The official wrestling sim topic

[loopydate]

OCTOBER 8, 2004 - SMACKDOWN!

"If ya smeeeeeeeeeeeeeelll..." The last show before No Mercy kicks off with a bang as the People's Champion, the #1 contender for the WWE Title, The Rock makes his way to the ring. Tonight's going to be pretty promo heavy, as there hasn't been a lot of time since Unforgiven to hype this PPV. The Rock cuts a pretty standard Rock promo (meaning: awesome) on his title match against Matt Hardy Version 2.0 on Sunday night. Rock also hypes that they're officially signing the contract for the main event tonight, so we can expect more fireworks then, no doubt.

Backstage, Shane McMahon is on his cell phone, talking about how he has a bad feeling about Eric Bischoff being in charge of his family's company. "Bischoff spent years trying to destroy World Wrestling Entertainment, and now he's holding the reins? Look, I just want to make sure that we're on the same page here. You've got my back on this, right? Okay. I'll see you next week."

Our opening contest is for a shot at Tajiri's Cruiserweight Title next week on SmackDown! as Paul London takes on The Hurricane! These two friends put on a tremendous match that sees London turn a Hurricane sleeper into a jawbreaker to set up London Calling for the win. After the match, there's a heartfelt handshake as Hurricane congratulates London on his title shot.

Backstage, WWE Chairman Eric Bischoff is hanging out with Canadian Violence, Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho. He hypes their tag main event tonight against Eddie Guerrero and Rico, but also talks about how he never doubted they would be among his Elite and that if either of them ever needs anything, they know where to find him. He asks Benoit about when/if he plans to use his Money In The Bank title shot. Benoit chuckles and says "All in good time," and claps Jericho's back, which makes the reigning World Champion look a little uneasy.

Up next, the monstrous "Nature Boy" Dave Batista takes on a fellow midcarder who's struggled to grab attention lately when he faces Chavo Guerrero. Chavo seems to be inspired by his uncle Eddie's ascension to the Elite as he puts his massive opponent away with his trademark brainbuster. After the loss, Batista loses it, assaulting the referee. The locker room empties to drag him away before he can do too much more damage.

Rey Mysterio comes to the ring next for a big tag match. But first, he cuts a promo about his feud with Brock Lesnar and their upcoming No Mercy match. Basic stuff, but it does an effective job adding heat to the feud. Rey teams with Cena against Brock Lesnar and Tajiri next!

Cena and Lesnar start the match off in a WrestleMania XX rematch, but quick tags all around get everyone involved. Great action throughout, but eventually Cena prepares for a big suplex only to have it countered into a roll-up by Tajiri, who grabs a handful of tights for the cheap win! After the match, all four men brawl to the back.

Back from the break, they finally get separated, but Cena issues a challenge to Tajiri for Sunday night, and it's accepted!

Jeff Hardy appears on the TitanTron. He's already at the site of the PPV, so he's not in the arena tonight. He knows Rico's got tonight's big tag main event, and he wishes him luck. But he'd hate to see him hurt before their Intercontinental Title match at No Mercy, so he hopes that Canadian Violence can hold back... at least a little.

And now for our tag main event. The crowd is all for it, even though both Benoit and Eddie are "sluggish and don't put in much effort." Lots of great technical wrestling from Benoit, Jericho, Eddie, and Rico. Eventually Eddie gets in a big spinning back kick on Benoit but is distracted by the appearance of Christian at ringside. Eddie turns his attention to him, only to get hung out to dry and stumble back into the Crippler Crossface. Eddie has no choice but to tap out, and the three heels beat on the babyfaces afterwards.

Back from the last break, a table has been set up in the ring for the contract signing for the WWE Title match at No Mercy between The Rock and Matt Hardy Version 2.0. The champ signs first, then hands the pen over to The Rock. Immediately after he signs it, Hardy drives the table into his midsection, then puts him through it with the Twist of Fate. The champ stands tall as SmackDown! goes off the air...

[loopydate]

OCTOBER 15, 2004 - SMACKDOWN!

SmackDown! kicks off with a #1 contender match for the World Tag Team Titles. Next week, the Hardy Boyz will defend the gold against the winners of this match as the Dudley Boyz take on the Metro Connection! Everybody gets a shot at everybody else at some point during the contest, and it's a good one. In the end, D-Von pins Billy Gunn after the 3-D to earn the title shot next week!

Backstage, we see Shane McMahon walking down the hall and the crowd erupts. Last week, Shane was on the phone with a mystery man and he told him he'd "see him tonight" insinuating it was someone who would help him take his family company back from Eric Bischoff. He arrives at a door, takes a deep breath and knocks. The door opens and out steps... Paul Heyman!!! The two shake hands and walk off together, talking about plans for the future. A babyface turn for Paul Heyman? Aligning with Shane McMahon against Eric Bischoff? This is gonna be good...

The Cruiserweight Title is on the line next as Tajiri takes on Paul London. And these two push the limits with an incredible match that serves to put over both men and the title itself. London almost gets the belt after a springboard dropkick, Tajiri almost retains with a superkick, then another after a big kick to the face. London channels his mentor Shawn Michaels with a superkick that almost gets him the win, but eventually he falls to the Kick of Death as Tajiri retains.

The ECW theme song hits and Paul Heyman comes to the ring. He cuts a brief promo about Eric Bischoff and what he did to ECW, but that mostly he's here to introduce a Survivor Series team. Bischoff has handpicked Benoit and Jericho, two men that Heyman brought to the national spotlight in ECW, to be his chosen ones. Well, if Bischoff wants those guys to be the guys running his first Survivor Series team, he's got a quintet of friends that would love to remind them where they came from. "This Is Extreme" by Harry Slash & The Slashtones hits again, and the crowd erupts as Rhyno leads Rob Van Dam, Tommy Dreamer, and the Dudley Boyz to the ring. Heyman introduces the ECW Originals and says that their victory over the Jerichoholics is just the beginning of Heyman and Shane taking back the company from the clutches of the man Heyman hates more than anyone on the planet, and they're going to do it the way we used to do it. It's going to be extreme!

World Champion Chris Jericho is out after the commercial, Heyman's words obviously still ringing in his ears, as he prepares to take on John Cena in a huge singles contest. It's exciting to watch as these two put on a show. Eventually, Jericho blasts Cena with a DDT that puts both men out of commission. While the ref checks on Jericho, who is selling it way too hard, Tajiri hits the ring (and Cena) with a steel chair. Jericho makes a miraculous recovery and clamps on the Walls of Jericho. After the match, Tajiri continues the assault with the chair, and Cena is left a bloody mess.

Backstage, Chris Benoit cuts a promo on Rob Van Dam. He hypes the Survivor Series match, as well as their ongoing feud over the United States Title. He talks about his match next against Rico for the gold and says that when he retains, RVD is going to find out - once and for all - why they call him the Crippler.

That match is next, and it's a bit of a disappointment as Benoit continues to phone it in (although his morale is improving thanks to the formation of the Elite). Rico looks good throughout, getting a couple of nearfalls, but eventually he gets caught with a short powerbomb that Benoit quickly turns into the Crippler Crossface for the submission victory.

Eddie Guerrero is backstage, and it's his turn for promo duty. He talks about his running feud with Christian. He says that the plan is succeeding. The two were supposed to put each other over into the upper echelon of WWE, and here they are, charter members of the Elite. Looks like it worked. Problem is, along the way, it got personal. And the Guerreros... we're warriors. When it gets personal, we get better. And when we get better, our opponents get hurt. So, for Christian's sake, he'd better hope that they don't wind up on opposing sides at Survivor Series, because their next PPV encounter might be their last!

Eddie and Christian are on opposite sides of a tag match next as Eddie teams with his best friend Rey Mysterio while Christian teams with the monstrous Brock Lesnar! Both feuds get their chance to shine, and eventually it comes down to Rey and Lesnar in the ring. Brock has an arm submission locked in when Rey blasts him with an elbow, then a running senton to set up the West Coast Pop for the win! After the match, all four men brawl up the ramp and to the back.

The Rocks' theme hits the speakers, and the WWE Champion makes his way to the ring. "Finally! The belt has come back to the Great One!" The crowd erupts as he launches into a promo about Matt Hardy Version 2.0 and their ongoing feud over the WWE Title. Rock talks about winning the gold back at No Mercy five days ago and how he knows that it's not over. He's been doing this long enough to know that one big win is never enough to silence a tough challenger, and Matt's as tough as the champ has had in quite a while. But these past couple of weeks have been proof of what everyone has known all along. Matt's very talented. He's fantastic in the ring, but he's... well, he's just not as good as his brother. Jeff's in the Elite, and Matt's on the outside looking in. Well, The Rock takes on Jeff Hardy next, and Matt's going to watch as Rock not only beats his brother, but beats his superior. It's time for Matt to step up his game or get to steppin' if he smells what The Rock is cookin'!

And the match is a good one, but of course Rock's words hit home for Matt. Rock manages to put Jeff away with the Rock Bottom, but Matt assaults him with a chair after the match, standing tall over the champion as the show goes off the air.

[loopydate]

OCTOBER 22, 2004 - SMACKDOWN!

Tonight promises to be a huge episode of the Friday night mainstay. In a triple-threat tag match, Eddie Guerrero and John Cena take on Vitamin C (Chris Jericho and Christian) and Brock Lesnar and Tajiri in a battle of the Elite. Also, the Hardy Boyz defend the World Tag Team Titles against the Dudley Boyz who earned their shot last week with a win over the Metro Connection. Plus, in another huge encounter, Chris Benoit defends the United States Title against Rico. Winner gets the gold... loser has to leave the Elite!

The ring is full of SmackDown! superstars as the show goes on the air as we prepare for a 20-man battle royal! Once the bell rings, all twenty men throw themselves into it, though it's unclear what the reward is for the winner. Nova is the first man out, dumped by Colt Cabana. Shortly thereafter, Chavo Guerrero takes out Generalin Intikami. In one of the more shocking moments to possibly ever occur in a battle royal Zach Gowan eliminates Mark Henry! Matt Stryker is the next one out, eliminated by Funaki, and Chavo follows up with his second elimination as he takes out Jamie Noble. Test eliminates Christian York next, and Chavo gets bundled over by The Hurricane. Colt manages to avoid being tossed out by Vito Thomaselli, but Funaki hits a spinning back kick to take him out. Nunzio's gone next, courtesy of Hurricane. Funaki continues his improbable run as he eliminates Jay Briscoe to drop it down to a top ten. Trent Acid makes his presence known as he eliminates Akio. Speaking of surprising runs, Zach Gowan picks up another elimination as he takes out Johnny Jeter. Test joins the two-elim club when he takes out BJ Whitmer. Funaki's run comes to an end as Carlito takes him out. Gowan's the next one out courtesy of Acid, and apparently the "both feet must hit the floor" rule doesn't apply to him. Vito Thomaselli, who many seem to have forgotten is even in this thing, is the next one out courtesy of Test. And then there were four - Carlito, Test, The Hurricane, and Trent Acid. It turns into a solid fatal fourway with everybody getting in some solid offense. Acid is the next to go as Test dumps him out. Hurricane takes out Carlito next to set up him versus Test at the end. After a little brawling, Hurricane eliminates Test to win the battle royal!

"If ya smeeeeeeeeeeeeelll..." The crowd goes nuts as The Rock makes his way to the ring. He cuts a brief promo about Survivor Series and how he's been selected to captain the team that's going up against the Natural Born Ministry. He then introduces The Great Ones, which is made up of Rock's frequent tag partner John Cena and three men with a long-standing issue with the Ministry - A-Train, Big Show, and Payne! The five men pose for the crowd, and Payne looks like he's getting a hell of a rub being surrounded by four former champions.

Two men who seem to be wandering aimlessly through the midcard lately go toe-to-toe next, hoping to regain some direction. It's Aaron Stevens versus John Layfield. Unfortunately, this winds up being a disappointment, as neither looks very good. Layfield whips Stevens off the ropes, where he's laid out by a Dave Batista chairshot! Stevens staggers into a roll-up for the cheap three-count. After the match, Layfield and Batista pound the living crap out of Stevens, basically leaving him for dead.

John Cena is backstage, and he puts over The Great Ones Survivor Series team, but then goes off on Tajiri. He mentions that he beat him on RAW, but that he knows it's not over. But before Survivor Series, it's going to be. One way or the other, it will be.

Up next is a tag match featuring former champions the Metro Connection taking on the red-hot Paul London and another exciting up-and-comer Brian Kendrick! Great quick tags and double-team offense with several near-falls. Eventually, it comes down to London and Kanyon, who winds up taking London Calling for the loss. Big win for the youngsters!

The Hardy Boyz come to the ring for their World Tag Team Title defense against the Dudley Boyz, but first Matt has something to say to The Rock. Next week, Eric Bischoff has set up one last title match between the two of them... inside Hell In A Cell! And he's going to walk out of SmackDown! once again the WWE Champion, and that is a certifiable Matt FACT!

The Dudleyz are out next for their title shot, and it's a good one. These teams always have tremendous chemistry, and tonight is no exception. Unfortunately, the Dudleyz haven't quite elevated themselves to the same degree that the Hardyz have, and the Hardyz have definitely learned to win the big matches. Eventually, Matt spears D-Von to set up Jeff hitting the Swanton Bomb for the win and the successful title defense.

Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio are backstage talking about Christian and Brock Lesnar and their ongoing feuds. Eddie's part of a huge triple-threat tag main event tonight, and both those guys will be involved. Rey just asks him to save him a piece of Lesnar.

Rico and Chris Benoit's United States Title match is up next, and it's solid. Benoit doesn't put in much effort... again. But Rico again proves that there's really not anybody he can't put on a good match with, but he falls victim to the Crippler Crossface. Benoit remains the champion, and Rico's out of the Elite!

Benoit grabs a microphone after his match and cuts a brief promo on RVD. He likes what Cena said earlier about wrapping things up with Tajiri, and he's ready to do the same with RVD, and he's going to do it on RAW in a Ladder Match. And if RVD thinks he's going to take away the U.S. Title, he's going to prove. him. wrong!

And now for our main event. It's a pretty thrilling, albeit brief match. Lesnar, Cena, Tajiri, and Guerrero do most of the work, with Vitamin C picking their spots. Eventually, Christian picks up another win over his rival Guerrero with the Unprettier. Not exactly sending the fans home happy, but it was a fun match.

Next week on SmackDown!, we know that The Rock will defend the WWE Title against Matt Hardy Version 2.0 inside Hell In A Cell, The Hurricane looks for revenge against John Layfield for putting his friend Aaron Stevens out of WWE possibly forever, Mark Henry looks for revenge on Zach Gowan for his embarassment earlier, and another Survivor Series team will be announced, plus much much more! You don't want to miss SmackDown! next week!

[loopydate]

OCTOBER 29, 2004 - SMACKDOWN!

October goes out with a bang tonight on SmackDown! The Rock and Matt Hardy Version 2.0 finally put their feud to rest tonight inside Hell In A Cell! Plus, Eddie Guerrero versus Brock Lesnar, fallout from last week's battle royal, and Eric Bischoff introduces another Survivor Series team!

We open up with battle royal fallout as Mark Henry looks to avenge his humiliating elimination last week as he takes on Zach Gowan. And avenge he does, as he puts the one-legged youngster away with the World's Strongest Slam. After the match, Henry grabs a chair and blasts Gowan with it to further drive home the point that last week was a fluke.

We get a special videotaped message from A-Train next, hyping his match on RAW next week against Sean O'Haire. Most of the big feuds in WWE have been wrapping up lately, and Train is ready to finally do the same against O'Haire.

Two of the most impressive performers in last week's battle royal were Funaki and Test, and tonight they go one-on-one in the hopes of continuing their momentum. Funaki manages to get some martial arts strikes in, but Test uses his size advantage to eventually pick up the win with his running big boot.

"I'm ba-ack!" WWE Chairman Eric Bischoff makes his way to the ring. He hypes the announcement later on of another Survivor Series match, then announces that tonight we will see a match-up pitting Elite members John Cena and Jeff Hardy against each other. And, because he's running the company and he can do whatever the hell he pleases now... the loser of that match has to leave the Elite. "Why? Why the hell not!"

Last week, Dave Batista and John Layfield beat the living hell out of Aaron "The Idol" Stevens, an assault that may have ended Stevens' career. Tonight, Stevens' mentor The Hurricane looks for revenge against Layfield. Hurricane looks about to put Layfield away with the Shining Wizard, but "Nature Boy" Dave Batista hits the ring to save his frequent partner and htis the Batista Bomb. After the match, the heels look to double-team WWE's resident superhero, but Hurricane's SS partner Nova hits the ring to make the save.

World Champion Chris Jericho makes his way to the ring for his tag match tonight, but first he cuts a promo on Rhyno. He's got to hand it to the Manbeast. There's no reason he should be as much of a challenge as he's been. He's never been anything more than a guy full of potential who was going to be a future World Champion. Only problem is, going to be can only get you so far. You see, Chris Jericho is the World Champion. And after RAW, he's going to be the World Champion.

Last week, the team of Brian Kendrick and Paul London picked up an improbable victory over former Tag Team Champions the Metro Connection. Tonight, they take on Elite members Canadian Violence as a true test of their skills. The youngsters are talented and exciting, but unfortunately, Benoit and Jericho just have too much experience. Eventually, they lock Kendrick in their Crossface/Walls combination forcing him to tap out.

Eddie Guerrero and Brock Lesnar at one time had one of the most brutal feuds in WWE. Tonight, they revisit their rivalry as they both gear up for their upcoming Survivor Series matches (neither of which has been announced, but come on, you know they're going to be involved) in a singles match. It's a good match, not as good as some of their matches from earlier this year, but very solid. Late in the match, after Eddie hits a big DDT, Christian hits the ring looking to cost his rival the match, but Eddie ducks a clothesline, and he takes out Lesnar instead! Eddie sends Xian to the floor, then capitalizes on Lesnar being down with the Frogsplash! After the match, Christian hits the ring to attack Eddie, but Rey Mysterio comes out to make the save and drive off his rival Lesnar.

Once again, Bischoff heads to the ring, and he announces that Reyes de Lucha Libre will be taking on the Next Big Things at Survivor Series, a team made up of Lesnar, Cruiserweight Champion Tajiri, "Nature Boy" Dave Batista, and the World Tag Team Champions the Hardy Boyz! The team assembles on the ramp and stares Mysterio down.

And now for the match Bischoff announced earlier - John Cena versus Jeff Hardy, loser leaves the Elite! Cena looks about to put Jeff away with the F-U, but suddenly Tajiri grabs Cena's ankle from ringside and pulls him to the floor. The referee calls for the bell, and Jeff Hardy is furious! Tajiri doesn't care as he slams Cena into the ringpost, then smashes him twice with a chair, then hits a drop toehold onto the chair, leaving Cena a bloody mess, but still a member of the Elite!

And now for our main event! It's short, but exciting, and the crowd absolutely loves it. Rock hits a slam, a spinning neckbreaker, and a big clothesline, but Matt fights back with a spinning bulldog. Rock ducks a clothesline and hits a spear and a DVD. Matt dodges an avalanche then hits a leg lariat, only to get backdropped and take the Rock Bottom! Rock retains inside the Cell! After the match, he poses on the turnbuckles with the belt as SmackDown! goes off the air.

[loopydate]

NOVEMBER 5, 2004 - SMACKDOWN!

Tonight's SmackDown! will see the debuts of three new Superstars, as well as the debut of another Survivor Series team, a series of matches between the members of the Reyes de Lucha Libre and the Next Big Things, and our huge main event, the first match in the best-of-three series between Eddie Guerrero and Christian!

We open with Tough Enough Season 3 winner John Morrison making his debut against Richard J. Criado, one of the best technical wrestlers in the world. It's a very exciting match that the crowd slowly warms to. In the end, Morrison picks up the win with the Moonlight Drive.

Avery Thompson, who just graduated from the WWE training camp a month ago is already making his way to the main roster tonight, making his debut against fan-favorite Rico. Thompson seems to have something against Rico and is a bit overzealous in his attempts to put him away. Eventually, Chris Kanyon makes his way to ringside and he hangs Rico out across the top rope, allowing Thompson to hit his finisher the Stiff Neck on Rico for the cheap win. Afterwards, Kanyon and Thompson work over Rico.

Thompson grabs a microphone and cuts a definite rookie promo about how he's a sexual-harassment lawyer and he's representing Mister Kanyon in his case against Mister Constantino. Rico, you've officially been served. Pretty awful promo, so that's probably the last time I'll give him a live mic.

Our next four matches will pit the participants in the Reyes de Lucha Libre vs. Next Big Things Survivor Series match against each other. Up first, it's The Hurricane against "Nature Boy" Dave Batista. Hurricane still has a bone to pick with Batista over he and John Layfield putting Aaron Stevens out of WWE forever last month. It's a pretty solid match with Hurricane getting the advantage. The ref gets bumped as Hurricane sends Bats to the floor. He crouches down, ready for the Shining Wizard, but Bats clocks him with the ring bell and goes for the cover. The ref must have come to just in time, though, as he signals for the disqualification! After the match, both men brawl up the ramp and out of sight.

Their partners Nova and Tajiri are out next, and these two former ECW cruiserweights put on a tremendous contest with Tajiri eventually putting Nova away with the Kick of Death.

Jamie Noble must have drawn the short straw, as he goes one-on-one with Brock Lesnar! Lesnar hits a belly-to-belly, a neckbreaker, a spear, a DVD, then the F5 for a squash win. After the match, Rey Mysterio hits the West Coast Pop on Lesnar to leave his rival laying. Afterwards, Noble seems to be favoring his arm. Looks like he has a legit injury coming out of the match. What will that mean for his team at Survivor Series?

Rey remains in the ring, as he teams with Chavo Guerrero against the Hardy Boyz, hoping to even the score at two apiece between the SS opposing teams. It's a very exciting match with all four men taking to the air at every opportunity. Rey looks to be about ready to put Matt away after a big huracanrana, but before he can, Lesnar returns the favor from earlier, blasting him with an F5! Matt picks up the cheap win, then Lesnar hits the ring for a 3-on-2 beating. The Next Big Things have a clear advantage going into the Survivor Series in just nine days!

Backstage, Eddie Guerrero introduces The Warriors, the team he's fielding to combat The Coalition at Survivor Series. He's joined by Rico, Paul London, and the World's Greatest Tag Team! What a fantastic quintet Eddie has put together!

Up next, two members of the Elite go head-to-head as John Cena takes on the United States Champion Chris Benoit! It's a really good match, and Benoit is putting more and more effort into his matches. He'll probably do more as he picks up the submission victory with the Crippler Crossface! After the match, Benoit snaps and lays Cena out with a chair! Benoit is a crazy man!

Up next is a match that, up until four nights ago, would have been champion-versus-champion. But now that Chris Jericho has been defeated by Rhyno, he's looking to bounce back against the WWE Champion The Rock! Not surprisingly, they put on a fantastic match that Rock eventually wins clean with the Rock Bottom. Rock goes to shake hands with Jericho, but Jericho lays him out with a big punch then clamps on the Walls of Jericho! What a cheap-shot artist!

And now for our main event, the first in a best-of-three series between Eddie Guerrero and Christian! Once again, these two put on the match of the night. Eddie hits a big DDT, then lands the Frogsplash to pick up the win and go up 1-0! Can he end the feud once and for all Monday night on RAW?

[loopydate]

NOVEMBER 12, 2004 - SMACKDOWN!

It's the last show before Survivor Series, and it promises to be an eventful one, as Eddie Guerrero and Christian will once again main-event, this time in a feud-ending Iron Man match! Plus, Rey Mysterio versus Brock Lesnar in a Last Man Standing match and a huge 10-man battle royal for a spot in the Elite!

And of course it's a dud show. Fuck. The night opens with a cruiserweight fatal fourway pitting Akio against the three members of the New Generation. Surprisingly Whitmer, York, and Acid go at it a fair amount, but in the end, York gets Akio to tap out to the Irish Cloverleaf.

More cruiserweight action is next as Brian Kendrick and Funaki team up to take on two men who will team up at Survivor Series as members of the Coalition, Carlito and Nunzio. It's an exciting match, but the fans blow and it's a dud show. ugh. Nunzio gets Funaki to tap out to the Sicilian Crab.

WWE Chairman Eric Bischoff cuts a brief promo, hyping this Sunday's Survivor Series as well as running down the ten participants in tonight's battle royal, saying that one of them will join the Elite! Not only that, but Sunday night we'll get our first female member/s of the Elite. Any Diva that survives the Diva Survivor Series match will become a member!

In a preview of Sunday night, Reyes de Lucha Libre members Chavo Guerrero, John Morrison, and Nova take on Next Big Things members "Nature Boy" Dave Batista, Intercontinental and World Tag Team Champion Jeff Hardy, and the Cruiserweight Champion Tajiri. The babyfaces actually isolate Batista early until he manages to tag in Jeff Hardy, which allows the heels to triple-team the newcomer Morrison. In the end, Chavo manages to get the massive Batista up for a Brainbuster to pick up what has to be considered a bit of an upset.

And now it's time for our ten-man battle royal, the winner joins the Elite! Paul London is the first elimination, courtesy of Shelton Benjamin. Rico is the next one out, thanks to Damien, who then shocks the world by eliminating his mentor, Undertaker! In another surprise, World Champion Rhyno takes out his frequent tag partner Rob Van Dam! There are no friends when it comes to a spot in the Elite! Randy Orton takes out Damien while he continues to jaw-jack with Undertaker, then he takes out his former rival Shelton Benjamin. And then there were four. Either Matt Hardy Version 2.0, Randy Orton, Rhyno, or The Hurricane will be the newest member of the Elite. It turns into an exciting fatal fourway for a while with all four guys getting in some big spots until Hardy takes out his old rival Hurricane. Hardy then turns his attention to Orton, who gets eliminated quickly. Matt turns around right into a Gore! Rhyno dumps Hardy to the floor, and now the World Champion is Elite!

Bischoff hits the ring once more, this time to announce the last Survivor Series team. He brings out the Jazz Quintet, made up of captain Jazz, Molly Holly, Jacqueline, Shaniqua, and Daffney.

Tag action is next as John Cena and The Rock team up once again to take on John Layfield and Test. Layfield and Test are looking to build momentum going into their SS matches, but Layfield falls victim to the Rock Bottom.

Two of the hottest teams in WWE go at it next as the Dudley Boyz take on Canadian Violence! It's the match of the night up to this point, and the Dudleyz fight valiantly against Eric Bischoff's chosen ones, but eventually Bubba falls victim to the Crossface/Walls combo and CV pick up another big win.

Backstage, Avery Thompson is with his client Chris Kanyon and Kanyon's partner Billy Gunn. They talk about Kanyon's sexual harassment lawsuit against Rico, and Thompson has brought in some backup, the "World's Strongest Man" Mark Henry and his manager Theodore Long. Good! Somebody can talk for Thompson now.

And now for the first half of our double main event, the Last Man Standing match pitting Rey Mysteiro against Brock Lesnar. Rey gets the first count, putting Lesnar down with a series of kicks, but Brock's back up at four. Lesnar strikes back, getting a six count after a massive brainbuster suplex. Once Rey's back up, Brock plants him with a Death Valley Driver for an eight-count. Rey then concentrates his attacks on Lesnar's head, hitting an elbow, a rolling kick, and a back heel kick to set up the West Coast Pop, and Lesnar stays down! Rey Mysterio wins!

And now for our main event, a thirty-minute Iron Man match that will finally end the Eddie Guerrero-Christian feud! Eddie hits a tiger suplex to go up 1-0. Christian evens it at 1-1 after a spinebuster. Eddie hits a Frogsplash at the last moment to pick up the decisive third fall as time expires and Eddie is the winner! After the match, he offers Christian a handshake, and he accepts. These two have put themselves in the upper echelon of World Wrestling Entertainment through their incredible feud, and they both obviously respect each other.

[loopydate]

NOVEMBER 19, 2004 - SMACKDOWN!

Five nights after the Survivor Series and four after the huge World War 3 event on RAW, SmackDown! hits the ground on the road to Starrcade running with the announcement of huge matches for the pay-per-view as well as two blockbuster announcements regarding the future of some of WWE's top titles! Plus, WW3 winner Brock Lesnar chooses which champion he will challenge at Starrcade!

We kick off the show with the Dudley Boyz taking on the new team of Test and Trent Acid, a team calling themselves Blood Test. The new duo put on an impressive show, but the experience of the Dudleyz proves too much as they catch Acid with the 3-D for the win.

Brock Lesnar's music hits, and Cornette and Wilson talk about him not wanting to wait to issue his challenge. He must already know who he wants! Lesnar talks about his history with both Rhyno and The Rock. He talks about the classic matches he's had with The Rock, and he talks about how Rhyno had his chance to be part of the most dominant group in wrestling last year, and he turned it down to try and earn a title shot that never happened. Well, Rhyno, you said Monday night that you wanted me to win so you could finally prove you were better than me. Here I am, title shot in hand, and I'm granting your greatest wish. But at Starrcade, I'm going to once again prove to be your worst nightmare!

I accidentally double-clicked past it, but Matt Hardy Version 2.0 (conspicuously without the World Tag Team Title belt) beat John Cena thanks to interference from Christian.

Chris Jericho is backstage when Eddie Guerrero confronts him. Eddie's not sure why Jericho decided to cost him World War 3, but there will be other opportunities for the title. Eddie knows he's got years ahead of him, and his opportunity will arise again. But there's a brief window open for the one thing he really wants. And that's to kick Jericho's ass at Starrcade! Jericho jaws back and accepts the challenge!

We're still waiting for details on the sexual-harassment allegations that Chris Kanyon is levying against Rico, but tonight they'll get a chance at getting their hands on each other as Kanyon brings his Metro Connection partner Billy Gunn with him to take on Rico and The Hurricane! Solid match up until the Metros' apparent running buddy Mark Henry and their attorney Avery Thompson hit the ring and take out Rico allowing Kanyon to hit I'm Betta Than You for the win. After the match, the Metros continue to pummel Rico and The Hurricane, and clearly whatever is brewing here is far from over!

The first Diva member of the Elite Mickie James is backstage and she cuts a promo on the tournament that's starting on RAW to determine a #1 contender for Trish Stratus' Women's Title. Mickie knows that she's the dominant Diva in WWE, and her Elite status proves that. But if she has to work her way through eight other Divas to earn that shot at Starrcade, so be it.

Up next is a 4.5-star classic for the Cruiserweight Title as Tajiri defends against Paul London! Since the match was so good, I'll let the game's write-up tell the story: Standing leg lariat by Paul London on Tajiri. Paul London misses a clothesline. Tajiri fires off some right and left hands. London reverses an irish whip...and Tajiri runs into the referee. Back heel kick off the second rope, London goes down. Cover, but there's no one to count for Tajiri. London blocks a kick from Tajiri. Legsweep out of Nowhere. Where is Nowhere, and why do moves keep coming out of there? Does it have a factory? Super kick by Paul London. Cover for a two count. Diamond Dust from Paul London, Tajiri is out. Pin, but Tajiri is out just before the three count. Tajiri pulls a mule kick out of nowhere. Flying cross body off the top rope! I'll give a 0.8 on the Steamboat scale for that effort. Pin : 1 - 2 - 2.9999999. London counters an arm wringer with an elbow to the side of the head. The Rock comes running down the aisle with a chair! London whips Tajiri into the ropes. Rock jumps onto the apron with the chair! Collision between Rock, Tajiri, and the chair! Tajiri staggers back into a roll up! 1...2...3! It's over! London and Rock are beating the hell out of Tajiri! Matt Hardy Version 2.0 sprints down the aisle and slides into the ring! He goes toe-to-toe with Paul London, exchanging punches, while Tajiri comes back, sending Rock out of the ring with a clothesline. Matt \ Tajiri have cleared the ring, driving off London and Rock!

The Rock grabs a microphone and says that he attacked Tajiri because Tajiri cost him his "friendly" match with Rhyno on RAW. Well, since Brock Lesnar has decided that he wants Rhyno at Starrcade, that leaves the Great One without a #1 contender for the WWE Title. And rather than waiting for Eric Bischoff to decide on a challenger, the People's Champion has made the decision an easy one for him. He wants Tajiri, and he wants him at Starrcade if ya smellllllllllll what The Rock iiiiiiiis cookin'!

It's another very exciting tag match next as longtime friends Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio team up against Canadian Violence! If it wasn't for Eddie continuing to phone it in, this might have been greater than the London/Tajiri match. In a slight upset, Rey picks up the victory over the U.S. Champion Chris Benoit with the 619! After the match, all four men brawl back up the ramp and out of sight.

"I'm ba-ack!" The crowd erupts in a chorus of boos as WWE Chairman Eric Bischoff comes to the ring, being trailed by a security guard pushing a big cart with a covered box on it. He drops the bombshell that earlier this week, Jeff Hardy checked into a rehab clinic to deal with his personal demons. While WWE wishes Jeff a speedy recovery, he has no choice but to do what is right for the company. He motions to ringside, and the cover is removed from the box revealing the Intercontinental and World Tag Team Titles. Bischoff announces that he's vacating both of Hardy's championships and that next week on SmackDown!, we'll begin the process of determining new champions!

Our main event is a non-title encounter between World Champion Rhyno and Christian! It's a great match capping off one of the best SmackDown!s in recent memory, but unfortunately it's marred by Brock Lesnar interfering and going after the champ resulting in a DQ. John Cena gets revenge for Christian's early interference by making the save, and the babyfaces stand tall as SmackDown! goes off the air.