A recap of Edge and The Undertaker since WrestleMania, ending with Vickie Guerrero announcing Batista vs. The Undertaker tonight.
Edge and La Familia are already in the ring as we begin the show. Edge hypes up the big Championship match for the evening, thanking Vickie Guerrero for putting on the match. Guerrero announces that Batista vs. The Undertaker title match is now No Disqualifications. Edge hypes up Backlash, saying that Edge and Chavo will win both title matches – but is interrupted by CM Punk! Edge rubs it in about how William Regal beat CM Punk, so CM Punk replies by reminding them about the Money In The Bank briefcase. Punk calls the MITB victory a better way to the top, rather than sleeping with the boss. Punk says he’s out there to deliver a public service announcement, in reminding everyone about his MITB title shot, and says he was considering using it on Batista or The Undertaker. Punk says he thinks he could beat Edge, so Edge suggests a match and Punk accepts. Vickie makes the match official. Well, that segment sure served it’s purpose.
Commercials.
The Miz w/ John Morrison on Commentary vs. Shannon Moore w/ Jimmy Wang Yang not on Commentary
How long has it been since Shannon Moore had a singles match? Lock up and Miz gets a headlock takedown. Moore gets a arm drag on Miz and follows it up with an armlock. Moore nails a nice springboard arm drag. Moore with an odd spinning head scissors. Miz runs into a pair of boots, Moore goes up top but Miz throws him back onto the canvas for a failed two count. Miz stomps away on Miz and covers for a one count. Miz with a camel clutch. Moore reverses a suplex attempt with a small package for a two count, Miz clotheslines Moore down afterwards. Miz with a cobra clutch , Moore escapes and nails Miz with a shoulder body toss. Moore off the ropes into a big power slam by Miz for a two count. Miz goes for the reality check but Moore gets a backslide pinfall for the three count!
Winner: Shannon Moore
Pretty good opening match here. They got given good time, a fair amount of offence between both wrestlers, and had a good match to top it off. Six out of Ten.
Still to come: World Heavy Weight Championship, No Disqualifications: Batista vs. The Undertaker.
Commercials.
Recap of the Presidential Promos from RAW. That was so bad that it was good.
Cherry w/ Michelle McCool vs. Natalya Neidhart w/ Victoria
I really like Natalya’s music. Neidhart with a takedown over Cherry, front facelock and snap suplex follows. Neidhart with an elbow drop, follows up with a sleeper hold. Neidhart with a scoop slam, and another for a one count. Neidhart pushes Cherry face first a few times, calling her pathetic, which lits Cherry up! Cherry bitch slaps Neidhart down a few times and slams her face first into the corner, Cherry pulls at the hair! Neidhart blocks a kick and takes Cherry back down, beginning to target the legs of Cherry. Neidhart hooks the legs in a submission, bit Cherry refuses to submit. Neidhart hooks the leg of Cherry on the middle rope, and backs off but charges into the turnbuckles! Cherry with a school boy for a two count. Cherry with a bulldog for a failed pinfall attempt. Cherry goes for a monkey flip, but Neidhart pushes her off. Neidhart locks Cherry in the Sharpshooter for the submission victory.
Winner: Natalya Neidhart
Very good way to showcase Natalya. See, the difference between these squashes and the Vladimir Koslov squashes? They showcase Cherry as well (yes, she’s not much to showcase, just wait to see where I’m going with this), they have a story outside of ‘Brute wrestlers decimates random jobber’. One out of Ten.
Very nice hype video for Khali vs. Show.
Commercials.
Cole is in the ring, and he is here to interview Matt Hardy. We get footage of Porter turning on Hardy last November, and Hardy says he is now at one hundred percent and ready to get what he’s been waiting ten months for – the United States Championship. Hardy says that at Backlash, Porter will see just how much of a threat he is to the title reign. MVP interrupts. Porter says that Hardy is trying to spin the facts, and takes credit for Hardy having an eighth reign as Tag Team Champions – Hardy reminding him that they only got the title shot because Porter was avoiding a U.S. Title defence. Porter says he never tried screwing Matt Hardy, and that Matt screwed Matt. Porter tries to take credit for Hardy’s career, and Hardy gives Porter the credit for taking him out. Porter ignores a Hardy chant from the crowd. Porter says within one and a half years, he’s accomplished more than Hardy has in nine years and he’s jealous because of it. Hardy says the look in his eyes isn’t jealousy, it’s confidence – and in Porter’s eyes is uncertainty. Hardy says at Backlash, he will finally prove that Hardy is better than Porter. Porter kicks Hardy and takes him down with a title shot, before calmly leaving the ring. I cannot wait for this match.
CM Punk is walking!
Commercials.
Edge vs. CM Punk
Lock up and Punk gets Edge in the corner, so the referee forces Punk back into the middle of the ring. The pair shove each other, with Punk shoving Edge down onto his ass. The pair do some fundamental wrestling, such as hammerlocks and that jazz, with Punk getting a nice full nelson pinning attempt for a one count. Punk knees the shoulder of Edge before going back to the hammerlock. Punk with shoulder blocks to the shoulder of Edge, before getting in another nice hammerlock variation – incorporating his leg into the hold as well. Edge gets Punk into the corner to break the hold, before elbowing Punk in the face. Punk off the ropes into a knee by Edge. Edge irish whips Punk and tries for another knee, but Punk turns it into a school boy for a two count. Punk with a arm drag and he resumes going after the arm, taking those trademark kicks of his right to the shoulder of Edge.
Punk with an arm lock, Edge turns it into a scoop slam but Punk keeps the hold applied even through the hold. Punk kicks Edge down and goes up to the top rope, but Edge attacks. Edge clubs Punk a few times, but Punk begins hitting Edge – the pair each nail a right hand and knock each other off of the top rope. Edge falls to the canvas, Punk falls to the outside and we head to a commercial break.
Commercials.
We’re back and Edge covers Punk for a one count. Edge gets Punk in a body scissors Edge scores a few pinfall attempts during the body scissors. Punk flips Edge into the corner and goes for the knee, but that fails somehow. I got distracted by my phone going off. Edge and Punk nail a double cross body. Edge goes for a big boot but Punk blocks it and Punk gets in a fair few kicks of his own for a two count. Punk off the second rope with a cross body, Edge rolls through into the pinfall for a two count! Punk with an enziguri, goes for the Go To Sleep but Edge rolls through into a pin for a two count! Edge gets the reverse X-Factor for the two count. Edge runs shoulder first into the second turnbuckle, and Punk comes off the top rope with a flying cross body for a two count – almost a three.
Punk goes for the Go To Sleep, but Edge lands on his feet and nails the Edgecution DDT for a two count – again almost a three! Edge sets up for the spear, but Punk picks Edge up and nails the Go To Sleep! Edge tumbles to the outside. Punk sends Edge back into the ring, but Zach Ryder goes to attack Punk on his return to the ring. Punk stops the interference and returns to the ring, only to get hit with the Spear for the three count!
Winner: Edge
The crowd were just eating this up. On one side, Punk came off looking great in this match and this the match I was hoping for the last time they faced off. However, the flipside of that, Edge didn’t get anywhere near as much offence as he should have – especially considering he’s going up against The Undertaker this weekend. Oh well. None the less, a pretty good match. Eight out of Ten.
Still to come: The Undertaker vs. Batista.
Commercials.
RAW Recap: King of the Ring. I didn’t see the episode itself, but I really like the idea of William Regal winning the tournament, even if I seriously doubt his chances of being World Champion. The video makes Regal look like a completely heartless genius.
Vladimir Koslov vs. Marty Garner
Koslov throws Garner around a few times and eventually wins.
Winner: Vladimir Koslov
-Five out of Ten. I’ll care when Koslov goes up against someone who actually stands a chance.
Video of the Gogoplata by The Undertaker.
Commercials.
Cole and Coach hype up Backlash and clear up that if Batista wins tonight, he’ll defend against Edge at Backlash.
Batista thanks Vickie Guerrero for the match tonight, and then says he’ll beat the living hell out of Edge at Backlash. Very heel promo until the very end.
Commercials.
Recap of Clinton vs. Obama. They so need to hire in the Clintons.
World Heavy Weight Championship: No Disqualifications: Batista vs. The Undertaker (Champion)
Lock up and Taker gets Batista in a headlock. Taker gets sent into the ropes, back with a shoulder block which takes Batista down. Both back to their feet, another lockup gets Batista a headlock. Batista off the ropes with a shoulder block of his own. Batista with right hands to Taker and whips Taker into the corner and follows with a clothesline. Taker with shoulder blocks to Batista, following with a leg drop to the shoulder for a pair of one counts. Taker sets Batista up in the corner, but Batista comes back with a spear – Taker goes for the Gogoplata but Batista escapes before Taker can connect! Batista rolls outside as we head to a commercial break.
Commercials.
We’re back and Taker reverses an irish whip, which results in Batista being sent into the steel steps. Taker sets Batista up on the ring apron for the usual offence. Back in the ring, Taker covers for a two count over Batista. Taker goes for Old School but Batista clips the leg and drops Taker groin first on the top rope. Batista goes for a superplex, but Taker shoves Batista off. Batista goes to attack Taker, but Taker gets a boot to the face of Batista, grabs the arm and nails Old School! Taker off the rope into a Spinebuster for a two count! Batista goes for the Batista Bomb but Taker flips Batista over.
Taker goes for a Chokeslam but Batista powers out of it. Taker kicks Batista in the gut, misses a clothesline and Batista nails a big time power slam for a two count. Batista charges into a big boot and Taker nails the Chokeslam! Taker covers for a two count! Taker signals for the end but turns into a spear from Batista! Batista covers for a two count! Batista gets the ten count punches in the corner, but Taker follows up with a Last Ride! Taker covers but Batista kicks out just before the three count. Taker exit’s the ring and brings the bottom half of the steel steps back in the ring with him.
Taker goes for the Tombstone on the steel steps, but Batista falls behind him and nails a Spinebuster onto the steel steps! Batista picks Taker up and goes for a Batista Bomb onto the steel steps, but Shawn Michaels is in the ring! Sweet Chin Music to Batista! Michaels exits through the crowd, Undertaker picks Batista up and nails the Tombstone! One, two, three!
Winner and Still World Heavy Weight Champion: The Undertaker
Now that is a very good SmackDown main event. While they didn’t get as long as I’d prefer that they have, this was still much better than what they did last week. They didn’t go too far with the No Disqualification stipulation, which meant when it did come into play it actually meant something and that I can appreciate. While not the best match between these two, this was still a very good and stand out match for SmackDown needs. Eight out of Ten. I’d love to see these two resume their actual feud with Batista turning heel later down the year; lets squeeze every last cent out of that feud.
Shannon Moore defeats The Miz: 6/10
Natalya defeats Cherry: 1/10
Edge defeats CM Punk: 8/10
Vladimir Koslov Squash: -5/10
The Undertaker defeats Batista: 8/10
SmackDown 25/04/08: 18/50
I have to say that this was probably the best episode of SmackDown in a long time, at least the most solid, and most of the credit for that goes to the big two matches in Punk / Edge and Batista / Undertaker. This follows what I said on the SmackDown after the Benoit tragedy, in that SmackDown should stick more to wrestling. Two very good matches here, a hot opener and two squashes – one, at least, furthered something while the other was thankfully short. Until next week, have a good one!
