______________________________________________________________________ I do not offer subscriptions to a mailing list! I do not e-mail images! ______________________________________________________________________ I kept thinking I'd get more time this week, but the house preparations are just too time consuming. We take possession of the house this coming Wednesday, but won't more for a little while yet. For now, I've got no choice but to put up this partial update. ______________________________________________________________________ - The WWF had Judgment Day on this past Sunday, 05/21/2000. This show looked to be incredibly strong on paper, although the main event would seemingly have to rely on story line to carry HHH & Rock for a one-hour match. Honestly, wouldn't you rather have seen Benoit vs. Jericho go one hour? What was delivered? A reasonably good show top to bottom, earning an easy thumbs up. Obviously, I would pick on the main event for being weak when it comes to pretty much everything: variety of moves, psychology, selling. But, heck, I guess the idea was to just have these guys go the hour for some macho reason, even though neither of them is capable of making a one-hour match all that compelling. That they went one hour to deliver the finish that they produced seemed plain retarded. And, damn it all, if the future doesn't look bleaker with Undertaker back in the mix: he's the WWF's Kevin Nash, a big guy with increasingly limited skill that was never particularly notable to begin with. How does this marathon match compare to the marathon matches I've seen in the past? Well, right at the bottom of the list. That's not to say that it was a bad match, because it wasn't (although the finish brought it down a lot). It's just that so few wrestlers have been given the chance to work such a long match in this new modern era, so necessarily every participant in such a match has been a far superior wrestler than either of the guys in this one. There's just no point in even joking about comparing this match to Manami Toyota vs. Akira Hokuto (05/07/95), Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kenta Kobashi (01/19/95), Ricky Steamboat vs. Ric Flair (04/02/89), Ric Flair vs. Bret Hart (01/09/93), or even Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels (03/31/96). Some of those bouts didn't have the added advantage of allowing unlimited (or even multiple) falls in the match body and yet were far more compelling and just plain better wrestling matches. Rundown: * Scott Taylor & Brian Christopher & Rikishi Phatu beat Edge & Christian & Kurt Angle: Edge & Christian have been given their own catchphrase and pre-match gimmick: before every match, they use the exact same wording to introduce a photo pose. It's actually pretty funny, and, unlike WCW, the WWF braintrust always gets the up-and-coming guys to repeat their gimmick every single time in the hopes that it will elevate them. They know that the fans that they attract don't really care about any wrestling, so the added colour is important. Speaking of which, the babyface side danced pre-match for their usual entrance. I like everybody in this match, except for Rikishi (who has been involved in two good matches in this run, both not coincidentally involving Chris Benoit). But I don't care for the goofiness that Too Cool works into their spots. Unlike some guys, though, that goofiness isn't their whole act. The faces cleaned house on the heels for the first four minutes. As the crowd chanted for Rikishi to be tagged in, Christopher danced, and his pants fell down. Rikishi came in and missed a butt drop on Angle. Angle really has developed well in a short time. As Scotty was set to go for the worm on Christian, Angle ran in to clothesline him, allowing Christian to rally. Angle & Scotty traded punches. The crowd was rabid with an "Angle sucks!" chant. Scotty hit a hot tag to Rikishi, who squashed all three heels in the corner. Angle took a stinkyface, a move he had been complaining about on TV. Even though Rikishi laid out all three heels as the big superman, he went down for the spear. Edge mocked Scotty's worm, with Scotty bulldogging him and hitting the worm on Edge. With the referee distracted by Scotty, Rikishi was introduced to the bell. But the referee stayed distracted, allowing a top rope leg drop to save the match. Rikishi ended up getting a tight three count on Edge, with Edge kicking out right at the count at 9:48. They danced afterwards. Rikishi still doesn't feel the need to dance and had to be asked to come back in. The crowd loved this part, even though I find it increasingly embarrassing. A good opener, not with as many moves as we might have expected, but with tremendous heat. * Eddy Guerrero beat Perry Saturn & Dean Malenko to retain the WWF European Title: Even though this title is cast as one of the two comedy belts (Hardcore being the other), with a match that looks this good on paper there seemed to be a lot of promise here. Eddy's entire gimmick is based on racist stereotypes, and I get ever more disappointed each time I see him. But between the bells his work is incredble. The question here was whether they'd go for comedy or story line with Chyna getting involved. Match opened with Saturn & Malenko attacking Guerrero. Crowd was silent. Saturn turned on Malenko in short order, going for a near fall. I guess this was a triangle match where the champion could lose without being pinned. They did an innovative albeit hard to explain spot, when Malenko caught Eddy during a suplex, with Eddy hitting a double low kick. Why would Dean spare Eddy the bump of the suplex? Three minutes in, they were already working one-on-one with the third guy selling like it was the 20-minute mark. I couldn't help but think that HHH & Rock would get one hour. Sigh. Malenko went for the cloverleaf. There was a slight murmur from the dead crowd; I guess these guys should dance, since their superior wrestling isn't over. Dean hit a gutbuster off the top on Eddy. Perry dumped Dean and hit the froggie splash for a two count. Saturn tried for a cloverleaf. They basically went for finishers, often each other's move (froggie splash, cloverleaf, rings of saturn, etc.), with the third guy breaking it up. Everything was really good, but there was a spark missing, as they were missing intensity or emotion. They did that cool double german suplex spot that Chris Benoit worked into his WCW triangle match with Raven & DDP years back. Chyna used her loaded flowers on Saturn outside the ring, tripped up Dean, and Dean fell on the flowers to give Eddy the quick roll-up win at 7:55. A second good match, but something was off. * Shane McMahon beat Big Slow in a no DQ falls count anywhere match: When Shane created this match on TV, the commentators acted like he was crazy for making it no DQ, since Slow would be able to kill him, when of course that stipulation means that any of his buddies could interfere without him losing the match. Shane hit a dive at the start. Slow caught him and slammed him on the steel steps. Shane sold the whole way. Sure enough, two minutes in the run ins began. Bull Buchanan, Test, Albert all came in. I guess the idea was to make Slow a superman, so he killed all of those guys and continued beating up Shane. They went down the entryway. The other goons helped out again. It was kind of moronic, since the commentators looked stupid for wondering why Shane would want this sort of match. Gimmicky ending saw Shane pushed an amplifier on Big Slow's leg, which was tangled in a huge pile of electrical cords. Shane then hit Slow in the head with a cinder block that shattered. He got the pin at 7:16. Slow went off to the ambulance, instantly regaining consciousness. If that didn't damage credibility enough, the commentators had the nerve to say that the amplifier weighed 1000 pounds. This sucked, but what could you expect. * Chris Benoit beat Chris Jericho to retain the IC Title: Benoit's knee was injured by Bob Holly on Smackdown a few days earlier, so he came out with a brace on. Benoit did a lot of neat stuff, stretching Jericho all over the place. Jericho tried for the lion tamer early on, but Benoit flipped him. The crowd was alive again for this match. Val Venis watched on since he challenged the winner to a match on RAW the next night. Jericho finally took the upper hand at the 5:00 mark, only to shoulder the post. Benoit uncovered the top turnbuckle. The commentators spent little time pushing Benoit's injured knee, instead talking about Jericho's shoulder. The crowd was sort of subdued during this match as well. They woke up in support of Jericho here and there, but the sustained heat of the opener was deafening in comparison. Benoit went for an armbar, which Jim Ross called the "Fujiara armbar." Now, Yoshiaki Fujiwara's armbar (wakigatamae) is not this move, but give Ross some marks for bothering to call the move by the wrong exotic name. Jericho started working on Benoit's knee, trying to get the brace off. Amidst this, we could hear a few yells of "boring" from singular loud voices int he crowd. Jericho whipped Benoit's knee with the brace. Jericho hit the lionsault. He applied a lion tamer like maneuver wrapped around the ropes, reminiscent of Yoshihiro Tajiri's tarantula. Benoit missed an enzuigiri, but rolled into a series of german suplexes. As Jericho tried for the lion tamer again, Benoit hit him in the head with the knee brace that he squirmed towards. Crippler crossface. The crowd finally started making immense noise for Jericho, making you wonder if the WWF could deny Jericho the title. Benoit dragged him into the middle of the ring, hitting the crossface again. Jericho never tapped out, but the referee signalled for the bell at 13:40. Benoit didn't release the hold even though Jericho was unconscious. Submission matches often seem to have this screwy ending. Really good match. * Road Dogg & X-Pac beat Dudleyz Boyz in a table match: On TV this past week, Tori put Buh Buh through a table, signalling that the heels would win this match, with the Dudleyz getting their revenge by tabling Tori after the match. Predictable isn't necessarily bad. Maybe I just don't care for the Dudleyz limited act, but I couldn't get into this match. After both DX members took head butts to the groin, they walked off not selling the blows at all. Dudleyz ran out to get them. Buh Buh staired at Tori. Jim Ross called Tori "eloquently evil" (I thought he said "elegantly," but when he repeated the comment it didn't sound that way), so Lawler said that "evil is 'live' spelled backwards and Tori lives on the edge." Hmm, well, "Buh Buh" is "hub hub" spelled backwards and "Tori" is "I rot" spelled backwards and, most interestingly of all, "Dudley" is "Yel(l) DUD" spelled backwards, which would have been my answer to the crowd had they asked me what they should chant to describe this match. They did the missed tag routine, drawing heat on D-Von. I ran off to the washroom and haven't bothered to watch the rest of this junk, but I did see Jerry Brisco rescue Tori from Buh Buh's table spot. X-Pac scored the win after driving Buh Buh through the table. Dudleyz then laid out Brisco, but didn't think it was worthwhile to pin him for the Hardcore title. * Rock beat Triple H to retain the WWF Title in an Iron Man match: Shawn Michaels refereed the match. The story is that he was hired by Linda McMahon, which means that she would look stupid if he sided with his old bud HHH. They even mentioned during the show that the WWF.com web site was reporting that Michaels has problems with Rock, which means that the chance of him screwing Rock was reduced to zero. They had a clock up on the wall. Michaels looked in good but unjuiced condition. HHH came to the ring with Vince, Shane, and Stephanie. With Shane coming out, I was really hoping that they wouldn't have Big Slow come back from the hospital with his knee bandaged up for a run-in. Jim Ross pointed out that this was only the second 60-minute match in the history of the modern WWF. HHH sent the McMahon's to the back: "This is between me and the Rock, one on one, man on man." I guess that was supposed to tease a Shawn Michaels' turn. When has Stephanie defended her title? I guess there are really three comedy titles in the WWF. As they worked off a headlock three minutes in, the crowd booed. Maybe something else was going on, since the crowd did seem like they wanted to be into this match (notice I'm not saying they were). A match like this is great for wrestlers who can tell a story with their wrestling. That drama lures the crowd in. Jim Ross had the nerve to call HHH a "technical marvel, really." Really. Rock took a sharp clothesline at 7:50. He started working off an arm wringer. In the old days, you'd say "working off a [move]" when the wrestlers would be in [move], work a few well-connected spots, and end up again in [move]. These guys basically punched and kicked between armbars and headlocks. That's why HHH is a technical marvel and the Rock is so electrifying. At 10:30, Rock snuck a punch in on HHH when Michaels was separating them. He scored a pin shortly thereafter with a Rock Bottom. They walked around ringside, with Michaels telling them to get back in th ring. He didn't count them out. They walked back to the ringside, with Rock getting dropped across the rail. HHH rolled back in, back out, and started pounding Rock some more. Jim Ross pointed out that he would have been smarter had he taken a count out on Rock. HHH missed a knee on Rock, hitting the guard rail instead. Rock rallied, suplexing HHH back in. Rock starting wrapping HHH's leg around the post and working on the leg in the ring. Rock went for the figure four for the second time in his life, this time actually managing to apply it satisfactorily. They teased the Dusty Rhodes fainting finish. HHH turned the Rock over. They ended up in the ropes. Unbelievably, the referee had to separate what looked like a horrible figure four at that point. They brawled on the floor again, with Michaels telling them to get back in the ring. HHH took Rock into the crowd, with the referee following. They traded punches in the crowd. Rock took a backdrop to the ringside mats. HHH at least tried to sell his injured leg every now and again, but Rock was unfazed by the reversal. "These men may never ever be the same in their lives." I hate that line. Something happened in the crowd. All heads looked off to one side. Even Shawn Michaels noticeably stared in that direction. The crowd was completely removed from the match. Rock took a bump over the top rope, but whipped HHH knee-first into the steps. Rock continued to pound the knee. The crowd was standing and staring everywhere except the ring. Jim Ross called HHH "very cerebral." Rock met the turnbuckle. HHH hit the pedigree out of nowhere for the equalizing pin at 25:34. Before Rock could recover from the pedigree, HHH scored another quick full at 26:29. The crowd finally seemed to get into things now that Rock was down by one fall. They went outside again to take another walk down the aisle. Rock took a suplex on the carpet. For the third time this night, wrestlers were called "gladiators" by a commentator. They walked back to the ring. Rock hit a belly to back suplex on HHH on the floor. They hit the half-hour mark, no, not a recently converted fan at ringside. Michaels went over the commentary table to tell the commentators that he wasn't going to count the wrestlers out. They got back in the ring. HHH hit a piledriver on Rock for another pin at 32:27. Rock came back out of nowhere, but was cut off. They were selling general fatigue, likely because it was real, but the earlier work on HHH's knee, for example, was forgotten. HHH took a slam of the top turnbuckle. "The Rock's best offense tonight has been those right hands." Well, JR, what other offense does he have? And just as I made that note, Rock hit the magistral cradle out of nowhere for a two count. That was cool. More punches. HHH hit a sleeper hold, switching to a head lock when they fell to the mat. They still acted like it was a sleeper. HHH used the ropes for leverage, with Michaels not seeing it. Michaels caught it a second time and broke it up. That allowed Rock to get to his feet. More punches. Rock hit a belly-to-belly on HHH, scoring a two count. Rock slipped on his float over DDT, but hit the move a second later for the pin at 40:34. They went outside again. It build to HHH using a chair and losing a fall by DQ at 43:42. But Rock ended up getting pinned anyhow from the misdeed 32 seconds later. Rock bladed. HHH went back to a sleeper. The crowd started to rumble a bit. But Rock couldn't answer the referee, so HHH got another fall at 47:29. Michaels wanted HHH to break the hold, so he pulled him off. This led to a brief shoving match. Rock rallied, with HHH taking a bump over the turnbuckle to the floor. Jim Ross called the match "awesome" at this point, and he usually doesn't do that until he believes that most of the fans watching will agree with him. With ten minutes left, HHH got crotched on the top rope. Rock hit some punches and a superplex. He went for a cover many seconds later but only scored a two. The commentators started pushing the 5-3 score as insurmountable. HHH went over the top from a clothesline. As the commentators all but called the match for HHH, HHH dismantled the commentary table and tried to hit a Rock Bottom on Rock on the table. No, Rock hit the pedigree on HHH. They had a conference at that point, with Shawn Michaels popping into the shot to talk to them, looking at the camera, and then talking out of camera angle. Rock got back in the ring and took a countout fall at 56:11. Michaels counted again, only making nine this time. The McMahons came out. HHH was bleeding as well. Rock hit a DDT. Shane & Vince got on the apron for bumps. Rock hit the spinebuster and the people's elbow. With two minutes left, Rock got the tying fall. Shawn decked Shane & Vince after they argued with him. Road Dogg & X-Pac came in. Shaen bumped on the rail. As Rock was getting pounded, the promo for Judgment Day came up. Shane chaired Rock. The Undertaker came out. He destroyed everybody. The crowd filled the ring with paper cups. He was about to nail Stephanie, but instead nailed HHH. Michaels tried to tell Undertaker not to nail HHH. The buzzer rang. Undertaker hit the piledriver. Michaels signalled for the bell. He explained that Rock was DQed due to interference. Even Jerry Lawler questioned the finish, since the time limit buzzer sounded before the bell rang. I don't know why they'd go that long for that finish. RAW RAW on 05/22/2000 opened with Vince McMahon doing his cocky heel routine in celebration of the PPV outcomes. He mentioned that none of his buds were present yet, which guaranteed that Rock would lay him out. The twist was that an unconscious McMahon was driven off in a limosine. This opening 14 minute segment featured the use of the word "asshole" at least three or four times. Good thing they tone it down for the children that view the first hour of the show. Opening match had the Hardy Boyz vs. Test & Albert. TSN decided to protect me from this horrible promotion: apparently the earlier proffanity is okay, but watching Trish use garbage can shots on the Boyz is just more than I can handle. After a little chicanery, Albert pinned Jeff Hardy. Well, somebody had to start putting these goofs over. Hey, Tom Cruise will be the star of Mission: Impossible 2, in theatres this week. He plays Ethan Hunt. Why do I think that a wrestling character based on that movie character would have a different first letter in his surname? And why do I think that his first name would be Eaton? The "creative" ideas in wrestling suck. Speaking of which, the most racist character in pro-wrestling, Eddy Guerrero's squeaky hispanic stereotype, faced D'Lo Brown in the next match on the show. D'Lo seems to have embraced the catchphrase "You suck!" The commentators talked about the main event finish at the PPV. Jim Ross was onside with Shawn Michaels, explaining that Michaels likely saw Undertaker's interference prior to the final buzzer and would have DQed him for that. Lawler complained that the last minute of the match was a mess. Indeed. Godfather came out before 9:30pm EST to distract D'Lo, who lost in short order. Backstage, Stone Cold Rock laid out Road Dogg & X-Pac, locking them inside a transport truck. Edge & Christian & Kurt Angle faced Rikishi & Too Cool in a rematch from the PPV. The heels each did their typical prematch shtick. This got over huge yet again. And once again the wrestling was more showmanship than wrestling. Let's dance. Let's stinkyface. Let's keep as many guys in the ring as possible as long as possible. Worm. Tremendous heel pop for Edge stopping the worm short with a belt shot. Angle got the rollup right afterwards. Hey, TV Guide Canada is going to have Rock, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, and Tori covers. Rock beat up Shane McMahon after Shane's inring interview. Chris Benoit faced Val Venis. Benoit wore a knee brace after the PPV. Benoit is just awesome. In one match, he made Val Venis seem like ten times the wrestler he's ever appeared to be in the WWF. Benoit even sold the knee a bit here and there. As the match was getting good, Bob Holly walked out and chaired Benoit & Venis, before walking off. Holly was met by Chris Jericho on the ramp. Jericho laid Holly out with a chair. I guess a four corners match is in the works. Dudleyz faced Bull Buchanan & Big Boss Man. They brawled. It wasn't good, going way too long for what they had. Dudleyz got the pin after the 3D. Crash Holly faced Bradshaw in a hardcore match, motivated by Crash demanding a refund after Jerry Brisco beat him for the title while he thought he was protected. Bradshaw got the win of course. HHH & Stephanie arrived, with Jerry Brisco explaining how the Rock had laid out all of the DX crew. I was wondering why Jerry hadn't bothered to open up the transport truck to release Road Dogg & X-Pac. Maybe the truck left when I wasn't watching closely enough. Shawn Michaels explained that he called it the way he saw it, even though he called it after the match was over. Dean Malenko & Perry Saturn faced Essa Rios & Godfather. Dean left with some hos, so Saturn had to go it alone. This meant that even Godfather was able to dominate him. Sad. Rios moves like a cat but still seems to have no clue how to put a match together. Lita tripped up Essa, who ended up losing. Those latin women. - The WWF has King of the Ring on 06/25/2000. - The WWF has Fully Loaded on 07/23/2000. ______________________________________________________________________ If you have any feedback regarding my web pages, please send me e-mail. Don't forget to delete the leading "x" from my e-mail address; that "x" is my web spider spam guard. ______________________________________________________________________