WWF Smackdown 5/2/02
1. WWF Tag Team Title: Billy & Chuck (c) w/Rico vs Hurricane & Rikishi
Billy gave Rikishi a kneelift and some punches but Rikishi pushed
him down. Billy landed more punches and headbutted Rikishi, hurting
himself in the process. Billy attempted a sunset flip, Rikishi teased a
butt splash and Billy scampered out of the way. Rikishi powerslammed Chuck
and gave him a legdrop. Hurricane gave Chuck a top rope sunset flip for a
near fall. Hurricane landed some punches and gave Chuck a tilt-a-whirl
headscissors. Rikishi turned his backside towards the ring as Chuck looked
in his direction, and looked frightened by what he saw. Hurricane
attempted a chokeslam but Billy intervened. Hurricane kicked Chuck and
gave Billy some punches. Billy hoisted Hurricane over himself and Chuck
grabbed Hurricane and gave him a super overhead belly to belly suplex for
a near fall. Chuck gave Hurricane a couple short clotheslines and a discus
punch. Billy kicked Hurricane and choked him in the ropes. Billy
telegraphed a backdrop and Hurricane gave him a tornado DDT. Hurricane
flipped over Chuck and gave him a neckbreaker. Rikishi tagged in, gave
both opponents a series of punches and superkicked Chuck. Rikishi then
knocked Billy for a loop with a clothesline. Rikishi whipped Chuck into
Billy in the corner and gave them a corner splash. Rikishi backdropped
Chuck as Billy slumped down in the corner. Rikishi teased a stinkface but
Rico pulled Billy out of the ring. Rikishi gave Chuck a Samoan drop and
Hurricane followed with a flying bodypress. Hurricane went to pin Chuck
but the ref was distracted by the other participants. Rico came in and
gave Hurricane a sharp sweeping kick. Chuck then pinned Hurricane at 4:26
to retain the title. After the match Hurricane chokeslammed Rico and
Rikishi gave him a stinkface. A fun opener. *3/4
2. Hardcore Holly vs Randy Orton
Orton applied a headlock but Holly pushed him to the mat. Orton
then did the great headlock/go-behind/leg trip combo originally perfected
by the first Tiger Mask, and executed it quite well. Orton scored with a
sharp dropkick as well for a near fall. Holly kicked Orton and gave him
some punches. Holly scored with a couple really stiff chops in the corner
and whipped Orton into the opposite corner. Holly charged the corner but
Orton lifted his body up and rolled up Holly for a near fall in another
nice spot. Orton hit a clothesline and gave Holly an Oklahoma roll for
another near fall. Orton telegraphed a backdrop and Holly powerbombed him.
Holly stomped Orton and choked him in the ropes. Holly then scored with
his signature dropkick, arguably the best one in the business. Holly gave
Orton more incredibly loud chops in the corner (I think Johnny Valentine
and Wahoo McDaniel would have been proud). Orton whipped Holly into the
corner but ran into a boot. Orton recovered and powerslammed Holly for a
near fall. Orton landed some punches and jumped onto Holly from the second
rope (he appeared to botch a spot) for a near fall. Orton hit a flying
forearm and a backdrop. Holly gave Orton a blatant low blow and the ref
called for the DQ at 3:06. After the match Holly continued to assault
Orton and gave him a really brutal Alabama (whiplash) slam on the stage.
Great sounding thud and Orton took the bump perfectly. For telling a story
and considering Orton’s experience level it was a great effort until the
cheap finish. Orton once again showed a couple flaws and timing problems,
but already has a fairly distinctive style and if he can work the kinks
out, he will be a superstar in the near future. In terms of talent, Orton
is the real deal. Holly only did what he could do well, but that worked
out well since his work was really stiff and sharp. Very enjoyable match.
**
3. Edge & Val Venis vs Kurt Angle & Lance Storm
Angle attacked Edge early with punches and chops but Edge
responded in kind. Angle whipped Edge into the corner but ran into a boot.
Edge gave Angle a second rope dropkick for a near fall. Val chopped and
punched Angle. Val elbowed Angle, elbowsmashed him and gave him a
kneedrop. Angle raked Val’s eyes and gave him a short clothesline. Angle
stomped Val and Storm kicked him. Storm gave Val a few chops but Val
fought back with a couple kneelifts and a Russian legsweep. Val applied
his version of an armbreaker submission but Angle intervened. Edge kicked
Storm and gave him a couple forearms. Angle grabbed Edge’s hair and Edge
punched him in response. Storm spin kicked Edge. Angle stomped Edge and
suplexed him for a near fall. Angle landed a couple punches but Edge gave
him an elbow. Edge missed a clothesline and Angle gave him a released
German suplex. Storm pulled Edge up by his hair and slammed him. Storm
legdropped Edge for a near fall. Edge landed some punches but Storm gave
him a kneelift. Storm telegraphed a backdrop and Edge kicked him. Storm
recovered and gave Edge a drop toehold. Angle tagged in and elbowsmashed
Edge. The heels doubleteamed Edge while the ref was preoccupied with Val.
Storm applied somewhat of a hammerlock hold (bended Edge’s arm similar to
a Nagata lock). Storm charged Edge in the corner but Edge sent him to the
apron. Storm punched Edge and dove off the top rope but Edge powerslammed
him in mid-air. Val made the hot tag and tagged both opponents with
punches. Val shouldertackled Angle and powerslammed Storm. Angle gave Val
a German suplex but Val countered a second one with an elbow. Val then
gave Angle a blue thunder (I think) powerbomb for a near fall. The heels
attempted a back suplex but Val landed on his feet. Edge took out both
opponents with a top rope clothesline. Angle gave Val an overhead belly to
belly suplex as Storm and Edge fought at ringside. Edge speared Angle but
Storm then gave Edge the old cactus clothesline out of the ring. Val then
gained a near fall on Angle. Angle landed a couple punches but Val gave
him a spinebuster. Val went to the top rope and kicked Storm off the apron
when he grabbed his leg. Angle then jumped up to the middle/top ropes and
gave Val a belly to belly superplex for a near fall. Not exactly Kyoko
Inoue-caliber, but very good spot nonetheless. Edge clotheslined Angle and
threw Storm over the top rope. Val countered and Angle slam and rolled him
up but Storm then superkicked him. Angle reversed the rollup and pinned
Val at 7:57. Overall, a good match, but missing something needed to make
it great. At times, it just kept rolling along with solid but
unspectacular work. Angle was easily the standout worker. Storm and Val
were solid, but didn’t/couldn’t do enough to distinguish themselves in the
ring after being out of the spotlight for a while. **1/4
4. Faarooq & Mark Henry vs Test & Christian
Henry overpowered Test as expected. Test attacked Henry with
forearms and a kneelift. The heels doubleteamed Henry but Henry gave them
a double clothesline. Henry caught Christian, threw him up into the air
and dropped him hard. Henry press slammed Christian gut-first onto
Faarooq’s knee. Faarooq pummeled Christian in the corner. Christian
whipped him into the opposite corner but ran into an elbow. Test
clotheslined Faarooq from the apron. Test stomped Faarooq and pummeled him
in the corner. Test whipped Faarooq into opposite corners and gave him
clotheslines against each corner. Faarooq got the better of Christian and
clotheslined both opponents. Faarooq powerslammed Christian for a near
fall as D-Von Dudley made his way through the crowd. Henry clotheslined
Test over the top rope as Faarooq gained a near fall on Christian. Henry
confronted Dudley at ringside, grabbed the money from D-Von’s collection
box and threw it into the crowd. Dudley hit Henry from behind and Henry
chased him through the crowd. Faarooq gave Test a spinebuster but
Christian gave him the unprettier for the pin at 3:34. This match was just
kinda there and didn’t stink up the joint. *
5. WWF Cruiserweight Title: Yoshihiro Tajiri (c) w/Torrie Wilson vs
Billy Kidman
Tajiri gave Kidman’s leg a couple kicks but ran into a boot.
Kidman jumped off the top rope with a headscissors takedown. Tajiri lifted
Kidman but Kidman landed on the second rope and jumped off with a nice
lucha-like armdrag. Tajiri kicked Kidman’s leg again and then hit the leg
with a dropkick. Tajiri continued to attack Kidman’s left leg and gave him
a kneebreaker. Tajiri went for a second kneebreaker but Kidman countered
with a sunset flip for a near fall. Tajiri grabbed Kidman’s leg and gave
him a dragon screw. Tajiri hung Kidman upside down in the corner and
dropkicked his leg. Tajiri landed another kick but Kidman fought back with
an enzuguiri. Kidman landed a couple punches, whipped Tajiri into the
corner and clotheslined him. Tajiri went for his handspring elbow off the
ropes but Kidman dropkicked him in mid-air for a near fall. After a couple
counters Tajiri gave Kidman a spinning kick. Tajiri went for a powerbomb
but Kidman countered with a short powerbomb of his own for a near fall.
Tajiri superkicked Kidman for a near fall. Kidman charged Tajiri in the
corner but Tajiri floated over him and went for a tarantula but Kidman
dumped him out of the ring. Kidman hit a tope but crashed onto Torrie when
Tajiri pulled her into harm’s way to protect himself. Tajiri gave Kidman a
roundhouse kick and dumped him back into the ring. Tajiri then gave Kidman
his trademark roundhouse kick to the head and pinned him at 3:51 to retain
the title. A nice little match, but too short to really stand out. **1/4
6. WWF Title/No DQ: Hulk Hogan (c) vs Chris Jericho
If HHH interfered during the match, supposedly his career would be
over. Hogan overpowered Jericho early and even muscled him out of the
ring. Hogan applied a headlock and tackled Jericho. Hogan hiptossed
Jericho and slammed him. Hogan gave Jericho an armringer and gave his arm
a couple elbows. Jericho raked Hogan’s eyes and back suplexed him. Jericho
stomped Hogan but missed an elbowsmash. Hogan chopped and punched Jericho
in the corner but ran into an elbow in the opposite corner. Hogan caught
Jericho on the top rope and slammed him to the mat. Hogan pummeled Jericho
in the corner with punches until Jericho gave him a low blow. Jericho
stomped Hogan, punched him and rammed him into the corner. Jericho landed
a couple chops but missed a corner splash and sailed over the top rope to
the floor. Hogan went to slam Jericho into the ringpost but Jericho
countered and pushed Hogan into the post. Jericho hit a double axhandle
off the top rope to the floor. Jericho drove Hogan’s neck onto the top
rope and pounced on him in the ropes. Jericho landed some punches but
crotched himself on the middle rope when Hogan moved. Hogan landed a
couple punches and slammed Jericho. Hogan landed a couple elbowsmashes but
missed a third. Jericho hit a bulldog and then a lionsault as HHH’s music
started. HHH came out and went to the announcers’ table to do commentary.
Hogan landed some punches but missed a boot. Jericho kicked and DDTd Hogan
for a near fall and then Hogan “hulked up”. Hogan gave Jericho three
punches and a boot. Hogan went for a legdrop but Jericho caught his leg
and somehow applied the walls of Jericho. Jericho hit Hogan with a chair
but was distracted when Undertaker’s music sounded. It was a decoy as
Undertaker never appeared and Hogan rolled up Jericho for the pin at 10:18
to retain the title. HHH then attacked Jericho. Ugh. Well, I suppose
Jericho tried, but this was crap. It was a 10 minute match that went 5-6
minutes too long. Hogan works in such slower motion compared to the rest
of the crew that he should be embarrassed. He’s fine in a tag team match
when he can pick his spots, but in a longer match like this he just
doesn’t cut it. No wonder why this show drew the lowest rating (2.9) in
Smackdown history. *
Best Match: Tie between Angle/Storm vs Edge/Val and Kidman vs Tajiri:
Kidman vs Tajiri maybe had better content but there were no real standout
matches this week.
Worst Match: Hogan vs Jericho: No doubt about this one- this was a
brutal match to watch at times. It’s a shame they’ll probably blame
Jericho entirely for the ratings bomb.
Overall: Until the main event, I was really happy with the in-ring
content of the show. Very solid work for the most part with Orton perhaps
being my favorite performer from this show. But I’ll just call it decent,
as the main event had to be the worst Smackdown main event in a LONG time.
I was also happy that there were no matches shorter than 3:00.
WWF
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