Smackdown!

Fleetcenter, Boston, Massachusetts
July 19, 2001

The July 19 episode of SmackDown! kicked off from the Fleet Center in Boston with WCW owner Shane McMahon leading his army of WCW stars to the ring. He was followed by ECW owner Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley and the mad scientist of sports entertainment, Paul Heyman, who brought their ECW stars out to the ring as well.

Shane said the face of sports entertainment will forever change this Sunday after Invasion. He stated that the World Wrestling Federation has been the best for years, but then again, they have never been faced with such as powerful an alliance as WCW and ECW. He reiterated that he and Stephanie had divested all their Federation stock to back their allied force, and that no Federation Superstar would deny them of their destiny.

Stephanie grabbed the mic and said that the Federation has run its course. She said that neither the decrepit "Classy" Freddie Blassie or the "old" Stone Cold could change what was inevitably going to happen this Sunday. The Billion Dollar Princess said that her father, Vince, should remember one thing come this Sunday -- she and Shane have no problem playing dirty.

Cult-like leader Paul Heyman then spoke to the crowd, saying that it was a McMahon family tradition to play dirty. He said that Vince had taken this business away from his father, much like Stephanie and Shane were going to do to him. He then accused Vince of causing his father's eventual death, which Jim Ross explained was a lie because Vince McMahon Sr. succumbed to cancer in 1984. Heyman said that after WCW/ECW defeat the Federation this Sunday, they will all stand over the fallen WWF and read it its last rights.

Back in his locker room, Mr. McMahon was watching the actions of Shane, Stephanie and Heyman on his television when Chris Jericho entered the room. Y2J asked him if heard what they had said, and Vince said that he was hurt by the words of his children. However, he said that actions speak louder than words, and this Sunday, the 'old' Stone Cold Steve Austin would lead Team WWF to victory over Team WCW/ECW. Jericho then asked him if he had heard what he had said about Stephanie on RAW, saying that ECW now stands for "Every Customer Welcome," and that she was the Queen of Hardcore. The Federation chairman said that indeed he was upset because he would have preferred that he called her a no-good, bottom-feeding, trashbag, disgusting tramp!

In the first match on SmackDown!, WCW's Diamond Dallas Page faced Jericho in one-on-one action. Page hit Y2J with his tornado powerbomb, but Jericho kicked out after two. Jericho then retaliated with a bulldog, but WCW referee Nick Patrick refused to count. Jericho went after Patrick, which allowed DDP to roll him up, but Y2J was able to kick out despite the fast count by the WCW ref. Jericho then went for a clothesline on DDP, but Page ducked, which caused the Lionheart to accidently hit Patrick! When Patrick finally came to, he called for the bell, disqualifying Y2J! Afterward, Jericho put Patrick in the Walls of Jericho, but DDP came for the save with a steel chair. A chair-swinging Page missed Y2J, which allowed Jericho to slap the Walls of Jericho on his as well. Patrick then went for the chair to save Page, but Y2J picked up the chair and chased him out of the ring. The Lionheart then nailed Page with the chair, sending both WCW representatives limping back to the locker room.

Paul Heyman was sitting at Commissioner William Regal's desk when the goodwill ambassador walked in and asked him what he was doing. Heyman told the Commissioner that he could provide for him in the future. He said after the Sunday, Team WCW/ECW would be in charge, and they could use a good man like Regal. Heyman said that everyone knew that ECW stood for Extreme Classy Wrestling, and that Regal was a class act.

He said it was time to say bye-bye to Vince McMahon, and he should join himself, Shane and Stephanie. Regal responded by telling him to get his bloody feet of his desk, and that he could tell Shane and Stephanie that they were ungrateful toerags, and that they could go to hell. The Commissioner then said that Heyman had better get out of his office before he performed acts of violence on him that would make the Devil cry, which prompted the mad scientist to run from the room.

ECW's Lance Storm, seconded to the ring by Mike Awesome, made his way to the ring. He grabbed the mic and said that Boston may not be the best city to talk about championships, but the fact that Edge and Christian have held the Federation Tag Team Championship seven times says a lot about the caliber of Superstars that the Federation had to offer. At that point, Edge and Christian's music hit, and a one-on-one match between Storm and Christian got underway. Christian hit a spinning reverse DDT and went for the cover, but Awesome pulled his partner out of the ring. With WWF official Earl Hebner distracted by Edge outside the ring, Awesome brought a steel chair into the ring and was about to waffle Christian before Hebner returned and grabbed the weapon from the WCW star. With Hebner's back turned, Edge entered the ring and speared Storm, allowing Christian to cover the fallen WCW star for the win!

Back in his locker room, Mr. McMahon was pacing when a somber-looking Sgt. Slaughter entered the room and said he had something to tell him. Mr. McMahon, thinking it was bad news, sat down, but Slaughter excited the Federation chairman by exclaiming that Stone Cold was in the building!

In the WCW women's locker room, WCW's Stacy Keibler and Torrie Wilson were talking about their arm-wrestling match against Trish Stratus and Lita later in the night. At that point, Nick Patrick entered the room and said that even though he was roughed up earlier in the night, he would still be the referee for their arm-wrestling match.

In the Commissioner's office, Regal was telling Tajiri about the earlier actions of the "parasite" Paul Heyman. He then said that we was very proud of what Tajiri did to Tazz on RAW, and that he knew the same thing would be done in their match this Sunday at Invasion. He then told an elated Tajiri that he would be teaming with Kane and Undertaker later that night against the Dudley Boyz and the man from Red Hook. Taker and Kane then entered the office and asked Regal why Tajiri was so happy. Regal said that he was foreign, and not to worry about it. Kane then stared down Tajiri and called him a freak!

Mr. McMahon was sitting in his office when Stone Cold and Debra entered. The Rattlesnake sat down with Vince, and the Federation chairman said that this Sunday would be magical because the "old" Stone Cold was back! Vince said he never had a doubt that the raging Rattlesnake would return, and he asked Austin to give him a hug. Stone Cold said he didn't want to hug him, which upset the chairman.

The Dudley Boyz and Tazz teamed up to battle the team of Undertaker, Kane and Tajiri. Tazz locked his Tazzmission on Tajiri in the ring, but Taker entered, grabbed the man from Red Hook by the throat, planted him on the mat with a chokeslam and picked up the 1-2-3.

Trish and Lita were in the Federation's women's locker room, and the red-haired diva told Trish that not only were they going to beat Stacy and Torrie this Sunday at Invasion -- they were going to humilate them! At that point, Hebner walked in the room and said that beacuse of WCW referee's Nick Patrick's cheating ways, he would be the official in their arm-wrestling match later that night.

One half of the Federation's Tag Team Champions, Bradshaw, took on one half of WCW's Tag Team Champions, Sean O'Haire. Bradshaw hit his patented fallaway slam, but O'Haire was able to kick out after two. Bradshaw finally finished off O'Haire with his Clothesline from Hell.

With Patrick and Hebner both officiating, Stacy and Torrie faced Trish and Lita in an arm-wrestling match. Trish almost had Torrie's hand to the mat when Patrick blindsided Hebner, knocking him to the ground. This allowed Stacy to help Torrie, pulling her arm down for the win. Afterward, Lita speared Stacy, while Trish roughed up Torrie in the corner. Hebner, Lita and Trish then attacked Patrick, sending him flying out of the ring.

Back in his office, Vince was on the phone. He hung up, and explained to Austin and Debra that he was just told that his divorce proceedings were officially on hold. A celebratory-minded Vince then told the couple that he had a great way to celebrate, leaving the room saying he would be right back.

Jeff Hardy and X-Pac teamed up to battle ECW's Rob Van Dam and WCW's Billy Kidman. Hardy went for his Swanton Bomb, but Kidman rolled out of the way. This allowed Van Dam to hit his Five-Star Frog Splash on a stunned Hardy and go for the pin, but X-Pac broke up the count. X-Pac then went for the X-Factor, but Van Dam blocked it. Kidman then hit his Kid Crusher on the Federation's Light Heavyweight Champion for the win!

Back in Mr. McMahon's locker room, Austin and Debra were waiting for Vince when the chairman entered the room with a guitar. Vince said he wanted to sing a version of "Welcome Back, Kotter" for Stone Cold. Mr. McMahon then sang "Welcome Back, Austin" to the Rattlesnake, but Stone Cold stopped him to tell Vince that his guitar was out of tune. Stone Cold then took the guitar and cracked it over Mr. McMahon's head, knocking out the chairman!

Backstage, Shane, Stephanie and Heyman were talking to Team WCW/ECW -- Booker T, DDP, Rhyno and the Dudley Boyz. Shane said that Booker T and Rhyno were going to make a statement tonight in their match against Stone Cold and Kurt Angle. Stephanie said that Austin, Angle and the entire WWF was ineffective, and tonight they were going to find out that Team WCW/ECW doesn't play fair -- they play dirty. Heyman said that this Sunday the Federation would be taken to the extreme!

Vince McMahon was being tended to by a Federation doctor when Kurt Angle ran into the room. The American hero asked Mr. McMahon if he was doing ok, and the chairman responded that he had never felt better in his life!

The main event of SmackDown! pitted WCW Champion Booker T and Rhyno against Federation Champion Stone Cold Steve Austin and Olympic hero Kurt Angle. A pumped-up Stone Cold started the match with a bang, hitting consecutive Stunners on both Booker T and Rhyno within the first minute of the match! Suddenly, up on the Ovaltron, DDP was screaming at Austin. He showed the Rattlesnake that he had abducted Debra and thrown her in the trunk of his car. Page said that if he wanted his wife back, he could come and get her, which immediately prompted the Bionic Redneck to sprint to the backstage area.

Meanwhile, the Undertaker attacked Page backstage, but members of WCW/ECW pulled the Dead Man off DDP. Almost immediately, the entire backstage area was filled with members of both the WWF and WCW/ECW attacking each other. Austin was making his way to Page's car, but DDP pulled away before the Rattlesnake could reach him. Stone Cold then jumped into another car and sped after Page.

Back in the ring, Angle attacked Booker T and slapped on his ankle-lock submission. Before the WCW Champion could tap out, Rhyno and the Dudley Boyz attacked Angle.

Backstage, the fight between members of the WWF and WCW/ECW continued. In the ring, Angle was being man-handled by members of Team WCW/ECW, with the Dudley Boyz eventually capping off the beating by putting the American hero through a table with a 3D. Shane, Stephanie, Heyman, Booker T, Rhyno and the Dudley Boyz then raised their hands in unison in the middle of the ring as SmackDown! went off the air!