Rebooked: ECW One Night Stand 2005

ECW One Night Stand 2005

Backstory

There have been many ECW tribute shows that have tried to recapture the excitement of Extreme Championship Wrestling. But there will always be only one true ECW tribute show, ECW One Night Stand 2005.

Extreme Championship Wrestling was a wrestling promotion like none other. ECW came about in one of the most iconic images in wrestling history, Shane Douglas, the reigning NWA World Heavyweight Champion threw down the belt and claimed the Eastern Championship Wrestling title, calling the title a true World Heavyweight Championship. This action was the birth of the rebellious ECW and paved the way for the years following with controversial angles, hardcore stipulations and fans with a passion for wrestling unmatched anywhere else on this earth.

In late 2004 wheels were set in motion for an ECW tribute PPV, thanks to former ECW talent now working for WWE such as Paul Heyman and Rob Van Dam. Heyman was left in charge of booking the show and immediately began ringing former ECW employers to put on the greatest ECW tribute show that there ever was. However, there was one big problem. One of ECW’s top workers and most loyal was injured, Rob Van Dam. A tribute show without the “Whole Dam Show” would be a huge miss. But Rob Van Dam promised he would rehab his injured knee as fast as he could to return for the PPV.

The date was set, June 12^th 2005 ECW would return for a One Night Stand. WWE programming began to promote the PPV. Originally there were plans for there to be anti-ECW group from within WWE to rival the forthcoming show however this storyline never came to light. WWE programming advertised the PPV by showing old clips of previous matches and had former ECW employees to give documentary interviews. The card was slowly beginning to come together. There was a mixture of old feuds reignited and dream matches that never took place. However, one name was still missing, Rob Van Dam.

ECW One Night Stand Preview

With just weeks before ECW returns for One Night Stand we have a run-down of the card, exclusively here on WWE.com.

Infamous Triple Threat

Super Crazy vs. Tajiri vs. Little Guido

Three different wrestlers, from three different countries with three completely different styles showed what ECW was all about when they first met up in ECW and launched all three men onto the big stage in the future. Super Crazy with his Lucha Libre moves, Tajiri with his puroresu skills and Little Guido with hit shooter style. Just liked the original, this is sure to be off the charts.

Impact Players Implode

Lance Storm vs. Justin Credible

Acquaintances, tag partners, friends there are many ways to describe the relationship these two have with each other. These two began teaming in 1999 and formed the name the Impact Players. They had great success winning the ECW World Tag Team Titles. However, despite their skill as a team they now face off one on one to determine who the best Impact Player really is. Both men want to prove themselves as the better man but neither man will be willing to let go.  

Brotherly Warfare

The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray and D-Von) vs. Spike Dudley and Balls Mahoney

Blood is thicker than water. And tables are thicker than blood according to the Dudley family. The Dudley Boyz will return to their ECW roots where they first began and across the ring will be a very familiar face, their own brother, little Spike Dudley. The “Giant Killer” will attempt to topple not just his brothers but the most illustrious tag team in ECW history. Alongside him will be tag partner, Balls Mahoney who together have beaten the Dudley Boyz for the ECW World Tag Team titles twice. 

Mexican Death Match

Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Psychosis

These two rivals have wrestled all around the world, from their home of Mexico, to the far off land of Japan but their first break in America came in ECW. Both men have gone on to have wonderful careers but it is debatable that without their first match in the States, they wouldn’t be where they are today. So now these two return to the match that started their careers, the Mexican Death Match.

ECW’s Legacy

Eddie Guerrero vs. Chris Jericho

There has been many wrestlers who rode the ride through ECW and went onto become big names but two of the most well-known names had their first big role in ECW are Eddie Guerrero and Chris Jericho. Between them they have won many titles and many accolades and ECW gave them their first big chance with gold. Now these two face off in tribute to all the workers who passed through ECW.

You Broke my Neck

Sabu (with Bill Alfonso) vs. Chris Benoit

An historic moment and a landmark event in ECW happened at November 2 Remember 1994. In the scheduled main event the “Homicidal, Suicidal, Genocidal, Death Defying" Sabu got dumped on his head by Chris Benoit leaving him on the shelf injured. From then on Benoit was known as “The Crippler” and went onto great success. Despite his quietness, Sabu has made it clear that he’s still wants vengeance for what Beniot did to him and is willing to put everything on the line to get it.

Legends of ECW

Tommy Dreamer and The Sandman vs. Mick Foley and Terry Funk

ECW was notorious for its hardcore nature and rough and ready talent but none envision the image of ECW quite like the four competitors in our main event. Between them they have won the ECW World Heavyweight title 8 times and the ECW World Tag Team Championship 6 times. All four have storied histories with ECW and will all look to pull out all the stops to put on a great performance for the ECW fans.

Well, that’s all for now. We can only predict what the ECW PPV will turn out like due to it’s history of being very unpredictable. To find out what happens dial your PPV provider now.

ECW One Night Stand

June 12^th 2005

The show opens with a large clip package highlighting all the key moments from ECW, including it’s demise. There’s more hype as the video ends with “But tonight we return for a One Night Stand.” The camera then cuts to the arena with its deafening “EC-DUB, EC-DUB” screams in the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York.

Paul Heyman was the first man to make his way out to an ravenous applause. Heyman is stopped from speaking due to the repeated “EC-DUB” chants. Heyman finally gets chance to speak and riles up the crowd even more. He said tonight all the wrestlers will put everything on the line for the fans. We then went over to out commentators, Joey Styles and Taz to run down the card.

Match 1) Super Crazy vs. Tajiri (with The Sinister Minister and Mikey Whipwreck) vs. Little Guido (with Tracy Smothers, Tony Mamaluke and Big Guido)

As you would expect all three men used their differing styles to outdo the other competitors. The action was very fast paced with move after move after move. The match built up to a spot where all at ringside (including non-competitors) fought into the crowd. Then Super Crazy (who had just disappeared) appeared in the balcony. Crazy lived up to his name hitting a moonsault from the balcony onto all below! The match ended soon after back in the ring after Smothers tried to aid Guido but ended up getting the Posion Mist from Tajiri. Tajiri then finished off Guido with the Buzzsaw Kick.

Joel Gertner was at an interview set with Sabu and his manager Bill Alfonso. Alfonso said how Sabu is the most dangerous man alive and Beniot will find that out later on tonight. Alfonso promised Beniot that Sabu will snap his neck in two just like Beniot did to him 11 years ago.

Match 2) Lance Storm vs. Justin Credible (with Dawn Marie)

Before the match Storm took the mic and asked why they are facing off since they are good friends. Credible snatched the mic away from him and told Lance that he was a “Sell-out” by leaving ECW when they needed him most. Credible then brought out Dawn Marie to be in his corner and attacked Storm when he wasn’t looking. In the match the two traded holds and submissions before building the match up. Dawn Marie got up on the apron but miscommunication sent Credible headfirst into her. Justin recovered and went for the That’s Incredible only for Lance to reverse it perfectly setting up a Deep Impact for the win. Following the bout Lance offered a hand shake, Justin refused but then hugged Lance. Lance, Justin and Dawn all celebrated together before leaving.

Match 3) The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray and D-Von) vs. Spike Dudley and Balls Mahoney

A different bout to the two that this has followed on from. The Dudley’s made immediate impact attacking their opponents in their entrance. They quickly wiped out their brother with an aided powerbomb through a table. The Dudley’s then worked on Balls and busted him open for the first blood spill of the night. Balls tried to fight back but the handicap was too much. During this 2 on 1 beating Bubba took time out to insult some fans. Spike made his return with a chair and turned the odds in his team’s favour busting both his brothers open. From there the action was even and more importantly hardcore. After almost killing Spike with a throw to the outside, the Dudleys lit a table on fire and powerbombed Balls through it OMG! Post match as the ring crew cleaned the ring Bubba grabbed a mic and continued to insult the fans even calling Hat Guy “a worthless pile of semen.”

Paul Heyman returned to the ring to introduce a video of a tribute to ECW wrestlers that have passed on. The fans respected the one minute silence Heyman requested then continued “EC-DUB” to show their respect for all the workers who have passed away.

Match 4) Mexican Death Match: Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Psychosis

Both men were wearing attires alike to that of what they wore in their original encounter in 1995. The match was held under Mexican Death match rules just like the original. As well as being best friends these two have been great opponents and know each other so well. The first fall went to Rey after he hit the West Coast Pop in the centre of the ring. Psychosis quickly stole the second after Rey’s attempt at a hurricanrana was flipped around a full 360 and Pyschosis got the pin. Joey Styles shouted "Ay Dios Mio” translated to Oh My God! After that move adding “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like that before!” The match continued with both men going all out for the final fall. The action later entered the crowd. Just like back at November to Remember 1995, Rey found a raised platform to climb. After climbing to the top Rey dived off and hit a hurricanrana on Psychosis. However, Psychosis kicked out! They fought back to the ring where Rey tripped his opponent up on the ropes. Rey finished off with a 619 (which wasn’t met too happily to the diehard ECW fans) to get the final fall.

Joel Gertner was yet again at the interview area. He begins his speech about why he loves ECW only for Terry Funk to appear instantly knocking Gertner out with a punch. Funk cuts a mad promo about how he had to return to the ring tonight. He added it will be an “honour” to team up with Foley and a “privilege” to whup Dreamer and Sandman a****.

Match 5) Eddie Guerrero vs. Chris Jericho:

Like the match before both men had “retro attires” as Taz put it, they were wearing attires that replicated previous attires worn in ECW. As said in the preview this bout was a tribute to all the great workers who have passed through ECW. The action was top notch with both men putting on great performances. They teased the fans with multiple near falls and some ECW-esq spots.  Jericho took a dive off the apron toward Eddie who protected himself with a chair. The action continued with Eddie placing Jericho on a ladder for a Frog Splash but Chris moved sending Eddie front first onto the ladder. Jericho capitalised with a Lionsault, crushing Eddie between his opponent and the ladder. The battle raged on as both men traded blows but Jericho’s Liontamer made Eddie submit.

The Blue World Order’s (B.W.O) Stevie Richards, Hollywood Nova and the Blue Meanie all made their way out. Stevie complained how the three weren’t booked on the show while maintaining his NWO parody. He then announced that their leader was here pointing to the entrance. After a long build up with the fans chanting “Raven” Stevie revealed it was all a hoax and called Raven a pussy for not showing up and showing where his true loyalties lie. They continued their “take over” of the PPV until Taz got up from commentary claiming “enough was enough.” Taz marched down to the ring telling them they have one last chance to get out of the ring. Instead Meanie gave Taz a middle finger. Taz then destroyed all three members of the B.W.O quickly, thowing Stevie and Nova about with suplexes then locking in the Tazmission on Meanie. The B.W.O finally pulled Meanie away and scurried away as Taz remained in the ring, standing with arms folded.

Match 6) Sabu (with Bill Alfonso) vs. Chris Benoit

The action started right away with Sabu’s entrance. The “Homicidal, Suicidal, Genocidal, Death Defying" Sabu came running out for his entrance launching two chairs at Benoit in the ring immediately. “The Crippler” took the fight back to Sabu and tried to neutralise Sabu by keeping him away from weapons however with Bill Alfonso at ringside Sabu was handed weapons at every opportunity. The action continued to a point where Benoit attempted to drop Sabu on his head again! However Sabu reversed out of it after blocking numerous attempts. A table was brought into play where Sabu came flying off the ropes hitting a led drop with a chair in his hand onto Benoit who was laid on the table. Sabu never went for the pin always wanting to go for more punishment on the man who broke his neck. Alfonso set up a table between the apron and the guardrail which was later used against his own man as Benoit reversed a dive into a German Suplex off the apron through the table! Sabu locked in the Arabian Clutch for a rare submission victory over Benoit. The bell rung as Sabu won but he wouldn’t let go. Alfonso tried to stop him but Sabu was out of control. After attacking some staff who tried to intervene Sabu exited.

Match 7) Tommy Dreamer and The Sandman vs. Mick Foley and Terry Funk

In the scheduled main event of the evening all four men got thunderous applause and chant. The Sandman even made his trademark entrance though the crowd singing to “Enter Sandman” while swinging his cane and drinking his beer. After all men had entered the crowd burst out their loudest “EC-DUB” chant of the night which went on for minutes. The action itself was what you would expect from four of the toughest men ECW has ever held host to. Every kind of weapon was used in this bout from barbed wire, steel chains and even a ladder which Funk missed a Moonsault from. The action went into the crowd briefly where Sandman smashed Foley up with multiple beer cans. Heading into the closing minutes all four men were bleeding heavily. Sandman was knocked off the apron into a barbed wire board on the outside. Foley followed this up with a Diving Elbow off the apron onto Sandman in the barbed wire. Meanwhile in the ring Funk and Dreamer traded blows before Dreamer hoisted a heavily bleeding Funk onto his shoulders for a Dreamer Driver for the 3-count. After being cut out of the barbed wire, Sandman and Foley joined Funk and Dreamer in the ring. Sandman grabbed a 6-pack of beers and handed them out to the 3 other competitors. They all celebrated, hugged and drunk beer to end the broadcast.

Or so we thought. From out of the crowd and behind the 4 ECW legends came Rhino. He hit the Gore on all 4 competitors and cleared the ring of their bodies. The fans were boo’ing him as he exited the ring to bring something back into the ring. He brought a black bag, he undid the drawstring and brought out the ECW World Heavyweight Championship. Grabbing a mic he said how much of a travesty it is for the true ECW World Champion not to be on the show. He cut a shoot promo directed at WWE for not realising his potential and how he still is a true World Champion. But he was interrupted by the music “Walk” by Pantera. This meant only one thing, “the Whole F’n Show” Rob Van Dam! Van Dam made his way out taking his time to soak in the whole atmosphere. The fans were the loudest they have been all night as Van Dam slid in the ring but Rhino obviously didn’t like Van Dam taking all his attention and attacked him straight away. 

Match 8) Rob Van Dam vs. Rhino

The fans were really vocal in this final unsanctioned match. Van Dam was the obvious fan favourite making his return from injury and Rhino was hated for attacking the ECW legends. Rhino dominated the early parts of the match using his superior strength and power over Van Dam. RVD fought back using quickness to get the momentum before bringing a chair into the match. Rhino fought back smashing the chair over RVD’s lower back but RVD was soon back on the offensive with a kick smashing the chair back in Rhino’s face. Rob Van Dam followed it up with a chair assisted Rolling Thunder. Rhino later nailed a huge Powerbomb which send RVD crashing onto the canvas, somehow RVD got the arm up to keep the match going. The match led to Rhino throwing the chair from the ring after continuously being assaulted with it then lined RVD up for the Gore though a table set up in the corner. However, as Rhino charged, RVD leapfrogged “the Man Monster” and Rhino crashed into the referee sending him thought the table! The match continued with no referee as the two competitors traded blows in the corner. Rhino attempted to lift RVD into a Rhino Driver from the second rope which would have defiantly ended the match-up but RVD countered sending Rhino to the mat with a head kick. Perched on the top rope RVD hit the Five-Star Frog Splash with pin point precision even adjusting his body shape in mid-air to hit Rhino with all his force. RVD rolled back over his opponent but there was no count with the referee still broken in half in the corner. Out came Paul Heyman who slid in and made the 3-count. The show ended with Rob Van Dam celebrating and Paul Heyman picking up the ECW World Heavyweight title and handing it over to RVD. Wrestlers who had competed throughout the night all came out to celebrate and listen to the fans chant “EC-DUB” one last time.

Aftermath

The 2005 ECW One Night Stand proved to be a huge success. Fans and wrestlers alike commented on how well it worked and there were soon petitions made for another. WWE saw the potential they could have and quickly came to a decision in late 2005. ECW One Night Stand was to return and following the show ECW would return as a third brand with its own TV show on the Sci-Fi Channel. The build up began at Wrestlemania 22 where Rob Van Dam won the Money in the Bank match. Soon after RVD said he would use his title shot on the 11^th June, the night of ECW One Night Stand 2.

Unlike the first show, the PPV featured not just ECW alumni but also ECW vs. WWE matches which was headlined by ECW’s Rob Van Dam facing the WWE’s John Cena for the WWE title. The undercard featured such matches as The Sandman and Tommy Dreamer teaming up once more to face WWE’s invading team of Randy Orton and Edge and Sabu facing Kurt Angle. The action led to the main event where the hostile crowd watched as Rob Van Dam beat John Cena cleanly with the Five-Star Frog Splash to become ECW World Champion.

The ECW brand was then launched with Rob Van Dam as the main face of the promotion. Although he lost the WWE Championship within 2 months he held onto the ECW World title for 6 months facing all competitors. The ECW brand served as an alternative to the other WWE brands with its hardcore wrestling and edgy style. Paul Heyman was given plenty of control to make this incarnation of ECW a big success. Heyman mixed the ECW originals with some newer characters which the WWE brought in such as Kevin Thorn- a Vampire with a lust for blood, Elijah Burke - a New York street preacher and most importantly CM Punk- a talented young Straight Edge athlete.

ECW was later given a second PPV “December to Dismember” which Heyman took full advantage of to showcase the ECW talent putting on another good PPV headlined by Rob Van Dam losing the ECW title to the recently turned heel Kurt Angle. Angle had joined the roster originally as a face as the big shock on ECW’s first TV episode but in late 2006 Angle turned heel as he set his sights on the title injuring Van Dam’s ankle in the process. With a new champion and a new year the future looked bright for ECW. Heyman continued to book ECW strongly as it continued to do well in the ratings despite fans unwillingness to see some of the wrestlers move away from the Extreme brand in the annual WWE draft.

CM Punk caused huge waves in the new ECW. He quickly developed a following and won the respect of many of the ECW Legends especially Tommy Dreamer who took the “Straight Edge Superstar” under his wing. Punk battled for the ECW World title on numerous occasions each time getting closer to holding the belt. He won the Money in the Back briefcase at Wrestlemania 23 and over the next 9 months teased on who he would cash the briefcase on (having the choice of all 3 World champions from the 3 brands) Eventually he chose to cash in against ECW World Champion, Tommy Dreamer minutes after he had just won the belt.

Punk turned heel now calling himself “the Saviour of ECW.” He claimed it was his mission to take out all ECW originals and set about on his quest to do so. After “retiring” such Extremists as The Sandman, Balls Mahoney and Stevie Richards, Punk changed his mission objective. From now on Punk said he would not just get rid of the ECW Originals but ECW all together. Many ECW wrestlers stepped up to “the Second City Saint” and many failed including the return of his former mentor, Tommy Dreamer. With ECW falling, Paul Heyman made the call to one man to return to fight Punk, Rob Van Dam. It was “Do or Die” for both men with not just the title on the line but also ECW. Punk defeated RVD in an absolute show stopper to retain the ECW World title and close the ECW brand once and for all.

WWF Themes from the Early 2000's

Ever since reviewing Fully Loaded 2000, I've been pretty addicted to the WWF in the early 2000. Most recently watching the excellent SummerSlam from the same year. Which was most famous for hosting the first ever TLC match. But the card also contains a good three-way main event for the WWF Championship between The Rock, Kurt Angle and Triple H. And a hardcore title bout involving Shane McMahon which is always fun and involves an insane bump by Shane O'Mac.

Watching events like this allows me to relive some of the great moments that got me into wrestling. Everything just seems "right", from the energetic crowds to the gimmicky characters. One thing that shouldn't be overlooked is the theme music. They typify the era and sum up the characters perfectly. Here's five of the best:

Triple H - "My Time"
I mentioned this theme when I reviewed Fully Loaded. It reminds me of the original Smackdown game on PlayStation. Say what you like about Triple H but he's had some epic theme tunes. This is just one of many. What stands out in this era is the opening. All the songs have that cool opening. Coupled with some intriguing lyrics "Yo Jimmy, hit me with that Triple H", this is a classic.

Chris Jericho - "Break the Walls Down"

When Chris Jericho arrived in the WWF he did exactly what his entrance music said, he broke the walls down. The countdown added to his arrival and gimmick. The video is a little plain with shots of nightlife and such but the music added to Jericho's rock n' roll character.

 

Chris Benoit - "Shooter"

A theme that had no lyrics but it didn't need too. It was what Benoit was all about. He wasn't going to go toe-to-toe on the mic with The Rock like Jericho. He was all about the wrestling. It was fitting that his entrance theme just focused on the music. His theme was later re-done by Our Lady Peace and entitled "Whatever" with lyrics which remains one of my favourite wrestling tunes. 

 

The Undertaker - "Rollin"

The Undertaker's gimmick change from deadman to biker was a huge shift for the longest serving roster member. Who would have guessed it would have worked so well? 'Taker didn't debut under his new gimmick with this theme. But when he did, everybody loved it. All thanks to Limp Bizkit.

 

Maven - "Tattoo"

An odd one but an awesome one. Possibly my favourite tune. It sums up Maven's underdog character perfectly. It was written by Mercy Drive, the dudes behind another of my favourite wrestling tunes, Randy Orton's "Burn My Light". I was a Maven mark and I have to attribute a lot of that to his theme music.

 

Do you agree with my choices? Do you prefer a bit of Too Cool? What would be your picks?@marcusandberg





Random Review: Fully Loaded 2000

The event opens with a cool hype video. The tagline is “The Crap Shoot”. I understand the gambling link but that’s an awful tagline. The video focuses on four men: Rock, ‘Taker, HHH, Angle, Jericho and Benoit. I thought it was some six-way challenge bout. Instead the titan-tron hypes up a “Triple Main Event” and one of them is a Last Man Standing too. Sounds good.

 

We open with the Hardy Boys and Lita versus Trish Stratus, Test and Albert in a six-person inter-gender bout. The video package beforehand focuses on divas, which is odd. But considering the crowd are chanting for Lita the entire match, it’s the right call.  The Hardy’s are the epitome of tag team wrestling and hit their usual tag combos. There’s some cool spots from Lita too, who picks up the win with the Moonsault. Excellent opener, you couldn’t have asked for a better match to warm the crowd up. Trish attacks Lita post match and whips her (not like that).

Backstage, Edge tells Commissioner Mick Foley that his tag partner, Christian is too ill to compete. Foley doesn’t believe Edge. Interesting, wonder where they’re going with this. Also happening backstage, the Undertaker arrives on his motorbike (in his awesome American Badass gimmick). He spots Angle and chases him down the corridor on the bike. Angle then manages to evade him. Damn cool segment.

Next up is Tazz versus Al Snow. It’s a surprisingly good match. Surprising to Jerry Lawler on commentary too, who runs down Snow as a nobody. There’s some innovative moves and moves you don’t usually see in this short contest. Snow even busts out a moonsault or should that be a snowsault? Tazz gets the win and looks good in the process, shame this push wouldn’t last.
 

Backstage again with E&C. Foley comes in while Christian is puking. Is Edge going to have a replacement partner? Triple H and Stephanie are watching the screen from their room. There’s loads of flowers but they’re not from HHH. The note inside the flowers says “it’s true, it’s damn true,” but I have a feeling it’s not from Angle.
 

It’s time for “Latino Heat” and the European Championship match. Eddie is up against the odd looking Perry Saturn. His selling matches his look. Odd. Chyna is out with Eddie while Terri came out with Perry but got scared by Chyna and ran away. Eddie keeps hitting hurricanrana’s, why does he keep hitting them? Chyna gets involved and late in the match Saturn hits her with a clothesline and she falls through the Spanish Announce table. This allows Terri to run out and hit the low blow for the win. New Champ!

Backstage again for the latest in the series of segments with Edge, Christian and Mick Foley. The Commissioner find out Christian has been lying and orders them to defend the belts tonight. Meanwhile, The Undertaker is interviewed by Michael Cole but gets distracted when he sees Angle riding his bike. ‘Taker then gives chase. I don’t want to link this up to modern day but the way ‘Taker is perceived here is how Roman Reigns should be. Says what he needs to say, gets the business done and looks like a total badass.

Edge and Christian are now out to defend the Tag Team titles. They get cheap heat by running down the crowd before the Acolytes come down. Bradshaw defends the homecrowd, it’s strange to think this guy would go onto become a World Champion and then a great commentator. Bradshaw and Faarooq brawl with E&C before the champions use heel tactics to take control. Those simple promos at the start have made the fans care about this match. Sadly it ends in an intentional DQ from Edge and Christian, the two teams brawl to the back, I assume this feud will continue.

More segments. 1) There’s a strange Big Boss Man promo where he checks someone’s ID in Times Square. Oh, and he’s dressed as a member of the Shield. 2) Triple H is backstage with Stephanie. The Game decides he is going after Kurt for sending all these flowers to his wife. 3) The Undertaker gives chase to Kurt but the Olympic Gold Medalist outsmarts him with an attack with a wrench from behind. Angle focuses on the injured knee of ‘Taker.

There’s been a steel cage hanging above the ring all night. I assumed it was for one of the three main event matches. But it’s for the Intercontinental title match between Rikishi and champion Val Venis. Teddy Long is out referee playa, better watch he doesn’t make this a tag match. I forget that Venis was so high up the card in these days. I don’t know what gimmick he has here. He comes out with Trish. They do the usual, I-throw-you-into-the-cage spot before ’Kishi sells a clothesline like a cruiserweight. Impressive. Val gets busted open and ‘Kishi begins to leave but Trish smashes the door in his face! Lita then comes running out to another huge pop, he starts whipping Trish to the back. Teddy Long then takes a bump as ‘Kishi begins to leave over the top. But he gets to the top and decides he wants to dive instead. Kishi nerviously moves to the middle of the cage, looks the camera dead in the eye then hits a huge splash from the top of the cage. SUPERFLY KISHI! I did not expect that. Both men stay down until 'Kishi begins to exit through the door. But Tazz appears and hits ‘Kishi with a camera allowing Val to exit and retain. Surprisingly good cage match.
 
Backstage we get shown footage of Kurt attacking the Undertaker again. Then live footage of ‘Taker wiping off a 30 days without accident sign, ha. Then we cut to Triple H who finds who has been sending flowers. He enters a room and there are some sounds before Chris Jericho emerges and HHH is left on the floor. Simple stuff but all these short segments add extra heat to the feuds.

Shane O’Mac is out in wrestling gear but he’s not wrestling, damn. He has the Rock’s “Just Bring It” shirt on. It's about time we see a promo hyping up the title match, everything else has been built up. He calls out “The People’s Champion” who soon appears. The Rock says it’s a set-up, says Benoit is hiding and jokes that he is up Shane’s candy ass. Benoit appears on the screen backstage, cuts a short promo and rips up rocks clothes. Oh, this feud just got personal.

Onto the first of the triple main events, we are shown an Angle versus ‘Taker hype video. Angle looks great in this. At first he didn't want to fight ‘Taker. He even tried making up for damaging ‘Taker’s bike by buying him a scooter. Angle is so scared that 'Taker will get payback that he is frightened by his own pyro. Lawler comments it’s the “American Badass versus the great American hero.”

Onto the match, ‘Taker interrupts Angle’s entrance and gets the match going early. There’s a brief fight in crowd before the match officially begins. The Undertaker is in full control, even breaking up his own pin counts. On the outside, Angle turns the tide by using the wrench on the injured knee. Kurt gets “The Deadman” back in the ring and focuses on knee with submissions. ‘Taker fights back and hits a Chokeslam followed by a Last Ride. For the pretty easy win.

Backstage, The Rock is back in his locker room looking at his ripped clothing. Nobody messes with the Rock’s silk shirts dammit!

 

Next up is our second main event, hopefully it’s better than the last one. Triple H faces Chris Jericho in a Last Man Standing match. It’s only the second LMS match in WWE history. Loving the old school music. “Yo Jimmy, hit me with that Triple H.” (I now have to resist the urge not to dig out my old Playstation and play old Smackdown games). HHH controls the match and I’m immediately thinking this is going to be one-sided like the last bout. There’s a referee bump and Stephanie gets in the ring but takes the Walls of Jericho. Triple H gets busted open bad from a chairshot, as if someone poured a red paint tub over his head which allows Jericho to get in offence and look good. Someone needs to tell the referee the rules of a Last Man Standing bout, he really doesn't know what he's doing. They fight to the outside where they both nearly KO each other with the announce table monitors. Y2J tries to put HHH through the table. But “The Game” fights back and hits a back body drop off the time-keepers table through the announce table. The referee begins the count and it looks like it will be a double count out but Triple H gets to his feet on 10 then falls. Referee awards the match to Triple H. Damn good match, maybe not as good as a Last Man Standing match should be, but maybe that’s me comparing it to today’s standards.

And into the third and final main event, here we go. The Rock versus Chris Benoit hype video is shown, there’s an awkward statement by JR about how ruthless Benoit is but I think there’s one of them in any of his matches. I think this might be my first Benoit match I’ve watched since he died. Because of how heated this match is (they keep attacking each other with chairs), Foley made a stip that if The Rock loses by DQ he will lose the belt. Why didn’t he just make this the Last Man Standing bout? That would have made more sense.

Onto the match, Benoit wears a ripped Rock shirt and has Shane O’Mac at ringside. The crowd loves The Rock, he gets the biggest pop of the night and that continues into the match as Rocky goes right on the offence. There’s lots of Shane interference and distractions but he’s sloppy early on. It’s like Rock and Benoit are waiting for him. After one Shane interference, Rock ends up being clotheslined into the crowd. The Rock fights back using a fans drink to hit the challenger. But Benoit begins to control working over Rocky until the champ comes back with a Powerbomb but instead up dumping him back down he lifts him over into a kind of powerbomb/hotshot. Odd, dunno if that was a botch or just a very odd move. Rock hits the People’s Elbow but Shane delays the pin allowing the Benoit to recover in time to kick out. Shane continues to get involved, hitting Hebner with a chair from behind. The referee then sees Rock with the chair as he dumps it out of the ring. Rocky locks in the Crossface and the referee rings the bell. Wait. The referee thinks the Rock hit him with the chair so as per the stipulation, Benoit wins the title on DQ!

Shane hits The Rock with a jumping chair shot that leaves the former champ blooded. Shane and Benoit celebrate up the ramp, this can’t end like this! Here comes Mick Foley who is super over with the crowd. He helps his old Rock-n-Sock buddy by restarting the match since neither he or the audience saw a DQ. Rocky stumbles to his feet with blood dripping off his nose and motions to Just Bring It. Such an awesome visual. Benoit comes marching down to the ring and locks in the Crippler Crossface on The Rock. He looks like he might tap, then he looks like he might pass out. But he manages to get out of it and hit the Rock Bottom outta nowhere to retain.

 

Verdict: Overall, it’s a very good show. There’s not a single bad match on the entire card which is rare sight. I loved the segments throughout the night. They made me care about the tag title match and the main events. The only let down was Undertaker versus Angle as it lacked that “Main Event“ feel. One reason for this is because they wasn’t given enough time but it was WWF's fault building it up as one of the 'Triple Main Events'. In conclusion, it's definitely a card to take time out to watch. Even though there are a few big names missing (Big Show, Kane and the literal poster-boy Stone Cold), this show really typifies the era.