Latino Heat2
00venerdì 16 luglio 2004 08:11
The Smackdown Report (7/15/04)
A recap aired of last week’s main-event, which saw Cena stripped of the US title for striking Kurt Angle.
The show began with Booker T making his way to the ring, complete with his fiery pyro, which we had not seen in several weeks. He grabbed a microphone and proceeded to run down why he should be the new United States Champion, basically just citing the fact that he was a former 5-time WCW Champion. The fans tried to sing-along with Book while he did his signature “Five-time, Five-time, etc” catchphrase, but he got the heat back on himself by telling them to shut their mouths. Book then asked that Angle come down and bring him his title (since he didn’t lose last week he figured he should be the new champ), but Rene Dupree (w/ Fifi) came out instead. The French Phenom argued that he should be the new US champ because he is French and that French people have more class. Before he could finish though, Kenzo “I have no talent and should go back to Japan” Suzuki interrupted him. Suzuki (w/ his wife) made his way to the ring and spoke some Japanese that both Dupree and Book poked fun at. Hiroko then got on the mic and said that Kenzo should be the new US champ because he appreciated the United States. Book urged Kenzo to speak some English, so he managed a “Can you dig that SUCKA” in his thick Japanese accent. “Tell me you didn’t just say that,” replied a noticeably upset Booker T. Before things could get more heated, the former champ John Cena came out and made fun of all three of the potential new champs’ hair and referred to each of them as characters from the “Wizard of Oz.” Booker was the scarecrow, Kenzo was the tin man, Hiroko was Dorothy, Michael Cole was one of the Lollipop Kids, and Dupree was the cowardly lion. The Doctor of Thuganomics, of course, still believed that he should be the champ, so he left the others to play in the ring and headed into Kurt Angle’s office to demand that he be given the belt back. Cena stated that if Angle didn’t give him his title back, he was going to hurt him. Angle said that Cena did it to himself, which prompted Cena to grab Kurt out of his wheel chair. At that point, Luther Reigns stepped in and tried to intervene, but Cena ended up throwing Reigns through the office wall. Angle then called security and had Cena removed, and then said that tonight would be a night that no one would ever forget. Entertaining stuff…
Match 1: Rey Mysterio and Spike Dudley vs. Chavo Guerrero and Jamie Noble
-This had some exciting action that you would expect from the cruiserweights. At one point, Noble and Guerrero were illegally double-teaming Spike, so Mysterio did a springboard cross body and took them both out. Rey and Spike then did some impressive maneuvers, as Dudley did his foot trample in one corner while Mysterio did the Bronco Buster in the other. They then executed double suicide dives on either side of the ring. The finish came when D’von Dudley came down and distracted the ref, while Bubba Ray came through the crowd, got in the ring, and planted Noble, allowing Spike to pin Jamie Noble at 5:48. After the match, the Dudleys applauded their little brother’s victory, but Spike shrugged it off, once again making it clear that he did not want or appreciate their help or interference.
The Raw Rebound aired.
Cole and Tazz played a recap of the last three weeks of the JBL-Guerrero feud, highlighting the Texas Bullrope Match, Bradshaw’s inauguration (of sorts) speech from two weeks ago, and the El Gran Luchadore incident from last week.
Backstage, a medical staff was checking on Luther Reigns, who of course had been thrown through a wall earlier. Angle said that he thought he might have tweaked his knee when he was picked up out of his wheel chair and said that he might not be able to sleep tonight as a result. He assured Luther that Cena would pay tonight, as he would face Suzuki, Dupree, and Booker T in a 3-on-1 elimination-style handicap match. He once again stated that tonight would be a night that no one would ever forget.
Match 2: John Cena vs. Kenzo Suzuki (w/ wife Hiroko), Rene Dupree (w/ Fifi), and Booker T in a 3-on-1 elimination style handicap match
-(CMV1 note- Just to clear things up, the rules of this match were basically just that, in order to win, Cena would have to pin all three opponents, but obviously his opponents just had to pin Cena and it was over). We did get a dreaded commercial break in this one, but that is to be expected. Cena apparently added a fisherman’s suplex to his arsenal, as he used it early on Dupree. We did get to see the French Tickler tonight. The first fall came when Kenzo got frustrated (probably with his lack of ability) and choked Cena with Hiroko’s scarf, causing Cena to defeat Suzuki via DQ at 6:58. The second fall came soon after when the Doctor hit the slingshot on Dupree, sending him crashing into the ring post. Cena then rolled him up for the pinfall at 7:55. Booker and Cena proceeded to show why I think they could have a very good match (CMV1 note- I thought last week’s was a little disappointing), as the two finished out the remaining four minutes of the match with some good action. At one point, Cena hit a running bulldog (Jericho style) and followed it with the Five Knuckle Shuffle for a near fall. The finish saw Luther Reigns interfere, allowing Booker T to defeat Cena via axe kick at 13:04.
A video promo aired for John Heindenrich, who claimed that he had never been given a chance to be himself and succeed, but that fortunately for him he’d found the one man who can help him with that: Paul Heyman. (CMV1 note- ain’t that the truth. For those of you that don’t remember, Heindenrich is a very large athlete and was formerly a RAW superstar who was sent back to Ohio Valley Wrestling for more seasoning following a short stint on Monday night TV, in which the only thing he contributed to was two straight Steven Richards injuries. He was dangerous to be in the ring with a short time ago, but I must admit that pairing him with Heyman is a great idea. Remember that the last time Heyman was paired up with a young and unseasoned big man, he led him to becoming the youngest WWE Champion in history…that, of course, was Brock Lesnar).
Backstage, Josh Matthews (no relation) interviewed “Latino Heat” Eddie Guerrero. With regards to El Gran Luchadore(who by the way was played by Shannon Moore last week), he said (with a big smile on his face) that he didn’t understand why people would confuse El Gran with Latino Heat. In regards to the upcoming steel cage match for the WWE Championship, Guerrero promised that he would “get high” off regaining the title. Viva la former champion, vato loco!
Match 3: Paul London (w/ Billy Kidman) vs. D’von Dudley (w/ Bubba Dudley)
-Before the match, Tazz mentioned that London and Kidman beating the Dudleys for the tag titles last week was just a fluke. (London and Kidman came out to new theme music). At one point, Bubba Ray got involved, but his interference backfired. London then pinned D’von via roll-up at 2:55. (CMV1 note- These guys are actually feuding over the tag team championships. I like it…).
Back in Angle’s office, Kurt reminded Luther that tonight would be a night that “No one would ever forget.” He then announced that next week, John Cena would have to go one-on-one with Luther Reigns.
JBL made his way to the ring a 9:20, ensuring that this would indeed be a long title match. When he got out of his limo, he flashed that big smile, but at the same time, looked extremely nervous.
Match 4: WWE Champion John Bradshaw Layfield vs. Eddie Guerrero in a Steel Cage Match for the WWE Title
-(CMV1 note- unlike other cage matches, the two were not allowed to win by escaping through the door, as it was chained shut). The match got under way with a fired up Eddie Guerrero taking it to Bradshaw, but JBL hit the Last Call early on to swing momentum in his direction. At many points in the early going, Layfield attempted to climb out of the cage, only to have Eddie catch him just before he swung his other leg over the top. They continued with back and forth action. Latino Heat attempted the Frog Splash, but missed, allowing JBL to regain control of the match. However, he would not have it for long, as Guerrero nailed him with the Three Amigos (vertical suplexes). The two eventually battled their way back to the top of the cage, but Bradshaw hit a sky-high superplex off the top rope to send both crashing back to the mat. We then got a dreaded commercial break, but that was to be expected. When we returned to action, the two fought their way to the middle of the top rope, where Eddie hit an impressive side Russian leg sweep on the champ that sent them back to the mat once again. Guerrero then fired back up and looked to be in command of the match, but when he went for a running clothesline, Bradshaw ducked it and drilled the challenger with the Clothesline From Hell. 1…2…No! Eddie kicked out! We then got a second dreaded commercial break and I guess given the length of the match that was to be expected too. When we again returned to action, JBL set-up Guerrero for a second Last Call (fall-away slam), but Eddie countered it into a DDT. These two battered and bruised men eventually began slugging it out once more, but Bradshaw gained momentum and hit Eddie with a spine-tingling powerbomb for a near fall. Layfield then tried to escape over the top of the cage again, but Eddie managed to get to his feet and catch the champion from going over. Guerrero rammed his shoulder into JBL’s gut and eventually knocked him to the mat. With victory in sight, Eddie headed to the very top of the cage. As he gazed down upon the champion, all Guerrero had left to do was climb down the cage and he’d regain the title, but he wasn’t done with Layfield just yet. Then, in the most impressive spot of the match, Eddie Guerrero came through with his promise from last week and Frog Splashed JBL from the top of the cage. It was quite a site, but Eddie was unable to make the immediate cover due to the obvious pain anyone would get from doing a belly flop from 15 feet in the air. Once he finally did make the cover, Bradshaw managed to kick out. The finish came when Guerrero and Layfield were both attempting to climb out of the cage. As they were battling, El Gran Luchadore came down, climbed the cage, and got into the ring. However, instead of going after Bradshaw, he grabbed Eddie’s leg. Meanwhile, JBL climbed down the side of the cage and won the match at 28:50 to retain the WWE title. After the match, El Gran mocked Eddie’s shuffle and tried to leave through the door, but it was chained shut. He then started climbing out of the cage, but before he could make it all the way out, Latino Heat grabbed him and managed to get his mask off before he could escape. The man portraying El Gran Luchadore was none other than the supposedly crippled Kurt Angle. The show faded to black focused on the stunned face of Eddie Guerrero. (CMV1 note- that was a very exciting match and definitely worthy of praise. To his credit, JBL held up his end of the bargain quite well. This was also a good way to bring Kurt Angle back from injury, as he can now resume his Wrestlemania program with Eddie. I’d be surprised if someone like Stephanie McMahon didn’t show up in the coming weeks and take over for Angle as the General Manager. Angle stripping Cena of the US title and costing Eddie the WWE title, added to the fact that the rumors have been flying about Kurt making his in-ring return at Summerslam, have given me the feeling that his days as GM are numbered. That, of course, is not a bad thing, considering how much bigger an asset he is to the Smackdown brand as a wrestler).
All in all…this was a good show. The main-event was everything you could have asked for out of these two. JBL needs as many matches like this as possible, as they help to better get him over as a wrestler worthy of being champion. The ending with Angle essentially making his return to being an in-ring competitor (by revealing that he isn’t crippled) was well done. If they choose to go in a direction where we get to see Kurt vs. Eddie II, then that’s fine by me…In addition to the excellent TV main-event, the opening segment, and the subsequent 3-on-1 match were both fairly entertaining…Once again, they did a nice job of utilizing the cruiserweights. Like I said last week, you don’t need them on the show for very long for them to add a unique element to Smackdown…I also like the fact that they are building an actual feud for the tag team titles, which quite frankly we haven’t seen in over four months. London and Kidman vs. The Dudley Boyz could very well be the catalyst that sets the tag division back on track…Also, don’t write off the pairing of Heyman and Heindenrich just yet. While big John has, in the past, been very careless with his opponents, hopefully he’s become a little more safe and he can allow Heyman to work his magic, get him over, and make him the next, “Next Big Thing.”