The Smackdown! Report (10/21/04): The Champions' Showcase
Submitted by Chad Matthews on Thursday, October 21, 2004 at 10:20 PM EST





The Smackdown Report (10/21/04)

The show opened with Cole and Tazz hyping the Champion’s Showcase 6-man tag main-event (featuring Booker T, RVD, and Rey vs. JBL, Kenzo, and Dupree), Heidenrich’s debut match, and the Tough Enough casting special.

Match 1: Carlito Caribbean Cool vs. Rico
-(CMV1 note- Torrie Wilson introduced CCC, who made his way to the ring, apple in hand. He took the mic from her and said that while his US title looks good on him, he would look really good on her. When she ignored his advances, he spit apple in her face, causing her to leave). CCC took early control with a neckbreaker, but Rico came back with some gay antics and kicks. The champ then used the move formerly known as the Orton Driver (the first Randy Orton finishing move that is more or less where you put your opponent in a fame-ass-er position and turn it into a swinging neckbreaker, of sorts). CCC then pinned Rico via roll-up at 1:41. (CMV1 rating- ¼ *) (CMV1 note- well that was quick).

Backstage, Smackdown General Manager Theodore R. Long visited Booker T. Book said he told TRL that he had no interest in being involved in any tag matches since he was the biggest star on Smackdown. Long told him not to worry, though, because this was not just an ordinary tag match. Tonight’s main-event is a Champion’s showcase. So with that in mind, TRL told Book he wanted to see him step up and really make an impact. Booker had no problem with that…(CMV1 note- here comes the face turn ladies and gentlemen…I love it).

A video aired highlighting the devastation caused by Billy Kidman and his Shooting Star Press in recent months. With that, the first man affected in this tragic ordeal, Chavo Guerrero, made his return to the delight of the crowd. Chavito wasted no time in playing the face and thanking all the people for their support during his injury. Before he could go on, Billy Kidman came out to the ring. He said that what happened was just an accident and that although he knew the people would never forgive him, he was pretty sure Chavo would. Right, Chavo? Guerrero said that he knew their business was no ballet, but that what had happened scared the hell out of his family. His kids had even come up to him and asked him not to go back to the wrestling business. He then looked at Kidman and said that there was one man who stuck by him through it all and convinced him to come back, though. Chavo said that man deserved his eternal thanks, and then shook Billy’s hand. However, Guerrero quickly let Kidman know that he was not that man, and gave him a quick beat down. Chavo closed out the segment when he clotheslined Kidman over the top rope. (CMV1 note- a good, fairly lengthy segment that gave some nice promo time for both to establish their budding face and heel characters, respectively. The eventual match between these two will no doubt be fantastic, but this will no doubt help them to build a strong feud to support the match).

Highlights of the Survivor Series press conference aired.

Match 2: Heidenrich (w/ Paul Heyman and guards) vs. Shannon Moore
-(CMV1 note- before the match, Heyman informed Heidenrich that he would have to be placed in a straight jacket before and after his matches for the time being). The finish came when Heidenrich defeated Moore at 1:49. (CMV1 rating- no rating) (CMV1 note- this guy is horrible and makes me fear for his opponents’ well-being). After the match, Heyman put the straight jacket back on the big untalented idiot. Heidenrich then got on the mic and demanded the Undertaker come and face him right now. He also wiped his nose on Heyman’s jacket.

Backstage, Torrie was telling her make-up lady how upset she was over Carlito spitting apple on her, when Kenzo Suzuki came in and started singing “You are so beautiful.” TRL saved us from any further auditory damage when he stepped in and apologized for CCC and promised to talk to the obnoxious US champ, right now. He walked over to Carlito and asked him if he was in the same bar that John Cena was in the night the Doctor of Thuganomics had gotten stabbed. Carlito said that he had already told him that he did not hang out with thugs. TRL said he had been hearing a different story, but CCC once again denied being involved and said he would say nothing further until he spoke with his lawyers. (CMV1 note- well, we got some holes filled in with this segment. A lot of people had complained that having Cena get stabbed in a bar fight took away from a natural storyline that he could have had with someone else who injured him on-air while he went to make his movie. I guess that complaint has been dealt with, as it appears we will see Carlito vs. Cena in an extended program).

Clips of the Smackdown side of the European tour aired.

Backstage, Booker T was warming up when Orlando Jordan came up and told him that JBL wanted to see him before the main-event tonight. OJ asked if Book being in the six man had anything to do with their backstage altercation two weeks ago because if it did, he was really sorry. Book just walked off.

Match 3: Mark Jindrak (w/ Luther Reigns) vs. Eddie Guerrero
-(CMV1 note- Cole and Tazz showed clips of last week’s post-main-event action, where the Big Show saved Eddie from getting his head shaved. They also mentioned that Big Show was on a promotional tour and would not be here tonight). Jindrak showed his superior strength early on, but Eddie cheated his way back into the match by pulling his hair. He dropkicked MJ to the outside and then we got a dreaded commercial break that I guess was to be expected. Back from the break, Eddie had gained control with several headlock takedowns. Guerrero then hit a one-armed flapjack. Luther tripped up him up soon after, but Eddie managed to fight back and get a running head scissor in before nailing the Three Amigos. Looking to hit the Frog Splash, Latino Heat ascended to the top rope, but Luther got involved again. While Eddie and the ref dealt with Reigns, Kurt Angle came to the ring and threw MJ the ring bell. The finish came when Eddie hit the Frog Splash and subsequently landed on the bell, allowing Jindrak to roll-over and get the win at 9:05. (CMV1 rating- ¾ *) (CMV1 note- Jindrak has absolutely no offense, so the match was only good when Guerrero was on the attack. The match did what it was supposed to do, and that was to continue the Eddie/Show vs. Angle and Co. feud, but it just was not very good).

Paul Heyman approached TRL backstage and told him that his client, Heidenrich, wanted a favor from the GM. He said that Heidenrich wanted the Undertaker at Survivor Series and to Heyman’s surprise, TRL agreed without hesitation. However, Teddy told him that he was not going to book the match unless Heyman personally had the Undertaker sign a contract by next week.

Backstage, Booker T walked up to RVD and Mysterio. Book told them to just stay out of his way, while Rey and Rob decided they would just look out for each other.

The Tough Enough casting special then aired, highlighting all the training that Al Snow, Bill Demott, and the other trainers put these guys through. Basically, there were 50 guys that they brought out to California to be put through these drills before determining the final eight. Big John Studd’s son was there, as was the Miz from Real World. These boys had to do obstacle courses, bench press, the 40-yard dash, and personality tests…all in day one. In the end, the eight finalists were Chris, John, the Miz, Dan R., Dan P., Nick, and Justice.

Backstage, Layfield and his Chief of Staff Orlando Jordan met up with Booker T, who immediately congratulated the champ on all his success, mentioning how he was a transplanted Texan who moved to NYC and won the WWE Championship in the process. He also called OJ a houseboy, but laughed it off as if he was just joking around with them. It appeared as if Book was siding with the guys he was about to face.

WWE Champion John Bradshaw Layfield (w/ OJ) and WWE Tag Team Champions Kenzo Suzuki/Rene Dupree (w/ Hiroko and Fifi) vs. Booker T, Rob Van Dam, and Rey Mysterio
-RVD and Dupree kicked things off with some chain wrestling into a standoff. I will tell you what; RVD and Mysterio did some impressive double-teaming early on. First, they hit a double dropkick on Dupree, and then Rey did a Bronco Buster that set-up Suzuki perfectly for an RVD split-legged moonsault for a near fall. The two did not stop there, though, as they went on to counter JBL’s Last Call attempt on Rey into a double cross body block. They then hit a double leg drop on Kenzo. Moments later, Rey attempted to reverse a move from Kenzo, but accidentally nailed Book in the head with his foot. We then got a dreaded commercial break, but that was to be expected. Back from the break, JBL applied a sleeper hold on Mysterio. Rey battled back with a running head scissor and looked to make the hot tag. Unfortunately, there was some confusion because he did not wish to tag Book, so the heels maintained control. The champions continued to interfere on each other’s behalf to keep Rey out of reach of his corner, but RVD had enough and just took out everyone without being tagged. Unfortunately, he also took himself out when he tried a springboard to the outside and ended up planting himself on the announce table. In the ring, Dupree went for a modified suplex on Rey, but Mysterio countered it into a DDT. Rey once again had reservations about tagging in Booker T, but the 5-time WCW champ did not give him time to think about it this go round, as he just tagged himself in. The two legal men at this point were Book and JBL, and they just stood there and laughed. Book proceeded to pick up Mysterio as if to hold him up for the Clothesline From Hell, but when Layfield went for his patented finisher, the Bookerman took out the champ with a crescent heel kick. He then went wild on the champions with spinebusters and pressing kicks galore. Book took out Dupree, then Suzuki, and then OJ, leaving JBL as the only obstacle standing in his way. The finish came when Book pinned JBL with the axe-kick at 13:22. (CMV1 rating- ***) (CMV1 note- a good main-event with a very good ending. The tag team maneuvers from Rey and RVD early on kept things exciting, but the finish where it seemed as if Book was going to side with JBL only to turn on and eventually beat him…that was extra-satisfying. One can only guess that Book will now face JBL for the title at Survivor Series, but I hope Book explains his abrupt face turn on next week’s show).



All in all…this show rates a 5/10 on my ratings scale. The main thing that I liked about this show was that Booker T made a face turn. Now, I know that he had only fairly recently made a heel turn, but it looks like he might actually get a shot at the WWE title against JBL at Survivor Series. That, and the thought of him actually winning the title is by far enough to make me forgive the WWE’s flip-flopping. I thought the rest of the show was just mediocre and was too heavily built around the Tough Enough casting special. Don’t get me wrong, though, as I do like TE and think it could add something to SD. I just do not think giving it that much time is a good thing. Hopefully this was a one week deal and won’t end up eventually taking away from the show like RAW’s ridiculous Diva Search did






This week in Smackdown history… Three very good matches highlighted a very good overall show on the October 21 edition of SD in 1999. The first of the three took place when Triple H defended the WWF title against Al Snow. Few really ever got to see what Snow could do outside of the hardcore genre and Trips was nearing his very best at the time, which made for a very good match. HHH won with the Pedigree. The second match featured WWE legend The Rock facing WWE legend Mick Foley. Unfortunately, Val Venis came out and caused a DQ, defacing an otherwise excellent bout between the Rock and Sock Connection. Later in the night, The Rock got his revenge when he helped long-time nemesis Steve Austin get a win over Venis in the main-event. The main reason I mentioned this particular show is because it is special to yours truly, as it was the first ever edition of SD that I watched (after a 6-month hiatus from wrasstlin’).





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