WWE Saturday Night's Main Event XXXVI (August 2008)

Original Airdate: August 2, 2008 (taped July 28)

From Washington, D.C.; Your Hosts are Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler

Eight-Man Tag Team Match: John Bradshaw Layfield, Kane, and The Legacy v John Cena, Batista, and Cryme Tyme: CM Punk is out for guest commentary on this one. Weird entrances for this one, as not only does everyone get separate entrances, but they're all out of order. Kane starts with Batista, and it's right into a slugfest. Kane manages to get the better of it with a big boot, and a cross corner whip is followed in with a clothesline, but Batista reverses a second go at it, and hits a seated big boot for two. They're getting a lot of mileage out of the same couple of moves. Tag to Cody Rhodes, but Batista quickly powers him into the home corner, and passes to JTG. The babyface team take turns working Cody over, but Shad Gaspard walks into a cheap shot from JBL, and Kane drills him with a clothesline to turn the tide. The heels cut the ring in half on Shad, as the commentators robotically hype up various NBC shows. Well, that season of Last Comic Standing gave us Iliza Shlesinger, so hype away robots! The heat segment drags on and on way past its best by date until Shad fights off Ted DiBiase long enough for the hot tag to Cena. John comes in hot on Bradshaw, but Kane prevents him from hitting the FU, and Roseanne Barr the door! Cena and JTG hit DiBiase with a rocket launcher, but the referee refuses to count because Ted isn't legal, so JBL drills JTG with the Clothesline from Hell for the pin at 10:20. Felt like little more than going through the motions for these guys, but it wasn't actively bad, or anything like that. *

Jeff Foxworthy wants to teach you about autism

Carmen Electra also wants to teach you about autism. I feel like their message would go so much further if they got celebrities who aren't primarily known for being rednecks or porn stars. Or, you know, someone with a medical background

Great Khali v Jimmy Wang Yang: Yang tries to chop the big tree down at the bell, but gets quickly shrugged off, and Khali hits a bodyslam. Khali tosses him into the corner with ease, so Yang tries diving off the middle, but gets literally swatted out of the air, and Khali pins him with a single foot across the chest at 1:34. Just a quickie for the 'look at the big freak on network TV' appeal. DUD

Ben Stiller wants to teach you about autism by very obviously reading off a cue card in the most wooden way imaginable. Well, at least the celebrities are getting better

Jenny McCarthy comes out to personally teach us about autism. I think she went to the same public speaking classes as Stephanie McMahon. She has the same kind of rhythm and cadence

On Smackdown two episodes ago, Edge gets busted cheating on wife Vickie Guerrero with Alicia Fox, apparently because he forgot to turn the camera off when Fox came in with the wedding invitations. Perhaps he was practicing his promos for a big match at the foot of Mount Tibidabo and lost track. Vickie responds by reinstating Undertaker, and booking Edge against him in a Hell in a Cell for SummerSlam

And speaking of SummerSlam, they run down the card and try to convince us that it's hotter than that Dark Knight movie

Last night on Smackdown, Mick Foley tried to warn Edge about the dangers of getting in the Cell with Undertaker, but got beat down for his troubles. I'd be mad too if I'd invited him to be a guest on my televised talk show and he showed up wearing sweats like he's going to an Adam Sandler movie premiere

Edge v Jeff Hardy: Jeff walks out to the ring like he's on his way into the DMV, or something. Dude looks like he's in no mood to perform tonight. Feeling out process to start, and Jeff manages to dump him to the outside for a plancha, as the announcers hype more NBC shows. Hardy tries a springboard somersault senton off of the steps, but Edge sidesteps, and Hardy wipes out into the barricade. Back in, Edge works the leg over until Jeff manages a short-sling blade, and he puts Edge in a tree of woe for some abuse. Twist of Fate, but Edge counters with the Impaler for two, only to miss the spear, and eat a Whisper in the Wind for two. Hardy with a sitout gourdbuster to set up the Swanton Bomb, but Edge distances himself, and Jeff's leg is too battered for him to reroute. That allows Edge to try the spear again, but Hardy dodges, and Edge takes a spill to the outside on the miss. As the referee counts, suddenly MVP comes out of the crowd and attacks Jeff, and that allows Edge to hit him with the spear at 11:14. This was really boring, with both guys looking and acting like they'd rather be anywhere else in the world. ¼*

BUExperience: This was the last episode in the series for a reason.