Smackdown!

East Ruthersford, New Jersey
August 10, 2000

Commissioner Mick Foley headed to the ring as SmackDown! kicked off at the Continental Airlines Arena in New Jersey. Foley was there to address one question – no, not when his book comes out in paperback (October, by the way), but who was the No. 1 contender. Both Kurt Angle and Triple H came down to make their claims for the position, and Foley declared that they were both No. 1 contenders. He then made a Triple Threat Match for the World Wrestling Federation Championship at SummerSlam pitting Rock against Triple H against Angle!

But the commish wasn’t done. Seeing the animosity between Triple H and Angle – which centers around Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley – the commish decided to make the men tag team partners for the evening, against The Rock and the Undertaker!

As Chyna was getting made up backstage, Trish Stratus walked by and made a snide comment. Chyna took exception to it, and Val Venis attacked her! Eddie Guerrero soon joined the fisticuffs to save his “Mamacita!”

Eddie and Val wouldn’t have to wait long to get their hands on each other again, as Eddie and Chris Jericho battled Val and Chris Benoit next. Eddie would score with a frog splash onto Val, but Benoit was the legal man, so the ref refused to count the pinfall. With Eddie confused, Benoit hit the diving headbutt from the top rope and pinned Eddie for the win. After the match, Jericho went nuts, locking Benoit in the Walls of Jericho until Shane McMahon came down to save the Wolverine.

Y2J then put Shane in the terrifying maneuver! But Benoit helped his friend Shane, and soon locked Jericho in the Crossface!

In a rematch from Monday’s RAW, X-Pac took on Rikishi. This time, however, X-Pac asked Road Dogg to stay backstage during the match, wanting to see if he could beat the 400-pounder on his own. Although the degenerate put up a noble fight, the 200-pound weight differential was just too much for him to handle. Rikishi won with a sit-down splash onto X-Pac’s chest.

Backstage, Edge and Christian greeted their guests, three of the stars of UPN’s Highlander movie, which Edge acted in. The three stars seemed not to care for the Tag Team Champions, and instead just wanted to meet The Rock! As Christian began to recount the brutal match from WrestleMania when they first won the titles, the three actors just walked away!

In a special mixed tag team match, Al Snow and Kat faced off with Terri and European Champion Perry Saturn. The match ended when Terri gave Al Head – meaning she hit him with the mannequin head, of course. Saturn then suplexed Snow for the pinfall.

Edge and Christian defended their Tag Team Titles against the Dudley Boyz, and prior to the match, Edge & Christian acknowledged their actor friends in the crowd. The five-second pose of the day was of Edge receiving an Academy Award for the movie, in the category of “Actor Most Reeking of Awesomeness.” Edge & Christian would lose the match by DQ when Edge hit Buh Buh with a chair, but the real fireworks came after the match, when the Hardy Boyz came to ringside. The Hardys and the Dudleys tore into Edge & Christian, and then the Dudleys pulled out a table and the Hardys pulled out two ladders. After braining Edge with the ladders, Matt and Jeff ascended the ladders and splashed onto Edge! And then Buh Buh drove Christian through a table! The Tag Team Champions were left lying.

Tazz was slated to tangle with Crash next, but prior to the match, Tazz decided to attack Jerry Lawler, with whom he had clashed on Monday’s RAW. Tazz busted Lawler open after hitting him with a metal water pitcher. As Crash made his way to the ring, Lawler attacked Tazz, and the Crash/Tazz match never even began due to the pull-apart brawl between Tazz and the King!

The Right to Censorship, Bull Buchanan and the Goodfather, challenged Too Cool as Steven Richards joined the broadcast team for commentary. Michael Cole asked Steven the question that millions of fans have wondered since Monday – if their group was so anti-violence, then why did they attack the hos so brutally on Monday? Steven answered that he was willing to go to any length for his cause. In the ring, Scotty nailed the Worm on the Goodfather, but Bull shocked him with a top-rope legdrop for the pin.

Backstage, “Just Joe” stirred some trouble, telling Kurt Angle than he would be advised to watch for a double-cross from Triple H.

In a match for the Hardcore Championship, Champion Steve Blackman pinned Albert, accompanied by Trish Stratus.

Joe next tried to rile up Triple H, saying that instead of watching out for Angle, he should watch out for Shane McMahon.

An irate and out-of-control Chris Jericho barged into Commissioner Foley’s office, ransacking it and turning it upside down. Y2J wanted a match with Chris Benoit, but Foley refused to give it to him that night, saying that Jericho was too out-of control. Foley instead made the match for SummerSlam.

A pre-taped segment then aired as Jonathan Coachman visited Victoria, the lady the Goodfather put through a table on Monday’s RAW. From a hospital bed, Victoria recounted her “save the hos” protest from Monday.

Backstage, Shane and Stephanie decided to stay away from the main event. Shane even went so far as to leave the building.

The main event was up next, as The Rock and the Undertaker took on Triple H and Kurt Angle. The three competitors in SummerSlam’s main event – Rock, Triple H and Angle – tore into each other with the intensity of a Federation Title match. During the match, Stephanie hobbled to ringside, still showing the effects of the Rock Bottom she suffered on Monday. When Angle missed The Rock and hit Triple H with a maneuver by accident, the Game up and left, leaving his partner behind. Stephanie begged her husband to stay, but he would not. Surprisingly, Stephanie stayed at ringside to cheer for her friend Kurt Angle. With Triple H gone, it was now two-on-one, and Kurt was easy prey for the “Last Ride” and a pinfall at the hands of the Undertaker.

But it wasn’t over yet. When Stephanie came in the ring to check on Kurt, The Rock grabbed her and set her up for another Rock Bottom. Triple H then raced back to help his wife, and although he was able to save Stephanie, he still suffered a chokeslam and a People’s Elbow for his troubles. Stephanie cried at the top of the ramp, realizing that her husband had sacrificed himself for her, as the show ended.