Smackdown
Aaron's UnReal Time Smackdown Review: Big Show's Partner & Taker's Brother Fight To Face Big Show & Taker
By Aaron Wood
Oct 30, 2009 - 7:20 PM

LAST WEEK ON SMACKDOWN:  CM Punk went to the screwjob well one too many times, JTG robbed three men of PPV pay days, Mae Young put Michelle in her place and thankfully didn't look like dying in doing it and Batista and Rey had their last friendly conversation...

THIS WEEK…
We open up with the tragic, heartbreaking splitting of the bromance that was Rey & Batista, wondering what the fallout will be.

Anything RAW can do, Smackdown can do better too...
We kick off properly with Teddy Long coming out to the ring, for once with a smile on his face.  The legend that is Todd Grisham and Jim Cornette   Jerry Lawler   Tazz   Jerry Lawler   Tazz   JBL   THE COACH~!   Mick Foley   Tazz   Jim Ross  MATT STRIKER~! appeared on camera.  No explanation as to why we had this ECW reunion all of a sudden, but Matt's in while JR's out.  Anyway, Long got on the mic and congratulated Smackdown on it's win at Bragging Points, showing it was the A-show in the WWE.  Long said it was a historic night for Smackdown, but a disturbing one when Batista attacked Rey Mysterio.  He knew the universe was wanting an explanation, and we'd be getting it later tonight, as the quarrelling quasi-lovers would have a "heart to heart".

Anyway, that brought him to the new No. 1 contender to the title at Survivor Series, The Big Show.  This drew out Big Show's buddy, Chris Jericho, who came out with the Bragging Rights trophy, as we cut back to still pictures of the end of the Bragging Rights match when Big Show chokeslammed Kofi Johnston allowing Smackdown to win, in exchange, as he revealed on RAW, for the shot at undertaker.

Jericho was about to speak when Long said he'd be taking the trophy, since it was Smackdown's property, taking it and handing it off.  Jericho got in Long's face and said the trophy belonged to him, as he was the genius who won the match for Smackdown.  He said he didn't do it for Teddy or the fans, but for him, to show he was the best at what he did.  Jericho said that giving his fellow tag champion a title shot without consulting Jericho was one of the most underhanded decisions Long had ever made.  He was the face of Smackdown and single-handedly brought Smackdown glory at the PPV.  Ironic that he took the glory for himself, as the co-captain of the Smackdown Seven, Kane, came out to take umbrage.  Indeed, he said as co-captain, the glory belonged to him as much as Jericho, and if anyone deserved a shot at Taker, it wasn't Show or Jericho, but him.

Jericho noted he was the one who literally won the match, and hey, Kane's track record against his brother was, well, spotty at best.  Just remember that it was because of Jericho that he got his hand raised in victory, so get out of Jericho's face.  Kane grabbed Jericho for a chokeslam, but Teddy Long begged him off, with something to say that he'd want to hear.  Kane released Captain Canada as Long said that if RAW was going to have a 3-way match for their title, he was now making Show vs. Taker a three way as well.  So since Kane & Jericho did such a good job in winning Smackdown the Bragging Rights, it would be Jericho vs. Kane and the winner would round out the match with Show & Taker.


The Vines - Homesick

Dolph Ziggler def. John Morrison by Countout in a "Well, here's Dolph's 19434th run at the IC Title" non-title match
The guy who almost let Smackdown down came out first.  And already, Matt Striker started paying for himself, as he noted that the IC Title was only supposed to be defended in North and South America, although he did lose points for suggesting that it was Morrison who took the title global.  Especially since it's almost a year to the week that I saw the Englishman, William Regal, defeat the Italian, Santino Marella, in Manchester, England for that very belt.  Ziggler came out next, with a mic in his hand.  He said he liked his chances in this match since he did his part (not entirely sure how he figured that one out), and he's facing the only guy who didn't win for his team.  Morrison replied by noting the "we" talk, as Dolph wasn't even at the show, so he was being a little premature.  But hey, Mr. Ziggles was used to that, ye get me?

Dolph got the upperhand early with mat wrestling, but Morrison hit a flapjack and standing Shooting Star Press for a 2 count.  Striker noted he was never pompous or arrogant enough to waste time when he was in the ring, to which Grisham noted he was always flat on his back.  Ziggler gained the upper hand again, hitting a scoop slam and big elbow drop.  Ziggler locked in a chinlock, but Morrison got up and punched his way out.  Dolph hit a lovely inverted exploder suplex for a 2 count as we took a break.

Morrison was in another, albeit wacky, chinlock as we came back.  Morrison looked to get out, but was slammed down. Rolling neck snap scored a 2 count.  Ziggler locked on another chinlock, trying for a bodyscissors, but he didn't quite get it and Morrison got back to hit feet, before backdropped out of it.  Exchange of punches was win by Morrison, who whipped Ziggler off the ropes and hit a back heel kick for a 2 count.  Moonlight Drive was blocked, but The Shaman Of Sexy got a backslide for 2.  Scoop powerslam brought Ziggler a 2 count.  However, the Zig Zag was blocked and Morrison catapulted Dolph into the ropes.  Ziggler caught himself and jumped out, but Morrison hit the Flying Chuck for a 2 count when Dolph got his foot on the ropes.  Morrison looked to finish, but Ziggler rolled out the ring.  Morrison looked to pescado out, but Ziggler moved out the way.  While Morrison landed on the apron, Dolph swept the legs out from under him, crashing him to the floor.  Ziggler wheelbarrowed Morrison and herked him up to slam him down on the announce desk before slipping in the ring and taking the countout win.

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6.5/10 - Decent enough stuff here, although both have done better.
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Todd & Matt talked about how volatile the WWE is, in reference to Rey & Batista, with Matt saying sometimes frustration gets the better of you.  We saw a clip of the heel turn as we headed to the break.

We came back as the trophy was in Teddy's office when Vince McMahon walked in.  He congratulated Teddy on the win and hinted he might get off probation when CM Punk walked in, annoyed that Big Show was getting a title shot.  He's not even on Smackdown, and further, you had Jericho & Kane in another match for a spot.  Long wondered what was up with that, and Punk complained it should be his match, no-one else’s.  If it wasn't for Scott Armstrong, he'd be champion right now.  Vince caught onto a brainwave, which Punk took to mean he was in the match at Survivor Series.  However, Vince had other ideas.  How many chances do you want Straight Edge boy?  No, tonight, CM Punk would go one on one with referee Scott Armstrong.  Punk loved the idea.

Beth Phoenix def. Jenny Brooks in a "Well, there's a first time for everything..." match
Seriously, if there had ever been any other time in my time as a wrestling fan, I don't recall ever seeing a jobber match with the women.  Beth made her way out, eyeing up her prey as the jobber waited in the ring.  And THANK GOD that Lillian retired, as we start getting Beth's name and nickname the right way round.  I've always hated Lillian saying "Beth Phoenix, The Glamazon".  Always f**king annoyed me.  (I would have noted this on the PPV, but I couldn't do it on Sunday, and thanks to RDLee for covering).

To their monumental credit, they claimed that Beth and her opponent had a past in school, with Brooks hanging a loss on Phoenix in High School.  That said, there was no upset here and Beth was on top almost the entire time.  A kick sent Brooks out and she was then hit with a long delayed suplex.  Phoenix had Brooks by the beck, and she tried righting back, but Phoenix clotheslined her before hitting the Glam Slam for the easy win.

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3/10 - Pretty fun little squash match here.
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Coming up....Holidays = Costume Contests...

We came back to some pimpage of the new Smackdown theme, showing the band in the crowd.  Apparently RAW is getting a new intro next week.  I always love it when stuff like that comes along.


Wolfmother - Back Round

Matt Hardy def. Eric Escobar in a "Honeymoon's over, Eric..." match
Vickie Guerrero was introduced, and she came out with a brown princess dress on, saying she was, tonight anyway, Princess Vickie Guerrero, before introducing her "Prince Charming", Eric Escobar.  Striker immediately gave the whole back story on where and when Escobar met Vickie.  Damn it, I love JR, but I'm loving Striker more these days.  The last teacher I was in love with was my French teacher, Ms. Irwin.  Damn, she seemed so hot when I started high school...  But I digress.  The announcers noted that this was return match from Escobar's debut.

Big "Hardy!" chants early, but Escobar knocked Hardy down.  However, he missed an elbow, and Matt squashed him in the ropes.  Matt worked him over in the corner, but Eric caught him with a kick and punched away.  He missed a corner charge though and Hardy hit the bulldog.  Hardy headed up, but Escobar cut him off.  Hardy knocked him back down and hit a moonsault, but seemed to hurt his knee in doing so, only picking up a 2 count.  Escobar went after the knee, kicking and yanking at it before putting on a toehold.  Eric dropped a few elbows on the knee before putting on a leglock.  Hardy got out of it and blocked a charge.  However, Escobar slammed Hardy's leg's into the ropes.  However, Hardy hit what was effectively a RKO (that is to say a Twist of Fate without the turning bit), which took literally everyone by surprise for the three count.

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6/10 - This was OK, but it was short and rather sudden.  Interesting that Escobar lost here, and clean.  I wonder what the deal is there, since they didn't have singles matches for Team Smackdown because they didn't want certain guys losing, including Escobar.
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Rey Mysterio walked the halls backstage.

We came back from the break to a video that showed Batista's awesome heel turn.  I love the way he very matter-of-factly said "I'm going to rip your head off", with a wry smile on his face.  Shame the crowd didn't exact the way they really should have.  And hey, at least he's finally returned and managed to turn heel before getting injured again.

Yep, Rey's STILL on about Eddie...
Rey made his way out, and to show how solemn he was on this night, no pyro for him tonight.  Rey got on the mic and said we just saw what happened, and at Bragging Rights, after the match, Batista beat him down.  Bad.  As much as it hurt physically, he was hurt even more inside as Batista was his best friend in the world.  And he still did.  But to be honest, since Sunday, he had been playing the tape over and over, and he was really angry, but then he thought about what was important and that was Batista being his family.  He was going to give Batista the benefit of the doubt, regardless of how disappointed he was.  So Dave, he wasn't leaving until he came out and straightened things out like men.

Batista came out, and Striker couldn't tell if Batista was sorry for what he did.  If I were to take a guess, I'd say no.  That said, if he were, this would be a short and mildly homoerotic segment of television, so it's more hope than anticipation.  Batista was baffled that Rey was disappointed because he hurt Rey.  Batista said Rey didn't get it or how bad it could get for him.  Who are you, calling Dave out?  Batista said that he'd be the bigger man here and give Rey Rey the one chance to leave his ring.  Rey looked like he was going to leave, but decided not to.  He came out to try and straighten everything out.  They'd been through so much together.  It was a Fatal Four Way match.  What's a Latino midget supposed to do?  Not even try?  Rey was willing to let bygones be bygones.  He said Batista was like his big brother.  Sure, brothers fight all the time, but what they had would last longer than their careers (in Dave's case, that's probably good to know...).

Batista wondered what Rey was thinking.  Better yet, let The Animal tell you.  He's thinking about the little effort it took to beat Rey down.  And he said Rey was thinking about who he could hide behind now Big Dave wasn't there to protect him.  And Rey was thinking about how he shouldn't have stabbed him in the back, and what he was going to do to Rey if he didn't get out the ring.  Rey couldn't believe it, but Batista was being serious.

Rey said if he had known it would hurt their relationship, he wouldn't have done what he did.  Rey said that being in the match was the biggest mistake he'd taken.  Batista gave Rey one last chance to skeedaddle.  Again, Rey thought about it, but again, ultimately refused to.  Rey said Batista had to do what he thought he had to, but he was standing his ground.  He wanted to straighten things out and he wasn't leaving until they did.  Look at everything they'd been through.  Hell, what about Eddie?  Batista noted that Eddie was dead, and he wasn't thinking about him, the two of them or anything else but himself.  Batista dropped the mic and walked out the ring.

It's funny (in a sad way), that it's almost 4 years ago that Eddie died (I know...when I double-checked, I was shocked), and yet, they still have Rey dropping his name.  I mean, I know it's fairly pertinent in this case, since they were both close to him, but still I really hope this was a one-time thing and he's not made a focal point of this feud four years after the fact.  Beyond that, interesting segment.


Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (Feat. Kylie Minogue) - Where The Wild Roses Grow

Next week on RAW, Ozzy & Sharon Osbourne host.  The week after that is the Sheffield, England show which I'll be at, and it'll be Ricky "The Hitman" Hatton.  Good pick, really, since he has name recognition in the US>  Only thing I would say is that this is normally the show that comes from Manchester, which is, of course, Hatton's hometown.  The crowd would have been huge for a show there.  Not saying you'll hear a pin drop in Sheffield, but still.  Coulda, woulda, shoulda...

We joined Batista as he wondered randomly as he was approached by Matt Hardy.  Matt said he knew it was none of his business, but he knew how close Rey & Batista were, and if anyone knew about being in conflict with his brother, it was him.  Matt said if he could take back what he did to Jeff, he would, begging Batista not to make the same mistakes he did.  Batista scoffed at him before leaving.  Well, I saw "leaving".  Just before the door closed, he came back through and beat Matt up.

Smack Of The Night was the changing of the teams last week.

Hopefully, this isn't back to the beginning for Drew...
Drew McIntyre made his way out to the ring and grabbed a mic.  He congratulated Smackdown on winning at the PPV, but let's get one thing clear.  He didn't want to be on the team in the first, as he intended to make his own impact, so for his opponent tonight, the party's over.  His opponent would be the Irishman who doesn't hang out with HHH, Finlay.  However, as Finlay came out, McIntyre jumped him as he got in the ring, before sending him into the steel steps.  Drew mounted Fit and laid in shots before trash talking him asking if he enjoyed his victory party.  Finlay took a boot to the ribs before the ref managed to stop the onslaught.


Pendulum - Granite

Well, it is Halloween after all...
Back from break, JTG and Shad were in the ring.  So, Shad get job flu, and he comes back and gets a Contest segment.  Jammy bastard.  Anyway, involved in this year's shindig were Mickie James as Elektra.  No, not the ECW manager with the disturbingly big tattybojangles, but the comic book superhero.  Natalya was a matador, and no I don't mean Tito Santana.  Layla was (assumedly the ghost of) Michel Jackson while Michelle McCool was a devil.

You know the score by now.  Each of them got a turn at busting a move. in an effort for us to finds them sexy, although how ANYONE ins the f**k is supposed to find Michael Jackson sexy, be he dead or not, is beyond me.  Anyway, as you can already guess, Mickie won the contest, only for a fight to break out.  Natalya and Layla were downed, but Michelle took Mickie out.

Wrestlemania tickets and my birthday...8 days away...

CM Punk def. Scott Armstrong in a "Well, he clearly ain't no BG..." match
Punk was out first, and again, as he did at the PPV, he shouted "It's clobbering time!" in coming out, continuing to be as cocky as f**k on his way down.  Unfortunately, they didn't bust out Road Dogg's music for an inside joke, as Armstrong came out to Vickie Guerrero's theme.  That is to say, nothing.  Shame that happened, as you could hear some "CM Punk" chants in the crowd.

The bell rang and he forced Armstrong into the corner, yelling in his face about how he cost him the title.  He started shoving Armstrong in the chest, telling him he was no-one, which saw Armstrong launch with a bunch of punches.  However, this just pissed Punk off, who downed Armstrong with some kicks before picking him up for the GTS.  He hit that and then arrogantly pinned the ref with a boot on the chest.

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2/10 - Not much to this, even as a squash, but both men played their parts well, Punk especially.
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Punk again trash talked Armstrong while he was down.


The Temper Trap - Sweet Disposition

Next week, we'll be getting Batista vs. Matt Hardy.  Makes sense.

Chris Jericho def. Kane in a "Well, this match just improved about 47-fold..." match to get a World title shot at Survivor Series
Quick question.  How long have they been doing the deal where Kane has stopped setting off his ringpost pyro before the match starts when he's going to lose the match?  I can't say I was taking notice, but for some reason, I noticed tonight as I expected to blow his proverbial load, only for him not to bother.

Jericho got the upperhand early with shots, but his crossbody was turned into a powerslam for a 2 count.  He hit a basement dropkick for another deuce.  Jericho took Kane into the corner, and kicked at the gut of Kane, forcing him to turtle up, but as Jericho came back in, he was caught with a boot.  Kane missed an elbow drop and Jericho hit a low dropkick for a 2 count of his own.  Jericho walked into a chokeslam attempt, but Jericho slipped out and looked for the Walls.  Kane kicked him off though, sending Jericho outside.  Jericho was sent back in, and as Striker busted out Jericho's old "Lionheart" name, he caught Kane on the apron and sent him into the guardrail to send us to the break.

Jericho was still in control, as he kicked away at Kane before choking him in the corner.  Catapult into the bottom rope for 2.  Jericho put on a weak looking chinlock, but either way, Kane stood up on it and dumped Jericho into the corner.  Kane turned a bulldog attempt into a side slam.  Big Red followed up with clotheslines all over the place, before hitting another side slam for a 2 count.  Jericho's enziguri sent Kane outside the ring again.  Jericho looked for the triangle dropkick, but Kane grabbed his throat.  Jericho fought off the chokeslam, but he ran into a big boot for a 2 count.

Jericho hit the Code Breaker out of nowhere, but he only got a close 2 count.  Jericho hit the bulldog, and he hit the Lionsault, but in doing so, Kane grabbed his throat and hit the chokeslam.  However, Jericho rolled out the ring.  Kane herked Jericho back in the ring, but only scored a 2 count.  Jericho slipped out of Kane's grasp and chop blocked him down, allowing him to lock on the Walls Of Jericho.  Kane made the bottom rope.  Jericho charged the corner, only to get hit with an uppercut.  Kane went up top, but was crotched.  Jericho's superplex was blocked, but as Kane jumped off, he jumped into the Codebreaker again, this time with Jericho picking up the three count and the spot in the World Title match at Survivor Series.

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7/10 - Fine enough match between the 2 and Kane, in particular, looked pretty spry tonight, but no great shakes in itself.  Good enough TV main event, but only really just.
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After a couple of replays, Jericho celebrated at ringside as the show ended.

OVERALL - 6.5/10 (-0.5 on last week) - Decent show, although not exactly blow away.  Indeed, for the first time in a while, there's nothing on this show that I'd desire to watch again.  Nothing out and out stunk, although the Divas costume thing isn't my bag.  But when Mickie and Michelle looked as hot as they did, I'm going to say it sucked totally.  It just kinda felt , to me, that it was almost a throwaway show.  Outside of them having Jericho & Kane fight for the Survivor Series shot and Batista and Rey's quasi-homosexual "heart to heart", I can't say that much else really went anywhere.  But if you watch the show, I don't think you're gonna be watching a bad one at all.