WWE Friday Night Smackdown results (9/11/09)

WWE Friday Night Smackdown results - 9/11/09
(aired September 11, 2009 from Rockford, Illinois.)

#1	Finlay	pin	Mike Knox	belfast brawl
#2	Unified tag champs Chris Jericho & Big Show	pin	Cryme Tyme	non-title, Jericho pin JTG
#3	IC champion John Morrison	pin	Charlie Haas	non-title
#4	Layla	pin	Melina	McCool laid out Melina in-match
#5	World champion CM Punk	sub	Matt Hardy	non-title, submission

Jeff Hardy arrested on multiple felony drug charges

Ex-WWE pro wrestler Jeff Hardy was arrested this week on multiple felony drug charges including "charges of trafficking in controlled prescription pills and possession of anabolic steroids."

The Southern Pines Pilot newspaper reports word from the Moore County, N.C. sheriff's office that Hardy was arrested after "262 Vicodin prescription pills, 180 Soma prescription pills, 555 milliliters of anabolic steroids, a residual amount of powder cocaine and items of drug paraphernalia" were uncovered.

Hardy has been formally charged with five felony counts including "felony trafficking in opium, two counts of felony possession with intent to sell or deliver a Schedule III controlled substance, felony maintaining a dwelling to keep controlled substance, & felony possession of cocaine." He was additionally charged with one misdemeanor charge of possessing drug paraphernalia.

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UPDATE: The ex-WWE/World champion was reported by the Pines Pilot to be in jail Friday but Jeff Hardy has since tweeted the following this Friday afternoon.... "Alot of exaggerations are out there today, don't believe everything you read 4 it is not true, I am at home and fine-thanks for your concern."

TMZ.com and PWInsider.com both report that Jeff Hardy was bailed out "by his brother," presumably Matt, though Jeff later tweeted that Matt didn't even know about the situation.

John Morrison vs. Dolph Ziggler removed from WWE Breaking Point

The match betwee new WWE Intercontinental champion John Morrison against Dolph Ziggler has apparently been removed from the WWE Breaking Point pay-per-view card. WWE.com no longer lists the match in its preview for this Sunday's event.

Assuming this isn't just a WWE.com glitch, it isn't immediately clear why the Intercontinental title match would be removed from the card. The match had only been added when Morrison's IC title win over the suspended Rey Mysterio was broadcast on last Friday's Smackdown. WWE may believe that Morrison is not yet worthy of a major PPV push or that Morrison vs. Ziggler simply hasn't received sufficient promotional time.

The absence of Morrison/Ziggler is especially jarring considering the inclusion of the much less important or credible Kane vs. The Great Khali from the same Smackdown brand in a Singapore Cane match. For whatever reason that Morrison/Ziggler has been removed, the wrestling quality of Breaking Point will take a significant hit in its absence.

WWE Friday Night Smackdown results (9/4/09)

WWE Friday Night Smackdown results - 9/4/09
(aired September 4, 2009 from Cleveland, Ohio.)

#1	The Great Khali & Finlay	pin	Kane & Mike Knox	Finlay pin Knox
#2	John Morrison	pin	IC champion Rey Mysterio	Morrison new IC champ
#3	Eve Torres & Maria	pin	Natalya & Layla	ETorres pin Layla
#4	Matt Hardy	dq	World champion CM Punk	non-title, UTaker laid out Punk postmatch

added to Breaking Point PPV:
- Intercontinental champion John Morrison vs. Dolph Ziggler
- Kane vs. The Great Khali (singapore cane)

Jeff Hardy leaves WWE

THe long rumored departure of Jeff Hardy from World Wrestling Entertainment finally took place this week as he exited following a loss in a "loser leaves WWE" steel cage match against CM Punk for the World title.

This week's "Friday Night Smackdown" main event matchup ended soon after Punk took down Jeff Hardy with a superplex from the top of the cage. Hardy would recover long enough to fight Punk at the top of the cage but just as in SummerSlam's TLC match, Punk got the better of the final exchange and shoved Hardy down to fall to the mat one final time.

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The remarkable thing about Jeff Hardy is how his WWE story was so unlike many others. There were better promo men, there were even a few better wrestlers but somehow Hardy managed to connect with fans organically to the point that WWE was left with no alternative but to let him be a true superstar. What Hardy did every night was just give everything he was, everything he had until there was simply nothing left.

The only thing more remarkable about Jeff Hardy is that he chose to take all that success and popularity and set it aside. Virtually nobody in his position would have made the decision he did to simply leave and not pursue pro wrestling further without the promise of a better opportunity.

There's no guarantee that Hardy will succeed with music or reality TV anywhere near to the point that he has in WWE. For better or worse though, the man doesn't think the same way like the rest of us in this world of ours. One can only give the man best wishes as he pursues his own passions as far as they will take him, then hope that he will one day return to this sphere of professional wrestling we love so much.

WWE Friday Night Smackdown results (8/28/09)

WWE Friday Night Smackdown results - 8/28/09
(aired August 28, 2009 from Phoenix, Arizona.)

#1	John Morrison & Matt Hardy	pin	Hart Dynasty	Morrison pin Smith
#2	Melina	pin	Layla	Melina laid out McCool postmatch
#3	IC champion Rey Mysterio	dq	Kane	non-title, Khali attack Kane & Ziggler laid out Mysterio postmatch
#4	Unified tag champs Chris Jericho & Big Show	pin	Cryme Tyme	non-title, Show pin Gaspard
#5	World champion CM Punk	win	Jeff Hardy	cage, loser leaves WWE, Punk laid out JHardy postmatch

added to Breaking Point PPV:
- World champion CM Punk vs. Undertaker (submission)

Rey Mysterio suspended 30 days for WWE wellness violation

World Wrestling Entertainment has officially suspended Rey Mysterio 30 days effective Wednesday for a violation of its drug / wellness policy, according to a press release issued via WWE.com Mysterio (real name: Oscar Gutierrez) is the current Intercontinental champion. The length of the suspension indicates that it is Mysterio's first official wellness violation.

As is standard for champions suspended under wellness, WWE delayed the suspension's start date to allow time for Mysterio to lose his title in the ring. With Mysterio's suspension delayed until after next week's Smackdown taping, his title reign should end at that point.

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Before we proceed any further, credit has to be given to World Wrestling Entertainment for putting some teeth into its wellness policy even at the expense of a top star in the company. WWE's proactive action should serve as a lesson for a certain other company (TNA) that refuses to do anything about the ludicrous actions of its own top star.

That said, I share the WWE fandom's profound disappointment with one Rey Mysterio. The man had gone out of his way during his extended WWE stint to make himself a role model for kids, someone for the youngest members of the so-called WWE Universe to look up to and emulate.

More than perhaps anyone else in the company, Mysterio had a special responsibility to act responsibly, both in and out of the wrestling ring. His apparent failure to do so disgusts me. I pray there's a reasonable explanation for this.

WWE Smackdown taping note

It is the standard policy of WrestlingBloob.com not to post confirmed spoiler information. As a result, the situation regarding Smackdown's World title competitors will not be addressed until this Friday @ 10 pm PDT/Saturday 1 am EDT.

CM Punk defeats Jeff Hardy in SummerSlam TLC for World title

Straight edge superstar CM Punk finally came out on top in his feud with Jeff Hardy, retrieving the title belt after a grueling TLC match to become WWE's new World champion. Punk would not have the chance at a celebration though as after the sound of a gong and a period of darkness, Undertaker appeared where Jeff Hardy had fallen. Taker chokeslammed Punk to close out the SummerSlam pay-per-view.

The finishing sequence of the World title match itself occurred when Hardy hit a swanton bomb from the top of a 15 foot ladder to Punk, prone at the time on the ECW announcing table. Hardy was hooked onto a stretcher while Punk recovered first to reach the ladder. Hardy eventually reached the ladder himself to go into an exchange with Punk, an exchange finally won with a punch to the ribs from Punk.

With Jeff Hardy expected to leave WWE within the week, the post match theatrics will allow to promotion to segue nicely into a Punk/Undertaker feud. If this is the truly the last that we'll see of Jeff Hardy in WWE, at least he went out on a sensational note.

In the other main event title match, Randy Orton retained the WWE championship over John Cena after attempts at losses by self-dq and countout were lamely overturned. "Fan" interference (from Brett DiBiase) broke up Cena's STF attempt, leading to a surprise RKO from Orton for the win. DX won a surprisingly competitive semi-main event over Legacy while the Intercontinental, ECW and unified tag team champions all retained their titles.

WWE Friday Night Smackdown results (8/21/09)

WWE Friday Night Smackdown results - 8/21/09
(aired August 21, 2009 from Kansas City, Missouri)

#1	Dolph Ziggler, Chris Jericho & Big Show	pin	Rey Mysterio JTG & Shad Gaspard	Ziggler pin Mysterio
#2	Finlay	dq	Mike Knox	Knox laid out Finlay postmatch
#3	Melina & Maria	pin	Layla & Natalya	Melina pin Natalya
#4	Jeff Hardy, Matt Hardy & John Morrison	pin	CM Punk, Tyson Kidd & David Hart Smith	MHardy pin Punk, MHardy SD match redebut

WWE Friday Night Smackdown results (8/14/09)

WWE Friday Night Smackdown results - 8/14/09
(aired August 14, 2009 from Edmonton, Alberta.)

#1	Dolph Ziggler	pin	Finlay	Knox attack Finlay inmatch, laid out Finlay postmatch
#2	CM Punk	pin	John Morrison	-
#3	Melina	pin	Layla	-
#4	Big Show	sub	JTG	Gaspard attack BShow postmatch
#5	Hart Dynasty	pin	World champion Jeff Hardy	handicap, non-title, Kidd pin JHardy, Punk attack JHardy/Morrison postmatch, MHardy save/reconcile w/JHardy

Ricky Ortiz released by WWE

Smackdown brand wrestler Ricky Ortiz has been released from World Wrestling Entertainment. Ortiz (real name Richard Young) had been assigned to Smackdown in this year's supplemental draft but made little impact on the brand. His final match was a half minute televised loss to The Great Khali.

Ortiz made a more notable impact back on the ECW brand under a motivational speaker persona, making constant affirmations for wrestlers and fans to "rally up." Ortiz carried a towel for his ring appearances which in turn became known as the rally towel.

Ortiz worked babyface (sort of) on ECW but turned into a heel (sort of) upon arrival to the Smackdown brand. After a decent opening outing against Jeff Hardy though, he was quickly put on the backburner, left to lose to other wrestlers until his eventual release.

The main problem with Ortiz in WWE was that the booking never really clarified whether fans were supposed to support or oppose him. Left in an untenable position, the only truly surprising thing about Ortiz's release is that it took place on a Saturday. Apparently, Friday evening releases just aren't obscure enough anymore.

WWE Friday Night Smackdown results (8/7/09)

WWE Friday Night Smackdown results - 8/7/09
(aired August 7, 2009 from Uniondale, New York.)

#1	John Morrison	pin	Tyson Kidd	-
#2	Slam Master J	pin	Charlie Haas	Slam Master fka Jesse
#3	Dolph Ziggler	pin	Finlay, R-Truth, Mike Knox	4-way, Ziggler pin Finlay, #1 IC contenders match
#4	JTG	pin	Chris Jericho	Kane attack RSingh inmatch
#5	The Great Khali	pin	Ricky Ortiz	Kane laid out Khali, kidnap Singh postmatch
#6	World champion Jeff Hardy	pin	CM Punk	MHardy enforcer, stopped Punk pin attempt, Punk laid out JHardy postmatch

added to SummerSlam PPV:
- World champion Jeff Hardy vs. CM Punk (tables, ladders, chairs)
- Intercontinental champ Rey Mysterio vs. Dolph Ziggler

Nick 'Eugene' Dinsmore returns to WWE at house show

Nick Dinsmore made his return to WWE wrestling action at a Smackdown/ECW house show in Manchester, New Hampshire, defeating Smackdown's Ricky Ortiz. Just as in his first company stint, Dinsmore worked under the Eugene persona, essentially WWE's take on a developmentally disabled person. He was rehired a month ago to help mentor younger wrestlers.

Dinsmore's return raises at least a few issues. The most notable one may be from Pro Wrestling Torch which reports that Dinsmore had secretly accrued a third wellness program strike during his previous stint, the factor that triggered his WWE termination. Assuming that's true, Dinsmore would be the first three striker to come back to WWE.

To be sure, there was nothing in the WWE wellness rules that stated a three-strike WWE performer couldn't be rehired. It does make one wonder though if Dinsmore's wellness violation count will reset to a lower number or if WWE will instead just overlook his drug issues altogether.

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On a more personal note, the Eugene persona is one of the most annoying ones that I've ever encountered as a pro wrestling fan. Being someone familiar with such concerns, 'Eugene' comes off to me as an insult and a needless justification for others to dismiss the real life developmentally disabled. For a company seeking mainstream approval, the return of Eugene is a backward step.______________________

Chris Jericho rises to #1 in Twitter trend

WWE tag team champion Chris Jericho was propelled to the top Twitter trend position for a time Sunday evening, the apparent outgrowth of a deliberate fan drive to push his name on the microblogging service. Many of the Twitter posts that referenced Chris Jericho had nothing to do with him but simply substituted his name for Chuck Norris in a series of grandiose claims.

Jericho is the second WWE superstar in as many weeks to make the top position in the Twitter trends with Jeff Hardy having done so after winning the World title at the Night of Champions PPV. At least with Hardy's name though, the trend had some kind of initial outside justification behind it. Jericho's name was simply lifted up by a fan drive to game Twitter for their idol.

Jericho, who is a member of Twitter himself as IAmJericho, sent out a tweet late Sunday thanking fans for propelling his name to the top of the service. Jericho has over 35,000 Twitter followers.

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WWE Friday Night Smackdown results (7/31/09)

WWE Friday Night Smackdown results
(aired July 31, 2009 from Baltimore, Maryland.)

#1	Cryme Tyme	pin	Hart Dynasty	JTG pin Kidd, #1 tag contenders match
#2	Melina & Eve Torres	pin	Michelle McCool & Layla	Melina pin McCool
#3	Rey Mysterio & Finlay	pin	Dolph Ziggler & Mike Knox	Mysterio pin Ziggler
#4	The Great Khali	nc	Charlie Haas	Kane attack RSingh inmatch
#5	World champion Jeff Hardy	pin	John Morrison	Punk laid out JHardy postmatch

added to SummerSlam PPV:
- Unified tag champs Chris Jericho & Big Show vs. Cryme Tyme______________________

Jeff Hardy reclaims World title from CM Punk

The Night of Champions PPV main event proved fortuitous for Jeff Hardy as he reclaimed the World title from CM Punk, winning a major World or WWE singles title for the third time in his World Wrestling Entertainment career.

Hardy avoided defeat against the heelish Punk after kicking out three consecutive times following Punk's Go To Sleep. He then had to throw Punk back into the ring after Punk attempted to walk away with the belt, subsequently hitting the Twist of Fate and the Swanton Bomb for the win.

While the match's quality was obviously top par the outcome was something of a surprise, considering Jeff Hardy's alleged plans to leave WWE in a few weeks. Barring another sudden title switch, Jeff Hardy should still stick around at least through the SummerSlam PPV.

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WWE Friday Night Smackdown results (7/24/09)

WWE Friday Night Smackdown results
(aired July 24, 2009 from Richmond, Virginia.)

#1	Jeff Hardy	pin	Chris Jericho	-
#2	The Great Khali	pin	Mike Knox	-
#3	Dolph Ziggler	co	Finlay	-
#4	Eve Torres	pin	Natalya	-
#5	R-Truth	pin	Charlie Haas	-
#6	IC champion Rey Mysterio	dq	World champion CM Punk	non-titles, Ziggler attack Mysterio 4dq, Ziggler laid out Mysterio & Punk laid out JHardy postmatch

Night of Champions PPV:
Women's champion Michelle McCool vs. Melina______________________

WWE Friday Night Smackdown results (7/17/09)

WWE Friday Night Smackdown results
(aired July 17, 2009 from Miami, Florida.)

#1	John Morrison	pin	World champion CM Punk	non-title
#2	Kane	pin	R-Truth	R-Truth attack Kane postmatch
#3	Tyson Kidd, David Hart Smith & Natalya	pin	JTG, Shad Gaspard & Eve Torres	mix tag, Natalya pin ETorres
#4	Chris Jericho & Dolph Ziggler	dq	Jeff Hardy & Rey Mysterio	Punk attack Jericho 4dq, Jericho/Ziggler laid out JHardy/Mysterio postmatch

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WWE Friday Night Smackdown results (7/10/09)

WWE Friday Night Smackdown results
(aired July 10, 2009 from Bakersfield, California.)

#1	Kane	pin	Jeff Hardy	Punk distract JHardy
#2	Dolph Ziggler	pin	John Morrison	-
#3	Melina & Eve Torres	pin	Michelle McCool & Layla	Melina pin Layla, McCool/Melina fought postmatch
#4	World champion CM Punk	nc	The Great Khali	non-title, Kane/Khali fought postmatch
#5	Hart Dynasty	pin	Cryme Tyme	Smith pin Gaspard
#6	IC champion Rey Mysterio	pin	Chris Jericho	Ziggler/Edge/Jericho laid out Mysterio postmatch

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