SmackDown! Report (06/19/09): Testing the Champions
By
MIK
Jun 19, 2009 - 10:53:45 PM
Friday Night SmackDown!
Friday 8/7 ET
Roanoke, Virginia
“If You Rock Like Me” hits and the SmackDown! video package plays. Following this, fireworks go off as JR and Todd Grisham welcomes everyone to another edition of Friday Night SmackDown! At this point, the announcers hype our double main event for the evening: Jeff Hardy vs. Chris Jericho and in other action, CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio.
We then see Josh Mathews in the ring preparing an interview segment between the two wrestlers that will compete for the World Heavyweight Championship at the The Bash. Out first is the charismatic enigma, Jeff Hardy!
Jeff comes out to a huge ovation. Mathews reminds Jeff that at Extreme Rules when Jeff had won the World Heavyweight Championship by defeating Edge in a grueling Ladder match, he had accomplished what many thought wasn’t possible. However, as it would turn out, CM Punk cashed in Money in the Bank and took the world title away from Jeff.
Jeff then vowed that alongside all of his fans, he will beat Punk at The Bash and regain the gold.
Mathews then introduced the World Heavyweight Champion, CM Punk.
After receiving a mixed reaction from the crowd, Mathews pointed out that many people feel that Punk took advantage of a vulnerable Jeff Hardy at Extreme Rules and after this past Monday night on RAW in the triple thread world title match, many feel that Punk stole another opportunity from Jeff Hardy.
Punk responds by saying that the only thing he took advantage of at Extreme Rules is an opportunity to cash in Money in the Bank. After all, nowhere in the rulebook does it say that he can’t cash in the opportunity on Jeff Hardy. As for the triple threat match on RAW, Punk says that he takes offense to the fact that people think he may have stolen the win, because he has never stolen anything in his life, but rather he successfully did his job by retaining the championship gold. Punk then concludes by saying, “Ladies and gentleman, Jeff knows this as well as I do, when I’m in the ring, I don’t need to be a guys best friend, I’m their competitor.”
Jeff retaliates by claiming that their differences will collide at The Bash and he will take back what he earned at Extreme Rules, the World Heavyweight Championship.
At this point, Mathews thanks both men for coming out and asks the audience to recognize both challenger and champion. When Jeff’s name is called out, he receives a nice pop, but when Punk’s name is called out, he receives another mixed reaction.
(Segment Rating: 4/5. Great segment to start the broadcast off with. I like the role Punk is playing as he is really believable. As for Jeff, he continues to get better on the microphone)
-Commercial-
Jeff Hardy is still in the ring with CM Punk having already made his way to the back during the break.
Chris Jericho’s music hits and out comes the nine-time Intercontinental Champion.
Match 1: Jeff Hardy v. Chris Jericho
Match begins with a shoulder-block from Chris Jericho, but moments later, Jeff is able to quickly take Jericho back down with a dropkick. Then, as Jeff tries for his signature mule kick in the corner, Jericho dodges it and proceeds to drill Jeff with a vertical suplex. Following a 2 count, Jericho applies an abdominal stretch. Not long after however, Jeff reverses this submission hold into a hip toss. Jeff then covers Jericho but gets a 2 count. Moments later, as the fight continues, Jeff connects with the Whisper in the Wind. After yet another 2 count, Jeff attempts the Twist of Fate, but Jericho reverses it into a back suplex. Jericho then tries for the Lionsault, but Jeff moves out of the way. Jeff proceeds to hit a facebuster and goes up to the top rope, but Jericho slides out of the ring. Jeff decides to jump out of the ring, but Jericho side-steps him which causes Jeff to crash into the barricade chest-first. Jericho proceeds to ram Jeff into the barricade a few more times before throwing him back into the ring where the referee checks if Jeff is okay. Meanwhile, with the referee still attending to Jeff in the ring, a masked figure that was sitting in the front row of the audience leaps off the barricade and connects with a spinning hurricanrana that sends Jericho to the hit the steel post. This figure quickly returns back to his seat as Todd Grisham and JR questions whether that was Rey Mysterio. The referee turns around and starts the ten count. Jericho is unable to get back into the ring and the referee calls for the bell.
Post-Match: Jericho tries to explain to the referee that the masked figure in the audience was Rey Mysterio, but from behind Jeff Hardy grabs Jericho and hits the Twist of Fate. Jeff then goes to the top and connects with the Swanton Bomb before finally exiting the ring and celebrating up the ramp.
(Match Rating: 3.5/5. It was fun and very fast paced while it lasted and the interference from Mysterio made this match even better as it also progresses their feud heading into The Bash.)
Backstage, Eve Torres, Layla, and Maria are seen arguing over a bottle of hair spray. Dolph Ziggler walks by and asks the divas not to fight over him. As he tries to introduce himself, the divas blow him off.
-Commercial-
WWE Did You Know? Over the last five years, WWE Superstar have visited more than 200 military installations, forward operating bases, military hospitals, aircraft carriers, submarines and the Pentagon.
Dolph Ziggler, who now has a new theme song, makes his way down to the ring. His opponent is the Punjabi giant, Great Khali. Khali is accompanied to the ring by Ranjin Singh.
Match 2: Dolph Ziggler v. Great Khali
Ziggler strikes first and tries to run outside, but Khali grabs Ziggler and slaps him across the chest. Khali then connects with a big boot before slapping Ziggler across the chest once more. Khal then grabs Ziggler by the throat, but Ziggler dropkicks Khali’s knee and eventually knocks the giant off his feet with a chop block. After a 2 count, Ziggler tries to take the turnbuckle pad off, but the referee stops him. Ziggler quickly grabs a chair from the outside and tosses it to Khali and lays down, pretending to be unconscious. When the referee turns around, he sees Khali with the chair and disqualifies the giant.
Post-Match: Khali and Singh try to explain to the referee of the cheap shenanigan that Ziggler just played, but the referee won’t believe it. Ziggler rolls outside of the ring and celebrates as he continues to pretend that he got hit with the chair.
(Match Rating: 2.5/5. Decent action here. The ending was okay by me, but there just wasn’t enough to really spark this match to the next level.)
Still to Come: CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio.
-Commercial-
From this point foward, the following report is from ProWrestling.net. I apologize for the inconveniences lately as I have been busy, but I promise to return next week to fulfill my duties and deliver the reports to you.
Melina made her ring entrance. The announcement of her match against McCool at The Bash was made. Alicia Fox and McCool were out next
Match 3: Melina v. Alicia Fox
Fox attacked Melina and drover her to the mat. She locked in a body scissors and then rolled it into a combination full nelson/camel clutch. Cool move. Fox broke the hold and picked up Melina. Melina squirmed around until she hit her finisher for the win.
Post-Match: Post match, McCool hit a big boot to Melina. McCool is wearing cowboy boots. She tossed Melina to the floor and then went out and kicked her head into the announce table. She cut a promo and said she was going to destroy Melina and be the first woman to win both women’s titles. She and Fox went up the ramp together.
The announce team hyped Morrison vs. Edge for next
-Commercial-
Back from commercial, Edge was in the ring. He cut a promo about how he has been screwed out of his title match. He started to whine about Hardy when Morrison’s music hit. He came to the ring and Edge said, “Here’s another kid trying to be me.” He asked Morrison if he was Sigfried or Roy. Morrison laughed. Morrison said that was pretty entertaining and he couldn’t remember the last time Edge was entertaining. He said instead of talking stuff, Edge used to be doing stuff. He mocked Edge and his Canadian accent. Edge yelled at him. Morrison said, “What are you going to complain about next? Your silly boots, your bobble head, your bug eyes?” He said he was going to give Edge something to complain about. He said after tonight, Edge would be complaining about how he got his face kicked in by the, “Friday Night Delight,” John Morrison. They stared off into commercial
-Commercial-
Match 4: John Morrison v. Edge
Collar and elbow tie up backed Morrison into the corner. Edge pushed Morrison on the break. Morrison pushed him back, causing Edge to fall and crawl back to the opposite corner. Another collar and elbow went to the ropes and Morrison broke clean. Another tie up and Edge locked in an arm twist. Morrison used a fireman’s takedown and locked in an arm bar. Edge backed Morrison into the corner and broke with a punk.
Edge whipped Morrison to the opposite corner and charged in. Morrison moved and hit a hip toss into an arm bar on Edge. Edge reversed a whip and hit a knee to the gut. He kicked Morrison in the gut and posed for the crowd. He stomped Morrison in the corner until the ref pulled him off. Morrison stood on the apron and Edge snapmared him into the ring. He strong whipped Morrison into the corner and Morrison flopped to the ground after hitting the corner. He set Morrison in a 619 setup and hit a splash on his back that looked rough. He covered for two. Out of nowhere, Morrison started to fight back. He hit a dropkick for two and climbed to the top. Edge pulled him down onto the top rope gut first. Morrison fell to the floor and recovered into the break
-Commercial-
Back at 9:23 and Morrison was fighting out of a reverse bear hug. Morrison broke the hold and tried to run to the rope, but Edge drug him down by his hear and went back to the reverse bear hug. Morrison fought out again and hit a clothesline/backbreaker combination. Edge got up and whipped Morrison to the ropes. Morrison grabbed the ropes and Edge missed a drop kick. Morrison hit a knee and the place popped huge. Morrison covered for two. Edge reversed a whip attempt and hit the big boot on Morrison. He went to the top, but Morrison hit his Pele kick to knock Edge off to the floor. He did a belly down baseball slide into a hurricanranna that sent Edge into the stairs. He rolled Edge back in the ring and covered for two. Morrison missed the Chuck kick and Edge tackled him and locked in a Sharpshooter. Morrison made the ropes and both men sold being exhausted.
Morrison blocked a kick and hit a side Russian leg sweep on Edge. Morrison set him up for Starship pain. He climbed to the top and Edge pushed him into the post. He tied Morrison up in the Tree of Woe and charged in. Morrison sat up and Edge hit the buckle. Morrison rolled over him and rolled him up for two. Edge kicked out and Morrison hit the post with his shoulder. Edge charged for the spear, but Morrison leapt over him and Edge hit the post. Morrison hit the Chuck kick for two. He tried for Moonlight Drive, but Edge countered into an Impaler DDT for two. Edge whipped Morrison and tried to pick him up for a back breaker, but Morrison rolled around and hit a DDT for two. Morrison went to the top for Starship Pain, but Edge moved. Morrison landed on his feet and Edge hit the spear for the win.
Post-Match: A video replayed the highlights of the match. Edge backed up the ramp as he and Morrison stared at each other.
The announce team hyped the Punk/Mysterio match for later.
-Commercial-
Back from commercial, The World’s Greatest Tag Team and Ricky Ortiz were in the ring. R-Truth and Cryme Tyme came out next to Truth’s music. They all did the “What’s up” bit.
Match 5: Shelton Benjamin, Charlie Haas & Ricky Ortiz v. Cryme Time & R-Truth
JTG and Ortiz started out. JTG hit a slap and tagged in Shad. Shad hit a big slam. He charged at Ortiz who ducked and Shad got tied up on the rope. Ortiz worked the leg and tagged in Haas. Haas continued to work on the leg with his “new found aggression.” Shad hit an elbow on a charging Haas and tagged in Truth. Haas tagged in Benjamin who hit an immediate flapjack on Truth.
Truth split ducked a Benjamin clothesline and then hit a heel kick. Truth covered and Haas came in to make the save. All six men where in the ring. Cryme Tyme cleared Haas and Ortiz. Benjamin came off the top and Truth kicked him in the gut. He hit the ropes, Benjamin did a leap frog, and then Truth hit his corkscrew elbow for the win.
Post-Match: The faces danced in the ring.
The announce team hyped Punk vs. Mysterio for next!
-Commercial-
Back from commercial, Rey Mysterio made his ring entrance. A video recapped what happened between he and Jericho from earlier. Mysterio cut a promo on what he did. Rey said it felt great, but he’s not down until he gets hit Intercontinental title back. He said he wanted to issue a challenge to Jericho. Before he could finish, Jericho’s music hit and he came to the ramp. He said Mysterio already got his obligatory rematch and he lost. Jericho said he wasn’t going to get another chance. Mysterio said if Jericho hadn’t been trying to take off his mask, he would be the Intercontinental champion. He said Jericho knew it and all the people knew it.
Jericho said these people didn’t know what was good for them and neither did Rey. He said Rey was an addict and his mask was his drug. At one point, there was an apparent overdub of Jericho’s lines. Mysterio said he wasn’t going to allow Jericho to insult the fans. He said he wore the mask because of his heritage. He said it was a disgrace that Jericho was the Intercontinental Champion. Jericho said he would give Rey one more shot if Rey put his mask up. Rey said if that was the only way to expose Jericho as the self-centered, egotistical, hypocrite that he is, then he gladly accepted. Mysterio’s music hit and Jericho smiled. They continued to stare down into commercial.
-Commercial-
Back from commercial, Rey was still posing to the fans in the ring. Jericho was sitting in on commentary. Grisham asked Jericho if he was happy about the match. Jericho said he was happy to get to end the charade of Mysterio. Punk made his entrance. JR asked Jericho what his problem was. Jericho said Mysterio was the ultimate hypocrite. They asked Jericho what he thought of the world title match at The Bash. Jericho said it didn’t matter who won, he would be champion after he took care of Mysterio.
CM Punk made his entrance.
Main Event: Rey Mysterio v. CM Punk
They shook hands to start. Mysterio worked on the leg Punk “injured” on Raw. Mysterio hit a couple of quick kicks that setup Punk for 619. He hit the opposite rope, but Punk escaped to the floor. He walked off the knee injury on the floor into commercial.
-Commercial-
Back at 5:26, Rey whipped Punk to the corner and charged in. Punk moved and Rey hit the post. Punk rolled him up for two and locked in a hammer lock. Mysterio battled out and came off the ropes, but Punk lifted him up and dropped him on his face. He covered for two and went back to the hammer lock. Rey fought out and Punk hit a sunset flip that Rey rolled through and hit a sitting drop kick on Punk.
Both men made it back to their feet and traded kicks. Rey hit the ropes and ducked a clothesline. He hit a springboard splash for two. Rey hit a hurricanranna and then a drop toe hold to set up 619. Punk tossed Mysterio on the attempt. Rey landed on the apron and hit the West Coast Pop. He stood and turned into a clothesline from Punk. Punk whipped him to the corner and hit his high knee. He tried for the bulldog, but Rey pushed him into the ropes for another 619 setup. Punk ducked the 619 and picked up Rey for GTS. Rey fought out and flipped Punk down for a strange cover for two.
Both men sold being exhausted. Rey tried a springboard moonsault, but Punk caught him and lifted for GTS. Rey grabbed the ropes and Punk dumped him over the top. The ref checked on Punk, turning his back on Rey. Jericho jumped up and drove Rey into the post. Punk watched the whole thing play out and told the ref to count Rey out. Rey made it in at nine, but Punk hit GTS for the win.
Post match, Jeff Hardy ran to the ring and argued with the ref, telling him what happened. He confronted Punk about it, who shrugged his shoulders and left the ring. He held the belt up as the fans booed. Jeff looked at him knowingly as Jeff’s music hit to end the show…
Quick Match Results:
-Match 1: Jeff Hardy def. Chris Jericho (Count Out)
-Match 2: Great Khali def. Dolph Ziggler (DQ)
-Match 3: Melina def. Alicia Fox
-Match 4: Edge def. John Morrison
-Match 5: Cryme Time & R-Truth def. Shelton Benjamin, Charlie Haas & Ricky Ortiz
-Main Event: CM Punk def. Rey Mysterio
I was able to watch the broadcast tonight, but was unable to do the complete report myself as I am at a friends house with my laptop. Excellent show tonight folks! If you are missing SmackDown! then you are missing one heck of a show!