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Kevin’s Random Reviews: WWF Vengeance 2001
Loading...WWF Vengeance 2001
December 9th, 2001 | San Diego Sports Arena in San Diego, California | Attendance: 10,699
The poorly booked invasion angle is now a thing of the past and the WWF looks forward to a new era with an absolutely stacked roster. Ric Flair debuted to become 50/50 owner with Vince McMahon, who reverted back to a heel with WCW and ECW gone. However, there are still two top titles and that needs to be fixed, which will happen on this show, crowning an Undisputed Champion. It is the first ever Vengeance event.
The opening video package focused on the four Superstars competing for the WCW and WWF Titles tonight. Those are Steve Austin, The Rock, Chris Jericho and Kurt Angle. It oddly featured a lot of Freddie Blassie. I forgot the theme song to this show was “Sinner” by Drowning Pool. I dig it. Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler handle commentary.
One thing I hate are promos on Pay-Per-Views. So of course, this show opened with Vince McMahon. It’s an overly long promo about how he feels disrespected. Ric Flair interrupted and basically told Vince to shut up so the show can start.
Albert and Scotty 2 Hotty vs. WWE European Champion Christian and Test
T&A EXPLODES! The Hip-Hip Hippo and Scotty danced on Vince, causing the owner to furiously leave. JR called this a “bonus match.” Christian and Test were Alliance guys who stuck around because of an Immunity Battle Royal (Test) and the European Title (Christian). Scotty played the face in peril throughout this, as expected. When Albert did get the tag, he swung Christian like his name was Cesaro. Christian countered the WORM and went for his own, but Albert got involved. Albert survived a big boot, before planting Christian with the Baldo Bomb to win at 6:12. Average way to start a show. The crowd kind of liked the hip-hop duo and the formula followed was solid. [**]
Backstage, William Regal was interviewed about his “questionable” methods. This insinuation besmirched Mr. Regal.
WWF Intercontinental Championship: Edge (c) vs. William Regal
Regal has a horrible remixed theme. Even with the shit theme, he was one step ahead of Edge from the start. Edge’s offense felt like an act of desperation whenever he got something in. His Edge-o-Matic was a great example of that. Edge made a mistake when he missed a dive and crashed into the steel steps. Regal pulled out a strategically placed pair of brass knuckles from the turnbuckle and hid them in his trunks. He followed with three butterfly bombs, but Edge kept kicking out. Frustrated, Regal went for the brass knuckles, only for Edge to be prepared and nail a Spear to retain at 9:07. Solid little match here. It was built around Regal having the veteran upper hand, but Edge being resilient and ready for the eventual cheap shot. [**½]
In the back, Kurt Angle barged into Ric Flair’s office and they had a fun exchange. Angle was aggressive and didn’t believe that Flair believed in him.
Elsewhere, hot referee Lita had a word with Matt Hardy. Matt said it was a big night to prove he was the brains of the Hardy Boyz. She promised to call it down the middle.
Jeff Hardy vs. Matt Hardy
Lita is the special guest referee. At Survivor Series, Jeff wanted to do a fancy highlight and it cost them the titles, so Matt was displeased. Though Jeff was being selfish, he was booked as the face. Lita was the most over person in this match, which didn’t help the crowd reactions. After some basic early exchanges, Matt heeled it up by crotching Jeff. Jeff tweaked his leg on a high risk move, which made sense given the story, so Matt attacked it. Matt tried using the ropes for leverage on a pin, but Lita caught him and yelled at him. Maybe Lita only cheated in 2005 because Matt cheated here. Matt uncharacteristically tried a high risk super Twist of Fate. Jeff sent him off and won with the Swanton at 12:31. Matt got his foot on the ropes but Lita missed it. A disappointment considering their tag team chemistry. I think part of it was that the fans didn’t want to see them fight. There were elements of a story, it just never came together as well as it could’ve. [**¼]
More backstage stuff as Trish Stratus entered the Rock’s locker room. They flirted, she gave him a good luck kiss and Rock basically said he was gonna hit that later. They’d make some pretty babies.
WWF Tag Team Championship: The Dudley Boyz (c) w/ Stacy Keibler vs. Big Show and Kane
I forgot Show and Kane were a team in this era. About five years later, they’d lose the Raw Tag Titles to a bunch of male cheerleaders. The problem with their team is that you can’t draw sympathy on them. They dominated early until we got the highlight of the match. Stacy got in the ring and Big Show pulled down her shorts and spanked her. Stacy’s ass gets at least ****½. The challengers continued to dominate until the Dudleys exposed a turnbuckle. They hit a modified 3D on Show onto the exposed buckle to retain at 6:51. A terrible match. It had no structure. I get the idea of Show and Kane being too much so the Dudleys had to cheat to beat them; it just wasn’t entertaining. [½*]
In the back, Lita apologized to Matt for missing his foot on the ropes. The broken man left in a huff.
WWF Hardcore Championship: Rob Van Dam (c) vs. The Undertaker
After the Alliance stuff, Undertaker turned heel. RVD brought his fun brand of offense to this. Taker took things to the floor and they battled through the crowd. These matches were perfect for RVD’s style. The fans chanted for him, but Taker responded, “RVD’s getting his ass kicked.” He wasn’t wrong. RVD used weapons to combat Taker’s size, including a fire extinguisher. He also used the environment, leaping off a section of the crowd onto Taker. On the stage, RVD blocked the Last Ride by grabbing the set. RVD got in some signature stuff, like the chair skateboard spot and Rolling Thunder. Taker avoided the Van Daminator and chokeslammed RVD off the stage through two tables to win at 11:05. One of the most fun matches of Taker’s American Badass phase. RVD was a breath of fresh air to the Hardcore Title division. This was creative, kept a good pace and allowed RVD to look better than most guys Taker was beating at the time. [***¼]
Backstage, Chris Jericho bickered to Ric Flair about how nobody believes he has a chance tonight.
WWF Women’s Championship: Trish Stratus (c) vs. Jacqueline
Trish picked up her first of seven Women’s Titles at Survivor Series. I guess this was the WWF putting Trish in there with a veteran to help her along. I never saw much in Jacqueline, though. They try here, but the fans and Jerry Lawler just want puppies. It’s a shame because they were surprisingly snug with some of their strikes. All Lawler cared about was Trish’s bra. When Stratusfaction failed, Trish won with a backslide at 3:35. The wrestling segments were awkward. However, I liked how hard they hit each other and the small story they told of Trish finding a way to overcome her shortcomings against the veteran. [*]
A recap aired of Vince McMahon being forced to kiss Rikishi’s ass on Smackdown.
WWF Championship: Steve Austin (c) vs. Kurt Angle
Their match at SummerSlam was one of my favorites ever. The roles were reversed here, with Angle as a cowardly heel and Austin back to babyface. Austin’s offense to start wasn’t that interesting, making for a polar opposite of Angle’s work in that SummerSlam outing. Angle went for the ankle, setting up a weakness. His offense was much better. His rolling Germans ruled, but I thought it was cool to see Austin come back with his own variation. Like he learned something after Angle and Benoit spent most of 2001 suplexing the hell out of him. Angle couldn’t put Austin away and threw a temper tantrum. That allowed Austin to score with the Stunner and retain at 14:59. Nowhere near the level of their best work. Austin felt like he was going through the motions for most of the post-Alliance stuff. He didn’t deliver a great match again until WrestleMania XIX, which was his last match. That being said, these two can have a good match even while on autopilot. [***¼]
An awkward scene went down backstage, where Test hit on Trish Stratus. “Once you’ve had Test, you’ll forget about the rest.” How did that not catch on? She kicked him out, but he said he couldn’t be fired for sexual harassment because of his immunity. I’m pretty sure the immunity was just from the Alliance ending, not legitimate terminable offenses.
World Heavyweight Championship: The Rock (c) vs. Chris Jericho
Their match at No Mercy 2001 ruled (****¼). Though both men were babyfaces when this feud started, it got bitter and personal, leading to a Jericho heel turn. Heel Jericho was always a blast, but he should’ve been a MEGA face in 2001. Rock was game to give Jericho a ton of offense and let him shine. The cocky cover, the showboating, the arguing with the referee, etc. Jericho used all those tricks and against someone else, they may not work, but it clicked here. Rock’s hope spots were well done, including rolling through a cross body and getting a near fall that the fans surprisingly bought. The heated part of the feud came into play when they went to the announce table and Jericho tried hitting a Rock Bottom through it. Rock countered into a DDT for the biggest spot of the show. Another great spot came inside, when Jericho had his People’s Elbow variation countered into a Sharpshooter. Jericho countered to his own, before eating a Rock Bottom. When it looked like Rock had it won, Vince McMahon appeared. Rock kicked his ass, but the distraction was enough for Jericho to win with the Rock Bottom at 19:05. Before the Vince interference, this was on pace to be level with their No Mercy match. Jericho looked awesome before it, there were some great moments and it all worked well. [****]
WWF Undisputed Championship: Chris Jericho vs. Steve Austin
Steve Austin came out to start the match instantly. Kurt Angle returned to hit Austin with a chair, so Rock planted Jericho with a Rock Bottom. Jericho recovered first and took things outside. That was a bad decision, because that’s Austin’s wheelhouse. They went back and forth once inside, and Jericho hit him with the Stunner. Vince returned, with crooked official Nick Patrick. Ric Flair ran in and pulled Patrick out, before knocking him out. Vince took out Flair, so Austin beat his ass. Austin put Jericho in the Walls, which Jericho tapped to, but there was no referee. Booker T then ran in to whack Austin with the title, which got Jericho the win at 12:31. Are you kidding me? The Rock gave Jericho so much, making him look like a million bucks, only to wipe it away with this overbooked mess. This should’ve been a monumental moment, but it played a backseat to Vince/Flair and Booker/Austin. [**]
