The Smackdown! Report (11/25/05): Benoit vs. Book for the US title; Orton vs. Batista for the World title
    Submitted by Chad Matthews on Friday, November 25, 2005 at 9:37 PM EST



    The Smackdown! Report (11/25/05)

    A recap of the Raw vs. SD feud from the last two weeks aired, highlighting Big Show, Edge, and Kane’s ambush on World Champ Batista from SD two weeks ago, the fight between Team Raw and Team SD from last Monday’s show that ended with Batista getting put through a car windshield, the HBK-JBL match, and the melee that ensued after that match where Batista hit Spinebusters on both Kane and Show.

    Cole and Tazz opened the show by hyping both the World Title No Holds Barred match between Batista and Randy Orton, as well as a singles match between Melina and Christy Hemme (CMV1 note- yep, that was worth hyping…I’m sure a lot of people called their friends to tell them that match was going down)

    Out in the parking lot, Smackdown GM Teddy Long made sure that the security guards knew that Raw was likely to show up.


    Match 1: United States Champion Booker T (w/ Sharmell) vs. Chris Benoit
    -(CMV1 note- Sharmell, wearing a prom dress and a crown, got her own entrance…the title was on the line). Book kissed his wife’s hand as the opening bell rang. A couple of shoves got the match underway, and then the action began with a lock-up into a stand-off. Book with a headlock and shoulder block, but Benoit got a drop toehold to even the score. Another lock-up followed before Book got in a knee. The two then traded chops, but Book hit a body slam to end the back-and-forth. Benoit then dodged an elbow drop and hit some more chops. He proceeded to counter the champ’s attempt at a vertical suplex and hit a snap suplex and a body slam, followed by a high knee for a quick near fall. The first big spot of match came when Book caught Benoit with that awesome leapfrog out of the corner into a pinning combo for a two-count. The champion got him with a pressing kick soon after and settled into a rest hold. Benoit tried to fight back, but the Bookerman quickly thwarted his offense and went crazy on him with chops and right hand punches. The Rabid Wolverine eventually got out of the predicament and got in some more chops of his own. Later on, after a nice series of holds and counters, Book suplexed Benoit onto the top rope, stomach first. With Benoit on the apron, Book then tried to suplex him back into the ring. However, Benoit blocked it and attempted to vertical suplex the champ over the top rope and down to the floor. Book managed to fight it off, though, and the two struggled mightily. Book finally gained the advantage when he hanged up Benoit’s neck over the top rope and threw him shoulder first into the ring post (from the apron). We then got a dreaded mid-match commercial break, but that was to be expected. Back from the break, Booker had Benoit in a top-wrist lock. Benoit battled out of the lock hold with a knee to the gut, but Book maintained control. The two eventually collided in a double shoulder tackle. Once the two rose to their feet, Benoit reversed a suplex into an attempted Crossface, but Book impressively rolled out, hung onto Benoit’s arm, and clocked the former US Champ with an arm-wrench-hook kick combo. Booker maintained control, but ended up throwing Benoit into the ref. The Wolverine took advantage and caught Book with a belly-to-belly suplex. He then hit one German suplex, but Book countered the next. Benoit hung on, though, and locked in the Sharpshooter. A new ref showed up to call for the submission, but the champion reached the ropes. Benoit continued his roll with three consecutive German suplexes. The challenger eventually got to his feet, called for the end, and headed up top. Unfortunately, Sharmell got on the apron to provide for a distraction. Booker took advantage with a superplex, but Benoit halfway rolled through when the champ went for the cover. Both men’s shoulders were down, but the ref counted the three. We then had one ref calling for Booker T to be the winner, but the other called for a title change. Another commercial break followed…Chris Benoit and Booker T wrestled to a no-contest at 17:06. (CMV1 rating- *** ½). (CMV1 note- wow, that was the best Booker T match I’ve seen in…in…I can’t recall the last Booker T match that good. He looked quicker and more agile than usual, and Benoit was Benoit. Very good stuff!). Back from the break, Smackdown General Manager Teddy Long came out to address the new controversy, and decided to vacate the US championship. He then announced that at Survivor Series, Book and Benoit would face each other in the first match of a Best-of-Seven-Series. (CMV1 note- that sounds good to me…of course, the two faced each other in a best of 7 back in WCW, and it became regarded as one of the better wrestling feuds that the promotion had seen in years. There is a kicker to my happiness over this decision, and that’s that I’ve seen all the matches from the original best-of-seven, and they’ll be hard-pressed to top it…Still, though, after that match, I like it).

    Backstage, JBL happened to see a large, white van sitting in the parking lot. He thought it might’ve been Raw, but when he opened the door, he was met with the hideous face of the Boogeyman…another weird promo…but JBL’s facial expression was quite funny.

    An advertisement aired for a Smackdown Special next Tuesday…LIVE! It will feature a match between Raw’s Big Show and SD’s Rey Mysterio.


    Match 2: The Dicks (Chad and *James) vs. Road Warrior Animal and Heidenreich
    -(CMV1 note- call me a crazy rhino, but I actually am kind of looking forward to this…it’s been built up for awhile now and this is their debut…gimmick still blows, though). They didn’t start off too well, as they basically made themselves out to be a toned down version of Raw’s ridiculous tag team, The Heartthrobs. LOD dominated early, but the Dicks took control with a few double-team double axe-handles. Animal got the hot tag, hit a back suplex and clothesline on both guys. One of those guys squirted some lotion in his eyes, though, and one of them rolled Animal up for the win. The Dicks won via pinfall at 3:36. (CMV1 rating- ¼ *) (CMV1 note- Wow, they seemed like they had potential, but it seems they’ll have to literally suffer through this gimmick. Granted, their opponents sucked, but the Dicks were not impressive. I’ll re-evaluate them once they wrestle some talent)


    Match 3: Matt Hardy vs. Ken Kennedy
    -(CMV1 note- I’m intrigued by this match-up…the crowd, by the way, has begun singing along with Kennedy during his entrance). Hardy clamped on a lengthy headlock to get things going, hit a shoulder tackle, and then re-applied the headlock even through a Kennedy back suplex. Ken battled out by putting Hardy on the top turnbuckle. Hardy knocked him off when he followed, though, and attempted a moonsault. Unfortunately for V1, he missed. Kennedy took control as you could hear people in the crowd doing his microphone schtick. Mr. Ken got in some wear-down holds, but as he looked to spice things up with a powerbomb, Hardy countered into a side-Russian leg sweep. Matt proceeded to light it up, and cap off his flurry of offense with a Side Effect for a near fall. He then went for the Twist of Fate, but had it countered. Hardy maintained momentum, though, and went up to the top rope. Kennedy caught him, though, and went for the Green Bay Plunge. However, someone finally countered it, as MHV1 managed to battle out and hit a bulldog off the top. The two then found themselves on the outside, where Kennedy plowed Hardy face-first into the steel steps. Ken grabbed a chair and tried to hit Hardy, but referee Charles Robinson got hold of it. The finish came when Kennedy accidentally poked Robinson with the chair, prompting the ref to call for the DQ. Matt Hardy defeated Ken Kennedy via DQ at 6:05. (CMV1 rating- *). (CMV1 note- I think it’d be a good idea for these guys to have an extended feud. Hardy is quite a worker, in my opinion, and I want to see what Kennedy can do in a longer match. Ken has shown some potential, but until he gets in a real feud, we won’t know how good he is).

    Backstage, Eric Bischoff told Teddy Long that they were coming (the Raw superstars).

    Match 4: Melina (w/ WWE Tag Team Champs Mercury and Nitro) vs. Christy Hemme
    -(CMV1 note- prior to the match, a recap of the short, yet quite solid Melina and Trish feud aired). Mercury and Nitro were tossed from ringside right from the get-go. The finish came when Melina pinned Christy. (CMV1 rating- ½ *) (CMV1 note- Christy is getting a lot better…I hope Melina and Trish can do enough this Sunday to not take anything away from the PPV…shame the MN of MNM aren’t on the card)

    Backstage, World Heavyweight Champion Batista was getting a little medical attention on his lat when his challenger tonight, Randy Orton, showed up. Orton said he hadn’t forgotten that Batista had a hand in his injury earlier in the year. That being said, he wanted to make sure Batista’s current injuries weren’t going to be an issue when the Legend Killer beats him tonight. Batista laughed, but Orton didn’t think anything was funny. He said that he shouldn’t have to remind Dave that it was him (Orton) that was the star of Evolution…that he was better than Flair, Triple H, and him (Batista). Batista reminded Randy that he beat Trips for the title after Orton lost it to Trips…and that for that matter, he had walked out of Evolution on his own terms, while Randy got kicked to the curb. Big Dave picked up his belt, smiled at Randy, and walked away. (CMV1 note- good segment, and when and if they feud, they need to focus at least a little more time on their history in Evolution).

    Chris Masters and Carlito made their way to ringside, with tickets.


    Match 5: Cruiserweight Champion Nunzio (w/ Big Vito) vs. Juventud (w/ Super Crazy and Psicosis)
    -(CMV1 note- if you are confused right now, let me fill you in. This is the rematch between these two guys that came about as a result of Nunzio winning the CW title during the overseas tour, presumably b/c he’s “Italian” and they were headed to Italy). The first noteworthy moment occurred when they botched a spot…but then Juve missed a plancha over the top and Nunzio took control. Juve eventually battled back with a spinning wheel kick, and then followed with a nice variation of the pump handle slam into a facebuster. The former CW champ then hit a move similar to the Juve Driver for a near fall, but then got the real Juve Driver for the win soon after. Juve defeated Nunzio at 3:25. (CMV1 rating- ½ *) (CMV1 note- not the best stuff from the cruisers, as this bout was sloppy at times and not given near enough time to mean anything).

    Cole and Tazz ran down the Survivor Series card (Benoit vs. Book, Trish vs. Melina, Cena vs. Angle, Flair vs. Trips, Bischoff vs. Long, and Raw vs. SD)

    Match 6: John “Bradshaw” Layfield and Rey Mysterio (w/ Jillian Hall) vs. William Regal and Paul Birchall
    -(CMV1 note- Carlito and Masters were shown quite a few times before and during the match…oh, and c’mon man, why hasn’t Birchall gotten pushed yet? I hear this guy is awesome and nothing I’ve seen suggests he’s not…he’s built, too…geez, WWE, follow your own formula, okay?). Regal and Mysterio started it off, and ole’ Will took control quickly. After a tag, Birchall came in and got caught with a hurricanrana, an enziguiri, the 619, and the Drop of the Dime. JBL dropped Regal, who was trying to interfere, with a Clothesline From Hell soon after. Unfortunately for the two members of Team SD, HBK hit the ring and caught Bradshaw with Sweet Chin Music. Security guards then hit the ring and chased off Michaels, but that left Masters and Carlito wide-open for an attack on Rey…and they did just that. Benoit, Hardcore Holly, and others came out for the save, though. Mysterio/JBL and Birchall/Regal went to a no-contest at 1:55. (CMV1 rating- ¼ *) (CMV1 note- Good continuation of the biggest feud the WWE’s got going…)


    Match 7: Lashley vs. Orlando Jordan
    -In yet another quick squash match, Lashley made short work of OJ. Lashley defeated Jordan via Dominator. (CMV1 rating- ¼ *) (CMV1 note- Man, I’m looking forward to Survivor Series just so I can see Lashley actually do something besides squash a lower mid-carder. I look forward to seeing if he can use that raw power of his on the Big Show or Kane)

    Match 8: No Holds Barred Match: World Heavyweight Champion Batista vs. Randy Orton
    -(CMV1 note- title on the line here). Orton and Batista immediately started brawling, but that was about as far as this match went. Team Raw, along with several other Raw superstars, proceeded to make their way out to the ring and cause Batista and Orton to wrestle to a no-contest. As the Raw guys battled with the SD guys, Orton hit Cade and Murdoch with RKOs, but then had his teeth kicked down his throat by HBK. Rey Mysterio then came in and battled HBK into 619 position, and caught him with his patented move. Carlito and Chris Masters proceeded to attack Rey, but Batista got in the ring and took them out. Big Show and Kane hit the ring soon after, and focused their attention on Batista. The champ tried to hold them off, but the giants were just too much for him, as they chokeslammed him through the announce table. (CMV1 rating- no rating). Much like the ending to this past Monday’s Raw, we were treated to a large interbrand brawl as the show went off the air. (CMV1 note- As I’ve said, I think this feud is the hottest thing the WWE can muster up right now, so I’m all for these show closing brawls. Anything interbrand right now just seems fresher than anything going down on either show, particularly Raw. I love how Kane and Show have targeted Batista, and assuming that Dave is going to have surgery to repair his lat, I would actually love to see him go right after the both of them and maybe set up an interbrand match for the Rumble before going after, presumably, Randy Orton (the champion) heading into Wrestlemania).



    All in all…This show started off with the type of bang (in Book vs. Benoit) that could’ve gotten the highest rating I’ve ever given, but other than Raw vs. SD stuff, I wasn’t all that impressed with this show. Yeah, I enjoyed Hardy vs. Kennedy, too, but not enough to affect my rating. So, I’ll quickly say that this was, in fact, a good show, though, and did a nice job of hyping the Raw vs. SD match. Book vs. Benoit was also extremely well done, and effectively added to the Survivor Series card that needed a shot in the arm. Since there are only six matches announced, I’d imagine we’ll see some time given to Book vs. Benoit, and that means good things based on what we saw from them tonight. SD gets a 6.5/10…



    This week in Smackdown history… Ric Flair, fresh off of becoming the 50% owner of the WWE just three days earlier, announced that at December’s Vengeance PPV, an Undisputed World Champion of Wrestling would be crowned. Flair at first proposed that Austin (the WWF champion) would wrestle The Rock (the WCW champion), but Vince McMahon had a better, albeit more complicated and far less logical idea. On December 9th, The Rock would first face Chris Jericho, who betrayed Team WWF the previous Sunday at Survivor Series by clocking their last remaining superstar, the Rock…and Stone Cold would first face Kurt Angle, who betrayed the WCW-leader and helped Team WWF get the win. Austin went on to beat Angle, Jericho went on to beat the Rock, and the rest is history, as Y2J became the first-ever Undisputed Champion.


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




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