Smackdown!

Uniondale, New York
July 20, 2000

Long Island’s own Mick Foley electrified a sold-out crowd at the Nassau Coliseum as SmackDown! started. The World Wrestling Federation commissioner was in a serious mood, speaking of how he saw unbridled hatred in The Rock’s eyes when he attacked Chris Benoit on Monday’s RAW. To ensure that the title match between the two at Fully Loaded would end decisively, Mick made a stipulation for the match that the title will change hands on a disqualification. Mick promised that the brutality would end.

His ribs still taped, Chris Jericho came to the ring to beg the commissioner for a match with Triple H that night, saying he wanted to join the “I beat the hell out of Triple H” club, of which Mick was the president. Chris Benoit and Shane McMahon then came to the ring to demand a title match with The Rock that night. As Triple H and Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley came to the ring, Benoit attacked Jericho and locked him in the Crossface. Triple H entered the ring to make it two-on-one, but The Rock came down to help Jericho! Foley then made a tag team match for later in the night pitting Triple H and Benoit against Jericho and Rock!

Three former friends battled it out for the European Championship when Eddie Guerrero defended his title against Dean Malenko and Perry Saturn. The former Radicalz tore into one another, with Eddie retaining his title with a pinfall over Malenko. After the match, Saturn and his new beau, Terri, brutally assaulted Chyna and Eddie.

At a pub near the Nassau Coliseum, Edge and Christian knocked back a few sodas (sodas rule!) and awaited the presence of Faarooq and Bradshaw. Back at the Coliseum, some guy named Joe tried to tell the APA that Edge & Christian were waiting for them, but Faarooq and Bradshaw told him to go away.

King of the Ring Kurt Angle made his way to the ring and declared that he was no longer afraid of the Undertaker, and he would prove it by having a rematch with the Undertaker’s brother, Kane. Kane won the match by disqualification when Angle knocked out the ref and assaulted the Big Red Machine with a chair.

Backstage, a security guard interrupted Triple H when the Game was talking to his wife and asked for an autograph for his son. Triple H reluctantly obliged, and then the guard asked Triple H to get him The Rock’s autograph! The Game said no.

Steve Blackman was fighting former tag team partner Al Snow when Crash came out of the crowd to ty and regain his Hardcore Championship. Blackman knocked the Houdini of Hardcore out with his nunchucks. Tazz then hit the ring, choking out Snow and allowing Blackman to retain his championship.

Backstage, Triple H approached the security guard and told him to get his son, because the Game said he would produce The Rock for them.

T&A and Val Venis took on the Hardy Boyz and Rikishi in six-man action. Test had Matt Hardy down, but Jeff executed a breath-taking Swanton Bomb onto Test and Matt scored the pinfall. After the match, T&A abused the Hardys. Lita came down to try and help Matt and Jeff, but she was knocked out by T&A, and Trish whipped her bruises from Monday’s RAW with a belt.

Backstage, Triple H told the security guard and his son to follow Howard Finkel to the production office, where The Rock would meet them for an autograph session. The Rock did come to sign a copy of the new WWF Magazine (now available on newsstands everywhere), but it was a setup! Chris Benoit knocked The Rock out and locked him in the Crossface, as Shane and Triple H watched and laughed!

Steven Richards and Bull Buchanan came out to tremendous boos to explain their actions as of late. Steven said that Bull joined him because he is one of the few people who still cares about morals in today’s society. Steven said that if there are no rules, then there is chaos, and that is wrong. He said that his censorship is for our own good. An angered Godfather then hit the scene, saying he cherishes his freedom of speech and that it was time for Steven and Bull to pay. Although Steven said he would only attack people in self-defense, he kicked the Godfather right in the face during his match with Bull, allowing Bull to nail the superkick for the pinfall win.

The APA finally allowed Joe to say his piece, and Joe told them all about Edge and Christian. The Acolytes laughed it off at first, but when they discovered they were low on beer, they decided to hit the bar and check it out!

In a rematch from WrestleMania XV, the Undertaker took on the Big Boss Man. During the match, Kurt Angle came down the ramp holding a bucket containing some kind of corrosive substance, which he then poured on the Undertaker’s motorcycle! An irate Undertaker was counted out as he chased Angle to the back, where the Undertaker searched for the Olympian But Angle ambushed him from behind before savagely attacking him with a wrench! The King of the Ring pounded on the Taker’s knees relentlessly before Kane made the save.

The APA finally got to the bar, where they were informed that Edge & Christian had left five minutes ago. After kicking some ass inside the bar, Faarooq and Bradshaw went to the front of the bar, where they discussed how great it would be to become Tag Team Champions in Bradshaw’s home state of Texas at Fully Loaded. As they walked down the street, Edge & Christian attacked them from behind with 2x4s before jumping into a waiting car and speeding away!

The main event on SmackDown! pitted Triple H and Chris Benoit against Chris Jericho and The Rock. Benoit and Triple H were seconded by Shane and Stephanie. The Game and the Wolverine did a great job during the match of isolating Y2J, and eventually The Rock couldn’t take it any more. The People’s Champion stormed the ring, knocking out both men and then knocking out the ref. That caused The Rock to be disqualified – something which the Great One can’t let happen on Sunday, or else he will lose his Federation Championship. After the match, Chris Jericho locked Triple H in the Walls of Jericho. Then, in a surreal moment, a frenzied Rock put Benoit in his own Crossface! The Rock looked to be possessed as he wrenched back the neck of his challenger. Finally, officials were able to pull Jericho and The Rock off their opponents, but the message was clear – there will be hell to pay this Sunday at Fully Loaded!