Better Days: RAW Recap from 12/3/01

[Guest Daniel]

Considering that the WWF is building up to Wrestlemania 18, the booking and TV shows have been complete pants.  Wrestlemania itself isn’t looking much better.  Seriously, who thinks a Kane vs. Angle match is not only a) A good idea and b) Worthy of a spot on Wrestlemania?  Not I, for sure.  The match will probably be good, thanks to Kurt, but it seems like a waste when he could be fighting Edge, or even Lance Storm.  Oh well.  With all that in mind I went back about twelve months to some better days: the lead up to Wrestlemania 17.  Up until April 2001, the WWF put on some of the best shows ever.  Sadly, it has been down hill ever since.  

 

Bring on the company split.

 

RAW IS WAR.  LA, March 12 2001.

 

Opening clips reveal that Debra was assigned as The Rock’s manager in the previous week.  Ugh, what a shit, nonsensical angle.

 

-Opening Match: Hardy Boys (w/ Lita) vs. X-Pac and Justin Credible (w/ really bad music).

 

Good little tag match here with some decent teamwork.  Jeff and Matt take over early through good teamwork, then Credible and X-Pac take over through nefarious means.  Towards the end, after a BroncoBuster and Poetry in Motion spots, X-Pac throws Jeff through the ropes, who collects Lita on the way down.  He recovers in time to complete his end of the Twist of Fate/Swanton combo, but Albert interrupts at two and throws Jeff several metres over the rail onto exposed concrete (ouch) and then gives Matt the Baldo Bomb.  X-Factor is born.

 

-Regal arrives via limo and Angle is waiting to request a Title match with The Rock, but Regal MUST address the people.

 

-Elsewhere, Eddy labels Benoit a traitor.  Perry says he should be lynched, like all traitors, while Malenko suggests other means of murder.  Dean and Eddy leave Perry alone, allowing Benoit to attack Perry and take him out with the cross-face.  “One down, two to go”.  

 

-Regal, with a nasty shiner, comes to the ring for the first day of the Regal Regime!  He won’t tolerate sycophants, and his first act is to sign the Angle vs. Rock rematch for tonight.  Jericho interrupts and suggests that Regal do his job well, or he will make life Hell for him.  Thus begins the feud that brought us the Duchess of Queensbury rules match.

 

-Christian vs. D-Von Dudley.  Winner gets a Tag Title shot.

 

Standard RAW type match, although they seemed to go a little longer than two minutes back then.  A lot of back and forth action until the ref gets bumped allowing Christian to hit a reverse DDT and grab a chair.  Bubba Ray intervenes though and Christian takes the 3-D for the pinfall.

Nothing offensive here.

 

-Vince and Trish arrive in a limo.  Vince declares that since they are in Hollywood that they should perform a “live Hollywood sex scene”.  

 

-Meanwhile, Eddy and Dean roam the arena looking to introduce Mr. Pipe into Mr. Benoit’s head.  Of course this back fires and it’s now one on one.  Bring it on, says Eddy.

 

-Regal signs a Jericho vs. RTC match.  His off-hand, matter-of-fact delivery is great.

 

-Angle informs us that his 5-month Title reign was longer than most LA marriages and that he will break the ankles of The Rock and Debra if necessary.

 

-Chris Benoit vs. Eddy Guerrero!!!

 

Eddy hits the ring and IT'S ON!  Benoit takes over early with a tilt-a-whirl back breaker, but Eddy keeps avoiding the chops.  They trade some offence, until Benoit hits a German Suplex.  He goes for a second, but Eddy has the ropes.  He fights out of the waist lock and gets some KILLER chops in on Benoit.

 

Benoit manages to regain control and goes for a Press Slam, but Eddy arm drags out and charges Benoit, who elevates him into the turnbuckles.  The Crippler then moves in and finally gets in some MURDEROUS chops of his own.  After four or five he actually leaves a handprint on Eddy’s chest.  

 

After falling to a swank ‘rana, Benoit suplexes Eddy over the top, but manages to avoid a Benoit tope` and takes it back to the ring.  Guerrero gets two off a VICIOUS backdrop suplex.  It’s almost a backdrop driver, with Benoit coming down right on his head and neck.  Ouch.  Eddy gets two more off a stiff elbow and then uses the snap mare to set up a running neckbreaker (basically an inverted or reverse Hennig neck snap).  Benoit then breaks a sleeper by dropping Eddy on the top rope, then follows up with a hard elbow to the jaw.  Three-peat Germans set up the ever-elegant Swandive, which, after Benoit recovers, gets two.  Back to their feet and Eddy fights out of a waist lock to land repeat Brainbusters on Benoit, leaving him in position for the Frog Splash…which misses.  Eddy charges into a roll-up, but Benoit reverses it for the clean tap via Crossface in about eight or nine minutes.  That just happens to be one of the most glorious eight-minute matches ever.  Non-stop action, stiff, crisp execution on the moves and a hot crowd to boot.  Awesome.

 

-Vince and Trish head to the ring.  Vince rags on LA and, figuratively speaking, masturbates in the ring, like he does so often.  Fast Forward. Shane returns (!) to beat up Vince and Regal.

 

-Chris Jericho vs. RTC

 

Pretty good by Handicap match standards, as it’s fought under tag rules.  The pattern of the match is that Jericho goes back and forth until a pin is broken up.  Ross and Heyman briefly mention in a colloquial manner how Jericho is fighting for his life.  It makes for good discussion, because, unlike Michael Cole, they aren’t serious in using the term “fighting for his life” like Cole was on Smackdown with Al Snow, almost trying to sell the idea that death was imminent.  Towards the end RTC double teaming backfires, causing an altercation between Bull and Godfather.  This allows Jericho to get the Walls on each member one at a time until he breaks off to knock Steven off the apron, allowing Val the chance to score the 3 count with a Blue Thunder Bomb.  This made more sense than most Handicap bouts.

 

-Angle and Austin have a confrontation in the back

 

-Big Show vs. Undertaker.  Hardcore Title.

 

Yeah right.  Big Show enters the ring and we see the Undertaker getting ready on his bike.  HHH knocks him over from behind, thus trapping him.  As usual, he then takes several minutes to tell us about what a bad man he is.  Kane saves and then gets beaten up by Big Show.

 

-Rock and Austin have themselves a little confrontation in the back.

 

-European Title Match.  Test vs. Raven

 

Basically a squash.  Raven gets in some offence before getting beaten up and booted for the three.  

 

-Footage of the Rumble and Heat to hype the Chyna/Ivory match.  That angle at the Rumble was deplorable.  A big F*ck you to anyone involved.

 

-WWF Title Match:  The Rock vs. Kurt Angle.

 

It goes without saying that these two NEVER have a bad match.  Rock starts with three punches to set up a Sharpshooter.  Seriously.  Kurt makes the ropes but gets DDT’d, convincing him to leave.  Rock catches him on the ramp with a clothesline and punch to the nuts.  They head back to ringside and fight there for a while.  Angle takes control with a chair to the mid-section, thus giving him a target for the match.  Back in and Angle buries a knee into the Rock’s gut, as Paul informs us that Kurt Angle “can wrestle, he can brawl, Kurt Angle can do it all”.  Indeed.

 

Kurt gets two from a Vertical Suplex and stomps away in the corner.  The Rock makes a comeback, but Angle cuts that off with three beautiful Belly to Belly Suplexes (“Whoo!” “Yeah!”).  That gets another near fall.  Good one too.  On their feet, Angle charges, but Rock dumps him to the floor and goes after him, where Kurt drops him on the table and continues the beating.  Back in and Angle misses the Five Star Moonsault.  He recovers though and hits the Angle Slam for another great near-fall.  (Note:  The Rock, as usual, sells all of this like a KING)

Kurt decides to go back to the ribs with a bear hug, but The Rock breaks and gets a desperation Rock Bottom.  He sells the ribs and thus can’t immediately cover, giving Angle the chance to kick out at 2.9, and sending the crowd into a frenzy!

 

On their feet again and Angle goes over the top, via The Rock’s SPIT PALM~!  Rock goes out and throws him back in, taking out Hebner’s knee in the process.  Interesting way to bump the ref.  Rock gest the Spinebuster/Elbow combination, but Earl is in no condition to count.  By the time he realises, Angle is able to kick out at 2.99!!  Rock goes over to question Earl and then turns his attention back to Angle…who cinches in the Ankle Lock!  Crowd suffers heart failure!  Rock makes the ropes!  Kurt won’t break!  DQ!  ROCK TAPS!! (albeit discretely and after the bell).  At least the announcers notice.

 

Debra enters the ring to protest, so Angle puts her in the Ankle lock as well and the crowd is going mental!  Austin charges the ring and beats up Angle, then Stuns the Rock!  Poor Rocky is to beaten up to do the usual one and a half twist oversell, but it’s glorious nonetheless.  Debra looks after Rock, Austin storms off.  Show goes off the air.  Bad night to be the Rock.

 

Just some sundry notes on the show:

-As usual, McMahon's aside, most of this show was great.  Two awesome matches, with a couple of good ones on the side, and a minimum of skits backstage and long interviews.

 

-Crowd was hot, Hot, HOT!  The heat was up from start to finish, and generally, for good reason.  It’s amazing the effect that the crowd can have on a show.  Good shows become standard or dull with a dead crowd, but when they’re hot, like tonight, the show is that much better.  (For more insight, check out Lance Storm’s commentary archives.  While you’re at it, read the one about the Olympics as well.  www.stormwrestling.com)

 

-Paul Heyman is such a better colour man than Lawler at the moment.  There’s just no comparison.  Heyman uses his time to get over the matches and the wrestlers, and he does it superlatively, whilst Lawler spends the whole time boldly declaring his intentions of rape.  Announces can also affect the quality of a match and Heyman makes a big difference in being able to explain the psychology of what’s going on, or building up the issues and the wrestlers.