Randy Orton (photo credit Wade Keller © PWTorch)
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 Smackdown Report
Friday, September 9, 2005
Taped 9/6/05 in Atlanta, Ga.
Aired on www.wwe.com and UPN
Report by Dusty Giebink, Torch Team Contributor
The first, webcast hour of the show began with General Manager Teddy Long welcoming us to the first ever Friday Night Smackdown. He explained that the first hour would be aired on the website, while the second hour would air as scheduled on UPN. He said that tonight it would be Orlando Jordan vs. Chris Benoit for the US Title, Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio in a steel cage, and Batista vs. JBL in a bullrope match for the World Title. He said that Smackdown would make history tonight. Belee dat. Michael Cole and Tazz at ringside then welcomed us to the show.
(1) Road Warrior Animal & Heidenreich defeated MNM (Joey Mercury & Johnny Nitro, w/Melina) to retain the tag team titles. Cole and Tazz put over Heidenreich’s recent transformation into a more Hawk-like being, saying that he would be proud of what Heidenreich and Animal have done since forming their duo. Heidenreich jumped Nitro to start things off right quick. He whipped Nitro into the corner and hit a big clothesline on him. Heidenreich then hit a big backdrop and kicked away on Nitro. Nitro made a super short desert crawl over to his corner, but Mercury refused to tag in. So Heidenreich dragged him over to his corner and tagged in Animal. Action spilled to the outside, where Animal rammed Nitro’s back in the barricade. Back in the ring, Animal hit a big boot (shades of Hulk Hogan), but Mercury came in to try to interfere. He inadvertently hit his partner, however, and Animal disposed of him rather quickly. Heidenreich tagged in, but moments later Mercury tagged in as well. MNM tried a double team move, but Heidenreich grabbed their hands and rammed them down to the mat. Heidenreich went to work on Mercury with some punches and such, and then tagged Animal back in. Animal whipped him into the corner with such force that he sprung off and landed on his back. Heidenreich tagged back in and hit an axe handle off the second rope, much to Melina’s dismay.
Heidenreich whipped Nitro into the ring the hardway. Melina jumped up on the apron to provide a momentary distraction, which allowed for MNM to regain the advantage. Mercury hit a beautiful dropkick, which got a two count. The heels cut the ring in half and took turns working over Heidenreich. Mercury and Nitro pounded away on Heidenreich in the corner and were basically mugging him at this point. Heidenreich kept trying to make his way over to Animal, but he was nowhere near able to. Heidenreich made some desperation lunges toward his corner, but Mercury went over and punched Animal off the apron to stop any thought of that. Heidenreich caught Mercury going to the top rope and Ric Flair’d him down. He then made the desert crawl over to his corner and got the Scarlett Johansson tag to Animal. Animal was on 12 different kinds of fire here, working over both members of MNM. He whipped Nitro into the corner and clotheslined him. Heidenreich followed that up by clotheslining him over the top rope and to the floor. Animal caught Mercury in midair and rammed him into the turnbuckles. He then went to ram Mercury into the next set of turnbuckles, but the referee got in the way and was bumped. Melina made like she was going to nail Animal with a title belt, but Animal grabbed the belt. Animal then nailed Mercury in the head with the belt and got the three count as Melina screamed in horror. If a heel team had done that to win a match, a second referee would have come out to inform the original ref, and reverse the decision or re-start the match. Just saying.
They cut to Randy Orton talking about how when he was growing up, his father (the legendary “Cowboy” Bob Orton) he would grow up to be an all-time great himself. He said it was his destiny to destroy the legend of the Undertaker. Interspersed with all this were clips of the Orton vs. Undertaker feud, including the match where the Cowboy was disguised as a fan and ran interference to allow Randy to get the win. Orton autographed a copy of the Undertaker DVD and put it up for auction on wwe.com. He said the money raised there would go toward the Undertaker Retirement Fund. The money was to be presented to Undertaker in the form of a large, novelty sized check on this week’s show.
(2) Ken Kennedy defeated Paul London. Kennedy’s entrance music now has him introducing himself (“Mr. Kennedy!…. Kennedy!”), which is a great touch. He admonished the lousy effort of Tony Chimmel once again in attempting to introduce him. Kennedy said Chimmel absolutely sucks at two things: announcing and announcing. He’s got a point there. Kennedy did his Road Dogg shtick in introducing himself. Kennedy hit a back elbow to start things off and then showed great intensity in going to work on his opponent. Kennedy whipped London into the turnbuckles with authority. He dragged him back to the middle and got a two count. Kennedy hit a kick to the side of the head and after a few more boots, he got himself another two count. Kennedy took too much time in attempting something off the second rope, which allowed London to get his boot up. However, Kennedy was one step ahead, and grabbed the boot in the air, resulting in a midair stalemate of sorts. Kennedy locked on a bearhug. London landed on his feet from a backdrop attempt and hit a dropsault. London hit a spinning heel kick and then a spinning tornado kick. London charged at him in the corner, but Kennedy backdropped him to the apron. Kennedy went up to the ropes to hit his finisher, which Tazz pondered aloud as to what to call. Kennedy grabbed the microphone and announced himself (“once again”) as the winner.
They showed GM Teddy Long and network executive Palmer Cannon sitting in a luxury box, such as it were, watching the action intently. Tazz imitated Kennedy in saying his partner was Michael Cole… Cole. I love when Tazz gets into something like that.
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
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(3) Paul Burchill (w/William Regal) defeated Scotty 2 Hotty. I have to say, I am really impressed with the character development of the midcard heels on both brands lately. Burchill on the microphone introduced himself for the fans. He said he was the most dangerous import since Regal himself came to this disgusting country. Regal’s facial expression here was priceless. Burchill said he was here to maim and hurt people, just as he did in England, but now he would do it for money as well as pleasure. He vowed to break Scotty’s arm. Scotty attacked at the bell as Regal joined in on commentary. Scotty dropped Burchill with a big right hand. Scotty hit a backdrop, but Burchill caught Scotty coming at him and regained the offensive. Burchill worked over Scotty’s arm to set up for his submission finisher. Regal put over the perfect execution of Burchill’s move where he worked over the arm while stretching out the shoulder. They traded punches and then Scotty hit a superkick for a two count. Scotty was feelin’ it and went for the bulldog, but Burchill got out of the way of it. Scotty got a non-fruit rollup but Burchill kicked him off and Scotty went shoulder-first into the ringpost. Burchill then sent Scotty into the ringpost shoulder-first once again as Regal put over how important it was to take advantage of your surroundings. Burchill hit a big time shoulderbreaker and locked in the Fujiwara armbar for the submission victory. After the match, Regal smiled and politely applauded the efforts of Burchill.
Kennedy ran into Sharmell backstage. He said they hadn’t been properly introduced, and said he single handedly defeated her husband Booker T last week on Smackdown. Kennedy said he knew Sharmell wanted Booker to be as successful as possible. She could probably even envision Booker winning the United States Title. He asked Sharmell how many times Benoit has defended the belt against Booker. Kennedy said he knew friends don’t let friends drive drunk (which is good advice), but friends should give friends title shots. Just a thought for Sharmell to let rattle around in her mind. Once again that name is Ken Kennedy… Kennedy.
Undertaker made his spine tingling, bone chilling ring entrance. I’m telling you people, the entire thing took at least two minutes and 15 seconds from the time he first appeared on the screen to when he actually decided to do something. What he did was, he spoke into the microphone. He said the Ortons wouldn’t be able to hide from the Dead Man. He said that soon, they would find out what death and the Undertaker have in common: they wait for no man. He said Orton’s time has come, which caused for Randy and Bob to make their way out to ringside. Randy said he and his father were surprised to see Undertaker had the guts to appear on Smackdown tonight. He said he figured after he got done with Undertaker last time, he’d be scared to show his face ever again. Orton said he was a man of his word, and as such, he had a couple people bring out a huge novelty check made out to the Undertaker Retirement Fund. They raised funds selling the aforementioned Orton-autographed Undertaker DVD online, and then matching dollar-for-dollar that price. The check was for $1,416, for the record. He signed the check to make things official. He said if Undertaker wanted it, he would have to come and get it. Undertaker stood in the ring as the big dong hit. Lightning struck the check and set it on fire. The Ortons fled the scene in horror. Undertaker stared on with a blank expression on his face as Tazz and Cole wondered how he did it.
The first hour, sans commercial breaks, lasted 48 minutes, for the record.
The televised hour began with the opening montage, and Michael Cole and Tazz welcomed us to the broadcast. Cole did a good job of making the first Friday night Smackdown seem like it was something special. The steel cage was already set up around the ring for the first match. Later in the show, it would be Chris Benoit vs. Orlando Jordan for the United States Title, and Batista vs. JBL for the World Heavyweight Title in a bullrope match. But first, let’s have a cage match!
(4) Eddie Guerrero defeated Rey Mysterio in a steel cage match. This is one of those steel cage matches where you can get the win by pinfall or submission, in addition to climbing over or out of the cage. They showed quick clips highlighting the feud between Mysterio and Guerrero that has been going on since before WrestleMania, really. Last week, Cole said, Guerrero told Mysterio that you can’t beat someone who has nothing left to lose. So that makes Guerrero all the more dangerous here. And guarantees the finish. In any event, Guerrero started out the match on all different kinds of fire, but Mysterio tried to battle his way back. Guerrero cut him off and slowed him down. Guerrero rammed Mysterio’s head into the steel cage a couple times. Mysterio ducked under a clothesline attempt, and moments later monkey flipped Guerrero to the other side of the ring. Mysterio tried the 6-1-9 in the cage, but realized he couldn’t do it in the cage and stopped short. This brought a smile to Guerrero’s face. Mysterio tried to climb the cage, but Guerrero cut him off. Mysterio was positioned on Guerrero’s shoulders, which resulted in the execution of a powerbomb. Mysterio went to climb over the cage, and made it to nearly the top, but Guerrero was able to cut him off. Guerrero crotched Mysterio on the top rope as the show went to break.
[commercial break]
Back from break, and Guerrero was climbing the cage to escape. Mysterio grabbed his ankle and held on for dear life. Guerrero kicked him off and continued to try to climb his way up. It is an unwritten rule in wrestling that when you’re in a cage match, you suddenly lose the ability to climb up in any sort of speedy fashion. (Just as all wrestlers must completely lose their depth perception when in a ladder match.) Guerrero hit a side Russian legsweep on Mysterio from the top rope. Mysterio dove at Guerrero, but Guerrero managed to toss him upwards to elude the move. Mysterio, however, caught himself on the cage and that gave him a head start towards escaping. Guerrero caught up with him and the two battled for awhile on the top of the cage. Mysterio dangled over the edge momentarily, but Eddie was able to bring him back around. The two teetered back and forth on top until they both started making their way back into the ring. (Which actually doesn’t make much sense.) Mysterio hit a dropkick on Guerrero while both were standing on the top rope, which was great. Guerrero hit a kick to the gut and a DDT (shades of Jake “The Snake”). Guerrero went to climb out the door, but Mysterio grabbed hold of his ankle. Guerrero fought and clawed, but Mysterio pulled at and kicked away on Guerrero to thwart his efforts. Guerrero did one last desperation plunge out the door, but again Mysterio cut him off. Nice sequence. Mysterio hit an inverted bulldog, which may have been the turning point of the match according to Cole.
[commercial break]
We came back from break with Mysterio making his merry way up the cage. Guerrero climbed up the turnbuckles to stop him, and eventually attempted a powerbomb off the top rope. Mysterio tried to flip himself over Guerrero and out of the cage, but Guerrero held on to him. Mysterio hit a huracanrana from the top that Cole speculated may have broken Eddie in half. Mysterio climbed up the turnbuckles and went to go over the cage once again. He was selling the knee, however, that stopped him from going faster. Guerrero tried to bring him down but got kicked to the mat for his troubles. Mysterio went for a crossbody from the top but Guerrero rolled out of the way. Guerrero tried once again to crawl out of the door. He got to the last step (you have to touch the floor to win), stopped, and got back into the ring. He went up top and hit the frogsplash for the pinfall victory, to add even more insult to injury. After the match, Guerrero got down in Mysterio’s face and rubbed it in that he finally beat him. This was good.
Later in the show! Later in the show, it’s going to be JBL vs. Batista for the World Title in a bullrope match. But first! It’s going to be Chris Benoit vs. Orlando Jordan for the United States Title. Next!
[commercial break]
They cut to a 60-second recorded message from Linda McMahon talking about Hurricane Katrina. She was promoting the americares.org relief fund. This was a really nice touch.
(5) Chris Benoit defeated Orlando Jordan to retain the United States Title. They showed a clip from the Summer Slam PPV last month, where Benoit made Jordan tap out to win the title in 25.5 seconds. They then showed clips from last Thursday’s Smackdown, where Benoit made Jordan tap out once again, this time in even less time. (23.4 seconds, to be exact.) Cole was amazed that Jordan would come back for more punishment. Benoit smiled in the ring, because he knew he was about to feast upon his poofy haired prey. Jordan had a very stern look on his face. They cut to pre-recorded comments from Jordan where he said those short matches were flukes. He said he beat Benoit at the Great American Bash, and would have no problems knocking Benoit out this week. Back to live time, Jordan sucker punched Benoit to start the match. Jordan hit another big right hand, but moments later Benoit locked in the crossface. Jordan tapped out once again, this time in 22.5 seconds. Jordan is now buried 16 feet under.
They showed a video package highlight Batista. Essentially, Batista is a big, strong man that can overpower his opponents with a vast array of devastating maneuvers. He prefers to finish his opponents off with his version of the powerbomb, the Batista Bomb. The fans are very much into him, and chant his name at arenas across the country. (Remember when Jim Ross was at this peak, and would say stuff like this?)
They showed JBL make his grand ring entrance, including coming to the ring in his long, white limo with the bullhorns on the front. Michael Cole reminded us that the entirety of hour one, including a tag team championship match, could be seen all week long on wwe.com. JBL had a confident look on his face that belied the fury that was about to be unleashed in the match, or something.
[commercial break]
We came back from break with Teddy Long standing alongside the network guy. Long said that on next week’s show, it would be Randy Orton vs. the Undertaker. They both agreed that that was exactly the kind of match that would put Friday Night Smackdown on the map. We’ll have to see about that.
(6) Batista defeated John Bradshaw Layfield in a bullrope match to retain the World Heavyweight Championship. The announcers put over how JBL had the advantage in this match, since it was “his kind of match.” The rules state that you have to touch all four corners before your opponent, but if your momentum is thwarted, you have to start all over again at one. Each man has an end of the bullrope tied to their wrist, interconnecting them or what have you. JBL hit one of the corners immediately to start the match, which was a nice touch. Batista cut off his momentum quickly, though, so it was all for naught. Batista choked JBL out with the rope in the corner. He touched the turnbuckle, but he couldn’t follow up on that. Batista hit some high knees and then measured JBL for a punch that dropped him. Batista hit one of the corners, but JBL put the brakes on and didn’t allow for Batista to go any further. My tape cut off at this point, so I missed a minute of the match trying to find another blank tape.
We pick things up with JBL hammering away on Batista. Batista fell prone in the corner as JBL continued to go to work on him. JBL nailed Batista across the head with the cowbell (there should really be more cowbell in this match, actually) that was on the middle of the rope. JBL went to hit the corners, but Batista dropped down and made himself deadweight, which made it difficult for JBL to stretch out to reach the buckle. Batista gave JBL a receipt with a cowbell shot of his own (that’s more like it!). Batista hit three corners quickly, but then JBL rolled out of the ring on the opposite side to stop Batista from hitting the fourth turnbuckle. JBL then hit a thumb to the eye and crotched Batista with the bullrope to regain the edge.
[commercial break]
Batista carried JBL in a fireman’s carry (nice touch) and went for all the corners. JBL dropped down with one corner to go and hit Batista in the head with the cowbell in a nice, desperation move. During the commercial break, JBL choked Batista out with the rope, but then Batista pulled JBL using the rope into the ringpost on the outside. Back to live time, and JBL was in full control of things. JBL went for the clothesline from hell, but Batista cut him off. Batista nailed JBL in the back several times with the cowbell as Layfield screamed in agony. Batista set up for the Batista Bomb and hit it. JBL was busted open from a shot where Batista went to hit him with the cowbell and it wrapped around and landed on his face. Batista dragged JBL behind him as he went to hit all four corners. The thing is, without Batista realizing it, every time Batista would hit a corner JBL would hit one as well. JBL made a desperation dive to hit the fourth buckle and win the match, but Batista used his strength to pull JBL back and hit a quick Batista Bomb. He then lunged for and hit the fourth turnbuckle to win the match. Cole wondered if there was anyone that could stop Batista’s momentum. I doubt it!
The show ended with a clip highlighting the Randy Orton vs. Undertaker feud, to properly set up their match on next week’s show. Please note that that show will air in full, two hour form on UPN. Batista celebrated his victory to end the show.
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