The Smackdown! Report (9/16/05): Randy Orton vs. Undertaker
Submitted by Chad Matthews on Friday, September 16, 2005 at 10:22 PM EST





(Note- just in case there was ever any doubt, you as readers reserve the right to disregard my opinions. They are there for you to get an idea of show quality from a 17-year fan that you wouldn’t otherwise get from a purely objective report. If you do not wish to read about my subjective views, though, feel free to skip over CMV1 ratings and notes…there’s plenty of objective reporting in these recaps, too. I try to make sure that the major matches are as detailed as possible for those of you expecting objective writing).


The Smackdown! Report (9/16/05)

Match 1: United States Champion Chris Benoit and Booker T (w/ Sharmell) vs. Christian and Orlando Jordan
-(CMV1 note- this bout started off as a one-on-one contest between Christian and Benoit, but OJ came out and announced that he did not intend to be remembered as the guy who lost in 22.5 seconds. Christian and OJ proceeded to beat down the US champ, prompting Booker T to make the save, and this originally scheduled singles match to become a tag team match). Book and Benoit dominated early on, doing some double team work on OJ and singling out Christian via a Booker T spinebuster (plus that cool little pinning combo he does coming out of the corner). However, the heels took over and Book played the face-in-peril. The five-time WCW champ eventually made a comeback after hitting the Bookend on OJ, a move that allowed him to make the hot tag to Benoit. The US Champ then came in and dominated before singling out Christian. Meanwhile, OJ headed outside and grabbed a steel chair. Booker T cut him off at the pass, though, and snatched the chair away before he could make use of it. Unfortunately, as he did so, Booker accidentally knocked OJ into his wife. As the Bookerman tended to his fallen bride, the heels took advantage and continued the beat down of Benoit that they had started pre-match. The finish came when Christian pinned Benoit following an Unprettier at 7:36. (CMV1 rating- * ˝). (CMV1 note- solid stuff, but nothing of note really. Personally, I’d love to see Christian and Benoit engage in a lengthy US title feud…I think that’d give some mega-credibility to that belt).

The hype video that aired prior to Orton vs. Taker at Wrestlemania aired, mixed in with some new footage.

Backstage, World Heavyweight Champion Dave Batista was messing around with Stacy and Christy, but then went and stole some of Simon Dean’s special energy drink.

Smackdown General Manager Theodore Long and Network Representative Palmer Cannon were in the ring when we came back from commercial break #1. Long wasted no time in bringing out World Champion Batista. Big Dave reminded us of his triumph from last week, but said that it was time for a new number one contender. TRL excitedly told the crowd that the man he’d chosen had been an underdog his whole life and had also been family man…of Latin decent (obviously referring to Rey Mysterio). At that point, Cannon stepped in, took the microphone away, and announced Eddie Guerrero as the chosen one. Latino Heat then made his way to the ring and cut a promo about all the addictions he’d had in his life, the worst of which was his addiction to manipulation. Guerrero said that after last week, when he finally beat Rey Mysterio (he breathed a sigh of relief), he found a new addiction…respect, honor, and doing the right thing. Now, he is a new Eddie Guerrero…an Eddie Guerrero who’s all about love. He then thanked Batista for having him as the number one contender to the World title and told him that he had more respect for him than anyone in the building. According to Eddie, Batista is greatness…what the business is about today. So, Guerrero said that at No Mercy, he wanted to prove that two people could go into a ring without hate, and put on a great wrestling match. He again thanked the champion. Batista said that Eddie (who he referred to as Holmes) and him could be the “Two Amigos.” He said that he was well aware of what kind of man Eddie was, and what kind of champion he would make if he could beat him. Eddie insisted that the two of them could become friends, no matter who wins at the PPV. He then offered to shake Dave’s hand. The Animal looked Eddie in the eye and told him that friends don’t shake hands…they hug. The champ and the challenger embraced, and Eddie’s facial expressions were golden. (CMV1 note- interesting approach to beginning this feud, and it should be fun to see how it all plays out. This was a really good segment that went against the grain of what we are used to seeing with a new title feud. Both men were good in their roles, and both were at times really funny).

Match 2: WWE Tag Team Champions Road Warrior Animal and Heidenreich vs. MNM
-(CMV1 note- the titles were on the line for a second straight week). The champs took control to start things off, but when Animal sat Mercury on the top rope for a superplex, Nitro caught the Road Warrior with a superkick to the back, allowing the challengers to take control. They proceeded to hit a nice double side-Russian leg sweep to continue building momentum. Animal then made a comeback with a powerslam on Mercury and tagged in Heidi, who cleaned house. The finish came soon after when Mercury hit Heidenreich with one of the tag team title belts, causing LOD 2005 to get the win via DQ at 4:16. (CMV1 rating- *) (CMV1 note- not bad, actually…Heidi’s face paint looked more like a guy trying to be weirdo on Halloween then a part of the LOD).

Backstage, TRL expressed his displeasure with Cannon screwing up his #1 contender announcement from earlier in the night. Eddie came in and thanked Cannon for the opportunity to become World Champion, and then walked out. Palmer turned his attention back toward TRL, and defended himself by saying that the network wants a challenger for the World title that has overcome the odds, and Guerrero perfectly defines that in their opinion.

Further backstage, Randy Orton approached his dad, who was standing in front of a U-Haul truck. Cowboy Bob said that their little surprise was all ready to go…and asked his son if he was ready for his match against Taker tonight. Randy said that he was, tapped on the U-Haul truck, and smiled a big toothy grin.

Match 3: John “Bradshaw” Layfield vs. Rey Mysterio
-(CMV1 note- Rey Mysterio has new theme music…and he does some rapping in it). JBL and Rey began with some classic big man-little man stuff. Mysterio tried to get the quick win with a sunset flip off second rope, but it didn’t work. He then managed to knock Bradshaw into 619 position, but when Rey attempted his patented move, JBL got up and decked him. Layfield settled into a big man offensive routine for a couple of minutes. Mysterio finally took control when he countered Bradshaw’s Last Call fall-away slam into a DDT. He then connected with a tilt-a-whirl head scissor and later a Bronco Buster in the corner. JBL regained the advantage for a short time, and went for the Clothesline from Hell, but Rey quickly turned the tide and dropped the former champion with the 619. He proceeded to attempt the springboard Seated Senton, but JBL caught it and went for a Powerbomb. Mysterio countered the Powerbomb, though, and hit a lionsault (from the top rope) for the surprise pin. Mysterio defeated JBL at 5:50. (CMV1 rating- * ˝) (CMV1 note- Wow, Mysterio has had one hell of a night, hasn’t he? First, he nearly gets named the number one contender to the World title, which is of course a big deal, and now he beats JBL. I hope the push continues for Rey Rey).

Backstage, the Cruiserweight Champion (Nunzio, just for the record) made a rare appearance on SD complete with his bodyguard Big Vito, and complained about being a champ, but never being booked on the main show. Eddie Guerrero came in and recommended a match between Nunzio and Batista, an idea which Cannon liked enough to make happen.

Further backstage, Josh Matthews (no relation) tried to get an interview with JBL about his loss to Mysterio, but Bradshaw disgustedly disregarded the question and walked away. Ken Kennedy was up for being questioned, though, as he walked right up to Matthews and told him that the media was just too damn negative. Mr. Kennedy said that he was single-handedly changing Friday nights. He cracked a joke on Arkansas, did a couple of movie lines (one from Austin Powers and one from Dodgeball) and headed to the ring.

Match 4: Ken Kennedy vs. Some Jobber
-The finish came when Kennedy won via pinfall following the Green Bay Plunge at 1:06. (CMV1 rating- ˝ *) (CMV1 note- just a squash, but that finishing move is so damn cool).

Match 5: World Heavyweight Champion Batista vs. Cruiserweight Champion Nunzio (w/ Big Vito)
-(CMV1 note- Eddie Guerrero watched the match from the entrance ramp). Nunzio got in a little offense and Vito interfered a couple of times, but Batista eventually nailed him with a spinebuster. The finish came soon after when Batista defeated Nunzio via sit-out Powerbomb at 3:00. (CMV1 rating- ˝ *) (CMV1 note- not much to it, but hey, at least the CW title made an appearance on SD…too bad Batista no sold all of Nunzio’s offense…oh well, I’ve given up on the WWE actually doing something with the Cruiserweight division. If I’m a smaller wrestler, there’s no way I’m going to WWE if I can get anything close to a consistent payday elsewhere). After the match, Eddie exchanged congratulatory looks with Batista.

Backstage, the Ortons were still hanging out by that U-Haul truck. “Locked and loaded!”

Further backstage, JBL asked Jillian Hall to come to work for him. She said they could something out.

Match 6: Randy Orton (w/ Cowboy Bob Orton) vs. The Undertaker
-Unfortunately, we joined the match in progress (I hate it when they do that). Taker took Orton down with a shoulder tackle, but then Randy took the Deadman down with a hip toss. The Undertaker gained the first measure of control when he dropped Orton with a big boot for an early near fall. He then hooked on a key lock, the first of several moves he used to work over Randy’s often injured shoulder. To cap it off, Taker took to the top rope for the Old School clothesline, but RKO kicked the top rope, causing the Deadman to get crotched on the top turnbuckle. After a bit of a struggle, Orton took Taker crashing to the mat with a superplex, and then called out for his dad to bring the truck out to ringside. Taker sat up and looked to spoil the Ortons’ plan, but Randy walked right over and dropped him with a DDT. Bob Orton then came out with the U-Haul and revealed that there was a casket in the back of it. When the crowd saw the casket, the camera panned back to Randy, who did Taker’s cut throat sign. Orton proceeded to catch the Deadman with a running knee drop. We then got a dreaded mid-match commercial break, but I guess that is to be expected. Back from the break, Randy had a rear choke locked in. Taker battled back quickly, but Orton drilled with a nice dropkick for a two count…then re-applied the choke hold. The Deadman eventually looked to have passed out from the choke, as his hand dropped twice when the ref was checking him. However, Taker didn’t let the hand drop for a third time, and attempted a comeback. The comeback was short-lived, though, as Randy scooped him up for a body slam and headed to the second rope. In a move reminiscent of his dad, Orton called his elbow shot, but when he came flying off the turnbuckle, he ended up running right into Taker’s outstretched leg. The Deadman got in some quick offense, and then went for the kill with an attempt at the Tombstone. Randy countered, though, and hit his unique back breaker for a near fall. The two men traded blows soon after, but Taker would gain momentum with his patented jumping clothesline. He continued to gain momentum when he dropped Orton head-first into the corner for snake eyes and then caught him with a running big boot and Hogan-esque leg drop. Taker was unable to get the pin, so he went for the chokeslam. Orton countered with a quick kick to the knee, but Deadman no sold it and clotheslined him over the top rope. Taker followed him to the outside, grabbed hold of him, and took him over to the casket. When he opened the casket, though, he was met with the Ortons’ surprise: a very lifelike replica of the Deadman lying in the coffin. Randy took advantage of the distraction and tossed Taker into the steel ring steps. Back in the ring, Orton hit his multiple chest strikes (while standing above and behind his opponent) from the second rope. He then mounted Taker for a few shots to the face. However, he took the time to do his little pose, allowing Taker the opportunity to go for the Wrestlemania X-7 Taker-Triple H finish where he hits the Last Ride Powerbomb out of the corner. Orton countered, Taker went for a clothesline, and Randy moved out of the way, causing the Deadman to wipe out the ref. When Taker turned around, he got drilled with the RKO…but remember the ref bump. Bob Orton raced back to ringside with a new ref, who counted one…two…NO! Taker kicked out! The Deadman got up and caught Randy with a chokeslam. He uncharacteristically went for the cover following the goozle, but it was all a set-up for Bob Orton to take out the new ref and create more tension. With Taker once against distracted, Randy poised himself to strike with the RKO again, but when he attempted his finish, Taker countered it into a throw. The finish came when Taker defeated Randy Orton after hitting the Tombstone piledriver at 19:16. (CMV1 rating- ***) (CMV1 note- good match…right around the level of their other two encounters with an interesting twist involving the casket. The use of the casket would seem to suggest that perhaps the rumored Taker vs. Ortons handicap match at No Mercy could be a casket match, but that’s pure speculation on my part. I wish Orton would have won because it’d be nice if Taker put someone fully over for a change, but maybe that’ll come at NM).



All in all…good show tonight…not mind-blowing by any means, but certainly two hours of television with some highlights. First and foremost, the Batista-Guerrero segment was really good, and the interesting way that they’ve started the feud will add intrigue to all further shows heading into No Mercy. Then there was the Rey Mysterio victory over JBL (not to mention his near appointment to #1 world title contender)…that was a nice surprise and a great thing for Rey, whose starting to knock on the main-event/top guy door. Finally, the main-event was damn good in my opinion…and good main-events always make for a better rated show. Thus, tonight’s edition of SD gets a 7/10 from me



This week in Smackdown history…Brock Lesnar and Kurt Angle went one-on-one in a 60-minute Ironman match for the WWE Championship. Yours truly was live in Raleigh, NC for that match, and what a match it was to watch. Lesnar defeated Angle to win back the WWE title, but it appeared as if Kurt would retain in the closing moments of the match, as he latched on the ankle lock with the time winding down under half-a-minute. Brock certainly looked like he was going to tap out, but he managed to withstand Angle’s patented submission hold through the hour time-limit.



If you have any feedback for me, please email me at magicirish10@hotmail.com









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