WWE Smackdown
Moehgan Sun Casino
Uncasville, CT
August 29, 2002
Commentators: Michael Cole & Tazz
Ring Announcer: Tony Chimel
Its a new era for WWE as Brock Lesnar is your WWE Champion after his victory over The Rock at Summerslam. Not only that, Stephanie McMahon signed him to an exclusive contract meaning he'll only be appearing on Smackdown moving forward. How can she do this? Well look who her father is. Makes sense with Rob Van Dam as the Intercontinental Champion exclusive to Raw to have the WWE Champion exclusive to Smackdown. Our next pay-per-view is Unforgiven so let's start the lead up to it from the Smackdown side. Before we do anything, we got a dark match.
Dark Match
Mike Awesome vs Slyk Wagner Brown
Mike Awesome needs no introduction but Slyk Wagner Brown was a New England local who was trained by Killer Kowalski. He was hot property in 1998 for NWA New England and won the New England Championship Wrestling championship in 2001. Awesome won it with an Awesome Bomb.
Winner: Mike Awesome by pinfall
Now let's get on with the show. We open with a vignette of Brock Lesnar defeating The Rock for the WWE Championship set to Paul Heyman's maniacal laughter. Stephanie McMahon walks to the ring for a conference to open the show. Stephanie welcomes everyone to Smackdown and brags about bringing Lesnar exclusively so the number one contender match on Raw means nothing. Stephanie says HHH is NOT the number one contender but it'll be somebody on Smackdown. Stephanie says starting right now we'll have a single elimination series of matches with the winner facing Brock for the title. We begin with out first match.
Match 1
Edge vs Eddie Guerrero
We're gonna start the tournament in style with two great workers in Edge and Eddie in a rematch of Summerslam. Eddie bum rushes Edge to start and Edge starts with two armdrags. Eddie counters with a back suplex. Eddie stomps away on Edge and clubs the back of his neck. Edge sends him off the ropes and floors Eddie with a flapjack. Edge hits a faceplant and covers for 1...2.no. Eddie taunts Edge but eats a clothesline. Eddie runs and hugs referee Jimmy Korderas causing a distraction for Eddie to get a thumb to the eye....of Edge, not Korderas. Eddie clubs away at Edge and rams his head in the buckle. Eddie kicks away at Edge in the corner and taunts him. Eddie punches away at Edge and hits a European uppercut. Eddie rams Edge in the buckle again but is whipped into the corner. Edge's charge eats elbow and Eddie hits a floatover suplex for a deuce. Eddie locks in an armbar as Cole mentions Edge "injured" his left arm at Summerslam. Eddie's suplex is blocked and Edge suplexes him over the top rope to the floor. Edge goes to the top rope and dives on top of Eddie much to Tazz' dismay. Edge throws Eddie inside but gets punched on the top rope. Eddie hits a superplex from the top rope and covers for 1...2...noooo. Eddie gets mad and punches away at Edge but gets caught in a face drop. Edge goes for the powerbomb and hits it, but Edge is down too. Edge rallies with right hands and hits a back drop. Edge clotheslines Eddie twice then hits Edge-O-Matic for 1...2...no. Eddie rolls through a back suplex but Edge hits the second attempt. Edge goes back to the top rope and hits a missile dropkick. Eddie gets whipped in the corner and Edge hits a running shoulderbreaker. Eddie counters Edgecution by snapping Edge off the tope rope and landing to the floor. BRILLIANT! Eddie grabs two chairs, sets one up and tosses Edge the other one. Korderas stops Edge from using the chair but Eddie grabs the second one. Edge goes for a spear but Eddie uses the chair as a shield. Eddie gets rid of the evidence, goes upstairs and hits the frog splash. Eddie covers for 1...2...3 to win the match. Brilliant cheating by Eddie wins the match and it was a good one. Eddie taunts Edge as Cole calls him lucky to escape. Tazz wonders who he faces next.
Time of match: 7:52
Winner: Guerrero by pinfall
We cut to commercial after the match then we see Stephanie McMahon walking when we come back. Matt Hardy grabs her and says "they love me in Moehgan Sun" then asks if he's facing Eddie Guerrero next. Stephanie says he's not, he's facing Rikishi. Matt wants the winner of that match and continues to warm up. On to the next match.
Match 2
John Cena vs Reverend D'Von
Somewhat of a homecoming for the Massachusetts born Cena but D'Von doesn't have Deacon Bautista with him after their blowup last week. Naturally we get the graphic of D'Von berating Bautista and Deacon hit him with a spinebuster. D'Von throws his jacket at Cena to start the bell but Cena rallies with right hands and an arm drag. Cena hits a dropkick and a facebuster. Cena misses a charge in the corner and D'Von counters with a neckbreaker. D'Von puts the boots to Cena and rams his head into the buckle. Cena rallies with right hands but D'Von gets a thumb to the eye. D'Von hits a suplex and an elbow drop. D'Von covers for 1..2....no. Cena fights back with strikes but D'Von catches Cena with a powerslam. D'Von gets two near falls and delivers a jawbreaker before shouting "get up boy!" Cena tries to fight back with a 3 handled credenza. Cena rallies with clotheslines and two forearms before covering for a deuce. Cena hits an inverted atomic drop but D'Von hits the spinning elbow. D'Von misses the top rope headbutt and Cena Oklahoma rolls D'Von the wrong way for 1...2..no. Tazz admonishes Cena for applying it wrong as Cena goes for the 10 punches in the corner. D'von hits an inverted atomic drop then hits Saving Grace for 1..2...3 to win the match. The crafty veteran beats the rookie....but wait! Here's Deacon Bautista who clotheslines D'Von and chases the referee out of the ring. Bautista hits the Batista Bomb and leaves D'Von laying. So they had D'Von beat Cena clean only to get laid out by Bautista? Oh well.
Time of match: 3:55
Winner: D'von by pinfall
We get Rey Mysterio's titantron after the match signaling that he's next. After commercial its on to our next match.
Match 3
Rey Mysterio Jr vs Rico (with Billy Gunn and Chuck Palumbo)
Mysterio had a valiant effort against Kurt Angle at Summerslam and now he faces the manager of Billy & Chuck with the tag team accompanying him. Rico goes to scoop slam Rey but Mysterio lands on his feet. Rey backdrops Rico over the top rope to send Billy & Chuck scattering. Rey hits a corkscrew plancha using Rico as a launching pad to take out Billy & Chuck. Referee Mike Sparks tells Billy and Chuck to scram but Rico hits a back suplex on Mysterio. Rico rams Rey's head into the buckle but eats a boot to the head. Rey hits a hurraracana and counters a tilt-a-whirl but can't avoid the kick to the back. Rico hits a sitout powerslam and kicks away at the corner before executing two floatover suplexes and a Falcon Arrow before covering for 1...2..no. Rico chokes Mysterio and tells the crowd to shut up. Rico punches Rey but Mysterio fights back with strikes. Rico kicks Mysterio in the face and hits another powerslam. Rico taunts Mysterio and misses a top rope moonsault. Rey hits a dropkick and a bulldog before covering for 1...2..no. Rico crashes in the corner and Rey hits a DOUBLE springboard legdrop before covering for 1..2..no. Rico catches Rey with a backbreaker and sets up for the spin kick. Rico misses and Rey hits a dropkick to send Rico into the second rope. Rey hits the 619 and West Coast Pop for 1..2...3..to win the match. AWESOME match for crash style and its a shame Rico was stuck with a horrendous gimmick because he could go, especially with Rey. Rey and Rico deserves big hands for that one.
Time of match: 5:32
Winner: Mysterio by pinfall
Back to Stephanie who's listening to Hardcore Holly bitch about how he should be in the contender series. There's no one tougher or meaner than him. Dawn Marie interrupts and says she's got a phone call. Stephanie leaves and Holly continues to bitch at Dawn. After break, we get the same Smackdown Your Vote clip from Raw. Back to Stephanie who's on the phone with someone trying to get someone to jump from Raw to Smackdown after they got "mistreated" on Raw. Gee, who could that be? Matt Hardy barges in and says he wants a match with Lesnar and Hardy hangs up the phone on her. Stephanie calls her a stupid sonova....and puts him with Lesnar in a non-title match. Stephanie throws him out of her office as we cut to Mark "Dorkus Malorkus" Lloyd with Rikishi. Rikishi wants revenge on Lesnar after being F-5'd a few weeks ago. He wants to give Brock a piece of the kish but in comes a laughing Eddie Guerrero. Eddie asks if Rikishi's diaper is too tight and its cutting off the circulating to your head. Eddie says to pull his head out of his ass because he's taking on Latino Heat, not Brock Lesnar. Rikishi asks how do you say "back that ass up" in Spanish and Eddie is disgusted. We go to break then to the next match in the ring.
Match 4
Rikishi vs Eddie Guerrero
Cole says Guerrero already wrestled tonight and now he has to face the 350 pound Rikishi. Bell rings and Rikishi heaves Eddie across the ring. Eddie gets a headlock but eats a shoulderblock. Rikishi punches Eddie and clotheslines him in the corner. Eddie falls in the corner and Rikishi goes for the stinkface but Eddie slides out of the way. Eddie dropkicks Rikishi's left leg and kicks away at it. Eddie rams the left leg into the side of the ring then rams it into the steel steps. Eddie rolls Rikishi in the ring and stomps on it some more. Eddie locks in a leg lock but Rikishi kicks him off. Eddie goes for a pinfall for 1...2...no. Eddie kicks away at the left leg in the corner and goes for the blatant choke. Rikishi fights back with right hands and Eddie goes for a sunset flip, only for Rikishi to miss the ass drop. Eddie covers for a deuce and goes back to the leglock. Rikishi kicks him off and Eddie punches away in the corner. Eddie taunts the crowd then misses a splash in the corner. Rikishi catches Eddie with right hands and a clothesline. Rikishi hits a modified spinebuster and hits the avalanche in the corner. Eddie ducks the line but walks right into the superkick (with the bad leg). Rikishi covers for 1...2...3..to win the match. Rikishi has no time to celebrate as Eddie's buddy Chris Benoit hits the ring for the beatdown. Benoit hits a german suplex and stomps away with Eddie. Eddie hits the frog splash from off the top rope and Benoit locks in the crossface. Here comes Edge to make the save, clotheslining Benoit over the top rope. Edge chases Eddie away and Rikishi has won, but at what cost?
Time of match: 5:01
Winner: Rikishi by pinfall
The same "no off-season" vignette plays before we cut to Stephanie getting in Benoit's face in the back. Stephanie says if he wants to take his aggression out, he'll do it against Rikishi in the Number 1 contender series next......how is that punishment? Benoit says "He's done!" and storms off. Literally you just gave Benoit what he wanted, a match against an injured Rikishi with the number 1 contender slot on the line. On to the next match.
Match 5
Tajiri (with Jamie Noble and Nidia) vs Shannon Moore (with The Hurricane)
Nidia shakes her ass in front of Cole and Tazz with Noble pointing at it as Cole isn't interested. Ex 3-Count member Moore beat ex-Jung Dragon member Noble in a non-title match last week so this week Moore gets Tajiri. Least Moore has his 3 Count buddy Hurricane as backup against Noble & Nidia. Bell's gone and Tajiri starts with an armringer as Cole brings up our upcoming road schedule. Moore hits an arm drag and dropkick on Tajiri then covers for a deuce. Tajiri heaves Moore off the top rope and kicks Shannon in the back. Tajiri puts Moore in a chinlock but Moore fights out of it, only to walk right into a savate kick. Tajiri puts Moore on the top rope and kicks away at him. Tajiri dropkicks Moore's head and covers for 1..2....no. Tajiri taunts the irate crowd, snapmares Shannon and locks in another chinlock. Tajiri locks in a modified cobra clutch then chokes him on the second rope. Tajiri slaps Shannon down and covers for 1...2..nope, foot on the rope. Tajiri drops a knee, covers for a deuce then goes back to the chinlock. Shannon fights out of it with punches and chops before rolling out of a reverse DDT. Shannon hits a back elbow smash and a rolling neckbreaker. He covers for 1...2..no. Shannon is dumped on the apron but Shannon takes him down and somewhat botches the top rope hurracarana. He covers for 1...2..no. Shannon gets kicked in the ribs then blocks the handspring elbow. Tajiri rolls through the waistlock and hits a german suplex for 1...2..no. Shannon gets tripped by Noble and Hurricane drops him with a flying clothesline. Both Noble and Hurricane fight but Tajiri baseball slides Hurricane down. Moore counters a waistlock into a victory roll for 1...2...3 to win the match. Moore has beaten Noble and Tajiri in consecutive weeks. Least we got a new challenger for Noble. Decent match but nothing special.
Time of match: 6:36
Winner: Moore by pinfall
Rikishi vs Benoit is up next after break and we get right to it.
Match 6
Rikishi vs Chris Benoit
Kind of a heel move by Stephanie to put Rikishi immediately after getting beat up back in the ring against a fresh Benoit. Benoit wastes no time and rushes Rikishi at the start. Rikishi punches away at him but gets dropped with a back elbow smash. Benoit kicks away at Rikishi in the corner then punches at Rikishi's left arm. Benoit stomps away at Rikishi in the corner and tells Jimmy Korderas to get lost. Rikishi hits the samoan drop but his shoulder isn't cooperating. Benoit goes right to the Crippler Crossface and Rikishi slowly crawls to the ropes. Rikishi grabs the bottom rope but Benoit brings Rikishi to the center of the ring, reapplying the crossface. Rikishi taps and this one's over. Way to show Benoit who's boss, Stephanie. A relatively fresh Benoit moves on to face whoever's left on Stephanie's list. Short match but it serves its purpose to move Benoit forward. Cole says the next match is the final one as we go to commercial.
Time of match: 2:31
Winner: Benoit by submission
Back from break, its Kurt Angle getting interviewed by Dorkus Malorkus. He asks Kurt if he's concerned that his name hasn't been mentioned in the tournament yet. Angle apologizes for Snow White and the other 6 dwarves for what he did to Rey Mysterio. Kurt says that'll be the last time Rey will "Medal" in his affairs. Dorkus says Mysterio almost beat him and Kurt tells him to shut up. Kurt says Stephanie saved the best for last because HE is the final opponent for Chris Benoit. Kurt says he's going to beat Chris Benoit and the crowd pops when Angle says he'll take Lesnar next. The seeds were planted for the two national college champions to go at it right here.
We cut to Funaki, SMACKDOWN NUMBA WUN ANNOUNCA, who wants an interview with Brock Lesnar. Funaki grabs Paul Heyman and says he wants Brock. Heyman talks him out of it but here comes Matt Hardy. Matt says tonight is a special night as its the era of Matt Hardy. This is now WWE Mattitude....the birth of Mattitude folks. Heyman says "You know Funaki, you learn something new every day. I just learned Matt Hardy has a death wish." Back from break, its time for the next match.
Match 7
Matt Hardy vs Brock Lesnar (with Paul Heyman)
Non-title match as Hardy gets Lesnar here. I'm surprised the title isn't on the line considering Stephanie doesn't quite understand how punishment works. Hardy goes to the second rope to pose with his music still playing and Lesnar shoves him right off the top to the floor. Lesnar follows him and stomps him outside. Brock rams Matt back first into the ring post and throws him inside. A "Let's go Lesnar" chant breaks out as Brock rams Matt into the corner. Brock hits shoulderblocks but Hardy gets the left knee up on a spear attempt. Matt punches away and hits an elbow but Lesnar clotheslines him down. Brock takes Matt's head off with another clothesline as Cole says Brock beat Hulk Hogan and The Rock in a matter of weeks. Brock holds on to the right arm and clotheslines Matt again. Brock picks Matt up but Matt rolls him up for 1...2....no. Matt tries some right hands but Brock overhead belly to belly suplexes him. Brock clubs away on Matt's back then whips him into the corner. Matt staggers into a powerslam and Brock kicks away at him. Brock taunts the crowd but gets a pop instead. Matt pulls the top rope down to shitcan Lesnar. Hardy jumps off the top but Lesnar catches him in mid-air. Hardy rolls out of his arms and sends him face first into the ring post. Back inside Matt dropkicks Brock in the back and goes for the Twist of Fate...but Brock blocks it and turns it into the F-5. Brock covers for 1..2...3...to win the match. Kind of a squash but Matt did get in some blows here and there. Bottom line is Matt had no chance and was foolish to take the match. Heyman says "That was unbelievable" as they walk up the ramp.
Time of match: 3:49
Winner: Lesnar by pinfall
Heyman tells Brock to go have some fun and Brock runs back to the ring. Brock powerbombs Hardy not once but twice for good measure. Brock needed to get some heat since they were cheering him and leaving Hardy sprawled helps. Back to Stephanie's office where Dawn Marie walks in saying whoever Steph was talking to is now signed to Smackdown. Stephanie says the main event is no longer Angle vs Benoit, its now a triple threat match with whoever she just pilfered from Raw. Stephanie smiles as we go to commercial. Back from break, Angle and Benoit are in the ring waiting for their new opponent as Stephanie walks out with a microphone. Stephanie has signed....THE UNDERTAKER!
Match 8
Kurt Angle vs Chris Benoit vs The Undertaker in a triple threat match
Bad week for Eric Bischoff to lose Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker to Smackdown. Angle charges Taker at the bell and Benoit joins him. They stomp away on Taker and whip him in the corner. Taker boots Benoit and clotheslines Angle down. Taker avalanches both guys in each corner and hits a backdrop on Angle. Taker sidewalk slams Benoit but crotches himself on the top rope when Angle pulls it down. Benoit kicks away at Taker and they both attack the left leg. Tazz says its the smart thing to do for Angle and Benoit to team up here. Benoit and Angle choke Taker then hit a double back suplex. Both men clothelines Taker over the top to the floor then Angle takes Benoit down. Angle goes for the ankle lock but Benoit fights him off. Angle lands 2 german suplexes on Benoit but Chris counters the third and hits two of his own. Angle counters Benoit's third and hits a third suplex of his own. Angle gets the ankle lock but Benoit makes it to the ropes. Angle stomps away on Benoit but Chris hits a release german suplex that nearly breaks Angle's neck. Chris covers for 1...2..no, Taker breaks up the count. Taker punches Benoit in the corner after sending Kurt to the outside then hits snake eyes on Chris. Taker drops Benoit with a big boot and punches Angle off the apron. Taker covers Benoit for 1...2...no. Taker calls for the Last Ride but Angle chopblocks Taker down. Angle and Benoit both grab steel chairs and its Angle to distract the ref, allowing Benoit to clobber Taker in the head with the chair. Benoit knocks Angle off the apron and covers Taker for 1...2...no, Angle pulls him out. Angle covers for 1..2...no. Angle stomps away on both men but Taker throws Angle over the top rope. Benoit hits a german suplex on Taker but Taker blocks the second attempt. Taker chokeslams Benoit and covers for 1..2....no, Angle locks in the ankle lock on The Undertaker. Taker kicks Angle off and clotheslines him to the floor. Benoit locks the crossface in as Angle gets in to apply the ankle lock. Referee Brian Hebner has no idea what's going on but Angle abandons the ankle lock to kick Benoit off. Benoit counters the Angle Slam with the crossface but Angle rolls through and applies the ankle lock. Benoit fakes tapping then crawls to the bottom rope. Angle pulls him to the center but Benoit kicks him off. Taker rolls up Angle for 1.....2...no. Taker walks into an Angle Slam as Kurt pulls the straps down. Angle runs but Benoit belly to belly suplexes Angle out of the ring. Chris turns around right into the Last Ride. Taker covers for 1..2...3 to win the match. Taker is the number one contender to Brock Lesnar which feels kind of cheap, I'll explain why later. We go to the replay to show Angle and Benoit taking each other out more or less to allow Taker to win the match. Taker rides off on his bike as we sign off.
Time of match: 9:10
Winner: Undertaker by pinfall
Very interesting Smackdown even if it was rushed and a little ass backwards. The whole number one contender's thing was cool....but ultimately meant nothing because The Undertaker jumped from Raw to steal the spotlight. Not only that, Taker had only beaten Test at Summerslam and lost to Triple H on Raw. The idea of Brock vs another legend in the making like Undertaker is going to sell tickets but this was a horrible way to do it. You buried the entire Smackdown roster busting their asses even if Taker coming out at the end was a nice surprise. Still, we got some good ones on Smackdown with Edge, Mysterio, Angle, Benoit, Brock and now Taker for the main events. Things were about to get even better soon. Tomorrow night the stars of Raw had a house show in Lincoln, Nebraska. I'll see you there.
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