Larry King rescheduled/ News on Battle Royal/ Smackdown Spoilers

The WWE superstars will appear on Larry King Live tonight at 9:00, on CNN.

The 24 man Battle Royal will be on WWE.com for free at 6:30, and will not be on the Wrestlemania card. The winner will still get a shot at Chavo, meaning that the title match will probably be 1st. Here are the superstars in the battle royal:

From Raw: Snitsky, Brian Kendrick, Lance Cade, Trevor Murdoch, Hardcore Holly, Cody Rhodes, Val Venis, Hacksaw Jim Duggan

From Smackdown: Mark Henry, Chuck Palumbo, The Great Khali, Deuce, Domino, Jesse, Festus, Kane, Jamie Noble, Jimmy Wang Yang, Shannon Moore

From ECW: Elijah Burke, Matt Striker, The Miz, Tommy Dreamer, Kofi Kingston

Here are the Smackdown Taping Results: (courtesy of wrestlingnewsworld.com)


Dark Match: Ron Killings def. Kenny Dykstra
Killings received a nice reaction when you consider how long he’s been out of the WWE and instead stuck in TNA purgatory and also AAA. There were plenty of responses to his WHAT’S UP yells. He pins Dykstra with an axe kick.

Smackdown Tapings (Air date 3/28):

Mark Henry def. Kane, Chuck Palumbo, and The Great Khali in a 4 man battle royal
Chavo Guerrero is introduced at the start of the show and does guest commentary. Match itself is rather short. Kane is eliminated first and followed by Chuck Palumbo (both by Khali, I believe.) Henry and Khali trade chops and punches for a bit, then Henry lifts up Khali for a body slam and throws him over the top rope. Henry receives a face pop for his disposing of Khali.
Chavo sneaks into the ring after the match and takes out Henry at the knees. He works on him for a bit before Henry comes back and gives Chavo a bodyslam and splash.

Teddy Long is backstage with Eve, Cherry, and Michelle McCool. He announces that Eve has been eliminated from the Diva competition. Maryse and Victoria show up and start arguing with everyone. Teddy says the only way to settle this is with a ‘Diva Super Soaker/Water Balloon Tag Match’ or whatever the hell he called it. Yikes.

CM Punk def. John Morrison

Jesse, Festus, and Kofi Kingston def. Lance Cade, Trevor Murdoch, and the Miz

Batista def. Snitsky
After the match, Batista beats the hell out of Snitsky and Batista Bombs him onto a steel chair.

Michelle McCool and Cherry def. Victoria and Maryse w/ Eve as special referee in the ‘Diva Super Soaker/Water Balloon Tag Match’

Chris Jericho def. MVP via DQ

There’s a bit of a delay while the ring crew switches out the mats. MVP comes out while the ring is still being switched and he gets on the mic and works the crowd for a few minutes. He also walks over to the announce table and mouths off and berates Michael Cole. I doubt that will air, however.
This was another enjoyable match. Jericho seems to be finally finding his stride again and MVP’s potential is through the roof. Jericho reverses a Playmaker attempt into the Walls of Jericho and MVP is able to escape and scurry out the ring. He grabs the belts and runs into the ring to get DQ’ed. Jericho ducks the hit and gives MVP the Codebreaker on the US title.

Funeral Ceremony
The ring is set up with full funeral arrangement garb and resembles a wake. The black flowers and wreaths are present, along with a picture of the Undertaker and a podium for Edge to speak. A casket is in the middle of the ring. Edge and his entire posse are present in formal attire. Edge gives a eulogy on the Undertaker, covers his accomplishments, and lists his Wrestlemania opponents. He comments on how that time has now come to an end.
Vickie interrupts and says she has a gift for Edge. It’s a video in the style of a movie preview promoting Edge as a superhero for conquering the Undertaker. When Edge starts a final prayer, the lights go dark and Undertaker’s music and video plays. The casket opens and Taker ambushes Edge. He assaults him in the corner until Edge is able to escape. The tapings end with Taker posing in the middle of the ring.
Note: Someone screwed up during this segment and really exposed the product. When the lights dropped and the music/video started, it seemed to go on longer that what you’d normally expect. One of the producers who had been outside on the corner ring steps for the entire segment then literally jumped onto the apron and banged on the back of the casket in plain sight. He hopped back down and the casket opened. I was just a few feet away from this since I was sitting 3rd row floor on the TV side. All of us in the area looked at each other literally dumbfounded since it was painfully obvious. I understand this type of segment isn’t necessarily ‘believable’ to begin with and it’s nothing that will show on TV, but it kills any type of suspension of disbelief that the crowd needs to have to be fully invested with the product. I can’t possibly believe that’s how it was designed in the first place. It definitely looked amateurish.

Dark Match: Ric Flair, Batista, and the Undertaker def. Edge, the Big Show, and MVP
Post match, the faces are in the ring celebrating for several minutes. Batista grabs the mic and thanks Flair for being a friend and an integral part of his professional and personal life. Flair speaks and thanks Fayetteville for supporting him throughout his career. He says that if this Sunday is truly the end of the line, he’s glad to have performed here one last time. Taker doesn’t speak but embraces Flair and motions to him. All three walk out together to end the show.