Vengeance 2001

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

Vengeance

December 9, 2001

San Diego Sports Arena

San Diego, California

News & Notes: Vince did three things after Survivor Series. He invited Shane and Stephanie to TV only to have security publicly throw them out of the building. Then Vince fired Heyman and brought back Lawler to replace him on commentary. Heyman jumped JR on his way out, but Ross threw a few punches. Next, Vince attempted to give the WWF title to Angle as a reward for being the mole in the Alliance. However, Ric Flair interrupted them! He revealed Shane and Stephanie sold their stock to a consortium to fund the invasion, and that man was Flair! This made Ric the co-owner of the WWF, so he and Vince became business partners! Flair handed the championship to Austin before Austin attacked McMahon. Later, Ric wanted to book Austin vs. Rock to crown an Undisputed champ, but Vince added Jericho and Angle to the mix.

In other news, Foley met with Vince on his private jet to air his grievances and quit the company. Vince told him to not return if he walked out of the plane, but Foley still left. (Foley had legitimate problems with the WWF because they kept blocking his attempts to do outside projects.) Meanwhile, Booker T tried to regain his job by impressing Vince. He interfered on Regal’s behalf and messed with Steve Austin. Booker hot-wired and stole Austin’s truck. When Booker looked to meet with Vince afterward, he got Flair instead. Ric said he wasn’t hiring. On a related note, the WWF welcomed the former Paisley as a backstage interviewer. She’s going by her real name, Sharmell. Vince also rehired Tazz because he stood up to Heyman. Finally, Billy & Chuck entered their first feud when they started trouble with the APA.

The opening video is another art film by Freddie Fellini entitled “One”. “In the Hall of the Mountain King” plays while Freddie Blassie watches clips of WWF and NWA champions. The captions tell us there has never been an undisputed champion in wrestling’s history until tonight. While Freddie stares at his tiny TV, an eclectic group of characters surrounds him. We see cosmonauts, weightlifters, a clown, a mobster, and dancers. Freddie eventually dances with them while they mix in footage of Jericho, Angle, Rock, and Austin fighting with each other. Tonight, there are four men, three matches, two titles, and one undisputed champ. Lugz presents WWF Vengeance!

Then JR and Lawler welcome everyone to the show. They discuss the card until “No Chance in Hell” interrupts them. Lawler says, “Uh oh.” JR says Vince isn’t his jovial self after the Rock shoved Vince’s head into Rikishi’s backside. Lawler tells JR not to make McMahon angry. He goes around reminding elephants about things they forgot.

Vince wants to set the record straight about this past Thursday. He wasn’t going to kiss anyone’s ass until Ric Flair intervened and Austin threatened him! It’s their fault the Rock took advantage of Vince. He stuck Vince’s face into Rikishi’s ass and the audience laughed! Vince calls this the most humiliating experience of his life. It wasn’t some cartoon or a comedy sketch on MadTv. Vince says you don’t laugh at billionaires. You laugh when he tells you to laugh! And if the fans remember nothing else, they should remember this. He who laughs last laughs the loudest! When Flair hears this, he confronts Vince. Ric says the people came to watch Vengeance, not McMahon. Therefore, the PPV begins now! What that said, Scotty 2 Hotty’s music plays. Albert and Scotty dance around him, so Vince leaves in a huff.

Albert & Scotty 2 Hotty vs. Christian & Test

Storyline: Scotty wanted revenge on Test for his attack at Survivor Series, but he didn’t defeat him. Meanwhile, Christian tried to atone for defecting to the Alliance. He coordinated Vince’s Thanksgiving dinner, but this wasn’t what worked. Christian gained his favor by joining Regal’s assault on Austin, so Vince rewarded Christian with an Intercontinental title shot. Christian lost, but Test helped Christian give Edge an Unprettier on a chair! As a result, Flair threatened Test and Christian with suspension. Test reminded him about his immunity, but Flair said that didn’t save him from suspensions. This didn’t stop Test from interfering in Scotty’s matches. He aided Christian in a successful Euro championship defense against Scotty. Christian and Test also had singles and tag encounters with Albert and Scotty. (On a side note, they started calling Albert the Hip-Hop Hippo since he formed this team.)

The Match: Everyone brawls until it’s down to Christian and Scotty. Scotty uses takedowns and his quickness to maintain control. Albert adds a corner avalanche and a splash, but Christian breaks up the pin. Now Christian and Test lure Albert in for a distraction and take over with a hotshot on Scotty. They do an illegal switch and choke Scotty. Test even threatens Teddy Long. However, Albert makes a hot tag once Scotty scores a superkick. Albert gives Christian a giant swing and looks for the Baldo Bomb, so Test saves Christian. Failed attempts at the Worm and the Unprettier follow before Test intervenes. He holds Scotty for Christian, but Scotty sends Christian to the outside and gives Test the Worm! Unfortunately, Test rolls to the floor, and Christian tries the Unprettier. Before he can do it, Albert grabs him and wins with the Baldo Bomb.

Thoughts: This was good fun. They maintained the perfect pace and never let it drag. Plus, it had a frantic and exciting finish. This was everything an opener needed to be.

Winners: Albert & Scotty 2 Hotty (6:12)

Backstage, Coach interviews Regal. He says no one can dispute Regal’s recent success, but Coach calls Regal’s methods questionable. This offends Regal. He says Americans like Coach disgust him. He doesn’t have questionable methods. They are successful ones, as Edge will learn. Edge is an incredible athlete and a superstar, but has he ever faced someone like Regal? Regal says he has been fighting for a living since he was fifteen. He fought some of the toughest men in the world and survived. As far as Edge, he made a mistake when he incurred Regal’s wrath. When you do that, you’re better off selling your soul to the devil. Edge will discover this when he takes his Intercontinental title. Once Regal finishes, he almost leaves, but Regal returns to call Coach a silly pillock.

This leads to the entrances for that encounter. Edge tells the referee to check Regal for the brass knuckles, but the ref doesn’t find them.

Intercontinental Title Match: Edge (c) vs. William Regal

Storyline: Vince offered the former Alliance members a chance to save their jobs. All they had to do was join the Kiss My Ass Club. This meant they would literally kiss Vince’s ass. Regal was the first inductee. Afterward, Regal took out his frustrations on anyone who mocked him. This included Tazz, Big Show, and Bradshaw, but Vince gave Regal a tool to fight back. He gifted him a pair of brass knuckles, which Regal used for victories. Then Regal, Christian, Test, Angle, and the Dudleys allied to attack Austin to curry Vince’s favor. Since they feared retaliation, Regal’s crew stuck together, including going to the bathroom as a group. Later, Regal attacked Edge before Edge faced Angle. He even decked him with the knucks, so Edge got revenge. He ambushed Regal with Tazz’s help. Edge also pinned Regal in a six-man after Regal clocked Big Show with the knucks.

The Match: They tussle into the ropes before Edge scores a diving dropkick. It makes Regal regroup, so he lures Edge to the floor and runs him into the post. Now they exchange knockdowns and pin attempts until Edge hits a swinging neckbreaker. He follows with the Edge-O-Matic, a Frankensteiner, and a northern lights. Edge also sends Regal outside and looks for a spear off the apron. When Edge dives, Regal sidesteps him and Edge crashes into the steps! The ref checks on Edge, so Regal fetches the hidden brass knuckles from underneath the ring. Next, Regal takes Edge inside, but Edge gets a foot on the ropes during a pin. Nevertheless, Regal lands three Tiger Bombs while fending off Edge’s comeback. He argues with the ref after they only earn two. Sensing trouble, Regal dons the knucks, but Edge spears Regal for the win before he uses them.

Thoughts: This was a solid encounter. They kept it simple, but I mean that in a good way. This contained a nice story about the brass knuckles. Plus, I liked the spear into the steps and the finish. The opening matches were short, but they made the best use of their time.

Winner: Edge (9:06)

Meanwhile, Flair chats with someone on the phone until Kurt Angle interrupts him. Kurt reminds Flair about Vince’s comments from earlier. Flair says Vince said a lot of stupid things. This annoys Angle, so he sarcastically talks about Ric’s accolades. However, he says Ric never won gold medals. He also was never an undisputed champion, but Angle will do it tonight. Flair believes him. He says Angle has the ability and a good shot at winning. Angle says it’s more than that. He will kick Austin’s butt and watch Rock and Jericho beat the crap out of each other. Flair says this is awesome. He thinks Angle can do it, but Kurt keeps repeating himself, despite Flair’s agreement. Kurt finally leaves once Ric claps for him.

Elsewhere, Lita warms up in her revealing referee outfit. It comes with a matching thong, which excites Lawler. While she does this, Matt Hardy arrives. Lita gives him a cold reception, but Matt takes her by the hands. He says he knows they’ve had a rough time lately. He and Jeff experienced their problems in the past, but they were never to this extent. Then Matt tells Lita about how much this means to him. This is his opportunity to prove he is the brains of the Hardy Boyz and the better wrestler. Lita says she realizes this. She always has his back as his girlfriend, but she has to call the match down the middle. Matt says this is fine. Jeff won’t get the chance to pin him, and he will win. They can celebrate afterward. Lita agrees and says she will see him out there.

Jeff Hardy vs. Matt Hardy

Storyline: Matt screwed up again and robbed Lita of a victory, but he wouldn’t take responsibility for it. In fact, he blamed Jeff for their recent woes. Matt said Jeff cost them the belts at Survivor Series. Worse yet, Jeff wanted to battle through the pain. He wrestled, despite not being 100%, which led to losses. Jeff failed to capture the Euro gold from Christian and the Hardys lost a #1 contender contest to Kane and Big Show. The latter brought things to a head. Jeff challenged Matt after a confrontation, so Matt called him a sore loser. All the while, Lita tried to play peacemaker and got caught in the crossfire. Matt told her she had to pick his side as his girlfriend. When she remained neutral, Matt made her the referee for this encounter to test her resolve. He believed she would side with him, but Jeff disagreed.

The Match: They do some evenly matched chain wrestling until Matt uses an eye poke and a hotshot. Then they exchange sleeper holds, but Matt breaks Jeff’s with a back suplex. With Jeff dazed, Matt looks for the Drop Shot. It misses, so Jeff hits a jawbreaker and does the Drop Shot to Matt! A Whisper in the Wind attempt follows, but Matt trips Jeff, who falls into a tree of woe. Lita frees Jeff, so Matt argues with her. Now they scuffle at the apron, and Jeff counters a sunset bomb with a hurricanrana. However, Jeff hurts his knee when he flips into the ring. Matt attacks the injury, but Jeff fights back with a Russian leg sweep. Jeff also escapes Matt’s half crab and a spinning toe hold, but they leave him too weak to do a slingshot crossbody.

Matt wants to capitalize on the opening only for Jeff to mule kick him. Jeff even blocks the Twist of Fate, but Matt slams Jeff off the top rope. Another unsuccessful Twist of Fate leads to a series of reversals. This ends when Matt prevents a sunset flip and grabs the ropes for a pin. Lita catches him, which causes an argument. Once Matt takes Jeff down, he continues his disagreement with Lita. Afterward, Matt goes for a super Twist of Fate, but Jeff shoves him down and nails the Swanton! He covers for three. The problem is, Matt gets a foot on the ropes. Jeff pulls it away before Lita notices.

Thoughts: This contained fine action, a nice story, and a good finish. The issue was, the fans didn’t react to it. They didn’t want to see the Hardys fight or break up. Matt, Jeff, and Lita did everything right, but this didn’t work with the crowd. They fought an uphill battle and didn’t succeed.

Winner: Jeff Hardy (12:30)

Matt complains to Lita. He tells her his foot was on the ropes, but Lita raises Jeff’s arm. When Matt sees this, he walks away, so Lita follows him with a worried look.

Elsewhere, Trish knocks on the door of the Rock’s locker room. She enters to find him on the phone, but Rock says he will call them back. Trish tells the Rock what he did to Vince was awesome. She loved the way he shoved McMahon’s face into Rikishi’s butt. Then Trish wishes Rock luck with a kiss on the cheek. She turns, but the Rock stops her. He says his only focus is walking out as the Undisputed champ. However, if they both win tonight and lay the smackdown, there will be plenty of time for her to smell what the Rock is cooking. With this said, the Rock leaves and Trish smiles.

Tag Team Title Match: The Dudley Boyz (c) (w/ Stacy Keibler) vs. The Big Show & Kane

Storyline: The Dudleys got back in Vince’s good graces by becoming his weapon against RVD. They beat Van Dam in a Handicap Tables Match. Plus, D-Von received a shot at Rob’s Hardcore belt, but he failed. The Dudleys even joined Regal’s campaign against Austin, so Flair threatened them with suspensions as well. Later, Big Show and Kane defeated the Hardys to become the #1 Contenders. This led to Kane vs. Bubba. Kane won, despite Stacy’s interference, so the Dudleys gave Kane a 3D. However, Big Show saved Kane from a continued beating. Finally, the Dudleys and Regal teamed against Big Show, Kane, and Edge. Regal used the knucks on Big Show, but Edge pinned Regal to win.

The Match: Kane fends off the Dudleys with a big boot and a backdrop, so the Dudleys are reluctant to face him. Worse yet, Big Show nails a side slam and butt bumps in the corner. He also knocks them off the apron and squashes the Dudleys against the turnbuckles. When they regroup, Kane does a flying double clothesline to the floor, so Stacy gets in the ring to rally her men. While she focuses on them, Show pulls down Stacy’s pants and spanks her. Unfortunately, this allows the Dudleys to recover and take control on Kane. They score their back suplex/neckbreaker combo and use a ref distraction to do the Wassup Drop on Kane. A double flapjack follows, but Kane prevents a 3D and tags the Big Show.

Big Show cleans house until Bubba chop blocks him. This draws Kane into the mix to help, but Kane’s flying clothesline strikes Show by accident. After Kane breaks up the pin, Show argues with him. He says, “What was that shit?” The Dudleys attack while they bicker, but Kane and Big Show send them packing. Now Big Show floors Bubba with a big boot, but Show charges and bumps Kane by mistake. Stacy laughs at this blunder, so Show grabs her. The commotion enables Bubba to remove a turnbuckle pad, and the Dudleys drop Show onto it with a double flapjack. It earns the victory. (JR calls the move a 3D, but it isn’t one.)

Thoughts: This was fine, but not great. I get the story they told with Kane and Big Show, but it didn’t work with the fans. They haven’t been a team long enough for anyone to care. The WWF threw them together for this one PPV without explanation. This fell flat, even with the decent action.

Winners: The Dudley Boyz (6:50)

Lita goes to Matt Hardy’s locker room to apologize. She says she didn’t see his foot on the ropes, but Matt ignores her. He throws a fit instead and tosses his luggage around the room. Then Matt leaves without a word, but he glares at Lita as he passes her.

Meanwhile, JR thanks Drowning Pool for letting them use the song “Sinner” as the theme for Vengeance.

Now it’s time for RVD vs. the Undertaker. During the entrances, we see Undertaker cut his hair short to go with his new attitude.

Hardcore Title Match: The Undertaker vs. Rob Van Dam (c)

Storyline: Vince wanted to make Austin the next inductee into the Kiss My Ass Club, but Austin thwarted his plans. Since Vince couldn’t have Austin, he went after JR instead because Ross laughed at him. However, the Undertaker interrupted the attempt. Taker had demanded respect from Vince. It seemed he would save JR, but Taker accused JR of thinking he was better than him. After all, Taker kissed Vince’s ass for years. Taker attacked Ross and forced him to kiss Vince’s ass. Meanwhile, RVD refused to join Regal’s attack on Austin, so Vince punished him with handicap fights and frequent title defenses. Vince even booked Taker vs. RVD for this PPV, so Taker ambushed RVD. He gave him a Last Ride on a trash can and rammed him into the Smackdown set. Nevertheless, RVD gained payback. He hit Taker with a chair after Taker wrestled Bradshaw.

The Match: They brawl until Taker makes RVD pay for doing an unnecessary backflip. Undaunted, RVD answers with a flying somersault plancha and a wheel kick. Afterward, Taker crotches RVD on the ropes before they head into the crowd. There, Taker chokes RVD with a fan’s Mexican flag. He also fends off RVD’s moonsault and throws Van Dam into a guardrail. Taker then chokes Rob with it and scares a stagehand with a chair. The momentary distraction allows RVD to spray Taker with an extinguisher. While Taker stumbles, RVD performs a flying crossbody from the balcony! Later, they move to the set, and RVD blocks the Last Ride. A Rolling Thunder and a running Van Daminator follow, but Taker gets the chair. He can’t land a Tombstone on the weapon, but Taker evades another Van Daminator. Taker ends it by chokeslamming RVD off the stage and onto a table!

Thoughts: This was great. They filled it with good intensity, fun spots, perfect use of the set, and an impressive finish. The nice part was, this was the first time in months that Taker appeared to enjoy himself in a contest. The heel turn revitalized him.

Winner: The Undertaker (New Champion) (11:08)

Backstage, Jericho interrupts another one of Flair’s phone calls. He tells him to hang up. Jericho says Flair is sitting in his dressing room feeling confident, but he has no confidence in Chris Jericho! Chris accuses Flair of not thinking he can become the Undisputed champion. After all, nobody does. Ric says, “More power to you if you can pull it off.” Jericho corrects him. It’s not a matter of if he can do it. This is a matter of when because Jericho already beat the Rock twice! He will do it again and defeat either Austin or Angle. With that said, Jericho asks if Flair understands this. Ric says he does. Jericho will be the man if he wins. Then Jericho tells Flair to present him with the belts on RAW. The idea excites Flair, so he agrees. Jericho says he will see Flair tomorrow.

Women’s Title Match: Trish Stratus (c) vs. Jacqueline

Storyline: Trish feuded with Stacy after Survivor Series. They had a Gravy Bowl Match on Thanksgiving and a Bra & Panties encounter. Then they booked Trish vs. Jackie, but the bout never happened. Vince interrupted them. He wanted Trish to join the Kiss My Ass Club because of her actions earlier in the year. Thankfully, the Rock saved her, so she kissed him! Afterward, Rock and Trish faced Vince and Angle for the chance to make Vince kiss the Rock’s ass. They won, but the Rock had better plans for McMahon. He teased Vince with the idea of kissing the ass of Trish or JR. However, Rock brought out Rikishi instead and shoved Vince’s face into his ass. This officially ended the Kiss My Ass Club. Meanwhile, they announced Trish vs. Jackie would take place at the PPV, so Jackie had a warm-up against Crash Holly.

The Match: After an exchange of headlocks and shoulder blocks, Jackie scores an O’Connor Roll and a backdrop. She also slams Trish twice, but Trish answers with a short-arm clothesline. Now Jackie catches a Chick Kick and trips her. This leads to fighting in the corner before Trish performs an awkward rolling prawn hold. Once they recover, Jackie does another backdrop and looks for a back suplex. Trish lands on her feet, but she can’t hit the Stratusfaction. Next, Jackie nails a low dropkick before we get a double down from a collision. They rise and Jackie grabs Trish, but Trish counters into a backslide for the three.

Thoughts: This wasn’t great. The action became messy. They had a few good spots, but the botched roll-up killed the momentum. I’ll give them credit for trying some unique stuff, but Trish wasn’t quite there yet.

Winner: Trish Stratus (3:34)

Trish and Jackie shake hands after the bout, but Lawler can’t focus. JR wants to talk about what happened on Smackdown, yet he can’t reign in Lawler for longer than a few seconds. (This is the era where Lawler becomes almost insufferable during women’s contests.)

A recap of the Rock shoving Vince’s face into Rikishi’s ass airs before they go to Rikishi at WWF New York. Rikishi says he thought they would have to use surgery to remove Vince’s head, but that’s all good. Vince abused his power to take advantage of people and demean them in front of millions of viewers. Now they closed the Kiss My Ass Club, so Rikishi will back that ass up again.

Afterward, we get the entrances for the first of three matches to declare an Undisputed champion. Austin went back to his classic theme. He isn’t using the Disturbed version or his Alliance music.

WWF Title Match: Stone Cold Steve Austin (c) vs. Kurt Angle

Storyline: Angle believed everyone should thank him for saving their jobs, but they knew he only did it for himself. Worse yet, Rock and Austin looked past Angle. They talked like an Austin/Rock rematch was a forgone conclusion. All Kurt wanted was gratitude, so he attacked Austin after Austin had a Strap Match against Regal. Angle also teamed with Vince against Rock and Trish in the encounter I mentioned earlier. After they lost, Flair threatened to pull Angle out of the title picture if Vince didn’t kiss the Rock’s ass. However, Vince had a backup plan. He was going to have Angle intervene and prevent the ass-kissing. The problem was, Austin beat Angle up before he could do it. This led to Austin & Rock vs. Angle & Jericho. Rock made Jericho tap, so Angle gave Jericho an Angle Slam out of frustration.

The Match: They tussle into the ropes and trade takedowns. Then they avoid each other’s finishers before Austin works on Angle’s arm. When Kurt reverses the holds, Austin pokes his eyes and continues the attack. He takes Angle outside and rams him into the post and the steps. Austin even scores an armbreaker, but Angle rolls into an anklelock. After a rope break, they brawl outside and Kurt smacks Austin’s leg against the post. A ring post Figure Four precedes another anklelock, but Austin escapes. Now Angle goes into suplex mode and attempts a moonsault. It misses, so Austin nails a Thesz Press and gives Angle five rolling Germans! Angle kicks out and uses a low blow and the Angle Slam, which only gets two. Angle can’t believe it. He throws a temper tantrum and tries a Stunner on Austin. Austin blocks this and ends the fight with a Stunner.

Thoughts: This was really good. It didn’t eclipse their SummerSlam contest, but I still enjoyed this. I like how they mixed it up and did something different this time. This was more focused on technical wrestling. Austin giving Angle the rolling Germans was a nice touch.

Winner: Stone Cold Steve Austin (14:56)

Meanwhile, Trish applies lip gloss after a shower, but Test barges into her dressing room. He says he saw the thank you kiss she gave the Rock, so Test wants to give her a congratulations kiss. But before she gets too excited, Test knows what she is thinking. Why is Trish getting the opportunity to touch a big, good-looking, well-groomed man like himself? That’s every chick’s reaction. After all, once you’ve had Test, you can forget about the rest. With this said, Test tells Trish to pucker up. This is her lucky night! He tries to make a move, but Trish pushes him away from her, so Test calls her a tease. Test says she can rat him out, but it doesn’t matter. He has immunity! Trish doesn’t care. She says she would never touch him and shoves him out the door.

Next, it’s time for the Rock vs. Chris Jericho for the World title. Vince renamed the belt because WCW is dead.

World Title Match: Chris Jericho vs. The Rock (c)

Storyline: Jericho apologized for letting his ego get the better of him at Survivor Series. Vince punished Jericho by pitting him against Kane, but Jericho beat Kane up with a chair. Then Vince added Jericho to the Dudleys vs. Rock & RVD to make it a handicap fight. Jericho pinned the Rock after a low blow and a Rock Bottom. However, Flair countered Vince’s move. He paired Kane with the Rock when Vince booked Rock against Jericho and Angle. This time, Rock chased Jericho away with a chair. Later, Jericho jumped the Rock again after Rock saved Trish from the Kiss My Ass Club. He gave Rock the People’s Elbow. Chris also took exception to Rock and Austin looking past him. After all, Jericho called himself a big star and a living legend. Since he felt this way, Flair offered Jericho an encounter with Austin, but Jericho lost.

The Match: They exchange knockdowns until the Rock regroups. Then Jericho nails a triangle dropkick and a flying back elbow. Now Rock responds with a belly-to-belly and a Samoan Drop. He even escapes Jericho’s sleeper, but Jericho scores a Lionsault after two tries. A two count leads to shoving between Jericho and Hebner before Rock rolls through Jericho’s flying crossbody. Next, they brawl outside and around the announce table. When Jericho looks to put Rock through it, Rock counters with a DDT. Back inside, Jericho stops a Rock Bottom and hits the Breakdown, but does the People’s Elbow instead of covering. This fails, and they trade Sharpshooters. A Rock Bottom follows, so Vince arrives and distracts Hebner. Rock attacks Vince and completes a People’s Elbow, despite Vince’s interference. Unfortunately, Jericho throws a low blow while Hebner argues with McMahon. It allows Jericho to land a Rock Bottom for the victory.

Thoughts: I enjoyed this. They started slowly, but it built to a nice crescendo. Plus, I like the misdirection. Everyone thought this would end with Rock vs. Austin, so Jericho’s win shocked the crowd. With that said, they didn’t hate it. Many of the fans were already cheering for Chris during the bout.

Winner: Chris Jericho (New Champion) (19:06)

While Jericho celebrates, Austin’s music plays. He comes to start the final bout immediately, but Angle jumps Austin. He clocks him with a chair. Then Jericho tries to capitalize, but the Rock gives Jericho the Rock Bottom and chases Angle backstage.

Undisputed Title Match: Chris Jericho vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin

The Match: Once they recover, Jericho avoids a Stunner and moves to the apron, so Austin knocks him down. Now they brawl around ringside and Austin pulls up the mats. Jericho has a better idea. They fight on the announce table and attempt their finishers, but Austin flips Jericho to the floor and suplexes him on the exposed concrete. Back inside, Jericho sends Austin into the post and attacks his shoulder. He also gets caught using the ropes during an armbar, so Austin escapes and rallies.

Later, they wipe out Hebner by accident before Jericho uses a low blow and a Stunner. Since Hebner is down, Vince returns with Nick Patrick, but Flair takes Nick out and brawls with Vince. While this happens, Austin scores his own low blow and makes Jericho tap to the Walls. There’s no ref to witness it, so Booker T jumps out of the crowd and clocks Austin with the belt. Vince rolls Earl into the ring, and Jericho covers for the three.

Thoughts: This bout was more story-focused than the last two and that’s a good thing. It needed to stand apart from the rest. Yeah, they bordered on making it overbooked, but I thought the level of shenanigans was fine. Besides, I was happy to see Jericho get his big win. It was a shame they flubbed the rest of his reign.

Winner: Chris Jericho (Undisputed Champion) (12:32)

Vince laughs while Hebner hands the belts to Jericho. Lawler says Vince is laughing last and laughing the hardest, as he promised. Meanwhile, JR doesn’t like the way Jericho won. How can he be proud of this? Ross also complains about Booker T’s interference. He doesn’t even go here! (Oh, I mean he doesn’t even work here.) While JR says this, Jericho celebrates with Vince.

The Good:

• All of the Undisputed title matches

• Undertaker vs. RVD

• The opener

• Edge vs. Regal

The Bad:

• Trish vs. Jackie

• The tag title match

Performer of the Night:

I have to give it to Jericho. This was his night to shine, and he did great in his contests.

Final Thoughts:

The WWF ended the year with another strong showing. Almost all the bouts delivered. Even those that fell short weren’t terrible. I can’t think of a bad PPV from the WWF in the year 2001. They might have had some questionable booking, but they gave us amazing action.

Thank you for reading. My next review is Royal Rumble 2002. Look for it next Sunday!