Smackdown!

San Antonio, Texas
April 8, 2004

 

BRADSHAW, EDDIE STEAL THE AWARD
April 8, 2004

When General Manager Kurt Angle said he would accept fan input as to who should win the Kurt Angle Great American Award, what he did not tell SmackDown! fans was that they would account for only 50 percent of Angle's decision. Nearly a half million fans voted for the award's recipient, and Angle abided by his word and gave the award to a SmackDown! Superstar named John. The problem was that the winner was not John Cena, who led all of the finalists with more than 280,000 votes. The winner of the Great American Award and new No. 1 Contender for the WWE Championship is John "Bradshaw" Layfield.

JBL "earned" the award despite the vote by showing a video of himself catching several individuals attempting to enter the United States over the U.S./Mexico border. By forcing the individuals back into Mexico, JBL proved himself worthy of the award, according to Angle. However, the celebration did not last long as Eddie Guerrero entered the fray to spoil JBL's party. Moments after being told to take the night off, Guerrero stole the coveted trophy and replaced it with one that was in honor of Guerrero himself. An outraged Angle and JBL demanded the trophy back, but Guerrero had other plans as he first damaged and later destroyed the trophy intended for JBL, marking the second straight week Guerrero has destroyed property of JBL.

Also on SmackDown!, Rob Van Dam tried to coax Booker T to change his recent ill tempered mood after by convincing him to join forces to face Charlie Haas & the Big Show. However, Booker T displayed his true colors by abandoning RVD during the match, leaving his former partner to be defeated by Haas & Show. As a result, next week on SmackDown! RVD and Booker T will meet one on one.

For several weeks, Theodore Long has approached several SmackDown! Superstars concerning a partnership. Just as a match between Long and Spike Dudley was about to begin, Mark Jindrak came to the ring and attacked Dudley ... and Long literally leaped into Jindrak's arms. Long said he was going to make an impact on the SmackDown! roster and he now has one of the brightest young Superstars on SmackDown! at his side.

SmackDown! comes to you next week from Indianapolis where former partners Rob Van Dam and Booker T will meet.  What will happen when these two collide? How will JBL react to Eddie Guerrero's recent actions? What will the first week for the Theodore Long/Mark Jindrak partnership bring? Only one way to find out ... watch SmackDown! at 8/7 CT on UPN!

Match Results:

The Dudley Boyz defeated Rikishi & Scotty 2 Hotty in a non-title match

Chavo Guerrero defeated Jamie Noble

John Cena defeated Danny Basham

Charlie Haas & the Big Show defeated Rob Van Dam & Booker T

Rene Dupree defeated Orlando Jordan

Spike Dudley defeated Johnny Stamboli