By Greg Parks, PWTorch Contributor

WWE Smackdown review
August 23, 2008
Taped 8/25/08 in Pittsburgh, Pa.
Aired on the CW
By Greg Parks, Torch Team Contributor

-WWE Open.

-They went straight to the arena, and Undertaker's bell tolled. He made his entrance as La Familia watched backstage. He said he wans't going to forgive Vickie Guerrero and said he'd be coming for her soul. Taker said she'd burn in hell. Well that's harsh. La Familia slowly left Vickie alone in her office and when she realized she was alone, she began to panic.

-A SummerSlam re-match between Jeff Hardy vs. MVP is on tap for later in the show.

-Also, Triple H faces Shelton Benjamin.

[Commercial Break]

-An R-Truth video aired.

1- R-TRUTH vs. KENNY DYKSTRA

Truth did a lot of dancing on his way out. Dykstra did some mic work and called Truth a convict. He derided WWE for giving time to guys like Truth and not himself.

Truth rolled Kenny up for two within the first minute, then got caught with a clothesline. Kenny started working Truth's back. Killings came back with a flying elbow and an axe kick for the three.

WINNER: R-Truth, at 2:15. Didn't exactly hit it out of the park in his debut.

-Maryse interrupted a Michelle McCool photoshoot backstage and said Michelle's title would look better on her. McCool called Maryse pathetic and said she has no talent.

[Commercial Break]

2- MICHELLE MCCOOL & MARIA vs. MARYSE & NATALYA

Nattie worked a nice headlock, but McCool countered with a Russian leg-sweep. Maria tagged in and for some reason, JR proclaimed Smackdown as having the best officiating in WWE. In the end, Maryse DDT'd Maria for the win.

WINNERS: Maryse & Natalya, at 2:29. Michelle and Natalya matched up well while they were in there.

Maryse attacked McCool post-match, with some help from Natalya.

-They replayed clips of the Hardy-MVP feud.

-Eve interviewed Jeff Hardy backstage. Well, she didn't ask him any questions, just held the mic for him. He said MVP would be laying down for the 1-2-3 tonight. Good, short promo.

[Commercial Break]

-The announcers discussed the Scramble rules and talked about Shelton vs. Triple H tonight.

-Vickie was freaking out in her office. JR, probably in post-production, said it appeared as if Vickie was locked in her office. She couldn't get the phone to work.

3- JEFF HARDY vs. MVP

MVP threw Jeff out f the ring, but he landed on his feet. It was all Hardy early on, which caused MVP to go to the outside to re-group. MVP wasted time by trash-talking and Jeff took advantage. The announcers made a big deal out of Jeff keeping his offense grounded. Hardy wrapped MVP's arm around the ring post. MVP took another breather, but Jeff did a flip-dive onto him from the apron.

[Commercial Break]

MVP was on offense out of break and registered a near-fall. Jeff hit his mule kick and corner dropkick, but his Swanton was met by the knees of MVP. He baseball slid Hardy into the ringpost, then sretched Jeff's body around it. Camel Clutch was applied soon after. Jeff got out and climbed the buckle, but MVP tripped him, which led to Hardy taking a nasty bump on his neck and getting folded up in the process. MVP tried a suplex off the top, but JEff turned in mid-air and landed on Porter for a two-count. Hardy barely hit Whisper in the Wind (a recurring theme), then the Swanton for three.

WINNER: Hardy, at 20:11. Wow. Very good match, probably on the verge of four stars.

Shelton Benjamin came out and gave his finisher to Hardy after the match. He then surveyed the damage and did the same to MVP.

[Commercial Break]

-Some members of the Pittsburgh Steelers were shown at ringside.

-Josh Matthews and Candice Michelle wrapped up their coverage from the DNC.

4- JESSE & FESTUS vs. CURT HAWKINS & ZACK RYDER

Festus cleared the ring of both men at the sound of the bell and the heels began to argue at ringside. Before they could get back in, Big Show's music played and he came out. He destroyed both teams, save Festus.

WINNERS: No Contest, at 1:02.

Show got on the mic and said Vickie is under so much pressure, she's overlooking certain superstars. He said he'd never be overlooked again.

[Commercial Break]

-Vickie was still stuck in her office, just simply looking up and breathing heavily. I'm sure the cameraman in the room with her had a cell phone she could use.

5- VICTORIA vs. BRIE BELLA

Brie monkey-flipped Victoria, who did a lot of trash talking. Victoria missed a charge and got rolled up for two. She didn't like that. Brie had some unique snap-mares, but got caught in a back-breaker. Standing moonsault got two. Victoria knocked Brie out of the ring. She crawled under the ring, but Victoria pulled her back out. Back in the ring, Brie small-packaged Victoria for the win.

WINNER: Bella, at 2:37. Unimpressive debut for Brie. Victoria deserves better.

-The Raw Rebound aired.

-Champion vs. Champion, Triple H vs. Shelton Benjamin, is still to come.

[Commercial Break]

-The Brian Kendrick was reading backstage while Ezekiel sat reading in the background. Kendrick said his opponents are all fighting tonight, risking injury before the match at Unforgiven. He said he was reading "The Art of War" to prepare. His best promo thus far.

-JR & Tazz discussed Unforgiven.

-Triple H came out for the main event, which is next.

[Commercial Break]

6- TRIPLE H vs. SHELTON BENJAMIN

The two went back-and-forth early on, with Shelton getting some nice arm-drags in. They traded right hands in the corner. Trips worked the arm and shoulder of Shelton. Single-arm DDT by HHH. After some offense, Shelton escaped a Pedigree and went to the outside.

[Commercial Break]

Shelton regained control during the break. He turned a Trips suplex into a neck-breaker for two. Blinger splash in the corner from Shelton, but he missed a second one and HHH clotheslined him from behind. Benjamin got a very near fall after a straight kick to the face of Trips. The Game came back with a spinebuster. As it appeared he was ready to finish it, The Great Khali came out. That drew Triple H's attention, but he did manage to dodge a Shelton attack to hit the Pedigree for the victory.

WINNER: HHH, at 19:15. Another one near four stars. I can't decide which match was better.

Khali stare at Trips from the aisle when Shelton hit HHH from behind with the U.S. belt. Khali then came in and chokeslammed Triple H.

-Vickie was almost in tears in her office when the lights went out. She was screaming as the show faded out.

Greg Parks has been covering Smackdown for PWTorch.com since February of 2007. You can also hear him every-other-week in the post-Raw audio show Monday nights in the Torch VIP audio section and read his blog, updated weekly on the site. Check out his new column in a PDF-exclusive version of this week’s Torch Newsletter. Comments, questions and feedback is welcome, and can be sent to g_man9784@yahoo.com.

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