Smackdown
March 28th, 2002 (taped March 26th)
First Union Center
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
 
Dark Matches:
 
1. Crash Holly and Billy Kidman defeat Hugh Morrus and Perry Saturn.
2. Mr. Perfect defeats Randy Orton.
 
3/31 Sunday Night Heat taping:
 
1. Jazz forces Mighty Molly to tap out.
2. Lance Storm pins Scotty 2 Hotty.
3. Edge pins Goldust.
4. William Regal pins Tajiri.
 
Actual Show:
 
We see the opening video for Smackdown.
 
Your hosts are Michael Cole and Jerry “The King” Lawler.
 
1. Diamond Dallas Page defeats Booker T by disqualification at 2:00.
 
Analysis: We kick off this edition of Smackdown with a pretty interesting matchup. These two fought in a tag match 3 nights ago with Booker getting the pin on Page and Page comes here looking for revenge. Page gets a good pop from the crowd while Booker was pretty hot as a heel. The two men lock up to start with Booker getting a knee in and he pounds on Page as he stomps on him repeatedly in the corner, and Page throws Booker into the corner and pounds on him as Booker ducks a shot and he hits a side kick on Page for a two count. He pounds on Page and hooks a sleeper on as Page escapes with a jawbreaker and he fires up on Booker, and he hits a spinning clothesline on Booker who counters a whip by getting a knee in though Page gets a kick in and hits a sitdown powerbomb for a two count. Booker counters a whip with a side kick and Page reverses a whip into the corner as he hits the Diamond Cutter and Booker rolls outside to regroup, but then Brock Lesnar runs into the ring and hits a spinebuster on Page which draws the DQ and he wins the match. The match itself was nothing much as both men did what they could for the 2 minutes they got and this was more about Lesnar continuing to make an impact. The crowd was into the match and Page, but are not happy with the ending. Page gets the win over Booker by DQ and both men move on. Grade: .5
 
After the match, Lesnar hoists Page onto his shoulders and hits the spinning flapjack as Paul Heyman gets in the ring and mocks Page.
 
Commercial break
 
Kurt Angle comes down to the ring and says that considering he risked his life wrestling in the Olympics with a broken neck, the least the people can do is show some appreciation and he says that they suck as they are pathetic like what happened on RAW when Stephanie McMahon was forced to leave the WWF. He says that the people must like that and they should show some compassion as this is the city of Brotherly Love, and he says Stephanie brought joy and happiness to the people and he won’t let her leaving go unrecognized. He says that right now, he wants a moment of silence so they can show appreciation to the memories that she brought everyone, and he wants everyone to show her the proper respect as he has a still photo of Stephanie placed on the Titantron. He calls the fans heartless jerks and he hopes Stephanie isn’t listening as these people are not her true fans as he demands them show respect or he will beat it out of them, but then Vince McMahon comes down to the ring and says that the fans have desecrated his daughter’s name which means they do the same to his name. He says that he’s worth more than everyone in here combined and he blames one man which is Triple H, and he says that Triple H is such a model citizen by seducing Stephanie, then marries her, then publicly humiliates her and then abused her on RAW 3 nights ago as he says Triple H is a son of a bitch. He says that his daughter wasn’t ideal, but she was his daughter and every selfish act she committed is because of Triple H, and he says that he’s glad Triple H is WWF Champion as he will be on both RAW and Smackdown and since Triple H made Stephanie’s life hell, he will do the same to him. Just then, Triple H comes out on the stage and says that Vince thinks he’s a bad influence, selfish, rotten, and horrible, and he says that Vince thinks he’s a son of a bitch and he wants to set him straight in that he’s not seen anything yet. He says that if Vince screws with him, he will make Vince’s life a living hell and since Vince misses Stephanie so much, he thinks they should honor her by seeing the last remaining moments of her time in the WWF as he plays the footage from RAW 3 nights ago. Angle says that he wants a match with Triple H tonight and will show him some manners as Vince says normally he would gladly oblige, but he says he wants him for himself and Triple H says that if both of them want a shot, he doesn’t matter who it is and Vince says that Triple H will face both of them in a handicap match. Just then, Ric Flair comes out on the stage and asks if he heard Vince trying to make the rules again as he says they are still 50/50 partners for tonight, and he says that instead of a handicap match, Triple H will team with him against Vince and Angle as he says he will do whatever he can and he will kick Vince’s ass.
 
Commercial break
 
We see the Dudley Boyz in their dressing room as they say it all comes down to this and if they win tonight, they become tag champions and stay together as a team or else they will go separate ways with their career as this could be their last match as a team and they will make history one more time in the city they were born in.
 
2. Billy and Chuck (w/ Rico) defeat the Dudley Boyz when Chuck pins Bubba Ray at 3:54 to retain the WWF Tag Team Championships.
 
Analysis: Our next match on the card is our first title match of the night. Billy and Chuck defeated the Dudleyz the previous week and now the Dudleyz get one more shot here before being split up due to the draft. The Dudleyz get a good pop from the crowd while Billy and Chuck were pretty hot as heels. Bubba starts off the match with Chuck and they lock up with Chuck getting a knee in and he pounds and stomps on him in the corner, and Bubba throws Chuck into the corner and pounds on him as he hits a dropkick for a two count and tags D-Von. They hit a double tackle on Chuck for a two count and Chuck rakes the eyes as Billy tags in and D-Von hits a hiptoss and a flying tackle, and he gets a shot in on Chuck and ducks a shot as he hits a neckbreaker on Billy for a two count and he pounds on him. D-Von ducks a shot and both men clock heads as Bubba tags in and he hits a pair of clotheslines and a backdrop on Chuck, and he gets a kick in and hits a suplex on Billy as he hits a DDT on Chuck for a two count and he hits a Samoan drop on Billy. He avoids an elbow from Chuck who hits Billy by mistake and Bubba hits the Bubba Bomb on Chuck for a two count as Billy breaks the pin up, and he pounds on Bubba who reverses a whip and sends Billy into Chuck in the corner as D-Von comes in and they hit a double flapjack on Billy. Bubba clotheslines Billy over the top to the floor and goes outside as well as D-Von goes up top only for Rico to grab at his leg from the floor and Chuck gets a shot in, and he goes up himself and looks for a superplex only for Bubba to put him on his shoulders and the Dudleyz hit the Doomsday Device on Chuck. Rico gets on the apron and distracts the ref as D-Von chases him to the back and Billy gets in the ring, and he gets a kick in and hits the Fameasser on Bubba 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 decent title match. The Dudleyz had hit their peak as a team while Billy and Chuck were gaining steam as a team, and they had decent chemistry as the Dudleyz put Billy and Chuck over on their last night as a team. The crowd was into the match and the Dudleyz, but are not happy when Billy and Chuck win. Billy and Chuck retain the titles over the Dudleyz and both teams move on. Grade: 1
 
After the match, Billy stomps on Bubba and pounds on him as he chokes him in the corner until D-Von runs back down to the ring, and Billy and Chuck pound on the Dudleyz who battle back with Bubba throwing Billy over the top to the floor and the Dudleyz hit the 3-D on Chuck. Billy gets in the ring and Bubba ducks a shot as he hits a slam and holds his legs up while D-Von goes up top and hits the diving headbutt to the groin, and D-Von goes outside and pulls a table out as he slides it into the ring and they set it up before hitting the 3-D which puts Billy through the table and they embrace.
 
Commercial break
 
We see the APA in their office as they talk about their history and friendship though now they are being split up due to the lottery, and Bradshaw says they have one night left as he calls for Tajiri and Torrie Wilson to come over. He tells Tajiri to tell everyone that they are holding a big party and everyone is invited as he leaves, and they have Wilson stay as Bradshaw convinces her to play some strip poker.
 
Lilian Garcia interviews Matt Hardy and Lita, who say that RAW was crazy and they were relieved when they found they would stay together as Team Extreme are still a unit, but then Chris Jericho walks up to them and says that this is all about him as he should still be Undisputed Champion. He says that he’s only got one rematch which was the triple threat match and he is a living legend, and he says until he has the Undisputed Title back he will never be happy about anything and Matt says he can sympathize with him as no one wants to be a has-been and they walk away only for Jericho to nail both of them from behind.
 
We see Hulk Hogan in his dressing room as the Rock comes in and says this is the last night they get a shot at the nWo and whoop their candy asses, and Hogan says he wants them badly though they are teaming with Kane tonight as he’s seen a lot of guys and Kane scares the hell out of him. Rock says that he gets where Hogan is coming from and Kane isn’t King Kong Bundy or Kamala though he is an ass-kicking machine, and then Kane comes in and Rock asks if Kane is ready for tonight as Kane says he's ready though it doesn’t matter if Rock is ready. He says that tonight, the three of them will team up in front of the millions and millions of Rock fans, 20,000 Hulkamaniacs, and 20,000 screaming Kanenites, and he says that the question is what are the nWo going to do when they run wild on them as he’ll see them out there.
 
Commercial break
 
3. “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan, the Rock, and Kane defeat the New World Order when Kane pins X-Pac at 6:36.
 
Analysis: Our next match on the card is a big 6-man tag match. Kane had saved Hogan and Rock from the nWo on RAW 3 nights ago and now he teams with Rock and Hogan here against the nWo. Rock, Hogan, and Kane get big pops from the crowd while the nWo were red hot as heels. Rock starts off the match with X-Pac and they lock up with Rock hooking a headlock as he knocks X-Pac down, and X-Pac leaps over Rock who hits a pair of armdrags and he works the arm as X-Pac battles back only for Rock to hit a belly-to-belly suplex for a two count. X-Pac rakes the eyes and hits a spin kick on Rock as Hall tags in and he throws his toothpick in Rock’s face, and Rock throws Hall into the corner and pounds on him as he hits a clothesline for a two count and pounds on him. Hall reverses a whip and Rock ducks a shot as Hall catches him on a crossbody attempt and hits the fallaway slam for a two count, and Nash tags in and rams the knee into Rock repeatedly in the corner as he pounds on him and hits a pair of back elbows. Rock tries to battle back until Nash gets a knee in and he tags Hall who kicks at Rock as they trade blows until Hall rakes the eyes, and Rock reverses a whip and hits a spinebuster on Hall as Hogan gets the hot tag and he fires up on the nWo. He hits a double clothesline on Hall and X-Pac as he sends X-Pac over the top to the floor and pounds on Hall, and he hits the big boot and legdrop on Hall for a two count as Nash drops an elbow on Hogan to break it up. Nash tags in and pounds on Hogan as he hits a sidewalk slam for a two count and we see Hall is busted open, and X-Pac tags in and pounds on Hogan in the corner as he kicks at him repeatedly and tags Hall who hooks a sleeper on Hogan. Hogan fights to his feet and escapes the hold with a back suplex as Kane gets the hot tag and he goes up top, and he hits a flying clothesline on Hall and then he hits a tilt-a-whirl powerslam on X-Pac as he knocks Nash off the apron to the floor. He hits a sidewalk slam on Hall and ducks a shot as he hits a big boot on Nash and he clotheslines X-Pac over the top to the floor, and Nash hits a big boot on Kane as Rock comes in and pounds on Nash before knocking him to the outside. X-Pac tags in and looks for the Bronco Buster only for Kane to grab him by the throat as Hogan sends Hall over the top to the floor, and Kane hits the Chokeslam on X-Pac 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 solid match. Rock, Hogan, and Kane looked good as a team while the nWo were hitting their peak as a unit, and they had good chemistry as Kane gets the win for his team. The crowd was into the match and popped for Rock, Hogan, and Kane when they won. Rock, Hogan, and Kane get the win over the nWo and both teams move on. Grade: 2
 
Commercial break
 
4. Chris Jericho forces Matt Hardy (w/ Lita) to tap out at 2:12.
 
Analysis: Our next match on the card is a pretty interesting matchup. Jericho had attacked Matt earlier in the night after Matt badmouthed him and now they face off here to settle their issues. Matt gets a good pop from the crowd while Jericho was pretty hot as a heel. The two men waste no time and brawl to start the match with Matt taking control as Jericho reverses a whip and Matt hits a hooking clothesline, and he pounds on Jericho on the mat and Jericho reverses a whip as Matt ducks a shot and catches a dropkick attempt before slingshotting him into the corner. He hits a slam and goes up to the middle rope as he hits a legdrop on Jericho for a two count and Jericho reverses a whip into the corner, and Matt catches him with a boot to the face and goes up top only for Jericho to crotch him on the top rope and he puts him in the tree of woe. He stomps on Matt repeatedly and the ref helps him down as Lita goes up top and hits a hurricanrana on Jericho, and Matt hits the Side Effect on Jericho for a two count and Jericho reverses a whip as Matt attempts a sunset flip and Jericho rolls through. He looks for the Walls of Jericho as Lita gets on the apron and Matt shoves Jericho off into Lita who gets knocked to the floor, and Matt gets a kick in and looks for the Twist of Fate though Jericho hits a low blow and hooks the Walls of Jericho on as Matt taps out and Jericho wins the match. The match itself was nothing much as Matt dominated most of the 2 minutes they got until Jericho cheats in the end to win. The crowd was into the match and Matt, but are not happy when Jericho wins. Jericho gets the win over Matt and both men move on. Grade: 1
 
After the match, Jericho kicks Matt to the outside and starts to head to the back only to trip Lita up and hook the Walls of Jericho on her on the floor before heading to the back.
 
We see the APA hosting a party in their office with several Superstars and they continue to share memories as Tajiri wins the hand and Wilson takes off the chain around her waist much to everyone’s disappointment while Christian throws a temper tantrum about his cards.
 
Commercial break
 
5. Rob Van Dam pins Test with a sunset flip at 2:24 to retain the WWF Intercontinental Championship.
 
Analysis: Our next match on the card is our second title match of the night. RVD has been rolling as IC Champion and faces a tough challenge here in Test, who was floating in the midcard and looks to be champion again. RVD gets a good pop from the crowd while Test had decent heat as a heel. Test gets a knee in and pounds on RVD to start the match as he whips him into the corner and RVD catches him with a back elbow, and he goes up top only for Test to catch him on a crossbody attempt as he hoists him onto his shoulder though RVD slides off and rams Test into the corner. He hits a superkick on Test for a two count and pounds on him as he ducks a shot and Test catches a spin kick attempt, and he hoists him onto his shoulder and hotshots him on the top rope as RVD escapes a suplex attempt and hits a dropkick to the knee. He pounds on Test and hits a springboard kick as he hits a standing moonsault on Test for a two count, and Test counters a whip and RVD catches a kick attempt though Test ducks a spin kick and he hits the full nelson slam on RVD. He goes for a pin and uses the ropes for leverage for a two count when the ref catches him and they exchange shoves as RVD hits a spin kick for a two count, and he kicks at Test and rams the shoulder into him repeatedly as he does a backflip and Test avoids a charge. RVD attempts a slingshot sunset flip and Test grabs the rope to block it as the ref kicks his hands off and RVD hooks the sunset flip for a two count, and Test hits a clothesline on RVD and stalks the ref as he looks for a punch only for RVD to kick at him. Test counters a whip and gets a kick in only for RVD to escape a powerbomb with a sunset flip which gets the three and he retains the title. The match itself was decent as both men worked hard for the time they got and put on a basic title match. The crowd was into the match and popped for RVD when he won. RVD retains the title over Test and both men move on. Grade: 1
 
Commercial break
 
Jonathan Coachman interviews Raven, who says that who he wrestles for is less important than what he wrestles for as he cares about the Hardcore Title, and he says that Maven’s passion led to success though it will also lead to failure thanks to the Raven Effect.
 
6. Raven pins Maven with the DDT at 1:45 to win the WWF Hardcore Championship.
 
Analysis: Our last match before the main event is our third and final title match of the night. Maven has been rolling as Hardcore Champion and faces a tough challenge here in Raven, who was floating in the midcard and looks to become champion again. Maven gets a decent pop from the crowd while Raven had tepid heat as a heel. Maven wastes no time and dropkicks a trash can in Raven’s face to start the match as he throws him into the ring only to miss a charge as he rams his shoulder into the post, and Raven grabs a pair of trash can lids and hits Maven in the head with them repeatedly as Maven gets a pair of shoulders in. He grabs the lid and slams them against Raven’s head as he gets a kick in and hits an uppercut to Raven with the lid, and he grabs a broom and crotches Raven with it as he hits him in the ribs with it only for Raven to backdrop him over the top to the floor. Maven gets a shot in and goes up top as he hits a missile dropkick for a two count as Tommy Dreamer runs down to the ring and pulls Maven off the pin, and he hits Maven in the head with a baking sheet only for Maven to duck a shot and he hits a flying forearm that drives the sheet back into Dreamer’s face. Raven sets a chair up and hits a drop toehold that sends Maven face first into the chair as he hits the DDT which gets the three and we have a new champion. The match itself was nothing much as both men did what they could for the time they got and put on a quick title match. The crowd was into the match and Maven, but are not happy when Raven wins. Raven gets the win over Maven and is the new Hardcore Champion as both men move on. Grade: .5
 
We see Vince McMahon and Kurt Angle in Vince’s office as Vince says they just lost the Hardcore Title and he won’t risk losing Steve Austin to RAW, and Angle says that he heard Austin is going to be on RAW this Monday and Vince says he will be there to sign him to Smackdown. Angle says they have to focus on Triple H and Flair and even though he still should’ve been first in the draft, he is honored to be Vince’s partner and he thinks it will be an Olympic moment.
 
Commercial break
 
We see the full breakdown of the draft and lottery results for both RAW and Smackdown.
 
We see the APA’s party continue in their office as the Hurricane chugs a beer and collapses to the floor while William Regal comes in and says that this looks very pleasant, and he says that he had told them they would be split up during the draft and he was right as Bradshaw says it looks like their out of beer. He says that the party is over as he grabs Regal and a brawl breaks out with everyone scattering and the APA are left standing tall, and they say it’s been a hell of a run as they head out the door and turn the sign from open to closed as they shake hands and go their separate ways.
 
Commercial break
 
7. Kurt Angle and Vince McMahon defeat Triple H and “Nature Boy” Ric Flair when Vince pins Flair at 9:04.
 
Analysis: After a fairly quick and interesting night of wrestling, we come to our main event. Angle and Vince were looking to get revenge on Triple H for forcing Stephanie out of the WWF and Flair teams with Triple H to face Angle and Vince here. Triple H and Flair get a big pop from the crowd while Vince and Angle were red hot as heels. Triple H starts off the match with Vince who poses to mock Triple H and he tags Flair though Vince quickly tags Angle, and they lock up with Angle backing Flair into the corner and he gives a clean break only for Flair to rake the eyes. He pounds on Angle in the corner and tags Triple H who kicks at Angle and he pounds and stomps on him in the corner, and he chokes Angle with his boot and Angle reverses a whip into the other corner as Triple H catches him with a boot to the face. Angle catches him in a belly-to-belly suplex and pounds on him in the corner as he stomps on him repeatedly until Triple H takes Angle to the mat with a choke, and Flair tags in and they pound on Angle in the corner as they both do a strut and knock Angle down. Angle rakes the eyes and Flair reverses a whip as he hooks a sleeper on though Angle escapes with a back suplex, and he stomps on Flair’s leg and drops an elbow on it twice as Vince tags in and he continues to kick at Flair’s leg. He drops an elbow on it and then he drops a knee on it twice as he rolls outside and rams Flair’s leg into the apron, and Angle comes in and stomps on Flair repeatedly as Vince drags Flair to the corner and rams his leg into the post. He rolls back into the ring and looks for the Figure-4 though Flair kicks him off and pounds on him until Angle tags in, and he knocks Triple H to the floor and nails Flair who blocks a German suplex with a low blow and he looks for the Figure-4. Angle quickly counters and hooks the Ankle Lock on Flair as Triple H comes in and kicks at Angle before hitting a DDT, but Angle pulls Flair to his corner and tags Vince who hooks the Figure-4 on Flair though Flair turns the hold around Vince and Angle drops an elbow on Flair to break it up. Triple H gets the hot tag and he ducks a shot as he hits a neckbreaker on Angle and pounds on him until Angle catches him ducking with a kick, and Triple H hits a spinebuster for a two count as Vince breaks it up and Flair knocks him down before stomping him to the outside. Triple H ducks a shot and kicks at Angle as he looks for the Pedigree and Vince brings one of the belts into the ring, and he hits Triple H in the face with it and Angle gets a two count as Vince tags in and pounds on Triple H before doing a strut to mock Flair. Triple H hits a clothesline on Vince and tags Flair who goes up top and drops an elbow on Vince as he stomps on him, and he pounds on Vince in the corner and hits a low blow as he continues to pound on him until Angle nails him from behind. Triple H knocks Angle over the top to the floor and goes outside as Flair drives his knee into Vince’s and looks for the Figure-4, but the Undertaker runs down to the ring and hits a big boot on Flair which allows Vince to get the three and he wins the match for his team. The match itself was good as both teams worked hard and put on a solid tag match. Triple H and Flair had good chemistry together as did Angle and Vince and both teams had good chemistry, and Taker ends up being the difference maker by helping Vince and Angle win. The crowd was into the match and Flair and Triple H, but are not happy when Vince and Angle win. Vince and Angle get the win over Flair and Triple H and both teams move on. Grade: 2.5
 
After the match, Taker pulls Vince out of the ring and heads to the back with Angle as we go off the air.
 
Final Analysis: Overall, this edition of Smackdown was a pretty basic show as it was just a bridge to get us from the last RAW with the draft to the next one when the brand extension officially begins. It does feel like there was a feeling of change in the air and it was felt throughout this show as there was a lot of hype of the new era beginning. We did have three title matches as Raven now rules the Hardcore division while RVD, Billy, and Chuck retain their titles and Page, Hogan, Rock, Kane, Jericho, Vince, and Angle 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 to this point as we were now past WM and a new era was about to begin, and we will see how successful it will be with each brand looking to establish their identity. As for this show, it is a pretty basic show as we look ahead to the brand extension and as mentioned, the beginning of a new era for the WWF. Final Grade: C+