Friday Night Smackdown!

San Diego, California
October 31, 2008
results thanks to pwtorch.com

[Q1]

-They opened with a plug for the casket match tonight. No opponent was named.

-They went to a soundbite with The Big Show rubbing his neck, saying in a creepy low voice that Undertaker was a coward for using an illegal and banned submission hold to crush his larynx. He said if their paths cross again, he won't knock him out, he'll bury him. The camera panned down to Vickie Guerrero sitting to Show's right. She said tonight will be Undertaker's final casket match. She asked the viewers to be quiet because she has a very scary story. She said Taker will know what it's like to be confined in a casket and will bang the lid of a prison as his lungs gasp for air and his brains will explode with mind-bending terror as he draws his last breath. She laughed and said, "That will be so much fun." She then revealed that the man who will get to treat Undertaker to all of that suffering will be Chavo Guerrero. Chavo was supposed to act surprised and scared, but his acting was pretty bad and seemed like he was trying to hold in a laugh from a dirty joke. Vickie then let out a maniacal laugh.

-The Smackdown opening aired. Then pryo blasted in the arena as the camera panned the crowd. Jim Ross introduced the show and called it a special Friday Night Smackdown in the spirit of Halloween. They showed people in the crowd dressed in costumes. Ross was dressed in a sailor outfit that made him look ridiculous so people backstage who need to get lives could chuckle at his expense. Tazz was dressed as a G.I.

1 -- PRIMO & CARLITO vs. MIZ & JOHN MORRISON -- WWE Tag Team Champions

I can't wait for the next draft when maybe Miz & Morrison can wrestle on more than just ECW where so few people get to see them. That draft is so exciting because you get to see wrestlers who stuck on one brand for a year or two mix with wrestlers they never have before. Ross, right here on Smackdown, plugged that ECW's Miz & Morrison will be wrestling on Raw next Monday against DX. Ross said, "I didn't realize that I looked so good in white. WWE legend Pat Patterson asked me out to the WWE prom later this year. He thinks I'm one of the village people." Morrison did a little Rick Rude hip swivel. The camera stayed above the belt as this is a kids show, after all. Carlito and Primo tossed Miz and Morrison to the floor and celebrated as they cut to a break at 2:00.

[Commercial Break]

[Q2]

After the break Carlito and Primo remained in control. Ross and Tazz talked about the Miz & Morrison match against DX on Monday. The largely rudimentary, basic match ended with a four-way brawl leading to Morrison knocking Carlito off the second rope, then Miz surprising him with his kneelift-neckbreaker finish for the win.

WINNERS: Miz & Morrison in 12:00.

STAR RATING: *1/2 -- Pretty forgettable, basic stuff. Not bad, just not remarkable in any way.

-They showed a casket backstage with fog floating around it and scary music. Ross plugged Undertaker vs. Chavo.

[Commercial Break]

-A plug aired for the WrestleMania 25 ticket sale launch.

-They went backstage to Jesse and Festus walking up to the masked magician stooge and Maria. Maria got in a magic trick contraption that appeared to twist Maria's head around 360 degrees twice. Jesse stared in amazement. Jesse told the magician stooge to untwist Maria. The magician untwisted her. Festus may have been impressed, although his facial expression didn't change.

-Jimmy Wang was introduced as John Wang Yang and he was dressed as John Wayne. Yang let out a yee-haw! They cut to a break before revealing his opponent. What a cliffhanger!

[Commercial Break]

[Q3]

-WWE Fact: For the third time in October, Smackdown broke the record for the most watched show in My Network TV history last week. These facts are starting to make My Network seem like a pretty sad network with very little history.

2 -- JIMMY WANG YANG vs. THE BRIAN KENDRICK (w/Ezekiel)

Ross asked Tazz to squeeze his forearm as he referenced wanting spinach. Tazz touched his forearm and then said with a wry smile, "It's actually getting hard." When Kendrick bailed out to ringside for a breather at 1:00, Wang immediately threw him back into the ring. Kendrick, though, took over immediately. Wang came back at 2:00 with a top rope crossbody block that Ross said was "Steamboat-like." Kendrick went for Sliced Bread, but Wang countered with a moonsault for a near fall. Ezekiel yanked Kendrick out of the ring by the leg to stop the pin attempt. The ref called for the bell. Wang leaped onto Ezekiel at ringside, but Ezekiel caught Wang and threw him back into the ring where he one-arm chokeslammed him. Kendrick then gave Wang the Sliced Break ("The Kendrick") and danced afterward.

WINNER: Wang via DQ in 2:00.

-Kung-Funaki introduced himself to Great Khali and Ranjin Singh backstage. Singh said: "Great Khali says size matters."

[Commercial Break]

[Q4]

-Time for the Khali Kiss-cam. Singh said he's being bombarded with emails from women who are falling in love with Khali. They brought a woman dressed as a witch into the ring for a make-out session. The joke was she had warts, but they were real! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Vickie was shown watching backstage and laughing. Awful segment because it's just so drawn out and juvenile. Watch the big ugly giant kiss ugly women with lame ugly jokes! Can't beat this stuff, can you?

[Commercial Break]

3 -- KANE & MVP & MARK HENRY vs. JEFF HARDY & MATT HARDY & REY MYSTERIO

Ross said during MVP's ring intro that from what he hears, MVP spends more than he makes. Rey set up an early 619 on MVP, but Kane tripped him coming off the ropes and yanked him to the floor. At 3:00 they oddly cut to a break at exactly the start of the second hour.

[Q5]

[Commercial Break]

Rey took a beating after the break from the heels, but finally hot-tagged Jeff at 10:00. Hardy finished MVP with a Swanton Bomb for the clean win a minute later.

WINNERS: Hardys & Rey in 11:00.

STAR RATING: **1/4 -- Well paces and some nice moves, but there wasn't really a backstory or reason for the match to get you emotionally involved beyond in the inherent pro and con feelings toward the wrestlers. It didn't feel like anything was at stake.

-Another shot of the casket as Ross plugged the Undertaker vs. Chavo main event.

[Commercial Break]

[Q6]

-A Kizarny vignette aired with him at an amusement park. He watched people swallow swords. I don't get what the viewers are supposed to think about him.

-They went to Ross and Tazz at ringside who bragged about Smackdown being the most watched show on a network almost no one watches last week.

-Vladimir Kozlov walked to the ring and demanded a title shot. Triple H's music played and he walked out with his title belt over his shoulder. He stepped into the ring and stared down Kozlov. Kozlov stared back. Triple H called him "Boris." He said he's done a good job beating people up while they weren't looking, but he's face-to-face with him now. He said he's letting him know that if he wants to fight, "let's do it." Vladimir said he wants to fight for his title belt only. Kozlov said he will be king. Triple H adjusted his stance to prepare himself and the world for his forthcoming wit. He said things in Russo go slowly and he may not have seen Rocky IV yet. He brings up how a mean, nasty Russian in that movie beats up everyone, but in the end the American "kicks the living crap out of the Russian." He told him that if he wants a title shot, take it up with Vickie Guerrero, but in the mean time, let's do it. He took off his jacket. They went nose-to-big-nose. Vladimir baked off and left the ring, wanting to save it for his title shot.

[Commercial Break]

-The video aired that showed us what a swell guy John Cena is by interviewing his family and friends and showing vintage photos of Cena's early wrestling days.

[Q7]

4 -- NATALAYA & VICTORIA & MARYSE vs. MARIA & CANDICE MICHELLE & BRI BELLA

I wonder how many young WWE fans heard that V.P. candidate Sarah Palin was accused of being "a diva" and wondered if that meant she was a WWE female wrestler. Hurricane Helms popped up on the screen and said that the divas make him (pause and look down) "pop-up." He closed with, "I'm just sayin'." The Divas were all dressed in their Halloween costumes. Victoria was back in her banana costume. Maria pinned Victoria after a bodyblock off the top rope.

WINNERS: Maria & Candice & Bella in 3:00.

-Tazz announced R-Truth would face Shelton Benjamin next week. Tazz said Truth was grinning wide when he found out about this match next week. Good to see WWE hyping a match a week ahead.

-Ross again plugged the main event casket match.

[Commercial Break]

[Q8]

5 -- UNDERTAKER vs. CHAVO GUERRERO - Casket Match

Tazz said he wouldn't want to be in Chavo's position this week on Halloween. Undertaker's full ring intro took place after Chavo's. Ross said Chavo doesn't need to notify next of kin in this case because his aunt put him in this position. After Undertaker's ring intro, Big Show came out. Ross said he didn't think that was part of the deal.

[Commercial Break]

The bell rang to start the match 51 minutes into the second hour. Ross explained therules. Chavo was going to bail out to ringside in the opening seconds, but when he saw the casket, he froze in his tracks. Taker immediately went to work on Chavo while keeping an eye on Show at ringside. Taker took Chavo to ringside and whipped him against the security wall. He kept looking toward Show who was down the aisle toward the entrance area. Taker opened the casket and began to try to shove Chavo into it. They had a "casket cam" showing Chavo struggling to avoid being put inside. Taker bashed Chavo with the lid of the casket. When Taker walked toward Show, Ross said either could get his hands on the other in this match legally since it's a no DQ match. Taker turned and charged at Chavo with a big boot, but Chavo moved and took over offense. Chavo dove off the ring apron at Taker, but Taker caught him and drove him back-first into the security wall. He threw Chavo back into the ring and signaled for the casket to be opened. Chavo, though, surprised Taker with a DDT type move. Chavo called for Show to come to ringside. Taker sat up. Chavo kicked him and grabbed a chair at ringside. When he charged Taker, Taker backdropped him, then clotheslined him in the corner. Taker dropped Chavo face-first over the top turnbuckle and then signaled for the casket to be opened. Show closed the lid. As Taker looked at Show at ringside, Chavo hit him with a chair from behind. Taker turned and chokeslammed Chavo. Show entered the ring and went after Taker at 5:00. He punched him and head-butted him to the mat. Taker fought back with some punches. Show fired back with a headbutt. Taker backdropped Show onto the casket at ringside. Show freaked out and scurried away. Chavo, meanwhile, staggered to his feet. Taker gave him a Tombstone, then rolled him into the casket for the win as Show looked on in fear. Ross said, "Yes, there is a dark side to the Undertaker. Can anyone handle this man?"

WINNER: Undertaker in 7:00.

STAR RATING: *1/2 -- Well laid out and well executed gimmick match in a cartoonish, dumbed-down, broad-brush-stroke way. It promoted Show's fear of Taker's powers and put him in a position to take some heelish cheap shots at Taker, but in the end Taker got a viewer-satisfying clean win.

-They showed Vickie backstage. She told Vladimir that if he wants a title shot, he has it, but first he has to defeat Undertaker next week. If he wins, he gets Triple H at Survivor Series. They both watched Taker's victory celebration on a big screen TV in her office.

FINAL THOUGHTS: The six-man tag was solid and the main event did exactly what it should have, and the closing segment established a big main event next week. Those were the positives. The Khali Kiss-cam is a low point for WWE TV these days. Just not nearly as funny as those scripting it think it is. It's a one-note (unfunny) joke that takes forever to play out each week. The rest of the show was just there. Giving away Vladimir vs. Undertaker next week is just too big of a match to give away on free TV, but at least it's serving a distinct purpose of Vickie using her power to get Vlad to do her dirty work before getting what he wants. Is there any brand split anymore, though. Tons of talent continue to appear on various brands interchangeably. It's just annoying they don't explain it. It seems so arbitrary and undercuts whatever the point of the brand split is in the first place.