First Union Arena
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
November 2, 2002
With the stars of Raw up in Halifax, Nova Scotia on this Saturday night, the stars of Smackdown were in Wilkes-Barre for tonight's house show. Smackdown was on fire with several great feuds and top tier talent so this show should rock the house. WWE Champion Brock Lesnar defends against Big Show as a preview of their upcoming Survivor Series match, WWE Cruiserweight Champion Jamie Noble defends in a triple threat against Crash Holly and Tajiri, one half of the Tag Team champs Chris Benoit faces Matt Hardy in singles action and in the main event, Edge & Rey Mysterio Jr take on Los Guerreros. Let's get to the action.
Match 1
Chuck Palumbo and Funaki vs D'Von Dudley and Ron Simmons
Kind of a weird opener but as mentioned before, Billy Gunn was on the shelf and Palumbo was left on his own while D'Von was ditching the Reverend gimmick. Ron Simmons also ditched the Faarooq name 4 years too late so everyone was in some form of transition. Funaki got the pin on D'Von to win the match.
Winners: Palumbo and Funaki by pinfall
Match 2
Val Venis vs Nathan Jones
Its the WWE debut for the one and only Nathan Jones. Who is Nathan Jones? He was a convicted armed robber in Australia who learned how to powerlift while in prison. After competing in Strongman competitions after he got out of the clink, he became a pro wrestler in 2001. He was originally courted by WWE in 2001 but his criminal history gave him visa issues that weren't resolved until now. Now, the legit 6 foot 11 monster is unleashed. He pinned Val Venis to win the match.
Winner: Nathan Jones by pinfall
Match 3
Doug Basham and Bull Buchanan vs Sean O'Haire and Shelton Benjamin
Its an OVW explosion as some of the top stars from OVW get showcased on this house show. For those that don't know, Sean O'Haire was a WCW star before coming to WWF in the Invasion. He'd been in OVW since just looking for the right gimmick. We've already established Shelton Benjamin as one half of the Minnesota Wrecking Crew in OVW with Brock Lesnar and obviously Bull is a WWE guy and Basham we've already established. O'Haire and Bull won the match. It was only a matter of time before O'Haire, Shelton and Doug got the call.
Winners: O'Haire and Benjamin.
Match 4
Crash Holly vs Tajiri vs Jamie Noble for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship in a triple threat match
Double the trouble for Noble as he has to face Holly and Tajiri in this one. Tajiri hit the buzz kick on Holly but Noble threw him out of the ring and got the pin on Crash to retain.
Winner: Noble by pinfall (still Cruiserweight champion)
Match 5
Big Show vs Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship
It was pretty common to have ppv main events on house shows for a test run so to speak, also to make sure they have enough chemistry for when they go at it on ppv. Back then there were no smart phones and internet was in its infancy so for a match not seen before like this, it wouldn't be ruined unless you watched the ppv after going to this show in Wilkes-Barre. Lesnar won but it doesn't say how.
Winner: Lesnar (still WWE Champion)
Match 6
Matt Hardy vs Chris Benoit
V1 walks smack into the rabid wolverine in a one on one encounter with Kurt Angle not on the card. Hardy went for Twist of Fate but Chris countered with the crossface for the submission victory.
Winner: Benoit by submission
Match 7
John Cena and Dawn Marie vs Billy Kidman and Torrie Wilson
The same exact match from Rebellion with only a bit of difference. Cena started his rapping gimmick on Smackdown and now he was basically playing Eminem from now on. Speaking of which, 8 Mile was coming out in six days from this date. Kidman and Torrie won the match.
Winners: Kidman and Wilson
Match 8
Albert vs Rikishi in a Kiss My Ass Match
Another match from Rebellion. Same result, Rikishi wins and hits the stinkface on Albert.
Winner: Rikishi
Match 9
Edge and Rey Mysterio Jr vs Los Guerreros (Eddie and Chavo Jr)
Edge and Rey got the win when both men pinned both opponents at the same time.
Winners: Mysterio and Edge by pinfall
Smackdown was about to debut a generational gimmick and showcase a match never seen before in Lesnar and Big Show. Also having the ongoing Benoit vs Angle feud and the Guerreros doing their best to be pests. It was all adding up to must see TV. Shelton Benjamin was also about to make his debut as well. Smackdown was definitely the place to be even if their only weakness was women's wrestling. Oh well, nothing is perfect. Up next is this week's Velocity so I'll see you there.
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