Friday Night Smackdown!
Minneapolis, Minnesota
September 14, 2007
thanks to: wwe.com
Forgive and forget?
By Lennie DiFino
September 14, 2007
MINNEAPOLIS – On SmackDown, Batista squared off against World Heavyweight
Champion The Great Khali, just two days before they — and hopefully Rey Mysterio
– square off in a Triple Threat Match at Unforgiven. The Animal was still on the
prowl even after he speared Khali on Raw, seeking retribution for his friend,
and former WWE Tag Team Co-Champion, whom Khali brutalized last week. The Khali
Vise Grip that left Rey demolished and bloodied a week ago was applied on
Batista Friday night, but the Punjabi Giant was disqualified when he refused to
break the hold. The brutal nature of Batista and Khali’s encounters has grown
well past the boiling point, and threatens to explode this Sunday.
With just one week until the happiest day of their lives, both General Manager
Theodore Long and his fiancée, Kristal, put the finishing touches on their
pre-wedding arrangements. While Kristal and her bridesmaids continued their
behind-the-scenes planning -- with a bachelorette party -- the men of SmackDown
threw a bachelor party for the General Manager. Best man Ron Simmons asked
SmackDown’s newest team Jesse & Festus to supply the “entertainment,” and the
Superstars did not disappoint. The Major Brothers, Sgt. Slaughter, "The Natural"
Butch Reed and others joined in the party to help Long celebrate his final days
as a single man.
Before they defend their WWE Tag Team Titles this Sunday against former
champions Deuce & Domino, Matt Hardy & MVP tried to one-up each other on
SmackDown in a chess match. After MVP “sneezed” and prematurely ended their
latest one-on-one contest, Hardy informed the Ballin’ Superstar that he would be
in action that night against Domino. Matt assured that he would indeed be in his
unwilling partner’s corner -- much like MVP had been when he helped Hardy to
victory over Deuce last week – and he was vocally true to his word. Fashioning
himself as the U.S. Champion’s biggest fan for most of the contest, Hardy lead
the Minneapolis crowd in “M-V-P,” chants while the brazen Superstar – still
wearing most of a rather expensive suit – engaged in a slugfest with Domino.
When Deuce tried to interfere, Matt knocked him to the ground – but in the
process also angered his own partner. As MVP scolded Hardy, Domino rolled him up
in a small package to steal the win. Can the bomber-jacketed duo carry that
momentum into Unforgiven as they attempt to regain the WWE Tag Team
Championship, or will Matt Hardy & MVP figure out how to work together and keep
the gold?
Before his encounter with Undertaker at Sunday’s Unforgiven, Mark Henry came to
SmackDown dressed as a druid and telling our fans, “Undertaker’s powers pale in
comparison to mine.” But as Henry showed a video of his vicious attack on The
Deadman back in May, another Undertaker video suddenly aired on the TitanTron.
Afterward, a bolt of lightning flashed in the arena, hitting the stage and
setting aflame a huge Undertaker symbol. Then came a final warning for the
self-proclaimed Silverback: “Mark Henry…. Unforgiven…. You will rest in peace.”
Are Mark Henry’s days of domination coming to an end at the hands of The Phenom?
One Superstar who knows Undertaker well is his brother Kane, who was in action
against Finlay in WWE’s first-ever Belfast Brawl. The brutal rivalry between
these two Superstars reached a whole new level Friday night, as the Big Red
Monster and the Irishman, quite frankly, beat the living hell out of each other.
Late in the grueling contest, Kane seemed to gain the advantage and readied
himself to use the steel steps as a weapon. But Finlay would neutralize the
threat with a steel chair to the monster’s ribs, then picked up the victory with
a devastating Celtic Cross.
In other SmackDown action, Chuck Palumbo and Kenny Dykstra both became involved
in Michelle McCool’s match against Victoria, causing a double disqualification.
But then General Manager Theodore Long ordered that a Mixed Tag Team Match take
place, and the budding rivalries between all four individuals heated up once
more. Palumbo’s dominant streak continued to roll forward as he nearly
decapitated Dykstra with a clothesline that sent him flying over the top rope.
It also gave Michelle the opening she needed to nail the deranged Victoria with
a kick to the head for the victory.
Also, Shannon Moore defeated Jamie Noble after outsmarting his fellow
cruiserweight. As the match progressed, Moore screamed that the little bastard
son of Mr. McMahon, Hornswoggle, was under the ring. As an incensed Noble went
looking for the Cruiserweight Champion of the World, Moore rolled him up for the
pin instead, once again giving Noble the short end of the stick.
Matches
Michelle McCool vs. Victoria (Double Disqualification)
Michelle McCool & Chuck Palumbo def. Victoria & Kenny Dykstra
Shannon Moore def. Jamie Noble
Domino def. United States Champion MVP (Non-title)
Finlay def. Kane (Belfast Brawl)
Batista def. The Great Khali (Non-title,
disqualification)