Friday Night Smackdown!
Fridays 8/7 ET
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania


First off, I would like to inform everyone that Christopher Huynh has left the LOP team. He was the previous SmackDown! reporter and he did a fine job delivering over 20 reports for this site. Believe me when I say this, it takes a lot of time and commitment to deliver these reports. So I say thanks too all the previous reporters that worked for LOP. I won’t take too long covering this issue and will leave it to you guys if you ever decide you want to contact Christopher. His email is xchristopherhuynhx@yahoo.com.

Now to the news everyone is anxious about…

**Please note that due to time constraints, I quickly typed up the following report. I will mention the important parts of the matches and who won. This means that I will not be able to go into specific details tonight. Thanks in for understanding in advance.

Tonight on Friday Night SmackDown!, we will find out who will challenge Triple H for the WWE Championship at SummerSlam when a 6-Man Battle Royal takes place. Also, we will hear what Vickie has to say regarding Edge’s actions last week. Trust me, you will not want to miss this…



Before SmackDown! begins, we see clips of Edge cheating on Vickie from last week’s wedding.


SmackDown! video package plays as we are then welcomed by JR and Foley to another edition of Friday Night SmackDown!

MVP is in the ring and it looks like its VIP Lounge time.

MVP gives us his usual introduction with his “big things poppin, little things stoppin,” speech. He then gets down to business and introduces his guest to be none other than the charismatic enigma, Jeff Hardy.

Jeff Hardy received a great ovation from the crowd.

MVP informed everyone that tonight there is going to be a 6 man “Biggest Blockbuster of the Summer” Battle Royal featuring Jeff Hardy, Umaga, Mr. Kennedy, Great Khali, the Big Show, and of course, MVP himself. MVP then said that despite the competition, he is clearly the favorite to win the match.

Jeff, however thought otherwise as he questioned MVP’s ability by saying that the last time he was actually wrestling in a match, he lost the US title to Matt. Crowd Cheers for Hardy.

MVP responds by talking negative about Jeff being on the cover of the recent WWE Magazine. He further mentions the interview Jeff gave regarding his suspension earlier in the year and how his ‘trailer’ (house) burned down. MVP concludes his trash-talking by saying that is Jeff’s fault for not only the death of his dog, but constantly screwing up his career, and more importantly his life.

Out of frustration, MVP shoves Jeff out of the ring and gives everyone the intention that he is ready to fight.

(Segment Rating: 4/5. Good segment. To be honest, I think I speak for a lot of people when I say that MVP has too many VIP Lounge Segments than actually wrestling matches over the past few months. We get it for crying out loud that he is good on the mic.)

-Commercial-

“Ain’t No Stoppin Me Now!” hits and the Gold Standard, Shelton Benjamin makes his way down to the ring. He basically cuts a promo on how he won the US Title from Matt Hardy at the Great American Bash.

As for his opponent tonight, it’s Jimmy Wang Yang

Match 1: Shelton Benjamin v. Jimmy Wang Yang
This match was pretty good, despite Benjamin dominating Wang for the majority of the match. We saw the typical Yang offense with all the kicks and high flying maneuvers, but the end saw Benjamin overcome the strike attack and win via the PayDirt. (Match Rating: 3/5. These two define the term athleticism.)

Backstage we see Hawkins and Ryder approach Edge. Edge congratulates the two on successfully capturing the tag team titles at the Great American Bash. He then apologizes to them for what occurred last week, but they don’t really want to hear it. They say that it’s Vickie who needs the apology. They walk off as Edge looks on.

-Commercial-

We are ready for our next bout.

Match 2: Festus v. Curt Hawkins
As the bell rang, we saw Festus go into his unique trance rampage. He dominates Hawkins for quite a while until Hawkins gets a cheap shot in. The end result however saw Festus hit the Flapjack like maneuver for the victory.

Post-Match: The bell rings and this means Festus is ‘normal’ again. Ryder and Hawkins begin an assault on Jesse and threw him into the steel post. They then proceeded to hit Festus with an Edgecution.

(Match/Segment Rating: 3/5. I have always been a fan of Ryder and Hawkins as I see a ton of potential in them since day 1. It’s good that they are actually getting an opportunity now while setting themselves up with a credible rivalry.)

Backstage, Edge is talking to Alicia Fox, the wedding planner from last week. As they spoke to each other, Bam Neely can be seen spying on them. Edge tells Alicia that he has something he needs to tell her, but he will do so later on when no one is around.

-Commercial-

Match 3: Vladimir Koslov v. Stevie Richards
This bout was actually decently booked. Richards gave it all he had as the match saw numerous near falls. Richards tried taking down the leg of the Moscow Mauler, but Koslov eventually took him down with a series of grapple holds. In the end, just as it seemed like Richards was building momentum, Koslov struck with a ramming headbutt and got the 3 count. (Match Rating: 2.5/5. Pretty much the same thing we have seen over the past few weeks with some extra stuff. Nothing too spectacular though.)

The superstars make there way down to the ring. Khali is accompanied to the ring with Ranjin Singh.

Match 4: “Biggest Blockbuster of the Summer!” Battle Royal Match – Featuring: Big Show, The Great Khali, Jeff Hardy, MVP, Umaga, and Mr. Kennedy
Without question, this was the best match of the night. As the match got underway, the heavyweights stared the super-heavyweights down. Suddenly everyone began to attack everyone as the crowd roared in excitement. A few minutes into the match, MVP got eliminated after Jeff managed to clothesline him over the top rope. On the other side of the ring, we saw Big Show dominating as he hit a headbutt on Umaga which knocked him out of the ring. After this, Show grabbed Kennedy around his neck and manhandled him to the outside. With the three men left in the ring, we got to a point where we saw Khali and Show face to face. As they traded blows, Show got the better end of it as he managed to hit the chokeslam on Khali. When Show got up and turned around, Jeff gave Show a hurricanrana off the top ropes that sent Show flying over the ropes! Jeff, who kept his balance, eventually hit the Swanton Bomb on Khali, who was still suffering from the Chokeslam. The crowd was cheering insanely loud for Hardy at this point. As Jeff tried to get Khali out of the ring, Khali managed to suddenly flip Jeff over the ropes and pick up the win. (Match Rating: 3.5/5. This was a really good bout during the duration of the match. I wish it could have been longer. I realize my detail is still lacking for the bout and I encourage you to watch it yourself online if you get the chance.)

Post-Match: Triple H’s music hit and he made his way down to the ring. He had a brief staredown with Khali and eventually Khali backed away and left the ring.

-Commercial-

A video hyped the arrival of R-Truth aka Ron Killings.

We saw a clip that recapped McCool becoming the first Smackdown Divas Champion.

Match 5: Michelle McCool v. Maryse
A very short match that saw a balanced set of maneuvers from both divas. Nothing new was seen from this match as the end came when McCool locked in her leg submission hold for the win. (Match Rating: 2/5. To be honest, this match was poorly booked. It’s not necessarily McCool as I do think she has potential to be a highly profiled diva. Maryse on the other hand, I would like to see improve.)

Backstage, we see Chavo bringing Vickie into the arena. Bam Neely approaches them and tells them that there is something that is needed to be said in Vickie’s office.

-Commercial-

A video hypes the arrival of Maria coming to SmackDown! She debuts next week!

Back, we see Edge and Bam in a conversation. Edge tells Bam that he wants to apologize to her in the ring.

Brian Kendrick’s music hits and he makes his way down to the ring with Ezekiel. He grabs a mic and simply says that he is the fastest, most well trained, and smartest wrestler in WWE today. Eventually, he is interrupted by his opponent, Shannon Moore.

Match 6: Brian Kendrick v. Shannon Moore
Moments after the bell rang, we saw the two exchange a few holds. This match saw many counters in the following minutes with Kendrick eventually getting control of the match via outside interference. Kendrick connects with the Slice Bread No. 2 for the win. (Match Rating: 2.5/5. Another decent bout here. Kind of in shock that this was the main event match of the evening.)

In the back, we see Bam in Vickie’s office. Bam tells her that Edge wants to apologize in public.

-Commercial-

Edge’s Task!

The Rated R Superstar makes his way down to the ring and grabs a mic.

Edge says that he wants Vickie to make her way down to the ring, because he wants to apologize to her face to face.

Vickie is rolled down to the ring by Chavo and Bam. After they help Vickie into the ring, they leave.

Edge gets down on one knee and he tells Vickie that what he did last week was indeed horrible. He then goes to say that the video did not show how many times he refused to have physical contact with her...in other words, no means no. Edge continues by saying that he didn’t leave, because he wanted finish planning the wedding so that everything would be perfect for Vickie. He tells her that he cannot live without her love and attempts to kiss her, but she pulls away…

Vickie responded by saying, “What you have to understand is that hell hath no fury like a woman’s scorn.” She proceeds on by saying that while she was mad at Edge, she came to a decision…and that being reinstating the Undertaker!!!

At this point, Edge looked a bit worried. He suggested that she let Undertaker and Triple H beat the hell out of each other so that he could take the WWE Title from the victor of that feud.

Vickie responded by saying that wouldn’t be possible, because while she was angry at her husband, she also happened to make a match. She announced that at SummerSlam, Edge would take on the Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell match! The crowd goes absolutely crazy as Edge looks on in terror.

As the camera zooms into Edge’s scared face, the show rolls off the air…

(Segment Rating: 5/5. That’s a good segment. Finally, the Undertaker returns!)


Quick-Match Results:
-Match 1: Shelton Benjamin def. Jimmy Wang Yang
-Match 2: Festus def. Curt Hawkins
-Match 3: Vladimir Koslov def. Stevie Richards
-Match 4: Great Khali wins 6-man Battle Royal
-Match 5: Michelle McCool def. Maryse
-Match 6: Brian Kendrick def. Shannon Moore

Smack of the Night: Biggest Blockbuster of the Summer Battle Royal

Impact of the Night: The impact of the night would have to go to the announcement Vickie Guerrero made at the end of tonight’s broadcast. Bringing back the Undertaker brought the biggest pop of the night!

Overall, tonight’s show was okay. It could’ve definitely been better. I do realize all the main stars were stacked all together in one match, but that couldn’t have prevented a HHH match, could it? Ever since he went to the blue brand, we have seen very minimal action from the Game. Oh well, I guess one thing that benefits everyone is the return of the Undertaker which will hopefully spark higher interest. Final Rating: 6.5/10. (Worth a Watch. C)

Next week, per popular demand of fan requests, I will share a piece of my mind regarding the SmackDown! Spoilers that surf the internet. Be sure not to miss it!


Any questions, concerns, or comments will be appreciated at mik123@ymail.com.




Now that everyone knows the Phoneme will face Edge at SummerSlam in a Hell in a Cell Match, can we expect the Deadman to rise on SmackDown! next week? And what will the Cerebral Assassin, Triple H have to say regarding his Giant Punjabi challenge that awaits him? There is only one way to find out…Tune in next week to Friday Night SmackDown!