Smackdown
February 6th, 2003 (taped February 4th)
First Union Center
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
 
Dark Matches:
 
1. Chris Kanyon defeats Michael Shane.
2. Nathan Jones defeats Julio Dinero.
 
2/8 Velocity taping:
 
1. John Cena pins Bryan Danielson at 3:44.
2. Nunzio pins Funaki at 4:38.
3. Bill DeMott pins Phil Brown at 1:48.
4. Edge pins A-Train at 6:34.
 
Actual Show:
 
We see the opening video for Smackdown.
 
Your hosts are Michael Cole and Tazz.
 
We see a giant box in the ring attached to a crane that is addressed to the Undertaker and it is pulled up by the crane.
 
1. Rey Mysterio pins Jamie Noble (w/ Nidia) with the West Coast Pop at 3:41.
 
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 Noble, who was still in a slump and looks to get back on track here. Mysterio gets a big pop from the crowd while Noble had solid heat as a heel. The two men lock up to start with Noble tripping Mysterio up and they lock hands as Mysterio kicks Noble back and hits a wheelbarrow armdrag, and Noble hits a clothesline on Mysterio who leaps over Noble and both men block a hiptoss attempt as Mysterio gets a knee in. He flips onto Noble’s shoulders and Noble shoves him off as Mysterio lands on his feet only for Noble to knock him down, and he presses Mysterio onto his shoulders and hits a gutbuster for a two count as he stomps on him and hooks an abdominal stretch on. Mysterio escapes the hold and both men again block a hiptoss with Mysterio hitting a wheelbarrow bulldog and he fires up on Noble, and Noble reverses a whip and Mysterio hits a springboard crossbody as he gets a kick in and hits a tornado DDT for a two count. He pounds on Noble in the corner and whips him into the other corner as Noble backdrops him over the top with Mysterio landing on the apron, and he gets a shoulder in as Noble bumps into the ref and Nidia pulls Mysterio off the apron to the floor. Noble hits a baseball slide on Mysterio and throws him back into the ring as Mysterio escapes a back suplex attempt, and he hits a drop toehold that sends Noble into the ropes as Nidia gets on the apron to protect him and they both avoid the 619. Mysterio leaps onto Noble’s shoulders only for Noble to hit a slingshot sitdown powerbomb for a two count, and Mysterio counters another powerbomb by slamming down on Noble who catches a kick attempt and Mysterio hits an enzurgiri. Noble bounces off the ropes and Nidia gets in the ring as Mysterio hits a dropkick that sends Noble into Nidia and they fall into the ropes, and Mysterio hits the 619 on both and then he hits the West Coast Pop on Noble which gets the three and he wins the match. The match itself was decent as both men worked hard and put on a solid match. Mysterio was hitting his groove by this point while Noble was also hitting his groove, and they had good chemistry as Mysterio gets the win. The crowd was into the match and popped for Mysterio when he won. Mysterio gets the win over Noble and both men move on. Grade: 1.5
 
The Rock joins us via satellite from Hollywood and he says that he has finally come back to Philadelphia though he’s not there live, and he says that he is cooking up something special in a Philadelphia cheesesteak though he admits he’s kidding and wouldn’t be caught dead eating that. He says that he’s lactose intolerant and instead he wants some Tampa Bay tofu as he says Philadelphia is the city of Brotherly Love, and he says that he stood in front the Rocky statue and he heard it then as well as now as the crowd was chanting his name. He says that he will always be the People’s Champion though he couldn’t help but notice that some of the fans booed him, and he says that he has no problem with that because he will always entertain and electrify the fans like no one else. He says that he wonders why they are booing him and he realizes that it’s Philadelphia as they booed some of their sports figures out of the building, and he says that there’s one man that has never been booed which is Hulk Hogan and everyone loves Hogan including himself. He says that he is excited about facing Hogan at No Way Out and for the last 6 months, he’s been calling Hogan only to find him doing a commercial and Hogan needs to realize that at No Way Out, Hulkamania won’t die and it will live forever. He says that what will happen at No Way Out is that in front of the millions and millions of his fans, Hogan will get his ass kicked and he will lay the Smackdown all over Hogan’s candy ass.
 
Commercial break
 
2. Rikishi pins Nunzio with the Banzai Drop at 1:34.
 
Analysis: Our next match on the card is a pretty basic matchup. Rikishi has been cruising in the midcard and looks to get a win here over Nunzio, who was also cruising in the midcard and looks to get a win here. Rikishi gets a good pop from the crowd while Nunzio had decent heat as a heel. Nunzio wastes no time and attacks Rikishi to start the match until Rikishi knocks him down and Nunzio hits a pair of chop blocks on the knee, and he trips Rikishi up and pounds on him as he rams the knee into Rikishi’s head for a two count and Nunzio stomps on him repeatedly. He pounds on Rikishi who catches him in a urinage slam and he hits a slam and superkick on Nunzio before splashing him in the corner, and he hits a running hip attack on Nunzio and goes up to the middle rope as he hits the Banzai drop which gets the three and he wins the match. The match itself was basically a squash as Nunzio got a few shots in, but he puts Rikishi over in 94 seconds. The crowd was into the match and popped for Rikishi when he won. Rikishi gets the quick and easy win over Nunzio as both men move on. Grade: .5
 
After the match, Rikishi starts to dance for the crowd until Nunzio interrupts him and says Rikishi is trying to disrespect him, and he says the people he’s with won’t like it and Rikishi won’t like his people as he heads to the back and Rikishi dances.
 
Just then, Paul Heyman appears on the stage and asks for everyone’s attention as he says that it’s time for the gift to be brought to the ring because it is for the Undertaker.
 
Commercial break
 
Paul Heyman and the crate are in the ring as Heyman says that last week, the Undertaker turned a deaf ear to a singing telegram from his client the Big Show and to set the record straight, he says that Show is not here though this gift is from his favorite client and it will convince Taker. He says that Taker can do him the courtesy of coming out to the ring and he assures him that he will find this gift most appropriate, and Taker comes down to the ring as Heyman heads to the back and Taker surveys the crate before opening it. Just then, Brother Love comes out of the crate and says he loves him as he embraces Taker and says that it’s good to see Taker again, and he says that he brings a message of love and forgiveness as he wants Taker to forgive Show. He says that he was the one that brought Taker to WWE and from one icon to another, he asks if Taker remembers the lessons of love and forgiveness that he tried to instill in him as a young Taker. He says that obviously he didn’t because if he did, Taker would show his forgiveness and those qualities by forgiving Show, but then Taker grabs the mike and asks if Love remembers this as he grabs Love by the throat and hits the chokeslam. He then hoists Love onto his shoulders and hits the Tombstone before heading to the back.
 
We see Hulk Hogan walking down the hallway as he shakes hands with a few guys and then he runs into Brock Lesnar as they have a staredown until Lesnar welcomes him back and Hogan walks away.
 
Commercial break
 
We see a shot outside the First Union Center.
 
3. Billy Kidman pins Matt Hardy (w/ Shannon Moore) with a rollup at 3:00.
 
Analysis: Our next match on the card is a pretty big matchup. Kidman defeated Moore last week and Matt attacked him afterwards, and now Kidman faces Matt here to try and get some revenge. Kidman gets a good pop from the crowd while Matt had solid heat as a heel. Matt shoves Moore into Kidman who hits a backdrop on him to start the match as Matt hits the Side Effect and kicks at Kidman, and he hits a slam on Kidman and drops an elbow on him for a two count as he hits a back elbow and a legdrop for a two count. He chokes Kidman in the ropes and Kidman kicks at Matt repeatedly as he hits a headscissors and he kicks at Matt in the corner, and he whips Matt into the other corner only for Matt to hook a sleeper on and Kidman whips him off to escape as he hits a dropkick. Kidman ducks a shot and hits a jumping back elbow on Matt as he hits a pair of clotheslines and a sitdown spinebuster for a two count, and he pounds on Matt in the corner and Matt reverses a whip into the other corner as he catches Kidman on a leap and hotshots him on the top rope. He hoists Kidman up for a back suplex into a Side Effect for a two count and Kidman escapes a slam attempt as he gets a kick in and Matt counters a whip, and he gets a kick in though Kidman escapes a Twist of Fate attempt and hits a tornado bulldog on Matt. He goes up top only for Matt to get a shot in and he goes up himself as Kidman pounds on him and shoves him to the mat, and Kidman sets himself on the top rope only for Matt to catch him coming in with a kick though Kidman blocks the Twist of Fate by tripping Matt up and he hooks a rollup which gets the three and he wins the match. The match itself was decent as both men worked hard and put on a basic matchup. Kidman was hitting his groove by this point while Matt was also hitting his groove as well, and they had good chemistry as Kidman gets the surprise win over Matt. The crowd was into the match and popped for Kidman when he won. Kidman gets the win over Matt though this issue isn’t over yet. Grade: 1.5
 
After the match, Matt rolls out of the ring and goes to the commentary table as he says that Kidman got lucky and he is going to lose 10 pounds to qualify as a Cruiserweight so he can win the Cruiserweight Title from Kidman.
 
We see Team Angle in their dressing room as Kurt Angle says this is the biggest night of their lives and he needs to prepare for his match with Benoit, and he says that he wants them to soar like an eagle and they are winners as they were meant to be champions.
 
Commercial break
 
4. Team Angle (w/ Paul Heyman) defeat Los Guerreros when Charlie Haas pins Eddie at 14:42 to win the WWE Tag Team Championships.
 
Analysis: Our next match on the card is our lone title match of the night. Los Guerreros have been rolling as tag champions and face a tough challenge here in Team Angle, who have been feuding with Benoit and Edge and look to become champions here. Los Guerreros get a decent pop from the crowd while Team Angle were pretty hot as heels. Chavo starts off the match with Benjamin and they lock up with Chavo going behind Benjamin who turns it around, and Chavo hits an armdrag and hooks a headscissors on Benjamin who escapes quickly with a nipup and they have a standoff. They square off with Benjamin tripping Chavo up for a two count as Chavo goes behind Benjamin and takes him to the mat, and they trade momentum with Chavo getting a one count and Eddie tags in as they lock up with Eddie quickly escaping. They lock up again with Eddie working on the arm and he hits a snapmare for a two count as they have a standoff, and they lock up with Benjamin backing Eddie into his corner and Haas tags in though Eddie quickly escapes. They lock up with Haas going behind Eddie who hits a drop toehold and Haas rides Eddie who turns it around, and he hooks a headlock on Haas and knocks him down as he hits a snapmare and Chavo tags in as he hits a low dropkick on Haas for a two count. He rams Haas into the buckle and hits a back suplex as Eddie tags in and he hits a slingshot somersault senton on Haas for a two count, and Haas gets a knee in and pounds on Eddie as he trips him up for a two count and tags Benjamin who hooks a headlock. Eddie escapes with a back suplex and tags Chavo who kicks at Benjamin and pounds on him before hitting a clothesline, and he rams Benjamin into the buckle and stomps on him in the corner as Eddie chokes him from the apron and Chavo pounds on him. Eddie tags in and continues to pound on Benjamin as he rams him into the buckle and pounds on him in the corner, and he stomps on Benjamin repeatedly and brings him to his corner as Chavo chokes Benjamin from the apron and Eddie rolls outside. Los Guerreros trip Benjamin up and crotch him on the post as Chavo rolls back into the ring and stomps on Benjamin, and Eddie tags in and they stomp and pound on Benjamin in the corner as Eddie hits a snapmare and hooks a submission on Benjamin. Benjamin fights to his feet and escapes the hold with a back suplex as he pounds on him in the corner and tags Haas, and he stomps and pounds on Eddie in the corner as Chavo comes in and the four men brawl in the corners. Chavo and Benjamin whip Eddie and Haas into each other as Benjamin backdrops Chavo over the top though Chavo lands on the apron, and Eddie dropkicks Benjamin in the back and sends him into Chavo who gets knocked off the apron into the announce table. Haas hits a clothesline on Eddie and stomps on him repeatedly as he sends him to the outside and he goes outside as well, and he throws Chavo back into the ring and tags Benjamin who stomps on Chavo and hooks a submission on. Chavo fights to his feet and breaks the hold as he ducks a shot only for Benjamin to hit a flapjack for a two count, and Haas tags in and drops a series of elbows on Chavo for a two count as he pounds on him and rams the knee into him in the corner. Benjamin tags in and they hang Chavo on the top rope as they hit a double team for a two count and Haas tags in, and they hang Chavo on the top rope again only for Eddie to trip Benjamin up from the floor and he gets in the ring. He rolls Haas up and pounds on him on the mat as Chavo hooks a sunset flip on Benjamin for a two count, and Benjamin hits a clothesline on Chavo and knocks Eddie to the floor as he pounds on Chavo in the corner and tags Haas. They attempt a double backdrop on Chavo who counters it into a double DDT and Eddie gets the hot tag, and he hits a pair of clotheslines on Team Angle and pounds on Haas as he clotheslines Benjamin over the top to the floor. He ducks a shot and kicks at Haas as he hits a backdrop and then he hits a trio of suplexes on Haas for a two count, and Chavo kicks Benjamin to the floor and goes up top as Eddie puts Haas on the top rope and goes up himself. He hits a superplex on Haas and then Chavo hits the Frog Splash as Eddie gets a two count with Benjamin breaking it up, and Chavo sends Benjamin to the outside and grabs Haas as he hits the tornado DDT while Eddie goes up top as well only for Benjamin to shove him to the floor. Chavo backdrops Benjmain over the top to the floor and goes up top as he hits a crossbody onto Benjamin on the floor, and Eddie gets in the ring and hits a clothesline on Haas who reverses a whip and he hits a flapjack on Eddie. He hits a belly-to-belly suplex on Eddie for a two count as Chavo breaks it up and Benjamin gets in the ring, and Team Angle hang Eddie on the top rope and hit their double team again as Haas hits a German suplex on Eddie though Chavo breaks it up. Benjamin throws Chavo over the top to the floor and Team Angle put Eddie on the top rope before going up themselves, and Chavo gets in the ring and puts Haas on his shoulders as he hits an electric chair and Eddie pounds on Benjamin before hitting a sunset flip powerbomb. He goes up top only for Heyman to grab at his leg though Eddie kicks him off and Chavo hits a slingshot plancha onto Heyman, and Eddie sets himself on the top rope and hits the Frog Splash on Benjamin as Haas gets in the ring and hooks a rollup on Eddie which 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. Los Guerreros were hitting their stride as a team while Team Angle were gelling as a team, and they had good chemistry as Team Angle get the upset win and become champions. The crowd was into the match and Los Guerreros, but are not happy when Team Angle win. Team Angle get the win over Los Guerreros and are the new tag champions as both teams move on. Grade: 3
 
Commercial break
 
Hulk Hogan comes down to the ring though before he can speak, the Rock appears via satellite from Hollywood and says that he hasn’t seen Hogan in a while as he looks good, and he says that he can’t wait to face him at No Way Out and they will electrify like no one else as he wants to hear what Hogan has to say. He says that he knows Hogan will put him over like a million dollars and that he will direct him as Hogan says it’s good to see Rock too, and he says that he wanted to see if Vince McMahon had the guts to face him in a match though he didn’t expect Rock to not be here to face him in the ring. Rock says that it’s been a long day for him and everyone else as he wants Hogan to speed up to doing his catchphrases, and Hogan says that distance is a luxury because if Rock was in the ring with him only for Rock to interrupt and say that he’s learned his tofu is ready. He says that he trusts Hogan not to bore the fans with his catchphrases and to talk about No Way Out as he mocks Hogan and wants him to remind Rock to whip his ass at No Way Out, and Hogan says that Rock might think that he is boring though after watching the RAW 10th Anniversary and hearing Rock get booed means that he’s the one that’s boring. He says that people are saying things about him that aren’t true as last week, Vince called him a bottom-feeder and Vince also had the audacity to claim that he created Hulkamania. He says that Vince claimed that Hogan and Hulkamania was on life support and that he didn’t believe his own words, and he says that he believes that Vince McMahon is full of shit and Vince can say whatever he wants. He says that it boils down to one thing which is Vince is scared to get in the ring with him and that’s why Vince didn’t accept his challenge, and he says that it’s ok with him because this is the rematch of all rematches as at No Way Out, it will be him versus the Rock-a-Jabroni in the second part. He says that he’s even more excited than Rock and this will be like WrestleMania in that it will be exciting, and he says that like at WrestleMania, it won’t be the million and millions of Rock fans but rather the millions and millions of Hulkamaniacs that will boo Rock right out of No Way Out as he asks Rock what he will do when he runs wild on him.
 
We see several Superstars backstage watching the screen as Sean O’Haire walks up to the group and points at Brian Kendrick, and he asks if he was the one who did the singing telegram last week which Kendrick confirms and O’Haire says that it takes guts for him do what he did last week. Kendrick says he would do anything to make it in WWE and O’Haire says that Kendrick needs to make an impact, and after confirming the shoes Kendrick is wearing O’Haire brings up the recent Nike commercial with the guy streaking around the soccer stadium. O’Haire hands him a scarf and Kendrick asks if O’Haire is actually asking him to streak as O’Haire says he’s not telling him anything he doesn’t already know, and he walks away as Kendrick starts to get undressed.
 
Commercial break
 
5. A-Train pins Shannon Moore with the Trainwreck at :52.
 
Analysis: Our last match before the main event is a pretty basic matchup. A-Train was cruising in the midcard and looks to get a win here over Moore, who was still following Matt Hardy and looks to get an upset win here. Neither man get a pop from the crowd as both had decent heat as heels, but before the match begins Brian Kendrick runs down to the ring wearing only a scarf and sneakers as he runs around the ring before being chased into the crowd by officials. Moore gets a kick in and pounds on A-Train to start the match as A-Train shoves him to the mat and hits a pump kick, and he pounds on Moore on the mat and slingshots him throat first into the middle rope as he hits the Trainwreck which gets the three and he wins the match. The match itself was nothing more than a squash as Moore puts A-Train over in less than a minute. The crowd was not into the match and are not happy when A-Train wins. A-Train gets the easy win over Moore and both men move on. Grade: DUD
 
After the match, Kendrick comes back down through the crowd and runs around the ring before being chased to the back by the officials.
 
Commercial break
 
We see footage from during the break of Brian Kendrick running through the hallways and going into Stephanie McMahon’s office briefly before being escorted out.
 
John Cena comes down to the ring and does a freestyle rap insulting Brock Lesnar and challenging him to a match next week.
 
Commercial break
 
6. Kurt Angle (w/ Paul Heyman) pins Chris Benoit with the Angle Slam at 10:36.
 
Analysis: After a fairly quick and interesting night of wrestling, we come to our main event. These two faced off at the Rumble with Angle barely retaining the title over Benoit and now Benoit looks to get some revenge here in a non-title match. Benoit gets a big pop from the crowd while Angle was red hot as a heel. The two men lock up to start with Angle going behind Benoit and he hooks a headlock as he takes him to the mat and Benoit fights to his feet, and Benoit whips Angle off and Angle knocks him down as Benoit hits a pair of clotheslines and an armdrag as he works on the arm. Angle fights to his feet and sends Benoit into the corner as he pounds on him and whips him into the other corner, and Benoit catches him with a boot to the face and hits a clothesline to the back of the head as he gets a kick in and hits a snap suplex for a two count. He pounds on Angle who reverses a whip and he hits a belly-to-belly suplex on Benoit as he kicks and pounds on him, and he hits a short clothesline on Benoit for a two count and sends him to the outside as Heyman knocks him down and Angle goes outside. He throws Benoit back into the ring for a two count and rams the knee into him repeatedly as he hits a suplex for a two count, and he hits a snapmare and hooks a submission on Benoit who fights to his feet and escapes the hold with an armdrag. Angle catches him with a knee to the ribs for a two count and he stomps on Benoit as he rams him into the buckle and drives the shoulder into the ribs repeatedly, and he stomps and pounds on Benoit and hits a back suplex for a two count as Benoit tries to battle back only for Angle to get a knee in. Benoit counters a whip with a short clothesline and he gets a kick in as he hits a backdrop on Angle and ducks a shot, and he goes behind Angle who blocks a German suplex by tripping Benoit up and he hooks the Ankle Lock on. Benoit rolls through and hooks a rollup for a two count as he takes Angle to the mat and hooks the Crossface on, and Angle rolls through though Benoit keeps the hold on as Angle fights to his feet and Benoit counters the Angle Slam with a rollup for a two count. Benoit ducks a shot and hits a German suplex on Angle who blocks a second one with a series of back elbows and he gets a kick in, but Benoit counters the Angle Slam with an armdrag and he flips Angle over as he hooks the Crossface back on. Angle grabs Benoit’s foot to break the hold and he hooks the Ankle Lock on though Benoit escapes and hooks the Crossface back on, and Angle reaches the rope to force a break and Benoit stomps on him repeatedly though Angle kicks him away. Benoit knocks him down and goes up top as Angle runs up top himself only for Benoit to shove him to the mat, and he comes down only for Angle to get a kick in and he hits a buckle bomb on Benoit who ducks a shot and hits a release German suplex with Angle landing on his stomach for a two count. We see Benoit is bleeding from the eye as he hits another German suplex on Angle and goes up top only to miss the diving headbutt, and Angle hooks a rollup for a two count and Benoit ducks a shot as they trade momentum until Benoit goes behind Angle. Angle gets a series of back elbows in and hits the Angle Slam on Benoit which gets the three and he wins the match. The match itself was good as both men worked hard and put on a solid match. Both men were hitting their stride by this point and still had great chemistry as Angle gets a clean win over Benoit. The crowd was into the match and Benoit, but are not happy when Angle wins. Angle gets the win over Benoit though this issue isn’t over yet. Grade: 3
 
After the match, Angle celebrates with the title as Benoit gets to his feet and Angle offers a handshake which Benoit accepts and Angle raises his hand out of respect, but then Team Angle run down to the ring and they attack Benoit along with Angle as Edge runs down to the ring and hits the spear on Angle. Team Angle swarm Edge and attack him until Brock Lesnar runs down to the ring and hits a pair of clotheslines, and he hoists Benjamin onto his shoulders and hits the F-5 as he then hoists Haas onto his shoulders and hits the F-5 again as we go off the air.
 
Final Analysis: Overall, this edition of Smackdown was a pretty solid show to continue the build to No Way Out. As we were heading down the Road to WrestleMania, it was going to be interesting to see how No Way Out ends up being as a final building block to that show and so far, it was shaping up to be a pretty big show. We did have a title match on this show as Team Angle now rule the tag division while Mysterio, Rikishi, Kidman, A-Train, and Angle get big wins, and in terms of the matches the main event and tag title match were the best while the other big thing was the interaction between Hogan and Rock. 2003 has been a pretty good year as least one month in as Smackdown was still rolling after a strong 2002, and we will see if their side of No Way Out delivers especially with Hogan/Rock on top. As for this show, it is a pretty solid show with some good matches and good build to No Way Out. Final Grade: B