From The Shelf- WWF Smackdown! 2-10-2000

WWF Smackdown!
2-10-2000
Austin, TX

WWF European Championship- Val Venis © vs. Kurt Angle
Angle attacks from behind to start and he hammers away on Venis in the corner. Venis comes back with a clothesline and he hits a hip toss. Angle clotheslines Venis to the floor and Angle leaps off the apron but Venis nails him on the way down. Venis drops Angle on the barricade and back in; Angle snaps Venis’ neck off the top rope. Angle stomps away and he drops Venis onto the ropes. Neckbreaker by Angle gets 2 and Venis comes back with a back elbow into an elbow drop. Knee drop by Venis gets 2 and he hits a corner clothesline. Fisherman’s Suplex by Venis gets 2 and he hits a slam. Venis goes up but Angle crotches him to take Venis down. Olympic Slam by Angle gets 3!!!
Winner and NEW WWF European Champion- Kurt Angle **1/2 ( Fun opener, crowd was into it and it continued to show has fast Angle was progressing both as a character and a wrestler. Good start. )

Triple H and Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley tells the Radicals and Outlaws who they are facing tonight (Saturn/Sexay, Malenko/Hotty, Benoit/Rikishi, Outlaws/Rock and Cactus) and then tells X-Pac they will be in a handicap match with Kane tonight.

Grandmaster Sexay vs. Perry Saturn
Saturn attacks to start and he hits a clothesline. Saturn charges in the corner but eats boot and Sexay hits a second rope dropkick to the back of Saturn. Enzuigiri by Sexay and Saturn goes to the apron. Sexay hits a sunset flip powerbomb to the floor!!!! Back in, Sexay hits some rights and Saturn drop toe holds Sexay into the ropes. T-Bone suplex by Saturn and he works over the left arm of Sexay. Arm bar by Saturn but Sexay goes to the ropes to break. Hammerlock Northern lights suplex by Saturn gets 2. Keylock by Saturn but Sexay fights out. Saturn takes Sexay back down to the mat by the arm and he goes to the Crowbar. Sexay fights out and Saturn comes back with a springboard flying forearm. Slam by Saturn and he goes up. Flying Elbow Drop off the top by Saturn gets 2. Saturn goes for a suplex but Secay blocks and he crotches Saturn on the top rope. Powerslam by Sexay gets 2. Sexay goes for a springboard crossbody but he misses Saturn and nails the ref. Sitting neckbreaker by Sexay and he goes up. Hip Hop Drop by Sexay and he covers but there is no ref!!! The ref recovers and he counts 2 for Sexay!!! Saturn catches Sexay and he locks in the Rings of Saturn. Sexay has his foot on the rope but the ref doesn’t see it as Sexay taps!!!
Winner- Perry Saturn *** ( WOW. They gave this match a decent chunck of time for a TV match and the result was a fun, entertaining match. )

We get a recap of Vince McMahon starting up the XFL. Yep.

Edge and Christian vs. Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray and D-Von Dudley)
They brawl to start and Edge and Christian take them down with a double dropkicks. D-Von and Edge officially start. Double flapjack to D-Von and Christian comes in. Side Russian leg sweep by Christian gets 2 and he goes for punches in the corner but D-Von escapes and takes Christian down with a neckbreaker. Tag to Bubba and he hammers away on Christian. Backdrop by Bubba and D-Von goes up for WHAT’S UP~!!!! D-Von covers for 2 and he hits a back elbow to Christian. Sunset flip by Christian gets 2 and Bubba grabs a chair. He goes to use it but the ref forces him to drop it. Bubba tags in and he slams Christian. Elbow drops by Bubba gets 2 and he rakes the eyes of Christian. Bubba charges in the corner but eats boot and Christian hits a Tornado DDT. Tag to Edge and he cleans house. Backdrop to D-Von and Bubba goes for a Samoan Drop but Bubba hurts his leg. Christian goes for a sunset flip off the top but D-Von blocks. Edge goes up and hits a missile dropkick which allows Christian to roll through for 3.
Winners- Edge and Christian ** ( Match was decent but it wasn’t about the match but rather what happened next. )

After the match, EMTs come out to attend to Bubba and they put him on a stretch. Bubba then GRABS B.B. AND THEY SET UP A TABLE IN THE RING!!!! SUPER POWERBOMB THROUGH THE TABLE TO B.B!!!!! That was awesome. Edge and Christian return to try to clear the ring of the Dudley Boyz but D-Von nails both of them with a chair.

Scotty 2 Hotty vs. Dean Malenko
Rights by Scotty and he goes up. Moonsault press misses but Scotty catches him with a drop toe hold. Dropkick by Scotty and he hammers Malenko on the apron. He pulls Malenko to the floor and he slams his face off the steps. Eddie Guerrero comes out as back in, Malenko stomps away on the knee of Scotty. Suplex by Malenko gets 2 and they slug it out. Scotty misses a dropkick but rolls through a jackknife roll-up attempt to hammer away some more. Malenko works over Scotty’s knee in the corner and he hits a kneebreaker. Half crab by Malenko but he steps on the head of Scotty so he’s forced to break. Back suplex by Malenko but Scotty fights back with rights. Backdrop by Scotty and Malenko pokes the eye of Scotty to stop the momentum. Scotty catches Malenko with the bulldog and he hits the W.O.R.M~!!!! Scotty goes up but Guerrero shoves him off the top, allowing Malenko to lock in the Texas Cloverleaf. Scotty taps. Grandmaster Sexay comes out and saves Scotty from a 2 on 1 beat down.
Winner- Dean Malenko ** (Not as competitive as the earlier match but a good showcase for Malenko. These two would go on to have better matches. )

New Age Outlaws (Road Dogg and Billy Gunn) vs. Cactus Jack and The Rock
They brawl to start and Cactus officially starts with Road Dogg. Cactus hammers away in the corner and Dogg charges but eats elbow. Cactus again hammers away in the corner and he nails Gunn as he was coming in. Tag to Rock and he hammers away on Gunn in the corner. Back elbow by Rock and Gun comes back with a bulldog. Tag to Dogg and Rock hits some rights. Samoan drop by Rock gets 2. Gunn nails Rock with a knee to the back, allowing Dogg to take him down with a big boot. Shake, Jake, and Jive attempt by Dogg is stopped by rights from Rock. DDT by Rock gets 2 as Gunn goes for an elbow drop but misses and hits Road Dogg. Rock Bottom by Rock gets 2 as Gunn pulls the ref out of the ring!!! Cactus goes after Gunn on the floor and the ref separates him. The distraction allows Gunn to nail Rock with one of the tag belts for 2!!! Gunn chokes away on Rock and Dogg tags in. He knocks Rock down for 2 and Gunn tags in. He hammers away on Rock in the corner and they clothesline each other. Tag to Cactus and he cleans house. Cactus bites the head of Dogg but Gunn stops him and they go to the floor. All four men brawl and back in, Cactus nails Dogg with a lead pipe for 2 as he pulls Dogg off the mat!!! Piledriver by Cactus gets 3.
Winners- Cactus Jack and The Rock **1/4 ( Decent tag match with mega heat as the crowd loved Cactus and Rock. Cactus continues to look strong heading into No Way Out.)

Gangrel and Luna vs. Prince Albert and Jacqueline
Luna and Jacqueline brawl to start and Gangrel attacks Albert from behind. Jacqueline jumps on the back of Gangrel but Luna pulls her off. She goes for a slam but Jacqueline rolls through for 2. Luna hits a DDT for 3. After the match, Albert lays out Gangrel with the Baldo Bomb while Jacqueline takes Luna down by the hair.
Winners- Gangrel and Luna DUD ( Well this killed the great streak the show had going for them. This was awful and I really don’t want to see another Luna/Jacqueline match. )

Rikishi vs. Chris Benoit
They slug it out and Benoit chops away. Samoan drop by Rikishi and Benoit bails. Rikishi follows and he sends Benoit into the steps. Back in, Benoit chops away and he drop toe holds Rikishi into a bvasement dropkick. Elbow drop by Benoit gets 2. Rikishi presses Benoit into an Ace Crusher and he hits the hip check into the corner. Benoit escapes the Rikishi Driver attempt and he catches Rikishi in the Crippler Crossface. Rikishi grabs the ropes to break!!! Northern lights suplex by Benoit gets 2. Sleeper by Benoit but Rikishi counters into his own. Benoit breaks with a back suplex and he goes up. Diving headbutt misses and Rikishi hits a superkick. Belly to belly suplex by Rikishi and he drags Benoit to the corner but the Radicalz come out and attack for the DQ. Too Cool makes the save and then we dance.
Winner by DQ- Rikishi ** ( Crappy finish to what was a pretty fun sprint.)

Steve Blackman finds Al Snow dancing in the shower with a radio. Blackman takes the radio away but Funaki appears and calls them Head Cheese, forcing Blackman to walk off.

Hardy Boyz (Jeff and Matt Hardy) vs. Al Snow and Steve Blackman
Snow and Jeff start. Snow hammers away on Jeff to start and he works Jeff over in the corner. Corner clothesline by Snow and Jeff comes back with Whisper in the Wind. Tag to Matt and they hit a double back elbow. Fistdrop/summersault senton combo on Snow gets 2 and Snow rakes the eyes to come back. Slam by Snow but the Hardy Boyz come back with Poetry in Motion in the corner. Jeff takes Blackman down into a double leg drop from the Hardy Boyz. Snow and Blackman come back with a double gutbuster to Jeff and a Hart Attack to Matt. Snow chokes away and he dumps Matt to the floor. Blackman drops Matt face first onto the steps and back in, Snow gets 2 as Jeff saves. Tag to Blackman and Matt catches him with a crucifix for 2. Flying shoulderblock by Blackman and he slams Matt. Blackman goes up and he misses a diving head butt off the top. Side Russian leg sweep by Matt and both men are down. Tag to Jeff and he cleans house. Summersault plancha to the floor onto Snow by Jeff!!! Twist of Fate by Matt and Jeff goes up. The Dudley Boyz come out and Bubba nails Jeff in the back with a chair!!! Snow goes up and they hit the backbreaker/top rope leg drop combo for 3.
Winners- Al Snow and Steve Blackman ** ( Match was sloppy at times but it was a fun little tag match.)

No DQ Match-Chris Jericho vs. The Hollys (Hardcore and Crash Holly)
Chris Jericho at his own request offered to have one arm tied behind his back for this match. Jericho hammers away on Crash to start but Hardcore nails him from behind. Suddendly, the APA come out and lay out the Hollys. Clothesline From Hell by Bradshaw to Crash and Farrooq hits the Dominator. Jericho covers for 3.
Winner- Chris Jericho DUD ( I don’t understand what the point of this was but at least Jericho got the win. )

Triple H and X-Pac w/Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley and Tori vs. Kane w/Paul Bearer
Kane clotheslines HHH to start and he chases X-Pac in the crowd. Kane tosses him back to ringside but he walks into a clothesline off the apron from HHH. They double team Kane on the floor and back in, HHH hits a face buster into a spinning heel kick from X-Pac. Rights by X-Pac but Kane fires back with some uppercuts. Kane chokes away but HHH goes low as Tori distracted the ref. Leg drops by X-Pac gets 2 and HHH tags in. Uppercuts by Kane and HHH catches him with a DDT for 2. Tag to X-Pc and he kicks away on Kane in the corner. He goes for the Bronco Buster but Kane blocks. HHH and X-Pac hit a double suplex to Kane for 2. Tag to HHH and he hits some rights. Kane tosses him into the corner and he hammers away on HHH. Kane clotheslines X-Pac and he hits a big boot to HHH. Kane goes up and he hits a flying clothesline to HHH. X-Pac leaps off the top but Kane catches him and hits a Chokeslam. Kane hits a Chokeslam to HHH. Stephanie throws HHH a chair and he nails Kane in the back with it for the DQ.
Winner by DQ- Kane ** ( Fun main event with a crappy finish. This is the most over Kane has been in some time and it made for some great energy during this match. )

After the match, Kane nails HHH with the chair and he goes to nail X-Pac but Tori takes the chair away. Kane grabs Tori but a bunch of refs come out. Kane cleans house of the refs and Paul Bearer throws Tori back to Kane. Kane grabs her but then releases her. Kane then decides to TOMBSTONE TORI!!!!!

The 411: I was in love with the first hour of this show, as it was filled with entertaining, fun matches and the Dudley Boyz continue to be my favorite act in the early part of 2000. The second half of the show was much rougher, with some crappy finishes and some pointless matches. However, the good absolutely outweighs the bad and this edition of Smackdown is well worth checking out.
Final Score:  7.5   [ Good ]