WWE Summerslam
August 19, 2001 Lance Storm (c) vs Edge - IC Title Match
This is a rematch of sorts from Invasion, but minus their partners of Christian and Mike Awesome. They opened up that PPV as well. Before the match, Storm wants to be serious for a minute. Apparently he doesn't want any off beat shenanigans ruining his Summerslam debut. Edge cuts him off before he can continue. I miss Storm's pre-match "If I can be serious for a moment's". They were epic worthy. Match mainly consists of Edge using more high flying moves while Storm tries slowing him down with the Single leg crap (Perfect Storm, Maple Leaf, or whatever you wanna call it), the Irish Roll (move Finlay does a lot) and abdominal stretch. Storm heads to the top rope, but ends up being powerslammed in midair. Storm hits the ropes, but dives right into a sitdown Powerbomb. Storm locks in another Single Leg Boston Crab, but Edge gets out of it. Christian runs down, but misses Storm and nails Edge with the Spear. Storm superkicks him out of the ring. Christian's spear only gets Storm a 2. Edge and Storm reverses their finishers, but Edge is able to hit the Edgecution to pick up the win and his second IC title. This would end up being the end of Storm's short lived singles push in the WWE. From here on out until he left, he would be put in many different tag teams. Just for fun, a quick look back at Storm's tag team history:
w/ Mike Awesome: WCW - End of July
w/ Hurricane Helms: Post Summerslam - Oct
w/ Justin Credible: Oct - Nov
w/ Christian: Feb 02 - Oct
w/ William Regal - Oct - Feb 03
w/ Chief Morley - Feb 03 - May 03
w/ Goldust - Summer of 2003 (face turn)
w/ RVD - A few weeks in Summer
w/ Val Venis - Fall 2003 - End of the company in 2004
9 teams in just 3 years. That's crazy. Much like their Invasion match, this is a forgotten fun match. I really wish they would of continued their feud, it was shaping up to be a great Summer series.
12 Minutes. 3 Stars.
Backstage, Michael Cole interviews Test and The Dudley Boyz. Test explains why he joined the Alliance. Somehow he became the heel, even though it was the APA who turned on him.
Meanwhile, Chris Jericho is interviewed by Lilian Garcia. Typical sexual jokes about Stephanie.
Test and the Dudley Boyz vs Spike and The APA
Awesome, the return of the Summerslam tradition of the 6 man tag. This is a combination of two feuds. The Dudleys were still feuding with Spike since he fell for a Holly. It was a modern day Romero and Juliet. Meanwhile, there was talk of there being a mole in the WWF. The APA just assumed it was Test so they jumped him. The Mole turned out not to be Test, so Test was obviously upset. Test ended up costing the APA the WWF Tag titles to DDP and Kanyon. Spike is in the match for the most part, just getting his ass kicked by The Alliance. The Dudley Boyz sets up a table outside the ring that we're supposed to forget about. Bradshaw is tagged in and all 6 men starts fighting. Spike goes for the Acid Drop on Test, but is thrown through the table. Shane McMahon runs down and takes Bradshaw out. Test easily pins the big Texan for the win. Disappointing finish, but this match was your standard 6 man tag fun. I still prefer The Rockers and Tito Santana vs Jacques, Raymond and Rick Martel for my Summerslam 6 man tag.
7 Minutes. 2 1/2 Stars.
Backstage, Edge is congratulated by the WWF jobbers and Matt Hardy and Lita. Christian informs Edge that he's getting a European title shot tomorrow night on Raw. European champion, Matt Hardy, doesn't look happy. E&C's Grandma Edna calls Edge to tell him how proud she is of him. When it's Christian's turn to talk to her, she hangs up. That bitch.
Meanwhile, Sean Stasiak walks into Steve Austin's lockerroom only to find Debra. Debra is upset that he didn't even knock. Stasiak is trying to find a way to be a winner. Debra just wants him gone.
X-Pac vs Tajiri - Light Heavweight/CW Title Match
X-Pac is the WCW CW champion and Tajiri is the WWF LHW champion. The winner will unify the titles. Even though this is WWF vs WWF, the fans refuse to cheer for X-Pac (Only WWF wrestler they did), so it doesn't matter. Tajiri busts out a bunch of moves I have no idea what they're called. Pac puts Tajiri up in the surfboard. Tajiri is ready to finish Pac off when Albert (X-Pac's lone X-Factor partner) comes out and get on the apron. Tajiri sprays Albert with RED mist. What does the red mist mean for Muta? Isn't it the poisonous one? The distraction is enough for Pac to lowblow Tajiri and hit the X-Factor (The move, not the faction) for the win. Pac is a double champion for a few more weeks. Pac would eventually lose the WCW CW title to Tajiri. Once Pac got hurt, the WWE decided just to forget all about the LHW title. Pac and Tajiri's chemistry was off a bit tonight, but they still produced a good match that had the fans very into it. It really just shows when you give the CW's time, they can get over. I wish there wasn't interference though. This is now the 3rd match in a row with interference. The match was perfectly fine without it.
8 Minutes. 2 3/4 Stars.
Backstage, Rhyno and Stephanie has one of their sexual tension promos. Had Rhyno not gotten hurt, a feud between he and Hunter could of been good.
Chris Jericho vs Rhyno w/ Stephanie McMahon
The buildup to this match was the awesome Gore through the Smackdown set. TNA and the WWE tried replicating the spot several times, but it just couldn't compare. Much like the opening match, Jericho tries to fly around while Rhyno works the power game. On the outside, Jericho heads to the top rope, but Stephanie distracts him. Jericho finally jumps off to the outside of the ring, but is GORE'D. JR and Heyman doesn't sell it for the greatness that it was. The fans give it a Holy Shit chant though. Back inside, Jericho kisses Stephanie when she tries to distract again. Stephanie spends the rest of the match gagging. Rhyno locks in the Liontamer, but Jericho reaches the ropes. Jericho locks in the Walls of Jericho and really bends Rhyno's body backwards. That couldn't have been good for Rhyno's neck. Rhyno taps and Jericho finally gets a win over the Manbeast. Stephanie runs to the back crying. A pretty fun match. Both men really brought out the best in each other. Unlike Jericho's feud with Kane, Rhyno was really on his way up in the company, instead of being in limbo like Kane has been since 1998.
12 Minutes. 3 Stars.
Backstage, William Regal and the Rock talks. Suddenly, Sean Stasiak runs in, but Regal and Rocky just step back. Stasiak runs into the wall. Surprisingly, a funny segment for something that's overly done.
Jeff Hardy (c) vs Rob Van Dam - Hardcore Title Ladder Match
Sometime after Invasion, Jeff Hardy won back his Hardcore title. So this is pretty much a copy of last month's PPV, just with the addition of a ladder. Both guys fight for a bit in the ring, before the ladder is introduced. Jeff busts some of his old ladder match moves. RVD seems at home with the ladder being his only weapon. Jeff Hardy hits a top of the ladder sunset flip power bomb, probably the last one he ever hit without botching. Hardy grabs the cable supporting the title, but RVD pulls the ladder out of him. RVD for some reason swings Hardy around like a tetherball. RVD jumps to the top rope and hits a backwards spinning heel kick. Rob doesn't even come close to hitting Hardy. Hardy lets go, but doesn't fall on RVD. Hardy is pissed. I think the planned spot was RVD hitting the spin kick on Hardy, falling and then Hardy falling and landing on top of RVD. That would of been a fun spot. Too bad Van Dam totally butchered it. Hardy climbs to the top of the ladder, but is pushed off. RVD climbs up and retreives the title. A fun match with both guys hitting a lot of spots without botching them. Sadly, the last major spot was botched badly. I still prefer their Invasion match, but this was a solid second PPV match between the two. Hardy continues to be the WWE's version of Jerry Lynn.
13 Minutes. 2 1/2 Stars. DDP and Kanyon vs Kane and The Undertaker - WCW/WWF Steel Cage Match
The WCW guys are the WWF tag champions while the BOD are the WCW tag champions. Just to show what a joke titles were at this point, Kanyon is one half of the WWF tag champions AND the WCW US Champion. Who betta than Kanyon? NOBODY~! Okay, truthfully, that's the only thing I ever liked about Kanyon. The match is a complete brawl in the cage. Finally, Kane/Taker just lets Kanyon escapes so they can doubleteam Page. Taker tells DDP to get the hell out of the cage, but to never look at his wife ever again or he will kill him. That is just a ploy to get DDP's hopes up as Taker pulls him down and gives him the Last Ride to win the match and both titles. In just 2 months, they completely ruined DDP. The guy could of easily main evented some PPV's, but after this, I could never take him serious again. Taker continues to put on the worst match of the night. I can't believe they'd give him the title next year.
12 Minutes. 1 Star.
Backstage, The Rock is in the trainer's room. Shawn Stakiak once again runs in, but the Rock just moves out of the way. Simple yet funny.
Steve Austin (c) vs Kurt Angle - WWE World Title Match
With Chris Benoit injured, Kurt Angle was pushed into a feud with Austin. Austin controls most of the match working over Angle's leg then his neck. Angle is busted open on the outside. Angle bleeds all over the place. Austin and Angle fights in the crowd with Angle locking in the Ankle Lock on the barricade. Angle pulls Austin back in the ring, but is surprised with a Stone Cold Stunner. Angle kicks out! Austin can't believe it, so he Stuns Angle again. The Stunner sends Angle on the outside. Back inside, Angle Angle Slams Austin for a 2. Austin randomly attacks Earl Hebner. Austin Stuns Angle, but new ref Mike Chioda only counts 2. Steve Stuns Chioda. Austin grabs the WWE title, but 3rd ref, Tim White, tries grabbing it from him. Austin knocks White out. Angle connects with another Angle Slam with Nick Patrick running down to the ring. Instead of counting, he DQ's Austin for his attacks on the refs. Angle wins, but Austin retains the title. An upset Angle attacks Nick Patrick and locks in the Angle Lock. This was miles better than their Unforgiven title match, even with the screwy finish. Angle looked like a million bucks kicking out of 2 Stunners, bleeding and having Austin beat. A forgotten MOTYC.
23 Minutes. 4 Stars. Booker T (c) w/ Shane McMahon vs The Rock - WCW World Title Match
Rocky returned after Invasion so Booker started a feud with him. This is the battle of the Rock Bottom/Book End. Rocky and Booker fights in the crowd and back at ringside. Meanwhile, Shane McMahon loosens the turnbuckle of the top left one. God, I can remember Shane doing the same exact thing at another show, but I can't remember which show. If anyone remembers, lets me know. I know I reviewed it. Anyways, McMahon's turnbuckle ends up being introduced to Booker T. Rocky covers Booker, but only gets 2. It didn't look like Booker got his shoulder up at all though. So it looks a lot like Rock vs Angle from No Way Out, except the fans doesn't react to it. Shane discreetly puts a chair in the corner and grabs the WCW title. When Booker goes to the chair, the ref stops him allowing Shane to hit Rocky with the title. A common spot, but I love it. Rocky hits a DDT, but Shane stops the referee from counting. The interference is enough to bring out the APA wanting revenge from earlier tonight. Farooq chases Shane around the ring right into a Closeline from Hell from Bradshaw. Ouch. Booker remains in charge until the Rock hits the Spinebuster. Shane slowly wakes up and tries to interfere again, so Rocky Rock Bottom's him on the floor. Back inside, Booker Scissorkicks Rocky. Instead of pinning him, Booker does the spinaroonie. As he turns around, The Rock kips up and Rock Bottoms Booker. 1-2-3, Rocky is the new World Champion. Hands down a better match than at Unforgiven. However, I have to question the booking of this match. Much like DDP, it seemed like the WWE just wanted to ruin Booker T's credibility. He just lost the WCW title in the same EXACT fashion to Kurt Angle after Invasion. Loosing once again was terrible for him. However, with this being Rocky's first match back, he couldn't lose. So this was a lose-lose matchup. Personally, I would of held off on this match for a few more months. Booking aside, this is still a fun match. The crowd gave The Rock a nice pop when he won and everyone went home happy.
16 Minutes. 3 1/2 Stars. Overall
To sum up this PPV in 4 words: "Great matches, bad booking." The WWE ended up winning 5 matches to the Alliance's 2. It doesn't help matters that Test (A WWF guy) ended up winning his match for the Alliance. This is also the peak of the Invasion, as the WCW guys continued to be made to be complete losers while WWE wrestlers kept being pushed as the Alliance's top wrestlers. That being said, this is easily the best Invasion PPV. The WWE wouldn't even produce a PPV of this quality again until Summerslam 2002.
Best Match: Kurt Angle vs Steve Austin
Worst Match: Taker and Kane vs DDP and Kanyon
Overall Grade: B+
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