by Greg Parks, PWTorch.com Contributor

WWE Smackdown review
May 8, 2009
Taped 5/5/09 in Pittsburgh, Pa.
Aired on MyNetwork TV


-WWE Open.

-Highlights of the Fatal Four-Way number-one contender match from last week were shown.

-Straight to the arena we went, where Smackdown GM Teddy Long was in the ring. He introduced the Intercontinental Champion and “the face of Smackdown,” Rey Mysterio. Rey took the mic and said it felt good to be back at home on Smackdown. He talked about his return last week in the Fatal Four-Way and said Jeff Hardy was the better man last week. Mysterio vowed to put the IC Title on the line against anyone willing to step in the ring against him. That brought out Chris Jericho. He got in Teddy Long’s face and said HE was the face of Smackdown. He demanded that Long introduce him as such. Teddy refused. Jericho said his presence alone makes Smackdown the preeminent brand in WWE. He also lamented Long’s disrespect of him. Come on, Jericho’s been here like two weeks and he’s already acting like Long has treated him like crap for months. Jericho wanted restitution for being the first person ever DQ’ed in a four-way match. Mysterio finally interrupted and told Y2 J to shut up. Rey shoved Jericho to the ground after Chris called him “little man.” Mysterio said the people don’t want to hear Jericho’s crap, and neither does he. So he left the ring. Jericho said that’s the kind of disrespect he’s talking about. As he continued to give a tongue-lashing to Rey, Jeff Hardy came out.

Hardy said if Jericho wants a championship match, he’s gotta beat him. Hardy said he was staring at the biggest liar and hypocrite in the company. Hardy said if Jericho beats him tonight, he will allow Jericho to be added to the title match at Judgment Day. HE said Teddy can make it happen. At least they acknowledged that the wrestlers themselves can’t make matches. Hardy then slapped Jericho. Instead of retaliating, Jericho got out of the ring and headed up the ramp, holding his chin in pain. Long then said it’s official: If Jericho beats Hardy, he’ll be added to the championship match at Judgment Day. And they played Teddy’s music instead of Hardy’s?

[Commercial Break]

-JR and Todd Grisham plugged Hardy vs. Jericho for later on tonight.

1- R-TRUTH vs. MIKE KNOX

Ross said Truth enters the arena like Grisham enters catering- charismatically. I for one would like to see that. Grisham talked about when he broadcasted for ECW and how Knox, who was on the brand at one time, blew through the competition there. Did Grish even announce ECW while Knox was there?

Truth got the advantage for the first 45 seconds or so, then made the mistake of playing to the fans. Truth’s offense looked pretty good. Truth made a comeback, and he took Knox off his feet with a dropkick to the knee followed by a scissors kick. That got a two-count. The ref backed Truth out of the corner and Knox used the opportunity to hit a bicycle kick on Truth. Knox Out finished it.

WINNER: Knox, at 2:44. I thought this would pretty much be a squash, but Truth got a lot of offense in. Match was nice and crisp.

-Michelle McCool was walking backstage with Alicia Fox following behind and in a split screen, Gail Kim was walking down a hallway as well. McCool and Kim face off next.

[Commercial Break]

2- MICHELLE MCCOOL vs. GAIL KIM

I’m still not sure what the relationship between Fox and McCool is. McCool showed off for the fans after taking Kim down. Kim got the advantage and whipped McCool into the ropes, but Michelle slid out of the ring. Fox got knocked to the floor by Kim while she went after McCool. Michelle regained control inside the ring. Head-scissors applied by McCool. Kim built some offensive momentum and flung herself right into Michelle’s mid-section in the corner. Blockbuster (and call such by JR) by Kim off the top for two. Kim went for a hurricanrana, but Michelle hold on and hit the Faith Breaker (Styles Clash) for the win.

WINNER: McCool, at 3:14. One of the better women’s matches as of late. Still hate the name of her finisher though.

-They showed Hardy taking out Edge last night on WWE Superstars. We’ll hear from Hardy next.

[Commercial Break]

-Josh Mathews was backstage with Jeff Hardy. Hardy said that no matter what happens tonight, the only thing people will be talking about after Judgment Day will be how Jeff Hardy became World Heavyweight Champion.

-Teddy Long, Maria and Ricky Ortiz were in Teddy’s office. Maria was explaining her clothing line and Ricky seemed impressed. Edge barged in and Long sent Ortiz and Maria on their way. Edge wasn’t happy that Jericho could be in the main event at Judgement Day. Long said Edge is lucky to be champion right now, as he was seconds away from losing it to CM Punk last week. He said they’re going to do it again tonight: CM Punk vs. Edge, in a non-title match. Long hinted that Punk could cash in his MITB contract tonight.

-John Morrison made his entrance. He’s in action next.

[Commercial Break]

3- JOHN MORRISON vs. CHARLIE HAAS

Haas had the old WGTT theme and was accompanied to the ring by Shelton Benjamin. Shelton took a seat at the announce desk, but didn’t join the commentators. Haas hit some hard right hands as Shelton cheered him on. JR and Grisham talked about Haas’ previous gimmick of pretending to be other people. Springboard dropkick off the top by Morrison for two. Hard whip into the turnbuckle by Haas. Haas looks like he found a mean streak. Butterfly suplex by Haas for two. Textbook tilt-a-whirl backbreaker by Haas for another two-count. Morrison came back with kicks and punches. Knee to the face by Morrison, followed by a split-legged corkscrew moonsault for the win.

WINNER: Morrison, at 4:35. Fun little match. I’ve always been a Haas fan, but he hasn’t improved the main knock on him, which is his inability to get the crowd into his matches.

Morrison invited Benjamin into the ring, but Shelton did not take him up on the offer.

-CM Punk was walking backstage, as he faces Edge next.

[Commercial Break]

4- CM PUNK vs. EDGE

Punk worked over the arm of Edge and ended up dumping the champ to ringside. Punk hit a suicide dive onto Edge. Punk missed a move off the top but landed on his feet, only to get booted down by Edge. Full-Nelson applied by Edge. Punk got Edge on his shoulders for the GTS, but Edge rolled back and had both of Punk’s arms hooked. The two men both went for a cross-body and they collided in mid-air. Running knee-lift by Punk, then a heel kick. Springboard clothesline got the MITB holder a two-count. Punk missed a running knee though and Edge seemed to be looking for an electric chair. Punk rolled up Edge for two. Knee in the corner by Punk and he got Edge on his shoulders again for the GTS, but Edge held the rope. Edge missed a spear and went flying out of the ring. Edge opted not to return to the match.

WINNER: Punk, via count-out, at 6:23. Smart decision there by Edge- nothing for him to gain in this match and everything to lose.

After the match, Umaga came out of the crowd and gave Punk a superkick, then a spinning side slam. Samoan Spike put Punk out.

-Jeff Hardy vs. Chris Jericho will be the main event later tonight.

[Commercial Break]

-They showed some Pittsburgh Steelers rough-housing in the front row.

-An arm-wrestling stand was set up in the ring. Cryme Tyme came out. Ah, I can see where they’re going with this now. Shad said they came on the scene strong last week and said the Brooklyn Breakdown brought the house down. JTG said they’d tried to ease up the beef between Eve and Layla. Shad called it the “Cryme Tyme Hand Slam Jammy-Jam Challenge.” I can’t believe I typed that up. Anyway, Layla came out first. Then Eve. Layla looked more ready for this than Eve. JTG read the rules for the ladies. They locked hands and got started. Layla screamed in pain and complained her arm hurt (she had her elbow taped) so they stopped it. They started it up again and Eve looked like she was getting the upper hand again. She ended up winning and getting her arms raised by Cryme Tyme. Layla got pissed and kicked Eve in the gut, then hit a neck-breaker on her. I’ll gladly take segments like this if I get to look at Layla and Eve every week.

-Jimmy Wang Yang and Jesse were talking backstage when Dolph Ziggler interrupted. He made fun of them, then said they might want to listen to what he has to say in the ring next.

[Commercial Break]

-The one and only Dolph Ziggler came out. Ziggler took the mic and said he’d rip through the entire Smackdown roster and show everyone what a real winner is. He said that to make his point, he’s issuing an open challenge to anyone in the Smackdown locker room. He said he’d cement his position as premiere superstar on Smackdown. Ziggler’s challenge was answered, predictably, by The Great Khali.

5- DOLPH ZIGGLER vs. THE GREAT KHALI

Ziggler tried to talk Khali out of the match. Ziggler tried a shoulder-block to no avail. He ran the ropes again and was met with a clothesline. Hard chop in the corner by Khali. Khali missed a kick and was hung up on the top rope. Ziggler kicked at Khali’s legs, but Khali shoved him off. Ziggler grabbed a steel chair from ringside and nailed Khali in the leg with the chair, drawing a DQ. He hit him a couple more times in the leg and back.

WINNER: Khali, by DQ, at 1:15.

-Still to come, in the main event, Jericho takes on Hardy, with Y2J looking to earn a spot in the title match at Judgment Day.

[Commercial Break]

-JR and Grisham thanked Buckcherry for supplying the theme song for Judgment Day.

-The Raw Rebound aired.

-JR and Grisham previewed the Judgment Day card. Just announced: CM Punk vs. Umaga.

-Edge came out to do guest commentary for the main event.

[Commercial Break]

6- JEFF HARDY vs. CHRIS JERICHO

Jericho got the advantage to start, but Hardy speared him and pounded away. They continued the back-and-forth action. Hardy looked to put Jericho away early, but Jericho left the ring to take a breather. Rey Mysterio then came out and stayed at ringside to support Hardy. Jeff went after Jericho outside the ring and brought him back in. Jericho missed a dive in the corner and fell out of the ring. Hardy whipped him into the barricade, then propelled himself off the stairs. Unfortunately, Jericho moved and Hardy took a nasty-looking bump into the barricade. The ref started counting Jeff out and he got up to nine, but Hardy made it back in. Jericho immediately went for a cover but only got two, taking the show into the last commercial break.

[Commercial Break]

Jericho was still on offense out of break. Edge seemed perturbed by Rey’s presence at ringside, even though both he and Edge were cheering for Hardy in this match. Short clothesline by Hardy as both men were down. Hardy went for Whisper in the Wind but slipped on the top rope. Jericho looked like he was going to trip Hardy up anyway on it, but Jeff slipped before he could get there. Then again, he did hit it after fighting off Jericho on the top rope, so who knows. Jericho applied the Walls of Jericho. Jeff reached the ropes, much to the relief of Edge on commentary. Face-first suplex by Jeff after he made it back to his feet. Hardy to the top, but he missed the Swanton. Lionsault by Jericho found the mark for two. Y2J missed an enziguiri, but Jeff missed a Twist of Fate and Jericho tried to lock in the Walls again. Inside cradle by Jeff, countered by Jericho and both got near-falls off of it. Jericho clotheslined Hardy over the top rope and both men went to the outside. Jericho threw Hardy over the announce table and into Edge. Jericho tossed Hardy back in to the ring, garnering a two-count. Edge got on the apron and had a few words for Jericho. Roll-up by Hardy for two. I thought it was over there. Hardy walked into a boot in the corner- Jericho rolled up Hardy and put his feet on the ropes. The ref didn’t see it, but Rey did, and he got the ref’s attention. Jericho yelled at Rey then was met with a Twist of Fate. Swanton finished Jericho off.

WINNER: Hardy, at 15:20. Good match and I liked the dynamic of Rey and Edge on the outside too. It actually added to the match rather than detracted from it.

After the match, Edge backed up the ramp as Hardy came toward him. Edge went to the back and Jeff stuck around to soak in the fans’ applause. Back in the ring, Jericho turned around and right into a Seated Senton by Rey. Rey celebrated to end the show.

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 in the Torch VIP audio section and read his all-new blog in the VIP forum. Check out his column each week in the PDF-exclusive version of the Torch Newsletter. Comments, questions and feedback are welcome, and can be sent to g_man9784@yahoo.com.

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