WWE Smackdown!
June 19, 2003


SmackDown! Report
June 19, 2003

Hey crew. Sorry to have to tell you this, but I worked through most of the show again tonight so the report is going to be a little bit abbreviated. Bear with me, here we go!

Ther hellacious superplex by Brock Lesnar on The Big Show last week that caved the ring in was shown to get the show underway.

Michael and Tazz plugged the main event as Brock and The Big Show will collide one more time for the WWE Title!

In match action:
THE UNDERTAKER def. NUNZIO (w/FULL-BLOODED ITALIANS):
Nunzio tried to show that he wasn't intimidated by the Phenom but Taker wasn't buying it and although the FBI tried to assert the numbers game, Taker showed why he is still the biggest dog in the yard. Taker shoved Nunzio into Stamboli and Palumbo as they hopped onto the apron in an attempt to save Nunzio from a chokeslam. Taker connected with the chokeslam moments later then a Last Ride spelled the end for Nunzio, giving the Dead Man the win but after the match, the Full-Blooded Italians once again tried to take out Taker, triple-teaming him in the middle of the ring. However, Taker got a lot of backup as the APA, Ron Simmons and Bradshaw, made their return and the Acolytes helped Taker to clear the ring and send Palumbo, Stamboli and Nunzio scampering back up the ramp!

FIRST ROUND
WWE UNITED STATES CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT
CHRIS BENOIT def. RHYNO:
Stephanie came to the stage after Benoit and Rhyno each came to the ring and she announced that SmackDown! would host the Vengeance Pay-Per-View at which the new Unisted States Champion would be crowned. So what did that have to do with Rhyno and Benoit? Simple. They would be facing each other in the first round of the tournament.... right now!

Benoit controlled much of the early action as after a nice series of chain wrestling from the pair, the Rabid Wolverine worked over the arm of Rhyno and although Rhyno powered free, a spear attempt in the corner came up dry and Rhyno tumbled through the ropes to the outside. Rhyno turned the tide after the commercial break, first wearing Benoit's knee with a half-Crab and then punishing the Crippler with a series of high-impact slams and then applying a reverse chinlock. Benoit fought to his feet and scored with a vertical suplex and a German suplex set up the big headbutt from the rop rope but Rhyno kicked out at two. Rhyno tried for the Gore moments later and although Benoit sidestepped the vaunted finisher, he could not avoid the double axehandle blow to the back of his head from the man-beast. However, as Rhyno tried for a slam, Benoit dropped behind the last ECW Champion and clamped on the CrossFace, leaving Rhyno no choice but to tap out and although Benoit offered a handshake after the match, Rhyno was a little less than receptive as he held his arm, wincing in pain.

NON-TITLE MATCH
WWE Cruiserweight Champion REY MYSTERIO, Jr. def. CHRIS KANYON:
Rey had his larger adversary flustered from the onset, scoring with a headscissor takedown but Kanyon caught Rey with a wheelbarrow on the floor and dropped him sternum-first across the barricade. Back in the ring, Kanyon continued the onslaught and although Rey momentarily broke up the momentum with a reverse spingboard hilo and a modified West Coast Pop from the top rope, Kanyon came right back with an Electric Chair Drop before trying for a vertical suplex from the apron. Rey countered and nearly tore Kanyon's head off of his shoulders with a guillotine legdrop from the outside in, setting up the 619. The call connected and moments later, the West Coast Pop answered the question "Who Betta than Kanyon?" as Rey picked up the win!

INTERVIEW - SHELTON BENJAMIN & CHARLIE HAAS:
Shelton took to the mic and told the fans that they were in no hurry to apologize to Kurt or to beg Kurt to take them back into Kurt Angle and Charlie echoed his teammate's sentiments, saying that leaving Team Angle was the best thing that has ever happened to them because Kurt was holding them back. Charlie told the fans that he and Shelton comprised the best tag team in the world but as Charlie challenged Kurt to a match next week, Kurt took to the ring to see why they wanted to wait!

Kurt told his former charges that everything they said was true but the bottom line was that he was not wild about the words 'next week' as a U.S.A. chant rose up from the crowd. Angle told the pair that 'next week' was the nice way of saying that they lacked testicular fortitude and with that, Kurt said that if Shelton and Chalrie had a problem with him, they should take care of it right friggin' now! After a little bit of debating by Shelton and Charlie to see who would take Kurt on, Shelton hopped out of the ring and after the referee made his way to the squared circle, the match was on!

KURT ANGLE def. CHARLIE HAAS (w/SHELTON BENJAMIN):
This one was a mot wrestling clinic. Kurt took his young charge to school in the early going, keeping Haas on the mat and although Haas came back with a headsiccor after a single-leg takedown by Angle, Kurt countered and sent Haas over the top rope to the floor with a slingshot. Chalrie got back into Kurt's face in the corner and slapped his former mentor in the face and although Kurt retaliated with a crossbody plancha off of the ropes, Haas sent Angle over the top rope to the floor where Benjamin hurled Kurt into the steel steps.

The referee escorted Benjamin to the back but as Shelton tried to proclaim his innocence, Haas took advantage and rammed Kurt's arm into the steps before focusing on the appendage back in the ring. Angle tried to fight back as Haas worked him over in the corner but Haas mowed him down with a shoulderblock. However, Kurt got all cylinders firing and after a series of clotheslines, Kurt scored with an overhead belly-to-belly suplex. Haas countered the Olympic Slam and delivered a belly-to-back suplex before pulling the straps down and going for the Olypic Slam himself but Kurt countered into an armdrag and then Angle went for the AngleLock. Haas kicked free but Angle quickly got back on the offensive, connecting with a second Angle Slam attempt. Kurt rolled into the cover and picked up the win but he was assaulted by Shelton after the match and the wrestlers formerly known as Team Angle double-teamed their former captain with an Atomic Drop-superkick combo. Shelton and Charlie each picked an ankle and applied a double AngleLock but Brock Lesnar charged the ring and made the save for the 1996 Olympic Gold medalist!

BILLY GUNN (w/TORRIE WILSON) def. JAMIE NOBLE (w/Tough Enough Champion I NIDIA):
The size of The One was too much for Noble to handle at the onset but Noble went to the knee of his larger adversary, sending Gunn to the mat and then after a modified Stunner on Gunn's knee, Noble clamped on the Trailer Hitch. Gunn fired back with a tilt-a-whirl slam to set up the FameAsser but Nidia grabbed Gunn's ankle from the floor, prompting Torrie to come around and tear into the first female Tough Enough champion. Gunn broke the pair up before sidestepping a crossbody plancha from Noble, sending the former Cruiserweight Champion crashing to the arena floor. Gunn went for the FameAsser once again and although Noble avoided it once, the third time was a charm and Billy drove Noble face-first into the canvas and three seconds later, Torrie hopped into the ring to celebrate a victory with Billy!

SEAN O'HAIRE (w/ROWDY RODDY PIPER) def. WWE Tag Team Champion EDDIE GUERRERO (w/WWE Tag Team Champion YOSHIHIRO TAJIRI):
O'Haire set the tone in the early going, capitalizing on a distraction by Piper but Eddie turned things around, dropping O'Haire with a dropkick to the knee after avoiding a kick by the former WCW tag champion. Eddie came from the rafters with a dropkick to the knee of O'Haire but Piper grabbed Eddie's ankle from the floor to help prevent the frog splash. Tajiri came around the ring to try to aid his partner but Piper spewwed a mouthful of tequila back into Tajiri's face! Eddie reset and tried for the frog splash but the diversion was all that O'Haire needed to regroup and avoid the frog splash then after O'Haire connected with the Prophecy, Sean rolled into the cover and picked up the win and after the match, Piper came into the ring and poured tequila on Eddie's prone form before he and Sean took their leave!

WWE TITLE MATCH
WWE Champion BROCK LESNAR def. THE BIG SHOW via DQ to retain the WWE Title:
Brock dared Show to join him on the top turnbuckle as the match got underway but as Show closed in to take Brock up on the dare, Brock leapt over Show and pinned him into the corner with a series of shoulderblocks. Brock sent Show over the top rope to the floor with a clothesline where hecontinued the punishment, running Show into the steel ringpost but Show turned things around, hurling Brock into the barricade after grabbing him by the legs and back in the ring, the challenger worked over the titlist's ribs with kicks and massive chops. Brock tried to fight back but he ran right into a monstrous sidewalk slam then a pair of enormous headbutts had the champion counting ceiling lights.

Show plastered Brock to the mat with a slam then a pair of kicks to the midsection crushed Lesnar's midsection and although Brock again tried to mount some kind of offensive, a stiff clothesline by Show dropped Brock and Show then applied an abdominal stretch. Brock countered with an armbar but Brock ran right into a big boot to the face, allowing Show to deliver a 500-pound legdrop. After a nearfall, Show propped Brock on the top rope but Brock stunned Show with a series of body shots before Brock scored with a low blow before shoving Show to the canvas.

A clothesline from the top rope and a German suplex gave Brock the opportunity to go for the F-5 but Show grabbed the top rope to counter the finisher.and Shemton Benjamin and Charlie Haas swarmed the ring. Lesnar fought through the onslaught but he walked right into a ShowStopper from The Big Show. Kurt Angle charged the ring to try and even up the sides but although Kurt managed to hoist Show up and drive him to the mat with the Olympic Slam before he disposed of Shelton and Charlie with a barrage of suplexes, he too turned into the massive right hand of The Big Show and he too fell prey to a ShowStopper. Enter Mr. America. The masked man took to the ring and laced into Show with massive right hands before calling for the body slam but Shelton and Haas again interjected themselves, giving Show enough time to recover and complete the trifecta with one more ShowStopper. Show let out a roar of triumph, surveying the carnage he had left as SmackDown! came to a close!

Also, during the course of the show:
Zach Gowen was shown in the back and several SuperStars expressed their feelings about Zach not getting his contract last week, showing sympathy for the youngster. Stephanie had sent for Zach, though, and the courageous young man stopped by Steph's office, but he was shocked to see Sable at the door. Sable invited him into the office to wait for Steph and although Zach was a little reluctant, Sable eventually coaxed him inside. Later in the show, Sable tried to get Zack relaxed by saying she respected Zach and that she was sorry for what happened last week but she couldn't help but notice Zach's wandering eye last week as it related to her, umm.... upper torso? Sable told Zach that she didn't mind, though, and she even told Zach that he could feel the aforementioned feature! Zach and Sable proceeded to start heating things up but as Sable made Zach say her name, she told Zach that he wasn't a real man and that there was no way that he could satisfy a woman like her! Vince then barged into the office and chased Zach off before he and Sable got a laugh out of their coup but later in the night, Stephanie caught up with her father as he and Sable were getting, umm, friendly.... in her office and after yelling at Sable and telling her to take her leave, Stephanie tore into Vince, saying that she had supported her father through everything, even the promises that Vince had made to business partners regarding things she'd do. Stephanie said she did them for Vince but she couldn't stand what she had become and she wasn't sure what she saw in Zach Gowen -- maybe it was her trying to turn things around -- but the bottom line was that she didn't care what Vince did, he could fire her if he wanted to but it would just mean that Vince lost the one person who still cared about him, Stephanie herself, and that plain and simple, she just wouldn't care anymore!

Throughout the course of the show, several memorable moments in the history of the rivalry between Brock Lesnar and The Big Show were shown, including Show driving Brock through an announce table with a ShowStopper in October 2002, their match at the 2002 Survivor Series where Paul Heyman turned on Brock, costing Lesnar the WWE Title, Brock subsequently screwing The Big Show out of the WWE Title at Armageddon, their Stretcher Match this year at Judgment Day and their hellacious WWE Title Match last week on SmackDown!

SUBWAY WWE REWIND: Kurt Angle gave Team Angle their walking papers last week on SmackDown!

The Ultimo Dragon will make his WWE debut next week on SmackDown!

This week's episode of Confidential will feature an in-depth look at the venue which hosted WrestleManias I and X and the venue that will be hosting WrestleMania XX, Madison Square Garden.

MAXIM WWE REWIND: Mr. McMahon did the unthinkable last week as during the arm-wrestling contest last week for Zach Gowen's contract, Vince kicked out Zach's prostethic leg before pinning his arm down on the table!

The Undertaker and the APA will team to take on the Full-Blooded Italians next week from Madison Square Garden!




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