With the Great American Bash approaching along with
WWE Bad Blood, Smackdown had to combat with Raw's amazing show this past
Monday. Although Raw is more
of a legends based show, which, to make a long story
short, attracts more long-time viewers, Smackdown has the talent to draw just
as many viewers. Let's
check out what Smackdown put in front of the WWE
fans heading into WWE's Great
American Bash.
We kick things off with the regular recap of what
happened last week. The
Deadman was given a choice. Join the Dudleys or
Paul Bearer would be in some
steep trouble.
Kurt Angle along with Luther kick off Smackdown in
the ring. Kurt is very
upset over being knocked out of his wheelchair the
prior week due to a John
Cena/Booker T brawl. Booker T joins them in the ring
and proclaims his innocence in
the whole ordeal. Booker leaves, cue "Basic
Thuganomics", John Cena comes out
and tells Kurt that if he meant to hit him, he'd
still be in the hospital.
Kurt doesn't like what he just heard so he creates a
gauntlet for John Cena and
whoever beats him will be the No 1 contender for the
US Title. The challengers: RVD, Rene Dupree, and Booker T.
Kenzo Suzuki Promo. I love the fact that WWE is bringing back the
gimmick style of wrestling. I find the gimmicks to be an interesting
way to get over.
We go to a replay of JBL talking about the match
between him and Guerrero at
GAB being a Bullrope Match.
Match 1 - Kenzo Suzuki vs Scotty Too Hotty
Great entrance for Kenzo Suzuki. He does the Harley
Race/King Haku, sit in a
chair and have your "servants" carry you to the
ring. He reminds me of the
Oriental hitmen back in the 1990s WCW with the way
he moves around in the ring
and looks. Kenzo is dominant and just does to Scotty
what Mordecai did to him
at Judgement Day. Kenzo picks up the big V in his
debut.
Winner-Kenzo Suzuki
They show The Rock on Access with the governor of
California, Arnold. The Rock's doing well in Hollywood and his
surprise WWE appearances
have helped him more than anything.
Kurt Angle talks to the US Title contenders and
wishes them all luck as they
prepare to face off against John Cena.
The Undertaker is shown by himself thinking about
what to do.
We go to some JBL footage. He has a group of
"immigrants" shining his boots
and pampering him, inside of a nice fancy NYC
building. JBL makes a good heel. He's really grown into
the part. At first everyone was kind of sketchy on the whole deal, but
JBL has done well for himself and the Smackdown company despite his recent actions in Germany. He's a heel, he's supposed to be bad.
JBL gets into his limo, which is in the back of the
Nassua Coliseum. Once he
gets in, we find out that Eddie Guerrero will be
driving. The limo speeds
away with Eddie behind the wheel. This reminds me of the Stephanie McMahon/Undertaker abduction. Always a good thing to throw into a storyline like the Eddie/JBL one.
The Dudleys are shown backstage talking about the whole Undertaker/Paul
Bearer situation they have on their hands.
Match 2-Chavo Guerrero Jr. vs Rey Mysterio Jr. w/
Chavo Sr. commentating
Great cruiserweight contest with Chavo Sr getting
the best seat in the house
with Michael Cole and Tazz. Reminds me of the old WCW, high-impact, quick-paced action. Back and forth with each man hitting their
spots. Rey Mysterio his finisher
and picks up the victory with the three count.
Winner- Rey Mysterio Jr.
Postmatch- Chavo Jr and Sr. have some words with
each other.
JBL's limo arrives all banged up. Eddie gets out and
we see JBL in garbage in
the backseat. Eddie pumps up the crowd as het cuts a
promo. JBL is distraught
at the condition his limo is in.
Match 3-John Cena vs Booker T (First Gauntlet match)
They are given five mintues Booker T goes to work on
John Cena. They go back
and forth until they hit the five minute draw.
Winner- DRAW
Match 4- John Cena vs Rob Van Dam (Second Gauntlet match)
RVD comes out and him and Cena go at it. These two
just like Booker did with
Cena, battle back and forth. RVD had the upperhand
on Cena but could not put
him away and they hit the five minute draw.
Winner- DRAW
Match 5- John Cena vs Rene Dupree (Third Gauntlet match)
Like their prior matches, this one goes back and forth.
Rene Dupree gives it his all but tonight it's not enough to put away and
determined John Cena and these two hit the draw.
Winner- DRAW
Kurt is not happy with this at all, so he gives our
French friend Rene Dupree
another five minutes with John Cena.
Match 6- John Cena vs Rene Dupree
These two go at it once again. These two will put on
an entertaining match.
WWE should continue with their feud as they did with
Shelton Benjamin and Randy
Orton. John Cena is able to get Rene in trouble and
hit the FU for the
one-two-three.
Winner-John Cena
Kurt Angle is furious and says at the GAB it's going
to be a Four Way US
TItle Match with John Cena defending against, Rene
Dupree, Booker T and RVD.
Booker T comes back out and starts swinging. RVD
comes out Booker and Rene leave
and RVD gestures that he will be the next US Champ.
The following was the Paul Heyman/Undertaker
confrontation everyone was
waiting for. Paul Heyman comes out with the urn and
requests that the Undertaker
come to the ring. Undertaker comes down to the ring
with his grand entrance.
Paul holds the urn high in the air and Undertaker
drops to one knee and holds out
his arm just like he did in the old days!
WWE Smackdown put out a shorter product than the Raw
brand. It was easy to
spot. You must give credit because from what I heard
things were a mess due to
the late taping of the JBL promo. The writers
panicked and threw together this
match that did not make the air,
Match 7- (Did not air) Mordecai vs Paul London
It was a legit last minute deal and was said to be
so bad according to the
writers that it would not make the final cut for
Smackdown. With all due respect
it's not their fault. They were told this match
would take place literally
minutes before it did. I admire the fact that they
went through with it and
tried their best. GIve them notice and time and that
would be a match to behold.
The winner though was Mordecai.
Winner-Mordecai
Smackdown has one more week to get some buyers
interested for GAB. Let's check 'em out next week as they plead their final
bid.
Visit the SLAM! Wrestling store!
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Chris Sokol is from Long Island, NY.
