Smackdown!

New Orleans, Louisiana
December 20, 2001

As SmackDown! went on the air, Booker T was seen sitting in Vince McMahon's office with a huge smile on his face. He was approached by World Wrestling Federation co-owner Ric Flair, and Book asked what the Nature Boy was doing there. Naitch said that he was doing the same thing Booker was -- waiting for Vince. Flair then took out a sheet of paper, and said he and Vince had finally finished Booker's contract. Ric said he wasn't thrilled with signing Booker, but he was jumping on the Booker bandwagon because Vince saw Booker in a great light, and Flair wanted to be a team player. Booker's eyes lit up when he saw the contract, as Flair explained that it was for a couple of hundred grand more than Flair would have signed him for! Booker said the contract was sweet, and he asked Flair for a pen. The Bookerman then signed his contract, saying he was worth that and a whole lot more. Flair said he could dig it. He shook Booker's hand and wished him Happy Holidays. Flair then smiled at the contract and left the office.

The Intercontinental Championship was on the line as Edge defended against Kurt Angle to open the Dec. 20 episode of SmackDown! from New Orleans! Edge soon set Angle up for the spear, but as he went for it, Angle pulled the referee into the way!

Edge was able to stop before he hit the ref, but Kurt then kicked Edge with a low blow, and the referee called for a disqualification! After the bout, Angle took out his frustration on Edge. The IC Champion rebounded with a kick to the face and a face-first slam, but Kurt soon locked Edge in the ankle lock, causing Edge to scream in pain! It took three referees finally to pull Angle off of Edge!

Back in the parking area, Booker T was dancing around, still thrilled about his contract. A limo pulled into the arena, and out walked Federation co-owner Mr. McMahon. Booker ran up to Vince and gave him a big hug, thanking him for all those greenbacks! A confused Vince asked Booker what he was talking about, and Booker explained that Flair had given him a contract; Vince answered that he didn't know what Booker was talking about! Ric Flair then approached the two, and showed Booker's contract to Vince. Flair said that Booker would be wrestling on SmackDown! against Stone Cold Steve Austin -- in a First Blood Match!

The Rock made his way to the ring to a thunderous ovation, as finally The Rock had come back to New Orleans! The People's Champion said he was set to go one-on-one with Test on SmackDown! He talked about how Test had been flexing his muscles since winning immunity by picking on women, announcers and referees. He said that just because Test had immunity didn't mean he couldn't get his ass whooped!

Rock said he was a little confused by something, saying that he figured that Test would be smiling since winning immunity, but instead, Test was walking around with an angry look on his face. But Rock figured out why -- he said the one man Test hated more than anyone else in the world was Santa Claus!

The Great One said that it all went back to a letter Test wrote to Santa when he was a kid -- "Dear Santa, You ride around on a sled, what's that all 'aboot?' Anyway, the only thing I want for Christmas is my two front teeth." Rock said Test better be careful what he wishes for.

Rock said he also had a wish list. He said that the night before, he was thinking about the three things on his list. One, he wanted a rematch with Chris Jericho to become Undisputed Champion. Two, he wanted a big dose of pie in the Big Easy! And last, he wanted to whip Test's candy ass on SmackDown!

Being that it's the holiday season, Rock said he wanted to leave Test with something on SmackDown!, so he offered a little song -- "The 12 Days of Christmas," featuring 12 things he would leave Test with on SmackDown! Rock then sang, "On the night Test faces Great One, this is what he'll see -- 12 sharpshooters stinging, 11 eyebrows raising, 10 spines a'bustin, nine noggins knocking, eight kicks a'kicking, seven punches punching, six suplexes smashing, five seconds of the people chanting The Rock's name ... four Rock Bottoms, three People's Elbows, on your two buck teeth, and an ass-kicking all over New Orleans!"

Next up, Rikishi battled Lance Storm. Rikishi was set to give Storm the Stink Face when Test walked out to distract the Phat Man. Storm took out a distracted Rikishi with a shot to the back of the knee and a superkick, and then pinned him with his feet on the ropes!

Kane was in his locker room when he was approached by Booker T. Booker said he had a favor to ask -- he wanted to borrow Kane's mask for the First Blood Match! Kane didn't like the idea, so Booker instead said he just wanted some advice from Kane -- and Kane told him, "Don't bleed!"

Footage was shown of Undertaker throwing Jeff Hardy and Lita off the stage on Monday's RAW, leading into Taker defending the Hardcore Championship against Jeff's brother, Matt.

Undertaker headed to the ring, and as he did, he was attacked from behind by Matt, who smacked him with a kendo stick! The two men then met up for Taker's Hardcore Championship. Once Taker was able to regroup, he physically dominated Matt, and pinned him with the Last Ride to retain his title. After the bout, Taker was about to ride his bike out of the arema, but he thought twice about it and instead returned to the ring. There, he grabbed a steel chair, put it across Matt's throat, and slammed his neck down forcefully onto the chair! Matt clutched at his throat as Taker walked away coldly.

During the break, Matt was taken away on a stretcher, with paramedics paying special attention to Matt's neck. Taker approached him and told Matt to keep one thought in mind during his trip to the hospital -- "Was the bitch really worth it?"

Undisputed World Wrestling Federation Champion Chris Jericho headed to the ring, and Y2J said he didn't appreciate the response the people had been giving him lately. He said he used to be their hero, but now they booed him. He asked why that was, and then answered his own question, saying it was basic human nature to dislike people who are better than us! He said that he was better than all the fans, again bragging that he was the only Undisputed Champion in history! He said that the accolade meant that he was better educated than the fans, he had a better standard of living than the fans, he was better looking than the fans, and that he was a better athlete and champion than all who preceded him. He said he was better than Rock, better than Austin, and even better than Ric Flair!

Speaking of Flair, Y2J then replayed the footage from his title defense against Rob Van Dam on Monday's RAW, as Flair and RVD locked Vince McMahon and him in stereo figure-four leglocks at the end of the bout! He thanked the courage of Mr. McMahon, who in the interest of fairness had prevented Flair from screwing him out of his title, so he said. Jericho then brought up RVD's name, and out to the stage walked Van Dam himself!

RVD was not a happy man, and as he was about to speak, Jericho cut him off. Y2J said that Van Dam had his chance to become Undisputed Champion, but he had blown it! He said Van Dam was not worthy of beating him. Y2J said he was better than Van Dam.

Van Dam then ran to the ring, and laid into Jericho with punches! He nailed the Undisputed Champion with a heel kick, and then delivered a stunning Five-Star Frog Splash! RVD talked some trash to Jericho before leaving the ring!

Footage was shown of the rivalry between William Regal and Edge, including footage of last Thursday's SmackDown!, when Edge gave Regal the Edge-ecution onto a steel chair, busting Regal's nose wide open and requiring the Brit to get surgery. In an interview from his home earlier in the week, Regal talked about how he had spent hours on an operating table after having his face smashed by Edge. He said he was forced to sit there and be miserable over the holidays, but he didn't want Edge to consider that. He instead wanted Edge to think about the misery Regal would put him through the next time the two superstars met in the ring. He said he would turn Edge into a vegetable the next time they fought, becoming the new Intercontinental Champion. He said when you gamble with the devil, the devil always wins.

Next up, Test went up against The Rock! On the outside, Test went to grab a chair, and as the referee tried to get him to put it down, Lance Storm snuck into the ring and superkicked Rock!

Test went for the pin, but Rocky kicked out at two! Test went for the pump-handle slam, but Rock reversed into a spinebuster! Storm got up on the ring apron, and Rock pulled him into the ring. Test then went for the boot, but Rock ducked, and he hit Storm by accident! Rock followed up with a Rock Bottom on Test to score the pin!

A highlight package was shown of Stone Cold's recent interaction with Booker T at the grocery store and at church.

Chris Jericho entered Ric Flair's locker room and accused Flair of being the mastermind behind RVD attacking him. He accused Flair of being envious of him, since he had something Flair would never have -- the Undisputed Championship. He said he was better than Flair, and said Flair was trying to screw with him. Ric said he had nothing to do with RVD being out there, but said he was going to make Jericho defend his Undisputed Championship tonight against Big Show!

That match was up next, and the cocky champion was physically overmatched by Show as the match began. Show went for the chokeslam, and the ref tangled up in the middle and wound up getting knocked down. Y2J then hit Show with a low blow, and then smacked him across the face with one of his title belts, soon after pinning him to retain his title.

Backstage, Vince McMahon psyched up Booker T, saying Booker knew he could beat Stone Cold in the First Blood Match. A messenger then entered the office and had a present for Booker T.

It was a present from Stone Cold -- a first-aid kit!

The main event on SmackDown! was the First Blood Match between Stone Cold Steve Austin and Booker T. Booker brought a chair to the ring with him, and the Rattlesnake responded by tossing a number of chairs into the ring and also the ring bell! The match began on the outside, as Austin brutalized Booker on the announce table. In the ring, Austin took the turnbuckle pad off one of the corners to expose the steel. Stone Cold choked Booker with an extension cord, and Booker tried to wear Austin down with a sleeper.

Austin's head soon bounced off the exposed turnbuckle, but the move failed to draw blood. The two men went back and forth into the corner, and the ref was soon knocked out in the melee. Austin downed Booker with a spinebuster, and the force of the move knocked Stone Cold out as well.

The Rattlesnake got back up and grabbed a chair, but suddenly, down to the ring ran the Big Boss Man! Wearing a suit, the Boss Man smacked Austin across the ring with a steel chair, busting the Rattlesnake wide open! Booker followed up with a scissors kick for good measure, and then executed a picture-perfect Spinerooni! Booker pounded on Austin, and went to hit the Rattlesnake with a steel chair, but Stone Cold recovered and gave Booker the Stunner! He went to smack Booker with a chair, but the ref came to and saw blood dripping from Austin's head! The ref called for the bell, awarding the match to Booker T!

Vince McMahon laughed an evil laugh on the TitanTron as SmackDown! went off the air!