Smackdown
July 4th, 2002 (taped July 2nd)
FleetCenter
Boston, Massachusetts
 
Dark Match:
 
1. Funaki pins Steve Bradley.
 
7/6 Velocity taping:
 
1. Tajiri pins Billy Kidman at 4:04.
2. Hardcore Holly pins Chavo Guerrero at 4:24.
3. Christian pins Mark Henry at 4:02.
4. Albert pins Rob Conway at 4:02.
5. Jamie Noble (w/ Nidia) pins the Hurricane at 7:01.
 
Actual Show:
 
We see the opening video for Smackdown.
 
Your hosts are Michael Cole and Tazz.
 
Lilian Garcia performs the National Anthem until Lance Storm, Christian, and Test interrupt as Storm says he doesn’t mean to ruin this celebration, and he says they’ve had all they can take of this crap as they get in the ring and Christian says that today is the day America celebrates Independence Day. He asks if everyone knows why they’re celebrating and they think of this as the day Will Smith saved the world from aliens, and Storm says that what really happened was America was founded as British colonies and in 1776, America declared itself an independent country by turning its back on Britian. He says that America could only contain its aggression in its own boundaries for so long as it would release its hostilities on the rest of the world, and he says there was World War I, World War II, Korea, and he asks what right America had to be in Korea. He asks what right they had to be in Vietnam which is a bit of a touchy subject as America was defeated, and he says that Americans are hypocrites and don’t like him speaking the truth as they don’t want to hear what the rest of the world has to say. He says that it contradicts the Constitution in that the 1st Amendment speaks of freedom of expression and speech, but America doesn’t want to hear what other countries have to say as Test says the rest of the world hates America like they do and they say America sucks.
 
Commercial break
 
1. Lance Storm (w/ Christian and Test) pins Rikishi after a big boot from Test at 2:31.
 
Analysis: We kick off this edition of Smackdown with a pretty interesting matchup. Rikishi was attacked by Storm, Christian, and Test last week and now he looks to get some revenge here against Storm. Rikishi gets a good pop from the crowd while Storm was pretty hot as a heel. Rikishi wastes no time and pounds on Storm to start the match as he hits a backdrop and he clotheslines Storm over the top to the floor, and he regroups with Christian and Test before getting a shot in on Rikishi as he attempts a springboard only for Rikishi to hit a clothesline. He whips Storm hard into the corners and hits a spinebuster only to miss a charge in the corner and Storm hits a side dropkick for a two count, and Rikishi fires up on Storm and hits a back elbow as he hits a clothesline and Storm ducks a shot. He attempts a sunset flip and Rikishi hits a sitdown splash as Christian gets on the apron and Rikishi knocks him to the floor, and Test gets on the apron and Rikishi knocks him to the floor as he pulls Storm to the corner and goes up to the middle rope. Christian gets on the apron again and distracts the ref as Test gets on the apron and hits the big boot on Rikishi which allows Storm to get the three and he wins the match. The match itself was nothing much as Rikishi pretty much dominated the match until Storm stole the win thanks to Christian and Test. The crowd was into the match and Rikishi, but are not happy when Storm wins. Storm gets the win over Rikishi though this issue isn’t over yet. Grade: 1
 
We see the Undertaker arrive to the arena.
 
Commercial break
 
We see a shot outside the FleetCenter.
 
We see highlights from Smackdown last week.
 
We see Stacy Keibler walk down the hallway to the locker room as she asks Mark Henry if John Cena is there and Henry says he’ll get him, and Cena comes to the door as Keibler says that Vince wants to see Cena in his office.
 
2. Rev. D-Von and Bautista defeated Randy Orton and Val Venis when Bautista pins Orton at 4:54.
 
Analysis: Our next match on the card is our first tag match of the night. Orton lost a tag match to D-Von and Bautista last week and looks to get some revenge here with Venis as his partner. Venis and Orton get a decent pop from the crowd while D-Von and Bautista had decent heat as heels. Venis starts off the match with Bautista and he ducks a shot as he pounds on Bautista who no-sells his shots, and Venis hits a clothesline that Bautista no-sells and Venis kicks at his leg repeatedly only for Bautista to hit a clothesline. He throws Venis into the corner and tags D-Von who pounds on Venis and rams him into the buckle as he continues to pound on her, and he hits a jumping back elbow on Venis and whips him into the corner as Venis catches him with a boot to the face. He pounds on D-Von and hits a back elbow as he hits a slam and drops a knee on D-Von for a two count, and Orton tags in and ducks a shot as he hits a back elbow on D-Von and then he hits a clothesline and a dropkick for a two count. He pounds on D-Von in the corner and whips him into the other corner as D-Von avoids a charge and Orton leaps to the middle rope, but D-Von gets a shot in and hits a neckbreaker on Orton for a two count as he pounds on him and rams him into the buckle. He pounds on Orton in the corner and chokes him with his knee as he hits a snapmare and drops a fist on Orton, and he whips Orton into the corner and Orton catches him with a boot to the face as he goes up to the middle rope and hits a bulldog on D-Von. Venis gets the hot tag and ducks a shot as he fires up on D-Von and hits a clothesline only for D-Von to reverse a whip, and he hits a flying tackle on D-Von who counters a whip and hooks a sleeper though Venis escapes with a back suplex powerbomb for a two count as Bautista breaks it up. Orton tags in and hits a powerslam on D-Von for a two count as he pounds on him with Bautista getting a blind tag, and Orton gets a shot in on Bautista and hotshots D-Von on the top rope as Bautista hoists Orton onto his shoulders and hits a rolling senton. Orton avoids a charge and Bautista rams his shoulder into the post as Venis and D-Von get in the ring with Venis hitting a clothesline, and Bautista hits a clothesline on Venis as Orton goes up top only to miss the crossbody and Bautista hits the spinebuster 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. D-Von and Bautista have been gelling well as a team while Venis and Orton looked decent as a team, and they had decent chemistry as Bautista pins Orton again for the second week in a row. The crowd was into the match and Venis and Orton, but are not happy when D-Von and Bautista win. D-Von and Bautista get the win over Venis and Orton as both teams move on. Grade: 1.5
 
We see Vince McMahon and Chris Jericho in Vince’s office as Jericho rants about what happened last week and Edge kept him from ending Hulk Hogan’s career by using his music and pose, and Vince says that Jericho appears obsessed with Edge so he’ll face him at Vengeance as John Cena comes in. Vince says that he was impressed with Cena’s performance last week and showed the ruthless aggression he wants, and he introduces Cena to Jericho and Cena offers a handshake though Jericho asks who the hell he thinks he is interrupting him. He asks what kind of ruthless aggression he has as Cena slaps him in the face and leaves the office with Vince checking on Jericho.
 
Commercial break
 
We see footage from during the break.
 
Marc Lloyd interviews Kurt Angle, who says that he’s a man of action and the poster boy of ruthless aggression as last week, it took a few minutes more than he expected to beat Cena though he had the flu last week and he feels good tonight. He says that he will beat the Undertaker and become Undisputed Champion as he’s on a roll and he reminds everyone of what he’s done the last few weeks, and he says that tonight is the best night for him to become champion as he is the best man to represent the country and this is his night. He says that this country doesn’t need a man like Taker to represent them and they need a man of intensity, integrity, and intelligence which is him, and he says that he can back it up which is true.
 
We see footage from earlier tonight of Billy and Chuck trying to have their own picnic only for Rico to chew them out.
 
Commercial break
 
We see highlights from the 1/17 Smackdown.
 
3. “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan and Edge defeat Billy and Chuck (w/ Rico) when Edge pins Chuck at 10:04 to win the WWE Tag Team Championships.
 
Analysis: Our next match on the card is our first title match of the night. Billy and Chuck have been rolling as tag champions and face their toughest challenge to date in the makeshift team of Edge and Hogan. Edge and Hogan get a big pop from the crowd as Hogan comes out to “Real American” for the first time in almost a decade while Billy and Chuck had solid heat as heels. Hogan starts off the match with Chuck and they lock up with Hogan shoving Chuck back and they lock up again with Chuck getting a knee in, and he knocks Hogan down twice and pounds on him in the corner as he hits a slam and mocks Hogan though Hogan no-sells it. He pounds on Chuck and hits a clothesline as he drops a pair of elbows on him and rakes his boot across Chuck’s face, and Billy tags in and Hogan sends him into a shot from Edge on the apron as both men pound on him. Edge tags in and they knock Billy down as Edge continues to pound on him until Billy reverses a whip and Edge escapes a press slam attempt, and he hits the Edge-o-Matic for a two count and then he hits a clothesline on Chuck as he pounds on Billy in the corner. He comes off the middle rope with an elbow to Chuck only for Billy to hit a clothesline and he stomps on Edge, and Chuck tags in and he rams the shoulder into Edge’s ribs repeatedly in the corner as he pounds on him only for Edge to battle back. Chuck blocks a shot and hits a belly-to-belly suplex on Edge for a two count as he rams him into Billy’s boot and stomps on him, and Billy tags in and chokes Edge on the ropes as Chuck gets a shot in from the floor and drives the elbow into Edge’s throat. Billy hits a suplex on Edge for a two count and Chuck tags in as he pounds on Edge and kicks at him repeatedly, and he hits a slam and drops an elbow on Edge for a two count as Edge tries to battle back only for Chuck to send him over the top to the floor. Billy holds Edge from behind only for Edge to avoid a superkick from Rico who hits Billy by mistake and Edge gets on the apron as he gets a shot in on Chuck, and Billy gets on the apron and hits a bulldog that drives Edge into the steps as he throws him back into the ring and Chuck gets a two count. Billy tags in and stomps on Edge as he hooks a front facelock on and Edge fights to his corner before escaping with a backdrop, but Billy hooks a sunset flip for a two count and hits a clothesline on Edge as Chuck tags in and hoists Edge onto his shoulder. Edge slides off and ducks a shot as he hits a modified facebuster on Chuck and Hogan gets the hot tag, and he fires up on Billy and hits a clothesline before pounding on Chuck and he hits a clothesline on him. He rams Billy and Chuck’s heads together and pounds on Billy as he hits the big boot only for Chuck to hit the Jungle Kick on Hogan, and Billy gets a two count and pounds on Hogan along with Chuck only for Hogan to hit a double clothesline and Edge tags in. He goes up top and hits a double clothesline on Billy and Chuck as he fires up on both men and gets a kick in as he hits the Edgecution on Chuck, and he sets up for the spear only for Rico to trip him up from the floor as Hogan pounds on Rico and crotches him on the barricade. Billy rolls Chuck out of the ring and gets a kick in on Edge only for Edge to hit the spear for a two count with Chuck breaking it up, and he pounds on Edge until Hogan comes in and pounds on Chuck as he and Edge hit a double big boot and both men hit the legdrop on Chuck as Edge gets the three and we have new champions. The match itself was good as both teams worked hard and put on a solid title match. Billy and Chuck were hitting their peak as a team while Edge and Hogan looked good as a team, and they had good chemistry as this was a big moment for Edge to win the titles with Hogan. The crowd was into the match and popped for Edge and Hogan when they won. Edge and Hogan get the win over Billy and Chuck and are the new tag champions as both teams move on. Grade: 2.5
 
Commercial break
 
4. Chris Jericho pins John Cena with a sleeper slam at 5:07.
 
Analysis: Our next match on the card is a pretty interesting matchup. These two had a confrontation earlier in the night and now they face off here to settle their issues. Cena gets a decent pop from his hometown crowd while Jericho was red hot as a heel. Jericho wastes no time and attacks Cena to start the match as he hits a back elbow and he slaps Cena in the face, and Cena tackles Jericho to the mat and pounds on him as he splashes him on the ropes and Jericho slides outside to regroup. Cena goes outside and pounds on Jericho before throwing him back into the ring and he continues to pound on Jericho, and Jericho reverses a whip and Cena catches a dropkick attempt as he slingshots Jericho into the corner and hits a spinebuster for a two count. Jericho holds the ropes on a whip and slides outside again to regroup as Cena goes after him only for Jericho to hit a clothesline, and he hotshots Cena on the announce table and throws him back into the ring as he kicks at Cena and chokes him on the ropes. He slams down on Cena’s back and Cena tries to battle back as he whips Jericho into the corner and Jericho catches him with a boot to the face, and he goes up to the middle rope only for Cena to catch him coming with a dropkick and he hits a pair of clotheslines. Jericho reverses a whip and Cena hits a flying forearm as Jericho catches him ducking with a kick only for Cena to hit a powerslam for a two count, and he whips Jericho into the corner and splashes him as he hits a bulldog for a two count and Jericho reverses a whip. Cena attempts a sunset flip and Jericho rolls through as he looks for the Walls of Jericho only for Cena to hook a small package for a two count, but Jericho rakes the eyes and pounds on Cena in the corner as Cena reverses a whip into the other corner. Jericho leaps over him and Cena gets a kick in as he hits a DDT for a pair of two counts and he whips Jericho into the corner, but he misses a charge and Jericho hits the bulldog as Cena avoids the Lionsault with Jericho landing on his feet. Cena hits another spinebuster for a two count and then he hooks a rollup for a two count as Jericho escapes a back suplex attempt, and he hits a sleeper slam and uses the ropes for leverage 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. Jericho was hitting his stride by this point while Cena again looked good for the second week, and they had good chemistry as Cena takes Jericho to the limit and Jericho cheats to win. The crowd was into the match and Cena, but are not happy when Jericho wins. Jericho gets the win over Cena though this issue isn’t over yet. Grade: 2
 
After the match, Jericho taunts Cena and offers a handshake which Cena accepts though Jericho gets a shot in and pounds on Cena, but Cena ducks a shot and hits a back suplex powerbomb on Jericho who rolls outside.
 
Commercial break
 
We see a vignette hyping the debut of Rey Mysterio.
 
We see highlights from the 12/6/01 Smackdown.
 
We see highlights from RAW 3 nights ago.
 
We see highlights from Divas Undressed last Saturday.
 
Commercial break
 
We see footage from earlier today of Jamie Noble taking Nidia to their new trailer home.
 
5. Torrie Wilson defeats Stacy Keibler in a Bra and Panties match at 2:38.
 
Analysis: Our last match before the main event is a pretty interesting matchup. These two got into it at Divas Undressed last weekend and now they face off here in a Bra and Panties match to settle their issues. Wilson gets a good pop from the crowd while Keibler had solid heat as a heel. Keibler slaps Wilson in the face to start the match as she rams her into the buckle until Wilson gets a back elbow in, and she rams Keibler into the buckle twice and attempts a whip though Keibler does a cartwheel twice only for Wilson to kick Keibler out of the ring. Wilson goes outside as well and rams Keibler into the apron as she throws her back into the ring and Keibler hits a drop toehold that sends Wilson throat first into the bottom rope, and Wilson catches Keibler ducking with a sunset flip as they trade pin attempts until Wilson ducks a shot and hits a clothesline. Keibler reverses a whip into the corner and Wilson catches her with a boot to the face as she trips Keibler up and slingshots her into the corner, and she takes Keibler’s shirt off and Keibler catches her ducking with a kick only for Wilson to tackle her to the mat and they brawl. They roll around and even roll on top of the ref as Keibler argues with him and Wilson gets a shot in, and Keibler reverses a whip and hits a spin kick as she looks to grab Wilson’s shorts only for Wilson to roll through and grabs at Keibler’s shorts though Keibler escapes. She hits a jawbreaker on Wilson who hotshots her on the top rope and hooks a rollup before pulling Keibler’s shorts off to win the match. The match itself was nothing much as Wilson in essence dominated Keibler and stripped her down without losing any clothes herself. The crowd was into the match and popped for Wilson when she won. Wilson gets the win over Keibler and both women move on. Grade: .5
 
After the match, Keibler pulls her shorts back up and heads to the back as Wilson goes to leave the ring though changes her mind, and she strips down to her bra and panties and poses for the crowd before heading to the back.
 
We see highlights from RAW 3 nights ago.
 
Marc Lloyd interviews the Undertaker, who says that he’s upset that after 12 years, Vince should have more confidence in him and he’s not looking past Angle tonight, and he says that he is preoccupied with next week’s Smackdown when the Rock returns though he will beat Rock’s ass at Vengeance which won’t make Rock happy. He says that Angle claims to be a better representative of WWE and America as champion and he might not be a model citizen, but he is a citizen of this country and he’s the man you want by your side in the foxhole.
 
Commercial break
 
We see an ad for Triple H: The Game on VHS and DVD.
 
We see an ad for WWEShopZone.com.
 
We see highlights from the King of the Ring.
 
6. The Undertaker and Kurt Angle wrestle to a draw at 10:22; Taker retains the WWE Undisputed Championship.
 
Analysis: After a fairly quick and interesting night of wrestling, we come to our main event. Taker was preparing for his match at Vengeance and looks to have a successful defense here against Angle, who has been on a roll the last few weeks and looks to become champion again. Taker gets a mixed reaction from the crowd while Angle was red hot as a heel. The two men lock up to start with Taker shoving Angle to the mat and they lock up again with Taker hooking a headlock, and Angle whips him off and Taker knocks him down as Angle rolls outside to regroup before returning to the ring. They lock up with Angle going behind Taker and he hooks a headlock as Taker whips him off and knocks him down, and they lock up with Angle tripping Taker up and he hooks a front facelock on as he turns Taker onto his back for a two count. Angle goes outside to stall and returns to the ring as they lock up with Taker working the arm until Angle reverses a whip, and he hits a drop toehold on Taker and then he hits a pair of armdrags only for Taker to hit a big boot that sends Angle to the outside. Angle regroups before returning to the ring and he hits a spear on Taker who recovers quickly and hits a clothesline for a two count, and he splashes Angle in the corner and whips him into the other corner as he hoists Angle up and hits Snake Eyes. He hits a big boot on Angle for a two count and grabs him by the throat though Angle escapes and hits a German suplex, and he hits a back suplex on Taker for a two count and pounds on him in the corner as he stomps on him repeatedly and chokes him with his boot. He hooks the front facelock back on Taker and backs him into the corner as he pounds on him until Taker grabs him by the throat, and he throws Angle into the corner and pounds on him as Angle reverses a whip and Taker ducks a shot before hitting a flying tackle. He fires up on Angle and ducks a shot as he gets a kick in and hits a DDT for a two count before hoisting him onto his shoulder, but Angle slides off and Taker blocks a German suplex with a back elbow as he hoists him up and looks for the Tombstone. Angle grabs the leg to escape and he trips Taker up as he hooks the Ankle Lock on and Taker tries to kick off though Angle hangs onto the hold, but Taker rolls through and sends Angle to the mat as Angle blocks a kick and hits the Angle Slam for a two count. He hooks the Ankle Lock back on Taker and grinds down on him only for Taker to kick him off as he grabs him by the throat and hits a chokeslam for a two count, and he sets up for the Last Ride only for Angle to hook a triangle choke on and Taker drops him to the mat as he grabs Angle by the throat. Angle escapes and hooks the arm in the choke as Taker moves into a pin as the ref counts three though Taker taps out at the same time and the match is ruled a draw. The match itself was good as both men worked hard and put on a solid title match. Both men were hitting their stride by this point and had good chemistry, but the ending was a bit weird and a little confusing given it came out of nowhere. The crowd was into the match and Taker, but are left confused by the ending. The match ends in a draw and Taker escapes with the title as this issue isn’t over yet. Grade: 2.5
 
After the match, both men recover as the ref is confused as to what decision to make and both men plead their case.
 
Commercial break
 
Two more refs come down to the ring and confer with the original ref as each one declare both men the winner until the original ref officially declares the match a draw and Taker is still champion, and Angle knocks Taker down and hooks the Ankle Lock on until the officials pull him off as we go off the air.
 
Final Analysis: Overall, this edition of Smackdown was a pretty good show though it could’ve leaned more into being on the Fourth of July. While there was plenty of patriotism shown throughout the night from certain stars, they could’ve gone further by doing a giant picnic or barbecue just to really make it feel special. We did have two title matches as Taker is still the man while Hogan and Edge now rule the tag division and Storm, D-Von, Bautista, Jericho, and Wilson get big wins, and in terms of the matches the title matches were the best while a lot of focus was on Rock’s return the next week. 2002 has been an interesting year to this point as the summer has been pretty strong and as we continue to Vengeance, we will see how things continue to play out. As for this show, it is a pretty solid show honoring Independence Day. Final Grade: B-