WWE Smackdown- June 20, 2008
by Sassy
Smackdown is broadcast on the CW Network in San Jose, CA.
Ringside announcers: Michael Cole & Mick Foley
Ring announcer: Justin Roberts
I tuned in hoping for another CM Punk vs. M.V.P. match. Michael Cole reminds the audience that the draft is coming up and fans might not see the same wrestlers on Smackdown again. MVP is in the ring and not dressed for action. MVP wants to talk about the draft. In the middle of MVP’s tirade about being underutilized, Vickie Guerrero appears in her wheelchair at the top of the ramp with Curt Hawkins & Zack Ryder. She yells at MVP. MVP apologizes for insulting her family and tells her that she asked him last week to beat CM Punk and he did – an excellent match, too, and that’s this writer’s opinion, not the opinion of MVP. I’m tired of this banter already and I generally enjoy MVP when he has a mic in his hand. Guerrero tells MVP he has to face Kane, WWE’s ECW Champion, tonight. Matt Hardy is heading to the arena and we go to commercial break.
Non-title Match
Matt Hardy from Cameron, NC weighing 236 lbs.
WWE United States Champion
Vs.
Bam Neely weighing 274 lbs. (I couldn’t hear where Neely is billed from)
With Chavo Guerrero
At Night of Champions, Hardy faces Chavo Guerrero for the US Championship. I would have been surprised if Neely had come to the ring alone. Neely shoves Hardy into the corner and then backs up and waits for Hardy to come back into the center of the ring. The live audience is a gain pro Hardy and being vocal about it. Hardy delivers a kick to the back of Neely’s head, but gets caught when he goes for a cross body block. Neely goes for a cover and gets a one count. Neely does show his knowledge of a few wrestling moves but he’s more of a ring bully than a wrestler. Neely does a good job of countering Hardy’s moves and his boots to the head are dangerous. Neely goes for another cover and Neely gets the count of two. Neely walks around the ring as if he’s already tired and the match has only been going for 4 minutes. Hardy delivers a DDT off the ropes and goes for the pin. Hardy gets a two count. Hardy delivers a neck breaker but when he goes to the top, Guerrero interferes and the referee throws Guerrero out of the arena. Hardy hits the twist of fate, goes for the cover and gets the three count. Time: 6 minutes.
Winner: Matt Hardy with a twist of fate.
Guerrero didn’t even make it out of the arena before Hardy was able to take advantage of the distraction and take out Neely. This was a decent opening match. Guerrero must be slipping up. He usually doesn’t get caught when he cheats. Neely did act like he was worn out 4 minutes into the match. It could have been an act but if it was, he is a great actor. We go to commercial break.
Guerrero & Neely are backstage with Edge. Guerrero is mad at the ref for throwing him out of the arena. Edge says that he will make sure the ref, Charles Robinson, is taken care of and Edge is going to take care of Matt Hardy. And then they are off and talking about trusting each other and Edge wants Guerrero to face Batista tonight. Guerrero doesn’t like that idea but Edge tells Guerrero to trust him.
Michelle McCool from FL
Vs.
Layla from Miami, FL
I have had a real problem with WWE’s “diva” wrestling for a long time. Layla does make a vicious opponent if nothing else. Layla sends McCool off the ring apron and to the floor. Layla has McCool back in the ring and goes for the cover but she only gets a one count. Layla delivers a leg drop and again goes for the cover to get a one count. Natalya appears at the top of the entrance ramp, in a dress and heels. McCool goes for the roll up and gets a one count. McCool delivers a drop kick and then another, followed by a belly-to-belly suplex. McCool goes for the cover and gets a two count. McCool applies a submission hold to the leg and gets the three count and the win. Time: 4 minutes
Winner: Michelle McCool with a submission hold
It still doesn’t fall into the great category by any means but it wasn’t a bad match. Layla has been doing a better job in the ring and even though she is pure heel, she does do a good job of keeping the match moving. I will say that if McCool’s tops get any smaller, she might as well not wear one. Edge is backstage with Guerrero and Charles Robinson appears. Robinson is being called on the carpet for not kissing Guerrero’s butt. He might want to point out that it would be difficult to do since her butt is always in the wheelchair. Guerrero tells Robinson that he will be in the ring tonight as a competitor. We go to commercial break.
Jamie Noble from Hanover, WV weighing 202 lbs.
Vs.
Vladimir Kozlov from Moscow weighing 302 lbs.
I realize that Noble does a lot of backstage work for WWE but must he get the same treatment as Shannon Moore and Jimmy Wang Yang? Noble is giving up a hundred pounds to Kozlov in this match. If Noble runs fast, we may see a match that lasts longer than two minutes. Noble isn’t having much luck staying out of the way. Instead Noble is spending most of his time on the mat. Noble comes off the top and delivers a dropkick to the jaw, then goes for the cover but he can’t get the three count. Noble has Kozlov in a submission hold. Noble’s back looks like he’s been nailed with a board. Kozlov slams Noble into the ring post and Noble is once again down on the mat. Kozlov delivers a belly-to-belly suplex. Noble comes off the ropes again, gets caught by a head butt in the midsection in mid air. Kozlov goes for the cover and gets the win. Time: 4 minutes.
Winner: Vladimir Kozlov with a head butt.
Kozlov still is not impressing me but Noble did a great job in this match in spite of all of the direct hits he took during his time in the ring with the big guy. We go to commercial break.
Non-title Match
M.V.P. from Miami, FL weighing 248 lbs.
Vs.
The Big Red Machine Kane weighing 323 lbs.
WWE ECW Champion
MVP seems to have stepped in it this week. He did such a good job in his match against CM Punk on last week’s Smackdown, it will be difficult to watch him against a wrestler like Kane. MVP gets right in Kane’s face but Kane stops MVP with a hard right hand. MVP manages to get Kane in a head scissors but Kane makes his way out and applies a headlock to MVP. MVP backs Kane into the corner but delivers a right hand instead of breaking clean. Turnabout is fair play as Kane delivers a fist to MVP. MVP delivers a kick to the side of Kane’s head and goes for the pin getting a one count. Kane power slams MVP to the floor, goes for the cover and gets a one count. Kane misses a droop and MVP goes for the cover. MVP gets a two count. MVP delivers the boot to the face, goes for the cover and gets a two count before Kane powers out. Kane is using more wrestling moves in this match than usual. MVP has been using more in the way of pro wrestling moves in his matches and I thought he would come into this match trying to power his way through Kane. Both men are down on the mat. Kane delivers a clothesline off the rope, a power slam to the mat and a dropkick before going for the cover. MVP manages to kick out at the count of two. MVP comes off the ropes and meets Kane’s boot. Kane delivers a clothesline in the corner, backs across the ring and charges again, catching an elbow from MVP. Kane delivers a side slam and goes for the cover getting a two count. Kane goes up to the top turnbuckle and comes off with a flying clothesline. MVP gets back to his feet and Kane applies the choke slam but MVP backs up and grabs the ropes. Kane delivers a clothesline and sends MVP over the rope. MVP waits till the count of nine, gets his knees up on the ring apron and then jumps back down to take the ten count. The ref signals for the bell. Time: 8 minutes.
Winner: The Big Red Machine Kane via count out.
I was ready for a quick match but Kane and MVP managed to make this not only a full eight minutes of match, they managed to make it an interesting match. After the match, The World’s Strongest Man Mark Henry appears and heads down the ramp to the ring. Kane is on the floor working on MVP but Henry catches Kane with a clothesline and then rolls Kane back into the ring. Henry picks up Kane and slams him to the mat then stands over him. Henry wants the ECW Championship. Kane will face The Big Show at Night of Champions and Henry has challenged the wrestler who walks away the ECW Champion. Robinson is backstage worrying about his match when Guerrero appears to wish him good luck in the ring. We go to commercial break.
Charles Robinson
WWE Referee
Vs.
The Great Khali from India
Robinson is one of the best referee’s WWE has but it’s different being in the ring with the wrestlers to direct traffic. Robinson had better hope for a guardian angel during this match. Robinson bails out of the ring and starts up the entrance ramp but he’s met by Ryder & Hawkins who beat on him and then send him back into the ring. The ref signals for the bell and the match begins with Khali delivering a clothesline. Instead of pinning Robinson, Khali picks him up, sends him back to the match, and then picks him up again to deliver a chop to the head. Khali then applies the hands to the skull and the ref finally gets around to ringing the bell. Time: the longest 2 minutes of Charles Robinson’s life.
Winner: The Great Khali
So much for believing in guardian angels. As soon as Robinson is feeling better, he needs to pound on Vickie Guerrero. It might not make him feel better but it would certainly make me feel better. The medics are at ringside putting Robinson on a backboard and we go to commercial break.
Tag Team Match
Jesse & Festus
At a combined weight of 501 lbs.
Vs.
Deuce & Domino from the Other Side of the Tracks
At a combined weight of 465 lbs.
It seems the team of Deuce & Domino are still feuding. They argue all the way down the ramp to the ring. The bell rings and Festus goes after both of his opponents. The end up on the floor and Deuce & Domino are fighting each other on the floor. One of them gets his t-shirts torn. Domino goes face first into the announcer’s table and then Deuce rolls Domino back into the ring. Deuce must have been mad about his shirt being ruined. Festus pounds on Domino and then pins him for the three count and the win. Time: 2 minutes.
Winners: Jesse & Festus
Most of that match was between Deuce & Domino outside the ring. This could be the start of a beautiful feud. After the match, Deuce comes off the ropes and nails Domino with a boot to the face before dropping his jacket over his face. John Morrison & The Miz head to the ring and we go to commercial break.
Finlay from Belfast, Northern Ireland weighing 233 lbs.
With Hornswoggle
Vs.
The Miz from Cleveland, OH weighing 231 lbs.
One half of the WWE Tag Team Champions
With John Morrison, the other half of the Tag Team Champions
(Editor's note: neither Hornswogle nor Finlay own a Half of the Tag Team Championship, in case you were wondering)
Finlay & Hornswoggle will face Miz & Morrison at Night of Champions for the WWE Tag Team Titles. Hornswoggle makes his way under the ring. Finlay steps out on the ring apron as Morrison makes his way to the announcer’s table to avoid Finlay. To date, Miz has not made me a fan but I do like Finlay and the whole world seems to like Hornswoggle. Finlay goes for a cover but only gets a one count. So far the match is all Finlay and Miz is getting an Irish beating. Finlay drops Miz with a clothesline. Finlay goes for the cover again and gets a one count. Miz finally comes back with a kick. Miz delivers an clothesline in the corner and Finlay rolls out of the ring. As Finlay tries to pull Miz out of the ring, he delivers a kick to Finlay sending him into the guardrail. Miz rolls Finlay back into the ring and goes for the cover, getting a one count. Hornswoggle is outside the ring and Morrison is on his feet yelling to the ref that Hornswoggle is out Hornswoggle goes back under the ring. Finlay comes back and delivers three clotheslines to Miz, body slams him to the mat, delivers a drop and goes for the cover but he only gets a one count. Morrison goes to the ring and pulls out Hornswoggle. Finlay gets distracted and Miz blindsides him. Morrison pulls Hornswoggle out from under the ring again and Hornswoggle nails Morrison with Finlay’s favorite weapon. Miz gets distracted, Finlay delivers a drop and goes for the cover getting the three count. Time: 5 minutes.
Winner: Finlay
Morrison hobbles around ringside to drag Morrison out of the ring. Quick thinking by Hornswoggle kept Finlay from losing the match. Good action by the two wrestlers in the ring and some entertainment on the side by Hornswoggle and Morrison. We go to commercial break.
Batista from Washington, DC weighing 290 lbs.
Before the match begins, Vickie Guerrero appears at the top of the ramp with Chavo & Bam Neely. Robinson can’t be the referee tonight so there will be a special guest referee. Should we guess who that will be? If Batista lays a hand on the official, Batista will lose his match at Night of Champions. The guest referee is The Rated R Superstar Edge and we go to commercial break.
Vs.
Chavo Guerrero from El Paso, TX
I should just turn off the television and forget about watching this match, let alone try to write about it. There are feuds and then there is a waste of airtime. Between Robinson and this, it has become a waste of airtime. As we go back to the show, Edge is in the ring along with Neely and Guerrero and Batista. Edge gets in Batista’s face and I have to admit that I prefer the feud going on between Cena and HHH versus this farce. The bell rings and Edge distracts Batista in order to allow Guerrero to get the jump on him. Batista slams Guerrero to the canvas. Edge again gets in Batista’s face. Batista continues his beat down of Guerrero. Neely gets up on the ring apron giving Guerrero time to deliver a boot and then beat on Batista in the corner. Again Batista shoves Guerrero across the ring. Batista delivers a power slam and goes for the cover. Edge manages to count to one. Maybe Edge can’t count. As Batista comes off the ropes, Edge trips Batista giving Guerrero a chance to beat on Batista. As Edge warns Guerrero about choking Batista on the ropes giving Neely time to choke Batista. Guerrero comes off the ropes and Batista catches him but Edge grabs Guerrero’s leg, bringing Batista down to the mat. Guerrero goes for the cover and he gets a quick two count. Guerrero goes for another cover and gets another fast two count. Batista battles out of a headlock, comes off the ropes and catches a dropkick courtesy of Guerrero. Guerrero goes for the cover and gets a quick two count. Batista slams Guerrero to the mat and delivers a power slam. Neely pulls Batista out of the ring and Edge rings the bell, awarding the match to Guerrero. Time: 6 minutes.
Winner: Chavo Guerrero by a count out.
Batista enters the ring and delivers a spine buster to Guerrero. Hawkins & Ryder enter the ring and Batista takes them both down but Neely enters the ring and takes down Batista. This is an I Quit Typing kind of a match and not even entertainment anymore. The writers of Smackdown should be fired.
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