Smackdown – June 2, 2005: We Need Something New, NOW
IMG Credit: WWE
Smackdown
Date: June 2, 2005
Location: Rexall Place, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Attendance: 5,000
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz
We’re in that weird period where the fallout from a pay per view is over and now we’re on the way to nothing because there isn’t another Smackdown pay per view for over a month. At the same time though, we’re less than a week away from the Draft so it’s time to get some new toys around here. Let’s get to it.
Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.
We look back at Kurt Angle winning a battle royal and granting himself a match against Sharmell tonight. Eddie Guerrero attacked Rey Mysterio before the match because Eddie is insane.
Opening sequence.
We open with Carlito’s Cabana (again) with Matt Morgan acting as security. Carlito isn’t happy about being in Canada because Edmonton is the least coolest (his words) city in North America. We look at Morgan putting Big Show through a table last week with an F5. Morgan stutters at the crowd before Carlito brings out his guest for the week: John Cena. With the Wayne Gretzky jersey on, Cena mocks both Carlito and Morgan, the latter of whom does not like being called a palm tree.
Cena mocks the stuttering a lot before saying that since this might be their last night together on Smackdown, he needs to get to the point: Carlito isn’t cool. He’s a cabana boy with bad hair and hangs out with Michael Cole wannabes. We hear a bunch of similarities between Cole and Morgan (Hair, bear, affinity for oiling themselves up and wearing spandex) until Carlito says he can’t wait for someone to come over from Raw and embarrass Cena. That sounds cool with Cena, who says anyone who wants some can come get some. As for coming and getting some, tonight it’s Carlito/Morgan vs. Cena/Big Show.
Theodore Long is on the phone (which looked like the same Motorola I had around this time) when Booker T. and Sharmell come in. Booker wants Sharmell out of the match because she’s no wrestler, but Long says it’s all in the rules. However, Long does have an idea: Booker can be added to the match to make it a handicap match. That’s cool with Booker, so Long tells him to go handle his business.
Tag Team Titles: MNM vs. Charlie Haas/Hardcore Holly
MNM is defending in a fifteen minute Iron Man match, because this needed a trilogy match with a gimmick. Haas trips Nitro to the mat to start so Nitro bails to the floor for a breather. Back in and a crossbody gets two on Nitro, who is chased into the corner for the tag off to Mercury. Holly pulls him in and hits a Russian legsweep for two, followed by the hanging kick to the ribs.
The Alabama Slam is loaded up but the referee is off yelling at Haas, allowing Nitro to hit a superkick for the pin and the first fall. Holly stays in and grabs an armbar on Nitro, which doesn’t exactly last long. Therefore Holly puts it right back on as the stalling continues and we take another break. Back again with less than six and a half minutes to go after MNM got a second fall during the break when Haas was posted and pinned.
Haas grabs a quick Oklahoma roll to get a fall back so the champs start slowing the pace down again. The fans want Holly with five minutes left as the announcers make basketball analogies about the clock. Holly finally comes in for a save and tries to drag Haas to the corner in a move that isn’t done enough. A running hip shot knocks Haas to the floor so Holly throws him back inside.
Back in and Haas finally gets in a clothesline for a breather and an enziguri allows the hot tag with less than two minutes to go. Holly cleans house and gets two off a full nelson slam, followed by the dropkick for two. There’s a minute left and the Snapshot is broken up so Holly can hit the Alabama Slam. Melina dives in and covers Nitro though, presumably making her the Tag Team Champions as time expires.
Rating: C. Uh yeah fine, now can we PLEASE find some new challengers? The matches have been fine enough but Holly and Haas have lost three times now and weren’t interesting challengers in the first place. The fans are getting into Holly and they’re nothing close to a disaster or even bad, but we need something fresh.
Long video on Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio, going from their teaming together to their split, with Chavo Guerrero playing a great devil on Eddie’s shoulder.
Here’s Kurt Angle for his match with Booker and Sharmell but first, he needs to talk about Tazz not doing commentary during last week’s Kurt Angle Invitational. That comes off as disrespectful, so Angle has a clip of his own. That would be from his one night in ECW, where Tazz said Angle was a great amateur but he’s a great professional.
Back in the arena, Angle knows that it was Paul Heyman making Tazz say it. Tazz isn’t a wrestler like the people in ECW, though they weren’t wrestlers either. The WWE made him a star, so Angle wants Tazz to come with him to One Night Stand and kill ECW once and for all. Tazz takes his sunglasses off but doesn’t say anything.
Booker T./Sharmell vs. Kurt Angle
Thankfully Booker acts sane here and makes Sharmell stay down on the floor but the referee says everyone has to be in the ring at the same time. Angle knocks Booker outside so Sharmell runs (because she’s smart), allowing Booker to get back up and Catch Angle on the floor. A clothesline puts Booker on the floor again though and it’s time for more stalking. Like any distressed woman in wrestling, Sharmell trips over the steps and Angle throws her inside for a powerbomb, complete with hip swivel.
There’s a bit too much swiveling though and Booker hammers away. The Book End looks to set up the Houston Hangover but Angle crotches him. There’s a superplex but Angle can’t get up, so Sharmell covers him for two. We take a break (In this match???) and come back with Angle holding a Fujiwara armbar as Booker seems almost out. Booker fights back with chops but gets caught in the rolling German suplexes.
Angle takes Sharmell down into something close to a choke but seems to be whispering in her ear instead. Booker makes the save and gets caught in the Angle Slam for two. That’s enough for Angle to back Sharmell into the corner and take down the straps so she bites and slaps away. The low blow is countered into the ankle lock but Booker kicks him in the face.
Booker hits the spinning kick but misses the ax kick, allowing Angle to drive Booker into Sharmell and the referee at the same time. A superkick puts Angle on the floor but he’s back in with some chair shots to Booker and now Sharmell is all alone. Angle stacks her up in a rollup (you can imagine the positioning) for the pin.
Rating: F. The wrestling wasn’t even very good because Booker was going wild out there (makes perfect sense) but is there ANY reason why Booker and Sharmell tried to have the match? Long didn’t threaten them if they didn’t go through with it, so why not have Sharmell run away and just take the countout or DQ while Booker stays in the ring and beats Angle up? This made no sense and I spent the whole match wondering why they weren’t just doing the obvious thing. Oh and given how completely absurd this whole thing is, it’s about as much of a failure as you can get.
Post match Angle climbs on top of her so Booker makes the save to send a smiling Angle off.
Video of John Cena’s media tour for his album.
Heidenreich vs. Devon Nicholson
Nicholson is a tiny bit famous as Hannibal. Heidenreich goes to find a friend before the match and she looks just like Lindsay Lohan in The Parent Trap. He reads her a poem about having an unsure future in the Draft before pummeling Nicholson like the jobber that he is. The Boss Man Slam gives Heidenreich the pin as I try to get Do You Believe In Magic out of my head.
The women are backstage, as they tend to be, when Mark Jindrak comes up. He hopes there are some new women around here in the Draft. Jindrak: “Some ones that put out.” He is shouted off in a hurry.
Nunzio vs. John Bradshaw Layfield
Hold on though as JBL needs to rant about how bad ECW was. He blames all of the violence in wrestling on ECW and is appalled at the idea of Paul Heyman being a genius. Heyman claims to have brought in a bunch of legends but in case you haven’t heard, he is a liar. JBL rants about the ECW wrestlers we got, including Sandman and Lance Storm (those two are not often listed together), before saying ECW will not invade New York. He will be one of the crusaders at One Night Stand and lead the forces against ECW.
Speaking of ECW, let’s make this an ECW Rules match. JBL boots him to the floor so Nunzio slips underneath the ring and comes out the other side with a kendo stick. Some kendo stick shots connect but the Cabinet comes in so the Clothesline From JBL can connect. The big kendo stick shot finishes Nunzio quick in a match that was secondary to the promo (which is fine here).
Booker and Sharmell come in to rant at Long, demanding a match with Angle. If Long won’t make it, Booker will do it in the streets. Long can’t guarantee anything, but if they’re both here after the Draft, it’s on.
Raw Rebound.
Big Show/John Cena vs. Carlito/Matt Morgan
Show’s shoulder and ribs are heavily taped up but Cena lets him start with….well hang on as Morgan and Carlito aren’t sure who is starting. Carlito drops to the floor so Cena throws him in and the chops are on. Morgan gets shoved off the apron and Carlito is tossed onto him for the big crash.
Back from a break with Show knocking Morgan into the corner and hitting some loud chops before bringing Cena in. A slam puts Morgan down but he’s fine enough to bring Cena into the corner so the villains can take over for the first time. Morgan misses an elbow though and it’s back to Show for the house cleaning. There’s a side slam to Morgan but it messes up the ribs all over again. Ever the well trained rookie, Morgan is smart enough to kick at the ribs and drives a knee into them for a bonus.
Carlito even makes himself useful with a left hand to the ribs. He even comes in to stay on the ribs but Show sends him into Morgan, which counts as a tag. The required bearhug goes on until Show fights out and chops away at everyone. Morgan breaks up the chokeslam but it’s off to Cena to pick up the pace. Show Cactus Clotheslines Morgan to the floor and Cena hits the Shuffle into the (sitout) FU for the pin on Carlito.
Rating: C-. Cena has rocketed from the top of the card into the superstar status so fast that it’s almost hard to believe. He was a big deal when he won the title but now he feels like the real star that WWE has wanted him to be. That presents a problem though as there is no one who can fight against him, at least not on Smackdown at the moment. Carlito isn’t someone who is believable against this Cena and that was very obvious the whole time here. To be fair though, that wasn’t exactly what they were going for and that helped a lot.
Cena checks on the injured Show to end the show.
Overall Rating: D+. So yeah, other than Rey vs. Eddie, it is more than time for some fresh blood around here and that is painfully obvious. Angle vs. Booker is just disturbing and Cena needs a challenger, though at least the ECW stuff is helping things along a bit. The show wasn’t the worst, but it’s running out of gas and that is the kind of thing that can create some rough watches. Not a bad show, but that Angle vs. Booker stuff needs to be forgotten in a hurry.
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