In Your House

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

I still maintain that Shawn going over Bulldog in England was the right move. Shawn became WHITE HOT heading into the meat of the Taker and Bret feuds, and Bulldog was always going to be a draw there, so it didn't hurt his status, especially since he was basically screwed out of the belt by DX interference. The only thing I didn't like was the European title treated like shit afterwards.

 

Still, how many instances do guys have that kind of heat in real life? Babyface dedicates the match to his dying sister, it's in his hometown, and the heel is such a prick, he steals his thunder, takes his belt and hits on his wife afterwards. The entire building screaming with anger and the ring filled with broken bottles and debris says "pro wrestling" to me. I love that match, but I can see where others would disagree.

 

Yeah, I think it's one where you could go either way on. It's entirely possible that my pro-Hart anti-Shawn bias has coloured my opinion on the match too much, but it just seems like such a case of Shawn being a real-life selfish prick that it overrides any good qualities the match has. I also hated how much DX interfered, as it just made the Hart Foundation look stupid/weak for not coming out to even the odds.

[GuerrillaMonsoon]

I've always wondered that about Savio being the mystery partner. Really can't think of too many options. Especially with how little they played up Savio having wins over Austin previously.

 

In terms of who was available - maybe a really underwhelming debut of Justin Credible? Going with Chyna would have made some sense given the big ending afterwards. Think I remember reading it was supposed to be Kurrgan?

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

In Your House: Unforgiven

 

Faarooq, Steve Blackman and Ken Shamrock Vs Rocky Maivia, Mark Henry and D'Lo Brown: There's nothing like a good 6-man tag to open a show, and this is nothing like a good 6-man tag (ba-dum-tssh). This is seriously boring, with Faarooq rather surprisingly pinning Rock to win. It's funny looking at the Nation, you've got the Rock, in his second year in the business, ditto Mark Henry, D'Lo is a little more seasoned but not much. So that leaves bloody Papa Shango as your experienced vet of the team. If only there was a seasoned pro and good work guy they could add to the group to carry some of the workload...

 

Owen Hart Vs Triple H: It's kinda bullshit how they squandered all the heat Owen had coming back just to put Triple H over. Chyna is suspended above the entranceway in a cage. The match is pretty dull, with Trips being boring when in control, and Owen not being particularly interesting working from underneath. It picks up a bit when Owen makes a comeback and hits some big moves, but really the most interesting thing is Chyna trying to get out of the cage. She bends the bars and the cage is lowered (by Road Dogg, we find out), and the distraction all this causes allows for X-Pac to come in and hit Owen with a fire extinguisher and give Hunter another win. D-X getting these cheap wins was already old at this point. Owen cuts a promo after the match saying that he's had enough and something has to change. If only there was some kind of gang he could join to even the odds against D-X...

 

Austin came out to threaten Mark Yeaton not to participate in any screwjob tonight, otherwise he'd beat his ass. I should say that I hated Austin pretty much until after he'd retired. Part of it was residual hate from his feud with Bret and the Hart Foundation, but I just hated the character. Totally overbearing and annoying to me, and it was only after he'd gone for good and I started looking back at his old work that I appreciated him. He came off as a big bully here.

 

The New Midnight Express Vs The Rock N Roll Express: This was a bonus match, I guess a little bit of nostalgia since the show was in Greensboro. The match is okay I guess, but it's kinda sad watching Cornette work his shtick in this setting. When he does the fight the referee bit is particularly embarrassing.

 

Luna Vachon Vs Sable: Evening gown match, notable for just how much of a childish perv Lawler is. I mean, I was a 16 year old virgin at this point, and I wasn't near as fucking horny as the King comes across here, with lines like "panties aren't the best thing in the world, but they're next to it" and "sex is the most natural and beautiful thing money can buy". Obviously the match is terrible.

 

The New Age Outlaws Vs LOD 2000: Sunny and LOD just weren't a good match, and they look goofy in their new gear. This is a pretty crap match with a terrible finish. Hawk hits a german suplex on Road Dogg, but the referee inexplicably counts Hawk's shoulders down. LOD are announced as the new champs, before the referee corrects Finkel. More Greensboro nostalgia with the Dusty finish? I think I ranted about a similar finish in the Shawn/Bulldog match from Beware of Dog, but at least that one was a draw. There would just be no reason for the ref to count Hawk's shoulders and not James'. Made especially bad by the fact Hawk's shoulder is clearly up. The ref deservedly eats a Doomsday Device after that.

 

Jeff Jarrett comes out for a musical concert next. Didn't we see this angle before? Last time it was fun, but I don't see why they had to do it again here. I forgot that Robert Fuller was with Jarrett at this point. He's no Roadie as a hype man. Jarrett is obviously lip-synching. Sawyer Brown performs backing vocals, whoever that is. Blackman comes out and attacks Jarrett afterwards, but Fuller/Tennessee Lee brains him with a guitar.

 

The Undertaker Vs Kane: Inferno match, and the fire around the ring is a great visual. It doesn't lend itself to a very good match though, as these two are restricted to keeping the action within the ring. I give them a tonne of credit though, because they work hard and against the odds this ends up being good. The finishing stretch is particularly good, starting with Taker throwing Kane over the top rope, and then Vader coming out to attack Kane. Taker does his tope on Kane and Taker, and then busts Paul Bearer open with a drum. Kane's arm getting set on fire looks hokey, and I don't think Kane should have lost this one anyway after losing at Mania.

 

'Stone Cold' Steve Austin Vs Dude Love: I loved this whole angle with Austin and Dude. Dude was kinda shitty as a babyface, but I thought he was a great heel. Just the inherent goofiness of the character, mixed with the viciousness of Foley's work made for a great combination. This starts off as a wild brawl, including fighting onto the band stand, and Foley taking a crazy back bump off a hiptoss from the bandstand to the concrete floor. It settles down a bit back in the ring, which is Vince's cue to come out and add some crazy mannerisms. Austin gives Vince a crazy chair shot to the forehead, which leads to the finish- the ref is down, Austin hits the stunner on Dude, and counts his own three count. It's announced as a DQ win for Foley after the fact, as Vince is taken out on a stretcher. Very exiting start and finish, with a bit of a lull in the middle.

 

MOTN: The main event is by far the best match on the show, at about 3.5 stars. Kane/Taker just about make it to 3 stars through hard work and the impressive visual of the fire.

Show rating: Lots of boring and annoying stuff on the undercard, but saved somewhat by the top two matches, especially the main. I get the feeling that I'll be saying this a lot over the following couple of years of shows. 2 and 3/4 stars.

[cwoy2j]

I've always wondered that about Savio being the mystery partner. Really can't think of too many options. Especially with how little they played up Savio having wins over Austin previously.

 

In terms of who was available - maybe a really underwhelming debut of Justin Credible? Going with Chyna would have made some sense given the big ending afterwards. Think I remember reading it was supposed to be Kurrgan?

 

I honestly thought it was going to be Rude. I don't remember any buzz about it on the Net but I just figured that was the era of everyone jumping all over the place and Rude had ties to DX so why not. I also remembered a couple of my friends speculating that it would be someone like a returning Sid or Ahmed Johnson.

 

If anyone was reading the sheets back then, do you remember any other names that were thrown around?

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

In Your House: Over the Edge

 

LOD 2000 Vs Skull and 8-Ball: Droz comes out with LOD, which meant my wife had to leave the room as she has a vomit phobia. Did Droz ever actually puke in the WWF? This match was about as bad as you might expect, but Sunny was looking good.

 

The Rock comes out to cut a promo but gets attacked and piledriven by Faarooq.

 

Jeff Jarrett Vs Steve Blackman: Well, Jarrett has his old music and look back, but this whole act seems so out of place in the Attitude Era. That could have worked to his favour, but for whatever reason, it didn't. Match was boring. Blackman had some cool offence, but that's about all. Tennessee Lee helped Jarrett win.

 

Marc Mero Vs Sable: If Sable wins she gets her freedom, but if she loses she has to leave the WWF. She was supposed to get someone to wrestle for her, but said that she got herself into this, and she was going to get herself out. Mero cuts a promo about the good times they had together, and pretends he's going to lie down for her, but when she covers him, he small packages her and wins. Mero celebrates like crazy while Sable sadly walks away.

 

Kaientai Vs Taka Michinoku and Bradshaw: It's really weird seeing Kaientai and Taka working in the WWF, and weirder thinking about how long Funaki lasted with the company. I really enjoy Kaientai's act, from their work to their personalities. Bradshaw busting out a release Dragon Suplex. Dick Togo was awesome. Fun seeing Kaientai trying to swarm Bradshaw. Kaientai steal the win. Apart from a bit of no-selling from Taka, this was a good match.

 

The Rock Vs Faarooq: Rock is told by Commissioner Slaughter that he must compete or he'll be stripped of the title. Seems a bit unfair after he was attacked earlier. Match is pretty much wank, with a shitty finish to boot. They do a false finish with Rock's leg on the rope, but Tim White seems unsure whether he's supposed to count 3 or not. That leads to Rock winning his feet on the ropes. The Nation attack Faarooq after the match, but D-X even the odds.

 

Kane Vs Vader: Mask match. Lawler sounds stupid trying to play up the intrigue of what Vader looks like under the mask, since A. you can see his face through the mask, and B. he takes the mask off all the time, and even came out without it on. Anyway, these two had a pretty good match a couple of months back, but they just can't get it together for this one. Highlight is Paul Bearer putting on Vader's mask and mocking him after the match. Then we get the infamous "fat piece of shit" promo from Vader. Vader was done after this, right? I've found his WWF run far from the bust its been made out to be, and think that more often than not his matches have been good. Shame it had to end on this note. 

 

Next there was a little presentation for Mad Dog Vachon and Da Crusher, who both got a great reception (especially the latter). They turned it into an angle when Lawler started running them down. It turned into a skirmish, with Vachon getting his leg taken off (you'd think he's have learnt after last time), but Crusher fighting Lawler off. I think it would have been a nicer moment without the angle, but they probably enjoyed getting to do a little something in front of a big crowd one last time, so who am I to gripe?

 

Triple H and the New Age Outlaws Vs Owen Hart, D'Lo Brown and Kama Mustafa: Man, the crowd is largely dead for this one, which is a bit of a surprise. D-X took way too much of the match for me, although it eventually got decent when Road Dogg worked fip. Owen pinned Trips to win, after a Pedigree on the European belt.

 

'Stone Cold' Steve Austin Vs Dude Love: Bells and whistles Attitude fun, with Vince as guest ref, Patterson as guest announcer, Briscoe as guest time keeper, The Undertaker out to make sure McMahon calls it down the middle, rules being changed on the fly making ti first no DQ, then falls count anywhere, and some wild brawling incorporating a set made up of cars. The long-winded introductions for the guest officials are funny, but probably take at least 10 minutes. The match starts slow-ish, but when it hits the outside it never looks back. The crowd is molten, a startling contrast to the last match. They briefly go out into the crowd and JR sounds like he's going to have a heart attack such is his excitement. Foley's crazy bump of the night is a missed Cactus Jack elbow from the top of a car to the concrete. The finish is wild, with both stooges being chokeslammed through tables, Vince taking an inadvertent chairshot to the head from Dude, and Austin using Vince's limp arm to count his own fall after a stunner. Just a tremendous match.

 

MOTN: Dude/Austin. As good an example of that type of match as you'll get, and I'll put it at 5 stars. The Kaientai match sneaks a 3.

Show rating: Some pretty bad stuff on this, but totally worth sitting through for that main event. 3 1/4.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

This was the point I stopped watching wrestling, and didn't get back into it until right at the end of 1999. I can't remember why I stopped. It certainly wasn't dissatisfaction with the company direction (the same applies to WCW). I think it was just the guy who was bringing me the tapes stopped for whatever reason, and then I went to college and had other stuff going on. Anyway, the next year and a bit is going to be pretty much all new to me (I'll be familiar with most of the major angles, and will have seen some of the matches in isolation too, but the undercard stuff will probably be virgin territory). I'm looking forward to it.

[Brian Fowler]

I honestly don't think I've ever seen a wrestler more over then Austin was for that Dude Love match.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

In Your House: Fully Loaded.

 

Val Venis Vs Jeff Jarrett: The Godwinn's are now Southern Justice. Decent match, featuring Yamaguchi-san on commentary, which is really distracting. I guess the angle is Yamaguchi's wife made a porno with Val. We know where this is leading. Venis doesn't come off very likeable here, mocking Yamaguchi for having a small dick. But it's the Attitude Era, so, y'know?

 

D'Lo Brown Vs X-Pac: D'Lo is very proud to be European champ, and it's actually kind of sweet when he looks into the camera and says "I have a belt!" He's starting to come into his own a bit as a worker and personality too, and X-Pac was always a great worker, so this is a decent match.

 

Faarooq and Scorpio Vs Bradshaw and Terry Funk: Funk announces before the match that he's going on a 6-month hiatus after this, and Bradshaw isn't very happy about being kept in the dark. Can't say I blame him. The match gets a boring chant, but I thought it was pretty fun, with the four guys just throwing bombs at each other. It does kinda fall apart towards the end though. After Faarooq and Scorpio win, Bradshaw turns heel (I guess?) by beating all three guys down, and looks really good doing it too.

 

Mark Henry Vs Vader: I guess I was wrong about Vader being gone after the last show, and look, it's a DVDVR dream match! This was damn good actually for a short match. Henry was just raw potential at this point, and he could have got better a lot quicker in a more in-ring focused promotion, I imagine. I wish Vader was treated a bit more like a star at this point, but I guess the writing was on the wall anyway.

 

Kane and Mankind come out with Paul Bearer to cut a promo about the main event against Austin and Taker, and how Taker isn't at the arena yet. They are interrupted by the Outlaws who demand a tag title rematch the next night on Raw. A brawl breaks out.

 

The Disciples of Apocalypse Vs LOD 2000: Paul Ellering is with the DOA now, and Sunny appears to be done. This is made entertaining by Ellering's continuous interference, which makes JR crazy. DOA win.

 

Owen Hart Vs Ken Shamrock: The Dungeon match. Heard about this but never seen it before. Wow, this is different, and actually pretty cool. This guys are really laying it into each other, and taking some hard shots against the walls of the dungeon. Nice use of their surrounding too, with Owen using an overhead pipe to propel himself into Shammy, and then lifting Shammy so his head makes a hole in the ceiling. Didn't need the ref (Dan Severn) bump for the finish though, but I like that they put Owen over. I liked this more than the lion's den match.

 

Vince comes out and announces that if Taker doesn't show up, Austin will be teamed with the Brooklyn Brawler. A lot of promo segments on these shows now. I don't care for that on a pay-per-view.

 

The Rock Vs Triple H: 2/3 falls with a 30 minute time limit for the IC title, and this is a doozy. Some really solid work between the two guys, well booked, a hot crowd, and really good use of outside interference, from Henry, D'Lo, X-Pac and Chyna. Henry hits a sweet splash on Hunter on the floor, and the crowd comes unglued when Chyna DDTs Rock on a chair for the tying second fall. They go the full 30 and it ends in a tie, which is the perfect finish and illustrates how effective time limits can be in advancing angles and protecting guys. This definitely felt like two future world champs going at it.

 

Sable Vs Jacqueline: Bikini contest. The King got a peak of Sable's bikini before the show, and has been taking about it all night. Before this starts Dustin Rhodes comes out and prays for the souls of everyone watching. Can't remember Dustin doing this angle. This is just a meat market, with a tale of the tape giving us measurements for hips, butts and "bombs". Jacqui's bikini is scandalous enough (including her popping her tit out), and then Sable tops it with the hand prints. Amazing how this company has consistently presented women stripping or sexualizing themselves as this act of female empowerment.

 

Steve Austin and the Undertaker Vs Kane and Mankind: Austin and Taker win the tag titles. Well-booked match with the expected hot crowd. Serviceable, but nothing special, in the ring, but a crowd like this always makes things feel bigger and better than they are. They work the story of where Taker's loyalties lie into the match well.

 

MOTN: Rock and Hunter at 4 stars. I give Vader/Henry, Owen/Shamrock and the main event 3 stars.

Show rating: This might be the best ppv of the Attitude Era. No bad matches on the show really, and that one really good one. I'd give this 3.5 stars.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

In Your House: Breakdown.

 

Owen Hart Vs Edge: Edge gets a pop from the Hamilton crowd, but Owen is still the favourite. So-so match, which ends with the debut of Christian, who causes a distraction to Edge long enough for Owen to pin him.

 

Al Snow and Scorpio Vs Too Much: This started out okay, but quickly fell apart. I don't know if Scorpio just didn't give a crap or what, but his WWF run has been really disappointing so far. He's sloppy as hell, and just generally seems unmotivated. Snow's act was really over at this point.

 

Marc Mero Vs Droz: Droz is really limited. Mero busts out all his high flying offence, which I thought he'd knocked on the head due to injuries. In fact, I thought he whole point of him turning heel was because he couldn't do the crowd-pleasing shit anymore. I like Mero. He's just a scuzzball unlikeable heel in an era when too many heels were playing it cool. So unlikeable that he can do things like the shooting star press and not get cheered for it. No nuance to the character whatsoever, but it was effective.

 

Bradshaw Vs Vader: Falls count anywhere, and these two go at each other hard, as you'd expect. Bradshaw kicks out of a Vader Bomb, and Vader kicks out of a Clothesline From Hell, before succumbing to a second. I wish someone would lie down for poor Vader.

 

D'Lo Brown Vs Gangrel: D'Lo is good, but Gangrel looks to get gassed pretty early into this. Henry helped Brown win, but Gangrel spat blood into Henry's face for some revenge after the match.

 

The Rock Vs Ken Shamrock Vs Mankind: Inside a cage. I hate triple threats and I hate escape the cage rules, so I didn't have much hope for this one. Escape the cage triple threats are extremely problematic, as it seems so easy for one guy just to walk out the door while the other two are fighting. What's most notable about this is how over the Rock is, and it seemed like he was right on the verge of turning face here. The crowd pops for everything he does, while Shammy gets a "Shamrock sucks" chant. Canada is bizarre world, Lawler points out. The guys work as well as they can with the gimmick, and actually got me with the finish. Foley nails Shamrock with a chair and climbs the cage, and I was so fixated on the escape rules, which they'd played up all match, that it ended up being a really cool finish when Rocky simply covered Shamrock for the 3. Crowd loved it too.

 

Val Venis Vs Dustin Runnels: What a weird angle this was, with Venis screwing Terri. I'm not entirely sure who's supposed to be the babyface in all this, but Terri's the only face in my eyes. Dustin treated her like shit, so she's just getting herself some. Dustin is doing the preacher gimmick, and Venis is just so sleazy that I can't possibly like him. JR seems to be siding with Dustin, which would be some indicator that he's supposed to be the face, but the crowd are well behind Val. Terri accompanies Val in lingerie, and is looking fine. That was my big takeaway from the match. I was hoping we'd get some good stuff out of Dustin, but the match just didn't click.

 

X-Pac and the New Age Outlaws Vs Jeff Jarrett and Southern Justice: Jarrett has the short hair and guitar now, and this is just his WCW act but with the Godwinns instead of Standards and Practices or Terms and Conditions or whatever the Harris brothers were calling themselves at that point. It occurs to me that Billy Gunn didn't really fit in with DX. The others just seemed natural in their roles, whereas he came across as forced. Not a terribly interesting match, won by DX. Pac ate a vicious guitar shot though.

 

Kane Vs The Undertaker Vs 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin: This is Vince's master plan. Kane and Taker can only beat Austin, not each other. Inevitably they turn on each other during the match. Lots of brawling, and double teaming on Austin, with some decent hope spots for the champ. There was no reason for this to go over 20 minutes though, and it really starts to drag. Kane and Taker both pin Austin after a double chokeslam and Vince runs off with the belt.

 

MOTN: I think I'd just about give it to the triple threat cage match, at around 2 3/4 stars. Slim pickings though.

Show rating: This is a real step down from Fully Loaded. Nothing too terrible, but nothing even approaching great. I wonder why no Triple H or Chyna on the show. 2 and a half.

[Nice Guy Eddie]

The Harris Brothers were called Creative Control after Vince Russo came into WCW. Lenny & Lodi were repackaged as Standards & Practices after WCW axed their Rainbow Express gimmick.

[twiztor]

Kane and Taker both pin Austin after a double chokeslam and Vince runs off with the belt.

 

 

my favorite part of that is Vince standing up thru the sunroof in the limo and giving Austin the weirdest looking middle finger ever. i remember it being absolutely ridiculous.

 

and i remember hating that Vader match. Vader is so much better than the shit they were giving him at this point, and really for the last year or so. and i could never stand Bradshaw. double whammy.

 

my recollection is that the triple threat cage match is a lot of fun, but it has been a few years since i've seen it.

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

The Harris Brothers were called Creative Control after Vince Russo came into WCW. Lenny & Lodi were repackaged as Standards & Practices after WCW axed their Rainbow Express gimmick.

 

Thanks for clearing that up.

 

 

Kane and Taker both pin Austin after a double chokeslam and Vince runs off with the belt.

 

 

my favorite part of that is Vince standing up thru the sunroof in the limo and giving Austin the weirdest looking middle finger ever. i remember it being absolutely ridiculous.

 

 

I nearly mentioned that. It was indeed ridiculous.

[Skeeball Wizard]

Al Snow and Scorpio Vs Too Much: This started out okay, but quickly fell apart. I don't know if Scorpio just didn't give a crap or what, but his WWF run has been really disappointing so far. He's sloppy as hell, and just generally seems unmotivated.

Scorpio talks about this part of his run in his shoot. He was spiraling down a path of cocaine/crack use and just generally didn't/couldn't give a fuck. By the time they decided to get behind him and give him a push, he was too far gone and was out of the company. He did have a short run as 2 Cold Scorpio on his return but that obviously didn't last long.

[cwoy2j]

 

Kane and Taker both pin Austin after a double chokeslam and Vince runs off with the belt.

 

 

my favorite part of that is Vince standing up thru the sunroof in the limo and giving Austin the weirdest looking middle finger ever. i remember it being absolutely ridiculous.

 

and i remember hating that Vader match. Vader is so much better than the shit they were giving him at this point, and really for the last year or so. and i could never stand Bradshaw. double whammy.

 

my recollection is that the triple threat cage match is a lot of fun, but it has been a few years since i've seen it.

 

 

I also hated seeing Vader jobbing to everyone. I recall him doing jobs for Rocky, Edge and Mark Henry. I understood that the old guys had to make way for the new but it sucked seeing him go from dominant monster to losing in under 5 minutes every week.

 

I thought the cage match was pretty good. The crowd going apeshit for the double People's Elbow was great and I loved Rocky just pinning Shamrock while Mankind tried to climb out like an idiot.

[cwoy2j]

 

 

The Rock Vs Triple H: 2/3 falls with a 30 minute time limit for the IC title, and this is a doozy. Some really solid work between the two guys, well booked, a hot crowd, and really good use of outside interference, from Henry, D'Lo, X-Pac and Chyna. Henry hits a sweet splash on Hunter on the floor, and the crowd comes unglued when Chyna DDTs Rock on a chair for the tying second fall. They go the full 30 and it ends in a tie, which is the perfect finish and illustrates how effective time limits can be in advancing angles and protecting guys. This definitely felt like two future world champs going at it.

 

I gotta disagree with you a bit on this one. I felt like this match showed that neither guy was ready to go for 30 minutes without tons of bells and whistles at that point in their career. Rock must've thrown about 50 clotheslines during this match. I feel like the ladder match was the one where you looked at them and said, "yeah, both of these guys are going to be big someday." Just my opinion.

[Jiji]

Jesus, I remember all of the propaganda/WWII imagery in the opening (and the "I'm sick and damn tired/sick and damn tired!" bit, lol) but they have King, Jr.'s "I have a dream" clip with Vince superimposed beside King. Vince would totally see himself as another MLK, wouldn't he?

 

That middle finger is something my friends and I would play up for years and years. Shit, to this day when I finger one of them it's in the VKM/David Cross style.

 

It's interesting to note how badly the match quality fell off the face of the planet as the Attitude Era hits full stride. It didn't matter too much because characters were over and they gave us reasons to care about what was going on. 

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

 

 

 

The Rock Vs Triple H: 2/3 falls with a 30 minute time limit for the IC title, and this is a doozy. Some really solid work between the two guys, well booked, a hot crowd, and really good use of outside interference, from Henry, D'Lo, X-Pac and Chyna. Henry hits a sweet splash on Hunter on the floor, and the crowd comes unglued when Chyna DDTs Rock on a chair for the tying second fall. They go the full 30 and it ends in a tie, which is the perfect finish and illustrates how effective time limits can be in advancing angles and protecting guys. This definitely felt like two future world champs going at it.

 

I gotta disagree with you a bit on this one. I felt like this match showed that neither guy was ready to go for 30 minutes without tons of bells and whistles at that point in their career. Rock must've thrown about 50 clotheslines during this match. I feel like the ladder match was the one where you looked at them and said, "yeah, both of these guys are going to be big someday." Just my opinion.

 

 

To be fair, I don't know that either guy was ever able to go 30 minutes without tonnes of bells and whistles (though Triple H clearly thought he could), nor was it really required of them to make it to the top in that company. I guess I just meant that you could see their progression as workers from where they had been, that they had the fans fully on board, and they executed the match perfectly. I didn't notice the excessive clotheslines from Rocky, but I don't doubt you on that. To me it felt like a "they've arrived" moment, and it seemed inevitable at that point that they'd be in the main events within the next year.

[cwoy2j]

 

 

 

 

The Rock Vs Triple H: 2/3 falls with a 30 minute time limit for the IC title, and this is a doozy. Some really solid work between the two guys, well booked, a hot crowd, and really good use of outside interference, from Henry, D'Lo, X-Pac and Chyna. Henry hits a sweet splash on Hunter on the floor, and the crowd comes unglued when Chyna DDTs Rock on a chair for the tying second fall. They go the full 30 and it ends in a tie, which is the perfect finish and illustrates how effective time limits can be in advancing angles and protecting guys. This definitely felt like two future world champs going at it.

 

I gotta disagree with you a bit on this one. I felt like this match showed that neither guy was ready to go for 30 minutes without tons of bells and whistles at that point in their career. Rock must've thrown about 50 clotheslines during this match. I feel like the ladder match was the one where you looked at them and said, "yeah, both of these guys are going to be big someday." Just my opinion.

 

 

To be fair, I don't know that either guy was ever able to go 30 minutes without tonnes of bells and whistles (though Triple H clearly thought he could), nor was it really required of them to make it to the top in that company. I guess I just meant that you could see their progression as workers from where they had been, that they had the fans fully on board, and they executed the match perfectly. I didn't notice the excessive clotheslines from Rocky, but I don't doubt you on that. To me it felt like a "they've arrived" moment, and it seemed inevitable at that point that they'd be in the main events within the next year.

 

 

Well, you make some good observations. The match fell flat to me but I see your points. Keep up the reviews!

[Yo-Yo's Roomie]

In Your House: Judgment Day.

 

Al Snow Vs Marc Mero: Pretty much a nothing match, won by Snow.

 

LOD 2000 Vs The Disciples of Apocalypse and Paul Ellering: So Droz is officially a member of LOD 2000 now, which makes this a 6-man. I guess the story is that Hawk doesn't really want Droz as part of the team, and he looks pissed when Droz picks up the win. Boring angle, boring match.

 

Christian Vs Taka Michinoku: I think they made a mistake turning Taka heel, as he should have been the babyface face of the division. Of course, they didn't care about this division, but still. Taka's a great heel anyway, but they had no-one to fill his shoes. This is a weird heel/heel match that really fails to get going. Christian wins the belt as Edge looks on from the crowd.

 

Goldust Vs Val Venis: Second time out for these two, with this one being better than the last, thanks to a clearer heel/face divide. Dustin brought Goldy back to get revenge on Venis, and he won this with a swift kick to the bollocks. So many low blows during this period of wrestling, but I liked this one as it felt like a good old lucha-style foule, with the ref being distracted and the way it was sold.

 

X-Pac Vs D'Lo Brown: Now this was a good match. Brown continues to impress me, and X-Pac is X-Pac. They had good chemistry and really made the European title feel important. I think they botched the finish though. D'Lo went for a second running powerbomb and it looked like Pac was meant to counter into the X-Factor. He didn't, and D'Lo ended up diving off the top into an X-Factor instead, which looked about as stupid as when people jump into RKOs. Again though, good match.

 

The Headbangers Vs The New Age Outlaws: The Headbangers are heels now, and cut a pre-match promo with some shooty comments and gay-bashing. This started off solid, but quickly got boring as fuck when Billy played fip. Road Dogg finally had enough and hit both Headbangers with a boom box for the dq. Poor stuff.

 

Ken Shamrock Vs Mankind: This got decent when it went from a Shamrock-style match to a Mankind-style match. The finish was stupid though. Mankind was in the ankle lock, but instead of tapping put the mandible claw on himself to make himself pass out. Then Shamrock was announced as the winner via mandible claw (like they ever announce what move earnt the win anyway), which made him flip out. Shamrock is better as a heel.

 

Mark Henry Vs The Rock: Only 5 mins, but not very good. They both looked kinda green in there. D'Lo interfered to give Henry the big win. I like the Brown/Henry friendship.

 

Kane Vs The Undertaker: For the vacant world title, Austin as guest ref, if he doesn't raise the arm of the new champ he gets fired. This is boring as fuck, a real departure from the consistently exciting Attitude Era main events so far. Even when the Attitude shenanigans kick in (both guys beating on Austin, Paul Bearer coming in and swerving Kane to join up with Taker), it fails to get the pulse racing. Finally Austin counts both guys shoulders to the mat, and announces himself as the winner. Vince, from a skybox, fires him, and JR plays it up like Austin's career is over ("he was the greatest there ever was"). Funny moment as Vince is talking, someone throws a shirt or rag or something right in his face.  

 

MOTN: D'Lo/X-Pac by far. Really the only match that delivers, and I'd put it at around 3 and a half stars.

Show rating: This isn't a good one. Lots of nothing matches, a boring ass main event, largely forgettable. 2 stars.

[cwoy2j]

 

 

Kane Vs The Undertaker: For the vacant world title, Austin as guest ref, if he doesn't raise the arm of the new champ he gets fired. This is boring as fuck, a real departure from the consistently exciting Attitude Era main events so far. Even when the Attitude shenanigans kick in (both guys beating on Austin, Paul Bearer coming in and swerving Kane to join up with Taker), it fails to get the pulse racing. Finally Austin counts both guys shoulders to the mat, and announces himself as the winner. Vince, from a skybox, fires him, and JR plays it up like Austin's career is over ("he was the greatest there ever was"). Funny moment as Vince is talking, someone throws a shirt or rag or something right in his face.  

 

I just rewatched this b/c it was one of the few ppvs I got to see while I was in college and it's just as boring as I remembered. I can't remember what the dirtsheets were saying at the time but I remember that my friends and I thought that all of this was going to end up with Austin counting out both guys and Rock somehow getting the title the next night on RAW.

[cwoy2j]

 

 

Ken Shamrock Vs Mankind: This got decent when it went from a Shamrock-style match to a Mankind-style match. The finish was stupid though. Mankind was in the ankle lock, but instead of tapping put the mandible claw on himself to make himself pass out. Then Shamrock was announced as the winner via mandible claw (like they ever announce what move earnt the win anyway), which made him flip out. Shamrock is better as a heel.

 

I enjoyed this match up until the finish. You're right, it's one of the dumbest finishes I've ever seen. Shamrock was pretty awesome when he went into heel Robo-Shamrock mode. I still remember him mowing through people during that one night tournament for the IC title.

[twiztor]

In Your House: Judgment Day.

 

Ken Shamrock Vs Mankind: This got decent when it went from a Shamrock-style match to a Mankind-style match. The finish was stupid though. Mankind was in the ankle lock, but instead of tapping put the mandible claw on himself to make himself pass out. Then Shamrock was announced as the winner via mandible claw (like they ever announce what move earnt the win anyway), which made him flip out. Shamrock is better as a heel.

 

i always thought the idea of that was interesting, but the execution was just off. or maybe it just didn't play as cool as it could've.

on a semi-related note, i've been waiting for a heel to be put into a finishing submission hold, but he refuses to tap, so he just punches the referee to get DQ'd instead. don't remember that ever happening.

[mco543]

I think I've seen heels grab the ref and push or throw them down while in a submission but never punch.

[TerjeRUN]

That Taker HBK 97 feud is so fucking great.

 

Absolutely. Odd to think they never locked up prior to 1997 considering you had 1992 - 1995 where they were both around on opposite sides of the fence. 

[Brian Fowler]

In his book, HBK said something about Vince thinking Shawn was too small to be a credible threat to Taker (even given the matches with Sid and Diesel) and the two of them basically had to talk Vince into letting them have that 97 run.  Of course, a lot of Shawn's book reads like bullshit, so grains of salt.