Smackdown
May 2nd, 2002 (taped April 30th)
Mellon Arena
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
 
5/4 Jakked taping:
 
1. The Godfather defeats Tazz.
2. The Hurricane defeats Albert.
3. Hugh Morrus defeats Funaki.
4. Chavo Guerrero Jr. defeats Maven.
 
Actual Show:
 
We see the opening video for Smackdown.
 
Your hosts are Michael Cole and Tazz.
 
1. Billy & Chuck (w/ Rico) defeat Rikishi and the Hurricane when Chuck pins Hurricane at 4:25 to retain the WWF Tag Team Championships.
 
Analysis: We kick off this edition of Smackdown with our first title match of the night. Billy and Chuck have been rolling as tag champions and face a tough challenge here in the mismatched team of Rikishi and Hurricane. Rikishi and Hurricane get a good pop from the crowd while Billy and Chuck had solid heat as heels. Rikishi starts off the match with Billy and they lock up with Billy getting a knee in and he pounds on Rikishi who shoves him to the mat, and Billy continues to pound on Rikishi who no-sells a headbutt and he knocks Billy down as Billy ducks a shot and attempts a sunset flip with Rikishi teasing a sitdown splash. Chuck tags in and Rikishi catches him in a powerslam as he hits a legdrop and tags Hurricane who goes up top and hits a sunset flip for a two count, and he pounds on Chuck who reverses a whip and Hurricane ducks a shot as he hits a headscissors on Chuck. He grabs Chuck by the throat only for Billy to come in and nail Hurricane who catches Chuck ducking with a kick and he pounds on Billy, and Billy reverses a whip into the corner and launches Hurricane into a belly-to-belly suplex from Chuck for a two count. He hits a pair of short clotheslines and a spinning punch on Hurricane as Billy tags in and kicks at Hurricane, and he pounds on Hurricane and chokes him on the ropes as Hurricane catches him ducking with a tornado DDT and Chuck tags in. Hurricane escapes a back suplex attempt and hits a neckbreaker on Chuck as Rikishi gets the hot tag and he fires up on Billy and Chuck, and he hits a superkick on Chuck and a clothesline on Billy as he whips Chuck into Billy in the corner and splashes both men. He hits a backdrop on Chuck and looks to give Billy the Stinkface only for Rico to pull Billy out of the ring, and Rikishi hits a Samoan drop on Chuck and tags Hurricane who goes up top and hits a crossbody on Chuck. Billy pulls Rikishi off the apron and pounds on him as Rico gets in the ring and hits a spin kick on Hurricane which allows Chuck to get the three and they retain the titles. The match itself was decent as both teams worked hard and put on a basic title match. Rikishi and Hurricane looked decent as a team while Billy and Chuck were hitting their stride as a team, and they had decent chemistry as Rico again helps the champs retain. The crowd was into the match and Rikishi and Hurricane, but are not happy when Billy and Chuck win. Billy and Chuck retain the titles over Rikishi and Hurricane as both teams move on. Grade: 1.5
 
After the match, Rikishi gets in the ring and hits a superkick on Chuck as Hurricane grabs Rico by the throat and hits the chokeslam, and he whips Rico into the corner and Rikishi splashes him before giving him the Stinkface.
 
We see Val Venis and Lance Storm in the dressing room as Kurt Angle comes in and says they are two of the best athletes in the company though they are relegated to betting on Mark Henry’s feats, and he says that tonight he unveil his real T-shirt and one of them will get to model it while he talks about it. Venis says that he thinks Angle’s shirt sucks and so does he as he walks away and Storm says it’s a fine shirt as it will be a pleasure to wear it to the ring, and Angle says that they are in his hometown and they wouldn’t dare to chant “You Suck” at him as without him, Pittsburgh would be the pits and the people worship him. Storm mentions Mario Lemieux and Angle says that he faked being ill to garner sympathy as they walk out.
 
Commercial break
 
Kurt Angle comes down to the ring and he brings Lance Storm out as Storm is wearing Angle’s new T-shirt, and Angle says that Storm doesn’t suck as he is cool despite being Canadian and he is also cool because he is wearing the real shirt. He says that he designed the shirt himself as it has a great phrase on the front and all his accomplishments on the back, and he says that due to all the writing on the shirt, it’s only available in 2XL and larger as Storm says that the shirt is great. Angle says that the people can’t balance their budget and are unemployed though if they were smart, they will take the money they usually spend on beer and porn and put it to good use by buying his shirt. Just then, Edge comes out on the stage and says he wants to buy a shirt along with everyone else though he has a better one, and he says Angle knows the one he’s talking about as he brings out Val Venis who is wearing the “You Suck” shirt. Angle says he’s had it with Edge and he thought after he beat him at Backlash, Edge would’ve learned his lesson though he hasn’t learned a thing and he wants a rematch with him at Judgment Day. He says that this time, Edge will be the one that sucks as he will brutalize on him and inflict so much pain on him until Storm whispers something in his ear, and Angle says that Storm informed him he can beat Edge anytime he wants though it will be better to humiliate him. He says that at Judgment Day, they have a match with Edge getting his head shaved bald if he loses and Edge says he’ll do it though Angle has to put his hair on the line as well, and Angle says that the people would die if his head was shaved and Venis says everyone wants to see Angle bald. Angle says that if means not giving the people what they want while humiliating Edge, he agrees and Edge says that after Judgment Day, Angle will be red, white, and bald.
 
Commercial break
 
Whack of the Night: Randy Orton defeating Hardcore Holly last week on Smackdown
 
We see footage from earlier tonight of Stacy Keibler wishing Randy Orton luck in his match by giving him a kiss on the cheek.
 
2. Randy Orton defeats Hardcore Holly by disqualification at 3:06.
 
Analysis: Our next match on the card is a rematch from last week. Orton stunned everyone by defeating Holly last week and now Holly looks to get revenge here. Orton gets a decent pop from the crowd while Holly had decent heat as a heel. The two men lock up to start with Orton hooking a headlock and Holly throws him to the mat as they lock up with Orton going back to the headlock, and he goes behind Holly and hits a drop toehold as he hits a dropkick on Holly for a two count and Holly gets a kick in. He pounds on Orton in the corner and whips him into the other corner as Orton avoids a charge and hooks a rollup for a two count, and he hits a clothesline on Holly and hooks another rollup for a two count as Holly catches him ducking with a powerbomb. He stomps on Orton repeatedly and chokes him on the ropes as he hits a dropkick and pounds on him in the corner, and Orton reverses a whip into the other corner and Holly catches him with a boot to the face as Orton catches him in a powerslam for a two count. Orton starts to fire up on Holly who reverses a whip into the corner and Orton hits a springboard legdrop for a two count, and he hits a flying clothesline and backdrop on Holly who catches him with a low blow which draws the DQ and Orton wins the match. The match itself was decent as both men worked hard and put on a basic match. Orton looked better in his second outing while Holly was hitting his groove by this point, and they still had decent chemistry as Holly gets himself DQ’ed and Orton gets another win. The crowd was into the match and Orton, but are not happy with the ending. Orton gets the win over Holly by DQ and both men move on. Grade: 1
 
After the match, Holly throws Orton over the top to the floor and goes outside himself as he stomps and pounds on him before dragging him up the ramp, and he shoves the ref away and hits the Alabama Slam on Orton on the stage.
 
Commercial break
 
We see Faarooq and Mark Henry in the dressing room as Faarooq holds up a wad of cash and says he won all this thanks to Henry’s hard work and he deserves part of it, and Henry says he’s just happy to be here and Faarooq says that Henry is a sure thing to bet on as Henry agrees and Faarooq hands him $20. Just then, Rev. D-Von comes in and says that they’re standing tall though he is troubled by money which is the root of all evil, and he says that they can take that dirty money and cleanse it to a point where the light will shine on them. He says that he can take the money and put towards his building fund because a dollar is a terrible thing to waste, and Faarooq goes to hit him though Henry holds him back and says that D-Von can testify his ass out of here before he does something sinful. D-Von says that lightning will strike down upon them or else he will before leaving and Faarooq takes the $20 back as he looks to give Henry $10.
 
We see Vince McMahon and Stacy Keibler in Vince’s office as Vince says that Orton doesn’t have any idea what a good luck kiss means and he wants to give her lots of kisses, and he says that there’s one area that really turns him on and he will give her all the luck in the world by kissing her belly button. Just then, Chris Jericho comes in and says he doesn’t need to knock as he will become the Undisputed Champion tonight, and he says that things have been bothering him as he wonders if Hogan will get himself DQ’ed tonight and they saw what Taker did to Hogan on RAW. Vince says the match will now be no-DQ and Jericho says that Taker wants to face Hogan instead of him and he doesn’t want Taker to get involved, and Vince says that he and Flair came to an agreement that no Superstar will be on the other brand or they will be suspended. Jericho says that Triple H is jealous of him and he doesn’t want him to spoil his moment as Vince says if Triple H touches Jericho at all, it will be tantamount to career suicide and Jericho says he will be the new Undisputed Champion tonight. Vince sits back down next to Keibler and tries to go back to what he was doing until he notices Jericho sitting down as well and he asks him to leave which he does.
 
Commercial break
 
We see video tributes to Wahoo McDaniel and Lou Thesz.
 
3. Kurt Angle and Lance Storm defeat Edge and Val Venis when Angle pins Venis at 7:57.
 
Analysis: Our next match on the card is our first tag match of the night. Edge and Angle went back and forth earlier in the night and now they face off here with Venis and Storm as their partners. Edge and Venis get a good pop from the crowd while Angle and Storm were pretty hot as heels. Edge starts off the match with Angle who gets a kick in and he pounds on Edge in the corner until Edge turns it around on Angle, and Angle reverses a whip into the other corner and Edge catches him with a boot to the face as he goes up to the middle rope and hits a missile dropkick for a two count. He rams Angle into the buckle and tags Venis as Edge stomps on Angle repeatedly and Venis pounds on him, and he hits a back elbow on Angle and drops an elbow on him before dropping a knee on him for a two count. Angle rakes the eyes and hits a short clothesline on Venis as he stomps on him and Storm tags in, and he kicks at Venis and pounds on him in the corner as Venis reverses a whip and rams the knee into Storm’s ribs twice. He hits a Russian legsweep on Storm and hooks a submission on as Angle breaks it up by dropping an elbow on Venis, and Edge tags in and kicks at Storm as he pounds on him and Storm reverses a whip with Angle grabbing at Edge from the apron. Edge gets a shot in and Storm hits a side dropkick on Edge as Angle tags in and kicks at Edge before pounding on him, and he stomps on Edge and hits a suplex for a two count as he pounds on him until Edge reverses a whip and hits a back elbow. Angle ducks a shot and hits a German suplex on Edge as Storm tags in and kicks at him before yanking him up by the hair and he slams him to the mat, and he hits a legdrop on Edge for a two count and Edge tries to battle back as Storm gets a knee in and Edge catches him ducking with a kick. Storm hits a drop toehold and holds the leg as Angle tags in and drops an elbow on Edge before pounding on him in the corner, and Storm comes in and stomps on Edge repeatedly as he chokes him with his boot and hooks a submission on. Edge fights to his feet and breaks the hold as Storm reverses a whip into the corner and Edge backdrops him over the top with Storm landing on the apron, and he gets a shot in only for Edge to catch him on a springboard attempt with a powerslam and Venis gets the hot tag. He fires up on both men and hits a clothesline on Angle as he catches Storm with a back elbow and Angle reverses a whip, and Venis ducks a shot and hits a flying tackle on Angle as he hits a powerslam on Storm only for Angle to hit a German suplex. Venis blocks a second one with a pair of back elbows and hits a spinning sitdown powerbomb for a two count as Storm breaks it up, and Venis escapes a double back suplex attempt and ducks a double clothesline as Edge goes up top and hits a double clothesline on both men. Edge and Storm go outside and Edge rams him into the barricade as Angle reverses a whip and hits a belly-to-belly suplex on Venis, and Edge gets in the ring and hits the spear on Angle as Storm comes in and hits a clothesline on Edge that sends both men over the top to the floor. Venis gets a two count on Angle who pounds on him and Venis catches him in a spinebuster as he goes up top, and Storm gets on the apron and grabs at Venis’ leg as Venis shoves him to the floor though Angle leaps up top and hits a belly-to-belly superplex on Venis for a two count. Edge gets in the ring and hits a clothesline on Angle as Storm gets in the ring and Edge sends him over the top to the floor, and Angle gets a kick in though Venis escapes the Angle Slam and hooks a rollup though Storm gets in the ring and hits a superkick on Venis with Angle hooking a rollup which gets the three and he wins the match. The match itself was good as both teams worked hard and put on a solid tag match. Both teams looked good together and they had good chemistry as Storm and Angle get the win. The crowd was into the match and Edge and Venis, but are not happy when Storm and Angle win. Angle and Storm get the win over Edge and Venis as both teams move on. Grade: 2
 
Commercial break
 
Chris Jericho comes down to the ring and says that no one can bring him down because tonight, he is the king of the world, the mac daddy, and last week he beat Triple H fair and square and earned a title shot for tonight against the has-been. He says that he will do what Triple H couldn’t do at Backlash which is to beat Hogan and become Undisputed Champion, and he says that the best part is he will do what every other Superstar has wanted to do and will further his status as a living legend and he will drive a stake through the heart of Hulkamania. He says that Hulkamania ends tonight and it is running out of time as the seconds tick away only for Triple H to come down to the ring, and he gets in Jericho’s face and laughs as Jericho asks what he’s laughing about and he knows Triple H is jealous that he beat him last week and he will become champion again. He says that there’s nothing Triple H can do about it because if he touches him, he will be committing career suicide and he was the first Undisputed Champion for four months while Triple H was a four-week embarrassment. He says he knows Triple H wants to hit him and he tells him to do it as he knows everyone wants Triple H to punch him, and he continues to goad Triple H into punching him and he offers him his chin while also closing his eyes. He says that he knows Triple H is scared of him and no one can stop him from becoming Undisputed Champion, and Triple H takes the mike and says that he’s smiling because he knows something that Jericho doesn’t which is the fact that there is no chance in hell of Jericho becoming champion and he heads to the back.
 
Commercial break
 
4. Christian and Test defeat Mark Henry and Faarooq when Christian pins Faarooq at 3:34.
 
Analysis: Our next match on the card is our second and last tag match of the night. Henry has been having issues with Test and Christian and now he teams with Faarooq to face them here. Henry and Faarooq get a good pop from the crowd while Christian and Test were pretty hot as heels. Henry starts off the match with Test and they lock up with Henry shoving Test into the corner as Christian distracts Henry, and Test gets a shot in from behind and pounds on Henry as Christian tags in and they continue to pound on Henry who hits a double clothesline. He hoists Christian onto his shoulder and Christian slides off as he ducks a shot only for Henry to hit a flapjack, and Faarooq tags in and Henry presses Christian up as he drops him on Faarooq’s knee and Faarooq pounds on him in the corner. Christian reverses a whip into the other corner and Faarooq catches him with a back elbow only for Test to hit a clothesline from the apron, and he comes in and stomps on Faarooq repeatedly as he rams him into the buckle and hits a series of back elbows in the corner. He whips Faarooq into the other corner and splashes him as he whips him back into the other corner and splashes him again, and he throws Faarooq to the mat and tags Christian who pounds on Faarooq only for Faarooq to battle back. He hits a pair of clotheslines on both men and then he hits a powerslam on Christian for a two count as Test breaks it up, and we see Rev. D-Von in the crowd collecting money as Henry clotheslines Test over the top to the floor and Faarooq pounds on Christian on the mat. Henry goes outside and Faarooq gets a two count as he pounds on Christian in the corner and Henry confronts D-Von, and Faarooq comes over and takes the collection box from D-Von as they open it up and Henry tosses handfuls of money into the crowd. D-Von gets a shot in on Henry from behind and Henry chases D-Von into the crowd as Faarooq gets back in the ring, and Christian escapes a Dominator and Faarooq avoids the big boot as he hits a spinebuster on Test and Christian hits an inverted DDT which gets the three and he wins the match for his team. The match itself was decent as both teams worked hard and put on a basic tag match. Both teams looked decent together and had decent chemistry as this was more about D-Von costing Faarooq and Henry. The crowd was into the match and Faarooq and Henry, but are not happy when Test and Christian win. Test and Christian get the win over Faarooq and Henry as both teams move on. Grade: 1
 
We see a shot outside Hulk Hogan’s dressing room.
 
Commercial break
 
We see a shot outside the Mellon Arena.
 
5. Tajiri (w/ Torrie Wilson) pins Billy Kidman with a kick to the head at 3:51 to retain the WWF Cruiserweight Championship.
 
Analysis: Our last match before the main event is our second title match of the night. Tajiri defeated Kidman at Backlash to win the Cruiserweight Title and Kidman gets his rematch here. Kidman gets a good pop from the crowd while Tajiri was pretty hot as a heel. Tajiri wastes no time and kicks at Kidman’s leg to start the match as he whips him into the corner and Kidman catches him with a boot to the face, and he goes up to the middle rope and hits a headscissors on Tajiri who launches him into the corner with Kidman landing on the middle rope. He hits a springboard armdrag on Tajiri who gets a kick in and he hits a dropkick to the knee as he stomps on it repeatedly, and he drops an elbow on the knee and then he slams down on it as he hits a kneebreaker on Kidman who escapes a second one with a sunset flip for a two count. Kidman gets a kick in though Tajiri escapes a hold and snaps Kidman to the mat by his leg as he puts Kidman in the tree of woe, and he hits a dropkick to the knee and kicks at Kidman as he grabs at his leg and Kidman catches him with an enzurgiri. He fires up on Tajiri and whips him into the corner as he hits a clothesline and he blocks the handspring elbow with a dropkick to the back for a two count, and Tajiri reverses a whip and Kidman slides under him as he escapes a tilt-a-whirl only for Tajiri to hit a spin kick. Kidman escapes a powerbomb attempt and hits a sitdown spinebuster on Tajiri for a two count as Tajiri escapes a slam attempt and ducks a shot, and he hits a superkick on Kidman for a two count and kicks at the leg as Kidman reverses a whip into the corner and blocks the Tarantula by sending Tajiri to the floor. Wilson checks on Tajiri as Kidman attempts a slingshot plancha only for Tajiri to pull Wilson into it and Kidman lands on Wilson, and Tajiri kicks Kidman in the head and throws him back into the ring as he kicks him in the head again which gets the three and he retains the title. The match itself was decent as both men worked hard for the 4 minutes they got and put on a decent title match. Both men were hitting their groove and still had good chemistry as Tajiri uses Wilson to his advantage. The crowd was into the match and Kidman, but are not happy when Tajiri wins. Tajiri retains the title over Kidman and both men move on. Grade: 1.5
 
We see Vince McMahon and Stacy Keibler in Vince’s office as they are straightening themselves up and he asks if she can bring Triple H to the office.
 
Commercial break
 
We see Vince McMahon in his office as Triple H and Stacy Keibler come in as Vince asks her to get him a cup of coffee, and he says that Triple H is still a part of his family and tells him that if he gets involved in the main event, his career is done. Triple H asks if they’re done and Vince says he is as Triple H simply walks away.
 
We see Chris Jericho walking down the hallway.
 
Commercial break
 
6. Hulk Hogan pins Chris Jericho with a rollup in a No Disqualification match at 10:19 to retain the WWF Undisputed Championship.
 
Analysis: After a fairly quick and interesting night of wrestling, we come to our main event. Hogan was preparing for his match at Judgment Day and looks to have a successful defense here against Jericho, who won the title shot the previous week and looks to become champion again. Hogan gets a big pop from the crowd while Jericho was red hot as a heel. The two men lock up to start with Hogan shoving Jericho to the mat and they lock up again with Hogan shoving Jericho to the outside, and Jericho regroups before returning to the ring and they lock up with Hogan hooking a headlock. Jericho tries to power out though Hogan regains control and Jericho whips him off as Hogan knocks him down, and he hits a hiptoss and a slam on Jericho as he works the arm until Jericho rakes the eyes and he hits a back suplex. He stomps on Hogan repeatedly and mocks him only to miss the elbow and Hogan pounds on him in the corner, and he whips Jericho into the other corner and Jericho catches him with a back elbow as he goes up top only for Hogan to get a shot in and he tosses Jericho to the mat. He kicks at Jericho in the corner and pounds on him only for Jericho to hit a low blow and he shoves Hogan to the mat, and he stomps on Hogan and knocks him down as he slaps the back of his head twice and rams him into the buckle. He pounds on Hogan in the corner and whips him into the other corner as Hogan avoids a charge and Jericho tumbles over the top to the floor, and Hogan goes outside and hoists Jericho up only for Jericho to slide off his shoulder and he rams Hogan into the post. He rolls back into the ring and goes up top as he hits an axehandle on Hogan and both men roll back into the ring, and Jericho hotshots Hogan on the top rope and slams down on his back as he takes the tape off his wrist and chokes Hogan with it. He pounds on Hogan and continues to choke him on the ropes only to miss a dive as he crotches himself on the ropes, and Hogan fires up on Jericho and hits a slam as he drops a pair of elbows on him only to miss a third one. Jericho hits the running bulldog on Hogan and then he hits the Lionsault as Triple H comes down to ringside and joins on commentary, and Jericho gets distracted and Hogan pounds on him as Jericho ducks the big boot and gets a kick in before hitting a DDT for a two count. Hogan starts to hulk up and no-sells Jericho’s shots as he pounds on Jericho and hits the big boot only for Jericho to trip him up, and he hooks the Walls of Jericho on Hogan who reaches the rope to force a break and Jericho pushes the ref aside. He goes outside and brings a chair into the ring as he hits Hogan in the back with it only for the Undertaker’s music to play, and Jericho waits with the chair and Hogan hooks a rollup which gets the three and he retains the title. The match itself was good as both men worked hard and put on a solid title match. Hogan was getting back into a groove by this point while Jericho was hitting his stride, and they had good chemistry as Triple H ends up screwing Jericho and helping Hogan retain. The crowd was into the match and popped for Hogan when he won. Hogan retains the title over Jericho and both men move on. Grade: 2.5
 
After the match, Jericho attacks Hogan from behind and pounds on him until Triple H gets in the ring and attacks Jericho, and Jericho rolls outside and heads to the back with Triple H chasing after him while Hogan celebrates in the ring as we go off the air.
 
Final Analysis: Overall, this edition of Smackdown was a pretty solid show to continue the build to Judgment Day. Coming out of Backlash, there were still some lingering issues that continued to brew though we were seeing some new feuds starting as well, and it was going to make the build to Judgment Day pretty interesting. Hogan is still the man while Tajiri, Billy, and Chuck retain the titles and Orton, Angle, Storm, Test, and Christian get big wins, and in terms of the matches the main event was the best while the rest was pretty standard for TV. 2002 has been an interesting year as we were starting to see some new faces come up looking to establish themselves, and we will see if any new stars break out during this time. As for this show, it is a pretty solid show to continue the build to Judgment Day. Final Grade: C+