Post by dungeonofdoom on Feb 16, 2024 23:40:03 GMT 1
WWE Smackdown
Thursday Week 2 January 2005
Live on UPN from Allstate Arena in Chicago, IL
11,960 members of the WWE Universe in attendance
Lance Cade & Maven vs The Hurricane & Johnny Stamboli
As usual we head right to wrestling action when we come on the air with the competitors in this tag match already in the ring. Jerry Lawler & Jim Ross begin talking us through the match card, telling viewers to call their friends to watch Smackdown tonight. We have a huge 3 way main event with Flair vs Lesnar vs Michaels with somebody set to pick up a gigantic win and a #1 contenders spot for the World Heavyweight title on the road to the Royal Rumble. Also, after facing off on opposite sides of a tag match on Raw, Jericho & Eddie Guerrero will be forced to team up tonight, as they have a match booked against the unorthodox pairing of Chris Benoit & Kane. We also get the commentary team plugging new UPN shows. A background match to set the card for tonight, it wasn't a bad matchup and ended with Johnny Stamboli pinning Lance Cade. (51)
-We see Ric Flair walking into the arena, strangely no members of Evolution are with him. (76)
Ernest Miller vs Rosey
Ernest Miller with a match again tonight, his opponent is Rosey. Rosey dominates until Miller begins to make his comeback by using his striking and he gets the victory in the end. The announcers say that they have word from sources backstage that Triple H & Orton are not showing up tonight, and Batista's location is unknown (58)
-Kurt Angle comes out to the ring and the fans boo, he talks about the Rumble match and going on to Wrestlemania. He says he will be watching tonight's main event very closely. All of a sudden, fire comes out and Kane makes his way down to the ring laughing at Kurt thinking he will be able to win a match with the Big Red Machine in it. Both man get each others faces and start to brawl, they brawl up the aisle before and continue to brawl into the backstage area before being seperated by numerous WWE superstars (83)
Doug Basham & Matt Hardy vs Shannon Moore & Stevie Richards
we come back to another mix and matched tag team bout. It was a fast paced matchup with decent in-ring action that ends with Basham pinning Moore. (64)
-After the match a furious Batista comes in from the crowd to the shock of the announcers and fans. He hits a spinebuster and a couple of Batista Bombs on the tag participants before grabbing a mic. He calls out none other than evolution for keeping him below the very top of the WWE where he should be, because they know he is a danger to them and any future success they hope to have. He calls out Triple H specifically before leaving. Ross & Lawler speculate on the status of Evolution after this and questions if HHH & Orton not being here is related. Ross says this is clearly a sign of problems within Evolution, and that he is damn sure Triple H & Orton not being here is no coincidence, Lawler downplays it as totally unrelated as neither Triple H or Orton were scheduled to appear tonight. (85)
A-Train, Paul London & LA Park vs Bubba Ray Dudley, Scotty 2 Hotty & Ultimo Dragon
A-Train, London & Park come out to big cheers to take on their opponents tonight. Good mix of brawling and high-flying action made for a good 6 man showdown with Scotty 2 Hotty pinning LA Park after The Worm. (64)
-We get a word from Kane backstage, says if Angle wants a fight with him he will get it, but Kane tells Angle that it will have no rules. No response from Kurt as we no longer know if he is in the building. It remains to be seen if Kurt will willingly take this match as it would likely inflict a lot of damage on him before the Rumble. (85)
-We go backstage to see Bradshaw meeting with Steve Austin backstage, Bradshaw says he is looking to get in the ring tonight, commissioner Austin says he has had a few other guys come to him looking for an opportunity in the ring tonight and gives him a match, a fatal 4 way against The Ultimate Warrior, Edge and Kevin Nash. Austin tells Bradshaw to get out of his office because he has a meeting with someone looking to get into the Royal Rumble. Nothing else is said about this mystery superstar and the announcers question who it could be, along with giving another reminder to call your friends to get them to tune in for our historic main event. (72)
Chuck Palumbo vs Rob Van Dam
RVD enters as we see footage from his win over John Cena on Raw. Tonight he is in non-title action against Chuck Palumbo. RVD puts on a showcase of different moves and defeats Palumbo after the frog splash. (80)
-A video of Rey Mysterio highlights is played after the match (63)
-Chris Jericho, teaming up with Eddie Guerrero cuts a promo backstage about the match tonight. (94)
-Shawn Michaels is out to the ring for an interview and talks about tonight's blockbuster main event (100)
Bradshaw vs Warrior vs Edge vs Kevin Nash
The bell rings and this one kicks off we witness a variety of maneuvers being performed by the talented competitors in this match. Had a few near fall pins breakups and great heat with the winner being Ultimate Warrior after pinning Bradshaw (69)
-Another cut backstage where we have Shawn Michaels in gear ready for his match later tonight. He says tonight is truly a historic night to the sport, and the fans are certainly going to see a great showdown with world class wrestlers. (100)
-Flair comes out and talks about the main event, he also tells Batista he hasn't done anything but try to help him elevate his career to the top of the card, but if he really wants to do this Flair will get him Triple H. The announcers see this as a potential sign that the remaining 3 Evolution members are still together, but we still don't know anything for sure. (85)
Test vs Big Show
A short match with Big Show and Test going back and forth, Test worked some spots that highlighted his strength, but Big Show caught him and lifted him high in the air for a big time Choke Slam for the win. (69)
Eddie & Jericho vs Benoit & Kane
The commentators question if Eddie & Jericho can work together in this one to score a victory. It looked like Jericho was not going to cooperate but when Eddie was hit with the Diving Headbutt Jericho stepped in to make the save at 2, Kane hit Jericho with a Chokeslam from Hell and Eddie broke it up. Benoit ended up connecting with a 2nd Diving Headbutt on Eddie but was unable to even attempt to cover Guerrero due to the damage he had already taken and the effects of the headbutt. Guerrero took hold of the momentum and finished Benoit off with the Frog Splash. Kane & Benoit had absolutely zero chemistry as tag partners and that hurt the match (74)
Flair vs Lesnar vs Michaels
It is time for our gigantic main event. Flair & Michaels are solo, while Brock has Paul Heyman with him at ringside. Veteran referee Earl Hebner in charge of this one. The arena roars in anticipation as the three stare down. Hebner starts the match and its a brawl in the center of the ring, all men exchange strikes then Lesnar quickly takes Michaels down but nothing becomes of it. Michaels gets Brock down with a big shot and attempts a pin that is quickly broken up by Flair. Flair lays chops on Michaels and hits Lesnar with an atomic drop, Flair then attempts to get Lesnar in the schoolboy but Michaels breaks it up. Flair drops Michaels with a chop block before Brock hits him with a powerslam. Lesnar showcases excellent amateur wrestling working Flair on the ground and connecting with a textbook suplex on Michaels. Michaels gets Flair down after a Huracanrana but Flair kicks at 1. They all stand off once again at the five minute mark. Lesnar connects with the first big suplex on Michaels. The fighting continues with no clear advantage. Michaels rolls up Flair but Flair kicks, great chain wrestling followed by Michaels getting Flair with a backslide attempt that was broken up by Lesnar. Flair later connects with a Bulldog on Michaels, Shawn manages to get Brock up for a piledriver, and clears Flair to the outside of the ring and gets a 2 count on Lesnar. Flair is down and Shawn works a rest hold on Lesnar as the pace slows down. What follows next is Flair with another bulldog this time on Lesnar. Michaels catches Lesnar with a rollup attempt for a 2 count. Flair gets Lesnar up for a vertical suplex, Michaels than armdrags Flair and works another rest hold, before putting more offense in on Flair leading to a 1 count that was broken up by Lesnar. Michaels again caught Brock with a rollup, showing his veteran instincts against the less experienced Brock, Flair got Michaels in the figure 4 but Shawn got to the ropes. Flair then got hit with an atomic drop by Shawn and he and Lesnar formed a very temporary alliance, double teaming the downed Flair. Lesnar clears Flair from the ring and connects with a huge belly to belly suplex followed by a German suplex on Michaels, just when it looks like the Showstopper is down and out he pulls out an incredible maneuver that catches Brock in a pin and gets a shock 3 count, Flair was unable to get in the ring to break it up. We have a new #1 contender for Kurt Angle's World Heavyweight Championship. Shawn celebrates in the ring as we go off air. The match went 16:30 (80)
Overall an 81 rated show that draws 3.10 million up significantly from last week.
Overall an 81 rated show that draws 3.10 million up significantly from last week.