» On Friday, July 23, 2004 at 2:59 AM EST Full WWE SmackDown Results - 7/22/04
Taped From: Philadelphia, PA
Commentators: Michael Cole & Tazz
Report by: L. Anne Carrington of WrestleView.com
For the third week in a row, we saw yet more twists and turns on Smackdown. With all the latest happenings over the last few weeks--and no doubt with more surprises to come--one has to wonder if this is the Summer of Smackdown.
From the City of Brotherly Love, this week’s episode opened with a recap of last week’s Steel Cage Match, highlighting JBL retaining the title and the latest El Gran Luchadore being ‘unmasked’ as GM Angle.
Cutting to this week’s show, Angle made his way to the ring being pushed in his wheelchair by Reigns and holding a crutch, much to the disgust of both Cole and the fans. Tazz told them to give Angle the benefit of the doubt and a chance to explain himself for his actions last week. I don’t have to elaborate that that didn’t go over very well.
We heard Angle say that he had been called a con artist and a liar before he went into a monologue of "being an extraordinary person that did extraordinary things" and how he "set aside his pain" to go to any length to keep Eddie from winning the WWE Championship last week. Angle then continued the round of attempting to pull more wool over our eyes by stating that the doctor told him he further damaged his knee with his actions last week, as well as his therapist telling him that he also "risked paralysis. But it was all worth it to save Kurt Angle’s Smackdown." He then wrapped up this part of the segment by saying that Eddie needed to come out and beg for his job in front of Kurt, "for Eddie’s own good." and then beckoned ring announcer and Philadelphia native Tony Chimmel into the ring to show how it was to be done.
Chimmel, the ring announcer for the Angle-Eddie match at WMXX, stood and faced Kurt as Kurt told the fans the last image he had of Chimmel was that of him smiling as he announced Eddie as the winner and WWE Champion at WMXX. Kurt said since Eddie "cheated to win," this made Chimmel a liar, which Chimmel attempted to deny, and Kurt accused Chimmel of trying to call him a liar instead. He then made Chimmel get down on his knees and beg for his job. Chimmel did at first, but Kurt didn’t think it was good enough. After Chimmel made a second attempt, this time stating about his family at home and he needed his job, Kurt said it was good that time--but not good enough--and fired Chimmel anyway, to the crowd’s displeasure, because "Chimmel was not a very good beggar."
Smackdown, at this point, was Kurt’s personal playground for vendettas, we were told as Chimmel made his way out of the building and Smackdown went to a commercial break.
Match #1: Chavo vs. Noble vs. Spike: #1 Contender Match for Cruiserweight Championship
The match opened with Noble and Chavo going to work on Spike right off; a few kicks from Noble, then a dropkick from Spike to Chavo. Chavo then recovered and delivered a dropkick to Noble and covered him before Spike broke the three count before giving a clothesline to Noble and covered him. Chavo would be next to break the three count that followed.
Chavo delivered a reversal to Spike, tangled Spike’s legs, which was then broken up by Noble. Chavo then knocked Noble outside the ring while Spike attacked Chavo from behind and also landed Chavo outside the ring. Spike then executed the first Dudley Dog on both Chavo and Noble, who were still lying outside the ring at this point, connecting quite well. Meanwhile, the referee began the ten-count for all to return inside the ring, and all managed to do so.
Back inside the ring, Chavo elbowed the temple of Spike on the top rope, before all three end up on the mat. Spike covered Noble again, but the three count was broken. Chavo then power bombed Noble, and then a reversal. Noble then attempted a clothesline, but missed and went to the mat instead, pinned by Chavo, and the three count broken yet again by Spike.
Spike then went over Chavo’s shoulders, and Noble connected with a kick to Chavo’s head, before Spike finished Chavo with yet another Dudley Dog.
Winner and #1 Contender for Cruiserweight Championship: Spike Dudley
Next, a brief segment was shown from last week’s Smackdown Brand two-day tour of Japan.
Backstage, the divas complained to GM Angle about being underutilized and overlooked and how they "have more to offer." Kurt then told them about a first-ever Fatal Four Way match for them later tonight, which the divas were thrilled about--until Kurt mentioned it was a lingerie match.
Match #2: Bubba Ray (w/ D-Von) vs. Tag Team Champion Billy Kidman (w/ Paul London)
Kidman started out strong with a shoving match with Bubba; a few blows and moves are exchanged before Bubba pinned Kidman in the corner of the ring, in which another shoving match ensued. Kidman delivered an arm drive to Bubba, who pinned Kidman in the corner of the ring again. Kidman managed to get out yet again and Bubba attempted a clothesline, which he missed, and a scissors kick was made by Kidman.
Bubba threw Kidman to the mat a couple of times, followed by a head butt, then twisted Kidman’s neck for a few minutes before taking a swipe at London outside the ring (and missing that too). Kidman slugged Bubba, then delivered a dropkick and went for the cover before Bubba kicked out. Kidman then made an attempt to go for the top rope before being knocked down by D-Von, who was then chased backstage by London as Bubba pinned Kidman for the win.
Winner: Bubba Ray Dudley
At this point, we were then shown two promos before the commercial break, the Fatal Four Way Lingerie Match by the divas later tonight, and of course, the burning question: Will Eddie beg for his job?
Backstage this time, we saw Funaki interviewing Angle, who told Funaki "Don’t butcher the language." Kurt then presented Booker T, who Kurt told Funaki "was everything he wanted in a superstar," and listed Booker’s qualities. Angle then told Booker that he was going to name him the new United States champion next week once he had it cleared with the Board of Directors. Funaki protested this, saying it wasn't fair, to which Kurt responded that Funaki couldn’t even say "broadcast journalist." Funaki struggled to say this just to prove he could, but Kurt fired him anyway, "for not knowing how to speak English."
Also backstage, the Dudley Boyz conferred with Spike about how they all have title shots next week. Spike made it clear that he wanted neither D-Von nor Bubba Ray interfering in his matches anymore. They promised they wouldn't interfere next week as long as Spike didn't interfere in D-Von's match with Rey Mysterio later tonight. Spike had a look of concern nevertheless.
A shot of the Rocky Balboa statue showed JBL’s hat on Rocky’s head, as well as JBL himself. This would be a blurb for the "Rocky Challenge" that would be after the commercial break.
After the break, a short segment of JBL visiting the Philadelphia Stock Exchange was shown, championship belt in tow and shaking hands, of course.
Match #3: JBL’s "Rocky Challenge" vs. Mike Kruel (USA Pro/ECWA )
In the ring, JBL cut a promo comparing himself to Philadelphia, and how some media "experts" touted last week’s Steel Cage Match as "one of the greatest cage matches of all time." He then went on to deride many of Philadelphia’s sports teams, to much crowd heat, before beckoning Kruel into the ring.
JBL then went to work on Kruel with the usual punches, kicks and clothesline, before slamming Kruel to the mat a couple of times as the crowd booed loudly. Kruel, of course, got little or no offense in this match before JBL finished him off with the Clothesline from Hell.
Winner: John 'Bradshaw' Layfield
Once the match was over, JBL bragged that the main event at Summerslam is sold out, and how Kruel wouldn’t be going to the event unless he bought a ticket. Still confident, JBL went on to state that no one was worthy to wrestle him…and then the music of The Undertaker hit.
Confidence gone, JBL had the look of fear and protested the entrance of Undertaker as Undertaker made his way to the ring. Once Undertaker got into the ring, JBL made several lame attempts to cover his own hide by telling Undertaker he had no idea that Undertaker was backstage. "I’m not scared of you. I didn’t say I don’t respect you, but I’m not scared of you," JBL continued to protest. He then went on that the main event at Summerslam should be JBL vs. Shannon Moore. "He’s a good looking guy; girls love him, maybe a few guys too."
In one more attempt to get rid of Undertaker, JBL then proceeded that Undertaker had until the count of three to leave the ring…and JBL began to count slowly. When Undertaker didn’t move a muscle, JBL went into action to "find you an opponent; I’ll be back later," to which he was choke slammed by Undertaker, and Undertaker’s words to him:
"You...me...Summerslam," to crowd cheers as Undertaker walked off.
This week, a second John Heindenreich promo aired, in which Heyman makes a more prominent appearance in. Of course, Heindenreich had a dark match with Shannon Moore this past Tuesday at the Smackdown tapings.
Match #4: Fatal Four Way Lingerie Match: Torrie Wilson vs. Dawn Marie vs. Miss Jackie vs. Sable
Mind you all, if I wasn’t covering the recap this week, this would have been my decaf coffee break during this part of the show. But since I am doing the recap, I had to grit my teeth and endure each of these divas saunter their way to the ring in skimpy robes, with skimpier underwear under those.
The divas had barely removed their robes and were about to begin when Angle rolled out in his wheelchair yet again. He told them before they began, he had something to say. He had thought about what they had said earlier about being overlooked and underutilized, and stated that they were just plain useless instead, and that nobody wanted to see them prancing around in lingerie. So he was going to spare them the indignity of both wrestling in their underwear and begging for their jobs---all four of them were fired.
Match #5: D-Von (w/ Bubba Ray) vs. Cruiserweight Champion Rey Mysterio
This was a non-title match.
Rey kicked D-Von in the groin to start things off; D-Von then put Rey into the ropes. D-Von then put a backbreaker on Rey, and then when Rey got up from that, D-Von put him into the ring post twice after that. D-Von then put a chokehold on Rey, Rey then got out of it by elbowing D-Von. Both to the top rope, Rey threw D-Von to the mat and put a kick to the hamstring. D-Von then recovered from this move and attempted to deliver a clothesline, which Rey countered with a DDT. D-Von delivered a second clothesline attempt, this time successful, but Rey kicked out of the three count. Rey then had D-Von set up for the 619, which was then blocked by Bubba. Tag Champs Kidman and London then sped out to the ring and attacked Bubba, then Kidman shoved D-Von off the top rope. Rey then connected with another 619 attempt and pinned D-Von for the win.
Winner: Rey Mysterio
Raw Rebound:
HHH promo on how both he and Evolution hated Eugene, Bischoff stating that "Eugene is gone," and how he was going to reward HHH by having a 60-minute Iron Man Match next week with Heavyweight Champion Benoit. Highlights from the Benoit-Batista match were also shown.
Match #6 Luther Reigns vs. John Cena
Cena cut a promo, first about Angle stealing his US Championship belt, but "the champ was still here in Philadelphia!" He then went on to say he now knew why Kurt was mad at him--Kurt’s wife was cheating on him with AA batteries. A few "Kurt and Luther" cracks were also made, and yet another "poopie" line was inserted as well.
Once returned from commercial break, the match began with Reigns kicking Cena in the gut, then a forearm. Cena ended up outside the ring, where Reigns slammed him into the steel post. Thrown back into the ring, Reigns pinned him for the three count, but Cena kicked out.
Cena then punched Reigns in the gut, Reigns put a suplex to Cena for another pin, which Cena kicked out again. Reigns then proceeded to try and choke Cena, but Cena got loose before going into the left arm of Reigns. Reigns then attempted to drive a knee into Cena, but Cena got out of the way quickly. Cena then side slammed Reigns, went for the cover; Reigns kicked out.
Cena slammed Reigns again and did the five-knuckle move while Reigns was still down. Covering Reigns again, Reigns kicked out of the three-count and Reigns ran Cena into the referee, and Cena delivered a DDT to Reigns.
Booker T. then came to the ring, carrying the US Title belt and distracted Cena. Booker then attempted to slam Cena with the belt, but ended up hitting Reigns instead. Cena then took advantage of the opportunity, knocking Booker off the apron and pinning Reigns for the win.
Winner: John Cena
In the final segment of Smackdown, Angle is again in the ring. He stated that the last match left a sour taste in his mouth, but that was OK, because the time had come for Eddie to come and beg for his job. He ordered Eddie to come out to the ring in order to learn a valuable lesson--him it was time to apologize because "you don't cross the boss." Vince McMahon's music hit instead and The Chairman of the Board himself made his way to the ring.
For a moment before coming into the ring, Vince stared with contempt at the wheelchair Kurt had been using. Once in the ring, Vince shook Kurt’s hand and told him how they both believed that no one should "cross the boss." Vince also went on to say that Kurt seemed to be enjoying throwing his weight around by firing people and pulling the wool over everyone’s eyes . Vince stated about the saying of "You can’t fool Mother Nature, but it’s also career suicide to fool with Mr. McMahon."
Vince then said that he was going to get a humanitarian award for making a handicapped person a General Manager, but Vince was no longer nominated for the award because of Kurt‘s lies. He then asked for Kurt’s resignation as General Manager of Smackdown.
Now it was Kurt’s turn to beg for his job.
Vince asked him if he was begging, and Kurt responded that he was. Vince then ordered him to stand up and that Kurt made him sick--before Vince belted out those famous words: "YOU’RE FIRED!" The crowd cheered loudly, clearly happy with Vince’s decision.
Vince then chased Kurt around with Kurt’s crutch in an attempt to hit him--and to show that Kurt wasn’t handicapped at all. Vince then said that Kurt was back on the active roster at that moment and announced Kurt would be facing Eddie Guerrero at Summerslam.
Eddie then came out in his low rider, gave a sly smile to and taunted Kurt, who was still in the ring. Vince then got in the car and Eddie made it bounce, while Vince had a funny look on his face. As the show left the air, Kurt had both a worried and devastated look on his face.
POST-SHOW NOTES:
The RVD and Rene Dupree match was announced as the main event for this Saturday’s Velocity.
Both the Cruiserweight Championship and the Tag Team Championship matches will take place on next week’s Smackdown. Being all three Dudleys are competing in these, and Rey and Spike are buddies, it should make for an interesting show.
The "Kiss My A** Club" segment that was reported at Tuesday’s tapings did not air on this week’s Smackdown. Being the original diva firing didn’t air last week, I wonder if this is being bumped to next week as well.
Quite possibly, we could also know who the new GM is next week.