WWE Smackdown
February 6, 2009
Indianapolis, IN
Report by: Mike Tedesco of WrestleView.com
?Yes, sir, we promised you a great main event?? The WWE video leads us into the show.
The Smackdown video plays and if you rock like we do then you?re watching the best show of the WWE week! The pyro goes off in the arena in Indianapolis, Indiana and the crowd is alive! WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross and Tazz welcome us to the show. Tazz wonders who will be the final two men entered into the Elimination Chamber at No Way Out, just nine days away! One thing we do know is the four men already in will be competing in a tag team match. Tonight, it will be Undertaker and Triple H vs. Edge and Big Show!
Vladimir Kozlov is making his way to the ring. Inside already are a whole bunch of Superstars. This looks like we?re starting off with a Battle Royal! The Great Khali is also getting a TV entrance.
Vickie Guerrero now comes out and excuses herself. She says if Jeff Hardy recovers in time then he?ll receive his rematch for the WWE Championship in the Elimination Chamber at No Way Out! That means there’s room for one more Superstar and whoever takes that place will be determined in this Battle Royal!
Elimination Chamber Qualifying Battle Royal
Vladimir Kozlov vs. The Great Khali vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. Kung Fu Naki vs. Jesse vs. Kizarny vs. Scotty Goldman vs. The Brian Kendrick vs. Zack Ryder vs. Curt Hawkins vs. Carlito vs. Primo vs. R-Truth vs. Chavo Guerrero vs. MVP
Battle Royals are always tough to call! Bear with me as we go through this!
The bell rings and this quickly turns into a cluster you know what! Kizarny quickly goes for Kozlov which hopefully means he?ll be eliminated quickly. Scotty Goldman then attacks Kozlov from behind and has no effect on the Moscow Mauler. Kozlov knees Goldman in the gut and throws him over the top rope! What’s crackin? now?!
Scotty Goldman has been eliminated by Vladimir Kozlov.
Kozlov now picks on the smaller guys in the corner which are Kung Fu Naki and Chavo Guerrero. Everyone else is just around the ring trying to eliminate one another. One interesting match up going on is MVP vs. Shelton Benjamin. Remember, last week MVP said that he wants the United States Championship back! Kozlov has Fu Naki on his shoulder trying to throw him over but Fu Naki is hanging on to the top rope! The Kendrick is close to getting Kizarny out as well! Interestingly enough Kozlov is having a hell of a time getting Fu Naki over the top rope. Khali is going around just head-butting anything that moves! I love it! Kizarny is doing the ten punches to Hawkins when The Kendrick pushes him over the top rope and eliminates him! Kizarny took a nice bump to the outside! Thank you The Kendrick!
Kizarny has been eliminated by The Brain Kendrick.
The Kendrick dances around a bit but it doesn?t last long as (my favorite) MVP attacks him. MVP gets him in the back suplex position to throw him over the top but The Kendrick kicks and does a back flip off his shoulder then goes down and hangs on to the second rope. MVP kicks him and he’s going through the bottom rope, which would not constitute elimination, and is hanging on. Kizarny, that cheater, pulls The Kendrick’s hair to pull him out but the referees stop him and he has no effect anyway!
Elsewhere in the match Kozlov is destroying Carlito with strikes, Hawkins and Ryder are concentrating on Kung Fu Naki, and Khali is just doing his thing, which is head-butting everything. Shelton Benjamin charges at Jesse who is near the ropes but Jesse is able to hip toss Benjamin over the top rope but Benjamin lands on the apron! Jesse is hitting Benjamin with everything he’s got to eliminate him but Benjamin is able to stop him with just a few punches. Benjamin then suplexes Jesse over the top rope to the outside!! Nice elimination!!
Jesse has been eliminated by Shelton Benjamin.
Benjamin turns around to look at the damage and all of a sudden MVP runs up from behind and clubs him off the apron!!
Shelton Benjamin has been eliminated by MVP.
MVP talks some trash to Benjamin, who is stunned that he just got eliminated, when Chavo Guerrero, who got beat by MVP last week, comes from behind and throws MVP over the top rope!!
MVP has been eliminated by Chavo Guerrero.
Guerrero talks a little trash before R-Truth comes over and starts attacking him. On the outside MVP gets blindsided with a HUGE kick in the face from Shelton Benjamin!! The referees back him away. This Battle Royal will continue after the break.
:::Commercial Break:::
We come back from the break to see a bunch of guys still in the ring. Something interesting is Kozlov on his back with Khali on the attack. Khali attacks his leg a bit before going to throw him over the top rope. Chavo Guerrero tries to be the big man and attack Khali but this has no effect on him as he just takes Chavo by the head and throws him over the top rope!
Chavo Guerrero has been eliminated by The Great Khali.
Kung Fu Naki tries to attack Khali from behind and quickly meets the same fate!
Kung Fu Naki has been eliminated by The Great Khali.
Kozlov now comes and attacks Khali but Khali is able to head-butt him down! The Kendrick is concentrating on R-Truth when Khali takes him and gorilla presses him out of the ring and on to Chavo Guerrero and Kung Fu Naki!!
The Brian Kendrick has been eliminated by The Great Khali.
Khali quickly goes back to Kozlov. This time Kozlov is able to power Khali into the corner and hit some shoulder thrusts! Kozlov tries to get Khali over the top rope but Khali stops him with a club.
Elsewhere in the ring, Carlito is concentrating on Ryder and R-Truth is concentrating on Hawkins. All of a sudden Carlito makes his way over to Khali only to get head-butted down. Hawkins and Ryder try attacking Khali but Khali just grabs them by the throat and pushes both men over the top rope!!
Hawkins & Ryder have been eliminated by The Great Khali.
All of a sudden Vladimir Kozlov runs up from behind and eliminates The Great Khali!!
The Great Khali has been eliminated by Vladimir Kozlov.
The Final Four are Carlito, Primo, R-Truth, and Vladimir Kozlov. R-Truth runs up to Kozlov and gets thrust kicked to the mat! Primo runs up and gets a back elbow and his brother gets a clothesline! Kozlov picks Carlito up and body slams him hard. Kozlov then hits some shoulder thrusts on R-Truth in the corner. Kozlov backs up and goes for a splash in the corner but R-Truth moves and Kozlov hits the turnbuckle hard! Primo now hits a dropkick but it has hardly an effect on Kozlov. Carlito hits one and it has a little more of an effect. Then Primo, Carlito, and R-Truth hit a TRIPLE dropkick, which sends Kozlov flying off his feet! Carlito and Primo go to take Kozlov out of the ring but he is able to hook both their legs and back body drop them out of the ring!!
Carlito & Primo have been eliminated by Vladimir Kozlov.
R-Truth now hits a bunch of right hands on Kozlov and kicks him in the midsection. R-Truth goes into the ropes for his Scissors Kick but Kozlov KILLS him with the Battering Ram! Kozlov then throws R-Truth over the top rope to win this Battle Royal and earn the final spot in the WWE Championship Elimination Chamber match!
Winner: Vladimir Kozlov
Match Rating: ** ?
Vladimir Kozlov celebrates like crazy and he should. The Elimination Chamber Match for the WWE Championship at No Way Out will now have WWE Champion Edge vs. Triple H vs. Big Show vs. Undertaker vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Vladimir Kozlov! What a match that will be!
Kozlov now has the mic and speaks in Russian for a second before translating that he won the Battle Royal and he will win the Elimination Chamber. Then he will become a champion!
Still to come tonight is Undertaker and Triple H vs. Edge and Big Show!
:::Commercial Break:::
We now get one of those videos celebrating the ?twenty-fifth? anniversary of WrestleMania. This time they highlighted WrestleMania 2 which emanated simultaneously from New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. New York’s Main Event was Mr. T vs. ?Rowdy? Roddy Piper in a Boxing Match. Mr. T won that one by disqualification when Piper body slammed him! In Chicago we saw Andre the Giant defeat a whole bunch of WWF Superstars and NFL Stars to win a Battle Royal. The real Main Event was Hulk Hogan vs. King Kong Bundy in a Steel Cage Match for the WWF Championship! This is the only Steel Cage Match in WrestleMania history is you don?t count a Hell in a Cell as a cage. Hogan defeated Bundy by escaping the cage. I met Bundy down in Wildwood. He’s a HUGE man and looks quite intimidating but is really nice once you start talking with him.
Todd Grisham introduces Hurricane Helms for a backstage interview. He wants Helms? insight at what happened in the Royal Rumble being that he is a close friend of both Matt and Jeff Hardy.
We now see the end of the WWE Championship Match from two weeks ago at the Royal Rumble where Matt Hardy blindsided Jeff Hardy with a steel chair and cost his flesh and blood the WWE Championship.
Grisham asks for his reaction. Helms says at first he was surprised as anybody. But then when he thought back he guesses he shouldn?t have been. He’s known Matt and Jeff for a long time and they all came up together but Matt was always the one with the ego. He says this was their dream. All they ever dreamed about was winning the WWE Championship and Jeff was the one to finally do it. After everything he went through he finally got there until Matt pulled his stunt and took it all away. Helms doesn?t think that at the Rumble Matt became a new person. He thinks he simply revealed the kind of person he’s been all along ? a self-centered, egotistical JERK! While Jeff might not be here tonight to take up for himself, he is, and he will find Matt Hardy!
Elsewhere backstage Edge is looking at his WWE Championship all stressed out. Vickie asks him if anything is wrong and he says nothing aside from the fact that he has to defend his WWE Championship in the most dangerous structure known to mankind and his opponents are Vladimir Kozlov, Triple H, Big Show, Jeff Hardy, and the Undertaker! Vickie tells him not to worry because he’s made a career of defying the odds. She believes in him!
Big Show then comes in and sarcastically asks if he wants to have a pep talk. Edge tells him not to dare take that tone with him because if memory serves him right the last time they partnered up Big Show walked out on him (I was there!). Edge says if anything like that happens then Vickie will take him out of the Elimination Chamber! Vickie doesn?t say a word so don?t believe that. Edge says he?ll be out of it. Vickie says no one is walking out on anyone because they?re going to work together and beat Triple H and the Undertaker! Big Show agrees and says, ?Take it easy, slim,? and then sarcastically says he believes in him much like Vickie just did and walks away smiling!
:::Commercial Break:::
Did you know that more men watches Smackdown last Friday than 20/20 or Dateline? Since they?re aiming for kids I?m surprised they didn?t just say more boys watched it than SpongeBob.
Matt Hardy is in the ring and the fans are chanting, ?We want Jeff!? Matt calls out Hurricane Helms saying he doesn?t have to try and find him because he’s right here. Since Jeff isn?t here and he is then if he has such a big problem with him then he should come down and do something about it!
Hurricane Helms comes out and takes off his bandana and shirt. He goes into the ring and is immediately stomped by Matt Hardy. Matt clubs him a big and hits some elbows to the neck. Matt knees him in the midsection and clotheslines him down! Hardy gets him in a headlock and punches him a few times. Hardy now goes into the ropes and Helms surprises him with a Lou Thesz Press and punches him wildly! This is just an all out fight! Hardy is able to escape from it and roll out of the ring.
Hardy pushes Helms away from him and goes to run away over the barricade but Helms stops him! Hardy clubs him and sends him into the steel steps! Hardy shoots a half nelson and throws Helms back into the ring. Hardy now butterflies both arm and elbows him repeatedly in the face, knocking him unconscious!! The referees come into the ring and kick him out!! Hardy leaves not looking too overly upset over destroying and possibly causing brain damage to a former friend.
Still to come tonight is Undertaker and Triple H vs. Edge and Big Show!
:::Commercial Break:::
WrestleMania is 58 days away!
Shelton Benjamin is making his way to the ring. He’s ready for a match which will be officiated by Charles Robinson!
Benjamin grabs the mic and says some people have a hard time telling the difference between fantasy and reality. The reality is he’s the longest reigning champion on ANY brand in WWE while his opponent gets a couple of lucky wins after having a twenty week losing streak and thinks the United States Championship can be his! The truth is MVP is no Cinderella Man. There’s no fairy godmother or happy endings. Benjamin suggests he change his name from MVP to VPM ? Very Peyton Manning! This makes the Indianapolis crowd VERY angry! Benjamin says just like Peyton Manning with the biggest game on the line, MVP will blow it!
Shelton Benjamin vs. MVP
This will be a non-title match in case you were wondering. No US Title for MVP tonight.
Charles Robinson calls for the bell and MVP immediately gets a quick kick to Benjamin’s midsection followed by the two men trading punches with MVP ultimately coming out on top! MVP sends Benjamin into the ropes and clotheslines him down! MVP hits some crossfaces and Benjamin covers up to avoid anymore pain. MVP gets him on his back for a one count. Benjamin now starts backing away like a snake and asking for a timeout! MVP grants him no timeout and kicks him in the face!
MVP goes to whip Benjamin but Benjamin twists him around and hits an Exploder/T-Bone Suplex! Benjamin is now waiting for MVP to get up and when he does he goes for Pay Dirt but MVP pushes him off! Benjamin tries to charge him but gets taken down by a back elbow! Benjamin now hangs on to the ropes so MVP has to back away. MVP clubs him coming back in and hits a few forearms. He goes for a suplex but Benjamin blocks it and suplexes him gut first on the top rope!! MVP drops to the mat and then rolls to the outside.
Benjamin follows him to the outside and lays in the boots. Benjamin then flapjacks him face first into the barricade! Benjamin throws him in at the five count and forearms him a few times in the back of the head, resulting in a two and a half count! The crowd is chanting for MVP as Benjamin gets him in a seated abdominal stretch. Benjamin digs his elbow into MVP’s ribs and releases the hold. Benjamin then shoots the half nelson and knees him a few times in the ribs. Benjamin then hits a gut buster! Benjamin gets a two count! Benjamin now gets a waist lock on but only holds it in for a few seconds before releasing him. He then picks him up and, continuing to punish the ribs, he locks on a standing abdominal stretch, pushing down on the head to stretch him more! Robinson asks him if he wants to quit but MVP says no and hip tosses Benjamin!
Benjamin slowly gets up and then charges MVP only to get a BEAUTIFUL belly to belly overhead suplex! MVP covers for a two count! MVP hits some forearms and goes for a suplex but Benjamin lands on his feet and hits a German Suplex with a pinning bridge for a two count! When’s the last time we saw a German Suplex in the WWE?? Maybe I just missed when they did it last?
Benjamin now waits for MVP to get up then goes for a kick only for it to get blocked. MVP spins him around and Benjamin goes for the Dragon Kick but MVP ducks that, goes into the ropes, and hits him with a big boot! MVP covers for a CLOSE two and a half count!! MVP hits some forearms while Benjamin looks like he’s out on his feet. Benjamin then ducks a punch and pulls MVP back on to his knee for a backbreaker! This gets Benjamin a two count!
Benjamin sends MVP HARD into the turnbuckle and hits the old? Stinger Splash! Benjamin goes for another and MVP moves out of the way! MVP then goes for the Drive By but Benjamin moves and when MVP turns they clunk heads! Benjamin is down on his knees and MVP recovers enough to hit the Drive By Kick and pick up a win over the United States Champion!!
Winner by Pinfall: MVP
Match Rating: ** ?
MVP now has three TV wins and Benjamin looks really upset!
Backstage Carlito and Primo are talking and wondering where ?he? is. Pat Paterson appears to be in the background. The Bella Twins now walk up and give them both a kiss on the cheek. Carlito asks what that’s for and they say it’s for good luck! Carlito says it’s going to be a tough, hard match and says they could use a little more so they give them another kiss! R-Truth now walks up and says, ?Now that’s what’s up!? All three men begin making their way to the ring, with two of them sporting lipstick on their cheeks.
:::Commercial Break:::
The Smack of the Night, being presented by Just for Men, is Carlito & Primo vs. Miz & Morrison. Carlito was pinned by Miz, who he didn?t know was legal. Neither team’s title was on the line.
Miz and Morrison are now making their way to the ring for a match. They?re two time Slammy Award winners, by the way. Neither of them equal one Owen Hart, though! When will he be inducted into the Hall of Fame??
John Morrison, The Miz & The Brian Kendrick vs. Carlito, Primo & R-Truth
The bell rings and Miz will start the match out for his team again Primo. Primo does his usual roll at the ring of the bell. Primo goes to lock up but Miz ducks him and gets a waist lock on from behind. Primo powers himself behind him then locks on a waist lock of his own before going for the side headlock. Miz backs him into the ropes and whips him off. Primo does a back flip roll off Miz’s back, hits a kick to the midsection, and then a back heel sweep! Primo gets a one count. Primo twists Miz’s arm and bounces his head off the top turnbuckle. He then twists the arm again and tags in his brother Carlito!
Carlito goes to the top rope and hits a double axe handle on Miz’s arm! Carlito then twists Miz’s arm and tags in R-Truth! R-Truth goes to the top rope, hits a double axe handle, and asks if anything is up just in case he missed anything when he asked it two minutes ago. R-Truth approaches Miz but Miz pushes him away and goes for a clothesline but R-Truth splits under it and hits a jumping calf kick to the face! Miz gets up in the corner and R-Truth hits a nice right hand. R-Truth has a whip to the opposite corner reversed on him. Miz goes for his patented corner clothesline but R-Truth kicks him in the face! The Kendrick then distracts the referee and Morrison runs over on the apron and sucker punches R-Truth! Miz then hits his patented corner clothesline. That really needs a name. Miz gets a front face lock on R-Truth and tags in John Morrison.
Morrison comes in and they hit a double gut buster on R-Truth! Ouch! This gets Morrison a one count whereas in the 80s Demolition would have won it. They were just LOD rip-offs anyway! Morrison gets a front face lock on R-Truth and goes to tag in The Miz but The Kendrick intercepts and tags himself in!
Morrison clubs R-Truth wildly and The Kendrick hits a nice kick. The Kendrick then jumps on R-Truth’s back with both feet. The Kendrick then assaults him with kicks. The Kendrick drags him to the middle of the ring only to continue kicking him and getting a two count. The Kendrick then kicks him in the ribs hard! Well I guess it wouldn?t be any other way, right? The Kendrick elbows him in the neck and drags him to his corner where Morrison tags himself in!
Morrison hits a stomp and then grounds and pounds him! Morrison hits another stomp and goes for a neckbreaker but R-Truth hits a surprise backslide for a two count! R-Truth reaches for Carlito and Primo but Morrison pulls him away! The Kendrick then tags himself back in and kicks him then hits a low dropkick to the face! The Kendrick gets a nice pin on R-Truth for a two count. The Kendrick then locks on a Camel Clutch and all I can think of is what Iron Sheik wants to do to B. Brain Blair after breaking his back with that very move? to make him HUMBLE!!
R-Truth attempts to get up but The Kendrick slams him down and knocks Primo off the apron! Carlito grabs him by the hair and the referee begins counting him down and Carlito releases. The Kendrick then goes for a clothesline which R-Truth ducks and makes the hot tag to Carlito!
The Kendrick ducks a clothesline but can?t duck the dropkick! Carlito hits a few lefts on The Kendrick before whipping him into the ropes, hitting a kick to the midsection, and hitting a Million Dollar Knee Lift! Carlito was supposed to hit another move but The Kendrick went down to his knees and hit the ropes so Carlito picked him up, whipped him into the ropes, and hit a nice clothesline! Carlito then double clotheslined Miz and Morrison off the apron! Carlito has an Irish whip reversed on him by The Kendrick so Carlito goes for his springboard back elbow off the second rope but The Kendrick moves and Carlito lands on his feet. The Kendrick then charges and goes for a wheelbarrow but Carlito just brings him back for a German Suplex!! What is going on? Is this move unbanned? Carlito then covers but it’s broken up at two by Miz and Morrison!
All of a sudden Primo springboards off the top rope and hits a dropkick on Miz! Morrison then hits his beautiful Flying Chuck Kick (that springboard roundhouse kick) on Primo! R-Truth then runs in and hits his 360? Corkscrew Elbow Smash then is thrown out of the ring by The Kendrick! Carlito then ducks a clothesline and hits a hot shot into the top rope on The Kendrick. Miz then gets on the apron talking trash to Carlito so Carlito charges and Miz gets off the apron! The Kendrick then hits a surprise The Kendrick and pins Carlito for the win!!
Winners by Pinfall: John Morrison, The Miz & The Brian Kendrick
Match Rating: ** ?
All three of these very cocky men celebrate around the ring and Tazz takes a shot at Mike Adamle by saying he used to be The Tazz.
HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT: Jeff Hardy returns to Smackdown next week! What will he have to say about being attacked by his own brother and then simultaneously losing the WWE Championship!
We now see a replay of Michelle McCool’s disingenuous apology to Eve Torres (I was there!). McCool then attacked her shortly thereafter.
Eve is shown backstage. She will have her first ever match on Smackdown against Michelle McCool? NEXT!
:::Commercial Break:::
A really great video package plays for Diva’s Champion Maryse. I wonder when she’s returning to action. Back in the day champions were stripped of their title after thirty days. It’s not back in the day anymore, though.
Eve Torres vs. Michelle McCool
This is Eve’s first television match! She seems a little nervous! Pertaining to Michelle McCool, she seems to be getting into her heel role very nicely.
The bell rings and they circle before locking up. McCool powers her into the corner and Jack Doane asks for a clean break but McCool doesn?t listen to instructions well as she peppers Eve with some slaps. The lock up again and McCool wrenches the arm twice and slamming her down hard. McCool hits a nice move where she seems to be going for an arm bar but then just back kicks her in the face! McCool then knees her in the ribs!
McCool asks her if this is what she wanted. Somehow I don?t think this is what Eve had in mind. McCool hits Eve with some playful kicks while she tries to get up. McCool then hits a European Uppercut, a kick to the midsection, and a club to the back. McCool whips her hard into the corner and Eve goes down. JR announces that at the conclusion of this match we?ll be talking to Matt Hardy.
McCool charges Eve only to get a back elbow! Eve hits a really nice leapfrog and hip toss! Eve gets a waist lock and gets a takedown on McCool! That’s two points, amateur. McCool tries to break the waist lock but Eve hits a schoolgirl but doesn?t get a count. McCool then wriggles over to the bottom rope, forcing Eve to stay away. McCool then goes to the outside to recuperate.
McCool eventually gets back in the ring and Eve looks confused. McCool then blindsides her and grounds and pounds her. McCool pushes her into the ropes and hits a forearm to the back. Eve manages to hit a forearm before being taken down by a clothesline. McCool sits her up and delivers a dropkick to the back. McCool digs a couple of knees into her back before putting her fingers in her mouth and ripping! McCool locks on a really evil looking single leg crab! Eve is able to roll over and kick her off!
Eve pulls McCool into the ropes and then hits a schoolgirl for a two count! Eve hits some forearms and knees before whipping her into the ropes and hitting a back elbow! Eve then hits a clothesline and a dropkick for a two count! Eve hits a knee but his a whip into the corner reversed on her. McCool charges and Eve gets her boots in her face! McCool charges again and catches Eve’s boots, followed by taking her off the second rope violently! McCool then sets her up and locks on her Brazilian Heel Hook! Eve fights it for a bit but the torque on the heel is just too much and Eve submits!
Winner by Submission: Michelle McCool
Match Rating: * ?
McCool refuses to release the hold until Maria runs down, causing McCool to bolt from the ring! McCool mouths off a bit while Maria asks if she’s scared! Eve did a really great job in her debut match. Good job!
Matt Hardy is now standing by. JR asks him (from the announcer’s table) his thoughts on the breaking news that his brother Jeff Hardy will be returning next Friday night. Hardy says in case he didn?t hear what he told everyone last week, he doesn?t have a brother anymore! Hardy warns that before everyone gets so excited about the grand return of our hero Jeff to remember that a lot can happen in seven days and it would be extremely unfortunate should he suffer another accident! However if Jeff does show up next week, and he means this from the bottom of his heart (liar), he?ll be ready for him, waiting with open arms!
Still to come tonight is Undertaker and Triple H vs. Edge and Big Show!
:::Commercial Break:::
It’s time for a WrestleMania moment! WrestleMania X returned to where it all began at Madison Square Garden. That night we saw Bret Hart take on his brother Owen Hart in a losing effort! What a hell of a storyline that was! That’s old school, baby. I can still remember that well. Even that white stuff on Owen’s face! They mention that Shawn Michaels stole the show in the first televised ladder match, a precursor for Money in the Bank!
Umaga makes his way to the ring for a match. Yes! We see a replay of Umaga’s maiming of Jimmy Wang Yang last week!
Umaga vs. Kung Fu Naki
Mike Chioda calls for the bell and this is officially underway. Umaga intimidates Fu Naki into the corner. Fu Naki tries to charge him but Umaga just grabs him by the throat and tosses him into the corner. Fu Naki gets a boot in Umaga’s face and charges but Umaga gets in a side kick! Umaga grabs Fu Naki and seats him in the corner. He punches him a few times and chokes him before backing up and hitting the Samoan Wrecking Ball!! That was sick!! Umaga then looks at his thumb, picks Fu Naki up, and hits the Samoan Spike, pinning him for the win!!
Winner by Pinfall: Umaga
Match Rating: ? *
Backstage Triple H is taping up his wrists. He?ll team with the Undertaker tonight to take on WWE Champion Edge and Big Show. Those four men are all in the Elimination Chamber, by the way!
:::Commercial Break:::
We get a Raw Rebound featuring the build-up of the Shane McMahon vs. Randy Orton Street Fight at No Way Out. This episode was just a little better than last week’s Raw. Undertaker will take on Randy Orton live on Raw, Monday night. Ric Flair will also be there live.
Tazz thanks Saliva for the use of their song ?Hunt You Down.? Saliva and WWE must have a really good relationship. This must be the sixth song they?ve used for a PPV. I?m really just guessing though. Tazz and JR then rundown the card for No Way Out which looks pretty darn good.
Edge’s music now hits and it seems like it’s time for our Main Event! Big Show joins him and we go to commercial.
:::Commercial Break:::
Edge & Big Show vs. Triple H & Undertaker
Scott Armstrong calls for the bell and Triple H will start the match against the Big Show. Triple H immediately tags in Undertaker, who says, ?I want him.? Their back story, aside from their history over the fall, is Big Show eliminating Undertaker from the Royal Rumble after Undertaker had already eliminated Undertaker. Undertaker immediately ducks a punch from Big Show and lays in some right hands! Big Show tries to get a few shots in but Undertaker keeps coming with the punches! Undertaker punches Big Show into the corner and hits a back elbow. Undertaker hits a body shot and an uppercut, causing the Big Show to stagger out. Undertaker powers him into the corner and hits a body shot. Undertaker has an Irish whip into the opposite corner reversed on him and he goes in hard. Big Show charges but eats a boot from the Undertaker. Taker then goes into the ropes but Big Show counters with a HUGE clothesline! Big Show tags in the WWE Champion Edge.
Undertaker and Edge go face to face. Edge punches him which has no effect. Undertaker backs him into the corner and Edge goes to duck a punch but Undertaker grabs him by the throat and hits a back sweep. Undertaker puts him in the corner and hits some huge right hands! Undertaker then head-butts him down! Undertaker bounces Edge’s head off the top turnbuckle and tags in Triple H!
Triple H hits a kick to the midsection in the corner and bounces Edge’s head off the other corner before punching him down to the mat! Triple H puts Edge back in the corner and hits another big right hand. Triple H whips Edge into the opposite corner and charges but Edge gets a boot in his face! Edge now gets in position for the Spear and goes for it but Triple H jumps up a bit and gets him in position for the Pedigree but Edge rolls out of the ring!! Big Show sarcastically tells him that was close as we go to commercial.
:::Commercial Break:::
We come back from the break to see Triple H chasing Edge around the ring! Edge gets back in the ring, followed by Triple H, and gets taken down by a high knee, a la Harley Race! Triple H covers for a two count! Triple H now hits a beautiful hanging vertical suplex a la the great ?British Bulldog? Davey Boy Smith! Triple H goes into the ropes and hits a jumping knee drop a la Ric Flair! Edge kicks out of a pin at two! Triple H picks Edge up and punches him. He sends him into the ropes and lowers his head only to get kicked in the face! Edge goes into the ropes, ducks a clothesline, goes back into the ropes where Big Show makes a blind tag, and gets hit by a Double A Spinebuster! Triple H then turns around and gets clotheslined down by Big Show!!
Big Show picks Triple H up and head-butts him down. Big Show gets Triple H in the corner and hits a body shot! Triple H staggers to Big Show’s corner and hits some more body shots! Edge now cowardly gets on the apron and pretends he wants the tag. Triple H tries to hit some punches but Big Show just head-butts him down before dropping two elbows for a two count! Big Show then tags Edge in!
Edge comes in and hits some punches in the corner. Edge has a whip to the opposite corner reversed on him and Triple H goes for a body slam but Edge slides down and hits the Edge-O-Matic for a two and a half count! Edge now locks on a grounded front face lock. Undertaker is on the apron looking like he wants to be tagged in! Triple H slowly gets up to his feet and lifts Edge up going for Undertaker. Triple H lifts Edge up again and Edge slides over with a sunset flip for a one count! Edge then hits a quick big boot and tags in Big Show!
Edge holds Triple H while Big Show goes into the ropes and hits a splash for a two count!! I haven?t seen Big Show do that in a while!! Big Show talks some trash and Triple H comes back with some right hands! Triple H goes into the ropes and Big Show hits a sidewalk slam for a CLOSE two and a half count!! Big Show now tags Edge back in.
Edge bounces Triple H’s head off the top turnbuckle and sends him into the corner, spearing him there. Edge goes for another one and Triple H moves out of the way! Edge crashed and burned! Edge manages to tag in Big Show who quickly gets over to Triple H BEFORE he makes the tag to Undertaker! Big Show head-butts Triple H twice before positioning him near the corner. He steps on Triple H before going for a Vader Bomb and missing!! Triple H gets up in the corner and Big Show charges him there but eats a boot! Triple H then hits a second rope tornado DDT!! Both men are down!! Undertaker is intensely waiting for a tag and gets it from Triple H!! Edge is tagged in as well!!
Undertaker clotheslines Edge down and punches Big Show through the second and third ropes! Undertaker hits some intense right hands and sends Edge into the corner! He then hits Snake Eyes and a big boot!! Undertaker is moving so quickly!! Undertaker then gets Edge’s arm and hits Old School!! Undertaker turns around and Big Show snaps his neck off the top rope! Edge then hits the Spear on Undertaker but Undertaker suddenly locks on Hell’s Gate!! Big Show breaks this up with a leg drop! Both men are down for a bit until Undertaker makes the tag to Triple H!
Triple H comes in and has an Irish whip reversed on him but Edge lowers his head and pays for it with the jumping face buster! Triple H then goes for a Pedigree but Big Show interrupts with a Showstopper! Big Show then confronts Edge and Edge pushes him, causing Big Show to KNOCK HIM OUT!! Big Show then gets back on the apron while Triple H tags in Undertaker!!
Undertaker signals for a Tombstone Piledriver and hits it!! Undertaker pins the WWE Champion to win the match for his team!!
Winners by Pinfall: Triple H & Undertaker
Match Rating: ***
Big Show walks out as soon as the match ends. Undertaker and Triple H lock eyes as they will also be facing one another in the Elimination Chamber. Smackdown ends with Undertaker raising his arm on the ramp!
Quick Match Results
EC Qualifier: Vladimir Kozlov def. 14 Superstars in a Battle Royal
MVP def. Shelton Benjamin (non-title)
Miz & Morrison & The Brian Kendrick* def. Carlito* & Primo & R-Truth
Michelle McCool def. Eve via Submission
Umaga def. Kung Fu Naki
Triple H & Undertaker* def. Edge* & Big Show
Bump of the Night: Kung Fu Naki eating the Samoan Wrecking Ball!
Match of the Night: Triple H & Undertaker def. Edge and Big Show ***
Mike’s Thoughts
Tonight’s episode of Smackdown was excellent! Smackdown exemplifies what a truly old school wrestling show is. It’s not about phony storylines involving lawyers and psychiatrists. It’s about one guy not liking another guy and getting in his face about it. The drama is shown in the wrestling, not in long winded promos. Bottom line ? if you love wrestling then you should watch Smackdown because they have some wrestlers here.
Smackdown’s Elimination Chamber looks strong as hell with Edge, Undertaker, Triple H, Big Show, Jeff Hardy, and Vladimir Kozlov being involved. That’s going to be a great match and I?m expecting a lot. They haven?t had a lot of time to build it up being that there’s only a three week separation from the Royal Rumble but they?re doing a great job with it. The Main Event tonight was terrific and Undertaker was moving around like he was twenty years younger. If you don?t love that guy then I don?t know what’s wrong with you.
Things are going to get interesting with Jeff Hardy returning next week! I can?t wait to hear what he has to say or see what he does! I?m sure they?ll keep Matt and Jeff’s physicality down but I?m expecting to hear some good stuff. I thought it was a great idea to put Jeff Hardy into the Elimination Chamber (aside from the fact that he gets his rematch for the title) it gives a reason to prolong the Matt vs. Jeff showdown, which I?m certain they?ll save for WrestleMania 25! Maybe with the WWE Title on the line? I can dream! On the storyline end for tonight I thought they did an effective job with Matt tonight. They didn?t have any cheesy music or videos flashing this time around and his beat down on Hurricane Helms was great and emotional. I really liked it and I totally buy him as a heel.
I?m really excited to see MVP back in the race for the United States Championship but I have just one complaint. There needs to be a better way to set up a United States Championship match other than having the challenger beat the Champion clean in a non-title match only to be beat when it’s the real deal. I hope they do the opposite with MVP because I want to see him with some gold. He’s proved his weight in it these past weeks.
Over the past few weeks they?ve been dropping subtle hits about Christian, including Jeff Hardy saying, ?Crossed the Line,? and Edge breaking out the five second pose last week. I didn?t see any tonight. I?m sad.
Umaga has been looking really good even though he’s been in limited action. I?m still hoping for an Undertaker vs. Umaga feud at some point!
Congratulations to Eve Torres for her debut television match. She looked green but pulled it off well. Kudos to Michelle McCool who kept her focused and performing well. A very good Diva’s match.
The tag teams on Smackdown looked good tonight. Carlito and Primo are strong champions and I want to see them wrestling every week.
I?ve been asked a few times how I feel about Smackdown going live the Friday before WrestleMania. If you couldn?t figure it out I?m completely ECSTATIC!
All in all an excellent Smackdown tonight and next week looks to be strong as well with the return of Jeff Hardy! It’s also the go home show for No Way Out!
Final Smackdown Rating: ***
As always I?d love to hear from all fans of the recap and even those who aren?t fans. How can I improve it? Any ideas? Anyone think I should have power rankings? Let me know!
E-Mail ? MikeyT817@hotmail.com.
On a more personal note, this past week I lost a teacher, mentor, and friend to cancer. I dedicate this recap to Tina Lane who taught me so much about life and enjoying it. I know she enjoyed hers even though I wish she could?ve gotten a few more years out of it. I love her and I?ll miss her.
Thanks for reading.