Smackdown

Card Information:
 Held in: PITTSBURGH CIVIC CENTER
Location: PITTSBURGH, PENNSLYVANIA, UNITED STATES
          on December 2004 at 8:00pm

Interview:
The challenger remains confident...
Click here to see highlights.

Hollywood Hogan and Chris Benoit talk trash again, as the main event for the
evening is signed.


Elimination Table No-Countout-No-DQ-Match:
The Dudley Boys (Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley) beat
The Basham Brothers (Doug Basham and Danny Basham) 2 falls to 1:
         x D-Von beat Danny via putting him through a table in 0:03:07
         x Doug beat Bubba via putting him through a table in 0:35:32
         x D-Von beat Doug via putting him through a table in 0:36:56
Survivors: D-Von Dudley
Rating: *** 3/4
[Shaniqua interfered against Bubba Ray Dudley.]

After a gruelling match, the Dudleys emerged victorious.  As they celebrated
their victory, Bubba and D-Von signalled that they wanted to be the Tag Team
Champions.


Jamie Noble made Edge submit to the Trailer Hitch in 0:14:47.
Jamie Noble suffered an elbow injury. He will be out for approximately 2 cards.
Rating: ****

A victory for the newest member of the nWo, but Noble unfortunately suffered
an injury during the match, which caused him to be led to the back.


Interview:
Members only...
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Brock Lesnar teaches Nidia a lesson on who is and isn't in the nWo.


Kane and Steven Richards defeated Shawn Michaels and Val Venis when Stevie
 pinned Michaels with the Stevie-T in 0:12:44.
Rating: ****

In an amazing finish, Steven Richards was able to pin Shawn Michaels cleanly.
The delight on Richards' face was clearly visible as he made his way to the
back.  But can he repeat this feat on Sunday?


Steve Austin pinned Ted DiBiase with the Stone Cold Stunner in 0:13:55.
Rating: *** 1/2

Austin got the pin over DiBiase in a rather good match, leaving the Champs and
Challengers with one victory each going into the title match at Armageddon.


Match with Special Referee Rey Mysterio:
Tajiri pinned Matt Hardy with the Stiff kick to the head in 0:05:09.
Rating: **** 1/4

Rey counted Matt Hardy down for the fall, and then escaped through the crowd
before he could be jumped by either of the participants.  This may well give
Tajiri the edge going into the Triangle Match on Sunday, although the addition
of Rey to the fold will obviously make things work differently.


Interview:
The rogues gallery...
Click here to see highlights.

Josh Matthews catches up with the nWo 5, prior to the main event.


No-Countout-No-DQ-Two-out-of-three-Falls Match With Captain's Rules:
Chris Benoit, Booker T, Triple H, Chris Jericho and Rob Van Dam beat
nWo (Goldberg, Hollywood Hogan, Jeff Jarrett, Randy Orton and Scott Steiner) 2
 falls to 1:
         x S. Steiner beat Y2J via the Steiner Recliner in 0:16:50
         x HHH beat Hollywood via a hiptoss in 0:30:49
Rating: ***
Click here to see highlights.

The WWE team got the win by virtue of Triple H pinning Hogan, the nWo captain,
however the nWo did give a good showing for themselves, especially as Scott
Steiner was able to make Chris Jericho tap out, thus making this Sunday's
cage match even more interesting than before.



Card rating: *** 3/4


Match observations: 

An incredibly interesting night of action on the last show before Armageddon.
Despite all their confidence, the nWo 5 fell to defeat at the hands of the WWE
5, with the Game being the man to get the deciding pinfall.  As mentioned 
before though, Chris Jericho was made to tap out by Scott Steiner, which does
give Big Poppa Pump somewhat of an advantage going into the cage match this
Sunday.

There doesn't appear to be any clear advantage when it comes to the tag team
title match on Sunday.  So far, the Big Show has pinned Bret Hart, but Stone
Cold has pinned Ted DiBiase.  Who will get the decisive pinfall at Armageddon,
and who will go down for the three?  Either way, it seems as though the team
that does leave with the gold are destined for a clash with the Dudleys, after
Bubba Ray and D-Von dealt with the Bashams here tonight.

Sunday will serve up a very interesting match between Steven Richards and Shawn
Michaels.  Richards got a shocking pinfall over HBK here tonight, and will be
looking to do the same again at Armageddon.  However, will he be able to fulfil
his other goal of crippling Michaels, or will the legend of the Heartbreak Kid
live to fight another day?

Brock Lesnar's actions tonight were despicable, and it'll be interesting to see
how Jamie Noble reacts to them when he returns from injury.  If he's any kind
of man, Noble will be reconsidering his place in the nWo upon his comeback.

This Sunday is shaping up to be one of the best Pay Per Views of the year, so
be sure to tune in, so that you don't miss out.

Next Show: Armageddon