Post by Carnage on Jun 20, 2004 23:27:50 GMT -5
2002 may have been the last King of the Ring, but 2001 was the last GREAT King of the Ring. Being a HUGE fan of RECK (Rhyno, Edge, Christian and Kurt) i was very excited about the semi finals of the tourney and the four men didnt disappoint. However on this particular night one man was made into a God among wrestling fans and elevated the Summer of 2001 to the "Summer of Shane"
King of the Ring Tournament Semi-Final
Christian vs Kurt Angle
A very well wrestled, quick match with some many reversals and counters thrown into the last two minutes its mind boggling. The First five minutes werent GREAT but it was still good wrestling on all counts, the finish suprised more than just me im sure. Good match, but too short to be anything more than good
Rating: **1/2
King of the Ring Semi-Final
Edge vs Rhyno
This was the match i was most looking foward to as since Rhynos debut in the WWE i had become a huge fan. Rhyno looked awesome in this match as he isolated the midsection of Edge and broke out the BODY SCISSORS which would become My mark out move of the year...dont ask me why, Rhynos Bodyscissors is just that good. Very well wrestled match with Edge making a fighting comeback, as well as the two men COLLIDING with the spear/gore (which i watched in slow mo and they didnt make any effort to slow down, they collided full force). Finish was very clever as Rhynos own dirty tactic was used against him. Good match, but i personally think this should have been a lot longer as It was Rhynos only match and Edge was only going to have one more match
Rating: ***1/2
WWF Tag Team Title Match
The Dudley Boz vs Spike Dudley and
?
This match wasnt even on the card till Sunday Night HEAT but it was a great Addition with KANE being revealed as Spikes partner. Kane was coming off a real tough act to follow PPV wise as his previous match was IMO the greatest match of his career vs HHH in a Chain Match for the IC title at Judgement Day. Spike looked like a true underdog and Kane was at his peak (i think he has gone downhill wrestling wise since 2001-02), i believe Dvon was concussed at some point in this match as he seemed groggy and missed a crucial save that kinda took the air out of the match. Still a good match although not as good as the Taz/Spike vs Dudley matches of the next year or any of the Spike/Balls vs the Dudleyz matches in ECW. But still a fun, quick tag match.
Rating: **
WWF Light Heavyweight Championship
X-Pac vs Jeff Hardy
What i really want to see right now is the Jeff Hardy vs Jerry Lynn match from 2001 in which Jeff won the Light Heavyweight Title for Lynn, i remember it being a pretty good match. Actually, id like to see all of Lynns title defenses...since those were pretty much his only matches in the WWE. As for this match...it was pretty bad as Xpac badly messed up a leapfrog and almost killed Jeff, plus the crowd was dead silent. Jeff tried to make the match entertaining and the false finish was intresting, but even that couldnt save this match
Rating: 1/2*
KOTR Final
Edge vs Kurt Angle
These two men would have much better matches in the future (Hair vs Hair probably being there best) but this match was still very good. Well wrestled and good length, but too much of the same thing made this match "meh" to me. An exciting belly to belly overhead toss to the outside and some astounding reversals towards the end make this match worth watching but i believe Rhyno vs Edge was the best match of the PPV thus far. Ending was very well put together and totally built up the heat for Kurt vs Shane
Rating: ***
Street Fight
Kurt Angle vs Shane McMahon
I consider this match one of the greatest wrestling matches of all time. It has EVERYTHING, scholastic style mat wrestling, high flying from shane o mac, STIFFNESS and it goes more EXTREME than anything in the WWF ever has. Kurt Angle amazes me everytime i watch this match with his intensity and sheer brutality towards Shane, and Shane impresses me with his mat wrestling, his aerial offense and his ability to absorb and INSANE amount of punishment. If you have not seen this match...YOU NEED TO, as a wrestling fan. Absolute wrestling perfrection, an awesome street Fight that is even better than HHH vs Cactus Jack in my opinon
Rating: *****
WWF Championship Match
Chris Benoit vs Chris Jericho vs Stone Cold Steve Austion
I think Benoit excells in triple threat matches, and Jericho excells in matches with Benoit, Stone Cold also does well in a hardcore enviorment. With all those factors taken into play this was a FANTASTIC match with an amazing length (40+ minutes) and it like the Kurt vs Shane match had all kinds of wrestling brawling, submission and high flying. This was Benoits last match before he left for his surgery and he did not disappoint. Stone Cold and Jerciho didnt have to carry him either as he took it to both of them and they dished it back out to him and each other. A great story told throughout the match, lots of false finishes and some awesome wrestling and brawling. GREAT Main event...although not as Amazing as Shane vs Kurt still an excellent match. IMO up to par with this years WMXX triple threat
Rating: ****1/4
Overall: A good PPV with one real clunker, and i left out the DDP vs Undertaker "altercation" because it wasnt even a match...the fact that the two men NEVER had a one on one MATCH bothers me to this day. For the Main Event, Rhyno vs Edge, KURT VS SHANE!!!! and a fun tag team match this PPV is totally worth going out of your way too see
Overall: ***3/4
King of the Ring Tournament Semi-Final
Christian vs Kurt Angle
A very well wrestled, quick match with some many reversals and counters thrown into the last two minutes its mind boggling. The First five minutes werent GREAT but it was still good wrestling on all counts, the finish suprised more than just me im sure. Good match, but too short to be anything more than good
Rating: **1/2
King of the Ring Semi-Final
Edge vs Rhyno
This was the match i was most looking foward to as since Rhynos debut in the WWE i had become a huge fan. Rhyno looked awesome in this match as he isolated the midsection of Edge and broke out the BODY SCISSORS which would become My mark out move of the year...dont ask me why, Rhynos Bodyscissors is just that good. Very well wrestled match with Edge making a fighting comeback, as well as the two men COLLIDING with the spear/gore (which i watched in slow mo and they didnt make any effort to slow down, they collided full force). Finish was very clever as Rhynos own dirty tactic was used against him. Good match, but i personally think this should have been a lot longer as It was Rhynos only match and Edge was only going to have one more match
Rating: ***1/2
WWF Tag Team Title Match
The Dudley Boz vs Spike Dudley and
?This match wasnt even on the card till Sunday Night HEAT but it was a great Addition with KANE being revealed as Spikes partner. Kane was coming off a real tough act to follow PPV wise as his previous match was IMO the greatest match of his career vs HHH in a Chain Match for the IC title at Judgement Day. Spike looked like a true underdog and Kane was at his peak (i think he has gone downhill wrestling wise since 2001-02), i believe Dvon was concussed at some point in this match as he seemed groggy and missed a crucial save that kinda took the air out of the match. Still a good match although not as good as the Taz/Spike vs Dudley matches of the next year or any of the Spike/Balls vs the Dudleyz matches in ECW. But still a fun, quick tag match.
Rating: **
WWF Light Heavyweight Championship
X-Pac vs Jeff Hardy
What i really want to see right now is the Jeff Hardy vs Jerry Lynn match from 2001 in which Jeff won the Light Heavyweight Title for Lynn, i remember it being a pretty good match. Actually, id like to see all of Lynns title defenses...since those were pretty much his only matches in the WWE. As for this match...it was pretty bad as Xpac badly messed up a leapfrog and almost killed Jeff, plus the crowd was dead silent. Jeff tried to make the match entertaining and the false finish was intresting, but even that couldnt save this match
Rating: 1/2*
KOTR Final
Edge vs Kurt Angle
These two men would have much better matches in the future (Hair vs Hair probably being there best) but this match was still very good. Well wrestled and good length, but too much of the same thing made this match "meh" to me. An exciting belly to belly overhead toss to the outside and some astounding reversals towards the end make this match worth watching but i believe Rhyno vs Edge was the best match of the PPV thus far. Ending was very well put together and totally built up the heat for Kurt vs Shane
Rating: ***
Street Fight
Kurt Angle vs Shane McMahon
I consider this match one of the greatest wrestling matches of all time. It has EVERYTHING, scholastic style mat wrestling, high flying from shane o mac, STIFFNESS and it goes more EXTREME than anything in the WWF ever has. Kurt Angle amazes me everytime i watch this match with his intensity and sheer brutality towards Shane, and Shane impresses me with his mat wrestling, his aerial offense and his ability to absorb and INSANE amount of punishment. If you have not seen this match...YOU NEED TO, as a wrestling fan. Absolute wrestling perfrection, an awesome street Fight that is even better than HHH vs Cactus Jack in my opinon
Rating: *****
WWF Championship Match
Chris Benoit vs Chris Jericho vs Stone Cold Steve Austion
I think Benoit excells in triple threat matches, and Jericho excells in matches with Benoit, Stone Cold also does well in a hardcore enviorment. With all those factors taken into play this was a FANTASTIC match with an amazing length (40+ minutes) and it like the Kurt vs Shane match had all kinds of wrestling brawling, submission and high flying. This was Benoits last match before he left for his surgery and he did not disappoint. Stone Cold and Jerciho didnt have to carry him either as he took it to both of them and they dished it back out to him and each other. A great story told throughout the match, lots of false finishes and some awesome wrestling and brawling. GREAT Main event...although not as Amazing as Shane vs Kurt still an excellent match. IMO up to par with this years WMXX triple threat
Rating: ****1/4
Overall: A good PPV with one real clunker, and i left out the DDP vs Undertaker "altercation" because it wasnt even a match...the fact that the two men NEVER had a one on one MATCH bothers me to this day. For the Main Event, Rhyno vs Edge, KURT VS SHANE!!!! and a fun tag team match this PPV is totally worth going out of your way too see
Overall: ***3/4
