The Night Earl Hebner Became a Wrestler – WWF Smackdown Review 5/4/2000

This week on Tales from the Attitude Era, Rob and former WWF writer Tommy head to Richmond, VA – Earl Hebner’s hometown – for the May 4, 2000 episode of SmackDown! Fresh off The Rock’s historic WWF Title win at Backlash and a record-setting RAW, the McMahon-Helmsley regime stacks the deck once again.

Vince McMahon forces The Rock to defend his newly won championship in a seemingly impossible main event: The Rock must team with referee Earl Hebner against Triple H, X-Pac, and Road Dogg. If either The Rock OR Hebner is pinned, The Rock loses the title! The episode follows Hebner’s journey from referee to reluctant competitor, culminating in a chaotic, star-studded finale.

We also dive into:

Chris Jericho capturing the Intercontinental Championship from Chris Benoit under controversial circumstances involving Earl Hebner.The continuation of the Eddie Guerrero/Chyna vs. Essa Rios/Lita feud with an intergender tag match.The apparent breakup of The Radicals after Dean Malenko and Perry Saturn come to blows during a Hardcore Title defense involving Crash Holly.Stephanie McMahon confronting The Dudley Boyz about putting women through tables.Big Show debuting another questionable impersonation before seemingly turning face.

Join us as we break down a fun, action-packed SmackDown that kept the post-Backlash momentum going strong, featuring great midcard wrestling and tons of Attitude Era chaos.