’s Thoughts
Another really good Smackdown tonight with the exception of one match which I will talk about! We got some really great matches and some really great storyline progressions. All in all a great go home show for Armageddon.
I’ve been saying it for the past three weeks but I’ll say it again – Edge is the greatest heel of our generation. The evidence I present to you is the Cutting Edge segment tonight. Just the way he uses his words and the way his character acts. You have no choice but to hate him! What a great heel and a great wrestler! Pay close attention – you’re watching a future Hall of Famer.
Triple H and Jeff Hardy have been having one hell of a program over the past couple of months. It just keeps getting better! I’m going to be sad when their rivalry is over because the matches and the promos they’ve been having have been spot on!
This next thought is going to be a little harsh but it needs to be said. For weeks now I’ve been trying to remain neutral in my thoughts on the Diva matches but enough is enough now. The Divas are absolute garbage. I’ve been covering Smackdown since June and I’ve only seen one or two good Diva matches. That’s it. I miss the days of Trish Stratus and Lita! Those two could wrestle! I miss when Victoria was good and served a purpose! What are we left with now? Maryse and the Bella Twins? Maria?! Give me a break! Natalya is the only good one but she has no competition! The closest one is Michelle McCool and her style is 25% smooth and 75% sloppy – and that’s the champion! WWE seriously needs to reevaluate the Divas division because this is unbearable now. I’ve reached my breaking point.
I’m very interested in that vignette of that new wrestler. He looks pretty good. I don’t know his name yet but I’m sure we’ll find out soon. He seems a lot better than Kizarny (who had no vignette tonight thank god) but of course we’ll have to see if he can wrestle.
Random Thought: I read that Ryan Braddock was getting a character overhaul. I wasn’t aware he had a character. He just kind of showed up one day and started jobbing. They should repackage Scotty Goldman to go back to Colt Cabana.
Hurricane Helms still looks to me like a young George Carlin! His ring rust showed tonight but I’m still happy he’s healthy and back. I’m also glad he’s getting a push towards the United States Championship. I’m just not sure about the catchphrase.
I wonder how much longer they’re going to let the MVP losing streak continue. I’m starting to lose faith now…
All in all it was a good Smackdown. It started off strong and it ended strong. We also got some pretty good mid-card wrestling and no ridiculous segments like the Khali Kiss Cam even though that’s entertaining sometimes.
Final Smackdown Rating: ** ½
As always if you have any wrestling related questions or just want to talk wrestling you can always e-mail me! Of course I’d love you to include comments on what you think of the recaps as well.
E-Mail – MikeyT817@hotmail.com
Next week is the last Smackdown of the year! After that be sure to look out for my column on what I thought were the highlights and lowlights of Smackdown’s year! Then be sure to look out for live results of the first Smackdown taping of the year – I’ll be there!
Enjoy Armageddon 2008!
Thanks for reading!