SMACKDOWN PREVIEW (NON-SPOILER); BOOKER VS. BATISTA, MYSTERIO VS. FINLAY, REGAL VS. LASHLEY
by Buck Woodward
Taped for tonight on Smackdown:
- World Champion King Booker vs. Batista.
- Fit Finlay vs. Rey Mysterio.
- William Regal vs. Bobby Lashley.
- U.S. Champion Ken Kennedy vs. Lawrence Tyler.
- Brian Kendrick, Paul London & Ashley Massaro vs. KC James, Idol Stevens & Michelle McCool.
- Chavo Guerrero vs. Tatanka.
- The Miz vs. Matt Hardy.
- Vito, Gregory Helms, Theodore R. Long, Vickie Guerrero, MVP and Queen Sharmell will also appear on the show.
BENOIT'S RETURN TO THE RING, EDGE VS. CENA NO HOLDS BARRED, BACK TO BACK ECW TAPINGS AND MORE
by Buck Woodward
A few things stand out when looking at this weekend's lineup of WWE live events. First, both the Raw and Smackdown brands start the weekend in Florida before moving up to the Northeast (ECW stays in the Northeast for all of their events). Second, Chris Benoit is listed for Saturday's Smackdown event in West Palm Beach against Sylvester Terkay, which would be his first match since May. Third, Batista is not listed for either of the Smackdown house shows this weekend. And finally, even though they have been together for months now, WWE is still calling the Raw events "The DX Reunion Tour".
The Raw brand kicks off their run tonight, September 8th, at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Florida with WWE Champion Edge vs. John Cena in a No Holds Barred match as the main event. DX, Ric Flair, Carlito, Shelton Benjamin, Kane, Randy Orton, Torrie Wilson, Candice Michelle, Maria and Mickie James are also being advertised as appearing.
The brand then hits Fort Myers, Florida on Saturday, September 9th at the Germain Arena with the following lineup being advertised locally:
- WWE Champion Edge vs. John Cena in a No Holds Barred match.
- Triple H & Shawn Michaels vs. Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch.
- Kane vs. Randy Orton.
- Intercontinental Champion Johnny Nitro vs. Jeff Hardy.
- Carlito, Torrie Wilson, Lita, Hacksaw Duggan, Umaga and Val Venis are also listed as appearing.
The Raw crew then travels back up the coast for a show on Sunday, September 10th at the Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton, New Jersey with the following advertised lineup (WWE.com is listing Ric Flair as appearing on the show as well.):
- WWE Champion Edge vs. John Cena in a No Holds Barred match.
- Triple H & Shawn Michaels vs. Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch.
- Intercontinental Champion Johnny Nitro vs. Jeff Hardy.
- Carlito vs. Viscera.
- The Highlanders vs. The Spirit Squad.
- Women's Champion Lita vs. Torrie Wilson.
- Hacksaw Duggan vs. Umaga.
- Val Venis vs. Oleg.
Then it is the big return to Madison Square Garden in New York City on Monday, September 11th for the "go home" edition of Raw before the Unforgiven PPV. Already announced for the show is Triple H vs. Vince McMahon, and there will also be an ECW on SciFi taping that night.
Smackdown starts their run on Saturday, September 9th at the South Florida Expo Center in West Palm Beach, Florida with the following advertised lineup:
- World Champion King Booker vs. Rey Mysterio.
- Bobby Lashley vs. Fit Finlay vs. William Regal.
- Chris Benoit vs. Sylvester Terkay.
- WWE Tag Team Champions Paul London & Brian Kendrick vs. Jamie Noble & Kid Kash.
- U.S. Champion Ken Kennedy vs. Matt Hardy.
- Scotty 2 Hotty vs. Chuck Palumbo.
- Sho Funaki vs. Titus.
- A Smackdown Diva Best Body contest with Ashley Massaro, Jillian Hall, Michelle McCool and Kristal Marshall.
The brand then runs on Sunday, September 10th at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut with the following advertised lineup:
- World Champion King Booker vs. Rey Mysterio.
- Bobby Lashley vs. Fit Finlay vs. William Regal.
- WWE Tag Team Champions Paul London & Brian Kendrick vs. KC James & Idol Stevens.
- Tatanka vs. Sylvester Terkay.
- Scotty 2 Hotty vs. Ken Kennedy.
- Sho Funaki vs. Ryan Wilson.
- The Miz vs. Chuck Palumbo.
- A Smackdown Diva Best Body contest with Ashley Massaro, Jillian Hall, Michelle McCool and Kristal Marshall.
Smackdown then tapes (and ECW tapes their September 19th SciFi show) on Tuesday, September 12th at the DCU Center in Worcester, Massachusetts.
ECW has their first show of the weekend on Saturday, September 9th in Toms River, New Jersey at the Poland Spring Arena at the Ritacco Center with Rob Van Dam, Big Show, Tommy Dreamer, Test, and Sabu listed as appearing according to WWE.com. The brand then runs at the Center City Sportsplex in Schenectady, New York on Sunday, September 10th
As mentioned above, ECW will tape two episodes for SciFi next week, one on September 11th at Madison Square Garden in New York City (with Raw) and one on September 12th at the DCU Center in Worcester (with Smackdown).
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