by Greg Parks, PWTorch Contributor

WWE Smackdown review
February 13, 2009
Taped 2/10/09 in Fresno, Calif.
Aired on MyNetwork TV


-WWE Open.

-Voice-over man narrated a video about Jeff Hardy returning to Smackdown to confront Matt tonight.

-Smackdown Opening.

-Edge and Vickie Guerrero came out. Edge said he is being forced to defend his WWE Championship in an Elimination Chamber at No Way Out. Edge said he won’t even be 100% Sunday because he suffered a neck injury last week, at the hands of The Undertaker. He blamed Big Show for the circumstances that led to Taker’s Tombstone, causing Edge’s injury. Edge said at least he’s still champion and he also has the hottest chick around. Edge handed over the mic, as she had a special announcement to make. She said that after consulting with Edge’s doctors.....then she did the “excuse me” bit. She said that after talking to his doctors, Edge will be able to compete this Sunday, but based on what happened last week, she doesn’t want to risk his health further and he will not compete tonight. Edge said people better respect that he’ll be walking out of NWO as champion. Big Show interrupted and came to the ring.

Edge was surprised Show had the gall to interrupt after what he did to Edge last week. Show told Edge to relax. He said to save it for Sunday when Edge won’t be champion anymore. Show said the Board of Directors noted that every brand has to have an Elimination Chamber match. What about ECW? Edge made a pun on “No Way Out” and Edge called him on it. Edge took issue with Big Show’s performance last week in their tag match. Edge bragged again about being champion and told Big Show he used to be someone he could trust. Show promised Edge that he wouldn’t walk out of No Way Out as champion then went into explicit detail about what he’d do to Edge. Show called Edge a coward and told him to stop hiding behind a woman (Vickie). Vickie told Show that he would be facing Vladimir Kozlov, Triple H and the Undertaker in a Fatal Four-Way match. She sarcastically hoped that everyone would make it to No Way Out. So is Show turning back face? His character seems a bit muddy right now.

-JR plugged Jeff Hardy’s return to Smackdown tonight.

[Commercial Break]

1- CHAVO GUERRERO vs. MVP

Chavo sporting the white tights tonight. Clothesline caught Chavo coming out of the corner. Interesting move to work the arm by Chavo, who then baseball slid MVP out of the ring. He worked over MVP out there then tossed him back into the ring. “MVP” chants from the crowd as Chavo put more pressure on MVP’s arm. When MVP broke out of it, Chavo jumped on MVP’s back and applied a sleeper. That didn’t last long as Montel Vontavious Porter came back with a thrust to the throat and a face-buster. “Ballin!” elbowdrop got two. MVP tried something but Chavo turned it into a headscissors. He got caught in the corner by the Drive-By though. MVP set up for his finisher when Shelton Benjamin came out and gave MVP his Paydirt finisher.

WINNER: MVP, at 3:28. Better than their effort a few weeks ago.

Benjamin smiled as he looked at the damage he did, then Chavo hit the Frogsplash on MVP. Chavo motioned to Shelton, who was on the ramp, that he would be the next U.S. Champion.

-A video package on the Elimination Chamber aired.

-They got in another plug for the Fatal Four-Way still to come.

[Commercial Break]

-A WrestleMania XIII video package aired.

-Undertaker cut a promo backstage, in the dark, with mood music. He talked about what he would do to others in the Elimination Chamber this Sunday.

-The Bella Twins were chatting up The Colons backstage when they thanked the boys for the flowers they sent. Primo said he didn’t send the flowers, but Carlito played it cool and said yeah, they did. The Bellas weren’t buying it and asked who sent them. Miz and John Morrison walked up to them and said they sent the flowers. Miz and Morrison said they thought the Bellas would be better off with them. The Bella with Primo disagreed, but the one with Carlito said The Colons vs. Miz & Morrison match tonight would decide who takes them out tomorrow night, which is Valentine’s Day.

[Commercial Break]

-Later tonight, the illustrious Jeff Hardy makes his Smackdown returns.

2- JOHN MORRISON & THE MIZ vs. CARLITO & PRIMO COLON

The Bellas came to the ring with the Colons. Miz backed Carlito into the corner with a lock-up but Carlito hit him with a straight left hand. Shoulder tackle followed by another left hand from Carlito. High dropkick, then a tag to Primo. When Morrison tagged in, Primo looked as if he was going for an arm-drag, but Morrison nailed him with a right hand. The two traded pinning combinations that ended with a slap to the face by Primo. Crowd chanted for Primo as he made a tag to Carlito. Carly rocked Miz with some left hands then hit a sloppy springboard back elbow. Morrison low-bridged Carlito though and they went to break.

[Commercial Break]

Surprised to see these two traditional tag teams get so much time. Carlito was working out of a rest-hold by Morrison when the show returned. Morrison went for a neck-breaker and Carlito countered with a backslide for two. Miz blew a kiss to one of the Bellas after he elbow-dropped Carlito. The heels did some double-teaming and cut off the ring. Miz missed a running knee-lift, and Carlito downed him with a spinebuster. Both men made tags and Primo cleaned house. He hit Morrison with all kinds of high-impact moves. Monkey-flip, but Morrison landed on his feet. Leg-sweep by Primo got two when Miz broke up the pin. Carlito got rid of Miz and Morrison did the same to Carlito. Miz pushed Primo off the top rope and Morrison hit the Moonlight Drive for the win.

WINNERS: Miz & Morrison, at 10:33. Your standard WWE television tag match, but this one had a little more athleticism to it than others.

The Bellas looked slightly disgusted as Miz and Morrison put their arms around them and headed up the ramp.

-A flash red sports car pulled up and Jeff Hardy got out. He came into the arena, accepting welcomes from the likes of Jimmy Yang, R-Truth, Great Khali, Eve Torres and Maria as he made his way through the arena.

[Commercial Break]

-They showed the video from three weeks ago of Matt turning on his brother Jeff.

-Jeff Hardy made his return to Smackdown. He looked like he had the weight of the world on his mind. After soaking in the cheers, Hardy got on the mic and said its been weird for him lately, saying he feels alone and feels like doing bad things to bad people. Uh-oh, the clips of the Hardys are back, as is the mood music. A lot of people liked it for Matt’s interview, so I guess it’s an acquired taste that I don’t have. Jeff said Matt, as an older brother, is supposed to be a role model and he’s supposed to have Jeff’s back. Jeff told Matt that he should know Jeff is the kind of person who moves on and doesn’t dwell on the past. He said he’s moving on to this Sunday and he’ll become WWE Champion for a second time whether Matt likes it or not. And that was it. Well, short and sweet, trademark Jeff Hardy.

-The Fatal Four-Way main event is still to come.

[Commercial Break]

3- EZEKIEL JACKSON vs. R-TRUTH

Truth went toe-to-toe with Zeke to start, then nailed the big man with a heel kick. He hit the ropes and Zeke hit him with a shoulderblock. Jackson locked in a Full-Nelson as The Brian Kendrick implored Zeke from ringside to break his neck. Military Press drop by Ezekiel. Truth caught Zeke with a European uppercut. Another military press, but Truth rolled him up for two. Jackson came back and turned Truth inside-out with a clothesline. Jackson set up for the uranage, but Truth rolled him up for the surprise win.

WINNER: Truth, at 2:57. Interesting. I believe that’s Zeke’s first pinfall loss, and surprising that it would be to R-Truth.

-Eve Torres was backstage, joined by Maria. She noted that Maria has been taking some time off, then asked how she was going to deal with the bullying of Michelle McCool. Maria said she has the passion and the heart to do this. Eve said she may have luck on her side too.

[Commercial Break]

-A WrestleMania III recap video aired. For those who don’t remember, that was the night Hulk Hogan bodyslammed the 800-pound Andre The Giant in front of 120,00 fans a month before he died. At least, that’s what happened according to The Hulkster.

4- MICHELLE MCCOOL vs. MARIA

Maria went right after Michelle at the start and was quite aggressive. McCool slammed Maria, whose leg bounced on the ropes as she did so. Michelle went right to work on the left leg. Michelle slammed Maria’s foot off the ringside steps. Side-Russian leg-sweep, complete with trash talk, got a two-count. Maria got a surprise roll-up for two, which seemed to anger Michelle even more. Enziguiri by Maria, but Michelle stayed on offense. Eve came down to ringside and Michelle went out after her. Michelle pushed her back into the ring, where Maria rolled Michelle up for three.

WINNER: Maria, at 3:33. Two roll-ups and a DQ in four matches. Match was fine as it allowed Michelle to be on offense most of the time.

-Triple H was backstage with Todd Grisham. HHH said he was confident about tonight because he’s wearing the new Triple H t-shirt available on WWE.com. Trips said his shirt has “destroyer” in Latin on the back, and destroy is what he’s going to do this Sunday. HHH said he holds the advantage this Sunday because he’s been in more Chamber matches than them. He said they are dreading being in the Chamber, but he’s not.

[Commercial Break]

-The Raw Rebound aired.

-JR and Tazz previewed No Way Out.

-Triple H came out for the main event Fatal Four-Way.

[Commercial Break]

5- TRIPLE H vs. BIG SHOW vs. VLADIMIR KOZLOV vs. THE UNDERTAKER- FATAL FOUR-WAY MATCH

Show and HHH paired off once the bell rang, as did Kozlov and Taker. Taker and Show traded blows. Kozlov and Show were sent to the outside as HHH and Taker went nose-to-nose in the middle of the ring. Spinebuster by HHH on Taker, but the Dead Man sat up. He was attacked from behind by Big Show though. The match continues after break.

[Commercial Break]

Back from break with authority! Kozlov sent Taker into the steel ring steps and Show missed a splash in the corner on HHH. Big Show and The Russian teamed up on The Game in the ring, hitting a double shoulder-tackle on him. Trips tried fighting back, but it was all for naught. Kozlov took it to Trips in the corner, then Show whipped Kozlov into The Game. Kozlov unwisely turned his back and Show chokeslammed him. He go ta two-count when Taker punched him in the face from outside the ring. Back in the ring, he nailed Show with a flying clothesline. DDT on Show for two as Kozlov this time interrupted. The Moscow Mauler powerslammed Taker for two. Taker locked in the Devil’s Gate (as Tazz called it this week, a mix of Devil’s Triangle and Hell’s Gate). Taker then locked it on Show, who almost tapped, but Triple H broke it up. Trips low-bridged Kozlov out of the ring. Show put Triple H on his back and Taker kicked Show, sending both men to the mat. Kozlov came back in as Show was dispatched to ringside. For his troubles, he got a Snake Eyes and running boot by Taker. Show broke up a pin and clobbered Taker with headbutts. He missed his Vader Bomb/elbowdrop combination, as usual. Kozlov headbutted Show in the sternum and HHH Pedigreed Kozlov. Tombstone by Taker on Triple H. It’s like the grand finale at the fireworks! Show then chokeslammed Taker. As he turned around, Edge ran in and speared Big Show. The show ended with him raising his belt in the air.

WINNER: No Contest/Big Show via DQ? I’m not sure how to score that one. Anyway, the match lasted 12:52.

-The show ended with one final plug for the Elimination Chamber match and No Way Out.

Greg Parks has been covering Smackdown for PWTorch.com since January of 2007. You can also hear him every-other-week in the post-Raw audio show Monday nights in the Torch VIP audio section. Check out his column each week in the PDF-exclusive version of the Torch Newsletter. Comments, questions and feedback is welcome, and can be sent to g_man9784@yahoo.com.

We suggest these recent related articles...

PARKS'S WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT 10/8: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of Thursday show, including Roman Reigns & Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt & Braun Strowman

METZGER'S ROH TV REPORT 10/4 & 10/7: IWGP World champ Okada vs. Roderick Strong main event, plus Briscoes vs. Time Splitters, more from "Field of Honor," Overall Reax

MCMAHON'S TNA IMPACT REPORT 10/7: TNA Title Series kicks off, Bound for Glory fall-out, more; Overall Reax