Friday Night Smackdown!
Fresno, California
July 3, 2009
results thanks to pwtorch.com
-WWE Open.
-Smackdown Open. The opening has been adjusted to include Smackdown’s newest
Superstars courtesy of the 15-person deal announced on Monday night.
-Ring announcer Justin Roberts introduced C.M. Punk to the live crowd. He
certainly wasn’t as chipper as usual, but still played to the crowd. Punk first
addressed the controversy at The Bash, and said he’s getting sick and tired of
people talking about how he purposely struck an official in order to retain his
title. He said he came out to show footage to try to clear his name. First, he
showed video of Hardy pinning him with his leg under the rope to assure people
Hardy wasn’t “robbed.” Punk said where he comes from, the rules still mean
something. He said it was him who was almost robbed of the title. He said he
suffered a severe eye injury, and showed where that happened in the match, as
well as him kicking the referee. Punk said it was obvious that he thought he was
swinging at Jeff because his eye was severely damaged. He called himself a man
of honor and he doesn’t take short-cuts inside the ring or outside. He said Jeff
had reason to be frustrated as they were having a “classic” match, but nothing
excuses the behavior that followed. Then they aired clips of Hardy attacking
Punk after the match. Punk said Hardy has no idea who he is as a person, because
if he did, he’d know he’s a man of integrity. While his mistake was an accident,
what Jeff did was deliberate. Punk said Hardy is telling everyone that he wants
a re-match from Punk. Punk said he wants something from Jeff too, and that’s an
apology. And he wants it now. Instead, Teddy Long’s music hit.
Long came to the ring and told Punk that he doesn’t know whether Punk took the
cheap way out or not- Punk tried to interrupt and Long told him not to do that.
Long said Punk would face Jeff Hardy at Night of Champions for the World
Heavyweight Championship. Punk said that was fine with him, but he needs to send
Hardy out to apologize to him. Long said that’s not his responsibility. He said
McMahon was happy with how he shook things up at The Bash, and he’s going to
continue to do so. He made the Edge & Jericho vs. Hardy & Punk match for
tonight. Then Jeff’s music played as Punk looked a bit frustrated. Hardy came
out to the ring. He said he didn’t want to hear Punk’s excuses anymore, and he
accused Punk of knowing exactly what he was doing when he kicked the ref. Hardy
said he could see right through Punk. Punk told him unless he was about to say,
“I’m sorry,” he better shut up, because he doesn’t care what he has to say.
Hardy said he’ll apologize.....for beating the hell out of him at Night of
Champions. He then shoved Punk and Punk shoved back. Long got in between them
and Punk said they need to be on the same page for their tag match later
tonight. Punk gave some advice to Jeff Hardy, something he should’ve said a long
time ago: Just say no. Interesting to see Punk getting more and more frustrated
with every promo and in this one, he was clearly playing a little more of a heel
than he has in the past, coming out with excuses and demanding an apology.
[Commercial Break]
1- RICKY ORTIZ vs. FINLAY
Ortiz got the dreaded “currently in the ring” treatment. He also had the mic
after Finlay made his entrance. He asked if Finlay was upset about losing his
little buddy (a few months late there, Rick). He asked why Finlay was so
negative, and told him to drop the shillaleigh, lose the frown and rally up.
Finlay responded by slapping Ortiz.
The bell rang and Finlay got a headbutt to the gut and was then clotheslined
over the top rope. Ortiz tripped him up though as he was heading back into the
ring. The men continued to fight on the outside and Ortiz powerslammed him out
there. Belly-to-back suplex by Ortiz once they were back in the ring and that
got two. He missed a running shoulder to the gut in the corner though and Finlay
snuck up with a roll-up for two. Couple clotheslines, then a rolling Samoan
drop. Finlay got the momentum, but his lower back wouldn’t allow him to pick
Ortiz back up. Ortiz tried to back-drop him, but Finlay hooked him in the Celtic
Cross, then dropped him and got the pin.
WINNER: Finlay, at 2:26. Just a showcase match for Finlay, but if they really
see something in Ortiz, they should continue to put him with guys like Finlay.
-Dolph Ziggler was getting warmed up for his match backstage when Maria came up
to him and introduced herself. They both said they had matches for later tonight
and Maria said she had fun with him last night. Ziggler told her “you’re
welcome.” They sounded like they were a couple high-schoolers. They seemed to
agree to go out again later tonight, and Ziggler said “maybe I’ll get lucky.”
[Commercial Break]
-JR plugged Rey Mysterio vs. the returning Kane later tonight.
2- DOLPH ZIGGLER vs. R-TRUTH
When Ziggler made his entrance, they showed clips of his match with Khali at The
Bash. When Truth rapped to the ring, they showed two girls in the crowd with a
Punk t-shirt and Jeff Hardy arm-bands and face-paint. They must feel quite
conflicted. Truth was quick to get on the offensive until Ziggler got into the
ropes, causing a break. He then took advantage of it by attacking Truth when the
ref was backing him away. He suplexed Truth over his head, then applied a rear
chin-lock. He took Truth down by the hair when the former K-Kwik was trying to
make his comeback. Ziggler hit a number of elbowdrops on Truth. He then put
Truth in a full-nelson. Truth began to come back, utilizing right hands and a
back elbow to do the job. Powerslam got him a two-count. Kick to the jaw by
Truth, but Ziggler held onto the bottom rope, then managed to choke Truth on the
top. Ziggler hit his finisher and got the win.
WINNER: Ziggler, at 3:06. This win means a bit more for Ziggler since Truth has
been picking up some victories on the show.
-They plugged the main-event tag match that will take place tonight.
[Commercial Break]
-It’s time for Cryme Tyme’s Word Up. Today’s word, supplied by Eve Torres:
Wanksta. A fake gangster, pretty much. Hey, I’ve heard of that one! Shad said
they decided to show us a Wanksta this week. They brought out the binoculars and
pretended to be hunting, trying to disguise themselves behind fake foliage. They
saw Layla through the binoculars, arguing with some guy; then Jimmy Wang Yang
eating barbecue; then, finally, their wanksta: Jesse. AKA: J-easy, among others.
Cryme Tyme was exasperated by Jesse’s act, and they told him not to follow them.
-Rey Mysterio came out for his match with Kane. It’s next.
[Commercial Break]
3- REY MYSTERIO vs. KANE
JR noted the past run-ins these two have had. A few kicks early on didn’t faze
the big man and he pounded away on Rey with kicks and punches. Rey kicked out of
a chin-lock, but couldn’t capitalize. Rey took out Kane’s knee, but couldn’t hit
the 619. Kane tried a chokeslam, but Rey got out. Kane threw him into the corner
and did some damage there as the show went to break.
[Commercial Break]
Kane was still in control out of break. Hard whip into the buckle by Kane and
Rey took a powder to the outside. He slammed Rey’s back against the ring post.
Mysterio barely made it in before the ten count. The match began to drag a bit
with Kane’s methodical offense being used. Another comeback attempt by Rey fell
short when Kane elbowed him down. After escaping a back-breaker, Rey hit a
springboard seated senton. After a near-fall, he landed a seated dropkick for
two. Rey went to the top, but Kane met him with an uppercut on the way down. Rey
avoided a chokeslam and after an enziguiri, hit the 619. He tried a springboard
hurricanrana, but couldn’t hit it. Kane chokeslammed Rey, then pinned him.
WINNER: Kane, at 11:13. JR made some excuses for Rey after the match, but I
don’t think this loss to Kane hurt Rey much.
Kane grabbed Rey for another chokeslam after the match, but Great Khali’s music
hit before he could squash Rey. Man, he had time to chokeslam him and still got
out of the ring before Khali and his chair could make it to the ring. Kane fled
through the crowd before Khali could use the chair.
-Backstage, Chris Jericho was with Josh Mathews. Apparently, he asked for the
time. Jericho said it brings a smile to his face to see Rey get what he deserves
tonight. He said next week, he’d invoke his re-match clause and win the I.C.
Title for the 10th time. The camera panned over and Edge said it wasn’t about
Jericho and Rey, it’s about the two of them being the dominant force that they
are. Jericho called them the best in the world at what they do. Jericho said
Punk is as much as a liar as the fans. What happened to these guys not getting
along when Jericho came to Smackdown just a short while ago?
[Commercial Break]
4- THE HART DYNASTY vs. CRYME TYME
JTG took Tyson Kidd down and did some mat work. He took Kidd down face-first to
the mat, and Kidd went to the outside. He came back in and made the tag, a tag
that JTG did not see. David Hart Smith used his strength to keep JTG grounded.
Some double-teaming by the heels kept JTG in their corner. After missing a
splash in the corner, Kidd got rolled up for two. But he was soon right back on
offense. What’s with Kidd and the “yip’s” every time he does a move? Both men
were down, and both were able to make tags. Shad took out Kidd on the apron,
then went to work on Smith. He planted Smith with a forward suplex, but Kidd
broke up a pin. Cryme Tyme double-teamed Smith, then Shad hit his finisher on
Smith to get the win.
WINNERS: Cryme Tyme, at 4:52. Surprising result. I’m guess we’ll see some
six-person tags with Cryme Tyme and Eve against all three members of the Hart
Dynasty.
-The Raw Rebound aired.
[Commercial Break]
-Another plug for the Jericho & Edge vs. Hardy & Punk aired.
5- LAYLA & MICHELLE MCCOOL vs. MELINA & MARIA
Layla tried to take it to Melina, but Melina got a kick in to the face. Layla
looked rough taking shots to the head off the turnbuckle. Maria came in and
nailed Layla with a few knees to the gut. Layla kicked Maria into a split
position and tagged McCool in. She went right to work on the left leg of Maria.
They should pull a “50 First Dates” with Maria, where she suffers a concussion
and can’t remember Ziggler, so he has to keep introducing himself to her
everytime they meet. Maria finally made the tag to Melina, but McCool got out of
there after taking a minimal amount of Melina’s offense. Melina turned a
neckbreaker attempt by Layla into her finisher (complete with primal scream) and
registered the pin.
WINNERS: Melina & Maria, at 3:16. Pretty ugly at times, but it wasn’t a complete
disaster.
[Commercial Break]
-John Morrison was backstage in Teddy Long’s office. Long was jiven’ while
Morrison was talking about beating Punk and wanting to have a match with him for
the belt. Long brought up Michael Jackson and the two started singing MJ tunes
in between Morrison talking smack about Punk. That’s WWE’s “hey, we’re
relevant!” segment of the week.
-As Edge and Jericho made their separate entrances, the announcers plugged
Jericho vs. Rey for the I.C. Title as part of next week’s broadcast. The main
event is next.
[Commercial Break]
6- EDGE & CHRIS JERICHO vs. JEFF HARDY & C.M. PUNK
Punk and Edge began things slowly, with Edge working the arm of the World
Champion. No problems on the first tag from Punk to Hardy, nor on the second.
Even some teamwork shown by the two. Jericho finally tagged and was arm-dragged
down. Punk slammed Jericho right in position for Hardy to land his legdrop off
the second rope. Jericho took advantage of Punk with a pull of the hair and
tagged in Edge. Punk set Hardy up to leap off of him into the corner, taking out
Jericho and Edge. After Edge was clotheslined over the top by Punk, the two
faces had a stare-down in the ring, clearly still uneasy with each other.
[Commercial Break]
Edge was going toe-to-toe in the middle of the ring with Jeff Hardy, and Hardy
ended up getting the better of Edge for the moment at least, with an arm-drag.
In the corner, Punk began holding his eye in pain, and the crowd jeered. Jericho
tagged in and aggressively went after Hardy and Punk. As he was jawing with Punk
in the corner, outside the ring, Edge punched Hardy, sending him into the
barricade. Hardy started to come back on Jericho at the 11:00 mark. But Jericho
again tossed him to ringside. Punk got the crowd into it to help out their man
Jeff Hardy. As Hardy came back in the ring, he crawled to his corner, where Punk
was out of position, again dealing with his eye. Hardy hit Whisper in the Wind
even without tagging Punk. Edge made the tag first, but he was hit with the
Twist of Fate. Hardy quickly went over and slapped Punk in the match. Knee in
the corner, then a running bulldog from Punk. He got Edge up for the GTS, but
Edge got out and drove Punk to the canvas on the back of his head. Jericho
choked Punk in the corner when the ref’s back was turned, dealing with Edge.
Jericho came in and kicked Punk right in the ribs. Jericho dug into Punk’s eye
with his fist. Punk tried to fight back but they ended up double-clotheslining
each other. Hardy got the crowd into the match for Punk. As Punk went for the
tag, Hardy comically oversold a fictitious eye injury, falling to ringside and
everything. Jericho tried to lock in the Walls as Hardy kept squirming on the
ground. Punk got Jericho up for the GTS, but Jericho made a blind tag, and Edge
came in with a spear to pin the World Champion.
WINNERS: Edge & Jericho, at 16:15.
After the match, Hardy took out Edge, leaving the unified tag champs to quickly
cede the ring to Hardy. JR kept talking up Hardy’s eye injury as if it were
serious, even though he was clearly doing it because of what he perceived that
Punk did to him. As Hardy went to the back, he continued to hold his eye, while
looking back at the ring at Punk. Then, when he got to the top of the ramp, he
revealed it was a ruse all along.