On Saturday, December 20, 2008 at 1:37 AM EST WWE Smackdown
December 19, 2008
Baltimore, MD
Report by: Mike Tedesco of WrestleView.com
“Yes, sir, we promised you a great main event…” The WWE video leads us into the show.
We get a video highlighting Jeff Hardy’s historic victory at Armageddon where he captured the WWE Championship! It spends most of the time showing his celebration.
We now get a shot of the WWE Championship and it pulls down to show Jeff Hardy who simply says, “Here I come!”
The Smackdown video now plays and we’re live in the ring with Justin Roberts who welcomes the NEW WWE Champion Jeff Hardy!! Hardy comes out to a TREMENDOUS reception along with bigger pyrotechnics and confetti!! This is a moment I’ve personally been waiting on for a long time now!! Congrats, Jeff!!
This pyrotechnics display is amazing. He gets on the ropes and every time he does the fireworks go off. Think JBL when he went to Raw in December. That kind of pyro! Hardy looks like he’s soaking everything in.
Hardy has a microphone and starts of by simply saying, “Wow.” Hardy says he’s heard us screaming for about a decade now and he wants to apologize for it taking so long but yes it’s finally happened!! Hardy says the thought of him being the WWE Champion in the past kind of put reality in danger but the reality is that WWE is about to change!! This title doesn’t just represent him – it represents all the world’s rejects and screw ups and for them he’s the WWE Champion!! Hardy now asks for everyone at the arena and at home to get up and scream!!
This is interrupted by Edge who comes out screaming how heartwarming this is but nothing has changed! Edge says nothing has changed because he got lucky! One good day out of 365 does not make a champion – it takes a lifetime of dedication! Representing WWE isn’t about fate and destiny – it’s about sacrifice! Fate is what spoiled kids use whenever things don’t go their way. Destiny? That’s just a cop out – but Jeff knows all about that according to Edge. He was the WWE Champion for one reason and one reason only – hard work!
Hardy says he’s got a word for Edge – LIAR! Hardy gets the crowd chanting “LIAR” but Edge tells them to shut up! Edge says he wasn’t involved in what happened to him at Survivor Series. He didn’t lay a hand on him because he didn’t need to – he’s better than Hardy. Over the past decade Edge says he’s outperformed Hardy ALWAYS!
Edge says Hardy has everyone’s attention and tonight Vickie Guerrero – independent of her and Edge’s relationship – has made two matches. It’ll be ECW Champion Matt Hardy facing Edge! In a second match, since Jeff Hardy wants to make change, it’ll be the WWE Champion Jeff Hardy taking on the UNDEFEATED Vladimir Kozlov! Edge then reiterates that no matter what, Jeff will always be the screw up!
Hardy then asks, “Are you done?” and then lays Edge out with the Twist of Fate!! Hardy leaves the ring and holds his WWE Championship up in the air!!
:::Commercial Break:::
We’re back from the break. MVP and Shelton Benjamin are in the ring along with Gregory Helms who is waiting for his tag team partner. Next week it’ll be Gregory Helms vs. Shelton Benjamin for the United States Championship!
Shelton Benjamin & MVP vs. Hurricane Helms & R-Truth
The bell rings and it’ll be MVP starting out against R-Truth. MVP was arguing with Benjamin when R-Truth comes up from behind and rolls him up for a no count! MVP quickly gets up and runs into a hip toss! MVP pops up again and gets an arm drag! He then pops up again and gets a body slam! R-Truth goes for the pin but gets nothing.
R-Truth twists MVP’s arm and Helms tags in! Helms goes to the second rope and comes off with an elbow to the shoulder! Helms twists MVP’s arm and takes him down, following this up with a leg drop to the joint. Helms covers for a one count. Helms picks MVP up but MVP gets in a couple of clubs and some punches and is now in control. MVP hits Helms with a drop toe hold/face buster combo and goes into the ropes where Benjamin makes a blind tag in! MVP is not happy about that!
Benjamin approaches Helms who gives him two Ric Flair knife-edge chops before Benjamin gets a knee into the midsection! Benjamin punches Helms and sends him into the ropes but Helms ducks his clothesline and hits Benjamin with an arm drag. Helms holds onto the arm and tags in R-Truth!
R-Truth gets a few shots in on Benjamin in the corner before hitting a suplex. R-Truth covers for a one count and dances over that for some stupid reason. R-Truth then goes into the ropes and gets hit with a HUGE Samoan Drop from Benjamin!! Benjamin covers for a one count. MVP is begging for the tag as Benjamin stomps R-Truth down! MVP is still asking as Benjamin punches R-Truth a few times. Benjamin hits a nice snapmare and looks at MVP before locking R-Truth in a chin lock! Benjamin digs his knee into R-Truth’s spine a few times as MVP talks trash about his partner!
R-Truth finally gets up and gets a few elbows and punches in, breaking the hold! R-Truth is in the corner and dodges Benjamin’s Stinger Splash! R-Truth goes to tag in Helms but Benjamin picks him up, preventing him from making the tag, but R-Truth is able to pull him down with a HUGE DDT! Both men are down before R-Truth finally tags in Hurricane Helms!
Helms comes in and hits a nice clothesline on Benjamin before knocking MVP off the apron! Helm’s Irish whip into the corner is reversed but Benjamin gets hit with a back elbow when he charges! Helms sends Benjamin sternum first into the turnbuckle then goes into the ropes and takes Benjamin down with a clothesline! Helms goes to the top rope and hits a Crossbody for a two and a half count when it’s interrupted by MVP!
R-Truth now runs in and takes out MVP but is taken down by Benjamin who throws him out of the ring! Helms gets an Irish whip reversed but is able to counter whatever Benjamin was doing. They’re struggling for a backslide pin when all of a sudden Helms lets go and MVP accidentally kicks Benjamin in the back of the head!! R-Truth now takes MVP out with the Corkscrew 360 Elbow and rolls him out of the ring! This gives Helms the opportunity to hit his reverse Unprettier on Benjamin and pin him for the second week in a row!!
Winners by Pinfall: Hurricane Helms & R-Truth
Match Rating: **
Hurricane Helms and R-Truth celebrate in the ring while MVP yells at Benjamin on the outside for his losing streak continuing!
Vickie Guerrero is complaining to Chavo Guerrero about how the coffee doesn’t taste hot. Chavo says he just brewed it but Vickie slaps it out of Chavo’s hands and screams that she said hot coffee!! Edge then comes in going crazy and Vickie tells him to calm down! Edge says he’s tired of the Hardy Boys embarrassing him and says he wants to hurt Jeff badly tonight! Vickie says they will but they have to do it in steps! Edge then destroys a lamp and Vickie tells him they’ll deal with Jeff Hardy later. However tonight they deal with the big brother! Vickie then leaves the office.
:::Commercial Break:::
We’re back from the break and it’s time for biscuits and gravy! JR says it’s time for Festus to get revenge on Miz & Morrison (even though he may not remember it) for making fun of him three weeks ago in one of the funnier things I’ve seen in wrestling all year!
Festus w/ Jesse vs. John Morrison w/ The Miz
While Morrison comes out we see photos from the house show where Miz and Morrison captured the World Tag Team Championships from CM Punk and Kofi Kingston!
Jesse lays out Miz when he tries to go for the bell! Jesse then takes the bell away and rings it, prompting Festus to go crazy! Morrison ducks a clothesline but can’t much after that as he is caught around the throat and thrown into the corner where he is pounded by Festus! Festus then hits a HUGE body slam! Morrison is in the corner and uniquely avoids a butt bump from Festus! Morrison then slides under Festus’ legs only to get caught with a HUGE uppercut! Morrison is on the apron and Festus goes to get him but Morrison snaps Festus’ neck off the top rope, stunning him!
Morrison hits a forearm that takes Festus down and continues stomping and punching him! Morrison goes into the ropes and hits a knee to Festus’ face! Morrison covers for a one count. Morrison locks Festus in a seated Full Nelson as we see a replay of that sick knee! Festus is eventually able to get up and power out of the Full Nelson! Morrison hits him with a punch but has an Irish whip reversed on him and Festus lays him out with a diving tackle! Festus hits a right and a left, whips Morrison into the ropes who ducks the Festus clothesline. Morrison now springboards off the second rope but is caught by Festus who hits a Fallaway Slam!
Miz now gets on the apron to cause a distraction but Jesse pulls him off! In the ring Festus hits Morrison with a flapjack! Outside of the ring Jesse goes to hit Miz with the ring bell but Miz ducks and the bell hits the ring post, causing it to ring! Festus is now comatose! Morrison takes advantage of this and hits the Moonlight Drive before pinning him for the win!
Winner by Pinfall: John Morrison
Match Rating: * ½
Miz comes in the ring and they celebrate with their World Tag Team Titles and two Slammys! Morrison then stands on Festus and pretends to surf!! That was great!
Tonight in the Main Event it will be Jeff Hardy in his first match as WWE Champion against the undefeated Vladimir Kozlov!
:::Commercial Break:::
We come back to another D-Generation X selling angle. They plug all their DX stuff and Smackdown vs. Raw 2009 which features them on the cover. Triple H then mentions the Elimination Chamber play set which irritates HBK. They go on to mention that eventually you’re going to have to spend time with your family… even the in-laws! HBK says to combat this you should get the History of the Intercontinental Championship DVD! HBK then slaps Triple H on the chest and says we can enjoy his three reigns! Triple H then slaps HBK’s chest and says we can enjoy his five! HBK then pulls out the Summerslam Anthology and slaps Triple H’s chest again when he gets the dates on it wrong! HBK then says he remembers 2002 the most where after four years of doing nothing but crippling back surgery he came back and beat Triple H! Triple H says he remembers that well because HBK still had hair then!! HBK then loses it and starts choking Triple H!! They fight a bit before a logo on the screen says they’re experiencing technical difficulties!! It comes off and Triple H is choking HBK on the table wishing us a Merry Christmas from DX!! HBK says while choking that we can get all this on WWEShop.com!! That was a hilariously great segment!!
We now get a shot of Baltimore, Maryland where JR mentions that those segments were recorded a few weeks ago and are bittersweet due to us knowing HBK’s economic downfall. They just had to ruin it didn’t they? That angle, by the way, SUCKS.
Eve is now going to interview the ECW Champion Matt Hardy. Eve mentions that his brother made history by winning the WWE Championship and asks what it was like to witness his brother win the championship. Hardy says all he can remember is listening to Jeff’s critics – Jeff is a risk, Jeff isn’t good enough, Jeff will never be champion. Matt says Jeff has been through hell and back, including being attacked by Edge the night before Survivor Series! Matt says now for the first time FINALLY all the critics will have to shut up and enjoy the ride!
Eve now asks Hardy about Edge. Hardy says that earlier Edge said Jeff was lucky. It wasn’t luck – Edge was embarrassed, something he doesn’t handle very well! Tonight, he’ll be embarrassed again when he’ll do exactly what his brother did to him on Sunday! Hardy asks Edge how it feels to have everything he loves be gone and have it on a Hardy!
:::Commercial Break:::
Matt Hardy vs. Edge
Edge comes out for this match looking absolutely insane. This is a non-title match in case you were wondering.
The bell rings and this match is on! They circle the ring once and lock up! Edge backs Hardy into the corner and goes to punch Hardy but Hardy ducks it and Edge is frustrated as Hardy smiles and wags his finger!
They circle the ring and lock up again. This time Edge quickly gets Hardy in a waist lock but Hardy is able to break it and wrench the arm! Hardy gets a hammerlock on but Edge is able to trip Hardy. Edge tries for a front face lock but Hardy rolls over and gets the hammerlock on again! Edge now desperately gets his feet on the bottom rope. Chad Patton counts Hardy off and orders him to step back!
They circle the ring again before locking up. Hardy gets backed into the corner and blocks a punch, hitting one of his own! Hardy advances towards Edge but he cowardly inches back to the ropes!
They lock up AGAIN and Hardy takes him down with a drop toe hold! Hardy quickly rolls over and gets a front face lock on Edge, lifting his body and bringing it down to make it hurt more! Edge is able to get up to a vertical base and punch out. Edge goes into the ropes and takes Hardy down with a shoulder block. Edge then goes into the ropes, jumps over Hardy, goes into the ropes again and gets thrown over the top rope by Hardy but he lands on the apron! Hardy now kicks Edge’s legs out from under him and he hits the outside! Edge appears frustrated as Hardy laughs at him and we go to a break! I like this match so far!
:::Commercial Break:::
We come back from the break to see Edge whipping Hardy into the turnbuckle and charging. Hardy moves out of the way and Edge crashes into the turnbuckle! Edge now turns into an arm drag and Hardy locks in the arm bar! Edge gets to his feet and Hardy wrenches the arm harder, causing Edge to go to his knees and Hardy stands over him, cinching it on! Edge gets to his feet, backs Hardy into the ropes and whips him off, hitting him with the kitchen sink! I love that move! Edge then throws Hardy out of the ring and elicits a ton of boos from the Baltimore crowd!
Edge hits a baseball slide on Hardy! Edge then sends Hardy into the steel steps and goes back in the ring to taunt the fans! Hardy gets in the ring at six counts and is met with some boots from Edge! Edge wrenches Hardy’s arm and wraps it illegally around the top rope, pulling down on it! Edge is on the apron and jumps off with Hardy’s arm, snapping it off the top rope!
Hardy is in the corner where Edge hits him with a right hand and illegally uses the rope to twist his arm! Edge now approaches Hardy and gets two boots in the face! Edge approaches again, catches the boots and swings him around so Hardy is sitting on the second rope, and proceed to club Hardy’s back a few times before pulling his hair down and Hardy hits the canvas hard on the back of his neck! Edge pulls him closer to the center where he gets a two and a half count!
Edge now has Hardy in an arm bar as the fans chant for him! Hardy gets to his feet and punches out! Edge goes for a clothesline but Hardy ducks it and goes for the Side Effect but Edge hits him with an arm bar takedown! Hardy is moving towards the ropes where Edge stomps him hard a few times before the referee backs him away!
Hardy now gets up and kicks Edge in the midsection when he approaches! Hardy hits some right hands and goes into the ropes but is taken down by Edge with an arm drag. Edge holds on to the arm for an arm bar submission! Edge has it in tight. Hardy is eventually able to get up to his feet and hits a few punches but it’s not enough for Edge to release the hold. Edge wrenches down again, taking Hardy down. Hardy gets up again and is able to punch out this time, goes into the ropes, blocks a big boot from Edge, and takes Edge down with a back suplex! Both men are now down!
They get up before the referee starts the count. Hardy goes into the ropes and hits Edge with a swinging neckbreaker which gets him a two count! Hardy’s arm is messed up so he couldn’t keep the pin locked. Hardy goes to the top rope for a possible moonsault but we’ll never know as Edge crotches Hardy on the top rope! Edge clubs him back and climbs the ropes, looking for a back suplex! Hardy is able to elbow Edge off and hits a moonsault block which gets him a two and a half count!!
Hardy goes for a Side Effect but Edge gets out of it and goes for Edgecution! Hardy gets out of it, ducks a clothesline from Edge, and goes for the Twist of Fate but Edge counters with a Full Nelson Slam! I haven’t seen that move in a while! Edge covers for a two and a half count!!
Edge is a little frustrated now. He goes up to the second rope and waits for Hardy to get up. Edge now jumps but gets met with a kick to the midsection and a Side Effect!! Hardy covers but Edge gets his foot on the bottom rope for a two and a half count!! Hardy isn’t deterred as he goes to the second rope for the elbow but Edge avoids it and rolls Hardy up while holding the tights for a two count when Hardy rolls through and pins Edge for a two count! Both men get up and hit a double clothesline on one another! Both men are down again!
The referee is counting and gets to five when they both get up. Edge charges and gets a drop toe hold into the second turnbuckle! Hardy now goes for the Twist of Fate but gets thrown through the ropes shoulder first into the ring post! Edge now gets the Spear on Hardy and this match is over!!
Winner by Pinfall: Edge
Match Rating: ***
Tazz mentions this is one Hardy down and there’s one to go. Still to come is WWE Champion Jeff Hardy taking on Vladimir Kozlov!
:::Commercial Break:::
We come back from the break to an outside shot of Baltimore. In the arena Carlito and Primo are in the ring. Carlito will be in singles action tonight!
Carlito w/ Primo vs. Ezekiel Jackson w/ The Brian Kendrick
Before the bell rings Carlito throws his apple at Jackson, angering him! The bell rings and Carlito quickly starts with some punches but Ezekiel is able to grab Carlito by the throat! Carlito slaps his hand off and continues with the rights and lefts! Ezekiel grabs Carlito with both hands around the throat and throws him into the ropes but Carlito bounces back with more punches! Ezekiel has now had enough as he drives Carlito hard into the corner!
Ezekiel hits some knees in the corner and backs away when the referee makes him. Ezekiel charges and gets a boot in the face. The Brian Kendrick mouths off near Carlito and Carlito stomps his hand! This distraction is enough as Ezekiel hits Carlito in the midsection with a kick. Ezekiel whips Carlito into the opposite corner but Carlito climbs to the top rope and moonsaults over Ezekiel, landing on his feet!! That was nice!! Carlito now hits Ezekiel with a dropkick and goes into the ropes where Ezekiel lays him out with a shoulder block!
Ezekiel now stomps Carlito and chokes him with his foot! Ezekiel hits a big body slam, picks Carlito up, and gets him in a big bear hug! Carlito struggles but eventually is able to get out with some punches. Ezekiel quickly gets a knee to the midsection and Carlito responds by slapping him hard in the face! This just pisses Ezekiel off as he lays Carlito out with a HUGE clothesline! Ezekiel stomps Carlito a few times and uses his foot to choke him! Carlito now rolls out of the ring!
On the outside The Brian Kendrick tries to take advantage and goes for The Kendrick but Carlito pushes him off and he lands on his face! The Kendrick is then laid out by Primo!
Ezekiel Jackson now reaches down from inside the ring and pulls Carlito up to the apron where Carlito snaps Ezekiel’s neck off the top rope! Carlito goes to the top rope and hits a crossbody for a two count! Carlito goes into the ropes, ducks Ezekiel’s clothesline, and springboards off the second rope into a forearm from Ezekiel! Ezekiel now hits his Standing Sambo Suplex and covers Carlito for the win!
Winner by Pinfall: Ezekiel Jackson
Match Rating: * ¼
The Brian Kendrick of course comes running in the ring like he won the match. JR mentions that eventually The Kendrick and Ezekiel will want a shot at the WWE Tag Team Titles!
:::Commercial Break:::
We come back from the break to see the WWE Diva’s Champion Michelle McCool in the ring. She’ll be sitting ringside observing this #1 Contendership match.
#1 Contendership for the WWE Diva’s Championship
Maria vs. Maryse
The bell rings as Maryse plays with her hair. Maria goes to lock up by Maryse backs away and smiles, leaning on the ropes. They now circle the ring and Maryse avoids another lock up. Maria now KILLS her with a slap, sending her down to the canvas! Maria mounts her for the ground and pound and is eventually pulled off by the referee! Maryse now rolls out of the ring, holding her face!
Maria goes to the outside and is laid out with a clothesline from the Frenchwoman. Maryse throws Maria in the ring and hits a baseball slide to the inside of the ring on her. Maryse slaps Maria a few times and kicks her down. Maryse hits the Stroke and I’m sure Kurt Angle is happy about that. Maryse doesn’t immediately capitalize on it because she’s too busy smiling. Maryse then covers for a two and a half count! I’m surprised the count went that long! Michelle McCool is shown on the outside watching intently.
Maryse now absorbs a hit from Maria and slams Maria’s face on the mat. Maryse hits a forearm to the face and a spinning backbreaker, which was executed nicely! Maryse covers and the referee still counts even though Maria’s foot was under the bottom rope. Maryse gets a two count. Maryse now slams Maria’s face off the mat a few times and then gets on her back for the neck stretch. Maryse then kicks her in the back. Maryse stands over Maria and taunts before locking it on again. Maria is able to get up and drive Maryse into the turnbuckle.
Maria now ducks a clothesline from Maryse and takes her down with a clothesline of her own! Maria then hits another one! Maria picks Maryse up and gets a knee to the midsection. Maryse now hits a few punches and whips Maria into the corner. Maryse charges and gets a back elbow in the face! Maryse then gets two boots in the face and Maria goes to the top rope. Maria jumps and Maryse goes to avoid it but accidentally hits Maria in the knee while in flight causing Maria to land awkwardly. I don’t think that was planned… Maria may have twisted her ankle. Maryse now hits a DDT and pins Maria to become the Number One Contender for the WWE Diva’s Championship!
Winner by Pinfall: Maryse
Match Rating: * ½
Maryse now approaches the Diva’s Champion and taunts her. McCool stands face to face with her and slaps Maryse’s hand off her championship. Maryse now backs away taunting.
MVP is shown in the locker room frustrated when he’s approached by Mr. Kennedy. Kennedy says he knows times are tough and he feels for him. MVP asks him if he means it and Kennedy says he does. Kennedy says if MVP keeps his head up and smiles then things will get better. With the New Year coming then right around January 6th… MVP now loses it and says Kennedy couldn’t just come in and be cool. MVP then unwittingly promotes Behind Enemy Lines – Columbia. MVP says that Kennedy is here to bust on him says that if he buys the movie everything will turn around for him. MVP asks if that was what Kennedy was going to say. Kennedy says no and thanks him for the plug! Kennedy says this why he likes MVP – even when he’s flat broke he’s still giving! Kennedy says that’s a good trait to have and leaves before telling him to keep his chin up! Kennedy then comes back and says Merry Christmas from Mr. Kennedy… KENNEDY! MVP is not happy.
Still to come tonight is WWE Champion Jeff Hardy vs. Vladimir Kozlov!
:::Commercial Break:::
We come back from the break to see an outside shot of Baltimore.
WWE Mobile brings us to the Raw Rebound. It shows the highlights of the Main Event where Orton kicked Batista in the head.
JR and Tazz mention that Batista has a severe concussion and WWE is not sure when Batista will return to action. I guess he can finally get his time off. JR says Batista probably won’t be involved in the tournament next Monday.
Eve is now backstage with The Great Khali and Ranjin Singh. She says as a former recipient of the Khali Kiss Cam, she’s curious to know Khali’s interaction with WWE Hall of Famer Mae Young was. We now get a little highlight from Armageddon where Mae Young molested Khali’s face! Singh says that kiss sent tingles up and down the Khali’s spine! Khali’s heart was pierced by the loving arrow of Mae Young! Singh says that Khali has found his soul mate and that Mae Young may have the most succulent lips in the WWE. Khali then says something and Singh says that Khali said Eve is a distant second. Eve says ok.
Vladimir Kozlov is making his way to the ring with a big welt under his eye! Next it’ll be WWE Champion Jeff Hardy vs. Vladimir Kozlov!
:::Commercial Break:::
Vladimir Kozlov vs. Jeff Hardy
The WWE Championship will NOT be on the line.
Mike Chioda rings the bell and this match is on! The two men circle the ring before locking up. Kozlov gets a nice takedown on the WWE Champion but gets kicked off! Hardy now pops up ready for Kozlov!
Hardy starts clapping and gets the fans into it. Kozlov gets a waist lock on Hardy and takes him down to the mat. Kozlov keeps the waist lock on tight! Hardy gets up and elbows out of it, busting Kozlov’s wound open under his left eye!
Hardy avoids a push kick and hits Kozlov with a few punches! Hardy goes into the ropes and gets hit with a shoulder block! Kozlov then drops a big elbow! Kozlov sells an elbow injury before punching the WWE Champion and throwing him out of the ring!
Kozlov is prevented from following and Chioda begins to count Hardy out. Hardy then gets in the ring when Kozlov goes to the outside! Kozlov is not happy and goes to get back in but Hardy baseball slides him out of the ring again! It’s time for our final commercial break!
:::Commercial Break:::
We come back from the break to see Kozlov forearm Hardy in the back of the neck. Kozlov then slides Hardy under the bottom rope shoulder first into the ring post! Kozlov is now whipping Hardy’s arm into the ring post as we see that Kozlov hit Hardy with a HUGE push kick during the break! Kozlov then punches Hardy in the arm and gets back in the ring.
Kozlov now goes after the knee of Hardy and slams it into the mat twice before covering for a two count! Kozlov now has Hardy in a key lock! Kozlov has it locked in tight! Hardy eventually is able to get to his feet and punch out of it! Hardy goes into the ropes and jumps but is caught by Kozlov who gets him on his shoulder and slams him down! Kozlov covers for a two and a half count! Kozlov goes right back to work on the arm with a Fujiwara Arm Bar! Kozlov has it locked in for a bit before digging a few knees into the joint and locking it on again! Hardy eventually gets up and goes to punch out but Kozlov underhooks both arms and head-butts his chest before slamming him down with a belly to belly suplex! Kozlov covers for a two and a half count! Kozlov gets right back on top with some more punches.
Kozlov gets Hardy in the corner and hits a few shoulder thrusts! Kozlov now backs up and charges but Hardy moves and Kozlov hits sternum first! Hardy now climbs the ropes and hits a NICE Whisper in the Wind!! Hardy goes up to the top rope again and hits Whisper in the Wind!! Edge now rushes into the ring and assaults Jeff Hardy causing the disqualification!!
Winner by Disqualification: Jeff Hardy
Match Rating: **
Hardy tries to fight but Kozlov joins the fight and it’s a two on one! Edge tells Kozlov to pick Hardy up and Edge is taking unblocked shots from the Rated R Superstar!
Backstage Triple H is shown walking toward the stage in his leather jacket. At ringside Edge runs and gets a chair, waiting for Triple H! Kozlov continues to choke Hardy with his foot!
Triple H’s music now hits and he runs down to the ring, avoids the chair shot, and hits the Pedigree on Edge!! Triple H now takes down Vladimir Kozlov and punches him wildly!! Kozlov rolls to the outside and is attacked from behind by Triple H!! Triple H sends Kozlov into the ring post and bounces his head off the announcer’s table!! Triple H then goes under the ring and chases Kozlov away with the sledgehammer!!
In the ring Jeff Hardy climbs to the top rope and hits the Swanton Bomb on Edge!! Hardy’s music now hits and Triple H looks on from the top of the stage as Hardy raises his WWE Championship above his head!!Quick Match Results
Hurricane Helms* & R-Truth def. Shelton Benjamin* & MVP
John Morrison def. Festus
Edge def. Matt Hardy (non-title)
Ezekiel Jackson def. Carlito
#1 Contender for the Diva’s Title: Maryse def. Maria
Jeff Hardy def. Vladimir Kozlov via DQ (non-title)
Bump of the Night: Edge slamming Matt Hardy on the back of his neck!
Match of the Night: Edge vs. Matt Hardy ***
Mike’s Thoughts
Jeff Hardy is our new WWE Champion. I love this guy but if you’d have told me in March he’d come back from his second drug suspension and win the WWE Championship before the end of 2008 I seriously would have laughed in your face. But it actually happened and I, along with many fans, couldn’t be happier!
Hardy got his championship run off to a great start tonight. The opening segment was tremendous. Hardy really had the crowd (and me) going. Edge, of course, plays the heel role tremendously and is really going to help benefit Jeff’s reign. No one is better at antagonizing than Edge. Hardy then finished up the night with a pretty good match against Vladimir Kozlov. Let’s face it – he didn’t have a lot to work with. The post match affairs were better with Hardy hitting the Swanton Bomb on Edge! All in all it wasn’t a bad start at all!
I want to apologize for an error I made last week – I mistakenly thought this would be the last Smackdown of 2008 because I thought WWE would use next week as a week of highlights but I was wrong. My bad.
Matt Hardy once again proves what a valuable performer he is by having another TREMENDOUS match on Smackdown tonight. This guy is gold and deserves the ECW Championship, a championship he is bringing prestige to. I love having Hardy on Smackdown every week.
The Diva’s picked things up this week. Its small improvements but it helps after I gave them a scathing review last week. My hat is off to Maria and Maryse for actually working this week. On another note… what happened to Michelle McCool’s supposed heel turn? That seems to have been dropped…
No Kizarny promo thank god. However I was sad to see that there was no promo for that new British wrestler who talks like an episode of Buff the Vampire Slayer. He looks interesting.
I can see why R-Truth’s in ring ability is under fire from WWE. He put out a poor showing tonight. He didn’t botch any moves but it’s just the little things that he does that don’t make any sense. Maybe I just don’t like him but I felt his performance was subpar tonight.
This was a solid edition of Smackdown all the way around. What a great way to bring in Christmas! Every match was terrific and the segments were kept to a minimum which is always nice! I’m looking forward to next week’s edition which will see Gregory Helms take on Shelton Benjamin for the WWE United States Championship! As for this week I rate Smackdown as follows:
Final Smackdown Rating: ***
As always I’d love to hear from everyone who loved the column and those who didn’t. Even if you just want to talk about wrestling drop me an e-mail. I love wrestling!
E-Mail – MikeyT817@hotmail.com
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy Kwanza! No matter what religion you are, Marianna and I wish you the happiest and safest holiday!
Be on the lookout for my recap of 2008 for Smackdown! Also be sure to log on to WrestleView.com on December 29th for live updates on the double Smackdown taping in East Rutherford. I’ll be there!
Thanks for reading!