Smackdown!
Columbus, Georgia
February 10, 2006
Deadman's Return
February 10, 2006
The details of No Way Out began to materialize as Friday Night SmackDown rolled
into Columbus, Georgia, this week.
At No Way Out, Undertaker squares off with Kurt Angle for the World Heavyweight
Championship. However, before getting to the champion, Undertaker faced a
sizable bump in the road on SmackDown: the World’s Strongest Man, Mark Henry.
Early in the match, Henry overpowered Undertaker, surprising everyone including
the Deadman himself. However, Undertaker managed to avoid a charging Henry in
the ropes, leading to a frustrated Henry taking out his anger on the ringside
barrier.
Undertaker followed Henry to the arena floor, where he sent the World’s
Strongest Man crashing into the ring steps. The Deadman then took it to Henry,
going Old School and throwing everything at his opponent until he got caught in
a punishing bearhug. Henry continued to use his size and power to his advantage,
but the Deadman made a comeback, and after one failed attempt, he dropped Henry
with a chokeslam. It looked like he had the match won, but Daivari called out
reinforcements in the form of MNM. The WWE Tag Team Champions attacked the
Deadman, drawing a disqualification.
Undertaker managed to chokeslam Daivari and fought off MNM and Henry, but
eventually succumbed to the numbers game. As the trio beat down the Deadman,
Kurt Angle ran out to make the save for his unlikely ally. Kurt unleashed a fury
of German suplexes, but ended up having to be saved from a 3-on-1 attack by
Undertaker. The Deadman then grabbed the World Heavyweight Championship from the
referee, and as a perplexed Angle looked on, he stared down the gold and then
gave it back to the champion. Theodore Long then came out, and announced that
based on what happened, MNM & Henry would face Undertaker & Angle in a Handicap
Match next week.
Earlier in the night, MNM were busy themselves, as they issued an open non-title
challenge to any tag team in the locker room. Paul London & Brian Kendrick
answered the call, and took it to the WWE Tag Team Champions. London & Kendrick
kept the champions off guard with their high flying tactics, but eventually
Nitro & Mercury were able to isolate Kendrick. As they set up for the Snapshot,
referee Charles Robinson tried to keep the illegal man out of the ring; Kendrick
was able to tag London at that time, but Robinson was occupied and missed the
tag. MNM then hit the Snapshot as Robinson sent London out of the ring, and the
champions were able to pick up the victory.
Last week, it was announced that Randy Orton & Rey Mysterio would square off at
No Way Out, with Rey’s WrestleMania opportunity on the line. On SmackDown, Randy
decided to set the record straight about the comments he made about Eddie
Guerrero last week. As he stood backstage, Randy said that he didn’t really mean
what he said, and didn’t know nor care if Eddie was in Hell. He then showed the
footage of his comments, but was gone when the camera returned to where he was.
Orton then came out to the entranceway in a lowrider, and revealed that he only
made the comments to get inside Mysterio’s head. What he really wanted was Rey’s
opportunity to main event WrestleMania 22, and this was the best way to go about
getting it. He then explained the lowrider, saying that he had a point to make.
Orton claimed that people said he was a nasty person for making the comments,
but told the fans that Eddie wasn’t a saint either. As the Legend Killer went to
read an excerpt from Eddie’s book for proof, Rey Mysterio ran out and attacked
him. The two men brawled around ringside, and Mysterio viciously dropkicked
Orton’s head into the steel ringpost. The melee was broken up, but the damage
had been done.
Also on SmackDown, two new matches were made for No Way Out, including a United
States Championship rematch. In a No. 1 Contender Fatal Four Way Match, Chris
Benoit outlasted JBL, Orlando Jordan and Matt Hardy to earn a future
championship match. Booker T & Sharmell came out to do commentary on the match,
which saw a good amount of teamwork from former allies JBL & Jordan early. Chris
Benoit managed to get the Crippler Crossface on both JBL & Jordan at different
points, but the hold was broken up by the other man before he could achieve a
submission.
As the match neared conclusion, Booker could be heard openly rooting for Jordan.
JBL hit the Clothesline from Hell on Hardy, but let Jordan make the cover. It
was a setup, however, as JBL attacked Jordan and tossed him from the ring.
Jordan would later do the same right back to JBL, but this time Matt Hardy broke
up Jordan’s pinfall. Hardy hit a Side Effect on Jordan, but as he tried to do
the same to Benoit, the move was reversed into the Cripple Crossface. With both
JBL & Jordan out of the picture, Hardy was forced to tap out, earning Benoit the
victory.
After the match, a visibly upset Booker & Sharmell were caught by Theodore Long
backstage, who reminded Booker of the outcome. He then set the date for Benoit’s
reward, telling Booker that he must defend the gold at No Way Out. Long also
said that there would be no substitutions, and if he couldn’t wrestle Benoit on
Feb. 19, then he would forfeit the United States Championship. Booker’s night
would only get worse from there, as when he & Sharmell tried to leave the arena,
they found the trunk of their rental car full of worms.
Also after the match, Kristal caught up with JBL & Jillian. JBL was irate, and
said that he should have won the match, and more importantly, should be fighting
for the World Heavyweight Championship. As JBL said that he could beat anyone at
anytime, Bobby Lashley approached him. The hard-hitting, soft-spoken Lashley
offered a simple challenge to JBL: “Me vs. you, No Way Out.” Jillian immediately
accepted the challenge for her client, reiterating his earlier bravado. JBL
looked slightly stunned, but backed up Jillian’s acceptance, and the match was
made official later in the night.
It was also a strange night for the Juniors. Backstage, Palmer Canon and Mr.
Kennedy showcased the Juniors to Kristal, but the swashbuckling Paul Burchill
cut through the set, interrupting their interview time. He simply said hello to
both Kennedy and Canon, leaving everyone confused. Later, as the Juniors squared
off in tag team action, Finlay interrupted their match, brutalizing all four
participants. After nailing Tsuki with the Emerald Fusion, Finlay said that it
doesn’t matter who you are or how big (or small) you are, he’s on SmackDown
looking for a fight.
Also, Gregory Helms defeated Nunzio with the Shining Wizard to retain the
Cruiserweight Championship. Former champion Kid Kash watched the match from the
entranceway, and it was announced that Kash will get a rematch with Helms for
the championship next week.
Matches
Undertaker def. Mark Henry (DQ)
Chris Benoit def. JBL, Orlando Jordan and Matt Hardy (Fatal Four Way Match)
WWE Tag Team Champions MNM def. Paul London & Brian Kendrick
Cruiserweight Champion Gregory Helms def. Nunzio
Mascarita Sagrada & Tsuki vs. Octagoncito &
Pequeno Violencia (No Contest; Juniors Match)