Smackdown on MyNetwork TV
Taped on June 2 in Memphis, Tenn.

[Q1] The opening video aired... Jim Ross and Todd Grisham introduced the show from ringside and hyped the Edge vs. Rey Mysterio main event, and C.M. Punk vs. Umaga...

Edge made his entrance for The Cutting Edge segment. There ladders set up all around the ring and two ladders positioned inside the ring with the World Hvt. Championship belt hanging from the ceiling. Cool visual. Ross pointed out how high the belt was above the ring and said it would be at least that high on Sunday.

Edge didn't waste any time in introducing Jeff Hardy. Jeff came out ran underneath the ladders, as Grisham said he was throwing caution to the wind. Once in the ring, Jeff said that if Edge wanted to talk to him, he'd have to do it on top of the ladders. Jeff climbed to the top of the ladder and said he was extremely comfortable with his surroundings. He touched the belt that was hanging from the ceiling and said he would become the new champion on Sunday.

Edge remained in the ring and said Jeff is glossing over how dangerous the match was going to be. He said they were going to do terrible things to one another. Edge climbed the other ladder and went back down as he said Hardy would give the fans hope only to be knocked down on Sunday.

Edge climbed the ladder again and said down on the top rung next to Jeff, who was on the other ladder. Jeff cut him off and said he was going to make history on Sunday. He predicted that people would be talking about the ladder match long after they are both gone. Jeff said some people say he's already gone and he admits he can be a little crazy sometimes, but he's proud of who is.

Jeff said the match will be his salvation. Edge took a cheap shot by grabbing the title belt that was hanging between them and shoving it into Jeff's head twice. Edge pushed Jeff's ladder over and dumped him on the top rope, then unhooked the belt and held it up high in celebration...

Powell's POV: Damn, I'm looking forward to this match. A very unique segment and the shots of both guys sitting on top of the ladders were great. Awesome segment.

[Q2] [C] The announcers recapped the previous segment...

1. John Morrison defeated Shelton Benjamin in 4:50. Benjamin worked over Morrison's leg throughout the match and locked in a half-crab at 4:00. Late in the match, Morrison hit a wild tornado DDT and followed up with Starship Pain (split-legged corkscrew moonsault) for the win. Morrison continued to sell the leg injury after the match. The announcers said he basically won the match on one leg...

Powell's POV: Good back and forth action. As if the opening angle wasn't good enough, we got a strong match to open the show. It's a shame this isn't the flagship show because Smackdown has been much better than Raw since the draft rules were enforced.

The announcers hyped Edge vs. Rey Mysterio in a champion vs. champion match, and C.M. Punk vs. Umaga for later in the show... A shot aired of Chris Jericho walking backstage. Ross said we'd hear from him after the break.... [C]

Highlights aired from last week of Chris Jericho attacking Rey Mysterio while wearing the Rey mask in the crowd...

[Q3] Chris Jericho came to the ring and the announcers hyped his pay-per-view match with Mysterio. Jericho took the mic and said Rey Mysterio should be "very afraid." Jericho said Mysterio is a hero to children, yet he never shows them his face and they still follow him like a hero. He vowed to rip the mask off his face and become the Intercontinental Champion for the ninth time on Sunday.

R-Truth's entrance music interrupted Jericho's promo by walking down the entrance ramp and performing his song. Once he was finished, Jericho got in his face and scolded him for the interruption. R-Truth said the truth is that Jericho is the biggest hypocrite he's ever heard... [C]

2. Chris Jericho defeated R-Truth in 4:00. Grisham noted that R-Truth and Jeff Hardy beat Jericho and Dolph Ziggler the night before on WWE Superstars. Early in the match, R-Truth dove over the top rope onto Jericho, who was standing on the floor. Late in the match, R-Truth went to the top rope and went for a corkscrew move, yet jumped right into the Codebreaker. After Jericho hit the move, he made the cover and scored the pin.

After the match, Rey Mysterio ran out and attacked Jericho from behind on the entrance ramp. Ross said Rey was looking for retribution for the attack last week. Two referees came out to pull Rey off Jericho. Mysterio went to the top of the stage and performed a huracanrana on Mysterio on the floor....

Powell's POV: Good match. Killings got the bulk of the offense before Jericho got the win out of nowhere. This was anything but a squash match. The post-match brawl was solid and they picked up where they left off last week. Rey's jump off the stage was fantastic. I can't wait for their match on Sunday.

[Q4] [C] A shot aired of Graceland, the home of Elvis Presley... The announcers narrated highlights of the previous match and Rey's post-match attack... The announcers hyped the Umaga vs. C.M. Punk match for the pay-per-view...

3. C.M. Punk beat Umaga in 11:30. Umaga brought a strap to the ring and placed it in the corner. Ross said Umaga is the most athletic big man in WWE in decades. He ran through the basics of a strap match. Punk worked over Umaga with kicks to the side of his leg to start the match. Punk was in control early when the show cut to commercial. [C]

[Q5] Punk was still in control after the break and knocked Umaga to ringside. Punk dove over the top toward Umaga, but was caught with the Samoan Spike while still in the air. Cool move. Umaga dominated the next few minutes and caught Punk in a bear hug. Punk broke free, but ran into a big superkick from Umaga. Punk came back with a clothesline off the ropes for a near fall.

Punk went for another move off the ropes, but Umaga caught him with his version of the sidewalk slam. Umaga went for his running ass slam in the corner, but Punk moved. Punk hit the high knee, but Umaga just pushed him off. Umaga grabbed the strap he had placed in the corner earlier. The ref admonished him. Punk used the distraction to hit the GTS for the 1-2-3. The announcers put it over as a big upset and Ross said they may have underestimated Punk... [C]

Powell's POV: Good match. It was odd watching two guys wrestle each other in a singles match just two days before they're going to meet at the pay-per-view. Still, Ross did a nice job of putting over Punk's win in a big way and then immediately questioning how he could possibly drag Umaga to all four corners to win the strap match.

Did You Know? Smackdown was the top show last Friday night among males under the age of 55... The announcers stood in the ring and hyped the various pay-per-view matches....

4. Michelle McCool, Alicia Fox, and Layla defeated Gail Kim, Melina, and Eve in 3:20. Maria was the special referee. Nice work early with Kim hitting her spots on Fox. McCool tagged in and caught Kim in the powerbomb position. She used the top rope as a slingshot and tossed Gail over her head so that Kim landed on her face. Nice spot.

Melina and Layla checked in. Melina hit her signature moves on Layla. She also performed the Matrix and a sketchy looking kick from the Matrix position. However, McCool kicked the back of Melina's head while Maria was distracted, and Layla scored the surprise pin on Melina. The announcers put it over as the biggest win of Layla's career...

A shot aired of Great Khali and Runjin Singh walking backstage... [C]

The announcers hyped the Extreme Rules theme song... Another shot aired from the streets of New Orleans...

5. Great Khali (w/Runjin Singh) defeated Dolph Ziggler in 3:00. The announcers recapped the history between Khali and Ziggler. Khali dominated the early portion of the match. Dolph caught him with a dropkick and a flurry of punches, but Khali came right back with more power moves and finished him off with the Punjabi Plunge for the win...

Powell's POV: The announcers did a nice job of praising Khali for the win, yet still raved about Ziggler's potential afterward. The best thing about the match is that it was quick so they saved plenty of time for the main event.

The announcers narrated highlights aired from The Cutting Edge segment that opened the show. They said Hardy had to be helped out of the arena. They also hyped the main event as coming up after the break...

[Q7] [C] Ring announcer Justin Roberts introduced WWE Hall of Famer Koko B. Ware. Ross said he actually gave Koko his middle initial, and Koko reminded him of that story before the show... Ring introductions for the main event took place...

6. Edge defeated Rey Mysterio in a champion vs. champion match in 19:30. No titles on the line. They fought to ringside and Edge whipped Rey toward the ring steps. However, Rey flipped over the steps, turned around, and kicked them into Edge's knees. Fun stuff. They went to break roughly two minutes in. [C]

[Q8] Great fast-paced action back inside the ring after the break with both wrestlers trading near falls. Ross said he asked Rey if he's ever been in a match with someone smaller than he is. He said Rey told him no. After a few minutes of action, they went to another break. [C]

Back from the break, Ross presumably fibbed and said they had a lot of back and forth action during the break with several near falls. It's possible he was telling the truth, but I think he was embellishing since they don't go live to tape and viewers generally miss only a few seconds of action during the commercials.

Mysterio scored additional near falls that were convincing enough that the live crowd counted along with the referee. He went for a springboard move off the ropes, but Edge caught him and locked in a Sharpshooter. Rey broke the hold by grabbing the bottom rope.

Later, Rey went for the 619, but Edge caught him. Rey came back with a schoolboy for another strong near fall. In the end, Rey came back and hit the 619. He tried to follow up with with a springboard splash, but Edge avoided the move and speared Rey for the 1-2-3. After the match, Edge pulled a ladder out from underneath the ring.

Edge slid the ladder inside the ring and picked it up to hit Rey with it, but Jeff Hardy ran out carrying a chair and slammed the chair onto the ladder. Jeff hit the Twist of Fate on Edge. He set up the ladder and then climbed the ropes. Jeff leapfrogged the ladder and then came down with a legdrop onto Edge. Hardy climbed the ladder and held the title above his head to close the show...

Powell's POV: A really good match with nearly 13 minutes of action minus the commercials. Another strong edition of Smackdown. If you're not watching the Friday night show, you really should be. Tape the show or watch it online, just go out of your way to see it. I'm not sure how long they can keep up at this pace because they are giving away some big matches on free television, but I'm enjoying it while it lasts.

Creative, the wrestlers, and the announcers all did an excellent job of setting up the the pay-per-view, which I'm really looking forward to. Thanks for watching along with me. Rich Twilling will be by with the WWE Smackdown Hitlist on Saturday, and I'll be covering the pay-per-view live on Sunday night.

Dot Net Members are listening to the 90-minute Dot Net Weekly audio show that was recorded earlier today. Rich Twilling and I discussed Mr. Kennedy's release from WWE, Ric Flair's status with WWE and ROH, Samoa Joe's injury, Jeff Hardy's WWE status, and all the other news in pro wrestling. You can gain access to all Dot Net Audio on the ad-free version of the site for only five bucks per month by visiting the Dot Net Members' Signup Page.

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