Smackdown!

Greensboro, North Carolina
May 22, 2003

Dead Man returns; Mr. America’s identity on the verge of exposure!

SmackDown! was reelin’ and rockin’ at the historic Greensboro Coliseum this week, as fans witnessed the return of a legend and the triumph of WWE’s black hearted chairman!

After weeks away from the ring thanks to a vicious assault from the Full Blooded Italians, Undertaker burst back on to the scene without missing a beat! Right out of the gate, his unfortunate victims were none other than the FBI, who were laying a Brooklyn-style beat-down on WWE Champion Brock Lesnar when the Dead Man stormed to the ring and made the save.

Does this mean that Brock and the ‘Taker, formerly bitter enemies, are now on the same page? Or was ‘Taker simply looking for some good old-fashioned revenge? Hopefully, the answer will soon be made clear.

A count-out victory for Sean O’Haire over Mr. America means that the star-spangled Superstar will be forced to take a lie detector test next week on SmackDown!, as per Vince McMahon’s pre-match stipulation. Mr. McMahon, still insisting that Mr. America is actually Hulk Hogan, will have the chance to prove it to the world next week!

It was Mr. America’s good nature that caused his downfall, as the count out occurred when he was outside the ring trying to prevent Zach Gowen, his young handicapped supporter, from being arrested at the behest of McMahon for his “assault” on the chairman last Sunday at Judgment Day.

Also on the show, Rey Mysterio earned a shot at Cruiserweight Champion Matt Hardy when he defeated both of Matt’s disciples, Shannon Moore and Crash, in a Handicap Match. The master of Mattitude was less than pleased, and put a hurting on both his followers after the bout. And Eddie Guerrero & Tajiri successfully defended their newly won WWE Tag Team Championship against Team Angle thanks to Eddie’s “lying, cheating and stealing” tactics.

The program also featured an in-depth interview with the inspirational Zach Gowen, conducted by SmackDown! General Manager Stephanie McMahon, in which Gowen declared his dream of one day becoming a wrestler, despite only having one leg.

Sable took exception to Tazz’s choice of Torrie Wilson as the bikini contest winner last Sunday at Judgment Day, and expressed her anger by pouring water all over the announcer’s head! And finally, the announcement has been officially made: Kurt Angle will make his anticipated return to SmackDown! in two weeks!

Match results

Eddie Guerrero & Tajiri successfully defended the WWE Tag Team Championship against Team Angle when Guerrero slipped a steel chair to Charlie Haas, causing referee Mike Chioda to disqualify Haas and Shelton Benjamin after 12 minutes and 50 seconds.

John Cena pinned Spanky following an F-U (Death Valley Driver) in 3:20.

In a non-title match, Chris Benoit defeated Cruiserweight Champion Matt Hardy by submission with the Crippler Crossface at 8:07.

In a handicap elimination match, Rey Mysterio earned a shot at the Cruiserweight Championship by defeating Shannon Moore & Crash. Mysterio pinned Moore with the West Coast Pop after 5:01, and pinned Crash after a powerbomb at 5:21.

In a non-title match, WWE Champion Brock Lesnar defeated Johnny Stamboli by disqualification due to outside interference from Chuck Palumbo and Nunzio at 4:21.

Sean O’Haire defeated Mr. America by count-out in 7:01