Smackdown 18th May, 2007
Submitted by Rudi Pavani on Friday, May 18, 2007 at 6:35 PM EST





G’day all. This is Rudi (rudip1@pacific.net.au) coming to you with yet another week of Smackdown. We’re a couple of days from the PPV Judgment Day of which my predictions will be at the end of this column for people to read and give me feedback. For those that missed it last week Edge became the World Heavyweight Champion after he defeated an injured Mr. Kennedy to get the Money in the Bank chance and then beat Undertaker who is also injured after he was destroyed by Mark Henry. What do I think of Edge coming to Smackdown? I think it’s a good move. Smackdown has been hit by injuries with Undertaker and Kennedy out and Mysterio and Booker still on the mend and a little way away. Mark Henry is back but don’t expect too much out of him too quickly. I know people don’t like Henry and his wrestling ability or lack of it depending on what you think but he has a presence and should he stay uninjured could make some statements. Anyway, Edge was a good choice to get onto Smackdown just to bolster the roster.

It’s a bit of a different review of mine than normal and it more in points than a total blow by blow description and let’s now get on with the show!

We begin with a review of last weeks cage match with the draw between Undertaker and Batista and then Mark Henry coming out to destroy Undertaker and Edge cashing in the Money in the Bank that he’d won from Mr. Kennedy and winning the title belt!

Opening credits follow and the show this week comes to us from Baltimore Maryland

We get told of Edge’s inaugural address later in the show and Ozzy Osbourne playing tonight.

Matt hardy comes out with JBL saying he’s a main event waiting to happen. He’s followed out by MVP

Match 1: Matt Hardy vs. MVP
Hardy chant to begin with
To and from arm drags before they face off to each other
MVP early control with head lock and shoulder block but Hardy back with a hip toss until MVP with right elbow takes control. MVP works on head of Hardy as there is another Hardy chant.
Hardy regains control with a nice elbow to the back of the head of MVP and an attempted pin.
MVP regains control again though and works on the spine of Hardy before Hardy fights back and regains control. Though MVP with a leg sweep regains control and then comes off the ropes and with a huge kick to the head knocks Hardy out of the ring as we go to…

Commercial break…

Back from commercial and MVP still in control and working on the neck and shoulders of Hardy again.
Another boot to the head of Hardy in the corner and an attempted pin by MVP again.
Hardy looking very groggy on his feet as MVP goes after him again.
Hardy tries to fight back but MVP regains control very easily and unloads with a big uppercut.
MVP picks Hardy up over his shoulders and drops him face first into the canvas.
MVP misses with a kick to the head and is met with a Side Effect in return and an attempted pin by Hardy as he fights back strongly.
Hardy with a clothesline in the corner and the Bulldog and an attempted pin before trying to mount the ropes but failing. He manages to get up and land with the elbow on MVP and another attempted pin.
MVP takes control with dropping Hardy head first in the corner post and then lands the Playmaker and makes the cover!
MVP defeated Matt Hardy in 13 minutes
Rudi’s rating - ***
Rudi’s rant – We have Matt Hardy putting over MVP this week. Hardy has just come off from beating Mr. Kennedy so MVP is definitely in the good books at the moment. Not to say Hardy didn’t have a good match. This was a very credible match which builds up MVP heading into the PPV on Sunday.
Post match and Cole interviews MVP in the ring about Judgment Day and his match for the U.S. Championship against Benoit. MVP is going to overcome all the odds and he will win! He leaves the ring and wanders up the ramp as we get a replay of the Playmaker and then we have another…

Commercial break…

Back from commercial and we see Undertaker after the cage match being carried out by the druids.

Deuce and Domino come out minus the car tonight for a six man tag match up. They’re followed by Chavo Guerrero. We then get Jimmy Wang Yang who Two steps his way out followed by London and Kendrick.

Deuce and Domino (with Cherry) and Chavo Guerrero vs. Jimmy Wang Yang and Paul London and Brian Kendrick
Chavo and London start off with Chavo in early control before a spinning head scissors and Kendrick tagged in. London in quickly but Chavo tags Deuce and he comes in but London tags Jimmy Wang Yang and throw him onto Deuce.
Kendrick tags in and takes out the two on the apron but Deuce hits him from behind and with lots of tags they take control keeping Kendrick in their corner.
Kendrick tries to battle back, kicks Deuce and Domino off the apron and takes care of Chavo and tags in Jimmy Wang Yang who with a lot of kicks takes control of Chavo. Deuce interferes and Chavo takes control for a moment over Jimmy Wang Yang and lands a moonsault on Chavo with Domino knocked off the apron by London before he can interfere and the match is over!
Jimmy Wang Yang with Paul London and Brian Kendrick defeated Chavo Guerrero, Deuce and Domino (with Cherry)
Rudi’s rating - ** ½
Rudi’s rant – 6 men in the ring in a 4 minute match. Surely they could have given these guys longer and cut down on other stuff later in the show. A lot of high flying by Yang and great stuff by Kendrick and London and I’m still enjoying Deuce and Domino. We just sorely need new tag teams to mix up the matches and the Hillbilly team introduced last week weren’t on due to time constraints apparently but we’ll see what happens next week. We also need some decent Cruiserweight matches as Chavo is totally rudderless at the moment with the title. One last thing, Ashley is back and why isn’t she escorting out London and Kendrick?
Post match and the winners celebrate in the ring with a two step as Deuce and Domino and Chavo stagger back up the rampway.


We have a Mark Henry promo about how he destroyed the Undertaker and it’s not a graveyard, it’s a jungle and he has no known predators. He’s 390 pounds, a Silverback and king of the jungle!

Commercial break…

Back from commercial and Mark Henry makes his way out to the ring looking bigger than ever. We get a replay of him beating down on Undertaker before we see Funaki come out to the ring not looking too confident about this match and with good reason.

Mark Henry vs. Funaki.
Funaki tries to hit Henry but Henry just flattens him, walks on him, headbutts him, and then misses with an elbow drop.
Funaki climbs the ropes and jumps but Henry catches him, splashes him and it’s over!
Mark Henry defeated Funaki in two minutes
Rudi’s rating - *
Rudi’s rant – I gave this match a star just because it had Funaki who looked really worried getting into the ring. I don’t blame him! Mark Henry did what he was supposed to do and squash someone to build himself up even though he beat Undertaker last week. Go figure!
Post match a replay of the win and Henry mouthing off as he wanders backstage.

A RAW rebound then with Lashley vs. Coach and then what happened afterwards. We then see Benoit walking through backstage as we go to…

Commercial break…

Back from commercial and Benoit makes his way out the ring followed by Finlay who comes out as usual, shillelagh in hand. They face off against each other before the referee calls for the bell.


Match 4: Chris Benoit vs. Finlay
They lock up twice with both being pressed up against the ropes.
Finlay mouths off at Benoit before Benoit slaps him and takes to him in the corner with knees before taking him down from the ropes.
Finlay knocks Benoit off his feet and goes to work on the right knee before Benoit slides out and gets Finlay in a headlock. They break off and face up to each other and Finlay regains control.
Finlay is knocked out of the ring by Benoit who then can’t connect with a baseball slide and Finlay pushes Benoit into the steps and then reaches for the shillelagh but is blocked by the referee.
Back in the ring and Finlay works on the leg of Benoit again.
Finlay continues to work on the leg regardless of Benoit trying to fight back.
Finlay runs into the steel post after Benoit moves out of the way and can’t connect with his German suplexes but then connects with the Three Amigos and tries to mount the ropes to land the headbutt but Finlay pushes him off the apron and into the barricade.
Finlay works on the leg again in the ring as we go to…

Commercial break…

Back from commercial and Finlay is still working on the leg of Benoit and reaches the ropes.
Finlay slams the leg of Benoit against the apron of the ring from the outside before entering the ring again.
Benoit tries to fight back with chops until Finlay chops him against the throat and then works on the knee again.
Benoit break and Finlay tries to get him again but Benoit with a kick to the head and then he lands his 3 German suplexes.
Lil’ Bastard comes in but Benoit tries to put the Sharpshooter on him.
Finlay grabs his shillelagh but Benoit ducks it and then puts on the Crossface but MVP rushes in and the referee calls the match!
Benoit defeated Finlay by disqualification in 13 minutes
Rudi’s rating - ***
Rudi’s rant – Some may not have liked this match as there was a lot of Finlay working on the leg of Benoit and not much in the way of action but it was a solid technical match and leading up to Sunday did exactly what it needed to do.
Post match and Benoit fights off MVP but is taken down by the shillelagh of Finlay who then leaves the ring and leaves MVP to work over Benoit with boots to the head.
He throws Benoit into the middle of the ring and then leaves checking on where Benoit chopped him.
We get a replay of the end of the match and the assault by MVP before we see Benoit lying in the middle of the ring being attended to by the referee.

Backstage we see Ozzy walking backstage and Jillian trying to touch him but kept away by a minder as we go to…

Commercial break…

Back from commercial and Ashley is coming out to the ring and why didn’t she come out with London and Kendrick? In the ring she introduces Ozzy Osbourne and his latest single.

Ozzy Osbourne sings. Do I rate this? I’m not a huge Ozzy fan so maybe not. His single is released on the 22nd May so that’s all I think I should say about it. This is where I’d settle for a Boogeyman run in even! Huge Ozzy chant after the song though as we thankfully go to…Rudi’s rant – I know Ozzy is doing a song for WWE but did we need him to perform? That time could have been best put to the six man tag match earlier and my ears would have been saved. *grin*

Commercial break…

Back from commercial and Miz is making his way to the ring and his opponent Christian York is already in the ring.

Match 5: Christian York vs. The Miz
Miz takes down York with a big clotheslines and takes to him with blows to the back and then a neckbreaker.
York attempts a fightback but Miz takes over again quickly and a flying clothesline into the corner. He goes for the pin but then picks York up at the two count.
Miz then with his Mizard of Oz (swinging neckbreaker) and he takes the win.
The Miz defeated Christian York in 2 minutes
Rudi’s rating - *1/2
Rudi’s rant – I gave this match more because Miz did more moves than Henry in the earlier match but why put Miz in a squash? Give him some decent competition for once or at least let him have his MizTV spot back!
Post match and JBL says Miz has looked better the past two weeks he’s wrestled and we go to a Timbaland preview of his song that involves the Divas.

Backstage and Kristal is thanking Teddy Long for giving Vickie a chance at an interview. Teddy likes making her happy as there is a knock on the door and Vickie wanders in to a big hug from Kristal who then excuses herself. Vickie says she thanks him for giving her a go at an interview and that she is turning a new leaf with positive attitudes. Teddy has his reservations as Vickie thanks him again and Teddy says that he promised Kristal to give Vickie a go and Vickie flatters Teddy’s ego by saying that Kristal talks about him always and says all these nice things and Teddy says yes then, he’ll give her an interview as we go to…

Commercial break…

Back from commercial and Kane is making his way to the ring. He sets off his ring pyros and wanders around the ring until we get the music of William Regal and he comes out with Dave Taylor who will be in his corner. All of a sudden we get the music of Boogey and he comes out with Little Boogey on his back much to Kane’s delight and Regal and Taylor’s dismay. They argue with the referee as the Boogeys make it down to ringside.

Match 6: Kane (with Boogey and Little Boogey) vs. William Regal (with Dave Taylor)
Kane gets Regal in the corner from the outset and offloads with an uppercut and more blows and a choke.
Kane tries for a clothesline but is met by a boot from Regal who gains control of the match.
It’s Regal in charge of Kane as he kicks into him and stomps on him against the ropes.
Kane gains control with a back body drop but Regal drops Kane with a drop toe hold and regains control of the match.
Regal works on the chest of Kane with kicks and blows then rests the knee into his back.
Kane regains control with a big uppercut out of nowhere but Regal takes control with a throw of Kane across the ring.
The two start to go toe to toe until Kane takes him down with a boot and then with a sideslam.
Kane goes to the top rope and lands a flying clothesline.
Kane exits the ring after Regal but is rammed back first into the apron.
Taylor takes care of Boogey and then throws Little Boogey into the ring. Regal tries to take care of him but walks into a chokeslam from Kane who has reentered the ring and this one is over!
Kane defeated William Regal in 4 minutes
Rudi’s rating - **
Rudi’s rant – You almost got a rant if the worms were going to be used on Regal! I like Regal and he deserves better than that at least. He took the match up to Kane and that puts him across as a better wrestler than just being squashed like happens in other Kane matches. Regal wants to go to RAW apparently and have a push. I think Regal is still a great worker and deserves a chance to shine!
Post match and Kane calls in the Boogeys and I think sadly we’re going to get worms. Thankfully Regal manages to roll out of the ring as the Boogeys play with the worms and Regal and Taylor heading up the rampway have words with them. We’re then shown the Boogeys out of the ring and Kane laughing at them as we go to JBL and Cole at ringside discussing the events at Judgment Day.

Commercial break…

Back from commercial and Teddy Long is in the ring. He introduces Edge who is the champion as of last week thanks to the injury to Undertaker. Edge comes out with a huge ring pyro behind him which means he’s here to stay for quite a while I would say! Edge takes his time getting to the ring and mounts the ropes and salutes the crowd. What has Edge to say? He gets boos to begin with. He introduces himself. He is the crowd’s champion. A big you suck chant happens. Edge is ashamed to be a Canadian citizen and also a U.S one because he doesn’t get the credit he deserves. He has to travel the world instead. Edge says RAW didn’t give him the respect either and that made him sick because he has beaten everyone on the show including John Cena to win his first World Championship Title. Edge thinks the Smackdown audience is more sophisticated than the RAW one so he’s giving them a chance. Edge will be a champion the crowds can be proud of, a champion that will take on all comers.

Teddy Long says he’ll take on all comers? Teddy Long says he’ll hold him to that and on Sunday he’s going to defend his title against Batista. Edge isn’t afraid of Batista he says. On RAW he beat the Undertaker in 3 seconds when Batista took 3 months to not beat him. Bring Batista on Edge says. And guess what? The music of Batista hits and dressed in a suit he makes his way down to the ring. Batista has a mic. What is he going to say? We get a Batista chant as he welcomes Edge to Smackdown. Since he’s new Batista is going to tell him the same thing he told the Undertaker as he removes his glasses. That title belongs to him (Batista) and he’s sorry but on Sunday he’s going to be getting it back. He grabs the hand of Edge and goes face to face as the show goes off air.

What a hit and miss show. I know it’s only a couple of days from the show to Judgment Day but a couple of squash matches and an Ozzy Osbourne song in the middle didn’t help make it a great show. I’m going to give it a 5 out of 10 just for that though I did love Edge’s new entrance explosives. They’re bigger than Batista’s and I wonder how that sits with the big man? Have a safe week y’all and I hope to see you all again next week here post Judgment Day and lets see what the new week brings!

Judgment Day predictions:
WWE Champion John Cena vs. The Great Khali A no brainer this one I think. Cena to win after Khali is disqualified and the feud will continue.
World Heavyweight Champion Edge vs. Batista I’m not sure on this one. I can see Edge winning but I’m looking at Mark Henry interference somewhere perhaps or Edge to win after hitting Batista with some foreign object.
ECW World Champion Vince McMahon with Shane McMahon and Umaga vs. Bobby LashleyPlease let it be Lashley and this feud can be over and done with but I can see Lashley winning and then getting a beatdown.
United States Champion Chris Benoit vs. MVP in a best two out of three falls matchAfter watching MVP get the better of Benoit in Smackdown I would say Benoit should win but I’m going for MVP to win, third time lucky!
C.M. Punk vs. Elijah BurkePunk to win this one in what I hope will be a really good match.
Ric Flair vs. CarlitoFlair will win this one I think and Carlito will go ballistic!
Randy Orton vs. Shawn MichaelsThis match is subject to Shawn Michaels being fit after the beating he took from Orton on RAW. I can see Orton winning but maybe someone coming out to make the save for HBK. I don’t know who but I’m going to put my neck out here and say HHH will make some sort of appearance to begin building up his feud with Orton for when he returns.









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