Friday Night Smackdown!
San Jose, California
June 20, 2008
results thanks to wwe.com
San Jose, Calif. – In the night’s main event featuring Batista against Chavo
Guerrero, SmackDown General Manager Vickie Guerrero swayed the odds heavily
against The Animal by naming World Heavyweight Champion Edge as the special
guest referee. The scheduled referee, Charles Robinson, had been conveniently
taken out of commission earlier in the night in a match the GM ordered between
Robinson and The Great Khali.
And, in typical Guerrero fashion, Batista’s match included a stipulation: If he
laid a hand on Edge during the bout, he would lose his chance to face the
Rated-R Superstar for the World Heavyweight Championship at Night of Champions.
Although Batista held his own against Chavo, “The Family’s” influence proved to
be too much to overcome. After being counted out of the match by guest referee
Edge’s fast count, Batista suffered a 5-on-1 attack from “The Family,” capped
off with a brutal spear from the Ultimate Opportunist.
If Vickie can continue to use her power to orchestrate things on SmackDown, how
might she affect things at Night of Champions and even at The Granddaddy of Them
All, WrestleMania XXV? And with three days until the WWE Draft, is Guerrero’s
job going to be someone else’s after Monday Night?
Disenfranchised playa
It seems as though no one is immune from the vindictive ways of SmackDown
General Manager Vickie Guerrero. Montel Vontavious Porter felt her wrath as she
ordered him to face ECW Champion Kane. Despite all his self-promoting talk on
the night’s edition of MVP’s VIP Lounge, SmackDown’s Franchise Playa proved to
be no match for the Big Red Machine, deciding to get counted out rather than
face the fires of the ECW Champion.
Then, after picking up the win, Kane had to deal with his own vindictive
adversary, Mark Henry, who was out for payback for the double-chokeslam he
received from Kane and Big Show earlier in the week on ECW.
Debut loss
In his first one-on-one match, Bam Neely took on United States Champion Matt
Hardy. Looking on was Chavo Guerrero – Hardy’s Night of Champions opponent. But,
Chavo proved to be more hindrance than help to his family member, as he
attracted the attention of referee Charles Robinson who ejected him from
ringside. With Bam distracted by Guerrero’s ejection, Hardy capitalized by
delivering a hard-hitting Twist of Fate to pick up the win.
Ref ordered to wrestle
In a shocking move, Guerrero ordered WWE referee Charles Robinson to face action
on SmackDown. While meeting with Robinson in her office, Guerrero expressed
concern at what she perceived as Robinson’s lack of objectivity in Edge’s
matches against Undertaker at WrestleMania XXIV and Judgment Day. She was also
unhappy about Robinson ejecting Chavo from ringside earlier in the night. “You
need to experience how it feels from a Superstar’s perspective,” she said.
Robinson had no choice but to follow the GM’s orders, even without knowing who
his opponent would be. As he anxiously awaited the start of his first-ever
match, he learned Guerrero picked none other than The Great Khali to face him.
In an extreme mismatch, the 420-pound Punjabi Giant destroyed Robinson using a
clothesline, head butt, Khali Chop and Khali Vise Grip. The brutal assault
required Robinson to be removed from the ring on a stretcher.
Bringing the pain
Just like she did a few weeks ago on SmackDown, Michelle McCool defeated Layla
using a heel hook to make her submit. The All-American Diva’s win attracted the
attention of Natalya, who looked on from the ramp after the match. With the
upcoming live three-hour WWE Draft on the next episode of Raw, the SmackDown
Diva roster could be totally shaken up as the Sexiest Women on Television vie
for the new Divas Championship.
Streak continues
All things must come to an end, but don’t tell Vladimir Kozlov. The man from
Moscow chalked up another win by defeating Jamie Noble, bringing his undefeated
SmackDown record to 11-0. While leaping from the top rope, Noble was met with a
vicious head butt from Kozlov, leaving Noble writhing in agony after the match
ended.
Tag team’s demise?
The growing dissention between tag team partners Deuce & Domino came to a head
after their loss to Jesse & Festus. After Festus pinned Domino, Deuce delivered
a Crack em’ in da’ Mouth to Domino. Deuce then tossed his leather jacket over
his fallen comrade’s face as if to signal the end of the partnership of the once
tag team champions.
Looking for gold
With WWE Tag Team Champion John Morrison on commentary, he watched his partner,
The Miz, take on Finlay. With tensions high surrounding the upcoming tag team
title match at Night of Champions, Morrison jumped up from the announce table in
the middle of the match to go after Hornswoggle. Hornswoggle retaliated by
whacking Morrison in the knee with a shillelagh. The action outside the ring
distracted The Miz, allowing Finlay to capitalize and deliver a Celtic Cross to
pick up the pinfall.
Matches
United States Champion Matt Hardy def. Bam Neely
Michelle McCool def. Layla
Vladimir Kozlov def. Jamie Noble
ECW Champion Kane def. Montel Vontavious Porter
The Great Khali def. WWE referee Charles Robinson
Jesse & Festus def. Deuce & Domino
Finlay def. WWE Tag Team Champion The Miz
Chavo def. Batista