By Wade Keller, Torch editor

KELLER'S WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT
JUNE 27, 2008
HOUSTON, TEX.

-A recap aired of the draft on Raw. The graphic and voiceover said: The Landscape Has Changed.

-Vickie Guerrero introduced the show solemnly backstage. She said she hopes Vince McMahon is okay after being almost killed on Raw by the set falling. She said she hopes he isn't confined to a wheelchair like she is the rest of his days. She said everyone on Smackdown wishes him a speedy recovery. She said he is her and everyone's champion. Then she shifted gears, saying she knows Mr. McMahon wouldn't want to focus on negatives, but rather the positives, such as her wedding and Smackdown's success in the draft, which she said proves Smackdown is the superior, preeminent brand. She said with a big fresh smile that they'd begin with the introduction to good ol' J.R., Jim Ross.

-They went to the arena where Jim Ross walked to the ring, slapping hands, while his music played. Mick Foley welcomed him. He said he knows emotions were very raw on Monday night and he had some mixed feelings. Ross clapped and said he feels great, got a good night's sleep, is is ready to go. He said they're going to take Smackdown to places it's never gone before and Friday night will never be the same again. He said, "Here is one of the reasons. Maybe the main reason." Out walked Triple H to his full ring intro. That underlightning Hunter uses on the stage makes him look so much more aged than normal lighting, highlighting every bit of wrinkled or sagging skin on his face. It's less of a concern at 38, but it becomes more of a concern if he sticks with that intro in coming years if he's trying to pretend he's still in his physical prime

As Triple H saluted the crowd - or should I say, acknowledged their saluting of him - Ross and Foley plugged his match against John Cena on Sunday night. Foley said fans bought tickets expecting to see other superstars, but they have to be thrilled to see Triple H. Triple H said, "What a difference a day can make." He said he was top dog on Raw, but "just a few days later" (as in, 24 hours to those fans) Vince McMahon is still crazy and basically his whole world came crashing down around him - "or basically on top of him" - and for the first time in six years he's a member of the Smackdown roster. He said while things change, they stay the same. He's comforted by that. He said he looks around and sees friendly faces such as Foley and his "always keen sense of style and impeccable hygiene." Next to him is the "always smiling, joyous face of good ol' J.R., Jim Ross, the greatest announcer in the history of this business." He added, "I mean it when I say it, Jim, if I had to pick one guy to bring over with me, it'd have been you." Ross said, "Thank you very much."

He then turned to the fans and said it doesn't matter if you're a fan of Raw or Smackdown, you're all part of the WWE universe. "As long as each and every one of you are here, then I'm home." Ah, so sweet. He said, "Okay, enough of the blatant sucking up, now let's get to the blatant shilling." He turned to the camera and plugged his match against Cena. The crowd responded with a mix of cheers and boos. As he began a promo against Cena, Edge's music played.

-Ross said this would be interesting as Edge walked to the ring. "There's something about being an alpha male in a unique universe such as Friday Night Smackdown makes this dichotomy that makes this somewhat, I'd say, combustible." Edge stood in the ring for a few seconds, then said this is special and big. He said they are the best of the best. He said he's heard rumblings that they can't coexist, but he knows they can get along. Triple H said he can see that and appreciates the positive thinking, but he sees problems with his theory. He said they both have massive egos and he can see by looking at him right now, "mine is much bigger than yours." (Triple H penis joke alert.) He said the other difference is after Sunday, he'll still have his title. Edge told Triple H he better do what everyone around there does, which is show him respect and stay out of his face. Batista's music interrupted and he walked out. Ross said early in the night, it looks like business is picking up on Friday Night Smackdown. He said the man Edge is going to face on Sunday is making his "massive presence felt." Triple H tossed Edge to the floor where Batista immediately speared him. Edge slowly got up on the floor as Batista and Triple H held up belts - Batista with Edge's in hand.

-Ross plugged Umaga vs. Batista in the main event, a "slobberknocker on Smackdown." He also hyped Edge vs. Matt Hardy in a champion vs. champion match.

[Commercial Break]

-Ross hyped that Rey Mysterio would be giving a farewell address later in the show.

1 -- KANE & THE BIG SHOW vs. MVP & MARK HENRY

Kane came out after the monumental draft - where he was drafted to Raw, - wearing the ECW Title, and wrestling on Smackdown. No explanation was given to the fans who are quite confused about how WWE's draft works, but as a Minnesota Timberwolves fan, I hope the NBA draft works this way so next year we can play the opening game with Kevin Lowe, Mike Miller, O.J. Mayo, Michael Beasley, and Derek Rose. Come on, NBA, take some notes from WWE's ingenious logic when it comes to draft ramifications. Ross noted that MVP has issues with his contract. Foley said some people are never satisfied. Kane tagged in Show at 1:00 with a hard slap. Show took note. Ross said in 30-plus years calling wrestling, he's never seen anyone more physically impressive than Show, who is also athletic and agile. Foley said Henry didn't appear eager to get into the ring with Big Show. Foley said he's been in the ring with both and he considered it frightening. He said Show knew how to use his strength in a more functional manner. Ross said maybe at that time. He actually defended Henry. Foley admitted Henry had come a long way and has a renewed sense of confidence he didn't have many years ago when he faced him. The words "front chancery" were used for the first time on Smackdown. Foley said the draft shakeup may cost MVP some leverage because Vickie may think they don't need him as much as before the draft. MVP bailed out. Henry threw him back into the ring where Kane surprised him with a chokeslam for the win.

WINNERS: Kane & Big Show in 5:00.

STAR RATING: 3/4*

-Vickie was telling her wedding planner they need everything to be perfect for the wedding. The planner said they need everyone's measurements except her daughter. Edge barged into the room, clutching his ribs, asking if she saw what just happened. He said it was cheap. Vickie smiled and said that after Sunday, Batista is off the show and out of their lives. That's the only acknowledgement that maybe the draft officially takes effect on Sunday. Why don't they just overtly say that draft week is a free-for-all where anyone can pretty much go anywhere between the draft and the PPV. Vickie said they need happiness and peace the next two weeks as they head toward intertwining their lives forever. Edge continued to look into her eyes like it was a dream come true.

[Commercial Break]

-Ross plugged Batista vs. Umaga again. They showed Ross and Foley at ringside. Ros talked about Umaga being a natural athlete and a super heavyweight with a nasty attitude. Foley said the sky is literally the limit for him on Smackdown. A video package aired on Umaga. It was just highlight clips of Umaga making cartoon faces and executing power moves.

2 -- HORNSWOGGLE & FINLAY vs. ZACH RYDER & CURT HAWKINS

Ross called Finlay a second generation star and Hornswoggle a third generation star. A little clever double-teaming led to Zach and Curt getting the advantage on Finlay in 2:00. Ross said they'd like to provide viewers more about McMahon's condition, but the family isn't releasing any significant data. Finlay amde a comeback and tagged in Hornswoggle who finished Hawkins (or coulda been Ryder) with a tadpole splash. Miz and Morrison stepped out onto the stage and stared down Finlay and Hornswoggle.

WINNERS: Hornswoggle & Finlay in 3:00.

-Ross plugged Edge vs. Hardy was up next.

[Commercial Break]

3 -- MATT HARDY vs. EDGE

Ross cited former U.S. Champions such as Ric Flair and Greg Valentine. Foley said Edge looks naked without the championship belt. Ross said he didn't want to imagine Edge naked. After two minutes of hammer locks and counters, they cut to a break.

[Commercial Break]

Hardy applied an armbar on Edge after the break. Then they had an odd exchange near the ropes. Hardy hit Edge with a enzuigiri while he was on his knees. Edge rolled to the floor where Hardy met him with a flying clothesline off the ring apron. At 12:00 Hardy went on a full-fledged flurry. Ross said it should be it after a Side Effect, although Side Effects almost never end Hardy matces. Hardy hit a DDT for another near fall. Edge came back and went for a spear, but Hardy side-stepped it. Edge went for a backslide with his feet on the ropes, but Hardy rolled out. As the ref scolded Edge, Hardy schoolboyed him for a two count. Edge threw Hardy toward the ref to escape a Twist of Fate, then caught Hardy with a spear just as he turned around. Ross said Edge proved to be the Ultimate Opportunist again.

WINNER: Edge in 13:00.

STAR RATING: **3/4 -- It wasn't special early, but the closing minutes were two pros who know how to turn it up and build effective near falls into a finish where the loser didn't lose, but the winner gained something.

[Commercial Break]

-Ross and Foley plugged Rey's final SD appearance later, then talked about the acquisition of Jeff Hardy. They talked about him almost as if he was an acquisition from a foreign land no one in Smackdown-land had ever heard of. Foley said he doesn't understand Jeff, but he looks forward to trying to understand him each week on Smackdown. A Hardy music video then aired. Ross told his buddies in Texas and Oklahoma that he doesn't have any tickets for Night of the Champions, then they went into a rundown of the entire line-up. Ross said something's got to give between Cena and Hunter. Foley said literally there has never been a bigger ECW Title match than Sunday's three-way.

-Kelly Kelly walked out. Ross said he's looking forward to hearing how Foley deals with beautiful women walking to the ring since his long-time former broadcast partner had a unique way of reacting. Michelle McCool came out next.

[Commercial Break]

4 -- MICHELLE MCCOOL & KELLY KELLY & CHERRY vs. NATALYA & VICTORIA & MARYSE

Foley noted that Melina had a fracture of her heel on Raw on Monday and he wanted to send her well wishes. They showed Vickie watching the monitor backstage while browsing through wedding magazines with her wedding planning. Ross said she was multi-tasking. McCool and Natalya had some cool mat exchanges. Victoria hit a standing moonsault on McCool, then tagged in Maryse. After a bit of chaos, Maryse rolled up Cherry for the win.

WINNERS: Victoria & Maryse & Natalya in 6:00.

STAR RATING: *1/2 -- Good showing.

[Commercial Break]

-A graphic plugged the return of Mr. Kennedy to Smackdown next week. Ross and Foley talked him being part of their draft bonanza.

5 -- DOMINO vs. VLADIMIR KOZLOV

Ross said Kozlov's style is compatible with error-free wrestling. He caught Domino coming off the top rope with a shoulder and scored the pin. Ross called him the Moscow Mauler.

WINNER: Kozlov in 2:00.

-Hornswoggle walked up to Rey Mysterio backstage and giggled and laughed and handed him his hat. Rey put it on and patronized the leprechaun. There wasn't that much size difference between the two.

[Commercial Break]

-Rey Mysterio walked out to the ring to his ring intro. This "saying goodbye" to the Smackdown fans is weird - not from a TV standpoint, because there are a lot of unique viewers to one show or another for various reasons, but when they address the fans in the crowd. The fans are at that show not because they're SD fans and not Raw fans, but because their town on a once-a-year trip happened to get the SD brand. There's no correlation, or very little, to brand-loyalty among the fans. Many may be Raw regulars who are saying hello, not goodbye, to seeing Rey on a regular basis. Foley said he's known Rey since he was a teenager and he's stayed humble the whole voyage to super-stardom. Rey spoke briefly about his memories on Smackdown and his goals on Raw, then said farewell in Spanish.

[Commercial Break]

6 -- BATISTA vs. UMAGA

Ross talked about how if Batista beats Edge on Sunday, he will take that prestigious championship to Raw. Foley said Vickie is happy to have an athlete of Umaga's level on Smackdown and she matched him against Batista to soften him up before Sunday to help her future husband Edge. Umaga flattened Batista and applied a nerve hold at 3:00. At 5:00 Batista attempted to whip Umaga. Umaga reversed him, but Batista quickly slammed him and shook the top rope. As Ross it sent shivers down his spine, Ryder and Hawkins jumped Batista for the DQ.

WINNER: Batista via DQ in 6:00.

STAR RATING: *

-Chavo Guerrero and Edge joined in. Umaga then gave Batista a kick to the face and gang attack followed with lots of stomps. Umaga dragged Batista to a corner as Edge encouraged him to give him his rear rush / corner butt charge / Umagan freight train move. That wasn't all. The heels held Batista down one limb each as Umaga set up a top rope splash. Triple H made the save by knocking Batista off the top rope. He Dusty Rhodes'd the ring of all of the heels. Magnum T.A., I mean Batista, joined in briefly to help clear the ring before collapsing in the corner in exhaustion. The heels retreated as Ross declared Friday Night Smackdown will never be the same, but who will walk away from Night of the Champions with the titles.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Good episode. Not great, as it felt a bit like they were juggling a few tasks such as digesting the draft, welcoming new wrestlers, saying goodbye to some wrestlers, and hyping Night of Champions, while also adjusting to a new announcer. It was paced well and had some good wrestling. Next week should be the real start of a new Smackdown era.

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