By Greg Parks, PWTorch Contributor

WWE Smackdown review
December 25, 2009
Taped 12/19/09 in Orlando, FL.
Aired on MyNetwork TV



- Smackdown Open.

- Todd Grisham and Matt Striker opened the show, plugging Rey Mysterio vs. Undertaker, "first time ever," for the World Heavyweight Title. Also, The Hart Dynasty will challenge DX for the Unified Tag Belts.

- Backstage, Vickie Guerrero wished everyoen a Merry Christmas, along with Teddy Long. Teddy took some eggnog as they were in a kitchen set. Vickie gave us the play-by-play on how to have a perfect Christmas dinner. She put a ton of butter in with the potatoes as she cooked them. She's fat, get it? She made some turkey and stuffing as well, with the stuffing looking less than edible. She was getting progresively more exasperated with Long as he defied her orders. Hornswoggle came in and started ripping at Vickie's turkey and eating it with his hands, much to her dismay.

1 - R-TRUTH & FINLAY & MATT HARDY & JOHN MORRISON vs. C.M. PUNK & LUKE GALLOWS & DREW MCINTYRE & DOLPH ZIGGLER

The faces came out together to Truth's theme, and the heels together to Punk's theme. The veteran Finlay started off against Ziggler. Ziggler got the better of Truth, but Punk tagged in and got hip-tossed. Fans were behind Hardy when he tagged in. Three pinfalls in a row to no avail for Punk as they went to break.

[Commercial Break]

Gallows was in control out of break. Ziggler used Hardy's hair to keep him at bay. The announcers discussed Morrison vs. McIntyre for the I.C. Title next week on Smackdown. Hardy made the hot tag to Morrison, who briefly tangled with Punk before C.M. got limber-tail and tagged out. Everyone came in and hit their stuff, with Morrison pinning Ziggler after a Starship Pain.

WINNER: Morrison, at 10:24. Just a way to showcase all eight guys. Ziggler took the pin, but I don't think that is bad news for his immediate future as WWE is protecting the other guys on his team pretty hard (except for Punk sometimes).

- Taker vs. Rey for the title is yet to come.

[Commercial Break]

- Chris Jericho came out. He said he was disgusted that tonight was being touted as a DX Christmas. He dissed Teddy Long and said the conspiracy against him continues. He questioned what the Hart Dynasty has done to earn a tag title shot. Man's got a point. The Hart Dynasty came out. Jericho told them to calm down and reminded them he trained in the Hart Dungeon like they did. He said he remembers them as punks and that's how he still sees them. David Hart Smith got the mic and said they face problems head-on. Jericho set up for another insult when DX's music played. The duo came on the Titan-Tron instead in front of the live audience.

Hunter said they were boring everyone. Shawn said they had gifts and for Jericho, it was somethin to remember his partner: A Tickle-Me-Big Show. They showed the photo-shopped image on the screen and Hunter said when you push the tummy, it makes a noise. Of course, it was a fart noise. Classy. For the Hart Dynasty (nobody cares about them according to Hunter, by the way), Shawn said they got a one-way trip back to Canada. Jericho complained about DX and told the Harts to make an impact tonight. As Jericho turned around, the Harts hit their finisher on him. "I guess they made an impact," said Hunter. Way to put over your opponents, DX. No one takes them seriously as it is, and this didn't help.

[Commercial Break]

- Layla and Michelle McCool pretended to want to make up with Mickie James for Christmas, but they got her Jenny Craig gift certificates.

- Striker and Grisham talked about Taker being banged up, and they showed the match that happened with him and Batista at TLC. Then they showed clips of the #1 Contender's Match last week.

- Rey Mysterio was saying a prayer over a mask in his locker room when Josh Mathews walked up and asked him how he felt about his chances tonight. Rey whised everyone a Merry Christmas adn said tonight, he's the underdog, but miracles happen at this time of year, and we may see one tonight. The match is next.

[Commercial Break]

2 - REY MYSTERIO vs. THE UNDERTAKER - WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH

Mostly cheers, a few boos for Rey. All cheers for Taker. Rey went off the ropes early and Taker tried to grab him by the throat, but Mysterio sold it like it was a punch. Taker missed his legdrop on the apron and Rey shoved him into the ringpost on the outside, then hit the champ with a suicide dive. They went to break a little over a minute into the match.

[Commercial Break]

Rey kicked at Taker's legs, but Taker put him down. Mysterio low-bridged the Dead Man and baseball slid him. Taker caught a seated senton attempt and slammed Rey into the barricade. Taker worked Rey's left arm. He slammed Rey and signaled that it was over. Rey got out of a Last Ride powerbomb and landed a springboard leg drop for two. Taker came back with a big boot, then he readied for a chokeslam. He landed it, but Batista ran in and attacked him for the DQ.

WINNER: Taker, via DQ, at 9:44.

Batista hit a spinebuster on Taker, but Taker back-dropped out of a Batista Bomb attempt. Rey hit the 619 on Taker and as Taker caught Rey in a chokeslam, Batista speared him. Rey turned the tables and nailed Batista with a 619 and seated senton. Lot going on there at the end, hard to keep track of.

- The Unified Tag Titles are on the line, still to come tonight.

[Commercial Break]

- They showed Batista's interference from moments ago.

- Striker had some awful sweater on as he and Grisham sent it to clips of R-Truth singing Christmas carols as Santa on Tribute to the Troops.

- Cryme Tyme was backstage with a crabby Santa, who had his beard off and complained about the kids and pretty much everything. Shad gave him a big boot and they rifled through his gift bag.

3 - CRYME TYME vs. BRYCE ANDREWS & PAT BUCK

CT came out and threw the gifts from the bag to the fans. Striker talked about the jobbers' credentials, one being a wrestler from Long Island, the other a former boxer. Andrews took some punishment from Shad. Shad lifted Buck over his head and tossed him to ringside, then Cryme Tyme hit their finisher on Andrews for the win.

WINNERS: Cryme Tyme, at 1:41. Just goes to show how thin the tag ranks are.

- Guerrero and Long were backstage arguing in the kitchen. Vickie threatened to call Mr. McMahon. They saw the camera and started behaving. She talked about making dessert like apple pie. Long had a banana cream pie and they both went to throw the pie in each other's faces, but stopped short and laughed. Behind Vickie as she addressed the camera, Hornswoggle came in and picked up the cream pie. Long told Vickie to turn around and it went right in her face. The picture froze up, so I didn't get the ultimate punchline.

[Commercial Break]

- Michelle McCool was out to do guest commentary.

4 - MICKIE JAMES & MARIA vs. LAYLA & BETH PHOENIX

Mickie was almost in tears before the match and had to be held back from attacking Layla by her partner. A few Dropkicks on Layla by Maria. Spin kick by Layla to turn the tide. Beth tagged in and ran over Maria, doing some choking while she was in there. She didn't get a whole lot of the spotlight. Maria finally made the tag to Mickie, who Thesz Pressed Layla. Mickie dodged another spinning kick and hit a weak one of her own to pick up the win.

WINNERS: James and Maria, at 3:23. McCool and Striker teaming up to insult Grisham on commentary was the highlight.

After the match, Mickie went after McCool, who hid behind the announcers. Out of nowhere, Beth took out Mickie. McCool trash-talked a fallen James, while Beth stared a hole through Michelle as well.

- They showed the trailer to "The Marine 2."

- Up next, DX faces The Hart Dynast for the Tag Titles.

[Commercial Break]

- The announcers plugged next week's announced match of Drew McIntyre vs. John Morrison for the Intercontinental Championship

- DX made their entrance for the title match, which is next.

[Commercial Break]

-They showed what happened at Little People's Court on Monday night.

5 - DEGENERATION X vs. THE HART DYNASTY - WWE UNIFIED TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH

Hip-toss to start by HBK. Striker claimed Michaels ended the Hart presence in WWE. I guess Owen doesn't count. Or Bulldog again later. Long standing vertical suplex by Triple H, with a point to Smith on the apron at the end. Kidd came off the second rope with a double axe-handle, but Trips met him with a kick to the gut. He set up for the Pedigree, but it was too close to the ropes, as Smith clotheslined him and tagged in as they went to break.

[Commercial Break]

Back with Kidd illegally softening up Hunter in the corner. Smith tagged and and completed a standing suplex on Hunter. The Harts continued to cut off the ring. Hunter finally made thet ag when he took Kidd down. Natalya, though, pulled Kidd out of the way of an elbowdrop from Michaels. Springboard blockbuster by Kidd for two. Hard whip by Smith sent Shawn up and over the turnbuckle. Nattie slapped HBK while the ref's attention was elsewhere. Striker, with this gem: "I've been in the ring with Smith, I've trained with Kidd....and I've had lunch with Natalya, so I know what is going through their minds right now." Smith worked over HBK for a while, but Kidd ended up springboarding into an atomic drop. HBK made the tag to Triple H, who just abused Smith. The Harts managed to land their finisher on Hunter, but Shawn broke up the pin. Kidd missed a splash on HBK on the outside, leading to Shawn superkicking Smith into a Triple H Pedigree to finish things.

WINNERS: DX, at 15:40. Good tag match and it just goes to show how entertaining the division could be if WWE actually invested some time into it.

After the match, Hornswoggle came out and handed Santa hats to DX to celebrate with. Shawn got the mic and said Horny has two words for us: "Merry Christmas!" said Hornswoggle. They did the crotch chops with fireworks and celebrated as the show went off the air.

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. Also, look for his Tuesday chats with James Caldwell each Tuesday afternoon on the Torch. 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