Smackdown on MyNetwork TV
Taped on 3/16/10 in Los Angeles, Calif.

[Q1] The show opened with Todd Grisham and Matt Striker talking somberly at ringside about Punk’s treatment of Rey Mysterio last week, A video recapped what happened. Rey Mysterio’s music hit and he made his ring entrance in street clothes. Rey took a moment to catch his breath and cut a promo. He said he hadn’t had a moment’s peace in a week because of Punk. He said Punk had crossed a line and he accepted Punk’s challenge at Wrestlemania. He said except he want to make it a street fight because he was going to teach Punk that you never cross a man’s family.

Punk’s music hit and he and the SES came to the stage. Punk said he understood why Rey was so upset because his family saw him as a coward. Rey yelled to keep his family out of it. Punk said he knew Rey’s heart was broken, but asking for this type a match wasn’t the way to fix it. Rey called Punk a monster and threatened to come get him right now. Punk said if he did, or if Rey touched him before Mania, their match was off.

Punk showed a bunch of stills from last week and said that his family realized that Rey was nothing but a coward. He said he realized from those photos he could save Rey and make Rey the man his family needs. Rey said they were nothing alike, and Punk said that was true, he was straight edge and better. Punk said if Rey would accept him as his savior, he could turn him into the superhero the people thought he was.

[Q2] Rey said either Punk could accept the match at Mania, or he would fight him every day. Punk said since he was charitable, if Rey could beat Gallows tonight, he would get his street fight. He said if he lost to Gallows tonight and went on to lose at Mania, Rey would have to accept him as savior. Rey accepted the challenge and then said may God have mercy on Punk’s soul…[C]

Shore’s Slant: If Rey was any better on the mic, I wouldn’t have been able to cover this. I would be in total mark out mode. CM Punk is the hottest heel in WWE right now. He could get Hitler over as a face. This was the last match to make it on the Mania card, and yet it is a s hot as any other feud going in. Wow.

Back from commercial, MVP made his ring entrance. Matt Hardy came out to Jeff’s heat. Jack Swagger was out next, followed by Ziggler…

1. Jack Swagger and Dolph Ziggler defeated MVP and Matt Hardy at 5:55. Hardy and Ziggler started. Hardy scored a quick one count on a leg drop. Swagger tagged in and pounded on Hardy in the corner…[C] Back at 4:00, Swagger had a waist lock on Hardy. He tried for the gut wrench powerbomb, but Hardy reversed into a side Russian leg sweep. Both men got the hot tags and MVP took control. He hit the Ballin Elbow and setup for the Playmaker. Swagger ran in. Hardy took him out, and Ziggler hit the Zig Zag for the win.

[Q3] Post match, Ziggler pulled out the ladder and climbed up. He got the briefcase and posed with it on the top of the ladder…A video package recapped Edge on the Highlight Reel last week. The announce team hyped Jericho on the Cutting Edge tonight…[C]

Shore’s Slant: Holy shit, did Ziggler just go over big there? Are they finally getting back to his push? We didn’t see a lot of this match due to the break, but what there was to se was pretty good. I still can’t believe Ziggler pinned MVP and then got the ladder pose moment. Unreal.

Back from commercial, Drew McIntyre walked into Teddy Long’s office. Long ran down Drew’s two expunged losses, and cheesy ass match last week. Teddy said Drew was undefeated until tonight. He said he was thinking about streaks like Drew’s. He said he wanted to book Drew in a match. Drew said he was sure Mr. McMahon wouldn’t like that. Teddy said he tried to get McMahon, but only got his voice mail. He booked Drew McIntyre vs. Undertaker for tonight…[C]

Shore’s Slant: Wow. Look at Drew getting the rub from the big guy. You know this will have a jiggy ending, but Drew gets to main event against Taker. That tells you right there what they think of him.

[Q4] The Smack of the Night video was McCool and company beating down Tiffany last week, and Beth’s save…Back ringside, LayCool where in the ring. They had on t-shirts that said Glam-a man? The Glamazon and Tiffany made their ring entrance…

2. Tiffany and Beth Phoenix defeated Michelle McCool and Layla at 3:31. Beth and Layla started. Beth hit an airplane slam and clothesline before tagging out. Tiffany came in and lost control after McCool hit her from behind. McCool tagged in and worked on Tiffany. She missed an elbow, and Tiffany got the hot tag to Beth. Beth worked her offense on McCool. She held a vertical suplex, and then dropped it into a slingshot suplex. She covered and Layla ran in.

Beth gorilla pressed Layla and McCool kicked her in the gut. Tiffany took out Layla. McCool tried for her finisher, but Beth reversed and hit the GlamSlam for the win. Vickie Guerrero came out and sent Tiffany to the back. She said Beth owed her an apology in front of the fans. Beth said she apologized for putting her hands on a WWE official, and that was it. Vickie said she was Beth’s superior, in many ways. She said she would prove it next week when it would be Vickie Guerrero vs. Beth Phoenix. Beth looked pleased as Vickie left the ringside area…[C]

Shore’s Slant: The match left a lot to be desired until Beth got in. Please oh please, WWE, bring in Awesome Kong to feud with this woman. I swear to God it will sell PPVs. I’m sure Vickie will have a guest referee, and ring announcer, and timekeeper, and whatever else to stack the deck. Will the women get a match at Mania this year?

Back from commercial, Kevin Rudolph, who does the “I Made It” song for Mania was shown…Edge’s music hit and he came to the ring for the Cutting Edge.

[Q5] Edge said last week he was on the Highlight Reel so he wanted to return the favor. He introduced Jericho who made his ring entrance, along with Wade Barrett. Jericho talked about getting the last move at Mania. I’m so done with this spear stuff. Jericho said Edge was making a mistake by boiling their feud down to one move. Jericho asked Edge if he was still hurt and played him as such. He said he might tear the Achilles tendon a second time and end Edge’s career.

Edge said he might still be injured, nobody knows. He said there was only one way to find out. He told Jericho to make his move and go for his check mate. Jericho didn’t move, so Edge punched him. Edge ducked Barrett’s attack and beat up both men. Jericho clipped the leg, but Edge came right back and tossed Jericho to the floor. He hit the spear on Barrett, and turned into a Codebreaker. Jericho stomped the injured leg and posed over Edge with the belt…[C]

Shore’s Slant: That played out the way it was supposed to at the end. Jericho needs to look strong going into Mania to bring the proper emotion to this match. Edge got the best early, now it’s Jericho’s turn. This is still a disappointment from what we had hoped for, but it’s not terrible.

Back from commercial, the announce team recapped the Cutting Edge events and hyped the main event…The Harts were already in the ring. Ouch. Morrison and Truth came out separately so Truth could do his lame ass entrance…

3. John Morrison and R-Truth defeated The Hart Dynasty at 1:39. Truth and Smith started. Morrison tagged in and they hit a double drop kick. Morrison lost control and Kidd tagged in.

[Q6] Truth got a blind tag and hit the lie detector. Morrison blocked Smith while Truth covered for the win…The never missed Word Up segment aired, and the word was showdown. It turned into a Slim Jim promo and I quit watching. But text Battle to 50316 to win some prizes. (Texting charges may apply. Don’t blame me if they do.)…The announce team hyped Mysterio vs. Gallows for next…[C]

Shore’s Slant: Tag squash were the announcers pointed out that the Harts are related to Bret Hart who has a high profile match at Mania and they aren’t anywhere on the ticket. Ouch.

Back from commercial, Rey Mysterio made his ring entrance, followed by Luke Gallows and the SES…

4. Luke Gallows (w/The Straight Edge Society) defeated Rey Mysterio at 8:57. If Mysterio loses to Punk at Wrestlemania, he must accept Punk as his savior. If Mysterio wins, the match at Wrestlemania with Punk is a street fight. If he loses tonight and at Wrestlemania, Rey must accept Punk as his savior. Mysterio hit a baseball slide to the nuts that Gallows no sold. He beat down Rey, but Rey hit a flying head scissor into a 619 setup. Gallows escaped and hit a back breaker before tossing Rey to the floor. He went to the floor and dropped Mysterio on the rail. Mysterio made it back in the ring at 9.999…[C]

[Q7] Back at 6:00, Gallows had a bearhug on Mysterio. He set Rey on the top turnbuckle and climbed up. Mysterio fought him off and hit a West Coast pop and springboard cross body for two. Gallows came right back and hit a slam and splash for two. Rey came right back and hit a springboard leg drop for two. He hit the 619 and jumped to the top. Punk distracted the ref, and Serena pushed Rey off. Gallows covered for the win. Post match, Rey went nuts and beat the hell out of Gallows while Punk watched. He even choked him with a cable until the ref broke it up…A graphic hyped the main event…[C]

Shore’s Slant: Well that was interesting. Rey looked crazy, and Punk just sitting there with Serena was in line with his new creepy look. A good match that was more interesting after the finish than before. Great hype for this feud.

Back from commercial, the Raw Rebound video aired…

[Q8] The announce team ran down the Wrestlemania card…The Undertaker made his long ass entrance…[C]

Back from commercial, McIntyre made his ring entrance…

5. The Undertaker defeated Drew McIntyre at 2:15. Drew ran to the floor and Taker followed. He beat on McIntyre and rolled him back in the ring. Drew recovered and hit a powerslam for two. He argued with the ref, and Taker sat up. Taker hit the tombstone for the win. Taker left the ring quickly and walked to the ramp. He turned back, and HBK came out. He tried for the superkick, but Taker grabbed the throat. They battled, and Shawn hit Sweet Chin Music and posed over Taker to end the show…[C]

Shore’s Slant: Was this really necessary. Look it, the HBK stuff was fine, but was there a need to squash they guy you are trying to build up and give him another loss that has to be erased. That’s just lazy booking. A weak end to a pretty good show. I’ll have more to say tomorrow on the hitlist. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you then.

Questions? Comments? Anyone, anyone? Let me hear from you. Email me at css3238@gmail.com with whatever is on your mind.

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