Smackdown!

Peoria, Illinois
April 25, 2002

 

SmackDown! kicked off from the Peoria Civic Center in Peoria, Ill., with the new Undisputed Federation Champion – Hollywood Hulk Hogan – sauntering to the ring with the crowd going wild. After ripping off his shirt and posing to the delight of the crowd, Hogan shook his head in amazement, while the Peoria audience gave him a standing ovation. Chants of "Hogan" filled the arena.

"I can’t describe what it feels like to stand out here in front of all you Hulkamaniacs as the Undisputed World Wrestling Federation Champion!" he yelled.

Hogan said that if it wasn’t for the Undertaker’s involvement at Backlash, maybe he wouldn’t be champion. He said there was only one way to know for sure, and that was to give Triple H a rematch for the title on SmackDown! The Hulkster said that The Game was definitely the best competitor he had ever stepped into the ring with.

At that point, Triple H made his way out to the ring. The Game said that there was no question in his mind that he would still be champion if the Undertaker had not interfered. However, he said, Hogan earned his utmost respect by offering him a rematch for the title. He said the fans loved Hogan, but he loved the Undisputed Championship. The Game said that at Backlash he shook the Hulkster’s hand like a man, but he said that after he takes back his title, would Hogan be man enough to shake his hand? The two superstars stared down each until Federation co-owner Mr. McMahon’s music filled the complex.

Mr. McMahon said that last he checked, neither Triple H or Hogan were Federation co-owners. He said he was in charge of SmackDown!, and he was the one that made the matches. Mr. McMahon said he was an owner that listened to the people, so he asked the fans if they wanted to see Hogan take on Triple H on SmackDown! The fans screamed an emphatic "Yes!" Mr. McMahon said he couldn’t give the fans the match because he said that he needed to start cleaning up the Federation. He said Triple H was arrested on RAW for beating down the Undertaker, and he wasn’t about to give a criminal a title shot. He also said that The Game also never gave Chris Jericho a rematch for the Undisputed Championship. Mr. McMahon said that Hogan would be defending his title next Thursday against the winner of the Triple H/Jericho match that would take place on the broadcast.

"Whatcha gonna do, brother, when Mr. McMahon’s authority runs wild on you!" shouted Mr. McMahon, as he exited to the back.

Backstage, Chuck was oiling down Billy’s shoulders and back. Rico told Chuck that he was never going to give Billy a proper glow unless he changed his motion, and he proceeded to demonstrate on Billy. At that point, Tajiri and Torrie strolled into their locker room. Chuck told Tajiri that since he beat Billy Kidman for the Cruiserweight Championship at Backlash, he could match Billy and Chuck’s gold ensemble for their six-man match on SmackDown! Rico told Torrie that the geisha outfit she was wearing was definitely not working for her. He said her forehead was also way too high, so he pulled out another headband for her, but Tajiri yanked the headband out of Rico’s hand and decided to try it on himself. Rico, Billy and Chuck both thought it looked "fabulous" on Tajiri.

The six-man tag-team match was next, with Al Snow, Maven and Billy Kidman taking on Billy, Chuck and Tajiri, who were accompanied to the ring with Rico and Torrie. Billy started off the match hot and hit a Fame-Asser on Maven early, but Snow interrupted the ref’s count. Outside the ring, Rico continued to boss around Torrie, which prompted the blonde bomeshell to slap the stylist across the face. Back in the ring, Snow and Maven were punishing Billy & Chuck until they both ultimately pulled off the shorts of Billy & Chuck, revealing that the two were wearing thongs! As Maven and Snow chased the duo to the back, Rico tried to attack the two, but Torrie ran up behind the stylist and pulled down his pants as well, unveiling yet another thong! Back in the ring, Tajiri and Kidman were going at it when Kidman hit a facebuster on the Cruiserweight Champion. Kidman then nailed Tajiri with a Shooting Star Press to pick up the victory for his team. After the match, Maven and Snow put on Billy & Chuck’s shorts and started mocking the duo in the ring!

Backstage, Kurt Angle was all smiles as he walked up to a security guard and told him that he was out of shape. He told the guard that he was going to unveil a new Kurt Angle t-shirt. He said the back of the shirt was going to list all of his accomplishments. The front of the shirt would say "Olympic Hero: It’s True, it’s True. I’ve got gold, how ‘bout you?" He said that because he had so many accomplishments on the back, the smallest size they made was XXL. He said since the guard looked to be atleast a XXXL, he was going to give him one at half-price.

In Mr. McMahon’s locker room, Stacy Keibler was giving Vince a head massage when they heard a knock at the door. A large man walked in and Mr. McMahon told Stacy that it was Randy Orton, the son of a hell of a wrestler, Cowboy Bob Orton. He said his grandfather was a great wrestler as well. Mr. McMahon said he was going to get a tryout match on SmackDown! Vince said he was going to get a drink, so he told Stacy and Randy to get to know one another. Stacy told Randy that since he was going to get a tryout match, she could evaluate his body for him. She said that he had huge hands, and she told him "you know what they say about men with large hands." Then she told him to take off his shirt, and when he did, Stacy’s jaw dropped. At that point, Mr. McMahon walked back into the office and Stacy immediately told him that Randy had tried to come on to her. A furious Mr. McMahon screamed that Randy was "just like his father", and he said that for punishment, his tryout match was going to be against Hardcore Holly!

In the backstage area, a bunch of superstars were huddled together when Mark Henry walked up to them. Christian asked Mark Henry if he really was the World’s Strongest Man. Henry said that he was. Christian then handed him a frying pan and said that if he was the World’s Strongest Man, he would be able to bend the pan. Henry grabbed the pan and proceeded to roll it up like a newspaper! Test then presented Henry with a steel rod and challenged him to bend the rod! Henry strapped on his weight belt, rolled the rod in a towel and bent the steel without breaking a sweat! After losing both bets to Henry, Christian attacked him with the rolled-up frying pan and fled from the scene

Next up, Hardcore Holly took on Randy Orton in Orton’s tryout match. Holly controlled the match early, beating up on the young star. Holly continued to beat and pulverize the chest of Orton until Randy started going on the offensive. He hit Holly with a dropkick before climbing to the top rope and hitting Holly with a flying crossbody. Orton took Holly off his feet with a drop toehold before rolling up Holly for the win!

Backstage, Kurt Angle was peeking at his new shirt, which was on an easel under a sheet. Angle walked up to his photographer and told him that it was up to him to make sure his t-shirt got on the front cover of Sports Illustrated, Newsweek, Time and National Geographic. He said that he should also tell his little Japanese photo friends to do the same. Angle continued to order the photographer around when Edge snuck in the room behind him and changed shirts!

After a commercial break, Angle made his way out to the ring as the Peoria crowd chanted "You suck!" at the Olympic Hero. Angle told the audience that he knew most people aspired to be rich and famous so they could avoid living in run-down, hick towns like Peoria, but, he said, regardless of where they are from, he loved all his fans. He said the town Peoria sounded more like a urinary infection instead of a town name. He said he knew the fans were excited as heck to have a real-life Olympic champion in their town. "Looking around," he said, "I’ve noticed how morbidly obese many of you are." He said their size was to their advantage, however, because he was going to unveil his new shirt, which was only available in XXL or larger. He explained to the crowd that he needed all the space he could get to print out all of his accomplishments on the back. He told the fans that once their wore his t-shirt, they would have a feeling they never had before – they would feel like winners.

At that point, Edge’s music hit and the blonde superstar walked down to the ring. Angle asked him why the hell he was in the ring. Edge responded by saying that he and Angle had a great match at Backlash, and he wanted to come to the ring and congratulate Angle for his new t-shirt and that he wanted to see it. Angle said he knew Edge would come around to respect him Angle then told the photographers to get ready to snap pictures of his new shirt. Angle then pulled off the sheet and revealed a shirt that said "You suck!"

"This is not my t-shirt!" Angle screamed, but Edge assured him that it really was him. Edge then asked to hear the music that went with the shirt, and Angle’s music hit, prompting the fans to continue chanting "You suck" at Angle.

The World’s Strongest Man Mark Henry faced Christian in singles action. The much larger Henry threw Christian around like a small child, with Christian barely getting in any offense. Christian finally started mounting an attack, nailing Henry with a reverse DDT. Christian tried to follow it up with his Unprettier, but Henry reversed the move and slapped Christian into a bearhug! Henry squeezed the life out of Christian until the referee called for the bell, giving the win to the World’s Strongest Man.

Next up, Rikishi teamed with Edge to battle Kurt Angle and Albert. Furious with Edge, Angle began to attack Edge, but Edge stopped his assault with a bulldog. Rikishi came in and took down both Albert and Angle. Rikishi laid out Albert and sat on him for the count, but Angle clotheslined the Samoan off his partner. Rikishi continued his attack on Albert, setting up the big man for the Stink Face, but Angle ran in the ring and executed an Angle Slam on Rikishi. Edge ran in and speared Angle out of the ring, but Albert threw the high-flier out of the ring. Rikishi laid out Albert went for his Banzai Drop, but Angle distracted the Samoan long enough to allow Albert to recover and defeat Rikishi with a Baldo Bomb! After the match, Albert held Edge in the ring so Angle could waffle Edge with a steel chair, but Edge kicked the chair with his foot, which caused Angle to hit himself with the chair!

In a backstage bathroom, Mr. McMahon’s spiritual advisor, D-Von, was primping himself in the mirror. He said that it was time for the collection fund!

D-Von made his way down the ramp and told the fans that people like his benefactor, Mr. McMahon, were here to save them. He told the fans to open up their hearts, as well as their pockets, and pour their love and money into his collection plate. He proceeded to walk around the ring and take money from fans. D-Von made his way into the crowd and continued raising money for his "D-Von Building Fund" when a fan took the plate from D-Von and started to run. D-Von finally caught up with the fan, and began to beat the hell out of him. He told the fan that the good book said "thou should not steal" before laying one more shot into his midsection.

An angry Angle was walking backstage when he ran into the security guard that he had met earlier. When the guard turned around, he revealed that he was wearing Angle’s new "You suck!" t-shirt!, which prompted Angle to storm away.

The main event of SmackDown! was next, with Chris Jericho facing Triple H to see who would face Hollywood Hulk Hogan for the Undisputed Championship next Thursday. Triple H started off the match hot, as he manhandled Y2J like a rag doll. Jericho finally got a little offense in, eventually locking on a sleeper hold onto The Game.

Backstage, Mr. McMahon was watching the match with Stacy at his side, when his leggy assistant pointed toward the door. Mr. McMahon looked up, and it was the Undertaker!

Back in the ring, Jericho continued his assault on Triple H, getting several two-counts in the process. Jericho went for his patented Lionsault, but The Game moved out of the way. Triple H went for the Pedigree, but Y2J countered it and slapped him into the Walls of Jericho. The Game finally reached for the ropes and forced Jericho to release the hold. A frustrated Y2J brought a steel chair into the ring, but Triple H stopped him in his tracks with a DDT. Triple H went for a Pedigree again, but the Undertaker, who had come through the crowd, distracted The Game. Jericho took advantage of the opportunity and rolled up Triple H for the win! After the match, the Dead Man got some retribution on The Game as he and Y2J continued to beat on The Game. Jericho locked the Walls of Jericho on Triple H as Taker went for a steel chair. Before the Dead Man could use the weapon, however, Hogan ran to the ring and made the save! The Hulkster began attacking the Undertaker through the crowd, but the damage had been done. Jericho was on the ramp mocking Triple H, as he knew he was the one who would be facing Hogan next Thursday on SmackDown! for the Undisputed Championship!