Smackdown

Card Information:
 Held in: KINGDOME
Location: WASHINGTON, UNITED STATES
          on July 2005 at 8:00pm

Match with Special Referee The Rock:
Steve Austin pinned Triple H with the Stone Cold Stunner in 0:15:01.
Rating: *** 1/2
Click here to see highlights.

After a second Stone Cold Stunner, Austin picked up the victory.  Post match,
the Rock decided to make an impact by hitting both Austin and Helmsley with
Rock Bottoms.


Interview:
Shane sets up Hogan for maybe the last time...
Click here to see highlights.

Shane McMahon books Hogan in a match with Brock Lesnar, just a few days prior
to the Stretcher Match at Vengeance.


Spike Dudley pinned Vader with the Dudley Dog in 0:12:29.
Rating: ***
[Masahiro Chono interfered against Vader.]

In a shocking turn of events, Spike Dudley managed to pin Vader.  Masahiro
Chono's distractions at ringside were one factor, as was Spike pulling Vader's
mask up over his face.  Spike didn't get to celebrate victory for long though,
as the big Mastadon brutalised him with a steel chair, before placing it on
Spike and then hitting a Vader Bomb.


Jamie Noble defeated Ultimo Dragon by countout in 0:05:54.
Rating: ***

Ultimo got counted out after a failed suicide dive, leaving Noble to qualify
for the 6 way match at Vengeance.


Interview:
Venis responds...
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Val Venis wants to trust Edge, but cannot do so without evidence.


Scott Steiner made Raven submit to the Steiner Recliner in 0:14:47.
Rating: ****

The fans were surprised and delighted to see Raven show up, but disappointed
when Big Poppa Pump made him tap out.


Brock Lesnar pinned Hollywood Hogan with the F-5 in 0:21:56.
Rating: *** 1/2

The deck was clearly stacked against Hogan, especially with Nick Patrick as
the referee.  After Hogan thought he had escaped with a time limit draw, he
was forced to continue the match, and soon fell victim to the F-5.  Come this
Sunday though, it will all be over, one way or another.


Interview:
Sunday's challengers...
Click here to see highlights.

Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho talk about their upcoming match, and their two
title matches on Sunday night.


Handicap-Match:
Randy Orton, Christopher Daniels and Dean Malenko defeated
Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho when Orton pinned Benoit with the RKO in 0:26:01
.
Rating: **** 3/4
Click here to see highlights.

Amazing match, so close to hitting the 5-star mark.  Randy Orton managed to
pin his challenger, but only after Dean Malenko had put a lot of work into
severly wearing down the wolverine.  Can Orton do it again on Sunday, when he
has to do it all himself?



Card rating: *** 3/4


Match observations: 

The advantange lies with the WWE Champion going into Vengeance.  Randy Orton
pinned Chris Benoit here tonight with the RKO, but as mentioned earlier, the
number 1 contender had already taken a large amount of punishment from Dean
Malenko before the fall.  In some ways, Benoit was the one to blame for the
loss, as he missed out on several opportunities to tag in his partner, Chris
Jericho, but on the other side of the coin, the RKO has proved to be quite a
devestating move as of late.

Hollywood Hogan will need a major morale boost going into the Stretcher Match
on Sunday, after his defeat against Brock Lesnar here tonight.  Granted, Shane
McMahon is a completely different kind of competitor to Lesnar, but with the
career of Hogan hanging in the balance, he would have much prefered to be on
his way into the PPV on the back of a big win.

Speaking of big wins, Steve Austin earned one against Triple H here tonight.
Despite that though, it was the Rock who had the last laugh, by hitting both
Austin and Helmsley with the Rock Bottom.  It'll be very interesting who comes
out with the win on Sunday, especially as it'll be three men vying for just
a single fall.

Vader was said to be very angry after his loss to Spike Dudley here tonight,
and who can blame him?  Masahiro Chono is going to be in for a severe beating
when Vengeance comes around, so we can expect things to turn very brutal, very
quickly.

Sunday is going to see a hardcore match, a very special Cruiserweight tag match
and a Crusierweight 6 way match, a death match, a stretcher match, and more
importantly 4 titles on the line.  It should be a very interesting show.

Next Show: Vengeance