Smackdown
December 5th, 2002
American Airlines Center
Dallas, Texas
 
Dark Matches:
 
1. Little Guido defeats Bryan Danielson.
2. Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas defeat Spanky and Michael Shane.
 
12/7 Velocity taping:
 
1. Crash Holly defeats Shannon Moore.
2. Rikishi defeats Mike Fox.
3. John Cena defeats Paul London.
4. Matt Hardy defeats Chuck Palumbo.
 
Actual Show:
 
We see the opening video for Smackdown.
 
Your hosts are Michael Cole and Tazz.
 
1. Albert pins Rey Mysterio with a backbreaker at 2:52.
 
Analysis: We kick off this edition of Smackdown with a pretty interesting matchup. Mysterio has been cruising in the midcard and looks to get a win here over Albert, who has been floating in the midcard and looks to get back on track here. Mysterio gets a big pop from the crowd while Albert had tepid heat as a heel. The two men have a staredown to start the match as Mysterio pounds on him until Albert gets a knee in and Mysterio slides under him, and Mysterio hits a pair of dropkicks to the knee until Albert grabs him by the throat and throws him into the ropes. Mysterio ducks a shot and hits a springboard dropkick as he goes out to the apron and hits a springboard legdrop on Albert for a two count, and he pounds on Albert who blocks a whip and then he whips Mysterio hard into the corner as he hits a sitdown press slam. He rams Mysterio into the buckle and pounds on him in the corner as he rams the knee into him twice and slingshots him throat first into the middle rope for a two count, and Mysterio avoids a charge in the corner and he catches Albert with a pair of boots to the face twice as he slides under him and kicks him into the corner. He goes out to the apron and Albert catches him on a leap only for Mysterio to hit a wheelbarrow bulldog for a two count, and he pounds on Albert who catches him on a springboard moonsault attempt though Mysterio slides off his shoulder. He hits a series of dropkicks to the knees which causes Albert to fall into the ropes and Mysterio hits the 619, and Albert catches him on a springboard attempt and hits a modified backbreaker which gets the three and he wins the match. The match itself was nothing much as both men did what they could for the 3 minutes they got and put on a basic match. The crowd was into the match and Mysterio, but are not happy when Albert wins. Albert gets the win over Mysterio and both men move on. Grade: 1
 
After the match, Mysterio fights to his feet only for Albert to splash him in the corner and he puts him on the top rope as he hits a big boot and Mysterio falls into the tree of woe, and Albert kicks at the knee repeatedly and goes outside as he brings a chair into the ring and hits Mysterio’s knee twice. Just then, Edge runs down to the ring and scares Albert from the ring before checking on Mysterio as Albert heads to the back.
 
Commercial break
 
Funaki interviews Bill DeMott, who says that Tough Enough III was his job and he’s been in the business for 11 years, and he says that the best Smackdown can offer him is an interview with a guy who barely speaks English and he deserves better than this as he hits a headbutt on Funaki.
 
We see EMTs working on Rey Mysterio in the back as Edge vows to get revenge on Albert.
 
Stephanie McMahon comes out on the stage and says that she’s just as horrified over what happened to Rey Mysterio, and she says that the Superstars sacrifice their bodies for the fans and she makes sacrifices as well as we see highlights from RAW 3 nights ago. She says that she sacrificed herself to bring Scott Steiner to Smackdown and he will be here next week to sign his contract, and she says that she will make another sacrifice tonight as she stands by her decision to suspend Brock Lesnar. She says that the locker room needs to understand that they work for her and Lesnar suffered the consequences for his actions, and she says that she will let Lesnar explain his side of the story as he will appear via satellite from his home.
 
Commercial break
 
2. Crash Holly pins Jamie Noble (w/ Nidia) with a modified flapjack at 2:03.
 
Analysis: Our next match on the card is a pretty basic matchup. Noble has been in a slump since losing the Cruiserweight Title and looks to get back on track here against Crash, who was floating in the midcard and looks to get a win here. Crash gets a mixed reaction from the crowd while Noble had solid heat as a heel. Noble wastes no time and attacks Crash from behind to start the match as he stomps on him and hits a neckbreaker for a pair of two counts, and he drops an elbow on Crash and pounds on him as he hits a slam and a legdrop for a two count. He rams Crash into the buckle and pounds on him in the corner as Crash tries to battle back and hits a flapjack, and then he hits a clothesline on Noble and both men catch a kick attempt as Crash hits a tornado bulldog for a two count with Nidia putting Noble’s foot on the rope. Crash goes outside and stalks Nidia as he blocks a shot and plants a kiss on her before chasing her into the ring, and Noble gets a kick in and looks for the double underhook powerbomb as Crash counters with a backdrop. Noble hooks a sunset flip though Crash rolls through and hoists Noble up as he hits a modified flapjack which gets the three 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 put on a basic match. The crowd was in and out of it for the match though they did pop for Crash when he won. Crash gets the quick win over Noble and both men move on. Grade: .5
 
After the match, Nidia checks on Noble who says he has no choice and he is going to bring his cousin Nunzio in next week much to Nidia’s chagrin.
 
Commercial break
 
We see Torrie Wilson backstage as Dawn Marie walks up to her and says that she knows Wilson has every right to be upset with her, and she says that Al is overseas and won’t be back until next week though she says that he’s not the only Wilson she’s interested in. She says that she’s been watching Torrie for so long and she has many feelings for her as she says her eyes are so beautiful, and she says that Torrie’s body is amazing and she has soft skin as Torrie says that Marie is making her father out to be a fool just because of her. Marie says that she loves Al so much though she asks how much Torrie really loves her father as she says if she does something for her, she won’t marry Al as she puts her hotel room key in Torrie’s jacket and says she’ll be waiting for her as only a woman can make another woman feel good.
 
3. Bill DeMott pins Funaki with a moonsault at 2:31.
 
Analysis: Our next match on the card is a pretty interesting matchup. DeMott attacked Funaki backstage earlier in the night and Funaki looks to get revenge here. Funaki gets a decent pop from the crowd while DeMott had tepid heat as a heel. The two men lock up to start with Funaki hooking a headlock only for DeMott to yank him to the mat by his hair, and DeMott hits a drop toehold and pounds on the back of Funaki’s head as he whips him into the corner and splashes him. He slams Funaki’s head into the mat and stomps on him repeatedly for a two count as he pounds on him on the mat, and he kicks at Funaki’s leg and slams it into the mat as Funaki tries to battle back only for DeMott to knock him down. He rakes Funaki’s face across the top rope and chokes him on the ropes until Funaki catches him with a jawbreaker, and he fires up on DeMott who reverses a whip and hits a powerslam on Funaki as he goes up top and hits the moonsault which gets the three and he wins the match. The match itself was pretty much a squash as Funaki got a few shots in, but he puts DeMott over strong in 2 and a half minutes. The crowd was in and out of it for the match and are not happy when DeMott wins. DeMott gets the quick and easy win over Funaki as both men move on. Grade: .5
 
We see Los Guerreros in their locker room as they say tonight is a big night as Chavo will become the new Cruiserweight Champion and Eddie will become the Number One Contender for the WWE Championship, and they say that the family will be so proud of them with what they do tonight and they need to focus as there will be no stopping them from taking over.
 
We see Brock Lesnar preparing for his interview.
 
Commercial break
 
JVC Tower of Power Extreme Blast of the Night: Brock Lesnar putting Big Show through the announce table with an F-5 last week on Smackdown
 
Michael Cole and Tazz interview Brock Lesnar, who says that he’s not here to make excuses as he got what he deserved by associating himself with Paul Heyman, and he says that he will punish Heyman in the worst way and Show is nothing but a puppet in Heyman’s game and he had the title stolen from him. He says that Stephanie can claim that he screwed himself as the Big Show and Paul Heyman come down to the ring, and Heyman says that he and Lesnar used to be so close as he says that he’s wanted to talk to him for a while though Lesnar keeps losing his temper. He says that the title was taken away from Lesnar because he kept defying him and he had to be disciplined by Show, and Lesnar asks if Heyman is done and Heyman says hardly as he says that as much as he admires Stephanie McMahon, she was wrong as Lesnar didn’t screw himself but rather they screwed him with malice and forethought. He says that they enjoyed screwing Lesnar and if they could go back to the week before Survivor Series, they would screw Lesnar all over again and he says that Lesnar should just enjoy his suspension while seeing who gets the next shot against Show at Armageddon. Lesnar says that Show defending his title against whoever the Number One Contender is will be a great match and he can’t wait to see it in person, and he storms off the set as Heyman gets worried though Show reminds him that Lesnar is suspended.
 
Commercial break
 
We see a shot outside the American Airlines Center.
 
4. Billy Kidman pins Chavo Guerrero with the Shooting Star Press at 7:42 to retain the WWE Cruiserweight Championship.
 
Analysis: Our last match before the main event is our lone title match of the night. Kidman has been rolling as Cruiserweight Champion and faces a tough challenge here in Chavo, who was rolling as one half of the tag champions and looks to become a double champion. Kidman gets a good pop from the crowd while Chavo was pretty hot as a heel. The two men lock up to start with Kidman working on Chavo’s arm until Chavo trips him up and hooks a headlock, but Kidman escapes and goes back to the arm as Chavo hits a pair of back elbows and both men block a hiptoss attempt. Kidman gets a knee in and hits a hurricanrana on Chavo who reverses a whip and Kidman slides under him, and he ducks a shot only for Chavo to hit a gutbuster as he stomps on him repeatedly and pounds on him. Kidman catches him ducking with a kick and looks for a suplex though Chavo gets a series of knees in to block it, and he hoists Kidman onto his shoulder and rams him into the corner as he pounds on Kidman’s back and Kidman falls to the mat. He stomps on Kidman and hits another gutbuster for a two count as he knocks him down and hooks an abdominal stretch on while using the ropes for leverage, and Kidman escapes the hold though Chavo gets a knee in as he hoists Kidman onto his back though Kidman counters with a sunset flip that sends Chavo into the corner. He gets a shot in and whips Chavo into the corner only for Chavo to catch him with a knee to the ribs for a two count, and he rams Kidman into the buckle and pounds on him in the corner as Kidman catches him with a dropkick. Kidman ducks a shot and hits a jumping back elbow on Chavo as he hits a backdrop only for Chavo to counter a whip, but Kidman hits a short clothesline and hoists Chavo onto his shoulders as he hits a modified backbreaker for a two count. Chavo escapes a suplex attempt and hooks a rollup for a two count as Kidman reverses a whip into the corner and Chavo catches him with a back elbow, and he goes up to the middle rope though Kidman blocks the tornado DDT and he ducks a shot as he hits the sitdown spinebuster for a two count. Chavo reverses a whip into the corner and Kidman leaps over him as Chavo hits a springboard tornado DDT for a two count, and he stomps and pounds on Kidman who escapes a slam attempt as he gets a kick in and whips Chavo into the corner. Chavo backdrops Kidman over the top with Kidman landing on the apron though Chavo gets a shot in and rams Kidman into the buckle repeatedly, and Chavo goes up top and pounds on Kidman as he pulls him up as well and they trade blows until they knock each other to the floor. Kidman recovers first and throws Chavo back into the ring as he goes up top only for Chavo to pound on him, and he goes up himself though Kidman blocks a superplex by pounding on Chavo and he shoves him to the mat. He sets himself on the top rope only to miss the Shooting Star Press and Chavo hits the Gory Bomb for a two count, and Kidman sends Chavo to the outside and Chavo grabs his tag title as he gets on the apron only for Kidman to pound on him and the belt falls to the floor. Kidman hits an inverted suplex slam on Chavo over the top back into the ring and he goes up top again, and he hits the Shooting Star Press on Chavo 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. Kidman was hitting his stride by this point while Chavo was also hitting his groove as well, and they had good chemistry as Kidman gets a clean title defense. The crowd was into the match and popped for Kidman when he won. Kidman retains the title over Chavo and both men move on. Grade: 2.5
 
Marc Lloyd interviews Edge, who says that when he woke up this morning, his goal was to be Number One Contender though after what Albert did to Mysterio, his focus shifted though the only thing he cares about is to reach the next level. He says that he won’t lose focus and he will use this match as an outlet to take out his aggression, but then he sees Albert and attacks him as they brawl until officials pull them apart.
 
Commercial break
 
Tazz is in the ring for the special Hip Hop Challenge as he first brings out John Cena who comes down to the ring with B-2 and then he brings out Rikishi who comes down to the ring, and he runs down the rules and decrees that Cena can go first as Cena cuts a rap insulting Rikishi, Tazz, and the fans. Tazz then passes it to Rikishi who cuts a scathing rap on Cena while bringing up his rough upbringing, and B-2 tries to attack Rikishi from behind and Rikishi fights both men off until Cena hits a clothesline on Rikishi. Tazz tries to break it up only for Cena to nail him and he stomps on Rikishi along with B-2 though Rikishi battles back, and Tazz hooks the Tazzmission on Cena as Rikishi pounds on B-2 and clotheslines him over the top to the floor. Cena and B-2 head to the back as Rikishi and Tazz dance for the crowd.
 
Marc Lloyd interviews Kurt Angle, who says that his thoughts are on becoming WWE Champion for a third time and proving his superiority over Benoit again, and he says that he will prove to Eddie and Edge that he’s the greatest Superstar in history as well as the next WWE Champion.
 
Commercial break
 
5. Kurt Angle defeats Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, and Edge in a Fatal 4-Way Elimination match.
 
Stipulation: The winner would earn a WWE Championship match at Armageddon
 
Eliminations:
1. Eddie taps out at 7:18.
2. Benoit pinned by Edge at 9:15.
3. Edge pinned by Angle at 22:45.
 
Analysis: After a fairly quick and interesting night of wrestling, we come to our main event. These four men have been going at it over the last few months in the tag division, but now they face off here to see who will face Show for the WWE Title at Armageddon. Edge and Benoit get big pops from the crowd while Angle gets a mixed reaction and Eddie had solid heat as a heel, but after Edge comes out Albert attacks him with a chair and he is helped to the back though he comes back out right before the match begins. Angle, Benoit, and Eddie attack Edge to start the match until Eddie knocks Angle and Benoit down as he stomps on Benoit repeatedly, and then he stomps on Angle and Edge until Edge battles back and he hits a backdrop on Eddie before hitting a flapjack on Benoit. He hits a backdrop on Angle only for Eddie to hit a dropkick to the knee for a two count and Benoit knocks Eddie down, and he stomps on Edge’s knee and slams down on it twice as Angle also stomps on Edge’s knee along with Benoit. Angle drives his knee into Edge’s face and Benoit again slams down on Edge’s knee as Eddie hooks a rollup on Angle for a two count, and Angle hits a clothesline on Eddie and pounds on him in the corner as Benoit slams Edge’s knee into the mat. Eddie holds the ropes on a whip and backdrops Angle over the top to the floor as Benoit clotheslines Eddie over the top to the floor, and he knocks Edge down and hits a legdrop on the knee as Edge reverses a whip into the corner and hits the modified facebuster for a two count. Eddie gets in the ring and pounds on Edge as he throws him to the outside and he kicks at Benoit before hitting a suplex which sends him over the top to the floor, and Angle pounds on Eddie and rams him into the buckle as he hits a suplex for a two count and rams him into the buckle. He pounds on Eddie in the corner until Eddie rakes the eyes and knocks Angle down as he stomps on him repeatedly, and he continues to pound on Angle and hits a suplex for a two count as he kicks at his leg and Angle reverses a whip. He hits a belly-to-belly suplex on Eddie and gets a kick in though Eddie escapes an Angle Slam with an armdrag, and he kicks at Angle and hits a back suplex as he goes up top and hits the Frog Splash for a two count as Benoit nails Eddie from behind and hits a German suplex. He goes up top and hits the diving headbutt on Eddie for a two count as Edge gets in the ring and gets a kick in on Benoit, and he hits the Edgecution for a two count and sends Angle over the top to the floor only for Eddie to knock Edge to the outside. Benoit ducks a shot and hits a pair of German suplexes on Eddie as Edge gets in the ring and hits the spear on Eddie, and Benoit sends Edge to the outside and hooks the Crossface on Eddie who taps out and he is eliminated. Angle gets in the ring and nails Benoit as he hits a trio of German suplexes while Edge goes up top and hits a missile dropkick on Angle for a two count, and Benoit hits a chop block on Edge and Angle hits a clothesline on Benoit as Edge escapes an Angle Slam attempt and hits the Edge-o-Matic for a two count. Benoit pulls him off and hooks the Crossface on Edge until Angle breaks it up and he hooks the Ankle Lock on Benoit, and Benoit kicks him off and Angle takes out the ref as well as Eddie brings his belt into the ring and he hits Benoit in the back of the head with it. Edge hits the spear on Eddie and then he hits the spear on Benoit which gets the three and Benoit is eliminated, and Angle gets in the ring and hooks the Ankle Lock on Edge who reaches for the rope only for Angle to pull him back to the center of the ring. Edge manages to escape the hold by sending Angle through the ropes to the outside though Angle trips him up and pulls him outside, and he rams Edge into the steps which busts him open and throws him back into the ring as he pounds on Edge on the mat and hits a short clothesline for a two count. He hits a suplex on Edge for a two count and stomps on him repeatedly as he chokes him on the ropes and then he chokes him with his boot, and Edge battles back and pounds on Angle in the corner as Angle reverses a whip into the other corner and Edge catches him with a boot to the face. Angle catches him in a belly-to-belly suplex and hooks a submission on Edge who fights to his feet and breaks the hold, and he ducks a shot and hits a belly-to-belly suplex on Angle as he fires up on him and hits a pair of clotheslines. He hits a backdrop on Angle and ducks a shot as he hits another Edge-o-Matic on Angle for a two count though Angle goes behind him and hits a pair of German suplexes, but Edge blocks the third one with a rollup for a two count and he ducks a shot as he hits the spear on Angle for a two count. He gets a kick in though Angle escapes the Edgecution and he gets a kick in as Edge escapes an Angle Slam attempt, and Edge gets a kick in and hits the Edgecution for a two count as he goes up top though Angle runs up top and Edge shoves him to the mat. Edge sets himself on the top rope and hits a missile dropkick on Angle for a two count as he looks for the spear only for Angle to catch him with a kick, and he hits the Angle Slam on Edge for a two count and then he hooks the Ankle Lock back on only for Edge to escape with a rollup for a two count. Angle hits a drop toehold and hooks the Ankle Lock back on Edge who tries to kick Angle off only for Angle to keep the hold on, and Edge reaches the rope to force a break though Angle hangs onto the foot and Edge hits an enzurgiri on Angle. Edge hits the Angle Slam on Angle for a two count and goes up top though Angle runs up top and hits the Angle Slam which gets the three and he wins the match. The match itself was great as all four men worked hard and put on a really fun match. All four men were hitting their stride by this point and still had great chemistry even though it felt like Eddie and Benoit went out fairly quickly, but it was clear this was a showcase for Edge as he nearly overcomes the odds only to fall at the end to Angle in a strong finish. The crowd was red hot for the whole match and Edge, but they do pop for Angle when he won. Angle gets the win over Edge, Benoit, and Eddie and is the Number One Contender as all four men move on. Grade: 4
 
After the match, the Big Show and Paul Heyman come down to the ring as Show grabs Angle by the throat and hits the Chokeslam before standing over him.
 
We see Torrie Wilson outside Dawn Marie’s hotel room as she knocks first before using the key to enter the room, and we see Marie on the bed as she says she was losing faith that Torrie wouldn’t show up and she really does love her father. She says that as long as Torrie does everything she wants, she’ll call off the wedding as Torrie starts to walk away and Marie says maybe she doesn’t really love her father, and Torrie walks back up to her and Marie says that’s better as we go off the air.
 
Final Analysis: Overall, this edition of Smackdown was a pretty solid episode that was completely carried by the main event. Everything on this show was building up to the main event and we were still not really building to Armageddon, which is pretty interesting considering that now we only had one week before that show. We did have a title match as Kidman still rules the Cruiserweight division while Albert, Crash, DeMott, and Angle get big wins, and in terms of the matches the main event was easily the best while the rest of the show was mainly focused on skits like the Rap Battle and the ongoing saga with Torrie and Marie. 2002 has been a great year to this point as Smackdown was typically having better shows than RAW to this point, and as we head into the final PPV of the year we will see Smackdown can end on a strong note. As for this show, it is a pretty solid show carried by the main event. Final Grade: B-