World Wrestling Federation – Summerslam 2001 – 19th August 2001
This year’s annual summer extravaganza from the WWF has been taken over by the Invasion angle, meaning that the majority of the show consists of ‘inter-promotional’ grudge matches. I use the word ‘inter-promotional’ in the sarcastic sense as there are only actually five wrestlers (Lance Storm, Rob Van Dam, Dallas Page, Chris Kanyon and Booker T) who didn’t already work for WWF before the buyouts on the card. You can see how this feud was already descending into another recycling of McMahon’s squabbling and WWF guys fighting WWF guys. In fairness, despite the creative direction being atrocious, the card really isn’t bad at all. The two main events see the WWF and WCW Heavyweight title’s defended – with Booker T defending his WCW version against The Rock (making his ppv return), and Steve Austin defending the WWF Title against now-babyface Kurt Angle. We also have Lance Storm defending the IC Title against Edge, the Undertaker’s quest to decimate DDP’s career (in every sense of the word) continue in a tag team Cage Match, the unification of the ‘illustrious’ WCW Cruiserweight and WWF Light Heavyweight titles, and Jeff Hardy looking to defeat Rob Van Dam in a Ladder Match. Jim Ross and Paul Heyman are in San Jose, CA.
SIDENOTE – Another fantastic pre-show video this month, mashing together clips from Drowning Pool’s ‘Bodies’ music video with a massive amount of shaky-cam WWF footage. It felt very different to what they were usually running before these shows.
Lance Storm vs Edge – WWF Intercontinental Title Match
To this day I find it weird that WWF decided to push Lance as ‘that boring guy with no charisma’. I know the ‘If I can be serious for a minute’ catchphrase got big, but how was it ever going to end well for Lance? Ironically they’d just lost Benoit to a pretty serious neck injury – as he was really starting to get majorly over – surely giving him a ‘lethal, no thrills technical wrestler’ gimmick like Benoit would’ve filled the void left by the Wolverine’s absence? Anyway, he represents The Alliance and defends the IC Title against the 2001 King Of The Ring winner.
Early advantage goes to Edge, who drops Storm with a flapjack and knocks him out of the ring. He scores an early nearfall as well, with a top rope crossbody. Storm has seen enough and opts to drop the challenger ribs-first over the top rope…then tackle him straight into the guardrail. God bless Heyman, he really works hard to sell Lance as an in-ring machine…so JR quickly buries him as boring with no personality. The champion is picking apart Edge’s ribs but it’s too early for the Maple Leaf submission as he finds himself kicked into the turnbuckles. Edge looks for an ill-advised crucifix pin, but finds it countered to a Finlay roll for 2! As with any match where the ribs are the focal point, we soon get an appearance by the abdominal stretch. Storm looks to finish things off with a springboard move, but Edge catches him in the air to flip him into a powerslam! Edge scores with some tentative offence, still grabbing his midsection in pain frequently…and still managing a close nearfall with the Edge-O-Matic. Hurricanrana COUNTERED with a sit-out powerbomb for another nearfall! MAPLE LEAF! Thankfully Edge is a pretty tall guy, and somehow makes it to the ropes before switching it into a half crab on Lance! Christian runs in…and inadvertently SPEARS EDGE! Superkick from Storm to Christian! Edge kicks out of the pin! Superkick countered to Edgecution! Edge wins at 11:17
Rating - *** - For the second month running these two feature in a surprisingly decent ppv-opening match. As much fun as it was to criticise Lance for being boring, he really was a great guy to put Edge with as they looked to slowly start pushing him as a singles worker. Storm is so technically and fundamentally sound that he could really carry the bulk of a match from a workrate perspective (as he did during the tag match he and Edge worked at Invasion) whilst Edge continued to learn how to pace a singles match, when to hit his signature moves, how to time a comeback etc. This wasn’t anything special, but it was a solid and well-executed match which got Edge over significantly in victory.
Continuing the slow-burn on their split, Christian acts weird as he hands the IC Title belt to Edge and congratulates him before walking out.
Michael Cole (inexplicably wearing a skin-tight t-shirt) asks Test why he turned on the WWF to join the Alliance. In response Test gives a really decent promo
Chris Jericho implies Stephanie McMahon lost her virginity in a high school orgy…with a sprinkling of big plastic titty references.
Acolytes/Spike Dudley vs Dudley Boyz/Test
LSD didn’t join his brothers in defecting to the Alliance, and stayed loyal to WWF alongside his girlfriend Molly Holly. Test turned on WWF by costing the APA the Tag Titles, so Faarooq and Bradshaw will be gunning for him tonight.
Faarooq tries to start with Bubba Ray, but is instantly double teamed as the Dudleyz hit the back suplex neckbreaker. Simmons retaliates by hitting his spinebuster with incredible velocity on D-Von. Bradshaw tries to powerbomb Test only to be attacked from behind by Team 3D. Of course, he only sells it for so long before shaking it all off to DDT D-Von. Spike tags…and gets hung in the ropes by Bubba with such force that he rockets multiple feet back into the air before crashing to the deck. Test then drills him with an awesome-looking tackle-come-spinebuster and the beating continues as the Dudleyz give him a double flapjack. Hot tag to Layfield who mows down all comers with ease. D-Von stops him giving Test the fallaway slam…so he powerbombs him instead for 2. Shane McMahon is sneaking around the ring. ACID DROP COUNTERED…BRADSHAW THROWS SPIKE THROUGH A TABLE! Shane lays out Bradshaw with a chair, giving The Alliance the win at 07:17
Rating - ** - Spike Dudley got this rating almost entirely by himself. Everyone else was going through the motions, but Spike bumps with such gusto, and is such a fantastic whipping boy that he pretty much made this watchable. That bump at the end was crazy, and came on top of some wild unprotected in-ring bumps he’d taken throughout the contest.
Matt Hardy and Lita congratulate Edge for winning the IC Title…lol. Christian barges in and announces he’s challenging Matt Hardy for the European Title tomorrow on Raw. He calls his Grandma to give her the news, but she only wants to talk to Edge as well.
Shawn Stasiak barges into Steve Austin’s locker room…and is confronted by the infuriating presence of Debra. He wants to know how to impress Stone Cold and looks for guidance on his tights (I’m really not kidding). Debra tells him to impress her husband by kicking some ass.
Tajiri vs X-Pac – WWF Light Heavyweight/WCW Cruiserweight Title Match
This is a WWF vs WWF match, even though a World Championship Wrestling title is also on the line. According to Wikipedia (like I could remember this!), X-Pac had already been a unified Cruiser Champion by this point, having beaten Billy Kidman for the WCW Cruiserweight Title in July whilst already holding the WWF equivalent. Tajiri would beat him for the Light Heavyweight title in early August leading to this rematch.
Were X-Factor still a thing at this point? Pac is still using the awful Uncle Kracker entrance music. He starts with a crisp armdrag…and of course is roundly boo’d. Tajiri retaliates with a standing moonsault for 2. The Light Heavyweight Champion has no intention of being made Waltman’s bitch on the canvas, countering his usual ‘ride the opponent’ display to clobber him in the back of the head. ASAI MOONSAULT TO THE FLOOR! Fans chant ‘EC-Dub’ for that! X-Pac kills the Buzzsaw’s heat by crotching him on the ringpost. Back inside the ring he gets 2 with a sit-out powerbomb. Tajiri counters the Bronco Buster by KICKING Pac into a tree of woe! That just happened! Handspring Elbow gets 2, and serves as a gateway to the Tarantula. Much like Rhyno’s Gore, Paul Heyman is half of the reason that move got so over in the WWF – he puts it over as total death on commentary. The two men work a bizarre nearfall exchange ending when Tajiri drops X-Pac on his neck with a German suplex. SOMERSAULT PLANCHA BY PAC! Tajiri tries another Handspring Elbow, but it’s countered into the X-Factor! Pac is too worn down to cover right away though. Albert comes out (answering my question about X-Factor) and tries to distract Tajiri as he lines X-Pac up for the Buzzsaw Kick. RED MIST ON ALBERT! Another X-Factor finishes Tajiri at 07:33
Rating - ** - A little unfocused, but there was tons of great action to enjoy here. I’m sure he viewed it as a step down, but X-Pac really looked good working with guys like Kidman and Tajiri – who could actually go with him and actually allowed him to showcase his skills. After years of being D-X’s lackey and working opponents like Kane, it was a refreshing change of pace.
Perry Saturn is at WWF New York, still devastated at the loss of Moppy.
Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley psyches up Rhyno ahead of his match.
Rhyno vs Chris Jericho
Y2J and Stephanie have never gotten along, that isn’t new information. However, their feud reignited as part of the inter-promotional warfare when he made fun of her for having very obvious breast enlargement surgery. Credit should go to Steph on that, as she really was a good sport about the whole thing. As owner of ECW, she enlisted Rhyno to start attacking him at every turn – leading to this match. These two were responsible for the demise of the ‘original’ Smackdown set when Rhyno Gored Jericho straight through the middle of it. The next week it was replaced with the metal fist/shattered glass set along with the complete Smackdown rebrand – so new logo, Marilyn Manson music etc.
Rhyno brings Stephanie to the ring with him. We quickly get an exhibition of the relative strengths of the two men, as the Man Beast easily overpowers Jericho…before he quickens the pace and repeatedly takes Rhyno down. A springboard dropkick knocks Rhyno to the floor…so in his place Stephanie McMahon hops onto the apron and starts grabbing Jericho’s boot. SUICIDE DIVE BY JERICHO – COUNTERED WITH A MID-AIR SPEAR ON THE FLOOR! Immediately Jericho’s ribs cause him problems (having been Gored multiple times on TV in the weeks leading to this won’t have helped), and Rhyno shows him no mercy. Stephanie involves herself again by dishing out a heavy duty slap which knocks Chris back into a bodyscissors from the War Machine. Surfboard applied next as Rhyno showcases some mat acumen to go with his hard-hitting power game. Rhyno heads to the top to MISS a Flying Wolverine. Was that an intentional ode to Benoit? Jericho slips on the middle rope, and STILL HITS a quebrada for 2! He then slips off the top rope too! To be fair, he lands slap on the ribs and the commentators sell his double botch as the consequences of a bruising encounter with the Man Beast. He hits a missile dropkick second time of asking, but comes up grabbing his ribs and unable to score a pinfall because Stephanie is on the apron distracting the referee. Jericho gives her a big wet kiss…then overshoots the Lionsault on Rhyno for 2. The former ECW Champion hits back with a spinebuster and puts him in the Walls Of Jericho! Y2J makes the ropes so is put on the canvas again with the belly to belly. Gore misses…and Jericho sweeps him into the Walls Of Jericho for victory at 12:34
Rating - ** - I feel bad for Rhyno here, as he wrestled a tremendous match. It seems like creative put him in this mini-feud with Jericho to see how crowds would react to him fighting WWF guys in standard matches, without the protection of the ECW-esque hardcore environment. He really delivered, but unfortunately the usually-reliable Jericho had an awful night with several horrible botches which dragged the whole thing down and took a full star off my rating. I won’t dwell on those as accidents can happen to anyone, but I will say I hated the finish as it made Rhyno look incredibly weak. He’d worked Jericho’s ribs all match, but still Y2J didn’t tap out. How come Rhyno, who’d sustained minimal damage, tapped out in just a few seconds to the same move?
William Regal checks in with The Rock, who is banged up after being put through a table, but still pumped up for his return to pay-per-view. Shawn Stasiak runs into a wall in the midst of this promo
Jeff Hardy vs Rob Van Dam – WWF Hardcore Title Ladder Match
As an RVD mark, this was the match I was most looking forward to at the time. Van Dam was seriously over, and since he didn’t come from WCW Vince was willing to give him a genuine opportunity. He took the Hardcore Title from (and stole the show with) Jeff Hardy last month at Invasion, and now has a rematch after losing it back on television earlier in August. RVD is an ECW veteran so no stranger to hardcore rules, but the Ladder Match is traditionally one of Jeff’s specialities. Who will leave with the sh*tty belt?
Once again, RVD is significantly more over than Hardy. They showcase their familiarity with a crisp counter-wrestling exchange. Hardy drops legs into Rob’s abdomen after evading a kick flurry, forcing him to retreat for air. Van Dam thinks about some thumb posing, and is punished with a hiptoss to the over the ropes! SPRINGBOARD WHISPER IN THE WIND TO THE FLOOR! Hardy takes another risk, scaling the top rope to MISS a suicide dive which sees him crash into the rails. Mr PPV hits him with a falling leg drop off the guardrail to capitalise! GUARDRAIL RUN PLANCHA from Hardy as RVD heads towards a ladder. Jeff tries to drag the ladder into the ring but only gets it halfway through the ropes before Van Dam drives down the opposite end – seesawing it into Hardy’s face. RVD tries to get into the ring…as Jeff jumps OVER him to seesaw the ladder into his crotch. ARABIAN PRESS ON A LADDER! Jeff is clearly super-motivated to avenge his Invasion defeat here, and pays for his over-enthusiasm by getting laid out on a ladder hung in the ropes. SECOND ROPE ROLLING THUNDER with Jeff draped over the ladder! He pings Hardy’s head back with a superkick which wasn’t even remotely pulled, driving him back into the ladder and prompting Van Dam to land a slingshot leg drop whilst he lays there. Jeff goes for the belt…only to be cut-off halfway up the ladder with a springboard martial arts kick. Rob positions his opponent under the ladder now for a HANDSPRING STANDING MOONSAULT! He climbs for the belt…only for Jeff to MISSILE DROPKICK THE LADDER FROM UNDER HIM! The two men land alongside the ladder in an ugly, painful mess. Swanton Bomb misses! FIVE STAR FROG SPLASH MISSES! Both extremely battle-weary now, they both struggle up opposite sides of the ladder…with Van Dam winning the race to the top and hitting a SUPERPLEX off the ladder! They fight to the top again…and this time Jeff makes it up first to hit a SUNSET FLIP BOMB! Both men stay down with the crowd going nuts. Hardy grabs the belt…only for Rob to pull the ladder from under him. RVD tries to drag him down…swinging him through the air and springboarding off the top rope and barely grazing him with a spinning heel kick. Hardy can’t hold on any longer and collapses to the ground…and seconds later when he tries to climb again RVD shoves him of the ladder into the ropes. Van Dam wins the Hardcore Title back at 16:32
Rating - **** - Personally I prefer the Invasion match, which had great wrestling with the occasional hardcore spot thrown in. This was a hell of a stunt show and an absolutely brutal match, but perhaps had less inherent ‘quality’ to it. Some of the stuff these guys did was crazy, a lot of it looked (sometimes intentionally, and sometimes through sheer sloppiness) incredibly painful – and ultimately they did live up to the lofty expectations people had for this one. It’s a shame the finish fell flat, with the Hardy swinging from the belt spot botched, then a somewhat anticlimactic conclusion with RVD grabbing the belt from seemingly nowhere. The crowd really peaked with Hardy’s sunset bomb off the ladder. Regardless, there’s a chance these guys could have stolen the show for a second ppv running.
Shane McMahon has a present for Booker T – he’s had bookends made for Booker out of the table he put The Rock through on Smackdown.
The WCW Tag Champions Undertaker and Kane walk to the ring with a purpose
Dallas Page/Chris Kanyon vs Undertaker/Kane – WWF/WCW Tag Title Steel Cage Match
This was during the entertaining ‘Alliance MVP’ run for Kanyon. Despite getting beaten up by Undertaker for two months straight, DDP reignited his crush on Sara – stalking her again. At first he ‘wanted to be famous’, now he just wants her. Kanyon sided with his Alliance stable-mate, and with a little help from Test they defeated the Acolytes to become WWF Tag Champions. Meanwhile the Brothers Of Destruction crushed the last actual WCW Tag Champions Palumbo and O’Haire with complete ease to capture the WCW straps. Commissioner Regal put this one together after Kanyon and Page rubbed their title win in his face.
I’m pretty sure DDP and Kanyon botch their entrance. Sara comes to the ring with the Brothers, and locks the cage door with a heavy padlock. As you might expect, the WCW guys show their talent by trying to run away…but fail and are dragged back from the cage into a one-sided beatdown. And that’s how the entire match goes – Undertaker and Kane beat the sh*t out of Kanyon and DDP, with their only response being to run away. Kanyon actually does run away and walk to the back, leaving Page alone for another few minutes of uninterrupted career destruction. Last Ride wins it at 10:13.
Rating - DUD - A shameful, embarrassing exercise in ego-stroking from Undertaker and the WWF here. DDP has been in the WWF for three months now, and has probably hit about three moves on Undertaker in all that time. He was a genuine draw for WCW, but had his career ruthlessly slaughtered by idiotic and stubbornly arrogant WWF drones who couldn’t fathom anyone being over or talented without having been ‘created’ by Vince. I wonder if Page wishes he’d have stayed home on his sofa until the Ted Turner checks stopped coming like the rest of the WCW main eventers. I apologise for the minimal play-by-play, but there really was no point. The whole thing was Undertaker and Kane punching their opponents…DDP and Kanyon try to run away, then getting dragged back for more aimless and boring punch-kick sequences. It pretty much summed up everything wrong with the Invasion angle in a single ten-minute match. I’m not sure if this is before or after Page had to lie down for f*cking SARA as well.
The Rock doesn’t want the doctor checking on his injured ribs…and Shawn Stasiak misses another ill-fated attempt to beat him up to win Steve Austin’s approval.
Members of the WWF and Alliance locker rooms all crowd around TV monitors for the next match…
Steve Austin vs Kurt Angle – WWF Title Match
Stone Cold turned on the WWF last month at Invasion – giving Kurt the Stunner and handing victory in the Inaugural Brawl to The Alliance. He blamed Vince for his actions, saying that Vince didn’t want his hugs (he wanted the ‘old Stone Cold’ remember) and accusing him of grooming Kurt to replace him. Looking for some payback for Invasion, Kurt laid down the challenge for this one.
They changed Austin’s music during this period in an attempt to stop him getting monster pops because his entrance was so iconic. Kurt isn’t waiting for him to complete the aforementioned entrance and walks up the aisle to engage him in a fist fight. Getting into a punch-up with the Rattlesnake isn’t in Angle’s best interests and he soon finds himself beaten onto his back…where Austin starts targeting the ankle that he’d injured in the weeks of TV leading to this ppv. Just as getting into a punch-up is bad for Kurt, trying some technical wrestling/submission holds against an Olympic Gold Medallist is a risk for Stone Cold – proven when Angle briefly puts him in the Anklelock from nowhere. Austin continues to dominate until he makes the mistake of trying to repeatedly suplex his opponent…allowing Angle to counter with ROLLING GERMANS! Instantly Austin grabs at his surgically repaired neck, but Kurt is relentless and just keeps suplexing him on it! Olympic Slam blocked though, with Steve hitting a knee strike to keep him away then slumping to the canvas feeling the effects of the preceding suplex-fest. He drags Angle out of the corner for a superplex, doing as much damage to himself as he does to the challenger. STUNNER NAILED! Angle never saw that coming, but still manages to get a shoulder up. STUNNER AGAIN! It causes the Olympian to collapse out of the ring. Austin’s deranged personality starts coming out as he repeatedly drives Kurt’s head into the ringpost – busting him open in so doing. Acting on instinct he manages to shove Austin over the guardrails but he’s out on his feet, allowing Steve to grab him for a SUPLEX ON THE CONCRETE! Adrenaline rush for Kurt, who has Austin screaming with an Anklelock on the floor! BELLY TO BELLY SUPLEX ON THE FLOOR! BACK SUPLEX ON THE FLOOR! Austin lies motionless with his arm grabbing his neck – selling that so convincingly that you can even here Kurt loudly checking if he’s ok to continue. Angle, still dripping blood, heads to the top rope for the MOONSAULT! FOR 2! Million Dollar Dream on Kurt! Just like at WrestleMania, Austin is so desperate he’s reaching deep into his bag of tricks and comes out with a move to choke the life out of his challenger…who barely escapes before he passes out. Another Stone Cold Stunner looks set to finish it and the place explodes when Kurt kicks out again! Angle crawls around the ring, using Austin’s own knee braces to drag himself back up. STUNNER COUNTERED TO THE ANGLE SLAM! BOTH MEN DOWN! Kurt can barely stand…as a woozy Rattlesnake lays out Earl Hebner. Mike Chioda comes in to replace Earl, and immediately gets a Stunner! Tim White stops him using the belt on Angle…so Austin hits HIM with the belt instead! Angle Slam nailed again, but of course there’s no referee to count the fall. Nick Patrick runs in…and disqualifies Steve Austin for assaulting officials. He loses, but still retains the championship at 22:33
Rating - **** - I’ve always said that Austin’s best year as a worker wasn’t during his heyday in the late-90’s when he feuded with Vince, but 2001. He was at his absolute zenith, and excluding the dead period he had to work with Undertaker and Kane, he got serious talent like Rock, Benoit, Jericho and Angle to wrestle. This was an incredible match, brilliantly combining the classic ‘sports-entertainment’ style championship main event with fantastic wrestling. The finish was admittedly bogus and a frustrating tag-on to such a great match, but it undeniably keeps Kurt very much in the title picture without having to lie down for Austin after such a courageous performance where he survived multiple Stunners and severe blood loss to have the Rattlesnake beaten.
Austin flees with his belt as quickly as he possibly can…as an irate Kurt Angle does his best to break WCW referee Nick Patrick’s ankle. JR almost has a seizure on commentary
Booker T vs The Rock – WCW World Title Match
This was one of the better inter-promotional feuds during the whole invasion period, mostly because Rock actually realised he had to let Booker look strong every now and then. It also helped that fans started getting into Booker in a way they didn’t with DDP. Rock returned after Invasion, and sided with WWF in the fight against the Alliance. As WCW Champion, Booker decided he’d be the one to challenge WWF’s returning hero.
The Rock instantly goes after Shane McMahon, who causes enough of a distraction to enable Booker to get an early jump on the challenger. I think that’s more offence than DDP and Kanyon got in their entire Cage Match. He flattens Rock with a jumping side kick for 2…only for Rocky to toss him out of the ring. He scatters the announcers, tossing T amongst them for momentary respite – ending when Booker emerges from behind the tables to crotch him on the guardrail. The fight goes into the crowd with Rocky taking a BRUTAL upper back/neck bump on solid concrete from a lariat. Back at ringside the champ heaves his challenger into the ringpost then drops his injured ribs into the railings to leave Rock on his knees and struggling to inhale. A twisting forearm strike puts him on the canvas again, with T then diving on top of him and making it even harder to breathe with a deep chinlock. Rock counters to a Sharpshooter only for Shane to distract the ref…causing a scene for long enough to allow Booker to drop his challenger with a superkick. The WCW owner has also now stealthily dropped a steel chair into the ring as well. As the referee looks to remove that, Shane-O then dives into the ring to level Rock with the ring bell instead! The APA run in…CLOTHESLINE FROM HELL ON THE FLOOR! In the ring Booker hits the Bookend for 2. The Rock rallies, countering the Axe Kick into a spinebuster. Shane has sufficiently recovered to break the ensuing pinfall after Rock lands the People’s Elbow. It’s time for another crazy Shane bump – ROCK BOTTOM ON THE FLOOR! Booker hits his own version of the spinebuster and this time does hit the Axe Kick. The Spinaroonie gets serious heat…and the place explodes as Rock nips up during it for the ROCK BOTTOM! Rock wins at 15:19
Rating - *** - Hey Undertaker, notice how matches are generally a lot better if you let your opponent get some offence in too? Obviously this was massively overbooked and not a patch on the Austin vs Angle title match, but it was a fun main event and one that proved Booker T had the chops to survive in the WWF even after the inevitable demise of the Invasion. I could have done with less Shane McMahon, even though he deserves credit for those two wicked bumps on the floor. Ultimately this was perfectly decent and a great way to send the fans home happy.
Rock genuinely looks rather humbled to get his hands on big gold belt as the show ends.
Tape Rating - *** - This will probably end up being the best pay-per-view of the entire Invasion angle. It was certainly the best ppv WWF have done since WrestleMania in my opinion. Apart from the usual sh*t Undertaker match, nothing on the card was actively bad and it had four championship matches which I really liked. Edge continued his growth as a singles worker with a solid performance against Lance Storm, Rock and Booker provided a strong, crowd-pleasing finale, RVD and Jeff produced a physical, brutal and fitting Ladder Match sequel to their Invasion classic, whilst Austin and Angle stole the show with a hell of a WWF Title Match which has been unfairly forgotten in favour of the Unforgiven rematch (largely due to circumstance) even though this one is superior. A pleasing return to form after a pretty poor sequence of ppv’s.
Top 3 Matches
3) Booker T vs The Rock (***)
2) Jeff Hardy vs Rob Van Dam (****)
1) Steve Austin vs Kurt Angle (****)