The official wrestling sim topic

[loopydate]

FEBRUARY 11, 2005 - SMACKDOWN!

Tonight's SmackDown! promises to be one for the ages, as twelve of the biggest stars in World Wrestling Entertainment square off in a series of singles matches just 16 days until Superbrawl! But everyone's rivals are lurking, which is the recipe for a very volatile night. Plus, Brock Lesnar's mission to destroy Rob Van Dam's past continues and a twenty-man battle royal for a shot next week at John Cena's Intercontinental Title!

But first, two very exciting young stars of the cruiserweight division go toe-to-toe in a match that both Air Paris and Derrick King hope will help them climb the ranks for an eventual shot at the gold. They put on a tremendous match to kick off the show with some great nearfalls. Eventually King hits Paris with an inverted suplex for the victory. After the match, they shake hands in a great display of sportsmanship.

The ring fills with SmackDown! superstars now, and as soon as the bell rings, the 20 men go right after each other - each anxious to earn a shot at Intercontinental gold. Test draws first blood, sending Brian Kendrick to the floor. Chavo Guerrero quickly sends Christian York out after him. BJ Whitmer sends Avery Thompson out next, and the up-and-comer John Morrison is taken out by Spike Dudley. The Metro Connection's Chris Kanyon takes out Trent Acid while Dave Batista eliminates Bubba Ray Dudley, followed almost immediately by Nunzio. Batista becomes the first to get two eliminations, but Chavo quickly joins him taking out Whitmer. Kanyon gets his second by eliminating Funaki. John Layfield eliminates Test next and we have our top ten. Chavo takes out Akio next, then Nova eliminates Layfield. Chavo continues his dominance by eliminating Spike, then Nova, then Ron Simmons, then Billy Gunn. We're down to our final four, but Chavo Guerrero looks unstoppable! Rico eliminates Chris Kanyon next, then brings Chavo's run to an end. It comes down to Superbrawl opponents Rico and Batista, and tonight the Nature Boy walks away victorious, earning a title shot next week!

Brock Lesnar is in the ring after the commercial break, and he cuts a promo on Rob Van Dam. It's basically the same promo he's been cutting for weeks about destroying RVD's past so he can destroy his future.

Lesnar's opponent tonight is D-Von Dudley. And the result is essentially the same. Brock spears him as soon as the bell rings, hits a delayed brainbuster, then a spinebuster for two. Thrust kick, but then eats a punch and a piledriver. Lesnar fights right back with a gutwrench powerbomb and the F5 for a squash victory. After the bell sounds, Brock isn't done, and he continues pummeling the hell out of D-Von, leaving him laid out. Once again, Lesnar has sent a message to Rob Van Dam of what awaits him at Superbrawl.

One of the great rivalries of 2004 was the one between The Hurricane and Matt Hardy Version 2.0, and tonight they get another chance to show why as they put on another absolute classic. Unfortunately, Hurricane's rival Randy Orton gets involved, blasting him with a chair allowing Matt to hit the Twist Of Fate for the cheap win. After the match, the two go to work on him until Rey Mysterio hits the ring to make the save, helping his fellow masked man and driving off his rival Hardy in the process.

Back from the break, Randy Orton remains in the ring for his match with Eddie Guerrero. It's not on the level of the Hurricane/Hardy match, but it's definitely exciting - one that proves that Orton definitely belongs among the Elite. Eddie looks about ready to hit the frogsplash, but before he can Tajiri enters the ring and levels him with the Kick Of Death. The referee obviously has no choice but to call for the disqualification, but that doesn't stop the beating. Tajiri and Orton continue working over Eddie until Hurricane comes back out for another shot at Orton with a chair, driving them away.

Mickie James is backstage. The Elite Diva cuts a promo that basically is just a reminder that she's still Elite but that there are no Divas on SmackDown! So... hi.

The Elite action continues next as Rey Mysterio takes on Tajiri. Rey has a huge United States Title defense against RAW's Damien, but his ongoing problems with Cruiserweight Champion Matt Hardy Version 2.0 continue. But, perhaps not surprisingly, it is Tajiri's issues with Eddie Guerrero lead to the conclusion of the match. Tajiri blasts Rey with the Kick Of Death, but Guerrero hits him with a frogsplash, resulting in another DQ finish. Hardy hits the ring to make the save, and we once again end with rivals being run off.

Intercontinental Champion John Cena will be facing Tajiri at Superbrawl (not to mention Dave Batista next week on SmackDown!), but tonight he faces off against King of the Ring Chris Benoit. Benoit leads the somewhat limited Cena to a good match, but that's all for naught as Cena's rival (and Benoit's Nova Scotia Cosa Nostra stablemate) Chris Jericho takes advantage of a distracted official to slap the Walls of Jericho on Cena, allowing Benoit to get the cheap win. After the match, the members of Canadian Violence work over Cena until Cena's former partner WWE Champion The Rock makes hits the ring with a purpose to make the save.

Jericho's got a tall order ahead of him after the break as he faces off against World Champion Rhyno in our next Elite encounter. Of course, we know Jericho and Royal Rumble winner Christian will be facing the WWE and World Champions at Superbrawl, and tonight we get two singles match previews of that huge main event. Great match that sets the table for what promises to be a hell of a PPV match, but again it's marred by interference as Christian lays Rhyno out with a chair allowing Jericho to put the unconscious manbeast in the Walls for a "submission" victory. After the match, John Cena looks for revenge as he drives off Jericho, allowing Rhyno to take out Christian and the babyfaces stand tall.

In our main event tonight, The Rock faces off against Christian in another Superbrawl preview. In a night full of Match of the Year contenders, this one may come a notch short of Rhyno/Jericho, but it's definitely up there. Rhyno gets a measure of revenge from earlier as he nails the Gore allowing Rock to pick up the win. After the match, Chris Benoit sprints down to drive off the champions, and the Nova Scotia Cosa Nostra stands tall as SmackDown! goes off the air!

[loopydate]

FEBRUARY 18, 2005 - SMACKDOWN!

SmackDown! kicks off with Brock Lesnar making his way to the ring. His opponent tonight is Bubba Ray Dudley, the next opponent in his string of attempts to destroy Rob Van Dam's past. As soon as the bell rings, he blasts Bubba with a belly to belly suplex, and he doesn't let up from there. Bubba gets in some offense, but he eventually eats the F-5 just like all the others before him. After the bell, Brock continues pummeling Bubba, leaving him laid out.

He grabs a microphone from ringside and reiterates his mission. He will one day become WWE Champion again, but his first order of business is to destroy Rob Van Dam's future after he's done destroying his past!

Speaking of missions, Mickie James outlined hers on RAW, and tonight is her second defense - this time against her friend Victoria. Decent back-and-forth match, but eventually Mickie picks up the win with the Mick Kick.

Rhyno is backstage. He hypes up tonight's big tag-team main events, but mostly focusing on Royal Rumble winner Christian, begging him to choose him for his title opportunity at WrestleMania 21.

Two weeks ago, Chavo Guerrero shocked the world by betraying his uncle Eddie. Tonight, he gets a chance to back up his statement that he is the best Guerrero, and Eddie has a chance to get some revenge as they go one-on-one! Excellent match that sees Chavo look like a legitimate threat, but eventually Eddie's got him down on the mat, preparing for a frogsplash. But out of the crowd comes Tajiri, who trips Eddie up on the top rope, resulting in a DQ. On the floor, Tajiri sends Eddie into the ringpost for further insult, but Eddie fights back and drives both of them off.

Eddie grabs a microphone and cuts possibly the promo of the year. He talks about how Tajiri has taken this too far now. It was one thing to attack him physically and mentally over the last couple of months, but now that he's brought his family into things, his luck is going to run out. Two weeks ago, Chavo woke him up when he called him a sell-out and a traitor to his own family. The only thing that's going to be selling out now is the arena when Eddie finally gets his hands on Tajiri, because it's not going to be something these fans will ever forget!

Last week, "Nature Boy" Dave Batista won a twenty-man battle royal to earn a shot at John Cena's Intercontinental Title tonight. They put on a very physical match-up, further proof that these two could be the future of the SmackDown! brand, but Cena's rival Chris Jericho once again sticks his nose into Cena's business by blasting him with a chair. Batista picks up the pieces and hits a Batista Bomb to win the title! They tie Cena up in the ropes and work him over with punches until the ring fills with officials who manage to drag them away.

Eric Bischoff appears on the TitanTron. "Okay, that is it! I have had it with the two of you always being at each other's throats! Chris, you've got a tag match at Superbrawl you should be preparing for, but you're too busy jumping Cena at every turn. And John, you were supposed to be defending that title against Tajiri in nine days! But now because the two of you can't leave well enough alone, Mister Batista is going to be the one running with the ball. Good luck, Dave, and make me proud. But as for the two of you? I am hereby issuing a moratorium. Unless it is part of a sanctioned match, you two are forbidden from having any physical contact with each other! And if either of you disobeys my ruling? You'll be fired!"

Up next is a big tag-team match pitting World Champion Rhyno and The Hurricane against Christian and Randy Orton. Very good match between four hungry stars ends with Orton catching Hurricane with a low blow while the ref's back is turned, then rolls him up for a cheap win! After the match, the brawling continues until they're separated.

The Hurricane grabs a microphone from ringside and - once his voice drops back to its regular pitch - calls out Orton. He again calls Orton a villain and says he can't wait until Superbrawl when he can finally vanquish his foe!

Tonight's main event is another huge tag match pitting WWE Champion The Rock and United States Champion Rey Mysterio against Cruiserweight Champion Matt Hardy Version 2.0 and King of the Ring Chris Benoit! Lots of good action between the four of them, but we eventually get a mirror of the earlier finish, Benoit cheapshotting Rock below the belt for a roll up and the cheap win. After the match, all four continue brawling as SmackDown! goes off the air!

[loopydate]

FEBRUARY 25, 2005 - SMACKDOWN!

With just two days to go until Superbrawl, the WWE superstars are looking to make one last impression on their opponents - as well as rivals they won't be facing on Sunday.

We kick things off with tag team action as ECW Originals Nova and Spike Dudley team up to take on Test and fellow ECW alumni Nunzio. Pretty good match that showcases four guys who are pretty well stuck in the midcard. Eventually, Test lays out Spike with a big boot to give the heels the win.

For a time last year, Billy Gunn and Chris Kanyon were the dominant team on SmackDown! Now that Gunn has seen the error of his ways and turned against the Metro Connection, Kanyon has been adrift. Tonight, former partners collide. It doesn't take long before the two are brawling into the corner. The referee tries to break up the fight, but after being shoved aside by both competitors, the referee disqualifies both of them! That doesn't stop them, though, as they brawl up the ramp and out of sight, clearly some bad feelings linger after their breakup!

The Hurricane is backstage, preparing for tonight's big six-man tag match. He talks primarily about his feud with Randy Orton and their big match this Sunday at Superbrawl, though.

Last week on SmackDown!, "Nature Boy" Dave Batista won the Intercontinental Title from John Cena. Sunday night, he faces off against longtime rival Rico Constantino. But tonight, Batista teams with new World Tag Team champions the APA against Rico and the Dudley Boyz! Rico and Batista start the match, but the cohesion of the Dudleyz help the babyfaces isolate the IC champ early. Once Batista tags out, the heels work over Bubba. Eventually, it comes down to Rico and the Nature Boy, and Sunday's challenger picks up a big win with his spinning leg lariat.

Back from commercial, Joey Matthews from M'n'M is already in the ring, and he faces an unenviable task as he's the last stop on Brock Lesnar's ECW run. Even more unfortunately for Matthews, Brock is rebounding from his first loss on this run. The bell sounds and Brock hits a piledriver followed immediately by the F-5 for the squash to end all squashes. After the match, he lays Matthews out with a brutal clothesline and a series of stomps. Clearly, Lesnar is more focused than ever on his match with Rob Van Dam!

Matt Hardy Version 2.0 is backstage, and he cuts a promo on Rey Mysterio. They may not be facing off at Superbrawl, but he knows they will sooner or later and - when they do - Matt is going to make sure that Rey is finished. And that's a Matt Fact!

Three of WWE's most popular Divas square off next in a triple threat match for Mickie James' Women's Title. Mickie continues her run through the division as she hits Lita with a tornado DDT for another successful title defense.

Three weeks ago, Eddie Guerrero was betrayed by his nephew Chavo thanks to some "enlightening" from Tajiri. Tonight, Chavo and Tajiri team up against Eddie and John Cena! Good solid match that sees power moves from Cena and high-flying from the others. Eventually, Tajiri picks up a cheap win by rolling Eddie up with a handful of tights. After the bell, all four men continue brawling until they're pulled apart.

Eddie again grabs a mic and again cuts a killer promo on Tajiri. Not a bad way to build a feud, huh? Let one of the best talkers in the industry talk? Genius!

Our second six-man tag match is up next, and it's a huge one as The Hurricane teams with the World Champion Rhyno and WWE Champion The Rock Randy Orton, Royal Rumble winner Christian, and King of the Ring Chris Benoit! Rock and Benoit stay out of it for the most part, leaving most of the fighting to Orton and Rhyno. Eventually, though, it's Hurricane and Orton alone in the ring with Hurricane picking up a big win against his Elite rival with the Eye Of The Hurricane!

Tonight's main event pits Rey Mysterio against Chris Jericho in a battle of two of the Elite's best technicians. It's a fantastic contest, as one would expect, but it's also one marred by interference. Matt Hardy Version 2.0 hits the ring and blasts Rey with the Twist Of Fate, allowing Jericho to pick up the win. After the match, the heels double-team Rey, leaving him laying as SmackDown! goes off the air.

[loopydate]

MARCH 4, 2005 - SMACKDOWN!

In the wake of a shocking Superbrawl and with just nine days until WrestleMania 21, the card is falling into place. Five matches have been announced, and more are expected to be announced tonight. Next week, there will be a fatal fourway match to determine #1 contenders to the A.P.A.'s WWE Tag Team Titles. Tonight, the top eight contenders will compete in a series of qualifying matches and the A.P.A. will have their own tune-up. Plus, a blockbuster eight-man main event featuring WM21 participants and a huge Elite tag team war.

But first, the A.P.A. take on a pair of exciting young high-fliers in Air Paris and Brian Kendrick in a non-title contest. The babyfaces put up a valiant effort, but eventually they fall to the champions' trademark spike powerbomb. After the match, they continue pummeling the heroes, leaving them laying and sending a message to the entire roster.

Our second non-title contest pits new Intercontinental Champion Dave Batista against Funaki. And you can imagine what the result is. Batista wins clean with the Batista Bomb.

Cruiserweight Champion Matt Hardy Version 2.0 comes out for our next match and he issues a challenge to his longtime rival Rey Mysterio for an Iron Man Match at WrestleMania 21! Iron Man Match for the Cruiserweight Title at WrestleMania? This must be fantasy booking.

Matt brings out his partner for our first tag contenders' match... and it's his returning brother, Jeff! Their opponents tonight are ECW originals Nova and Spike Dudley. It's an exciting contest between four high-flying stars, but eventually Jeff hits the Swanton Bomb on Spike to pick up the win, meaning the Hardy Boyz will be in next week's fatal fourway.

Their first opponent will be determined in our next contest as M'n'M take on the New Generation duo of BJ Whitmer and Christian York. More solid tag action, but Matthews and Morrison pick up the win with their Snapshot finisher to advance to next week's match.

WWE Women's Champion Mickie James and Trish Stratus appear in a pre-taped interview where they hype their tag match on RAW against Jazz and Molly Holly. Hmm, hyping a random Divas tag match on another brand... It's almost like I've got something planned... That was an unfortunate rhyme...

And now for the big disappointment portion of our program. Our third qualifier pits Gunnstantino against Teddy Long's clients Chris Kanyon and Mark Henry. Lots of bad blood between these four that results in a colossally underwhelming match. Rico hits his spinning kick on Kanyon to give his team the win.

Fortunately, we rebound into a much better match between the Dudley Boyz and Acid Test. Really good match that makes Test and Trent Acid look like winners for hanging in there with one of the greatest teams of all time. But one 3-D later and the Dudleyz advance. So we know next week it will be the Dudley Boyz vs. Gunnstantino vs. M'n'M vs. the Hardy Boyz for a shot at the A.P.A. the Friday after WrestleMania!

Eric Bischoff is in his office, and he announces another match for WrestleMania 21, this one a First Blood match between Eddie Guerrero and Tajiri!

Speaking of Eddie and Tajiri, Eddie teams with Rey Mysterio next to take on Tajiri and Brock Lesnar! Obviously, this isn't part of the tag series, but it's still a hell of a match that Tajiri wins by hitting the Kick Of Death on Eddie.

Our main event tonight is an eight-man tag match pitting World Champion Rhyno, John Cena, The Rock, and The Hurricane against the three members of the Nova Scotia Cosa Nostra and Randy Orton! Cena and Jericho control most of the action, but once the clusterfuck tag match winds down, we're left with WWE Champion Chris Benoit against the man he took the belt from, and one Rock Bottom later, and the People's Champion gets a measure of revenge!

[loopydate]

MARCH 11, 2005 - SMACKDOWN!

We are just two nights away from WrestleMania 21 (the 20th anniversary of WM), and tonight most of the night's participants will be in action!

But the night kicks off with two brand new WWE superstars, arrogant former Real World cast member The Miz taking on good ol' boy Harlowe. They start to put on a decent match, but it comes to an abrupt ending when Brock Lesnar enters the ring with a steel chair and lays both of them out.

Lesnar grabs a mic and he tears into Rob Van Dam one last time, reiterating his mission statement: I destroyed your past, now it's time to destroy your future!

Chavo Guerrero has been on a mini roll since betraying his uncle Eddie, and tonight he goes up against Funaki. The two high-flying stars put on a shockingly good match, with Chavo going over with a sick brainbuster.

Backstage, the Nova Scotia Cosa Nostra is talking about their respective matches tonight, briefly going into promo mode before returning to their conversation.

High-flying midcarders Air Paris and Brian Kendrick take on Acid Test in our next match. Paris and Kendrick look good until Acid Test manage to isolate Paris and hit him with Dazed And Confused for the win.

Last week, four teams won qualifying matches to earn spots in tonight's match. The winner of this four-team elimination match will face the APA next week for the World Tag Team Titles! Lots of quick tags early, and after several minutes of action, M'n'M is eliminated after D-Von Dudley pins John Morrison. The fans get a thrill watching the Dudley Boyz and the Hardy Boyz renew one of the greatest tag rivalries of all time, and the Hardyz take this one after Jeff pins D-Von. The ensuing battle between the Hardyz and Gunnstantino leads to more exciting tag action that Billy and Rico surprisingly win clean after Gunn puts Jeff away with the Fameasser.

The Rock hits the ring before his big eight-man tag match tonight. He talks about his ongoing struggles with WWE Champion Chris Benoit and how - one way or the other - they're all going to end Sunday night on the biggest stage of them all!

He's joined by The Hurricane, Nova, and Spike Dudley for a match against the all-champions team of Benoit, Intercontinental Champion Dave Batista, and the World Tag Team Champions the APA. Nova and Layfield control most of the match, but Hurricane winds up picking up the surprise win for his team when he pins Batista with the Shining Wizard.

Six members of the Elite are up next in a big tag-team match as Eddie Guerrero, John Cena, and Rey Mysterio team up to take on Christian, Randy Orton, and Tajiri! We get a brief tease for the Eddie/Tajiri Mania match, but primarily it's Cena and Tajiri leading the charge. Eventually, Cena pins Orton with the F-U to pick up the win for his team.

Mickie James is backstage, and she talks up her Women's Title defense against her former best friend Trish Stratus. Mickie just gets better and better each week. It's a little freaky.

Speaking of freaky: How good are Rhyno and Chris Jericho? Tonight's main event is the latest in a string of barn-burners and Rhyno sends the fans home happy one Gore! GORE! GOOOOOORE later.

[loopydate]

MARCH 18, 2005 - SMACKDOWN!

The first show with the new SmackDown! roster kicks off with two guys looking to catch the eye of the WWE brass as Harlowe takes on Richard J. Criado. Unfortunately, the guy whose eye they caught was Randy Orton, who slides into the ring, hitting both men with an RKO and leaving them laying.

The Cruiserweight Division is still going strong on Friday nights, and we have a ten-man tag match to prove it. Nova brings Air Paris, Derrick King, Spike Dudley, and the returning Grandmaster Sexay to take on The Miz, Matt Stryker, Pepper Parks, Avery Thompson, and the debut of... CHRIS FUCKING SABIN! (copyright TPWW 2005). Exciting match, but Sabin is the real star here, picking up the win by hitting King with the Future Shock.

Just Joe returns to a "Who?" response, but that's okay because his match with the debuting Shark Boy wins them over by the end. One Deep Sea Drop later, and the skinny guy with a shark mask is 1-0!

Nunzio and Chris Kanyon team with a debuting Michael Shane to take on the SAT (Joel and Jose Maximo) and the returning X-Pac, whose pop nearly blows the roof off the arena. Another exciting match showcasing the cruiserweights that former champion Pac wins with the X-Factor on Shane.

Shelton Benjamin and Chavo Guerrero are out next, and they put on a solid match to show that there are some WWE mainstays that are hungry for an opportunity on the new-look Friday Night SmackDown! Shelton wins an excellent technical encounter with the Dragon Whip. He offers his hand to Chavo, but is shunned and Chavo walks to the back to a chorus of boos.

United States Champion Damien teams with a debuting Steve Corino in our next contest as they take on Corino's fellow debuting ECW alumni Perry Saturn and Sandman in a tag match! Decent match that doesn't live up to the previous few. In the end, miscommunication between the heels allows Saturn to hit Corino with a Death Valley Driver. After the match, Damien chokeslams Corino and walks off angrily.

Fortunately, after the disappointing match that preceded it, the Rey Mysterio/Randy Orton match is a masterpiece. The crowd is 100% into it as both men hit all of their signature high spots. Rey gets the clean win with the West Coast Pop, but Orton hits an RKO after the bell to get some of his heat back. This definitely looks like it could be the start of a huge program here on SmackDown!

Due to Rene Dupree being future endeavored, the WWE Tag Team Titles are vacant and up-for-grabs in this four-team elimination match! It's the Dudley Boyz vs. M'n'M vs. the Hardy Boyz vs. the debuting team of Elix Skipper and Kid Romeo! The rookies are the first to go as "Primetime" Skipper eats a Twist of Fate from Cruiserweight Champion Matt Hardy Version 2.0. The Dudleyz put M'n'M away with the 3-D, only for Bubba to get taken out by a surprise Swanton from Jeff Hardy allowing the boys from Cameron to steal the match and the belts!

Tajiri is backstage, being pumped up by Don Callis. The former Jackal is hyping up the Buzzsaw for his next match.

And his hype must have worked, because the match between Tajiri and Rhyno is our second Match of the Year candidate! Absolutely brutal contest between the former Network partners ends with Callis distracting his former charge, allowing Tajiri to blast the Kick Of Death for the win. After the match, Callis eats a Gore and Tajiri cuts and runs. This is definitely not the last we've seen of these two!

And in our main event, SmackDown!'s new top title is introduced when NWA World Champion Jeff Jarrett makes his return in a match against Eddie Guerrero. It's a good match, but Jarrett takes advantage of a ref bump to blast Eddie with his trademark guitar and pick up the cheap win. Once Eddie regains consciousness, he goes right after Jarrett, and the show fades to black with the two still brawling!

[loopydate]

MARCH 21, 2005 - MONDAY NIGHT RAW

Raw kicks off with WWE Chairman Eric Bischoff makes his way to the ring, and he's smiling. Which can't POSSIBLY be a good thing. The announcers speculate on the identity of the third man on the RAW Authority Committee, hype a seven-man gauntlet for a Television Title shot at Backlash and the huge champion-vs-champion main event as he enters the ring. "Well, I'm sure you heard the news from this weekend. Nineteen Superstars getting their walking papers. What you probably missed was the thirty-seven developmental deals that were cut as well. Well, here's the deal. And this is not a knock on any of these fifty-six men and women, but I have a business to run. There were almost 200 people under my watch and - great as I am - there's just no way to get all of them into six hours of television a week. Which leads me to the point of this whole thing: competition. This whole business is about who wants it more. And we're going to find out. Starting Wednesday night on Superstars, we're going to have a series of battle royals. Ten men in each match. The winner will receive a title shot later in the night. And you want to survive as long as you can. Because I'm going to randomly pick a number while the match is going on. And whatever number I draw, I'm going to fire that many of the participants, in the order they were eliminated. I'm calling it Feast Or Famine. One man may win a title. Nine may lose their jobs. Let's get to competing!"

Our opening match tonight pits Mickie James and newcomer Trinity against Jazz and Molly Holly. These four have to be considered among the top contenders for the Women's Title, which is up in the air due to Trish Stratus' injury. Solid match between the four Divas that Mickie is set to win with her tornado DDT on Molly. As she swings up into the air, Trinity snatches her out of midair and slams her down. Mickie is in shock and walks right into the Molly Go Round, giving the heels the win. After the match, Victoria and Gail Kim hit the ring to make the save, driving off the three heels. (80% overall for a divas' tag match?)

The TV Title #1 Contender gauntlet kicks off as Erik Watts takes on the Disco Inferno. Pretty bland match that Disco wins with the Chartbuster.

Disco recovers from the abuse he sustained at the larger man's hands. "Oh, you didn't know?!?" The crowd erupts as the D-O-Double-G makes his way to the ring. Slightly better match than its predecessor that Road Dogg wins with the Dogg Pound.

As Dogg celebrates, he gets blindsided by Buff Bagwell. After a brief beatdown, Buff hits the Blockbuster for the win.

The hour one main event is another gauntlet match as Bagwell takes on Rob Van Dam. Best match of the gauntlet so far, which isn't really saying much, but a solid match. RVD hits a Five-Star Frogsplash for the win to move on.

It's a battle of the frogsplashes next as RVD battles D'Lo Brown, and they pick right up where they left off last week in a fantastic match. D'Lo grabs a handful of tights on a roll-up for the cheap win, knocking RVD out of contention. RVD walks off in anger as D'Lo celebrates being one win away from a TV Title shot.

Taiyo Kea is D'Lo's last opponent in the series, and D'Lo definitely takes him lightly. However during a moment of distraction, RVD returns to the ring and takes D'Lo out with a big kick allowing Kea to hit the Hawaiian Smasher for the upset victory! Afterwards, RVD hits the Five-Star Frogsplash and plays to the crowd. He winds up hitting another and another, which pops the crowd huge before walking off, leaving D'Lo laying.

Stephanie McMahon is backstage, and she congratulates Kea on his win and makes the Backlash match official - Brock Lesnar defending the Television Title against Taiyo Kea!

And now for our huge main event as the WWE Champion The Rock takes on Television Champion Brock Lesnar. Neither title is on the line, but a ton of bragging rights are. These two continue to show that they have remarkable chemistry as they put on another great show. The end comes as Rock prepares to hit the Rock Bottom, only to get blindsided by a flying leg lariat from Sabu! The homicidal, genocidal, suicidal, death-defying maniac goes to work on Rock, picking up on what he did last week.

"Pomp And Circumstance" hits the speakers, and the crowd erupts. The announcers lose their shit as "Macho Man" Randy Savage comes to the ring. He gets in Sabu's face and tells him that what he just did to Rock may have flown in those other places, but that's not the way we do things here. If Sabu wants his shot at The Rock, he'll get it. But he has to wait until Backlash! Rock and Sabu stare each other down as RAW fades to black.

[loopydate]

MARCH 25, 2005 - SMACKDOWN!

Two championship matches, plus the second Feast Or Famine battle royal and a huge tag-team main event headline tonight's edition of SmackDown! But first, it's tag team action as the Dudley Boyz take on the team of Just Joe and Michael Shane. Joe and Shane work pretty well together as a team, but the experience advantage of Bubba and D-Von proves to be too much and Shane falls to the 3-D.

Back from commercial, ten superstars have filled the ring. Two nights ago, four Superstars superstars were given their pink slips. Eric Bischoff will be sending a representative to fire up to nine tonight, depending on the random number he draws. One man will face Damien for the United States Title tonight, everyone else is at risk! The match goes on for a while before the first elimination, but Avery Thompson is the first to go, courtesy of "Primetime" Elix Skipper. Thompson knows that unless Bischoff draws a zero, his WWE career has just come to an end. Shortly thereafter, Grandmaster Sexay dropkicks Spike Dudley over the top and to the floor. John Morrison sends Kid Romeo out next, followed by Air Paris taking out Chris FUCKING Sabin. Morrison gets his second elimination, sending Primetime out after Sabin, then quickly adds Joel Maximo to his hit list. But he takes a moment to celebrate, which allows Sexay to eliminate him as well. Then there were three, and one of them will face Damien for the United States Title tonight! Paris is the eighth man out, courtesy of Nova, leaving Nova and Grandmaster Sexay as the final two! The two friends put on a decent cruiserweight exhibition, but in the end it's Nova hitting the Spin Doctor allowing him to dump Sexay to the floor and earn the title shot.

"Psycho" hits the speakers, and the crowd isn't quite sure what to make of it until Sid (?!?) appears on the ramp dressed in an impossibly big suit. He announces that he's Eric Bischoff's disciplinary representative on SmackDown! He requests that the ten participants in the battle royal re-enter the ring. He says that, unlike Vince Russo on Wednesday night, he's not going to just read names. Because he is the master (and ruler) on Friday nights, he's going to do things his own way. He enters the ring and stares down the the ten of them. He then quickly turns and blasts Avery Thompson with a big boot to the face. He grips Spike Dudley around the throat and chokeslams him! He then grabs Kid Romeo and plants him with a powerbomb! He wheels on Chris Sabin who strikes a fighting pose. Sid starts laughing, then walks off. "If you're still standing, Mister Bischoff will see you in the ring next week."

Six-man cruiserweight action is next as X-Pac teams with Shark Boy and Jose Maximo to take on Chavo Guerrero, Nunzio, and one half of the WWE Tag Team Champions Jeff Hardy. Decent match, but disappointing considering some of the talents involved. The heels get the win after Hardy hits the Swanton Bomb on Shark Boy.

Earlier tonight, Nova outlasted nine SmackDown superstars to earn this shot against the monstrous United States Champion Damien! Nova bumps like a madman for Damien, but he eventually catches the champion with a surprise high-flying move and takes advantage. Damien gets himself into a corner, and the referee pulls Nova off. As he turns to check on Damien, a mysterious masked man in green blasts Nova with a steel chair from behind! He slides out of the ring, allowing Damien to hit a Chokeslam for the win. After the match, Damien and his skull-masked associate put the boots to Nova. Damien gets Nova up on his shoulders for an electric chair while the man in green heads up to the top rope. He leaps off, then grabs the back of Nova's neck as Damien releases, turning the move into a modified Flatliner off his shoulders!

Damien grabs a microphone after the beating. He introduces his new associate as former WCW star Mortis. Together, they are going to take over Friday nights. Because starting tonight, there is no stopping Darkness Rising!

Three ECW alumni are out next for a three-way hardcore match as Perry Saturn, Sandman, and Steve Corino go toe-to-toe(-to-toe?). Terrible match that Corino puts to a merciful end by hitting the Old School Explosion on Sandman.

Last week, Eddie Guerrero failed to win the NWA Title after getting blasted in the head by Jeff Jarrett's guitar. Tonight, he has another chance to walk away with gold as he faces Cruiserweight Champion Matt Hardy Version 2.0! At one point, Eddie hits the Three Amigos, then heads to the top rope. However, he is distracted by Jarrett, who walks out onto the ramp. The momentary distraction allows Matt to slam Eddie from the top and hit the Twist of Fate for the win. After the match, Jarrett again takes Eddie out with a guitar shot.

The NWA Champion remains in the ring after the break, and he's got a match against Shelton Benjamin. Solid match that Jarrett wins with the Stroke. Afterwards, Eddie gets a measure of revenge, jumping Jarrett and hitting a Frogsplash! The camera catches a glimpse of Shelton Benjamin's bloody nose afterwards. Preliminary reports are that it's broken, but he shouldn't miss any time.

Randy Orton is in the ring after the break, talking about his loss to Rey Mysterio last week. He says that actions always have consequences. And for what Rey did last week, there will most certainly be a Backlash.

Tajiri comes to the ring next, as he's Orton's partner in tonight's main event against Mysterio and the manbeast Rhyno!

Rey. Rey counters a sleeper hold by turning it into a jaw breaker. Rey hits a dropkick on Randy Orton. Tag between Rey Mysterio and Rhyno. Rhyno bodyslams Randy Orton. Tag to Tajiri. Flying shoulder tackle by Rhyno sends Tajiri to the mat. Tajiri is in trouble. Gore! GORE! GOOOOOOOORE!!! That shook the ring. 1....2....3!! The fight has started up again! Rey \ Rhyno attacks Orton \ Tajiri, and they brawl all around ringside, then into the crowd! They eventually disappear backstage, still fighting. A **** rating for a good contest. Very good tag match that ends with Rhyno hitting the Gore and the babyfaces stand tall as we fade to black.