By Wade Keller, PWTorch editor

WWE SMACKDOWN
MARCH 15, 2004
LIVE FROM EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.

-After the opening montage, they went to the crowd without any fireworks or announcing for a few seconds. Then Lilian Garcia introduced Triple H. He threw off his jacket and walked to the ring with his arm in a sling. He looked at the crowd, which began a weak "You tapped out" chant. He waited for something else to gain some steam, but the crowd was more into waiting than heckling. Hunter finally spoke. "You think one match makes someone the best, huh?" he said. "Is that what you think? You think one match makes a man the best. You think putting a belt around your waist some time makes you the best? I have news for you. That doesn't mean crap. What makes you the best is coming to this ring and defending a title week after week, month after month, year after year. That's what makes you the best. I've beaten them all. Not one match. Every single night." He said he lost because he faced two men, not one. He said if Benoit thinks he won, he is wrong because "the target is now on your chest. Everybody is gunning for you." He said when he gets Benoit in the ring one-on-one, things will be different. At that moment, Chris Benoit's music began and he walked out onto the stage and held the title belt in the air.

He walked to the ring and saluted the fans. Jerry Lawler said if Hunter did have his arm in a sling, he'd never have the guts to turn his back on Hunter like that. Benoit told Hunter he was backstage listening to him "go on and on and on with your pissing and moaning and I finally had enough." He said if it takes more than one match to become the best, he said last night he beat Shawn Michaels and him to become the best. Ross said Hunter was visibly absolutely livid. Benoit said if Hunter wants to talk about consistency year after year, come after him when his arm gets better because from here on out, month after month and year after year, "I'm going to kick your ass and make you tap and tap and tap and tap and tap and tap!" Benoit and Hunter stood a few inches apart. Hunter leaned in and said, "Not on your best damn day." Benoit said, "Come to think of it, today isn't my best damn day." Then he punched Hunter and stomped on him for a couple seconds before Hunter bailed out and threw a fit at ringside. Batista, Ric Flair, and Randy Orton charged to the ring and surrounded Benoit. Shawn Michaels ran out to the ring with the chair. The heels, about to enter the ring seconds earlier, retreated. When Batista tried to sneak in, Michaels swung the chair at him. Michaels and Benoit had a brief staredown.

Eric Bischoff stepped out and said he was just told by Mr. McMahon that he is not to sign a World Title match tonight or any time in the near future. He said he would explain it to everyone as soon as he got to the arena. He said he did have permission to book the main event. He said since Evolution did such a good job beating the Rock & Sock Connection, Batista & Flair & Orton would face Benoit & Michaels in a handicapped match. Very good opening segment. It got over Benoit's win, built up future PPV and house show rematches, painted Hunter as a crybaby with an ego who was in denial over his title loss, and set up the main event.

[Commercial Break]

-Shawn Michaels said backstage that he was going to protect Benoit during their main event match so that he'd be healthy enough to give him the title shot he deserves. He said while Benoit may have beaten Hunter, he's never beaten him.

1 -- LITA & VICTORIA vs. MOLLY HOLLY & JAZZ

Moll wore a blond wig to the ring. Lita ripped if off of hera minute into the tag match. Victoria laughed at her, so Molly left Jazz alone. Lawler said Molly looked like an egghead. Ross said she loooked hideous. Lita the finished off Jazz quickly for the win.

WINNERS: Lita & Victoria in 3:00. They played Lita's music after the match instead of Women's Champ Victoria's.

ST AR RATING: 1/2*

-Ross and Lawler plugged Stacy vs. Jackie and RVD & Booker T vs. The Dudleys for later on the show.

[Commercial Break]

-Lawler and Ross talked about WrestleMania. The audio was not on at first, but when it came on they talked about the Trish Stratus turn. Freeze-frames aired of the Chris Jericho-Christian angle.

-The new guy interviewed Jericho backstage. Well, he tried. Jericho was fuming and wouldn't answer any questions.

2 -- CHRIS JERICHO vs. MATT HARDY

This week's Matt Hardy Factoid: "Matt is ridiculously underrated." Someone's frustrated not being part of WrestleMania. It's hard to claim you're underrated from a storyline perspective after losing to Benoit so decisively last week. Ross said Christian and Trish took the cowards' way out and didn't attend Raw this week. If Hardy and Jericho were about to face off on Smackdown, you'd think ahbout it perhaps being a long, show-stealing match. But on Raw, you get the feeling it'll be over in three minutes tops. Jericho went after Hardy aggressively at first, but Hardy fought back at 1:40. Jericho, though, intensely fought back and yanked Hardy out of the ring by his hair. Jericho threw Hardy around ringside. Lawler said Jericho snapped and needed to be restrained. Jericho choked Hardy with a cable at ringside. The ref called for the DQ. Jericho eventually stormed to the back.

WINNER: Hardy at 2:16.

STAR RATING: * -- Good follow-up to the Trish turn, giving Jericho a new determination and sense of purpose: big time revenge.

[Commercial Break]

-They showed Jericho driving out of the arena

-Randy Orton cut a promo backstage. He talked about beating Foley at MSG with the RKO and proved he is better than him. He said he and his family may not believe that, so he challenged him to a one-on-one match with Evolution banned from ringside. He said then he could prove to his family that he's nothing but a loser. He asked Mick Foley what it's going to be like to have his son Huey grow up idolizing him (Orton) instead of his father.

-Backstage La Resistance, including the full three members, introduced a fourth member, Fi Fi, a wildly shaved white poodle. Steve Austin walked up and looked perplexed at the creature. The dog didn't look pleased to be there. One of the worst lives a dog can live is on the road as a wrestling sidekick. Let's hope this is a one-night deal. Austin complained about the dog crapping all over the floor. He wrote a ticket to "the French bitch." Rene Dupree complained that he called Fi Fi a name. Austin said he was calling Rene that name.

-In a Raw Retro segment, Val Venis was shown in the ring wrapped in a white towel with a woman by his side. Wait a second, this isn't a Retro segment, this is live. Val gave the blonde woman the opportunity to remove his white towel. The woman stood behind him, rubbed his chest, and removed his towel. "You are now officially the luckiest woman in America," said Val in a grindly voice. The woman said she wanted to give him something in return. She then began to pull off her shirt. Just then, Kane's pyro blasted. Ross called him the "ultimate buzzkiller."

3 -- KANE vs. VAL VENIS

Kane gave Val a big boot followed by a side slam, then he went to the top rope and nailed Val with a flying clothesline. Then he finished off Val with a chokeslam.

WINNER: Kane at 0:42.

STAR RATING: 1/4*

-The clips of the Hall of Fame banquet that aired on WM20 were shown again.

[Commercial Break]

4 -- STACY vs. JACKIE GAYDA

Jackie attacked Stacy at the start, but then Stacy came back with a big boot to Jackie's face. She then shovedher boot into Jackie's face a la Kevin Nash. Jackie fought abck with a kneelift. Jackie put Stacy in a chinlock. Vince McMahon interrupted the match by walking to the ring as his music played. Rhyno was nowhere in sight. The women left the ring as Vince entered it.

WINNER: No contest at 1:15.

STAR RATING: n/a

-Vince apologized for interrupting, but he said there was something on his mind that he needed to get off his chest. He said things needed to be changed. He said the theme to WM20 was "when it all begins again." He said that wasn't a catch phrase, it was a promise. He said things need to be shaken up, so he's going to shake things up. He said certain G.M.s had become too complacent and protective of their friends and certain talents who kiss their keister or certain groups. He said it's time to give everyone what they want, which is new superstars, new matches, and new rivalries. He said they're going to get them. He said it's time for certain Smackdown superstars to come to Raw and certain Raw wrestlers to jump to Smackdown. He said it's time for each of the Smackdown wrestlers to come to Raw next week. He said next week they are going to have a good old fashioned lottery. He said no matter who it is, including Mick Foley, Kurt Angle, a relative of his, or whatever. He said everyone's name would be included in the lottery. He said it's time for a new Raw and a new Smackdown. "By god, it's time for a new WWE!" Ross said that was a blockbuster that everybody in the world is going to be talking about. He called it "perhaps the most significant announcement from Vince ever." Lawler said Evolution could be split up. Ross said a new day is dawning.

[Commercial Break]

-Hunter walked up to Eric Bischoff backstage and asked him if there were any exclusions. Bischoff said he just found out about the news and it sounds as if everyone is going to be part of the lottery.

5 -- BOOKER T & ROB VAN DAM vs. THE DUDLEYS

Ross said next week would create a "new WWE." Lawler wondered aloud whether they'd be part of the lottery and they would be split up. Ross called it "an earth-shattering, ground-shaking lottery." Ross said he was trying to concentrate on the match, but he was having a tough time considering the news just dropped on them. Ross said the crowd was mixed in who they wanted to see win. The Duudleys hit the 3D at 6:30 on Booker, but RVD broke up the pin. RVD then gave a wheel kick to D-Von, then scored a two count. D-Von gave RVD a nasty neckbreaker off the middle rope, then they cut to a break.

[Commercial Break]

As the Dudleys continued to beat on RVD, Ross and Lawler continued to talk about how "a new Raw would be born next week." Lawler said it's almost a certainty that Evolution would be broken up and that either the Dudleys or RVD & Booker would be separated. RVD hot-tagged Booker at 16:00. Booker cleaned house on both Dudleys. He did a Spinaroonie and then gave Bubba a jump wheel kick to the face for a near fall. RVD head scissored D-Von over the top rope to the floor. Booker gave Bubba a Book End a minute later in center ring for the clean win.

WINNERS: Booker T & RVD at 18:17.

STAR RATING: **3/4

-The highlight video aired of WrestleMania 20, the same that closed the show last night. Great work by the WWE production crew.

[Commercial Break]

-Spike Dudley came to the ring. Christian attacked him from behind and pinned him at ringside to end a match that never got started. Trish said it's quite ironic that Jericho tried so hard to screw her, but instead she screwed him. Christian bragged about his deed, then made out with Trish. Not the killer promo from either Christian or Trish I was hoping for. Not bad, but not a breakout performance by either.

-Rene Dupree told Rob Conway and Sylvain Grenier that he was going to head to the ring and express his displeasure with Steve Austin.

[Commercial Break]

-Dupree entered the ring and said he proves that Frenchmen are not weak cowards. He said he shouldn't be criticized for not wanting to go to a battlefield and get shot for Americans. He then ranted in French while waving his flag. Austin came out and beat up Dupree for 30 seconds, then drank some beer. Ross said that may be Austin's final Raw appearance. Ross said Austin is as much a part of Raw as anybody could be. Ross said that Austin was the last man standing after the Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg match at WM20.

6 -- RIC FLAIR & BATISTA & RANDY ORTON vs. SHAWN MICHAELS & CHRIS BENOIT

Flair and Michaels mixed it up early, then Benoit tagged in and came out on top of a chopfest. Benoit suplexed Flair, but Flair recovered with a big chop and then did a very strange little dance. Orton then tagged in and pounded away on Benoit. Benoit fired back with a hard forearm when Orton came off the ropes. Michaels tagged in and battled Orton at 3:15. They went to a split screen of Mick Foley arriving at the arena. He apparently took exception to Orton's comments earlier. Michaels hit a distracted Orton from behind, also knocking over the referee in the process. All five wrestlers brawled in the ring. Foley ran to the ring and went after Orton. Foley got a nice pop and soon a "Foley, Foley" chant began. They brawled into the crowd. Meanwhile, Michaels and Flair battled in the ring. Michaels hit a top rope elbow, then stomped the mat to signal the superkick. Triple H then ran into the ring and gave Michaels a Pedigree. Hunter then began holding his injured left shoulder again in pain. Fans chanted, "You tapped out" at Hunter, who apparently has officially gotten that taunt transferred to him now that Lesnar is gone. A second ref ran to the ring and counted Michaels down, but Michaels kicked out at two. Flair went to the top rope. Michaels press slammed him to the mat. Ross said, "Flair needs to take the move out of his book." Batista tagged back in as the match settled into a two-on-two match with Orton and Foley still missing after brawling through the crowd. Batista gave Michaels a spinebuster for a near fall at 7:30. Flair tagged back in and pounded away at Michaels's forehead, reopening his cut. Might as well get two bloody matches out of one blade job. Hunter interfered against Michaels when the ref's back was turned. Batista tagged back in and continued to beat on Michaels. Lawler defended Hunter's interference because it was set up to be three-on-two and Foley wrecked that for Evolution. Michaels came back with a clothesline on Flair. A bloody Michaels crawled over to hot-tag Benoit at 10:00. He worked over Batista with a series of three back suplexes. Batista did a nice job looking like he was fighting it the whole way. Benoit then hit the top rope headbutt, but Batista powered out of the pin. Flair entered the ring, but Benoit fended him off. The ref tried to get Flair out of the ring. Meanwhile, Hunter gave Benoit a Pedigree. Michaels superkicked Hunter (although the director basically missed the shot). Batista went for his finisher, but Benoit put him in the Sharpshooter. When Flair was going to interfere, Michaels superkicked him. Batista crawled toward the bottom rope, but tapped out first. The show ended with the ref raising the arms of both Michaels and Benoit. Ross said it might be the final time we'll see those two wrestlers together on Raw.

WINNERS: Benoit & Michaels at 11:52.

STAR RATING: *** -- Good TV main event

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