Smackdown
August 29th, 2002 (taped August 27th)
Mohegan Sun Hotel and Casino
Uncasville, Connecticut
 
Dark Match:
 
1. Mike Awesome defeats Slick Wagner Brown.
 
8/31 Velocity taping:
 
1. Billy and Chuck (w/ Rico) defeat Hardcore Holly and Randy Orton.
2. Jamie Noble (w/ Nidia) pins Funaki.
3. Mark Henry defeats Albert.
4. Chavo Guerrero defeats the Hurricane.
 
Actual Show:
 
We see the opening video for Smackdown.
 
Your hosts are Michael Cole and Tazz.
 
Stephanie McMahon comes down to the ring and welcomes everyone to Smackdown which is the home of the Undisputed Champion Brock Lesnar, and she says that it’s too bad that the Number One Contender’s match on RAW doesn’t mean anything because Lesnar is exclusive to Smackdown. She says that we need a Number One Contender since it can’t be Triple H who is a RAW Superstar, and she says that they will find out tonight as they will have a series of matches with the winner of the main event becoming the Number One Contender and it will start right now.
 
1. Eddie Guerrero pins Edge with the Frog Splash at 7:51.
 
Stipulation: The winner would advance in the Number One Contender’s gauntlet
 
Analysis: We kick off this edition of Smackdown with a pretty big matchup. These two men faced off at Summerslam with Edge getting the win and they face off in a rematch here to see who will get a chance to become Number One Contender. Edge gets a big pop from the crowd while Eddie was pretty hot as a heel. The two men lock up to start with Edge hitting a pair of armdrags and Eddie blocks the facebuster as he goes behind Edge and hits a back suplex, and he stomps and pounds on Edge who escapes a suplex attempt as he pounds on Eddie and hits a flapjack. He ducks a shot and hits the facebuster for a two count as Eddie offers a handshake and Edge hits a short clothesline, and Eddie uses the ref to distract Edge as he kicks at his leg repeatedly and pounds on him before ramming him into the buckle. He stomps on him repeatedly in the corner and pounds on him as he kicks at him and rams him into the buckle again, and Edge reverses a whip into the other corner and Eddie catches him with a back elbow as he hits a brainbuster for a two count. He works on the arm and pounds on Edge who battles back until Eddie hits a low dropkick to the knee, and he stomps on Edge who blocks a suplex attempt and he suplexes Eddie over the top to the floor before going up top. He hits a crossbody onto Eddie on the floor and throws him back into the ring as he goes up top again only for Eddie to nail him first, and he goes up himself and hits a superplex on Edge for a two count as he pounds on him until Edge reverses a whip and hits a flapjack. He hits a powerbomb on Eddie and fires up on him as he hits a backdrop and a pair of clotheslines on Eddie, and he ducks a shot and hits the Edge-o-Matic on Eddie for a two count as he pounds on him until Eddie escapes a back suplex attempt. Edge ducks a shot and hits a back suplex on Eddie as he goes up top and hits a missile dropkick before whipping him into the corner, and he rams the shoulder into Eddie’s ribs and gets a kick in though Eddie blocks the Edgecution by going over the top and he hotshots Edge on the top rope. He grabs a pair of chairs and slides one of them into the ring as Edge grabs it and stalks him only for the ref to take it from him, and Edge looks for the spear only for Eddie to grab the other chair and he uses it to block the spear as he goes up top and hits the Frog Splash which gets the three and he wins the match. The match itself was good as both men worked hard and put on a solid match. Both men were hitting their groove by this point and still had good chemistry as Eddie cheats to get his win back. The crowd was into the match and Edge, but are not happy when Eddie wins. Eddie gets the win over Edge and advances in the series as this issue isn’t over yet. Grade: 2.5
 
Commercial break
 
We see Stephanie McMahon backstage as she runs into Matt Hardy who says that they love him here and he loves her idea to determine the Number One Contender, and he asks if he is in the series though she says that it will be Rikishi instead and he says he’s ready to compete.
 
2. Rev. D-Von pins John Cena with at 3:53.
 
Analysis: Our next match on the card is a pretty basic matchup. Cena was cruising in the midcard and looks to get a win here over D-Von, who was having issues with Batista and looks to get back on track here. Cena gets a decent pop from the crowd while D-Von had decent heat as a heel. D-Von wastes no time and attacks Cena to start the match as Cena battles back and he hits a hiptoss on D-Von, and he hits a dropkick and running bulldog on D-Von though he misses a charge in the corner and hits a neckbreaker. He stomps and pounds on Cena as he kicks at him and rams him into the buckle before pounding on him in the corner, and Cena tries to battle back only for D-Von to rake the eyes and he gets a shot in as he hits a suplex and drops an elbow on Cena for a two count. Cena tries to battle back again only for D-Von to reverse a whip and he hits a powerslam on Cena for a pair of two counts, and he hits a jawbreaker on Cena and pounds on him as Cena escapes a slam attempt and he gets a kick in before hitting a spinning fisherman’s suplex. He hits a pair of clotheslines and a pair of flying forearms on D-Von as he hits an atomic drop only for D-Von to hit a spinning back elbow, and he goes up top only to miss the diving headbutt and Cena hooks a rollup for a two count as he rams D-Von into the corner and pounds on him. D-Von comes out with an atomic drop and kicks at Cena as he hits an inverted suplex slam which gets the three and he wins the match. The match itself was decent as both men worked hard and put on a basic match. Cena was slowly getting into a groove by this point while D-Von seems to have reached his peak as a singles star, and they had decent chemistry as D-Von gets the clean win. The crowd was into the match and Cena, but are not happy when D-Von wins. D-Von gets the win over Cena and both men move on. Grade: 1
 
After the match, Batista runs down to the ring and hits a clothesline on D-Von as he hits a sitdown powerbomb.
 
We see a vignette hyping Rey Mysterio.
 
Commercial break
 
3. Rey Mysterio (w/ Billy and Chuck) pins Rico with the West Coast Pop at 5:32.
 
Analysis: Our next match on the card is a pretty interesting matchup. Mysterio was coming off a tough loss at Summerslam and looks to get back on track here against Rico, who was cruising in the midcard and looks to get an upset win here. Mysterio gets a good pop from the crowd while Rico had decent heat as a heel. The two men lock up to start with Mysterio going behind Rico who turns it around and hooks a full nelson before getting a kick in, and Mysterio lands on his feet on a slam attempt and ducks a shot as Billy trips him up from the floor only for Mysterio to backdrop Rico over the top to the floor. Billy and Chuck help Rico back into the ring only for Mysterio to leap off Rico’s back with a crossbody onto Billy and Chuck on the floor, and the ref forces Billy and Chuck to the back and Rico gets a shot in as he hits a back suplex on Mysterio and stomps on him. He rams him into the buckle and Mysterio catches him ducking with a kick as he leaps onto Rico’s shoulders and hits a hurricanrana, and Rico reverses a whip and Mysterio lands on his feet on a tilt-a-whirl as he ducks a shot only for Rico to kick him in the back. He hoists Mysterio onto his shoulder and hits a modified powerslam as he stomps on him and rams him into the buckle, and he pounds on Mysterio in the corner and whips him hard into the other corner as he gets a kick in and hits a pair of suplexes before hitting a suplex slam for a two count. He chokes Mysterio on the mat and stomps on him as he pounds on him until Mysterio tries to battle back only for Rico to get a spin kick in, and he hits a side kick on Mysterio who ducks a shot and Rico presses Mysterio up as he hits a powerslam and goes up top only to miss a moonsault. Mysterio hits a low dropkick on Rico who counters a whip though Mysterio gets a kick in and hits a wheelbarrow bulldog for a two count, and Rico reverses a whip into the corner and catches Mysterio on a leap as Mysterio hits a headscissors that sends Rico into the post. Mysterio rolls out to the apron and hits a double springboard moonsault for a two count as Rico gets a shot in and whips Mysterio into the corner, and he catches Mysterio on a leap and hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker though Mysterio ducks a spin kick. He dropkicks Rico in the back and Rico falls into the ropes as Mysterio hits the 619 and West Coast Pop which gets the three and he wins the match. The match itself was decent as both men worked hard and put on a solid match. Mysterio was quickly getting into a groove by this point while Rico was also getting into a groove, and they had good chemistry as Mysterio gets the clean win. The crowd was into the match and popped for Mysterio when he won. Mysterio gets the win over Rico and both men move on. Grade: 2
 
We see Hardcore Holly speaking to Stephanie McMahon backstage as he says that he deserves to be in the Number One Contender series and he is the toughest, and he says it doesn’t matter who he faces as he should be in it until Dawn Marie interrupts and says Stephanie has an important phone call to take. Stephanie apologizes to Hardcore and says they’ll have to take this up later as she goes into the office and he asks what phone call is more important than him before walking away.
 
Commercial break
 
We see a shot outside the Mohegan Sun Hotel and Casino.
 
We see highlights from the Smackdown Your Vote campaign stop in New York City this past Monday.
 
We see Stephanie McMahon in her office on the phone with someone as she says she saw how they were treated on RAW and she guarantees the same wouldn’t happen on Smackdown, and she says that Dawn can deliver the papers to him right now as she knows he is the suite and he just needs to sign. Just then, Matt Hardy comes in and continues to ask if he will be in the Number One Contender series though she ignores him until he cuts the call off, and she gets in his face as he says this is important and this is his life as she says that he will face Brock Lesnar in a non-title match.
 
Marc Lloyd interviews Rikishi, who says that being taken out by Lesnar a few weeks ago, he has unfinished business with him and he will give him a piece of himself, but then Eddie Guerrero walks up to him and laughs at him as he says Rikishi’s diaper is on too tight and cutting the blood off to his head though corrects himself as he says that’s his ass. He says that Rikishi needs to pull his head out of his ass and not disrespect him as they will face off tonight, and Rikishi asks how to say “Back that ass up” in Spanish before walking away.
 
Commercial break
 
4. Rikishi pins Eddie Guerrero with a superkick at 5:02.
 
Stipulation: The winner would advance in the Number One Contender’s gauntlet
 
Analysis: Our next match on the card is the next match in the Number One Contender’s series. Eddie defeated Edge earlier tonight to advance and looks to keep going here against Rikishi, who was cruising in the midcard and looks to advance himself. Rikishi gets a good pop from the crowd while Eddie was pretty hot as a heel. The two men lock up to start with Rikishi shoving Eddie to the mat and they lock up again with Eddie hooking a headlock and Rikishi whips him off as he knocks him down, and he pounds on Eddie and whips him into the corner as he splashes him and looks for the Stinkface only for Eddie to slide under him. Rikishi blocks a shot and pounds on Eddie who escapes a slam attempt as he hits a dropkick to the knee and he stomps on the knee repeatedly, and Rikishi rolls out to the apron and Eddie hits a slingshot elbow to the knee as he pounds on him and rams his knee into the steps. He throws Rikishi back into the ring and stomps on the knee as he hooks a submission on until Rikishi kicks him away to escape, and Eddie gets a stomp in for a two count and he continues to stomp on the knee in the corner as he pounds on him and chokes him on the ropes. He continues to stomp on the knee as Rikishi tries to battle back and Eddie attempts a sunset flip before avoiding a sitdown splash for a two count, and he hooks another submission on the leg until Rikishi fights out of the hold and Eddie pounds on him in the corner. He misses a charge and Rikishi fires up on him as he hits a clothesline and spinebuster before splashing Eddie in the corner, and he whips Eddie into the other corner and Eddie ducks a shot only for Rikishi to hit a superkick which gets the three and he wins the match. The match itself was decent as both men worked hard and put on a basic match. Both men were hitting their stride by this point and had good chemistry as Rikishi gets the surprise clean win. The crowd was into the match and popped for Rikishi when he won. Rikishi gets the win over Eddie and advances in the series as both men move on. Grade: 1.5
 
After the match, Chris Benoit runs down to the ring and attacks Rikishi as he hits a back suplex and both men stomp on him, and Eddie goes up top and hits the Frog Splash to Rikishi’s back as Benoit hooks the Crossface on while Eddie stomps on him. Just then, Edge runs down to the ring and attacks Eddie as he knocks him down and he pounds on Benoit before clotheslining him over the top to the floor, and Eddie rolls outside and heads to the back with Benoit as Edge checks on Rikishi.
 
Commercial break
 
We see Chris Benoit walking backstage as Stephanie McMahon walks up to him and says that given what he just did to Rikishi, he’s more mad at himself for losing the IC Title to RAW than she is and if he wants to take out some aggression, she’s putting him in the series against Rikishi and he says that Rikishi’s done.
 
5. Shannon Moore (w/ the Hurricane) pins Tajiri (w/ Jamie Noble and Nidia) with a rollup at 6:35.
 
Analysis: Our next match on the card is a pretty basic matchup. Moore has been cruising in a tag team with the Hurricane and looks to get a win here over Tajiri, who was cruising in his alliance with Noble and looks to get a win here. Moore gets a decent pop from the crowd while Tajiri had decent heat as a heel. Tajiri gets a kick in and works the arm to start the match until Moore escapes with a snapmare and he hits an armdrag, and he works on Tajiri’s arm and Tajiri reverses a whip into the corner as Moore leaps over him and does a backflip. He hits another armdrag and a spin kick on Tajiri for a two count as Tajiri reverses a whip and Moore ducks a shot, and Tajiri hoists him onto his shoulder and drops him on the top rope as he hits a clothesline and stomps on Moore repeatedly. He hits a snapmare and kicks Moore in the back as he hooks a submission on and Moore fights to his feet only for Tajiri to get a shot in, and Moore escapes a slam attempt and Tajiri blocks a rollup attempt as he hits a superkick and he puts Moore on the top rope. He puts him in the tree of woe and stomps on him as he hits a baseball slide to the back of Moore’s head for a two count, and he pounds on Moore on the back and kicks at him as he hits a snapmare and hooks a submission on Moore. He continues to pound on him on the mat and hooks another submission on as he chokes Moore on the ropes and stomps on him, and he slaps Moore in the face twice for a two count and hits a slam as he drops a knee on Moore for a two count. He goes back to the submission on Moore who fights to his feet and breaks the hold as he pounds on Tajiri who reverses a whip, and Moore slides under him and exchange momentum until Moore escapes an inverted suplex attempt and he ducks a shot as he hits a back elbow. He hits a modified neckbreaker on Tajiri for a two count and whips him into the corner as Tajiri backdrops him over the top with Moore landing on the apron, and he yanks Tajiri to the mat and goes up top as he hits a hurricanrana on Tajiri for a two count and Tajiri gets a kick in. Moore reverses a whip and catches Tajiri on the handspring elbow attempt as Tajiri lands on his feet on a back suplex attempt and hits a German suplex for a two count, and he stomps on Moore who leaps onto Tajiri’s shoulders and he slides off as Tajiri ducks a shot and goes behind Moore. Moore hits a pair of back elbows only for Noble to trip him up from the floor and Hurricane leaps off the steps with a clothesline on Noble, and he pounds on him until Noble tosses him onto the apron and Hurricane knocks him down only for Tajiri to hit a baseball slide that knocks Hurricane to the floor. Moore ducks a kick and Tajiri goes behind him only for Moore to hook a rollup which gets the three and he wins the match. The match itself was good as both men worked hard and put on a solid match. Moore was getting into a groove by this point while Tajiri was hitting his stride in the ring, and they had good chemistry as Moore manages to get the clean win. The crowd was into the match and popped for Moore when he won. Moore gets the win over Tajiri and both men move on. Grade: 2
 
Commercial break
 
6. Chris Benoit forces Rikishi to tap out at 2:21.
 
Stipulation: The winner would advance in the Number One Contender’s gauntlet
 
Analysis: Our next match on the card is a pretty big matchup. Rikishi got the win over Eddie earlier to advance in the series and looks to keep going here against Benoit, who was coming off a tough loss at Summerslam and looks to get back on track here. Rikishi gets a good pop from the crowd while Benoit was pretty hot as a heel. Rikishi wastes no time and attacks Benoit to start the match as Benoit reverses a whip and hits a back elbow, and he stomps on Rikishi repeatedly in the corner and pounds on the arm as he continues to stomp on him and Rikishi tries to battle back. He hits a Samoan drop on Benoit though hurts his own arm as Benoit hooks the Crossface on and Rikishi reaches the rope to force a break, and Benoit drops an elbow on him and goes back to the Crossface as Rikishi taps out and Benoit wins the match. The match itself was pretty much a squash as Rikishi got a few shots in, but he puts Benoit over strong in 2 and a half minutes. The crowd was into the match and Rikishi, but are not happy when Benoit wins. Benoit gets the quick win over Rikishi and advances in the series as both men move on. Grade: 1
 
Commercial break
 
Marc Lloyd interviews Kurt Angle, who says that he wants to take this chance to apologize to Snow White and the other Dwarfs for beating Rey Mysterio at Summerslam as that will be the last time Mysterio meddles in his affairs, and he says that you always save the best for last which is what Stephanie did as he received word he will face Benoit to determine the Number One Contender. He says that after he beats Benoit, he will go on to face Brock Lesnar and Lesnar may be the youngest champion in history, but he’s not the best as he will prove it to Benoit and Lesnar.
 
Funaki is outside Brock Lesnar’s dressing room hoping to get an interview as Paul Heyman steps out and says that he has the audacity to interrupt Lesnar’s training, but then Matt Hardy walks up to them and says that tonight marks a new era in WWE which is the era of Matt Hardy as this will be called “Mattitude”.
 
Commercial break
 
7. Brock Lesnar (w/ Paul Heyman) pins Matt Hardy with the F-5 at 3:39.
 
Analysis: Our last match before the main event is a pretty interesting matchup. Lesnar became the man at Summerslam winning the Undisputed Title and looks to get a win here over Matt, who was looking to make a name for himself as a singles star and looks to get the biggest win of his career. Matt gets a mixed reaction from the crowd while Lesnar had solid heat as a heel. Lesnar wastes no time and knocks Matt over the top to the floor to start the match as he goes outside himself and stomps on Matt, and he rams Matt’s back into the post and throws him back into the ring as he hoists Matt up and drives him into the corner. He rams the shoulder into the ribs repeatedly only for Matt to catch him with a knee to the face and he pounds on Lesnar who shoves him into the corner, and Matt catches Lesnar with a back elbow only for Lesnar to blocks a shot as he hits a clothesline legsweep on Matt. He stomps on Matt and hits a short clothesline as he rakes his boot across Matt’s face and hits another short clothesline, and Matt ducks a third clothesline and hooks a rollup for a two count as he ducks a shot and pounds on Lesnar. Lesnar catches him in a belly-to-belly suplex and pounds on him as he whips him into the corner and hits a powerslam, and he kicks at Matt’s head repeatedly and charges at him only for Matt to pull the top rope down as Lesnar tumbles over the top to the floor. Matt goes up top only for Lesnar to catch him on a leap and he hoists him onto his shoulder though Matt slides off and he sends Lesnar into the post, and both men roll back into the ring and Matt hits a dropkick to Lesnar’s back as he gets a kick in and looks for the Twist of Fate. Lesnar blocks it and hoists Matt onto his shoulders as he hits the F-5 which gets the three and he wins the match. The match itself was basically a squash as Matt got a few shots in, but he puts Lesnar over strong in 3 and a half minutes. The crowd was into the match and Matt, but are not happy when Lesnar wins. Lesnar gets the win over Matt and both men move on. Grade: 1
 
After the match, Lesnar and Heyman celebrate and head to the back as Matt struggles to his feet and Lesnar runs back down to the ring, and he gets a shot in on Matt and hits a pair of spinning powerbombs before heading to the back.
 
We see Stephanie McMahon in her office as Dawn Marie comes in with a contract and she reveals that it has been signed, and Stephanie says that the main event for tonight will now be a Triple Threat match as she tells Marie to call Eric Bischoff so he knows to watch the main event.
 
Commercial break
 
8. The Undertaker defeats Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle in a Triple Threat match when he pins Benoit at 8:50.
 
Stipulation: The winner would become the Number One Contender to the WWE Undisputed Championship
 
Analysis: After a fairly quick and interesting night of wrestling, we come to our main event. Benoit advanced to this match earlier in the night and was set to face Angle one-on-one, but a wrench has been thrown in with a former RAW superstar being added in at the last minute. Benoit and Angle were red hot as heels as Stephanie comes out and reveals the third man in the match, which is Taker who gets a huge pop from the crowd. Angle wastes no time and drives Taker into the corner to start the match while Benoit pounds on Taker and stomps on him along with Angle, and they continue to pound and stomp on Taker as they whip him into the other corner and Taker catches Benoit with a boot to the face. He hits a clothesline on Angle and tosses Benoit into the corner as he hits a back elbow and he whips Angle into the other corner, and he splashes both men in the corner and hits a backdrop on Angle as he hits a sidewalk slam on Benoit though misses a big boot to Angle and crotches himself on the top rope. Angle kicks at Taker’s leg as Benoit pounds on him and the two men stomp on Taker’s leg repeatedly in the corner, and Angle chokes Taker with his boot while Benoit continues to stomp on him as they pound on him and hit a double back suplex. They hit a double clothesline that sends Taker over the top to the floor and Angle hits a spear on Benoit as he looks for the Ankle Lock though Benoit trips him up, and Angle goes behind Benoit and hits a pair of German suplexes though Benoit catches him with a back elbow. He goes behind Angle and hits a pair of German suplexes of his own until Angle blocks a third one with a back elbow, and he goes behind Benoit and hits another German suplex as Benoit hits a back elbow and goes behind Angle. Angle trips Benoit up and looks for the Ankle Lock though Benoit quickly grabs the rope and Angle stomps on him repeatedly, and he pounds on Benoit who reverses a whip into the corner and hits a release German suplex on Angle for a two count as Taker breaks it up. He rams Benoit into the buckle and hits a back elbow as he pounds on him in the corner and whips him hard into the other corner, and he hoists Benoit onto his shoulder and hits Snake Eyes as he hits a big boot and knocks Angle off the apron to the floor. He gets a two count on Benoit and looks for the Last Ride as Angle gets in the ring and hits a chop block on Taker’s knee, and Angle goes outside and grabs a chair though the ref keeps him from bringing it in the ring as Benoit goes outside and brings his own chair into the ring. He hits Taker in the head with the chair and knocks Angle off the apron as he gets a two count on Taker with Angle pulling him out of the ring, and he gets in the ring and gets a two count himself as Benoit gets in the ring and Angle catches him in a belly-to-belly suplex. He stomps on Benoit and charges at Taker who sends him over the top to the floor as Benoit hits a German suplex on Taker, and Taker blocks a second one with a series of back elbows and he grabs Benoit by the throat as he hits the chokeslam for a two count with Angle breaking it up. He hooks the Ankle Lock on Taker who flips him over to escape the hold and he clotheslines Angle over the top to the floor, and Benoit takes Taker to the mat and hooks the Crossface on as Angle gets in the ring and hooks the Ankle Lock on Taker. He releases the hold and nails Benoit to break the hold as Benoit escapes an Angle Slam attempt and takes Angle to the mat, and he hooks the Crossface on Angle who rolls through and he hooks the Ankle Lock on Benoit who crawls for the rope only for Angle to pull him back to the center of the ring. Benoit kicks Angle off and Taker hooks a rollup for a two count as Angle ducks a shot and gets a kick in before hitting the Angle Slam, and he charges at Benoit who sends him over the top to the floor and Taker gets a kick in as he hits the Last Ride on Benoit which gets the three and he wins the match. The match itself was good as all three men worked hard and put on a solid triple threat match. All three men were hitting their stride by this point and had great chemistry as Taker is able to get the win while Benoit and Angle still look strong. The crowd was into the match and popped for Taker when he won. Taker gets the win over Angle and Benoit and is the Number One Contender as all three men move on. Grade: 2.5
 
After the match, Taker celebrates his win and rides off to the back as we go off the air.
 
Final Analysis: Overall, this edition of Smackdown coming off a red hot PPV was a pretty good show with a lot of matches. There was a lot of focus on in-ring action tonight which makes sense given the show was built around the Number One Contender series and it delivered pretty well in the end. We had no title matches as Eddie, D-Von, Mysterio, Rikishi, Moore, Benoit, Lesnar, and Taker get big wins, and the matches were pretty standard for TV as the big moment was Taker defecting from RAW to Smackdown. 2002 has been an interesting year to this point as Smackdown was starting to cook with some serious gas, and as we head into the fall we will see how they continue to grow as a brand. As for this show, it is a solid show coming off what was a red hot Summerslam. Final Grade: C+