Chris Benoit defeated Hardcore Holly with a German suplex to retain the IC Title.
-Good work from both performers, Benoit brought out the best out of Holly.
Val Venis fought The Godfather to a no-contest
-Kurt Angle came out and cut disparaging promo towards Val, Godfather, and The "Hos." Godfather and Val stopped the match and chased Angle
Test fought D-Von Dudley to a double DQ,
-Decent Match, Very good heat.
Taka Michinoku defeated Essa Rios.
-Another solid match ending with Lita attempting a Frankensteiner on Taka when Funaki intervened and knocked her off the apron. It was a wicked bump by Lita. Taka capitalized quickly after the bump and got the victory over Rios.
Lillian Garcia sang The National Anthem. She received a nice ovation from the crowd.
Smackdown Tapings:[Airdate - 4/13]
Rikishi Phatu beat "Latino Heat" Eddy Guerrero by DQ
-Chyna interfered and low-blowed Rikishi. Eddy and Chyna received a lot of heat during their segment. Eddy cut an amusing promo before the match where he questioned the existence of Samoa!
The Rock was shown entering The Palace in a limo. Triple H was shown backstage looking concerned that The Rock had arrived.
Triple H, Stephanie and Shane Mcmahon came to the ring to cut promo. Triple H bragged about the beating The Rock received on Raw. Shane showed his love for his brother-in-law by hugging Triple H. The Rock came out to an unbelievable response. Steph and Rock set the stage for Backlash where The Rock will meet Triple H for The WWF Title. Steph stated that Vince would be in Triple H's corner to ensure that The Rock doesn't walk away with title. Main event was booked during this segment. The Rock & Acolytes vs. Triple H & Bossman & Buchanan.
Al Snow and Steve Blackman were shown in the next segment arriving at a retirement home for senior citizens. Snow gave Blackman a comedy monologue to work on the residents. Funny stuff, If only they could be as entertaining in the ring.
The Hardy Boyz defeated Chris Benoit & Dean Malenko.
-Good match, but not as good as you would expect. Jeff Hardy seemed to be in pain during certain stretches in the match. It looked like his back.
Backstage, Triple H and Shane gave Kurt Angle another shot at WWF gold by booking a tag title match where Angle would team with The Big Show against Edge & Christian.
Perry Saturn defeated Crash Holly with a super kick to become new Hardcore Champion.
-Saturn's reign was short lived as Tazz ran in and pinned to Saturn to take Hardcore Title. Crash recovered and attacked Tazz and pinned him to regain his title.
Edge & Christian defeated Big Show & Kurt Angle to retain the WWF Tag Team Titles.
-Angle had to cut a second pre-match promo after botching the first one. Show came out to Roddy Piper's old music. Show played a "Fat Bastard" type scottish character from the movie..Austin Powers. Show and Angle couldn't get along and it led to their downfall in this match.
Backstage, Chris Jericho walked into a room and says to two women, "How are you ladies?" The two ladies turned around. They were Stephanie McMahon and Tori. Jericho proclaimed, "I'm sorry, I was looking for some ladies." Steph and Tori looked insulted.
Buh Buh Ray Dudley defeated Prince Albert (w/Trish Stratus) with a "Bubba Cutter."
-Trish Stratus prepared a table but her plan backfired when Albert was put through the table by Bubba.
Backstage, Jericho approached Steph and Tori again and suggested that they would make good hos. Steph booked a match with Road Dogg & X-Pac vs Y2J later in the night as revenge for Y2J's comments towards her and Tori.
Back to The Retirement Home, Blackman got frustrated that Snow's comedy material bombed. Blackman pulled out nun chucks and contemplated striking the senior citizens.
Mae Young & The Kat defeated Fabulous Moolah & Terri
-Mae pinned Moolah after hilarious elbow drop. Usual comedy match here.
Road Dogg & X-Pac defeated Chris Jericho.
-Tori attempted to interfere, Jericho, who was very over with the crowd, put Tori in The Walls of Jericho. X-Pac snuck up from behind and hit The X-Factor for the win.
Backstage, Shane confronted Earl Hebner and threatened to fire Earl if he continued his actions. Shane put Hebner on probation.
In the next segment, Stephanie McMahon came out to the arena and introduced to the crowd her new personal trainer, "Muffy." Muffy and Steph insulted the crowd for being out of shape. Audience seemed confused. It's questionable whether or not this segment will make it to TV.
Blackman and Snow were shown leaving retirement home and Snow told Steve that he thinks he should hit the 98 year old woman.
The Rock & The Acolytes defeated Triple H & Big Bossman & Bull Buchanan by DQ
-Shane interfered to give The Rock/Acolytes the win. Shane and Hebner got into shoving match and Earl pushed Shane out of the ring. DX came out and they battled with The APA to the back. That left Triple H and The Rock to battle. The Rock grabbed Shane on the outside and Rock Bottomed him through the announcer table. The taping ended.
Notes: When the show went off the air, The Rock got on the mic and did his schtick. The Rock harassed a groggy Shane McMahon. Rock asked Shane what his favorite pie was. Shane responded with Apple Pie. The Rock corrected him with Poontang Pie. Shane apologized for picking the wrong pie and wanted to make up for his mistake by offering to become The Rock's partner. He even went so far as doing a Rock impression. The Rock declined and did his signature moves, The Rock Bottom and The Peoples Elbow on Shane McMahon... The WWF will be returning to Tampa on July 2 and a Smackdown taping was announced for Ft. Lauderdale on Independence Day... Warren Sapp and a few of his Tampa Bay Buc teammates were on hand for the show, as was Wade Boggs.
[Credit: Johnny London, PWTorch.com]