Smackdown!
Washington, D.C.
August 18, 2006
The Animal roars into SummerSlam
By Craig Tello
August 18, 2006
Just two days before The Animal looks to regain the richest prize in all of
sports-entertainment, Batista made a momentous return to his hometown crowd of
Washington, D.C. on SmackDown and seized the throne of World Heavyweight
Champion King Booker. Based on the events of Friday’s SmackDown, one has to
believe that at SummerSlam, the “biggest party of the summer” could become the
celebration of a new champion.
Batista opened up SmackDown by facing Quebec’s Ambassador-at-Large, Sylvan, who
said that he’d show the world his province’s greatness by beating the hometown
hero. An ambassador in his own right to the nation’s capitol, Batista made
extremely short work of Sylvan and gained ample momentum before his championship
match this Sunday (Watch).
Later in the night, the reigning World Heavyweight Champion King Booker came to
the ring to make a royal decree in The Animal’s hometown. The King proclaimed
that he will “march into SummerSlam and beat [Batista] to a royal, bloody pulp
beyond recognition.”
His majesty then offered his SummerSlam challenger an option that would bring
Batista to the ring. Rather than facing the King on Sunday, King Booker gave
Batista the option to bow down, get on his knees and kiss the King’s “royal
feet.” With Batista seemingly contemplating his option, Queen Sharmell removed
his majesty’s shoe and exposed the King’s foot. The Animal dropped to one knee,
but then quickly rose and stomped on the champion’s toes. Providing a heaping
dose of humility, Batista then knocked King Booker to the outside, draped
himself in the King’s red cape and sat triumphantly upon the royal throne (See
the video).
Batista was never pinned for the World Heavyweight Championship eight months ago
and The Animal believes that he is the rightful champion. After what we saw on
Friday night, it’s clear that Batista is on fire and ready to reclaim the gold
this Sunday.
Outkast
Also on SmackDown, just as she promised WWE.com in an exclusive interview last
week, Vickie Guerrero pleaded with Theodore Long to call off the match between
Rey Mysterio and Chavo Guerrero at SummerSlam.
The common denominator between Rey and Chavo is Eddie Guerrero. With Eddie gone,
Vickie has been in the middle of these men as she’s tried desperately to restore
the peace between them. Vickie explained that the match between Rey and Chavo is
tearing her family apart and that Long is the only one who has the power to
cancel their match (Watch).
“If Eddie was here, he’d want [Rey and Chavo] to resolve this peacefully,” an
emotional Vickie said to Long. “In the name of Eddie, you have to stop this. I
am begging you, Teddy.”
Long respectfully denied Vickie’s request, saying that the only way to resolve
the personal conflict between Rey and Chavo is for them to be “man against man,
face-to-face in the ring.”
“The match this Sunday at SummerSlam,” Long said, “is still on.”
The General Manager was forced to make a tough decision this Friday on
SmackDown. And despite the emotional plea of Vickie Guerrero, the issue between
Rey Mysterio and Chavo Guerrero will be settled in the ring this Sunday.
Two of WWE’s most feared monsters met on Friday as Undertaker conquered his foe,
The Great Khali, in grueling a Last Man Standing Match. In this match, the only
way to win was for one man to beat his opponent to the point where he could not
respond to the referee’s count of 10. Given the nature of this contest, fans
were in for one of the most savage battles in SmackDown history (See the video).
Both Undertaker and Khali exchanged a salvo of clubbing blows and massive boots
for several minutes. With Khali down momentarily, Daivari eventually got
involved and lured the Phenom from the ring and toward the SmackDown stage.
Khali followed and got the advantage in the match by bashing his opponent into
the mirrored glass of the SmackDown set. The Punjabi giant tossed Undertaker off
the stage into tables many feet below, but the Deadman would rise – just as he
has many times before in his career.
The behemoth Khali beat the Phenom back toward the ring; Undertaker sustained
this attack until getting his arms tied up in the ropes. With the Deadman in a
vulnerable position, Khali landed four mighty chops and the same big boot that
led to Undertaker’s defeat to Khali at Judgment Day.
Somehow, the resilient Undertaker did his signature sit-up and again engaged in
battle with Khali. The Deadman used the steel steps to bash Khali in his giant
cranium and then leveled Khali with multiple shots to the head with a steel
chair, causing Khali to bleed from his skull. Later, the giant would need nine
stitches to close the wound inflicted by the Phenom. Click here to watch the
WWE.com exclusive video.
Despite the porous crimson blood that ran from his monstrous head, Khali rose
back to his feet. Undertaker landed two more hits with the chair – denting it
with the impression of his enemy’s cranium – and dropped The Great Khali with a
colossal chokeslam. After felling the giant, the Punjabi warrior could not get
up to beat the count of 10 and Undertaker was declared the victor in this
unbelievably brutal encounter.
In a most appropriate setting, the United States Championship was at stake in
Washington, D.C. as Lashley clashed with Finlay, the man who stole the
championship from Lashley last month. As always with Finlay, Lashley had to
contend with not just his opponent, but also Little Bastard, Finlay’s shillelagh
and William Regal. Lashley seemed to have Finlay beat until Regal pulled the
referee from the ring before he could count to three. Though Lashley won by
disqualification, he did not win the U.S. Championship (Watch the video).
After the bell rang, Lashley managed to overcome a triple team assault by his
enemies. He then added an exclamation point by hurling a steel chair at the head
of the U.S. Champion. It seems as if Regal and Finlay’s on-again-off-again
relationship is back on for the time being. Can Lashley overcome the odds that
are stacked so high against him in his pursuit to reclaim the U.S. gold?
On Friday night, SmackDown newcomers K.C. James and Idol Stevens continued to
make an impression on the WWE Tag Team Champions. In an interview with Kristal,
London and Kendrick addressed their loss to James and Stevens last week and
explained that they are looking forward to facing Michelle McCool’s teacher’s
pets again. Suddenly, James and Stevens ambushed the champions and used anything
they could find backstage to batter London and Kendrick. McCool watched on,
directing the fierce assault until she herself got involved by striking London
across his back with her ruler. Leaving the WWE Tag Team Champions beaten down
on SmackDown, James and Stevens sent a resounding message that they are hungry
for tag team gold.
In other action, SmackDown veteran Scotty 2 Hotty faced the bully Sylvester
Terkay. Terkay brutalized the Master of the Worm throughout the match and after
pinning Scotty, he continued the physical punishment as he has done for the past
few weeks.
With champagne in one hand and cell phone in the other, Montel Vontavious Porter
watched SmackDown from the skybox of the Verizon Center flanked by three sexy
valets. Given that his agent is still in contract negotiations with Theodore
Long, MVP scouted what could soon become his competition on Friday nights.
This week, Mr. Kennedy also earned a controversial victory over Tatanka. With a
handful of the Native American Superstar’s tights, Kennedy pinned Tatanka to not
only continue his hot streak, but also perpetuate Tatanka’s recent bad luck in
the ring.
Also maintaining a streak of his own this week was Vito, who gained another
victory on SmackDown. In addition to competing on Friday night, the rugged
Italian spent his afternoon visiting the national landmarks in the area and
showed off his newest threads. Vito has been undefeated since embracing this
alternative attire, and the toughest man to ever wear a dress has proven to be
just that
Finally, on SmackDown, we saw a video of The Boogeyman’s most horrifying
exploits in WWE . The Boogeyman is coming back to SmackDown…but when?
Be sure to tune into SmackDown to catch all the action every Friday night at 8/7
CT on UPN.
Matches
Batista def. Sylvan
Sylvester Terkay def. Scotty 2 Hotty
Mr. Kennedy def. Tatanka
Lashley def. Finlay (DQ)
Undertaker def. The Great Khali (Last Man Standing Match)
Vito def. Scott Fowler