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.