By Greg Parks, PWTorch Contributor

WWE Smackdown review
November 28, 2008
Taped 11/25/08 in Albany, NY
Aired on MyNetwork TV
Report by Greg Parks, Torch Team Contributor

-Skipping the WWE Opening, they aired clips of the HHH-Kozlov match with Edge interfering from Suvivor Series; they also ran briefs of the Matt Hardy & JR comments during the show about Jeff Hardy.

-Vickie Guerrero was in the ring, a ring surrounded by security. She asked the fans to welcome Edge back to Smackdown. They embraced in mid-ring. Edge said he wasn't ready to come back and isn't even 100% healthy. He said he read on WWE.com what happened with Hardy and said he needed to take matters into his own hands. He said Hardy has a history of letting people down. Edge said the title isn't his only motivation- he also didn't want to let Vickie down. Vickie thanked Edge for being her hero and saving her from the irresponsibility of Jeff Hardy. She said what hapened with him is still under investigation. Hardy ran down to the ring but was stopped by security. Soon after, HHH did the same. Wow, security actually doing their job. Vladimir Kozlov popped up from the other side of the ring and wanted no more games; he said he'd beat Edge up right there. Vickie instead put the three competitors with a stake to the title in three beat-the-clock matches tonight with the one winning their match quickest facing Edge at Armageddon. And Hardy's is next.[

[Commercial Break]

1- JEFF HARDY vs. THE BRIAN KENDRICK- BEAT THE CLOCK MATCH

Hardy's face looks like he got in the way of Homer Simpson's make-up gun. Hardy tried a bunch of pinning combinations as the match approached 1:00. Kendrick then retreated to ringside as Zeke and Jeff faced off. Hardy still had a bandage on his neck from his "injury." Crowd got restless at the 3:00 mark. Match was all Hardy, but Kendrick took a break again at 3:30. Back in the ring, two bodyslams couldn't do it for Jeff. Kendrick hit a neck-breaker after crotching Hardy on the top rope on a Whisper in the Wind attempt. Match then went to break. I don't like these odds for Hardy.

[Commercial Break]

8:40 into the match, Kendrick had control and was wearing down Hardy. Hardy finally got momentum and dropped Kendrick throat-first onto the top rope at the 10:00 mark. Hardy was really slowed down at this point. He hit Whisper in the Wind, but Kendrick got his foot on the rope on a pin attempt. Jackson tried to pull Kendrick out of the ring, but Hardy dropkicked him through the ropes. Swanton from Hardy finished it.

WINNER: Hardy, at 12:13. Good, hot match; either the crowd was majorly into it or the audio sweetner was on overdrive.

-They showed that Vladimir Kozlov will face Matt Hardy in his Beat-The-Clock match, while HHH takes on Shelton Benjamin.

-Eve Torres was backstage with Matt Hardy. Matt claimed Vickie & Edge were responsible for what happened to Jeff on Sunday and then said he has a job to do tonight to try to get Jeff into the title match at Armageddon.

[Commercial Break]

-A video package aired on The Big Show vs. Undertaker feud, culminating with their match at Survivor Series.

-JR announced that next week on Smackdown, Big Show will face Taker in a steel cage. I figured that feud was over. Then we saw what could happen in that match, courtesy of Smackdown vs. Raw 2009.

-All six competitors made their entrances for the six-diva tag match, which is next.

[Commercial Break]

2- THE BELLA TWINS & MICHELLE MCCOOL vs. NATALYA & VICTORIA & MARYSE

Nikki & Brie did some double-teaming on Victoria once the match started. Brie rolled her up for two and then Victoria threw her to the mat on a flying mare attempt. Surfboard was applied by Natalya. Swinging side-slam by Victoria got a two-count, then Maryse tagged in. Jawbreaker (kind of) by Brie allowed her to tag Michelle. Nikki & Victoria got involved, distracting the ref from a Michelle pin attempt. Maryse ducked a clothesline by Brie and the Bella twin nailed Michelle instead, who got rolled up by Maryse for the pin.

WINNERS: Victoria, Natalya & Maryse at 4:13. Match was best when the heels were on offense.

After the match, Michelle was chewing out the Bellas in the ring. Maria came out to try to diffuse the situation, but Michelle pushed her to the mat, then left the ring.

-Two more Beat-The-Clock matches are left, and Kozlov vs. Matt Hardy is next.

[Commercial Break]

-The DX-WWE Shopzone plug from this past Monday (and Tuesday) aired again.

3- VLADIMIR KOZLOV vs. MATT HARDY- BEAT-THE-CLOCK MATCH

Matt avoided some single-leg take-down attempts. He drew Kozlov in and nailed him with a right hand. He then kept Kozlov in a head-lock for a minute or so. Jeff was shown watching the match on a monitor backstage. Matt took the Kendrick route and wasted some time on the outside. Kozlov applied a waist-lock on Matt to wear him down. Hardy went to the outside after getting shoulder-blocked. Apparently, referee Scott Armstrong told Kozlov at this point that he could only win by pin or submission and had to win in less time than Jeff, because after Armstrong talked to Vlad and pointed at the Titan-Tron, Kozlov's eyes got big and he chased Matt around the outside of the ring. Back inside, he hit his trademark headbutts on Matt. They went to break with under 7:00 to go.

[Commercial Break]

JR said Kozlov has gotten much more aggressive during the break as the match reached the 3:00 to go mark. Back-breaker by Kozlov for two. He caught Matt on a cross-body attempt and dumped him with a fall-away slam. Kozlov got on the bottom rope and did the same thing. 1:00 to go. Side Effect by Hardy and Kozlov rolled to ringside with under :30 to go. Kozlov pushed Matt off a Twist of Fate try and to ringside. Matt got on the apron and shouldered Kozlov in the gut, then jumped back off the apron to ringside again as the final second ticked off the clock.

WINNER: No Contest; Kozlov did not beat the clock, at 12:13.

Backstage, Triple H confronted Jeff Hardy in Jeff's locker-room. They had a stare-down.

[Commercial Break]

4- JESSE & FESTUS vs. THE MIZ & JOHN MORRISON

Jesse and Festus were already in the ring. Jesse got a near-fall after a back-elbow. Miz an dMorrison cut off the ring and worked Jesse over. Jesse suplexed Miz and both men were down. Festus tagged in and cleaned house until Morrison rang the bell. Jesse went over and nailed Morrison, then grabbed the bell and rang it again. Didn't they just do this a few weeks ago? Festus did some damage to Morrison, but then Miz got his hands on the bell and rang it. Miz & Morrison pummeled Jesse on the outside to the point where referee Chad Patton called for a DQ.

WINNERS: Jesse & Festus by DQ, at 4:58. I think Festus has run his course, and I wouldn't be surprised to see Jesse or Festus wished well in their future endeavors in the near future.

After the match, Miz had Festus make an "L" with his fingers and put it up to his forehead. Then he and Morrison had fun with Festus and the bell, ringing it then quickly ringing it again. Miz even stood next to Festus and "exploded" with Festus once Morrison rang the bell. Jesse came back and and they beat him up some more until Miz accidentally dropped the hammer on the bell, causing Festus to come alive and get some brief revenge.

[Commercial Break]

-The Raw Rebound aired.

-Mr. Kennedy was backstage and, after plugging his movie, brought in Triple H and asked him about his match tonight. HHH said people want to know if he can beat Shelton Benjamin in 12:13? Watch me, he said. Then he told Edge he'd see him at Armageddon. This puts fans in an odd spot; Hardy and Triple H are both faces, so do they cheer for Trips or Jeff? And if they cheer for Jeff, then they have to root for a heel in Shelton to either beat HHH or keep him in the ring for 12:13. I think from that point-of-view, it would've made more sense for Kozlov to be last.

[Commercial Break]

-They showed clips from the Beat-The-Clock matches from earlier tonight.

5- TRIPLE H vs. SHELTON BENJAMIN- BEAT-THE-CLOCK MATCH

HHH went for a Pedigree as soon as the bell rang. He went for it again less than a minute later. Benjamin then went to the outside. HHH chased him out there but back in the ring, the two traded offense. Triple H locked in the Crossface to take a minute or so off the clock. Then Shelton countered a suplex with a neck-breaker. The show then went to break.

[Commercial Break]

They showed Hardy watching the match backstage. Big-time DDT from Shelton with under 5:00 to go. HHH caught Benjamin with a high knee and a face-buster on the knee for two. Benjamin kept sliding otu of the ring. HHH threw Benjamin over the announce table and into JR's lap, then back over. Shelton just would not stay in the ring. Spinebuster with under 2:00 to go. Triple H seemed to have the Pedigree locked in, but Shelton back-dropped out of it. Trips tried to pull Benjamin into the middle of the ring, but Shelton wrapped himself in the ropes. With Triple H trying to free Shelton, Benjamin's arm flew back and knocked out referee Mike Chioda. Triple H hit the Pedigree with :30 to go, but no ref to count. Chioda made the slow crawl over and made the count as time expired.

WINNER: Triple H, at 12:13. I'm home for Thanksgiving and my father (who only watches wrestling when I'm around) called that finish with 5:00 to go in the match.

There was confusion after the match when Chioda raised HHH's hand. The referee of Jeff Hardy's match, Charles Robinson, came out to talk things over. Upon replay, the buzzer seemed to go off just before Chioda's hand hit the mat for three, but it was very close. Ring announcer Justin Roberts proclaimed a tie. Jeff then came out and had a bit of a face-off with Triple H. Looks like we'll have to wait 'til next week for clarification.

What was your opinion of tonight’s show? Share your thoughts below in our new instant reader comment section!

Greg Parks has been covering Smackdown for PWTorch.com since February of 2007. You can also hear him every-other-week in the post-Raw audio show Monday nights in the Torch VIP audio section. Check out his column each week in the PDF-exclusive version of the Torch Newsletter. Comments, questions and feedback is welcome, and can be sent to g_man9784@yahoo.com.

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