JACKPOT FOR HARDCORE HOLLY
Dec. 18, 2003

Christmas came a week early for Hardcore Holly on SmackDown! Just hours after the WWE Board of Directors ruled that Holly must be reinstated, Paul Heyman entered SmackDown! with a plan that was supposed to make Holly’s return a very brief one. In an all or nothing match, Matt Morgan & A-Train would face Hardcore Holly & Shannon Moore to determine Holly’s final fate. A win by Holly & Moore would give Holly a shot at the WWE Championship on a future date, however, a win by Morgan & A-Train would mean the immediate termination of Holly’s contract.

If having an undersized partner did not present enough of a challenge for Holly, Heyman stacked the deck against him even further when he announced that Brock Lesnar would defend the WWE Championship against any SmackDown! Superstar – and he had a tumbler full of the SmackDown! Superstars to choose from. Moments before Lesnar’s Title defense, he chose his challenger … and it turned out to be Shannon Moore! After crushing Moore during their match, Lesnar revealed that it was not a coincidence that Moore’s name was chosen as every ball in the tumbler bore the name, Shannon Moore.

Decimated by Lesnar, Moore was forced to begin the match against Morgan & A-Train, but the resiliency he has displayed during recent weeks continued, and he survived the initial assault to tag in Holly. Hardcore Holly seized his opportunity and stunned Team Lesnar with the victory, ensuring that his career in WWE would continue and he would get his shot at the WWE Championship. Before the match, Holly vowed he would win the match and continue on to take the WWE Championship and break Lesnar’s neck. With step one behind him, when will Holly get his shot to keep his promise? Stay tuned to find out!

Also on SmackDown!, the scheduled WWE Tag Team Championship Match between the Basham Brothers and Rikishi & Scotty 2 Hotty was changed to a Fatal Four-way that included Los Guerreros and the Self-Proclaimed World’s Greatest Tag Team. Although at one point each team seemed poised for victory, the Basham Brothers head into Christmas still the WWE Tag Team Champions.

Speaking of championships, Rey Mysterio earned another shot at the Cruiserweight Championship and Tajiri with a win over Jamie Noble in a No. 1 Contender’s Match that featured both high-flying Superstars in top form. Noble once again tried to use Nidia’s blindness to his advantage, but it backfired, and now Mysterio will soon have his shot to regain the Cruiserweight Championship.

It was also announced on SmackDown! that next week’s special edition from Iraq will feature John Cena facing the Big Show! These two have been jawing at each other for weeks, including last week’s battle rap. Not only do they get to finally square off next week, but they have the honor of doing it in front of America’s soldiers in Iraq! Will it take an Army to keep these two from destroying each other? Who else will compete on SmackDown! from Iraq? Only one way to find out … spend Christmas with the troops of the United States and World Wrestling Entertainment as SmackDown! comes to you from Iraq next week at 8/7 CT on UPN!

Match results:

Big Show defeated Orlando Jordan

The Basham Brothers defeated Los Guerreros, Rikishi & Scotty 2 Hotty and the Self-Proclaimed World’s Greatest Tag Team in a Fatal Four-way

Rey Mysertio defeated Jamie Noble in a No. 1 Contender’s Match

Chris Benoit defeated Chuck Palumbo

Faarooq defeated Rhyno via disqualification

Brock Lesnar defeated Shannon Moore

Hardcore Holly & Shannon Moore defeated A-Train & Matt Morgan