The Smackdown! Report (01/06/06): Steel Cage Tag Title Rematch
Submitted by Chad Matthews on Friday, January 6, 2006 at 10:00 PM EST





The Smackdown! Report (01/06/06)

The show opened with a recap of last week’s events surrounding Melina’s lawsuit against Batista.

Match 1: Falls Count Anywhere- JBL (w/ Jillian Hall) vs. Matt Hardy
-(CMV1 note- prior to the match, JBL cut a promo on Hardy and walked into the crowd, challenging Hardy to come out and begin the match out of the ring. He also called 2006 the year of the Wrestling God, just like last year and the year before were). They started off brawling through the crowd, w/ JBL immediately taking control. JBL then threw Hardy over the guard-rail and back near ringside, where he tossed him onto the announce table. Layfield tried a high risk move, but Hardy countered and swept JBL’s legs out from under him, sending Bradshaw crashing through the announce table for a near fall. It didn’t take long for JBL to regain control, though, as he slammed Hardy w/ a steel chair. Back in the ring, Bradshaw dominated until Hardy countered a powerbomb and dropkicked him out of the ring. Hardy followed with a plancha over the top rope for a near fall. V1 then pulled out a ladder, hit JBL with it a few times, but then lost momentum when JBL countered his bulldog attempt. Hardy quickly fought his way back into the bout with several trash can lid shots to JBL’s skull. With JBL then laid out on the hood of his limo, Hardy set up the ladder for a leg drop, but Jillian Hall grabbed his leg. This allowed JBL to grab a garbage can and slam Hardy in the face twice, sending Matt backwards onto the hood. The finish came when JBL made the easy cover to defeat Hardy on the hood of his car at 5:33. (CMV1 rating- * ½). After the match, the Boogeyman popped out of the limo’s sunroof and spooked JBL, who hightailed it as usual. Poor Jillian couldn’t escape, though, and ended up with a skirt full of worms. (CMV1 note- Alright, this Boogeyman character sucks. Poor Marty Wright actually seems to have some charisma, but how long does anyone think this guy is actually going to be around? I think this whole gimmick stinks, personally, and he needs to go away. As for the match, it was fine for what it was but could’ve been good had it been given more time. Instead, though, we got worms in Jillian’s panties at the hands of an idiot).


Match 2: Mark Henry (w/ Melina) vs. The Three Jobbers
-The finish didn’t take too long to get to, as Henry squashed the three guys at 2:40. (CMV1 rating- ½ *). After the match, Cole interviewed Melina about her relationship with Mark Henry. The crowd was all over her, but she managed to say that she’s brought in Henry to protect her. (CMV1 note- Well, I gave it more than a ¼ * because it served its purpose of making Henry look like a beast. He’s added a few moves to his limited repertoire, but nothing is going to save the eventual Batista-Henry match from sucking. Hell, I’ll be optimistic, though, and say that it’s at least got an interesting storyline behind it…or, at least, I’m entertained thus far)

Backstage, Randy Orton and the Booker T’s were discussing last week’s Match 5 of the Best-of-Seven. Orton expressed his displeasure at Sharmell costing him the match, but said he’d get his heat back by beating Benoit in tonight’s Match 6, if Sharmell would just stay out of it. She looked and acted pissed, but Orton was adamant, proclaiming that he’d win the match and eventually the US title for Book, but that afterwards he’d owe him.

Next we had the return of MIS-TER KEN-NEDY to television. Kennedy said he was back with the purpose of improving the announcing, and he thus joined Cole and Tazz for commentary, something I suppose he’ll be doing on a more regular basis. (CMV1 note- that’s a good idea, as it’ll give him a chance to talk more and improve his mic skills beyond his usual schtick).


Match 3: Cruiserweight Champion Kid Kash vs. Juventud
-(CMV1 note- in Juve’s final WWE match, he got a shot at the title…and the privilege of having Kennedy make his announcing debut during it). Started with a lock-up and quickly turned to brawling before Juve caught Kash with a dropkick and a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Juve then went to the top rope and hit a flip-plancha to the outside. Back in the ring, Juve scored a near fall. Kash then took control and worked over Juve’s leg. Kash tried for a moonsault onto the leg, but missed. The two each tried for the finishers, but neither could connect. Juve regained momentum with a spinning wheel kick. He tried to follow w/ a hurricarana, but Kash caught it and applied a single leg Boston Crab on the bad wheel. Juve didn’t tap and eventually scored with a top rope hurricanrana for a near fall. The finish came when Juve missed a 450 Splash, thus allowing Kash to retain the CW title after drilling the Juice with a brainbuster, which is being called the Dead Level at 6:07. (CMV1 rating- * ¾). (CMV1 note- enjoyable match that lasted longer than I figured it would. Kash, with time, might be able to get the WWE’s style down. In addition to this solid bout, I thought Kennedy did a solid job on commentary).

Backstage, Kristal interviewed Booker T and Sharmell about how it was like to be on SD and be married. Book said that it wasn’t a problem, which brought out Orlando Jordan to come in and be annoying. He claimed that if Book had picked him to face Benoit last week, he’d be US Champ. Sharmell laughed and reminded him of all his tap outs. OJ told them off and demanded respect. Book said you had to earn it…

In a quick press conference, Batista addressed the accusations that Melina brought against him. He said it wasn’t true, that Melina and him were intimate, but that the relations were consensual. He then fielded questions from reporters, but was interrupted by Mark Henry. Henry asked Batista what his problem was, and accused him of taking advantage of Melina. He questioned the champ’s wholesome image, and what would happen if he took advantage of him. Batista told him it wasn’t the time or the place, and for Henry to get out of his face. (CMV1 note- if they are going to do one of these soap opera-like angles, it’s good that they are using someone who can actually act well enough to pull it off in Batista).



Match 4: Chris Benoit vs. Randy Orton (in Book’s place) in Match Six of the Best-of-Seven Series for the vacant US Title
-(CMV1 note- Booker T leads the series 3-2…and he joined Tazz and Cole for guest commentary). Orton got first strike points, but they quickly settled into a little back and forth. Benoit scored with some chops and knees to the mid-section, and followed with snap suplex. Sharmell then tripped Benoit with a crutch, prompting Orton to hop out of the ring and confront her. Randy actually got her ass tossed from ringside. Back to the match, Orton poked Benoit in the eye and drilled him with a dropkick. He then locked in a rear choke hold. Benoit battled out of it, but Orton hit a snap suplex of his own and reapplied the chokehold. Again, Benoit battled out. Orton tried for another snap suplex, but the Crippler countered and hit a release German suplex. He tried to capitalize and charged at Orton, but the Legend Killer moved out of the way, sending Benoit sailing over the top rope. We then got a dreaded mid-match commercial break, but that was to be expected. Back from the break, Orton had the chokehold applied yet again. Benoit escaped with a quick armdrag, which he followed with a the three Amigo vertical suplexes ala Eddie Guerrero. He then went to the top and drilled the diving Headbutt for a near fall, and proceeded to try for the Sharpshooter. Once applied, Orton struggled to counter out of it, but Benoit adjusted and switched it into the Crossface. Orton managed to get to the ropes and the two had an exciting sequence of holds and counter holds. Unfortunately, that nothing Orlando Jordan came and cracked Benoit over the head with a crutch, which he stole from Booker at ringside. Thus, Benoit defeated Orton/Book via DQ to even the Best-Of Seven at 10:52. (CMV1 rating- ** ¾) (CMV1 note- good match, but why in the world does OJ need to be involved in this. I wonder if Book will be back for the deciding match…should be interesting…)

A video aired hyping the return of Fit Finlay. (CMV1 note- why?)

Simon Dean came out and hyped 2006 as the year of the Simon System. He challenged a tag team to come out and take his physical challenge. Paul London and Brian Kendrick answered the call, but Simon notified them that they weren’t going to do a physical challenge against him, but rather the Simon System sponsored tag team known as the Gymini (aka the Shane Twins). There really wasn’t a match, it was just a chance for the Shane Twins to destroy the cruiserweights in what I must say was in impressive fashion. (CMV1 note- nice debut for the new tag team, even if their team name is stupid. I like Simon Dean and think he’s entertaining, so it’ll be good to have him as their mouthpiece. The question is: who are the face teams to go against all these heel tag teams?)

Backstage, Bobby Lashley announced his entry into the 2006 Royal Rumble. He asked us to imagine him versus Batista at Wrestlemania for the World Heavyweight Championship. Cole and Tazz then presented a video package highlighting Lashley’s short career. (CMV1 note- I just thought about Lashley vs. Batista…no thanks…I’d like to see Lashley do something besides squash people first).


Match 5: Steel Cage Match- WWE Tag Team Champions MNM vs. World Heavyweight Champion Batista and Rey Mysterio
-(CMV1 note- been a long time since we’ve seen a tag team cage match). The former champs attacked fast and furiously right from the get-go. Batista splashed both in the corner, and then Mysterio gave Mercury a running leg drop. Essentially, the first two minutes were all Mysterio-Batista, but MNM came back and tried for a quick escape. It didn’t work, though, and we then got a dreaded mid-match commercial break…I guess that was to be expected. Back from the break, Batista was whooping up on both Nitro and Mercury, while Mysterio was down on the mat. MNM managed to escape from Batista, but when they tried to get over the top of the cage, Mysterio awakened, knocked one of the top and bulldogged the other off. Batista then whipped Mysterio into one corner for a running dropkick, but when he tried to do it toward the other corner, Nitro flipped him up, over, and back-first into the side of the cage. Nitro then scored a top rope missile dropkick on Batista, and the tag champs took total control. MNM proceeded to hit a double-chokeslam on Mysterio for a very near fall, and then hit a double baseball slide on Batista. They then refocused on Rey and hit a double leg drop for another near fall, and then hit a second double baseball slide on Batista. Again, the champs refocused on Mysterio, hitting a double slingshot sending him face-first into the cage for another near fall. They then hit a double side-Russian leg sweep on Batista, and again focused on Mysterio. When they tried another double-team, though, Rey countered and eventually caught Nitro in a crucifix pinning combo for a near fall. He then went to the top of the cage and caught Mercury with a huge flying crossbody. Mysterio tried to keep up his offense, but when he attempted a wheelbarrow bulldog, MNM countered and hit an X-Factor-face-buster combo. Batista by that point had shaken the cob-webs loose and clocked MNM with a double clothesline. He then hung both of them up on the top rope, hit a spinebuster on Mercury, and signaled for the end. At that point, though, Melina called to the back for Mark Henry to come help. Henry came down and ripped the cage door. He then came into the ring and attacked Batista, military pressing and throwing him into the side of the cage before beating on him with the cage door. Mysterio tried to help out, but got a cage door to his face for his troubles. To cap off his interference, he rolled one member of MNM onto Mysterio for the win. MNM defeated Mysterio and Batista to retain the tag titles at 17:06 (CMV1 rating- ***) (CMV1 note- I thoroughly enjoyed this match, as MNM really showed some impressive tag team moves. They did a believable job of keeping Batista isolated while focusing on Mysterio. The double team moves were very impressive…I can’t stress that enough…MNM is a damn good tag team. Now, let’s see who they can find to challenge them. And then as for Mark Henry, I have to applaud the WWE for masking his considerable weaknesses to this point. Obviously, they won’t be able to hide them once he faces Batista, but this has been a solid feud, if not too over-the-top due to Melina’s lawsuit storyline).






All in all…I thought this one of the better overall SD’s in awhile, so I’ll give it a 6.5/10…I enjoyed the Orton-Benoit, Kash-Juve, and Steel Cage matches, and thought the storylines surrounding each were well presented throughout the evening. Say what you will about the Henry-Batista feud in terms of its lack of payoff potential, but the early goings of the storyline have been handled well. Batista has gotten to the point where he can carry a feud of this nature…too bad he still can’t wrestle that well. Next week, we’ll get match 7 of the best-of, and apparently Orton will be facing Benoit again. I hope to see Orton win just so we can see just what Randy will ask of Booker. Hopefully, whatever Book would owe him would have nothing to do with Sharmell and everything to do with something wrestling-involved. Alright, folks, take care…



This week in Smackdown history… Kurt Angle wrestled Stone Cold Steve Austin on the January 10th edition of SD in 2002. The previous month, the two had faced off in the one-night tournament at Vengeance to crown the first-ever Undisputed Champion. On that night, Austin defeated Angle…but on this night, Kane got involved and chokeslammed both men, resulting in a no-contest.



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