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DECEMBER 25, 2003 - SMACKDOWN!
It's the most wonderful tiiiime of the year! That's right, kids, it's the last SmackDown! of 2003, and our last stop on the road to Armageddon!
The Basham Brothers have been feeling the holiday spirit over the last two weeks, putting together an improbable win streak to earn a shot at the Dangerous Alliance's WWE Tag Team Titles. Will we have a Christmas miracle and new champions? These two teams put on a surprisingly good match, and the crowd actually got into it more than I was expecting. In the end, though, the power of the champs was just too much as Matt Morgan pinned Doug Basham with a chokeslam.
Two of the most exciting superstars on SmackDown! (not to mention two of the bigger draws on the Latin-skewing UPN) go at it one-on-one next for a spot in the Royal Rumble match as Eddie Guerrero takes on Carlito. Carlito takes an early edge with some high-flying, but Eddie fights back. ots of back-and-forth action with some high-impact stuff. Eddie hits the Three Amigos and lands a Frogsplash to pick up the win.
Pure wrestling fans are definitely having a Merry Christmas because the follow-up to that is another Rumble qualifier, pitting Eddie's nephew Chavo against Ultimo Dragon! These two actually top the previous match and put on one of the best matches of the year. In the end, Chavo hits the Brainbuster to win it and advance to the Rumble.
The hits just keep coming as four men who have already qualified for the Rumble go at it in tag-team action. It's the World's Greatest Tag Team taking on Nunzio and the Cruiserweight Champion Billy Kidman. Nunzio takes control on Shelton Benjamin early, then tags in Kidman for some double-teaming. Shelton manages to hot-tag Charlie Haas, who overpowers the champ until Nunzio tags back in. Nunzio manages to land a couple of stiff shots, but WGTT take him out with the Doomsday Device to pick up the win in a match that somehow managed to top even the previous two!
The crowd is still hot for a mediocre match in which Rhyno is looking to make good on his promise to tear through the Dangerous Alliance, tonight taking on the former United States Champion Big Show. Show starts off in control, but Rhyno uses his impressive power to fight back. As the match draws to a close, Big Show's Armageddon opponent Undertaker comes down to ringside with a steel chair. Rhyno whips Show off the ropes, and UT hits him with the chair. A shocked Show then runs into the GOOOOOOOORE, and Rhyno wins! Rhyno continues to attack Show, and Undertaker joins him until referees pull them apart.
Backstage, Paul Heyman is hyping up Brock Lesnar, saying that this Sunday night, it's time for Kurt Angle to move on. He knows he can't beat the champ. And after Lesnar beats him again, Angle needs to move on.
Lesnar is out next for a match against Backstage Bully Hardcore Holly. Pretty good back-and-foth match that even has a ref bump. Holly winds up eating an F5 to put Lesnar over, but after the match, Angle hits the ring and clamps the champion in the Angle Lock!
After the break, it's match six in the best-of-seven series between Chris Benoit and Rey Mysterio for a WWE Title shot at Royal Rumble. Rey won last week to go up 3-2. If he wins tonight, the title shot is his! Benoit dominates early with superior power, and every time Rey tries to use his speed to fight back, Benoit shuts him down again. This was Benoit's match almost from the beginning, as he gets another submission victory with the Crippler Crossface. After the match, the two shake hands once more. Match seven will be at Armageddon. What a surprise!
Backstage, Kurt Angle says that what he just did to Brock Lesnar is just a warm-up for what he's going to do at Armageddon.
And the best SmackDown! of the year continues as Kurt Angle takes on Sean O'Haire in a tremendous match. Several near-falls, but the ending is ruined as Lesnar comes to ringside and hangs Angle out on the top rope, allowing O'Haire to hit the Prophecy for the win. O'Haire and Lesnar now go after the challenger, but John Cena (who will face O'Haire in a First Blood Match) comes out to even the odds! The faces clear the ring.
And our main event pits Cena against his good friend Edge in a warm-up for Armageddon. Good solid wrestling match between the two, the kind that Cena used to have back in 2003. In the end, Cena was just too much for Edge, picking up the win with an FU. The two shake hands as we go off the air.
Armageddon is going to be absolutely huge! We already knew that Eddie Guerrero was going to defend the United States Title against his nephew Chavo in a Cage Match and that John Cena and Sean O'Haire would fight until one man drew First Blood. Now we know that the Angle/Lesnar match will be fought under Iron Man rules! And the Undertaker/Big Show match will take place inside Hell In The Cell! All that, plus match seven between Chris Benoit and Rey Mysterio - the winner gets a WWE Title shot at the Royal Rumble! You can't miss Armageddon, just three nights away on pay-per-view!
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