WWF Smackdown 2/10/2000

Written By: Adam King

WWF SMACKDOWN
Thursday, February 10th, 2000
Taped (2/8) from the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, TX

List of WWF Champions at the time:
WWF World Heavyweight Champion: Triple H (1/03/2000)
WWF Intercontinental Champion: Chris Jericho (1/23/2000)
WWF World Tag Team Champions: The New Age Outlaws (11/08/1999)
WWF European Champion: Val Venis (12/12/1999)
WWF Hardcore Champion: Test (1/17/2000)
WWF Women’s Champion: Jacqueline (2/03/2000)

~ Smackdown comes on the air with a recap of The Radicals’ turn, the 10-man tag and Kane’s return on Raw. After the intro Michael Cole welcomes us to the show along with Jerry “The King” Lawler.

WWF European Title: Val Venis © vs. Kurt Angle
Angle first gets on the mic and says he’s still a role model despite suplexing an 82-year old pregnant woman on Raw who he thought was Mark Henry. Angle decides to treat the fans by becoming European Champion and says the Texas fans may not know where Europe is because of the educational system in Austin but promises once he wins the belt he promises to entertain and educate the fans as well. Val makes his way out and does his grind when Angle jumps him and beats him down in a corner. Val comes out with a clothesline and hits a hip toss followed by a series of forearms. Angle clotheslines Val over the ropes then leaps off the apron but Val belts him in the chest and drops Angle onto the barricade. Val throws Angle back in the ring but Angle snaps his neck on the rope. Angle elbows Val in the head then drops him on the top rope. Angle whips Val and hits a neck breaker for two then yells at the crowd for jeering him. Angle goes for a whip but Val reverses it and hits an elbow followed by an elbow drop and a knee drop for a two count. Val whips Angle into a corner and clotheslines him then hits the Fisherman’s Suplex but only gets a two count. Val slams Angle to the mat and climbs to the top rope looking for the Money Shot but Angle bumps the ropes causing Val to straddle the turnbuckle. Val crumbles to the mat and Angle follows up with the Olympic Slam and gets the 1..2..3 to win his first championship in the WWF. (3:14) Afterwards Angle celebrates as only he can. **

~ We then cut to the Helmselys watching the match on a monitor backstage along with DX and the Radicals. Triple H addresses his army while Stephanie seems a little too distracted with Angle on the monitor. Stephanie says tonight is about “divide & conquer” against everyone who made Monday difficult for them. Triple H first tells Perry Saturn that he has Grandmaster Sexay tonight while Dean Malenko gets Scotty 2 Hotty. Triple H then pits Chris Benoit against Rikishi with Benoit saying he’ll make Rikishi sorry he ever left sumo. Triple H then gives the New Age Outlaws the honor of facing The Rock and Cactus Jack, non-title of course. Triple H says that leaves Kane and assigns X-Pac against him with X-Pac expressing outrage at facing him again. Triple H tells X-Pac he’s just ribbing and it’ll really be Kane against the two of them in a handicap match. The entire group pledges to get the job done against their respective opponents as we go to commercial.

Perry Saturn vs. Grandmaster Sexay
Saturn beats on Sexay to start then whips him into a clothesline and hammers him with shoulder blocks. Saturn whips Sexay into a corner and charges at him but eats a boot and Sexay hops to the middle rope and hits a dropkick. Sexay goes for a whip and Saturn reverses but Sexay slides under him and hits an enzuigiri. Saturn rolls out to the apron but Sexay leaps over the ropes and Sunset Flips Saturn right onto the floor. Sexay busts a move on the floor before rolling Saturn back in the ring but Saturn trips him into the ropes and hits an Exploder suplex. Saturn whips Sexay but wrenches the arm twice before applying an arm bar and Sexay grabs the ropes. Saturn hits a Northern Lights suplex for a two count then slaps on a key lock and Sexay fights out of the hold but Saturn hits an arm bar slam for a near fall. Saturn then applies a cross arm breaker and Sexay fights out of that and whips Saturn but Saturn springs off the middle rope into a flying forearm. Saturn slams Sexay then climbs to the top rope and hits the flying elbow drop but that only gets a two count. Saturn goes for a snap suplex but Sexay crotches Saturn on the top rope then rams him into a turnbuckle. Sexay whips Saturn into a corner and busts a move then hits a power slam for a two count. Sexay goes for another whip but Saturn reverses him into a corner. Sexay springs off the ropes for a cross body but Saturn ducks it and the referee gets wiped out instead. Sexay hits a neck breaker on Saturn then climbs to the top rope and connects with the Tennessee Leg Jam, or the Hip Hop Drop as it’s now known. Sexay covers Saturn as White revives to count but only gets two. Saturn slaps on the Rings of Saturn and Sexay gets his foot on the bottom rope but the referee doesn’t see it and Sexay ends up tapping out. (7:14) Good solid match for the most part. Saturn celebrates the win as the other Radicals watch from the back in approval. ***

Edge & Christian vs. The Dudley Boyz
E&C are out for revenge after the Dudleys ruined their tag title shot on Raw. Bubba Ray and D’Von make their way out as they show them almost putting B.B. through the table as well. All four men go at it to start and Edge rake’s Bubba’s face and E&C both hit a double dropkick on D’Von. E&C hit a double dropkick on Bubba followed by a double shoulder block and Bubba rolls out to the floor. D’Von comes in and pounds on Edge then goes for a whip but Edge reverses and E&C hit a double flapjack. Christian takes over and hits a Russian leg sweep for a two count then hits the count-along punches but Bubba gets Christian’s attention allowing D’Von to slip out of the corner and hit a neck breaker. D’Von rams Christian into Bubba’s boot then tags him in and Bubba whips Christian into a backdrop. Bubba draws Edge in to distract the referee then sets Christian up while D’Von climbs to the top rope and hits the head butt to the groin for a two count. D’Von tags in and whips Christian into the jumping elbow then whips Christian again but lowers the head and Christian gets a Sunset Flip for a near fall. Bubba goes out to the floor and grabs a chair but the referee prevents him from bringing it in the ring. So Bubba throws the chair down then tags in and slams Christian to the mat before hitting a pair of elbow drops for a two count. Christian tries to fight back but Bubba pops him and applies a head vice. Bubba whips Christian into a corner but eats a boot and Christian hits a tornado DDT. Both men start crawling to their corners and Bubba tags in D’Von while Christian makes the hot tag to Edge. Edge takes it to both Dudleys and whips D’Von into a backdrop. Bubba goes for a Samoan Drop but his leg buckles before he can hit it and Bubba rolls out to the floor clutching his knee. D’Von clotheslines Edge down when Christian climbs to the top rope and leaps off for a Sunset Flip. D’Von fights it when Edge climbs to the top and hits a missile dropkick than knocks D’Von over for the pin. (5:11) Fun little match.**½
E&C depart the ring and Bubba is still holding his knee on the floor as the referee calls for help. Barbara Bush and the EMTs come out and help Bubba onto a stretcher as D’Von asks if his knee hurts. Bubba says it does not hurt as he suddenly grabs B.B. by the hair, revealing he faked the knee injury. Bubba tells B.B. he’s been waiting three days for this as D’Von slides a table in the ring and sets it up. Bubba throws B.B. into the ring and hops onto the middle rope then super bombs her through the table! Bubba is in his trance again as Edge and Christian come back in the ring far too late to make the save. E&C throw D’von through the ropes and Christian Bubba over when D’Von lays them out with a chair. A number of officials finally get the Dudleys out of the ring leaving Edge, Christian and B.B. lying.

~ Back from break we get a replay of Bubba Ray Dudley faking an injury to put B.B. through the table. We also get footage of B.B. being wheeled out of the arena by the other EMT’s during the break. And as a side note that would be the last we’d ever see of Barbara Bush as she would disappear from the company a few days after this.

Dean Malenko vs. Scotty 2 Hotty
Malenko drives Scotty into a corner to start but Scotty slips out and gets in the first shots then goes for a whip. Malenko reverses Scotty into a corner but Scotty lands on his feet on the ropes and fakes Malenko out then climbs to the top rope. Scotty misses a moonsault but lands on his feet then trips Malenko and hits a dropkick. Malenko rolls out to the apron but Scotty tees off on him then slides under Malenko to the floor and trips him into the apron. Scotty rams Malenko into the steps before both men roll back in the ring and Malenko takes control as Eddie Guerrero makes his way to ringside. Malenko lays the boots to Scotty and knee drops his knee then hits a vertical suplex for a two count. Scotty fights back and whips Malenko and Malenko tries to fake him out but Scotty doesn’t go for it. Scotty whips Malenko looking for a dropkick but Malenko does fake Scotty out this time and rolls him up. However Scotty rolls through it and fires away on Malenko but Malenko comes back by jabbing the eye. Malenko drapes Scotty’s leg over the middle rope and hammers his knee then wraps it around the rope. Malenko hits a knee breaker then applies a spinning toehold and Scotty tries to keep his shoulders up. Malenko knee drops Scotty’s knee repeatedly the goes into a half-crab while standing on Scotty’s neck. Malenko whips Scott into a corner and Scotty tries to fight out of a suplex but Malenko still hits it. Scotty fights back and whips Malenko into a backdrop but Malenko jabs his eye to regain the advantage. Malenko goes for a whip but Scotty reverses him into a corner then comes off the ropes with the bulldog and follows up with the Worm. Scotty climbs to the top rope but Eddie shoves him off to the floor. Malenko quickly slaps on the Texas Cloverleaf and Scotty is forced to tap out. (4:42) Another good match that makes it 2-0 in favor of the DX/Radicals alliance. Eddie runs into the ring and starts stomping away at Scotty with Malenko joining in. Grandmaster Sexay then runs into the ring and DDT’s Malenko while Eddie clears out to the floor. ***

~ Cole reminds us that this Monday Raw will be shown at a special time of 11pm.

~ The Rock and Cactus Jack are shown heading to the ring together as we go to commercial.

~ Back from break we get a promo showing Tazz on the mean streets of Brooklyn.

The Rock & Cactus Jack vs. The New Age Outlaws © – Non-Title Match
The Outlaws come out first and do their usual thing on the mic once again ignoring that they’re heels. Cactus comes out next but first decides to get on the mic and talks about his biggest match being in 17 days. Cactus reminds us of the Hell in a Cell at No Way Out and claims Triple H feels he will force him to retire but says two things will indeed happen at the pay-per-view and his career ending is not one of them. Cactus promises Triple H will be going down while he will be going on … to Wrestlemania, that is. Cactus then promises a beating for the Outlaws tonight as the Rock comes out but doesn’t get any mic time. Rock and Cactus both rush the ring and go right to work on the Outlaws, pairing off in the corners. Rock and Cactus then go to whip the Outlaws into each other and Billy Gunn leapfrogs over Road Dogg but both Outlaws still eat clotheslines. Rock and Billy then head out while Road Dogg and Cactus go at it. Cactus goes for a whip, Road Dogg reverses him into a corner and charges at him but eats an elbow. Cactus then beats Road Dogg down in a corner and Billy comes in but runs right into a right hand. Cactus rams Billy into Rock’s boot then tags Rock in and Rock hammers Billy and hits the Smackdown. Rock whips Billy but lowers the head, Billy leapfrogs over him but Rock still connects with an elbow. Rock goes for a whip but Billy reverses him into a corner then comes off the ropes with a bulldog. Road Dogg tags in, Rock fights back and goes for a whip but Road Dogg stops it with a kick to the chest. Road Dogg comes off the ropes but runs right into a Samoan Drop for a two count and Rock works him over. Rock goes for a whip, Road Dogg reverses and Billy kicks Rock from behind but Rock pops him off the apron. Rock turns right into a boot from Road Dogg who draws Cactus in to distract the referee for a double-team. Road Dogg kicks Rock in the face and pounds on him in a corner then whips him into the opposite corner and Rock comes out with a clothesline but Road Dogg ducks it and follows up with the juke ‘n jive punches. However Rock blocks the big right and gets in his shots then hits a DDT and covers Road Dogg. Billy comes in trying to make the save with an elbow drop but Rock avoids it and Billy nails his partner instead. Rock tosses Billy through the ropes then plants Road Dogg with the Rock Bottom and covers him. Earl Hebner starts the count when Billy pulls him out of the ring but Cactus goes over and tries to get in a shot. Hebner separates the two of them but Billy grabs his tag title belt then goes in the ring and waffles Rock with it. Billy heads back out and Road Dogg covers Rock as Hebner is back in to count … but only gets a two count! Billy tags in and chokes Rock on the mat then Road Dogg tags back in for a quick shot before tagging back out. Billy beats on Rock in a corner and goes for a whip but Rock reverses it and both men clothesline each other. Both men then crawl to their corners and Billy tags in Road Dogg while Rock makes the hot tag to Cactus. Cactus takes it to both Outlaws then takes Road Dogg down by the legs and rams him into the mat repeatedly. Cactus bites Road Dogg’s face when Billy breaks it up and everyone spills out to the floor. Rock drops Billy onto the barricade while Cactus rams Road Dogg into the steps before throwing him back in. Cactus then pulls a pipe out from under the ring then goes in and whacks Road Dogg in the head with it. Cactus covers Road Dogg as Hebner comes back in to count but pulls Road Dogg up off the mat at two. Cactus then drills Road Dogg with a piled river to send a message and this time covers him for the three. (6:56) Fun and energetic tag match that the crowd was into. ***

~ Back from break we get an exterior shot of the Frank Erwin Center.

Gangrel & Luna Vachon vs. Prince Albert & Jacqueline – Mixed Tag Match
This was set up after Gangrel attacked Jackie after her win over Luna on Raw. Jackie nails Luna from behind to start and takes her down then allows Albert to take over. Albert sets Luna on the top rope but Gangrel nails him from behind with a forearm before he can do anything. Gangrel whips Albert into his own corner and Jackie tags herself in before Gangrel whips Albert again. Gangrel lowers the head and Albert hits a knee lift and Jackie leaps on Gangrel’s back and fires away on him. Luna nails Jackie from behind and scoops her up when Jackie counters into a rollup but only gets two. Luna comes back and drills Jackie with a DDT that gets the three for whatever reason. (0:54) Albert comes in and lays out Gangrel with the choke bomb then grabs his piercing kit as Gangrel escapes. Meanwhile Luna goes to whip Jackie but Jackie reverses it and drops Luna face-first into the mat. Only notable because this was Luna’s final WWF appearance before being fired for whatever reason. DUD

~ Chris Benoit and Rikishi are both shown heading to the ring as we go to commercial.

Chris Benoit vs. Rikishi Phatu
Rikishi gets in the first shots but Benoit fights back and chops him then goes for a whip. Rikishi reverses it and Benoit fakes him out but still ends up running into a Samoan Drop. Benoit rolls out to the floor but Rikishi goes out and whips him into the ring steps and chops him. Rikishi throws Benoit back in the ring but Benoit lands some chops and whips him into a drop toehold. Benoit dropkicks Rikishi in the head and follows up with an elbow drop but Rikishi powers out of the cover. Benoit goes for a face plant but Rikishi turns it into a neck breaker then hits the running butt splash in a corner. Rikishi goes for the sit-down piled river, Benoit slips out and goes for a German suplex but can’t get Rikishi up. Rikishi elbows out of the waistlock and Benoit tries to slap on the Cross face but can’t get it properly locked in. Rikishi grabs the bottom rope but Benoit whips him into a corner and somehow hits a Northern Light suplex! That only gets a two count thought and Benoit whips Rikishi and gets a sleeper hold but Rikishi shoves him off. Rikishi slaps on his own sleeper hold but Benoit counters with a back suplex then climbs to the top rope. Benoit goes for the diving head butt but misses and Rikishi hits a super kick followed by a belly-to-belly suplex. Rikishi sets Benoit up for a Banzai Drop but Dean Malenko and Perry Saturn run in and attack him for a DQ. (4:07) Solid match until the unfortunate finish. Malenko and Saturn double-team Rikishi in a corner while Eddie Guerrero pulls Benoit out to safety. Too Cool then runs in to make the save for their pal and Scotty 2 Hotty whips Malenko into a dropkick. Grandmaster Sexay whips Saturn into a belly-to-belly suplex from Rikishi and they proceed with the dance. BTW since Rikishi technically won the match this evens the score at 2-2. **½

~ A Wrestlemania countdown shows we’re just 8 weeks away from the big event.

~ Back form break Steve Blackman is working out in the locker-room when he hears the song “Personality” playing and tries to find the source. Blackman pulls back a shower curtain to find Al Snow and a boom box and Snow tells Blackman he’s trying subliminal thinking, that if he thinks he has a personality he might someday get one. Blackman doesn’t want to hear it and takes the boom box out of Snow’s hand before hitting the STOP button on it. Funaki walks up calling the two of them “Head Cheese” and Snow feels everyone’s recognizing Blackman for it. Blackman shakes his head and walks off in disgust while Snow continues to insist its working.

Al Snow (w/Head) & Steve Blackman vs. The Hardy Boyz
The crowd starts chanting “Head Cheese” right away and Snow encourages it much to Blackman’s annoyance. Snow takes Jeff down to start and fires away on him then whips him into a corner and clotheslines him. Snow whips Jeff into the other corner but Jeff runs up the turnbuckles and hits the corkscrew moonsault. Matt tags in and the Hardys whip Snow into a double elbow followed by their combo move for a two count. Snow rakes Matt’s face and slams him to the mat then whips him but Matt counters with a kick to the chest. Matt whips Snow into a corner and drops to the mat while Jeff launches off him with the flying heel kick. Blackman comes in but misses a spin kick and Jeff takes him down and both Hardys hit their combo leg drop. Snow tosses Matt over the ropes while Jeff goes for a whip but Blackman reverses into a double gut buster. Matt comes back in but Snow holds him up while Blackman hits a clothesline not unlike the Hart Attack. Snow chokes Matt on the mat then goes to tag Blackman but instead tosses Matt through the ropes to the floor. Snow stomps away on Jeff while Blackman drops Matt face first onto the steps before tossing him back in. Snow covers Matt but Jeff breaks up the pin so Snow tags Blackman in and Blackman lays the boots to Matt. Blackman whips Matt but misses the pump kick and Matt manages to roll him into a crucifix for a two count. Both men come off the ropes on but Blackman is able to hit a flying shoulder tackle. Blackman slams Matt to the ma then climbs to the middle rope but gets bothered by the “Head Cheese” chant and misses a diving head butt. Blackman goes for a power bomb but Matt counters into a Russian leg sweep then crawls over and tags in Jeff. Jeff comes in with a dropkick and hits a leg sweep on Snow before hitting an inverted enzuigiri on Blackman. Jeff clotheslines Snow over the ropes to the floor then launches over the ropes and connects with a plancha. In the ring Matt hits the Twist of Fate on Blackman while Jeff climbs to the top rope looking for the Swanton. However the Dudleys suddenly run out to the ring brandishing chairs and Bubba whacks Jeff off the top rope. Funny moment as Lawler asks if the referee is deaf and blind for not seeing the interference. Nonetheless Blackman sets Jeff up while Snow climbs to the top rope and hits the Veg-o-matic for the pin. (5:04) Decent enough tag match. Snow and Blackman celebrate their win while the Dudleys admire their handiwork from the stage. **½

~ Back from break Crash and Hardcore Holly are walking while talking about facing Chris Jericho tonight. Hardcore feels there’s something fishy about Jericho wanting a handicap match with one arm tied behind his back. Crash said Jericho didn’t want to do it at first but he later came back and practically begged him for the match. Crash adds the match is no disqualification as well and Hardcore decides to see how tough Jericho really is. Hmm, I wonder where this is going to lead. Maybe it has something to do with what happened on Raw…

Chris Jericho vs. Crash & Hardcore Holly – Non-Title No-DQ Handicap Match
Jericho comes out with his hand tied behind his back while getting on the mic with his free hand says his Jerichoalic’s are wondering why he would agree to such a disadvantage to this match. Jericho says he’s such a legendary champion that Hardcore and “Elory” will still get a beating regardless. The Hollys come out as Cole mentions Hardcore appearing in Operation Sandman tomorrow on UPN. Incidentally Chyna is still out taping 3rd Rock from the Sun and will even be on Leno tomorrow. Jericho hammers Crash down in a corner to start but Hardcore nails him from behind to get the advantage. Hardcore whips Jericho but Jericho comes back with a chop when the Acolytes suddenly charge in the ring. Bradshaw and Faarooq proceed to beat down the Hollys while Jericho just sits in a corner watching the carnage. Faarooq plants Crash with a spine buster then both Acolytes whip Hardcore and hit a double spine buster. Faarooq works Hardcore over while Bradshaw whips Crash into a corner and sets him up for a power bomb. Crash flips out of it but Bradshaw hits the Clothesline from Hades and Faarooq follows up with the Dominator. The Acolytes leave the Hollys lying in the ring and Jericho easily covers Crash for the three count. (1:10) Not much I can add here. NR

~ Backstage X-Pac is conversing with Triple H expressing his concerns about facing Kane in the handicap match. Triple H points out Kane couldn’t beat either of them one-on-one so they should have no problems with 2-on-1. Triple H and X-Pac then head out to the ring with their respective ladies in tow as we go to commercial.

Kane (w/Paul Bearer) vs. Triple H & X-Pac (w/Stephanie McMahon & Tori) – Handicap Match
I don’t believe they ever explained why Paul Bearer is back with Kane considering their history, but oh well. Triple H attacks Kane as he climbs in but Kane shrugs off his blows and clotheslines him down. X-Pac takes his turn with a forearm but it has no effect so X-Pac bails out to the floor and flees into the crowd. Kane goes out and chases X-Pac down in the crowd then throws him over the barricade back to ringside. Kane heads back over the barricade but Triple H catches him with a flying clothesline to get the advantage and the DX’ers double-team Kane on the floor. Triple H rams him into the steps while X-Pac works him over and Triple H beats Kane down before throwing him back in the ring. Triple H tags back in and goes for a whip and Kane reverses it but lowers the head and Triple H hits a face buster. X-Pac follows up with a heel kick but Kane sits up and X-Pac wails away on him but Kane absorbs it and hits a series of uppercuts. Kane whips X-Pac into a corner and grabs him for a choke bomb but Triple H kicks Kane below the belt. X-Pac comes off the ropes with a boot then hits a pair of running leg drops but Kane powers out of the cover. Triple H tags in and exchanges punches, Kane gets the advantage and whips him but lowers the head again and Triple H hits a DDT but that only gets a two count. X-Pac tags in and kicks Kane down in a corner then goes for the Bronco Buster when Kane catches him by the throat but Triple H comes in to break it up. The DX’ers follow up with a double suplex and X-Pac covers Kane but Kane again powers out of the cover. Triple H tags in and hammers away on Kane but his blows have no effect and Kane throws Triple H into a corner and pummels him, capping off with an uppercut. X-Pac comes in but Kane tosses him into Triple H then clotheslines X-Pac and whips Triple H into a boot before hitting a boot on X-Pac. Kane climbs to the top rope and hits the flying clothesline on Triple H and X-Pac comes off the top but Kane catches him into a choke slam. Kane choke slams Triple H as well and looks to finish this but Stephanie slides a chair into the ring and Triple H grabs the chair and whacks Kane in the back with it for a DQ. (5:27) However Kane no-sells the chair shot and pops Triple H then grabs the chair and whacks him with it. Stephanie tries to get Triple H out of the ring while Kane turns toward X-Pac and readies the chair but Tori comes in and takes the chair away from Kane. Kane turns and grabs Tori by the throat when several referees come in to break it up but Kane takes them out while Paul Bearer keeps Tori from escaping. Bearer then shoves Tori into Kane’s waiting hand and encourages a choke slam as crowd gets excited for this. X-Pac begs Kane not to do it and while Tori makes a sad face and Kane … lets go of Tori to a chorus of boos. Instead Kane decides to scoop Tori up and ends up drilling her with a Tombstone to a massive pop!! I’m serous, the crowd was into this all the way. Kane sets off his pyro while X-Pac is devastated his woman got destroyed as Smackdown fades to black. ***

Conclusion: Very good episode this week to follow up the great Raw. The matches were mostly on the good side, the angles were progressed nicely, we got to see Kurt Angle snag his first title, and the crowd was really into everything for the most part, especially the Rock/Cactus vs. Outlaws tag and Kane finally getting even with Tori. Plus we were even spared the Mark Henry/Mae Young saga to boot. Granted there were a few sore spots but the good far outweighs the bad and we’re left with an excellent edition of the blue show.

– And because I feel like it, here’s a special bonus match!

WWF Light Heavyweight Title: Gillberg © vs. ?????? (Sunday Night Heat 2/13/2000)
On this episode of Heat Gillberg made his surprise return to the WWF after a year’s absence and even dusted off the forgotten Light Heavyweight Title and brought it as well. Gillberg comes to the ring and gets on the mic gets on the mic talking about reigning as LH champion for 15 months and wanting to prove he’s not a closet champion. Gillberg throws out an open challenge for a title match tonight and out comes …. Papi Chulo, who’s now calling himself Essa Rios … and some redhead you’d know as Lita making her WWF debut.

Both men exchange punches to start and Gillberg whips Rios into a spine buster then whips him again. However Rios bounces off the ropes and back flips over Gillberg then connects with a spinning heel kick. Rios goes for a whip, Gillberg reverses it but Rios hits the head scissors followed by a Frankensteiner. Rios then leaps to the top rope and connects with a moonsault then gets the three to win the title. (0:47) Lita then climbs to the top rope and hits her own moonsault on Gillberg and Rios counts a three for her. Only notable for Lita’s debut and the return of the LH title which would have a good few months in 2000 before being mostly regulated to Heat and then forgotten again.