WWF Smackdown 4/11/02

1. Yoshihiro Tajiri (w/Torrie Wilson) vs Hurricane

Hurricane launched himself off the ropes, Tajiri tried to slam him to the mat but Hurricane maneuvered himself around and armdragged Tajiri. Hurricane then hit a somersault plancha on Tajiri. Hurricane hit a top rope sunset flip for a near fall. Tajiri countered a suplex and hit a savate kick. Tajiri slammed Hurricane and landed a kneedrop. Tajiri attempted a handspring elbow off the ropes but Hurricane caught him. Tajiri countered a back suplex attempt and knocked Hurricane out of the ring with a great roundhouse kick to the back of his head. Tajiri missed a tope but landed on his feet. Hurricane missed a clothesline and Tajiri gave him a huracanrana on the floor. Hurricane caught Tajiri on the top rope and gave him a top rope huracanrana. Hurricane caught Tajiri and gave him somewhat of a T-bone suplex. Hurricane charged the corner, Tajiri moved over him and attempted a tarantula but Hurricane escaped. Hurricane then gave Tajiri the “eye of the hurricane” for a near fall. Hurricane attempted a superkick but Tajiri caught his leg. Tajiri landed a spinning savate kick and then his roundhouse kick of death (so to speak) on Hurricane’s head for the pin at 3:25. This was as great as these two could have been in three minutes. Both men worked actually harder than usual, and hurricane in particular turned in one of his better WWF efforts. Better than any match on the 4/8 RAW, especially in terms of actual content. **1/2

2. Albert vs Scotty 2 Hotty

Albert attacked Scotty before the bell and pummeled him in the corner. Albert landed several kneelifts and elbowed Scotty. Scotty tried to fight back but Albert easily stood his ground. Albert gave Scotty a catapult with his neck hitting the middle rope. Albert gained a near fall and thwarted another comeback attempt by Scotty. Albert charged the corner but ran into a knee. Scotty hit a top rope dropkick but Albert quickly fired back with a clothesline. Albert missed a corner splash. Scotty dropkicked his knee and bulldogged him. He went for the worm but Albert met him with a brutal bicycle kick to the head. Albert then pinned Scotty at 2:37 after a baldo bomb. He continued to attack Scotty after the match until Rikishi made the save. Well, they did about as well as they could. A pretty entertaining match but nothing special. *

3. Chris Jericho vs Edge

Jericho landed some chops early but Edge scored with a spin kick. Edge gave Jericho a flapjack slam and a barrage of punches. Jericho landed some punches of his own and a chop. Edge telegraphed a backdrop and Jericho kicked him. Jericho charged Edge but Edge moved out of the way and threw him over the top rope to the floor. Edge knocked Jericho onto the announcers’ table with a baseball slide kick and rammed his head into the table. Edge hit a flying bodypress for a near fall. Jericho fought back and gave Edge a lariat. He dropkicked Edge in the head before he could get to his feet. Jericho choked Edge in the ropes and pounced on him. Jericho gave Edge a vertical suplex and kicked him in an insulting manner. Edge fought back and won a slugfest. Jericho went for a kneelift but Edge rolled him up for a near fall. Jericho landed an enzu-lariat for a near fall but Edge fought back again with punches and chops. Jericho missed a corner splash and crashed shoulder first into the ringpost. Edge landed some punches, a flying forearm and a clothesline. Jericho whipped Edge into the corner but ran into a boot. Edge attempted a second rope sunset flip but Jericho escaped. Jericho tried to apply the walls of Jericho but Edge rolled him up for a heated near fall. Edge gave Jericho what looked like a half nelson face-first slam. Kurt Angle ran in but Edge speared him. Jericho bulldogged Edge and attempted a lionsault but crashed onto Edge’s knees. Edge gave Jericho a reverse X-factor for a near fall. Jericho attempted a dropkick, Edge caught him and catapulted him towards the corner, but in doing so Jericho collided with the ref. Edge applied his new submission, which looks like a kneeling reverse sharpshooter, the “Edge-ucator”. Jericho tapped but the ref was out of it. Jericho clotheslined Edge. He grabbed a chair and went to hit Edge with it but Edge speared Jericho before he had a chance. Edge then gained a slow near fall. Angle interfered and brought Edge’s neck down on the top rope. Jericho then rolled up Edge, pulled his tights, and pinned him at 7:04. A good match with a cheap ending, but at least it set up a match I’d like to see. The work was good with both men giving pretty typical performances. The length helped as well. **1/2

4. Chuck (w/Billy & Rico) vs Al Snow (w/Maven)

Chuck attacked Snow before the bell. Snow fought back with a cross bodyblock and landed some punches of his own. Snow whipped Chuck hard into the corner and have him a forearm to the back. Rico distracted Snow long enough for Chuck to give Snow a clothesline. Chuck actually gave Snow a pair of sharp overhead belly to belly suplexes for a near fall. He attempted a third but Snow clutched his arms and gave him some headbutts. Snow clotheslined Chuck twice and backdropped him. Snow went for his Snow plow but Billy grabbed his leg and tripped him. Chuck landed on top of Snow for a near fall. Snow gave Chuck a modified spinebuster for a near fall as Rico tried to interfere. Maven chased Rico through the crowd. Billy interfered and clotheslined Snow. Chuck then gained a near fall. Chuck superkicked Snow for a near fall. He attempted a snake eyes but Snow escaped his grip. Snow then gave Chuck a Snow plow and pinned him at 3:33 as Maven prevented Billy from interfering. Another entertaining match. I don’t know if I’d call it good, but it kept moving, was never boring, and the work was solid. In particular, Chuck showed flashes of really good work. *1/2

5. HHH vs Kurt Angle

HHH overpowered Angle in an early exchange and knocked him for a loop with a tackle. In a criss cross exchange, Angle went for a leapfrog but HHH put on the brakes and punched him. They had another criss cross, HHH went for a leapfrog and Angle held his ground, but HHH still punched him. Angle missed a clothesline and HHH kicked him. HHH attempted a pedigree but Angle countered with a backdrop. However, HHH held onto him and sunset flipped Angle by pulling his tights down, revealing a thong in the process, and gained a near fall. HHH landed more punches and clotheslined Angle, whose butt was still showing, over the top rope to the floor. HHH rammed Angle into the announcers’ table and literally spanked him. Angle fought back by whipping HHH into the ring steps. Back in the ring Angle gave HHH three consecutive German suplexes for a near fall. HHH tried to fight back with punches but Angle raked his eyes. Angle telegraphed a backdrop and HHH kicked him. However, Angle caught HHH and gave him an overhead belly to belly suplex for a near fall. Angle landed a couple chops and applied a sleeper. HHH tried to escape with a back suplex but Angle countered, although HHH then DDTd him. Angle landed some punches but HHH scored with a stiffer than usual jumping knee to his chest. HHH gave Angle a neckbreaker. Angle whipped HHH into the corner but HHH came out and clotheslined him. HHH choked Angle and whipped him into the corner but ran into an elbow. HHH caught Angle and gave him a spinebuster for a near fall when Jericho pulled the ref out of the ring. Jericho entered the ring but just as quickly HHH threw him over the top rope back to the floor. HHH went for a pedigree but Jericho interfered and gave HHH a bulldog and a lionsault. Angle then gained a near fall. Jericho then hit the ref and attacked HHH along with Angle. Hulk Hogan ran in and fought off both Jericho and Angle for a pop. As Hogan dominated Jericho at ringside, HHH gave Angle a pedigree and pinned him at 9:15 to win the match. Afterwards HHH confronted Hogan about interjecting himself in the match, and Hogan then confronted HHH. They came to blows, with Hogan getting the better of HHH and giving him a legdrop. Jericho and Angle then attacked Hogan and HHH and mocked them as the show ended. A good match as you would expect, but almost routine for HHH and Angle. If you’re into content most of all, chances are you might prefer the opener. If you’re all about length with quality of content as a secondary consideration, the main event might be your pick for best match. **1/2

Best Match: Tajiri vs Hurricane. Definitely the best athletic content of any of the matches, and as good as you could expect from these two. I could see some picking HHH-Angle or maybe Jericho-Edge, but this match stood out the most.

Worst Match: Albert vs Scotty 2 Hotty. Not bad, but there’s only so much you could ask for from these two in a two minute match.

Overall, not a bad match in the bunch, and three of the five matches were good. I’ll gladly take that percentage, and overall a very enjoyable show. As a big fan of match quality, it’s obvious this will be my preferred show over RAW. The only drawback of this show is that maybe, Angle-HHH didn’t live up to its potential, even for a 9-minute setting.

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