by Brian Hansley

thanks to www.wrestlingobserver.com  

01/29/08 Smackdown Taping spoilers for air 02/01/08
Reading, PA

WWE Smackdown returned to the Sovereign Center in Reading, Pennsylvania for the first time since August of 2005 this evening. The crowd looked bigger than the last time they were here and the crowd was hot for everything all night long.

Also say what you will about them but the new DX shirts were selling like crazy at the merchandise stands.

Dark Match:

Vladimir Kozlov defeated Funaki with a version of Abyss' shock treatment. Kozlov came out and cut a promo using broken English with a Russian accent which got big heat. Jingoism still has power as a booking tactic apparently. Kozlov is very green and they had a sloppy match. Another stiff of a heel is not what Smackdown needs

Smackdown:

- Teddy Long is in the ring to start and announces that Vickie is not there this evening as she is recovering from the 619 at the Royal Rumble. Vince McMahon has put him in charge and because of that he is going to make a match that will determine the #1 contender for the World Title and Wrestlemania.

- He announces at No Way Out they will have an Elimination Chamber match to determine the challenger. That's right- 2 Elimination Chamber matches at No Way Out. The Smackdown one will be Batista vs The Great Khali vs Finlay vs MVP vs Big Daddy V vs The Undertaker. What program got the better end of the talent rosters for that match?

- He then says the winner of that match will face the winner of another match he is making for No Way Out. Edge will defend the title against Rey Mysterio in a rematch of the Rumble encounter. That brings out Edge who says he will face anyone but Rey. Teddy tells him I feel bad for what happened to Vickie but don't take it personally- it's just business playa.

1.) Ric Flair defeated MVP by DQ in a Royal Rumble rematch.

-Flair got a standing ovation as he came out as it seemed like people knew this was the last time we'd see him. Decent back and forth match that went about 10 minutes. Flair seems to be getting his legs under him stamina wise so he was able to keep up in the match. The end came when Flair went to lock on the Figure Four but MVP reversed it. Flair got to the ropes but MVP wouldn't break and got disqualified. After the match MVP wrapped Flair's leg around the ringpost a few times and then trapped the leg between the post and steps and kicked it.

- In the back the trainers looked at Flair and said he has damaged ligaments.

- Chuck Palumbo came out and said he wanted to talk about what happened last week. He said him and Michelle were going good until Jamie Noble got involved.So it felt good to beat up Jamie, but what happened to Michelle was a total accident. He then said he got fined 10,000 dollars for hitting a referee that was , "too stupid to get out of the way while I was bringing the crazy." He then said he wanted to apologize to Michelle. She came out and said she wouldn't accept and then slapped him. Palumbo said Noble would pay for that slap. Chuck was awkward on the mic in the segment

2.) CM Punk & Rey Mysterio defeated Chavo Guerrero and Edge with a combination 619/ GTS on Chavo.

- Very good tag match that was about 15 minutes long. Had two heat segments. First on Punk, then on Rey.The crowd was into this the whole time and the closing minutes of the match have some good sequences. The end saw Chavo and Edge collide and both fall into position for the 619. Edge bailed and Chavo took it, then Rey dove onto Edge at ringside. Punk hit the GTS and pinned Chavo.

- Vince McMahon stopped Finlay and Hornswoggle going to the ring and said he was disappointed in Finlay for throwing away a chance at the championship. Finlay said he is more concerned with loyalty and friendship.

3.) Finlay & Hornswoggle beat Deuce & Domino with the Tadpole splash.

- Total squash as the Greasers have hit rock bottom- unless they find a way to book them against Cole and Coach next week. Hornswoggle tripped up Cherry on the outside and Finlay clotheslined Deuce into the crowd. He then hit Domino with the Celtic Cross and Hornswoggle hit the Tadpole for the win. Hornswoggle is way over with the little kids, and seeing as that is (isn't?) their audience it's good for them.

- Diva Search winner Eve Torres was out for her first night on Smackdown to introduce Batista. Batista came out and cut a short, but effective promo saying he will walk to Vegas, walk into the Elimination Chamber, win, and then walk to Wrestlemania to take back his belt. So he should be in great shape cardiovascular wise at the big show. As he left the ring he got into an argument with two guys in the front row who were flipping him off the whole time.

- Jesse was in the back and said they found a doctor who could meld Festus two personalities into one. Next week Jesse and the new Festus will return to climb up the tag team ranks.

4.) Curt Hawkins & Zack Ryder beat Shannon Moore & Jimmy Wang Yang with an inverted Impaler.

- Hawkins and Ryder messed up their entrance twice and then one of them messed up the first move of the match. Not a good night for the former Major Brothers. The crowd didn't seem to care too much about this match as there were scattered, "Boring" chants. There was nothing wrong with the match but it was wholly unremarkable. Hawkins and Ryder have potential but they seem over anxious in teh ring at times and it throws their timing off.

5.) Kane & the Undertaker defeated Mark Henry & Big Daddy V when Taker locked Henry in his version of a triangle choke.

- Really sloppy match at times but the crowd heat was incredible for it as people were chanting for Undertaker all night. Kane got the heat segment as V and Henry hit some slow motion offense on him. Kane eventually got the hot tag and Taker came in and took the bad guys out. Taker and Kane then hit V with a double chokeslam before Taker finished off Henry. The show ends with Taker and Kane celebrating their victory and the fans in Reading going home happy.

- After the cameras stopped rolling Matt Striker got the mic and said there was no one in the Elimination Chamber match who could stop Big Daddy V. That brought out Batista who hit V with the Spinebuster. Then he speared Striker and hit the Batista Bomb and the crowd went nuts. As he was leaving the ring he got into it again with the two guys in the front row. The guy needs to control his temper.

Observations:

- They taped ECW first which makes more sense than doing it after. It gets the crowd warmed up for the Smackdown taping and seeing as it ended with a hot angle the first hour of Smackdown had great heat.

- It's amazing how much adding Edge and having a healthy Taker have helped Smackdown's star power. Last time around King Booker was on top and feuding with Batista. Now with Edge, Batista, Taker, MVP, etc. there seems to be a better top tier of guys.

- No matter how many times they run angles like it- the mystery guy under a disguise always works well. The crowd had no idea it was Punk even though it was blatantly obvious there was someone under the costume. For starters the band came out too soon and Punk wasn't with them. They got told to go back and then came out with a guy who was a half foot taller than the rest of them. Then the guy never picked his head up and made sure his sombrero was always covering his face. Still though, a very hot angle that people loved. Punk was just starting out last time they were here and the crowd was really buying into him as a main event level type guy. ECW hasn't been a total loss I suppose.

- Good night and a good show. ECW was much better than it has been in recent weeks, and the first hour plus of Smackdown is really good. The second hour falls apart some but the Taker appearance saved the crowd from total apathy at the end.