WWE Smackdown Review March 9
Batista vs. Kane, The Undertaker vs. Finlay
The No Way Out pay per view on February 18th marked the last time Batista and the Undertaker were under the same roof. With that scheduled to change on the March ninth edition of Friday Night Smackdown, wrestling fans were half expecting to see an explosion. Unfortunately all those fans looking forward to a TNT atmosphere were sadly disappointed with the worse 2 hours of WWE programming in recent memory. Both Raw and ECW brought down the house on Monday and Tuesday night respectively, but Smackdown only featured four matches and less than a handful of additional superstars on the entire program. To the shows credit, all four matches were new, exciting, and may have saved the program from being a complete disaster.
Money in the Bank Participants
The Money in the Bank Ladder Match scheduled for WrestleMania continued to take shape as two of the four matches featured ladder match participants squaring off against one another. In the first of those matches, Matt Hardy fought King Booker in the opening contest. The match presented an opportunity for both men as a victory would give the winner some added momentum heading into WrestleMania. Matt Hardy hit King Booker with the Side Effect, the flying leg drop, and all the exciting combinations that he has become known for in the past few weeks, but in the end King Booker used the help of Queen Sharmell’s high heel shoe to secure a victory. With King Booker getting the duke on Smackdown, will the Queen’s shoe be enough to offset the disadvantage of facing both Matt and Jeff Hardy at WrestleMania? In the second contest featuring two Money in the Bank Ladder Match participants, Ken Kennedy defeated ECW’s CM Punk.
Kane vs. Batista
In a high profile match Batista fought who he described as “the Undertaker’s sick, twisted, and demented little baby brother.” Kane didn’t seem to have any problem with the description claiming that Batista really “didn’t know how true that was.” Would this match be good experience for Batista or would it give Kane a chance to soften up the Champion for his brother? Watching the contest between these two three hundred pounders was like watching a car wreck waiting to happen and the match seemed to result in Batista learning some valuable lessons and Kane softening up the champion for his brother. At one point in the match, Kane seemingly had the World Champion defeated after hitting his signature chokeslam, but he only gained a near fall. With Batista in the corner, Kane climbed to the second rope to deliver a few fists to Batista’s face, but Batista grabbed Kane by the legs and powerbombed him for the victory.
Other Action and Announcements
In the segments between matches a lot of announcements and actions took place. MVP asked Teddy Long to consider giving him a United States Title opportunity at WrestleMania by facing Christ Benoit, and Teddy agreed to consider it. In the debut of Miz TV, the Miz brought out two of the hottest divas on TV today: Ashley and Melina. The Miz thought that Melina might be jealous of all the attention that Ashley is receiving due to her appearance in Playboy magazine. After Melina informed the world that Playboy couldn’t pay her enough money to take her clothes off, the two divas fought to a commercial break. As a result a WreslteMania match between the two women has been announced. In another segment, the Great Khali attacked Kane as he was recovering from his match with Batista.
Finlay vs. the Undertaker
In the final match of the evening, the Undertaker made an appearance squaring off against Finlay. After the Undertaker made his every eerie entrance to the ring, it became clear that he could not intimidate the Irishman. With Hornswoggle making a reluctant, but comical, appearance, Finlay put on an impressive showing. In the end, the shillelagh and Hornswoggle didn’t provide enough support for Finlay to defeat the Undertaker. The show went off the air with a staredown between Batista and the Undertaker.
In closing, this Smackdown leaves a lot of questions. First, where is Christ Benoit? The United States Champion could be considered one of the best wrestlers on the weekly program, but why doesn’t he wrestle on a weekly basis. Second, did the entire tag team and cruiserweight divisions have the week off? That makes a total of four title holders that did not participate on Friday Night. Third and finally, how will Smackdown rebound on next Friday night?
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