Smackdown!

Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
July 6, 2000

The American Hero, Kurt Angle, made his way to the ring as SmackDown! kicked off from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Angle had a few apologies for the people of Florida, and also for bothering the Undertaker on Monday's RAW. His opponent, Chris Jericho, soon came out with a few apologies of his own - to the Jerichoholics who had to hear Angle's "boring promo," to Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley for being a "trashbag ho," and to Triple H for putting him through a table on last week's SmackDown!

Stephanie came to ringside as the match began. The rematch from King of the Ring was a solid bout, and Stephanie seemed to be an unbiased observer at first. But when Jericho tried to put Angle in the Walls of Jericho, Stephanie used Angle's scepter to deliver a low blow on Y2J. Jericho was then easy prey for an Olympic Slam, sealing the win for the American Hero. An overjoyed Angle celebrated backstage, but his joy soon turned to fear when Mideon pointed out that Angle's celebratory milk had spilled all over the Undertaker's motorcycle.

Commissioner Mick Foley brought the sellout crowd in Florida to its feet, demanding an explanation from Shane McMahon and Chris Benoit for their actions Monday night. When Benoit came out, Foley told the Wolverine that he made him sick, after what Benoit did to his friend Chyna. Benoit answered that he had no remorse for his actions. He proclaimed himself the greatest technical wrestler in the world, and said he wanted The Rock that night. He said his actions would speak louder than words.

Surprisingly, Edge & Christian soon hit the ring, declaring that they were proud of their fellow Canadian. But Commissioner Foley soon pointed out that Ft. Lauderdale was quite a distance from Canada. Mick then made the main event for the evening - a six-man tag match pitting Edge, Christian and Benoit against Rock, Eddie Guerrero and Chyna.

Stephanie smiled in triumph as Triple H pulled into the arena in a limo. As he got out of the car, Stephanie bragged about screwing over Chris Jericho and helping Kurt Angle. The fact that Stephanie helped Angle bothered the Game, who then left his wife behind to go to Mick Foley's office.

The Dudleys defeated the new team of Chaz and D'Lo Brown with a 3-D, but not before Steven Richards angered the hell out of Buh Buh Ray. Buh Buh had set up a table at ringside, but Mr. Censor came down and took the table from ringside, again imposing his own views and morals on Federation programming.

Triple H barged into Mick Foley's office, demanding a match with Chris Jericho that night. He said that if Foley didn't give it to him, then he would just have Stephanie make the match. But Mick pulled rank, saying that he had all the power now, and that he made the matches. When Triple H threatened to punch him, Mick said he would fine him $5,000 per punch. Foley then made a deal with the Game - if Triple H could win an elimination Handicap Match later that night, then he would get a match with Jericho on Monday's RAW. If not, Triple H would have to wait until Fully Loaded.

Light Heavyweight Champion Dean Malenko took on Ivory and Jacqueline in an Inter-Gender Handicap Match after the two attacked him on RAW. As Dean prepared to suplex Ivory, Crash came down and hooked Dean's leg, allowing the ladies to score the win!

Val Venis took on Rikishi for the Intercontinental Championship in a match that referee Teddy Long will not soon forget. The ref took one shot after another and spent most of the match unconscious. Val and Rikishi's bitter feud took on a new meaning with Federation gold on the line. After T&A's interference, Val seemed to have the belt won, but Rikishi was able to roar back. But Tazz soon made an appearance, and after a Money Shot, Val won the Intercontinental Championship for the second time! Val, Trish Stratus, Test and Albert celebrated the win with champagne in the locker room!

In another title match, Steve Blackman defended his Hardcore Championship against the Big Boss Man. As the match went into the crowd, Al Snow (dressed as a beer vendor) nailed the Boss Man with a beer tray, and Blackman was able to retain his title!

Backstage, Mideon showed the Undertaker what Kurt Angle had done to his bike. A pissed-off Taker would take out some of his frustration moments later, when he and Kane defeated T&A. The end came when Kane chokeslammed Albert. After the match, the Undertaker gave Test the "Last Ride," and then Kane was about to chokeslam Trish Stratus - but Val was able to save his sultry manager!

Triple H laughed when he saw his opponents in the elimination Handicap Match - Taka, Funaki and the Brooklyn Brawler! The Game vanquished Taka and Funaki quickly with Pedigrees, but then Triple H made the mistake of pushing referee Earl Hebner. That allowed Y2J to interfere, nailing Jericho with a facebuster and a Lionsault. Then, in a stunning moment, the Brooklyn Brawler pinned Triple H for the 1-2-3! An irate Game took his anger out on the Brawler, bloodying him and sending a clear message to Chris Jericho.

The intensity continued into the night's main event, pitting The Rock, Chyna and Eddie Guerrero against Edge, Christian and Chris Benoit. The Rock seemed to be poised for a win after a spinebuster on Christian, but Chyna begged for a tag - so the People's Champion tagged in the Ninth Wonder of the World. Chyna then executed a powerbomb on Christian and won the match for her team! After the bout, Shane McMahon attacked The Rock, and Edge & Christian attacked Chyna & Eddie. Benoit came into the ring and again locked the Crossface onto Chyna, but The Rock disposed of Shane and returned to the ring to save his teammates. In doing so, he delivered a Rock Bottom onto Christian! The Rock and Chris Benoit stared each other down as SmackDown! went off the air, their looks telling the story - they wanted to rip each other apart.