Smackdown on MyNetwork TV
Taped on 3/3/09 in Mohegan Sun, Conn.

[Q1] A video recapped the Raw contract signing for the World Heavyweight Championship. They included the “I love Vickie” part. Oh, and the gross security video…

Shore’s Slant: Sloppy Joes taste great coming back up.

The opening video aired, followed by the pyro, and Jim Ross and Tazz welcomed us to Smackdown! They hyped Taker vs. Kozlov and a “Matt Hardy tells all” segment…Edge’s music hit and he came to the ring. He looked despondent at times. Kofi Kingston was out next.

1. Edge defeated Kofi Kingston at 10:17. Kingston ground in some headlocks and hit a short clothesline for one. Edge locked in the next headlock and won the shoulder tackle contest. He hit the ropes again and Kofi dropped to the matt and then hit a standing dropkick. He whipped Edge to the ropes and Edge slid out to the floor…[C]

Back from commercial at the 4:58 mark, a replay showed Edge tossing Kingston over the top rope during the break. Edge strong whipped Kingston into the corner and covered for two. He locked in a lying down bear hug. Kingston fought out and was hit with a flapjack for another two count. Edge went to the top and Kingston hit his feet to lay Edge across the turnbuckle. Kingston punted Edge to the floor and then hit a splash over the top rope.

Kingston rolled Edge back in the ring and hit the Boom Boom for two. He tossed Edge into the corner and climbed up for the 10 punches, but Edge picked him up pre-powerbomb and walked out of the corner, but Kofi reversed into a hurricanranna for two. Edge tossed a charging Kingston over the top again and followed him to the floor. He tried to drive him into the stairs, but Kingston reversed.

[Q2] Kingston rolled Edge back in the ring and hit a high cross body off the top for a near fall. Edge reversed a whip and hit a big boot. He setup for the spear and charged in. Kingston reversed with a sunset flip for two. Kofi popped up and went for Trouble in Paradise, but Edge caught his foot and locked in the Sharpshooter. Kingston tried for the ropes, but tapped after 20 seconds…

A video recapped Hunter “Breaking and Entering” Orton’s house Monday…The announce team hyped the tag team title match for next…The 12 Rounds teaser trailer played…[C]

Shore’s Slant: The champion starts the show? Wow. That being said, this match was a nightmare to cover as it was all over the place. Kudos to Edge and Kingston for having a match that Smackdown used to have every week. It was fun and fast and I wanted more. It’s nice to see Kingston got a chance to get back at Edge. Granted it took three weeks and it was not for the title, but hey, he got to respond!

Back from commercial and Miz and Morrison were making their ring entrance. As the Colons made their entrance with the Bellas, a video recapped the Colon win last week…

2. John Morrison and The Miz defeated Primo and Carlito Colon, w/The Bella Twins, to retain the World Tag Team Championships at 5:57. Carlito and Morrison started off. Carlito hit a roll up, then a small package, then a back slide for near falls. Morrison took a breather, and then unloaded on Carlito. Carlito ducked a clothesline, hit a kick, then a knee lift, then a clothesline for two. He tagged in Primo and they flipped Morrison over backwards by his feet so he landed on his face. Sweet move.

Primo took a chop from Morrison, and he tagged in Miz. Miz ran in and got caught with a hirricanranna and a side Russian leg sweep for two. Primo reversed a whip into his corner, tagged in Carlito, and they hit a double diving clothesline from the top onto Miz. Carlito tossed Miz at Morrison and they avoided the collision. Miz ducked as Carlito ran in and hit Morrison. Miz hit a flapjack and then mounted Carlito for punches. He tagged in Morrison and they hit their double team elbow drop for two. Miz back in and they hit a double gutbuster for two. Morrison back in for a double hot shot for another two. Morrison locked in a headlock. Carlito fought out and got the hot tag.

Primo destroyed Morrison and got a near fall. He hit a diving headbutt from the second rope for two. He tossed a charging Miz over the top rope. Primo whipped Morrison into the Colon corner (eww) and tagged Carlito. Primo monkey flipped Morrison who landed on his feet and was immediately clotheslined by Carlito. Carlito covered but Miz broke it up. Miz tossed Primo, Carlito tossed Miz, Morrison hit Moonlight Drive on Carlito for the win. Post match, the Bellas left with Miz and Morrison…More of the Triple H attack was shown…The announce team hyped Taker vs. Kozlov for later…[C]

Shore’s Slant: That was all over the place. I could barely cover it. In fact, I got behind more than once. Good match that continues the feud and almost guarantees a unification match at Mania.

[Q3] A video recapped all of the events between Hunter and Legacy Monday…R-Truth made his ring entrance…[C]

Back from commercial, MVP had made his entrance. He and Truth touched fists. Funny…

3. Chavo Guerrero and Shelton Benjamin defeated R-Truth and MVP at 6:01. Truth and Chavo started out. Heavy offense from Truth and he got a two count. Truth tagged in MVP who went to work and also got a two count. He tagged Truth back in and Truth took a chop from Chavo.

[Q4] Chavo tried to tag in Benjamin but he refused. Chavo drove Truth into the corner and Benjamin finally tagged. He hit a couple of moves on Truth and tagged Chavo back in. Chavo hit a belly to belly for two and tagged Benjamin back in who again didn’t want to. Benjamin locked in an abdominal stretch but Truth fought out. He hit a bulldog and both men were down. MVP got the hot tag and destroyed Benjamin for several near falls.

MVP pumped the crowd up and hit his Ballin’ Elbow for two. Chavo tried to cheap shot MVP, but MVP blocked it and hip tossed Chavo into the ring. Truth charged in and got tossed by Chavo. MVP tossed Chavo and turned around into Pay Dirt…Matt Hardy was shown walking towards the ring backstage…Next week in the 500th edition of Smackdown and there will be guest appearances from other brands…[C]

Shore’s Slant: As quick paced as that match was, it seemed slow after the first two. Surprise loss for MVP, but it does advance the storyline and he didn’t look weak in the loss. And wasn’t that the same formula as the end of the tag title match? So far, this has been a really good Smackdown. But Matt Hardy is coming to the ring and from what I have read, the “really good” part gets destroyed next.

A video recapped Matt costing Jeff a spot in MITB last week…Matt Hardy made his entrance. The heat he got sounded weird. Might be canned, might be bad sound editing. He said the black cloud continues to hover over Jeff and will remain there until Jeff agrees to fight him. He said he came out to get some things off his chest. He said he tried to communicate these to Jeff but he wouldn’t listen. He said tonight he would make him listen. He said in the past year Jeff had been through a lot of highs and lows. He said last year at Mania, Jeff couldn’t compete because he was suspended. Matt said he couldn’t compete because he was injured. He whined about nobody caring about his injury, just caring about Jeff. He said Jeff just went on like nothing happened. He recorded music and painted pictures. But Matt had to suffer and fight back from his injury.

[Q5] He said he remembered one day in particular during Jeff’s suspension. He said he called Jeff and told him his house was on fire. He said he couldn’t watch, but sat there and imagined what it was like for Jeff to lose everything. He said Jeff asked about his dog. He said we all know now that Jack didn’t make it. He said sometimes accidents turn into tragedies. He pulled a burnt dog collar from his pocket. He said he found it in a pile of ashes after everything that Jeff had ever worked for went up in flames. He said he had held on to it since that day, and now wanted to give it to him as a sign of his love for his brother, Jeff Hardy.

Jeff came to the ring in street clothes with no music. He walked around Matt a couple of times and snatched the mic from his hand. He said it was hard to believe that Matt was behind all the things that had happened. He said he didn’t know his own flesh and blood could do that to him. He asked Matt if he wants to hurt him, if he hated him. He said Matt hated him, but Matt hated himself more than he knew. He said Matt hated himself because he is sick and demented. He turned his back on Matt and said, “And so am I.” He whirled and attacked Matt. Matt rolled out of the ring and held up his hand and said, “I’m sorry Jeff. Stop. I’m sorry. I love you.” Jeff lay in the ropes like he was going to get 619ed and just looked at him. Matt retreated up the ramp and stopped halfway up and flashed a small smile before walking backstage. Jeff sat in the ring looking upset…[C]

Shore’s Slant: OK, it wasn’t as bad as I was afraid it would be, but it was still low class with the dog collar. That’s a rough time in Jeff’s life that shouldn’t be brought up every chance they get. The turn was fine, but now it’s just too much. Why does every match at Mania have to be a blood feud? HHH/Orton, Edge/Show, and Hardy/Hardy all have these underlying storylines that by themselves are great, but together are over the top.

A replay showed everything from Jeff’s attack on Matt until the end of the segment…In the ring, Maryse and Michelle McCool looked cattily at each other. A video recapped the Diva confrontation on Raw. Maria made her entrance followed by Melina…

4. Maria and Melina defeated Michelle McCool and Maryse at 2:45. Maria and McCool started out. Maria hit a couple of moves before McCool started her new aggressive attack pattern. She whipped Maria into the corner, but Maria stopped herself. She ran back towards McCool and after three steps each, they butted heads. Aw c’mon. Double hot tag and Melina destroyed Maryse. JR used Eagles lyrics from Witchy Woman to describe Melina. Maryse managed to lock in a headlock and reach for McCool, but McCool wouldn’t tag. Melina rolled up Maryse for the win. Post match, McCool attacked Maryse…

[Q6]Backstage, Edge was complaining to Chavo about Vickie. Chavo said he knew Vickie better than anybody. She called him all the time and talked to him. Edge asked if Chavo and Vickie were doing it and Chavo stammered and stuttered. Edge jacked him up against the wall and said nobody would take the title away from him…A Wrestlemania XX video aired…[C]

Shore’s Slant: First bad match of the night and it wasn’t terrible. The Diva’s division looks so weak. I long for the days of Lita and Victoria and Trish. Maybe with Gail Kim coming back soon we will have an awakening. Let’s hope.

5. Finlay w/Hornswoggle defeated The Brian Kendrick w/Ezekiel Jackson in a Money in the Bank Qualifying Match at 3:14. Before the opening bell, Zeke blasted Finlay. After the bell, TBK ran in and got body slammed. TBK started running from Finlay who chased him outside the ring to Zeke. Zeke stepped in and grabbed the shillelagh and threw it away. As Finlay and Zeke stared each other down, TBK dove out for a splash. He rolled Finlay back in the ring. The pattern became TBK would hit a move and then lose control, only to have Zeke distract Finlay again so TBK could retake control. Finally, TBK tried for The Kendrick, but Finlay pushed off, speared him in the corner, and nailed the Celtic Cross for the win. A replay showed highlights of the match we just saw in case you missed it…The graphic showing all eight participants in MITB was shown…

[Q7]The announce team hyped Taker vs. Kozlov for next.

Shore’s Slant: There it was. The match was terrible for two reasons. First, it was boring. You can’t tell a story in three minutes, especially with guys who have two different styles. Second, and most important, WTF is Finlay doing in MITB over TBK? That’s terrible writing. But the writing for MITB was already bad. MITB this year is a throwaway match, and that’s upsetting. Thirty minutes left with one match. Taker must be doing the full entrance.

Back from commercial, the announce team played the 12 Rounds teaser trailer…The current Wrestlemania card was covered. They announced that it was official, Jeff vs. Matt…Taker made his entrance. I had time to write the following…[C]

Shore’s Slant: Are you serious? After bringing a burnt dog collar to the ring, killing Jeff for his suspension, and finally having a small physical confrontation between the two, we get the official announcement in a listing of matches. No Jeff saying, “Matt I’ll kill you for what you did.” No Matt adding, “Finally I will prove who the best Hardy is.” Just a mention in a card listing. Get the hell out of here.

[Q8]The WWE Rewind was the Taker/Kozlov match from two weeks ago…Kozlov made his entrance…

6. The Undertaker defeated Vladimir Kozlov at 14:22. As Kozlov made his entrance, JR pointed out that Kozlov has never lost on Friday nights. Three words: let it go. Taker started out in charge, but Kozlov rolled him to the floor. He followed and bounced Taker’s head off the announce table. Taker retook control in the ring, but Kozlov headbutted him out of the ring. Kozlov followed, but taker reversed a whip and Kozlov slammed into the railing hard. Taker followed with a clothesline over the barrier into the timekeeper’s area…[C]

Back at 5:45, Taker hit his leg drop on the apron. A replay showed the whip to the rail and clothesline over the rail before the commercial. Taker continued to pound on Kozlov. Tazz said Taker was sending a message to Michaels. I would think he’s pissed from the loss but hey, what do I know? Kozlov caught a charging Taker for a powerslam and a two count. Kozlov stayed in control and pounded on Taker. Taker tried to punch out, but Kozlov took him down and locked in chin lock. JR said some have described Kozlov’s offense as bowling shoe ugly. Wow, truth in advertising!

Taker fought out, but was hit with a clothesline and Kozlov locked in the chin lock again. Taker once again fought to his feet and hit a belly to back suplex. Both men made it to their feet and traded blows. Taker got the best and whipped Kozlov into the corner at 11:32. He followed and hit Snake Eyes. He tried for the boot, but Kozlov hit the battering ram for two. Taker sat up, hit Old School, a chokeslam, and then gave the signal. Tombstone, tongue, one, two, three. Taker stood in the ring and stared at the Wrestlemania sign. After a replay showed the last set of moves, taker dropped to his knee and closed the show…[C]

Shore’s Slant: OK match, not as good as the last meeting, but not a complete stinker. Maybe I’m just in a good mood. Overall, good show from Smackdown, especially considering that this was the second half of a double header. I have one problem, and I understand why it happened, but it’s still a problem. There was virtually no coverage of the Vickie/Edge angle. Yes we had the recap at the top of the show, and the video of Edge and Chavo that was probably recorded at Raw, but that was it. Now this was taped before Raw, so they didn’t want to give away the surprise, but it just seems odd that there was so little time devoted to it. More time was devoted to Hunter/Orton than Edge/Vickie. Just something that bothered me. Three more weeks to Wrestlemania, and two more days until my new avatar picture debuts on the forum. Not a member? Join now for only $5 a month and see what everyone will be talking about this Sunday night, and I don’t mean the TNA PPV. Thanks for reading and see you next week.

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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