WWE Smackdown
August 29th, 2002
Mohegan Sun, Connecticut
The show kicks off with Stephanie McMahon in ring promo time. She reiterates that WWE Champion Brock Lesnar is now EXCLUSIVELY on Smackdown. She says tonight will decide a number one contender, with an elimination style series of matches and the winner of the last match will face Lesnar, and the series starts now. Well, hey, we’re getting straight down to business on the wrasslin’ show. I like it, and this series is great booking. Should be a lot of fun throughout the night.
Match One
Number One Contender’s Series
Eddie Guerrero vs. Edge
A great match to start the show and set the tone for this number one contender’s series. It’s a bit lesser than Summerslam but it’s still really good. I’m not the hugest fan of a PPV rematch immediately after, but the booking works here with something new up for grabs, and with their series now tied at a victory each, this is good foundations for more to come from these two. They started off fast out of the gates, trading moves but Edge gets the better of it. Eddie tries to for a handshake, calling for a truce, but Edge doesn’t accept and just beats on Eddie some more instead. Eddie’s bumping is amazing as usual as well. The finish makes me excited because Eddie cheats to win, and it feels like this is one of the first time he uses the tactics that will become his go to over the next few years. The heel wasn’t better than the face tonight, but Eddie outsmarted Edge. Eddie brings two chairs into the ring, one hidden outside the ring apron. Eddie then purposely overthrows one of the chairs in the ring so Edge can pick it up. Edge threatens to hit Eddie, but the ref pulls the chair away from Edge. Eddie then grabs the other chair, and he blocks a Spear attempt with the chair, and the ref doesn’t see it as he’s to busy getting rid of the first chair. This allows Eddie to hit the Frog Splash and get the win. Good match here, and good booking to. ***
Backstage, Matt Hardy stops Stephanie McMahon and says the fans love him. He then asks if he’s the next one in the series. She says it’s actually Rikishi, and he asks when he goes on. Steph is non-committal, and Matt is ready for a match, and as she leaves, he starts doing jumping jacks. A nice segment to continue Hardy’s character change. The signs are there, and obvious, but he’s still not fully heel yet. Whilst I understand the booking here, I would much rather Hardy in the series then god damn Rikishi lol. Ugh.
Match Two
John Cena vs. Reverend D’Von
These two have crossed paths in some tag matches recently and are yet to do anything good together to be brutally honest. This is another bad one. A lot of sloppy stuff as they make a pretty bad attempt at portraying the experienced veteran vs. the three month rookie angle. Weirdly enough, they started off really fast paced and energetic, seemingly trying but then this fell off a cliff. The result is one worth noting as well, as Cena losing cleanly to D’Von, who is becoming a lesser character by the week, probably shows that they aren’t as high on this current iteration of Cena as they were when he debuted. A lot of botches here, the worst being Cena messing up and Oklahoma Roll, where even Tazz points out on commentary that Cena was rolling the wrong way. In the end, D’Von hits a Reverse Brianbuster type move for the win to put us out of misery. Not good and the Cena push, at this particular moment, looks in a lot of trouble. *1/2
Post match, Batista comes down and kills D’Von with a Lariat. Batista then hits a Sitout Powerbomb, yet to be named the Batista Bomb to leave D’Von laying. This has run it’s course. It’s been good to see Batista break free, but I think he just needs to squash D’Von next week now and be done with it.
A Rey Mysterio highlights video airs. Cool, cool.
Match Three
Rey Mysterio vs. Rico
The result of this one is never in doubt. Coming off an impressive performance albeit a loss at Summerslam, this is just a Mysterio showcase to get him a win back. Rico is basically just a warm body, but similar to some of his Velocity matches recently, he bumps incredibly well, and Rey hits all of his stuff clean. On the other end, when Rico does get on the offensive, Mysterio sells to make Rico look like the real deal as well. For what this is, or was booked it to be, it’s quite good. Definitely better than what I was expecting. Just want to take a moment to mention how epic Rico’s offense was as well, as he lands a Sideslam Powerbomb, a Delayed Vertical Suplex into a Falcon Arrow, and a Snap Powerbomb. How amazing is power offense Rico lol? In the end though, the right man wins as Rey hits his usual 619 and West Coast Pop combo to get the win. Shockingly good. **3/4
Backstage, Hardcore Holly is telling Stephanie McMahon that he should be in the title tournament series. Dawn Marie interrupts and says Stephanie has an important phone call waiting. Steph goes into her office, leaving Dawn in the hall with Hardcore. Holly yells at Dawn that no phone call is more important than him. Really liking multiple wrestlers wanting to be in the series, really making a shot at the WWE Championship feel like a coveted prize. That’s really good. Holly is a charisma vacuum though and watching him try and talk is painful. I am curious as to what Steph’s phone call is about though.
Backstage, after the break, Stephanie assures the person on the phone that she would never treat them how they were treated on Raw. She says that Dawn can deliver the papers right now since the hotel is connected to the arena. Matt Hardy barges in and hangs up the phone. He wants a shot in the title tournament. Steph calls him a son of a…She stops and yells that if he wants Brock, he can have him, and she books Brock vs. Matt tonight, and Matt is all excited about it. Another good segment here. The balls on Matt Hardy, this was fantastic, and the reaction from Steph to set up the match works.
Backstage, Marc Lloyd is with Rikishi for an interview. Rikishi says he was F5’ed a few weeks ago so he’s got some unfinished business. He will give Brock “a piece of the Kish”. Eddie Guerrero interrupts and starts mocking Rikishi. Guerrero thinks that Rikishi’s diaper is too tight cutting blood circulation. Tonight he’ll be taking on Latino Heat, not Brock Lesnar. Rikishi asks how to say back that ass up in Spanish and they both walk away. I don’t mind this. Nothing special but a solid segment to add some heat to their upcoming match.
Match Four
Number One Contender Series
Eddie Guerrero vs. Rikishi
I think I’m probably letting my disdain for the result cloud my judgment here, but I didn’t like this. Realistically, Eddie was okay, trying hard to make something involving Rikishi in 2002 not abysmal, and whilst he succeeded at that, this still wasn’t good. Booking wise giving Rikishi a clean win over Eddie, even if Eddie already competed tonight, really annoys me. Eddie works on the knees for half the match, trying to give it focus, but Rikishi barely sells it, comes back and wins with a Superkick. Uninspiring stuff, and a crappy result from a booking perspective. *3/4
Post match, Chris Benoit comes down and he and Eddie beat down Rikishi. Guerrero goes up top and hits a Frog Splash on Rikishi’s back. Benoit then puts him in the Crossface. The beating continues until Edge runs down to run Benoit and Eddie out of the ring. Aftermath is fine. Feels like Benoit must be next in the elimination series, and honestly, this aftermath has all the makings of a tag match between these four next week. I would not be surprised.
Backstage, Stephanie McMahon confronts Benoit. She tells him he must feel bad about losing the Intercontinental Title and he must want to take out that anger. He will fight Rikishi in the series next. Confirmed as expected no issues with this.
Match Five
Shannon Moore w/The Hurricane vs. Tajiri w/Jamie Noble and Nidia
Tajiri is pretty consistent at this point, you know what you’re going to get. Moore on the other hand isn’t as good here as he has been since he debuted, where he’s been on a roll. Not just kayfabe, his in ring performances have been pretty good so far. Here he isn’t at that same level, but due to an awesome opponent, the match is still low level solid. A fun moment during the entrances is that WWE Cruiserweight Champion Jamie Noble high fives Michael Cole for two reasons. One to ensure that Cole talks good about him, but two, because he’s impressed from when Nidia and Cole made out. How awesome is Jamie Noble lol? I appreciate that even with the title elimination series happening, this still managed to get some good time. Moore was a little sloppy throughout, botching multiple things not to the point where they completed messed up, but things just weren’t looking smooth. Also it’s a bit same old, as much like last week with Noble, Moore just gets a flash pin. Thankfully Tajiri tried his best to carry this. I do like that they’re giving Moore a chance though, breaking Noble away from the Kidman and Hurricane feuds, which have already seen multiple matches. It’s not official but I assume Moore would be the number one contender with this win, as he reverses a German Suplex into a sloppy Roll Up for the win. Solidish. **
Match Six
Number One Contender Series
Chris Benoit vs. Rikishi
Not much to say about this because it was so quick. Two minutes of Benoit destroying Rikishi, focusing on the injured arm which is the story here. After just a couple of minutes, Benoit already applies the Crossface for the second time in the match, and Rikishi has no choice but to tap. A nothing match that’s too quick due to the booking, but I do like the booking. Still, not a good match due to circumstance. *3/4
In the back, Kurt Angle tells Marc Lloyd that Stephanie McMahon just told him that he’s the last man in the series, so it will be Angle vs. Benoit in the finals. Angle says that Lesnar may be the youngest champion, but he’s not the best. Anytime Angle/Benoit get in the ring together it’s a positive so this should be great. Solid segment to hype the now announced main event.
Funaki tries to interview WWE Champion Brock Lesnar, but Paul Heyman comes out of the locker room and says that it’s not a good idea to bother Lesnar during his before match preparations. Funaki thinks twice about it and decides against interviewing Lesnar. Matt Hardy shows up behind them. He says it’s not WWE Attitude, it’s WWE MATTITUDE! Good stuff. Funaki being scared of Brock helps put over the aura of the champ, and Hardy introducing the term Mattitude for the first time was always going to make me mark.
Match Seven
Brock Lesnar w/Paul Heyman vs. Matt Hardy
I thought this was a solid squash match for the most part, but with Hardy’s character twist, and the fans slowly catching on, Lesnar could have been mistaken as the babyface here. He got a fair pop from the fans to, and I just think it’s way to early for Brock to be shown in this light. He’s only just become the champ on his monster heel run. This was fun though, and Matt does get some offense in, and Brock sells terrifically for it as always. Hardy bumps like crazy to, and for the most part, this is a cool spectacle, just watching the dominating Brock throw Hardy around the ring. Hardy has one last fight back at the end, but when he attempts the Twist Of Fate, Brock hoists him onto his shoulders and nails the F5 to get the pin. A fun squash for Brock. **1/2
Post match, Lesnar runs back to the ring and Powerbombs Hardy twice. Nice.
In the back, Dawn Marie brings Stephanie McMahon the signed papers. Stephanie reveals the main event tonight is a now a triple threat match. It will be between Chris Benoit, Kurt Angle and the Raw defector. She tells Dawn to call Eric Bischoff and tell him to watch this. Boom, huge news. This is a nice tease of the mystery as to who will be the new signee. After just getting exclusive rights to Brock, Stephanie is OWNING Bischoff right now.
With Angle and Benoit in the ring, Stephanie comes out and announced the third man… The Undertaker. Another GIGANTIC win for Stephanie, another exciting signee. Plus, the idea of ‘Taker following Lesnar over after some of their interactions recently is awesome.
Match Eight
Number One Contenders Match
Chris Benoit vs. Kurt Angle vs. The Undertaker
Typical triple threat shenanigans throughout, and a great match to end the show. Benoit and Angle show their technical prowess with awesome reversals and counter sequences throughout the match, and the Benoit/Taker stuff is great to see as well. Unfortunately it’s a tease only, as we never actually get to see Benoit/Taker go at it properly in a one on one setting. The action here is good and I think the booking makes sense. Benoit and Angle stop each other from pinning or submitting ‘Taker several times throughout, so it seems we will have a program between these two. Angle and Benoit teaming up together so take out ‘Taker makes sense logically and was fine. All three men take brutal bumps at times so having one man down on the outside feels organic, as opposed to forced because it’s a typical WWE Triple Threat trope. The ending comes about when Benoit throws Angle over the top rope and to the outside, but then turns into The Last Ride from ‘Taker. Undertaker gets the pin and becomes the number one contender. Great booking, great surprise with ‘Taker appearing and a good match. Also Benoit/Angle (an assumption) and Brock/’Taker are two epic feuds to take us forward. Good stuff. ***
The wrasslin’ brand delivers again. A great show here, with the elimination series being an awesome idea. The inclusion of ‘Taker just gives a nice touch of star power to go with the amount of in ring talent on SD. I’m down for SD to be 7-8 matches with minimal promos every week if this is what that looks like.