Smackdown

Card Information:
 Held in: FREEDOM HALL
Location: TENNESSEE, UNITED STATES
          on November 2004 at 8:00pm

Interview:
Helmsley wants Orton...
Click here to see highlights.

Triple H's attempts to get to Randy Orton fail, following the Legend Killer's
no-show.  However, a tag team match is set up for later tonight.


Two-out-of-three-Falls Match With Captain's Rules:
Rey Mysterio, Tajiri and Hurricane Helms beat
Matt Hardy, Shannon Moore and Brian Kendrick 2 falls to 1:
         x Tajiri beat B. Kendrick via countout in 0:02:04
         x Moore beat Hurricane via disqualification in 0:12:35
         x Tajiri beat Moore via the Stiff kick to the head in 0:23:50
Matt Hardy suffered an elbow injury. He will be out for approximately 3 cards.
Rating: *** 3/4

After the big victory for the face team, Tajiri surprised the fans by nailing
Rey Mysterio in the face with the Cruiserweight Title Belt.

The injury to Matt Hardy looks to have put him out of the Survivor Series match
completely.  No word yet as to whether a replacement will be made.


Booker T pinned Ted DiBiase after a swinging neckbreaker in 0:05:04.
Rating: *** 1/2

Good win for Booker T over DiBiase in an enjoyable match.  Team WWE takes a
minor boost going into Survivor Series.  However, the tag match later on could
see that cancelled out.


Interview:
A couple of announcements...
Click here to see highlights.

The participants for the additional 10-Man match are revealed, as Y2J announces
that he will referee the Steiner/Funaki submission match.


No-Countout-No-DQ-Submission Match with Special Referee Chris Jericho:
Scott Steiner made Funaki submit to a half Boston in 0:14:46.
Rating: *** 1/4

After working over Funaki for nearly 15 minutes, Scott Steiner got the win.
After the match, he and Jericho went nose to nose, with each man claiming that
they would leave Survivor Series as the Intercontinental Champion.


Triangle Match:
Brock Lesnar defeated Bret Hart and Danny Basham when Lesnar pinned Danny
 with the F-5 in 0:21:21.
Rating: **** 1/4

After an excellent match-up, Lesnar got the victory after pinning one half of
the tag team champions.  Come Sunday, things will be different, as the tag
triangle match will be held with elimination rules.


Interview:
A video return...
Click here to see highlights.

Steven Richards joins the show via satellite, and sends out a message to HBK.


The Outsiders (Kevin Nash and Scott Hall) defeated Shawn Michaels and The Rock
 when Nash defeated Michaels by countout in 0:08:45.
Rating: **
Click here to see highlights.

Team WWE's preparations hit a major snag, as Kevin Nash powerbombed Shawn
Michaels on the outside, leaving him to be counted out.  HBK was able to walk
out of the arena, but he was clearly struggling with his back.


nWo (Goldberg and Hollywood Hogan) defeated Triple H and Chris Benoit when
Goldberg pinned Benoit with the Jackhammer in 0:14:27.
Rating: ** 1/2
[Randy Orton interfered against Triple H.]
Click here to see highlights.

After Randy Orton appeared at ringside, thus revealing Hogan had lied about him
not being in the building, the WWE pair were at a disadvantage, especially with
Nick Patrick as referee.  In the end, a spear and jackhammer combo was enough
for Goldberg to pin his challenger.

After the match, the nWo enjoyed a 3 on 2 advantage over their opponents, only
for Shane McMahon to come running down with a steel chair in hand, causing the
nWo to scramble as the show went off the air.



Card rating: ***


Match observations: 

So, an interesting night of action going into the Survivor Series.  As it 
stands right now, the advantage seems to be with the nWo, especially as WWE
Champion Goldberg was able to pin his opponent for Sunday, Chris Benoit, with
the Jackhammer.

By the time Raw rolls around on Monday, the face of WWE could be completely
different, as the battle between Shane McMahon and Hollywood Hogan will 
determine who has control of the book for the company.  If Hogan wins, then
expect the nWo's influence to grow stronger than ever before.  If McMahon gets
the victory, then it could change from nWo 4 life to nWo 4 not much longer.

As mentioned earlier, the unfortunate injury to Matt Hardy has meant that he'll
be replaced in the Cruiserweight match on Sunday by Ultimo Dragon.  Dragon was
originally scheduled to be in the additional 10 Man tag match at Survivor
Series, but his place has been taken by an as-yet un-named superstar.

The WWE v nWo tag match should prove to be a belter, with representatives of
both teams picking up wins here tonight.  However, none of those wins will 
matter come Sunday night, when the real action goes down.

Next Show: Survivor Series