The Smackdown! Report (9/23/05)
Submitted by Chad Matthews on Saturday, September 24, 2005 at 1:29 AM EST






The Smackdown! Report (9/23/05)

Match 1: Booker T (w/ Sharmell) vs. Christian
-The match began with Booker T dominating Captain Charisma. Eventually, Christian attempted a comeback, only to have it thwarted by the 5-time WCW Champion. The tide finally turned when Christian countered Book’s attempt at 10 mounted punches in the corner into a Powerbomb. Christian then went for a pinning combination with his feet on the ropes, but Sharmell made the cheating apparent to the ref, allowing Booker to escape the predicament and get back on the offensive. Book proceeded to hit a crescent heel kick, which presumably put Christian down long enough for a Spinaroonie. However, the side kick was not enough to keep Captain Charisma down, as when Book went for his patented time-waster, Christian clocked him and teased a Spinaroonie of his own. Book was the first to regain momentum after the potential dance-off, hitting a spinebuster and the Bookend for a couple of near falls. Seeking to desperately work his way back into the match, Christian then grabbed the ref and poked Book in the eye to gain some much needed momentum. He quickly hit a rear backbreaker for a near fall. The finish came when Christian went for the Unprettier, but Book countered and tossed him into the ropes. Sharmell then tripped Christian, allowing Booker T to get the win via roll-up. (CMV1 rating- **). (CMV1 note- solid opening match to kick off the show, but I’m personally tired of seeing Christian wander around aimlessly in the mid-card. What happened to that big push he was looking to get at the beginning of the summer? Sharmell is getting annoying by the way, but if the purpose of her being that way is to get Booker T to do a pseudo turn that eventually gets her ass off TV, then I’m all for it).

Backstage in the locker room area, Eddie Guerrero approached SD General Manager TRL and network representative Palmer Cannon and told them he wasn’t feeling very well. He said that he did want to try and fight through his ailments and compete in the tag match later on involving himself and Batista versus MNM. He then raced to el bano and relieved himself.

Jillian Hall, complete with stupid facial blemish gimmick, introduced John “Bradshaw” Layfield, who came down to the ring on a white horse (CMV1 note- pretty funny). Hall referred to him as Texas’s favorite son now residing in NYC. JBL then took the mic and talked about how he was a self-made man from Texas that did not like those people that sneak into the USA in the middle of the night (referring to those that illegally cross the border). Of course, the Texas crowd of Corpus Christie didn’t really dig that…He then took some indirect shots at Rey Mysterio, saying that he also did not like those that hide themselves behind masks and lie to their families. (CMV1 note- this feud ought to be interesting…the JBL-Rey matches of the past have been far too big man-little man oriented and because of that never reached their potential. When they face off on PPV, I would hope that they scale down that stereotypical match and allow Rey to carry JBL to a damn fine contest).


Match 2: WWE Tag Team Champions Animal and Heidenreich defeated Two Jobbers
-(CMV1 note- it’s hard to believe that a year ago, Heidenreich was raping Michael Cole on network television and reading stupid poems from the top of the SD fist). The Tag champs retained. (CMV1 rating- no rating) (CMV1 note- you see, jobbers are necessary when you only keep two tag teams on the roster).

Match 3: Hardcore Holly (w/ Christy Hemme and Stacy Kiebler vs. Sylvain
-(CMV1 note- why, oh, why did we have to watch this match? Well, because backstage Sylvain made fun of the ladies, and since Holly is a ladies’ man, we now endure a waste of time). Hardcore Holly defeated Sylvain via count-out. (CMV1 rating- ½ *) (CMV1 note- if there are any fans who really want me to tell you how it went…here’s the Reader’s Digest version: counter of the Alabama Slam, Sylvain missile dropkick, Holly punches him in the face, and it’s over).

Backstage, TRL approached World Heavyweight Champion Batista about Eddie Guerrero’s illness. Batista said he was aware of it, and had the best doctor in the city on her way to fix up Latino Heat.

(BIG CMV1 NOTE- my apologies, but the cable keeps fading in and out…we’ve got some storms in our area and its unleashing it’s hell on the satellite feed).

Cowboy Bob and Legend Killer Randy Orton came out to the ring, where there lay a casket prepared for the Undertaker’s funeral. Randy got on the mic and said that he knew Taker physically beat him last week on SD, but that he had won the mental battle. Eventually, Orton opened the casket to reveal the same very life-like dummy that was in it last week, but the real Undertaker popped out. The Ortons proceeded to hightail it out of there.

Match 4: Ken Kennedy vs. Rey Mysterio
-(CMV1 note- now this is what I’m talking about…dammit, I only saw bits and pieces of this match due to weather). Mysterio got first strike points, but Kennedy eventually countered Rey’s attempt at a wheelbarrow bulldog into a backbreaker. Rey tried to quickly work his way back into the match with a springboard crossbody block, but Kennedy moved out of the way and followed up with a tilt-a-whirl side slam. His sustained offense was short-lived, though, as Mysterio came roaring back, capping off his comeback with a Seated Senton for a near fall. Rey then headed to the top rope looking to put it away, but JBL came out on his white horse. The finish came when Ken took advantage of the distraction and caught Rey in finishing position on the second rope. Kennedy then defeated Mysterio via the Green Bay Plunge. (CMV1 rating- **) (CMV1 note- didn’t see all of this due to blackouts, but definitely good during what I saw. I see a load of potential in this Ken Kennedy, and hope that he gets a big feud to work with here in the coming weeks before No Mercy).

A hype video for the RAW Homecoming aired, after which the camera cut to Cannon and Long hanging out backstage discussing the red team’s October 3rd return to USA. Cannon said that they should run an ad during that show so that they could reap some of the benefits. TRL said he had a better idea…

Backstage, Sharmell and Booker T were hanging around when the wife told the husband that he needed to demand respect for himself and go ask for a US title shot. Shut up…

Further backstage, Eddie Guerrero was getting checked out by the staff trainer, who couldn’t for the life of him find anything medically wrong. The examination was then interrupted by a very attractive woman, presumably the “best doctor in town” that Batista had referred to earlier in the night. The trainer left…

Match 5: Bobby Lashley vs. Simon Dean
-(CMV1 note- Lashley was announced as a multi-time former Amateur Wrestling champion and four-time All-American. If that’s true, then I say it’s about time they started milking the amateur wrestling scene again…with all these muscle bound Masters types coming around, I’d thought they’d forgotten how good amateur wrestlers do in the professional scene…damn, more satellite interference…). Lashley defeated Dean via a variation of the Dominator. (CMV1 rating- I dunno) (CMV1 note- well, I would’ve liked to have seen this debut, and from what I’m reading elsewhere it seems that it was an impressive one. I also hear he’s playing a babyface…)

Match 6: United States Champion Chris Benoit vs. Orlando Jordan
-(CMV1 note- why can’t the satellite feed disappear, now? Seriously, OJ, go away…). Benoit defeated OJ via submission. (CMV1 rating- ¼ *) (CMV1 note- alright, the rating can’t go down by any more fourths of a star, so stop running this match! I hate OJ…I’ve never seen someone with his credentials be that bad).

Backstage, Eddie was still being treated by the doctor. Batista then came in and brought forth the doctor he was referring to earlier (not who the woman, as I’d presumed). It was a very feminine male, instead. Guerrero looked…uncomfortable…to say the least.

Match 7: Eddie Guerrero and World Heavyweight Champion Batista vs. MNM
-(CMV1 note- Guerrero continued to sell his sickness). Batista pretty much dominated the former tag champs for a large portion of the match. Nitro eventually got some offense in with a superkick to the distracted World Champion, but Big Dave wasted little time in storming back and continuing his complete annihilation of the two smaller wrestlers. The finish came when Batista hit the sit-out Powerbomb, but Eddie jumped up, got a blind tag, and drilled Mercury with the Frog Splash for the pin. Guerrero and Batista defeated MNM. (CMV1 rating- *) (CMV1 note- this was essentially a handicap match, and in my opinion no one man should ever beat two talented men, no matter how big and bad the champion may be. I think the better route to take would’ve been for Eddie to jump up and just beat the holy hell out of Batista rather than jump in and steal the win…there’s only two weeks til’ NM…this angle is fine for a slow building match, but PPV is too close from now to be doing a slow build).

All in all… This show just didn’t do anything for me. Since coming back to the SD Reporter position, I’ve had the luxury of seeing solid main-events each week, but unfortunately this week provided us with very little QUALITY wrestling…we got quantity, but that’s not important. With just two more weeks til’ PPV, not enough was done to promote the undercard of No Mercy. I’m not being very nice this week, and this show gets just a 5.5/10



This week in Smackdown history… Smackdown celebrated its 5th anniversary on the September 23 edition of SD in 2004 with a show that featured several video appearances by past greats like Stone Cold, Mick Foley, and Hulk Hogan. In the main-event, Eddie Guerrero and Big Show teamed up to defeat Kurt Angle and his henchman, Luther Reigns. While not a special show in terms of the content provided by the current stars, it was nice to hear what Hogan, Austin, and Foley’s favorite memories were.



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









DIRECT LINK: The INSANE New Scott Hall VIDEOS from the Sheik Roast! MUST SEE!

• Quick Links -
  [Back to LOP] [News Archives] [Results] [Columns] [Forums]