Original Airdate: Friday, July 28th, 2006
Joe Louis Arena
Detroit, Michigan
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Mr. Kennedy vs. Batista
Kennedy is announced as the man who beat Batista at Great American Bash. I never understand these episodes where there are a bunch of rematches from the pay-per-view you just made people buy. Kennedy uses a distraction from the ref to go after the knee of Batista. The action spills outside of the ring and they are brawling. Kennedy rolls into the ring and the ref calls for the bell, counting out Batista. This leads to Batista trying to destroy Kennedy, but he's able to roll out of the ring and Batista is frustrated. This was more of an angle than it was a match.
Match Rating: 1/2*
They show the WrestleMania 23 press conference. I unfortunately wasn't able to go to this.
Vito vs. Simon Dean
Well, this may be the most 2006 match ever. Vito makes a comeback, but Dean hits him with a kick to the face. Dean tries to use his Simon System powder, the ref grabs it and Vito hits a spinning DDT. He then locks in his embarrassing finisher and that's it.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Miz interviews Rey Mysterio, but all Rey says is that all he cares about is winning the World Heavyweight Championship.
Tatanka vs. Sylvan
You can chalk this one up as a match that I 100% forgot I saw live. Sylvan is able to throw Tatanka into the steps outside the ring and back in. Tatanka tries to comeback, but runs into the turnbuckle and Sylvan hits a back suplex for a 2 count. Tatanka makes another comeback with a back body drop. He hits some chops and a body slam. Tatanka goes for the chop off the top rope, but Sylvan hits a nice dropkick to the gut. Sylvan misses Tatanka in the corner and Tatanka hits End Of The Trail for a 2 count. Sylvan avoids an elbow drop and grabs the tomahawk. Tatanka knocks it out of his hand and the ref goes to grab it. This allows Sylvan to hit a low blow and a TKO for the victory. This wasn't a super convincing victory for Sylvan here, but I guess they would give up on him pretty soon anyways. After the match, Sylvan grabs the headdress and just drops it to the floor.
Match Rating: *1/4
Michelle McCool vs. Jillian Hall
It's almost as if they were daring you to turn off this show. Seriously, how did they approve Vito, Sylvan and this match in 3 straight segments? Jillian dominates the entire match, but misses the handstand leg drop. McCool takes advantage and puts her feet on the ropes for the victory. This was something that happened.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Sharmell cordially invites all of us for the grandest coronation in WWE history.
Chavo Guerrero is here for a studio interview and says that he is not in Detroit for personal reasons. He says he will be on SmackDown next week.
King Booker and Queen Sharmell come out a motorized carriage with balloons and a flower girl. Booker does his king schtick and then Mysterio comes out and attacks him.
Finlay and William Regal are backstage. They bicker about their past.
United States Championship Match
William Regal vs. Finlay
Another rematch and this one didn't get a good response from the live crowd at that show. These two don't really care though and just try to have as stiff of a match as they can. Regal hits a couple of suplexes and takes off the top turnbuckle. Out comes Hornswoggle and he hits a low blow on Regal. He hides back under the ring and Finlay rolls him up for the victory. This was a little too short to be anything special. With the roster where it was, I really don't understand why Regal wasn't a bigger factor.
Match Rating: **
The Diva Search is here and it's musical chairs. Layla is the first one eliminated and messes up the other contestants hair on her way out. JT wins if you care. I don't.
Teddy Long is on the phone and Paul Heyman barges in. Heyman complains about Teddy making Big Show compete against Undertaker. Somehow it ends up with Batista being the next person to face Big Show.
Sylvester Terkay vs. Matt Hardy
Elijah Burke introduces Terkay, who had no hype prior to tonight. JBL and Cole hype him up as 71-1, with his only loss being to Kurt Angle. Kurt Angle, he is not. Terkay dominates Hardy and I remember the crowd being stunned. He hits a spinning back fist and puts him in an arm submission and that is all. This was to put this guy as a monster, but he just never clicked.
Match Rating: 1/2*
World Heavyweight Championship Match
King Booker vs. Rey Mysterio
Rey starts off hot, as we head into a quick commercial break. When we come back, Mysterio misses a dive to the outside and Booker goes to work. Rey explodes for his comeback, hitting a spinning headscissors for a 2 count. Rey hits the Three Amigos, but then Sharmell gets up on the apron to distract the ref. Out comes Chavo and he pulls Rey off the apron, hitting his head on the barricade. He tosses Rey back in and Booker hits the Scissor Kick for the victory. They packed a lot of action into a short match here, but this was only here to further the Chavo/Rey story.
Match Rating: **1/2
Well, sometimes when you attend a live show, you enjoy it more than it probably deserves. In the case of this ECW/SmackDown taping I attended, I'm not so sure that is true. These were both pretty bad, with ECW particularly being terrible. The main event saved it for me here, as Rey really went out and tried to make that match as good as it could be. Nothing else was worthwhile, particularly the Diva Search.
Overall Rating: 41%
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