Smackdown 16th March, 2007

We begin the show from Trenton, New Jersey with the music of Batista and the crowd giving a huge pop as Batista, in a suit this time and not looking like Frosty the Snowman comes out on stage, sets off the pyros then makes his way to the ring. In the ring we have Miz and it's MizTV! Miz calls Batista Big Dave and welcomes him to the 2nd edition of his segment and he talks to Batista about defending the title at Wrestlemania. Miz has done research and has the WWE magazine with Batista on the cover and a comment that says he's unstoppable in an interview. Miz mentions Undertaker's 14 and 0 and that that is unstoppable and in all honesty, Miz thinks he can't stop the Undertaker. Miz says that if Undertaker wanted to he could come right out and kick his ass to which Batista has an angry look just before the lights go down in expectation of the gong! The lights go up and there is no Undertaker and Miz is laughing loudly and the crowd are jeering. Batista removes his sunglasses then looks back at Miz and Miz comments on the joke that he just made on Batista. Batista says that he was had by that joke and that everyone thought the Undertaker was coming out. Miz says he wasn't sure if Batista had a sense of humour to which Batista says he did. Batista offers his hand out and Miz takes it as Batista is saying he likes MizTV but he doesn't necessarily like Miz himself. Miz gets a serious look on his face as Batista drops the mic. Miz can't get away as Batista kicks him in the midsection then takes him down with a Batista Bomb to a nice pop from the crowd! Batista adjusts his suit whilst standing over Miz, puts his sunglasses back on then exits the ring. We get a replay of the Bomb happening again as then Batista is up on top of stage again as he lifts his belt up to acknowledge the crowd. Rudi's rant - Batista showed more on the mic there than he's shown the past few weeks. Maybe it was that he was able to interact with Miz but he showed a lot more intensity and it was a good start to the show!

Commercial break...

Back from commercial and we have Mr. Kennedy making his way to the ring for the first match of the show. In the ring, he calls down the mic and says he repeats the same thing week in week out to get it through the thick skulls of the crowd. He's the future of sports entertainment, Mr. Kennedy......... Kennedy! We're then given the music of Matt Hardy and to a very nice pop from the crowd he comes out and makes his way to the ring. In the ring Mr. Kennedy mouths off at Hardy before the referee calls for the bell and we're on our way!


Match 1: Mr. Kennedy vs. Matt Hardy
A Hardy chant to begin with as they lock up and tussle and Kennedy is forced into the corner. A clean break as Kennedy exits the ring before they lock up again and we have another Hardy chant to which Kennedy stops and listens to before charging Hardy and getting him into a headlock. Hardy breaks out and gets Kennedy in an arm lock before Kennedy tries to break it but Hardy hangs on until Kennedy gets his feet on the ropes and the break is made. Another Hardy chant as Hardy gets Kennedy again in an arm lock before Kennedy makes the break and takes Hardy down with a drop toe hold which Hardy then wriggles out of and locks in the arm lock again. Kennedy breaks out by forcing Hardy into the corner and lifting knees into the midsection of Hardy. It's Kennedy now with boots to the chest of Hardy and then a head in the turnbuckle and then again. He tries a third time but it's blocked and Hardy repeats the dose on Kennedy before taking him down with a clotheslines. An Irish whip into the ropes by Hardy and Kennedy ducks a clothesline and then another one as he comes off the rope again. As he hits the opposite ropes, Kennedy locks his arms around the ropes to stop the momentum. Hardy then just charges him and spears him out of the ring over the second rope and both wrestlers crash to the floor below!

Commercial break...

Back from commercial and Kennedy is suplexing Hardy into the ring and going for an attempted cover. Kennedy works on the neck of Hardy wearing him down. He holds the move for almost a couple of minutes as Hardy tries to get to his feet and then manages to break out the hold before Kennedy briefly takes control again. A whip into the corner and a charge by Kennedy is met with a boot to the face from Hardy who then from the second rope drops the elbow to the head. Hardy is limping as he clotheslines Kennedy in the corner! He grabs him and goes for a bulldog but Kennedy pushes Hardy hard into the corner and as he staggers out, Kennedy takes him down with a blow to the back of the injured leg. It's Kennedy now working on the injured leg of Hardy softening him up. Hardy tries to fight back but Kennedy takes him down again with a knee breaker over his leg and then yanking the injured leg along the apron as yet another Hardy chant begins. Kennedy drops elbows and knees directly into the knee of Hardy before he exits the ring again and softens Hardy up before yanking the knee across the steel ring post! He does it again before reentering the ring and taking Hardy down with a short arm clotheslines and an attempted pin. Kennedy picks Hardy up and props him on the top rope before pushing him back locking his legs over the top rope and that just allows Kennedy to beat into him. Kennedy is pushed back by the referee which allows Hardy to push himself back up onto the top rope. Kennedy back at him mounts the second rope and looks to suplex Hardy back into the ring which he lands successfully!

Almost a pin from Kennedy who is bleeding from the nose and then he locks Hardy into what JBL calls an Indian Death Lock. Kennedy keeps it locked in and gets a couple of almost pins on Hardy as another Hardy chants start up. Kennedy continues to keep the move locked in stretching the leg of Hardy who finally manages to reverse the hold. Kennedy makes it to the ropes and the hold is broken but Hardy is favouring his knee as Kennedy beats on him. Kennedy mounts the top rope and attempts a Kenton drop but Hardy at the last moment rolls aside and Kennedy lands hard on his back! Hardy manages to get to his feet using the ropes before taking Kennedy down with a couple of clotheslines before landing a side Russian leg sweep and then going to the corner where he mounts the second rope and drops the leg onto the back of the head of Kennedy and almost getting a pin. It's Hardy now with an attempt at a Side Effect but Kennedy breaks out of that but then himself misses a kick at the leg of Hardy! Hardy grabs him and lands a side effect! He almost gets the cover and then gets Kennedy in a headlock. Kennedy tries to push him over but Hardy almost gets him in a small package but Kennedy drops on him straddling him and almost getting the pin himself!

It's Kennedy now who takes out the knee of Hardy again before coming off the ropes and just kicking him in the face and almost getting a cover. He picks Hardy up over the shoulders and attempts a forward rolling Samoan drop but Hardy hangs onto the ropes and Kennedy can't get the move done. Hardy slips out of it and then out of nowhere lands a Twist of Fate onto Kennedy and goes for the cover and this one is over!
Matt Hardy defeated Mr. Kennedy in 15 minutes.
Rudi's rating - ****
Rudi's rant - Now that was a turn up for the books! An excellent match and Hardy with a clean pin. It suffices to say he won't win the MITB match but with a hot crowd behind him was given the chance to perform and he did excellently, selling his injured knee very well. There were some great moves in this one and Kennedy showed a lot of aggression and a loss here doesn't make him look any weaker. It was nice to see Hardy win over a more rated opponent and let's just hope this push continues!
Post match and Hardy rolls out of the ring and celebrates his win as Kennedy is left in the ring ruing what may have been. Hardy is helped by the referee as we're told about Undertaker wrestling Booker before going to...

Commercial break...

Back from commercial and Kristal is asking Kennedy how the loss tonight affects his lead up to Wrestlemania. Kennedy has a dig at the fact that she is smiling before saying it doesn't change anything at all. Noone is going to beat Kennedy at the Ladder MITB match and that he will get a title attempt wherever he wants to. He's going to be Mr. Money in the Bank..... Bank and walks off before we go to the crowd again and we get the intro of MVP and he makes his way to the ring. He's introduced by Tony Chimel and we await his opponent. MVP grabs the mic and introduces his opponent, the Honduran heavyweight champion, El Grande Latte as a weedy looking masked wrestler makes his way to the ring and we've obviously got some gimmick as MVP says it won't be a title match before he just knocks Latte down with a right hand and the bell goes to start the match.

Match 2: MVP vs. El Grande Latte (the big milk coffee)
MVP beats into Latte and whips him across the ring and then takes Latte down and takes to his back with a couple of kicks before a big body slam and a kick to the chest. He comes off the ropes and drops a big elbow on him before picking him up and ramming him upside down into the corner and locking him over the top rope before dropping knees into him before going to work on him some more. MVP drapes his knee over the head of Latte before landing a type of DDT on him and getting the pin.
MVP defeated the big milk coffee in 2 minutes.
Rudi's rating - *
Rudi's rant - ummm, we'll see what this match was match as a promo for as it was a gimmick match which the crowd was pretty much dead for. If it did anything it showcased an interesting finisher from MVP and the fact that he's improved quite a lot in the ring and his gimmick, his entrance, his mic work, they've all grown on me quite a lot. I can see a future for MVP if he continues to improve. He just needs to have some decent matches that involve the crowds more and he'll be fine.
Post match and MVP celebrates his win before he grabs the mic again and talks about last week where he asked for a chance at the U.S. Title at Wrestlemania. He hasn't heard anything yet but he says noone in the crowd could say he wouldn't defend the title successfully, unlike the boring, uncharismatic Chris Benoit. MVP to jeers from the crowd says the title has a rich legacy and been held by Ric Flair, Harley Race, Dusty Rhodes which is more of a reason the title should be around his waist. MVP says he's better than Race and Dusty Rhodes as the crowd starts up a big you suck chant! MVP seems to think Benoit may be scared to fight him and should have his name changed from Crippler to Coward!

The music of Long hits and he makes his way onto stage and tells MVP he should be careful what he wishes for! Long tells MVP he has what he wants and introduces his Wrestlemania opponent, Chris Benoit! Benoit rushes down to the ring and enters and he and MVP go toe to toe as Benoit gets his face gouged finally by MVP who kicks him in the head! MVP goes after him but MVP is taken down by the Crossface which Benoit can't quite lock on as MVP manages to roll out of the ring and make his way up the ramp as Benoit shows the belt to the crowd and we go to JBL and Cole. They talk about Long being at RAW last Monday night and out of that two matches have been made for RAW next week on Wrestlemania Reversal Night as it's going to be called. John Cena will face up against none other than Chris Benoit which in my opinion will be a great match and Shawn Michaels will face up against none other than JBL as we go to JBL with a smile on his face and JBL says he has something special for Shawn Michael installed because his ego is bigger than the state of Texas as we go to...

Commercial break...

Back from commercial and we have the music of Ashley as she makes her way to the stage before calling out London and Kendrick. She rips off their masks and the champions show their belts to the crowd as the music of MnM hits and they come out to the ring with Melina and we've got a 6 person tag match ready to go!

Match 3: Paul London, Brian Kendrick and Ashley vs. MnM and Melina
London and Kendrick have held the Tag Team titles now for 300 days as Kendrick faces up to Mercury. They lock up and tussle before Kendrick gets Mercury in a headlock which is broken out of by whipping Kendrick into the ropes where he's then taken down by a shoulder block. Mercury and Kendrick play jumping jacks over each other in a whip to the ropes until Mercury is taken down with a hip toss and then a dropkick by Kendrick! Another hip toss by Kendrick and he goes to work on the arm of Mercury before tagging in London who goes to work on the arm of Mercury. Another tag and an elbow by Kendrick on Mercury's arm and another tag and London now with the jump on the arm of Mercury followed by an attempted pin and then another tag and a double face buster by London/Kendrick onto Mercury! Nitro rushes in but is taken down by a double hip toss from London/Kendrick before they're both he and Mercury are dropkicked out of the ring! London tags Ashley and that means Melina has to enter the ring and the crowd actually fire up for that before Melina just slaps the back of Nitro who had made his way back onto the apron and that means Kendrick is now the legal man in the ring and the tosses Nitro over the top rope and into the ring! Kendrick tags London and together they whip Nitro into the ropes and take him down with a double elbow! London sees Mercury back on the apron and knocks him back to the floor before leaping and dropping an elbow onto Nitro and making an attempted pin.

He makes the tag to Kendrick and together they whip Nitro across the ring but at the ropes he's grabbed around the ankle by Mercury and pulled out of the ring to catch a breather. London and Kendrick won't have anything to do with that though and they come off the ropes, Kendrick flying through the ropes and taking down Mercury as London somersaults over the top rope landing a moonsault onto Nitro and all four are on the floor as Melina looks on in shock and Ashley is cheering them on. London and Kendrick throw Nitro back into the ring then Kendrick reenters but is distracted by the referee which allows Nitro to connect with a forearm to the head. Nitro tries to take down Kendrick with a roll up but Kendrick holds onto the ropes and connects with an elbow to the face of Nitro knocking him down. As the referee is distracted checking on him, Melina comes from her corner and kicks him in the midsection as Mercury pulls him over the top rope slamming him to the floor! It's Nitro now exiting the ring and throwing Kendrick back in before going for an attempted cover and locking in a half camel clutch move. The crowd start up a clap for Kendrick with the help of London and Ashley and he does get to his feet but is kneed in the face by Nitro as Melina lets off one of her primal screams.

Nitro goes back to work on the neck and shoulder of Kendrick who manages to break out finally. He lunges for a tag but is picked up by Nitro who was blocking his way and slammed back first into his corner! Mercury is tagged in and he shoulder blocks Kendrick in the gut in the corner. He plants a boot into the lower gut of Kendrick as he makes the tag to Nitro and together they give him a double knee to the midsection and then with a the ref being distracted Melina chokes him before Nitro continues the assault on Kendrick before another tag. A double face buster by Mercury/Nitro and an almost pin which is broken by London in the nick of time. Another tag and Nitro now goes to work on the neck and shoulder of Kendrick as another crowd clap for him is encouraged by Ashley. Kendrick manages to break out of the hold but Nitro with an uppercut just sends him flying out of the ring. He drags him back in before attempting a cover after an elbow to the gut before locking a scissor lock around the waist of Kendrick who finally manages to break out!

Both wrestlers come off the ropes and fly at each other and knock each other down though Nitro is the first to make the tag to Mercury and he rushes in just as Kendrick tries to crawl over to his corner. Mercury is ahead of him though and sends London flying off the apron and to the floor with a big forearm to the head! Mercury goes to lock in a leg hold on Kendrick but he pushes Mercury off and he is sent back first into Ashley on the apron and she lands heavily to the floor! Mercury goes after Kendrick but he manages to somersault under the attempted clothesline by him and makes the tag to London who is back on the apron! London to a nice cheer from the crowd takes Mercury down by flying over the top rope with a crossbody! He takes Nitro down with a clothesline, Mercury with a back elbow to the face, Nitro again with a dropkick, Mercury with a dropkick as well before taking Nitro down with a spinning head scissors! An inverted atomic drop on Mercury before taking him down with a spinning heel kick! He goes for the cover on Mercury but it's broken at the last moment by Nitro. Nitro and London stare at each other face to face before a standing dropkick takes out Nitro and turns into a standing moonsault onto Mercury! Another attempt at a pin but it's broken by Melina this time! Ashley enters the ring but is stopped by the referee and during that distraction allows Melina to come in and connect with a low blow on London! To jeers from the crowd Mercury reenters the ring and together with Nitro land the snapshot on London and this one is over!
MnM and Melina defeated Paul London, Brian Kendrick and Ashley in 9 minutes
Rudi's rating - *** 1/2
Rudi's rant - It was great to see London and Kendrick back wrestling this week even though they lost. It looks like maybe we have a Tag Team Match for Wrestlemania here? This was great with some high flying action and great moves by all the wrestlers, botched spots and all!
Post match and MnM celebrate as Ashley runs around the ring and takes down Melina from the apron and attacks her before they're forced apart from each other by both MnM and Brian Kendrick with Ashley!

Commercial break...

Back from commercial and Booker is backstage talking to Sharmell about why is he in this match against Undertaker when he is already in the Money in the Bank match for WM23. Finlay enters in and he's looking for Lil' Bastard (Hornswoggle) and Sharmell says they haven't seen the little pervert. Finlay goes to wander off but Booker stops him and says that even though they're opponents at Wrestlemania Finlay had a match with Undertaker last week and Booker wants to know if he can share a few points about it. Finlay says he has one... Run! He wanders off and Booker goes after him as Sharmell sits down to do her nails. She hears all these sounds then puts her ear to a green painted door where the sounds are coming from. She opens the door and out pops Lil' Bastard holding a pint of Guinness to which the crowd pop loudly over and Sharmell screams! Lil' Bastard wishes the world Happy St. Patrick’s Day then goes to the couch. Sharmell is in the corner screaming away and Lil' Bastard asks her to kiss him because he's Irish. Sharmell screams some more then runs out the room and Lil' Bastard takes a drink of his Guinness as the crowd cheer again.Rudi's rant - A very nice little segment with Booker and Finlay combining again together briefly in a nice little conversation just like from before Christmas last year where they worked well together in a number of skits. Lil' Bastard popping out somewhere along the line and promoting St. Pat's Day was fairly obvious seeing it's tomorrow but it was still funny to watch!


We're then given a video package about the Billionaires match again with celebrities saying they'd love to see Trump bald before we go back to Cole and JBL again and they give the stats of the Billionaires side by side with Trump a little bit taller than McMahon though Cole asks if that is with the comb over and then a number of other meaningless comparisons before we get another video from RAW last Monday where there was the contract signing before going to another...

Commercial break...

Back from commercial and Daivari is in the ring speaking at the crowd in Farsi before the music of Kane hits and JBL says thank God for Kane as Daivari looks very scared as Kane makes his way down into the ring. In the ring Kane sets off his pyros as Daivari tries to tell Kane to not destroy him please before Kane just takes him down with a big boot and the referee calls for the start of the match.

Match 4: Daivari vs. Kane
It's Kane throwing Daivari in the corner and taking to him with a number of big boots. He whips Daivari into the opposite corner then picks him up with both hands and gives him a double handed chokeslam before picking him up and taking him down with a short arm clothesline. Kane with a big uppercut and then stomps to the head before choking him against the ropes. Kane is in total control of this match as Daivari tries to escape. A whip across the ring and Kane with a hand on the throat just throws him out of the ring. Kane follows him out, knocks the top of the ring steps off then grabs Daivari and choke slams him on the 'unforgiving' steel steps before reaching under the ring and grabbing out the steel chain with the hook attached as used in his movie See No Evil. He wraps the chain around the neck of Daivari and then just drags him up the rampway with it as the referee at the ring just doesn't know what to do. Kane drags him backstage as we go to a commercial break.
Daivari and Kane fought to a no contest in 3 minutes
Rudi's rating - 1/2 *
Rudi's rant - This was a total squash made to make Kane look like a monster and for Daivari who had an association with Great Khali, the fall guy for Kane's anger. Nothing to the match at all

Commercial break...

Back from commercial and Kane is still dragging Daivari backstage. He takes him behind a door and JBL and Cole discuss whether Wrestlemania will be big enough to contain Kane and Khali as we forget to call any authorities for the choking of Daivari and whatever else Kane may do to him and we go to the video promoting the latest Hall of Fame inductee, Mr. Fuji!

Back to action and Batista is making his way out to the ring again and he is going to be the special guest commentator in the Undertaker/King Booker match as we go to another...

Commercial break...

Back from commercial and it's intro time as we get the music of King Booker and he comes out with Queen Sharmell by his side. Booker hasn't made it to the ring though and the lights go out and we get the gong as the crowd fires up and it's Undertaker as he goes through his full intro in getting to the ring. As he's coming down, Cole asks Batista what he thinks of his match coming up and we get a quiet answer I can't make out as JBL asks him about the spinebuster he gave Undertaker at No Way Out and Batista believes in an eye for an eye. Cole asks Batista about the undefeated streak of Undertaker and Batista says he has respect for Undertaker but is not intimidated as we see Booker in the corner waiting for Undertaker to enter the ring.

Match 5: King Booker vs. The Undertaker
The match begins and Booker and Undertaker shape up but it's Booker with the early offense until Undertaker just takes control against him and takes him into the corner with a headbutt and just knocks him to the canvas as he exits the ring and just beats Booker to the floor as he looks at Batista before trying to slam the head of Booker into the steel ring steps. It's blocked and then Booker tries to do the same to Undertaker but that is blocked and Undertaker then manages to do it to Booker! He brings him back into the ring and goes for cover to which Booker kicks out. Undertaker now works on the arm of Booker and to a nice cheer from the crowd almost get Old School but Booker fights back knocking Undertaker down before stomping into him. Booker chops Undertaker against the ropes, then tries to whip him across the ring but it's reversed and Booker is taken down with the big boot then a big elbow and an attempted pin. More work on the arm by Undertaker and then we get Old School with the big arm to the head. We get a DDT by Undertaker on Booker and an attempted pin and then more offense by Undertaker on Booker. This continues for a while before Booker manages to poke Undertaker in the eyes and he manages a bit of offense before being clotheslined over the top rope! Undertaker follows him out and then slams the head of Booker into the bell table before headbutting him and then pushing him back into the ring. Undertaker stares down Batista at commentary with Batista standing up staring back and then he goes to reenter the ring but Booker takes advantage of the distraction and knocks Undertaker off the apron having him crash head first into the announce table and then lying prone on his back as we go to...

Commercial break...

Back from commercial and Booker is attempting to pin Undertaker before going to work on his neck in a submission hold. The crowd starts up an Undertaker chant as Booker continues the offense until Undertaker just yanks him out of the ring then follows him and takes to Booker with a couple of knees before putting him on the apron, head off the edge and he kicks him in the head. In the ring Booker mounts some strong offense and then takes Undertaker down with a kick to the head and an attempted pin. Batista isn't giving away any hints as to what he sees are weaknesses of Undertaker as another chant for him starts up and he fights back to a nice pop from the crowd. He whips Booker into the ropes but Booker comes out with a flying clothesline and we almost get a pin but to no avail before Booker beats up on Undertaker some. We then see them go toe to toe with Undertaker finally taking the advantage. We get Snake Eyes from Undertaker and a boot to the head! Undertaker measures Booker for a chokeslam but Booker fights out and then lines up Undertaker for the Scissors kick which Undertaker moves out of the way of before taking down Booker with a clothesline! The fans are hot for this plodding match as Booker is picked up by Undertaker over his shoulder. Booker slides out the back and manages to connect with a spinning heel kick onto Undertaker and he goes for the cover but only a two count again as he then takes to Undertaker again. A botched reversal attempt of an Irish whip occurs before Undertaker picks up Booker and looks to give him a Batista Bomb of all things but is stopped as Finlay rushes the ring and takes out the back of his leg with the shillelagh and the referee calls for the bell.
Undertaker defeated King Booker by disqualification in 16 minutes.
Rudi's rating - ** 1/2
Rudi's rant - This match showcased all of the Undertaker and Booker moves but didn't amount to much in my humble opinion. Like the Kane/Batista match last week it seemed to drag a little though the difference this week was the crowd were much more into it. I don't know what match Undertaker/Batista are going to put on at Wrestlemania but I'd hope that it's a bit less lumbering and with some more passion.
Post match and Finlay takes to Undertaker knocking Undertaker out of the ring as the crowd boos. Booker and Finlay both go after Undertaker as Batista stays seated at the announce table. Finlay and Booker take to Undertaker in the corner where the bell table is before all of a sudden Undertaker fights back and slams the head of Booker into the ring steps a number of times. He throws Booker back into the ring then grabs Finlay and literally throws him over the announce table and into Batista knocking him down in the most awesome part of the past 20 minutes! He reenters the ring and lines up Booker for a choke slam and lands it as the crowd cheer. Undertaker exits the ring and walks up the stage as Batista is still struggling to get up with Finlay draped over him still. We get a replay of that happening again and then a close up shot as we go back to Undertaker walking up the stage. Batista has entered the ring and rips off his tie and is screaming at Undertaker to come back as Undertaker lifts his arm to crowd, keeps walking backstage and that's the show folks!

source-Lordsofpain.com