Original Airdate: Friday, October 21st, 2005
Lawlor Events Center
Reno, Nevada
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United States Championship Match
Booker T vs. Chris Benoit
After a back and forth start, Booker misses with a kick and falls to the outside. Benoit then absolutely shoots himself out of a canon on the dive and slams himself right into the table as they go into commercial. I'm not even sure if he was supposed to hit Booker with it or not. That was brutal looking. Booker goes to work on his back and then hits a vertical suplex. Booker then hits a vicious Irish whip for a 2 count. Booker hits a neckbreaker and gets another close call. Sharmell is starting to show her frustration on the outside. Benoit gets his second wind and hits the three German suplexes and then hits the flying headbutt. Booker goes up top, but Benoit gets to him first and he barely hits a superplex. Wow, he was really lucky there as he lost his footing just as he was about to hit it and almost fell mid-suplex. We get some shenanigans and Sharmell hits a low blow. Booker hits the scissors kick and we have a new United States Champion. This was a nice match that continued the good story they are having with Sharmell and Booker. It's nice when everything comes together and this was a good example of where a finish like that can work out nicely.
Match Rating: ***1/4 (out of 5)
Sharmell is celebrating with the champagne backstage. In comes Benoit and is screaming in Booker's face. He lets her know that Sharmell interfered, but Booker isn't buying it.
Teddy Long is with security and lets them know to tell him if they see any Raw superstars backstage. He walks into Randy Orton tending to his father in pain. Teddy gives Randy the choice of finding a new partner or taking on Eddie Guerrero and Batista alone.
JBL and Jillian Hall are with Josh Matthews. They show a clip of JBL's music interfering in the Edge and Big Show match. He claims that he had nothing to do with his music playing, but he will break Edge's face if he comes on SmackDown tonight.
Matt Hardy vs. Simon Dean
Dean tells Hardy that if he were in better shape, Lita wouldn't have left him. Hardy attacks him and kicks him out of the ring. He launches himself over the top rope and connects. Dean reaches for his bag of supplements, but Hrdy hits a back suplex. The ref takes away the bag and Dean uses his cast on Hardy as he comes from the top rope behind the ref's back. Hardy fights back and hits the leg drop off the second rope. Hardy catches Dean off the second rope and hits the Side Effect. Hardy hits the Twist of Fate and gets the victory. I'm a little surprised it was as competitive as it was, but Hardy looked good here.
Match Rating: 3/4*
Rey Mysterio vs. JBL
Mysterio goes for a springboard crossbody, but JBL moves out of hte way. JBL hits one elbow, but misses the second. Myterio hits an arm drag. JBL gets out of the tornado DDT, but Mysterio snaps JBL's neck over the top rope. Jillian Hall gets involved and knocks Mysterio off the apron. JBL hits a fall away slam. JBL puts Mysterio up in a version of the Torture Rack. Mysterio escapes and hits a springboard bulldog. Mysterio hits a tilt-a-whirl headscissor, but JBL hits him with a thumb to the eye. Mysterio hits a drop toe hold and then hits a split legged moonsault for a 2 count. Mysterio hits a 619 and Edge's music hits. Edge comes in from behind and hits the Spear on Mysterio, causing a disqualification. JBL then chases Edge off into the crowd. Back in the ring, Chris Masters puts Mysterio in the Master Lock. A bunch of SmackDown cruiserweights come down to try and make the save, but are unsuccessful until Hardcore Holly makes the save. The match was good and the crowd was into the finish.
Match Rating: ***
Teddy Long walks into a locker room full of SmackDown stars and Rey tells him he wants Edge.
Bobby Lashley vs. Vito
Vito hits a few back elbows, but Lashley returns with a powerslam. He knocks Vito out of the ring. While throwing him back in, Nunzio attacks him, but Lashley carries him on his back up the steps and tosses him in the ring. He picks up Nunzio up and tosses him, but then eats a kick to the chin from Vito. Lashley then hits a T-bone suplex and a belly-to-belly suplex. He hits the Dominator and gets the victory. Lashley continues to look good in the Goldberg role.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Teddy is back with Palmer Cannon. Cannon talks about the New Talent Initiative on SmackDown and he introduces the Juniors. Long tries to get out of there and when he opens the door, Boogeyman is there.
Sylvan is backstage looking at himself in the mirror. He says he doesn't care about Raw, he only cares about himself. Hardcore Holly comes up and says he has two surprises for him, a referee and a bell. So I guess the Hardcore Match is starting now.
Hardcore Match
Hardcore Holly vs. Sylvan
They brawl through backstage and cut through the Divas locker room. They go up in an elevator as we go into a commercial break. They are now out in the concession area. They make their way into the crowd and Holly knocks Sylvan over a railing into a crate. They are just outside the ring now and Sylvan hits a vertical suplex. Holly breaks a broomstick over the back of Sylvan and throws him in the ring. Holly grabs a trash can lid and smashes it over Sylvan's head. Sylvan hits a spinebuster through the trash can and gets a nearfall. Sylvan puts a table into the ring, but Holly hits an Alabama Slam through the table and gets the victory. This was an entertaining enough bout and we haven't really seen a match like that on SmackDown in some time. I thought Sylvan did a pretty good job here.
Match Rating: **
Eddie and Batista are back in the locker room. Eddie is upset because what he saw happen to Rey tonight, reminds him of the bad choices he made with Rey. Eddie tells Batista how Batista was the better man at No Mercy, but the handshake meant a lot to him and brought a tear to his eye. Batista calls him out and says that there weren't any tears. Eddie snaps out of it and wants to go kick some butt.
Randy Orton & Mr. Kennedy vs. Eddie Guerrero & Batista
This is a big spot here for Kennedy. Referee Nick Patrick doesn't allow Kennedy to do his introduction and Eddie attacks him from behind to get things going. After a commercial break, Batista and Orton are in there. Batista hits a big vertical suplex for a 2 count. Eddie and Kennedy are back in and Orton hits a cheap shot behind the ref's back. Eddie is able to hit a back suplex, but Kennedy tags in Orton. Orton puts on the sleeper hold. Eddie escapes and they collide into one another. Hot tag for Batista and he takes care of both men. On the outside, Kennedy pushes Eddie into the ring post. Bob Orton is out to distract the ref. Batista hits a spinebuster on Orton, but Bob is still distracting the ref. Kennedy goes up top with a chair, but Eddie covers up Batista. Kennedy pauses, but then hits Eddie instead and we have a disqualification. After the match, the three heels continue their attack, focusing on Batista. Orton hits a RKO on Batista and now Teddy Long is out. He announces a six man tag match featuring Randy Orton, Bob Orton and Mr. Kennedy against Eddie Guerrero, Batista and Roddy Piper next week. The action in here was good enough for a TV main event and it furthered a story that is worthy of being featured in the main event. Most of all, the pairings all feel fresh, which is a nice change.
Match Rating: **3/4
I really enjoyed this episode. I felt that they were able to keep it entertaining from start to finish with very little filler. Matt Hardy is another nice addition to the roster and the Booker/Benoit feud is off to a nice start.
Overall Rating: 70%
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