By Wade Keller, Torch editor

KELLER'S WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT
NOVEMBER 28, 2008
AIRED ON MY NETWORK TV

[Q1]

-The show opened with clips from Survivor Series including Jim Ross speaking about Jeff Hardy being found knocked out in a stairwell, then Matt Hardy saying he was hit in the back of the neck with a blunt object, then Edge being added to the WWE Championship match, then Jeff Hardy running to the ring and swinging a chair, then Edge scoring the pin on Triple H. They actually went black and didn't show Edge scoring the pin, but the stuck with the audio of the call.

-They went to center-ring where Vickie Guerrero stood, mic in hand. She introduced Edge as a man who has overcome extraordinary obstacles, "and he just happens to be my husband." Edge came out, still sporting the deep woods beard, and the ran in embraced Vickie. They hugged and smiled wide with joy as they celebrated their apparent plan playing out just as they had hoped. She said she promised a triple threat match at Survivor Series, and that's exactly what she delivered. She said the love of her life made it happen. He said the truth is he's not 100 percent healthy and wasn't ready to come back. He said he woke up Sunday morning and saw the condition of Jeff Hardy and had to take matters into his own hands. "And why did I have to do that?" he asked. "Because we all know Jeff Hardy's history. Jeff has a history of letting people down." He said he, a true champion, has much better gumption. They showed kids in the crowd passionately chanting "Hardy, Hardy."

He turned to Vickie and said some people think the title belt is all he cares about, but he said that isn't true. He said he didn't want to turn her down. "I did all of this for you," he said. Vickie thanked him for being his knight in shining armor. "Thank you so much for being my hero," she said. "And thank you for saving us from the irresponsibility of Jeff Hardy." When the crowd booed, we got our first "Excuse me!" She said what happened with Jeff Hardy is still under investigation and everyone looks forward to him returning to the ring when he is ready to compete. "This isn't the first time Jeff Hardy screwed up," she said. "He screwed up by not showing up for his match at Survivor Series and then he screwed up by showing up late and getting involved." Edge said Hardy screws up extremely big. Hardy charged to the ring wearing psycho make-up. Security held him back momentarily. Triple H then ran out and hit Hardy form behind. He, too, had to be restrained by security. Vladimir Kozlov then stepped into the ring from the other side. He said he was there to become a champion, and "no more triple threat." He vowed to beat up Edge right now. Vickie told him to hold on just a minute.

Vickie announced that she anticipated all three would want a title shot, so she set up three "Beat the Clock" matches. The winner of his match in the shortest time will face Edge at Armageddon. She said Hardy's match was next. Apparently Hardy is truly recovered and okay to wrestle. Whew.

[Commercial Break]

[Q2]

1 -- JEFF HARDY vs. BRIAN KENDRICK (w/Ezekiel Jackson) -- Beat the Clock Match

Shouldn't we hear from Hardy about being attacked in the stairwell? Shouldn't the attack that cost fans who paid $40 to see Survivor Series be more of a curiosity at this point? Ross re-explained what happened on Sunday, noting that Hardy inadvertently helped Edge win the title. Tazz said Hardy's title shot was yanked away because of "whatever happened in his hotel room on Saturday night." Wasn't it a stairwell? A minute into the match Kendrick bailed out for a breather, adding precious time to Hardy's clock. When Hardy went after Kendrick, Ezekiel got in his face. Kendrick hit a neckbreaker off the top rope at 4:44. They cut to a break with Hardy down and out.

[Commercial Break]

At 9:55 Hardy made a comeback by dropping a charging Kendrick over the top rope. He worked his way back to his feet and hung Kendrick upside down in the corner. Hardy hit a Whisper in the Wind at 11:35. Ezekiel tried to yank Kendrick out of the ring, but Hardy low dropkicked him and then gave Kendrick a Swanton Bomb for the win. The camera zoomed in on Hardy contemplating the clock number.

WINNER: Hardy at 12:13.

STAR RATING: **1/2 -- Nice TV match. Good selling, good athleticism, good pacing.

-Ross and Tazz reacted to the announcements that Triple H would face Shelton Benjamin and Vlad would face Matt Hardy.

[Q3]

-Eve interviewed Matt Hardy about facing Vlad. He said he first wanted to comment on what Vickie and Edge said about Jeff being a screwup. Matt said Jeff has had his problems, and everyone knows that, but he believes Edge and Vickie "were responsible for what happened to Hardy last Sunday; they took away his opportunity to become WWE Champion." He said he's going to do everything in his power to give Jeff that opportunity again. They've set this show up very well with three key matches with a lot at stake, and a promo such as this to further enhance the stakes and context.

[Commercial Break]

-A video package aired on Big Show vs. Undertaker in the casket match at Survivor Series. Afterward, Ross announced that next week's big main event had just been confirmed - Big Show vs. Undertaker in a cage. They went to a "preview" of the match by showing a videogame representation of the match. Ross touted the realism of the graphics, the sound, and even the signs from the fans in the crowd.

-Ring introductions took place for the Diva Six-Woman Tag Match.

[Commercial Break]

[Q4]

2 -- NIKKI & BRI BELLA & MICHELLE MCCOOL vs. VICTORIA & NIKKI & MARYSE

A Bella Twin mistakenly clotheslined McCool when Maryse ducked. That led to Maryse scoring the pin on McCool. McCool looked at the Bella Twin as if she did it on purpose.

WINNERS: Nikki & Mayse & Victoria in 4:00.

-Afterward, Maria ran out to try to get McCool to calm down. She stepped between McCool and the Bella Twins. McCool shoved Maria to the mat and then left the ring. It's always good to see the Divas get some storyline developments to sink their teeth into.

[Commercial Break]

-A clip aired of Linda McMahon being named one of the 50 most powerful women in cable television for 2008 by CableFax.

-A DX commercial aired with Triple H and Shawn Michaels pushing their merchandise as holiday gifts.

[Q5]

3 -- VLADIMIR KOZLOV vs. MATT HARDY -- Beat the Clock match

Hurricane popped up and said next week he makes his return to the ring. Basic stuff early - tests of strength, headlocks, a bearhug. They showed Jeff Hardy watching in hte back. Kozlov shoulder tackled Hardy to the mat. Hardy rolled to the floor to catch his breath. Tazz pointed out Hardy was doing his brother a favor by stalling whenever possible. Kozlov chased Hardy around ringside, then caught Kozlov as he re-entered the ring with some axe handle blows. Kozlov dropped Hardy with three battering ram headbutts. Hardy caught him with a boot as he charged in the corner. They cut to a break at 6:00.

[Commercial Break]

More rudimentary, methodical content after the break. Kozlov went for pins with the countdown clock under two minutes. Hardy came back with a Side Effect and then kicked Kozlov to the floor with 30 seconds left. Kozlov re-entered and Hardy went for a Twist of Fate. Kozlov powered out and knocked Hardy to the floor. Hardy milked the final ten seconds at ringside. He grabbed his ECW Title belt and retreated to the back as Kozlov threw a fit in the ring.

WINNER: No contest - Kozlov failed to Beat the Clock.

[Q6]

[Commercial Break]

4 -- FESTUS & JESSE vs. MIZ & JOHN MORRISON

The bell rang and Festus charged at Miz and Morrison retreated. Jesse convinced Festus to let him start the match. Miz faced Jesse as Festus rocked back and forth at ringside. Festus is a riot. At 3:00 Jesse tagged in Festus who clubbered Morrison to the mat and eventually out of the ring. He knocked Miz to the floor, too, with a right. Morrison rang the bell at ringside to power down Festus. Jesse ran over to the bell, threw Morrison into the ring, and then rang the bell. Festus powered back up and beat up Morrison aggressively. Meanwhile, Miz attacked Jesse at ringside and ran the bell again. Festus powered back down. Miz and Morrison beat up Jesse at ringside. The ref called for the DQ.

WINNERS: Festus & Jesse in 5:00 via DQ.

STAR RATING: *

-Afterward, Miz and Morrison picked on Festus. With him powered down, they lifted his hand in the shape of an "L" and pushed it up to his forehead. Morrison rang the bell as Miz was in his face, just as a prank to scare Miz. Miz got back at Morrison by ringing the bell when Morrison was in Festus's face. Miz then stood next to Festus and imitated him as Morrison rang the bell every few seconds. Jesse charged into the ring for the save, but they KO'd him with the bell. Miz dropped the hammer on the bell, ringing it by mistake. Festus powered up and cleared the ring of them.

[Q7]

[Commercial Break]

-Ross and Tazz threw to the Raw Rebound featuring the return of John Cena.

-Mr. Kennedy plugged his movie in his normal voice, which really undercuts his money-persona. Kennedy then interviewed Triple H. Shane Douglas's last role on TV was interviewing wrestlers on TNA Impact. Kennedy has now fully morphed into Douglas now. Why is Kennedy interviewing Triple H? They're just destroying him. Triple H sarcastically said his return to Raw on Monday was riveting television. Triple H just walks around life looking for opportunities to be a wiseass, but manages to do it in such a prickish, unrelenting manner it's overbearing and unpleasant rather than entertaining. Now, that said, Mr. Kennedy's segment on Raw was among the worst in ages. But Triple H isn't one to talk with his skit including him snickering like a schoolboy who hit a teacher with a spitball as Michaels held a videogame box upside down. I mean, really, is he one to talk about segments that attempt to funny and are instead lame?

[Commercial Break]

-Ring intros took place for the main event.

[Q8]

5 -- TRIPLE H vs. SHELTON BENJAMIN -- Beat the Clock Match

Triple H went for an immediate Pedigree. Shelton slipped out and retreated to the corner quickly. Triple H went for another seconds later. Shelton bailed out to ringside. Hunter chased him down at ringside and threw him back into the ring. Shelton took control as soon as they got back into the ring. Triple H came back with a crossface. They cut to a break.

[Commercial Break]

They showed Jeff Hardy watching backstage. Ross said he's cheering internally for Shelton. Shelton had Triple H in a side headlock. He followed up with a bit DDT. Tazz declared it over, which meant Triple H would for sure kick out. He did. With four minutes left, Triple H clotheslined Shelton from behind. They brawled around ringside with three minutes left. Back in the ring with under two minutes left, Shelton fought off a Pedigree attempt and backdropped out of it. Both were slow to get up. With one minute left, Triple H tried to pry Shelton off of the ropes as Shelton held on to stall for time. Shelton elbowed the ref, knocking him down. Ross said it was inadvertent. Triple H hit the Pedigree, but the ref was slow to get up. With 20 seconds left, Triple H tried to revive the ref. The ref crawled over with three seconds left and hit the mat the third time just as the buzzer rang. The ref declared Triple H the winner. Referee Charles Robinson ran out and told he ref that it wasn't in time. Triple H told them to watch the replay on the big screen. They showed a split screen of Hardy's win and Hunter's win. The ring announcer said it was an exact tie between Triple H and Hardy. Ross asked the obvious question: "What are the odds of both men winning at exactly 12:13."

WINNER: Triple H.

-Jeff Hardy came out to his music wearing a black hooded sweat shirt and black jeans. He was almost invisible against any black background. They had a staredown as the show ended and the controversy remained unresolved. Good cliffhanger to end a good show.

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