Smackdown!

Seattle, Washington
August 22, 2002

With just three days remaining until his title shot at SummerSlam, Brock Lesnar opened SmackDown! in Fayetteville, N.C., by walking to the ring with his agent, Paul Heyman.

Heyman stated that Brock killed Hulk Hogan's career and the Next Big Thing would do the same thing to The Rock at SummerSlam. But Heyman said that Brock wanted The Rock to have a taste of SummerSlam, so he promised that the two would collide on SmackDown!

Brock took the microphone and said that he felt the same way that he felt on the night he fought Hulk Hogan. As Lesnar promised to make The Rock cry like a little bitch, the People's Champion strutted out onto the stage! The Rock said that despite all the talk, Brock had yet to back it up. The Great One stated that since Brock refuses to bring it to The Rock, The Rock would bring it to him! The Rock took off his sunglasses and started down the ramp. But he was assaulted from behind by Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit! The Rabid Wolverine latched on the Crossface while Heyman and Lesnar laughed in the ring!

Moments later, Benoit and Guerrero launched another savage attack on Edge as he arrived at the arena!

The Hurricane & Shannon Moore def. Jamie Noble & Tajiri
Shannon Moore slithered out of Jamie Noble's powerbomb attempt and got the pinfall on a quick rollup! All four men continued to battle in the ring. Just as Hurricane and Moore disposed of their opponents, Matt Hardy came to the ring to add support and even celebrated as if he had muscled out Noble and Tajiri.

Staphanie McMahon berated Benoit and Guerrero backstage, saying that the two had put SummerSlam in jeopardy with their attacks on The Rock and Edge. Stephanie said that if The Rock couldn't compete on Sunday, the two would receive a dramatic cut in pay. Stephanie said she had no problem if the men unleashed their fury in a competitve match. She said she would protect her SummerSlam! main event. As she continued, Edge rushed in and chased Benoit and Guerrero away with a steel chair! Edge demanded that Stephanie make a tag team match for the evening featuring him and The Rock against the Wolverine and Latino Heat! Stephanie agreed.

Matt Hardy bragged to The Hurricane and Shannon Moore about the reaction he got from the crowd, saying it wasn't just because he's from the area. He said that if he went back into the arena right there, he'd get twice the reaction. Matt went down the entrance ramp and indeed got a loud cheer. But it was cut short when Chavo Guerrero came out and said they'd see what kind of reaction he got when they got through in the ring!

Chavo Guerrero def. Matt Hardy
Matt was ready to hit the Twist of Fate, but Kane's fiery entrance theme hit the TitanTron. While Matt stared at the screen, Chavo rolled him up and got the 1-2-3!

Backstage, Funaki said he would be going inside a place no man had ever been before: the women's locker room! True to his word, Funaki walked in and found Nidia changing! Molly Holly walked in to view and ordered him to leave because he could have seen her changing. Nidia said she didn't have a problem and told Funaki to stay. Molly said that Nidia is loose. Nidia said she's just open. She also promised to show everyone in the arena what they wanted to see that night when she beat Molly in the ring. 

Kurt Angle told Rey Mysterio that he requested a match against Billy Kidman that night so his SummerSlam opponent could see what is in store for him on Sunday. Angle promised to break Mysterio's ankle if he got involved in the match.

Billy Kidman def. Kurt Angle via countout
The referee was knocked to the mat, allowing Rey Mysterio to rush in and deliver a missile dropkick to Angle! Mysterio dashed away with Angle in hot pursuit. The ref had no choice but to count Angle out, but the Olympic hero did return to the ring to take out his frustration on Kidman.

The Rock told Edge that sore ribs were nothing and that nothing could keep him from taking on Brock at SummerSlam. 

Rikishi & John Cena def. Reverend D-Von & Batista
D-Von and Batista got into a shouting match in the middle of the ring which ended with Batista nailing his partner with a spinebuster! Rikishi dragged D-Von to the corner for a Rump Shaker and got the easy pin!

Backstage, Jamie Noble convinced Nidia to take off her top to give a security guard a sneak preview of what everyone else would see once she defeated Women's Champion Molly Holly! 

Molly Holly def. Nidia
After kicking away Jamie Noble, the Women's Champion hit the Molly-Go-Round and got the pin! Noble rushed to his girlfriend's aid and said despite the loss, she should still give the people what they want to see! Nidia began to strip off her top, but Molly rushed in and knocked Noble into his girlfriend to prevent any indecency.

Edge & The Rock def. Chris Benoit & Eddie Guerrero
The Great One nailed Benoit with a Rock Bottom which allowed Edge to take Guerrero to the mat with a spear and get the pin! Brock Lesnar suddenly appeared in the ring and faced his SummerSlam opponent, who motioned for Edge to leave the ring. The Rock told Brock to "Just Bring It" and the two began slugging away on each other! The Rock knocked the Next Big Thing over the top rope and Paul Heyman convinced his young star to wait until Sunday to get even! The red-faced Lesnar promised to do just that at SummerSlam as SmackDown! came to a close!