Hey everyone and welcome to this week’s edition of Chris Reviews Smackdown. In this week’s blog I will be giving my TNA Turning Point predictions and analysing the show. Please feel free to leave some feedback via the comment board or drop an email to a_agreement_called_forever@hotmail.com

First off a HUGE thank you to WNWs South African Correspondent: Brandon Van Reenen for designing my awesome new blog logo. Brandon is a graphic design student and clearly a very talented one, he has also redesigned my considers logo which you can expect to see when I discuss TNA Turning Point during the week as well as my new blog on Roadrunner Records: Chris Reviews The Week In Wrestling Music, speaking of which thank you so much to the overwhelming amount of positive feedback I have received from readers all over the world with regards to the Roadrunner blog. Metal and wrestling (aside from my girlfriend) are the biggest things in my life and being able to write about both is fantastic!

I cannot remember a week where there has been so little actual wrestling news, this is probably due to the huge European tour WWE are embarked on which kept news stories to a minimum so rather than do a separate TNA predictions blog I figured I would do them here. One thing I would like to say though is I wish UFC Champion Brock Lesnar a speedy and healthy recovery from the serious illness he is currently suffering from. Lesnar was reportedly rushed to hospital after he collapsed in Canada, which must have been very scary both for Lesnar himself and those close to him. Get well soon Brock!

Before I talk Turning Point, I would just like to say I was seriously contemplating going well into my bank overdraft and getting some last minute tickets to this past Monday’s RAW. I am certainly glad I didn’t as the show did not come off well at all. Hatton humiliating Chavo is something I certainly would not pay money to see and the fact that Hornswoggle is more central to the WWE title match than the WWE title itself emphasizes everything I hate about RAW right now! I will be going to the Wrestlemania Revenge tour next April, I just cannot decide whether to go for RAW or Smackdown just yet and probably won’t until I get a better idea of the Wrestlemania feuds as this tour happens just before Backlash (or whatever silly gimmick WWE come up with for it) and Backlash is usually just Wrestlemania v2.

With RAW stinking to high heaven of late and PG programming affecting my enjoyment of ECW and Smackdown, I have found myself increasingly drawn to TNA which seems to pride itself on not being PG and continues to bring us edgy and controversial programming every week, which may not always be well booked (every match on Impact! the other week had outside interference or overbooking) but I am certainly finding Impact! a much better program right now than RAW which is something WWE should certainly take note of as I have always been a WWE fan over everything but RAW just sucks so much at the minute that I find myself craving an alternative and find Smackdown and ECW more than satisfy my WWE cravings for the week.

This Sunday TNA hold their Turning Point pay per view. With my increased interest in TNA programming I will now be bringing monthly pay per view predictions and show reviews as I feel it is important to cover as much wrestling news as possible on WNW and the fact I can happily sit through episodes of Impact and TNA pay per views now (rather than it being a painful, sleep inducing experience) this means I am more than happy to cover them for your reading pleasure. Turning Point on paper looks excellent, aside from a couple of hastily thrown together matches, and I am really excited to watch the show tomorrow night when I get home from work. I am not expecting a Hogan appearance or anything as I think they are preparing for the Hulkamania tour of Australia but I bet we will get plenty of Hogan promotional footage throughout the event. Something they may add to the card is a Black Machismo invitational match, which if they do I expect Lethal to lose. So without further ado here come my picks.

TNA X Division Championship Match: Amazing Red © vs Homicide

Homicide has been on a hell of a run recently and Red has just started to show what he is capable of in the ring. As much of a douche as Don West was on commentary, he works great as Red’s manager and I think this was a great call from TNA creative pairing the two of them up. This should be a very good, fast paced opener with plenty of high risk spots and insane x-division action that used to be a staple part of TNA programming. Despite Homicide being a member of the World Elite, I really hope there is no outside interference in this match and it ends in a clean finish. This feud still has plenty of distance to go yet and I feel Homicide is a better challenger than Red would be so I am giving Red the win here

Chris’ Predicted Winner: Amazing Red (retains X-Division Championship)

Scott Steiner vs Bobby Lashley Goldberg

This is the only match on the card that I have no desire to watch whatsoever. Lashley has steamrolled over everyone who has gotten in his way so far in TNA (including one of the current number one contenders, more on that later) and Steiner will become just another tick on that list. Hopefully this will be kept short and no doubt Lashley will be out to prove what a great MMA fighter he is once again and make Steiner tap or just knock him out with a punch. And to think I was actually excited when TNA first signed this guy…

Chris’ Predicted Winner: Bobby Lashley Goldberg

6 Sides of Steel Match: Awesome Kong vs Tara

I know Kendra doesn’t think Tara can hang with the best in the Knockout division but for once I have to disagree with her. I think Tara is one of the best female wrestlers out there and I think this could be one of the best matches of the night as long as it is given plenty of time and both women are allowed to go out there and give their all. Kong and Gail Kim had some legendary matches and I am thinking this could be just as good as any of them. This feud has also been built really well on Impact! and I have really enjoyed the constant brawling between the two. Whoever wins this is sure to become number one contender to ODB’s title and despite Tara’s ability I am expecting that to be Kong as she is on a major push once again since breaking free from Saaed, so despite a hard fought and well wrestled effort from Tara I am giving Kong the win

Chris’ Predicted Winner: Awesome Kong

TNA Tag Team Championship Match: The British Invasion © vs Beer Money Inc vs The Motor City Machine Guns

One of the things I like best about TNA programming is that unlike WWE, they do not treat their titles as props and title holders usually get decent reigns with the belts and despite the fact that I do not believe Brutus Magnus belongs anywhere near any kind of championship I can see TBI retaining here. Beer Money have proven time and time again that they are one of the best tag teams in wrestling right now and I would love to see an extended feud between them and MCMGs but this may have to wait for a few months as Dixie Carter seems determined to push Magnus no matter how awful both his ring work and mic work remains. Williams is another matter and hopefully at some point will get a singles push as he is an awesome wrestler. I expect Big Rob may end up being the deciding factor in this one and will cost BM and MCMG the match somehow. I am looking forward to this one as five of the six men involved are awesome so we should get a very good match.

Chris’ Predicted Winner: The British Invasion (retains TNA tag team Championships)

Hernandez, Matt Morgan and Pope D’Angelo Dinero vs Team 3D and Rhino

This match was really thrown together at the last minute and to me seems an excuse to get Hernandez and Morgan on the card. However the storyline behind this match is strong and I am really enjoying the fact the Rhino is becoming significant again. Dinero’s abrupt face turn caught me a bit off guard and I am not sure that he won’t end up costing his team the match and betray them. In fact I would say this is the hardest match on the card to call as we all know how much TNA are behind Hernandez and Morgan but with so much emphasis on 3D and Rhino in recent weeks it would be bizarre for them to lose here. However excluding some dirty tactics from Dinero a win for the faces here would further prove Rhino’s point and drive Team 3D to more extreme heelish tactics further down the line so I am going with that. I wouldn’t rule out some involvement from Raven seeing as this has a very original ECW feel to it and he would fit right in but Abyss would probably see him off before he could cost the faces the match.

Chris’ Predicted Winner: Hernandez, Matt Morgan & Pope D’Angelo Dinero

All The Title On The Line: The Beautiful People vs ODB ©, Taylor Wilde and Sarita ©

For all the good that TNA have been doing recently they do still sometimes get it very wrong and this match is the perfect example of that. The rules are unclear, the stipulations stupid and the Beautiful People just are not very good in the ring. Velvet Sky can just about hold her own but is not a patch on either Sarita or Wilde and Lacey Von Erich just plain sucks. I hope this match is kept mercifully short and the faces go over and retain their collective championships so that ODB can go on to feud with Kong and Sarita and Wilde can face some competition worthy of their talents. If I was watching this live with a group of friends I would suggest a sweepstake for how many botches Lacey makes in this match and just for the record I am going for 5! Hopefully TNA will steer well clear of lame match types like this once Hogan takes over!

Chris’ Predicted Winner: ODB ©, Taylor Wilde and Sarita © (retain their respective championships)

Kurt Angle vs Desmond Wolfe

As good as the main event will doubtlessly be, nothing will be able to follow this match and I have not been as excited for a wrestling match since Undertaker vs Michaels earlier at Wrestlemania this year. This is two of the best in the world going at it and the very definition of a dream match. I still hate the Desmond Wolfe moniker but I am sure it will grow on me as time goes by. Wolfe has impressed the hell out of me so far in TNA with his awesome promos and beatdowns of Angle and decimating the likes of Cody Deaner in one move was exactly what was needed, in my opinion, if you put Curt Hawkins one on one against The Undertaker you would not expect him to get in any offence whatsoever. Kurt Angle has also made the transition to beloved babyface very easily, thanks to the savagery of Wolfe’s attacks and the Impact Zone have embraced him. It shows how great a heel Wolfe is that he can turn the biggest heel in TNA history babyface in the space of one night! If it wasn’t for the fact this is just the first match, in what I am expecting to be a long running feud, this could be a MOTY candidate and still might be, if given enough time. However I certainly do not see a clean finish and am expecting either a double count out or Wolfe getting disqualified by using a weapon after getting frustrated at Angle kicking out time and time again. Either way this is going to be awesome and if I did not have to be at work so early tomorrow I would stay up through the whole pay per view just for this match. If I wake up early tomorrow I may just youtube this one first thing in the morning before I go!

Chris’ Predicted Winner: Double Count out or Kurt Angle via disqualification.

TNA Championship Triple Threat Match: AJ Styles © vs Samoa Joe vs Daniels

A couple of weeks ago I talked about how as much as I love the idea for this match, the booking behind creating it had been daft considering how Joe and Daniels had performed at BFG. I can understand TNA wanting to put on outstanding matches but they really should put more thought into creating their number one contenders. However this feud has been built really well and I felt TNA jumped the gun when they made it clear a couple of weeks ago that neither Joe or Daniels were AJ’s mystery assailant as they could have played this right up to the start of this match. This one should be outstanding and I am expecting all three men to give their all, especially considering that match that would have preceded them. I cannot see AJ dropping the title here as he deserves a long and dominant reign and I expect him to overcome both Daniels and Joe here, perhaps pinning Daniels to further issues between them. After the match I expect the attacked to reveal himself as Tomko and annihilate AJ much as Undertaker did to Punk at Summerslam, setting up a decent feud between the two and finally some of the main event recognition that Tomko deserves.

Chris’ Predicted Winner: AJ Styles

So with the predictions out of the way lets take a look at this week’s Smackdown

Striker and Grisham welcome us to ringside and hype tonight’s main event between Chris Jericho and The Undertaker and tonight’s contract signing between Rey Mysterio and Batista as well as Ziggler facing Morrison for the Intercontinental Championship.

Match 1: CM Punk vs R-Truth

Punk draws plenty of heat from my English counterparts as we see highlights of Punk losing to R-Truth last week. Before the match gets underway and Punk mocks the United Kingdom and talks about how we used to rule half the planet but now we are just as sad and pathetic as the Americans and we can pretend we don’t spend out time in little pubs downing pints of ale and filling our lungs and those around us with poisons from our fancy cigarettes and cigars as well as one of the most disgusting habits Punk has ever seen: chewing tobacco, which will cause cancer inside of two years. Punk says we are weak minded and we have no hearts and we are practically decomposing right in front of his eyes. Punk says all we can do is boo or wave a crooked finger at him for being preachy. Punk says we need someone as righteous as him to preach to use the proper way to live and we should all aspire to be as great as he is. Punk asks if he thinks he is better than us, absolutely, he is perfect in every day and free of poison and he doesn’t need a crutch to get through his everyday life and he does not need a crooked official like Scott Armstrong to fight his battles for him and he has lodged an official complaint with the board of directors and tonight he will beat R-Truth and then beat him again at Survivor Series, just like he could easily beat up anyone in the arena tonight. Punk says he is the choice of a new generation and Truth is going to ask what’s up and Punk says he can answer that right now: Straight Edge is what’s up and that could save our entire pathetic country and the entire world. Truth raps his way to the ring and is over here in England although not as much as when I saw him in a dark match last time round. Truth tells Punk he can file a complaint any time he want but Truth wants to file a complaint about Punk for impersonating a man. Truth says he didn’t want to come out here and put Punk down or make him look stupid as he is already doing a good job of that himself, Truth says he came out here to add some flavour excitement and to shut Punk up. Truth says the hard working people pay good money to see action not here Punk preach. Truth says Punk is a punk and the truth is Punk preaches to people to make him feel better about his own life and tonight the truth is going to hurt. The bell rings and the match is underway. Punk shoves Truth but gets dropped with a right hand and Truth forces Punk into the corner before slapping Punk and attempting to whip him but Punk reverses it only for Truth to leapfrog him in the corner but get caught in the GTS position in the process. Truth wriggles free and connects a leg lariat for a quick one count. Punk connects a kick to the gut but Truth tosses him over the ropes as we go to commercial. Back from the break Truth has a nerve hold applied but Punk battles to his feet and forces Truth in to the corner, dropping some shoulder in the process. Punk tries to force Truth in to the opposite corner but Truth hits an uppercut before heading to the top rope but Punk kicks him off and stalks him across the ring. Punk stomps away and works over Truth’s legs with a submission hold. The crowd rally behind Truth but Punk drops some elbows and breaks the hold before kicking away at Truth and connecting a chop block for a near fall. Punk pulls Truth to his feet but Truth fights back with a jaw breaker and tries a charging move but Punk reverses it with a drop toe hold and continues to work over Truth’s left leg, locking in an amazing crab like submission hold. Truth fights back and punches Punk in the face knocking him off. Punk heads to the ropes and tries a springboard crossbody but Truth counters with a drop kick in mid air and then connects with some strikes and a clothesline for a near fall. Back suplex from Truth but he is slow making the cover due to the injured leg and only gets two. Truth sets Punk up for the axe kick but Punk dodges the move and nails a brutal side kick to Truth’s knee. Punk calls for the GTS and gets Truth up but takes too long posing and Truth wriggles free and attempts a sunset flip but Punk drops on top of Truth, grabs the rope and gets the three count.

Result: CM Punk defeats R-Truth via pinfall **3/4

Chris Considers: Prior to this match, both men cut great promos. Punk is far more effective feuding with someone like Truth who he can really rip into rather than The Undertaker and Truth himself proved to be no slouch on the mic. I have always wanted Truth to work at a higher level on Smackdown and perhaps this mini feud with Punk is a test run, much as Kofi’s feud with Orton is over on RAW. As for the match itself, it was very enjoyable and both men seemed very evenly matched for the most part. I liked the way Truth sold his injuries and some of Punk’s submission work was outstanding. Punk getting the dirty win furthers issues between the two and builds their match at Survivor Series. Great start to the show.

Mickie and Layla cut another terrible backstage promo whilst Michelle sneaks into Mickie’s locker room. Now that’s entertainment!

Match 2: Mickie James vs Natalya

This should be an awesome match! I rate both these ladies very highly and this is another first time encounter! Natalya quickly takes Mickie down and slaps away on the mat before mocking her and applying a hammerlock but Mickie cartwheels free and connects some elbows before sliding under a clothesline and nailing an overhead takeover followed by a low drop kick which sends Natalya scurrying from the ring. Natalya demands the referee backs Mickie up but she slides out of the ring only for Natalya to shove her into the steel steps. Natalya tosses Mickie back in the ring and covers for a near fall. Natalya hauls Mickie up by her hair and slams her into the mat before applying a very impressive surfboard submission hold but her shoulders end up down in the process and Natalya is forced to break the hold. Natalya forces Mickie into the corner and stomps and strikes away but is called off by the referee and as she tries to pull Mickie out of the corner she grabs the ropes and boots her off and comes back with strikes but Natalya forces her back into the corner only to run straight into an elbow and Mickie connects a quick head scissors take down followed by a series of clotheslines sending Natalya crashing to the mat. Natalya fights back with strikes and hurls Mickie from the ring but Mickie quickly comes back on to the apron and drops a shoulder before heading to the top rope. At this point Michelle and Layla stroll down the ramp with some of Mickie’s things as Mickie horribly botches a seated senton. Mickie stares at Michelle as they chop up her clothes and Natalya drops Mickie with a clothesline and locks in the sharpshooter and Mickie taps.

Result: Natalya defeats Mickie James via submission *3/4

Chris Considers: Although this was short, it was so much better than the majority of diva matches on WWE TV. Two of the top divas facing off was always going to be good and had this been given a little longer it would have gotten a much higher rating. Natalya picking up a win was great to see and hopefully she can start establishing herself as a legitimate female star.

Amazingly WWE plug the upcoming Hulk Hogan DVD which seems perhaps the most stupid they could do with the current Hogan/TNA situation!!!

Backstage Interview: John Morrison

Josh Matthews asks Morrison how he feels about his title match tonight. Morrison asks Josh how he feels about talking to the Friday Night Delight. Josh ignores this and Morrison says he does feel pressure and has butterflies in his stomach but the difference between John Morrison and Dolph Ziggler is that Ziggler cannot handle the pressure and he is panicking right now calling his mum backstage and complaining on the internet and when he gets out there he will make a mistake. Morrison says when he thrives on this pressure and tonight he will hit Ziggler harder than Ricky Hatton, kick him harder than David Beckham and rock the arena harder than the Beatles. At the end of the match Dolph will be laying in the middle of the ring and stare up at Morrison who will still be Intercontinental Champion.

Chris Considers: This was not the best promo Morrison has ever cut, the guy is naturally funny and I feel would do much better on the mic if WWE just let him run with it rather than giving him such cheesy scripted lines!

Match 3: Drew McIntyre vs Finlay

As Drew makes his way to the ring we see his annihilation of Finlay a couple of weeks ago. He gets on the mic and stares at the crowd and gets something of a mixed reaction. Drew says he did not let Finlay in the ring because he wasn’t worthy and still isn’t but Drew has had a change of heart and since Finlay loves to fight lets see how much Finlay loves to fight him. Finlay gets a great reaction from the UK crowd and tells Drew to bring it as he gets in the ring. Finlay drops an elbow to the neck and drops Drew with a clothesline before nailing a pair up uppercuts followed by some stiff chops. The two exchange charging kicks, with Drew’s sending Finlay flying from the ring. Drew follows Finlay to the outside and clotheslines him before tossing him back in and begins to stomp and kick away before working over Finlay’s shoulder but the Irishman fights to his feet and nails a very stiff right before punching Drew from the ring. Finlay follows and continues the beatdown and hammers Drew into the security barrier and the brawl heads back into the ring and the two exchange blows and brawl away causing the referee to ring the bell. Finlay immediately goes for the shelaighlee but Drew nails a leaping kick and then grabs the shelaighlee and hammers Finlay in the head with it and goes to leave but storms back to the ring and nails another shelaighlee blow to the stomach. After the match referees help Finlay to the back and he gets a big ovation from the crowd.

Result: Finlay and Drew McIntye fight to a double disqualification *1/2

Chris Considers: The ending to this match was ludicrous, how could both men get disqualified for punching each other??? This could have been booked so much better. However this result furthers this feud along nicely and Drew really is becoming quite the despised heel on Smackdown! I sense a Belfast Brawl next week to settle this issue!

Apparently more people visit WWE.com website than the NBA site, something tells me this is bullshit…

Official Contract Signing: Batista & Rey Mysterio

Matt Striker is in the ring and hypes the match before introducing Rey Mysterio who gets the pop of the night so far. Rey greets his fans on the way to the ring and shakes Striker’s hand before posing on the turnbuckle. Batista gets major heat as he strolls to down the ramp and we get a recap of Batista’s savage beat down of Rey at Bragging Rights. Striker asks that they sign the documents and make this official. Batista asks Rey how he is doing and Rey says he just want to get this signed. They sign the contract and Batista says he has something else for Rey to sign and it is a hold harmless agreement which means Batista cannot legally be held responsible for what he does to Rey and no on can sue him for what he does at Survivor Series. Rey says he is not signing it and Batista flares up and calls Rey a coward hiding behind his goofy mask. Batista tells Rey to sign it otherwise he will embarrass Rey in front of the fans reach across the table and snap Rey’s neck like a twig. Rey says he will sign it and says he knows what Batista is trying to do and Rey is not scared. Rey says at Survivor Series it will be Batista that is embarrassed. Rey flips the table up into Batista’s face and send him crashing to the floor and flees the ring. Batista screams in rage as a huge ‘Who are ya’ chant breaks out as Batista destroys the chair in the ring in rage.

Chris Considers: Short but to the point segment here that was good build for this match at Survivor Series. As much as his ring work may leave plenty to be desired Batista is very good on the mic as a heel and comes across as a real bully which is exactly what he needs to do. The timing for that table flip was perfect and it came across really well!

Match 4: Intercontinental Title Match: John Morrison © vs Dolph Ziggler

Dolph gets some heat from the fans as he struts to the ring whilst Morrison gets a nice pop. Both of these guy’s pushes have slowed somewhat recently and hopefully their great ring work of late will get them going again. The two circle and Morrison grabs Dolph’s leg but Dolph punches him off and takes a time out from the ring, Morrison tries to follow but the referee hauls him back allowing Dolph to pounce and drop Morrison with a right before stomping away. Dolph talks smack and Morrison rolls him up but doesn’t even get a one and ducks under Dolph’s punches whilst nailing some of his own. Hilarious comment from Striker saying Morrison is punching like Hatton but Hatton does not have abs like Morrison! Nice flapjack from Morrison followed by his handstand kick which gets a near fall but as Morrison heads to the top rope Dolph crotches him hanging him up before nailing a nice drop kick for a near fall. Dolph nails a boot to the gut before nailing a gut buster for a near fall as we head to commercial. Back from the break and Dolph is working over Morrison’s abdomen in the middle of the ring. Morrison punches free and the two exchange blows with Morrison coming out on top. Morrison whips Ziggler across the ring but misses a flying leg lariat and Dolph is straight in with a cover for two as Morrison crashes and burns. Overhead takedown from Dolph followed by a blockbuster for another near fall. Dolph stomps away before he drops some elbows before his high impact elbow for another near fall. Dolph applies a body scissors hold on the mat but Morrison elbows free only for Dolph to connect a scoop slam for another two. Dolph talks smack which enrages the champion and they get a boo/cheer strike exchange going which Morrison wins but Dolph tries for a back suplex which Morrison flips out from and drops Dolph with a pair of clotheslines followed by a flying leg lariat for a near fall. Morrison calls for the Moonlight Drive but Dolph counters it into a facebuster which gets Dolph another near fall. Dolph is frustrated and hammers away at Morrison on the mat before pulling him to his feet but out of nowhere Morrison connects a pele kick for a near fall. Morrison hauls Dolph into position for Starship Pain and the crowd erupt. But Dolph ducks and pins Dolph with his feet on the ropes which the referee sees which leads to a huge argument between Dolph and the referee allowing Morrison to connect the Flying Chuck for a near fall. Dolph rolls on to the apron and as Morrison tries to haul him back in the ring Dolph connects some right hands and slams Morrison’s head into the ring post. Dolph heads to the top rope but Morrison springs up as well the two slug it out leading to Dolph taking a tumble but he pulls Morrison with him and both men crash to the outside leading to a double count out from the referee.

Result: John Morrison and Dolph Ziggler ends in a double count out. ***

Chris Considers: I don’t think these two could have a bad match if they tried! This was very, very good from both Dolph and Morrison and a double count out extends the feud despite the fact that the English crowd really hated it. I loved the boo/cheer exchange and it shows how over both these guys are getting. So many close matches and battles means the time Dolph does win the belt will make it that much more significant.

Match 5: Beth Phoenix vs Lisa Taylor

Beth gets a mixed reaction as she makes her way to the ring as Striker informs us Taylor is the Commonwealth Champion (presumably for wrestling) Taylor immediately tries for a roll up but Beth is too strong and drops some clubbing blows before nailing a back breaker followed by a running charge into the ring post. Beth hangs Lisa up in the tree of woe and hits and impressive neck breaker using the ropes for leverage. Glam Slam from Beth and it is all over.

Beth Phoenix defeats Lisa Taylor via pinfall ½*

Chris Considers: I am really enjoying how Beth is being built up as such a big deal and am eagerly awaiting her turning face and feuding with Michelle. As an apparent champion Taylor perhaps should have gotten in a bit more offence but there you go.

Backstage Interview: Chris Jericho

Jericho is warming up and Josh interrupts and asks him if he is concerned about facing the Deadman. Jericho laughs and says the Undertaker is no Deadman just a man like Jericho. Jericho says for ten years the plebeians in this audience have waited to see Chris Jericho vs The Undertaker and for twenty years they have believed The Undertaker has some sort of mystical power but he can be beaten and tonight he will be beaten by Jericho. Jericho says he is not just a man, he is the best in the world at what he does and not a Deadman will stop him tonight and at Survivor Series neither a Deadman or giant will stop him and he will leave as World Heavyweight Champion.

Chris Considers: Short but to the point from Jericho. Hyped the match tonight and The Survivor Series title match. Very few people can nail it on the mic quite like Jericho and he proved it once again even in the two minutes he has here!

Main Event: Chris Jericho vs The Undertaker

Jericho gets a mixed, but mostly heel reaction during his entrance whilst the arena erupts for The Undertaker who is once again clad in his WM 24 outfit. Jericho gets out of the ring as The Undertaker makes his entrance and stares from the outside as Undertaker stalks the ring. As the match gets underway Jericho ducks a punch and nails a flurry of blows in the corner but the referee hauls him off and Undertaker hurls Jericho into the corner and connects strikes of his own. Jericho screams at the referee to call Taker off but gets sent into the opposite corner. Jericho telegraphs Taker and connects a boot to no effect and Taker clotheslines him from the ring and connects his leg drop on the apron to a huge pop. Jericho rolls back into the ring and Taker stomps away before applying a hammerlock and dropping Jericho with a shoulder charge. Leg drop from Taker gets a one and he immediately applies another hammerlock and continues to haul Jericho around the ring and connect boots. Undertaker goes for Old School to a huge pop but Jericho springs to the top rope and nails a superplex out of nowhere leaving both men down as we go to commercial. Back from the break and Jericho is pummelling Taker on the mat which leads to the referee hauling him off. Jericho forces Taker into the ropes and stomps away before choking him with a boot which leads to him being hauled off again. Jericho walks into a kick and gets whipped across the ring but Jericho gets a boot up and flies off the top rope with a drop kick for a near fall. Jericho applies a headlock but Taker powers out only for Jericho to boot Taker from the ring. Jericho poses before flying off the apron with an axe handle sending Taker crashing into the security barrier. Jericho whips Taker into the barrier before tossing him back in and choking him on the ropes before standing on his back till the count of four. Taker connects an elbow but Jericho is immediately back with strikes and blows dropping Taker to his knees Taker lulls on the ropes and Jericho chokes him once again but Taker goes for a chokeslam but Jericho punches free and we get a boo/cheer striking exchange which Undertaker wins before whipping Jericho into the turnbuckle and connecting a charging clothesline. Taker hits Snake Eyes but Jericho counters the big boot with a huge drop kick for a near fall. Jericho tries to hit a version of a KO punch and Taker grabs him by the throat only for Jericho to kick free again but he ends up charging straight into a big boot. Both men are down and Undertaker misses a leaping kick in the corner. Jericho nails some mounted punches but Undertaker tries the Last Ride but Jericho leaps free and nails a Codebreaker out of nowhere but is slow making the cover and only gets a near fall. Jericho taunts Taker by using his throat slit pose and attempts a Tombstone which Taker counters into a Tombstone of his own which Jericho flips out from before connecting a chop block followed by a Lionsault, Jericho is slow making the cover and in classic moment Taker sits up and goes for a Chokeslam but Jericho somehow counters, rolls through and locks on the Walls of Jericho! Taker rolls the move round and applies Hell’s Gate leading to Jericho swiftly tapping out giving Undertaker the win. The Big Show’s music hits and he stomps to the ring as Taker tries to struggle to his feet. As Undertaker is distracted by Show, Jericho strikes from behind and they double team Taker with Show nailing a chokeslam and they lock in a double submission hold with Jericho applying the Walls and Show applying the Colossal Clutch. Suddenly Kane’s music hits and he stomps to the ring to a huge pop. Show flees and Jericho is nailed with a big boot sending him rolling from the ring. Kane checks on Taker and we see Vince backstage. He calls Long and suggests next week’s main event be: The Brothers of Destruction vs Jeri-Show. Awesome!

Result: The Undertaker defeats Chris Jericho via submission ****

Chris Considers: Had this match been given half an hour it would have been a five star encounter. Some of the ring work displayed here was simply off the charts with some amazing counters and evasions! Sometimes smaller guys don’t work well with Taker but that was not the case here, Jericho matched him move for move, counter for counter and this was one the best WWE TV match since Morrison vs Mysterio! Also a lesson to be learned here is if there is going to be overbooking and interference let the match finish first and have the interference afterwards! Kane helping Undertaker sets up a mega main event for next week and a match I have wanted to see since Jeri-Show formed several months ago. I really hope that one pay per view soon Jericho and Undertaker face off one on one and get even more time to deliver greatness as this match has just wetted my appetite for more! As much as I am glad I gave RAW a miss, I wish I had attended this show!

Overall this was a superb edition of Friday Night Smackdown, the best in a long time. Everything worked and everything was good, aside from Morrison’s promo. Punk vs Truth, Mickie vs Natalya and Finlay vs McIntyre were all solid whilst Dolph and Morrison had another excellent clash. Batista and Rey further intensified their feud with the contract signing and Beth continued to build herself as THE diva to be reckoned with on Smackdown. The main event was simply off the charts and fully delivered on its high expectations. I was gripped from bell to bell and literally had to watch this about four times to call it as for the first couple of times I just watched in awe. True excellence from Jericho and Taker and as I said I really hope they main event a pay per view sometime soon!

This week’s match of the night was Undertaker vs Chris Jericho and the show scores a perfect 10/10

That’s all for this week’s edition of Chris Reviews Smackdown, I shall be back during the week with my Turning Point thoughts as well as my Roadrunner blog. Thank you so much for your continued support and I hope you keep coming back for more! I hope you all have a great week! As always you can email me on a_agreement_called_forever@hotmail.com , add me on facebook: www.facebook.com\wnws.chris.jacks  or follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/WNWsChrisJacks  I would love to hear from you!

Here are ten points to consider coming out of this week’s show!
• Punk’s opening promo was a timely reminder how good he is on the mic and Truth was no slacker either!
• I have always rated R-Truth and am pleased he is getting to work with someone higher up the card and hopefully creative will finally take notice of how good his actually is!
• What a joy to see two talented women wrestle in WWE! Pity the match could not have been longer, give Natalya and Mickie ten-fifteen minutes and they could dazzle us!
• That was not a good promo from Morrison, creative should let him come up with his own stuff like he did on the dirt sheet rather than this scripted cheese!
• Having Finlay and Drew double disqualified for punching each other was one of the lamest finishers ever, however Drew’s aggression was impressive and his post match beat down intense. Bring on the Belfast Brawl!
• Batista continued to impress on the mic! I loved his line where he said he would snap Rey’s little neck like a twig. I hope these two have a great match to deliver on this great build!
• Another great match from Dolph and Morrison! Two out of three falls next week should be great! The crowd hated the double count out but it was really the only way to extend the feud and keep Dolph’s credibility!
• Beth Phoenix vs Michelle is a match waiting to happen! Only a matter of weeks before she turns face I reckon!
• What a main event! That is a match I will come back to and watch over and over, I really did enjoy it that much! When Jericho countered the chokeslam, rolled down Taker’s back and locked in the Walls I was on my feet!
• What a great main event we have set next week! This match was the perfect example of how an overbooked ending is necessary and works in the right situation!

My top ten matches of the year so far in WWE

1: The Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels – Wrestlemania – April 5th 2009
2: Legacy vs DeGeneration X – Breaking Point – September 13th 2009
3: CM Punk vs Jeff Hardy – Smackdown – August 28th 2009
4: Rey Mysterio vs Chris Jericho – The Bash – June 28th 2009
5: Rey Mysterio vs John Morrison – Smackdown – August 4th 2009
6: CM Punk vs Jeff Hardy – Summerslam – August 23rd 2009
7: Rey Mysterio vs Chris Jericho – Smackdown – July 10th 2009
8: Chris Jericho vs The Undertaker – Smackdown – November 13th 2009
9: Jeff Hardy vs John Morrison – Smackdown – July 31st 2009
10: John Cena vs Randy Orton – Bragging Rights – October 25th 2009

Smackdown Power 10

1: The Undertaker
2: Chris Jericho
3: Batista
4: Rey Mysterio
5: CM Punk
6: Dolph Ziggler
7: John Morrison
8: Drew McIntyre
9: Matt Hardy
10: Kane

Watch any WWE programming you miss at www.Dailymotion.com  , your online source for TV shows!

Hey everyone and welcome to this week’s edition of Chris Reviews Smackdown. In this week’s blog I shall be discussing some of Hulk Hogan’s more amusing comments over the past week, DX verbally burying talent, a bit of Impact! and analysing the show. Please feel free to leave some feedback via the comment board or drop an email to a_agreement_called_forever@hotmail.com

First off some good news, as you may recall for the last few weeks I have really been struggling with free time as I have been working so many hours and I mentioned last week I was going to try and change my hours at work so that I have some time free in the evenings to write and research and luckily my boss agreed so as of this coming Monday I shall be starting and finishing work earlier from Monday to Friday (sadly my weekend hours still remain the same!) so baring any catastrophes I shall have this blog up either on Saturday or Sunday every week.

Another random piece of info, I have a really cool new touch screen phone that comes with a Twitter application installed on it so I will probably be tweeting a lot from now on with random stuff about what I am doing etc. My Twitter address is http://twitter.com/WNWsChrisJacks

Thanks to everyone who pointed out that Matt Hardy actually beat Eric Escobar with the Twist of Fate last week on Smackdown. The reason I did not pick up on it was because Hardy hit the move much more slowly and awkwardly than he usually does and Escobar did an especially poor job of taking the move so it came off looking just like a regular neck breaker, especially as Matt did not do the Hardy pose and shout he normally does when he hits it either. Next week I am going to find some links of Escobar in FCW so those unfamiliar with him can see just how much he is being held back (for whatever reason) on Smackdown.

So my main thoughts when watching this last week’s RAW was just how unbelievably arrogant Shawn Michaels and Triple H have become! During the opening segment you had three up and coming heels (The Miz, Ted and Cody) and one established main eventer (Big Show) cutting what I thought were decent promos and DX come out and call them ‘ratings killers’ I mean seriously these two are supposed to be two of the most experienced locker room leaders with an eye for the business and they run down three of their brightest hopes for the future live on WWE’s flagship show? How are people supposed to take Legacy and Miz seriously when Shawn and Hunter pull shit like that? It is ridiculous and someone needs to pull them up on it. Secondly DX are in a triple threat match for the WWE title and yet they are treating the match like a complete joke! The backstage skit with Cena just made the whole match into a complete farce and why would they try and help Cena when he is being beaten down by Jeri-Show when they are facing him for the title in a couple of weeks time? The sooner PG DX is over the better as they have become very stale very quickly and despite the fact I found their commentary on Monday amusing it was lucky they were mocking established stars as had that been any of the aforementioned midcarders the audience would have come away from the match thinking they were the jokes that DX had made them out to be.

I meant to talk a bit about the TNA Championship Match at Turning Point last week but did not have time. Now I remember the not too long ago days when to become a number one contender you actually had to compete and win consistently to challenge for the title. Now we all know that AJ vs Daniels vs Joe is a potential match of the year candidate but with the way these two were booked at Bound For Glory, you have to wonder what exactly they did to deserve a title shot. Joe was pretty much squashed by Lashley whilst Daniels came up short in the Ultimate X match and they then get a title shot??? I love TNA’s new direction of pushing the deserving home grown talent, however they need to make sure it makes logical sense. Based on the booking of Bound For Glory there were perhaps two or three guys that could have logically laid claim to number one contendership for the TNA Title (namely Angle, Lashley and possibly Matt Morgan) and if they had wanted to insert Joe and Daniels then fair enough but at least have some qualifying matches to determine it. TNA could have had all the storylines they currently have so Lashley could have gone against Joe again only for Steiner to leer on Kristal on the outside causing Lashley to lose by countout after he chased off Steiner, Rhyno could have cost Morgan his match with Daniels and then Joe and Daniels could have gone to a time limit draw (much as AJ and Angle did a few weeks ago) causing Carter/Foley or whoever is the on screen boss these days to declare them both number one contender and make the triple threat. That way we would get our amazing triple threat match but with some logical booking behind it! I am not singling out TNA here, WWE did exactly the same thing with Rey and Batista at Bragging Rights, shoving them into a title match after they lost out on the tag titles! Perhaps I am being too picky but in my mind number one contendership for any title should be earned rather than just given for the sake of a great match or to get a big name in the title picture.

With all that being said I am loving the mystery assailant storyline that TNA are running with someone attacking AJ. I think we all knew it wasn’t going to be Joe or Daniels but I think they gave that away a bit early this week on Impact! when they could have teased it all they way up to and including Turning Point. This has been really well booked and really well done so far! In my opinion the attacker will turn out to be Tomko who has been at all of the recent Impact! tapings and certainly has past history with AJ so this would be a logical storyline. Tomko could be out for revenge for being left in the dust after their tag team run whilst AJ has had everything given to him. The storyline pretty much writes itself and Tomko deserves a main event shot after being left somewhat stranded by TNA when they turned him heel for no good reason whatsoever when he was about to break into the main event. I think AJ vs Tomko would be an excellent program and one that I would be happy to tune in to see!

I seem to be talking a lot of TNA here but really that is where all the news is at right now! Hulk Hogan has been doing the media rounds all week and has come out with some worrying and astounding comments! Here are three of the best of them followed by my reactions to them.

Hogan/TNA Week 2

From the Gimme Noise blog out of Minnesota http://blogs.citypages.com/gimmenoise/2009/11/hulkamania_inva.php?page=2  

Hogan on going to TNA: ‘That’s a huge deal for me, man. I never thought that they would bring me in to like the Vince McMahon role with another wrestling company kind of like I did with WCW years back. I actually used to have this same role back in the day, except it was unofficial. Vince’s dad ran the league while I was down here in Minnesota kicking ass with Verne Gagne and when he died, they talked me into coming back. So I came back and found that Vince McMahon, who owns the company now, didn’t really understand the business. So I moved in next door to him in Connecticut and taught him all about lifting weights and riding motorcycles and partying like a mad man; and then I taught him about the wrestling business and making money’

Chris Considers: I bet Vince was furious when he read this!!! Hogan is trying to claim he taught Vince all about the business that Vince grew up in as well as teaching Vince how to make money??? Seriously I don’t know what Hogan was smoking when he did this interview but these are some pretty ridiculous claims by any standards. By far the most amusing Hogan related story I have read all week!

A quote from Hogan’s book signing in Lake Forest Park WA

‘Hulk Hogan told fans who showed up to make sure they start watching Impact because he was going to head in, bring in his guys, and turn the place upside down’

Chris Considers: I cannot comment on the accuracy of this one as it was word of mouth from fans at the book signing but this is a potentially worrying statement from Hogan. I would be all for him bringing in some guys who have either not yet reached their potential or are established stars who can still work great matches (such as Mr Kennedy and RVD) but if Hogan means he is going to bring in all his WCW/Hogan’s Championship Wrestling friends then he needs to have a rethink! TNA is great because it has a phenomenal collection of young workers and if they have to take a back seat to the likes of Hall, Nash, X-Pac, Brutus Beefcake, Rikishi, Goldberg etc TNA will die a quick and sudden death.

Hogan phoned in to the Bubba Sponge radio show as he regularly does and admitted he was the new TNA booker and said he would be willing to give Vince Russo another chance but he is in a position where he could fire him. Hogan also mentioned that his contract says nothing about actually wrestling in TNA and the company is now spending big money.

Chris Considers: I found it very interesting hearing Hogan talk so openly about Russo’s position. Pretty much what he is saying I think is that if Russo crosses him then he is gone but seeing as how no sane wrestling company on the planet would hire Russo I imagine he will do everything he can to keep Hogan happy. I have no problem with Hogan booking TNA if he continues the current direction of the company and hopefully he will realise from all the mistakes of WCW that we do not need overbooking in every single match! Also despite Hogan saying his contract says nothing about wrestling I would be willing to be a considerable amount of money we will see him involved in at least one match during the next year!

Lastly before I forget when I said TNA would have done a 2.5 last week if it were not for the competition from World Series etc, this was based entirely on a couple of articles I read across the internet that talked about the stiff competition Impact had faced last week and had they not had that competition then the rating would have been much higher. Obviously being UK based I only have a basic understanding of the American rating system that I researched when I first started here on WNW. I don’t know what sport you have on over in the states at the minute but perhaps this week’s rating will give a clearer picture!

I had a really good question sent to me this week so even though my Q&A section is still on hold I really wanted to feature this from WNW reader Rob: Chris my name is Rob, long time fan of your blogs. I’m just interested to hear your opinion on what may be the Smackdown main event for TLC. The way I’ve looked at it is there is no way a guy like undertaker in his present condition should be in some sort of TLC match. And of the Smackdown maineventers only Cm Punk comes to mind as one who should be in that type of match. Do you think WWE have kind of painted themselves into a corner with these specific gimmick ppvs? What do you think the TLC Smackdown main event will be?

Hey there, thanks very much for the praise dude! glad you enjoy my work and hope you continue to do so. I think even in his current state The Undertaker will want to work TLC and I cannot see any way he will drop the title at Survivor Series. Taker worked a TLC match with Edge at One Night Stand last year very banged up and the match was still phenomenal. CM Punk seems to be stuck in a feud with referees and such so I cannot see him getting back in the title picture for the time being. I think one match that would guarantee ppv buys would be Undertaker vs Chris Jericho in a TLC match as obviously this has never been done before (a one on one match between Taker and Jericho) and of everyone on the current roster only Edge is better in ladder matches than Jericho. I must admit I am not a fan of these gimmick specific pay per views although I did really enjoy Bragging Rights as it was something different. But anything more than 2 TLC matches will be overkill. So my early prediction is Chris Jericho vs The Undertaker in a TLC match on the Smackdown side of things and John Cena vs Jack Swagger in a TLC match on the RAW side of things (hopefully Orton will still be feuding with Kofi and DX will either be fighting each other or the Hart Dynasty)

So with that considerable discussion out of the way it is on to this week’s Smackdown!

Opening Segment: The Undertaker & Chris Jericho

Todd Grisham and Matt Striker welcome us to ringside and hype the main event between Matt Hardy and Batista. The Undertaker’s gong strikes and the Deadman makes his way to the ring to a thunderous ovation. Undertaker is once again clad in his Wrestlemania 24 attire. The Undertaker grabs the mic and says it seems an eternity ago that the demons of hell passed judgement on the mortal world and unleashed a creature of the night so powerful that it would send shivers down the spine of all who opposed him. Taker says that the dark birth of The Undertaker took place at Survivor Series and year after year all who oppose him perish at his feet yet year after year they keep coming for a chance to be world heavyweight champion. Taker calls the belt the Holy Grail for everyone who steps foot in the ring, he mentions how Big Show betrayed a whole team for a shot at the title but what he has won is the chance to be terminated by the Deadman. Taker says that brings him to Chris Jericho, he says there are few things in the world that bring joy to his dark heart, one is being able to fight alongside his brother Kane, the second is being able to fight against his brother Kane. Last week Chris Jericho took this opportunity away from him and now at Survivor Series, his fate and heart and soul will be Taker’s. Huge pop from the crowd and Jericho’s music hit and he struts to the apron suited up. Undertaker stares daggers at Jericho as he makes his way to the ring. Jericho says finally after ten years comes the moment the WWE universe have been waiting for. Two of the greatest superstars in WWE history face to face for the first time ever: the best in the world and the phenom. Jericho asks what is a phenom, apparently the dictionary definition is an exceptional, unusual abnormal person. Jericho says this describes him much better than Taker and he is the true phenom of the WWE. Jericho says he is exceptionally talented with accolades second to none, the best at what he does which makes him unusual and what makes him abnormal is that Jericho is the only one bold enough to stand up for what he believes in and tell the truth and for the last 20 years the Undertaker has been lying to these sycophants trying to pretend he is something he is not. Jericho says the Undertaker is not a deadman, he is just a man, just a man like Kane or John Cena men like Jericho has beaten in the last 10 days. Jericho says he is on the roll of his career but can beat anyone he wants, anytime and at Survivor Series he will beat Undertaker and become world champion for the sixth time. Jericho says he is not intimidated and says he is not afraid of the dark and Taker is just a man and there is not a man on this planet that Jericho is afraid of. Jericho gets right in Taker’s face and says he is the new phenom of WWE and asks Taker if he understands what he is saying man. Taker grabs Jericho for a chokeslam but Jericho punches free only to run into a big boot. Jericho scurries from the ring and Undertaker poses with the belt and runs his hand across his throat.

Chris Considers: That was one of the best openings to Smackdown I have ever seen! Undertaker is always great at cutting promos but Jericho was simply off the charts here with his dismantling of Taker’s character. What makes this so good and exciting is that it is fresh and this built the Survivor Series match no end! It was nice seeing Jericho go toe to toe with Undertaker rather than playing the coward and I will be very interested to see where this goes from here next week.

We see highlights of Batista and Rey’s feud so far. Like I said last week I will never be a fan of Batista’s ring work but his mic work is so much better as a heel and I think he will work better as a monster heel than a babyface that always overcomes the odds. Plus working with Rey will help as Rey can make just about anyone look good in the ring!

Match 1: Cryme Tyme & John Morrison vs Dolph Ziggler & The Hart Dynasty

As Dolph makes his way to the ring we see highlights of him defeating John Morrison by count out last week. Natalya is looking even more gorgeous than usual! As John Morrison makes his way out we see highlights if him on the ‘Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader Show’ I advise checking this out as it was pretty funny! Cryme Tyme get a great response whilst Striker runs down gangsta lifestyle. Tyson and Morrison start out and they lock up before Morrison evades a kick but gets taken down with a headlock takeover. Tyson keeps the hold applied but Morrison soon breaks out and leapfrogs a charge before taking Tyson down with an arm drag takeover. Morrison seems to have hurt his ribs in the process and limps around as the heels mock him. Morrison tags in JTG as we go to commercial. Back from the break and Dolph is wrenching on JTG’s head. JTG rolls the move through and hits a nice arm drag followed by a blockbuster. JTG tries his middle rope leg drop but Dolph ducks under the move only for JTG to nail a Stunner and follows up with some mounted punches. Tyson distracts the referee and Smith cheapshots JTG knocking him off Dolph to huge heat from the fans. Dolph makes the cover and gets a near fall and Smith is tagged in. Smith connects some big stomps followed by a big uppercut and strikes before tagging in Tyson and the Hart Dynasty double team JTG. Tyson goes for the pin and gets a near fall. Smith tagged back in and we get a nice leg drop/backslide combo from the Harts. Smith covers for one and drops an elbow to JTG’s neck before applying an Orton Lock. The crowd rally behind JTG who battles to his feet only to get forced into the corner. Dolph tags in and connects some strikes before hitting and overhead takeover and a blockbuster. JTG is down and Dolph mocks Morrison on the outside. Dolph covers for two and locks in his crab headlock. Dolph breaks the move and goes for a back suplex but JTG flips out and counters with a back breaker. Both men make hot tags to Morrison and Tyson respectively and the two slug it out with Morrison coming out on top. Morrison is defiantly favouring his ribs as he hits a back drop followed by a stiff leg lariat. Morrison cannot even make it to his feet as Smith is tagged in but quickly comes back with quick strikes and uppercuts. Smith tries for a scoop slam and Morrison wriggles free before shoving Smith into the turnbuckle and connecting the Flying Chuck. Morrison struggles to his feet and Dolph tries for a cheap shot but Morrison fires him out of the ring before gingerly walking to the face corner and tagging in Shad. Morrison immediately goes to the ropes and nails an amazing corkscrew plancha taking out Tyson on the outside, who had been checking on Dolph. Shad screams at Smith and nails strike after strike before taking him down with a huge shoulder block and firing up the crowd. On the outside Dolph dumps Morrison ribs first onto the security wall and makes the blind tag on Smith as Shad continues to work him over in the ring. Shad looks to hit a powerslam on Smith but Dolph strikes with the Zig Zag and pins for the victory.

Result: Dolph Ziggler & The Hart Dynasty defeat Cryme Tyme & John Morrison via pinfall ***

Chris Considers: Superb opening bout that featured some excellent ring work by both Dolph Ziggler and JTG. I am unsure if Morrison was legitimately hurt or if he was just selling as he did seem to be moving very awkwardly after hitting that early arm drag take over. It seems Dolph and Morrison are going full steam ahead once more in a feud for the intercontinental championship and I am eagerly awaiting what they will do next. The Hart Dynasty are a cut above when it comes to chemistry and team work and really deserve a shot at the tag titles at some point in the near future.

Backstage Interview: Rey Mysterio

Josh Matthews is backstage with Rey and asks him for his state of mind after his face to face confrontation with Batista last week. Rey said he would be lying if he did not admit he was upset but could Josh imagine one of his own family members walking out over something so small; that is how Rey feels. Rey talks some Spanish and Josh says Teddy Long has made official and at Survivor Series Rey will face off against Batista. Josh asks Rey if he has a message for Batista and he unbuckles his mask before staring straight into the camera. Rey says he knows Batista is watching and he knows he won’t listen to Rey, he won’t listen to logic and he has decided to throw away their friendship. Rey says Batista has also decided to throw away the spirit of Eddie Guerrero. Rey says he doesn’t know what has gotten in to Batista but he is going to beat it out. Rey says Batista showed him a side of him he had never seen before but at Survivor Series Rey will show Batista a side of himself that Batista never knew existed!

Chris Considers: I much prefer serious and intense Rey than over the top mushy Rey. This was a solid interview that set up the Survivor Series clash. I will be interested to see if Rey interferes in the main or vice versa.

Match 2: Beth Phoenix vs Brittney Carter

Striker once again talks up the jobber Brittney saying she has an extensive background in dance. Beth smiles and charges Brittney into the turnbuckle and then again on the opposite one. Butt splash from Beth and Brittney is in trouble, one armed back breaker from Beth followed by another and Beth hauls Brittney to her feet and applies a torture rack. Beth spins Brittney around before delivering another back breaker to applause from the crowd. Beth shrugs and delivers the Implant Buster for the pinfall and victory

Result: Beth Phoeinix defeats Brittney Carter via pinfall *

Chris Considers: Despite this being a total squash, it builds Beth up as a dominant force on Smackdown and she seemed to have a lot of fun doing it! It was interesting seeing Beth get cheered and I think there is a high probability she will be turning face which would be awesome as she is one of the few divas in WWE that can actually talk on the mic!

Match 3: Drew McIntyre vs Jimmy Wang Yang

It is great seeing Jimmy Wang Yang back in action on Smackdown although something tells me this one might be a bit of a squash! Yang poses on the tunbuckle and McIntyre knocks him to the outside. Drew poses in the ring with the mic and says this party cannot even begin to get started before he gets some competition worthy of a world heavyweight champion. Yang struggles into the ring and demands the referee ring the bell. McIntyre storms back in to the ring and eats some chops from Yang but Drew nails a huge clothesline and some seated strikes before setting up and nailing his double underhook implant DDT for the pinfall and victory. After the match Drew knees Jimmy in the back of the head to heat from the fans

Result: Drew McIntyre defeats Jimmy Wang Yang via pinfall ½*

Chris Considers: Jimmy Wang Yang is one of the most talented high flyers on the WWE roster, sadly he is always chronically underused as was the case here. I am liking Drew’s aggression as always and he is certainly making a name for himself but I felt he would have been better put in a proper match and feud with Finlay this week after his assault last week. Finlay showing up in Superstars unscathed and wrestling someone else made the whole thing a bit farcical.

Josh pulls Batista up backstage and asks him why he attacked Rey and Matt and he said he is not there to make friends but to be World Heavyweight Champion and Rey Mysterio robbed him of that at Bragging Rights and Matt Hardy should have kept his big nose out of Batista’s business. Batista says if he has to hurt Rey or Matt or anyone else on Smackdown to become World Heavyweight Champion again then that is what he will do!

Chris Considers: Wow, I know I said it last week but HOW MUCH BETTER IS BATISTA AS A HEEL ON THE MIC, pity his match with Matt later is probably going to suck…

Match 4: Rey Mysterio vs Mike Knox

Rey makes his way out to a massive pop and chats to his fans on the way to the ring. No creepy promo from Mike Knox this week as he makes his way slowly to the ring. With Striker providing so much back story to his character though I guess he doesn’t really need it! They lock up an Knox clubs Rey to the mat before beating him around the ring. Rey slides under a big boot but eats a kick to the gut and Knox clubs him into the corner before whipping him across the ring. Rey gets a boot up and connects with head scissors setting Knox up for the 619. Thankfully we are saved another squash as Knox rolls out of the ring. Rey tries for a seated senton but Knox ducks it and fires back with a huge flying crossbody crushing Rey into the floor. Knox rolls Rey back into the ring but Rey rolls right across and out the other side, Knox follows and stomps away before tossing Rey back in and covering for a near fall. Knox drops a knee to the mid section and uses the ropes to force the knee in further and holds it till four. Knox drops another knee and covers for two again and Rey is flopping around the mat. Knox stomps away and applies a bear hug, Rey screams and tries to punch out which he does and flies back with a kick to the face which made Knox angry. Rey ducks under a clothesline and pulls the ropes down sending Knox crashing to the outside before hitting a baseball slide but Knox storms back into the ring as Rey is attempting another running move and drops him with a huge shoulder block which sends Rey flying across the ring. Big splash from Knox earns a near fall followed by an abdominal stretch, the crowd rally behind Rey but Knox hits a pump handle backbreaker for another near fall. Knox locks in the abdominal stretch again and tries for another slam but Rey counters with a quick DDT and both men are down. Rey is up first and punches away before delivering a low drop kick and the wheelbarrow DDT for a near fall to a pop from the crowd. Knox whips Rey into the corner and he tries to leapfrog Knox but the big man catches him in mid air. Rey wriggles free and lands on the other side of the apron and springboards off with a seated senton but as he goes for another dashing move Knox is up and delivers a thunderous clothesline which gets a very close near fall. Knox misses a charge in the corner and eats ring post and Rey quickly drop kicks Knox into the ropes and connects the 619 followed by the splash for the pinfall and victory.

Result: Rey Mysterio defeats Mike Knox via pinfall **3/4

Chris Considers: I was really getting in to this match, pity it had to end, I would have happily watched these two wrestle for 20 minutes! They told a great story with Rey gutting out the punishment and looking for openings to exploit in Knox’s offence. Mike Knox impresses me week in week out and I really hope he gets a push soon and Rey as always is a joy to watch and review!

Match 5: CM Punk vs R-Truth

Punk walks slowly to the ring to a chorus of boos from the crowd and looks pleased with himself as we highlights of Punk taking out Scott Armstrong last week. Truth seems a little less over than he usually is as he raps his way to the ring. Truth avoids some kicks and they lock up with Truth forcing Punk into the corner. Punk talks smack to Armstrong as Truth fires up the crowd. Headlock from Truth and he drops Punk with a shoulder blog. Punk staggers across the ring and Truth mocks him which infuriates Punk and he shouts at Armstrong. Punk applies a headlock and takes Truth down but Truth counters with head scissors which Punk reverses and has Truth in a double underhook headlock. Truth battles to his feet, still trapped in the hold and force Punk into the corner. Armstrong makes Punk break the hold and as Truth backs away Punk runs in with a big kick to the gut followed by strikes, elbows and a headbutt. Truth counters a charge with an athletic arm drag takeover before clotheslining Punk over the top rope and connecting a nice suicide dive to the outside as we go to commercial. Back from the break and Punk is kicking away in the ring. Truth wriggles free of a back suplex attempt and connects one of his own which sends Punk rolling under the ropes. Punk bounces Truth’s head off the rope and connects a springboard clothesline for a near fall. Punk kicks and stomps away on the mat before nailing a snap suplex for another near fall. Punk looks frustrated and locks in an amazing bow and arrow surfboard submission hold but Turth refuses to give up and Punk breaks the hold and taunts the crowd. Punk elbows away at Truth before whipping him across the ring and setting up for his high knee but Truth dodges and Punk gets hung up the hard way, Truth fights back with a series of strikes and drops Punk with a clothesline before cart wheeling and splitting under Punk’s offence and connecting a nice leg lariat which staggers Punk. Flying clothesline from Truth but Punk counters the axe kick with a leg lariat for a near fall. Punk screams at Armstrong to count faster and do his job and Truth rolls Punk up from behind and Armstrong makes a very quick three count giving Truth the win. Armstrong flees the ring as Punk throws a tantrum in the ring.

Result: R-Truth defeats CM Punk via pinfall *3/4

Chris Considers: This match started off very slowly and took awhile to get going but picked up towards the middle and finished strongly. I still maintain it is a shame Punk is stuck feuding with referees but at least it is a slightly original and different storyline to something we have seen for awhile (In WWE at least) The ending was pretty funny as obviously Armstrong will claim he did exactly what Punk told him to do and count faster.

We see Michelle and Layla mocking Mickie James backstage and apparently there is a Survivor Series match between Team McCool and Team James at Survivor Series. The girls cut a horrible promo that sounded unbelievably wooden with Michelle and Layla pretty much telling Mickie to get lost from Smackdown and Mickie obviously says no and tells Michelle she is coming for her title.

We see highlights of Batista hurling Matt Hardy into the wall from last week which was actually pretty lame compared to Batista’s annihilation of Rey at Bragging Rights.

Rather than the RAW rebound focussing on anything related to Survivor Series they focus entirely on the horrible RAW has got talent segment. What a way to build a pay per view!

Backstage Interview: Matt Hardy

Josh Matthews is backstage with Matt Hardy and asks him why he got involved with last week. Matt says as human beings we all mistakes and have temporary lapses of judgement and Matt originally thought that was the case with Batista. Matt said he didn’t want to see Rey and Batista go through all the things Matt did with Jeff. Matt said all he accomplished was turning his back and allowing Batista to cowardly hit him when he wasn’t looking. Matt says Batista has changed and he doesn’t know if that is because he jealous or selfish or forgotten where he came from. Matt says tonight Batista needs a reality check and Matt did not come here tonight to be his friend or to help him but came here to fight him.

Chris Considers: This was a solid and intense promo from Matt, who sometimes struggles on the mic and suggested that the main event should at least be competitive.

Main Event: Matt Hardy vs Batista

Matt gets a nice pop whereas Batista gets plenty of heat and no longer poses on the way to the ring but still roars on the turnbuckle. They lock up and Batista forces Matt into the corner before shoving him but Matt shoves back which enrages the animal and he drops some shoulders in the corner but Matt comes back with strikes and a kick but Batista is unaffected and levels Matt with a huge clothesline. Big Irish Whip from Batista sends Matt flying into the tunbuckle and crashing back into the ring. Batista connects another big clothesline for a near fall before stomping away and hitting a vertical suplex for a another near fall. Batista chokes Matt on the ropes until the referee calls him off. Matt is whipped across the ring but he ducks a charge and tries a roll up but Batista is to strong and just stomps and drops down on Matt. Batista drops shoulders in the corner and the referee calls him off again and Batista tells the referee to get out of his face. The animal strikes with punches and the referee calls him off again leading to another squabble which gives Matt the chance to fire back with elbows and strikes. Matt goes for his middle rope elbow drop but Batista grabs Matt’s leg and sends him crashing to the mat as we go to commercial. Back from the break and Batista is in control with a seated chinlock applied in the centre of the ring. Batista breaks the hold and drops an elbow to Matt’s gut before connecting a chop block followed by a scoop slam for a near fall. Matt tries to fight back but Batista drops him with a leg sweep before giving him another strong whip for a near fall. Batista applies a body scissors hold on the mat and Matt screams in pain, Batista then applies a headlock in addition to the body scissors and Matt is fading, Batista nails some blows to the back of Matt’s head but Matt mounts a comeback and elbows free only to get clubbed, Batista tries for a running powerslam but Matt counters with a neck breaker and both men are down. Matt counters a Spear with a kick to the face and nails some strikes before connecting a low drop kick to the leg followed by a DDT, the crowd are getting a bit more in to this as Matt heads to the top rope and flies with a Moonsault but Batista rolls out of the way and Matt eats canvas. Batista hauls Matt to his feet but suddenly Matt hits a Twist of Fate out of nowhere but Batista was able to grab the tope rope. Matt tries to drag Batista into the centre of the ring but the animal nails a spinebuster before choking Matt on the ropes. Batista hurls Matt to the outside and slams him into the barricade before hurling him in to the announce desk. Batista rips a monitor from the desk and slams it into Matt’s back for whipping him in to the steel steps and dumping him back in the ring. Batista has been disqualified by this point but he doesn’t seem to care as he rips off his elbow pads and sets up Matt for a Batista Bomb which draws a pop from the crowd which annoys Batista and he drops Matt and leaves the ring to huge heat from the crowd.

Result: Matt Hardy defeats Batista via disqualification **

Chris Considers: This match was pretty slow and boring all the way up to the gom home sequence which was decent. Based on this match Batista hits even less wrestling moves as a heel than he does as a face! However this did succeed in building Batista up as a monster and the end spot where the crowd popper for the Batista Bomb only for him to change his mind was pretty different and I liked it. A somewhat flat ending to the show though.

Overall a good effort that was let down by the two squash matches in the middle of the show and the somewhat of a let down main event and 5th match between Punk and Truth. The opening promo between Jericho and Taker was one of the best openings to Smackdown I have ever seen and Cryme Tyme & John Morrison vs Dolph Ziggler & The Hart Dynasty and Rey vs Knox were both enjoyable matches. With two huge matches announced for next week in Jericho vs Undertaker and Morrison vs Ziggler for the IC title, next week’s show could be one of the bets of the year,

This week’s match of the week was Cryme Tyme & John Morrison vs Dolph Ziggler & The Hart Dynasty and the show scores a good 7.5/10

That’s all for this week’s edition of Chris Reviews Smackdown, I shall be back next weekend, I think I am also going to write a separate prediction blog for TNA Turning Point as I am really starting to get in to TNA in a big way these days! I hope you all have a great week! As always you can email me on a_agreement_called_forever@hotmail.com , add me on facebook: www.facebook.com\wnws.chris.jacks or follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/WNWsChrisJacks  I would love to hear from you!

Here are ten points to consider coming out of this week’s show:
• All aspiring heels should watch Jericho’s opening promo as pretty much a how to of how to be the pefect heel, that was awesome!
• And despite the fact Jericho and Undertaker are established stars it is still great to see them against one another because it is fresh and different!
• I hope Morrison was just selling and his rib injury is not legit, he looked to be in quite some pain during this match
• I liked Rey’s interview and certainly enjoy him on the mic far more when he is intense and focussed
• I can defiantly smell a face turn for Beth Phoenix, the crowd are loving her squash matches so far!
• Such a shame that despite his ability, Jimmy Wang Yang is probably the most underused wrestler on the entire WWE roster.
• Mike Knox is awesome, I really hope WWE give him a proper feud and storyline and push him because his ring work has been so solid as of late
• Rey and Knox told a great story in that match, if it had been given another 5 or 10 minutes it would have been the match of the night
• I am starting to get interested to see where this Punk/Armstrong saga goes but still feel he should at least be feuding with actual wrestlers!
• Slow and flat main event, Batista may have improved a hundred times on the mic since his heel turn but he is still as boring as ever to watch in the ring

My top ten matches of the year so far in WWE

1: The Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels – Wrestlemania – April 5th 2009
2: Legacy vs DeGeneration X – Breaking Point – September 13th 2009
3: CM Punk vs Jeff Hardy – Smackdown – August 28th 2009
4: Rey Mysterio vs Chris Jericho – The Bash – June 28th 2009
5: Rey Mysterio vs John Morrison – Smackdown – August 4th 2009
6: CM Punk vs Jeff Hardy – Summerslam – August 23rd 2009
7: Rey Mysterio vs Chris Jericho – Smackdown – July 10th 2009
8: Jeff Hardy vs John Morrison – Smackdown – July 31st 2009
9: John Cena vs Randy Orton – Bragging Rights – October 25th 2009
10: John Morrison vs CM Punk – Smackdown – June 26th 2009

Smackdown Power 10

1: The Undertaker
2: Chris Jericho
3: Batista
4: Rey Mysterio (+1)
5: CM Punk
6: Dolph Ziggler (+1)
7: John Morrison (-1)
8: Drew McIntyre (+1)
9: Matt Hardy (+1)
10: Kane (-2)

Watch any WWE programming you miss at www.Dailymotion.com  , your online source for TV shows!

Hey everyone and welcome to this week’s edition of Chris Reviews Smackdown. In this week’s blog I shall be discussing Kofi Kingston’s foray into the main event, Hulk Hogan joining TNA and analysing this week’s show. As always please feel free to leave some feedback via the comment board or drop an email to a_agreement_called_forever@hotmail.com  

First off my apologies I could not get this up yesterday but I was so tired that after I finished my Bragging Rights Review I fell asleep and had to work late today so this was the earliest I could get a decent piece of work up. I know some people are less understanding of this than others but when I was a student I finished at 5 or 6pm every day during the week and had time to answer questions, do research and everything else during the week and then just watch the show on Saturday. Now I work full time and due to a recent promotion at work I am currently working 62 hours, 7 days a week in my day job as well as putting in 2 late night DJ shifts on a Friday and Saturday night. This means I have very limited free time in which to write and have to fit in researching, viewing and watching in the seven or eight hours I have free at the weekend and recently as was the case yesterday I was so exhausted I just fell asleep. However I am working on getting my hours changed at work so I can start earlier in the morning and finish earlier at night which will allow me once again to get everything other than the show review done during the week. Like I have said many times I would never half arse anything I post on WNW. I find out on Wednesday if I can change my hours so hopefully, fingers crossed, things can start returning to normal once again.

On last Monday’s RAW we saw an interesting move from WWE to create new stars. True we have a somewhat stagnant main event for Survivor Series with Triple H once being placed in the main event, albeit this time against DX partner Shawn Michaels as well as John Cena. However Jack Swagger and The Miz have been placed in a heel vs heel feud which should certainly lead to an entertaining and different storyline especially as it seems they are not only vying over the United States Title but also the affections of Eve Torres. The biggest news however was Kofi Kingston’s ascent to the crest of main event status after being placed in a feud with Randy Orton. This is great news for Kofi and I am delighted that WWE have pulled the trigger on pushing one of the most over babyfaces on the roster. Just like Richard, Luke and pretty much everyone else on the IWC I am thrilled WWE dropped the silly Jamaican gimmick and have just let Kofi be himself. He showed on RAW that he is more than capable of cutting a decent and serious promo, something that he was never given a chance to do under the old gimmick. Kofi Kingston is exciting to watch in the ring and incredibly over with the crowd and this feud with Orton could be the turning point in his career. Of course there is always a chance WWE creative may have Orton squash Kofi much as Cena did to The Miz and Triple H did to MVP and Shelton but I am seriously hoping that they learn from their previous mistakes and even if they have Orton go over in the first instance (perhaps in a Team Orton vs Team Kofi Survivor Series Match), have Kofi come back strong and defeat Orton one on one at the following PPV which I believe has now been renamed TLC and as Kofi proved during MITB this year, he knows his way around a ladder or two! I did not watch RAW live but caught it the next day and was excited to see the show for the first time since the draft other than the Legacy vs DX feud. Hopefully this new direction will continue on RAW and guys like Kofi, Swagger and The Miz continue to get the chance to show they are the future and breakout.

So perhaps the biggest wrestling news since Shawn Michaels coming out of retirement in 2002, hell probably even bigger than that, which is of course Hulk Hogan signing a deal with TNA Wrestling. Wow, I can honestly say I never saw this one coming! I am going to be honest, after TNA’s recent youth incentive, at first glance this seemed a step backwards but there is no denying that other than Austin in his heyday, Hulk Hogan is the biggest draw in the history of professional wrestling and just by having him associated with TNA it is going to mean big things for the company. Bischoff and Hogan are going to do great things for TNA, of that I am sure. They will bring the company into the spotlight and provide the marketing and publicity that the company has so far been unable to tap in to. As long as Hogan does not book himself in main event spots and instead focuses on continuing the current direction the company is taking then that is fantastic, Hogan as a weekly on screen personality who works the occasional match against the likes of Sting and Foley would be great, Hulk Hogan and friends as NWO version 3 with Hogan is TNA Champion would not be. Likewise Eric Bischoff will have (should have) learned from his mistakes in WCW and run things differently this time. Bischoff was a creative genius in WCW and is in touch with what wrestling fans want to see from a product, so hopefully with Hogan and Bischoff at the helm TNA can finally step up and become the major competition to WWE it has always wanted to be. There are all sorts of rumours flying around the internet as to names TNA want to bring in, from the downright ridiculous (Austin, Goldberg) to the highly unlikely (Ric Flair, DDP) to the far more likely (RVD, Ken Anderson) Whoever TNA bring in and I do expect them to bring in some big names, it is VITAL that the company does not make the mistakes of WCW and bury its home grown talent in the process. AJ, Joe, Daniels, Beer Money, MCMG etc have all earned their spots and deserve to remain the focus of the company. I really hope TNA do launch a Monday night program to compete with RAW as this could lead to some seriously exciting programming from both WWE and TNA. TNA has made a point to emphasise the fact that they are not PG and hopefully if they start seriously competing with WWE it will force Vince to drop the PG crap and freshen up his stale product. It is exciting to be a wrestling fan right now and I cannot wait to see what goes down on Impact! this week and if/how WWE will adjust their programming. Impact! did a 1.3 rating with some serious competition and had that been a normal week (without the sports) I have read the number would have been more like a 2.5 which is vastly more than either ECW or Smackdown have been doing for a long time. I will be commenting on the WWE/TNA situation every week now as it develops and hopefully both TNA and WWE will both strive to out do each other and deliver cutting edge programming once again! Thank you Hulk Hogan for making wrestling interesting once again!

So on to this week’s Smackdown

Opening Segment: Teddy Long, Chris Jericho and Kane

We see highlights of Batista turning on Rey at Bragging Rights and Teddy Long makes his way to ringside as Todd Grisham and Matt Striker (filling in for JR) welcoming us to the show. Long gets on the mic and congratulates Team Smackdown for winning the 7 on 7 tag team match at Bragging Rights and it proves without a shadow of a doubt that Smackdown is the A Brand in WWE. Long goes on to mention Bragging Rights as well as being a historic night was also a disturbing one with Batista turning on his long time friend Rey Mysterio. Long says that later tonight Batista and Rey will have a heart to heart in the ring and Batista can explain his actions to the WWE Universe. Long moves on to discuss the number one contender to the World Heavyweight Championship: The Big Show. Long is cut off my Chris Jericho who stalks down to the ring with his tag titles and the Bragging Rights trophy. Jericho gets on the mic but Long cuts him off and says the trophy is property of Smackdown and takes it from him. Jericho gets in Long’s face and tells him to make no mistake, the trophy belongs to Jericho. Jericho says he is the genius that won Bragging Rights for Smackdown. Jericho says he did not do it for Teddy or the fans but for himself as it once again proves he is the best in the world at what he does. Large ‘You Suck’ chant breaks out from the fans as Jericho rips into Long for giving Big Show a title shot saying it was one of the most underhanded and devious decisions Long has ever made. Jericho calls himself the crown jewel of the show and the face of the show and he single handed brought victory to Smackdown and deserves to be world champion. Kane’s music hits and he walks to the ring looking pissed, Kane asks if he heard Jericho correctly when he said he brought Smackdown victory single handed. Kane reminds Jericho he was co captain so the trophy and all the Bragging Rights belong to Kane just as much as Jericho and if anyone deserves a title shot it is Kane. Jericho reminds Kane that it was he who got the winning pinfall at Bragging Rights. Jericho brings up Kane’s less than perfect record against The Undertaker and tells him to forget his delusions of grandeur and he should just be thankful that he had his hand raised in victory thanks to Jericho. Jericho calls himself the hero of Smackdown and the hero of all the germ incubating fans. Jericho tells Kane to turn around and get out of his face. Kane grabs Jericho but Teddy calls him off and tells him he has something to say and begs him to let Jericho go. Long says The Undertaker will defend the title at Survivor Series but if RAW can have a triple threat match so can Smackdown and tells Kane and Jericho that they will have a one on one match later tonight to determine the third member of the triple threat alongside Big Show and The Undertaker.

Chris Considers: Awesome opening segment mainly thanks to the wonderful mic work of Jericho. He is just so good at playing the guy you love to hate. This segment not only built the title match at Survivor Series but also gave us a reason to stay tuned for tonight’s main event. I am a bit confused as to Teddy Long’s current status as he seemed to be playing a heel last week but now is back to being a babyface, bizarre…

Match 1: John Morrison vs Dolph Ziggler

Morrison gets a smaller pop than usual but Striker really talks him up on announce. Dolph gets a tonne of heat and comes out with a mic in hand and mocks Morrison for being the only member of Smackdown to lose his match at Bragging Rights. Morrison questions how Dolph can include himself in any victory speech saying he was dropped from the team so he may be being a little premature, something he is used to according to Maria (how very PG!!!) Dolph looks pissed and enters the ring and the two lock up and Morrison forces Dolph into the corner but the referee makes the break and the two circle in the middle of the ring before locking up once again. Morrison with a waistlock take down but Dolph battles out of a headlock and applies one of his own but Morrison fights free only to run into a shoulder charge from Dolph. Morrison is up and both men leapfrog each other before Dolph does an amazing counter of an arm drag takeover only to get subsequently flapjacked by Morrison. Morrison connects the standing Shooting Star Press for a near fall. Morrison drops Dolph again but Ziggler counters a charge and drops Morrison face first into the turnbuckle, Dolph covers for two before punching and stomping away at Morrison on the mat. Scoop slam from Dolph followed by his high impact elbow drop for a near fall. Headlock from Dolph and the crowd rally behind Morrison whoch battles out only to get dropped into the turnbuckle once again and Dolph follows up with a nice powerslam for another near fall as we go to commercial. Back from the break and Dolph has a Matrix like headlock applied which he turns round before slamming Morrison head first into the mat. Dolph connects with a running blockbuster but it only gets a near fall and Dolph rubs Morrison’s face in the mat. Seated camel clutch from Ziggler which he rolls to the mat and turns it into a headlock and as Morrison battles to his feet Dolph drops strikes and elbows but Morrison is able to hit an back drop before coming back with a flurry of strikes and elbows followed by a pair of clotheslines and a flying leg lariat for a near fall. Morrison looks frustrated and calls for the Moonlight Drive which Dolph tries to counter into a neckbreaker only for Morrison to counter with a backslide for a near fall, nice sequence! Dolph counters and elbow and connects a big powerslam for a near fall and taunts Morrison and attempts the Zig Zag but Morrison counters with a catapult only for Dolph to land on the middle rope and fly back with an axe handle which Morrison ducks and connects the Flying Chuck for a near fall but Dolph gets a foot on the ropes. Morrison calls for Starship Pain but Dolph bails to the outside and Morrison looks to be setting up a corkscrew plancha but sweeps Morrison’s feet out from under him dropping him on the apron and powerslams him into the announce desk. Dolph gets back in the ring and the referee reaches the count of ten and Morrison is counted out.

Result: Dolph Ziggler defeats John Morrison via countout ***

Chris Considers: Very enjoyable opening match here. I know we haveseen these two a few times now but this was very, very good once again. There were some very good counter sequences and solid wrestling. I also enjoyed the promo before the match as Morrison seems to enjoy pushing the PG boundaries as much as possible! Hopefully this will lead to another title shot for Dolph and hopefully he will finally go over and cement himself as a champion on Smackdown!

We see more highlights of Batista decimating Rey Mysterio at Bragging Rights. I am so excited to see Batista as a heel and have been wanting this since 2007!

Backstage Segment: Teddy Long, Vince McMahon & CM Punk

Teddy Long is in his office and Vince walks in and congratulates him for Smackdown winning at Bragging Rights. He tells Long that is he keeps this up he may well be off probation soon. CM Punk storms in and runs down Long for giving Big Show a title shot when he is a member of the RAW roster and then demands to know why Chris Jericho and Kane are facing off against each other for the third spot when it should be Punk’s match as he would be champion if it wasn’t for Scott Armstrong’s poor officiating. Vince cuts in and says he will give Punk exactly what he wants and Punk asks if he is in the main event at Survivor Series to which Vince tells him no but instead he has a match tonight one on one against referee Scott Armstrong. Punk is thrilled and Long looks upset.

Chris Considers: And so CM Punk is officially out of main event contention for the time being. This angle and storyline could have been so very good but it is going down the toilet quickly and Smackdown creative need to come up with something quickly to save it, else risk Punk being stuck in mid card obscurity for the foreseeable future.

Match 2: Beth Phoenix vs Jenny Brooks

It is awesome seeing Beth on Smackdown. Her opponent seems to be a jobber but Matt Striker informs us that Brooks was the only person to defeat Beth in amateur wrestling so perhaps this could be something of a tryout match for Brooks. Beth slams Jenny to the mat and stomps and punches away before connecting a huge punt to the mid section sending Brooks tumbling to the outside. Beth hauls Jenny into the ring and connects a beautiful delayed vertical suplex. Beth connects a back breaker before shoving Jenny into the corner and dragging her back out and Beth drops her with a clothesline. Implant Buster from Beth and it is all over

Result: Beth Phoenix defeats Jenny Brooks via pinfall *

Chris Considers: Whilst this was a squash for Beth, she showed more wrestling ability in this match than many WWE Divas have done in the last six months! I loved how Matt Striker gave this match some back story and the pop for Beth after the match suggests WWE may be forced to turn her face especially if she is facing the despised Michelle McCool

Match 3: Eric Escobar with Vickie Guerrero vs Matt Hardy

Before the match Vickie comes out to heat heels could only dream off. Vickie asks the crowd to excuse her announces that tonight she has come dressed as Princess Vickie Guerrero and she introduces her Prince Charming: Eric Escobar. Matt Hardy gets a great pop and poses to the fans as the match gets underway. HUGE ‘Hardy’ chant as the match gets underway. Escobar hits a shoulder charge dropping Matt but he missed an elbow drop allowing Matt to strike with drop kick sending Escobar into the ropes. Matt hits a running leg drop which he shouts out to the crowd is called the 319 before striking away at Escobar in the corner but Eric comes back with stomps and strikes but after whipping Hardy across the ring he misses a charging clothesline and Matt comes back with a clothesline and a bulldog. Matt heads to the top rope but Eric is up and strikes away before setting up for a superplex but Matt elbows him off and connects a nice moonsault to a pop from the crowd. This gets a near fall for Matt who sells an injured knee after the pin attempt and Eric is straight to work on the knee stomping, kicking and dropping elbows onto the injured limb. Another huge ‘Lets go Hardy’ chant breaks out from the crowd and Matt responds by getting both feet up in the corner dropping Eric to the mat. In a rather awkward looking spot Matt runs into Escobar who hits a scoop slam before taunting Matt who promptly counters another slam with a neck breaker and pins for the three count and victory.

Result: Matt Hardy defeats Eric Escobar via pinfall *

Chris Considers: I do not know what has happened to Eric Escobar, he was so good in FCW but has been absolutely dire so far on Smackdown. I remember a similar thing happened with Kevin Thorne when he debuted as Mordaci and got shell shock. Perhaps that is what is happening here or WWE are making him look like a rookie on purpose, I don’t know but he was awful here once again and to be defeated by a lowly neck breaker says it all. Thankfully Matt is on the right track once again and my rating here is no reflection on his work which is always top notch but Escobar needs to up his game as I cannot see him being given many more chances!

In Ring Segment: Rey Mysterio & Batista

We see a wonderful video package of Batista turning heel which was highlighted by the point in the match Rey cost Batista certain victory. When Batista turned to Rey and said ‘Im gonna rip you head off’ I actually got goose bumps! Rey gets a nice pop and walks to the ring looking dejected. Rey says we all saw what happened at Bragging Rights where Dave Batista beat him down. Rey said as much as this hurt physically it hurt far more inside as he considered Batista his best friend in the world and still does. Rey says at first he was angry about what happened but it is more important to him that Batista being his family. Rey says he owes him the benefit of the doubt and calls Dave to the ring to straighten this out like men and the family that they are. Batista’s music hits and some fans still pop for him although it is mostly boos from the crowd. Batista strolls to the top of the ramp and walks to the ring looking indifferent. Batista asks Rey is he is disappointed he hurt him, Batista said Rey just doesn’t get it and he doesn’t know how bad this is going to get for him. Batista asks Rey who he thinks he is calling him out and Batista is going to be the bigger man and give Rey one opportunity to walk away and out of his ring. Rey goes to walk away but then decides better of it to a pop. Rey said he came out to straighten things out and after everything they have been through they need to sort this. Rey reminds Dave it was a fatal four way match and did he want him not to try and tells him to let it go. Rey tells Batista he is willing to let bygones by bygones and says Batista is like a big brother to him and Rey looks up to him and what they have will last much longer than their careers and after they finish wrestling they will still be family. Batista looks unimpressed and asks Rey what he is thinking, Batista tells Rey he knows what he is thinking and that is he knows what little effort it took Batista to hurt Rey and what is Rey going to do now he doesn’t have Big Dave watching his back and Rey wishes he never stabbed Dave in the back and most of all what is Dave going to do to him if he doesn’t leave this ring right now. Rey says he would have never done what he did (poor English from Rey!) if he knew it was going to interfere with their friendship. Rey says accepting to be a part of that fatal four way was the biggest mistake he ever made. Batista tells Rey he has one last chance to walk away, Rey looks torn and then says he is not leaving and tells Batista to do what he has to do but Rey is not leaving until things have been straightened out. Rey begs Batista to think about everything they have been through and about Eddie. Batista tells Rey that Eddie is dead (huge heat from the fans at this) and he is not thinking about Rey or anyone else other than himself. Batista smiles and leaves the ring leaving Rey looking devastated.

Chris Considers: Wow how much better is Batista in the mic as a heel! As a face he was so flat and monotone and boring but now his character has some edge again he really came to life and seemed like he genuinely didn’t care for Rey in the slightest. The Eddie comment was perhaps in bad taste but I felt it gave Batista even more heat and I cannot wait to see this unfold over the coming weeks! Rey played the part of the innocent victim well here and I cannot commend both men enough for what this achieved in building their upcoming feud. That was the best promo Batista has given since his feud with Undertaker in 2007 hands down.

We see Batista walking backstage and Matt Hardy stops him. Matt says he knows it his not any of his business but he knows how close Rey and Batista were and they were like brothers and if anyone knows about brothers it is Matt and he urges Batista not to make the same mistakes he did when he turned on Jeff. Batista laughs and walks away but as Matt turns to make a phone call, Batista storms back from the door he just left from and hurls Matt into the wall and leaves him prone on the floor. A great way to put Batista over as a heel just that little bit more!

Match 4: Drew McIntyre vs Finlay

Before the match Drew gets on the mic and sarcastically congratulates Team Smackdown on their victory at Bragging Rights. Drew says he never wanted to be on the team in the first place and he intends to make his own impact. Before Finlay even makes it to the ring Drew strikes with a big boot and hurls Finlay into the steps before pounding Finlay again and again on the mat. The referee hauls Drew off and tells him to leave but Drew nails a punt to the skull before surveying his handy work and stalking to the back.

Result: Drew McIntyre vs Finlay ends as a no contest n/a

Chris Considers: Drew just gets better and better. No one has out and out taken it to Finlay like that since JBL during their feud at Wrestlemania 24. Working with Finlay will do wonders for Drew’s career and I look forward to some very stiff and brutal match ups! Great call from WWE Creative putting these two together.

In Ring Segment: Cryme Tyme host a Divas Halloween Contest

Cryme Tyme talk some gangsta and they introduce the divas who don’t even get their own intros. Natalya is dressed as matador, Layla as Michael Jackson ( I would say this was in bad taste but Layla is a well documented huge Jackson fan) Michelle McCool is dressed as the devil and Mickie James as Electra. Cryme Tyme introduce the girls, Shad chases Natalya’s red flag, Layla dances with JTG, Michelle takes a shot at Shad and Mickie prances around with sais. Cryme Tyme ask the crowd who should win, I personally think it was split between Layla and Mickie but Mickie is given the win. After the match things predictably break down into a cat fight. Natalya drops Layla with a clothesline, Mickie takes out Natalya but is subsequently taken out herself by Michelle.

Chris Considers: Well it was shorter than last years Diva Halloween Contest…. At least it sowed seeds for a Mickie vs Michelle feud which will be decent and also suggested Layla may be once again turning face now that Eve has left.

Match 5: CM Punk vs Scott Armstrong

I cannot believe I am actually going to have to sit through this. Punk still draws a tonne of heat on his way to the ring but this may not last if he is continued to be booked like this! Scott Armstrong doesn’t even get generic music as he makes his way to the ring. Punk laughs at Scott and forces him into the corner and screams at him that he would have been a four time champion if Armstrong had done his job. Punk asks Armstrong who he thinks he is and slaps him. Scott has had enough and nails three right hand to Punk’s face that were a hundred times better than Shane McMahon’s ‘ghost punches’ all those months ago! Punk looks furious and drops Armstrong with a huge kick before stomping and kicking away and mocking Scott on the floor. Punk pulls him to his feet and nails a GTS before putting his foot across Armstrong’s throat and pinning him for the victory. Punk continues to mock Armstrong after the match.

Result: CM Punk defeats Scott Armstrong via pinfall n/a

Chris Considers: I am not even giving this a rating. I cannot understand where they are going with this and CM Punk and us fans deserve better than seeing him beat up referees. I wonder what is next? CM Punk vs Teddy Long… garbage!

Main Event: Kane vs Chris Jericho (winner is added to the Heavyweight Championship match at Survivor Series)

The crowd is solidly behind Kane as Jericho immediately bails to the outside. The crowd boo Jericho and he eventually gets back in the ring and slaps Kane before hitting strikes and kicks before trying a cross body but Kane catches Jericho in mid air and hits a scoop slam for an early near fall. Overhead takedown from Kane followed by a low drop kick to the face for another near fall. Jericho comes back with kicks and forces Kane into the corner and connects repeated kicks but Kane comes back with a big boot but misses a splash and Jericho comes back with a low drop kick of his own for a two count. Jericho strike away but Kane calls for the Chokeslam which Jericho counters but doesn’t have the strength to lock in the Walls of Jericho and gets booted to the outside into the announce desk. Kane follows and tosses Jericho back into the ring but as he tries to climb through the ropes Jericho strikes with a kick to the head followed by a charging shoulder block which sends Kane crashing into the security barrier as we go to commercial. Back from the break and Jericho is stomping away in the ring and taunting Kane. Jericho chokes Kane in the corner and is dragged away by the referee. Jericho catapults Kane into the bottom rope and covers for a near fall before applying a seated headlock. The crowd rally behind Kane who powers to his feet and back slams Jericho into the turnbuckle. Jericho gets a boot up and goes for a Bulldog but Kane counters with a sidewalk slam for a near fall and drops Jericho with a series of clotheslines before whipping him across the ring and connecting a charging clothesline in the corner. Another sidewalk slam from Kane earns a near fall and Kane gets Jericho to his feet only for Y2J to connect with a step up enzuguri which sends Kane rolling to the outside. As Kane climbs through the ropes Jericho tries a springboard axe handle but Kane catches Jericho for a Chokeslam only for Jericho to elbow his way free. Jericho runs straight into a big boot which earns Kane another near fall but as Kane attempts a third sidewalk slam Jericho flips out of the move and hits a Codebreaker out of nowhere but it is only good for a near fall as Jericho is slow making the cover. Jericho kicks away and connects a Bulldog followed by a Lionsault but Kane catches Jericho as he lands and pulls him up before nailing a Chokeslam but it sends Jericho rolling to the outside. Kane struggles to his feet and tosses Jericho back in the ring and pins for a near fall. Kane is furious and hauls Jericho to his feet but as he goes for a scoop slam Jericho flips out of the move once again and shoves Kane into the turnbuckle before hitting a chop block and this time Y2J gets the Walls of Jericho locked in. Kane refuses to give in and makes it to the ropes and Jericho breaks the hold. Kane drops Jericho with a massive uppercut and heads to the top rope but Jericho gets to his feet and crotches Kane onto the top rope and sets up for a superplex but Kane headbutts him off and flies off the top rope with an axe handle but Jericho connects an awesome looking mid air Codebreaker for the pinfall and victory.

Result: Chris Jericho defeats Kane via pinfall to become a member of the Triple Threat match at Survivor Series ***

Chris Considers: This was a very good match that showcased some excellent ring work from both men. I liked how Jericho learned from his mistake in this one and after getting caught twice in a sidewalk slam he was able to counter it the third time. Kane looked good here and I do wonder what is next for him. Perhaps we will get a Brothers of Destruction vs Jeri-Show tag match in the coming weeks! I am pleased Jericho qualified as I certainly could not have handled seeing a triple threat between Taker, Show and Kane. The thought of Taker vs Show was bad enough but thankfully Jericho will save this match and make it fresh! Great main event to top off a hit and miss show.

First off I would like to say what a great job Matt Striker did on commentary tonight. His knowledge and random factoids added so much to the matches and it gave perhaps the best indication yet that it is only a matter of time before he is promoted to one of the big shows. I would love to see him work alongside JR! This was something of a mixed show, Eric Escobar was once again appalling, CM Punk showed that his main event run is at an end for now and he is reduced to wrestling referees whilst the divas had ANOTHER Halloween contest although at least this one built some potential rivalries. On the flip side Jericho and Long got the show off to a great start with a wonderful opening promo. Drew McIntyre continues to show both promise and savagery and I cannot wait to see him get in the ring with Finlay. Morrison and Dolph Ziggler had a great opening match that was something different to what we have seen from them before and hopefully we will get one more pay per view match from them. Jericho and Kane had a very well wrestled and entertaining main event but the highlight for me was Batista as a heel on the mic, I will never rate Dave as a wrestler but tonight he had me more interested in his character than I have been since 2005 during his feud with Triple H and he deserves major credit for that. Matt Hardy vs Batista has been announced for next week and that should be a good match!

This week’s match of the night was Chris Jericho vs Kane and the show scores a good if not spectacular 7.5/10

That’s all for this week’s edition of Chris Reviews Smackdown, As I mentioned earlier I have asked my boss to try and rearrange my hours from now on so I can devote more time in the week to my writing here on WNW so lets hope this happens. I hope you all have a great week! As always you can email me on a_agreement_called_forever@hotmail.com , add me on facebook: www.facebook.com\wnws.chris.jacks  or follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/WNWsChrisJacks  I would love to hear from you!

Here are ten points to consider coming out of this week’s show
• Chris Jericho has really upped his game recently as people were starting to cheer him and I think he picked up on this and has gone that extra mile to get over as a heel even more. The best in the world at what he does? You better believe it!
• I love how Morrison constantly pushes things with his promos, his premature comment to Dolph was priceless
• I really enjoyed Dolph vs Morrison and hope we get one more match with Dolph finally winning that illusive Intercontinental Championship!
• I really enjoyed how Matt Striker made Beth vs Jenny significant with his factoids about their past, otherwise this would have just been any old squash
• I don’t know why Eric Escobar is wrestling SO badly on Smackdown, the guy is uber talented, maybe WWE are making him look bad on purpose so he will increasingly need Vickie’s help which will in the end get him over more as a heel but then never considered a legitimate threat until they let him show what he can really do
• That was the best Batista promo I can remember in a long time! There is something so much more interesting about his character as a heel and he comes across as genuinely menacing. I am excited to see where both he and Rey go over the coming weeks
• Drew McIntye is going to have a HUGE future, hopefully next week he will get a proper match with Finlay which would be stiff and well worked by both!
• The ONLY good thing to come from that Diva’s Halloween contest was that is has sown the seeds for Mickie vs Michelle which would be awesome but I hope Beth is also added to the mix, now that could be the best Women’s match in YEARS (in WWE obviously)
• I cannot fathom why CM Punk has been dropped down the card and is now facing referees. He was the hottest property in WWE throughout the Summer but is being chronically misused at the minute
• So the two top tag teams in WWE are involved in separate main events? In my mind this is an opportunity missed for a good tag team match between DX and Jeri-Show but at least it is not just Cena vs Triple H and Big Show vs Undertaker AGAIN!

My top ten matches of the year so far in WWE

1: The Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels – Wrestlemania – April 5th 2009
2: Legacy vs DeGeneration X – Breaking Point – September 13th 2009
3: CM Punk vs Jeff Hardy – Smackdown – August 28th 2009
4: Rey Mysterio vs Chris Jericho – The Bash – June 28th 2009
5: Rey Mysterio vs John Morrison – Smackdown – August 4th 2009
6: CM Punk vs Jeff Hardy – Summerslam – August 23rd 2009
7: Rey Mysterio vs Chris Jericho – Smackdown – July 10th 2009
8: Jeff Hardy vs John Morrison – Smackdown – July 31st 2009
9: John Cena vs Randy Orton – Bragging Rights – October 25th 2009
10: John Morrison vs CM Punk – Smackdown – June 26th 2009

Smackdown Power 10

1: The Undertaker
2: Chris Jericho (+5)
3: Batista (+1)
4: CM Punk (-3)
5: Rey Mysterio (-2)
6: John Morrison (-1)
7: Dolph Ziggler (-1)
8: Kane
9: Drew McIntyre
10: Matt Hardy (NE)

Watch any WWE programming you miss at www.Dailymotion.com  , your online source for TV shows!

The Smackdown Report

By Paul Smith

paulsmith3010@gmail.com

Welcome to The Smackdown Report and I am your host Paul Smith.

The Pre Game: Okay, a fair bit to get through this time out. I haven’t written on this website for over two weeks and missed my ECW from the week previously. I’m not going to make any excuses, all I can say is that I’m very sorry and I should be able to return to business as usual starting with this report.

Also, I would just like to say thankyou to the almost Godfather of the WNW Blog Spot, RAW is Blogged writer, Luke Parks who has announced he will vacate his post here at the end of the year. Luke is I am sure one of the most read sections of the site and his funny and well written coverage will be missed. On the few occasions I have had chance to talk to him in the comments and in the PPV live chats, he has been a funny guy who is very cool to talk with and as such I wish him good luck in his future endeavours…so to speak.

On a similar note, I, like Chris, have received a few emails asking whether I am going to apply to take over the RAW Blog. This depends on my schedule, as it stands now, I can’t afford to stay up and write the blog live (I have to be awake four hours after RAW ends my time) and I then have a stupidly long day the day after which would make the blog later. However, by the time Luke leaves us I will be onto semester 2, and I will have to try and evaluate nearer the time, as I would be interested in the blog (as long as you guys weren’t vocally against it of course) but only if my timetable allowed me to do it justice.

In the last of administrative notes, thanks to Chris Jacks for his as always awesome coverage of ECW this week. He can now finally take comfort than in while the Smackdown I usually step in and do is an extra good one, he somehow got the ONE time that Chris Jericho appears on ECW and actually wrestles too for his blog this week.

Now, TNA Bound For Glory. I decided a couple of days later to check it out. I generally enjoyed the show. I was loving the extra spotty Ultimate X match until the spot at the end which completely soured me on the match. I didn’t want to see people doing bumps that Daniels took to themselves. Morgan vs Angle though was very good and I unlike a lot of people enjoyed the Lashley vs Joe match as it was something different and probably more to do with me being a Joe mark. Whether or not doing the referee stoppage ala actual MMA was a good idea for a pro wrestling audience remains to be seen though. So that match sums up my feelings really. Generally a pretty good show as far as the in-ring goes but the booking was a little weird in pretty much every match, but its TNA and that’s the way they roll.

-

Smackdown is taped and rolling from Columbia, South Carolina, the home of the late and the great Fabulous Moolah ~!

On with the show.

We begin with our title screen and theme. I think I prefer it to the old one. After some pyrotechnics FUCKING Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler welcome us to the show and pimps out Batisterio vs Kanericho for later on. JR is ‘under the weather’ apparently. Well if that isn’t ever the sweeping statement. Chris Jericho interrupts my anger though.

We get a view of Team RAW vs Team Smackdown. We’ll see. We get a recap of the big brawl segment (which may well have an impact on a certain tag match later on) between the two teams. Jericho says that on Sunday he will further his legend by winning the 7 on 7 match as team captain. Jericho says he will ensure the men on his team are worthy of being on his team. JTG comes out for some reason and says gay jokes and stuff. He explains that Shad is sick (perhaps). Jericho doesn’t appareciate being in the same team as him, and says that JTG doesn’t understand how much of an honor it is to be in the same ring. However, just to overbook this a little more, Vickie Guerrero comes out as official consultant of Team Smackdown, she welcomes the future of Smackdown, Eric Escobar. People care. Except not at all. They’re all booing the shit out of Vickie. Eric says that he heard a lot of talk from DX, but after he wins the 7 on 7 match, they will never forget the name ERIC ESSSSSCOBAR. This somehow brings out Dolph Ziggler, perhaps because he already knows so much about introducing himself and his name and such. Dolph say no, and also says ecuse me (see what he did there). Dolph argues that he will be responsible for winning the match. JTG says Dolph knows nothing about winning after his IC contender matches and that he dumped Maria. And wearing a ridiculous coat, out comes Drew McIntyre. Drew says that Jez shouldn’t worry about losing because he was handpicked by Vince McMahon himself. McIntyre says he should have been captain, which brings out Kane. Kane says that none of these guys are worthy of fighting alongside Kane, and Jericho says him too. Jericho says that there will be a four on five match to determine who will really be in the team. And that match will be next.

JTG, Eric Escobar, Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre vs Finlay, The Hart Dynasty, Matt Hardy & R-Truth, Bragging Rights Qualifier
I don’t think I got chance to mention how stupid having this 7 on 7 is, the show before Survivor Series. Oh well. Tyson Kidd and JTG will start. JTG gets a no count off a leapfrog fameasser and in comes Finlay. Finlay basically mauls JTG around for a little while before Ziggler tags himself in. Ziggler works some basic strikes but gets short armed by Finlay. Ziggler gets posted and goes over the top before we go to a break. When we come back Eric Escobar is holding a chinlock on Finlay. Finlay armdrags Escobar down but Escobar takes back over and McIntyre comes in. McIntyre works some stomps before Ziggler comes in again and rolls up Finlay. Ziggler gets a two off an elbow drop. Ziggler holds a chinlock with Finlay stretching for a tag. McIntyre comes back in and stomps away. Ziggler is back in and holds a bridging chinlock and is distracted allowing Matt Hardy to tag in, and he pummels Ziggler before flapjacking him for two. Scoop slam and a second rope axe handle for a two count. Hardy nails Ziggler with the side effect but the pin is split by Escobar. Jtg comes in with an elbow and basically everything breaks down as everyone goes to the outside. JTG looks to finish Matt but Finlay hits him with the shillelagh before Hardy pins JTG with the Twist of Fate giving the win to the new team, shuffling up the Smackdown Seven.
Winners: Matt Hardy, Finlay, The Hart Dynasty and R-Truth

Opinion: Well that wasn’t an especially good match, but the booking is the more interesting part. Vince blowing up over how Team Smackdown looked on Monday is understandable and to be honest apart from trying to maintain a RAW being mostly faces and a Smackdown being mostly heels dynamic, they probably should have went with that team to begin with, considering how green McIntyre and Escobar are. Ziggler though deserves a place on the PPV and its a shame he wont get one now. *1/2

CM Punk is backstage with Scott Armstrong, who says that he ruined his reputation at Breaking Point. Punk says that that is selfish and that this is all about him. Long says he could lose his job and maybe even his life. Punk doesn’t understand why they’ve changed tune and Armstrong says name is all you have. Vince is at the door and says that he and Armstrong need to talk. The fix is out.

Morrison is walking backstage, in preparation for his match with Mike Knox, which is next.

They pimp Kane/Jericho vs Batista/Mysterio again.

Intercontinental Champion John Morrison vs Mike Knox, Non-Title Match
Digital John Morrison will of course face off with Digital The Miz at Bragging Rights. We also look at The Miz beating Marty Jannetty. Mike Knox is shown talking about abdominal pain. Thankyou good doctor. Things really begin with Knox’s cool crossbody before a pumphandle slam for two. He locks in an adbdominal stretch. What’s cool is that so far his offence has effected what he talked about in his promo. Rollup for two by Morrison before a chop block. Leg lariat by Morrison before a running knee for two. Morrison runs into a massive bicycle big boot from Knox, Morrison ducks an attack from Knox who hotshots himself and ends up getting dragged into the corner and hit with starship pain.
Winner: John Morrison

Opinion: Short match, and while it was a good one, I don’t think it made Morrison look especially awesome, which you’d think would be the plan going into a PPV match. **

After the bell, Morrison gets on the mic and says that while Miz is trying to prove he isn’t Marty Jannetty, that Morrison is going to show that he is John Morrison. Can’t argue with that.

Submission match will be a little later on for the WHC.

The new members of team Smackdown are backstage. Jericho says they should follow their leadership. The team all express how much they want to beat RAW. Jericho wants them to watch as they beat Batisterio.

Mickie is backstage with Mae Young, and Michelle McCool says its a shame that Mickie didn’t make the team but that Beth and Natalya are more talented than Mickie. Mickie says Michelle is scared that she’ll take the Women’s title. Beth comes in to say she is thrilled about being part of Team Smackdown but that is also coming after the title. Mae slaps Michelle. She loves that shit.

We get taken back to the fun Batista/Mysterio match from last week. We get it shown that Batista had his shoulder up. Backstage Rey tells Tista that he and his kids learned something they didn’t know about Batista after watching the ‘I Walk Alone’ DVD set. They then playfully argue about who is going to win the title at Bragging Rights.

Rey Mysterio & Batista vs Unified Tag Team Champion Chris Jericho & Kane
Michael Cole wants to be Batista. Jericho and Batista begin things. Jericho pays for slapping Batista as he eats clotheslines and the like. Mysterio comes in and they do a double team nut dropkick. Snapmare by Mysterio before a sliding leg drop for two. Drop toe hold into the ropes but the 619 is blocked by Kane. After a break Kane has a backbreaker stretch on Mysterio. Jericho comes in and kicks him after a Kane backbreaker. Jericho does his usual dick schtick. Rey hits his lucha wheelbarrow bulldog and both men are on the floor. Kane is tagged in and he blocks a tag on the other side. Jericho mauls Mysterio with the ref’s back turned. Kane hits a mare and hits a massive dropkick on the mat. Jericho comes back in and rams Mysterio into the corner. He hits a delayed vertical suplex for a two count. Jericho gets rana’d to the outside and Batista calls for the tag. Double tag and Batista goes to town on Kane hitting him with a corner clothesline, a diving shoulder block and a spinebuster. As Batista goes for the powerbomb on Kane, Jericho enziguiris him, but as Jericho goes for the codebreaker he gets hit with a spinebuster too. Kane then hits a big boot and posts Batista. Mysterio runs in, but ends up chokeslammed for his troubles. However, Kane turns round into the spear which enough for the three count.
Winners: Batista & Rey Mysterio

Opinion: Fun little match, that was like the others, a little short. However, from a booking standpoint, I think this match was counterproductive, as it didn’t really build Rey as a title challenger and it made the captains of Team Smackdown, generally look bad. That being said, from a ring work perspective, this was good. **

Armstrong, Vince, Teddy and Punk are backstage. Punk and Vince are excited. Vince is proud of Punk, wants to give Teddy a gold star and tells everyone to do their job. Vince can smell Autumn and he can feel change and that something is imminent and says what starts here ends at Wrestlemania. Vince sucks off Wrestlemania a little before saying Bob Armstrong, (Scott’s Dad) could be in candidacy for the Hall of Fame. He tells Scott to keep that thought in the championship match. Armstrong has a look on his face that suggests that this time he will do the right thing. Strange segment.

Mickie James vs Layla
Ay ay ay. This was kind of your usual diva fare with lots of screaming and light strikes and stuff. Interesting stuff was Mickie taking the Flair flop, and Layla hitting a crucifix rollup and a sidewalk slam. Mickie hit a neckbreaker for a two count. Mickie then hit a nice spinning high kick for the win.
Winner: Mickie James

Opinion: Well that was what it was. More interesting than normal but it felt more like it was on there just to get the girls on the show 3/4*

A tribute video is shown of the frankly mad Captain Lou Albano. RIP.

The Bragging Rights theme is the usual generic hard rock we’ve all come to love.

They show a hype video for John Cena vs Randy Orton for the FINAL time apparently. Give 12-18 months and I’m sure we’ll be doing this again. To be fair, the hype video makes the feud seem more epic than it actually is.

‘Old’ King and Cole hype the Bragging Rights card.

CM Punk w/ Teddy Long & Scott Armstrong vs The Undertaker (c), World Heavyweight Championship, Submission Match
I never like World Title matches days before PPVs, but they didn’t really seem to want to make the four guys in the PPV match look like they have a cohesive issue, so here we are I suppose. Punk before the match says he could beat and humiliate everyone in this arena. It makes him feel strong to know that he could reduce all the viewers to tears, but none of that is a powerful as knowing that he’s about to make Undertaker tap out for the second time. He says he knows all of the crowd’s lives are horrible and that their bastion of light is an Undertaker victory, one that he cannot get. Taker is in his Attitude Era garb again. Nice touch when Undertaker hesitates in handing Armstrong the title, not trusting him after last time round. Undertaker knocks down Punk with a straight right and pummels him with more straight rights in the corner. Undertaker hits a scoop slam but Punk ducks an elbow and goes straight for the anaconda vice. Taker escapes and after a break Taker throws Punk around at ringside. Punk is thrown on the announce table. Undertaker went for a diving big boot while Punk was on the apron but Punk moved and Taker booted the ropes. Punk beats on Taker on the outside before throwing him into the steel stairs. Punk gloats on the outside and goes for the slingshot clothesline but gets caught in a goozle which he gets out of. Punk and Taker exchange strikes with Taker seemingly getting the advantage. Corner charge by Taker before snake eyes and a leg drop. Taker fed the arm and went for Hell’s Gate but Punk rolled away. Taker goes up for OLD SCHOOL and Teddy approaches the ring, distracting Taker and allowing Punk to counter. Punk hits the high knee bulldog combo, with a big smile on his face. Punk asks Teddy for his chair and Teddy gives it to Armstrong. Punk snatches it from Armstrong and ends up having it booted in his face. Taker chokeslams the hell out of Armstrong for a reason I don’t really understand (who’s calling the submission now). Taker motions for Teddy’s death but Punk chairs Taker in the gut and twice in the head. Punk puts Taker in the vice, and Teddy tries to call for bell and as another ref makes the ring, Taker reverses into the Hell’s Gate and Punk taps to give Undertaker the win and the title retention.
Winner: The Undertaker

Opinion: Very interesting story being told and I enjoyed the ringwork when they weren’t just brawling too. Kinda makes Punk look stupid for Sunday but I suppose this is a different story to the one theyre gonna tell on Sunday anyway. We will have to see what happens, but as a main event, I enjoyed the story, the characterisation and the ring work. **3/4

While some of the matches weren’t that exciting, I enjoyed the build towards Bragging Rights even if some of the decisions made regarding that seemed a little bit off. But overall, I enjoyed watching the show, so:

This episode of Smackdown earns a thumbs up.

Also, myself and Chris who usually does this here blog, will be back again tomorrow with The Talent Exchange.

Until next time, I have been Paul Smith. Thanks for reading.

Hey everyone and welcome to this week’s edition of Chris Reviews Smackdown. In this week’s blog I shall be discussing Shane McMahon’s resignation, my distain at the idea of Booker T returning to WWE, the diva trade and analysing the show. Please feel free to leave some feedback via the comment board or drop an email to a_agreement_called_forever@hotmail.com  

Before anything else I would like to send my thoughts out to the friends and family of Captain Lou Albano who sadly passed last week. His legacy within the world of professional wrestling shall live on and his work forever admired and studied by those within the industry as perhaps one of the greatest examples ever of the Wrestling Manager. Captain Lou will be missed but never forgotten.

First off my apologies this blog is up so late, I had an incredibly busy work schedule on Saturday and then a sudden family emergency meant I was out all day after work yesterday. What this does mean is the sizeable preview section I wrote for TNA Bound For Glory is now somewhat redundant but I rather than analysing the show now I shall do it in next weeks blog.

So it seems like Booker T seems intent on returning to WWE after Sunday’s Bound For Glory PPV. Now Booker has had a lacklustre run in TNA and a poor backstage reputation. In my opinion Booker needs WWE far more than WWE needs Booker at this point in his career. Ever since he was drafted to Smackdown along with the Dudley Boyz in a re exchange for Triple H his, once one of the hottest prospects in all of wrestling became a lacklustre and lazy worker who seemed to be just going through the motions. The man who once displayed such innovative and exciting ring work became stale and predictable and his mic work, once highly entertaining and enjoyable became unintelligible babble. I firmly stack the blame for this at the feet of Triple H who absolutely killed Booker’s momentum during their feud and his subsequent burial at Wrestlemania 19 was the final nail in the coffin and Booker never recovered from the blow and it seemed to permanently blight his career all the way up to his final match at Summerslam 2007 where he was once again humiliated by Triple H. If Triple H had done the correct thing and put Booker over he could have realised his amazing potential and gone on to be one of the biggest superstars on the planet, however Triple H, clearly feeling that his spot was under threat used his backstage pull and influence to stop this from happening. Upon initially joining TNA Booker seemed to regain some of his lost spark but this soon faded and he became stale and unintelligible once again. What I am trying to say is Booker’s career slide was not entirely his fault but he certainly has done nothing to help matters and if he returns to WWE then he really needs to step up his game and work hard to show he can still be the man he once was. If as expected he returns to ECW then Booker should put his ego to one side and start helping the young talent on the brand get over and use his experience to help rather than hinder them because in my opinion during his TNA run Booker has in essence become like Triple H and surely instead of repeating the same mistakes, he should try and learn from them because with an ego like he currently has, there is no place for him in WWE.

I think WWE made its best decision in a long time when it reshuffled the women’s division last week on RAW. Whilst I feel that Smackdown shall certainly miss Melina, we have been more than compensated with the arrivals of Beth and Mickie James. I think Eve is something of a loss as she had certainly shown promise but now with Beth, Mickie, Natalya and Michelle we have a fresh division and plenty of exciting match oppertunities. RAW as well will benefit because rather than the endless Mickie vs ??? they now have so many exciting options such as Melina vs Jillian, Melina vs Gail Kim, Melina vs Alicia and Melina vs Eve. The Bellas I guess will remain eye candy, despite their in ring skills and Rosa being sent to ECW may be her last stop before being released as she has so far been appalling and other than Katie Lea has no real feud options on the brand.

So the biggest news last week was Shane McMahon’s resignation from WWE. I have to admit I was quite surprised as I always saw Shane taking over from Linda in the long term in WWE, although as Richard has since reported it always appears that Shane was ready to step aside when Vince did for Stephanie and Hunter to run things. I have to commend Shane for all the amazing things he has done for WWE over the years both on camera and behind the scenes. In the ring Shane has put on some crazy matches and taken insane bumps that a non wrestler had no means to take, but Shane always went above and beyond to make his opponent look like a star such as Steve Blackman, Kane, Kurt Angle and of course more recently Randy Orton. Behind the scenes Shane has secured many lucrative contracts for WWE, perhaps most famously being the brains behind Floyd Mayweather’s Wrestlemania 24 appearance. Shane’s commitment and drive can never be questioned and I honestly think WWE will miss his work rate and innovation. However Shane is now free to pursue other avenues and I am sure based on what we have seen during his time in WWE, that whatever Shane pursues will become successful. I would not be surprised to see Shane become a major player in a MMA promotion that will step up to rival UFC and for Shane to forever imprint his legacy in the MMA world just as he father has done with professional wrestling.

So with that slightly reduced pre show notes out of the way thanks to my now redundant Bound for Glory preview lets take a look at this week’s Smackdown.

Grisham welcomes us to the show and hypes tonight’s main event between Batista and Rey Mysterio as well as a special champion edition of The Dirt Sheet. Michael Cole is filling in for JR this week and the prospect of hearing the word vintage 5000 times fills me with dread!

Opening Segment: Teddy Long, Chris Jericho and Kane

Teddy Long announces that Bragging Rights takes place in 9 days and as well as the championship matches there will be a special 7 on 7 tag team match between Smackdown and RAW to determine which brand is superior. Long talks about how as general manager he intends to uphold Smackdown’s great history and heritage and ensure it prevails as the dominant show. He says he has had to make a tough decision to counter RAW’s team DX, Cody, Jack Swagger, Kofi, Big Show and Mark Henry and introduces the captain of team Smackdown: Chris Jericho. Jericho makes his way to the ring to huge heat from the fans. Jericho says finally after years of incompetence and prejudice Teddy has made the right decision and made Jericho the captain of the team and people may not like it but that is just the way it is. Jericho says as the face of this show he has to address the possibility of John Cena returning, Jericho says when Orton beats Cena he will be banned from RAW and will want to return to where it began but things have changed and there is a new man: Jericho and if Cena wants to return he has to go through him. Jericho says he has led the locker room by example and by honesty and integrity and he is the corner stone of Smackdown and he is the best in the world at what he does and the reason why all of the parasite fans are here tonight. Jericho gets huge heat for this. Jericho says as captain of Smackdown he has to put together a team who will listen to his every word and do exactly what he says and he will lead them to the promised land and beat RAW. Jericho runs down DX and gives their book a heel plug and criticises the mindless sheep fans for buying DX merchandise. Jericho rips up the DX book and throws a tantrum and says he will do the same thing to DX at Bragging Rights. Kane’s music hits and he stalks to the ring to a pop from the fans. Kane gets in Jericho’s face and questions if Team Smackdown is Jericho’s team and tells him they need to talk. Kane says he has been listening to Jericho’s every word and tells him he is out here to inform him he is now the co-captain of the Smackdown Seven. Jericho says of course he is and he was just about to announce that and with Kane’s strength and Jericho’s immense intellect RAW does not stand a chance. Kane says DX and all of team RAW can all go up in flames and poses as his fire pyro explodes.

Chris Considers: Awesome promo from Jericho here, I really liked how he played off the crowd and then Kane who also made a good impact on the mic. Kane is an obvious choice for Team Smackdown seeing as how there are so many big men on Team RAW. I like the idea of qualifying matches for team places as it makes each standard match important.

We are reminded how the ever so PG Snoop Dogg is guest hosting Monday RAW, yep the renowned gun toting, dope smoking gangster will be WWE’s face of PG this Monday!

Match 1: Triple Threat Team Smackdown Qualifying Match: Finlay vs Mike Knox vs Dolph Ziggler

Finlay gets a decent pop from the fans, whilst Knox draws little reaction. Ziggler gets a tonne of heat and seems the most obvious choice to qualify here although as Knox showed at No Way Out, he can be pretty solid in multi man matches. Ziggler eyes Knox and Finlay as he enters the ring. As the bell rings Dolph tries to team up with Knox who promptly drops him with a clothesline. Finlay sends Knox over the ropes before nailing Dolph with an uppercut and bouncing his head into the turnbuckle. Finlay whips Dolph across the ring and connects a shoulder charge and an uppercut but Dolph comes back with a kick and clotheslines Finlay over the ropes before taunting him but Knox charges him off the apron only to be pulled from the ring by Finlay. Finlay strikes away but Dolph hits a nice standing drop kick on Finlay and tosses Knox back in the ring and covering for a near fall. Dolph strikes away and hits his high impact elbow and covers again but Finlay breaks up the pin. Finlay covers Dolph for one before hitting a lariat on Dolph and an elbow drop on Knox. Scoop slam from Finlay on Dolph earns a near fall. Dolph is up and striking away but Finlay fights back and sets Dolph up for a superplex but Knox is there and connects an electric chair on Finlay but cannot make the cover due to his selling of his earlier leg injury from Finlay. Dolph comes off the top rope with a flying cross body and pins Finlay for two but Knox is able to break it up. Knox beats Dolph around the ring and hits a solid vertical suplex for two. Knox covers Dolph for a near fall and immediately covers Finlay for another two count. Dolph connects with the Zig Zag (what a horrible name) on Knox and looks to have the match won but Finlay breaks up the pin and smashes Dolph with a big European uppercut. Dolph comes back with a kick but Finlay continues to hit uppercuts and the two slug it out before Dolph drops the Irishman with a drop kick for a near fall. Ziggler whips Finlay across the ring but Finlay gets a boot up before connecting the Celtic Cross (which has apparently been renamed Rolling Thunder) on Dolph. Knox is on his feet but Finlay nails him with Rolling Thunder as well but the feat clearly takes it out of the Irishman. Knox is up first and he forces Finlay into the corner but as he staggers away Dolph nails a flying clothesline on Finlay only to turn into a charging clothesline from Knox. Knox connects his jumping kick and Dolph which sends him rolling from the ring and Konx then hits his running cross body on Finlay who simultaneously strikes with the shelaighlee. Both men are down and Finlay goes for the cover but Ziggler yanks Finlay from the ring and covers Knox for the victory himself.

Result: Dolph Ziggler defeats Finlay & Mike Knox to qualify for Team Smackdown **1/2

Chris Considers: In my opinion the star of this match was Mike Knox, who looked very strong indeed and had me wishing WWE would utilise him more efficiently, however Dolph is the star on the rise and deserves to be on pay per view. This was a fast paced and exciting match that featured some great spots such as the electric chair, cross body from Knox and Dolph on Finlay and the crossbody, shelaighlee clash was very well done. I really hope Mike Knox can move on from this feud with Finlay and perhaps step up to challenge Morrison for the Intercontinental Title.

Match 2: Team Smackdown Qualifying Match: Cryme Tyme vs The Hart Dynasty

The crowd are hot for Cryme Tyme tonight and we get some comedic nerdy white kids trying to gangsta dance. Personally I would like to see The Hart Dynasty go through here as despite Cryme Tyme’s popularity, these guys are so talented they deserve a pay per view shot and the chance to work with guys like Shawn, Triple H and Big Show. Shad and DH Smith start things out and Smith immediately connects a cheap shot on JTG before hitting a low drop kick on Shad’s leg. Smith stomps away before tagging in Tyson who wraps on Shad’s legs around the ring post and applies a submission hold which the referee breaks. Smith is tagged back in and he immediately continues to work over Shad’s legs with wrenches and holds. Smith applies a half Boston Crab and then rolls it through into an ankle lock which looked awesome. Shad is able to power out of the move and hits an elbow to Smith’s face and make the hot tag to JTG who explodes into the ring against Tyson who Smith also tagged in. JTG hits a somersault elbow and a leg drop before connecting a cheap shot on Smith and setting up Tyson and hitting the Mug Shot for a near fall. JTG stalks Tyson but is distracted by Smith allowing Tyson to strike with a roll up for a near fall. Shad nails a huge diving clothesline on Smith and JTG goes for a neckbreaker but Tyson with an amazing flipping counter into a pin attempt for a near fall. Tyson bounces JTG’s head off the ropes and tries for a springboard strike but Shad delays the move by grabbing his foot and after Tyson has kicked him off JTG is able to avoid the move and hit his tilt-a-whirl neck breaker for the pinfall and victory.

Result: Cryme Tyme defeat The Hart Dynasty to qualify for Team Smackdown **

Chris Considers: Whilst I personally would have put The Hart Dynasty over here I can understand that Cryme Tyme are a bigger draw and with pay per view buys an issue WWE will want their biggest draws on the show. This was a very good if slightly short match that featured some superb wrestling from Tyson and Smith such as Smith’s half Boston Crab into Ankle Lock and Tyson’s amazing flipping pin counter. JTG is always fun to watch as well and should provide a good foil for the likes of Kofi and Swagger in the Bragging Rights match.

Jericho is backstage with Michelle and tells her as Captain of Team Smackdown, at which point Long reminds him that he is Co-Captain, Jericho then says there are three Smackdown vs RAW matches and Smackdown needs to win at least two and whilst he is confident his team of warriors will triumph in the seven man tag match he cannot guarantee Morrison will beat The Miz and he wants to know he can rely on Michelle to get the job done. She tells him that he is the best in the world at what he does and she appreciates that. She tells him that she makes history and can beat any diva on any brand at any time. Mickie pops up and says she is excited to come to Smackdown. Mickie says to Jericho if he is looking for someone to beat the RAW divas then he should look no further than someone who has already beaten every diva on RAW. Michelle storms off and runs into Beth who tells her that now she has been traded she shouldn’t plan on keeping her title for too long.

We see Vince chatting on the phone but he is interrupted by CM Punk. Vince asks Punk if he wants something. Punk says yes he does and the fatal four way match that Teddy has planned is ridiculous and Punk is not feeling it. Vince agrees and says that is exactly why he is on probation and Punk asks what about him as he deserves his one on one rematch with Undertaker. Vince says he did like the idea of Punk had last week with a submission match against Undertaker with Scott Armstrong as referee and Teddy Long at ringside. Vince said it will be like a return of Montreal when the three of them conspired against Undertaker, which Vince called a brilliant idea and says he wishes he could have though of it. Punk asks if Vince is calling off the Fatal Four Way and he says no as that is a fabulous match that has already been advertised. Vince says however that Punk will get his shot one on one next week on Smackdown with the stipulations he set last week.

Chris Considers: Damn it! I am away at a family wedding next weekend and Paul is covering Smackdown and I am doing ECW. Why is it whenever I am away Paul always gets to cover AMAZING matches! I will certainly be checking that out when I return on Monday!

Match 3: Team Smackdown Qualifying Match: Eric Escobar with Vickie Guerrero vs Matt Hardy

Vickie appears to an astonishing amount of heat and introduces her new boyfriend Eric Escobar who comes out to a somewhat generic latino theme. Matt Hardy receives a heroes welcome but lets face it he has no chance in this match, not only because of his unfair punishment but because it is clear WWE have HUGE plans for Escobar since they have paired him with Vickie. Huge ‘Hardy’ chant erupts and the two lock up and Matt connects a knee and some strikes before hitting a backslide for an early one count. Escobar sets up for a suplex only to get caught in an inside cradle from Matt for another one count. Matt slugs away but gets dropped by a big shoulder block and Eric then hits a series of vicious seated strikes before pulling Matt to his feet and dropping him with a big clothesline before applying a headlock which he breaks only to connect a scoop slam. Eric misses a splash and Matt connects punches before nailing the Side Effect for as always a near fall. Matt heads to the top rope and hits his diving elbow. Vickie at this point climbs on the apron and screams at Matt and the referee about an injured ankle and whilst the referee tends to Vickie, Escobar hurls Matt into the ring post before rolling him up with a handful of tights for the pinfall and victory.

Result: Eric Escobar defeats Matt Hardy via pinfall to qualify for Team Smackdown *

Chris Considers: I am starting to get seriously annoyed with WWE’s burial of Matt Hardy for no good reason. He should be challenging for main event spots but instead is doing jobs to debuting talents? Not good! This was also a none to impressive debut from Escobar who’s entire wrestling output in this match was a scoop slam. I have seen plenty of his work from FCW and he is one hell of an athlete and capable of so much more. I hope WWE gives him the opportunity to do this.

The Dirt Sheet featuring Intercontinental Champion: John Morrison & United States Champion: The Miz

The Miz is out first to heat from the fans and kisses the belt as he poses on the ramp. Morrison gets a nice pop and is sporting a new T-shirt. Morrison introduces himself and at Bragging Rights he will prove why being the Intercontinental Champion is far superior… wait he asks The Miz if he got his championship from WWEshop.com. Miz introduces himself and says WWE introduces a new concept in Bragging Rights and which show is superior is it RAW, Morrison interrupts and says or is it Smackdown. Morrison says they will also determine which member of one of the greatest tag teams in WWE history is superior. The Miz? (heat from the fans) or John Morrison (pop from the fans) The Miz says everybody knows he was the star of that tag team and throughout history, teams have broken up, one going on to fame and fortune and the other fizzling into security. For example Mark & Mindy: Mark was Robin Williams and who was Mindy? Morrison says there is Bill and Ted where Ted went on to become Neo and crack the Matrix whilst Bill ended up on the unemployment line where the Miz will probably end up which gets a pop from the fans. Miz laughs it off and says the list goes on: Wayne and Garth, Regis & Kathy Lee and of course The Rockers. Miz says when they broke Shawn Michaels went on to become SHAWN MICHAELS whilst Marty Jannety went on to become Marty Jannety and at Bragging Rights Miz will prove his is the Michaels and Morrison is the Jannety. Morrison says this is impossible because Jannety did not have sweet merchandise like his new T-shirt. Morrison mocks Miz for not having any merch before telling him that his mum has one. Miz says there cannot be two Jannetys so by default Morrison is the Jannety. Morrison says actually there can be Marty Jannety and Mizzy Jannety who would make a great tag team. Morrison says this is what happens when you don’t have a girlfriend. Miz angrily insists he has had tonnes of girlfriends which Morrison laughs off before saying Miz hasn’t changed and the only thing he has done is conformed. Back in the day Miz had his hat, his capris and scarf and had the courage to be himself. Morrison shows a graphic of what Miz used to look like before saying now he is a mixture of Michael Felps, Mr Ed, Pink and Big Dick Johnson. Miz laughs it off and says number one: he has great hair, number two: the women love his pearly whites and number three: he looks great in trunks. Morrison says if by good he means husky then yes. Morrison explains this is what mums call their kids when they are fat but don’t want to hurt their feelings. Miz is incensed and Morrison asks the crowd to make some noise if they think Miz is husky and of course the crowd erupt. Miz asks the crowd if they really think that and then says all these Miztakes are just jealous of his amazing body and at Bragging Rights he will prove what everyone has always known, that he is better than Morrison. Morrison says why wait, why not try and prove that right now and Miz says he is not going to do that in this second rate city, in this second rate state on this second rate show and he will do it at the ppv. Morrison asks Miz if he heard him correctly and then quite rightly states that all RAW is these days is a cheap version of Saturday Night Live and asks if The Big Bird is hosting next week. Morrison says if you want to see real action you tune in to watch Friday Night Smackdown. Morrison says he is sure people are sick of listening to the boring Miz. Miz erupts and says he is the most entertaining and charismatic superstar in WWE, he is the reason people watch Monday night RAW, he is the reason people are watching tonight, he carried Morrison for two years, he was the talent of the tag team because ‘IM THE MIZ AND IM AWESOME!’ which draws heat from the fans. Morrison says he is the Miz and all he does is run his mouth and all he heard for two years was ‘I’m The Miz, and I’ve got a catchphrase: I’m awesome, be jealous” Morrison tells The Miz to shut up, this is Smackdown and unlike RAW they don’t just sit around and talk, Morrison tells Miz to get up and do something, to get up and act like a champion, to prove something. Morrison dares Miz to take a shot before hurling the mic away. The two stare down and Morrison begs Miz to take a shot and the crowd erupt in to a ‘husky’ chant. Miz backs down looking furious. Morrison gets back on the mic and says that is what he thought and tells Miz he will see him at Bragging Rights before calling him Jannety once again.

Chris Considers: I am huge fans of both of these guys and this was one hell of a promo that did so much to build the match between these two at Bragging Rights. When these two are together sparks fly and I cannot wait to see the match, in fact I can honestly say it is the only reason I am ordering the ppv. The comments Morrison made about RAW were spot on and in this segment he voiced what all of us real wrestling fans have been saying for a long time: that RAW pretty much sucks!

Match 4: Team Smackdown Qualifying Match: R-Truth vs Drew McIntyre

The feud between these two is recapped as we see Truth walking backstage looking focussed. Truth makes his way to the ring rapping as always and seems pretty over as always. McIntyre arrogantly struts down the ramp and smiles at Truth as he enters the ring. Truth blocks a kick and Truth strikes away but McIntyre comes back with a kick only for Truth to fight back and slides and leap frogs over Drew’s charges before hitting an athletic arm drag take over. Drew eats a drop kick and is sent flying from the ring and Truth flies over the tope rope taking Drew out on the outside as we go to commercial. Back from the break and Drew has a headlock applied in the centre of the ring. Drew breaks the hold and whips Truth into the ropes but Truth tosses Drew over the top rope. Truth is selling his injuries though and follows Drew out and limply tosses him back into the ring. As Truth climbs on the apron Drew slams Truth into the ring post and hauls him into the centre of the ring and covers for one. Drew hits a series of seated strikes as we see Jericho and Long discussing strategy backstage. Drew applies an chin lock before connecting a scoop slam and heading to the middle rope and he goes for a double knee drop but Truth hits a really nice counter and gets two feet up before leaping to his feet and avoiding a charge. Truth cartwheels away and splits under another charge before connecting a big flying leg lariat for a near fall. Drew evades a Scissor Kick and sets up for his underhook DDT but Truth forces him into the corner before clotheslining Drew from the ring. Truth goes for a Bulldog onto the steel steps but Drew counters and slams Truth onto the steel and rolls back into the ring leaving R-Truth on the outside and unable to get back into the ring before the count of ten.

Result: Drew McIntyre defeats R-Truth via countout **1/2

Chris Considers: I am normally not a fan of count out endings but felt this one worked particularly well. Drew out smarted and out wrestled the more experienced Truth here and showed plenty of promise. I am really high on the young Scot and feel he has made the biggest impact on debuting that I can remember for some years. He rightfully gets another ppv appearance and hopefully will get a real chance to shine in the seven on seven match. Truth is another guy that should be pushed more than he is due to his phenomenal crowd responses but WWE seem reluctant for him to be used as anything more than enhancement talent which is a real shame.

We see Rey and Batista backstage and they embrace. Batista says Rey is his brother and this match feels wrong. Rey jokingly asks him if he is scared. Batista says at Bragging Rights he is going to have to put their friendship aside as Rey knows how much the title means to Batista. Rey says this is ok and he would expect nothing less and he also has championship aspirations. After some more sucking up Batista and Rey embrace and Dave walks away smiling. I never thought I would reference this ever but Cryme Tyme had an edition of Word Up called Bromance and that is what I was feeling here! I like face vs face rivalries but this is just too much sucking up and makes me nauseous!

We get a recap of The Montreal Screw Job version 2 which is pretty redundant if you ask me seeing as how Undertaker so easily dealt with Punk at HIAC, however with our rematch next week it seems Vince is determined to drag this one out!

Promo: The Undertaker

The Undertaker walks on to camera to some spooky music and says that is has been said history has a way of repeating itself, but not in his yard. CM Punk, Theodore Long, Scott Armstrong, once again the three of them have decided to tempt their fates and try to rest the holy grail from Death’s grip. Undertaker tells them that once they enter Hell’s Gate, there is no turning back and at Bragging Rights he will take Punk’s soul and in one week’s time he will give Punk his last rights.

Chris Considers: As always short, to the point and effective from Undertaker. It makes me wish they would give him more mic time!

Main Event: Rey Mysterio vs Batista

I really do not want to cover this! Rey should be wrestling guys like Jericho, Punk, Bourne etc, you know guys who are actually skilled in the ring! This has the potential to be worse than Rey vs Henry from Tribute to the Troops a couple of years ago! Frustratingly Batista gets a far bigger response than Rey! Open your eyes wrestling fans!!! Surely even kids can tell that Rey is a hundred times more interesting and innovative to watch than Batista!? Well with only eight minutes left this isn’t going to be long at least! Rey applies a waist lock but Batista easily powers out. Rey goes for a springboard cross body but Batista catches him with ease but rather than hitting a move just throws Rey off. Rey goes for a hammerlock but Batista laughs and hurls him off. Batista slides under Rey’s legs but Batista hurls Rey from the ring. Rey charges back in and the two smile at each other as we go to commercial. Back from the break and Batista whips Rey into the corner. The two lock up and Batista shoves Rey off but Rey fires back with a low drop kick and hits several quick kicks to Batista’s legs before drop toe holding him in to the ropes. Rey goes for the 619 but Batista ducks and goes for the Batista Bomb but Rey flips over his shoulders and nails a kick to the gut but runs straight into a Spear. Batista looks upset he just had to do that as the referee begins to count Rey out. The referee gets to nine and Batista makes two quick near fall pins. Rey tries to fight back but Batista drops shoulders in the corner and drops Rey to the mat. Big running kick from Batista for another near fall before applying a standing bear hug which he drops to the mat. The crowd rally behind Rey and he elbows his way out and ducks under a clothesline and tries for a springboard attack but Batista catches him only for Rey to attempt a sunset flip but Batista hauls him up for a slam but Rey wriggles free and hits a chop block followed by kick to the head and sends Batista into the ropes with a drop kick, Rey connects the 619 but as he tries for the Hurricanranna Batista catches him and goes for a slam but Rey somehow hits the move and pins Batista and even though Dave clearly gets his shoulder up the referee did not see it and awards Rey the victory. After the match Punk hits the ring and nails Rey with a GTS to the fury of Batista who storms the ring but Punk who flees through the crowd. Batista helps Rey to his feet and they embrace as Smackdown goes off the air.

Result: Rey Mysterio defeats Batista via pinfall *1/2

Chris Considers: This match started off as a complete joke but actually turned really competitive and left me wanting more. The screwy finish was irritating as if the match had been given more time Rey could have done the sportsmanlike thing and had it restarted but with a pretty loaded show I guess they had to make this a quick one. Punk striking at the end was good as it kept the heat on him but with a babyface loaded fatal four way I would have liked to see things break down a bit more between Rey and Batista

This was a very good Smackdown in that it really build the pay per view and made you want to order it. I have to admit Team Smackdown looks fairly weak on paper compared to Team RAW but with the way guys like McIntyre are being pushed, there is no way they will be the ones getting pinned. I feel sorry for The Hart Dynasty and really think WWE should utilise them better as they should Mike Knox who certainly looked the best in the triple threat match. Drew McIntyre impressed me once again and I am really enjoying his push. Eric Escobar had a forgettable debut, sadly at the expense of the deserving Matt Hardy, I will be happy when the business with Jeff is resolved so Matt can get his career back on track because things are certainly not looking good for him right now. The best part of this Smackdown was The Dirt Sheet, Miz and Morrison were both fabulous on the mic and the way Morrison ran down RAW was priceless. I would happily part with $40 just to see that match, I realy think it will be that good!

This week’s match of the night was Drew McIntyre vs R-Truth and the show scores a good 8/10

That is all for this week. My apologies once again for the lateness but family has to come first sometimes. As I mentioned earlier I am away at a family wedding this weekend so Paul is filling in for me and will be handling posting The Talent Exchange. I will be covering ECW this week which means I shall be back on Wednesday evening with my thoughts on the show as well as a full review of TNA Bound For Glory which I started watching tonight and so far am very impressed.

Email me on a_agreement_called_forever@hotmail.com , add me on facebook: www.facebook.com\wnws.chris.jacks  or follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/WNWsChrisJacks  I would love to hear from you!

Here are ten points to consider coming out of this week’s show:
• How great was Chris Jericho’s opening promo, with all the time he spends on RAW these days his presence is sometimes missed on Smackdown but this was a timely reminder that when his tag title run is done he shall return to the A show!
• Despite Ziggler’s win, it was Mike Knox who stood out in that match for me and I feel he should have got a place on Team Smackdown
• Likewise The Hart Dynasty blew me away with their technical prowess in their short qualifying match, the counters and techniques they used were flawless and it is a shame we could not have had JTG and Tyson on the team
• Paul is a lucky man getting to review the title match next week! That will be my first port of call when I get back Monday morning! Perhaps my hotel at the wedding will have SKY so I can catch up over the weekend!
• A disappointing debut from Escobar in my opinion but since I regularly catch FCW I know what he can do and hope WWE let him actually wrestle to the best of his ability rather than this.
• As I said last week Matt Hardy does not deserve this treatment… such a shame
• The Dirt Sheet’s one night reunion was awesome! Morrison hit the nail on the head when he said RAW was like a cheap version of Saturday Night Live and Smackdown is the show where they do things rather than sit around and talk about them! This segment built the match at Bragging Rights so much and I cannot wait to see it!
• Another great showing from Drew McIntyre, I really hope he gets to shine for Team Smackdown at Bragging Rights, I think some exchanges between Drew and Swagger and Drew and Cody will be exciting to watch!
• Despite the somewhat farcical start and finish I did enjoy Batista vs Mysterio for what it was and actually wished it had gone longer so their friendship could have been strained further to help even the heel/face ratio in the Fatal Four Way!
• Michael Cole went the whole night without saying vintage!!! If only he could apply that to his RAW commentary!

My top ten matches of the year so far in WWE

1: The Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels – Wrestlemania – April 5th 2009
2: Legacy vs DeGeneration X – Breaking Point – September 13th 2009
3: CM Punk vs Jeff Hardy – Smackdown – August 28th 2009
4: Rey Mysterio vs Chris Jericho – The Bash – June 28th 2009
5: Rey Mysterio vs John Morrison – Smackdown – August 4th 2009
6: CM Punk vs Jeff Hardy – Summerslam – August 23rd 2009
7: Rey Mysterio vs Chris Jericho – Smackdown – July 10th 2009
8: Jeff Hardy vs John Morrison – Smackdown – July 31st 2009
9: John Morrison vs CM Punk – Smackdown – June 26th 2009
10: Rey Mysterio vs Chris Jericho – Judgement Day – May 17th 2009

Smackdown Power 10

1: The Undertaker
2: CM Punk (-1)
3: Rey Mysterio (+1)
4: Batista (-1)
5: John Morrison
6: Dolph Ziggler
7: Chris Jericho
8: Kane
9: Drew McIntyre (+1)
10: Eric Escobar (NE)

Watch any WWE programming you miss at www.Dailymotion.com  , your online source for TV shows!

Hey everyone and welcome to this week’s edition of Chris Reviews Smackdown. In this weeks blog I shall be discussing my thoughts on Hell in a Cell, the current situation of short title reigns and analysing the show. Please feel free to drop an email to a_agreement_called_forever@hotmail.com or leave me some feedback via the comment board

First off my apologies this blog is up late but due to work commitments I had hardly any free time over the weekend, topped off with the fact I was very ill yesterday. In short it has not been a good weekend!

I could talk about several things coming out of last week’s RAW but the main thing I want to talk about is the stupid amount of short WWE Championship and Heavyweight Title reigns we have seen this year. Now the WWE title has changed hands an unbelievable 7 times since the Royal Rumble whilst the World Heavyweight Title has now changed hands 8 times in the same period. In my opinion this is a very bad thing as it is turning titles which were previously thought of as prestigious, into nothing more than props to advance current storylines. It has also given the likes of Edge, Batista, Randy Orton and John Cena far more title reigns than they should have had at this point in their careers and none of their recent reigns will ever be held in the same regard as the likes of Hogan, Flair, Diesel etc who all held the majority of their world titles for a respectable amount of time. It is shocking think that both Randy Orton and John Cena are just one title win away from equally Bret Hart’s seven reigns when they are so early into their respective careers. I know plenty of people were complaining when John Cena had his year long title reign between 2006 and 2007 but at least it actually meant something when Randy Orton won the belt, albeit after Cena vacated the title through injury. This glut of quick reigns also cheapens pay per views as major title changes were usually saved for a big show like Summerslam or Wrestlemania. These days it is common to see title changes at B & C level pay per views, which takes away from the “Big Four” format we have seen in previous years. This run of quick reigns is unlikely to end any time soon as Undertaker is in no physical shape to hold the belt for any decent length of time and I see it as very unlikely that John Cena will loose the Iron Man match with Orton, in fact the only reason I think creative did a WWE title change was to extend this never ending feud because they have flat out failed to establish any new stars on RAW. I am a lifelong WWE fan but I can honestly say that I am starting to get quite down about the way the product is heading. The PG programming is really starting to bother me as is the slapstick variety garbage that RAW has become. It wasn’t that long ago I would religiously stay up to watch RAW live at 2am and the week leading up to a PPV I was excited about it all week, but now I am hardly bothered because the “main events” are so stale and repetitive. Smackdown has been the saving grace during this period of decline but ever since Batista made the switch and we saw the Montreal Screw Job v2, the show has taken a sharp nose dive in terms of quality wrestling which saddens me as I never want to be writing these blogs for something I am consistently not enjoying. Lets hope that WWE realises the error of their ways and steps it up considerably over the coming weeks otherwise they will continue to alienate their already dwindling fan base…

Ok so lets take a look at the Hell in a Cell pay per view. I tanked in my predictions here but I think that had a lot more to do with WWE’s questionable booking and wanting to swerve the fans, rather than the show being particularly hard to predict. HIAC reminded me very much of a TNA pay per view, in that the wrestling was generally good but the booking left a lot to be desired.

The show opened with the biggest disappointment of the night and that was CM Punk vs The Undertaker. Now once again both Punk and Undertaker wrestled very well in the time that they were given but this match was ridiculously short for a world title match and despite some use of the cell early on, this didn’t really feel like a real HIAC match, like some we have seen in the past. CM Punk certainly has lost some of his credibility after being so comprehensively beaten and I cannot fathom why WWE would strap Undertaker when he is clearly not in the best physical shape and this change strongly suggests this is just a stop gap reign until the belt inevitably returns to Batista at either Bragging Rights or Survivor Series.

Chris’ Star Rating: **

Next up was probably one of my favourite matches of the night in John Morrison vs Dolph Ziggler. One thing that really hurt this match was the rather dead crowd and for whatever reason they did not seem to take Dolph seriously as a heel despite how well he has been built up on Smackdown. We saw some excellent mat wrestling in the early stages followed by some memorable spots later on and the go home sequence was fantastic with an excellent series of counters leading to Morrison picking up the win with Starship Pain. The aim of this match was for both men to impress and I felt they did this in leaps and bounds. I think the decision to keep the belt on Morrison was the correct one as it allows this feud to continue which will eventually give Dolph a bigger rub when he finally overcomes Morrison.

Chris’ Star Rating: ***1/2

After all of her recent heat and botches I was very surprised that creative kept the belt on Mickie James. This match with Alicia Fix could have been kept on RAW, giving more time to the Punk vs Taker match. What we saw wasn’t awful and Alicia certainly showed promise in her first singles match on PPV, her Northern Lights Suplex in particular was quite impressive. I would not be opposed to this program continuing and Alicia eventually winning the belt in order to freshen up the women’s division on RAW.

Chris’ Star Rating: *1/2

The Unified Tag Title Match turned out to be really, really good, much better than I was expecting. Batista and Big Show’s involvement was kept to a minimum and the majority of the match focussed on some more outstanding wrestling between Chris Jericho and Rey Mysterio. The finish with Mysterio coming off the top rope into a KO punch was awesome! The decision to keep the belts on Jeri-Show was the right one in my books and I am really enjoying their run and how the tag team division has been rebuilt since Edge and Jericho first captured the titles.

Chris’ Star Rating: ***1/2

John Cena and Randy Orton has probably their best match in recent memory but I was very surprised this match was so low down the card! This did have the big match feel it needed to and for once Cena did a good job selling Orton’s offence. This did not really feel like a HIAC match and was more a standard wrestling match inside a cell but it was still miles better than anything these two have done against each other all year. The decision to put the belt back on Orton is ludicrous in my opinion as it needlessly extends this feud as well as giving Cena another short title reign. If Creative had done a decent job building the likes of Swagger on RAW then there would have been no need to have ANOTHER Cena vs Orton match, but sadly due to RAW being almost entirely focussed on a combination of Cena, HHH, Orton, HBK and guest hosts, that is exactly the situation we are in now. Can anybody say they are looking forward to watching John Cena and Randy Orton wrestle for an hour? I know I am not! I wonder how many Orton-Locks will be cracked out in that one!

Chris’ Star Rating: ***

Whilst I like the idea of Drew McIntyre being introduced to a pay per view audience, his match with R-Truth was nothing spectacular and could have been left for Smackdown and allowed further time to be devoted to the very lacking Heavy Weight Championship match. Obviously McIntyre was going over here to maintain his push and hopefully this will be the first of many ppv outings for the talented young scot.

Chris’ Star Rating: **

I have read plenty of mixed opinion regarding the US title match but I actually really enjoyed it. I think Swagger, Miz and Kofi all work really well together and despite the rather crappy build up featuring multiple belt thefts, this match was decent and featured some excellent spots and from an excitement point of view was probably the most dramatic match of the night, with plenty of pin attempts being broken up by the third man. The decision to keep the belt on Kofi only to strap Miz the next night on RAW is highly questionable to me as I will always feel that putting someone over on pay per view is far more of a big deal than doing so on free TV but it seems WWE may be starting to think otherwise. I am glad The Miz is now champion and hopefully we will get the Miz vs Morrison Bragging Rights match that Paul and I predicted in The Talent Exchange

Chris’ Star Rating: ***

The main event between DX and Legacy was awesome, as have been the majority of encounters between these two teams. This one could have gone either way but after Legacy trapped HHH came storming back with the blot cutters I just knew DX were going over. If anything the way this was booked makes Legacy look even better as they could have pinned Shawn at any time but chose to punish him further and this makes them even bigger and more arrogant heels in my opinion. DX were always going to win the blow off match in this feud and whilst I am sad to see this one end, I think we can all agree that Ted and Cody look a hundred times better than they did before it started. This also felt like far more of a HIAC match than either of the other two title matches and was my favourite match of the night. I will be watching with interest to see where Legacy go from here.

Chris’ Star Rating: ****

So HIAC was both a newsworthy show, in that both world titles changed hands, as well as a decent show from a wrestling stand point. I completely disagree with the decision to strap both Randy Orton and Undertaker and feel that Miz should have gone over on the PPV. If you want to see a show with decent wrestling and are not really bothered about current storylines, title changes etc then this would be worth picking up on DVD but if, like me, you enjoy shows that are both wrestled and booked well, then this would probably be one to avoid.

Chris’ Overall Rating for WWE Hell In A Cell: ***

Ok so lets move on to this week’s Smackdown.

The show opens with highlight stills of The Undertaker capturing the World Heavyweight title from CM Punk at HIAC. JR welcomes us to ringside and announces tonight’s main event will feature Batista vs CM Punk in a match up I have been dreading since the Animal’s return to Smackdown!

Opening Segment: Teddy Long, CM Punk and Vince McMahon

Teddy Long is in the ring and congratulates The Undertaker and says that The Deadman’s performance reinforces that Smackdown is the dominant brand in WWE. Long talks about the Iron Man match between Orton and Cena at Bragging Rights. Long announces that Cena is welcome back to Smackdown if he looses that match. CM Punk’s music hits and he limps to the ring before grabbing a mic questions why the general manager of Smackdown is talking about a RAW wrestler. Punk says Smackdown does not need John Cena, what it needs is a bit of focus from the esteemed general manager and Long’s focus should solely be on Punk right now. Punk says if Long is about to name a number one contender, then Punk’s name should be the only name on the tip of Teddy’s tongue. Punk says that Long and all of the people here know as the only straight edged world champion in WWE history Punk has a guaranteed rematch and it is bad enough that Long has Punk wrestling Batista tonight in this dump. Punk questions Long putting him against Batista, five days removed from the toughest match of his career. Punk demands that his rematch with Undertaker takes place in a submission match with Scott Armstrong as the guest referee and Long standing ringside watching. Punk says he will say when and where this match will take place. Long starts to reply but is cut off by Vince’s music and the chairman does his ridiculous walk to the ring whilst Punk screams at Long. Vince gets a mic and Long gives him a formal introduction. Vince says he tries to support Teddy in any way he can but his patience is wearing thin. What Long was about to announce is not going to please Punk at all and it certainly will not please the Undertaker. Vince questions why Teddy continues to provoke the Undertaker. Vince says Teddy was about to announce that at Bragging Rights the World Heavyweight Championship will be up for grabs but not in singles competition. Punk immediately cuts in and asks why but Vince cuts him off and says that Long was about to announce the Undertaker will defend the World Heavyweight Championship against CM Punk, Rey Mysterio and Batista. A fatal four way presented by Theodore Long. Vince introduces Rey Mysterio whilst Punk screams in fury at Teddy in the ring. Vince shakes Rey’s hand as we go to commercial.

Chris Considers: I enjoyed the back and forth between Punk and Teddy Long. Vince appearing was unexpected and unwanted but it continues the “feud” between Vince and Long. It was clearly Vince’s idea for the fatal four way but he is still trying to force the fact that it was Long’s decision to provoke The Undertaker. Quite how both Batista and Rey have earned title shots after loosing a tag team title match is beyond me seeing as surely guys like John Morrison and Matt Hardy would be more deserving!

Match 1: Rey Mysterio vs Chris Jericho

I don’t think these two could possibly put on a bad match against one another! Jericho struts arrogantly to the ring as we return from the break and we see highlight stills of the tag match at Hell in a Cell. The two lock up and Batista shoves Rey across the ring. Rey connects with a kick and nails an innovative wheelbarrow arm drag take over before hurling Jericho out of the ring with his feet. Flying cross body to Jericho on the outside but as both men get back in the ring Jericho connects a clothesline and stomps away before connecting a standing vertical suplex for an early one count. Jericho talks trash before choking Rey in the ropes and whipping him across the ring. Rey gets a boot up and connects with head scissors takedown but Jericho fights back with a military press slam and a drop kick to the head. Jericho catapults Rey into the middle rope before dragging him to his feet. Rey fires away with strikes but Jericho hurls Rey out of the ring as we go to commercial. Back from the break and Jericho has a seated half nelson applied and is demanding that the referee ‘ask him’ Rey kicks free and connects a quick schoolboy on Jericho for a near fall. Jericho somewhat botches an enzuguri as it makes no contact with Rey’s head and yet he falls to the mat as if hit by a freight train. Near fall for Jericho and he hurls Rey onto the top rope hanging him up before Jericho shoves him to the outside and poses to heat in the centre of the ring. Jericho drops a knee on the outside and tosses Rey back into the ring before connecting a crossbody over the ropes for a near fall. Jericho sets up Rey on the turnbuckle and drops some elbows before climbing the ropes and going to rip Rey’s mask off but Rey elbows him free and comes off the top rope with a seated senton followed by a springboard crossbody for a near fall. Jericho hits a kick to the gut and attempts a sunset flip but Rey rolls the move through and fires back with a low drop kick for another near fall. Rey knees away and dodges a clothesline and setting Jericho up for the 619 in the process but as Rey flies back through the ropes Jericho catches his legs and applies the Walls of Jericho which Rey sometimes counters with an inside cradle for a near fall, awesome sequence! Rey tries for another head scissors but Jericho counters into a torture rack which he drops into a back breaker for a near fall. Jericho is furious with the referee before stalking Rey and stomping away. Rey counters a running bulldog and sets Jericho up for the 619 but Jericho counters again ducking under a charging Rey and as Rey tries for a springboard splash Jericho locks on the Walls of Jericho right in the middle of the ring. Rey crawls for the ropes but Jericho drags him back to the middle of the ring but in the process Rey tries to wriggle free leading to Jericho hauling up for a slam but Rey counters with an enzuguri sending Jericho into the ropes. Rey finally connects the 619 followed by a springboard splash for the pinfall and victory.

Result: Rey Mysterio defeats Chris Jericho via Pinfall ***1/2

Chris Considers: Excellent quality tv match between two of the best in the business. It doesn’t matter how much these two go at it, they always deliver and this was no exception. This match has several wonderful sequences of multiple counters and Jericho does not look weak in defeat in any way. I can only hope the rest of the show is as good as this!

We see WWE’s Sports Centre moment plugging Ben Rothlesburger’s (sorry for the spelling) appearance and interaction between various superstars and DX effectively squashing Jeri-Show and all of the antics with DX and the Steelers.

Word Up – Cryme Tyme and Eve Torres

After the usual akas etc Cryme Tyme announce this week’s word is Eve and proceed to sleaze all over Eve and plug her match against Michelle next

Chris Considers: Not even worth mentioning…

Match 2: Eve Torres vs Michelle McCool (non title match)

I have been keen to see these two go at it as I feel Eve is one of the best young prospects in the women’s division. The two lock up and Michelle powers Eve into the corner before nailing strikes and kicks. Eve fires back with striking offence of her own but runs into an elbow. Eve leaps on Michelle and nails some strikes on the ground but Michelle rolls it through and connects strikes of her own. The referee gets both women to their feet and Michelle runs round the ring before trying to kick Eve as she follows but Eve catches her boot and nails a clothesline for a near fall. Michelle hurls Eve into the turnbuckle and connects a vicious running knee to the head before dropping a series of knees and leg drops on Eve in the centre of the ring. Nerve hold from Michelle followed by a seated headlock which Eve powers to her feet but Michelle keeps the hold applied and drops Eve back to the mat. Eve eventually powers out and tries an arm drag take over but Michelle counters with a cartwheel only to run straight into a big clothesline from Eve. Eve connects a pair of single leg drop kicks followed by a sommersault slam for a near fall. Eve cartwheels into a kick and sets of the Styles Clash but Eve counters with a roll up for a near fall. Michelle ducks a clothesline and nails a stiff kick to the jaw for the pinfall and victory..

Result: Michelle McCool defeats Eve Torres via pinfall **

Chris Considers: I enjoyed this match and it was nice to see someone different stepping up to challenge Michelle. Eve has shown she is far more than just eye candy during her time so far in WWE. I hope this feud continues and next time they are given a little longer as working with someone like Michelle will only further Eve’s development and I hopefully she will eventually work herself into the stale Women’s title picture.

Backstage Segment: Teddy Long, Vickie Guerrero & Eric Escobar

We see Vickie Guerrero and Eric Escobar backstage. Long interrupts and asks Vickie why she is in his office. Vickie says last week her boyfriend was announced as a new member of the Smackdown roster and she thinks it is completely unfair that Long does not have him in a match tonight. She also thinks the fatal four way announcement is unfair on CM Punk as he is not getting his one on one rematch and mathematically the match is also unfair on The Undertaker. Vickie says she does not understand why Long keeps poking a stick at The Undertaker. Long tries to say something about Vince but Vickie cuts him off and asks if Long was seriously about to suggest that it was Vince’s idea. She whispers something to Eric who tells Long something in Spanish which makes Vickie horny. Eric goes to drag her off but Vickie quickly tells Long he is still on probation.

Chris Considers: It is good to see Vickie back! Eric is also a very confident talker and I am eager to see him make his in ring debut after spending a record 4 years in development!

Match 3: Intercontinental Championship Match: John Morrison © vs Dolph Ziggler

I am really hoping they do not do what they need with the US title in this match! Morrison gets a nice pop whilst Ziggler draws some heat on his way to the ring. The two exchange words as the bell ring and Dolph tries for a quick takedown and we get a nice amateur mat wrestling exchange between the pair. Ziggler hits a right hand followed by a fireman carry takeover for an early one count. Dolph applies a headlock on the ground at gets Morrison’s shoulders down for a one count. Morrison hits a fireman’s carry takeover of his own for a one count and both men get to their feet. Dolph drops Morrison with strikes but Morrison slides under Dolph’s legs fires back with a double leg drop kick for a one count. Another fireman carry takeover from Morrison and he then applies a headlock which Dolph eventually breaks and the two out counter each other with backslide attempts before Morrison connects an inverted backbreaker, side Russian leg sweep and spinning hand stand kick combination for the first near fall of the match. Maria makes her way to ringside and starts firing up Dolph who battles to his feet and an enzuguri attempt from Morrison who promptly nails a pele kick instead! Ziggler drops Morrison into the corner and hits a belly to back suplex with a bridge for a near fall. Ziggler sets Morrison up in the corner and connects a leaping elbow for a near fall. Ziggler repeatedly smashes Morrison’s head into the mat before dropping his high impact elbow for another near fall. Seated chin lock from Ziggler but Morrison battles to his feet only to get dropped by a kick from Dolph who arrogantly strikes and stomps away but he then walks into a kick from Morrison who comes back with strikes but Dolph counters with a powerslam for another near fall which infuriates Dolph. Mounted strikes from Ziggler and he then starts to work over Morrison’s arm before another seated chin lock which Morrison powers out of with an electric chair leaving both men down. Morrison hit a pair of strikes and drops Ziggler with a shoulder block and a clothesline followed by a flying leg lariat and a standing shooting star press for a near fall. Morrison nails a kick to the face takes Dolph over the ropes with a cross body. Dolph charges Morrison into the ring apron and grabs a chair which he sets up on the apron.. Dolph hammers away at Morrison in the corner whilst Maria takes the chair and sits back down. Flying clothesline from Dolph sends Morrison reeling and he follows up with a drop kick and scrambles for the chair only to find Maria sitting in it. Dolph is furious and walks straight into the Flying Chuck giving Morrison the three count and victory.

Result: John Morrison defeats Dolph Ziggler via pinfall (retains Intercontinental Championship) ***1/2

Chris Considers: Very solid match here once again between Morrison and Ziggler that featured some fantastic wrestling sequences. I really enjoyed the early mat exchanges! Dolph showed once again he was the real deal, hitting a number of impactful moves such as the belly to back suplex and powerslam. The finish was innovative and I imagine is going to cause all sorts of problems between Dolph and Maria further down the line. I hope this is not the last time we see these two go at it as they deserve at least one more pay per view outing.

We get an awesome video package highlighting Undertaker’s seven world title wins. This was one of the most awesome promo video packages I have ever seen! WWE really do such an amazing job with these!

Backstage Segment: Dolph Ziggler & Maria

We see Dolph and Maria walking backstage. Dolph is furious, he says he has two lives a personal and a professional life and he thought she could differentiate between the two. Dolph says in professional life he sees bright lights and has a big future before telling Maria in his personal life he doesn’t see her. He storms off and leaves Maria in tears

Chris Considers: Normally I wouldn’t comment on these backstage skits but I think this one is significant as I believe it will lead to a full fledged heel turn from Maria as she goes all out to win back her man and this will probably include interfering in Dolph’s matches on his behalf. I think Dolph and Maria could be the next Edge and Lita (minus Lita’s wrestling ability as Maria obviously has none!) and this could work extremely well if booked right, of course this could be the end of the road for the pair and Dolph could end up aligned with someone like Layla or Michelle but I hope they turn Maria as it would add something different to her air head character.

Rey and Batista are shown and Rey says he is sorry about HIAC and hopes Batista does not feel he let him down. Batista says they are a team and if they loose they loose as a team. Batista says Rey won tonight, he will win tonight and at Bragging Rights, Rey gets to be in the ring when Batista wins back his world title. Rey asks what about him? But Batista insists he will be winning and the two embrace.

Match 4: R-Truth & Matt Hardy vs Drew McIntyre & Kane

R-Truth makes his way out rapping away and gets one of the biggest pops of the night so far! Matt Hardy is also very over and poses to a big pop. Drew swaggers arrogantly down the ramp as Kane emerges to more of a pop than heat. Drew and Matt Hardy start out and a huge ‘Hardy’ chant erupts. Hammerlock from Matt which Drew reverses only for Matt to apply a headlock. Drew whips Matt into the corner but Matt dodges a charging elbow and continues to work over the arm before tagging in Truth who comes off the top rope with an axe handle before nailing some strikes but Drew comes back some strikes. Kane makes the blind tag and Truth is distracted by Drew and turns into a huge boot from Kane who stomps and kicks away before nailing a low drop kick for a near fall. Drew is tagged in and he nails a snap suplex for a near fall before making another tag to Kane who hits a big uppercut and tries for a sidewalk slam but Truth wriggles free and sweeps Kane into the tunbuckle but Drew makes the tag whilst Truth makes the hot tag to Matt Hardy and the two slug it out with Matt coming out on top. Big clothesline from Matt followed by a drop kick and diving leg into the ropes. Matt connects an elbow from the top rope followed by a Side Effect for a near fall which Kane breaks up. Truth hits the ring and send Kane to the apron with a drop kick but as he turns to leave the ring Drew nails a cheap shot only to turn into a Twist of Fate attempt from Matt but Drew counters and sends Matt into Kane who hits a big European Uppercut and Drew than hits his double underhook DDT on Matt for the pinfall and victory.

Result: Drew McIntyre & Kane defeat R-Truth & Matt Hardy via pinfall *1/2

Chris Considers: Things are really not looking good for Matt Hardy these days considering he was challenging CM Punk for the World Title at house shows a month ago. Drew and Kane worked surprisingly well as a tag team here but this match was something of a glorified squash, with Truth in particular getting very little ring time. Drew continues to impress me and I hope he may move on to feud with Matt Hardy as this will help elevate his young career no end.

In Ring Segment: The Undertaker

The Undertaker makes his way to the ring to a thunderous ovation and it appears he has now shed the Ministry of Darkness style attire he has been wearing as of late. Undertaker pauses as the crowd erupt before getting on the mic and saying he is the reaper of wayward souls and the world heavyweight champion. Big pop from the crowd. Undertaker says this belt is the holy grail of everyone who sets foot in the ring and this is why it is so important that he poses it because every wayward soul that crosses the path of The Undertaker but now consumed by the lust of fortune and fame, the recognition that this championship brings will lead them on a road that they wish they had never embarked, that road ends in his yard and for them it will be a graveyard. On October 25th 2009 in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania three men will tempt their fate on a new battle ground called Bragging Rights. CM Punk: Punk escaped Hell in a Cell, relatively in one piece, at Bragging Rights, The Undertaker will take his soul. Rey Mysterio: his tenacious heart is legendary, his courage unquestionable but make no mistake about it Undertaker will show him no mercy. This brings him to Batista: their battles from the past are epic but even his strength and rage will not be enough to save his soul. Undertaker says it is appropriate the match is called fatal four way because one by one each of them will fall beneath the shadow of The Undertaker and one by one they will each rest in peace!

Chris Considers: Awesome promo as always from Undertaker. This did a great job hyping the Bragging Rights match and from the way Taker was talking it suggests it may be an Elimination style match as he mentioned one by one they will each fall. That would be pretty great as I really enjoy elimination style multi man matches and even though I am against both Batista and Rey getting a title shot this was strong build.

Main Event: Batista vs CM Punk

Batista got his usual pop as he made his way to the ring. JR announced it was ‘time to feed the animal’ how fitting as that is probably exactly what is going to happen here! Punk draws some serious heat as he walks dejectedly down to the ring still selling his injuries from Hell in a Cell. Punk talks smack to a fan before posing on the top rope. Punk hurls his top at Batista and immediately flees the ring. The referee calls Batista off as Punk slowly makes his way back to the ring. Kick from Punk and he bails to the outside again to heat from the fans before sliding back in the ring and waiting in the corner. Batista forces Punk into the ropes and the referee breaks the hold and Punk hits some strikes and kicks but Batista counters and powers Punk into the corner and connects a charging clothesline. Batista whips Punk across the ring and he bails to the outside once again. Punk climbs to the apron and makes the referee back Batista off before getting back in the ring only to eat a kick. Batista forces Punk into the corner and Punk ducks under the ropes before bouncing Batista’s head off the top rope and trying for an axe handle straight into a kick. Batista goes for the Batista Bomb but Punk wriggles free and takes another time out as we go to commercial. Back from the break and Batista drops Punk with a shoulder block before connecting a suplex for a near fall. Strikes from Batista in the corner but Punk tries for a roll up only for Batista to shrug him off. Punk ducks a clothesline and kicks away but Batista catches his leg and applies an ankle lock but Punk quickly makes the ropes and takes a time out. Batista follows Punk and walks into a kick as he climbs into the ring and is hung up on the middle rope allowing punk to connect a top rope diving knee for a one count. Punk drops a succession of elbows before connecting a leg drop to the head for a near fall. Punk applies a seated headlock as Batista powers to his feet and connects an overhead takeover. Punk is straight back with kicks and a neckbreaker followed by a finger four headlock as Punk demands to know ‘who’s the man’ Batista powers out but steps up into a kick before countering a neck breaker and taking Punk down with a slam but both men are down. Punk struggles to his feet and Batista forces him into the corner and drops shoulders and strikes before whipping Punk across the ring and connecting a clothesline. Punk tries a cross body but Batista catches him and nails a powerslam for a near fall as Batista looks shocked. Punk drop toe holds Batista into the turnbuckle before connecting his high knee but Batista shoves him off before he can connect the Bulldog. Punk goes for another high knee but Batista catches him and nails a spinebuster and does his rope shaking but Punk bails to the outside. Punk tries to crawl under the ring but Batista follows and sets Punk up for the Batista Bomb but Punk grabs the top rope and turns the move into a headlock before kicking Batista off and rolling back in the ring picking up the win via countout. After the match Batista storms into the ring and nails Punk with a Batista Bomb just to make Punk look weak

Result: CM Punk defeats Batista via countout *1/2

Chris Considers: This match was slow and boring. I don not like Punk playing ultimate coward against Batista when we have seen him go toe to toe against Jeff and The Undertaker. Batista hit six moves during the course of this match which is four more than he managed in either of his pervious matches. The fact Punk won via countout only to get dropped by Batista immediately after the match was pathetic and shows just how big Batista’s ego is, that even in technical defeat he must still look stupidly dominant. I am worrying Punk is now going to slip back down the card as the main event gets dominated by Batista and Undertaker.

Overall this was a very solid edition of Friday Night Smackdown. The only parts I did not care for were the main event and I was not particularly high on the opening of the show. In addition the Drew & Kane vs Matt & Truth tag match was too short and one sided for my liking and I feel sorry for Matt Hardy having to work so low down the card when a few weeks ago he was almost on the verge of breaking into the main event. However Michelle and Eve had a promising match that brought something different to the women’s division and Undertaker delivered a superb promo. Jericho and Rey had a superb opening match and Dolph and Morrison stole the show with a great match for the Intercontinental title and the ending to that match and the subsequent dumping of Maria by Dolph has left several interesting possibilities for the coming weeks storylines.

The match of the night was John Morrison vs Dolph Ziggler and the show scores a good: 8/10

Once again my apologies this is so late but my working life is so hectic right now. I shall try my best to ensure I have the blog up in better time next week!

Email me on a_agreement_called_forever@hotmail.com , add me on facebook: www.facebook.com\wnws.chris.jacks or follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/WNWsChrisJacks I would love to hear from you!

Here are ten points to consider coming out of this week’s show
• How the hell do Batista and Rey go from losing a tag title match to becoming joint number one contenders for the world heavyweight title???
• What a fantastic match between Rey and Jericho, no matter how many times these two go at it, the result is always decent. Pity Jericho is usually on the losing end of these bouts though!
• How good to see a fresh challenger step up to face Michelle, I am all for an extended program between her and Eve as it will not only further Eve’s development but also freshen up the division
• How we have missed Vickie Guerrero! I wonder how long before she tries to rest control of Smackdown from Teddy Long???
• Superb TV match between Morrison and Dolph and such an innovative finish! I really hope this feud is extended further!
• I might be alone in this but I find the break up between Dolph and Maria fascinating as I think it opens up the possibility of a full heel turn for Maria and her transformation into a Lita-esque partner for Dolph albeit without the wrestling skills!
• Such a shame that Matt Hardy has fallen so hard and so fast, I cannot help but feel that it is not his fault either…
• Drew McIntyre is a star on the rise, I look to see an extended program between him and Matt that will push him up to the next level!
• Some people may get bored of Undertaker’s soul taking promos but I really enjoy them and feel that he is capable of cutting a more impactful promo in two minutes than most could hope for in ten!
• What a boring main event and how disgraceful Batista still had to bury Punk after losing. I am already praying he either a) retires after Wrestlemania or b) gets drafted back to RAW

My top ten matches of the year so far in WWE

1: The Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels – Wrestlemania – April 5th 2009
2: Legacy vs DeGeneration X – Breaking Point – September 13th 2009
3: CM Punk vs Jeff Hardy – Smackdown – August 28th 2009
4: Rey Mysterio vs Chris Jericho – The Bash – June 28th 2009
5: Rey Mysterio vs John Morrison – Smackdown – August 4th 2009
6: CM Punk vs Jeff Hardy – Summerslam – August 23rd 2009
7: Rey Mysterio vs Chris Jericho – Smackdown – July 10th 2009
8: Jeff Hardy vs John Morrison – Smackdown – July 31st 2009
9: John Morrison vs CM Punk – Smackdown – June 26th 2009
10: Rey Mysterio vs Chris Jericho – Judgement Day – May 17th 2009

Smackdown Power 10

1: The Undertaker (+1)
2: CM Punk (-1)
3: Batista (+3)
4: Rey Mysterio (NE)
5: John Morrison (-2)
6: Dolph Ziggler (-1)
7: Jeri-Show (-2)
8: Kane
9: The Hart Dynasty (-2)
10: Drew McIntyre (NE)

Watch any WWE programming you miss at www.Dailymotion.com  , your online source for TV shows!

Hey everyone and welcome to this week’s edition of Chris Reviews Smackdown. As always please feel free to leave me some feedback via the comment board or drop an email to a_agreement_called_forever@hotmail.com

My apologies this blog is late but I have been working a ridiculous amount of hours at my job due to an insane work load and this also means there will be no pre show notes this week as I am exhausted and haven’t had enough time during the week.

Many thanks to Wrestling News World’s South African correspondent Brandon Van Reenan for designing the awesome blog logo for this week celebrating the tenth anniversary of Friday Night Smackdown! Brandon is studying graphic art and will be creating a new logo for me over the coming weeks!

So lets get straight into the show!

We get an amazing opening video showing some of the monumental moments of Smackdown over the years including Austin destroying the DX Express, the rise of John Cena, Vickie and Edge, Hulk Hogan debuting, Jeff Hardy celebrating his title win, some touching Eddie Guerrero moments and of course The Great One: The Rock cutting many of his classic lines and of course laying the smack down! This was an awesome video and whoever made it deserves a payrise!

Smackdown also has a very cool new opening video featuring many of the current roster. I am not a fan of the new theme song though as it seems very generic rock but then I hated the old one but it grew on me over time so perhaps this one will as well!

JR welcomes us to the decade of Smackdown celebration and hypes tonight’s main event featuring Cena, DX and Undertaker vs Legacy and CM Punk and of a special message from The Rock! I cannot wait to see that! Grisham and JR are in the ring and take us backstage where we see members of the roster partying!

Match 1: Batista vs Kane

Batista gets a deafening ovation from the crowd as he makes his way to the ring. Remember I talked last week about Kane has been built up really well as a genuine threat once again? Well something tells me that is about to come to an end! We see highlights of Rey Mysterio and Batista defeating MNM for the tag titles several years ago! Of course this was back when Batista was the coolest man in wrestling, my how things have changed! The two lock up and Batista powers Kane into the tunbuckle but the Big Red Machine slaps Batista and nails some uppercuts before dropping Batista with a shoulder charge. Kane misses an elbow and Batista hits a running knee and a clothesline for a one count before applying an Orton Lock which Kane powers out from with a sidewalk slam. Kane stomps away and forces Batista into the corner and nails knees and strikes before hitting a DDT for a near fall. Kane works over Batista’s injured arm but Batista powers out and sends Kane over the top rope as we go to commercial. Back from the break and Kane is working over the surgically repaired arm in the middle of the ring. Batista fights him off but eats a big boot and a series of uppercuts and the two charge at each other and both nail simultaneous big boots sending both men to the mat. Batista is up first and connects a shoulder charge and some charging clotheslines but Kane counters and nails some charging clotheslines of his own. Big sidewalk slam from Kane and he heads to the top rope and connects a diving clothesline. Kane calls for the chokeslam but Batista is up and nails a spinebuster for a near fall. Batista tries for the Batista Bomb but Kane powers him off but Batista drops him with a huge clothesline. Batista heads to the top rope and in a very poor looking spot jumps straight into a chokeslam attempt from Kane but Batista counters only for Kane to whip him into the corner and nail some mounted strikes. However Batista nails the Batista Bomb for the pinfall and victory.

Result: Batista defeats Kane via pinfall *

Chris Considers: Aside from clotheslines, strikes and shoulder blocks Batista hit a grand total of two moves in that match: the spinebuster and the Batista Bomb. Absolutely shocking! How can people cheer this guy? Kane worked over his arm for the mid part of this match and Big Dave did not even attempt to sell it. Terrible, terrible match and Kane, who lets not forget had defeated all of the top babyfaces on Smackdown, now looks very weak again. I wonder who Batista will bury next week?

Backstage Segment

We see Teddy Long thanking divas backstage for coming before greeting Chavo. Hornswoggle turns up and slaps Maria’s ass and Michael Cole loudly announces “vintage Hornswoggle!” oh dear… Long thanks Cole for returning to Smackdown. Cole asks Teddy to have a drink with him and he says he will have a diet Pepsi. Finlay interrupts and insists they all have a shot of Irish Whiskey and gets Hornsowggle to pour the drinks. “Vintage Finlay” from Cole and Finlay calls a toast and talks about celebrating ten years of Smackdown. Just as Teddy is about to drink CM Punk appears and tells him not to drink it “Vintage Punk” from Cole and Punk looks like he was going to belt him before turning back to Long and telling everyone that whilst he is World Heavyweight Champion there will be no more alcohol on Smackdown. Punk tells everyone to pay attention to the main event tonight and they will see why Straight Edge is superior. Teddy walks off and runs in to Vickie Guerrero who bashes him for lifting the ban on Hells Gate. Vickie tells Teddy he has no backbone to run the show. Vickie introduces her new boyfriend Eric (Escobar) from development, who looks a bit like Batista when he had hair, she announces she will be returning to Smackdown to manage Eric as Vince signed him to the roster today. Teddy looks sick and then a gong strikes and a very small Undertaker puts a hand on Teddy’s shoulder, of course it is Santino who tells Teddy what a great costume party. Long necks his shot as we go to commercial

Chris Considers: Some parts of this segment were awesome: Punk, Saninto and Vickie and other parts were very annoying: Cole and Hornswoggle. I had an idea that there would probably not be much wrestling on this show! I am hyped Vickie is coming back as that will immediately be a great way to put Eric over as a major heel! Watching this reminds me why I am so happy JR is on Smackdown! Interestingly Matt Hardy was in this segment but did not even get one line… things are not looking bright for Matt these days…

Back from the break and Cole is eating some “vintage shrimp” Finlay calls Hornswoggle over and makes a shrimp joke and Hornswoggle kicks him in the knee and storms off and into MVP’s VIP lounge where Mark Henry is acting as a bouncer. Zack Ryder is on hand demanding to be let in, perhaps if he was not wearing a piece of lingerie he might have more luck! Zack offers Henry a couple of dollars and Henry tells Zack he will think about it. Finally Matt Hardy gets a line and brings all of the divas and Charlie Haas into the VIP lounge. Sergeant Slaughter pops up as well and MVP says one more before welcoming The Iron Sheik into the lounge which infuriates Ryder. The Iron Sheik steals Ryder’s catchphrase and tells him “you know it bro!”

Chris Considers: Remove Hornswoggle and Cole and this was actually quite funny! Ryder is hilarious as was The Iron Sheik! They better keep Sheik away from the Whiskey though!

JR and Grisham talk about the late great Eddie Guerrero and we get a very touching tribute video to one of wrestling’s most tragic losses. This was a moving and touching video that I have to admit brought a tear to my eye especially when we saw Eddie at home with his family and the roster mourning his loss. Eddie Gurrrero, gone but never forgotten… RIP. The fans give a standing ovation after the video airs as we go to commercial.

Match 2: John Morrison and Kofi Kingston vs The Miz and Dolph Ziggler

Jack Swagger is on guest commentary for this one. Morrison gets a nice pop as does Kofi who is now acknowledged from Ghana! Swagger rips off his headset and laughs at Kofi in the ring. Dolph draws some serious heat as he mocks Morrison in the ring. This of course is the long awaited clash between Miz and Morrison which we never saw after their team split! Morrison and Miz start things off and Miz mocks Morrison and calls him a loser before nailing a boot and hitting strikes. Morrison ducks a clothesline and Miz eats a dropkick before Morrison clotheslines him from the ring. Dolph tries to nail a cheap shot but Kofi scares him back out of the ring as we go to commercial. Back from the break and Dolph is working over Kofi but Kofi fights back and nails an innovative slam for a near fall. Dolph whips Kofi into the ropes but Kofi hangs on and shouts at Swagger on the outside. Dolph nails his finisher using the ropes and leaping over them on Kofi whilst Miz screams at Swagger to stay out of it. Near fall for Dolph and Miz is tagged in and he stomps and strikes away before mocking Morrison and hitting his charging elbow. Axe handle from Miz followed by a lateral press for a near fall. Miz applies an Orton Lock and Morrison fires up the crowd. Nice neck breaker from Miz and he tags in Dolph and they go for an old Miz and Morrison double team move but Kofi counters and nails Dolph with a right and tries to make the hot tag but Dolph leaps across the ring and hauls Kofi back towards the heel corner. Nice elbow from Dolph and he applies his inverted headlock before clotheslining Kofi to the mat. Dolph whips Kofi and tags in Miz who mocks Morrison and misses a spear and flies straight into the ring post. Both men make hot tags and Morrison connects strikes and a flying leg lariat followed by a standing Shooting Star Press for a near fall. Morrison sends Dolph into the corner but Miz distracts Morrison leading to Kofi nailing a flying cross body on Miz on the outside. Dolph hangs Morrison up the hard way in the ropes before dragging him off and nailing Zig Zag for the pinfall and victory.

Result: Dolph Ziggler and The Miz defeat John Morrison and Kofi Kingston via pinfall **

Chris Considers: Watching this match I felt like I was watching the main event of a future Wrestlemania unfold before me. I was a bit disappointed with the length of this match but all four men worked hard and looked good, probably Dolph Ziggler stood out the most in this one. I was also a bit disappointed that Miz and Morrison did not go at it a bit more but I am guessing with a Smackdown vs RAW theme at Bragging Rights later this month we may get a US Champion Miz vs Intercontinental Champion Morrison match, presuming of course Miz wins and Morrison retains!

We see Yoshi Tatsu and Kung Funaki singing Sexy Boy backstage and Jillian interrupts and warbles away. Elsewhere Slaughter and Iron Sheik are arguing about which is Greatest Country in World and Sheik chokes on a shrimp only for Hurricane to save the day and get Sheik to spit out the shrimp which flies across the room and is eaten by a wasted Michael Cole. Finaly and Hornswoggle give Cole more shots and Jeri-Show arrive. Big Show silences everyone and Jericho says that Show and he should be guests of honour as they were both on the very first episode of Smackdown and this party should be wrapped up and people need to show them the respect they deserve. Michael Cole promptly vomits all over Jericho who looks appalled and Show then barfs all over the divas. Of course with this being PG and all we did not actually see any vomit. The segment closes with an “Oh My God!” from Joey Styles.

Chris Considers: Utter garbage…

Interview with The Rock

Roberts announces The Great One to an enormous pop. Rock fools us with some false starts saying finally Dwayne Johnson has returned to Friday Nights, followed by At last the people’s champion has made his way back to Friday nights and finally hygienically The Great One’s breath has never been better. I was already in stitches at this point! Rock smiles and says he knows that is not right and then says spiritually The Brahama Bull is at one with nature but then says that sucked and he is searching for something before going off on a tangent and mocking Dolph Ziggler and asking for a coffee. Rock gets pumped up and removes his top and “FINALLY THE ROCK HAS COME BACK TO SMACKDOWN!!!” Huge pop from the fans and he suggests the assistant turn the microphone sideways, shine it up real nice and… he is only kidding. Rock talks about how Smackdown has been on the air for ten years and The Rock was there at the beginning and said down the magic words that changed the English Language forever “LAYING THE SMACK DOWN ON ALL YOUR CANDY ASSES” dropping the most electrifying move in Sports Entertainment The Peoples Elbow and from unleashing the Rock Bottoim. Rock breaks in to the Smackdown Hotel song before saying he knows he sounds good and talks about how the first time he walked out on Smackdown and all of the people were chanting The Rock’s name “ROCKY” chant from the fans and he said it was so good he wants to hear it again “ROCKY ROCKY ROCKY” Rock says ten years on who is champion now, someone named CM Punk, Rock runs riot on Punk and says he always sits down when he uses the toilet and he should be called BM Punk (Bowel Movement) because every time he opens his mouth all the fans want to barf. Rock talks about how he has faced Punk’s opponent: The Undertaker and whipped his candy ass all around the world before remembering he only beat him once and tells the camera crew to edit because he did not want to be Tombstoned. The camera man argues and Rock calls him out and a very geeky bald man comes onto set. The Rock asks the man if he has ever been Tombstoned before mocking the man and telling him to shut his mouth. Rock asks if the man thinks the Tombstone is a pleasant experience “IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT YOU THINK!” Rock rips the man’s shirt and tells him to shave the chest hair before shoving him off camera. Rock announces that at HIAC there is going to be a new World Champion but no matter what Smackdown will always belong to the Jabroni beating, pie eating, has no peer, has now flaw, now he has tried Smackdown, maybe it is time The Rock guest hosts RAW. HUGE pop from the fans! Rock says he will be the most electrifying host the show has ever seen “IF YA SSSSSMMMMMEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLL… what The Rock is cooking!” Rocks music plays and the fans applaud.

Chris Considers: That was one of my wrestling moments of the year so far. The Rock is in my opinion, THE greatest WWE superstar of all time and this was classic Rock from start to finish. I popped so many times during this interview and literally had to watch it six times to get it all down! Seriously check this promo out, so very, very funny and a reminder that The Great One is still the greatest mic man in the business! If The Rock guest hosts RAW it will be the highest rated show for years, fact!

Lumberjill Match for the Women’s Championship: Michelle McCool © vs Melina

The “Smart, Sexy and Powerful” Lumberjills make their way to the ring. Katie Lea is one sexy lady! Obsiously being a metal head that is my ideal woman right there! Melina gets a nice pop whilst Michelle gets not much of a reaction at all. The two lock up and Michelle takes Melina down with strikes but Melina is up and she pulls herself up on the ropes and applies a head scissors. Michelle pushes Melina who rolls over the ropes and drops down for a punch but Michelle connects a baseball slide sending Melina into the face divas who helps her up. Michelle stomps and kicks away in the ring and applies a hammerlock but Melina battles free and nails strikes before connecting a flapjack for a near fall. The crowd are DEAD! Kick to the head and a clothesline from Melina but Jillian grabs her leg and Melina kicks her off and Melina flies onto the heel divas. Cat Fight ensues before Melina and Michelle end up back in the ring. Melina heads to the top rope but Beth crotches her and Michelle connects The Faith Breaker for the pinfall and victory.

Result: Michelle McCool defeats Melina via pinfall (retains Womens Championship) *

Chris Considers: Considering the classic these two could put on if given the time this was very disappointing. I cannot fault the work of Melina or Michelle just the fact that this match was never given the time it needed to get going. Beth taking Melina out was interesting and I would love her to turn face and come to Smackdown to challenge Michelle but seeing as how WWE seemingly couldn’t give a crap about their women’s divisions this probably will not happen. Such a shame…

Backstage Promo: The Undertaker

The Dead Man gets a massive pop before addressing Punk and telling him that he is about to enter the domain of The Undertaker, a place of eternal suffering where there is no forgiveness, only vengeance. Taker will reclaim the World Heavyweight Championship and in doing so knock Punk from his black horse of self righteousness and the pills and alcohol that Punk so despises he will end up needing and craving them. Welcome to Hell’s Playground, Welcome to Satan’s structure, welcome to Hell in a Cell!

Chris Considers: Short, sweet and to the point! I always enjoy Undertaker promos and this was no exception! I don’t think this feud has been built that well but this was decent!

We see MVP dancing with the divas backstage. Drew McIntyre interrupts and calls for a toast and toasts himself as a future world champion and saying the party is just getting started. R-Truth flies at him and the two brawl until they are separated by assorted wrestlers. Drew McIntyre is awesome! Truth vs McIntyre is on for Hell in a Cell and I cannot wait to see Drew restart his WWE career!

Main Event: Degeneration X, John Cena and The Undertaker vs Legacy and The Only Straight Edged World Champion in History: CM Punk

DX come out to a massive pop as does The Immortal John Hogan (thanks to our loyal readers on the comment board for coming up with that one!). I know I didn’t have any time for pre show notes but I have never witnessed such a pathetic display of non selling as Cena on RAW this past Monday. We see highlights of Cena violating the ruining the WWE Championship as Undertaker then makes his way to the ring. I wonder who will walk to the ring slower, Taker or Orton… We see highlights of Vickie’s feud with The Undertaker and her continuous humiliation of him. I wonder if Vickie and Eric may end up costing Undertaker the match on Sunday? Legacy make their way out to huge heat and SLOWLY walk to the ring, the length of time it takes Orton to walk to the ring is ridiculous! Punk also gets some major heat as he stalks out and talks smack to Taker in the ring. Punk poses with the belt to heat and we are underway. Cody and Cena start out and Cena applies an arm bar and force Cody into the corner. Strikes and a Bulldog from Cena for a quick one count and The Game is tagged in and he nails strikes to Cody. Cody scuttles away and tags in Ted and the two lock up with Hunter winning a striking exchange and absolutely pummelling Ted in the corner. Hunter drops Ted with a clothesline and works over the arm before connecting a neck breaker for a near fall. Hunter continues to work over the arm and hurls Ted into Shawn’s waiting boot. Shawn tags in and nails chops but Ted attempts a comeback only for Shawn to en dup back in control. Shawn goes for a tag and takes a moment before offering his hand to Undertaker but Ted nails a knee to the gut and tries to force Shawn towards the heel corner but as he whips him into the ropes Taker makes a blind tag and drops Ted with a huge uppercut. Taker and Shawn stare down to a pop from the fans before dropping Cody who had tagged in as we go to commercial. Back from the break and Taker is taking Cody apart in the ring before tagging in Triple H who nails an awesome delayed vertical suplex. Hunter crotch chops and drops a knee before tagging in Shawn who connects a chop but Rhodes comes back with vicious strikes before tagging in Ted who nails repeated strikes of his own. Orton tagged in to huge heat and he strikes away. The referee pulls Orton out of the corner and the heels cheap shot Shawn. Punk in to more heat than Orton and he stomps away and Cody once again cheap shots Shawn whilst the referee is distracted. Back suplex from Punk gets a near fall and Orton is tagged in. Orton methodically stomps away as Cena fires up the crowd. Shawn tries to make the hot tag as Orton applies the patented Orton Lock. Back suplex from Shawn and both men are down. Orton makes the hot tag to Cody who eats an enzuguri from Shawn as he grabs his leg and finally makes the hot tag to Cena and the place erupts! Shoulder blocks from Cena followed by a slam and the 5 Knuckle Shuffle. Cena calls for the FU and gets Cody up but Ted hits the ring but two men are no match for the “strength” of Cena and he drops Ted with right and goes for a Double FU on Legacy but they counter and hit a high low double team as we go to commercial. Back from the break and Punk is working over Cena. Full Nelson from Punk and Orton is tagged in. Orton nails blow after blow and Cena is out of it on the mat as Orton connects a big knee drop for a near fall. Cena rolls towards his corner but Orton stomps away. Cena suddenly springs to life and gets Orton up for the FU but The Viper counters with a DDT for a near fall. Ted is tagged in and he stomps away and nails a kick to the face for a near fall. Orton Lock from Ted but the strength of Cena prevails and he powers out only to eat a huge clothesline from Ted who drops elbows but Cena is up again forgetting to sell and nails a slam. The crowd are going crazy and both men make hot tags to Hunter and Punk respectively. High knee from the game followed and inverted atomic drop and spinebuster. Hunter tags in Undertaker who explodes into the ring as Punk hurls himself at Orton and makes the tag before quickly fleeing the ring. Undertaker hauls Orton over the ropes and strikes away before nailing Snake Eyes and a big boot. Ted hits the ring and Undertaker drops him but Orton strikes with a backbreaker but as he goes for the cover Taker locks in Hell’s Gate. Cody breaks up the move and Hunter has seen enough and he hurls Cody from the ring. Ted locks in a hold but Shawn connects Sweet Chin Music and Ted then eats a Pedigree. Cody pulls Ted from the ring as Punk flies in and takes down Shawn with a dropkick. Cena FUs Punk over the ropes onto Legacy and the four faces surround Randy Orton in the ring. The Undertaker connects The Tombsone and pins Orton for the victory as the faces pose in the ring and confetti streams from the ceiling.

Degeneration X, John Cena and The Undertaker defeat Legacy and CM Punk via pinfall **

Chris Considers: This match was more of an exhibition than anything but still plenty of fun in parts. Punk did not play a large role and Orton once again ended up looking like a chump. I was very impressed with work of Ted and Cody in this one and they have really stepped up and evolved into true stars before our eyes. Having the faces go over was probably the best call as this was more of a celebration show than anything else

I am honestly not too sure what I thought of this show. Wrestling wise it was very weak but we had some outstanding promos including the touching Eddie tribute video, The Undertaker and of course the one and only Rock entertaining us once again. The main event was ok as was the earlier tag match between Morrison & Kofi vs Dolph and Miz but neither were anything special. Kane vs Batista sucked as did Michelle vs Melina but that was due to the lack of time it was given. Some of the backstage skits were amusing and some of them sucked, Michael Cole irritated the hell out of me, as did Hornswoggle but I am hyped for Vickie’s return and Drew McIntyre’s impeding re-debut

Match of the night was The Main Event and the show scores a 7/10 which is probably a bit generous but that Eddie video moved me and The Rock promo was one of the best things on WWE TV all year!

I shall be back shortly with The Talent Exchange. Once again my apologies this is so late but my working life is so hectic right now. I shall try my best to set aside some time in the week to reply to some of your emails and write some decent pre show notes. I hope you all enjoy Hell in a Cell and have a great week!

Email me on a_agreement_called_forever@hotmail.com , add me on facebook: www.facebook.com\wnws.chris.jacks  or follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/WNWsChrisJacks  I would love to hear from you!

Here are ten points to consider coming out of tonight’s show
• How awesome was that opening video showing Smackdown moments! So well put together!
• From now on each week I will do a Batista wrestling move count! In the last two Smackdown shows he has hit 2 moves in each match so that’s a grand total of four!
• Thank goodness for CM Punk saving that backstage segment! Michael Cole needs to stop talking period!
• I am hyped for Vickie’s return and Eric Escobar will immediately be a big deal by having her manager him! What a smart move from Creative!
• I am sure I was not the only one with a tear in my eye during that Eddie tribute video…
• Despite it being short that tag match was pretty much the future of WWE in the ring! Pity Miz and Morrison did not go at it a bit more but hopefully that will happen sometime soon!
• FINALLY THE ROCK HAS COME BACK TO SMACKDOWN!!! That was one of the best promos EVER! As Michael Cole would say “Vintage” Rock. I cannot wait for The Great One to guest host RAW!
• Such a shame the Women’s Division is currently being treated with such contempt and neglect… Melina, Beth, Michelle etc all deserve so much better
• A fun but predictable main event. If anything it highlighted why I am happy Hunter, Shawn and Cena are not on Smackdown! Ted and Cody look better each week though!
• Was I the only one surprised Vince did not rear his head at some point during the party!

My top ten matches of the year so far in WWE

1: The Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels – Wrestlemania – April 5th 2009
2: Legacy vs DeGeneration X – Breaking Point – September 13th 2009
3: CM Punk vs Jeff Hardy – Smackdown – August 28th 2009
4: Rey Mysterio vs Chris Jericho – The Bash – June 28th 2009
5: Rey Mysterio vs John Morrison – Smackdown – August 4th 2009
6: CM Punk vs Jeff Hardy – Summerslam – August 23rd 2009
7: Rey Mysterio vs Chris Jericho – Smackdown – July 10th 2009
8: Jeff Hardy vs John Morrison – Smackdown – July 31st 2009
9: John Morrison vs CM Punk – Smackdown – June 26th 2009
10: Rey Mysterio vs Chris Jericho – Judgement Day – May 17th 2009

Smackdown Power 10

1: CM Punk
2: The Undertaker
3: John Morrison
4: Dolph Ziggler
5: Jeri-Show
6: Batista (+1)
7: The Hart Dynasty (-1)
8: Kane
9: Cryme Tyme
10: Mike Knox

Watch any WWE programming you miss at www.Dailymotion.com  , your online source for TV shows!

Hey everyone and welcome to this week’s edition of Chris Reviews Smackdown. In this week’s blog I shall be discussing TNA’s recent No Surrender Pay Per View, My thoughts on DX vs Legacy and analysing the show. Be sure to leave some feedback via the comment board or drop an email to a_agreement_called_forever@hotmail.com

First off my apologies this blog is up late but I have had a very hectic weekend with work and a friend’s birthday. I really hope at some point WWE decide to move Smackdown to Thursday nights as my weekend schedule is becoming increasingly jam packed as I have recently taken over running a department at work which means I have to work my day job both Saturday and Sunday as well as playing late night DJ sets!

Anyway enough about my lack of free time! I thought RAW this week was a huge disappointment other than the continuation of the DX vs Legacy feud which is by far and away the best thing going on RAW right now and it is so refreshing to see Shawn and Hunter working hard to put two up and coming stars over and I am so pleased that Legacy has become more like Rated RKO rather than the Spirit Squad as we were all expecting them to! I thought the promo DX cut before the match between Hunter and Cody was one of the best they have done in a long time and built the match at HIAC no end. I am looking forward to that match far more than ANOTHER clash between Cena and Orton and feel that it could potentially be one of the strongest matches on the card. I am still torn as to who to predict as winners in the Talent Exchange next week as I could honestly see Legacy going over one again setting up a final Team DX vs Team Legacy showdown at Survivor Series but likewise it would seem foolish to bet against Triple H when it comes to a HIAC match. Hopefully after RAW on Monday things will be a bit easier to predict and for the first time in a couple of months I intend to stay up and watch the show as this feud has really drawn me back into RAW despite all the celebrity host garbage (I had never heard of Cedric the Entertainer prior to last Monday and probably never will again!)

Before I give my thoughts on No Surrender I would like to address something with regards to TNA ratings over here in the UK. Now TNA are bragging about the fact they are beating WWE most weeks over here but that is not really painting an accurate picture due to the way our cable system works which I will now explain for the benefit of all international readers. Basically if you live in the UK, in order to get any wrestling at all you have to first purchase a SKY TV package which will generally set you back around $30 a month plus a one off payment of about $150 for a SKY+ box (which I think is the equivalent of a DVR in the states) plus the installation fee, although SKY sometimes do an offer where this is free if you sign up to broadband and home phone as well for further costs. Now all the basic package gives you wrestling wise is TNA which is shown on the Bravo channel on SKY. In order to get any WWE programming you must fork out a further $20 a month for the SKY Sports package. So basically to watch TNA costs $30 a month here whereas WWE costs $50 a month and the majority of people I know in the UK who watch WWE TV stream it online for free to avoid the hefty cable costs or they SKY+ live RAW on Monday and watch it on the Tuesday. In addition TNA airs on Bravo in a prime time Saturday night slot between 9pm and 11pm (usually) whereas RAW is either 2am to 4am on Monday or 9pm till 11pm on Thursday, ECW is 11pm to 12am on Thursday and Smackdown is 10pm to 12am on Friday (which just like America is just about the worst night for TV!) So when TNA brags about beating WWE the cost and time factors really need to be pointed out but of course they don’t like to mention that! In addition Bravo airs all TNA pay per views for free the Wednesday following the event whereas SKY offers every other WWE PPV for free so casual and cash strapped viewers will be far more likely to catch TNA shows rather than WWE. I think it is great TNA is stepping up its game of late but they still have a LONG way to go before they will ever be considered serious competition to WWE whereas if you have read reports and press releases regarding UK ratings as of late you could be forgiven we were in the middle of a ratings war which is not case at all! My apologies that was probably a bit boring but this is something which has been bugging me for a few weeks now and after reading more and more bragging every week I felt I had to point the facts out!

Ok so now on to No Surrender. This pay per view was classic TNA in that for everything it did good it also did plenty wrong which is something of a theme more the majority of TNA pay per views (either that or they really suck!), in fact you would have to go all the way back to Lockdown 2007 for a show I enjoyed from start to finish! However this is taking nothing away from TNA as there were some outstanding matches and great creative calls at No Surrender continuing the positive trend of things as of late for the promotion.

Negatives first though and my first complaint was the complete joke of a match that was Eric Young vs Hernandez, I can understand that this furthered the storyline but if they are trying to build Hernandez into a major force in the company then things like this are best saved for Impact and the guy should get to show us all what he can do on PPV. More on Hernandez shortly! The second worst part of the whole show was the disaster between ODB and Cody Deaner, I cannot understand for the life of me what TNA Creative were smoking when they decided to put this match on the card but it was probably the same stuff they were smoking when they hired Deaner in the first place! Just utter, utter garbage that had no place on a wrestling pay per view and the one positive thing is that the “feud” appears to be over and ODB can hopefully have a dominant run as Knockout Champion! I wouldn’t call the whole Abyss vs Nash match a negative but it did not really hold my attention as it was pretty much a slow big man match with a tonne of interference as is usually the case in Abyss matches. Also I cannot understand what they are doing with Kevin Nash as he takes out Stevie, possibly teasing a face turn but then this week on Impact plays a total heel again? Try and make sense of that! Whilst Lasley and Rhino had a solid match I hated the finish just as I did with the finish of Lashley’s match on Impact this week, yes we get he is an MMA fighter but that does not mean he has to use MMA moves as finishers because Lashley was a wrestler long before he was a fighter! What happened to the Dominator? That was an awesome move and certainly something he should consider using in TNA as basic submissions and punches are all very good and deadly in real life MMA but in order to be a draw in Professional Wrestling Lashley needs to implement more stylish wrestling moves else he will get very boring very quickly. Kendra was spot on when she said she can see a Goldberg like undefeated streak for him as I can as well. TNA’s promotional poster for their UK tour has Lashley as the main draw with the tag line “Undefeated MMA Fighter” which must make guys like AJ and Joe feel pretty bad seeing as they have been carrying the company for longer than Lashley has been a pro wrestler! The final and worst moment of the show came when for some unknown and ludicrous reason Hernandez cashed in his FOF briefcase PRIOR to the start of the main event only to get quickly pile drivered by Eric Young and loose his title shot which I felt sure he was going to cash in to become champion at some point down the line. I understand it was to do something different but it came off as a joke as why would Hernandez cash in his best shot at a world title before a match already involving 4 of the top guys in the company. I understand he is being built as the number two babyface in the company behind AJ but to have him loose his title shot in this fashion was ridiculous. If I had been booking this I would have had Hernandesz go to war with the WE perhaps even putting his briefcase on the line in matches against the likes of Eric Young and Homicide and when he had finished the feud call out the then TNA Champion RVD style and set up a big draw match at a per per view rather than loosing it here with no benefit to Hernandez or Eric Young.

But with the negatives came the positives and I thought No Surrender had plenty of these. Whilst I have never been that high up on the ring work of The Beautiful People, they play their heel roles to perfection and I really enjoyed the knock out tag match especially some of the innovative double team work from Sarita and Wilde. Putting them over was the correct decision in my book and hopefully they will get this new division off to a great start as champions. I really enjoyed the Falls Count Anywhere Match between Suicide and The Pope and felt the match featured some really awesome spots even if the ending was slightly lame with Dinero pinning Suicide after he missed a leg drop. The Lethal Lockdown Match was awesome and I will never get bored of watching James Storm and Robert Roode in the ring, a pity this match had to feature Steiner and Booker as well as the god awful Brutus Magnus but Williams was impressive once again as were Team 3D, that chair shot on Rob Terry by Brother Ray was BRUTAL! Whilst taking the Lockdown match away from the Lockdown pay per view may not be the wisest idea, this match was a lot of fun and I was glad to see the best tag team in the business right now correctly going over. Watching this made me long to see a match between Beer Money and The Hart Dynasty! Despite the atrocious booking with Hernandez, the rest of the main event was actually really, really good and I was very impressed with the ring work of all four men and felt that everyone pulled their weight. Matt Morgan could quite easily become one of the biggest things in wrestling if TNA continue to book him as they are because right now he is the ultimate tweener which as proven with Steve Austin etc is the best route to go to sky rocket someone’s career. Putting AJ over was absolutely the correct call from TNA as not only is AJ one of the best athletes in the world today, it sets up the ultimate TNA passing of the torch moment at Bound for Glory next Month when Sting FINALLY puts AJ over cleanly. The best match of the night was without a doubt Joe vs Daniels as they delivered another wrestling clinic that had me gripped from start to finish. I have seen these two go at it more times than Triple H and Orton, but unlike those two, Daniels and Joe always deliver against each other and always manage to bring something new and exciting to their matches. I would love for this feud to continue but I have heard rumours that Joe is next on Lashley’s hit list for TNA domination and whilst this goes against everything I think TNA should be standing for, at least a match between the two should be good.

I think overall the good defiantly outweighed the bad at No Surrender and I really do recommend picking this one up on DVD for both the Main Event (minus the Hernandez booking) and Daniels vs Joe as both are outstanding matches. Lashley’s debut will probably be looked at as a big deal as well especially if he goes on to do great things in both TNA and MMA which I expect he will, so this show will certainly be important from a historical stand point. Let’s hope that Bound for Glory is as good or better than No Surrender!

Ok so with the TNA talk done lets take a look at this week’s Smackdown!

The show opens with highlights of Teddy Long screwing the Undertaker and the god awful limo segment from last week! All of you were spot on with your comments regarding this garabage!

Opening Segment: CM Punk & Teddy Long

Justin Roberts announces the First and Only Straight Edged World Champion in History: CM Punk who comes out to a mammoth amount of heat from the fans. Punk talks about how the fans destroy billions of brain cells every day with their abuse of substances. Punk said the reason he is bringing this up is because he feels we have forgotten his accomplishments and he runs down he world title history, MITB wins and the fact he got rid of Jeff Hardy FORVEVER as well as making the Undertaker “tap out” to the Anaconda Vice and he achieved all of this without any drugs, alcohol or help from the fans. Punk demands that anyone in a position of power comes out and treats him with the respect he deserves as he is not only the face of Smackdown but the poster boy for a new generation and he deserves to know his next opponent now he has defeated the all powerful Undertaker. Punk waits before saying that there isn’t anyone left but then Druid music hits and they approach the arena slowly and bearing a coffin whilst Punk looks on disturbed. Punk flees the ring and grabs a chair as the druids leave the coffin at ringside and disappear. Punk eyes the coffin cautiously before belting it with the chair, this does nothing and Punk opens the coffin to find Teddy Long bound and gagged inside. Punk grabs the mic and says he was expecting someone else but obviously the Undertaker is too scared to come out and face him. Punk tells Long he looks terrible and like he has been on an all night bender like the fans go on. Punk then rolls Teddy into the ring and releases his bonds and Long grabs the mic. Long tells Punk that effective immediately the Undertaker’s Hell’s Gate Submission Hold is now 100% legal and at HIAC Punk will defend the World Heavyweight Championship against The Undertaker inside Hell in a Cell and that is not all, tonight CM Punk will face The Undertaker in a match on Smackdown. Punk is furious as Long rolls from the ring and stumbles up the ramp.

Chris Considers: Great opening promo from Punk as always, this segment also set up out main event for HIAC as well as a great main event for tonight. As long as they do not try and say The Undertaker “possessed” Long to make him say these things as that would be a storyline straight out of SVR09!

Match 1: John Morrison & Finlay vs Dolph Ziggler & Mike Knox

Morrison gets a huge ovation from the fans as he makes his way to ringside . Grisham states what we have all been saying for weeks that Finlay’s music does not represent the wrestler in the slightest! We get highlights of the impressive match between Finlay and Ziggler on Superstars. No fact of the week from Knox this week as Ziggler is out quickly after him. Ziggler and Finlay start things off with Finlay taking Dolph down with a shoulder charge followed by a scoop slam before nailing a cheap shot on Knox. Finlay gets Dolph up but he makes a blind tag to Knox who enters the ring and delivers a thunderous jumping kick to the back of Finlay’s head. Knox drops knees and strikes before the referee pulls him off. Knox forces Finlay into the heel corner wand tags in Dolph who connects a flying clothesline. Dolph then applies a very unique headlock as we go to commercial. Back from the break and Knox has an Orton Lock applied but Finlay counters with a Stunner only to turn straight into a massive clothesline from the big man. Dolph is tagged back in and Knox prevents Finlay from making the tag as Dolph drops an elbow for a near fall. Dolph prevents Finlay from making the hot tag as the crowd go wild for the Friday Night Delight. Knox is tagged back in and he drops a knee for a one count before applying another Orton Lock. Knox drops some strikes to the back before tagging in Dolph who nails a stiff kick for a two count. Nice standing drop kick into a lateral press from Dolph for a near fall. Finlay tries for the hot tag but Dolph applies a seated full nelson and we get a nice amateur wrestling sequence from Dolph as he forces Finlay back into the middle of the ring. However Dolph misses a flying elbow and Finlay makes the hot tag and the crowd go wild as Morrison enters the match for the first time. Dolph makes the tag to Knox and Morrison ducks and slides under his cumbersome strikes before getting a boot up in the corner and nailing a beautiful top rope head scissors followed by a flying leg lariat and standing shooting star press for a near fall. Awesome sequence! Morrison connects some mounted punches in the corner but Knox shoves him off and nails a big boot before connecting a cheap shot on Finlay but this gives Morrison chance to recover and he connects his Flying Chuck Kick for a two count which Ziggler breaks up. Dolph tries to hit some sort of move on Morrison as Knox is charging in for a crossbody which Morrison ducks and Knox subsequently annihilates Dolph with the move! Knox forces Morrison into the corner but Finlay nails a shelaighlee strike whilst the referee is tending to Dolph and Morrison connects Starship Pain for the pinfall and victory.

Result: John Morrison & Finlay defeat Mike Knox and Dolph Ziggler via pinfall ***

Chris Considers: That was probably one of the better two separate feuds thrown together tag matches that I have seen for some time. The sequence that Morrison hit on Knox with the top rope head scissors, leg lariat and standing SSP was breath taking and the spot where Knox accidentally nailed Dolph was timed to perfection. Somehow John Morrison can make a ten minute match on Smackdown more entertaining than a half hour of Cena vs Orton on PPV!

We see Cryme Tyme backstage with Jesse and they talk some gangsta and Shad tells Jesse to prove himself to which Jesse tells them he is ready. JTG gives Jesse some spray paint and he runs into a an office and steals some DVDs . It turns out to be Long’s office and he is not impressed as Cryme Tyme flee the scene and Long tells Jesse he has a match tonight and hauls him off to the ring.

We get a video hyping John Cena’s first ever HIAC appearance. Well he pretty much wins every other first time match he has ever had so I don’t see why this one is going to be any different.

Match 2: Slam Master J vs Kane

Jesse must have really upset Long as Kane stalks his way to the ring looking mean as ever. Big boot from Kane but Jesse then evades some offence and nails some strikes and a low drop kick but Kane comes back with strikes and a Sidewalk Slam. Kane calls for the Chokeslam and connects it for the pinfall and victory.

Result: Kane defeats Slam Master J via pinfall ¼*

Chris Considers: That was awful! I actually think Kane vs Khali from last week was better! I guess the future is not too bright for Jesse unless they are planning on using him in a comedy jobber role. Kane is actually on a massive role right now as prior to his feud with and subsequent annihilation of Khali he defeated Jeff and Rey as well as beating the heck out of Morrison. I sense he may be stepping back up towards the top of the card at some point in the near future.

We see Vince walking backstage and Punk chases him down. Punk asks Vince if he is going to allow Teddy Long to do this to him and Vince tells Punk he should have thought about it more carefully before teaming up with Long and the referee to screw the Undertaker. Punk makes as if to say it was all Vince’s idea but Vince quickly tells Punk that it was his conspiracy and walks off. Hmmm a Vince vs Undertaker feud? Intriguing!

In Ring Segment: Vince McMahon, Drew McIntyre & R-Truth

Vince comes out to a huge pop and thanks the fans for their welcome after strutting his way to the ring. Vince says it reminds him of being home but then why would have Vince have a home in Oklahoma and live in this backwards Hill Billy state. Vince says if he lived here he would become a personification of Porky the Pig and he then takes a crack at JR. Vince then promotes next week’s special decade of Smackdown celebration where they will be celebrating stars of the past like the Rock and Austin and the present: Batista and Undertaker. Vince announces that DX and Cena will be present on Smackdown next week. Vince says it is time to introduce to someone he personally signed to Smackdown, someone that reminds him of himself, a man with high intellect and a hugely aggressive as well as being good looking and a guaranteed future world champion and quite simply bad ass. Vince introduces Drew McIntyre who comes out in a suit to plenty of heat. Drew shakes Vince’s hand and he leaves the ring. Drew gets on the mic and says he would like to say he is surprised to but he is not and there is nobody on the Smackdown roster who can match his potential or aggression and seeing as Teddy Long has not been paying attention to his own show the last few weeks it has taken the chairman of the board to sign a true superstar to Smackdown. Drew says that next week they are celebrating the icons of the past but the following week and every week after that it will all be about him. Drew says there is a party planned later with all the members of the roster welcoming him to Smackdown and the party is just starting. R-Truth’s music hits and he raps his way to the ring whilst Drew seethes in fury. Truth says he will tell Drew whats up and welcomes him to Smackdown before leaping in the ring and attacking McIntyre with repeated strikes. Referees break it up and McIntyre is shaking with rage as he stalks back up the ramp.

Chris Considers: I cannot recall being so torn by one segment in quite some time. On one hand I hated the fact that Vince was on Smackdown and equally his ridiculous face/heel switch thing he does seemingly EVERY time he comes to Friday nights. On the other hand he mentioned The Rock for next week which makes me hope that Dwayne will at least in some way make an appearance. Vince also gave Drew McIntyre the ultimate rub as and up and coming heel as anyone who is put over as a big deal by a heel Vince, will instantly become a big deal on TV! Drew was very strong on the mic and the brawl with Truth was good and left me itching to see them have a real match!

Match 3: Batista vs The Big Show with Chris Jericho

With get highlights of Batista taking out Jericho last week before Big Show makes his way to the ring drawing plenty of heat. Batista gets his usual massive ovation, perhaps live audiences are so overawed by his look that they forget what a poor in ring worker he is! Batista stares down Jericho as he poses on the turnbuckle. Jericho hurls abuse at Jericho as the match gets underway. Massive ‘Batista’ chant as Nig Show shoves Batista across the ring. The two lock up and Show shoves Batista over. Jericho asks JR if he just saw Show shove Batista over like a rag doll! Batista ducks under a punch and connects some strikes and goes for a shoulder block but Big Show knocks him to the mat once again. Show uses the ropes to choke Batista whilst Jericho mocks the crowd. Big chop from Show in the corner followed by another one as Jericho riles up the fans further. Show mocks Batista, who retaliates with punches but Show obliterates him with a clothesline followed by the usual punches to the stomach but Batista tries to come back with punches but gets hurled into the ropes. However The Animal then ducks under a big boot and Big Show gets hung up on the ropes and Batista charges and sends him crashing to the outside to a pop from the fans as we go to commercial. Back from the break and as if this match wasn’t slow enough already Show has an Orton Lock applied in the middle of the ring and we see Show had nailed a spear during the break after a distraction from Jericho. Batista powers out of the hold and nails a jaw breaker but Big Show locks in a bear hug as Jericho demands that JR tell us that Big Show is the real animal. Batista tries to power out but Show nails a nice leg drop for a near fall and Show then applies a bear hug on the mat. Batista fights to his feet and elbows Show off before coming back with strikes and getting a boot up in the corner but he runs right into a scoop slam from Show. Big Show goes for the splash that he always misses and surprise, surprise Batista rolls out of the way and comes back striking but Show shoves him off. Batista dodges a charge and Show falls into the turnbuckle and Batista nails a Spear. Batista goes for the Batista Bomb but does not have the strength to execute the move and Show sluggishly counters with a chokeslam attempt but Batista counters with elbows and then applies an ankle lock causing Show to scream in pain. Jericho hits the ring causing the disqualification and Batista nails a Spinebuster on Jericho followed by the ankle lock on Jericho making Y2J his bitch for the second week in a row. The Unified Tag Champs are in rolling (Jericho) and stumbling away (Show) as Batista poses in the ring.

Result: Batista defeats The Big Show via disqualification *

Chris Considers: From a technical and in ring stand point that was absolutely horrible. Aside from punches Batista hit a total of two moves on Show for the whole match: the spear and the ankle lock. What made this mildly entertaining was Jericho’s constant ranting and raving on the outside of the ring. I hated the finish whereby Jericho was made to look like Batista’s bitch for the second week in a row. And when Jericho caused the disqualification Show and Y2J should have been more than a match for The Animal, hell even Triple H put over Legacy when it was two on one! The one and only positive to come from this was all the hard work and effort creative have put in rebuilding Big Show as a dominant force was not ruined here as he dominated the entire match which made Batista’s two move fight back seem all the more ridiculous!

We see Long backstage and Vince walks in to the office. Vince asks Long why he looks so rough and Long tells him he has been to hell and back. Vince reiterates that Teddy, Punk and Armstrong screwing Undertaker was a bad idea and Vince then demands to know where his picture is. Of course this turns out to be what Jesse applied spray paint to earlier and its says Vinne 2 Da Mac all over the picture. Vince is furious with Long and tells him not to screw with him as he will make hell look like Summer School. My god Vince really needs to stay the hell off Smackdown, this is starting to get unbearable!

We get a video package of The Miz and John Morrison on an edition of Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader. This actually looks pretty funny and I will try and check it out after it has aired in the states next week!

Match 4: JTG with Shad & Eve vs DH Smith with Tyson Kidd & Natalya

As far as I can recall this is Smith’s first proper singles match aside from his no contest effort with Khali a couple of weeks ago. This should be good! JTG immediately hits a pair of nice standing drop kicks followed a face buster in the corner for an early one count. Smith comes back with a knee and a clothesline and stomps away on JTG using the ropes. Nice powerslam from Smith for a near fall followed by a very innovative move which was something of an overhead slam into a back breaker type submission move. Smith forces JTG into the corner and drops some shoulders but JTG fights back with strikes and a diving punch before connecting a blockbuster and coming off the middle rope with a leg drop for a near fall. Natalya though puts Smith’s leg on the ropes and Tyson points this out to the referee. Eve snaps and attacks Natalya and tosses her into the ring and whilst Shad is cooling down Eve and the ref is getting Natlaya out of the ring, Tyson nails a nice drop kick to the head of JTG and Smith connects a back suplex for the pinfall and victory.

Result: DH Smith defeats JTG Via Pinfall *1/2

Chris Considers: A back suplex for a finisher? Seriously? Why didn’t Smith use his awesome delayed vertical suplex? Anyway what we got here was very good but really needed to go for a good five minutes longer to get into it. The slam into submission move from Smith was very innovative and shows how technically sound The Hart Dynasty are. I am a huge fan if this blossoming, albeit revisited, feud and these guys deserve to be given more time then this, hell keep Vince and the stupid video segments off the show and this could have been a decent length match!

Josh Matthews is backstage with Batista. Josh announces that at HIAC Batista will be challenging Jeri-Show for the titles alongside Rey Mysterio. You know what I am happy with this as it keeps Batista out of the title picture as well giving us the tantalising prospect of more ring action between Jericho and Mysterio. This should actually be a decent match and feud as it allows Mysterio and Jericho to work the majority of the match and Big Show and Batista to lumber in for big spots.

Main Event: The First and Only Straight Edged World Champion in History: CM Punk vs The Undertaker

CM Punk comes to the ring smiling and posing to the heat from the fans. Punk fires himself up in the ring as The Deadman’s music hits and he once again appears clad in his WM24 gear. Punk flees the ring as Taker enters and stares him down and then makes his way cautiously back into the ring. The two circle as the match gets underway and Punk ducks under some strikes before backing into a corner and trying to run once again but Taker hauls him back into the corner and hits some strikes and elbows. Taker whips Punk across the ring and goes for a flying clothesline but Punk gets a boot up and nails a series of strikes and kicks leading to the referee hauling him off. This enrages Taker who tosses Punk out of the ring like he was nothing as we got commercial. Back from the break and Punk is kicking away in the ring but Taker fights out of a headlock and drops Punk with a shoulder charge before tossing him out of the ring once again and Punk tries to run away leading to a chase round the ring. Punk tries to catch Undertaker as he gets back in the ring but Taker is wise to it and bounces Punk’s head off the ropes before setting him up on the apron and dropping a series of elbows before a vintage Taker apron leg drop. Taker strikes away and hurls Punk back into the ring and sets him up in the corner before striking away further. Hammerlock from Taker and he goes for Old School which Punk counters and crotches Taker on the tunbuckle before nailing a roundhouse kick to the head. Punk goes for the superplex but Taker nails a succession of strikes to the body sending Punk crashing back to the mat but Punk is straight back with elbows and headbutts before setting up the superplex once again and this time connecting it. Both men are down and Punk crawls over for the cover and gets a near fall. Punk nails a series of kicks to the spine followed by a leg drop for another near fall and Punk then applies a finger four headlock and demands the referee ask him but Taker chokes Punk and sets up for the Chokeslame but Punk nails some quick kicks and a low drop kick sending the Deadman to the mat. The two duke it out with strikes and kicks before Taker nails a charging clothesline in the corner followed by the snake eyes/big boot/leg drop combo. Taker calls for the chokeslam once again but Punk counters with a roundhouse to the temple. Punk goes for the cover but Undertaker applies Hells Gate but Punk gets his feet on the ropes making him the only man I can remember to ever break the hold. Punk has had enough and tries to leave with the belt but walks right into a big right hand from Taker who then hurls the title back in the ring before ripping the cover off the announce desk and attempting a Last Ride through the table but Punk leaps over Taker’s head and climbs back in the ring just as the referee hits the Ten Count causing Punk to win via countout. Punk mocks the Undertaker’s victory pose as Smackdown goes off the air.

Result: CM Punk defeats The Undertaker via Countout ***

Chris Considers: This was as good, if not better than their Breaking Point match because it had no screwy finish! Despite the big size difference, these two work very well together and the striking exchanges are exciting as it has become what they are both known best for in WWE. I like the way the ending was booked as Punk basically outsmarted Taker and got another one over on him which helped further the feud. I also love how Punk became (correct me if I’m wrong here) the first man to make it to the ropes when locked in Hells Gate. A very good main event that went a long way to saving a pretty lacklustre show.

Well last week Batista sucked the life out of the show and whilst he had an awful match this week, he is not to blame. Nope the blame for the bad parts of tonight’s show lay firmly on the shoulder’s of Vince and his constant need to be in the spotlight. I hate his face on RAW, heel on Smackdown rouitine, I hate him revisiting old storylines where it will turn out he is the one who is messing with Undertaker and masterminding the whole thing. It seems to me due to the celebrity guest hosts on RAW Vince feels the need to be on TV so he comes to Smackdown and this sucks. His interactions with Teddy Long suggest we may well have a new general manager before too long as well! There were also too many assorted promo videos throughout the show plugging various things such as DVDs and RAW and I felt the fact there were so many led to a very disjointed viewing experience! As I already said Batista vs Show sucked, Kane vs Jesse was awful and JTG vs DH Smith was not given the time it deserved. However Morrison, Finlay, Dolph and Knox gave us a very solid six man tag match and the main event between Punk and Taker was also very good, albeit a little short once again. The one good thing of Vince on the show was the way he put over Drew McIntyre and it shows hopefully what a big deal this guy will become. I cannot wait to see him in an actual match! Overall then another decidedly average show which was saved by two matches, Drew McIntyre and Punk’s opening promo.

This week’s match of the night was Undertaker vs CM Punk and the show scores a 7/10

Well I shall be back next week with more Chris Reviews Smackdownandof course The Talent Exchange. I hope you all have a great week!

Email me on a_agreement_called_forever@hotmail.com , add me on facebook: www.facebook.com\wnws.chris.jacks  or follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/WNWsChrisJacks  I would love to hear from you!

Here are ten points to consider coming out of this week’s show
• I am WWE did not try and pull a Teddy Long has been possessed by the dark power of The Undertaker storyline on us! After last week’s theatrics I was really starting to worry…
• I think Vince is trying to make a point that Jeff Hardy is done with WWE. The amount of emphasis Punk our on FOREVER was interesting to say the least!
• I cannot recall a better two separate feuds thrown together in a random tag match than the one between Finlay & Morrison vs Knox & Dolph. The crowd were really in to Morrison!
• What a cool spot with Knox nailing Dolph by accident, the legitimately looked like it annihilated Dolph!
• Poor Jesse, it does not look good for him when he gets destroyed so utterly by Kane in a matter of seconds…
• Speaking of Kane, he is being built as quite a force on Smackdown, I wonder if his match with Matt on Superstars is an indication of a feud between the two?
• I cannot actually believe Batista hit two actual moves in that match and was on the verge of winning after being dominated for the ENTIRE thing. And it is so frustrating that Jericho had to take the fall yet again for Dave’s ego. As I said even Triple H would put (some) guys over in a two on situation
• But I am so happy that Batista is being kept out of the title picture and out in a tag feud instead! This means more ring action between Jericho and Mysterio and Big Show and Batista being kept to a minimum whilst their smaller and more skilful counterparts work the match
• Is he heel? Is he face? Who knows? Damn Vince is really starting to bug me, why cant he just stay away! And if he does eventually reveal himself as the “mastermind” behind screwing The Undertaker then I guess he will be on Smackdown indefinitely… at least he gave Drew McIntyre the ultimate start to a mega push!
• So great to see Punk outwit the Undertaker, that doesn’t happen very often and shows just how much Taker respects Punk and wants to make him look good! Plus he made it to the ropes for Hells Gate!!!

My top ten matches of the year so far in WWE

1: The Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels – Wrestlemania – April 5th 2009
2: Legacy vs DeGeneration X – Breaking Point – September 13th 2009
3: CM Punk vs Jeff Hardy – Smackdown – August 28th 2009
4: Rey Mysterio vs Chris Jericho – The Bash – June 28th 2009
5: Rey Mysterio vs John Morrison – Smackdown – August 4th 2009
6: CM Punk vs Jeff Hardy – Summerslam – August 23rd 2009
7: Rey Mysterio vs Chris Jericho – Smackdown – July 10th 2009
8: Jeff Hardy vs John Morrison – Smackdown – July 31st 2009
9: John Morrison vs CM Punk – Smackdown – June 26th 2009
10: Rey Mysterio vs Chris Jericho – Judgement Day – May 17th 2009

Smackdown Power 10

1: CM Punk
2: The Undertaker
3: John Morrison
4: Dolph Ziggler
5: Jeri-Show
6: The Hart Dynasty (+1)
7: Batista (+1)
8: Kane (+1)
9: Cryme Tyme (-3)
10: Mike Knox (NE)

Watch any WWE programming you miss at www.Dailymotion.com , your online source for TV shows!

Hey everyone and welcome to this week’s edition of Chris Reviews Smackdown. In this week’s blog I shall be discussing Jeff Hardy, ECW, Batista’s move to Smackdown and analysing the show. Please feel free to leave some feedback via the comment board or drop an email to a_agreement_called_forever@hotmail.com

Now I completely understand why so many of you are unhappy that I have taken a supportive stance when it comes to Jeff Hardy. What he is alleged to have done is a terrible example for the thousands, perhaps millions of young fans he has all around the world, but the point is that until he is found guilty I will not jump on the bandwagon and slate him for something there may be an explanation for. If Jeff is found guilty my viewpoint will change but until that time I remain supportive of a man who I have looked up to and respected the entire time I have followed wrestling. The other Jeff Hardy fans I have spoken to across the Internet Wrestling Community as well as my friends who are fans of Jeff, all feel pretty much the same way. Compare this to the Signature Pharmacy Scandal, the quantities of drugs some performers were alleged to have ordered were vastly more than that found in Jeff’s home so I think this whole situation may be being blown out of context just because it is Jeff Hardy in question here rather than someone else.

Now normally I don’t tend to talk much about ECW as RAW usually dominates my weekly discussion but after tuning in to this week’s show I have to say I cannot remember a more solid hour of well booked wrestling in recent memory. First off the show succeeded in setting up three potential new feuds in Regal and The Roundtable attempting to wrestle control of ECW from Tiffany, Shelton Benjamin turning face to feud and elevate Sheamus and my personal favourite, you know it Zack Ryder becoming the number one contender for Christian’s ECW title, Woo Woo Woo! Ryder had an excellent TV match with Christian a couple of weeks ago and has consistently shown intelligence and ability when it comes to his ring work whilst his catchphrases are some of the most amusing around and he delivers them to perfection. This is a perfect example of why I enjoy ECW so much, they have taken a struggling performer with potential and completely repackaged him and pushed him to help fulfil this potential and hopefully this is just the start of some great things for The Man. I will be eagerly watching Tuesday’s show as I fully expect Regal to interfere in the match and perhaps set up a subsequent Triple Threat for the HIAC pay per view. Working with experienced veterans like Regal and Christian will only help further Zack’s development and it should sure be an exciting and interesting few months for the former Major Brother. Another surprising thing about ECW is Goldust. Now I remember after the Trump draft I couldn’t care less about Goldust or his switch to ECW and felt this was a brief stop on the way to future endeavourville for Dustin. However since making the move to the Land of Extreme, Goldust has put on some great performances week in week out and helped elevate a number of rising stars including Ryder and Sheamus. Goldust has also got the live audiences, and from what I have read, the fans across the internet, to care about his character once again and this is great to see. I was amazed how over Goldust was during the Battle Royale and the clever way Zack eliminated him will further help elevate Ryder as a heel by taking out the clear crowd favourite. Goldust has certainly done enough to convince me he is more than worthy of having a job in WWE, and if he continues to perform to these high standards there is no reason he cannot work towards the top of the ECW card each week and perhaps contend for the title at some stage down the line. I would not say have Goldust as the champion but merely having him against heel champions such as Ryder, Sheamus or dare I dream it: Paul Burchill, will help elevate all of them as Goldust is certainly doing a great job in making his opponents look great in the ring and I hope this trend continues over the coming months.

So the biggest news of the week and probably the worst news of the year is that Batista is indeed making his return to Friday Night Smackdown, supposedly to find some competition. This is what frustrates me so much with WWE sometimes as this was the perfect opportunity to actually do what they are always talking about doing and create new stars. I have read countless reports saying Vince is frustrated with the WWE’s lack of ability to create new stars and even some of the more vocal performers such as Chris Jericho have spoken out with regards to the problem. Why take a useless main event hogging lump from one brand and stick him on the show that has, until this point actually been doing a great job in developing new stars. All that Batista will achieve on Smackdown is to hold back the main event elevations of John Morrison and Dolph Ziggler whilst crushing guys with potential such as Mike Knox and Drew McIntyre and we all know just how awful CM Punk’s foray in to the main event was last year after Batista started crushing him with ease every week! It is true Batista is not my favourite wrestler, in fact I would say he is probably my least favourite performer on the WWE roster besides Hornswoggle, but I would be just as mad if a big name I was a fan of such as Shawn Michaels, Randy Orton or John Cena had made the move because it would create exactly the same problem I spoke about above. Batista vs Punk would suck because Batista would crush him with ease due to the way he is booked, Batista vs Undertaker has been done to death in 2007 and no matter how popular they both are this feud would not be a draw for me in the slightest because I want to see something new and fresh. I seriously wonder if WWE ever pays attention to its fans because not just here on Wrestling News World but all across the Internet, Smackdown has been getting rave reviews for its solid wrestling, building of new stars and fresh programs and yet all that is set to come to an end with the arrival of The Animal. Quite simply Smackdown does not need Batista as Rey is coming back in a few weeks and Rey vs Punk, to me at least, is a hundred times the draw that Batista vs Punk, Taker or any combination of the three would be. Rey vs Punk would also have been the perfect filler feud whilst Morrison vs Ziggler is played out and then Morrison could be elevated into the main event shortly afterwards. It seems to make so much sense and be what all proper fans want and so Vince and Co go and do exactly the opposite! I would not be at all surprised if Batista had not helped orchestrate the move as lets face it John Cena will not be dropping the title any time soon and we all know just how much Dave both a) loves to be in the main event and b) hates to do a job so rather than I don’t know, helping elevate someone like Jack Swagger he decides to come and bury the Smackdown roster. If Batista had either the ring skills of Shawn Michaels or the charisma of John Cena it would certainly make things more entertaining and make the move a little less frustrating but Batista is appalling on the mic and decidedly average in the ring leaving the only thing going for him his phenomenal look, but for me and from what I have read on the comment boards this week, the majority of you, this is not enough. Only time will tell how much Big Dave will ruin the show we have all come to love, but if his complete decimation of Randy Orton, the top heel on RAW and incidentally the number one contender to the WWE championship, are anything to go by then the signs are not good. I promised myself I would rant on this too much but can you remember any other time in recent WWE history that a number one contender to either major belt was beaten CLEANLY by a man not even involved in the match or feud??? Didn’t think so…

Anyway before I end up ranting for 5 pages about Batista lets take a look at this weeks Smackdown

The show opens with highlights of the complete bullshit ending to the World Heavyweight Championship Match. See with the whole Batista thing I had nearly forgotten about that stinker! Teddy Long is shown arriving at the arena and he looks around nervously before being flanked by about twenty security guards and walking off. Due to WWE’s creative’s lack of new ideas I sense they are going to be milking this for all it is worth.

Opening Segment: Batista & Chris Jericho

After the opening credits Justin Roberts welcomes Batista to the show and he makes his way out to a thunderous ovation. I guess it is like Richard has said before kids and casual fans cannot tell the difference between a talented wrestler and a waste of space. JR however who does know the difference announces that Smackdown has just gpt a lot better and I really question if he truly believes that! Batista milks up the love from the crowd as we are reminded of his annihilation of Randy Orton on Monday. A Batista chant breaks out and he talks about how he contract expired with RAW and he got to choose where he wanted to be and he chose to be right here on Smackdown. Dave calls Smackdown the A Show before saying he cannot wait to get started (burying the roster!) Thankfully Chris Jericho arrives to save us from Batista’s Vin Diesel-esque promo and he struts to the ring. Huge heat for Jericho as he sarcastically welcomes Batista back to Smackdown before delivering a great line about how the birds chirping and babies laughing due to his return. Jericho tells Batista that his return makes him (and all of us) sick. I actually heard some people cheer when he said that! Jericho says Batista is just like the other injury prone loser Edge, pandering to the crowd for cheers like he deserves some kind of award for coming back from an injury. Jericho says he has something else to get through Batista’s Neanderthal thick skull and that is that Jericho is the true face of Smackdown and everyone knows it. Jericho mocks Batista’s length of absence and once again says he is the man on this show. Batista says he was told to be the man he has to beat the man and tonight Jericho has a match against him. Batista drills Jericho with a spinebuster and leaves the ring smiling.

Chris Considers: Wow so in order to prove what a great guy he is Batista is going to bury the top two heels in WWE in the space of a week. Nice! This segment summed up exactly what I dislike about Batista, from the wooden promo to the fact he decked Jericho at the end of the segment. Now anyone else who had a match later and would be losing would probably be the one to be doing the decking but clearly Batista must completely dominate all. Oh and Jericho completely owned him on the mic!

We see an irate Jericho backstage shouting at Big Show for not helping him out. Show says he did exactly what Jericho told him which causes Jericho to angrily insist that that is exactly what he will do and later he will handle Batista by himself.

Match 1: John Morrison vs Mike Knox

Dolph Ziggler is on guest commentary for this match and starts things off great after JR welcomes him to commentary Dolph says they are welcome to have him, priceless! Morrison gets a nice pop from the crowd as Dolph talks him up on commentary and it is officially announced that the two will go one on one at HIAC for the Intercontinental Championship. Mike Knox’s Hannibal fact of the week is about restless leg syndrome. Ziggler says Morrison’s chances of beating Knox are slim as Morrison acknowledges some fans who are cheering him loudly from the front row. Morrison ducks under a clothesline and attempts an overhead takeover but Knox overpowers him and drops him with a shoulder charge. Big uppercut from Knox and he stomps away in the corner. Knox grabs Morrison’s leg but Morrison nails a pele kick before ducking under the ropes sliding under Knox’s legs and nailing a football style bicycle kick to the head in an awesome exchange. Morrison pulls down the ropes and sends Knox over the ropes before nailing a picture perfect Moonsault from the apron to a big pop from the crowd. Morrison high fives the fans and poses as we go to commercial. Back from the break and the match has drastically changed as Knox has a headlock applied in the centre of the ring and we see Knox hurled Morrison into the ring post during the break. Morrison fights free of the headlock but Knox nails an impressive jumping kick to the head for a near fall. Ziggler runs down Grisham on commentary for interrupting him and talks about disrespecting Pat Paterson at breaking point. Knoz drops some knees for another near fall before nailing a neck breaker and stretching Morrison over his knee. Knox connects another back breaker and goes for another but Morrison counters with a tilt-a-whirl DDT but struggles to make the cover and only gets a near fall. Morrison nails some punches and connects a low drop kick to the leg before hitting a flying kick, a running knee and finally the standing shooting star press which gets a big pop from the crowd and a near fall for Morrison. Morrison calls for Moonlight Drive but Knox shoves him off and connects with a huge flying cross body for a near fall whilst Ziggler in comic fashion runs down Morrison’s ego on commentary. Knox goes for a suplex but Morrison fights free and connects the Flying Chuck followed by Starship Pain for the pinfall and victory. Morrison gets on the mic as Ziggler talks about how humble he is. Morrison makes fun of Dolph for playing footsie with Grisham. Morrison says whilst Dolph is obsessed with introducing himself as Dolph Ziggler he has a feeling at Hell in a Cell everyone will be calling him Mr Ziggles. The whole crowd erupt into a Mr Ziggles chant and Dolph storms angrily from the arena whilst Morrison informs Mr Ziggles he will see him at the pay per view.

Result: John Morrison defeats Mike Knox via pinfall **1/2

Chris Considers: This was yet another very impressive showing from Morrison who hits more impressive moves in one match than Batista does in a month! He showcased in this short amount of time exactly why he should be working at the top of the card with his great ring work and solid mic skills. Each and every week the crowd are more and more in to Morrison and I was thinking it was only a matter of time before he was elevated, however with the dark cloud of the animal sitting atop the Smackdown main event scene I am now not so sure. Knox also looked solid here and I wish he was used as more than just an enhancement talent as the guy has real potential in my opinion. Dolph Ziggler was also very entertaining on commentary and showed that just like Morrison he is the total package. I cannot wait to see them square off at HIAC and I will be interested to see how their feud develops over the next two weeks!

Backstage Interview: Scott Armstrong

Montreal Screw Job version 2 is highlighted and for once the referee: Scott Armstrong is named and is shown fleeing the ring after screwing the Undertaker. Armstrong is backstage with Josh Matthews who asks him why he did what he did. Armstrong says he has thought long and hard about why he did it and in 30 years in the business he has never been asked to do anything like this. Armstrong says he answers to someone much higher than him and he was asked to do something that he knew was wrong and it made him sick to his stomach and he is not proud of it. Armstrong says he did what he had to do to keep his job.

Chris Considers: Short and to the point. I guess this adds a sense of realism for kids and casual fans but to me I still just wish they had booked a better finish at Breaking Point!

Match 2: Melina vs Michelle McCool

Melina gets a big pop as always and Michelle hobbles to the ring still selling her “injury” Melina rushes Michelle and she takes an instant time out ducking under the ropes infuriating Melina. Michelle nails some knees and strikes and goes for a back breaker but Melina twists and flips off and hits a back kick to the jaw causing Michelle to flee the ring. Melina follows and Michelle runs back in and as Melina climbs through the ropes Michelle pulls her in via her hair and slams her to the mat. Michelle hits come seated strikes and head slams before stomping and kicking away. Knee to the head from Michelle followed by a kick to the jaw sends Melina crawling across the ring. Michelle applies a Dragon Sleeper making use of Melina’s flexibility but Melina fights up and kicks free. Michelle drops some knees before choking Melina in the corner with her boot. Michelle goes for a low drop kick but Melina pulls herself up on the ropes and Michelle crashes to the outside. Melina nails a kick to the head followed by a seated senton and tossing Michelle back in the ring. Melina sets Michelle up in a 619 position before unleashing a scream and dropping a charging double knee to Michelle’s back followed by a facebuster slam for a near fall. Melina strikes away but Michelle comes back with an elbow followed by a kick which Melina Matrix ducks under only for Michelle to nails a stiff kick to the face when she gets back up. This gets a near fall for Michelle who then applies a torture rack which Melina somehow reverses into her Canadian Destroyer-esque finisher for the pinfall and victory.

Result: Melina defeats Michelle McCool via pinfall **

Chris Considers: Very entertaining match from the ladies here. Melina was as always very impressive but Michelle made a welcome return to the ring and delivered a solid performance. No matter how bad the divas on RAW are looking right now these two always deliver the goods and deserve a match on pay per view. The fact they have worked together so many times means they have great chemistry and they told a good story in this match with Michelle countering Melina’s Matrix drop and Melina fighting out of The Dragon Sleeper. That Canadian Destroyer type finisher from Melina is incredible as is her level of flexibility!

Teddy Long is backstage panicking and runs into Vince. Vince sends the security away and asks where his picture is. Long tries to explain and Vince says his decision to bring Batista to Smackdown is fantastic. Vince then asks Long what he was thinking double crossing the Undertaker and Long tries to interrupt but Vince cuts him off. Vince tells Long to explain to the WWE Universe why he did what he did and it better be the right answer before telling Teddy that he wouldn’t want to be him.

In Ring Segment: Teddy Long

Long makes his way to the ring surrounded by security and to plenty of heat and we see exactly the same promo we saw at the beginning of the show. The security surround the ring. Long welcomes Batista back to Smackdown and says he came out here to make an admission. Loud ‘You Suck’ chants from the fans. Long admits all of this was pre planned to prevent The Undertaker from becoming World Heavyweight Champion. Long says he is not proud of what he did and he is afraid of The Undertaker. Long says he is not the only one involved in this as it was also the referee and CM Punk. Just the mention of Punk’s name draws a tonne of heat from the crowd. Long says he will explain why he did this and he has a family who he could not let down and he is too old to learn something new and did not want to be standing in the unemployment line. Long apologises to the WWE Universe, to the fans and The Undertaker and says he hopes The Undertaker can find it in his heart to forgive him. The crowd laugh at this and continue to give Long heat on the his way out of the ring. We see Long get in his limo where for some reason there is a camera installed and the Undertaker reveals himself as the driver and tells Teddy to buckle up and drives away as the limo fills with smoke and scary lights and thunder and Long Screams and the limo drives away.

Chris Considers: This goes from bad to worse, this was a golden opportunity to turn Teddy Long into a full fledged heel but Creative ducked out of that and gave us this pussy apology followed by one of the worst and most obviously fake segments I have ever, ever seen. Why the hell would Long have a camera in his limo??? Why the hell would the Limo fill with smoke and “scary” lights and how the hell was there thunder claps in the limo??? I was actually embarrassed watching this and cannot believe how this segment got approved…

In Ring Segment: The First and Only Straight Edged World Champion in History: CM Punk

As if it wasn’t bad enough the first time the entire limo segment is then replayed as Justin Roberts welcomes The First and Only Straight Edged World Champion in History: CM Punk. Still loving that pompous introduction! Punk draws a massive amount of heat before telling the crowd he told them so. He reminds us he beat and got rid of Jeff Hardy and then did exactly what he said he said he was going to do and made The Undertaker submit to the Anaconda Vice. Punk says he is not there to gloat but to confront the Undertaker in his ring and stick his World Heavyweight Championship in The Undertaker’s face and tell him that he told him so. Punk says that since The Undertaker is conveniently not there he will instead address the fans. Punk says it has come to his attention that people think he has been preaching, he says this is true as the people need preaching to and someone they can look up and someone who is righteous and not self righteous. Punk says he knows exactly what the fans will do and give up just like their hero the Undertaker. He says by the looks of half the fans they have given up already and goes off on them about drink and drug abuse. Punk calls the fans a legion of inebriated zombies waiting in line at the pharmacy for the latest anti depressant to put an artificial smile on their faces. He says they are just scratching and clawing for scapegoats for their inadequacies of which are plenty. Punk tells them they cannot say otherwise because if they do they are liars and he can see through all of their lies as he is not a liar. He is instead a man who means what he says and says what he means. He is a prophet and the choice of a new generation and a champion people can be proud of. Punk says he is the first and only straight edged world champion in history and if you are not straight edged like him than that just means he is better than you.

Chris Considers: CM Punk amazes me each and every week with his outstanding mic skills. I was dreading Batista coming out and ruining this promo but thankfully that did not happen. The amount of heat Punk is drawing right now is on a whole other level than anyone else in WWE and almost as much as Vickie Guerrero got in her heyday on Smackdown. The lines he says and the way he delivers them make Punk the undisputed top heel in the company right now in my opinion. I just hope and pray Batista stays well away from him for the time being.

Match 3: Cryme Tyme with Eve vs The Hart Dynasty

Cryme Tyme get a decent pop but The Hart Dynasty get a heroes welcome from their home fans. Nice ‘welcome home’ chant from the fans as Smith and Shad start things off. The two lock up and Shad applies a headlock and drops Smith with a shoulder charge before striking away but Smith comes back with knees and stomps and mocks JTG to a pop from the crowd. Smith whips Shad across the ring and but comes back with a pair of huge clotheslines and a slam for a near fall. JTG is tagged in Shad drops JTG on to Smith. JTG nails a Goldust style ducking punch before sending Smith from the ring with a drop kick. Tyson tries to interfere which earns a military slam from Shad sending him rolling from the ring as Cryme Tyme mock their opponents as we go to commercial. Back from the break and Shad and Tyson are in the ring but Smith is quickly tagged in and he drops Shad with a clothesline for a one count. Smith drops some elbows and applies an Orton Lock but Shad tries to power free only to earn a knee to the stomach. Tyson is tagged in and we get a nice double team move with the Smith sweeping Shad’s legs from under him and Tyson nailing a drop kick to the head. This earns a near fall and a pop from the crowd. Tyson stomps away and drops some elbows before applying an Orton Lock and doing his usual screaming. Smith is tagged back in and a blockbuster from Smith followed by a cheap shot from Tyson gets Dynasty a near fall. Smith applies another headlock but breaks the hold and walks straight into a big boot from Shad. Smith though grabs the boot and prevents Shad from making the hot tag and forces Shad into the heel corner and tagging in Tyson as they double whip Shad into the turnbuckle. Tyson goes for the cover and gets a near fall before applying another Orton Lock but Shad powers out and hurls Tyson over his head but the youngster nails a swift boot to the head and tries for a charging move only for Shad to nail a massive clothesline dropping both men to the mat. JTG calls for the hot tag and gets it and flies into the ring dropping Tyson with a diving elbow, dropkick and backbreaker followed by a cheap shot to Smith and a leg drop from the middle rope on Tyson for a near fall. We get an exchange of pin attempts from Tyson and JTG before JTG is able to connect with a nice neck breaker for a near fall which Smith breaks up. Shad hits the ring but Smith tosses him out of the ring. Natalya distracts the referee and the girls go at it whilst Smith cheap shots JTG and as the referee turns Tyson hits a very unique blockbuster for the pinfall and victory to a massive pop from the crowd.

Result: The Hart Dynasty defeat Cryme Tyme via pinfall ***

Chris Considers: Really enjoyable match here between two of the best (and only) real tag teams in WWE. It was nice to see The Hart Dynasty drawing a face reaction and good to see JR and Grisham acknowledging it for a change. Tyson and JTG really stood out here and I enjoyed the exchanges between the two. In my eyes the Hart Dynasty deserve a shot at the tag titles but whether or not WWE would book a heel vs heel feud remains to be seen but with their skills and abilities they deserve to be on pay per view!

We see Melina walking into a dressing room backstage and photos of Dolph with Michelle from last week are plastered all over the locker room. Melina tries to take the photos down but Maria walks in and accuses Melina of putting the photos up and says she is done with this and her. Maria walks away leaving Melina looking upset in the room. A heel turn for Maria? That could actually be interesting…

Match 4: The Great Khali with Runjin Singh vs Kane

Khali is pretty over in Canada! Fans dance and cheer as he makes his way to the ring. Kane stalks down the ramp as Khali looks on without fear. Khali clubs away as we get underway before nailing a chop and a kind of big boot. Khali calls for the Punjabi Plunge but Kane ducks out of the ring and as Khali follows Kane nails a big uppercut followed by a chair shot to the head causing the disqualification. After the match Kane drags Khali to the steps and slams them repeatedly into Khali’s leg which looks very fake as it is obvious he is not making any contact with the leg at all. The fact Khali completely no sells the injury does not help either. Kane walks away smiling whilst Khali is stretched away with Singh at his side.

Result: The Great Khali defeats Kane via Disqualification ¼*

Chris Considers: Horrible, just horrible is how to describe this, the match was given no time to get going although that may have been a good thing however the post match “injury” angle was very poorly done with it being painfully obvious Kane was not actually hitting Khali with the steps and then Khali’s inability to sell even the simplest of things surely didn’t help. I have heard Khali is taking time off for surgery to his knees. Whilst I would never wish injuries on anyone I really think Khali should consider his future as he is so terrible at anything wrestling related he should consider other career avenues.

Match 5: Charlie Haas vs R-Truth

Prior to this match we see highlights of Drew McIntyre’s reign of destruction over R-Truth in recent weeks culminating in his awesome backstage beat down last week. As Haas waits in the ring McIntyre comes out to Truth’s music and announces Truth had an accident backstage and is unable to compete. This makes Haas the winner by forfeit. McIntyre raises Haas’ hand in victory but as Haas turns to walk away McIntyre pulls him round and nails his double underhook implant DDT to heat from the fans.

Result: Charlie Haas defeats R-Truth via Forfeit. n/a

Chris Considers: Wow Drew McIntyre is awesome! It is very rare to see animosity amongst heels but McIntyre is setting himself up as one hell of a heel. This is one of the most promising (re)starts I have seen in recent memory and I cannot wait to see Drew have a proper match!

Main Event: Batista vs Chris Jericho

After the entrances an audible Y2J chant breaks out from the crowd. I love Canadian fans! Well with just under eight minutes left I am expecting this to be total domination for Batista once again! Jericho slaps Batista but the Animal powers him into the corner and drops a series of shoulders. Jericho tries a flying clothesline but Batista catches him and nails a running powerslam for a near fall. Batista strikes away but as he whips Jericho, Y2J holds on to the ropes and connects a low drop kick on Batista’s leg. Batista rolls on to the apron and Jericho hits another low drop kick which sends Batista crashing to the outside as the fans pop for Jericho. We see Big Show watching backstage as Jericho fires up the crowd and hits a running kick before bouncing Batista’s head from the announce table and tossing him back in the ring. Jericho stomps and kicks away before firing up the crowd and applying a headlock. ‘Ask him’ demands Jericho but Batista powers out and slams Jericho into the turnbuckle, however as Batista hobbles over Jericho nails a kick to the leg followed by a series of strikes and the fans are enjoying it. Jericho goes for a charge but Batista counters with a sidewalk slam but cannot make the cover as he is selling the injured leg. However moments later this is forgotten and Batista is bouncing around and nails a charging clothesline and drops more shoulders in the corner before whipping Jericho across the ring but Chris gets a boot up to the face and connects a bulldog. Jericho goes for the lionsault but Batista rolls out of the way only for Jericho to land on his feet but he walks right into a spinebuster. Batista shakes the ropes and gets Jericho up for The Batista Bomb but Jericho counters with a boot to the thigh and an ezuguri for a near fall. Jericho heads to the top rope and comes off with an axe handle but Batista pounces up and nails a clothesline. Batista calls for the Spear but Jericho counters and sends him into the ring post and rolls him up with his feet on the ropes for a near fall to a huge pop. Massive ‘Y2J’ chant as Jericho stomps away but Jericho sets up the Batista Bomb only for Jericho to counter and lock in The Walls of Jericho to a huge pop. However Batista powers out and rolls the move through before kicking Jericho off. Jericho tries for a running Codebreaker but Batista counters with a Batista Bomb for the pinfall and victory. Matthews asks Big Show what he thought of the match and says Batista got lucky and challenges him to a match next week as Batista poses in the ring sending Smackdown off the air.

Result: Batista defeats Chris Jericho vis Pinfall *1/2

Chris Considers: Well sure enough two matches and Batista has defeated the number one contender to the WWE championship and one half of the unified tag team champions and next week he will no doubt defeat the other half of said champions. However this six minute outing was much better than Batista’s clash with Orton on Monday. Jericho controlled the majority of the match and Batista sold his injuries (for the most part) One really cool spot was Batista countering the top rope axe handle with a flying clothesline. The go home sequence was an innovative idea but came off as a bit awkward as Batista did not get Jericho into the Batista Bomb position straight away and had to take a second or two to reposition him. I also was not keen on how easily Batista powered out of the supposedly deadly Walls of Jericho but I guess there is not a lot you can do with six minutes. Not the worst match I have ever seen but far from wonderful either. So I guess Batista goes through Big Show next week and inserts himself into the title picture… great.

This was the worst post draft episode of Friday Night Smackdown and it was not all to do with Batista. It was very much a case of the good, the bad and the ugly here with the good being Punk’s straight edge promo, The Hart Dynasty vs Cryme Tyme, Morrison vs Knox and Drew McIntyre, the bad being Batista’s opening promo before Jericho saved it, Kane vs Khali and subsequent injury angle and Scott Armstrong’s interview. The ugly and worst part of any Smackdown show this year was the terrible segment with Long and Undertaker in the limo. Cheesy and fake do not do this justice, it really was that bad. If they insist on doing this magic stuff with Undertaker I would much rather for the lights to have gone out during Long’s awful apology and to come back on with all the security laid out and Taker to chokeslam Long or put him in Hell’s Gate or something, anything other than what we got…

This week’s match of the week was The Hart Dynasty vs Cryme Tyme and the show scores an average 6/10

Sorry this blog is a bit late, I have been working all weekend again so have had to really pull out the stops in my spare time to get this done. Working life sucks! Well I shall be back next week with more Chris Reviews Smackdown. I hope you all have a great week!

Email me on a_agreement_called_forever@hotmail.com , add me on facebook: www.facebook.com\wnws.chris.jacks or follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/WNWsChrisJacks I would love to hear from you!

Here are ten points to consider coming out of this week’s show
• How wooden was Batista’s opening promo. Thank god Jericho came to save us but he should have been the one dropping Batista not the other way around especially considering the result later in the show!
• What an impressive showing from Morrison once again! Such a flurry of innovative and exciting to watch offence, pretty much everything Batista is not!
• Dolph Ziggler did a great job on commentary, I found it entertaining and amusing how he accused Morrison of exactly the same actions that he shows each and every week!
• What a great showing from Melina and Michelle! These two deserve a pay per view match for the efforts they go to each week to make the stagnant women’s division entertaining. Melina’s Candian Destroyer type move is awesome!
• The screw job angle just gets more and more awful, first Long (and by extension Smackdown Creative) pussies out of a heel turn for him and then we got one of the fakest segments I have EVER seen in the limo ride. If I could erase one wrestling memory from my mind it would quite possibly be this!
• What a promo from Punk, I know I say it most weeks but this guy is gold on the mic, whilst his promos have a similar theme he comes up with new material each week and I am loving it. Lets just hope Batista stays well away…
• How awesome are The Hart Dynasty! I think they deserve a title shot but would WWE book heel vs heel??? I would actually like to see The Hart Dynasty as a babyface team at some point down the line!
• At least Khali vs Kane is over… for now until he comes back from injury for the inevitable showdown, or maybe he will retire, am I a bad person for hoping that happens?
• What a way to introduce a new heel! Everyone is talking about Drew McIntyre and rightfully so. Animosity amongst heels is not often shown and I cannot wait to see where he goes next week!
• Two top heels in a week, not bad for Batista, I wonder how long before he enters the title picture, probably after annihilating the re-established Big Show next week!

My top ten matches of the year so far in WWE

1: The Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels – Wrestlemania – April 5th 2009
2: Legacy vs DeGeneration X – Breaking Point – September 13th 2009
3: CM Punk vs Jeff Hardy – Smackdown – August 28th 2009
4: Rey Mysterio vs Chris Jericho – The Bash – June 28th 2009
5: Rey Mysterio vs John Morrison – Smackdown – August 4th 2009
6: CM Punk vs Jeff Hardy – Summerslam – August 23rd 2009
7: Rey Mysterio vs Chris Jericho – Smackdown – July 10th 2009
8: Jeff Hardy vs John Morrison – Smackdown – July 31st 2009
9: John Morrison vs CM Punk – Smackdown – June 26th 2009
10: Rey Mysterio vs Chris Jericho – Judgement Day – May 17th 2009

Smackdown Power 10

1: CM Punk
2: The Undertaker
3: John Morrison
4: Dolph Ziggler
5: Jeri-Show
6: Cryme Tyme
7: The Hart Dynasty (+2)
8: Batista (NE)
9: Kane
10: Matt Hardy (-3)

Watch any WWE programming you miss at www.Dailymotion.com , your online source for TV shows!

Hey everyone and welcome to this week’s edition of Chris Reviews Smackdown. In this weeks blog I shall be discussing Nigel McGuiness signing with WWE, Jeff Hardy’s arrest, my disappointment at the IC title match being dropped from Breaking Point and analysing the show. Please read and be sure to leave me some feedback via the comment board or drop an email to a_agreement_called_forever@hotmail.com

First off I am putting my questions and answer segment on hold for a couple of weeks because I am snowed under at work and currently working 7 day 62 hour weeks as well as 2 late night DJ shifts so free time is in short supply for me right now. If you want to ask me something wrestling related please feel free to still email me but it will be a case of I get back to you as and when as I am so busy. Hopefully things will have died down by the end of the month and I will be able to bring this popular segment back but right now after working a 10 hour shift I really just need some time to chill. Sorry for any disappointment this courses and hopefully things will be back to normal soon!

I thought Paul did a great job covering Smackdown once again last week. I am envious he got to review that amazing match between Rey and Morrison which was one of the best matches of the year. Absolutly incredible ring work from both men and I really hope we get a PPV rematch when Rey returns or possibly a triple threat with Ziggler in the mix as well. Those three have the potential to deliver the best triple threat match since Triple H, Shawn Michaels and Benoit at Wrestlemania 20! It is my cousins wedding later on in October so I am sure Paul and I will swap shows once again for that and no doubt he will get to cover another quality edition of Smackdown!

So hot on the heels of Bryan Danielson signing with WWE, Ring of Honour then announced that arguably their biggest name was also leaving the company to join WWE: Nigel McGuiness. Nigel is probably one of the best heels in professional wrestling right now as he is so good at making you hate him! His mic work and ring work are phenomenal and he has a great look that seems the perfect fit in WWE. The quality of matches McGuiness could work with the likes of Bourne, Shelton Benjamin and John Morrison would be a joy to behold and I am truly excited at the prospect of seeing him in a WWE ring. Like Danielson I hope WWE recognise McGuiness’ pedigree and reputation and pretty much just let him go out night after night and tear it up just like he does in ROH. One thing I am adamant on is that WWE allow both McGuiness and Danielson to work under their real names as they are already established stars and like CM Punk deserve the chance to continue cementing their legacy as themselves rather than some goofy name WWE creative come up with for them. If WWE let them do this then it will be a good indication that they will be pushed and used well. The biggest question I have is who (if anyone) will WWE be chasing from Ring of Honour next? Personally I think that Austin Aries would be the perfect fit in WWE and by signing him it will allow the likes of Tyler Black and Claudio Castagnoli to become true main event stars and then follow in their colleagues footsteps and make the jump to the big leagues.

Ok so the biggest news this weekend was Jeff Hardy’s arrest and subsequent charging for felony trafficking in opium, two counts of felony possession with intent to sell or deliver a Schedule III controlled substance, felony maintaining a dwelling to keep controlled substance, felony possession of cocaine, and misdemeanour possession of drug paraphernalia. Now there is so much hype flying round the internet about this and so much garbage being reported on the gossip sites. I urge all of you to keep tuned to Wrestling News World for accurate and true facts as reported by Richard and Ryan. Now I am not going to give my opinion on this until things have been proved 100% one way or the other, my stance right now is I believe in Jeff Hardy and will continue to support him and back him until the truth is known at which point I will give my opinion on the matter. I am a strong believer in innocent until proven guilty which is exactly the message I sent to Jeff on Twitter. This is not because I am condoning drug use or anything like that but until the facts are known I will not jump on the bandwagon. Growing up I idolised Jeff Hardy, he looked so cool and different with his alternative clothes and multi coloured hair and quite simply was a huge influence on how I looked and dressed and acted and a large part of the man I am today I attribute to Jeff Hardy. Since becoming an active member of the Internet Wrestling Community a few years ago my idolisation has turned to respect and admiration for one of the greatest entertainers in the sport we all love and I say we all owe it to Jeff to respect his privacy and let this situation play out until the truth is known. Ignore the gossip and keep up to date with the facts and then make your judgement but until then in my eyes Jeff Hardy is an innocent man and I believe in good people and I truly believe that Jeff Hardy is a good person.

When I read that the Intercontinental Championship match has been dropped from Breaking Point I was absolutely disgusted and appalled. So WWE seriously think that Khali vs Kane is a bigger draw than Morrison vs Ziggler??? Just what are they smoking! Other than CM Punk vs Undertaker, Morrison vs Ziggler was my main incentive to order the show and now I am having serious doubts whether or not to shell out $40 on a webcast for really only one match! With the exception of CM Punk, John Morrison has outperformed anyone else on the roster over the last couple of months and deserves to be on every pay per view as does the fastest rising heel in WWE: Dolph Ziggler. Both of these men represent the future of the company and I cannot understand the logic in putting the match off as showcasing them on the biggest stages will only get them more over with the fans and allow them to reach new heights. I actually am very critical of how up until this point WWE have really failed to give John Morrison a solid feud since his series with Shelton Benjamin and feel that WWE ppvs have missed his in ring prowess. Perhaps this feud with Ziggler is the turning point but still Morrison deserves better especiallhis feud with Ziggler is the turning point but still Morrison deserves better especially when dross like Khali and Kane are on the card and is anyone really exited to see John Cena vs Randy Orton AGAIN?! Or perhaps should I say does anyone really think that John Cena is going to say “I Quit”? nope me neither!

One final news bit to discuss and that is one horrible rumour making the rounds at the moment is that Batista’s career changing announcement is that he will be heading to Smackdown. For the love of god please I am begging Michael Hayes puts his foot down and does not let this happen. Batista could potentially be the ruin of CM Punk (as he was last year) and will main event hog whilst burying anyone who gets in his way. If Batista is put on Smackdown and gets a main event spot over the likes of Morrison, Ziggler, Rey etc I will be livid and Smackdown will be the worse for it. Batista needs to stay on RAW and continue main event hogging alongside Cena, Orton, HHH etc. As long as Smackdown remains the true wrestling show with none of those four I will be happy!

Speaking of RAW, I guess if you like game shows and such Monday’s edition was right up your street and you probably enjoyed it. If however you are like me and watch wrestling shows for wrestling rather than tacky variety show style crap you probably hated it. Hell who am I trying fool no one actually watches RAW for the quality of its wrestling these days! However props to Jericho and MVP for delivering another awesome bout which has got me hyped for their match at Breaking Point. Bob Barker is good on the mic as he would be with his years of practice but I honestly felt that RAW sucked so bad on Monday that it actually took me three days to watch it as it send me to sleep both Monday and Tuesday nights! I really hope that this dire celebrity angle is brought to an end soon as I feel the only “celebrity” that has really been a hit was Shaq and possibly Seth Green whereas for the most part the legendary wrestlers who have hosted the show have all been superb and perhaps a lesson to be learned for WWE to implement wrestling related people more often. I am hyped for Trish on Monday and I hope we get to see her wrestle again!

Ok so now lets take a look at this week’s Smackdown

Opening Segment: The Undertaker & CM Punk

JR welcomes us to ringside as The Undertaker’s music hits and the Deadman makes his way to the ring donned in his awesome Wrestlemania 24 attire! The crowd pop huge for Taker as he stares at the crowd who give him respond with a huge ovation. Undertaker gets on the mic and talks about how the sands of time have fallen slowly through the hour glass but in two days he will reclaim the World Heavyweight Championship and cast his shadow of darkness over Smackdown. Taker says he is sure CM Punk is growing very tired and waking up in the middle of the night in a puddle of sweat consumed with fear as he knows he will reach his Breaking Point when he feels the grip of Hell’s Gate. Taker tells Punk that when he submits he will not only relinquish the title but also his soul and his symphony of lies will end. Punk’s music hits and he appears at the top of the ramp laughing. Punk mocks what Taker just said and tells him that he sees Undertaker for what he really is and whilst Jeff Hardy was the charismatic enabler, Undertaker is so much worse because he has prayed on these peoples chemically influenced minds for nearly twenty years and he is this generations Alice in Wonderland who took a bunch of worthless hippies and got them to experiment with magic mushrooms but Undertaker has created this self destructive cycle where all these people actually believe in him, that he can withstand any beating and has magical powers and actually believe he has a chance of taking Punk’s title of Sunday. Punk runs down Taker’s list of victims and talks about how everyone thinks Punk will easily be added to the list but he is stronger than all of those men and the only thing he wants from Undertaker is not his soul but for him to tap out. He says can you imagine what people will do when he makes the peoples icon tap out to the Anaconda Vice and retreat into the bottle to escape from the reality of what Punk has done. Punk says we will get a glimpse of Sunday tonight when he makes Matt Hardy tap to the Vice and he begs Undertaker not to interfere as he wants to give him and all the pathetic people a glimpse of the world we will all live in after Breaking Point with an icon that everyone can be proud of: the only straight edged world champion in history: Punk. He goes on to say everyone will learn to join him and just say no. Undertaker tells Punk that he has got it wrong and the fans wont be saying just say no but they will be saying rest in peace! The two stare down as we head to commercial

Chris Considers: Awesome opening! It is always a treat to hear the Undertaker on the mic and I think he cut one hell of a promo. However Punk actually out did him on the mic with his berating of the crowd and that line about Alice in Wonderland was classic! This promo not only built the match at Breaking Point but also Punk’s main event against Matt Hardy tonight! Great stuff as always!

Match 1: Belfast Brawl – Finlay vs Mike Knox

The smack of the week recaps the issues between Finly and Knox in their tag match alongside Khali and Kane respectively from last week. Finlay makes his way out to a pop, shelaighlee in hand whilst Mike Knox draws some heat and we get his walking to the ring promo this time comparing Finlay to a lizard and how Knox doesn’t just want the tail he wants it all! The two lock up and Finlay punches and kicks away before dropping Knox with a clothesline and nailing some more punches on Knox who manages to get up to his knees, Finlay however forces him into the corner and lands some stiff punches. Knox reverses a whip attempt but Finlay gets a boot up only to charge into an impressive powerslam from Knox who then drops a trio of elbows. Knox heads to the outside and looks under the ring but Finlay connects a baseball slide and goes on the offence only for Knox to counter and bounce Finlay’s head off the announce desk. Knox grabs a chair but Finlay hits a low blow and grabs the chair before nailing a shot to Knox’s knee. Knox rolls back in the ring and Finlay follows only for Knox to connect a jumping kick sending the chair into Finlay’s face. Both men are down as Knox is selling the chair shot to the knee from earlier as we go to commercial. Back from the break and Knox hits a sidewalk slam onto the steel chair for a two count. Knox kicks and stomps away before pulling Finlay to his feet and tossing him from the ring. Knox grabs a trio of trash cans and hurls them into Finlay before placing a can on Finlay and stomping it into his body. Knox hits his jumping kick and sends Finlay over the security wall and into the crowd before following him and nailing some punches but Finlay comes back with strikes of his own and clotheslines Knox over the wall. Finlay tries for an axe handle off the security wall but Knox catches him in mid air and slams him into the wall before tossing an assortment of trash cans and lids into the ring. Finlay walks right into a shot from a trash can lid before Knox tosses him back in the ring and grabs a can and slams it repeatedly into Finlay. Knox heads back to the outside and pulls out a table to a pop from the crowd. Finlay is out of it in the ring but crawls towards the shelaighlee which Knox sees and delivers a boot to the head. Knox sets up the table in the corner but he turns into three trash can shots to the head from Finlay. Knox comes back with a big right and whips Finlay into the table which doesn’t break and the Irishman rebounds off it onto the mat where Knox pins for a near fall. Knox wails away with a trash can lid before trying for his crossbody but Finlay counters with a shelaighlee shot to the head for the pinfall and victory.

Result: Finlay defeats Mike Knox via pinfall **

Chris Considers: Quite an enjoyable little brawl this with Knox once again looking pretty impressive. I am not sure about the decision to put Finlay over as his continuous victories over Knox have made the intelligent psycho seem a little weak. It would also be nice to see Finlay win a match without the use of the shelaighlee! Perhaps this is the end of this feud and both men will be moving on to pastures new.

We see Dolph backstage looking for Maria. Michelle interrupts and starts flirting outrageously with him. Michelle asks why he would be with a ditz like Maria when he could be with a woman like her. Michelle drops her crutch and pretends to fall and Dolph catches her but she then gropes him and he quickly shoves her off before telling her to tell Maria he is looking for her. Layla has recorded the whole thing and her and Michelle smirk. It was interesting to see Dolph actually play the good guy here and not cheat on Maria and adds a different dynamic to his character!

The RAW rebound is next recapping the game show garbage from Monday night featuring the Price is Right game show skits with Santino and Bob Barker further burying Chavo Guerrero’s career. I have already given my take on this.

Match 2: DH Smith with Tyson Kidd and Natalya vs The Great Khali with Runjin Singh

Natalya is looking seriously hot tonight! The Hart Dynasty get a fair amount of heat on their way to the ring whilst Khali gets his ever surprising pop. You have to love Singh’s jacket with ‘The Great Khali Says’ written on the back. However before this match even starts Kane jumps Khali from behind and absolutely demolishes him with blows before grabbing a cane from under the ring only to walk right into a chop of doom. Khali hits the Punjabi plunge which was more like a Punjabi pick up and drop awkwardly and Khali then poses for the crowd and leaves the ring

Result: DH Smith vs The Great Khali is a no contest after interference from Kane ¼ *

Chris Considers: Well thank god DH Smith did not have to do the job to Khali! Other than that I have nothing positive to say about this segment. With Khali getting the edge here it suggest Kane may going over at Breaking Point which I really hope will be the blow off to the worst feud since Undertaker and Big Show last year!

Match 3: Chris Jericho & The Big Show vs Cryme Tyme

As Jeri-Show make their way to the ring we see highlights of MVP defeating Jericho on Monday as well as Henry slamming Mark Henry which enrages the heels in the ring. Cryme Tyme get an impressive pop from the crowd and we see some nerdy white kids dancing which always makes me chuckle! JTG and Jericho start out with Jericho dropping a kick and a right before forcing JTG into the corner and nailing further punches. JTG dodges a charging Jericho and quickly rolls him up for two. JTG then ducks under clothesline and gets another two with a roll up which enrages Jericho who berates JTG and connects some kicks only to walk straight into a JTG drop kick. JTG then clotheslines Jericho from the ring and Y2J throws a tantrum on the outside of the ring, kicking the steel steps and trashing the announce desk as we go to commercial. Back from the break and JTG has an arm bar applied but Jericho powers out and punches away but JTG whips him into the corner and as Jericho gets a boot up JTG slides under him and in a cool spot pulls his legs from under him dumping him on the mat and further enraging Y2J. JTG nails a leg drop from the top rope for a near fall before tagging in Shad who hits a nice double team whip on Jericho. Shad pins for a near fall but Jericho is up and he ducks under a clothesline only to walk into a military press from Shad to a huge pop from the crowd. JTG is tagged in and Shad catapults him into the prone Jericho for a near fall. JTG applies an ankle lock but Jericho makes the ropes and JTG breaks the hold and Jericho nails a quick right hand before tagging in Big Show who clubs and punches away however in a very cool spot JTG flips over Big Show and rolls down his back before leaping toward Shad and making the hot tag. Shad ducks under Big Shows lumbering offence and hits some punches but Show whips him into the corner. Shad leaps out of the way of a charging Show and nails a cheap shot on Jericho before heading for the top rope and coming off with an axe handle but Show counters with a mid air chop before tagging in Jericho who connects some stiff kicks before hitting a cheap shot on JTG and using the ropes for leverage to crush Shad’s back whilst the referee is distracted by a furious JTG. Shad comes back with a huge boot to the face before crawling towards JTG to make the hot tag however Jericho is able to drag him leg first back to the heel corner and tag in Show who applies an Orton Lock. Shad powers out but walks into a boot from Show and Jericho is then tagged back in and he arrogantly kicks away at Shad. The crowd rally behind him and the big man comes back with strikes and whips Jericho into the corner but Y2J gets a boot up and goes for a bulldog but Shad hits and awesome counter flipping Jericho up and over his body before nailing a powerslam. Both men are down and the crowd are really into this as Shad makes the hot tag to JTG who hits a rolling clothesline and a nice back breaker before connecting a flap jack for a near fall which Big Show breaks up. Shad sends Big Show over the ropes and then dives on him from the apron but back in the ring JTG goes for his mounted punches only for Jericho to shove him off and use the ropes to make the pin for a near fall. Jericho goes for the Walls of Jericho but JTG counters and rolls him up for two. Jericho tries to toss JTG but he skins the cat and kicks Jericho on the way back over but as the referee turns his back Show connects a Knockout Punch on JTG and both men are down in the ring. Jericho crawls over and makes the tag for three giving Jeri-Show the victory

Result: Chris Jericho and Big Show defeat Cryme Tyme via pinfall ***

Chris Considers: This was a really enjoyable tag match that featured some outstanding ring work and counters from Cryme Tyme! Shad countering the bulldog into a powerslam particularly stands out and shows just how far he has come with his ring work. The ending was innovative once again and Cryme Tyme come out of this match looking very strong indeed. Perhaps after Team Cool Aid have had their shot at the weekend then they could have another shot at the champs because I am starting to seriously enjoy watching them in the ring!

We see Teddy Long backstage and Vince once again rears his ugly head on a show he doesn’t belong on. Vince tells Long that Smackdown is good but not excellent (and I guess he thinks RAW is better?!?!?) and Long promises he has something better next week. Vince tells Long he better have something excellent for him at Breaking Point. I am sick of seeing Vince on Smackdown and also sick of him playing the heel here and yet a babyface on RAW! If all this leads to the Batista coming back to Friday nights I will be furious!

Match 3: Charlie Haas vs John Morrison

Charlie Haas in already in the ring which does not bode well for the length of this match as Morrison makes his way out to a large pop. Haas quickly applies a hammerlock which Morrison reverses into a hammerlock of his own before nailing a backbreaker and a side Russian leg sweep for an early one count. Haas force Morrison into the corner and nails a nice snap suplex before stomping away in anger and hurling Morrison into the turnbuckle. Hammerlock takedown from Haas and he then applies a submission hold to Morrison’s elbow. Haas continues to work over the arm as the crowd rally behind Morrison who powers out and nails a nice drop kick followed by a clothesline and a flying kick and then connects a standing shooting star press for a near fall. Haas sends Morrison into the ring post before nailing an arm bar takedown for a near fall. Haas attempts a move off the tope rope whilst holding Morrison but the Guru of Greatness counters with a Pele kick and then nails Starship Pain for the pinfall and victory. Following the match Morrison gets on the mic and talks about how last week he had one of the greatest matches of his career which would not have been possible without Rey Mysterio. Morrison then shows a clip of him winning the match and embracing Mysterio in the ring. Morrison thanks Rey to a pop from the crowd and offers him a rematch anytime he likes. Ziggler’s music then hits and he stalks to the top of the ramp in disgust. Ziggler says this sickens him as he earned his shot but Morrison and Rey decided to have a match and now Morrison is the champion. Morrison says that is pretty much it and what exactly was Ziggler going to do? Loose to Rey for the third time? The crowd mock Ziggler as he snaps that he was softening Rey up and everyone knows that third time is the charm. Ziggler says he earned his title match and he wants it. Morrison says Ziggler is right and why don’t we have the match right here and now to a pop from the crowd. Ziggler says no and gets some heat and tells Morrison they will have the match when he wants it and on his terms. Morrison mocks Ziggler for being scared and makes fun of his name and calls him Mr Ziggles. Dolph gets mad and says his name is… but Morrison cuts him off with Mr Ziggles to a pop from the crowd. Dolph is really mad now and screams that no one calls him that and Morrison asks if Maria does and Ziggler says no one calls him that. Morrison gets the crowd chanting Mr Ziggles and Dolph threatens to leave. Morrison says he better leave as it is clearly what the people want and Dolph stomps off looking angry to a pop from the crowd. Morrison says he doesn’t think the WWE Universe will stop chanting Mr Ziggles whilst he is still WWE champion to a huge pop from the crowd.

Result: John Morrison defeats Charlie Haas via pinfall *1/2

Chris Considers: This was pretty much a squash match for Morrison but Haas still got a bit of offence in and Morrison hit plenty of his signature spots for a hot crowd. The back and forth exchange between Morrison and Dolph after the match was entertaining and the fact the crowd were so into it shows just how over these two are getting in their respective babyface and heel roles. Their feud could pretty much propel them both into the Smackdown main event picture so long as Batista stays the hell away from my show!

Josh is backstage with Matt Hardy and Josh asks Matt about his approach for tonight’s match. Matt says last weeks match did not finish the way Matt would have liked and after tonight there will be two submissions, the Undertaker at Breaking Point and Matt on Smackdown. Matt will make Punk tap and beg for mercy and Punk will be lucky to make it to Breaking Point because when Matt has his submission hold locked on he will not be breaking it.

Match 4: Melina vs Layla with Michelle McCool

Ever think the Smackdown Women’s division is lacking some depth when we see the same matches week after week? Melina is still over as ever but we really need some fresh faces to brighten things up. Anyway Layla starts off with a knee to the gut before striking away and dropping Melina with a clothesline. Melina though is up quickly and leapfrogs Layla before nailing a flapjack for an early one count. Melina strikes away and heads to the top rope for some mounted punches but Layla shoves her off and connects with a running knee. Layla locks in a back submission hold but Melina wont give in so Layla breaks the hold and hits a low dropkick to Melina’s back for a near fall. Melina rolls Layla up for two before hitting a series of strikes. Melina forces Layla into the corner and hangs her up in the middle rope before coming off the top rope with a double knee drop. Melina then heads back to the top rope and connects a facebuster type slam for another near fall. Layla fights back with a kick and whips Melina into the ropes but Melina gets both legs up and kicks Layla in the head before connecting a drop toe hold setting Layla up in the ropes but as Melina goes for a running missile dropkick Layla ducks and Melina crashes to the outside. Whilst the referee is distracted Michelle McCool nails Melina with her crutch and Layla hauls Melina back into the ring and pins her for the victory.

Result: Layla defeats Melina via pinfall * 1/4

Chris Considers: Another positive outing from the ladies with Melina as good and innovative and impressive as ever. I wish they would give these diva matches a bit more time because Layla has improved immensely and I am confident she could have a decent match with Melina if given the time it needed.

Josh is backstage with R-Truth and asks him about Drew McIntyre. Truth says that whilst McIntyre says the party is over it is actually just getting started and asks Teddy Long to put him in a match with Drew that actually takes place and Truth will be all over him like a monkey on a cupcake. McIntyre though assaults Truth and from behind and gives him when one hell of a beating and is hauled off by referees. This guy is already looking impressive to me and I cannot wait to see him re-debut having seen his excellent work in FCW.

JR and Grisham are in the ring and run down the Breaking Point card. One thing I did like was JR mentioning that DX vs Legacy may even end on the streets of Montreal which would be pretty awesome!

Main Event: Submission Match: (The Only Straight Edge World Heavyweight Champion in History) CM Punk vs Matt Hardy

You have to love Punk’s completely over the top introduction! Punk is drawing some major heat as makes his way to the ring. I love that new T-shirt! It almost looks like a Slayer logo! Matt Hardy gets probably the second biggest pop of the night behind the Undertaker. The two stare down and Matt evades a couple of kicks but Punk connects one to the leg and the two lock up before breaking away as a loud Hardy chant breaks out. Punk with a headlock takeover but Matt powers out and applies a head scissors hold which Punk breaks and both men to their feet. Stiff right from Matt followed by a trio of neck breakers which has Punk writhing in agony. Matt applies an awesome submission hold where he applies a double underhook to Punks arms and hangs on his body forcing his head into his chest. Punk forces Matt off and into the corner before nailing a kick but as Punk heads to the top rope Matt knocks him off sending Punk crashing into the ring and Matt then hits a pair of double knee drops to Punk’s leg before connecting a chop block and a pair of elbows. Matt goes for a Sharpshooter but Punk kicks him off only for Matt to come back with attempted neck breaker which Punk counters and shoves Matt into the ring post before sending him crashing out of the ring as we go to commercial. Back from the break and Punk nails a knee to the head dropping Matt before sending him head first into the turnbuckle. Punk heads to the top rope and digs his knee into Matt’s back before dropping to the mat. Dropkick to Matt’s head followed by a series of kicks to the back. Punk hits some seated strikes and applies a chinlock but Matt powers out and drops Punk to the mat. Matt goes for the Sharpshooter once again but Punk once again kicks him out of the ring. Matt struggles back in and walks right into a back suplex from Punk. JR incorrectly states that Undertaker has never submitted clearly forgetting about him tapping to Kurt Angle! Punk hits some leg drops and then applies a head scissors hold whilst at the same time dropping elbows into Matt’s head. Matt finally powers out but Punk hits a nice enzuguri dropping Matt into the ropes. Punk sizes Matt up and connects his running knee in the corner but Matt counters the bulldog with an atomic drop and Matt then applies a finger four leg lock causing Punk to writhe in agony. Punk however rolls the move through and grabs the ropes. Matt breaks the hold and hits a running clothesline followed by a bulldog, a stiff right and a Side Effect. Matt calls for The Twist of Fate but Punk counters into the GTS but Matt blocks and locks in a seated half Boston crab. Punk makes it to the ropes and Matt keeps the hold locked in till four. Both men stagger to their feet but Punk hits a roundhouse kick out of nowhere and then locks in the Anaconda Vice for the submission victory to huge heat. Punk poses with the belt and the Undertaker’s gong hits and the lights go out. When they come back on Punk is missing his championship and The Undertaker appears at the top of the ramp holding the belt to a huge pop from the crowd. Punk is incensed in the ring as Undertaker rolls his eyes sending Smackdown off the air.

Result: CM Punk defeats Matt Hardy via Submission ***

Chris Considers: Some very good work here from both Matt and Punk. I was very impressed with Matt’s intelligent wrestling and variety of submission holds he implemented in this match and he comes out of it looking strong. Punk once again did exactly what he said he was going to do and made Matt tap to the Anaconda Vice so lets hope he will be doing the same to The Undertaker on Sunday!

All is all then another very solid edition of Friday Night Smackdown which featured some excellent promos, great ppv build and some very good wrestling as well. The Undertaker and CM Punk got the show off to a great start with their awesome promo with Punk once again owning with his mic work. Mike Knox and Finlay had a very enjoyable Belfast Brawl although I do question the decision to put Finlay over considering where these men are at in the stages of their careers. Khali and DH Smith was a non event but I am thankful Kane stopped Smith having to do the job to Punjabi Oaf. Cryme Tyme and Jeri-Show had another great outing with their fast paced and dynamic tag match which has left me wanting to see these two teams go at it on PPV again. I did not enjoy John Morrison’s match as much as previous weeks as it was nothing more than a squash but his banter with Ziggler after the match was highly entertaining. Melina and Layla showed that however stale the Smackdown divas division is that they can still put on solid bouts and finally Matt Hardy and CM Punk had a great submission match to end the show with Matt really impressing me with his variety of holds and moves during the match.

This week’s match of the week was Cryme Tyme vs Jeri-Show and the show scores a good 8/10

That is all for this week’s edition of Chris Reviews Smackdon. I will be back later today with The Talent Exchange and then on Monday night with Chris Considers Breaking Point. As always please feel free to leave me some feedback via the comment board, drop an email to a_agreement_called_forever@hotmail.com , add me on facebook: www.facebook.com\wnws.chris.jacks or follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/WNWsChrisJacks I hope you all have a great week!

Here are ten points to consider coming out of this week’s show
• How great is it seeing the Undertaker clad in his Wrestlemania 24 attire! Brings back some nostalgic Ministry of Darkness memories!
• CM Punk is a cut above on the microphone right now! He is a sure fire bet to win superstar of the year as well!
• I like Mike Knox, I think he has a good future as a dominant upper mid card talent which makes me question the decision to repeatedly put Finlay over each week.
• Thank god DH Smith did not have to job to Khali!
• How terrible did the Punjabi Plunge look on Kane? As I said in my coverage it was more of a Punjabi Pick Up and Awkwardly Drop!
• I may dislike the gimmick but Cryme Tyme are rapidly becoming my favourite tag team to watch, with their innovative moves and great teamwork. I would be more than happy to see them against Jeri-Show one more time on PPV!
• Vince needs to stay the hell off Smackdown, the show is already excellent whereas RAW isn’t even close to good!
• If Batista makes the switch to the blue brand then expect my enthusiasm and the weekly scores to drop dramatically as quickly as WWE PPV buys will with Batista in the main event each and every month!
• What a great post match promo from Morrison and Ziggler, they had the crowd exactly where they wanted them and showed they are both the total package
• Matt Hardy has shown in the last couple of weeks he deserves a main event run in my opinion, The variety of holds he used tonight makes me think he should be facing Punk at Breaking Point rather than Undertaker!

My top ten matches of the year so far in WWE

1: The Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels – Wrestlemania – April 5th 2009
2: CM Punk vs Jeff Hardy – Smackdown – August 28th 2009
3: Rey Mysterio vs Chris Jericho – The Bash – June 28th 2009
4: Rey Mysterio vs John Morrison – Smackdown – August 4th 2009
5: CM Punk vs Jeff Hardy – Summerslam – August 23rd 2009
6: Rey Mysterio vs Chris Jericho – Smackdown – July 10th 2009
7: Jeff Hardy vs John Morrison – Smackdown – July 31st 2009
8: John Morrison vs CM Punk – Smackdown – June 26th 2009
9: Rey Mysterio vs Chris Jericho – Judgement Day – May 17th 2009
10: Rey Mysterio vs Chris Jericho – Extreme Rules – June 7th 2009

Smackdown Power 10

1: CM Punk
2: The Undertaker
3: John Morrison
4: Dolph Ziggler (+2)
5: Jeri-Show
6: Cryme Tyme (+1)
7: Matt Hardy (+1)
8: Finlay (NE)
9: Kane
10: The Hart Dynasty

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