As the CW Network's second highest-rated show among adults on Friday kicked off from Tulsa, Oklahoma, John Cena, with WWE Championship in hand, made his way to the SmackDown ring. With his left arm heavily bandaged, a testament to the attack he suffered on Monday at the hands of King Booker and his Royal Court, Cena stood before the Tulsa crowd to relish the applause.
Taking a moment to reflect on the last time he was in a SmackDown ring, Cena got down to business as he talked about King Booker's ambush on Raw. “Tonight, the odds are even,” the WWE Champion said, “because in my corner will be [Bobby] Lashley...tonight I go to war with [Dave] Batista.”
The crowd cheered their approval as Cena promised that tonight, there would be no feet kissing. “Tonight, we will simply kick [their] ass.”
Listening in the back, King Booker, Sir William and Finlay watched from the back, appalled at the Raw Champion's brazen attitude. Sir William took personal offense as he could not believe that Cena even showed up after the beating he suffered on Monday.
Finlay, more reserved than his partner, seemed less concerned about tonights main event as he had made sure Batista, Lashley and Cena all felt the impact of the shillelagh.
King Booker proclaimed that tonight, all three men would all bow down to the World Heavyweight Champion in reverence, all hailing his name.
Rey Mysterio and Chavo Guerrero will settle their differences in nine days at No Mercy; but tonight, Mysterio faced stiff competition in the form of Elijah Burke.
Originally, Mysterio was scheduled to face the undefeated Sylvester Terkay; however, the MMA Machine, seemingly disinterested in Mysterio, allowed corner man Elijah Burke to take his place. Watching from the back, Chavo and Vickie Guerrero had personal interest in the outcome of the match.
Mysterio started the match at a high pace, wanting to show the crowd that he had recaptured the spark that was missing from previous weeks. However, he would come to a crashing halt (literally) as Burke powerbomed Mysterio into the corner turnbuckle.
Terkay even involved himself in the match as he tried to trip Mysterio as he came off the ropes; but momentum remained with Mysterio as he kicked Terkay in the face, sending him to the arena floor. Burke, in an effort to come to his fighter's aid, was hit with the 619 for his trouble. This allowed Mysterio to hit a leg drop from the top rope for the win.
However, Mysterio's celebration was cut short as Terkay ambushed the smaller man and hitting a cradle suplex. The Guerreros looked on appreciatively of the damage Terkay was able to inflict with a little over a week to go before No Mercy.
Mysterio's opponent for No Mercy, Chavo Guerrero, saw action as well as he took on Matt Hardy.
Both men started the match with a mat-based attack that saw counters from both participants. Neither man could gain a clear advantage over the other, however, a balanced match was ruined as WWE Cruiserweight Champion Gregory Helms interjected himself in the match, giving Vickie Guerrero the chance to hit Hardy with a low blow. Seeing the opportunity to pull ahead in the match, Guerrero hit Hardy with a DDT, followed by a frog splash for the victory. After the match, Helms hit Hardy with the Shining Wizard; sending a message to Hardy before their match at No Mercy.
As WWE Tag Champion's London and Kendrick prepare for No Mercy, the question of who will face them at the October PPV still remained. That is why SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long booked a match between The Pit Bulls and Michelle McCool's team of Idol Stevens and K.C. James.
Early in the match, the former tag champion's utilized quick tags and double-team moves to confuse the young upstarts. The match was another example of the renaissance of the SmackDown tag division.
In the end, however, Steven and James would pull out the victory as McCool interjected herself into the match and reversed the small package by Kid Kash.
After witnessing the awesome power of the Undertaker last week in his match with King Booker, WWE United States Champion, Ken Kennedy paid tribute to The Phenom this week on SmackDown.
Dressed in black, the usually overconfident Kennedy said that he was in awe of The Deadman, and that Taker has defeated every obstacle in his way. Taker had nothing to prove, Kennedy said. “It would be rude for me to intrude on The Undertaker's legacy.”
The crowd voiced their disapproval as Kennedy continued talking about how it would be unfair for him to break The Undertaker's win streak at Wrestlemania. So, with a heavy heart and out of reverence for The Phenom, Kennedy would not face the Undertaker at No Mercy.
This brought the former World Champion to the entranceway. Walking through a fog-filled isle, The Deadman froze Kennedy in the center of the ring. Taker had a message of his own, that he would show no mercy and that Kennedy will rest in peace.
This enraged the United States Champion, who tried to attack Taker from behind with the microphone. However, the awesome power of The Undertaker shown through as the microphone exploded in the champion's hand.
The Veteran Killer, Mike “The Miz” Mizanin, kept is undefeated streak intact as he faced Tatanka in singles competition. Tatanka, who continued having problems with WWE officials, started the match aggressively; attacking the the reality television star from every angle. At one point, Tatanka pinned Miz, but referee Charles Robinson said that Miz wads under the ropes.
This allowed the Miz to gain the upper had and ultimately, the coveted win to keep his undefeated streak alive.
SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long believes in giving the fans something new with each SmackDown show and tonight was no exception. Long announced that next week, both King Booker and Lashley would be in a Pick Your Poison Match.
The unprecedented announcement shook the foundation of the SmackDown locker room and the participants in next weeks main event as Booker will get to pick Lashley's opponent; alternatively, Lashley will be able to choose King Booker's opponent.
The list of the eligible opponents will be available Saturday, September 30 on the WWE website site at www.wwe.com.
While Sylvan received a royal welcome last week in Montreal, this week was not the case as he faced self proclaimed redneck, Jimmy Wang Yang. Despite Yang's redneck image, he showed that he was not afraid to take the sky; hitting Sylvan with various kicks and flipping maneuvers.
Unfortunately, Yang came up short as The Ambassador to Quebec stole a victory, spoiling Yang's debut.
After weeks of intense negotiations, Montel Vontavious Porter was officially signed to the SmackDown roster earlier in the week. Will the hottest prospect in sports entertainment be able to live up to the hype? Fans will get to find out soon as Porter will make his debut at No Mercy.
The main even saw Cena, Batista and Lashley take on King Booker and his Royal Knights. Before the opening bell, Cena and company took the fight to the Royals, bring the crowd to their feet.
As order was restored, Batista and Lashley took turns manhandling Sir William, Finlay and even The King. Cena's team rained down volley after volley of power moves, allowing the injured Cena to come in and contribute to the beating.
However, like the rest of the match, things became unpredictable. The Little Bastard handed Finlay a Shillelagh, which he used on Cena's arm. The Royals, like a pack of wolves smell a wounded animal, pounced on the WWE Champion. Cena fought against the odds and was able to make the take to Batista. The Animal cleaned house, taking it to King Booker in the ring as Finlay and Sir William battled Lashley and Cena on the outside.
Finlay tripped up Batista as The Animal was going in for the kill on King Booker. This allowed The King to launch a strike of his own. However, as the nursery rhyme went, all the King's men could not put him back together again, as Lashley exploded into the ring and blasted the champion with a devastating spear, picking up the win for his team.
While Batista and Lashley celebrated outside the ring, Cena stood in the center celebrating until Edge appeared seemingly out of nowhere and laid the WWE Champion out with a vicious spear of his own.
With just three days before Cena and Edge meet at Raw in a steel cage match, will Cena have anything left of himself to bring to the ring?
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.
