It is July 9th 2002 and WWE are in Atlantic City, New Jersey as my ‘SmackDown Six’ binge continues. Interestingly enough, it was barely over a year ago that I sat in this exact building, watching a WarJoe main event at Boardwalk Hall. That was a good time, and so is this episode of SmackDown. Well, not really, it’s actually pretty average. With that being said, The Rock is back, which does make for a certain atmosphere.
Otherwise, there’s not much, with the matches being short and mostly insignificant. With that being said, I’ve decided that I’ll be reviewing a match from each episode, so here we are. Last week, John Cena wrestled his second television match, again shining in defeat. Now, he meets his first two main roster opponents, standing alongside The Undertaker to do so. There is much ‘ruthless aggression’ talk, accompanied by mean faces and such.
Undertaker is the Undisputed World Heavyweight Champion at this juncture, recently toppling Hulk Hogan. At Vengeance, he’ll be defending the title in a famous triple threat match, battling Kurt Angle and The Rock. Earlier in this episode, those three got physical, with Undertaker standing tall. The Rock remains in attendance however, almost guaranteeing some post-match business as the PPV build continues.
Jericho and Undertaker get things underway, with the former taking advantage of the champ’s focus on Angle. Undertaker rebounds regardless, going to work on Jericho and tagging in Cena. The rookie is quickly cut off, being double-teamed only to overpower both veterans until being ran into Jericho’s missile dropkick. That launches some heat, with Cena showing signs of life throughout. They cut the ring off nonetheless, isolating Cena as Undertaker gets frustrated.
Angle eventually settles into a front face-lock, with Cena briefly punching upright. You know, I can tell that Heyman is starting to make SmackDown his own, as the announcers are clearly re-recording pieces of their commentary. Either way, Cena finds a suplex, then bringing in Undertaker who receives a double-feed. That results in some messiness, with Jericho bumping the referee as he looks to prevent a chokeslam. Angle capitalises anyway, scoring Angle Slam for a delayed 2.
That leaves Undertaker with no choice but to tag Cena back in, staying alive via double clothesline. Cena momentarily runs wild, then being off once again. As Jericho goes Lionsault however, ‘Taker punches him to the mat, allowing Cena to snatch a rollup win. With that, Cena has scored his first SmackDown win, which Tazz rightly declares “history.” Post-match, Angle and Undertaker scrap, then being joined by The Rock who stands tall to close the show.
It’s not much of a match in truth, but is watchable enough at six minutes or so. I will say that while raw, Cena’s fundamentals are tighter than your calculations may project, which has stood out thus far. Other than that, it’s just a setup for the post-match, giving Cena a notable win along the way.
Bing Bong's Match Reviews 