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WWE presented their go-home Smackdown program last night forty-eight hours before Sunday's PPV, as Edge welcomed The Undertaker to The Cutting Edge and The Big Show teamed with Batista against The Edgeheads.
Edge opened the show by announcing that The Undertaker would appear on his Cutting Edge interview segment later in the broadcast. The Rated R Superstar proceeded to play video clips of The Dead Man’s career throughout the evening - including his own World Title defeat over Undertaker in 2007 - in “honor” of what Edge claimed would be his One Night Stand opponent’s final appearance on Smackdown. The Cutting Edge invitation proved to be a setup, as ‘Taker was ambushed by Edge and La Familia before being placed inside a coffin. Edge began to climb toward the World Championship - which was hanging above the ring below an erected ladder - when the arena went dark. Upon the power returning, the blond Canadian found himself face-to-face with ‘Taker atop the structure. The Phenom tossed Edge from the rungs and onto his cohorts before driving Zack Ryder through a table with The Last Ride.
A Batista promo was interrupted by General Manager Vicki Guerrero, who booked a tag team match pitting Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder against The Animal and a partner of his choosing. Batista would be joined by The Big Show, who wheeled Vicki away before assisting the former World Champion in disposing of Edge’s cronies.
Jamie Noble confronted MVP backstage and challenged him to a match, a request which was later granted by Vicki Guerrero. Noble would go down in defeat to the ex-United States Champion following a well-worked and enjoyable bout. I’m not sure what was more surprising - Jamie Noble appearing in three segments on one show or the fact that CM Punk actually scored a victory during the same episode.
This was a solid program from top to bottom and featured some great wrestling, although - aside from the two ONS main events - neither Smackdown or Raw have offered much this week in terms of build leading into Sunday's PPV. The Shawn Michaels-Batista match has especially suffered from the lack of promotion. Their first meeting in April felt significant by the time Backlash rolled around, while this bout has largely been treated as an afterthought.
Match Results: U.S. Champion Matt Hardy over Elijah Burke via pinfall in a non-title match … Finlay over Chuck Palumbo via disqualification … CM Punk over John Morrison via pinfall … The Big Show and Batista over Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder via Batista’s pinfall on Ryder … MVP over Jamie Noble via pinfall … Vladimir Kozlov over Shannon Moore via pinfall … Michelle McCool over Maryse via submission.
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