Friday Night Smackdown!
Lakeland, Florida
January 5, 2007
Race against time
By Lennie DiFino
January 5, 2007
Mr. Kennedy kicked off his 2007 by becoming the man with the time to outdo in
the first ever SmackDown Beat the Clock Sprint.
The first edition of Friday Night SmackDown of the new year played host to the
Beat the Clock Sprint. General Manager Theodore Long began the night by telling
WWE fans in attendance that the match-ups would all be random with the eventual
winner facing the World Heavyweight Champion at Royal Rumble. As he explained,
the winner of the Beat the Clock Sprint would be the Superstar that wins their
match in the fastest time.
World Heavyweight Champion Batista was welcomed to the ring by Long. The Animal
smiled and explained how much he was looking forward to the challenge. “I love
it. I want to be in the ring with the best. I will keep fighting as hard as I
can to keep my title.”
The first match in the Beat the Clock Sprint was Kane vs. Chavo Guerrero. Kane
defeated Chavo, and set the pace for the night at 7 minutes 53 seconds.
The next match pitted one-half of the WWE Tag Team Champions Paul London against
his tag team partner and fellow champion Brian Kendrick. The two Superstars
high-octane, fast-paced styles left the crowd in amazement, but were not enough
to beat the time set by Kane.
On a mission to regain the championship he lost at Survivor Series, King Booker
defeated Gregory Helms in 6 minutes 24 seconds to establish the new time to
beat. After the match, Boogeyman continued his stalking of Helms, and the
Cruiserweight Champion was laid out and wormed.
Jimmy Wang Yang nearly beat Tatanka and the time set by King Booker, but as the
referee counted the pin, the buzzer sounded. As Yang stood in disbelief, Tatanka
delivered a vicious assault from behind, leaving the resident redneck in the
middle of the ring.
In the final match of the night in the Beat the Clock Sprint, Mr. Kennedy
battled United States Champion Chris Benoit, the man who defeated him for the
title. Kennedy took advantage of an exposed turnbuckle, and pinned Benoit at 5
minutes 7 seconds to secure the top time in the Beat the Clock Sprint.
Montel Vontavious Porter made his first appearance since Armageddon, still
showing the effects of burns received in the Inferno Match. MVP questioned
General Manager Theodore Long, asking, “Do you realize what you took from me?”
The young Superstar explained, “the pain and suffering I have been enduring
would pale in comparison to the pain and suffering I would have tolerated if I
allowed you to stop me from fulfilling my destiny in becoming World Heavyweight
Champion.” Next week, Porter will get his opportunity, as he has been announced
to take part in the Beat the Clock Sprint.
Jillian took on Ashley, but not before she revealed her plans to disfigure her.
Since Ashley was named cover girl for Playboy’s April issue, Jillian has become
insanely jealous of the attention Ashley has been receiving. On this edition of
SmackDown, Ashley would once again get the upper hand, defeating Jillian.
Former Diva search finalist Maryse surprised WWE fans as a video of the sultry
beauty speaking French was shown. What does the appearance by Maryse mean for
SmackDown?
Finally, an extremely emotional Vickie Guerrero expressed her sadness to Kristal
over her current situation. “Things are rough for me right now. Chris Benoit
turned his back on me and my own nephew (Chavo) turned his back on me,” she
said. Vickie is still nursing an injured neck caused by Benoit, and she told
fans how lost she feels.
Next week on SmackDown, four more Superstars will look to establish the winning
time for the Beat the Clock Sprint: Matt Hardy, Finlay, MVP and Undertaker. Will
these World Heavyweight Champion hopefuls be able to beat the time Mr. Kennedy
has set and move on to Royal Rumble to challenge Batista?
Matches
Kane def. Chavo Guerrero (7:53)
Paul London vs. Brian Kendrick (No contest)
King Booker def. Cruiserweight Champion Gregory Helms (6:24)
Ashley def. Jillian
Jimmy Wang Yang versus Tatanka (No contest)
Mr. Kennedy def. United States Champion Chris Benoit (5:07)