By Wade Keller, PWTorch editor

KELLER'S SMACKDOWN REPORT
AUGUST 6, 2010
LAREDO, TEX.
AIRED ON MY NETWORK TV

[Q1]

-After the Smackdown opening, Todd Grisham and Matt Striker introduced the show.

-Rey Mysterio made his full ring entrance. Striker said Rey maintains his innocence. Rey said last week when he got chokeslammed by Kane into the Gulf of Mexico, his lungs filled with fluid and for the first time in his life he felt his life flash between his eyes. (What do his young fans think when Rey lies to them about something at this double-taping that happened earlier in the night, but he claims it was "last week.") When he began to reach the surface, he saw the face of his accuser, Kane. They cut to a creepy image of Kane's face. He said he was standing there looking at him, and then he walked away. He then emphatically said he had nothing to do with what happened to the Undertaker. He alternated between English and Spanish as he said Kane has always seemed delusional to him. Rey said he doesn't like caskets, but Kane has promised to put him in one at Summerslam. He said caskets are a symbol of loss and heartbreak. "Casket were made for the dead," he said. "When I do die and I meet my maker, it won't be Kane who judges me. There is only one person who can judge me." He said Kane knows who attacked Undertaker, "and so do I." He said he's going to tell the whole world. Drew McIntyre then interrupted.

Drew walked out onto the stage wearing a suit. He walked into the ring and said, "We have names for people like you where I'm from, Rey." He said those who wear masks and lurk in the shadows trying to gain the trust of the masses are called "criminals." Drew said Rey has pulled the wool over all of the fans' eyes for years. He said now at the expense of the Undertaker, the truth has "fay-nally" come out. "He-ewe could you, Rey?" he asked. He said while C.M. Punk was falsely accused and had his arm injuries, Rey didn't speak up. Rey said that wasn't his business. He asked if a hero would stand idly by as Jack Swagger was falsely accused and do nothing as he had to watch his 64 year old father be hospitalized in front of his own eyes. Rey said that also wasn't his business.

Drew said he admires what Rey did. He said he wishes he had taken out Undertaker himself. He said there's a difference between the, though. He said if he were the perpetrator, he would have done it alone. Drew said Rey needed help. Drew said he can take care of anybody he chooses. Drew then challenged Rey to a fight. He said he already cleared it with Teddy Long. Drew asked Rey to show him the kind aggression he showed toward Undertaker. He got intense as he said, "Come on, Rey, I dare you! I dare you!" Rey stood up to Drew and asked how he dared to disrespect him last week in from of "le rasa" (his people). The crowd cheered. Rey said it's on. Striker asked if Rey had just been goaded into a bad situation just nine days before Summerslam. That went 13 minutes, but it was good. [c]

[Q2]

1 -- "DASHING" CODY RHODES vs. MATT HARDY

Striker said Cody's entrance song is his favorite song. Grisham said his song should be "You're So Vain." Striker told Grisham he should pay attention to the nose hair trimming tips. Grisham said Cody is upset with Hardy's hair, which is so greasy you could cook breakfast in it. Hardy threw a punch in the corner at Cody that overshot his head and clearly hit his own hand for the sound effect. He missed by maybe four inches and not even the quick camera cutaway could mask how obvious it was. At 3:00 Cody bailed out to ringside and they cut to a break. [c] Striker said Cody has to be tough to walk around giving grooming tips to other man. Cody went on a sustained offensive after the break. Pretty mundane action after the break including a lot of mat holds by Cody. Hardy made a brief comeback at 11:00, but Cody finished him with Crossroads.

WINNER: Rhodes in 12:00.

STAR RATING: * -- Not a star-making match for Cody or star-confirming match for Hardy. Nothing special or memorable or inspired at all.

[Q3]

-The movie trailer aired for John Cena's new movie. This is a great theme for Cena fans, with him in the role of the big brother who coaches a skinny little brother to become a tough amateur wrestler, as that's something Cena is marketed as in general toward his younger fans. [c]

-Grisham and Striker hyped Rey vs. McIntrye later. Then came another Alberto Del Rio sketch. I'm ready to pay money to see this guy get beat up, so these are working. He said everybody wants a nice house and success, but most people are held down by mental constipation and insecurities. He said he is an enlightened man. They again showed the crowd watching on the big screen, which is a great way to make it more a part of the show.

-Backstage Michelle McCool, with Layla, told Rosa that she still needs to talk less and train more. McCool then told Long it's not fair that he's making them pick one of them to be champion. Long insisted. McCool and Layla argued. McCool handed over her belt to Long. Layla and McCool had a tug-o-war and the belt split in half. (That made belts look really cheap.) They smiled and said now there is just one belt. They each walked away holding half. It's so nice to see compromise, isn't it.

-Vickie Guerrero introduced Ziggler. Striker hyped that Ziggler was going for his first championship next. [c]

[Q4]

2 -- KOFI KINGSTON vs. DOLPH ZIGGLER (w/Vickie Guerrero) -- IC Title Match

The screen noted that Cena presents at the Teen Choice Awards next week. Striker was excited that Betty White would be there, too. Kofi took early advantage with a clothesline at ringside. Kofi made a comeback at 2:00 and dove through the ropes with a spear at Ziggler at ringside. The (disappointingly) cut to another break in the middle of a title match. (Can we at least agree not to cut away from title matches?) [c] They showed that during the break Ziggler gained from a Vickie distraction and went on sustained offense. At 10:00 Vickie stepped onto the ring apron and blew kisses at Ziggler. That distracted Ziggler, so Kofi surprised him with Trouble in Paradise. Vickie entered the ring and yelled at the ref. Ziggler then surprised Kofi with his Zig Zag for the win. Vickie brought Ziggler the title belt and they celebrated together.

WINNER: Ziggler in 11:00 to capture the Intercontinental Title.

STAR RATING: **1/4 -- Grisham's inflection still feels manufactured when he expresses outrage in this type of circumstance. At least he tried, though, this week.

[Q5]

-Afterward Kofi attacked Drew at ringside. Vickie yelled, "He's crazy!" Kofi, in a rage, destroyed Ziggler at ringside for a minute or two before referees stepped in and calmed him down enough to point him toward the back. Kofi's reaction seemed a little overdone given the circumstances. I like that they wanted it to seem devastating and frustrating for Kofi that he lost the IC Title, but the tone of his reaction was a little too intense, as if he was beating someone up who hit his girlfriend or something along those lines. I mean, it's not like cheating doesn't happen a lot, and not only that, but Dolph merely took advantage of Vickie's distraction. [c]

-As C.M. Punk, Luke Gallows, Joey Mercury, and Serena walked out, Grisham announced that just signed for Summerslam was Show vs. all three members of the S.E.S. Punk said he has accomplished a lot in his life including his WrestleMania glory. He said the closest fans will get to that level of success is buying a ticket to see him. Punk bragged about what they did to Big Show's hand last week. He said he won't be signing autographs anytime soon. They commented on a replay of their beat-down last week. Mercury got really excited and bragged on the mic about what they did. Punk grabbed the mic back and asked everyone if they're happy about what happened last week. They smiled and said yes. He said he didn't remember telling any of them they could be happy. He ordered them to get on their knees. They dropped. He said he's learned that their happiness is weakness. He said when they're happy, they let him down. He said when they slip and fall and show weakness, they might as well be falling off the wagon or they might as well be like the fans. He yelled that he will not tolerate their weaknesses. He said if they fall of the wagon, they might as well pack their bags full of alcohol. "You will be happy when I say you are happy," he said. "Satisfaction is the death of desire."

[Q5] [c]

3 -- C.M. PUNK & LUKE GALLOWS & JOEY MERCURY vs. J.T.G. & CHRIS MASTERS & MVP

The babyface team didn't get any ring entrances. Striker compared the S.E.S. to the Freebirds, suggesting Mercury is Buddy Jack, Gallows is Bam Bam, and Punk is P.S. Michael Hayes. He added that Serena is Jimmy Jam. In the end Punk kicked MVP from behind while on the ring apron, then Gallows finished MVP with a big boot that also showed light as MVP bumped early on it. Striker and Grisham said Show could be in trouble if S.E.S. is all on the same page working together.

WINNERS: S.E.S. in 3:00. Neither Punk nor Masters entered the match, so it might as well have a two-on-two match.

-Grooming tips with Cody was next. He gave tips on how to brow-scape. He showed images of unibrows and uneven eyebrows. "You comb you hair, right? Why not your eyebrows?" They keep these short, which is a good thing.

-The Raw Rebound aired.

[Q7]

-Grisham and Striker hyped the three-match Summerslam line-up. They wondered if Cena would find replacements for Chris Jericho and Edge.

-A Kane segment aired where he stood backstage under red light in front of a casket. He talked about it being Rey's final resting place where "darkness will consume you forever."

-Rey Mysterio's ring entrance took place. Grisham said Rey has vowed to reveal who attacked Undertaker. Striker said the mystery is whether he'll announce it before or after his match against McIntyre. [c]

4 -- REY MYSTERIO vs. DREW MCINTYRE

Drew got in most of the offense in the opening minutes. Rey came back with a head scissors and then a dive onto McIntyre at ringside. They cut to a break at 4:00.

[Q8] [c]

Grisham continued to hype that Rey will announce the Undertaker attacker "...if he's able." Striker said if it was Drew, Drew has incentive to silence Rey. Drew dropped Rey over the announce desk at 9:00. Lots of chants in Spanish from the Laredo crowd during the match. Drew scored some near falls during his methodical offensive streak. At 13:00 Rey made a comeback and scored a near fall after a crossbody block. Rey avoided a Future Shock DDT attempt and then Drew avoided a 619 attempt seconds later. Rey leverage pinned Drew right afterward for the win.

WINNER: Mysterio in 15:00.

STAR RATING: **3/4 -- Solid TV main event.

-There were three minutes left in the show. Grisham said someone should hand him a mic so he can reveal who attacked Undertaker. Grisham said he should have a second to catch his breath. As Rey began to speak, Kane's music played and the lights went red. Kane rolled a casket to the ring. Drew attacked a distracted Rey from behind. He bailed out and returned to the back once Kane shot him a look. Kane, wearing his World Title belt, stood over Rey. Rey scooted backward out of the ring, but almost slid right into the open casket. He panted and frantically rolled to the floor and then retreated to the stage. He said: "It wasn't me who took out the Undertaker. It was you, Kane. It was you!" The crowd gasped. Kane just looked on with that creepy smile which then turned to confusion and then angry denial as he shook his head no and began to freak out. He said, "No, no, no, no" and dropped to his knees, as if memories he wanted to deny were flooding back into his brain. He repeated under his breath, "I love my brother. I love my brother." A fan could be heard yelling, "It was you, Kane!" Grisham asked what this meant for Summerslam as the show ended.

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