It will shock you to read this, but WWE in 2002 was not the most enlightened promotion in the world when it comes to gender. Still, even in that context it’s pretty shocking to remember what the company had for women to do at the time, especially on a show like “SmackDown.” If this episode was any indication, you could either be Nidia — a valet who “gets” to participate in exceptionally weird backstage segments in which Jamie Noble decides to offer his girlfriend to his tag partner as an incentive for winning — or you could be Torrie Wilson, Stacy Keibler, or Dawn Marie, which means you get to come out on stage in lingerie and promote something called “WWE Divas Undressed.” Not even the most male parts of my psyche were into the latter, for the simple reason that I am no longer 12.

Like, I wasn’t expecting a women’s match. I wasn’t even expecting a women’s segment. I understood the period of time I was in. But man, the entirety of the “women’s division” represented here being a lingerie parade and the latest chapter in the ongoing “Tajiri is horny” storyline somehow failed to clear the extremely low bar I came in with. This was actually a pretty fun episode of “SmackDown” apart from the blatant misogyny, to the extent that I found myself wishing they just wouldn’t bring the women out at all so I wouldn’t have to think about it (the exact opposite of how I feel about wrestling today, in which I basically only care when women are on-screen).

Written by Miles Schneiderman

Not only did this “SmackDown” present fans with the debut of John Cena, it also features Batista’s first main roster match. The future WWE Hall of Famer was introduced the month before as Deacon Batista, the heater for Reverend D-Von. Just prior to the main event, Batista and D-Von wrestle a tag match against Farooq (Ron Simmons) and none other than Randy Orton, who had made his own debut just two months before.

The match is short and sweet, with the one and only goal of putting Batista over as a monster. It moves at a wicked pace and lasts only three minutes, ending with Batista planting his future Evolution stablemate Orton onto the mat with a behemoth Spine Buster, in perhaps the most blatant example of “Ruthless Aggression” of the night.

Later on, at the episode’s end, Edge makes an appearance to get some revenge on Chris Jericho, with the show going off the air as Hulk Hogan celebrates in the ring with the younger star. Though Edge wasn’t a new addition to the company, this period also marked his ascension to the top of the singles division, serving as yet another way this show was pushing the company forward.

Featuring appearances from WWE’s biggest stars, like Hogan and The Undertaker, combined with showcasing the wrestlers set to take over the industry in the years to come, this episode of “SmackDown” succeeded in setting the stage for a new era. There would be plenty of ups and downs to come, but looking at this show in a vacuum, it would have been easy to feel optimistic about where the product was headed as wrestlers like Hogan and Undertaker began the elongated process of passing the torch.

Written by Nick Miller