WWF Smackdown 4/25/02
1. Billy Kidman, Al Snow & Maven vs Yoshihiro Tajiri (w/Torrie
Wilson), Billy & Chuck (w/Rico)
Kidman kicked Chuck and grabbed a headlock. Chuck shoved Kidman
into the corner but missed an elbow. Kidman gave Chuck an armdrag and a
dropkick. Chuck caught Kidman and gave him a very solid belly to belly
suplex for a near fall. Kidman gave Chuck a headscissors takedown. Maven
scored with a punch, clothesline and spin kick on Chuck. Maven hiptossed
Billy but Billy caught him with a clothesline. The heels attacked Maven in
their corner and Chuck punched him. Maven gave Billy some punches but
Billy kicked him and gave him a fameasser for a near fall when Snow
intervened. Rico tried to look up Torrie’s kimono and she slapped him,
causing Tajiri’s attention to be diverted. Kidman gave Billy a huracanrana
and a dropkick. Kidman then gave Billy somewhat of a tornado DDT but Chuck
came in and superkicked him. Snow attacked Chuck and backdropped him. Snow
gave Chuck several punches as Tajiri knocked Kidman off the apron with a
roundhouse kick. Maven dropkicked Tajiri out of the ring. Snow and Maven
whipped Billy and Chuck into each other, then pulled their tights down
revealing really nasty thongs. Billy and Chuck then ran to the back in
embarrassment. Snow and Maven confronted Rico in the aisle, and Torrie
then pulled Rico’s pants down revealing a matching thong. Rico then ran up
the ramp as Snow and Maven spanked him. Back in the ring Tajiri spin
kicked Kidman. Tajiri attempted a powerbomb but Kidman countered with an
X-factor in one of his neater moves. Kidman then gave Tajiri his shooting
star press and pinned him at 4:17. Snow and Maven then put on Billy &
Chuck’s tights and mocked them. Funny stuff, and a really good opener.
Tajiri and Kidman were sharp as usual, but not in that often. Chuck and
Maven really stood out to me this time, and their work is really growing
on me. Maven’s offense is still simple, but he’s slowly picking up new
moves and seems to improve a bit every time I see him. Chuck has a very
sharp superkick, and an overhead belly to belly suplex that I think is
worthy of Kurt Angle. **
2. Hardcore Holly vs Randy Orton
This was Orton’s WWF TV debut and supposed “tryout” match. Holly
grabbed a waistlock but Orton countered with a waistlock takedown of his
own. Holly countered with a hammerlock and then a headlock. Holly tackled
Orton but Orton gave him an armdrag. Orton countered a hiptoss attempt
with a bulldog for a near fall. Holly immediately fought back with a
clothesline and attacked Orton with a series of punches. Holly draped
Orton on the ropes and kicked him low. Holly pounded Orton with some hard
forearm shots in the ropes. Orton fought back with a stun gun and a punch.
Orton scored with a dropkick for a near fall. Orton landed more punches
and Holly ran into an elbow on the corner. Holly caught Orton on the top
rope and went for a superplex but Orton pushed him to the mat. Orton hit a
flying bodypress but Holly rolled through and gained a near fall. Orton
gave Holly a drop toehold and rolled him up for the pin at 2:45. Decent
pop for the finish. Orton is definitely a bit green, but also very
talented. He tended to crouch down a bit too often before his moves, but
otherwise his execution was pretty sharp. Orton does deserve a spot in the
WWF and proved that here. *1/2
3. Mark Henry vs Christian
Christian attacked Henry early but Henry easily overpowered him as
he pulled him over the top rope to the floor. Henry stomped on Christian’s
hand on the apron and rammed his head into the apron. Henry press slammed
Christian onto the top rope (don’t think it was a screw-up, but who knows)
and knocked him to the mat with a forearm. Henry tackled Christian, missed
a clothesline but then steamrolled through him ala Vader. Henry gave
Christian a flying headbutt (not off the ropes) for a near fall and then
applied the dreaded iron claw. Christian kicked Henry low and scored with
a dropkick. Christian went for the unprettier but Henry easily blocked it.
Henry then gave Christian a bearhug and made him submit at 1:55. A bearhug
to end a match!?? Well, at least the ending symbolized the match and
Henry’s performance: it oozed of sucktitude (to borrow a line from the old
Edge & Christian days). NR
4. Kurt Angle & Albert vs Edge & Rikishi
Angle attacked Edge early but Edge fought back. Edge gave Angle a
clothesline and a spin kick. Angle gave Edge an overhead belly to belly
suplex. Albert rammed Edge into the corner and pummeled him there. Albert
gave Edge a double arm suplex for a near fall. Albert attempted a press
slam but Edge countered and pushed him into Angle, knocking Angle off the
apron in the process. Albert missed a clothesline and Edge speared him for
a near fall. Angle knocked Rikishi off the apron. Edge countered an Angle
slam attempt and gave Angle some sort of face front slam. Rikishi tagged
in and punched both opponents. He powerslammed Albert and whipped Angle
into Albert in the corner. Rikishi gave both opponents a corner splash.
Rikishi clotheslined Angle and gave Albert a fallaway slam. Rikishi gave
Albert the old earthquake splash for a near fall when Angle clotheslined
him. Edge clotheslined Angle and then gave Albert a cactus clothesline
over the top rope. Rikishi threw Angle out of the ring. Rikishi gave
Albert a corner splash and Albert slouched down. Rikishi teased a
stinkface but Angle came in and gave him an Angle slam (and a fairly weak
one at that as Rikishi didn’t go up well). Edge speared Angle and stomped
him out of the ring. Edge attacked Albert but Albert hiptossed him over
the top rope to the floor. Albert missed a corner splash and Rikishi
superkicked him. Rikishi knocked Angle off the apron but Albert gave him a
bicycle kick. Albert then gave Rikishi a baldo bomb and pinned him at
4:04. Not a great match since Albert and Rikishi were in there a bit much,
but generally solid. Albert seems to be turning into a solid worker, at
least in short matches, but his generic outfit has got to go. Oh well,
this was a fine match. *3/4
5. Winner gets a WWF title shot next week: Chris Jericho vs HHH
Jericho gave HHH a couple chops but HHH tackled him. HHH landed a
few punches but telegraphed a backdrop and Jericho kicked him. Jericho
charged but HHH threw him out of the ring. HHH clotheslined Jericho,
landed more punches, and rammed Jericho hard shoulder first into the
ringpost. HHH attacked Jericho’s arm as Vince McMahon and Stacy Keibler
were shown watching the match backstage. HHH rammed Jericho’s shoulder
into the ringpost again. HHH applied a wristlock but Jericho fought back
with some punches. Jericho telegraphed a backdrop and HHH gave him a
single arm DDT. HHH rammed Jericho’s arm into the ringpost but Jericho
fought back by raking his eyes. Jericho rammed HHH into the ring steps and
rolled him back into the ring. HHH fought back with punches but missed a
clothesline and Jericho scored with a flying forearm and several punches
of his own. Jericho whipped HHH into the corner and gave him a clothesline
in the corner. HHH landed some punches but Jericho applied a sleeper. HHH
countered with a sleeper of his own but Jericho quickly escaped. Jericho
landed an elbow but fell down, then HHH staggered against the ropes and
also fell, but with a headbutt to Jericho’s crotch. Undertaker suddenly
confronted Vince about not getting a title shot as they went to a
commercial. HHH landed some punches but Jericho gave him an inverted
flatliner for a near fall. Jericho repeatedly stomped HHH and elbowed him
on the apron. HHH won a slugfest but Jericho spin kicked him for a near
fall. Jericho dropkicked HHH but missed a corner splash and again crashed
shoulder first into the ringpost. Jericho missed a clothesline and HHH
gave him a neckbreaker. HHH gave Jericho a spinebuster for a near fall. He
rammed Jericho into the turnbuckle and pummeled him in the corner. HHH
missed a jumping knee and Jericho gave him a sleeper/slam combo for a near
fall. Jericho went to the top rope but HHH fell against the ropes and
crotched him. Jericho countered a superplex attempt and knocked HHH to the
mat. Jericho hit a top rope dropkick for a near fall but HHH fought back
with a jumping knee for a near fall of his own. HHH rammed Jericho into
the corner. Jericho whipped HHH into the opposite corner and went for a
bulldog but HHH caught him with a clothesline for a near fall. Jericho
went for a dropkick but HHH caught his legs. HHH catapulted Jericho into
the corner but Jericho jumped to the second rope. Jericho jumped off the
second rope but HHH kicked him. Jericho countered a pedigree with a
backslide for a near fall. Jericho bulldogged HHH but missed a lionsault.
HHH attempted a pedigree but Jericho took him down by the legs and applied
the walls of Jericho. HHH reached the ropes and a frustrated Jericho
brought a couple chairs into the ring. HHH caught Jericho and DDTd him for
a near fall. HHH won a slugfest and gave Jericho a knee to the chest. HHH
kicked Jericho and went for a pedigree but his attention was diverted as
he knocked Undertaker off the apron. Jericho then rolled up HHH, grabbed
his tights and pinned him. The match went about 16:30, of which 13:30
aired sans the commercial. HHH traded blows with Undertaker but Undertaker
and Jericho ganged up on him. Hulk Hogan made the save after a lengthy
post-match attack and fought with Undertaker into the crowd. Given the
length, this was not as great a match as Jericho and HHH were capable of.
The work wasn’t hot that often and they relied so much on punches at
times. That said, this was a solid match that never dragged. HHH is
clearly not as mobile and not as sharp a worker as he was before his
injury, and it showed here. Jericho looked really good, but wasn’t his
best either. If this took place on PPV, it would be labeled a mild
disappointment. But since it was a TV main event, this match was just fine
and perhaps the best TV match rating-wise since the brand extension. ***
Best Match: Jericho vs HHH: Definitely a good match, and a *** match as
one would expect, but the length helped in what was otherwise a fairly
low-end match for these two from a pure work standpoint.
Worst Match: Christian vs Henry: Henry is like the Giant Singh of the
WWF, and it’s a shame they haven’t given up on him yet.
Overall: As an overall show, this wasn’t all that memorable. However,
from an in-ring standpoint this was really solid, with balanced work for
the most part. The opener was a good crowd-popping match while the main
event was a good and very long and grueling match by TV standards. Take
Mark Henry out of the mix, and you would’ve had a great in-ring show.
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