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
JANUARY 27, 2006
TAPED JAN. 24
BY WADE KELLER, PWTORCH EDITOR
-The show opened with footage of last week’s show-closing angle where Daivari revealed he was now Mark Henry’s manager.
-After the Smackdown opening smontage, Michael Cole and Tazz introduced and previewed the show including Kurt Angle vs. MNM in a two-on-one match and Chris Benoit vs. Randy Orton in a falls count anywhere match.
1 — REY MYSTERIO vs. MARK HENRY
Rey attacked Henry as he walked into the ring. Henry, though, leveled Rey with a clothesline in the opening minute. Daivari joined Cole and Tazz at ringside. Cole asked Daivari what he is telling Henry about how to approach wrestling Angle. Daivari said Angle doesn’t listen to advice. Rey came back with a roundhouse kick to Henry’s left leg and then went for a DDT off the second rope. Henry caught Rey and powered him to the mat. Henry battered Rey for several minutes. When Rey retreated to ringside, Henry eventually went after him. Rey crawled under the ring and surprised Henry from behind. Henry gasped for breath and kicked the middle rope into Henry’s crotch as he reentered the ring. Rey followed with a slidekick and flipped Henry into the ring. At 7:45 Henry lifted Rey for a press slam, but Rey escaped and hit Henry with a 619. He followed with an attempt at the Drop the Dime, but Henry caught him and powerslammed him for a three count.
WINNER: Henry at 8:28.
STAR RATING: *1/2 — Good action again this week with Rey making the most out of wrestling essentially a big tree stump. I know they have to hype the Royal Rumble title match, but I’m surprised they’d sacrifice Rey like this with a clean job again to a short-term lug. It could damage some of the legitimacy Rey has built. Putting up “a good fight” really isn’t enough of a consolation when you’re losing to Henry.
[Commercial Break]
-Matt Hardy looked at the camera and said he knows he isn’t the odd-on favorite to win the Rumble. He said others may not believe in him, but he is driven by being an underdog. He said he is more driven than anyone to win on Sunday. He said, “As history has shown, Matt Hardy will not die.”
-Backstage, Orton approached Booker T and Sharmell. Booker and Sharmell laughed about all the chops Orton has absorbed from Benoit in recent weeks. Booker told him to drop Benoit like a bad habit tonight. Orton told Booker he may owe him a favor, but he doesn’t want it tonight because he can beat Benoit on his own. Orton told Booker he looks good with the title. Orton then told Booker that if they’re the last two in the Rumble, he may cash in on his favor. Sharmell didn’t like that suggestion.
-A highlight video aired of WWE’s tour of Mexico. Rey said 13 years later he is returning to Mexico a grown man. They showed El Hijo Del Santo in the front row. They showed Benoit reacting emotionally to chants for Eddie Guerrero.
-Super Crazy and Psicosis came to the ring for the four-way tag match which was scheduled next.
[Commercial Break]
2 — THE DICKS vs. SUPER CRAZY & PSICOSIS vs. PAUL LONDON & BRIAN KENDRICK vs. VITO & NUNZIO
WINNERS: Mexicools when Psicosis pinned Nunzio at 4:10 to earn slots in the 30 man Rumble.
STAR RATING: * — A poor man’s TNA opening PPV match. Just didn’t have time to even qualify as a spotfest.
-Another video aired hyping the return of Rob Van Dam. I’m surprised at the hype he’s receiving. Not that it’s not smart, but it seems WWE is more willing to get behind RVD now. Maybe the effects of the reception he received and the promo he cut at the ECW PPV are paying off with some faith being shown.
[Commercial Break]
-A clip aired of Chris Benoit’s Royal Rumble win.
3 — RANDY ORTON vs. CHRIS BENOIT
The first two minutes of this No Holds Barred grudge match was fought ROH Pure Wrestling style, then they cut to a break.
[Commercial Break]
The pace didn’t pick up much, although they did fight at ringside briefly at 8:00. Orton settled into a chinlock. He hit Benoit with a high dropkick and then grabbed a trash can lid from under the ring in the first real sign of the No Holds Barred stip. When he grabbed a trash can, Benoit clipped him from behind and then rammed his face into the steps. He followed with some of the stiff chops that Booker and Sharmell commented on earlier, then tossed Orton over the announcers’ table. Orton managed to fight back with a thumb to the eye and then dropped Benoit onto the announcers’ table. Orton took a big swing with a chair, but Benoit ducked. They brawled up the aisle at 16:00. Benoit got the better of the battle with a barrage of chops. Back in the ring, Benoit went for a Crossface, but Orton blocked it. They tumbled to the floor. Orton, clutching his left arm, grabbed a trash can again. He bashed Benoit over the skull with it. Benoit fell face-first to the mat. They cut to another break.
[Commercial Break]
Back from the break, Orton had Benoit in a chinlock. Benoit fought out of it, but when he hit Orton with a chop, Orton poked him in the eyes again and then took Benoit down with a backbreaker. They fought to ringside again, where Orton bashed Benoit in the chest with a series of forearms. He ripped the mat up at ringside and went for a piledriver. Benoit blocked it and backdropped Orton to the exposed cement floor. Benoit then searched for a chair and found one. He swung at Orton, but Orton moved out of the way before it made contact. Orton kicked the chair away from Benoit in the ring, but Benoit immediately hit a series of german suplexes. Benoit signalled for and executed a top rope headbutt, but Orton put a trash can lid in the path of Benoit’s forehead. Orton then stalked Benoit from behind and sprung into an RKO attempt. Benoit avoided it and surprised Orton with a trash can shot, then applied the Crippler Crossface. Orton teased tapping, then did.
WINNER: Benoit via tapout at 27:19.
STAR RATING: ***1/2 — Good match. Started slow for a no hold barred match, and had its slow moments, but all in all it came through with some solid spots, nice transitions, just enough big signature moves, and a clean finish. It lacks the drama of a series of near falls at the end that would elevate this to closer to four stars.
[Commercial Break]
-Animal yelled at us about how he’s done everything in his career he set out to do except win the Royal Rumble. Save it. A lot more people believe Hardy has a chance than Animal. I’m all for good-faith efforts to try to make it seem that more than four guys have a chance to win the Rumble, but Animal?
4 — FIT FINLAY vs. FUNAKI
This is how Finlay should have debuted, against someone he could dominate and show off his offense against. Last week’s Hardy match was a good house show match, but a wrong TV match. Tazz said the locker room is taking note of this “tough Irish bastard.” Finlay attacked Funaki after scoring the pin. The ref then reversed the decision, extending Finlay’s DQ losing streak. Finlay took out the DQ on the ring announcer. Finlay then asked the ref over the house mic what’s wrong with him. He said he’s sick of the frail big-headed Americans. “I’m not here to get along. I’m not here to fit in. This is what I do. I fight. So get over your anxieties and your ailments. I’m not going away,” he said. “This is just the beginning. I won’t stop, so remember this, and remember by name – Finlay.” He gave Funaki another finisher. Cole said Finlay should look into anger management.
WINNER: Finlay at 2:00.
STAR RATING: 1/2*
-JBL told Jillian Hall backstage he’s not afraid of the Boogeyman. Hall said the mental anguish is getting to her because whenever she closes her eyes, she sees Boogeyman grabbing her face and biting it. She asked JBL if he ever noticed she had a small birthmark on her face. JBL unconvincingly said he didn’t notice. She said he bit it off her face. JBL told Hall to stand by his side and she will take care of him the entire time. I guess if she didn’t know everyone had noticed her tumor, she wouldn’t know that JBL routinely uses her as a human shield.
[Commercial Break]
-Bobby Lashley cut a brief, soft-spoken promo saying he will win the Rumble and go on to win the World Hvt. Title. WWE should fly in Lance Russell just to interview Lashley because he has tons of practice with his type. Cole said Lashley may be the true dark horse of the Rumble.
5 — SCOTTY 2 HOTTY vs. JBL (w/Jillian Hall)
JBL looked under the ring to check for Boogeyman. He went to work on Scotty at the start with a series of punches. I wonder if Boogeyman is going to try to eat Scotty’s finisher? Scotty scored with a superkick out of nowhere and then signalled for The Worm. JBL interrupted his ridiculous pre-move routine with a Clothesline from Hell. Just as he was going to finish the match, the ringposts began to spew red fog. JBL looked around in a panic for Boogeyman. Worms began dropping from the rafters into center ring. Then as JBL freaked out at the worms, Boogeyman showed up at ringside. He did his little dance and then JBL turned around. He walked on the stack of worms and then slipped onto the pile of thousands of them. Where does one buy thousands of worms? Boogeyman scooped up the worms and stuffed his mouth with them.
WINNER: No contest at 2:30.
STAR RATING: 1/4* — Not much to the match before the non-finish. The worms were gross. Is there an organization that looks out for humane treatment of worms? If there is, they should be all over WWE! The JBL-Boogeyman feud is what you’d expect, with JBL playing a great foil for the bizarre and entertaining Boogeyman.
-The Raw Rebound aired.
-Long was reading Smackdown magazine backstage when Melina walked in. She came on to Long and said she wanted to talk business. She said she had something to show Long. She began unzipping her boot seductively. Long said it was inappropriate. She revealed her taped ankle and got bitchy instantly. She blamed Long for allowing Angle to put him in the Anklelock. She said he did nothing in response to Angle or to Batista’s sexual harassment. Melina told Long that he has two strikes against him “and don’t make it three.”
[Commercial Break]
-Mark Henry cut a backstage promo predicting he’ll beat Angle at the Rumble.
-Cole and Tazz previewed the entire Rumble line-up.
-Kurt Angle’s ring introduction took place.
[Commercial Break]
6 — KURT ANGLE vs. MERCURY & NITRO (w/Melina)
They joined the match “just underway” after the break. Pretty basic stuff with Angle controlling the match early with matwork, then Melina distracting the ref leading to MNM double-teaming. MNM controlled most of the match for the next several minutes with double-teaming moves. MNM went for their finisher, but Angle suplexed both of them off of him. Mercury fell to ringside where Melina handed him a foreign object. Angle took Nitro down with a clothesline and a released overhead suplex. As Melina distracted the ref, Mercury took Nitro’s place in the match (they’ve been studying Killer Bee tapes) and hit Angle with an uppercut and scored a near fall. Melina screamed when Angle kicked out. Mercury complained to the ref about the pace of the count, then pounded the mat in frustration. Angle then hit his Angleslam on Mercury, then tossed Nitro over the top rope to the floor. Angle then applied the Ankelock for the tapout win. As Angle celebrated, Henry came out. Angle waited for him. They brought briefly, and Angle gave Henry an Angleslam, then applied the Anklelock. Henry powered out, giving fans an indication that he just may be invincible on Sunday. Angle looked bug-eyed at what just happened. Tazz and Cole pointed out Angle had just wrestled a grueling match. Nevertheless, good paint-by-numbers hype for Sunday’s title match.
WINNER: Angle in 9:30.
STAR RATING: ** — Average match.
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