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 23, 2005
TAPED TUESDAY IN TUCSON, ARIZ.
BY WADE KELLER, PWTORCH EDITOR
-The show opened with a video featuring hyping the Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio feud. Then Michael Cole and Tazz introduced the show.
-Randy Orton walked out to his music. Cole called him the youngest World Heavyweight Champion ever. He and Brock Lesnar build a strong case for an age minimum for World Title matches. Boy, that Orton looks skinny. He really does look skinny. His clothes are practically falling off of his body. He said he’s made a career of making history. He said the legends he has faced so far have bowed to his greatness, such as Mick Foley, Harley Race, Shawn Michaels, and Ric Flair. He even touted that he defeated Chris Benoit to become the youngest world champion.
He turned his attention to Undertaker and blamed him for not making history at WrestleMania 21. He said he got his sweet revenge by being drafted to Smackdown and giving Taker the RKO during Taker’s match with JBL. They went to a clip from several angles of the RKO. Nice touch going to the multiple angles. He told the fans to chant Taker’s name all they want, but it doesn’t matter. As his music played, the big screen switched to footage of Undertaker defeating Orton with a Tombstone from multiple angles and scoring the pin.
Orton threw a fit. The lights went out and fog filled the ring. Taker then appeared inside the ring behind Orton. “Where did he come from,” asked Tazz. Taker made a move toward Orton, and Orton leaped out of the ring. Orton then tried to restore his dignity by telling the fans to go ahead and laugh. He told Taker they are going to do it next time on his terms. “You won’t know when, you won’t know where,” he said. “Undertaker, you’re just going to have to wait.”
[Commercial Break]
1 — HEIDNEREICH vs. JOEY MERCURY (w/Johnny Nitro, Melina)
They showed clips of last week’s incident involving these four. Mercury got control after a minute and settled into a chinlock. The ref checked to be sure it wasn’t a choke in an old-school moment. That used to be done every time a chinlock was applied and a big deal was almost always made of heels slipping it into a choke. At 2:45 Heidenreich made his no-sell comeback and gave Mercury the inverted atomic drop which as usual showed light. He then knocked Mercury to the floor. Melina slapped Heidenreich. Michelle McCool jumped Melina and they had a scuffle at ringside. With the ref distracted, Nitro superkicked Heidenreich and Mercury scored the pin.
WINNER: Mercury at 3:54.
STAR RATING: 1/2*
[Commercial Break]
-A pretaped Rey Mysterio promo aired. He said he wanted to end his thing with Eddie last week, so he hit him with repeated chairshots. “I couldn’t stop,” he said. “It felt so good. But he got away. But Eddie opened up a side of me I never thought existed. Tonight, I’m not going in to win a match. No, no, no. I’m going in for redemption.”
-Melina threw a fit and told Mercury and Nitro that she was going to challenge Michelle to a match. She said Michelle isn’t even a B-list diva. Mercury said she’s not a wrestler and should be cautious. Melina asked if they didn’t think she could win. The guys got agreeable and said she’d easily beat her. Melina said next week she’ll lose and then be known as Michelle McLoser. Are we seven years old?
-JBL knocked on Teddy Long’s door, then told Long that he deserves to be the WWE Champion. Long said he would be making a major announcement about the Smackdown Championship later. “And, dog, you’ll be pleased,” said Long. JBL got very happy. Long wouldn’t allow JBL into his office. JBL speculated the latest draft lottery draw was in there.
[Commercial Break]
-Cole plugged the latest Draft Lottery draw would be revealed later. They showed a graphic of all Raw wrestlers. What is Triple H doing front and center, with Batista standing behind him with the World Title belt?
2 — PAUL LONDON vs. CHAVO GUERRERO — Cruiserweight Title match
London charged to the ring at full blast. Chavo bailed out of the ring. Cole said this is becoming a rivalry. A fan held up a sign that said, “Carlito, please come back.” At 2:45, Psicosis, Super Crazy, and Juventud Guerrero rode to the ring on a riding mower and attacked London. Crazy nailed London with a moonsault. Then Psicosis hit his signature top rope legdrop. Juventud began unzipping his outfit, and fortunately he did have clothes underneath it, also. Juventud cut a promo in broken English. He said they aren’t just about washing toilets and crossing the river. Psicosis then named the riding mower, calling it the “Mexican Rider 2005.” Juvi said, “This is the beginning. This is our statement. Things are going to change. We are tired of working for you. Now Los Gringos are going to be working for us.” They all high-fived each other. He promised to take over Smackdown and America and the Cruiserweight Division. They concluded, “We are not Mexicans, we are Mexi-Cools.” Tazz wondered what that meant.
WINNER: No contest at 2:45.
STAR RATING: 3/4* — Okay action until yet another non-finish. London has some fresh opponents to work with. It’s rare that this much attention is given to the Cruiserweight Division, so it appears to be a good thing.
[Commercial Break]
-JBL walked out, expecting to be named the new Smackdown Champion. Booker T interrupted. JBL said he must be out there to congratulate him. Booker said he doesn’t believe JBL should be named Smackdown Champion, he should have to fight for it. Chris Benoit came out and wanted it to be a three-way. Then Big Show entered the mix, too. Eventually, Long said he was booking a five-person match next week for the Smackdown Championship with the other entrant being Undertaker.
Muhammad Hassan and Khosrow Daivari walked out to their music. Cole and Tazz figured that must mean Hassan is the latest draft pick. They didn’t address the obvious question of why Hassan’s tag partner/sidekick Daivari accompanied him. Hassan said he hasn’t felt any more welcome on Smackdown than on Raw. He complained about being left sitting in Long’s office. Hassan said Benoit never defeated him on Raw. He said Booker T, five-time WCW Champion, is a five-time loser.
He told Big Show he could beat him any night of the week. And he said JBL is like any other typical American, a big quitter. He said he should be in the Smackdown Title match next week. Long announced he was officially added. JBL shoved Hassan. Big Show picked up Daivari and threw him onto Hassan at ringside. Long then told Hassan that since he said he could beat Big Show any day of the week, how about tonight. He booked that singles match for after the break. Cole and Tazz talked matter of factly about how there will be a new Smackdown Championship.
I hope they don’t actually plan to create another title out of whole cloth like they’re suggesting. They’ve got to move one of the existing World Titles back to Smackdown or else the continuity and prestige of the belts is lost along with the drama of an eventual champion vs. champion match down the line. A big part of the payoff for the brand split was building toward an eventual champion vs. champion match. They’ve already messed that up badly by putting John Cena in a position on Raw to appear secondary to Batista’s title and not treating their coexisting on the same show as a bigger deal. But they can minimize the damage by moving Cena or Batista (or Hunter, Christian, or Jericho if one of them wins a title on Sunday) back to Smackdown next week.
[Commercial Break]
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
Check out the latest episode of “PWTorch ’90s Pastcast” with Patrick Moynahan and Alex McDonald, part of the PWTorch Dailycast line-up: CLICK HERE to stream (or search “wade keller” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe free)
3 — BIG SHOW vs. MUHAMMAD HASSAN
Matt Morgan joined Cole and Tazz on commentary. He said he wanted to scout Big Show. Morgan gave Cole a hard time for interrupting him. After a brief flurry by Hassan, Show fired back with a delayed vertical suplex. Morgan referred to himself as a verbal assassin. When Cole questioned Morgan, he stood up and struck a threatening pose. Morgan told Cole not to mouth off at him. Show nailed Hassan with one of those crazy loud slaps to the chest. Show tossed Daivari into the ring. Morgan then got up with a chair. Big Show was distracted by Morgan. Hassan blindsided Show with a chair, and then Hassan knocked Show throat-first into the chair for the pin.
WINNER: Hassan at 3:35.
STAR RATING: * — It’s funny how WWE had Hassan “do the time-honored tradition of doing a job on his way out” of Raw on his way to Smackdown earlier in the week, then gave him a “big win” tonight (tainted as it was) over Show to “get his credibility back.” On the soon-to-be-released Ultimate Insiders DVD #2, Matt Hardy jokes about his personal experience with the brand vs. brand attitude within WWE among the creative team where they actually do think of a wrestler switching brands as a reason to job someone out just as if they were jumping to a true rival territory.
[Commercial Break]
-Cole and Tazz talked about how it was a tainted, yet impressive debut for Hassan. Then they introduced a video feature on the Rey-Eddie feud.
-Backstage Guerrero said he can beat Rey Mysterio even though the people don’t believe he can. “I know what I’m capable of,” he said with a maniacal laugh. “Rey, I don’t think he knows what I’m capable of.”
[Commercial Break]
-The Raw Rebound aired.
4 — EDDIE GUERRERO vs. REY MYSTERIO
The match began with 30 minutes left in the show. No surprise they had a slow build in the opening minutes, circling each other and locking up, and then moving into mat exchanges. They cut to a break after a dive at ringside by Rey.
[Commercial Break]
Rey had control of the match with an abdominal stretch. The tone of the match changed dramatically at 10:00 when Guerrero refused to break clean against the ropes and, as Cole said, “a demonic force entered Guerrero.” He knocked Rey to the floor off the ropes and attacked Rey viciously at ringside. When Guerrero returned to the ring, Cole wondered aloud whether Rey could get back into the game. Then they cut to another break.
[Commercial Break]
Guerrero dominated Rey after the break. At 18:00 Rey teased a comeback, but Guerrero quickly regained control and continued to work over Rey’s back. At 21:00 Rey came back with a headscissors takedown. Then he dropkicked Eddie into position for the 619. Guerrero got up first and took Rey down with a clothesline. They continued to build toward the eventual Mysterio comeback like an NBA team down by 12-15 points for most of the game, just trying to reduce the lead to single digits. The big comeback began at 24:00 with a flurry of offense including a springboard off the second rope onto Guerrero for a two count. Guerrero fired back with the Three Amigos, but Rey came back with a 619 attempt. Guerrero ducked it and took over control once again, getting that proverbial lead back to 10 points. When he went for a frog splash, Rey moved. Rey then scored a two count at 27:00. Rey eventually did connect with the 619 which drew a nice pop. He followed with the Drop the Dime for the win. The show ended with Guerrero pasting on a smile to cover his disappointment in losing.
WINNER: Rey at 28:00.
STAR RATING: ***3/4 — A bit too slow paced and one-dimensional to reach four stars. That one-dimensional nature of the first 80 percent of the match worked well toward the finishing sequence and served the story they were trying to tell well, but it didn’t work toward the match being particularly exciting most of the time. If you’re a huge fan of Rey and got into his attempt to make a comeback, the match worked. If you were looking for an adrenaline rush from more hot spots and sequences and dramatic near falls earlier in the match, it wasn’t as effective.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.