|
MAY 20, 2004 - SMACKDOWN!
The SmackDown! bracket of the King of the Ring tournament kicks off tonight with four first-round matches, plus Paul London is hoping to pull off the upset of a lifetime as he takes on Dave Batista for the Intercontinental Title. All that, plus we expect to hear from Matt Hardy Version 2.0 before the night is through!
We open with a Cruiserweight exhibition between Rico and Carlito. Both men are entered in the KotR tournament, and we'll see them next week, but tonight they're looking to build some momentum. And if it wasn't ANOTHER FUCKING DUD SHOW, I'd talk about the awesomeness of this match. Instead, I'll just say Rico won with his spinning leg lariat.
It's a first-round King of the Ring match next as Brock Lesnar takes on Ultimo Dragon. 85/86% ratings for quality and reaction, but only a 76 overall. Fuck you, EWR! Lesnar picks up the win with the F5 to advance to round two.
Theodore Long cuts a promo on behalf of his Playas' Club (Mark Henry and Chris Nowinski), basically reminding us that they exist and maybe someday will have a match.
KotR continues next as The Rock takes on John Layfield. This one deserved the dud rating. Good reaction, but Rock had to carry the entire match. He picks up the win with the Rock Bottom to advance. Layfield cheap shots him after the match to retain some heat.
The ongoing rivalry between Los Guerreros and the Dangerous Alliance is just about to come to a head, and tonight, it's Chavo Guerrero versus Tajiri! These two put on a tremendous match that Tajiri winds up winning with the Kick of Death. Chavo gets revenge after the match with a Brainbuster.
Matt Hardy Version 2.0 comes to the ring next. He's sick and tired of this feud with John Cena, and he wants it to end tonight. Cena keeps walking away with the belt, and Matt promises that if he can't beat Cena, he'll never challenge him again. But tonight, the match is going to be on his terms. Tonight, he wants John Cena... in a ladder match! Cena comes out on the ramp to accept the challenge, and it's on!
King of the Ring continues next with two former Cruiserweight Champions going one-on-one as Rey Mysterio takes on Billy Kidman. These two put on a 4.5-star classic that goes back and forth, up and down, and pretty much resembles one of those flight-simulator rides. Rey picks up the win with the 619 to move on to round two.
More cruiserweight excitement is up next in our final KotR match of the evening as Hurricane takes on the new Cruiserweight Champion Christian! This one picks up four more stars for a tremendous bout that sees Christian advance with the Unprettier.
The Rock cuts a promo about how he's glad that Lesnar advanced. As much as he's pulling for his friend Rey Mysterio in two weeks, he is sort of hoping that Lesnar picks up the win, so that Rock can put him out of the tournament and finally end this feud once and for all.
"Nature Boy" Dave Batista is out next to defend the Intercontinental Title against the man who won a fatal fourway last week to earn the shot, Paul London. London manages to catch a couple of good high-flying moves, but he's just overmatched against Batista, who puts him away with the Batista Bomb to pick up the victory.
And now for our main event, the WWE Title on the line in a Ladder Match! These two put on a tremendous show, with both men using the ladder as a weapon. Cena hits the FU on Matt, and begins to climb the ladder, but out of nowhere... JEFF HARDY HITS THE RING! Matt's brother tips the ladder over, sending Cena to the floor, allowing Matt to climb the ladder and claim the win. We have a new WWE Champion! The Hardy Boyz shake hands and celebrate victory as SmackDown! goes off the air!
|