Finlay was his name and tonight, before the Worcester, Massachusetts crowd, he would explain his brutal attack on Dave Batista last week.
Accompanied by the Little Bastard (covered in a sheet to keep him calm) Finlay sauntered into the ring and said that last week he stole something from Batista...his pride.
"You all thought Batista was Superman,” the brawler from Belfast boasted. "To me, Batista is not even a man!"
This brought Bobby Lashley to the ring. There was no love lost between these two, their rivalry born of Finlay's controversial win July 14, 2006, over Lashley to become U.S. Champion.
Lashley berated Finlay, saying that jumping Batista was an act of cowardice. The former wrestling all-American warned Finlay, "You say you're Irish...you're luck just ran out."
No on in the building could have known how prophetic Lashley's words would be, that is, no one but SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long.
Long, knowing that with Batista on the shelf, there would need to be a number one contender named. With two of the brand's top superstars in the ring, the choice was simple. Both Finlay and Lashley would meet later on in the evening to determine the number one contender to face King Booker at SmackDown's next PPV, No Mercy on October 8.
Sir William Regal, loyalist to King Booker and fellow knight to Finlay, questioned the Irishman’s motives, saying that if Finlay were to emerge victorious tonight, he would have to face their beloved King. Finlay offered no response, other than a grunt.
It seemed that even King Booker was nervous that his night was in a number one contender’s match. In an attempt to keep solidarity in his court, the King explained to Finlay the possible ramifications if he should win tonight’s match. Finlay’s only response was that he was going to go out there and do what he came to do, fight.
The King’s court was not the only source of turmoil as Matt Hardy and WWE Cruiserweight Champion Gregory Helms wrote another chapter in their heated rivalry. While in pursuit of continuing his historic title reign, Helms consistently worked to keep Hardy from nipping at his heels. Tonight would prove no different in their singles match.
Hardy looked to show the seemingly perfect champion that he was indeed human. Coming from the crowd to attack Helms, Hardy hit the ring running and never looked back. That is, until Helms took control of the match, delivering a low blow that sent Hardy crashing to the canvas and allowed Helms to pick up the win.
Former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Rey Mysterio looked to change his fortunes as he faced the confident United States Champion Ken Kennedy. With his son Dominic in a private dressing room watching the match, Mysterio fired up the Worcester crowd and showed no sign of the lack of confidence that cost him his match last week against Finlay.
However, fans began to wonder if Mysterio's confidence was a facade as he watched with the SmackDown crowd as the video screens showed Los Guerreros 2.0 (Chavo and Vickie Guerrero) paying a visit to Mysterio's son, Dominic. The smile of a relaxed challenger was soon replaced by the worried look of a father concerned for the safety of his son.
However, Mysterio would have little time to worry as Kennedy hit the ring (sans his usually ring introduction) and immediately went after the champion.
Kennedy, who will face The Undertaker at No Mercy on October 8, in Raleigh North Carolina, started the match with an intensity that is very much a part of his personality as his cockiness. Early in the match, Kennedy relentlessly pursued Mysterio with surgical precision.
Mysterio showed signs of his former self; hitting a few high risk moves that sent Kennedy on defense. At one point, Mysterio was able to nail his trademark 619, which sent the champion reeling across the ring. Still pressing his attack, Mysterio followed up with a corkscrew plancha onto Kennedy.
As Mysterio went for his trademark second rope moonsault, his attention was diverted to Chavo and Vickie as they stood with Dominic at the ring entrance. Kennedy, ever looking for an opening, rolled up Mysterio for the win. Is Mysterio’s misfortune all in his head? Or, have the Guerrero’s found a way to keep Rey off his game?
In a public service announcement, Montel Vontavius Porter appealed to the SmackDown crowd to pressure Long into giving him his payday in the form of a fat contract. Porter accused the SmackDown general manager of causing the delay in contract negotiations.
On the subject of rookies, Mike “The Miz” Mizanin looked to continue his undefeated streak going up against crowd favorite Scotty 2 Hotty. Unlike Mizanin’s previous matches, The Miz showed more aggression, hitting Scotty with an arsenal of high-impact moves. Scotty battled back, using his experience to gain a brief advantage, but it would be The Miz’s finisher “The Miz-ard of Oz” for the win. If Randy Orton is Raw’s legend killer, then can the undefeated Mizanin be SmackDown’s vetran killer?
Undefeated streaks are hard to come by; however, Sylester Terkay continued his dominance of the SmackDown lock room by defeating Todd Smith. The mixed martial artist (who the WWE is calling a hybrid wrestler) blasted his opponent with crippling punches and kicks that kept Smith from mounting any offense. Terkay’s undefeated streak continued as Terkay locked in his submission for the win.
While Mizanin used questionable methods to keep his win streak alive and Terkay brutalized his opponent to remain undefeated, Vito took a more colorful approach in his bout with Sir William Regal.
Regal in an effort to get out of his match with Vito last week, threatened to sue the toughest man in a dress for sexual harassment. This week, Sir William looked to redeem himself and dropped the charges to face the still undefeated crowd pleaser. Both men took turns pounding away on each other; however, Vito secured the pin by sitting on Regal for the victory.
While King Booker’s knight had fallen, the king himself was disgusted by Vito’s appearance. Both men were in Long’s office when the GM announced that next week, Vito would take on King Booker as SmackDown debuted on the CW Network.
With the tag team division seeing a resurrection as of late, Theodore Long put together a triple threat between ½ of the WWE Tag Champions, Brian Kendrick, Idol Stevens and Kid Kash of the Pitbulls. The action was hot from the start of the bell as each performer wanted to put for the best effort for his team. In the end, Kendrick picked up the win and continued the champs reign as leaders of the tag division.
The main event of the night saw both Finlay and Bobby Lashley battle for the number one contender spot on the SmackDown roster. With King Booker doing commentary and Sir William at his side, it would only be a matter of time before the royal flush would be played and the number games begin.
Lashley relied on what brought him to the match, power. Alternatively, Finlay worked to neutralize the stronger Lashley by keeping him on the ground to negate the big man’s power. Finlay, focused on his opponent’s leg, again, taking away from Lashley’s power.
However, the Colorado Springs native would battle back to gain the upper advantage until the Little Bastard tossed the shillelagh to Finlay, who hit Lashley with the weapon, causing the disqualification. Bobby Lashley was named new number one contender and will face King Booker October 8 at No Mercy.
After the match, the King Booker and his knights stormed the ring and assaulted Lashley. Cameras in the parking lot saw The Animal emerge from his car with a steel pipe. Finlay took an early exit as he pushed referee Charles Robinson into Batista as he swung the pole and caught the referee in the head.
As the Animal chased Finlay from the ring, King Booker attacked Lashley in an attempt to do some damage before the October 8 pay per view. As the King entered the ring, Lashley exploded into his Highness with a vicious spear, laying the champion out. Could this be a glimpse of things to come?
Contents copyright © 2006 by Trinae Angelique Ross. This document is written exclusively for www.rajah.com. No part of this report may be used without expressed written permission by the author or webmaster. Inquiries about using this material on other websites should be made to the author or to the webmaster at webmaster@rajah.com.
