JANUARY 22, 2004 - SMACKDOWN!
We now know that the WWE Champion Brock Lesnar will team with RAW's Shawn Michaels to take on John Cena and RAW's World Champion The Rock at No Way Out thanks to Mister McMahon's blockbuster announcement on RAW. Tonight, expect more of the card to fall into place as the Road to WrestleMania rolls on!
The night kicks off with what should be a tremendous cruiserweight tag team match as the former champion Tajiri teams with his protege Akio to take on Ultimo Dragon and young Paul London. London goes after Akio with kicks early before tagging in Dragon for a double suplex. Dragon hits a rolling kick but misses a leg drop allowing Akio to hit a high-flying move and tag in Tajiri, who hits a cross body off the top, then a dropkick. Dragon hits a back suplex and tags in London. London hits strikes and a flying elbow while Dragon and Akio brawl at ringside. Suddenly, Bradshaw (?!?) comes tearing down the aisle and attacks Dragon and Akio, then does the same to London and Tajiri, clearing the cruisers from the ring. They start to go after him, but turn on each other and continue brawling until referees separate them.
Bradshaw grabs a microphone. "My name is John Layfield. Since day one in this company, I have done what's been asked of me. I played a cowboy with a ridiculous moustache and carried a bullrope. I put over a past-his-prime Tracey Smothers and watched him go nowhere. Then I agreed to team up with a past-his-prime Barry Windham to try to re-create a tag team that half the audience didn't even remember. Then I started teaming with a past-his-prime Ron Simmons to do the bidding of a man who was never going to let us get "the rub," so we struck out on our own. And I carried his ass until a stupid green bitch ruined his knee. Then I finally found a partner who "got" me. Bob Holly and I were two peas in a pod. We'd both been stuck with terrible partner after terrible gimmick and stuck putting over terrible wrestlers, and we were both sick of it. And when they put us against each other to qualify for the Royal Rumble... that was our chance! That was our chance to put on a show and
make people respect us! No more of this "Backstage Bullies" nonsense. But Bob got too big for his britches. He decided he wasn't just going to beat me, he was going to make me look stupid while he did it. And that attitude got him fired. And you know what? Good riddance! Because it let me know that John Layfield - Company Man wasn't going to get anywhere. So tonight, you can say goodbye to the cowbells and the beer and the rest. I've watched too many greenhorns shoot past me lately, and I'm going to make up for that and get mine. Which is what I should have been doing all along."
A sign of how strong tonight's card is: Kurt Angle is taking on Big Show... next! Show takes the early advantage with strikes and a slam, but Kurt manages to showcase some impressive strength by hitting a suplex and a spinebuster for two. Angle misses an elbow and gets slammed for two. Spinebuster by Show for two more. Angle slams Show, but is attacked out of nowhere by Chavo Guerrero! The ref doesn't see it, as he's attending to Show, but Chavo hits the Brainbuster, allowing Show to pick up the win! Once Angle gets his bearings back, Chavo tries to attack again, but winds up caught in the Angle Lock!
Up next is a tag match that pretty much defines the term "squash." Edge and Undertaker make very short work of the Basham Brothers, with Undertaker pinning Danny after the Last Ride.
More cruiserweight action is up next as Rey Mysterio takes on Chavo Guerrero. Chavo takes the early lead, but Rey fights back with kicks. Excellent match with lots of near falls and reversals. The match ends with Kurt Angle taking some revenge, again putting Chavo in the Angle Lock, then ditching the ring allowing Rey to pick up the win. After the match, Chavo gets laid out by a chairshot from Angle. Angle is out for blood after Chavo's attack earlier, and he gets it, courtesy of a drop toehold onto the chair!
Stephanie McMahon appears on the TitanTron and says that if these two are so intent on destroying each other, let's give them their chance at No Way Out!
Our next contest is for the WWE Tag Team Titles! A-Train and Matt Morgan, the defending champions for over three months, represent the Dangerous Alliance. Their opponents are Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin, the World's Greatest Tag Team. Haas and Train start the match, with Train hitting a right hand and a piledriver for two. Tag to Morgan for a Hart Attack. Morgan hits a neckbreaker for two. Morgan hits a kick, but misses a clothesline and eats a springboard dropkick. Shelton tags in and hit s af flying shoulder tackle and a reverse DDT. Train tags back in and hits a DDT and a spinebuster for two. Train hits a kick, but Shelton fights back with a modified powerbomb. The ring starts to fill up, and the ref tries to restore order, and in the chaos A-Train gets GOOOOOOOOOOORED out of nowhere by Rhyno!!! Shelton notices this and goes for the pin. One! Two! THREE! New champions! WGTT celebrate their victory while the Dangerous Alliance look on in shock. Once again, Rhyno has cost the Alliance a title! Now the only member of the DA with a belt is Lesnar! Is he next?
John Cena and Billy Kidman have been skyrocketing up the ranks of the SmackDown! roster over the last few months, with Cena finally breaking the glass ceiling and making it into the main event. Kidman is looking to make it there as well, and has a chance to prove himself tonight against Cena. Good back-and-forth match with both guys getting in a fair amount of offense. In the end, though, Cena's size and strength advantage was too much, and he hits the FU for the win.
The following contest, scheduled for one fall, is a number-one contender's match. The winner will face Eddie Guerrero for the United States Title at No Way Out! They trade forearms to start, then Benoit hits a brutal neckbreaker out of the corner for two. He misses an elbow and gets slammed. O'Haire hits a bulldog for two, then a lifting DDT for another two. Benoit hits a t-bone suplex for two, but gets tripped up into the referee! Benoit takes O'Haire down and makes his throat-slash gesture. He grabs O'haire's arm for the Crossface, but O'Haire swings with his other arm and hits Benoit with brass knucks! The ref wakes up in time to see O'Haire get the pinfall! Benoit is furious. The referee tries to apologize, but Benoit nails him with a clothesline. Why is Chris Benoit so violent?
Backstage, Stephanie McMahon makes it official - Eddie Guerrero will defend the United States Title at No Way Out against Sean O'Haire!
Guerrero is out next for a match against the WWE Champion Brock Lesnar. None of the three titles these men posess will be on the line - only bragging rights. Guerrero takes to the air early, but Lesnar starts to outwrestle and overpower him. Eddie puts on a great show, going move-for-move with the champ, but the man who he beat for the Cruiserweight Title (Billy Kidman) manages to sneak to ringside with a chair and blast him as he runs the ropes, allowing Lesnar to hit the F5 for the win. After the match, Lesnar and Kidman assault Eddie until John Cena's music hits and he clears the ring, saving Eddie from further damage as SmackDown! goes off the air.