Royal Rumble 2001

(All screen captures are the property of World Wrestling Entertainment)

Royal Rumble

January 21, 2001

New Orleans Arena

New Orleans, Louisiana

News & Notes: The McMahon family appeared to be in shambles after Armageddon. Vince and Stephanie fought over the impending divorce. To make matters worse, Foley refused to resign as commissioner, which only drove Vince over the edge. The drama escalated until they hospitalized Linda for a nervous breakdown. With Linda sedated and unable to fulfill her CEO duties, the board of directors restored Vince to full power. Then Stephanie revealed she was in on the plot. She was daddy’s little girl after all. They pushed Linda to a breakdown to retake control. Afterward, they fired Foley. With him out of the way, Steph vowed to make the Superstars respect her, but she did this through violence. The McMahons used Regal, Kane, Rikishi, and Angle to do their bidding. However, not everything was great for the family. Vince had begun a not-so-secret affair with Trish Stratus, much to Stephanie’s chagrin.

Now for a rundown of extra storylines. Regal’s actions put him on Austin’s bad side, so Austin took him for a wild ride on the hood of a limo. William even attacked Test for an unknown accomplice. The commentators suspected Trish because T&A broke up, and Trish sided with Albert. Meanwhile, Raven helped knock Al Snow out of action with a cinder block. This emboldened him enough to take Blackman’s Hardcore title. Raven wants the WWF to feel the Raven Effect. The chaos also caused a small feud between Hardcore Holly and Blackman. Elsewhere, someone started dubbing Kaientai’s promos with an amusing voice. They claim to be evil, and every promo ends with Funaki saying, “Indeed!” In other news, they announced Drew Carey would appear on this show to promote his own PPV. Finally, Debra stayed on as Lt. Commissioner, but she isn’t on board with McMahon’s plans.

I have one more note before we begin. The WWF promoted a new competition where a fan could become a WWF Superstar. They called it Tough Enough. It will start later in the year.

The show opens with a video about the importance of the Royal Rumble. We see clips of various Superstars while the narrator talks about the chance of a lifetime. Most have never been there. They gazed at the gold from afar. The reward was never closer than the sun, but it is reachable tonight! Will they seize the opportunity, or will their bodies succumb to the anguish? There are those who went to the top and experienced the coveted prize, but is tasting Eden’s fruit and losing it worse than never being there at all? Tonight, these ravenous wolves and championship junkies hunt for a victory. The Rumble pits 30 men against each other for a singular purpose. If WrestleMania is the showcase of the immortals, tonight is the first step toward ultimate glory!

JR welcomes everyone to the bayou. He tells us this is a sold out event in the arena and in WWF New York. Then Lawler asks if we’re ready to rumble, as the Dudleys arrive for the first contest. Bubba holds his head in pain while they show a recap of Edge and Christian giving the Dudleys concussions with Conchairtos. When Edge and Christian enter the arena, the Dudleys jump them.

Tag Team Title Match: The Dudley Boyz vs. Edge & Christian (c)

Storyline: The antics of Edge, Christian, and Angle landed them on the wrong side of both the Dudleys and the Rock. This led to the Dudleys powerbombing Eric Angle on a table. To make matters worse, the meddling of Angle and Foley cost Edge and Christian the tag titles. They lost them to the Rock and Undertaker for a week. E&C won them back with Angle’s help before getting revenge on Foley with a Conchairto. Later, the Dudleys defeated the RTC to become the #1 contenders. Afterward, E&C mocked the Dudleys by presenting fake Dudley parents. The Dudleys put them through tables after running E&C off. Next, E&C ambushed the Dudleys backstage with chairs and gave them concussions. Despite the injury, Bubba wrestled Edge and scored a roll-up win, but he paid for it. E&C took out the Dudleys with their finishers and drove Bubba through a table.

The Match: The Dudleys score takedowns and knockdowns on Edge and Christian. Then they shake off Christian’s headscissors before hitting a side slam and a powerslam. This lasts until Christian gives D-Von a cheap shot, and E&C takes control. They use ref distractions, illegal switches, and a chinlock to ground D-Von. When D-Von almost rallies, E&C distracts the ref, so he misses Bubba’s tag. While Bubba complains, D-Von evades a Conchairto and nails a double clothesline. This opens the door for Bubba’s hot tag. He cleans house with clotheslines, a backdrop, a Bubba Bomb, and the Wassup Drop on Edge. Now the Dudleys go for a table, but Christian stops it. After a failed belt shot, E&C tries their own Wassup Drop, so Bubba turns it into a roll-up for two. The Dudleys even shove Edge onto Christian’s crotch and pin Edge after a 3D.

Thoughts: This was the perfect example of good tag team wrestling and simple storytelling done right. It wasn’t flashy, but the fans loved it. Bubba Ray was one of the best hot tags in wrestling during this time period. They always got a great reaction, and this was no exception.

Winners: The Dudley Boyz (New Champions) (9:58)

They show an interview from Heat after a recap of Drew Carey’s arrival. Cole spoke with Vince McMahon about what happened on Smackdown. Austin attacked Triple H, which violated Vince’s rule about physical contact. However, Vince made a fair decision. Kurt Angle caused the situation. Therefore, he will allow Austin to compete in the Rumble, despite his actions. He also won’t penalize Triple H because this wasn’t intentional. Hunter will still face Angle for the WWF title in the interest of fairness!

Speaking of Triple H, he is backstage with Stephanie. Hunter asks if Stephanie can control herself at ringside while Trish is around. He doesn’t want them to interfere with his match. Stephanie says that’s why she will be there. She vows to take care of Trish if she sticks her nose or any other part of her anatomy into the action! While they talk, Drew Carey arrives and shakes Hunter’s hand. Hunter introduces him to Stephanie, so Drew asks when Hunter married the boss’s daughter. Hunter says it was a year ago, so Drew admits he hasn’t watched WWF programming recently. With that said, Drew asks for Vince’s whereabouts. He wants advice on how to promote his Improv All-Stars PPV. Stephanie doesn’t know where her dad is, but she offers to introduce Drew to Trish. Drew likes the sound of this and asks if Trish is seeing anyone.

Elsewhere, the APA sits in their office. Faarooq wants to play a game of I’ll show you mine if you show me yours. Bradshaw says that isn’t right at all, but Faarooq says this is between them and nobody else. Once Bradshaw agrees, he asks Faarooq to go first. It turns out they are talking about their Rumble entrance numbers. We can’t see what they got, but they call it interesting. Before they can say anything more, Crash enters the office. He says they are friends, but if they get in his way, he’ll throw them over the top rope! As Crash leaves, Bradshaw says, “And they call us drunks! What’s wrong with him?”

Ladder Match for the Intercontinental Title: Chris Jericho vs. Chris Benoit (c)

Storyline: Jericho reignited his feud with the Radicalz when he injured Eddie Guerrero’s back. He wrestled Malenko and Saturn and mocked Benoit. But Benoit wasn’t the only person Jericho antagonized. He angered Stephanie again, so she put him in a handicap fight with Edge and Christian and slapped him. Meanwhile, Benoit and the Radicalz feuded with the Hardys. Malenko continued harassing Lita, including sneaking into her shower, so the Hardys battered Dean’s leg. Once Benoit dealt with Matt and Jeff, he focused on Jericho. Jericho pinned Benoit in a tag match and asked for a title shot. Benoit offered him any stipulation he wanted, so Jericho chose a Ladder Match. Later, Jericho dumped Benoit off a ladder while Benoit aired a highlight reel of all the times he beat Jericho up. Benoit retaliated by smashing Jericho’s arm with a ladder and putting him in the Crossface.

The Match: They trade strikes and avoid each other’s finishers before Benoit goes for the ladder. When Jericho meets him, Benoit sends him into the post and attempts to climb the ladder inside the ring. Jericho stops him, lands an electric chair drop, and rams the ladder into Benoit’s gut and head. Once Benoit recovers, he throws Jericho outside for a dive. As Benoit flies through the ropes, Jericho smacks him in the head with a chair! Now Jericho tries to ride the ladder down onto Benoit, but he moves. With Jericho dazed, Benoit targets the hurt arm. This lasts until Jericho performs a ladder-assisted Russian leg sweep. He also see-saws it into Benoit and does a missile dropkick that smashes it against Benoit’s face.

More back and forth follows until they scuffle on the ladder. This time, Jericho puts Benoit in an inverted Walls of Jericho across the metal! Jericho drops him after a few seconds, but Benoit kicks the ladder over. He even catches a leaping Jericho in the Crossface. Jericho taps, but the refs tell him it doesn’t matter. Benoit releases him and climbs, so Jericho joins him. However, both men cannot land a superplex or a flying headbutt from the top. Next, Jericho traps Benoit under the ladder and goes up, but Benoit topples it. Afterward, Benoit ascends, so Jericho shoves the ladder. Benoit bounces off the top rope and falls to the floor. This allows Jericho to grab the belt.

Thoughts: This was amazing. They structured it almost perfectly and did some brutal spots. Some of them were a bit too much in retrospect, but that didn’t make them any less impressive. This is what you show to new fans or non-fans to explain why you enjoy wrestling. It’s a great blend of brutality and drama.

Winner: Chris Jericho (New Champion) (18:43)

Drew hits on Trish backstage. He calls her beautiful and offers her some chapstick, but Trish isn’t interested. She tells him she is seeing someone. Drew says he doesn’t know the guy, but if she wants to make a step up, he’s her man. As he says this, Vince enters the room. Vince seems annoyed by his presence, as Drew shakes his hand. Drew wants Vince’s advice on promoting a PPV. This gives Vince an idea. Since Drew likes improv, he can do some tonight by entering the Rumble! Vince says it will impress Trish, and Trish agrees. McMahon even tells Drew he won the Rumble once. Drew says he doesn’t want to get hurt, but Vince assures him it will be fun. He says Drew will be a big hit.

Elsewhere, Billy Gunn tries to talk Chyna out of wrestling. He says it’s like talking to a brick wall. If she won’t listen to him, at least listen to the doctors! Chyna says she gets it, but she doesn’t give a damn what the doctors say. Ivory has given her no choice. Besides, she felt good after fighting with Ivory on Smackdown. She vows to give the RTC the right to take Ivory to a medical facility. With that said, Chyna tells Gunn to worry about the 29 other guys he has to compete against and stop worrying about her.

Now Cole interviews Jericho. He congratulates Chris on his big win and asks how he feels. The question annoys Jericho, so he asks how Cole thinks he feels. He calls Benoit one of the toughest bastards he ever faced in the WWF, but he is once again the Intercontinental champion. Jericho says he proved Benoit wrong in front of all his Jerichoholics.

Women’s Title Match: Ivory (c) (w/ Steven Richards) vs. Chyna

Storyline: After Armageddon, Chyna called out Ivory for getting into her business. They had a match, but Val Venis interfered. Val and Ivory then gave Chyna a spike piledriver and injured her neck. The doctors told Chyna she had ruptured discs, so she shouldn’t wrestle. Chyna did an emotional interview with JR about the situation, but Ivory and Val made a parody to mock Chyna. This infuriated Billy Gunn. He spent the next few weeks trying to piledrive Val and Ivory, but the RTC stopped him. Later, Ivory said Chyna was faking it out of fear of her, so Ivory challenged Chyna. Ivory offered to put her Women’s title on the line. Chyna returned and helped the Hardys beat the RTC before accepting the match. She ignored the worries of her doctors and friends. Finally, Chyna surprised the RTC with Lawler’s help and powerbombed Ivory.

The Match: Chyna tosses Ivory around by her hair, whips her into the corners, and gives her a super snapmare. Then she places her on the turnbuckles and knocks her to the floor. Ivory tries to escape into the crowd, so Chyna follows her. After some strikes, Chyna gorilla presses Ivory and walks her back to the barricade. Now Chyna returns to the ring and nails a powerslam. This brings Richards to the apron, so Chyna slingshots him and throws him out again. With him gone, Chyna goes for the handspring elbow on Ivory, but something happens upon impact. Chyna collapses to the mat, and Ivory drapes an arm over her for the three.

Thoughts: Everything up to the finish was good, but this had a terrible ending. This storyline is in poor taste. Stretcher jobs are fine in wrestling, but using a neck injury might be going too far. They also overdid it, especially with the following segment.

Winner: Ivory (3:27)

The result leaves the crowd confused, and the commentators worried. While the RTC leaves, Lawler goes to check on Chyna. Billy Gunn also runs to the ring and calls for EMTs. They place a neck brace on Chyna and load her onto the stretcher. Gunn stays by her side as they put her in the ambulance.

Meanwhile, Stephanie goes to Jan to fix a loose bobby pin, but she finds Trish in the makeup room. Trish tells Steph to sit down because Stephanie needs more touching up than she does. Stephanie says she will touch Trish if she interferes in Triple H’s match later. Unfazed, Trish asks Stephanie why she would get involved in her affairs. After all, she needs to worry about her own affairs. Trish smirks as she says this and walks away, so Stephanie glares at her.

Next, Harvey Wippleman delivers gear to Drew Carey. When he leaves, Kane enters the room. Drew wonders who the goofy guy in the mask is. He offers Kane a handshake, but Kane ignores it. Nevertheless, Drew introduces himself and says he’s a wrestler now. An unimpressed Kane walks away without a word, so Drew calls him grouchy.

Elsewhere, Lo Down argues about who will get the Rumble spot they won on Heat. Chaz says the winner of the fall should get it, but D’Lo argues he has more experience. As they bicker, Tiger says he will decide who gets it, but Vince arrives with bad news. He tells them they changed their plans. Vince gave Lo Down’s spot to someone else. Tiger asks which great Superstar Vince picked. When Vince says it’s Drew Carey, Tiger asks, “Who is Drew Curry?”

Now they interview fans at WWF New York about the WWF title contest. Most people pick Triple H to win. Speaking of Hunter, he stands backstage and snarls while looking at a mirror. Hunter even headbutts it, so JR says intensity is pouring out of him. This leads to the entrances. When everybody arrives, Steph glares at Trish. JR wonders what Linda thinks about this, but Lawler says vegetables can’t think.

WWF Title Match: Kurt Angle (c) (w/ Trish Stratus) vs. Triple H (w/ Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley)

Storyline: Angle tried to curry favor with the McMahons by aiding Regal and Kane against Rock and Austin. He even helped Vince beat up Mick Foley. Unfortunately, Angle soon learned the McMahons favored someone else. Kurt defended the championship against Austin, and Triple H returned to screw Austin out of the victory. Vince denied any involvement, yet he named Hunter the #1 contender for the Rumble. Later, Hunter said Angle was only champ this long because he allowed it. When Kurt realized the McMahons weren’t on his side, he chose Trish to be in his corner. This infuriated Steph, so she made Trish fight Jackie in a Spanking Match. Meanwhile, Vince said Hunter and Austin couldn’t fight unless provoked or they would lose their opportunities. Hunter relentlessly goaded Austin, but Austin stood firm. Seeing an opening, Angle shoved Hunter into Austin. Since Hunter provoked him, Austin attacked.

The Match: They exchange chain wrestling, arm holds, and suplexes until Hunter regroups twice. When he returns, Hunter uses a new tactic. They brawl around the barricade and steps before Triple H targets Kurt’s leg. Angle attempts to rally with an enziguri, but Hunter keeps attacking the knee. Kurt even whips Triple H up and over the ropes and yanks him into the post, but it’s not enough. Steph distracts Hebner while Hunter hits Kurt’s knee with a chair. Then Hunter puts Kurt in a deathlock and a Figure Four. Sensing trouble, Trish interferes, so Steph grabs her and the catfight begins. They scuffle on the announce table and around the ring until Vince arrives. He tries to stop them and carry Trish backstage, but Steph knocks them down.

Once Vince gets Trish and Steph backstage, Hunter and Angle continue. Kurt rallies with a DDT, a German suplex, and a Russian leg sweep. However, Triple H answers with a low blow and the Razor’s Edge! Nevertheless, Kurt recovers and lands a moonsault, but it hurts his leg. Now they head outside and wipe out Hebner twice! Back inside, Kurt surprises Hunter on the top rope with a super arm drag! While the ref is out, both men attempt belt shots. They fail, but Hunter scores a Pedigree and goes to revive Hebner. As this happens, Austin appears and attacks Triple H! Austin bloodies Hunter with the WWF title, gives him a Stunner, rolls Hebner inside, and leaves. Kurt crawls over and covers Hunter, and a groggy Hebner counts the three.

Thoughts: I enjoyed this. They built the action, drama, and shenanigans at a near-perfect rate. Plus, they never lost the crowd, despite the slower pace. This was a heel vs. heel encounter, which is hard to pull off, but they did it.

Winner: Kurt Angle (24:18)

They show Rikishi and the Undertaker warming up before Kevin Kelly interviews the Rock. Rocky says he finally came back to New Orleans. Then the Rock compares the Rumble to a big pot of jambalaya. The competitors come in all shapes and sizes. There is everyone from Crash to Rikishi, and from the Undertaker to Kane. Speaking of Taker and Kane, Rock says he’s sick of hearing questions about Kane and Taker being together. Rock says Kane wants to buy Taker chocolates, and Taker wants to tickle Kane’s big red nipple! They will be together when Rock throws their monkey asses over the top rope! This could come down to anyone, including Rock and Austin, but it will end with the same outcome. The Rock will kick ass all over the Big Easy and go to WrestleMania. If you smell what the Rock is cooking!

30-Man Royal Rumble Match

Storyline: Since Stephanie toyed with Austin’s title hopes, he humiliated her by pouring beer on her, squirting her with mustard, and accidentally ripping off her top. Then she screwed him out of a title opportunity, so he terrorized her until Vince gave him another shot. However, Hunter cost him the win. Afterward, Austin held up an episode of RAW to make Vince agree to put him in the Rumble. Meanwhile, Rock and Taker won and lost the tag titles, but the pairing fell apart. Plus, the McMahons ruined Rock’s championship aspirations, so he took out his anger on the refs. Steph made Rock team with referees against Rikishi and Kane as punishment. Speaking of Kane, he may or may not be working with Taker again. Both men avoided answering questions about their allegiances, but they helped each other. Finally, Rikishi earned the #30 spot in a Fatal Four-Way.

The Match: 1: Jeff Hardy, 2: Bull Buchanan, 3: Matt Hardy, 4: Faarooq, 5: Drew Carey, 6: Kane, 7: Raven, 8: Al Snow, 9: Saturn, 10: Steve Blackman.

The Hardys eliminate Bull and Faarooq before fighting with each other. Drew Carey shows up during this and lets them fight until the Hardys both tumble off the top rope. This leaves Drew by himself, but Kane appears. Drew offers him money, but Kane swats it away. Thankfully, Raven saves Drew, and Drew climbs over the top rope to leave. Now Al Snow jumps the gun to get revenge on Raven, which leads to fighting with weapons. This only escalates once Blackman gets there. They use trash cans, lids, sticks, and even a bowling ball!

11: Grandmaster Sexay, 12: The Honky Tonk Man, 13: The Rock, 14: Goodfather, 15: Tazz, 16: Bradshaw, 17: Albert, 18: Hardcore Holly, 19: K-Kwik, 20: Val Venis.

Everyone gangs up on Kane with weapons, but he clears the ring and stands alone. Now the Honky Tonk Man arrives and wants to play his song, but Kane smashes the guitar over his head and tosses him. The Rock is next, so things get serious again. After his arrival, Goodfather and Tazz have amusingly short stints in the ring. Plus, Holly, Bradshaw, and Albert give us some hard-hitting action.

21: William Regal, 22: Test, 23: Big Show, 24: Crash Holly, 25: The Undertaker, 26: Scotty 2 Hotty, 27: Stone Cold Steve Austin, 28: Billy Gunn, 29: Haku, 30: Rikishi.

Regal enters, but Test gets vengeance by taking him out. Afterward, the Big Show makes his surprise return and chokeslams almost everybody! But when he goes for the Rock, Rocky gives him a low blow and clotheslines Show to the floor. This infuriates Show, so he pulls Rock under the ropes and chokeslams him on the announce table. While Rock is out, Taker joins the fray. He and Kane clear the ring and oust a fearful Scotty 2 Hotty. This leads to Austin’s entrance, but Triple H jumps him! Hunter mauls Austin until he’s a bloody mess. As Austin recovers, Rock gets back into the ring, Billy Gunn joins the party, and WCW’s Hardcore champ makes a shocking appearance. He went back to using the name Haku. Finally, Rikishi enters at #30 and attacks Austin, but Steve fights back.

Austin enters the ring and we get more eliminations. Steve sends Haku packing, Rikishi superkicks Taker out of the competition, and Rock shoves Rikishi off the ropes when he tries a Banzai Drop. This leaves us with the final four.

Final Four: Steve Austin, Kane, The Rock, & Billy Gunn

Austin gets rid of Gunn before Rock and Austin have a stare-down. Steve hits a Stunner on the Rock and a Thesz Press on Kane. Then the fighting between Austin and Kane allows Rock to recover and give Austin the Rock Bottom. This causes more scuffling between Rock and Austin, so Kane dumps the Rock outside. With Rock gone, Kane and Austin square off. Kane grabs a chair, but Austin kicks him and avoids a Tombstone. Steve follows with a Stunner and multiple chair shots. They daze Kane and allow Austin to clothesline him out of the ring for the win.

Thoughts: This was great. I would call this the best Rumble since 1992. They blended comedy spots, drama, and violence perfectly. Plus, they had a few surprises, which is always nice. I also liked the face-off between Rock and Austin. It reminded me of what they did with Hogan and Warrior in 1990.

Winner: Stone Cold Steve Austin (1:01:52)

A bloody Austin celebrates with some beers while JR yells about Stone Cold going to WrestleMania.

The Good:

• The Rumble

• Edge & Christian vs. The Dudleys

• Jericho vs. Benoit

• Angle vs. Triple H

The Bad:

• The Chyna match and storyline.

Observations & Extra Notes:

• They wanted Big Show’s return to be a surprise, but he accidentally stepped into the camera shot during Heat. Anyone who watched it knew he was there.

• Jackie started hanging out with the APA on TV. She smoked cigars, played poker, and demanded some beers, so she fit in well with them. It’s a shame they didn’t put her on the PPV with them.

Performer of the Night:

I’m giving it to Kane. He had a memorable and dominant performance in the Rumble. His number of eliminations was a record for a while. They made him look great.

Final Thoughts:

This was another almost flawless PPV. Only the Chyna stuff was bad, and that’s more because of the storyline than the action. Everything else was amazing. This Royal Rumble starts one of the best three-month runs in WWF PPV history, so there is good stuff coming.

Thank you for reading. My next review is WCW’s SuperBrawl Revenge. Look for it next Sunday!