The Smackdown Low-down for 5/29/09

Pre-Show Thoughts/Events:

Releasing Mr. Kennedy is one of the worst things WWE could've done at a time like this.. all I'm gonna say about that.

Rey Mysterio comes out to the ring to a loud pop and praises the fans here in Los Angeles. Talks about his upcoming No Holds Barred Match with Chris Jericho and says that not only will be able to hit the 619 at any time, he can also hit the 213, the 323, the 310, and the 818 (random numbers??) on Jericho as well! Jericho interrupts Mysterio and continues to bad-mouth Mysterio and Mickey Rourke (who was in attendance at ringside and shown on the titantron). Jericho goes on to mention how he’s too much of a professional to not come over there, hop over that ring barrier and punch his lights out. Rourke remains seated with a sly smile and a gesture to bring it on. Jericho attempts to attack Mysterio but counters and attempts to hit the 619 on a prone Jericho but he escapes out of the ring and to the back.

Match 1: R-Truth & The Great Khali vs. Mike Knox & Dolph Ziggler

Khali and R-Truth coming out together was one of the funniest things I have seen in a while. R-Truth was doing his rap with the, "whats up!" and was holding up the mic to khali once and a while and khali was going, "WHASTS UP!". Seriously very funny, If you have a chance look it up on youtube or something, do it.

Typical tag match with both sides getting in a fair amount of offense. Ziggler abandons his partner towards the end of the match, leaving Knox in the ring to deal with Khali. One giant Khali Bomb and the cover on Knox results in Khali and R-Truth getting the win via pinfall.

Winners by Pinfall: R-Truth & The Great Khali

Match Rating: **** 4/10

(Commercial Break)

Match 2: WWE Women’s Champion Melina vs. Alicia Fox (accompanied by Michelle McCool)

Fox managed to get some offense in on Melina despite some outside interference by McCool. Despite this, Melina connects with her split-legged leg drop on Fox for the cover and pinfall. Post match, Michelle grabs the Women’s Title out of referee Jack Doan’s hands and stares directly at the title only to shove the title over to Melina. 

Winner by Pinfall: Melina

Match Rating: **** 4/10

Josh Matthews interviews John Morrison
Morrison talks about his upcoming match with Umaga later tonight and goes on to mention Haas and Benjamin, referring to them as the World’s Most Forgotten Tag Team. 

Jeff Hardy now makes his way to the ring to a great ovation. Hardy says some people think he’s crazy for choosing such a dangerous and career threatening match but honestly ladder matches are his comfort zone. Years ago he and Edge were part of the first ever tag team ladder match and after that match their careers have changed. Now, ten years later, their feud will end in a ladder match. Hardy will prove his championship win last year was not a fluke and meant to be as he’ll walk into Extreme Rules, climb the ladder, and become World Heavyweight Champion. That’s it – good, short promo.

Match 3: Umaga vs. John Morrison

Umaga out to the ring first with a leather strap in hand. Morrison out next to a loud pop from the crowd (and a Mor-ri-son chant from the ringside section). A great match between these two superstars, Morrison is certainly something to see and watch at ringside. Umaga has Morrison in the tree of woe, using the leather strap to tie him to the turnbuckle when CM Punk runs into the ring and delivers a shot to Umaga using his Money in the Bank Briefcase causing the Disqualification (your winner: Umaga). Post match, we have Umaga in the corner as CM Punk hits his running knee lift followed by a bulldog on Umaga onto the MITB briefcase. CM Punk celebrates and remains in the ring as Todd Grisham steps inside and interviews CM Punk on what his strategy is in his Samoan Strap Match against Umaga at Extreme Rules. Punk says that I’m outweighed, out muscled against the Samoan Bulldozer but I do have one advantage: and that Umaga is no CM Punk!

Winner by Disqualification: John Morrison

Match Rating: ****** 6/10 

(Commercial Break)

Match 4: Cryme Tyme vs. Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin

Nothing extraordinary here in this tag match (although Shad had some choice words for a fan sitting at ringside). Benjamin hits Paydirt out of nowhere on Shad for the win. 

Winners by Pinfall: Shelton Benjamin & Charlie Haas

Match Rating: ***** 5/10

(Commercial Break)

Match 5: Eve vs. Layla

Match quickly spills to the outside for a minute as Eve gets some shots in on Layla before rolling her back underneath the bottom rope. Eve gets the roll up on Layla for the win.

Winner by Pinfall: Eve Torres

Match Rating: **** 4/10

Backstage Edge is walking and runs into Chris Jericho. They’re very curt with each other before Edge tells Jericho to follow his lead out there. Jericho says that worked out so well for him last week but Edge says he’s the World Heavyweight Champion so he has to listen to him. Jericho says he doesn’t listen to anything anyone has to say and suggests he has the match by himself because he’s done. Jericho walks off as Edge doesn’t look happy.

(Commercial Break)

Edge gets in the ring and grabs a microphone. Edge says if he can pick two words that describe and define Jeff Hardy it’s wasted opportunities. Last week Jeff Hardy had the break of a lifetime to pick any match at Extreme Rules so he picks a match that Edge owns. He picked a match that he has more success with than anyone in the WWE – a Ladder Match. Edge says he heard Jeff talking before and they have been in more Ladder Matches than anyone else. The difference between them is Jeff always impresses and shines, making the highlight reel, but he always wins. That’s actually true. Edge says we may not like it because we know it’s true. The difference between this Ladder Match and the past are they were Tag Team and Money in the Bank Ladder Matches but this is their first ever one on one Ladder Match for the World Heavyweight Championship. The other difference between he and Jeff is Jeff is a loser and he’s a winner. Jeff is a man who wastes his opportunities and he’s an Ultimate Opportunist. Jeff’s a perennial challenger and he’ll walk out of Extreme Rules STILL the World Heavyweight Champion.

Chris Jericho’s music hits but he doesn’t come out. I guess he really isn’t coming out. Rey Mysterio’s music now hits and he makes his way out to the ring. On the way he bumps heads with some of his child fans but the last one grabs Mysterio and smashes his head on the steel barricade! The fan comes over and assaults Mysterio some more, unmasking to reveal he’s Chris Jericho! Jericho sends him into the barricade and body slams him on the concrete floor! Jericho punches some more before attempting to remove Mysterio’s mask! Jeff Hardy runs down and makes the save, fighting Jericho off! Officials come to check on Mysterio as we go to commercial.

(Commercial Break)

Match 6: Handicap Match - Edge & Chris Jericho vs. Jeff Hardy

Edge hits a cross-body on Hardy, who is still hung up on the ropes, for a two count. Edge locks on a sleeper hold but Hardy fights up and elbows out but Edge pulls him down by the hair and makes the tag to Jericho. Jericho slingshots over the top rope with a splash for a two count. Jericho slaps him around before Hardy retaliates with some punches. Hardy sends Jericho into the ropes but Jericho holds on and Hardy misses the dropkick. Jericho goes for a Lionsault but Hardy gets the knees up and both men are down! Edge is tagged in and Hardy takes him down with a wrap around clothesline. Edge blocks a kick so Hardy hits his flipping donkey kick. Hardy ducks a clothesline and hits a flying clothesline. Hardy hits another and then an inverted atomic drop before shoving Edge into the corner, sitting him down. Hardy hits his slingshot dropkick for a two count. Hardy goes for a Twist of Fate but Edge pushes him towards Jericho. Hardy puts the brakes on and sends Edge into Jericho when he charges. Hardy rolls up Edge for a near fall! Jericho comes in and blindsides Hardy. Jericho smashes Hardy’s head off the top turnbuckle and they double whip Hardy into the corner, who hits Whisper in the Wind on both of them! Hardy hits a Twist of Fate on Jericho but turns into a Spear from Edge for the win!

Winners by Pinfall: Edge & Chris Jericho

Match Rating: ******* 7/10

Edge now goes under the ring and grabs a ladder. Edge comes in and floors Hardy with a ladder shot! Edge sets Jeff Hardy up in the ladder and sandwiches him between it, smashing it on Hardy’s face! Edge puts his foot on the ladder and raises his championship as we end Smackdown.

What's Final Thoughts on Tonight's Smackdown:

We had a OK episode of Smackdown tonight. It was all great build for the PPV and the best part was there was no real mention of the Denver Debacle. Not even a video package highlighting it. That made me happy. The feuds on Smackdown have been so tremendous since the draft. We’ve got the guaranteed to always be good feud with Edge and Jeff Hardy and the amazing and smart feud between Chris Jericho and Rey Mysterio. I really love that Edge had the upper hand at the end of the show tonight – it’s been a while since he’s had it. I also love that they’ve really been playing the history card here, going so far back to No Mercy 1999. The quick ladder beat down on Hardy at the end of the show was great too. Chris Jericho and Rey Mysterio opened up the show with a great in ring segment and they even got Mickey Rourke involved in it! Mickey Rourke is an interesting looking dude but I’m happy he’s a true fan of WWE. I love that Jericho’s going after the mask. They haven’t messed with the mask since Mysterio came to WWE except for that one time Eddie Guerrero ripped it open to bloody Mysterio up. This feud is powerful. I particularly love that Jericho calls Mysterio a coward for hiding behind a mask but Jericho blindsides Mysterio by wearing a mask. I love Jericho’s character – it’s so scummy but awesome! I just can’t say enough about him and he’s definitely in the running for Smackdown’s MVP of the Year so far. I can’t wait to see their match at Extreme Rules. I really enjoyed the backstage segment between John Morrison and Shelton Benjamin before Morrison went out and had a pretty good match against Umaga. It was intense, as was the match with Umaga. There were lots of nasty bumps on Morrison’s end from Umaga’s sick power moves. The after match save from CM Punk was good with Punk cutting a good promo afterwards. There’s still no real reason why Umaga’s been attacking Punk but I guess that’s the mystery. I like it anyway. Now on to about the Divas -  They have three women on the Smackdown roster who can kind of go and the rest are all really green. If they put a male wrestler out there with the little training they’ve had and the lack of flow and style they have then that guy would be immediately pulled and sent back down to developmental but with the women they just keep them around and let them embarrass themselves week after week. Valuable TV time is no time for on the job training. That’s what house shows are for. Oh well, what can you do?

Final Smackdown Rating: ****** 6/10

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