Definitive Austin/Jericho match?

[Guest Ray]

I've been watching a lot of WWF matches from early/mid-2001 lately. Great stuff from Austin, Triple H, Benoit, Jericho, Angle, Rock....

 

Austin had a ton of classics with just about everyone at the time, however I can't seem to remember (or find) a definitive Austin/Jericho match. They wrestled at Vengeance 2001 and No Way Out 2002, but those matches weren't really spectacular.

 

So is there a lost Austin/Jericho match from Raw or Smackdown, similar to the Austin/Benoit matches?

 

I don't seem to remember them having one, although I read about one somewhere.

[Fökai 0]

There's no definitive match of the two, honestly. They never seemed to mesh in the ring, although two matches you didn't mention are the closest examples of their apparent chemistry.

 

I'll post a CRZ recap of the match in particular, then a Scott Keith recap of the same match.

 

Austin © v. Jericho - 06/04/01 RAW - this match can be found on the Action! DVD. Quite possibly the best match they've had on live TV together.

 

No CRZ or SK recap.

 

Austin© v. Jericho - 12/03/01 RAW - the last RAW before the Vengeance PPV. I've never seen this specific match, so...

 

MR. JERICHO (with RAW credits, transmitido en espanol SAP, TV-14-DLV & CC boxes AND RAW is brought to you by Foot Locker, Burger King, and Crash Bandicoot: the Wrath of Cortex - whatever THAT is) v. STONE COLD STEVE AUSTIN - sign in crowd: "Jericho - save the drama for our brahma" Hey, Austin's music has regressed! I kinda liked the music he was using - oh well. I'm sure it's *symbolic.* Austin goes right for Jericho - right, right, right, right, kick, kick, kick, stomp stomp stomp stomp stomp stomp, bird for referee "Blind" Earl Hebner, stomp. Into the ropes, back elbow, lariat, into the ropes - Jericho grabs the ropes and pulls himself outside - Austin is quickly after him and puts him over the barricade with an elbow in the back. And follows! Right, right, right, against the barricade, chop, chop, chop, chop, run back over the barricade to ringside - Austin still in charge - head to the STEEL steps (sorta), chop, chop, chop, rolled back in the ring...and Jericho takes over when Austin tries to come in - stomp, stomp, right, chop, chop, chop, Austin switches positions - chop, chop, chop, into the oppostie corner is reversed by Jericho...but he runs into the boot. Austin takes the head to the buckle, head to the buckle, crowd catching the count - 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, what?, 9, what?, 10, what?, choke on the second rope - at least Austin can muffle his voice when calling spots - into the ropes, reversed, head down by Jericho, kick by Austin, KICK WHAM Jericho shoves him off - JERICHO KICK WHAM Austin shoves HIM off - double leg takedown by Austin WALLS OF AUSTIN WALLS OF AUSTIN WALLS OF...Jericho grabs the bottom rope. Austin holds it just a BIT longer - then breaks. Stomp, stomp, shoulder into the post. Austin pulls him out - and AGAIN puts his shoulder in the post. "What?" chant. Hebner trying to get it out of the corner...and putting himself out of position to catch Jericho's trick knee acting up. Standing enzuigiri by Jericho puts him down. Jericho shakes off his shoulder. Stomp, stomp, vertical suplex - Austin in the corner - Jericho stomp, stomp, stomp, stomp stomp, stomp, stomp, stomp, stomp, stomp - Hebner tries to pull him off - Jericho shoves back but Austin had the moment to recover - SPEAR! GOOOOOOLD BERG GOOOOOOOOLD BERG oh no. Six quick rights by Austin - into the ropes but Jericho beats him to the kick. It's JERICHO putting Austin into the post shoulder-first - and twice. Jericho rolls out and slaps Austin's back - then pulls him into the ringpost. Another shove away for Hebner - and another pull into the post. Knife-edge chop out on the floor, chop, chop, chop, Austin tries to come back, but Jericho blocks the head to the steps and puts *Austin's* head there instead! Jericho is in control - whip into the barricade is reversed, and when Jericho bounces off, Austin clotheslines him down! Right by Austin, gutshot by Jericho, shoulder into the post one more time by Jericho. Austin rolled in...Jericho up after him....and to the top buckle...but Austin buries the right hand in his gut on the way down, causing Jericho to do a full flip! Jericho tries to come back in - Austin right, right, right, into the ropes, lariat, lariat, into the ropes, chop is ducked - but Austin gets the Austin press off the ropes! Austin to the piston (six) - off the ropes for the Fuck You elbow...but Jericho had it scouted and grabs the ankle - and stands up, rolling Austin into the Boston Crab! Austin needs to reach for the rope - he's got it! Jericho pauses before breaking - just as Austin did. Jericho pulls him out - got both legs - but Austin is peppering him with rights - kick to the head - back on his feet - but Jericho is ready with the bulldog! Jericho going for the Lionsault - Austin rolls out and Jericho lands on his feet - Austin ducks a clothesline - KICK WHAM STUNNER - 1, 2, 3!! Whoa. (7:22) Say, you don't think they'd have this match AGAIN Sunday... .....do you? Austin goes through a six pack....but his (old) music is interrupted by doin's on the EntertainmentTron - it's Booker T hotwiring his Smokin' Skull truck! "Yeah, just like ridin' a bike! It's on, baby!" T peels out and drives off - Austin walks after him (why? He ain't gonna CATCH UP TO A TRUCK)

 

- Chris Jericho v. Steve Austin. Austin’s old music is BACK, baby. Brawl to start, and Austin stomps a mudhole. Jericho bails and Austin sends him into the crowd and beats him like the proverbial government mule. Jericho meets stairs and they head in, where Jericho unloads with Evil Canadian Violence. Austin gets his own in. Jericho meets foot and eats turnbuckle 10 times, as the crowd counts “1…what…2…what” in a burst of wit. Man, that gag is adaptable to ANYTHING. Stunner is blocked, but Austin gets the Walls of Austin. Jericho makes the ropes, and goes low to take over and gets an enzuigiri. Jericho stomps away and gets a suplex. Austin spears him and pounds away, but Jericho posts him a few times. They brawl and Austin meets the stairs, but clotheslines him. Jericho posts him again and they head back in, where Jericho comes off the top and gets caught. Austin fights back with a lariat and the THESZ PRESS, BY GAWD, but Jericho trips him up into the Walls of Jericho in a neat move. Austin casually makes the ropes and kicks free. Bulldog, but the Lionsault misses, KICK WHAT? I SAID KICK WHAM STUNNER finishes at 7:21 as they waste a potential PPV headliner with a meaningless squash for Austin. **1/4 An energetic one, but Jericho is basically dead in the water at this point as I’m completely confused as to why they don’t just book Rock-Austin and get it over with. Angle’s not gonna draw as champion, which I think they know, and Rock going over Angle to win is anticlimactic and would seriously annoy the fans. I guess they could swerve us and have Jericho win still, but then you’ve got a guy on a losing streak unifying the titles, which makes them that much more meaningless. Besides, at some point (and I feel like a broken record stressing this over and over) you have to PUSH NEW STARS. You can’t just keep going back to new/old combinations of Rock/Austin/Undertaker forever because then when you try to stick someone new in there for a change, the fans won’t buy it.

 

Jericho © v. Austin - 12/10/01 RAW - the night after the Vengeance PPV (cage match).

 

UNDISPUTED CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: STONE COLD STEVE AUSTIN (with Squaresoft's Final Fantasy X presents Royal Rumble!) v. MR. JERICHO within the confines of the unforgiving STEEL cage - Jericho now hits his "outstretched arms" pose with a belt in each hand. Referee "Blind" Earl Hebner mans the door, while Austin waits in the far corner. Ross says that this match can only be won via escape - through the door or over the top to the floor. Apparently, Hebner will be STAYING outside the cage. Jericho is so interested in jawing with fans, he's completely failing to get in the cage! Hebner tries to prod him, but doesn't have much luck. FInally, Austin comes outside and forearms Jericho in the back - forearm, right, right, right, right, right, right, scoop...dropped on the barricade. Chop, chop, chop, chop, chop, chop, chop, chop, chop, right. Kick. Head to the commentary table. Austin grabs Garcia's chair - but Hebner grabs it back. Jericho climbs the cage wall to avoid Austin - as soon as he gets over the top, Austin goes in through the door and NOW the opening bell tolls. Jericho hasn't seen Austin come in, otherwise he'd hop the top and just get out. He TRIES, but Austin pulls him into a stun gun - into the ropes, Austin press - six rights - off the ropes with the Fuck You elbow. Sign in crowd: "WCW = XFL" Head to the buckle, chop, chop, chop, right, kick, kick, kick, stomp, stomp, (crowd chanting "What?" with every stomp) stomp, stomp, stomp, stomp, stomp, stomp, stomp stomp stomp stomp stomp stomp stomp - stomp. Jericho whipped into the opposite corner, but he leaps to the top and starts climbing - Austin runs after him, catches him, and pulls him down back into the ring. Jericho crawls to the door - Austin is content to stand over him as he struggles to crawl out - then pulling him back in - chop, chop, chop, chop - into the ropes, back elbow. Into the ropes is reversed - and Jericho uses the momentum to run Austin into the cage! Jericho takes over - kick - mount right, right right, right, right, right. "Jericho sux!" chant. Jericho removes a turnbuckle cover - Austin blocks the attempted head to the bolt - back elbow, back elbow, elbow, right, chop, into the ropes, Jericho with a kick when Austin's head is down - Jericho charges, but Austin upends him into the wall of the cage! Austin climbs up...then changes his mind and goes back to Jericho - AGAIN running him into the cage walls. Back to the first wall. Austin stands on Jericho's neck and uses the ropes to add leverage. Jericho to the eyes - chop, chop, chop - into the ropes, Jericho with KICK WHAM no Austin shoves him off - double leg by Austin - Walls of Austin fought off....so Austin just steps on his nuts instead. Stomp. Head to the buckle - into the opposite corner (too bad they're not using the corner with the exposed STEEL) - running clothesline by Austin. Back to the first corner, but Jericho gets the boot up. Running "bulldog." Lionsault! But both men are down. Jericho manages to get up first, and starts the slow climb (but the door is RIGHT THERE) - almost makes it, but Austin grabs his ankle, climbs up after him, and pulls him down. They're balanced on the top rope - chop by Austin, chop, slap, slap, and Jericho slumps on the top turnbuckle. Austin jumps down, crotches him, climbs the corner and pulls Jericho back up - SUPERPLEX! Jericho spots the door again and tries the crawl - Austin has his boot, though, and pulls him back. Jericho manages an enzuigiri and starts crawling again...he's through! Well, only his body - and Austin has the boots again. Jericho pulled back in. Jericho ducks the swing - JERICHO KICK WHAM STUNNER!! *Again* Jericho starts the slow crawl to the open door...trying to pull himself out - one hand on the floor but AGAIN Austin has the boots. Austin with the boot. Jericho with a right - KICK WHAM shoved away - Austin rams Jericho into the wall of the cage - into the opposite wall - and back to the other wall. Austin does a little turnbuckle surgery of his own, removing the protective covering off the large screw holding the ropes to the corner - off all three ropes - now HEAD TO THE BOLT! AGAIN! AGAIN! Seven times in all - and then back into the screw - two more times to the bolt - and one more time into the wall of the cage. It's safe to say Jericho is bleeding by this point. Austin isn't done - WOW Catapult into the eyebolt! And Snake Eyes onto the screw! Austin with a stomp for good measure. Door open and Austin is.....incredibly stupid, because he turns back when Jericho flips him the double bird (Aha! So JERICHO is the one guy watching "Excess!" This is St. Valentine's Day Massacre all over again!) Austin back in - double bird - KICK WHAM STUNNER! NOW he's leaving...oops, BOOKER T is out and slamming the door in Austin's face! I think he's SWEARING a lot, too! Jericho, bleeding all over the place, crawls and crawls...and makes it out to the floor. (11:02) >From the skybox, Vince applauds. Jericho looks like his balloon is flying away, but he again takes hold of the two championship belts. The RAW Zone credits are up and the last thing Ross promises is a "hell toupee," whatever the hell THAT is.

 

- WWF title match, cage: Chris Jericho v. Steve Austin. Chris Jericho is apparently the “Undisputed WWF champion”, which is weird because I wasn’t aware anyone was disputing the WWF title to begin with. More properly he’s the Undisputed World champion, the WWF title is assumed. Match is the lame-o 80s escape rules. Jericho stalls forever until Austin attacks on the floor. They brawl to the tables, but Jericho climbs into the cage. Austin goes in via the door and meets him there. Thesz Press and FU elbow follows. He chops away and stomps a mudhole. Chris bolts for the top but gets yanked down. He crawls for the door in slow motion, but Austin stops him. Jericho sends him into the cage and pulls off a turnbuckle. Austin comes back and backdrops him into the cage, and then sends him into it again. Jericho comes back and tries a stunner, but gets hit low. Austin stomps him and gets a clothesline, but hits boot and gets bulldogged and Lionsaulted. Jericho climbs excessively slowly, and gets caught. They fight on the top, and Austin gets a superplex. Jericho crawls, but gets caught by the leg. Enzuigiri, and he crawls again. Austin catches him again. Jericho hits his stunner, and he crawls again, but Austin catches him again. This is THRILLING action. Austin suddenly gets revved up and rams him to the cage three times, and strips the turnbuckle padding off, then rams Jericho into the cold, unforgiving steel a few times. Jericho starts gushing. Catapult into the steel, stungun into the steel, Jericho is out. Austin walks out, but Jericho flips him off ala Vince McMahon and draws him back in. KICK WHAM STUNNER, but Booker makes the SHOCKING run-in, slams the door on Austin’s shoulder, and that somehow knocks him completely unconscious and allows Jericho crawl out for the win at 11:03. Pretty standard booking there. Match was slower than Paul Wight on Kaopectate. *1/2 Pretty dumb finish there, and I wonder whose bright idea it was to book this match the night after they did 45 minutes each?

[Guest Ray]

Hmm....that's odd....I've been watching WWE constantly since early 2001 and I don't remember any of those.

 

Luckily, I just ordered the WWE Action! DVD which shall arrive shortly.

 

Thanks for posting that.

[Guest Trivia247]

Now I want the DVD

[Guest Ray]

Now I want the DVD

You might want it more after reading the complete match listing.

[Guest Trivia247]

im trying to collect the Coliseum Videos of WWF wrestling....those matches not on PPVs

 

like bret hart vs HBK ladder match for the ic title.

 

got the Masked Taker vs Issac Yankem lol

 

Yokozuna Owen Hakushi vs Bret, Razor, Vega

 

and other ones I got half dozen of those tapes so far.

[bob_barron 0]

The best Austin v. Jericho match is their match from Smackdown in August 2001.

 

The Austin v. Jericho match on the Action DVD is pretty flat overall.

 

They just don't have good chemistry in the ring

[AndrewTS 0]

Now I want the DVD

You might want it more after reading the complete match listing.

I'll copy and paste since some people are lazy:

 

(courtesy of JakL25)

 

Booker T vs. Kurt Angle--Either the first WCW title match from Raw or the match from SmackDown where Kurt wins the WCW title, I think the latter.

 

HHH vs. Jeff Hardy--SmackDown, Jeff Hardy wins the IC title

 

HHH vs. Chris Jericho--SmackDown, HHH wins the IC title

 

6-Man Tag Team Match--I have no idea who's in this without actually putting it in to check.

 

Kurt Angle vs. Steve Austin--From the beginning of the year for Kurt's WWF Title on Raw. THIS is the reason to get this DVD. Has a sucky non-ending though.

 

Regal vs. Jericho--Steel Cage Match from Raw that ended the feud. The listing just says "Steel Cage Match", which lead me to think it might be Angle vs. Benoit from Raw in the same time period, but NOOOO, they don't put any of the 5 great matches from Raw/SmackDown in May/June '01 on here, or on DVD at ALL, and I've NEVER understood why not.

 

Steve Austin vs. Chris Jericho--The sole match from the aforementioned awesome time period that makes it onto DVD. It's a good match, but it's at least a league behind 5 other matches they could have picked.

 

Other Extras:

 

The segment where Vince implores Austin that "We need the OLD Stone Cold!"

 

Edge's KotR Trophy presentation

 

One of the great Austin/Angle/Vince hugging segments

 

Something about the Alliance preparing for something.

 

Now I want it. =P

 

Why can't they put match listings on all their DVDs?

[bob_barron 0]

The steel cage match is Austin-Rock NOT Regal v. Jericho.

 

The 6-man tag is REC v. Dudleyz

[Guest TheZsaszHorsemen]

And the Hugging segment is really the "Hero/Jackass" promo.

[Fökai 0]

These are the corrected DVD extras, with matchdates -

 

EXTRAS:

Kurt Angle© vs. Steve Austin for the WWF Title - 01.08.01

Edge, Christian & Rhyno vs. Buh-Buh, D-Von and Spike Dudley - 03.22.01

Steve Austin© vs. The Rock for the WWF Title (CAGE MATCH) - 04.02.01

Chris Jericho© vs. Triple H for the IC Title - 04.05.01

Triple H© vs. Jeff Hardy for the IC Title - 04.12.01

Steve Austin© vs. Chris Jericho for the WWF Title - 06.04.01

"King of the Ring" Trophy Presentation - 06.25.01

"Hero/Jackass" Promo - 07.02.01

"I Want The Old Stone Cold" promo - 07.12.01

Booker T© vs. Kurt Angle for the WCW Title - 07.26.01

 

The main program covers most of the main angles of early 2001: Spike & Molly's "love story", Vince's relationship with Linda McMahon, Trish Stratus and Torrie Wilson, Steve Austin's heel turn both at Wrestlemania X-7 and at Invasion, his ensuing feuds with the Canadian Chrisses and finally, the Invasion of WCW and ECW.

 

The DVD stops highlight-wise as the Rock is re-introduced to the WWF in July (there's even an extra covering the build-up to his promo on RAW)

[LaParkaYourCar 0]

Ah 2001. The last time I truly enjoyed WWF TV.

[AndrewTS 0]

Ah 2001.  The last time I truly enjoyed WWF TV.

Yeah, but aside from awesome PPVs, Austin at his best in years, Angle being pushed heavily, some great HHH matches before he tore his quad and was gone the rest of the year, a face Molly having good matches, some mark-out moments provided by the Alliance angle, it wasn't that good.

 

The actual weekly TV shows were generally far inferior to the average SD these days.

[LaParkaYourCar 0]

Ah 2001.  The last time I truly enjoyed WWF TV.

Yeah, but aside from awesome PPVs, Austin at his best in years, Angle being pushed heavily, some great HHH matches before he tore his quad and was gone the rest of the year, a face Molly having good matches, some mark-out moments provided by the Alliance angle, it wasn't that good.

 

The actual weekly TV shows were generally far inferior to the average SD these days.

Yeah but I generally cared about the shows back then. For some reason I find it hard to care about them now.

 

Oh and you forgot Paul Heyman on commentary was another good thing about 2001.

[AndrewTS 0]

Oh yeah, can't believe I forgot Heyman, although he wasn't commentating the whole year, just mainly during the Alliance angle.

 

Also--Jericho becoming Undisputed Champion, even if they completely botched him afterwards.

 

And since 2001 directly followed 2000 and wasn't followed by one of the crappiest years in WWE, 2002, that probably has a large part to do with it.

[LaParkaYourCar 0]

Oh yeah, can't believe I forgot Heyman, although he wasn't commentating the whole year, just mainly during the Alliance angle.

 

Also--Jericho becoming Undisputed Champion, even if they completely botched him afterwards.

 

And since 2001 directly followed 2000 and wasn't followed by one of the crappiest years in WWE, 2002, that probably has a large part to do with it.

Heyman did commentary from Late February to November. I'd say that's most of the year. He missed a couple of weeks after ECW joined the Invasion, but he was back soon.

[godthedog 0]

if you're looking for the definitive austin/jericho match, i think NWO 2002 would be fine. it really wasn't that good, and that defines austin/jericho matches perfectly.

[Guest Ray]

I must bump this topic.....because I got the WWF Action! DVD today!

 

 

The Austin/Jericho match is pretty good. Austin does some nice paranoid heel stuff here.

 

Not nearly as good as the other Austin classics in 2001 (Benoit, Angle, Rock, etc...) but definitely worth a look.

 

 

 

I miss that Austin

[Guest undisputedjericho]

I just watched the Vengeance tourney, and Austin/Jericho isn't that bad.

[Guest Ray]

I just watched the Vengeance tourney, and Austin/Jericho isn't that bad.

Meh....it's not bad but it's not a classic either.

 

The crowd didn't want it, which hurt the match.

 

The 6/4/01 Raw match is better, I think.

[Guest undisputedjericho]

I must say that Angle/Austin was the best of the three that night.

[Tawren 0]

I know this is old, but yeah...Austin also beat Jericho on the May 28, 2001, RAW in Calgary.

[bob_barron 0]

I know this is old, but yeah...Austin also beat Jericho on the May 28, 2001, RAW in Calgary.

Austin beat BENOIT on May 28th, 2001

[Tawren 0]

I know this is old, but yeah...Austin also beat Jericho on the May 28, 2001, RAW in Calgary.

Austin beat BENOIT on May 28th, 2001

Nope, Austin beat Benoit on May 29, 2001, at the Smackdown tapings in Edmonton. That was the match where Benoit gave him 10 suplexes.

 

How do I know? I was at both.

[Guest Trivia247]

It seemed that Austin's/Jericho's styles clashed a bit to much to get much of anything going.

 

I Remember Austin doing the Four corning Superplexes on Jericho and beating him down most of the Armageddon match, Jericho coming back here and there.

 

It seemed there was a need to delegitamize the coming Title reign of Jericho.

[bob_barron 0]

I know this is old, but yeah...Austin also beat Jericho on the May 28, 2001, RAW in Calgary.

Austin beat BENOIT on May 28th, 2001

Nope, Austin beat Benoit on May 29, 2001, at the Smackdown tapings in Edmonton. That was the match where Benoit gave him 10 suplexes.

 

How do I know? I was at both.

No-

 

Austin also faced Benoit on May 28th, 2001.

 

He won via "submission"- Austin locked in the crossface and Vince rang the bell a la Montreal.

[Tawren 0]

Never mind, you're right. I could swear I remember it being Jericho oh well.

 

You were right.