WWE Smackdown taping and dark match results
March 25, 2008
Fayetteville, N.C. at the Crown Coliseum
Report by Shawn Cavender, PWTorch VIP Member

Fayetteville is the heart of Flair country, so there were lots of "Woos" all night from the almost-sellout crowd at the Crown Coliseum. This was my first time seeing the new HD entrance set in person, and it looks great live.

DARK MATCH

(1) Ron Killings defeated Kenny Dykstra. Killings had ring pants on with "K-Kwik" on them, but he was announced as Ron Killings. He came out to generic entrance music. Kenny worked his back over a little before Killings made his comeback and hit all his signature moves, ending it with the Axe Kick. Killings didn't get a big reaction, but a few people knew who he was.

ECW

Nothing really to add that happened off-camera.

SMACKDOWN

(1) Mark Henry beat Kane, the Great Khali, and Chuck Palumbo in a four-man Over The Top Rope Challenge. Chavo was at the announce desk to do color commentary. Palumbo was eliminated first, then Kane, then Khali. Henry won it impressively, picking up Khali and dumping him over the top rope to the floor. Post-match, Chavo attacked Henry from behind, going after his knee, but Henry no-sold it and gave him a World's Strongest Slam.

Backstage, Teddy long was with Eve Torres, Michelle McCool, and Cherry, the three divas remaining in the Smackdown diva contest. Teddy announced that Eve had been eliminated, then Victoria and Maryse came in to make fun of her. The divas started jawing at each other, so Long made a "WrestleMania Wet and Wild Tag Team Water Fight" for later in the show.

(2) C.M. Punk beat John Morrison in a Money in the Bank preview match. I loved the series of matches these guys had for the ECW title a few months back, so I was excited about this one. It wasn't one of their best in the series, but pretty good, going about 11 minutes. The highlight was when both men were standing on the top turnbuckle and ring post in one corner and Punk gave Morrison a Super Huracanrana. Punk won when he countered Morrison's finisher and turned it into a Go To Sleep.

We saw the Mayweather video with interviews with boxing people like Bert Sugar and Michael Buffer.

(3) Jesse & Festus & Kofi Kingston defeated Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch & The Miz. It was fun to see the showdown between the two southern tag teams of Jesse & Festus and Cade & Murdoch. Kingston pinned Miz after a Jamaican Buzzsaw.

(4) Batista beat Snitsky in a one minute squash. Here's the match move-by-move: Batista hit Snitsky with a spear, then a spinebuster, then a Batista Bomb, then he pinned him. After the match, Batista brought a chair into the ring and gave Snitsky a Batista Bomb on it.

(5) Michelle McCool & Cherry defeated Victoria & Maryse in a WrestleMania Wet and Wild Tag Team Water Fight. Eve Torres was the special guest referee. I believe this is Maryse's first televised match ever, maybe Cherry's, too. Michelle stripped to a bikini top right after the bell, and looked fantastic. The ladies threw water balloons at each other first, then went to the water guns and water buckets. Maryse had a couple buckets of water dumped on her. She looked fantastic, too. Hell, all of them looked great. Michelle got the pin on Victoria after a double-underhook suplex.

(6) Chris Jericho beat Montel Vontavious Porter by DQ when M.V.P. brought a title belt into the ring to use as a weapon, in another Money in the Bank preview match. M.V.P. made his entrance first, cutting a decent promo about hoe everyone will have to call him “Money in the Bank” after he wins at Mania. This match was good, though they had a couple awkward moments, and the finish was lame. The match went 10 minutes or so. Post-match, Jericho countered M.V.P. when he tried to hit him with the belt, then Jericho got a ladder from under the ring and hit M.V.P. in the head with it.

The final segment of the show was Edge's "Burial of The Undertaker's WrestleMania Streak". There were candles, flowers, and a casket brought in for the mock funeral, and with the casket in there, you can probably guess what happened. Teddy and Vickie came out first, the latter dressed as a widow, all in black and with a veil. Edge came out with Hawkins & Ryder. Edge read a eulogy for Taker's streak, then Vickie got on the microphone and gushed about Edge. She then said that she and the Edgeheads had gone and had a special video made. It was shown, and it started with highlights of Taker's Mania streak, then switched to Edge highlights, as a narrator talked about Edge in heroic terms. After the video, Edge thanked Vickie for the gesture by making out with her for a while, until Taker's music interrupted. Edge sent the Edgeheads to the entrance ramp to intercept Taker, but (of course) he came out of the casket, then chokeslammed Edge into the casket. He turned his attention to Vickie, but she bailed out and ran to the back. Then Taker hit each Edgehead with Tombstone Piledrivers, giving Edge a chance to escape the casket and get to the entrance ramp to end Smackdown.

DARK MATCH:

(1) Ric Flair & Batista & The Undertaker defeated M.V.P. & The Big Show & Edge when Ric Flair made M.V.P. tap out to the figure-four. This dark match and the post-match promos were a great send-off for Flair in a town in Flair country where he had countless classic matches during his prime. The crowd was rabid for Flair during the match, with loud "Woos" any time he threw a chop, or almost any other move. Match went about 10 minutes. After the match, Flair received handshakes and hugs from Taker and Batista, then Batista got a mic and thanked Flair for inspiring and helping him during his career. Then Flair got the stick and gave heartfelt thanks, first to Taker and Batista for the respect they showed him, then to the fans in Fayetteville for their support over the years. Flair ended his promo with five scintillating "Woos".

BIGGEST POPS
1. Flair
2. The Undertaker
3. Batista
4. John Cena (when he was shown on the big screen)

MOST HEEL HEAT
1. Edge
2. M.V.P.
3. Vickie Guerrero
4. Chavo Guerrero

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