[loopydate]

APRIL 22, 2004 - SMACKDOWN!

It's the last show before Backlash, and every superstar on the SmackDown! roster will be involved tonight!

An easy way to do that is to start things off with a twenty-man battle royal! The winner will earn an Intercontinental Title match next week on SmackDown! Doug Basham is the first man out, courtesy of John Layfield, followed by Ultimo Dragon eliminating Matt Morgan. Mark Henry is the next to go, thanks to Akio, then Shannon Moore eliminates Test and Danny Basham back-to-back. Paul London is the next victim, eliminated by Hurricane, while Nunzio takes out Jamie Noble. Shannon Moore continues to put on a good show, as he takes out Funaki. Nunzio eliminates Nova next, then Scotty 2 Hotty takes out Boss Man. Hurricane makes another elimination, taking out Carlito, followed by Nova taking out Chris Nowinski. Spike Dudley takes out Akio, only to get bundled out by Ultimo Dragon. Shannon Moore's run comes to an end, courtesy of Scotty 2 Hotty, but Nova capitalizes and dumps him out. We are down to the final four: Hurricane, John Layfield, Nova, and Ultimo Dragon! One of these men will go on to an Intercontinental Title match next week. Well, it won't be Nova, as Ultimo Dragon takes care of him, only to get taken out by Layfield. Hurricane turns right into a Clothesline From Hell, and John Layfield has earned a title shot next week!

Backstage, a limousine pulls up. We see a foot step out, then the camera tilts up to reveal... RAW General Manager Eric Bischoff?!?!? He heads off toward the arena as everyone is left wondering what he's doing here.

The ongoing rivalry between the Dudley Boyz and the Metro Connection continues next as D-Von Dudley takes on Billy Gunn. Gunn spends most of the match striking D-Von, while D-Von hits pretty sloppy power moves. In the end, Billy hits the Fameasser for the win to go 2-0 in singles matches against the champs.

Backstage, Christian cuts a brief promo about his Cruiserweight Title match this Sunday at Backlash against Rey Mysterio. Rey and Christian both tore through the Cruiserweight Title Series, to the point where they didn't even bother booking this week's match between them. Tonight, they'll be on opposite sides of the six-man main event, but in six days, Christian's walking out with the gold, 'cause that's how I roll.

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeell... Well it's a dud show! Yep, our woes continue as Bubba Ray Dudley takes on Chris Kanyon. Blah blah blah, fight fight fight. Kanyon hits I'm Betta Than You for the win.

Ric Flair cuts a promo on John Layfield about how - after Batista gets past Rico tonight - he's going to absolutely destroy Layfield in their Intercontinental Title match next week. The crowd is loving Flair, essentially turning him face one week before his retirement.

Last week, Tajiri absolutely destroyed Eddie Guerrero with a brutal series of Kicks of Death. Tonight, Eddie's nephew Chavo looks for revenge! These two wind up putting on an excellent wrestling match with both men getting in a lot of offense. 84% crowd rating, 87% match rating, but the dud show drags it down to a 76% overall. Just when Chavo looks ready to put Tajiri away, Billy Kidman hits the ring with a chair, hitting Chavo with it, allowing Tajiri to roll him up for the win. After the match, they go to work on Chavo with the chair until a badly beat-up Eddie Guerrero makes his way to the ring to chase them off and save his nephew.

Eddie asks for (and receives) the ringside microphone and issues a challenge for a tag match at Backlash - Los Guerreros versus Billy Kidman and Tajiri!

Now it's time for our Intercontinental Title match as Batista defends the belt against his former rival Rico. The winner must defend the gold next week against John Layfield. Just like the series of matches they put on leading up to WrestleMania, this one goes back and forth several times before Batista finally manages to put his opponent away with the Batista Bomb to retain the gold. After the match, he continues the punishment, pummeling Rico before walking off with the gold.

"I'm ba-ack! And better than ever..." Eric Bischoff makes his way to the ring, carrying the World Heavyweight Title. Fans are well aware of the recent backstage controversy surrounding that title and Shawn Michaels walking away after RAW. He enters the ring and grabs the microphone. "As I'm sure everyone has heard by now, RAW's World Champion has decided to take his ball and go home. And if that sounds familiar... well, that's because it is. This World Title has become an albatross. Triple H was our World Champion until he dropped it to The Rock. And he was never the same, and eventually he walked away from WWE. The Rock dropped the World Title to Michaels at WrestleMania XX, then jumped ship to SmackDown! And now Michaels himself has decided that he cares more about his own ego than he does about this title. So I am begging for a new outcome at Backlash. I am pleading for a champion who wants this belt and isn't going to turn into a freaking crybaby. So tonight, I am announcing that at Backlash, Kurt Angle still gets his shot at the World Title. And his opponent will be... Chris Jericho!" Bischoff walks off with the gold, and a new main event for Backlash!

And now for our main event, pitting WWE Champion John Cena, The Rock, and Rey Mysterio against their Backlash opponents Matt Hardy Version 2.0, Brock Lesnar, and Christian. Lots of quick tags all around, with there being a couple of direct Backlash previews (oddly enough, Cena and Hardy are never in the ring at the same time). Rock and Christian carry most of the match, but in the end, Rock puts Lesnar away with the Rock Bottom and the faces stand tall as SmackDown! goes off the air.