Smackdown Recap 01.01.10

Smackdown Recap from East Rutherford, NJ:

Happy New Year to all WWE fans! The Smackdown pyro fired off in grand fashion to welcome in the New Year. Todd Grisham welcomed fans to the show, the first of 2010. Grisham announced that tonight there will be a Beat the Clock challenge tonight to determine Undertaker's opponent for Royal Rumble. Also, Drew McIntyre defends the IC title against John Morrison.

CM Punk arrived out along with Luke Gallows to address the WWE Universe in the ring. Gallows carried the Slammy Trophy, and the two posed in the corner of the ring despite a lot of boos. Punk asked fans to raise their hands if they made resolutions for the New Year, and then asked how many broke them already. He pointed out one fan and noted he already blew his resolution to lose 30 pounds. Punk said resolutions are for bettering yourself, but he doesn't need to be any better. He offered to help and save the WWE fans, then pointed out Luke Gallows as an example.

Punk told everyone to stand in the arena, and fans at home to put their hands on the screen to take his pledge for 2010. Punk told them to repeat a speech of "I'm tired of being a loser and treating my body like a sewer, without the strength to just say no". He told them to adhere to the straightedge lifestyle in 2010 without drugs, drinking or smoking. Punk yelled at the crowd "do not make me beat this into you." Punk said next week he's going to save one very lost soul from the audience, and will continue to do so city-by-city, day-by-day to grow his message. Punk said he'll set the best example tonight by winning the Beat the Clock challenge, so he can head to Royal Rumble and become a four-time straightedge champion. Matt Hardy's music hit and Punk's opening opponent arrived out for the first Beat the Clock.

Matt Hardy vs. CM Punk
Beat the Clock Challenge Match #1

Hardy and Punk moved past the five minute mark with Punk applying a headlock on the mat. Hardy got up to punch at him and slam Punk back to the mat. From there, Matt collected himself in the corner then got a boot up on a charging Punk. He followed with a huge clothesline off the ropes, but couldn't capture the pinfall. Another clothesline in the corner, then a bulldog, but still no pinfall at 6:20. Matt ducked a Punk move and hit Side Effect, but once again Punk escaped the pinfall. Hardy prepared for Twist of Fate, but Punk blocked it and got to the ropes. The ref pulled Hardy away and that allowed Punk to get in a hard kick to Hardy's head, followed by the GTS for the pin. Punk's winning time in the opener, 7:20 which will be the time to beat.

Post match, Gallows got in the ring to dismantle Hardy. Hardy fought him off but CM Punk attacked from behind, allowing Gallows to slam Hardy to the mat.

Winner: CM Punk wins via pinfall over Matt Hardy in 7:20 for the Beat the Clock Challenge.

Grisham hyped the upcoming Intercontinental title match between Morrison and McIntyre later. Striker discussed the ongoing tournament as they showed a graphic of remaining Beat the Clock participants who were paired off: Kane/Dolph Ziggler, Mysterio/Jericho, and R-Truth/Batista. Punk has the current time to beat, 7:20.

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Kane vs. Dolph Ziggler
Beat the Clock Challenge Match #2

Kane's pyro hit from the ramp and the Big Red Monster arrived to the ring to face Dolph Ziggler. The countdown clock of 7:20 was shown on the screen as the bell rang.

As the clock was down to around 3 minutes, Ziggler had Kane down on the mat in a headlock to keep Kane grounded. Kane struggled to escape, eventually getting on his knees, then his feet to throw Ziggler against the ropes. Kane hit a big boot and went for the pin at 2:35 but Ziggler kicked out. Kane hit a sideslam at 2:15, but Ziggler kicked out yet again.

Striker noted that Kane seemed to be hurt, as he seemed to be off tonight. He did a short running powerslam for another nearfall under two minutes. Kane went up to the corner for the high risk move. Ziggler was up to fight him and tried for a suplex, but Kane punched him down to the mat. Kane jumped with his clothesline to take out Ziggler. Another nearfall, but Ziggler escaped at 1:05 remaining. Kane grabbed Ziggler for a chokeslam but too close to the ropes, allowing Ziggler to yank him down against the top rope. Kane snapped back, and Ziggler got in the ring to jump on Kane's back for a sleeper hold with about 37 seconds left. Kane fell to the mat with Ziggler continuing to lock the hold in, and also locking his legs around Kane's midsection. The clock struck :00 with no winner of the match. Ziggler was beside himself about the outcome, so he ran at Kane and hit the Zig Zag in anger, slamming Kane to the mat.

CM Punk and Luke Gallows were shown backstage enjoying the fact that Punk still was in the lead for the tournament.

Winner: No winner as the countdown clock hit :00. CM Punk's 7:20 remains the time to beat.

Coming up in the tournament, R-Truth faces Batista, and Rey Mysterio faces Chris Jericho.

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Todd Grisham and Striker discussed the last Raw of 2009, where John Cena got his rematch against Sheamus for the WWE Title. In the main event, Cena had momentum and got Sheamus up for the Attitude Adjustment. Sheamus grabbed the top rope, but Cena yanked him away. In the process, Sheamus used a free arm to grab the ref and shove him down. Even though Cena hit his finisher and pinned Sheamus, the ref called for the DQ. Afterwords, Cena went out and grabbed Sheamus from the ramp and ran him back to the ring. Sheamus eluded Cena's move in the ring to boot him twice. He stood over Cena with a foot on his neck.

In the ring was The Carolina Panther, a clean shaven guy with a Carolina Panthers NFL jersey on. Unfortunately his opponent tonight, The Great Khali.

Great Khali vs. The Carolina Panther

The Panther charged at Khali and punched at him with no effect. Khali picked him up for the Punjabi Plunge to quickly end the match in under 30 seconds.

Winner: The Great Khali wins via pinfall over The Carolina Panther.

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John Morrison vs. Drew McIntyre
Intercontinental Title Match

Morrison arrived out first and gave a pair of his sunglasses to a kid in the front row. They replayed footage from last week's WWE Superstars in-ring encounter which resulted in Morrison informing McIntyre of their title match for Smackdown, then giving him a Starship Pain in the corner before leaving. After McIntyre's intro, they took a commercial break which featured a preview of Monday's Raw including the return of Bret "The Hitman" Hart.

Late in this back and forth contest, McIntyre beat on Morrison on the mat. The ref tended to Morrison to make sure he was ok, as Drew went over and undid the turnbuckle cover in one corner. Morrison got up and went over to start hammering away on McIntyre, with the ref grabbing Morrison and warning him to stop. The ref failed to notice the turnbuckle cover on the mat as he kept yelling at Morrison "that's enough!" McIntyre took the opportunity to shove Morrison right onto the ref who fell down to the mat. The ref called for the bell thinking Morrison pushed him down, as John tried to explain it was McIntyre who shoved him.

Morrison ran up the ramp and attacked McIntyre from behind, with the ref coming out to try to break it up. About four more refs came out to break the two wrestlers up.

Winner: Drew McIntyre wins due to the disqualification of John Morrison to retain the Intercontinental Title.

Still coming up are two more Beat the Clock matches with CM Punk's 7:20 time still the time to beat.

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Mickie James vs. Beth Phoenix

Michelle McCool and Layla sat next to the commentators for the next divas match. They were wearing self-made "Piggy James loves food" and "We heart Glamazon" shirts.

Mickie went off the corner and jumped on Beth for a near fall late in this one. Beth was able to recover after Layla got on the apron to distract the ref and Mickie. Beth shoved Mickie to the ropes, where Michelle was on the apron. McCool went for a kick on Mickie but instead got Beth Phoenix in the face with it. As Beth tried to recover, Mickie grabbed her from behind for a rollup pinfall to win the match.

After the bell, Michelle realized the mistake she made and tried to apologize to Beth. Layla got in the ring and charged Mickie James. Michelle came in to back her up so they could doubleteam her. Beth Phoenix came over and grabbed McCool then tossed her to the mat. She picked her up again to ram her into the corner and continued to beat on McCool.

Meanwhile, Mickie tore the T-shirt off Layla and kicked her in the gut before tossing her out through the ropes. Beth Phoenix picked up McCool overhead and slammed her down, then ran and kicked her in the gut to send her out of the ring. Layla got back on the apron, so Phoenix could kick her off. Mickie looked at Beth like they were on the same page. Beth walked by and sorta slapped Mickie's hand, then turned on her to do a Glamslam.

Winner: Mickie James wins via pinfall over Beth Phoenix.

Chris Jericho was shown backstage on his way out for the next Beat the Clock match.

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Chris Jericho got in the ring to deliver a speech to the WWE fans prior to the match. Smackdown discussed being bigger than Smackdown and the WWE Universe. He vowed that he and Show would regain their tag titles on WWE Raw this Monday so he can continue being the face of Smackdown, Raw, ECW and Superstars. Jericho said he'll become the face of the entire company. He said his New Year's resolution is to hold every WWE title this year, starting with the World title when he wins Beat the clock to go face Undertaker at Royal Rumble 09'. Jericho claimed in 2010 he will be the epicenter of the WWE Universe. Rey Mysterio made his supercharged entrance to finally end Jericho's speech.

Rey Mysterio vs. Chris Jericho
Beat the Clock Challenge Match #3

As the clock neared five minutes, Jericho was in control delivering kicks and chops to Mysterio. He had a near fall under 5 minutes with Rey getting out. Mysterio managed to get a kick on Jericho near the corner, with Jericho falling against the middle rope. Mysterio went for 619, but Jericho got up and knocked Rey down for another near fall.

Jericho used a headlock on the mat around the 3:50 mark. Striker said Jericho was making Mysterio look at the clock up on the Titantron, so a sense of urgency would set in. Jericho kept trash talking Rey, who stood up and elbowed into Jericho's gut. Jericho kicked Mysterion in the gut and whipped him to the corner for a charge, but Rey tripped with a drop toe hold. From there Mysterio hit a headbutt off the corner for a near fall. He hit a springboard crossbody for another near fall. Jericho was able to get a sunset flip, with Rey rolling through. Jericho turned it into Walls of Jericho with Rey using his legs to power out. Another near fall by Jericho right before two minutes remaining.

Jericho countered a Mysterio move near the ropes into a slam for another near fall. The ref had to count it near the ropes which took a second off his time in counting the pin. Jericho stood up Rey and tossed him to the ropes, but Rey tripped him for another 619. He went for it, but Jericho caught Rey and put him into Walls of Jericho in the middle of the ring. Rey crawled towards the rope with Jericho trying to pull him back. Jericho picked up Rey but Rey used a tiltawhirl and hit a 619. Rey went for a Springboard move to finish Jericho, but Chris hit the Codebreaker. Rey kicked out of the fall. Jericho started arguing with the ref, then turned around to go back at Rey. Rey wisely grabbed Jericho and rolled him into a tight small package pin, getting the win right as the clock hit :01. Rey now owns the time to beat, 7:19.

CM Punk and Luke Gallows were shown backstage looking upset over the outcome.

Winner: Rey Mysterio wins via pinfall over Chris Jericho in 7:19. Rey holds the time to beat for Beat the Clock challenge.

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When Smackdown returned, Rey Mysterio was shown seated ringside near the commentators to observe the final match of the Beat the Clock challenge.

R-Truth vs. Batista
Beat the Clock Challenge Match #4

This main event match would be the final match of the Beat the Clock, with Rey Mysterio owning the time to beat, 7:19. Batista came to the ring following R-Truth's rap song intro "What's Up". The Animal stared over at Mysterio sitting outside the ring before posing on the corner. Smackdown took a commercial break.

Early on, The Animal pounded on Truth from corner to corner, then rammed him in the midsection. Truth kneed Batista then tried for a rollup pin. Truth tripped Batista down and then hit a legdrop on the back of his head. Truth had a couple near falls before Batista leveled him with a clothesline. The Animal took control for a bit with power moves, then put Truth up on his shoulder. Truth slid off to fight back. He sent Batista to the corner then did his breakdance split. Batista came right over to kick Truth in the face. The Animal had the Batista Bomb ready, but Truth began to punch on his head, then dropped down. Truth kicked Batista out of the ring at under 5 minutes, then dove out onto Batista. The countout approached 8, with Batista getting back in the ring. Truth got on the apron with the Animal grabbing him to throw into the ringpost. Truth tried to recollect himself on the outside, holding his arm. Batista came out to whip him into the steel steps for more damage. In the ring he shoved Truth shoulder-first to the ringpost then stomped away on him. Grisham questioned why Batista wasn't going for the win right away.

Under three minutes, R-Truth had momentum after a standing dropkick. However, Batista took him down for a near fall with a spinning sidewalk slam. Truth was back up and hit a DDT for a near fall of his own. Mysterio was shown holding his head, feeling he survived another one. Truth hit his spinning axe kick on Batista's head, with Batista kicking out. 1:30 remained with Truth able to get a boot up on Batista's face. Truth flipped onto the corner, then went for a dropkick, with The Animal swatting Truth away. Batista hit a huge Spear to take down Truth. The Animal kept glancing over at Mysterio though and taking his time. Batista took a look at the clock at 25 seconds before a slam. He got Truth up for the Batista Bomb and hit it, then took the cover at 7 seconds. As the ref was counting it, he got yanked out of the ring by Rey Mysterio. The ref asked Mysterio what he was doing as the clock ran out on Batista. Rey ran up the ramp to avoid Batista. Justin Roberts announced that Batista did not beat the clock, making Rey #1 Contender for Undertaker's title at 2009 Royal Rumble.

Batista was extremely upset looking out of the ring at Mysterio up on the ramp.

Winner: No winner as time expired. Rey Mysterio wins Beat the Clock challenge with a time of 7:19. Mysterio will go to the 2009 Royal Rumble and face Undertaker for the World title.

Smackdown consultant Vickie Guerrero came out onto the ramp to interrupt Rey's victory celebration. Vickie told Mysterio she was so sorry, because at Smackdown everyone follows the rules. Vickie said that Rey clearly cheated Batista out of a win. She said since they couldn't determine who would be Undertaker's opponent for Royal Rumble, as the Smackdown advisor she recommends Mysterio face Batista next week to determine the true #1 Contender. Mysterio shook his head at the decision. Smackdown ended on that note.