Friday Night Smackdown

August 1, 2008  – Recap by Sassy

 

Last week on Smackdown

 

The Gold Standard Shelton Benjamin, WWE United States Champion, defeated Jimmy Wang Yang in 2 minutes.

In tag team action, Festus with Jesse defeated Curt Hawkins, one half of the WWE Tag Team Champions, with Zack Ryder, the other half of the WWE Tag Team Champions, in 2 minutes.

Vladimir Kozlov defeated Stevie Richards in 3 minutes.

In a Battle Royal for a WWE Championship match at Summerslam, The Great Khali defeated Mr. Kennedy, M.V.P., Umaga, Jeff Hardy & The Big Show in 7 minutes.

Michelle McCool, WWE Diva’s Champion, defeated Maryse.

The Brian Kendrick with Ezekiel defeated Shannon Moore in 2 minutes.

 

Smackdown is broadcast on the CW Network in Hershey, PA.

 

Ringside announcers: Jim Ross & Mick Foley

Ring announcer: Justin Roberts

 

Word on the street is that Foley is unhappy at WWE and may depart at the end of his contract, which is coming up soon. We’ll keep you posted.

 

The audience sees a replay of last Friday night when The Rated R Superstar discovers Vickie Guerrero has reinstated The Undertaker and Edge will face Undertaker at Summerslam.

 

Jeff Hardy appears at the top of the entrance and heads to the ring. Hardy grabs a chair and sets it up in front of the announcer’s table.

 

Montel Vontavious Porter from Miami, FL weighing 248 lbs.

Vs.

Jimmy Wang Yang (no announcement)

 

MVP has a mic and tells Hardy that he is glad he is at ringside tonight. I will have to say that some of the wrestlers who were suspended from WWE due to a violation of the wellness policy have been relegated to jobbers.  Unfortunately, not ALL of the wrestlers who were suspended have faced the same fate. MVP is a great mic presence but he’s a great ring presence too.  His heel gimmick works very well for him. Yang does a good job in the ring although I’m not a big fan of his redneck gimmick. Yang gives MVP a run for his money in this match. MVP manages to get the pin and the three count. Time: 3 minutes.

 

Winner: M.V.P. with a kick to the head and a pin

 

After the match, Hardy enters the ring to tell MVP that if he talks trash about Hardy again, Hardy will prove to MVP what kind of man Hardy is. MVP takes a cheap shot, but Hardy blocks it and delivers a twist of fate. In a move very much unlike Hardy, he kicks MVP when MVP is down on the mat.  We go to commercial break.

 

Chavo Guerrero is pushing Vickie Guerrero around in her wheelchair but Vickie spots the “wedding planner” as Bam Neely appears to tell them the office is ready.

 

Mr. Kennedy from Green Bay, WI weighing 235 lbs.

Vs.

The Gold Standard Shelton Benjamin from Orangeburg, SC weighing 238 lbs.

WWE United States Champion

 

Kennedy does his mic thing upon entering the ring. I’m not sure if I got Benjamin’s weight right. It was hard to hear the ring announcer. Kennedy is a decent showman but Benjamin is an awesome wrestler, heel or not. Benjamin gets frustrated and bails out of the ring when Kennedy manages to keep up with him using some nice counter maneuvers. Both of these wrestlers are taking some hard hits. The audience verbally sides with Kennedy during the match and Benjamin catches a hard kick by Kennedy. Kennedy charges at Benjamin and Benjamin uses a drop toehold to send Kennedy in to the ring post. We go to commercial break in the middle of a good match.  Back to the ring, Kennedy is receiving punishment at the hands of Benjamin. Benjamin goes for a cover but only gets a two count before Kennedy gets a shoulder off the mat. Benjamin keeps working on the left arm of Kennedy. Kennedy works his way around to get Benjamin’s shoulders down on the mat but Benjamin doesn’t release the hold. Kennedy gets Benjamin’s shoulders down a second time and Benjamin hangs on. Kennedy is back to his feet but Benjamin keeps up the pressure. Kennedy manages to turn Benjamin around and deliver a type of figure four. Benjamin grabs the bottom rope and Kennedy is forced to break. As Kennedy goes back at Benjamin, Benjamin sends him through the ropes to the floor. Benjamin rolls out after Kennedy, delivers a shot to Kennedy’s shoulder and rolls Kennedy back into the ring. Kennedy nails Benjamin in the knee with a boot and Benjamin goes down to the mat. Kennedy takes control of the match and goes for a pin but only gets a two count. Benjamin delivers a cross body block off the ropes but he can’t get the three count. Kennedy comes off the ropes with a kick to the abdomen and delivers the mind check to get the three count. Time:  12 minutes.

 

Winner: Mr. Kennedy with a mind check.

 

In spite of commercial break in the middle of the match, the fans at home saw a full 12 minutes of Kennedy and Shelton. Nice match, great competitors. Does this mean that Kennedy has his eye on that US title?  As Shelton leaves the ring, he is stopped by someone with a mic. She wants to know what happened tonight. Benjamin says that he isn’t going to make excuses but he shouldn’t have been in the ring because he is suffering from an acute case of bronchitis and he heads up the ramp, remembering to cough on the way. Chavo shows up and asks Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder about the wedding planner being there and who Edge’s special guest is going to be on the show tonight. They tell Chavo they don’t know and Chavo tells them to find out right away and find him and tell him. They say the will and as soon as Chavo leaves, they go back to whatever game they were playing and we go to commercial break.

 

WWE Rewind – The Brian Kendrick along with his bodyguard Ezekiel and Kendrick’s match last week against Shannon Moore.

 

The Brian Kendrick from Venice, CA weighing 184 lbs.

With Ezekiel

Vs.

Stevie Richards from Philadelphia, PA weighing 230 lbs.

 

Kendrick grabs a mic He claims he played a part as a partner of Paul London to get his foot in the door and now he is being himself.  In case no one has noticed, Zeke looks a lot like a young Mr. T, scowl and all. I like Richards in the ring a lot but Kendrick is running hot right now and I think Richards could be in trouble. Kendrick comes out with kicks and elbows and goes for an early cover but Richards kicks out. Foley makes the remark that Kendrick knows his holds.  No kidding, Mick! Kendrick applies a Boston crab but Richards refuses to give up. Kendrick again goes for the pin but can’t get the three count. Kendrick misses a kick and Richards comes after Kendrick with some well-placed kicks. Richards goes for a cover but he can’t get the count. Richards delivers a power bomb but gets only a two count. Kendrick gets knocked off the ring apron but Zeke catches Kendrick before Kendrick can hit the floor. Richards should get a lot of credit for taking the blows he has been taking during this match.  Richards then makes the fatal mistake of coming out of the ring and taking his eye off Kendrick. Kendrick hangs Richard up on the top rope. Kendrick delivers The Kendrick and gets the three count. Time: 4 minutes.

 

Winner: The Brian Kendrick with The Kendrick

 

This was a nice show of Kendrick’s ability in the ring. After the match, Zeke picks up Richards and delivers a back breaker to Richards before slamming him to the mat and increasing audience dislike for the pair. Kendrick appears to be on his way to the top. As Edge enters the building, we go to commercial break.

 

The Great Khali from Bombay, India 7’0” weighing 420 lbs.

With Rajin Singh

Vs.

Jeff Hardy from Cameron, NC weighing 225 lbs.

 

Hardy enters the arena to what appears to be a standing ovation from the live audience. Hardy better hope he can stay in the air during this match. We know this won’t be a wrestling match. Hardy begins the match standing but it doesn’t last long. Hardy comes back and attempts to come off the top turnbuckle but Khali delivers a blow that sends Hardy to the floor and we go to commercial break in the middle of the match. Back to the action, Hardy is down on the mat. Kahli picks Hardy up and sends Hardy back to the mat with a short arm clothesline. Hardy makes it back to his feet but Khali takes Hardy back down to the canvas and works on Hardy’s shoulder and neck. Hardy is back to his feet again and he comes off the ropes and sends Kahli to the mat. Hardy goes back up and comes off the ropes hitting a Swanton but before he can do anything, MVP appears at ringside and Hardy goes after MVP. Khali grabs Hardy and brings him back into the ring, delivering a hard blow that sends Hardy down to the mat. JR says there is no DQ in this match as Khali applies the vice grip to Hardy’s skull. Hardy goes out and the referee rings the bell. Time: 8 minutes.

 

Winner: The Great Khali with a vice grip.

 

MVP stands outside the ring looking at Hardy who is down on the canvas. When the ref looks at MVP, MVP holds his hands in the air to let the ref know he isn’t going to do anything. I’m not sure where this storyline is headed but it appears to be another Hardy-MVP feud brewing. MVP stands in the ring to stand over Hardy before leaving the ring. JR introduces another video of R-Truth who is going to be debuting with the WWE some day, I think. We go to commercial break.

 

Maria from Chicago, IL

Vs.

Victoria from Los Angeles, CA

 

If Maria beats Victoria, I swear I will throw up. Unless Maria has spent all of her time away from the ring working on her wrestling, she isn’t a wrestler. Victoria delivers a power slam but Maria kicks out. Victoria applies a full nelson, Maria gets out of it but Victoria catches her and puts her back in the full nelson. Maria delivers a sunset slip and goes for the pin but Victoria kicks out. Maria comes off the top turnbuckle with a clothesline, goes for the cover and gets the three count.  Excuse me while I find a trashcan. Time: 4 minutes.

 

Winner: Maria with a clothesline.

 

JR and Foley discuss Mike Adamle being named as Raw General Manager. As Foley reiterated, Adamle was not that great of an announcer. In my opinion, if Adamle doesn’t develop some personality, he won’t be worth anything as a GM. We go to commercial break.

 

The Big Show 7’0” weighing 441 lbs.

Vs.

Domino from the Other Side of the Tracks weighing 230 lbs.

 

I see another non-wrestling match coming up. Domino hasn’t been working long as a singles wrestler and the first thing he does in this match is get thrown under the bottom rope and to the floor. Domino comes off the floor mad but when he enters the ring, he gets slammed face first into the mat. Domino takes off his shirt and throws it into Show’s face but Show doesn’t give Domino a break. Show delivers a choke slam and gets the cover and the win. Time: 1 minute or so.

 

Winner: The Big Show with a choke slam

 

I was hoping that Domino would get an opportunity to show the fans what he’s got. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the match to see Domino do much of anything but lay on his back in the middle of the ring. After the match, Umaga appears and heads toward the ring. Show is still in the ring as Umaga enters and stares Show down. Umaga circles Show in the ring and we go to Chavo and Vickie and Neely in the back. Chavo says that the Cutting Edge is next. We go to commercial break.

 

The Rated R Superstar Edge appears and heads to the ring for his Cutting Edge show. The great and powerful Edge looks a little uncertain right now. There is a ladder and a table in the ring and Edge stops to looks at a fan’s sign that says Edge is going to Hell in a Cell. JR tells the fans that Edge has never competed in a hell in a cell match before. Edge sits on a chair in the center of the ring and the lights are lowered. Edge says that all week he’s been searching for inner peace. He says his marriage is going through a rough patch and even more than that, in just over two week, he will be facing Undertaker in Hell in a Cell. Edge says he has watched all of the footage but that was probably a mistake because he’s seen all the punishment that Undertaker dishes out. Edge says that tonight he has surrounded himself with his own weapons of destruction: tables and ladders and chairs. Edge says he has found the one person that can help him against The Undertaker, the person that knows Undertaker better than anyone else and that person is Edge’s guest tonight on the Cutting Edge. Edge rolls out of the ring and points at Mick Foley. The audience chants for Foley and Edge asks Foley to enter the ring. Foley does enter the ring. Edge thanks Foley for coming on his show. Edge says he knows that he and Foley have a history but Edge says he is changed and he knows that Foley can look past their history. Edge says that he has prepared something that will remind Foley what is still in his mind. Edge shows a video of 1990, which contains the Hell in a Cell match between The Undertaker and Mankind aka Mick Foley. That’s the one where Foley goes off the top of the cage onto a table and Undertaker wins the match. Edge plays on the injuries Foley suffered at the hands of The Undertaker during that match. Edge says if Foley helps him, Foley can exorcise the demon of The Undertaker. Foley says that Edge brings up some great points and part of him would like to help Edge but over the past several months, Edge has hurt Foley’s credibility. Foley says that his word and bond with the fans is the most important thing to him. Foley says he has said before that Edge is the greatest Superstar in the WWE but the fans think Edge sucks. Foley says he not only won’t help him, he can’t help him, but he does know the one person who can – Edge. Foley says that Edge took the letters TLC and made them mean something. Edge is trying hard not to cry – and we’re talking hardcore? Foley gets in Edge’s face and tells him how he needs to be and it’s a great speech by the once Hardcore Champion Foley. Edge says that he understands and then he goes after Foley but Foley ends up on the floor and as Edge comes out after him, Foley fights back, slamming Edge’s head into the announcer’s table. Foley goes under the ring and brings out a steel chair but as he charges at Edge, Edge kicks the steel chair into Foley’s face. Edge delivers a spear that sends Foley backward and headfirst into the steel steps.  Edge goes into the ring after the ladder as Foley is trying to get to his feet and the crowd is calling for Undertaker. Foley makes it back into the ring and applies the mandible claw but Edge delivers a low blow and sets Foley up on the table. Edge goes up the ladder with the chair and comes off to send Foley through the table. I think Edge has found the old Edge again.

 

 

 

 

 

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