Forgotten Favorites 03.28.10: Unforgiven 2004 – Shawn Michaels vs. Kane

Welcome back, wrestling fans. By the time you read this, the day will be upon us. This bad boy should be going up on the interweb on THE day for us, the most enthusiastic of fake sports fanatics. It’s WrestleMania, and it’s going to be awesome.

This week, to celebrate the epic confrontation between the Heartbreak Kid and the Deadman, we’re going to take a look at a classic brawl that the Showstopper had with the brother of his WrestleMania XXVI opponent. We saw these guys collide on Raw last week, but back in 2004 they waged a war with greater consequences.

And so I ask, who wants great wrestling?

Unforgiven – September 12, 2004
Shawn Michaels vs. Kane

HOW IT WENT DOWN

Women.

It seems there’s no easy way to creepily stalk a chick, force her to accept your seed, and then take her hand in the holy bond of matrimony. Not without her rebelling against you and repeatedly expressing her desire for you to burn in hell.

What? Don’t believe me?

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you … Kane.

Things were looking up for Kane as the Big Red Machine came rolling into Bad Blood on June 13, 2004. Having won an over-the-top-rope Battle Royal a couple of weeks prior, Kane was the official number one contender to the World Heavyweight Championship, and he was getting his crack at the title on PPV against then-champion Chris Benoit. But unnfortunately for the former masked monster, this was not to be his night, as Benoit was able to successfully retain his title via pinfall.

On the same night, Triple H and Shawn Michaels found closure to a feud that had been on-going ever since HBK’s return to the ring almost two years earlier. HHH and Michaels stepped inside Hell In A Cell to beat the living hell out of one another for nearly an hour before the H’s sealed the deal with the Pedigree. Shockingly, the E has yet to revive this blood feud, and this match really DID serve as the final chapter to their epic (if not unnecessarily drawn out) feud, which is far from what I would have expected at the time.

The next night on Raw, things were kicked off by Good ‘Ol JR and a little interview action in the middle of the ring. He was joined by HHH and HBK, both men looking extremely beat up from the war they waged against one another the night before. At JR’s insistence that the two finally bury the hatchet, the rivals — albeit showing enormous hesitance — shook hands. However, the feel-good moment was cut short by Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff, eager to make an announcement regarding the next number one contender to the World Heavyweight Championship. But then THIS was cut short as well, this time by a Big Red Machine who was super-pissed that he had been unable to claim Benoit’s World Title twenty-four hours earlier. After the heel Trips bailed out, citing no beef with the monster, Kane went on a tirade of tiradingness. He physically decimated the Heartbreak Kid, placing a steel chair around Shawn’s throat before stomping on the weapon from the turnbuckles.

I could tell you all about Shawn’s bloodiness or the totally realistic stretcher deal that came right after. Or, and I think you’ll like this better, you can watch the video below. Your choice.

Now rewind your mind for just one second. In the weeks prior to Bad Blood, Kane had shown a growing interest in Lita. There were spooky sniffing moments, forced kisses, all the usual stuff when you want to let a girl know you’re interested. For a few weeks there existed a mysterious yes-or-no question that vaguely lingered over the whole goings-ons, which Lita would eventually even more vaguely answer in the affirmative. Whatever was going on, it was definitely something that Lita was not comfortable with.

So let’s go back to the night after Bad Blood. After Kane had destroyed Shawn Michaels in the Raw opener, the bombs continued to be dropped. Backstage, Stacy Keibler happened upon a freaking-out Lita who was staring down a home pregnancy test. I’m not so sure why Lita would’ve been cool with competing in a mixed tag earlier in the night when she was under the assumption she might be pregnant, but it’s whatever. She dropped the baby bomb on Stacy, revealing that she was indeed with child.

One week later, Matt Hardy was sky high. In fact, he was so pumped about being a father that he planned to take the next step with Lita. Yo was all about to pop the question in the middle of the ring, but things got a little out of hand. Take a look for yourself…

And so, as it usually goes, Matt Hardy’s dreams were completely destroyed. Lita’s baby was fathered by a Machine of the Big and Red variety, and there was nothing Matt could do to salvage his relationship. The next week on Raw, Jim Ross conducted an interview with the baby daddy, where Kane explained his recent devious actions. His plan for Lita was for her to provide him with what he desired the most: a legacy. She would be his vessel, providing him with yet another vessel in a child, one to which he would pass along all of his evil wisdom and experience. And as for Shawn Michaels, he was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, and he was a threat to Kane’s path to the World Heavyweight Championship. And later that night, Kane would once again come within inches of claiming the World Title, only to be defeated yet again by the Rabid Wolverine.

And so with the Heartbreak Kid on the shelf and Triple H chasing Benoit for the belt, Kane’s focus came entirely upon the mother of his child and, even more important, the destruction of Matt Hardy. On July 11th, Kane and Matt Hardy faced off in a no disqualifications environment at Vengeance, where the honorable Hardy Boy was able to surprisingly get one over on the big man. The only problem was that, despite the victory, his most favorite woman was still carrying Kane’s demon child. And so a rematch was set for SummerSlam that had more serious implications. The first and last “Til Death Do Us Part” match was fought on August 15th, with the winner earning the right to marry the most pregnant Lita. Vengeance this was not, and Kane made quick work of Hardy, ensuring his future with his special lady.

Eight days later, Kane and Lita entered into the holiest of unions. I was going to include a video, but all WWE weddings are generally the same old shtick, and you get the idea. Instead, here’s a video from the greatest moment in the history of WWE weddings, maybe even in the history of WWE …

Now we all know Eric Bischoff is one of the most giving men in wrestling. He’s got a good heart and a kind soul. That’s why his wedding gift to Kane was an open contract for the upcoming Unforgiven PPV, where Kane could wrestle any opponent he wanted. The only problem here that Kane didn’t foresee was that the wedding gift was granted to both he AND Lita. And, since she is a woman and naturally deceitful, she went behind his back to sign Kane up against a man who was just recently cleared for action … Shawn Michaels!

And so it was. The Heartbreak Kid was coming back for retribution. Kane now had a little more to worry about than stocking up on diapers.

WHY IT SHOULD BE REMEMBERED

When the all-encompassing book of wrestling is written, there are few names that will make the list of the most consistent and effective performers of all time. Even fewer will be names that fall under the much-ambiguous “Big Man” category, which seems to include anyone standing at/over 6’8 and/or weighing over 300 pounds. While it’s hard to argue against the top Big Man honors going to the Undertaker, we are well served to remember that his very own kayfabe brother is right up there with the Phenom. Ever since the debut of the Kane character in 1997, the formerly-masked performer has remained one of WWE’s most consistently over performers, cementing his legacy in the E as one of the most recognizable stars in the company’s history.

Debuting as the long-lost, Paul Bearer-fathered undead sibling to the Undertaker, the Kane character was the closest thing to evil incarnate that had ever stepped foot in a WWE ring (until Kaientai’s EVIL transformation). The Big Red Machine stunned the rabid Attitude audience by taking the Undertaker to limits that we didn’t even know he had. From then on out, Kane went through a whirlwind of feuds, title divisons, stable alignments, and face/heel turns. He was The Corporation’s muscle. He was DX’s charity case. He spent time conquering every division possible, claiming the Hardcore, Tag Team, Intercontinental, and WWE Championships. Of course, during all of this, Kane was also notoriously involved in some of the most “REALLY?!” storylines of all time.

And speaking of ridiculous storylines… oh, how I wish I could have been a fly on the wall of the creative meeting when somebody raised their hand and said, “Now, hear me out here, what if Kane, like, RAPED Lita?” I can clearly see Vinny Mac’s eyes bulging out of his head, waiting for his breath to catch up to him and praising the innovative idea. This is probably when he said, “Now, hear me out here, what if we replaced Lita with… my daughter?” But it was then that Linda came swooping in to wave the magic wand of shame over her husband, and the angle’s original cast was determined to be the better choice. And really, when it comes to bizarre, politically incorrect storylines, who better than Kane(yon)?

If you were not watching Raw throughout this epic period of 2004, you may be wondering just how in the hell WWE got away with such an absurdly offensive angle. You might wonder how something so insane actually got over. Well, the answer is simple: Kane.

I’m not saying Kane is some sort of magical angle-improving machine (paging Ms. Vick), but the truth is that the dude has taken every single outlandish, unreal storyline he’s been assigned and the man has (usually) made it work. And even when the angle itself falls on its face (Ms. Vick, you have a call at the front desk), Kane’s character/spot remains totally unharmed. The May 19th angle had ZERO explanation, ZERO kayfabe purpose, and ZERO resolution, and yet the audience accepted it. Of course Kane totally freaks out when he hears a particular date… I mean… he IS Kane after all!

I chose this particular insanified angle to focus on this week because it’s an example of one of the times that Kane took the absurd shit that creative has always loved to throw at him and somehow, someway, the dude made it work. Not that Lita’s performance wasn’t a factor as well, but major props go to the twisted monster for being so eerily convincing. And so goddamn over! In the video above, when Kane reveals he is the father of Lita’s baby, the crowd goes straight up BANANAS. No matter how many times the dude is faced with an angle that would kill the career of a lesser performer, Kane somehow manages to pull it off. Whether he’s a face, heel, or misunderstood tweener, the crowd WANTS to see Kane in some way, shape, or form. And that, my children, is the mark of a great professional wrestler.

Tag or singles, Kane has always played his part effectively

Looking back, I only wish that Kane would’ve gotten what was properly owed to him. And no, winning the WWE Title for twenty-four hours is not even close to what the dude deserves. There were so many opportunities to give the guy a proper run with either the WWE or World Titles, and the E — despite seemingly wanting to do so — never pulled the trigger. I don’t necessarily think that WWE should’ve made him their new top star or face of the company, but at the very least Kane deserved a month or two as a transitional champion. When Kane took on Triple H in the televised World Title match that cost him his mask, the crowd was ELECTRIC. Dude was over like rover. Of course, there was a general curiosity buzzing over what the E would’ve done with an unmasked Kane, particularly what those alleged “burns” would look like, but the live crowd was DEMANDING that Kane win the belt that night. It was one of the hottest, most vocal pro-Kane crowds I can ever remember, and they would’ve blown the roof off MSG that night if he had pinned the hated leader of Evolution.

And if Vince was kicking himself after blowing the potential of a main-eventing, still-masked babyface Kane, then he still had time to make up for his mistake when the Big Daddy Kane angle rolled around. After rebounding from the brutal burial of WrestleMania XX, the whole Lita angle re-established Kane’s purely evil nature, as well as his unquenchable thirst for the misery of all those around him. So while he would’ve made a badass babyface champion a year before, now he was in the perfect position to be a badass heel champion. Raw was a little crowded/confused, what with all the Evolution drama, but who knows what might’ve happened if Kane and Lita were traded to SmackDown.

Consider this scenario… At the time, Raw GM Eric Bischoff, scared shitless of what might’ve happened otherwise, was letting Kane do basically whatever he wanted. Imagine that, after having successfully taken out Matt Hardy, Kane decides that his work on Raw is done. He hells Bischoff that, with his evil demon spawn on the way, he wants to reconnect with his family and share his twisted joy. An so Bischoff pulls the necessary strings to get Kane and his wife over onto the blue brand, where the father-to-be hopes to make amends with his most undead brother, wreaking havoc at his side once more. Naturally, the morally-immaculate Undertaker (who would ideally have lifted the WWE Title from JBL at SummerSlam) would want nothing to do with his sick brother, and thus, the scorned Kane would lose his shit and, unable to earn his brother’s love, would instead seek his destruction. From here we could have seen Kane save some face from the WrestleMania burial, not only getting his win back from Taker but also being crowned WWE Champion.

Of course, if this had happened, then we might not have seen Cena winning the belt at WrestleMania, which (as you know if you were watching at the time) was something that simply HAD to happen. For my whole scenario to work (and for WWE to still achieve the contrasting character dynamic they wanted for WM), Taker would have had to win the belt back from Kane and then drop it to back to JBL before Mania. And yeah, this sounds convoluted and messy, but it wouldn’t have been any more retarded than Raw’s booking of the World Title at the time.

Anyway, the point of my long-winded fantastical scenario is this: JBL was a shitty champion; Kane was a superior performer; Kane was more over with the crowd; Kane deserved to be WWE Champion much, much more.

WHY IT ISN’T REMEMBERED

One night after Kane was put in his place by Shawn Michaels, a fellow named Gene Snitsky became involved in a chain of events that led to Kane’s worst nightmare. No, not another year-long feud with X-Pac. Even worse, his beloved wife suffered a miscarriage.

I can’t believe I’m going to say this given what we’ve already covered, but from here on out is where the angle really began to make no sense whatsoever. Suddenly, Kane found himself in the role of the babyface as he fought for revenge against the debuting Snitsky. And more bizarre than all that was the fact that Lita had Kane’s back throughout the whole thing. After months of both physical and psychological torture at his hands, Lita was now in full support of her baby daddy. And this went further than husband and wife just being on the same page, as after Kane returned from a Snitsky-caused injury (which WAS his fault) he and his wife were now actually … friends?

“Is this love … that I’m feeling?”

The shift in the direction of the angle was not exactly enough to wipe it from fans’ memories, but looking back I can see how the specifics might confuse the hell out of someone who wasn’t following the product closely at the time. What I find most confusing about the whole thing isn’t necessarily the change in direction but the timing with which it was done. One night after Lita earned a measure of revenge on her husband with the HBK-asskicking she signed him up for, she was suddenly on course to be Kane’s loyal and loving wife.

How, wrestling fans? How can a monstrous dude destroy a chick’s long-term relationship, force her most special parts to touch his, hold her body hostage as a vessel for his child, and then within a few months be on her good side? How?

Try as you might (and ignoring the rumors that wrestling is scripted), you cannot offer an acceptable answer to this question. Therefore, according to WWE, this angle never happened. Anything that cannot be properly explained is wiped from existence. If you don’t believe me, go track down the guy who lifted the briefcase at King of the Ring ’99. For extra credit, find whoever was responsible for GTV.

Aside from the fact that the never-ending Kane/Lita saga made less and less sense over time, the current WWE atmosphere certainly ensures that we won’t be hearing much of this angle anytime in the near future. The kid-friendly programming that we’re used to these days is miles away from the kind of product we were used to just a few years ago. If STONE COLD STEVE AUSTIN can’t say the word “ass” on TV anymore then I’m pretty sure we won’t be revisiting rapes and miscarriages anytime soon.

– –

Feedback! (or, Proof That The World Knows I Exist!)

If New Jersey is a place where dreams wither and die, then I’d better move!

Posted By: Nick M.

Let me tell you a little story… Tommy used to work on the docks. Then the union went on strike. He’s down on his luck, and it’s tough. So tough.

Then, realizing his luck would never improve in his wasteland of a home, he and Gina (who worked the diner all day) took their own lives one tragic night. Later a court ruled that New Jersey was guilty on two counts of involuntary manslaughter.

As well as the awesome column he writes, I think this writer is one of the best simply because he address’s every piece of feedback he receives. I like that.

Posted By: Blodger

I do it for the peoples. As a reader, if I see a writer who DOESN’T acknowledge comments/criticisms, I get the impression that such feedback does not matter to the writer. This isn’t the impression I want to give my readers. You guys are the ones “tuning in” and thus your opinions are of utmost importance to my column.

Not only was that Smackdown the debut of Rey Mysterio, but it was also Jericho’s last ‘official’ night on the blue brand for quite some time.

Four days later, he signed with RAW and attacked Flair, announcing that RAW was, once again, Jericho!

Posted By: Gregson

I remember the Un-Americans as well weren’t too far behind Jericho in exiting the blue brand and taking the Tag Titles to Raw. This might’ve been their last SmackDown as well. I didn’t get into it last week, but the post-Cage-match activities are insane to look at now, as the debuting Mysterio, uber-over Edge, and rookie John Cena stood tall, working together. We always hear younger guys being touted as the “future” of Raw or SmackDown, but things don’t always pan out the way the E sets them up. In this case, the “future” really did come to pass, as all three of these guys became World Champions and public faces of the company within just a few years of that night.

Edge was WWE’s best face in 2002.

Posted By: Guest#7896

My initial reaction to this was, “Wow, that’s a bold argument that could never be satisfactorily defended.” But now that I’ve taken the time to let the wheels turn a bit, you may actually be right. Of course, this all depends on what qualifies someone as the “best” face in any given year. From my perspective, to label someone as the “best” face of 2002, a dude would have to have worked the whole year as a do-gooder while consistently remaining solidly over and participating in some of the highest-profile programs of the year.

So if we go by that logic when looking at 2002, we have to eliminate Hogan, Rock, Austin, HBK, and Mysterio, since none of them worked a full-year schedule. Then we have to knock Undertaker, HHH, Benoit, Booker T, and Lesnar off the list, since all of them experienced a shift to/from the dark side at some point in the year. And then at this point (as far as major names go), we’re basically down to Edge and RVD. And if we’re comparing the two, Edge’s 2002 was, historically speaking, leagues ahead of RVD’s, considering the SmackDown Six era is one of the most cherished periods in modern wrestling history. And as over as Van Dam was in ’02, my memory tells me that Edge was getting bigger pops on a more consistent basis. So yeah, Edge may very well have been WWE’s best babyface in 2002.

cool my comment was replied to.
would jeff hardy vs undertaker ladder match be considered a forgotten favorite or jeff hardy vs abyss full metal mayhem cuz they were awesome.
and i remember edge being my favorite wrestler from shaving angles head all the way to losing to cena. i cheered for everbody against cena so when he lost to him i hated edge sooo much

Posted By: laparkinator

Personally, yeah, I think the Hardy/Taker Ladder match qualifies. But I get the feeling that if I covered it I would see my comment section filled with angry people who were offended I would even suggest they forgot about it. The E doesn’t give a goddamn about that match (which is why I think it qualifies) but this is one of those matches that IWCers are (mostly) all aware of.

I haven’t forgotten about this match.This is one of my favorite matches of all time.’Cause I still have it and the entire SmackDown and the SmackDown 2 weeks before it on tape.This was the SmackDown after Vengeance and it was in my opinion one of the most historic SmackDowns ever.This was when Rey made his WWE debut, Stephanie made her debut as SmackDown GM, and Brock made his SmackDown debut F-5ing the shit out of both Mark Henry and Hulk Hogan (who teamed with the new WWE Undisputed Champ The Rock for a shot at the Tag Team titles against the Un-Americans) in the same night revealing he was the Rock’s SummerSlam opponent.I understand people hating on this face Edge ’cause some guys just perform better as heels than they do as faces and vice versa and Edge is one of those guys.Maybe if he wasn’t so corny as a face with pranks and shit but I this current face Edge ’cause I still see traces of heel Edge inside him like when he pulls his hair and shit.I don’t know maybe it’s because I don’t have as many complaints as most of the IWC.

Posted By: Ted

I’m with you on the current face Edge being a different kind of good guy than he was portraying a few years back, but that’s the way it’s got to be. If he were to revert back to the prank-pulling easy-going dude of ’02, it wouldn’t make a whole lot of sense, considering all of the changes he’s undergone since becoming the Rated-R Superstar. But still, the corny pranks he pulled on Kurt Angle in ’02, childish as they may have been, were still well-received by the audience (and this was before the plague of PG). I think the problem that the Edge-critics have is that WWE hasn’t found a middle ground between the happy-go-lucky Edge of ’02 and the Rated-R Superstar of the last few years, and thus we have a slightly unclear picture of just who exactly he’s supposed to be.

I entirely agree about babyface Edge. I’ve always loved his 2002 face run. He did a great job back then, and really seemed like a guy who’s star was about to rise. I’m an Edge mark largely because the memories of that period. One interesting thing that I remember about it was that for a very brief time near the end of the year, it was him that inherited the role of Smackdown’s Number 1 Babyface, even though he was still just an upper midcarder. The Rock was making movies, Undertaker was taking time off and Edge was getting the biggest pops. And when Edge challenged Brock Lesnar for the WWE title at Rebellion, and I really felt that he deserved to be made into a main eventer in the near future. I remember the big Number 1 Contedner match with Angle, Benoit, Eddie Guerrero and Edge.

Edge and Angle stole the show at the end. To this day, I often think Edge should have won that match. Not only did he do more than enough in kayfabe to win, but since the crowd cheered for Edge like he truly was the most popular guy on the brand in that match, I thought him being a more regular contender for the WWE Title made more sense than turning Kurt Angle tweener for a month just so he could win it from the Big Show and turn back into a heel again. I was disappointed that he didn’t even get another shot for 2 years, even with his long injury that was a very long wait.

Posted By: Sev

Edge was on fire in 2002. He expanded his arsenal of moves, worked on his timing, and suddenly he was having those edge-of-your-seat matches EVERY week. Just like you, I can remember watching the dude get better and better every week, and I was wondering to myself how long before WWE pulled the trigger on giving him the belt. That Fourway Match is a classic and one of my all time favorites (and also a previous column), and as much as it might’ve helped Edge, Angle had to get the victory simply to work towards Team Angle and the eventual Lesnar confrontation. If Edge HADN’T been injured, we probably would’ve seen him mixing it up with Angle and Lesnar after Mania for the title, but it wasn’t meant to be.

And as big an Edge-mark as I am, the dude deserved to wait for his title shot after his return from injury. The roided-up, charismaless dude that returned in ’04 was not the same Edge I knew and loved before. It took him a whole year just to get back into his groove as a character and to start having excellent matches again.

Re: heel turns

CM Punk

that is all

Posted By: Steinershocker

Maybe I was a little unfair in over looking Punk. More on this below …

Even good to decent heel turns haven’t been done in the last few years, let alone awesome ones. Off the top of my head I can’t think of one heel turn that’s actually been worth marking out over since Trips revealed his true intentions to the returning HBK in 2002 (“YOU CAN’T WRESTLE ANYMORE!”), unless of course you count Jericho’s descent into evil over the course of 2008. Michaels Superkicking Hogan was all kinds of badass, but he only heeled it up for a month before instantly reverting back to the standard Jesus-loving HBK. And yeah, I marked for Orton’s surprise RKO on Stacy Keibler, but even that was more for the sake of ending Orton’s horrifying face run than it being a well-executed turn.

What about the fantastic CM Punk turn? Although there wasn’t a specific moment when the heel turn happened (although I guess you could count him cashing it against Hardy or possibly the Smackdown after Night of Champions, pretending to apologise to Hardy and then beating the crap out of him)I t thought it was truly an organic turn (from Punk teasing in his MITB cash in to cashing it in against Hardy, to getting pissed off that the fans turned against him especially to favour a drug user like Hardy and boom Straight Edge).

Oh and Batista and Eddie turning against Rey? I seriously marked out for the Eddie one.

I remember loving the heel Jericho of 2002-03, and definitely thinking he should having been the one carrying Raw as World Champion and not HHH.

Just thinking of some ideas for Forgotten Favourites and I seem to recall a 2000 Smackdown match between Rock (who was then WWF Champion) against Kane and I remember absolutely loving it. However whether it holds up today is another matter…

Posted By: AH

It was my mistake to ignore CM Punk’s recent journey into straight up evilness. I’ve been a Punk-mark for the extent of his WWE career, and ever since the Straight Edge Society debuted he’s been one of the best performers in the company. However, the reason I didn’t mention his “turn” was because I was thinking more along the lines of that one moment of revelation. I was thinking of when Shawn found HHH out (“It was YOU, Hunter!”) or Taker’s surprise attack on JR (“Is that because you’re better than me?”), and not so much about the slow burn we had with Punk (or, on the opposite side, with Batista before WM 21).

As far as Eddie goes, I too marked out for his turn on Rey .. at the time. A guy being driven to madness by a series of losses makes perfect sense, and Eddie looked (from his character’s perspective) to be justified in his madness. But the never-endingness of the feud, plus the absurd route it eventually took on (CUSTODY PAPERS HANGING OVER THE RING? REALLY?), really hurt the whole ’05 heel Eddie for me. As for Batista’s recent heel turn, I liked it to the extent that I’ve been wanting the dude to be a heel for a while now. I’m not so sure about the way it all went down though.

As for Rock-Kane, I can’t remember this off the top of my head, but I’ll see what YouTube can do for me.

I seem to remember a Morrison/Cena match from ECW how good it was. It was the first time that I thought Morrison could be something special and it also helped prove that Cena could work well with just about anybody.

Posted By: The Great Capt. Smooth

I remember these two facing off on the wrestling-focused ECW that aired one night after the infamous three-hour Raw tribute to a dude who killed his family. From what I recall, Cena (then WWE Champion) and Morrison (then ECW Champion) had a solid match, although I can’t be sure that this is the match you’re referring to. I’ll see what I can dig up.

I seriously miss Tajiri in WWE, we got Kung Fu Naki and Jimmy Yang Wang but common!
Tajiri is the only one of these 3 who can combine charisma, talent, comedy and good wrestling.

Imagine if we had Tajiri today teaming up with Santino, comedy oh comedy…

Posted By: Sad Face

I don’t know how Edge and Jericho got Tajiri on your brain, Mr. or Ms. Sad Face, but nonetheless, you are right. Any readers I’ve still got left from last year will remember my love for the Japanese Buzzsaw, as well as my demands that WWE bring him back onto the regular roster. He’s a tremendously talented dude who was way over in either a face or heel role, and he could’ve done so much more than WWE allowed him.

We’re not haters. We just think Edge is a better heel. And he is.

Posted By: Gozzo

I kind of agree and I kind of don’t. I’m more inclined to believe Edge is a better heel because that’s the way he’s won a boatload of World Titles and main evented WrestleMania. And yet, I still can’t shake the memory of just how fucking insanely over the guy was as a face in 2002. If he didn’t go down with an injury before WrestleMania XIX, I fully believe that a face Edge would’ve made it into the ranks of the WWE Title, likely picking up the belt by 2004 at the latest. We just haven’t gotten the chance to see what Edge can do as a face in the long term in the WWE Title picture. If his current face run fizzles out (because of HIS fault and NOT the writers’, which is a huge difference), then I’ll admit the dude is better suited as a heel. But for now I think the jury is out.

Jericho was in the Unification match at Vengence due to himself and The Rock had been feuding over the WCW title for the last few months, With Jericho beating the Rock at No Mercy before Survivors series for it and then losing a few weeks later.

Posted By: flamecondor

Yeah, Austin-Angle and Jericho-Rock were two hot, long-running feuds at the time. I was just a little hazy as to whether there were kayfabe qualifying matches for the tournament or if these matches were simply made because of the history between the four guys.

Regarding Paranoid heel, Edge also was it leading upto the UT HIAC match. I really liked that buildup. Michael Hayes is a genius.

Posted By: Arnab

Joker-inspired, crazy Edge was supremely badass. I don’t know how much was Edge’s idea or Michael Hayes’, but regardless we got ourselves a hell of a finale to one of the year’s biggest feuds.

Yeah i’m from the UK, you caught me out lol. I respect the USA unlike most people from the UK and its always been a dream of mine to visit there sometime.

Anyway Smackdown was on a role in 2002 and this match is a great example. If Edge didn’t get injured in early 2003 maybe he would of got his 1st WWE championship reign a lot sooner than he did

Posted By: Craig J

I don’t see how the UK couldn’t respect us when we’ve got immensely talented individuals like Lady Gaga and George Bush. And if you’re planning a trip, be warned. There’s tons of cool stuff up and down (and near) our coasts, but then there’s this black hole in the middle of our country where no one comes out alive. Or with anything over a fifth-grade reading level.

And SmackDown’s 02-03 run is (next to the Attitude of Austin) my favorite period in wrestling. So many great matches. And I agree 100% on Edge getting his WWE Title way sooner if he hadn’t gone onto the injured list.

You, sir, are a genius. Seems like we’re getting some quality writing back in the wrasslin’ zone here at 411.

This was a great match and, as you said, both men have certianly evolved, but it’s cool to relive their old characters.

Jericho can play a great goofy heel (been watching his stuff in WCW and it’s absolute gold…you should do a column about it) and the IWC has forgotten what a great VALIANT face that Edge can play.

Posted By: Guest#7178

I’m good, but there can be only one …

I was always more of a WWE fan, but back in the day I made it a point to see what Jericho was up to on Nitro and Thunder. Everthing the man has done in every character role he’s been given, he is, as you said, absolute gold. Often times, during a lull in conversation (and usually when alcohol is involved), I will unexpectedly shout “ARMBAR!” for everyone in the room/building to hear. And this is the point where maybe two dudes laugh and the rest of the bar/restaurant/strip club stares at me like I am retarded.

Edge and Angle stole the show at the end. To this day, I often think Edge should have won that match. Not only did he do more than enough in kayfabe to win, but since the crowd cheered for Edge like he truly was the most popular guy on the brand in that match, I thought him being a more regular contender for the WWE Title made more sense than turning Kurt Angle tweener for a month just so he could win it from the Big Show and turn back into a heel again. I was disappointed that he didn’t even get another shot for 2 years, even with his long injury that was a very long wait.

And do you remember what Edge did after that? A feud with A-Train – groan. It was supposed to be Matt Hardy who beat up Rey then feud with Hardy. No offense to A-Train but how much better would that have been;
1. Put over Mattitude Matt Hardy as a serious heel.
2. Links to the history of the Hardyz vs Edge and Christian
3. Contributed to the heat between Hardy vs Rey for the Cruiserweight title at Wrestlemania.
Ah well. I remember that Fatal Four Way fondly. what an epic match. Smackdown was so awesome in that period. Remember the wicked 2 out of 3 falls tag team title match? Or Rey vs Benoit vs Angle main-event?

How about Rey vs Matt Hardy main-eventing Smackdown where Rey won the Cruiserweight title?

Posted By: AH

’02-’03 SmackDown: That’s that good shit. Thankfully, most of the major encounters of the time have been released on DVD at one time or another. But even more thankfully, I still have my tapes from that period, a faraway time when TV matches were well worth recording.

I like your Rey-Matt-Edge angle a hell of a lot better than what we actually got. Much as I give the guy a hard time these days, I was a big Mattitude mark around that time. The dude doesn’t seem to have the same fire these days, but back around the time of his heel turn and breakout as a singles wrestler this guy was the money. And he was certainly more talented/over than a guy like A-Train, whose repeated push-misfires put him alongside the likes of Billy Gunn and Mark Henry.

A match that would be perfect for this column would be Jericho vs. The Rock for the WCW Title at No Mercy (? I think). It was an excellent match that saw a lot of unexpected spots (Jericho using The Rock Bottom, busting out a “new” finisher in the Breakdown and cheating while still being a face). Speaking of that, has anyone ever had more finishers than Jericho? Lionsault, Liontamer/Walls of Jericho, Breakdown, CodeBreaker. I suppose Taker is close with the Tombstone, Last Ride, Hell’s Gate and sometimes Chokeslam.

Posted By: Crook

Don’t you worry, Mr. Cook. That match is (almost) a sure fire future column. The only reason I’ve stalled on it is the also awesome Austin-RVD-Angle match from the same night. Choosing between these two is no easy task.

As for Jericho, you forgot the dreaded ARMBAR. For a while there, Edge had a boatload of finishers: Spear, Edgecution, Edge-O-Matic, Downward Spiral, and whatever he called that Figure Four variation. Booker T’s had the Axe Kick, Book End, Harlem Hangover, and (if it counts) the Missile Dropkick. The Rock officially only had the Rock Bottom, People’s Elbow, and Sharpshooter, but I can remember him beating guys with the DDT, Spinebuster, and Samoan Drop as well. But there’s probably some guy who’s got 15 finishers and neither of us are thinking of him.

Com’n Jimmy James. Rip on Chambers, we all want you to do it. Maybe you should steal his new girlfriend so we can get another month or two of columns about how sad of a panda he is.

Grimm > Chambers.

Posted By: Guest#7837

Oh, Guest#7837, how am I to respond to this? To start a faux-war-of-the-words with said writer would only drive more readers to said writer’s work to see his response. Not that it is my agenda to lessen his audience, but it is also not my agenda to increase it. I’ve got my readers, and he’s got his. I think we can share this little space of the internet just fine.

Face Edge seems to be handcuffed by the PG rating, and it is hurting the build of the jericho feud. We believed edge was a heel because he was a snake, but he was also always a threat and looks like a rockstar that bangs girls like lita.
I have always been excited to see how edge would represent the Rated R moniker as a face. It just doesn’t seem like he can do that with the PG label, or maybe its something else holding him back. Since his return, we have seen nothing of the Rated R character, he is relying on his finisher to define his character. Not the ladder matches or the con-chair-to, but the spear? bummer

Posted By: bones

I agree. I think WWE is confused as to what they want to do with the current face Edge, and they’re afraid that making a long-haired sexual rockstar guy their top hero isn’t going to work in the kid-friendly environment. But then again, if they’re willing to run an anti-drug CM Punk as one of their most dastardly heels, I don’t see why it would hurt to spice Edge’s faceness up a little bit. Punk’s really the only reminder we have these days of the grey area that most Attitude Era characters found themselves in, where the lines of good and evil were blurred. Having Edge tread in similar waters might liven up the product a little more.

YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO BE MY FRIEND!

Posted By: Batista

Rey Mysterio is nobody’s friend. If Rey were an ice cream flavor, he’d be pralines and dick.

For the Vengeance tournament I think they just naturally took the two main feuds (Austin and Angle for the WWF Championship, with heel/face roles reversed, and Rock and Jericho for the World Championship, with Jericho fully heel) and used that. Angle was getting the preferential treatment by being friends with McMahon (and a bit of kayfabe logic in that, while a babyface, he was loyal to the WWF while Austin wasn’t…but don’t think too hard cos the face/heel stuff at the Invasion end will make your head hurt) and Jericho was still in a months-long feud with Rock.

Edge wasn’t going to win the four-way for the ’03 Rumble shot because WWE was clearly setting up for Angle/Lesnar at Mania.

God, 2002-03 SmackDown kicked so much ass.

Posted By: neverAcquiesce

Angle/Lesnar seemed to be the plan for a while, so, yeah, there was no way Edge was going to challenge the Showster for the belt. And I will never be able to show enough love for SmackDown from that time. It made my wrestling life complete.

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Well, that’ll do it for this week. Everybody have a safe and enjoyable WrestleMania experience. For this is the day that all is right in the world. This is more important than the Beatles or Christmas. This is WrestleMania.

Until next time, stay safe and out of Dundalk.