Before the show started they played the usual WWE publicity video. A funny note is when George Bush and John McCain were shown during the video they were heavily booed while Barack Obama got a nice pop.
 
Match 1 - Ryan Braddock(no crowd reaction) vs R-Truth in a dark match
 
Truth won with a scissors kick. Crowd was very into Truth with his crowd entrance and moves during the match.
 
JR and Tazz made their entrance followed by the opening video and fireworks. No National Anthem.
 
Vickie Guerrero came out and wished everyone a happy new year. She announced Jeff Hardy vs Edge for the WWE Title at the Royal Rumble. She also said the SmackDown Rumble entrants would be announced later on. This brought out Triple H who wanted to know if he was in the Rumble. She told him he'd have to wait along with everyone else. He started making the usual fat jokes about her until she frustratingly said he was in. He pulled out Vickie's action figure and took the figures shirt off to show the figure has a skinny body. He also said there were nude pics of her on eBay that were being bid on by someone named ChavoG2009. He said the auction goes off in 5 minutes. She looked shocked and walked off to the back.
 
Finlay, Hornswoggle, Great Khali and Ranjn Singh were shown backstage doing a photoshoot.
 
Match 2 - Finlay & Great Khali vs Curt Hawkins & Zack Ryder
 
After Hawkins & Ryder made their entrance they played the Umaga returns video. Finlay & Khali had seperate entrances. Hornswoggle ran under the ring. Khali & Horny did a comedy spot where the ref was distracted by Finlay, Khali gave Hawkins & Ryder a double headbutt then Horny snuck in behind the refs back and also gave them a double headbutt before running back under the ring. Finlay & Khali won when Khali pinned (I forget who) with the Khali slam. After the match, Finlay, Khali & Hornswoggle all hit their finishers.
 
Eve interviewed Michelle McCool. Michelle said Maria was jealous and intentionally cost her the Divas Title.
 
Edge, Vickie & Big Show were backstage. Edge said it was so embarassing having nude pics of his wife on eBay. Show said he saw the pics. Edge got in his face and said that was his wife he was talking about. He told show it's also embarassing losing to a flyweight at WrestleMania. Show stood up and they went nose to nose. Edge walked away and Show smirked.
 
Match 3 - Jesse & Festus vs The Brian Kendrick & Ezekiel Jackson
 
Festus appeared to hurt his knee catching a Kendrick crossbody off the top rope. Jesse quickly came in. Ezekiel pinned Jesse with the dont-call-it-the rock bottom. I'm guessing Festus was just selling the knee.
 
Match 4 - Hurricane Helms vs Vladimir Kozlov
 
2 minutes in and we have a boring chant while Kozlov had Helms in a hold. Kozlov wins with a spinebuster.
 
A commercial aired plugging Behind Enemy Lines III on dvd this Tuesday.
 
The arena lights went dark while the Tribute To The Troops video played. A bunch of crew members walked down to the ring in the dark and then walked back. I'm guessing someone was placed under the ring.
 
Jim Ross entered the ring to announce the SmackDown Rumble participants. They are:
Triple H, Big Show, Vladimir Kozlov, Shelton Benjamin, at that point Shelton interrupted JR. He told JR to leave the ring. He said he's been the US Champion for over 6 months and in 2009 he'll realize his dream of mnain eventing WrestleMania. He said there isn't gonna be anyone in the Rumble who will stop him. Undertaker's voice was heard "I think you forgot someone". The lights went down, and out from under the ring came The Undertaker who appeared behind Shelton when the lights came on and chokeslammed him.
 
A video played for Kizarny saying he debuts tonight.
 
Michelle McCool came to the ring. She started out as apologetic about what she did to Maria. She then called out Eve. She said she was sorry to Eve too, for what? I don't know. They hugged and Eve left the ring. Just as Eve stepped off the stairs, Michelle jumped out of the ring and hit her in the back of the head with the microphone. She threw her into the barricade and then kicked her head into the barricade wall.
 
Backstage Triple H confronted Vickie and Chavo Guerrero. She said she wants an apology from him. He started making more jokes and she told him that next week(taped tonight) he'll have to wrestle 3 times, a tables match, a handicap match and a last man standing match.
 
Match 5 - Kizarny vs MVP
 
MVP got on the mic all mellow and said "Whoever it is I'm fighting, just bring him out." As if he knew he was going to lose. Good arm drags and a running dive through the ropes by Kizarny. MVP had more of the cheers. The longer the match went on there were spatters of boos for Kizarny. MVP went for the playmaker, but Kizarny reversed it into a double underhook ddt with his legs around MVP's waist and then rolled it into a pin for the win. Following the match Mr. Kennedy came out and told Kennedy that he got wh-izz-ooped.
 
A commercial for the Royal Rumble aired.
 
Also next week(taped tonight) will be Carlito & Primo vs Kendrick & Ezekiel for the WWE Tag Team Title
 
Match 6 - The Hardys vs Edge & Big Show
 
Edge got on the mic all mad saying after the Rumble he'll be a 7 time World Champion. He said all of us thought a year ago that Edge and Vickie wouldn't last and here they are still together. He also said we blame him for taking out Jeff Hardy at Survivor Series, forgetting the fact that Jeff is a screwup. The Hardys came out seperately with deafening pops. Jeff had his face painted like Wolfpack Sting circa 1998.
 
Crowd was very into this match. Edge sold for the first part of the match, getting hit with Hardy double team moves. Then it was Matt's turn to play the face in peril. At one point it looked like Edge went for a tag and then Big Show walked out on him. This left Edge all alone and Matt got the hot tag to Jeff. The Hardys hit poetry in motion followed by a Matt twist of fate and Jeff swanton for the win. Show never came back. The Hardys posed with the belts to end the first show.

To air Friday January 9th
 
A lot of people are leaving before the second taping begins. Most of the seats behind the hard camera are empty.
 
Justin Roberts announced that Jeff Hardy will defend the WWE Title tonight. Probably the post show dark match.
 
Match 1 - Triple H vs John Morrison in a Tables Match
 
Average match early on until a crazy spot where Triple H threw Morrison off the top rope to the floor where he was supposed to land back-first into the table, but he grazed the table and it flipped over, not breaking. After a few minutes they set up a new table on the floor in the same spot and re-did the throw with the table breaking this time. Poor Morrison. I'm sure the first throw will be edited out. After the match The Miz came out and distracted H while Chavo snuck in and put H through a table in the ring.
 
Match 2 - The Undertaker vs Shelton Benjamin
 
After Shelton's entrance they cut backstage where Vickie confronted HHH and told him he still has 2 more matches tonight. Undertaker's entrance never gets old. Really good match. Shelton escaped the last ride, but was caught in the tombstone and Taker got the pin.
 
They started to show a video of Tazz interviewing Edge "earlier tonight", but we couldn't hear anything and it got cut off. A minute later they showed the Bella Twins walking backstage on their way to the ring.
 
Match 2 - The Bella Twins vs Michelle McCool & Victoria
 
Short match, ending with Victoria missing a moonsault and Bella #1 rolled her up for the pin. After the match Michelle was PO'd and attacked Victoria from behind and then hit the styles clash. Michelle walked away to loud boos.
 
The lights went out for another Tribute To The Troops video. A bunch of ring crew people came down to the ring in the dark and placed someone under the ring.
 
Match 3 - Triple H vs The Miz & Chavo Guerrero in a Handicap Match
 
Nothing match. Chavo walked out on Miz at the end and H hit the pedigree on Miz for the win. After the match Vickie appeared on the screen and told HHH that his Last Man Standing match tonight is with Big Show.
 
The ring crew brought the couches and tables in the ring for the VIP lounge.
 
MVP's VIP Lounge - Guest: Mr. Kennedy
 
They argued back and forth with Kennedy making fun of MVP losing week after week. MVP responded by saying at least he's wrestling every week unlike Kennedy. At this point my nephew had to go to the bathroom so I missed a little bit, but it ended with Kennedy leaving and The Boogeyman coming out from under the ring and fighting with MVP. Boogeyman celebrated with his worms.
 
Match 4 - Carlito & Primo vs The Brian Kendrick & Ezekiel Jackson
 
Ok match. Carlito & Primo retained with Carlito  pinning Kendrick with the backstabber.
 
They went over the Royal Rumble matches on the screen. Nothing new added.
 
Match 5 - Triple H vs Big Show in a Last Man Standing Match
 
Just like most of the other Last Man Standing matches WWE has put on over the years. Dramatic counts of 9 on both guys before they get up. Included Show getting up from a pedigree, Show reversing another pedigree into a celtic cross, a chokeslam on HHH on the announcers table, but it didn't break and finally a knockout punch from Show outside the ring and HHH is counted to 10. Big Show wins. After the match Vickie GUerrero walked out on top of the ramp and just stared at HHH while he was helped up.
 
This is where the taping ended and it was time for the dark match main event.
 
Match 6 - Jeff Hardy vs Edge for the WWE Title
 
Edge walked passed HHH on the way to the ring while the refs were helping HHH to the back. By this point it's been over 4 hours of wrestling tonight and a large chunk of the audience on all sides of the arena have emptied. About a 6 minute match with Jeff hitting the twist of fate and swanton bomb for the win.
 
The idea of taping 2 shows in one night to save money is a good idea, but if they're gonna do that they should tape Raw and SmackDown in the same night instead of 2 of the same show. Seeing a lot of the same people wrestle twice, or in HHH's case 3 times, really burns the audience out. At least with Raw and SmackDown being taped together you'll get to see all the wrestlers on one show and not the same people over and over. This show tonight lasted 4 hours and 20 minutes. Way too long for a tv taping. Not a bad show mind you, it just drained the fans.
 
Take care. Leon Peters