Ruthless Aggression Era Project: WWE Smackdown Review - September 5th, 2002

WWE Smackdown

September 5th, 2002

TONIGHT: Undertaker and Brock Lesnar FACE TO FACE

1) Rey Mysterio vs. Billy Gunn (w/ Rico & Chuck)

Okay Rico/Rey last week wasn’t bad, but why continue this? I typed that last sentence before the match started and I admit I was negative going into this but it wasn’t bad at all. Rey is perfect for underdog scenarios and this was borderline on a three on one and Billy was a good base for Rey. Rey sneaks a victory despite the odds and interference.

Match rating - **1/2

After the match, Chuck proposes to Billy to be his “partner for life” and Billy accepts. They hug and celebrate.

2) Jamie Noble (w/ Nidia) (c) vs. Shannon Moore - Cruiserweight Championship Match

Noble tried to wear Moore down, but the OMEGA star got the upper hand by flurrying the champion with high flying moves. This creates a couple of good near falls that the crowd bit on. This forces Noble to bust out the big guns and plants Moore with a tiger bomb for the win to retain.

Match rating - **1/2

Backstage, Heyman tells Brock not to take Randy Orton lightly tonight. Orton walks up and says he respects Brock but doesn’t sweat him. Young Brock & Orton I am excited as fuck for this.

TONIGHT: Benoit/Angle/Guerrero vs. Taker/Edge/Rikishi

Edge asks Rikishi if he’s gonna back that ass up later tonight. Rikishi explains the serious meaning behind the stinkface.

3) Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Orton

AWESOME squash. Orton ambushes Brock before the bell and sets the tone. Brock throws him around, Orton bumps hard. Heyman is yelling and taunting Orton. Great stuff.

Match rating - **3/4

Crash is backstage signing his Smackdown contract. Steph thanks Crash for leaving Raw. Then Rev D-Von comes up to bitch about the marriage between Billy & Chuck coming up next week.

4) Mark Henry vs. Tajiri

Guess they’re about to try to do something with Mark Henry bc he squashes Tajiri here. Nothing else really to write home about.

Match rating - *3/4

Matt Hardy is backstage showing Shannon Moore clips of his match with Brock Lesnar last week. It’s ironically only the parts he had offense and not the finish. Hardcore Holly walks up, they wrestle next. Matt says Holly needs to have his Mattitude checked.

Hilarious segment backstage with Angle, Benoit, & Eddie Guerrero. Angle is making fun of Benoit and Eddie laughs only bc Benoit is behind Angle. Benoit blows up in Angles face after fake laughing. Eddie calms him down for the sake of the big trios match later on in which they all team up.

5) Rev D-Von Dudley vs. Batista

Big Dave wins with the Batista bomb. Another quick squash match, so forgettable though I missed it in my initial writing of this review and only caught it when I double checked everything.

6) Matt Hardy vs. Hardcore Holly

This stems from the backstage segment earlier. Holly wins to shut the newly cocky Matt Hardy up. The match is whatever.

Match rating - *3/4

7) The Hurricane vs. Crash Holly

Crash’s Smackdown debut in the cruserweight division. This kinda slaps. Hurricane hits a fucking neck breaker off the top turnbuckle. He sets Crash up for a chokeslam only to get caught in a pinning combination. This gets the three count for Crash. They shake hands post match.

Match rating - **1/4

8) The Undertaker, Edge, & Rikishi vs. Kurt Angle, Chris Benoit, & Eddie Guerrero

Fun main event. They play off the Angle/Benoit tension and they end up coming to blows. This leads to an epic classic Eddie moment as he’s left with Taker, Edge & Rikishi and he tries to play it off and get away but they grab him and run through all their finishers for the win. SENDIN THE PEOPLE HOME HAPPY.

Match rating - ***