WWF Smackdown 10/5/2000

Written by: Adam King

WWF SMACKDOWN
Thursday, October 5th, 2000

Taped (10/3) from the Baltimore Arena in Baltimore, MD

List of WWF Champions at the time:
●  WWF World Heavyweight Champion: The Rock (6/25/2000)
●  WWF Intercontinental Champion: Eddie Guerrero (9/04/2000)
●  WWF World Tag Team Champions: The Hardy Boyz (9/24/2000)
●  WWF European Champion: Al Snow (8/31/2000)
●  WWF Hardcore Champion: Steve Blackman (9/24/2000)
●  WWF Women’s Champion: Lita (8/21/2000)
●  WWF Light Heavyweight Champion: Dean Malenko (4/27/2000)

~ Smackdown comes on the air with clips of the various goings-on from Raw. Aftrer that Michael Cole welcomes us to the show along with Jerry “The King” Lawler. Tonight The Rock defends the WWF Championship against Kane plus Commissioner Mick Foley has made a decision on Steve Austin. And believe it or not we’re going to kick things off with … a match. Weird, huh?

• The Hardy Boyz & Lita vs. Lo Down & Jacqueline – Intergender Match

Lita and Jackie had their brawl on Raw so Lita brought her pals with her while Jackie for some reason enlisted Chaz and D’Lo Brown, despite them not appearing outside of the weekend shows for almost two months. Chaz starts off with Jeff and gets in the first shots then whips him into a corner and charges but Jeff sidesteps him. Jeff charges at Chaz and gets backdropped over the ropes but lands on his feet on the apron and pulls Chaz down. Jeff springboards off the top rope into a moonsault for a two count. Matt Hardy tags in and the Hardys whip Chaz into a corner then Matt drops to the mat and Jeff connects with the Poetry in Motion. D’Lo Brown comes in but runs into a double elbow and the Hardys hit their combo move. Jackie climbs to the top rope and goes for a crossbody but Matt ducks it. Matt sets Jackie up for a Twist of Fate but Lita asks him to tag her in so Matt goes to make the tag but Chaz nails him with a fireman’s carry into an overhead slam. Chaz lays the boots to Matt and chokes him on the mat then tags D’Lo in for a double-team. D’Lo whips Matt and hits an elbow and Matt starts to fight back but D’Lo pulls him through the ropes. D’Lo distracts the referee while Chaz works Matt over on the floor and whips him into the barricade. Jackie then leaps off the apron with a flying clothesline on Matt and Lita goes after Jackie but Chaz nails her from behind. Chaz throws Matt back in and D’Lo whips him into a spinebuster for a two count. D’Lo tags in Chaz and both men beat on Matt again before Chaz chokes him with his boot. Chaz distracts the referee while D’Lo drapes Matt across the apron and clubs him in the chest then Chaz catapults Matt into the bottom rope. Chaz whips Matt into a corner and charges but eats a boot and Matt comes out with a clothesline and both men are down. Both men crawl to their corners and Chaz tags in D’Lo while Matt manages to tag in Jeff. Jeff trips D’Lo with a drop toehold and follows up with a Frankensteiner then works him over in a corner. Jeff goes for a whip when D’Lo reverses him into the opposite corner but Jeff runs up the turnbuckles and connects with the Whipser in the Wind. Both ladies asks for tags so D’Lo tags in Jackie but Lita also gets the tag and spears Jackie then unloads on her and hits a suplex. Lita sets Jackie up for a powerbomb but Chaz throws her back to the mat so Matt knocks him through the ropes. Matt and Jeff grab D’Lo when while Lita grabs Jackie and the three of them hit a triple DDT. Jeff then leaps over the ropes with a somersault plancha on Chaz on the floor. D’Lo and Matt head out to the floor and all four men are going at it on the outside. In the ring Jackie is still down so Lita goes up to the top and hits a moonsault. Lita covers Jackie but the referee is too busy trying to break up the melee on the outside so D’Lo climbs back in and plants Lita with a Sky High powerbomb. D’Lo pulls Jackie on top of Lita and the referee counts the three, giving Jackie a pin over the Women’s Champion. (5:29) Solid enough opener that got better as it went along. **½

Matt heads back in and suplexes D’Lo while Jeff climbs to the top rope but Chaz causes Jeff to straddle the turnbuckle. Jackie hits a low blow on Matt while Chaz superplexes Jeff to the mat and D’Lo follows up with the Lo Down from the top. Jackie and Lo Down then depart, leaving The Hardys and Lita laying in the ring.

~ Backstage Mick Foley is pacing around near the entrance, waiting for Steve Austin to arrive. A security guy comes in and Foley accidentally spooks him before shaking his hand and telling him to have a nice day we go to commercial.

~ Back form break we find Cole and Lawler being joined by William Regal (who dropped the Steven from his name since there were already enough Steves). Regal says he’s head about the European Championship and wants to see the man who embodies Europe, feeling he’s going to be a fine fellow. Uh, yeah, about that, Regal…

• WWF European Title: Al Snow © (w/Head) vs. X-Pac

Anyway these two fought last week but was interupted by Steve Austin’s interference so here’s a rematch. This week Snow is representing Transylvainia as he comes out to spooky music dressed as a vampie while throwing Count Chocula out to the crowd and presenting Lawler with a picture of Eddie Munster. Naturally Regal is appaled by this display and tries to correct Snow, saying he’s thinking of Romania. Both men lockup to start and X-Pac hits an armdrag before tauning him with the DX chops. Snow applies a hammerlock and X-Pac reverses into his own hammerlock but Snow counters with a snampare followed by a leg trip for a two count. X-Pac applies a headlock and Snow shoves him into the ropes but X-Pac comes back with a shoulderblock. X-Pac comes off the ropes but Snow nails him with a spinning heel kick. Snow hammers X-Pac in a corner then goes for a whip, X-Pac reverses and Snow slides to stop himself but runs into a spin kick. X-Pac works Snow over with chops and goes for a whip, Snow reverses him into a corner and charges but X-Pac sidesteps him and kicks him down. X-Pac goes for the Bronco Buster but Snow sidesteps it and X-Pac straddles the turnbuckles. Snow whips X-Pac and hits a clothesline then slams him to the mat. Snow climbs to the top rope and hits a moonsault but only gets two. Snow crawls over and grabs Head (which has fangs) but X-Pac clubs him from behind. X-Pac goes for a whip but Snow reverses and hits a backdrop. Snow charges at X-Pac with Head but X-Pac flings him over the ropes and Snow accidentally stumbles into Regal at the table. Regal throws Snow back in and the referee argues with Regal when Billy Gunn runs out and hits the Rocker Dropper on X-Pac. Billy then runs off while Snow covers X-Pac and gets the pin to retain. (2:53) Decent enough match and the run-in by Billy does make a little sense since X-Pac was the one who kicked him out of DX. Snow celebrates but Regal expresses his outrage at Snow and says this is not the last. **

~ Backstage Mick Foley is still pacing around waiting for Austin to arrive when a limo pulls up. Foley rushes to see who it is, but gets disappointed when Stephanie comes out.

• The Acolytes & Eddie Guerrero (w/Chyna) vs. Bull Buchanan, The Goodfather & Val Venis (w/Steven Richards)

I guess Eddie heard how these guys burned Chyna’s Playboys on Raw plus Bradshaw and Faarooq still have their issues with the RTC so here we are. Val starts off with Bradshaw and gets in the first shots then goes for a whip but Bradshaw reverses him hard into a corner. Val comes back with several rights and comes off the ropes but runs into a big boot. Bradshaw tags Faarooq in and both men whip Val into a double spinebuster for a two count. Faarooq whips Val into a corner and charges but eats an elbow and Val comes out with a clothesline. Goodfather tags in and lays the boots to Faarooq then whips him into a corner but Faarooq comes out with a shouldertackle. Eddie tags in and dropkicks Goodfather then hammers away on him in his corner. Faarooq tags in to take over and goes for a whip but Goodfather reverses it and Val knees Faarooq from the apron while Goodfather. Buchanan tags in and gets in his shots before tagging in Val and both men whip Faarooq and connect with a double-elbow. Bradshaw breaks up the pin and gets in a shot before being ordered out of the ring and Val stomps Faarooq down in a corner. Faarooq fights back but Val rakes the eyes to stop that then whips him and hits an elbow. Val follows up with an elbowdrop for a near fall then slams Faarooq to the mat and tags in Goodfather who stomps away at Faarooq and hits an elbowdrop for a two count. Val tags back in and comes off the ropes but runs into a spinebuster. Both men crawl to their corners and Val tags in Goodfather while Faarooq tags in Eddie. Eddie goes for a whip, Goodfather reverses him into a corner and charges at him but Eddie sidesteps him then climbs to the top rope and connects with a missile dropkick. Eddie covers but Val saves it so the Acolytes come in and all six men are going at it. Faarooq knocks Buchanan off the apron while Bradshaw clotheslines Val over the ropes and the Acolytes go out to the floor. Eddie climbs to the top rope again and goes for a flying crossbody but Goodfather catches him into a powerslam for the three. (4:21) Got boring in the middle but picked up toward the end. **

Steven Richards goes in the ring but Chyna also goes in and cuts him off before clotheslining him out of the ring. Goodfather goes after Chyna but the Acolytes are back in and dispatch him as well and the RTC walks off while Chyna tends to her fallen fiancee.

~ Backstage Stephanie is talking on a cell phone when Triple H comes in, surprised she’s there after he asked her to stay at the hotel. Stephanie asks Triple H when does he tell her what to do. Triple H then Stephanie how she is a target at ringside and that she shouldn’t come out with him anymore. Stephanie objects but Triple H asks how many times he’s had to carry her to the back after she’s been attacked. Triple H brings up his match on Raw when she came to ringside despite telling her not to and Stephanie says he was in trouble but Triple H says she cost him the title match at No Mercy. Stephanie tearfully argues that it was Chris Benoit who cost him the shot but Triple H doesn’t see it that way and feels Stephanie is a liability so he doesn’t want her out there in his corner anymore as a business decision. Stephanie leaves crying and Triple H says he’ll see her at the hotel.

~ Mick Foley is shown in his office impatiently waiting for Steve Austin to arrive as we go to commercial. Have yopu noticed we haven’t had our long talking segment yet?

• The Dudley Boyz vs. Tazz & Raven

Tazz comes out first and grabs a mic saying he’s reserving his comments for Sunday Night Heat before he brings Raven out to join him. Raven then takes the mic and says he’s protesting Baltimore for naming their third-rate football team after him before going into his “What about me? What about Raven?” bit. D’Von Dudley starts off with Tazz and gets in the first shots before whipping and hitting a jumping elbow. D’Von goes for a whip but Tazz reverses and D’Von tumbles to the floor after Raven pulls down the top rope. Raven drives D’Von into the barricade with a leg sweep before throwing him back in the ring. Tazz tees off on D’Von before tagging Raven in and the two whip D’Von into a corner then throw him back to the mat. D’Von starts to fight back but misses a right hand and Tazz locks in the Tazzmission. The referee checks D’Von’s arm and it drops twice but Bubba Ray makes the save with an elbowdrop. Tazz climbs to the top rope and goes for a senton but misses and D’Von manages to tag in Bubba while Tazz tags in Raven. Bubba hits a pair of clotheslines followed by a sidewalk slam then draws Tazz in to distract the referee. Bubbaslams Raven to the mat and sets him up while D’Von climbs to the top and hits the “Wassup” headbutt. The Dudleys then head out to get a table but Tazz clubs D’Von in the back. Bubba grabs the ring bell and takes a swing at Tazz but the referee takes the bell away allowing Tazz to nail Bubba from behind. Tazz brings the ring bell in the ring and Raven trips D’Von into it with a drop toe hold. Bubba comes in and clotheslines both men then takes the bell and clocks both men with it, getting his team DQ’ed (3:03) However the Dudleys don’t seem to care as Bubba slides a table in the ring and D’Von sets it up near the corner. Bubba hops to the middle rope as D’Von passes Raven over to him and Bubba superbombs Raven through the table. *½

~ Backstage Steve Austin is shown arriving at the building and Foley is also shown leaving his office in a foul mood as we go to commercial.

~ Back from break Stephanie is shown tearfully heading to her limo and opens the door but hesitates climbing in, as if she isn’t ready to leave yet.

~ Out in the arena we finally get our long talking segment as Mick Foley heads to the ring but brings out a squad of cops to surround him. Foley gets on the mic and says he’s got some important things to say and everyone may not like it, especially him. Foley starts to address the Steve Austin situation when Austin himself comes out to the ring and takes the mic asking Foley point blank if he found the coward who ran him over. Foley tries to say something but Austin demands a yes or no answer so Foley finally admits he has not found the man. Austin then cuts Foley off and says he can tell Foley has something to say since he has all the cops with him. Foley starts by saying he became commissioner thinking it would be fun and no one would lay their hands on him. Foley says it had been a fun job but ever since Austin returned it’s been miserable, especially after Austin put his hands on him and embarrasses him. Foley tells Austin he’s been patient with him and gave him his chances but has been uncooperative. Austin says his idea of fun is coming back to the ring, finding the man that ran him down and torturing him then tells Foley he was just at the wrong place at the wrong time and that’s as close to an apology as he’s gonna get. Austin says before he got hurt he ate, drank and slept the WWF, but now all he eats and drinks is revenge. Austin adds he wasn’t worked for almost a full year so the paychecks stopped coming and he has to eat. Austin asks the audience if they understand revenge and that a man’s gotta eat and the audience agrees. Austin says he will not change for anyone and that’s the way it is. Foley responds by recapping their past together and that he wanted to save face by giving him a little fine. However Foley tells Austin his attacking him on Raw has changed his mind and left him with no alternative but to suspend him indefinetly until the driver is found! Austin gives Foley a chance to reconsider but Foley stands pat, saying he left him no alternative. Austin says Foley left him no alternative as well just before he lays out Foley with a Stunner! Austin steps out to the ring apron and just stares at Foley before the cops escort him to the back. At least this promo segment only went 10 minutes and didn’t go on and on like on Monday.

~ Back from break we get a recap of Foley suspending Austin and receiving a Stunner for his trouble before the announcers mention Austin was asked to get in his car and leave.

• Kurt Angle, Edge & Christian vs. Rikishi & Too Cool (w/Mandy & Victoria)

Cole mentions Angle will get his title shot at No Mercy as Angle gets on the mic and brags about the streak he’s currently on. Angle mentions he beat The Rock last week and Triple H on Raw then promises to win tonight on his way to winning the WWF Championship at the pay-per-view. Angle also compares his streak with Cal Ripken’s, only his will actually mean something plus he’s going to end it on top and not washed up playing with losers. Grandmaster Sexay starts off with Edge and applies a headlock, Edge shoves him into the ropes and Sexay hits a shoulderblock. Sexay dances a bit then comes off the ropes and Edge leapfrogs over him but Sexay hits an enzuigiri. Sexay tags in Scotty 2 Hotty and Too Cool goes for a double suplex but Edge flips out of it. Edge misses a clothesline and Too Cool hits a double Atomic Drop before mocking his pain. Too Cool throws Edge to the mat, Christian comes in and Sexay slams him as well then Scotty tags in Rikishi and Rikishi legdrops both his opponents. Angle runs in and attempts a Sunset Flip but can’t Rikishi over and Rikishi hits the sitdown splash. Rikishi tags Scotty in and whips Edge into a dropkick from his partner. Scotty goes for a whip but Edge reverses and Christian kicks Scotty from the apron. Scotty decks Christian and Angle but turns right into a spinning heel kick from Edge. Christian tags in and lays to the boots to Scotty when Scotty starts to fight back and comes off the ropes but runs into a suplex. Christian holds on and hits another suplex then holds on and goes into a Slop Drop but Sexay breaks up the pin. Christian shoves Scotty into his corner and Team ECK triple-team him before Angle tags in to take over on Scotty with kicks and punches. Angle drags Scotty into a corner but Scotty reverses and lands a series of rights. Scotty goes for a whip, Angle counters but Scotty hits a DDT then manages to tag in Rikishi. Rikishi hammers away on Angle then whips him and hits the Samoan Drop. Edge and Christian run in but Rikishi pops both men with right hands and clotheslines both of them. Angle gets to his feet in a corner when Rikishi whips Christian into Angle then whips Edge into Christian. Rikishi brings Sexay in and Sexay hits a butt bump on Edge before Rikishi suqashes both Angle and Christian with the running butt splash. Scotty comes off the ropes with a bulldog on Christian and follows up with the Worm while Angle slumps down to the mat and Rikishi gives him the Stinkface. Sexay nails Edge with a superkick and Scotty does the same to Angle and Rikishi heads out to battle Edge on the floor. Sexay climbs to the top rope looking for the Hip Hop Drop when Stephanie McMahon runs out to ringside and shoves Sexay off the top rope to the mat! Angle hits the Olympic Slam on Sexay and gets the three count for his team. (4:41)Stephanie helps Angle to another big victory. Chaotic yet fun match, though the Too Cool trio looked a little too dominant which didn’t help Angle’s credability going into his big title shot.**½

~ Back from break we get a replay of Stephanie helping Angle win the six-man match. We then find Triple H yelling at Stephanie about going to the ring and helping Angle but Stephanie tells Triple H he’s forgetting how helpful she is to him. Stephanie suggests Triple H is also mabye forgetting how they got together, because of who she is. Stephanie mentions she is a McMahon and grew up around the business so she probably knows more than him. Stephanie claims she helped Angle to remind him how valuable and helpful she is but Triple H feels all she showed him is that she could have gotten hurt again. Stephanie tells her husband the only thing that’s hurting her is him then departs.

• WWF Hardcore Title: Steve Blackman © vs. Albert (w/Trish Stratus)

Both men exchange punches to start when Albert grabs Blackman by the throat for the chokebomb but Blackman escapes with a chop to the head. Blackman goes for a whip and Albert reverses, Blackman sides under him but misses a roundouse kick. Albert comes back and whips Blackman into a bodyblock. Trish hands Albert a pair of road signs and Albert charges at Blackman but Blackman counters with an armdrag. Albert clocks Blackman in the head with one of his signs as Trish brings Blackman’s bag in the ring but Blackman is able to grab his fighting sticks and we have a standoff. Albert charges but Blackman knocks both signs out of his hands with the sticks then works him over with them. Blackman goes for the stick-assited suplex but Albert elbows out of it and hits a butterfly suplex for a two count. Albert drapes Blackman on the bottom rope and Trish waffles Blackman with a trash can lid. Trish slides more lids in the ring and Albert grabs one of them then whips Blackman and swings the lid but Blackman flips over it. Blackman grabs his own lid as Albert charges at him but Blackman bashes him in the knee and back with it. Blackman then goes out and brings a kendo sitck and fire extinguisher in when Trish hops onto the apron and distracts Blackman by taking off her trench coat but Blackman responds by spraying Trish with the CO2. Albert nails Blackman from behind then grabs the extinguisher but Blackman superkicks him in the chest then sprays him with CO2 as well. Blackman climbs to the top rope with the kendo stick and nails Albert across the head with a flying stick shot putting him down for the pin. (3:30) Okay then. *½

~ Backstage Stephanie is angrily walking to her limo when Kurt Angle comes up and thanks her for her help. Angle tells Stephanie that Triple H is crazy not to see what an asset she is at ringside and agress that she knows a lot about the business since her father created the WWF. Angle then offers to have Stephanie accompany him to the ring on a permanent basis. Stephanie says she’ll think about it before thanking Angle for his appreciation and the two shake hands. Angle even opens the door to her limo like a gentleman and Stephanie drives off in the limo as we go to commercial. Can’t help but wonder how Triple H is going to react to this.

~ Back from break we get a shot at WWF New York as Cole mentions it being the new home of Sunday Night Heat every week.

~ In the arena Chris Benoit comes out to the ring and gets on the mic complaining about Kane getting a WWF Title shot tonight, feeling Mick Foley is screwing him over again and The Rock will get to walk away one more night from the man that cannot be proven wrong. Benoit rants about the “People’s Joke” when Chris Jericho comes out to the stage to interupt his tirade. Jericho gets on the mic and tells Benoit that instead of whining and crying, he should please shut up. Jericho says he’s had the WWF Championship around his waist only to have it stripped moments later but he doesn’t come out moaning about it. Jericho suggests Benoit should instead complain about having a midget head on a normal sized body before challenging him to a match tonight. Jericho heads down the ramp where he meets Benoit and two Chrises start brawling in the aisle. Jericho takes Benoit down and tees off on him as referee Earl Hebner tries to separate them. Benoit throws Jericho into the ringpost then tosses him in the ring and we have an impromptu match.

• Chris Benoit vs. Chris Jericho

Benoit stomps Jericho down in a corner then goes for a whip but Jericho reverses him hard into a corner and hits an elbow. Jericho chops Benoit in a corner and goes for a whip when Benoit tries to counter into the Crippler Crossface but Jericho fights out of it. Jericho tries to turn Benoit into the Walls of Jericho but Benoit stops it with a shot to the face. Benoit throws Jericho shoulder-first into the ringpost and hits a chop then goes for a whip. Jericho reverses Benoit into the opposite corner and chares but eats a boot while Benoit comes out but runs into a spinning heel kick. Jericho goes for a whip, Benoit reverses and Jericho hits a flying forearm followed by the bulldog for a near fall. Jericho lands another chop and goes for another whip, Benoit reverses, Jericho counters and scoops Benoit up for a Tombstone but Benoit reverses into a shoulderbreaker. Benoit climbs to the top rope looking for the diving headbutt but Jericho is up shoves Benoit’s legs, causing him to straddle the top turnbuckle. Jericho climbs up and hits a hurancanrana but Benoit lands on his hed while Jericho is holding his shoulder in pain. Suddenly Triple H runs out and spears Benoit then tees off on him, causing Hebner to call for the bell. (2:47) Dang. I know Triple H has his issues with Benoit but that’s no excuse to ruin a perfectly good Benoit/Jericho match. **½

A group of referees come out to pull Triple H off Benoit but Benoit brings a chair in the ring and clocks Triple H with it, busting him open. The two keep lunging after each other despite the referees’ efforts the separate them and eventually Benoit leaves the ring with Triple H glaring at him. I’d say this feud is now off and running.

~ Back from break we get a replay of Triple H and Benoit going at it as the announcers comment on Triple H’s bad night.

~ Backstage Lillian Garcia interviews Kane about his WWF Title match against The Rock. Kane says The Rock has everything but he’s gonna take what’s most important him tonight. Kane tells Rock nobody can save him and nothing’s gonna keep him from the WWF Championship, not the Rock Bottom, not the the People’s Elbow and especially not the people.

• WWF World Heavyweight Title: The Rock © vs. Kane

Cole reminds us the winner of this match has Kurt Angle at No Mercy. Both men stand face to face to start and Kane takes a swing but Rock blocks it and gets in the first shots. Kane comes back with several uppercuts and goes for a whip, Rock reverses and hits an elbow but Kane pops right back up. Kane scoops Rock up for a Tombstone but Rock slips out and hits a Russian legsweep for a two count. Rock goes for a Rock Bottom but Kane elbows out of it and uppercuts Rock over the ropes. Kane goes out and rams Rock into the barricade and into the announcers’ table. Rock grabs the ringbell and brains Kane in the head with it then rams Kane into the table. Rock goes for a whip but Kane counters and drops him onto the barricade. Kane drapes Rock onto the apron and clubs him in the chest twice before heading back in. Rock starts to fight back and comes off the ropes but runs into a big boot for a two count. Kane chokes Rock on the mat then hits a suplex for another two count. Kane hammers Rock in a corner but Rock reverses positions and lands some shots of his own. Rock goes for a whip, Kane reverses him into opposite corner and charges but eats an elbow and Rock comes out of the corner but runs into a sidewalk slam for a near fall. Kane pummels Rock in a corner and whips him but lowers the head and Rock kicks the face. Rock ducks a right hand and hits a Samoan Drop but Kane pops right back up. Rock goes for a whip, Kane reverses but Rock comes back with a DDT for a two count. Kane goes for a whip but Rock reverses it and hits the spinebuster. Rock goes for the People’s Elbow when Kane gets to his feet and grabs him by the throat in mid-move but Rock kicks him below the belt to escape the chokeslam. Kane plants Rock with a powerslam then climbs to the top rope but Rock bumps the ropes and Kane straddles the top turnbuckle. Rock knocks Kane off the rope to the floor with the Smackdown. Rock goes out and rams Kane into the barricade then goes for a whip but Kane reverses him right into the referee, taking him out. Kane clotheslines Rock and starts stomping him when Kurt Angle comes out with a chair and nails both Kane and Rock with it but Kane gets back up so Angle hits him again. Angle walks back up the ramp leaving both men out on the floor, having sent a messgae to whichever one of them comes out with the title. The referee revives to begin the count when Kane sits up and throws Rock back in the ring then plants him with the chokeslam! Kane covers but the referee struggles to get in position and when he finally counts it only gets two. Kane pounds the mat in frustration and pounds on Rock when Rock catches him with a Rock Bottom. Both men are down as … Rikishi comes out and superkicks Kane over the ropes but that prompts a DQ. (9:12) Entertaning enough main event but the finish made everybody go “Huh?” especially when it seemed they were setting up for Rock’s comeback. **½

~ Kane backs away up the ramp as Rikishi dares him to come back in the ring but Rock is up and tells Rikishi he doesn’t understand why he came out. As the two start arguing Kane comes back in and clotheslines Rock. Kane and Rikishi go at it and Kane manages to chokeslam Rikishi when Rock fights back and knocks Kane out of the ring with the Smackdown. Kane lands on his feet on the floor and walks away, pointing at Rock to end the show.

Conclusion: Decent episode of Smackdown that had quite a bit of wrestling on it, almost as if the WWF was making up for the talk-heavy Raw. There were no real standout matches but no really bad ones either, plus the six-man tag and main event were solid enough bouts despite some odd booking. Also the main angles for No Mercy were progressed nicely and we only had one long talking segment which wasn’t done until late in the program. So not the greatest edition of Smackdown but a nice two hours nonetheless.