wrestling recap

Wrestling Recap: Team Hogan vs. Team André (Survivor Series ’87)

Dr. K4 Comments

The Date: 18 November 2001
The Venue: Greensboro Coliseum Complex; Greensboro, North Carolina
The Commentary: Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse “The Body” Ventura
The Referee: Joey Marella
The Stipulation: Ten-man elimination tag team match
The Competitors: Team Hogan (WWF Champion Hulk Hogan, Bam Bam Bigelow, Don “The Rock” Muraco, Ken Patera, and “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff), Team André (André the Giant, “The Natural” Butch Reed, King Kong Bundy, One Man Gang, and “Ravishing” Rick Rude)

The Build-Up:
Over its many decades as the dominating force in sports entertainment, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) has been known for creating some of the industry’s most successful competitors, changing the face of pay-per-view entertainment, and delivering genre-defining match types and wrestling cards. In 1987, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, as it was known then) had taken their first step towards global domination with the successful gamble that was WrestleMania, a pay-per-view showcase of their greatest talent that brought the organisation into the mainstream with celebrity cameos. With the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) due to broadcast their Starrcade event over the Thanksgiving weekend, WWF chairman Vince McMahon add the Survivor Series event to the WWF’s calendar and strong-armed many cable companies into showing his event instead of Starrcade or risk losing out on WrestleMania IV. The entire event was comprised of four ten-man elimination tag team matches, with the main event pitting WWF Champion Hulk Hogan and his team against bitter rival André the Giant and his team of bad guys (or “heels”). The motivation behind the two forming teams and squaring off came from André’s heel turn earlier that year, which saw him memorably challenge the Hulkster at WrestleMania III only to be planted with an iconic body slam. Since André was managed by one of wrestling’s greatest heel managers, Bobby “The Brain” Heenan, it made sense for him to ally with Heenan’s smorgasbord of man-mountain wrestlers, though Hogan wasn’t short on allies either, with the recently debuting Bam Bam Bigelow and the now-righteous (or “babyface”) Ken Patera joining Hogan’s team to get some payback against Heenan and his goons.

The Match:
Honestly, I’ve had an on-again, off-again relationship with the Survivor Series over my many years as a wrestling fan. When there’s an actual storyline behind it and the teams make sense, it can be a fun concept but, often, the WWE cobble together teams just because the event is coming up and they even stupidly diluted the concept by having a separate Bragging Rights event that really should’ve just been merged with the traditional Survivor Series card. The WWE fluctuates its focus on tag teams at the best of times and large teams (or “stables”) of wrestlers are difficult to come by in the modern WWE landscape, which can make justifying a ten-man elimination match difficult. However, when it works and is used sparingly, it can be a unique concept and, from what I can tell from my research, it made sense to form these two massive teams and extend the Hogan/André rivalry in a way that both protected the latter, whose health was deteriorating rapidly at this point, and build anticipation for their inevitable rematch for the WWF Championship. The match began with Heenan in the ring giving a special introduction to the “Eighth Wonder of the World”, who lumbered to the ring and greeted his teammates. Jesse Venture raised the question of whether Hulk Hogan could truly trust Paul Orndorff who, until recently had been more of a heel, teasing the potential for dissention within Hogan’s team but, when interviewed by “Mean” Gene Okerlund backstage, Team Hogan seemed incredibly fired up for the match. Each man made his way to the ring to an ever-increasing rapture from the crowd, which exploded into a crescendo as the Hulkster came down the aisle way carrying Ol’ Glory, his focus squarely on André (and playing to the audience).

Although Rick Rude took the brunt of the early assault, it was Butch Reed who was the first to be eliminated.

Don Muraco and Rick Rude started the match for their respective teams, with the two exchanging blows in the corner before Rude took advantage with an eye rake. A boot to the gut cut off Rude’s attack, however, and Rude tagged in Paul Orndorff, who came off the top rope with an elbow strike. A shot to the gut and a knee strike saw Rude on the receiving end of more offense before Orndorff rammed him head-first into Hogan’s boot and tagged in the champion. Hogan planted Rude with a clothesline and then dropped three elbows in quick succession before tagging in Bam Bam Bigelow, slamming Rude and setting him up for a big body splash from Bigelow, which he followed with a military press before tagging in Ken Patera. Although Patera attacked right away, Rude was able to collapse in his corner, finally allowing another heel, Butch Reed, to get in the ring. Reed didn’t fare too well, however, easily being taken down and rolled up into the first pin attempt of the match and falling afoul of a dropkick courtesy of Don Muraco. Orndorff then showed up his teammate by tagging in and delivering two dropkicks of his own and even getting a cheap shot in on King Kong Bundy before dodging a Reed elbow shot in the corner and bringing the Hulkster back into the match for a double clothesline. Hogan then hit the Atomic Leg Drop and Reed was eliminated without even throwing a single punch; Hogan was spared from tangling with André after tagging in Patera during his celebration. Since André only wanted Hogan, though, he immediately tagged in Bundy to face the Olympian.

Thanks to eye rakes and cheap tactics, the heels scored two eliminations in quick succession.

Patera went on the attack right away, even downing Bundy with a clothesline, but he was too slow to keep the One Man Gang from tagging in to lock up with Orndorff. One Man Gang initially, very briefly, actually got to show some offense but Orndorff fired back with a slew of punches that rocked the big man; a counter in the corner shut Orndorff down, however, and allowed Rude to come back in and start working him over…until Orndorff scored with a clothesline, a body slam, and an elbow drop for a two count. Muraco came back in to hit a stiff clothesline but a thumb to the eye allowed Rude to create some separation and tag in the One Many Gang but Muraco was able to avoid a corner charge, roll over to his corner, and tag in Patera, who survived another eye rake to hit an awkward running crossbody for another near fall. Although Patera hit a running knee to the corner, another thumb to the eye allowed the One Man Gang to put a beating on the Olympian in the heel corner with the assistance of his teammates. A standing front facelock slowed the match to a crawl and then the One Man Gang managed to pin Patera for the three count following an awkward “double clothesline” for an anti-climactic elimination. Hogan immediately went after the One Man Gang, throwing hands, rushing him into a corner, and then bringing in Bam Bam Bigelow for a double Big Boot. Whatever momentum Bam Bam had built up went right out the window, however, when the two big men clumsily bumped heads off a double shoulder block, which saw Rude and Orndorff go at it again. Orndorff panted Rude with a suplex, another elbow drop, and a flapjack before Bundy ran in to interrupt a piledriver attempt; this was enough for Rude to score a roll up with a handful of tights to eliminate Mr. Wonderful from the match.

After twenty-five minutes of plodding action, Hogan and André finally squared off once more.

Rude made the mistake of flexing to rile up the crowd, meaning Muraco planted him with an atomic drop and a clothesline before bringing in Bam Bam to deliver a big side kick. A big suplex set Rude up for a rare running knee strike from Hogan, who then brought Muraco in for a powerslam and that was enough to take Rude out of the match and even the odds at three-on-three. Bundy came in and started beating on Muraco, downing him with a back elbow smash, but he missed a running knee strike; Muraco targeted Bundy’s leg with a series of attacks but Bundy was able to fight him off and bring the One Man Gang back in. The Rock’s attempts to fight off the One Man Gang saw him crushed under the big man’s weight; he was able to kick out at two, however, so the One Man Gang threw him into an inelegant headbutt from André which, when coupled with a body splash, was enough to eliminate the Rock. The One Man Gang switched his focus to Bam Bam Bigelow, crushing his chest when he went for a sunset flip pin and bringing in Bundy to hit a powerful clothesline that turned Bam Bam inside out. Hogan broke up the pin attempt but Bundy stayed in control and brought the One Man Gang back in, who shut down Bam Bam’s counterattack with, what else, but a thumb to the eye before choking him on the ring ropes. Bundy came back in for a knee to the gut and a double axehandle smash before quickly tagging the One Man Gang back in. A back elbow caught Bam Bam right in the eye and Hogan, and the crowd, were absolutely desperate for the big man to make the tag as Bundy came back for some more punishment. Bam Bam managed to avoid the elbow drop, and kick out of a pin attempt, and finally made the tag after rolling to the corner and avoiding a big chop from André. Hogan attacked his rival with a flurry of punches; they exchanged strikes and chops in the corner before Hogan slamming André’s face into the top turnbuckle, but his offense was interrupted when Bundy pulled him from the ring.

Bam Bam fought valiantly but ultimately fell, leading to Hogan to attack André after the match.

The two brawled at ringside, with Hogan slamming both Bundy and the One Man Gang on the outside, but he took so long messing about with the two that he got counted out! The crowd was incensed as Hogan was forced from the ring, leaving Bam Bam all alone in a three-on-one situation, much to Hogan’s disgust. Showing no fear, Bam Bam went right for Bundy, planting him with a clothesline and scoring a two count off an elbow drop and a falling headbutt. After dodging a Bundy charge in the corner, Bam Bam finally eliminated the big man with an impressive slingshot splash from the ring apron but he was too fatigued to fend off the One Man Gang, who immediately choked and beat him on the ropes. Still, Bam Bam easily kicked out of a clothesline (that looked to give the One Man Gang a heart attack) and had the wherewithal to dodge a splash off the top rope. This one mistake cost the One Man Gang and meant the match boiled down to Bam Bam and the lumbering André, who wasted no time smacking Bam Bam around with big chops and headbutts. Bam Bam used the ropes and his comparative quickness to avoid André’s plodding attacks but a missed splash in the corner saw him taking some shoulder blocks to the spine and being easily pinned following a half-underhook, facelock slam…suplex…thing. As André was announced the winner, Hogan stormed the ring and attacked the Giant with the WWF Championship, stealing the spotlight and entertaining the raucous crowd with his trademark flexing while André seethed on the outside. I don’t really like to rag on this era of wrestling too much; things were obviously very different back then, but this was a bit of a let-down considering some of the star power and storylines featured in it. Obviously, André couldn’t really do a lot and needed to be protected but we barely got to see him and Hogan go at it again, much less really see the Giant in any kind of action. It works on the one hand to show him as this unbeatable “final boss” but…we know he can be beaten as we saw Hogan pin him at WrestleMania III so I think I would’ve preferred to see him and Hogan as the final two and them brawl to a double count out. Interestingly, this ended up primarily being a showcase for Bam Bam; he was the last man on Team Hogan and impressed the most with his athleticism for such a big man but, on the flip side, there was way too much boring, plodding offense from the One Man Gang and King Kong Bundy was barely a factor in it as well. As a first go-around for the concept, the WWF definitely put some of their biggest names into it but it’s clear a lot of them were limited in their mobility and having Hogan get counted out only to run in for the cheap heat at the end made this a pretty mediocre affair.

The Aftermath:
Naturally, the issues between Hulk Hogan and André the Giant continued to be a focal point of the WWF’s programming; André joined forces with “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase and the two continued to harass Hogan until he agreed to another championship match at The Main Event. This time, André came out on top, though he immediately sold the belt to DiBiase at it was subsequently held up for grabs in a tournament at WrestleMania IV. Don Muraco, Butch Reed, the One Man Gang, Bam Bam Bigelow, and Rick Rude all made it onto the WrestleMania IV card as well, participating in the same tournament, but they would all fall short. Even Hogan and André lost the chance to regain the belt thanks to a double disqualification, so the vacant belt went to “Macho Man” Randy Savage for the first time after he defeated DiBiase in the main event. As for the Survivor Series, the event continued to be an annual part of the WWF/WWE calendar, with multi-man and woman matches taking place regularly every year. The event would be shaken up somewhat by being used as the staging ground for the final clash between the WWF and the alliance of World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) and also saw the first appearance of the Elimination Chamber match and clashes between the WWE’s flagship shows, Raw and SmackDown!

My Rating:

Rating: 2 out of 5.

Could Be Better

What did you think to the inaugural Survivor Series match? Were you excited to see Hulk Hogan and André the Giant across the ring from each other and thus disappointed that they barely interacted in the match? Who was the stand-out performer for you in this clash? Do you think André winning was the right decision? Were you also annoyed that Hogan got counted out? Which Survivor Series match or event is your favourite? How was your Thanksgiving this year? Whatever your thoughts on Survivor Series, feel free to leave them below or drop a comment on my social media.

Wrestling Recap: Undertaker vs. CM Punk (WrestleMania NY/NJ)

Dr. K1 Comment

The Date: 7 April 2013
The Venue: MetLife Stadium; East Rutherford, New Jersey
The Commentary: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield/JBL, and Jerry “The King” Lawler
The Referee: Mike Chioda
The Stakes: Singles match with the Undertaker’s WrestleMania winning streak on the line

The Build-Up:
The Undertaker had been a force to be reckoned within the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) ever since his dramatic debut as part of the “Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase’s Million Dollar Team on this day at the 1990 Survivor Series. After a year without any televised losses, the Undertaker was named the number one contender to Hulk Hogan’s WWF Championship belt and his victory over the Immortal One cemented the Deadman as a main event star for decades. While the WWF changed and rebranded, eventually becoming World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), the Undertaker grew as a character and a spectacle; transforming from a largely mute, undead monster into a Satanic overlord, a bad-ass biker, and the conscious of the WWE, the Undertaker’s legendary career came to be synonymous with his uncanny ability to secure wins on the grandest stage of them all, WrestleMania. By this, the twenty-ninth WrestleMania, the Undertaker had twenty victories at the Showcase of the Immortals, having put away hated rivals such as Kane, Triple H, and the “Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels among others. In recent years, his opponents specifically sought a match against him at WrestleMania seeking to snap this winning streak but few were able to make this into such a personal vendetta than CM Punk. After winning the right to face the Undertaker, CM Punk immediately set about disrespecting the memory of William Moody, who had portrayed the Undertaker’s long-time manager Paul Bearer and who had recently passed away. Alongside his own manager, Paul Heyman (who also had a storied history with the Deadman), CM Punk regularly called out the Undertaker, stole the Deadman’s mystical urn, and even dumped its contents over Big Evil in the lead up this match, which was the closest that CM Punk ever got to main eventing a WrestleMania.

The Match:
Before the match can even begin, there are two things that need to be gotten out of the way first: the first is another of the WWE’s excellently-produced video packages that not only works as a touching tribute to the late, great Paul Bearer but also does a fantastic job of telling the story of this heated feud up until that point and really painting CM Punk as an absolutely reprehensible dick. Since the Undertaker wasn’t around each week to help build towards the match, CM Punk fell back on his unparalleled mic skills to taunt and mock both the Deadman and Bearer specifically to wind the Undertaker up since a count out or disqualification would still count as a loss and all he was concerned about was getting that win and tarnishing the Undertaker’s winning streak. The second, and biggest thing to get out of the way, are the competitor’s entrances; by this point, the Undertaker’s appearances at WrestleMania had become a spectacle all unto themselves and his entrances often went on as long as some wrestling matches! This year was no different as the Deadman’s entrance ran around five minutes long and saw him slowly, ominously stalk his way to the ring in a shroud of smoke while shadowy figures clutched at his feet in a truly spinetingling visual! However, the Undertaker wasn’t the only one to get a big entrance this year as Living Colour played CM Punk down to the ring with a live performance of “Cult of Personality”, though of course Michael Cole and his cohorts couldn’t be stopped from offering pointless and distracting commentary once the two were in the ring.

Cm Punk’s early strategy involved goading and disrespecting the Undertaker to wind him up.

As soon as the bell rang, the two went for each other, both with their hands up and looking for an opportunity to land a strike or a grapple. CM Punk, the quicker and smaller of the two, goaded the Undertaker by dodging a strike, slapping him in the face, and slipping out of the ring in order to put a quick beating on the Deadman after a short chase. Although the Undertaker tried to manhandle Punk into the corner, he easily slipped away and continued to taunt the Undertaker, kicking himself free of a Chokeslam attempt and ended up eating a big boot to the face and being unceremoniously dumped to the outside for his troubles. On the outside, the Undertaker beat CM Punk around the barricade before whipping him into it and smashing his face off the announcer’s table. The Undertaker stripped the table down and then rammed CM Punk spine-first into the ring post before rolling him back into the ring to deliver his patented leg drop across the ring apron. Once they were both back between the ropes, the Undertaker pressed his advantage, pounding on CM Punk in the corner and intimidating the referee for chastising him; working over CM Punk’s left arm, the Undertaker went for his “old school” rope walk but CM Punk jerked him off the top rope with an arm drag and, despite the pain in his arm, stomped on the Undertaker while the Deadman was down and hit a walk rope of his own in a blatant show of disrespect before landing a side Russian leg sweep and going for the first pin of the match.

CM Punk pressed his advantage at every opportunity using his quickness and agility.

Obviously, the Undertaker kicked out; the match then slowed a bit as CM Punk locked in a ground-based submission so the two could catch their breath (while also giving Paul Heyman a chance to shout encouragement and taunts to both men, respectively) before the Undertaker went back to his game plan of beating CM Punk in the corner. This backfired on the Deadman, though, when he missed a running boot and injured his knee in the process, which allowed CM Punk to kick him out of the ring and land a big diving axehandle from the top rope to the outside. Back in the ring, CM Punk scored a two-count off a neckbreaker but his attempts to work over the Undertaker’s arm got cut off by the Deadman’s trademark strikes. Again, CM Punk scored a two-count off another quick neckbreaker and slapped on a choke hold, all while Paul Heyman shouted encouragement about him being “one second away” from victory. The Undertaker battled his way up to a vertical base and hit a suplex to throw CM Punk off, then crotched his arrogant opponent on the top rope when CM Punk tried to hit another rope walk. A single punch to the jaw sent CM Punk careening to the outside again but Paul Heyman threw himself in the Undertaker’s path to stop the Deadman doing his signature dive to the outside, almost getting Chokeslammed off the apron in the process, which allowed CM Punk to recover and hit a clothesline off the top rope for another two-count. Weary (and possibly a little out of it), the Undertaker left himself wide open in the corner for a running knee and got taken down with a clothesline, which set CM Punk up for his patented Diving Elbow Drop.

Both men survived some big moves and signature offense from their opponent.

Again, the Undertaker kicked out at two, so CM Punk prepared to hit his finishing move, the Go-To-Sleep/GTS; however, the Undertaker slipped off CM Punk’s shoulders, grabbed him by the throat, and hit a massive Chokeslam for his first near-fall of the match! The two then got into a slug fest that quickly went in favour of the Undertaker, who again pummelled Punk in the ring corner with strikes, a running attack, and his signature Snake Eyes manoeuvre but CM Punk weathered the storm and surprised the Deadman with a kick for another two-count. CM Punk then sent the Undertaker to the outside again with a clothesline and went back to the announcer’s table, which he just narrowly avoided being powerbombed through when he slipped out of the Last Ride. With the Undertaker lying prone across the table, CM Punk hopped to the top rope and hit another Diving Elbow Drop…though the table didn’t break on impact. CM Punk was aghast when the Undertaker beat the referee’s count, however, and made it back into the ring before a count of ten; distraught (and hurt following his awkward landing on the table), CM Punk was easily wrapped up in the Undertaker’s Hell’s Gate submission move. Punk, however, used his technical expertise to turn it into a pinning attempt, and then wrapped the Undertaker up in the Anaconda Vice that, for all its drama, mainly served to give the Undertaker a chance to catch his breath again. Soon enough, the Undertaker was on his feet and going for another Chokeslam but CM Punk wriggled free and hit a glancing GTS that the Undertaker completely no-sold and powered through to hit a Tombstone Piledriver out of nowhere! Incredibly, CM Punk kicked out at two, much to the delight of Paul Heyman and the crowd, who began to chant “This is awesome!”

Even an urn shot couldn’t stop CM Punk being planted with the Tombstone and becoming a statistic.

Another slugfest followed; however, when the Undertaker went for the Chokeslam, Mike Chioda was sent sprawling by an errant shot, which allowed CM Punk to smash the Deadman in the back of the head with the urn and avoid the Last Ride once again. CM Punk’s decision to mock the Undertaker with his signature pin cost him almost as much as the referee’s long count, however, as the Undertaker kicked out at two, driving Punk into a frustrated frenzy at his opponent’s refusal to stay down. The two then countered each other’s attempts at hitting their finishing manoeuvres before the Undertaker scooped CM Punk into a second Tombstone Piledriver and secured his incredible WrestleMania winning streak for another year. Showered by the adulation and respect of the crowd, the Undertaker than retrieved his urn and delivered one last tribute to his friend and manager while the announcer’s refused to keep their mouths shut and let the moment speak for itself. Ultimately, while the match was very good, I couldn’t help but feel like it didn’t quite kick into gear; the story was very traditional, with the in-ring action building and escalating to both men’s strengths and their tropes (the conniving little guy against the veteran big man) but it just felt like something was missing. Maybe if CM Punk had used some more underhanded tactics, given the Undertaker a bit of a run-around, or if the Undertaker could have had a couple of big bursts of energy it would have helped but it’s still a perfectly entertaining and acceptable match and I think the crowd probably would have bought Punk winning, though it never really seemed like he was going to as he didn’t get much of a chance to hit any big moves beyond those diving elbows.

The Aftermath:
This match put an end to the feud between CM Punk and the Undertaker; the next night on Raw, a distraught CM Punk came out to address how his historic run with the WWE Championship got cut short and he was denied the WrestleMania main event in favour of the Rock and John Cena. He and Paul Heyman eventually had a falling out when Heyman returned to the side of his old client, Brock Lesnar, turning Punk face in the process. On that same episode of Raw, Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, and Seth Rollins (collectively known as “The Shield”) attacked the Undertaker as he tried to pay tribute to Paul Bearer once more. He was saved by his brother, Kane, and Daniel Bryan (known as “Team Hell No”) and the three of them went on lose to the newcomers and the Undertaker’s vaulted WrestleMania winning streak was finally broken at the next year’s WrestleMania in a pretty disappointing match against Brock Lesnar.

My Rating:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Great Stuff

What did you think to the contest between CM Punk and the Undertaker at WrestleMania? How would you rate it against the Undertaker’s other WrestleMania matches? Were you a fan of CM Punk disrespecting Paul Bearer’s memory to get heat for the match? Do you think the match should have been the main event bout of the night? How are you celebrating the Undertaker’s debut this year? What are some of your favourite matches and moments from his long and distinguished career? What dream match would you have liked to see him involved in? Whatever your thoughts, sign up to drop a comment below and or let me know what you think about the Undertaker on my social media.

Wrestling Recap: Mysterio Jr. vs. Guerrero (Halloween Havoc ’97)

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The Date: 26 October 1997
The Venue: MGM Grand Garden Arena; Paradise, Nevada
The Commentary: Tony Schiavone, Bobby “The Brain” Heenan, and “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes
The Referee: Billy Silverman
The Stakes: Singles match for the WCW Crusierweight Championship with Mysterio Jr.’s mask also on the line

The Build-Up:
One of the many aspects that helped propel World Championship Wrestling (WCW) to the top of the wrestling ratings war back in the day was their exhilarating cruiserweight division. Although the company sold itself as being “where the big boys play” and featured a who’s who of heavyweight talent, both in and out of their super-popular New World Order (nWo) stable, WCW also separated itself from the competition by snapping up and showcasing smaller, more agile and physically talented cruiserweights on a weekly basis. Spearheaded by WCW figurehead Eric Bischoff, the cruiserweight division introduced lucha libre wrestling to mainstream audiences and gave stars like “Lionheart” Chris Jericho, Juventud Guerrera, Ultimo Dragon, and Psicosis a platform to shine with their fast-paced, high-risk offense. Two of WCW’s biggest cruiserweight stars were future World Champions Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio Jr.; both had cut their teeth in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) prior to being snapped up by WCW and both had their roots in Mexican wrestling, with Eddie coming from the prestigious Guerrero family and Rey being the nephew of the legendary luchadore Rey Misterio. After losing the WCW United States Championship, Eddie Guerrero turned heel and set his sights on the WCW Cruiserweight Championship, a belt he captured the previous month from Chris Jericho, crossing paths with Rey Mysterio Jr. for the first time on an episode of WCW Monday Nitro in the process. Since Mysterio won that match, he had a legitimate claim to challenging for the Cruiserweight Championship, something that Guerrero attempted to proactively get ahead of by taunting Mysterio and attacking him while in the guise of a masked luchador. After Mysterio pinned Guerrero again and unmasked him, Guerrero was humiliated and incensed and demanded that Rey unmask (the greatest dishonour to befall a luchador) if he failed to win the title at Halloween Havoc, going so far as to steal Rey’s mask during a match against Dean Malenko on Nitro and costing him that match. The initial plan was for Rey to lose this match as Bischoff believed that he would have a better time getting over and selling if his face were exposed; Rey, however, fought against this decision and emphasised the importance of a mask in lucha libre. Although he managed to convince Bischoff, Rey would eventually be unmasked a couple of years later, a decision Bischoff later admitted to regretting since he underestimated how important the mask’s iconography was to Mysterio, his fanbase, and his heritage.

The Match:
Since I didn’t grow up being able to watch WCW, I’m not massively familiar with much of their product, especially the peak of their cruiserweight division. I first encountered stars like Jericho, Dean Malenko, Guerrero, and Billy Kidman while watching the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) programming, where many of these smaller performers were already mid-card talents if not flirting with the main event. When the WWE first resurrected the cruiserweight division, officially adopting the term and making their inferior light-heavyweight division defunct, in the early-2000s, I was an avid watcher of SmackDown! and delighted in the high-flying action, which greatly contributed to separating the Blue Brand from the more over-the-top Raw. This was also my first introduction to Rey Mysterio, who returned to his masked persona after stupidly being stripped of it in 1999, and I was right there for his initial feuds and his efforts as part of the fabled “SmackDown! Six”. All this is to say that it’s always a delight to go back and revisit early matches in both wrestler’s careers, especially in WCW, and it’s fascinating to see the longevity Rey Mysterio has had in the industry and the consistent popularity of the late, great Eddie Guerrero. In a precursor to his later elaborate superhero-themed attires, Mysterio wrestled this match garbed in what is clearly a homage to pulp hero Kit Walker/The Phantom, an iconic, purple-themed body suit that really helped him stand out amongst his peers. Playing the part of the arrogant, sneering heel, Guerrero sauntered to the ring, bombarded by boos and chants of “Eddie Sucks!”, and carrying the belt that was Mysterio’s goal; the commentators, however, raised the question of how important winning the belt is for Mysterio compared to retaining his mask and his honour and made no bones about hyping this contest as the most important match of Mysterio’s career.

Guerrrero focused on Mysterio’s back, forcing the challenger to desperately try and fight back.

Things got off to a fast-paced, action-packed start right after the bell rang and Guerrero spat taunts in Mysterio’s masked face; Rey bounced off the ropes into a flipping arm drag, flipped Guerrero clear across the ring with his feet, and took the champion to the outside with a running crossbody attack. Mysterio looked to follow up with a somersault manoeuvre over the ropes, but Guerrero had it scouted and tripped Rey on the apron, sending him spilling to the outside, where Guerrero quickly pressed his advantage by running Mysterio shoulder-first into the steel steps at ringside. Eddie’s trademark somersault over the top rope delivered more pain to his challenger, with the champion’s early focus squarely on Mysterio’s back and ribs, which he followed up with a hard knife-edge chop and a European uppercut to Mysterio, who was little more than a ragdoll at this point in the match. Although Mysterio tried to build some momentum with an Irish whip reversal and a dropkick, Guerrero beautifully countered a handspring attack into a back body drop, which he followed with a vertical suplex and the first pin attempt of the match. After Mysterio kicked out at two, Guerrero planted him with his trademark tilt-a-whirl backbreaker to deliver more damage to Mysterio’s back, but the champion became visibly frustrated when he failed to score a three count on the following pin attempt. So annoyed was Guerrero that he started to pull at Rey’s mask, earning him the referee’s admonishment, and then locked in an abdominal stretch to further punish Mysterio’s back while also clawing at his mask. Guerrero then delivered another big backbreaker for another two count before trying to force Mysterio’s shoulders to the mat, to no avail. To make matters worse for the hot-headed champion, Mysterio was able to hop to his feet, springboard of the ropes, and hit a gorgeously smooth DDT to buy himself some much-needed time to recuperate. Both competitors showcased their speed following this; Mysterio dropkicked Guerrero to the outside and managed to adjust his momentum in mid-air when he saw Eddie slide back into the ring as he (as in Rey) was going for another high-flying manoeuvre before Guerrero returned the favour and sent Rey to the outside with a dropkick through the ropes.

Mysterio’s high-flying offense and a last-second counter saw him capture the championship.

Guerrero then viciously whipped Mysterio sternum-first into the barricade before dumping him into the ring and locking in first a Camel Clutch and then the Gory Special. Guerrero shut down Rey’s attempts at a comeback with an elevated backbreaker (that I recognise as A-Train’s Train Wreck) and another submission designed to punish his back and ribs before putting a beating on Mysterio in the ring corner. Mysterio valiantly fought back and caused Guerrero to slide crotch-first into the ring post before taking him down with a huge top-rope crossbod, flipping out of another tilt-a-whirl attempt, and surprising the champion with a hurricanrana pin for a close near fall. Guerrero attempted to regain his momentum and ended up being flung outside with a 619-like headscissor takedown from Mysterio, which Rey followed with a somersault headscissor takedown over the ropes. Eddie again kicked out from a corkscrew attack thanks to Mysterio’s exhausted, lackadaisical cover and then absolutely planted Mysterio with a massive powerbomb. Incensed that Rey again kicked out at two, Guerrero ran him into the corner but ended up eating a flapjack and a spinning heel kick. Mysterio went for his signature springboard hurricanrana pin and ate a somewhat sloppy backbreaker for his troubles and landed in prime position for Guerrero’s patented Frog Splash. Although Mysterio rolled out of the way, Guerrero adjusted his trajectory to roll through; Guerrero then attempted to hit an avalanche Crucifix Powerbomb but Mysterio countered into his hurricanrana pin to finally score the three count, with Guerrero briefly jumping him during his celebration. Overall, an intense and fast-paced match with both men delivering some slick manoeuvres; Guerrero played the wily heel, targeting Mysterio’s back and putting him in the underdog position so the fans could rally behind him and Mysterio shined with his innovative and high-risk high-flying offense. It’s only a short match, clocking in at around fifteen minutes, but they crammed a lot into it, and the commentators did a great job of selling Eddie’s mean streak and Rey’s never-say-die attitude.

The Aftermath:
This was far from the last time Rey Mysterio Jr. and Eddie Guerrero crossed paths; in fact, they had a rematch about fifteen days later on an episode of WCW Monday Nitro that saw Guerrero regain the WCW Cruiserweight Championship. They also fought at World War 3 at the end of November 1997, with Guerrero coming out on top, though both men moved on to separate storylines by the time Starrcade came around. Rey Mysterio Jr. wouldn’t recapture the WCW Cruiserweight Championship until early 1998 in another disappointingly short reign, and he fought with Guerrero again later in 1998 when Eddie attempted to induct Rey into his stable, the Latino World Order (lWo), before they joined forces for the first time as part of the Filthy Animals. They wouldn’t interact again until Mysterio was signed by the WWE in 2002 and they were involved in a series of tag team matches as part of the aforementioned SmackDown! Six; although Rey Mysterio and Edge feuded with Eddie and his nephew, Chavo, during this time, he and Eddie would come together as a tag team in 2005, culminating in an opening match at WWE WrestleMania 21 that pitted the two against each other while they were the WWE Tag Team Champions. After losing the belts the following month, Guerrero turned on Mysterio and the two reignited their feud, which eventually grew to encompass ridiculous soap opera aspects such as battling in a ladder match for custody of Rey’s son, Dominik. Following Guerrero’s tragic and untimely passing on 13 November 2005, Rey Mysterio was given a massive push towards the main event, capturing his first World Championship; though his championship reign was soured by poor booking decisions, Mysterio continued to honour the memory and legacy of one of his best friends and greatest rivals and Guerrero’s impact on the business was not only revered in his WWE Hall of Fame induction but continued tributes and celebrations decades after his passing. Additionally, Rey Mysterio Jr. and Eddie Guerrero’s Halloween Havoc match is widely regarded as one of their finest matches, one of WCW’s greatest cruiserweight bouts, and one of the best cruiserweight matches on American soil; it was such a memorable contest between them that it was recreated in the Showcase mode of WWE 2K22 (Visual Concepts, 2022) to allow fans to play it for themselves.

My Rating:

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Fantastic

Are you a fan of Rey Mysterio Jr.’s match against Eddie Guerrero at Halloween Havoc? Do you agree that it’s one of their best matches, and the best cruiserweight matches, or do you perhaps think it’s over-rated and prefer a different bout of theirs? Were you a fan of either man during their WCW days? Which of their matches and moments was your favourite and were you a fan of the WCW cruiserweight division back in the day? What’s your favourite Halloween Havoc match or event? Whatever your thoughts on Rey Mysterio, Eddie Guerrero, the cruiserweights, and Halloween Havoc, I’d love to see them in the comments below.

Wrestling Recap: Kane vs. X-Pac (Armageddon ’99)

Dr. K1 Comment

The Date: 12 December 1999
The Venue: National Car Rental Center; Sunrise, Florida
The Commentary: Jim “J.R.” Ross and Jerry “The King” Lawler
The Referee: Tim White
The Stakes: Steel cage match, personal rivalry between for tag team partners

The Build-Up:
After the relationship between Paul Bearer and the Undertaker broke down, Kane made a dramatic debut in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) on October 5th, 1997 (the day after my twelfth birthday, and which sadly clashes with Global James Bond Day) at Badd Blood: In Your House. In an effort to goad his older brother into a confrontation, Kane went on a rampage, attacking and disrupting WWF programming at every opportunity until the two finally clashed at WrestleMania XIV. Having made an instant impression of the WWF audience, Kane was quickly booked more as a no-nonsense “tweener” who attacked bad guys (“heels”) and good guys (“faces”) alike, to the point where he simply did what he wanted, setting stagehands on fire and even briefly capturing the WWF Championship from white-hot champion “Stone Cold” Steve Austin as part of an alliance with WWF Chairman Vince McMahon’s super stable, the Corporation. After being betrayed by his brother following a short-lived alliance between the two, Kane found himself at odds with the Corporation and allied with D-Generation X, a stable of reprobates whose childish antics clashed with McMahon’s sensibilities. Although D-X soon parted ways, Kane formed a tag team with D-X’s scrappy underdog, X-Pac, who helped him to open up, speak without the aid of his voice box, and even secured him a girlfriend in the form of Tori. However, despite the two winning the WWF Tag Team Championships twice, their partnership tragically dissolved when X-Pac turned on Kane to re-join D-X. Kane turned into a sympathetic face in the process and this not only led to a series of escalating matches between the two (with this match being the second after Kane won by disqualification at the previous month’s Survivor Series) but also earned X-Pac a lifetime of hatred from the WWF fans for his actions.

The Match:
Prior to the match actually kicking off, X-Pac laid down a few additional stipulations for the bout in an interview with Michael Cole: basically, Kane’s only method of winning would be via pinfall, whereas X-Pac arranged it so that the cage door would be chained and padlocked shut and that he could either climb out of the cage or pin his opponent to win, and he also ended the interview by mocking Kane and asking him to get Tori to stop badgering him for sex. The crowd was emphatically pro-Kane as he made his trademark dramatic entrance alongside Tori and garbed in one of my favourite outfits of his (where it’s more black than red); Tori remained outside of the cage and at ringside, where she distracted the lecherous Jerry Lawler from his commentary throughout the match. Ever the embodiment of arrogance and smugness, X-Pac sauntered to the ring with all the confidence in the world, but the crowd was having none of it; their hatred towards him, as J.R. elaborated during his entrance, was only exacerbated by the fact that X-Pac had struck Tori a few times in the build up to the match, which went a long way to destroying his previous persona of a plucky underdog.

Kane dominated the early going until X-Pac crotched him on the top rope!

Rather than get into the ring and put his money where his mouth is, X-Pac lingered on the outside and made lewd advances towards Tori, so Kane clambered up the cage and went outside to put a beating on his former friend and tag team partner. Though initially overwhelmed by Kane’s size and strength, X-Pac briefly turned the tables by blasting Kane in the face with the ring bell but Kane quickly recovered with his patented zombie sit-up and chased X-Pac into the ring by once again climbing up the cage wall. Interestingly, J.R. pointed out that X-Pac could actually use his lead to his advantage and simply clamber up the other side of the cage before Kane even made it back into the ring; however, the match wouldn’t officially start until both men were inside of the ring and X-Pac decided to rush right into Kane’s trademark uppercut rather than try and escape. Once the match was officially underway, Kane manhandled X-Pac and no-sold X-Pac’s punches to his masked face; although X-Pac was quick enough to avoid Kane’s clotheslines and big shots, it backfired massively when he flew off the ropes looking for a spinning heel kick and got caught with a big slam. Kane followed this up with a military press and, naturally, J.R. began to relate the story of the match being that X-Pac is at a huge disadvantage and needs to think of some way to incapacitate his larger opponent and get the hell out of there, while Lawler simply cracked jokes about the size of Kane’s penis.

Kane overpowered X-Pac at every turn, leading to his D-X team mates coming down to interfere.

After weathering a methodical attack in the ring corners, X-Pac delivered a boot to Kane’s face and tried to hit a cross body off the top rope but Kane caught him and tried to ram his head into the steel mesh; however, X-Pac managed to slip off, push Kane into the cage wall, and finally downed the Big Red Machine with a spinning heel kick. X-Pac clambered up to the top of the cage and desperately fought off his pursuer with his “educated feet” and only managed to save himself from being hit with a big Chokeslam from the top by causing Kane to slip and land crotch-first on the ring ropes. X-Pac pressed his advantage by repeatedly slamming Kane’s head into the cage and then landed a big leg drop from the top rope, but Kane powered out and sat up once again. X-Pac was able to shut down Kane’s attempts to take control of the match with a stiff-looking tornado DDT but, while X-Pac was again able to weasel his way out of a Chokeslam, Kane finally shut the little bastard down with a big tilt-a-whirl backbreaker and then repeatedly tossed his former friend into the cage walls. Kane looked to be in firm control and prime position to hit his signature top-rope clothesline when the New Age Outlaws (“Road Dogg” Jesse James and “Mr. Ass” Billy Gunn, the WWF Tag Team Champions) ran down to the ring with a pair of bolt cutters; despite Kane’s best efforts (which amounted to pathetically reaching through the gap between the cage door and the cage wall), Road Dogg was able to break open the door, which Mr. Ass then slammed into Kane’s head and then tossed a steel chair into the ring to his D-X comrade.

Kane survived the X-Factor, hit a huge clothesline from the top of the cage, and won with a Tombstone.

Both men scrambled to their feet at around about the same time but X-Pac was able to surprise Kane with an X-Factor right onto the steel chair! Rather than go for the cover, though, X-Pac used a pair of handcuffs that the Outlaws also tossed into the ring to cuff Kane to the cage’s wire mesh and deliver two unprotected chair shots right to the Big Red Machine’s head! As X-Pac moved to climb out of the cage (why he didn’t use the door is beyond me), Tori rushed into the ring to stop him and also got hit with an X-Factor for her troubles. Kane managed to avoid another brain-scrambling chair shot by kicking the steel chair back into X-Pac’s face and then ripped his handcuff off, slipped out through the cage door, and intercepted X-Pac as he was making his way out of the cage! Kane then manhandled X-Pac back into the ring, slammed the cage door right in his face, and then clambered up to the very top of the cage to hit a massive diving clothesline! Kane then scooped up X-Pac, hit a Tombstone Piledriver, and scored the three count for the victory. Triumphant, and with the crowd finally woken up, Kane then left the ring alongside his girlfriend. Overall, this was an okay match; the crowd started hot but soon became a bit restless and bored with the slow pace and lack of excitement. The story of Kane dominating X-Pac and X-Pac having to use his quickness and wiles to counter Kane’s strength wasn’t told very well; Kane would go down pretty easily from a kick or a trip into the cage wall, which seemed to contradict how easily he shrugged off X-Pac’s other attacks. The highlight was clearly seeing Kane break his handcuffs and then perform that massive dive from the top of the cage but I think their follow-up match at No Way Out was probably a better overall contest.

The Aftermath:
Following Armageddon, the landscape of the WWF changed quite considerably; Triple H and his wife, Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley, were revealed to have been in cahoots to usurp Vince McMahon’s control over the WWF and, together, they started a reign of terror that saw Triple H capture the WWF Championship and matches being booked in favour of himself and his D-X comrades. X-Pac’s issues with Kane only escalated following their match; Tori dramatically turned on Kane and sided with X-Pac, becoming his valet and lover in the process, and Kane was so heartbroken by the betrayal that he returned to the mental hospital where he had spent much of his youth. Kane made a dramatic return in the build up to No Way Out, however; once again accompanied by his father, Paul Bearer, Kane furiously attacked X-Pac and his D-X cohorts. Although Kane was able to exact a measure of revenge against Tori by Tombstoning her, he lost to X-Pac in a No Holds Barred match at No Way Out. The feud between the former friends was finally put to anti-climatic rest at WrestleMania 2000, where Kane teamed with Rikishi to defeat X-Pac and Road Dogg in a tag team match. However, their rivalry was shortly reignited in 2002 when X-Pac joined the briefly resurrected New World Order (nWo); alongside the nWo, X-Pac attacked Kane and stole his mask, which he would often wear to the ring, though it appears as though this was merely a way to write Kane off of television following an injury and X-Pac left the company before their issues could be properly resolved upon the Big Red Machine’s dramatic return.

My Rating:

Rating: 2 out of 5.

Could Be Better

What did you think to the contest between Kane and X-Pac at Armageddon 1999? How would you rate it compared to their other bouts and which of their feuds, matches, and moments is your favourite? Were you a fan of the team and friendship between Kane and X-Pac back in the day? Did X-Pac turning on Kane sour you on the plucky underdog as it did so many other fans? How are you celebrating Kane’s debut this year, what are some of your favourite matches and moments from Kane’s long and complex career, and what dream match would you have liked to see him involved in? Whatever your thoughts about the Big Red Machine, leave a comment below.

Wrestling Recap [3:16 Day]: HBK vs. Austin (WrestleMania XIV)

Dr. K2 Comments
“Talk about your psalms, talk about “John 3:16”…Austin 3:16 says I just whupped your ass!”

With those immortal words, spoken by the legendary pro wrestler “Stone Cold” Steve Austin after winning the King of the Ring tournament on 23 June 1996, a momentous wrestling career was about to unfold before our eyes that would see everyone’s favourite beer-swigging, finger-gesturing anti-hero become not just an industry icon but a mainstream icon as well. Here’s to yah, Steve!

The Date: 29 March 1998
The Venue: FleetCenter; Boston, Massachusetts
The Commentary: Jim “J.R.” Ross and Jerry “The King” Lawler
The Referee: Mike Chioda, with “Iron” Mike Tyson as the special enforcer
The Stakes: Main event singles match for the WWF Championship

The Build-Up:
As any self-respecting wrestling fan will tell you, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) was clawing back to prominence in 1999. After being beaten in the weekly ratings by World Championship Wrestling’s (WCW) Monday Nitro in the weekly television ratings for nearly two years, the WWF’s “Attitude Era” kept fans glued to the product, many of whom were deeply invested in the rivalry between the loud-mouthed, anti-authority “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and WWF Chairman Vince McMahon. Another crucial factor in getting eyes back on McMahon’s product was the outrageous antics of D-Generation X, a group of wrestlers led by then-current champion, the “Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels, who wielded incredible backstage influence and whose members were often involved in some of the WWF’s most controversial storylines. After the infamous “Montreal Screwjob” saw Bret “The Hitman” Hart part ways with the WWF, McMahon appeared on television more frequently as the evil “Mr. McMahon” and frequently clashed with Austin’s rebellious ways. Hot off a feud with The Rock over the Intercontinental Championship, and despite McMahon’s efforts, Austin won a shot at the big belt, and a slot in the main event of WrestleMania XIV (also billed as WrestleMania X-raided) by winning the Royal Rumble event. He further raised the ire of the chairman when he publicly insulted legendary boxer Mike Tyson on an episode of Raw Is War, though the deck appeared to be stacked against Austin as Tyson revealed himself to be in league with D-Generation X. There was also a great deal of behind the scenes drama surrounding this match as, at the time, Shawn had a bit of a reputation for being unprofessional and, despite nursing a legitimate back injury that would scupper his career for some time, there was some doubt as to whether he would actually lay down for Austin as planned, to the point where the Undertaker was prepared to take matters into his own hands if necessary.

The Match:
Fans today would probably hate the promo package for this match as the majority of it was focused entirely on “The Baddest Man on the Planet” but Mike Tyson was a massive get back then and really helped to put more eyes on the product. The package emphasises not only that Tyson is an absolute bad-ass but that he is D-X through-and-through and Austin barely features at all in it which, considering he was white-hot at this time, I can only assume is all part of the larger story of McMahon not wanting to put any spotlight on Austin and his rebellious ways. Tyson, garbed in a D-X shirt, is the first out and clearly seems to be enjoying his involvement with the product, which is always good. The crowd is, however, largely apathetic towards Tyson, especially once they catch a glimpse of Austin prowling around backstage, to say nothing of when his iconic glass shatters and he enters. After performing his signature rope taunt, Austin immediately gets all up in Tyson’s face, establishing right away that he isn’t afraid of or intimidated by Iron Mike. Shawn Michaels, “the greatest champion of all time” according to J.R., then makes a grandiose entrance; accompanied by some chump named Triple H (who was the WWF European Champion at the time) and Chyna and played to the ring by the Chris Warren D-X band, he expertly played the role of the cocky, arrogant heel by dancing about and wearing the smuggest grin on his face. And why not? Not only did he have the muscle in his corner, Tyson was also in his pocket so he had every advantage in the world except for the unanimous crowd support that Austin received. Tyson makes his presence known from the moment the bell rings by nonchalantly swiping at Austin’s ankles as he (as in Austin) is pacing the ring. When HBK hops about and taunts Austin, Austin gives him the traditional two-finger salute but HBK’s game plan, early on, is to wind Austin up into a frenzy by ducking and jiving away from him.

A great deal of the match involves the two brawling on the outside.

Austin, however, puts a stop to that by throwing some punches in the corner, yanking down Shawn’s tights to expose his ass (much to the delight of the crowd), and finally tossing him out of the ring and into his D-X buddies. When Austin follows to press his attack, he is assaulted by Triple H and tossed into the metal barricade. For his efforts, referee Mike Chioda has Shawn’s running buddies ejected from ringside. All of this was still enough for HBK to gain the advantage and a ringside brawl ensues that sees Shawn slam Austin with the band’s equipment and toss him into a dumpster but, the moment they get back into the ring, Austin regains control by countering HBK’s driving axe-handle and whipping the WWF Champion into a corner for Shawn’s signature flip spot. Austin starts to work on Shawn’s arm with a series of stomps; he shuts down Shawn’s speedy offense by dumping him into the ropes but, though he takes a dive to the outside and onto the table, HBK is still wily enough to avoid being hit with the Stone Cold Stunner. Austin presses his advantage, putting a beating on Shawn and going for a series of pins before wearing Shawn down with a headlock. Seems a bit early into the match for a rest hold but, considering Shawn’s injury and the bumps he’s already taken, it’s perhaps not surprising. HBK counters out of the hold and is finally able to gain some momentum by enduring a beating and walloping Austin in the face with the ring bell, which the referee conveniently misses.

The pace is a bit all over the place, possibly because of Shawn’s injury, making for quite a dull match.

Back in the ring, HBK starts working over Austin’s head despite clearing struggling with the pain of his back injury; more uninspired and slow-paced holds and moves follow before Austin springs back to life, tackles HBK, and tosses him outside again! HBK recovers and starts smacking Austin’s left leg and knee off the ring post and the steel steps, as though the match needs to slow down any more, and continues the assault when he gets back in the ring to put Austin’s leg through the wringer for a bit. Austin surprises HBK with a kick up the ass and a roll-up but this isn’t modern-day WWE so Shawn easily kicks out and continues to wear down Austin’s leg using stomps and the ring ropes. When Austin rolls to the outside for a reprieve, Shawn hits him with a baseball slide and Tyson hefts Austin back into the ring so that HBK can lock in the Figure Four Leglock. Despite HBK grabbing the ropes for additional leverage, Austin refuses to tap out and successfully reverses the hold and buy himself some breathing time. Austin almost catches HBK with a pin off a catapult into the corner and then Shawn transitions into a sleeper hold; in his desperation to get out of the hold, Mike Chioda gets squashed in the corner and taken out of the match.

Austin captures his first World Championship thanks to Tyson revealing his true colours.

The match’s pace finally picks up a bit as Austin hammers on HBK, does his Mudhole Stomp in the corner, and fires back with a flurry of offense. Shawn desperately knocks Austin down with his flying forearm/kip up spot and then clambers up to the top rope for his big elbow drop. After landing the move, Shawn begins tuning up the band for the knockout shot but, when he flies in with Sweet Chin Music, Austin ducks it, and goes for the Stunner! Shawn counters out of it, goes for the Superkick again but Austin catches his foot, spins him around, and hits the Stunner! Tyson then slides into the ring and counts a quick three count to give Austin the WWF Championship in a very sudden end to a fairly lacklustre match. Afterwards, Tyson reveals that he was an Austin 3:16 fan all along, a point he emphasises by laying HBK out with a big right hand and then leaving the ring with the new champion.

The Aftermath:
WrestleMania XIV was a monumental night in WWF history; not only was this the first of six WWF Championship runs for Austin, it was also the night that the WWF “scratch logo” became the new logo of the company; the “winged eagle” world championship belt was also replaced with a new design the following night, and Shawn Michaels took a four-year hiatus to recover from his injuries and get his shit together (which, in turn, saw Triple H succeed him as the leader of D-Generation X and truly begin his own ascent to the main event scene). Of course, the most prominent thing to come out of this event was Austin/McMahon feud; for the next five months or so, McMahon did everything he could to try and get the belt off Austin by either screwing him out of it or throwing challengers and obstacles his way. This led to the creation of the Corporation stable, Mankind’s transformation into Dude Love, the debut of Kane, and a series of successful title defences on Austin’s behalf before he was finally forced to vacate the belt when he was pinned by both the Undertaker and Kane. Austin and McMahon also got into a series of verbal and physical altercations, including a steel cage match at St. Valentine’s Day Massacre and the war between the two helped the WWF to overtake the competition and establish themselves as the hottest game in town. Sadly, Austin’s white-hot run came to a premature end when he was written off television to get neck surgery and, while he did reappear in the company some time later, it was clear that his career was winding down thanks to fatigue and mounting injuries.

My Rating:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Pretty Good

What did you think to the contest between Shawn Michaels and Steve Austin at WrestleMania XIV? How would you rate it compared to their other bouts and which of their feuds, matches, and moments is your favourite? Were you a fan of HBK, D-X, and Tyson? How are you celebrating 3:16 Day this year, what are some of your favourite matches and moments from Austin’s illustrious career, and what dream match would you have liked to see him involved in? Whatever your thoughts, drop a comment below and let me know what you think about “Stone Cold” Steve Austin.

Wrestling Recap: Hogan vs. Undertaker (Survivor Series ’91)

Dr. K1 Comment

The Date: 27 November 1991
The Venue: Joe Louis Arena; Detroit, Michigan
The Commentary: Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby “The Brain” Heenan
The Referee: Earl Hebner
The Stakes: WWF Championship match

The Build-Up:
The Undertaker made his debut on this day at the 1990 at the 1990 Survivor Series as a heel; aligned with Ted DiBiase’s Million Dollar Team and eventually partnered up with the repulsive Paul Bearer, the Undertaker was portrayed as a zombie-like force of nature who was impervious the pain, implacable by nature, and apparently at the whim of a mysterious urn wielded by his manager. Hulk Hogan, meanwhile, was several months into his third run as the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) Champion, having defeated Sergeant Slaughter earlier in the year at WrestleManiaVII. However, thanks to mostly being booked into squash matches, the Undertaker went unpinned (on television, at least) for a year and this impressive statistic was enough to plug him in as Hogan’s next opponent in what was billed as Hogan’s “Gravest Challenge” to date.

The Match:
Rather than preceding the match with one of their trademark promo packages, this particular match is preceded by a couple of pre-taped promos from each of the competitors; Hogan, basically, has taken offense to the Undertaker and Paul Bearer’s threat to bury the hopes and dreams of all the Hulkamaniacs but ‘Taker stoically threatens that Hulkamania has had its day and is long overdue for a burial.

Hogan’s bombastic showboating soon gave way to slow, plodding offense.

During his characteristically enthusiastic entrance, Hogan made a point to upturn and demolish the casket that was placed at ringside but the Undertaker maintained his stoic demeanour and remained unimpressed with Hogan’s showboating and simply set out to do what he promised: destroy Hulkamania. Unfortunately, given that it was 1991 and early ‘Taker (as well as Hogan’s limitations), this meant a lot of slow, plodding offense and an abundance of headlocks, face and beck chokes, and slow, measured strikes from the Undertaker.

Bearer’s interference and the Undertaker’s indomitable nature kept Hogan on the back foot.

Hogan, of course, was all about the superhuman energy and resolve; even though he spends the majority of the match on the back foot and seemingly unable to actually hurt the Undertaker, he continually came back time and time again even after having his head slammed off the steel ring steps and being choked by an electrical cord. Of course, Hogan had the crowd firmly in his corner right from the beginning of the match and they exploded into cheers whenever Hogan mounted some offense and showered the arena with boos every time Bearer got involved behind Hebner’s back.

Undertaker’s moveset back then mainly consisted of dull choke and claw holds.

A far cry from the later brawling and high-impact offense of his later years, the Undertaker’s plan of attack mainly consisted of punches, clotheslines, and full-face chokes; his gameplay, apparently, was to wear down Hogan and drain him of his much-vaulted energy and, every time he pressed his advantage with a Claw Hold or similar move, ‘Taker would turn to Bearer to draw power from the mysterious urn, his eyes rolling into the back of his head, and my interest and excitement draining right along with Hogan’s vigour.

Hogan’s comeback meant nothing once Flair snuck in a steel chair to give ‘Taker the win.

Of course, as relentless and dominating as the Undertaker was, Hogan is still Hogan; jacked up (and blown up) to the nines and full of passion, Hogan completely no-sold the Undertaker’s Tombstone Piledriver to mount his trademark comeback. This onslaught was enough to stagger the Undertaker and drive him to his knees but, right as Hogan looked to be setting up for the finish, Ric Flair sauntered down to ringside to distract Hogan. Flair then slid a steel chair into the ring, which the Undertaker summarily Tombstoned Hogan onto, and the match ended with the Deadman being crowned the new WWF Champion to the chagrin of Monsoon, the delight of Heenan, and a brief cheer from the crowd.

Sadly, it’s every Hogan match ever and even has a screwy finish to keep him looking strong.

It’s not an especially long of exciting match, to be honest; it’s basically every Hulk Hogan match you’ve ever seen as Hogan takes a beating, pulls out sly heel moves and tactics, and spends the majority of the match either on his back or taking a beating because he’s too gassed to work a long, involved match and is simply building up for his characteristic comeback. The story was far more interesting than the actual in-ring content as ‘Taker was more about slow, boring offense and shrugging off attacks and Hogan was only ever really good for pumping up the crowd and hitting his signature moves; the entire match was about a clash of ideals and wills and the potential death of Hulkamania but, whereas Hogan was able to overcome all his previous challenges, he failed to overcome his “Gravest Challenge”. However, he arguably only lost the match due to Flair’s interference and looked set to for a win before Flair distracted him, tainting the Undertaker’s iconic first championship win in true Hogan fashion, which is a shame as the Undertaker looked so dominant throughout the match and this should have been a clean win. Still, at least it’s a short match; the WWF was a very different time back then and, while I respect Hogan and his impact on the industry, I can’t say I’ve ever been a fan of his in-ring work and he didn’t seem to have a lot of chemistry with ‘Taker, who was worked a very premeditated and limited style thanks to his commitment to the zombie aspects of his character.

The Aftermath:
Hulk Hogan and the Undertaker faced off in a rematch less than a week later at This Tuesday in Texas, which Hogan, of course, won and, by WrestleMania VIII, both men were embroiled in entirely separate feuds and the Undertaker would not win the WWF Championship again until WrestleMania 13 some six years later. Despite both being in the company at the same time for many years following this match, the two never crossed paths again and would not face off in a championship match until Judgment Day in 2002, when the Undertaker defeated Hogan (then billed as Hollywood Hulk Hogan) for the Undisputed World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Championship.

My Rating:

Rating: 1 out of 5.

Terrible

What did you think to the contest between Hulk Hogan and the Undertaker at the 1991 Survivor Series? How would you rate it compared to their other bouts and which of their feuds, matches, and moments is your favourite? Were you a fan of the Undertaker’s when he debuted and were you hyped for his showdown with the Immortal Hulk Hogan? Which of the two were you rooting for, given Hogan’s incredible popularity and the Undertaker’s dominant first year? How are you celebrating the Undertaker’s debut this year, what are some of your favourite matches and moments from his long and distinguished career, and what dream match would you have liked to see him involved in? Whatever your thoughts, drop a comment below and let me know what you think about the Undertaker.

Wrestling Recap: Kane vs. Undertaker (WrestleMania XIV)

Dr. K1 Comment

The Date: 29 March 1998
The Venue:  FleetCenter; Boston, Massachusetts
The Commentary: Jim “J.R.” Ross and Jerry “The King” Lawler
The Referee: Jack Doan
The Stakes: Semi-main event, personal rivalry between siblings

The Build-Up:
In the entire history of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), and perhaps all of wrestling, there is, arguably, no greater and more tumultuous story than the history between Kane and the Undertaker. The Deadman had embarked on a reign of terror ever since his debut at the 1990 Survivor Series event, seemingly under the control or influence of a mysterious urn wielded by his revolting manager, Paul Bearer. However, the Undertaker’s relationship with Bearer soured after Bearer turned his back on the Deadman in favour of Mankind. In retribution, the Undertaker used his supernatural powers to blast Bearer in the face with a fireball at In Your House 14: Revenge of the ‘Taker but was tormented by Bearer’s subsequent claims that the Undertaker’s younger brother, Kane, had actually survived the fire that claimed the lives of their parents and was looking for revenge. These claims turned out to be all-too-true when, right as the Undertaker was about to defeat his long-time rival in the first-ever Hell in a Cell match on October 5th, 1997 (the day after my twelfth birthday, which sadly clashes with Global James Bond Day) at Badd Blood: In Your House, the lights went out, ominous organ music played, and a gigantic man garbed in red and black stormed the ring, literally tearing the cell’s door off, ignited the ring posts, and planted the stunned Undertaker with his own finishing manoeuvre, the Tombstone Piledriver as Kane made his shocking debut. Mute, superhumanly strong, and seemingly impervious to pain, Kane immediately embarked on a path of destruction in a bid to goad his brother into a match; the Undertaker, however, constantly refused to fight his brother but was finally pushed too far after Kane and Bearer attacked him at the 1998 Royal Rumble event. The two placed him inside a casket and setting it ablaze, seemingly killing the Undertaker, but the Deadman made another of his trademark dramatic returns and, now, was begrudgingly ready to face his brother, one-on-one, at WrestleMania XIV.

The Match:
As you might expect, given the dramatic and destructive conflict between the Undertaker and Kane and the convoluted backstory between the two, the match is preceded by another of the WWF’s fantastic video packages highlighting Bearer’s claims that “Kane is alive!” and Kane’s breath-taking debut at Badd Blood .The emphasis of the hype package is primarily on Bearer’s obsession with using Kane to extract revenge against the Undertaker and the Deadman’s refusal to fight his own flesh and blood; one thing that’s actually very interesting about this feud, even here in its early days, is that both men are kind of portrayed as tweeners. Neither man is really a face or a heel as ‘Taker is clearly being targeted, so the fans are reluctant to boo him even though he inadvertently killed his parents, and Kane was just too bad-ass, too alluring, and too impressive for people to truly boo him. Instead, it seems tensions were palpable for their inevitable conflict and everyone totally bought into the ridiculous story, suspending disbelief to simply enjoy the supernatural elements of their story and watch two massive guys go at each other after weeks and weeks of build-up. Nowhere is this unusual face/dichotomy more evident than during Kane’s entrance, where he famously stalked to the ring surrounded by flames and red lighting and delivered a Tombstone to Pete Rose, who had spent a couple of minutes insulting the crowd, their city, state, and baseball team. This, seemingly, signalled that Kane was actually a babyface despite everything that he had done leading up to this match, but then he switches right back into being more of a heel in his assault of the Undertaker. Like I say, Kane and the Undertaker was basically beyond the usual clichés of “good” and “evil”; they simply were and did whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted to, to whomever they felt like and people cheered regardless because it was always entertaining to see what these two big, beefy, semi-supernatural men would get up to next.

Kane’s power and strength impressed, especially in the early going.

Of course, the Undertaker made a suitable dramatic and ominous entrance; flanked by several torch-carrying druids, the Deadman slowly stalked to the ring following a bolt of lightning and garbed in a gothic, almost vampire-like caped outfit and sporting a temporary black teardrop tattoo on his face. Kane, however, showed no signs of intimidation (or any emotion at all, considering his face was entirely obscured by his iconic mask, but you can feel his boiling, brewing anger thanks to Jacobs’ fantastic body language and subtle gestures) leading to an iconic face-to-face stare down between the two before the Undertaker broke the tension with a big right hand and a furious assault in the ring corner. However, a common theme throughout the match, especially in the early going, is Kane’s indomitable power and ability to answer, and counter, the Undertaker’s offense at every turn; he manhandles the Undertaker on numerous occasions, overpowering him, reversing his attempts to whip Kane into the ropes and the corners, and quickly takes control of the early stages of the match by brutalising the Undertaker with his superior physical power. Kane even showed off his impressive agility by springboarding off the ring ropes to knock the Undertaker to the outside at one point, though the Undertaker was no slouch in this department either as he uncharacteristically hopped up onto Kane’s shoulders form an awkward-looking Facebuster-type move and, later, dove right over the top rope and crashing through the Spanish announce table in what looked like one hell of a crash landing!

After a nasty dive through the announce table, the Undertaker and Kane traded Tombstones!

All throughout the match, Paul Bearer is a constant presence; standing at ringside, he continuously shouts encouragement and directions to Kane and taunts to the Undertaker. As the fight inevitably tumbled to the ringside area, Bearer distracted the referee so that Kane could bring the steel steps crashing down across the Undertaker’s spine. This, and similar assaults, allowed the Undertaker to truly take control of the match as he slowly, methodically, beat the Undertaker into submission, with Bearer getting a few shots in on the Deadman at every opportunity. Kane, however, allowed hubris and his emotion and obsession with hurting the Undertaker potentially keep him from winning the match as he pulled the Undertaker up from a potential three count following a Chokeslam. Kane, however, presses his advantage after ‘Taker crashes through the announce table and was prepared to finish his brother off with his patented Diving Clothesline but was enraged when the Deadman kicked out of the pin and the two ended up trading punches before Kane overpowered the Undertaker and reversed his Tombstone attempt into a Tombstone of his own! ‘Taker, however, kicked out to a surprisingly mild reaction from the crowd (the silence that followed suggests a degree of shock at this event since Tombstone kickouts weren’t as overplayed and highly anticipated as they would become in later years). Undertaker got his second wind following this and, with Kane finally showing signs of fatigue, was able to plant his brother with a Chokeslam and then returned the favour with a Tombstone…only for Kane to kick out!

It took three Tombstones to put Kane away and ‘Taker didn’t look like a winner after the match!

Despite being on the defensive for the majority of the match, J.R. constantly points out that the Deadman is making every effort to cover up from Kane’s punches and suggests that he may be playing a long game and banking on Kane tiring himself out with his furious and relentless assault. While this means that he has to endure what J.R. claims is the most brutal and physically dominating attack than he has ever experienced, this turns out to be the case and the result is a fantastic showcase for Glenn Jacobs’ popular masked character as Kane looks like an instant superstar thanks to all of the offense he gets in and the dominating position he is in throughout the entirety of the match. Nowhere is Kane’s tenacity emphasised more than in the closing minutes of the match; having kicked out of the first Tombstone, Kane continued to sit up, to get to his feet, and to stalk his brother and, despite eating another Tombstone, simply would not stay down until ‘Taker hit a third and final Tombstone to finally put his brother away. However, Kane and Paul Bearer ended up standing tall as Bearer put the boots to ‘Taker after the bell rang and Kane delivered a massive Tombstone Piledriver to his brother onto a steel chair to emphatically send the message that the Undertaker may have won the battle…but the war was far from over!

The Aftermath:
The feud between the Undertaker and Kane was far from over following this match; the two would clash again the very next month at Unforgiven: In Your House in the first-ever Inferno Match, which Kane, again, would lose. The two would eventually go their separate ways and even formed a tentative alliance that saw the Undertaker help Kane to defeat Stone Cold Steve Austin for the WWF Championship at the 1998 King of the Ring event and become embroiled in Vince McMahon’s ongoing feud with Austin over the championship throughout the summer. The two continually crossed paths as both reluctant allies and bitter rivals throughout 1998, with Kane slowly turning babyface and Undertaker turning heel in the process thanks to numerous twists and turns in their storied relationship. Such drama would follow both men throughout their subsequent careers as they continually switched allegiances and alternated between being one of the most dominant duos in the entire industry and being two of the bitterest rivals but, no matter what form their appearance or relationship took, you could always be assured of an absolute spectacle whenever Kane and the Undertaker share the ring together.

My Rating:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Great Stuff

What did you think to the contest between Kane and the Undertaker at WrestleMania XIV? How would you rate it compared to their other bouts and which of their feuds, matches, and moments is your favourite? Were you a fan of Kane’s when he debuted and were you hyped for his first match against his brother? Which of the two were you rooting for, given the tumultuous nature of the storyline? How are you celebrating Kane’s debut this year, what are some of your favourite matches and moments from Kane’s long and complex career, and what dream match would you have liked to see him involved in? Whatever your thoughts, drop a comment below and let me know what you think about Kane.

Wrestling Recap [3:16 Day]: Rock vs. Austin (WrestleMania X-Seven)

Dr. K3 Comments
“Talk about your psalms, talk about “John 3:16”…Austin 3:16 says I just whupped your ass!”

With those immortal words, spoken by the legendary pro wrestler “Stone Cold” Steve Austin after winning the King of the Ring tournament on 23 June 1996, a momentous wrestling career was about to unfold before our eyes that would see everyone’s favourite beer-swigging, finger-gesturing anti-hero become not just an industry icon but a mainstream icon as well. Here’s to yah, Steve!

The Date: 1 April 2001
The Venue: Reliant Astrodome; Houston, Texas
The Commentary: Jim “J.R.” Ross and Paul Heyman
The Referee: Earl Hebner
The Stakes: Main event, no disqualification match for the WWF Championship

The Build-Up:
Man, I tell you what, if you were a wrestling fan between 1998 and 2001 you were living the high life! After losing to World Championship Wrestling’s (WCW) Monday Nitro in the weekly television ratings for nearly two years, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) finally began to turn a corner by ushering their “Attitude Era”, a central focus of which was the rivalry between the loud-mouthed, anti-authority “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and WWF Chairman Vince McMahon. One key aspect of this feud also involved Austin’s various run-ins with the Rock; the two had previously clashed over the WWF Championship at WrestleMania XV: The Ragin’ Climax, where the Rock (then endorsed as McMahon’s “Corporate Champion”) dropped the belt to Austin but the two had plenty of history prior to that as they had feuded over the Intercontinental Championship some years prior. After Austin won the Royal Rumble and the Rock recaptured the belt from Kurt Angle at No Way Out just a few months prior, tensions began to boil between the two now-friendly rivals; Austin’s wife Debra was forced to be Rock’s manager for a while, the two frequently brawled or left each other at the mercy of other wrestlers, and Austin, still on his big comeback from a career-threatening neck injury, famously warned the Rock: “I need to beat you, Rock. I need it more than anything you could ever imagine”.

The Match:
Of course, it’s hard to talk about this match without mentioning the excellent video package that told the story of the tumultuous build-up towards it by charting Austin’s big comeback, Rock’s WWF Championship win, and the rising tensions between the two following Austin’s Royal Rumble win. Originally set to Limp Bizkit’s “My Way”, even without this music this is one of the best hype packages the WWE has ever put together and really sold the intensity of this confrontation. Emotions were high going into this match thanks not just to the clearly partisan crowd but also J.R.’s rousing commentary and personal investment in the match; J.R. was widely recognised as Austin’s best friend and, as such, he spends the majority of the match selling the story of Austin’s big comeback and that this match is this the culmination of Austin’s journey through spinal surgeries, injuries, and adversity. Accordingly, he was outraged by the unexplained, last-second announcement that the match had been made a no disqualification contest, believing that there is some kind of conspiracy behind that decision despite the fact that both he and Heyman mention more than once that a no disqualification stipulation actually gives Austin, known for his wild brawling, the advantage.

Austin was noticably more aggressive, utilising many underhanded tactics throughout the match.

Austin came to the ring first to a raucous reception; this was during the time when Austin was coming out to Disturbed’s “Glass Shatters”, a rockin’ version of his iconic theme, though the massive ovation he received largely crowned out any music and even the commentary at times. Given that Austin was the home state hero, and that audiences were still high on rediscovering their love for him after all of his time out with injuries, this isn’t all that surprising and meant that the Rock, arguably the most popular wrestler in the WWF at that time, received a showering of boos not only during his entrance but also throughout the match. Honestly, this match was loud and boisterous right from the word “Go!” thanks to the crowd, who are a sea of cheers, reluctant boos towards the Rock, and a cacophony of emotion all throughout. You could feel the tension and anticipation in the air from the moment the match begins and it stayed at a constant level throughout, rising to a crescendo whenever Austin is on the attack. Accordingly, there was no standing on ceremony here and the match began with a full-on slugfest between the two. Austin even went for a belt shot in the early going, which might seem surprising but, watching the match in hindsight, you can see how Austin is pulling out all kinds of heel tactics throughout (shots with the ring bell, using his knee braces to attack the Rock’s forehead, undoing the corner turnbuckle pad, choking Rock with the ropes, among other notable moments). Though J.R. largely glossed over a lot of these elements, Heyman sold it well to remind audiences that Austin is driven, obsessed, with becoming the WWF Champion and willing to do anything and everything to emerge the victor.

Despite the no DQ stipulation, Hebner tried to appeal to each man’s reason and maintain order.

Austin dominated the match in the early going thanks to hitting a Lou Thesz Press, escaping the Rock Bottom, and taking the fight to the outside after Rock avoided being hit with a Stone Cold Stunner. The two brawled by the announce table for a bit before heading over the barricade and into the crowd; this wouldn’t be the first time the action spilled to the outside and, if anything, that tactic is a little over-used in this match but it plays to Austin’s strengths since he was largely a brawler by this point and his matches were more about high intensity, a series of punches, stomps, and recognisable spots, and, of course, the Stunner. The emotion of the contest wasn’t lost on the Rock, either, though, and this cost him during their ringside scrap as he allowed himself to get distracted by Hebner, giving Austin the chance to bash him in the head with the ring bell and bust him open. Hebner, easily my favourite referee and, arguably, the WWF’s most recognisable official, could always be counted on to be a big part of every match he was in but in a way that remained professional and subtle. Here, he spends the majority of the match appealing to each man’s reason; it was no disqualification but he still admonished the two for fighting at ringside, using weapons, and forced them to break submission holds when their opponent was in the ropes. However, because of how high the stakes and the personal animosity between the two rivals were, he often found himself being accosted or threatened by both men.

The two men traded Sharpshooters and Austin even busted out the Million Dollar Dream!

As Heyman was fond of saying during this time, Austin was “like a shark that smells blood” the moment the blood began flowing and began to relentlessly target the Rock’s lacerated forehead with a barrage of fists, shutting down a potential comeback with a Neckbreaker, and stomping away on the Rock in the corner of the ring. It was only when Austin found himself distracted by Hebner’s interference that the Rock was able to finally make a proper comeback by launching Austin into the exposed turnbuckle and gaining a little retribution by bashing Austin in the head with the ring bell, busting him open before Austin was able to regain control of the match with a wicked catapult into the ring post. Rock sold the hell out of that move, snapping his head back at the very last second to really sell the idea that he had collided with the post in a sickening way, which more than made up for the announce table simply collapsing under his weight and, potentially, ruining a planned table spot. Austin continued his assault by bashing Rock in the head with a monitor but Rock managed to finally turn the tide by locking Austin into the Sharpshooter; the crowd was thrust into a tumultuous sea of conflict as Austin screamed in agony, refused to quit, and desperately reached for the ropes but Rock shifted him back to the middle of the ring! Austin, though, was able to reach the ropes and then put the Rock into a Sharpshooter, with the crowd being far less divided about this and even less impressed when the Rock powered out of the move. Annoyed, and growing increasingly frustrated, Austin followed up with the Million Dollar Dream!

McMahon cost the Rock his best opportunity to win the match.

J.R. was as surprised as anyone else about Austin dusting off this long-forgotten piece of his arsenal but it was enough to drive the Rock to his knees and set up for the old “three arm” spot. The Rock, of course, kept his arm up at the last second (has this spot ever gone any other way?) and uniquely kicked himself off the corner of the ring to first counter into close two count and then hit a Stunner out of nowhere! Unfortunately, the Rock was too fatigued and hurt to cover quickly enough so Austin kicked out at two and it was at this point that Vince McMahon wandered down to ringside, much to the anger of both J.R. and the crowd. In the ring, Rock and Austin went back to exchanging blows and trading their signature Spinebusters; Rock, of course, followed his Spinebuster up with the People’s Elbow but McMahon broke up the pin. Incensed, the Rock chased McMahon around the ring and ran right into a Rock Bottom from Austin, though he managed to kick out at two for a dramatic near fall.

Austin sold his soul to the Devil himself to once again become the WWF Champion.

After the Rock countered out of a Stunner attempt, Hebner got knocked out of the ring and, in the carnage, Austin ordered McMahon to bring a steel chair into the ring. In a sickening moment, Austin held the Rock in place so that McMahon could deliver a vicious chair shot right to his head. It still wasn’t enough to keep the Rock down, though, and Austin was so infuriated that he got caught with a Rock Bottom. Luckily for Austin, though, McMahon distracted Hebner, and the Rock, long enough for Austin to recover and hit the Rock with a massive Stunner (which, of course, the Rock sold with a theatrical panache). Driven to the limit by the Rock’s tenacity, Austin began assaulting him with McMahon’s steel chair; he then delivered another sick shot to the head before driving it into the Rock’s chest and bashing him over the spine with it over and over and over, beating him to a pulp, and finally scoring the three count! The crowd erupted into thunderous applause but they, and J.R,, soon reacted in shock and anger as Austin and McMahon shook hands and shared a beer over the Rock’s bloodied and prone body. When the Rock stumbled to his feet, Austin put him down with one last belt shot to emphasise his sudden and unexpected change of character. J.R. was disgusted, appalled, and betrayed by the alliance between Austin and McMahon but Heyman, though shocked, believed that this was totally in character since Austin had promised to do anything to win and was always fond of the mantra: “DTA – Don’t Trust Anybody!”

The Aftermath:
The very next night on Raw is War, Austin and the Rock faced off in a rematch inside of a steel cage. It was during this match that Triple H forged an alliance with his much-hated rival and he and Austin came to be known as the “Two-Man Power Trip”. The Rock was subsequently assaulted by the two and suspended by McMahon to allow him the time off required to film The Scorpion King (Russell, 2002). After Triple H won the Intercontinental Championship, the Two-Man Power Trip went on a…well, a power trip, dominating the WWF and coming into contact with the only team big, mean, and powerful enough to oppose them: the WWF Tag Team Champions, Kane and the Undertaker, the Brothers of Destruction. Austin and Triple H were able to best the Brothers, though, but their reign of terror was cut short when Triple H suffered a horrific quadriceps tear. Austin continued on as a heel regardless, however, changing his music and becoming a more paranoid, unpredictable, and cowardly bad guy who turned his back on both the fans and his friends (resulting in a vicious beat down of J.R.). Although he briefly seemed to be returning back to the “old Stone Cold” in the face of the invasion from WCW and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), Austin ultimately joined forces with the WCW/ECW alliance and became this erratic, overbearing, narcissistic heel obsessed with the belt and being treated like the star of the show. Eventually, after the collapse of the WCW/ECW alliance, Austin would return to his roots as a babyface and begin the final stage of his career. Mounting injuries began to take their toll and Austin began to lose his passion for the sport, culminating in one last match against the Rock at WrestleMania XIX but that is a story for another day.

My Rating:

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Fantastic

What did you think to the contest between the Rock and Steve Austin at WrestleMania X-Seven? How would you rate it compared to their other bouts and which of their feuds, matches, and moments is your favourite? Were you a fan of Austin’s unexpected heel turn or do you think he should have called an audible and remained as a tweener? How are you celebrating 3:16 Day this year, what are some of your favourite matches and moments from Austin’s illustrious career, and what dream match would you have liked to see him involved in? Whatever your thoughts, drop a comment below and let me know what you think about “Stone Cold” Steve Austin.