On Friday, June 9, 2006 at 10:30 PM EST Hell week continues
By Louie Dee
June 9, 2006
Results courtesy of WWE.com
Rey Mysterio’s hell week continued on Friday Night SmackDown, and after watching what transpired in the WesBanco Arena, the biggest question has to be what is Rey in for at ECW One Night Stand?
Mysterio was set to take on Finlay in the main event, but before he did he had another pressing issue to address. Paul Heyman confirmed that he had offered Rey a spot on the ECW roster, which was originally reported by WWE.com earlier in the week. Chavo Guerrero confronted Mysterio right before his decision, but Rey knew what he was going to say, and instead tried to convince Chavo to come back to the ring. After their talk, Rey came to the ring and told Paul that while he appreciated the offer and all ECW had done for him, his home was on SmackDown and that’s where he would stay. Heyman accepted the rejection, shaking Rey’s hand and wished him luck, telling him that “I think you’re going to need it tonight.”
Heyman’s words were indeed prophetic, as the double-tough Finlay beat Rey from pillar to post for the majority of the match. At one point, Finlay’s “little” buddy got involved, pulling Rey under the ring to presumably inflict more damage. As the match neared conclusion however, Rey took control and had Finlay in position of the 619. Out of nowhere, Sabu (Rey’s opponent at ECW One Night Stand) appeared with a chair. Rey dropkicked it into him as he tried to enter the ring, but all that did was distract the referee; with Nick Patrick’s back turned, Finlay grabbed his shillelagh and nailed Rey in the stomach. He then hoisted the World Champion up and dropped him with the Celtic Cross to get the stunning victory. As if the champion’s rough battle with Finlay weren’t enough, Sabu struck again after the match; after throwing a chair that nailed Rey in the head, Sabu set the World Champion up on a table outside the ring. The ECW star then launched himself over the top rope, dropping a crushing legdrop that sent Rey crashing through the table. Both men were left prone on the arena floor as the show went off the air, and Michael Cole was left to wonder what everyone was thinking: having now lost three matches in seven days to Kurt Angle, Rob Van Dam and Finlay, will Rey’s luck finally run out against Sabu on Sunday? Will Sabu take the World Heavyweight Championship to ECW?
We do know that ECW definitely has one new addition. While Rey turned down Paul Heyman’s offer, former ECW Champion Tazz announced that he was going home. After interrupting broadcast partner Michael Cole in the ring, Tazz first addressed Jerry Lawler, saying “I swear on my child, I’m going to choke you out this Sunday.” He then announced that he had accepted Heyman’s offer, and was “going home to where Tazz belongs,” ECW. “I had a great time here on SmackDown,” he said, “but I’m done. I’m going home. Goodbye.” Later, when Heyman joined Cole on commentary, Cole tried to make light of the fact that Heyman was only batting .500. However, the ECW representative simply stated that “you don’t know what my batting average is. Rey Mysterio is the only one who has publicly acknowledged my offer, but I’ve been courting several SmackDown Superstars.” So the question that lies is who has Heyman talked to, and will they be defecting as well?
King Booker had a bad night as well, finding out that he must face United States Champion Bobby Lashley next week. As the night began, William Regal tried to introduce the new King, but Lashley attacked him from behind and hammered the Englishman throughout the ringside area. After officials broke up the fight, Theodore Long announced that Lashley and Regal would square off later in the show, with the United States Champion getting a match with King Booker next week if he was victorious.
When the match came around, the King and Queen looked on from a throne perched in the entrance aisle. Regal used a solid ground-and-pound approach to try to subdue the champion, but the powerful newcomer was able to come back. After Regal managed to toss Lashley to the arena floor, the Englishman grabbed a chair; but when he went to use it, Lashley ran and speared him viciously. The referee began to count Regal out, and a frenzied King Booker rushed to ringside to try to help him. It was futile, however, as the count reached 10 and Lashley was declared the winner. As a result, next week the King must face the man who was forced to kiss his feet in the middle of the ring.
One-half of the WWE Tag Team Champions was in action as well as Brian Kendrick took on Super Crazy of the Mexicools. The two men, usually known for their high-flying style, took a more ground-based approach to their match. In the end, however, it was Super Crazy who reverted to his normal style, nailing Kendrick with a backflip uranage slam off the top rope to get the victory. After the match, however, the Great Khali came out and destroyed Crazy, Kendrick and Paul London. Psicosis managed to get away, but the damage had been done. Despite all of the madness, Crazy’s victory gave the Mexicools two straight wins over London & Kendrick. Michael Cole brought it up during the match, and I have to agree with what he said: are the Mexicools doing to London & Kendrick the same thing the champions did to MNM?
Mark Henry also continued his path of destruction, dominating poor Raymond Rowe in a short match. After the match, however, Henry told the world that Batista would return in 28 days in Philadelphia, but it would be the biggest mistake of The Animal’s life.
ECW alumnus Nunzio made a mistake of his own on SmackDown. After several Superstars ran away at the sight of Vito, he and Nunzio had a spat in the locker room with Nunzio trying to convince his paisan to stop wearing a dress. Vito told him that he was the toughest man to ever wear a dress, and that he would prove his toughness to Nunzio in the ring. That’s exactly what he did, as Vito dominated a hard-hitting match before putting Nunzio away with the Code of Silence, his signature spinning implant DDT. I never would’ve pegged a guy as tough as Vito as one who lived an alternative lifestyle; but after watching what he did to a man who was one of his best friends, I sure as hell won’t say anything to him about it.
The Divas even made an appearance, as Ashley, Kristal, Jillian and Michelle McCool took part in a Summer Kick-off Bikini Contest hosted by The Miz. After the first three showed their goods, however, McCool berated the Divas, the fans and the media alike. She told the world that teachers have needs too, but after seeing the crowd and the other Divas’ C+ bodies, her A+ body and needs would never be met by anyone in the building. She stormed off, leaving Miz with three Divas to have the fans choose from. They chose Ashley, whose black leather bikini earned her the victory. Hey Michelle, I wasn’t always the greatest student in school, so maybe you can give me a little extra help sometime?
And of course, Mr. Kennedy made his return to SmackDown, defeating Scotty 2 Hotty with a swanton bomb after “treating” the fans to his signature introduction. It was the first time Kennedy had stepped into the ring since Thanksgiving weekend of 2005, but he showed no signs of ring rust in easily dispatching the popular cruiserweight.
Matches:
* Finlay def. World Heavyweight Champion Rey Mysterio (Non-title Match)
* Ken Kennedy def. Scotty 2 Hotty
* Super Crazy def. Brian Kendrick
* Vito def. Nunzio
* United States Champion Bobby Lashley def. William Regal (Countout)
* Ashley won a Summer Kickoff Divas Bikini Contest
* Mark Henry def. Raymond Rowe