The usual opening video opens us up, with footage of Undertaker posing with the title ending it. I think it’s also been changed slightly too, but I’m not sure how. Tonight: the New World Heavyweight Champion is here.
Mr. Kennedy makes his way out to the ring and reminds us that he is now Mr. Money in the Bank, and from now on that’s how we shall refer to him. Kennedy says that we’ve all heard of the Hogan era, the Austin era, and that the Kennedy era has just begun… begun.
Opening Contest: Mr. Kennedy vs. Jeff Hardy
All these interbrand matches are beginning to get annoying; keep them to Wrestlemania, Royal Rumble, Survivor Series, MITB, and maybe the King of the Ring Tournament please. The pair starts off with a lock up which ends with Kennedy forcing Hardy into the corner. Kennedy with an arm drag to Hardy. The two have a nice albeit nothing new sequence which includes some arm drags, the boring shoulder block and jump over the body on the canvas moment which I always dislike, before Hardy gets sent outside early on, Kennedy goes to join him but Hardy rolls inside and gets a swinging baseball slide and then gets a vaulting body press.
Commercials.
Hardy with a snapmare followed by a dropkick for a two count. Hardy with a face forward suplex before going up top, by Kennedy stops him and gets a shoulder body toss from the top rope! Kennedy works the back of Hardy and covers for a failed pinfall attempt. Kennedy with a short arm clothesline for a two count. Hardy ducks a clothesline but runs back into a kitchen sink knee, overly sold by Hardy but in a nice way. Kennedy with a pair of backbreakers for a two count. Kennedy with an abdominal stretch on Hardy, but Hardy turns it into a hiptoss. Jawbreaker by Hardy. Hardy with a short arm clothesline, his usual enziguri and a swinging baseball in the corner for a two count. Hardy gets the Whisper in the Wind and goes for the Swanton; Kennedy rolls out of the way and connects with DDT for… for the victory?
Winner: Mr. Kennedy
Post match, Hornswoggle goes to attack Mr. Kennedy but Finlay attacks Kennedy from behind! Finlay says that if Kennedy ever puts his hands on Hornswoggle again, he’ll be watching WrestleMania in a wheelchair. Anyways, match wasn’t too bad, they worked together well, but I don’t understand Kennedy winning from the DDT. Four out of Ten.
Still to come: The Undertaker.
Commercials.
Man, that WrestleMania crowd is huge. By the way, Mania got some publicity.
Theodore Long and Kristal Marshall are backstage flirting when Kennedy comes on in. Kennedy says that he wants Hornswoggle, so Long books Hornswoggle and Finlay vs. Kennedy next week. Right.
Ashley Massaro runs into Timbaland backstage and they say stuff, Jillian Hall interrupts and begins to sing. Timbaland shoots her down and buggers off with Ashley. Jillian is upset.
A WrestleMania video plays. Meh, they’ve done better videos.
Commercials.
Second Contest: Chris Benoit vs. Mike Mizanin
Benoit with a backdrop on Miz early on chops follow. Shoulder body toss by Benoit. Snap suplex gets Benoit a one count over Mizanin. Mizanin gets some right hands and sends Benoit into the top turnbuckle; Benoit gets the upperhand after a knee to Mizanin’s gut. Benoit with a backbreaker for a two count. Benoit with a very loud slap to the face of Mizanin, before he sends Mizanin onto the apron for a pair of loud chops. Benoit goes to suplex Mizanin back into the ring but Mizanin rakes the eyes and drops Benoit throat first on the top rope. Mizanin with an overly dramatic stomp to the forehead of Benoit for a pinfall attempt. Mizanin gets a headlock on Benoit, Benoit rolls through but Mizanin keeps it locked. Benoit with forearms and chops, Mizanin sends Benoit into the corner and gets a nifty little clothesline for a two count. Mizanin gets spears in the corner, but Benoit gets some chops in before irish whipping Mizanin into the ropes and back into an elbow. Benoit gets a two count after a clothesline. Benoit gets the Triple Germans; Benoit goes for the Swandive Headbutt but MVP moves Mizanin out of the way! Mizanin covers and gets the three count.
Winner: Mike Mizanin
JBL summed this match up as Cockroach Eater vs. One Of The Greatest Of All Time. Second sudden and almost random pinfall of the evening. Three out of Ten.
Video recap of the Hardy / Royals portion of the Money In The Bank Match. The Royals are backstage, angry over what happened, Sharmell says she felt violated. Matt Hardy and King Booker are next.
Commercials.
Third Contest: Matt Hardy vs. King Booker w/ Queen Sharmell
Booker and Hardy trade offence to start and Hardy gets the upperhand before getting a clothesline bulldog combo on Booker for a one count. Booker with a hook kick on Hardy, following up by choking Hardy at the ropes, allowing Sharmell to slap Hardy across the face. Hardy gets some elbows in but runs right into a spinebuster by Booker, before Booker locks in a sleeper hold. Hardy fights out of the sleeper hold and comes off the ropes, ducks a clothesline but turns into an elbow by Booker. Booker punches Hardy down and gets mounted punches. Hardy gets in a series of clotheslines, neckbreaker on Booker before Hardy goes to the second rope and connects with the Yodel legdrop for a two count. Booker with a nice spinning heel kick to Hardy for a two count. Booker locks the abdominal stretch, Hardy reverses with a hiptoss but Booker quickly clotheslines Hardy back down. Hardy with a Side Effect for a two count. Booker pushes Hardy off of the Twist Of Fate and goes for the Scissors Kick, Hardy avoids and gets a two count off of a school boy, Booker superkicks Hardy down and gets a two count! Hardy drops Booker throat first on the top rope and goes for the Twist Of Fate, Booker reverses it and goes for a backslide but Hardy flips over into a small package for the three count!
Winner: Matt Hardy
Post match, Queen Sharmell is pissed. She gets a microphone and reminds Booker that he just lost and yells at him and says that he’s a disappointment, before storing off backstage. The crowd chant “You Suck” at Booker. I still want to see these two do a program later on. Six out of Ten.
Still to come: The Undertaker… still.
Commercials.
William Regal and Dave Taylor are in the ring. Kane comes out and pretty much puts them down. Apparently there was supposed to be a match here, but I didn’t hear any bells or anything so screw it.
King Booker finds Queen Sharmell backstage. He says he’s sorry and says he cares about her etc. They hug and go to kiss before Sharmell slaps Booker and storms off again!
Yes, still to come: The Undertaker.
Commercials.
Fourth Contest: Paul London and Brian Kendrick w/ Ashley Massaro vs. Chavo Guerrero and Gregory Helms
D’n’D and Cherry are at ringside for the match, and I think they’re looking a bit more eighties this time. Helms attacks London from behind to start and gets stomps in the corner before tagging Guerrero in. Guerrero with boring stuff in the corner, and Helms gets tagged in after a little while for a double suplex on London. Helms rakes London’s face across the top rope and Guerrero is tagged back in. Back drop on London gets Guerrero a two count, just barely. Guerrero works the arm; London fights Guerrero off and comes off the ropes into a dropkick by Guerrero for a two count. Guerrero with an irish whip which London turns into a headscissors. Kendrick in with headscissors to Guerrero, Helms and London in and the twinks get a few headscissors before they get stereo suicide dives to Guerrero and Helms on the outside.
Commercials.
We’re back and Helms and Kendrick are the legal men; Helms is working the gut of Kendrick, Kendrick gets to his feet and comes off the ropes into a backbreaker by Helms for a two count. Helms with a blatant choke on Kendrick before Guerrero is tagged in, coming in with a low dropkick to a seated Kendrick. Helms is tagged back in and the pair get a nice double team backbreaker on Kendrick; Helms covers but London breaks the pin count. Helms gets a TKO on Kendrick, dropping him on the top rope (on purpose) in doing so. Helms with shots to the gut of Kendrick in the corner before Guerrero viciously pulls the hair. Guerrero tagged in. Guerrero with a headlock on Kendrick before tripping in and tagging out to Helms, who comes in with an elbow drop for a two count.
Kendrick with a dropkick to both heels, London gets the hot tag. London with kicks to the heels. Atomic drop followed by a hurricanrana by London on Guerrero. Flying mule kick to Helms gets London a two count, broken by Guerrero. Guerrero goes for the Gory Special (I assume) but London turns it into a arm drag. Helms with a school boy on London for a two count. London with kicks to Helms, Helms falls behind a scoop slam and gets the Nightmare On Helms Street for a two count – broken by Kendrick. Guerrero signals for the Frog Splash on London, Kendrick stops him and Helms joins the pair at the top rope – Guerrero gets knocked outside, London powerbombs Helms while Kendrick goes the Sliced Bread No. 2 for the victory.
Winners: Paul London and Brian Kendrick
Very nice finish there, but your usual London and Kendrick SmackDown match none the less. Four out of Ten.
Commercials.
King Booker is backstage talking to himself. JBL says he’s never seen King Booker in such a bad shape before.
Hall of Fame montage.
Up next: Undertaker.
Commercials.
The druids make their way out before Undertaker’s music hits. The new World Heavy Weight Champion makes his way on out; before he can even take his hat off, however, Batista makes his way on out as well. Batista congratulates Undertaker, but he wants his rematch, before leaving the ring. Now that’s how Batista should be. Short, simple, and blunt. King Booker attacks The Undertaker from behind but Undertaker sends him outside with a clothesline! Undertaker sends Booker into the steel steps before hitting Booker with a Tombstone Piledriver on the announcer’s table before posing with the belt. EMTs check on Booker, while Sharmell is upset over what happened as SmackDown fades out.
The Inside Pulse
Mr. Kennedy defeats Jeff Hardy via pinfall: 4/10
Mike Mizanin defeats Chris Benoit via pinfall (MVP interference): 3/10
Matt Hardy defeats King Booker via pinfall: 6/10
London and Kendrick defeat Helms and Guerrero (London pins Helms): 4/10
SmackDown 06/04/07: 17/20
Thankfully, not a boring post Mania show. Good show overall, nothing terribly bad – at least nothing I thought was bad enough to complain too much about. I’m interested to see where this Sharmell/Booker stuff heads to, my personal bet is that it will be Booker/Batista/Undertaker at Backlash or Judgment Day, although I’d really like to see them pull a twist and have Booker go after Lashley instead. I’d much rather have seen Idol and Stevens return especially since McCool is back, but D’n’D will do. Until next time everyone!
