The Smackdown! Report (03/24/06): Angle vs. Henry (Royal Rumble Rematch)
Submitted by Chad Matthews on Saturday, March 25, 2006 at 12:53 AM EST





The Smackdown! Report (03/24/06)

The show opened with Randy Orton coming out like Rey Mysterio normally does (w/ the vaulting from beneath the ramp) ring to cut a promo about the Wrestlemania main-event.

Match 1: Money in the Bank Battle Royal- MNN vs. Lashley vs. Road Warrior Animal vs. Tatanka vs. Super Crazy vs. Psicosis vs. Pirate Burchill vs. OJ vs. Funaki vs. Scotty 2 Hotty vs. Kid Kash vs. Sylvain vs. Jamie Noble vs. Simon Dean vs. Gymini vs. London vs. Kendrick
-(CMV1 note- before the match, Cole and Tazz showed footage of how Hardy and Finlay qualified). Animal cut a pre-match promo, but ended up pissing everyone off and getting eliminated first. Eliminations actually came pretty quickly, as Scotty, Nunzio, and Kid Kash all were gone early. Lashley looked to be the dominant star in the match, as he routinely eliminated the Gymini and Simon Dean, while London and Kendrick knocked out Sylvain. The CWs eliminated each other. Poor Super Crazy was the last remaining cruiserweight and wasn’t even in the final six, as he was eliminated by Burchill. Speaking of the Pirate, the Indian (Tatanka) tossed him soon after, making the final four Tatanka, Lashley, MNM. MNM took control and used their tag team prowess to eliminate Tatanka and focus on Lashley. They hit him with the Snapshot and scored a double Boston Crab. The champs proceeded to go for a double suplex, but Lashley countered. Double suplexes followed as Lashley got himself fired up. Nitro looked to catch him unaware w/ a superkick, but missed, eliminating his partner by accident. One spear later and Lashley had just won the match. Lashley became the 6th and final entrant in MITB II. (CMV1 rating- ** ½) (CMV1 note- I’m a mark for battle royals…this one was fairly entertaining. It’s obvious that Lashley isn’t exactly the ideal style of wrestler for a ladder match spotfest. However, from a storyline standpoint, he should definitely be in it since Finlay is already involved. They’ll have to be careful, but I think it’ll all work out).

John Bradshaw Layfield cut a promo about Stone Cold Steve Austin and Chris Benoit, saying that the two teamed up to break his arm and his nose. He said he wished he could wrestle Benoit tonight, but wasn’t ready to get back in the ring yet. Thus, he’d face him at Mania 22 as scheduled, but that tonight, Benoit would get outwrestled and embarrassed by William Regal.

Backstage, Mark Henry promised to end the Undertaker’s Wrestlemania streak on April 2nd and would make Kurt Angle hurt tonight.


Match 2: Rey Mysterio vs. Finlay
-Finlay got first strike points and dominated until Mysterio scored the first near fall of the match with a split legged moonsault. Back and forth action ensued until Mysterio dropped Finlay across the second rope looking for the 619. Finlay countered the attempted 619 and went to the outside to recuperate. Unfortunately for him, Rey caught him with a baseball slide. Rey proceeded to attempt a plancha to the outside, but Finlay pulled back the ring skirt, trapping Rey upon landing. Finlay would eventually catch Rey with a shoulder breaker. The Irishman then worked over his arm and taunted him. The tide turned again, though, when Mysterio scored a near fall following a springboard moonsault. He followed up with a Seated Senton, but again could only score a two count. Finlay made a short comeback, but Mysterio kept on him with a kick to the head and the 619. Randy Orton then made his way to the ring. The finish came soon after when Orton hit Rey w/ an RKO, allowing Finlay to defeat Mysterio. (CMV1 rating- ** ¾). (CMV1 note- good match and one I wouldn’t mind seeing again down the road. Interesting that they would job Mysterio this close to Mania, but I suppose if the plan is for him to win the title then it further sets up his underdog story. It’s a fine line to walk, though).


Booker T (w/ Sharmell) came to the ring to sign the contract for his match against the Boogeyman at Wrestlemania. He was hesitant, but eventually agreed after SD GM Teddy Long agreed to let him have a partner. Unfortunately, the partner was announced to be Sharmell. (CMV1 note- adding Sharmell to the match makes a bad match worse. It takes a lot for me to hold back my negative feelings about this Boogey character and why, imo, he shouldn’t be anywhere near the Wrestlemania card. However, I’ll reserve those comments for when I’m proven right once again about how bad he is when he and Book lay a huge dump in the ring. This match and the pillow fight aren’t selling tickets…they are taking them away).


Match 3: Chris Benoit vs. William Regal
-(CMV1 note- just as an aside to the wrestling going on right now, I have to admit that while I’m very excited that next weekend is the biggest night in sports entertainment, I’m as excited about the fact that it’s NCAA tournament time. It’s my favorite sporting event of the year, and I just so happened to get caught up in it during this bout. It’s okay…we’ve seen these two wrestle a lot this past 8 months). Back and forth action during the early going turned into a one-sided match for several sequences after Regal hit an exploder suplex on the outside. Regal would eventually lock in the seldom-seen Crossface chicken wing, but Benoit escaped and made his comeback. The finish came when Benoit locked Regal in the Crossface and forced him to tap out. Benoit defeated Regal via submission. (CMV1 rating- **). (CMV1 note- another good match from these two on a night of several solid or better matches).


Match 4: World Heavyweight Champion Kurt Angle vs. Mark Henry
-(CMV1 note- this was a non-title match that made me very nervous for Angle’s health). In the early part of the match, Angle focused on Henry’s knee to try and cut him down to his size. Henry took control soon after, though, using his basic, plodding offense. After escaping a Henry bearhug, Angle hit a German suplex and gained some much needed momentum. The ref bumped at one point when Henry splashed him and Angle in the corner, opening up the interference flood gates. Orton eventually made his way to the ring and got involved, but Mysterio ran out to get payback from earlier in the night. Meanwhile, Angle had retaken control and had Henry in the ankle lock. The Legend Killer made the save, but found himself a target for a Mysterio springboard seated Senton. Orton moved out of the way, though, causing Rey to crash into Angle by mistake. The finish came soon after when Henry defeated Angle w/ the World’s Strongest Slam. (CMV1 rating- **). Mysterio and Angle argued after the match, leading to Kurt pushing Rey. Angle then turned his attention to Orton, giving Rey the time to drop him across the second rope and catch him with the 619. The segment closed w/ the three of them staring each other down. (CMV1 note- acceptable TV main-event that was saved by solid work from all three participants in the upcoming WHC match at Wrestlemania. They’ve picked up the hype).




All in all…Four matches, none of which rated below 2-stars. That’s pretty impressive and very rare. As a result, this was a pretty good Smackdown, which was complimented by solid hype for all their Wrestlemania matches. At this point, the only thing I’m getting sick of is Henry being in TV main-events. He’s a dangerous worker, and the odds are eventually going to catch up in the form of him injuring another wrestler. Other than that, SD is heading in the right direction w/ a good mid-card featuring Benoit, JBL, Lashley, Hardy, and Finlay…great main-event featuring Angle, Rey, and Orton…Thus, tonight’s show gets a solid 6.5/10…





Become a part of the United Wrestling Front:

United Wrestling Front Forums

Email me for details…



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









*NEW GALLERY* Go Directly to a RANDOM COOL & RARE WWE & TNA VIDEO! Check It Out!

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