411’s WWE’s Greatest Moments Report: SmackDown: The First Decade

-It’s time for more nostalgia as this week we look at the Greatest Moments of the first ten years of SmackDown. Let’s get to it!

-Michael Cole welcomes us to the show and is our narrator for each moment.

10. The SmackDown Debut

-Aug. 26, 1999: When this show did RAW a few weeks back, they started that countdown with RAW #1 so they are consistent at least. All the Ovals! The look was so different than RAW, which was kind of the point. The Main Event saw HHH defend the WWF Title against The Rock with Shawn Michaels as the special ref. Fascinating that those three men are running WWE at this point in some capacity.

9. Colossal Collapse

-June 10, 2003: Should be higher on this list. Thankfully, Big E gets the first words in describing this moment. I am send there was no mention of Big, Meaty, Men, or Meat Slapping. Brock Lesnar gives Big Show a superplex and it BREAKS THE RING! Show mentions nobody saw it coming and it was magical. E says it is a moment you won’t forget.

8. Arnold Terminates HHH

-Nov. 11, 1999: WWE was able to get Arnold Schwarzenegger to show up on SmackDown and Vince presents him with a “belt.” Yes, Vince used that word! Arnold joins commentary and helps Austin by handing him a chair. HHH confronts Arnold and gets the piss slapped out of his mouth by an Arnold backhand. That was great!

-Commercials!

7. Hulk-a-mania Gets Brock’d

-Aug. 8, 2002: Brock Lesnar had debuted on 4 months earlier and was heading to SummerSlam to face The Rock for the WWF Title. What better way to make him look like a killer than putting him in the ring with Hulk Hogan. Heyman notes putting Brock against Hogan is an opportunity to mint Brock a long term Main Event star. If Brock was around in the 80s these two would have made all the money working shows across the country. Hogan says Brock is built to go and calls him an animal. Brock puts Hogan in a bear-hug and Hogan is bleeding internally. Hogan passes out and Brock gets the dominant win. Heyman: “After the match with Hulk Hogan, everyone knew Brock Lesnar was the next big thing.”

6. The Deconstruction Express

-April 27, 2000: Blah! Of all the Austin moments with vehicles I always found this to be the weakest. The story is Austin is tormenting DX through-out the night and ends things with a bang as he drops a cross beam on The DX Express, causing it to explode. Again, not a fan of this one.

-Commercials!

5. SEXY KURT

-March 24, 2005: Kurt Angle was in the middle of an awesome feud with Shawn Michaels and said he could do everything Shawn could do, but better. Part of that saw Kurt bring Sensational Sherri out to help him sing his own version of Sexy Boy, but it’s even better as it’s SEXY KURT! This is still magnificent! “I’ll make your ankle hurt.” Boo! They cut this one off and give it less time than the others moments.

4. A Championship Celebration

-Feb. 19, 2004: Yes, this will bring a smile to my face and then make me sad again. Eddie wins The WWF Title from Brock Lesnar and gets the big time celebration on SmackDown. Fantastic moment and seeing Eddie’s mom cry as Eddie is hugging her is just all the feels.

3. The Funeral Crasher

-Nov. 11, 1999: OH MAN! Show says his father did pass away when he was in college and he never got to see him wrestle. He says he commited 100% to the story and in a way it helped him pay tribute to his dad. In the story, Show’s dad passes away and Boss Man crashes the funeral and it is glorious! Taker is laughing his ass off recalling the angle. Woods can barely talk about it without making himself cry laughing. Show says he didn’t think they would put all of it on TV because it was so ludicrous. Show jumps on the casket as Boss Man hooks it to his car and drives off with it. It’s just so over the top, cartoon villain greatness.

-Commercials!

2. Rey Mysterio Debuts

-July 25, 2002: Rey sits at home for a little over a year collecting WCW money and then decides to join the WWF. The immediately put him back under the mask and have made MILLIONS selling masks to little kids ever since. Rey makes an impact his first night as he beats Chavo and then comes back later in the night and dives off the cage with a cross-body. Great debut!

1. Clean Up on Aisle Five

-Dec. 13, 2001: Austin says creative told them they were going to have a brawl in a grocery store! CINEMATIC WRESTLING! Booker says he just wanted to make it memorable. They made this so entertaining and Austin killed it as he delivered one liner after one liner based off what he was using to beat Booker’s ass. Austin coming back through the cooler and guzzling milk is just fantastic! The report was they did about $10,000 in damages. “Price check on a jackass.”

-Again, if you are into nostalgia this is the show for you. As always, you can argue with what was chosen and what wasn’t, but they hit the moments you would expect. I will say I didn’t catch a lot of these early RAW moments because I usually worked Thursday night because others at work had band pratice. I have obviously seen all of them since, but not seeing them live means I don’t have as much nostalgic attachment. As always though an easy, fun watch. Thanks for reading!