Smackdown
Date: February 23, 2007
Location: ipayOne Center, San Diego, California
Attendance: 7,500
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield

No Way Out has come and gone, with the big story being Batista attacking Undertaker to end the show. It wasn’t quite a heel turn but rather Batista being more aggressive and ready to fight. That should make things all the more interesting on the way to Wrestlemania and we could probably use some more stuff to build it up. Let’s get to it.

Here is No Way Out if you need a recap.

We open with a long video recapping Undertaker vs. Batista being set up, plus the No Way Out attack.

Michael Cole brings out Batista for a chat and if that was a heel turn (it wasn’t), it didn’t work. Batista isn’t going to need Cole as he talks about being familiar with Undertaker before he came to WWE. Undertaker is the Phenom and Batista has nothing but respect for him. That being said, he cannot apologize for what he did at No Way Out.

Undertaker chokeslammed him a few weeks ago, which is why Batista promised that payback is a b****. As far as Batista is concerned, they are even as they go into Wrestlemania. If it gets ugly, it gets ugly, but no one is disrespecting him. No matter what happens, Batista is leaving Wrestlemania as World Champion. Batista stayed to the point here and it worked.

We get a look at Rey Mysterio’s career, starting with his history with Eddie Guerrero.

Maryse, laid next to a fire, welcomes us back to the show.

Matt Hardy/Paul London/Brian Kendrick vs. Joey Mercury/Deuce and Domino

Ashley and Cherry are here too. Mercury drives Hardy into the corner and hammers away as JBL berates Cole for losing his voice at the pay per view. Hardy fights back and backdrops Mercury over the top onto Deuce and Domino, meaning London and Kendrick can start the double teaming. Domino finally offers a trip off the top though and it’s Deuce taking over with some knees to the ribs.

The chinlock goes on and it’s back to Domino to kick away. A double release gordbuster gets two with London making the save as we take a break. Back with Joey working on a waistlock but having to pull Kendrick down by the hair to cut off the comeback. Not that it matters as Kendrick gets over for the tag off to Hardy. House is cleaned for a bit as everything breaks down, including Hardy grabbing the Twist of Fate to finish Mercury.

Rating: C. I learned one thing from this match: I never need to see Hardy vs. Mercury in any form again. They aren’t interesting and they have been done to death at this point, so find something new for both of them to do already. London and Kendrick vs. Deuce and Domino isn’t there yet, but they should probably switch the titles already if they’re going to.

Vickie Guerrero has everything taken care of, though details are scarce.

We look at Edge qualifying for Money in the Bank.

Rey Mysterio won the 2006 Royal Rumble.

Chavo Guerrero vs. Scotty 2 Hotty

Non-title. Chavo knocks him into the ropes to start but gets caught with a hiptoss. A dropkick puts Chavo down again and Scotty hammers away in the corner. That earns him a dump over the top for a crash to the floor, meaning Scotty has to beat the count back in. Chavo cranks on both arms at the same time until Scotty fights up for a small package.

That earns him a big boot and we hit the abdominal stretch to keep Chavo in control. Scott fights out again and makes the clothesline comeback, though he does throw in a backdrop for a bonus. Chavo gets in Two Amigos but Scotty escapes the third, setting up the Worm. That’s enough to send Chavo outside so Scotty hits a running flip dive off the apron. Back in and Chavo grabs a rollup with feet on the ropes for the cheating pin.

Rating: C. These two had a nice little match here as you wouldn’t have expected these two to get much time. Chavo is someone who has long since been established as a big name in the division so he isn’t going to lose much by being in trouble against Scotty for a bit. Good enough here as Chavo gets to brag about a win and Scotty gets to do his biggest stuff.

Raw Rebound.

Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Kane vs. King Booker

Falls Count Anywhere and Queen Sharmell is here with Booker. Kane gets pounded down into the corner to start but comes right back with his assortment of uppercuts. They head outside with Kane dropping him onto the barricade for two and they’re back inside in a hurry. Booker hammers away in the corner again so Kane hits him in the face. Kane adds a knee to the ribs and falls down by mistake, allowing Booker to get in a shot of his own.

It’s time to go back outside with Kane being sent face first into various things. Back in and Kane ducks a bell shot to the face, meaning it’s another trip to the floor so Booker can get sent into hard objects. Booker DDTs him on the stage for two but Kane is fine enough to beat him back to ringside. Sharmell’s distraction allows Booker to get in a bell shot to send us to a break, because a bell shot isn’t the end of the match.

Back with Booker working on the arm and getting two off the hook kick to the face. Kane gets tossed outside, where he grabs a chair to smash Booker in the head for two. Back in again and Kane hits some running clotheslines in the corner, setting up the side slam for two more. Booker sends him outside but dives into the chokeslam….and here is Great Khali to beat Kane down. Khali sends him through the barricade and leaves, allowing Booker to steal the pin.

Rating: C-. I’m not sure who thought this needed nearly eighteen minutes but it set up Kane vs. Khali and gives Booker something to do at Wrestlemania. It felt like they didn’t know how to fill that much time as you can only go to the floor to brawl so many times and they went way over the quota here. It wasn’t bad, but it was long and overstayed its welcome.

Post break, Khali comes up to Booker for a handshake. Khali leaves so celebrating can ensue.

We look at Ashley’s Playboy cover reveal.

Rey Mysterio forced JBL to retain.

Finlay/Leprechaun vs. Boogeyman/Little Boogeyman

No Way Out rematch and there is no Leprechaun to start. He does pop up from under the ring skirt in fear and we take a break. We come back joined in progress with Finlay working on the arm….and then stomping on the worms. Cole freaks out over said worms as Little Boogeyman hits Finlay low.

Now the Leprechaun comes in for the brawl until Boogeyman and Finlay come in to take out the counterparts. Finlay hits Boogeyman with the Shillelagh and the Leprechaun hits a jumping DDT for the pin. This was nuts in a good way, with JBL freaking out over Cole cheering for Rey to beat him in the clip before the match making it even better.

Maryse, with champagne and in very limited clothing, welcomes us back to the show.

We look back at Batista’s opening speech.

Next week: Undertaker responds.

Here is Rey Mysterio, on a cane due to knee surgery, to the big hometown reception. It takes him the better part of a minute and a half to get in the ring and the wincing is strong. Rey talks about how great it is to be back in the ring, but it is even better to be back in his hometown. His rehab is ahead of schedule….and here is Vince McMahon to interrupt, with security following to surround the ring. Vince talks about how big of a star he is and brags about Wrestlemania, even though Rey can’t be there.

We hear about the Battle of the Billionaires with Vince promising to humiliate Donald Trump and shave him bald. Vince can’t wait to make Trump squeal (that’s good for a shiver) and pull his hair out by the roots. We should get Rey’s opinion on this, so Vince drops to a knee to ask Rey, who thinks Vince is a loser.

That’s fine with Vince, who brings out Umaga to meet Rey. Cole and JBL don’t seem to get what is happening here as Vince asks if Rey wants to change his pick. Then Vince hits Rey low and the beating is on, including a splash to the bad leg. Rey gets stretchered out to end the show. The hometown curse strikes again and it shouldn’t be much of a surprise. At least we got to hear about Trump on Smackdown this time for a change of pace.

Overall Rating: C-. This was one of those shows where they kind of slowed the pace down and got us ready for next week when Undertaker will be back to get us to the next big thing. Outside of Batista vs. Undertaker, we don’t have much going on in the way of Smackdown exclusives. Maybe that can be fixed up, but I’m not sure what exactly could be added. Smackdown isn’t exactly heavy in feuds, but they still have a long time to go before Wrestlemania to figure something out.

 

Smackdown
Date: February 16, 2007
Location: KeyArena, Seattle, Washington
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield

It’s the go home show for No Way Out, which really needs to wrap up already so we can move on to the stuff that matters. This show has been working pretty well as of late and a lot of that is due to focusing a bit more on wrestling than anything else. Now just make me care about the pay per view. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Commentary runs down the show, which will feature John Cena/Shawn Michaels and Rated-RKO as guest stars for some special tag matches. Dang I love it when the Brand Split is just ignored for the Road to Wrestlemania.

Finlay vs. Boogeyman

Finlay jumps him from behind to start fast and sends Boogeyman into various things on the floor. They get inside for the opening bell and Finlay pounds him down in the corner. The chinlock goes on, followed by a clothesline to drop Boogeyman again. Finlay finally gets sent outside though and the comeback is on.

Back in and a running shoulder in the corner…is about it for Boogeyman, as Finlay clotheslines him in the back of the head. Finlay goes for the Shillelagh so the referee yells at him, allowing the Leprechaun to come in. As you might have guessed, the Little Boogeyman debuts to take the Leprechaun down. Finlay is a bit confused so Boogeyman hits him in the ribs with his staff for the pin.

Rating: D+. So now there’s a Little Boogeyman as this is turning more and more into a Doink style deal. It does kind of fit in a way and I can go for something different, mainly because they are keeping this goofy stuff to one segment for the most part. I’m not sure how much more of it I can take, but at least it isn’t spreading.

Last night on Raw, Vince McMahon meets Donald Trump face to face. And on and on too.

Brian Kendrick vs. Deuce

Of note: the previously announced four way ladder match for the titles has been changed to Deuce and Domino getting a solo title shot. So at least they’ve got the right idea. Paul London, Domino and Cherry are all here. Deuce drives him into the corner to start so Kendrick fights out, only to get dropped with a clothesline.

We’re already in a seated abdominal stretch to keep Kendrick down, followed by a big boot and another seated abdominal stretch to keep things interesting. Kendrick fights up again and makes the comeback, including a bunch of kicks to put him down. The running shooting star gets two so Kendrick goes up, meaning it’s time for the Cherry distraction. Domino shoves Kendrick off the top and Deuce kicks him in the face for the pin.

Rating: D+. I think WWE understands what they have with Deuce and Domino, as they have been treated as a big deal since they debuted. London and Kendrick’s time seems to be over and that’s ok after such a long and successful run with the titles. The title change should happen at the pay per view, but WWE has gotten screwy with things before.

It’s time for a special feature as we have King Booker And Queen Sharmell At The Movies. This week they are looking at See No Evil on DVD, but Kane is not evil. No, he is someone who will be vanquished at No Way Out. They look at the clip of Kane attacking people and crack up, with Booker saying he would have been better in the role. We see King Booker wielding an ax against everyone, which is a lot funnier than it sounds.

Then the lights go red and Kane’s voice says there will be no way out on Sunday. The curtain is torn back with Kane appearing to scare off Booker and Sharmell. See, this was a good idea, as they actually used something going on and turned it into a unique way to build a feud. Why is that so hard for everyone else?

Clips of the eight man tag from Raw.

John Cena needs to make sure that Shawn Michaels has his back tonight. Of course Michaels does, because nothing can happen to him until Wrestlemania. Now that’s interesting.

John Cena/Shawn Michaels vs. Mr. Kennedy/MVP

Non-title. Kennedy takes Shawn into the corner for a clean break to start but gets pulled down into a headlock takeover. Cena comes in for a hiptoss into an elbow for two but it’s off to MVP to take over. The villains start taking turns on Cena for all of about ten seconds before he gets over to Shawn for the hot tag. Cena saves Shawn from a cheap shot from MVP and there’s Shawn’s big dive to the floor as we take a break.

Back with Cena getting two off the release fisherman’s suplex to Kennedy. Michaels comes back in to work on the arm as JBL goes on a rant about Teddy Long being anti-Smackdown. Kennedy low bridges Shawn out to the floor and now it’s time for the real beating to begin. Shawn tries to fight out of the corner but gets sent into it instead.

That means Kennedy can kick him in the face a few times, followed by more of the same from MVP. It’s already back to Kennedy for the chinlock, followed by the Regal Roll. The Kenton Bomb misses though and now it’s back to Shawn to clean house. Kennedy tries to bring in a chair but gets superkicked down, leaving MVP to walk into the FU for the pin.

Rating: C. This was about setting up the new normal, or at least the new temporary normal, between Michaels and Cena. They are going to have to get used to being together as a team and that could make for something interesting. Kennedy and MVP are more guys who have lost so many times that one more is not going to really hurt them, so this was a fine use of about twenty minutes.

Things are cool post match.

Krystal is in Teddy Long’s office where she isn’t sure what to do for the talent show on Sunday (because a WWE pay per view is featuring a talent show). Jillian comes in to say she wants to rap on Sunday, which seems to give Krystal her idea for Sunday: stripping. We even get a demonstration.

Dusty Rhodes Hall of fame package. That’s about as overdue as you can get.

Bobby Lashley comes in to see Teddy Long, though Krystal has to leave them alone first. Cue Mr. Kennedy to say he wants an ECW Title shot at No Way Out because he is a singles wrestler. Lashley tells Long to set it up.

Here is Ashley to recap her life (she went to college, then she became a WWE Diva). With that out of her way, she reveals the Playboy cover. This takes less than three minutes total, though JBL and Cole talking about how much they couldn’t wait to get the magazine was pretty disturbing.

Long video on Vince McMahon vs. Donald Trump from Raw.

Scotty 2 Hotty vs. Gregory Helms

Non-title. Helms jumps him before the bell and the beatdown is on in a hurry, including some choking on the ropes. Scotty fights up and slugs away, setting up a backdrop. The bulldog sets up the Worm but here is Daivari to jump Scotty for the DQ (which isn’t how you spell Worm).

Post match the rest of the cruiserweights run in for the brawl as Helms escapes with the title.

Maryse, in a tub with Big Dick Johnson, welcomes us back to the show.

No Way Out rundown.

Rated-RKO seems ready for the main event.

Video on Rey Mysterio, who is back next week.

Batista/Undertaker vs. Rated-RKO

Undertaker and Edge start things off with Old School being countered in a hurry, but Undertaker armdrags him down to counter the counter. The second Old School connects and Batista comes in to clean house as we take a break. Back with Batista driving Edge into the apron but Orton grabs the backbreaker on the floor to cut him off. Edge adds a baseball slide and it’s back inside so Orton can stomp away.

The chinlock goes on but Batista is back up with the swinging Boss Man Slam. It’s a double tag to bring in Undertaker and Edge but the double chokeslam is broken up. Orton is sent outside again but the referee gets bumped. Snake Eyes into the big boot looks to set up the chokeslam as Orton posts Batista. Orton gets on the apron for a distraction though, allowing Edge to spear Undertaker down.

The Conchairto is loaded up but Undertaker grabs Edge by the throat, only to get hit low by Orton. A chair to the head drops Undertaker and a new referee (who wasn’t watching the cheating but was watching to know that it was time to come down) comes in to count two. Batista comes back in to wreck people as Undertaker sits up. The Batista Bomb drops Orton and a Tombstone finishes Edge.

Rating: C+. This was a pretty good main event, with two major teams making it feel that much bigger. The star power was more than enough to help push this one to another level and it worked well for what they were trying to do. Undertaker and Batista are going to explode in a month and a half so let them get something like this in first.

Post match here are John Cena and Shawn Michaels to take out Undertaker and Batista. The Smackdown guys pull themselves up and glare to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. As usual, star power carries the day here and that’s all you could ask for from a show like this. No Way Out is one of the least important shows of the year and the main event is just a commercial for Wrestlemania anyway, but they are getting as much out of it as they can here. The two tag matches made the show feel a lot bigger and for a one off Smackdown, that’s about as good as it is getting.

 

 

 

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NXT
Date: July 12, 2011
Location: Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, Connecticut
Commentators: Todd Grisham, William Regal

We’re somehow in week 19 of this show.  Think about that for a minute and try not to have your head explode.  This season started on March 8.  What I want to know is what they’re waiting on.  I mean do they really not have six guys they can throw on here?  Anyway we now have three finalists left again and there’s not much else to say here because the shows are the same all around again.  Let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of Bateman returning and he and Bryan winning last week.

Bateman opens the show and says this is his show, calling it the Super Terrific Derrick Bateman Happy Hour Extravaganza.  He talks about how awesome he is and how he’s here to save the show.  The fans really don’t seem all that into him here which is rather surprising.  After he runs his mouth for a bit, here’s Darren Young to read off his resume which is really all he’s capable of doing anymore.  Also O’Neil has nothing on him.  Bateman agrees that Young is good but not as good as Bateman.

Cue that leprechaun music to get on my nerves again.  Titus comes out and barks a lot but Bateman cuts him off.  When they’ve gotten to the point that they’re calling each other’s lines before they happen, you’ve been on this show too long.  Bateman says O’Neil will be going for cheap pops which Bateman is the master of.  “So you’re the Master Bateman?”  Someone pop in a DX reunion DVD.  The jokes have to be better than this.  Anyway Maryse comes out and makes a triple threat.

Darren Young vs. Titus O’Neil vs. Derrick Bateman

 

Bateman grabs a quick rollup for two to start.  That gets him nowhere though so Titus clears the ring because he can.  The two others decide to double team Titus to take him down as we enter into the standard operating procedures for bad triple threat matches.  Bateman gets a splash for two.  Bryan is the only pro out here.  Double suplex gets two on Titus.

This is elimination apparently.  The fans are a bit bored so they cheer for Bryan.  The boring double beatdown continues for awhile until Titus wakes up for a bit, only to get taken down again almost immediately.  Bateman is sent to the floor as Titus hits Clash of the Titus on Young but Bateman steals the pin.  Back from a break with Titus throwing Bateman around for fun.  Bateman goes for the knee and it’s off to a chinlock to make sure we don’t get excited about anything.

Nice loud chops by Bateman finally wake up the crowd for a few seconds.  Titus takes over and chops even harder.  And never mind as it’s back to Bateman’s control to waste even more time.  Titus starts his comeback and hits a backbreaker but barks instead of covering.  Fall away slam gets two.  Titus goes up and tries a middle rope clothesline but Bateman ducks and O’Neil kind of hits Bateman’s back.  Bateman hits the stupid headlock mat slam/weak bulldog for the pin at 13:53 shown.

Rating: D+. Just so boring here.  These guys can only have so many matches before you’ve seen it all.  They’re not even good matches in the first place so it’s not like we’re watching good matches when they’re at their best.  Bateman makes things a bit more interesting but it’s not like we’re watching Flair vs. Steamboat out there.

Video on Money in the Bank.

Yoshi is back at his shrine or whatever.  Striker asks why he’s keeping the broken action figure and apparently it’s something about honor.  Tyson vs. Tatsu III tonight.

Pretty long video on Punk vs. Cena.

Horny is drinking root beer because he’s sad about Maryse.  A guy comes up with a package for him and it’s from a secret admirer.  He thinks the candy in it is from Maryse.

JTG thinks he can make Kozlov gangster and they make a bet.  Gee do you think this is going to result in Kozlov wearing a funny costume?

Yoshi Tatsu vs. Tyson Kidd

 

Regal wants to know why it’s called a rubber match.  Kidd stalls a lot before we get going.  Yoshi grabs the arm to start which is rather quickly countered.  Dropkick by Kidd misses and Yoshi hammers away, sending Kidd to the floor.  Kidd takes over once they’re back inside and chokes him on the ropes.  Tatsu comes back but the Canadian hits a Russian legsweep to the Japanese off the middle rope.

Back from a break with Kidd holding a headscissors on the mat.  Yoshi gets up and gets a sloppy crucifix for two.  Kidd gets a floatover neckbreaker for two.  Isn’t it great to see two pros get the final ¼ of a show about rookies?  Off to a chinlock as the crowd is coming out of their seemingly eternal slumber a bit here.  Regal keeps me sane by talking about how when he had a heart attack his ex wife immediately wrote for an ambulance.

Yoshi gets a big kick to put both guys down for a count, reaching seven.  Here’s Yoshi’s comeback and he goes old school with a slingshot.  Here are some more kicks but Kidd kicks Yoshi’s knee out.  Dropkick to the side of the head gets two for Kidd.  Sharpshooter is blocked and Kidd is sent back to the floor.  A dive is blocked by a kick to the head of Tatsu though but Kidd’s springboard elbow is blocked.  Kidd gets crotched on the top but blocks a superplex.  Moonsault misses and Tatsu gets a rollup for the pin at 11:20.

Rating: C+. This again pales in comparison to their rather good first match in the set.  It’s like they’re trying to go out and have a great match which works about once a decade and it takes people a lot better than this.  It was pretty good, but at the end of the day they’re fighting over a piece of a leg of an action figure broken in a shrine.

Kidd jumps him post match and resteals the leg of the action figure.  It was stolen in the first place?

Overall Rating: D. The show overall is pretty pointless but the main event was ok enough.  Definitely not worth going out of your way to see or anything though.  There was also no word on anything else as far as ending the season.  That August 2 date gets scarier and scarier every time.  Anyway, another horrible show this week with very little redeeming value.

Results

Derrick Bateman b. Titus O’Neil and Darren Young – Headlock into a mat slam to O”Neil

Yoshi Tatsu b. Tyson Kidd – Rollup