– Thanks to Kenny for these live WWE SmackDown tapings from tonight’s show in South Carolina:
Dark Match:
* Kung Fu Naki beat Johnny Curtis.
WWE SmackDown, Airing Friday:
* Finlay d. Batista by DQ when Batista refused to break the referee’s 5-count I guess. Then he cut a promo saying Finlay represented the other Royal Rumble competitors and that he would win the Rumble and end Taker’s undefeated streak at Mania.
* Match 2: Dolph Ziggler beat Jimmy Wang Yang with a rear naked choke hold.
* CM Punk and Luke Gallows come out saved another fan. This time it is a hyper fan named Serena (Mia from FCW) and Punk shaves her long hair off till she is completely bald!!!
* Handicap match: Chris Jericho & Drew McIntyre vs. John Morrison. Teddy Long comes out and makes it a tag team match. Morrison’s tag partner is R-Truth.
* John Morrison & R-Truth win when Truth pins Jericho after a scissor kick. Great match!
* They show highlights of Rey winning the world title at Mania 22 while the ring crew sets up food and balloons for the next segment… Involving McCool & James.
* Michelle McCool and Layla make fun of Mickie James with a buffet of food. Maria interferes and calls them morons. Mickie comes out and says Michelle and Layla think they are great but really they are nothing. She points at the audience and says this is what real women look like. She says Michelle will never run her off Smackdown. Michelle says the WWE fans get to watch Animal Planet and WWE at the same time when Mickie is on TV. Catfight ensues. Beth Phoenix runs in and helps Michelle and Layla. They shove a ‘Piggie’ cake into Mickie’s face and dump punch on her. Actually a great segment, believe it or not!
* Mike Knox & Charlie Haas (he still works here too!) vs. Cryme Tyme gets interrupted by Kane, who lays everyone out. I guess he wants to win the Rumble too…
* Matt Hardy & Great Khali (there’s an odd team for you) d. The Hart Dynasty when Hardy rolled up DH Smith.
* Rey calls out Taker. He says he is not afraid of him. Taker says he admires Rey’s bravery but at the Royal Rumble he will defeat Rey and Rey will rest in peace. As Taker walks out, Batista lays out Rey and runs away through the crowd.
* Vickie Guerrero comes out and makes Rey vs. Batista for tonight. I’m guessing this is a dark match.
* It’s a no DQ match. They brawl with weapons for a bit. Jericho interferes and hits the codebreaker on Rey. Matt Hardy runs in with a twist of fate to Jericho. CM Punk runs in and hits GTS on Hardy. Kane runs in and chokeslams Punk. Batista spears Kane. Rey jumps back in and attacks Batista. Kane chokeslams Batista and Rey splashes off Kane’s shoulders and pins Batista. Crowd goes home happy.
* Overall an average episode of Smackdown, meaning it was great!
