Friday Night Smackdown
Smackdown starts off with the normal video package, recapping the major events that happened last week on Smackdown, where Mr. Kennedy decided to go over to Raw to have the opportunity to face CM Punk for the WWE Championship at Wrestlemania XXV. The video package starts off with what happened in the main event, where the youngster and United States Champion Ken Doane faced off against Triple H in a non- title match. It shows how early on in the match, Doane was surprisingly controlling the majority of the match, and on several occasions almost put the veteran Triple H away. It then shows HHH getting the advantage back, and then after a series of reversals, nails an Arn Anderson Spinebuster, leading up to the Pedigree. After what was the third attempt in the match, Trips finally managed to hit the Pedigree, but he was denied a pinfall victory after his fierce rival in Edge came charging out and gave HHH the victory through a disqualification. The video then shows what happened after the match where Edge destroyed the living shit out of HHH, with the aid of a steel chair. It then cuts to what has been the most talked about segment in quite a long time, where Mr. Kennedy made the choice as to who he would face at Wrestlemania for a World Championship, either World Heavyweight Champion John Cena or WWE Champion CM Punk. Kennedy then ran down his potential opponents before reasoning why he made this choice, before deciding that at Wrestlemania 25, Mr. Kennedy would face CM Punk for the WWE Championship, officially defecting to Raw! It then shows the aftermath of the Contract Signing, where Punk tried to ambush Kennedy, but it backfired and ended up getting the Mic Check for his troubles.
The opening video recap package then finishes, and after the usual opening video containing the Smackdown Superstars, we are not greeted by the Smackdown announcers, but instead by Smackdown General Manager Theodore Long! Teddy greets the fans with a traditional ‘Holla’, before he goes on to talk about his disappointment of last week where Mr. Kennedy decided that he would leave Smackdown for Raw to face CM Punk for the WWE Championship at Mania. Teddy then says as a result of this, Smackdown does not have their main event World Title match for Mania, but he then said that this would all change tonight, getting the crowd excited for what is going to come later tonight. Teddy then says that by the end of the night, Smackdown WILL have their main event World Title match set for Wrestlemania 25, as in tonight’s main event, 10 men would fight it out in an Over the Top Rope Battle Royal, where the winner would go on to face the World Heavyweight Champion John Cena at the Grandest Stage of them All, Wrestlemania 25! The crowd let out an enormous pop as Teddy finishes off with a ‘You can believe datâ€, before we cut out from Teddy’s office and then to the announcers, Michael Cole and Tazz. The announcers talk about how the massive main event joins already huge matches that are set for tonight’s show, including Ken Doane up against Gregory Helms where the winner would become the United States Champion and also win a spot in the Money in the Bank Ladder match, and also as announced on Raw, the big inter brand match-up between Triple H and Raw’s MVP. Tazz then says that he can’t wait for the main event, and to get this show on the road!
‘2 Z Top’ hits to a pretty large amount of heat, as none other than the former WWE Tag Team Champion Lance Cade makes his way out to the ring, ready for his one on one match up against a man that he has been having a lot of trouble with in the past, Jesse Dalton. They talk about how Cade changed Festus completely, making him in the demented state that we used to only see when the bell rung to signal the beginning of the match. The announcers then talk about what happened last week with Cade as we see video footage of what happened after Jesse and Festus defeated the team of Enforcement Inc., where Cade was seen watching on the monitor and smirking.
‘Biscuits and Gravy’ hits to a rather large pop as the crowd rise to their feet, knowing that this can only mean one thing, the arrival of the lovable and very unique tag team of Jesse and Festus. Jesse and Festus come out of the curtain, Jesse attempting to control Festus, who is trying desperately to get past Jesse and get into the ring. Jesse reminds Festus that Festus will not be competing tonight, but Jesse was. Festus seems to calm down a little bit as he takes a spot at ringside, as the announcers wonder if Cade’s smirk meant anything. Cade takes a quick look at the demented freak on the outside and takes a laugh, before turning his focus back to his real opponent for tonight, Jesse.
|Match 1|
|Jesse w/ Festus vs. Lance Cade|
The start of the match fares to be a pretty even contest, Lance trying to use his power to manipulate Jesse, but since he was often distracted by Festus by doing sill antics, Jesse always had time to recover and sometime even get the advantage over Jesse. At the five minute mark of the match, Cade nailed Jesse with a nasty lariat, biding himself enough time to once again tease Festus, this time putting his head in between the ropes and telling Festus to hit him, Festus knowing that if he does, he will get his partner Jesse disqualified. Cade then smiles and turns around, but when he faces Jesse, he is knocked down with a beautifully placed Dropkick, square on the chest of Cade! The crowd pops as Jesse once again takes control in the match, this time hopefully maintaining his advantage.
Jesse continued to work over Cade and his back, nailing a Back Body Drop and a move much similar to the World Heavyweight Champion John Cena’s Spin- Out Powerbomb. Jesse then bounced off of the ropes and nailed Cade with a knee drop right to the face. Cade gets up holding his face after Jesse’s knee was driven right into it, before Jesse pulled him into a front face lock, and then nailed a Swinging Neckbreaker! The crowd popped as Cade once again was grounded as Jesse then decided to wait for Cade to get up this time, and once the former Tag Team Champion got up, Jesse swung him around so his back was facing Jesse, before nailed Cade with a German Suplex! The crowd popped once again, before Jesse went up to the top rope.
Once Jesse got to the top rope, he attempted to balance without any hands, and once he did, he braced himself, before going for a Leg Drop to the back of the head of Cade. However, once Jesse did leap off, Cade moved away, causing Jesse to smack his legs and ass against the canvas! The crowd gave heat as Cade once again got the advantage, as Cade quickly lifted Jesse up, only to cop a Jawbreaker! The crowd pops as Cade stumbles into the referee, before Jesse runs off the ropes, only TO BE HIT IN THE BACK WITH A LEAD PIPE BY A MASKED MAN! The crowd erupts in heat as the referee didn’t see it as he recovered from Cade running into him, and a magically recovered Cade nails the Cade Bottom (his Sitout Spinebuster move TBH)!! Cade then covers and the referee counts the three, as the masked man then gets into the ring.
|Winner: Lance Cade|
The crowd are shocked as a murmur goes throughout the crowd, wondering who the masked man could be. Festus then runs into the ring and attempts to save the day for Jesse by running into the ring and attempting to get the masked man, only for Cade to attempt to take him out with a Chop Block, which Festus no sells. Festus then turns his attention back to Cade, but this proves to be the wrong decision, as the masked man then takes Festus out with a shot to the back of his head with one of the lead pipes he had with him. The masked man then throws one of the pipes over to Cade, who then starts bashing away at the leg of Festus with the lead pipe! The crowd groan in disappointment at two of their favourites being decimated, as the masked man then decides that it is time to reveal himself to the world. The masked man then takes off the mask, as it is revealed to be none other than Cade’s former partner and also a former WWE Superstar, MARK JINDRAK! The crowd immediately recognise the man that used to be associated with Kurt Angle, as Jindrak then waits for a hurt Jesse to get up, and once he does, he smacks him in the face with the lead pipe! The crowd once again start booing the shit out of Cade and Jindrak, who once again embrace in the middle of the ring, seemingly a tag team once again.
|Commercial Break|
We return from the break with a ‘Before the Break’ video package, where we see a masked man attack Jesse with a lead pipe as he bounces off of the ropes, giving Cade the win. The man and Cade then destroy both Jesse and Festus, and the masked man then shows himself to be none other than Mark Jindrak, a former partner of Cade’s. Cade and Jindrak are then shown walking backstage as soon as the video finishes, congratulating each other on destroying Jesse and Festus here tonight. As Cade and Jindrak are walking, we see Smackdown backstage interviewer and Diva Maria rushing up to them, asking them why they did that to Jesse and Festus, and asks Jindrak how it feels bring back in the WWE once again. Jindrak takes the microphone off of Maria, only answering the first question that Maria had asked him. Jindrak said that he was watching Smackdown at home one day, and was disgraced to see what the Smackdown tag team division had come to, being run by Mexican Cruiserweights, and demented freaks being their runners up. He then said that he saw what Cade did to Festus, and he thought to himself that Cade needed some help in ‘cleaning up the division’, so he decided to return and help him out. Jindrak then put all of the Smackdown tag teams on notice, as he said that what they saw before was just an example of what they will do to every single tag team on this roster, so they better watch out, as Cade and Jindrak are the next WWE Tag Team Champions. Cade and Jindrak leave the scene to a ton of heat, as we go back to the announce table.
Tazz talks about how that this team is a force to be reckoned with, as they just destroyed both members of an established tag team, and that if they did that to a monster, he wonders what they can do to the much smaller Cruiserweight Tag Team Champions. Cole talks about what a despicable act that was, and how he hopes that the new team on the block gets what is coming to them, and that they now know what Cade was smiling about last week after Jesse and Festus’ match. Cole then says that it is time to move on with the show, as he then says that he can reveal the ten superstars that will be in tonight’s main event, where the winner will face John Cena at Wrestlemania XXV for the World Heavyweight Title. Cole then reads out the names from a list of paper, and the names are in this order: Triple H (who has to face MVP before the Battle Royal), Edge, Bryan Danielson, Matt Hardy, JBL, the Big Show, Kofi Kingston, Batista, Umaga, and also a man that Teddy Long said that he wants to keep secret until the Battle Royal starts, but the only thing he said was that it was a major acquisition. Tazz then says that he is pumped for tonight, and after the break, it gets even better, as the former 12 Time World Champion Triple H takes on Monday Night Raw's Montel Vontavious Porter!
|Commercial Break|
‘I’m Comin’ hits to big heat as soon as we return from the break, as Raw’s Montel Vontavious Porter makes his way down to the ring, flanked by his Two Man Dynasty counterpart Randy Orton and also Triple H’s rival, Edge. MVP seems very confident and cocky with his two buddies next to him, knowing that he has strength in numbers for this match. Porter, Randy and Edge all hop into the ring, as MVP gets onto the top rope and poses. MVP then gets off of the top rope and bounces off the ropes, before doing his signature ‘Ballin’ taunt, getting heat from the crowd and applause from Rated RKO. MVP then looks towards the entrance ramp, where he knows that HHH will be making his entrance.
‘Time to Play the Game’ then hits to a monstrous reaction, as ‘the Game’ Triple H makes his way to the ring, water bottle in hand. HHH does his classic water spitting thing on the entrance ramp instead of on the apron, as he then begins to make his way down to the ring for his match against MVP. Triple H makes his way down the entrance ramp and claps hands with the fans in the crowd, but this turns out to be a huge mistake, as he is jumped by Edge and the Two Man Dynasty before the match can even start! The crowd let out a ton of heat, as this was what Edge, MVP and Orton must have been planning on Raw after their confrontation with Shane McMahon!
The three on one mugging on Triple H continues for quite some time, as the dickheads in the crowd begin to chant for Shawn Michaels to come to the aid of HHH, but HBK is nowhere in sight. Trips continues to get mugged as his back is continuously rammed up against the security guard rail, as MVP then goes for his Running Boot up against the guard rail, but it is blocked by the ever resilient HHH, who begins to make a comeback of sorts. The comeback is unsuccessful, however, as the numbers game proves way too much for the King of Kings. Edge is then about to hit a Spear on Triple H, before Teddy Long makes his way onto the big screen, saying that if Edge lays a hand on HHH, he will be thrown out of the Battle Royal later tonight! Edge grits his teeth and is pissed off, but in the background, MVP is heard screaming that he can’t do anything to MVP and Randy, as he isn’t their boss. Long quickly cuts off MVP before he and Orton can go back to work on HHH, saying that he just got off the phone with Raw GM Shane McMahon, who said that if you touch him once more, you will neither get a WWE Championship opportunity! Orton and MVP are pissed off as Edge and the Two Man Dynasty leave through the curtain, happy for what they just did to Triple H. Cole and Tazz talk about what we just saw, and Tazz said they must have done this to soften up Triple H for the Battle Royal later tonight, so Edge can get slightly better chances at winning the match and heading to Wrestlemania to face John Cena for the World Heavyweight Title.
|Commercial Break|
When we return from the break, ‘In the Middle of it Now’ is playing over the speakers, as we see Curt Hawkins warming up in the ring, ready for his upcoming match. Zack Ryder has taken his spot on the outside of the ring, where he will surely look to make a difference in this match to get his tag team partner the win. Hawkins looks prepared for this upcoming match, as we then see a replay of Evan Bourne’s debut last week, who is Hawkins’ opponent tonight. It shows how Bourne dominated the majority of the match against the Miz, before putting him away with a Shooting Star Press off of the top rope, which Cole called the ‘Air Bourne’.
‘Axeman’ then hits over the loudspeakers to a surprisingly loud pop from the crowd, as the ever exciting Evan Bourne makes his way out to the ring for the second match in his career. An enthusiastic Bourne slaps hands with the fans in the first row down near the entrance ramp, as Bourne has seemed to already gotten over with the crowd with his incredible debut performance last week. Bourne then gets into the ring and then poses on the top rope, before hopping down and he casts his eye on his opponent tonight in Hawkins.
|Match 2|
|Evan Bourne vs. Curt Hawkins w/ Zack Ryder|
The match starts off different to last week, where Bourne surprised the Miz in the early going, as Hawkins attempted to keep the high flying Cruiserweight grounded at the start of the match, but he found it to be no easy task. Bourne used his incredible speed to dodge most of Hawkins’ moves and nailing his own, such as a Springboard Crossbody and a Tornado DDT from the second rope. Bourne then went for a quick Air Bourne to finish off the match, only for Hawkins to get up quicker than expected from the Tornado DDT and knock the ropes, causing Bourne to crotch himself on the top rope. Hawkins then throws Bourne off of the top rope and begins smirking, but once he turns around, just like last week against the Miz, Bourne hit Hawkins with a Kip Up Hurricanrana!
The crowd pops for the exciting youngster taking control in the match quite loudly, as Bourne seems to be winning over the crowd with his pace and fascinating moves. Bourne then waits for Hawkins to get up, and once he does, he runs at him, going for a Head scissors Takedown, only for Hawkins to catch him in a Tombstone Piledriver position. Bourne senses danger, however, so he flips Hawkins through into a Victory Roll cover, getting a long two count. A shocked Hawkins quickly gets up and charges at Bourne, only for Bourne to duck under him and Hawkins bounce off of the ropes. Once Hawkins does get back to Bourne, he is nailed with a Springboard Dropkick from the other side from Bourne, who had bounced off the ropes opposite. Bourne then quickly dragged Hawkins over to the corner and went to the top rope, before this time connecting with the Air Bourne! The crowd pops at the scintillating display of high flying action, before climbing over for the cover and getting the win!
|Winner: Evan Bourne|
Evan is once again ecstatic after going over one of the established Superstars on the Smackdown roster, as Ryder sneakily enters the ring and attempts to show his partner who it is done, by attacking Bourne from behind. The crowd scream for Bourne to turn around as Ryder pounces at Bourne, only for Bourne to duck under an attempted Clothesline by Ryder. Bourne then waits for Ryder to run around, as Bourne then nails Zack with a huge and perfectly placed Hurricanrana! The momentum sends Zack flying out of the ring, leaving Bourne in the ring only with an incapacitated Hawkins, as Bourne can now comfortably celebrate his victory.
|Commercial Break|
Once again we are backstage, this time with the beautiful Eve Torres standing by, getting ready for her first interview of the night. Torres then says to interview her guest tonight, a man who we have already seen tonight, he is the ‘Rated R Superstar’ and former World Heavyweight Champion, Edge! The crowd give out huge heat for the man that destroyed Triple H earlier tonight, and the two men that helped him in Raw’s Randy Orton and Montel Vontavious Porter come in with him. Eve says that she has just come from Smackdown GM Teddy Long’s office, who said that Triple H will be able to compete in the Battle Royal later tonight. Eve then asks Edge how he thinks he will fare in the Battle Royal later tonight with all of Smackdown’s other top stars, before the microphone is taken off of her by MVP. Porter then says that that was a stupid question to ask, as she knows, Theodore Long knows and the whole of the Smackdown roster knows that Edge is better than all of them. Porter then says that what they did to Triple H was just an example, and also what they did to Shawn Michaels on Raw was an example, and that they proved to Triple H and to Shawn Michaels that the Dynasty is BETTER THAN YOU! The Dynasty then leave the scene with grins on their faces, as the camera fades away to ringside, where we once again to Michael Cole and Tazz, who talk about the cockiness of the Dynasty.
As Smackdown hits the one and a quarter hour mark, we go backstage to the locker room of Ken Doane, who is warming up before his huge match up against Gregory Helms, which is up next. The announcers talk about how this match is massive for Doane, as it could book him to his first ever Wrestlemania match, and if he wins the Money in the Bank Ladder Match at Mania, it would be a huge step in winning his first World Heavyweight Championship. We then cut to none other than Gregory Helms’ locker room, who is seen taping up his wrists before warming up much like Doane did. The announcers talk about how Helms is no stranger to being a champion, as he has held many championships in the past such as the World Tag Team Championships, and he was also the WWE Cruiserweight Champion for almost a year. It then goes to a split screen as both men go out of their locker rooms, LaRouche and Rycklon stay behind surprisingly, Doane seemingly wanting to do it on his own. Helms and Doane are then seen walking down a separate hall way, as Cole says that up next, for the United States Title and for a spot in the Money in the Bank Ladder match, will be Gregory Helms facing off against the US Champion Ken Doane.
|Commercial Break|
We return from the break, where a video package plays, highlighting the feud between Gregory Helm and the United States Champion Ken Doane, which started in late October of 2008, where Helms revealed that he was sick and tired of Doane hyping himself up and calling himself a ‘Natural Born Talent’, leading to the face turn of Helms. It then shows clips of the Survivor Series Elimination match with the two as team captains, where Doane and his bodyguards comes out on top against Helms and Jesse and Festus. The feud then dies down in December after Doane had qualified for the World Heavyweight Championship Elimination Chamber, as Helms was rarely seen on Smackdown. After the US Champion was unsuccessful in winning the World Championship, Helms then returned to Smackdown and the feud resumed, Helm picking up various wins against Doane in tag team matches, and also in a non title bout after a Shining Wizard. Helms was unsuccessful the next week against Doane after the United States Champion had to resort to dirty tactics. It has the pairs face off during the Rumble match, where Helms sacrificed himself by hitting Doane with a cross body, sending both men over the top rope and to the floor. It then shows the Number 1 Contender’s match from last week where helms faced Kofi Kingston, where Helms came out victorious to have the right to face Doane tonight for the WWE United States Championship, and also the opportunity to participate in the Money in the Bank Ladder match.
‘Firestorm’ then hits over the loud speakers once the video package finished to a very loud pop, as the former Superhero, World Tag Team and Cruiserweight Champion Gregory Helms makes his way down to the ring, hoping to add to his list of titles here tonight, and in the process book himself a spot at Wrestlemania. Helms slaps hands with the fans before he gets into the ring and doesn’t even bother to pose on the top rope, as Helms knows how important this match is to him, knowing that it is a major step towards him winning his first major World Title in the WWE.
‘Pure Control A’ then hits over the loud speakers to surprisingly a massive load of heat, as the man that came up just short against Triple H last week and the current United States Champion Ken Doane heads down to the ring, knowing that it is all or nothing in this match. The ‘Natural Born Talent’ does exactly opposite of what his opponent tonight in Helms did, as the United States Champ started bad mouthing the fans at every opportunity on his way to the ring, before he arrogantly posed on the top rope with his United States Championship. Doane then kissed his beloved title before giving it to the referee (a kiss goodbye perhaps?), as Helms and Doane then stare each other down, hoping that they will be the next one to join Rey Mysterio in the Money in the Bank Ladder Match, and head into it as the United States Champion.
|Match 3|
|United States Championship Match|
|Money in the Bank Qualifying Match|
|Gregory Helms vs. United States Champion Ken Doane|
The match starts off with both most fighting it out for the advantage, both men knowing each other’s styles so well, causing a stalemate between the two Superstars. Doane is backed into the corner only to bitch slap Helms, causing Gregory to get extremely pissed off. Helms unloaded with left and right hands to all of Doane’s body, as referee Charles Robinson has to pull Helms off of Doane. Helms then gets off and once Doane gets out of the corner, Helms hits him with an Atomic Drop, before nailing him with a Tilt a Whirl Backbreaker! The crowd pops at Helms taking control, as Helms then goes over towards the ropes. Once Doane does get up, Helms bounces off of the middle rope, going for a Springboard Crossbody much like Bourne did earlier in the night, only for Doane to nail Helms with a dropkick to the chest on his way down! The crowd immediately erupts in heat as one of the least favourite Superstars on the Smackdown Roster takes advantage in his match.
Doane then worked over the back of Helms as he slowed the match down a lot after the very fast couple of opening minutes, using various submission holds and back breakers in an attempt to wear down the Cruiserweight. Whenever Helms would look to make a comeback, the classical heel in Doane would just knock Helms down with a simple move such as a clothesline and then ferociously attack the back of Helms, draining him of all momentum. Doane then locked Helms into a Boston Crab, but after sustaining a fair bit of pain in the hold, Helms managed to get to the ropes. Doane got off at the count of 4, and he went for a Dropkick to Helms once he had gotten up, only for Helms to hold onto the ropes and Doane crashed and burned! The crowd once again pops for Helms, as he then nails Doane with a running senton to the sternum!
Helms then bounces off of the ropes once Doane gets up and looks to get back into the match by hitting Doane with a Lariat, only for Doane to duck and Helms hit the referee! Helms is in shock as the Charles Robinson crumples after the move, as Doane goes behind a shocked Helms and hits him with a sick Neckbreaker! Doane then smirks as he knows that this is a good chance to put Helms away for good and advance to the Money in the Bank Ladder Match, as he then lifts the longest reigning Cruiserweight Champion in history up, before going for the RK- Doane! The crowd erupts in heat knowing that Helms is in trouble if Doane connects, but Helms also senses danger, as he then reverses the tables by nailing Doane with a Back Suplex, dropping Doane right onto his upper back! The crowd pop Helms getting back into the match after the desperation Back Suplex, as the crowd now know that this may be Helms’ chance to get back into the match and defeat Doane once and for all.
Both Helms and Doane get up with the referee still down after the massive inadvertent Lariat by Helms, as Doane charges at Helms, only to be hit with a kick to the gut, and then a Snap DDT! The crowd pops at Helms once again knocking Doane down once again, as Helms then braces himself, going for the Shining Wizard, only for Doane to duck under the move, and then nail Helms with a Scoop Slam once he had gotten up. Doane then headed up to the top rope and waited for Helms to get up, most likely looking for his signature Doane- Nation Flying Clothesline. After Helms had recovered from the Slam, he got up and turned around, but when Doane went for the aerial attack, he was caught by Helms and then trapped into the legendary Crippler Crossface! The crowd erupts at the move, knowing that this may put Doane away for good, as Helms applies the pressure like crazy!
Surprisingly, the majority of the crowd begin a ‘Benoit’ chant as the announcers don’t even dare to say the name of the man that made the move famous, knowing that they are at a huge risk of getting fired (especially Cole, no one likes him). Helms applies even more pressure to the hold, as secondary referee Mickey Henson runs down the ramp and into the ring, seeing if Doane will tap. In the meantime, Charles Robinson gets up and also watches the submission carefully, as Doane stays in the submission for a full minute, before turning both he and Helms over, causing Helms’ shoulders to be on the mat! Mickey Henson sees that Helms’s shoulders are down whereas Robinson is still worried about the submission hold, not noticing that Helms’ shoulders are down! Mickey Henson counts the pin! 1...DOANE CAN’T HOLD ON ANY LONGER! ...2... DOANE TAPS OUT! ...3! Controversy occurs, as Doane taps out at the exact moment of the three!
|Winner: ???|
Doane raises his arm jubilantly, thinking that he has won the match, as the secondary referee Mickey Henson raises the arm of Doane to much heat from the crowd, but the original referee Charles Robinson raises the arm of Helms, thinking that Doane had tapped out before the three count. The two referees then had a tug of war over the United States Championship, as the Smackdown General Manager Theodore Long makes his way out and asks for the replay, and we see in slow motion that Doane had tapped out the Crossface at the exact time that Henson had counted the three. Long then said that he had thought it over and had a way to resolve this, and that was that in the result of a no contest in a title match, unfortunately for Helms, the champion retains his championship! Helms kicks the bottom rope out of anger as he didn’t get the championship and Doane acts as though he has just won the World Championship and rips his title out of the referee’s hands, as the crowd are still wondering what will happen with the spots in the Money in the Bank Ladder match. Long answers the crowd’s question, saying that since there was no distinct winner, BOTH men will advance to the Money in the Bank Ladder match! The crowd erupts into a huge mixed reaction, unhappy that Doane got both cases of what he wanted, but happy that Helms has his chance in the Money in the Bank Ladder match. Teddy then leave as the announcers discuss these recent developments, as we then go to a commercial break.
|Commercial Break|
Once we return from yet another commercial break, we have another ‘Before the Break’ video package, where we see the disputed final minutes of the Helms vs. Doane match where the winner won the United States Title and also advanced into the Money in the Bank Ladder match. It shows how Helms cleverly reversed an attempted Doane- Nation into a Crossface! It shows Doane suffering in the devastating submission hold for more than a minute, before managing to roll over, causing Helms shoulders to be down on the mat. The first referee is still carefully looking at Doane in the submission, not realising that Helms’ shoulders are on the mat, whereas the secondary referee saw Helms’ shoulders down for the three count and counted the pin. Once the three count was counted, Doane tapped out at the exact moment causing the disputed finish. It then shows Teddy Long’s announcement about both men advancing to the Money in the Bank Ladder match and Doane keeping his title as a result of a no contest. We return ‘live’ (not exactly live as it is Smackdown) where we see Doane celebrating backstage, once again looking as though he has won the World Title. His bodyguards Rycklon and LaRouche come up to him and hoist him onto their shoulders, as they once again run into Theodore Long. Doane rudely asks what the Smackdown GM wants, as Long says that he forgot to announce that next week, as a result of the disputed finish in the United States Title match, Long had decided to give the two a warm up match for the Money in the Bank Ladder match, next week on Smackdown, for the United States Title would once again be Gregory Helms challenging Doane, but this match would be a Ladder match! The crowd erupts into a huge pop, as the bodyguards place Doane down as Long walks off, as the three men are extremely pissed off at what they just heard.
After we see this, the camera cuts to the locker room of the Reformed Cabinet, consisting of only JBL and the “Hired Help†the Big Show. Big Show begins to get annoyed as JBL delivers the promo goodness that he can only deliver, talking about how tonight, JBL will win the 10 man Battle Royal tonight (to which Big Show looks annoyed to in the background), go on to face that ‘no good punk’ Cena (despite both being heels) and then going on to once again win the World Championship at Wrestlemania 25. Big Show has a smirk on his face, as Bradshaw turns around and says that he knows, JBL will once again be the best World Champion in history, with Big Show helping him on his quest tonight by eliminating everybody else in the Battle Royal. Big Show lets out a large snort, obviously thinking that it is every man for himself and the last thing on his mind is help Bradshaw win the World Title, knowing that the World Title is the most important thing in this business. JBL looks pissed off at the Big Show seemingly not wanting to go through with the plan and win the match for himself, as the crowd pops at Big Show being defiant and disobeying JBL’s orders. JBL storms out and orders the Big Show to follow him, as Show leaves the room, ready to make his entrance for the main event. The camera then fades to the live arena, as we go to the entrance ramp.
The whole arena is silent as they await the arrival, before ‘My Time is Now’ then hits on the loud speakers to MASSIVE heat, as the World Heavyweight Champion for the past four months in John Cena makes his way down the ramp with a smirk on his face, but he doesn’t go into the ring, instead going around to the commentary table to join in the announcing of the match where the winner will face Cena at Wrestlemania 25 for the World Heavyweight Championship. Tazz greets Cena with a handshake which Cena accepts, but when Cole offers one to the World Champ, Cena just looks at the hand before sitting down on his chair. Cena says that no matter what happens tonight, whoever wins this Battle Royal will be unsuccessful at Mania, as the Champ would still be here. We then fade to a commercial break, where some entrances would be made.
|Commercial Break|
Once we return from another commercial break, sure enough Superstars had already made their entrances, them being Umaga, Kofi Kingston, Matt Hardy and Bryan Danielson was the last one to make his entrance during the break, as ‘the Final Countdown’ continued to play over the speakers. Each man had taken a respective corner, Umaga looking like a savage beast and wanting to attack Kofi, whereas the current rival Hardy and Danielson stared holes through each other, waiting for the bell to ring so they could literally destroy each other. ‘Longhorn’ then played over the speakers to huge heat as the tandem of the Big Show and John Bradshaw Layfield made their way down to the ring, JBL acting as if nothing happened between the two before Cena’s entrance before the break. Cena gives his expert analysis on the two, saying that he has already ‘been there and done that’, which was defeating the Big Show at Wrestlemania 20 for the United States Title, and then defeating JBL at Wrestlemania 21 the next year to win his first major title, the WWE Championship.
‘I Walk Alone’ then hits to a massive pop, as the man that challenged John Cena for the World Championship at the Royal Rumble in Batista makes his way to the ring, knowing that this may be his last chance at once again getting a shot at Cena and his World Title. They show Cena talking at the announce table, talking about his win over Batista two weeks ago at the Royal Rumble, once again saying that he has proved he can beat this man and will retain his title at Wrestlemania if Batista is the winner of the Battle Royal tonight. Batista does his traditional ‘Machine Gun’ pyro to a pop from the fans as he then makes his way into the ring, all of the six men in the ring staring him down as JBL stares daggers through him, as the announcers highlight their previous rivalry six months ago.
‘Metalingus’ then hits over the loud speakers to massive heat, as one third of the men that destroyed Triple H earlier tonight in Edge makes his way into the ring, knowing how important this match is if he is to become the World Heavyweight Champion once again. Cena makes his expert analysis once again, this time on Edge, talking about their rivalry throughout all of 2006, where Cena defeated him in 1 on 1 matches, Tag Team matches, Special Referee matches, Tables, Ladder and Chairs matches and also a Steel Cage match.
The arena goes silent once more as the camera pans around the arena, before for the second time in the night, ‘Time to Play the Game’ hits to a MASSIVE pop, as a seemingly recovered Triple H makes his way to the ring, not doing his signature entrance as he is intent on getting his hands on Edge tonight. Cena talks about how in 2006, Cena was successful over HHH on all occasions, including at Wrestlemania 22 and also at Backlash, where he defeated both HHH and Edge in a Triple Threat match to successfully retain his WWE Championship. Triple H gets into the ring and stares right into the eyes of Edge, who quickly retreats and slides under the bottom rope and outside of the ring.
Once Triple H gets into the ring, the nine planned Superstars are in the ring, as the crowd knows that it is time for the arrival of Theodore Long’s mystery Superstar. Long then appears on the titantron, saying that it is now time to reveal who he has stolen from right onto Raw’s nose, getting back at them for getting Mr. Kennedy last week. Long then says he has looked into this Superstars contract, and found out that it had expired whilst he was out with injury. Long then says that this man is a veteran of this business, a former World Champion and also a former Smackdown Superstar. Long then says that Cena better watch out if this man wins the Battle Royal tonight, as you will found he is very hard to beat at Wrestlemania.
The camera then cuts away from Teddy’s office as we see Cena’s shocked expression, as the crowd erupts into a huge pop, as several people in the ring look very worried, knowing who it is. The crowd erupts once Teddy says that he is very hard to beat at Wrestlemania, before ‘Rollin’ hits to a immense pop, as THE UNDERTAKER makes his way out of the curtain and down on his bike as if nothing happened, as the camera cuts to a shocked Cena, obviously surprised more so than everyone else, unsure of how he will prepare for the Undertaker if he does win tonight in the Battle Royal. Edge is still on the outside as the camera then cuts to him, as the announcers talk about Edge’s and the Undertaker’s rivalry stemming from the end of 2007 and throughout the first six months of 2008, including the last Wrestlemania’s main event, in which the Undertaker was of course successful.
|Main Event|
|Number 1 Contender’s Match|
|Winner faces John Cena at Wrestlemania XXV for his World Heavyweight Championship|
|Umaga vs. Triple H vs. the Undertaker vs. the Big Show vs. Matt Hardy vs. JBL vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Edge vs. Bryan Danielson vs. Batista|
(For the last couple of eliminations, I will write in a little bit of detail, but for the opening ones, I will just say how they were eliminated and by who, laziness tbh)
1st Elimination
Kofi Kingston was eliminated after being viciously thrown over the top rope and to the floor by the ‘Samoan Bulldozer’ Umaga.
2nd Elimination
Umaga was eliminated by the biggest man in the match the Big Show and JBL, after Show and Umaga were brawling, and JBL helped out and eliminated Umaga.
3rd Elimination
Straight after eliminating Umaga, the Big Show went right to where Matt Hardy and Bryan Danielson were brawling, as he shoved Danielson away and attempted to eliminate Hardy, but the resilient Matt held on. The Big Show got extremely annoyed and gave Matt a Chokeslam, before out of nowhere, JBL NAILED SHOW WITH A CLOTHESLINE FROM HELL, sending him over the top rope and to the floor! The crowd give heat at JBL getting one over the Big Show, as the Reformed Cabinet looks to be over!
4th Elimination
A very pissed off Big Show got up off of the mats, shocked that the man that he had partnered with for the last six months eliminated him, dashing his hoped of becoming World Champion again. JBL smiled at the Big Show but made the ultimate mistake by turning away, as Show then got into the ring, and nailed JBL with a Big Boot! The crowd popped at Show pulverising JBL, as he then lifted him up like a rag doll and threw him over the top rope and to the floor! Once JBL had been eliminated, Big Show got out of the ring, before lifting Bradshaw up, only to get a Low Blow! JBL then rammed the head of Show into the steel steps, but before he could recover, he ran to the back.
5th Elimination
With 6 men left in the ring, all took off in pairs, Hardy back with Danielson, Triple H with Edge and the Undertaker with Batista. Danielson and Hardy was the key focus at this point, Danielson on so many occasions almost eliminating Hardy. However, at the 15 minute mark of what had been a very exciting match, Danielson went for a Butterfly Suplex right near the ropes, only for an aware Hardy to back drop Danielson, all the way over the top and to the floor.
6th Elimination
Right after being eliminated by his furious rival in Hardy, Danielson began destroying everything in sight, slapping the protective mats and kicking the steel steps. On the other side of the ring 2 minutes after Danielson had been eliminated (he was still outside the ring), Edge went for a Spear to HHH, only to be hit with a Double A Spinebuster. Hardy then got up and went to HHH, but an aware HHH caught him with a stiff right hand. HHH then whipped Hardy towards the ropes, and Hardy went over the top rope! DANIELSON HAD PULLED THE ROPE DOWN! The crowd gave tremendous heat, as Danielson then locked Hardy in the Cattle Mutilation on the outside!
7th Elimination
Back in the ring, arguably Smackdown’s four biggest Superstars excluding John Cena were in the ring, knowing that the winner would face the World Champion at Wrestlemania XXV. Triple H went back to Edge after demolishing each other for pretty much the whole match, once again leaving Undertaker and Batista, as after the AA Spinebuster to Edge, HHH lifted Edge up after the Hardy elimination and went for a Pedigree, only for the crowd to burst out into tremendous heat, as the Two Man Dynasty are shown running down the ramp (Danielson and Hardy have gone by this stage)! HHH doesn’t see this, however, so when he goes for the Pedigree, he is ambushed from behind by Orton and MVP. Orton and MVP then throw HHH over the top rope, eliminating him and destroying his chances of becoming a Thirteen Time World Champion!
8th Elimination
The Two Man Dynasty then escape through the crowd, and once HHH recovers; he gets up and runs into the crowd in pursuit of his former protégé and his partner. This leaves Edge, Undertaker and Batista, a remake of the Armageddon 2007 main event for the World Heavyweight Championship. After the elimination of Triple H, Edge has a big, silly grin on his face, as he lets Undertaker and Batista battle it out. What Edge doesn’t see is that a camera man is entering the ring, before he taps him on the shoulder. Edge turns around, right into a Superkick to the chin, knocking him over the top rope and to the floor. The crowd gives a massive pop, as the supposed camera man takes off his disguise, AND REVEALS HIMSELF TO BE SHAWN MICHAELS! HE WAS HERE ALL ALONG!
9th and Final Elimination
It came down to this, the two men who had so many matches throughout 2007 would go at it to have the right to face John Cena for the World Heavyweight Championship. Batista and the Undertaker had fought at Wrestlemania 23, Backlash in a Last Man Standing Match, a Steel Cage match on Smackdown, a Special Referee match at Cyber Sunday, a Hell in a Cell match at Survivor Series, a Triple Threat match at Armageddon, and were also in Smackdown’s Elimination Chamber at the February No Way Out. The two traded blows with the crowd popping for both men, before Batista went for a Clothesline, only to be ducked under, picked up and then nailed with a Snake Eyes. Undertaker then hit Tista with a Big Boot, sending Batista over the top rope, but he held onto the apron. Batista tried desperately to get past Taker and into the ring, only to be giving the hand around the throat, and then CHOKESLAMMED OFF OF THE APRON AND TO THE OUTSIDE! UNDERTAKER IS GOING TO WRESTLEMANIA!
|Winner and facing John Cena at Wrestlemania for his World Title: the Undertaker|
The crowd erupts as Smackdown’s main event is now somewhat of a dream match between the Undertaker and John Cena for the World Heavyweight Championship. Cena removes his headset and then gets up from his seat, knowing that a massive task lies ahead of him at Wrestlemania when he defends his title against what could be his biggest challenge yet. The crowd seem to be looking at something else, however, which the cameras aren’t showing us. The camera then quickly turns to the outside of the ring as the Cena and Undertaker stare down continues, but we see that there are medics rushing down the entrance ramp and towards where Batista was eliminated, and we see that Batista has grasped his left shoulder. We then go to a replay but showing the side of the ring where Batista was eliminated, and after he was Chokeslammed off of the apron, he instantly grasped his shoulder, knowing that something was wrong. Not wanting to break kayfabe on screen, Undertaker doesn’t check on Batista although he does look worried, before the medics lift Batista up, run a few little tests before aiding him to the back. Back to the Undertaker and Cena stare down, Cena raises his World Title which could be Taker’s come Wrestlemania to heat from the crowd, as the show then fades to black, Cena raising his World Title as Taker stares him down.
. I started Raw this morning and have completed the first match, which is the Money in the Bank Qualifying match between Rey Mysterio and Monty Brown.
