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 at Giant Center (11/10/02)

Giant Center

Hershey, PA

November 10, 2002

The stars of Raw continue their Pennsylvania tour here in Hershey. We got the same exact matches from Friday and Saturday so let's get to the action.

Match 1

Johnny Stamboli and Sean O'Haire vs 3 Minute Warning (Rosey & Jamal)

WCW vs the Samoans for the second day in a row. Also for the second day in a row, the Samoans win the match.

Winners: 3 Minute Warning

Match 2

Justin Credible vs Batista

You know the drill, Batista was the newest Raw prospect and Credible was wrestling out his contract. Batista takes it.

Winner: Batista

Match 3

Raven vs D-Lo Brown

Third day in a row for the Sunday Night Heat mainstays. Also third day in a row D-Lo wins.

Winner: D-Lo by pinfall

Match 4

Christopher Nowinski vs Al Snow

Snow won on Friday night, Chris won on Saturday night. Who takes the rubber match? Al Snow wins this one.

Winner: Al Snow

Match 5

Booker T and Bubba Ray Dudley vs Christian and Chris Jericho for the World Tag Team Championship

Same match from yesterday with the makeshift team of Booker and Bubba against the tag champs. Same result too, the champs retain.

Winners: Christian and Jericho (still World Tag Team Champions)

Match 6

Tommy Dreamer vs Steven Richards in a Singapore Cane Match

Once again the same match from the last two days with the same result. Dreamer wins it.

Winner: Dreamer

Match 7

Goldust and Spike Dudley vs William Regal and Lance Storm

Another makeshift team with Goldust and Spike taking on Regal and Storm just like yesterday. Same result, Regal and Storm win.

Winners: Regal and Storm

Match 8

Victoria (with Molly Holly) vs Trish Stratus (with Jacqueline) for the WWE Women's Championship

Same match from the last two days with the same result. Trish retains.

Winner: Trish (still Women's Champion)

Match 9

Kane vs Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship

Same match from the last few days with the exact same result. Kane goes insane and attacks the referees, security guard, peanut vendors, camera guys and methodists to earn the DQ.

Winner: HHH by disqualification (still World Heavyweight Champion)

Another standard house show just like the last few days. Maybe this coming Raw will provide new matches for next week's house show circuit. Still, we're one week out from Survivor Series so it'll be interesting how the final Raw will play out tomorrow night. The stars of Smackdown had their own Sunday house show in Peoria, Illinois going on around this time. I'll see you there.

WWE at First Union Center (11/9/02)

First Union Center

Philadelphia, PA

November 9, 2002

The stars of Raw have invaded Philadelphia just 8 days out from Survivor Series. Victoria takes on Trish Stratus in a hardcore match and of course the elimination chamber are set, but other matches have yet to be announced. Hopefully that changes in the next few days. On with the show.

Match 1

Sean O'Haire and Johnny Stamboli vs 3 Minute Warning (Rosey & Jamal) with Rico

The ex-WCW guys take on the Samoans to open the show. Jamal pinned Stamboli after a kick from Rico and a Samoan drop.

Winners: Rosey and Jamal by pinfall

Match 2

Justin Credible vs Batista

Once again, Credible is wrestling out his contract so he gets fed to Batista here. Batista takes it with the sit-out powerbomb.

Winner: Batista by pinfall

Match 3

Al Snow vs Christopher Nowinski

Last night Al Snow beat his student with the snowplow. On this night, Nowinski gets the Flair Pin for the victory.

Winner: Nowinski by pinfall

Match 4

Raven vs D-Lo Brown

The Sunday Night Heat mainstays go at it once again with D-Lo getting the duke after the sky high.

Winner: D-Lo by pinfall

Match 5

Test vs Rob Van Dam

Days out from elimination chamber, Van Dam beats Test with the five star frog splash.

Winner: Rob Van Dam by pinfall

Match 6

Booker T and Bubba Ray Dudley vs Christian and Chris Jericho for the World Tag Team Championship

Kind of an odd pairing but you got two of the six men in the elimination chamber on opposite sides here. Jericho pinned Bubba after the lionsault to retain.

Winners: Christian and Jericho by pinfall (still World Tag Team Champions)

Match 7

Steven Richards vs Tommy Dreamer in a Singapore Cane Match

The ECW alumni put on an ECW style match beating the hell out of each other with the cane. Dreamer wins it.

Winner: Dreamer by pinfall

Match 8

Victoria (with Molly Holly) vs Trish Stratus (with Jacqueline) for the WWE Women's Championship

Just like yesterday, we got Trish and Victoria going at it with backup in their corners. The end came when Trish got an inside cradle on Victoria but Molly rolled Victoria on top. Jackie then ran in and reversed it to give Trish the victory.

Winner: Stratus by pinfall (still Women's Champion)

Match 9

Goldust and Spike Dudley vs Lance Storm and William Regal

Man the tag team division was a mess. A makeshift team of Goldust and Spike take on Lance and Regal. Wouldn't it make more sense to have Spike with Bubba against Christian/Jericho and have Booker here with Goldust? Oh well, props for at least doing something different. Regal pinned Spike to win it.

Winners: Regal and Storm by pinfall

Match 10

Kane vs Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship

Same as yesterday, HHH wins when Kane goes berserk, attacking anyone that moves including the popcorn vendor and the camera dude.

Winner: HHH by disqualification

We're sticking with this card for a while with Survivor Series looming. The state of Raw was in bad shape with no one over besides the returning Shawn Michaels and the ratings told the story. Its one thing to have a beast like Brock Lesnar as your dominating champion but having HHH be unstoppable was laughable. We got Velocity up next, so I'll see you there.

WWE at Bangor Auditorium (11/4/02)

Bangor Auditorium

Bangor, Maine

November 4, 2002

For some stupid reason Vince McMahon decided to have his Smackdown crew do a live show the same night as Raw was on. Smackdown shows had been damn good but what was the harm in giving the crew a day off and come back on Tuesday? But, that's Vince for you. So many lives and careers ended prematurely due to the stress of the road schedule. Despite all that, this looks to be a great show with most of the same card they had been running in Pennsylvania the last two days.

Match 1

Doug Basham and Bull Buchanan vs Sean O'Haire and Crash Holly

No Shelton Benjamin this time as Crash Holly takes his place against Basham and Buchanan. The office was taking a look at Basham and O'Haire and liked what they saw. Holly and O'Haire got the duke.

Winners: O'Haire and Holly

Match 2

Shelton Benjamin vs Val Venis

Val had been Nathan Jones' punching bag during the Pennsylvania trip so here he's matched up with another OVW prospect, Shelton Benjamin. Val won the match over the newcomer with the Money Shot.

Winner: Venis by pinfall

Match 3

Albert vs Rikishi

Albert had been receiving a lot of stinkfaces lately when matched up against Rikishi in Kiss My Ass matches. This time Albert gets the win with a big kick to the face.

Winner: Albert by pinfall

Match 4

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

Like I said in yesterday's writeup, why they didn't just stick Palumbo and O'Haire together with Billy Gunn injured I'll never know. Either way D'Von pinned Funaki to give the win to him and Simmons.

Winners: Dudley and Simmons by pinfall

Match 5

Big Show vs Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship

With the writing on the wall these two were going to meet at Survivor Series, Vince brought the match to the house show circuit to build some chemistry. Lesnar pinned Show after the F-5....good thing that wasn't on TV.

Winner: Lesnar by pinfall (Still WWE Champion)

Match 6

Tajiri vs Jamie Noble for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship

Once again Tajiri gets a crack at the Cruiserweight championship and once again Jamie Noble pins him to keep the title.

Winner: Noble by pinfall (Still Cruiserweight champion)

Match 7

Billy Kidman and Torrie Wilson vs John Cena and Dawn Marie

Just like in PA, the mixed tag match came to Bangor, Maine as well. Getting close to Cena's home town but still can't get a win as Wilson pins Marie after a swinging neckbreaker.

Winners: Wilson and Kidman by pinfall

Match 8

Matt Hardy vs Chris Benoit

Once again, no Kurt Angle as Benoit goes solo against V1. Once again Benoit countered the Twist of Fate with the Crippler Crossface to win the match.

Winner: Benoit by submission

Match 9

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

The main event remains the same with Los Guerreros taking on Edge and Mysterio. Edge won the match by hitting the spear on Chavo.

Winners: Edge and Mysterio by pinfall

This sounds like a great show and too bad house shows weren't televised or recorded at the time. Lesnar vs Big Show was being groomed for the Smackdown main event for Survivor Series and the OVW guys were about to be brought up at some point or another. The next show is tonight's Monday Night Raw. Can this one not suck for once? Let's find out, 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.