WWE at Carver Arena (11/10/02)

 

Carver Arena

Peoria, IL

November 10, 2002

The stars of Smackdown head to Peoria, Illinois for a Sunday house show one week before Survivor Series. Thankfully this show seems to be different than last night's one. That's definitely a good thing. So let's get right to it.

Match 1

D'Von Dudley, Ron Simmons and Bull Buchanan vs Eric Angle, Shelton Benjamin and Val Venis

Six man tag action to start with Kurt's older brother Eric teaming with the rookie Shelton and the veteran Val against the mean looking fellas. Venis pinned Buchanan after a money shot.

Winners: Shelton, Angle and Venis by pinfall

Match 2

Crash Holly vs Nathan Jones

The monster from Australia gets Crash Holly on this house show. Jones crushes Holly with the full nelson slam for the win.

Winner: Jones by pinfall

Match 3

Tajiri vs Jamie Noble for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship

Billy Kidman seemed to be next in line for a Cruiserweight title shot but they're gonna run this Tajiri feud into the ground first. You know the drill, Noble hooks the tights to get the pin.

Winner: Noble by pinfall (still Cruiserweight champion)

Match 4

Billy Kidman and Chuck Palumbo vs Doug Basham and John Cena

The OVW stars Basham and Cena team up to face Kidman and Palumbo. Kidman takes it with the 7 Year Itch on Cena.

Winners: Kidman and Palumbo by pinfall

Match 5

Matt Hardy vs Rikishi in a Kiss My Ass Match

Wonder who Matt pissed off to draw this assignment again and again. Still, Rikishi wins with the banzai drop and gives Matt the stinkface after.

Winner: Rikishi by pinfall

Match 6

Albert vs Chris Benoit

Now this looks interesting. The big bad Albert finally meets someone he can't intimidate, Benoit.....too bad the match is a no contest. Why? Big Show came in, laid out both guys and demanded Brock Lesnar to come out. Lesnar ran out but everyone held back the two men.

Winner: No one (no contest)

Match 7

Dawn Marie vs Torrie Wilson in a Bra & Panties Match

Standard diva trope of the time which sees Torrie "win" by stripping Dawn Marie down. Wonder if Al Wilson was watching.

Winner: Wilson

Match 8

Los Guerreros (Eddie and Chavo Jr) vs Edge and Rey Mysterio Jr for the WWE Tag Team Championship

Our main event is the same as last night's with the exact same result. Edge and Rey get the double pin on Chavo and Eddie to retain.

Winners: Edge and Mysterio by pinfall (still WWE Tag Team Champions)

Kind of sad how Kurt Angle didn't work on this card with Eric on it. House shows were usually a waste of time at this point so they could have had Eric and Kurt face Ron Simmons and D'Von for all anyone cared. Lesnar didn't face Big Show in the ring apart from the scrum in the middle so maybe Vince came to his senses to save the match for Survivor Series. The next show after this is tonight's Sunday Night Heat so I'll see you there.

WWE at Champaign Assembly Hall (11/9/02)

Champaign Assembly Hall

Champaign, IL

November 9, 2002

The stars of Smackdown have come to Champaign, Illinois for a special house show just eight days before Survivor Series. Brock Lesnar got manhandled by Big Show who also squashed Matt Hardy that night. Let's see if the storylines on the house show cards have changed or if its the same old matches.

Match 1

Albert vs Rikishi in a Kiss My Ass Match

Right off the bat the answer is NO as we get yet another Kiss My Ass match featuring Albert and Rikishi. Naturally Rikishi hits the superkick, gets the pin and hits the stinkface on Albert.

Winner: Rikishi by pinfall

Match 2

Doug Basham and Bull Buchanan vs Eric Angle and Shelton Benjamin

Yes, you read that right, ERIC Angle got some work in on this OVW match. For those that don't know, Eric is one of Kurt Angle's older brothers although he's the closest in age. He wrestled for Waynesburg University after high school. Eric was still hanging around as Buchanan was due to get a repackage. Basham and Benjamin are the prospects so to speak. Benjamin pinned Basham after a tornado DDT.

Winners: Angle and Benjamin by pinfall

Match 3

Val Venis vs Nathan Jones

The beast from Australia faces the veteran Venis here. Venis missed the money shot and Jones pinned him after a full nelson slam.

Winner: Jones by pinfall

Match 4

Tajiri vs Jamie Noble for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship

Same old shit here as Noble defends against Tajiri for the one millionth time. Noble gets the pin using the tights to retain.

Winner: Noble by pinfall (Still Cruiserweight champion)

Match 5

Big Show vs Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship

I'll never understand why Vince McMahon insisted on house show matches featuring your upcoming main events. This was never intended to be televised but they had a chance for a Hogan/Andre story here, could have at least held off. Worse, Lesnar gets the pin after cracking Show with a steel chair.

Winner: Lesnar by pinfall (still WWE Champion)

Match 6

D'Von Dudley and Ron Simmons vs Crash Holly and Chuck Palumbo

Palumbo was completely lost without Billy Gunn at this time so they threw Holly in there to give him a partner against D'Von and Simmons. D'Von pinned Crash to win the match.

Winners: Simmons and Dudley by pinfall

Match 7

John Cena and Dawn Marie vs Billy Kidman and Torrie Wilson

The same match from Rebellion was going around the house show circuit. Marie had an inside cradle on Wilson but Kidman reversed it to win the match.

Winners: Kidman and Wilson by pinfall

Match 8

Chris Benoit vs Matt Hardy

Then now ex-tag team champion faces Mattitude on this house show. Benoit rolled through the twist of fate and won it with the crippler crossface.

Winner: Benoit by submission

Match 9

Los Guerreros (Eddie and Chavo Jr) vs Edge and Rey Mysterio Jr for the WWE Tag Team Championship

Los Guerreros get their title shot on a house show against the new champions. The ref counted a double pin when Edge hit the spear on Eddie and Rey hit the springboard legdrop after the 619 on Chavo.

Winners: Edge and Mysterio by pinfall (still Tag Team Champions)

This show definitely varied in quality depending on the match for sure. Rikishi vs Albert doesn't sound appealing and anytime Dawn Marie and Torrie have to wrestle, its a chore. Tajiri vs Noble had gotten old but Benoit vs Hardy sounds fun along with the double main event. We're 8 days out from Survivor Series and apart from Lesnar vs Big Show, there aren't any Smackdown matches announced yet. Hopefully tonight's Velocity will give some answers. Before that, we have the Raw Saturday house show in Philadelphia at the First Union Center. I'll see you there.

WWE at Stabler Arena (11/3/02)

Stabler Arena

Bethlehem, PA

November 3, 2002

While the stars of Raw were galivanting around Canada, the stars of Smackdown were booked on a tour of Pennsylvania. On television, Smackdown was number one in the world with incredible talent and great matches going on every week. The house shows may not have been drawing very well but the action must have been great. Let's see what this one had to offer.

Match 1

Albert vs Rikishi in a Kiss My Ass match

Poor Albert. He had been booked in these kind of matches with Rikishi for months and ended up taking the stink face every time. Rikishi once admitted in a shoot interview that he had two separate pairs of tights. One he'd wear against guys he was friends with or just happened to be working with that he'd wash out of respect, and a different pair he'd reserve for someone he didn't like or Vince wanted punished. I'm hoping Albert got the washed ones because Rikishi won the match with a superkick and gave him the stinkface after.

Winner: Rikishi by pinfall.

Match 2

Sean O'Haire and Shelton Benjamin vs Bull Buchanan and Doug Basham

Its an OVW showcase match as top prospects Shelton Benjamin and Doug Basham were paired with WCW veteran Sean O'Haire and WWE vet Buchanan in a rematch from yesterday's show. This time Basham and Buchanan takes it when Basham pinned Benjamin.

Winners: Basham & Buchanan by pinfall

Match 3

Val Venis vs Nathan Jones

Another rematch from yesterday with the 6'11 behemoth taking on the veteran Val Venis. Nathan won it with a full nelson slam.

Winner: Jones by pinfall

Match 4

Billy Kidman and Torrie Wilson vs John Cena and Dawn Marie

Real life husband and wife Kidman and Torrie once again face the team of Cena and Dawn. Knowing what's to come for Cena makes this even funnier. Luckily his performance on Halloween Smackdown had him destined for better things. Unfortunately for him, Kidman takes it with a shooting star press.

Winners: Kidman and Wilson by pinfall

Match 5

Big Show vs Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship

As mentioned yesterday, before the internet got advanced and smart phones were invented, WWE would have main event matches on the house show circuit as previews for their big ppv matches. The only ones who saw them were the people there live so they didn't have to worry about anything spoiled on TV. Lesnar retained the title with an inside cradle.

Winner: Lesnar by pinfall (still WWE Champion)

Match 6

D'Von Dudley and Ron Simmons vs Chuck Palumbo and Sho Funaki

Yet another rematch from yesterday where Smackdown was trying to establish a tag team of Simmons and Dudley against the makeshift team of Palumbo and Funaki. Why WWE didn't want Palumbo and O'Haire together like in WCW I'll never know. Unlike yesterday, D'Von got the pin on Funaki.

Winners: Dudley and Simmons by pinfall

Match 7

Crash Holly vs Tajiri vs Jamie Noble for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship in a 3 Way Dance

If you're not familiar with ECW. They had 3 way matches but elimination style known as 3 Way Dance. WWE incorporated triple threat matches in 1998 and this one is elimination style. Noble took Crash Holly out with a Tiger Bomb and hooked the tights on Tajiri on a pin attempt to keep his title.

Winner: Noble by pinfall

Match 8

Chris Benoit vs Matt Hardy

Kurt Angle had the night off apparently as one half of the tag champs, Benoit gets his hand on V1 Matt Hardy. Benoit countered the Twist of Fate with the crippler crossface to win the match.

Winner: Benoit by submission

Match 9

Los Guerreros (Eddie and Chavo) vs Edge and Rey Mysterio Jr

Just like yesterday, the main event would be arguably the best match of the night. Edge & Mysterio had developed good chemistry together and of course the Guerreros had been together since childhood. Mysterio got the duke when he took out Chavo with the West Coast Pop.

Winners: Edge and Mysterio by pinfall

Pretty much the same show from yesterday which was common on the house show circuit leading up to a ppv. Lesnar vs Big Show was clearly going to be the main event of Survivor Series (Smackdown side anyway) so they had them work together here to get the bugs out. Nathan Jones was going to be Smackdown's answer to Batista so they had him start out strong. All in all it was a solid card for a solid group that was putting on great shows together. The next show after this would be Sunday Night Heat so I'll see you there.

WWE at First Union Arena (11/2/02)

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.