We open with
the short graphic intro and go to crowd shots.
- The voice-over guy explains what a handicap
match is as we see clips of The Great Khali and Primo & Epico.
- The Great Khali makes his entrance with
Natalya. Brad Maddox is on commentary with Josh Mathews. Primo & Epico make
their entrance with their new music and the lovely Rosa Mendes. Rosa's chest does not have an extra piece of
cloth like last week and she is in a tight tank-top.
Handicap Match: The Great Khali vs. Primo &
Epico
Maddox says he made the stip for this match as
Primo & Epico and try and fail to double team Khali. They get him down but
Khali fights back up with a chop and a big boot. Maddox says he goes back to
1998 with Mick Foley. Khali has Primo isolated in the ring as he hits him with
off-camera chops in opposite corners. Primo cartoonishly (is that a word?)
sells it. Maddox says one of the many exciting changes to this show is that it
will now be called Saturday Mid-Afternoon Slam. Khali throws Primo over the top
as Epico tries to flip the giant from under the ropes. Khali just sits down on
him and gets the pin.
Winner by pin: The Great Khali
Khali and Natalya dance in the ring.
- Natalya pulls double duty after the break as
she interviews the new General Manager Mick Foley. Foley is dressed like an
upscale bouncer in a black shirt and grey sport coat. Foley compliments Natalya
on her visit to Rwanda and Khali's win. Damien Sandow
interrupts and says he was offended by being overlooked for GM by someone who
is the embodiment of the unwashed masses. Miz interrupts with his
"Really?" shtick. Miz says Foley is a legend and smart enough to make
him the main character of his book.
Speaking of books, Foley asks Sandow if he's
familiar with Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility. Sandow nods his head as if
to say, "Duh!" Foley says he is getting a sense that Miz and Sandow
don't like each other so the sensible thing to do is to put them in a match
today. Miz smiles, Sandow is disgusted, and they both leave. Natalya tells Mick
she loves that book; Foley says he has never read it.
Instant Reaction: Not a bad little segment for a
Saturday morning crowd. Obviously it gave Foley something to do as GM but he
also got a chance to display his wit and personality to a younger generation
who may be unfamiliar with him and have maybe only seen clips or heard his name
mentioned. Miz was just there but Sandow was fantastic as always and his
character is perfect for this show. At least they are trying to teach the kids
about literature.
- This week's Saturday Morning Spotlight is The
Miz. We see some highlights and he makes his entrance in the ring as we go to a
break.
- Damien Sandow brings us a sophisticatedly
worded PSA to not try this at home.
- Miz awaits Sandow in the ring as we return.
Sandow silences the music and cuts a promo on Miz on his way to the ring.
Sandow talks about Miz' movie and being the host of MizTV but he is a
"Jack of all trades and master of none." Sandow says he is a true
Renaissance man.
Damien Sandow vs. The Miz
Maddox continues to be oddly entertaining on
commentary as Miz and Sandow lock-up to a stalemate. The crowd chants that Miz
is awesome and Sandow tries to silence them. Miz "Wooo's" like Ric
Flair as he keeps a crank on Sandow's arm even as he tries to roll through.
They go back and forth and Sandow ducks a punch out of the ring as we go to a
commercial.
Miz leaps from up top but Sandow side-steps and
throws him over the top in front of Josh and Maddox. Sandow brings him back in
and gets 2. Sandow does a cartwheel and hits The Elbow of Disdain for another
near-fall. Miz mounts a comeback and speeds things up for a couple of
near-falls. Miz goes for the figure-4 but Sandow kicks him off and Josh says it
is a move that Miz has been trying to perfect for weeks. Miz takes out Sandow's
leg with a dropkick and applies the figure-4 as Sandow taps.
Winner by submission: The Miz
- We go backstage in the locker room with Brodus
Clay and Tensai in matching red jump suits as they compare their "dookie
rope" chains. The Kangol logos on their hats are blurred. Mick Foley joins
them and says he is deeply troubled. He says he showed them his knee dance last
week but he needs to learn how to do their horse-riding dance. They show him
how to do the Gangnam Style; (that particular move was around before that
song.)
The Prime Time Players interrupt and call Tensai
& Brodus "hippos" and say they have been high-jacking kids'
birthday parties and eating all the cake and ice cream. Foley says the
hippopotamus is a proud and noble breed and asks what he can do for them. Clay
asks Foley why he is wasting him time with Team Bounce-A-Check. Titus tells him
to bounce a belly. PTP do the Millions of Dollars dance and say Foley should do
it at his Hall of Fame speech. Tensai & Clay join PTP in the dance but
chime in with, "Bouncin' checks, bouncin' checks." The crowd pops.
Foley gets in between them and says both teams are great dancers and who is
better is up for debate but we need to find out who the better tag team is next
week. Both teams like it. Titus and Darren leave; Foley, Tensai, and Clay dance
as we go off the air.
Instant Reaction and Final Thoughts: That
segment really came off well. The interaction between Brodus Clay and Titus
O'Neil was golden. Clay was comfortable and it seems as if he's finally finding
his character. I wrote the same thing about him last week, but this is the most
personality Clay has ever shown in his year-plus run as the Funkasaurus. Tensai
fits really nicely with Brodus so far and as I wrote in last night's SmackDown
report, they actually "look" like and old-school monster tag team.
The Funkasaurus gimmick itself is a little undefined though. It is part 80's
hip-hop, part funk, part disco, and all blaxploitation: classic Vince McMahon.
Titus O'Neil continues to shine, not counting
the horrible segment with John Cena on RAW, but he did well with what he was
given. I didn't like the PTP gimmick at first but there is a huge upside to
Titus, face or heel, and I feel he can really connect with the masses in a
mainstream kind of way. WWE has never had, or been willing to push, an African
American who was also really talented on the mic, to the moon. (Booker T was
not used to his full potential as a heel and especially as a face. He was over
big-time, fans were itching to cheer him, but WWE never pulled the trigger.)
Titus just has that charismatic pro-athlete type thing about him and his
personality is, for lack of better terms, just hip and modern. More
importantly, it is authentic. Given the presumed audience, I don't know if
Foley gave them "the rub" or vice versa.
