20 Greatest SmackDown Moments
From the supermarket to the commitment ceremony, all your favorite moments are here.
In honor of SmackDown’s 1,000th episode, here are the 20 greatest moments in the show’s nearly 20-year history.
20. Fan Interaction
Chris Jericho started masquerading as other wrestlers back in 2009, when he donned a Rey Mysterio mask and acted like a fan in the front row. When Mysterio went to rub heads with his masked fans like always, Jericho grabbed him and smashed his face into the barrier. The crowd thought a fan had lost his mind, and then quickly realized it was the devious act of Y2J. Such a brilliant attack.
19. Upset of the Decade
After the Two-Man Power Trip assaulted Team Extreme (including Lita) on Raw, Jeff Hardy vowed to avenge his teammates by challenging Triple H for the Intercontinental Championship. At the time, Triple H was the biggest villain in the company, while Jeff was simply a tag team wrestler, albeit a very popular one. The match was okay, but the finish shocked the world as Matt Hardy blasted Triple H with a chair, allowing his brother to hit the swanton to win the gold.
18. Gore! Gore! Gore!
It felt like a big deal when I was a kid, but having rewatched this recently, I was surprised at how lackluster WWE made this feel. Rhyno attacked Chris Jericho on the entrance ramp after a hard-fought victory, and then quickly gored him through the SmackDown Titantron. The crowd was stunned, and a replay was shown, but then SmackDown went right to commercial. Regardless how WWE made the angle appear at the time, it’s such a cool sight all these years later, and a creative way to introduce the “Giant Fist” Titantron.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IsJ2ZrEECw
17. Champ vs. Champ
In a historic encounter, WWE Champion Triple H battled ECW Champion Tazz while the latter was under contract to WWE. Huh? So listen, Mike Awesome was the ECW Champion when he signed with WCW, so Heyman brought Tazz back to win the gold. Still makes no sense, I feel ya. The matchup was nothing special, but Tommy Dreamer emerging from the crowd was a cool cameo less than a year before ECW went out of business.
16. Stone Cold Sing-A-Long
Although it wasn’t well-received at the time, Stone Cold’s heel run in 2001 provided plenty of entertainment. The desperate, paranoid champion added another dimension to his character, going tit for tat with Kurt Angle over Mr. McMahon’s affection. As Shane and Stephanie waged war upon their father, Austin offered some relief in hilarious fashion, belting out some Kumbaya.
15. Our Olympic Hero Saves The Day
A 20-man battle royal to crown a new World Heavyweight Champion was announced after Mark Henry sidelined Batista. As the 19 participants prepared to rumble, Kurt Angle made his shocking arrival, having jumped from Raw. The Philly crowd was ecstatic to see the wrestling machine, and cheered the recent villain onto victory.
14. AJ Styles Wins WWE Title
JinderMania came to a screeching halt in the United Kingdom as the Phenomenal One won his second WWE Championship. Styles did the world a favor as Jinder Mahal was slated to face Brock Lesnar in a clash of the champions that nobody wanted to see. It’s rare for WWE’s top titles to change hands on Raw or SmackDown these days, so the U.K. crowd understandably lost their minds when Styles got the three count. It also kicked off the longest reign in SmackDown history, breaking JBL’s record from more than a decade prior.
13. Can-Am Connection
Edge lived out his childhood dream on Fourth of July 2002, teaming with Hulk Hogan against the Un-Americans. After a pair of big boots and stereo leg drops, the unlikely duo made history by winning the Tag Team Titles. The reign was short-lived, but it was a moment the rising star, aging legend and all those in attendance are sure to never forget.
12. The Ultimate Shoot
Three days before Survivor Series 2001, Paul Heyman called out Vince McMahon to the ring, eulogizing him before the Alliance was sure to conquer WWE. For about 10 minutes, Heyman aired all his grievances, chastising McMahon for killing the territories and stealing the ECW owner’s ideas, bringing up some pretty taboo topics for the time. Perhaps Heyman’s finest hour on the mic, which as you know, covers a lot of ground.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wn9G3Onwjjg
11. Edge Cashes In
After Batista and Undertaker ended a steel cage match, in which both men’s feet hit the floor simultaneously, Mark Henry made his surprise return to SmackDown, mauling The Deadman. This led to the Ultimate Opportunist cashing in for the second time in his career, and stealing the World Heavyweight Championship. History may forget that Mr. Kennedy was supposed to hold the Money in the Bank briefcase, but an injury forced him out of the picture, changing his career for the worse.
10. DX Express
At the height of the McMahon-Helmsley regime, the nefarious group of power brokers and henchmen would all arrive to the arena on the DX Express. Well, it was only a matter of time before the bus went bye-bye, and of course, only one man is known for his vehicular destruction. During his first appearance on SmackDown since being run over five months earlier, Stone Cold Steve Austin exploded on the scene.
9. Vince K.O.’ed
It was the biggest angle on SmackDown in years – Mr. McMahon returning to the blue brand to confront Kevin Owens for attacking his son, and scheduling them for Hell in a Cell. Owens was all fine and dandy with the news, but wanted assurance that he could beat a McMahon senseless without getting fired. Once Vinnie Mac gave his word, an epic head butt followed suit.
8. Sexy Kurt
Whenever JBL says that if you could build a “sports entertainer” from the ground up, it would look like Randy Orton – he’s wrong. It would look like Kurt Angle, a legitimate badass athlete who could make you scream, cry or laugh your ass off. Angle’s range of acting ability is on full display as he brings out Sensational Sherri for a remix of Shawn Michaels’ entrance theme.
7. Daniel Bryan Returns
Social media was abuzz on March 20, 2018, as WWE tweeted that Daniel Bryan had been cleared to return to action after retiring two years prior. The wrestling world was overjoyed that the former WWE Champion could pick up where he left off, and the YES! Movement was in full force as the SmackDown GM thanked everyone, including his wife Brie Bella, for their support. “If you fight for your dreams, your dreams will fight for you” became an immediate yearbook quote.
6. Star-Spangled Banner
Two days after September 11, 2001, WWE held the largest public assembly in the country following the terrorist attacks, airing SmackDown live in Houston. After Vince McMahon gave a patriotic speech, the entire roster stood on the entrance ramp as Lillian Garcia delivered the most passionate, breathtaking rendition of the national anthem that you’ll ever hear.
5. Just Friends
The hottest storyline of the summer of 2000 culminated with Kurt Angle finally locking lips with his “friend,” Stephanie McMahon. Well, McMahon-Helmsley, because she was married to The Game, by GAWD! It was a juicy, soap opera cliffhanger that left fans dying for the fallout three days later at SummerSlam.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daw7gxCna9s
4. John Cena Debuts
On June 27, 2002, the wrestling world changed forever as John Cena made his WWE TV debut, answering Kurt Angle’s open challenge. Although he took the L, Cena made a great first impression, hanging with the Olympic gold medalist (who better to have your first match with?) and displaying some ruthless aggression.
3. Supermarket Brawl
Perhaps the only angle in wrestling to never be duplicated. Stone Cold opened a can of whoop ass on Booker T all over the Green Frog Market in Bakersfield, California, (which sadly closed in 2013). Austin estimated that they caused $10,000 worth of damage during their hilarious brawl. “Price check on jackass!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvuoOrT6smo
2. Holy Shit!
Although WWE has replicated this stunt a few times since 2003, it will never capture the initial jaw dropping pandemonium. Ever since Brock Lesnar suplexed Big Show off the top rope, every time two giants ascend the turnbuckle, fans expect the ring to break. That’s why the first time was so special – nobody saw it coming. Maybe not even Tazz, whose “Holy Shit!” is such a classic call.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXWbPmjJSpc
1. Billy & Chuck Wedding
As former WWE writer and current NWA Vice President David Lagana says, if this moment happened live on Raw during the Attitude Era, it would have caused a meltdown.
If you didn’t read the spoilers back in 2002, though, you certainly will never forget the greatest reveal in wrestling history. It was a publicity stunt gone wrong, an unpredictable wrestling wedding in which you knew chaos would break out, but you didn’t know how. After months of hinting at a homosexual relationship, Billy Gunn and Chuck Palumbo vowed to marry each other in a commitment ceremony. Before WWE had established relationships with the mainstream media, this act drew a ton of press from all the big players like The New York Times, The Today Show and even activist group GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation).
All the publicity was actually positive, as WWE had been portraying Billy & Chuck as proud gay characters, quite the contrast from how homosexual characters were usually portrayed in wrestling. Well, the media and GLAAD were hoodwinked – just like Billy, Chuck, Stephanie McMahon and all of us were.
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