WWE 2003

[therockbox]

The SmarK Rant For WWE Wrestlemania XIX

Posted By Scott Keith on 03.31.03

Good thing we have HHH to save us from the evils of integration

The SmarK Rant for Wrestlemania XIX

- Live from Seattle, WA.

- Your hosts are JR, King, Cole & Tazz.

- RAW tag title match: Sean Morley & Lance Storm v. The Unlikely Duo of Kane & Rob Van Dam. Kane dumps Storm to start and RVD hits Morley with a spinkick, and the champs bail. Kane sends RVD onto the champs, and we take a break. Back again, as Morley whips RVD into the corner for two. We hit the chinlock. The open-air nature of the stadium makes a pretty neat visual, that’s for sure. Morley gets the MAIN EVENT SLEEPER, which Rob reverses. Morley counters with a Blue Thunder Bomb and goes up with an elbow so telegraphed that it should have been sent Western Union, which allows Kane to get the hot tag. Sideslam on Storm gets two. Kane goes up with the flying lariat, and that gets two. Kane clotheslines both of them in the corner and Rob monkey-flips Morley, leaving Kane to chokeslam Storm. Frog splash appears in the cards, but Morley sends him down with one of those sick bumps. The Dudleyz sneak in and hit Storm with 3D , but then Bubba changes his mind and drops an elbow on RVD to give Storm the pin at 5:57. The guy gets to job to an elbowdrop? What is this, the Survivor Series? *1/2

- Opening PPV match, Cruiserweight title: Matt Hardy v. Rey Mysterio. Rey hits Matt with a pescado to start, and gets a headscissors out of the corner. Rey has his Daredevil thing going tonight. Shannon interjects himself with a cheapshot to give Matt the advantage, and he gets two back in the ring. Side Effect gets two. Shannon adds some choking, but Matt misses a charge. He comes back with a Twist of Fate, which Rey reverses to a rollup for two. Another Side Effect gets two. Matt goes to a surfboard, but Rey fights out and they slug it out. Matt misses a charge and Rey springboards in with a butt splash, and a crossbody gets two. Flying headscissors and tornado DDT get two. Rey does a weak trip to set up the 619, but Shannon trips him up and the Twist of Fate gets two. They head up and Matt tries a Splash Mountain from the top, but Rey reverses to a rana for two. Rey goes for Moore and dropkicks Matt into the 619, but Matt ducks the West Coast Pop and rolls him up for the pin at 5:36. Weak finish, and giving them 5 minutes on a 4-hour PPV? Pretty disappointing match. *

- A-Train & Big Show v. Undertaker. Apparently they’re STILL hedging their bets with Nathan Jones, as they chicken out and shoot an injury angle on Heat to take him out of the match. Why even bother? I mean, seriously, this is becoming a running gag almost. A-Train establishes his heeldom by ADJUSTING UNDERTAKER’S MIRROR before the match. That BASTARD. Taker chokeslams him for two to start. Show & Train bail and regroup before Show gives it a try and slugs it out with Taker. Train tries next and overpowers UT, but gets hiptossed. Old School Ropewalk of DOOM, but A-Train hits him with the Mehshugganator and Show sends him into the post. Back in, Train guillotines him for two. Taker starts fighting back on Show, but walks into a chokeslam, which he reverses to a Herb Kunze armbar in a counter-wrestling sequence so laughable that it must have been booked by Jerry Seinfeld. He then fights off Train with a cross-armlock. Funny thing is that Tito Ortiz is sitting at ringside and probably laughing his head off. Then, to really showcase the submission wrestling, Show goes to the abdominal stretch. A-Train adds his own version as I wonder why this is getting more time than the opener. Then, the fickle hand of irony interjects herself as UT reverses the move. Taker walks into a lariat that gets two. Train uses the WWE Main Event Theory of Volume to add some power to his punches, but Taker fights back with a DDT for two. He makes his own comeback and hits both heels with corner clotheslines, and gets the flying clothesline on Show. Train gets a high kick to put him down again as the match keeps going and going. Show chokeslams him, but Nathan Jones earns his payoff by running down and spinkicking Show on the floor, as Taker hits Train with the tombstone for the pin at 9:44. Bad match, but not so insanely bad that it would have become perversely enjoyable, as it would have been with Jones in there to really bring it down. ¾*

- Women’s title: Victoria v. Trish v. Jazz. Jazz dumps Victoria and dropkicks Trish for two to start. She bridges on a neck submission, but Trish takes her down and pounds away. Victoria pulls Trish out and heads in and tosses Jazz, and they all brawl outside. Back in, Victoria gets a legdrop for two. Jazz pulls her out and legdrops Trish for two. Jazz & Victoria decide to double-team Trish with a sort of double-backbreaker, but Jazz turns on Victoria, only to get powerslammed for two. Victoria works her over in the corner, but Trish gets a rolling reverse for two. Trish’s cameltoe is getting pretty evident. Jazz attacks her from behind to set up a Michinoku Driver for two. The heels slug it out in the corner, but it’s the old Double Noggin Knocker as Trish makes the comeback. Well, they’re up to 70s Memphis standards, at least. Trish rolls up Jazz for two. Victory Roll for two. Kawada Kick gets two. Victoria cuts in and goes after Trish, heading up but getting caught with a handstand rana. Trish chops her out of the ring, but Jazz catches her with a half-crab. She turns it into the STF, but Stevie dumps Jazz. Trish rolls up Victoria (with a handful of tights…woo woo!) for two. Jazz gets the flying hammerlock, but releases it early and gets superkicked by Victoria. Victoria’s moonsault misses and Stevie hits himself inadvertently with a chair, but Victoria comes back with a try at the Widow’s Peak. Trish escapes and kicks her down for the pin and the title at 7:17. No worse than any other women’s match these days. **

- Meanwhile, Rock abuses the Coach and says nothing.

- Smackdown tag titles: Team Angle v. Rhyno & Benoit v. Los Guerreros. Big brawl to start until Chavo starts with Haas and gets a backdrop and a backdrop suplex. He dropkicks Haas down, who tags in Benoit. The Guerreros work him over in their corner and Eddie slugs away, but Benoit unloads the chops. Rhyno comes in and powerslams Eddie for two. Benjamin gives it a go and slugs him down, and a reverse elbow gets two. They work Rhyno over in the corner and get a double dropkick for two. Rhyno chops Haas and Benoit comes in with more of his own. Snap suplex gets two. Backdrop suplex gets two. Rhyno gets caught in Angle corner, however, and gets worked over until spearing Benjamin in the corner for two. Eddie tags himself in and dropkicks Rhyno out of a test of strength, then hits Benoit with a backdrop suplex when he comes in. He goes up, but Benoit follows him up with a superplex, for two. Benoit faceplants Eddie into a crossface in a sweet combo, but Haas saves. Eddie comes back with a brainbuster for two. Haas saves again. Chavo comes in and cleans house on Team Angle and Rhyno, but Benoit hits him with the rolling germans. Chavo manages a blind tag to Benjamin, however, and he superkicks Benoit for two. Eddie comes in and collides with Benoit for the double KO. Benjamin legdrops the fallen Benoit for two, but Eddie saves by frog splashing the both of them. Chavo tags himself in, but walks into an overhead suplex. Rhyno comes in and gores Haas and Chavo, but Eddie yanks him out and Shelton steals the pin on Chavo at 8:47. Really short and disappointing, without any heat or buildup to the finish. **1/4

- Shawn Michaels v. Chris Jericho. They’ve finally fixed the lighting so that the ring is highlighted and the stadium is darkened. Shawn works a headlock to start and gets nowhere. They do a bit of that and Shawn showboats, and they go back to the headlock again. They do a stalemate sequence and back to the headlock, and Shawn gets two off it. Jericho overpowers him and they criss-cross and slug it out. Shawn tosses him and follows with a baseball slide after a highspot tease, and back in we go. Back in, Jericho rolls through a bodypress for two. He hammers away on the mat and starts with the CANADIAN VIOLENCE and choking in the corner. Shawn counters a bulldog by sending him into the corner, and gets a figure-four for no discernible reason (has he even kicked him in the leg yet?), which Jericho reverses. Jericho stays on the leg with a kneecrusher, but Jericho reverses him into the post and tosses him. Shawn pulls himself back in and headscissors Jericho out, and then follows with a pescado. Jericho puts him in the Walls on the floor, however. Back in, Jericho dropkicks him off the apron and gets a backdrop suplex. The psychology is pretty cut and dried here. Delayed suplex gets two. Jericho works on the neck and gets a pretty nasty backbreaker, and the Arrogant Cover~! gets two. We hit the chinlock and Jericho goes to the eyes to keep Shawn down. A backdrop is reversed to a DDT by Shawn, however. Shawn slugs away, but walks into a forearm from Jericho. He kips up and mocks Shawn, but so does Shawn. Another one and Shawn atomic drops Jericho to set up a backdrop. To the top, and the moonsault press gets two. They do a pinfall reversal sequence and Jericho tries the Walls, but Shawn reverses out of it. They fight for a german suplex, but Jericho turns it into a northern lights suplex for two. Shawn bridges out and they fight for a backslide, but Jericho gets a lariat. Bulldog and Lionsault get two. Jericho starts chopping, but puts his head down and gets caught by Shawn. A rana is blocked with the Walls, however. Shawn makes the ropes. Another try is reversed to a cradle for two. Double-arm backbreaker from Jericho and he goes up with a flying reverse elbow and cues up the band. Fozzy? Well, anyway, a superkick (and a nice one, too) gets two for Jericho. Shawn comes out of the corner with a messed up crossbody and hammers away, then catapults Jericho into the post for two after teasing his own Walls of Jericho. Jericho hits him in the back again as Shawn suddenly remembers to sell it again, and they head up for a superplex that Shawn counters to put both guys down. Shawn gets two. Shawn goes back up, but Jericho crotches him and follows him up. Shawn sends him back down and gets the flying elbow for two. Sweet Chin Music is ducked by Jericho and we get another Walls, and that should have been the finish. However, Shawn eventually makes the ropes, prompting a tantrum from Jericho. Shawn superkicks him again for two. Jericho sends Shawn into the corner, but Shawn escapes a suplex and gets the pin off a rollup at 22:34. The finish was a letdown and it’s totally counterproductive to put Shawn over ANYONE at this point, but Shawn adjusted his style and put forth a much more solid, non-garbagy effort than he did with HHH. The spotty “Now I’m hurt, now I’m not” selling of the back injury hurt it a lot, though. **** Jericho, class act all the way, kicks Shawn in the balls after the loss.

- Limp Dick performs their shitty new song and wastes 6 minutes of my life, and then the chicks come out and do a silly catfighting bit that ends with Coach getting his pants pulled off in a visual I did not need to see in this lifetime. Thank god for fast forward.

- RAW World title: HHH v. Booker T. They fight over a lockup to start and Booker slugs him down and chops away in the corner. He runs into an elbow, but armdrags HHH off the top to send HHH out of the ring. They brawl and HHH hits the post as a result. Back in, HHH overpowers him, but Booker gets a clothesline for two. High kicks follow, but HHH dumps him. Booker hits the post and the steps, and HHH starts stomping. HHH knees him down and gets two. MAIN EVENT SPINEBUSTER gets two. Corner clothesline gets two. He starts choking and they slug it out, until Booker gets a DDT. They slug it out and Booker gets a spinkick and sideslam, but doesn’t cover. Forearm gets two. MAIN EVENT SLEEPER and high knee get two. HHH walks into a spinebuster for two. This match is pretty heatless. Booker walks into an elbow, but dropkicks HHH coming off the top and gets two. Axe kick misses and Booker crotches himself on the top, allowing Flair to get his licks in and send him into the stairs. Back in, HHH goes to an Indian deathlock, which is just so not the right move to be doing to wake up the crowd. Booker makes the ropes, and HHH stays on the leg in the corner. Pedigree is reversed by Booker, and a rollup gets two. HHH kicks out the leg again, but runs into an elbow. Axe kick gets two, but Booker’s leg won’t let him cover in time for a proper pin. Booker goes up and gets caught by HHH, but fights him off and gets the Harlem Hangover for two. That should have been the finish. Both guys are out, and HHH, manly man, recovers first and Pedigrees him for the pin at 18:47. Remember: You can block the move, but once it hits, it doesn’t matter if you lay on the mat for a minute before HHH gets around to pinning you, it’s OVER. That was just insanely long and slow, especially for that weak-ass finish. And people thought I was just being cynical when I said that HHH putting Booker over on RAW was a bad sign. I guess “Booker’s type of people” just aren’t meant for the main event after all. **1/2

- Nursing Home Street Fight: Vince McMahon v. Hulk Hogan. Yes, it’s the match we all know is the REAL main event. Hulk slugs away to start and they do a silly little parody of ground-and-pound before Vince comes out of the corner with a clothesline and kicks him down. He starts working on the arm with a hammerlock and wraps the arm around the pole a few times. They go into a test of strength, as Vince shows his guns off, apparently playing the role of Ultimate Warrior as we warp back to 1990. I mean, seriously, it’s two senior citizens holding hands during a fight, what the fuck? They head out and Hogan hits the post, allowing Vince to grab a chair and miss. Hogan sends him into the post, drawing blood, and adds a chairshot. Back in, Hogan uses the power of his punches to send McMahon FLYING out of the ring, and he works him over with a chair. Still a sportsman, I see. Even Hugo Savinovich takes one for the team. I think he’s actually the youngest and best worker in the match. Vince goes low to stop the tide of Hulkamania and chairs Hulk down. Okay, we’ve established the chair’s effectiveness as a weapon, let’s move on. Vince gets a ladder. I take it back, go back to the chairs. They continue brawling and Vince sets up the ladder between the tables and comes off with a legdrop onto Hogan, through the Spanish table. To be more accurate, it’s a buttdrop onto the table with Hogan in the general vicinity. Back in, Vince gets two. He heads out and finds the lead pipe that always seems to be hidden under the ring, and then peaks over the ring with a deranged look that draws howls of laughter from the group watching the show with me. Hogan goes low, however. I’m just disappointed that we haven’t seen a backrake yet. However, my disappointment for stupidity is quickly made up by Roddy Piper doing a waddle-in, looking about 300 pounds, and turning on Hogan for no particular reason. Isn’t this the guy who was on TNA busting on the WWE for killing Owen Hart a few weeks ago and basically promising never to so much as speak to Vince ever again? I guess money talks and hypocrites walk when offered enough of it. Vince gets two, thus rendering the run-in pointless. The ref won’t let Vince use the pipe, so Vince punks him out and the Evil French Ref takes his place. Vince pipes Hogan down and drops a leg for two. It’s Hulk-up time, however. He apparently just now realizes that he’s bleeding. He fights off the Evil French Ref and tosses him, and it’s big boot and three legdrops (my god, are you trying to KILL the man?!?) for the pin at 20:45. Way way way way way way too long and so ridiculously overbooked that Vince Russo was probably taking notes, but for comedic value and entertaining the marks it wasn’t as terribly offensive as it might have been. **1/2 Besides, if Vince had gone over we would have had to endure the return of the Hulk Machine with Michael Cole baffled as to his identity. Vince’s middle finger while laying bloodied and beaten almost makes the whole match. Oh, and Shane shows up and does nothing.

- The Rock v. Steve Austin. I believe Rock’s tattoo is getting bigger. They slug it out to start, won by Austin, and Rock evades the stunner by bailing. Brawl outside and Rock gets dropped on the railing a few times. Into the stairs for good measure. Back in, Austin chokes away and gets a backdrop suplex for two. He comes out of the corner with a lariat and chokes him out on the ropes, but Rock clips the knee to take over. He heads outside, but Rock follows him and hits that shit again. He keeps stomping the knee and they head back in for more of the same. Austin fights back, but puts his head down and gets smacked down. Back to the knee and Rock goes for the Scorpion King Deathlock, but Austin makes the ropes. Rock keeps wrapping the knee around the post, and then decides to try on the Stone Cold vest. Looks good on him, too. Austin fights back with a clothesline and it’s a double KO. Thesz Press! Thesz Press! Thesz Press! Austin puts a little extra FU on the FU Elbow and it gets two. Rock recovers with the kip up, but walks into Austin Bottom. That gets two. Stunner is blocked with a middle finger from Rock, and KICK ROCK STUNNER gets two. Rock slugs away, but the spit punch is countered with KICK WHAM STUNNER, and it gets two. Rock goes low, but misses the People’s Elbow. Another stunner try is blocked with the spinebuster, and this time the People’s Elbow hits. It gets two. Rock Bottom gets two. Another one gets two. A third one gets the pin at 17:53. Rock carried this thing on his back, although as a match it was finisher-rest-finisher-rest-finisher for the last 10 minutes or so with absolutely no transition between the moves. Nowhere near WM X-7 on the Rock-Austin scale, but it was still a great effort by Rock. ***1/2

- Smackdown World title: Kurt Angle v. Brock Lesnar. Apparently Kurt has found a doctor willing to cut his rehab time from a year to 6 weeks. If you’re gonna play dice with your life, might as well go all the way and fly to the Philippines for a faith healing instead. Brock works the arm, and Angle takes him down with a fireman’s carry. They work off a headlock and Brock takes him down and they reverse until going to the mat again with a headlock. Good stuff. Brock overpowers him, but Angle shoots for the leg and they reverse off that for a bit until Brock takes him down. Back to the armdrag for Brock. Chain-wrestling at a WM main event, who’d have thunk? Angle pounds on him to escape, but gets elbowed and Brock works him over in the corner. Brock charges and meets elbow, but recovers with a powerslam for two. German suplex from Angle, but Brock no-sells and clotheslines him. Angle takes a powder and catches Brock coming in. You’d think people would stop falling for that after 100 years of it. Brock presses him, but runs into a boot, and Angle suplexes him into the turnbuckles in a sick spot. Back in, Angle gets a backdrop suplex for two. Snap suplex gets two. Angle goes to the chinlock and that goes on for a while, but Brock eventually powers out and rams Kurt’s back into the turnbuckles to break free. Angle gets an overhead suplex, however, to keep the advantage, and a knee to the back sends Brock flying. Back in, Brock gets a nasty spinebuster and they slug it out until Angle goes to the eyes. Brock makes the comeback with a clothesline and a kick to the face, and he pounds away in the corner. Blind charge hits elbow, but Brock gets his overhead suplex from one side, and then back to the other side. That’s really scary to see considering Angle’s neck. It gets two. Angle comes back with the rolling germans (and they wonder why the necks are falling to pieces) and the Angle Slam, but Brock escapes and reverses to the F5, which Kurt in turn reverses to the anklelock. Brock makes the ropes, but Angle pulls him back in and forces Brock to fight him off instead. Angle turns it into a half-crab to counter that strategy, but Brock makes the ropes again. Angle keeps laying in the knees, but charges one time too many and gets dumped as a result. Back in, Angle misses a charge and Brock hammers on him, but Angle gives him an absolutely sick german suplex for two. 300 pound guys should not be able to take those bumps. Angle Slam gets two. Another one is countered to a cradle for two. F5 gets two. Angle feigns injury, and grabs the anklelock while crawling to his feet. He turns it into a heel hook to really sink it in, but Brock drags Angle and makes the ropes. Kurt tries it again, but Brock shoves him off. F5 is countered to a cradle by Angle for two. Angle Slam is countered to another F5, but Brock opts to go up instead. Brock tries his legendary Shooting Star Press, but doesn’t get enough rotation and lands on his HEAD, knocking himself silly. That was one of the scariest things I’ve ever seen, and not in a good way. I’m assuming that was supposed to be the finish, but Brock’s miscue ruined it. Angle improvises and gets two as the ref freaks out, but Brock gets another F5 to win the title at 21:07. Probably Brock’s best match to date, as Angle pulled out all the sick bumps in he thought may have been his last match. ****1/4 The botched finish was a bit of a black eye on things, however, and it just goes to show why you don’t bust out dangerous new moves in the biggest match of your career. I just hope Brock didn’t break his neck, because he was dazed and confused long after the end of the match.

The Bottom Line:

I can’t say as I thought it was the amazing, blowaway show that others seem to, and there was no real show-stealing MOTYC here, but Michaels-Jericho and Brock-Angle are both worth going out of your way to see. Rock-Austin was good but nowhere near their previous encounters, and HHH-Booker was irritating for more reasons than I have time to list here. Maybe in the next book.

Moderate thumbs up, but it could have been so much better with better booking and pacing.

Edited May 23, 2005 by The Rock Box

[therockbox]

WWE RAW Preview

3/31/2003

Just one day after narrowly missing out on capturing the World Heavyweight Title, Booker T has another chance at The Game’s WWE Title! However, Booker will have to pull out all the stops, because to earn the right to face the champion he will have to defeat “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair, the 16-time former World Champion! Is Booker up to the task of defeating two of wrestling most successful stars in one night?

Eric Bischoff has also promised that he has a huge announcement regarding the status of ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin. The Texas Rattlesnake, who was defeated by The Rock at WrestleMania XIX last night, has been ordered to be in attendance for RAW, as Bischoff has demanded that he be there when the announcement is made.

Chief Morley and Lance Storm retained their Tag Team Titles against Rob Van Dam and Kane at WrestleMania, but Morley has granted “Mr. Monday Night” and the Big Red Machine another chance at the glory – with one condition. Van Dam and Kane have to take on the Dudley Boyz – Bubba Ray and D-Von – in order to earn their shot. If they win then they get a title shot next week on RAW however, if they lose then both men will be forced to join the Bischoff administration!

“The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels proved why he’s the Showstoppa’ after beating Chris Jericho last night, but it was Y2J who left Seattle standing after putting HBK down with a cheap low blow. Both Jericho and Michaels will be in attendance at RAW, and things are bound to kick off between these two after Jericho’s cheap shot.

Finally, after a hard fought battle saw her successfully defend her Woman’s Title, Trish Stratus will go one-on-one with one of her WrestleMania opponents, Victoria!

All this and much more on Monday Night RAW!

========================

Confirmed Matches:

Ric Flair vs. Booker T

Rob Van Dam & Kane vs. The Dudley Boyz

WWE Women’s Title Match:

Trish Stratus [c] vs. Victoria

========================

[Dingle]

Nice to see another untalented writer join the hordes of others

Anyways, the card looks alright and well, I'm going to give my opinions on it... So...

Ric Flair vs. Booker T

- I see Booker going over here, it is a good way for a delay to the Triple H/Booker rematch but it's a good way to put Booker T over before slamming him down when 3H buries him again >_>

Rob Van Dam & Kane vs. The Dudley Boyz

- Another 'gauntlet' match with a title shot on the end? Two in a night, ah well. I wasn't a fan of the Van Dam and Kane partnership when it was on TV, so I look for The Dudleyz to win, Kane taking it out on Van Dam and the two then feuding.

WWE Women’s Title Match:

Trish Stratus [c] vs. Victoria

- Could be good, I don't know if it will end up going anywhere but I guess it could if you decide to do anything with the womens division. If it's just filler then, at least you're keeping to program with a womens match/segment. Trish to retain (Y).

[therockbox]

WWE RAW

3/31/2003

From Seattle, Washington

It’s not just the glass that’s broken…

After being welcomed to Monday Night RAW by JR, Lawler and a WWE fireworks display, the glass shattered and the fans erupted as ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin made his way down to the ring! Austin entered the ring a climbed onto all four turnbuckles in turn, giving each corner of the arena two middle fingers before taking a microphone. Eventually the crowd quietened down, allowing Austin to speak.

Stone Cold: “Last night, I entered WrestleMania with a two-and-oh record against The Rock. But last night, he was the better man, and he cut that record in half. Last night The Rock and ole’ Stone Cold took each other to the limit, and in the end it took THREE Rock Bottom’s to put Stone Cold down! But now… now I’m back on ma’ feet Rocky! You may have been the better man last night, but tonight I’m gonna’ do what I shoulda’ done last night… and whoop your ass all over Seattle, Washington!”

I’M BACK… AND BETTER THAN EVER!

The momentary cheers from the fans quickly turned to boos however, as Eric Bischoff arrogantly strutted onto the ramp. With a big grin on his face and a microphone in hand, Bischoff began to address The Rattlesnake.

Eric Bischoff: “Steve, I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I’ve given The Rock the night off so he can fully recover from his match last night. But Steve, I’ve got some good news for you as well. Now Austin, I got a very… disturbing call last night after WrestleMania, from a friend of mine who works at a hospital right here in Seattle. Do you know what he told me, Austin? He told me that you spent the night before WrestleMania in the HOSPITAL Steve. Now there were some rumours floating around that you suffered some sort of anxiety attack, but I had my friend to some rummaging around and do you know what he found out, Steve? [A smile begins to creep over the face of Bischoff] It seems that there’s a lot more wrong with you than anyone could’ve thought, isn’t there Austin? In fact, according to YOUR doctors, you have a spinal deformity at C6 and C7. Your cervical cord is all screwed up, and over the past few months you’ve been experiencing a reflex in your lower extremities… whatever that means.”

In the ring Austin looked down at the mat and then back up at Eric, his face expressionless.

Bischoff: “Your doctors told me that there’s a high of you sustaining additional injury to your spinal cord… and, medically, you’re not cleared to wrestle at this time. [The fans begin to boo as Austin places his hands on the ropes] Now Steve, I can’t risk keeping you on the active roster, and, due to medical reasons… I’ve waiting a long time to say this, Steve… YOU’RE FIRED! ”

Bischoff’s music begins to play again, and the RAW General Manager heads backstage with a large grin from ear to ear. As RAW went to a commercial break, Austin stood in the ring looking down at the floor, as JR said that “Bischoff couldn’t do that.”

Women’s Title Match: Trish Stratus =0= vs. Victoria w/ Steven Richards

Before the match a ‘during the break’ clip was shown, showing Steve Austin leaving the arena with a bag over his shoulder. Back in the arena, Victoria made her way to the ring accompanied by Steven Richards, before the woman’s Champion Trish Stratus made her entrance.

Before Trish could remove her belt she was attacked by Victoria, who tackled her down to the mat and began slamming Trish’s head against the mat. Eventually the referee got in and broke it up, allowing Trish to get to her feet and remove the belt from around her waist. After a few quick exchanges Victoria managed to take control, with the match eventually spilling to the outside where the two women showed their hate for one another, as they battered each other around using the guardrail, ring apron and turnbuckle posts.

Victoria rolled Trish back into the ring and took time for a breather, but Trish grabbed her by the hair and pulled her back up onto the apron before bringing her into the ring with a Suplex. Trish covered Victoria but only got a two, before signalling to the fans for a Kawada Kick. She lined Victoria up as she got to her feet, but the challenger managed to duck and almost hit Trish with the Widow’s Peak, but, in the same as the WrestleMania three-way finish, Trish managed to escape and kicks Victoria down for the win!

The Game’s Victory Speech

After Stevie had helped Victoria backstage, the voice of Lemmy from Motorhead ripped through the arena, signalling the entrance of Triple H, accompanied by ‘The Nature Boy’ Ric Flair. The fans booed Hunter but approved one of Flair’s trademark “Whoo’s!”, as Flair strutted down the aisle in his wrestling gear and robe. In the ring The Game grabbed a mic, as he had something to say before Flair took on Booker…

Triple H: “You know it’s funny… after Booker T pinned me on RAW last week, everybody said that it was a sign of things to come at WrestleMania. But… but me and Ric knew that it was nothing but a FLUKE! [laughs] Do you have any idea what it’s like to be right all the time? When I got Booker in the ring one on one, I took him out with ease… WITH EASE. Booker, you should’ve stayed away from Seattle, but you didn’t – and tonight, you’re coming back for more. And when Ric Flair makes you tap out in the middle of this ring, then everyone in this arena will know that you’re nothing. I…”

Hunter was cut off however, as “CAN YOU DIG IT, SUCKA!” interrupted him, prompting the arrival of Booker T! Booker stormed the ring and quickly disposed of Triple H, only to get taken down with a Low Blow from Flair.

Booker T vs. Ric Flair

The bell rung and Flair quickly began working over the knee of Booker, obviously looking to soften it up for the Figure-Four. Flair eventually began to play to the fans which gave Booker to window to mount his first attack, which saw him throw Flair over the top rope and down to the ground! Booker followed and scared off Triple H who tried to drag Flair up, before Booker whipped him into the guardrail and then sent him back into the ring. Booker covered but only got a two.

Booker dragged Flair to his feet and continued to dominate for a couple of minutes, before Flair turned things around with a thumb to the eye! Flair went back to work on Booker’s leg before opening up with his trademark chops, which drew “Whoo’s!” from the crowd. Booker managed to retaliate with a few of his own however, before once again taking control. Approximately 7 minutes later, Booker hit the Book End on Flair before Hunter got up onto the apron, only to get knocked down with a right hand from Booker. The former five-time World Champion then scored with the Scissors Kick on Flair for the win!

Booker’s music hit as the victor did a Spineroonie in the middle of the ring, as The Game retreated up the ramp. Booker stared at his hand then at the champ, before making the belt motion with his hands around his waist.

Gracious in Defeat? Never.

The Y2J countdown began to play on the TitanTron, marking the arrival of ‘Y2J’ Chris Jericho. The countdown ended and Jericho’s music began to play, as the first ever Undisputed Champion made his way to the ring.

Chris Jericho: “Ladies and Gentlemen, please put your hands together for the FIRST EVER WWE Undisputed Champion … Y2J CHRIS JERICHO!”

Jericho smiled as he expected cheers, but the boos soon turned the smile on his face upside down. An “Asshole!” chant broke out across the arena, which Jericho promptly tried to stop.

Chris Jericho: “You idiots need to sit down, shut up and show me some respect!”

The fans chanted even louder, but this time Y2J ignored them and carried on.

Chris Jericho: “Now last night, you all saw the impossible happen. You saw the HAS BEEN KID, Shawn Michaels defeat ME! [The crowd cheers] But… [Jericho chuckles]… it was me who walked out of Seattle with his head held high! I left Shawn Michaels LYING in the middle of the ring, crying like a baby! [Jericho mimics wiping tears away from his eyes] Last night, I proved that each and every one of you MORONS put your faith in the wrong man! Last night, I proved that Shawn Michaels is nothing but a washed-up, has been – and Chris Jericho is the HIGHLIGHT … OF THE NIGHT!”

“Oh, Oh, SHAAAAWN!” sent the fans into raptures as HBK Shawn Michaels made his way down to ring, much to the annoyance of Jericho. Michaels had a mic of his own with him, and was quick to respond to Y2J.

Shawn Michaels: “Chris, the only thing you proved last night is that you’re a sore loser! I beat you cleanly, and all you could do was cheap shot me after I beat you cleanly; 1 … 2 … 3.”

Jericho shook his head before turning away from Michaels, only to turn back round and nail him with the microphone straight into HBK’s forehead! Jericho mounted himself on top of Michaels and began to pound away at his forehead, and eventually blood began to run down Michaels’ face. Jericho went to the outside and grabbed a chair before nonchalantly rolling back into the ring with it, and the nailing Shawn straight on top of the head! Jericho threw the chair aside and locked on the Walls of Jericho, and refused to break the hold! Y2J held the move for a good 3 minutes or so before letting Michaels go of his own free will, but the damage had already been done.

Pre-Match Jitters?

In the back, Rob Van Dam and Kane are having a last minute talk with Kane about their upcoming match against the Dudleyz.

RVD: “Kane, dude, trust me. Like there’s any chance that The Dudley Boys are gonna’ beat us tonight. We’ll go out there, you’ll hit your Chokeslam and I’ll hit the Five Star Frog Splash, and then next week we’ll take out Lance Storm and Chief Morley to become the new Tag Team Champions.”

Kane somewhat reluctantly nods his head, before the two leave and head out to the arena.

Rob Van Dam & Kane vs. The Dudley Boyz

“Drop the Bombshell” started the fans off booing as Bubba Ray and D-Von made their entrance, before a hybrid of Kane and Van Dam’s theme music hit. The fans gave RVD and Kane a stellar ovation as they made their way to the ring. However, as Van Dam taunted the fans himself and Kane were attacked from behind by the Dudleyz, and the match was quickly underway.

Bubba and D-Von tossed RVD to the outside and then concentrated on trying to neutralize Kane, but the Big Red Machine managed to overpower both the Dudley Boys, knocking both of them down with big boots. Bubba rolled to the outside leaving D-Von and Kane to start the match properly, but Kane wasted no time in tagging in RVD. Mr. Monday Night went straight to work with kicks on D-Von, before going for a cover but Bubba broke up the count. Rob went after Bubba and this allowed D-Von some time to recover, before getting up and putting Van Dam down with a high angle back drop.

D-Von tagged in Bubba Ray and the two double-teamed Rob, hitting a reverse 3-D which got a two count from the subsequent cover. Bubba then continued to work over Van Dam, dropping a couple of elbows before pulling RVD up and sending him into the corner. Big clothesline followed up by a Snapmare, then a nasty kick to the back of Van Dam’s head before tagging in D-Von. This pattern continued for the next few minutes, as The Dudleyz isolated RVD and kept themselves fresh.

Van Dam managed to get his team back in the match as D-Von had a headlock applied, but Van Dam slowly but surely managed to fight his way back up to his feet. He got free with elbows to the mid-section of D-Von, before hitting him down with a kick to the chest. The Whole F’N Show bounced off the ropes and hit the Rolling Thunder on D-Von, and the two stayed still on the mat. Slowly they made their way to their respective corners, and eventually made tandem tags to their partners! Kane took care of a charging Bubba with an uppercut to the throat, and then nailed D-Von with the same move. Bubba got back to his feet but Kane grabbed him round the throat, at which point the referee turned his back on the action as CHIEF MORLEY climbed onto the apron. Kane proceeded to lift Bubba into the air, but got his knee taken out from under him by a diving Lance Storm! Van Dam tried to help his partner but got taken out with a Superkick from Lance, which sent RVD to the outside. Storm exited the ring and Morley jumped back off the apron, as Bubba and D-Von composed themselves before lining up Kane… 3-D! Bubba covered and hooked the leg; 1 … 2 … 3! Kane and Rob Van Dam have to join the Bischoff Administration!

The Dudley Boyz rolled out of the ring and were congratulated by Morley, as Van Dam rolled into the ring and checked on his partner. After a moment or two Kane sat up and got to his feet, before staring into the eyes of Van Dam. RVD tried to apologize to Kane, but the Big Red Machine simply ignored him, turned, and left the ring!

More surprises in store

RVD was left confused in the ring as we were taken to the back, where Eric Bischoff – who was greeted with a chorus of jeers – was standing in his office, holding a mobile phone to his ear.

Eric Bischoff: “I’ve been waiting to do that to that son-of-a-bitch Austin ever since he showed up on RAW. [in the arena, the crowd boos] But if you think THAT was big, then wait until next week. I’ve just made the biggest acquisition in not only the history of RAW, but the history of the WWE.”

Bischoff folds the phone up and places in his pocket, as a big smile comes across the face of the RAW General Manager. In the arena, JR and The King try to figure out who Bischoff could have possibly signed.

SmackDown! WM Recap

Before our Main Event, we’re treated to a recap of the SmackDown! Main Event from WrestleMania, where Brock Lesnar captured the WWE Heavyweight Title in spectacular fashion, despite missing a Shooting Star Press that could’ve cost him his career.

WWE World Heavyweight Title Match: Triple H =0= vs. Booker T

The challenger Booker T is out first to a tremendous ovation from the crowd, who clearly believe that he deserved to win at WrestleMania last night. On the other hand, Triple – who comes out alone – is met by a large number of boos and jeers for the audience, which the champion soaks up seemingly unaffected by it. Things quickly became heated as the two men got in each others’ face, and ended up with Hunter slapping Booker sharply across the cheek. Booker then retaliated with a slap of his own, but Hunter went downstairs with a knee to the ribs. Taking a page out of The Nature Boy’s book, Hunter fired off two chops to the chest of Booker T, before sending him across the ring with an Irish Whip. However, book managed to knock The Game off his feet with a Shoulderblock before waiting for him to get back up.

Hunter dared Booker to do it again, and the challenger gladly obliged only to get taken out with a vicious Clothesline almost as soon as he turned around! Hunter smiled as he pulled Booker to his feet and sent him into the ropes again, this time catching him in a headlock on the return. HHH held on for about a minute before Booker managed to break free, but his fight back was short-lived as Hunter drew a warning from the referee with a rake of the eyes. Booker was thrown to the outside before HHH followed, and looked for an Irish Whip into the apron but Booker put the breaks on, and then threw Triple H into the guardrail! A few fans slapped on Triple H’s back as Booker connected with a few forearms to the face, before attempting to smash his head into the steel steps. It was Triple H’s turn to block however, and The Game smashed Booker’s skull into the steel steps! Hunter followed up with by tossing Booker into the ringpost, before rolling him back into the ring.

Hunter went for a cover but didn’t bother to hook the leg, and Booker kicked out on two. Now firmly in control, HHH took a few seconds’ breather before pulling Booker up to his feet, and placing him in the corner. He positioned Booker on the top rope and climbed up with him, before synching him up and bringing him back down to the mat with a Superplex! Another cover, and another two count. Hunter began getting agitated and pulled Booker into the centre of the ring, where he grabbed hold of his leg and applied the Figure Four Leg Lock! Booker immediately seemed to be in agony as soon as the move was applied, but refused to tap out. He sat up to try and release some pressure, but Hunter punched him to knock him back down. Slowly but surely, Booker began to try and roll over to reverse the pressure, and as soon as he did so Hunter broke the hold! Triple H was back to his feet first, and The Game stalked Booker as he got to his feet, and once he was up kicked him in the stomach and set him up for the Pedigree, but Booker managed to unhook his arms from Hunter’s and send HHH over with a back-body drop! Booker signalled to the fans for the Book-End, but as he set The Game up for it RIC FLAIR comes down the ramp, and climbs onto the apron. The fans are pretty pissed at this after the same thing happened to RVD and Kane earlier on, but Booker still hits the Book-End on Triple H! He covers and the fans count the 1-2-3, but the referee is still being distracted by Flair!

Booker gets to his feet and yells at Flair, before bringing him into the ring the hard way! Flair begs Booker not to hurt him but Booker’s had enough, and nails Flair with a right hand! Flair eats a few more punches before taking his second Axe Kick of the night! Ric rolls to the outside and the referee looks over the ropes, as Booker turns around and gets planted with a Pedigree by Hunter! The Game slumps an arm over Booker and the referee turns back round; 1 … 2 … 3! Booker T is screwed out of the World Heavyweight Title! The referee brings the belt into the ring and hands it to Triple H as he helps him up, but gets pushed away by the champion who raises his belt in the air over Booker as RAW goes off the air.

[therockbox]

WWE SmackDown Preview

4/3/2003

At WrestleMania, Brock Lesnar captured the WWE Heavyweight Title for a second time. Brock will be on SmackDown! This Thursday for a formal presentation of his title, although what physical state he’ll be in after the Shooting Star Press that dropped him on his head is anyone’s guess. However, the former WWE Champion Kurt Angle has also promised to be at SmackDown, despite being given the night off by SmackDown! General Manager Stephanie McMahon.

Also, Hulk Hogan managed to defeat Vince McMahon at ‘Mania despite the best efforts of Sylvain Grenier and the returning Roddy Piper. Neither Mr. McMahon will be on SmackDown due to the injuries suffered during their street fight, although whether or not Piper will show up is still unknown at this point.

Matt Hardy retained his Cruiserweight Title at WrestleMania, at the expense of Rey Mysterio. On SmackDown!, a tournament will begin to decide who is the new #1 Contender to Matt Hardy’s Cruiserweight Title. The eight-man tournament will take place over the weeks leading up to Backlash. This week on SmackDown!, Jamie Noble will face Billy Kidman whilst Brian ‘Spanky’ Kendrick will take on FBI member Nunzio in the first two matches of the tournament. Then next week on SmackDown! we will see two more matches, which will be announced over the coming weeks!

Finally, after retaining their Tag Team Titles at ‘Mania both members of Team Angle will be in singles action against two men that were also involved at WrestleMania. Shelton Benjamin will go head-to-head with Rhyno whilst Charlie Haas will take on The Rabid Wolverine Chris Benoit!

This week’s SmackDown! is shaping up to be a monumental night from the #1 brand in the WWE, make sure you don’t miss it!

============================

Confirmed Matches:

Chris Benoit vs. Charlie Haas

Rhyno vs. Shelton Benjamin

Jamie Noble vs. Billy Kidman

Spanky vs. Nunzio

Plus:

Appearences by Brock Lesnar and Kurt Angle!

============================

Edited June 23, 2005 by The Rock Box

[james_ewing88]

Good diary, man. This is one I will be keeping my eyes on.

[therockbox]

WWE SmackDown

4/3/2003

The fast-paced SmackDown! montage was preceded by a recap of the events that went down at WrestleMania 19 concerning the SmackDown! brand We saw Matt Hardy retain his Cruiserweight Title, and Team Angle defend their Tag Team Titles. The package ended with a shot of Brock Lesnar holding up the WWE Heavyweight Title for the second time in his short career, just after hitting the F-5 on Kurt Angle.

The Champ is Here

SmackDown! opened up with a shot of the new WWE Heavyweight Champion BROCK LESNAR entering the arena, when Josh Matthews came running up behind him looking for an interview. Lesnar barely moved his neck as he walked, and turned his whole body round to look at Matthews.

Josh Matthews: “Brock, Brock, last night you became the WWE Heavyweight Champion for the second time – but what everyone wants to know is; how’s the neck?”

Lesnar raised his hand to the side of his neck, ever so slightly wincing in pain.

Brock Lesnar: “Josh, I said that I would go through anything… ANYTHING to get this title back on Sunday night. And you know what? I damn near broke my neck fighting for something that I have wanted more than anything I’ve ever wanted. And tonight, when I am officially crowned the WWE Heavyweight Champion by Stephanie McMahon, it will be the proudest moment of my life. And if Kurt Angle tries to interfere, then I promise that I’ll break HIS neck.”

Lesnar turns and walks away, and we are taken into the arena where Michael Cole and Tazz introduce us the this post-Mania SmackDown!

Cruiserweight Title Tournament: Spanky vs. Nunzio w/ The F.B.I

We see Brian ‘Spanky’ Kendrick making his entrance, to a quiet but noticeable pop from the crowd. Nunzio, flanked by Stamboli and Palumbo then made his entrance, and as he trash-talked Spanky the other two members of the F.B.I engaged in some banter with a few ringside fans.

The match began and the two locked up, with Spanky getting the better of Nunzio with a side headlock. Nunzio pushed Spanky into the ropes and then went for a shoulderblock, but Kendrick stood his ground. The sequence was repeated, but on the third go Nunzio grabbed a clump of Kendrick’s hair and pulled him down to the ground, before aggressively keeping him down with stomps. As the referee pulled Nunzio away he taunted the fans as Kendrick got to his feet, and much everybody’s surprise charged the Italian, pushing him into the corner! Obviously annoyed at Nunzio’s lack of sportsmanship just seconds earlier, Kendrick violently stomped away at the gut of Nunzio before he was sitting down against the turnbuckle.

Spanky waited for Nunzio to get up and then placed him on the top rope, before attempting to climb up and join him. Nunzio countered with a couple of kicks to the face that sent Kendrick back down into the ring, before hitting a Cross Body for a two count! The match began to pick up pace here as the two exchanged moves, but it wasn’t long before Nunzio’s team-mates got involved as they grabbed Spanky’s foot as he hit the ropes, tripping him up! However, this seemingly only served to fire Spanky on, and eventually he finished Nunzio off with the Sliced Bread #2 to advance to the next round of the Cruiserweight Tournament!

Mattitude was the key

As Spanky quickly exited the ring to avoid a beatdown from the rest of The F.B.I, we were taken to the back where MATT HARDY, along with Shannon Moore, was standing by with Josh Matthews. The fans booed Hardy as he proudly displayed his Cruiserweight Title that he defended – less that honestly – at WrestleMania last night.

Josh Matthews: “Matt, last night it was quite clear to everyone that you used the ropes to defeat Rey Mysterio last night at WrestleM…”

Matt interjects.

Matt Hardy: “Whoa, hold on their Matthews. Are you trying to say that I… Matt Hardy Version One Point Zero needed to cheat in order to beat Rey Mysterio? [Josh says “well… yeah”] Let me tell you something, Joshy. There’s a perfectly valid reason why I beat Rey Mysterio last night – Mattitude. And do you know what else, Josh? [Matt placed and arm around Josh, in a mocking sort of way] Mattitude is the reason why nobody is going to take this title away from me. Now Stephanie can have her little tournament for all I care, but at the end of the day whoever wins WILL NOT be able to beat me.

Quite frankly, there is no-one in this tournament that can even hold a candle to me. Spanky, Billy Kidman, Jamie Noble, and whoever else Stephanie has picked to be part of this little tourney can all fight amongst themselves, but I want whoever wins to know that at Backlash, I WILL beat you.”

Matt flashed the V1 sign up to the camera before heading off, with Shannon following.

No Angle

We cut to another part of the backstage area, seemingly the entrance, where STEPHANIE MCMAHON was speaking to a staff member. The GM was met by a large chorus of cheers, as we joined their conversation.

Stephanie McMahon: “As he soon as he’s hear, I want you to arrest him and inform me immediately. I can’t have Kurt ruin tonight, we need to make sure we stop him getting into the arena at all costs. Do you understand me?”

The worker replied with a “Yes Ma’am” before gathering some security personnel, before Steph walked off looking extremely nervous and agitated.

Cruiserweight Title Tournament: Jamie Noble w/ Nidia vs. Billy Kidman

Jamie Noble and Nidia were welcomed with a smattering of boos, as they walked down the ramp with their arms linked. Kidman gets a slightly louder pop from the fans, but nothing to big as he made his entrance and was belated by Nidia as he entered the ring. Once she was on the outside the two locked up and Noble went behind with a wristlock, but a standing switch put Kidman in control. The two continued to exchange holds before Noble took Kidman over with a Snap Suplex, before grabbing Kidman’s arms and pulling them backwards as he rammed his knee into Billy’s back.

After a minute or so Kidman managed to climb to his feet and twist himself round, before forcing Noble to break the hold with a few kicks to the ribs. Noble was sent to the ropes but avoided a clothesline on the return, before catching Kidman in the side of the head with a flying forearm. The two got back up and Kidman took a Gutwrench Suplex, before Noble covered for the two count. Noble climbed to the top rope but Kidman was able to get up and follow, and it wasn’t long before both men were perched on the top turnbuckle. Kidman went for a Hurricanerana on Noble, but was stopped halfway and got taken back down to earth with a Powerbomb from the top rope! Noble covered, but Kidman somehow kicked on two!

Noble got to his feet wondering what to do next, before looking to apply the Trailer Hitch. Kidman managed to fight to the ropes however, so Noble released the hold and pulled him back into the ring. He went for the hitch again, but this time Kidman seemed to have caught his second wind as he kicked him into the ropes, before climbing to his feet. A picture perfect dropkick from Kidman put Noble down on the floor and Kidman went to the top rope looking for the Shooting Star Press, but Nidia hopped up into the apron and grabbed his foot! Kidman managed to kick her off before attempting the SSP, but Noble rolled out of the way! Kidman clutched his chest as Noble moved in for the kill, applying the Trailer Park Hitch in the centre of the ring! Kidman eventually had no choice but to tap, and Noble advances to the next round!

No love for Los Guerreros?

After Noble and Nidia have gone backstage, LOS GUERREROS made their way down to the ring looking rather solemn. Eddie grabbed a mic and addressed the fans, as Chavo leaned against the ropes.

Eddie Guerrero: “I want you to answer me a question. Why is it that Rhyno and Chris Benoit are given the opportunity to face Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas in singles action, whilst myself and Chavito are left out in the cold? In case you didn’t notice, me and Chavo were the dominant team in our match at WrestleMania, and yet once again we’re being overlooked.

But you know what? Right now, that doesn’t matter. Because now we’re out here to enjoy some WRESTLING, holmes! So we’re gonna’ pull up a couple of seats next to Tazz and Michael Cole, and watch some wrestling!”

Eddie and Chavo exited the ring, before heading over to the announce table where Michael Cole and Tazz were seated. They sat down and slipped their headsets on, ready for the next match.

Rhyno w/ Chris Benoit vs. Shelton Benjamin w/ Charlie Haas

A slightly remixed version of Kurt Angle’s “Medal” signalled the arrival of the WWE Champions Team Angle, with Shelton Benjamin set to take on Rhyno. The Man-Beast made his entrance next, and was backed up by Chris Benoit because of the possible thread of Charlie Haas as well as Los Guerreros. The match started and Shelton used a few amateur wrestling moves, but Rhyno used his power to stop Shelton from getting any momentum. The match was extremely back and forth for a good five minutes or so, as Shelton used his amateur background as he tried to defeat Rhyno, who was his usual aggressive self.

The match eventually spilled to the outside as Benjamin tossed Rhyno through the ropes, only to go for a Baseball Slide and have Rhyno sidestep out of the way. Rhyno pushed Benjamin back into the apron right in front of Los Guerreros, before pointing at the approaching Haas and telling him to back off. Benoit made sure that Rhyno got plenty of room, but the momentary distraction allowed to push Rhyno backwards towards the announcers’ table. Shelton charged, but Rhyno lifted him up by the knees and dropped him straight on top of the table, causing everyone behind it to move out of the way.

Instead of continuing to use the table Rhyno instead grabbed Shelton and rolled him back into the ring, before sliding in himself. A lazy cover saw Benjamin quickly kick out, before Rhyno pulled Shelton back up to a standing position. He locked his arms around Benjamin and hit a Belly-to-Belly Suplex, before going for another cover but again Shelton kicked out on two. Rhyno again dragged Shelton up but this time had his eyes raked, before managing to grab hold of Shelton’s leg as he attempted a kick. However, Benjamin showed his athleticism as he connected with a Dragon Whip straight to the head of Rhyno, before covering the man-beast for a close two count.

Benjamin got up and moved to the corner where he motioned with his hands for Rhyno to get up, as he slowly pulled himself up. As he turned Benjamin charged, but out of nowhere Rhyno lurched forward and connected with the Gore! Rhyno covered, but Charlie Haas jumped up onto the apron, distracting the referee! Rhyno got up and looked to confront Haas but Benoit got there first, pulling Charlie off the apron and then firing away with his trademark chops! Rhyno watched the two to make sure Haas couldn’t get involved again, but didn’t see Benjamin getting up behind him. Rhyno turned, only to get hit with a vicious Superkick! Benjamin quickly made the cover, and got the 1-2-3!

How did he get in?

On the TitanTron, KURT ANGLE was shown walking backstage, with a callous grin on his face. Michael Cole and Tazz wondered how he got in, after Stephanie instructed security to make sure he was kept out. The Tron faded to black and we went back to the action.

Chris Benoit w/ Rhyno vs. Charlie Haas w/ Shelton Benjamin

Benjamin rolled out of the ring just as Benoit slid in to check on Rhyno, but he was quickly taken down from behind by Haas. It appears that we’re going straight into our next match, as the referee helps Rhyno out of the ring.

Haas tried to prevent Benoit from getting up with a barrage of stomps directed at the Wolverine, but Benoit managed to fight through them and the two begin to exchange punches. Benoit got the better of the exchange and sent Haas backing into the turnbuckle, where his chest met the back of Benoit’s hand with 4 or 5 knife-edged chops. Haas stumbled forwards and Benoit connected with a Northern Lights Suplex, with the pin that followed barely getting a two count. Benoit went for the chest again with a couple of open handed chops, before whipping Haas across the ring. Charlie ducked a clothesline and came back off the ropes with a Clothesline of his own, knocking Benoit down.

Haas connected with a Vertical Suplex on Benoit before floating over for the cover, at which point we cut to the outside where Rhyno and Benjamin are going at it again. Rhyno whips Shelton into the Guardrail, prompting Haas to slide to the outside. Michael Cole pointed out that Los Guerreros must but loving this, as their main competition and the champions “beat the hell” out of each other. Haas cut Rhyno off from behind and Team Angle began to double team the man-beast, but Benoit came flying at them with a Topé knocking everybody down!

Benoit got up and dragged Haas up with him, rolling him under the bottom rope and then following. Benoit went for a cover but only got a two, before getting up to his feet. Haas managed to get up of his own free will and took a wild swing at Benoit, but the Rabid Wolverine ducked it and went behind, before hitting a German Suplex! Benoit kept his arms locked and pulled Haas up again, before hitting two more German Suplexes! Benoit then got to his feet and made the cutting motion across his throat, before climbing to the top rope and then connecting with his Diving Headbutt! Benoit clutched his head for a few seconds before making the cover, but Haas just got his shoulder up in time.

Benoit got to his feet again, and this time signalled for the Crossface. He waited for Haas to get to his feet, and grabbed his arm before attempting to drag him down. Haas managed to block however and, despite Benoit’s best efforts, managed to push the Wolverine away. However, Haas then tried a punch to Benoit but this time The Crippler managed to lock in the Crossface, to which Haas eventually tapped out!

Rhyno slid into the ring and joined Benoit, but the two were quickly jumped by Los Guerreros! Chavo went for Benoit whilst Eddie took care of Rhyno, but Team Angle quickly got involved causing a massive three-team brawl to break out. Charlie Haas threw Rhyno to the outside nearest the ramp, before Benoit tossed him to the outside nearest the announcers’ table. Haas was then joined by Benjamin who was thrown out by Eddie Guerrero, before Chavo threw Benoit out alongside Rhyno. The three teams stared each other down, as SmackDown! went to a Commercial Break.

A Broken Promise

Stephanie McMahon made her way out to the ring, looking both angry and nervous at the same time. She produced a microphone, but before she spoke BROCK LESNAR’S music hit, and the new WWE Heavyweight Champion made his way out to a huge ovation. His neck still seemed to hurt, but he managed to climb onto the turnbuckle and raise his belt in the air, before dropping back down to the mat and facing Stephanie. The ring mat is covered with a red carpet, and Brock places the belt on a podium in the centre of the ring.

Stephanie McMahon: “Before we get started, I have a message for Kurt Angle. [The crowd boos] Now Kurt, I know you’re somewhere in the back listening, and if you come out here then there WILL be hell to pay.”

Stephanie, who was facing the TitanTron turned to face Brock.

Stephanie McMahon: “Now… WrestleMania. This Sunday’s WrestleMania was possibly the greatest WrestleMania of all time. And SmackDown! proved beyond all doubt, that it is the number one brand in the WWE! Every SmackDown! superstar gave their heart and soul, but nobody gave more than the NEW WWE Heavyweight Champion, Brock Lesnar!”

Brock smiled as Stephanie claps and the fans all cheered in unison.

Stephanie McMahon: “At WrestleMania, Brock earned his second reign as WWE Heavyweight Champion, and it gives me great pleasure to formally present you with the WWE World Heavyweight Title!”

Stephanie handed the belt over the Brock, but as she did so the TitanTron flickered on and Kurt Angle was shown! The fans immediately began to boo as Angle’s face appears, but Kurt ignores them.

Kurt Angle: “Brock, first off, I want to congratulate you on a job well done at WrestleMania. Now, I know there’s the matter of my rematch, but that can wait for today. You see, I want to talk about Brock’s Shooting Star Press at WrestleMania last night. Now Stephanie, do you REALLY want a man like that as your champion? Do you really want a man as the flagship of SmackDown!, when he has no disregard for his personal safety? You can try and spin what he did last night as heart and soul, but I call it stupidity. Brock was lucky he didn’t break his neck, but it’s only a matter of time before he tries something even more reckless and even more stupid, and then it’ll all end in tears. And Stephanie, when you’re left without a champion, guess who you’ll come running to. That’s right, ME.

Now I know what you’re thinking. You’re all waiting for me to come down that ramp, get into that ring and confront Brock Lesnar, right? Wrong. You see Brock, I want you at one-hundred percent. I want your neck to heal, so I can show the whole world just how valuable of a champion I am. And next week in Chicago, I want you in that ring. So Brock, rest up, because next week I’m coming for you, and I’m coming for my title.”

The SmackDown! copyright info appeared at the bottom of the screen, as Brock and Stephanie stared up at Angle’s face on the TitanTron.

Edited June 18, 2005 by The Rock Box

[Dingle]

I'll reply as I read, oh and as I listen to SOAD :kiss:.

- Lesnar interview, you asked for my opinion on this before and I think it's good, it works for the purpose I think you are going for and it also seems like something he would say while backstage, of course in the ring interviews are going to be worse than this. Good stuff.

- I like the cruisrweight tournament, while not original in concept I think it's going to be a good way to have each show leading to Backlash (Split?) have a meaning. Spanky advancing was good as I did expect Nunzio to advance with Noble, but we'll see who Spanky mets in the next round. Oh and for the first time I've seen a cruiser write up of yours, I like the style you go with so good work.

- Mattitude build up, good stuff. Not much else to say, other than this promo could do with a little work but it wasn't that off in my opinion.

- I dont like that Angle may get arrested, I'd rather Lesnar go to fight him and get knocked down, continuing the feud.

- Another good match, and I guessed right with Noble getting the win over Kidman. Good back and forth action, with some good spots that flow well. Once again a good match wrote up.

- A bland interview for Eddie in my opinion, while it does work, I dont think it's how Eddie would actually do a promo like that so maybe work a bit on that for the next show?

- Well, this was definitely a match I expected to go the opposite way than it did. I expected Rhyno to dominate, Shelton to mount a small comeback and then for Rhyno to put Shelton away with the Gore. Good write up and you got a lot of the typical moves down, although is Shelton using some moves he didnt use in that time period? Anyways, suprise with Rhyno not winning after the Gore and then Shelton winning with the superkick, bastard.

- Angle is in, how suprising.

- Well, I guess this works pretty well, we go from one match with 'managers', to the previous wrestlers becoming 'managers' and the new match starting right away. With Shelton winning the last match I expect benoit to win against Haas to get the heat back for his team. You can't have Team Angle win this match and the last match, that totally destroys the feud when you have consecutive wins over your opponents. Oh and Benoit wins thanks to the Crossface, good match, good result. Oh, Topé doesn't work for Benoit really, does it?

- Well, I expect both Lesnar and Angle to make appearences, and Lesnar is down first. Steph sucks up to Lesnar saying how good he is, oh and the threat to Angle means that Angle will definitely show up. Angle comes down but he doesn't want to get Brock tonight, how novel, he wants him at 100%. Good promo on the whole and it gets the point across. Good stuff. Best promo of the night, and Benoit/Haas as best match.

Good Smackdown show, looking forward to next weeks. OH and RAW might be good too. (Y)

[therockbox]

What is Bischoff’s Announcement?

WWE RAW Preview

4/7/2003

Last week, RAW General Manager Eric Bischoff was heard talking on his cell phone, saying that he had made the biggest acquisition in not only RAW’s history, but the WWE’s as well. Just who has Bischoff acquired, and will we find out tonight on RAW?

One thing we will find out is just how Rob Van Dam and Kane will react to becoming the newest members of the Bischoff Administration. RVD was confident that his team could defeat the Dudley Boyz and earn a Tag Team Title shot, but hadn’t counted on Lance Storm and Chief Morley getting involved and screwing RVD and Kane out of the match – and straight into the arms of the Bischoff Administration. Kane didn’t seem too pleased with his partner after the match, and left Van Dam standing on his own in the ring.

If it wasn’t for Ric Flair, Booker T would be World Champion by now. However, thanks to ‘The Nature Boy’, Triple H was able to successfully retain his title, and it seems that Booker’s last chance was wasted. On RAW Booker’s tag-team partner Goldust will try to get a small measure of revenge on Flair, as he takes on the sixteen time World Champion in Singles action.

After being given the night off from RAW last week, The Rock will be in Milwaukee – and won’t have to face ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin after The Rattlesnake was fired by Eric Bischoff last week due to a medical condition. What will The Rock have to say after picking up a monumental victory at WrestleMania, and his opponent's firing from the WWE?

Shawn Michaels was viciously attacked by Chris Jericho last week, after Y2J’s bitter cheap shot after their match at WrestleMania. On RAW, Chris Jericho will team up with Christian to take on The Hurricane and Jeff Hardy in Tag Team action.

For all this incredible action and more, tune into Monday Night RAW!

Edited June 20, 2005 by The Rock Box

[therockbox]

WWE RAW

4/7/2003

From Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Maven vs. Rodney Mack w/ Theodore Long

After the traditional RAW opening, we were treated to a match-up right off the bat as Tough Enough winner Maven took on Rodney Mack, who was accompanied to the ring by Theodore Long. Mack was using his power well and was firmly in control, until the crowd started showing Maven a little support which spurred the Virginia man on to hit one of his trademark dropkicks. After putting Mack down with a reverse Neckbreaker, Maven went to the top rope and nailed Mack with a Moonsault for the win.

After the match, Maven celebrated as he made his way backstage, whilst Theodore Long got into the ring to check on Mack, but didn’t seem to happy with his client’s performance after controlling for most of the match.

Canada’s Best

CHRIS JERICHO and CHRISTIAN were shown backstage, preparing for their match later tonight against The Hurricane and Jeff Hardy.

Christian: “Hey Chris, I just want to say that what you did you Shawn Michaels last week was, well, inspiring! I mean when you had the Walls of Jericho applied, and he was screaming like a little girl and tapping like a bitch, it made me think. I shouldn’t wait for the opportunity to come to me, I should seize the opportunity. So next week, I’m gonna’ have a little… proposition for Bischoff.”

Christian smiled as he high-fived Jericho.

Chris Jericho: “Thanks man, it means a lot to me that you appreciate my work. And tonight, when the two greatest wrestlers from the greatest wrestling country in the world team together, we’re going to expose those two assclowns Jeff and the Hurricane for what they are – two of the most overrated, untalented, BORING ‘wrestlers’ [over-the-top bunny quotes from Jericho] in the WWE.”

Christian: “You’re absolutely right Chris. Now, about my little proposition – the way I see it is…”

The two walked off screen and RAW went to its first commercial break of the night, as Christian continued to discuss what he has in store for next week.

One More Chance

After the break we returned to see Rob Van Dam and Kane in Eric Bischoff’s office, where the two aren’t happy about having to be part of the Bischoff Administration.

Rob Van Dam: “Listen up dude, normally, everything’s cool with [thumbs] Rob – Van – Dam. But last week, we were screwed into joining your crappy Administration, because of those two idiots Lance Storm and Chief Morley. Right now, we should be preparing for our title shot – but because of you we’re not, and I’m pretty sure you don’t want that on your conscience, right?”

Kane stepped right into Bischoff’s face as RVD cracked a smile, as Eric tried to back off but was blocked by his table.

Eric Bischoff: “Ok, fine, I’ll give you ONE more chance. Tonight, if you win, then you’re OUT of the Administration AND you get a title shot. [Van Dam nods, and Kane backs away] If you beat the Dudley Boyz… AND Lance Storm tonight [now Bischoff smiles] then you’re out. But if you lose, well… DUDE, then you’re part of my administration whether you like it or not. Now if you excuse me, I’ve got more important matters to attend.”

Van Dam looked confident as Bischoff ushered them out the door, but once again Kane seemed pretty down.

Ric Flair vs. Goldust

After what happened last week, Goldust was looking to get some revenge for his tag team partner Booker T in this match. Flair made his way out first, to a mixture of “Whoo’s!” and boos from the crowd. Goldust got a god face pop, before entering the ring.

Flair invited Goldust for a tie-up but quickly set out his stall with a thumb to the eye, which allowed him to begin working over Goldust’s leg. He pulled Goldust to his feet and hit a shin breaker before whipping Goldust into the ropes, and chopping him down. Flair went for the Figure Four looking to finish the match off quickly but Goldust quickly got to the ropes, preventing Flair from locking in the move. Towards the end of the match Goldust began to mount a comeback, after reversing an Irish Whip from Flair and then sending up high with a back-body drop. However, Flair eventually got the win after applying the Figure Four Leg Lock to Goldust and forcing him to tap out.

Flair made his way to the back as Goldust clutched at his leg, before he eventually went to the back.

Booker Hasn’t Forgotten

Backstage, Terri was interviewing TRIPLE H about his title defence last week, but before The Game could say anything BOOKER T charged him from behind, and began pounding away at Hunter’s forehead! Booker got to his feet and began to stomp away on HHH, before officials arrived on the scene and pulled Booker away. Hunter got to his feet and tried to retaliate, but he was pulled back by officials as well. As Booker was carted away, Ric Flair showed up asking “What happened, Champ?”

Rob Van Dam & Kane vs. The Dudley Boyz & Lance Storm w/ Chief Morley

The Bischoff Administration made their entrance first, with the Dudley Boyz coming out separately to Storm and Morley. Van Dam and Kane then made their entrance, with RVD looking much more confident about the match than Kane.

It was only three minutes into the match when the numbers game began to take effect, as, after a relatively back-and-forth beginning, Lance Storm was able to distract the referee allowing the Dudleyz to double team Rob Van Dam. They stomped away on him in the corner before D-Von went back onto the apron, as Bubba pulled RVD back into the middle of the ring and gave him a Powerslam. He tagged in Lance Storm, who quickly pulled him up and sent him into the ropes. Lance went for a Clothesline but Van Dam ducked, before knocking him down with a spinning heel kick on the return.

RVD made the tag to Kane who came in and knocked Storm down with a Big Boot to the face, before taking out both of the Dudley Boyz with Clotheslines. Chief Morley interjected himself into the match and got in the face of Kane, and was soon backed up by the rest of his teammates. The standoff continued until Rob Van Dam stood next to his partner, when all of a sudden Kane turned a grabbed Van Dam by the throat! The Administration immediately began smiling and laughing, as Kane Chokeslammed Van Dam! Morley instructed Storm to make the cover, before ordering the referee to make the three count! The pinfall was counted, ensuring that Kane and RVD will now be part of the Administration! As the Dudleyz and Lance Storm stomped away on RVD, Morley raised the Big Red Machine’s hand in the air.

Love is in the air

Backstage, JEFF HARDY was shown in his lockeroom preparing for his upcoming match, when TRISH STRATUS entered the room. She tapped him on the shoulder and he turned, as Trish wished him luck in his match tonight. Passionately, she kissed him on the lips before turning and leaving the lockeroom, as Jeff looked on. Awwww.

Chris Jericho & Christian vs. Jeff Hardy & The Hurricane

Jericho and Christian made their way to the ring, both engaging with the crowd and acting extremely confidently ahead of this tag team match. Jeff and Hurricane energetically sprinted down to the ring, exuding confidence in a much different way to Jericho and Christian.

Y2J and The Hurricane started things off, feeling each other out before Jericho aggressively applied a headlock to the WWE’s resident Superhero. Hurricane tried to spin through but Jericho went with him and re-applied the headlock, before clubbing him over the back with his forearm. Y2J viciously took Hurricane’s knee out with a kick to the back of his leg, putting him down to the canvas. Jericho did his little dance before heading to the ropes, and dropped an elbow to the back of The Hurricane before tagging Christian in.

The former E&C member picked up where Jericho left off, stomping on Hurricane to keep him down before pulling him up and whipping him into the corner, before following it up with a Clothesline. With Hurricane still standing in the corner, Christian grabbed his right leg – the same one Jericho had kicked out earlier – and placed in over the second rope before proceeding to kick away at the knee. Eventually the referee stepped in and pulled Christian away, but not before damage had been done to the knee. It immediately showed as Hurricane limped towards Christian, only to get taken down with a running dropkick to the knee.

Jericho applauded on the apron as Jeff Hardy tried to cheer his partner on, but Christian quickly squashed any hopes of a Hurricane fight back – for the time being anyway – with a Half-Boston Crab move applied to the right leg of the Hurricane. After a minute or so, Hurricane managed to find his way to the ropes forcing Christian to break the hold, but not before waiting just until the last moment as the referee counted the five.

Christian tagged Y2J back in and Jericho went for the Walls of Jericho straight away, but Hurricane managed to fight it off. Jericho settled for a Catapult sending Hurricane straight into the turnbuckle, followed up by a Bulldog from Jericho. This set him up for the Lionsault, but Hurricane managed to get his knees up! This only served to injure his right knee even more, but gave him the window to make the tag to Jeff Hardy!

At roughly the same time Jericho tagged in Christian, but Jeff Hardy was like a house on fire as he tore through Christian with a Clothesline, before making sure Jericho didn’t get back up straight away with a kick straight to the face. Christian got to his feet but was planted with a Jeff-style Twist of Fate, before he headed up to the top rope looking for the Swanton Bomb! Unfortunately for Jeff, Y2J was able to grab the referee and throw him into the ropes, crutching Jeff on the top turnbuckle! He fell back into the ring, as Jericho tossed Hurricane over the top rope. It was plain sailing from then on, as Christian pulled Hardy into the middle of the ring and gave him the Unprettier, before Jericho hit the Lionsault before moving to allow Christian to make the cover.

Jericho and Christian celebrated before heading to the back, but the segment wasn’t over as Trish Stratus made her second appearance of the night, running down the ramp to check on Jeff. However, Christian didn’t take too kindly to this as he came back down the ramp behind Trish, and pulled her up by the hair. She screamed as he turned her round, then planted her with the Unprettier! Christian smiled callously as he stood over the now motionless Trish and Jeff, before heading to the back once again.

Slam of the Week

This week’s official WWE Slam of the Week is from the March 31st Edition of RAW, when Chris Jericho assaulted Shawn Michaels and eventually locked him in the Walls of Jericho, which he held in for 3 minutes or so. Y2J was then shown heading backstage, as HBK lay in agony in the ring.

The Rock and ?

On the TitanTron, THE ROCK was shown walking through the backstage area, the first time we had seen him since his victory at WrestleMania. Suddenly, Eric Bischoff comes running up behind him.

Eric Bischoff: “Hey Rocky, ROCKY! [The Rock turns] I’m glad I caught you – listen. I know you’re scheduled to go out there now, but my special guest is late and, well, I need a favour.”

The Rock: “What kind of favour, Eric? You need The Great One to go tell him that he’s gonna’ have to wait until next week to make his RAW debut?”

Eric Bischoff: “Well… no. Ya’ see, I need you to hold off your speech for tonight until NEXT WEEK, so I can introduce my newest si…”

Rocky cut Bischoff off as he began to laugh and remove his sunglasses, before becoming deadly serious.

The Rock: “Let me tell you something Bischoff. The Rock doesn’t wait for anybody – ANYBODY. The Rock is going to go out there and address the millions… AND MILLIONS of Rock’s fans, and there isn’t a thing you can do about it.”

Bischoff looked beaten, but then began to smile.

Eric Bischoff: “Ok, Rocky. Have it your way. But my newest signing will be coming out to the ring whether you like it or not – and I have a feeling this is going to be the BIGGEST confrontation in the WWE’s history. Good luck!”

Eric turned and walked off, leaving The Rock looking slightly puzzled before making his way towards the arena.

Bisch was Right

The Rock’s new ‘Hollywood’ intro began to play, drawing a tremendous amount of heat from the crowd. More boos ensued as The Rock stepped out into the arena, and slowly made his way down to the ring lapping up the boos and jeers. He posed on the turnbuckle before grabbing a microphone, and going to the centre of the ring.

The Rock: “Finally… The Rock HAS COME BACK TO WISCONSIN! Now I know that WWE RAW was, well, LACKLUSTRE last week because The Rock was given the night off, but The Rock was sittin’ at home with his feet up, eating some popcorn and watching RAW when something happened. Something so HUGE, so GIGANTIC that it made The Rock get up out of his chair and jump around. Last week, in this very ring, The Rock and the millions AND MILLIONS of Rock’s fans witnessed the firing of STONE COLD STEVE AUSTIN! [The fans boo, both because it’s The Rock and the fact that Austin got fired] Eric Bischoff saw The Rock whoop that sum-bitches’ ass all over Seattle, and decided that Austin wasn’t worth keeping on the payroll!

When The Rock got to the arena just now, he was PUMPED. He was happy, he was ECSTATIC! But, something made The Rock sad. Eric Bischoff tried to bump The Rock for his new signing! Just who does Eric Bischoff think he is? The Rock is the BIGGEST draw that this company has ever - and will ever have, and he claims that his new signing is the biggest signing in the history of the WWE! Well you want to know what The Rock thinks? Bull [bleep]! And right now, The Rock wants Eric Bischoff’s new signing to come down to the ring, step into The Rock’s ring, and explain to The Great One just WHY he thought he could take The Rock’s place!”

Rocky dropped the mic and mouthed “The floor’s all yours” in the direction of the ramp. After thirty seconds or so, nothing. Then, suddenly, a familiar theme started, and the fans were sent into delirium as GOLDBERG’S music hit the P.A System! The Rock stood motionless in the ring, shocked at what was happening, as arguably the most dominant man in the history of the business stepped through sparks, and headed down to the ring!

The Rock’s jaw was almost on the canvas as Goldberg entered the ring, smiling as he stared a hole through The Rock. Goldberg produced a mic from his jacket pocket, and stood on the opposite side of the ring from The Rock as the fans chanted “GOLDBERG!” over and over again.

Bill Goldberg: “You wanna’ know why, Rock?”

Rocky nods and begins to say “yeah”, when suddenly Goldberg lunged forward, and hit a massive Spear on The Rock! Goldberg’s music began to play again as he let out a primal scream, and posed on the turnbuckle as RAW went off the air!

[livid]

Now that's how Goldberg shoulda debuted in real life! As a total surprise, not something that everybody knew was coming. I'm kinda dissapointed you went the Rock route again, but I like The Rock, so I guess it's all good.

The Kane turn was nice, as it was something I didn't expect. Kane was always better as a heel, because he's a monster with a mean streak (well he should be at least) so it's good to see that.

Christian and Chris Jericho are still a good as they were in 2003, so it's good that you're sorta keeping it that way, but it looks like there might be some issues later on with Jericho stealing the pin with the Lionsault though.

I wasn't a big fan of what they did with Goldust back then, as I thought it would've been cool had he turned and come back as Dustin Rhodes, a new member of Evolution, but oh well. The storyline that they did with that though wasn't very good IMO.

Keep it up, Mike. It's a good read and you better keep it up, or *shakes fist*

[therockbox]

Angle/Brock II

WWE SmackDown! Preview

4/10/2003

The main focus of Thursday’s SmackDown! is the WrestleMania rematch between Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar, with the WWE Heavyweight Title on the line. Angle decided to pass up the opportunity at a rematch straight away last week, instead opting to wait until Brock was at 100 percent. Will this out of character decision prove to not make a difference, or will Brock defeat Kurt once more?

Mr. McMahon and Hulk Hogan are both scheduled to return following their WrestleMania match, and you can be sure that both men will have something to say to the other following the brutal street fight that saw Hogan come out on top. But just what exactly will go down? Tune in to find out!

The search for a new #1 Cruiserweight Title contender also continues this week, as two more matches will determine the final two semi-finalists. Last weeks SmackDown! saw Spanky and Jamie Noble advance, and this week “The Japanese Buzzsaw” Tajiri will take on Matt Hardy’s lackey Shannon Moore, whilst Rey Mysterio will go one on one with Los Guerreros member Chavo Guerrero!

SmackDown! General Manager Stephanie McMahon has seemingly agreed with Eddie Guerrero’s speech last week, as Guerrero has been granted a one-on-one match with one half of the Tag Team Champions; Shelton Benjamin! However, to ensure that we avoid a repeat of last week, Stephanie has stated that anyone caught interfering in this match will be suspended without pay indefinitely!

With all this incredible action on offer, make sure you don’t miss SmackDown!

[therockbox]

WWE SmackDown

4/10/2003

From Spokane, Washington

After the opening SmackDown! video set to Marilyn Manson’s “Beautiful People”, Michael Cole and Tazz welcome us to the broadcast. They build up the WrestleMania rematch between Brock Lesnar and Kurt Angle, as well as Vince McMahon and Hulk Hogan’s first appearance on the show since ‘Mania just under two weeks ago.

Jamie Noble w/ Nidia vs. Funaki

This match was warm-up for Jamie Noble with the semi-finals of the Cruiserweight #1 Contender Tournament in mind, as he took on ‘SmackDown’s #1 Announcer’ Funaki. Noble confidently made his way down to the ring accompanied by Nidia, before Funaki entered to a small pop.

The match started off with a typical Cruiserweight exchange, before Noble locked in an armbar. He worked the hold for a few moments before Funaki got to the bottom rope, and forced Noble to break the hold. The two got back up to their feet and exchanged chops and kicks, before Noble grabbed hold of Funaki’s leg, before pushing him down and stomping away on the back of his leg. Funaki rolled to the outside and Noble attempted to follow, but the referee stopped him. This distraction allowed Nidia to boot Funaki in the ribs with a nasty kick, before rolling him back into the ring.

Noble went for the cover but didn’t even get a two count, before dragging him up and whipping him into the ropes. Funaki managed to knock Noble down with a flying forearm to the head, before looking for a Tornado DDT. As he jumped off the middle turnbuckle and spun round Noble was able to push him away, before hitting a Missile Dropkick to knock him down. Noble then applied the Trailer Park Hitch to Funaki, forcing him to tap out which gave Noble an impressive victory.

Mysterio Knows his Destiny

Rey Mysterio was shown backstage with Josh Matthews, just moments away from his match with Chavo Guerrero.

Josh Matthews: “Rey Mysterio, tonight you face Chavo Guerrero Junior in a match that could lead to you becoming the #1 Contender to Matt Hardy’s Cruiserweight Title. How do you feel?”

Rey Mysterio: “You know what Josh, I shouldn’t even have to go through this stupid tournament. I should be standing here as the WWE Cruiserweight Champion, but because of Shannon Moore and Matt Hardy I’m not. But Josh, tonight, I am going to beat Chavo Guerrero, and go onto fulfil my destiny – and become the WWE Cruiserweight Champion.”

Rey turned and headed off towards the arena, as SmackDown went to commercials.

Rey Mysterio vs. Chavo Guerrero

Chavo Guerrero made his way out first, without his uncle Eddie Guerrero who was busy preparing for his match with Shelton Benjamin later on tonight. Rey Mysterio’s music then hit, and the fans went nuts to welcome him to the arena.

The two started with a tie-up, and Chavo made the first move as he went behind to a waistlock. Standing switch led to Mysterio ramming Chavo into the ropes and then pulling him down into a Schoolboy, but Chavo escaped quickly. Chavo went for a Clothesline buy Rey ducked it and fired off a couple of punches to Chavo’s head, before turning and bouncing off the ropes. He went for a headscissors but Chavo managed to counter, and dropped Mysterio across his knee with a backbreaker! Guerrero sent Rey across the ring and into the turnbuckle, causing Mysterio to flip over and fall down to the outside!

Chavo admired his handywork before exiting the ring and picking Mysterio up, before smashing him headfirst into the turnbuckle and then rolling him back into the ring. Cover from Chavo, but Rey kicked out. Chavo pulled Rey up and synched him up before lifting him into the air, and holding him vertically for a good ten seconds or so before completing the Brainbuster! Another cover and another two count, before Chavo went up top looking for a Frog Splash. He stalled on the top rope however, and this allowed Mysterio to move out of the way at the last second, sending Chavo to splat down on the mat!

Chavo quickly got to his feet and charged aimlessly at Mysterio, only to get tripped and sent straight into position for the 6-1-9! Rey charged and swung using the ropes, but Chavo managed to duck out of the way. He scrambled backwards and got to his feet, but Mysterio went for the West Coast Pop anyway – only to get caught by Chavo and nailed with a Powerbomb! Chavo then went to the top rope and caught Mysterio with a Frog Splash at the second attempt tonight, getting the win and advancing to the semis!

Part One of Two Complete

Backstage, Chavo Guerrero has just entered his lockeroom and was greeted by EDDIE GUERRERO, who looks extremely happy.

Eddie Guerrero: “Congratulations essa! Now you’re in the semi-finals of the Cruiserweight #1 Contenders’ Tournament, and tonight after I beat Shelton Benjamin, we’ll be in line for a title shot holmes!”

Eddie slapped Chavo on the shoulder, before the scene faded out and we were taken back into the arena.

Tajiri vs. Shannon Moore w/ Matt Hardy

“The Japanese Buzzsaw” Tajiri made his entrance to a fair amount of cheers from the crowd, before Shannon Moore was lead to the ring by the current Cruiserweight Champion, Matt Hardy. Matt raised his title in the air before heading to the outside, and the bell rung.

The two went for a lock-up but Shannon kicked Tajiri in the stomach, but arrogantly threw up the ‘V1’ signal and turned his back on Tajiri, only to get knocked down with a stiff kick straight to the mouth as he turned around. On the outside, Matt shook his head in disbelief as Tajiri hoisted Moore up, and took him over with a quick snap suplex. Tajiri went for the cover but Moore kicked out on two, before getting dragged to his feet again by Tajiri.

Moore was sent into the corner with an Irish whip from Tajiri, who followed it up by applying the Tarantula! He held on for the full five count before releasing the hold, and Moore flopped back into the ring. Tajiri let out a scream and seemed to be setting up for his Kick of Death, but as Shannon got to his knees Matt Hardy hopped onto the apron! Tajiri ran at him and managed to duck a belt shot attempt from Matt, and then unloaded his green mist straight into the face of the Champion! Matt fell to the floor, as Shannon tried to take advantage of the distraction by rolling up Tajiri into a schoolboy, but Tajiri rolled backwards and onto his feet before connecting with the Kick of Death! Tajiri then covered and hooked the leg for the win!

A Bad Mattitude

As Tajiri celebrated and made his way to the back, Matt Hardy – who still had green mist in his eyes rolled into the ring, trying to wipe the mist away from his face. As he got up Moore slowly got to his feet as well, and went to check on his mentor. He helped Matt wipe the mist away from his eyes, when suddenly Matt nailed him with a Clothesline! Shannon clutched at his throat and slowly got to his feet, as Matt ripped of his shirt and yelled expletives at Shannon.

Moore turned and got punted in the stomach, before Matt nailed him with the Twist of Fate! The fans were both booing and cheering Matt, although the boos slightly outnumbered the cheers. Matt stomped on Shannon a couple of times before warning him to never disappoint him again, before he exited the ring and headed to the back.

Eddie Guerrero vs. Shelton Benjamin

As Stephanie McMahon had banned anyone from being at ringside during this match, Shelton Benjamin made his entrance without tag team partner Charlie Haas, whilst Eddie Guerrero was missing Chavo Guerrero.

The two started off with a lock-up, which started off the feeling out process. Shelton went behind with a wristlock, but Eddie reversed into one of his own. Shelton went for an elbow but Eddie ducked, and then whipped Benjamin into the ropes as he spun round. Armdrag takedown from Eddie followed up by another two preceded an armbar attempt, but Shelton managed to fight Eddie off. Shelton quickly rolled out of the ring, but Eddie wasn’t too far behind as he went for a baseball slide – but Shelton moved out of the way causing Eddie to slide out of the ring.

Shelton knocked him backwards with a right hand, before charging him and connecting with a knee to the gut. Eddie keeled over and Shelton mockingly knocked him over with a boot to the face, before hopping up onto the apron. Eddie slowly got to his feet only to get taken down with a beautiful splash from Shelton, who didn’t seem like he was missing having Haas at ringside at all. They headed back into the ring where Eddie tried to mount a fightback, but Shelton once again went downstairs to stop it in its tracks before hitting a Northern Lights Suplex for a two count.

Shelton continued to dominate Eddie for about five minutes, when Eddie got back into the match after Shelton inadvertently sent Eddie into the referee with a Slingshot, and then missed a Superkick allowing Eddie to take Shelton down with a dropkick. Shelton got back up again but this time got hit with three straight suplexes, before Eddie went to the outside. He grabbed Benjamin’s tag team title belt and entered the ring with it, before lining Benjamin up and striking him across the head! Eddie tossed the belt to the outside and helped the referee to his feet, before covering Shelton for the victory! Eddie celebrated before heading back up the ramp, and we stayed in the ring until Shelton came to – and he didn’t look very happy at all, as he reluctantly took his title and went backstage.

Undertaker & Nathan Jones vs. A-Train & Big Show

This match should’ve taken place at WrestleMania, but after Nathan Jones was attacked on the pre-show Heat it left the Undertaker in a Handicap match against the A-Train and Big Show. This was Jones’ WWE in-ring debut, and he looked extremely pumped up for the match. Taker got a loud pop from the audience, whilst A-Train and Big Show got some good heal heat from the crowd.

Jones and Taker quickly attacked their opponents once the match started, and Jones sent A-Train flying out of the ring with a vicious Scissors Kick to the face. That allowed Taker and Jones to double team the giant Big Show, but Jones got a little over zealous and booted Show out of the ring as well! Once Show and A-Train had regrouped, the referee managed to gain some control and eventually just Taker and A-Train were left in the ring, with their partners on the apron. Taker and A-Train began to slug it out, and eventually Taker took control as he hit a Big Boot on ‘Train.

After a couple of minutes of brawling, things degenerated into an all out brawl once more as the Big Show tried to attack the Undertaker, bringing Nathan Jones into the ring. The Australian went straight for the 7ft giant, and proved his strength as he threw Show from the ring once more. Jones eventually picked up the win for his team – despite not being the legal man after Chokeslamming A-Train in the middle of the ring! After the match, Jones celebrated but The Undertaker didn’t seem to happy with Jones for some reason, as he left Jones on his own in the ring.

Delaying the Inevitable

After a video package recapping the Hulk Hogan vs. Vince McMahon Street Fight from WrestleMania, “Voodoo Child” blared out over the speakers and brought all the fans to their feet, as HULK HOGAN made his way down to the ring! The fans chanted “Hogan, Hogan!” over and over again, as he stood with a mic in his hand.

Hulk Hogan: “At WrestleMania, I proved to all the Hulkamaniacs that Hulkamania can NEVER be killed! Vince McMahon [the crowd booed at the mention of his name] underestimated the power of Hulkamania, and should have never tried to degrade the good name of Hulkamania! And right now, I want Vince McMahon to come down to this ring, and APOLOGIZE to the millions of Hulkamaniacs, right here in Washington!”

The fans cheered, but were quickly sent into a chorus of boos as “No Chance, that’s what you’ve got!” blared over the P.A System, and Vince McMahon made his way down to the ring. Vince stepped into the ring and took a mic of his own, before he stood in front of Hogan.

Vince McMahon: “How does it feel, Hogan? How does it feel to have prolonged Hulkamania for an extra couple of weeks? [Hogan looks confused] You see, I may have underestimated Hulkamania at WrestleMania, but you have made EXACTLY the same mistake and underestimated ME! You see Hogan, I’m Vince McMahon, and there is no way in HELL that you can beat me! Because after tonight Hogan, I don’t want you to show up at any WWE event. I don’t want to see you anywhere near a public WWE event, I don’t want you near any WWE superstar, I don’t want you near any WWE branded mugs, cups, hats, or anything with MY logo on it! Hogan, tonight, will be your last night as a WWE wrestler – because from now on, I’m going to pay you to do nothing but SIT AT HOME!”

Hogan looked around with a sad look on his face, as the fans booed and Vince laughed. Hogan went to leave the ring, but Vince grabbed hold of him to stop him.

Vince McMahon: “Whoa, wait a second there Hogan. You think that I’m going to let you walk out of here with your head held high? Uh-uh. I want these fans’ lasting memory of their idol to be one of him getting carried out of the ring on a STRETCHER!”

Hogan was taken down from behind by a shoulderblock to the knee from non other than CHARLIE HAAS! Haas is joined by a slightly banged up Shelton Benjamin in putting the boots to Hogan, as the fans began to chant his name in the hope of spurring him into a comeback. Unfortunately for Hogan, SYLVAIN GRENIER slid into the ring and joined in the assault, as all three men viciously assaulted Hogan.

Suddenly, the music of “The Rabid Wolverine” CHRIS BENOIT ripped through the arena, and The Crippler – followed by RHYNO came sprinting down the aisle! Grenier turned round only to get flattened with a Gore from Rhino, as Benoit pulled Team Angle off of Hogan! Benoit fired off chops at both members, as Vince stood on the outside yelling that they couldn’t do that. Benoit German Suplexed Benjamin before pushing him to the outside, as Hogan got back to his feet! Haas was soon surrounded by the three men, and Hogan was quick to retaliate as he knocked Haas down with a right hand! Charlie bounced straight back up, but we saw the second Gore of the night from Rhyno, before Hogan planted a Big Legdrop across the throat of Haas! “Voodoo Child” began to play again, as Hogan celebrated with Benoit and Rhyno in the ring!

WWE Heavyweight Title Match: Brock Lesnar =0= vs. Kurt Angle

After another video recapping the Angle/Brock match from WrestleMania, Kurt Angle made his way down to the ring amidst a loud chorus of boos. This didn’t deter the Olympic Gold Medallist however, as he seemed to remain focused on the task at hand. The WWE Heavyweight Champion was out next, and Lesnar also seemed extremely focused as he stared down Angle, before he got into the ring and handed his belt to the official.

The two moved into the centre of the ring and stared at each other, exchanging some ‘pleasantries’. Angle fired the first shot as he hit Brock with a right hand, but Lesnar came right back with one of his own. The two traded blows and Brock used his power to take control, and forced Kurt into the corner before ramming his right shoulder into the ribcage of Angle. He then sent Angle across into the opposite turnbuckle with a vicious Clothesline, which sent Angle tumbling to the outside! Brock followed and pulled Angle to his feet, before ramming him into the guardrail. A few fans slapped Angle on the back as Brock ripped the protective covering off a section of the guardrail next to Angle, before lifting Kurt into the air and dropping his head straight down onto it!

Lesnar stomped away on Angle before sliding in and out of the ring to break the count, before pulling Kurt back up to his feet. A slight trickle of blood rolled down Angle’s face, but the cut on his forehead was quickly opened up more as Brock slammed his head into the turnbuckle post! Brock pulled Kurt up to his feet and looked to send him into the steel steps, but Angle reversed the Irish Whip, and Brock was sent flying over the steel steps! Kurt laughed as he slowly made his way over to Brock, who was now lying near the ramp way. Kurt picked him up and went for a belly-to-belly Suplex, dropping Lesnar on the outside! Kurt let out a “Whoo!” before rolling Brock back into the ring, and making the cover for a two count.

Kurt worked over Brock with a few submission holds for approximately five minutes, before looking for the Ankle Lock. He put Brock down with a trio of German Suplexes before applying his signature submission manoeuvre, and Brock immediately began to scream in pain. Fortunately for the champion, he made it to the ropes just before it looked like he would have to tap due to the pain. At this point Angle backed off and shadowed Brock as he allowed him to get to his feet, before going for the Angle Slam… no, Brock slips off behind and lands on his feet … F5 from Lesnar! Out of nowhere, Brock managed to hit the F5 on Kurt! He draped an arm across Angle’s chest; 1 … 2 … KICKOUT! The fans couldn’t believe it as Angle kicked out of Brock’s F5, as both men laid motionless on the floor!

Brock was the first to start stirring, and eventually the champion got to his feet before heading the top rope! Cole and Tazz speculated – surely he couldn’t be going for it again … but Angle quickly shot to his feet and ran into the ropes, crotching Brock on the top turnbuckle! Angle had been playing possum all along, and had waited for Brock to go to the top before taking the opportunity. Angle joined Brock on the top rope, synched him up and then brought him down with a Superplex! Angle covered, but Brock kicked out just before the three! Kurt signalled for an Angle Slam again and pulled Brock up, but Lesnar exploded with a couple of hard right hands to the jaw of Angle, before he whipped him into the ropes and almost beheaded him with a Clothesline! Angle was quickly back to his feet, but Brock got hold of him and hoisted him onto his shoulders, in almost a reverse – Death Valley Driver Situation. Brock pivoted and looked at all the fans, before spiking Kurt on his head with a BURNING HAMMER! Brock rolled Kurt over onto his back, hooked his leg and got the one-two-three!

The bell was rung and the referee handed the WWE Heavyweight Title to Brock Lesnar, who had successfully defended his title. As he celebrated, EMT’s were quickly on the scene and they put Angle in a neckbrace. As SmackDown! went off the air, Brock stood and watched as Angle was carted out of the arena on a stretcher by a team of EMT’s and WWE officials, bringing a slight smile to Brock’s face.

[therockbox]

What does Goldberg want?

WWE RAW Preview

4/14/2003

Seven days on from Goldberg’s WWE debut, and the question on everyone’s mind is; why is he here? Goldberg made a huge impact, Spearing The Rock much to the delight of the fans and surely to Eric Bischoff. Tonight on RAW we will hopefully find out just why Goldberg has come to the WWE, and how The Rock will react to feeling the Spear for the first time in his career.

Last week Christian and Chris Jericho defeated Jeff Hardy and The Hurricane in tag-team action, and after the match Christian took it upon himself to attack Trish Stratus, who had come down to the ring to check on Jeff Hardy. Christian callously left Trish lying on the mat after a vicious Unprettier, and tonight on RAW he will meet Eric Bischoff face-to-face in the ring, with a ‘proposition’ for the RAW GM. What does Christian have in store?

After losing to the Bischoff Administration two weeks ago, it seemed like Rob Van Dam and Kane were destined to join Bischoff, until RVD managed to convince Eric to give them another chance. However, he hadn’t anticipated being placed in a handicap match, and he certainly hadn’t anticipated his tag team partner Kane turning on him. Now both men are part of the Bischoff Administration, but it’s highly unlikely that the two will be able to co-exist with Kane voluntarily joining the group. On RAW, Kane will face Van Dam in singles action, as Mr. Monday Night looks to get some revenge on his former partner.

All this action and more, only on RAW.

Edited July 6, 2005 by The Rock Box

[therockbox]

WWE RAW

4/14/2003

Live from Richmond, Virginia

Just Like in the Movies

As soon as RAW has begun, THE ROCK’S new Hollywood Intro began to play and out came the People’s Champ to a tremendous chorus of boos. Rocky was wearing an expensive-looking white shirt, which was unbuttoned and exposing his bandaged ribs – which were obviously because of Goldberg’s Spear at the end of last week’s RAW.

The Rock: “Finally… The Rock HAS COME BACK – to Richmond, Virginia! Last week, right here on The Rock’s show, The Great One came out to the ring to entertain all of his fans! The Rock took time out of his busy Hollywood schedule, only to get SPEARED by Goldberg. [The fans cheer] Just who does Goldberg think he is? Nobody had seen hide nor hair of him for almost 4 years, and then he just decides to show up, interrupt The Rock, and hit him with the Spear? Goldberg, you may have gotten one over on The Rock last week, but now I’m calling you out to the ring, right here in Richmond!”

The Rock waited, but it wasn’t too long before we cut to the back on the TitanTron, and Goldberg’s lockeroom door swung open, and out came Goldberg to a thunderous ovation! The familiar drums began to play, and after he’d made his way through the bowels of the arena, the cheers got even louder as Goldberg came through the sparks.

The Rock: “Whoa, stop right there. Cut his music. I SAID CUT IT!”

Goldberg stopped halfway down the ramp and the music stopped after 10 seconds or so.

The Rock: “After last week, The Rock isn’t going to let you hit him with ANOTHER cheap shot.”

Rocky motioned towards the back, and on-cue about a dozen or so police officers began walking down the ramp, and stood in between Goldberg and the ring.

The Rock: “If you want to get to The Great One, you’re going to have to get through each and everyone of these finely trained police officers – and The Rock’s sure one of ‘em’s got a cattle prod, somewhere. [Rocky flashed a grin] Now lets get down to business. Over the last week, The Rock has been sitting at home nursing his injured ribs, and he got to thinking. It’s pretty clear that Goldberg wants a piece of The Rock, and after your vicious, senseless attack last week, The Rock wants a piece of Goldberg! Now, The Rock’s got a couple more weeks before he has to go back to filming, in fact, he’s got until right around BACKLASH! [The fans cheered and Goldberg began to smile, knowing what was coming next] So how about it, Goldberg? April 27th – Worcester, Massachusetts, The Rock and Goldberg, one on one!”

The fans cheered louder than they had all night, and the camera switched over to Goldberg. He didn’t even need to think about it, as he yelled; “You’re On!” with a big grin on his face.

Triple Threat Match: Victoria vs. Jazz vs. Jacqueline

This match was apparently for #1 Contendership to Trish Stratus’ Women’s Title, with the winner facing the champ at Backlash in just under just under a fortnight’s time. Jazz was accompanied to the ring by Theodore Long, whilst Victoria was accompanied by Stevie Richards.

The match was a relatively short one, with Jacqueline being eliminated from the match almost immediately, as Jazz dumped her out of the ring causing Jacqueline to land hard on the mat. Officials were quickly down to the ring to check to see if she was alright, but she seemed to be in a lot of pain in her left leg.

Back in the ring, Jazz and Victoria traded blows before Jazz thumbed Victoria in the eye, and then bringing her up and over with a Snap Suplex. Cover got a two count, before Jazz started kicking and stomping away on Victoria, forcing her into the corner. Long yelled encouragement from the outside, as Jazz continued to assault Victoria. Later on in the match Jazz applied the STF, but Victoria managed to crawl to the ropes. After a fightback, Victoria managed to nail the WIDOW’S PEAK for the victory, and a shot at the Women’s Title at Backlash.

The Ayatollah of Rock and Roll-ah

We were told by JR that this next piece of footage is taken from last week’s episode of RAW, just moments after Y2J Chris Jericho and Christian had defeated Jeff Hardy and The Hurricane. It wasn’t shown last week due to ‘time constraints’, but now it’s being shown in all its glory.

The tape ran on the ‘Tron, and showed Y2J backstage in his lockeroom facing a camera.

Chris Jericho: “What you have just seen is an example of what’s to come. For too long, I have been treated like a joke. I was the FIRST EVER Undisputed Champion, and what has it got me? NOTHING. From now on, you’re going to see a focused – a more determined Chris Jericho. Tonight marks the beginning of a new era in Y2J’s career. Triple H – I am coming for your title, and I am not going to let ANYBODY stand in my way!”

Jericho turned away and the tape ended, as we went back to RAW.

Christian Arrives, and has something to say to Bischoff

We cut to the back where Christian had seemingly just arrived, as a bag was slung over his shoulder. He was also carrying a briefcase, which knocked into Eric Bischoff as he rounded a corner.

Christian: “Hey, Eric, listen…”

Eric Bischoff: “Christian, can’t this wait? I’ve got things to do and…”

Christian: “Eric, calm down, this won’t take long. In this briefcase [He holds it up] is something that’s going to change RAW for the better. All I need you to do is come out to the ring, and okay it. So after you’ve done whatever you need to do – after the next match, I’m going to go to the ring, and then I want you to come out there as well, okay? Excellent.”

Christian patted Eric on the shoulder before walking off, leaving Bischoff looking slightly agitated.

Lance Storm w/ Chief Morley vs. Goldust

Storm and Morley made their way out to a large amount of boos and jeers, whilst Goldust made his over-the-top entrance to scattered cheers, as Storm and Morley looked on and laughed. Once the two were ready the bell rung, and the two quickly locked up in the centre of the ring.

Storm went for a headlock but it was quickly reversed by Goldust, before he was pushed into the ropes. Storm took down Goldust with a shoulderblock before bouncing off the ropes and hopping over the prone Goldust, who go up and then leapfrogged the charging Storm. This time both men went for a shoulderblock and both stood their ground, leading to a stare down.

More exchanges followed for a couple of minutes, before Storm’s superior technical ability gave him control of the match. He was able to begin working over the lower back of Goldust, as he began working towards the Sharpshooter. Goldust looked to fight back and at one point had Storm set up for the Shattered Dreams, but was distracted by Chief Morley on the apron. Eventually this led to Goldust getting nailed with a SUPERKICK from Storm, before he locked in a SHARPSHOOTER and forced Goldust to submit.

Christian’s Surprise

After a quick commercial break, we returned to RAW just in time for Christian’s entrance, as the former WWE Tag Team Champion made his way down to the ring – still clutching his briefcase. He was picking up some decent heel heat as he entered the ring and took a microphone, before beginning to speak.

Christian: “Ladies and Gentlemen, what you are about to witness is going to change to change RAW forever! Tonight, in this briefcase, I have something that will change the course of history! But first, I need Eric Bischoff to come down to this ring, and listen to what I have to say!”

Christian waited, and eventually “I’m back… and better than ever” brought Eric Bischoff out, but the RAW GM didn’t look too happy.

Eric Bischoff: “Christian, what is it?”

Christian: “Eric, let’s play a little game. I’m going to give you a list of names, and you – and anybody watching – has to guess how they’re linked. Ready? [Eric folds his arms and stares and Christian] Pat Patterson… Tito Santana… The Honky Tonk Man… have you got it yet, Eric?”

Eric continued to stare a hole in Christian, who remained enthusiastic.

Christian: “Well I can see you’re stumped, Eric. So let me give you the answer; and one time or another, they’ve all held THIS!”

Christian unclipped the briefcase, and pulled out the old WWE INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE, before he raised it in the air. Bischoff looked slightly shocked, as Christian smiled.

Christian: “Eric, I want to bring the Intercontinental Title back to the WWE, back to RAW! And seeing as I’m doing you a favour [bischoff sarcastically says “oh really?”] I want a favour in return. I want you to award me the WWE Intercontinental Title, right here, right now!”

Bischoff took the microphone from Christian, before asking for the Intercontinental Title to be handed over as well. Christian obliged, albeit reluctantly.

Eric Bischoff: “Christian, I’ve got some bad news for you; I’m not going to award you this title – HOWEVER… however, I am going to give you the opportunity to EARN this title. See, in two week’s there’s this little matter of BACKLASH, and that’s when you’re going to get your shot at this title. At Backlash, it’s going to be a Four-Man Elimination match; consisting of Yourself… Test [scattered cheers], Scott Steiner [slightly more cheers], and a man who I’m quite sure will be pleased to get his hands on you… JEFF HARDY!”

The fans began to cheer wildly, as Christian looked on in dismay. Bischoff’s music hit once again, and the GM made his way to the back clutching the Intercontinental Title.

Two’s Company, but Three’s a Crowd

After a brief break for some “WWE: Don’t try this at home” commercials and a brief SmackDown! recap, we were taken to the lockeroom where TEST and STACY KEIBLER were shown watching a monitor, which had just finished showing a recap of the Bischoff/Christian segment from moments ago.

Test: “Did you hear that, Stacy? In two weeks, I’ll be walking into Backlash with a shot at winning the Intercontinental Title – I just hope Scotty Boy doesn’t get his hopes up.”

It appeared that Test didn’t notice that SCOTT STEINER had walked into the room, and was now standing right behind Test with a smile on his face. Steiner tapped Test on the shoulder, and he turned around.

Test: “Oh hey Scott, how… umm, how long have you been standin’ there?”

Scott Steiner: “Long enough… listen Test, don’t even THINK about winning the Intercontinental Title in a fortnight’s time at Backlash. Ya’ see, the Big Bad Booty Daddy’s been waiting since he arrived in the WWE to get some gold, and April 27th presents me with a massive opportunity, and I don’t care who I have to beat to win – so just a little bit of… friendly advice; stay out of my way.”

Steiner turned and walked out of the lockeroom, and was watched all the way by Test and Stacy. Test sighed;

Test: “Asshole.”

Stacy then folded her arms and gave Test a dirty look, before storming out of the lockeroom.

Test: “What? What did I do?”

Test continued to act confused as we went back out into the arena.

Kane vs. Rob Van Dam

We were shown how this match came about last week when Kane and RVD were teaming up to take on Lance Storm and the Dudley Boyz, only for Kane to turn on Van Dam and ensure that the two joined the Bischoff Administration. Back in the arena, The Big Red Machine made his way out alone, before Rob Van Dam was given a huge ovation as he charged the ring and flew at Kane, looking to get off to a quick start.

He unloaded on Kane with a barrage of punches and kicks which forced Kane into the corner, before attempting an Irish Whip. Kane managed to reverse however, and then knocked Van Dam down with a Big Boot to put him on the mat. Kane allowed Van Dam to get back to his feet before sending him backwards into the ropes with an Uppercut, before dumping him over the top rope.

The two brawled around the outside for a couple of minutes with either one of the two sliding in and out of the ring to break the referee’s ten count, before they headed back into the ring. They exchanged punches before Van Dam took Kane’s leg out from underneath him with a kick to the knee, before he used the middle rope as a Springboard and hit Kane square in the face with a kick. Van Dam covered, but Kane powered out on two.

Van Dam continued to try and score the pinfall over Kane, but The Big Red Machine began to utilize his power and soon began to shrug off Van Dam’s kicks, before he lifted Mr. Monday Night into the air and began to choke him, before tossing him back down to the mat. Kane went up top and waited for RVD to get to his feet, before leaping off and catching him with a flying Clothesline. Kane was quickly back up to his feet and signalling for the Chokeslam, but as he grabbed Van Dam around the throat he was met with a few stiff kicks to the side of the head, before RVD knocked him down with a Spinning Heel Kick. The tired RVD then connected with the Rolling Thunder, before slowly making his way up to the top rope!

The camera focused in on Van Dam struggling to climb the turnbuckle, when suddenly he was knocked back down into the ring as a boot came into contact with his head! The camera panned back to reveal LANCE STORM standing on the apron, having just nailed RVD with a vicious Superkick! Chief Morley helped Kane up to his feet, as the bell began to ring. THE DUDLEY BOYZ slid a table into the ring as Storm and Morley began to stomp away on RVD, as Bubba and D-Von set up the table near the corner. Bubba Ray then climbed to the top rope as Storm and D-Von hoisted RVD up onto his shoulders, before RVD was sent crashing through the table with a POWERBOMB FROM THE TOP ROPE! Van Dam’s body laid motionless amongst the shards of broken table, as Kane set off his pyro whilst the Bischoff Administration taunted and trash-talked Van Dam.

A Monumental Main Event

Eric Bischoff was shown walking backstage, when he turned a corner and bumped straight into CHRIS JERICHO. Jericho, much like in his pre-taped interview earlier looked extremely focused, but Bischoff wasn’t too happy at seeing him.

Chris Jericho: “Eric, I’m going to keep this short and simple – I want Triple H, TONIGHT. I was the FIRST EVER Undisputed Champion – I deserve a title match, and I want one tonight on RAW!”

Bischoff looks down at the ground, and then smiles.

Eric Bischoff: “Ok Chris, you can get into the ring with Triple H tonight… [Y2J smiles]… but you’re going to be his tag team partner! Ya’ see, I’ve been doing some thinking, and it is just begging for a HUGE Main Event – and I, Eric Bischoff, have come up with the biggest Main Event in RAW history. Tonight, six of the RAW’s top stars are going to step into the ring, in a six-man tag match! It’s going to be; Y2J Chris Jericho, Triple H and The Rock [boos from the arena]… taking on Booker T, SHAWN MICHAELS [Jericho looks shocked, as the fans inside the arena erupt in cheers], and, in his first WWE match EVER… GOLDBERG!”

Jericho couldn’t believe what he’d just heard, as the fans were going wild back inside the RAW arena. Bischoff smiled a patted Y2J on the shoulder, before heading off. He yelled back “Good luck, Chris!”, as the scene faded away.

The Most Dangerous move in WWE History?

Time for a SmackDown! rebound, and this time it focused on the devastating BURNING HAMMER delivered to Kurt Angle by Brock Lesnar last week on SmackDown! A brief recap of the match quickly shifted focus towards the end, where we were shown the Burning Hammer from a multitude of different angles. Up next were clips of Angle being tended to by WWE Officials and EMT’s, before the montage ended with a shot of Lesnar, clutching his WWE Heavyweight Title, watching on emotionlessly as Angle was carted out of the arena on a stretcher.

Triple H, Chris Jericho & The Rock vs. Booker T, Shawn Michaels & Goldberg

Every man in this match had an issue with another in some way, and this was shown as Triple H and Chris Jericho engaged in some less-than-friendly banter, as The Rock made his entrance to complete their team. Booker T was out next, and the Bookerman got a loud cheer as he waited for his partners at the bottom of the ramp. “Sexy Boy” signalled the arrival of Shawn Michaels, and the Heartbreak Kid was welcomed back to RAW after missing last week’s show due to Chris Jericho’s assault. Finally, Goldberg made his entrance to the loudest cheers of the night, before the three men rushed the ring and went for the other team, getting the match underway!

The faces quickly cleaned house, as Michaels Clotheslined Y2J to the outside as Booker kicked Hunter through the ropes, before Goldberg threw The Rock to the outside. After a couple of minutes things were finally sorted out, and the match was officially started off by Booker and Y2J. the two exchanged holds before Jericho forced Booker into the corner, and then hit a couple of knife-edged chops to the chest. Booker then reversed and nailed a couple of chops of his own, before it was Jericho’s turn to reverse and hit Booker with some forearm’s to the face.

Jericho whipped Booker into his corner and then followed up with a Clothesline, before Triple H tagged himself in, leaving Jericho looking unhappy. Hunter targeted the legs of Booker after knocking him down with a Running Knee Lift, as he placed Booker’s foot on the bottom rope and then stomped on the knee of Booker. Hunter continued to work over the knee before tagging in The Rock, only for Booker to mount a comeback against ‘The Great One’ and make the tag to Shawn Michaels! Rocky tried to tag Y2J back in, but HBK managed to stop him and pulled him back into the middle of the ring with a German Suplex, just as RAW went to a Commercial Break.

When we returned The Rock was fully in command, and a ‘During the Break’ replay showed that Ric Flair had gotten himself involved, tripping HBK up as he ran into the ropes and giving The Rock a platform to take control. He’d taken it, and was now methodically working over HBK. Then, out of nowhere, HBK exploded out of the corner and nailed some SWEET CHIN MUSIC on The Rock, putting both men down on the mat! The ten count was administered, and eventually the two men began crawling over to their corners.

Michaels tagged in Goldberg which was met with a massive cheer, whilst Rocky tagged in Triple H – who in turn tried to tag in Y2J, but Jericho dropped down onto the floor! Jericho and Hunter argued, and Y2J ended up turning around and heading back up the ramp, leaving Triple H to turn STRAIGHT AROUND INTO A SPEAR FROM GOLDBERG! He then screamed and taunted for the crowd, before lifting Hunter up again, and this time planting him with the JACKHAMMER! Booker Clotheslined The Rock over the top rope as Goldberg casually covered Hunter, and got the one-two-three! As RAW went off the air Goldberg, Booker and HBK all celebrated in the ring, whilst Chris Jericho stood at the top of the ramp; seemingly proud of abandoning his team.

[therockbox]

WWE News & Notes

Injuries, Signings, A draft in the works?  Backlash poster revealed

Nathan Jones, who made his WWE in-ring debut just last week on SmackDown!, has apparently suffered an injury that is expected the keep him out for roughly two months.  Jones, who was scheduled to make his in-ring debut at WrestleMania but was pulled out at the last minute, was involved in a program with The Undertaker, the Big Show and A-Train.  Jones isn’t expected to be at the SmackDown! tapings tomorrow, so how the WWE is going to address his absence is anyone’s guess.

Another injury to report and this time it’s on the RAW brand.  Jacqueline suffered a knee injury during her match on RAW, landing awkwardly after being thrown to the outside by Jazz.  It appears that the injury is legit, and Jacqueline is expected to go for surgery within the next month or so, and will be out for at least 14 months.

A few new faces have been added to the WWE’s development camp Ohio Valley Wrestling.  Female worker KUMIKO INDOHARA has signed a two-year deal with the WWE, and will spend some time in OVW brushing up on her skills, or learning ‘WWE style’.  British worker ALEX SHANE, who had helped run British Company the Frontier Wrestling Alliance, has also signed a developmental deal.  It is rumoured that the WWE has also given a substantial amount of money to the British promotion for Shane’s services, as it now leaves them with out a booker.

Another rumour floating around is that the WWE is planning a draft, which would see a number of SmackDown! superstars move over to RAW, with a number of RAW superstars going the other way.  This could be done one of two ways; it could be ‘random’, with names being drawn out of a hat or, much like the original draft pick, done in a turn based fashion, with each GM picking a superstar from the opposite brand.  Keep checking back here for more news.

Finally, the Backlash poster has been revealed, to see it scroll down.

[therockbox]

Brock’s Burning Hammer: The Fallout

WWE SmackDown! Preview

4/17/2003

Last week on SmackDown!, Brock Lesnar defeated Kurt Angle following a devastating move known as the Burning Hammer. Brock smiled as he watched Kurt Angle carried out of the arena, and it seems like the Olympic Gold Medallist could well be out of action for a long, long time. We’ll get an update on Angle’s condition from SmackDown! GM Stephanie McMahon, who also has something to say to the WWE Heavyweight Champion.

The two semi-finals of the Cruiserweight Title Tournament will take place this week. In the first, Chavo Guerrero, who defeated Rey Mysterio last week will take on ‘The Japanese Buzzsaw’ Tajiri, who defeated Shannon Moore.

In the second semi-final, Brian ‘Spanky’ Kendrick, who defeated Nunzio two weeks ago faces the man who defeated Billy Kidman; Jamie Noble. The two winners will then collide next week right here on SmackDown!, with the winner going on to Backlash to face Matt Hardy for the Cruiserweight Title!

The WWE Tag Team Titles will be on the line on SmackDown!, as the champions Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin take on Chris Benoit and Rhyno. This match stems from last week, when Benoit and Rhyno saved the Immortal Hulk Hogan from a beatdown at the hands of Haas, Benjamin and Sylvain Grenier.

Speaking of Hogan, last week on SmackDown! he was told by Vince McMahon that he was going to be paid to sit out his contract at home, and was never to go anywhere near a WWE event or product ever again. Has Vince finally succeeded in killing Hulkamania? Tune into SmackDown! to find out.

Edited July 13, 2005 by The Rock Box

[IAceI]

This is definately an underrated diary and deserves more recognition.

I'm hoping Christian will win the Intercontinental title but any of the three other than Jeff wouldn't bother me.

Keep up the good work Rocksy and i'll keep reading. (Y)

[Guest HardKore06]

Nice diary bro, you have a reader. I love how you handle Brock, not alot of people can make him a true monster, like he was.

[therockbox]

WWE SmackDown!

4/17/2003

From Norfolk, Virginia

A video package recaps the events of last week’s Main Event, where Brock Lesnar’s Burning Hammer caused Kurt Angle to be carried out of the arena on a stretcher. Michael Cole and Tazz then said that we’d have an update on Angle’s condition from Stephanie McMahon tonight, as well as hearing what she’d have to say to Brock.

Nunzio w/ The FBI vs. Funaki

SmackDown! was opened up with a match between two men who had been eliminated from the Cruiserweight Title Tournament in the first round; Nunzio and Funaki. Nunzio was accompanied by Chuck Palumbo and Johnny Stamboli to the ring, before Funaki made his entrance.

Basic exchange to start, with Funaki seeming to take advantage only to lose it thanks to some interference by Stamboli and Palumbo, who distracted the referee and allowed Nunzio to nail Funaki with a Low Blow and take control. The rest of the match was effectively a beatdown, with Nunzio toying with Funaki and, whenever it looked like SmackDown’s #1 Announca’ was fighting back, The FBI got themselves involved and squashed any hopes of a comeback. Nunzio finally got the win following the SICILLIAN CRAB, forcing Funaki to tap out.

‘Taker walks into an ambush

As Nunzio celebrated his win we cut to the backstage area, where a door swung open and THE UNDERTAKER walked into the room. A concerned look suddenly spread across his face, and the camera turned to reveal NATHAN JONES lying motionless amongst the remains of a glass coffee table. Suddenly, the Deadman was stuck from behind by a chair, and the camera zoomed out to show the A-TRAIN, now raising the chair up once again. He drilled it across the skull of ‘Taker, putting him down on the floor. THE BIG SHOW then entered the room with a big grin on his face, before slapping A-Train on the shoulder and motioning for them to leave. They turned and left the room, leaving ‘Taker and Nathan Jones lying.

Proud Heritage

Somewhere else backstage, CHAVO GUERRERO was shown in front of the SmackDown! interview set, next to Josh Matthews. Matthews asked Chavito whether he thought he could go on to win the Cruiserweight #1 Contender’s Tournament, to which Chavo responded;

Chavo Guerrero: “Josh, I’m a Guerrero. My family is one of the most decorated families in the history of professional wrestling – and at Backlash, I’m going to continue the long line of success when I beat Matt Hardy for the Cruiserweight Title. But before that, tonight I’m going to beat Tajiri – and then next week I’ll beat whoever I have to, either Spanky or Jamie Noble, to book my place at Backlash.”

Chavo walked off as the screen faded, and we went back to the arena.

Brian ‘Spanky’ Kendrick vs. Jamie Noble w/ Nidia

The Spanky fans were well in attendance tonight, as the youngster got a good pop as he made his entrance. The reaction for Noble was slightly louder, and he and Nidia played to the fans’ boos as they made their entrance.

The two locked up to start, and Noble went behind with a waistlock before Spanky managed to reverse it. Spanky pushed Noble into the ropes and looked to roll him up, but Noble managed to hold on and sent Spanky rolling backwards on his own. Kendrick got to his feet and got kicked in the gut by Noble, before getting backed into the corner. Noble gave Spanky some shoulder blocks to the mid-section, before grabbing hold of his head and using the turnbuckle for leverage on a Tornado DDT. Noble covered, but barely got a two count.

Noble continued to attack Spanky, getting a couple of near falls after a Fisherman’s Suplex and a Northern Lights Suplex. Despite the near falls he couldn’t keep Spanky down for the three count, so Noble resorted to using Submission manoeuvres to wear his opponent down. However, Spanky continued to fight on, and when Noble locked in the TRAILER HITCH submission Spanky valiantly fought on, and managed to get to the ropes. Noble began to get frustrated and went for a Powerbomb, but Spanky got his reward for all his persistence as he flipped through and landed on his feet, before kicking Noble in the gut and then hitting the SLICED BREAD #2, to pick up the surprise win!

Spanky began to celebrate, but he stayed in the ring to long as he allowed Noble to get to his feet, as Nidia slid him a chair! Spanky jumped down off the second rope where he was saluting the fans, and got cracked across the skull with a chairshot from Noble! Jamie then dragged him into the centre of the ring and applied the Trailer Hitch for the second time tonight, but this time he kept it locked on. Nidia began to kick away at Spanky’s head, which opened up the cut that had appeared as a result of the chairshot, before WWE Officials hit the ring to bring and end to the assault. However, the damage had certainly been done and Michael Cole enquired as to whether Spanky would be able to make it to SmackDown! next week.

Arriving in Style

Backstage, a black stretched limousine was shown pulling up into the arena, before the door swung open and out stepped VINCE MCMAHON. He was closely followed by SYLVAIN GRENIER, and the two headed off towards the arena as the scene ended.

RAW Recap

A recap of this past weeks RAW played next. We saw the ending of the six-man tag team Main Event, as well as the match for Backlash between Goldberg and The Rock being made earlier in the evening. Clips of Christian asking Eric Bischoff to bring back the Intercontinental Title and instate him as champion were shown, as well as the 4-way match for the title at Backlash being made. The video was rounded off with some highlights from the Kane vs. Rob Van Dam match, before we were brought back to SmackDown!

Chavo Guerrero w/ Eddie vs. Tajiri

Chavo Guerrero made his way out first, and was accompanied to the ring by his Uncle Eddie. The two were booed quite heavily by the SD! crowd, before “The Japanese Buzzsaw’s” music began to play and out came Tajiri.

The match started off with Chavo trying to attack Tajiri quickly, but the former ECW star kept him at bay with a flurry of lightning-fast kicks, that surprised Chavo and eventually sent him scurrying out of the ring. After a quick discussion with Eddie Chavo re-entered the ring, and this time took a slower approach and signalled for a ‘test of strength’. Tajiri obliged, but as soon as their hands were locked Chavo kicked Tajiri straight in the leg, putting Tajiri down onto one knee. Tajiri tried to get back to his feet but got elbowed in the mouth a few times, before being whipped into the corner. Chavo followed it up with a big splash, before snap-marring Tajiri over and applying a chinlock.

Chavo worked the hold before the fans rallied behind Tajiri, spurring him on to get to his feet and break the hold. He tried to run off into the ropes but Chavo grabbed his hair and pulled him down to the mat, prompting applause from Eddie. This time Chavo went for the more straight-forward approach, as he began to aggressively stomp away on Tajiri before the referee stepped in. Chavo allowed Tajiri to get to his feet before completing three Vertical Suplexes in a row, before covering for a two count. Chavo continued the beatdown, but Tajiri somehow found a way back into the match when Guerrero took too long to taunt to the fans, and turned round into a dropkick to the knee from Tajiri, followed up by the KICK OF DEATH to his head!

Tajiri took a while to cover, but when he did manage to drape an arm across Chavo’s chest Eddie climbed up onto the apron, distracting the referee. Tajiri slowly got to his feet before he headed over to Eddie, pulled the referee out of the way and then quickly sprayed Eddie in the face with some GREEN MIST! Eddie fell down to the floor as he clutched his eyes, turned round and walked straight into a Small Package from Chavo, and the referee counted the one-two-three! Chavo quickly slid to the outside towards Eddie and helped his Uncle up, before the two began heading up the ramp. In the ring, Tajiri couldn’t quite believe what had happened.

A Shocking Turn of Events

Stephanie McMahon’s music began to play, and the SD! GM made her way out to the ring amidst a lot of cheers and clapping from the crowd. She took a microphone and began to speak.

Stephanie McMahon: “Last week on SmackDown!, Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar fought each other for the WWE Heavyweight Title, in a rematch from their bout at WrestleMania. Now, I’m sure you all know what happened at the end of that match, as…”

The GM was interrupted by the music of the WWE Heavyweight Champion BROCK LESNAR, who made his way down to the ring with the title slung over his shoulder.

Brock Lesnar: “Hold on Stephanie, [brock slides into the ring] I want to be out here when you tell the whole world just how long I have put Kurt Angle on the shelf for. I want all of these people to see just how proud I am of what I did last week. See, since SmackDown!, I’ve had people coming up to me in the street and asking me why; why did I use the Burning Hammer? Well, I’ll tell you why! Kurt Angle disrespected me! Kurt Angle thought he was better than me! And then last week, I showed YOU ALL just what I am capable of, and I will never be disrespected again!”

Brock stepped back with a slight smile on his face, as the fans booed and Steph stared at Brock, before continuing.

Stephanie McMahon: “Are you proud of what you did, Brock? [brock nods] How, how can you be proud of putting a fellow SmackDown! Superstar on the shelf for SIX MONTHS, Brock?”

Brock mouthed “six months!” and acted surprised, before smiling and nodding.

Stephanie McMahon: “Wipe that smile right off your face, Brock. See, competing with someone is one thing, but injuring them on purpose is not on. So Brock, from now on you are not to use the Burning Hammer ever again! And if you do, I’ll strip you of the title AND suspend you indefinitely - without pay!”

Brock couldn’t believe what he’d just heard, as he walked towards Stephanie repeating “you can’t do that.” Suddenly he reached forward and scooped the SmackDown! GM over his head, before laying her out with the F5! Brock got down onto all fours and leaned right into Steph’s face, screaming “TRY AND SUSPEND ME NOW MCMAHON!” as the scene ended.

Last-Minute Changes

The music of Chris Benoit hit as “The Rabid Wolverine” and Rhyno made their entrance to a loud cheer. Team Angle – Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas made their way out next and entered the ring, before handing the tag team titles over to the referee. However, before the bell could ring “No Chance” played, and Vince McMahon stepped out onto the ramp.

Vince McMahon: “Now… as a result of what has just happened, I have decided to assume control of tonight’s SmackDown! broadcast! [The crowd immediately begins to jeer] My first – and in fact my only change for the rest of the night’s show is to introduce a SPECIAL GUEST REFEREE for the Main Event! [by now Benoit and Rhino are yelling at Vince from the ring, with their backs to Team Angle] So, introducing the special guest referee for this tag team title match... SYLVAIN GRENIER!”

WWE Tag Team Titles: Team Angle = 0 = vs. Chris Benoit & Rhyno

Special Guest Referee: Sylvain Grenier

The fans began to boo even louder as Benoit and Rhyno turned round, straight into duel chairshots from Haas and Benjamin! The two began stomping away on their opponents, as Grenier entered the ring wearing a referees’ shirt. Vince McMahon entered the ring as well and told Team Angle do dispose of Benoit, so they lifted him up and dumped him over the top rope.

Attention was then turned to Rhyno, as Haas and Grenier held him up allowing Vince to slap him across the face ten times or so, before Benjamin connected with a vicious Superkick. He then placed a foot over the chest of Rhyno, and Grenier slowly counted the one two three.

Haas and Benjamin then proceeded to celebrate like they’d just won the World Title as red, white and blue confetti fell from the ceiling, whilst they paraded their titles around the ring.

Celebrations Ruined?

As their music began to fade out Vince took a microphone and kicked at Rhyno, forcing him to roll out of the ring.

Vince McMahon: “Let this be a lesson to anyone who’s thinking of getting themselves in MY business! These two tried to stop me killing Hulkamania last week, and look at them now!”

The fans were chanting “Hogan!” over and over, which brought a smile to Mr. McMahon’s face.

Vince McMahon: “Go ahead, chant for Hogan! He’s not coming back! He’s at home collecting his cheques – Hogan, if you’re watching, I…”

Suddenly, Vince was cut off as the opening notes to “Voodoo Child” began to play. Everybody in the ring stood still, as… Vince began to laugh. Somebody dressed from head to toe then appeared on the ramp, pulling behind him a cart with “The Hulk Hogan Merchandise-Mobile” printed on the side. He pulled off all the Hogan poses he good as he made his way down to the ramp, as Vince laughed hysterically in the ring.

Vince McMahon: “You thought that I wasn’t going to recoup any of my losses for paying that S.O.B Hogan to stay at home? From now on, at every SmackDown! show the HULK HOGAN MERCHANDISE-MOBILE will be selling off cheap Hogan merchandise for half the price!”

As SmackDown! went off the air, the merchandise seller was trying to flog Hogan merchandise to the fans, as Haas and Benjamin went to the outside and stomped on Benoit and Rhyno some more, just to add insult to injury.

Edited July 21, 2005 by The Rock Box