The DeLorean's still running blue, and this week it lands in October 2002, the point where SmackDown stopped experimenting and started executing.

In Episode 3 of Shot of Nostalgia: The SmackDown Six Era, we look back at No Mercy 2002, the night Paul Heyman's vision for wrestling took full shape. SmackDown had found its rhythm. While Raw chased spectacle, SmackDown focused on structure, timing, and storytelling. It became a show built around wrestling that felt alive and purposeful.

The SmackDown Tag Team Championship Tournament showed exactly what that approach could do. Each team brought something different to the table.
Angle and Benoit were reluctant partners whose precision outweighed their egos.
Edge and Mysterio wrestled with emotion and energy that connected instantly with the crowd.
Eddie and Chavo Guerrero mixed pride and deceit into something that felt effortless.

We'll walk through the full month of October, from Edge and Rey's semifinal win over Simmons and D-Von, to Angle and Benoit's tense victory against Los Guerreros, and finally to the No Mercy 2002 finals. Angle and Benoit versus Edge and Mysterio remains one of the most complete tag matches WWE has ever produced. Every tag mattered, every transition meant something, and when Edge finally tapped to the Ankle Lock, the audience clapped because they understood what they had seen.

We'll also revisit the aftermath, when the handshake between Benoit and Angle turned to chaos, the trophy broke, and Los Guerreros stepped in to take advantage. In that moment, the tag division reset, and SmackDown's golden run officially began.

We're also doing a full watch-along of the No Mercy 2002 Tag Team Finals. Sync up the match, press play, and experience it with us as it happened.

By the end of October 2002, SmackDown wasn't chasing Raw anymore. It was proving what weekly wrestling could be. More than two decades later, you can still see its fingerprints in AEW's tournament storytelling, WWE's renewed focus on the ring, and how modern wrestling builds from match to match.

No Mercy wasn't about nostalgia. It was proof that the system worked.

Episode 3 drops Friday at 7 PM ET. Join us for the full breakdown and watch-along. Like, subscribe, and leave a review wherever you listen. Support the project and get early access and bonus content at Patreon.com/TheTurnbuckleTavern for just $2.99 a month.