SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
The following report originally published 20 years ago this week here at PWTorch.com…
WWE FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN
JUNE 9, 2005
TAPED TUESDAY IN KANSAS CITY, MO.
BY WADE KELLER, PWTORCH EDITOR
-The went right to Teddy Long standing in the ring without the usual opening clips and montage. He said Monday’s Raw changed the face of Smackdown. They went to a clip of John Cena being introduced on Raw. Cole said Cena had a great career on Smackdown and enjoyed himself, but is sure to have a great future career on Raw. Long, responding to boos from the fans, said he too was disappointed. He said now that Smackdown is without a champion, he had an announcement. JBL’s music interrupted. He walked to the ring and told Long that it’s too bad Cena is gone “because we’ll never have a chance to find out who is the better man.”
JBL said he saw in the faces of other wrestlers fear and uncertainty because Smackdown is without a champion. He made a case for himself being appointed the new champion. Hey, it worked for Triple H when Eric Bischoff appointed him World Heavyweight Champion on Raw. “Smackdown need me,” said JBL. “I have carried this show for over a year, and I’m willing to do it a little longer. I’m willing to let you name me the world champion of Smackdown.” Long responded, “What you need to do is shut up and listen.” He said he consulted with Vince McMahon and the decision is there will be no decision about the champion until the draft is completed at the end of the month. JBL wasn’t happy.
Long then introduced the new addition to Smackdown. “It gets no better than this. I’m talking about a man who has main evented WrestleMania and been a former World Heavyweight Champion. This man is back at home. Ladies and gentlemen, show your love for Chris Benoit.” He walked out with a smile on his face. Cole and Tazz celebrated the announcement. JBL told Benoit that Smackdown was his show. Benoit said he was psyched to be there. He said JBL has accomplished a lot, including proving he is a quitter. “A man who quits want to be given a champion? You want to be made the champion? I’m here to fight for it,” said Benoit. “Now that I’m here on Smackdown, things are going to begin changing—now.”
JBL said they’ve gotten off to a bad start. He said he was there when Benoit won the IWGP Championship in Japan and the World Hvt. Championship in Madison Square Garden. He told him that he is a Hall of Famer, but he will never be a champion on Smackdown. He then turned to ripping on Benoit for promoting ECW. “It’s like Wolfgang Puck bragging about working at Jack in the Box.” He said ECW wrestlers have been bagging groceries at Albertson’s in recent years. He made fun of Balls. “We’ve got Thesz, Race, Patterson, Brisco, and… Balls,” said JBL. “You really want to be associated with a company like that. If you join then, Chris, you will see Angle, Bischoff, my cabinet, the entire crusade, we will see to it that it is the worst decision of your life.”
Benoit said there is nothing he regrets about his career, including ECW. “I’d much rather watch a man walk around the ring with a steel chair as opposed to a man with a dress coat and tie begging, pleading for a championship he doesn’t deserve. You quit.” He challenged JBL to a match later on the show. JBL told Long to explain to Benoit that “this is my show.” Long said, “This is not your show, it’s the people’s show.” Long made the one-on-one match official. JBL took a cheap shot at Benoit, but Benoit ducked and went for a quick Crossface. JBL bailed out of the ring. That was one of Benoit’s better promos in a long time. He seemed rejuvenated. It helps to work opposite of JBL, who remains really strong in his mic work.
-Cole and Tazz plugged the Kurt Angle vs. Booker T match for later.
[Commercial Break]
1 — CHARLIE HAAS (w/Hardcore Holly) vs. CARLITO COOL (w/Matt Morgan)
Cole said that if Hardcore Holly has been “pound for pound” the toughest wrestler on Smackdown, Chris Benoit will give him a run for his money in that department. How does Cole define “pound for pound, the toughest”? Benoit has won major singles titles, Holly has not. Which wrestlers who are bigger than Holly and Benoit are tougher, since “pound for pound” by definition implies in condescending fashion that bigger wrestlers are tougher than Benoit and Holly. Who are they? At 3:30 Haas showed this really strange fire with bizarre screams, then dove at Morgan at ringside, coming up short. Back in the ring seconds later, Carlito scored a pin with a roll up and a handful of tights.
WINNER: Carlito at 3:50.
STAR RATING: 1/2*
-Cole said not only was Cena’s jump shocking, but so was ECW invading and “literally taking over Raw.” Once again, this shows why Invasion angles where the invaders are babyfaces (rather than heels, as in the case of the Outsiders), it puts the main core promotion in a tough position of being portrayed as the bad guys. They went to a clip of the show-closing angle with ECW on Monday. Cole and Tazz wondered if Long had invited anyone from ECW to Smackdown.
[Commercial Break]
-They showed Heidenreich pitching to Benoit that they become best friends. Benoit’s facial expression was priceless. Eddie Guerrero approached Benoit and told him how great it was that he was back at Smackdown. “Do you realize the last time the two of us were together in the ring was WrestleMania 20?” asked Guerrero. Guerrero said that if the board of directors should decide to match them against each other for the new Smackdown title, they would still remain close friends. Benoit told Guerrero he sees how he treats his friends and he would prefer to face Rey Mysterio, since Rey seems to be the one person Guerrero can’t beat.
-Kurt Angle cut a promo backstage saying he couldn’t understand how anyone would have a problem with what he did last week. He said what surprised him was that last week, after he scored the pin, Sharmell clutched on to him and wouldn’t let me go. “I looked deep into your eyes and noticed a chemistry there, something you never felt before and something I never felt before.” He concluded, “To the victor go the spoils. When I make you tap out, your wife is going to come home to daddy.”
[Commercial Break]
2 — PAUL LONDON vs. AKIO — Cruiserweight Title
Cole touted the Cruiserweight Division, saying you can only see these guys on Smackdown, not Raw. Then about a minute into the match, Eddie Guerrero’s music played and he walked out. He entered the ring with a mic while London and Akio fought in the corner. London dropkicked Akio into Guerrero. Guerrero tossed him out of the ring. London confronted Guerrero. Guerrero tossed London out of the ring. London re-entered the ring. Guerrero threw him out again. London entered again. Tazz called him tenacious. Guerrero threw him out again. Guerrero then went on a rant about how it’s disrespectful of the fans to say he can’t be Rey Mysterio. He then glorified the beatings he’s given to Rey.
WINNER: No decision at 2:00.
STAR RATING: n/a — Another example of Smackdown having, but not really having, the Cruiserweight Division. They find new and creative ways all the time to disrespect its potential. At least they gave London a chance to show fighting spirit by going after Guerrero four times.
[Commercial Break]
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
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3 — KURT ANGLE vs. BOOKER T (w/Sharmell)
Before the match Angle said he was giving Tazz until the end of the show to make a decision about whether he sides with ECW or Smackdown. When Cole asked Tazz for a response, Tazz said he doesn’t answer to Angle and was just going to do his job, leaving ambiguity over whether he’s loyal to ECW or not. They went back and forth for several minutes, then cut to a break when Booker backdropped Angle over the top rope to the floor.
[Commercial Break]
Back from the break, Booker was breaking out of a bearhug. Angle went for an Angle Slam. Booker blocked it and executed the Book End. Angle came back, dropped his strap, and applied an Anklelock. Booker powered out and hit a Spinebuster. Booker then showed fire, got on his knees, and executed the Spinaroonie. Cole called it an “emotional Spinaroonie.” Booker followed with a scissors kick for a two count. Angle came back with an Anklelock. Booker crawled toward the bottom rope to force a break just inches from Sharmell. He finally re3ached the rope and forced the break. Angle then chased after Sharmell at ringside. Angle tossed aside ring announcer Tony Chimmel. Angle brought a chair into the ring and bashed Booker’s leg at 16:15. He told Sharmell to watch. Angle swung the chair, but Booker ducked, and the chair bounced off the top rope and into his own head. Sharmell laughed. Booker followed up with a scissor kick for the win.
WINNER: Booker at 17:29.
STAR RATING: ***1/4 — Good match. No disrespect to Booker, but what Angle has been able to bring out of Booker in this feud is a real testament to how great a worker he is. Booker has risen to the occasion. Cole and Tazz did a nice job addressing that Booker has managed to control his rage against Angle, which explains why he’s been wrestling Angle rather than trying to just tear him apart.
[Commercial Break]
-As Angle left the ring, Tazz said Angle’s tail was tucked between his legs just as it should be. Angle grabbed a chair from ringside and then demanded an answer from Tazz. Tazz took off his headset. Angle said Tazz is going to give him the answer he wants, or else he’s going to take the chair, unfold it, and sit down right next to him until he gives him an answer. Angle sat down, then after a minute got up, pretended to leave, and then jumped Tazz with a mic and bashed his head with a chair. He trash-talked Tazz as Cole called his a lunatic. Tazz came up bleeding from the forehead.
[Commercial Break]
-They replayed Angle attacking Tazz, then showed Tazz being helped to the back. Cole then went bananas, saying someone has to do something about Angle.
4 — HEIDENREICH vs. RORY FOX
Heidenreich won very quickly, then brought a grown woman into the ring to read her a diasterpiece poem.
WINNER: Heidenreich at 0:20.
STAR RATING: n/a
-The Raw Rebound aired.
-Chimmel announced that Paul Heyman had been invited to be the guest commentator for the main event to fill in for Tazz. Heyman walked out with his ECW crew including The Dudleys, Tommy Dreamer, Rhyno, and Sandman.
[Commercial Break]
5 — CHRIS BENOIT vs. JBL
Heyman said Cole shouldn’t group WWE on a whole with the crusaders led by Eric Bischoff, Kurt Angle, and JBL. He said JBL’s rants don’t bother him because JBL is just bitter since he begged for a job with ECW in 1995, 1996, 1997, and 1998, and he turned him down each time. Heyman tried to defect the notion that there was any reason to praise Benoit for not backing down from his ECW roots, which Cole seemed to think was some sort of brave gesture on Benoit’s part. When Benoit applied the Sharpshooter, The Bashams and Orlando Jordan attempted to interfere. Benoit released the Sharpshooter and fended them off. Carlito and Morgan joined the Cabinet at ringside.
[Commercial Break]
I think Heyman said the crusaders wanted to stop the “erection” of ECW. I hadn’t picked up on that one. Heyman threw in some smooching of the boss’s ass by saying, “Was Vince McMahon scared when Ted Turner was throwing his billions at him.” Eric Bischoff was portrayed as the sole heel of the Monday Night War era and the reason ECW went out of business. Heyman said if Bischoff had the guts to show up Sunday, he’d pay a big price. Benoit made his comeback at 11:45. Heyman said he is proud of Benoit’s association with ECW. At 12:30 Angle walked to ringside. Benoit saw him, then climbed to the top rope and hit the diving headbutt for a near fall. When Benoit applied the Crossface, Angle charged into the ring and attacked Benoit. That brought everyone into the ring. Rhyno hit a gore. Dreamer hit a Death Valley Driver. Sandman used his cane. Tazz then made his way to the ring followed by Axl Rotten and Balls Mahoney. Tazz put Danny Basham in the Tazmission. Axl and Balls gave Morgan stereo chairshots. The Dudleys then gave the 3D to Jordan. The ECW gang celebrated in center ring as Angle and the Smackdown troops backed down.
WINNERS: No contest in 13:00.
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