Smackdown!

Tacomadome, Tacoma, Washington
July 5, 2001

SmackDown! kicked off from the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington, with a Tag Team Championship match as the Dudley Boyz defending their titles against their younger brother, Spike Dudley, and Y2J Chris Jericho. During the match, Spike hit the Dudleyz patented “Wassup!” headbutt on D-Von. Later on, Jericho had Bubba Ray in the Walls of Jericho, which Spike followed with a missile dropkick. After Bubba Ray barely escaped defeat, the Dudley Boyz recovered to hit the Dudley Death Drop on Spike for the win to retain their Tag Team Championship.

Backstage, Mr. McMahon was pacing in his office when Stone Cold Steve Austin and Debra walked in. Mr. McMahon began to tell the Rattlesnake how humiliated he was last Monday on RAW IS WAR when his wife found him half-naked in the laundry room with Torrie Wilson. Debra said she thought he got what he deserved, which prompted Stone Cold to snap at Debra. Austin then said he had a present for his boss, and he handed him a large red box. Inside, Vince found a brand new Texas cowboy hat, which he tried on. After Austin put his matching hat on as well, Kurt Angle walked in. Angle saw the other two had hats, and he began to feel left out. Austin, however, said not to worry because he had bought the Olympic hero a hat as well. Angle opened his box and found a kids’ size cowboy hat, which he tried on. Not realizing the joke was on him, Angle said that he truly felt like a real cowboy.

After commercial, the WWF and WCW referees were seen having a heated argument about who should be in the officials’ locker room. Federation official Earl Hebner and WCW ref Nick Patrick had to be pulled apart before punches were thrown.

Next up, Crash took on “Tough Enough” trainer Jacqueline. With a bloodied nose, Crash was defeated by Jacqueline after a modified hurricanrana from the top rope.

Backstage, Jeff Hardy was lacing his boots in the locker room when Trish Stratus walked in. Trish said she appreciated what he had done for her this past Monday on RAW when he saved her from the Big Show. At that point, Lita and Matt Hardy walked in and asked Jeff what was going on. As Trish left, it was obvious that Lita and Matt were upset that Jeff had been consorting with the blonde beauty.

Tazz and Michael Cole then took us back to the main event on Monday night when Stone Cold and Kurt Angle attacked Booker T and Buff Bagwell. Michael Cole then said that despite the beating that he took on RAW, Booker T would be defending his WCW Championship on SmackDown!

After hearing that news, Mr. McMahon asked Stone Cold and Angle why Booker T was here. At that point, someone knocked on the door. After the voice behind the door asked for Mr. McMahon, Angle happily let the man in the office. The man then slapped Vince with an envelope containing a subpoena for him to appear in court for divorce proceedings on July 23 – just one day after Invasion!

In a WCW Crusierweight Championship match, the reigning champion Gregory Helms defended his title against Billy Kidman. During the match, WWF Light Heavyweight Champion X-Pac was seen watching the match on a monitor backstage, no doubt scouting the talent in the comparable division. After reversing Helms’ patented Vertebreaker, Kidman drove Helms face first into the mat to become the new WCW Cruiserweight Champion!

Backstage, Mr. McMahon said he couldn’t believe that women were always trying to set him up and ruin his reputation. Debra said she didn’t think that was possible. Vince said he wasn’t going to let it happen, so he decided that he was going to go to the public and tell his side of the story. He said that if he told the truth, the public would understand his stance.

In a segment taped earlier in the day, Booker T was seen arriving to the arena where he was greeted by a number of Federation Superstars, including the APA, Hardcore Holly, Raven, Haku and others. APA started to make fun of Booker T getting his ass kicked this past Monday. Booker T said that he had gotten his ass kicked, but he said that tonight, once again, he would successfully defend the WCW Championship.

Backstage, Christian polished Edge’s King of the Ring trophy, getting it ready for Edge’s Intercontinental Championship match against Albert. Edge told him that no one was allowed at ringside, which visibly hurt Christian. As Edge left, Christian slowly sat down and hugged the trophy.At that point, Federation Chairman Vince McMahon made his way to the ring to tell his side of the story concerning his divorce. Backstage, Stone Cold and Angle watched the scene on a monitor. Speaking to the Tacoma audience, Vince said that when every person dies, they either leave a good or bad reputation. He said that his wife, Linda, wants everyone to believe that he is a womanizer, a philanderer and even a skirt-chaser. He said this past Monday on RAW, his wife and WCW’s Torrie Wilson set him up and tried to give him a bad reputation. He said that he had no intentions of going that far with Torrie. He said he was simply testing Torrie’s loyalty as a prospective Federation Superstar. He said the past few days had been pretty traumatic for him, and tonight was no exception, seeing as he was served with a subpoena to appear in court with his wife the day after Invasion. He said he simply wanted to protect his reputation, and he wanted to tell everyone watching him – including the judge that will be presiding in his hearing on July 23 – that he is sorry for everything he has done. He was sorry for ever causing anyone any pain. He was sorry for any heartbreak that he may have given. He was sorry for being misunderstood, misinterpreted, and for even being born!

At that point, Federation Commissioner William Regal said he couldn’t stand to see Vince do this. He said it was his overwhelming kindness that made him the victim in this situation. The two then had an emotional hug in the ring, which angered Stone Cold and Angle in the backstage area. Vince said that Regal was right. It was not his fault that women all over the world found him incredibly attractive and irresistable, and that it wasn’t his fault that he was a verile man. It wasn’t his fault that he was charismatic, that he was a self-made billionaire that people take advantage of or that he was well-endowed. He then thanked God that he was Vince McMahon and that he was damn proud of it!

The next match was a tag team contest, featuring the Hardy Boyz, accompanied by the lovely Lita, taking on the team of “The One” Billy Gunn and the Big Show. After kicking out of a spinning DDT, Billy Gunn threw Matt Hardy out of the ring. At that point, Lita hit her Litacanrana on Gunn, throwing him to the outside. Back inside the ring, the Hardyz double-teamed Big Show, with Matt hitting his Twist of Fate and Jeff landing his Swanton Bomb. However, with the ref distracted, Gunn snuck into the ring and hit The One and Only on Matt, which allowed the Big Show to cover the older Hardy for the win!

In Mr. McMahon’s office, Vince was telling Stone Cold, Angle, Debra, Regal and Tajiri that he was going to celebrate tonight. He said he was taking the rest of the night off, and that he was going to the nearest strip joint! When Vince left, Stone Cold started berating Regal for hugging Mr. McMahon earlier.

Albert then defended his Intercontinental Championship against the 2001 King of Ring, Edge. Edge came out with a microphone and told Albert that even though he was happy to get an Intercontinental Title shot, the feeling was bittersweet because he knew that once the television audience heard X-Factor’s music they would most likely change the channel. After hitting a low blow on Edge, Albert hit his Baldo Bomb on the reigning King to retain his Intercontinental Championship.

Backstage, the APA and the other Federation Superstars were apologizing to Test for thinking he was the WCW mole on RAW. At that point, Stone Cold and Angle walked up to the group. Austin told the Superstars that now, more than ever, they had to band together and take out the invading WCW! With morale high, the Superstars were ready for action … then Angle spoke. Angle told them that Austin could whip Booker T and WCW all by himself, but he was going to allow the Superstars to help him. Angle also said that Stone Cold could beat the hell out of every single Federation Superstar there, but he chooses to take out WCW instead.

At that point, all the anti-WCW energy had left the room, and the APA and the rest of the Superstars decided they would band together at the closest bar, and they left.

Next up, Scotty 2 Hotty faced Dean Malenko, who was accompanied to the ring by Terri, Perry Saturn and his mop. During the match, Saturn put on Scotty’s visor and attempted to do his own rendition of the Worm onto Malenko, but Dean stopped him before he could finish it. Then, from behind, Scotty nailed Malenko and hit the Worm for the win!

Backstage, Diamond Dallas Page was getting prepared for his WCW Championship match against Booker T when a WCW ref walked by and wished him luck. DDP said he didn’t need luck to become the next WCW Champion. He asked the ref if he had seen the Undertaker or Sara, and the referee said he had not. DDP then said that his Diamond Cutter was sharper than ever, and that he couldn’t wait to cut off Taker’s head with it.

Back in Mr. McMahon’s locker room, Stone Cold told Debra and Angle that he couldn’t believe that Booker T dared to step foot back into a Federation arena. He said he should go down to the ring during the WCW Championship match and whip Booker T’s ass. Stone Cold then asked Angle what he would do to Booker T. The Olympic Champ said he would beat the hell out of him, hit his Angle Slam and break his ankle! Stone Cold then told Angle good luck, and sent him to ringside to carry out his words.

With announcers Scott Hudson and Arn Anderson calling the match, the main event of SmackDown! pitted DDP against Booker T for the WCW Championship. During the match, DDP DDTed the WCW Champion into a chair, but Booker T kicked out after a two-count. DDP then picked up the steel chair and was about to nail Booker T in the head, when the Undertaker ran down. With Page distracted, Booker T rolled him up for the win, retaining his WCW Championship! Taker then jumped into the ring and chased DDP out of the ringside area and into the back! At that point, Angle ran down and attacked Booker T in the middle of the ring, but Booker T hit his patented scissor-kick, which laid out the Olympic hero.

Backstage, Taker was chasing DDP outside of the arena when he was attacked by an army of WCW stars! Buff Bagwell, Chavo Guerrero, Lance Storm, Mike Awesome, Chris Kanyon and Shawn Stasiak attacked the Dead Man, beating him until DDP came in to do more damage on the Federation veteran. WCW owner Shane McMahon then ran in and tried to stop DDP from seriously hurting Taker, but Page unleashed his fury on Shane, hurdling him into a steel door! Booker T then ran out and told the stars to back off Shane, but then they attacked the WCW Champion! Scott Hudson and Arn Anderson questioned why the WCW roster would attack the two men, because they were on the same team! Booker T and Shane were seen lying on the ground, writhing in pain, as SmackDown! went off the air!