The Smackdown! Report (9/23/04): 5th Anniversary show
Submitted by Chad Matthews on Thursday, September 23, 2004 at 10:26 PM EST





The Smackdown Report (9/23/04)

The show opened with Vince McMahon appearing on the Titantron to welcome everyone to the 5th anniversary edition of Smackdown, which now has a new opening video and new music.

Match 1: United States Champion Booker T vs. Paul London
-(CMV1 note- this match started out as London vs. Billy Kidman, but Kidman walked away before the two even locked up, giving his former tag team partner the victory via count-out. However, Booker wasted little time in making his way to the ring to challenge London to an impromptu match). Early in the match, London hit a flying knee attack off the second rope, but soon after Booker hung him up over the top rope. Book then took control, but not for long, as London hit a dropsault and followed it with a running enziguiri for a near fall. He then attempted a cross body block, but Booker rolled through and picked up the victory at 3:09. (CMV1 rating- ¾ *) (CMV1 note- too slow paced for its short duration). After the match, Book got on the microphone and ran down John Cena, but London interrupted and drilled him with a forearm shot. (CMV1 note- could this be the beginning of a bigger push for London, or is it an indication of a huge de-push for Booker?)

A video segment featuring Mick Foley then aired. Foley talked about his favorite moments on Smackdown. One of those was actually off the air when the Rock was doing his signature catchphrase and his sunglasses fell off. The Rock just stood there, so Foley picked them up. The Rock thanked him for it and asked the crowd if they smelled what the Rock was cooking. His other favorite moment was bringing back Cactus Jack and the shocking look that Triple H gave after the announcement.

Backstage, Smackdown General Manager Theodore R. Long caught up with Billy Kidman as he was trying to leave the arena. He informed Kidman that at No Mercy, he would go one-on-one with Paul London and that on PPV he will be wrestling and not ducking out like he did tonight. (CMV1 note- well, it’s official, London vs. Kidman at No Mercy. Although that’s no big surprise given that they have rushed this feud, I can honestly say I am excited about it. This will be London’s first singles PPV match, and if they give it a decent amount of time, then he’ll hopefully get a chance to show what he can do).

The camera then cut to Dawn Marie dressing up as a schoolgirl in the locker room.

Backstage, Josh Matthews (no relation) interviewed Spike Dudley and Rey Mysterio. As the two traded words, Kenzo Suzuki interrupted and told Rey that he needed to speak English (Mysterio had used a few Spanish words to insult the Cruiserweight champ) because he lives in America, or else. Mysterio hit Suzuki with a microphone and stared down Spike to close the segment.

The Smackdown Throwback aired highlighting The Rock making Coach do the Charleston.

Match 2: Cruiserweight Champion Spike Dudley (w/ the Dudley Boyz) vs. Rey Mysterio
-(CMV1 note- the cruiserweight title was on the line in this match). The two began with some brawling, but Mysterio quickly took control when he got Spike up in the torture rack position and then dropped him down into a jawbreaker over his knee (sweet move). Then, Bubba Ray interfered, but the ref caught him. He proceeded to send the Dudleys to the back and let the match continue. Spike went outside to consult with his brothers and looked very discontent with the ref’s decision. Mysterio caught him unaware with a baseball slide, and then proceeded to fly over the ref and the top rope with a flip to the outside. Upon shoving Spike back in the ring, Rey scored a near fall. When they got to their feet, they collided in the corner and we then got a dreaded commercial break, which was to be expected. Back from the break, Spike sent Rey crashing into the ring post, shoulder first. He then went for his top rope double stomp, but Mysterio got up and crotched him. Rey brought him down to the mat with a hurricarana off the top that scored him another near fall. Soon after, Dudley went for a sunset flip, but Rey rolled through and nailed him with a dropkick. Mysterio tried to put things away with a springboard cross body, but Spike dodged it, sending Rey crashing into the ref. The finish came when the tag team champions Suzuki and Rene Dupree came out, beat the hell out of Rey on the outside, and then threw him back in the ring, allowing Spike to defeat Mysterio via pinfall at 9:23. (CMV1 rating- *1/2). After the match, RVD came out and fended off the tag champs. (CMV1 note- well, unfortunately, this likely means no Mysterio-Spike match at No Mercy, which I thought would have been nice considering how long their feud had been going on. Now it looks as if Rey/RVD will challenge the tag champs. As for the match, well it was good, but we did not get to see much of it due to the damn commercial break).

A recap of the Wrestlemania 21 press conference aired.

Stephanie McMahon’s contribution to the 5th anniversary show aired, as she highlighted smacking her mother and her love triangle that led to her kiss with Kurt Angle, who she referred to as the world’s worst kisser, as her favorite Smackdown moments.

Backstage, TRL informed Dupree and Suzuki that at No Mercy, they would face Rey Mysterio and Rob Van Dam with the tag team championships on the line.

A recap of the Heidenrich-Michael Cole nonsense aired just before big John walked into Mr. McMahon’s office.

Another Smackdown throwback highlighted Brock Lesnar and the Big Show breaking the ring following a sky-high superplex.

Match 3: The Undertaker vs. The Ministry (Viscera and Gangrel)- Handicap Match
-(CMV1 note- Orlando Jordan was at ringside for the match, while WWE Champion John Bradshaw Layfield watched the match from the roof of his limo. Gangrel did his signature drinking and spitting blood thing. Oh, and I just want to say that Gangrel’s music, which the Ministry came out to, is awesome). Taker dominated from the start, hitting big boots on both, and then taking Gangrel to the Old School. Viscera then squashed Taker in the corner and followed it with a Baldo Bomb to gain some momentum for the Ministry. He hit a big jumping body splash for a near fall. Viscera tried to hit another one, but Taker moved and hit a flying clothesline on Gangrel. The Deadman splashed each one of his former disciples in opposite corners and then hit a running DDT on Viscera and snake eyes on Gangrel. The finish came when Taker hit the Tombstone on Gangrel for the victory at 2:52. (CMV1 rating- *) (CMV1 note- that was some good action despite being so short. Basically, it was just a showcase of the Undertaker’s moveset). After the match, Taker caught Viscera with a chokeslam and stared down JBL.

Backstage in McMahon’s office, Heidenrich read Vince a poem (…and Chad Matthews took a bathroom break).

The mere sight of Stone Cold Steve Austin sent the crowd into frenzy.

Match 4: Dawn Marie and Torrie Wilson vs. Mae Young and the Fabulous Moolah
-(CMV1 note- this match began as a schoolgirl match, but TRL decided it’d be better to have the old farts come in for nostalgia that no longer exists when the fans see Moolah and Mae. Teddy then embarrassed himself by acting like a total moron). Moolah pinned Dawn at 3:22. (CMV1 rating- no rating) (CMV1 note- SO WHAT? Well, that takes away from tonight’s score).

Stone Cold Steve Austin made his video appearance, listing his favorite Smackdown moments. He said he one of them was dressing up as Santa Claus, stunning Vince, and getting a chance to say thank you to the armed forces. Austin also spoke of how funny it was when he and Kurt Angle sang to Mr. McMahon. He said once the cameras stopped rolling, they all just laughed their asses off.

Superstar Billy Graham was in the audience, so they pointed him out to everybody.

Outside in parking lot, Cena stood atop one of the production trucks and rapped about the history of Smackdown, even throwing in some old catchphrases from Austin, McMahon and the Rock’s playbooks to hype his big match at No Mercy with Booker T. Low and behold, Cena actually did a respectable rap. Good stuff…

Cole and Tazz then went over the No Mercy card: WWE Champ JBL vs. Taker (Last Ride Match), US Champ Booker vs. Cena (match 5 of the best of 5), London vs. Kidman, Tag Champs Dupree and Suck-zuki vs. Van Dam and Mysterio, Big Show vs. Angle, and Eddie Guerrero vs. Luther Reigns.

Kurt Angle then demanded our attention as he said he was the #1 star on SD since the beginning. He said he had beaten them all (Guerrero, Austin, Rock, Trips, Benoit, etc) and that the fact that he was not asked to share his favorite moments in SD history, such as his Ironman match, his winning the WCW title, and kissing Stephanie McMahon, was a disgrace. Our Olympic Hero thought there was a bigger disgrace in the building tonight, though, and it weighed 500 pounds and stood 7 foot tall (Big Show). He mentioned how Show almost ended his career and how tonight, since he’s the biggest SD star ever, he would provide us with a SD moment that we would never forget at the Big Show’s expense. (CMV1 note- that was one hell of a promo).

The mere picture of Hulk Hogan had the crowd going crazy.

A video segment featuring Hulk Hogan aired. Hogan spoke of his favorite moment on Smackdown being the 4th of July in 2002 when he and Edge won the tag titles from Billy and Chuck. He said it was not only cool to come out in the red and yellow with the “Real American” theme, but also to work with a life-long Hogan fan such as Edge.

Match 5: Big Show and Eddie Guerrero vs. Kurt Angle and Luther Reigns
-Guerrero and Angle started things off, but once Show got in the ring, Angle quickly tagged in Reigns. The Big Show showed off some of his power, then tagged in Guerrero, who hit the Three Amigo rolling vertical suplexes. When Latino Heat made the cover, Angle interfered. Reigns got to his feet and tagged in the Olympic Champion. Kurt and Eddie then gave us some mat wrestling before Show used his size to intimidate and distract Angle long enough for Eddie to gain a near fall with a roll-up. When a stunned Angle aimlessly got up and wandered around the ring, he walked right into a body slam from the Big Show despite the monster still being on the apron. Eddie then stepped out onto the apron and slingshot himself onto the fallen Angle. Eddie scored a near fall, but soon after Angle hit a belly-to-belly suplex. The straps came down and Angle looked poised to deliver his finisher, but Eddie countered the Olympic Slam into an armdrag. Latino Heat then hit a dropkick and got the hot tag to the Big Show, who cleaned house with his power moves. He gave Reigns a big boot and a chokeslam, but did not go for the cover. Instead, Show and Eddie looked to collaborate a Frog Splash off the shoulders of the largest athlete in the world. However, as Guerrero got ready to fly, Angle came in and pushed him off, sending Eddie crashing face first into the guardrail. We then got a dreaded commercial break, but that was to be expected. When we returned to action, Angle and Luther were continually going to work on Eddie’s leg. Reigns proceeded to hit a double-arm underhook suplex before tagging in Kurt, who immediately went for the ankle lock. Eddie countered Angle’s submission not once, but twice and actually locked Kurt in his own patented hold. Angle managed to tag Luther, though, and Guerrero found himself getting beat upon once again. The tide turned when Reigns tried for a back body drop, but Guerrero countered in mid-air with a dropkick. He then got the hot tag to Show, who threw both Luther and Kurt in the same corner and splashed them with his backside. Show hit a sidewalk slam on Kurt, setting up the Olympic Gold Medalist for the Frog Splash off the big man’s shoulders. This time, Eddie connected and he went for the cover. The finish came when Mark Jindrak interfered, giving Show and Eddie the DQ victory at 15:02. (CMV1 rating- ***1/4). Angle pulled out a tranquilizer gun and shot the Big Show with it after the match. Meanwhile, Luther had laid out Guerrero with the Roll of the Dice on the outside. With that in mind, plus Show being out cold, Jindrak ran back and got some hair clippers. Angle and his little stable proceeded to shave the Big Show’s head. The show faded to black with Angle and his men standing victorious in the ring over a fallen and bald Big Show. (CMV1 note- well, I’ve always thought that one way to take down the Big Show would be to use a tranquilizer gun much like you would use to take down a rhino, so I thought the ending to the show was very good. It gave the fans more of a reason to think to themselves on the day of No Mercy: “Man, I would like to see Show beat up Kurt Angle.” As for the match that preceded this event, I thought it was a very good TV main-event, as each man played their part well, and it did a nice job of not giving too much of Show’s in-ring return away).


All in all…I will give tonight’s show a 6/10 on my ratings scale because it had a good CW title match, a good main-event, and several respectable video appearances from some of SD’s greatest stars. Was there anything special about this show? No, there was not. When you have a diva match and the Heidenrich crap hogging up precious airtime, it is very hard to make a show special, but the rest of the show was solid. I liked the show-closing angle with the Big Show and Kurt Angle and I look forward to their No Mercy match. I also liked John Cena’s promo from atop the production truck, as that was his best rap in many months. The guest appearances were a letdown, but then again I knew none of those people would be there, so it was still nice to see those guys despite them not being live. Basically, they did a nice job tonight of hyping all 6 PPV matches, which is in itself, a big accomplishment. However, the show just was not the special show it could have been.






This week in Smackdown history… Eddie Guerrero battled Edge in a no-DQ match on the September 26 edition of SD in 2002. The two had been feuding for quite awhile at this point, as they had a very good match at Summerslam. On this night, though, Eddie and Edge topped all their previous bouts to deliver a match-of-the-year candidate and one of CMV1’s all-time favorite Smackdown matches. We saw some amazing spots in this match, including a sunset flip powerbomb off the top of a ladder from Eddie that just about won him the match. The finish saw Edge hit the Impaler DDT off the top of the ladder to get the three count. Truly one of the best matches in Smackdown history…yet it overshadowed another fantastic match that saw Rey Mysterio defeat Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle in a triple-threat match.




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