Smackdown taping results according to Matt Whitebread and WrestlingObserver.com:
Just got back from Wembley Arena, and overall it was a pretty decent show.
That might’ve been because it was live. A funny note, a loud “Cena sucks”
chant broke out befor the show started, and when thery showed the
Wrestlemania 22 recap. Rey was booed a little, too.
Velocity:
Chris Benoit def Vito – Benoit was really over with the UK crowd. The match
was short and sweet. Benoit hit his signatured moves and made Vito tap out
to the Crossface.
Matt Hardy def. jobber – Hardy was super over as well. Hardy got most of the
offense in, which is expected. Over pretty quickly, with the Twist of Fate.
Pirate Birchill def Nunzio – Birchill got an insance reaction, being from
England and all. Nice match here, with Nunzio getting some decent heat.
Orlando Jordan def. Scotty 2 Hotty – well, I think that was the outcome. I
went for a drink in this one.
SmackDown!:
They hype the Angle/Mysterio main event quite a lot in the opening package.
JBL cuts a promo, appearing with a jacket showing the USA flag. He also
carried two mini USA flags with him. He totally ripped into the British and
got a ton of heat for it. He said how we couldn’t win the war without help –
heh, look who’s talking USA! Regal came out to a mighty ovation where he
slated the USA calling them cowards and all. It got a big reaction. Now it’s
time for JBL vs. Regal for the US Title.
JBL def. Regal to retain the U.S Championship – Fair enough match. Regal
seemed to be knocked dizzy after a stiff kick by Bradshaw. Crowd loved
Regal, but JBL hit the Clothesline from Hell for the win.
Backstage interview with Booker T and Sharmell. Kristal asks Booker who he
predicts will win the World Championship tonight. Booker said it doesn’t
matter because he’s the next King of the Ring. Gunner Scott interrupted and
reminded Booker T of how he was victorious in their match the other week.
Booker said he’d take Scott on any time… but not tonight because he has a
cough. Funny stuff by Booker. Book then says he will find an opponent for
Scott tonight.
Super Crazy, London and Kendrick def. MNM and Gregory Helms in a six-man tag
team match – Pretty fun bout, but it felt a little short. Lots of
high-flying stuff as per usual by London and Kendrick. London got the pin on
Helms. Melina was fuming.
Following the six man tag match, Melina is seen in the back with Nitro and
Mercury and she asks how they can lose four times in a row to London and
Kendrick. They argue their case, but she says she needs to freshen up. She
walks over and sees Jillian Hall and grabs the mirror off her. She says shes
sorry for Jillian getting fired last week and offers her a job – to help put
her make up on. After that they both get in a long-winded catfight which
ended with a lot of make-up all over them.
Rey Mysterio did an interview with Kristal in the back, and was cheered
greatly, and booed a little. He spoke about how he’s on top of the world and
says if he Angle beats him he thanks everyone or something. I couldn’t
really hear because when he said if Angle beats him, the crowd gave a very
loud pop. At the end though, everyone was clapping him. They obviously heard
what he said.
Lashley is in the back talking about how he’s looking forward to facing Mark
Henry in the toughest match of his career. Short little promo with him
warming up.
Lashley def. Mark Henry via Count out to advance in the King of the Ring
tournament – Slow match. Lashley was super over though. Henry got a very
little reaction. Pretty boring until Lashley picks Henry up which got a big
reaction. He tries to give him the Dominator but Henry is too big. Henry is
knocked out the ring and just, well.. lies there for the ten count. After
the match, Henry beats down Lashley and does the big splash, crushing
Lashley in the ringpost on the outside.
Booker T comes down to the ring and tells everyone he’s found Gunner Scott
an opponent. The opponent likes to fight and is 100% Irish. And so let the
match begin!
Finlay def. Gunner Scott – Booker was doing announcing with Sharmell. Crowd
were pretty dead through this, though we loved Finlay and booed Scott!
Finlay was pretty rough with him, and after interference from Booker T (high
super kick on the outside) Finlay hit his finisher. Booker and Finlay beat
down Scott until Benoit made the save and chased them off.
Kristal came down to the ring, followed by The Great Khali and Daivari.
Daivari spoke about how they’ve destroyed the Undertaker and taken his
spirit and how Taker is scared of Khali – the usual. THEN, they gave Khali
the microphone… again! It was absolutely hilarious to watch. Nobody
understood what he was saying. Thunderous “What” chants broke out after
everything he was saying. Really funny segment, and ended with Kristal being
scared off to the back. Lots of Undertaker chants and the fans were REALLY
let down that he didn’t come out. A total waste of time.
Rey Mysterio vs Kurt Angle for the World Heavyweight Championship ended in a
No Contest – The crowd were avsolutely ELECTRIC for this main event! The
crowd were probably 65-35 in favor of Kurt Angle. There was not a silent
moment in the match. It was really good and fast paced; your typical
Rey/Angle contest. There were loud boos for Rey, and loud cheers for Kurt,
however, there wasn’t that much difference, really. Match ended just as it
began to get good. Rey hit the 619 and then went for the West Coast Pop, but
Angle countered into the Ankle lock which brought EVERYONE to their feet.
Then, out of absolutely nowhere, Mark Henry attacks Angle and Mysterio. Ref
calls for the bell. What a damn let-down. Everything was going fine until
Henry had to butt his nose in! Anyway, Henry beat Angle down on the outside
and set up a table. He put Angle on the table and then delivered a splash
from the apron, crushing Angle and the table. Honestly, it looked
ridiculous. It looked as if Henry barely touched Kurt. Henry posed and then
went to the back, while the referee did the old “X” sign and tons of
officials came rushing out. Angle looked very stiff, and was eventually
helped to the back. It could’ve very well been a work, but they sold it
pretty well if it was! Rey posed a little after and got booed a little too,
and went to the back with the World title.
Random:
All throughout the night they were showing shot video clips of Kurt Angle’s
World/WWE Title wins, hyping the match big time.
On his way to the ring, Gunner Scott tripped over and knocked the camera man
down. Everyone burst out in laughter and chanted “she fell over! she fell
over!”. I doubt it will be shown on TV.
All in all, it was an OK event, but I’ve been to better ones. The main event
(Angle vs Rey) was going amazingly well. The crowd were so jacked and into
it and was split down the middle (well, near enough) but the ending totally
killed it. We all didn’t know what to do. It was fun, though.
Biggest pops:
1. Kurt Angle
2. Rey Mysterio
3. William Regal
4. Chris Benoit
5. Pirate Birchill
Biggest heat:
1. JBL (mainly from the opening promo, which gained a TONNNNN of heat!)
2. MNM
3. Mark Henry (especially when he interfered in the main event)
4. Great Khali and Daivari
5. Nunzio
Credit: WrestlingObserver.com
