411’s WWE Smackdown Report 06.19.09

My name is Alexander Miezin and I normally do the TNA Impact Reports, but this week the regular WWE Smackdown reviewer was unavailable so I will be doing the review for this weeks show.

At ringside for tonight is of course Jim Ross and Todd Grisham.

Tonight’s card features two huge main events:

Non-Title: Chris Jericho vs. Jeff Hardy
Non-Title: CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio

Josh Matthews is standing in the ring going over the announcement made by Smackdown GM Teddy Long for the The Bash which will feature Jeff Hardy challenging for the World Heavyweight Championship against CM Punk. Crowd is erupting for the Rainbow Warrior. Grisham mentions the Ladder Match from Extreme Rules against Edge. They show footage from the match in which Jeff Hardy won to win the World Heavyweight Championship. Grisham says it was an amazing moment. Footage of CM Punk’s cashing in of the Money in the Bank contract is shown. I can watch that footage forever. Even if the crowd’s reaction was awful, it was a great moment. They then show footage of the triple threat match from RAW this past Monday. They showcase Punk’s injured leg. Jeff says at The Bash he will beat CM Punk at the Bash. Matthews tells Jeff Hardy to welcome CM Punk. Punk’s music hits and he comes out. Crowd’s reaction is kind of iffy. Just turn him 100% heel already. Please. Matthews tells Punk that he stole a victory from Jeff Hardy on RAW and at Extreme Rules. Punk says that he cashed in on an opportunity and takes offense to being accused of “stealing” the World Heavyweight Championship from Jeff Hardy and winning on RAW as well. Punk mentions that he doesn’t need to be anyone’s friend in the ring. Jeff tells Punk that they live completely different lives. What an understatement. Matthews wants to hear the crowds reaction. The crowd cheers loud for Jeff Hardy. Half of the crowd boos for CM Punk. We go to commercial, but up next is Jeff Hardy vs. Chris Jericho!

Match One: Non-Title: Chris Jericho vs. Jeff Hardy

This one should be a doozy. Jim Ross calls it a Main Event. Hard to argue there. Grisham mentions Jericho’s victory over Rey Mysterio from RAW on Monday. Jericho gets Jeff in a headlock then shoulder blocks him to the canvas. Jeff Hardy catches Jericho with a dropkick to the face and whips him into the corner following with a clothesline. Jeff misses a dropkick as Chris Jericho rolls away. Jericho connects with a suplex and yells at the crowd. He covers Hardy and gets a two count. Hardy punches back, but runs into an abdominal stretch. Jeff is wincing in pain. Jericho is yelling for Hardy to give up. Hardy hip tosses Jericho over. Clothesline by Jeff. Legdrop to the groin followed by a two count. Jericho counters misses a clothesline and Jeff Hardy hits the Whisper in the Wind for a nearfall! Hardy misses a dropkick again and is almost caught in the Walls of Jericho. Jeff goes for the Twist of Fate, but Jericho counters with a back suplex. Lionsault misses from Jericho. Jeff hits a facebuster and goes to the top rope. Jericho rolls to the floor avoiding Jeff, but Jeff jumps off the top to the floor, but Jericho sidesteps Jeff Hardy and Hardy crashes into the security wall. Jericho throws him into the wall multiple times. Mysterio comes out of the crowd and hurricanrana’s Jericho on the outside of the ring! He sits back down next to a bunch of other midgets in the front row. They all look like each other. Jericho ends up counted out on the floor and Jeff Hardy is the winner. Boo.

Winner: Jeff Hardy via countout.
Match Thoughts: **. Pretty short match, but it was good. Lots of counters. I’m not a fan of the finish though.

Jeff hits Jericho with a Twist of Fate after the match and a Swanton Bomb. Hardy celebrates. They show Mysterio’s interference from the front row in the crowd. Would’ve been funnier if the person sitting behind Rey pulled his mask off.

Layla, Eve Torres, and Maria are backstage fighting over hairspray. Dolph Ziggler approaches them. They call him dumb rhyming names. Maria calls him Don Zimmer. They call him Marky Mark and he leaves. Rightfully so.

Match Two: Dolph Ziggler vs. The Great Khali w/Runjin Singh

This should be another epic battle. I don’t really like Khali as a babyface. They’re just making him look stupid. Singh dances on the way to the ring. Bell sounds and we are underway. Ziggler punches Khali in the face and tries to leave the ring. Khali headbutts Khali and chops him HARD in the chest. Khali hits a big boot on Ziggler. Another vicious chop to the chest of Ziggler from Khali. Khali grabs the throat of Ziggler, but Ziggler fights out and starts chopblocking the legs of Khali. He hits a Fameasser type of move, but it looked horrible. Khali kicks out of a pin attempt. Ziggler pulls Singh to the apron and goes and gets a chair. He throws the chair at Khali, but Khali punches it and Ziggler falls to the ground. The referee turns around and Khali has the chair in his hand. RIP Eddie Guerrero. The referee disqualifies The Great Khali and Dolph Ziggler picks up the victory.

Winner: Dolph Ziggler by disqualification.
Match Thoughts: 1/4*. Dumb match. Not a very creative finish. Only Eddie was fit for this type of ending.

A replay of the ending to the match is shown with Charles Robinson disqualifying Khali. Ziggler sells the “chair shot”.

Still to come tonight. . .CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio.

WWE Champion Randy Orton is on the cover of the new WWE Magazine.

Recap of RAW is shown with Donald Trump‘s purchasing of RAW. Bad idea if you ask me. Real bad idea. Remember RAW is COMMERCIAL FREE on Monday.

WWE Women’s Champion Melina comes out prepared for a singles match. New match signed for The Bash as it will be Melinavs. Michelle McCool w/Alicia Fox for the WWE Women’s Championship.

Match Three: Non-Title: Melina vs. Alicia Fox w/Michelle McCool

Fox starts off dominating this match surprisingly and gets Melina in a body scissors. Where is DJ Gabriel? Random resthold thirty seconds into the match. Melina finds herself in almost a camel clutch variation. She escapes and slaps Fox in the face. She hits a reverse powerbomb type maneuver for the victory.

McCool attacks Melina after the match and absolutely destroys Melina’s face with a kick. Wow. McCool says she will humiliate Melina at the Bash and Melina’s cameramen will get the footage. McCool says she will be the first diva to be the Divas Champion and the Women’s Champion. Undertaker must be so proud of her.

Up next: John Morrison vs. Edge! This should be amazing!

We come back from commercial with Edge already in the ring with a microphone. I cannot wait for this match. Hopefully it doesn’t disappoint. Edge says he was robbed of his contractually mandated rematch with the World Heavyweight Champion and the triple threat match doesn’t count. He says instead of getting his rematch he is facing off tonight with John Morrison. Edge tells the fans that Morrison shouldn’t even be able to breathe the same air as him. Morrison’s music hits and he interrupts. Morrison comes out with a smile from ear to ear. Ross says this is Morrison’s biggest match of his career. Morrison has a microphone as well. Edge tells Morrison that is just trying to be him and asks if he’s Sigfried or Roy. Greatness. Morrison says he can’t remember the last time Edge said anything entertaining and he used to be innovative and entertaining. Morrison tells Edge that he’s predictable and is the same every week. He’s got a point I suppose. A bunch of Canadian insults are thrown out at Edge. Morrison tells Edge that he dresses goofy and has a bobblehead. Morrison calls himself the “Friday Night Delight”. Oh we’ve switched days now. We head to commercial.

Match Four: Edge vs. John Morrison

We’re back and the match begins with both men circling each other. Edge backs Morrison into the corner, but Morrison shoves Edge down. Morrison begins working over the arm of Edge, but Edge gets to the ropes forcing a break on the hammerlock. Edge looks at Morrison in disgust. They lock up again with this time Edge working on Morrison’s arm. Morrison fireman carries Edge over. Ross compares Morrison to Shawn Michaels. Morrison targets the arm of Edge. Edge backs Morrison into the corner again and punches Morrison in the head twice. Irish whip and Edge charges in, but misses and a Ricky Steamboat-esque armdrag by Morrison follows. That looked smooth. Edge catches Morrison with a knee in the gut after Morrison ran off the ropes. A kick to the ribs by Edge follows. Edge taunts the crowd. More boots to the chest of Morrison. Edge is starting to slow the pace down a little bit. More knees to the back and ribs from Edge. Edge spikes Morrison’s throat on the top ropes, but Morrison rolls back in the ring. Edge punches and hammer fists the ribs of Morrison some more. Good psychology here. Irish whip by Edge throwing Morrison back first into the turnbuckles. Morrison collapses in pain. Edge punches Morrison again and chokes him over the middle rope. While Morrison is leaning into the middle rope, Edge runs off the ropes and cross body’s Morrison for a two count. Edge charges in on an Irish whip in the corner, but is met with a boot and a dropkick for a two count! Morrison goes to the top rope, but Edge slams Morrison’s sternum on the top rope as we head to commercial break. Morrison’s ribs look hurt.

Edge has a reverse bearhug on Morrison when we come back. They show replays of what happened before the break. Edge taunts the crowd again and goes back to the reverse bearhug attacking the ribs of John Morrison. Morrison begins rocking back and forth trying to escape the hold. Morrison gets back to his feet and throws elbows that connect. Right hand by Morrison and another. Dropkick by Morrison into Edge’s face and Morrison drops to the mat as well selling the ribs hurting. Referee applies the count on both. Edge charges in, but gets a backbreaker. Irish whip, Edge leaps, but misses. Knee by Morrison to the face for a two count! That looked stiff. Edge gets to his feet and climbs to the top. Morrison is back to his feet and Pele’ kicks Edge to the floor. AJ Styles is angry. Morrison slides to the floor and head scissors Edge to the ground. He rolls him back in for a two count. Great match thus far. Morrison tries a springing bodyblock, but misses. Edge applies the SHARPSHOOTER!!! Somewhere Bret Hart is smiling. Morrison fights and gets to the ropes! Morrison cradles Edge for a nearfall. Edge misses a boot and Morrison connects with a side Russian legsweep. Morrison attemps Starship Pain, but Edge hits Morrison in the back. A couple of shots by Edge to the back follow. Edge clobbers away at Morrison’s head. Morrison in a tree-of-woe position and Edge charges in and misses. Morrison rolls him up for two with Edge powering Morrison into the ringpost shoulder first. Edge is setting up the Spear. Morrison leapfrogs him and hits a flying boot to the face for a VERY close nearfall. Morrison picks Edge up and tries Moonlight Drive, but Edge counters with an Impaler DDT for a two count! Edge sends Morrison off the ropes, but Morrison counters into a DDT of his own for two! Morrison goes for Starship Pain again and misses. Edge spears Morrison and pins him!

Winner: Edge by pinfall.
Match Thoughts: ****1/4. Absolutely amazing match. Really proves that Morrison can work the WWE Heavyweight style. This match needs to be watched by any wrestling fan. The selling of the ribs was great by Morrison. Awesome free TV match!

Replays of the match are shown and they deserve it. Tonight we still have Punk vs. Mysterio! We head to a commercial break.

Match Five: Shelton Benjamin, Charlie Haas, and Ricky Ortiz vs. R-Truth, Shad, and JTG

It’s good to see Cryme Tyme and the World’s Greatest Tag Team in action. Kind of a downgrade for Benjamin though. R-Truth does his normal rapping entrance with JTG and Shad yelling “Whats Up!”. R-Truth is really over. Ortiz starts with JTG. Ortiz now wrestles in tights instead of his pants. Knees by Ortiz to JTG to start the match. JTG drops down and hits Ortiz in the throat. He gets a fast two count. Shad tags himself in and hits the back of Ortiz. Knees to the face follow. Ortiz retaliates with a knee to the stomach, but Shad fights back. Shad eventually gets crotched on the top rope attempting a big boot. Ortiz stomps away. Haas hits Shad with the referee’s back turned. Ortiz covers and gets a two count. Ortiz is going after the leg now of Shad and slams it. Ortiz tags in Haas who continues the attack on the leg. Haas back him into the corner and kicks away and punches at the left leg of Shad. Shad comes back and tags in R-Truth. Haas tags in Benjamin. Benjamin catches R-Truth and slams him. He tries the Paydirt, but it’s blocked. R-Truth punches Benjamin. Splits by R-Truth into a back kick get him a two count. All six men begin brawling all around the ring. Benjamin climbs to the top and misses a leap, no real move attempt. R-Truth hits a Corkscrew Spinning Elbow to pin Benjamin! Wow, who’d he anger?

Winners: R-Truth, JTG, and Shad when R-Truth pinned Shelton Benjamin.
Match Thoughts: *3/4. Good enough action. R-Truth is really over though. I’d love to see him get the push that he deserves.

We head to a commercial break. 12 Rounds DVD is in stores on June 30th for anyone interested. I still haven’t seen it.

Back from commercial with Rey’s entrance. They air footage of Mysterio’s earlier interference in the Hardy and Jericho match. I’m looking forward to Punk vs. Mysterio tonight. If this is anything like their Armageddon 2008 match then we’re in for a classic. Rey has the microphone and says last month he was jumped by Jericho while Jericho was wearing his mask. Tonight Rey tells Jericho he got payback and it felt great. Rey informs Jericho that it’s not over yet and he wants the Intercontinental Championship. He issues a challenge for match at the Bash for the Intercontinental Championship. Jericho’s music plays and he comes out to the top of the ramp. Jericho tells Rey that Rey just doesn’t get it. He says that since Rey lost, he’s not gonna give him the chance. Rey says he knows he lost. Jericho tells Rey that the people in the arena know nothing and he knows what’s best for the crowd and Rey Mysterio. Jericho wants to set Mysterio free from the lies that Rey created. He calls Rey oblivious and he is Rey’s savior. Jericho says that Mysterio is an addict and the masks are his drug. Wow that sounded absolutely dubbed in. Great job WWE editing crew. It barely even sounded like Jericho. Rey tells Jericho to shut up. Mysterio’s tells Jericho to talk trash about him all night, but he will not insult the people in the crowd. Rey says he wears the mask for his heritage and his family. Or Vince McMahon. Mysterio says he’s ashamed that Jericho is Intercontinental Champion. Jericho tells Mysterio that he will take off the mask and take it off forever. Jericho says to Mysterio that if he wants a shot at the Intercontinental Championship, then Rey Mysterio will put up his mask. It will be a Mask vs. Title match at the Bash. People act like they haven’t seen Rey without his mask before. Rey Mysterio accepts the challenge. Mysterio’s music hits as we head to commercial break.

Match Six: Non-Title: CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio

Chris Jericho is at ringside with Jim Ross and Todd Grisham for this match. Punk gets a mixed reaction. They show a graphic for the Jeff Hardy vs. CM Punk World Heavyweight Championship Match at The Bash. Jericho says he wants the World Heavyweight Championship, but first Rey’s mask. Punk and Rey lock up to start the match. Punk slaps Rey into a headlock. Rey eats a shoulder to the chest. Rey then dropkicks Punk in the knee. A one person, “Let’s Go Punk!” chant can be heard. Smart man. Rey kicks the thigh and hamstring area of Punk. Punk throws Rey into the top turnbuckle. Punk kicks Rey in the back and covers. He gets two. Punk sets up a powerbomb, but Rey falls out and gets Punk trapped on the ropes in 619 position. Rey charges, but Punk rolls to the floor as we head to a commercial break.

We’re back and Rey charges in, but Punk dodges and Rey hits the post. Punk rolls him up and gets a two count. Punk has Rey in a seated hammerlock delivering elbows to Mysterio’s head. Rey battles his way back up with elbows and kicks. Rey runs into Punk and Punk elevates Rey into the air and onto the mat. Punk covers and gets two. Back to the armlock by Punk. Punk sunset flips Rey, but Rey stands up and dropkicks Rey in the face. Jericho uses big words commentating. I might need a dictionary soon. The crowd chants for the 619. Kicks are exchanged. Mysterio’s battles with kicks. He hits a springboard crossbody and gets a two count! Punk eats a boot and a tilt-a-whirl. Boot to Punk’s head, but Punk gets up and setup into 619 position again. Rey flips over the top rope. He springs off the top rope and hits a seated move on Punk for a two count.
Punk dropkicks Rey in the face and covers for two. Very nearfall. Both men get back to their feet. Running knee to Mysterio’s head connects. Rey throws Punk off into 619 position again, but Punk eludes it. Rey rolls and falls on top of Punk for a two count. The crowd is chanting for Rey. Springboard from Rey, but Punk catches him and goes for the Go to Sleep. Punk tosses Rey to the floor. Jericho throws Jericho into the ringpost head first! Jericho runs back to the table. Punk tells the referee to count Rey out! Pure greatness! Mysterio beats the ten count. Punk lifts him up and hits the Go to Sleep for the win! YES! The crowd boos.

Winner: CM Punk by pinfall.
Match Thoughts: ***. Solid bout. Not as good as their match at Armageddon, but it was a good match. Jericho’s interference helped cancel out Rey’s earlier and Punk looks more and more like a heel.

Chris Jericho slams his headset down happy with his doings. Jeff Hardy runs out and informs the referee what happened. Hardy yells at Punk. Punk is holding the World Heavyweight Championship in his hands. Punk rolls to the floor and poses with the title belt. Hardy’s music hits as Smackdown comes to a close.

Final Thoughts: Another absolutely great show by Smackdown. Still the dominant brand in the WWE and rightfully so. Edge vs. Morrison is something to go out of your way to watch. It was really a break throught match for John Morrison. The two big feuds on Smackdown (CM Punk vs. Jeff Hardy and Rey Mysterio vs. Chris Jericho) both progressed very well tonight. All in all a stellar show that shouldn’t be missed.