Smackdown
March 13th, 2003 (taped March 11th)
Mellon Arena
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
 
Dark Matches:
 
1. Chris Kanyon (w/ Jackie Gayda) defeats Shark Boy at 7:17.
2. Nathan Jones defeats J.R. Ryder.
 
3/15 Velocity taping:
 
1. Johnny “The Bull” Stamboli (w/ the F.B.I.) defeats Funaki at 5:05.
2. Shannon Moore defeats Matt Stryker at 3:44.
3. Bill DeMott defeats BJ Payne at 1:56.
4. Tajiri defeats Jamie Noble (w/ Nidia) at 4:20.
 
Actual Show:
 
We see footage from earlier today of Brock Lesnar and Team Angle arriving to the arena.
 
We see the opening video for Smackdown.
 
Your hosts are Michael Cole and Tazz.
 
1. Team Angle defeat Billy Kidman and Rey Mysterio when Charlie Haas pins Kidman at 7:12.
 
Analysis: We kick off this edition of Smackdown with our first tag match of the night. Team Angle have been rolling as tag champions and look to get a big win here over the makeshift team of Kidman and Mysterio. Kidman and Mysterio get a big pop from the crowd while Team Angle were pretty hot as heels. Kidman starts off the match with Haas and they lock up with Haas hitting a fireman’s carry as they lock up again with Haas hitting an armdrag, but Kidman knocks him down and Haas reverses a whip as Kidman blocks a hiptoss attempt and gets a knee in. He hits a hurricanrana on Haas for a two count and Haas gets a knee in as Benjamin tags in only for Kidman to hit an armdrag and he works the arm, and Mysterio tags in and hits a slingshot sunset flip for a two count as he pounds on him until Benjamin reverses a whip. Mysterio slides under him and Benjamin gets a kick in as Mysterio escapes a back suplex attempt and hits a headscissors for a two count, and Kidman tags in and pounds on Benjamin in the corner as he gets a kick in and they hit a double team on Benjamin for a two count. Kidman whips Benjamin into the corner and pounds on him as he knocks Haas off the apron and he continues to pound on Benjamin, and he whips Benjamin back into the corner only for Haas to pull Benjamin out of the way of a charge with Kidman ramming his shoulder into the post. Benjamin hits an armbreaker on Kidman for a two count and kicks at him as Haas tags in and kicks at Kidman’s arm, and he continues to work the arm and wraps the arm around the rope as Kidman tries to battle back only for Haas to take him to the mat by the arm for a two count. Benjamin tags in and kicks at Kidman’s arm as he hits an armdrag and a legdrop on the arm before hooking a submission on, and he gets a shot in on Mysterio and Haas tags in as they hit a double team on Kidman for a two count with Mysterio breaking it up. Haas stomps on Kidman who escapes a suplex attempt and he hooks a rollup for a two count as Haas catches a kick attempt, and Kidman hits an enzurgiri on Haas and Mysterio gets the hot tag as he hits a springboard somersault senton on Haas. He gets a shot in on Benjamin and Haas reverses a whip as Mysterio ducks a shot and hits a springboard crossbody, and he flips onto Benjamin’s shoulders and pounds on him as Benjamin shoves him off into a moonsault on Haas for a two count with Benjamin breaking it up. Mysterio escapes a slam attempt and Kidman tags in as he hits a slingshot headscissors on Haas and knocks Benjamin off the apron. Haas gets a kick in and Kidman counters a powerbomb by slamming Haas’ head into the mat for a two count with Benjamin breaking it up, and he pounds on Kidman who reverses a whip and Mysterio sends Benjamin over the top to the floor. Kidman hits a dropkick on Haas who falls into the ropes and Mysterio hits the 619 on Haas as he hits a springboard moonsault onto Benjamin, and Kidman goes up top and hits the Shooting Star Press on Haas though his legs bounce off the ropes for a two count with Benjamin breaking it up. Kidman throws Benjamin into the ring and pounds on him as he whips him into the corner and whips Mysterio into him, but Benjamin backdrops Mysterio over the top with Mysterio landing on the apron as Team Angle hit a double team on Kidman which gets the three and they win the match. The match itself was good as both teams worked hard and put on a solid tag match. Mysterio and Kidman still looked good as a team while Team Angle were gelling as a team, and they had good chemistry as Team Angle get the somewhat clean win. The crowd was into the match and Kidman and Mysterio, but are not happy when Team Angle win. Team Angle get the win over Kidman and Mysterio as both teams move on. Grade: 2.5
 
We see Stephanie McMahon on the phone with someone as Brian Kendrick comes in with a bouquet of flowers and she says that approach didn’t work with Kurt Angle, and he says he wanted to thank her for giving him a chance and he leaves the office.
 
Commercial break
 
We see footage from earlier today of Jamie Noble trying to get into the Playboy Mansion.
 
2. Rikishi pins Chuck Palumbo (w/ the F.B.I.) with the Banzai Drop at 2:58.
 
Analysis: Our next match on the card is a pretty interesting matchup. Rikishi has been having issues with the F.B.I. and looks to get a win here over Palumbo. Rikishi gets a good pop from the crowd while Palumbo had decent heat as a heel. The F.B.I. get on the apron and Rikishi knocks Nunzio to the floor before hitting a superkick on Stamboli to start the match, and Palumbo hits the Jungle Kick on Rikishi for a two count and rams the knee into his ribs repeatedly as he hits a short clothesline. He hits a belly-to-belly suplex on Rikishi for a two count and drives him into the corner as he rams the shoulder into his ribs repeatedly, and he pounds on Rikishi and stomps on him as he whips him into the other corner and splashes him. He knocks Rikishi down and Stamboli gets a few shots in from the floor as does Nunzio and Palumbo drives Rikishi into the corner, and he pounds on Rikishi and whips him into the other corner only for Rikishi to catch him on a charge and he throws him into the corner. He pounds on Palumbo and hits a clothesline as he hits a Samoan drop and superkick on Palumbo before splashing him in the corner, and he knocks Palumbo down and Palumbo attempts a sunset flip as Rikishi pounds on him on the mat while the F.B.I. try to get in the ring. But then, Los Guerreros run down to the ring and send the F.B.I. to the outside as they hit stereo slingshot planchas onto the F.B.I., and Rikishi hits a sitdown splash on Palumbo 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 decent as both men worked hard and put on a pretty basic match. Rikishi was still fairly serviceable while Palumbo was hitting his groove, and they had decent chemistry as Los Guerreros help Rikishi get the win. The crowd was into the match and popped for Rikishi when he won. Rikishi gets the win over Palumbo and both men move on. Grade: 1.5
 
We see the Undertaker looking for Nathan Jones backstage as he finds him in an empty locker room and he asks him what he’s doing, and Jones says that being in seclusion for 10 years makes you appreciate the silence and Taker says that there will be nothing peaceful at WM as he wants them to watch the next match.
 
We see the Big Show and A-Train walking down the hallway.
 
Commercial break
 
3. The Big Show and A-Train defeat Tajiri and Funaki when A-Train pins Funaki at 3:46.
 
Analysis: Our next match on the card is our second tag match of the night. Show and A-Train were still having issues with the Undertaker and Nathan Jones as they look to get a win here over Tajiri and Funaki. Tajiri and Funaki get a decent pop from the crowd while Show and A-Train were pretty hot as heels. Funaki starts off the match with Show who hits a clothesline and he gets a shot in on Tajiri as he knocks Funaki down, and he hits a press slam on Funaki and tags A-Train who rams Funaki into the buckle and pounds on him in the corner. He splashes Funaki in the corner as Show joins commentary and Funaki slides under A-Train as Tajiri tags in, and he pounds on A-Train who no-sells his shots and knocks him down as Tajiri ducks a shot and gets a kick in. Funaki and Tajiri kick at A-Train repeatedly until A-Train grabs Tajiri and rams the knee into him repeatedly, and he hoists Tajiri up for a suplex and drops him on the top rope as Funaki gets a kick in only for A-Train to clothesline him to the floor. He hits a short clothesline on Tajiri who ducks a shot and Funaki gets a blind tag as Tajiri dropkicks A-Train in the knee, and Funaki goes up top and hits a missile dropkick on A-Train who catches a kick attempt and he shoves Funaki to the mat. He slingshots Funaki throat first into the middle rope for a two count with Tajiri breaking it up and A-Train presses Funaki up, and Tajiri gets a kick in and Funaki attempts a sunset flip as Tajiri kicks A-Train in the face and Funaki hooks the sunset flip for a two count. Show gets in the ring and Tajiri kicks at him repeatedly only for Show to grab him by the throat and he hits the Chokeslam, and A-Train pounds on Funaki and hits the pump kick as he hoists him up and hits the Train Wreck which gets the three and he wins the match for his team. The match itself was pretty much a handicap squash as Tajiri and Funaki got a few shots in, but they put Show and A-Train over in under 4 minutes. The crowd was in and out of it for the match and are not happy when Show and A-Train win. Show and A-Train get the win over Tajiri and Funaki as both teams move on. Grade: 1
 
We see footage from earlier today of the fans choosing who will win between Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar.
 
Commercial break
 
We see Dawn Marie walking backstage as Sean O’Haire comes up to her and asks what’s wrong as she says that she should’ve been in Playboy and not Torrie Wilson, and he says that she has a great body and the girls on Girls Gone Wild will have the chance to show their bodies to the world on PPV. He says that she has a chance to show off her body to the crowd tonight and he’s not telling her anything she doesn’t already know as he walks away.
 
We see footage from earlier today of Torrie Wilson unveiling her Playboy cover.
 
Dawn Marie comes down to the ring and asks the crowd if they think she has a great body as the girls will go wild tonight on PPV, but she is going to go wild right now as she unbuttons her top and flashes the crowd before heading to the back.
 
Commercial break
 
We see footage from earlier this week of John Cena cutting a freestyle rap on Brock Lesnar.
 
4. Los Guerreros wrestle Chris Benoit and Rhyno to a no contest at 20:08.
 
Stipulation: The winners would earn a WWE Tag Team Championship match at WrestleMania XIX
 
Analysis: Our next match on the card is our third and last tag match of the night. These two teams were looking to earn a title shot at WM and they face off here to see who will do so. Both teams get a good pop from the crowd though they do side more with Benoit and Rhyno. Benoit starts off the match with Chavo and they lock up with Benoit working the arm as Chavo rolls through and takes control, and Benoit trips Chavo up and works the leg until Chavo hooks a cross armbreaker with Benoit reaching the ropes to force a break. Eddie tags in as does Rhyno and they lock up with Eddie going behind Rhyno who turns it around and goes behind Eddie, and Eddie hits a drop toehold and hooks a front facelock on Rhyno who escapes and works the arm until Eddie backs him into the corner. They exchange shoves and Eddie gets a kick in as he pounds on Rhyno and rams him into the buckle before tagging Chavo, and Eddie hits a snapmare and Chavo hits a low dropkick on Rhyno as he stomps on him and pounds on him in the corner. He rams Rhyno into the buckle and tags Eddie who pounds on Rhyno in the corner and Rhyno reverses a whip as he hits a flapjack on Eddie, and he pounds on Eddie and tags Benoit who kicks at Eddie and he catches him with a knee to the ribs for a two count. He hits a snap suplex on Eddie and pounds on him in the corner until Eddie rakes the eyes and he pounds on Benoit in the corner, and Rhyno tags in and gets a shot in on Eddie as he rams him into the buckle and pounds on him in the corner. He whips Eddie into the other corner and Eddie catches him with a back elbow as Chavo tags in and stomps on Rhyno, and he hits a back suplex on Rhyno for a two count and stomps on him as he hooks a front facelock on until Rhyno backs him into the corner. Benoit tags in and pounds on Chavo as he hits a backbreaker for a two count and then he hits a back suplex for a two count, and Chavo falls on top of a second back suplex attempt for a two count and tags Eddie who hits a clothesline on Benoit. He pounds on Benoit and hits a standing dropkick for a two count as he pounds on him in the corner only for Benoit to turn it around, and he takes Eddie to the mat though Eddie blocks a Crossface attempt and reaches the rope to force a break. Chavo gets a shot in from the apron and Benoit nails him as Eddie knocks Eddie down and Chavo tags in, and he pounds on Benoit on the mat until Eddie pulls him off and he stomps on Benoit as he continues to pound on him. He stomps on him repeatedly and hits a snapmare as he hooks a submission on Benoit who escapes with an armdrag, but Chavo quickly hooks the submission back on Benoit and takes him to the mat as Benoit fights to his feet and escapes the hold by pounding on Chavo. He hooks a rollup for a two count and Chavo hits a clothesline on Benoit as he hits a slam and tags Eddie who hits a slingshot somersault senton for a two count, and he hooks another submission on Benoit who reaches the rope to force a break and Eddie stomps on him repeatedly. Chavo tags in and stomps on Benoit as he rams him into the buckle and pounds on him in the corner only for Benoit to battle back, and he whips Chavo into the corner and Chavo catches him with a boot to the face only for Benoit to take him to the mat though Chavo blocks the Crossface and sends Benoit to the outside. Benoit avoids a slingshot plancha as Chavo lands on the floor only for Eddie to hit the slingshot plancha onto Benoit on the floor, and Rhyno hits a clothesline on Eddie and throws Chavo back into the ring as Benoit also rolls back into the ring. Chavo whips Benoit into the corner and Chavo misses a charge as Benoit hits a pair of German suplexes on Chavo who blocks a third one with a series of back elbows, and Benoit tries to take Chavo to the mat only for Chavo to hit an armdrag and he hooks the Crossface on Benoit. Benoit crawls to his corner and Rhyno tags in as he stomps on Chavo to break the hold and pounds on him, and he whips Chavo into the corner and Chavo catches him with a boot to the face only for Rhyno to catch him in a belly-to-belly suplex for a two count. He hits a snapmare and hooks a submission on Chavo as he drives the knee into his back and goes back to the submission, and Chavo fights to his feet only for Rhyno to get a shot in and he whips Chavo into the corner though Chavo catches him with a back elbow. He goes up to the middle rope and hits a missile dropkick on Rhyno as Benoit gets the hot tag and he knocks Eddie down, and he kicks at him and hits a snap suplex as he gets another kick in though Eddie escapes a tilt-a-whirl. He gets a kick in and hits a back suplex on Benoit as he stomps and pounds on him though Benoit reverses a whip, and Eddie hits a hurricanrana on Benoit and goes up top as Benoit pounds on him and goes up himself though Eddie hits a sunset flip powerbomb for a two count with Rhyno breaking it up. He sends Chavo over the top to the floor and whips Eddie into the corner only to miss a charge and Eddie hooks a small package on Benoit for a two count, and Chavo knocks Rhyno to the outside and Benoit hits a back suplex on Eddie which sends him over the top to the floor. Chavo nails Benoit and hits a dropkick as he rams him into the buckle and pounds on him in the corner, and Benoit counters a whip and takes Chavo to the mat as he hooks the Crossface on only for Eddie to go up top and he hits the Frog Splash. Rhyno gets in the ring and hits the Gore on Eddie as he hoists Chavo up for a powerbomb only for Chavo to hit a hurricanrana which sends both men over the top to the floor, and Benoit gets a two count on Eddie and pounds on him as Eddie hits a pair of back elbows only for Benoit to hit a pair of German suplexes. Eddie escapes and hits a pair of suplexes only for Benoit to take him to the mat and he hooks the Crossface on, but Eddie fights to his feet and goes behind Benoit who turns it around and hits another German suplex only for Team Angle to run down to the ring and hit both men with their belts as the ref throws the match out. The match itself was very good as both teams worked hard and put on a really fun tag match. Los Guerreros were hitting their groove as a team while Benoit and Rhyno were gelling well as a team, and they had good chemistry though it made sense for Team Angle to break it up so they didn’t have to face either team. The crowd was into the match and both teams, but are not happy with the ending. The match ends with no winner and this issue isn’t over yet. Grade: 3.5
 
We see highlights from Smackdown last week.
 
Commercial break
 
We see Stephanie McMahon walking up to Team Angle and she says that they might have thought they eliminated the competition, but instead they will face both Los Guerreros and Benoit and Rhyno at WM in a Triple Threat match.
 
We see a tribute video to Hulk Hogan.
 
Vince McMahon says that what everyone saw was historic as he has the ending of the video replayed and says that it was the only time that Hogan ever thanked him, and he says that Hogan is an ingrate though it wasn’t always that way as they were best friends at one time and they raised hell together. He says that they got into plenty of situations together and he thought they were becoming closer until Hogan changed, and he says that Hogan hurt him, his family, and his business as it bothered him even though he knows it didn’t bother Hogan. He says that Hogan wasn’t thanking him at that time and he was saying “screw you” to him as Hogan screwed him the first chance he got, and he says that Hogan went to WCW and said hurtful things about him though in the end, he forgave Hogan for everything and brought him back. He says that this is his ballpark and he lets Hogan play in it as Hogan challenged him to a match at WM, and he says that the match will happen though it will be a fight like never before and after it’s over, he knows what will happen in that he will be hurt and his heart will be broken as he will be devastated because Hogan forced him to do what he didn’t want to do. He says that he will kill one of his creations, Hulkamania and for that, he will never forgive Hogan.
 
Commercial break
 
5. The Pittsburgh Penguin defeats Matt Hardy (w/ Shannon Moore) by countout at 5:06.
 
Analysis: Our last match before the main event is a pretty interesting matchup. Matt was preparing for his match at WM and looks to get a win here in an open challenge. Matt was pretty hot as a heel as his challenge is accepted by a masked competitor who gets a decent pop because of his name. The two men lock up to start with Matt hitting a slam and Penguin goes behind Matt who gets a back elbow in, and he hits a snapmare on Penguin and they lock up with Matt going behind Penguin as he works the arm. Penguin flips over Matt and hooks a headlock on as Matt sends him into the corner and whips him into the other corner, and Penguin catches him in a headscissors and Matt begs off as he knocks him down and stomps on him before choking him in the ropes. Moore does the same from the floor and Matt slams down on his back as he hoists him onto his shoulder and hotshots him on the top rope, and he hits a back suplex into the Side Effect for a two count as he rams him into the buckle and pounds on him in the corner. Penguin battles back until Matt rakes the eyes and hits a snapmare as he hooks a submission on and unties the mask, but Penguin kicks at him to escape the hold and gets a shot in only for Matt to hit a tilt-a-whirl sidewalk slam. Matt pulls the mask off and reveals “Penguin” to be Brian Kendrick who fires up on Matt until Matt reverses a whip into the corner, but he misses a charge and Kendrick hits a springboard dropkick as Moore gets on the apron and Kendrick knocks him to the floor. He ducks a shot and hits a modified facebuster on Matt for a two count as he hits a tornado DDT for a two count, and he pounds on Matt in the corner as Moore gets in the ring and Matt reverses a whip with Kendrick nailing Moore. Matt ducks a shot though Kendrick escapes the Side Effect and kicks off Moore before hitting an inverted tornado DDT, but Moore pulls Matt outside and they head to the back as Matt is counted out and Kendrick wins the match. The match itself was decent as both men worked hard and put on a basic match. Kendrick was slowly getting into a groove in the ring while Matt was hitting his groove, and they had decent chemistry as Kendrick gets to showcase his stuff while Matt only loses by countout. The crowd was into the match and Kendrick, but are not happy with the ending. Kendrick gets the win over Matt by countout and both men move on. Grade: 1.5
 
Commercial break
 
We see a shot outside the Mellon Arena.
 
We see footage from during the break of Rey Mysterio congratulating Brian Kendrick.
 
We see the buildup to the main event.
 
We see Brock Lesnar warming up backstage.
 
Commercial break
 
WWE ShopZone.com WrestleMania Moment: Hulk Hogan slamming Andre the Giant at WrestleMania III
 
6. Kurt Angle pins Brock Lesnar with a small package at 1:17 to retain the WWE Championship.
 
Analysis: After a fairly quick and interesting night of wrestling, we come to our main event. Even those these two men are set to face off at WM, Lesnar gets an early title shot here after winning the cage match last week. Lesnar gets a good pop from the crowd while Angle gets a mixed reaction from his hometown crowd. Lesnar wastes no time and attacks Angle from behind to start the match as he pounds on him in the corner and rams the shoulder into his back repeatedly, and he rams the knee into the ribs repeatedly and hoists him onto his shoulders as he hits the F-5 and gets a two count as he gets off the pin and looks confused. Just then, Team Angle come down the ramp and Lesnar goes outside as he stalks them only for someone to come from under the ring and switch places with Angle, and Lesnar gets in the ring and grabs the guy who hooks a small package which gets the three and we see it is actually Angle who retains the title. The match itself was nothing as it was just a way for Angle to get one over on Lesnar again heading into WM. The crowd was into the match, but are left confused by the ending. Angle steals the win over Lesnar and escapes with the title as this issue isn’t over yet. Grade: .5
 
After the match, Angle celebrates and heads to the back as Lesnar goes outside and grabs the imposter before pounding on him which busts him open, and he hoists him onto his shoulders and hits the F-5 which sends his knee into the post as we see the imposter is Kurt’s brother, Eric and we go off the air.
 
Final Analysis: Overall, this edition of Smackdown was a pretty interesting show as we continue the Road to WrestleMania. Smackdown’s side of the show was looking pretty strong between the top two matches and those on the undercard, and this was a good way to continue the build towards that show. We did have a title match as Angle is still the man while Team Angle, Rikishi, Show, A-Train, and Kendrick get big wins, and in terms of the matches Los Guerreros/Benoit and Rhyno was easily the best and the big moment was Angle outsmarting Lesnar with some help. 2003 has been an interesting year to this point for Smackdown as they were still pretty strong in terms of the roster, and we will see if their side of WrestleMania proves to be the stronger side. As for this show, it is a pretty solid show to continue the build to Seattle. Final Grade: B-