haVoc 0 Report post Posted January 10, 2007 I was in attendance at the SmackDown tapings last night, 5 rows behind the announce table. In the dark match, Donald Trump himself Ace Steel teamed up with Funaki in a losing effort to the Gymini. I thought it was ironic that at the last SmackDown taping, the Gymini were also in the dark match (against CM Punk & Sterling James Keenan). SmackDown opened soon after that. In an opening Beat the Clock match, Finlay couldn't get the job done against Matt Hardy. I believe the clock ran out and then Joey Mercury hit the ring with a chair attacking Hardy. After the commercial, Kristal interviewed Mercury. Mercury said he wanted Hardy 1-on-1 sometime on SmackDown. In a rematch from last week, Tatanka d. Jimmy Wang Yang. A brief backstage promo aired between Kendrick & London and Taylor & Regal. Regal said tonight's WWE Tag Team title match wasn't a ladder match, but a wrestling match. A screen aired for Benoit vs. Kennedy up next. Mr. Kennedy d. Chris Benoit with a roll-up of the tights. This match was probably the longest of the night but also featured a lot of holds. Benoit ended up giving Kennedy 11 suplexes - two shots of three and then a final shot of 5. Halfway through the match, Chavo Guerrero came to the ring. He teased getting into the ring but instead sat with JBL and Michael Cole on commentary. Towards the end of the match, Kennedy was about to be locked into a Sharpshooter when Chavo distracted Benoit, leading to the roll-up. Kendrick and London defeated Regal and Taylor when Kendrick hit Regal with a backslide. London was isolated for a lot of the match before making a hot tag to Kendrick. In the second Beat the Clock challenge, MVP and Vito had a no-contest. During the commercial after this, Tony Chimel announced something to the crowd and JBL threw a pen at him and laughed; Chimel threw it back. Kristal interviewed Batista about his opponents - Mr. Kennedy or The Undertaker. He said of Kennedy that Kennedy's beat six World champions, including himself. About the Undertaker: "Well, that would be a first." I wonder if they re-shot this because it didn't give the Undertaker's opponent a fighting chance. And with good reason, because it was The Miz. Miz played scared for a while. Undertaker was just assaulting him until Kennedy came out. He led 'Taker and Miz out of the ring. They both got back in and 'Taker went for the pin and only missed it by a second. It looks like Kennedy is going to the Royal Rumble. The Miz stayed down from the Tombstone for about 3 or 4 minutes, completely motionless. At this point I went to the restroom and was amazed how quickly the ECW entrance and ring were set up. Some notes about ECW... Sandman was very hot tonight, up there with Batista and The Undertaker (and any videos involving John Cena) in terms of popularity. I think the crowd was like me in the fact that they were disappointed with the Extreme Rules match. Granted, maybe Khali wasn't comfortable with doing those kind of spots, but Dreamer would have more than obliged, I'm sure. Kelly's hype video was much appreciated but got a lot of heat once it said she'd return next week. After ECW was over with, Batista, Kane, and the Undertaker defeated King Booker, MVP, and Mr. Kennedy in six-man action. It was really fun and Booker was doing a lot to get himself heat. It was a fun match that went about 10 minutes or so. In another interesting note, Sylvain Grenier was pulled over on Interstate 74 around 3 PM, according to the Peoria Journal Star. It says he was running late for the show and was pulled over for going 96 mph in a 55 mph zone. It says his $200 bond was paid by a WWE co-worker and he will have to return to Peoria for a court date. Credit: Gerweck.net Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Exslade ZX 0 Report post Posted January 10, 2007 I must say I'm surprised, that it's Kennedy getting the title shot. After the promo, I did expect it to be MVP. Can't say I'm dissappointed it's Kennedy...although I'm sort of dissappointed that Kennedy probaly won't win. But I think we all can guess the money match is supposed to be Taker/Batista. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Epic Reine 0 Report post Posted January 10, 2007 As happy I am that Kennedy's getting the shot (even though he'll be squashed) I was kinda looking foward to Kennedy entering the Royal Rumble match this year considering he missed last year's due to injury. He could have announced his oen entrance, damnit! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billdynamite 0 Report post Posted January 10, 2007 Oh man... Kennedy was my sweeps for the Rumble. Ok Granny, we'll have to draw again. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Insanity 0 Report post Posted January 11, 2007 My prediction had been Finlay when 'Beat The Clock' announced. Kennedy is an uprising star and throwing away a potentially big money match for the future (seeing as how Kennedy is very quickly gaining popularity) is why I didn't pick him. But since he's won, I can't imagine this not leading to a rematch at No Way Out. Likely stemming from a fuck finish at RR. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
