Friday Night Smackdown!
Tampa, Florida
November 23, 2007
thanks to: wwe.com
An Extreme Thanksgiving
By Louie Dee
November 23, 2007
TAMPA, Fla. – The day after Thanksgiving is the
busiest retail shopping day of the year, earning it the nickname “Black Friday.”
On SmackDown, however, Black Friday took on a new meaning, as Superstars from
the Land of the Extreme made their presence felt against the Blue Crew.
Second verse, same as the first
The monstrous rivalry between Kane and Big Daddy V exploded once again on
SmackDown, as the two monsters met in singles action. Kane was looking for
payback for ECW on Sci Fi, when he defeated Big Daddy V & Matt Striker in a
Handicap Match.
Kane was victorious again on SmackDown, this time by disqualification. As the
Big Red Monster was seemingly on the road to victory, Striker got involved with
a steel chair – getting his protégé disqualified in the process. However, Kane
thwarted Striker’s attempted chicanery, clobbering him with a clothesline before
smashing the chair across Big Daddy V’s ample back.
Irish eyes are crying
As another act of “tough love,” Mr. McMahon put son Hornswoggle into a match
with another massive opponent – this time, the World’s Strongest Man, Mark
Henry. Finlay, however, had a problem with that, telling McMahon that this
wasn’t part of their “deal.” Instead, the WWE Chairman set up a Handicap Match –
Finlay & Hornswoggle vs. Henry. Thanks to a little help from their trusty
shillelaghs, the Irish duo picked up the victory. After the bout, however,
Finlay’s past of helping Hornswoggle finally caught up with him. As The Great
Khali – who the ornery Irishman assaulted with a shillelagh during his Survivor
Series Match with the lil’ leprechaun – approached ringside, the World’s
Strongest Man assaulted Finlay from behind. Khali then added a devastating choke
bomb to the Irishman’s misery, as poor, frightened Hornswoggle could only look
on in horror from the corner.
night of seconds
WWE Tag Team Champions The Miz & John Morrison made the second defense of their
newly won gold, taking on The Major Brothers. Brett & Brian Major had hoped
their second WWE Tag Team Title Match would end better than the first, but
unfortunately, once again, they came up just short. The brothers from Long
Island fought valiantly, though, even with Brett Major busted wide open by John
Morrison. Miz & Morrison seemed to show no ill effects from being opponents at
Survivor Series, retaining their gold after Miz gave Brian Major a Reality
Check.
Engine failure
Jamie Noble may have put his foot in his mouth once again on SmackDown, but this
time, he ended up getting the last laugh. Prior to Noble’s match with Chuck
Palumbo, Michelle McCool caught him straddling Palumbo’s chopper. Noble tried to
sweet talk the beautiful blond Diva, but his advances were quickly spurned. No
matter for Noble, who survived a tough match and pulled out a surprising
victory, using the motorcycle enthusiast’s size against him to gain the pinfall
with a roll-up.
Going 2-for-2 in the Sunshine State
After being on the winning side of a 10-Divas Tag Team Match at Survivor Series,
Torrie Wilson once again found the winner’s circle on SmackDown. This time, the
blond bombshell from Boise showed off her ring prowess in solo action against
Victoria, one of the Divas on the losing end at Survivor Series. Moments after
escaping Victoria’s dreaded Widow’s Peak, Torrie dropped her opponent with a
neckbreaker to seal the victory.
The Champ is still here … sort of
Jesse & Festus also made a SmackDown appearance, but not in the ring. Instead,
they came as fans … well, fans and perhaps merchandisers, as Jesse extolled the
virtues of the new John Cena – My Life DVD with his big buddy Festus in tow –
dressed to the nines in Cena gear, of course. Unfortunately, their time was cut
short thanks to Festus’ insistence of another DVD viewing, but before leaving,
the burly country boy made it known that if you don’t follow The Champ’s virtues
of hustle, loyalty and respect, then perhaps you can’t see him.
Rated “T” for Tombstone
Edge said that SmackDown would be where he answered all the questions about why
he screwed Undertaker. It was learned that Edge’s actions were the culmination
of four months of planning with “the love of his life,” Acting SmackDown General
Manager Vickie Guerrero. Once the two revealed they were in cahoots, Vickie
named Edge the new No. 1 Contender to the World Heavyweight Championship,
granting him a match against Batista next week. But when The Animal was the
guest on the return edition of The Cutting Edge, all Hell broke loose. The angry
champion manhandled the smitten Rated-R Superstar, while Undertaker made his
presence felt by giving Edge’s main squeeze a taste of Tombstone.
Most valuable presentation
United States Champion MVP was primed for a big night, as JBL was set to award
him the first-ever “United States Championship Championship Ring” on behalf of
the United Nations. That wouldn’t be the only ring MVP got a feel for on this
night, however; after listening to the Ballin’ Superstar run down Matt Hardy,
Rey Mysterio had enough and challenged MVP to a non-title match. Rey nearly was
able to pull off the victory, but a little help from one of the U.S. Champion’s
true friends – the top rope – helped Porter pick up a victory in his home state.