By Greg Parks, PWTorch Contributor

WWE Smackdown review
December 21, 2007
Taped 12/18/07 in Rochester, NY.
Aired on The CW
Report by Greg Parks, Torch Team Contributor

Let’s see how this compares with the live version.....

-WWE Open.

-The show opened with Teddy Long wheeling Vickie Guerrero out to the ring with the title belt. A video package aired on the title match from Armageddon. Vickie introduced the love of her life and the new World champion, Edge. "You suck" chants met him, too. Edge thanked his Edgeheads and two in particular, as he introduced the Major Brothers. They came out dressed as Edge. Edge said they only used the Major Brothers name to get a contract on Smackdown. Each Major brother then introduced his "real"self- one was Kurt Hawkins, who likes long walks on the beach, and the other was Zach Rider, who likes hanging out with his girlfriend. Edge thanked Vickie and threw it to a hilarious romantic music video that showed Edge training with Vickie, then the two of them just having fun (like on a playground teeter-totter). Edge also thanked Batista for filling in as champion while he was gone. He said the last image we'll see tonight is him raising the belt. I like what they’re doing with the Major Brothers- they were never going to get over as a tag team with no personality, so hooking them up with a guy who exudes charisma in Edge is the right move. Almost has a Team Angle-like vibe to it.

-Tonight, it’s six-man action as CM Punk & Rey Mysterio & Kane take on Mark Henry & Big Daddy V & MVP.

-But next, it’s Finlay & Hornswoggle vs. Great Khali and Ranjin Singh.

[Commercial Break]

-On screen, JBL and Michael Cole discussed JBL’s farewell address, to take place later in the night.

1- THE GREAT KHALI & RANJIN SINGH vs. FINLAY & HORNSWOGGLE

Singh dressed like and imitated Khali during their entrance. Khali put the boots to Finlay early on and worked him over in the corner. He then slammed the Irishman. They did a not-so-good spot where Khali tagged Singh by giving him a high-five and Singh didn’t want in. Horny then pulled Singh’s pants down and the interpreter got doused with confetti and water in a comedy bit. Finlay used the giant swing then Hornswoggle followed up with the tadpole splash for the win as Khali looked on from the outside.

WINNERS: Finlay & Hornswoggle at 2:59.

-Ric Flair returns to Smackdown next!

[Commercial Break]

-Ric Flair came out for his interview. He covered his angle, then said if he had to choose someone to fight in his last match, it would be Triple H. He said when he came back to WWE six years ago, he wasn't himself, but Trips took him under his wing and reminded him he was "The Nature Boy." Flair said he doesn't want sympathy - Triple H will bring his best and bring out Flair's best. Flair pretty much said it was OK to lose, as if he lost Monday, he'd have no regrets because he lost to the best. This doesn't sound like the Flair that never wanted to retire.

[Commercial Break]

-A Maryse promo aired, thanking us for spending Friday night with her. What is their deal with this? It’s been months since she was last doing these vignettes.

2- REY MYSTERIO & CM PUNK & KANE vs. BIG DADDY V & MARK HENRY & MVP

Henry walked into a Kane uppercut and Punk tagged in. MVP missed a running kick after dodging a bulldog, and Punk registered a series of near-falls. All six men then came in and had a stare down heading to break.

[Commercial Break]

Mysterio tagged in and hit a seated senton on MVP as the show returned. V hit a side slam on Punk and later press slammed the champ. The heels cut off the ring and worked over Punk. Kane got the hot tag and cleaned house. Henry tagged in and kicked Mysterio as he was going for the 619 on MVP. I see they got rid of the mis-timed spot of Henry not pushing MVP out of the way. Mysterio then hit the move on Henry, who was then chokeslammed by Kane and splashed by Rey to end it.

WINNERS: Rey & Kane & Punk at 10:14. Decent little match.

-Clips aired of the World Title Match from Armageddon....Batista has invoked his re-match clause and will face Edge later on.

[Commercial Break]

-The announcers talked about the Noble & McCool date that took place after the show last Friday.

-They showed the dinner date, seemingly in its entirety. We did not see any of this at the arena. It was at an un-named restaurant, though it appeared to be one of WWE’s backstage sets. Noble was flustered when Michelle ordered a $10 glass of Cabernet. Later, Noble said his “granny” wanted to meet Michelle. He wanted to know her policy of kissing on the first date. Noble ordered many foods with “french” in the name, then was offended when the waiter said they didn’t have any of those foods. Jamie then went on a rant that would make any history teacher pull their hair out. Noble was informed that it was an Italian, not French restaurant.

After dinner, Noble gave McCool an early Christmas present- Old Spice (his favorite cologne), so she could have the scent of Jamie even when he’s not around. Noble said one of his past-times was magic. He tried to remove the tablecloth with all the food and dinnerware still on the table. If you’ve seen any ‘90s sitcom, you know how that ended up. Noble sheepishly asked for the check afterward. Not nearly as entertaining as Santino crashing Ron and Maria’s date.

[Commercial Break]

3- SANTA DEUCE vs. SANTA FESTUS; SANTA MATCH

Festus wore the full garb, beard and all, while Deuce just had the overcoat. Festus missed a charge and Deuce took over, but not for long. A distraction by Domino allowed Deuce to take over briefly. Deuce hit a nice kick to the back of the head for a one-count. Festus made his comeback by biting the fingers of Deuce, who had Festus in a chin-lock. Festus hit his finisher for the win when Deuce tried to use the Santa sack as a weapon.

WINNER: Santa Festus at 4:18. Kind of messy in spots, but Festus isn’t supposed to be polished, I guess.

-JBL left the broadcast table, for the final time, to prepare for his farewell address.

[Commercial Break]

-The ring was set up with red carpet, red white and blue banners and a podium for JBL's farewell speech. He said it'll be the last time he's on Smackdown because he'll make his legendary comeback on Raw. JBL said he took a laughingstock of a show and made it the crown jewel of WWE. The reason he's coming back on Raw is because of what happened Sunday (clips were shown). He said Y2J only had to say sorry on Raw, but instead, he attacked him verbally. JBL said he's coming to Raw to headline PPVs and win championships.

[Commercial Break]

-Tazz joined Michael Cole at ringside for the rest of the night.

4- BATISTA vs. EDGE; WORLD TITLE MATCH
Prior to the match, Vickie Guerrero announced it as a 3-on-1 match, with Hawkins and Rider joining Edge. Batista clobbered Hawkins until the numbers game caught up to him. Batista was going for the powerbomb, but Edge interfered to break it up. That took us into the final break.


[Commercial Break]

Edge was taking out Batista out of break. After Edge tagged out, Batista had his way with the others. Batista caught Rider in mid-air and hit a spinebuster for the win, and the championship.

WINNER: Batista at 8:37.

But wait! Vickie announced that Batista could only win the title by pinning Edge. So she re-started the match. Batista hit a spine-buster, but got hit with a chair by the Edge-Heads, drawing the DQ. They double-DDT’d him on the chair and Edge hit the conchairto. And sure enough, the last visual we had to close the show was Edge holding the title over his head.

WINNER: Batista by DQ at :46 (9:23 total).

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