Odyssey Arena
Belfast, Ireland
October 25, 2002
The stars of Raw were in Topeka, Kansas but the stars of Smackdown were still in Europe, stopping off in Belfast for this one. Literally went from Helsinki, Finland to Belfast, Ireland in one day. Vince McMahon was insane for that. But what was the card for this Irish extravaganza? With The Undertaker out, Edge stepped up to challenge Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship. In the complete opposite in terms of awesome, Dawn Marie faced Torrie Wilson in a Bra & Panties match. We got a cruiserweight tag team match with the champion Jamie Noble teaming with Tajiri to face the high flying Rey Mysterio Jr and Billy Kidman. Sho Funaki teams with Shannon Moore to face Crash Holly and Bill Demott. Booker T comes in from Raw to face Matt Hardy in a Raw vs Smackdown match. John Cena teams with Albert to face Val Venis and Chuck Palumbo. Rikishi also faces D'Von Dudley who's got Ron Simmons in his corner, but wait! Rikishi has hometown hero Fit Finlay from WCW in his corner. Finally Los Guerreros get a WWE Tag Title shot against Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle. Lot of talent on this card, let's get to it.
Match 1
WWE Cruiserweight Champion Jamie Noble and Tajiri vs Rey Mysterio Jr and Billy Kidman
Kind of an odd pairing as Tajiri had turned face but with competition in the Cruiserweight division at an all-time high, Tajiri alligns himself with Noble to face some of the greatest cruiserweights in history Kidman and Mysterio. Mysterio got the pin on Noble to establish himself as a serious threat to Noble's title.
Winners: Kidman and Mysterio by pinfall
Match 2
Funaki and Shannon Moore vs Crash Holly and Bill Demott
Another odd pairing because Holly and Demott have nothing to do with each other.....and neither does Funaki and Moore. Guess they were pairing all these teams together to get everyone on the card. Moore rolled up Crash for the victory.
Winners: Funaki and Moore by pinfall
Match 3
Matt Hardy vs Booker T
Its Raw vs Smackdown as Booker comes in to Ireland to face V1. Booker takes it with an axe-kick.
Winner: Booker T by pinfall
Match 4
Val Venis and Chuck Palumbo vs John Cena and Albert
This was supposed to be Billy Gunn and Chuck but Billy was out with an injury. Val Venis took his place against the makeshift team of Cena and Albert. This was still generic heel Cena although this European trip changed his career, which I'll get to in a second. Cena thwarted the Money Shot and Venis walked into the Baldo Bomb to give the heels the victory. Now the story goes, Cena was making everyone laugh on the bus during this European tour by freestyle rapping and Stephanie McMahon wanted him to do it on camera when they got home. Thus, the Doctor of Thuganomics was born.
Winners: Cena and Albert by pinfall
Match 5
D'Von Dudley (with Ron Simmons) vs Rikishi (with Fit Finlay)
Rikishi felt he needed backup against D'Von and Ron and turned to Irish legend Fit Finlay. Fit at this point was 44 years old but was still active as a trainer. Rikishi defeated D'Von with his Rikishi Driver.
Winner: Rikishi by pinfall
Match 6
Los Guerreros (Eddie and Chavo Jr) vs Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle for the WWE Tag Team Championship
The Guerreros have been lurking in the shadows during this whole Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle feud just looking for their moment to strike against the two men who hate each others guts. Still, even though they are rivals, Benoit and Angle are deadly as a team. Eddie had the El Paso Lasso on Kurt and he reversed it into the Ankle Lock for the submission victory.
Winners: Benoit and Angle by submission (still Tag Team Champions)
Match 7
Dawn Marie vs Torrie Wilson in a Bra & Panties Match
From the cream to the crap as we go from some of the best wrestlers in history to two of the worst, which isn't even their fault Because Dawn and Torrie were better valets than wrestlers, they had to work matches like this to cover up their inefficiencies in the ring. Torrie Wilson was the winner as she stripped Dawn to win the match.
Winner: Torrie Wilson
Match 8
Edge vs Brock Lesnar (with Paul Heyman) for the WWE Championship
This was supposed to be The Undertaker taking on Brock but with him out in the storyline injured (real reason was he was out on paternity leave), Edge takes his place in Ireland. Edge gave it his best shot but Brock won with the F5. These guys would have a rematch tomorrow night at Rebellion.
Winner: Lesnar by pinfall (Still WWE Champion)
Smackdown might have had some dumb storylines like Al Wilson/Dawn Marie but there was no denying the in-ring action was second to none. Between the cruiserweights, the tag team division and Lesnar in the main events, Smackdown was definitely number 1 at this point. Like I said, this would have been an ordinary European tour if it wasn't for the birth of the John Cena we know today. The Doctor would be on TV soon enough and eventually Fit Finlay would put the tights back on as well. For now, the crew heads to merry old London for the Rebellion PPV tomorrow night. However, that wouldn't be the only show tomorrow night as the stars of Raw would be in Wichita, Kansas at the Wichita Coliseum for a house show. Also tomorrow night would be Velocity, I'll see y'all in Wichita tomorrow.
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