WWE Smackdown taping
Edmonton, Alb.
Report by Dot Net reader Nav Ghali

Smackdown started with a video package from the CM Punk/Jeff Hardy debacle last week.

The show started with a CM Punk interview. Punk started by saying that everyone says TLC is Hardy's specialty, but they are wrong. He reminded everyone about his back-to-back MITB wins at WrestleMania. Punk then says he can waste his breath and energy on telling us that Jeff Hardy lives a wrong lifestyle and that straight-edge is the way to go, but he's decided that he just needs to end Jeff Hardy. Punk said he wasn't even sure if Hardy was going to make it to SummerSlam at all.

Cue Teddy Long, who came out to say that not only would Jeff Hardy make it to SummerSlam, he would be here tonight! Punk then started to argue, and cue Jeff Hardy's music. He slowly made his way to the ring in street clothes, selling the beating. He got in Punk's face and said he would beat Punk in TLC at SummerSlam. Hot segment, with HUGE heat for Punk, and an amazing pop for Hardy.

Teddy Long was then shown in his office, reading some papers, and he got a call from Vince McMahon. Vince told him to put Jeff Hardy in a handicap match tonight against The Hart Dynasty. As Long argued, he was reminded that was on probation. The match was on.

1. Dolph Ziggler defeated Finlay in a good match. Mike Knox came down during the match and got involved in the end, distracting Finlay by hitting him with the shillelagh, allowing Dolph to pick up the win. Finlay was then beatdown after the match by Knox, with a sidewalk slam on the steps. He grabbed the mic and said something, but it was hard to hear.

Backstage, Maria and Melina were hanging out with Maria asking for advice on what to wear on a date with Dolph. They were interrupted by Layla, who said Maria shouldn't worry about Dolph, as he'd dump her as soon as he found someone better. She also delivered a message to Melina from Michelle McCool, saying that she would be back next week. Melina said to send her a message back, by facing her in the ring tonight. The match was on.

Three other vignettes aired throughout the night, focusing on Kane's abduction of Runjin Singh. The first had Runjin tied up, black and blue, being forced to say that he had been treated well. He quickly asked for help. Kane, who was controlling the camera, beat on Runjin some more and then asked the Great Khali to find them. The second revealed that Runjin is actually the Great Khali's brother. And in the final vignette, Khali found Runjin tied upside down, but was jumped by Kane, who beat him with a pipe. He said he wasn't afraid of Khali, but that Khali should be afraid of
him.

2. CM Punk defeated John Morrison in a great match. Crowd was behind Morrison, and huge heat on CM Punk. Lots of back and forth action, with CM Punk blocking a Starship Pain, grabbing Morrison from the ropes as he was crotched, and hitting the GTS. Awesome match.

3. Melina defeated Layla. The match started off really slow. The crowd was not into it at all, chanting, "Lets go Oilers." The cowd got into it a little in the end, as Melina screamed during her offense and picked up with the win with her legdrop-splits finisher.

Cryme Time came out for a short promo, saying they were tired of hearing from Chris Jericho about what he and Show had done, but that it was about what was going to happened at SummerSlam: Cryme Time winning the gold. Heat on Cryme Time, with two "Y2J" chants breaking out, but the crowd was into the "Money, money, yeah yeah" chant as well.

4. Big Show defeated JTG in pretty much a squash. Jericho was on commentary and got involved, taking out Shad. One chokeslam later, and it was over. Jericho and Show posed to a good pop, with more "Y2J" chants. Shad then knocked Show over the top rope, and there was a good ol' staredown.

5. The Hart Dynasty defeated Jeff Hardy in a handicap match with their version of the Hart Attack. HUGE pop for Jeff Hardy, and another HUGE pop for the hometown Hart's. A good match actually, with Jeff showing the effects of being beaten down last week. Nice spots between Jeff and Smith.

After the match, CM Punk came down and beat on Hardy some more. John Morrison down for the save, but the Hart Dynasty took him out of the equation (based on the Superstars match taped last night). Punk was then going for another chair attack into the steel post when Matt Hardy came down to a HUGE pop for the save, attacking Punk. Matt and Morrison then took care of the Hart Dynasty, leaving Matt and Jeff alone in the ring. The crowd was loving it, with a HUGE pop for Matt and a "Hardy" chant. Matt then helped Jeff up, tapped his heart, and the crowd loved it. Morrison joined them and had a staredown with Punk and the Hart's to end the show.

Dark Match
Matt and Morrison left, and the steel cage was set-up. Jeff stayed in the ring and posed, and then was introduced for a bonus title match. CM Punk was reintroduced, and after a short match, Hardy hit the Swanton for the win (5 minutes to set up a cage that wasn't used, 3 minute match). Jeff then circled the crowd and celebrated, grabbing a Canadian flag and standing on the announce table. He also gave a cheers to others who had replica World title belts with his title. He took his time, celebrating with the fans all over the arena. After he left, CM Punk was announced as still the #1 contender, and he stumbled his way out.

Other notes

-TONS of Jeff Hardy and Rey Mysterio merchandise in the crowd. Lots of kids in the crowd as well. Jeff Hardy is over like a rock star...the guys love him, the girls love him, the kids love him. WWE is going to miss the guy.

-Video packages were shown for Mysterio and R-Truth, with the crowd very much into them, but neither showed tonight (which was disappointing for a lot of the people in the crowd).

-Good reaction to Matt Striker, great pop for J.R., and tons of boos for Todd Grisham.

-Tony Chimmel is a good sport, as he was getting harassed by some guys all night in the 2nd row, but put up with it and even slapped their hands on the way to the back after the show.

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