Smackdown!
Madison Square Garden, New York
City
June 26, 2003
The Debut of the Dragon
The World's Most Famous Arena was rocked by a blowaway SmackDown!, as a titanic six-man tag-team clash pitting Brock Lesnar, Kurt Angle and Mr. America against Charlie Haas, Shelton Benjamin and Big Show -- as well as the in-ring return of the APA and the WWE debut of the worldwide legend Ultimo Dragon -- nearly tore the roof of New York's venerable Madison Square Garden.
The biggest shocker of the night, however, came at the end of the huge six-man tag match. Mr. McMahon dragged a beaten Zach Gowen down the ramp, distracting Mr. America, causing him to fall prey to a chokeslam by Big Show and costing his team the match. Mr. McMahon then continued to pummel a helpless Zach, causing SmackDown! General Manager Stephanie McMahon to come to his defense. Mr. McMahon then announced that Zach could have his coveted SmackDown! contract -- if he and Stephanie could win a handicap match against the mammoth Show next week on SmackDown!
It wasn't the first time in the evening that Mr. McMahon had offered Zach a contract. Earlier, a seemingly contrite Mr. McMahon called Zach and Stephanie to the ring and delivered what appeared to be heartfelt apologies to both for the events of the past few weeks. When Zach furiously rejected Mr. McMahon's apology and read him the riot act, Mr. McMahon offered Zach his contract -- in exchange for Zach's membership in the elite "Mr. McMahon Kiss My Ass Club." Zach instead delivered a crushing shot to Mr. McMahon's "grapefruits," earning the Chairman's wrath.
The sold-out Garden was also treated to the incredible debut of international legend Ultimo Dragon, who put his incredible high-flying arsenal on display while defeating MF'er Shannon Moore. WWE Cruiserweight Champion Rey Mysterio watched from the announce table and later climbed into the ring to pay his respect to Dragon, while a less-than-enthusiastic Billy Kidman watched from a front-row seat, with a hot babe on each arm, seemingly unimpressed by Dragon's prowess.
In other action, Eddie Guerrero and Tajiri successfully defended the WWE Tag Team Championship against Rowdy Roddy Piper and Sean O'Haire, living up to their "Lie, Cheat and Steal" maxim when Tajiri delivered his green mist to the face of Piper, who then fell victim to Guerrero's Frog Splash. Matt Hardy Version 1.0 advanced in the United States Championship Tournament, defeating Rikishi to join Chris Benoit in the next round. John Cena, the self-proclaimed "most-respected veteran on SmackDown!", celebrated the one-year anniversary of his answering an open challenge from Kurt Angle by extending one of his own, which was taken by exciting rookie Orlando Jordan. Jordan gave Cena all he could handle before losing via rollup and a handful of tights -- at which point the authentic most-respected veteran on SmackDown!, the Undertaker, chased Cena from the ring and gave some encouraging words to Jordan.
'Taker stayed in the ring and was joined by the returning APA -- who came back last week to save 'Taker from a 3-on-1 assault by the Full-Blooded Italians. The awesome trio of Undertaker, Bradshaw and Ron Simmons defeated the FBI when Bradshaw delivered his lethal Clothesline From Hell on Johnny "the Bull" Stamboli.
Also, Jamie Noble and Nidia suddenly found themselves rolling in green when a lawyer informed Noble that his Aunt Lucille had passed away, leaving him $827,000.
The Undertaker and APA (Ron Simmons & Bradshaw) def. the Full-Blooded Italians (Nunzio, Johnny "the Bull" Stamboli and Chuck Palumbo)
U.S. Championship Tournament First-Round Match: Matt Hardy Version 1.0 def. Rikishi
WWE Tag Team Championship: Eddie Guerrero & Tajiri def. Rowdy Roddy Piper & Sean O'Haire
Ultimo Dragon def. Shannon Moore
Shelton Benjamin, Charlie Haas & Big Show def. Brock Lesnar, Kurt Angle & Mr. America