Smackdown
Date: January 4, 2008
Location: Richmond Coliseum, Richmond, Virginia
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jonathan Coachman

It’s the start of a new year and that means we are on the way to the Royal Rumble. This week will take a big step towards that show as we get to find out the new #1 contender to Edge’s Smackdown World Title. It’s Beat The Clock time, and that can make for a fun show. Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of Edge being rather grateful to Vickie Guerrero for winning the World Title. Last week she even saved the title, after Batista won a handicap match but didn’t beat Edge, meaning the title didn’t change hands. I’m still not sure I get why the match was restarted instead of Batista winning the match but not the title, but the post match beatdown made more sense.

Opening sequence.

Here is Vickie Guerrero, as pushed by Teddy Long, to welcome us to the new year on Smackdown. She gets right to the point: if Undertaker or Batista touch Edge, they have no chance to retain the title. In the spirit of competition, tonight is a Beat The Clock Challenge (which was announced last week) for a shot at Edge at the Royal Rumble. Participants include Finlay, Rey Mysterio, Batista and Undertaker. With that out of the way, Vickie brings out Jonathan Coachman to replace the departed JBL on commentary.

Beat The Clock Challenge: Finlay vs. MVP

Non-title and Hornswoggle is here with Finlay. Feeling out process to start and they go to the mat for some early grappling. With that going nowhere, they get back up with MVP nailing a kick to the face. Finlay is fine enough to send him outside to start the brawling, only to be sent into the barricade as we take a break.

Back with Finlay working on the leg, which doesn’t seem to be the brightest move. MVP punches his way out and gets Finlay on his back to drop some heavy right hands. The cravate keeps Finlay in trouble until he powers up and into the corner. That doesn’t go well either as MVP knocks him down and hammers away again, only to get pulled into an armbar (as the bad thinking continues).

Back up and Finlay misses a charge into the post, setting up MVP’s running boot to the face for another near fall. With nothing else working, Hornswoggle throws in a shillelagh, which MVP picks up. The referee will have none of that, allowing Finlay to use another one to knock MVP cold for the pin at 9:46.

Rating: C-. I expected a lot more logical style out of Finlay here, as it would make sense for him to go after as many pins as he could. As a match it worked well enough, but this was about one thing and they completely missed the point the whole way. Finlay winning is interesting, though I can’t imagine this going anywhere as far as the US Title is concerned.

Post match Vince McMahon comes out to hug Hornswoggle and hand him his hat, though Finlay doesn’t seem convinced.

Kenny Dykstra/Victoria vs. Michelle McCool/Chuck Palumbo

How are these two still a thing??? The guys start things off with Palumbo taking him down but getting hammered in the corner for his efforts. The women come in quickly and it’s a basement dropkick to Victoria. Back up and Victoria sends her shoulder first into the post though and the villains take over.

A legdrop on the arm sets up an armbar but McCool is out without much trouble. It’s already back to Palumbo, who powerslams Dykstra down but misses a big boot in the corner. Palumbo is fine enough to catch him on top with a superplex for a breather, meaning Michelle can come in to clothesline Victoria. Dykstra offers a distraction though, allowing Victoria to hit the Widow’s Peak for the pin.

Rating: D+. They are taking their sweet time with wrapping up this Palumbo/McCool stuff and I’m really not sure why they’re taking so long. It wasn’t exactly an interesting story in the first place as it’s just a biker with the blonde and the fact that it is designed to go somewhere with Palumbo makes it even worse. Bad match, as Dykstra and Victoria aren’t exactly much better.

Post match Palumbo blames McCool for the lost and leaves without her.

Vickie Guerrero doesn’t like the coffee that Teddy Long brought her. Teddy leaves and an angry Chavo Guerrero comes in. Chavo isn’t happy with what Vickie is doing to the Guerrero name with her relationship with Edge. Her solution: put him in Beat The Clock, but he still wants something he can’t have.

Beat The Clock Challenge: Chavo Guerrero vs. Funaki

The time is set at 9:46 and Chavo starts fast by stomping away in the corner. A slam gives Chavo two but Funaki is back with a running headscissors for two. Funaki small packages him for two but gets belly to back suplexed for the same. They trade some rollups for two each and Funaki gets the same off an enziguri. A middle rope crossbody gets two more but Chavo is back with a Gory Bomb for the pin, setting the new time at 6:02.

Rating: C. Now that’s more like it, as it felt like they were trying to win the match instead of just having a regular match which ended whenever. Chavo isn’t going to get the title shot, but it is nice to have him show some anger towards Vickie, just for the sake of setting up something for the future. Funaki is another good hand and putting him in there meant the match was going to be ok at worst. The clock was what mattered here though and they cut it down to something more interesting by shaving off three and a half minutes.

Beat The Clock Challenge: Batista vs. Curt Hawkins

Hold on though, as Vickie Guerrero pops up to have Teddy Long change things a bit.

Beat The Clock Challenge: Batista vs. Curt Hawkins/Zack Ryder

The clock is set at 6:02 and Batista goes after both of them to start. Some double teaming in the corner doesn’t do much to Batista, who clotheslines Hawkins and catapults Ryder back into the corner. The Batista Bomb is broken up with a high/low though and the double stomping is on. Batista gets taken outside where he punches his way out of trouble but gets taken down again back inside.

A legdrop sets up a Hennig necksnap as they do have a target. Another legdrop into a splash gives Ryder two so they load up a double DDT which is countered into….something that is so unclear that they try it again. This time Batista backdrops both of them down and starts the comeback, including a powerslam to Ryder and a spinebuster to Hawkins. The Batista Bomb is loaded up but time expires at 6:02.

Rating: C. This was angle advancement rather than a match as Hawkins and Ryder were trying to stretch the match out and hurt Batista where they could, but they were never trying to get a win. It wouldn’t have made sense for them to do so either, so they had the logic right here. Edge clears a major hurdle and Vickie did the smart thing, so this went about as well as it could have.

Raw Rebound.

MVP isn’t happy with his loss and is made even madder by the Raw Rebound being about Ric Flair’s career continuing. He’ll beat Flair to end his career and make himself feel better.

Rey Mysterio talks about how difficult a Beat The Clock Challenge can be as you don’t know what you’re doing and have to go as fast as you can. Lucky for him, that’s his style. True actually.

Jimmy Wang Yang/Shannon Moore vs. Deuce N Domino

Cherry is here with Deuce N Domino and Yang/Moore have been having a snappy little feud with Miz and John Morrison on ECW. Deuce elbows Yang in the face to start but his hiptoss doesn’t work so well. Instead Yang hits a jumping kick to the back of the head but Domino gets in a cheap shot to take over. The chinlock doesn’t last long and it’s off to Moore to clean house. A springboard spinning crossbody gets two (it might have helped that Domino was falling down before the contact), followed by a rollup to give Moore the fast pin.

Rating: C. They didn’t have much time here (a theme tonight) but Moore and Yang continue their roll. I don’t think they have much of a chance at winning the titles, but imagine this: taking two people with nothing to do, putting them together and seeing what happens. I’m still not sure why that isn’t done more often, as it seemed to work just fine with these guys.

Beat The Clock Challenge: Undertaker vs. Matt Striker

The clock is set at 6:02….but hang on as Striker is in a referee shirt. It seems we have a replacement.

Beat The Clock Challenge: Undertaker vs. Mark Henry

The clock is set at 6:02 and Matt Striker is the guest referee. Undertaker’s running shoulder doesn’t work to start so he hammers away in the corner instead. With that not working either, Henry runs him over with a shoulder but gets knocked outside to get to the required brawling.

Henry gets whipped hard into the steps and there’s the apron legdrop to keep Henry in trouble. Back in and Undertaker switches gears by wrapping the arm around the top rope but Old School is broken up. The running DDT plants Henry for two but he’s right back with the bearhug. That’s broken up and Undertaker slugs away, setting up the chokeslam for….two as Striker won’t count the three and then runs off as time expires.

Rating: C. The time is hurting some of these matches, but in this case it might have been better to have them get out of there so fast. Henry can only do so much with the extra time so going home quickly isn’t a bad idea. Much like Batista, this was story advancement to clear one of Edge’s big problems, but it also leaves a big spot open to add some….oh come on like they haven’t made it obvious yet.

Post match Undertaker slams and chokeslams Henry.

In the back, Striker mocks Undertaker for failing to beat the clock and doesn’t like being threatened. Big Daddy V pops in to add some menacing glares.

Royal Rumble rundown.

Beat The Clock Challenge: Rey Mysterio vs. Edge

Non-title, the Edgeheads are here with Edge and the clock is still set at 6:02 (with Cole getting in a good line by saying 619 is no good for Rey tonight). Edge gets smart by going straight to the ropes to start and then bails to the floor for a quick neck rub. Back in and Rey snaps off a hurricanrana, followed by a dropkick into the seated senton for two. Edge powers up and sends him to the floor but here is Batista to take out the Edgeheads.

That’s enough for Rey to grab a cradle for two but Edge sends him face first into the buckle. Cue Undertaker to make the lights go out and when they come back, Edge is in 619 position. Rey hits said 619 and adds the springboard splash for the pin at 4:32 (despite Cole saying REY’S GONNA DO IT, which is usually a dead giveaway in the opposite direction).

Rating: C. You would think that Edge vs. Mysterio would be good no matter what but it turns out that a match getting less than five minutes and having four other people get involved was a bit much. This was certainly a different way to go for them but they did what they need to do. Rey has beaten Edge with help and now he gets the chance to do it again on the big stage.

Overall Rating: C+. The wrestling might not have been great but what mattered here was having the one concept going throughout the show. That made for a very fast paced show, even if there wasn’t much of value until the very end. I can go for a show like this as it makes them focus, but it’s a prime example of a show that doesn’t need to be watched in full if a recap is available.

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Smackdown
Date: December 14, 2007
Location: TD Banknorth Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 6,000
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield

It’s the go home show for Armageddon and that means the focus is going to be almost entirely on Batista vs. Edge vs. Undertaker. To be fair, what else do you really need to look at when you have a match that big? There are some other stories here though, so expect more from MVP vs. Rey Mysterio. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Here is Edge (in a sweet Rated R hockey jersey (or something close to one)) to get things going and he brings out the returning Vickie Guerrero, with a stoic Teddy Long pushing the wheelchair. After a clip of Undertaker Tombstoning her, a shaken Vickie talks about how traumatic everything is, because she might need PSYCHIATRIC HELP. There is a triple threat match for the World Title on Sunday and all three participants will be in action tonight. Edge isn’t sure, but Vickie’s decision is final.

Edge vs. Funaki

Edge powers him into the corner to start but gets taken down with a drop toehold. A big boot drops Funaki again though and Edge isn’t looking worried. Funaki gets a boot up in the corner but the tornado DDT is blocked. The Edgecution into the spear gives Edge the easy win.

Post match Vickie gets to announce the other matches for tonight: Batista vs. Kane in a Last Man Standing match and Undertaker vs. Mark Henry/Big Daddy V in a handicap match. Edge is rather pleased and Teddy has to wheel Vickie to the back.

Layla/Victoria vs. Michelle McCool/Kelly Kelly

Kenny Dykstra is here with the villains. Before the match, we see Chuck Palumbo blaming Michelle for his loss to Jamie Noble. Victoria goes after Michelle’s arm to start but Michelle climbs the corner to armdrag her way to freedom. It’s off to Kelly, who gets caught in the wrong corner for some Layla boot choking. Kelly slips out of a fireman’s carry and everything breaks down. Dykstra grabs Michelle’s leg so here is Palumbo to chase him off. The distraction lets Victoria grab a rollup for the pin, leaving Michelle annoyed.

Post break Palumbo yells a lot with McCool not being able to calm him down. A fist goes through a wall, with Palumbo insisting that he’s ok.

Rey Mysterio vs. Kenny Dykstra

MVP is on commentary. Dykstra works on the arm to start but Rey runs the corner for a hurricanrana. That’s broken up and Dykstra hits a slingshot fist drop. It’s back to the arm work before Dykstra loads up a Razor’s Edge. That’s fine with Rey, who reversed into a hurricanrana. The 619 sets up Dropping The Dime to give Rey the fast pin.

Post match MVP gets in the ring but Rey cuts him off, leaving MVP to hand Rey the title, saying Rey might have what it takes to be a champion. Then Dykstra offers a distraction so MVP can get in a belt shot to the head.

Kane vs. Batista

Non-title and Last Man Standing. They slug it out to start and fight to the floor early on with Batista running him over. That doesn’t see to mean much to Kane, who is right back up with a clothesline inside. The top rope clothesline connects but Batista is back up as well. Kane heads up again so this time Batista knocks him out of the air before going up as well. This time it’s Kane catching him on top with a superplex and they both barely beat the count.

We take a break and come back with the fight heading outside again with Batista driving him back first into the post. A big boot knocks Batista over the barricade but he comes right back, only to get punched in the face over and over. Batista shrugs that off and hits a spear, which fires Kane up enough for a whip into the steps. That’s still not enough to keep Batista down so Kane loads up a chokeslam onto the steps. Batista breaks that up and hits a spinebuster onto (not through) the announcers’ table. Cue Edge to spear Batista down….but Batista gets up to beat the count and win anyway.

Rating: B-. This was a weird one as they didn’t have any reason to be mad at each other, so instead they just had a power match with some breaks in the middle. You would think that these two could have a passable enough pay per view title match, probably on a show with a bigger main event. For now though, we had a pretty good power match and it worked here, which isn’t bad on about 40 minutes of build.

Post match Edge hits Batista in the back with a chair for a bonus.

Post break, Edge and Vickie are wanting to celebrate but they’ll save that for later. For now though, asprin and coffee, with Teddy being sent to get it.

Raw Rebound.

Festus vs. Miz

Jesse and John Morrison are here, though neither is explaining why Festus doesn’t snap when the bell rings on the way to the ring. The regular bell rings and Festus charges, only to have Miz take the knee out. Miz leverages him to the floor and hits a dropkick through the ropes. Back in and Festus pulls him out of the air, setting up a fireman’s carry into a flapjack for the pin. Short and to the point, which has been the theme of most of the night.

Post match here is Teddy Long for an announcement. Long pulls out a prepared statement, which says that Hornswoggle will meet Great Khali right now.

Great Khali vs. Hornswoggle

Hold on though as here is Finlay with the shillelagh to go after Khali. The beatdown works, but Runjin Singh grabs Hornswoggle, which is enough of a distraction for Khali to lay Finlay out fast.

Michelle McCool, now with a bit of a black eye and hanging out with Kelly Kelly, finds a bunch of flowers and balloons from Jamie Noble. Jamie doesn’t like the eye and thinks it was from Chuck Palumbo, but Michelle insists she got it in a match in Europe. The date is still on though, as Jamie even ironed his underwear. Kelly offers to make it a double date with her and Balls Mahoney. Jamie is happy and even has a dress for Michelle, though insists that she does look good in anything.

Armageddon rundown.

Undertaker vs. Big Daddy V/Mark Henry

Matt Striker is here with the villains. Undertaker gets pounded down into the corner and it’s a running splash from Henry to make it worse. That’s broken up with a pair of big boots but V runs Undertaker over again. Something like a Samoan drop gives V two but Undertaker kicks away at both of them from the mat. The double chokeslam isn’t the best idea though and Undertaker gets knocked down again. Henry splashes Undertaker in the corner and Henry splashes both of them in what might not have been the best move. V tries another splash but only hits buckle, allowing Undertaker to hit a quick chokeslam on Henry for the pin.

Rating: D+. What were you expecting here? There is only so much you can get out of Undertaker vs. either of them and it’s only going to be made worse by having both of them in there at once. The missed charge and a quick finished was about the only way out of this, but it would have been better off as a singles match, just to get rid of some of the clunkiness.

Post match the big beatdown is on, including splashes, elbows and a double torture rack (that’s a finisher for a monster team somewhere). Edge comes in to look on approvingly and mock Undertaker’s pose to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This was another show where it was clear that almost all of the focus was on one match at the pay per view. That does make sense, but with that match entirely set up, it would have been nice to let something else get some attention. The good thing here is that they did have a fresh way to push further towards the triple threat and Kane vs. Batista was pretty good. I’m not sure what they have left after this though, as it is going to need to be something different as we head into the new year.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Smackdown
Date: December 7, 2007
Location: Civic Center, Florence, South, Carolina
Attendance: 3,000
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield

We’re almost up to Armageddon and the big story continues to be Edge joining forces with Vickie Guerrero, making them the top villains around here. Edge is set to face Batista and Undertaker in a triple threat at the pay per view and that should make for a heck of a show. The rest of the card could use some build as well though so let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of the Vickie/Edge/Batista/Undertaker situation.

Opening sequence.

Here is Teddy Long, now the Assistant General Manager, to get things going with a State of Smackdown address. Teddy is happy to be back while Vickie Guerrero is out of action, which is why he made last week’s announcement. At Armageddon, it will be Edge and Undertaker challenging Batista for the World Title. Speaking of titles at the pay per view, MVP will be defending the United States Title against Rey Mysterio.

Cue Edge to interrupt and say that even a heart attack can’t stop Long. Edge reminds Long that he is the ASSISTANT General Manager, but Long says he is still the boss. After Edge talks to the camera to express his love to Vickie, Edge rants about how Long has screwed him out of the title over and over. Long logically explains all of his actions and gives Edge Kane tonight to shut him up.

Miz/John Morrison vs. Jesse/Festus

Non-title. The bell rings and Festus chases Morrison to the floor, leaving Jesse to hiptoss Miz. A high crossbody gives Jesse two but a neck snap across the top cuts him off. That’s broken up and the hot tag brings in Festus to clean house with reckless abandon. A faceplant and big boot drop Morrison so it’s back to Jesse. That’s fine with Morrison, who crotches Jesse on top and steals the fast win. Miz and Morrison keep racking up wins, but they’re rapidly running out of teams to beat.

Elijah Burke doesn’t like the idea of being the last person on Batista’s mind and is going to beat him tonight.

We recap Edge vs. Kane, which started back in July when Kane attacked him, leading to the big injury.

Batista vs. Elijah Burke

Non-title. Burke backs into the corner to start and then gets backed into the corner for a bonus. A running clothesline rocks Burke but he dropkicks the knee out to get a breather. Burke hits a chop block into a basement dropkick for two, with Batista getting annoyed. Batista spears him out of the air and hits the Batista Bomb for the pin.

Jamie Noble hits on Michelle McCool with offers of….Pepto Bismol? Noble rants about being a real man, unlike Chuck Palumbo and puts out an offer: if Noble beats Palumbo again, he gets a date with McCool. Deal.

Jamie Noble vs. Chuck Palumbo

If Noble wins, he gets a date with Michelle McCool. Palumbo takes him into the corner to start and hammers away but Noble kicks the knee out. An overhead belly to belly rocks Noble, but he gets a knee up in the corner. McCool gets up on the apron and takes off her jacket for a distraction. Palumbo is almost sent into McCool though and a rollup gives Noble the pin (and the date).

Cole has an idea for the date: curling up on the couch and…..watching the Triumph and Tragedy of World Class DVD! Works for me, but I might be the minority.

It’s time for the VIP Lounge with MVP talking about how he has world class everything, so of course he wants to talk about World Class Championship Wrestling. We see what looks like a trailer for the DVD and here it this week’s guest: Michael PS Hayes! Complete with Bad Street! Hayes isn’t interested in sitting down but is willing to talk about all of the deaths from the promotions. Hayes: “Six Von Erich brothers. Five are dead.” The point of the DVD is to say no to drugs and that is a great message (fair).

Hayes wants people to learn that but MVP says that Hayes is a survivor. MVP: “You look good for your age.” Hayes doesn’t like that and asks if MVP can tell time. Of course he can, so Hayes asks how it feels for your time to be running out soon. MVP asks about Hayes’ receding hairline and his expanding waistline but backs off from a fight. Hayes wants to try to stick with the DVD but MVP switches to the Hardys. Like that time when MVP crippled Matt Hardy.

Hayes says the Hardys are their own men and when Matt is back, MVP will have a serious problem. That sends Hayes into a rant about Rey Mysterio taking MVP out last week. MVP calls out Hayes for being the third wheel of the Freebirds and says they carried him. Hayes goes off about how MVP has no respect for the people who got here so he’s ready to beat MVP up. The beatdown is on with MVP laying him out with the Playmaker but Rey Mysterio makes the (very late) save. At least this was a different way to build up the title match.

Remember that Edge vs. Kane video? Here it is again.

Batista is ready for Edge and Undertaker, though he knows how hard of a fight it is going to be.

Raw Rebound.

Hornswoggle is playing in Deuce N Domino’s car and they don’t like it. The chase is on but Finlay comes in, allowing Hornswoggle to break the antenna. A match is implied.

Finlay vs. Deuce

Hornswoggle, Domino and Cherry are here too. Deuce actually hammers him down in the corner to start but Finlay grinds away on the mat to take over. A headlock takeover puts Deuce down again, with Cole referring to Finlay as Great Khali. Domino chases Hornswoggle around the ring, allowing Deuce to jump the distracted Finlay and take over. The neck crank goes on but Finlay slugs away….as Finlay sprays Cherry with a fire extinguisher. The distraction lets Finlay get in a Shillelagh shot for the pin.

Rating: C-. The big thing here is that Finlay needed to cheat to beat Deuce. When in the world would that make sense? Anyway, Finlay and Hornswoggle are slowly becoming a decent team together and that is more than I would have bet on what seems to be a glorified comedy act. The match was nothing to see, but Finlay is still good most of the time.

Post match here is Great Khali but the distraction lets Domino get in a cheap shot. Khali vice grips Finlay down.

Armageddon rundown.

Kane vs. Edge

Batista is on commentary. Before the match, Edge declares his love for Vickie Guerrero. Kane chokes him down to start as Batista doesn’t want to talk about the past. Edge’s arm is wrapped around the post and the rope before a right hand puts him down again. The double arm crank goes on but Edge fights up and hits an Edge-O-Matic. A spear knocks Kane off the apron and we take a break.

Back with Edge driving knees into the ribs but Kane fights up and hits the running clothesline in the corner. There’s the side slam but Edge breaks up the top rope clothesline. The regular spear is cut off with a big boot and now the top rope clothesline drops Edge again. Kane loads up the chokeslam but Edge drops him throat first over the top rope. That’s enough for Edge to bring in a chair (but doesn’t use it), which draws the DQ.

Rating: C+. This was just getting going when they went with the ending to keep both of them strong. That’s the better result, as both of them have a match at the pay per view. At least they got in some good stuff before they wrapped things up, which is all you can ask for in a situation like this one.

Post match Kane beats Edge down and loads up the steps but Edge sends him face first into them. The Conchairto is loaded up but Batista comes in for the save….and there’s the gong. Undertaker pops up to chokeslam Edge, earning himself a spear from Batista to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. There wasn’t much in the way of wrestling on this show, though the pay per view feuds got enough of a quick build to make the show sounds more interesting. While Armageddon isn’t entirely built around the triple threat, it is by far and away the biggest part of the show. Giving it a lot of attention here makes sense, but it would be nice for something else to get some significant time of its own.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Smackdown
Date: November 30, 2007
Location: Civic Center, Roanoke, Virginia
Attendance: 3,500
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield

It’s time for one of the big matches as Batista is defending the Smackdown World Title against Edge. This could be quite the issue as Edge is now apparently with Vickie Guerrero but Undertaker isn’t happy about anything. Odds are we’ll be seeing him at some point tonight so let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of the Edge/Vickie Guerrero reveal and the World Title match setup.

Opening sequence.

Here is Edge for a chat. Four months ago, tragedy struck when he suffered an injury and had to vacate the World Heavyweight Title. He was gone, but no one had any sympathy for him. There was no call, no message, not even a lousy text! It was so bad that he was even considering retirement, because he didn’t need to come back to a company that doesn’t care about him.

Then about two months ago he got a phone call from someone who changed his career and his life. It was Vickie Guerrero, and Edge knew it was because she saw him as an asset. She was with him every step of the way through his rehab and they fell in love. They knew Edge had to make a statement when he came back, and that is why he hit Undertaker in the head with a camera.

Now he’s ready to take the title from Batista and it will feel so good, but not as good as getting to publicly declare his love for Vickie. Then that monster the Undertaker destroyed Vickie with a Tombstone. Vickie even felt bad for getting this involved and is probably at home with tears running down her face. Tonight, Edge will be the knight in shining armor and the World Heavyweight Champion.

We recap Vince McMahon sending Great Khali and Mark Henry to take out Finlay as Hornswoggle had to watch.

Finlay/Hornswoggle vs. Deuce N Domino

Finlay and Deuce start things off with Deuce actually taking him into the corner. A neckbreaker cuts Finlay off though and the fans get behind Hornswoggle. They head outside where Cherry gets in a slap to the face, allowing Deuce to get in a cheap shot to take over. Back in and Domino holds Finlay down so Deuce can get in a shot of his own. Hornswoggle runs underneath the ring and pulls out a mouse to chase Cherry, with the distraction letting Finlay get in a Shillelagh shot. The Tadpole Splash is enough to give Hornswoggle the pin.

Rating: C. I know the team is goofy, but would Finlay and Hornswoggle getting a title feud be that much of a stretch? Miz and John Morrison don’t exactly have anyone coming after them and Finlay/Hornswoggle are a more featured act than any other team on the show. Have some fun for a bit and think outside the box. It isn’t like there is anything else going on with the titles.

Post match, Finlay and Hornswoggle dance.

We look at Edge cashing in Money in the Bank to take the World Title from Undertaker earlier this year.

Jamie Noble hits on Michelle McCool during her photo shoot. This turns into a rant about Chuck Palumbo, who is indeed right behind Noble. A match is set for later.

CM Punk vs. Kenny Dykstra

Non-title. Punk kicks at the leg to start and Dykstra crashes out to the floor early on. Back in and Dykstra gets in a shot to the arm and the armbar goes on. That’s broken up with an armdrag but Dykstra puts it right back on. Punk fights out again and goes for the springboard clothesline, only to get dropkicked out of the air. Not that it mattes as Punk gets in a shot of his own and hits the GTS for the pin.

Rating: D+. That’s the kind of opponent that Punk should be facing when he comes on this show, though they could have done it a bit better than spending most of the match in an armbar. In theory at least, this was a good showcase for Punk, who seems to be on his way up to the next level sooner rather than later. Other than that though, this was a pretty lame match as they didn’t really get it going until the end.

We look at Edge vs. Batista at Judgment Day 2007.

Big Daddy V/MVP vs. Kane/Rey Mysterio

Matt Striker is here with the villains. Rey kicks away at MVP to get things going before it’s off to Kane for the uppercut to the floor. A dive (from Rey if that’s not clear) takes MVP down and we take a break. Back with MVP fighting out of the corner to knock Kane back and it’s V getting in some cheap shots from the apron. MVP’s running boot in the corner takes too long though and Kane blasts him with a clothesline.

The hot tag brings Rey back in to clean house but Striker gets in a cheap shot to cut him off. V comes in and steps on Rey’s chest and a tilt-a-whirl side slam drops him again. MVP cranks on the arms for a bit before V misses a charge into the corner. That and an enziguri are enough for Kane to come in off the hot tag, meaning house can be cleaned. Kane hits a top rope clothesline and it’s a 619 into the springboard splash to pin MVP.

Rating: C+. Smackdown has long since figured out how to do this kind of a match and eat up some TV time without feeling boring. There is a wide variety of wrestlers who can be thrown into something like this and make it work and that was the case again here. MVP vs. Mysterio continues and unfortunately so does Kane vs. V, but at least the good pairing got the focus.

Here’s the opening video again.

Edge and Batista had another match at One Night Stand.

Batista is ready to destroy Edge tonight.

Here’s Edge vs. Batista in Smackdown vs. Raw.

Jamie Noble vs. Chuck Palumbo

Michelle McCool is here with Palumbo. A clothesline puts Noble down to start and Palumbo knocks him to the floor. Back in and Noble gets in a dropkick to the knee to cut him off, setting up the leglock. The spinning toehold keeps Palumbo down but he’s fine enough to hit a quick suplex. An overhead belly to belly rocks Noble, but he avoids a charge in the corner and grabs a rollup (with jeans) for the pin.

Rating: C-. Palumbo can’t be long for this show right? He’s lowing to Noble and having McCool around him is only going to get him so far. He has a good look and some size, but the biker deal isn’t going to carry him much further than this. They proved the point with this last week and hopefully that wraps up things for the feud and Palumbo in general.

Vince McMahon has a surprise planned for Great Khali vs. Finlay at Armageddon. To keep the joy going, Vince has Runjin Singh do a Hornswoggle imitation. Then Vince has him do an imitation of Singh’s uncle, who is a stereotypical convenience store clerk. Then it’s a Great Khali impression, with the real Khali coming in. Singh has to talk his way out of trouble.

Edge and Batista fought again at Vengeance.

Raw Rebound.

Smackdown World Title: Batista vs. Edge

Batista is defending and after the Big Match Intros, knocks Edge into the corner. Edge gets sent into the ropes and seems to want to slow things down. Another hard shot has Edge down again and a shoulder gets one. We take a break and come back with Batista getting two off a slam but Edge manages to send him outside.

That doesn’t get Edge very far though as Batista cranks on the arm to cut him right back off. Some right hands to the head stagger Edge again and a big running forearm knocks him off the apron as this is mostly one sided so far. A swinging neckbreaker gets Edge out of trouble though and we take another break.

Back again with Edge holding a chinlock before taking a bit too long to go up top. That lets Batista grab a suplex and a top rope shoulder sends Edge flying again. There’s the swinging Boss Man Slam for two but the Batista Bomb is countered into the Edgecution for two more. Back up and Batista loads up the spear but we’ve got Undertaker. He throws Edge outside and chokeslams Batista as the match is thrown out.

Rating: C. This was a weird one as the match was almost a Batista squash until Undertaker came in. Edge hit that one Edgecution and a few other shots but this was Batista in control for the large majority. It didn’t matter in the end, but it also didn’t paint Edge in the best light in his first important match back from injury.

Post match Teddy Long makes his surprise return and announces (via a printed message from Vickie Guerrero) the triple threat match for Armageddon.

Overall Rating: C. Another pretty steady show here, though MVP vs. Mysterio and the Finlay/Hornswoggle/Vince stuff is picking up some steam. I do like that they have some other stories going on besides the main event, as that has been dominating the show for a little too long. Edge vs. Batista vs. Undertaker is interesting enough, but you can only ride that one idea for so long. Mostly in the middle show this week, as Smackdown continues to rarely break out of its comfort zone.

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Smackdown
Date: November 9, 2007
Location: Rabobank Arena, Bakersfield, California
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield

We are almost up to Survivor Series and the main event is set. Other than that, Smackdown doesn’t have much going on at the moment though and they need to come up with something in the next week or so. This week will see Rey Mysterio vs. Finlay, in what should be the blowoff to a pretty decent feud. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Tag Team Battle Royal

Jesse/Festus, Jimmy Wang Yang/Shannon Moore, Deuce N Domino, Major Brothers, Dave Taylor/Drew McIntyre

Only one member has to be eliminated and the winners get a Tag Team Title shot later tonight. It’s a brawl to start with almost everyone getting together to eliminate Festus, who has to be forced to the back because the bell didn’t ring to snap him back to normal. Yang and Moore hit a double dropkick on McIntyre as there isn’t exactly much going on here. We finally get something out of the norm as Yang takes his shirt off, only to get kneed off the top and out to the floor.

For some reason we take a break and come back with Taylor being clotheslined out, leaving us with the Majors vs. Deuce N Domino. Brett gets knocked down but he’s able to make a last second save for Brian. A suplex/high crossbody combination hits Brett but Crack Them In Da Mouth is broken up, allowing the Majors to dump both of them out for the surprise win.

Rating: D+. This was about as good as it was going to get, as there isn’t much that can be done with a five team battle royal. The best part is the fact that they mixed it up a bit, as Deuce N Domino are done as a team that really matters, at least for the time being. The Majors have cooled way off, but at least they’re something that feels a lot more fresh.

Torrie Wilson asks Michelle McCool what is up with Michelle and Chuck Palumbo. Michelle says they’re just friends but Torrie isn’t convinced. Kenny Dykstra and Victoria come up and the brawl sets up a match.

We look back at the history of the Great Khali vs. Undertaker, as they face off in a No Holds Barred match tonight.

Michelle McCool vs. Victoria

Chuck Palumbo and Kenny Dykstra are here too. McCool shoulders her down to start and cranks on a wristlock but Victoria manages to send her outside. Victoria gets in a ram into the barricade and takes her back inside for two. Back up and Michelle kicks her in the face, setting up a big boot. The guys get in a fight though and Victoria grabs a DDT for the fast pin.

Rey Mysterio isn’t worried about Finlay because Finlay doesn’t know him. After some Spanish, Rey declares himself a winner.

Jamie Noble interrupts Vickie Guerrero and CM Punk to thank Vickie for the Rey Mysterio DVD last week. He has a special….VHS with her, including the promise of, ahem, personal footage at the end. Punk likes the retro VHS but Noble goes into a rant about what Vickie has put him through. A match is made (after a discussion of pie). Noble: “Is this some kind of crazy fetish with you???” And give him back his tape! Noble continues to be absolutely hilarious in the last few weeks.

Finlay vs. Rey Mysterio

They start slowly and JBL is NOT pleased with the way the fans are chanting about Finlay. A hard clothesline drops Rey and it’s time to start the clubbing shots to the back. Rey hurricanranas him to the floor and adds a baseball slide into an Asai moonsault as we take a break. Back with Finlay getting in a shot of his own to take over again, with Rey getting rocked by a few kicks to the ribs.

Finlay sends him chest first into the buckle to break up a comeback and a buckle bomb has Rey in even more trouble. As commentary argues over whether the fans want competition or a fight, Finlay slams him legs first into the ropes and grabs a Boston crab. With that broken up, some knees to the back send Rey outside, where he is sent into the barricade. Back in and the Boston crab goes on again, with Rey getting out again.

A rollup out of the corner gives Rey two as a turnbuckle pad has been taken off somewhere in there. Rey hammers down some right hands but gets dropped face first onto the exposed buckle for two more. Another hard clothesline gives Finlay two but Rey slips out of a belly to back suplex. The 619 sets up the West Coast Pop, which is broken up with a knock off the ropes. Finlay hits the Celtic Cross for the completely clean pin.

Rating: B-. These guys work well together and they did so again here, with Finlay getting one of his bigger wins in recent months. It’s strange to see this one go down clean but Finlay beating Mysterio isn’t the biggest stretch. If nothing else, it is always fun to see Finlay pick someone apart like this and he did it well here.

Post match Finlay takes him outside for a laptop to the head and a ribs first ram into the post to leave Rey laying. Rey is so banged up that the mask comes off as the referee checks on him.

We look at Great Khali crushing Kane with the Vice Grip back in the day.

CM Punk vs. Jamie Noble

Non-title. Noble goes for the arm to start but gets kicked in the leg, setting up a triangle dropkick out to the floor. Back in and Noble manages a few kicks to the ribs, setting up a cobra clutch of all things. Some knees to the head seem to wake Punk up as he’s back with the running knee into/the bulldog out of the corner. Not that it matters as Miz runs in for the DQ.

Rating: C. They really can’t have Noble take a pin from a reigning champion? Noble has been beaten like a drum and keeps coming back but I guess they had to draw the line somewhere. Punk getting onto one of the bigger shows is a good thing too as he should be starting to move in that direction in the next few months.

Post match John Morrison joins Miz in the beatdown. Punk gets in a GTS on Morrison but Noble hits his fireman’s carry gutbuster to drop Punk again.

Video on the Cell.

Here is Batista for a chat, with JBL getting a prompt phone call to allow himself a hasty escape. Batista says he and Undertaker are not friends, but he is pulling for Great Khali tonight. He wants Undertaker at his best in the Cell because he wants to prove that he is the better man. Everything is on the line and he’s ready for Undertaker. This was short but VERY to the point and it worked.

Tag Team Titles: MVP/Matt Hardy vs. Major Brothers

The Brothers are challenging. Brian armdrags Matt into an early armbar but Matt punches his way out of trouble. The corner clothesline into the corner bulldog (might not want to do such a similar sequence in the match right after Punk) and it’s off to MVP for a suplex. MVP isn’t interested in bringing Matt back in so he grabs the Playmaker for the pin to retain. Not much more than a squash here.

Post match, the champs don’t seem to trust each other.

Remember how Khali uses the Vice Grip? Here’s even more proof of it.

Fabulous Moolah tribute video.

Survivor Series rundown.

Undertaker vs. Great Khali

No Holds Barred. Undertaker starts striking away early on and hits a chokeslam less than a minute in. We take an early break and come back with Khali taking over in the corner and getting two off a clothesline. The nerve hold goes on for a bit, only to have Undertaker fight up. That’s countered into the Vice Grip but Undertaker punches his way out and hits an all time bad chokeslam (as Khali got all of an inch into the air) for two. Khali is right back with the chokeslam but stops to pose, allowing Undertaker to sit up. The triangle choke (possibly making his debut) makes Khali tap.

Rating: D+. There wasn’t much to see here as Undertaker wasn’t about to lose to Khali, who has fallen off the planet in the last few months. Beating Khali will always mean something because he is so big but he’s a three move combo at best. That doesn’t make for the most thrilling match but Undertaker getting in a new finisher was a nice touch.

Undertaker motions that he wants the title to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. There were a few minor bright spots in here but again it didn’t feel like a show you needed to watch. They are focusing hard on the Cell match to carry the Smackdown side of the pay per view and that should work, but I’m not sure how much else there is going to be that is worth seeing. Maybe they add in something more next week, though I don’t know what else they have to add. Fix that up and they could be ok, but it isn’t looking like a strong show nine days out.

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Smackdown
Date: November 2, 2007
Location: Nassau Coliseum, New York City, New York
Attendance: 12,300
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield

We are done with Cyber Sunday and the big story on the blue side is Batista FINALLY defeating the Undertaker to retain the World Title. It is time to get towards Survivor Series and that could go in more than a few directions. They don’t have a ton of time to set it up though so hopefully we start getting somewhere this week. Let’s get to it.

Here is Cyber Sunday if you need a recap.

Here is Batista to get things going. He talks about growing up in a rough neighborhood and having to fight for everything. Now he has done the same thing here, with every kind of fight you could imagine. Then on Sunday, he finally accomplished something he thought he would never do when he defeated the Undertaker. Their rivalry has been a war and now they are 1-1-2 and that makes them even.

Tonight they’re partners, but their differences have not been settled. He has Undertaker’s back but wants to know if Undertaker has his. There go the lights and Undertaker appears in the ring. Undertaker says he has Batista’s back because Batista still has the one thing that he wants. Batista asks if that means he wants a rematch, so the match is on. As Batista goes to leave, Undertaker says let’s do it in the Cell. Well that escalated.

In the back, Vickie Guerrero comes up to Jamie Noble, who panics and says he wasn’t hurting anyone. Vickie doesn’t have time for this because she has to work on the Cell match. Jamie thinks he’s being put in the match with them but she has a gift for him: a Rey Mysterio DVD, because he is facing Rey tonight. That works a lot better for Noble, who thinks Vickie is sweet on him. Oh and maybe later they could watch, ahem, some different DVDs.

Festus vs. Domino

Their respective partners are here too as Batista vs. Undertaker in the Cell is set for Survivor Series. Festus starts fast with a backdrop and some shots to the face for two. Domino goes to the eyes to escape and hits some knees to the face. That earns him another kick to the head as Jesse takes out an interfering Deuce. A fireman’s carry flapjack gives Festus the pin without much trouble.

Video on Eve winning the Diva Search.

Rey Mysterio vs. Jamie Noble

Finlay, who is facing Rey next week, comes out to watch at ringside. Feeling out process to start with Jamie flipping him over by the arm and barring it for a bonus. That’s fine with Rey, who climbs up Noble and grabs a sunset flip for two. Back up and Noble hits a running knee to the ribs to cut Rey down but he’s fine enough to load up the 619. That sends Noble bailing to the floor, where Rey gets in a kick to the legs to put Noble in more trouble.

Noble gets back in and hits something like an over the shoulder backbreaker spun into a cutter over the top (that’s a new one) to take over. A northern lights suplex stays on the banged up arm and the armbar goes on again. Noble drops him face first onto the mat and puts on the armbar for a third time. That’s broken up and Rey headscissors him down into a Fujiwara armbar. Noble slips out so Rey hits a springboard seated senton, only to charge into a powerslam. The tiger driver is loaded up but Rey reverses into a hurricanrana for the fast pin.

Rating: C+. This is one of those matches where you can have two guys do just about anything get a good match out of them. Noble has been used as a goon in recent weeks but he is capable of doing something like this if he is given the chance. Rey vs. Finlay sounds like it should be a good blowoff match next week too, as they have had a solid feud over the last few weeks.

Post match Finlay calls Rey a quitter and a loser, which he’ll prove next week.

Raw Rebound.

Matt Hardy is still healing and he’ll be ready to go next week. That’s cool with MVP, because he survived at Cyber Sunday and they need to get back to dominating. Matt agrees, and wishes MVP luck in his match tonight. MVP doesn’t know anything about a match, but it’s next…and Kane’s pyro goes off.

MVP vs. Kane

Non-title. Kane punches him down to start and a hard whip into the corner bangs up MVP’s ribs. Back up and MVP gets in a few shots of his own but a backbreaker gives Kane two. Some shots to Kane’s bad ribs (you might want to come up with something different) slow him down though and a running shoulder to the ribs gives MVP two of his own.

Kane rocks him with an uppercut but MVP is right back on the ribs as they aren’t making this very complicated. That’s reversed into a bearhug on the mat but MVP reverses into a seated abdominal stretch. MVP kicks him out to the floor and we come back with Kane having to fight out of a bodyscissors. Kane gets in a faceplant out of the corner and the top rope clothesline connects, setting up the chokeslam for the pin.

Rating: D+. I’m not sure who put this together but they could have done a bit better than an exchange of working on the ribs over and over. Have Kane’s shoulder hit the post or something but find a way to mix it up. Also, the US Champion gets pinned again, which probably doesn’t set up another title match, but at least they had this happen again because of course they did.

Post match Big Daddy V comes in to drop Kane and crush the ribs again. Cole: “He is a mean man!”

Mick Foley vs. Jonathan Coachman

Foley is the hometown boy and this match needs a guest referee in the form of Hornswoggle. Coach realizes he’s in trouble and Foley shoves him over Hornswoggle to make it worse. Foley rakes his eyes over the top and drops an elbow, setting up the green Mr. Socko. Hornswoggle adds the Tadpole Splash so Foley can get the pin. Just a quick way to make the live fans smile.

Next week, ECW World Champion CM Punk comes to Smackdown.

Kenny Dykstra vs. Chuck Palumbo

Victoria and Michelle McCool are here too. Palumbo hits him in the face to start and grabs a belly to back suplex for an early two. They head outside with Palumbo being sent back first into the apron as JBL talks about what a great future Dykstra has. Back in and Palumbo snaps off an overhead belly to belly. Michelle cuts off Victoria’s interference and Palumbo hits a top rope shoulder. Full Throttle finishes Dykstra off.

Rating: D+. Palumbo’s total stall continues and that is due to having him face people like Kenny Dykstra and Chris Masters. WWE has presented him as nothing more than a lower level guy and there is no reason to care about him. You’re only going to get so far with this and Palumbo has hit that point.

Rey Mysterio’s DVD went on sale last week.

Great Khali and Mark Henry shout at each other in a strategy session.

Great Khali/Mark Henry vs. Undertaker/Batista

Undertaker starts fast on Henry but Old School is broken up. Some shots to the arm put Henry in the corner though and now Old School connects. Henry gets knocked off the apron and we take an early break. Back with Batista driving Henry into the corner as well, allowing Undertaker to come in for a headbutt.

A running knee in the corner gets two (and has Batista impressed) but Henry powers Undertaker into the corner to bring in Khali. Since you don’t want Khali doing much more than kicking away in the corner, Henry comes back in and gets taken down with the running DDT. Batista comes in and gets elbowed in the face by Khali, setting up the big chop for two.

The Vice Grip goes on and makes Undertaker pace on the apron before eventually making the save. Batista spears Khali down and it’s back to Undertaker to unload on Henry. Everything breaks down and Batista spinebusters Henry, followed by Undertaker big booting Khali. The Batista Bomb is loaded up….but JBL runs in to jump Batista for the DQ.

Rating: C. This worked in a bit of a weird way, mainly because no one is going to buy Henry and Khali as a threat to the top two forces on the show. They didn’t bother having Undertaker and Batista in that much trouble, but the ending was a bit of a surprise. JBL is pretty clearly getting ready to make some kind of a comeback, though I’m not sure how much interest there is in having another big guy on a show with so many monsters.

Henry and Khali wreck Batista and Undertaker to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. This show was all about the Undertaker vs. Batista Cell announcement and a grand total of nothing else. The second biggest thing on this show was finding out that Rey Mysterio has a new DVD out. Maybe it’s fallout from the pay per view or not needing much for Survivor Series, but this was a weak show and I was pretty bored.

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Smackdown
Date: October 19, 2007
Location: NEC, Birmingham, England
Attendance: 10,000
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield

Cyber Sunday is in less than ten days and that means it is time for WWE to hammer home the matches that they want picked. Last week’s show featured a bit ending as Undertaker interrupted a #1 contenders match and signaled that he wanted the title. World Heavyweight Champion Batista seemed interested so I think we have a pay per view main event. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

We look at Undertaker interrupting Finlay vs. Rey Mysterio from last week before signaling that he wanted Batista’s World Title. The match is officially set for Cyber Sunday and YOU can pick the referee!

Great Khali vs. Kane

Wrestlemania rematch and Runjin Singh is here with Khali. Kane slugs away to start but gets punched down. The big boot sets up the nerve hold and Khali powers him down for daring to try a comeback. Kane has to go to the ropes to break the Vice Grip so Khali elbows him in the corner. The right hands get Kane out of the corner/trouble with the top rope clothesline taking Khali down. Khali knocks him outside for daring to try the chokeslam and some choking with a camera cord is enough to draw the DQ.

Rating: D. Yeah what else were you expecting here? This was short and to the point with Kane not being able to get very far against this kind of power. Khali gets some of his heat back by dominating someone like Kane, who is heading to ECW sooner or later anyway. Sometimes some dominance like this is a good thing and that is what we had here.

Post match Kane fights back and takes Khali down with a bell shot but here is Big Daddy V (with Matt Striker) from ECW to interrupt. V crushes Kane with a Ghetto (Samoan) drop and stands tall.

Post break, Striker talks about how awesome V is and declares him the rocket to the top.

Chuck Palumbo vs. Chris Masters

Rematch, because WWE wants to ruin Palumbo (here with Michelle McCool). Masters gets taken to the mat with a headlock takeover to start and Palumbo takes him to the floor for a brief chase. Back in and Palumbo counters a suplex into a delayed version of his own. That doesn’t get him very far so Masters cranks on both arms, which fires Palumbo up for the comeback. A top rope shoulder drops Masters but here is Victoria to jump McCool. The distraction lets Masters grab a rollup for the pin.

Rating: D+. Why does WWE think this is the way to go? Masters’ biography is two lines long: he’s strong and he uses a full nelson. That doesn’t make him interesting, and I’m not sure why WWE insists on giving him one feud after another. Giving him Victoria as a sidekick isn’t some saving grace, but rather just window curtains over a brick wall. Palumbo was iffy at best but putting him Masters is like cutting the wheels off of his motorcycle. Nothing to see here, other than Masters continuing to exist around here for whatever reason.

MVP comes up to Matt Hardy in the back and says they have become champions but also friends. Like Michael Jordan and Steve Kerr or Tiger Woods and his caddie! Matt says they are going to have a wrestling, boxing or mixed martial arts match at Cyber Sunday but for tonight, he’s good on going out there on his own. I don’t think Matt’s heart is in this team.

Raw Rebound.

Matt Hardy vs. Finlay

Finlay runs him over for an early two to start so Matt is back up with a headlock. The fans seem to approve of said headlock as the HARDY chants start up until Finlay drives him into the ropes. Some kicks send Finlay to the floor for the dropkick through the ropes from Hardy. Finlay is fine enough to drive him back first into the apron and it’s a half crab going on back inside.

After escaping “that leg hold” (as Cole puts it), Hardy gets clotheslined down and put in a reverse chinlock. That’s broken up as well and Matt starts the comeback, including the running bulldog out of the corner. The Twist of Fate is blocked so Matt goes up, only to get knocked out of the air. Finlay covers and grabs the turnbuckle pad, which is pulled off during the kickout. Cue MVP to prevent Finlay going for the Shillelagh though, allowing Hardy to grab the Twist of Fate for the pin.

Rating: C. Another short match here, with Finlay being his usual brawling self, which is always worth at least a look. The more interesting story here though is Hardy and MVP starting to come together after a long time, which I’m sure will last forever. Still though, it is a story that is somehow still keeping my interest after several months. That’s pretty impressive.

Drew McIntyre vs. Brian Major

Dave Taylor and Brett Major are here too. Feeling out process to start with McIntyre going after the arm but getting taken down into an armbar. Back up and Major’s cross body is countered into a throat first drop across the top rope. McIntyre’s cravate is broken up but Major misses a slingshot dive onto Taylor. After an uppercut, Taylor throws him back in for a Downward Spiral to give McIntyre the pin.

Rating: C-. McIntyre continues to not exactly impress to start but there is only so much to be gained from needing help against the Major Brothers. That being said, they seem to be doing something with him and that is better than nothing. Taylor as the manager is fine for now, but I don’t think he is going to be the best way to go for McIntyre for that much longer.

Video on Undertaker vs. Batista, which makes it feel quite epic. As it should.

JBL is in the ring for an interview with Batista. After hyping up the rivalry with Undertaker and plugging himself as the best choice for referee, JBL brings out Batista to quite the reaction. Batista: “I’m sorry, you’re still talking?” JBL says he’s leading the voting right now but Batista warns him to stay out of the way. That’s fine with JBL, who plugs Batista’s autobiography, which suggests that Batista is afraid of Undertaker. That isn’t true and Batista goes to leave, with JBL calling him a coward. Batista comes back in and shoves him down, leaving JBL looking angry/stunned.

Post break, JBL goes on a very JBL style rant against Batista.

The Diva Search girls do their best Baywatch impression, including running in slow motion. Next week: interrogation.

Jimmy Wang Yang/Shannon Moore vs. Deuce N Domino

Cherry is here with Deuce N Domino and this is fallout from the two of three of them beating up Yang last week. Domino and Yang start things off with Yang chopping him to the floor and hitting the big slingshot dive. Moore comes in for some grappling but gets driven into the corner. A side slam gets two on Moore and Deuce grabs a chinlock. That doesn’t last long as Moore escapes and rolls over for the tag off to Yang. Everything breaks down and Moore pulls Domino out to the floor. Yang’s moonsault press finishes Deuce.

Rating: C-. And that’s going to be it for Deuce N Domino. I’m sure they’ll be around for a little longer, but you don’t come back from losing clean to a thrown together cruiserweight team. Deuce N Domino have been steadily falling down the card and now they are about as long as you can be while still being a team. You know, because the Smackdown tag division has so much depth to waste an established team like this one.

Jamie Noble comes in to see Vickie Guerrero and is in pretty rough shape after facing Great Khali last week. Noble suggests that Vickie’s hormones made her make such a decision last week, but he’s willing to help her with anything around here. That sounds good to Vickie, who makes Noble vs. Undertaker for later tonight. Noble’s reaction is the pure panic that you would expect.

Jamie Noble vs. Undertaker

Oddly enough, Undertaker comes out first. Noble hammers away in the corner to start and is promptly chokeslammed. The Tombstone finishes in less than a minute and a half.

Cyber Sunday rundown.

SAVE US!

MVP vs. Rey Mysterio

Non-title. Rey starts fast and loads up an early missed 619. MVP runs him over for an early two but misses a charge and falls out to the floor. The slingshot dive hits MVP but bangs up Rey’s knee at the same time. MVP is fine enough to hit a gorilla press drop over the top and onto the mat as we take a break. Back with Rey fighting out of a front facelock but charging into an overhead belly to belly. Rey’s springboard spinning crossbody gets two and the 619 connects, only to have MVP kick him out of the air for two. Cue Finlay to go after MVP for the DQ.

Rating: C. They were starting to get going when Finlay ran in. That’s a good choice though, as you don’t want either of these two losing before they go into a big match at Cyber Sunday. It also ties into the story from earlier tonight, making this a rather logical match. Maybe not the most satisfying as I wanted to see more of the match, but it did make sense.

Post match Rey takes Finlay down and poses to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. The British shows can be a bit off and that was the case again here. Nothing major seemed to happen here as it’s more about pushing fans to vote for certain choices at Cyber Sunday. It leaves some of these shows being a bit less than enthralling, but hopefully they can push things a bit harder next week.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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AND

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Smackdown
Date: October 12, 2007
Location: Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Attendance: 7,000
Commentators: John Bradshaw Layfield, Michael Cole

We’re done with No Mercy and Batista is still the World Champion, having vanquished Great Khali in the Punjabi Prison. That leaves a vacancy in the #1 contenders slow and there is a good chance we’ll get it covered this week, as Cyber Sunday is coming up. I’m just not sure who it is going to be. Let’s get to it.

Here is No Mercy if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of the Punjabi Prison match, with Batista retaining the World Title over Great Khali.

Opening sequence.

Chuck Palumbo vs. Chris Masters

Palumbo has Michelle McCool with him and this is fallout from Masters attacking Palumbo last week. Masters gets driven into the corner to start and some forearms to the back set up a big clothesline. A suplex drops Masters again as this is one sided so far. Masters avoids an elbow though and hits his own suplex for two. The reverse chinlock doesn’t last long as Palumbo is back up, only to get slammed right back down for two more. The Masterlock attempt doesn’t work and Palumbo hammers away. Masters misses a clothesline and gets rolled up for the fast pin.

Rating: C-. I know they’re trying with Palumbo but he’s not exactly stealing the show and a feud with Masters isn’t going to do much better. You’re only going to get so far with such a low level opponent as it makes Palumbo feel like someone who doesn’t matter that much. Palumbo is ok enough, but this feels like such low stakes and it isn’t working.

Post match Palumbo gets back on his motorcycle but Masters jumps him and puts on the Masterlock. Great. A rematch.

The Brothers of Destruction are back tonight.

Video on Big Daddy V.

Jesse And Festus vs. Jay Adams/Conrad Carnes

Jesse explains the idea behind Festus again before locking up with Adams to start. Cole compares it to Spider-Man and Peter Parker, which doesn’t go well with JBL. Jesse takes Adams down rather easily and it’s off to Festus to knock Carnes down. Carnes tries some forearms to the back and gets knocked down with a big boot to the face. It’s back to Jesse for a sunset flip as we cut to Deuce N Domino and Cherry watching in the back. A few shots put Jesse down but get gets over to Festus to clean house. Everything breaks down and a Rocket Launcher top rope shoulder gives Jesse the pin on Carnes.

Rating: C-. Festus is a good idea idea and he looks good when he gets the hot tag but Jesse is just kind of there. What matters here is that there is a new team, as the division has been all of two teams for far too long now. Just having someone fresh in there helps and maybe they can help pick things up a bit.

Deuce N Domino mock Jesse and Festus when Jamie Noble of all people comes in. He isn’t trying to cause any trouble but he heard Jimmy Wang Yang making some suggestive comments about Cherry. Noble whispers them to Deuce and it’s off to Vickie Guerrero’s office, with Noble being dragged off with them.

Brett Major vs. Drew McIntyre

There’s your historical moment. This is McIntyre’s debut and he has Dave Taylor with him, as Brian Major is here with Brett. We get an inset interview with McIntyre, who is applying for dual citizenship and would love to hear some USA chants. McIntyre drives him into the corner to start and grabs a front facelock. Brett reverses into one of his own and takes McIntyre down. An elbow into a legdrop gets two but Taylor hits Brian on the floor. That’s enough of a distraction for McIntyre to grab a rollup pin to complete a rather lackluster debut. McIntyre was just there and had nothing to make himself stand out here, making this pretty dull.

We get some rapid fire questions with the final four Diva Search girls. Next week: Search And Rescue as this stuff gets dumber week after week.

MVP and Matt hardy make sure that they’re both ready for the Brothers of Destruction tonight. They seem to be good.

Brothers of Destruction vs. MVP/Matt Hardy

Non-title. Matt’s waistlock on Kane doesn’t exactly work as Kane elbows him in the face to drop him fast. Undertaker comes in but Old School is broken up, allowing MVP to get in a clothesline from the apron. This goes as well as you would expect, with MVP and Hardy being sent outside as we take an early break.

Back with Kane coming in to beat on MVP but he misses a charge into the corner, allowing MVP to hammer away in the corner. There’s the running big boot and it’s Matt coming back in. Kane seems to like this better as Matt is driven into the other corner for the tag off to Undertaker. It’s back to MVP, who gets dropped by Old School for two before Kane adds the side slam.

The top rope clothesline gives Kane two, setting up Undertaker sending him into the steps (leaving MVP’s eyes bugging out at the pain). The apron legdrop gets two but Kane charges into a knee in the corner, allowing Matt to hit the middle rope elbow. Kane isn’t having this Twist of Fate stuff though and kicks Matt in the face. The second attempt works better for Matt but MVP tags himself in. That’s enough of a delay for Undertaker to come back in and wreck some more things. For some reason MVP decides to kick Undertaker in the face, earning Matt a right hand off the apron. The Tombstone gives Undertaker the pin on MVP.

Rating: C. This was little more than a squash, as Matt and MVP seemed to be more annoying to Undertaker and Kane than anything else. That being said, while they’re the Tag Team Champions, Matt and MVP don’t get along and are hardly a dominant team in the first place. I’m not wild on the champs losing, but getting beaten up by Undertaker and Kane is hardly some stunning upset.

SAVE US!

Raw Rebound.

New interviewer Anastasia Rose talks to Rey Mysterio, who gets to face Finlay in a #1 contenders match tonight. Rey got played by Finlay at No Mercy and he didn’t like that, but he’s down to play dirty too. He and Batista are friends, but he wants the title. If he has to go through Finlay, Rey is ready to fight too.

We recap Teddy Long’s heart attack, though he is now out of intensive care.

Vickie Guerrero tells Jamie Noble that Teddy should be home by next week. Jamie brags about what he did to Jimmy Wang Yang earlier. As a result, Vickie gives him a match of his own….against Great Khali.

Great Khali vs. Jamie Noble

Noble looks terrified to start and gets shoved down with as much effort as you would expect. There’s the big chop and Noble gets tossed away again. The Vice Grip finishes Noble in a hurry.

Jimmy Wang Yang vs. Deuce

Deuce is annoyed to start and kicks him in the face before choking on the ropes. Yang comes back up with some chops though and a moonsault press gives him the face pin.

Post match Deuce N Domino beat down Yang.

Another video on the Punjabi Prison match. Batista’s leap from one cage to the other is still awesome.

Rey Mysterio vs. Finlay

The winner gets Batista, on commentary, for the title at Cyber Sunday. Hold on though as JBL announces that the fans get to pick the guest referee for the Cyber Sunday title match. The choices are Mick Foley, Steve Austin (pause for the reaction), or JBL himself! Rey hammers Finlay into the corner to start but for some reason he turns around so Finlay can knock him down. Finlay loads up the Shillelagh shot but Rey knocks him down and we take an early break.

Back with Rey going to the apron and turning his back on Finlay AGAIN, earning himself a posting. Finlay grabs a Boston crab with Rey going to the ropes, earning himself something like a swinging Boss Man Slam for two. A headscissors takes Finlay down though and a middle rope DDT gives Rey two of his own. Things get a lot more serious and it turns into a brawl on the mat with the referee not being able to break it up. Said referee is tossed down and that’s a double DQ.

Rating: C+. This feud has been working pretty well so far and I’m curious to see how they move forward at Cyber Sunday. I can’t imagine they go with a triple threat for the title as wedging Batista into this feud doesn’t really feel right. We should be in for a violent showdown at the pay per view and that could be a good one.

That leaves us with no #1 contender….so here is Undertaker to knock both guys down. Undertaker signals he wants the title so the staredown with Batista ends the show.

Overall Rating: C-. The main event stuff was just about all that mattered on the card as the rest was mainly about people who don’t matter all that much. McIntyre debuting is little more than a footnote and MVP/Matt Hardy, one of the only interesting stories on the show, was there to make the Brothers of Destruction look good. Smackdown hasn’t been that great in recent weeks and Undertaker vs. Batista is going to need some help to make things that much better.

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Smackdown
Date: October 5, 2007
Location: Nutter Center, Dayton, Ohio
Attendance: 3,000
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield

It’s the go home show for No Mercy and that means it is time to push home the idea of the Punjabi Prison. Hopefully that is the big finale to the Batista vs. Great Khali feud because there is nothing left for those two to do against each other. Other than that, Vickie Guerrero is in charge and that might end badly for a lot of people. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of Vince McMahon announcing that John Cena has torn his pectoral muscle and will be out of action for six to twelve months. That’s going to shake up some plans.

Opening sequence.

Here is Batista to get things going, but first we look at a video on the Punjabi Prison. Batista talks about how he has been in all kinds of matches but never a Punjabi Prison match. He explains the match concept, which doesn’t quite make it sound appealing. To make it worse, he’s going to be locked inside with a giant and Khali has a home field advantage.

Batista knows he’s at a disadvantage but here is Great Khali on the screen to rant. This is translated to there being no way out of the pain and torture inside the Prison with Khali. People inside with him lose their sanity and the will to live. Oh and he’ll lose the title too. Batista isn’t convinced.

Chuck Palumbo vs. Ace Steel

Michelle McCool is here with Palumbo and we hear about Palumbo heading to some big biker rally in Arizona. A rather hard clothesline drops Steel and a Samoan drop puts him down, setting up an overhead belly to belly. There’s a big boot and Full Throttle to give Palumbo the squash win.

Post match Chris Masters comes in to Masterlock Palumbo out. I’m sure this will be a thrilling feud that launches Palumbo to the next level.

Video on Rey Mysterio vs. Great Khali, which I believe was also played at the beginning of the show.

Jimmy Wang Yang vs. Jamie Noble

They go technical to start with Noble taking him to the mat for a front facelock. Back up and Noble switches to a wristlock but Yang uses the ropes (no break) to reverses into a wristlock on the mat. Noble fights up so Yang fires off some chops before getting two off a legsweep. A Kimura is countered with a belly to back suplex to put Yang down as commentary keeps recapping Noble’s issues with Hornswoggle.

Some choking on the ropes keeps Yang in trouble and Noble asks what his name is. Whatever his name might be, he grabs a cravate, which has JBL going into an explanation of the logic behind the hold. Yang flips out of a belly to back suplex for two off a crossbody but Noble is right back with a cobra clutch. That’s broken up too and Yang kicks him in the face, setting up a middle rope dropkick. Yang’s moonsault press misses though and Noble hits the fireman’s carry gutbuster for the pin.

Rating: C-. This is a good example of what happens when you spend months (if not years) treating wrestlers like nothing and then suddenly expect them to matter. The cruiserweights have been treated as absolutely nothing for a long time now but we’re supposed to care about them because they might be in line for a chance at a meaningless title. The match was fine, but it was an ice cold match and there was no hiding it.

The Diva Search girls had an obstacle course on the beach. In case you wanted to know their slip n slide or hula hooping skills. J. Kim is eliminated.

Tag Team Titles: MVP/Matt Hardy vs. Deuce N Domino

Deuce N Domino, with Cherry, are challenging because these teams are the tag division. Hold on though as MVP wants to have a pushup contest before the match. As expected, after a lot of trash talk, MVP cheats to cost Matt the contest by grabbing Matt’s arm. As for the match, Matt suplexes Domino to start and hands it off to MVP for an armbar. It’s back to Matt, who is driven into the wrong corner so Deuce can come in and forearm Matt’s back.

That earns him the middle rope elbow to the back and Deuce N Domino are both sent outside. MVP and Matt exchange elbows to the two of them and we take a break. Back with Matt fighting out of a front facelock and getting over to MVP. The comeback doesn’t last long as Domino low bridges MVP to the floor to put him in trouble for a change. A slam into a knee drop lets Deuce talk trash, which has JBL on a rant about not staying focused.

Domino puts on a reverse chinlock with a knee in MVP’s back before taking him outside for a back first ram into the apron. All the back work sets up an arm crank back inside before going to a more logical Boston crab. With that broken up, MVP finally kicks Domino away and the hot tag brings in Matt. Cole: “Matt Hardy is a literal ball of fire!” No Cole, he isn’t. The Side Effect hits the illegal Deuce and MVP hits Domino low, setting up the Twist of Fate to retain the titles.

Rating: C. The match got a lot of time but there are only so many ways to get excited over seeing these teams fight. We have covered this multiple times now and it is losing the limited steam that it had in the first place. Matt vs. MVP is still interesting, but they really need some other teams to face to keep their title matches fresh.

MVP and Matt go to leave but Kane pops up for his match, plus a staredown at MVP for last week’s low blow.

Kane vs. Kenny Dykstra

Joined in progress with Kane driving him into the corner for some right hands. An elbow to the heck keeps Dykstra in trouble and a big boot cuts off the comeback attempt. Dykstra gets in some kicks to the ribs but his suplex is blocked without much trouble. Kane hits a dropkick for two but Dykstra goes for the legs. That has a grand total of no effect as Kane is right back with the side slam. There’s the top rope clothesline to set up the chokeslam to end Dykstra.

Rating: D+. Almost a total squash here and it wasn’t exactly an entertaining one. Kane’s stuff still looks good but it is a little hard to get behind anything he does. He has been stuck in the same midcard/upper midcard loop for so long that there is little reason to get invested in him. A squash of Dykstra didn’t exactly change that.

We look back at Undertaker destroying Mark Henry in short order last week.

We look back at Teddy Long and Kristal’s messed up wedding.

The yet to be named Krissy Vaine is in Vickie Guerrero’s office, where Vickie explains that Teddy Long is out of his coma but in no condition to return. Matt Hardy and MVP come in, with MVP thinking Matt needs to face Undertaker. Instead, Vickie makes the two of them vs. the Brothers of Destruction. Of note: Vickie said “excuse me” when MVP was talking a lot.

We look at John Cena’s injury, which is going to put him on the shelf for six months (twelve is no longer mentioned).

Tale of the tape for Rey Mysterio vs. Great Khali.

SAVE US, now featuring the word “bookshelves”.

Jesse and Festus vs. Mike Tolar/Chad Collyer

Before the bell, Jesse explains that Festus turns into a different person when the bell rings. The bell does ring and Festus gets serious, including a clothesline to Tolar. A double clothesline takes both of them down and it’s off to Jesse for a running bulldog. Collyer manages to take Jesse down but misses an elbow, allowing the hot tag off to Festus. House is cleaned and an over the shoulder sitdown gutbuster finishes Collyer, sending Festus back to his normal state.

Rating: C. I’ve heard of worse gimmicks than a split personality brought on by the bell ringing, though it might not have the longest shelf life. Jesse is fine enough as the talker who wrestles the basic part of the match and it isn’t like there is a wealth of tag teams running around at the moment. The Festus stuff is kind of interesting, but we’ll have to see how long it can last.

No Mercy rundown.

Video on Great Khali vs. Rey Mysterio from last year.

Rey Mysterio vs. Great Khali

Rey is wise to stand back at the bell before getting in some rather worthless strikes. Khali hits a single clothesline to take over and a hard whip sends Rey into the corner. We hit the dreaded nerve hold but Rey is in the ropes. He comes up striking away, only to get kicked in the face for a trip to the floor. Khali’s big chop only hits steps though and Rey manages a 619 around the post (JBL: “You gotta be kidding me.”). Cue Finlay to jump Rey for the DQ.

Rating: D+. Rey’s comeback was starting to get somewhere but they needed to cut it off when they did as it couldn’t go much further. You don’t want Khali selling for someone of Rey’s size for very long but it leaves people wondering just how far Rey could have gone here. The problem continues to be watching Khali do anything, as he is so slow and lumbering that even the basics are pretty uninteresting.

Post match the beatdown is on until Batista makes the save to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. This show really needs something fresh as almost nothing on here is remotely interesting. That isn’t going to last long and it isn’t really working here. What we got wasn’t the worst, but it was so uninteresting that I had a hard time getting through the show. Maybe that changes after No Mercy, but it needs to change pretty soon.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Smackdown
Date: September 28, 2007
Location: Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield

We’re just over a week away from No Mercy and the big Smackdown match is going to be Batista defending the World Title against the Great Khali inside the Punjabi Prison. I’m sure that won’t be a complete disaster as Khali can barely get through a regular match, but stranger things have happened. Now to build the rest of the show. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.We open with a recap of last week’s wedding between Teddy Long and Kristal, capped off by the traditional groom’s heart attack.

Vickie Guerrero comes in to see Vince McMahon and tells him that Teddy has been in a coma for a week and has a history of heart disease. Vince says the show must go on and makes Vickie the new General Manager. Vickie leaves so here is Finlay, who has some things in common with McMahon. They’re both Irish, but they also both have to deal with Hornswoggle. They’ll work on that later.

Opening sequence.

Victoria vs. Torrie Wilson

Victoria takes her down into a front facelock to start as we hear about various things involving looking at Torrie. Back up and Torrie sends her into the ropes and grabs a rollup for two. Cole talks about how much Torrie has improved in the ring but JBL says who cares as long as we can look at her. A snap suplex gives Victoria two but Torrie is back with a headscissors and clothesline. Torrie tries a sunset flip out of the corner but Victoria sits down on it and grabs the ropes for the pin.

Rating: C-. It wasn’t much of a match, but Cole is right that Torrie has improved in the ring. She’s never going to be the top worker in the division, but she can work a decent enough basic match. The match wasn’t terrible and given how some of the division can be, this was at least passable.

Post match another blonde (looks a good bit like Torrie) comes in and stomps Torrie down, before bending her back around the post to leave her laying.

It’s time for MVP’s VIP Lounge, complete with a bunch of people sitting in on the set. MVP talks about Teddy Long having a heart attack after bringing so much heartache to WWE. Long’s biggest accomplishment is bringing MVP to WWE with this big of a contract and that is because he is better than everyone else. Tonight happens to be a special night for MVP, because it is his one year anniversary around here.

Now he has captured the Tag Team Titles with Matt Hardy…who comes out to interrupt, complete with a gold bottle. Matt acknowledges that even though it isn’t his thing, the VIP Lounge is a big deal. That being said, he knew he had to be here because MVP is his partner and his homie. Matt even has a gift for him in the form of a highlight video of MVP’s first year in WWE. You can imagine all of the horrible things that happen to MVP in said video, which is complete with a lame pop song.

MVP snaps about the video but Matt says he was just ribbing him. Matt calms him down with the bottle, which is popped open and poured, which has MVP calmed down a bit. The toast though sees Matt insulting MVP, who throws Matt out. Hold on though as Matt has one more gift: MVP gets to face Kane tonight!

Chuck Palumbo vs. Kenny Dykstra

Dykstra kicks him down and fires off some boots to the back before we hit the chinlock. Palumbo fights up with an elbow to the face and a backdrop as the pace picks up fast. A middle rope dive is countered into an overhead belly to belly to send Dykstra flying. The Full Throttle finishes for Palumbo in a hurry.

Rating: D+. It was another short match that didn’t have time to go anywhere, but what were you expecting from Palumbo vs. Dykstra? This match wasn’t designed to be some kind of a classic, though it isn’t a good sign when it is the second match in a row that would fit that description. Palumbo isn’t going very far around here, but he’s good enough for a lower card guy.

Steve Austin still things the Marine is pretty snazzy.

Jesse and Festus are ready to debut next week, with Jesse promising Festus will come to life when the bell rings.

Commentary explains the Punjabi Prison and look at Great Khali destroying Batista.

Batista joins us in the back for an interview and says he has no idea how a Punjabi Prison match works. JBL interprets this as him being scared but Batista says Khali will have to take the title from his cold, dead hands. The champ didn’t have much to say here.

Kane vs. MVP

Non-title and MVP starts by cranking on the arm, only to get thrown down by straight power. Some uppercuts in the corner look to set up the big boot but MVP bails to the floor for a breather. That’s enough for MVP to snap Kane’s throat across the top but Kane runs him over again. Kane charges into an elbow in the corner though and a suplex is countered into a DDT to give MVP two.

A neckbreaker gets two more and we hit the…neck pull? Either way, MVP lets him go and Kane is back up with an elbow to the face. The top rope clothesline misses though and MVP gets two more. We hit the arm crank for a bit before Kane is back up and kicking away at the ribs. The chokeslam is blocked and they hit heads for a double knockdown and a break.

Back with MVP cranking on both arms before a running boot in the corner connects for another two. Some running corner clotheslines into the side slam give Kane two of his own but MVP breaks up another top rope clothesline. The break up is broken up though and now the clothesline can connect. The chokeslam is loaded up but MVP kicks him low for the DQ.

Rating: B. This started to roll near the end as MVP kept cutting off everything Kane threw at him. It was a question of how long MVP could hang in there before Kane finally caught him with something, which caused MVP to wrap it up with the DQ. Kane is having a rather nice run at the moment and I can always go for more of his good version.

The Diva Search girls had a limbo contest with Taryn winning. Lyndy is eliminated, crushing the dreams of dozens.

JBL brings out Rey Mysterio for an interview. He looks down at Rey and says Rey’s machismo is flat out stupidity, but Rey asks what’s up with the hatred. Does it bug JBL when he is here interviewing Rey instead of someone interviewing him? OF COURSE IT DOES, because JBL has twice the talent as Rey. That’s cool with Mysterio, who tells JBL to put up or shut up. JBL brings up Rey’s match against Great Khali next week and shoves him down, only to have Rey come back. The 619 is loaded up but here is Finlay with the Shillelagh to knock Rey cold.

Hornswoggle is in Vickie Guerrero’s office, where Vickie says that the Cruiserweight Title is making him a target. It’s even worse because he is now a McMahon, so she is making him abdicate the title. Hornswoggle hands it over, and that’s that for the belt. Fair enough, as it isn’t like the title has meant anything in years.

Jamie Noble vs. Shannon Moore

They start fast and head outside, with Moore sending him back first into the apron. Noble takes him off the top and grabs the Boston crab, sending Moore straight to the ropes. A swinging neckbreaker gets Moore out of trouble and a legdrop gives him two. Noble is back with something like a reverse Alabama Slam out of the corner, setting up a gutbuster for the pin.

Rating: C. Commentary kept hyping up the future of the cruiserweight division and if this is as good as it gets, they can’t get rid of the title fast enough. The division has not mattered for years now and the Hornswoggle reign was all the proof you could have needed. This was another completely watchable match, albeit one that felt like it meant a grand total of nothing.

Great Khali, through Runjin Singh, promises to get the title back from Batista.

No Mercy rundown.

Undertaker vs. Mark Henry

Henry goes straight to the floor to start (and might have gotten his leg caught in the ropes on the way out) and the fight is on. Back in and Undertaker gets up a boot in the corner before striking away. Old School is pulled out of the air and it’s Henry getting to hammer away even more. Undertaker sits up to avoid a big elbow though and there’s the jumping clothesline. The chokeslam finishes Henry quick.

Rating: C-. This felt like a way to write Henry off of the show for awhile as Undertaker shrugged off most of what Henry threw at him and then beat him with the chokeslam. I’m not sure what is next for Henry, but beating a monster like this is not the best sign for his future. Undertaker is probably back in the title picture sooner rather than later, as it is hard to keep him away from the belt for that long.

Overall Rating: D+. This was one of the lamer Smackdowns in a long time as it felt like everyone was taking a week off. The only star power was Undertaker vs. Mark Henry in a match that felt like a post show dark match wound up on television. Maybe they were just taking a week off here, but there was almost nothing worth seeing here outside of Kane vs. MVP. I’d like to believe it’s a one off situation, but this wasn’t a good show.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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AND

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