WWE at Baltimore Arena (11/16/02)

Baltimore Arena

Baltimore, MD

November 16, 2002

One day out from Survivor Series and the stars of Smackdown are in Baltimore. Unlike the past week we got all new house show matches. Either this is going to be the circuit matches for the next week or this was a one night thing with Survivor Series tomorrow. Either way let's get to the action.

Match 1

Billy Kidman vs Jamie Noble (with Nidia) for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship

A Survivor Series preview as the number one contender for the Cruiserweight title gets a title shot the night before. Kidman's had his number on TV but Noble got the win after Nidia interfered.

Winner: Noble by pinfall (still Cruiserweight champion)

Match 2

Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin vs Redd Dogg and Doug Basham

Its the birth of the world's greatest tag team. Unbeknownst to anyone watching on TV, Haas and Benjamin were put together as a tag team for a future run on TV. For what? I'll reveal another time. They take on Dogg and Basham from OVW here. Haas forced Dogg to submit to win the match.

Winners: Haas and Benjamin by submission

Match 3

Funaki vs Chavo Guerrero Jr

One half of Los Guerreros takes on SMACKDOWN NUMBA WUN ANNOUNCA Funaki. Guerrero wins it with the brainbuster.

Winner: Chavo by pinfall

Match 4

D'von Dudley, Bull Buchanan and Sean O'Haire vs Chuck Palumbo, Crash Holly and Shannon Moore

Talk about a hodge podge of randomness. O'Haire hadn't been on TV in a year but D'Von and Bull weren't really partners. Same with Crash and the others. You could have had any random drawing of these six and no one would have known the difference. Palumbo got the pin on Buchanan though.

Winners: Palumbo, Holly and Moore by pinfall

Match 5

Val Venis vs Albert

This match may seem random but it was done with purpose. Big Show came out and laid out both guys then demanded Brock Lesnar face him. Lesnar ran out and they had to be separated. They had been doing this on the circuit for a week now.

Winner: No one (no contest)

Match 6

Matt Hardy vs Rikishi in a Kiss My Ass Match

Same match for weeks now. Rikishi wins and hits the stinkface on Matt, next.

Winner: Rikishi by pinfall

Match 7

John Cena and Dawn Marie vs Tajiri and Torrie Wilson

Mixed tag action but....wait a minute. I thought Torrie and Tajiri hate each other after Tajiri started mistreating her in the Spring. Guess she forgives him just enough to team with him against Cena and Dawn. Torrie pinned Dawn to win the match.

Winners: Tajiri and Torrie by pinfall

Match 8

Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle vs Edge and Rey Mysterio Jr for the WWE Tag Team Championship

One day before the triple threat tag match, Kurt and Benoit ends the show with a title shot against the champs. Mysterio hit Angle with the 619 and Edge hit the spear to get the pin to win the match. Champs retain and send the fans home happy.

Winners: Edge and Rey Mysterio by pinfall (Still tag team champs)

A little bit of some new matches with some standard like the Kiss My Ass match. Watch for Haas and Benjamin in the future and the other OVW guys who were on the verge of getting the call. As some of the Velocity and Heat jobbers start to faze out, you'll be seeing new guys soon. As for the rest of the card, it definitely sounded interesting on paper. Chavo vs Funaki could have been a sleeper and Edge & Rey vs Angle & Benoit was always good. We're inching closer and closer to Survivor Series but we have one last piece of business first....tonight's Velocity. I'll see you there.

WWE Smackdown (11/14/02)

WWE Smackdown

Nationwide Arena

Columbus, Ohio

November 14, 2002

Commentators: Michael Cole & Tazz

Ring Announcer: Tony Chimel

We're three days away from Survivor Series and pretty much the Smackdown portion of Survivor Series is set. We got Brock Lesnar defending the WWE strap against Big Show, we got a triple threat tag team title match with Edge and Rey Mysterio Jr taking on both Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit and Los Guerreros, and finally Billy Kidman gets a shot at Jamie Noble for the Cruiserweight title. What could possibly happen tonight just days out from the ppv? Let's find out.....after the obligatory dark matches.

Dark Match 1

Chris Kanyon vs Renee Dupree

Kanyon was rehabbing his shoulder injury and he's up against the 18 year old son of Canadian wrestling promoter Emile Dupree. Kanyon takes it with a flatliner.

Winner: Kanyon by pinfall

Dark Match 2

Val Venis and Nova vs Shelton Benjamin and Lance Cade

Wow, where the hell did they dig up Nova? Well if you're gonna have the OVW guys like Benjamin and Cade, may as well have experienced vets in Venis and Nova as opposition. Benjamin pinned Nova to win the match.

Winners: Benjamin and Cade by pinfall

Now let's start the show.....with the montage of "You can't beat the Big Show". Mark "Dorkus Malorkus" Lloyd catches up with Paul Heyman and asks how Brock Lesnar is doing. Heyman says ask about the Undertaker, he hasn't been seen since Big Show threw him off stage. Lesnar has a broken rib and he's been coughing up blood all week. The difference between Lesnar and everyone else is Brock will defend the title anyway. What he WON'T do is show up tonight on Smackdown based on doctor's orders and his own. Big Show walks up behind Heyman and says if Brock shows up, he's calling him out. Cole and Tazz welcome us and say Kurt Angle vs Chris Benoit is tonight's main event. Let's get to the first match.

Match 1

Edge vs Chavo Guerrero Jr

Eddie Guerrero won the triple threat match at Super Tuesday but Edge gets Chavo one on one tonight. Because of Chavo's interference to help Eddie win, both Eddie and Rey Mysterio Jr are barred from ringside. Edge starts with an armbar before Chavo runs into a back elbow. Chavo gets hiptossed, taken down and arm-barred. Cole babbles on about Brock Lesnar but Edge runs into a dropkick. Chavo clotheslines Edge over the top rope to the floor. Edge shoulderblocks Chavo on the apron and flips over the suplex attempt. Edge sends Chavo off the buckle into a flapjack. Edge covers for a deuce as wee see Rey watching from the back. Edge gets backdropped on the apron but gets crotched on the second rope by Chavo. Tazz picks Angle and Benoit to win this Sunday. Chavo clotheslines Edge and covers for a deuce as Cole says also tonight, Eddie takes on Mysterio. Chavo gets in a wristlock but Edge powers out of it. Chavo counters Edge-O-Matic with a back suplex then goes up to the top rope. Chavo flies right into a dropkick by Edge. Edge backdrops Chavo and rallies with a clothesline. Edge hits a forearm and Edge-O-Matic for a two count, Edge slaps and chops Chavo in the corner then punches him down. Edge goes for the spear but misses, eating the second buckle. Chavo hits a spear of his own and covers for 1...2....nope. Chavo boots Edge in the ribs and goes for a sunset flip. Edge counters with a slingshot onto the second rope. Edge blocks the tornado DDT and hits the Edgecution. Edge covers for 1...2...3 to win the match. Damn good effort by both guys with counters and precision. Edge fires the first salvo tonight in the tag title war by beating Chavo.

Time of match: 6:04

Winner: Edge by pinfall

In the back, Dorkus Malorkus asks Rey how he's going to do against Eddie. Rey says he's glad that Edge beat Chavo and he knows Eddie better than anyone. He then stops the interview as Brock Lesnar is coming. Rey asks how his ribs are and Lesnar says he's fine. Malorkus asks how he's doing and Lesnar says to get the hell out of his face. We go to commercial with the fact that Lesnar IS here tonight.

Back from break Al Wilson is reading a bridal magazine when Dawn Marie walks up and kisses him. Dawn says she's a lucky girl and will be Mrs. Al Wilson on their wedding day. She wants Al to invite Torrie to the wedding and she should be one of the first to invite. Al doesn't know if he should but Dawn convinces him to go talk to her.

Cut to Brock Lesnar and Heyman. Heyman is irate that he's even here and Big Show is going to maul him. Heyman says without him, Brock beat Eddie Guerrero but got demolished by Show. They're supposed to be a team but he can't protect him if he doesn't listen to him. Heyman says he hasn't been listening since Hell in A Cell and Brock says yeah, Show did throw him off the apron but Heyman wasn't there. Heyman says Show is too big and too bad and not to engage him. "He's going to rip you limb from limb and there's nothing we can do about it, we're three days away from Survivor Series. Heyman pleads with him to listen to his idea. Naturally we fade to black before we find out what the idea was. Once again, they're trying to set up Hogan/Andre and it would have worked if Show wasn't booked like a jobber for a year. Back from break its on to the next match.

Match 2

John Cena and Matt Hardy vs Rikishi and Tajiri

This week's Mattitude fun fact is Matt was the Fear Factor champion. He also loves guacamole. Cena is still coming out to the generic theme with prototype trunks. Tajiri starts with Hardy and he drops V1 with arm drags but gets shoved down by Matt. Tajiri hits a hurracarana but Matt gets a thumb to the eye. Cena tags in and drops Tajiri with an elbow before covering for a deuce. Hardy tags in and they double team Tajiri in the corner. Cena and Hardy hit a double suplex and Cena covers for two, but Tajiri hits a rolling neckbreaker to make the tag to Rikishi. Rikishi hits a samoan drop on Cena and elbows Matt in the corner. Rikishi whips Hardy into Cena in the corner and Rikishi avalanches them both. Hardy falls out of the ring and Tajiri buzz kicks Cena, knocking him down in the corner. Rikishi goes for the stink face but runs right into side effect. Cena covers for 1...2...nope. Cole starts babbling about Big Show as Hardy beats down Rikishi in the corner. Hardy chokes Rikishi on the second rope then locks in a front headlock. Rikishi backdrops him and Tajiri tags in. Tajiri and Hardy drop each other with a double face plant but Matt's arm is on top of Tajiri for 1...2...3 to win the match. Interesting way to end the match. Matt grabs Cena and celebrates as Cena puts him on his shoulders, hahahaha. Matt gets one over on Rikishi and Tajiri.

Time of match: 3:18

Winners: Cena and Hardy by pinfall

In the back Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit are bickering again. Angle says its all Benoit's fault they lost the titles. Benoit says Angle got pinned twice and wants to know how that happened. Angle says he hates Benoit's guts but loves being a champion. He says he's going to take his aggressions out on Benoit and Chris mocks him for that. Benoit says the last two times they fought, Benoit won. Kurt "You watch your mouth, young man!" (Kurt is actually a year younger than him) Kurt says he's the team captain and Benoit says he apologizes and says he beat the team captain twice. Kurt "Yeah....well I have more teeth than you." Chris "Well I have more hair than you." Benoit says he's 11 times better than him and Kurt says he's an Olympic gold medalist. Chris has no counter for that and says he's going to beat him tonight. Kurt does the finger up to the nose trick and walks off. That was pretty funny.

Back from commercial we get a Scott Steiner is coming vignette and Paul Heyman walking in to Big Show's room. Heyman wants Show not to call out Lesnar because he's too young to understand. Heyman says he himself says he knows he's beaten The Rock, Undertaker and Hulk Hogan in his prime. Heyman says Show broke Brock's rib and asks a professional courtesy to lay off Brock until Survivor Series. Show says that Lesnar has one good thing going for him, Paul. Show says he might not call him out....but maybe he will. Heyman leaves. Again, I like how they're making Show a monster but its a year too late.

Los Guerreros walk up to Edge and Rey Mysterio. Eddie calls them flying squirrels. Eddie says after tonight, they're going to win at Survivor Series. Eddie and Rey insult each other in Spanish and Eddie mocks hiding behind Chavo. Edge says let's go right here, right now. Edge insults Eddie in Spanish as well and we cut here. Back from break its on to the next match.

Match 3

Eddie Guerrero vs Rey Mysterio Jr

The big Halloween Havoc 97 rematch. Bell rings and they circle to start. Eddie and Rey chain wrestle but Eddie gets the chinlock applied. Eddie drops Rey with a shoulderblock but Rey hits a backdrop, dropkick and an armdrag. Eddie fights out of it and hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. He covers for two and locks in an arm-bar. Eddie works over the left arm as the crowd chants "Eddie sucks". Eddie stomps away on Rey in the corner but Rey tries to kick his way out. Rey hits a second rope hurracarana then they trade hammerlocks. Rey snap mares Eddie then monkey flips him. He calls for the 619 but Eddie moves to cause Rey to hit referee Brian Hebner instead (hahahahaha). Chavo Guerrero Jr runs down with the ref out and hits Rey with the Gory Special. Edge runs in and chases Chavo out of there. Eddie hits a powerbomb and stacks Mysterio for 1...2...nope. Edge spears Eddie and is knocked outside by Chavo. Edge sends Chavo into the barricade as Hebner tells them both to get lost. The other referees run down to get Chavo and Edge out of there. Eddie runs into a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker of his own by Rey. Rey hits the bronco buster in the corner and goes up to the top rope. Eddie shoves him off the top to the floor and wits. Eddie hits the plancha on Rey and rolls him back inside. Eddie hits a back suplex and goes up to the top rope. Rey runs up and hits a superplex. Rey covers for 1.....2...nope. Rey hits an armdrag but Eddie clotheslines him down. Eddie locks in an arm-bar but Rey fights out of it, only for Eddie to rally with forearms. Eddie puts Rey on the top rope but Rey elbows him off. Rey hits the moonsault and covers for 1...2..no. Eddie catches a second rope moonsault attempt but Rey hits an armdrag out of it. Rey baseball slides Eddie outside and Rey hits a slingshot hilo. Cole says Rey's got a bad knee but Mysterio still hits the springboard legdrop back inside. Rey covers for 1....2...no. Eddie hits a vertical suplex on Rey and taunts the irate crowd. Eddie goes up to the top rope but flips over Rey. Rey hits a heel kick to the chin of Eddie and hits the 619. Rey calls for the West Coast Pop but Eddie stands up, forcing Rey to go to the sunset flip. Eddie rolls out of it and applies the El Paso Lasso, holding the rope for leverage. Rey taps and this one's over. Not as epic as Halloween Havoc but still a damn good match against two guys that have great chemistry.

Time of match: 6:11

Winner: Guerrero by submission

Backstage Al Wilson walks into Torrie Wilson but she blows him off. Al walks into the women's room anyway to talk about it. Torrie says Dawn Marie is using him to get to her. She calls Dawn a conniving, manipulative bitch. Al wants to invite her to the wedding but she can't do it. Torrie says she won't go because he's being played. Torrie says there's no way to say this nicely but there's no fool like an old fool. She's got a point. Back from break, its on to the next match.

Match 4

Billy Kidman vs Jamie Noble (with Nidia)

Non-title match as Kidman gets his title shot at Survivor Series....kind of makes this match pointless. They brawl at the bell and Kidman gets backdropped on the apron. Nidia pulls him off and Noble baseball slides Billy. Noble rolls Kidman inside and covers for a near fall. Noble works the left arm in the corner and dropkicks it. Noble arm drags Kidman and locks in a keylock. Kidman punches his way out of it and flapjacks Jamie. Kidman clotheslines Noble and backdrops him. Kidman hits a dropkick and covers for 1.....2...nope. Kidman sends Noble into the corner but blocks the clothesline, kicks Kidman and hits the tiger bomb. Noble stacks him but Kidman sunset flips for 1...2...no. Noble goes up to the top but Kidman dropkicks him. Noble rolls over Kidman and goes for the Razor's Edge. Kidman rolls out of it and hits a modified Sky High. He drags Noble to the corner and goes upstairs. Nidia distracts the ref so Noble can punch Kidman. Noble hits a top rope superplex but Kidman rolls over on top for 1...2.....3 to win the match. Kidman gets Noble two weeks in a row, will the third time be a charm this Sunday? Decent crash style match and it puts over that Kidman has Noble's number right now.

Time of match: 3:17

Winner: Kidman by pinfall

 

Back to Dawn Marie who walks up to Al Wilson. Al is distraught about his "little angel" and she doesn't want to go to the wedding. Dawn comes on to him an says they're going to be just fine. They hug and she grins evily. They gave this crap THREE segments. We cut to Heyman and Lesnar and Paul says everything is going to be ok. Heyman says he looked the neanderthal right in the eye and not to call him out. Paul says Show was smart enough to listen to him and was intimidated by Paul's intelligence. Paul says to pack his bag and leave because they're all set. Brock says he's not leaving and he asks if Paul convinced Show not to call him out. Lesnar says he'll call HIM out. Heyman goes nuts as we go back to ringside for Tazz to shill the new video game Smackdown Shut Your Mouth. One of my favorite games as a teenager. 

On to the main event....and Angle grabs a mic before the match. He apologizes to his fans for being too predictable. He says he's beaten Edge, Chris Benoit, Rey Mysterio and the Guerreros so many times its become a blur. He says he's better in the ring than everyone, better athlete than Benoit, better looking than Edge, can speak English unlike the Guerreros and been through puberty unlike Rey Mysterio. He says he doesn't need Benoit, he can win the belts all alone. Los Guerreros then walk out with a mic to mock him. Eddie says Kurt is full of it and Eddie pinned Angle 1-2-3. Suddenly Edge and Rey Mysterio walk out with mics too. Edge says Kurt has lost his hair and mind because Edge beat Kurt for the belts. Rey "Hi Kurt!" Edge says the only predictable thing about Kurt is that he sucks. Kurt says he's got more talent in his little finger than all four of them combined. He knows why they're out there, they want to scout him and learn from him. Kurt says to have a seat because he's going to win the next match. He calls out Benoit as the others back away from the ramp.

Match 5

Kurt Angle vs Chris Benoit

Angle and Benoit blame each other for dropping the tag belts so they're going to take their frustrations out on each other with the other two teams watching. Bell rings and Chris gets a headlock to start.Kurt gets a doubleleg takedown but Chris rolls out of it. Chris drops Kurt with a shoulderblock but Angle ducks the line to hit a german suplex. He taunts the Guerreros but Chris uses the distraction to punch away at Kurt. Kurt still hits an overhead belly to belly suplex and once again taunts Eddie. Benoit punches Kurt and drops him with a back elbow smash. Chris covers for a deuce, hits a sidebackbreaker and covers for another two count. Chris sends Kurt into the corner then rams his head into the buckle. Chris and Kurt slug it out before Chris whips Kurt into the corner. Chris drops him with a clothesline to the back of the head and Benoit gets out of the ring to talk trash to Edge and Rey. Kurt jumps off the apron but Benoit gets a punch to the ribs. Benoit sends Angle into Rey and Edge, cleaning them out. Chris throws Benoit in and rolls back in himself. Edge wants in the ring but Rey holds him back. Benoit hits two german suplexes but Kurt blocks the third. Kurt three of his own and covers for 1...2..nooo. Kurt again taunts the Guerreros and pulls his singlet straps down. Angle goes for the Angle Slam but Chris rolls out of it and hits the crossface. Kurt grabs the legs and reverses it into the ankle lock. They roll to the corner but Benoit kicks Kurt off. Angle hits the Angle Slam and taunts the Guerreros one more time. Kurt actually locks in the El Paso Lasso to mock them and says this hold sucks. Eddie runs in and is immediately thrown over the top rope into Edge and Rey outside. Edge, Rey and the Guerreros brawl on the floor as Benoit hits a german suplex that sends Kurt flying. Then the four outside brawl into the ring and referee Mike Chioda calls for the bell. Edge sends Eddie over the top rope then Rey locks the ankle lock on Kurt with Edge joining him. Edge cuts off Benoit and puts the crossface on him but the Guerreros attack. Eddie and Chavo dump Edge and Rey but Eddie runs into the ankle lock. Benoit locks in the crossface on Edge and the refs get in the ring to break it up. This one's over....and its too bad because the match was good.

Time of match: 6:30

Winner: No one (no contest)

After the match Angle and Benoit go nose to nose and Kurt says enough. Kurt extends his hand and Chris shakes it. Kurt wants a hug and Benoit looks confused. Kurt gives him a hug and the crowd laughs. How Chris isn't laughing his ass off is beyond me. 

Backstage Heyman is trying to talk Brock out of going to the ring but Big Show looks like he's heading out there as well. Back from commercial, Tazz says Lawler didn't get Scott Steiner on Confidential, he did. Cole then runs down the card including a new match, Goldust and Hurricane vs William Regal and Lance Storm which will take place on Sunday Night Heat.

Here comes Lesnar to call out Big Show. He throws the WWE Championship down and removes his shirt. His ribs are all taped up and he grabs the mic. Lesnar says face him in the middle of the ring one on one. The crowd cheers as Heyman tries to talk Lesnar out of it. Heyman grabs the mic but Lesnar tells him to shut up much to the crowd's delight. Lesnar "Big Show, if you don't get out here. That's alright, I'll just drag your ass out." Show's music hits and here he comes. Lesnar cuts him off and sends him immediately into the steel steps, cutting Show's forearm by accident. Lesnar grabs a chair and bashes Show in the head twice then kicks away at him. Lesnar hits Show in the back twice and Show is busted wide open, that was no accident. Lesnar grabs the title belt and clocks Show with it. Show is laid out as Cole says "The giant has been slain tonight. Maybe Paul Heyman was wrong, maybe he CAN beat the Big Show." We go to a replay of what just happened as the crowd cheers Lesnar. If this was supposed to be a face turn for Brock, it worked.

We sign off with Lesnar standing tall. The sad part was the good matches on the card were cut short due to the storyline feuds. The triple threat tag match overshadowed almost the entire show except for Torrie/Dan/Al and Show/Lesnar. The fact they gave Torrie, Dawn and Al three segments is inexcusable. Still, we got our stories heading into Survivor Series. Lesnar evened the playing field a little bit to show he's not intimidated by the giant. Angle and Benoit are going to try to co-exist to win the triple threat tag match and Billy Kidman has Jamie Noble's number right now. We still got some business before Survivor Series in the form of a Saturday double shot for house shows. Raw will be in Reading, Pennsylvania this Saturday. I'll see you there.

WWE Super Tuesday (11/12/02)

WWE Super Tuesday

Fleet Center and Verizon Wireless Arena

Boston MA and Manchester, NH

November 12, 2002

Commentators: Jim Ross, Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler and Tazz

Ring Announcers: Lilian Garcia and Tony Chimel

Vince has always had an obsession with shows on Tuesday whether its Tuesday In Texas or the eventual Taboo Tuesday. The problem is fans just don't want to pay more money for a Tuesday ppv. With just five days before Survivor Series, Vince decided to just have a UPN special instead much like the old Survivor Series Showdown shows. The stars of Raw and Smackdown will both participate in this special although the Raw 10 men tag was filmed last week in Boston while the triple threat match and bikini contest was filmed in Manchester. Its going to be Triple H, Christian, Chris Jericho, Rosey and Jamal against Booker T, Kane, Rob Van Dam, Jeff Hardy and Bubba Ray Dudley. Also a bikini contest between Trish Stratus and Torrie Wilson. Finally, a triple threat match between Edge, Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero. Btw, Vince is an absolute moron for not making the tag match Survivor Series style. If they weren't going to have elimination tag matches on the card, this would have been PERFECT for that. Could have had Eddie, Kurt Angle, Chavo Guerero Jr, Benoit and Big Show against Edge, Rey Mysterio Jr, Rikishi, Billy Kidman and Brock Lesnar. Oh well...

We get a cool remix of The Beautiful People and Across The Nation for the intro. Both announce teams say their hellos with dueling arenas. This entire night was filmed in advance but we're going to pretend its on the same night. Cole and Tazz sends us to Stephanie McMahon's office. She says Edge and Rey Mysterio are the new tag champs and at Survivor Series it'll be a triple threat tag team match. Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit vs Los Guerreros vs Edge and Rey Mysterio. Because of that, the triple threat match tonight will be Benoit vs Edge vs Eddie. She's going to hold on to the belts so nobody steals them. In other words, this is the kayfabe reason why Edge and Mysterio aren't holding the title belts due to the fact they hadn't won them yet when this was filmed last week.

Match 1

Eddie Guerrero vs Chris Benoit vs Edge in a Triple Threat Match

Benoit makes his entrance last as Tazz says he's mad at Kurt for dropping the tag belts. Benoit attacks Edge at the start and boots him in the corner as Eddie hides outside.  Benoit rams Edge into the corner and chops away at him. Benoit rams Edge into the other corner and chops away. Edge sends Benoit sternum first into the corner and Edge hits a back suplex. Edge hits a leg drop and covers but Eddie slides in to break up the count. Eddie kicks away at Edge and hits a back elbow smash. Benoit nails Eddie from behind and hits a back suplex on him. Benoit sends Eddie in the corner and kicks away at him before landing some chops. Edge comes in and nails both of them with right hands. Chris lands a running knee to the ribs on Edge as Tazz says Rey Mysterio goes one on one with Eddie this coming Thursday on Smackdown. Benoit and Angle will also duke it out on Smackdown as Eddie cheapshots Benoit. Eddie sends Benoit off, ducks the line and they take each other out with a double clothesline. Edge then hits a on Eddie and goes to town on Benoit. Eddie from behind hits a back suplex on Edge. Eddie goes for the El Paso Lasso on Edge but Benoit hits a dropkick. Eddie slugs Benoit and he retaliates with right hands. Edge slugs Benoit and hits a flapjack on Guerrero. Edge hits the flapjack on Benoit as well. Edge goes upstairs but Eddie cuts him off. Benoit puts Eddie on his shoulders and Edge hits a missile dropkick on Guerrero. Edge covers Eddie for 1......2..nope. Chris ducks the line and hits a german suplex on Edge but Eddie hits a suplex before covering for a deuce.  Eddie misses the frog splash off the top and Edge hits another face plant on Eddie. Benoit catches Edge with the Crippler Crossface in the middle of the ring but Chris intercepts a diving Eddie, locking him in the Crossface. Edge dropkicks both men in the face then hits Benoit with a spear. Eddie runs right into the Edgecution and Edge covers for 1...2..nooo, Chavo Guerrero Jr runs down to pull referee Mike Chioda out. Edge hits a baseball slide to knock out Chioda, Chavo and the camera guy. Chavo sends Edge into the ring post but Rey Mysterio Jr runs out to counter Chavo. Rey hits a moonsault on Chavo outside as back inside Eddie gets caught in the crossface. Kurt Angle then runs out, throws the referee in on top of Benoit to break up the hold. Angle hops up on the apron as Eddie rolls up Benoit from behind for 1...2...3 to win the match. Eddie stole that one off the distraction. That was a pretty good match despite the run ins and it set up the triple threat this coming Sunday. Eddie and Chavo celebrate in the ring as Benoit and Angle yell at each other up the ramp.

Time of match: 7:29

Winner: Guerrero by pinfall

Cole hypes up the ten men tag as Big Show is coming out later. Back from break we get a video montage of Big Show and Brock Lesnar's feud up to this point. Again, if they didn't book Show out to be a goofus for a year straight, this might of worked. After that LONG montage here comes Show himself to the ring. Show says he's quoting Paul Heyman by saying Lesnar can't beat him. He brags about hurting Lesnar and this Sunday he'll be the next WWE Champion. His music hits and he leaves....what? The montage was longer than the promo. Kind of pointless but up next is Trish vs Torrie. Back from break we shift over to Jerry Lawler and Jim Ross for a moment to hype up Raw's events. We get the elimination chamber video from Raw. What's with the montages? You can put all this stuff on the pre-show on Heat. They could have easily had Bubba Ray vs D'Von for the amount of time they wasted on video montages. Anyway, let's get to the ring.

Match 2

Torrie Wilson vs Trish Stratus

Tazz is our MC for our bikini contest. Normally these things are a waste of time since the babyface wins every time, but we got two babyfaces here so I'll treat this as an actual match. Interesting to see who the crowd picks. Cole drools over Torrie as she makes her entrance. Tazz explains the rules, they got 30 seconds to show their stuff and the audience picks the winner. Trish goes first as Tazz says this is the biggest moment of her career....what? Trish shows off her bikini and gets a good pop from the crowd. Tazz tells Cole to get Stephanie to get Trish on Smackdown. Torrie goes next and gets a much larger pop for her skin colored bikini and booty shake. Tazz asks the crowd who wins and clearly Torrie gets the larger pop but all of a sudden Nidia hits the ring and pulls out Torrie. Nidia rushes Trish and both she and Torrie fend her off. Torrie and Trish raise each other's arms in victory. Torrie got the louder pop but everyone's a winner here apparently.

Time of match: N/A

Winner: Trish Stratus and Torrie Wilson

Cole sends it to JR for the Raw portion of the show, which has about 18 minutes left of showtime. We got an interview with Shawn Michaels next. Again, we want to see wrestling, you can save all this for Heat. We get a montage of Shawn vs HHH up to this point and finally JR asks Shawn "live" via satellite what Sunday will be like. Shawn "One word...Wild, crazy, chaotic....okay that's three words. He says his motivation is simple, keep HHH from winning and ruin his life. He admits its immoral but he's doing it anyway. He doesn't know who's going to win but HHH certainly won't. Time for the main event.

Match 3

Triple H, Rosey, Jamal, Christian and Chris Jericho (with Rico and Ric Flair) vs Booker T, Kane, Rob Van Dam, Bubba Ray Dudley and Jeff Hardy in a Ten Man Tag Match

Thankfully the heel entrances are cut in favor of a video showing Jericho decimating Kane and Rob Van Dam on Monday. JR and King ask how Hardy is able to walk after being put through the table "last night" which was funny since this is clearly filmed the week before since you can see the god damned Boston Celtics banners hanging in the Fleet Center during the camera cut to the ring. Hardy starts with Jamal and Jamal starts with right hands "sup boy!" Jamal hits a backdrop on Jeff "Get your ass up boy!" Jamal tags in Christian and Hardy slides under him, takes him down and hits the between the legs legdrop. Hardy tags in Bubba who punches away at Christian. Bubba chops Christian in the chest and looks over at Jericho "I got one for you two ya punk". Christian is whipped into the corner and Bubba hits a stinger splash followed by Dusty Punches. Bubba covers for 1..2...no. The crowd chants "we want tables" as Bubba hits a flapjack on Christian. Rob Van Dam tags in and Jamal tags in as well. Van Dam kicks Jamal but Jamal misses a charges in the corner. RVD hits the top rope dropkick and moonsault for 1...2..nope. Jamal clotheslines RVD down and HHH tags in. Hunter punches him in the corner but the ref gets distracted allowing the corner beat down. Jericho tga sin and hits a back suplex on RVD. "I'm the king of the world." Jericho misses a dropkick and RVD hits rolling thunder. RVD tags in Kane who cleans house of HHH and Jericho. Then he knocks everyone else off the apron. Jericho runs into a boot as Kane double clotheslins Christian and HHH. Kane sidewalk slams HHH and goes up to the top rope. Kane hits the top rope clothesline and covers for 1.2..no, Jamal pulls him off. Pier Six brawl outside with only RVD and Christian in the ring. RVD takes out Christian then heel kicks Jericho. Jericho turns a flip into the Walls of Jericho but Booker T hits the axe kick. Booker hits the scissors kick on Y2J and does the spinaroonie. Christian hits the reverse ddt but walks into the Bubba Bomb by Bubba Ray. Jeff Hardy hits the swanton on Christian but Rosey sends Jeff into Jamal for the samoan drop. Bubba cleans out Rosey but eats superkick from Jamal. Kane grabs Jamal and chokeslams him off the top rope. HHH runs in and goes for the pedigree, but is backdropped. Kane hits the chokeslam and covers for 1...2..nope, Christian breaks it up. Kane throws Christian on top of Rosey and Rico outside but turns around into a missile dropkick from Jericho. Rob Van Dam hits the five star frog splash on Jamal out of nowhere when Jericho grabs a chair. He rushes RVD with it but Rob hits the Van Daminator to take out Jericho. Rob somersault planchas the heels outside leaving Kane in the ring. Flair hits Kane with a chair and HHH hits the pedigree. HHH covers for 1...2....3 to win the match. Of course....once again HHH goes over to show that nobody else in the chamber match has a chance in hell. The heels celebrate outside as we go off air. Since the stupid video montages took forever, they only had 8 minutes to get their shit in and it was just spamming finishers.

Time of match: 8:23

Winners: HHH, Jamal, Rosey, Christian and Chris Jericho by pinfall

All in all that was a total waste of time. They could have had cut the video montages, Big Show's promo and Shawn's satellite interview to have two separate elimination matches in the spirit of Survivor Series. The opener was good but then everything else went south. The only drama going into the elimination chamber is will HHH or HBK win. That's not how you promote a six person match. If fans know that 4/6ths of the competition have no chance, what's the point of watching? At least Smackdown attempted to book Big Show as a monster to give Lesnar a roadblock for the first time in his career. The less said of "Super Tuesday" the better. Up next is the final Smackdown before Survivor Series coming at you from Columbus, Ohio. I'll see you there.

WWE Smackdown (11/7/02)

WWE Smackdown

Verizon Wireless Arena

Manchester, NH

November 7, 2002

Commentators: Michael Cole & Tazz

Ring Announcer: Tony Chimel

We're 10 days away from Survivor Series and apart from Brock Lesnar vs Big Show, nothing else has been booked. Hopefully tonight gives us some matches since the only ones booked are two from Raw and the WWE title match. Halloween Smackdown gave us the birth of rapping John Cena as well as Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle going at it again. This week's show might be more of the same. Before we get anywhere, we have a dark match.

Dark Match

Doug Basham vs Nathan Jones

Basham was the OVW mainstay having great matches with anyone WWE sent down there and anyone on the roster, but for some reason just couldn't get a spot on either brand. Jones was the 6 foot 6 300 pound monster from Australia that also needed a spot somewhere. Jones took it with the full nelson slam.

Winner: Jones by pinfall

Let's get on with the show. We open with a montage of Big Show putting Undertaker out of action and showcasing that Lesnar is overmatched for the first time in his career. They're doing a great job of building up Show to be a monster that a post-Hell In A Cell Lesnar might not be able to handle.....but the problem is he was booked as a doofus for far too long to have any kind of Hogan/Andre aura. We get a highlight of Big Show heaving Rey Mysterio into the crowd and laying out Lesnar last week. Paul Heyman "You can't beat the Big Show." Tonight we have an old school 2 out of 3 falls tag team title match with Edge & Rey Mysterio Jr in a rematch with Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit. On to our first match.

Match 1

Torrie Wilson and Billy Kidman vs Jamie Noble and Nidia

Real life couple vs fake couple. Apparently Nidia is going to be on the TV show Blind Date. Kidman starts with Noble and Kidman starts with the left arm but Noble hits northern lights. Kidman ducks the line and hits a hurracarana but a charge in the corner eats elbow. Noble slingshots Kidman onto the second rope who hits a dropkick. Kidman covers for 1..2...nope. Noble hits a t-bone taz plex and covers for a two count as Nidia tags in. Nidia kicks away at Kidman but he blocks a slap an tags in Wilson. Torrie clotheslines her down then kicks away at her.  Cole hypes up Super Tuesday which will feature a bikini contest between Trish Stratus and Torrie Wilson. Normally those things are a waste of time since the crowd never cheers the heels, but two faces might make it interesting. Nidia gets a thumb to the eye and goes for the blatant choke. Nidia hits a scoop slam and covers, only to pull Torrie up at two. Wilson goes for the sunset flip but Nidia counters by dropping to her knees for 1......2...no. Torrie blocks the big forearm and delivers a neckbreaker. She yells at Nidia to get up and hits a dropkick. Torrie covers for two then slaps Noble off the apron. Noble tries to get in the ring but referee Mike Sparks holds him back, so Kidman gets in to get rid of him. Sparks turns around to tell Kidman to get lost, allowing Noble to clothesline her. The crowd boos that one as Nidia tags out to Noble. Noble stalks Torrie but runs into a shoulder to Kidman, getting the tag. Kidman drops Noble with a clothesline and a dropkick. Kidman hits a back drop and a death valley backbreaker before covering for 1...2..nope. Noble blocks the clothesline and hits a DDT. He covers for two then goes for the Tiger Bomb but Kidman counters with a sky high. He covers for 1...2....Nidia breaks it up. Torrie runs into a clothesline and the heels go to whip the faces into each other, but they get reversed into each other. Kidman dropkicks Noble in the back and Torrie wipes Nidia out. Kidman goes up and over and hits the bulldog. He drags Noble in the corner, goes upstairs, hits the 7 Year Itch and covers for 1...2....3 to win the match. Kidman pins the Cruiserweight champ, this might put him in line for a Cruiserweight title match coming up soon. Never a bad thing to start with a cruiserweight opener and Torrie/Nidia held their own.

Time of match: 5:06

Winners: Wilson and Kidman by pinfall

Big Show arrives at the arena and intimidates a security guard to tell Brock Lesnar that he's here. Torrie in the back runs into her father who says he needs to talk to her. Al says he's done everything for her so to let him do "something" tonight. He doesn't elaborate so Torrie is confused. We cut to SMACKDOWN NUMBA WUN ANNOUNCA Funaki with John Cena. Cena freestyle raps that he's going to beat Rikishi tonight and says the iconic "word life" for the first time. Rikishi shows up to answer with his own battle rap. "Get a piece of the Kish right in yo face." The funny thing was Rikishi admitted on the Yokozuna documentary that Yoko wanted to be a rapper so I'm sure that's where Rikishi picked that up. We cut to Stephanie McMahon watching the tape of her and Eric kissing.....are they ever going to deliver on this? Chavo and Eddie Guerrero walk in and Chavo says that's a nice lip-lock hold. Eddie and Chavo want a piece of Angle & Benoit and Eddie beat Angle last week. McMahon says they beat them to earn the shot. Stephanie says she has an announcement to make on Super Tuesday regarding the tag belts. Stephanie says tonight Eddie has a non-title match against Brock Lesnar. Eddie and Chavo complain and Chavo tries to back out of it. Eddie says WE will beat Brock Lesnar. They argue on the way out the door as we go to commercial. Least we get tonight's main event set, Eddie vs Brock. On to the next match.

Match 2

Rikishi vs John Cena

Cena still comes out in the prototype tights and generic theme but does the word life pose in the ring. Tazz "I'm Tazz and you're a spaz." The funny thing was the Eminem movie 8 Mile had just come out the day before so white people battle rapping was about to become a thing. Rikishi taunts him at the bell but Cena trips him up to start. Cole runs down our house show schedule coming up and Cena gets the ass to the ribs. Cena tries a headlock then gets shoulderblocked down. Cena bails outside then gets inside and says this is MY house. Rikishi just drops him with a right hand. Cena ducks the line and we get an old Andre The Giant spot where Rikishi just bends over and Cena freaks out. Cena goes to punch Rikishi's ass and holds his hand like he broke it. Lot of comedy in this so far but the dropkick to the knee is no laughing matter. Cena hits a back suplex and taunts the irate crowd. Cena kicks away at Rikishi in the corner but Rikishi rallies with right hands. Cena does get a clothesline to the back of the neck then he goes upstairs. Cena hits a missile dropkick and covers for 1...2....nope. Cena locks in a chinlock but Rikishi powers out of it. Rikishi avalanches Cena in the corner and John drops. Rikishi does the stinkface as Cole says that's Chocolate Ice. Rikishi hits a modified rock bottom and executes the banzai drop. Rikishi gets the 1...2....3 to win the match. Gotta love Vince logic. Test gets a new gimmick where all Stacy Keibler does is bend over and say testicles, yet he gets the win on Raw. Cena gets a new gimmick and he's humiliated by Rikishi, go figure. Rikishi dances after the match because...yeah.

Time of match: 4:12

Winner: Rikishi

Backstage Matt Hardy V1 is with Shannon Moore. Apparently Moore is his new stooge, which makes sense because Moore (and The Hurricane) did the Carolina indies with the Hardys. Matt says every tape he gives Shannon are valuable lessons to learn. Shannon goes to put sugar in Matt's coffee and he scolds him saying they're empty calories and could lead to a bad twist of fate. Shannon is the first MF'er of Mattitude (Matt Follower). Matt says he and Lesnar have serious business so he's going to go see him now.

Back from break Dawn Marie is oiling up her legs when Al Wilson walks up. Dawn asks if he's sure he wants to do this and this is a big step for a couple to male. Wilson says he's done a lot of soul searching and he's going to "ask her the question" in the ring. I see where this is going....ugh. Cut to Matt locking for Lesnar but runs into Matt Hardy. Hardy says he beat Undertaker twice and softened him up for Lesnar to destroy him. Heyman says to get to the point and Matt says he wants a match against Big Show to soften him up for Survivor Series. Heyman says he wishes he could find the words to thank him and he says Mattitude is the next big thing. Heyman walks into the locker room where Brock is pacing around. Brock asks what and Heyman says he negotiated the deal of the century. Heyman says Hardy will take on Big Show tonight, but Lesnar yells that he wants him one on one. Heyman says he gets his match at Survivor Series, let Hardy take Show tonight. Heyman says Brock's got a match with Eddie Guerrero and to focus on that. Heyman says to let him do his job and to decide when to unleash the animal.

Cut to Al Wilson coming to the ring to absolutely no pop and even Tony Chimel sounds bored saying his name. Cole "What in god's name is Al gonna do? He's not gonna ask THAT question is he?" Way to blow it, Cole. Tazz "Well, this is either gonna be really really good, or really really bad." Haha, even they know this is not going to end well. Tazz makes fun of the fact he got no pop as Al grabs a mic. "25 years ago, I was blessed with a little angel, Torrie. I know she wants what's good for me and I want what's good for her." Tazz "Why does he sound like Kermit The Frog?" Hahahahaha. Al wants Dawn Marie to come out and she does. Tazz "Will someone please get the hook?"  Cole "Ladies and gentleman we may be about to witness the biggest trainwreck in Smackdown history." Tazz gives a shoutout to "Nunzio" which was cool foreshadowing. Al says she makes him very strong, sexy and feral" Tazz "What??" Al says she made him feel like a man and a man has to do what a man has to do. Al drops to one knee, Tazz "Oh no! Cole!" The camera pans to the bored crowd and Al asks her to marry him. Cole and Tazz both scream No! as Cole says "I thought we couldn't get any worse than Billy & Chuck." Dawn paces around without answering him and Al says if she doesn't say yes, he'll kill himself." Tazz "Say no! It'll make for great TV." For once he's right. Dawn builds tension by stalling then says "Yes." Cole and Tazz "Noooo!" They hug in the ring as the crowd boos. Al puts the ring on her finger and Al celebrates. Cole feels bad for Torrie and Tazz feels bad for the viewers. Thanks Tazz. Cole tries to save face by saying we got more matches to come and Tazz begs for a commercial. The sad part was this was going to get much, MUCH worse.

Back from break we get the extreme blast of the night from the JVC Tower of Power. Its Big Show chokeslamming Brock through a table from last week's Smackdown. As Big Show makes his entrance for the next match, Mark "Dorkus Malorkus" Lloyd runs up to a crying Torrie Wilson leaving the arena to ask about what we just saw and she just blows him off. On to the next match.

Match 3

Matt Hardy vs Big Show

Matt's blurb says "Matt hates cold weather" as Cole thinks Matt's ego is out of control. A second blurb says he scored a 1330 on his SAT's. Bell's gone and Matt punches Show but they have no effect. Btw this is when Big Show started wearing black jeans over his singlet...why? Nobody knows. Matt goes for side effect but Show blocks it and drops Hardy with a clothesline. Show sends Matt into the ringpost and rolls him inside. Brock and Paul watch from the back as Show hits a side backbreaker. Show gets in a bearhug but Matt bites him to break free. Show misses a charge in the corner and Matt punches away. A charge eats boot but jumps right into the chokeslam. Show covers for 1...2..3 to win the match. Show smashes Matt in under 2 minutes to send a message to Lesnar. Show grabs a mic after the match and says he was the next big thing long before Brock ever was. Show says he'll be the next WWE champion at Survivor Series. Not a fan of squashing Matt right in the middle of his entertaining heel turn but Matt was pretty much a henchman for Lesnar, made sense to sacrifice him to put the message out.

Time of match: 1:57

Winner: Big Show by pinfall

Backstage Lesnar heaves and smashes the TV he was watching the match on. He wants Show and he wants him BADLY. We cut right to the next match.

Match 4

Edge & Rey Mysterio Jr vs Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit for the WWE Tag Team Championship in a 2 out of 3 falls match

Kurt and Chris damn near killed each other last week but they have to co-exist tonight. This is the big re-match from No Mercy and this is going to be a good one. First fall has Angle and Benoit naturally arguing who will start. Kurt starts with Rey and gets a waistlock but Rey uses his speed to crawl under Kurt and mule kick him. Rey arm-drags Kurt and mocks his taunt. Kurt chases Rey around the ring and Rey outsmarts Kurt to throw himself to the floor. Benoit facepalms in the corner trying not to laugh. Cole says as a team they're unbeatable but they hate each other. Angle applauds Rey and tells Rey to bring it. Kurt drops Rey and taunts Edge but walks into a hurricarana. Edge tags in and Kurt complains saying he wants Rey more. Kurt tags Benoit who also is unhappy he got tagged in. Edge drops Benoit with a shoulderblock then hits two armdrags followed by a dropkick. Edge rams Benoit into the corner and pounds away on him. Edge gets a side headlock but Kurt pulls his hair. Edge clocks Angle off the apron but Benoit sends him sternum first into the corner. Chris hits a back suplex and tags Kurt in to stomp away, then cheapshot Rey off the apron. Kurt chokes Edge on the second rope then delivers a vertical suplex. He covers for 1...2..nope. Benoit tags in and kicks away at Edge and chops him in the corner. A charge in the corner eats elbow and a second eats knee. Edge hits the Impaler and both men are down. Rey tags in for a legdrop to the back of the neck but Chris kicks out at two. Rey drop toes Chris into the corner and Edge cuts Angle off. Both heels are in the corner and Edge hits a shoulderblock to send Kurt to the outside. Edge sets up Benoit on the second rope then launches Rey into a hurricarana off the rope. Rey covers for 1...2...nope, Kurt pulls Rey out. Edge takes Angle out with a clothesline and sets up Benoit on his shoulders. Rey hits the West Coast Pop and covers for 1..2....3 and Edge & Rey take the first fall.

Kurt runs in an cleans house as we go right into the second fall. Rey armdrags Kurt but runs into an overhead belly to belly suplex. Cole says this is a must win fall now as Angle hits another suplex and covers for a deuce. Kurt chops Benoit as a tag and Benoit hits a big stomachbreaker on Rey. Benoit isolates Rey in the corner then climbs to the second rope with Rey on his shoulders. Rey hits a top rope bulldog and both men crawl for the tags. Kurt gets the tag but so does Edge. Edge hits a backdrop on Kurt and throws Chris through the second rope into the camera guy. Edge calls for the spear on Angle and goes for it, but Angle pushes the referee away and Benoit holds up the tag title belt for Edge to ram into. Kurt pulls the straps down and locks in the anklelock. Benoit throws Rey outside and the ref calls for the bell, we're tied up.

Kurt stomps Edge out of the ring and Chris & Kurt both take credit for the win. They shove each other as we cut to commercial. Back from break Kurt drops Mysterio and covers for a two count. Kurt pounds away on Rey in the corner then throws him to the outside. Kurt distracts the ref by messing with Edge so Benoit can stomp on Rey outside. Chris throws Rey inside and Kurt covers for 1...2...nope. Rey hits a heel kick to the chin of Angle and crawls toward Edge. Edge tags in and kicks away at Angle in the corner. Edge gets whipped into the corner but the charge eats boot. Edge still walks into the overhead belly to belly suplex. Benoit tags in and backdrops Edge before delivering a side backbreaker. Benoit covers for 1...2...nope. Benoit locks in a half crab and Edge kicks out, but Angle tags in. Angle cheapshots Rey to isolate Edge from his corner. Kurt clotheslines Edge and covers for a deuce then Benoit tags in. Chris gets in knees to the ribs and stomps away in the corner. Chris whips Edge in the corner but he counters with an elbow. Edge climbs to the second rope but Benoit delivers a back suplex from off the top. Both Angle and Rey get the tags and Angle rams himself into the ringpost. Rey hits the broncobuster but Benoit german suplexes Mysterio from behind before knocking Edge off the apron. Rey rolls out of the Angle Slam and sends Angle crashing into Benoit. Rey drops a stunned Angle into the second rope and goes for the 619, but Angle sucks. Mysterio's hurracarana is blocked but he sunset flips Angle for 1....2....Angle grabs the rope....3!!! WE GOT NEW TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS! The ref then notices Angle was holding onto the rope and even Benoit runs in to saw he saw it too. Referee Brian Hebner gets cornered by Angle & Benoit and even he admits that he saw the rope after counting the fall.

We cut to commercial and when we get back, we get a replay that shows Angle grabbing the rope. During the break Hebner tells Chimel that the fall doesn't count and the match is restarted. Angle and Benoit argue in the ring and Rey uses the distraction to dropkick them both. Benoit sends Rey into the corner and delivers a back suplex. Benoit hits a snap suplex and covers for 1..2....nope. Cole says for all intents and purposes we're in overtime. Benoit tags in Angle and they do a double knee buster to Rey. Kurt stomps away at Mysterio then slugs away in the corner. Kurt tags Benoit who hits a dropkick on Rey on the ground. Benoit chops Mysterio down and executes a gut-wrench suplex, but the cover only gets two. Kurt tags in and kicks Rey in the ribs. Kurt does a gut-wrench suplex of his own then covers for 1...2...no, Edge kicks Kurt off. Kurt gets in a waistlock as Benoit shouts to squeeze him. Rey fights out of it then hits the wheelbarrow DDT.  Edge gets the hot tag and he hits a top rope clothesline. Edge goes nuts on both Angle and Benoit then hits Edge-O-Matic on Kurt. He covers for two but Kurt slaps on the ankle lock. Edge somehow kicks Kurt into the corner and somehow Rey hits the 619 around the damn ringpost. Benoit nails Rey outside but Edge hits the spear on Kurt. Edge goes for the cover but notices Benoit is on the top rope. He moves and Benoit accidentally hits Angle with the headbutt.  Rey gets in and dropkicks Benoit to the outside. Edge covers for 1...2....THREEEEEE, WE GOT NEW TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS....for real this time. Edge and Rey celebrate in the ring as Rey has won his first gold in the WWE. Another great match from these guys after they had that amazing one at No Mercy.

Time of match: 24:16

Winners: Edge and Mysterio 2 falls to 1 (new Tag Team Champions)

We get a graphic for Lesnar vs Guerrero coming up in our main event before we go to commercial. Back from break Michael Cole runs down the Super Tuesday card. Next Tuesday Torrie Wilson faces Trish Stratus in a bikini challenge, a ten men tag featuring Triple H, Chris Jericho, Christian and 3 Minute Warning vs Kane, Booker T, Bubba Ray Dudley, Rob Van Dam and Jeff Hardy, then finally a triple threat match where Edge faces Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit. The funny thing is Edge is holding the Smackdown tag title in the graphic, way to put over that kayfabe is dead haha. Stephanie also has an announcement about the tag titles at Survivor Series. The ten men tag was already taped after Raw went off the air in Boston and the other two matches will be recorded after the show tonight. How's that going to look when you have two different arenas? Anyway we cut to Big Show with Mark Lloyd and asks who's going to win tonight between Show and Guerrero. Show says HE is going to win. Lloyd asks how. Show says stick around, you'll find out. We cut to Los Guerreros coming up to Paul Heyman and say they have something in common. Eddie says he doesn't think Brock can beat Big Show either. Eddie doesn't think Brock can beat him either and Brock storms outside, chasing the Guerreros away. Heyman says "I'M SICK OF THIS SHIT! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU? I've been telling you for weeks to listen, EXCUSE ME, I'M TALKING TO YOU RIGHT NOW!' Heyman says he's been responsible for Brock's success all along so be grateful. Heyman says if he wants to go wrestle Guerrero, fine but do it without him. Heyman says go be the brawn without the brains and storms off. Heyman's got somewhat of a point, but there is definite dissension in the ranks. Onto the main event.

Match 5

Eddie Guerrero (with Chavo Guerrero Jr) vs Brock Lesnar

No title on the line and no Heyman either. Chavo jumps Brock before the bell but Lesnar heaves him out of the way and drops Eddie as well. Brock bashes Eddie against the side of the ring and throws him inside where the bell rings. Eddie trades blows with Brock but Lesnar rams him into the buckle. Brock shoulderblocks Guerrero in the corner, whips him into the other corner and does more shoulderblocks. Lesnar backdrops Guerrero and Chavo tries to get his attention. Lesnar hits a bearhug then throws Guerrero onto the apron. Brock gets an overhead backbreaker on Eddie and Lesnar shouts Chavo to look at his boy. Lesnar does a modified Dominator as Tazz ponders if Brock can get Big Show up like that. Eddie bails to the apron and Lesnar heaves him over the top rope into the ring. Brock drops Chavo of the apron but walks into a low blow by Guerrero. Eddie pounds and kicks away but Lesnar shoves him off. Eddie hits a dropkick and continues to kick at him. Eddie tries to lock in the El Paso Lasso and does it. Brock easily kicks him off but Eddie dropkicks Brock in the leg then covers for a deuce. Cole brings up Lesnar's inexperience despite being the youngest WWE Champion. Eddie ducks the line and Guerrero dropkicks Brock, but it doesn't drop him. Brock clotheslines Eddie twice then whips him into the corner. A shoulderblock and overhead suplex has Guerrero reeling allowing Brock to shoulderblock him in the corner. A charge misses when Chavo pulls Eddie out of the way and works over the left arm. Brock returns the favor with a low blow and an F-5. Brock covers for 1..2....3 to win the match. Lesnar beats Guerrero but he didn't squash him like Show did to Matt Hardy. Still a damn good match for what it was.

Time of match: 6:39

Winner: Lesnar by pinfall

After the match, Cole shows us the replay of what just happened and Lesnar celebrates on the ramp....but gets ambushed by Big Show. Show press slams Lesnar over his head into the crash pad below. Show sends a message that Lesnar is facing someone bigger and stronger than him. Funny how in 2 weeks, Smackdown has booked Show better than Raw has for a year now. We go off air with Show looking menacing. We're 10 days out from Survivor Series and so far we only have one Smackdown match signed. Super Tuesday apparently is going to give some clues to a tag match but other than that, its Brock vs Show and that's it. This was a tale of two hours because we started with Cena's comedy shenanigans with Rikishi, Mattitude getting squashed and Al Wilson's proposal....then we got the amazing 2 out of 3 falls tag match and a good Eddie vs Lesnar match. Its like Smackdown can flip a switch and put on an instant classic. Kidman might get a title shot at Jamie Noble at Survivor Series and now that Angle & Benoit are no longer the tag champs, they're free to fight each other again. Finally they're giving Lesnar some adversity because he's been the aggressor since he's come to WWE and now he's run into a wall he can't simply bust through. It'll be interesting to see how this all plays out. The stars of Raw are performing at a house show in State College, Pennsylvania tomorrow night. I'll see you there.

WWE Velocity (11/2/02)

Van Andel Arena

Grand Rapids, Michigan

November 2, 2002

Commentators: Mark Lloyd and Michael Cole

Its another edition of Velocity and there's a lot to do on Smackdown these days. Unfortunately this episode I found doesn't have the Smackdown recaps so we're just getting straight matches. Also unfortunately its almost the exact same guys from last week. But first....since this was taped on the same night as Smackdown, we have some dark matches.

Dark Match 1

Bull Buchanan vs Shelton Benjamin

This was a dark match that wasn't aired on Smackdown or Velocity. It was pretty much a tryout for the ultra athletic Benjamin to see what he could do. WWE definitely liked what they saw because they signed him to a contract not long after. He got the win over Buchanan.

Winner: Benjamin

Dark Match 2

Val Venis vs Ernest Miller

Ernest "The Cat" Miller made his WWE debut on a dark match on the last Sunday Night Heat and here he gets a second look against Val Venis. Unlike Shelton, Venis got the duke. Guess they felt Miller was already an established veteran and didn't need the rub.

Winner: Val Venis by pinfall

Now let's get to our first televised match.

Match 1

Reverend D'Von vs Chuck Palumbo

Palumbo gets bumrushed as soon as the bell starts and stomped on by D'Von.  Dudley pounds away on Palumbo as Michael Cole babbles on about Brock Lesnar with his partner joining in to talk about Big Show. Dudley taunts the crowd and rakes the face as Cole says Ron Simmons is behind the new aggression. Cole then talks about Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit as D'Von gets a nerve hold on Palumbo. The crowd chants "we want tables" as Palumbo powers out of it with fists. He drops D'Von with an elbow and a hiptoss before delivering shoulderblocks in the corner. D'Von counters with a knee to the face and a hotshot off the top turnbuckle. D'Von chokes Chuck on the second rope then locks in a chinlock. D'Von shouts "get up boy" but walks into an inside cradle for a deuce. D'Von pounds away on Chuck and delivers a sidewalk slam as the announcers babble on about Big Show again. D'Von goes up to the second rope but gets caught mid-air in a belly to belly suplex. Cole talks over Mark and continues to babble on about Brock Lesnar. Palumbo rallies with a series of clotheslines and a backdrop on D'Von. Chuck blocks a hiptoss and turns it into a flapjack. He covers for 1..2....nope. Palumbo decks D'Von with a right hand and sends him into the corner. A charge eats boot but Chuck still hits an overhead suplex. He covers for 1...2....nooooo. Palumbo goes for the superkick but D'Von catches the leg and hits a DDT. D'Von covers for 1...2....noooooo. D'Von admomishes the ref then sends Chuck off the ropes. Palumbo ducks the line and nails D'Von with the superkick. He covers for 1....2....3 to win the match. D'von took his eye off the ball for one second and Palumbo made him pay. Serviceable and safe match from both guys, it definitely didn't suck.

Time of match: 5:41

Winner: Palumbo by pinfall

We were supposed to get a recap from the last episode of Tough Enough but its cut out from this upload. Instead we get hype for the main event tag match featuring Crusierweight champion Jamie Noble teaming with Crash Holly against Billy Kidman and Funaki. Onto the next match.

Match 2

Chavo Guerrero Jr vs Tyson Dux

As mentioned on the Raw review, Dux was a Canadian local who was doing house shows and TV tapings. At least he gets his TV match here. Bell's gone and Tyson starts strutting around causing Michael to say "What is that kid doing?" hahahaha. Chavo tells Tyson to get out of the ring and Tyson does it again causing Mark to say "What the hell is this?"  Chavo starts with a scoop slam and tells Tyson to leave the ring. Tyson responds with a dropkick as Mark on commentary brings up Stephanie McMahon kissing Eric Bischoff on Smackdown.....which was never mentioned again. Tyson arm drags Chavo a few times and drops him with a heel kick. Chavo bails as Tyson dances around again. Michael says somebody needs to tell Tyson to take some Ritalin. Chavo takes over with strikes and a european uppercut. He kicks away at Tyson in the corner as referee Jimmy Korderas tells Chavo to get off. Chavo delivers a back suplex and covers for a deuce. Chavo continues to pound away on Dux when Tyson is sent into the corner. Chavo looks like he's going for shattered dreams and instead dropkicks Dux. He snapmares and covers for 1...2...nope. The announcers continue to make fun of Dux but Tyson catches him in a backslide for 1...2..nope. Cole continues to make heel comments which was out of place eight years before he was doing it to Daniel Bryan but Dux catches Chavo with a head scissors. Tyson drops Chavo with a clothesline and goes for a suplex but Chavo blocks it, Tyson settles for a reverse DDT instead. He covers for a deuce and Chavo begs off in the corner. Tyson goes for 10 punches in the corner but Chavo hotshots him off the top rope. Chavo hits a brainbuster and covers for 1..2....3 to win the match. Chavo wins but what's with the announcers heeling on the kid? Little bit out of place but oh well, Chavo gets the duke.

Time of match: 4:28

Winner: Chavo Guerrero Jr by pinfall

We go to highlights of the Rebellion tour over in Europe including the ppv. Ironically it would be the last Smackdown ppv ever held in the UK, the last Raw one would be in May. We get a graphic showing our main event as we go to commercial. Onto the next match.

Match 3

Albert vs Mark Bartolucci

If you don't remember, Bartolucci was a Canadian local brought in to make a few tapings to see what he could do. Before the match Albert gets on the mic and says he saw all the stares from the people. He says he knows what they were thinking "Albert, is he sexy or what?" Albert continues to put over his looks as the crowd chants "Shave your back". Albert "Jealousy will get you nowhere. Ladies, all this hair is 100% natural. All these men can't be getting the job done, ladies can run their hands through his man-fur". It definitely is working to draw heat. Bell's gone and Mark Lloyd says he feels sorry for Bartolucci. Albert levels Bartolucci with a clothesline then gorilla presses him off the top rope. Albert sends him off the ropes and Mark goes for a sunset flip, but Albert blocks it with a leg drop. He covers for a deuce then sends him into the corner. Mark gets the foot up but Albert blocks a crossbody and powerslams him in the other corner. Mark is in the tree of woe and Albert stomps away at him. The announcers start babbling on about Brock Lesnar and Big Show again as Albert continues to stomp away at Bartolucci in the corner. Albert invites the ladies into the ring then continues to punch at Mark. Mark tries to fight back with right hands and a dropkick. Bartolucci runs right into the bicycle kick and slingshots him into the second rope. Albert hits the Baldo Bomb and covers for 1....2....3...to win the match. Total squash by Albert although he'd be getting a new name soon. Not much to say apart from Albert is a mean looking fella.

Time of match: 2:42

Winner: Albert by pinfall

We're shown a graphic saying the main event is coming up next....yippie.

Match 4

Crash Holly and WWE Cruiserweight Champion Jamie Noble (with Nidia) vs Funaki and Billy Kidman

Finally some Cruiserweight action. Cole brings up the actually funny situation at the Halloween party where Noble and Nidia dressed as each other as Crash makes his entrance. Cole calls Crash "an absolute goof" and an "idiot". Cole must be in a bad mood tonight. Bell's gone and Kidman starts with Noble. Kidman eats a knee to the mid-section but head scissors Noble down. Kidman tags in Funaki and they double hiptoss & dropkick Noble. Crash gets in and gets double dropkicked as well. The announcers speculate who's coming to Raw with Big Show coming to Smackdown and the answer will be revealed on TV shortly. Both faces hit baseball slides on the heels before Funaki throws Noble inside. Noble begs off but catches Funaki with a boot. Noble kicks away at Funaki in the corner then backdrops Funaki on the apron. Funaki fights off Crash but Nidia pulls his ankles and he lands face first on the apron. The numbers game catches up to the faces as Crash and Nidia stomp on Funaki while the ref is busy inside. Crash throws Funaki inside and Crash tags in to land a forearm on the back of Funaki. Crash hits a delayed suplex on Funaki an covers for 1...2...nope. Crash gets a series of near falls on Funaki then forearms him in the back. Funaki fights back but Crash hits a drop toe hold before tagging Noble back in. Mark Lloyd keeps babbling about Stephanie and Eric Bischoff kissing and Cole tells him to shut up. Noble gets a chinlock on Funaki as Cole says Funaki had never wrestled in England before. Was he not on any European tour the last four years? Funaki catches Noble with a backslide for a deuce but Jamie hits a clothesline. Noble sends Funaki into his corner where Crash tags in and hits a dropkick to the back of the head. Crash covers for a deuce and tags in Noble. Cole says Crash is an idiot and a goof but is still the most prolific hardcore champion of all time. Funaki tries to fight back in the corner but Noble misses a charge. Funaki drives Noble down with a bulldog and Crash tags in, but Kidman gets the hot tag. Kidman goes to town on Crash and Noble then does a reverse neckbreaker to Crash while holding Noble for a ddt. He covers Crash for 1...2....nope. Crash hits a tornado bulldog on Kidman and covers but Funaki pulls Crash off.  Funaki throws Noble outside and hits a plancha but the ref turns his back on the ring. Nidia goes upstairs but Kidman moves, Nidia hitting Crash with a crossbody. Funaki pulls Nidia out as Kidman hits a sitdown powerbomb on Crash. Kidman covers for 1...2....nooooo. Kidman and Funaki hit a double dropkick inside the ring but Noble pulls Funaki out. Kidman hits an enziguiri on Crash and pulls him to the corner. Kidman hits the 7 Year Itch and covers for 1...2...3 to win the match. Kidman and Funaki celebrate after the match as Nidia and Noble are irate outside. Cole goes to the replay of Kidman hitting the 7 Year Itch. That was a damn good match for what it was, its too bad they only got a little over 6 minutes.

Time of match: 6:39

Winners: Kidman and Funaki by pinfall

Its a shame C shows were only designed to get the A & B shows over because they could have had a chance to do something special, featuring guys in OVW and what not. Unfortunately the NXT as we know it wouldn't be around for another 10 years. Still, the Chavo match was entertaining and the tag match was great. Smackdown was the place to be at the time and even though these were the mid-carders, it was still better than most of what Raw was doing. Tomorrow the stars of Raw were in New Brunswick, Canada while the stars of Smackdown would be in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Also tomorrow night is Sunday Night Heat. I'll see you in New Brunswick.

WWE Smackdown (10/31/02)

Happy Halloween everyone, we are 17 days out from Survivor Series and Smackdown is on a hot streak in terms of in ring brilliance. Kurt Angle vs Chris Benoit has been a pleasure to watch and we also have WWE Champion Brock Lesnar facing a new threat, the 500 pound Big Show. Benoit and Angle on their own are draws but they're the tag champs with Los Guerreros gunning for them. Unfortunately we still have the dumb Al Wilson story but we're about to get the debut of a company altering gimmick, but I won't spoil what it is here in the intro. Let's get to the event.

Van Andel Arena

Grand Rapids, Michigan

October 31, 2002

Commentators: Michael Cole & Tazz

We open the show with a costume party in catering. Faarooq is dressed as a pimp with Eddie Guerrero as Zorro and Chavo Guerrero Jr in a poncho & sombrero holding dynamite....not that any of this is racist or anything. Eddie says he's going to take out Kurt Angle tonight and they leave. Tajiri is dressed as a 70's disco dancer with Shannon Moore as Satan. Rey Mysterio Jr is dressed in normal gear as Stephanie McMahon walks in dressed as a witch....thought she was supposed to be in a costume? Anyway, she says tonight's main event will be a non-title match between Brock Lesnar and Rey Mysterio Jr. Rey celebrates with everyone in the room as we head to ringside. Tazz says tonight there will be  a Trick Or Treat match between Dawn Marie and Torrie Wilson in a pool of chocolate milk. Divas era everyone.....but in better news, we also got Kurt Angle vs Eddie Guerrero, that's more like it. Let's get to our first match.

Match 1

Edge vs Chris Benoit

Tazz holds up the latest edition of WWE Magazine with Edge on the cover as Edge makes his entrance. Benoit is half of the tag champs and Edge needs a big win to set himself up as a contender to Lesnar. Bell's gone and they circle to start.  They lock up with various takedowns with Edge taking over with an arm-bar. Cole asks how Edge can outwrestle Benoit and Tazz answers to stay ahead of him. Benoit goes to down with knees and stomps in the corner then applies a headlock takeover. Edge sends Benoit off but eats a shoulderblock but drops Benoit with a knee to the ribs. Edge delivers a stomachbreaker then puts the boots to Chris. Edge shoulderblocks Chris in the corner but Benoit chops him. Edge continues to work over Chris but Benoit takes over in the other corner as Cole mentions Big Show will take on Rikishi as well. Edge sends Benoit sternum first into the corner but the cover only gets a deuce. Edge throws Benoit through the ropes to the outside then follows him. Edge drops Chris chest first onto the barricade then throws him back in. Edge covers for a deuce then goes to the chinlock. Cole brings up Scott Steiner is coming to WWE and there's a bidding war between Raw and Smackdown. Sidenote, not to get ahead of anything, but there could have been an Evolution style stable on Smackdown with Angle, Shelton Benjamin, Charlie Haas and Scott Steiner. All four of them were great collegiate wrestlers with Steiner representing the past, Angle the present and Haas & Benjamin as the future. Back to live action, Edge slingshot suplexes Benoit on the top rope to the outside but Chris blocks a baseball slide and starts attacking the left shoulder. Benoit dropkicks Edge into the ring steps before tossing him inside. Benoit covers for a one count with Edge grabbing the bottom rope and Chris continues to work over the left arm. Edge powers out of it but Chris floors Edge with a running elbow. Chris sends Edge shoulder first into the ringpost and executes a back suplex. A cover gets two and Chris stomps away on him. Benoit sends Edge off who runs into a drop-toe hold. Benoit dropkicks the shoulder and does a snap suplex. The cover gets one as Chris stalks Edge in the corner, kicking away. Chris sends Edge into the corner who falls down, Chris dropping a leg on Edge for good measure. Corner chops from Benoit has the crowd gooing wooo but a charge eats elbow. Edge hops on the second rope but Chris stops him with right hands. Benoit goes for a superplex but Edge blocks it and does Edge-O-Matic off the second rope (!!!). We cut to commercial and when we come back Edge goes upstairs but misses a dropkick. Benoit goes for the crossface but Edge makes it to the ropes. They show during the commercial break Edge hit a spear to knock Benoit to the floor. Benoit does three straight German suplexes then gives the sign for the diving headbutt. Benoit goes up to the top but Edge rolls out of the way at the last second. Benoit goes back to the chops but Edge throws him off the turnbuckle and hits Edge-O-Matic for 1....2..nope, Chris kicked out. Edge counters a headlock with a facebuster but the cover only gets two. Edge chops Chris then drops Benoit face first onto the mat. Edge calls for the spear but Benoit counters it into the Crippler Crossface. Edge rolls through but Benoit hangs on and has Edge in the center of the ring. Edge somehow grabs referee Brian Hebner and all of a sudden Kurt Angle runs to ringside. Benoit abandons the hold and yells at him on the floor. Edge does a baseball slide that sends Benoit into Angle on the floor. Edge goes upstairs and does a flying clothesline that takes out Angle. Benoit throws Edge inside but runs right into the SPEAR! The cover gets 1....2.....3 and that's it. Great opener to start the night. Even though it took an Angle run in to get it done, Edge still gets a victory over Benoit to give Edge some shine while highlighting the ongoing feud between Angle & Benoit. Angle walks off smiling at the irate Benoit as we cut here.

Time of match: 12:21

Winner: Edge by pinfall

We go back to the costume party with John Cena dressed as Vanilla Ice freestyle rapping.....and yes, THIS is where it started. The story goes Cena was floundering as a generic heel and Stephanie herself caught Cena rapping on the bus in London while they were there for Rebellion. She suggested he do it on TV and here we are. Billy Kidman dressed as the Phantom of The Opera is not impressed but Chuck Palumbo dressed as a native american loves it. Torrie Wilson dressed as Xena walks by Tajiri who freaks out and walks away....haha. Tajiri spots someone dressed as Marilyn Monroe and its Mae Young. Fabulous Moolah is dressed as Wilma Flinstone and they grab Tajiri, whisking him away. Al Wilson walks in dressed as a 50's greaser (which the actor may have been back then) with Dawn Marie as a slutty cop. Tazz and Cole laugh at Wilson and Dawn as folks in the arena crowd are dressed as various wrestlers. We got to a replay after commercial of Angle costing Benoit his match. Back to the party, Torrie is confronting Al and Dawn when an irate Benoit storms in looking for Kurt Angle. He storms past a guy in a Ghostface outfit from Scream who doesn't know where Kurt is and Funaki dressed as Superman. After Benoit leaves, the Scream guy unmasks to be Kurt himself. 

Camera cuts to Brock Lesnar walking down the hall as someone dressed as a caveman asks who he's supposed to be. Lesnar says "The WWE champion, that's who I'm supposed to be." That shows you a face turn is coming because heel Brock would smash the guy against the wall. He walks into the dressing room where Paul Heyman is waiting. Heyman gives him a speech about how Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali were never the same after Thrilla In Manilla and he's afraid Lesnar and Undertaker aren't the same after Hell In A Cell. Heyman is terrified Lesnar can't beat Big Show in his current state. Heyman says Brock won't like hearing it but that's why he's his manager. They're definitely setting up Big Show as a threat, thank god. Onto the next match.

Match 2

Big Show vs Rikishi

This match stems from the previous week where Big Show made his Smackdown brand debut wiping out Rikishi and Matt Hardy. Big Show is dressed in black dress pants and a black t-shirt which would essentially be his new look moving forward. Rikishi attacks at the bell and superkicks him twice, the second sends Show through the ropes to the outside. Rikishi gets thrown into the ring post outside and chops his chest. Show throws Rikishi in the ring and drops a series of elbows. Show headbutts Rikishi and he actually sells it, THATS respect. Show turns Rikishi inside out with a clothesline and covers for 1...2...nope. Show rips off the middle and top rope turnbuckle pads then Rikishi into the exposed steel before avalanching him. Show picks up Rikishi like a feather and does a Bulldog powerslam. Cole asks if Show can manhandle Lesnar like this but also asks how Lesnar can beat him. Show hits the big chokeslam and covers for 1...2....3 to win the match. Cole says Show made a statement by squashing Rikishi and hard to argue that. This is how Show should have been booked for years. Rikishi is no pushover and Show smashed him.

Time of match: 2:28

Winner: Big Show by pinfall

Show grabs the mic after the match and says what he did to Rikishi is only a taste of what's in store for Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series. Show calls out Lesnar and say face him right here, right now. Lesnar goes to confront Show but Heyman tells him not to go out there. We cut to commercial and when we come back, Show is holding Smackdown hostage until Lesnar comes out. Show has a replay of Taker getting wiped out last week put on the titantron. He then goes on a rant that Lesnar can't beat him, everyone knows it including his manager. Hm.....how would he know that? Show says his own real name and Lesnar can't beat him. Finally Lesnar hits the ring as Cole asks why he's coming out. Lesnar looks up at Big Show and Show really towers over him. Lesnar snatches the mic and calls him a giant piece of shit (bleeped out of course). Show smiles at Brock, grabs the mic, exits the ring and says he's been advised not to fight him. Hmmm, wonder who could have advised him? Show says he's done something to The Undertaker that's never been done before and he says he's going to do the same for Lesnar later tonight. Show leaves as we cut right to Torrie Wilson bent over in a Xena outfir=t right in view of the camera, just like Stacy Keibler on Raw. Guess the milk pool match is next....ugh.

Match 3

Dawn Marie vs Torrie Wilson in a Trick or Treat Match

Bunch of cakes at poolside so you know someone's face is going in one. Tazz shills X-Box & Godzilla Destroy All Monsters and Cole shills JVC's Tower of Power as Torrie makes her entrance pool side. Tazz and Cole go ga-ga. Right on cue, Torrie throws one of the cakes in Dawn's face to start the "match". Torrie throws another one and they start wrestling each other on the table. Torrie spears Dawn into the pool and they roll around in it. Torrie pulls the referee in there as Torrie somehow suplexes Dawn in the pool. Torrie strips Dawn to her underwear with Dawn screaming. Dawn and Torrie exchange chops as they roll all over referee Mike Sparks. Torrie chops Dawn who trips and falls out of the pool. Torrie splashes her and covers for 1...2....3 to end this disaster. Torrie grabs ring announcer Tony Chimmel and throws him into the pool. Why? Ask Vince. In terms of a "match", it was just an excuse for women to take their clothes off so Vince could get off on it. We'd have about 10 years to go until this kind of thing stopped, oh joy.

Time of match: 1:51

Winner: Torrie Wilson by pinfall

Back to the party, Kidman is taking jello shots with Moolah and Mae still holding Tajiri hostage. The lights go out and come back on with Matt Hardy coming in playing his own song on a boom box. He says this place needs Mattitude and Hardy chastises Tajiri for flirting with Moolah & Mae. Hardy slaps the wig off Tajiri's head as Mae says he can't do that to her boyfriend. Tajiri "BOYFRIEND??" Matt says he'll send him back after he suffers a twist of fate. Mae then kisses Tajiri who looks disgusted. Just like with throwing Chimmel into the pool, most of the time Vince had people humiliated because he himself thought it was funny. After commercial Nidia and Jamie Noble are dressed as each other (hahaha) and they bob for apples before bumping into Stephanie. A-Train is dressed in a toga next to Eddie and Chavo who start hitting on Stephanie. Ah yes, everyone has to call Stephanie hot on camera....she was Dixie Carter before Dixie. Eddie says after he beats Angle, they want a tag title shot. Stephanie says she'll think about it, just go. Eddie and Chavo leave as Cena comes up and freestyles again to which Stephanie says to speak normally. Cena says Vince himself is waiting for Stephanie in her office. Back to ringside.

Match 4

Matt Hardy vs Tajiri

Matt comes out with "Matt always got more Halloween candy than his brother" as his graphic. Poor Jeff. Cole says Raw this Monday night will be held at the Fleet Center in Boston with Smackdown Your Vote taking place at noon at Northeastern University. Bell's gone and they tie up to start. Matt hits an armdrag and starts celebrating. They exchange go-behinds before Tajiri gets the side headlock. Hardy gets the top wristlock but Tajiri takes Hardy down twice much to Matt's chagrin. Cole says we have Eddie vs Angle still to come and Brock vs Mysterio. Hardy gets a quick two count on Tajiri and celebrates that he was this close to winning...only to eat a kick to the head. Tajiri sends Matt outside and nails him with an asai moonsault. Tajiri throws Matt inside and flips over him just to run into the side effect. Matt covers for a deuce and Matt starts beating Tajiri around. Matt chops Tajiri in the corner but Tajiri chops out of it only to get met with an eye-rake. Matt drops Tajiri throat first on the top rope then does a standing elbow slam. Hardy gets a neck lock on as Cole says you might not like Matt's attitude but you have to respect his ability. Hardy drops Tajiri with an elbow and leg drops him. Matt scoop slams Tajiri then hops on the second rope. He goes for the leg drop but misses it as Tajiri rolls out of the way. Tajiri and Matt exchange punches when Tajiri dropkicks him in the face then covers for a deuce. Tajiri hits the springboard elbow then kicks Matt in the back of the head. He covers for 1...2...nope. Tajiri counters a charge in the corner with a tarantula but Matt counters with an overhead suplex. He stacks him up for 1...2..no. Matt punches Tajiri but Tajiri counters with another tarantuula then sets up for the buzz kick. Tajiri misses but Matt kicks him, going for the Twist of Fate. Tajiri blocks the first attempt but not the second as Matt lands it. He covers for 1...2...3 and Matt wins it. Good match and its cementing Matt's V1 character as a young, top heel. Let's see if Matt can run with this.

Time of match: 7:38

Winner: Matt Hardy by pinfall

Back to Stephanie's office, a man in a Vince McMahon mask says its good to see her. Its not Vince, its Eric Bischoff in disguise. Bischoff says he's signing Scott Steiner and removes his mask. Stephanie goes to slap him but he blocks it and forcefully kisses her. Can't say she didn't deserve it after trying to strike him for no reason. Then she gets into it, pulling him on top of her and they break it off looking at each other awkwardly. Bischoff leaves and that whole segment definitely REEKS of Vince having a laugh. This reminds me of when Kurt kissed Stephanie and nothing came of it, just like this was never mentioned again. Thankfully Eddie Guerrero vs Kurt Angle is next.

Match 5

Eddie Guerrero vs Kurt Angle

These two can definitely have a great match so hopefully this delivers. The implications are the Guerreros want a tag title shot and Benoit & Angle are the champs. Kurt already cost Benoit his match earlier that night so you know Chris will be making an appearance at some point. Eddie comes out in really bright green tights and the bell rings. They circle to start and Angle takes down Eddie a few times, can't outwrestle an Olympian Eddie. Crowd chants "Eddie sucks" as this is a heel program for sure. Angle starts with a headlock and he drops Eddie with a shoulderblock before hiptossing Eddie. Kurt picks up Eddie and heaves him across the ring before Eddie bails outside in a rage. Guess Angle is the defacto face in this one which works just fine. Guerrero gets mad and starts punching and kicking away at Angle. The crowd chants for Angle as Kurt rallies with a clothesline and a back elbow smash. Kurt ducks the line and nails Eddie with a flying forearm. He covers for a deuce but Eddie drop toe holds him into the corner then delivers a back suplex. Eddie chokes Kurt with his boot and goes to town with forearms while holding on to Kurt's singlet. Eddie locks in a front headlock with a "Let's go Angle" chant in the crowd. Cole hypes up Lesnar vs Mysterio as Angle powers out of the hold then gets nailed with a shoulderblock. Eddie goes back to the chinlock as Angle uses the crowd's chanting to make it to his feet. Kurt catches Eddie with a powerslam but Guerrero dropkicks Angle's knee. Eddie chokes him with his boot in the corner again with Brian Hebner yelling at him. Eddie continues to choke Angle and Kurt makes it to the outside. Eddie suplexes Kurt from the apron back inside then covers for a deuce. Eddie goes back to the chinlock then turns it into a head scissors. Eddie uses the ropes for leverage but Angle somehow slips out of it and tries for the ankle lock. Eddie rolls through and snap mares Kurt before dropkicking the back of the neck. Eddie pounds away at Kurt and taunts the crowd with Hebner yelling at him again. Eddie goes for a german suplex but Kurt slips it and hits one of his own, sending Eddie flying. Kurt and Eddie exchange right hands and Angle rallies with clotheslines and a back bodydrop. Kurt ducks the line and goes for another german but Eddie blocks it. Kurt does the overhead suplex and covers for 1...2....nope, foot on the rope. Kurt comes out of the corner and Eddie kicks him before going for a suplex. Kurt slips it and does the three German suplex combo that Benoit used earlier. Kurt covers for a deuce and pulls down the straps, uh oh! Kurt goes for the Angle Slam but Eddie counters into a cradle for 1..2....nooooo! Angle charges but eats elbow and Guerrero nails a jumping tornado ddt off the second rope then covers for 1...2....NOOOOOO, just got the shoulder up. Eddie goes for the Lasso From El Paso and Angle looks like he's about to tap but counters, slipping a roll into the ankle lock. Guerrero reaches the ropes and Kurt goes for another German suplex but Eddie grabs the ref and mule kicks Kurt in the gonads. Eddie lands a vertical suplex then goes for the frog splash. Kurt brilliantly then shoves Hebner into Guerrero who crotches himself. Tazz "He's the third man in the ring, might as well use him, what the hell?" Chavo runs down to the ring and Kurt knocks him off the apron. He runs up the ropes to nail Eddie with a superplex when Chris Benoit comes out of nowhere to nail Angle with the tag title belt. Eddie hits the frog splash and covers for 1...2....3....Eddie wins it. Wow, last week it was Angle the heel and Benoit the face and now its the other way around. Eddie goes to hug Benoit for helping him and Chris waffles him with the belt. Chris gets out of the ring and drops Chavo with the belt for good measure. Chris gets the last laugh after a damn good match between Angle and Guerrero. We go to the replay with all this mayhem and Guerrero gets the duke. The feud between Angle and Benoit is not over and the Guerreros are the ones benefiting for sure.

Time of match: 13:20

Winner: Guerrero by pinfall

After commercial break we're back at the party where its Kurt's turn to cause a ruckus. Kurt bitches about what happened to him then heaves Shannon Moore over a table. He spots another guy in a Ghostface mask and rips it off revealing...Brother Love?? The hell is he doing here? Love says "I loveeeeee you" and Kurt's face is priceless. Chris then attacks Kurt from behind and they brawl all over the room. Chris breaks a stool over Kurt's chest then applies the crossface. Where the hell is Stephanie? Kurt rolls through and applies the ankle lock. Chris kicks him off and grabs a beer bottle. Angle hits the angle slam to Chris through a table but not before Benoit breaks the bottle over his head. Both men are out and Cole sends us to our last break. These two are going to settle this eventually, right? On to the main event.

Match 6

Rey Mysterio Jr vs Brock Lesnar (with Paul Heyman)

This is a non-title match, which is dumb since Rey essentially has nothing to gain and Lesnar has nothing to lose. Cole hypes up Lesnar vs Show for the WWE title and wonders if he can beat the monster. The sad part is they're making Show about to be very dangerous when he was just a big goofus on Raw for about a year. Still, at least they're doing something noteworthy with Big Show for once. Lesnar hops up on the apron but Mysterio slides under the rope underneath him to start the match. Lesnar chases Rey around the ring but Rey hops up on the ropes as Lesnar slides in. Rey drops a leg but Brock barely sells it. Brock grabs Rey and heaves him into the corner but Rey moves out of the way of the charge. Brock chases Rey outside who runs around and appears to hide behind the steps. Lesnar kicks the steps but there's nobody there. Rey appears from under the ring, climbs up to the top and hits  west coast pop to the floor. Brock pops up unfazed and stalks Rey as Cole wonders how Rey could do anything to him. Lesnar catches Rey in a powerbomb position and heaves him into the ring post. Lesnar throws Rey inside as Cole asks how Brock can match Big Show. Brock picks Rey up on his shoulders and slams him face first onto the mat. Brock taunts Mysterio and heaves him over his head to the other side of the ring. Tazz says Lesnar is toying with Rey and is overmatched. Lesnar shoulderblocks Rey in the corner and charges but eats ringpost. Rey rallies with a series of dropkicks that sends Lesnar into the ropes. Rey goes for the 619 but Big Show appears out of nowhere and catches Rey in mid-air causing the disqualification. Big Show then heaves Rey 10 rows deep into the crowd Spike Dudley style but Lesnar shoulderblocks Show into the ringpost. Brock tries to whip Show into the other post but Show blocks it and rams Lesnar into the post instead. Show then chokeslams Lesnar through the announce table as Cole asks if this is a preview of Survivor Series. Show smiles at his work as we go to the replay of Show heaving Rey into the crowd then laying out Lesnar. Show screams to just give him the belt as Tazz says this is Heyman's worst nightmare. The show ends with Big Show saying Lesnar's run is over. Sad part was that was a hell of a crash style, cat and mouse match between the monstrous Lesnar and diminutive Rey. Somewhere down the line Rey and Brock would meet again and pretty much Rey vs Show as well. Take away Big Show's interference and this was definitely a match that needs to be seen again.

Time of match: 4:00

Winner: Mysterio by disqualification

This entire show was basically the greatness of the "Smackdown Six" smattered around Vince McMahon's vile humor. Inside the ring you had a great Edge vs Benoit match, a great Angle vs Guerrero match, a passable Tajiri vs Matt Hardy match and what was shaping up to be a great cat and mouse match with Brock vs Rey. The downside was Dawn Marie and Torrie but that's a long winded rant about the state of women's wrestling for another time. Sad part was this show isn't even remembered for the great matches or even the Dawn/Torrie antics....no. This was famous for the birth of the doctor of thuganomics John Cena. The gimmick that would launch his career and never look back. Hard to believe that even with Smackdown as great as it was with the Guerreros, Benoit, Angle, Edge, Mysterio, Brock and Tajiri that John Cena's potential hadn't been tappped yet....until now. In terms of current events, Benoit vs Angle is still dominating the shows and Big Show is the biggest threat to Lesnar metaphorically and literally. The drama is Brock is still run down from Hell in A Cell and still has to face a motivated 7 foot giant, can he do it? We'll find out soon enough. The next show would be the November 2nd edition of Velocity so I'll see you there.