They announce the main event of Smackdown to be Brock Lesnar and Chris Benoit vs. Big Show and A-Train
(Oh Christ, no)
Vince McMahon starts off the show and says that Hulk Hogan isn't here tonight. Vince then mentions that Hogan is live via satellite from Tampa, Florida. Hogan appears on satellite and says that Mr. America will be in the arena tonight. Vince says that's impossible, assuming that Mr. America and Hogan are the same.
(Ok)
Eddie Guerrero w/ Chavo Guerrero defeats Matt Hardy w/ Shannon Moore and Crash
(worth watching)
After the match, Team Angle steals their gold medals back.
Brock Lesnar says that he accepts Big Show's challenge at Judgment Day and that the match will be a stretcher match.
(Sweet, now I know I won't order the PPV. thanks Brock)
Brian Kendrick defeats Jamie Noble.
(Interesting)
Backstage, Vince orders Funaki to pour him a coffee. Funaki says he just saw Mr. America walk by. Vince tells Funaki he's hallucinating.
Mr. America makes his way to the ring to a HUGE ovation. Vince McMahon can't believe his eyes and says he's going to rip off Mr. America's mask to reveal to the world that it's Hulk Hogan. Better yet, he'll get Stephanie to do it. Stephanie comes out but doesn't make any attempts to rip off Mr. America's mask. When Mr. America has his back turned, Vince low blows him and attempts to rip off the mask. However, Mr. America pushes Vince into Stephanie and then knocks Vince out of the ring. Mr. America carries Stephanie to the back.
Backstage, Vince asks Stephanie if Hogan hurt her. She says that Vince was the one who hurt her.
(Oh no, not face Steph with her big ass of doom. Where is Poper's Pit?)
Sable comes out as guest announcer for the next match.
Torrie Wilson defeats Dawn Marie.
Sable challenges Torrie to a bikini contest at Judgment Day. Torrie accepts. Sable touches herself a bit, and Torrie massages her own breasts.
(Eww)
Team Angle defeat Rikishi and Tajiri
After the match, the Guerreros steal Team Angle's portrait of Kurt Angle AND the gold medals again.
(HA!)
Rhyno defeats John Cena after Brian Kendrick distracts Cena. Kendrick runs through the crowd while Cena chases.
(Ok, thats worth watching)
Backstage, Nunzio tells Brock Lesnar to not mess with the Big Show. Lesnar shoves Nunzio and then Nunzio slaps Lesnar. Lesnar then chases Nunzio down the hall and Lesnar runs into the room he thinks Nunzio is hiding in. However, Johnny Stamboli locks the door with a 2x4 and then Chuck Palumbo blocks the door with a forklift for good measure. Big Show and A-Train thank the F.B.I. for the good deed. Tonight, Big Show has a stretcher with Benoit's name on it.
Big Show defeats Chris Benoit
( Oh Fuck you Vince, job Chris in Canada, why must you destory Canada, haven't the US economy done enough damage)
After the match, Big Show tries to do the same thing to Benoit as he did to Rey Mysterio but Brock Lesnar busted the door down in order to save Chris Benoit. However, A-Train and Show are too much for Lesnar, and Lesnar is finished off with a Chokeslam.
All that happened after the cameras stopped rolling was Brock stuck around for a bit and gave the Undisputed Championship to some kid in the front row (they lose more belts that way), and then he waved the Canadian flag around for a bit.
(Brock Lesnar, a great Canadian hero)
End of show.
(Thank God)
A Fan- I apologize for the bracket crap, its late and I'm kinda pissed about Smackdown's increasing fall frm grace.
I know it's just silly, but I'm getting the biggest kick out of the Mr. America deal.
I really don't care much about Chris Benoit losing in Canada, since RAW desensitized me to it by having every person ever to even look at Canada on a map job pointlessly.
Tribal Prophet
Wrestling exists in the eternal present. What is, has always been, and when it no longer is, it never was. It has no past and no future, and sometimes even today is in question. - Madame Manga
Click Here (welovetheiraqiinformationminister.com)
Oh Paul Heyman where oh where have you gone? (yea hes still there I know.)
Damn, I wish Heyman was booking Smackdown again. And what is with this Torrie/Sable crap? Does anyone tune into SD to see this angle? Didn't we just see a bikini contest on SD not to long ago with Torrie, Nidia, and Dawn Marie with Sable hosting?
By the way, was Earl Hebner on RAW? Why have there been no "You Screwed Bret" reports about Earl?
(edited by y4j1981 on 7.5.03 0025) Your Official Sunday, April 13, 2003 Randomly Selected Wiener Of The Day!!
Sounds like a great entertaining Smackdown, with interesting story line advancement. Benoit jobbing and almost being destroyed on the stretcher sounds like a good way to further Big Show's angle, as he is bound to get plenty of heat doing it to Benoit in Canada.
Oooh..a rift between Steph and Vince, with Hogan/Mr. America in the middle. This could become interesting.
Sable vs Torrie in a bikini contest. Good. Better than having them in a match. Oh, and I bet the touching and fondling doesn't sound as bad as you make it sound here. Probably more like Torrie readjusts her top and pushing them up.. And if it is more than that, so what.
And yeah, your brackets don't make much sense. From the sound of these spoilers it looks like story lines are being advanced while we get some decent matches. Condemning the whole thing without seeing anything doesn't compute with me.
A double main-event of Lesnar/Show and Triple H/Nash for Judgment Day? With a bikini contest featuring Sable and Torrie?
I think WWE would have to pay me to make me watch that shit.
Oh, and it was very classy of them to job Chris Benoit to the Big Show in Canada, you're right about that. What a bunch of assholes.
Ubermonkeys touched on it, but lets look at other instances in which foreigners have gone over people in their own home country:
Jericho beat Rock and Austin in the U.S. Benoit beat countless people in Japan. Ultimo Dragon beat people in Mexico.
Oh, they aren't considered heroes?
Andre beat Hogan in the U.S.
And the real mind blower...
Bret Hart beat Yokozuna in the U.S. The Canadian went over a "Japanese" guy in the states. Who's the asshole in this situation?
By the way, it looks like somebody knows that whoever Benoit wrestles in Canada will have heat, and giving the Big Show heat is NOT a bad thing.
You're comparing apples & oranges. The WWE does the majority of their shows in the States, so foreign wrestlers beating American ones is logical.
Benoit had a full-time stint in Japan, so beating Japanese wrestlers is logical.
Ultimo had a full-time stint in Mexico, so beating Mexican wrestlers is logical.
The WWE does, at most, a week or 2 in Canada at a time, so that's why (virtually) every Canadian jobbing in Canada becomes a big deal. The Canadian fans come to see the Canadian wrestlers, so jobbing them all out just isn't good business, unless there's a storyline in play. Lance Storm couldn't have faced Rico and gotten a win? Trish couldn't have faced Molly and gotten a win (Jazz could have tried to interfere & failed, or done a beat-down after the match)?
Here is the big question: Can the Lesnar/Big Slug Stretcher match attain the high quality of the Sid/El Gigante Stretcher match of over a decade ago? And, a bikini contest on PPV between two people who were in Playboy? Golly, you could pay a few bucks to see them naked (or nothing on a computer), or you could pay $34.95 to see them with bikinis on. As a positive: Another week with no Nathan Jones. Lets see if Nathan can make a run at Mark Henry's current streak of non-appearances.
Let me see if I understand this. The Red Sox #2 starter is now the closer on days he doesn't start? And it's only May? And I thought working on the doctorate would have been the thing to cause full blown alcoholism.
Benoit jobbed to the Big Show AND A-Train. The spoilers mentioned at the beginning that it was supposed to be a tag match with Benoit/Lesnar vs. A-Train/Big Show, but failed to mention that after the FBI locked Lesnar in the room with the fork lift that it was now a handicap match. What, do you want Benoit to go over BOTH Big Show and A-Train because it's in Canada?? It makes sense that ANYBODY would lose to those guys two on one. And from your brackets, you seem to have listed just about everything as (OK) or (Interesting) or (worth watching) with the exception of about three things, yet you still say it's gonna suck? Don't judge it before you see it.
I got lucky and hooked up with free tickets for last night's show (technically as a "seat filler," but I didn't have to fill any seats). I brought signs, but I'm pretty much positive none of them will make it onto TV. Oh well.
I cannot possibly do justice to the pop Hulk Hogan got last night. He couldn't speak for 5 minutes, the crowd was so loud. The only other time I've ever seen the Metro Centre that loud was for the chorus of "Rockin' in the Free World" when Neil Young played here a few years ago. It made my ears hurt. Say what you want about Hogan, the man still has the bulk of the fans in the palm of his hand. He may be "washed up" as an in-ring performer, but he's still putting asses in seats.
Other notes: - Brian Kendrick is a ton of fun to watch. And Sliced Bread #2 is cool as dirt. Noble's no slouch himself. - The Cena/Rhyno match was too short. It probably didn't help that the large whiteboy/b-boy contingent was cheering Cena as a face. His prematch rhyme was pretty tight. And funny. - Vince got the a ton of heel heat. At one point a very long "asshole" chant turned into a "you screwed Bret" chant, which he acknowledged with, "Yes, yes I did! And I'll screw each and every one of you if you give me the chance; with a smile on my face!" I don't know if that will make it on TV, but it was surreal. - All of the women look far better in person. Especially Stephanie. Further, Steph's screech wasn't nearly so bad live; I wonder what the audio guys are doing wrong. - Eddy is a god. I used to wonder why people generally put Eddy ahead of Benoit. Last night I think I saw why: there's a fluidity and naturalness to everything Eddy does; it never looks forced, or even like he had to think about it, it just looks "right." - Sean O'Haire's finisher is swank (he had a Velocity match). It's fast, it has real impact, and I'm pretty sure it looks good from just about any angle. He's and Funaki had a fun little match, but O'Haire's skills still have to catch up with his look. - Big Show has to be seen to be believed; he's too big for words. And although I like Benoit and I like to see him win, let's be honest: 5'10"/210lb Benoit beating 7"/400lb Big Show requires significantly more suspension of disbelief than vice versa; thus, it doesn't hurt Benoit a whole lot. - There were several "Bubbles" chants, mostly when Jamie Noble was out; I suspect they'll be edited out. (Bubbles is a character on the amazing TV show Trailer Park Boys which is a local production).
Disappointments: no Kurt Angle (plenty of chants for him, though), no Rowdy Roddy Piper (the crowd wanted to see him too), Brock didn't wrestle.
Hm... I know the main event ain't much, but... Barring the usual crap, it doesn't sound too bad at all, actually. The way they played the Mr. America identity is funny, though. But, despite my annoyances, as I've said, there are still some appealing things about the WWE. So, I think it's worth a record from the sound of it.
It's the first time they've done TV in Halifax in a long long time, maybe the first time ever for RAW and Smackdown. RAW sells out so fast they make it back to back shows in the same arena with Smackdown, which also sells very well.
So you're first time doing these big tapings in the markets and you job out every single Canadian.
I don't expect any less, they jobbed Booker T to 3 Minute Warning in Houston, that's about as low as you can go.
Originally posted by MonteCarlWhat, do you want Benoit to go over BOTH Big Show and A-Train because it's in Canada?? It makes sense that ANYBODY would lose to those guys two on one.
**coughUNDERTAKERcough**
Noble's no slouch himself
Yeah, too bad Steph thinks Nidia is this huge, bloated pig, rendering Knoble the jobber-twin of Funaki. Thanks a bunch, Stephy.
Originally posted by MonteCarlWhat, do you want Benoit to go over BOTH Big Show and A-Train because it's in Canada?? It makes sense that ANYBODY would lose to those guys two on one.
**coughUNDERTAKERcough**
Aw come on. Taker only won the match because Nathan Jones of all people came down to help him. He looked all right for a short period off time but was pretty much set to lose until Nathan managed to pull off a spin kick without falling on his ass. Regardless, they weren't trying to build Show up for a title match at that time.
This whole 'Canadians shouldn't job in Canada' shit really pisses me off. Yeah, lets abandon all continuity for a couple weeks, have Canadians as faces and put them over all and sundry just to please the few thousand that turn up at the arena.
There's a whole freaking TV audience of millions watching around the world that couldn't give a crap and probably have no idea where the show was coming form. You really want them to ruin the build up to ppv matches just to get cheap pops from a few locals? Sheesh.
Anyways, sounds like a decent show all round. I'm really startin to warm to yound Spanky, and they gave Rhyno a win which always keeps me contented.
My attitude toward Mr America is somewhere between hmmmm and pffff, but I guess I'm not really the target demo for that gimmick.
But other than that sounds OK.
"People demand freedom of speech to make up for the freedom of thought which they avoid." - Soren Aabye Kierkegaard
This whole 'Canadians shouldn't job in Canada' shit really pisses me off. Yeah, lets abandon all continuity for a couple weeks, have Canadians as faces and put them over all and sundry just to please the few thousand that turn up at the arena
Nobody is suggesting that. You don't have to put over every Canadian on the roster. What purpose did the Book/Storm match serve? It was total filler. If you're going to do filler, put Storm up against someone like Rico. Storm gets the win, crowd gets to cheer, no storylines harmed in the making of this match. Trish/Jazz has been done a lot lately, so do Trish/Molly. Trish gets a win, and Jazz can do a beat-down later for storyline purposes.
Whenever they're in Texas, Jacqueline & Bradshaw always get wins. When they're in Memphis, chances are Lawler gets to wrestle. when they're near Alabama, Bob Holly gets a win. I don't necessarily agree w/ it (mostly because I don't want to see those people wrestle), but the WWE usually tries to make the home crowd happy w/ a throw-away match or 2. It just seems out of place that they didn't follow the same precedent here.
Originally posted by Spaceman Spiff but the WWE usually tries to make the home crowd happy w/ a throw-away match or 2. It just seems out of place that they didn't follow the same precedent here.
(edited by Spaceman Spiff on 7.5.03 1439)
Key phrase, "throw-away match or two". I dont really think the match in question, the main event of SD involving the no.1 contender qualifies as such.
As far as the Storm/Booker match goes I kinda see your point, but still why make Lance a face for the night when it doesnt fit in with his character. Remember how much we all moaned when Jackie last got put over for a home pop? Actually dont, I think its best if we all just try and forget Jackie period ;)
"People demand freedom of speech to make up for the freedom of thought which they avoid." - Soren Aabye Kierkegaard
Originally posted by dMrThis whole 'Canadians shouldn't job in Canada' shit really pisses me off. Yeah, lets abandon all continuity for a couple weeks, have Canadians as faces and put them over all and sundry just to please the few thousand that turn up at the arena.
There's a whole freaking TV audience of millions watching around the world that couldn't give a crap and probably have no idea where the show was coming form. You really want them to ruin the build up to ppv matches just to get cheap pops from a few locals? Sheesh.
Not every Canadian should go over, but it's fucking bullshit that every Canadian lost on both shows in Halifax.
Morley jobbed. Trish jobbed. Storm jobbed. Benoit jobbed. Christian weaseled out of his match.
It would have been nice to have one of those people going over. Benoit was fed to Show to make him look stronger for Lesnar (AGAIN), which makes sense storyline-wise. Morley jobbed so JR could get his job back and he could get fired. Okay, it makes sense but it sucks. I'm not enjoying JR anymore at all, and I was really liking Morley lately. Hopefully he can continue to wrestle. Christian weaselling set up a cage match next week, and there's no way he's going over Goldberg, anyway. Okay.
But Trish shouldn't have lost, and neither should Storm. Just because Trish is wrestling Jazz doesn't mean it had to be a title match. She could have gone over due to botched Long/Mack interference, and got a title shot later, or she could have wrestled someone else, for a change.
Storm/Booker was a nothing match. Storm should have wrestled someone else and won. Just because he goes over doesn't mean he all of a sudden isn't a heel anymore (see Triple H). JR would spout off about how disgusted he was with the "partisan Canadian crowd," which would have put over Storm's heelness for the folks at home, and the live crowd could have a good time.
It just would have been nice to see the hometown heroes win at least one. As Spaceman Spiff said, they make a habit of doing it when they go to other wrestler's home areas in the states.
As for the millions watching at home not knowing where the show was coming from, that's insane. JR bitching about the crowd, the multiple references to "coming to you from Halifax, Nova Scotia," and the playing up of the Canadians to the crowd might clue people in.