World Wrestling Federation – Royal Rumble 2001 – 21st January 2001
The final ppv of 2000 (Armageddon) drew mixed reviews, and it’s fair to say the mediocre quality of pay-per-view through the second half of last year belied what was a really exciting period in professional wrestling history. Most critics agree, however, that the first few months of 2001 were as hot as WWF could get. They produced three outstanding ppv efforts packed with matches people still talk about to this day…and represented the final golden days of the ‘Attitude Era’. We start that journey tonight with the Royal Rumble. The 2001 Rumble is held up by many as one of the most entertaining in the history of the event – and almost sells the show by itself. Another treat lurks on the undercard in the form of the Benoit vs Jericho Intercontinental Title Ladder Match. We also have the long-awaited Angle/HHH rematch, this time with the WWF Championship on the line. We’re in New Orleans, LA. Commentary is from Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler.
Edge & Christian vs Dudley Boyz – WWF Tag Title Match
This feud continues to rage. Edge & Christian recaptured the Tag Titles at Armageddon, and instantly had their old rivals the Dudley Boyz to deal with. Bubba Ray and D-Von enter the ring tonight nursing concussions as a result of Con-Chair-To attacks from the champions.
The Dudleyz want revenge for those chair attacks, so try to jump the champions during their entrance. E&C try to leave and are roundly boo’d for doing so. They are retrieved by Bubba and D-Von, who spend the opening minutes dominating them whilst trying to protect their concussed heads. Finally Christian lands a shot to the back of D-Von’s head…and the metaphorical tables are instantly turned. He tags in and begins repeatedly dropping D-Von’s head on the canvas – cementing his team’s advantage. Edge stays on the head and neck too and it leaves Bubba Ray an increasingly frustrated figure as he watches from the apron. D-Von blocks a spike piledriver then collides with Edge in the centre of the ring. The ref doesn’t see a Dudley tag…and continues to argue with Bubba as the champs bring chairs into the ring. CON-CHAIR-TO MISSES! The place explodes as Bubba finally gets the tag. D-Von climbs upstairs for the Wassup Headbutt…and doesn’t sell which is sort of annoying as concussion was the whole storyline of the match. Edge almost lays Bubba out with the title belt…and seconds later D-Von saves his half-brother from the Unprettier. SPEAR BY EDGE blocks the 3-D! Edge & Christian line up their own Wassup Headbutt…but of course it winds up with Edge getting shoved into Christian’s crotch. 3-D! The Dudleyz win the belts at 09:58
Rating - *** - This one wasn’t without it’s problems. As I said in play-by-play, it particularly annoyed me when D-Von didn’t sell the Wassup Headbutt after they’d spent the whole contest using his concussion as the focal point. However, as an opening match this served it’s purpose well. The title change finish obviously helps, but even before that the workers really took the hot live crowd on a back and forth journey where you really felt like either team might pull out the win. Job well done for an opener…
EARLIER TONIGHT – Comedian Drew Carey arrives at the building to do some promotion for his own upcoming comedy ppv. Vince McMahon announces that neither Triple H nor Steve Austin will face sanctions after violating the order banning them from fighting each other on Smackdown.
Triple H seeks Stephanie’s assurances that her personal issues with Trish Stratus won’t impact his championship match tonight. Drew Carey strolls into their locker room looking for Vince…
The APA show each other their entrance numbers for the Royal Rumble. Crash Holly enters and tells them he’ll eliminate them from the Rumble if they get in his way. Da-yum
Chris Benoit vs Chris Jericho – WWF Intercontinental Title Match
The spring and summer last year saw a war raging between these two world class Canadian performers. It was a feud with roots all the way back in the 90’s, and they’d fought each other all over the world before even making it to the WWF. When Benoit won back the IC Title from Billy Gunn at Armageddon the first man in the queue to challenge him was his old rival Jericho. The Crippler wanted to put the feud to bed, so offered Y2J any kind of match he wanted – to which Jericho responded with a call for a Ladder Match.
Jericho carries an injured arm after a ladder attack by Benoit and Perry Saturn on Smackdown. The champion immediately goes after it and tries to apply the Crippler Crossface. When he fails to do that instead he launches the challenger shoulder-first into the ringpost. Shoulderbreaker nailed next, with JR and Lawler debating whether Jericho will even be able to climb a ladder. He misses his springboard dropkick to the apron and crashes down on his arm again on the outside. The shoulder is rammed into the steps next and Benoit looks to have an uninterrupted path to the belt hanging above the ring. Y2J manages to haul him off the ladder with an electric chair drop…and ups the stakes by nailing Benoit in the face with it. BENOIT WHIPS JERICHO INTO THE LADDER! TOPE SUICIDA BLOCKED WITH A CHAIR TO THE FACE! Massive offensive strikes for both men meaning they both lay on the floor knocked silly. Jericho drapes Benoit over the guardrails and tries to SURF THE LADDER into him…only for the Wolverine to move at the last moment and bash him in the head with the ladder. He puts a chair into Jericho’s shoulder, before positioning the ladder in the corner and hammering the challenger’s shoulder into it again. Jericho retorts by hanging Benoit in the rungs of the ladder then jumping backwards – causing them both to crash to the mat from the top! Before he can capitalise the champ is up to dropkick the ladder into his face. His advantage is short-lived though and he soon finds himself getting a ladder SEESAWED INTO HIS FACE! MISSILE DROPKICK WITH A LADDER! Jericho goes for the belt…but is dragged off the ladder into a BACK SUPLEX TO THE FLOOR! Benoit wants the championship now, but is caught at the last with a WALLS OF JERICHO ON TOP OF THE LADDER! Jericho reaches up and touches the belt only to have the ladder shoved out from under him as he tries to unfasten it. CRIPPLER CROSSFACE! Jericho is tapping but there is no respite from it. Benoit tries to choke him out with the hold, drives his shoulder into the post again…and amazingly Y2J still gets up to hotshot him into the ladder. The Crippler climbs the ladder now. FLYING WOLVERINE OFF THE LADDER…MISSES! Jericho puts the ladder ON BENOIT then starts to climb but as he nears the top Benoit knocks him into the turnbuckles. Chair shots from Jericho, knocking Benoit TO THE FLOOR! JERICHO WINS! New champion at 18:44!
Rating - ****1/2 - Probably the defining match in their feud; this one took the Ladder Match in a completely different but every bit as thrilling direction. They abandoned the elaborate dives and bumps of the TLC tag teams and instead took influence from the likes of Shawn Michaels and Scott Hall. Of course there were still some wild bumps (that headbutt of the ladder was insane), but the point here was that they wanted to use the ladder to beat the sh*t out of each other. They weren’t doing flips or diving all over the place (that would damage themselves) – the ladder was there to batter your opponent with, then win the championship. To pull off something this good and this different in the same time period as the TLC matches is a truly remarkable feat.
Drew Carey schmoozes with Trish Stratus, unaware she is currently involved with Mr McMahon. Vince isn’t impressed, and suggests he do some ‘improv’ here tonight…by inserting him into the Royal Rumble match.
Billy Gunn tries to convince Chyna not to wrestle tonight because her neck is in bad shape. She isn’t listening and wants payback on Ivory…
Jericho triumphantly tells Michael Cole that he ‘proved Benoit wrong’ tonight.
Ivory vs Chyna – WWF Women’s Title Match
Chyna put herself in Right To Censor’s firing line when she posed in Playboy. Determined to teach her a lesson in morality, Ivory and Val Venis delivered a spike piledriver which caused a catastrophic neck injury. She missed several weeks of competition, and enters the ring tonight without the medical clearance to do so, against the advice of doctors and against the wishes of her friend Billy Gunn. The Chyna/JR interview, and Ivory/Val parody skit were a lot of fun. Chyna openly disrespecting the Women’s Title (‘your precious little Women’s Title’) in her promos less so
Ivory is hopelessly out-matched and is helpless as Chyna tosses her around the ring…then out of it. She flees into the crowd but is caught and MILITARY PRESSED through the fans back to ringside. Steven Richards runs in, but is tossed out just as quickly. Handspring Elbow scores…but Chyna collapses afterwards clutching her neck. Ivory pins her to win at 03:32
Rating - N/A - Chyna has publicly stated how unhappy she was at being put in this feud and seemingly ‘demoted’ to the Women’s division. Ignoring how openly disrespectful that is, it’s SO short-sighted as well. She’d never been Women’s Champion before. Right To Censor drew MASSIVE heat, and Ivory was as over a heel Women’s Champion as there had been in ages (Stephanie doesn’t count as she didn’t actually wrestle much). People HATED her and HATED Right To Censor. Chyna was a natural enemy to them, and seeing her challenge for the Women’s Title for the first time, against a super-over heel champion and group was great story-telling and good business. This match was all part of the bigger picture, as they played up Chyna’s neck injury all the way to WrestleMania – and it was a great story. I genuinely think the Ivory/Chyna feud is one of the highlights of Chyna’s career, and the fact that she saw it as a demotion is a real shame.
They put Chyna’s injury over big-time, with ref’s throwing up ‘x’s, Jerry Lawler going to the ring to check on her along with Billy Gunn, JR using his ‘super-serious’ commentary voice etc.
Stephanie and Trish have a heated altercation in the hair and make-up room…whilst ‘official wrestler’ Drew Carey calls Kane a ‘goofy guy in a mask’ in the locker rooms
Lo Down and Tiger Ali Singh celebrate winning a Royal Rumble slot during Heat, but are then told it’s gone to Drew instead.
Kurt Angle vs Triple H – WWF Title Match
After Surviving Hell In A Cell at Armageddon, HHH welcomed Kurt to the new year by throwing down his challenge to the WWF Championship. He felt Kurt only had the belt because he’d been distracted by Steve Austin, and used his links to WWF Chairman Vince McMahon to have himself proclaimed #1 contender. With Stephanie now firmly back in HHH’s corner (having been Kurt’s ‘business associate’ when he won the belt in October), Kurt enlisted another female to accompany him to the ring – that being Mr McMahon’s mistress Trish Stratus. Stephanie, already enraged at Trish’s carryings on with her father (‘I think I deserve a spanking...’) flew off the handle. The situation outside the ring for this rematch from Unforgiven 2000 is every bit as combustible as inside it.
The opening suggests that HHH has a power advantage, but can’t life with Kurt when it comes to speed and mat wrestling. It’s that wrestling superiority which really has The Game struggling in the early going. Sensibly, the challenger takes it to the floor where, as a superior brawler, he soon seizes control by driving Kurt into the guardrail and steps. With Angle on the back foot Helmsley takes a page out of the champion’s book – and starts working over the leg. Angle is soon hobbling around, and as Stephanie distracts the referee Hunter makes it worse by smashing the leg against the ringpost with a chair. SHINBREAKER ON THE STEPS! Indian Deathlock applied, piling still more pressure on Kurt’s increasingly weakening injured leg. Credit to Kurt, he’s even selling the leg after Helmsley hits his facebuster spot. The Game channels his future Evolution stable-mate Ric Flair by going to the Figure 4 Leglock at the 13-minute mark. Trish Stratus tries to dive in to help her charge…and is dragged out into a catfight on the floor by Stephanie. Vince McMahon strides up the aisle desperately trying to separate them, causing such a scene that HHH breaks the Figure 4 to watch. It takes a full two minutes for Vince to get his daughter and his mistress to the locker room, and it’s all time that Kurt uses to recover. He drops Hunter with a DDT but is still so injured he is slow to follow up. Bridging German suplex gets 2, again with Angle coming up limping. He takes an ill-advised trip up the turnbuckles, but is hit in the balls and dragged down into the RAZOR’S EDGE for 2! Pedigree blocked, only for Angle to collapse into an inadvertent headbutt to HHH’s balls! MOONSAULT NAILED! Kurt’s knee is too hurt to cover! Earl Hebner takes a nasty head-first bump into the guardrail…as in the ring Kurt hits a ROPE RUN TOP ROPE ARMDRAG! Poor Hebner barely makes his way to his knees before getting sandwiched between Angle and the steel steps…and with him down HHH grabs the WWF Title belt. Kurt ducks the belt shot into a belly to belly suplex! He goes for a belt shot…COUNTERED WITH THE PEDIGREE! That should be game over, but the referee is still KO’d on the floor. Steve Austin is out! He levels HHH with the belt! STONE COLD STUNNER! Kurt crawls over Hunter and retains the championship at 24:15.
Rating - **** - I still really enjoy this match. Sure it’s completely overbooked – but in some ways the run-ins, catfights and ref bumps actually contributed to what was a completely chaotic accompaniment to an already very strong wrestling match. The basic in-ring story they went for was great, with Kurt first out-wrestling Helmsley, then HHH beating him up on the floor before showing his own cerebral fortitude by taking apart Angle’s leg. Austin’s intervention came as a result of their showdown on the preceding episode of Smackdown, and laid the foundations for their epic feud-ender at No Way Out the next month, whilst the Stephanie/Vince/Trish stuff would continue to build all the way to Mania. If you’re pushing me I probably preferred Unforgiven (where there is slightly less outside shenanigans), but this was a great wrestling match that also contained a lot of great stuff carrying us into the next two pay-per-view events.
We get shots of Rikishi (who is the #30 entrant) and Undertaker warming up for the forthcoming Royal Rumble match. The Rock talks to his good friend Kevin Kelly, comparing the Royal Rumble to a jambalaya, and debating the ramifications of the rumoured Undertaker/Kane reunion tonight.
Royal Rumble Match
It should need no introduction – thirty men will enter, one will emerge as #1 contender and a ticket into the WrestleMania main event. The Rock and Steve Austin are popular favourites of course. Rikishi is a threat as he has the prize #30 entry. Many are wondering whether Kane and Undertaker have reunited in an effort to dominate the Rumble. And will Drew Carey survive the evening?
The unfortunate first entrant is Jeff Hardy, joined by Bull Buchanan to get things started. Hardy has a hard time living with Buchanan’s power and takes a vociferous beating as a result. Thankfully Matt Hardy is #3 and he sprints to the ring to team up with his brother to eliminate Bull. And the Hardyz are sporting enough to turn around and go at it amongst themselves rather than work together to everyone else’s detriment. Faarooq is #4, who interrupts the Hardy battle to beat the snot out of both of them. Jeff botches Poetry In Motion, but recovers quickly to save Matt from the Dominator. Twist Of Fate into the SWANTON! Faarooq is the second man eliminated. Drew Carey is #5, high fiving and shaking hands as the Hardyz continue fighting amongst themselves, with Jeff still botching moves all over the place. They battle over a superplex…and both fall to the floor and elimination. Drew stands alone, until #6 arrives…and it’s Kane. He probably isn’t happy about being called a ‘goofy guy in a mask’ earlier, but takes his time – running through his entire entrance which takes basically the entire ‘two minutes’. Raven is #7, who saves Drew from a Chokeslam…only for Drew to hop over the ropes and eliminate himself. The former ECW Champion fishes under the ring trying to drag in some weapons…but is attacked by Al Snow who, it turns out, is #8. There is plenty of plunder in the ring now with Snow taking advantage to lay into both his opponents with a trash can lid. He pulls out a bowling ball and tosses it into poor Raven’s crotch, but finally the ex-ECW guys realise they need to team up against the Big Red Machine. DOUBLE RAVEN DROP TOEHOLD into a trash can!
#9 is Perry Saturn, profiting from Raven and Al’s hard work to get the jump on Kane’s legs. The monster has all three guys throwing themselves at him and it takes of them plus a few weapon shots to get him down to the mat. #10 is Steve Blackman, carrying his martial arts sticks and launching straight into attacks on Raven and his former tag partner Snow. #11 is Grand Masta Sexay who grabs a trash can lid and hops right into the fight. A thoroughly unimpressed Kane hits Grand Masta so hard with a trash can he flies over the top rope. Blackman, Snow and Raven follow seconds later as Kane goes on the rampage! Saturn is ditched too…meaning the ring is clear as #12 enters. It’s the Honky Tonk Man, who (much to Kane’s confusion) would rather sing his theme music than wrestle. Kane grabs his guitar and NAILS him with it! He tosses HTM out…and The Rock replaces him at lucky #13! #14 is Goodfather…but he is sent packing almost instantly by Rocky! #15 is Tazz, interrupting an increasingly violent struggle between Kane and Rock. He gets punished by the Machine, who picks him up and punches him over the top rope inside five seconds. The clock ticks past 25-minutes, The Rock drops Kane with a Samoan drop, and #16 is revealed to be Bradshaw. Clothesline From Hell on The Rock! #17 is Albert, as the ring starts to fill with some seriously big dudes. He makes a beeline for his rival Bradshaw, nearly succeeding in lifting the big Texan over the top. #18 is Hardcore Holly, to deafening indifference from the previously heated Louisiana crowd. Thankfully Kane slaps him on his ass quickly, as Albert lays JBL out with the Albert Bomb. #19 is K-Kwik, making his Rumble debut. It doesn’t look to be a fruitful first appearance as he almost gets eliminated by Rock, and stumbles blindly into a Bradshaw folding powerbomb when he survives that.
#20 is Val Venis, as JR (incorrectly) proclaims that Kane has been in for half an hour. Kwik is still getting beaten up – walking aimlessly around the ring and eating a football tackle from Bradshaw. Time for #21, which is William Regal and he makes a beeline for poor K-Kwik. #22 is Test…storming into the ring and instantly eliminating Regal. The crowd are getting increasingly anxious to see Stone Cold by this point. Unfortunately for all concerned, #23 enters…and it’s the returning Big Show. He sends Test and K-Kwik packing then dishes out chokeslams to everyone else he comes across. ROCK ELIMINATES BIG SHOW! JUST LIKE LAST YEAR! The Giant is furious, dragging Rocky under the bottom rope as Crash Holly enters at #24. CHOKESLAM THROUGH THE ANNOUNCE TABLE! Everyone left in the ring has formed a makeshift team to get Kane out and there are EMT’s at ringside tending to the injured Rock. Just when Kane’s days look numbered…#25 is Undertaker! The Brothers Of Destruction go on a tear – getting rid of Bradshaw, Venis, Albert and the Holly cousins. They’re on the same page! The clock ticks down, and they stand side by side waiting for their next victim – Scotty 2 Hotty at #26. Poor Scotty knows he’s walking into a beating, quickly getting drilled into the canvas with a double Chokeslam before being eliminated at 45:48. GLASS SHATTERS! Steve Austin (#27) marches through the curtain…but can’t even make it to the ring before Triple H attacks him from behind! The Rock has made it back into the ring, as HHH and Austin brawl in the aisle.
The Rattlesnake is bleeding badly – and past him sprints entrant #28, which is Billy Gunn. Undertaker mows Rock down with a massive swinging DDT, with the clock counting to our 29th entrant: Haku (aka Meng) making his WWF return, as I recall whilst still technically being WCW Hardcore Champion. The Brothers try to team up on the unpredictable fiery Tongan, and even they have their hands full with the man most proclaim to be the toughest wrestler ever. Stone Cold is still passed out in a pool of his own blood in the aisle by the way. Rikishi strolls up the aisle at #30 – opportunistically spotting a bloody Austin and trying to fight him! Austin and Rikishi fight into the ring, alongside Gunn, Haku, Rock and the Brothers Of Destruction. Stone Cold punches Haku over the top rope then launches into an assault on the weary Kane. Undertaker drops Rikishi with a Chokeslam…but turns his back on him and doesn’t see a SUPERKICK which knocks him clear over the top rope! That’s payback for being thrown off the Cell at Armageddon! Rocky nutshots Rikishi as he sets up the Banzai Drop…knocking him out of the ring! The final four is Austin, Rock, Gunn and Kane! Billy hits the Fame Asser on Stone Cold…who no sells it to toss him out! The Rock and Austin stare down, and the place explodes as they come to blows. Rock Bottom countered to the STUNNER! Austin gets distracted fighting Kane, so turns blind into a ROCK BOTTOM! Kane is heaved through the middle rope to the floor…but sneaks back in to eliminate Rock! We’re down to two! CHOKESLAM ON AUSTIN! The Machine retrieves a steel chair – BUT EATS A STUNNER! CHAIR SHOT! KANE DOESN’T BUDGE! ANOTHER CHAIR SHOT! KANE STAGGERS BACKWARDS! AUSTIN WINS! He clotheslines Kane to the floor at 61:57!
Rating - **** - One of the most entertaining Royal Rumbles of all time. It wasn’t always fought with precision (Jeff Hardy at the start was horrendously sloppy), and I think some of the pacing was a little out (Haku and Billy Gunn in there so late for instance). However, this was an absolute blast to watch. Kane was the star of the show, giving what most consider to be his best performance in a WWF ring as he went the best part of an hour and eliminated a record number of entrants. The Drew Carey and Honky Tonk Man comedy spots were suitably hilarious, the ‘hardcore Rumble’ segment was a little different and really broke up the monotony of lots of guys punching each other in various corners or lying on the canvas. There were also a LOT of neat storyline moments. You had Big Show making his return, and continuing his Royal Rumble feud with The Rock after being eliminated by him for a second year running. You had the reunion of the Brothers Of Destruction, Rikishi getting revenge for the Armageddon Cell bump, HHH and Austin continuing their build to No Way Out, the awesome Rock vs Austin exchange at the end…culminating in the hugely cathartic moment as Austin sealed his return from career-threatening neck injury to win the Royal Rumble and book his place in another WrestleMania main event. There are aspects of this match which possibly could have been better, but this was a hell of a fun way to spend an hour.
Tape Rating - **** - A fantastic pay-per-view to begin 2001. Sensibly they kept the amount of matches booked on the show to a minimum, rather than filling up the card with booked-on-Heat bouts. It meant that all the top drawer matches (Benoit/Jericho, Angle/HHH and the Rumble) got plenty of time to really produce something memorable. The Intercontinental Title Ladder Match is must-see, taking the concept of the Ladder Match in a different but nonetheless brutal direction, and giving us the very pinnacle of the epic Benoit/Jericho odyssey. The WWF Title Match was pure WWF sports-entertainment contrasting some great in-ring stuff from Angle and Hunter alongside some riotously over the top shenanigans from Vince, Stephanie, Trish and Steve Austin. The show culminated in one of the finest Rumble matches of all time. So often the Royal Rumble becomes a bit of a predictable slog to sit through, but not here. This isn’t the best ppv of 2001 of course, but I’d forgotten just how good this show is. If you’ve not seen it, or haven’t seen it in years, it’s well worth digging out to revisit.
Top 3 Matches
3) Kurt Angle vs Triple H (****)
2) Royal Rumble Match (****)
1) Chris Benoit vs Chris Jericho (****1/2)