Credit to PWTorch.com for these results…
Smackdown taping for Friday (1/22) on MyNetworkTV
Batista came out to a massive pop. He may be a heel, but the crowd loves the guy more than ever. I think that he represents the opposite of goody-goody Rey Mysterio and has an edge to him, while retaining the aspects that always made him popular (his look, the “animal rage,” etc.). His opponent? Finlay.
(1) Finlay beat Batista via DQ. After a few minutes of Batista dominating Finlay, it looks like Batista raked the eyes and got DQ’ed. After the match, he delivered a strong and memorable beating to Finlay. With each kick, he named a Rumble opponent he was going to crush. “This is John Cena (kick)! This is Shawn Michaels (kick)!” The crowd ate this up. As Finlay whimpered, Batista went on to talk about how he was going to win the Rumble and go after Undertaker at WrestleMania.
[Break]
(2) Dolph Ziggler beat Jimmy Wang Yang via submission. Dolph Ziggler came out to little reaction, followed by Jimmy Wang Yang, who got a decent reaction. They had a fast-paced, exciting match and Yang got in the bulk of the offense. Ziggler locked in the sleeper hold and the ref declared Ziggler the winner after Yang was non-responsive. With them protecting Yang, I am fairly certain that he’s on the cusp of a push, while they cemented Ziggler’s sleeper as a finisher. This is good news for Ziggler, because it gives him a way to beat opponents like Batista and Undertaker without resorting to cheap tricks. All of the smaller guys should have a submission finisher, on that note.
[Break]
C.M. Punk and Luke Gallows came out. Punk delivered his promo while slowly strolling to the ring. Very, very strong promo that started with DX being a bunch of immoral degenerates. He stated that the Tag Team Title match would be next week on Smackdown. He then went on to discuss the Rumble, saying that he would win that too. While he was in the ring talking, a female “fan” rushed the stage and security held her back. Punk insisted they let he go, and she came into the ring begging to be saved. Punk did his intimate touching routine while Gallows did rubs, and the woman played her part perfectly in a state of near rapture. She admitted that she was an addict, that she needed pills to get through her day, but she knows she needs a change. She pledged allegiance to the Straight Edge Society and to Punk. She was delighted to get her head shaved. Throughout it she looked like she was in a state of religious ecstasy. Afterwards, Punk kissed her forehead like she was his favorite daughter and they walked back together.
This was an absolutely unbelievably awesome segment. While the head-shaving took a while which cooled the crowed off a bit, the crowd was downright stunned by this. Remember, this is in Greenville, South Carolina, the “buckle of the Bible belt.” The crowd was screaming that Jesus was the savior, not Punk. People in the audience were calling the “fan” a “whore.” The mood was electric. I half-expected someone from the audience to legit jump the fence and try to save the woman from Punk. I also noted there were more signs about Punk (both pro and anti) than any other wrestler on the card, except for Rey Mysterio (maybe). In other words, Punk is officially the most over wrestler in the WWE right now, except for DX and Cena. He is definitely their #1 heel.
[Break]
Drew McIntyre came out to ZERO crowd reaction, followed by Chris Jericho. The audience was bored with Jericho after watching a long match with him already this evening. John Morrison came out alone, as this was booked to be a 2-on-1 handicap match. Great pop for John Morrison. The audience hasn’t seen any backstage skits, so why this match was like this was a mystery. Teddy Long came out and said that Vickie booked this match without consulting him (maybe that was a backstage skit?), and that he was making it fairer by adding R-Truth. R-Truth came out to a good crowd reaction.
(3) R-Truth & John Morrison beat IC champion Drew McIntyre & Chris Jericho. The match started quick, and R-Truth and Morrison ended up clearing the ring. They posed as the heels were on the outside and they made the audience pop on demand. WWE has two very, very hot commodities in these guys. After the break, Jericho and McIntyre took control for what was one of the most boring, drawn-out beat downs in history. Morrison made four or five hot tags attempts (yes, it was that drawn out) before finally getting R-Truth in. The crowd went insane. At one point, the referee didn’t notice a pin by the heels because he was distracted by the other heel (ironic), and R-Truth ended up pinning Jericho. I didn’t see if it was a roll-up or the Lie Detector, thanks to the camera crew being in my way. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see any of Morrison’s trademark moves, not even the smaller ones like the Pele kick, handstand kick, or standing SSP.
[Break]
Team Lay-Cool came out to a mixed reaction. It was hard to tell who the cheers were for – Layla, who looks even better in the arena than she does on TV, or McCool with her tough-girl character. They had a “Buh Bye Piggie James” party setup, with pig-shaped cakes, balloons that said “Go Away,” and a bunch of sweets, chips, etc. on the table. They cut another “Mickie James is a fat pig” promo to lots of heat. McCool said that the “bad news” was that MJ wouldn’t be showing up to their scheduled title bout at the Rumble, and the “good news” was that tonight she was “leaving Smackdown.” Maria came out to interrupt. As it got heated, Mickie James came out to a huge, huge pop, and cut the best Diva promo in a very long time. She said that all her life, she dealt with people like Layla and McCool, who fed off the misery of other, but inside were scared and hurt. She said that she is NOT fat, that she is happy with who she is. Crowd went nuts. In one of the best moments of recent WWE TV, MJ said that all women, short and tall, fat or skinny, curvy or not curvy, were beautiful and should be proud of who they are. The crowd exploded by this point. It was so incredibly refreshing to finally hear this promo, and the audience clearly appreciated it. She said that she isn’t leaving Smackdown, and she will be seeing McCool at the Rumble for the title match.
A brawl broke out. Beth Phoenix came in, in street clothes and bare feet. She looked torn, and decided to join with Lay-Cool in beating the faces. Maria got knocked out, and Beth held Mickie while McCool shoved cake in her face and then dumped the punch in her face. The heels left the ring and Phoenix did the “getting dust off my hands” at the top of the ramp while McCool and Layla came behind. The crowd half-expected Phoenix to turn on Layla and McCool, and a few of them called for it, but it didn’t happen. Camera shots of Mickie James crying. The crowd was ready to lynch Lay-Cool after this.
[Break]
Mike Knox and Charlie Haas came out. Tony Chimel introduced Cryme Tyme, and then gave the “in the ring” treatment to the heels. As a note, he gave them a combined weight, so maybe they are officially forming as a team?
(4) Cryme Tyme (Shad Gaspard & JTG) vs. Mike Knox & Charlie Haas went to a No Contest. The match lasted a minute or two, then Kane came out with full pyro and cleared the ring. The in-ring teams actually tried to gang up on Kane, but it ended when he put Shad and Knox into a double chokehold, and shoved them over the top rope. His music hit and he stomped out of the ring. No clue why this happened, unless it was to establish him as a strong contender for the Rumble. I’m assuming this was a No Contest ending.
[Break]
Matt Hardy and The Great Khali came out to an okay reaction; they also now get a “combined weight,” if I recall. They’re facing The Hart Dynasty.
(5) Matt Hardy & Great Khali beat Hart Dynasty (Tyson Kidd & D.H. Smith w/Natalya). This match barely got started when it ended. D.H. Smith was in the ring with Hardy and Natalya went to Khali to start flirting to take him off the apron so Matt couldn’t tag out. Smart move in terms of showing the heel side of The Hart Dynasty. They lost anyways, as Matt got a cheap roll up victory. Natalya immediately gave up on Khali and ran back to her team, while Smith made his patented, “I can’t believe we just lost for the 15th time in 2010” face.
[Break]
Rey Mysterio came out to a really good crowd reaction, and said he was calling out The Undertaker. Taker came out to the biggest pop of the night. Rey made his usual “this has been a dream come true” speech. Undertaker says that Mysterio is like HBK, full of resolve and spunk. Taker says that he admired Rey’s attitude, but like all of the others who tried to make a name at his expense, he will…rest…in…peace. Boring promo, with nothing specific from either one. We’ve heard this a million times. I don’t recall if Undertaker promised to take Rey’s soul. The crowd was super hot for Undertaker though, to the point of booing Rey Mysterio. I’m not sure who WWE is presenting as the face in this matchup, but the audience is treating Rey as the heel. Undertaker’s music hit and he limped away (his walking looks even worse in person than it does on TV). While he did his fist in the air routine at the top of the ramp, Batista ambushed Rey from behind and beat him senseless. The show closed at this point (or maybe before the ambush).
Post-Show: Vickie Guerrero came out to the best heel heat of the night by far (wow, is she wasted in her current role!), to actually do a face move by giving Rey a “revenge match” against Big Dave.
Dark Main Event: Rey Mysterio beat Batista in a No DQ match. The match lasted a few minutes. I am guessing that it was No DQ because Rey got a broom from under the ring and Batista had a chair and the bell didn’t ring. Rey used the broom to smack the chair so it would hit Batista in the head. Good use of the weapons in a way that doesn’t cause damage while looking like it does. Jericho ran down the ramp and ambushed Rey, then Matt Hardy ran down to take out Y2J, then Punk and Gallows knocked out Hardy, followed by Kane who tossed them out. Kane rocket-launched Rey onto Batista, and the ref hit the three count. The faces celebrated in ring while the heels limped away. The crowed loved it when Luke Gallows had to pull Punk’s limp body by the arm like he was a sack of potatoes up the ramp.
