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BACKLASH 2001 SUMMARY Match Of The Night Raven vs Rhyno - When I watched this match I was surprised at how good it was, and thought it would perhaps support the upper-card matches of the show in creating a good event. I didn't realise it was actually going to be the best match. Congratulations to the pair for putting on a great show well above their usual quality, but this also shows how weak the PPV's uppercard was. Special mention to Matt Hardy vs Christian vs Eddie Guerrero, which was good but slightly too short, and Chris Benoit vs Kurt Angle, which was good but far too long. Wrestler Of The Night 1. Raven - Led the way in the shock MotN, not only showing off his usual hardcore style, but providing an unusually flowing match as well. 2. Rhyno - The less-skilled of the two, but still carried himself well throughout. The shopping cart spot was awesome. 3. Eddie Guerrero - It's great to see him back to his best after a weak match with Test at 'Mania. 4. Christian - A similarly impressive performance in the European Championship match, proving he can get it done as a singles competitor. 5. Chris Benoit - Did his best to help an unusually sloppy Angle through their encounter, but hampered by a long time limit. Matt Hardy narrowly missed out here for his part in the EuroChamp match, as did X-Pac for his nice performance in the opener. A conspicuous lack of true main eventers here (because they all had a shocker, with the exception of The Rock - he's in Hollywood for the time being). Wrestler Of The Year Standings 1. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin - 12 2. Chris Jericho - 8 3. Triple H - 6 Chris Benoit - 6 4. The Rock - 5 Eddie Guerrero - 5 Raven - 5 5. Rhyno - 4 6. Kane - 3 Edge - 3 7. Christian - 2 8. The Undertaker - 1 BACKLASH 2001 SCORE: 5/10 Another notable case of a shoddy main event hamstringing a decent show. The European and Hardcore matches were both pretty good, but the real tale of Backlash is one of wasted potential. Jericho vs Regal should have been great but for its stupid gimmick. Benoit vs Angle had the potential to be a classic, but dragged like a motherfucker. The main event was obviously appalling. This is a disappointing step down for the WWF after one of the best WrestleManias in history. We'll see if they can turn it around next month - a good start would be the proper use of hot midcard stars like Jericho and Eddie, currently stuck in limbo. JGKing fucked around with this message at 23:53 on Aug 18, 2014 |
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Aug 13, 2014 15:32
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If it helps, the Kane/Undertaker v. Power Trip tag match is the only bad match in Austin's entire heel run that I can think of.
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Aug 14, 2014 01:58
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The Austin/UT match at Judgment Day was pretty bad too.
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Aug 14, 2014 04:49
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You have Christian in the top 5 but not on the top list for whatever reason.
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Aug 14, 2014 17:45
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Senerio posted:You have Christian in the top 5 but not on the top list for whatever reason. Well spotted. Fixed.
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Aug 18, 2014 23:53
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Insurrextion - May 5th 2001 - London, England PART 1 So it's been a pretty good start to 2001, with the Royal Rumble, No Way Out, and especially WrestleMania producing great cards. Unfortunately Backlash acted as a c-c-c-combo breaker, bringing a sudden end to the WWF's momentum in lacklustre fashion. Never fear - we've got Insurrextion next to save the day. Insurrextion 2000 currently holds the lowest score in this entire thread with an impressive 3/10. Not only were the matches poor and wrestlers unmotivated, but the storylines went precisely nowhere. I understand that the bookers won't want to blow a huge title change on an exclusively British PPV, but they could at least have given us something as opposed to endless non-finishes and DQs. So yeah, I don't have high hopes for this one. It's made even worse when JR isn't present to SCREAM HIS WELCOME! Instead we have Michael Cole (taking charge of his first Pay Per View I believe), but at least he's backed up by the eternally brilliant Paul Heyman. Commissioner William Regal opens the show from backstage, announcing that the whole card has been reshuffled. Luckily I didn't have a clue what the scheduled card was, so I don't really have a cause for concern. This does absolutely REEK of bullshit for the paying fans though, especially those who turned up live to see the advertised matches. Strangely, Vince McMahon is similarly pissed off. He asks Regal the reason for doing so, and the Commissioner replies that it was actually Linda's decision. Hmm. TURN IT UP! 1. Grandmaster Sexay vs Eddie Guerrero The crowd pop for Too Cool, but are perhaps left a little disappointed when only the less-over of the pair dances out from the back. Then I pop for Eddie Guerrero because he's fantastic, and he can surely help Grandmaster to a good match even on an off day. Eddie looks absolutely livid during his entrance - he's in full blown heel mode here, eyeballing the crowd and pulling disgusted faces. Or maybe he's genuinely furious about something; so many shoot interviews mention his notorious bad temper. He jumps Sexay at the bell and goofs around with his sunglasses before hurling them into the crowd. Cole and Heyman mention one change to the card: instead of taking on Austin 1-on-1, Undertaker will be facing both Stone Cold and Triple H in a handicap match, which apparently he requested. I really hope this isn't more bullshit "ooh the Undertaker is so tough and badass" booking, because I've had my fill of that for his entire run in the thread so far. I fear we're in for more however. Sexay regains control with a missile dropkic and a NICE baseball slide to the outside! He wastes time by dancing however, allowing Eddie to storm back in and take him down. Guerrero hits us with some mocking dancemoves of his own, but almost falls victim to a sneaky rollup. Grandmaster busts out more of his surprisingly impressive offence, nailing an enziguri and a superkick on the way to a nearfall. Aaaagh he ruins all that good work by botching a powerbomb, but neither guy looks badly hurt. That was lucky. Eddie rolls out the way of a Hip Hop Drop and heads up for the Frogsplash, but Grandmaster cuts him off and throws him from the top. Sexay charges crotch-first into the turnbuckles as Guerrero dives out of the way, before falling prey to a rollup pin (with a little extra leverage from Eddie's feet on the ropes). Winner: Eddie Guerrero 1.5/5 - Very short but decent. Shame about that botched powerbomb and the slightly underwhelming finish. Triple H and Stephanie are in a lovey-dovey mood in the #HeelLockerRoom. Trips is so relaxed he brushes off concerns about facing the Undertaker later tonight. Careful Hunter! The Undertaker is the most feared and awesome badass in the entire WWF - everyone knows that! Next up we have a six-person intergender tag match between The Hollys (including Molly) and The Radicalz (feat. Terri). Oh wait, NO WE loving DON'T. In the first card shake-up of the night, Terri gets on the stick and demands that the match be turned into a regular tag contest. She claims the UK didn't have wrestling boots for her to compete in. 2. The Radicalz vs The Hollys The Radicalz are represented here by Perry Saturn and Dean Malenko. The good guys storm the ring and Molly goes straight for Terri. They exchange slaps before Terri gets absolutely planted with some kind of northern lights variation! Referee Teddy Long is so startled that he goes to count the pinfall, despite Terri just telling us that the women aren't contestants in this match. Hey, perhaps he doesn't recognise her authority, in which case fair enough. Perry and Hardcore start things off properly, but sadly my boy can't gain control and eats a clothesline from Bob. Hardcore hits a back suplex for two but Saturn answers back with a jawbreaker and an ugly clothesline. It's a generally ugly contest I'm afraid, on various levels. Cole tells Heyman to watch out for this next move as Hardcore winds up...and straight up kicks Perry in the balls. Amazing. Michael covers by describing it as a boot "to the lower abdomen" as Crash gets the tag and looks to press the advantage. He can't however, as Saturn hurls him overhead and...OH MY GOD! After what feels like FOREVER, we finally see the return of...THE POINTLESS FORWARD ROLL TO THE CORNER! Perry I love you! Malenko gets the tag but runs right into a drop toehold from Crash. The smaller Holly gets in a few shots before tagging Hardcore back in, and I've just noticed that Molly is standing on the apron with the Hollys as if she's also competing. Terri is quite correctly on the outside. Is this supposed to show Molly's fighting spirit or is this a result of the last minute card shakeup? Anyway Perry helps out his partner with a dirty clothesline from the apron, before tagging in and hitting Hardcore with a BRAINBUSTAAAAAH~! It only gets minimal crowd reaction and a 2 count because this isn't Japan, so Perry applies a camel clutch to stay on top. Holly powers out but eats a suplex, before Saturn heads up top and drops a terrible elbow. Even CM Punk would be embarrassed with that. Luckily Hardcore rolls out of its path and goes for the Alabama Slam, but he just drops Saturn to the canvas. He's either totally botched that or is selling his fatigue and I genuinely can't tell which; if it's the latter, he's done a very good job. Crash gets the mildly warm tag and hits a great tilt-a-whirl on Saturn, but the bigger man delves deep into his moveset and responds with a clothesline. Crash fights back and heads up top, dropping Perry with a hurricanrana for two. He follows it up with...a Dudley Dog!? That's flagrantly stealing Spike's finisher, you bastard! It looks as though that'll be enough for a three count, but Terri interferes and drags him out of the pinfall. Bam. DQ her, surely. No!? Teddy lets this one continue for some reason, but Molly is on hand to save the day. It all breaks down as the two women catfight around the ring (check that use of "catfight" as a verb), but Perry doesn't give a poo poo about concepts like "rhythm" or "the flow of a match", striding right over to Crash and hitting him with the Moss-Covered Three-Handled Family Gredunza for the win. Winners: The Radicalz 1/5 - A poor match partially saved by Crash Holly's impressive performance, but the other three guys didn't contribute much of note. At least Jericho would approve of Saturn's use of one of his 1004 holds. Regal cuts a quick promo about how happy he is to be back among the civilised. I've been to London and I'm not sure I agree with him. #ShotsFired We were supposed to have Big Show vs Test now, but in another of the card changes tonight, Linda McMahon has called it off due to an injury to the babyface. We flashback to two weeks ago backstage on Smackdown, where Big Show jumps Test during a hardcore match with Rhyno and absolutely destroys him. I'm guessing that's where he picked up the injury. Show's music hits to the surprise of Cole. He's heading out anyway despite the cancellation of his match. He grabs a mic and calls Test a coward for not fighting regardless of his injury. He commands his opponent to drag his carcass out and raise his hand as the victor. Test's music hits and he does indeed come out, but I doubt he's going to succumb to Shows's demands. drat, he's really selling those injured ribs - it was two weeks ago! I'm pretty sure Cena and Triple H have recovered from far worse injuries in the short few hours between WrestleMania and the following Raw. Hunter even no-sold death when Austin dropped him from that forklift, lest we forget. Test enters the ring and takes off his shirt to fight, but Show jumps him and beats him down with ease. Test battles bravely but eats a big sidewalk slam and the Final Cut. The indignity of having to sell such a weak finisher probably hurts as much as those injured ribs. Referees run out to save Test while Big Show calls out anybody on the roster, branding them all cowards. Nobody answers so he heads up the ramp to leave, when suddenly... ...oh it's only Bradshaw. The APA member strides down the ramp and batters Show all the way back down to the ring. The bell sounds, so I guess this is a match. 3. Big Show vs Bradshaw Heyman describes this as a "bonus match", the cheeky fucker. Big Show gains control with a sidewalk slam and begins to beat Bradshaw down, while EMTs head from the back to treat Test on the outside. Man they're really putting Show over as a danger here. He takes the Acolyte to the outside and knocks him down with a clothesline, before...sort of scooping the referee out of the way with a chair. I hesitate to call it a chairshot because it was really pathetic. Show snatches Test from the sanctuary of the EMTs and rolls him into the ring. He lifts the steel chair...AND TEST BOOTS IT BACK INTO HIS FACE! Nice spot. Test bails, leaving Bradshaw to nail Show with the Clothesline from Hell to pick up the three count. Winner: Bradshaw 0.5/5 - A good Big Boot from Test doesn't hide how bad this match was. Very slow and very boring, but the booking baffles me the most. Why build Big Show up as such a monster only to have him beaten by Bradshaw? It continues the feud with Test sure, but now I see Show as a huge dude who just lost to a tag team guy.
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Aug 28, 2014 04:14
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Insurrextion - May 5th 2001 PART 2 Now you'll recall that the tag championships are currently in the hands of Triple H and Austin, but the tag division shows no signs of slowing. Up next we have elimination action between three of the most entertaining tag teams in the world. And also X Factor. 4. Elimination Tag Match: Edge and Christian vs X Factor vs The Dudley Boyz vs The Hardy Boyz Albert is at ringside to accompany Justin Credible and X-Pac. Matt Hardy is still the European champion, and Jeff gestures to the belt all the way to the ring. It looks really strange, but I've come to expect that from the Hardys in hindsight. Who'd have thought they'd become so weird? They seemed so down to earth back in the day. Justin and Bubba start us off with an entertaining exchange; they seem to be having a blast in contrast to the unmotivated stars of last year's Insurrextion. Credible bails in cowardly fashion and tags in Matt to a big girly pop. Bubba tags in Christian and the pair go at it with headlocks and dropkicks. Jeff gets the tag and the Hardys appear to be over in the UK. He beats on X-Pac for a while until Albert sneak attacks him while the ref's back is turned. This is all fast and furious action so far, as expected. Matt Hardy tags in an suffers a Bronco Buster for his troubles, but he's able to take down both members of X Factor with a double clothesline. How long were X Factor around for in the WWF, because I really struggle to remember them at all. They can't have long left. The Hardys hit poetry in motion on Credible, but X-Pac ducks out of the way of a similar fate. The Dudleys are bored of waiting around on the apron now and kickstart a brawl with Edge and Christian on the outside. Meanwhile, Matt hits the Twist of Fate (without his customary "aaargh") on X-Pac. Albert charges the ring to save the day but Matt keeps him busy while Jeff hits a spectacular Swanton Bomb on Pac to end X Factor's participation in the match. X Factor aren't happy and beat down Matt on the outside. This leaves Jeff alone in the ring to contend with both Edge and Christian. He sets Edge up for a Twist of Fate of his own, but Christian is there to cut him off with the Unprettier! Yes! Do it! 1...2...The Hardys are gone! My boys are running wild! The crowd are livid and I don't even care! The Dudleys run roughshod over E&C for a while, but the heels regain control with some heelery and slowly pick apart D-Von. The crowd is slowly deflating, but when Bubba gets the hot tag I think the place is going to explode. He eventually does get it and clears house in explosive fashion, the pick of the moves being a ludicrously high back body drop on Christian. He plants poor Christian with an equally big Bubba Bomb before setting up Edge for D-Von's wassup headbutt. The Dudleys are rolling. They head outside for a table but Edge and Christian try to put a stop to that with a double baseball slide. They miss and get clocked with the folded up table before the action returns to the ring. The ref gets distracted just in time for...GORE! GORE! GORE! Rhyno charges down to save his buddies, folding up Bubba Ray as Heyman loses his poo poo on commentary! Edge makes the cover and that's all! Winners: Edge and Christian 2.5/5 - Decent, if a little house show-esque. The usual suspects performed well here: Edge, Jeff, Bubba, and especially Christian. Rhyno brings the table into the ring which seems quite unwise, given the company he finds himself in. Here comes Spike to even the odds, nailing Edge with a Dudley Dog and trapping Rhyno in the corner. Bubba and D-Von recover, dispatch of Christian, and sent Rhyno through the table with a crowd-pleasing 3D. Same old same old, but we can probably forgive that at Insurrextion. Kurt Angle is backstage and promises to take back his gold medals. Benoit stole them. Only in wrestling is the simple act of thievery the work of a rebellious babyface. That and Robin Hood I suppose. And heist films. And Mission Impossible I suppose. Alright nevermind. Next up is the Divas' Battle Royal, except it's not because Right To Censor come out to stop everything. Ivory calls out Lita, Jacqueline and Trish Stratus, calling them slappers. That's the English word for sluts, although I think it's fallen out of fashion. I haven't heard it used as an insult for ages. Slags is more common. The girls come out and strip Ivory down, sending her hurrying to the back. Trish flirts with Steven Richards, the others pull down his trousers, and Lita finishes things off with her Moonsault. Pointless segment really. 5. 2 out of 3 Falls: Chris Benoit vs Kurt Angle Benoit gets a big pop. Angle gets big heat. Kurt is without his medals - which are in Benoit's possession apparently - and he has some words prior to the match. He demands to know where they are and Benoit assures him that they're in a safe, warm place. Ugh. Not only is that disgusting, but Benoit also doesn't really play the role of mischievous babyface very well - surely Jericho would have been better in this role. The pair begin with some impressive mat wrestling. Benoit almost gets the Crossface in early but Angle snatches the bottom rope. Angle almost gets the Ankle Lock in response but Benoit rolls through and flips Kurt out of the ring. They battle some more and Angle almost falls victim to a second Crossface. The Olympian begins to bust out the suplexes, hitting a vertical and a belly-to-belly to gain control. Benoit fights back with chops and hits Eddie Guerrero's three amigos, although Heyman claims it's actually a tribute to the Dynamite Kid. Can anybody verify this? I don't know anything about the Kid's moveset. Benoit gets the three German suplexes and heads up top for the Diving Headbutt! It gets the three, because this only a two out of three falls match, so of COURSE secondary finishers have more of an impact. First fall to Benoit. Angle plays possum and scoops Benoit out of the ring as he approaches. He beats the Wolverine around the outside before they head back in. Just once I'd love to see a 2 out of 3 falls match end at 2-0. Has anybody seen this happen? I imagine ROH might have done it at some point. Angle gains the upper hand with some brilliant belly-to-bellys, but Benoit kicks out of every pinfall attempt. The pair trade chops (Benoit's are harder of course) before the Wolverine nails a DDT to keep both men down. They struggle back to their feet and Angle goes for the Olympic Slam, but Benoit lands on his feet and nails three Germans again. He goes up for a second Diving Headbutt but Kurt rolls out of the way, slapping on an Ankle Lock as Benoit tries to get to his feet. Benoit rolls through and clamps on the Crossface! Angle powers out! Oh poo poo, Benoit catches everybody by surprise by rolling Angle up and GETTING THE THREE! IT'S A 2-0 VICTORY IN A 2 OUT OF 3 FALLS MATCH, HOLY poo poo! Winner: Chris Benoit 2.5/5 - Another decent effort by these two, but the crowd's enthusiasm was absolutely gone, and mine wasn't doing too well either. Still the best two performances of the night so far. Fair play to both men. Benoit rolls straight out of the ring and Angle is furious. He throws a tantrum as the Wolverine strides to the top of the ramp and grabs a microphone. He claims that he was true to his word. Angle's medals are in a very safe, warm place. He reaches into his pants and brings them out. Disgraceful - he's supposed to be the babyface! Kurt is understandably cross. JGKing fucked around with this message at 23:28 on Aug 28, 2014 |
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Aug 28, 2014 23:26
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Insurrextion - May 5th 2001 PART 3 Stone Cold and Triple H are chilling with Debra in the back. Austin orders her to fetch them some drinks and she refuses. It's because they're bad guys you see? We get a quick recap of the Jericho vs Regal feud, which is starting to feel quite lengthy now. I thought the Duchess of Queensbury rules match last show would be the end of it, but no. We now have a match for the "Queen's Cup", which is revealed to be a hefty trophy at ringside. Cole stresses its monetary value. It's clearly not going to survive the night. 6. Queen's Cup: William Regal vs Chris Jericho They exchange holds to begin until Regal thinks he's thrown Jericho out of the ring, but Y2J holds on and scampers up top. He drops the Commissioner with a flying elbow. They brawl briefly on the outside with Jericho maintaining the upper hand, before nailing Regal with a crossbody for two back in the ring. This is something of a squash so far. They run through a complex series of reversals on the mat, almost culminating in the Walls of Jericho. Fortunately for Regal he's able to escape, and gains a measure of revenge by ramming Y2J's shoulder into the ringpost. Heyman mentions a pair of really nasty looking bruises on Regal's thigh, using them to play the Commissioner up as a legitimate tough guy. Cole bafflingly points out that he's not a tough guy - he has the power of McMahon, Austin, Triple H and Stephanie backing him up. Heyman correctly points out that Regal's out here on his own tonight as Jericho blasts him with a frankensteiner. Regal fights back and hurls Jericho overhead with a suplex, Y2J appearing to land on the top of his skull (although I think it's actually executed safely and properly). Regal hits some knees to the head and wears Jericho down with a Regal gets the nearest of near falls with a viciously hard suplex, but Jericho counters the next move with a victory roll. He transitions from a pinfall to the Walls of Jericho, and Regal IMMEDIATELY taps. Winner: Chris Jericho 2.5/5 - A nice match here, but one which suffered slightly from a few too many restholds on Regal's part. Jericho was great - it's good to see him approaching his best again after a lengthy spell of boring matches. He needs to get out of this feud and back up the card. Referee Teddy Long presents Jericho with the Queen's Cup, which he hoists above his head. Regal isn't happy and gets his heat back by - you guessed it - blindsiding Y2J and beating him down with the trophy. It breaks at one point, as it should, because this is rasslin'.
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Aug 31, 2014 18:07
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Inxurrextion is the only time I've been to a live wrestling show, but it's actually a struggle to remember if it was this one or the one the following year. My biggest memory is that we arrived late (idiot!) and Eddie Guerrero was celebrating as we came in, but that doesn't really help as according to wikipedia he had an early match both years. Looking into it a bit closer I must've seen 2002's show, although now I'm more annoyed at our lateness because I also missed seeing Mr. Perfect in action (was he still any good in 2002?). I think if we had seen this one then my girlfriend probably would've gotten bored at a 2 out of 3 falls match, but oh well. I also did see a 2-0 win in a TNA show recently, so it does happen! But it's one of those really rare events, like the team with two (or more) members winning a handicap match. But maybe the main event of Insurrextion 2001 will buck that trend too..?!
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Aug 31, 2014 18:55
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NXT had a 2-0 in a 2/3 falls between Sami Zayn and Leo Kruger. It served as an excuse to phase out Kruger and bring in Adam Rose, mostly.
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Aug 31, 2014 20:15
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Insurrextion - May 5th 2001 PART 4 FUCKKKK! I wrote the update and then my internet cut out as I pressed the submit button and I lost it all. I'll give a recap because I really don't have the willpower to slog through that whole match again. Sorry you guys. The title will not change hands on a fall involving Triple H. 7. WWF Championship: Stone Cold Steve Austin (c) and Triple H vs The Undertaker The Undertaker comes out to Limp Bizkit as usual - which is never something I will get used to, nor want to accept as part of my own concept of reality. - The heels stall for a long time at the bell because Undertaker is such a badass and they're scared of him. - Triple H spends most of the match as the legal man, wearing down Undertaker and protecting Austin's title from being taken. - Whenever one of the heels is in trouble the other jumps in and saves him. Austin even breaks up a Triple H pinfall on Undertaker, even though this would result in the match ending and him keeping his title. What the gently caress? - Undertaker chokeslams Triple H through the announce table, isolating Austin in the ring for a while. He almost gets the pinfall with another chokeslam, but Trips just makes it back in time to save Stone Cold. - Austin hits Undertaker with a chair while Stephanie distracts the ref, but Undertaker kicks out just in time. - Vince comes down to the ring and misses Undertaker with a chairshot, accidentally hitting Triple H instead. It's very house show-esque. - Undertaker chokeslams Vince, chokeslams Triple H, and picks up the win with a pinfall on the latter. The title doesn't change hands. - Undertaker doesn't seem too annoyed at his own stupidity, instead demolishing the three heels with a chair and leaving victorious. What a loving idiot. Winner: The Undertaker 0.5/5 - Slow, sloppy and pointless. This was going to get a 1/5 or a 1.5/5 but the idiotic booking made it even worse. Why on earth would 'Taker go for the pin on Triple H knowing that it wouldn't result in him winning the title? Shouldn't he have just kept wrestling until he got a chance at Austin? This win does precisely nothing for Undertaker in kayfabe terms. Outside of kayfabe it sends the fans home happy, I guess? Undertaker gets onto his motorbike and rides into the distance, his place as the biggest badass in the WWF cemented as the two top heels in the company (and the top authority figure) lie unconscious in the middle of the ring. He pauses at the top of the ramp to lap up the adulation of the UK fans and raises an arm aloft, successfully winning all of the heat for himself. I can't even remember who he was facing. Hooray for the Undertaker you guys. Hooray for the Undertaker. (I might stick to shorter formats like this after all. It makes it much easier to write admittedly, but also probably far easier to read. What do you guys think?)
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Aug 31, 2014 21:13
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Squalitude posted:Inxurrextion is the only time I've been to a live wrestling show, but it's actually a struggle to remember if it was this one or the one the following year. My biggest memory is that we arrived late (idiot!) and Eddie Guerrero was celebrating as we came in, but that doesn't really help as according to wikipedia he had an early match both years. Looking into it a bit closer I must've seen 2002's show, although now I'm more annoyed at our lateness because I also missed seeing Mr. Perfect in action (was he still any good in 2002?). I'm really excited to get past these latter stages of the Attitude Era (although it arguably ended with that handshake at 'Mania 17) because I remember very little from the Invasion onwards. One of the few things I do remember is Perfect making a shock appearance in the 2002 Royal Rumble and making it pretty far. I'm guessing he must have still been pretty awesome if they entrusted him with such an important slot - in any case we'll find out! Dias posted:NXT had a 2-0 in a 2/3 falls between Sami Zayn and Leo Kruger. It served as an excuse to phase out Kruger and bring in Adam Rose, mostly. I don't follow NXT at all and am currently only half up to speed with modern day WWE. Is there any word on how close Zayn is to a full roster call-up? Likewise for Steen and Devitt.
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Aug 31, 2014 21:18
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INSURREXTION 2001 SUMMARY Match Of The Night Kurt Angle vs Chris Benoit - Another good technical display by these two, and fair less tedious than their mammoth Iron Man match last time around. Also a rare example of a 2 out of 3 falls match finishing 2-0. May have faded into obscurity on a stronger card however. The big four-team tag match was fun as well, as was Jericho vs Regal, but nothing on this card set the world on fire. Wrestler Of The Night 1. Kurt Angle - Back to his sharp self and in desperate need of points after a poor start to the year. 2. Chris Benoit - The more consistent of the pair in 2001, but slightly overshadowed by a resurgent Angle this time. 3. Chris Jericho - An impressive showing one more from Y2J, but he's suffering from a second poor feud in a row (the first with Kane). 4. William Regal - The Commissioner played his part and reminded everybody why he's held in such high technical regard. 5. Christian - Once again the standout performer in a cluttered tag division. Jeff Hardy looked great in the big tag match, but his very limited role sadly wasn't enough to get on the top five here. Triple H also deserves a special mention for being the only main eventer not to see his performance drop. Austin was noticeably sloppier, and Undertaker has still yet to impress me in this thread at all. Wrestler Of The Year Standings 1. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin - 12 2. Chris Jericho - 11 3. Chris Benoit - 10 4. Triple H - 6 5. The Rock - 5 Eddie Guerrero - 5 Raven - 5 Kurt Angle - 5 6. Rhyno - 4 7. Kane - 3 Edge - 3 Christian - 3 8. William Regal - 2 9. The Undertaker - 1 INSURREXTION 2001 SCORE: 4/10 Like the previous year's Insurrextion, a pale imitation of a real WWF Pay Per View. Admittedly this one didn't suffer quite as heavily from the same lack of motivation which plagued 2000's edition, but this card had very little to offer in terms of in-ring action (and effectively nothing in terms of storytelling). Three decent matches prevented a total disaster thanks to the tag division, Regal, Jericho, Benoit and Angle, but the main event was a huge let down. It seems as though WWF main events of this era are incredibly hit-and-miss. When they go right they're incredible, but poor ones are particularly shoddy.
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Aug 31, 2014 22:55
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JGKing posted:I don't follow NXT at all and am currently only half up to speed with modern day WWE. Is there any word on how close Zayn is to a full roster call-up? Likewise for Steen and Devitt. No specific word as far as I know, but Adrian Neville (PAC) seems to be the next in line for a call-up. Zayn's not too far behind, I'd wager - he might be getting a title run in NXT while some new guys are built up before he gets called. It'll be a while for Steen and Devitt, they haven't even debuted in NXT yet.
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Aug 31, 2014 23:24
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Judgement Day - May 20th 2001 - Sacramento, California PART 1 The most homoerotic poster we've seen yet can only mean one thing: it's time for Judgement Day! Last year's Judgement Day saw the most controversial rating of this thread so far. My DUD rating of the Iron Man main event caused some reader backlash, and I eventually admitted I was overly-harsh and revised my score - but not by much. The match completely failed to deliver, culminating in a horrendously screwy finish and the poorly-timed return of the Undertaker. Hopefully this event's uppercard does a lot better. The feud between the Two Man Power Trip and the Brothers of Destruction seems to have streamlined into an Austin vs Undertaker rivalry in recent weeks. Although still assisted by Triple H and Kane respectively, the pair have been more directly at one another's throats. They'll face off in the main event in a No Disqualification match (presumably to prevent Austin from weasling his way to a DQ loss and saving his title). I predict that this match will be bloody and kind of entertaining, but ultimately not very good. It may well just turn into one of the ugly Austin vs Rikishi brawls we saw during the mid-to-late 2000 period. Also Undertaker really needs to become a good wrestler. We all know he is a good wrestler, I've seen those WrestleMania matches and so have you. The only problem is, I'm really not sure when he stops sucking. Was he good in the 90s? Is this just a slump? I know he was over in the early Attitude Era but that might have just been down to the gimmick. My 90s knowledge is very shaky. We also have a CHAIN MATCH between Triple H and Kane. Apparently the Power Trip further attacked his injured arm the night after Backlash, sidelining him for two weeks and explaining his absence at Insurrextion. If there's one match that's suited to Kane's style and character this would probably be it. I'm expecting innovative spots and lots of carnage here - therefore I think it'll be better than the main event, although both matches will probably be upstaged by something lower on the card. JIM ROSS SCREAMS HIS WELCOMES! It's so good to have him back after Cole was a little bit mediocre at Insurrextion. Heyman's alongside him, so this should be a strong event from a commentating perspective. Regal's music hits to boos. Another Jericho match!? Hasn't that feud died yet? He gets on the mic and starts to run down...Rikishi!? That's a better feud! Two decidedly lowercard guys, good workers, and a clear face/heel divide, thereby freeing Jericho up for a push. Great booking. It also means we must have had a Rikishi face turn at some point. Regal details how Rikishi gave Stephanie the stink face after she tried to distract him in a match with Austin. Yup, that'll turn a guy face. He calls out the Samoan and warns him not to try the same thing tonight. 1. William Regal vs Rikishi Rikishi's Too Cool theme tune is back, as is his overness. Big cheers for the big man.  He wins the opening exchange and goes immediately for the stink face, but Regal low blows him sneakily. The Commissioner hits a sunset flip but Rikishi doesn't fall...BAM! He slams down to the mat but Regal just about scoots out of the way. That could well have killed him. They brawl into a corner and Kish is favouring his arm heavily. Good selling or a legit injury? He destroys Regal with a clothesline and squashes him in the corner before signalling for the crowd to raise the roof...but only with one arm. That could be a legit tweak to the shoulder. He gives Regal the stink face and the Commissioner bails immediately afterwards, staggering around the ring with a brilliantly disgusted facial expression. Rikishi follows him out and whips him hard into the ring steps, busting the Commissioner open hardway. This match could have gone badly wrong but they're holding it together out there, credit to both guys. They return to the ring and Regal's forehead is busted. He eats a superkick but bounces back up and hits Rikishi with some sort of neckbreaker variation. A quick Wikipedia search reveals it to be the Regal Cutter. It's good enough for the three count. Winner: William Regal 2/5 - Potentially disastrous with Rikishi's injury (another Wikipedia search reveals he did indeed hurt his arm) and Regal's involuntary bleeding, but they held it together really well and delivered an entirely passable, understandably short opener. Two true professionals. Wow, apparently that injury will keep Rikishi out for the rest of the year. Jesus. Regal backs up the ramp, crazed expression on his blood-stained face. He looks awesome. Rikishi is in the ring clutching his injured arm, poor guy. It's a shame - just as he was getting back on track after that disastrous heel run. Edge and Christian are backstage hyping the Tag Team Turmoil match later tonight. I guess Austin and Triple H vacated the tag belts to focus on their singles matches. If the boys win they'll become eight time champions - which Christian claims gives the WWF no choice but to induct them into the Hall of Fame. If only they knew. I'm sure Christian will get there eventually (and if he doesn't, gently caress the WWE. Seriously). Edge says he's a little worried about Jericho's involvement in the match, explaining that Y2J is teaming with a mystery partner. Kurt Angle interrupts - the whole gang are back together  - and asks if E&C have any advice. The third fall of his 2 out of 3 rematch with Benoit is under a ladder stipulation. He's certain that it won't go to a third fall, but if it does he wants to know what he should do. Edge advises him that falling off sucks, so don't do it. Christian says that if he does fall off, be sure to do it with his medals in hand. I guess the match is for Kurt's medals too. Interesting, and potentially a feud-ender. Although the Benoit/Angle feud should have been amazing it hasn't really delivered in my opinion.Triple H and Stephanie arrive backstage and enter the #HeelLockerRoom. Vince greets them happily but he's worried. He asks if the Power Trip were wise involving Undertaker's wife Sara in their feud. Apparently Austin anonymously called 'Taker and claimed Sara had been in a car crash, but when 'Taker rushed home he found her unharmed. Austin then appeared on the Tron and revealed it was he who placed the call during an Undertaker vs Triple H bout on Smackdown, costing the Deadman the match. Trips asks Vince if he should really be concerned about the Power Trip messing with another guy's wife when he was responsible for sedating Linda. Vince retorts that he was messing with his own wife, not somebody else's. A hype video shows the Benoit/Angle feud over the medals. Benoit stole them and kept them down the front of his pants, as revealed at Insurrextion. He challenges Kurt to a match at Judgement Day to win them back: first fall pinfall, second fall submission, third fall a ladder match. Angle agrees and beats down the Wolverine on the following episode of Smackdown. He retrieves the medals from Benoit's crotch and holds them aloft, but the Canadian blindsides him and slaps on the Crossface. Angle taps - dropping his medals in the process - and Benoit gets them back. 2. Three Stages of Hell Match for Kurt Angle's Gold Medals: Kurt Angle vs Chris Benoit Benoit presents the belts to the referee and is immediately jumped by Angle. Kurt comes out like a house on fire and nails three German suplexes (he does them better than Benoit too). He goes up top and continues to steal his opponent's moveset, attempting a Diving Headbutt and crashing into the canvas as the Wolverine rolls clear. He staggers to his feet...and BENOIT NAILS THE OLYMPIC SLAM! 1...2...3! Chris Benoit wins the first fall! What an ingenious and explosive start to the match - this is great! Submissions only now for the second fall and Benoit goes immediately for the Crippler Crossface. Angle just about makes the ropes and slides out of the ring, but Benoit follows him with chops and a head slam to the ring steps. They brawl around the outside of the ring and Kurt gets the upper hand, slamming Benoit's head repeatedly into JR and Heyman's table. Paul brilliantly screams "the Spanish guys are over there!" They return to the ring and Angle goes for the Ankle Lock but Benoit rolls through...and goes for an Ankle Lock of his own! Kurt kicks him off and almost falls victim to a Crossface, but he grabs the ropes to stop the assault. The pair exchange suplexes and strikes, but each time one builds up a head of steam they're almost snagged in a submission hold out of nowhere. It's compelling wrestling. Benoit grapples Angle to the canvas and applies...a Liontamer!? He has it on good as well - the knee is on the back of the head and everything, but Angle topples him off before substantial damage can be done. Benoit's just showing off his repertoire now, slapping on a picture perfect figure four leglock. This is what their Ultimate Submission match at Backlash should have been like. Benoit continues to work the leg with a few stomps and a dragon screw, but Angle takes the action out of the ring to gain some respite. It doesn't last for long as Benoit forces him back in...but falls victim to the second Olympic Slam of the match, this one by it's true owner! Angle clamps on the Ankle Lock and forces Benoit to tap, thereby winning the second fall of the match. The referee gets Angle to release the hold before attaching the gold medals to a lowered wire. It raises in the air again, signalling the start of the third fall. Kurt whips Benoit into the steel steps and grabs a ladder from under the ring. It's red and pretty small and there's a full-sized version already propped up on the entrance ramp, but Angle makes do with the miniature. He climbs and is almost within reach but needs to be on the very top step...but Benoit charges the ring and pushes it over before he can climb further! He takes Angle outside and throws him into the front row, taking the full-sized ladder back into the ring with him. He climbs, but the Olympian makes it back just in time and yanks him down. Angle uses the ladder as a weapon to bludgeon his opponent, but the Wolverine backdrops him out of the ring in avoiding one last charge. Benoit climbs again but Kurt hits him with a low blow and pulls him down yet again. The ladder ends up propped in a corner and used as a target, as the pair whip one another into it. Angle tries to avoid a collision by scampering halfway up, but Benoit simply pulls the ladder back and crushes him undearneath on the canvas. He sets it up horizontally in the turnbuckles but ends up whipped chest-first into it himself as Angle takes advantage. The Olympian now sets up the ladder diagonally against the ropes and hits a sickening snap suplex, crashing Benoit's spine right into the steel! The Wolverine staggers to the apron and yanks down one end of the ladder, see-sawing the other side up into Kurt's face. It's a spot I like to call: The Spot That hosed Up Joey Mercury's Face. Benoit sets up the ladder over Kurt's body and climbs, but Angle has enough strength to topple it over and send the Wolverine's head snapping into the top rope. Kurt charges and runs...straight into a Crippler Crossface! He taps, but of course that doesn't count in this fall. Benoit keeps it locked on and shows no signs of letting go...when suddenly MY BOYS Edge and Christian run down to the ring! They yank Benoit out and keep him busy on the outside. The Wolverine battles bravely but can't make it back in time to stop Angle from grabbing his medals and winning the match. Winner: Kurt Angle 4/5 - A hell of a match as the Angle/Benoit feud finally delivers. This was well-paced and didn't suffer too many rest periods, while the high-octane stuff was executed really well. Even the cheap finish didn't really have an adverse effect, although it might have been nice to see a clean ending if this was the blowoff. Benoit shoves the ladder over but it's too late. Kurt bounces into the ropes and falls to the canvas, and Benoit is immediately on him with stomps. Edge and Christian bail him out under the bottom rope and gleefully help him to the back.
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Sep 1, 2014 01:59
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Judgement Day - May 20th 2001 PART 2 In a wonderful piece of improvisation, Regal is in his office getting his cut stitched up. Somebody enters an he snaps at them to go away - he's busy. The mystery man grabs his shoulder and Regal is horrified to see that it's the Undertaker. The Deadman intimidates William into making the main event a no-DQ match, a decision Heyman and JR predict will hurt Austin's chances. Up next we have a continuation of the Test/Big Show feud seen at Insurrextion (which itself sprouted from the Big Show/Shane clash at Backlash) - and Rhyno's Hardcore title is thrown into the mix as well. 3. WWF Hardcore Championship: Rhyno (c) vs Test vs Big Show Big Show and Test brawl during Rhyno's entrance, allowing the champ to bring a section of ring steps into the ring unchallenged. The two smaller guys (if Test can ever be described as small) double team the giant, but he clotheslines Rhyno to the outside and brawls with Test against a crowd barrier. Show gets whipped into the barrier but hoists Test over into the front row in retaliation, before evading a charge from Rhyno and booting him over the guardrail as well. All three man brawl through the crowd and end up backstage. Show whips Test into a concrete pillar, but the babyface responds by choking the big man with a velvet security rope. Inventive. Rhyno rams a trolley of metal containers into Big Show but he recovers quickly and tosses the other two around with ease, even making a crater in one wall with the help of Rhyno's body. The champ gets scooped up and pressed against a wall, and THE REF COUNTS THE NEAR-FALL!? That's the first time I've ever seen a vertical pinfall, and I'm not sure I liked it. Test is hooked up for a chokeslam down a small flight of stairs, but Rhyno saves him and the Big Show gets double-teamed. He's driven backwards and falls heavily onto a stack of crates, leaving the other two to slug this one out. Test hurtles around the backstage area, hurling Rhyno's body into walls and containers. They battle all the way back into the arena and back down to the ring through a slightly different section of crowd to the one they left by. I'm glad they didn't get lost during the backstage segment. Actually no I'm not. That would have been great. They return to the ring - not before Rhyno fetches some weapons from underneath - and Test smashes a trash can lid into the champ's head. Rhyno retaliates with a DDT onto the lid for a near fall. The Big Show has made his way back into the arena and enters the ring now, interrupting the champ's beatdown of test in the corner. Rhyno charges...misses...and is DRILLED with a really nice chokeslam! BIG BOOT FROM TEST out of nowhere on Show! 1...2...no. They show a replay and miss Rhyno goreing the gently caress out of Big Show as Test dives out of the way. Rhyno turns back to deal with the other challenger...but Test BRAINS him with a trash can lid! 1...2...no! I'd bought that as the finish. Test fetches a fire extinguisher from under the ring and swings at Rhyno who ducks, and Big Show is there to goozle him. Test fights out of it by spraying the extinguisher in his face, before nailing him for a very near fall! Rhyno ends Test's involvement tonight with a huge trash can shot, sending him rolling out of the ring. He tosses the can to Big Show and charges with a leaping Gore from a set of ring steps! 1...2...3! Winner and STILL WWF Hardcore Champion: Rhyno 2/5 - I thought this was going to be awful when they headed backstage, but they came back to the ring and saved the match with some great (and admittedly garbagey) sequences towards the end. Not quite on the level of Rhyno's match with Raven from Backlash, but still perfectly acceptable. Heyman puts over Rhyno. Of course he does. 4. WWF Women's Championship: Chyna (c) vs Lita Yo, Lita is over. She gets a big pop upon entering, but Chyna counters this by...dressing as a peacock. She's got a big feathery headdress on, which I assume she'll remove before the bell. They hug to start off as a show of respect and it gets booed. Haha. Collar-and-elbow tie up to start and Chyna uses her superior strength to shove Lita down. She helps her up and they continue. Chyna gorilla presses Lita over her head, but the challenger reverses into a roll-up as she falls. It gets two and she extends a hand to help the champ up in return for earlier. Chyna accepts...and pulls Lita into a small package! 1...2...but the challenger kicks out. Chyna begins to dominate with hard forearms and clotheslines but Lita hits a swinging DDT. Instead of going for the pin she jumps on top and pounds away with rights. They seem to run out of ideas for a minute or two, with Lita kind of working the arm and Chyna repeatedly knocking her down. It's not very compelling but Chyna gets things back on track with a swinging neckbreaker. A sloppy powerslam gets a near fall, which Chyna follows up with a huge gorilla press slam. 1...2...OH NO, YOU DIDN'T JUST DO THAT! Chyna takes a leaf out of Undertaker's lovely book and lifts Lita's shoulder before three. Gaaah I hate it. Lita ensnares the champ in a surprise armbar and cranks back, but Chyna survives and reverses into a headscissors submission. Woah what!? Out of nowhere, like a spectre from the past, Eddie Guerrero walks slowly out to the top of the entrance ramp. Are they really bringing this angle back? Chyna goes for a powerbomb but Lita counters into a (slightly botched) hurricanrana for two. She goes for the Twist of Fate but Chyna reverses and this time is able to nail a powerbomb, but loving hell that looked unsafe. Lita could have landed on her neck. It's good enough for the three, thankfully. Winner and STILL WWF Women's Champion: Chyna 0.5/5 - I was going to give this 1/5 for some innovative spots and decent psychology, but that finish looked sloppy and potentially unsafe. Lita wasn't as impressive as usual here - Chyna was actually the more solid worker until that bad finishing sequence. The Eddie involvement was confusing but didn't really affect the match at all, so we'll see what happens next. Chyna eyes Eddie warily but he doesn't advance any further than the top of the ramp. The champ helps Lita to her feet and sportingly raises her hand. Cole interviews Angle as he walks backstage asking if recapturing his medals closes this chapter of his life. Kurt says this is just the beginning. He plans to have a full Olympic ceremony re-enactment tomorrow night on Raw. He passes Edge and Christian and stops to thank them for "supporting him". He says he knows he did it all by himself, but those guys were there cheering him on and he sees them as true pals. He departs and Edge is relieved never to have to hear Kurt bitch about losing his medals ever again. Christian is looking forward to shutting down Y2J and the rest of the competition in the Tag Titles match later tonight. The #HeelLockerRoom is looking pretty full with Austin, Triple H, Vince, Stephanie, and Debra all present and correct. Vince is nervous. He says that just because it's Judgement Day doesn't mean he wants to be the ones getting judged. He says that the only way to get through these two matches (Austin's no-DQ bout and Triple H's chain match) is to stick together. Austin says he has no problem with that - Triple H agrees. He says himself and Stone Cold are judge, jury, and executioners. Guys, I think this PPV is called Judgement Day. Oh poo poo, the chain match is next! A video package reminds us of the feud so far. Austin and Triple H jump Kane and smash him arm repeatedly with chairs, keeping him out of action for two weeks. He returns and attacks the pair on an episode of Smackdown, leading Triple H to chastise him for not staying away on the following Raw. He challenges Kane to a chain match so he can "finish him off", with the title as an incentive. Undertaker appears on the stage and accepts the match on his brother's behalf...and suddenly Kane comes out of the crowd and jumps the Game from behind with (appropriately) a chain. 5. WWF Intercontinental Championship Chain Match: Triple H (c) vs Kane Stephanie is carrying Triple H's tag belt, which means I was wrong earlier. I guessed that Austin and Trips had vacated their tag belts to focus on singles action, but now I realise that the Tag Team Turmoil match later is for a SHOT at the titles, not for the straps themselves. Now I just want Edge and Christian to win even more: doesn't everybody dream of a big marquee Austin/Triple H vs Edge/Christian match? Kane comes out, chain in hand, and swings it wildly at the Game as he enters the ring. Jesus he looks terrifying tonight, like something off the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Triple H agrees and bails all the way to the top of the ramp for the remainder of the entrance. Maybe he just wanted a good view of the pyro. The ref tries to convince Kane to allow him to attach the two of them together so the match can begin, but Triple H jumps the monster from behind and blasts him with a bundle of...chain to the head. Bundle of chain? Does that work? The bell rings, although it shouldn't because they're not tied together yet, and Triple H heavily goes after Kane's injured arm. He grabs a chair and smashes it into the Big Red Machine's spine, before laying his arm out across the Spanish announce table and crushing it with the steel. They return to the ring and are finally attached together by the chain. Kane gains the advantage using the weapon as a whip, but Trips comes back with a chain-assisted axe handle from the top. They head outside and Triple H dishes out more punishment on the injured arm, before grabbing another chair for further punishment. Kane counters brilliantly by sharply diving back into the ring, dragging Triple H face-first into the ringpost. There was some chair in there too. It was a head-chair-ringpost sandwich and it got a big reaction. Stephanie rushes over to check on her husband and, surprise, he's bleeding heavily. Kane storms back out and smashes the Game's head into the ringsteps repeatedly - he is looking especially monstrous here as Steph runs for cover. They return to the ring and the Big Red Machine drags the chain into Trips' wounded forehead. He drops the champ over the top rope and loving HANGS HIM WITH THE CHAIN! Triple H just about keeps one foot on the outside floor, but slips into semi-unconsciousness as a result of the choking. He's brought back to the ring and Kane heads up top, but the Game drags him off with the chain. They head outside again and Kane punches his opponent into the front row. Trips tries to gain an advantage by climbing onto the barrier, but Kane puts a stop to that with a hard gorilla press back into the ringside area. They go back to the ring yet again and Triple H looks for the Pedigree, but Kane trips his legs...and straight up smashes the chain into his groin! Ouch. Kane goes up top and hits a diving chain-shot (instead of his customary leaping right hand). He hits the Chokeslam and victory is in sight...but here comes Stone Cold! Austin dives into the ring...and is immediately chucked out the opposite side by a rampaging Kane. It buys Triple H enough time to boot Kane down low, but when Austin returns with a chair his wild shot misses the Big Red Machine and clocks his tag partner instead! Kane sees off Stone Cold with a big right hand and collapses onto the Game! 1...2...3! Winner and NEW WWF Intercontinental Champion: Kane 3/5 - This was a fairly long match but seemed to fly by; the action was fast and very brutal. Triple H was a brilliant foil for Kane here, making the challenger look like an absolute machine with his bumping and selling. Kane, in turn, raised his own game which made for a very good match. My only issue is with the finish. They didn't properly work the chairshot to make it a clear miss. Austin seemed to swing at both of their heads and only Triple H fell (I think Kane forgot to duck, or didn't duck enough). It put a disappointingly sloppy ending on a very impressive match, but aside from that I was pleased. Kane gets a MAMMOTH pop for ending the Power Trip's grip on the four major titles. Stephanie and Austin are shocked on the outside as Kane raises his new title over the carcass of a bloodied Triple H.
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Sep 1, 2014 05:08
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Judgement Day - May 20th 2001 MYSTERY PARTNER OOOOOOH PART 3 Jericho is being interviewed by Coach. He says that his mystery partner is a real party animal (hmm?) and that, while he's making no guarantees that they'll win the match, he's aiming to take Edge and Christian down. A bloodied Triple H is livid at Vince backstage. Supported by Stephanie he demands to know where on earth his support was. I guess he's pissed at the lateness - or maybe ineffectiveness - of Austin's run-in. Vince stresses that they all need to keep working together to prevent Undertaker from winning the main event. A quick reminder that the next match determines the number one contender for the Power Trip's tag belts. The only problem is that I have no idea how many teams are in this thing. How will we know when the last elimination has occurred? 6. Tag Team Turmoil The Acolytes are the unlucky first team out to face the gauntlet. Their first opponents (equally unlucky I suppose) are The Radicalz, Perry Saturn and Dean Malenko, accompanied by Terri. They brawl at the bell and Saturn gives Faarooq an awful belly-to-belly which JR calls as "a nice suplex". Lies. Everybody brawls messily with a lot of disjointed interference until Perry charges right into a big spinebuster from Faarooq. That's three. Elimination #1: The Radicalz (by The Acolytes) A nice payday for Dean Malenko there, who hit about two moves in total. The Dudley Boyz are next up and are jumped while they pose on the turnbuckles. Faarooq hits a powerslam for two on D-Von, but is nailed with a shoulder block in retaliation. Spike is out wit the Boyz by the way - he's scurrying around on the outside. Bubba and Bradshaw now trade nearfalls, the former getting the advantage with a back suplex. He shouts "C'mere you big fat Texan!" which nobody really picks up on, but I think it's genius. D-Von tags in and gets the nearest of near falls with a Russian legsweep. The crowd aren't really interested in this action, chanting instead for tables. Bradshaw hurls D-Von overhead before smashing him with a big boot, but Bubba breaks up the ensuing pinfall attempt. Bradshaw is blasted with the doomsday device and Faarooq takes a wassup headbutt - the Dudleys are doing their thing. "D-VONNNN! GET THE TABLES!" D-Von obliges and sets it up on the outside but here come...the Hollies? Crash and Hardcore interfere, the latter splattering D-Von through his own table with a hellacious Alabama Slam! Apparently the two teams are feuding. Bradshaw hits the Clothesline From Hell on Bubba and picks up the APA's second victory in a row. Elimination #2: The Dudley Boyz (by The Acolytes) The Hollies stalk to the back, satisfied with their work. Next up is nobody's favourite team,X Factor, accompanied by Albert. X-Pac hits a nice spinning heel kick to start us off, but soon finds himself double teamed by both APA members. The fight moves to the outside and Credible finds himself launched into the barricade. Albert LEVELS Bradshaw with a big boot out of the ref's eyeline. Back in the ring Bradshaw makes the mistake of tagging in Faarooq, and we're subjected to his horrible offence for a while. X-Pac tags back in and immediately gains some X-Pac heat. Bradsahw gets back in and sets him up for that overhead toss of his, which I should really learn the name of. Hiding behind the apron, Albert trips Bradshaw and keeps ahold of his foot, allowing X-Pac to fall on top for the dirty three count. Simultaneously, Faarooq almost breaks Credible's neck with a Dominator. Elimination #3: The Acolytes (by X Factor) I'm really glad that section of the match is over - it was terrible. The Hardy Boyz are next up and waste very little time in removing their shirts. I think Jeff has had a haircut; he's rocking the side-shaven Srkillex look a decade early. In other words, he looks awful. X Factor agree and double team him on the outside (with a little help from Albert) before X-Pac gives him the Bronco Buster back in the ring. The Hardys fight back with some nifty double team moves of their own, culminating in a poetry in motion on Pac. The crowd are still really hot for the Boyz, particularly Jeff. They've lost no heat over the course of a year despite not really going anywhere on the card. Impressive. Jeff hits the Swanton Bomb and Matt makes the cover, but Albert pulls him out of the ring at two! Jeff dives with a BEAUTIFUL PLANCHA to wipe him out! That was great. Matt gets back in the ring and sets up X-Pac for the Twist of Fate...Superkick by Justin Credible! Pac makes the cover, 1...2...3.. Elimination #4: The Hardy Boyz (by X Factor) Chris Jericho's countdown hits next and he strides out onto the stage. He pauses halfway down the ramp, turns, and waves out...Chris Benoit!? They've been fierce rivals for pretty much the entirety of this thread, but now it looks as though Y2J and the Wolverine are on the same page! They storm the ring and beat X Factor down, Jericho stopping only to dropkick Albert off the apron. He vaults over the ropes to continue the assault but big Al catches him and slams him into the ringpost. Benoit, tired from his earlier match with Angle, is easily beaten down by Credible and X-Pac. He's set up for the Bronco Buster...but moves out of the way, leaving Pac to crash and burn groin-first! Jericho gets the tag and clears house, but accidentally takes out the ref with a diving tackle. Credible and Pac nail a Double Superkick to put him down, but there's no ref! Here comes a second one. 1...2...Y2J kicks out. I really don't get the booking here. Why are they trying to make the hot new tag team look weaker than X Factor? Jericho and Benoit show off some double team moves to put their feud firmly in the past, double suplexing Albert and knocking him out of the ring. Pac and Credible charge in again...but fall victim to synchronised submission holds! Credible gets caught in the Crossface while Pac finds himself trapped in the Walls. They both tap! Elimination #5: X Factor (by Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit) The final pair out (I think) are of course Edge and Christian and they're looking nervous. Benoit and Christian scrap on the outside, the latter hitting a drop toe hold to send the Wolverine into the ring steps. He then leaps up to help Edge deliver a 3D on Jericho across the top rope! Holy poo poo that was sick! Nobody really popped for it either! E&C double isolate Jericho for quite a long while until he attempts a Lionsault on Edge...only to be met with knees. Benoit occasionally shouts things from the apron like "come on Y2J, fight it". He's not a very good actor. Jericho evades E&C's crossbody version of the Poetry in Motion and hits a bulldog on Edge, finally making the hot tag to Benoit. BIG German suplex folds up Christian with a perfect bridge! 1...2...so close! Jericho lifts Christian onto his shoulders and Benoit hits a missile dropkick from the top! Jesus! He landed quite heavily on Y2J but it still looked decent. E&C fetch chairs from ringside - is Tag Team Turmoil no-DQ? - and eat tandem baseball slides to the face. Now the faces have the chairs and set up for a con-chair-to on Christian, but he ducks as Edge simultaneously wipes out Jericho with a Spear. Christian rolls up Benoit! 1...2...no! Now E&C set up for a con-chair-to of their own, but Jericho trips Edge and Benoit evades Christian's chair. Crossface! Christian taps! Elimination #6: Edge and Christian (by Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit) Winners: Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit 2/5 - This should really have just been E&C vs Jericho and Benoit - their section of the match was great. Everything else was average to poor, but the payoff of Benoit as Y2J's new partner got a big response from the crowd. X-Pac, Christian and Jeff Hardy all impressed here. The Radicalz, Acolytes and Dudleys did not. Jericho and Benoit are exhausted but victorious as Edge and Christian lie battered and beaten. The crowd are happy. JGKing fucked around with this message at 18:24 on Sep 1, 2014 |
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Sep 1, 2014 18:21
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Judgement Day - May 20th 2001 PART 4 A video package for the main event does a great job of making Austin seem absolutely terrifying. They warp his voice at one point and he sounds genuinely demonic. We recap the storyline where an anonymous caller - revealed to be Stone Cold - led Undertaker to believe that his wife had been in a car crash. Undertaker is understandably furious and assaults Austin on an episode of Smackdown, dragging him all the way from a guest-commentary position to the backstage area and throwing him through a window pane. Austin is strapped to a gurney and loaded into an ambulance, but the driver is revealed to be 'Taker and he resumes the attack! He pounds away on a helpless Stone Cold until Vince has security take him away. 'Taker tells Austin to give his soul to the lord, because at judgement day his rear end belongs to the Deadman. Heyman and JR hype the upcoming match but are cut off by the surprise interruption of Vince McMahon. He doesn't cut a promo though - he's just joining them on guest commentary. Very suspicious. I'll be rooting for Austin in this one. I'm a big fan of his heel persona at this stage and Undertaker hasn't done it for me at any point in the thread. Hopefully he'll begin to turn that around tonight. JR informs us that not only did Undertaker force Regal into making this a no-DQ match earlier tonight, Austin readily accepted. 7. WWF Championship: Stone Cold Steve Austin (c) vs The Undertaker 'Taker isn't out on his bike tonight for whatever reason. There was a bit of a delay before he came through the curtain - maybe the engine didn't start and he abandoned it. He jumps Austin during the champ's entrance and beats him around the stage area. They brawl down to ringside and Undertaker throws his headband at McMahon on commentary. Now they brawl all the way back up to the stage...this is getting quite repetitive. Undertaker belts Stone Cold with a fire extinguisher to the head and drags him back down the ramp. FINALLY they get in the ring and Stone Cold hits a swinging neckbreaker, the first actual move of the match. He misses a big chairshot and is hit with Undertaker's big flying clothesline. A near fall frustrates the Deadman and he heads outside to threaten Vince, who hides behind the two Spanish announcers. Austin jumps him from behind and works the leg for a LONG time. Like five minutes or so. Undertaker finally regains the upper hand and tosses Austin outside. CHOKESLAM through the announce table! Austin is laid out at JR's feet as Vince runs for cover. I don't really get why 'Taker is so interested in terrorising Vince. This feud is primarily between Austin and Undertaker; surely he should care more about hurting his rival and winning the gold. Are they trying to make Undertaker into the new Stone Cold? He rolls Austin back inside and goes for the cover, but the champ just about gets a shoulder up at 2. The Rattlesnake runs for cover and ends up back at the feet of JR. 'Taker chases him...and get brained with a TV monitor from the wreckage of the announce table! Undertaker staggers to his feet busted open while Stone Cold flips off the crowd. He resumes the assault and 'Taker looks severely weakened for perhaps the first time in this thread. The pair trade big right hands back in the ring and Austin hits a Thesz press with right hands. He's got a psychotic smile on his face and tries several pinfalls, but 'Taker gets a shoulder up each time. A low blow also yields a two count but Stone Cold keeps up the assault. A big chairshot sends Undertaker down for good, but instead of going for the pin Stone Cold yells at him to get up. 'Taker defiantly flips him off so Austin nails the Stunner! 1...2...NO! I would have loved that to been the finish - just a dominant Austin victory over Undertaker. A controversial choice but it would have put his title reign over huge. Stone Cold starts to batter the prone challenger with the chair but is stopped with a low blow. Chokeslam connects! Now it's Undertaker's turn to hit his downed opponent with chairshot after chairshot. Here comes Triple H! Jesus, he looks an absolute mess. He's all bandaged up after his loss against Kane, but he has a sledgehammer in hand. gently caress! He charges at 'Taker and gets immediately taken out with a huge chairshot to the skull! Big shot to Austin as well and Undertaker makes the cover! 1...2...McMahon breaks it up (although he was almost a shade too late. It looked a little off). Undertaker backs Vince into a corner and starts wailing away but here comes Austin with a chairshot...which predictably misses 'Taker and hits the boss with full force. The Deadman sets Austin up for the Last Ride...sledgehammer shot from Triple H! Austin makes the cover! *BOOM!* The stage explodes and Kane comes charging out to save his brother...and he's way too late as the referee counts the three. What the gently caress!? Winner and STILL WWF Champion: Stone Cold Steve Austin 1.5/5 - This would have been a 2/5. It was very slow and plodding but there was some good brawling and selling from Austin especially. He's definitely the best performer on the roster from a character perspective, telling a good story throughout. That finish knocks half a point off for me, unfortunately. It predictably turned into a huge clusterfuck, but predictable doesn't necessarily save it from being bad. The late Kane run-in was baffling as he didn't even reach the ring to save the day, but they decided to give him full pyro and music. I'd have had him chase off Triple H and Vince to make it a 1-on-1 contest again, only for Austin to finally get the win in brutal fashion. Nevermind though. Triple H intercepts Kane and stops him from getting in the ring, but there was no way he'd have made it anyway. If we're supposed to believe he was about to break up the pinfall that's bullshit - he was at the bottom of the ramp as Earl's hand came down for three. The heels bail and stagger up the ramp. Austin throws his hands up as the Brothers of Destruction look on vengefully from inside the ring. That's the end. Let's have a look at who this main event puts over. Austin? - Nope. He would have lost if it wasn't for the interference of Triple H and Vince. Undertaker? - No, he lost. We saw The Rock win against similar odds many times last year, but the Deadman couldn't get it done. Kane? - Hell no. He just has horrible time management skills. That leaves... Triple H? Yes! The Game comes out looking the best in all of this, because not only did he save Austin from losing, he actually [i]won the match for him[i/]. Triple H's sledgehammer shot was the final blow which put Undertaker down for three. Triple H is shown to be the most effective and dangerous man in the WWF. Who'd have thought it? Summary to follow.
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Sep 2, 2014 16:01
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JUDGEMENT DAY 2001 SUMMARY Match Of The Night Kurt Angle vs Chris Benoit - For the second PPV in a row, an Angle vs Benoit two out of three falls match is the best on the card. The first was clearly a rehearsal for the second, and it showed as this match was vastly superior. Great work by both guys. Kane vs Triple H upstaged the main event as a much better match, and the latter stages of the Tag Team Turmoil match were up there as well. Perhaps a Benoit/Jericho vs Edge and Christian match would have delivered far more without all the extra teams cluttering it up. Wrestler Of The Night 1. Chris Benoit - Pulled double-duty and did well in both instances, especially his MotN performance against Angle. 2. Kurt Angle - Seems to be building up some steam now with his second heavy-scoring event in a row. A return to form? 3. Triple H - Brilliant work essentially acting as Kane's victim. Bumped and sold in a way we sometimes forget Triple H can. 4. Kane - Looked monstrous in part due to Triple H's help, but an excellent performance in his own right too. 5. Stone Cold Steve Austin - Essentially saved the main event with his charisma and psychology. Undertaker wasn't awful but the booking was. Christian and X-Pac were my two main candidates to just miss out on a place here, turning in the most impressive performances in the big tag match. Credit also to Regal and Rikishi for acting professionally and competently in what could have been a disastrous opener (in terms of Rikishi's legit injury and Regal's hardway bladejob). Wrestler Of The Year Standings 1. Chris Benoit - 15 2. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin - 13 3. Chris Jericho - 11 4. Triple H - 9 Kurt Angle - 9 5. The Rock - 5 Eddie Guerrero - 5 Raven - 5 Kane - 5 6. Rhyno - 4 7. Edge - 3 Christian - 3 8. William Regal - 2 9. The Undertaker - 1 A new leader this month, I just hope he doesn't stay there for long. Because, y'know, it's Benoit... JUDGEMENT DAY 2001 SCORE: 6/10 Throughout this thread there have been many events deserving of either a 6.5/10, and I usually determine whether to round them up or down on the strength of the show's booking. In this case, unfortunately, it was poor. The main event was a clusterfuck reminiscent of the endless Triple H vs Rock battles of 2000, while the Tag Team Turmoil match could have been excellent were it trimmed of all the surrounding fat. Luckily Angle and Benoit delivered, as did Triple H and Kane. The other matches were all fine with the sad exception of Lita vs Chyna. I certainly expected better from the former, but she didn't show up this time around. JGKing fucked around with this message at 15:47 on Sep 5, 2014 |
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Sep 2, 2014 16:41
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King of the Ring – June 24th 2001 – East Rutherford, New Jersey PART 1 That's really quite a morbid poster but it can only mean one thing... Woooo, King of the Ring time everbody! As I did in my introduction to the 2000 event, I am again going to bemoan the lack of KotR in today's WWE. It would provide such a boost to the otherwise stagnant midcard and pack as much wrestling into PPVs as possible. Chances of it returning are slim, but with Triple H at the helm who knows? Unfortunately, whereas the 2000 PPV featured the quarter finals onwards, this year will only show the semi finals and final.  Anyway, let's have a look at the contestants. Rhyno has slummed around the lowercard since his debut, occasionally venturing higher up to interfere in Edge and Christian's matches on their behalf. He's mainly been seen in hardcore matches, more recently as champion, facing off against opponents such as Raven, Test, and Big Show. He was recently beaten for the belt on TV by Test. As an ECW alumnus - and the last champion before they folded - Rhyno is put over heavily by Heyman on commentary whenever he wrestles. "GORE! GORE! GORE!" He defeated Tazz and Tajiri (who we are yet to see make his PPV debut) to get this far. Kurt Angle was my Wrestler of the Year for 2000 and won this tournmanet last year. He began 2001 as WWF Champion but slowed noticeably after dropping the belt to The Rock at No Way Out. He has spent the rest of the year embroiled in an overly-long feud with Chris Benoit which, although delivering technically sound matches, has been heavily overshadowed by the main event storylines. Angle won the feud (although it is Benoit who has found himself propelled back up the card) and will be looking to rise again at King of the Ring. He bested Hardcore Holly and Jeff Hardy to reach the quarter finals. Edge is almost exclusively a tag team wrestler, competing with Christian and finding great success in the tag team division. The duo had a great 2000 but lost their titles to the Dudley Boyz at the 2001 Royal Rumble. They won the gold back at the second ever TLC match at WrestleMania, but lost them to the Brothers of Destruction shortly thereafter. Edge defeated Test and Perry Saturn to reach this stage. Christian, like Edge, hasn't really had a chance as a singles competitor yet. He and his partner attempted to win back the gold from Austin and Triple H, entering a Tag Team Turmoil match to determine the new number one contenders. Ultimately they fell at the last hurdle, losing to Chris Jericho and his surprise new ally Chris Benoit. Christian somehow beat Kane and Big Show in earlier rounds. You might have noticed that all four semi-finalists comprise a sort of pseudo-faction. The four have formed an alliance and often interfere in each other's matches, so loyalties will be tested here. This could get interesting... Some important news before we kick off. Triple H suffered a legitimate quad injury on Raw during the Tag Championship match between the Power Trip and Jericho/Benoit. It's a chaotic match which you can find here -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJb9sC4I2J8. Anyway this means that Trips will be out for the foreseeable future, leaving a big hole at the top of the card. In other, potentially even more earth-shattering news - WCW are coming. WCW owner Shane McMahon interrupted Angle's mock-Olympic celebration the night after Judgement Day to inform everybody of an invasion to take over the WWF, but it has yet to properly materialise. Only Lance Storm and Hugh Morrus have made any impact so far, interfering in midcard TV matches, while Diamond Dallas Page has busied himself stalking Undertaker's wife Sara. Speaking of DDP, he's here to open the show! He strides out of the crowd dressed entirely in black - he looks badass. Page cuts a promo on Undertaker threatening to release x-rated footage of his wife, claiming that it gets "more than a thumbs up". I'm so used to seeing DDP as a good guy that it's weird saying him as this ultre-creepy stalker heel. He says that he's going to kick Undertaker's rear end tonight and tomorrow become the first WCW superstar to set foot in Madison Square Garden. He ends the promo and takes a seat in the front row, goading Undertaker into finding him. He brings out a "MAKE ME FAMOUS" sign and holds it above his head. Hahaha, that's awesome. Heyman seems actually to be taking Undertaker's side in this feud despite his status as a heel commentator, probably playing on his historic hatred of WCW. He and JR hype up the main event, a triple threat between Austin, Benoit, and Jericho. They talk up the rumours flying around that both challengers may be in negotiations with WCW, meaning that a win would lead them to jump ship tomorrow night on Raw. Very intriguing stuff. There is definitely a calm before the storm atmosphere to this PPV. Angle vs Christian will start us off. MORE NEWS as if we haven't had enough already. Angle is pulling double duty tonight, participating in the KotR tournament AND in a Street Fight with Shane O'Mac. That's a huge effort. 1. King of the Ring Semi Final: Kurt Angle vs Christian Christian looks intimidated but charges Angle at the bell and takes control. Kurt soon fights back with a huge suplex and some boots in the corner. He almost gets the Ankle Lock but Christian wriggles free, only to fall victim to a belly-to-belly. Angle beats Christian around the outside for a while and shoves him off the top turnbuckle, his head bouncing off the guard rail. Kurt resorts to a variety of suplexes to pick apart his opponent, but Christian almost steals a sneaky pinfall with an inside cradle. Angle rakes the eyes and resumes control again, but here comes his later opponent Shane to ringside (in a WCW t-shirt, no less). Kurt sets up for his BEAUTIFUL MOONSAULT...but Shane distracts him and Christian rolls out of the way, leaving the Olympian to crash into the canvas. Poor moonsault. Christian assumes control and hits his inverted neckbreaker for two. Angle goes for a German suplex...reversed into an Unprettier...reversed into the Ankle Lock! Christian grabs the referee's leg and crawls over him to get to the ropes. Angle Slam...reversed into the Unprettier! 1...2...NO YOU DICK! Shane pulls Christian out of the ring and hurries back up the ramp! A confused Christian gets on the apron...and Angle hits the Olympic Slam all the way back into the ring! 1..2..3.Winner: Kurt Angle 2/5 - A decent, short opener. More of a storyline advancement than a match, but it was in the hands of two very good workers. Angle's in the final and I think Shane's plan is clear here. He's trying to wear down Kurt with as many matches as possible before the Street Fight. Does that mean the Street Fight is happening after the final? How low down on the card is the final!? Coach interrupts Austin and Debra to get a quick interview with the champ. Stone Cold has a question first - he wants to know if "Mr McMahon" is in the building. Coach says he hasn't seen him and that Vince said he wasn't coming tonight. Austin's aware that tempers flared on Smackdown (they must have had a falling out) but it'll all blow over and Vince will be here. Coach repeats that he hasn't seen him, but asks if Stone Cold has heard the rumour of Benoit and Jericho's potential defection. Austin is rendered speechless by this news. We get a video package recapping the Undertaker/DDP feud. A mystery stalker films the Deadman's wife at the gym, in her car, and even at home, recording creepy videos and airing them on Raw. Things escalate as he releases footage of the inside of the house, even scrawling "I know where you are" on the bathroom mirror. Eventually a hooded figure makes an entrance on Raw to Undertaker's theme music, even riding his bike down to the ring. He unmasks and it's...Diamond Dallas Page! He cuts a promo about wanting to take down the biggest dog in the yard - the stuff with 'Taker's wife was just to get in his head. That's quite an extent to go to dude... Heyman now interviews DDP from his front row seat, but suddenly a video airs on the Tron. It's footage of DDP eating lunch at a diner earlier. Somebody's stalking the stalker! I imagine it's just Undertaker playing some mind games of his own, but if it's not we could be in for a very interesting storyline. 2. King of the Ring Semi Final: Edge vs Rhyno Scattered "ECW" chants greet Rhyno as they stare down before the bell. Rhyno spits in Edge's face but the Canadian comes back with a nice spinning heel kick. Rhyno misses a charge and gets lifted over to the apron, where Edge dropkicks him to the outside. He lands HEAVILY. drat. They brawl on the outside and whip one another into guard rails, etc. Rhyno rips the padding off a middle turnbuckle as opposed to the customary top turnbuckle - we'll see where he goes with this. OH it works immediately, Rhyno whipping Edge chest-first into the middle turnbuckle. The ECW alumnus rams Edge into the corner several times and gets a two count before slapping on a bodyscissors, aka an inventive resthold. He then heads up top and hits a BODYSPLASH!? I didn't know that was in his arsenal. Edge hits a neckbreaker and heads up top, but Rhyno intercepts him. SUNSET FLIP POWERBOMB! This match his little fluidity but these guys are busting out spots I had no idea they were capable of. Spinebuster by Rhyno sets Edge up for the Gore. He charges...AND EDGE MEETS HIM WITH THE SPEAR! They clash in the middle of the ring and bounce apart, neither man fully connecting. They stagger to their feet and Rhyno goes for a bodyslam, but Edge floats over and rolls him up! 1...2...and a kick out. Rhyno's up and goes for another Gore, but Edge moves and he crashes into the exposed turnbuckle from earlier. Impaler DDT by Edge! That'll do it. Winner: Edge 2/5 - Very decent. Again they didn't get much time, and the match didn't quite have the flow of Angle/Christian, but they made up for it with some nice set-piece spots and a good finishing sequence. That sets up an Angle vs Edge final, the Olympian looking to make it two King of the Ring victories in a row. JR explains to us the feud between the Dudley Boyz and little Spike Dudley. Spike has begun a relationship with Molly Holly, a move the Dudleys saw as a betrayal since they were feuding with Crash and Hardcore at the time. The Dudleys have turned heel (at last!), beating down Spike and almost putting Molly through a table, only for Spike to lay across it to break her fall. We cut to Spike live backstage who announces that he's found a mystery tag partner to help him tonight against the Dudleys for the tag titles. Looks like Jericho and Benoit's reign as tag champs didn't last long. Jericho is in the locker room being interviewed by...Tazz! He's back! Dunno where he went, but here he is. Tazz asks Jericho if there's any truth to the rumours that he could jump ship to WCW if he wins the title tonight. Y2J trolls, teasing both "yes" and "no" answers without actually revealing anything. He does say that they might not be so bad now that they have a good boss in Shane McMahon, but refuses to comment further. We flash back to Smackdown where the Dudleys defeated Benoit and Jericho for their belts. It turns out they were about to lose, but for the help of an incredibly high-profile run-in from Stone Cold Steve Austin. 3. WWF Tag Team Championship: The Dudley Boyz (c) vs Spike Dudley and ??? The Dudelys are out first with their belts, waiting nonchalantly in the ring for Spike and his mystery opponent... THE STAGE EXPLODES! Out strides Spike with the Intercontinental Champion Kane in tow! The Dudleys have brilliant "what the gently caress!?" expressions on their faces. Spike charges the ring but Bubba scoops him up with a gorilla press. He throws him at Kane, who catches the little guy and throws him right back onto Bubba, almost gaining a pinfall. A big boot gets another nearfall and Bubba scurries back to his corner, eager to tag out. D-Von is equally hesitant to get involved and gets beaten around by Kane, but gains control once Spike is tagged back in. The Dudleys pick apart Spike but Kane breaks up an attempted pinfall. Bubba gains control with a loving monkey flip of all things, before countering a hurricanrana into a massive powerbomb! Bubba is balling tonight. Kane gets the hot tag and picks apart both Dudleys, crushing Bubba with a ridiculously high powerslam. 1...2...aaaahhh noooo! It's a massive gently caress up! D-Von was supposed to get in and break up the pin but he was late, and Bubba didn't kick out of his own accord. We all have to pretend that he got a shoulder up because JR told us so. The crowd aren't happy. Kane throws the Dudleys out of the ring and launches Spike onto them with a big gorilla press. Spike rolls Bubba back in and he meets Kane's diving right hand from the top. 1...2...this time he kicks out, although D-Von was so eager to save his bro that he accidentally knocked the ref off his feet. This is on the verge of a shambles. Some smart-arses in the crowd call for the 3D just because Bubba whipped Spike into the ropes, but it's actually a standard move...and it's reverses into the Dudley Dog! 1...2...D-Von breaks it up! The Boyz hit Kane with the wassup headbutt, but there's no wassup this time. Because they're heels now. Spike takes both men down with a missile dropkick from the top, but D-Von quickly gains control and sets him up for the 3D! Kane's too far away to make the save. 1...2...3. Winners and STILL WWF Tag Team Champions: The Dudley Boyz 1/5 - A pretty sloppy match, although that was mainly down to the Dudleys having an off day. Kane and Spike were fine and played their part, although the Big Red Machine proved to be quite a useless mystery partner huh? The Dudleys fetch a table to heap further punishment upon Spike, but Kane comes to the rescue with a powerbomb on D-Von and a chokeslam to send Bubba through the wood. Arm raise. PYRO! Kane carries Spike to the back. N'aww. Sorry about the long update - so many storyline changes to cover! Seismic shifts are acomin'.
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Sep 2, 2014 21:08
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...Oh no. I remember what happened at this show. Oh no no no no.
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Sep 2, 2014 21:31
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Hijo Del Helmsley posted:...Oh no. I remember what happened at this show. Okay well now I'll be watching the rest of this from behind the sofa.
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Sep 2, 2014 21:53
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King of the Ring – June 24th 2001 PART 2 Christian finds Edge backstage and has one thing to say. Tensions have apparently been running high between the two since they were both involved in the tournament. Edge snaps at him, guessing that he's jealous of his passage to the final. Christian just wants to wish him good luck - he wants him to "win this thing". Edge looks apologetic. Another creepy video of DDP is shown on the Tron. Page loses it at ringside, demanding that the Undertaker get out here and make him famous. Billy Gunn is at WWF New York. He cuts a heel promo bitter about how he's stuck in New York, and how he wasn't even in the tournament this year. That's a different approach... The two finalists make their way out to the ring. Angle grabs a mic and apologises to Edge for getting mad at him last week. He wants nothing to come between their friendship and offers a handshake, which Edge accepts. Kurt brings up his Street Fight with Shane later tonight and says that, since there's no realistic way Edge would win this match anyway, he should do the right thing and forfeit. He's confident Edge will do the right thing because "I think I know you." Nice reference there. 4. King of the Ring Final: Kurt Angle vs Edge Edge answers with a right hand to start the match to a big pop. He dominates the early going with a flapjack and a spinning heel kick, until Angle answers emphatically with a belly-to-belly OVER THE TOP ROPE! Holy poo poo! Edge gets whipped into the steps and tossed around with suplexes once they return to the ring - is he out of his depth here? Angle goes for a top-rope German supelx but Edge rolls - sloppily - down the back and gets a schoolboy for two. The match slows down as Kurt hits a snapmare and applies a headlock, so some airhorns start sounding in the crowd. What is this, Insurrextion? Edge almost goes to sleep but fights out of it and whips Kurt into the ropes. It gets reversed and Edge ends up tossed hard over the top rope to the outside. Angle hangs him out to dry over the guardrail and returns to the ring, but Edge comes back strong with a frankensteiner for two. I'm sadly underwhelmed so far. I thought this would be higher on the card, and at least more intense. Angle goes for the Olympic Slam but Edge lands on his feet and tries the Edgecution/Impaler DDT, but Kurt trips his feet and goes for the Ankle Lock! He almost has it locked in but Edge rolls through and gets a two count. They return to their feet and Edge hits the Edge-o-Matic. He makes the cover...but here comes Christian to distract the referee! NOOOOO! </3 You bastard! While I'm still reeling from the possibility that my favourite tag team might be breaking up, Angle almost steals the win with a very convincing roll-up for two. Edge misses a tackle and nails the referee - more shenanigans? Kurt sneaks up and slaps on the Ankle Lock and Edge taps, but of course the ref is incapacitated! Suddenly Shane McMahon comes through the crowd and into the ring! Spear to Angle!? What about his patented diving chairshot? Shane is straight back out of the ring and into the crowd as Edge hits the Impaler DDT! 1...2...3! EDGE WINS! EDGE WINS! Winner and NEW King of the Ring: Edge 2/5 - Slightly overbooked and slightly sloppy workrate-wise, but who cares!? Edge is the King of the Ring! The camera cuts briefly to Shane celebrating as he gets out of dodge. Edge's music hits and he struggles to his feet, celebrates briefly, and heads to the back. That's it!? Tazz is backstage with Benoit and asks him about the rumours of jumping to WCW if he wins the title. Benoit is enraged and asks what the hell kind of question is that!? He then smirks and says it's a pretty good one before exiting stage right. Dick. An increasingly paranoid DDP is shown again in the front row, now looking over his shoulder a lot. Edge is backstage with Cole and he's back to his goofy self after a serious few moments. He says that he likes the sound of being King of the Ring. It reeks of royalty. Here comes Christian to celebrate with him and says that he didn't mean to distract the ref, he was just coming out to help Edge. Edge is all like "I know. Why else would you have come out?", the naive fool. Christian runs off to get some balloons to celebrate. Angle is storming around backstage ranting and raving. He vows that if any WCW wrestler comes to the ring during his match with Shane he'll have Vince kick them out of the WWF. 5. WWF Light Heavyweight Championship: Jeff Hardy (c) vs X-Pac This could be a sleeper hit of a match. Both men are out without their respective tag partners but don't worry, X-Pac still comes out to the X Factor theme. Thank god for Uncle Kracker. X-Pac hits an amateur wrestling takedown and outclasses Jeff on the mat. Hardy responds with a fantastic armdrag and a headscissors, sending Pac to the outside. Jeff does his run and dive along the rail and almost takes a child's head off, but the kid gets out of the way just in time. X-Pac whips Hardy into the corner but the champ bounces back with a HIGH corkscrew attempt, which the challenger avoids. They trade abdominal stretches before X-Pac throws Jeff over the top rope and springboards onto him! Great little match this. They head back in and Jeff builds up a head of steam, but Pac says "gently caress that" with a nice spinning heel kick! The champ crumples. Jeff again tries to mount some offence but Pac again brings it to an end with a spinning heel kick, this time a jumping version for two. Hardy avoids the bronco buster and...aahh nooo, a botch! Pac tries to leapfrog over Jeff and they collide heavily. They atone for it by not repeating the spot (good!) and Jeff hits his corcscrew this time. He goes for ten punches in the corner, stopping midway through to rip off his shirt, but X-Pac pushes him down and nails the X Factor! Hardy's shirt somehow got trapped around his neck, which just made the move look more effective. 1...2...3, wait no! Hardy has his foot on the ropes. Jeff hits a jawbreaker and heads up top, but X-Pac goes up to intercept him. Hardy pushes him back down and hits the Swanton Bomb! 1...2...3. Winner and STILL WWF Light Heavyweight Champion: Jeff Hardy 2/5 - This would have been a 2.5 if it weren't for the glaring botch two-thirds of the way through, and the match was kind of downhill from there. They held it together though, and delivered certainly the best match we've seen so far. Great work by both guys. Commissioner Regal is in his office with new assistant Tajiri. Austin storms in and uses the phone without asking. He brilliantly begins by saying "Vince? Yeah it's Steve Austin. Vince it's Stone Cold Steve Austin, the World Wrestling Federation Champion". He tells Vince about the rumour that Jericho or Benoit could defect to WCW if they win the title tonight. He says he needs Vince hear and almost begs him to come to the venue. He ends very uncharacteristically, thanking Vince for his help. Back at ringside, yet another video of DDP airs. Page has had enough and storms the ring. He demands that 'Taker come out here and face him. On the Tron the footage is still rolling, but the camera suddenly pans around to reveal that it's Sara who's been stalking DDP all day. Okay. What does that prove exactly? DDP still gets what he wanted - a match with Undertaker. Not sure what this was all about. 6. Unsanctioned Match: Diamond Dallas Page vs The Undertaker Undertaker strides out (sans bike again, for the second PPV in a row) and you can tell he means business because he's wearing street clothes. They look like his usual biker ring attire, except now he's wearing JEANS! 'Taker brings out his gloves from the waistband of his jeans - that's where all badasses keep their flightin' gloves - and slowly puts them on at the foot of the entrance ramp. We've heard far more of Limp Bizkit's "Rollin'" than I ever needed to. We're deep into the second verse here; Fred's talking about old school soldiers passing out that hot poo poo, that rock poo poo, and bouncing in the mosh pit. Finally he enters the ring and they begin slugging away, Undertaker of course gaining the upper hand. I'm reminded just how tall DDP actually is. Page gets beaten down comprehensively in the corner but comes back with a low blow. He doesn't stay on top for long, instead finding himself knocked out of the ring after a big Undertaker right hand. Sara comes down to ringside and films from a handheld camera as 'Taker beats DDP around the ringside area. Suddenly Page has a chair and rams it into Undertaker's ribs. He rears back for a big headshot, but the Deadman tackles him over the announce table as JR and Heyman scurry for cover. There's no commentary for a while as Undertaker beats DDP down in the announce area, before finally throwing him back in the ring. Heyman's first words back on air: "what the HELL is going on here JR?". Undertaker tells Page this is his chance to be famous - he hopes he's enjoying it. DDP begs for a timeout but Undertaker boots him out of the ring. He decides he's had enough and exits through the crowd. I never knew Page had such a good "gently caress this poo poo" walk, but he apparently does. Winner: N/A (The Undertaker) 0.5/5 - Hey guys, I know what we'll do. We'll take our hot new acquisition following the close of WCW and job him out in a squash match (not even a glorified squash, just a straight-up squash). We'll have him literally beg for mercy and eventually run away, because that'll definitely get him over. It'll also really sell WCW as a force to be reckoned with in the run-up to their impending invasion of the company. Brilliant. I love DDP which made that all the more difficult to stomach. gently caress. They could have done so much with him in a début feud and instead they feed him to the Undertaker? Undertaker's music hits and Sara films her victorious husband as he celebrates. Hooray.
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Sep 3, 2014 02:08
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Oh sweet jesus it's coming. I forgot how hard Angle worked on this show.
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Sep 3, 2014 02:53
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Hijo Del Helmsley posted:...Oh no. I remember what happened at this show. Memento posted:Oh sweet jesus it's coming. I forgot how hard Angle worked on this show. What the gently caress you guys!? Will I definitely know it when I see it?
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Sep 3, 2014 03:24
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JGKing posted:What the gently caress you guys!? Will I definitely know it when I see it? Yes, yes you will.
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Sep 3, 2014 03:51
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They fed Page to Taker because Taker decided that "Dallas couldn't work." because he planned out matches very meticulously. Taker decides that a lot.
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Sep 3, 2014 11:04
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Gonzo McFee posted:They fed Page to Taker because Taker decided that "Dallas couldn't work." because he planned out matches very meticulously. This gets funnier when you realize that the only reason Taker is considered even a passable wrestler is because he spent the last decade on a limited schedule, mostly working meticulously planned Wrestlemania matches.
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Sep 3, 2014 16:23
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Claytor posted:This gets funnier when you realize that the only reason Taker is considered even a passable wrestler is because he spent the last decade on a limited schedule, mostly working meticulously planned Wrestlemania matches. Taker was actually pretty great starting around 96 or so. He had really good matches against Bret, Shawn, Foley and Austin. You could easily make the argument that he regressed as biker taker, but he had a really solid few years there in the late 90s.
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Sep 3, 2014 17:31
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Claytor posted:This gets funnier when you realize that the only reason Taker is considered even a passable wrestler is because he spent the last decade on a limited schedule, mostly working meticulously planned Wrestlemania matches. Taker is a fantastic wrestler, but he shouldn't be deciding who gets a push and who doesn't. He thought CM Punk was a terrible worker right up until he worked with him. Still squashed him though. It's always been WWE's problem that they're unwilling to play to a wrestlers strengths and hide their weaknesses (Unless they're someone like Roman Reigns).
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Sep 3, 2014 17:38
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mkay0 posted:Taker was actually pretty great starting around 96 or so. He had really good matches against Bret, Shawn, Foley and Austin. You could easily make the argument that he regressed as biker taker, but he had a really solid few years there in the late 90s. Let's be fair here, working with those guys is hardly swinging a sack of potatoes. I've never been too high on Taker outside of his Mania matches.
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Sep 3, 2014 18:23
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Hijo Del Helmsley posted:Let's be fair here, working with those guys is hardly swinging a sack of potatoes. One thing the AEPodcast has opened my eyes to is that there's a long old time where The Undertaker is just floundering. He peaks where he has that match with Austin and shakes his hand, but their feud continues anyway. Then there's his bike ride with The Big Show. Then he comes back later as a Biker and that's not up to much either.
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Sep 3, 2014 18:36
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King of the Ring – June 24th 2001 PART 3 Austin is frantically harassing a backstage worker wanting to know when Vince is due to arrive. He seems very on edge. We flash back to the Raw following Judgement Day. Shane interrupts Angle's Olympic ceremony to promote WCW and Kurt gives him the Olympic Slam off the top of the podium. JR calls it as the Angle Slam now, so I guess we've reached the name changeover. I always preferred Olympic Slam sadly. The feud mainly consists of Shane gaining the upper hand with numerous sneak attacks on Kurt, once with a kendo stick. Shades of Steve Blackman. 7. Street Fight: Shane McMahon vs Kurt Angle Shane is billed as weighing 234lbs. Legitimate. Angle charges the ring and starts hitting suplex after suplex. Shane fights back with a dragon screw of all things, followed by an armdrag. He clumsily takes down Kurt and slaps him around the head before scooting out of the ring. Angle offers him the advantage with an amateur wrestling position, before immediately reversing and beating him down. More suplexes follow and we see that Kurt has been busted open hardway, possibly from an errant strike by Shane. Angle dominates with some amateur wrestling before backing Shane into the corner and slapping him hard across the face. This has been a stiff match so far. Angle again offers Shane the dominant wrestling position, but this time McMahon doesn't fall for it and just boots him in the ribs. Kurt charges Shane who bails and runs away around the ring. He leaps up onto the crowd barrier and jumps backwards into Kurt, before getting back up on the barricade directly behind JR and jumping over the announce table onto his dazed opponent! The referee is really annoying me here. Angle approached Shane who was waiting for him on the barricade, and the ref tried to stop Kurt from approaching his fleeing opponent during a street fight. Too much involvement. A replay shows that Shane's leap over the announce table didn't really make good contact with Kurt, but it was an inventive spot so we'll give him that. Shane pulls a kendo stick from under the ring and goes to town on Angle with really loving stiff shots. Angle fights back but charges into the ringpost, before being clotheslined over the barrier into the crowd. They battle back to the ringside area and Shane shoulder tackles Angle into the ring steps. He covers Kurt in the ring only for Angle to fully bridge out of the cover. He breaks out of three successive pinfalls this way so Shane drops a frustrated elbow onto his torso. McMahon brings an assortment of weapons into the ring and wails away on him with a sign. It's not quite Raven vs Rhyno levels of sign-mastery, but we do get to see a diving sign-shot reminiscent of his infamous leaping chair attack. Sorry about that monstrosity of a sentence. Angle somehow conjures a reversal out of a standard kickout and goes for an enziguri, but Shane ducks and slaps on an Ankle Lock! Angle kicks him off and eats a floatover DDT (which Shane actually executed quite competently). McMahon struggles to lock on a sharpshooter but eventually does to the delight of the crowd, and HEBNER CALLS FOR THE BELL! WHAT THE gently caress!? ANGLE IS LIVID! Nah I'm just kidding. Kurt grabs the kendo stick and...erm...spanks Shane to break the hold. Shane ducks a few vicious kendo shots and does his stupid boxing spot, which we're supposed to believe is capable of knocking down a legit athlete. It doesn't just knock him down, it also gets a near fall! Shane hits a few trashcan shots and places it across Angle's torso. He heads up top...SHOOTING STAR PRESS, WHAT THE gently caress!? Angle rolls out of the way and Shane almost kills himself, but he does manage to fully rotate in time. Man that was close. Angle takes Shane up the entrance ramp and tries a vertical suplex, but Shane reverses into a BIG suplex of his own. They're both looking pretty beaten up now. Kurt slams Shane into a big pillar (acting as part of the set) and drags him over to the side of the stage area. There are several panes of glass emblazoned wit the King of the Ring logo...AND ANGLE LAUNCHES SHANE INTO ONE WITH A VICIOUS BELLY-TO-BELLY! WHAT THE gently caress!? That was horrible! I thought it was glass at first but it didn't break at all - Shane landed fully on top of his head! Oh god, what a horrible spot! I'm assuming that's what everybody was warning me about. Jesus Christ. I wouldn't be surprised if they called it off here. Then again, I wouldn't be surprised if Shane carried on because he's almost certainly a lunatic. Angle drags Shane to his feet...OH CHRIST, IT IS GLASS! Shane goes for a ride clean through the pane - it looks absolutely spectacular but there's blood everywhere. Shane's forehead is cut open, as is Angle's shoulder and back. What the gently caress have they used real glass for!? Kurt follows Shane through the hole he created and...oh god! He gives him a third belly-to-belly back through a different pane, except this one doesn't break either! Again Shane lands headfirst, although at least this time it was onto Angle rather than the concrete. AAGH WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? THEY TRY AGAIN, AND AGAIN IT DOESN'T BREAK! Shane lands on his back this time, but it's still brutal. Oh man, Kurt's had enough. Now Shane goes FACE FIRST THROUGH THE GLASS! It sure as hell broke that time! Okay so now Kurt looks like a killer, can they call this match off? He's easily gone over. Nope, they're carrying on. Man, that was one of the most brutal things I've seen in a wrestling match - certainly in a WWF bout. Shane's actually dead now, so Angle fetches a trolley and uses it to wheel his opponent back to the ring. 1...2...Shane kicks out!? Hmm. There was a long time between Shane's murder and the pinfall attempt, so I'll just about allow it. Should probably have been the finish though. Angle prepares for a shot with the trashcan lid...low blow by Shane! If he wins this match I'm giving it a DUD, I swear. There's suspension of disbelief, and there's being forced to accept that a medically deceased man can win a wrestling match. Shane pimp slaps Angle with the lid and hits an Angle Slam, but he's too weak to make the cover! Finally he does! 1...2...no! Angle goes for the Ankle Lock but Shane struggles, so he slingshots him stomach-first onto the top turnbuckle. Kurt fetches a big board of wood and places it across the top rope...oh my god! He balances both himself and Shane on the board and hits a huge Angle Slam into the middle of the ring! 1...2...3! Outrageous. Outrageous. Winner: Kurt Angle 4/5 - Not a good wrestling match. Incredibly brutal and entertaining. I would probably have given this a 3/5, but I'm adding on .5 for the actual death of a man, and .5 for that amazing ending spot. Bravo. Angle leaves. He looks shaky as gently caress. Shane is helped to the back and receives a standing ovation. I hope they're okay. I mean they're clearly not, but I hope they are. JGKing fucked around with this message at 16:52 on Sep 4, 2014 |
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Sep 4, 2014 16:49
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I remember this PPV was around the time I got back into wrestling and MY GOD the suplex spots in that match are absolutely brutal.
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Sep 4, 2014 17:30
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I wonder if at any point during that match Kurt though "Jesus, I've just killed/crippled the bosses son. Guess my careers over, the crazy billionaire I work for is going to literally have me killed."
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Sep 4, 2014 22:21
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King of the Ring – June 24th 2001 PART 4 Jericho is walking~! backstage. He looks focused. We cut to Benoit doing some last minute exercises. We cut again, this time to the parking lot. Austin is anxiously waiting for Vince and there's still no sign of him. A backstage worker (is that the Brooklyn Brawler!?) comes and informs him that it's time for his match right now. Stone Cold reluctantly leaves, but not before instructing the parking lot attendant to let Vince know where he is. A hype video shows the injury of Triple H while losing the tag titles to Benoit and Jericho. Austin then claims that Triple H is selfish and cuts ties with him (which is convenient since he'll be on the shelf for a good few months). Stone Cold becomes increasingly deranged, beating up relatively defenceless members of the company such as Molly Holly and Michael Cole. He costs Benoit and Jericho their tag championships to the Dudley Boyz through interference. He also appears to be increasingly reliant on a very bemused Vince McMahon, often forcing hugs upon him and forcing him to choose between Linda and himself. It was Linda who booked this main event after Austin bragged he could beat Jericho and Benoit at the same time, a decision Stone Cold declared a "conspiracy" to rob him of his title. The video package ends with Vince giving Austin an ultimatum: either he walks out of King of the Ring as champion, or their alliance is through. 8. WWF Championship: Stone Cold Steve Austin (c) vs Chris Benoit vs Chris Jericho Austin stalls during his entrance, constantly looking behind him for Vince's arrival. The challengers tire of this quickly and jump him at the bottom of the ramp. He tries to escape through two different sections of the crowd but they finally get him into the ring. Austin tries to start a chop battle - which is a ludicrous idea when facing Benoit or Jericho on their own, let alone together - and is justifiably lit up. Jericho hits a shoulder block and goes for the cover but Benoit pulls him off. Ooh. They square off and Stone Cold uses this distraction to knock both down and gain the upper hand. The numbers game catches up again, but Austin ducks a spinning heel kick from Y2J and Benoit is wiped out. The two challengers begin to brawl and now we've got a true triple threat match. Benoit is stomped out of the ring and Jericho squares off against the champ...almost immediately getting the Walls! Benoit dashes back in to break it up, but man Y2J looked strong there. Benoit suplexes him to the outside, his head clipping the apron on the way down. Ouch. Benoit almost locks in the Crossface on the champ, but he crawls to the ropes immediately. The Wolverine begins to dominate with a snap suplex and multiple pinfall attempts...and the crowd are SILENT. Maybe it's just weird seeing Austin being dominated so much, especially as a heel. Benoit gets thrown over the top rope and Austin slams his head into the steps a couple of times. He fetches his belt and tells the Wolverine that it'll never be his. I love when wrestlers do stuff like that, just little extra things to get their character across in matches. CM Punk probably is (or was) the master of it in the modern day WWE. We cut to Jericho on the outside. He's still down and I think he's been busted open hardway; that fall was pretty nasty. He might legitimately have had his bell rung. Austin begins to dominate Benoit, but here comes Jericho staggering up onto the apron (to a pop, I might add). Ahhh, Stone Cold immediately whips the Wolverine into Jericho and sends him back down. Austin flips off the crowd (he's actually done that several times already this match) and sets up Benoit for the Stunner. It's reversed...STUNNER BY BENOIT, but the referee got knocked down just beforehand! 1....2.....Austin gets the shoulder up on a very slow count. The ref is still groggy, so Benoit grabs the title belt and clocks Austin with it! 1.....2.....Jericho breaks it up! The two challengers slug it out on the outside until the Wolverine goes for a ride into the ringpost. Y2J slides back in to fight Austin but gets tripped and almost caught with his own finisher. He kicks the champ off and almost applies a Walls of his own, but the Rattlesnake makes the ropes before it's locked in. Austin his a nice spinebuster but it only gets two as JR and Heyman wonder where McMahon is. Heyman likens the rumours of Jericho/Benoit's defection to Montreal, and praises McMahon for doing what he had to do to keep the title in the WWF. JR simply says "I was there". Austin hits a Crimean legsweep and locks in a sleeper hold, but Jericho backdrops out of it. They trade punches on their knees on the way back up and Jericho builds up a head of steam. Bulldog! Springboard dropkick to Benoit on the apron! Lionsault...meets knees. Austin goes for the Stunner but gets pushed off. A sloppy Thesz press gains control, but here comes Benoit with a chair. BAM! Austin moves and Jericho catches it full on top of the head! Not nice to see. Stunner to Benoit, who rolls out of the ring. Austin covers Jericho....but he kicks out at two! They head up top and Stone Cold hits a really nice superplex. They head up again and he hits a second! Again Jericho kicks out, so Austin sets him up for a third, but here comes Benoit. One German, two, three, four, five, and finally a low blow from the champ. Jericho gets the Walls on Austin, and Benoit applies the Crossface at the same time! Austin taps! Austin taps! Hebner breaks it up. He sees there can only be one champion, so the match continues. What!? Surely they should give it to Y2J for applying the submission first, or at least eliminate Austin and let the other two slug it out. Both challengers are pissed off, as they should be. Jericho charges at Benoit...CROSSFACE! Jericho rolls expertly out and applies the Walls, but Benoit kicks him off. They trade hard chops and Austin tries to bring a chair in, but the Wolverine baseball slides it back into his face. Jericho dumps Benoit out but snaps his head into the top rope as he does so, and all three men are down. I'm expecting a Vince run in now. BOOKER T COMES IN FROM THE CROWD! SCISSOR KICK ON AUSTIN ON THE OUTSIDE! THE INVASION EVERYBODY! IT'S HAPPENING! The WCW Champion slams the WWF Champion through the Spanish announce table and the crowd are finally alive! Security come out to apprehend Booker so he disappears back into the crowd. Back in the ring Benoit hits a couple of Germans on Y2J, but Jericho rolls through and applies the Walls. Benoit gets the ropes and this one's still going. Jericho lands on his feet out of a back suplex and hits a bulldog, before attempting an ambitious Lionsault more than halfway across the ring. It doesn't really connect. They end up outside the ring and Benoit gets knocked down. Y2J brings Austin back in and hits a LOVELY MOONSAULT! 1...2..Benoit drags him off! He throws Jericho out and hits the Diving Headbutt, but Y2J pulls Earl out of the ring at two! Benoit puts Jericho on the top rope and punches away at his kidneys. He heads up top and hits a back superplex, leaving both men laid out. Austin rolls over and covers Benoit. 1...2...3!? WHAT!? Winner and STILL WWF Champion: Stone Cold Steve Austin 1.5/5 - A thoughtfully structured match with the exception of that horrendous finish. What on earth was the point of that? Booker T's run-in was an exciting moment but the crowd were absolutely dead for long stretches preceding it. This could (and should) have been great given the talent involved, but Benoit was unspectacular, Jericho veered between awesome and sloppy, and Austin's heel turn and subsequent new wrestling style seems to have robbed him of his dynamism. I'm really quite disappointed with that, especially the ending. Austin grabs his belt and walks to the back, still champ even though Vince never showed up. He looks relieved but shaken. That's the end. Summary to follow. JGKing fucked around with this message at 23:28 on Sep 4, 2014 |
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Sep 4, 2014 23:02
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KING OF THE RING 2001 SUMMARY Match Of The Night Kurt Angle vs Shane McMahon - One of the most punishing matches I've ever watched. Shane was obviously cut up after this one, but Kurt Angle actually walked away the most hurt. He hosed up his tailbone from the vertical suplex on the ramp and (this one's less certain) allegedly suffered a concussion in his opening bout against Christian. Wrestler Of The Night 1. Kurt Angle - Proved himself to be a really tough bastard by ploughing through the match. The finishing spot was amazing. 2. Shane McMahon - The wrestling segments of the match were actually passable, but Shane gets on here for all the ludicrous extra poo poo. 3. Stone Cold Steve Austin - The only consistent participant in the main event match. Unspectacular, but this is a very weak top five. 4. Chris Benoit - Drifted in and out of the match. Good when he had to be, but certainly not the best we've seen from him. 5. Chris Jericho - This was a tough choice. Y2J edges it on here because he was very good at times in the main event. It just about makes up for his sloppy moments. I'm really not happy with this top five. Aside from Angle and Shane, the bottom three places were really open for anybody, but nobody's performance seemed to warrant it. Edge was overshadowed despite winning the event's entire gimmick, Christian and Rhyno didn't wrestle enough to really be considered, and the 'Taker vs DDP "fight" was laughable. Oh and there was a tag title match, which I only remembered because I scrolled down to check I had everything. Not the best show in terms of people stepping up. Jeff Hardy and X-Pac would be on here but a big botch ruined their potentially excellent match. Sorry guys. Wrestler Of The Year Standings 1. Chris Benoit - 17 2. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin - 16 3. Kurt Angle - 14 4. Chris Jericho - 12 5. Triple H - 9 6. The Rock - 5 Eddie Guerrero - 5 Raven - 5 Kane - 5 7. Rhyno - 4 Shane McMahon - 4 8. Edge - 3 Christian - 3 9. William Regal - 2 10. The Undertaker - 1 A top four seems to be edging away from the rest of the pack, but it's an unpredictable race. Austin closes the gap on Benoit and Angle leaps back into contention, while Shane O'Mac gets on the board! Our first non-wrestler? Well, unless you count Regal as an authority figure. KING OF THE RING 2001 SCORE: 4/10 One good match does not a PPV make. There was something wrong with every single other thing on the card, sometimes a minor error, sometimes a big booking mistake. The main event was a bit of a mess in truth. The three guys did okay but were slightly off their game, and the booked finish was an absolute joke. The King of the Ring tourney itself was a massive disappointment considering the four guys in the semi finals - it should have been a lot better. If I was Edge I'd be pissed off; there wasn't nearly as much fanfare as when Angle won the year before. The tag match was fairly boring, while the Light Heavyweight match was almost great but for a catastrophic, momentum-killing botch. An unsatisfactory show, but the impending invasion looks like it could give things a much-needed shake up. Save_Us.Booker
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Sep 4, 2014 23:20
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IIRC the title match ending was due to injury. Also if you are rating one of the better shows in 2001 that badly when everyone is bumping their asses off, you're heartless.
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Sep 5, 2014 00:00
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OneThousandMonkeys posted:IIRC the title match ending was due to injury. I admit that everyone was bumping a lot (to the point of injury) but I'd challenge the idea that it was one of the better shows of the year. The King of the Ring tournament itself was really strangely booked - Edge's win was't made a big deal out of at all. It all actually seemed to serve as build-up to the street fight. Maybe my expectations were too high coming into this. It certainly seems like one of the best cards of the year, but the main event under-delivered and we got a lot of unpolished performances.
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Sep 5, 2014 00:32
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JGKing posted:Maybe my expectations were too high coming into this. It certainly seems like one of the best cards of the year, but the main event under-delivered and we got a lot of unpolished performances. That's what breaking your neck will do to you.
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Sep 5, 2014 17:45
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