Friday Night Smackdown
May 1st 2009
We open the show with a brand new video package featuring the top superstars on the Smackdown roster, including Undertaker, Kane, Umaga, Jeff Hardy, John Morrison, Rey Mysterio, Chris Jericho, The Great Khali, Melina, Gail Kim, and a few others, before finishing up with a shot of the new Worlds Heavyweight Champion Edge. The pyros explode and we are ushered in to tonights episode by the announcing duo of Hall of Famer Jim Ross and Todd Grisham to what JR dubs the new era of Friday Night Smackdown. Grisham follows up, stating that tonight Friday Night Smackdown will ante things up!, before both announcers put over the King of the Ring tournament, and Ross states that this years tournament could be the biggest ever with Shelton Benjamin, Mark Henry, Jeff Hardy and R-Truth all vying to qualify for the most prestigious tournament in all of sports entertainment.
Once Ross has finished, a familiar theme song hits the airwaves, as the new Worlds Heavyweight Champion
Edge makes his way on to the stage, dressed in faded jeans, a Rated R t-shirt, sunglasses and of course, his championship belt, which lays rest upon his shoulder. Once the pyros have exploded and Edge has entered the ring, the assistant at ringside passes him a mic, all the while Todd Grisham putting him over as a 9 time world champion and questioning whether the R in Rated R should stand for remuneration, because Edge has indeed been bringing home the bacon in the past four years with regards to title wins. Edge soaks up the chorus of boos and scathing from the crowd before accusing them as being
jealous of his success and sympathising with them,
and who could blame you, Im a 9-time world champion. The Rated R superstar further bolstered his ego, comparing himself to the likes of Bruno Sammaratino, Bret Hart, The Ultimate Warrior and Shawn Michaels, all of which he has won more titles than. Edge called himself the most decorated superstar in Smackdown history, furthering
is it any wonder that when I arrive I get my own luxury suite full catered with personal service, where as the rest of the lowlifes backstage barely get a baloney sandwich and a heads up from the janitor. Edge went on to say he had won more Intercontinental championships, tag team championships, Money in the Banks and King of the Ring tournaments than anyone in the Smackdown locker room, and there was not a man backstage who deserved to shine his boots, let alone go toe to toe with the 9 time world champion.
With that, the eerie, bone chilling music of the Big Red Machine hit the PA system, and after a pyrotechnic explosion, the monster
Kane made his presence known, hitting the ring after, as JR so abruptly put it, walking through hellfire and brimstone. Kane, dressed ready to brawl, called for a mic, all the while maintaining that sick, sadistic smirk weve come to expect from the 7 foot behemoth.
Well since were rounding off credentials and reading out our resumes, I thought I might as well dictate mine
Buried Alive matches? Check. Hell in a Cells? Check. Inferno matches? Check. First Blood? Check. Last Man Standing? Check. I Quit? Check...Ive experienced more pain, more blood loss, more broken bones, more physical torture than you can possibly imagine, and you know something Edge? Ive enjoyed every last second of it. Kane went on to issue a challenge for Edges championship, but before Edge could decline, the sound of beating drums hit the airwaves, and the 400 pound Samoan Bulldozer
Umaga stormed to the ring, steam pouring from his ears and saliva drooling from his mouth. It looked as if both monsters wanted a piece of the 9 time world champion Edge.
Edge, backing off and keeping an eye on both monsters, instantly dismissed both as possible challengers to his World championship, bringing light to the fact that Kanes last title win was over a year ago and only lasted one night, as well as the fact that Umaga was yet to even get to the promised land. His reluctance however was short lived, as Smackdowns general manager
Teddy Long hit the ring and said that he was right,
both men would not be challengers only one would, and that tonight in this very ring, were going to find out just who, will it be Kane
or Umaga!
With a
"holla holla", the general manager headed to the back, leaving Edge with a mixed look of frustration, disappointment and a touch of fear on his face. A stare down between Umaga and Kane, with a weary Edge looking on in the background takes us to our first commercial break.
Match One: The Great Khali v Dolph Ziggler
When we return,
Dolph Ziggler is already in the ring, before being joined by the 7 foot Punjabi giant,
The Great Khali, who as always is accompanied by his translator
Ranjin Singh. The Punjabi nightmare does not take kindly to Dolph Zigglers voluntary introduction, responding to Hi, Im Dolph Ziggler with a huge chop to the skull. Khali makes short work of his much dwarfed opponent, hitting him with a massive choke bomb, before forcing him to submit with a vice grip. Khali raises his arms in victory, however just as he does so, a masked individual from the crowd jumps the barricade and nails the 7 footer with a wicked chair shot. The cheap shot sends him to the mat, and the masked assassin continues to lay a series of boots into his head, before doing the same to his manager. As security storms the ring, the unknown individual scurries from the ring, fleeing through the crowd to evade capture.
The announcers remain silent as EMTs get to work on Khali and Singh, before we cut to the back where Smackdown correspondent
Maria Kanellis is standing along with King of the Ring hopeful
Shelton Benjamin. Shelton says that the King of the Ring has a rich history, and a tradition of great competition and superior athleticism before following up with
this years is no different. Tonight, R-Truth will be taking a look at something that slangin crack to fiends or pushing mixtapes on the street corner will never get you, and thats the Gold Standard. The camera zooms out to reveal another King of The Ring contender, former ECW champion
John Morrison. The Shaman of Sexy begins to downplay the appeal of gold when you have a
large serving rock hard abs and a side of too damn sexy for words when the camera zooms out for the final time, revealing yet another King of the Ring hopeful, in
Jeff Hardy. Hardy stares at the three other contenders before demanding they put up or shut up, and to leave the gloating until after the tournament has finished. The former WWE Champion heads off, and as he does so the scene fades to a commercial as Benjamin and Morrison all question what the hell he was on about, Morrison ending the segment with
put up? Ive already done a thousand of those today, to which Benjamin replied
dude, thats push ups.
When we return from the break, Todd Grisham reminds us that this is the dawning of a new era in Friday Night Smackdown and that tonight we ante things up! Jim Ross informs us that well have to wait and see what that entails, before putting over the King of the Ring tournament once again. Todd Grisham spouts off a number of past winners, whilst JR unsurprisingly refers to the tournament as being the spark that lit the fuse of the career of one Stone Cold Steve Austin. Before long the music of the Gold Standard
Shelton Benjamin hits the airwaves, and pound for pound, one of the most athletic superstars in the entire WWE as JR so nicely put it, makes his way to the ring in match that will act as a King of the Ring qualifier.
Whats up! Whats up!
Now you can get with me, or you can get with that
This is Friday Night Smackdown and this is where its at!
Whats up! Whats up!
Cameras pan all over the crowd before locating his opponent,
R-Truth, who makes his way to the ring whilst rapping his trademark theme song. Truth, dressed in modified jeans and black gloves gives fans his platinum-grill smile, followed up by a head jink, before his music dies down and the referee calls for the bell.
Match Two: Shelton Benjamin v R-Truth (KOTR Qualifier)
The opening portion of the encounter is evenly matches as both superstars unload an arsenal of innovative and fast paced manoeuvres. Shelton is able to get the upper hand eventually though, and delivers a huge overhead belly-to-belly, followed up with a vicious spinning toe hold. R-Truth staggers to his feat, but is pummelled once more, as the Gold Standard connects with a standing drop kick, very much in the vein of the late Owen Hart. Shelton however was unable to capitalise, as Truth kicked out of the cover, forcing the Gold Standard to rethink his strategy. A shot is shown of a man in the front row dressed in a suit with no tie and sunglasses, screaming down a cell phone. As we head to the third break of the evening, Benjamin delivered a stunning stinger splash in the corner, followed up with a running shoulder block, sending R Truth to the outside.
When we return, both athletes are sprawled on the outside, as the referee is midway through his count. A replay comes up showing Shelton Benjamin hitting a summersault suicide dive to a dazed R-Truth on the outside, coupled with JR putting over the fact that these two men will do anything to be crowned king. Both men are able to make it under the ropes before the referee reaches ten, and R-Truth is able to gain the upper hand, hitting a spinning heel kick, followed by a corkscrew elbow. The Gold Standard was then levelled with a spike DDT, followed up by a standing corkscrew plunge, but somehow managed to kick out of R-Truths cover. The camera goes back to the man in the crowd, however this time he is clapping the efforts of both athletes, before pulling out his cell phone once more. As JR and Grisham question his identity, Truth signalled for the end, as he waited for Shelton to rise to his feet. Benjamin however was able to evade a corkscrew axe kick from R-Truth, nailing him with a thunderous T-Bone suplex to get the victory. The fans applaud both superstars as Shelton Benjamins arm is raised in victory, and announcer Justin Roberts informs the crowd that The Gold Standard has qualified for the King of The Ring tournament. The man in the crowd applauds Benjamin as well, before handing people around him his business card, before we head to a commercial break.
When we return, Jim Ross spills the beans, and reveals that from here on in, the second hour of Smackdown, thats 9oclock Eastern, will be dubbed Smackdown: Ante Up! where the superstars of Friday Night Smackdown promise to ante things up and take things to heights the fans have never seen before. Before then, however, the fans will be treated with one more match, and Jim Ross draws reference to the 300 pound Silverback,
Mark Henry, who is stationed in the ring awaiting his opponent. Henry, who is accompanied by former WWE Superstar
Tony Atlas, will be looking to qualify for the King of The Ring tournament.
Eventually, the music of
Jeff Hardy hits the speaker system, and the former WWE Champion makes his way to the ring, complete with his trademark dancing, posing and eccentric face paint. JR puts him over as one of a kind, whilst Grisham boasts that he only place youll see Superstars like Jeff Hardy is right here on Friday Night Smackdown.
Match Three: Mark Henry v Jeff Hardy (KOTR Qualifier)
The match begins in typical Mark Henry fashion, with the Silverback looking to decimate his opponent from the get go and pummel Jeff Hardy to the point of no return. Henry dominates with a series of huge clotheslines, a massive sidewalk slam, and finally dropping the huge 300 pound elbow onto a helpless Jeff Hardy. Friday Night Smackdowns most eccentric superstar is able to kick out however, and Henry send his opponent into the corner, before hitting running clothesline, sending Hardy face first into the mat. We head to a commercial break with Henry standing over top of Hardy, with JR questioning is Hardys King of The Ring dream over already? Find out when we return.
When we come back from the commercial, Henry continues to dominate, with Hardy locked in a bear hug. Shaking the lifeless Hardy, the referee gets to two and three quarters before Jeff, drawing on the energy from the crowd, is able to roll out and hit a flurry of drop kicks to the Silverback, sending him into the ropes. His comeback however, is short lived, as he runs at Henry, who back body drops Hardy to the outside
Hardy skins the cat! JR notes that the man who was shown earlier at ringside is back, this time applauding the efforts of Jeff Hardy. Hardy swings himself back into the ring, hits a twist of fate, followed up by a whisper in the wind, for the two count. Both men are on their feet, and Henry misses with the World Strongest Slam, only to be dropped with a huge drop kick from the former WWE champ. Hardy then hits a Swanton bomb, much to the delight of the fans and the suited man at ringside, to pick up the win and qualify for this years King of the Ring. JR puts over the match and urges fans to stay tuned, as the second hour of Friday Night Smackdown antes up!
