Last time on SmackDown: Mickie and Beth made their SmackDown debuts, both confronting Michelle backstage. Mickie wants to wrestle at Bragging Rights, while Beth wants the Women’s Championship.
This week: Will we finally see SmackDown’s newest Divas in action? How about any buildup for Bragging Rights? Will SmackDown’s team, despite the fact that they seem to be gunning for each other, be able to band together and beat Raw on Sunday?
We start the night, as is usual with SmackDown, with a backstage segment. Mickie James is speaking with WWE legend Mae Young, having a friendly conversation. Things, however, get messy when Michelle McCool shows up (Skip to 1:45):
Michelle tells Mae that it’s nice to see her. Mickie? Not so much. Michelle expresses her sympathies that Mickie didn’t make the team for Bragging Rights and says that there’s always next year. Mickie says she knows why she didn’t make the team–Michelle says it’s because Beth Phoenix and Natalya are way more talented than she is. This high school-level tête à tête continues until Mickie tells Michelle to “break a leg” this Sunday, leaving the scene.
Michelle can barely take a breath before Beth appears behind her, pretty much reiterating what she said last week, threatening to take her title. She tells her she’ll see her Sunday and heads off, leaving Michelle with Mae who says, “She told you!” (Burn!). Michelle tells Mae to shut up, and gets a slap in the face for her rudeness.
Later, it looks like we have a match, as Mickie makes her way to the ring. She’s followed by Layla, and we get started:
They start with a tie-up, Mickie getting control with a side headlock. Layla fights free, shoving Mickie into the ropes. On the return, Mickie knocks Layla down with a shoulder blast. She goes to the ropes for momentum, and Layla flattens herself to the mat to avoid her. Mickie cartwheels over her, dropkicking her the moment they both get to their feet. She attempts a pin, but Layla kicks out, and she drags her back to her feet.
