Smackdown
Date: February 2, 2007
Location: Houston, Texas
Attendance: 15,156
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield

We’re done with the Royal Rumble and Undertaker is the only person on his way to Wrestlemania. He doesn’t have an opponent for the show yet though and Batista is the only World Champion he hasn’t stared at yet. Ignoring the fact that there are three World Champions to pick from, it is time for the blue champion to have his turn. Let’s get to it.

Here is the Royal Rumble if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of Undertaker winning the Royal Rumble and staring at John Cena and Bobby Lashley, despite Shawn Michaels saying he’s going to Wrestlemania too.

Opening sequence.

US Title: Chris Benoit vs. Finlay

Benoit is defending and we get the Big Match Intros. Finlay drives him up against the ropes to start but gets slapped in the face twice. A clothesline gives Finlay two but Benoit pulls him down into a leglock. Some shots to the face have Finlay in more trouble so he pulls Benoit in by the arm to escape. Finlay forearms him down and grabs a chinlock, which doesn’t last long.

Benoit sends him to the apron and then out to the floor, where Finlay sends him into the steps as we take a break. Back with Finlay working on a half crab, which he doesn’t turn over. Finlay lays on the leg to pull on it some more and then cannonballs down onto it for a bonus. The knee is bent around the post and now we get the full on half crab. Benoit grabs the rope for the break and kicks Finlay in the face for a bonus.

Some chops stagger Finlay but the knee gives out on a suplex attempt. The good leg catches Finlay with an enziguri though and Benoit rolls the German suplexes. The Swan Dive misses though and Finlay grabs a near fall. Finlay pulls the turnbuckle pad off and then goes to grab the Leprechaun….but something pulls the Leprechaun under the ring. Cue the Boogeyman to steal said Leprechaun, allowing Benoit to grab a rollup to retain. Cole: “What is going on?”

Rating: B-. This was rolling along until the ending and that’s a problem around WWE far too often. The ending was a mess as we set up Boogeyman vs. Finlay over the Leprechaun, which is one of those things that doesn’t make a ton of sense and I’m almost scared to hear the explanation. The match itself was good, but just assume a time limit draw and stop watching.

Post match the Leprechaun escapes from Boogeyman and refuses to go back under the ring. The Boogeyman scares him though and Finlay throws him back under.

Vickie Guerrero, now sans neck brace, isn’t sure what is next for her around here. What she does know is that the working conditions around here are unsafe. She isn’t sure what is next for her but there is an opportunity that interests her.

Deuce And Domino vs. Paul London/Brian Kendrick

Non-title with Cherry and Ashley here as well. Kendrick rolls Deuce up to start and it’s off to London for a front facelock. London and Kendrick start working on the arm but a Domino distraction lets Deuce get in a cheap shot. Domino comes in to hammer away, setting up a hard knee to the face for two. The armbar goes on with an elbow in London’s face, followed by some forearms to the back. Deuce hits a dropkick but London kicks his way out, allowing the hot tag off to Kendrick. Everything breaks down and the running knee to the face puts Kendrick away.

Rating: C. The more I see from these guys the more I like them, and then having them beat London and Kendrick is an even bigger deal. I could go for pushing a fresh team after London and Kendrick have dominated the division for the better part of a year. This was the least bad idea from a storyline perspective, as it isn’t like there is another team for Deuce and Domino to beat at the moment.

Batista comes in to see Teddy Long and wants to know what Undertaker is doing at Wrestlemania. He’ll find out by the end of the night.

King Booker and Queen Sharmell are in the ring, with a local government official presenting Booker with the key to the city. Booker has a speech ready, which includes him saying he is better than the other celebrities from Houston, including Walter Cronkite and Roger Clemens. Did Cronkite ever beat Big Show and John Cena on the same night??? Booker keeps going, with Sharmell’s facials agreeing facials are making it even better.

The government officials kiss Booker’s ring (doesn’t seem to be their taste) but Booker needs to go talk to ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons. Booker wants him to kiss the royal feet, which isn’t happening. Instead, here is Kane to clear things out, including beating up the officials, because lawsuits do not exist in wrestling. That’s actually a fresh match for a change and I could go for it.

Mr. Kennedy vs. Vito

Vito slaps away to start but gets knocked into the corner and stomped down. The dress is ripped off and Kennedy beats Vito, in his regular trunks, into the corner. The Green Bay Plunge finishes Vito in a hurry.

Post match Kennedy grabs the dress to choke Vito.

JBL gets to host a bikini contest between Ashley, Jillian Hall and Krystal. Ashley and Krystal disrobe but Jillian reveals a short shirt and shorts instead. Rather that wearing a swimsuit, she sings Oops I Did It Again instead. Ashley wins and Jillian gets stripped.

Maryse welcomes us back from a bathtub.

Here’s the same Undertaker video that opened the show.

Mr. Kennedy complains to Teddy Long that he had Batista beaten at the Royal Rumble. Long doesn’t like it but gives Kennedy what he wants: a rematch next week.

Miz vs. Matt Hardy

Matt works on the arm to start and a hiptoss has Miz frustrated. A headlock doesn’t last long on Miz as he drop toeholds Hardy to the floor. Miz sends him into various things, including back into the ring for some left hands. Hardy fights up again and hits a middle rope elbow to the back of the neck. The Side Effect gets two but Joey Mercury sneaks in for a cheap shot with his mask, setting up the Mizard of Oz to give Miz the pin.

Rating: D+. So yeah, the story gets to continue because these guys have to keep fighting. They’ve had a few matches now and while the story with the nose makes sense, I’m not sure if it has the legs to make something like this go much longer. Miz getting the win is a good thing as it isn’t like Matt needs to beat him.

Here is Batista, who wants an answer from Undertaker. Batista has heard all about the Streak and how Undertaker can’t be beaten at Wrestlemania. He welcomes the challenge though….and here is John Cena to interrupt. Cena says he isn’t here for a fight because he has had a weird week. He won the Tag Team Titles on Monday (doesn’t have the belt) but then almost got superkicked by Shawn Michaels.

It’s Wrestlemania season and everyone wants to go after the title and then when it can’t get worse, BONG. Cena was on the wrong end of the coldest stare that he has ever seen and now he needs to know what is coming at Wrestlemania. The gong strikes and thirty seven hours later, Undertaker is in the ring. Undertaker stares at Cena, then he stares at Batista….and here is Shawn Michaels (without the Tag Team Title either).

Shawn says Undertaker won the Rumble but what did that prove? They’re the same kind of person and they both thrive on competition. Shawn is challenging him for a match with the Wrestlemania title match on the line. Undertaker doesn’t say anything because here is Vince McMahon to interrupt. Vince doesn’t care what Shawn or the fans want because they’ll want what Vince wants, when he tells them they want it. We’re not getting Shawn vs. Undertaker, but we can have Cena/Michaels vs. Batista/Undertaker. No decision is made on Wrestlemania, but they’re making it pretty clear.

Overall Rating: C. Much like ECW, the important thing here is that the show felt big. This felt like a show on the Road To Wrestlemania and a lot of that was due to the star power. At the same time though, a lot of the positives came from things actually happening. This show felt important and that is not the kind of feeling you get very often around here. It wasn’t a great show, but it felt like the start of something important and that’s good enough.

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Smackdown
Date: January 19, 2007
Location: Alltel Arena, Little Rock, Arkansas
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield

We’re less than two weeks away from the Royal Rumble and that means it is time to put the finishing touches on the card. This year’s show has taken things in a slightly different direction by just having the majority of the field announced without much in the way of talking about it on screen. Other than that, Batista is getting ready to defend against Mr. Kennedy. Let’s get to it.

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

Here is Mr. Kennedy for a chat after becoming #1 contender last week. There were sixteen men trying to beat the clock but Kennedy was the only person who could pull it off. He beat Chris Benoit in five minutes and Miz of all people lasted that long against the Undertaker. People accuse him of cheating but who wouldn’t have done what he did?

After beating six World Champions, it is time for him to win the title, but here is Teddy Long to interrupt. Long congratulates Kennedy for his win last week, but tonight is a little different. Tonight, Kennedy is going one on one with the Undertaker, and if Undertaker wins, we’ll make the Royal Rumble a triple threat match.

Maryse welcomes us back.

We look at Matt Hardy accidentally blowing up Joey Mercury’s face at Armageddon, followed by Mercury jumping Hardy for some revenge.

Matt Hardy vs. Joey Mercury

Mercury starts fast with a cheap shot so Hardy goes for the bad face, sending Mercury running into the corner. Hardy is patient enough to hit a clothesline but it’s too early for the Side Effect (you never go with the signature that soon). They head outside with Mercury sending him into the steps to take over, followed by some choking in the corner. A snapmare sets up a chinlock but Hardy is right back out with a jawbreaker. Now the Side Effect connects and the middle rope elbow to the head connects. The Twist of Fate is countered into a tiger driver which is countered into a rollup to give Hardy the fast pin.

Rating: C. These two worked well together and there is a personal story to give them a reason to fight. This is a good example of taking something that happened and letting them fight each other because it makes sense. That is the kind of thing you don’t see enough of these days and it worked just fine here.

Post match here’s Johnny Nitro to jump Hardy, setting up a Snapshot on exposed concrete. That’s what you call escalating quickly.

Post break, here’s exactly what we saw before the break.

Miz is bragging to Layla and Ashley about what he did to Undertaker and knows he could have won with more time. Kane pops up and running ensues.

Kristal tries asks Vickie Guerrero about the feud between Chavo Guerrero and Chris Benoit but Vickie wants to talk alone in the locker room. Ok then.

Video on Chavo Guerrero vs. Chris Benoit.

MVP/Dave Taylor/William Regal vs. Paul London/Brian Kendrick/Vito

This could be different. Ashley is here with the latter and MVP is still taped up. It’s a big brawl to start until we settle down to London monkey flipping Regal. Vito comes in but gets kicked in the ribs, allowing MVP to come in and send him into the buckle. Back up and Vito is fine enough to hit a slam onto the banged up back but Taylor comes in to hammer away.

Regal and MVP take turns on Vito until he manages a rollup for two on Regal. Choking puts Vito back down in the corner as JBL refers to Vito as “her”. MVP has to cut off a hot tag attempt but a jawbreaker allows the hot tag off to Kendrick to clean house. Everything breaks down and London dives onto Taylor. Kendrick loads up Sliced Bread on Regal but MVP catches him in an Emerald Flosion for the pin.

Rating: C+. This is the kind of match I can go for most of the time: take some people and put them into a combination you don’t see too often, as it will give you something fresh for a change. You don’t get to see MVP vs. London or Kendrick very often so mixing it up a bit can do some good. Nice little match too, with talented people doing their thing.

US Title: Chris Benoit vs. Chavo Guerrero

Benoit is defending and this is No DQ. Chavo starts smart by kicking Benoit low and snapping off a Saito suplex. With Benoit down, Guerrero unhooks the top and middle buckle pad but gets dropped onto the top rope for taking too long. Benoit tries the Crossface but Chavo rolls outside, only to get Crossfaced out there anyway. That’s broken up and Chavo’s chair shot hits the post.

Back in and the Crossface goes on again with Chavo having to roll out again. Another chair shot is cut off by a backdrop but Chavo whips him chest first into the exposed buckle for two. Now the chair shots can connect, including Chavo driving the chair into Benoit’s neck. A flying armbar onto the open chair gets two but Benoit is right back up to send him outside.

Benoit hits a dropkick through the ropes and sends Chavo hard into the barricade. Chavo staggers over to the timekeeper and nails Benoit with the belt though and it’s time for Three Amigos, including suplexes onto the belt and the chair. The frog splash only hits chair though and Benoit gets two. Now it’s Benoit suplexing Chavo onto the belt but he misses the Swan Dive, banging up his shoulder again in the process. Chavo grabs the chair but gets pulled into the Sharpshooter for the tap to retain the title.

Rating: B-. The matches have been pretty good but it is time to wrap this one up. Chavo has now lost to Benoit several times now and Benoit needs a fresh challenger. They did something with the stipulation here so it did make sense in the situation. Hopefully we get to see something new for both of them now, as their rather nice feud should be over.

Batista is excited for the main event and is going to be ringside.

Mr. Kennedy complains about the main event so Jillian Hall suggests that she go talk to Long.

Deuce And Domino vs. ???/???

So now we get a new team in the form of Deuce And Domino, a pair of greasers who come out in an old car with a woman named Cherry, who blows bubblegum and wears roller skates. You know, for all of those people in 2007 who were nostalgic for the 1970s version of the 50s.

Before the match, the team introduces themselves, thankfully not talking like Fonzie to match the looks. Domino mentions that Cherry is his sister and Cole mentions that she is dating Deuce. The other team gets jumped before the bell with Deuce kicking away. A running kick to the seated head finishes for Deuce in a hurry. Total squash but it’s kind of hard to get your head around the gimmick, which I think I like.

Mr. Kennedy yells at Teddy Long, who just recaps the idea of the main event. I’m assuming they just needed to fill in a minute with anything here.

Maryse welcomes us back.

Kane vs. Miz

Kane unloads with shots to the face to start but the big boot misses. That doesn’t really matter as Kane is right back with a backbreaker, followed by some knees to the back in the corner. The logical bearhug goes on but Miz fights his way out and goes up, only to dive into a boot to the face. The chokeslam is good for the easy pin.

Rating: C-. Total squash and that’s all it needed to be. There is no reason to believe that Miz is going to be a threat to Kane and it isn’t going to hut him to take a loss here. They didn’t do anything beyond what they should have done here and it was an effective use of about four minutes. Kane can move on to the Rumble and Miz can annoy someone else, as he should.

King Booker interrupts Krystal talking to Teddy Long. He isn’t happy about not getting a title shot but he’ll win the Royal Rumble and get it back at Wrestlemania. Long is fine with that, and puts Booker in a six man Over The Top challenge next week.

Royal Rumble rundown.

Mr. Kennedy vs. Undertaker

Batista is on commentary and if Undertaker wins, the Royal Rumble match is a triple threat. Undertaker suplexes his way out of a headlock to start and sends Kennedy head first into the buckle. Old School connects early and Undertaker is annoyed by a kickout. Kennedy avoids a charge and hammers away but gets sent outside. A bit of pummeling ensues and we take a break.

Back with Undertaker hitting a headbutt but Kennedy fights his way out of a superplex attempt. Undertaker sits up though and it’s time to stalk Kennedy on the floor. Back in again and Kennedy gets smart by dropkicking the knee. Kennedy cranks on the leg but Undertaker uses the good leg to kick his way to freedom. They head outside again with Undertaker being sent knees first into the steps.

The knees are fine enough to send Kennedy back first into the post and there’s the apron legdrop for two. The Last Ride is broken up and Kennedy goes right back to the knee. Undertaker’s knee is fine enough to hit Snake Eyes into the big boot to knock Kennedy outside, where he shoves Batista. Back in and the chokeslam is loaded up….but Batista charges in to spear Kennedy for the DQ because Kennedy is smart.

Rating: C. The match was just kind of there but the ending was really smart with Kennedy understanding that he can’t beat Undertaker on his own but he can avoid him being in the title match. That’s the kind of thinking you don’t see often enough and it worked really well here. Good, smart ending as we’re not ready for Undertaker vs. Batista just yet.

Undertaker glares down at Batista to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. Given that the show had very little to do with changing up the Royal Rumble, this was still pretty good with the smart ending and Deuce And Domino debuting. Other than that, we had a show that was mainly a placeholder as we move towards the pay per view. Enough stuff happened here and that is often enough to make a show work out.

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Smackdown
Date: January 5, 2007
Location: Lakeland Center, Lakeland, Florida
Attendance: 4,800
Commentators: John Bradshaw Layfield, Michael Cole

It’s the first Smackdown of the new year and we are just a few weeks away from the Royal Rumble. That means we need to get some things ready and in this case that includes a theme show, as Teddy Long has announced the Beat The Clock Sprint. In other words, we are getting a Beat The Clock Challenge to determine Batista’s challenger for the pay per view. Let’s get to it.

Here are the most recent results if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Here is Teddy Long to get things going. As has already been announced, Long explains the Beat The Clock Challenge. There will be sixteen wrestlers in eight random matches, with whoever wins in the fastest time getting the World Title shot against Batista at the Royal Rumble. This brings out Batista (to quite the eruption) to say he likes the idea of being in the ring against the best. With that out of the way, it’s time to get things going.

Beat The Clock: Kane vs. Chavo Guerrero

Chavo looks a good bit nervous to start and an early rollup attempt goes rather badly. Kane powers him out to the floor where Chavo isn’t sure what to do. Back in and a slam into a jumping legdrop gives Kane two, followed by another trip to the floor. Chavo gets in some stomps on the way back in and sends Kane into the steps for his first breather. Back in and Chavo hits a dropkick between the shoulders, setting up a headscissor choke to keep Kane in trouble.

That’s broken up in a hurry but Kane’s suplex is countered into a DDT. That just makes Kane sit up and the real beating is on. A running clothesline in the corner sets up a side slam but the chokeslam is broken up. Instead Kane backdrops him down and puts Chavo on top. That is broken up as well though and Chavo hits the frog splash….with Kane catching him by the throat for the chokeslam and the pin at 7:53.

Rating: C-. I’m not sure how much drama there was here but it is nice to have some kind of stakes on the match. That time isn’t going to last for more than a match or two but at least they had something simple and to the point here. Kane beating up Chavo worked, even though Chavo’s offense wasn’t exactly the most convincing.

Maryse, in limited clothing, welcomes us back to the show.

Beat The Clock: Paul London vs. Brian Kendrick

The clock is set at 7:53 and what a coincidence. They trade quick rollups to start and Kendrick grabs a headlock. This gives JBL a chance to talk about drinking with Faarooq as Batista is watching in the back. London’s headlock is countered into a headscissors and Kendrick grabs a headlock takeover of his own. They trade some more near falls until London tries to force Kenrdrick’s arms down for a cover. London’s double underhook doesn’t work either as Kendrick backdrops him for two.

You can hear the BORING chants as they get up for a standoff. Kendrick tries an O’Connor roll but gets sent outside for….nothing actually. Back in and they hit stereo crossbodies for a double knockdown. Another exchange of rollups goes nowhere as Kendrick falls out to the floor. Back in and Kendrick grabs a headlock with less than a minute to go. That doesn’t last long so they try some rollups for two each as time expires.

Rating: C-. I wasn’t feeling this one and there were times where they came off as rather dumb. Why would you grab a headlock in a timed match with less than a minute to go? On top of that, JBL wasn’t even screaming at them for being stupid. This was going off the style of they know each other so well and are mirror images of each other, which might make for a nice idea but it rarely works well in practice.

Post match Ashley comes out to make sure everything is cool, allowing JBL to plug her Playboy appearance. Again.

JBL is in the ring for a chat, as he continues to rant about Teddy Long ruining Smackdown. We see another clip of the Inferno match with MVP’s back being burned, plus some photos of MVP’s burned back. Cue MVP to thank JBL for speaking for him, as he was busy being in the hospital and all that jazz. Then he heard about the Beat The Clock Challenge and knew he had to come back and get his shot at the title. That’s why he’ll be here next week in case Long is willing to put him in the competition. This wasn’t exactly a heel promo as it’s kind of hard to take issue with MVP being mad about being SET ON FIRE.

Beat The Clock: King Booker vs. Gregory Helms

Non-title, Queen Sharmell handles Booker’s introduction and the clock is set at 7:53. Booker wastes no time (because he’s smart) by clotheslining him into the ropes as, again, Batista looks on. Helms escapes a suplex and hammers away but Booker grabs a spinebuster for two.

Booker hits a superkick and strikes away in the corner but Helms is back with some forearms. Helms wraps the leg around the rope and hammers away in the corner until he is dropped throat first across the top. Another kick to the face gives Booker two but Helms gets fast and hits a quick middle rope dropkick. A high crossbody/forearm gives Helms two more and he dodges the ax kick for a bonus. Sharmell offers a distraction though and it’s the side kick into the ax kick to give Booker the win at 6:24.

Rating: C. This was a weird one but both guys felt like they were trying to win as fast as they could here. It is nice to see people being smart in a match like this for a change as that has not quite been the case so far. Again though, can we PLEASE get rid of the Cruiserweight Title already? It is very clear that WWE does not care about it so drop the thing before it makes Helms look even worse.

Post match Booker and Sharmell leave so here is the Boogeyman to plant Helms again. Boogeyman worms him to make it worse.

We gt a pretty long video on Batista, looking over his entire career from the Deacon days to Evolution to the injury to the return to get the title back. This was pretty good.

Ashley vs. Jillian Hall

During the entrances, Jillian talks about wanting to destroy Ashley’s pretty face. Jillian takes her down to start and rips at the face a bit. A running knee hits Ashley in the face but she gets a boot up in the corner. Ashley headscissors her out of the corner but walks into a powerbomb for two. Not that it matters as Ashley grabs a quick small package for the pin.

Maryse welcomes us back to the show again.

Beat The Clock: Tatanka vs. Jimmy Wang Yang

The clock is set at 6:24 and JBL is all over the cowboy vs. Indian story. Tatanka jumps him to start but walks into a rollup and a neckbreaker for two each. A sleeper doesn’t work very well on Tatanka as he powers out and gorilla presses Yang outside for a crash. Back in and it’s something like a pumphandle slam into a suplex into a backbreaker for two each on Yang.

A few kicks get Yang out of trouble though, including a middle rope missile dropkick for two. The comeback is so strong that Yang’s chaps fall apart. Yang goes up but gets suplexed back down as the time is starting to wrap up. A slam gets two on Yang but he is right back up with the moonsault press as time expires.

Rating: C. I wouldn’t have bet on this working but they had a pretty nice match here. Tatanka isn’t exactly lighting the world on fire but he can wrestle a good enough power style. Yang is quick enough to hang in there with most opponents and they pulled out a pretty shocking match here. Not great, but what kind of expectations would there have been coming in?

Post match, Tatanka beats Yang down again.

Vickie Guerrero talks about how Chris Benoit caused the problems between herself and Chavo Guerrero. Everyone has turned their backs on her and now she has nothing. Crying ensues.

We recap the Challenge matches so far.

Here is Mr. Kennedy to talk about how he is sports entertainment. I think he means he’s going to win.

Beat The Clock: Mr. Kennedy vs. Chris Benoit

Non-title and the clock is set at 6:24. They grapple into the corner to start with Kennedy actually getting the better of things. A whip into the corner puts Benoit down for two as we see Batista watching in the back. There’s another whip into the corner for two more as this is one sided so far. Benoit grabs a quick rollup for two but the Sharpshooter is countered into Kennedy’s own near fall.

The Kenton Bomb hits raised knees and it’s time to roll the German suplexes. The Swanton misses though and Kennedy takes a turnbuckle pad off. Benoit snaps on the Crossface, with Kennedy going straight into the rope. Back up and Benoit is sent into the exposed buckle to give Kennedy the pin at 5:07.

Rating: C. This was kind of a weird match as Kennedy dominated for the most part with Benoit barely getting in any offense. I did like the recurring idea of Benoit being whipped into the corner before the big one at the end finished him off so they did have a theme to the match. This worked out well enough and Kennedy is a good potential challenger for Batista.

Post match Kennedy brags about the win but here is Teddy Long to remind us that the second half of the challenge is next week. Next week we will have MVP, Finlay, Matt Hardy and the Undertaker trying their luck, which does not sit well with Kennedy. Kennedy: “KENNEDY!”.

Commentary recaps the remaining challengers to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. I love a show where there is a theme throughout the night and that was absolutely the case here. They had a good show with almost everyone working on the same angle. It was a smart idea to have something like this as the year starts, as it isn’t like the title match is going to mean given that it is at the Royal Rumble. Simple and to the point here, which might not be exciting, but it is rather safe and that is not a bad thing from time to time.

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

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Smackdown
Date: December 22, 2006
Location: Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, Virginia
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield

We are done with Armageddon and pretty much a grand total of nothing happened. The main event saw John Cena joining forces with Batista to beat King Booker and Finlay. Other than that, Kane and Undertaker beat up MVP and Mr. Kennedy to presumably end both of those feuds. That means we have about a month to get to the Royal Rumble so let’s get to it.

Here is Armageddon if you need a recap.

King Booker, Queen Sharmell and Finlay are in Teddy Long’s office and demanding a rematch with Batista and John Cena. That isn’t happening, but they can have Kane and Undertaker instead. This does not go well.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Batista to get things going. He wishes us a Happy Holidays and even has red trunks on in celebration. It was a good ending to the year and he is going to start the new year even better, because he is World Heavyweight Champion. Cue Santa Claus (JBL: “I don’t need presents. I’m rich.”) with some presents, including a shirt and Roddy Piper DVD for Cole. Batista gets some candy canes, which he throws into the crowd, but Santa hits him in his bad arm with a pipe. Cue Teddy Long and the match is on.

Santa Claus vs. Batista

Santa charges in and goes after the arm, including slamming it into the apron. Batista uses the good arm to hit a clothesline and spear, which reveals that it’s Sylvan as Santa. The spinebuster and Batista Bomb finish Santa in a hurry. This was harmless Christmas fun.

We look at Chris Benoit retaining the US Title over Chavo Guerrero at Armageddon.

Tribute to the Troops video.

US Title: Chris Benoit vs. Chavo Guerrero

Chavo is defending and has Vickie Guerrero with him. The fans are all over Chavo as he pounds away in the corner to start. That earns him a hard whip into another corner and the snap suplex gives Benoit two. Back up and Chavo gets in some forearms, setting up a whip into the corner of his own. A small package gives Benoit two and there’s the first German suplex. Another is blocked though and they fall outside as we take a break.

Back with Chavo holding a waistlock until Benoit belly to back suplexes his way to freedom. An over the shoulder backbreaker gives Chavo two but he has to break out of a quick Sharpshooter attempt. Benoit tries it again but gets kicked away again, allowing Chavo to hit a running knee to the ribs. Some chops have Chavo staggered though and there are the rolling German suplexes. The Swan Dive gets two and the Crossface goes on, drawing in Vickie with the title for the DQ.

Rating: C. I’m not quite sure why we needed a rematch here but the ending might set them up for another rematch. I don’t think the feud has that kind of legs, though that has never stopped WWE before. Maybe they have some kind of twist coming for it later, but for now, this is losing steam in a hurry.

Post match Benoit stares Vickie down but walks away without going near her. Chavo yells at Vickie and knocks her down himself. Benoit comes back in to check on Vickie and gets jumped by Chavo.

King Booker is worried about the tag match tonight but Finlay says they can do this. That’s enough to convince Booker.

Here is Gregory Helms for a chat. Helms says he is ready to move up to the heavyweight division because he needs some competition….and here is Boogeyman to interrupt. Helms’ shots to the back do nothing so he runs away from the threat of worms. Ring announcer Tony Chimmel says Boogeyman’s catchphrase for no logical reason and gets wormed instead.

Here is Joey Mercury, whose face looks horrible after Sunday’s ladder match, for a chat. Mercury talks about his injuries and we see what happened, which is even worse in slow motion. He holds the Hardys responsible for what happened because he has lost 50% of the vision in his left eye. His movie star good looks are gone and it might be forever!

Cue Matt Hardy, to say no one meant for this to happen. It was a ladder match for the Tag Team Titles and that’s a dangerous place to be. Any of them could have been hurt and that is the price you could pay, but nothing was intentional. Matt goes to leave but Mercury doesn’t like Matt saying it was “unfortunate”. The challenge is on but Matt isn’t going to fight someone as banged up as Mercury is right now. That’s fine with Mercury, because Matt can fight this guy.

Matt Hardy vs. Johnny Nitro

Melina is here with Nitro, who jumps Matt before the bell. The beating is on in a hurry with Matt falling out to the floor, where Nitro stays on him in a hurry. Back in and Matt hits a bulldog for two but Nitro is back with some right hands to the face. Nitro grabs a ladder from underneath the ring (this can’t end well) and we take a break.

Back with Hardy knocking him down and they get a quick breather (and the ladder nowhere in sight). It’s Hardy getting back up first but Melina grabs his foot, allowing Nitro to hit an enziguri out to the floor. The springboard kick to the face misses though and they’re both down again. Some knees and a kick to the face give Hardy two and a neckbreaker sets up the middle rope legdrop for two. Nitro comes right back with a backslide and throws his feet on the ropes for the pin.

Rating: C. Perfectly logical match here, though I’m not sure how much vindication there is for Mercury to have Nitro win with a backslide. The ladder part was kind of weird as it just came and went with nothing changing. There are a few ways they could go with this, but until Mercury is back healthy, it is going to be Nitro on his own, assuming he doesn’t get a new partner. Mercury’s face alone gives it some interest though and that’s a good thing.

Here is JBL in the ring for a chat. He isn’t happy with Teddy Long bringing back all these horrible matches, including the Inferno match. On Sunday, we saw a man burning (with JBL referring to MVP as a corpse) and he had to be put out. That is Long’s doing so JBL wants him out here right now for an apology.

Long doesn’t show up, so JBL blames the fans, going into a rant about how they keep demanding more, no matter what happens to the wrestlers. Rome did not fall because of the gladiators but because of the sick people in the stands. No one will pay to see them though, and they might even bring down America. JBL can sell something like this, though this feels like it is going to be the start of something long.

Ashley/Layla vs. Krystal/Jillian Hall

Ashley slams Krystal down to start as we hear about Ashley’s Playboy short. JBL complains about the lack of closeups of Layla as Jillian knees her down and sends her head first into the mat a few times. Jillian’s handspring elbow hits raised boots in the corner and it’s off to Ashley to clean house. Everything breaks down and Krystal breaks up a monkey flip out of the corner. Layla breaks up a monkey flip though and Ashley drops a middle rope elbow for the pin.

Rating: D. You can only get so annoyed at four women who were given the bare minimum of training and then sent out there on national TV. As usual, this was about getting the good looking women in revealing outfits in the ring so you can only get so mad at the whole thing. Bad match of course, but were you expecting anything else?

Vladimir Kozlov is very excited and shouts in Russian a lot.

King Booker/Finlay vs. Kane/Undertaker

Queen Sharmell is here with Booker/Finlay. Booker ducks a clothesline from Undertaker to start but the stalking is on in a hurry. Undertaker hammers him down in the corner and lifts Booker up by one arm. Old School connects with Booker but he breaks up the same thing to Finlay. A top rope superplex brings Undertaker back down for two and it’s off to Finlay for….actually for a kind of intriguing match.

Undertaker catches him with a running DDT and Kane comes in to clean house. Uppercuts abound and the side slam gets two on Booker. The threat of double chokeslams send the villains outside and us to a break. Back with Kane choking Booker in the corner, allowing Undertaker to add the apron legdrop. Finlay breaks up a cover but Kane is fine enough to drag Booker into the corner to keep up the beating. Booker gets in a shot to the face and brings Finlay back in, where he walks into Snake Eyes.

The big boot drops Finlay again but Booker low bridges Undertaker to the floor. Apparently Kane got a tag in there somewhere (Cole is confused as well) and Booker dropkicks him out of the air. Finlay drops Undertaker on the floor and goes inside for a chinlock. Booker takes Finlay’s place and chairs Undertaker down, with the distraction allowing Finlay to hit Kane with the shillelagh. Kane kicks Booker down though and somehow Undertaker is back up to get the hot tag. House is cleaned in a hurry and the Tombstone (Cole: “This may make Finlay think he’s an Englishman!”) finishes Finlay.

Rating: C-. Not awful here, but it was pretty clear that they wanted to get done with this and take their Christmas vacation. It isn’t like losing to Undertaker and Kane is going to hurt Booker and Finlay, the latter of whom more or less exists for the sake of taking losses. Booker is already falling down the Smackdown depth chart, but I’m curious to see where all four of them go from here.

Overall Rating: C-. This was far from a serious show, but it was hardly some disaster. They dealt with some fallout from the pay per view and did just enough to make it feel like a regular TV show. Nothing was too horrible and odds are next week is a Best Of show anyway, meaning it’s off to 2007 from here.

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Smackdown
Date: December 1, 2006
Location: HSBC Arena, Buffalo, New York
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield

It is the first show after Survivor Series and the big Smackdown story is Batista taking the World Title back from King Booker. That means it is time to start getting ready for Armageddon in a few weeks, so we need to set up some stuff. With so little time left before the show, we might be getting ready for the show this week. Let’s get to it.

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

Here is Teddy Long in the ring to hype up Armageddon on December 17. That sounds like a good place to announce some matches, so we’ll have Kane vs. MVP in an Inferno match and Mr. Kennedy vs. the Undertaker in a Last Ride match. That is in a few weeks though, so for now let’s bring out Batista. The new champ is rather happy to have his title back, though JBL goes on a rant about how Batista didn’t climb some mountain to become champion again. It took Batista eleven months to get the title back and now all is right with the world.

Cue King Booker and Queen Sharmell, whose ALL HAIL’s have lost some steam. Booker says it takes some nerve to stand in the ring with his title, because Batista stole it. Teddy Long helped him steal the title by changing the stipulations right before the match began. Then Batista had to cheat to win to win the title (yeah) so tonight, the rematch clause is being invoked. Batista is ready to fight now but here is Finlay to interrupt. Finlay says Booker doesn’t deserve a rematch because he hasn’t beaten him yet, so it should be Finlay vs. Batista. Teddy thinks they both have a point so let’s have a triple threat match for the title.

MNM vs. Paul London/Brian Kendrick

Non-title and Melina/Ashley are here as the seconds. As a bonus, we’re told that Ashley is next year’s Wrestlemania Playboy girl. London and Kendrick take turns knocking Nitro down to start with Kendrick coming in off the top to elbow the arm. The double dives hit MNM but Kendrick misses a high crossbody back inside. London has to make an early save so Nitro slaps on the chinlock with a bodyscissors. That’s broken up so Kendrick gets over to London for a double high crossbody. Everything breaks down and here are Dave Taylor and William Regal to jump London. That’s enough to set up the Snapshot to put London away.

Rating: C. This is a match I could go for on the bigger stage. I know London and Kendrick took the titles from MNM in the first place but they have come so far in the time since the title change that it could be a classic if they did it again. It’s kind of shame that MNM is only back for a short run, because they could give the division a much needed boost. Nitro has come a long way on his own though and I think WWE figured out his potential a long time ago.

We look at Mr. Kennedy beating Undertaker in the First Blood match at Survivor Series.

Kennedy comes up to MVP in the back and yells at him for swinging the chair. They argue over their matches at Armageddon and Kennedy calls him an idiot. Things are not quite cool here.

Smackdown World Title: King Booker vs. Finlay vs. Batista

Batista is defending and Queen Sharmell is here with Booker. Batista punches them both down to start and takes over, including a Regal Roll to Finlay. The ring is cleared of challengers and we take a break. Back with Finlay working over Batista, including the elbow to the chest. JBL: “These guys would smack their mama right now to win a World Title.” Booker gets knocked outside again and Finlay plants Batista for a close two.

The chinlock goes on for a bit, followed by some boots to Batista’s head. Finlay grabs the chinlock again but Batista fights up and hits a MuscleBuster for two. Booker comes back in to kick Batista in the back for two of his own, followed by the catapult into the bottom rope for the same. Finlay makes a save this time and it’s time for the villainous staredown. Booker gets the better of the brawl and Sharmell rakes the eyes to put Batista on the floor.

Back in and Booker gets two on Batista, meaning it’s time for the double teaming. Finlay throws Booker off for daring to cover before slapping on a chinlock. With that broken up, Finlay grabs the Shillelagh but the referee makes him put it down, as this triple threat has DQ’s. Cue the Leprechaun….but Batista stares him to the floor. Now the Shillelagh shot to the knee can get two on Batista and Finlay grabs the half crab. That’s broken up by Booker’s superkick but Finlay knocks Batista down. The spear into the Batista Bomb finishes Finlay to retain the title.

Rating: C+. Not a classic or anything but it got time and felt like a match that meant something. Giving Batista a title defense right out of the gate makes up for some of the belt shot title win and keeps open the door for Batista vs. Booker II. If nothing else, it is always cool to see the title on the line in a match with some weight so this was a nice surprise.

Post break, Booker and Finlay yell at Teddy Long, who doesn’t want to hear it. Therefore, at Armageddon, it’s Booker/Finlay vs. Batista/a partner of his choosing.

We look back at Chris Benoit retaining the US Title over Chavo Guerrero after accidentally knocking Vickie Guerrero off the apron.

Vickie and Chavo call Benoit a woman beater and swear revenge.

Chris Benoit vs. Chavo Guerrero

Non-title and Vickie Guerrero, in a neck brace, is here. Benoit knocks him down to start but gets elbowed in the face for an early two. The rolling German suplexes send Chavo outside, where he hides behind Vickie as we take a break. Back with Chavo sending him face first into the middle buckle and slapping on an abdominal stretch. That’s broken up and Benoit starts the comeback with a backdrop into a chop for two.

Chavo tries to get up top but gets superplexed right back down in a nasty landing. The Sharpshooter attempt is broken up so the Crossface sends Chavo crawling to the ropes. Back up and Benoit tries an O’Connor roll but gets kicked almost into Vickie. This time Benoit puts the brakes on and Chavo rolls him up with tights for the pin.

Rating: C. There’s your setup for the rematch and that’s all it needed to be. They even played off of Sunday’s ending here for a nice bonus. It isn’t a great match or anything but it served its purpose and the pay per view rematch should be better. Now just stop talking about Benoit being such a monster and the next match will be easier to watch.

Batista seems to have picked a partner.

Layla vs. Kristal Marshall

Layla grabs a headlock to start but an attempted hammerlock doesn’t go very far. Kristal gets sent outside but comes back in for a slam as commentary talks about Playboy. A Hennig necksnap gives Kristal two so she grabs Layla by the hair and slams her head first into the mat for the pin. This was one of the worst matches I can remember in a long time.

Batista picks John Cena.

Raw Rebound.

MVP vs. Undertaker

MVP immediately starts begging off but gets taken into the corner to start the beating. A running clothesline lets Undertaker hammer away in the corner and Old School connects (JBL: “That is completely unnatural.”). MVP kicks him in the face and the glare is on in a hurry. There’s the jumping clothesline to drop MVP again and the turnbuckle pad is ripped off.

A few rights and lefts slow Undertaker down for a bit but he is right back with a clothesline. Snake Eyes into the big boot lets Undertaker grab a chair. MVP goes to run but here is Mr. Kennedy to throw him back in….but MVP reverses and sends Kennedy inside instead. Cue Kane as I think the match has been thrown out.

Rating: C-. This was a total squash until the no contest, though it is at least a match that felt fresh. They very well could do another match between them down the line and it would be a fine way to headline one of the next two Smackdowns. What we got here was fine enough for the short form, though it does feel like it’s a match that was there to fill in time and little more.

Kane and Undertaker clean house but the threat of a double chokeslam sends the villains running to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. I don’t remember the last time that they set up three major matches for the pay per view, plus a few other matches that you can see coming from here, for a pay per view in a single night. They did what they should have done with their time here and the World Title match was pretty good in its own right. Good, effective show here and it was nice to see something efficient like this one.

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Smackdown
Date: November 3, 2006
Location: Bradley Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield

It’s the go home show for Cyber Sunday and that means it is time for one more final push towards the Champion of Champions match. I’m not sure what that is going to entail this week, but it’s not like Smackdown has very much to do with the pay per view in the first place. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here is Rey Mysterio, on a crutch, to open things up. Rey talks about how he lost the I Quit match two weeks ago, with a clip of Chavo Guerrero smashing his knee making him a bit more emotional. He has never quit on the fans because they have never quit on him. The fans made him believe that anything is possible when he won the Royal Rumble and the World Heavyweight Title…and here are Chavo and Vickie Guerrero to interrupt.

Vickie even brings the chair into the ring (I love the idea of them carrying a chair around for two weeks). Chavo wants Rey to quit again but would also like him to autograph the chair. Rey doesn’t think so but Chavo turning the chair around to reveal the words I QUIT on the back makes it worse. Chavo beats Rey down and hits him in the knee but Chris Benoit runs in to stop Vickie from getting in his own shot. This is a good story, though having it focus on Chavo Guerrero makes it a little difficult.

KC James/Idol Stevens vs. Brian Kendrick/Paul London

Non-title and Michelle McCool/Ashley are here as the thirds. London and Kendrick clean house to start with London hitting a dive to take out James on the floor. Back in and Kendrick gets punched down, with James hitting a backbreaker for two. A backdrop gets Kendrick out of trouble though and it’s off to London to clean house. Everything breaks down and Kendrick has to dive back in for a save. London is right back with a step up shooting star press for the pin on James.

Rating: C. London and Kendrick are one of the better tag teams in a long time around here but there is only so much that can be done when they have faced and beaten the same teams over and over now. The division really needs some fresh blood, but that has been the case with both tag team divisions for a long time now.

Teddy Long wants to protect King Booker and Queen Sharmell just in case Booker gets to defend the World Title at Cyber Sunday. He even has a special room ready for the two of them, plus a special guard at the door: Batista. Booker doesn’t seem to think much of him so Batista pins him against the wall. Batista wants to get his hands on Finlay so tonight, no one is getting to Booker.

The Marine is STILL a thing.

MVP and Mr. Kennedy get in an argument before their tag match against the Brothers of Destruction.

Clips from the Cyber Sunday press conference.

MVP/Mr. Kennedy vs. Brothers of Destruction

We get the long form entrances and Kennedy seems to understand he is in some trouble here. Kane starts for the team so Kennedy tags out before anything happens (save for some sneering). The big right hands and uppercuts rock MVP in the corner but Kane charges into an elbow in the corner. Kennedy comes in and gets kicked in the face, allowing Undertaker to come in for a change. It’s back to MVP who hits a right hand, allowing him to run back to Kennedy.

Everything breaks down and the Brothers clean house in a hurry, which is enough for MVP and Kennedy to take the countout. Cue Teddy Long to say we’re restarting this with no countouts. Back from a break with the Brothers taking turns slamming MVP until Kane hits a powerslam for two. Undertaker slugs away and there’s Old School to take MVP down again. There’s the side slam from Kane into the top rope clothesline. Kennedy distracts Undertaker and the chase is on, including a low blow to Kane for the DQ.

Long comes out to restart it again, this time with no countout or DQ. The big brawl is on with MVP and Kennedy being beaten up all over again. The Brothers drop them onto the announcers’ table and we go back inside for some running corner clotheslines. JBL loses his mind as the Brothers are trying to one up each other, which is quite the visual. Kennedy gets in an ax handle to Kane and MVP hammers away as we get back to something close to a normal match.

A dropkick sends Kane into the corner but a quick powerslam allows the hot tag off to Undertaker. Snake Eyes into the big boot gives us a bit of Brotherly miscommunication and a shrug from Kane in a funny bit. Everything breaks down again and Undertaker is knocked down, leaving Kane to take a double DDT. That means a double sit up into a double chokeslam into a Tombstone to finish Kennedy.

Rating: C. This felt like a Welcome To Smackdown match for Kennedy and MVP, though it isn’t like losing to the Brothers is going to hurt them long term. This was a rather nice beatdown with MVP and Kennedy getting in their shots where they could. Odds are these guys aren’t done, but putting MVP and Kennedy in there with these two is going to give them a nice rub.

King Booker goes to get a drink but Batista says not so fast. Apparently people from ECW are waiting for Booker so he sticks around.

Gregory Helms vs. Jimmy Wang Yang

Non-title and Amy from the Diva Search is here in the tied off shirt and Daisy Dukes. Yang shoulders Helms down as JBL makes jokes about how Yang should be a cook in a noodle house. Helms is back with a suplex into a chinlock but Yang makes the clothesline comeback. There’s a spinwheel kick to Helms but here’s Sylvan to distract the referee, allowing Helms to grab a rollup for the pin.

Rating: D+. Hey did you know that Helms has been the champ for the better part of ever and Yang is a redneck? Not that these things are going to have much to do with each other because the title is worthless, but it seemed worthy of a mention. That would be about as much as the title means in WWE’s eyes at least.

Post match here’s Matt Hardy to go after Helms, with the heroes standing tall. You can’t say they aren’t throwing things at the wall here.

Sharmell needs to use the restroom but doesn’t want Batista to hear her. Booker doesn’t get the idea but don’t worry because she can just cross her legs.

Even more on the Marine.

Miz/Kristal vs. Vito/Layla

Vito was in a Playgirl photo shoot this week, sending JBL into another panic over Cole knowing and the shoot. Miz hides in the corner to start but comes back with some left hands. A backdrop puts Miz down and lets Vito put the dress over his head. The women come in and Kristal gets a quick rollup to pin Ashley.

Post match here’s Boogeyman and Kristal gets the worms treatments. Cue the screaming as Miz runs off.

Sharmell tries to calm Booker down but Batista leaves to go take care of the ECW guys. We see Batista faking a fight in the hallway and then coming back in to see Booker while sipping at some water.

Controversy Creates Cash is still around.

Bobby Lashley vs. Jamie Noble

Before the match, here’s Tatanka with a new look to watch on. Lashley throws Noble around to start, hits a belly to belly, and finishes with the running powerslam in just over a minute.

Post match Tatanka says he and his people are owed an explanation. He has been cheated over the last few years, just like his people. The spirits of his forefathers have given him a new warrior spirit and if Lashley wants to fight, he will be at war with a nation of warriors.

Batista takes Booker and Sharmell to the limo, where some ECW guys do actually attack. House is cleaned in a hurry though and the limo gets away. Batista says it’s time to deal with something personal.

Post break here’s Batista to call out Finlay. The brawl is on in the aisle until referees break it up to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. Not exactly a strong show, but they were in a weird spot with two matches to build towards and little more. It was cool seeing Undertaker and Kane together once again as that always feels like a treat, but it isn’t like there was anything overly great here. It isn’t quite a throwaway show, but there is nothing worth going out of your way to see.

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Monday Night Raw
Date: October 9, 2006
Location: Columbia Coliseum, Columbia, South Carolina
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Joey Styles, Tazz

It’s a special three hour show this week with Raw Family Reunion. A bunch of people who have not appeared in a long time will be back and that could make for some interesting moments. We are also in for the start of some new stories as John Cena finally vanquished Edge for good last week inside a cage. Let’s get to it.

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

New opening sequence, featuring To Be Loved by Papa Roach. I always liked that one.

All of the commentators welcome us to the show, which does give it the pay per view feeling.

Here’s John Cena to get things going. He’s hyped up to be here on this special edition of the show, which is also the 698^th episode. Before he gets going though, he has a message for Edge, after the chairs, the cages, the violence and the carnage, the champ is still here. Cue King Booker and Queen Sharmell from Smackdown with Booker bragging about how he retained the title in a four way last night at No Mercy. He also brings up his last appearance on Raw, when he made Cena kiss his feet.

Cena does a better British accent and talks about coming to Smackdown where he beat Booker’s team in a six man. The fight is almost on but here’s Big Show to say he’s the Champion Of Champions. Show: “You’ve got a white guy who talks like he’s black.” Show: “What you talking about Willis?” Show says Booker is a black guy who talks like Prince Charles so Cena calls him the Michelin Man. Cena doesn’t think much of Show calling himself the most dominant giant ever. Cena: “There’s another giant. Andre, The. Look it up.”

Show says he’s heard that before and if Andre was here, Show would beat him up too (that sounds so wrong). Booker asks what the point is and then they argue over whose movie was best, with Show bringing up the Waterboy. Booker talks about being in Ready to Rumble and….the other two crack up laughing (I mean…..ok yeah it was that bad). Cena thinks they should figure out who the best is and hammers on Show, who clears the ring in a hurry.

Teddy Long, Paul Heyman and Jonathan Coachman (the bosses) argue in the back over what we just saw. Three matches are made for later: Show vs. Jeff Hardy, Booker vs. Rob Van Dam and Cena vs. Undertaker. Well that just escalated.

Umaga vs. Kane

Armando Alejandro Estrada (carrying a long wooden stick) is here with Umaga and the loser leaves Raw. Kane slugs away to start but Umaga hammers him into the corner. Umaga misses a charge into the corner though and eats an elbow, only to knock Kane outside in a hurry. We take a break and come back with the running hip attack being cut off with a grab of the throat.

The chokeslam is broken up though as Umaga knocks him down and hits a top rope splash. The Samoan Spike is blocked as well and now the chokeslam connects. There’s the top rope clothesline but Estrada hits Kane with the board, setting up the Samoan Spike to give Umaga the pin.

Rating: D+. I wouldn’t expect any long matches tonight and that is not the worst thing in the world. This was all about wrapping up their rivalry (at least for now) and it worked out well enough. Beating Kane is almost a required merit badge for a monster so at least they got it out of the way again here. Kane really needs a change of scenery anyway.

Post match Kane gets the big sendoff round of applause.

South Carolina football coach Steve Spurrier is here and gets an introduction from Lilian Garcia.

Kane goes to leave but the Highlanders stop him to say it was an honor to be here with him. The beating doesn’t take long and Kane walks out.

DX has to give a formal apology for everything they did last week when they ran the show, which apparently they weren’t allowed to do. HHH doesn’t let Shawn finish any of them though because none of them were their fault. Shawn apologizes for beating Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch in a street fight, but that isn’t until later this evening. They realize they’re live so it’s time for a quick merchandise plug. These things are horribly corny but they make me chuckle.

Big Show vs. Jeff Hardy

Non-title. Hardy hammers away to start as Tazz actually mentions that Show is from South Carolina in the kind of trivia that most commentators wouldn’t think to include. Show shrugs everything off and slams Hardy down, only to miss the Vader Bomb elbow. The Twist of Fate is countered but Jeff manages to snap Show’s throat across the top rope.

The Whisper in the Wind sets up the Swanton for two, only to have Show grab the cobra clutch backbreaker (dubbed the Big Sleep). Now it’s the chokeslam for the pin. Too short to rate, but Joey citing the Hardcore Title as proof that Hardy was extreme was funny. They really didn’t have anyone from Raw other than the new Intercontinental Champion though? Like, Carlito wasn’t available?

Post match Johnny Nitro runs in to beat on Hardy but gets laid out by Show as well.

The Marine trailer.

D-Generation X vs. Lance Cade/Trevor Murdoch

Street fight, but first, HHH has to say Vince isn’t here because he can’t find one big enough in South Carolina. HHH mentions Cocky, the University of South Carolina mascot, who appears on the screen. He isn’t here though, because apparently he has representation. Fans: “GAME! COCKS!” HHH: “No no. I’m the Game, he’s the cock.” HHH makes every joke about the name you can imagine and Shawn looks ready to bite through his lip.

Anyway, the match starts fast with HHH being sent outside, where he sends Cade face first into the announcers’ table. A double whip sends HHH into the steps and an atomic drop into a running big boot to the face drops Shawn. The whipping is on, which makes things a lot more difficult as Shawn and Cade look a good bit alike here. HHH comes back with the chair and Cade is busted open off a shot to the head. The table is set up at ringside and Shawn elbows Murdoch through it in a hurry. Back in and the superkick into the Pedigree finishes Cade.

Rating: C+. This was short and the ending wasn’t exactly in doubt but it was intense while it lasted. DX needed to break a bit of a sweat and while Cade and Murdoch aren’t the biggest opponents, so this was a nice little surprise. At least they got violent in a street fight, which isn’t the case often enough in these things.

In the back, Edge blames DX for costing him the World Title last week. Tonight, it’s the Cutting Edge.

We look back at Kane losing.

Here’s Shelton Benjamin to say this is almost his hometown so he isn’t leaving without some competition from any brand.

Shelton Benjamin vs. Chris Benoit

Benoit takes him into the corner to start but Benjamin manages a quick shot to escape. A drop onto the ropes sets up the chinlock but Benoit fights up with the running forearm to the head. The German suplex connects on Benjamin, though the Swan Dive only connects with the mat. Not that it matters as Benoit grabs the Crossface for the fast win.

Paul Heyman tries to give ECW credit for Benoit but Teddy Long isn’t having it. Coach brings in Super Crazy and asks which brand is the best. All three try to get Crazy to say their brand is the best but the only thing Crazy can do is say all three brands are great. Long: “YOU SPEAK ENGLISH???” Crazy: “Si.” The bosses are all stunned.

Chavo Guerrero/William Regal/Finlay vs. Batista/Bobby Lashley/Rey Mysterio

Chavo starts with Rey and is quickly hurricanranaed out to the floor. Finlay and Regal have to bail to the floor to avoid a double 619 and the big brawl is on as we take a fast break. Back with Cole telling us not to adjust our sets because this is indeed Raw. Has anyone in the world ever thought they were on the wrong channel (or night in this case) and actually adjusted their set? Maybe turning the sharpness up and the contrast down makes it ECW?

Anyway, we’re back with Finlay hitting a shoulderbreaker on Rey so Chavo can hammer away in the corner. A big kick to the head allows Rey to bring tag Batista….but the referee doesn’t see it. The sitout bulldog plants Chavo and allows the real tag to Batista for the house cleaning. The Jackhammer gets two on Chavo as everything breaks down. Rey hits the top rope hurricanrana into the 619 into the spinebuster into the frog splash for the pin (as Lashley just gets to look on for some reason).

Rating: C. Nothing but a showcase match here and that’s all it needed to be. There is something nice about taking six of the best a show has and throwing them out there for a pretty easy night’s work and that’s all they did here. They had some star power and it keeps Chavo vs. Rey going (assuming they want to) and the fans had some fun. Not too bad.

Eric Bischoff has a book.

Fabulous Moolah and Mae Young get to come out to the stage for a quick wave. Nothing wrong with that.

John Cena trained with Marines at Paris Island, South Carolina.

Booker doesn’t think much of Cena and promises to dominate RVD tonight.

Women’s Title Tournament First Round: Melina vs. Torrie Wilson

Melina walks up the steps and Lawler is livid about the lack of splits entrance. Actually we’ll make this a lumberjack match, with the Extreme Strip Poker participants at ringside. They both get sent outside to start and then get sent back inside because yes, this is a lumberjack match. Back in and they slug it out until Torrie gets two off a suplex. A Kristal distraction lets Melina grab a rollup with trunks to win.

Post match Torrie gives Kristal a Stink Face.

Clips of the Wrestlemania press conference. Edge is WWE Champion here so this is a bit out of date.

King Booker vs. Rob Van Dam

Non-title. Booker misses a kick to the face to start and gets rolled up for two as JBL and Tazz bicker about announcing prowess. Van Dam gets sent shoulder first into the post and Booker hits the hook kick to the face as the arguing continues. Cole: “I’M BEGGING ANYBODY TO LET ME CALL A NEAR FALL!” Van Dam fights up and elbows Booker in the face but Sharmell crotches him on top, allowing Booker to hit a spinning kick for the pin.

Rating: C-. Another short match but they did what they were supposed to do. Just let them get in and out while keeping Van Dam protected. It’s not like the champions are likely to lose here and they didn’t waste time trying to make us believe otherwise. These two can have a better match if they are given the chance, but that wasn’t the point here.

Cryme Tyme debuts next week.

The Spirit Squad’s Mitch admits that he sucks but he’ll beat Ric Flair tonight because Flair has no friends.

Vince McMahon returns to interrupt the bosses and has an idea: a triple threat Champion vs. Champion vs. Champion match at Cyber Sunday with the fans voting on who gets to defend their title. Yeah they like the plan.

Clip of the Marine premiere at Camp Pendleton.

Mitch vs. Ric Flair

The Spirit Squad is here so Ric brings out Roddy Piper, Arn Anderson, Ted DiBiase and IRS. That’s a collection of great legends and IRS! If nothing else the Horsemen theme is great to hear every time. The Squad runs off in fear and Flair shrugs off the forearms to the back, setting up the Figure Four for the win in less than a minute.

Here are Edge and Lita for the Cutting Edge. They don’t waste time and bring out Randy Orton in the guest. Edge talks about how Orton impressed him two years ago when he won the World Title but since then, he has done absolutely nothing. Orton doesn’t like that and it’s even worse when Edge talks about all of Orton’s big losses. We see a clip of HHH throwing Orton out of Evolution and beating him down and Edge says it was all HHH ruining his career. Now history is repeating itself and HHH cost him the title last week. Someone has to stand up to DX and it should be the two of them. Hands are shaken and we have an alliance.

John Cena vs. Undertaker

Non-title again. They circle each other to start until Cena hammers away in the corner, only to get tossed into the corner so Undertaker can show him how it’s done. Old School is countered though and it’s a superplex to give Cena two. Undertaker grabs the bearhug but Cena is out in a hurry for the flying shoulder. A running DDT gives Cena two and the sit up freaks him out. The FU is countered and Undertaker hits the chokeslam but here are Big Show and Booker to jump Undertaker.

Rating: C. Another match that didn’t matter much but the atmosphere was certainly there. You don’t see two actual titans of WWE going at it very often and while Cena was still climbing, he was the top star in the company here and putting him in the ring with Undertaker feels important. There was no one anyone was taking a pin here so for once, the run in was the perfect call.

Post match Mr. Kennedy comes in after Undertaker as well and the two of them go up the ramp. The champs are left alone and Cena drops Booker, setting up the STFU on Show. An FU plants Booker to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. As you can probably guess, this wasn’t about the wrestling itself and for once it wasn’t even about the legends. This was about making people care about all three brands on one night and putting a new coat of paint on Raw (or at least giving it a new theme song). That worked out well and it felt like an important show without anything that dragged the show down. It’s not a masterpiece but it felt energized and I had fun, which is the point of a big special like this. Nice show and they did well when they were trying to.

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Smackdown
Date: September 8, 2006
Location: Civic Center, Columbus, Georgia
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield

We have a major match this time around as Batista is challenging Booker T. for the World Title in a rematch from Summerslam. In other words, this is the big special edition episode since there is no Smackdown pay per view this month. These things have hit and miss results but hopefully they can live up to the hype. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

JBL and Cole are on their feet for their intro this week. I don’t remember the last time I saw that. Anyway they preview the main event.

Finlay vs. Rey Mysterio

Rey is a bit shaken up after what Chavo and Vickie Guerrero have been up to as of late. The Leprechaun is seen looking from underneath the ring skirt during Rey’s entrance. Eh fair enough as it’s not like he’s a surprise most of the time. Finlay powers him around to start so Rey kicks at the knee in a smart move. That earns him a hard atomic drop to cut him down again, allowing Finlay to wrestle him down without much effort. The headlock goes on for a bit, followed by a gutwrench suplex for two on Rey.

We take a break and come back with Rey still not all there and getting put into a nerve hold as a result. That lasts all of five seconds as Rey is back up with a headscissors for two, only to get caught in the Tree of Woe. A backbreaker out of the corner gets two and Finlay drives him back first into the corner again.

The some city in Ireland crab goes on but Rey gets a leg out and kicks Finlay in the face. That doesn’t work on someone as mean as Finlay, so he switches to a kneeling half crab. Rey fights up again and starts kicking at the leg for the real comeback, including the springboard seated senton for two. Another springboard doesn’t work though as Rey slips and it’s the Celtic Cross for the pin.

Rating: C+. This was an interesting way to go as Rey was messed up in the head and Finlay was good enough to take advantage of what happened. Rey vs. the Guerreros seems like it could be a long form story but it is also nice to see Finlay getting a boost out of it. He has had a nice run in WWE so far and I could go for seeing a lot more of it soon.

Post match JBL gets in the ring to ask Rey what’s wrong (or asking why the Guerreros think Rey is a piece of garbage) but Rey leaves without saying anything.

Mr. Kennedy vs. Danny Giamondo

Non-title and Kennedy says Giamondo is a former Olympic silver medalist in power lifting and a six time NCAA Champion. Cole can’t find any of that information anywhere, even as Kennedy takes him into the ropes and chokes on the rope. The neck crank doesn’t last long as Giamondo fights up and hammers away in the corner. That’s about it though as Kennedy blocks a superplex attempt and hits the Green Bay Plunge to win.

Post match Kennedy calls out Teddy Long to say he might go to Raw if John Cena comes to Smackdown. Long doesn’t like that, so Kennedy can face the Undertaker at No Mercy. It’s a meme for a reason.

Video on the Marine.

Michelle McCool/Teacher’s Pets vs. Brian Kendrick/Paul London/Ashley Massaro

Stevens and London start things off with neither being able to get very far off a headlock. James comes in and gets his arm cranked, with everyone getting a shot in on said arm. Stevens low bridges London to the floor though and it’s a chinlock back inside. London grabs a rollup for two and gets over for the hot tag to Kendrick. Everything breaks down with the women getting in a fight, with the focus being on the skirts flying up. Kendrick comes off the top with a sunset flip to James, with London adding a dropkick so Kendrick can get the pin.

Rating: C-. They didn’t have much time here but the women being there does keep the match feeling different enough. The tag team division is hardly deep at the moment but there are enough teams out there for London and Kendrick to face for the next few….ok maybe not months but they should be fine at least through No Mercy. If nothing else, London and Kendrick are fun to watch.

Video on King Booker.

Vito comes out to do commentary for William Regal’s match. Regal comes out to say this was supposed to be against Vito, but after last week, Regal was considering a sexual harassment lawsuit. As Vito shows off his legs, we have a replacement.

William Regal vs. Bobby Lashley

Vito is on commentary as Lashley powers Regal into the corner to start and then pulls him back inside. Regal is sent outside and Vito pulls up the dress to show off the thong. That’s enough to have Regal panicking again so he pulls Lashley face first into the steps instead. Back in and Regal slugs away in the corner, only to charge into a boot to the face. Lashley can’t hit the powerslam but he can hit the spear for the pin.

Rating: C-. This was more about Vito, so at least he’s doing something other than beating up jobbers. It’s still not exactly a story that has any kind of legs to the whole thing but I’ll take any kind of a change over the same stuff if it has to be around. I’m not sure how long this is going to go, but Regal and Vito could have some comedy possibilities.

Post match JBL runs away from Vito’s handshake. Lashley shakes his hand though and there’s your endorsement.

The Miz vs. Matt Hardy

Miz insults the crowd before the match, including the local Little League World Series Champions. JBL classes things up by making all kinds of gay jokes about Cole and Vito before switching to something a little better by saying it’s stupid to brag about Miz being undefeated when he’s 1-0.

Matt starts fast by pulling Miz out of the corner into a powerbomb but Miz knocks him down in a hurry. The chinlock doesn’t last long as Miz fights up and hammers away as JBL is ranting about reality TV. Matt’s middle rope elbow to the head gets two and he sends Miz outside for a slingshot dive. Back in and the referee gets bumped, allowing Gregory Helms to run down and shove Matt off the top. Miz grabs a rollup with tights for the pin.

Rating: C-. The action worked while it lasted and Miz getting to brag about being undefeated is going to be rather entertaining. I’ve been a fan of the guy for years and it’s fun to see one of the most improbably rises in the history of wrestling. Miz isn’t very good in the ring but he’s a great character and personality and that’s what matters here.

Jimmy Wang Yang is still coming and doesn’t like people think Asians are smart. He got straight B’s!

Chavo Guerrero vs. Tatanka

Vickie Guerrero handles Chavo’s intro and says he is dedicating this match to the Guerrero legacy. Tatanka works on the arm to start but Chavo dropkicks the knee out for a knockdown. Leg cranking ensues as JBL rants about everything Guerrero related he can think of. Tatanka fights back with the chops, including the top rope version. The Papoose To Go connects but Chavo gets his foot on the rope. That’s enough to make Tatanka yell at the referee, allowing Chavo to jump him from behind. The frog splash is enough to finish Tatanka.

Rating: D+. Does Tatanka have photos of Vince with a sheep or something? He’s far from the worst thing around but is there a reason he’s getting on TV week after week? Nothing match of course, but I’m not sure why you would expect anything else. Chavo and Vickie should be fine as a team and odds are they are going to be a focal point for a long time to come.

MVP runs into Teddy Long and says he wants John Cena money to come to Smackdown. Long is tired of dealing with MVP’s lawyers so MVP gets serious, meaning Long has to wipe the spit off of his face.

Video on Batista.

Smackdown World Title: King Booker vs. Batista

Booker is defending and Queen Sharmell handles the ALL HAIL KING BOOKER’s this week. Before the match, Booker gives Batista a chance to bow down or take this whipping. The bell rings after the break with Batista unloading in a hurry. Batista hammers away in the corner and grabs a keylock of all things.

The shoulders in the corner send Booker bailing to the floor but Batista rams him into a few things for two back inside. Booker gets in a kick to the face for two and is stunned on the kickout. We take a break and come back with Batista unloading on the floor and glaring at Sharmell for daring to get involved. An ax kick to a hanging Batista drops him to the floor and the side slam gets two back inside.

Batista fights back again and hits his own side slam for two more but Booker uses the trunks to send him outside. After decking William Regal in the crowd, Batista comes back in with the spinebuster. Sharmell grabs a chair so the referee deals with her, allowing Finlay to come in with the Shillelagh shot to the head to retain the title.

Rating: C. One of the good things about these major shows is they build things up well enough to make you believe that something could happen. I’m not sure they need to do Batista vs. Booker III at No Mercy but Batista vs. Finlay could be a heck of a power match. Booker will likely have to face Batista again but I’m not sure if that happens so soon.

Post match Finlay unloads with the Shillelagh to bust Batista open. A shot into the exposed turnbuckle and a chair to the head leave a pretty bloody Batista laying to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. This was a weird one as there was nothing overly great on the show but they had enough stuff going on to keep my interest. In other words, it is a show that felt like it had a lot of good things to pick from but it didn’t wind up working out in the end. Smackdown continues to trot out some fresher, younger wrestlers though and that makes for a pretty quick two hours. Not a great show, but an easy one to watch.

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Smackdown
Date: July 21, 2006
Location: American Bank Center, Corpus Christi, Texas
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield

It’s the go home show for the Great American Bash and that means it is time to put the finishing touches on everything. The show is looking pretty good on paper and if they do everything else well tonight, we could be in for a nice pay per view. That’s in theory of course, as you never know around here. Let’s get to it.

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

Teddy Long is in the ring to open things up and gets straight to the point: Mark Henry is injured and has undergone knee surgery. Therefore he is of course out the #1 contenders match at the Great American Bash, so we have a replacement. Before Long can make the announcement, here’s Mr. Kennedy to interrupt. Long won’t let him have the mic but Kennedy has his own and challenges Batista for the pay per view. Cue Batista to tell Teddy to book the match (Teddy nods) because he needs someone to take out his six months of anger on. Kennedy offers a handshake but pulls it again and leaves. Quick and easy here.

Brian Kendrick vs. Kid Kash

They run the ropes to start with neither being able to hit anything until Kendrick armdrags him into an armbar. Kash gets smart by going after the knee and a running clothesline gets two. It’s back to the leg with even more kicks, followed by something like a reverse figure four to send Kendrick bailing to the ropes.

A snapmare sends Kendrick’s legs into the ropes to stay on the legs but Kendrick is back up with right hands and a clothesline. Jamie Noble offers a distraction but gets knocked down by mistake, allowing Kendrick to grab a rollup for two. The referee goes to yell at Paul London, allowing Noble to come in to help set up the Dead Level for the pin.

Rating: C. The leg work was a wise way to go and it made sense to have the champ lose here, but at the same time there is only so much to be gotten out of the singles matches for the Tag Team Champions. I’m not exactly buying the idea of the Pit Bulls winning the titles on Sunday, but at least they’re trying something to set it up.

Chavo Guerrero is in Teddy Long’s office when King Booker and Queen Sharmell come in. They don’t like being disrespected by Rey Mysterio and demand satisfaction in the form of a match tonight. Chavo doesn’t think much of this and tells Teddy to ignore them, but he’ll take it under advisement. That’s too much for Chavo, who storms off.

Post break, Rey accepts the match with Booker for tonight. Chavo doesn’t like this.

Michelle McCool/Kristal vs. Jillian Hall/Ashley

Jillian slams Kristal down to start and hits a cartwheel elbow as JBL goes into a rant about Jillian not taking the easy path to wealth. Michelle comes in and beats on Ashley as a lot of screaming ensues. It’s back to Kristal for a rollup but Jillian makes the save, ripping Kristal’s top off in the process. Ashley rolls her up for the fast pin as the point was obvious again here.

Great American Bash press conference video.

Here are Great Khali and Daivari to say that Undertaker will be destroyed in the Punjabi Prison. It won’t be for the first time either, as we see a clip of Khali mauling Undertaker at Judgment Day.

After looking at a clip of Finlay stealing the US Title from him last week, Bobby Lashley says he is ready to fight tonight.

US Title: Finlay vs. Bobby Lashley

Lashley is challenging and they go straight to the brawling. Finlay gets powered down early on and claims an early elbow injury. Naturally he’s goldbricking and forearms Lashley down for two, causing the referee to chastise him a bit. One heck of an uppercut sends Lashley into the corner and a very hard clothesline puts him down. Finlay hammers away in the corner and a jumping seated senton sets up the chinlock.

Lashley fights up and they head outside with Finlay being sent head first into the apron. That earns Lashley a knee first whip into the steps though and it’s time to crank on the leg back inside (JBL: “It’s the Achilles Heel of a gigantic monster.”). Finlay cannonballs down onto the knee, ala Ric Flair, which Cole calls unorthodox for some reason. Lashley fights up again but here’s William Regal for a distraction.

The distraction lets Finlay pull out the Leprechaun, with Finlay tossing him at Lashley for some actual unique offense. The leglock goes on again but Lashley fights up with the variety of suplexes. That’s enough for the referee to check on Finlay, allowing Regal to get in some cheap shots. Regal throws Finlay a chair, which is kicked into his face, setting up the spear. Not that it matters though as Regal comes in for the DQ.

Rating: C+. This was about taking a couple of heavy hitters and letting them beat the heck out of each other for about fifteen minutes. It’s a good preview for Sunday’s triple threat title match also involving Regal, and I’m glad they didn’t do a surprise title change to give Lashley another two day reign. Finlay can get a lot out of being the champion and retaining here was the smart move.

Post match the beatdown is on with the Leprechaun getting in a shillelagh shot to keep Lashley down.

Here’s Miz to recap the Diva Search so far, all two weeks of the thing. Tonight’s contest is a Diva Dance Off so they all dance for thirty seconds. Some of them are a bit more skilled than others (Maryse just kind of walks around) and Milena wins. This was exactly as you would have expected.

Matt Hardy, Funaki and Tatanka are in the back when Sylvan comes in to pitch a Quebec vacation.

Super Crazy vs. Psicosis

Gregory Helms is on commentary as he will be defending the title at the Bash against an opponent to be determined. Psicosis takes over with an armdrag to start and stomps away but Crazy sends him into the corner for some stomping of his own. A reverse Boston crab has Crazy in trouble and Psicosis makes it even worse by turning it into a Rocking Horse. We go to a more conventional camel clutch but Crazy slips out and dropkicks him to the floor. Crazy hits a middle rope moonsault but walks into a spinwheel kick for two back inside. Not that it matters as Crazy grabs a crucifix for the fast pin.

Rating: C. Much like the Lashley vs. Finlay match, this was all about taking two people who are good at a certain style and allowing them to do their thing for a bit. I’m not sure how big of a surprise that Crazy winning was, but at least they got a few minutes to do their thing. Crazy vs. Helms at the Bash feels like a pre-show match, but it’s nice to see the title defended every now and then.

Post match Crazy and Helms shout at each other a lot.

Vito went shopping. Again.

Great American Bash rundown.

Rey Mysterio vs. King Booker

Non-title with Sharmell handling Booker’s entrance. Joined in progress with Booker taking him to the mat with a knuckle lock but Rey fights up and kicks at the leg (popular move tonight). A flying headscissors looks to set up the 619 but Rey knocks him outside instead, setting up the running seated senton off the apron.

Back in and Booker chops away, followed by an elbow to the face for two. A pair of clotheslines into a superkick gives Booker two and the armbar goes on. That doesn’t last long so Booker grabs a slingshot suplex for two more. The chinlock doesn’t stay on long either, meaning this time it’s a World’s Strongest Slam for another near fall on Rey.

Back up and Rey grabs the sitout bulldog and thanks to the referee checking on Sharmell, Rey baseball slides Booker for a low blow. Sharmell offers a distraction though and it’s a Book End for two as Rey puts his foot on the floor. Cue Chavo to trip Booker though and it’s the 619 into Dropping The Dime to put Booker away.

Rating: C. Kind of a boring match but you can tell that these are both people who can have a fine match almost in their sleep. I’m not wild on having the pay per view main event two days before the show, but it’s not like it is the focal point in the first place. Mysterio’s days are numbered and it seems obvious, especially with Guerrero running around on the floor like he was here. Fine main event, but still a weird way to go.

Overall Rating: C-. This show suffered from the same kind of problem that so many other go home shows face: the show is built up as well as it’s going to be, leaving this show as little more than a two hour filler episode. There was nothing of note added here, other than replacing the injured Henry, so while it was a perfectly watchable show, it was also a perfectly skippable show.

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IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: July 29, 2004
Location: US Bank Arena, Cincinnati, Ohio
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz

Things are picking up around here and that’s a good thing. Last week Vince McMahon reinstated Kurt Angle as a wrestler after Angle went nuts and fired a bunch of people. That set up Eddie Guerrero vs. Angle at Summerslam, but there’s a lot of stuff to get through tonight first. Tonight we have two title matches with the Cruiserweight and Tag Team Titles on the line. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Vince and Angle with Eddie coming out in the car to celebrate. Not noteworthy on its own, but Vince getting in the car and being scared by the bouncing was funny.

Opening sequence.

Tonight: a new General Manager made.

Cole clears up a point by saying Vince rehired everyone that Angle fired after the show went off the air last week. Simple, to the point, and fixes the whole thing in one sentence during an introduction. Learn from Michael Cole people.

Here’s Booker T., wearing the US Title, for a chat. Angle promised to make him the new US Champion but now Angle is gone, so the new boss needs to officially name him champion. Instead here are Kenzo Suzuki and Hiroko to interrupt. Booker says he doesn’t want to hear from someone in charge of the late night sushi bar at the Tokyo Inn. Kenzo rants a lot and Hiroko translates to “he should be US Champion.” Oh and Booker’s breath smells bad.

This brings out Rob Van Dam but before he can say anything, Luther Reigns cuts them off. Now it’s Rene Dupree as the ring is starting to fill up. Charlie Haas and Billy Gunn are next but John Cena comes out to the big reaction. Cena makes it clear that this is his house and the big fight is on. Before that goes very far though, here’s Vince McMahon to say this isn’t happening. It’s not his place to fix things though because that’s up to the new General Manager. Vince wants the new boss out here right now and it’s…..Theodore Long.

That’s enough for Vince as Long says we have eight men arguing like children over the US Title. Only one of them deserves to be the champion and that is….not revealed yet as Booker cuts him off to accept the title. Long says not so fast because tonight, it’s an eight way elimination match to crown the new champion. Holla.

Cruiserweight Title: Rey Mysterio vs. Spike Dudley

Rey is defending and we’re ready to go after a handshake. Feeling out process to start as they both seem rather tentative. Rey grabs an armbar which seems to annoy Spike and it turns into a brawl, with both guys falling out to the floor. Back in and Rey hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two and it’s off to a double arm pull. Spike fights up and sends him hard into the corner to take over.

A headscissors sends Rey face first into the buckle but he’s fine enough to block a superplex attempt. Rey gets two off a basement dropkick but Spike sends him into the corner again, setting up a bulldog for two of his own. The top rope double stomp hits raised boots so Rey loads up the 619. Cue D-Von to distract the referee though and Bubba to trip Rey, setting up a springboard Dudley Dog to give Spike the pin and the title.

Rating: C. This didn’t have the time to get very far but what we had was good. Bubba and D-Von interfering comes off like a big storyline point and it’s not like Rey losing the title hurts him very much. He’s the most successful cruiserweight of all time and there isn’t much of a need to keep the title on him. Let the title build up someone else, like Spike for example.

Spike isn’t pleased with what his brothers did.

Raw Rebound.

In case you didn’t get it, bonus footage during the break shows that Spike isn’t pleased with what his brothers did.

We recap the Undertaker coming out last week to challenge JBL for Summerslam.

Long promises to make sure the women are utilized on Smackdown going forward. He heads into his office (an empty room aside from the desk) and finds Angle, who insists he isn’t hiding. Angle came here to get his stuff, but it’s already been packed. So wait. Angle was fired last week in Philadelphia but people came to Cincinnati and set up his stuff anyway?

With that leap in logic out of the way, Angle suggests the Long got the job because he’s black. Teddy: “You mean after all these years, it turns out that I’m black???” Long puts Angle in a match against an unspecified opponent for later. Angle isn’t happy so Long fines him for not bringing his gear. The match is moved to next week since Angle isn’t prepared.

Paul Heyman and Heidenreich are coming.

Tag Team Titles: Billy Kidman/Paul London vs. Dudley Boyz

The Dudleys are challenging. London armdrags and dropkicks D-Von for two to start. It’s off to Bubba and you can feel things getting a little more intense. A toss sends London into the corner so Kidman comes in instead. Bubba can’t quite get out of an armbar and some armdrags make things even worse. Everything breaks down for a bit until Bubba pulls Kidman down by the hair to take over. The Dudleys seem rather popular here as London gets sent to the floor, leaving Kidman in that much more trouble.

Back from a break with Kidman sunset flipping D-Von for two but getting caught in the neck crank. A quick knee to the head gets Kidman out of trouble and the hot tag brings London back in. D-Von gets kicked in the jaw for two and there’s a rolling version to Bubba’s head for a bonus. A double superplex brings D-Von back down for two but Bubba pulls Kidman to the floor. One heck of a clothesline gets two on London and Bubba grabs a chair, only to have Mysterio show up for a dropkick to drive it into Bubba’s face. Back inside and London small packages D-Von tor retain.

Rating: C. The ending made sense given the previous match so the storyline certainly fits. London and Kidman retaining the titles was the right call as, just like Mysterio, the Dudleys don’t need the titles and there’s no reason to give them back when you can build up some fresh people. It was good action too and that makes for a rather nice match as some new champions (who weren’t beaten when Rey got involved) get another good win.

Mick Foley and Ivory were at the Democratic National Convention.

Eddie Guerrero has something in the back of his rather great looking low rider. One thing he doesn’t have: a smudge on the car, which he cleans off and grins a lot.

Here’s Eddie for a chat. He enjoyed seeing Angle begging for his life last week but knows that’s nothing compared to what’s going to happen at Summerslam. If Angle wants, they can do this tonight. With no Angle, Eddie says to unload the car….which is all of the stuff from Angle’s office. He stole it if that wasn’t clear. Since Angle isn’t in charge anymore, let’s give this stuff to someone else.

That’s why he’s putting all of this stuff up for auction on WWE.com, with the proceeds going to charity. That includes a fake cast, a framed photo complete with WWE Championship (Eddie recommends putting it in the bathroom), a wheelchair primed for hydraulics and a photo of Angle….which gets a few bonus drawings from Eddie.

Now we get the big item: gold medals for sale. With the bidding up to a full dollar, Angle comes out to interrupt. He has a seat in the low rider but Eddie says there’s an anti-theft device included. Angle turns the key and powder sprays into his face. Eddie: “You think I was lying?” Eddie plays Angle’s music so the fans can get in some YOU SUCK’S.

Next week: Spike and Rey vs. the Dudleys.

On Velocity: JBL in action.

Speaking of JBL, here’s a video on why he’s an amazing American who deserves your support, including videos of him playing baseball as a kid. He was a great football player but wanted one on one competition so he became a wrestler. Oh and he’s a patriot, self made millionaire, and kisser of babies.

US Title: Rob Van Dam vs. Billy Gunn vs. Charlie Haas vs. Luther Reigns vs. Kenzo Suzuki vs. Booker T., vs. John Cena vs. Rene Dupree

The title is vacant coming in and this is under elimination rules. Thankfully there are only two in at a time so tags are required. Charlie and Rob start things off with Van Dam missing a kick and getting armdragged down. Back up and Rene pulls Van Dam by the hair before tagging himself in to pound Haas between the shoulders. Haas armbars him for a bit until a right hand puts him right back in trouble. The fans chant for Cena but the preliminaries aren’t quite over yet. Billy makes a quick blind tag and hits a Fameasser for the pin on Haas.

Back from a break with Dupree flapjacking Gunn for two and hitting some rather lame right hands. The French Tickler is broken up and Gunn hits a big backdrop before hammering away in the corner. Reigns comes in and hits hit swinging neckbreaker to get rid of Dupree and now it’s off to Cena for the big reaction. Cena hammers away in the corner but gets shoved away, setting up a butterfly suplex for two.

The chinlock goes on for a bit until Cena takes him to the floor for a whip into the steps. Hiroko distracts Cena so he kisses her and dances, earning a belt to the back from Suzuki. We’ll ignore the “pinfall and submission are the only ways to be eliminated” line from Cole at the beginning of the match because Suzuki is disqualified.

Back from another break with Booker kicking Cena in the face but getting punched into the corner. That’s enough for the latest tag to Gunn, who gets two off a fisherman’s suplex. The chinlock is countered into a belly to back suplex and Cena scores with a DDT. Billy grabs the One And Only for a very close two but walks into the FU for the elimination. Reigns comes in next and runs Cena over for two more. Stomping and a knee drop look to set up a powerslam but Cena slips out and another FU gets rid of Reigns.

We’re down to Cena, Van Dam and Booker, who comes in with a Book End for two on Cena. A DDT drops Booker but Rob tags himself in for some kicks to the ribs and a northern lights suplex for two more. Cena gets kicked in the face again and there’s the split legged moonsault for another near fall. This time it’s Booker tagging himself in though and, after a Five Star from Van Dam, he steals a pin on Cena. A quick rollup finishes Van Dam to make Booker champion.

Rating: C-. The match was longer than I would have liked, but at the same time I definitely prefer something like this over having Booker beat Cena by shenanigans in a singles match. You can almost guarantee Booker vs. Cena in a big time title match at Summerslam so why burn through it here? Cena lost clean by the rules here but it wasn’t in a singles match, so maybe he can win the title back later on. Today, this would have been Booker cheats to win, then Cena wins a rematch to get another title shot, then they have three matches in a row for the title. At least this keeps things a bit more fresh, which would be very welcome today.

Overall Rating: C. The wrestling wasn’t the best here but the booking and storytelling made sense with a lot of stuff being set up for next week and beyond. Throw in JBL not actually appearing with the over the top vignette airing instead and this was a lot easier to watch. They’ve changed things for the better in recent weeks and I’ll certainly take that over the nightmares they were producing in the early summer.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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