JUNE 10, 2004 - SMACKDOWN!
Tonight, the final two spots in the King of the Ring quarterfinals will be determined, plus both the Cruiserweight and World Tag Team Titles will be on the line, and we'll sign the contract for next week's huge Last Man Standing Match (that is also a King of the Ring quarterfinal) between The Rock and Brock Lesnar!
But first, Zach Gowan made his return to World Wrestling Entertainment last week in a six-man tag team match, being pinned by up-and-comer Johnny Jeter. Tonight, those two go one-on-one. Gowan uses his educated foot
early on with a spinning back kick and a missile dropkick, but he misses a legdrop, and Jeter takes control. Gowan gets in only a little bit of offense the rest of the way as Jeter picks up the win for the second week in a row.
Up next, ten of the top cruiserweights on the SmackDown! roster go at it in an over-the-top-rope battle royal! Nunzio is the first elimination, courtesy of Jamie Noble. Noble then turns around and takes out Spike Dudley as well. Ultimo Dragon eliminates his countryman Funaki. Noble's domination ends quickly as Chavo Guerrero dumps him out. The six remaining superstars battle for a while in a very exciting match until Chavo makes another elimination, taking out Nova. Almost simultaneously, Carlito eliminates Akio. And then there were four - Carlito, Chavo, Dragon, and Paul London. London takes out Carlito to turn it into a triple threat, then takes out Dragon to make it one-on-one. Chavo and London go back and forth for a bit, but Chavo's veteran skills wind up being just too much as he eliminates London to win the match.
Dave Batista and John Layfield are two men with a lot in common. They're both angry, hateful giants who seem to enjoy nothing more than pummeling their enemies until they can no longer stand. They've clashed a couple of times as enemies, but tonight they team up for the first time. This is bad news for Aaron Stevens and Matt Morgan, as they draw them as opponents tonight. The match goes pretty much as is to be expected, the Intercontinental Champion and former Tag Team Champion dominate the youngsters, with Batista picking up the win with the Batista Bomb on Stevens.
Backstage, Paul Heyman is with his Dangerous Alliance with some choice words for their rivals. As we know, next week Brock Lesnar will face The Rock in a Last Man Standing match that will end their long-time feud. And anyone who's seen their past matches knows that Lesnar is going to once again make an example out of Rock and advance to the King of the Ring pay-per-view, then wipe the floor with the competition there to earn another title shot. In addition to that match, though, Billy Kidman and Tajiri will face off against Los Guerreros next week in a Ladder Match for a shot at the World Tag Team Titles. Kidman and Tajiri have struggled lately, and next week is their chance to shine. And, yes, Tajiri, next week is your chance to seriously hurt people!
More cruiserweight action is next in triple-threat action as Hurricane, Billy Kidman, and Rico tangle. No title shots or anything on the line, but the winner will definitely earn some bragging rights in the division. Kidman hits Rico with a back heel kick, then Hurricane lands some punches, but blows an elbow dorp allowing Rico to hit him with a senton. Plenty more of this type of quick-hitting action as the match goes on until Kidman takes Rico down with a tiger suplex, then hits a Shooting Star Press for the win.
More triple-threat action next as the World Tag Team Titles are on the line! It's the unlikely champions the Metro Connection defending against the Dudley Boyz and Teddy Long's Playas' Club. Yet another disappointing match from the SD tag-team division, and once again Billy Gunn and Chris Kanyon squeak one out, with Gunn hitting the Fameasser on Chris Nowinski to walk away with the gold.
King of the Ring continues next as former WWE Champion John Cena takes on the Dangerous Alliance's Tajiri in a second-round match. Tajiri uses his speed advantage early on, and sprinkles them off and on throughout the rest of the match. But eventually, the former champ's power advantage proves to be too much as he lands a neckbreaker and a powerbomb to set up the FU for the win.
Bad booking on my part followed that red-hot match with a heel-versus-heel Cruiserweight Title match between Christian and Jeff Hardy. 47% crowd reaction because they were let down after being so pumped up from the KotR match. Christian hits Hardy with the Unprettier, but out of nowhere, Rey Mysterio comes flying into the ring and hits the West Coast Pop to give Xian the DQ victory. After the match, Jeff attacks Rey, pissed that he cost him the title. He lays him out with the Swanton Bomb, then storms off.
Christian grabs the microphone and tells Rey that this has to stop, and at King of the Ring, it's going to. One last time, the Cruiserweight Title will be on the line. And one last time, the Peepulation is going to watch Christian walk out with the gold, 'cause that's how he rolls!
And now for our main event! It's our last second-round King of the Ring match as WWE Champion Matt Hardy Version 2.0 takes on Eddie Guerrero. The winner will face Cena in two weeks. These two put on a tremendous match with lots of high-flying and technical wizardry. Pretty much what we'd expect out of these two with something like King of the Ring on the horizon. In the end, though, the champ's newfound confidence pushes him through to a victory, hitting his middle-rope legdrop to pick up the win.
The Rock and Brock Lesnar are in the ring now for their big contract signing. Next week on SmackDown!, they will face off in a Last Man Standing Match for a spot in the King of the Ring semifinals. Also, this will finally end their long-running feud. After the last "I" has been dotted and the last "T" has been crossed, Lesnar flips the table over onto The Rock and hits the F5. He stands tall over his rival as SmackDown! goes off the air.