By Vince Valdez, PWTorch.com contributor

WWE Smackdown Report
August 22, 2008
Aired on the CW

A recap aired of the Smackdown matches at Summerslam, ending with footage of The Undertaker sending Edge to "hell."

The show began without an introduction by J.R. and Tazz, but rather a promo by Vicki Guerrero. She told the audience that the Vicki Guerrero they saw over the past few months was not the "real" Vicki Guerrero, but instead a person whose actions were manipulated by Edge. Thank goodness; instead of having a heel general manager, we have an incompetent one, instead. She went on to say that Edge was the one who had ultimately corrupted her; that he had transformed her into a person who shortened men's careers and cheated the audience, while feeling forced to fall in love with Edge at the same time, only to be betrayed in the end. She claimed that that Edge put her through a living hell by cheating on her, but now Edge is the one in hell. Vicki laughed maniacally, then applauded her own decision to bring back the Undertaker, who was there tonight.
 
This led to the announcement for the Smackdown main event at Unforgiven. It was declared that there would be a championship scramble not unlike the main event that was announced on Raw this past Monday. Guerrero revealed that the competitor in the match who scores the final pin after a 20 minute time limit becomes the new WWE champ. Either this format was a new idea of the McMahon brain trust in corporate headquarters, or there's a huge swerve coming sometime down the line in regards to both major titles changing hands a (potentially) numerous amount of times. Either way, it's bound not to end well.
 
They then threw it to the announce table, where J.R and Tazz complimented the actions of the G.M. in regards to Edge, The Undertaker, and the championship scramble.
 
(1) Maria vs Natalya

Maria's intro was cut off just as she was about to enter the ring.
 
[Commecial Break]
 
Prior to the match start, there were two graphics shown on the screen advertising qualifying matches for the Championship scramble - Jeff Hardy vs. The Great Khali, and Festus vs. M.V.P.
 
The two women started up with a few nice take downs and mat wrestling, which was noticed by Ross (a nice touch, as it gives credibility to the women in the ring). A leg drag to Maria took her back down to the mat, which again was nicely played up by Ross and Tazz as a damaging move which hurt Maria's speedy offence. It's these types of comments that can give a match credibility, instead of talking over the wrestlers about what match was coming up next, or hyping a PPV.
 
As both women went to the outside, Maryse came down the ramp and intentionally DQ'd Natalya by attacking Maria right in front of the referee. Nice little back story about Maria breaking Maryse's nose and wanting retribution, but shouldn't it be the other way around? Michelle McCool ran in to make the save, while the heels retreated to the back.
 
Winner: Maria via D.Q.
 
Thoughts: Nice basic match that told a good story while it lasted. The small touches by the announce team really added to the drama of the match, as well as the back story with Maryse. To their credit, the women involved in the match have stepped it up a notch from last week, especially Maria. If they can stay with this style of match and intensity, the women's division could be just as hot as TNA's in no time (especially if Gail Kim comes back to WWE as rumored).
 
Bam Neely and Chavo Guerrero were rolling Vicki around backstage when they ran into The Big Show. He told her how excited he was to be in the championship scramble qualifier, and wanted to know who his opponent was. Vicki told Show that with so much going on, she overlooked Big Show when it came to placing him in a qualifying match. Show, dejected, said he understood and walked out to ringside and sat down in front of the announce table.
 
[Commecial Break]
 
(2) "The" Brian Kendrick (w/ Ezekiel Jackson) vs. Curt Hawkins vs. Zack Ryder vs. Armando Estrada vs. Funaki (he's still around?) vs. Super Crazy vs. Scotty Goldman vs. Ryan Braddock vs. Jimmy Wang Yang vs. Vladimir Kozlov - Championship Scramble Battle Royal Qualifying Match.
 
Kozlov was eliminated first, which Ross called a "shocker." Goldman followed shortly thereafter. Big Show then took it upon himself to enter the ring and eliminate the rest of the opponents (which also explains why Kozlov and Goldman were eliminated first). Show's music played as he walked back to the ring with a huge smile on his face.
 
As the referees at ringside debated on what to do next, Ezekiel rolled Kendrick into the ring. Kendrick insisted that his feet never touched the ground, and was declared the winner.
 
Winner: The Brian Kendrick.
 
Thoughts: A clever finish which plays into both The Big Show's and Kendrick's characters as the angry giant, and the WWE's smartest asset, respectively. It'll be interesting to see how Kendrick fits into the equation of the championship picture.
 
Tonight: The Undertaker Returns!
 
[Commercial Break]
 
A recap aired from "moments ago," showing Kendrick's battle royal win.
 
At ringside, Ross announced that R. Truth would be debuting next week, followed up by another promo for Truth. I said this last week, but these promos are very well done, and add a very real side to Ron Killing's character.
 
3) M.V.P vs. Festus (w/ Jesse) - Championship Scramble qualifying match.
 
Before the match, M.V.P's promo after his match against Jeff Hardy at Summerslam aired, detailing his desire for the WWE championship.
 
Festus did his transformation at the bell, but was intercepted by M.V.P with a barrage of blows to Festus, sending him into the corner. Festus regained control of the match, starting a series of back and forth action between the two men. M.V.P threw Festus into the ring post a couple of times to soften his arm, then started to methodically work it over. Festus countered M.V.P's attack with a series of headbutts, but M.V.P quickly regained control, hitting an armbar take down, staying focused on the arm. Ross mentioned the right  (i.e the other arm) of Festus as being "very healthy," as Festus attempted to fight back. Ross again mentioned the right arm as being healthy (is this a dig at Adamle?), as Festus took over control of the match. M.V.P quickly rolled to the outside, followed by Festus. M.V.P then hit the drive-by kick on Jesse, who was sitting at ringside. He then rolled back into the ring before the 10 count as Festus checked on Jesse to win the match.
 
Winner: M.V.P
 
Post-match, M.V.P realized that Festus had returned to his lethargic state, and nailed him with a drive-by kick, as well, sending Festus through the ropes out onto the floor.
 
Thoughts: Decent match by both men. It was a good decision to have Festus lose by count out, as he took a clean loss to Kozlov last week. M.V.P continues to grow as a heel, as well as improving in all aspects every week in the ring.
 
Up Next: Finlay vs Shelton Benjamin in a Championship Scramble qualifying match.
 
[Commercial Break]
 
(4) Shelton Benjamin vs. Finlay (w/ Hornswaggle) - Championship Scramble qualifying match.
 
Pre-match, Benjamin cut a promo about his love for gold, and Michael Phelps' nickname as "The New Gold Standard." He reminded the viewers that there is only one Gold Standard, and that is Shelton Benjamin. Ok promo, as it gives Benjamin some sort of character and a reason for being called "The Gold Standard." My only complaint is that it was too short to really mean much.
 
Finlay took Benjamin down early on, and hit a mean elbow to the bridge of the nose. Finlay settled into a headlock, then rolled into a pin for a near fall. Benjamin forced Finlay into the corner, then unloaded on him after a boot to the stomach following a "clean" break. From there, the action broke down as the two men started brawling onto the outside. As both men regained their composure, Finlay took Benjamin down with a beautiful single leg take down, then started working on the ankle of Benjamin. The U.S Champ grabbed the ropes, then suckered Finlay into the corner, causing Finlay to injure his shoulder. Finlay went to the outside, and in an innovative use of the ring skirt, lifted it to trap the charging Shelton Benjamin.
 
[Commercial Break]
 
Coming back from commercial, a replay of what happened "during the break" aired, showing Benjamin landing awkwardly on his ankle, and Finlay taking a nasty spill to the floor from the top turnbuckle. Benjamin hit a huge clothesline for a very near fall. Benjamin continued to dominate over Finlay, working on the arm and shoulder. A surprise backslide from Finlay only gets a 2, followed by a dragon whip by Benjamin for another near fall. As Finlay was setting up for the Celtic Cross, Mike Knox came down from ringside and grabbed Hornswaggle, causing Finlay to become distracted just long enough for Shelton to hit the Pay dirt for the win.
 
Winner: Shelton Benjamin.
 
Post-match, Mike Knox entered the ring and attacked Finlay briefly before being stopped by Charles Robinson.

Thoughts: A great match until the end, although I can't say the run-in was unexpected. There were some good near falls, and the intensity displayed by both men seemed to be turned up for this match.
 
[Commercial Break]
 
Still to come: Jeff Hardy takes on The Great Khali.
 
A video recap aired of the confrontation between Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho at Summerslam, ending with Jericho hitting Michaels' wife, Rebecca. That was either a legit hit or one awesome quick makeup job, as her lip looked pretty nasty after the punch by Jericho.
 
Chavo, Bam, and Vicki were in her office discussing the Championship Scramble. In an awkward moment, Chavo said it would have been nice if he were part of a qualifying match, too. They then all wondered aloud where the Undertaker was, and if he could possibly hold a grudge against the 3 of them due to Vicki's decisions. Chavo suggested an explanation, and all three of them agreed an apology was the best bet.
 
Triple H's music played as he walked to the ring to his full intro.
 
[Commercial Break]
 
Triple H has joined Ross and Tazz on commentary, saying that 15,000 people heard Khali fall at Summerslam. They talked up the use of the Pedigree on Khali as he walked out to the ring with Runjin Singh.
 
(5) The Great Khali (w/ Runjin Singh) vs. Jeff Hardy - Championship Scramble qualifying match.
 
Triple H: "Jeff Hardy is not Triple H, I can tell you that right now." Maybe, but he's over, no matter how much Hunter refuses to believe it.

Hardy and Khali started off toe to toe, which proved to be ineffective for Hardy. Once back inside, Khali floored Hardy with a clothesline, followed by a massive headbutt. Khali continued to pound away on Hardy, settling into a nerve hold before chopping Hardy's head, sending him back to the mat. Hardy was knocked to the outside off of the turnbuckle again by Khali, but Hardy snuck back in and hit Khali with the Twise of Fate. He attempted to follow up with a Whisper in the Wind, but was grabbed by Khali and placed into the head vice. Runjin Singh attempted to interfere, but was stopped by Triple H, who had left the announce table and picked up a chair along the way. As Khali attempted to grab Triple H from inside the ring, Triple H nailed Khali with a chair shot to the head, which enabled Hardy to hit the Whisper in the Wind for the pin.
 
Winner: Jeff Hardy
 
Thoughts: It served it's purpose in getting Hardy into the title picture again in a way that seemingly blew off the Triple H and Khali feud at the same time.
 
[Commercial Break]
 
The contenders for the title in the Championship Scramble were shown in a graphic on screen.
 
Triple H stood in the center of the ring and ran down his opponents for the WWE Championship Scramble. Triple H made a very good point in saying that he has been in every type of match that the WWE has to offer, and has come out on top on every one of them.
 
Kenny Dykstra's music hit (which is the same music that I have as a default ring tone on my cell. For some reason, I find it hilarious that WWE doesn't even give the guy real music.) and he charged to the ring to confront Triple H. He demanded to know why he wasn't considered for the Championship Scramble. Triple H cut him off mid-sentence when he took Dykstra down with the Pedigree and left the ring.
 
Backstage, La Familia was gathered together. Hawkins (or Ryder) said that The Undertaker was here. They all headed towards the ring to apologize.
 
[Commercial Break]
 
Vicki Guerrero introduced herself as the General Manager of Smackdown, in addition to being a great woman, who is not too big to apologise for her actions, who can admit to making mistakes, and who stands on her own two feet (ha!) while looking adversity in the face. She said that she is here tonight to apologize to The Undertaker, and demanded that everyone join her in a standing ovation. She then stood up from her wheelchair and introduced [The beloved] Undertaker.
 
Undertaker made a full scale entrance to the ring as La Familia looked on in what appeared to be fright.
 
Vicki began her apology by saying that she had offered up her husband to him, and offered to discuss the matter further next week. She begged Undertaker to accept her apology, saying that it was "from the bottom of her heart." Undertaker took the mic from Vicki and demanded she look at him. He said he did not come out here for an apology; he came out for Vicki's soul.
 
La Familia circled the ring, preparing to attack The Undertaker, He fought off all of them one by one, ending with a dual chokeslam attempt on Hawkins and Rider, which was broken up by Chavo Guerrero. The group finally overwhelmed The Undertaker, as Chavo instructed the other 3 to hold The Undertaker down as he went to grab a chair. Seconds before Chavo could hit The Undertaker with a chair shot, he broke free and took everyone out with a chokeslam. The show ended with The Undertaker staring Vicki down and making his slash across the throat motion.
 
NOTES: Overall, a good follow up to Summerslam, but not too much in the way of feud progression. The focus seemed to be on the Championship Scramble tonight, which, as the Unforgiven main event, it should be. It's just too bad that the whole concept feels completely contrived and not at all what we've come to expect from having a credible champion defend the title. If WWE is looking to recondition viewers in to watching more realistic, believable matches, this is not the way to do it.

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