Smackdown!
San Jose, California
February 4, 2004
THE JOURNEY BEGINS
FEB. 3, 2005
For the Superstars of SmackDown!, the road to WrestleMania 21 began Thursday
night.
And things are already getting pretty interesting.
SmackDown! General Manager Theodore Long announced a special 8-man No. 1
Contender Tournament to determine who the WWE Champion will face at WrestleMania
21.
Of course, Big Show and current WWE Champion JBL still have the painful matter
of their Barbed Wire Steel Cage Match at No Way Out on Feb. 20. Long also said
that if RAW Superstar and Royal Rumble winner Batista decided to jump to
SmackDown!, there would be a Triple Threat Match at WrestleMania 21.
As usual, JBL wasn’t too crazy about Long’s tournament plan, complaining he
would have to scout all eight men and still find time to prepare for Big Show at
No Way Out.
However, the champ was slightly appeased when he heard Chief of Staff Orlando
Jordan would get to face U.S. Champion John Cena in a quarterfinal match next
week on SmackDown! from Japan.
Cena and JBL would later exchange words in the ring. After JBL told Cena he
wasn’t in his league, Cena gave JBL an FU for his trouble.
Meanwhile, the first quarterfinal match had a dose of controversy. Undertaker
and Rene Dupree battled to a double countout, thanks in part to outside
interference from Luther Reigns and Mark Jindrak.
Reigns and Jindrak were very interested in the match since the winner could
possibly face Kurt Angle. Long later announced neither Superstar would advance.
As a result, the winner of next week’s Kurt Angle/Rey Mysterio match will get a
bye right into the final.
In the main event, Booker T defeated Eddie Guerrero in an exciting quarterfinal
match. It was a very satisfying win for Booker, who was still upset about his
fate at the Rumble. Eddie, of course, faked a knee injury in an attempt to gain
an advantage, but Booker T was onto his tricks, and recorded the victory.
Also, Kurt Angle continued his Invitational, this time with a twist. The
hometown hero turned out to be none other than Nunzio, who volunteered to fight
Angle after the Olympic champion stole his Rumble spot on Sunday. Nunzio was
determined, but Angle rolled to another victory, forcing the full-blooded
Italian to tap out to the ankle lock.
Carlito had some news for Long later in the night. According to Carlito, his
petition to oust Long has been forwarded to WWE Headquarters. Carlito told Long
he would be asked to appear at a special hearing sometime next week.
In non-tournament action, Big Show clobbered the Basham Brothers in a Handicap
Match.
Also, Mysterio defeated Jindrak, who was hoping to soften up Rey for Angle next
week.
WWE also announced five new inductees into the Hall of Fame: The Iron Sheik, a
former WWE Champion; Nikolai Volkoff, top contender to both Bruno Sammartino and
Hollywood Hogan; Cowboy Bob Orton, “Mouth of the South” Jimmy Hart, manager of
such Superstars as King Kong Bundy, The Hart Foundation and The Honky Tonk Man;
and “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff, a participant in the first WrestleMania main
event.
They will all be honored as part of the Class of 2005 in a special ceremony the
night before WrestleMania 21 in Los Angeles.
MATCH RESULTS
Kurt Angle def. Nunzio
Rey Mysterio def. Mark Jindrak
Big Show def. The Basham Brothers (Handicap Match)
Undertaker vs. Rene Dupree, Double Countout