Recap by: Nick Marsico
WWE SmackDown! comes to you taped from Roanoke, VA. It is Thursday, March 10, 2005 at the Roanoke Civic Center.
Tonight, JBL and Orlando Jordan take on the Tag Team Champions Rey Mysterio and Eddy Guerrero, and the Cabinet is out to begin the show in full force with extra security. They are out to congratulate the new US Champion, the man who defeated John Cena single-handedly, by himself, Orlando Jordan. Orlando grew up poor and in the inner city, and he knew he could be like John Cena and the fans, but he wanted something better, so he turned his back on his family and his hometown, and he joined up with greatness to be where he is today. JBL calls Cena’s US Title a “bling-bling sideshow” and believes it should be destroyed. He asks the Bashams to get the trashcan and the stairs, and JBL puts the belt in the trash, pulls a couple switches, and there’s an explosion inside the trashcan, and there goes the spinner. JBL then gives OJ the new old US Title Belt, and the two champions climb the stairs and hold their titles high.
Coming up, Heidenreich and Booker T have a No Disqualification match.
=COMMERCIAL=
Eugene’s Forrest Gump WrestleMania trailer airs.
Josh Mathews awaits the former United States Champion John Cena at the parking garage entrance.
No Disqualifications
Booker T vs. Heidenreich
Heidenreich takes Booker down in the corner with a flurry of punches and dominates him for the first full minute of the match. Irish whip takes Booker to the other corner and he gets an elbow on a charging Heidenreich and takes over with some chops. A knee turns the tides and a side slam gets 2 for Heidenreich. He chokes Booker over the middle rope and unloads on him with a few punches on his downed opponent. Booker comes back and they trade punches, and he hits a chop followed by a kick to the balls to stop Heidenreich in his tracks. Booker drapes him over the apron and punches him across the throat a pair of times, but Heidenreich takes control and attempts to connect with a chair shot, but Booker blocks only to be whipped into the ring post. Heidenreich clotheslines him into the crowd and gets a pair of crossfaces. Back in the ring he gets two off his offense on the outside. Irish whip and Booker comes off the ropes with a forearm, then gets a clothesline and reverses another Irish whip try with a spinebuster. Heidenreich blocks a charge by Booker with a big boot and a clothesline that turns Booker inside out gets only a 2 count before a kick out. Heidenreich goes out to get a steel chair, but he takes too much time and Booker gets the Scissors Kick into the chair and follows up with a thrust kick to take the big man down. He coils up and whacks Heidenreich dead on with the chair to get the win.
Booker T def. Heidenreich via Pinfall – 7:21
=COMMERCIAL=
On Monday, Randy Orton challenged the Undertaker to a match at WrestleMania, claiming he would defeat the Deadman.
Backstage, Theodore Long is on the phone, but has to go when Carlito makes his way into the GM’s office. Long sends CCC out to find the Undertaker for his answer to Orton’s challenge.
Eddy and Rey are in back with their gold, and Chavo interrupts their happiness to wish his Uncle and Rey good luck in their match. He says that if the Tag Champs lost tonight, Chavito would be the only Guerrero with gold, and nobody’s grandma would want that to happen.
Josh is still waiting for Cena.
=COMMERCIAL=
Carlito is wandering around in a darkly lit area in the bowels of the Roanoke Civic Center and screams like a girl when a maintenance worker turns on some lights.
Luther Reigns vs. Mark Jindrak
Jindrak attacks Reigns from behind before the match begins, but they finally bring it to the ring. Reigns gets a big back body drop and plasters Jindrak with a three shot of crossfaces and works in an armbar. Jindrak gets out and catches Reigns with a big clothesline coming off the ropes. He gets an elbow, clothesline and dropkick to take Reigns down and follows with a crossbody block into the corner and climbs the top rope to get another for 2. He finishes Reigns off clean with a big haymaker with the left hand.
Mark Jindrak def. Luther Reigns via Pinfall – 2:37
Cena has arrived, and he has a pipe in hand. He has some business to take care of in the ring.
=COMMERCIAL=
Cena has made his way to the ring, and he is pissed. He and JBL have something in common – they both like to break things. JBL likes to break titles, Cena likes to break faces. He calls the entire Cabinet out to no answer. One more time and no answer, and a third try brings out General Manager Theodore R. Long. He offers Cena a rematch for the US Title tonight, but the former champ does not want that, he just wants to kick some ass. Long doesn’t want Cena compromising his WrestleMania main event, and since he has a job to do, he can’t allow Cena to attack the Cabinet. And if the GM ain’t a part of the solution, he’s part of the problem, and since he’s part of the problem, he gets an FU for his trouble.
=COMMERCIAL=
Moments ago, Cena FU’ed the GM. Over the break, John Cena was ejected from the building.
There is a ladder in the ring with Angle’s Gold Medal hanging above it. In 1994, Angle was training for the Olympics while Shawn Michaels has a Ladder match at WrestleMania 10. He shows some clips and calls out his Hometown Hero opponent for a ladder match.
Kurt Angle Invitational
Ladder Match
Kurt Angle vs. Mike Haywood
Angle slaps Haywood before he can finish the word Virginia and chokes him in the corner. He snaps off a belly-to-belly suplex and gets a crossface before some mounted punches and the Angle Slam. Kurt begins to climb the ladder, but he comes back down and puts on the Ankle Lock, causing Haywood to tap out fervently. Angle grabs a microphone, climbs the ladder and grabs his Gold Medal.
Kurt Angle def. Mike Haywood – 2:07
In 1989, Shawn Michaels made his WrestleMania debut at the fifth rendition of the show as a part of the Rockers. Kurt Angle has arranged a match against Marty Janetty for next week on SmackDown!, and he says that Marty may be able to teach Michaels something: how to tap out to Kurt Angle.
Later tonight Orlando Jordan and JBL challenge Eddy Guerrero and Rey Mysterio for the Tag Team Championship.
Undertaker is Dirty Harry in the latest WrestleMania spoof.
=COMMERCIAL=
WrestleMania Recall: Last year at WrestleMania XX, Bobby Heenan and Mean Gene Okerlund were making out with Moolah and Mae Young.
Josh Mathews is backstage with the Big Show and Joy. Akebono has issued a challenge to the Big Show for a Sumo Match at WrestleMania, and Show accepts.
WrestleMania Card
– Batista vs. Triple H (World Heavyweight Championship)
– Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels (Interpromotional Match)
– Piper’s Pit w/ Roddy Piper and Steve Austin
– Jericho vs. Benjamin vs. Benoit vs. Kane vs. Edge vs. Christian (Money in the Bank Ladder Match)
– Christy Hemme vs. Trish Stratus (Women’s Championship)
– John Cena vs. John Bradshaw Layfield (WWE Championship)
Carlito is still looking for the Undertaker, but Torrie Wilson comes up to him from behind, frightening him. He figures he’ll have to go out to the ring in order to get an answer from the Deadman in order to keep from being fired by Theodore R. Long.
=COMMERCIAL=
Christy Hemme’s Playboy cover is on newsstands tomorrow.
Carlito needs an answer from the Undertaker, so he’s out in the ring to call him out. ‘Taker answers the call and makes his way to the ring, and Carlito is visibly shaken by his appearance. At WrestleMania 21, Randy Orton will Rest in Peace, and right now, Carlito will take a Tombstone piledriver.
The Cabinet is on its way to the ring for their Tag Team Championship match, and four security guards are backstage just in case Cena wants back in the building.
=COMMERCIAL=
This year, Paul Orndorff, the Iron Sheik, Nikolai Volkoff, Bob Orton, Jimmy Hart, Roddy Piper and Hulk Hogan will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
Next week on SmackDown!, there will be a contract signing for Undertaker vs. Randy Orton.
WWE Tag Team Championship
Champions Eddy Guerrero & Rey Mysterio vs. Challengers JBL & Orlando Jordan
Eddy and JBL lock up to start and Eddy fights out of the corner with some punches. He grabs a headlock and takes a shoulder block from the champ. JBL gets one and gets another shoulder block on Guerrero, but Eddy gets two quick armdrags to get JBL to back off. He tags out to Orlando Jordan, who comes in and gets poked in the eyes. Mysterio tags in and gets a hurricanrana for 2 and tags back out quickly. Guerrero picks the ankle and gets a standing ankle lock and drops an elbow on the knee. Tag to Mysterio who comes in with a dropkick to the knee. Jordan takes over, however, and stomps Rey down in the corner. He chokes Mysterio down and tags in JBL. An Irish whip leads to a double shoulder block, but JBL misses a big boot and Rey fights out of a power bomb. Rey tags in Eddy who comes in with a rolling senton for 2. He chokes Layfield with the tag rope and tags Rey back in. He gets a couple kicks to the hamstrings, but JBL gets a thumb to the eye and a tag to his Chief of Staff. Jordan takes care of Rey in the corner, but after an Irish whip to the other corner, Rey comes off the ropes with a springboard seated senton, but the Bashams climb up to the apron for the distraction as JBL comes in with a big boot to Mysterio’s face. Referee Brian Hebner throws the Secretaries of Defense out from ringside.
=COMMERCIAL=
Coming back, JBL has Mysterio up high in a stalling vertical suplex which gets a 2 count when he drops Rey down. A fall away slam takes Rey out of the ring allowing Orlando to take advantage and drive Rey’s back into the apron. That gets a 2 count back in the ring. JBL whips Rey into the corner hard and kicks him while he’s down and follows up with another hard whip to the opposite corner. Bearhug by the WWE Champion and Rey battles out, but JBL grabs his leg and makes the tag to Jordan, who comes in with an elbow drop for 2. Rey battles from his back with some kicks to OJ’s legs, but an Irish whip leads to another bearhug on Mysterio. He boxes the ears to get out, and Rey holds onto the ropes after an Irish whip and gets a drop toehold on Jordan onto the ropes. Guerrero tries to interfere but gets caught by the ref, so JBL and OJ cheat instead. JBL gets the tag back into the match and sets Rey on the top turnbuckle, but it backfires as Mysterio counters with a Tornado DDT and makes the tag. Eddy punches JBL down and gets a pair of clotheslines on Jordan. A dropkick takes JBL out of the ring and Rey sets up for the 619, but JBL has a chair, which he uses to block the 619 for the disqualification.
Eddy Guerrero & Rey Mysterio def. JBL & Orlando Jordan via DQ – 16:00
The Bashams come out as the Cabinet lays a beating on Guerrero and Mysterio, but Cena returns through the crowd to clear the ring and chase away the Champion. He gets the FU on Jordan as he points to JBL.
