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EditorialSmackDown 1000: Memorable Moments Throughout The Years

SmackDown 1000: Memorable Moments Throughout The Years

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Hey, folks. As you all are presumably aware, SmackDown 1000 is upon us, so I figured I’d revisit some memorable moments in the shows history. Let’s jump right in.


August 26, 1999

WWF Title

Triple H (c) vs. The Rock

http://https://youtu.be/O5j3HZFB004

Since its debut in 1993, Raw has always been the flagship show. It was the summer of 1999 when WWF expanded and created another major show we all know as SmackDown. The main event of the initial edition was a WWF Title match pitting two of the very best of their generation against one another – The Rock and Triple H. Shawn Michaels – commissioner at the time – happened to be the special referee. Along with Shane McMahon eventually joining Triple H at ringside. Shane would later get involved in the final minutes of the match. However, HBK would quickly respond and put a stop to it, but Shawn’s true intentions would be shown when he hit Rocky with a little Sweet Chin Music as he was attempting the People’s Elbow for the victory – all this would then allow Hunter to hit his signature Pedigree to retain his title. Good storytelling on the first edition, and a clever way of advancing the storyline.

April 27, 2000

Stone Cold Blows Up DX Express

http://https://youtu.be/LgABOyTJJUM

Stone Cold Steve Austin, who has always unleashed hell on Vince McMahon, was taken out by Rikishi – hired by Triple H.

During an episode of SmackDown, the McMahons and DX believed that Austin was taken care of, nowhere to be seen, however there were rumors that Austin was in fact in the building. Which ultimately worried the McMahon family and DX. Later on, The Rock promised that he would prove that The Rattlesnake was indeed present. Mr. McMahon and company didn’t really believe The Rock, but Austin was actually there, in the parking lot no less. Stone Cold proceeded to destroy the DX Express, all while Triple H and Vince McMahon went ballistic in the ring.

August 9, 2001

Rhyno Gores Jericho

http://https://youtu.be/TY3SFCm_Afo

During a brawl with Chris Jericho on the stage, Rhyno plowed right into Y2J with his infamous Gore resulting in a totaled SmackDown set.

September 13, 2001

9/11 Tribute

http://https://youtu.be/I4NFIBaHnl4

While other sporting events were canceled, two days after the frightening terrorists attacks, WWE pulled through and payed tribute to the brave men and woman lost in that horrible tragedy. Vince McMahon’s inspiring words to start the show would lighten up the mood a bit as the event progressed.

December 13, 2001

Steve Austin & Booker T’s Supermarket Brawl

http://https://youtu.be/fvuoOrT6smo

One of the most enjoyable and rather amusing moments in the history of the blue brand. Stone Cold attacked Booker T in a supermarket and beat the hell out of him in the produce aisle….more like all over the grocery store. Also you can’t forget Austin’s one-liners and grocery store references. It was a fun segment overall.

June 27, 2002

John Cena’s Debut vs. Kurt Angle

http://https://youtu.be/10ivQ3ogO1M

“Ruthless aggression!” Those famous words. There have been many extraordinary debuts over the years, but arguably none of the individuals have had a bigger impact afterwards than John Cena. Plain and simple.

Kurt Angle had already accomplished so much at the time, and he felt he needed some competition, so he issued an open challenge June 27, 2002 and the challenge was accepted by a rookie named John Cena. Angle didn’t quite take the rookie seriously and would eventually win the match, but he did discover that Cena had something special, ruthless aggression. Cenation was born that night and – rather you like him or not – he would go on to become one of the biggest stars the business had (still has) to offer.

June 12, 2003

Brock Lesnar & Big Show Obliterate The Ring

http://https://youtu.be/RY_21GvLf0U

Brock Lesnar and The Big Show had several matches against one another, but none as significant and impactful as the ring collapsing on SmackDown. As soon as Lesnar got Big Show on the top rope you knew something special was going to occur. Two massive dudes on the top rope – now you obviously don’t see that often, so yeah, you felt something big was forthcoming. Lesnar suplexed Show off the rope, the ring exploded and the crowd was in awe.

Definitely not the most technical match you’re ever going to witness, but it was the moment that shined and left fans shocked.

February 19, 2004

Eddie Guerrero’s Championship Celebration

http://https://youtu.be/dkx-p_JpYyk

http://https://youtu.be/Z26uH2I_UqQ

Eddie Guerrero. He was a fantastic wrestler, an awesome character, but like any other human on earth, he was nowhere near flawless in regards to his personal life. Overtime, he developed an addiction to pain killers and alcohol. Life was a constant struggle, but those struggles are what led wrestling fans to genuinely relate to him and support him in his effort to succeed in professional wrestling.

Eddie was sent to rehab and released by WWE in 2001 due to this addiction that led to drunk driving, but after all the rehabbing and recuperating, he turned over a new leaf and returned to the company in 2002. Got over more with the audience and was granted a shot at the Undisputed Championship at the No Way Out PPV. His opponent, well, wasn’t an ordinary opponent – it was the Next Big Thing, Brock Lesnar. No one believed Eddie could overcome the odds, but with the passionate fans behind him, he did it – he defeated Brock Lesnar to become Undisputed Champion.

A celebration ensued after the match, in which we saw Eddie’s emotional moment with his mother, his celebration with the fans, all with the title in one hand and the mexican flag in the other. The party would continue the following SmackDown, as Eddie would once again passionately celebrate with the fans. Truly one of the best moments, as a whole, ever.

November 18, 2005

Tribute Show For Eddie Guerrero

http://https://youtu.be/2bJmPXSZBLQ

http://https://youtu.be/bhvUOS2mzYQ

Eddie Guerrero’s passing devastated a lot of people – his fans, his peers, of course his family, friends. He was loved by so many. It was unfortunate for all of us to endure the pain of losing such an awesome human being inside and outside the ring. It was overwhelming as a viewer or spectator watching this show knowing we won’t be seeing Eddie physically apart of the show, but rather celebrating his life because he’s no longer around.

The first Raw after his death showed just how much he meant to his co-workers, they were barely able to express their thoughts on the passing due to the tears. It was difficult to watch. SmackDown followed up with an episode dedicated to Eddie as well, opening with Batista coming out to his dear friend’s theme song, riding one of Eddie’s famous lowrider’s and sharing and expressing his love for him. Main event of the show was two fierce rivals – Chris Benoit and Triple H – competing against each other. Benoit won the match and they respectfully hugged it out.

Eddie Guerrero will always be missed dearly. I’m personally hoping they do something to remember him on SmackDown 1000. Have one of his cars on stage, something.

May 11, 2007

Edge Cashes In

http://https://youtu.be/qeOc6c93m_U

Edge was not only the inaugural winner but also the third coveted Mr. Money in the Bank (after defeating Mr. Kennedy for it) and couldn’t have cashed in at a better time.

Undertaker and Batista battled in a steel cage match, in which Taker retained the title due to it being a tie. However, the action wasn’t finished just yet, because although he technically picked up the victory over Batista, The Deadman was manhandled by an angry Mark Henry post-match.

With a beaten down, bloody, drained, exhausted Undertaker, there wasn’t a more opportune time for The Ultimate Opportunist to capitalize and cash in his contract. Of course he’s the Undertaker, he didn’t go down without a fight. He kicked out of a spear and refused to quit. But in the end, Edge emerged, he was successful, becoming the new World Heavyweight Champion.

July 18, 2008

Edge & Vickie’s Wedding

http://https://youtu.be/1ctv-l7ElKc

Weddings in WWE generally do not end well – of this we are aware. You know how at a wedding before two lovebirds tie the knot, the question “are there any objections?” is asked? Well, Triple H obliged during this particular ceremony. He apparently had some video evidence proving that Edge is not the most trustworthy fiancé, husband, partner, however you want to state it. Turned out to be true. The video evidence Triple H presented revealed Edge making out with former Divas Champion Alicia Fox behind Vickie Guerrero’s back.

In all honesty, WWE frequently fails at comedic segments, but this one was okay. Edge’s reaction was great.

August 28, 2009

Goodbye, Jeff Hardy.

http://https://youtu.be/UgOR16ahp6o

Now to a rivalry I thoroughly enjoyed in 2009, CM Punk and Jeff Hardy. ‘09 was a pretty decent year for SmackDown as far as I can remember, at least this feud made it so.

Hardy was on his way out of the company and set to be written off television. How did they do it? A Steel Cage Match between the two. Not only was the World Heavyweight Championship up for grabs, whoever lost the match was forced to leave the company. In a battle that was a fitting conclusion for this feud, Jeff failed and CM Punk was victorious. Punk would continue to mock Hardy as he celebrated his victory and sarcastically waved goodbye.

June 27, 2017

Women’s Money In The Bank Ladder Match

http://https://youtu.be/Yi4woszq4lQ

This is one of the more recent events that took place. This wasn’t the initial Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match, more of a do-over for a mistake made. A male (James Ellsworth) essentially won the first time and WWE seemingly felt that they screwed up, so they re-did the match and had a normal outcome. Unless they just wanted to do it twice for the hell of it, who cares. Anyway, in this one, we had the same victor (Carmella), but she actually seized it herself this time – kind of. They should’ve done the proper thing from the start, on the PPV named after the match. Especially when it’s the very first time, but it is what it is. It was a historic moment nonetheless.

March 20, 2018

Daniel Bryan’s Emotional Return

http://https://youtu.be/wHobbiH4I4g

Daniel Bryan, one of the most elite professional wrestlers in the world, was chosen by the fans. He didn’t have the system to back him up, he didn’t have the attributes and assets WWE was and still is generally in favor of when it comes to their prototypical “top guy.”

As far as his WWE career goes, he started getting hot around 2013 and WWE was pretty much forced to push him at this point with all the love and support he was receiving from the fans. During this run of his, he would battle and attempt to overcome the authority time after time, and eventually he would prevail, winning the big one at WrestleMania 30, in New Orleans. One of the most memorable moments in history, Daniel Bryan thrusting his arms up and down with the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. He was happy, the fans were happy, we all were happy. David finally defeated Goliath so to speak.

This was, for me personally, probably a top five moment in WrestleMania history. Who doesn’t like to see an underdog succeed? It really couldn’t have gotten any better than this: capturing the most prestigious prize in the industry with an army of fans completely behind you in the main event of WrestleMania.

Unfortunately, though, all that glory would end abruptly, as Daniel Bryan was sadly forced to retire due to evident medical reasons. On Raw, February 14, 2016, he would bid farewell to the WWE universe. It was an emotional roller coaster that night. He had accomplished so much in his wrestling career over the years, not only in WWE, but all over the world. If this was truly the end of Daniel Bryan, he had done well over enough to be called one of the best ever. However, he never gave up on his dreams, he refused to accept that it was the end. He would remain in WWE as the SmackDown general manager, but he was very vocal about his displeasure with that position, he didn’t want it, the man just wanted to wrestle, rather it be in WWE or elsewhere.

Finally, after approximately three long years of medical testing, of hard work, of doubt that he’d ever return, Daniel Bryan was medically cleared for competition. This was obviously huge news. It was a time to rejoice.

After the historic announcement, Daniel Bryan came out on SmackDown for his return speech. He was – as he said multiple times in the promo – grateful. He wouldn’t, however, officially wrestle until WrestleMania 34 in a tag match teaming with SmackDown Live commissioner Shane McMahon against Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn.

It still feels so good to see Bryan back and I hope he stays healthy, there are so many phenomenal and worthy matches that remain on the list to witness in his career.


Of course there are valuable moments I didn’t touch on, like the Angle/Lesnar Iron Man match and the whole Eddie Guerrero/Rey Mysterio rivalry, among others. I’m human and can’t sit here all day naming them, but I named a few. If you have any moments in mind you think that I had completely missed and ignored and feel that they absolutely, positively should’ve been on here, let me know…or don’t. Whatever works. Thanks for reading. See you soon. Okay now, bye!

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