WWF "Smackdown!": August 23, 2001 Quiz

Answer: Jeff Hardy

Michael Cole and Tazz were the commentators for this "Smackdown!" show live from Denver, Colorado. As he would often do during these broadcasts, Tazz kept making scornful remarks about the WWF.

The first match of the night featured WWF Hardcore Champion Rob Van Dam facing Jeff Hardy with Van Dam's title on the line. Hardy had control of the match early on, but Van Dam was able to come back. The match between two high-flying wrestlers had several "hardcore" elements like tables and ladders. At one point, Jeff jumped from a ladder to attempt his Swanton Bomb, but he went crashing through the table and hit the floor. The table was mangled and a concerned Van Dam helped move the pieces of the broken table away. Officials then came out and helped Jeff to his feet, then brought him to the locker room to end the match in a No Contest. As a result, Van Dam retained the title.

Answer: Raven

As Rob Van Dam watched Jeff Hardy being taken to the locker room, Raven came out and started to fight Van Dam, though the latter emerged victorious. The brawl was somewhat unusual because both Van Dam and Raven were part of the WCW/ECW Alliance that was then in opposition to the WWF. As the fight ended, Stephanie McMahon came out and expressed her displeasure at seeing two members of the Alliance fighting. She told them to shake hands, but neither superstar wanted to listen to her.

Later, Stone Cold Steve Austin went to the ring and scolded Van Dam and Raven. He told them both to go to the locker room and act like professionals. After they left, Austin spoke for a while until he was interrupted by Chris Jericho said that the Alliance would be in full force that night because they had the most dangerous weapon known to man: Stephanie McMahon's voice. He proceeded to show a clip from "Raw is War" with Stephanie singing. Jericho then challenged Austin to a title match later that night. Austin then accepted Jericho's challenge but refused to put his WWF Championship on the line.

Answer: Billy Gunn and Big Show

Billy Gunn and Big Show, a tag team that was briefly known as the Show Gunns, faced off against the Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray and D-Von). Gunn and D-Von started the match off. After being roughed up in the Dudleys' corner, Billy was able to tag Big Show in, but not before delivering the Famouser. Big Show came in fired up and delivered two paralyzing clotheslines to the Dudleys.

The Dudleys fought back and tried to give a 3-D to the Big Show, but Show was too heavy for D-Von to lift and Bubba went crashing onto the ropes. Finally, Big Show gave D-Von a Chokeslam for the win.

Answer: Kurt Angle

Kurt Angle, who won an Olympic gold medal in the Atlanta 1996 games while representing the United States in freestyle wrestling, faced off against Chris Kanyon. Angle came on strong from the beginning. This left Kanyon no choice but to try to hit Angle with the United States Championship, which then belonged to Kanyon. Angle was able to duck and tried using the title himself, but referee Charles Robinson took it away from Angle. Angle then managed to put Kanyon in the Ankle Lock for the win.

Answer: The Rock

The Rock and The APA (Bradshaw and Faarooq) faced off against Booker T, Rhyno, and Test in a Six-man Tag Team Match. Bradshaw and Rhyno started the match. At one point when the referee was distracted, all three members of the Alliance's team ganged up on The Rock.

Then, Faarooq and Booker T were the only ones left in the ring, and after Rhyno gave Faarooq the Gore, Booker successfully performed a scissors kick for the win. Despite his questionable tactics, Booker T and his team emerged victorious from the match.

Answer: X-Pac

Following the six-man tag team bout, X-Pac appeared from WWF New York (which used to be a themed restaurant owned by the wrestling company) and claimed to be one of the greatest superstars in sports entertainment history because he was the first wrestler to hold titles from both WWF and WCW. X-Pac, also known as the 1-2-3 Kid, had a prolific career in multiple wrestling promotions, including WWF/WWE, WCW, NWA, and TNA.

He joined D-Generation X, the multi-member stable originally founded by Triple H and Shawn Michaels, in 1998.

Answer: Destruction

Edge and Christian faced off against The Undertaker and Kane, the team of half-brothers collectively known as the Brothers of Destruction. The latter held the WWF Tag Team Championships and put their titles on the line in this match. Undertaker and Kane were in total control, even when Edge hit a Spear on the "Deadman". Edge was taken out of the ring by Kane while Christian was left alone with 'Taker. Christian's fate was sealed when he received a Last Ride from Undertaker.

Therefore, the Brothers of Destruction retained the titles.

Answer: Hurricane Helms

Lita took on Ivory in the only women's match of the night. Lita had control of the match at first, but then Ivory started kicking Lita in her bad knee. When Lita tried to climb to the top of the ropes she saw Hurricane Helms. Lita was able to knock Helms off the apron.

When Ivory whipped Lita from one side of the ring to the other, Helms held the rope down and Lita fell to the floor. Helms then threw Lita back in so Ivory could make a pin.

Answer: Matt Hardy

Matt Hardy and Lita were dating both on-screen and in real life in 2001. When the match ended, Hardy quickly went to the ring to make sure Lita was OK and to scare off Hurricane Helms and Ivory. The drama that would unfold between the couple in later years would become one of the most memorable WWE relationships of the 2000s decade. Lita would cheat on Hardy by dating Edge in real-life, which WWE would then turn into a storyline. For years, WWE television featured storylines pitting Hardy against Edge and Lita, based on their real-life differences.

Answer: Stone Cold Steve Austin

Chris Jericho faced off against Stone Cold Steve Austin in what was originally booked as a non-title match. However, after Austin entered the ring, Commissioner William Regal told Austin that his WWF Championship would now be on the line. Jericho started out in control of the match by hurting Austin's shoulder. Jericho also had Austin in the Walls of Jericho, but Austin crawled on his back to the ropes.

After much slapping and kicking, much of it on Austin's part, Jericho was able to place Austin in the Walls of Jericho again but Austin refused to tap out. Finally, Steve Austin got the win and retained his title by illegally using the ropes to reverse a rollover pin by Jericho.