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qKELLER'S WWE SMACKDOWN TAKE
JUNE 26, 2009
TAPED IN MILWAUKEE, WISC.
AIRED ON MY NETWORK TV

BOX SCORE BASICS

-Jim Ross introduced the show and hyped the Edge & Chris Jericho vs. Jeff Hardy & Rey Mysterio "Rage in the Cage" main event.

-Vince McMahon then walked to the ring to his intro music. Todd Grisham said he's "the new owner of Monday Night Raw." Ross said McMahon must be euphoric to have his creation fall back in his back pocket since he rarely shows up on Friday nights. McMahon said it's great to be on Smackdown and he imagines a number of fans are actually happy to see him. After calling the fans cheeseheads, he said something smells. He said he smelled fear because the fans fear him. A chant of "You suck" broke out. He then said he figured it out - the fans are afraid of losing their jobs. He said most of them deserve to be fired. He threw to an example of how to fire someone - him firing Trump last week. He invited G.M. Teddy Long to the ring.

Long walked out to his music, entered the ring, and offered a handshake. McMahon rejected it. He asked Long to tell him how he's going to entertain him tonight. Long touted the main event. McMahon said rather than firing him on the spot, he's going to put him on probation. R-Truth's music then played and he sang his way to the ring. They cut to the first commercial 10 minutes into the show. [c]

Shelton Benjamin walked out onto the stage. Ross said it's a volatile situation and Shelton had demanded this match with R-Truth. Shelton said Truth saying he learned on the street is just a line to make him feel good about being an underachiever. He said he went to college and got himself a real education, "and also graduated at the top of my class." He said the only thing he has going for him is "skippin' and jumpin'," as he says in his song. He talked down to him about his lack of English schooling. "I don't be the Gold Standard, I am the Gold Standard," he said. Truth gave him an intense stare in return during the whole condescending speech by Shelton, then jump-started the match.

(1) R-Truth pinned Shelton Benjamin in 11:00. Shelton bailed out after an early flurry. Truth chased him down and punched him at ringside. Back in the ring they had a nice exchange. Shelton came back by suplexing Truth out of the ring and they cut to a break at 2:00 [c] Ross said Truth didn't have an opportunity in his youth to go to college, but he's turned his life around. Grisham said he's living his dream of a WWE Superstar. Shelton dominated for several minutes after the break, but Truth came back with a powerslam and then a flying twisting corkscrew elbow out of nowhere for the clean pin. Grisham said Truth named that The Lie Detector. (**)

Vince McMahon approached Rey Mysterio backstage and said he doesn't know why he wears that mask. Rey shot back in Spanish and left. McMahon told Long that Smackdown is English-only. [c]

(2) Michelle McCool & Alicia Fox beat Melina & Gail Kim 6:00. Melina convincingly sold a jaw injury after a McCool kick to the face. The ref held McCool off of her for a while, which seems unfair since McCool's move was legal. Grisham said it was unsportsmanlike because Melina was "in obvious pain." Gail Kim got a hot-tag at 4:00 against Fox and went on a flurry of offense. McCool snuck in a tag and surprised Kim with the Bad Way (a/k/a Styles Clash) for the win. (3/4*)

McMahon approached C.M. Punk backstage and said it must be an unbelievable feeling to win Money in the Bank twice. He asked how he does it. Punk said he works hard and lives a clean lifestyle. McMahon said he's just kidding about that, right? He said Long believes it's true. Punk said it is true, he doesn't need beer and alcohol to get high, he gets high off of competition. McMahon turned to Long and said that should teach him a lesson about doubting people. [c]

Ross and Grisham were shown on camera at ringside. They talked about the Dolph Ziggler vs. Great Khali feud, then threw to a vignette of Cryme Tyme. With help from Eve, they explained that Jackin' is defined as "To rob a person of their possessions such as clothes, jewelry, or personality." Jesse barged into the picture acting like and dressed like Cryme Tyme. They lifted his cross necklace and told him he was a victim of a Jackin'.

John Morrison's ring intro took place. [c]

(3) John Morrison pinned C.M. Punk in 16:00. Punk shook hands with Morrison as the bell rang. This match began with three minutes to go in hour one, assuring that at the top of the hour they wouldn't be at or near taking a break. Ross referenced Raw's "monstrous rating" on Monday and credited Smackdown's visit for helping; he said they anticipate a thank you card. Ross explored whether fans were turning on Punk. He said he wasn't sure if fans were booing Punk or just booing the fact that their man Jeff Hardy lost the World Title. Ross said Morrison reminds him of Shawn Michaels when he first saw him. He said the things Morrison does naturally are the things Michaels does naturally, but it remains to be seen how much he cultivates that potential and natural ability. They cut to a break at 6:00. [c] Nice pace from there leading to a series of near falls for both with Morrison coming out on top of a backslide battle for the upset win. Ross called it a defining moment for Morrison on Smackdown. Punk tried to accept the loss in sportsmanlike fashion, but ended up giving him a Go To Sleep. He seemed conflicted, almost regretful afterward. Grisham said sometimes good people do bad things, and that could be what's going on here. Definitely a good match. (**3/4)

Josh Matthews interviewed Chris Jericho backstage. He used an AA analogy for Rey's obsession with his mask and fan approval. He said he eventually saw through it all and changed his ways and dropped the witticisms and catch phrases. He said he will be Rey's sponsor and show him the right path and eventually Rey and his fans will admit that he was Rey's true savior. [c]

Ross and Grisham stood mid-ring and hyped the Bash line-up, then plugged the cage tag main event.

Long wished Hardy good luck tonight and Sunday at the Bash. McMahon walked up to Hardy and said he doesn't want him to win. Hardy said he doesn't need his luck because he has his own. Hardy walked away. Long glared at McMahon. McMahon made that face back at Long. Then he yelled at him and told him again he's on probation, whatever that means. [c]

(4) Edge & Chris Jericho beat Rey Mysterio & Jeff Hardy in 20:00. Punk came out as the special referee first. Ross tried to make sense of Punk's actions against Morrison earlier. Hardy's ring intro came first. When Rey came out, Ross pushed that if Rey loses, he has to unmask forever. Chris Jericho came out third, followed by Edge. They cut to a break after less than a minute of offense by Hardy and Rey. [c] Back from the break, Edge stopped Rey from climbing out of the cage to win. At 8:00 they cut to another break. [c] Ten minutes left in the show after the break. At 16:00 Jericho tagged Edge who prevented Rey from tagging in Hardy. Jericho tagged back in and trash-talked Rey, taunting him about losing his mask at the Bash. Jericho threw Rey into the cage, but Rey clung to the cage and almost climbed out to win. Jericho yanked him down and then Rey leaped off and dropkicked him. Hardy got a hot-tag and went on a flurry, but when he ducked an Edge spear, Edge's spear took Punk down and out. Hardy hit a Whisper in the Wind on Edge at 19:00, but Punk couldn't make the count for a few seconds. Rey swung off of Hardy and hit Jericho. Hardy then attempted a Twist of Fate on Edge. Hardy looked for a moment at Punk, which opened up Edge for a clean spear and Punk counted to three. Good TV main event. (***1/4)

Punk asked the fans to put their hands together for a guy who just fought his heart out for them - the no. 1 contender for his title, Jeff Hardy. The crowd cheered as Hardy gasped for breath. Ross said, "I'm not sure what to make of that." Grisham said he sensed a hint of sarcasm.

They closed the show backstage with Long and McMahon looking at what happened on a monitor. McMahon said he's expecting big things out of him on Friday. He told him to perform as if his job depended on it.

THOUGHTS, OBSERVATIONS, AND NITPICKS

MCMAHON-LONG: The McMahon segment didn't really go anywhere quickly, and the Long segment started really slow, too. It was paced so slow I can't imagine viewers weren't lost who tune in to wrestling to see (a) wrestling "Superstars" and (b) action... I was surprised that Teddy Long was within a couple inches of Vince McMahon in height... After insulting Rey and Rey firing back in Spanish, McMahon said from now on, only English on Smackdown. Knowing Smackdown has a big Hispanic viewership, that's a way to turn McMahon heel with those viewers. It might gain sympathies with some other fans, though...

MORRISON-PUNK: Nice battle between two emerging top tier players for WWE. Well probably see a lot more epic matches between them if their careers continue on the current trajectory... The "slow turn" of Punk is being done, with natural reasons occurring for him to give up on being a Straight Edge sportsman...

OTHER THOUGHTS: Good to see Shelton get some mic time. They haven't figured out a firm direction for his character after all these years, but a "smarter than thou" approach like he took here might resonate. They need to get behind him and really go all out to make it work because he still feels, ironically given his gimmick, like a mid-carder underachiever... If Punk wants to go strong heel, he ought to continue to say that line about not needing drugs and alcohol to get high. Not that it's not a good and true message, but he can sure turn people against him by the tone in which he preaches it... At the end of the show McMahon told Long to perform on Sunday as if his job depended on it. Isn't that like, well, asking a G.M. of an NBA team to perform in the NBA Finals as if his job depended on it? Isn't a G.M.'s job finished come "game time"?...

GRISHAM CLICHE WATCH: "Jericho's gone from soprano to tenor!"

QUOTEBOOK

Vince McMahon: "Somebody, no doubt, cut the cheese. There's an overwhelming stench in this arena."

Vince McMahon: "If truth be known, the vast majority of you, if you were graded on an objective performance level, the vast majority of you here tonight would be fired."

Shelton Benjamin: "Just so you understand this, I'm going to put it in your language. After I be beating you tonight, you can be skippin' and jumpin' out of this arena, out of the WWE, and out of my life."

Jim Ross: "Truth is like a dynamic point guard; he distributes his office in a variety of ways."

Vince McMahon to Rey Mysterio: "Do you want to stand up? Oh, you're already standing up. Ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

Vince McMahon to Rey Mysterio: "I don't know why you wear that stupid mask anyway."

Chris Jericho: "This isn't an obsession, this is an intervention. Rey Mysterio is an addict and his mask is his drug. And it's a drug that's leading him down a path of destruction, a path that will ruin his career and ultimately ruin his life. But like most addicts, Mysterio refuses to believe has a problem."

Vince McMahon to Jeff Hardy: "I don't want you to win, Considering your checkered past, and I think you know what I mean, I don't want you representing Smackdown as the World Champion. Just being straight with you."

Jim Ross: "A thrill ride with a pulse is Jeff Hardy."

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