Let the bodies hit the floor. Let the bodies hit the floor. Let me plug my ears when that annoying song comes on, especially now that the WWF has struck a deal to constantly play it to hype Summerslam!! God, I couldn't stand that song before, and now it has entered the realm which I enjoy: wrestling. Thanks a lot WWF. At least with "My Way or the Highway", the lyrics weren't as damn stupid as "Let the Bodies Hit the Floor" over and over again. Blah!!
I see there are many ECW conspiracy theorists out there, who are all pointing at the WWF for not featuring ECW as much as they used to, ever since the Rock returned. Well, the truth is that ECW talent does NOT get the pops like the WWF wrestlers, besides Rob Van Dam. Why do you think that Tazz has returned to color commentator? He wasn't amounting to much as a singles wrestler, and guys like Rhyno are going down on the WWF ladder.
So before you scream that the WWF is holding back ECW talent, just open your ears and notice that not everyone in the crowd is cheering "ECW, ECW, ECW" like you think they are. On to the PDC.
The first match of the night, and opening segment actually, was Rob Van Dam vs. Kane. You have to hand it to the big guy for putting Rob Van Dam over, even if it was via screw-job. It says a lot of Kane to do this, and it shows that the WWF has a lot of confidence in RVD right now, which should be a good sign for you ECW marks out there. The match was OK, albeit short and a clash of styles.
Here's a problem with the Booker T acting segments: he can't act!
Stephanie would come down to the ring, next, and put herself over. Zzzzzzzzzzz. Hey, Monday Night Football is back on! Yeah baby!!! Actually, this interview became good once Chris Jericho hit the ring. Jericho has that perfect chemistry when it comes to Stephanie. I'm glad to see the WWF meshing those two together for more "sports entertainment" segments, although it ALWAYS leads to Jericho vs. the Dudley Boyz matches. It was the same thing tonight. Jericho would then call upon some guys looking like the primates from the movie Planet of the Apes. Oh, by the way, if someone could explain the ending to me, I'd appreciate it. It still baffles me today, especially how "they" could have the same history as "us". I used pronouns so that I wouldn't spoil the movie for anyone else. Jericho used those damn dirty apes to deliver a pie to Stephanie's face.
Our next match was Jackie against the duo of Torrie Wilson and Stacy Kiebler in a handicap match. Yuck, what a pile of crap this was, especially with the NO HEAT heel turn by Ivory. I guess being a part of the RTC never made her a member of the WWF, but it's still ridiculous, and the Anaheim crowd showed you how exciting it was to see live, too. Maybe we could have the Goodfather, Bull Buchanan, and Val Venis join the Alliance, too?
Wow, what a worthwhile segment for Terri in WWF NY.
The next match was X-Pac versus Tajiri. Kudos to X-Pac for FINALLY showing some good emotion during the backstage segment with Regal/Tajri, and for FINALLY playing off the "X-Pac Sucks" chant. A big problem with X-Pac is that he's given no real angle to help define his character. If he plays off the chant and shows some intensity, then his career could bounce back up. Interesting to see him bring back the old theme, too. Like last RAW, X-Pac wrestled like a lightweight! He showed some speed and risk-taking against Tajiri, as he did with Billy Kidman last week. X-Pac cleanly jobbed the WWF Lightweight Title away this week, although I've never seen a referee allow the spraying of the mist to decide a match. Isn't that a DQ? I really hope that the WWF continues to do something productive with X-Pac, because his shining star might not be out just yet.
Oh wow, another Dudley Boyz vs. Chris Jericho and Partner X match. Boy, we haven't seen this before. It's very sad, because the Dudleys and Jericho are types of characters who can't go stale, unlike others. How many times will we have to see any more combinations of Dudleys vs. Jericho? Not that they are horrible matches or anything, but just that it's the same thing week in and week out. Rhyno even tried to run in, which will probably spark another stupid tag match, probably involving Edge/Christian, who will team up with Jericho, to face Dudleys and Rhyno on Smackdown. It just goes in cycles, and eventually, none of these guys will have any credibility when you actually need to push them.
Next, it's Christian vs. Lance Storm. Where's the Build Up?© Well, I guess from their various tag matches throughout the week, but it's not that strong of a build up. I did laugh at Lance Storm getting shanked before the match. If they keep Edge/Christian attacking Storm's serious side, it should make for some very entertaining television. Too bad Storm probably won't find a good partner to take them on, since Mike Awesome is apparently getting depushed for having a dickhead of an attitude. Also, Storm/Awesome vs. Edge/Christian was done at invasion, too. Decent short match between the two, with a good and dirty win by Storm.
That was a rather funny segment between Kurt Angle and the Rock. I expected a shitload of stupid catchphrases from the Rock, but I was laughing when he drank the milk. It was funny seeing these two doing comedy, together, for a change.
We had lots of backstage segments with Diamond Dallas Page and the Undertaker, where the 'Taker eventually got jumped by DDP and Kanyon at the Sara shrine. *Yawn* I can't wait for DDP to FINALLY get this feud over with so that he can fight some better talent, like Angle or the Rock, or anybody other than the Undertaker, please!! I can't take this annoying Sara feud any longer!! AHHHHH!
Next, it's Matt Hardy vs. Steve Austin. Ugh. This match was set up with several "word of mouth" skits, where Debra distorted what Lita said and when Austin did the same thing back. Terrible sports entertainment, and it wasn't too pleasant to see Matt Hardy become Austin's little whipping boy, either. The WWF should have had Kurt Angle run down to save the day, to you know, hype their Summerslam match. Ever hear about that WWF bookers?
Pretty decent match between Rock and Shane McMahon, although they've fought many times before. I did like how they brought in Booker T and attacked the Rock to finish out the show. It plants Booker T in as an enemy for the Rock marks to boo, and a lot, which is what we're aiming for here. I'm really anticipating on how they'll put on a match at Summerslam, for it's one of my dream matches.
LAST WORD: Well, this show was certainly an up and down show. Some of it was really good, while other parts were just odd. I think they should have at least done something with Austin vs. Angle, instead of having the weird mini-feud with Debra/Austin against Lita/Matt Hardy, which amounted to nothing. The Lady's handicap match was very stupid, and some of the usual repetition hurt the show. However, RVD's big win over Kane, Tajiri vs. X-Pac, and Booker T gaining heat at the end, along with other entertaining highlights, give this week's show a
Undertaker vs. Diamond Dallas Page
Booker T vs. the Rock
Kurt Angle vs. Steve Austin
I really want to see Booker T vs. the Rock. Anyway, I expect something to be booked for Rob Van Dam, and possibly a rematch between Tajiri and X-Pac. I don't know..... Let's see what the WWF attempts this Thursday (or Tuesday) on Smackdown to see if the card shapes up any more.
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