Source: PWInsider.com
It’s Friday night, and its Smackdown time once again. Join us over the next two hours for our “live†ongoing coverage from tonight’s show right here at WrestleMag.com. Refresh this page regularly for the latest updates from this week’s show!
We kick things off backstage, with King Booker and Finlay asking Teddy Long for a rematch tonight against Batista and John Cena. Long says its a no go. King Booker tells Thadius he’s looking for the best competition possible in the Smackdown Kingdom, and makes Finlay and King Booker vs The Undertaker and Kane for tonight.
Opening credits out of the way, Batista’s music hits, and as Michael Cole screams Happy Holidays, “Big Dave†makes his way to the ring to take on what Cole describes as “all comers heading into 2007.†So with that in mind, who will he be taking on tonight? Perhaps a debuting Monty Brown? JBL stepping back into the ring? Voodoo Kin Mafia? Dave grabs the mic and wishes everybody a Happy Holidays, saying he’s put his red trunks on as he’s in the Christmas spirit. 2006 has been an up and down year for Dave, winning titles and having to give them up, but he’s finishing strong and after he and Cena won at Armageddon last Sunday. The Champ gets interrupted by some festive music, as Santa comes to the ring! This was a poor promo anyway, although it would look like gold compared to Bobby Lashley’s promo on ECW this week.
JBL says he doesn’t need gifts – he’s rich. JBL spoils Christmas for Cole, saying he has it on good authority that this isn’t Santa, but the real Santa will be on WWE TV this Monday (Christmas Night of course) during the Tribute to the Troops. Just a reminder that the Tribute show airs on Thursday December 28 here in the UK. Santa heads into the ring and hands Dave some candy canes to throw into the crowd. Santa then turns heel and lays him out with a lead pipe or something.
Santa heads towards the back, but Teddy Long stops him and tells him that his present this year will be to face Batista. The match starts right away with Santa still in his red outfit. Santa works over Batista’s arm for about 30 seconds then gets pretty much destroyed. Santa’s hat and fake beard is pulled off mid-match, to reveal not Monty Brown, not JBL, not VKM, but Sylvan. Wow. Batista finishes things quickly with the Batista Bomb, and this one is over.
Still images from Armageddon are shown, with Chris Benoit beating Chavo Guerrero. Rematch time is up after the break.
Benoit-Chavo gets underway with JBL continuing his “Benoit attacked Vicki†tirade, calling Chavo a hero in the process as Chavo attacks the US Champ in the corner with punches and kicks to the midsection. Benoit responds with a couple of chops and an Irish Whip into the corner. A snap suplex gets him a two count before Chavo fights back more punches and forearms. Benoit quickly locks in the crossface but Chavo breaks the hold by reaching for the ropes. Chavo again fights back and slows the pace down with a resthold in the middle of the ring. Benoit powers out but Chavo kicks him in the gut again and quickly regains control. Benoit gets a small package which Chavo kicks out of, and after a couple of German Suplexes, Benoit throws Chavo over the top rope to the outside, with his momentum sending him over the top also.
We return from a quick “Don’t Try This At Home†promo with both men back in the ring, with Chavo again slowing the pace down. Benoit fights out of a wastelock and hits another suplex to break the hold. Chavo responds with a backbreaker onto his shoulder for a two count, with Benoit quickly getting back to his feet and attempting a sharpshooter. Chavo again manages to slow the pace down, but after an Irish Whip into a dropkick goes wrong, Benoit again goes for the sharpshooter. Chavo manages to block it, and gives Benoit a knee to the midsection as he comes off the ropes. Benoit fights back with a couple of chops followed by three German suplexes as the crowd comes to life. Benoit heads to the top rope and hits Chavo with a headbutt for another near fall.
Benoit then sets Chavo up on the top rope to attempt a superplex. Chavo punches him repeatedly until Benoit falls backwards. Chavo then goes for the Frog Splash but lands on Benoit’s knees. Benoit locks in the crossface, but Vicki Guerrero hits the ring and hits Benoit across the back with the US Title, leading to the referee calling for the DQ. Really good back and forth match.
After the match, Chavo and Vicki argue in the ring, with Chavo telling her to stop interfering if she wants him to become US Champion. He lays his hands on her, causing her to fall. Benoit comes back into the ring to see if Vicki is ok, but Chavo attacks him from behind and lays him out with the belt.
Backstage, Finlay and King Booker are discussing their match tonight. Finlay tells King that they can work as a team and win this. Booker agrees, with Sharmell looking on, less than convinced.
For no apparent reason, highlights from an old King Booker vs Lashley match from June are shown. I say highlights, but its pretty much the entire match bar the entrances. Lashley wins and retains the US title. Confusing. If anybody watching the US feed of this show later today can fill me in on what was aired here, please drop me a line.
After a commercial break, Gregory Helms is in the ring. He cuts a promo about how long he’s held his Cruiserweight title and how nobody can stop him on Smackdown, only to be cut short by The Boogeyman. Boogeyman makes his lengthy entrance and attacks Helms. You can barely see the crowd from the hard cam for all the smoke. Boogeyman tries to give Helms the worm treatment, but Helms bails through the crowd. Tony Chimel announces over the mic that “he’s The Boogeyman, and he’s coming to get ya!,†which results in him getting wormed instead. Chimel runs to the back covered in worms as we are treated to a replay of what we’ve just seen a second or two ago.
Backstage, Joey Mercury is shown limping around. Man he looks bad. After a quick plug for next April’s UK TV tapings, MNM’s music plays and Joey Mercury slowly makes his way out to the ring. He grabs the mic and after explaining what happened last week at Armageddon, he calls for a replay of the ladder spot that caused his injuries to be shown. As we cut back to the live crowd, Mercury gets a round of applause, which was nice to see. Mercury goes into promo mode, and puts the blame on Matt and Jeff Hardy for what happening to him. This brings out Matt Hardy. Matt tells Mercury that what happened was unfortunate, but not intentional, and that this kind of thing can happen in a dangerous match. The crowd also applaud this. Mercury shakes his head and tells Mattitude that if that’s what can happen in a fight, how about he fights him now. He pushes Matt, who refuses to fight him, and starts to head to the back. Mercury tells Matt that if he won’t fight him, perhaps he’ll fight his partner, which brings out Johnny Nitro and gives us our next match.
Nitro jumps the bell and attacks Hardy from behind as Cole explains that Nitro is here “visiting from RAW.†Nitro and Hardy brawl back and forth in the ring before taking it to the outside. Nitro gets the upper hand by kicking Hardy in the ribs before heading back into the ring. Hardy quickly gets back into the match and hits Nitro with a bulldog, getting a two count in the process. He misses an elbow drop and gets a superkick to the midsection for his troubles. They go back and forth again with punches in the ring, with Hardy attempting a Side Effect. Nitro blocks it and hits a neckbreaker before heading to the outside and bringing a ladder out from under the ring as we cut to commercial.
We return from commercial with Hardy hitting a side suplex from the second rope. Highlights are shown from during the break, with Hardy dropkicking the ladder onto Nitro on the outside. Nitro misses a springboard kick and is hit with a clothesline, with both guys staying down until the ten count is nearly reached. Hardy lays into Nitro with punches and kicks to the face before hitting Nitro with the Side Effect but only getting a two count. Hardy hits a neckbreaker and a legdrop from the second rope but again only gets a two count. After an Irish Whip is reversed, Nitro goes for a backslide and with his feet up on the ropes, gets the cover out of nowhere for the pinfall win.
Up next, JBL calls out Teddy Long after running him down on the mic for allowing MVP to be burnt last Sunday at Armageddon. JBL says that while Long calls it entertainment, he calls it garbage. I’ll call it now: JBL vs Mick Foley at WrestleMania 23 next April. JBL tells Long to come to the ring, and if he refuses he’ll sue him. Long doesn’t appear, so JBL turns his attention to the fans, blaming them for cheering a man who was set on fire. He says the fans have embarrassed themselves and the person sat next to them.
Ashley & Layla vs Kristal & Jillian is up next. Kristal is hot. She and Ashley start out, and once again the purpose of the match is pretty much for Cole and JBL to drool and put over Ashley’s shoot for Playboy, which is still four months away. Its a short match, with Jillian and Ashley doing most of the work. Ashley and Layla get the win, with Ashley pinning Jillian after an elbow from the second rope.
Michael Cole interviews Borat Vladimir Kozlov at ringside. Its pretty much a repeat from the promo Kozlov cut this past Monday on RAW.
A nice little video package airs, showing footage from the recent trip to Iraq, before King Booker and Finlay make their way to the ring for tonight’s main event. A Kane and lengthy Undertaker entrance later, and we get underway with ‘Taker dominating Booker early on and working over his arm. ‘Taker hits his Old School move from the top before Finlay interferes. ‘Taker tries to hit the same move on him but Booker falls onto the ropes, causing ‘Taker to lose his balance. Finlay gets back int he ring and he and Undertaker go back and forth with punches. ‘Taker then hits Finlay with a DDT and sits up to make the tag to Kane. Kane clears house and hits clotheslines to both Finlay and Booker before hitting a side slam on Booker for a two count. All four men get in the ring, with Kane and Taker both hitting big boots to the face. They both then signal for chokeslams but Booker and Finlay bail out as we head to the final commercial break of the night.
We return with Kane taking it to Booker in the ring. ‘Taker hits a legdrop on the ring apron which the referee fails to see, with Kane getting a two count. He follows it up with a suplex for another near fall which is broken up by Finlay. ‘Taker is tagged back in as Finlay also gets back into the match. Finlay hits several forearms before walking into a big boot. He follows it up with Snake Eyes and another boot to the head then tags Kane back in. Booker takes out ‘Taker which distracts Kane, allowing Finlay back into the match. He tags out to Booker but he runs into a right hand from Kane. Kane goes to the top rope but as he comes off the top is met with a superkick from Booker. Booker hits a crescent kick then tags out to Finlay. Finlay slows the pace down in the ring as on the outside, Booker nails Undertaker with a chair.
Booker is tagged into the match and gets a near fall on Kane as on the outside, Finlay takes out ‘Taker with a shot with the shillelagh. Booker and Finlay double team Kane in the ring before Booker and Kane clothesline each other. ‘Taker gets back to the ring apron just as Kane gets back to his feet, and the hot tag is made. ‘Taker punches out both Booker and Finlay before going for a double chokeslam. Both Booker and Finlay escape but Kane hits the ring and both he and ‘Taker hit their chokeslams. ‘Taker hits Finlay with a tombstone piledrive, and he and Kane pick up the win.
