» On Thursday, January 22, 2004 at 11:52 PM EST Full WWE SmackDown Results - 1/22/04
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Commentators: Michael Cole & Tazz
Report courtesy of: WWE.com
CAN EDDIE REBOUND FOR THE RUMBLE?
Out to destroy his brother and cousin, Eddie Guerrero entered the final SmackDown! before the Royal Rumble as a man on a mission. Teaming with Kurt Angle against the elder and younger Chavo Guerrero, Eddie sought retribution for their vicious assault last week, and the opportunity to gain the advantage heading in to sunday's match with his former tag team partner. However, by evening's end, Eddie's life would be filled with more questions than answers, and he now must wonder what /* can go wrong just hours before what could be the biggest match of his career.
The Guerrero/Angle team had anything but a smooth start as Eddie attempted to start the match, only to be held back by Angle, who started the match in order to allow Eddie to calm down. That theme would reoccur throughout the match as Eddie tried to enter the mix on several occasions, only to be thwarted by Angle. When the time finally came, and it appeared Eddie was in control, it was Angle himself who spoiled the evening, albeit by accident. Angle fell victim to a thumb to the eye that was so vicious that it left him temporarily blinded. When his partner came to, Angle gave him an Angle Slam, mistaking him for one of his opponents. As Angle was escorted from the ring by doctors, a felled Eddie was on his own, and Chavo hit the frog splash for the win.
Also on SmackDown!, while Eddie Guerrero's fortunes were heading south, those of John Cena and Chris Benoit have never been better, as the duo once again survived an attempt by Paul Heyman to thwart their efforts to win the Royal Rumble. One week after getting a taste of his own medicine at the hands of Cena via a bar of soap, Heyman vowed to begin a new era of SmackDown! and "clean up" the recent vulgar activities he thought were taking place, courtesy of Benoit and Cena. By putting Cena and Benoit in a match with Matt Morgan, Rhyno, Brock Lesnar, & the Big Show, he thought he could take care of Cena & Benoit once and for all.
However, as seems to be the usual case in recent weeks, Cena and Benoit scored the victory after a Big Show no show and early departure by Lesnar evened the odds. There may be no WWE superstars on a tear more than Cena and Benoit heading in to the Royal Rumble, and sunday could see Heyman's worst nightmares come true if either superstar gains the win. However, in what could be a sign of things to come, Big Show did appear later and proceeded to attack Cena and Benoit. He left both individuals laying in the middle of the ring.
Speaking of the rumble, for the second week in a row, Heyman allowed different superstars the opportunity to earn spots in the rumble via qualifying matches, where it was revealed that Tajiri, A Train, Bradshaw, and the Cat will enter the rumble.
Smackdown comes to you live next week from the Nation's Capital and will have all of the fallout from the Royal Rumble. Who will win and go on to Wrestlemania? Will Eddie Guerrero gain revenge on his cousin and brother? Will Rey Mysterio be successful against a ruthless Jamie Noble? Check out the Rumble, and we'll see you next week.
Match Results:
Rey Mysterio defeated Chuck Palumbo.
Tajiri defeated Billy Kidman in a Rumble qualifiying match.
A Train defeated Shannon Moore in a Rumble qualifying match.
Chris Benoit & John Cena defeated Brock Lesnar, Big Show, Matt Morgan & Rhyno.
Bradshaw defeated Akio & Sakoda in a triple threat rumble qualifying match.
Chavo Guerrero Jr & Chavo Guerrero Sr defeated Kurt Angle & Eddie Guerrero.
PERSONAL NOTE
I want to apologize to my readers this week. I have to be honest, this was one of those days that Murphy's law would've been proud of. This report you see now is the third attempt to publish it. I slept through half the show, didn't set up my vcr tape properly, and then proceeded to sleep through the rest of the show from the A Train match to the end.
I hope you all will join me next week. Feedback as well will be offline for this week, but I would always welcome an email if you'd like at SMACKDOWN@WRESTLEVIEW.COM.
Till next week, take care everyone.
Kimosabe, Sumo!