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Backlash has come and gone and now "the draft" officially comes into fruition, even though tonight M.V.P. (a RAW superstar) defends his Untied States title. Whatever. SmackDown comes from the legendary Madison Square Garden and we have a NEW World Heavyweight Champion, and that man is Edge... again! We'll also find out his opponent for Judgment Day when Rey Mysterio, Jeff Hardy, Chris Jericho and Kane will battle to be the number one contender. Time to start the show.
* Chris Jericho promo
Out comes Jericho, but not for a match. He comes out in a suit and tie, apparently to bash the fans once again. "You are completely clueless and ignorant to how talentled I really am. I'm not going to introduce myself because it's obvious all of you know exactly who I am. And who I am is the biggest superstar to ever be drafted to this show in the history of the WWE. And I have a mission statement for all of the SmackDown roster and all of the SmackDown audience and that is this. Forget everything you've heard or seen on this show because from now on I'm taking over. You heard me, from now on, this is my show and there's nothing you can do about it. I am the Superstar of the Year for 2008. And it is a travesty that I have to compete in a Fatal 4 Match to decide who the #1 contender is because I am already the #1 contender. But I will go on to win this match, I will go on to Judgment Day, and I will become the new World Heavyweight Champion and that's just the way it's gonna be." Here comes the champ, title slung over left shoulder, and I think he may have something to say about that. Edge: "That's very rude, if you're not going to introduce yourself well please allow me the honors. Ladies and gentlemen, Chris Jericho!" (Boooooo.) "Superstar of the Year, tormentor of senior citizens the world over, and FORMER World Champion. Now who was it that beat you for the title? Who was it, Chris? Oh that's right, John Cena. You've never did beaten him, have you Chris? But who did beat Cena in a Last Man Standing Match this Sunday at Backlash to become a 9-time World Champion? Oh yeah, ME! So you can take your angry man in a suit theme, that might've worked on Raw but it's not gonna fly here. Let me give you a history lesson, this is MY show. I'm the main event; my name is on the marquee. Everyone in these seats tonight, they wanna be ME! There is no better feeling than walking into the world's most famous arena, the Air Canada Center in Tortonto, Canada. and knowing deep deep down that you're better than everyone else." Crowd shouting CE-NA,CE-NA! Edge dismisses Jericho and CM Punk comes out.
Punk: "I heard you were introducing people back there so allow me to introduce myself. My name is CM Punk. You can call me Mr. Money-in-the-Bank." Punk reminds Edge he beat him for his World title nearly a year ago back on June 30th, 2008. Jericho gets in his face and says nobody cares about him and tells him to leave. Punk ignored and kayfabe'd him! Jericho snaps, says he's done and he leaves. Punk: "That was awkward. Anyway, as I was saying, I came out here to..." Edge: "I actually agree with Jericho. No one cares about what you have to say. And if he's not going to listen to you, then I'm certainly not going to listen what you have to say." Punk: "You see, we're in the midst of a new era and it has nothing to do with you. Your wife, Vickie Guerrero, is no longer SmackDown general manager. You don't have anybody pulling strings for you in the office; nobody protecting you or your championship. Actual general manager, Teddy Long, wanted me to come out and let you know that you will be in competition, against me, tonight." Edge calls it a warm-up match and says he'll easily beat Punk in their non-title match. Punk reminds Edge that he can cash in his Money-in-the-Bank briefcase anytime he wants. "As I was saying, I came out here to let you know how tonight's gonna go down. I'm going to face you in that non-title warm-up match, I'm going to hit the Go 2 Sleep and pin you. And while you're still sleeping I'm cashing in this briefcase, I'm going to cover you one more time, and I'm gonna become the new World Heavyweight Champion!" Edge scowls at that idea and walks off. Breaktime.
After the break, Jim Ross and Todd Grisham talk about the superstars and divas who've been drafted to SmackDown including the Intercontinental Champion Rey Mysterio, Candice Michelle, and John Morrison... and Morrison is on his way to the ring for a match.
* John Morrison vs. Shelton Benjamin
Okay, as far as I know, both of these men are heels but Morrison got the bigger pop during his entrance. Shelton starts out the match by throwing Morrison out the ring, but he comes back and takes him down, then hits a high dropkick. Shelton hits a straight superkick and Morrison is down. Shelton keeps Morrison down with a neck-lock, and Morrison comes back fighting. Running calf kick and a knee to the face for 2. Benjamin counters with a backbreaker. Morrison comes back with a springboard spin kick and a Moonlight Drive for the win, and it sounds like the fans were rooting for him. WINNER: John Morrison. Morrison certainly came off as a babyface in this match. Hmm, we'll see...
After commercial, the "Did You Know" fact is WWE.com has beat out other websites like FOX.com, CBS.com, MTV.com, etc. Next we see clips of Sherri Shepherd talking about her love for MVP. Apparently MVP has opted for Sherri to be in his corner for his match tonight. We see more draftees including Kane, Alicia Fox and Mike Knox. Backstage, Chris Jericho is in Teddy Long's office bitching about him being in a #1 Contender's Match tonight. Khali comes in and Jericho shuts up. Khali garbles something and Jericho thinks that he said that he respects him, but Ranjin Singh translates that Jericho needs to quit whining and get over himself. The most lightweight Intercontinental Champion is on his way out as we are our way out to a commercial.
* #1 Contender's Fatal 4-Way Elimination Match for World Heavyweight title at Judgment Day:
{Intercontinental Champion} Rey Mysterio vs. Kane vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Chris Jericho
ANNNND we're back, and not much has changed. Rey still celebrates in the ring and the other competitors come out after the break. Thankfully this is a 4-way elimination match and NOT a scramble match as originally advertised. All men start off brawling Kane and he fights them all off. He throws Hardy out the ring, a big boot to Jericho, and he clotheslines Mysterio in the corner. Sidewalk slam on Rey for 2. Kane is dominating early on throwing every man out and standing solo in the ring before the break.
After commercial, Jeff dropkicks Kane flying off the top rope. Rey pins him after a springboard legdrop but he kicks out. Jericho with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker on Rey for 2. Jeff with a clothesline takedown on Jericho for 2. Jeff tries a hurricanrana and Jericho reverses into a Walls of Jericho but Kane chokes him and Jericho tries the Walls again. Kane threatens to chokeslam Jericho AND Hardy but Rey comes flying in and gets caught, but then HE reversed it into a hurricanrana. As Rey goes for the 619 Jericho pulls him out. In the ring, Jeff ducks Kane's clothesline and hits Whisper in the Wind and a Swanton Bomb connects, but as Jeff makes the cover Jericho pulls him out and makes the cover himself! KANE ELIMINATED. Kane uppercuts Jericho, goes out the ring to throw Hardy around, throws the steps around, throws two chairs in the ring and eventually leaves frustrated. 619 to Jericho! As Rey flies Jericho throws the chair in Rey's face, and he's disqualified! CHRIS JERICHO ELIMINATED BY DQ. Jericho screams at the ref about the call before we go to ANOTHER commercial.
The last two men have a stand-off, and Rey hits a dropkick for 2. The fans are red-hot for this match! Legdrop and low dropkick by Jeff for 2. Jeff rallies the fans and Rey runs into his boots. Sunset flip attempt and Rey rolls through and kicks Jeff in the head for 2! A running legdrop for another 2-count. Both men bounce off the ropes and fly into each other, both trying crossbody blocks and both men down. No ref count because there must be a winner. Jeff's back up first but then Rey tries a springboard moonsault and Jeff catches him in mid-air, tries for a Twist of Fate but Rey reversed THAT into a jackknife pin and Jeff reverses for a CLOSE near-fall! Reverse mule-kick connects but Jeff MISSES the corner dropkick and he crashes on his back. Roll-up by Rey and Jeff counters for a near-fall of his own. Rey slings Jeff on the ropes and he connects with a 619! Springboard senton hits and as Rey goes for a cover Jeff rolls him up for the win! WINNER and NEW #1 Contender: Jeff Hardy. Jeff applauds Rey after the match, they shake hands and hug, then Jeff celebrates with the fans. That match went so fast it was hard to follow, but it still was a good one! I didn't like Rey Mysterio being on Raw; I think he fits much better on SmackDown.
Back from break and we see highlights of the previous match. Backstage, Jericho is belligerent in Teddy Long's office and Maria is there, but Teddy is not. Jericho goes off on Maria about Teddy Long and incompetent referees, then Edge shows up behind him and he leaves. Edge shouts at Maria about HIS problems because Long's not there and she just stands there, then Edge says "I'm going to go call my wife!" and leaves.
More superstars drafted to SmackDown include CM Punk, Layla and Cryme Tyme. Out come the men all about the money-money (yeah yeah). Todd Grisham asks J.R. if he can call him T.G. "Yo-yo-yo-yo-yo-yo-yo-yo, yo, yo, YOOOO." Shad and JTG say they are SmackDown's newest G's. They also mention this is their first night on SmackDown and they are in their hometown of New York City. They ask the fans if they wanna see two Divas dance, the fans cheer, and they say they're going to have a Brooklyn Breakdown. They bring out Layla and Eve Torres. Layla says she wants to go first, and she dances with a passion to the beat of Black Eyed Peas' new song "Boom Boom Pow." Eve's turn and she holds her own. Layla goes again and finishes off with a split. Eve does a no-handed cartwheel and a split of her own and Cryme Tyme fall in excitement! Even J.R. says he's exhausted.
HA HA! Afterwards, Cryme Tyme go to the fans to pick the winner and they cheer louder for Eve. Layla is scowling and slaps her, and it turns into a catfight! Shad and JTG break them up and the fans boo that, chanting "Let them fight! Let them fight!" Layla leaves looking luscious while Cryme Tyme and Eve celebrate in the ring. Backstage, MVP and Sherri Shepherd are talking and she invites him to be on "
The View" the next Monday morning. Sherri is extremely excited about his match and MVP has to calm her down. She says he'll be "Ballin'" once he wins and they head out. Commercial break. Next week on Raw, WWE Champion Randy Orton faces off against Shane McMahon.
* United States Championship: Montel Vontavious Porter {C} (w/ Sherri Shepherd) vs. Dolph Ziggler
The WWE Rewind is Dolph Ziggler beating MVP in a non-title match two weeks ago. More draftees include Women's Champion Melina, Chris Jericho and Dolph Ziggler and I can imagine that Dolph is on his way out now. Yup. "Hi, my name is Dolph Ziggler, and I am going to win the United States Championship tonight, right here, in NEW JERSEY!" Umm, okay. Out comes the U.S. Champ alone... then brings out Sherri. MVP gets his pyro back, and Sherri stands on the ramp during! Bell rings and both men lock up and Dolph gets hiptossed and arm-dragged. He throws MVP out the ring and attacks him. Sherri keeps shouting "MVP! MVP!" and Dolph walks over to her. MVP nearly runs into Sherri and they stare at each other lovingly but when both men get back in the ring Dolph takes control with an headlock. MVP with an electric chair drop to counter. Snap belly-to-belly, but Ziggler hits a low dropkick. Dolph pounds on MVP and Sherri gets on the apron to distract him. Ziggler wants a kiss and she slaps him (no DQ?), then MVP takes him down. Facebuster and BALLIN' elbow connects for 2.9! Ziggler ducks down and MVP leaps over him; he tries for a dropkick and MVP swats him away. Playmaker connects for 3 and Sherri is elated!
WINNER and STILL U.S. Champion: M.V.P. The referee and Sherri Shepherd raise MVP's arms and they walk out. We see footage of CM Punk cashing in his briefcase last year again, and then get a preview of the new X-Men Originals: Wolverine videogame.
More "Did You Know" facts about WWE being seen more than NBA, MLB and NFL... whatever. Jericho finds Teddy Long and berates him and threatens to quit. John Morrison comes out of the locker room and Jericho says "What are you looking at?" Morrison replies, "I thought I was looking at a loser, but now I'm looking at a quitter." Jericho slaps him HARD; they brawl and referees, Charlie Haas and R-Truth pull them apart. CM Punk walks past and Jericho shouts at him as he walks off. This definitely makes John Morrison look like a babyface now. Commercial. Don't forget folks, ECW moves to 10 pm EST (9 pm CST) this Tuesday.
* {World Heavyweight Champion} Edge vs. "Mr. Money-in-the-Bank" CM Punk {non-title}
Edge gets his revenge against the man who took his title last year. Both men lock-up and Punk tries for a GTS early on but Edge slips out. Kicks in the corner, and Punk dropkicks Edge's back in another corner and goes for a few pin attempts. Another big kick to the head and Punk goes to the apron. Edge is back up and cuts him off, but Punk knocks Edge on the ropes. Edge cuts him off again and hangs him upside-down in a tree-of-woe then spears him to his back. Punk fights back but can't lift Edge for a suplex since he worked on his back, so Edge reverses him and slings him on the ropes, then he kicks Punk down to the floor. Commercial.
Back now and Punk strikes but Edge knocks him down again. Kicks to the back and Edge hangs Punk on the ropes. Punk moves as Edge comes charging in and he's down. Edge ducks a clothesline and rolls up Punk for 2. Calf kick and Edge is down again. Muay Thai kicks galore and Edge is reeling, GTS attempt and Edge rolls through but Punk cuts him off and gets a 2-count. Edge takes Punk down with a facebuster for two. Edge backs up into a corner and you know what's coming... and so does Punk. Spear countered with a kick to the head and Punk connects with the corner kick / bulldog combo for a near-fall! Springboard clothesline ducked and Edge runs into a powerslam for 2! GTS attempt and Edge counters AGAIN and locks in a Sharpshooter! By now, Edge is used to being on someone's (Cena's) shoulders so he can easily counter. CM Punk makes it to the ropes and Edge saunters over to Punk on the apron. CM Punk reverses a suplex attempt and Edge runs into the GTS and he is sleeping!
WINNER: CM Punk. Punk walks over to his briefcase and tells the ref he's cashing in his Money. UMAGA SLIPS IN THE RING and kicks Punk's head off! Swinging sidewalk slam and Punk is down. Umaga shouts and then leaves. The bell never rang so Punk's opportunity is still safe. Edge picks up Punk's briefcase and is poised to hit Punk, but here comes Jeff Hardy! Edge swings at him but Jeff hits a Twist of Fate and lands on Edge with a big Swanton! What a finish!! Jeff smiles and celebrates then walks up the ramp. After the highlights, he looks back at his Judgment Day opponent, and in the ring Edge holds his title looking back at the #1 contender for his championship as we go off the air.