SmackDown starts with a tape of Vince McMahon recounting the John Cena injury; that Cena is stripped of the title while he undergoes surgery and that the title is up for grabs at the No Mercy PPV. No word on who will be involved in the title match. Batista comes in to huge applause and he and the Great Khali (from backstage) trade their thoughts on the upcoming Punjabi Prison match for the title. Batista ends it, to uproarious applause, "you have no idea what it's like to be in a cage with an animal."
Chuck Palumbo (with Michelle McCool) vs Ace Steel
Ace Steel, an indie wrestler, easily goes down to Chuck Palumbo, who, with his confident swagger, goes down easily to the Masterlock of Chris Masters, who returns to SmackDown this week and storms the ring after the match, applies the Masterlock and puts Chuck Palumbo away.
Winner: Chuck Palumbo
Good returning moment for Chris Masters. Following the match, a quick promo for Big Daddy V. Not a pretty sight.
Jimmy Wang Yang vs Jamie Noble
Wang Yang actually got the most offense during the beginning and middle of this match - the crowd chanting for Hornswoggle at one point during the match - but they both took turns handing out the offense as the match progressed - some really cool athletic and high-flying moves - until Noble turned Wang Yang's flying dive from outside the ring into a drop onto his knees, taking enough steam out of Wang Yang to get the pin.
Winner: Jamie Noble
Diva Search promo.
MVP & Matt Hardy vs Deuce & Domino
Before this match gets started, MVP suggests they both warm up with a "push-up contest." MVP gives his usual boasting about how he's better than Hardy and Hardy accepts the terms of the contest: first man whose chest touches the mat loses. The contest is on and after about the 29th pushup, MVP knocks into Hardy - they are side by side - and Hardy loses his balance and his chest hits the mat. MVP jumps up and is declared the winner to the crowd's expected disappointment. The match follows - a long one in which MVP suffers at the hands of Deuce & Domino, and fails in repeated attempts to tag Hardy, because Hardy deliberately refuses to stretch out his hand far enough for the tag. Hardy finally gets in and, as is the custom, he's scripted to clean house but still doesn't get a pin. MVP slides back into the ring, deals Domino a low blow and Hardy applies the Twist of Fate for the win.
Winners: MVP & Matt Hardy
Kane makes his entrance for his match while Hardy and MVP are exiting. We return from a commercial break and find ourselves in the middle of the match. They couldn't eliminate Kane's entrance so we could see the whole match?
Kane vs Kenny Dykstra (with Victoria)
Dykstra take some brutal punishment from Kane, but he shows enough offense during this match to get a lot of credit for keeping Kane on his toes. Kane uses a few illegal closed fisted punches before putting on the chokeslam and taking the match.
Winner: Kane
Footage of the SmackDown wedding from two week's ago - and the "heart attack" suffered by Teddy Long. We cut to Vickie long setting up a match between MVP & Matt Hardy vs Kane & the Undertaker. A recap of Cena and Kennedy from this past week's Raw is shown, with the follow-up destruction by Randy Orton. The finale to that show, particularly Randy Orton, was some of the most spectacular action the WWE has ever had and it was well worth repeating here. Michael Cole recaps the surgery that Cena went under - he will be out for at least six months - and a new WWE champion will be named at this Sunday's No Mercy PPV.
Jesse & Festus vs Chad Collier & Mike Tolar
Collier and Tolar get little offense during a match that is really a showcase for the more heavily promoted side of the Jesse & Festus tag team - Festus. The gimmick is that he changes from oaf to fighting machine at the sound of the bell - and vice versa at the end of the match. Jesse takes a little heat from the indie tag team but Festus cleans house whenever he's in the ring. With Jesse and Tolar outside the ring, Festus finishes off Collier for the win.
Winners: Jesse & Festus
Jesse better be careful or he'll be out of a job with the attention that is focused on Festus.
The Great Khali vs Rey Mysterio
Rey goes for the legs and Khali can easily grab him but doesn't. This goes on for a few minutes until Khali finally clotheslines Rey to the mat. Khali gets several claws on Rey before Rey escapes to the outside. Khali goes out after him and Rey finds his way back into the ring, and makes several dives from the ropes to stagger Khali on the outside. Rey goes for one more, and Finlay rushes the ring and starts to take out Rey. Khali joins in until Batista - in t-shirt and dress pants - storms the ring and makes the Rey save, taking out both Finlay and Khali in the process.
Winner: Mysterio by DQ
What was it all about this week?
A little more excitement than we are usually treated to on SmackDown. The WWE's big push - Hardy and MVP - was, oddly, the low point of this show. It's been going on since July and it's showing it wear. For highlights, it was all thanks to the appearance of Batista at the opening and closing, a great cruiserweight match by Jamie Noble and Jimmy Wang Yang and the return of Chris Masters, getting a great crowd reaction without even taking part in a match, by taking down Chuck Palumbo with a brutal and exciting Masterlock.
