Friday Night Smackdown!
Hampton, Virginia
December 22, 2006
Bells will be ringing
By Lennie DiFino
December 22, 2006
Coming off of Armageddon last Sunday, and just days away from Christmas, the
Superstars of SmackDown made one last stop before the holidays in Hampton, Va.
King Booker and Finlay entered the arena seething from their loss to WWE
Champion John Cena and World Heavyweight Champion Batista. They demanded a
rematch from Theodore Long, and the General Manager refused. He informed Finlay
and Booker they would face Undertaker and Kane later in the night, much to the
dismay of the King and the Irishman.
During the match, King Booker and Finlay isolated Kane in the ring as they took
turns assaulting Undertaker on the outside. King Booker attacked with a chair,
and then a low blow and scepter shot by Finlay. The Phenom recovered, and the
Brothers of Destruction were victorious.
The personal rivalry between Chavo Guerrero and Chris Benoit continued to pick
up as the New Year approaches. The battle over the United States Championship
has grown more intense with the accusations of abuse levied against Benoit in
recent weeks, and on this edition of SmackDown another twist was added.
As the Rabid Wolverine had the Sharpshooter applied, Vickie entered the ring and
hit him with the U.S. title, causing the disqualification. As Benoit left the
ring, Chavo Guerrero began a verbal assault on Vickie, and he shoved her to the
mat. Benoit made his way back to intervene, and was viciously beaten by Chavo.
Joey Mercury, who was horrifically injured during the Ladder Match at
Armageddon, was at SmackDown just days after receiving thirty-five stitches to
his shattered face. Mercury told SmackDown fans “the Hardys are responsible for
this injury.”
Matt Hardy apologized to Mercury, telling him that he was sorry that he had
gotten hurt. “It’s unfortunate, but it was a dangerous match,” he said. As Hardy
left the ring, Mercury screamed “fight me Hardy.” After he was refused, Mercury
brought out his Armageddon partner Johnny Nitro, who was able to steal the
victory with help from the ropes, as Mercury cheered for Nitro to “maim” Hardy.
World Heavyweight Champion Batista wished SmackDown fans all over the world
Happy Holidays, and as he began to talk about his year, he was visited by Santa
Claus. As the Animal helped hand out gifts to the fans in attendance, Santa
pulled out a lead pipe and leveled the champion.
General Manager Theodore Long ordered Santa to fight Batista, and as the Animal
was putting Santa on his naughty list, it was revealed to be Sylvan. The World
Heavyweight Champion defeated Sylvan and continued to look unstoppable heading
into the New Year.
Gregory Helms had a memorable year, becoming the longest reigning champion in
SmackDown history. The young champion “wants competition,” and looks to make an
impact in the heavyweight division.
Boogeyman answered the challenge for competition, but Helms ran after coming
face to face with the worms. Boogeyman then turned his attention to ring
announcer Tony Chimmel, who he wormed at ringside.
Former WWE Champion JBL voiced his displeasures with the direction SmackDown has
gone, and he placed the blame on Theodore Long for the burning of MVP. JBL also
blamed the fans, calling them “sick human beings.”
In other action, four of the sexiest women on television squared off in a tag
team match, with Diva search winners Ashley and Layla teaming to take on Kristal
and Jillian. Ashley and Layla were able to pick up the victory when Ashley
delivered Star Struck to Jillian.
Next week, SmackDown fans will be treated to some of the best moments of 2006.
Tune in each and every Friday night to the CW Network to find out the answers to
all those questions on Friday Night SmackDown.
Matches
World Heavyweight Champion Batista def. Santa Claus
Johnny Nitro def. Matt Hardy
U.S. Champion Chris Benoit def. Chavo Guerrero (DQ)
Ashley & Layla def. Kristal & Jillian
Brothers of Destruction def. Finlay & King Booker