WWE SMACKDOWN - 28.08.09
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The new World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk starts the show off with an "I told you so" like promo. He says that unlike Jeff Hardy, he didn't take pain pills after their TLC match at Summerslam. Good for him. I take Advil all the time. I took some last night. I also drank a lot. I am weak, according to CM Punk. The key thing is admitting it. Hardy came out. They went back and forth, eventually agreeing that not only does the winner get the title, but the loser has to leave WWE. Teddy Long comes out, says the match is on and that the winner gets the Undertaker at Breaking Point. Why? Because this is WWE, where somebody not wrestling a match for almost five months gets rewarded with a title shot. Anyway, the promo was the usual good stuff from these guys.
Undertaker's back on Smackdown next week. He had surgery. They won't tell you that on TV, but that's why he was away.
John Morrison & Matt Hardy d. The Hart Dynasty
Normally a match with these guys would hit the three star level, but they got less a Raw-like four minutes. Morrison won hitting the Starship Pain (I hate the name of that move) on Smith. Morrison needs to be on the Breaking Point PPV. Being off the last two PPVs is ridiculous. He's too good to be overlooked.
Melina told Maria that she saw Dolph with another chick at Summerslam. Maria said Melina should have more faith in him. Melina left, then Dolph showed up and assured Maria that it was his sister. I think I saw that on Saved by the Bell back in the day. Next week Dolph will carry the plate of some chick in the cafeteria…oh wait that's high school. So is this storyline.
Drew McIntyre was supposed to wrestle R-Truth. Instead, he beat the crap out of him before the match ever started and knocked him out with a lovely double arm DDT type move. Then he cut a promo saying the party of R-Truth rapping was over. Nice debut, or I guess re-debut.
Melina d. Layla
Before the match, Michelle McCool was on crutches saying Melina hurt her last week. Then she said she had a replacement tonight, Layla. Oh no. The chick that never wins. Scary. Melina won in a couple minutes. The McCool/Melina feud continues because…well…there are only five chicks on the show. Post match, Melina shoved Michelle, who we are to assume is faking the injury because heels lie. I hate how the PG rating has neutered the greatness of Melina.
Mysterio comes out for the next match. Please note that this was before Mysterio's 30 day suspension, which kicks in next Wednesday after he presumably drops the IC title at Tuesday's Smackdown taping.
Rey Mysterio d. Kane via DQ
This was alright. When they had their series of matches in the past they weren't usually good because they went long, but this one was five minutes. They hit the big spots, Kane escaped the 619 a couple of times and destroyed Rey with an awesome boot to the face. That was great. Then Kane picked him and rammed his back into the post. The ref warned him if he did it again that would end the match. He did it again and the match ended.
Post match, Khali slowly made his way down to the ring (I've read his back and knees are really bad to the point where they don't know how much longer he can wrestle) and sloppily knocked Kane out of the ring. I guess that FEUD MUST CONTINUE…to the delight of nobody. Then Ziggler came out and gave Rey his head slamming finisher even though he's taking more of a bump than the guy receiving the move. I assume they will move the Breaking Point match up to next week to get the belt off the now suspended Mysterio. I could then see it leading to Ziggler vs. Morrison since they are incapable of giving Morrison a feud.
Jerishow d. Cryme Tyme
Before this, Jericho cut a promo saying they'll beat MVP & Mark Henry. Yes they will. Then we got Jericho vs. Shad, which only lasted a minute before all hell broke loose. Then we had Teddy Long order up a tag match. It was okay. Again, like everything else in the show it felt rushed. The finish was great, though. Jericho was getting beat up by Shad, Show made a blind tag and just as Shad turned around he got KNOCKED THE FUCK OUT with the Big Show right hand. I do love that as a finish. It worked great at Summerslam, just as it did here. These guys will be the champs for a long time, maybe until WrestleMania.
The cage got lowered. I loved the ominous music. They should play that at weddings since half of them end in divorce.
Loser Leaves WWE Steel Cage World Title Match: CM Punk d. Jeff Hardy
I feel like I have to mention that I typically dislike the rules of WWE cage matches. I think the stips should either be "you can win by going over the cage or out the door" or "via pinfall of submission." Even take out the door as a method of exiting. Just use the over the cage option as a finish. That would be the best. What I liked in this match, though, was at one point Punk was climbing and Jeff was going to crawl out. Punk then raced over to grab Jeff's foot to prevent him from making it out. I love that. It makes sense. What I don't like are spots where one guy is up the cage ready to climb out and instead of just running out the door, the other guy climbs up to catch him. That's why climbing the cage should be the ONLY option for these matches.
This match was very good. Not as good as TLC, but still one of the better TV matches of the year, which is typical of a Smackdown main event. The most memorable spot was definitely the superplex with Punk standing off the top while Hardy's pop came from the top of the cage. I love how they set it up too. He literally dragged him back into the cage, and then suplexed him into the ring. There was a good mix of pinfall attempts (Punk kicked out of Swanton with Jeff slow to cover) and climbing attempts to keep the crowd into it the entire time. The chemistry they've built over the past couple of months really showed too. The finish was Punk climbing out, Jeff coming after him and then falling after taking a thumb to the eye as well as a head ramming into the top of the cage. He fell back in and Punk scaled down the side to score the victory with a big grin on his face.
Post match, Hardy gave his goodbye speech (more on that in a moment) and walked up the ramp to wave goodbye to his fans. That's when CM Punk came back out and hit him with a belt shot in the head to get even more heat on himself. Well done. I have loved this feud. At the tapings the Undertaker came out to attack Punk, but they never aired that. Instead, we just got another video telling us the Undertaker would be back next week. I like that call on WWE's part. Better to end this the right way and promote the return of one of your most popular stars.
Moving back to the speech, here was one of the last comments by Jeff Hardy: "I just want you to know that it's not goodbye forever, it's only goodbye for now. And if the time is right, I'm sure I'll see you in the future."
My take on Jeff leaving? He'll be back. Take a few months off. Take a year off. Maybe more. He'll be back, especially since he's only 31 years old, which is young in the wrestling business. Guys like Big Show and Chris Jericho both left. They're back. Hardy will be the same. I don't see him going to TNA or anything like that. The guy needs a break and it's probably for the best. I like Jeff Hardy. Always have and I always will. The guy really loves the business. It shows in his work. Let's not forget how well he put CM Punk over too. Talk about going out the right way. He did it perfectly.
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The main event, which took a half hour of airtime, was great. The opening promo was great. Everything else? Not so great. I need a show to be complete to really love it and give it a high rating. The other matches on the show felt rushed, there were more promos than we were used to and nothing else was done to leave a lasting impression on me.
I guess I won't have to deal with all the "is Jeff Hardy really leaving?" emails I've been getting for the past two months, huh? I'm sure the "when will Jeff Hardy come back" will be starting soon. And no, it's not funny if you send me one of those this week. Wait a week, and then it's funny. Okay?
I've already had people emailing me about Punk vs. Undertaker at Breaking Point. They're asking how the match will end. Honestly, I have no idea. Undertaker never taps. Taking the belt off Punk again would be stupid, but I think that's the most likely scenario because they love short title reigns. The other option would be for Punk to win after somebody interferes, beating up the Undertaker and knocking him out in order to give Punk the win. It's definitely a tough match for them to book.
Three Stars of the Show
1. Jeff Hardy – Awesome way to go out.
2. CM Punk – Another great match with the typically solid promo.
3. John Morrison – They put him over very well. Now get him a feud, please.
Sex 11 Set 2009 - 21:18