Friday Night Smackdown!
East Rutherford, New Jersey
January 9, 2009
results thanks to pwtorch.com
-Cold open to Jim Ross and Tazz who alerted us to
a WWE.com story that Jeff Hardy and his girlfriend were involved in a
hit-and-run accident; we’ll get police footage as well as comments from Hardy
via satellite later on in the show.
-Smackdown Open.
-Triple H has Triple Jeopardy tonight, as he will compete in a Tables Match,
Handicap Match and Last Man Standing Match. Did they really have to use the
universal handicap logo next to “handicap match”?
1- TRIPLE H vs. JOHN MORRISON -TABLES MATCH
During HHH’s entrance, they showed the comments he made to Vickie last week that
led to these matches this week. Thirty seconds into the match, Trips
clotheslined Morrison over the top rope and to the outside, where tables were
lined up against the barricade. He set one up at ringside after throwing
Morrison into the ringpost. Triple H tried to suplex Morrison off the steel
steps and through the table, but Morrison backed out of it and pulled HHH’s leg
out from under him, sending The Game face-first into the stairs. Morrison then
set up a table against the buckle in the ring. Morrison almost ran himself into
the table, but he came back with a springboard kick. Morrison avoided getting
back-dropped over the top and to a table at ringside. In the ring, HHH hit a
spinebuster. He set up a table in the ring. He tried to suplex Morrison off the
top and through the table, but couldn’t. He recovered in time to throw Morrison
off the top and through the first table he set up at ringside.
WINNER: Triple H, at 4:23. I don’t think this loss will hurt Morrison’s
momentum. Match was fine but even with Morrison’s push, there was a sense that
HHH wouldn’t lose since he does have two other matches tonight. If he loses at
all, it would likely be the last one. At least, that’s what wrestling history
has taught me.
After the match, Miz distracted Triple H, who was then attacked by Chavo
Guerrero and put through the table set up in the corner. Vickie looked pleased
watching backstage.
-Up next, Undertaker will take on Shelton Benjamin.
[Commercial Break]
-Triple H was walking backstage after his match when he ran into Vickie
Guerrero. Vickie taunted him that he has two more matches left and sarcastically
wished him luck.
2- SHELTON BENJAMIN vs. THE UNDERTAKER
Benjamin used his speed to try to hit-and-run. He was able to corner Taker a few
times and pound away with fists. Taker turned the tide and went to work on the
left arm/shoulder of Shelton. Taker went Old School on the arm he had been
working on of Shelton’s. Crowd finally popped for that after being dead for much
of the show thus far. Taker clotheslined Shelton over the top rope as they went
to break.
[Commercial Break]
Undertaker continued his work on Shelton’s arm out of break. Snake Eyes by The
Deadman, but he missed the running boot and Shelton wisely took out the leg of
Taker. He writhed on the mat in pain. Benjamin showed his aggressiveness in
punching away at Taker as well as working on the leg. Taker grabbed Shelton by
the throat out of nowhere, but he couldn’t hit the Goozle; Benjamin went back to
work on the leg. Shelton put Taker’s leg on the rope so he could work on it
more, but Taker, from the floor, pushed Shelton over the top rope with his OTHER
leg. Taker gained control on the outside, but Benjamin put a stop to that with
another shot to the leg. Benjamin did the ten-punch count in the corner, but
Taker walked out with Shelton in the Last Ride position. Shelton squirmed out
and DDT’d Taker. He got two. Blinger Splash in the corner, but the second one
was blocked by a Taker chokeslam for a near-fall. Overhand rights by Taker.
Shelton tried to hop over Taker in the corner, but The Dead Man caught him and
gave him a Tombstone for the win.
WINNER: Undertaker, at 12:34. Good match: Shelton’s athleticism gelled well with
Taker’s ground-and-pound style.
-Next, the exclusive footage from a police cruiser of the Jeff Hardy hit-and-run
accident.
[Commercial Break]
-JR and Tazz said despite the accident, Jeff still intends to defend the World
Title at the Royal Rumble. We’ll hear from Edge later tonight, then they showed
the footage from the police cruiser. Jeff’s car looked pretty roughed up. Beth
(not the “actual” Beth, according to Jason Powell at prowrestling.net) was
kind-of frantic and Jeff seemed more perturbed. Apparently, somebody side-swiped
him. They refused ambulance treatment after the policeman asked him about the
situation, then they went back to the squad car to fill out paperwork.
-Earlier tonight, Tazz talked to Edge about the accident. Edge said the black
cloud hanging over Jeff’s head has followed him into 2009. Edge said these
things happen and that he’d keep Jeff and his girlfriend in his prayers.
-The Bella Twins were walking backstage, headed to the ring for some tag-team
action. I’d....well, nevermind.
[Commercial Break]
3- MICHELLE MCCOOL & VICTORIA vs. THE BELLA TWINS
They showed clips of the evolution of Michelle’s heel turn. Michelle did the
classic heel tactics such as jumping-jacks and push-ups after taking one of the
Bella Twins down. Flying mare and another by one of the Bellas after the other
tossed McCool back in the ring when she tried to goad the twin in the ring to
come outside. Victoria came in and worked over both Bellas. Samoan drop into a
sidewalk slam by Victoria. She missed a moonsault and the other Bella tagged in,
got an Oklahoma roll and picked up the pinfall.
WINNERS: The Bella Twins, at 3:27.
Michelle attacked Victoria after the match, an attack that included a Styles
Clash.
-Triple H’s handicap match is next.
[Commercial Break]
4- TRIPLE H vs. THE MIZ & CHAVO GUERRERO- HANDICAP MATCH
Miz went to work early on Triple H’s left arm, which he was favoring on the way
to the ring, despite what Tazz said about it. Chavo tagged in and Triple H
fought off some shenanigans by the heels. Miz tagged back in (by slapping Chavo
on the butt after Guerrero went shoulder-first into the post) and he continued
work on the arm. Lots of tags by the heels; Miz got a running clothesline on
Trips in the corner. As Miz went for a tag late in the match, Chavo jumped off
the apron and looked as if he wanted nothing to do with HHH. Miz turned around
and walked right into a Pedigree.
WINNER: Triple H, at 4:18. Odd finish; I would’ve expected things to go the
other way around with Miz letting Chavo eat a Pedigree. At least, that’s the way
they’ve been building those two thus far, with Miz far higher on the food chain
than Chavo.
Vickie came on the big screen and told Triple H he’ll face Big Show in a Last
Man Standing Match.
-Also, we’ll have an update from Jeff Hardy himself tonight on his condition and
about the accident.
[Commercial Break]
-A training video featuring Vladimir Kozlov aired. He’s still waiting for
competition, in case you were wondering. It was short, but at least they’re
trying to do something with Kozlov to get him more over.
-Time for the MVP Lounge with Montel Vontavious Porter half-heartedly going
through his spiel. His guest is someone who has been running his mouth at MVP’s
expense lately: Mr. Kennedy. Kennedy brought a mic down from the rafters for his
part of the interview. Kennedy complimented MVP’s lounge as a few fans started
chanting “MVP.” You can tell it’s the same crowd from last week, because the
same few guys did the same chant. Kennedy tried to tell MVP that Porter wasn’t
mad at HIM, he’s mad at himself. Kennedy claimed he was trying to inspire MVP;
inspire him to stop whining, complaining and losing all the time.
MVP was offended that Kennedy would make jokes in his lounge. A bunch of guys
came into the ring and started taking MVP’s furniture out of his lounge. One of
the guys said they were just doing their job in repossessing everything. They
should’ve brought Repo Man back for this one. He could take things from out of
the ring without MVP knowing, then MVP turns around and finds everything gone.
Or something like that. Kennedy had a parting shot for MVP, then left. The
Boogeyman’s music hit and he came into the ring. Kick to the gut, pump-handle
slam for MVP. Kennedy looked on from the ramp-way as MVP high-tailed it before
Boogeyman could do the worm thing.
-Up next, Carlito & Primo defend their tag titles against The Brian Kendrick and
Ezekiel Jackson. Why is this the first I’m hearing of this match tonight?
[Commercial Break]
-The Raw Rebound aired.
5- PRIMO & CARLITO vs. THE BRIAN KENDRICK & EZEKIEL JACKSON- WWE TAG-TEAM TITLE
MATCH
Primo struggled in there with Ezekiel to start so he tagged his older brother.
He didn’t have much better luck, though he and Primo did catch Zeke with a
double springboard shoulderblock. It only registered a one-count. Zeke got the
advantage in the heel corner and Kendrick tagged in. It appears that many people
left after the first show was taped, because I don’t remember the crowd being
darkened as much as it is this week. Primo tagged in and got a near-fall.
Kendrick got Primo to chase him around ringside, then he tagged Ezekiel while
Primo wasn’t looking. The results were not pretty for Primo. Jackson got Primo
in a bear-hug. After a slam, Kendrick yelled for a tag, but he didn’t get one,
at least immediately. Once in, Kendrick tried to wear down Primo some more.
Colon eventually got a big belly-to-belly suplex and tagged Carlito. Knee-lift
followed by a clothesline, then a springboard back-elbow. Carlito went for a
cover after a sit-down spinebuster, but Jackson interfered. Primo low-bridged
Jackson, but Kendrick pushed Carlito into Primo and rolled him up...for two.
Wow, I thought that was it. Carlito came back with a Back-stabber for the win.
“Sham-Wow, I get it right!” exclaimed Tazz, who predicted the champs would
retain.
WINNERS: Carlito & Primo, at 6:08. Good little match; these are two teams worth
building a tag division around, if WWE were so inclined. Which they aren’t.
Again, lack of crowd heat hurt the match a little.
-We’ll hear from Jeff Hardy coming up next.
[Commercial Break]
-JR showed exclusive cell-phone footage of the accident from last night. Good
follow-up, as the officer did mention a cell phone video guy in the previous
video. Did this person voluntarily give the footage to WWE or what?
-Jeff Hardy talked, courtesy of “MY RDC,” whatever that is (MyNetwork
affiliate?). Hardy appeared to be favoring his right side a bit. He talked about
what happened to lead to the accident and said he and Beth are a little
banged-up (left shoulder for him), then he said he would be in action at the
Rumble against Edge.
-JR and Tazz previewed the Royal Rumble, as the official theme (or at least the
one they used here) is apparently “Let It Rock” by Kevin Rudolf. Rarely do I
recognize songs they use as “official” ones for PPVs. Good choice this month
though.
-Big Show came out for the Last Man Standing Match, which will be next.
[Commercial Break]
6- BIG SHOW vs. TRIPLE H- LAST MAN STANDING MATCH
Show went right at, guess, Triple H’s shoulder and arm. Punches by Trips had
little effect, as Show just batted him away. Trips did his oversell of being
thrown into the corner and ended up outside the ring as Show patiently waited
inside. It seemed like they were going to break, but after a pause, JR and Tazz
started talking again, then they went to break after Show chopped Trips back
into the ring.
[Commercial Break]
Triple H got chopped in the chest by Show in the corner as the show returned.
Show picked Trips up by the arm and tossed him down. He followed it up with
another one. Big headbutt put Trips down, then he was thrown into the steel
steps on the outside of the ring. Triple H came back with a DDT inside the ring
and both men were down for an extended period. Show speared HHH, who got up at
seven. Show put him back down again almost immediately after The Game got up.
Crowd finally started to come alive as Trips got up at eight. A triumvirate of
headbutts by Show, but Triple H crotcc-chopped Show in the corner and was able
to hit a Pedigree out of seemingly nowhere. Show got up at nine. He missed a
bunch of rights and lefts, perhaps still reeling from the Pedigree. Triple H
countered with punches of his own, then he went for another Pedigree. Show
picked Trips up instead and pretty much landed back-first on him. Triple H made
it up at nine, then fell through the ropes and to the outside. On the outside,
Big Show caught Triple H jumping onto him off the apron and chokeslammed him
onto the announce table, which didn’t break. Trips got off the table and onto
his feet just in time to beat the count. Show was there to greet him with a
straight right hand, which put him back on the table. He couldn’t get up from
that.
WINNER: Big Show, at 16:26. A match suited for Big Show’s pace, so it worked in
that way. Lots of drama, as usual, near the end.
Vickie looked on from the ramp with Big Show, pleased at the outcome of her
scheme.