Drama’s Smackdown Report 8/21/09

Friday Night Smackdown!
August 21, 2009
Kansas City, Missouri
Jim Ross and Todd Grisham

OPENING ANIMATION

JR and the Grish welcomes us to Kansas City and the go home editon of Smackdown, two days away from Summerslam! Tonight a big six-man tag main event, as the Hardys reunite, teaming with John Morrison to face CM Punk and the Hart Dynasty. 6 absolute studs in the ring at once. We also have an exclusive interview with Matt Hardy as to what’s going on in his head right now. We head to the ring for our opening bout!

Intercontinental Champion Rey Mysterio and Cryme Tyme vs. Dolph Ziggler and Unified Tag Team Champions Chris Jericho & Big Show

As expected, this week’s show includes Summerslam opponents mushed into one match. I don’t know why, and I say it every week but I love this feud with Cryme Tyme & Y2Show. It just reeks of the old school tag feuds of the 80’s, like the Hart Foundation vs. Demolition heading into Summerslam 1990 or the Rockers vs. the Twin Towers. I’m not sure what to make of the Rey/Ziggler feud, but I have to think Dolph takes the strap at Summerslam. I can’t see them jobbing him out two shows in a row. Pretty solid match with everybody getting their shots in, including Show who’s just become such a monster now, and with Jericho as his brains and the antagonist of the team, they’re clearly one of the best “superstars thrown together” teams in recent memory. The crowd’s into Cryme Tyme huge, and I’d love to see them take the straps at Summerslam. The crowd was off the hook for this match with incredible action and bodies flying all over the place. Rey looked to win it with the 619 but during the pin Rey gets cracked with Show’s hamhock right hand, and Ziggler steals the pin for the win. A great match with a lot of the heat and the crowd was into it. WINNERS: Dolph Ziggler, Chris Jericho & Big Show (Grade: 3.5)

-We head to JR and the Grish at the table, and we recap what’s happened with an awesome video montage of the past two weeks involving the Hardys and CM Punk. We go backstage to Josh Matthews with Matt Hardy. Matt says ever since they were kids, Matt has always protected his little brother. Josh talks about what’s happened in 2009, and Matt says he’s seen his brother go from a little kid to a global phenomenon. He says what he’s done in 2009 has been reprehensible and he doesn’t know if he can even forgive himself. He hopes his brother can forgive him and tonight in their six-man tag match it will be an honor to stand in the ring with his brother again. Do we believe it? Ehh……I don’t know.

-Back from break and we get a wide shot of Kansas City, then head back to the ring. Kane comes down to the ring, takes the mike and says he proved last week that he is the dominant giant on Smackdown. He says he’s never feared Khali, but Khali better fear him. Suddenly the happy Bollywood theme plays and down comes Khali who wants to fight. Kane grabs a chair but Khali swats it away. He gets his shots in but Kane escapes.

Mike Knox vs. Finlay

I always thought Finlay was only returning to wrestling in 2006 simply to bolster a then-awful Smackdown roster? 3 years later and he’s still beating the crap out of people. The match was pretty straightforward, with Knox getting DQ’ed for not stopping after the 5 count. Knox’s push continues as he beat Finlay down afterwards, including a shot with the steel steps. JR’s word is “dastardly”. I always liked that word. Mike Knox certainly was it. WINNER: Finlay by disqualification (Grade: 2)

-Backstage and the Hardys are hanging out with John Morrison. Jeff’s coming out to the ring. After the break and there he comes, the World Heavyweight Champion. The ring is surrounded by tables, ladders, & chairs. The World Title is hanging above the ring. Jeff says he’s happy with life right now. He’s at peace with his brother, but his health was in question. After the beatdown CM Punk gave him, doctors said he should retire. Well he’s never listened to doctors. He climbs the ladder in the middle of the ring and grabs his World Title belt. He tells CM Punk that this, at the top of this ladder is where it will all begin. Just a chair won’t be enough to stop him from defeating Punk at Summerslam in TLC. With that out comes the #1 contender, CM Punk. Punk says Jeff should get down from the ladder because he’s probably either drunk or high and might fall off the ladder. He says this “in the moment” crap must end. He says Jeff is nothing more than an egomaniac who feeds off the fans. Punk says Jeff will not defeat him at Summerslam, and his win will validate his mantra: That “straight edge” is the right way, that he’s better than Jeff Hardy. Punk says he must eliminate Jeff Hardy to prove what’s right and what’s wrong. He tells Jeff Hardy that he can’t fly. Hardy says the fans & spirit know he can. So Punk tests that theory and attempts to push the ladder Hardy’s on over. Hardy lands on his feet and hits Punk with the Twist of Fate as the ladder falls on him.

Melina & Maria vs. Natalya & Layla

Women’s Champion Michelle McCool joins JR & the Grish and she immediately rips Maria for her outfit & her talent. Well Maria’s always hot but I can’t argue with the champ that she can’t wrestle. With Gail Kim on Raw and Maria back in the ring, this match is going to be a few steps below what we’ve watched the past few weeks. Melina then throws Michelle out of her chair but Melina gets clotheslined by Layla. Natalya is one of the 3 best women’s wrestlers in the company but this is her first match in quite a while. Melina pins Natalya with a big sunset flip/power bomb combo for the win. They’re not scheduled at Summerslam but this feud with continue. WINNERS: Melina & Maria (Grade: 2)

-Time for this week’s edition of Word Up, but Cryme Tyme’s not in the mood. Jam Master J comes in and tries to cheer them up with this week’s word: SUSPECT. He actually cheers them up with some nice jabs at Y2Show.

-Back from break and Josh Matthews is with IC Champ Rey Mysterio, who says in front of his home crowd he will not disappoint, then he talks some Spanish. He says Dolph Ziggler got a cheap pin, but he does respect Ziggler’s ability. If Dolph wants to be a champion Sunday, he’ll have to bring all of it. We then go to the Raw Rebound, which was Legacy’s beatdown of DX, and then JR and Grish go over this Sunday’s card in Los Angeles:

WWE Championship: Randy Orton © vs. John Cena
World Heavyweight Championship, TLC: Jeff Hardy © vs. CM Punk
ECW Championship: Christian © vs. William Regal
Intercontinental Championship: Rey Mysterio © vs. Dolph Ziggler
Unified Tag Team Championship: Chris Jericho & Big Show © vs. Cryme Tyme
D-Generation X vs. Legacy
MVP vs. Jack Swagger
Kane vs. Great Khali

CM Punk & Hart Dynasty vs. the Hardys & John Morrison

Nice to see Jeff & Matt come out together to their Team Extreme music. Very slick how Punk is matching the Harts with black and pink tights. A very good match that went through two commercial breaks as the hot crowd carries this match, the only other big match on this show. All 6 guys threw themselves all over the place to pump the crowd up and get them ready for Summerslam. Jeff got the upper hand all over this show, which likely means Punk’s winning the title. Morrison looked solid as did the Hart Dynasty. Right now there’s no doubt that Smackdown has the better show than Raw, as the main eventers look hungrier and the matches have so much more energy. Matt gets the pin on Punk with the Twist of Fate, which tells me (and a little birdie who put in my ear) that perhaps Matt may be Punk’s next challenger after Summerslam when Jeff Hardy leaves. The GOOD GUYS WIN! WINNERS: The Hardys & John Morrison (Grade: 3)

FINAL GRADE: C+ (Good storyline development but not many matches)