Smackdown on The CW Network
Taped on 7/29/08 in Hershey, PA.

[Q1] The opening montage aired and Jim Ross and Mick Foley welcomed us to Smackdown before plugging Edge’s special guest on the Cutting Edge…

Jeff Hardy’s music hit and he came out sit ringside for the opening match. MVP came out next to some week boos. He got in the ring with a mic and walked over to the side where Hardy sat in front of the announce table. He said Hardy would never be champion because of his risky lifestyle. He said he would show him how a champion should act.

1. MVP defeated Jimmy Wang Yang at 2:29. MVP beat down Yang for the first minute and then Yang had a spurt of offense. He went for a flying cross body and MVP reversed into a gut buster. He hit the kick to the side of the head for the win. Post match, Jeff Hardy climbed in the ring and got in MVP’s face. He said if MVP ever mentioned his house, fire, or dog again, he would show MVP exactly what kind of man he is. MVP turned to walk away and then spun for a cheap shot. Hardy hit the Twist of Fate and left MVP lying in the ring…

JR plugged Hardy vs Khali later in the show…[C]

Shore’s Slant: Nice continuation of this feud. This should lead to a great PPV match. I want to see one through away on TV first though to really set the stage. Smackdown is way better than Raw now. I never thought I would see the day, but here it is.

[Q2] Back from commercial, Chavo rolled Vickie into the arena and said he would find out who Edge’s guest was. They saw Alicia Fox talking to someone backstage. Before anything could happen, Bam Neely came out and said Vickie’s office was ready and Chavo wheeled them in…

Mr. Kennedy came to the ring and did his new fan friendly intro. Shelton Benjamin came out next…

2. Mr. Kennedy defeated Shelton Benjamin at 14:04 in a non title match. Kennedy kept yelling his name at Benjamin throughout the match. Kennedy had control for the first two minutes before a short flurry of offense from Benjamin and then retook control, working on the left arm. Foley pointed out that Kennedy and Benjamin had the same haircut and color. Benjamin hit a drop kick to Kennedy’s knee and then drove his shoulder into the corner post as the show went to commercial.[C]

Back from commercial at the 8:30 mark and Benjamin was working on the left arm that hit the post. Benjamin hit a hammer lock into a lateral press into a shoulder breaker. Kind of cool looking.

[Q3] Benjamin locked in a cross leg arm bar that Kennedy reversed into a two-count twice. Each time, Benjamin wrenched him back down. At 12:45, Kennedy hit a kick to the knee and then a face buster. Benjamin slugged Kennedy and hit a flying cross body block for a two count. Out of nowhere, Kennedy hit the Mic Check for the win. Post match Benjamin left the ring and was asked immediately by one of the interview divas, I missed which one, about what happened. Benjamin blamed it on an acute case of bronchitis…

Backstage, Hawkins was showing Ryder, or maybe it was the other way around, anyway, one of those guys was showing the other that he had their intro music as his ring tone. Chavo came in and asked them where Edge was and who his guest was. They said they didn’t know and Chavo said he needed them to find out ASAP. They said OK and went back to listening to their cell phone ringtone…[C]

Shore’s Slant: That was a pretty good TV match for those guys. Kennedy and Benjamin have both under achieved in WWE so this could help one or both of them. Looks like Benjamin is going to play the excuse heel. As long as his mic skills get better. Kennedy still needs to be more than just “MIIIIIIISTEEEEER…”

Back from commercial and a video aired recapping Brian Kendrick’s match last week with his promo playing over top. He came out to the ring and said he had always been this way. He said he only did what he had to do to get his foot in the door. He said if anyone had a problem with it, they could take it up with Zeek. Stevie Richards came out next. Please let them get out of PA soon…

3. The Brian Kendrick defeated Stevie Richards at 3:45. TBK kicked Richards for a solid 40 seconds to start the match. Foley said that Kendrick’s jacket was because the Bedazzler is popular in a down economy. Funny. TBK slapped on a camel clutch and then a Boston Crab for a moment before going back to kicking.

[Q4] TBK missed a corner shot which allowed Richards to take control for a moment. Richards kicked TBK like he had been kicked and the crowd loved it. Richards threw TBK out of the ring and Ezekiel caught him. Richards slid out of the ring and Kendrick slid back in. Richards went back in looking at Ezekiel which allowed TBK to hit The Kendrick for the win. Post match, Ezekiel came into the ring and put Richards in the Torture Rack backbreaker to show how strong he was…

The announce team plugged Hardy/Khali next…Backstage, Edge was shown entering the building…[C]

Shore’s Slant: I would like Kendrick more if he was more than a bunch of kicks. Still, his not-so-new personality is fun to watch and makes me want to see him get his ass kicked, which is the mark of a good heel. I’ma gonna watch you The Brian Kendrick.

Back from commercial and Khali came out with his Mini-Me. Hardy came out to the exact same pop from the start of the show. He is way over Creative Team. Hello. Michael? Freddie?

4. The Great Khali w/Ranjin Singh defeated Jeff Hardy. Khali started out by mocking Hardy’s size. Hardy hit a few punches and shoulder blocks before Khali clotheslined him without ever having been knocked down. Khali manhandled Hardy for the next few minutes, including a couple of one arm body slams.

[Q5] Khali had Hardy in the corner and Hardy kicked him and jumped to the second rope quickly. Khali just bitch slapped him off to the floor…[C]

Back from commercial and a replay aired of Khali throwing Hardy into the steps during the commercial. Hardy was hardway bleeding on the shoulder. Khali locked in a nerve pinch on Hardy’s shoulder. Hardy punched out and hit a Whisper in the Wind to finally knock down Khali. He nailed the Swanton but before he could cover, MVP ran down and Hardy dropkicked him through the bottom ropes and then hit a plancha over the top rope. MVP grabbed him and held him until Khali reached over and drug Hardy back in the ring. Khali slapped on the head squeeze and the ref called for the bell. Post match, the replay showed the Whisper in the Wind and Swanton, followed by the MVP attack and Khali’s win. Back in the ring, MVP posed over an unconscious Hardy…

The new R-Truth vignette played with him in prison, explaining how bad choices led him to prison. He said he realized that prison was not the place for him so he learned how not to go back…[C]

Shore’s Slant: Not that I care, but that match really made Khali look weak. Think about it, Hardy hits one move and he’s out on his back? He is about to lose the match until MVP interferes? Why no DQ for MVP’s involvement? That was like JBL getting DQ’ed. Weird. Jason Powell and Rich Twilling know Killings better than I do, but he is certainly big and scary looking. I am looking forward to his debut.

[Q6] Back from commercial and Maria finally made her debut. She came out and went to the ring and then Victoria came out. Wow, lot’s of build up for a lackluster debut…

5. Maria defeated Victoria at 3:15. Maria match. She pinned Victoria after a flying clothes line that I missed because I was going to sleep. Maria is hot, but…

Shore’s Slant: She bores me in the ring.

Backstage, Edge was shown talking to Alicia Fox. He asked her why she was here. She said she thought he wanted her to be there. Edge said he did but he wanted her put front, that’s why he got her that ticket. She said OK and Edge looked around nervously…[C]

Shore’s Slant: Where is her angle going? Any ideas?

Back from commercial and the Triple H, King of Kings intro video aired to remind us he still exists even though he isn’t there this week. Whew, I was worried for a moment…

Ringside and JR and Foley mentioned Mike F. Adamle becoming the new Raw GM before recapping the Summerslam matches made to date…Big Show’s music hit and he came to the ring as JR told us Show wears a 66 XXL in a suit. Holy crap! That’s huge…[C]

[Q7] Back from commercial and Domino is in the ring with Show. Looks like it’s time once again kiddies, for the Squash Show!

6. The Big Show squashed Domino in 1:15. You’ve seen it before. Chokeslam for the win. Post match, Umaga made his way to the ring where he and Show stared each other down. They circled each other and suddenly, they showed Vickie, Chavo, and Neely backstage. Chavo said he and Neely have tried, but nobody has any idea who the special guest is. Chavo asked if he could get Vickie anything because the Cutting Edge is next…[C]

Shore’s Slant: Wait. WTF happened to Show and Umaga? Did they go at it? Did they back down? When they cut away, I expected to see Heidi it was right before something big could have happened. If you don’t get that joke, click here.

Back from commercial and Edge finally made his way to the ring for the Cutting Edge. JR and Foley wondered aloud who the guest was. JR noted that Edge has never been in a Hell in a Cell match. Foley pointed out that there is no match like it. The ring had a table, ladder, and a chair.

Edge sat down with the lights low and spotlight on him. He said all week he had been looking for inner peace. He mentioned his marriage was a mess and in two weeks he would be facing the Undertaker in Hell in a Cell. The crowd popped huge and chanted Undertaker. He said he watched the footage of the previous Hell in a Cell matches and wished he hadn’t. But he surrounded himself with his instruments of destruction and he had found the person who could not only help him win, but thrive in Hell in a Cell. That person is…Mick Foley.

[Q8] Foley feigned surprise and then went into the ring after Edge all but begged him to. Edge said thank you and Foley said he thought Edge was welcome. Edge said he knew they had history, but hear him out. He played a promotional video from the Attitude Era. They, of course, showed video of the Mankind fall from hell. The voice over guy asked if that match was the legacy of Mick Foley.

Edge said the most amazing thing about that match was he walked away from that match. But, Edge said that Foley hadn’t walked right since that day. He said he knew it was killing Foley to know that it happened. He said if Foley helped him against Taker, he could exorcise his demons from Taker and that match.

Foley said he would like to help Edge, but over the past few weeks, Edge had killed Foley’s credibility. He said his word was all he had and he has said for years that Edge has always been the best superstar in the WWE, even when it wasn’t popular. He said the fans think Edge sucks because they see an Edge who plays the numbers game and mooches off his wife’s position. Foley said he couldn’t help Edge, but he knew who could help him…Edge.

He said that Edge needs to find they guy who made him say Edge was the best in the WWE. He said he needs to find the Edge who wrestled him in the greatest hard core match of Wrestlemania history just two years ago. He said he needed to find that Edge and take him to Summerslam and Edge could thrive. He said if this Edge shows up, the loofa washing Edge, then the Undertaker would tear him apart. He asked if he was understood.

Edge said yes and clocked Foley. Foley fell out of the ring and Edge followed. Foley got the best of Edge and got a chair. Edge kicked the chair and then hit a spear. Foley’s head bounced off the side of the ring steps. Ouch. Edge got Foley back in the ring. Foley locked in the mandible claw but Edge hit a low blow. He placed Foley on the table, grabbed the chair, and climbed the ladder. He did a side splash with the chair onto Foley, crushing the table. Edge stood over Foley as JR said that this was the Edge Mick Foley was referencing…[C]

Shore’s Slant: I feel it is necessary to apologize Dot Net reader Eric Beaston. He said in his onsite report that Foley’s promo gave him goosebumps. I thought that was pretty sad. I stand corrected Mr. Beaston. Foley was magical on the mic tonight. Just great. I am now really looking forward to this match. Let’s see if Foley responds next week. There’s a hot rumor that I’m going live next week, so check back and see.

Questions? Comments? Anyone, anyone? Let me hear from you. Email me at cshore10@triad.rr.com with whatever is on your mind and check out my blog The Triangle Theory. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next week.

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