Posted in: Smackdown SmackDown! Report (06/26/09): Rage in the Cage
By MIK
Jun 26, 2009 - 11:59:22 PM
Friday 8/7 ET
Milwaulkee, Wisconsin
The opening montage plays and fireworks go off as JR and Todd Grisham welcomes everyone to another exciting edition of Friday Night SmackDown! JR then adds that tonight, 2 days before The Bash, Rey Mysterio will team up with Jeff Hardy to take on Chris Jericho and Edge in a Steel Cage. It is being called “Rage in the Cage.”
Justin Roberts then asks everyone to please welcome the Chairman of World Wrestling Entertainment, Mr. McMahon.
Mr. McMahon walks down to the ring looking very enthusiastic. He grabs a microphone and says that it sure does feel good to be back on SmackDown!
“What’s that smell?” Vince then asks. “What stinks so badly? I know what it is, we’re up here in Wisconsin or Cheese Country with a bunch of cheese heads. And somebody no doubt cut the cheese! No that’s not it. There’s an overwhelming stench in this arena. I know what it is; it’s the stench of fear. You people are afraid of me. You’re afraid of powerful people like me, you’re probably afraid of your boss—”
Vince then pauses and absorbs what the crowd has to say before further insulting them. He then shows a video package of himself firing Donald Trump from WWE.
“Well that would lead me to my guest right now; he is the General Manager of SmackDown! Theodore Long.”
Theodore Long makes his way down to the ring to a decent ovation. He grabs a microphone and welcomes Mr. McMahon to SmackDown! He then offers a handshake.
Mr. McMahon responds by saying, “Put your hand in your pocket and get that silly smile off your face. Now before I do what I have to do to you, I want you to tell me how you are going to entertain me tonight, tell me how your going to entertain all these people here tonight. What does Teddy Long have in store for us on SmackDown! tonight? And PLAYA!, it better be good!”
GM Long tells Mr. McMahon about the tag team cage match in store for later on tonight, but Vince wants something more so Long adds that the special guest referee for the steel cage match later on tonight will be the World Heavyweight Champion, CM Punk!
The crowd appears to very excited and so does Mr. McMahon, sorta.
Vince responds by saying that instead of firing Long on the spot, he will put him on probation. Long now appears a bit confused.
As Mr. McMahon prepares to leave the ring, R-Truth’s music hits.
Truth raps his way down to the ring like he usually does and asks various people, “What’s Up?” including Theodore Long and Mr. McMahon. Long responds to Truth, but Vince looks furious and doesn’t say anything.
(Segment Rating: 4/5. A little cheesy at first (No Pun Intended), but turned out to be rather okay. I must admit, this probation thing is a bit interesting.)
Todd Grisham informs everyone that R-Truth is in action next.
-Commercial-
With Truth still in the ring, Shelton Benjamin’s music hits and he come out with a microphone in hand. He speaks from the ramp as he slowly makes his way toward the ring.
Benjamin asks Truth, “Are we really going to do this again?” Benjamin then insults Truth’s education and background claiming that Truth is nothing but an underachiever. He then concludes that after he is done beating Truth, hopefully Truth will not only leave the WWE, but be out Benjamin’s life forever.
Truth looks frustrated and cannot wait for the referee to ring the bell.
(Segment Rating: 4/5. Good promo from Benjamin. Not the best, but one can certainly tell that he is improving!)
Match 1: Shelton Benjamin v. R-Truth
Truth starts off on the offensive as he tackles Benjamin down to the mat and strikes at him with several punches to the temple. This forces Benjamin to flee to the outside, but Truth follows him out there and decks him in the face once more. Benjamin quickly gets back in the ring and when Truth tries to do the same, Benjamin gets a knee shot to the abdominal area of Truth. Benjamin then teases an Irish Whip, but Truth winds up catching Benjamin with a spinning side kick. As Benjamin slowly gets up, Truth grabs him, but Benjamin holds onto the ropes. Benjamin quickly shoves Truth away and leaps onto the top ropes. As Benjamin comes down, Truth kicks Benjamin in the gut and attempts his signature Scissors Kick, but Benjamin nicely reverses it into a Samoan Drop. Truth gets right back up, but Benjamin hurls Truth out of the ring with an overhead belly to belly suplex.
-Commercial-
As we return from break, we see Benjamin in firm control of Truth as the Gold Standard has a modified sleeper hold applied. Just as Truth tries breaking free of the maneuver, Benjamin quickly sweeps the legs of Truth and gets a 2 count. Following the count, Benjamin jabs Truth in the head twice and proceeds to connect with a backbreaker into a bridge. Benjamin then releases the hold and applies an abdominal lock, but Truth turns it into a jawbreaker. However, as Grisham called it, Benjamin did not take long to retake control of the match as he managed to grab Truth and take him down to the mat with a neckbreaker. Following yet another near fall, Benjamin tries for a standing suplex, but Truth falls off and connects with a side Russian leg sweep. At last Truth starts to build momentum as he proceeds to ground Benjamin with a quick powerslam. Afterwards, Truth attempts an Irish whip, but Benjamin kicks Truth across the chest and connects with a German suplex. At this point, both men are slow to get back to their feet. Finally, Benjamin arises and he tries for a powerbomb, but Truth punches Benjamin in the head and falls off the Gold Standard. Immediately following this, Truth connects with the corkscrew flying elbow to score the 1, 2, 3.
Post-Match: Truth is holding his back in pain as he still tries to play to the crowd.
(Match Rating: 3/5. This bout featured some nice spots, but for some reason, didn’t seem to matter too much with the crowd. I still expect nothing but great things for both superstars)
Backstage Rey Mysterio is shown preparing for his cage match for later on in the night when Mr. McMahon and GM Theodore Long walk in. Mr. McMahon tells Mysterio that he wishes Mysterio luck for the The Bash, because there is a very good chance that Mysterio will lose the right to wear his mask. McMahon further adds that Jericho might be doing Mysterio a favor by unmasking him and Mysterio responds by saying something in Spanish. Mysterio walks off and McMahon seems irritated as to what Mysterio just said. Mr. McMahon then orders Long that from now on SmackDown! will feature only English.
Todd Grisham then hypes another scheduled match for later on tonight. It will feature John Morrison taking on the World Heavyweight Champion, CM Punk!
-Commercial-
WWE Did You Know? More people watched last Monday’s RAW than any episode in the last 7 years.
A shot of the steel cage that is suspended above the ring is shown.
Michelle McCool and Alicia Fox then make their way down to the ring. The following is going to be a divas tag team contest.
Melina and Gail Kim are then introduced to a nice ovation.
Match 2: Michelle McCool & Alicia Fox v. Melina & Gail Kim
Melina and Alicia Fox start things out. Fox tried for a slap from the get-go, but Melina took over quickly with body strikes as well as a kick to the face. Nice Aggressiveness. This led Fox to run to her corner and tag in McCool. They locked up, but McCool quickly got a cheap shot in and not long after McCool kicked Melina right in the face. Melina appeared to start crying from the pain. As Melina tried making it back to her feet, McCool ran and hit Melina’s face with her knee. Ouch! Finally, after a minute or so, Melina made the hot tag to Gail Kim and she started dominating the match up. Fox was tagged in, but Kim continued the pressure on the heels. Apparently a spot occurred where Fox made the blind tag to McCool. As Kim attempted a hurricanrana, McCool checked into the ring and hit the Faith Breaker for the win.
Post-Match: McCool and Fox celebrated up the ramp.
(Match Rating: 3/5. Fair divas match. Melina sold her face injury well and I actually enjoyed the ending where McCool came in and just grabbed Kim into the Faith Breaker. Not bad!)
Backstage, CM Punk was preparing for his match up next when Mr. McMahon and GM Theodore Long walked by. Vince asked Punk if he was still clean and if he gets high. Punk responded that he was clean and the only thing he gets high is off of destroying competition, similar to Vince himself. Punk walked off as an enraged Mr. McMahon yelled at Theodore Long.
-Commercial-
Great Khali vs. Dolph Ziggler was announced for The Bash.
Cryme Time and Eve hosted a segment entitled “Word Up,” it’s a segment that teaches slang terms. Today’s word was “jackin.” Obviously it means to steal something from someone. Jessee walked by in his ‘gansta’ uniform, but Cryme Time wasted little time in taking or “stealing” his golden necklace. Jessee was an example of “jackin.”
(Segment Rating: 1/5. I apologize, but these type of segments are irritating to me. I actually bet that I’m not the only one. I’d rather see a filler match that this!!!)
The Friday Night Delight, John Morrison, made his way down to the ring.
-Commercial-
The World Heavyweight Champion, CM Punk, was introduced as Morrison’s opponent.
Match 3: John Morrison v. CM Punk
To start things off, the two competitors shook hands as a sign of respect. After an early lock up, Punk quickly struck Morrison with a few kicks, but Morrison retaliated with a back kick to take control. Morrison then Irish whipped Punk to the corner and applied a modified chin lock. Punk quickly flipped forward to reverse the maneuver and Morrison stood up and hit a jaw breaker. Morrison tried for the Chuck Kick, but Punk ducked and then hit a powerslam. Punk worked strikes on Morrison and then hit his high knee in the corner, followed by the bulldog for two. Punk then lifted Morrison up for the GTS, but Morrison elbowed Punk across the side of the temple and then executed a nice German suplex.
-Commercial-
Back, Punk was in control of Morrison as Punk had a figure four head lock applied. Not long after, Morrison escaped and stood on the ring apron. Punk did a sunset flip to the floor and tried to powerbomb Morrison to the floor. Morrison dropped a knee to break the hold. Punk kicked Morrison’s feet out from under him in a stiff looking spot. Morrison kicked Punk and then hit a moonsault from the second rope on the floor. Morrison rolled Punk back in the ring and continued his assault. He hit several drop kicks and ran in for his knee to a sitting Punk, but Punk grabbed his leg and rolled into a single leg crab. Morrison made it to the ropes and Punk broke at four. Morrison hit the Chuck Kick out of nowhere for two. He went for Starship Pain, but Punk knocked his legs out and hit a back superplex for two. Punk lifted Morrison for GTS, but Morrison once again hit several elbows and slid down into a roll up. At two, Punk rolled through. Then again at two, Morrison kicked out and grabbed Punks arms in a pinning predicament. 1, 2, 2…Morrison wins!
Post-Match: Punk looked down on himself for losing the match. After Morrison was done celebrating, the two shook hands again, but this time, Punk pulled Morrison in and connected with the GTS!!! The crowd is in shock. Punk’s expression looks as if he just regretted what he had just did.
(Match Rating: 4/5. Remember these two guys from ECW? Man did they have some good battles and they continued to have yet another tonight. The GTS after the match caught me by surprise. Nice Touch!!!)
Backstage, Josh Matthews interviewed Chris Jericho. They talked some more about Mysterio unmasking. Jericho said that in the long run, he will be doing Mysterio a favor and that is why he will be Mysterio’s savior.
-Commercial-
JR and Todd Grisham discussed the The Bash card inside the ring.
Backstage, Mr. McMahon and GM Theodore Long approached Jeff Hardy. Mr. McMahon went over Jeff’s past and said that he hopes that at The Bash, Jeff Hardy would lose, because having him as World Champion would make SmackDown! look bad. Jeff didn’t want to hear any of it and said that Vince should look at what the fans have to say about that. As Jeff walked away, Mr. McMahon was frustrated that Jeff just told him off. He once again took out his anger on Theodore Long.
A glimpse of the cage being lowered was shown.
-Commercial-
The Special Guest Referee, CM Punk, made his way down to the ring.
The Charismatic Engima, Jeff Hardy, and Rey Mysterio made their entrances followed by Chris Jericho and Edge.
*Normal Tag Team Rules Apply. Tag’s must be made and if one person on either team escapes the cage with both feet touching the floor then his team will be declared the winner.*
Steel Cage Match
Main Event: Jeff Hardy & Rey Mysterio v. Chris Jericho & Edge
Jeff and Edge started things out. After a quick lock up between the two, Jeff managed to tackle Edge into the turnbuckle. Shortly thereafter, Jeff tagged in Mysterio and Mysterio splashed onto Edge. Mysterio then kicked a downed Edge a couple of times before we break.
-Commercial-
Back, Mysterio was pounding on Edge in the corner. Not long after, with Edge on the ropes, Mysterio teased a 619, but walked on Edge’s back and started climbing up the cage, but Edge stopped him. Mysterio came off the ropes and rolled up Edge for two. He tagged in Hardy. Hardy ran at Edge who tossed him over the ropes into the cage. Edge tagged in Jericho who locked in a rest hold. Jeff fought out and got the hot tag to Mysterio who hit the West Coast Pop and rolled through a sunset flip for two. Rey hit a hurricanranna that put Jericho on his butt in the corner. Mysterio did a baseball slide right between Jericho’s legs. Mysterio then whipped Jericho to the corner. Jericho ran up the turnbuckle and tried to escape. Mysterio caught him and hit him in the nuts again. Edge came in and picked Mysterio up in an electric chair setup. Hardy came in and made the save, and they rammed Edge’s head in between Jericho’s leg. Ouch, Jericho’s face expression was priceless. Mysterio then hit a hurricanranna for two. Mysterio then charged at Jericho, but Jericho flipped Mysterio into the cage as we went to out final break of the evening.
-Commercial-
Back, Jericho was in firm control of Mysterio as he smacked Mysterio in the head a couple of times before tagging Edge in. Edge set Rey face down on the second rope and choked him, followed by a splash on the back for two. Edge whipped Rey to the corner. Mysterio kicked up and hit another hurricanranna. Edge made a tag and Jericho stopped Rey. Jericho put Rey on the top turnbuckle and tried to take his mask off. Rey fought out, sending Jericho to the floor. Rey jumped off and Jericho hit a drop kick on him in the air. Rey tried to make a tag, but Jericho held his leg. Rey turned around and hit an isaguri kick on Jericho. Jericho made the tag and Edge got to Rey. He placed him on his shoulder and rammed him into the cage. He went for a second one, and Rey slid down and hit a DDT. Jericho tagged in and slapped Rey and taunted him. He whipped Rey to the ropes and tried to through him into the cage, but Rey caught the cage and tried to escape. Jericho caught him, but Rey kicked him to the mat and followed with a splash. Double hot tags led to Jeff working on Edge. Edge tried to spear Hardy, but Hardy jumped over him and the spear hit Punk. Jeff hit an immediate Whisper in the Wind and covered. Punk rolled around and counted. Edge kicked out at two and Hardy argued with Punk. Edge came in from behind and Jeff blocked his move and hit a front suplex. Jericho ran in and Hardy kicked him. Mysterio ran at Hardy who held him so Rey could do 619 on Jericho. Edge hit a big boot on Rey. Jeff tried for Twist of Fate, but Edge pushed him off. Jeff stood up facing Punk. He turned around and got speared. Punk, who seemed reluctant, made the 3 count.
Post-Match: The heels celebrated up the ramp as Mysterio slowly left the cage. With Jeff still down in the ring, Punk went outside as well and grabbed a microphone. Punk asked the crowd to give Jeff credit as he had just left everything he had in the ring. The crowd gave Jeff a round of applause.
(Match Rating: 4/5. It’s rare when a cage match is advertised on SmackDown! and for that reason, this match seemed special from the minute the bell rang. Add that to the fact that the wrestling was tremendous made this match that much better. Thanks for the cage match WWE!)
We then cut backstage where Mr. McMahon is with GM Theodore Long. Mr. McMahon seems pleased, but tells Long that he had better make sure that at The Bash, he better act as if his job depended on it.
Back in the ring area, Punk’s music plays as he holds up the World Heavyweight Championship to end the show.
Quick Match Results:
-Match 1: R-Truth def. Shelton Benjamin
-Match 2: Michelle McCool & Alicia Fox def. Melina & Gail Kim
-Match 3: John Morrison def. CM Punk
-Main Event: Edge & Chris Jericho def. Rey Mysterio & Jeff Hardy (Steel Cage)
Smack of the Night: Rage in the Cage
Very good show tonight! I’m impressed with the way SmackDown! has been presented in recent weeks. A rare cage match for the blue brand and it delivered. And on top of that, a superb match featuring Morrison and Punk. And on top of that, we get some more exposure from young talent like Benjamin and Truth in addition to a little better than average divas match. Things are looking bright for SmackDown! and it’s no secret why. Just wait until Undertaker and Kane find their way back to the show! Final Rating: 8.5/10.
Do you have any questions, concerns, or comments? If so, feel free to email me, MIK, at mik123@ymail.com
