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Smackdown Results 27th October 2006
Submitted by Rudi Pavani on Friday, October 27, 2006 at 9:57 PM EST
Greetings everyone to another week of Smackdown. I'd like to thank those from places as far as Qatar, Ireland, and Georgia 'Hi Nicole by the way ", who wrote to me regarding my Smackdown review. Please keep them coming - and it's great to see how far spread the fans of wrestling are. Last week I introduced my ranking for the show, the overall feel of the show and the commentary and I'll do the same again this week. Last week lacked a number of wrestlers and replaced with the very ordinary Diva dance off which took more time than what it was worth. Let's see what today's show holds!
The show filmed in St Louis, Missouri begins with the music of Batista and the camera panning through a crowd that is pretty pumped up for action by the looks of it. Batista comes out on stage, we get his pyros, and he makes his way to the ring. Batista plays to the crowd then grabs a mic. What is he going to say I wonder? He relates back to Wrestlemania 21 when he became the champion to which the crowd cheers. 10 months ago and one of the saddest days of his life where he was forced to surrender his title. Batista wants his title back. He's on a mission to reclaim his title to the cheers of the crowd again. There is an Irish thorn in his side, one man hell bent on ruining his chances, and that man is Finlay. Finlay loves to fight, but so does Batista! He calls Finlay out saying it's time someone takes that shillelagh and do unmentionable things with it. He can't continue as all of a sudden the music of Paul Heyman hits and he makes his way out to the ring with his Enforcers, B1 and B2 to a chorus of boos from the crowd. Of course he has a mic as he enters the ring and is flanked by B1 and B2.
What does Heyman have to say? He introduces himself to Mr. Batista sir. He represents ECW. He points out that the main event on this show, perhaps the biggest main event on Friday night Smackdown shown Friday afternoon in Melbourne, contains the World Heavyweight Champion King Booker. His partner is ECW's 7 foot tall, 500 pound, bigger than the Empire State Building, taco eating World Heavyweight Champion The Big Show. In the other corner, WWE World Champion, John Cena to which the crowd pops big time, and his partner, the animal himself, Batista to which the crowd gives another big pop! Heyman points to the corners, "Champion, Champion, Champion" and then he points to Batista and says "not Champion".
Batista asks him what his point is. Heyman's point is there is something really wrong. Batista is the animal, the beast, he should be a World Heavyweight Champion and the fact he isn't bothers him and should bother Batista too. Batista looks and carries himself like a champion. Just being himself Batista screams the word champion but he's not. And why? Heyman says that Teddy Long has been holding Batista back. Heyman to a big chorus of boos points out to the crowd and says that they're holding Batista back too. Heyman says that he cares about Batista as the crowd finally starts up a Batista chant which Batista points out to Heyman with a spreading of the arms. Heyman wants Batista to jump ship to ECW, he covets him, cherishes the opportunity to work with him. Batista is pondering Heyman's words. Heyman says that he can get Batista to where he needs to be if he only but considers the opportunity.
What is Batista thinking? Batista says finally that he thinks it's an interesting proposition. Batista wants a little time to think about it though. Heyman says Dave, sure, thankyou very much as he goes to exit the ring. Batista calls him back. He's thought about it already in 10 seconds. Heyman puts out his hand, Batista takes it. Batista gives Heyman the thumbs up sign. Heyman gives one back. Batista's thumb is top heavy though. It goes from thumbs up to thumbs down and the crowd go wild. Heyman is out of there as B1 and B2 step in. Batista kicks B1 in the midsection, clotheslines B2, clotheslines B1, whips B2 into the corner and follows him in with a clothesline. B1 is given a spinebuster! B2 is given a spinebuster! Batista turns around and Big Show is in the ring! Big Show tries to chokeslam Batista but he shakes out of it and comes off the ropes, ducks an attempted clothesline from Big Show, bounces off the opposite ropes and spears Big Show to the canvas! Batista stands over Big Show and doesn't notice King Booker sliding into the ring and taking Batista to the canvas with a number of right arms to the back and back of the head.
The crowd goes wild as Cena runs from the back and slides into the ring. He punches into Booker and then launches him over the top rope! Batista and Cena then come off the ropes and knock Big Show over the top rope as well onto the floor and against the commentary table and the crowd are going crazy as Cena and Batista play to the crowd as the music of Batista hits. Heyman is looking on in disgust from up the rampway. Booker is furious outside of the ring. Big Show is still on the floor. Batista holds up the hand of Cena and point to himself and Cena for the benefit of the crowd. This introduction took 11 minutes. (Rudi's rating ***)(Rudi's rant - A great way to start the show if a little too long. It promoted the main event, it gave Batista a chance to talk to the crowd, it gave a chance to Booker, Big Show and Cena to make an appearance in the promotion of the main event and it gave Heyman a chance to do what Heyman does best, talk. I'm excited about the main event just watching the start!
We then get vignettes about the main event, and there is also on the show a Trick or Treat Diva Battle Royal.
Commercial break...
Back from commercial and we see Lashley make his way to the ring to a big pop from the crowd. He plays to the crowd. We get the music then of Tatanka as he rushes down to the ring to little pop from the crowd. Lashley and Tatanka egg each other on and then we get the music of Regal as both he and Taylor make their way to the ring to not much of a reaction. I'm not sure a lot of people know who Dave Taylor is and WWE hasn't built him up in any way at all.
Match 1: Bobby Lashley and Tatanka vs. William Regal and David Taylor
The match begins with Regal and Tatanka against each other. They lock up and Regal gets him into a headlock. Tatanka gets out of it by whipping Regal into the ropes and gets knocked down by a shoulder block. Regal comes off the ropes again, Tatanka on the canvas as Regal jumps over him and comes off the ropes again. Tatanka is up and tries to hip toss Regal but is blocked. He then just gives Regal a short arm clothesline! Regal up and gets a back elbow for his effort. Tatanka goes and flips Taylor into the ring. The crowd are enjoying this so far! A chop to Regal and then Taylor walks into a face slam by Tatanka! Regal is met with a punch to the midsection and Tatanka brings him to the corner and tags in Lashley. Tatanka holds Regal in the corner as Lashley comes in and gives him a running shoulder block to the gut of Regal. Regal staggers out of the corner and is kicked in the midsection. Lashley pushes Regal into the corner with a number of rights to the head and midsection. Lashley then tries for another running shoulder block but is met by a boot to the face by Regal. Regal then sends Lashley outside the ring through the middle ropes and distracts the referee enough for Dave Taylor to give Lashley a big clothesline to the floor. Taylor eggs the crowd on as he tosses Lashley back into the ring to meet the boots of Regal. The crowd are giving them some good heat at the moment. Regal picks up Lashley off the canvas and knees him to the head a number of times as he makes the tag to Taylor. Taylor with some hits to Lashley, a big uppercut and a body slam. Taylor picks him up and delivers another uppercut putting Lashley into the corner and follows up with some more right hands. Taylor tags in Regal as the crowd have got a big Bobby chant going.
Regal comes in with a kick to the midsection and some knees to the same area before he whips Lashley into the corner. His follow in is met by the boot of Lashley staggering him. Lashley staggers over and manages to tag in Tatanka who comes in and gives Regal a big chop to the throat. Taylor has come in and gets the same from Tatanka. Regal is given a back body drop and Taylor receives the same. Tatanka goes after Regal as Lashley reenters the ring and goes after Taylor. Lashley gives Taylor a belly to belly suplex as Tatanka beats up on Regal in the corner. Taylor gets up and hops into the corner favouring his leg and as Lashley charges in Taylor moves out of the way just and Lashley is left with his shoulder rammed up against the ring post! Taylor rolls out of the ring and limps/hops back to his corner. Tatanka has Regal in the corner and is on the ropes punching into the head of Regal. Regal pushes him off and grabs the legs of Tatanka and pins him using the ropes as leverage! Tatanka is irate at this! Regal and Taylor defeated Lashley and Tatanka in 3 minutes. (Rudi's rating **)
The referee is out of the ring raising the hand of the victors as Regal helps a limping Taylor towards the back. Tatanka exits the ring and confronts the referee about his inability to see Regal having used the ropes as leverage for the pinfall. Tatanka is losing it at the referee and the crowd is not entirely happy at this and finally Tatanka does what has been on the cards for weeks and flattens the referee with a big right hand! He stands over the referee asking him if he saw that and the referee isn't seeing much of anything at the moment! Lashley comes over and grabs the back of the shoulder of Tatanka. Tatanka spins around and gives Lashley a big right hand flooring him. Tatanka straddles Lashley and lays a number of right hands into the side of the head and then slams the skull of Lashley against the floor and the crowd is so not happy at this turn of events. Tatanka grabs the legs of Lashley and stomps on the groin of Lashley! Ouch! Tatanka has lost it as he slams the ring, kicks the steel steps and makes his way up the rampway yelling and cursing as we get a replay of the last minute (Rudi's rant - A couple of things here. Finally we get the heel turn that has been teased by Tatanka for the past few weeks as his frustration at having bogus wins given against him finally putting him over the edge. I've got to say for all my criticism of Tatanka's use the past few weeks this heel turn was well done and taking down Lashley will put Tatanka into a feud but sadly maybe take Lashley away from the main event side of things for a few weeks. Who knows also how Teddy Long will deal with this? A great way to end the match. I liked it!
On another note here it was reported during the week that David Taylor injured his knee during the tapings and will be out for at least 4 months. This happened during the belly to belly suplex by Lashley onto him and he's obviously just landed awkwardly and done his knee! The match ended very quickly after this incident. If Dave you're reading this review, good luck with the operation and we hope to see you back soon! It's a blow to this new team though just a week old for Smackdown and I wonder where WWE creative will go now with the character of Regal who was being given a push in the tag team side of things. Who knows, perhaps WWE will bring in Harry Smith, the son of Davey Boy Smith to team up with him? We can only hope.
Commercial break...
Back from commercial and we see the Stoctrader Centre where Smackdown is being taped from the outside. To backstage now where Kristal is interviewing the United States Champion Chris Benoit much to the delight of the crowd. Kristal asks how Benoit feels about Cyber Sunday and the chance that he may be picked to fight the Samoan Bulldozer Umaga. Benoit asks how the fans feel in picking him to fight against Umaga the Samoan..... and he pauses as he notices someone off camera. He excuses himself and wanders over to where we see Vickie Guerrero is talking to two ladies. Benoit calls out to her and she acknowledges him then turns away to talk to the two ladies again. Chris excuses himself and Vickie says Hey Chris which Chris seems to think is inadequate. Benoit says he hasn't seen her in how long? Vickie responds with 'what's going on?' Benoit is puzzled and says to Vickie what's going on as he places his hand on her shoulder to which she shies away from. Benoit doesn't understand what's going on with her, Chavo and the stuff with Rey Mysterio. Vickie says to Chris that they have nothing to talk about. Vickie says to Benoit that does he want to talk about how Rey used the Guerrero legacy to further his career? To how Rey with his attitude would not allow the Guerreros' to move on. Vickie says to Chris that he thought he was close to Eddie but perhaps he wasn't as close to him as Eddie thought. She walks away leaving Benoit dumbfounded. Rudi's rant - Just when we thought that perhaps the name of Eddie Guerrero would not be used again, back comes Benoit and he's obviously the new WWE pawn in the money making saga. I can see Benoit in a feud with Chavo now for the title or Chavo/Vickie costing Benoit his title. I think they'd put on a good match but the Eddie angle just goes on and on, and Vickie Guerrero is not good at playing the role in my humble opinion. I'm open to suggestions.
Backstage again and we see MVP taking tablets and looking worse for wear. Long comes in and asks him what's wrong. MVP says he knows he's got a deal but he's not quite right and Long says it's more than a deal, it's a no disqualification matchup against Kane. MVP says he's got an intestinal virus and is taking a sick day as is written in his contract. Long is sorry that he ever agreed to that in the contract but he has to deal with it. MVP's phone goes off and it's his agent and he wanders off talking on his phone. As Long is pondering what to do Kennedy wanders in and he's been looking for Long and he has an idea. Kennedy wants something for the people at the show, something special for a match up. He wants the Undertaker' mano a mano' in today's show. He says to Long don't you think the people deserve this kind of match as you hear the crowd cheering in the background again. Long says that Kennedy has come in with a whole lot of bravado knowing that Undertaker is not at the show today. But Long has an idea. Kennedy wants a big match up? Something special for the people? He's making a match up for Kennedy to fight against Kane in the no disqualification match. Kennedy looks like he's shot himself in the foot.
Cole and JBL discuss that very point as the cameras go back out front and then discuss what happened with Cena during Raw and the lead up to the tag team match up as the main even on today's show.
Commercial break...
Back from commercial and we see Vickie Guerrero talking to Chavo Guerrero backstage about earlier. Chavo says she needs to be careful as he thinks that Benoit may suspect something. Vickie says that perhaps it's best to stay clear of Chris and starts to wander off but Chavo calls her back and says he wants to live by an old saying, 'you keep your friends close but keep your enemies closer"
Back up front and we see Matt Hardy coming to the ring for his match up, another one, against Gregory Helms to continue the rivalry they have. The crowd is giving a good pop and we go to a vignette showcasing what has happened between these two in the past few weeks. WE then get the music of Helms as he makes his way out to the ring. In the ring Helms mouths off at Hardy and the referee just before the match commences.
Match 2: Matt Hardy vs. Gregory Helms
The match begins with a lock up and Hardy putting Helms into a headlock. Hardy hip tosses Helms to the canvas and Helms reverses the move and gets Hardy into a headscissors. Hardy twists out of it and gets Helms in a headlock again on the canvas which Helms reverses leaving Hardy lying on his stomach on the canvas and Helms beating into his back. Helms picks up Hardy and goes to whip him into the corner. Hardy reverses it and then delivers a clothesline to Helms in the corner. He then gives him a bulldog and goes for the pin but only for a one count as Helms pushes him off. As Hardy goes over to Helms, Helms takes the front of Hardy's trunks and yanks him through the ropes onto the floor. When Hardy gets back on the apron Helms is there laying blows into him and then tries to suplex him over the ropes and back into the ring. Hardy blocks it and tries to fight back. Helms gains the upperhand again and then slides out of the ring between the legs of Hardy. He grabs the leg of Hardy and yanks his feet off the apron leaving Hardy to land face first on the apron. Hardy is stunned but still on his feet until Helms gives him a clothesline knocking him to the ground.
Helms picks up Hardy and throws him back in the ring. Helms mounts the ropes from the outside of the ring and delivers a big cross body onto a staggering Hardy. He gets a two count and then straddles Hardy and hits into his head with right hands. Helms taunts the crowd and they're jeering at him. Helms drags Hardy to the ropes and lays his neck across the bottom rope and then stands flush on the back on the upper back of Hardy choking him against the ropes. Helms breaks at the count and then flips Hardy onto his back and drops an elbow into his head. Helms gets Hardy into a chin lock which Hardy reverses a little as he gets to his feet only to have Helms change it to a headlock. Hardy uses his arms to punch into the midsection of Helms to break the hold which he just succeeds but Helms then knees him in the midsection a few times to gain advantage again. He then whips Hardy into the ropes but Hardy comes out with a forearm against Helms knocking him to the canvas. Hardy then gives Helms a clothesline! Hardy gives him a body slam then points to the corner. He mounts the second rope and leaps off to drop the elbow only to find that Helms has moved out of the way and Hardy his nothing but canvas.
Helms gives Hardy an inverted atomic drop and get a count of two for an attempted cover. Helms sits Hardy up on one knee and then comes off the rope and misses an attempted Shining Wizard onto Hardy who then leaps to his feet, grabs Hardy around the shoulders and gives him a type of side slam and goes for the cover which Helms kicks out of at the count of two. Hardy stalks Helms and as he gets to his feet looks to give him a Twist of Fate which is reversed by Helms who then goes to give Hardy a neck breaker. Hardy reverses and picks up Helms giving him a Samoan drop! Hardy goes for a lazy cover lying back first on Helms. Helms on the count of two manages to reverse the pin into a crucifix and using the ropes for leverage himself gets the three count and we're done! Helms defeated Hardy in 4 minutes. (Rudi's rating ** 1/2)Rudi's rant - Another solid match with some different moves from these two who have mat a number of times over the past few weeks. The matches make good fillers but it's almost time for this feud to be over and Helms to maybe get into a Cruiserweight feud with someone like Jimmy Wang Yang. Helms rolls out of the ring leaving Hardy in the ring to rue his loss. Helms plays on his win to the crowd and gets the referee to raise his hand a second time.
Backstage we see London and Kendrick dressed in casual clothes watching the match just completed. Ashley walks in to the cheers of the crowd wearing a fairy type outfit which is for the Diva Battle Royal later in the show. She asks how she looks. London doesn't look happy as he says to Ashley that she stole his costume but he's only joking we see. London has one of Ashley's stockings that she has been looking for. Ashley asks Kendrick who would look nicer in her outfit and Kendrick says casually that she looks great. Ashley confirms they're all going out after the show and wanders off and Kendrick is a meltdown at her outfit after she leaves.
Commercial break...
Back from commercial and Tony Chimel is in the ring announcing the stipulations for the match and then announces Kane who comes out to his pyros. He enters the ring and sets off the ring post pyros. The music of Mr. Kennedy hits and he makes his way to the ring with a hesitancy and he takes a little while to make it into the ring.
Match 3: Kane vs. Mr. Kennedy in a No Disqualification Match
We begin with both wrestlers circling each other in the ring. Kennedy lashes out with his foot into the leg of Kane who takes no notice and the circle each other again and once again Kennedy repeats the kick. A third time this happens but Kane just retaliates with a big right uppercut sending Kennedy reeling. As Kane approaches Kennedy lashes out with an elbow catching Kane by surprise and putting him in a headlock. Kane breaks it by whipping Kennedy into the ropes and taking him down with a shoulder block. Kennedy begs for Kane to stay off as he crawls into the corner. As Kane goes after him, Kennedy tries to kick him in the chest but Kane just grabs his leg. He yanks him to his feet and gives him another big uppercut. Kane picks up Kennedy and rams his head into the turnbuckle then gives him a big right hand! Kane gives Kennedy a big back elbow! Kane then gives Kennedy a hip toss and goes straight in. Kane is in command as he whips Kennedy hard across the ring into the opposite corner to which Kennedy staggers out. Kane with two hands just picks him up by the throat and then just nonchalantly throws him down to the canvas. Kennedy tries to crawl out from the ring but Kane grabs him before he can do so. Kane can't drag him in so he kicks Kennedy whilst he is on the apron and then picks Kennedy up and suplexes him back into the ring over the ropes.
Kane goes for the pin but only gets a count of two. He picks Kennedy up and Irish whips him across the ropes. He picks him up but Kennedy manages to wiggle out behind Kane and kicks into his hamstring slowing down Kane. Kennedy bounces off the ropes but right into a vicious clothesline from Kane! Kane whips Kennedy into the corner and follows up with a strong arm shot to the head of Kennedy. Kane walks away then comes straight back into Kennedy who manages to lift a boot into the face of Kane stunning him. Kane once again turns around with the idea of putting a big boot into Kennedy who ducks out of the way leaving Kane with his right leg tangled up over the top rope. Before he can loosen himself from the ropes Kennedy comes in with kicks to the sore hamstring of Kane. Kane falls back into the corner and Kennedy stomps on him a number of times and Kane rolls out of the ring to catch a breather.
We get Kennedy exiting the ring after Kane who meets him with another big uppercut. Kane goes after Kennedy again but Mr. Kennedy grabs a handful of tights and rams Kane knee first into the steel steps. Kennedy, on the offensive grabs a steel chair but before he can use it is given another uppercut by Kane. Kennedy staggers into the ring followed not far by behind by Kane but not quick enough as when he enters the ring is met by a low dropkick to the midsection felling him. Kennedy exits the ring and drags Kane over the by leg and wraps it around the steel ring post. Kennedy once again grabs the steel chair and after a moment breather rams it into the knee of Kane against the ring post! He rolls into the ring and drags Kane over to the centre of it and attempts the cover but only to the count of 1. Kane tries to break out but Kennedy takes the advantage again by ramming the knee of Kane into the canvas! Another attempted cover but only for a two count. Kennedy continues his assault as Kane gets to his feet. Kane hits back but Kennedy just has the upper hand at this moment. Kennedy locks the leg of Kane in the ropes and bounces off the ropes and lands a dropkick on the injured knee of Kane. Kane is in pain.
Kennedy attempts another cover for a two count and then gets the leg of Kane and looks to lock in a figure four leg lock but Kane with his good leg, pushes Kennedy away and through the middle ropes and onto the floor whilst he tries to recover. Kennedy from the outside climbs the ropes and launches himself at Kane only to find a big right uppercut waiting for him! The crowd liked that one. Both men are staggering to their feet and they trade blows with Kennedy finally gaining the advantage by kicking at the leg of Kane again, the one he's been working on all match. Kennedy shoulder blocks Kane in the corner. He walks away and charges in again for another one only to be taken down by a vicious looking clothesline by Kane. Kennedy staggers to his feet and is given another clothesline. He gets to his feet again and Kane with the Irish whip gives him a back body drop and then a side slam. Kane goes to the apron to climb the rope and out of nowhere comes MVP who pushes Kane off the ropes. Kane lands on his feet in the ring but he is feeling injured knee still. This gives time for Kennedy to get to his feet and take Kane down and drop a number of elbows to the knee whilst MVP cheers him on from outside the ring.
Kennedy climbs the ropes and attempts a moonsault onto Kane only to find he has rolled out of the way as he comes down. MVP comes into the ring and gets hit by Kane for his effort. Kane takes down Kennedy and then MVP again with an uppercut. Kane with another jab at Kennedy. The crowd are going nuts! Kane throws MVP over the top ropes but that allows Kennedy to kick him in the knee twice when he turns around. Kennedy runs off the ropes again but this time meets the big boot to the face from Kane! Kane stalks Kennedy and prepares to give him the choke slam! He has him up in the air when MVP comes in the ring with a chair and takes his leg out with it! Kane falls on his back with Kennedy on top and with the help of MVP holding Kennedy on Kane the pin is made and we have a winner! Mr. Kennedy defeated Kane in 8 minutes. (Rudi's rating ***)Rudi's rant - I liked this match. I didn't know what would happen in this match and I was not looking forward to its initial inception of it being Kane vs. MVP but it was long and it gave Kane a chance to have a longer match as opposed to the constant disqualifications or short matches he has had for a while on Raw. The run in with MVP was expected in my opinion but that was good too in the development of him as that cowardly heel type character. MVP rolls out of the ring and Kennedy also leaving an injured Kane in the ring nursing the sore knee. Kane glares at MVP as he makes his way back up the rampway.
Backstage, Batista is quietly psyching himself up and Cena wanders in to tell him he has his back for their match up. Batista looks at Cena and asks him if that comment was for real in that Cena didn't look too pumped. Cena says you want real? He tells Batista that word around the traps is that he's been sandbagging since he's come back from his injury, that he's lost his fire. Cena gets in the face of Batista, he tells Batista that he's going out there to war, that he wants him there. Batista fires up and says lets do it and both wrestlers are fired up as they go their own ways. Rudi's rant - Nice and short and in your face Cena.
Commercial break...
Back from commercial and we have Chavo and Vickie Guerrero making their way to the ring to a chorus of boos from the crowd. Chavo grabs the mic and talks to the crowd about how they're looking at a man and a family that finally has peace and are able to move on. The crowd chants 'you suck' and Chavo says that Guerreros’ don't suck. They have peace because Rey Mysterio is no longer around because Chavo put an end to his career by making him say I quit. Chavo wants to see it and we do. The crowd boos at Chavo he calls them selfish like Rey for not letting his family move on and we see it again. We see it again and Chavo says at that moment of Rey saying I quit that his family became whole again. We see it again and then as Chavo asks for it another time the music of Chris Benoit hits and he makes him way down to the ring. Chavo and Vickie exit the ring from the other side and then without even looking at or acknowledging Chris Benoit make their way back up the rampway leaving Chris Benoit in the ring. Rudi's rant - Correct me if I'm wrong but there was not a mention of Eddie Guerrero as such in this promo cut by Chavo with Vickie. It was strong, it was intense and the use of last week's action with Rey Mysterio put Chavo over as a strong character. I'm actually looking forward to see how this may pan out over the next few weeks with Benoit and we do have the makings of a new feud here, one that hopefully will be allowed to develop a little.
Commercial break...
Back from commercial to a vignette of Smackdown in the Philippines over the past week with talks with quips from Miz, Lashley, King Booker, Mr. Kennedy and Batista.
Back from the vignette and Teddy Long makes his way onto stage and announces that because of what happened earlier in the Kane match he is signing up a match for next week with MVP and Mr. Kennedy teaming up against Kane and his partner? None other than The Undertaker! The crowd goes off on this! For the first time in years the 'Brothers of Destruction' are teaming up on TV. He then announces that the next match is going to be the Diva Trick or Treat Battle Royal to which the crowd give a great pop as well.
Tony Chimel in the ring announces the match and we get Jillian making her way to the ring dressed up as Elvis. We get Michelle McCool dressed up as a naughty nurse. We get Kristal coming out as a gold digger. We get Ashley coming out in her fairy type outfit and then Layla comes out as a bunny munching on a carrot. She gives the carrot to some boy in the crowd. We then get the guest referee and it's The Miz. He comes out, Layla doesn't look too happy and the crowd once again you can see are not really interested in him at all. They've cheered on the Divas but no reaction to The Miz, and where is Maryse by the way? The Miz cuts a promo about how he gets to be with these women whilst everyone else is out there with their kids doing a trick or treat. The crowd finally respond to his Hoorahs and then in total shock he gets the match going without saying anything else!
Match 4: Diva Trick or Treat Battle Royal
The match starts with Jillian taking on Ashley and Kristal and McCool going after Layla. They yank Layla to the canvas and apply the boots to her. Jillian tries a top rope maneuver but is pushed onto the apron by Ashley. As Jillian tries to get her way back into the ring McCool comes up and pushes her out and she's gone. McCool then works on Ashley and pushes her out of the ring and she's gone. McCool clotheslines Layla then picks up Kristal over her head and tries to get her out of the ring but Kristal breaks out of that and then dropkicks McCool through the ropes and she is out of there! In the background you see a sore looking Ashley who was eliminated a few moments ago. Kristal goes after Layla and pushes her into the corner. Kristal hits her and then tries to kick her in the midsection but Layla grabs her leg and pushes her to the middle of the ring where she gives her a couple of clotheslines and then a kick to the midsection. Layla whips Kristal into the corner and then mounts the ropes but Kristal manages to push her to the apron. Both ladies are at each other and Layla grabs Kristal and tries unsuccessfully to suplex her over the ropes and The Miz just comes up and pushes her off the apron and that leaves Kristal as the last in the ring and the winner! Kristal wins the Diva Trick or Treat Battle Royal in 2 minutes. (Rudi's rating *)Rudi's rant - At least it was quick? If you're going to have Divas wrestling and taking away time from the show from other wrestlers then at least give them more than this cotton candy attempt at a match. Jillian is supposed to be a good wrestler yet she was out in an instant and well, it just is what it is I suppose. Something for the predominantly male crowd and viewers? Let me know what y'all think. Miz and Kristal celebrate in the ring as we go to the dreaded...
Commercial break...
Back from commercial and Miz and Kristal are still in the ring celebrating. Miz is telling the crowd he did what he did because of what Layla did to him at No Mercy on his birthday where she embarrassed him. Kristal respects him so he had to help her. We're about to get another Hoorah from the undefeated Miz when all of a sudden the music of yes, could it be? Boogeyman hits to the disgust totally of JBL. Boogeyman comes out with his crazy antics and Miz and Layla are in the ring with The Miz shielding Kristal. As Boogeyman enters the ring and does his stuff, Miz pushes Kristal and he's out of there! Boogeyman scares Kristal off of her feet and then does the worm thing and well, what more can I say as Kristal finally gets out of there and runs backstage and Boogeyman exits as well. Rudi's rant - JBL is mouthing off and saying that Boogeyman doesn't belong in the WWE and well, firstly, he was fired just recently and then rehired but geez I hope only because it was Halloween coming up. I was pretty much disgusted by this segment for any number of reasons. Enough said except that the WWE has done nothing to promote The Miz in any way from three straight matches to then nothing to now doing work with the Divas again. He'd had some good crowd reactions in his first few weeks of wrestling and that was all by the wayside for most of this segment.
Back to Cole and JBL who still looks disgusted at what has just gone on and Cole is saying what a night it has been of surprises with Tatanka losing his cool at the referee and Lashley. We get a vignette of that happening, and then we go backstage to King Booker with Sharmell preening his hair and supporting her King for the match ahead. Big Show wanders in and tells Booker on Cyber Sunday he'll be the one coming out on top. Noone speaks to the King like that Booker says. Show says he's a giant and he can talk to anyone like he wants to. Show takes him to task over Raw last Monday where after they teamed up on Cena Booker gave him the Book end. Booker says that last week it was every man for themselves and this week though they're meant to be a team and 'lets go and defeat these scoundrels as he takes the hand of Sharmell and wanders off leaving Big Show standing there. Rudi's rant - A nice little segment with a great camera angle making Big Show look more of a giant than what he is. Yes he's big but he's still no Andre the Giant and Booker isn't short himself. Another build up to Cyber Sunday
Commercial break...
Back from commercial and we have King Booker in the ring with Queen Sharmell and Tony Chimel making the introduction as the crowd in the background are either bowing or giving him the thumbs down. Big Show is introduced next and he comes out to heat from the crowd. We then get the music of Cena and the crowd goes crazy as Cena makes him way to stage, salutes and makes his way down to ringside. Cena enters the ring and stands in readiness for the match. We then get the music of Batista as he comes out on stage to a big crowd pop as well as his pyros go off and he's pumped for the match! Batista makes his way into the ring and we're ready to start.
Match 5: King Booker and The Big Show vs. John Cena and Batista
The match begins with Booker and Cena in the ring. They lock up in the middle of the ring and tussle and finally Cena is backed into the corner. There is a huge Cena chant from the crowd as this is happening. Booker looks to break then goes to hit Cena but it's blocked and Cena comes out with right hands. Cena grabs Booker, Irish whips him and gives him a hip toss and straight into an attempted pin but only for a two count. Cena makes the tag to Batista and he comes in and pounds on Booker and the crowd are wild for this match. Booker is caught in the corner but thumbs the eye of Batista allowing him to take advantage. He puts Batista in the corner and chops at him before whipping him to the opposite corner. Batista bounces out and clotheslines Booker as he's coming in. Batista gets a two count on Booker and then tags in Cena again. Cena kicks at Booker then whips him across the ropes but drops his head too early and Booker hanging onto the ropes kicks Cena in the face and then follows up with a clothesline!
Booker lines up Cena for a back kick but Cena ducks it and comes back with a right hand felling Booker. Cena with the head of Booker into the turnbuckle then he whips him hard into the opposite corner. As Booker comes from the corner he's met by a kick to the midsection and gives him a suplex and then an attempted cover again but only for the two count. Cena makes the tag to Batista and both wrestlers whips Booker across the ring and collect him with back elbows. Both of them then clothesline Booker over the top ropes and onto the floor and then face off at Big Show as we go to the dreaded...
Commercial break...
Back from commercial and we see Batista stomping away at Booker and then choking him with the boot using the ropes as leverage. Batista delivers a suplex then and an attempted cover for the two count and Cena/Batista have been in charge the whole match. Batista tags and Cena comes in and gives Booker a big right hand to the side. Cena slams the head of Booker into the turnbuckle and then whips him across to the opposite corner. Booker manages to elbow Cena though as he charges in and finally manages to make the tag to Big Show! Show steps over the ropes and Cena and him face off and the crowd are still hot for the match! Cena and Big Show mouth off at each other before Cena takes to him with some right hands to the head but Big Show just pushes him into the corner. Big Show comes after him but Cena ducks out of the corner but straight into a right hand by Booker and then a clotheslines by Big Show. Big Show picks up Cena and gives him a headbutt. Big Show puts Cena up against the ropes and gives him that slap to the chest that you can hear above the crowd, and they hear it too and react accordingly. That has gotta hurt! Cena can't make a tag to Batista as Big Show grabs him and gives him a nice suplex. Show pushes Cena into his corner and makes the tag to Booker.
Booker comes and kicks at Cena then delivers a back kick to him as the crowd tries to get a Cena chant going. Booker covers Cena but only for a two count. Cena tries to make the tag to Batista but is given a kick to the midsection to stop that. Booker then runs at Batista knocking him down on the apron and Batista tries to come in but is stopped by the referee allowing Booker to drag Cena back to his corner and make the tag to Big Show. Cena gets a chop to the chest by the Big Show and then gets a 'buffalo size head to the skull of Cena' (thanks JBL) headbutt. Big Show then just walks over Cena. Booker slaps the back of Big Show and comes in and Big Show didn't look too happy at that. Booker whips Cena across the ring but Cena ducks it and gives Booker a desperation clothesline and both wrestlers are on the canvas. The referee begins a count but Cena manages to get to his knees but just can't make a tag to Batista as Booker hangs onto his leg. Booker then gives Batista a cheap shot on the apron and the referee is there again stopping Batista from coming in which gives Booker a moment to regain control and he throws Cena through the ropes and onto the floor. Big Show wanders over at the behest of Booker and kicks him in the gut before throwing him back into the ring for Booker. The referee during this was still at the corner of Batista.
Booker goes for the cover but Batista comes in and breaks it up with a boot which if you look closely is a missed spot as it misses Booker and gets Cena instead. Cena manages to get to his feet and both him and Booker trade blows until Booker uses a thumb to the eye again. He gives Cena an Irish whip and a clothesline. Cena again manages to mount some offence and tries to whip Booker into the corner but it's reversed and Booker grabs Cena in a sleeper hold as he comes out of the ropes. Cena desperately tries to make the tag to Batista but Booker drags him to the middle of the ring, still with the sleeper hold and Cena is fading here. Out of desperation Cena picks up Booker and slams him and both men are down for the count again. Booker manages to get to his knees first and goes to make the tag to Big Show but Big Show doesn't accept it.
Booker tries again and Big Show steps down from the apron and the crowd are enjoying this. Cena is still flat in the ring and Booker is just shocked. Sharmell and Booker both are pleading to make the tag but Show makes a sign and it's retribution from last Monday here and in the background we see that Cena finally makes the tag to Batista! The crowd go totally crazy as Batista comes into the ring and he's smiling. Batista unleashes with some big right hands as we see Big Show slowly walking away from the ring. Batista whips Booker and gives him a clothesline, and then another! Batista whips Booker into the corner and follows up with another clothesline! Batista delivers a number of shoulder blocks and then gives him a big power slam! Batista stalks Booker as we see Big Show just looking on from the rampway. Batista gives Booker a spinebuster then calls Cena into the ring. Cena gives Booker a you can't see me followed by the five knuckle shuffle and the crowd are going totally crazy! Cena exits the ring and we're left with Batista with Big Show in the background getting ready to give Booker a Batista bomb which he lands and we get the one, two, three and the match is over! Batista and Cena defeated King Booker and Big Show in 14 minutes. (Rudi's rating ***1/2)Rudi's rant - What a great match up. It certainly builds up the impending match up at Cyber Sunday for one and it gave the chance for Big Show to get his revenge on Booker from Monday Night Raw. Both Booker and Cena played the men in peril for most of the match. Big Show was made to look strong for the short time he was in the ring and Batista's well timed hot tag had the crowd going totally crazy! Batista and Cena hug in the ring as we see Big Show backing up the rampway making signs at Cena. Cena and Batista continue to celebrate in the ring as Big Show finally wanders off the show ends.....
Okay, what a show! I don't know what to quite make of this one. I'm going to give the commentary a 7 out of 10 as once again I didn't think JBL and Cole didn't steer away from the calling of the matches at all. The crowd was hot for most of the show except for The Miz coming in initially and I'm going to give the overall feel of the show a big 8 out of 10. The matches themselves? A 7 out of 10 but only because of the main event in the end. The show had only 5 matches and one of them a Diva match. We had another Hardy/Helms match which was good but we've had them most weeks recently. Where was Finlay? Where was Terkay and Elijah Burke and Vito? Last week there was the inkling of a feud but nothing at all this week, not even a mention. We didn't have the tag champions wrestling at all. We didn't get Benoit wrestling at all though he was used in a different way for the show. No Sylvan, no Undertaker, no Jimmy Wang Yang either. The long teased snap of Tatanka finally happened and that was good in how it involved Lashley as well. I am curious to see how that goes. It was also sad to see Dave Taylor getting injured as I'm a bit of a Regal fan and I think these two would have taken on London and Kendrick in a few matches and maybe even win the belts so where to now for Regal? Hopefully we'll see something next week there.
I, and I'm open to criticism here did not enjoy the return of Boogeyman. I'm hoping once again that being Halloween he was used here and who knows, hopefully they'll ship him off to ECW. The Miz is underutilised at the moment as well and I'd like to see him in some sort of feud to see how good his wrestling is. I am also looking forward to the team up of Undertaker/Kane next week. The crowd is going to go off on that one! Lets wind it up and thanks again to y'all for reading. I hope it made some sense and see you all next week!
Smackdown Results 27th October 2006
Submitted by Rudi Pavani on Friday, October 27, 2006 at 9:57 PM EST
Greetings everyone to another week of Smackdown. I'd like to thank those from places as far as Qatar, Ireland, and Georgia 'Hi Nicole by the way ", who wrote to me regarding my Smackdown review. Please keep them coming - and it's great to see how far spread the fans of wrestling are. Last week I introduced my ranking for the show, the overall feel of the show and the commentary and I'll do the same again this week. Last week lacked a number of wrestlers and replaced with the very ordinary Diva dance off which took more time than what it was worth. Let's see what today's show holds!
The show filmed in St Louis, Missouri begins with the music of Batista and the camera panning through a crowd that is pretty pumped up for action by the looks of it. Batista comes out on stage, we get his pyros, and he makes his way to the ring. Batista plays to the crowd then grabs a mic. What is he going to say I wonder? He relates back to Wrestlemania 21 when he became the champion to which the crowd cheers. 10 months ago and one of the saddest days of his life where he was forced to surrender his title. Batista wants his title back. He's on a mission to reclaim his title to the cheers of the crowd again. There is an Irish thorn in his side, one man hell bent on ruining his chances, and that man is Finlay. Finlay loves to fight, but so does Batista! He calls Finlay out saying it's time someone takes that shillelagh and do unmentionable things with it. He can't continue as all of a sudden the music of Paul Heyman hits and he makes his way out to the ring with his Enforcers, B1 and B2 to a chorus of boos from the crowd. Of course he has a mic as he enters the ring and is flanked by B1 and B2.
What does Heyman have to say? He introduces himself to Mr. Batista sir. He represents ECW. He points out that the main event on this show, perhaps the biggest main event on Friday night Smackdown shown Friday afternoon in Melbourne, contains the World Heavyweight Champion King Booker. His partner is ECW's 7 foot tall, 500 pound, bigger than the Empire State Building, taco eating World Heavyweight Champion The Big Show. In the other corner, WWE World Champion, John Cena to which the crowd pops big time, and his partner, the animal himself, Batista to which the crowd gives another big pop! Heyman points to the corners, "Champion, Champion, Champion" and then he points to Batista and says "not Champion".
Batista asks him what his point is. Heyman's point is there is something really wrong. Batista is the animal, the beast, he should be a World Heavyweight Champion and the fact he isn't bothers him and should bother Batista too. Batista looks and carries himself like a champion. Just being himself Batista screams the word champion but he's not. And why? Heyman says that Teddy Long has been holding Batista back. Heyman to a big chorus of boos points out to the crowd and says that they're holding Batista back too. Heyman says that he cares about Batista as the crowd finally starts up a Batista chant which Batista points out to Heyman with a spreading of the arms. Heyman wants Batista to jump ship to ECW, he covets him, cherishes the opportunity to work with him. Batista is pondering Heyman's words. Heyman says that he can get Batista to where he needs to be if he only but considers the opportunity.
What is Batista thinking? Batista says finally that he thinks it's an interesting proposition. Batista wants a little time to think about it though. Heyman says Dave, sure, thankyou very much as he goes to exit the ring. Batista calls him back. He's thought about it already in 10 seconds. Heyman puts out his hand, Batista takes it. Batista gives Heyman the thumbs up sign. Heyman gives one back. Batista's thumb is top heavy though. It goes from thumbs up to thumbs down and the crowd go wild. Heyman is out of there as B1 and B2 step in. Batista kicks B1 in the midsection, clotheslines B2, clotheslines B1, whips B2 into the corner and follows him in with a clothesline. B1 is given a spinebuster! B2 is given a spinebuster! Batista turns around and Big Show is in the ring! Big Show tries to chokeslam Batista but he shakes out of it and comes off the ropes, ducks an attempted clothesline from Big Show, bounces off the opposite ropes and spears Big Show to the canvas! Batista stands over Big Show and doesn't notice King Booker sliding into the ring and taking Batista to the canvas with a number of right arms to the back and back of the head.
The crowd goes wild as Cena runs from the back and slides into the ring. He punches into Booker and then launches him over the top rope! Batista and Cena then come off the ropes and knock Big Show over the top rope as well onto the floor and against the commentary table and the crowd are going crazy as Cena and Batista play to the crowd as the music of Batista hits. Heyman is looking on in disgust from up the rampway. Booker is furious outside of the ring. Big Show is still on the floor. Batista holds up the hand of Cena and point to himself and Cena for the benefit of the crowd. This introduction took 11 minutes. (Rudi's rating ***)(Rudi's rant - A great way to start the show if a little too long. It promoted the main event, it gave Batista a chance to talk to the crowd, it gave a chance to Booker, Big Show and Cena to make an appearance in the promotion of the main event and it gave Heyman a chance to do what Heyman does best, talk. I'm excited about the main event just watching the start!
We then get vignettes about the main event, and there is also on the show a Trick or Treat Diva Battle Royal.
Commercial break...
Back from commercial and we see Lashley make his way to the ring to a big pop from the crowd. He plays to the crowd. We get the music then of Tatanka as he rushes down to the ring to little pop from the crowd. Lashley and Tatanka egg each other on and then we get the music of Regal as both he and Taylor make their way to the ring to not much of a reaction. I'm not sure a lot of people know who Dave Taylor is and WWE hasn't built him up in any way at all.
Match 1: Bobby Lashley and Tatanka vs. William Regal and David Taylor
The match begins with Regal and Tatanka against each other. They lock up and Regal gets him into a headlock. Tatanka gets out of it by whipping Regal into the ropes and gets knocked down by a shoulder block. Regal comes off the ropes again, Tatanka on the canvas as Regal jumps over him and comes off the ropes again. Tatanka is up and tries to hip toss Regal but is blocked. He then just gives Regal a short arm clothesline! Regal up and gets a back elbow for his effort. Tatanka goes and flips Taylor into the ring. The crowd are enjoying this so far! A chop to Regal and then Taylor walks into a face slam by Tatanka! Regal is met with a punch to the midsection and Tatanka brings him to the corner and tags in Lashley. Tatanka holds Regal in the corner as Lashley comes in and gives him a running shoulder block to the gut of Regal. Regal staggers out of the corner and is kicked in the midsection. Lashley pushes Regal into the corner with a number of rights to the head and midsection. Lashley then tries for another running shoulder block but is met by a boot to the face by Regal. Regal then sends Lashley outside the ring through the middle ropes and distracts the referee enough for Dave Taylor to give Lashley a big clothesline to the floor. Taylor eggs the crowd on as he tosses Lashley back into the ring to meet the boots of Regal. The crowd are giving them some good heat at the moment. Regal picks up Lashley off the canvas and knees him to the head a number of times as he makes the tag to Taylor. Taylor with some hits to Lashley, a big uppercut and a body slam. Taylor picks him up and delivers another uppercut putting Lashley into the corner and follows up with some more right hands. Taylor tags in Regal as the crowd have got a big Bobby chant going.
Regal comes in with a kick to the midsection and some knees to the same area before he whips Lashley into the corner. His follow in is met by the boot of Lashley staggering him. Lashley staggers over and manages to tag in Tatanka who comes in and gives Regal a big chop to the throat. Taylor has come in and gets the same from Tatanka. Regal is given a back body drop and Taylor receives the same. Tatanka goes after Regal as Lashley reenters the ring and goes after Taylor. Lashley gives Taylor a belly to belly suplex as Tatanka beats up on Regal in the corner. Taylor gets up and hops into the corner favouring his leg and as Lashley charges in Taylor moves out of the way just and Lashley is left with his shoulder rammed up against the ring post! Taylor rolls out of the ring and limps/hops back to his corner. Tatanka has Regal in the corner and is on the ropes punching into the head of Regal. Regal pushes him off and grabs the legs of Tatanka and pins him using the ropes as leverage! Tatanka is irate at this! Regal and Taylor defeated Lashley and Tatanka in 3 minutes. (Rudi's rating **)
The referee is out of the ring raising the hand of the victors as Regal helps a limping Taylor towards the back. Tatanka exits the ring and confronts the referee about his inability to see Regal having used the ropes as leverage for the pinfall. Tatanka is losing it at the referee and the crowd is not entirely happy at this and finally Tatanka does what has been on the cards for weeks and flattens the referee with a big right hand! He stands over the referee asking him if he saw that and the referee isn't seeing much of anything at the moment! Lashley comes over and grabs the back of the shoulder of Tatanka. Tatanka spins around and gives Lashley a big right hand flooring him. Tatanka straddles Lashley and lays a number of right hands into the side of the head and then slams the skull of Lashley against the floor and the crowd is so not happy at this turn of events. Tatanka grabs the legs of Lashley and stomps on the groin of Lashley! Ouch! Tatanka has lost it as he slams the ring, kicks the steel steps and makes his way up the rampway yelling and cursing as we get a replay of the last minute (Rudi's rant - A couple of things here. Finally we get the heel turn that has been teased by Tatanka for the past few weeks as his frustration at having bogus wins given against him finally putting him over the edge. I've got to say for all my criticism of Tatanka's use the past few weeks this heel turn was well done and taking down Lashley will put Tatanka into a feud but sadly maybe take Lashley away from the main event side of things for a few weeks. Who knows also how Teddy Long will deal with this? A great way to end the match. I liked it!
On another note here it was reported during the week that David Taylor injured his knee during the tapings and will be out for at least 4 months. This happened during the belly to belly suplex by Lashley onto him and he's obviously just landed awkwardly and done his knee! The match ended very quickly after this incident. If Dave you're reading this review, good luck with the operation and we hope to see you back soon! It's a blow to this new team though just a week old for Smackdown and I wonder where WWE creative will go now with the character of Regal who was being given a push in the tag team side of things. Who knows, perhaps WWE will bring in Harry Smith, the son of Davey Boy Smith to team up with him? We can only hope.
Commercial break...
Back from commercial and we see the Stoctrader Centre where Smackdown is being taped from the outside. To backstage now where Kristal is interviewing the United States Champion Chris Benoit much to the delight of the crowd. Kristal asks how Benoit feels about Cyber Sunday and the chance that he may be picked to fight the Samoan Bulldozer Umaga. Benoit asks how the fans feel in picking him to fight against Umaga the Samoan..... and he pauses as he notices someone off camera. He excuses himself and wanders over to where we see Vickie Guerrero is talking to two ladies. Benoit calls out to her and she acknowledges him then turns away to talk to the two ladies again. Chris excuses himself and Vickie says Hey Chris which Chris seems to think is inadequate. Benoit says he hasn't seen her in how long? Vickie responds with 'what's going on?' Benoit is puzzled and says to Vickie what's going on as he places his hand on her shoulder to which she shies away from. Benoit doesn't understand what's going on with her, Chavo and the stuff with Rey Mysterio. Vickie says to Chris that they have nothing to talk about. Vickie says to Benoit that does he want to talk about how Rey used the Guerrero legacy to further his career? To how Rey with his attitude would not allow the Guerreros' to move on. Vickie says to Chris that he thought he was close to Eddie but perhaps he wasn't as close to him as Eddie thought. She walks away leaving Benoit dumbfounded. Rudi's rant - Just when we thought that perhaps the name of Eddie Guerrero would not be used again, back comes Benoit and he's obviously the new WWE pawn in the money making saga. I can see Benoit in a feud with Chavo now for the title or Chavo/Vickie costing Benoit his title. I think they'd put on a good match but the Eddie angle just goes on and on, and Vickie Guerrero is not good at playing the role in my humble opinion. I'm open to suggestions.
Backstage again and we see MVP taking tablets and looking worse for wear. Long comes in and asks him what's wrong. MVP says he knows he's got a deal but he's not quite right and Long says it's more than a deal, it's a no disqualification matchup against Kane. MVP says he's got an intestinal virus and is taking a sick day as is written in his contract. Long is sorry that he ever agreed to that in the contract but he has to deal with it. MVP's phone goes off and it's his agent and he wanders off talking on his phone. As Long is pondering what to do Kennedy wanders in and he's been looking for Long and he has an idea. Kennedy wants something for the people at the show, something special for a match up. He wants the Undertaker' mano a mano' in today's show. He says to Long don't you think the people deserve this kind of match as you hear the crowd cheering in the background again. Long says that Kennedy has come in with a whole lot of bravado knowing that Undertaker is not at the show today. But Long has an idea. Kennedy wants a big match up? Something special for the people? He's making a match up for Kennedy to fight against Kane in the no disqualification match. Kennedy looks like he's shot himself in the foot.
Cole and JBL discuss that very point as the cameras go back out front and then discuss what happened with Cena during Raw and the lead up to the tag team match up as the main even on today's show.
Commercial break...
Back from commercial and we see Vickie Guerrero talking to Chavo Guerrero backstage about earlier. Chavo says she needs to be careful as he thinks that Benoit may suspect something. Vickie says that perhaps it's best to stay clear of Chris and starts to wander off but Chavo calls her back and says he wants to live by an old saying, 'you keep your friends close but keep your enemies closer"
Back up front and we see Matt Hardy coming to the ring for his match up, another one, against Gregory Helms to continue the rivalry they have. The crowd is giving a good pop and we go to a vignette showcasing what has happened between these two in the past few weeks. WE then get the music of Helms as he makes his way out to the ring. In the ring Helms mouths off at Hardy and the referee just before the match commences.
Match 2: Matt Hardy vs. Gregory Helms
The match begins with a lock up and Hardy putting Helms into a headlock. Hardy hip tosses Helms to the canvas and Helms reverses the move and gets Hardy into a headscissors. Hardy twists out of it and gets Helms in a headlock again on the canvas which Helms reverses leaving Hardy lying on his stomach on the canvas and Helms beating into his back. Helms picks up Hardy and goes to whip him into the corner. Hardy reverses it and then delivers a clothesline to Helms in the corner. He then gives him a bulldog and goes for the pin but only for a one count as Helms pushes him off. As Hardy goes over to Helms, Helms takes the front of Hardy's trunks and yanks him through the ropes onto the floor. When Hardy gets back on the apron Helms is there laying blows into him and then tries to suplex him over the ropes and back into the ring. Hardy blocks it and tries to fight back. Helms gains the upperhand again and then slides out of the ring between the legs of Hardy. He grabs the leg of Hardy and yanks his feet off the apron leaving Hardy to land face first on the apron. Hardy is stunned but still on his feet until Helms gives him a clothesline knocking him to the ground.
Helms picks up Hardy and throws him back in the ring. Helms mounts the ropes from the outside of the ring and delivers a big cross body onto a staggering Hardy. He gets a two count and then straddles Hardy and hits into his head with right hands. Helms taunts the crowd and they're jeering at him. Helms drags Hardy to the ropes and lays his neck across the bottom rope and then stands flush on the back on the upper back of Hardy choking him against the ropes. Helms breaks at the count and then flips Hardy onto his back and drops an elbow into his head. Helms gets Hardy into a chin lock which Hardy reverses a little as he gets to his feet only to have Helms change it to a headlock. Hardy uses his arms to punch into the midsection of Helms to break the hold which he just succeeds but Helms then knees him in the midsection a few times to gain advantage again. He then whips Hardy into the ropes but Hardy comes out with a forearm against Helms knocking him to the canvas. Hardy then gives Helms a clothesline! Hardy gives him a body slam then points to the corner. He mounts the second rope and leaps off to drop the elbow only to find that Helms has moved out of the way and Hardy his nothing but canvas.
Helms gives Hardy an inverted atomic drop and get a count of two for an attempted cover. Helms sits Hardy up on one knee and then comes off the rope and misses an attempted Shining Wizard onto Hardy who then leaps to his feet, grabs Hardy around the shoulders and gives him a type of side slam and goes for the cover which Helms kicks out of at the count of two. Hardy stalks Helms and as he gets to his feet looks to give him a Twist of Fate which is reversed by Helms who then goes to give Hardy a neck breaker. Hardy reverses and picks up Helms giving him a Samoan drop! Hardy goes for a lazy cover lying back first on Helms. Helms on the count of two manages to reverse the pin into a crucifix and using the ropes for leverage himself gets the three count and we're done! Helms defeated Hardy in 4 minutes. (Rudi's rating ** 1/2)Rudi's rant - Another solid match with some different moves from these two who have mat a number of times over the past few weeks. The matches make good fillers but it's almost time for this feud to be over and Helms to maybe get into a Cruiserweight feud with someone like Jimmy Wang Yang. Helms rolls out of the ring leaving Hardy in the ring to rue his loss. Helms plays on his win to the crowd and gets the referee to raise his hand a second time.
Backstage we see London and Kendrick dressed in casual clothes watching the match just completed. Ashley walks in to the cheers of the crowd wearing a fairy type outfit which is for the Diva Battle Royal later in the show. She asks how she looks. London doesn't look happy as he says to Ashley that she stole his costume but he's only joking we see. London has one of Ashley's stockings that she has been looking for. Ashley asks Kendrick who would look nicer in her outfit and Kendrick says casually that she looks great. Ashley confirms they're all going out after the show and wanders off and Kendrick is a meltdown at her outfit after she leaves.
Commercial break...
Back from commercial and Tony Chimel is in the ring announcing the stipulations for the match and then announces Kane who comes out to his pyros. He enters the ring and sets off the ring post pyros. The music of Mr. Kennedy hits and he makes his way to the ring with a hesitancy and he takes a little while to make it into the ring.
Match 3: Kane vs. Mr. Kennedy in a No Disqualification Match
We begin with both wrestlers circling each other in the ring. Kennedy lashes out with his foot into the leg of Kane who takes no notice and the circle each other again and once again Kennedy repeats the kick. A third time this happens but Kane just retaliates with a big right uppercut sending Kennedy reeling. As Kane approaches Kennedy lashes out with an elbow catching Kane by surprise and putting him in a headlock. Kane breaks it by whipping Kennedy into the ropes and taking him down with a shoulder block. Kennedy begs for Kane to stay off as he crawls into the corner. As Kane goes after him, Kennedy tries to kick him in the chest but Kane just grabs his leg. He yanks him to his feet and gives him another big uppercut. Kane picks up Kennedy and rams his head into the turnbuckle then gives him a big right hand! Kane gives Kennedy a big back elbow! Kane then gives Kennedy a hip toss and goes straight in. Kane is in command as he whips Kennedy hard across the ring into the opposite corner to which Kennedy staggers out. Kane with two hands just picks him up by the throat and then just nonchalantly throws him down to the canvas. Kennedy tries to crawl out from the ring but Kane grabs him before he can do so. Kane can't drag him in so he kicks Kennedy whilst he is on the apron and then picks Kennedy up and suplexes him back into the ring over the ropes.
Kane goes for the pin but only gets a count of two. He picks Kennedy up and Irish whips him across the ropes. He picks him up but Kennedy manages to wiggle out behind Kane and kicks into his hamstring slowing down Kane. Kennedy bounces off the ropes but right into a vicious clothesline from Kane! Kane whips Kennedy into the corner and follows up with a strong arm shot to the head of Kennedy. Kane walks away then comes straight back into Kennedy who manages to lift a boot into the face of Kane stunning him. Kane once again turns around with the idea of putting a big boot into Kennedy who ducks out of the way leaving Kane with his right leg tangled up over the top rope. Before he can loosen himself from the ropes Kennedy comes in with kicks to the sore hamstring of Kane. Kane falls back into the corner and Kennedy stomps on him a number of times and Kane rolls out of the ring to catch a breather.
We get Kennedy exiting the ring after Kane who meets him with another big uppercut. Kane goes after Kennedy again but Mr. Kennedy grabs a handful of tights and rams Kane knee first into the steel steps. Kennedy, on the offensive grabs a steel chair but before he can use it is given another uppercut by Kane. Kennedy staggers into the ring followed not far by behind by Kane but not quick enough as when he enters the ring is met by a low dropkick to the midsection felling him. Kennedy exits the ring and drags Kane over the by leg and wraps it around the steel ring post. Kennedy once again grabs the steel chair and after a moment breather rams it into the knee of Kane against the ring post! He rolls into the ring and drags Kane over to the centre of it and attempts the cover but only to the count of 1. Kane tries to break out but Kennedy takes the advantage again by ramming the knee of Kane into the canvas! Another attempted cover but only for a two count. Kennedy continues his assault as Kane gets to his feet. Kane hits back but Kennedy just has the upper hand at this moment. Kennedy locks the leg of Kane in the ropes and bounces off the ropes and lands a dropkick on the injured knee of Kane. Kane is in pain.
Kennedy attempts another cover for a two count and then gets the leg of Kane and looks to lock in a figure four leg lock but Kane with his good leg, pushes Kennedy away and through the middle ropes and onto the floor whilst he tries to recover. Kennedy from the outside climbs the ropes and launches himself at Kane only to find a big right uppercut waiting for him! The crowd liked that one. Both men are staggering to their feet and they trade blows with Kennedy finally gaining the advantage by kicking at the leg of Kane again, the one he's been working on all match. Kennedy shoulder blocks Kane in the corner. He walks away and charges in again for another one only to be taken down by a vicious looking clothesline by Kane. Kennedy staggers to his feet and is given another clothesline. He gets to his feet again and Kane with the Irish whip gives him a back body drop and then a side slam. Kane goes to the apron to climb the rope and out of nowhere comes MVP who pushes Kane off the ropes. Kane lands on his feet in the ring but he is feeling injured knee still. This gives time for Kennedy to get to his feet and take Kane down and drop a number of elbows to the knee whilst MVP cheers him on from outside the ring.
Kennedy climbs the ropes and attempts a moonsault onto Kane only to find he has rolled out of the way as he comes down. MVP comes into the ring and gets hit by Kane for his effort. Kane takes down Kennedy and then MVP again with an uppercut. Kane with another jab at Kennedy. The crowd are going nuts! Kane throws MVP over the top ropes but that allows Kennedy to kick him in the knee twice when he turns around. Kennedy runs off the ropes again but this time meets the big boot to the face from Kane! Kane stalks Kennedy and prepares to give him the choke slam! He has him up in the air when MVP comes in the ring with a chair and takes his leg out with it! Kane falls on his back with Kennedy on top and with the help of MVP holding Kennedy on Kane the pin is made and we have a winner! Mr. Kennedy defeated Kane in 8 minutes. (Rudi's rating ***)Rudi's rant - I liked this match. I didn't know what would happen in this match and I was not looking forward to its initial inception of it being Kane vs. MVP but it was long and it gave Kane a chance to have a longer match as opposed to the constant disqualifications or short matches he has had for a while on Raw. The run in with MVP was expected in my opinion but that was good too in the development of him as that cowardly heel type character. MVP rolls out of the ring and Kennedy also leaving an injured Kane in the ring nursing the sore knee. Kane glares at MVP as he makes his way back up the rampway.
Backstage, Batista is quietly psyching himself up and Cena wanders in to tell him he has his back for their match up. Batista looks at Cena and asks him if that comment was for real in that Cena didn't look too pumped. Cena says you want real? He tells Batista that word around the traps is that he's been sandbagging since he's come back from his injury, that he's lost his fire. Cena gets in the face of Batista, he tells Batista that he's going out there to war, that he wants him there. Batista fires up and says lets do it and both wrestlers are fired up as they go their own ways. Rudi's rant - Nice and short and in your face Cena.
Commercial break...
Back from commercial and we have Chavo and Vickie Guerrero making their way to the ring to a chorus of boos from the crowd. Chavo grabs the mic and talks to the crowd about how they're looking at a man and a family that finally has peace and are able to move on. The crowd chants 'you suck' and Chavo says that Guerreros’ don't suck. They have peace because Rey Mysterio is no longer around because Chavo put an end to his career by making him say I quit. Chavo wants to see it and we do. The crowd boos at Chavo he calls them selfish like Rey for not letting his family move on and we see it again. We see it again and Chavo says at that moment of Rey saying I quit that his family became whole again. We see it again and then as Chavo asks for it another time the music of Chris Benoit hits and he makes him way down to the ring. Chavo and Vickie exit the ring from the other side and then without even looking at or acknowledging Chris Benoit make their way back up the rampway leaving Chris Benoit in the ring. Rudi's rant - Correct me if I'm wrong but there was not a mention of Eddie Guerrero as such in this promo cut by Chavo with Vickie. It was strong, it was intense and the use of last week's action with Rey Mysterio put Chavo over as a strong character. I'm actually looking forward to see how this may pan out over the next few weeks with Benoit and we do have the makings of a new feud here, one that hopefully will be allowed to develop a little.
Commercial break...
Back from commercial to a vignette of Smackdown in the Philippines over the past week with talks with quips from Miz, Lashley, King Booker, Mr. Kennedy and Batista.
Back from the vignette and Teddy Long makes his way onto stage and announces that because of what happened earlier in the Kane match he is signing up a match for next week with MVP and Mr. Kennedy teaming up against Kane and his partner? None other than The Undertaker! The crowd goes off on this! For the first time in years the 'Brothers of Destruction' are teaming up on TV. He then announces that the next match is going to be the Diva Trick or Treat Battle Royal to which the crowd give a great pop as well.
Tony Chimel in the ring announces the match and we get Jillian making her way to the ring dressed up as Elvis. We get Michelle McCool dressed up as a naughty nurse. We get Kristal coming out as a gold digger. We get Ashley coming out in her fairy type outfit and then Layla comes out as a bunny munching on a carrot. She gives the carrot to some boy in the crowd. We then get the guest referee and it's The Miz. He comes out, Layla doesn't look too happy and the crowd once again you can see are not really interested in him at all. They've cheered on the Divas but no reaction to The Miz, and where is Maryse by the way? The Miz cuts a promo about how he gets to be with these women whilst everyone else is out there with their kids doing a trick or treat. The crowd finally respond to his Hoorahs and then in total shock he gets the match going without saying anything else!
Match 4: Diva Trick or Treat Battle Royal
The match starts with Jillian taking on Ashley and Kristal and McCool going after Layla. They yank Layla to the canvas and apply the boots to her. Jillian tries a top rope maneuver but is pushed onto the apron by Ashley. As Jillian tries to get her way back into the ring McCool comes up and pushes her out and she's gone. McCool then works on Ashley and pushes her out of the ring and she's gone. McCool clotheslines Layla then picks up Kristal over her head and tries to get her out of the ring but Kristal breaks out of that and then dropkicks McCool through the ropes and she is out of there! In the background you see a sore looking Ashley who was eliminated a few moments ago. Kristal goes after Layla and pushes her into the corner. Kristal hits her and then tries to kick her in the midsection but Layla grabs her leg and pushes her to the middle of the ring where she gives her a couple of clotheslines and then a kick to the midsection. Layla whips Kristal into the corner and then mounts the ropes but Kristal manages to push her to the apron. Both ladies are at each other and Layla grabs Kristal and tries unsuccessfully to suplex her over the ropes and The Miz just comes up and pushes her off the apron and that leaves Kristal as the last in the ring and the winner! Kristal wins the Diva Trick or Treat Battle Royal in 2 minutes. (Rudi's rating *)Rudi's rant - At least it was quick? If you're going to have Divas wrestling and taking away time from the show from other wrestlers then at least give them more than this cotton candy attempt at a match. Jillian is supposed to be a good wrestler yet she was out in an instant and well, it just is what it is I suppose. Something for the predominantly male crowd and viewers? Let me know what y'all think. Miz and Kristal celebrate in the ring as we go to the dreaded...
Commercial break...
Back from commercial and Miz and Kristal are still in the ring celebrating. Miz is telling the crowd he did what he did because of what Layla did to him at No Mercy on his birthday where she embarrassed him. Kristal respects him so he had to help her. We're about to get another Hoorah from the undefeated Miz when all of a sudden the music of yes, could it be? Boogeyman hits to the disgust totally of JBL. Boogeyman comes out with his crazy antics and Miz and Layla are in the ring with The Miz shielding Kristal. As Boogeyman enters the ring and does his stuff, Miz pushes Kristal and he's out of there! Boogeyman scares Kristal off of her feet and then does the worm thing and well, what more can I say as Kristal finally gets out of there and runs backstage and Boogeyman exits as well. Rudi's rant - JBL is mouthing off and saying that Boogeyman doesn't belong in the WWE and well, firstly, he was fired just recently and then rehired but geez I hope only because it was Halloween coming up. I was pretty much disgusted by this segment for any number of reasons. Enough said except that the WWE has done nothing to promote The Miz in any way from three straight matches to then nothing to now doing work with the Divas again. He'd had some good crowd reactions in his first few weeks of wrestling and that was all by the wayside for most of this segment.
Back to Cole and JBL who still looks disgusted at what has just gone on and Cole is saying what a night it has been of surprises with Tatanka losing his cool at the referee and Lashley. We get a vignette of that happening, and then we go backstage to King Booker with Sharmell preening his hair and supporting her King for the match ahead. Big Show wanders in and tells Booker on Cyber Sunday he'll be the one coming out on top. Noone speaks to the King like that Booker says. Show says he's a giant and he can talk to anyone like he wants to. Show takes him to task over Raw last Monday where after they teamed up on Cena Booker gave him the Book end. Booker says that last week it was every man for themselves and this week though they're meant to be a team and 'lets go and defeat these scoundrels as he takes the hand of Sharmell and wanders off leaving Big Show standing there. Rudi's rant - A nice little segment with a great camera angle making Big Show look more of a giant than what he is. Yes he's big but he's still no Andre the Giant and Booker isn't short himself. Another build up to Cyber Sunday
Commercial break...
Back from commercial and we have King Booker in the ring with Queen Sharmell and Tony Chimel making the introduction as the crowd in the background are either bowing or giving him the thumbs down. Big Show is introduced next and he comes out to heat from the crowd. We then get the music of Cena and the crowd goes crazy as Cena makes him way to stage, salutes and makes his way down to ringside. Cena enters the ring and stands in readiness for the match. We then get the music of Batista as he comes out on stage to a big crowd pop as well as his pyros go off and he's pumped for the match! Batista makes his way into the ring and we're ready to start.
Match 5: King Booker and The Big Show vs. John Cena and Batista
The match begins with Booker and Cena in the ring. They lock up in the middle of the ring and tussle and finally Cena is backed into the corner. There is a huge Cena chant from the crowd as this is happening. Booker looks to break then goes to hit Cena but it's blocked and Cena comes out with right hands. Cena grabs Booker, Irish whips him and gives him a hip toss and straight into an attempted pin but only for a two count. Cena makes the tag to Batista and he comes in and pounds on Booker and the crowd are wild for this match. Booker is caught in the corner but thumbs the eye of Batista allowing him to take advantage. He puts Batista in the corner and chops at him before whipping him to the opposite corner. Batista bounces out and clotheslines Booker as he's coming in. Batista gets a two count on Booker and then tags in Cena again. Cena kicks at Booker then whips him across the ropes but drops his head too early and Booker hanging onto the ropes kicks Cena in the face and then follows up with a clothesline!
Booker lines up Cena for a back kick but Cena ducks it and comes back with a right hand felling Booker. Cena with the head of Booker into the turnbuckle then he whips him hard into the opposite corner. As Booker comes from the corner he's met by a kick to the midsection and gives him a suplex and then an attempted cover again but only for the two count. Cena makes the tag to Batista and both wrestlers whips Booker across the ring and collect him with back elbows. Both of them then clothesline Booker over the top ropes and onto the floor and then face off at Big Show as we go to the dreaded...
Commercial break...
Back from commercial and we see Batista stomping away at Booker and then choking him with the boot using the ropes as leverage. Batista delivers a suplex then and an attempted cover for the two count and Cena/Batista have been in charge the whole match. Batista tags and Cena comes in and gives Booker a big right hand to the side. Cena slams the head of Booker into the turnbuckle and then whips him across to the opposite corner. Booker manages to elbow Cena though as he charges in and finally manages to make the tag to Big Show! Show steps over the ropes and Cena and him face off and the crowd are still hot for the match! Cena and Big Show mouth off at each other before Cena takes to him with some right hands to the head but Big Show just pushes him into the corner. Big Show comes after him but Cena ducks out of the corner but straight into a right hand by Booker and then a clotheslines by Big Show. Big Show picks up Cena and gives him a headbutt. Big Show puts Cena up against the ropes and gives him that slap to the chest that you can hear above the crowd, and they hear it too and react accordingly. That has gotta hurt! Cena can't make a tag to Batista as Big Show grabs him and gives him a nice suplex. Show pushes Cena into his corner and makes the tag to Booker.
Booker comes and kicks at Cena then delivers a back kick to him as the crowd tries to get a Cena chant going. Booker covers Cena but only for a two count. Cena tries to make the tag to Batista but is given a kick to the midsection to stop that. Booker then runs at Batista knocking him down on the apron and Batista tries to come in but is stopped by the referee allowing Booker to drag Cena back to his corner and make the tag to Big Show. Cena gets a chop to the chest by the Big Show and then gets a 'buffalo size head to the skull of Cena' (thanks JBL) headbutt. Big Show then just walks over Cena. Booker slaps the back of Big Show and comes in and Big Show didn't look too happy at that. Booker whips Cena across the ring but Cena ducks it and gives Booker a desperation clothesline and both wrestlers are on the canvas. The referee begins a count but Cena manages to get to his knees but just can't make a tag to Batista as Booker hangs onto his leg. Booker then gives Batista a cheap shot on the apron and the referee is there again stopping Batista from coming in which gives Booker a moment to regain control and he throws Cena through the ropes and onto the floor. Big Show wanders over at the behest of Booker and kicks him in the gut before throwing him back into the ring for Booker. The referee during this was still at the corner of Batista.
Booker goes for the cover but Batista comes in and breaks it up with a boot which if you look closely is a missed spot as it misses Booker and gets Cena instead. Cena manages to get to his feet and both him and Booker trade blows until Booker uses a thumb to the eye again. He gives Cena an Irish whip and a clothesline. Cena again manages to mount some offence and tries to whip Booker into the corner but it's reversed and Booker grabs Cena in a sleeper hold as he comes out of the ropes. Cena desperately tries to make the tag to Batista but Booker drags him to the middle of the ring, still with the sleeper hold and Cena is fading here. Out of desperation Cena picks up Booker and slams him and both men are down for the count again. Booker manages to get to his knees first and goes to make the tag to Big Show but Big Show doesn't accept it.
Booker tries again and Big Show steps down from the apron and the crowd are enjoying this. Cena is still flat in the ring and Booker is just shocked. Sharmell and Booker both are pleading to make the tag but Show makes a sign and it's retribution from last Monday here and in the background we see that Cena finally makes the tag to Batista! The crowd go totally crazy as Batista comes into the ring and he's smiling. Batista unleashes with some big right hands as we see Big Show slowly walking away from the ring. Batista whips Booker and gives him a clothesline, and then another! Batista whips Booker into the corner and follows up with another clothesline! Batista delivers a number of shoulder blocks and then gives him a big power slam! Batista stalks Booker as we see Big Show just looking on from the rampway. Batista gives Booker a spinebuster then calls Cena into the ring. Cena gives Booker a you can't see me followed by the five knuckle shuffle and the crowd are going totally crazy! Cena exits the ring and we're left with Batista with Big Show in the background getting ready to give Booker a Batista bomb which he lands and we get the one, two, three and the match is over! Batista and Cena defeated King Booker and Big Show in 14 minutes. (Rudi's rating ***1/2)Rudi's rant - What a great match up. It certainly builds up the impending match up at Cyber Sunday for one and it gave the chance for Big Show to get his revenge on Booker from Monday Night Raw. Both Booker and Cena played the men in peril for most of the match. Big Show was made to look strong for the short time he was in the ring and Batista's well timed hot tag had the crowd going totally crazy! Batista and Cena hug in the ring as we see Big Show backing up the rampway making signs at Cena. Cena and Batista continue to celebrate in the ring as Big Show finally wanders off the show ends.....
Okay, what a show! I don't know what to quite make of this one. I'm going to give the commentary a 7 out of 10 as once again I didn't think JBL and Cole didn't steer away from the calling of the matches at all. The crowd was hot for most of the show except for The Miz coming in initially and I'm going to give the overall feel of the show a big 8 out of 10. The matches themselves? A 7 out of 10 but only because of the main event in the end. The show had only 5 matches and one of them a Diva match. We had another Hardy/Helms match which was good but we've had them most weeks recently. Where was Finlay? Where was Terkay and Elijah Burke and Vito? Last week there was the inkling of a feud but nothing at all this week, not even a mention. We didn't have the tag champions wrestling at all. We didn't get Benoit wrestling at all though he was used in a different way for the show. No Sylvan, no Undertaker, no Jimmy Wang Yang either. The long teased snap of Tatanka finally happened and that was good in how it involved Lashley as well. I am curious to see how that goes. It was also sad to see Dave Taylor getting injured as I'm a bit of a Regal fan and I think these two would have taken on London and Kendrick in a few matches and maybe even win the belts so where to now for Regal? Hopefully we'll see something next week there.
I, and I'm open to criticism here did not enjoy the return of Boogeyman. I'm hoping once again that being Halloween he was used here and who knows, hopefully they'll ship him off to ECW. The Miz is underutilised at the moment as well and I'd like to see him in some sort of feud to see how good his wrestling is. I am also looking forward to the team up of Undertaker/Kane next week. The crowd is going to go off on that one! Lets wind it up and thanks again to y'all for reading. I hope it made some sense and see you all next week!