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WWE presented the SummerSlam go-home editon of Smackdown last night, featuring Jeff Hardy challenging Shelton Benjamin for the U.S. Title, the continuation of Edge's psychological breakdown, and more.
The show kicked off with a U.S. Championship defense by Shelton Benjamin, as The Gold Standard placed his title on the line against Jeff Hardy in a rematch from last week. The two clashed in another great bout and Hardy appeared to be on the verge of victory as he headed to the top rope for a Swanton Bomb on the fallen Champion. However, Montel Vontavious Porter appeared out of nowhere and pushed Jeff off of the turnbuckle, causing a DQ. Post-match, MVP accidentally nailed Benjamin with a Drive-by kick while targeting Hardy, allowing The Charismatic Enigma to catch Porter in a Twist of Fate and deliver Swanton Bombs to both heels.
The Great Khali and Ranjin Singh cut a promo against WWE Champion Triple H and remained at ringside as The Game squashed Kenny Dykstra. Following his victory, Hunter grabbed Singh and threw him into the ring to bait Khali. The ploy worked and The Punjabi Giant stepped over the ropes to confront The Game. Khali blocked a Pedigree attempt from Hunter, but The King of Kings battled back and easily clotheslined his SummerSlam challenger over the top rope to the arena floor. In other words, the Hunter-Khali PPV match has (incredibly enough) just become even less appealing, as Khali was portrayed as having little to no chance of winning the WWE Title.
Edge abducted his wife Vickie Guerrero as the Smackdown General Manager was wheeled to her limousine by Victoria. The Rated R Superstar took Vickie on a wild wheechair ride around the arena before dumping her onto the ground at ringside. Edge showed a video documenting he and Vickie’s underhanded tactics against The Undertaker and demanded that his estranged bride apologize to The Dead Man for her actions. The broadcast concluded with Edge kneeling over Vickie and vowing to unleash the “purest form of Hell” on ‘Taker during their Hell in the Cell Match this Sunday.
In other news, former Ring of Honor competitor Colt Cabana debuted under the moniker “Scotty Goldman” in a losing effort to The Brian Kendrick.
This program contained far too many throwaway matches for a go-home show leading into what is arguably WWE’s second biggest PPV of the year, although the MVP-Jeff Hardy and Edge-Undertaker bouts were both put over very well. Edge delivered yet another fantastic psychotic heel performance and is my hands-down choice for Wrestler of the Year honors.
Match Results: Jeff Hardy over U.S. Champion Shelton Benjamin via disqualification following interference from MVP … Natalya and Maryse over Divas Champion Michelle McCool and Maria via Maryse’ pinfall on McCool … The Brian Kendrick over Scotty Goldman via pinfall … WWE Champion Triple H over Kenny Dykstra via pinfall in a non-title match … The Big Show over Ryan Braddock via pinfall … Vladimir Kozlov over Festus via pinfall.
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