By Greg Parks, PWTorch Contributor

WWE Smackdown review
March 21, 2008
Taped 3/18/08 in Biloxi, Miss.
Aired on the CW
Report by Greg Parks, Torch Team Contributor

-WWE Open.

-In Smackdown vs. Raw video game format, Batista took on Umaga, with Batista apparently winning.

-In the arena, the real Batista came out for his match.

1- BATISTA vs. DEUCE ‘N DOMINO- HANDICAP MATCH

See, this is what I suggested for Big Show last week. Coach bucked the trend and decided maybe The Greasers didn’t have the advantage in this match. Batista went right after both men, while Deuce was the legal man. He brought Domino in the hard way anyway. Jumping side-kick from Deuce turned the tide. Batista no-sold some offense, then slammed Deuce off the top rope. A spear of Domino followed. Spinebuster for Domino. Batista Bomb and it’s over.

WINNER: Batista, at 2:11.

-Cherry, who did not accompany her men to the ring, was getting done-up backstage for the diva contest. Maryse interrupted and acted like quite the sore loser, complaining that the contest was fixed. She said Cherry wasn’t a diva; she was a dog. Ouch.

-Still to come, Undertaker faces ECW Champion Chavo Guerrero.

[Commercial Break]

-Theodore Long was in the ring, and he was hosting the diva competition this week. Teddy introduced the competitors still alive in the contest. Tonight, it’s an arm-wrestling contest. Yeesh, this is too much like the Diva Serach for my tastes. I can only sit through that once a year, and barely. Victoria faced off with Eve first. Victoria trash talked during the match. As Victoria was about to lose, she blew in Eve’s face, distracting her and getting Victoria the “W.” Next was Cherry vs. Michelle. Victoria was audibly cheering for Cherry, but Michelle won fairly. That means Victoria vs. Michelle in the finals. Michelle beat her and won the contest. Now, to find out who got eliminated. Shouldn’t they do that before this week’s competition? And.......Victoria is gone. She attacked McCool, but Michelle ended up on top until the other two divas restrained them. Michelle got one final shot in on Victoria. Thrilling stuff.

[Commercial Break]

-A video package that aired on Raw about Floyd Mayweather was shown.

-Roy Jones, Jr., Evander Holyfield and Michael Buffer discussed Mayweather’s chances in a pre-taped video.

2- THE BIG SHOW vs. CHASE STEVENS & ANDY DOUGLAS & LUKE HAWX- HANDICAP MATCH

Before the match, they showed a WWE Mobile exclusive of Chris Jericho getting interviewed by Mike Adamle after his match with Show this past Monday. He put over Show’s power. Big Show manhandled all three men, and ended up pinning Douglas after a right hand.

WINNER: Show, at 1:20.

-Edge is in action next.

[Commercial Break]

-The John Cena Make-A-Wish video aired again. Oh, but this one has comments from Raven Symone!

3- EDGE vs. FUNAKI

Edge looked good (and confident) early on. Fuanki hit a cross-body off the second rope but then ran into a big boot from Edge. Edge loosely choked Funaki against the ropes, then sent him to the outside. Crowd was all over the Rated “R” Superstar. Edge missed a spear and was rolled up by Funaki for a near-fall. He ran the ropes after an Enziguiri and got speared for his efforts. Edge lifted Funaki up at the count of two. He mocked Undertaker’s mannerisms and Tombstoned Funaki for the pin.

WINNER: Edge, at 5:38. Just a squash with a few hope spots thrown in.

Edge got the mic after the match and reiterated that he has never lost to Undertaker. He said by the end of the night tonight, we’ll all know exactly what he’s capable of. “What did Edge mean by that?” asked Coach. He must be channeling Mike Tenay. Good hook for viewers to stick around.

[Commercial Break]

-Time for the VIP Lounge with Montel Vontavious Porter. There was a ladder in the ring and a briefcase hanging above. MVP was sporting the WrestleMania beard. He said his guest this week is Chris Jericho, but did some more talking before bringing him out. Actually, he talked about his career up to this point. He said he was better than everyone in the Money in the Bank match, going so far as to say he was “way better” than Mr. Kennedy. Before he could finish his spiel, Jericho came out. Jericho said he hasn’t been on Smackdown in over 5 ½ years, but he’s excited about being back. Jericho was going to formally introduce himself, but MVP interrupted, saying he knows who Chris is, he invited him. Hmm, makes sense. MVP spouted off Jericho’s nicknames for him, but included a shot at him for being knocked out by Big Show Monday night. Jericho called MVP “overrated” and “overpaid.” Jericho made fun of MVP’s name, and the other names he could’ve possibly been named (names that acronyms were “ZIT,” “LOSER” and “JACKASS”). MVP wasn’t amused and he demonstrated what he was going to do next Sunday by climbing the ladder and grabbing the briefcase. Jericho showed Porter what HE was going to do, and he proceeded to tip over the ladder (with MVP perched on top) and grab the briefcase for himself.

-Tonight, Undertaker takes on Chavo Guerrero.

[Commercial Break]

4- KANE vs. CHUCK PALUMBO

This is a re-match from a few weeks back. Kane went for a quick cover, to no avail. Palumbo cheap-shotted Kane in the corner to take over on offense. A slow-developing roll-up got a near-fall. Some back-and-forth action until Palumbo slowed the pace down with an arm-bar. Boot to the face by Kane helped him come back. Clothesline off the top was next. Chuck rolled out of the ring before Kane could grab him for the chokeslam. Kane went after him when it appeared Chuck wasn’t planning on continuing the match. Looked like we had an edit before Kane clotheslined Chuck over the top rope. That took us to break.

[Commercial Break]

Cole noted upon return that both men would be in the 24-man battle royal at WrestleMania. Less than a minute after the show returned, Great Khali’s music hit and he came out. He beat up Kane, but as Khali stood with his arms raised, Mark Henry came out. Henry blocked Khali’s chop and slammed him. He then nailed Palumbo and Kane for good measure.

WINNER: No Contest (no bell), approximately 9:12. I could would be perfectly fine if I went the rest of my life without seeing another Palumbo vs. Kane match.

-Cole talked about the Hall of Fame ceremony and he and Coach talked about those who have already been announced as going in this year. Then we got the HOF video for the latest inductee, Eddie Graham. No announcement was made as to when the final inductee (assumed to be Gordon Solie) would be unveiled.

[Commercial Break]

5- JESSE & FESTUS vs. JOHN MORRISON & THE MIZ- WWE TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH

Not one plug for this match the entire show. Festus started out the match with Morrison. He even chased John down the aisle to bring him back in the ring. Miz tried to interfere, but Festus made him regret that decision. Jesse tagged in and hit a high cross-body off the top for two. A distraction by Miz allowed Morrsion to take control. Morrison and Miz traded off beating up Jesse. A snap Fisherman suplex at 6:00 by Jesse allowed him time to make the tag. Festus figuratively cleaned house, powering down both champions. Sit-down splash on Miz by Festus and he made the tag to Jesse. He hit his finisher, but Festus was dumped to the outside and Morrison broke up the pin at two. Miz hit the Reality Check on Jesse and the champs retained.

WINNERS: Miz & Morrison, at 7:32. Your usual Jesse & Festus match. There’s not a whole lot of different ways you can go about one of their matches other than Jesse getting beat down and Festus waiting for the hot tag.

-Michael Cole said he just got word that MVP would face Chris Jericho next week on Smackdown. Yet they had a video package of it already to go as the first commercial into break.

[Commercial Break]

-The Raw Rebound aired. Remember when they used to do a Smackdown Rebound on Raw?

-Coach and Cole previewed the WrestleMania card.

Chavo came to the ring with Edge and the EdgeHeads for his match with Taker. It’s the main event, and it’s next.

[Commercial Break]

6- CHAVO GUERRERO vs. UNDERTAKER

High back-drop from Taker on Chavo in the early going. Taker hit Old-School right off the bat, but Chavo recovered in the corner and belted The Dead Man with rights of his own. That didn’t last long as Taker went for the chokeslam. Chavo kicked him in the leg to break that up, but Taker didn’t sell it for long, hitting a side slam soon after. Chavo clotheslined Taker over the top, right in front of Edge, who Taker grabbed by the throat. Chavo saw this as his cue to go to ringside and attack Undertaker. Guerrero wore down Taker with an arm-lock. Taker got to the ropes, but lifted Chavo with his arm still locked up and slammed him down. Snake Eyes by Taker, who also threw Ryder and Hawkins off the apron. Chokeslam on Chavo, and the Gogoplata was locked in for the submission victory.

WINNER: Undertaker, at 5:20.

Predictably, the heels all attacked Undertaker after the match. Edge got a chair and jammed it into Taker’s gut. All three eventually got chairs and jabbed Taker with them. Edge got a crazed look on his face and hit Undertaker in the head with the chair. As the icing on the cake, Edge hit the conchairto, while yelling, “15-1 dead man!” The three heels stood with their arms raised to end the show.

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