SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
The following report originally published 20 years ago this week here at PWTorch.com…
WWE SMACKDOWN
MARCH 10, 2005
TAPED TUESDAY IN ROANOKE, VA.
-Clips aired of last week’s ruse by JBL and Orlando Jordan. They left out the line by JBL about Jordan being sent back to be with his kind when putting the clips together.
-Michael Cole and Tazz introduced the show.
-JBL, Orlando Jordan, and The Bashams walked to the ring. They delighted themselves by spinning Cena’s U.S. Title belt mockingly. JBL praised Jordan for “single-handedly” taking the U.S. belt from Cena. He mocked Virginians for being backwards. He said tonight all of WWE’s gold would be coming to the cabinet, and as a wrestling god, “gods must be adorned with gold.” He said Eddie Guerrero & Rey Mysterio would find out later why the Cabinet are successful and they are not. “Tonight you will realize what is class and what is not and why common people never stand here with championships.” JBL then wondered what it was that Jordan had over his shoulder. Jordan said it’s what Cena used to call his U.S. Title. JBL said it looked like a “bling blind sideshow, like those hubcaps teenagers spend money on rather than on their educations.” He said the belt must be destroyed. He asked the Bashams to get the trash can and stairs. Cole was dumbfounded and wondered what they were up to. JBL said that belt represents everything he hates about John Cena. He said he made the title belt into a sideshow freak prop. He said it must be destroyed, just as he will be at WrestleMania 21. JBL placed the belt gingerly in the trash can and then blew it up inside. He then took out the regular U.S. Title belt. JBL and Jordan stood on the ring steps together in center ring and held the respective belts in the air. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” said Cole. Tazz called it a “great moment” for JBL’s cabinet. Another good “class warfare” promo from JBL.
[Commercial Break]
1 — HEIDENREICH vs. BOOKER T — Street Fight
Booker got in early offense with some chops. They brawled to ringside. At 3:30 Heidenreich grabbed a chair, but Booker blocked it. Heidenreich then whipped Booker into the ringpost. Heidenreich tossed Booker over the ring barrier and continued to beat on him there. Fans chanted “Boo-ker-T, Boo-ker-T.” Back in the ring Booker charged Heidenreich in the corner, but ran right into a Heidenreich boot. Heidenreich brought a chair into the ring, but Booker gave him a scissors kick, knocking Heidenreich onto the chair. He followed with a sidekick. He then grabbed the chair and nailed Heidenreich with a stiff shot to the head for the win.
WINNER: Booker T at 7:13.
STAR RATING: ** — Decent, intense brawl. It would have been nice to give each wrestler brief promo time before the match to personalize the grudge match. Heidenreich losing is an indication of the pulling back of his push.
[Commercial Break]
-A clip of Randy Orton’s promo on Raw challenging Undertaker aired. Cole chuckled. Tazz admired his guts.
-Backstage they showed Teddy Long on his cell phone. There was a knock on Long’s door. Carlito Cool then entered and told Long that thanks to him, he was sick all week. Long said that was his problem. He then asked Carlito about the Orton challenge of Undertaker. Long put Carlito in charge of going to find Undertaker and telling him about Orton’s challenge. Carlito at first refused. Long told him his job depended on it.
-Rey played with his video camera backstage. Chavo Guerrero walked in and asked Eddie Guerrero if he heard what JBL said about bringing home all the gold. Chavo wished Eddie & Rey good luck. He said if they lost, he’d be the only Guerrero left with gold.
-Josh Matthews stood outside waiting for the arrival of Cena. Cole wondered what Cena’s reaction would be to the destruction of his old U.S. Title belt.
[Commercial Break]
-Carlito was shown hesitantly walking through the dark bowels of the arena calling out Undertaker’s name. “Yo, Dead Man!” The lights went out and he screamed like a girl. A janitor flipped the light back on and apologized, saying he didn’t know anyone was there. Cole said he can’t blame Carlito for being a little shaky.
2 — LUTHER REIGNS vs. MARK JINDRAK
Jindrak attacked Reigns from behind during ring intros. A lumbering match between two big guys not much different than what you’d see at a local indy show, except a lot shorter. Jindrak won with a left punch. What a terrible finisher. He sold as if he hurt his left hand throwing the punch.
WINNER: Jindrak at 2:30.
STAR RATING: 1/4* — Not much to it at all.
-Cena marched toward the entrance of the arena. Matthews chased him down and asked him if he had heard about what happened with the belt. Cena said he had to get to the ring to take care of business, blowing off Matthews’s question.
[Commercial Break]
-Cena arrived in the ring with a serious stride. He said “cut the noise,” and the music stopped. He said he and JBL share something in common – they both like to break things. They like to break belts and he likes to break faces. He looked as serious as he ever has and called the Cabinet to the ring. Teddy Long came out and didn’t grant Cena his wish to get a chance at the Cabinet and JBL, even if the belt wasn’t on the line. Long said he had a job to do, and protecting the WM main event was part of it. Cena said his philosophy is “eye for an eye,” and added that since Long wasn’t part of the solution, he was part of the problem. He then gave Long an FU. Cena, going for a “Stone Cold” edge to his character, a real 180 from the kiddie-Chain Gang approach of just four weeks ago. He’s pulling it off well at this point.
[Commercial Break]
-Cole and Tazz said that Long banned Cena from the arena.
-Kurt Angle walked out. He said in 1994 he was training hard to win an Olympic Gold Medal for his country. He said Shawn Michaels was wrestling at WM10 and “revolutionizing the industry.” A clip aired of Michaels vs. Razor Ramon in the ladder match (which I rated five stars back then; full report available to VIP Members in the WrestleMania Special Section). Angle said some people consider that the greatest match they’ve ever seen. He said he is not one of those people. He said if he ever competed in a ladder match, he’d put Michaels’s performance to shame. Angle pointed to his medal hanging above the ring. A ladder was set up center ring. He called for his opponent to come out. It was not a Ring of Honor Champion. Angle asked him what his name was and where he was from. He said he was Mike Haywood from Roanoke, Virginia. Angle slapped him and the match began.
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
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3 — KURT ANGLE vs. MIKE HAYWOOD
WINNER: Angle at 1:32 via tapout to the Anklelock.
STAR RATING: n/a
-Afterward Angle sat atop the ladder and said, “That’s how you win a ladder match.” He said he didn’t even have to use the ladder. He then reflected to 1989 when Shawn Michaels made his debut at WM5 as part of The Rockers tag team with Marty Jannetty. Angle said everybody knew that Jannetty was the backbone of the team and taught him everything he knew. He said next week he has arranged for a match against Jannetty. He said he wanted Michaels to tune and watch so he could learn something new from Jannetty – how to tap out to Kurt Angle. Cole said Angle “had that look in his eye.” He did. Good promo.
-The Undertaker “Dirty Harry” movie parody aired.
[Commercial Break]
-Josh Matthews asked Big Show if he was nervous about wrestling a sumo match at WrestleMania since he might be out of his elements. Show said he would beat Akebono at his game and prove to everyone there is only one giant in WWE.
-Cole and Tazz ran down the announced matches for WrestleMania 21.
-Carlito got frustrated looking for Undertaker backstage and said he was just going to head to the ring and call him out himself from there.
[Commercial Break]
-A brief feature aired on the Christy Hemme edition of Playboy.
-Carlito nervously asked Undertaker if he’d like to give him an answer, but if not “that’d be cool.” The lights went out and Undertaker walked out. Taker took his time walking to the ring. After forever, Undertaker said in his Undertaker voice that a lot of people have tried to kill him off, but nobody has succeeded. He then gave a Tombstone to Carlito and accepted Orton’s challenge.
[Commercial Break]
4 — EDDIE GUERRERO & REY MYSTERIO vs. JBL & ORLANDO JORDAN — World Tag Team Title match
JBL got rattled early and tagged in Jordan at 1:00. Jordan asked Guerrero for a test of strength. Guerrero pretended he was going to join in, but poked Jordan in the eyes instead. He then tagged in Mysterio, who hit a huracanrana early for a two count. The heels isolated Mysterio. When the Bashams ran out and attempted to interfere at 6:00, the ref ordered them to return to the back.
[Commercial Break]
The heels continued to beat on Mysterio, who finally hit a DDT on JBL and hot-tagged Guerrero at 15:00. Four-way action broke out. JBL ended up hitting Mysterio with a chair as Rey went for a 619, prompting the DQ. The Bashams ran out and helped JBL and Jordan give a four-on-two beating to Mysterio and Guerrero. Cena ran out through the crowd to make the save. He attacked the Cabinet with a steel pipe. JBL escaped through the crowd as Cena gave Jordan an FU inside the ring.
WINNERS: Mysterio & Guerrero at 16:02 to retain the World Tag Titles.
STAR RATING: ** — Pretty formula match. Just average.
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