Smackdown!
Florence, South Carolina
January 20, 2006
Second chance
January 20, 2006
It was a night of second chances for the SmackDown Superstars as Friday Night
SmackDown rolled into Florence, South Carolina this week.
On the Jan. 13 edition of SmackDown, Kurt Angle shocked the world by jumping
from RAW to win the World Heavyweight Championship in a Battle Royal. The final
two men eliminated in that Battle Royal, Mark Henry and Rey Mysterio, squared
off to see who would face the new champion at the Royal Rumble.
Early in the match, Rey used his speed, trying to stick and move to counteract
the World’s Strongest Man’s size and power advantage. While Rey managed to keep
Henry at bay for a while, eventually Henry caught Mysterio and used his power
advantage to dominate. However, Henry got cocky, holding Mysterio above his head
for an extended length of time. Rey was able to escape before Henry could do
anything, and hit a series of 619s to chop the big man down to size. Rey then
hit the frog splash for a near-fall, but Henry showed his agility, rolling out
of the pinfall and over Mysterio. He then nailed Rey with the World’s Strongest
Slam, getting the three count and winning the chance to face Angle on Jan. 29.
Henry would make another impact later in the night. On RAW, Daivari cost Kurt
Angle his match with Shawn Michaels, and Angle fired Daivari on WWE.com
Unlimited. Daivari pleaded with Theodore Long to do something, so Long set up a
match between the two as the main event of Friday Night SmackDown. Daivari was
mortified by the announcement, but had no choice. During the match, Angle
dominated his former manager, but the appearance of Mark Henry and Melina at
ringside distracted him long enough for Daivari to hit a low blow.
Undaunted, Kurt shook off Daivari’s attack and chased him outside the ring.
Angle whipped Daivari into Henry, and after Henry caught him, Angle took both of
them down. Back in the ring, the World Heavyweight Champion nailed the Angle
Slam and locked Daivari in the Ankle Lock. Melina ran into the ring and jumped
on Angle’s back, drawing a disqualification. Angle then put her in the Ankle
Lock, but Henry attacked from behind. Henry hit the World’s Strongest Slam, and
then nailed the champion with the steel ring steps. After Angle had been sent
from the ring, Daivari shook hands with Melina and revealed that he actually
screwed Angle. He then announced that he was now the manager of the World’s
Strongest Man, and would lead Henry into battle against Angle at the Royal
Rumble.
Also on SmackDown, Booker T celebrated his newly won United States Championship.
In the ring, Booker claimed that he won it all by himself, and proved that he
was the greatest United States Champion of all time. Orlando Jordan took offense
to this and hit the ring. Jordan told Booker that he should have let him be the
substitute, but was disrespected and laughed at instead. Jordan challenged
Booker to a match, but the champion laughed, saying he wasn’t cleared to
wrestle. That wasn’t the response Orlando wanted, so he shoved Booker to the
ground. At this point, Theodore Long came out, and announced that since Orlando
wanted a match, he would fight the man who was Booker’s substitute, Randy Orton,
later in the night.
Jordan worked over Orton’s shoulder early in the bout, but missed a suicide dive
to the floor allowing Orton to gain control. Orton and Jordan then went back and
forth, with Orlando continuing to work Orton’s shoulder while the Legend Killer
focused on Jordan’s neck and back. As the match neared conclusion, Jordan headed
to the top rope, but Booker & Sharmell made their way out. This distracted
Jordan, and Orton was able to meet him on the ropes. Jordan pushed him down, but
Booker nailed Orlando in the back with his crutch. Jordan was then easy prey for
the RKO, and Orton was able to pick up the victory. After the match was over,
Chris Benoit rushed the ring as Orton and Booker celebrated. Benoit laid out
both men with chops and German suplexes, and it was later announced that Benoit
will meet Orton next week in a No Holds Barred, One Fall to a Finish Match.
The Boogeyman also cost JBL once again on SmackDown. JBL took on Lashley, and a
worried Jillian accompanied him to ringside sporting a bandage where her mole
used to reside. JBL got the best of Lashley and nailed him with the Clothesline
from Hell, but the Boogeyman’s music interrupted the match. He came out from
under the ring to spook JBL, which distracted the “Wrestling God” long enough
for Lashley to recover and nail JBL with the Dominator for the victory. JBL &
Jillian ran away before he could do any more damage.
Later in the night, JBL barged into Theodore Long’s office, demanding that the
General Manager do something about the Boogeyman. JBL complained that he had
cost him several matches and scarred Jillian for life, prompting Long to ask if
JBL was afraid of the Boogeyman. After JBL said no, Long told JBL that he would
go one on one with the Boogeyman at the Royal Rumble. JBL tried to get out of
the match, but the General Manager denied his pleas.
In addition, Finlay made his anticipated debut, taking on Matt Hardy. After a
hard fought match, Finlay caught Hardy in the ropes, and delivered a series of
hard crossfaces. Ignoring the referee’s count, Finlay continued to assault
Hardy, and was disqualified for his actions. An irate Finlay asked the ref why
he was disqualified, and said that he would give him a reason to disqualify him.
Finlay then dragged Hardy to the corner, laid his head on the steel steps and
stomped down, driving Hardy into the steel in a brutal display.
Also, the Gymini made their Friday Night SmackDown debut, defeating Paul London
& Brian Kendrick.
Matches
Mark Henry def. Rey Mysterio (No. 1 Contender Match)
World Heavyweight Champion Kurt Angle def. Daivari (DQ)
Lashley def. JBL
Randy Orton def. Orlando Jordan
Matt Hardy def. Finlay (DQ)
The Gymini def. Paul London & Brian Kendrick