Smackdown!

Manchester, New Hampshire
November 8, 2002

With the 16th annual Survivor Series just 10 days away, things are heating up in a big way on the SmackDown! scene. The dynamic duo of Edge & Rey Mysterio became the second WWE Tag Team Champions by upending Chris Benoit & Kurt Angle in a 2-out-of-3-falls rematch from their No Mercy classic. And in the night's most shocking turn of events by far, Big Show sent WWE Champion Brock Lesnar hurtling from the entrance ramp to the concrete below!

The crowd on hand at Manchester, New Hampshire's Verizon Wireless Arena got to witness firsthand a tag team encounter of epic proportions as Chris Benoit & Kurt Angle put their Tag Titles on the line against the men they defeated in the tournament final three weeks ago, Edge & Rey Mysterio. Contested in a best 2 out of 3 falls rules, the match provided unparalleled excitement.

With the match tied at one fall apiece, things got controversial when Rey appeared to pin Angle and win the title for his team. Unbeknownst to referee Brian Hebner, Angle was caught in the ropes at the moment of the fall, and when this was brought to his attention, the fall was disregarded and the match continued! Nevertheless, the finish remained the same as Angle went down in defeat anyway, this time to Edge, bringing a close to the stormy reign of Kurt and Chris!

Big Show proved that he means business, and is dead serious about stopping Brock Lesnar's rampage a week from Sunday at Survivor Series. Following Lesnar's non-title victory over Eddie Guerrero, Show ambushed the champ while he was heading back up the ramp. Mercilessly, the giant tossed his rival right off the stage, rendering him unconscious!

Lesnar's agent Paul Heyman was not with his man at the time, due to an argument the two had backstage. Upset over Lesnar's uncontrollable temper, Heyman berated the titleholder, reminding him that it was he that made Lesnar into "The Next Big Thing" and the WWE Champion, and therefore Lesnar is only to unleash his fury when Heyman says so. It appears there's some trouble in Camp Lesnar, to say the least.

The saga of Al Wilson continued on SmackDown! as well, much to his daughter Torrie's dismay. Having warned Torrie that he was about to do something he hoped she would understand, he proceeded to enter the ring with Dawn Marie and ask her to marry him! As if that wasn't wild enough, Dawn Marie actually said yes! Needless to say, Torrie promptly stormed from the arena in tears over her father's engagement to the devious rival Diva.

In other action, Matt Hardy, vowed to "soften up" the Big Show for Brock Lesnar just as he did with the Undertaker, received a vicious chokeslam for his troubles, going down in defeat to the mighty Show. So much for Mattitude Version 1!

Additionally, Michael Cole and Tazz announced the matches that will be featured on WWE's upcoming Super Tuesday special: World Heavyweight Champion Triple H will join forces with Chris Jericho, Christian & 3-Minute Warning to take on the team of Kane, Booker T, RVD, Bubba Ray Dudley & Jeff Hardy; Edge, Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit will compete in a Triple Threat Match; and in an interpromotional bikini challenge, Women's Champion Trish Stratus will oppose Torrie Wilson! The special airs next Tuesday night on UPN.

Match results

In a mixed tag team match, Billy Kidman & Torrie Wilson defeated Cruiserweight Champion Jamie Noble & Nidia when Kidman pinned Noble with a shooting star press in 5 minutes and 7 seconds.

Rikishi pinned John Cena after a "Rumpshaker" sit-down splash at 4:13.

Big Show pinned Matt Hardy following a chokeslam in 2:00.

In a best-2-out-of-3-falls match, Edge & Rey Mysterio defeated Chris Benoit & Kurt Angle to win the WWE Tag Team Championship. Edge & Mysterio won the first fall when Mysterio pinned Benoit after a modified Doomsday Device at 6:00. Benoit & Angle took the second fall when Edge submitted to Angle's anklelock after 3:26. In the third fall, it appeared that Mysterio pinned Angle with a roll-up in 8:12, but referee Brian Hebner continued the match due to Angle being in the ropes. Edge & Mysterio won the deciding fall in an additional 4:39, when Edge pinned Angle following an accidental flying headbutt from Angle's partner Benoit.

In a non-title match, WWE Champion Brock Lesnar pinned Eddie Guerrero after an F-5 in 6:40.