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Smackdown: a freaky Friday night
By
JON WALDMAN -- SLAM! Wrestling
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It's Friday the 13th, and Smackdown is on the air (albeit a bit delayed due
to CIS Basketball). Thankfully, I wasn't unlucky with my TiVo, but if you were,
read on to see what you missed!
We kick off tonight's show with Edge coming down to the ring, solo. Of course,
they had to be extremely subtle with his appearance, since it was taped before
the events of Monday night.
Match 1 - Edge vs. Kofi Kingston
J.R. and Tazz give some context to the match, mentioning the history the two
have due to the Elmination Chamber attack.
Kofi and Edge have a pretty good match here. This is the kind of bout that
Kofi needs to be in more often if he's going to climb the ladder in WWE. Edge,
some would say, gives Kofi too much offence, but that's the kind of unselfish
guy Edge is. Edge eventually comes out on top with the Sharpshooter, which I
guess is supposed to signal some sort of eventual allegiance with Natalya and
Tyson Kidd. It's too bad that Edge doesn't use the Edgecution anymore.
Winner: Edge
Match 2 - Los Colons vs. Miz and Morrison (World Tag Team Title Match)
Second verse, in reverse. This time Los Bellas are with the Colons and it's
MnM V.2 defending their belts. This had better lead to unification at 'Mania.
Once again, we get a great match from these four, and this feud is BEGGING
for a gimmick match to finish (or at least advance) the rivalry. Hey, there
isn't a steel cage match at 'Mania yet...
In the end, Morrison and Miz retain after Morrison hits the Moonlight Drive,
which, as you'll recall, he wasn't able to hit successfully two weeks ago. And,
this time, they live with Los Bellas to top it off.
Winners: Miz and Morrison
We then waste a whole lot of time recapping the Randy Orton/Triple H developments
from Monday. I guess Raw didn't get a good rating...
Match 3 - MVP/R-Truth vs. Shelton Benjamin/Chavo Guerrero Jr.
So all these guys are battling for the US title, in theory, and we know that
Chavo and Shelton are at odds. I guess logic goes out the window on Friday the
13th...
As always, these guys mix up so well in the ring, and this time it's Shelton
Benjamin coming up with the duke for his duo.
Winners: Shelton Benjamin/R-Truth
Back from break, Matt Hardy is in the ring, continuing to try to entice Jeff
to fight. He alludes to the various "accidents" that Jeff endured
in 2008 and 2009. He also brings up the fire that killed Jeff Hardy's dog and
burnt his house to the ground. Matt then pull's out the collar from Jack, Jeff's
dog. Matt says he wants to give it to Jeff as a token of his love for his brother.
This, of course, brings Jeff out, who puts two and two together that Matt was
behind everything (except the house, thankfully). Jeff eventually tackles Matt
and really gets an intense beating in. Matt cowers away and begs forgiveness.
Jeff is left practically crying as Matt really pours it on, looking apologetic
until Jeff can't see his face anymore, at which point Matt gives a wicked grin.
This may have been the most intense segment of the year. Could it have been
done without talking about the house and the dog though? Definitely; but at
the same time it brought such realism to the angle. Hopefully next week, Jeff
retorts by bringing up Amy Dumas.
Match 4 - Maria/Melina vs. Maryse/Michelle McCool
MnM versions 3 and 4 I guess, though McCool and Maryse are supposed to be at
war with each other. Indeed, logic is thrown out the window on Friday the 13th.
Usual short but intense match for the ladies, which finishes with Maryse reaching
for a tag from McCool, but Michelle, playing her part properly, refuses the
tag, leading to Melina getting a Schoolgirl for the duke.
Winners: Maria/Melina
Post-match, the drama between McCool and Maryse continues in a great
bit of continuity. If only they had done this earlier in the night as well.
sigh.
Backstage, Edge and Chavo Guerrero chat, with a 12 Rounds poster in
the background. Chavito talks about talking to Vickie Guerrero a lot, which
incites Edge enough to push Chavito into a poster for his "Decade of Decadence"
DVD.
Next up, WrestleMania XX is the flashback of the week. Hey wait, someone was
missing from this footage...Hmm...
Match 5 - Fit Finlay vs. The Brian Kendrick (MITB qualifier)
Ugh. I cannot watch Finlay's matches anymore. This crowd-pandering, jig-dancing
version of the former Belfast Bruiser is so sad to watch. Kendrick isn't exactly
in my good books either. God bless TiVo. Finlay gets the Celtic Cross for the
duke and the slot in MITB. Ugh.
Winner: Fit Finlay
Match 6 - Undertaker vs. Vladimir Kozlov
Here's a "Did you Know" fact WWE won't use - you can boil water using
a kettle in the amount of time it takes for Undertaker to make his entrance.
The match between these two is brutally long also, which does not end my night
well. Kozlov really appears to be on his way out of WWE now, after succumbing
to the Tombstone.
Winner: The Undertaker
Logic gaps aside, this was a pretty good episode of SD! overall, and did a
great job of building 'Mania even more. See you next week.
