Forgotten Favorites 05.07.09: King of the Ring 2001 – Kurt Angle vs. Shane McMahon

>Welcome back, wrestling fans.

If this is your first time here, beware. I have a tendency to blow many fans’ minds by offering a wealth of trivial wrestling information. You have been warned. And oh yeah, this might help:

The evil master of wrestling history, who rules from his titanic towers of evil, takes great joy in robbing his followers of cherished memories. He has even gone so far as to wave his billion-dollar wand on more than one occasion in an attempt to completely erase particular pockets of time. Well, we, the people, have refused to stand for such injustices, and as a result, I have been called upon to right the wrongs of time.

This week I’m prepared to take heat for covering this match. But I stand by this match as one that WWE has failed to properly acknowledge over the years, regardless of its cult status with die-hard fans.

And so I ask, who wants great wrestling?

King of the Ring – June 24, 2001
Street Fight
Kurt Angle vs. Shane McMahon

HOW IT WENT DOWN

The May 31st, 2001 edition of WWE SmackDown is regarded as having showcased one of the best matches of the last ten years. On that night, Steve Austin defended the WWE Title against Chris Benoit in his hometown of Edmonton, Alberta. However, what also occurred that night that gets way less attention was the beginnings of a serious rivalry. A serious rivalry that would result in one hell of a serious match in just a few short weeks.

Before Austin and Benoit tore the house down, Kurt Angle and Chris Jericho stepped into the ring for an awesome encounter of their own. Jericho and Benoit had recently been a thorn in the side of Vince McMahon and his beloved freshly-heeled Steve Austin, so the ever-loyal company-man Kurt Angle stepped up for his boss to put Jericho in his place. However, another of Vince’s foes would make his presence known in the Angle-Jericho match, when Shane McMahon, the brand new owner of WCW, interfered on Jericho’s behalf. Following the match, a livid Olympian stormed into Commissioner William Regal’s office and demanded a match with Shane McMahon at the upcoming King of the Ring PPV.

The following week on Raw, Angle paid a follow-up visit to Regal, ensuring that his match with Shane was a done deal. Regal made everything official, and Angle declared that not only would he crush the new WCW owner at KOTR, but he’d also become the first ever repeat KOTR Tournament winner. Later that night, Angle displayed his superiority over the world when he teamed with the Holly Cousins to defeat the Dudleyz and Spike, pinning Bubba Ray after an Angle Slam.

Angle’s winning ways (as well as his problems with the Hollys) continued days later on SmackDown. In the first round of the KOTR Tournament, Angle pinned Hardcore Holly and advanced to the Quarter-Finals.

Just a few days later on Raw, Angle was out in the ring again listing the many ways in which he rules the universe. He reminded fans that in just a couple of weeks he would embarrass the new WCW owner and win the KOTR title in one night. But when Kurt called out his “cowardly” competition, he got a little more than he bargained for in a surprise appearance by the Undertaker. Paranoid about the man stalking his wife and remembering Kurt’s history with Stephanie and HHH, Taker accused Angle of being the man filming his wife. Angle, the fine gentleman he is, remarked that he once met Taker’s wife and did not find her remotely attractive. Apparently this was a mistake, since Angle ended up on the receiving end of a Last Ride moments later. And when all was said and done, when Taker had left the ring and Angle was just getting back to his feet, Shane McMahon rushed the ring and gave Kurt a taste of his own medicine, downing him with an Angle Slam.

One week later, Angle had his Quarter-Final KOTR match against Jeff Hardy, forcing the then-tag-team-specialist to tap out to the Ankle Lock. Later that night Angle came to ringside to provide color commentary for another Quarter-Final match, calling the action as Christian took on the Big Show. With a good amount of history between the guys, Edge and Kurt Angle worked their deceptive magic to ensure a Christian pinfall victory after a Conchairto. Now Angle, Edge, Christian, and Rhyno — four guys that had watched each others backs throughout their WWE careers — made up the Semi-Final brackets of the tournament.

And so the night of King of the Ring came. In the first match of the night, Angle took on Christian in a Semi-Final contest. Much to the surprise of everyone, Shane McMahon got involved on behalf of Kurt Angle, helping the Olympian deliver an Angle Slam to a distracted Christian and pick up the victory. Angle moved on to the Finals to face Edge, who picked up a victory over Rhyno in the second match of the night. Shane McMahon would make his presence known yet again in the Tournament Final, but this time it was far less Angle-appreciated. During a moment of referee incompetence, Shane ran in an delivered a Spear to Angle, leading him right into an Edge DDT and a pinfall loss.

Shane went out of his way to help Angle defeat Christian in order to ensure Angle wrestled twice before even entering the Street Fight. And then in the Final, Shane made sure that Angle was robbed of the glory he so desired. So we had seen plenty of both of these guys at KOTR before they even locked up for their Street Fight.

Did Angle have anything left in the tank for a third match? Could Shane hang with an Olympic Gold Medalist? Take a look and see for yourself.

WHY IT SHOULD BE REMEMBERED

If some insane individual should ever tell you that Kurt Angle is overrated, you should immediately grab a copy of the King of the Ring 2001 DVD and bludgeon said mental person with it. The Olympian wrestled THREE TIMES that night, putting on great-to-fucking-great matches with Christian, Edge, and Shane McMahon. And somehow each match was better than the one before it, culminating in the twenty-plus-minute joygasm that was the Street Fight. Not surprisingly, it wasn’t long after King of the Ring that fans started to realize just how good Angle really was, and he suddenly went from one of the E’s most over heels to one of its most popular heroes. Angle’s face heat was off the charts that summer during his feud with Steve Austin. From then on it was rivalry after rivalry, classic match after classic match, with Angle putting on clinics against Kane, Edge, Hogan, Mysterio, Benoit, and so on. I feel like this KOTR Street Fight was what really got the ball rolling on Angle’s ascent to legendary status, where the discussion of Angle’s status among the greats really got started. With discussions of money drawn put to the side, a perfectly legitimate case can be made for Kurt Angle as the greatest to ever step inside the ring, and it all can be traced back to his Street Fight with Shane’O Mac.

Angle’s career took off in 2001 following this Street Fight

And as for Shane, this match speaks pretty damn highly about what the guy’s willing to do for the fans. Part of the reason I wanted to cover this match this week was because, as of late, Shane McMahon has bored me out of my skull. This week’s Raw was one of the most agonizing experiences of my wrestling fandom. It wasn’t Monday Night Raw. It was Monday Night 2 HOURS OF SHANE MCMAHON VS THE WWE CHAMP! And the worst part (aside from Shane being booked on par with the WWE Champion) is that Shane is not this bad. Or at least he wasn’t at one point in history. There was a time when a Shane McMahon match was something special. Once he shockingly tore the house down with Test at SummerSlam ’99, every time Shane was booked for a match you knew some serious shit was going to go down. Whether he was wrestling his own father, Big Show, Kane, or “The Lethal Stoic” Steve Blackman, you knew that at some point in the match Shane was going to take a sick bump, which often times turned into multiple sick bumps. I’m not saying that in order for Shane to recapture his old glory he needs to start risking his life again for my entertainment, but the dude needs to show me something other than his ever-slowing shuffle and his (by this point) quite tired Van Terminator. Oops, I meant COAST TO COAST! LOLZ~!!!1!

Sorry … not sure what happened there …

The point I’m getting at is that if any other fans out there have been miserably groaning at the recent underwhelming overexposure of the Boy Wonder, we still have nights like King of the Ring 2001 that we can look back on and remember fondly. There was a time when Shane McMahon was willing to do anything to steal the show, and good goddamn, did he ever steal the show at KOTR ’01. Although to cut Shane a little slack, everybody gets older. Everybody loses a little spring in their step over time. And it’s not so much that Shane isn’t willing to take insane bumps these days as much as his body probably just cannot withstand that kind of brutality. But there was a time when Shane seemed to give little regard for being Suplexed retarded, and nights like KOTR ’01 have cemented that in history.

WHY IT ISN’T REMEMBERED

Everyone remembers the sheer brilliance of the Alliance angle. Just as everyone remembers my skills with sarcasm. But when you think back to the Alliance, you think of the babyface WWE defending itself from the invasion of the heel WCW/ECW Alliance. That’s the basic plot that WWE followed for most of the summer and fall of 2001. But before WWE became the good guys in the fight, before the ECW name even entered the picture, it was the group of WCW invaders that were seen as the babyfaces. I think part of the reason WWE might skip over this Street Fight in the history books is because it makes the booking of the time look a little … odd. Initially fans were excited to see fresh faces on WWE television, popping for appearances by guys like Lance Storm and Mike Awesome. Shane McMahon had big time face heat after his “purchase” of WCW, and he was clearly the fan favorite throughout his feud with Kurt Angle. But then, almost overnight, Shane became the evil, unappreciative son once more, and suddenly he was determined to run his father out of business. He partnered with Paul Heyman and Stephanie McMahon to form the Alliance, and the rest was WrestleCrap history. By the time Invasion came around a month after KOTR, the face/heel lines had been drawn. The main event saw Kurt Angle on the babyface Team WWE, where he and four other men battled five Alliance representatives chosen by the now-evil Shane McMahon and his sister. The KOTR Street Fight is one of the only times you’re going to see WCW owner Shane McMahon coming to the ring for a huge face pop, and for that reason I think this match has kind of lost its place over time.

He may not seem like it these days, but Shane used to be one violent S.O.B.

And while Shane and Angle may have stolen the show match-wise, that night also played host to several other significant moments in history, ones that are usually revisited much more by WWE. KOTR ’01 marked the WWE PPV debut of ex-WCW talent Booker T and Diamond Dallas Page (no, the WrestleMania pink Cadillac doesn’t count). DDP, in the midst of a stalker angle that was only going to get better (and by better I mean worse), appeared to much fan interest, begging the Undertaker to come out and make him famous. Booker T appeared to an even greater audience reaction when he made his presence known by attacking Stone Cold during his main event title defense. Oh and you might be familiar with that title match as the last match Chris Benoit had before sitting on the shelf for a year, rehabbing his neck. Of course WWE will never reference this ever again, but throughout Benoit’s career that KOTR Triple Threat was often looked back to when discussing the Crippler’s neck problems, earning much more attention that Angle-Shane was ever given. And then aside from big debuts and career-altering injuries, we had the actual KOTR tournament itself, where the future Rated-R Superstar made his first major singles impression on WWE. WWE hasn’t gone out of its way in recent years to highlight Edge’s first victory on the road to singles greatness, but even then it’s still gotten more attention than the Street Fight that happened the same night. So with the debut of WCW talent, injuries to major superstars, and newer superstars springboarding, it’s easy to see how the Street Fight may have taken a backseat historically.

WILL IT BE REMEMBERED?

I might be saying this too much lately, but I’m kind of bending the rules with this week’s pick. I’m sure the majority of you guys are probably familiar with this match, and a lot of you likely watched it live. But since it happened, WWE has not given it the proper credit it deserves. This was easily one of the best matches of 2001, and yet I can’t remember the last time WWE has acknowledged its existence. With no WWE-endorsed Angle DVDs in the forseeable future, the slim chances of a Shane DVD ever being released, and the destruction of King of the Ring, my hopes aren’t all that high for the future. I would love to see a King of the Ring Anthology set, but I’m not counting on it happening anytime soon.

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

How about the Last Ride match between Taker and Kennedy at Armageddon 2006 for Forgotten Favourites ?

Posted By: Paul

That is indeed a good possibility. The whole Taker-Kennedy program got mixed reviews from a lot of people, so I’d enjoy making a case for their historical significance. Kennedy didn’t exactly go super-over as many had hoped, but the two guys still put on some good matches together.

THANK YOU X 1000!!!!! I have always loved this match since I ordered the PPV and purchased the VHS! It has always been a guilty pleasure of mine to see Shamrock and Undertaker tear it up. Your article reeks of greatness this week.

Posted By: B~Rad73

You, sir, reek of greatness. Glad to see great wrestling bringing joy to the world.

How about Taka Michinokou defending his light heavyweight championship against El Pantera at No Way Out 1998?

Posted By: Guest#7250

I haven’t seen this one, so I’m going to have to check it out. I love me some Taka though.

Hey jim! great article again! I particularly liked the part where you took off all your clothes really slowly and stared right into the camera!

Keep up the good work. Wrestling r teh awesomez

Posted By: AllUrBaseRBelong2Me

IT NEVER POSTS AGAIN OR IT GETS THE HOSE.

Ministry Undertaker was fucking awesome!

Posted By: Guest#0565

Agreed. The dude was straight up EVIL and answered to no one … until Vince was revealed as the higher power. He may not have been in the best ring shape of his career, but the dude was damned entertaining.

Yep – it’s out in the UK in a tagged classics pack with St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.

Posted By: Sepulchasm

Damn you, UK!

Great article,I actually watched this match the night I read this article.I think one of the next forgotten favorites should be CM Punk vs. Elijah Burke from Judgement Day 2007.It was 15+ minutes of a great match.Look forward to reading the next forgotten favorite.Keep up the good work.

Posted By: Guest#8564

I’ve been considering doing one of the many awesome outings that Punk and Burke had in ECW. I was going to cover a televised match, but now that you bring it up I’m going to go back and take a look at Judgment Day one more time. Thanks, yo!

“Eventually they’re going to want to freshen things up, and one or two of these guys is going to undergo a change. But none of this is going to happen until the kids stop chanting for Cena, so I wouldn’t hold my breath.”

I couldnt agree more, people always say Cena and Batista need to freshen up their act which they do. However, people arent tired of Orton and Edge as heels because they have both evolved since this match, both are probably at their peak in terms of heel-dom.
As a side note though, I am praying that after two years of HHH bullcrap involvement that we get Orton-Cena 1-1 at Wrestlemania and a glorious double turn that would make the internet explode.

Posted By: Brad

WWE pulling off a double turn with any two guys at this point would make the internet explode, since it would mean that the E actually thought outside the box at a creative meeting. I agree that HHH has ruined what should’ve been Orton-Cena at either one of the last two WMs, so let’s hope that if they run it for WM 26 that we get a solid, logical feud between the two. That’s all I’m asking for. As far as Cena turning heel goes, my money’s on it happening sometime during or after his next program with Batista. Unless Big Dave is the one who’s going to turn.

Edge was certainly injured in the run-up to WM23, because if you remember he didn’t wrestle at all from that RVD match right the way to mania. He was always stirring the shit up between the other MITB participants, so they would fight amongst themselves leaving him (storyline-wise) fresh.

Posted By: Quinny

He’s a sneaky and deceptive man. But then again, he’s Canadian.

“Where to, Stephanie?!?!” Greatest line on a wrestling broadcast ever. Even if, by that point, we had to suffer through the mind-numbingly illogical Corporate Ministry. Still, Satanic, bearded Undertaker was beyond awesome. Having been raised in a strict Christian household it felt like forbidden fruit that I was destined to love.

Russo could, and did, turn out a lot of crap (he’s got his own WrestleCrap wing, don’t he?) but when he and Vinnie Mac worked together they could come up with some damn captivating television. It didn’t often make sense, and could contradcit itself from week-to-week, but damn if I wasn’t on my couch at 8pm (or was it still 7:57 at that time?) every Monday.

And, once again, the UK bogarts all the good shit.

Posted By: neverAcquiesce

Russo came up with some ridiculous (and downright stupid) stuff, but as you said the man was certainly capable of coming up with captivating TV. I was intrigued every step of the way through the mind-boggling booking of the Attitude Era. Of course, I was also 12 years old, so I was a lot more forgiving of illogical storylines. But even looking back now, Russo and Vince were masters of interweaving nearly every angle into one mega-storyline. The entire Survivor Series ’98 broadcast is still (in my opinion) one of sports-entertainment’s greatest accomplishments, simply because everything was connected. Things got a little too connected the following year with the Corporate Ministry, with all sorts of wires crossing, but at least the effort to unify the show was there.

Have we covered Taka vs HHH for the WWF Title yet? BEST.MATCH.EVER.

Wrestling went downhill after Taka didn’t win the title!

Posted By: Kyle

HOW did I forget about this match? HOW? You, Kyle, are the man. If I can find this match online it stands a very good chance of being covered.

I had never thought Taker had taken steroids until I saw that photo. Holy crap, that guy is jacked.

Posted By: Guest#3702

Silly, mortal. You think Undertaker uses earth steroids? The dude is jacked by the power of the dark side.

This match seems to have mixed feelings from people, i remember it been pretty good tho some find it a bit boring & im sure the crowd is pretty dead.

Still i gotta agree that ministry Taker was really cool, his matches wernt the best back then but the carracter was insane.

Posted By: jbardo

Yeah, the crowd wasn’t all that hot during the match. But I chalk that up to Attitude’s focus on characters over wrestling action. And indeed, Ministry Taker was the bomb diggity.

I’m sorry but I just can’t figure out why people think the single most boring character of the Attitude era was so great. Are you just basing it on the pictures of him, or what? The guy gained about 50 pounds and proceeded to drop a big fat turd in the ring and on the mic every single chance he got.

Then he left for six months, and Biker Taker was fresh for a month or two upon his return before we were right back where we left off with him, burying guys who needed the rub. I don’t think he was ever remotely interesting until he met up with Angle in 2006.

Posted By: The REAL MP

There are many things you can call Ministry Taker, but “boring” is not one of them. The dude may not have been in the best shape of his career, but I’ll be damned if he wasn’t one of the most intriguing characters on the show. He SACRIFICED people, man. He tied them to a faux-crucifix and SACRIFICED them. Fans weren’t tuning in for wrestling action in 1999 anyway; they were watching for the larger-than-life characters. And Undertaker was most definitely larger-than-life.

Man…every week you continue to make me go “Holy Shit…no he didn’t bring that match back from the grave!!!”…in a good way of course. Dude…seriously keep up the good work! Definitely keeping me on my toes for my future column ideas!!

Posted By: Julian Bond

Thanks, man. Hope this week was another pleasant surprise.

“I don’t think he was ever remotely interesting until he met up with Angle in 2006.”

In terms of ring work i agree with that, the last 3 years has easily been the most consistantrun hes had as far as good matches go.

Posted By: jbardo

Like jbardo, if we’re applying that statement to his ring work, I agree. Taker’s matches the last few years have been, hands down, the best of his career.

i rememberwatching Shamrock vs. Taker on VHS.I actually thought Shamrock was going to win…that is until he tried to Tombstone Taker and we all know if your name is not Kane you can’t Tombstone Taker.

Posted By: The Gold Standard

Which makes me wonder why so many people have actually tried to Tombstone him. You’d think this would be common knowledge amongst the wrestlers by now, but apparently not.

great article…thank you for giving their match a shout out…i own the vhs copy of backlash…it was a great match that far exceeded expectations and showed some of undertakers untapped talent…its sad though…after matches like this…you cant help but wonder how many other wrestlers are being held down by wwe.? i would have loved to see angle/shamrock….or shamrock/ benoit…..even shamrock/jericho…

Posted By: Guest#0420

Shamrock/Jericho almost happened but never came to be. I would’ve given up my family to see Angle vs. Shamrock in each of their primes, but fate can be quite cruel to avid wrestling fans.

@The REAL MP

Workrate-wise, yes, Taker was never *that great* prior to ’06 or so (unless Bret, Shawn, or Kurt was standing across from him). Ten years ago I would never have expected something like WrestleMania XXV to come out of the Dead Man.

Buuuuuuuuttt, his satanic character was fucking awesome. The look, the followers, the music (fuck all y’all, I totally dug the rock version), Satantaker was what Attitude was all about.

Posted By: neverAcquiesce

This is basically the same reaction I had. Attitude was about characters, not workrate.

When i was 10 i fucking loved this undertaker… Not sure why. Kinda worrying if I think about it.

Posted By: Tomithy

Can you not hear your true calling? Is the Dark Father not whispering your name?

thank you for liking my work. you should see the submissions I practice on michelle.

Posted By: the undertaker

HOT DAMN! A ZOMBIE READS MY COLUMN!

still waiting for Bret vs. 123 Kid, WWF Championship match from monday night raw.

Posted By: Guest#3907

Haven’t forgotten about it, don’t worry. It was featured on the Best of Raw DVD, so I’m hesitant to cover it. But hell, great matches deserve attention, so I’m keeping it in the bullpen.

This match was fucking great. Backlash 99, next to No Mercy, was probably the best pay per view from that year.

Posted By: CharlesBronson

I’m kind of partial to SummerSlam, but Backlash was a hell of a show. And HOT DAMN! CHARLES BRONSON READS MY COLUMN!

I always thought Shamrock was underrated. Sure, the guy might have had the personality of an ironing board, but he was a pretty good wrestler. The fact that he could legitimately kick some serious ass and have even big tough guys pissing their pants like babies is cool too.

On the other hand, I think Ministry Taker is overrated as hell. I’ve always preferred the gray-gloved, spooky Undertaker from when he first joined the WWF when he would be powered by the urn. It might sound cartoony nowadays but that Undertaker was damn cool.

Posted By: Zingy

Shamrock could’ve done some great stuff if only he’d debuted just a couple of years later than he did. As far as Ministry Taker goes, I loved every minute of it. The cartoony Taker wasn’t really my cup of tea, but any Taker is good Taker.

Thanks so much for this… Ive seen this match get flack for being slow and boring but its probably my fav none Rocky/Ken Shamrock match out there.

Posted By: Chad

Any bad heat this match gets is totally unwarranted. Shamrock had some awesome matches in his short career in the E, and this was definitely one of his best.

I remember at the time everyone was shitting all over this match, but I loved it. The spectacle of seeing someone break down Taker like Shamrock did coupled with that fucking Chokeslam-to-Armbar counter (this should’ve got 3 stars on that alone) just made this match for me. I would’ve loved to see how Ken would’ve made out if he’d just stayed around for a few months longer as opposed to leaving before the Radicals arrived.

Posted By: AJP

If Shamrock had been given the opportunity to learn and really apply himself as a wrestler (rather than the short-tempered dude who goes in his ZONE) I fully believe he would’ve given us some classics. He could’ve done some amazing things with Benoit or Guerrero.

– –

And that’ll do it for this week. I wasn’t able to get to all of the comments, but some are better than none, I guess. Next week I’ll return to form. Remember to keep those suggestions coming. You guys had some awesome ones last week that I hope I’m able to cover in future columns.

Until next time, stay safe and out of jail.