Smackdown – April 13, 2000: Jericho vs. Stephanie Begins Here
Smackdown
Date: April 13, 2000
Location: Ice Palace, Tampa, Florida
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler
We open with a recap from Raw where Rock beat Boss Man and Bull Buchanan in a cage to earn his title shot at Backlash.
Opening sequence, which is still pretty cool even today.
European Title: Rikishi vs. Eddie Guerrero
Rating: C-. Nothing to see here. Rikishi would rise up the card very fast over the summer, culminating in one of the biggest WHAT WERE THEY THINKING moments in company history as he would turn heel and be revealed as the guy that ran over Austin. Eddie and Chyna did their thing for a few more months before splitting and doing very little else for a good while.
Earlier today, Al Snow and Steve Blackman went to a retirement home, presumably for a personal appearance. The surprise is that Snow has booked Blackman, the most bland wrestler in the history of bland wrestlers, as a stand up comedian. More on this later apparently.
Hardy Boys vs. Dean Malenko/Chris Benoit
Benoit comes in and suplexes Jeff down and hits a backbreaker for two. Back to Malenko for a clothesline and some pounding. This is all hard hitting stuff which makes it a lot better. The Radicals take turns hammering away on Jeff and Jeff gets to show off his amazing selling abilities. Benoit drop toeholds Jeff down so Dean can hit a dropkick to the side of his head.
Angle is with Shane in the back and is told that since he was screwed at Wrestlemania, tonight he and Show are getting a tag title shot. Angle leaves and Shane and HHH chuckle.
Hardcore Title: Crash Holly vs. Perry Saturn
Crash is defending. Saturn brings in a barrel of weapons which Crash tries to empty out. Saturn is sent into the steps and we head inside. A headscissors gets two for the champion but Saturn counters a rana attempt into a powerbomb. A trashcan lid to the head gets two for Saturn and we get a short pinfall reversal sequence.
We head back to the nursing home for the actual comedy performance from Blackman. He reads some terrible jokes than only Snow laughs at.
Tag Titles: Edge/Christian vs. Kurt Angle/Big Show
The champs come through the crowd as is their custom and goes right after Big Show. Considering they combine to weigh what Show had for lunch that day, this goes about as well as you would expect with Christian being picked up in the air and slammed down. Edge tries to come off the middle rope but jumps into a chokeslam which Christian has to break up.
Rating: D+. This was all about setting up a story and a PPV match between Show and Angle, meaning the titles here meant nothing at all. To be fair the champs had just won them in the forerunner to TLC so they probably were still healing. Nothing to see here but Show vs. Angle would wind up being absolutely hilarious.
Albert vs. Bubba Ray Dudley
Albert put Bubba through a table on Raw to set this up. This is when Trish was all about her looks, which she lives up to tonight by wearing a schoolgirl skirt with her outfit. Bubba gets jumped coming into the ring but Albert charges into a boot in the corner. A middle rope shoulder gets two for Bubba but a Trish distraction lets Albert kick Bubba in the face for two of his own. The future Tensai misses a middle rope leg and Bubba kicks him in the face, only to get caught jumping (yes Bubba jumped) into a powerbomb for two. Bubba ducks a clothesline and hits the Bubba Cutter out of nowhere for the pin. Short and surprisingly not terrible.
Jericho tries to apologize but calls the girls fat. He gets a handicap match as punishment.
Terri Runnels/Fabulous Moolah vs. Mae Young/The Kat
The old chicks come in and have a MUCH better match than the young girls. Moolah is 76 and Mae is 77 at this point. Moolah monkey flips Mae a few times and everything breaks down. Mae and Kat hit stereo Bronco Busters before Kat spears Moolah down and a Mae elbow gets the pin.
Chris Jericho vs. X-Pac/Road Dogg
I miss the King of Rock theme DX had at this point. I also miss Tori in those shorts of hers. Roadie starts for his team but Pac tries to sneak in a shot. Jericho tries to fight them both at once but gets spin kicked in the face to take him down. Jericho comes back with a spin kick to Road Dogg but Pac interferes again.
Blackman apparently pulled nunchucks on an 84 year old woman. Bad timing here.
Acolytes/The Rock vs. Bull Buchanan/Big Boss Man/HHH
Rock Rock Bottoms Shane through the announce table to end the show.
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