Smackdown
Date: June 13, 2008
Location: Save Mart Center, Fresno, California
Attendance: 6,000
Commentators: Mick Foley, Michael Cole

We’re well on the way to Night Of Champions and Batista is the new #1 contender to Edge’s Smackdown World Title. That alone should make for a good build towards the show, but we’re going to need more than that. Smackdown’s midcard might not be the strongest, but I’m sure we’ll have some Chuck Palumbo involved. Let’s get to it.

Vickie Guerrero is in the ring and we’re starting big with a contract signing. Batista comes out first but won’t sit down, even after Vickie offers him the chance. Vickie hypes up Edge a bit but since he has already signed the contract, he won’t be needed at the moment. She signs as well and tells Batista he needs to, but then won’t hand it over. Apparently Batista has to beat Great Khali tonight to really become #1 contender. That’s fine with Batista, who calls Vickie ugly and leaves. Hold on though as Vickie says if Batista loses tonight, he’s out of WWE. Vickie: “You’re dismissed.”

Finlay vs. John Morrison

Hornswoggle and Miz are here and this is a rather unique match. Finlay runs him over with a shoulder to start so Morrison heads to the floor. A legsweep takes Finlay down for a change but he ties Morrison up in the ring skirt. Hornswoggle is thrown at Miz to break up some interference but Morrison scores with a kick to take over. We hit the chinlock back inside before a neckbreaker gives Morrison two more. Finlay comes back with some clotheslines but Miz goes after Hornswoggle again. That’s enough of a distraction for Morrison to grab a rollup for the pin.

Rating: C. I could go for more of these two but this was more about setting things up for later. Finlay and Hornswoggle are at least a fresh team but I’m not sure I’d get behind the idea of them as serious challengers. Granted that might not be the case anytime soon as Finlay lost here, though I do like seeing a fresh match.

We’ll be looking at some classic Batista moments, like winning the 2005 Royal Rumble.

Edge likes the idea of honoring Batista before he’s gone from WWE, just like he did with Undertaker. Cue CM Punk to hint at cashing in the Money In The Bank briefcase at Edge’s wedding next month.

Mark Henry vs. Tommy Dreamer

Before the match, we see a clip of Henry promising to give Big Show another black eye at Night Of Champions. Henry shoves him into the corner without much trouble to start and knocks him down for a kick to the back. There’s another slam to set up a headbutt in the corner as this is total destruction. Dreamer gets a boot up in the corner and slugs away but the DDT is blocked. The World’s Strongest Slam finishes Dreamer without much trouble.

Edge comes in to see Vickie Guerrero, who is planning her wedding with wedding planner Alicia Fox. He’s worried about the threat of a CM Punk cash-in but here is MVP to interrupt. MVP wants to renegotiate his contract because his talents are being underutilized. Edge doesn’t want to hear it so MVP says he could take the title. Anyway, he wants a new contract but Vickie points out that Teddy Long gave him the original. She’ll consider it…if he takes care of this CM Punk issue. Works for MVP.

Cherry vs. Maryse

Cherry takes her down and hammers away to start so Maryse bails into the corner. Back up and Maryse kicks the leg out to take over and we hit the cravate. Cherry fights up and slugs away, setting up a hammerlock DDT for the fast pin. Not much to this one.

Video on the Great Khali.

MVP vs. CM Punk

Punk wrestles him to the mat to start before grabbing a headlock. MVP reverses into one of his own for a bit, only to have Punk pop up. A spinwheel kick drops MVP and we hit the chinlock again. MVP slips out and grabs an armbar and cranks away for a bit. Punk is able to fight out with his good arm as they’re certainly not breaking out of second gear so far.

A missed charge sends Punk’s bad arm into the post and MVP sends it in twice more. We take a break and come back with MVP hammering away and grabbing a Fujiwara armbar. Punk fights out so MVP puts on another armbar. Back up again and Punk is able to hit a kick to the head for two and a hurricanrana gets the same.

Punk goes up top but the elbow only hits raised knees. With nothing else working, MVP pulls off a turnbuckle pad and uses the distraction to grab the Money In The Bank briefcase. Punk scores with the jumping knee to the head and takes the briefcase back (it’s his after all) but the referee sees it and calls the DQ.

Rating: C+. This was the wrestling match of the show and it got a lot of time, but the armbars took up a good bit of the time. They made sense given what MVP was tasked with doing but that didn’t make for an interesting match. At least Punk didn’t get pinned again, as they seem to be getting close to the cash-in, or certainly teasing the heck out of the thing.

Video on Edge winning the World Title by beating Undertaker in a TLC match.

Here is Chavo Guerrero, with Bam Neely, to announce that he will be Edge’s best man. In addition, at Night Of Champions, he’ll beat Matt Hardy for the US Title!

Matt Hardy vs. Chuck Palumbo

Non-title. Palumbo powers him into the corner to start and kicks Matt outside. Back in and Palumbo hits a belly to back suplex into a chinlock as the pace stays slow. Palumbo misses a top rope legdrop for two and Matt grabs the Side Effect for two. The Twist of Fate finishes Palumbo soon after.

Rating: C. Palumbo continues to hang around and he’s oddly starting to grow on me. At the end of the day, he’s never going to be a big star but he’s someone who can handle a middle of the road spot like this and do just fine. That’s a role that you need to have on any show and Palumbo, while not great, is doing it well enough.

Video on Batista winning his first World Title at Wrestlemania XXI.

Video on the first week of Million Dollar Mania.

Vladimir Kozlov is asked about better competition and answers in Russian.

Video on Batista winning the World Title at Survivor Series 2006.

Jesse & Festus vs. Deuce N Domino

Festus runs both of them outside to start before Jesse drop toeholds Deuce down to start. Jesse gets taken into the corner though and the double teaming is on quickly. The chinlock doesn’t last long as Jesse kicks his way out. Festus comes back in to clean house, including an uppercut to Domino. A sitdown splash gives Festus the pin.

Rating: C-. These teams feel like they have been fighting each other in circles for months and neither has shown any signs of moving up the ladder. At some point you need to do something that actually matters or otherwise this is just filler. The Festus Is A Monster deal has gone about as far as it can and it’s not getting any better. In other words, it’s a WWE tag team problem, as they continue to prove why there isn’t enough depth for two sets of titles.

Post match Deuce N Domino go at it, with Domino getting the better of things and walking off. And the depth lowers again.

Video on Batista vs. Great Khali from 2007.

Batista vs. Great Khali

If Batista wins he gets a Night Of Champions title shot but if he loses, he’s fired. Edge and Vickie Guerrero come out to watch as Khali chops away in the corner. Batista tries to fight back and we take a break. Back with Khali headbutting him to the floor before dropping the leg. Khali hits the elbow in the corner but Batista reverses for the shoulders to the ribs. The chokebomb gets two and we hit the nerve hold. Batista fights up and blocks the chop, setting up the sear for the fast pin.

Rating: C. As usual, keeping things short is the right way to go for Khali and Batista gets the win to set up the title match. It wasn’t the most interesting drama but they were in and out of there in about five minutes. They built it up over one night but it worked out well enough for a single night main event.

Overall Rating: C-. This show was almost all about setting up the Batista vs. Edge match and it went well enough. That being said, they needed something else to make things interesting and that was lacking pretty badly. Smackdown doesn’t have the most depth in the storyline department at the moment and as has been the case for a long time now, they need to work on that.

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

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Monday Night Raw
Date: August 16, 2010
Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler

This was a request for reasons not quite clear. It’s night after Summerslam and the big story is John Cena and company vanquished the Nexus, in a match that saw Cena overcome some rather insane odds. Other than that, Sheamus is still Raw World Champion, having retained the title over Randy Orton. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Here is the Nexus to get things going, with commentary saying that the team showed they belong despite losing last night. Wade Barrett (the team’s leader) says they beat SIX of the best that Raw had to offer last night (keep in mind that it was a 7 on 7 tag match) and they are still ready to dominate WWE. They were defeated and that means there will be consequences for Raw.

Cue John Cena, to say that Barrett has the resolve of Winston Churchill and the toughness of Snooki from the Jersey Shore. Cena brings up how Barrett tapped out to cause the team to lose. The reality is that Nexus is expendable and Barrett must be kicking himself in the fish and chips over letting Daniel Bryan go. Then last night Bryan eliminated over half of the Nexus by himself as they proved that Nexus can be defeated.

You have the various members of the team, such as Otunga (an above average male escort), Tarver (looks like a stripper), Heath Slater (the chick from Wendy’s…..so Wendy), Darren Young (a cross between Cena and Buckwheat), Justin Gabriel (he has an “alternative” way of thinking) and Skip Sheffield (who thinks the Meow Mix theme).

All that matters is they are a bunch of humans, with Young tapping out in less than a minute. We get an email from the anonymous Raw General Manager (egads the flashbacks), saying tonight it’s Team WWE vs. Nexus in a bunch of singles matches, with threats made against Nexus interference.

Barrett doesn’t like hearing that he tapped out, but promises that after tonight, Nexus will be stronger than ever. If any of them lose though, their spots might not be safe. Otunga says that’s fine, but if Barrett loses, someone else can step up and take the leadership. We get another email, saying Nexus can pick their matchups tonight. Except for Barrett that is, because he gets to face Chris Jericho. So there’s your show tonight, and they did it in about fifteen minutes. That’s fairly fast for some Raw opening segments.

Chris Jericho vs. Wade Barrett

Jericho kicks him down to start as the rest of Nexus is shown watching in the back. There’s the triangle dropkick to send Barrett outside but he’s able to knock Jericho off the apron for a breather. There’s a big boot to drop Jericho again and we hit the double arm crank. Jericho fights up and hits a middle rope dropkick, followed by the bulldog. A quick Wasteland attempt is countered into the Walls, sending Barrett straight to the rope. Back up and Jericho boots him in the face again, only to get caught with an enziguri. The Codebreaker is loaded up but Barrett reverses into the Wasteland for the clean pin.

Rating: C+. Jericho can be criticized for a lot of things, but he has a reputation as someone who will put just about anyone over. That is a big win for Barrett, especially after last night’s big loss. Barrett being able to hang with someone at Jericho’s level helps him a lot and they had a good match to show what Barrett can do.

This week’s guest hosts are Jason Sudekis, Charlie Day and Justin Long. They have a new moving coming out and seemingly have no idea what to talk about here so they just make weird noises. We hear some NBA insults before the team introduces the Hart Dynasty (Tag Team Champions).

Hold on though as we get another email. As of tonight, the Unified Tag Team Titles will now be known as the WWE Tag Team Titles, so here is Bret Hart with the new (bronze, because of course) titles. Thankfully that means dropping the dumb four belts for two people idea but here is Nexus on the screen. They have picked Hart’s opponent for tonight: Justin Gable, who promises a 450 to Bret. At least those morons were off quick.

We hear about Daniel Bryan replacing the injured Great Khali on Team WWE. No clip for that?

Michael Tarver vs. Daniel Bryan

Bryan goes after the arm to start as Cole goes off about Bryan having no skill or change of becoming a star because he doesn’t eat meat. The rapid fire kicks to the chest in the corner have Tarver in more trouble and a missile dropkick makes it worse. Cue Miz and Alex Riley for a distraction though, allowing Tarver to get the fast rollup pin.

Post match Bryan goes after the Miz but Riley and Tarver take him down. The Skull Crushing Finale onto Miz’s Money In The Bank briefcase leaves Bryan laying.

Post break Miz and Riley talk about how they don’t like Bryan’s popularity, with Miz promising that Riley will be the next breakout star.

Darren Young tells Nexus that he’ll be facing John Cena. Pep talking ensues.

Justin Gabriel vs. Bret Hart

Actually hold on as we get an email saying there is a replacement.

Justin Gabriel vs. Randy Orton

Orton (in his weird bare arms phase) powers him into the corner to start but Gabriel flips over him and starts kicking away. As Lawler tries to figure out what kind of animal Gabriel is poking here (before finally remembering the whole VIPER thing), Orton snaps off the powerslam and the hanging DDT. The RKO is loaded up but cue Sheamus for….not a DQ as Orton brawls with him into the crowd for the countout instead. Well that was a dumb way out of the stipulation.

Post match Orton goes back inside to RKO Gabriel. With that not being enough, Orton grabs a chair and unloads on Sheamus to blow off some steam. That’s not enough so Orton drops Sheamus with the RKO on the floor for a bonus.

Skip Sheffield/David Otunga vs. R-Truth/John Morrison

Morrison works on Otunga’s arm to start before grabbing a Russian legsweep. It’s off to Sheffield to powerslam Truth but Otunga comes back in and gets Downward Spiraled. Cole asks what a Truth/Morrison win would mean for the locker room’s psyche. I’m thinking….not much? Anyway Morrison comes back in to pick up the pace but Sheffield runs him over. One heck of a running clothesline finishes Morrison to keep Nexus undefeated.

Melina/Eve Torres/Gail Kim vs. Jillian/Maryse/Alicia Fox

Gail easily takes Maryse down to start and calls her a gold digger. A crossbody gives Gail two and it’s off to Melina, who is taken into the wrong corner. Fox hits her always nice looking northern lights suplex and the chinlock goes on. That’s broken up and Eve comes in with a bunch of dropkicks. Everything breaks down and Eve hits an enziguri out of the corner to drop Jillian. The moonsault is loaded up but Jillian rolls her up out of the corner for the big upset pin.

Edge isn’t surprised that he led Team WWE to victory last night but here is Heath Slater to interrupt. They’re facing each other tonight and Heath tries to get him to back out. That’s not going to work for Edge, who isn’t losing to a Wendy looking Edge wannabe. Heath decks him and leaves.

Edge vs. Heath Slater

Edge knocks him into the corner without too much trouble to start but Heath gets in a cheap shot. They head outside with Edge being sent into the barricade, followed by the armbar back inside. That’s broken up and Edge makes the clothesline comeback for two. Heath gets in his own clothesline for two, with a fan shouting “I HATE YOU HEATH SLATER! I HATE YOU!” Back up and Edge sends him (Heath, not the fan) outside but misses the baseball slide dropkick. The spear against the steps misses….and Heath beats the count back inside for the pin.

Rating: C-. Well that was nothing, but it’s getting more than a little tough to accept that after eliminating all seven members last night, Team WWE can’t beat a single member of the Nexus here. That doesn’t makes the most sense and it’s leading to some rather screwy finishes. This didn’t feel like something Edge would ever fall for and it’s not something I would buy him doing, which doesn’t exactly make for a strong finish.

Post match Edge hits a spear to blow off some steam.

The hosts are in the back with Great Khali and talk about long distances relationships (which is why Khali hasn’t been doing the Kiss Cam). Justin Long sees a picture of Khali’s girlfriend and the other hosts aren’t impressed. They then find out that Khali understands English, but he admits the girlfriend is ugly. Then he leaves with the Bellas. Cole: “WHAT WAS THAT ALL ABOUT?”

Video on Summerslam week, including a bunch of charity stuff.

John Cena vs. Darren Young

No entrance for Young and that can’t be a good sign. Hold on though as cue Nexus to watch from the stage and Young gets two off a fast rollup to start. Young grabs a headlock and my goodness you can hear the spots being called despite a fairly rowdy crowd. Cena reverses into a headlock of his own but gets suplexed down, setting up a legdrop for two more. Cole: “Remember Young has to win this match.” Lawler: “I think Cena has to win this match.” Cole: “I agree with you.”

A clothesline and neckbreaker give Young two each and we hit the chinlock with a knee in the back. Back up and Cena….charges into an elbow in the corner as this has been one sided so far. Young drops a leg, Cena says “one more leg”, Young drops another leg. A northern lights suplex gets two more and Young is getting frustrated. With nothing else working, Young tosses him outside and then into the steps for a nine count. Back in and Cena quickly starts the comeback, setting up the Shuffle into the STFU for the tap.

Rating: C+. For someone who almost never got used on his own, Young can wrestle a decent match when he is given the chance. Granted having Cena call spots REALLY LOUDLY might have helped, but it was the best Young ever looked in WWE. At some point someone from Nexus had to lose and Young was the only one left by the end.

Post match the Nexus comes to the ring but let Cena go, instead circling Young. The big beatdown is on, with the Wasteland into the 450 splash destroying Young to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. Normally I like the idea of focusing on one thing throughout the show but this was extreme even by WWE standards. Other than the women’s match and some dumb stuff with the hosts, this was all about one storyline. Throw in Nexus dominating most of the show and this wasn’t exactly interesting, with Nexus dominating most of the show despite losing last night. Not a good show, as the Nexus story was instantly a lot lamer after the Summerslam loss. Focusing on a big story is fine, but you have to mix it up a bit.

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

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Smackdown
Date: June 6, 2008
Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Attendance: 10,000
Commentators: Mick Foley, Michael Cole

We FINALLY have a new Smackdown World Champion as Edge (with all of his friends helping) defeated Undertaker in a TLC match to win the title. In addition, Undertaker is officially gone from WWE and I know Edge won’t be bragging about that in the slightest. We are less than a month away from Night Of Champions and that show could use some attention. Let’s get to it.

Here is One Night Stand if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of TLC, with Edge stealing the title. Actually not really as anything goes, so I guess it was clean? Kind of?

La Familia is in the ring, with Vickie Guerrero (back in the wheelchair after walking at One Night Stand) introducing Edge to quite the negative reception. They all have champagne as Edge thanks everyone, but especially Vickie herself. Edge talks about how Vickie completes him, because she made this happen. As for Undertaker, Edge would have run him out of here anyway so Undertaker should thank him. Edge: “May he rest in peace.”

Vickie announces that she and Edge are getting married in five weeks on July 11, but cue Batista to interrupt. Batista doesn’t know why he wasn’t invited to the party but he just wants to wish them luck. Actually he just wants to wish them bad luck and ugly kids because he doesn’t like either of them!

Either way, he wants a World Title shot, but Vickie gives him an eight man tag tonight where he can face La Familia while teaming with three partners…of Vickie’s choosing. Oh and if he loses, no title shots EVER! They certainly hit the ground running here after One Night Stand and that is a good thing, as Edge really needed to face someone new after that never ending feud with Undertaker.

Finlay vs. Chuck Palumbo

This is a Belfast Brawl (street fight) with Hornswoggle in Finlay’s corner. Hornswoggle goes after Palumbo’s bike and gets shoved down to start, meaning Finlay is ready to fight fast. Palumbo gets in a few right hands on the floor and it’s already time for some weapons. A drop toehold sends Palumbo face first into a trashcan but he’s back up with a right hand. Palumbo takes off a turnbuckle pad so Finlay gets the shillelagh, earning himself a big boot. With Finlay down, Palumbo loads up a chain but Hornswoggle hits him low, allowing Finlay to get in a chain shot to win.

Rating: C. That should end the feud but it’s kind of amazing to see how much Palumbo has gotten out of the whole thing. Finlay never was able to get the better of him without help and Palumbo dominated a lot of their time together. Not great here, but you’re only getting so much out of a five minute street fight.

MVP is in a sky box and doesn’t seem pleased with Finlay and Hornswoggle.

Here is Big Show, with a heck of a black eye, to brag about winning the Singapore cane match and say he’s on to a bigger challenge in Kane. Cue Mark Henry to interrupt because he remembered Show telling him to pick on someone his own size. Then he got involved in a match involving STICKS. Show got beaten up to look like that, and we see Show going face first into the steps to bang up his eye. Show is ready to fight but Henry walks away.

We see WWE accepting an award at a film festival involving the military. I believe we saw this a few weeks ago.

Great Khali vs. Deuce N Domino

Deuce starts for the team and is promptly caught in the claw. Domino comes in and gets kicked in the face so they’ll try some double teaming. Khali has no time for this and hits a pair of chokebombs for the pin. Total destruction.

Vickie Guerrero talks to the Divas and compares herself to the Fabulous Moolah. She wants her own Women’s Champion though, so the Divas Title is coming. Tonight, we’ll crown one of the competitors. This has to happen as you can only have random matches for personal issues for so long.

We recap Jimmy Kimmel’s Cousin Sal, as trained by Roddy Piper, vs. Santino Marella. A lot of this is cut off of Peacock, likely due to trademarked footage.

Santino Marella vs. Cousin Sal

Roddy Piper and Jimmy Kimmel is here with Sal, who is in a kilt. Sarah Silverman is here in the crowd for a bonus. They circle each other to start as we hear about how much Sal has waned to do this over the years. Sal grabs a headlock and Santino might need to rethink this. We get the airplane spin and a suplex for two on Santino as Kimmel looks like he’s seeing an amusing dog trick. Kimmel offers a distraction and Sal gets a rollup for the pin.

Rating: D. I almost didn’t rate this but it was officially a match. No this wasn’t anything from a quality standpoint and that wasn’t why they did it. This got them on Jimmy Kimmel Live and tied some things into that with the Piper appearance so it’s hard to complain. Nothing match, but they were in and out in less than six minutes.

Post match Santino jumps Sal but Piper saves Kimmel.

MVP is still not impressed.

Post break Sal is getting checked out by Kimmel, who won’t let Sal talk for some reason. Kimmel has Sal’s next opponent, and brings in Big Show for some clowning.

Miz and John Morrison mock Hornswoggle but Finlay comes in (complete with green hat) to scare them off.

Edge talks to Chavo Guerrero, who he wants to be the best man. He’s going to be Uncle Edge after all! Chavo is in and we get an awkward hug.

Kelly Kelly vs. Layla vs. Maryse vs. Cherry vs. Natalya vs. Victoria vs. Michelle McCool

This is the Golden Dreams match, meaning there’s a gold star on a pole and the winner is in the Divas Title match. Everyone goes for the pole to start and that quickly devolves into a huge brawl. The ring is cleared save for Michelle and Natalya, with Michelle kicking her out and going up. Maryse makes the save, followed by Layla and Victoria doing the save. Natalya powerbombs Victoria and Michelle down and grabs the star for the title shot.

Million Dollar Mania press conference video.

Vladimir Kozlov vs. Jimmy Wang Yang

Kozlov grabs a front facelock to start before kicking Yang in the face. The half crab goes on so Kozlov can yell a lot but he misses an elbow. Yang kicks him in the head, only to miss an elbow. Kozlov finishes with a belly to belly.

Batista is ready for Edge and company.

La Familia vs. Batista/???/???/???

Batista’s partners are Nunzio, Funaki and Colin Delaney. Batista and Ryder start things off with Batista not having much trouble. Chavo comes in and gets Jackhammered for two so Batista Rocket Launchers Delaney onto Chavo for two more. We take a break and come back with the villains taking turns on Delaney.

Edge grabs a headlock and forces Delaney to tag Funaki (sidenote: Foley points out that Nunzio and Funaki are former Cruiserweight Champions and very well could cancel out the Edgeheads. That might not be the story they are going for, but it’s accurate.), who gets beaten down for a change. Ryder’s chinlock goes on before it’s back to Edge, who counters the tornado DDT without much trouble. Funaki avoids a charge and Batista gets the tag to clean house. Edge breaks up the Batista Bomb and everything breaks down. Batista hits a double spear and the Batista Bomb finishes Hawkins.

Rating: C+. They were telling a story with Batista overcoming the odds here and, as Foley pointed out, Nunzio and Funaki have had some success before so they could have been worse. Batista getting the win should set him up for Night Of Champions, but odds are he has some more hoops to clear first. As commentary was pointing out though, with Undertaker gone, who else is there to come after Edge?

Overall Rating: C. The idea of Edge vs. Batista is nice and they do need a Women’s Title here, but the rest of the show wasn’t exactly must see. You had a bunch of short matches, including the pole match, and that doesn’t exactly make for a strong middle of the card. There are worse shows, but this didn’t give me confidence on the way to Night Of Champions.

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

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Smackdown
Date: May 30, 2008
Location: World Arena, Colorado Springs, Colorado
Commentators: Mick Foley, Michael Cole

It’s the final show before One Night Stand and as was the case last week, the show is completely set up. There isn’t much more than needs to be said around here as Edge vs. Undertaker in a TLC match sells itself. Other than that, Batista vs. Shawn Michaels in a stretcher match is already there so it should be time for the big final push towards Sunday. Let’s get to it.

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

Edge joins us to start and says he will be introducing a series of clips of the Undertaker throughout the night, because this will be Undertaker’s last night on Smackdown. It will also be his first time on the Cutting Edge, which could be fascinating. Ok more like moderately interesting but fascinating sounds better.

Opening sequence.

Here is Batista to get things going and the fans seem rather happy to see him. Batista doesn’t have much to say because the time for talking is LONG gone. If nothing else, he is a man of his word and on Sunday he is going to hurt Shawn Michaels. Some people will have a problem with that but he hopes they can find it in their hearts to forgive him. After that, the winner of the TLC match between Batista and Undertaker….and here is Vickie Guerrero, with the Edgeheads, to cut him off.

Vickie says that it’s great for Batista to be looking at the future, but maybe he’ll be drafted to Raw. On top of that, what if he loses to Shawn Michaels and his bag of trick (Bag of tricks?)? He would humiliate all of Smackdown and VICKIE WOULD LOOK BAD! Batista cuts off whatever she is demanding and says this has nothing to do with her. This is about Batista vs. Shawn Michaels so go worry about Edge. The Edgeheads are ready to fight, but Vickie makes a tag match later, with Batista getting to pick his partner.

We look at Undertaker debuting at Survivor Series 1990.

Matt Hardy vs. Elijah Burke

Non-title. Burke knocks him into the corner to start but Hardy slugs his way out of trouble. That earns Hardy the Four Up before Burke rains down more right hands. The chinlock goes on for a bit until Hardy fights up. Burke drops him with a clothesline for two and we hit the chinlock with a knee in Hardy’s back. Hardy finally suplexes his way to freedom but it’s too early for the middle rope elbow. Instead Hardy settles for two off a Side Effect but Burke blocks the bulldog out of the corner. Not that it matters as Hardy grabs the Twist of Fate for the pin.

Rating: C. Not much to see here as they only had so much time and a lot of it was spent on punches. This felt like a way to get Hardy on the show but it would have been nice if the match had been a bit better. Burke has been pretty much nothing for a good while now so the title not being on the line here made a bit more sense.

MVP says no one cares about Matt Hardy but Jamie Noble interrupts. Noble thinks they’re a lot alike but MVP doesn’t want to hear it. A match is made for later.

Finlay vs. Chuck Palumbo

Hornswoggle is here with Finlay. Palumbo kicks away to start and hits a heck of a right hand in the corner. Finlay ducks a charge though and Palumbo goes shoulder first into the post. Some arm cranking ensues and they head outside with Finlay sending him arm first into the steps. Back in and Palumbo hits one heck of a big boot for two, with Finlay’s arms rolling back into his head. Finlay’s eyes are fine enough to see Palumbo going to the floor off a running clothesline. That means it’s time to go after Hornswoggle, followed by a chain to Finlay’s face for the DQ.

Rating: C. Well they’re certainly trying with Palumbo and having him take it to Finlay like this was a good way to go. They’re having a nice enough mini feud and even though I don’t think it’s going to be some big breakthrough for Palumbo, I can go for some fresh feuds like this one. Just throw some people out there and see what happens.

Jamie Nobel comes into Vickie Guerrero’s office and is granted a match with MVP without much trouble. He thinks its too simple so Vickie and the Edgeheads tell him to get out.

We look at Undertaker throwing Mankind off of the Cell. Foley being on commentary to talk about how important that was helps a bit.

John Morrison vs. CM Punk

The Miz is here with Morrison. Well in theory at least as the referee ejects him before the bell. Punk grabs a fast rollup for two before kicking Morrison down. Back up and Morrison hits a running shoulder, setting up a kick to the head for two. A seated full nelson goes on but Punk is right back up with the running knee into the corner. The bulldog back out of the corner gets two but Morrison cuts him off again. Punk is fine enough to reverse a suplex though and the GTS is good for the fast pin.

Batista/??? vs. Edgeheads

Batista…doesn’t need a partner so here is Vickie to say this can be a handicap match. Actually scratch that, as Batista said he doesn’t need a partner, but he does have one.

Batista/Big Show vs. Edgeheads

Show wheels Vickie to the back before heading to the ring. Hawkins slugs away at Batista to start and is quickly run over. Batista drives him into the corner for the shoulders to the ribs and Show adds the chop. It’s off to Ryder, who is pulled in (by the head, off the floor) for one heck of a chop. Batista easily fights out of the corner and a cheap shot just earn Hawkins a spinebuster. The chokeslam finishes as Show chokeslams Ryder for a bonus.

Rating: C-. Total squash here, and what els were you expecting it to be? Batista winning this on his own wouldn’t have been a stretch so bringing in a fellow monster like Show made it some entertaining destruction. I’m not sure how much it helps get them ready for their One Night Stand matches, but at least they got to do this first.

We look at Undertaker winning the 2007 Royal Rumble after an incredible finish with Shawn Michaels.

Cherry is rather banged up after Maryse kicked her in the face last week. Maryse comes into the trainer’s room and says she hurt her ankle…when she kicked Cherry.

One Night Stand rundown.

MVP vs. Jamie Noble

MVP stomps him down in the corner to start but Noble grabs a leglock. A shot to the ribs and a faceplant bangs up said ribs even more. Noble gets whipped hard into the corner and we hit the abdominal stretch. The big kick to the head is cut of with a kick to MVP’s knee though and a Cannonball (“Throwing your body at your opponent” according to Cole or “upside down back spasm” according to Mick.) rocks him again. A high crossbody hits Noble but MVP drops him ribs first across the top. The big boot finishes Noble.

Rating: C+. I liked this more than I was expecting as Noble was working (as usual) and they even had something of a story between the ribs vs. knee. This was a match that got more effort than it probably needed but it wound up being pretty nice. MVP needs something to do, though I’m not sure what that could be at the moment.

Undertaker beat Batista at Wrestlemania XXIII.

Vladimir Kozlov vs. Shannon Moore

Kozlov chops him down without much trouble. Moore fights back but gets knocked out of the air. A belly to belly overhead suplex sets up the reverse DDT to keep Kozlov undefeated.

Vince McMahon is giving away money starting next week on Raw.

Michelle McCool vs. Maryse

Deuce N Domino are here with Maryse. McCool fireman’s carries her down, with Foley saying that’s the same thing he used to do. A sunset flip doesn’t work for Maryse as McCool rolls through and hits a basement dropkick. Back up and Maryse chokes in the corner but gets knocked down again. Deuce N Domino offer a distraction so Maryse can take out the let and grab a half crab. Cue Cherry for a distraction though, allowing McCool to switch into a heel hook for the fast tap. These matches still aren’t great, but you can see McCool getting better.

We look back at Edge cashing in Money In The Bank on Undertaker last year.

It’s time for the Cutting Edge, with the World Title above the ring, with a ladder set up. Edge is a little more serious than usual here and talks about his feud with the Undertaker over the last year. It all ends on Sunday because it has to, and Undertaker will be gone from WWE. And FOR REAL this time, not just a few months.

It comes down to experience in the match, and we see a video of the two of them in TLC matches. In other words, a blank screen for Undertaker’s half and a bunch for Edge (with an Indiana Jones theme for some reason). Edge finally brings out Undertaker, who makes his rather slow way to the ring and doesn’t seem overly happy. Edge knows that Undertaker isn’t comfortable about all these things, so here is La Familia with a casket to make him feel better.

Undertaker slugs Edge down and the fight is on, with Undertaker fighting through the numbers game. That just lets Edge chair Undertaker in the back, as well as the head, to put him down. More chair shots let them put Undertaker in the casket, leaving Edge to (slowly) climb the ladder. Before he can grab the belt though, the gong strikes and the lights go out. Undertaker is on top of the ladder and house is quickly cleaned. Hawkins is Last Rided through a table to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This was mainly about Edge vs. Undertaker, which went better than I expected given that they’ve been feuding for months now. Other than that you didn’t get much of a build for Sunday, though there were a few decent enough matches. The Edge vs. Undertaker stuff was good enough, but this was a skippable show as you would be better off just going straight to the pay per view.

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

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Smackdown
Date: May 23, 2008
Location: Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, Iowa
Attendance: 6,300
Commentators: Michael Cole, Mick Foley

We’re on the way to One Night Stand but first of all, we have to deal with the fallout from Judgment Day. That shouldn’t be too hard, as there the show didn’t have much in the way of major developments. There is still no World Champion and that means we’ll probably need to set up another title match. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here are Vickie Guerrero and Edge to start things off. Vickie says none of the people here know what it’s like to have to run Smackdown. Everyone knows that a title can only change hands on a pinfall or a disqualification, so Undertaker couldn’t win the World Title on a countout. Therefore, at One Night Stand, it’s Undertaker vs. Edge for the title in a Tables, Ladders and Chairs match. Oh and if Undertaker loses: he’s gone from WWE FOREVER.

Jesse & Festus/Cherry vs. Deuce N Domino/Maryse

Festus powers Domino around to start and then slams Jesse down onto him for two. Deuce comes in and gets taken down so Jesse can hammer away as we hear about Deuce N Domino not winning a match since August. A springboard clothesline gets Deuce out of trouble as we hear about Mick Foley enjoying Maryse as the Daily Diva on WWE.com. We’ll move away from that rather quickly as Deuce N Domino take turns beating on Jesse, including a jumping fist drop for two.

This not so interesting match lets Cole point out that Vickie Guerrero said the World Title can only change hands on a pinfall or submission and then made the next title match Tables, Ladders, and Chairs. Jesse clotheslines his way to freedom, allowing the hot tag off to Cherry. This means Foley can recite a poem about her, which sounds quite Bruce Springsteenish. Everything breaks down and Festus kicks Domino into Cherry, allowing Maryse to get in a big kick for the pin.

Rating: C-. This was a rough sit, partially because Foley was transforming into something closer to Jerry Lawler with the women involved. That sounds like a Vince In His Ear transformation more than anything else, but it wasn’t going to help such a dull match anyway. It kept going and felt a lot longer than it was, which is one of the worst things that can happen in a match. Granted it doesn’t help when both teams feel like losers, with commentary pointing out how true that is for Deuce N Domino.

Chavo Guerrero comes in to see Edge and Vickie Guerrero, who he hopes aren’t mad at him. Vickie isn’t, but Chavo does happen to have a match with the Undertaker tonight. Don’t worry though as the rest of La Familia will be out there with him.

It’s time for the VIP Lounge, with MVP bringing out Teddy Long for a chat. MVP brings up their history, which doesn’t matter as much now that Teddy isn’t his boss. Teddy is JEALOUS of his money, looks, clothes and HAIR. Teddy is about to leave but cue Batista to interrupt. MVP doesn’t want Batista out here as the big hero, but Batista just wants to thank Teddy for everything and say goodbye. Oh and if MVP threatens Teddy again, Batista will put a fist through his face. MVP doesn’t like the disrespect, but Batista says he’ll show MVP disrespect. The set is promptly destroyed as MVP leaves.

Post break MVP goes in to see Vickie Guerrero and Edge to complain about Batista. Vickie makes MVP vs. Batista instead, which isn’t much of a heel decision.

Finlay vs. Chuck Palumbo

Hornswoggle is here too. Finlay gets in a quick elbow and takes him down by the leg for some cranking. Back up and Palumbo hits him in the face before hitting a hard clothesline for two. The chinlock goes on as it already feels like they’re filling in time. Hold on though as Hornswoggle whips out a water gun to spray Palumbo, allowing Finlay to run him over. The face/heel dynamics have been a bit off on this show. Back in and a side slam puts Finlay down but he pulls Palumbo into a Fujiwara armbar of all things.

Palumbo fights up and comes out of the corner with a heck of a clothesline for two, followed by the chinlock. A big boot gives Palumbo two and we’re already back in the chinlock. Finlay gets up this time and hits a crossbody for two of his own but Palumbo drops him again. This time Palumbo goes after Hornswoggle though, allowing Hornswoggle to bust out the Irish mist (which is apparently a thing). The shillelagh to the head gives Finlay the pin.

Rating: C-. Well I can certainly check the “Finlay vs. Chuck Palumbo for about ten minutes” match off my wish list. I’m not sure why this match needed this much time but the Irish mist certainly, uh, existed. Palumbo continues to be the relatively nothing midcard villain but there are worse choices out there. Not a good match here, and it felt like they were just killing time.

MVP vs. Batista

Feeling out process to start with Batista powering him into the corner without much effort. A headlock has MVP in trouble and Batista knocks him outside to make it worse. Back in and Batista leapfrogs (!) him before hitting a big boot to put MVP down again. MVP manages to send him into the corner though and a running boot to the face puts Batista on the floor for a change.

We take a break and come back with MVP grabbing a front facelock to keep him down. MVP hammers on the arm until Batista powers into the corner, meaning MVP needs to hammer him down even more. The armbar goes on for a bit until an armdrag gets Batista out of trouble. Another running boot is cut off by a spear but Batista can’t cover. A one armed spinebuster plants MVP and the Batista Bomb finishes him off.

Rating: C. This started off well but once it got to the arm work, the interest fell straight down. These two are capable of having a much better match and I’m not sure what happened here. As has been the case all night, the match just wasn’t very fun or exciting and that is disappointing given who was involved here.

Nunzio vs. Vladimir Kozlov

Kozlov starts in on the arm and gets two off a northern lights suplex. A headbutt to the chest sets up a kick to the ribs and the reverse DDT finishes for Kozlov in a hurry.

Matt Hardy/Kofi Kingston vs. Shelton Benjamin/Elijah Burke

Kingston and Burke start things off with Kofi taking him to the mat without much trouble. Matt comes in and starts cranking on the arm before punching the heck out of Burke. Another right hand knocks Benjamin off the apron but the distraction lets Burke knock Matt down for a change. Benjamin comes back in to work on a chinlock, only to dive into the Side Effect for a knockdown. It’s back to Kofi with the high crossbody for two as everything breaks down. Kofi’s spinning kick to the head finishes Benjamin.

Rating: C. This was pretty quick and to the point, but it’s interesting to see the ECW stars around here more often. Kingston has done well enough on ECW and use some better competition. Granted this was the same competition in a different place, but it does at least feel like an upgrade. Now just get Matt a nice challenger for the title and we could be getting somewhere.

Raw Rebound.

One Night Stand rundown.

Undertaker vs. Chavo Guerrero

The rest of La Familia is here too. Undertaker wastes no time in striking him into the corner for an elbow to the face. Old School connects but Undertaker misses a boot in the ropes. The beating is on outside….and La Familia (save for Bam Neely) is ejected. Chavo kicks away and a shot to the knee puts Undertaker down a bit. A hanging DDT puts Undertaker down but he sits up to scare Chavo away. Neely’s distraction breaks up a chokeslam so Undertaker punches him down. Chavo gets in a low blow but dives right into the Tombstone for the pin.

Rating: C. Yeah what were you expecting here? Undertaker beating Chavo even with the big advantage wasn’t out of the question and then the numbers game was mostly neutralized anyway. This gives Undertaker a bit of a boost going into the next title match with Edge and that’s all it was ever supposed to be.

Overall Rating: C-. This whole show just wasn’t very interesting, though that is probably due to the quick turnaround for One Night Stand. It’s a sequel to a show that was already a sequel so how much work do they need to do? This show didn’t make me want to watch One Night Stand though, as it was quite the chore to get through at times. Put in some effort next week and things should be better, but Smackdown needs something new and they need it soon.

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

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Smackdown
Date: May 16, 2008
Location: Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Commentators: Mick Foley, Michael Cole

It’s the go home show for Judgment Day and, for the third pay per view in a row, the Smackdown main event is going to be Edge vs. Undertaker for the World Title. That doesn’t make for the most exciting result, but that is about all they can do in their current situation. I’m not sure how interesting the final push is going to be but 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 Championship Chase, with Vickie Guerrero adding Edge in at the last minute to steal the title shot.

Opening sequence.

Here is La Familia to get things going. Edge brags about earning the title shot last week and can’t wait to beat Undertaker, who can’t win without the illegal choke. Cue Teddy Long, who is sorry he’s late. Vickie Guerrero can’t believe he’s here and says that as her assistant, he needs to be the first one to arrive and the last one to leave (Uh, how can he help her then?).

Actually Teddy says he was meeting with the Board Of Directors today, because Vickie blew off her meeting with them. He has a letter from the board for her: she can either have her first ever match or be fired from her job, with Long suggesting he would take her place. Vickie threatens to fire him but he quits and leaves instead. Oh and one more thing: her opponent is the UNDERTAKER. They had to do something like this at some point, though Vickie getting in the ring sounds more like comedy than anything else.

CM Punk vs. Chuck Palumbo

Palumbo pounds him down into the corner to start before grabbing a headlock takeover. Punk fights up and low bridges him to the floor, setting up the almost required suicide dive. Palumbo gets in another shot though and we hit the chinlock back inside. The elbow misses Punk and he fires off some kicks to put Palumbo in trouble.

There’s the running knee in the corner into the bulldog for two, followed by a springboard clothesline for the same. One heck of a standing clothesline gives Palumbo two and there’s a fall away slam for another near fall. Full Throttle is broken up though and Punk sends him into the post. The GTS finishes Palumbo off.

Rating: C. That should end this mini feud, as well as Punk’s kind of weird losing streak over his last few matches. I know Punk has the briefcase but that doesn’t mean he needs to lose so often. I’m still not sure why Palumbo got to beat him in the first place but at least they seem to have gotten back on track.

MVP comes in to see La Familia and complains about last week’s Championship Chase. Finlay and then Big Show follow him in but Vickie Guerrero doesn’t like the complaining. MVP can find a partner and face Finlay and Show. With the three of them gone, Chavo Guerrero wants to know why he wasn’t in on last week’s plan. Vickie tells him to shut up because they have planning to do.

Michelle McCool vs. Layla

Layla kicks her way out of the corner to start and slugs away, only to have Michelle come back with a leg crank. Commentary talks about how much better Michelle would have been as their science teacher as she gets a heel hook for the rather fast tap.

Here is Batista for a chat. He was watching Raw this week and saw Shawn Michaels admit that he was faking his knee injury at Backlash. Batista is glad Shawn is better….but wait, it was never hurt in the first place. Shawn is going to be at Judgment day, and maybe Batista will be there too. As usual, Batista keeps it simple and to the point, which often goes best or him.

Video on John Cena vs. John Bradshaw Layfield.

Big Show/Finlay vs. MVP/Mark Henry

Henry is the surprise partner and Hornswoggle is here too, as Show is suddenly a nice guy again. MVP and Finlay go to the mat to start with Finlay grabbing a snap suplex for one. Finlay chokes away a bit before handing it off to Show and Henry. Show knocks him down with a shoulder so MVP comes in to be powered straight into the corner. It’s back to Finlay, who has to deal with an invading Henry, allowing MVP to kick him to the floor.

Back in and MVP fires off some forearms to the head. Henry adds a few shots of his own before handing it back to MVP. This time Finlay avoids a charge and brings Show back in as everything breaks down. Finlay low bridges Henry to the floor, leaving MVP to get chokeslammed for the pin.

Rating: C. Not too bad here, with MVP vs. Finlay being a nice feud and Show vs. Henry being there for the monster showdown appeal. I do appreciate it when they throw something new out there, as MVP and Finlay makes for a fresh match. You never know when you might find something that works and I could go for the two of them having a longer match.

Vickie Guerrero does not like being treated like this, so she’s making it La Familia vs. Undertaker tonight.

Vladimir Kozlov vs. Funaki

The fans chant USA as Kozlov takes him down by the arm and cranks away. More cranking ensues as Funaki is on his feet, where some kicks to the ribs don’t do much. Kozlov knocks him down again and hits the reverse DDT for the win. More dominance, but at least it was against a bigger name.

Cherry vs. Maryse

Deuce N Domino are here with Maryse, who shoves Cherry in the face to start. A neckbreaker gives Cherry a quick two and a rollup is good for the same. Maryse grabs a cravate but Cherry forearms her in the face. A bulldog gives Cherry the upset (I think?) pin.

Video on HHH vs. Randy Orton.

Judgment Day rundown.

Kofi Kingston (with Eve Torres for some reason) shows respect to Matt Hardy when Shelton Benjamin comes in. Benjamin isn’t impressed but Matt brings up that the Gold Standard doesn’t have any gold. And no the bad hair doesn’t count.

Matt Hardy vs. Shelton Benjamin

Non-title. A running shoulder gives Shelton two and he grabs the quickly broken armbar. As Foley talks about Pennsylvania amusement parks, Benjamin takes him into the corner and backdrops him out. Benjamin gets two off a backbreaker and we hit the seated abdominal stretch. Matt fights up but a double leg and headbutt to the ribs cuts him back down. The bodyscissors goes on but Matt fights up for a Side Effect. Benjamin’s Dragon Whip connects but Matt is right back with a Twist of Fate for the pin.

Rating: C. Another perfectly watchable match here that had a bit of time. Matt continues to rack up victories, which make him feel like that much stronger of a champion. At the same time, that whole Gold Standard idea continues to feel like one of the worst possible moves, as Shelton’s downward spiral continues.

We recap the opening segment.

Undertaker vs. La Familia

Actually hold on as Chavo Guerrero and Bam Neely walk out (apparently over not being in on last week’s scheme). Vickie is so terrified that even Mick Foley thinks this might be going too far. Edge and the Edgeheads swarm Undertaker at once but Undertaker fires the heads into the corner. The two of them come back to save Edge, who is playing defense in front of Vickie. The triple teaming puts Undertaker down, where his attempt at the choke is broken up. Undertaker fights up and sends the three of them to the floor before grabbing Vickie by the throat. Edge makes the save with the spear and the villains take the countout.

Rating: C-. This was more of an angle than a match and not exactly a great one at that. They’re teasing the idea of Undertaker getting his revenge on Vickie but we’re probably a good ways off from that actually happening. For now, we’ll have to settle for Edge doing more hitting and running, as the (third) big showdown awaits on Sunday.

Overall Rating: C-. Much like this week’s Raw, most of the build towards Sunday was already done but in this case, there wasn’t much to see here. We’re getting a rematch in the main event plus Batista likely interfering in the Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho match. That isn’t much to go on, and it didn’t make for a good go home Smackdown on the way there.

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

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Smackdown
Date: May 9, 2008
Location: Labatt Center, London, Ontario, Canada
Attendance: 6,000
Commentators: Michael Cole, Mick Foley

The World Title scene was shaken up last week as Vickie Guerrero stripped the Undertaker of the World Title due to using his choke. That is going to have to be rectified and that could take a little while to make happen. Believe it or not, Undertaker is not happy about this and odds are we are going to see him do something about it here. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Vickie Guerrero stripping the Undertaker of the title, which earned Great Khali an extra beating as Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder stole the title belt.

Here are Vickie Guerrero (as wheeled by Teddy Long) and Edge to get things going. Vickie reads a prepared statement about how she didn’t want to strip Undertaker of the title but she had no choice. There will be a title match at Judgment Day, with Undertaker being one of the participants, though he still cannot use the choke.

As for his opponent, we will have a Championship Chase, featuring former champions from ECW and Smackdown. We hear the names of tonight’s participants, who will have qualifying matches, with an “over the top rope challenge” (battle royal for you normal people out there) later tonight for the title show. Edge and Great Khali both happen to be out due to injuries, which sounds eyebrow raise inducing.

Opening sequence.

Championship Chase: Matt Hardy vs. CM Punk

Non-title and Punk is seeming very excited about getting a chance to be champion (as he should be). Hardy works on a hammerlock to start and gets Punk to the mat, plus the ropes for the opposite effect. Back up and Punk tries to sit down on a sunset flip but the banged up arm won’t let him in something you don’t see very often. Hardy electric chairs him out of the corner and grabs a Side Effect for two. Punk’s running knee (against the ropes this time) sets up the bulldog for two of his own but the GTS is blocked. Instead Punk faceplants him and tries la majistral but Matt stacks him up for the pin.

Rating: B-. Punk got beat here but the fact that he is still in a spot like this is a good sign for his future. Matt getting the win to even the score (after Punk beat him last month in the King of the Ring) and a third match wouldn’t be the worst idea. For now though, Hardy can go into the battle royal tonight without taking a pin as champion and that’s a good thing.

Post match Punk gives Matt an “ok you got me” look.

Championship Chase: MVP vs. Finlay

This could be interesting and Hornswoggle is here with Finlay. Hold on though as Hornswoggle throws in some tennis balls for a distraction, allowing Finlay to hammer away to start. Finlay wins a grapple off until MVP makes the ropes, only to get kicked down again. MVP manages to send him shoulder first into the post for a breather and the Fujiwara armbar goes on.

We take a break and come back with MVP still working on the arm. Finlay fights up with a clothesline, albeit with the bad arm, allowing MVP to hit a boot to the face to put Finlay outside. The boot to the arm only hits steps instead but MVP goes right back to the arm to keep him in trouble.

Finlay reverses into a leglock and then slams him leg first into the ropes, allowing Foley to talk about how the ropes took his ear off one night. MVP goes back to the arm, which is reversed into another leglock to send MVP over to the rope. Back up and Finlay grabs a belly to back suplex and it’s the old double pin as neither gets a shoulder up in time.

Rating: B-. I was getting into this one with the battle of limb cranking and it was turning into a question of who was going to break first. At the same time though, the ending was quite deflating as that finish isn’t the most thrilling. Hornswoggle not interfering was a bonus too, but I was hoping for a better, or at least more one sided, finish.

Kelly Kelly vs. Natalya

Victoria is here with Natalya, who snaps off a suplex to start. Michelle McCool is watching in the back as Kelly gets in a kick to the head for a breather. The handspring elbow is cut off though and Natalya plants her with another belly to back suplex. Kelly is sat on top and pulled back down in a crash, setting up the Sharpshooter to give Natalya the win. This was little more than a squash.

We get some fan reactions to Vickie Guerrero stripping Undertaker of the World Title.

Vickie Guerrero says MVP and Finlay are both advancing.

Championship Chase: John Morrison vs. Batista

The chase is on to start with Morrison managing a quick dropkick through the ropes. Back in and Batista manages the shoulders in the corner but Morrison hits another dropkick to send Batista back outside. A ram into the steps keeps Batista in trouble and a missile dropkick gives Morrison two. The spinning legdrop gets the same but Batista fights up again. This time though the spear hits the corner, where Morrison fires off some right hands. The Batista Bomb out of said corner doesn’t work but Batista spears a springboard out of the air. Now the Bomb sends Batista to the battle royal.

Rating: C+. Morrison looked more like a star than he ever has before here as he was being aggressive with the kicks working well. There was no way he should have been beating Batista here, but giving him a run for his money was interesting. Pushing Morrison on his own wouldn’t be surprising, but for now, the Miz/Morrison team is working well enough that there is no reason to split them up just yet.

Long recap of Undertaker being stripped of the title last week.

Quick recap of the Championship Chase.

Championship Chase: Big Show vs. Tommy Dreamer

Dreamer is all banged up after an Extreme Rules match on ECW. Show headbutts him down a few times and finishes fast with the chokeslam. Total destruction.

Championship Chase: Chavo Guerrero Jr. vs. Kane

Non-title, Bam Neely is with Chavo and even commentary points out how many times we’ve seen this match. Kane powers him into the corner to start and a gorilla press plants Chavo. A big boot misses though and Chavo slowly starts working on the leg. Neely gets in a shot of his own, allowing Chavo to rain down right hands in the corner.

Kane’s knee gives out as he tries to escape, meaning we’re off to a leglock. Make that a Muta Lock, which means it can’t stay on as long. Kane fights up and hits a big boot but the side slam is escaped, allowing Chavo to take him down by the leg again. Chavo loads up a sunset flip but Kane sits down on it for a surprise pin.

Rating: C-. I think we’ve made the point clear with these two but that has never stopped them so far. Thankfully Kane is moving on to a quick feud with Miz and John Morrison, as he certainly needs to get away from Guerrero for a bit. The match was nothing special, but that might be due to how many times I’ve seen it in recent months.

Deuce N Domino have fired Cherry and replaced her with Maryse. That earns Maryse a slap in retaliation.

Vladimir Kozlov vs. Phil Atlas

Kozlov knocks him around, hits a headbutt, a kick, and the reverse DDT for the fast pin. Same as we’ve seen from Kozlov and it’s still working.

Championship Chase Finals

Big Show, MVP, Finlay, Matt Hardy, Batista, Kane

The winner faces Undertaker at Judgment Day for the vacant World Title. It’s a brawl to start with MVP being sent outside (under the ropes) as people start taking their shots at Big Show. Kane and Show trade uppercuts until Batista breaks it up. Show shrugs them off but can’t get rid of Finlay. Everyone but Show is knocked down and we take a break. Back with all six still in it and MVP hitting and running.

MVP finally tosses Hardy to get us down to five before switching over to Finlay. Batista manages to spear Show down and Kane knocks Finlay out, leaving himself as the only one standing. Back up and MVP misses the running boot in the corner and eliminates himself so we’re down to Kane, Batista and Big Show. Make that two as Show dumps Kane and we get the big staredown.

Batista is knocked under the bottom rope and out to the apron, only to come back in where he gets dropped with a clothesline. A drop toehold of all things sends Show into the corner but the Batista Bomb attempt is pretty easily blocked. Show powers him up, only to get headscissored out to send Batista to…..never mind as here is Vicky Guerrero to introduce Edge as the final competitor. Batista is still on the apron (having gone over the top) so Edge comes in and hits a spear for the win.

Rating: C. I really can’t even get mad at the ending here as you knew Edge was going to get involved somewhere in there. Edge vs. Undertaker III isn’t the most appealing match in the world and it really does feel like they’re going back to the well too often. The problem is there really isn’t another name ready to come after the belt and Vicky being all evil works. It’s kind of the only option they have, but that doesn’t make it interesting.

Post match Edge goes up towards the title (on the stage) but the gong sounds and lightning sets the belt’s stand on fire. Edge panics to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. I can always appreciate a show where there is one major idea set up and getting to the end of it is the entire focal point. That’s what we had here and it went fairly well, with Edge vs. Undertaker III being set up by the end of the show. The wrestling was good enough and they stayed on focus for most of the night. Not a bad night at all, but now they need to get to the other stuff.

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

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

ECW On Sci Fi
Date: April 15, 2008
Location: 02 Arena, London, England
Attendance: 17,422
Commentators: Joey Styles, Tazz, Mike Adamle

We’re over in England this week as the European tour is on. In this case, we have a special main event as the Brothers of Destruction are here. That alone should be enough to carry the show, as there is little to care about other than one or two stars. Maybe they have something else to help it out, because the show needs it. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a preview of the show, which in this case means Undertaker/Kane vs. Miz/John Morrison. Well that ups the star power.

Opening sequence.

Tazz tells us that this is Joey Styles’ last night on the show as he is going on to head up WWE.com. We meet the new play by play announcer: Mike Adamle. Oh boy.

CM Punk/Kofi Kingston/Jimmy Wang Yang/Shannon Moore vs. Elijah Burke/Deuce N Domino/Shelton Benjamin

Well it’s different. Domino and Punk start things off with Punk taking over. Moore comes in with a sunset flip and starts on the arm, as the good guys get to take their turns. Yang hits a dropkick and lands on Domino for two before it’s back to Punk. Benjamin comes in and gets kicked in the face as everything breaks down on the floor.

We take a break and come back with Burke missing an elbow to Punk, allowing Kofi to come in for an armbar. The rapid fire tags continue as it’s off to Moore to stay on the arm. Burke comes in and uppercuts Yang to take over, setting up the running crotch attack to the back of the head. Benjamin and Deuce put on a chinlock each before Domino drops a leg. A backdrop gets Yang out of trouble though and the hot tag brings in Kingston to clean house. Everything breaks down and Trouble In Paradise finishes Deuce (who had tagged in) for the win.

Rating: C+. This match got some time and picked up steam as it kept going. What mattered here was keeping Kingston strong as ECW is certainly protecting him. With Punk pretty clearly not long for the minor show, fresh talent is going to be needed. Kingston is getting better in his spot so maybe he could do some good in the future.

We look back at Chavo Guerrero and his lackeys beating up Kane, including his new bald enforcer.

Kane promises revenge on Chavo, but tonight it’s about the Brothers of Destruction.

And now, a Diva Dance Off, featuring Layla, Maryse, Eve, Lena Yada and Kelly Kelly. Tazz, the emcee, demonstrates a bit of dancing (or kind of jiggling in his case) before everyone gets to go. Shockingly Layla and Eve, the former professional dancers, blow everyone else away but Kelly, the only one to remove clothing, wins. Post contest, Kelly and Tazz dance together in a funny moment.

Tommy Dreamer vs. Mike Knox

Colin Delaney is here with Dreamer. Hold on though as here is Armando Estrada to change things up.

Colin Delaney vs. Mike Knox

Dreamer is sent to the back. Total destruction with Knox hitting a swinging Downward Spiral for the pin in about a minute.

Miz and John Morrison say they’re a real team while Undertaker and Kane are always fighting each other. Morrison is even willing to let Miz start the match!

Miz/John Morrison vs. Kane/Undertaker

Non-title. Kane shoulders Miz down to start and sends him shoulder first into the corner. Undertaker comes in to punch the shoulder, setting up Old School. Morrison breaks up the apron clothesline with a legdrop though and we take a break. Back with Morrison striking away at Undertaker in the corner, only to have Undertaker show him how it’s done.

Morrison gets struck in the face a few times, allowing Kane to come in with a side slam to Miz. A Morrison distraction lets Miz get in a chop block though and Morrison comes in to crank on the knee. Miz hammers away until an uppercut and big boot give Kane a breather. That’s enough for Undertaker to come in and really take over, including Snake Eyes into the big boot. Double chokeslams set up the Tombstone to finish Morrison.

Rating: C. This is a good example of “it was what it was” as Kane and Undertaker ended up decimating the champs in the end. Miz and Morrison got in a bit of offense on Kane but there is no way to buy this working when things evened up. It’s also no shame to lose to a pair of monsters with success of their own like Undertaker and Kane, so Miz and Morrison could have come out looking worse.

The Brothers posing with their titles is a great visual to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. Pretty skippable show, but then again it felt like it was more for the live fans than anything else. ECW really needs to develop some new names and right now it seems to be Kane and Kofi Kingston leading the charge. Kane is fine, but Kofi has a long way to go but the potential is there. This week was more or less a spectacle though and it was an easy enough way to burn through about forty five minutes.

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

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Monday Night Raw
Date: February 20, 2023
Location: Canadian Tire Center, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Kevin Patrick, Corey Graves

We’re done with Elimination Chamber and that means it is time to get ready for Wrestlemania. The big story is that Roman Reigns retained the World Title over Sami Zayn, who seems promised to rejoin forces with Kevin Owens to fight the Bloodline. We might see the start of that tonight so let’s get to it.

Here is Elimination Chamber if you need a recap.

We open with a long recap of Sami Zayn vs. Roman Reigns at Elimination Chamber, with Zayn coming up short and Kevin Owens saving him after the match.

Here is Sami Zayn to get things going and he looks to be a wreck. He talks about how everything has been going on for the last few days and the response he has gotten from the fans means more than they could know. After pausing to soak in a few more cheers, Sami talks about feeling guilty for letting people down by not getting the big win. What he understands though is that the story is not over, but it entering its final chapter. There is one more person he needs to talk to though, so Kevin Owens needs to get out here right now.

Cue Owens, with Zayn not being sure what to say. He starts with a thank you and an I’m sorry, but Zayn knows they’re kind of beyond words at the moment. Zayn knows that Owens wants to destroy the Bloodline and that’s what he wants too. That gets Owens’ attention but he says he did what he did on Saturday for himself.

When Owens was getting beaten down at the Royal Rumble, Zayn sat there and watched. Owens wasn’t going to make Zayn’s family go through that too. He told Sami he was done with him in November and that’s still true. If Zayn still needs help taking down the Bloodline, ask Jey Uso. Owens drops the mic and leaves. The reunion is still coming, but we have to wait on it just a little longer.

After we run down the card, Sami Zayn is still in the arena when Baron Corbin runs out to jump him. The beating continues throughout the break and we come back with Corbin calling Zayn pathetic. Zayn is a failure, which is enough to make him charge back into the ring, meaning it’s time for a match.

Sami Zayn vs. Baron Corbin

Sami knocks him outside and then hammers away back inside as they start fast. Corbin misses a charge into the corner but dives into a chokebreaker for two. We take a break and come back with Zayn hitting a tornado DDT for two of his own. With Corbin on the floor again, Zayn buts out the running flip dive for the big crash. Back in and Corbin clotheslines his way out of trouble, setting up a Deep Six for two more. Corbin hits a running corner clothesline and loads up another, only to get caught with the Helluva Kick for the pin at 9:01.

Rating: C. This was exactly the kind of match Zayn should have had here: a slightly difficult win that gets him back on track after losing the big showdown. That’s all it needed to be and he made it work well, as Corbin is still someone people like to see lose. Corbin’s spiral continues, but I’m sure they’ll reheat him again because they feel it must be done.

We get a sitdown interview with Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio. Rhea isn’t focusing on Beth Phoenix anymore because she’s all in on Wrestlemania. Dominik threatens interviewer Byron Saxton with prison violence so we move on to Charlotte. Ripley knows that Charlotte is obsessed with what happened at Wrestlemania three years ago because she knows she’s in trouble this year. If Charlotte wants to put Rhea in her place at Wrestlemania then fine, because that place is Ripley as champion. She’ll be at Smackdown to see Charlotte, and Dominik will tag along to see his dad.

Austin Theory is banged up but he’s ready to defend his US Title against Edge tonight. What bugs him though is that John Cena is back in two weeks and no one is paying attention to the champ. The forever reign continues tonight.

Mustafa Ali vs. Dolph Ziggler

Last week, Ziggler told Ali to smile more and Ali is taking said advice very, very seriously. Ziggler takes him down to start but the threat of a superkick sends Ali bailing to the floor. Back in and Ali takes over, including a kick to the face in the corner. Ziggler plants him with a DDT for two and loads up the Fameasser, only to have Ali reverse into a crucifix for the pin at 2:15. Well that was a surprise and Ali is stunned.

Maryse gives Miz an envelope with something inside it and he’s VERY happy. We’ll see what’s in there next week, but tonight he has to face Seth Rollins. Miz isn’t worried about Rollins, who is too worried about Logan Paul, who Miz made in the first place. The envelope has made Miz’s dreams come true though.

Here is Cody Rhodes for a chat but Paul Heyman, in a neck brace, cuts him off from the Titantron. Rhodes wants him out here right now but Heyman says that isn’t happening. He is banged up after Elimination Chamber and isn’t going to risk it out there. Elimination Chamber should have been special but it was a rough night.

Heyman gets to the point: Rhodes can’t beat Roman Reigns at Wrestlemania. However, let’s do some hypothetical thinking. Let’s say Rhodes does the impossible and wins the title. Rhodes, without the wise man backing him up, will spend 200 days defending the titles, 50 days at various at charity events, 30 days promoting the events, and even meetings at home. As Dustin Rhodes said, even when Dusty Rhodes was at home, he wasn’t at home.

Is that what Cody wants to do to his family? Heyman isn’t going to say something vile like Roman Reigns will keep Cody’s wife warm because Reigns is a happily married man. Heyman: “But I’m not!” If Rhodes wins, he’ll find out that his Wrestlemania dream will become his own personal nightmare. Cody looks like he’s about to erupt but says he’ll finish the story at Wrestlemania. Heyman playing games is great and Rhodes is selling it like a master as well.

Asuka vs. Nikki Cross

The bell rings and here is Bianca Belair to watch. Once she has a seat, Cross strikes away to no avail, only to miss a running clothesline. Asuka misses a big kick though and gets dropped on the apron as we take a break. Back with Asuka dropping Cross to send her to the apron and then catching her on top. A super DDT gets two (again: if you’re going to introduce a big move like that, don’t just have it be another regular near fall) so Asuka grabs the double armbar to make (the smiling) Cross give up at 9:23.

Rating: C+. The Asuka push continues as she racks up another win. This is a bit of a weird one as Asuka is more than a made star in the division, but she is in such a different presentation that she has to be rebuilt in a way. The new version is working well enough, even as Cross continues to be little more than a bump in a lot of people’s roads.

Post match Belair gets in the ring for the staredown and sign pointing. Asuka chokes on her own blue mist before laughing, which has Belair shaken.

Carmella isn’t thinking about her Road To Wrestlemania but she is thinking about Asuka, so she’s about to make Wrestlemania a lot easier for Bianca Belair. With Carmella gone, Seth Rollins pops in to take issue with Logan Paul messing with his Wrestlemania plans. The joke’s on Paul because pain is coming. Paul isn’t here tonight though, so Rollins will beat up Miz instead.

We look back at Brock Lesnar getting himself disqualified against Bobby Lashley at Elimination Chamber.

MVP calls Lesnar a coward and issues a challenge to Lesnar for Wrestlemania…..on Omos’ behalf. Lesnar can come answer next week.

Miz vs. Seth Rollins

They go straight to the floor to start with Rollins getting the better of it. A baseball slide sends Miz over the announcers’ table but he’s right back in with a DDT as we take a break. Back with Miz sending Rollins chest first into the corner but getting caught with a running clothesline. Miz’s running knee out of the corner gets two more but he makes the mistake of mouthing the words LOGAN PAUL. Rollins hammers away, hits the Stomp, hits another, and then hits a third for the referee stoppage at 11:03.

Rating: C. So this was more or less Rollins as Asuka, as he got to destroy Miz, who won’t be hurt by the loss in the slightest. Rollins vs. Paul has been all but announced for weeks now so there was nothing noteworthy new there. Other than that, you have Miz with that envelope, which is probably him getting to host Wrestlemania or something else that suits him well.

Adam Pearce gives Carmella her match with Asuka next week. Chelsea Green calls Pearce to complain about her travel arrangements. Pearce’s phone suddenly messes up and he just can’t hear here. We pan over to see the Alpha Academy training for their modeling career but Bronson Reed comes in to glare at them. Reed tells Gable to get ready to model a full body cast.

It’s time for Ding Dong Hello, with Damage Ctrl as the special guests. Bayley praises her friends, with Dakota Kai praising her right back. They have dominated the tag division for 100 days and will keep doing it forever, 100 days at a time. Cue Becky Lynch to interrupt, saying those titles haven’t been defended in forever. She does have an idea for a partner to come after the titles though, so here is Lita to leave Damage Ctrl more than a bit worried. Bayley: “YOU BETTER USE THE DOOR!”

Bayley brings up Lita and Becky’s issues last week but Becky has already apologized. Lita wants another title reign and likes the idea of walking into Wrestlemania as champion. Cowardice is accused but Bayley accepts the challenge on their behalf. Becky and Lita take the belts away and then throw them back, with Damage Ctrl not looking sure about this.

Candice LeRae is talking about Johnny Gargano’s injury status when Nikki Cross pops up again. LeRae is tired of Cross following her and asks why this is going on. Cross whispers something, which is apparently “all her friends are gone and she’s alone”.

Chad Gable vs. Bronson Reed

Otis is here too. Reed sends Gable outside for the shoulder off the apron and stops to stare at Otis. Back in and Gable manages a quick ankle lock but Reed powers him off. Gable ax handles him down and hits a Swan Dive for two….as Maxxine Dupri is here. Otis gets distracted, allowing Reed to run Gable over again. The Tsunami finishes for Reed at 3:09.

Rating: C. As much as I could go with never seeing Alpha Academy again, they are at least trying something different here and that is a nice thing to see. At the same time you have Reed, who has the coolest looking splash in a very long time. I’d like to see him getting to do something important, but just having him around is a good thing.

Here is Elias to slightly praise Rick Boogs before making something of an open challenge. Cue Bobby Lashley to wreck Elias with the usual. Lashley says no one can survive him, from Brock Lesnar to Bray Wyatt.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Edge is glad he’s done with Judgment Day and wants to see what Austin Theory has. Theory is someone who can shake the next twenty years in this company, but does he have what it takes? He wants to hold a title one more time and walking into Wrestlemania as US Champion sounds good. Never say never.

US Title: Edge vs. Austin Theory

Edge is challenging and, after the Big Match Intros, takes Theory outside to start. Back in and a Russian legsweep gives Edge two as we take a break. We come back with Edge hitting a clothesline off the apron but Theory takes him into the corner. The chinlock goes on for a bit, followed by the rolling dropkick for two on Edge as we take a break.

Back again with Edge slugging away and hitting a high crossbody to Theory’s back for two. The Edge-O-Matic gets the same and a sitout powerbomb gets two more. Edge grabs the Crossface, sending Theory straight to the rope. The spear is loaded up but here is Finn Balor for a kick to the head, setting up A Town Down to retain Theory’s title at 18:14.

Rating: B. They were having a good match here and the ending took away a lot of the fun. The Edge vs. Balor match is another that has felt locked in for Wrestlemania for a very long time now but my goodness I’m tired of seeing these guys fight. Edge has had some LONG feuds since he has been back and it makes me wonder what else he could do instead of fighting the same handful of people over and over. For now though, nice main event style match with Theory getting another big win to add to his resume.

Post match Balor hits three Coup de Graces to crush Edge and end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The best thing that can be said about this show is that it feels like we are in Wrestlemania mode. You can only get so far with that feeling with Elimination Chamber still around so at least now we can get on to the REALLY important stuff. They are also doing a goo job with making you want to come back next week and now we have a better idea of where some things are going to go. The Wrestlemania card is mostly visible from here, but now we wait for everything to be set up. Solid show this week, as they are putting things together like they should.

Results
Sami Zayn b. Baron Corbin – Helluva Kick
Mustafa Ali b. Dolph Ziggler – Crucifix
Asuka b. Nikki Cross – Double armbar
Seth Rollins b. Miz via referee stoppage
Bronson Reed b. Chad Gable – Tsunami
Austin Theory b. Edge – A Town Down

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

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Smackdown
Date: March 21, 2008
Location: Coast Coliseum, Biloxi, Mississippi
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jonathan Coachman

We’re almost to Wrestlemania and I’m not sure what else there is to build around here. Last week’s main event was a weird combination of a Raw and Smackdown match which felt like a weird off ramp match. Odd are the focus will still be on Edge vs. Undertaker, which really doesn’t need it at this point. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recreation of Batista vs. Umaga in Smackdown vs. Raw 2008. Well that’s a change of pace.

Batista vs. Deuce N Domino

No Cherry this week as she is in the competition later tonight. Batista doesn’t look amused as he drives Deuce into the corner to start. A double team manages to take Batista down but he’s right back with an elbow to Domino’s face. Batista isn’t having that though and sends Deuce outside, setting up the Batista Bomb to finish Domino in a hurry.

Maryse comes up to see Cherry and can’t believe she’s still in the Divas competition. Look at the two of them: Maryse is a Diva but Cherry is a dog.

It’s time for the Divas Competition with Michelle McCool, Eve Torres, Cherry and Victoria left. This week’s competition is an arm wrestling contest so Victoria cheats to beat Eve, Michelle beats Cherry and Michelle beats Victoria. With that out of the way, Victoria is eliminated after last week’s fan vote. Instead of leaving, she gets in a fight with Michelle but gets sent outside.

Video on Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Michael Buffer and Evander Holyfield talk about Mayweather Jr. vs. Big Show.

Big Show vs. Chase Stevens/Andy Douglas/Luke Hawx

Stevens and Douglas were the Naturals in TNA a few years earlier. Before the match, we see Chris Jericho talking about how Show’s right hand is going to make it Wrestlemania RIP for Mayweather. Destruction ensues and the big right hand finishes Stevens in less than a minute and a half.

Raven Symone will be bringing kids to Wrestlemania for Make-A-Wish. Cool.

Edge vs. Funaki

Non-title and the Edgeheads are here with Edge. Funaki seems to be taking this a bit more seriously than Edge, who knocks Funaki down fast. The stomping in the corner keeps Funaki in trouble until he manages an enziguri. Edge hits the spear but pulls Funaki up at two. Instead it’s a Tombstone and arm cross pin (with tongue) to finish for Edge.

Rating: D+. This was just a quick workout for Edge but the Tombstone was a nice touch. Edge knows how to get under people’s skin like no other and mocking Undertaker is the kind of mind game that he would play. Funaki is fine for something like this and they didn’t mess around by letting him get a near fall or anything unnecessary like that. Nothing match, fine use of time.

Post match Edge says he’ll win at Wrestlemania and promises to show us something by the end of the night.

It’s time for MVP’s VIP Lounge with MVP pointing to the Money in the Bank briefcase above the ring. Therefore, his guest this week is Chris Jericho, but first MVP wants to talk about the ladder underneath the briefcase. MVP brags about his career successes and how he has beaten so many World Champions. That means he is the next World Champion because he is better than everyone else in the match. Cue Jericho to interrupt and the fans certainly seem to approve.

Jericho is excited about being back on Smackdown for the first time in five and a half years, but he can’t stand a loudmouthed blowhard who can’t shut up with his own talk show. MVP mocks Jericho and Jericho is right back, pointing out that MVP could have had far worse initials (and yes, he has graphics spelling out some stupid names). That’s too far for MVP, who goes on a rant about how Jericho couldn’t save anyone from anything. He climbs the ladder and gets the briefcase….so Jericho turns said ladder over.

Kane vs. Chuck Palumbo

They fight over the power to start with Palumbo actually taking over off an armbar. Kane fights up and hits the big boot as they head outside. They head back in, where Kane clotheslines him to the floor as we take a break. Back with Kane charging into an elbow in the corner…and here is Great Khali to go after Kane for the DQ.

Rating: C-. Thankfully they didn’t bother trying to make Palumbo a thing here as he stopped showing much potential a good while ago. Kane winning the battle royal and the ECW Title as a result would make good sense and there is a real chance that is where they are heading. Not much of a match, but what were you expecting with Palumbo in there?

Post match Khali beats both of them down but here is Mark Henry to interrupt. Henry World’s Strongest Slams Khali and stands tall.

Eddie Graham Hall of Fame video.

Tag Team Titles: Jesse & Festus vs. Miz/John Morrison

Miz/Morrison are defending. The bell makes Festus snap and he hits Morrison in the face to start fast. An interfering Miz is knocked out of the air and some headbutts to Morrison’s back set up Jesse’s running neckbreaker. Miz gets in a cheap shot though and works on Jesse’s arm before choking on the rope.

Morrison’s chinlock is broken up as Jesse sends him into the corner, where Festus scares Morrison in a funny bit. Miz grabs another chinlock before Jesse neckbreakers his way out of Morrison’s….something. It’s back to Festus for the house cleaning before handing it off to Jesse again. That lets Morrison send Festus outside and the Reality Check retains the titles.

Rating: C-. We’re now to the point where Miz and Morrison have cleaned out the division, which granted doesn’t take that long when there are about four teams. Jesse & Festus need to either win the titles or find something else to do, as the novelty is kind of wearing off. This was mainly a chinlock match with Festus coming in to do his thing and then Jesse gets pinned. That’s only going to get you so far and we have reached that point.

Raw Rebound.

Undertaker vs. Chavo Guerrero

Non-title and Edge/the Edgeheads are here with Chavo. Undertaker starts fast and knocks Chavo down without much trouble. Old School connects and Chavo is rocked early on. A distraction from the floor lets Chavo hammer away in the corner, only to have Undertaker LAUNCH him into said corner as well.

The side slam gives Undertaker two but another distraction sends him outside. This time Chavo manages a baseball slide from behind and the likely not very effective beating begins. Chavo grabs a short armscissors but Undertaker powers out in short order. Snake Eyes into the big boot set up a chokeslam and the Hell’s Gate to finish Chavo.

Rating: C. Chavo has to lose the title at Wrestlemania now as his big win in recent weeks has been over Colin Delaney. Other than giving him a win to make him into something a little bigger, his title reign has been pretty much nothing and that was on display here. Undertaker beating Chavo isn’t a bad thing, but the champ just lost in about five minutes in little more than a squash.

Post match Edge and the Edgeheads come in, each with a chair, and the huge beatdown ensues. The Conchairto leaves Undertaker laying to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. It’s not a good sign when the best match on the show is Undertaker squashing Chavo Guerrero. The problem is the same as it has been for weeks now: Wrestlemania is set and all that Smackdown can do is fill in time on the way to Orlando. This show was just a bunch of filler with some build towards Wrestlemania, plus the bigger moment at the end. That’s a rough two hours, but none of that is going to matter nine days from now. Not a good show, but it doesn’t mean a thing anyway.

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

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.