Smackdown!

Mohegan Sun Casino, Uncasville, Connecticut
August 29, 2002

As the show kicked off from the Mohegan Sun Arena, a very satisfied SmackDown! General Manager Stephanie McMahon sauntering down to the ring. Stephanie immediately declared SmackDown! the exclusive home of the WWE Undisputed World Champion, Brock Lesnar. In defiance of RAW GM Eric Bischoff's No. 1 contender match on Monday, she announced a one-night single-elimination series to determine her own No. 1 contender to Lesnar's title.

Eddie Guerrero defeated Edge in a Series Match
The first match of the contender's series turned out to be a rematch from SummerSlam. Guerrero took control early, but Edge quickly turned the tide with a series of face plants. Edge attempted the pinfall, but Guerrero kicked out at two. Wisely, Guerrero targeted Edge's injured shoulder. Looking to avoid losing two in a row to Edge, Eddie continued to work on Edge's arm, until Edge tossed him over the top rope. He then proceeded to follow Latino Heat to the outside, crashing down on him from the top turnbuckle. Once they were back inside, Edge wowed the casino crowd by kicking out of pin attempt following a brutal superplex. He nailed Guerrero with a powerbomb, but was unable to follow through, having sustained so much punishment himself. With both out on the mat, the referee began a 10-count, but Edge gained his second wind, taking the fight to Guerrero with new resolve. Seizing the opportunity, Edge launched a perfect missile dropkick into his opponent, causing Guerrero to skulk to the outside and grab two steel chairs out of desperation. With referee Jimmy Korderas' back turned, Guerrero nailed his adversary with the chair, and then hit the frog splash for the pin to advance in the series.

Matt Hardy ran into Stephanie backstage and inquired about where his spot in the series would be. She then informed him, and the crowd, that Guerrero's next opponent that night would be Rikishi.

Reverend D-Von def. John Cena in a Series Match
With Batista no longer at his side, the Reverend tore right into the rookie Cena. Taking it in stride, Cena fought back with a series of high-energy maneuvers. The battle went back and forth until D-Von took the decisive lead with a suplex and elbow drop, followed by a commanding powerslam. Going for the fall early, D-Von made several pin attempts before continuing to bring the pain. Cena used a modified neckbreaker to shift the momentum, following it up with a series of flying forearms and a pin attempt of his own. An elbow to the chin returned the advantage to the good Reverend. After applying an inverted DDT, D-Von pinned Cena.

But that wasn't all, as the disgruntled Batista stormed the ring and assaulted his former colleague D-Von, driving him into the mat with a devastating sit-down powerbomb. As the Reverend lay gasping for breath on the canvas, the monstrous Batista stood over him triumphantly, flaunting his power for all to see.

Rey Mysterio def. Rico
Mysterio began by using his speed to sidestep Rico's early attempts to take control. He used Rico's own momentum to send him flying him from the ring, and then took to the air, executing a tope over the ropes and onto Billy & Chuck. This led referee Mike Sparks to banish the tag team from ringside altogether. Taking advantage of the distraction, Rico tried to take over, but a classic flying leg scissors from Rey put him back in his place. Finally, Rico turned the tide with a powerslam and a series of rolling suplexes. He got a two-count, but there was more fight left in the masked cruiserweight. Another powerslam later, it looked like Rico had it all sewn up, but he began bragging to the crowd, giving Mysterio enough time to capitalize. The pace began to quicken with Mysterio's unorthodox offense. Before long, Mysterio was able to hit the combination of the 619 and his amazing finisher, the West Coast Pop, to score the pin.

Backstage, Hardcore Holly was trying convince Stephanie to put him in the No. 1 contender series. But Stephanie blew off Holly, retiring to her office to take an "important phone call". On the phone, she seemed to be reassuring an unnamed SmackDown! Superstar on the other line, when Matt Hardy barged in once again to inquire about his position in the series. In frustration, Matt hung up the phone on Steph, enraging her enough for her to sign an impromptu non-title match between him and Lesnar.Rikishi was interviewed by Marc Lloyd, and stated his intention to get some revenge for the F-5 he recently suffered at Brock's hands. In the midst of his tirade, he was interrupted by his series opponent Guerrero, who was pissed off at being overlooked.

Rikishi def. Eddie Guerrero in a Series Match
In his second tourney match of the night, Eddie attempted to continue on with a win over the Phat Man. Rikishi used his massive girth to take over early, but the wise veteran Guerrero then went straight to Rikishi's left knee, grounding the Superstar. Guerrero used a toehold to keep Rikishi on the mat. Backed up into a corner, Rikishi got some help when referee Mike Chioda called for the break. But before long, Eddie went right back to work on the knee. After missing a charge into the corner, Guerrero became the recipient of some brutal offense from Rikishi, who began whipping him from one side of the ring to the other. One superkick later, and all Guerrero's work was rendered pointless, as Rikishi landed the pinfall to move on in the series.

It was then that Chris Benoit stormed the ring to aid his ally Guerrero in putting a serious beatdown on the victorious Rikishi. Trapped in the Crippler Crossface, Rikishi was helpless until Edge came down to even the odds and run off Guerrero and Benoit.

Backstage, Stephanie got in the face of Benoit over the fact that Benoit lost the Intercontinental Title to RAW Superstar Rob Van Dam at SummerSlam. Looking to give Benoit a chance to vent his frustration and make up for his loss, she booked him in the next series match that night with Rikishi.

Shannon Moore def. Tajiri
This exciting battle of cruiserweights was witnessed by the Cruiserweight Champion himself, Jamie Noble, who was at ringside along with his main squeeze Nidia. This was Moore's singles debut in WWE, and he appeared motivated to make the most of it, going hot and heavy against the Japanese spitfire Tajiri. But Tajiri would have none of it, grounding Moore with a snap mare and a punishing reverse chinlock. A jarring Tajiri superkick looked like it would put Moore out for good, but Tajiri couldn't log the pin. A modified cobra clutch took even more of the fight out of Moore. It might have been all over at that point, but Moore was able to put his foot on the rope during a pinning attempt. Moore then fought back with some chops and an elbow off the ropes, going for his own pin attempt following a neckbbreaker. Tajiri landed a German suplex out of nowhere, but still couldn't put Shannon away. It was then that Noble interjected himself into the match to thwart Moore, but Hurricane took him out of the action. Moore then used a roll-up to pin the stunned Tajiri.

Chris Benoit def. Rikishi in a Series Match
The odds looked long for Rikishi, whose knee was smarting from the earlier damage incurred at the hands of Guerrero. Trying to gain the win early, he landed a Samoan Drop on Benoit, but only hurt his knee further. Referee Korderas asked Rikishi if he wanted to continue, and he responded in the affirmative, only to have his determination question even further by another Crippler Crossface. The Phat Man reached the ropes for the break, but the tenacious Benoit only reapplied the hold in center ring, giving Rikishi no choice but to tap out.

In an interview, Kurt Angle gloated over his SummerSlam victory over Rey Mysterio. He then announced that he would be Chris Benoit's opponent in the next and final match of the No. 1 contender series. 

Conducting his own interview, Funaki tracked down Paul Heyman and asked for comments from Brock Lesnar. Heyman was less than accomodating, persuading Funaki said that maybe it wasn't such a good idea. Matt Hardy then hit the scene again, taking advantage of the mic time to proclaim his own greatness, much to Heyman's dismay.

Brock Lesnar def. Matt Hardy
Matt hadn't exactly scored any points with Heyman thanks to his earlier antics. Brock made it a point to make him pay for his hubris, taking him to the outside before the bell even rang. Lesnar then dragged him back inside, relentlessly pounding him with ruthless aggression. It was his first match since winning the WWE Undisputed Championship, and Brock was out to assert his dominance. Lesnar used his power to employ a series of crushing throws and slams, only to get sent through the ropes by Hardy when he turned his back on him. Once Brock returned between the ropes, Matt tried to capitalize with a Twist of Fate, but it was no use. The gargantuan champ escaped the moved and nailed the F-5 to win the match. At the behest of Heyman, Lesnar returned to ring after the win to deliver more pain to Hardy in the form of two unbelievable powerbombs.

In her office, Stephanie received an important contract from Dawn Marie that led her to change the final series match into the Triple Threat Match. The reason, according to her, was that she had just signed away one of Eric Bischoff's RAW Superstars.

The Undertaker def. Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle in a Triple Threat Series Match
Stephanie introduced the defecting Undertaker from the top of the ramp, and he emerged from the curtains in all his glory. But as soon as the bell sounded, both Benoit and Angle jumped 'Taker together. Undertaker fought back, splashing both men on either side of the ring. Missing a high kick, 'Taker caught himself on the top rope, allowing Angle and Benoit to take over once more. Weakening the American Badass with a double suplex, they continued the strategy of putting 'Taker in a Handicap Match, until Angle finally went after Benoit's ankle. The two grapplers fought over a series of reversed rolling German suplexes, and for a split-second, Angle almost slapped on his ankle lock. Benoit went for a cover, only to have it broken up by 'Taker. The Badass targeted Benoit, punishing him in the corner and going for the Last Ride. Angle then ran in and clipped the 'Taker's knee, taking him down to the mat. Kurt anf Chris brought chairs into the ring, and Benoit landed his on 'Taker's head. Neither Benoit or Angle could follow through however, because they each broke up the others' pin attempts. Benoit tried his German suplex on 'Taker, but 'Taker escaped and chokeslammed Benoit. 'Taker then found himself in Angle's ankle lock and the Crippler Crossface simultaneously , but refused to quit. Frustrated, Angle went after Benoit, applying another ankle lock. 'Taker then rejoined the mix, and received an Angle Slam for his troubles. But after sending Angle out of the ring, 'Taker finally scored the win when he caught Benoit in the Last Ride for the pin, attaining No. 1 contedership.