5 best moments from the thousand episodes of WWE SmackDown
What's the story
WWE SmackDown has achieved a new milestone in its long history, with last night's show being the 1,000th episode of this weekly television program. SmackDown debut on April 29, 1999, and has continued entertaining the WWE universe and wrestling fans all over the world for more than 18 years. Here we take a look at the five best SmackDown moments of all time.
Show-Lesnar
Big Show and Brock Lesnar break the ring
Two extremely strong wrestlers, Big Show and Brock Lesnar, were involved in a match on SmackDown on June 12, 2003, for the WWE Championship. Big Show is always the bigger wrestler in the ring, but when you fight with Lesnar, it is a different ball game altogether. Lesnar superplexed Show from the top rope, breaking the ring and sending fans in an absolute frenzy.
Cena's debut
One of the GOATs debuted on SmackDown in 2002
The debut of John Cena deserves to be one of the top moments, as he is the one who remained the face of WWE for almost a decade. In June 2002, Cena responded to an open challenge by Kurt Angle and fought valiantly against the Olympic gold medalist. Many superstars, including The Undertaker, praised him for the performance when they met him backstage.
Stone Cold-Booker T
Stone Cold and Booker T's supermarket brawl
When the greatest moments are in discussion, the Rattlesnake cannot be far behind, with him being one of the greatest sport-entertainers. During the Invasion story-line, World Championship Wrestling ace Booker T and WWE Champion Stone Cold were involved in a feud. And during one of their clashes they even brawled in a supermarket on a SmackDown episode, with they, reportedly, causing damages worth $10,000.
DX Express
The Rattlesnake destroys the DX Express
Austin makes the list once again, now with demolishing the DX Express, a bus Degeneration-X used to travel in. After WrestleMania 2000, Stone Cold joined The Rock, who was then involved in a feud over the WWE Championship with Triple H. In order to teach DX a lesson, Stone Cold blew up their bus while Vince, Stephanie, and Triple H were in the ring.
9/11 tribute
Lilian Garcia sings the American national anthem after 9/11
WWE continued with its scheduled SmackDown episode after 9/11 as a gesture to show that nothing can break the American spirit. The show began on a different note when the WWE roster came out, as ring announcer Lilian Garcia sang 'The Star-Spangled Banner'. She captured the hearts of even non-American fans with her rendition and this remains one of the most emotional WWE moments.