#8: Edge & Hogan win tag gold (Episode 150)
United they stand
WWE programming doesn’t “do” repeats. Certainly, that’s one contributing factor (among many) why SmackDown has remained the dominant primetime force on broadcast television for nearly eight years and 400 episodes. That said, a series of repeats can actually come together and form something entirely new, exciting and downright historical. And that’s precisely what happened when Edge & Hulk Hogan won the World Tag Team Championship in Boston’s FleetCenter July 4, 2002, on the 150th edition of SmackDown.
For Edge, tag team gold had decorated his waist on seven previous occasions; for the immortal Hulkster, who had never worn a championship as one-half of a tandem, it was the first time in nearly a decade that his classic “Real American” theme accompanied him down to the ring. SmackDown announcer Michael Cole observed how “appropriate” it was for an icon who bled red, white and blue to wave Old Glory in the squared circle, especially on America’s birthday, and with a lifelong Hulkamaniac who was “living his dream” by teaming with his childhood idol.
Despite having never teamed up before SmackDown’s memorable Independence Day, Edge & Hogan presented a very united front while liberating the World Tag Team Titles from the overtly liberated Billy & Chuck. The veteran Hulkster knew when to give way to Edge’s experience as a tag-team specialist (Boy, has he changed!), while the pre-Rated-R Superstar was more than eager to follow his immortal hero’s lead. Together, the duo forcibly removed Billy and personal stylist Rico from the equation, then floored Chuck with a pair of big boots to the face. Moments after Edge’s Hogan-inspired legdrop off the ropes, the Hulkster followed suit, providing a thunderous stereo effect that rendered Chuck unable to kick out of Edge’s cover. And with that, SmackDown—and the explosive FleetCenter crowd in Boston—welcomed its new World Tag Team Champions.
Lamentably, the duo’s championship reign was brief, ending at Vengeance two weeks later. Nevertheless, as Michael Cole concluded while Edge & Hulk Hogan celebrated in the ring, amid the jubilant crowd cheering in approval, “The memories of ‘Real American’ are alive tonight, on the Fourth of July!” Images such as these have become “repeats” forever worth reliving, both in the hearts of WWE fans everywhere, and as WWE.com’s No. 8 Most Memorable SmackDown Moment.