Friday Night Smackdown!
Friday 8th June
The pyros go off and the lights flash as Smackdown gets underway this Friday Night. Cole and JBL take up their commentary positions as we head straight into an interesting Cruiserweight tag team match.
Chavo Guerrero and Shannon Moore vs Jimmy Wang Yang and Paul London
Stiff high kick on London by Shannon Moore. Spin kick by Shannon Moore to the face. Cover! 1....2...kick out. London reverses a waistlock. Spinning back kick from Paul London. Flying cross body off the top rope! Tag between Paul London and Jimmy Wang Yang. Legsweep out of nowhere. Shannon Moore pulls a mule kick out of nowhere. Shannon tags out to Chavo Guerrero. Shannon \ Chavo whip Yang into the corner. Shannon Moore whips Chavo Guerrero in for a hard clothesline to follow-up. Chavo Guerrero hits a rolling kick on Yang. Cover! 1....2...kick out. Chavo hits a high kick on Jimmy Wang Yang. Tag to Shannon Moore. Yang walks into a face crusher variation. Pin : 1....2....no! Shoulder up at the last second. Yang pushes out of a Shannon Moore hold. Tag to Paul London. Flying elbow from Paul London. Shannon Moore gets knocked to the ground by London, who is already climbing the turnbuckle. 450 Splash!!! 1....2....3!! It's all over. Chavo and Shannon remain in the ring. Chavo looks really angry. Chavo Guerrero nails Shannon in the head and walks off, looking furious.
The cameras now cut to Theodore Long who is backstage in the GM office at Smackdown. There is a knock on the door and William Regal walks in looking annoyed.
Regal: Excuse me Mr Long, but I have a request to make. You see, there is the WWE Draft on Monday as you realise and I might be leaving Smackdown for good. I want one match here tonight to prove myself!
Long: Well, y'know what playa, I think I might have just the match for ya. Y'see dog, there is someone else who wants a match too. So tonight you will go one on one with him, y'feel me playa?
Regal: Well who is this rapscallion of whom you speak?
Long: Turn around.
Hesitantly, Regal turns around and looks through the doorway to see the worm eating superstar, The Boogeyman! He smashes his clock over his head and freaks out Regal who backs away when they are interrupted...
Rock: Get your worm eating candy ass out of the doorway, The Rock has some serious business to do!
The Rock enters the office, accompanied by Smackdown's Matt Hardy.
Long: What can I...
The Rock holds his hand out.
Rock: Finally, The Rock has come back to New Jersey! Now Teddy, I was approached by Matt here, and he said that your show was not for him and that he wanted to whoop some candy ass over on Raw with his brother Jeff. So, being the helpful soul The Rock is, The Great One has let Matt join The Rock's show by offering him a contract. What do you think about that Teddy?
Long: I...
Rock: It doesn't matter what you think! The fact of the matter is that Matt will be appearing from now on on The Rock's show in front of the millions... (Crowd: And millions) of The Rock's fans! If ya smell what The Rock is cooking.
Matt: Yeah, Teddy Im sorry...
Rock: Shush, the people are chanting The Rock's name! (Crowd: Rocky, Rocky!)
Matt: I am very sorry Teddy, but I want to join my brother and win some tag team gold again.
Long: I feel ya playa, good luck over on Raw.
With that huge announcement we are given a taste of what's to come in the draft. Matt is gone from Smackdown to reform the Hardy Boyz as a full time team!
Chez's Notes: Matt Hardy gained 3 points of overness from going to The Rock's show
::Fade to Commercials::
As we rejoin the live action Deuce and Domino have made their way to the ring alongside Cherry.
Cherry: Tonight we want to issue a challenge to London and Kendrick to prove that we can beat you anytime, anywhere. Deuce and Domino are the Tag Champions and there is no way you'll touch that, so it will be a non-title match. What do you say?
The music of Londrick plays and out walks Kendrick on his own.
Kendrick: Hey, you know well that Paul was in a match earlier tonight. He can't go into another match right now.
Cherry: Right then, they cannot answer the challenge so Deuce and Domino are the undisputed best tag team by forfeit. You won't even dare to challenge us.
Kendrick: I wasn't finished. I have decided to fight you both on my own in a handicap match!
Kendrick storms the ring and starts beating on Deuce as a referee sprints down to the ring and the match is underway.
Brian Kendrick vs Deuce and Domino
Kendrick hits a wicked chop. Spin kick by Brian Kendrick to the face. Second rope splash by Kendrick. Hooks the leg : 1....2....shoulder up. Legsweep out of nowhere. Kendrick drops an elbow...but misses. Deuce and Domino whip Kendrick into the ropes and hit a double clothesline. Brian Kendrick takes a knee lift from Deuce. Domino hits a stump piledriver on Brian Kendrick. Deuce and Domino hook up Kendrick, then hit a double suplex. Cover! 1....2...kick out. Domino turns Kendrick inside-out with a clothesline. Pin : 1....2....no! They cut that one close. Stiff high kick on Domino by Brian Kendrick. Face crusher from Deuce on Kendrick. Deuce and Domino hook up Kendrick, then hit a double suplex. Cover! 1....2...kick out. Brian Kendrick takes a right hand to the temple from Domino. Brian Kendrick elbows Domino in the face to break a hammerlock. Kendrick ducks a wild right hand. Brian Kendrick with an enziguri. Pin : 1....2....kick out! A split-second away from a three. Back heel kick from Deuce. Deuce and Domino whip Kendrick into the ropes and hit a double back elbow. Kendrick scores with a forearm, sending Deuce down into the corner. The referee pulls Brian Kendrick away to get the break. Wait! Deuce has pulled something out of his tights. Brian Kendrick walks over...and gets floored by a punch! 1....2....3! The referee never saw the brass knuckles!
Backstage now Elijah Burke, leader of ECW's New Breed, is stood with a mic in hand.
Burke: Now I know I am an ECW superstar, but I came here to make a challenge for draft night. I want to make sure that the New Breed gets strengthened and not depleted at the draft, so anybody out there who wants to challenge me, come and bring it on.
William Regal and Finlay come onto the screen. The two men who have been allied in various ways appear to be working together again.
Regal: Now you cant just arrive on our show and expect tobe given whatever you want. So if you want my associate Finlay to fight you on Monday then you have to prove yourself, and you can do that by replacing me in the match against The Boogeyman later.
Burke: Deal. I ain't afraid of some worm guy. If you think that's bad then you better hope you don't end up at ECW, we have loads more freaks for you there. Ha ha, catch you on Monday Finlay.
So the match is set for draft night, Finlay vs Burke for a draft pick!
::Fade to Commercial::
The ring is set up for the Cutting Edge as Edge himself walks down the ramp to present the interview segment.
Edge: Welcome to the Cutting Edge, hosted by myself Edge, the World Heavyweight Champion! Now tonight I am going to be interviewing somebody who has left a literally huge impact anywhere he has been, especially on wrestlers. He is a former European Champion and is the World's Strongest Man, Mark Henry.
The giant Henry makes his way to the ring to be interviewed as the special guest with Edge. He competes later against Batista, King Booker and Kane.
Edge: Now Henry, welcome to the Cutting Edge. You are one big, strong guy who can crush whoever you like, so who do you want to crush next?
Henry: I'll crush whoever is in my way!
Edge: Now tonight you are against Batista! Oh and Booker and Kane, but Batista is your main opponent. You could say he is in your way. Will you be going to crush him?
Henry: Now ya say it, ye I will! Ill go after you Batista!
Edge: That is great! So do you want to challenge him to a match at Vengeance?
Henry: Yeah, Batista I want you at Vengeance!
Batista is in the crowd and neither of the men in the ring have realised. He sneaks up behind Edge and Henry and goes in for the kill! A clothesline to Edge, who dives out to save himself followed by a Batista Bomb on Henry! The World's Strongest Man taken down by the animal. Batista signals over to Edge that he wants the title back, before crouching to taunt Henry. Batista picks Henry up and uses a Fireman's Carry to take him backstage. He carries Henry's body, which is still lifeless from the Batista Bomb, all the way to the locker room where Edge is!
Batista: This'll be you soon!
Batista hits a huge spinebuster on Henry to lay him out. Edge looks incredibly nervous as Batista leaves him.
The action returns to the ring for a non-title match between Benoit and MVP
Chris Benoit vs Montel Vontavious Porter - Non Title
Big forearm by Montel Vontavious Porter. MVP drives a forearm into the chest of Benoit. Benoit gets caught with a belly to belly suplex from MVP. Cover! 1....2...kick out. Benoit tastes a high angle back suplex. Hooks the leg : 1....2....shoulder up. Benoit powers out of a headlock. MVP takes a back suplex. Cover! 1....2...kick out. Brainbuster suplex by Chris Benoit. Montel Vontavious Porter ducks a clothesline attempt. MVP DDTs Chris Benoit. Benoit scores with a forearm, sending MVP down into the corner. The referee pulls Chris Benoit away to get the break. Wait! MVP has pulled something out of his tights. Chris Benoit walks over...and gets floored by a punch! 1....2....3! The referee never saw the brass knuckles! Montel Vontavious Porter slides out of the ring to the floor, then turns and leaves through the crowd. He's happy to have the win, and evidently isn't going to hang around for Benoit to get some payback.
Chez's Notes: Montel Vontavious Porter gained 2 points of overness from this match by beating the Wolverine.
::Fade to Commercial::
During the commercial, we are told that Edge started to look for the Animal, Batista, to say something to him. The cameras pick up Edge walking around backstage, searching in all sorts of rooms. Finally he arrives in a locker room where Batista is preparing for his match.
Batista: Hey, gimme some peace to prepare for my match. I took out your big friend, you come to get some as well?
Edge: Listen to me and listen well, I am the World Heavyweight Champion, I am the bigshot around here and you respect me. There is no way you are getting a shot at this gold while I have it with me. If you want a title then you'd better hope you get drafted away to challenge elsewhere. You get it, this is mine, you had your chance and now you go to the back of the queue.
Batista: No problem, champ. You go for now with your gold, but I promise I will take it off you. It might not be now, it might not be at Vengeance, but it will happen.
Edge and Batista stare down as the action returns to the ring for our next match.
Elijah Burke vs The Boogeyman
Boogeyman receives some punishment. Elijah Burke with a spinning neckbreaker on Boogeyman. Cover! 1....2...kick out. The Boogeyman blocks a right hand and fires back. Burke gets squashed in the corner with a clothesline. Lame kick from Boogeyman. Elijah Burke takes a right hand to the temple from Boogeyman. Burke counters an avalanche with a raised foot to the face. Hard slam by Burke. Marcus Cor Von comes running down the aisle with a chair! Burke whips The Boogeyman into the ropes. Marcus jumps onto the apron with the chair! Collision between Marcus, Boogeyman, and the chair! The Boogeyman staggers back into a roll up! 1...2...3! It's over! Burke and Marcus beat away on The Boogeyman, leaving him spread-eagled on the canvas.
::Fade to Commercial::
Now backstage Chavo Guerrero is with Josh Matthews to answer a few questions.
Josh: Chavo, earlier tonight your team lost in a cruiserweight tag team match when you were with Shannon Moore and you faced Paul London and Jimmy Wang Yang. Does this mean that they are legitamate threats to your title?
Chavo: No way. How can you even suggest that I could lose my title? Tonight was a fluke, I was with some loser Shannon Moore and it turned into a 2-on-1 with his level of skill. But when it is important, 1-on-1 for the title I will come out top every time against Wang Yang and London. They have nothing on me.
Josh: I had just been informed before I started speaking to you that you will be in action next week in more cruiserweight action in a Fatal-4-Way match which, depending on the draft, will be you against Jimmy Wang Yang, Paul London and Brian Kendrick. It will be non-title, but the No.1 Contendership will be available. Whoever gets the pin gets a shot at Vengeance for your title. If you get the win then you can choose your own challenger. How do you feel about that?
Chavo: I know I can beat any cruiserweight around, so I will win next week and then just pick an opponent out of the air to beat at the PPV. No worries for me, I now I'll stay champion until some real competition turns up.
With that remark the interview ends and we go to the ring for the huge main event!
Batista vs Kane vs King Booker vs Mark Henry
Bodyslam by Booker. King Booker hits some punches. Cover! 1....2...kick out. Full nelson slam! Mark Henry ducks a clothesline attempt. King Booker takes a right hand to the temple from Henry. Hooks the leg : 1....2....shoulder up. Mark Henry hits a bulldog off the ropes. Pin : 1....2..no. The match continues. King Booker avoids an avalanche, Mark Henry hits the turnbuckles hard. Stiff chop lights up Kane. Tag between King Booker and Kane. Kane with a spinning neckbreaker on Henry. Big clothesline from Kane. Kane slams Mark Henry down. Side suplex from Kane. Pin : 1....2....kick out! A split-second away from a three. Tag to Batista. Fallaway slam by Batista. Tornado punch from Batista. Cover! 1....2...kick out. Batista with a spinning neckbreaker on Henry. Cover! 1....2...kick out. Henry walks into a spike slam. Cover! 1....2....kick out at the last second! Batista looks shocked. Tag to King Booker. Batista walks into a spike slam. Back elbow connects, Batista staggers backward. Booker bodyslams Batista. Batista reverses a King Booker hammerlock. Batista DDTs King Booker. Batista moves in for the kill. Batista Bomb!!! That shook the ring. 1....2....3!!
Batista pins Booker for the win and celebrates as Smackdown goes off air.
TV Rating: 5.95
Wrestling Online.com Weekly News
WWE Draft
The big event next week will be the WWE Draft. WWE programing has built it up over the past week and some high profile moves are expected. Our latest information says that Smackdown and Raw will swap some Main Eventers over to keep the title scenes fresh, although nothing has come out with any names. The system this year will involve 7 matches on Raw this Monday and then a Supplemental draft. The Raw Draft Special will involve 6 inter-brand singles matches where the winning brand recieves one draft pick at "random". The final match will be a 10-Man Battle Royal, as announced by The Rock on Raw as new GM (see below). It is expected that the brand who has won the most matches in the evening will recieve 4 entries, with the other 2 brands recieving 3 each. The Supplemental Draft will then be completed on Wednesday on WWE.com. In this, each brand will recieve 3 random draft picks. Plus there is a 24-hour trade window. During this time the GMs can agree to any trades they wish. The fact that this was announced by WWE shows that it should be used. Whoever gets moved, it should make for more interesting WWE programming.
Legendary GMs for Raw and ECW
This week it was announced that Raw and ECW would finally recieve new GMs to replace the long gone Eric Bischoff and Paul Heyman. Raw got The Rock and ECW now has Mick Foley. These big name stars returning shows that WWE is running out of star power, although this may soon be fixed (see below). These appointments were certainly popular, although having 3 face GMs may get stale. This has increased rumours that Teddy Long will be fired as GM in the near future. Originally Vickie Guerrero was supposed to be made GM, but the plan has changed and somebody else, expected to be a heel, will fill the role. There are also ideas that Rocky or Foley (or both) will play more Tweener roles than Face ones to balance the GM scene.
Creative Shuffle
It should be noted that a new booker has been added to creative at WWE. This is Chez Spin, former TNA employee. His role is currently unclear, although some inside sources suggest he has taken a senior role in head booking all 3 shows. A number of journalists have scoffed at this possibility, believing it just wouldn't happen. We are hoping that WWE clear this up soon.
Wrestling Online.com Weekly Poll
Who do think will be the most high profile draft?
Which brand did you think was strongest this week?
Which is your favourite GM out of the 3?