Smackdown kicks off this week with the new heavyweight champ Chris Jericho. The boyish looking man in his fancy suit wants to do a little more bragging. He goes on to remind us once again that he is the new champ. Jericho is even nice enough to give us a close up view of his title. Before he can get carried away in one of his normal rants we hear Edges music blare through the arena. The Rated R superstar wants to first start of by congratulating the former king of the world. Jericho replies by telling Edge that it should be no surprise. After all he is the best in the world at what he does. Edge agrees and also adds that he is also the best at getting speared.
Edge goes on with some mindless dribble about a spear here and there and tells Jericho that he is in his head. Jericho responds by telling Edge that he will never be speared again. The champ then clocks Edge in the face and tries to hit him with the code breaker. Edge avoids the Code breaker and Spears Jericho in the middle of the ring. The besmirched champ rolls outside and is doubled over in pain.
This wasn’t a bad segment; I did feel it was a little off though. For starters Jericho never had any problems beating Edge in the past. Am I supposed to now think that Jericho is afraid of him? To me it just didn’t click and came off kind of goofy.
MINB qualifier
R-Truth vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. John Morrison
This bout started with Ziggler getting out of dodge early. He stayed out of the ring and would only make an appearance when needed to save the match. The faces would continue to work on each other going into the commercial break. When we come back from the break we finally see Dolph getting in on the action. He is in solid command of the two for the remainder of the bout. Dolph looked very impressive for a change. He hit Morrison with a sick looking reverse body slam. R-Truth would regain some his composure and it looked like he was going to go on to win this match.
Things would change fast though after R-Truth would miss a kick and nail Morrison instead. These three would continue to go back and fourth in a really good match. At the end of the match Morrison would hit Starship pain. It looked like he was going to get the win, but Ziggler pulled Morrison off and snuck in for the three count.
This was a great bout to open the show with. All three gave an A+ effort and I liked how they gave the win to Ziggler. At one point it seemed like they were pushing him as the next Mr. Perfect, but then they seemed to just stop. I am glad that he finally picked up a big win for change.
Mickie James vs. Michelle McCool for the women’s title
I hate to sound like a broken record, but this was just another short bout that failed to deliver the goods. The match started with James kicking the crap out of McCool. Things would turn for the worse though after some outside interference from Layla. This would give McCool the opportunity to gain control for a brief period. Towards the end James would make her comeback only to get cheated by Vickie Guerrero. James had McCool in a pinning situation, but instead of counting Vickie slapped James in the face. This would be followed up with a Kick from McCool and a fast count by Vickie.
I like Mickie James, but I am tired of seeing the same nonsense each week in the womens matches. If they gave these ladies a little more time than maybe they could give us better showings each week.
MITB qualifier
Kane vs. Drew McIntyre
On Sunday Kane did the job for Drew. I guess it was time for the WWE to repay the favor to Kane. In this match we would see Kane use his power to dominate Drew for most of it. Drew Got in a fair share of offense but was never able to take control of the Big Red Jobber. In the end we would see Drew try to nail his finishing move a few times. Only to have it reversed by Kane who than kicked Drew in the head for the win.
I am happy to see Kane pick up a big win for a change. I doubt he will win MITB, but I think we will see a good showing from him at WM.
As we come back from break we see the Miz making his way to the ring. It looks as if he is seeking out some opponents to wrestle at this years WM. He calls out Teddy long who is more than happy to oblige the Miz. Long then tells the Miz that since he is here he might as well wrestle tonight. The modern day doctor of style tells the Miz that he will face Edge later tonight in the main event.
MITB qualifier
Shelton Benjamin vs. CM Punk
This was another good match between two very capable wrestlers. I was happy to see Benjamin on Smackdown instead of Raw. These two really worked well together. This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone though. Punk and Benjamin would go back and fourth in this one with multiple near falls. In the end it would look as if punk would pick up the win. He had Benjamin set up for his GTS, but after a little interference from Mysterio, it was Benjamin who would come out the victor in this one.
I almost forgot how good Benjamin was in the ring. As long as he can wrestle like that he will always have work in a wrestling ring. Sadly he still lacks the promo skills to ever be a real contender for the heavyweight title.
Edge vs. the Miz
This match turned out a little better than I expected. Both guys worked fairly well together and really put on a good showing. Edge looks really great and hasn’t shown any sign of ring rust. By the end of the match though you could tell it was not meant to be for the Miz that night. Edge would end the bout with a solid looking spear for the win.
Related posts:
- The Smackdown Showcase: My Review and Thoughts of Last Night’s Show!
- SmackDown Recap for March 5: Fear the Spear!
- SmackDown Recap: Jericho Stands Up To Undertaker, Batista V. Matt Hardy And More!
- Smackdown Recap: Rey Mysterio Calls Out the Deadman!
- Smackdown Recap: The Last Smackdown Before Wrestlemania!
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