WWE SmackDown Report – 09/01/2006 – Taped in Reading, PA
By Trinae Angelique Ross
Rey Mysterio kicked off SmackDown from Reading, Pennsylvania, looking for answers from Vickie Guerrero for her attack last week. Vickie made her way to the ring and gave Rey what he sought, answers. She said that, while Eddie thought of Rey as family, she thought of the former WWE World Champion as "an insignificant part of [my] past." She also announced that she was the new business manager of Chavo Guerrero.
Driving home her point, Ms. Guerrero slapped Rey and left the ring. Mysterio, distraught and wrought with pain looked on with tears in his eyes.
Matt Hardy was looking for payback against WWE Cruiserweight Champion Gregory Helms for Helm's interference in Hardy's match last week. While this was a non-title match, a win here could put Hardy in the title hunt.
Early lock up, Hardy knocks Helm's down and keeps to a ground attack. The match demonstrated both combatants' mat wrestling ability. Both men balanced technical moves with punches and elbows. The champion would gain the upper hand by knocking Hardy off the ring apron. Hardy battled back, putting pressure on the champion, at one point, almost decapitating the champion.
Both men would not give the other a clear opening for long as they traded move for move, blow for blow. Helms would ultimately allow his desire to cheat overpower his wrestling ability as a botched attempt to hit Hardy with the belt end in Helms picking up a loss for his troubles.
Ken Kennedy, who holds wins over former WWE Champions Dave Batista and Rey Mysterio, looked to add a little gold to his victories as he challenged United States Champion Finlay to a match. Finlay, feeling that Kennedy had yet to prove himself as being worth of a title shot, questioned the legitimacy of his victories.
SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long, never one to disappoint the fans, between Kennedy and Finlay. While both men wanted an extreme match, be it in a cage or parking lot, Long said he would wait until later in the evening before he would give the specifics of the match.
Mike "Miz" Mizanin made his debut on SmackDown, taking on the Native American Warrior, Tatanka. In past weeks, Tatanka has been embroiled in controversy, falling victim to blown calls by SmackDown officials.
Tatanka dominated the match early, exploiting Miz's lack of in ring experience. Though Miz spent the early parts of the match on the receiving end of Tatanka's lethal chops, he showed flashes of life, by taking the offense to the Lakota Tribe member, at one point, ramming Tatanka's shoulders into the ring post.
However, fate continued to turn her back on Tatanka as he fell victim to being pinned while Miz kept his foot on the ropes. Disgusted, Tatanka could only stare at referee Charles Robinson as he racks up yet another loss on his record.
Mr. Kennedy made his way out to the ring, looking to put United States gold around his waist as he waited for the champion to make his way to the ring. Before the match could get underway, Theodore Long made his way down the entrance ramp. He announced to both men that he said he wanted to add a little something to the match, however he decided to add a lot by making the singles match a triple threat match. Kennedy and Finlay would also have to face Lashley for the United States Championship.
Kennedy, always one to gain the advantage, tried to make an alliance between Lashley and himself, only to get a belly-to-belly suplex for his trouble.
Triple Threat rules indicate that a challenger does not have to pin the champion to win the title. The championship can change hands with a pin fall or submission by any participant over another. Finlay, knowing that the odds were not in his favor, would choose his attacks.
At one point in the Kennedy and Finlay teamed to try to diffuse Lashley's brute strength with their numbers. Both Kennedy and Finlay swarmed over Lashley, however, an uneasy alliance is just that, uneasy. As opportunities presented, the charismatic Kennedy and the United States Champion turned on one another, one looking to become champion, the other trying to remain champion.
The action became too intense to remain in the ring as no one participant could gain a clear advantage over the others. At one point, the Little Bastard made an appearance, but only to disappear in the chaos that ensued.
Wearing down, all three participants brought the action back to the ring. Finlay and Kennedy would continue taking turns in wearing down Lashley. While occasionally double-teaming Lashley, to wear the big man down, Kennedy and Finlay would again turn on one another.
As chaos erupted in the ring, both Kennedy and Finlay tried to use foreign objects on Lashley; who deftly countered with a series of suplexes and spears. However, Lashley's momentum would not last as Kennedy wrapped up Lashley for the win and is announced as the new United States Champion!
The ever stylish Vito came to the ring prepared to continue his undefeated streak against Sir William Regal. Early on, Regal fought to prove that Vito was not the "toughest man in a dress." Regal aggressively assaulted Vito with a series of knees and chokes, looking to end the match quickly. However, Vito proved as smart as he was tough as he used his dress to his advantage. As he frustrated and ultimately overwhelmed Regal by using tactics that could only be described as resourceful, Vito picked up the win via count out (Regal would not return to the ring) and kept his undefeated streak alive.
Jimmy Wang Yang, the self-professed redneck looked to make a statement to the SmackDown roster. Will he be able to make an impact in the WWE? On the other hand, will he fade into the sunset?
Montel Vontavious Porter remains SmackDown's hottest property, as he sat at ringside, questions remain if his abilities are worth the seemingly outlandish fee his agents wants for his client to sign on the dotted line. Michael Cole wanted to know if Montel could back up his own hype, or, was he hiding behind his agent and his wallet? An irate MVP stated that he could beat anyone in the SmackDown locker room and when the money was right, he would prove it.
The Pitbulls made their return to the SmackDown ring looking to reestablish themselves as a force in the Tag Team division as they faced the WWE Tag Champions, Paul London and Brian Kendrick in a non-title match. Though the challengers attacked the champions from behind to start the match, the cohesive unit of London and Kendrick would overcome the attack, and give the champions the advantage.
The Pitbulls would not be undone. As their name suggests, the continued advancing toward the champions, utilizing double-team moves and cheap shots. Both teams worked to gain the advantage; the champions using high-risk moves, while the challengers attacked with high-impact moves, trying to ground the champions. The referee worked to control the match, but tempers boiled to the point where at all four men were in the ring. While the champions pulled out a victory over The Pitbulls, the victory would be short-lived as Idol Stevens and K.C. James attacked the champions. The combined might of both The Pitbulls and James and Steven, left the WWE Tag Champions laying in the middle of the ring.
The feud between WWE World Champion King Booker and The Animal Dave Batista moved forward as General Manager Theodore Long ordered a championship match between the two at next week's SmackDown. King Booker said that the rematch was a sham, yet he would "tame the beast called Batista."
Batista, a man of few words and a lot of action told the King that he was champion because of a technicality. Furthermore, The Animal told his Royal Highness to get that through his head because next week, he was taking back his championship.
With that, Batista lifted King Booker high and drove him through the contract-signing table with a bone-shattering spinebuster, leaving the King broken in the middle of the ring.
Contents copyright © 2006 by Trinae Angelique Ross. This document is written exclusively for www.rajah.com. No part of this report may be used without expressed written permission by the author or webmaster. Inquiries about using this material on other websites should be made to the author or to the webmaster at webmaster@rajah.com.
