January 2005 | Week 1 | Smackdown!
Mark Henry faced off against JBL for the right to become the #1 contender for Rob Van Dam's Intercontinental Championship. Henry dominated JBL physically early on, hitting a Powerslam on the outside before going for a Bear Hug to try to squeeze the life out of his opponent. JBL was able to break free though and then started to gain some momentum. He showed incredible strength to hit Henry with a Powerbomb, and was going to follow it up with Clothesline from hell but Mark dodged it and then pulled him up and into a World's Strongest Slam to get the 1-2-3. After the match, Henry wasn't satisfied with just the win though and assaulted JBL, beating him up and whipping him into the steel steps to leave him in a serious pain.
► Show Spoiler
Prior to the second of the match, Smackdown! GM Paul Heyman announced that a short tournament would take place to crown the first Light Heavyweight champion. Two triple threat matches would happen this week and next, functioning effectively as semi-finals with the winners of those two matches facing each other at the Royal Rumble for the vacant Light Heavyweight title. Jeff Hardy was the opportunist in this one, mainly allowing Mysterio and Hurricane to beat up on each other. When Hurricane took out Mysterio with a Superman Punch, before he could go for the pin, Hardy caught him with the Twist of Fate, allowing him to pin Hurricane instead and get a massive victory to move on to the final.
► Show Spoiler
Stone Cold stated that he came to Smackdown! with the specific goal of winning the WWE Championship, and on his first night on the show he was given a chance to win the belt against Lesnar. Lesnar had no intentions of allowing that though as he attacked Austin from behind with the belt during his entrance. The two then got engaged in a brawl outside the ring, spending nearly 10 minutes wrestling out there before the bell even rang. When they eventually returned to the ring both men were spent but Austin actually seemed to have the upper hand. Brock tried and failed for the F-5, and then got rocked with a Stunner that likely would've won Austin the title if Brock didn't have the presence to roll out of the ring. Austin came out after Brock, but Lesnar hit him with a low blow causing an immediate DQ call from the ref. Austin writhed in pain on the ground and Brock went to get his title again. When Austin rose to his feet, Brock blasted him across the face with the belt, knocking him unconscious, before walking off to a chorus of boos from the crowd.
► Show Spoiler
Orton the new Undisputed Champ