Smackdown

Card Information:
 Held in: NORTH CHARLESTON COLISEUM
Location: SOUTH CAROLINA, UNITED STATES
          on April 2005 at 8:00pm

Interview:
Champion and Challenger face off...
Click here to see highlights.

Chris Benoit and Steve Austin have a face to face confrontation, which leads to
a rather intriguing tag match being signed.


[Hardcore Rules Match]: No-Countout-No-DQ-Falls-Count-Anywhere Match:
Cactus Jack pinned Tazz with the Double Arm DDT in 0:07:34.
Rating: *** 3/4

In a prelude to Sunday's tag title match, one half of the tag champions was 
able to defeat one half of the challengers.


Paul London and Jeff Hardy defeated Billy Kidman and Matt Hardy when J. Hardy
 pinned M. Hardy with the Swanton Bomb in 0:02:11.
Rating: ***

Paul London remains undefeated, but it was Jeff Hardy who got the win over his
brother Matt.


Interview:
More tag team switches...
Click here to see highlights.

A request from William Regal sees partners switched around in the upcoming tag
team match.


Goldust and Steven Richards defeated Booker T and William Regal when Goldust
 defeated Regal by disqualification in 0:18:43.
Rating: *** 1/4

An intriguing tag match ended prematurely, as Regal was caught nailing Goldust
with brass knux.  All four men continued to brawl after the bell, giving a
slight indication of how things may be in the IC title four way match on Sunday
at Backlash.


Interview:
A call out...
Click here to see highlights.

Batista calls out Shane McMahon, and gets him!


Shane McMahon pinned Batista after a sitdown faceslam in 0:01:45.
Rating: *

In a quick and shocking turn of events, Shane McMahon managed to defeat the
monster Batista.  However, he wasn't able to celebrate for long, as Triple H
soon stormed the ring, and laid waste to Shane O Mac with the Pedigree.


The Dudley Boys (Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley) and Ted DiBiase defeated
Too Cool (Grandmaster Sexay and Scotty Too Hotty) and Bret Hart when Bubba
 defeated Scotty when Scotty passed out in the torture rack in 0:14:01.
Rating: *** 1/4

Scotty seemed hurt, after Bubba locked him in a dangerous torture rack.  As
the Dudley Boys celebrated, Bret Hart and Ted DiBiase brawled through the crowd
and to the back.


[Wild Card Match]:
Steve Austin and AJ Styles defeated Chris Benoit and Billy Kidman when S. Austin
 pinned Benoit with the Stone Cold Stunner in 0:24:10.
Rating: ****
Click here to see highlights.

Stone Cold pulled off a shocking victory over the WWE Champion, leaving him 
with a major morale boost going into the match on Sunday.  AJ Styles chipped
in as the Rattlesnake's partner, while the Cruiserweight Champion Kidman pulled
double duty to team with the World Champ.

After the match, Kidman bad mouthed Benoit for the loss, only to become another
victim of the Crossface.



Card rating: ***


Match observations: 

A very interesting night of action going into Backlash.  At this moment in time
it looks like there could be a new WWE Champion crowned at the Pay Per View.
Of course, we've seen Benoit put down in the past, and he's always come back
fighting, so expect to see a focused Wolverine at the show.

Speaking of focused, Triple H seems to be just that when it comes to getting a
title shot at Backlash.  He hit Shane McMahon with a fierce Pedigree here
tonight, and the smart money would go on him repeating this situation when it
comes to the match itself.  No matter who prevails between Benoit and Austin,
their first challenger is going to be going all out to get them.

After the ending of the Goldust/Richards vs Booker/Regal tag match tonight, it
was announced that their IC title match at Backlash will be no DQ.  Therefore,
if William Regal decides to use Brass Knux like he did tonight, it will be
perfectly legal.  At this rate, Regal must be a real favourite to leave with
the Intercontinental Title.

Other titles on the line this Sunday are the tag titles, and the Cruiserweight
title.  Paul London, currently undefeated in WWE, will aim to take the CW gold
from Billy Kidman, while Thug Life (John Cena and Tazz) aim to become tag team
champs, as they face the legendary pairing of Shawn Michaels and Cactus Jack.
After Cactus beat Tazz in a hardcore more tonight, the advantage seems to lie
with the champs, but who knows what kind of a difference HBK and Cena could
make to this match.  It should be a classic.

Bret Hart and Ted DiBiase will face off in the Million Dollar Challenge.  Who
will prevail?  Who will quit?  Can Sting subdue the monster Vader?  Will Edge
silence the big mouth of Randy Orton?  And can Chris Jericho stand in the way
of the alleged saviour, Christopher Daniels?  Answers will be found on Sunday.

Next Show: Backlash