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WWE Smackdown taping
December 30, 2008
East Rutherford, N.J. at the Izod Center
Report by Mike Omansky, PWTorch contributor

They had a full house with only a few scattered empty seats.

Dark Match: R-Truth beat Ryan Braddon with a scissors kick.

Smackdown taping #1 - to air January 2, 2009

-- Vickie Guerrero comes to the ring. She first announces that the main event for the Royal Rumble will be Jeff Hardy defending the WWE Title against Edge. Triple H comes in and wants to know the Rumble entrants; wants to be in it. Vickie advises that he'll find out later tonight, with everyone else.

Hunter then shows that he has a Vickie action figure that he played with and undressed earlier today. That inspired him to look for photos of her, and he found nude photos available on e-Bay. Hunter has been trying to bid all day, but he keeps getting outbid by a CGUERRERO. Hunter says there's only five minutes left for bidding, and Vickie scurries back to the dressing room.

(1) Finlay (w/Hornswoggle) & Great Khali beat Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins. Khali pinned Ryder with one foot. Fun, one-sided match. Hornswoggle was in during and after the match, finishing with a tadpole splash. Crowd was into the babyface team.

-- Interview: Eve interviews Michelle McCool, who says she owes Maria an apology. McCool plays heel. ... Edge and Big Show are shown discussing the photos with Vickie.

(2) The Brian Kendrick & Ezekiel beat Jesse & Festus when Jackson pinned Jesse with a chokeslam.

(3) Vladimir Koslov beat Hurricane Helms with a headbutt, slam, and pin in a very one-sided match.

-- Jim Ross comes to the ring to announce Royal Rumble participants. He announces Triple H, Big Show, Koslov, and Shelton Benjamin. Benjamin comes out and chases Ross out of the ring. He talks about his great run as U.S. champion. Undertaker then comes out and chokeslams him.

-- Michelle McCool comes to the ring to apologize to Maria, even though she's not here due to last week's injury. She then asks Eve to come out, so she can apologize to her for her behavior. Eve comes out. She apologizes, they hug. They leave the ring, and McCool then attacks EVE from behind.

-- Backstage, Triple H is back to insulting Vickie. She declares that he'll have three matches next week, which she calls "Triple Jeopardy." A tables match, a handicap match, and a "Last Man Standing" match.

(4) Kizarny beat MVP with a backward roll. Not much interest in Kizarny from the crowd, and people started cheering for MVP as the match went on. After the pin, Mr. Kennedy came out, pointed out that MVP was beaten again, and plugged his DVD.

(5) ECW champion Matt Hardy & WWE champion Jeff Hardy beat Edge & Big Show in a solid match. Finish: Show just decides to walk out on Edge, leaving it two-on-one. Hardys double-team Edge, then Jeff pins Edge with the Swanton.

***

Smackdown taping #2 - to air January 9, 2009

(1) Triple H beat John Morrison in a "tables match" to open the show. Good bout; had to attempt the finish twice. A table was set outside of the ring near the announcers, and Hunter threw Morrison off the top rope onto the table, which didn't break. Hunter then set it up again, brought Morrison back up to the same corner, and did it again, with the table breaking. Assume this will be edited for TV.

Vickie Guerrero sees Hunter walking backstage, and reminds him that there are two matches left.

(2) The Undertaker beat U.S. champion Shelton Benjamin with a tombstone in a very good, long match. Solid performance by both, not a Benjamin burial.

(3) Bella Twins beat Victoria & Michelle McCool, pinning Victoria after a quick tag and immediate roll-up. After the bout, McCool attacked Victoria from behind.

(4) Triple H beat The Miz & Chavo Guerrero in a handicap match, pinning Miz with a pedigree after Chavo walked out.

-- Vickie comes on the screen. She says two down, one to go. She is "anxious" to see how Hunter does in a "Last Man Standing" match against the Big Show.

-- MVP lounge set up in the ring. MVP was very sullen, then introduces his guest, Mr. Kennedy They talk about MVP's on-going losses. During the argument, the ring crew comes in and removes the MVP set -- one says that his furniture is being repossessed. Mr. Kennedy says that no matter how bad things are, they could be worse. He exits the ring, and Boogeyman's music hits. Boogeyman comes into the ring, attacks MVP, and slams him. MVP gets out before the worms are unleashed.

(5) WWE tag team champions Carlito & Primo beat The Brian Kendrick & Ezekiel Jackson to retain the belts. Carlito pinned Kendrick with a backstabber. Colons tossed Jackson out of the ring prior to the pin.

(6) Big Show beat Triple H clean in the "Last Man Standing" match. Match could only be won by a "ten count." By the time the match started, story was that Hunter was battered. Show dominated the match. Hunter got in two pedigrees, but neither put Show away. Finish: Show slammed Hunter on a table outside of the ring, and Hunter couldn't answer the ten count.

-- Vickie comes out with a smug look, staring toward into the ring where Hunter is. Hunter is helped out.

***

DARK MATCH MAIN EVENT: WWE champion Jeff Hardy vs. Edge. This had been advertised for the past month as a "triple threat" with Hunter. But, of course, he was now battered. No finish to report -- left during the match/didn't see.

Final item: somewhere in all of this, there was a video package promoting the return of Umaga to Smackdown.

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