Source: WWE.com
San Jose, Calif.– In the night’s main event featuring Batista against Chavo Guerrero, SmackDown General Manager Vickie Guerrero swayed the odds heavily against The Animal by naming World Heavyweight Champion Edge as the special guest referee. The scheduled referee, Charles Robinson, had been conveniently taken out of commission earlier in the night in a match the GM ordered between Robinson and The Great Khali.
And, in typical Guerrero fashion, Batista’s match included a stipulation: If he laid a hand on Edge during the bout, he would lose his chance to face the Rated-R Superstar for the World Heavyweight Championship at Night of Champions.
Although Batista held his own against Chavo, “The Family’s” influence proved to be too much to overcome. After being counted out of the match by guest referee Edge’s fast count, Batista suffered a 5-on-1 attack from “The Family,” capped off with a brutal spear from the Ultimate Opportunist.
If Vickie can continue to use her power to orchestrate things on SmackDown, how might she affect things at Night of Champions and even at The Granddaddy of Them All, WrestleMania XXV? And with three days until the WWE Draft, is Guerrero’s job going to be someone else’s after Monday Night?
Disenfranchised playa
It seems as though no one is immune from the vindictive ways of SmackDown General Manager Vickie Guerrero. Montel Vontavious Porter felt her wrath as she ordered him to face ECW Champion Kane. Despite all his self-promoting talk on the night’s edition of MVP’s VIP Lounge, SmackDown’s Franchise Playa proved to be no match for the Big Red Machine, deciding to get counted out rather than face the fires of the ECW Champion.
Then, after picking up the win, Kane had to deal with his own vindictive adversary, Mark Henry, who was out for payback for the double-chokeslam he received from Kane and Big Show earlier in the week on ECW.
Debut loss
In his first one-on-one match, Bam Neely took on United States Champion Matt Hardy. Looking on was Chavo Guerrero- Hardy’s Night of Champions opponent. But, Chavo proved to be more hindrance than help to his family member, as he attracted the attention of referee Charles Robinson who ejected him from ringside. With Bam distracted by Guerrero’s ejection, Hardy capitalized by delivering a hard-hitting Twist of Fate to pick up the win.
Ref ordered to wrestle
In a shocking move, Guerrero ordered WWE referee Charles Robinson to face action on SmackDown. While meeting with Robinson in her office, Guerrero expressed concern at what she perceived as Robinson’s lack of objectivity in Edge’s matches against Undertaker at WrestleMania XXIV and Judgment Day. She was also unhappy about Robinson ejecting Chavo from ringside earlier in the night. “You need to experience how it feels from a Superstar’s perspective,” she said.
Robinson had no choice but to follow the GM’s orders, even without knowing who his opponent would be. As he anxiously awaited the start of his first-ever match, he learned Guerrero picked none other than The Great Khali to face him. In an extreme mismatch, the 420-pound Punjabi Giant destroyed Robinson using a clothesline, head butt, Khali Chop and Khali Vise Grip. The brutal assault required Robinson to be removed from the ring on a stretcher.
Bringing the pain
Just like she did a few weeks ago on SmackDown, Michelle McCool defeated Layla using a heel hook to make her submit. The All-American Diva’s win attracted the attention of Natalya, who looked on from the ramp after the match. With the upcoming live three-hour WWE Draft on the next episode of Raw, the SmackDown Diva roster could be totally shaken up as the Sexiest Women on Television vie for the new Divas Championship. More on the WWE Draft…
Streak continues
All things must come to an end, but don’t tell Vladimir Kozlov. The man from Moscow chalked up another win by defeating Jamie Noble, bringing his undefeated SmackDown record to 11-0. While leaping from the top rope, Noble was met with a vicious head butt from Kozlov, leaving Noble writhing in agony after the match ended. More on Jamie Noble’s condition…
Tag team’s demise?
The growing dissention between tag team partners Deuce & Domino came to a head after their loss to Jesse & Festus. After Festus pinned Domino, Deuce delivered a Crack em’ in da’ Mouth to Domino. Deuce then tossed his leather jacket over his fallen comrade’s face as if to signal the end of the partnership of the once tag team champions.
Looking for gold
With WWE Tag Team Champion John Morrison on commentary, he watched his partner, The Miz, take on Finlay. With tensions high surrounding the upcoming tag team title match at Night of Champions, Morrison jumped up from the announce table in the middle of the match to go after Hornswoggle. Hornswoggle retaliated by whacking Morrison in the knee with a shillelagh. The action outside the ring distracted The Miz, allowing Finlay to capitalize and deliver a Celtic Cross to pick up the pinfall.
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