Original Airdate: Friday, September 8th, 2006
Columbus Civic Center
Columbus, Georgia
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Rey Mysterio vs. Finlay
This seems like a pretty good way to kick off a show to me. Finlay tries to get under the skin of Mysterio and he acts accordingly. We get a fairly early commercial break and when come back, Mysterio makes a comeback with a dropkick. He goes up top and Finlay is able to trip him up. Finlay continues to dominate the "distracted" Mysterio. The commentary is 100% focused on the drama between Mysterio and the Guerreros. Finlay slaps in a Boston Crab. Mysterio ducks a charging Finlay and hits him with a kick to the face. Mysterio hits the seated senton for a 2 count. Mysterio goes for a springboard, but slips on the ropes. That was an intentional botch and it leads to Finlay hitting the Celtic Cross and picks up the victory. JBL then tells us that he's going to go talk to Mysterio. JBL then insults Mysterio repeatedly, with Mysterio choosing to walk to the back emotionally rather than retaliate. This was more about Mysterio and his anguish rather than the actual match.
Match Rating: **1/2
Mr. Kennedy vs. Gia Mondo
Kennedy hypes up his opponent as a 6 time NCAA champion and silver medalist in the Olympics, amongst other things. The only thing is that he actually looks more competent than a typical jobber. Kennedy steamrolls Mondo here, hitting the Green Bay Plunge for the victory. He calls out Teddy Long after the match. Kennedy tells him that if Cena could potentially come to SmackDown, he could potentially go to Raw. Teddy says that there is still a competitor that he hasn't taken on and at No Mercy, he will take on the Undertaker. I certainly didn't remember that this was how the feud started.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Ashley, Paul London & Brian Kendrick vs. Michelle McCool, KC James & Idol Stevens
The champions get off to a hot start until Stevens lowers the middle rope and London goes flying to the floor. Stevens and James are a little bit sloppy here tonight, just seeming a step off. London fights back and hits the hot tag to Kendrick. Kendrick goes for a dive, but McCool gets in his way. He charges anyway and hits the dive and then Ashley attacks McCool. James tries to get Ashley off McCool and Kendrick hits a sunset flip off the top rope with an assist from London for the victory. They didn't get a ton of time here, but I'm not sure there was much more needed to get to where they wanted to go.
Match Rating: *3/4
Vito is out to join the announce team. William Regal comes down to the ring and says that he was originally supposed to take on Vito, but he threatened to sue for sexual harassment due to Vito's previous actions.
William Regal vs. Bobby Lashley
So he gets Lashley instead. Vito refers to Regal as Steven multiple times before shaking his butt in his face. Regal is finally able to make a move after tripping Lashley up on the ring steps. Vito does not come across as a guy who has a lot to say. The interaction between him and Cole is just awful. Lashley already makes his comeback and goes for a running powerslam, but Regal counters out. Lashley hits a Spear instead and that's all. Vito congratulates Lashley, but JBL then refuses to shake his hand afterwards.
Match Rating: 3/4*
Miz vs. Matt Hardy
Michael Cole hypes up Miz as undefeated and JBL refers to him as the new Red Rooster. Keep in mind Miz is a heel. Miz runs up the back of Hardy and leaps over the ropes to snap Hardy's neck. That was actually pretty nice. Hardy comes back with a second rope elbow and the Side Effect for a 2 count. Hardy hits a move to the outside and when he throws Miz back in the ring, he rolls into the referee. Gregory Helms attacks Hardy and Miz is able to get the sneaky victory. Miz is 2-0.
Match Rating: *3/4
Jimmy Wang Yang gets another vignette tackling Asian stereotypes.
Chavo Guerrero vs. Tatanka
Vickie Guerrero introduces Chavo, as they put over that she is his business manager. Tatanka gets in a good amount of offense here, including get hit with a series of chops. Tatanka goes up to the top rope and hits another chop for a 2 count. Tatanka hits the End Of The Trail, but Chavo gets out of the pin attempt. Chavo hits a Frog Splash and picks up the victory. This wasn't particularly impressive for Chavo.
Match Rating: *1/4
MVP is backstage and tells Teddy Long that he wants to make a dollar more than John Cena. He then asks for some tickets and Teddy said he better buy some.
World Heavyweight Championship Match
King Booker vs. Batista
Booker tells Batista says that he can bow down and walk away if he chooses to and Batista responds by asking him if he prefers his body buried or cremated. That was a little awkward. Batista hits a vertical suplex for the first nearfall of the match. Booker gets a few shots to the midsection in and hits the Book End for a 2 count before the commercial break. When we come back, they are brawling on the outside. Sharmell distracts Batista and it allows Booker to throw him into the ring post. Booker hits a big kick and gets another close call. Batista fires back with some clotheslines and hits a Jackhammer. He signals for the Batista Bomb, but Booker grabs his trunks and throws him through the ropes to the floor. Batista is shown hitting someone in the crowd and it's William Regal. Sharmell comes in the ring with a chair, which distracts the referee and allows Finlay to hit Batista with the shillelagh and Booker retains his title. These two were famous for not having chemistry, but this was a big step up from their SummerSlam match. After the match, Finlay continues the attack on Batista and he's busted open. Finlay then cracks him over the head with a chair and some more shillelagh shots. Finlay drives his head into the exposed turnbuckle and then tells Batista that he's his worst nightmare.
Match Rating: **1/2
When it comes to all three shows (Raw, ECW, SmackDown), this was one of the best weeks I can remember in terms of all three shows delivering. None of them were all timers or anything, but they delivered quality matches and storylines that made you want to tune in again next week. Progress.
Overall Rating: 67%
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