The Year in PPV- 2001, Part I

2001 is one of those heavily debated years for the WWF in terms of quality. On the one hand, it was a financially prosperous and dominant year for the company with both WCW and ECW going out of business. It was time for the WWF to stand tall, and without a significant form of competition, it was presumed we were on our last days of the Attitude Era. As the Aggression Era drew nearer, the traditional style of overbooking was being moved to the side in exchange for matches that relied more on the wrestling quality and physicality between opponents. Who got over depended less on what kind of character they had and more on the kind of match they could put on to entertain. Needless to say, there are TONS of great superstars and matches present on this year.

And on the other hand, we have a year that had one of the single biggest DISAPPOINTMENTS in wrestling history: the Invasion Angle. Everyone has an opinion on this storyline, and you're going to hear mine in due time. This was not only horribly executed, but also led to a a heavily saturated roster of wrestlers and title belts, had way too much going on for its own good, and even worse, didn't have many of the players needed to make the proper payoff. But that's a little down the road.

Let's at least get things off to a good start with one of the best Royal Rumbles of all-time...


1. Royal Rumble

From top to bottom, this Royal Rumble PPV is pure quality in both match quality and storytelling. From the Dudley Boyz challenging Edge and Christian for the World Tag Team Championships, to Ivory defending the Women's Championship against an injured Chyna, many matches are solid on technique but are boosted thanks to the overall booking and entertainment value of the superstars involved. As far as match quality, the best on the undercard (and maybe of the evening) was the ladder match for the Intercontinental Championship that brought some closure to Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho's epic and competitive rivalry. And if you're looking for a good match with entertaining booking, watch the WWF Championship match between Kurt Angle and Triple H. Not only is the match well-wrestled, but also has enough overbooking to keep the Attitude Era fans interested.

This Rumble is usually considered one of the best, and it's VERY easy to see why. This focused on the ideas of it coming down to five men: Stone Cold Steve Austin, Undertaker, Rikishi, The Rock, and Kane. Kane particularly makes a massive statement in this Rumble with his elimination of 11 men (the most in a single Rumble match until 2014). But the match doesn't stop there. We have some hardcore moments in the middle of the match, moments that pit friend against friend and brother against brother, a handful of surprise returns, and an appearance from Drew Carey. Yes, DREW CAREY entered the Royal Rumble match and it was STILL amazing to watch.

Highly Recommended


2. No Way Out

Yet again we have another high quality show on the Road to WrestleMania. This one has more matches to work off of, so naturally there are a few throwaway matches (Hardcore Championship and a match between Jerry Lawler and Stevie Richards comes to mind), but when this show is good, it's REALLY good. The Intercontinental title was on the line in a Fatal 4-Way (Chris Jericho vs. Eddie Guerrero vs. X-Pac vs. Chris Benoit), the Tag titles were on the line in a triple threat tables match (Dudley Boyz vs. Brothers of Destruction vs. Edge and Christian), and Stephanie McMahon fought Trish Stratus in an overbooked mess of a match you can't look away from. But then, like any PPV before WrestleMania, this night was all about setting up the main event for the Showcase of the Immortals.

The show's main event saw Kurt Angle put the WWF title on the line against The Rock, and I really enjoyed this match. Sometimes when you're getting ready for the Show of Shows, the best chase is to see who walks into Mania as the heavyweight champion and these guys fought in a very competitive matchup. The man who won it deserved to be champion on this night. But the match that stole the show was the Three Stages of Hell match with Stone Cold Steve Austin and Triple H. Things got so personal between these two, that they could only settle the score in a match this barbaric. The first fall was a regular wrestling match, the second fall was a Street Fight, and the third fall was a Steel Cage match. This was a really well done match and could've easily main evented the show. The fact that this match went on only halfway through the show is a testament to the amount of effort and the show had going for it.

Highly Recommended


3. WrestleMania X-Seven

When people discuss the greatest Mania event of all-time, Mania X-Seven is usually the favorite selection. While I admit the show is really good, I always have a tough time putting it as the absolute favorite (but it would still be in my top 5). With a throwaway tag team match with the Right to Censor taking on the APA and Tazz, a squash match for the Women's Championship between Ivory and Chyna, a Gimmick Battle Royal whose entrances lasted longer than the match itself (I get it's a nostalgia trip, but it's definitely one of the weakest battle royals I've ever seen), I couldn't understand why people will collectively agree it's the best Mania in history. But then we get some solid midcard title matches to help add some quality to the undercard, with Chris Jericho and William Regal opening the show for the Intercontinental Championship, Raven defending the Hardcore Championship in a triple threat against Kane and Big Show, and a surprisingly underrated European Championship match with Test and Eddie Guerrero.

And then we made our way to the main events. In a match that darn near stole the show, Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle put on a physical and competitive technical showdown on the biggest show of the year. While they had tons of matches that improved on quality, the standard and groundwork for their future classics were laid here. In a piece of overbooked match heaven, Shane McMahon and Mr. McMahon took part in a Street Fight with Mick Foley as guest referee, in a match that pitted the most dysfunctional family in sports entertainment against each other, and found a way to connect it to the ending of the Monday Night War. Finally, if you thought the Dudley Boyz, Hardy Boyz, and Edge and Christian couldn't come up with a THIRD epic ladder match for the World Tag Team Championships, think again. These guys took part in TLC II, and while it's my least favorite of their trilogy of matches, I can still appreciate the spots and the spectacle they put on.

Finally, we had two epic main events between four of the company's biggest stars. First, Triple H and the Undertaker squared off in a match that had them brawling throughout the arena. They obviously topped themselves with their encounters at Manias XXVII and XXVIII, but you could see the signs of what was to come a decade later with this match. And then it was time for the match everyone wanted to see: The Rock vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin for the WWF Championship. Thanks to that amazing video package to Limp Bizkit's "My Way," the anticipation had reached its boiling point and fans couldn't wait to see these two icons go at it. You were able to see how personal it had gotten, how much blood both were willing to spill, the lengths Stone Cold would go to win the title, and the determination of The Rock to not give up. This match had everything going for it until the ending. Some really love this ending, I'm not to fond of it. In my opinion, it overshadowed an already memorable match, but hey, give them credit for shocking the crowd.

Highly Recommended


4. Backlash

This Backlash was your basic run of the mill post-Mania filler show, that was only boosted by its main events. Of the main events the weakest was the Duchess of Queensbury Rules match between Chris Jericho and William Regal. The Chicago crowd wasn't really feeling the booking of that match, and I think it actually hurt the quality these two men had put in their feud. The match that surprised a lot of fans was probably the Last Man Standing match between Shane McMahon and Big Show. The spot at the end is absolute perfection and left that audience either breathless or screaming "Holy $h!t."

In a wrestling purist's wet dream of a concept, Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle continued their feud in an Ultimate Submission match, which is essentially a 30-minute Iron Man match that can only be won by submission. It took a little time to get the crowd invested, but once Angle and Benoit get that chain of momentum going, it's a pure classic. Then, in a truly high stakes main event, the World Tag Team Champions Kane and Undertaker took on the WWF Champion Stone Cold Steve Austin and the Intercontinental Champion Triple H in a winner take all matchup. Is it the greatest main event? Definitely not, but it has a lot of star power and a gimmick that was sure to shake things up.

Mild Recommendation


5. Insurrextion

By this time, EVERYONE knows how I feel about the UK PPVs, so I won't dwell on that. This was an absolute filler show that did not even need to be on the PPV schedule. There is such a lack of direction in some of its matches (why on earth would you open with Eddie Guerrero vs. Grand Master Sexay?!?!?), and a lot of the good matches are just rematches from Mania, Backlash, and will continue to be rematches at Judgment Day.

One of the best matches on the card that stood out to me was the Tag Title match that put four teams together in an elimination match (Edge and Christian, Hardy Boyz, Dudley Boyz, and X-Factor). Of the matches that were rematches, the best was (of course) Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle's 2 out of 3 falls match. The main event was a handicap match between the Two Man Power Trip and the Undertaker. It was fine for what it was, but this show could have easily just been a Monday Night RAW episode instead of an actual PPV. Thankfully, I only have to review a few more of these UK exclusive shows, and then I don't have to watch any more ever again.

Skip It


Initial Thoughts: The Road to WrestleMania was PHENOMENAL. Nuff said. Those 3 shows were spectacular. Even Backlash was a fine follow up. The big problem was within everything AFTER this point. The one thing I know a lot of people were complaining about was the handling of Austin's character, but this stage of his heel turn was fine for me. It was down the road were stuff started to get really stupid and pointless, but we will begin to handle those problems next time...

Continued in Part II...


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