Mike Reviews WWF Smackdown #45 (KOTR 2000 go-home show)

Happy Smackdown Saturday Everyone!

Next week the Stinker Review is going to be King of the Ring 2000, so I thought I’d get us all warmed up for that one by viewing the go-home Smackdown episode.

Smackdown in 2000 was usually decent because it tended to be more in-ring focused and the WWF had a good roster at the time, so hopefully this episode of Smackdown will be decent.

You can view the card by clicking below;

https://www.cagematch.net/en/?id=1&nr=3061&page=3

Smackdown is emanating from Memphis, Tennessee on the 22nd of June 2000 (taped on the 20th June 2000)

Calling the action are Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler

We of course get the iconic Smackdown theme to open us up, which my friend Adam has since ruined for me by saying it sounds like the guy is singing “whip it round, move it round, cruising and selling cakes” and now that’s all I hear whenever it plays.

The McMahon-Helmsley Faction of Triple H, Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley, Shane McMahon and alleged sex trafficker Vince McMahon join us to open up the show. Stephanie was actually the WWF Women’s Champ at the time, which makes sense seeing as she invented women’s wrestling and all. Tri is annoyed that his WWF Title is on the line in a six man tag team match at King of the Ring due to the interference of Linda McMahon, but he thinks that the opposing team of Rock, Kane and Undertaker will be too busy fighting one another to pick up the victory. That’s called sowing seeds of doubt right there folks. HHH of course makes sure to point out that the WWF Title is the most important thing in his life, even though his wife is standing right next to him, which is a nice character touch that he always remained consistent with. Vince then starts talking about family values and I suddenly develop a desire to vomit. The gist of Vince’s long droning speech is that we’re getting the Main Event a few days early, with Vince, Shane and Tri taking on Rock, Kane and Taker. I mean, it wasn’t exactly a strong pay per view Main Event anyway, but giving it away on free TV like this is certainly a choice. Shane and HHH storm off following that, which suggests this will be a SWERVE later though, so we’ll let it play out.

Trish Stratus, Test and Albert will be wrestling Lita and The Hardyz next, as we see all six of them head to the ring.

Shane McMahon tries to escape the venue in a limo, but Triple H and Stephanie convince him to come back.

Opening Match
The Hardy Boyz (Jeff Hardy & Matt Hardy) and Lita Vs T&A (Albert & Test) and Trish Stratus

Cole is talking about the internet prior to this match, which I believe they still have computers these days, although I mostly access it by a phone now. You’d’ve burned people at the stake for being witches if they said that to you 24 years ago. This is apparently Stratus’ first ever official in-ring match on TV, and she seems to be wearing one of her default WWF No Mercy attires. The Faces use their speed to keep Test and Albert on the back foot to start, but Test manages to catch Jeff with a Big Boot and that leads to the heat segment, with Stratus even coming in to slap Jeff at one stage.

Albert eventually misses a splash in the corner and that’s the hot tag to Matt, which leads to Matt running wild on Test with some high flying offence, such as a clothesline off the second rope. Jeff dives out with a TOPE CON HILO onto Albert, which finally gives us Stratus and Lita going at it, which the crowd loves. Test and Stratus take Twist of Fates from Matt and Lita respectively, and that leads to Jeff coming off the top with a Swanton Bomb onto both Heels. Albert breaks up the resulting pin and that leads to the male wrestlers fighting out on the floor, leaving Lita to Moonsault Stratus back in the ring. There’s no ref following that though, which means Albert can sneak in with a Baldo Bomb before draping Stratus on top for three

WINNERS: TEST, ALBERT & STRATUS
RATING: **

Thoughts: Stratus would of course turn into a very good wrestler, but she was extremely limited in what she could do here, so coming in with a slap and then taking some moves was about all she was capable of doing. Thankfully the lads did most of the wrestling, and all four of them delivered their end of a fast paced and enjoyable little TV match, with the finish protecting Lita whilst putting more heat on the villains

We get clips of Pat Patterson helping Gerald Brisco defeat Crash Holly to win the WWF Hardcore Title on Raw, only for Patterson to then betray Brisco and attack him with a Champagne bottle in order to win the belt for himself!

Gerald Brisco is looking for Pat Patterson in order to exact some revenge.

Jerry Lee Lewis is in the crowd.

Match Two
Christian w/ Edge Vs WWF Tag Champ Grandmaster Sexay w/ Scotty 2 Hotty

E&C come out dressed as Honky Tonk Man, the second greatest Intercontinental Champion of All-Time, second only to The Godfather! Oh, and I think some Austrian bloke had a good run with it at some stage too as well, can’t think of his name right now though. Too Cool were the Tag Champs at the time after defeating E&C for the belts, and this match is to build to a four corners match at KOTR with T&A and The Hardyz also taking part. Sadly Christian isn’t wrestling in his Elvis fat-suit here, which tempts me to deduct a * on mere principle. Sexay shines on Christian to start, but Edge interferes and that allows Christian to get a DDT on the floor for the cut off.

This crowd are HOSS for Too Cool by the way, as it continues to baffle me that they aren’t in the WWE Hall of Fame. They certainly pass the Koko B. Ware test. Christian works a chin lock, and it actually gets the crowd to clap along, but a Ukrainian Leg Sweep prevents Sexay from fighting back. Sexay keeps trying to get back into it, and eventually manages to block a Christian Superplex before coming off the top with the Tennessee Jam. This leads to Edge causing a fracas outside the ring, which distracts the referee so that he can come in and Spear Sexay. However, when the referee gets distracted again, this allows Scotty to come in and blast Christian with the ring bell so that Sexay can get the pin.

WINNER: GRANDMASTER SEXAY
RATING: **

Thoughts: Sexay being super over in his hometown helped this one immensely, and it ended up being another decent short TV match

Dean Malenko is being tended to by some lovely ladies backstage, which leads to Terri Runnels coming in and flirting with Malenko in order to get him to team with her. Malenko was very funny here.

We get clips from Raw, where Eddy Guerrero defeated Chyna in a KOTR match but then appeased her by gifting her a puppy. Oh that cad!

Brisco is still looking for Patterson, to no joy.

The McMahon-Helmsley Faction are complaining about the Main Event later on.

Match Three
WWF European Title
Champ: “Latino Heat” Eddy Guerrero w/ Chyna Vs The Big Boss Man

Lawler makes the joke of Chyna not risking bringing her puppy to the ring tonight seeing as Boss Man is involved in this match. Boss man jumps Eddy at the bell and works him over, with Eddy taking some really nice bumps in order to make Boss Man look good. Boss Man takes most of the match here, probably because he’s losing in the end, with Chyna eventually distracting Boss Man, leading to Boss Man clocking Chyna outside the ring. Whilst the ref is dealing with that, Val Venis runs in and attacks Eddy, which looks to give Boss Man the win until Chyna runs in and hits Boss Man with the Title belt for the DQ.

WINNER BY DQ: BOSS MAN (EDDY RETAINS)
RATING: ½*

Thoughts: Eddy’s bumping was great, but he was given basically no offence here and only retained thanks to his missus getting involved, which made him look very weak when you consider that Boss Man was a tag guy who sometimes fought in the Hardcore Division. Eddy should have dealt with Boss Man with reasonable ease rather than only just holding onto his belt on a technicality

Jonathon Coachman is trying to interview Kane backstage, with Kane stating that he’s taking the WWF Title at King of the Ring.

Pat Patterson is hiding in the women’s locker room (whilst in drag) and annoying The Kat, who says that she’ll find a partner to face Terri Runnels later on.

Kurt Angle and Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley bond over Angle getting onto the cover of WWF Magazine.

Match Four
WWF Intercontinental Title
Champ: “The Rabid Wolverine” Chris Benoit Vs Rikishi

This will also be a Quarter Final match at King of the Ring, but Benoit’s putting the belt on the line here in a KOTR preview. They work this one at a pretty quick clip, with Rikishi getting the better of most of the early going until the fight heads to the floor and Benoit start’s flinging Rikishi’s shoulder into the ring steps and ring post. Rikishi actually sells that really well, with Benoit doing his usual vicious job of working over the appendage. Benoit manages to get Rikishi with a Back Suplex and then heads up top for the Swandive Headbutt, but Rikishi manages to dodge that and makes the one-armed comeback followed by the Banzai Drop for the clean three count.

WINNER AND NEW CHAMPION: RIKISHI
RATING: **1/4

Thoughts: This was decent, if a little on the short side for a TV Title change. The crowd loved the result though and they worked it pretty well with Benoit going after the arm and Rikishi selling it well. The clean finish was appreciated as well, as they could have easily done a DQ or other cheap finish here, but instead they changed the belt and gave Rikishi a bit of a reward for doing such a good job of getting over

Benoit attacks Rikishi to get his heat back after the match.

We get clips of Chris Jericho ruining a match between Triple H and Hardcore Holly on Sunday Night HeAT.

Match Five
“The Big Shot” Hardcore Holly Vs “Y2J” Chris Jericho

Holly is looking for revenge on Jericho here due to the aforementioned match ruining on HeAT. Holly and Jericho supposedly liked throwing down in matches, so they get right to that here, and it’s an energetic fight. It’s cool that they are referencing a match on HeAT, as it actually gives people a reason to potentially care about that show, especially when you mention that HHH actually appeared on it. I remember watching that match back in the day actually and thinking it was really cool that Tri was appearing on the C Show.

Holly soon gains control of the contest and works Jericho over with holds and hard strikes, with Jericho selling that all well. Holly’s matches usually look quite realistic, mainly because he spends most of the time really hitting people. Jericho keeps trying to make a comeback, but Holly keeps preventing it, as they’ve given Holly the lion’s share of the match here. That’s probably because Vince McMahon always saw Jericho as an underdog and often put him in matches where he had to fight from underneath.

Holly eventually starts kicking SO MUCH crud out of poor Jericho that the referee has to pull The Big Shot to the side for a talking too, which allows Jericho’s nemesis, Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley, to come down and clobber Jericho with her Women’s Title. Holly gets two from that and Jericho quickly snaps off a LionSault for the three count.

WINNER: CHRIS JERICHO
RATING: *3/4

Thoughts: The match was a bit too one sided for my liking, to the point that Holly kind of looked like a chump for losing in the end, especially when Stephanie gave him an assist with the belt shot. Jericho did manage to win at least, as at one stage I was genuinely worried that he was going to get battered all match and then lose as well to cap it off!

The Kat is trying to recruit TAKA Michinoku as her partner, but he doesn’t understand and thinks she wants to tag with Sho Funaki. Um, why didn’t she just pick Funaki then? Is Funaki really such a step down from TAKA? Anyway, Kat drags TAKA along with her so I guess they’re going to make this work somehow.

Match Six
“Iceman” Dean Malenko and “The Horny Little She-Devil” Terri Runnels Vs TAKA Michinoku and The Kat

Malenko attacks TAKA before the match can start, so Kat has to go it alone. Kat still manages to get a little something on Runnels, but Malenko cheap shots Kat and looks to beat her up, which leads to Jerry Lawler stepping in to help. Malenko of course takes some great bumps for Lawler, as they have a fun quick match together whilst the crowd goes nuts for Lawler in his home territory. Malenko eventually flees, which leads to Kat rolling up Runnels for three.

WINNERS: KAT & LAWLER
RATING: *

Thoughts: Too short to be any more, but the Malenko Vs Lawler section was good stuff, as they worked reasonably well together and Malenko knew just how to bump around and sell for Lawler in order to make The King look good in his home region

The Heels try a post-match beat down following that, but Kat and Lawler fend them off, but not before Lawler’s night is made by taking a Bronco Buster from Runnels.

Kevin Kelly is interviewing The Undertaker, who was in the early days of playing his American Badass character and still working out the kinks. It was an okay short promo.

Howard Finkel stooges out Patterson to Brisco. Finkel suggests that Brisco dress up as a woman in order to get to Patterson.

Match Seven
D-Von Dudley w/ Buh Buh Ray Dudley) Vs The Road Dogg w/ Tori and X-Pac)

It’s DX Vs The Dudleyz at King of the Ring, so this is a match to put some heat on that issue. Last week on Smackdown; DX, Edge and Christian sent The Dudleyz off the stage in a dumpster, which seemed a bit soon to do that spot again seeing as they’d already done it to Mick Foley and Terry Funk in 1998. At King of the Ring, it will be a Dumpster Match between the two teams, although DX will be able to win by pin as well, which seems a bit unfair. Ollie Stalefish is still the best Dudley entrance theme in my opinion, which is odd seeing as it was just a random production track the WWF used as opposed to a theme that was specially made for The Dudsters. This is another match in a series of them tonight where the Heel takes the majority of the match, with D-Von getting a brief comeback until X-Pac cheap shots D-Von whilst the ref is distracted by Tori and Bubba going at it, leading to Roadie getting the three count.

WINNER: ROAD DOGG
RATING: N/A

Thoughts: Barely a match

The Dudleyz get laid out following the match, as this one-sided feud continues. Tony Chimel‘s mic doesn’t work properly, so The Dudleyz beat him up in frustration, I guess to get their heat back?

Mike Chioda is laughing at Gerald Brisco in drag, as they head to the women’s locker room. Patterson and Brisco have a brawl in there whilst the women screech, as someone somewhere no doubt finds it funny presumably. Vince McMahon certainly doesn’t and books the two in an Evening Gown Match at King of the Ring.

Rock cuts a promo about tonight and King of the Ring, where he says the Faction ends on Sunday. This was the usual great delivery from The People’s Champ.

Main Event
“The Big Red Monster” Kane, “The Peoples Champ” The Rock and “American Bad Ass” Undertaker Vs La Familia McMahon (Vince McMahon Jr and El Hijo del Vince) and WWF Champ Triple H w/ Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley

HHH had won the belt from The Rock back at Judgment Day thanks to Undertaker returning and causing mayhem, so the alliance between the babyfaces here is tenuous at best. Kid Rock clearly charges more than Limp Bizkit does, as Taker gets his “Your Gonna Pay” music dubbed in here instead of the Kid Rock track he was using at the time. Isn’t Kid Rock a WWE Hall of Famer as well? I guess he’s too busy shooting bottles of Bud Light but then still serving it in his bar to let WWE use one of his tracks for a reasonable price.

So as expected, The McMahon-Helmsley Faction has brought some back-up tonight, as Vince makes it No DQ and then sends down DX and Bull Buchanan to attack the babyfaces. The babyfaces manage to fend them off, but Edge, Christian and Kurt Angle are next, leading to a 6 on 3 attack from the hired goons onto the babyface trio. The babyfaces still manage to fight those off, which leads to Test, Albert and Val Venis running down to help out The Faction, which turns it into a 12 on 3 battle for the babyfaces when you include The Faction trio. All the babyfaces end up getting laid out, with Vince pinning Rock with The Corporate Elbow.

WINNERS: THE FACTION
RATING: N/A

Thoughts: This was more an angle than an actual match, but it got heat on the Heels ahead of King of the Ring at least, and it’s not like the babyfaces looked weak by getting beaten down 12 on 3, especially as they managed to hold their own for a brief bit first

In Conclusion

This wasn’t the best episode of the show, with not a lot going on from an in-ring perspective and nothing much in the way of top level angles either. The positives were that we got a clean finish in the IC Title match and that the WWF didn’t bury the hometown acts, which is always a bonus when it comes to them. Not a terrible show by any means, but a thumbs in the middle at best. I’ll see you all next week for King of the Ring, and may we hope it isn’t too stinky!

Not a recommended show