Friday Night SmackDown!
Fridays 8/7 ET
Charlotte, NC: Charlotte Bobcats Arena

Tonight, bells will be ringing as Edge and Vickie celebrate their Wedding Reception. However, like all weddings in the WWE, will this one feature a nasty surprise? Lets find out!

SmackDown! begins with a video package that welcomes everyone to endure the undying love of Edge and Vickie Guerrero.

We then cut to a clip of the actual wedding ceremony that occurred earlier today. Chavo, acting as the best man, plays trick on Edge and Vickie, but it was nothing serious as they all share a laugh. Edge and Vickie then puts the rings on each others hand as the Priest announces them as man and wife. They share a kiss as we are told that tonight we will witness the Reception between the two.

We then go to the arena where we see Hawkins, Ryder, Neely, and Alicia Fox (wedding planner) standing in the stage area and showing respect to the newly wed family. Chavo is introduced as the best man and he is followed by the entrance of Vickie and Edge. They have set the stage up so that the entire family could sit and view the entire broadcast. Chavo gets on a microphone and says that he would like to share some comments. He says that Vickie found a keeper in Edge and that Edge was like the brother he had never had. The crowd chants “You Suck!” Chavo then admits that the love they share for one another is the greatest love of all. Chavo then says he has a gift made for Edge. They look at the titantron and it’s a magazine cover featuring Edge as the New WWE Champion. It says Edge Plays and Wins the Game at the Great American Bash. They then have a toast as Edge gets on a mic. He says that this is happiest day of his life and for the show to get underway.

Finlay’s music hits and he makes his way down to the ring with Hornswoggle for our first match of the evening.

Edge, back on the mic, says that he and Ryder and Hawkins are too smart to fall for Finlay’s shenanigans. As a result, he makes a match with the team of Finlay and Hornswoggle taking on Ryder and Hawkins with Edge himself as the Special Guest Referee.

This was a good opening segment.

Apparently, Ryder and Hawkins will be wrestling in their street clothes.

Match 1: Ryder & Hawkins v. Finlay & Hornswoggle (Special Guest Referee: Edge)
Before the match actually begins, Edge tosses Finlay’s shillelagh out of the ring. When the bell does ring, Finlay backs Curt Hawkins into the corner. However, Edge grabs and shoves Finlay away. Finlay and Hawkins lockup, but Edge once again grabs and pulls Finlay away. He tells Finlay “you pulled his hair.” Finlay looks irritated and when he turns around, Hawkins strikes Finlay down with a powerful right hand. Ryder is tagged in and he quickly connects with a swinging neckbreaker. He continues with numerous punches and kicks and proceeds to irish whip Finlay into the corner. Ryder charges at him, but Finlay kicks him down and knocks Hawkins down in the process. Hawkins rolls back into the ring, but Finlay grabs Hornswoggle and rams him into Hawkins abdomen, thus knocking him down. The father and son tag team proceed to sit on their opponents. Edge then grabs Hornswoggle and threatens to hurt him. Hornswoggle however, gets out of his jacket and leaves the ring. Finlay grabs Edge in position of the Celtic Cross, but Hawkins sweeps Finlay’s legs. As Finlay turns around, Edge delivers a devastating spear and this bout is over as Ryder gets the 3 count. (Rating: 2.5/5. This bout was decent with all the constant interference from Edge. This bouts simply is meant to add credibility to Hawkins and Ryder for their PPV match at the GAB).

Post-Match: Edge, Ryder and Hawkins walk back to the stage area when Justin Roberts calls for the audience’s attention and says that Edge and Vickie are about to have their first dance as husband and wife.

A couple sings for Edge and Vickie as they dance. They continue to dance until the Big Show intervenes. He grabs Vickie and starts dancing with her. Edge tells them to cut the music and that Big Show has a match next that he should attend to.

-Commercial-

Back, we see Shelton Benjamin and MVP in the ring with the Big Show. Vladimir Koslov then makes his way down to the ring as JR informs everyone that this bout is going to be a handicap match. The Great Khali’s music plays and it looks like it will be 4 on 1.

Match 2: MVP, Shelton Benjamin, Vladimir Koslov, & Great Khali v. The Big Show (4 on 1 Handicap Match)
As the match gets underway, Big Show is set to start things off against Benjamin. They lockup, but Show shoves Benjamin away. MVP yells at Benjamin and gets tagged in. MVP is about to lockup when he changes his mind and tags in Koslov. Koslov tries to take advantage with a judo throw, but instead gets tossed into the corner where Khali tags himself in. Khali enters the ring and begins to talk some smack and proceeds to shove the Big Show. Show responds with a shove, but Khali strikes back with a punch. Khali irish whips Show, but Show counters with a powerful clothesline, knocking Khali off his feet. Benjamin and Koslov enter the ring, but Show takes them down as well. Show then grabs MVP, but MVP yells he doesn’t want in. Show tosses MVP in and clotheslines him down. Show then headbutts Benjamin down and all of a sudden, the referee calls for the bell. Apparently, he lost control of the match.

Post-Match: Big Show turns around and is chopped in the head by Khali. Benjamin then strikes Show with a roundhouse kick, but still couldn’t get the big guy off his feet. Show is groggy in the corner, and MVP connects with his signature kick. Finally, Koslov takes him down with a head-butt. They continue to punish Show and finish up the beating with Khali delivering his double handed choke bomb.

(Rating: 2.5/5. This match was building in a great way, but the referee just calling for the end really disappointed me here. Another decent showing here.)

We are told that later on tonight, Matt Hardy will take on his younger brother, Jeff.

-Commercial-

Back, we see Vickie in the ring with a mic in hand. She says that as everyone knows, it is wedding tradition to gather all of the eligible bachellorates and see who can catch the bouquet. Before, that happens, Michelle McCool takes Natalya down and they go at it until Vickie orders Hawkins and Ryder to break them apart. After that dispute, Vickie tosses the bouquet and Cherry manages to catch it. Vickie insults Cherry and says that she will be in a match against Vickie herself. But before she can face Vickie, she must take on Natalya.

Match 3: Cherry v. Natalya
Right as the bell rings, Natalya takes Cherry down by slamming her head down onto the mat repeatedly and ripping the bouquet in her face. Natalya then locks in the sharpshooter and this one is over.

Vickie then gets on the mic and tells the referee to start the match with Vickie.

Match 4: Cherry v. Vickie Guerrero
Vickie simply walks over to Cherry’s fallen body and gets the 3 count.

Post-Match: La Familia celebrates.

-Commercial-

Back from break, we see Mr. Kennedy making his way down to the ring. He does his usual entrance and plays around with the crowd.

His opponent is Umaga.

Match 5: Mr. Kennedy v. Umaga
Match begins with Umaga taking Kennedy down. Kennedy gets right back up and smacks Umaga in the face and proceeds to clobber Umaga in the back until Umaga nailed Kennedy with his elbow. Kennedy tries standing toe to toe with Umaga, but gets clotheslined. Kennedy does get in a few offense once Umaga misses a headbutt attempt, but Umaga proceeds to dominate with more clotheslines. After a few minutes, Kennedy manages to kick Umaga in the face splashes onto Umaga with all his weight. When Kennedy tried to connect with his big boot in the corner, Umaga drilled Kennedy down with an elbow. Umaga then proceeds to choke Kennedy with his foot and begins to manhandle Kennedy. Umaga then applies a nerve hold that takes up about 2 minutes of the match. The crowd gets behind Kennedy and he manages to finally break the hold. Not long after however, Umaga drills his knee into Kennedy’s abdomen. Umaga then goes back to the same nerve hold. After Kennedy gets out the hold this time, he is once again taken down with Umaga’s Samoan Drop.

-Commercial-

Back, we see Umaga going back to that nerve hold, but this time Kennedy manages to get out of it quickly and as he proceeds to strike with numerous kicks. Kennedy then tries to body slam the big guy, but isn’t able as Umaga is too heavy. Umaga presses all his weight down and gets a 2 count. Umaga then locks in the nerve hold yet again and just when Kennedy tries to break free, Umaga thrusts him back down. Umaga then goes to the top rope for a headbutt attempt, but misses it. Kennedy finally builds some momentum as he fights back. He manages to send Umaga face first into the steel post and even connects with his signature roundhouse kick. Kennedy covers, but gets a 2 count. Kennedy attempts a mic check, but couldn’t ground Umaga with it. Umaga slams Kennedy down and connects with the Samoan Spike. Umaga wins. (Rating: 3/5. Yet another decent match. The nerve hold that Umaga applied wasted too much time in my opinion. I do expect however that these two can put a better match together.)

-Commercial-

Back, we see the returning Jimmy Wang Yang back.

His opponent is Brian Kendrick. A heel turn, I guess for Kendrick. Kendrick apparently has a bodyguard accompanying him to the ring by the name of Ezekiel.

Match 6: Jimmy Wang Yang v. Brian Kendrick
Yang offers a handshake, but Kendrick declines it. The two then lockup with Kendrick getting the advantage. He applies a wristlock like maneuver, but Yang reverses it with a wristlock of his own. Kendrick gets to the ropes and they break the hold. Kendrick charges at Yang, but Yang gets a nice drop toe hold in, followed by a standing hurricanrana. Yang proceeds to clothesline Kendrick out of the ring. Yang then attempts to body splash Kendrick, however Kendrick dodges it and Yang lands on his feet. As he turns around, he is approached by Ezekiel. Off this distraction, Kendrick nails Yang with a forearm. Back in the ring, Kendrick works on the arm of Yang by applying various submission moves. After some time, Yang gets in a quick arm drag and proceeds to connect with a nice missile dropkick. As the match continues, Yang signals for the end and goes to the top for his moonsault. Ezekiel however walks up to the steel steps and distracts Yang. Kendrick throws Yang down and hits what JR called the Slice Bread No. 2 for the win. (Rating: 3/5. This match was surprisingly good. It is interesting to see this Kendrick heel turn. Anyone realize the amount of heels SmackDown! now has?)

Backstage, Edge was greeted by a Slim Jim guy. He congratulates Edge on his wedding as we go to break.

-Commercial-

We are set to have some tag team action.

Match 7: The Miz & John Morrison v. Jesse & Festus
Bell rings and Festus goes crazy. Miz and Morrison quickly leave the ring until the referee gets the match under control. Jesse starts things off against Morrison. After exchanging a few words, Jesse manages to get in a nice back drop and tags in Festus. Festus quickly nails a loud throat thrust to Morrison. Festus then proceeds to connect with a sidewalk slam. Jesse and Festus then tag each other in and out and continue the beatdown on Morrison until the Miz manages to distract Jesse. The Miz is tagged in and he kicks Jesse several times. After Jesse kicks Miz back, he tags in Festus and he begins to clean house with numerous shoulder strikes and clotheslines. Festus tags in Jesse and we begin to see some nice sequences of tag team action. The end came when Festus layed Morrison out on the floor while the Miz hit the Reality Check on Jesse for the win. (Rating: 3.5/5. Talk about surprise matches. This was definitely one of them. I had actually wished this match gone on longer the way it had started. Some very fast, tag team action between both sides.)

Post-Match: Miz and Morrison celebrate in the ramp.

-Commercial-

JR and Foley go over the updated Great American Bash Card. It’s only 2 days away!

Justin Roberts is in the ring and he states that per order of Vickie and Edge, the next bout is going to be a brother vs. brother match.

The Hardy’s music plays and they come out together to a good reaction. On the stage area however, they grab the wedding cake and get it all over Chavo’s face. The entire family looks upset as we head to break.

-Commercial-

Match 8: Matt Hardy v. Jeff Hardy (Brother vs. Brother Match)
The bell rings and the two brothers shake hands and show respect to each other. They lockup with Jeff getting in a wristlock. This doesn’t last too long however as Matt reverses it into a headlock. Soon afterwards, the two go through a series of reversals with Matt finally grounding his younger brother with a hip toss. At this point, Matt smiles and let’s Jeff get back to his feet. They lockup again, but this time Matt quickly tricks Jeff and tries to roll him up for a 3 count. Jeff kicks out and as they both make it back to their feet, Matt tries a Twist of Fate. Jeff counters it and he tries connecting with a Twist of Fate of his own. Matt however pushes Jeff off, but Jeff climbs onto the ropes and connects with the Whisper in Wind. This time Jeff smiles and plays with the crowd a little bit. Jeff then proceeds to hit Matt with a few forearm shots and goes for the cover. Matt kicks out at 2. Jeff attempts an Irish whip, but Matt counters and throws Jeff over the top ropes. Jeff, however, manages to ‘skin the cat’ and get back into the ring. Matt sees the opportunity and clotheslines his brother out of the ring and onto the floor. Matt brings Jeff back into the ring and signals for the Twist of Fate. Jeff counters hit and rams Matt’s back into the turnbuckle. Jeff then connects with his signature dropkick to the sternum maneuver. He covers his older brother, but we get another 2 count. As they make it back up to their feet, Jeff gets caught in the side-affect position, but elbows Matt in the head. Matt charges at Jeff, but Jeff manages to catch Matt with the side-affect. Jeff Hardy now goes up to the top rope and attempts a Swanton Bomb, but Matt slides out of the way, as Jeff crashes onto the mat. Matt now goes up top and connects with a moonsault. Matt covers, but gets a 2 count. At this point, La Familia crashes the ring and puts a beatdown on both Hardys. The referee signals the match to be over.

Post-Match: The beatdown continues with Edge this time delivering a spear to both brothers. Crowd Boos as we head to break.

(Rating: 3.5/5. The match between the two brothers is always exciting. I just wish it hadn’t ended the way it did.)

-Commercial-

The Unexpected Gift!

We see The entire family in the ring with Edge on the mic.

Edge states that tonight really is the happiest day of his life and that words cannot describe how much he loves Vickie. Edge then tells Vickie that he had the production team produce a video just for Vickie.

The video plays and it’s a congratulations video.

Back in the ring, Vickie and Edge play around when suddenly, “Time to Play the Game!” hits.

Yes Triple H makes his way out with a rather large box enclosed in gift wrapper.

The King of Kings speaks and says that he can tell from the look on La Famili’a faces that they are not happy to see him out here. He says that’s understandable because he does have a reputation at wedding ceremonies. BUT, he does promise them that he is not secretly married to Vickie Guerrero. Triple H then says that he is out here tonight, because he wants to celebrate true love. He will show them how he feels with a few gifts that he has brought. Triple H then tells the guys to roll a video package. It rolls…

The video first shows Edge reading magazine when a knock is heard on the door. The guest appears to be Alicia Fox. She asks Edge where Vickie is and he responds by saying that she is out running errands. He then tells her that he invited Alicia to fix an appropriate schedule for the wedding. As they do so, Triple H asks the production crew to pause the video and they do so.

Triple H says that he can see the look on Edge’s face and that he is not pleased. Triple H then apologizes for the boringness and fast-forwards the video to an interesting part.

The video shows Edge and Alicia laughing together. Edge then tells Alicia to smell the white flower he has in his hands. She does. Edge then ‘smells’ something nice from Alicia.

The camera then shows Vickie looking a bit suspicious.

Back to the video, Edge compliments her and feels her shoulders. Edge then says that his ‘trapezoid’ feels locked and asks Alicia if she can help loosen it. Edge says that it’s getting stiffer. Triple H then asks the production crew to once again pause the video.

Vickie looks a little discomforted. Alicia covers her face. Edge then informs Vickie about his past neck surgeries and that he does have issues with his neck from time to time. Triple agrees with Edge and adds that a lot of men bring women when to give them massages when their wives are no where to be found. Edge says that he has had enough of this and orders Hawkins, Ryders, Neely, and Chavo to attack Triple H. Triple H said he thought something like this would happen which is why he brought another gift. Triple H takes out a sledgehammer from the big box he had brought. The guys stop going after him and Triple H tells the crew to continue on with the footage.

Edge is shown giving Alicia a back massage. They then talk about Vickie behind her back and it’s pretty insulting about her size, etc. Triple H pauses the video.

Triple H says that this is akward. The entire family looks confused. Vickie looks like she is about to cry and Edge looks angry. Triple H says that he is a bit embarrassed that he didn’t watch this earlier and that his third gift won’t be needed since Edge has got Vickie covered. It’s an underwear. Triple H then asks for the final part of the video.

It plays, and Edge is shown making out with Alicia.

Triple H laughs and leaves the wedding.

Vickie is irate. She shoves Edge and he leaves the ring. Vickie screams, “How Dare You!!!” as the show comes to a conclusion.

(Segment Rating: 5/5. Wow! Talk about an ending. That was one of the most entertaining segments I’ve seen in a while. Absolutely hilarious.)

Quick-Match Results:
-Match 1: Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins def. Finlay & Hornswoggle.
-Match 2: 4-on-1 Handicap Match Ends in a No-Contest
-Match 3: Natalya def. Cherry
-Match 4: Vickie Guerrero def. Cherry
-Match 5: Umaga def. Mr. Kennedy
-Match 6: Brian Kendrick def. Jimmy Wang Yang
-Match 7: Miz & Morrison def. Jesse & Festus
-Match 8: Matt Hardy vs. Jeff Hardy ended in a No-Contest


Smack of the Night: Matt Hardy v. Jeff Hardy

Impact of the Night: Great Khali delivering a thunderous choke bomb to Big Show

Overall, tonight was a good show. Too much Vickie/Edge segments, but it turned out to be good towards the end after Triple H made his presence felt. There is no doubt, the Kennedy/Umaga match could’ve been better. It is also good to note that the tag team division has seen some improvement over the past few weeks. Final Rating. 7/10.


Any questions, comments, or concerns can be sent to mik123@ymail.com



With the Great American Bash this Sunday, what will come about the WWE Championship match? And who will be the first SmackDown! WWE Women’s Champion? Tune in next week to Friday Night SmackDown! to find out.