WWE Smackdown on The CW Network
Taped 7/28/08 in Hershey, PA

[Q1] Footage aired of Edge apologizing to Vickie Guerrero last week. Vickie accepted the apology, but exacted revenge by reinstating The Undertaker and booking him to face Edge in Hell in a Cell at Summerslam…

The opening video aired and fireworks lit up the stage. Jim Ross and Mick Foley welcomed us to the show. Ross called Foley “The Mick.” JR plugged The Cutting Edge with a surprise guest…

Jeff Hardy’s music hit and he came out to ringside. He grabbed a chair and sat down in front of the announce table…

MVP made his ring entrance, complete with the bounce house and pyro. MVP cut a promo on Hardy from the ring. He said Jeff Hardy would never be WWE Champion because of his risky and reckless behavior. He told Hardy to watch how a true baller does things…

1. MVP defeated Jimmy Wang Yang in 2:29. Yang was not introduced nor did he enter to his theme music. Yang scored some impressive offense but MVP hit the running kick to the head for the win…

After the match, Hardy hit the ring with a microphone. He told MVP he took last week’s verbal assault like a man. He said if MVP mentioned his home, the fire, or his dog again, Hardy would prove to him what kind of man he is. MVP tried to cheap shot Hardy but Hardy countered it into a Twist of Fate. He said MVP made him sick…

Twill’s Two Cents: That was a very strong opening segment. MVP looked good as did Yang in defeat. That running kick is a great finisher, unlike those sorry “big boots” that a lot of big guys use. Hardy was great in his short promo and this money feud continues to progress nicely.

[Q2] Chavo Guerrero wheeled Vickie Guerrero through the backstage area. She developed a weird look on her face and when the camera panned out, Alicia Fox appeared in the picture. She noticed Vickie and walked away. Bam Neely approached Vickie and Chavo…

Mr. Kennedy made his entrance and played impressively to the crowd…

2. Mr. Kennedy defeated Shelton Benjamin in a non-title match in 14:04. Kennedy yelled his name at Shelton just after the bell rang. People give me odd looks when I do that. Foley made a fantastic reference to Kennedy trying to regain the role he was on around Wrestlemania 23.

Kennedy locked in an extended armbar and was able to keep it applied even after Shelton bodyslammed him. While standing on the apron, Shelton pulled Kennedy’s arm and shoulder into the post while simultaneously jumping to the floor. Kennedy anguished in pain as the show went to commercial… [C]

Shelton continued work on the arm and shoulder coming back from commercial. Shelton hit a nice hammerlock shoulder breaker for a two count at 9:15. I cannot say I have seen that particular variation of the move too often. Shelton locked in a leg scissors on the arm and shoulder of Kennedy.

[Q3] Kennedy used his positioning to score a couple of nearfalls but Shelton kept the move applied. Kennedy turned him over into a quasi Sharpshooter or Texas Cloverleaf. Kennedy kicked Shelton in the knee to turn the tide. At 13:29, Benjamin hit a springboard high crossbody for a long two count. Seemingly out of nowhere, Kennedy hit the Mic Check for the clean pinfall…

Twill’s Two Cents: Very good match. I was entertained and tuned in for the entire fourteen minutes. These two, as well as the United States Championship, were all elevated as a result of this match.

After the match, Shelton left the ring and was stopped for an interview by the very beautiful Eve Torres. Shelton said he did not want to make excuses, but he then blamed the loss on an acute case of bronchitis…

Backstage, Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder were playing around with their phone. Chavo approached them and asked them if they were aware of the presence of Alicia Fox. The tag champions pretended to be concerned along with Chavo, but as soon as he left, they continued doing what they were doing… [C]

Past video footage of Brian Kendrick aired. After his ring entrance, Kendrick said he has always had the attitude that he currently has. He said he put on a fake smile, found a partner in Paul London, and got his foot in the door. He said he has never cared about the fans and never will. If anyone had a problem with that, they could take it up with his man Zeek…

3. The Brian Kendrick (with Ezekiel) defeated Stevie Richards in 3:44. He was announced as “The Brian Kendrick,” so that is not a typo or shot at Mike Adamle.

[Q4] A close up shot of Ezekiel was shown and in the face, he looks exactly like a young Mr. T. Kendrick had control of the match until he missed a corner kick at around 2:30. Richards hit an elevated powerbomb out of an irish whip for a long two count. He kicked Kendrick in the head while he stood on the apron and Kendrick fell into the arms of Ezekiel. After a slight distraction, Kendrick hit The Kendrick for the win…

After the match, Ezekiel put Richards in the Torture Rack. Kendrick cockily strutted around the ring. JR put over both the talent of Kendrick and the brutality of Ezekiel…

Twill’s Two Cents: Another good albeit short match. Kendrick has been great and Ezekiel moved forward in his development tonight too. Great stuff. It seems simple; a couple of promos by Kendrick followed by a couple of wins, and now he is relevant.

4. The Great Khali (with Ranjin Singh) defeated Jeff Hardy in 11:33. As expected, Hardy attempted to use his quickness to counter the immense size of Khali. I stood next to Khali on the set of The Longest Yard and he is absolutely mammoth.

[Q5] Khali dominated Hardy for the first few minutes. Hardy went to the second rope, but Khali still chopped him on the top of his skull, causing Hardy to crash and burn to the floor… [C]

Coming back from commercial, Hardy hit the Whisper in the Wind and Swanton out of nowhere. MVP came out of nowhere but Hardy cut him off with a somersault plancha. Khali reached over the rope and palmed Hardy back into the ring. Khali locked in the vice grip and the referee called for the bell…

After the match, MVP kept his eyes on the fallen Hardy as Khali celebrated with Singh. After the replay, MVP did his fade away jump shot pose over Hardy…

Twill’s Two Cents: Khali is never going to be mistaken for Rey Mysterio, but he seems to be grasping somewhat how to work a big man’s match. Him defeating Hardy may upset many, but I do not have a problem with it because it makes sense. He is facing Triple H at Summerslam and Hardy nearly won the match before MVP interfered. No harm done here.

The latest R-Truth video was shown. Killings gave a promo from a jail cell. The video was beyond solid and they continue to bring Killings along very well… [C]

[Q6] 5. Maria defeated Victoria in 3:17. Victoria used her power to dominate Maria early. She did a nice job talking trash too. Victoria is awesome. Victoria locked in a full nelson for an extended period of time. Maria backed into the corner to break the hold. She hit what looked like a closeline from the second rope for the win…

Twill’s Two Cents: Victoria carried Maria to a pretty good match and Maria held up her end pretty well too.

Backstage, Edge secretly spoke with Alicia Fox. She said he asked her to be there but Edge did not mean backstage. I did not hear the rest of what they said because we have a lot of people over tonight… [C]

They aired a King of Kings video for Triple H. Damn, he misses one week to be with his wife and new little girl and they make a return video for him? You would think he was in the family or something…

JR and Foley made reference to Mike Adamle becoming the new General Manager of Raw. Foley said, “Adamle has not shown a JR like ability to call matches, but he made a great match at Summerslam.” They then ran down the strong card for Summerslam…

Big Show made his ring entrance. Show wears a 66 extra extra long suit. Wow. I wear a 42 long. I am not a tailor but that is huge. Foley responded with, “I wear a triple extra large flannel JR, yeah!”… [C]

[Q7] Toby Keith promoted Saturday Night’s Main event, Jenny McCarthy, and Generation Rescue…

6. Big Show defeated Domino in 1:15. For some reason, they received the title match introductions. JR said he was an all star domino player in high school. Foley said he ate a lot of Domino’s pizzas. Yours truly thought that was hilarious and I cannot stop laughing. Our company is laughing at me. Anyway, Show hit the chokeslam for the win…

With Show in the ring, Umaga’s music hit and he came down to the ring. Umaga circled Show and in what seemed like a production error, Chavo, Bam, and Vickie were shown talking backstage. Chavo said he had no idea who Edge’s guest would be tonight. JR said the mystery would end soon because The Cutting Edge was coming up next…[C]

Twill’s Two Cents: Jeff Hardy vs. MVP and Umaga vs. Big Show are two examples of how a non championship feud can be effectively booked. Both programs are progressing nicely.

Edge came out to the ring wearing a shirt that I have. I like how MMA has taken over the male fashion world. Look for my own shirts; of course, I have to win a few fights first…

The Cutting Edge set included a table, a ladder, and a chair. Edge sat in the chair and looked very stoic. He said he has been searching for inner peace. Edge is also wearing Chuck Taylor’s with black laces. I have those too. I think he raided my closet.

Edge said all he saw was The Undertaker. He combated that fact by surrounding himself with his weapons of destruction: tables, ladders, and chairs. He said he found the one person that could help him vs. The Undertaker. He found the person who knew The Undertaker better than anyone in WWE history.

[Q8] He slid out of the ring and called out Mick Foley. Foley smiled and acted surprised at being the guest. He said he would join Edge in the ring because he said please. Edge thanked Mick for coming onto the show. Edge referred to their history and checkered past.

Twill’s Two Cents: True, they have a past, but the last time they were on camera together, they were allies.

Edge introduced a video package showcasing the Attitude Era and the infamous Hell in a Cell match between Mick Foley and The Undertaker. Foley thanked the fans for their applause after the video package aired.

Edge told Foley that although the match happened ten years ago, he knows he still feels that match in his body as if it were yesterday. He said Foley has never been the same. He said Edge should help him defeat The Undertaker…

Foley established a serious tone and said what he has going for him is his word and bond with the fans. He said Edge proved him wrong. He said he continuously praised Edge as the best superstar in WWE. However, with his actions over the past several months and years, he proved Foley wrong.

He said not only would he not help Edge, he could not help him. He said the only person that could help Edge was Edge himself. He quickly ran down Edge’s accomplishments as the guy that broke through when it was not popular. He told Edge to find the guy that brought him to superstardom, not the guy that he has become. If he could do that, Foley and JR would call one of the most destructive matches in WWE history.

Foley asked Edge if he understood where he was coming from. Edge said yes and hit Foley in the head with the microphone. They fought to the floor. Foley had a lot of fight in him. Edge set up a table and ladder in the ring. Foley briefly applied the Mandible Claw but Edge fought out of the move.

He set Foley up on the table. He grabbed a chair, climbed the ladder, and jumped onto Foley, crashing both of them through the table. JR called multiple replays. Edge looked over Foley and JR made a fabulous statement by saying that is exactly the Edge that following was referencing…

Twill’s Two Cents: Awesome segment. Edge was great, Foley was vintage and classic, and JR was spot on. Foley continues to put people over and make them bigger stars than they already were.

That was the best wrestling show I have seen in a long time. Did you agree? Let me know by shooting an email to dotnetrich@gmail.com.

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