For more than 15 years, Smackdown was the best of WWE. Compared to Monday Night Raw, the storylines were more intriguing, wrestling was better, characters and their motives much more defined, while Raw was mostly about lengthy promos and soap opera-style chapters.
Over the course of 800 episodes, Smackdown brought fans legendary moments like Torrie Wilson thrilling everyone with her beauty, Cenation being born, The Undertaker returning to dominance, Edge and Guerrero starting No Disqualification war, Brock “The Beast Incarnate” Lesnar reigning as Undisputed Champion – and the only Buried Alive Match in history of broadcast network TV was seen during Smackdown.
Then came the reintegration of the roster and Smackdown sunk under the level of Monday Night Raw. It is still a good show with remarkable wrestling, but fans miss nothing if they skip another episode of Smackdown. So, let us remember the glory days by reviewing the Top 10 WWE Smackdown Episodes of All Time.
- Triple H vs The Rock, August 26, 1999
Triple H ascended to the top of the mountain by winning the WWE Title. Shawn Michaels was brought in as referee. HBK ejected Chyna from the ringside, but Shane McMahon replaced him. Triple H did his best to hold on to his freshly-won title, but The Rock blasted his allies and planted HBK with a Rock Bottom. Just as The People’s Champion was about to unleash his patented The People’s Elbow, the reigning champion connected with a vicious Sweet Chin Music to The Great One’s jaw.
It was an episode filled with meaningful stories and big events. Billy Gunn defeated Intercontinental champion Jeff Jarrett, The Big Boss Man won the WWE Hardcore title, Tori defeated Women’s champion Ivory in a non-title match, and The Great One lost to Triple H.
Nick was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and lived there until the age of 18, when he decided to pack his flack jacket and move to New York City.
