by Greg Parks, PWTorch.com Contributor

WWE Smackdown review
August 28, 2009
Taped 8/25/09 in Phoenix, Ariz.
Aired on MyNetwork TV


-WWE Open.

-Smackdown Open.

-JR welcomed fans to the desert as he plugged C.M. Punk vs. Jeff Hardy in a Steel Cage Match later tonight for the World Heavyweight Championship.

-Justin Roberts introduced “the new, and only, straight edge champion in WWE history, C.M. Punk.” Punk limped out from the back, with the World Title around his waist. Punk had a look of smug self-satisfaction on his face. In fact, the first thing he said was, “I told you so.” In case we were too intoxicated to remember, he showed highlights of his match from Summerslam. The dramatic music and Hardy falling off the ladder in slo-mo was kind of funny. Punk said he never felt so alive than he did at that very moment. He talked about the pain he felt from the match and called it the most brutal match of his entire career. And naturally, he said he hasn’t taken a thing for the pain. Punk accused the fans of reaching for their extra-strength medication at even the smallest headache. Physical pain wasn’t the only kind he felt at Summerslam, he said, as everyone was robbed of his moment by the evil Undertaker. Then we saw footage of Taker’s reappearance at Summerslam.

Punk whined that he has to fight in a Steel Cage Match tonight after the pain he’s in. Punk cried conspiracy from the higher-ups, because everyone fears what they don’t understand. He said he’s a pioneer and he’s the role model this world needs. Once again, he reminded fans that “straight edge” is better than everyone else. Then Jeff Hardy’s music interrupted and the former World Champion came out with a little less of a pronounced limp than Punk. He got in the ring and soaked in the cheers of his faithful. Hardy said Punk’s reign as straight-edge champion would end tonight. Hardy reminded Punk of the steel cage match that will decide the champion later on. Punk said he knows Hardy is probably intoxicated right now, but just how intoxicated is he that he would get the guts to come out and face him in the ring? He said he was sick and tired of hearing fans boo him; seeing young, impressionable children cheering a guy like Hardy. He said he was fed up with the fans and with Hardy. He told Jeff one of them doesn’t belong in WWE anymore. A stipulation was brought up by Punk, that being the loser leaves WWE. He went through what it’ll mean if Hardy wins and if he wins.

Hardy took his time, walking back and forth, and looking at the fans for an answer. Kinda like the contestants do on “The Price is Right.” Hardy said it was risky and crazy, but said it’s on. Then Teddy Long came on. Long OK’d the match and said the loser of the match will no longer be in WWE, but the winner would defend the World Title at Breaking Point. He said it would be a Submission match against The Undertaker. What has he done to earn the shot since his return? I guess at this point, they’d be looking at his entire body of work. Small gripe aside, very good segment.

[Commercial Break]

-They showed some Arizona Cardinals sitting at ringside for the show.

1- JOHN MORRISON & MATT HARDY vs. THE HART DYNASTY

Short-arm clothesline by Hardy, shades of Jake “The Snake” Roberts. Morrison then tagged in and did his fancy hand-spring legdrop. The faces double-teamed Tyson Kidd, resulting in a two-count. Natalya got on the apron long enough to break Hardy’s concentration, and Kidd took advantage. Grisham noted that David Hart Smith had “great wrestling DNA.” He went to work on Hardy, but Matt dodged a neck-breaker and landed a reverse DDT. Morrison tagged in and hit a standing dropkick. Standing shooting-star press (that didn’t catch much of Smith) got a two count. Kidd tried to get involved but was sent to ringside by Hardy, who followed up with a clothesline off the apron. Enziguiri-like kick by Morrison, followed by Starship Pain on Smith for the win.

WINNERS: Morrison and Hardy, at 3:32. JR said he doesn’t think any less of the Harts after this match, but it’s hard not to. Only three-and-a-half minutes? They just beat Jeff Hardy, got some rub from that match, and this is how they capitalize?

-A lot on the line in the main event steel cage match. Loser leaves WWE, winner walks out as World Champion. It’s still to come.

[Commercial Break]

-Melina was backstage with Maria and Melina seemed concerned about her dating Dolph Ziggler. Maria asked why everyone just can’t be happy for her. Apparently, after Summerslam, Dolph was cavorting around with another woman, and Melina saw it. Melina said she wished she hadn’t seen it. Maria said that maybe Melina is jealous of her. Does she have a boyfriend that cares about her? Melina told Maria she should ask herself that question. Nice. Then Ziggler walked up as Melina walked away. Ziggler asked what that was about and Maria told Ziggler. Dolph admitted he was with another woman- his sister, who was in town for Summerslam. Ziggler said he’d never hurt Maria.

2- DREW MCINTYRE vs. R-TRUTH

McIntyre had Phil Collins-like theme music. He was “currently in the ring.” As Truth sang his way into the ring, McIntyre assaulted him before he could finish. He gave some knees to the chest of Truth, then a double-arm DDT it appeared. McIntyre got the mic and told everyone that he’s sorry to ruin everyone’s party. He said the people may like to be entertained, but he’s Drew McIntyre, and the party is over.

WINNER: No Match.

[Commercial Break]

-They showed a replay of McIntyre’s attack before the break.

-Michelle McCool was at ringside, on crutches, sitting ringside this week instead of doing guest commentary. McCool got a mic and said the people paid good money to see her fight tonight, but after Melina’s brutal attack last week (her words), she has an injured knee and isn’t medically cleared. She said Melina ruined the night for everyone. She introduced Melina’s opponent, Layla. That’s intimidating.

2- LAYLA vs. MELINA

Layla grabbed the arm and kicked at Melina’s upper back. Melina got her feet up on a corner charge, then hit a back elbow and a clothesline. Melina favored her ankle a bit and Layla went after it with a low dropkick. Melina’s comeback consisted simply of her catching Layla coming off the ropes and hitting her finisher, then making the pinfall.

WINNER: Melina, at 1:30.

Melina went right to ringside after the match and shoved a helpless McCool over the chair that was behind her. What a bully! First she tries to break up Ziggler and Maria, then she shoves McCool over for just standing there. In WWE world, this makes you a face.

[Commercial Break]

-Grisham thanked Aerosmith for allowing them to use “You Gotta Move” as the Summerslam theme. JR the plugged WWE.com.

-They showed a video package of WWE’s weekend events leading up to Summerslam in Southern California.

-Rey Mysterio came out for his match with Kane. They showed clips of the I.C. Title match from Summerslam during Rey’s entrance. They also showed the match-up of Mysterio vs. Ziggler at Breaking Point. The match is next.

[Commercial Break]

3- REY MYSTERIO vs. KANE

The match started after Kane made his entrance. Kane started off hot (no pun intended), kicking away at Rey while he was on the ground. Rey fought back, including sliding under Kane’s legs, but Kane clotheslined him down hard. Sidewalk slam for two by the big man. Rey fought out of a bearhug on the mat, but succumbed to a low dropkick from Kane for two. Kane tried another slam, but a headscissors took Kane down face-first into the middle turnbuckle. Seated senton, then Rey jumped on Kane, who fell on his back for two. Off the top, Rey ran right into a right handed thrust to the throat for a two-count. Rey dropkicked the knee of Kane into the 619 position, but Kane grabbed him in a choke. A second time, this time Rey put him on the middle rope with a hurricanrana. Kane dodged Rey trying to hit him on the outside and Rey ran into a big boot. He picked Rey up and slammed him into the ring post chest-first. The ref warned him to get Rey into the ring or he’ll disqualify him. Kane did it anyway, and subsequently was DQ’d.

WINNER: Rey, via DQ, at 4:50. Not bad for what it was. I’ve seen worse from these two.

Great Khali came out after the match to attack Kane. Khali tried a Punjabi Plunge, but Kane jumped over the top rope. He landed like he was thrown over though, but Khali released him as soon as Kane left his feet. Ranjin Singh hit Kane with a Singapore Cane on the outside, then Kane did as well. Khali kept hitting Kane with it as he chased him to the back. Then Ziggler came out and hit Rey with his finisher. He was very intense, yelling that he should be champion to Rey and the fans.

-The main event steel cage match for the World Title is still to come- loser leaves WWE.

[Commercial Break]

-After a shot of the big cage hanging over the ring, Chris Jericho and Big Show came out. Oh, Jericho has a match. But he got the mic first. He called he and Show the most powerful team in sports today. He reminded everyone that Floyd Mayweather cheated to help MVP and Mark Henry win on Raw this past week. Jericho said he’s going to do what great teams do: Prevail and be victorious, like great teams do. What, no mention of the Cards choking in the Super Bowl yet? Jericho said he and Show are men of principle and honesty. “Unified....tag team....champions” was Show’s only contribution.

4- CHRIS JERICHO vs. SHAD GASPARD

Jericho had a nice raspberry on the side of his jaw, perhaps from this Monday. Shad mixed some offensive firepower and some taunting of Jericho into the opening minute. High knee-lift from Shad. He press-slammed one half of the tag champions, then just dropped him down. Shad caught Jericho trying a cross-body, and slammed him down. Jericho got pulled out of the ring by Show on the pin attempt. That led to JTG attacking Big Show on the outside. Shad came to help him, then Jericho got involved. That led to Teddy Long coming out and making it a tag match that will continue after the break. Eerie, since TNA did the exact same thing last night (except they re-started it later in the show).

WINNER: No Contest, about 1:45 (no bell).

[Commercial Break]

5- CHRIS JERICHO & BIG SHOW vs. CRYME TYME

Match had already been re-started out of break. JTG was sent to the outside by Jericho, where Show slapped him hard in the chest. Show tagged in as Jericho proclaimed him a destroyer. Show worked the leg and knee of JTG. Jericho, back in, missed a charge and went shoulder-first into the post, allowing JTG to make the tag to Shad. Shad continued where he left off, taking the fight to Jericho. He got a side slam, but Show made the blind tag. By the time Shad realized what had happened, he was already on the mat after one solid right hand to the face by Big Show. End match.

WINNERS: Jericho & Big Show, at 2:33. Neither of these matches had time to get going. Did JR just call Big Show’s punch a “carcinogenic right hand”?

-JR mentioned, and a graphic showed, that the University of Phoenix Stadium would host Wrestlemania in 2010.

-Stills of Undertaker’s return at Summerslam were shown. He returns to Smackdown next week in Cleveland.

-Jeff Hardy was applying his face-paint backstage. Matt was right there with him and wished him good luck tonight. He said Jeff has always been a gambler, and he can respect that. He said he respects Jeff and told him to win back his World Heavyweight Title. He said in the future, it’ll be time for the Hardys to take over Smackdown. Jeff said he lives for the moment, and the moment is now.

-The cage began to lower in the arena. I’m presuming that entrances will take place next.

[Commercial Break]

-During Hardy’s entrance (and curiously, they didn’t wait ‘til both men got in the ring to do announcements), Punk attacked him and catapulted him into the steel cage. That explains the lack of in-ring introductions. Punk had his left shoulder taped. He hip-tossed Hardy onto the mat outside the ring. Punk finally threw Hardy into the ring and the match officially began.

6- JEFF HARDY vs. C.M. PUNK- STEEL CAGE MATCH FOR THE WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP- LOSER LEAVES WWE

Punk went to climb the cage as soon as he got in, but Hardy wasn’t having it. He was able to pull Punk back in, but couldn’t capitalize with offense. Suplex in the middle of the ring by Punk after he was thwarted on another attempt to leave. He went up a third time in the first two minutes, but again, Hardy was able to reach him. Punk slammed Hardy’s head against the top of the cage, and Hardy fell down. Punk registered a two-count. Grisham tried to get in some deep word-play about the match that he probably stayed up late at night thinking of, but hilariously, JR interrupted him by calling the match. Punk tried to send Hardy head-first into the cage, but Hardy turned it around and did the same with Punk. Jeff landed Whisper in the Wind for two. After he couldn’t get the pin, they went to break.

[Commercial Break]

Hardy kicked Punk off of him as he tried to leave the cage, then jumped onto Punk in the ring. Hardy tried to leave through the door, but Punk wouldn’t let him take the easy way out, like he does by taking pills and alcohol every day. Sorry, Punk’s promos seeped into my subconscious there. Another catapult, but this time Jeff grabbed the links of the cage and tried to climb out. They both ended up walking the top rope. Hardy punched Punk, who crotched himself, then fell to the mat. Hardy saw the opening and landed the Swanton. Hardy struggled to follow up but did, to the tune of a two-count. Punk was back to his feet first and tried to climb the turnbuckle. Jeff snuck over to the opposite corner and tried to sneak out via the door. Punk saw this and ran over to stop Hardy. He grabbed Jeff’s foot, only to be shot backward thanks to a heel kick. Jeff cross-bodied Punk into the cage. Both men were down, and we got a close-up of Punk and the agony on his face, when they went to break about shy of 11:00 into the match.

[Commercial Break]

Back with Punk getting his upper torso out through the cage, but Hardy holding on. Punk’s hands even touched the ground as he screamed, “I’m out! I’m out!” But he wasn’t, by the rulebook here. The two exchanged punches to the “boo, yay!” of the crowd. GTS was turned into a backslide from Hardy for two. Punk came up holding his shoulder after a pin attempt. Punk again got Hardy up for the GTS, but he countered it into a Twist of Fate. Hardy chose to climb the cage, and straddled the top, but Punk grabbed a leg to stop the challenger. Hardy kicked and punched at Punk and even got to the other side of his cage, hanging out. JR suggested he drop from there and pay the price. But Punk dragged him over to the other side in a headlock, then superplexed him off the top. Crowd was lapping this up, as you’d expect. Punk climbed to the top rope and attempted to escape. He straddled the top this time, but Hardy chased him down. Hardy tried to pull him back over by the head as Punk got all the way over. He poked Hardy in the eye, then slammed his head off the top of the cage. Hardy went falling to the mat, hitting the top rope on the way down, and Punk skulked down off the cage to win.

WINNER: Punk, at 20:52. The more gimmicks, the better for these two it appears. Just as good as any of their other confrontations, though the finish felt a bit anti-climactic. Not Punk winning, but how he did it.

Punk waved goodbye to Hardy as he clutched the World Title to his chest outside the ring. The cage lifted off the ring as the copyright logo showed up with five minutes still left in the show. Jeff sat up in the ring as there was a smattering of “Thank You Jeff” chants. Yes, a shot of someone crying in the crowd! Ah, I love it. Hardy clapped walking around the ring. He got the mic and apologized for letting anyone down. He said he was sorry that people will be seeing Punk instead of him on Smackdown. He did admit that it’s been one hell of a ride. Hardy said this is not goodbye forever, but only goodbye for now. He said if the time is right, he’ll see them in the future. He thanked them again. Matt is back on his side, he said, so there’s still a Hardy on the show. He ended things from “yours truly,” then shook hands with fans at ringside as he headed up the ramp. He threw some of his gear to the fans. He acknowledged everyone from the top of the ramp, then to throw salt into the wounds, C.M. Punk came from behind and nailed Hardy with the belt to the back of his head. He said, in a truly heel voice as the crowd reigned boos down upon him, “come on, you can do better than that...this man is gone forever!” He stayed with the belt over his head as the show ended. Wow. Good stuff.

Greg Parks has been covering Smackdown for PWTorch.com since January of 2007. You can also read his frequently updated 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.

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