Favorite Feud in 2001

[pepentorresHHH]

I was re-watching 2001 and it was such a fresh and awesome year because of the influx of new wrestlers and looking back on it there were some amazing rivalries. but the question is which one was your favorite / the best?

You had Kurt Angle vs The Rock in the final chapter of the feud for the WWE title. The Rock was on fire during that time and when he beat the big show to win the number one contendership the place exploded. and then both of them went back and forth about whos time was over in the main event. it all ended with an amazing match at No Way Out with the rock finally winning back the belt!

Triple H vs Stone Cold was another one of the great feuds of all times IMO, after HHH came back after being destroyed by Austin in that car, costing him the belt, then Austin costing him the belt at the Royal Rumble, then Austin winning the rumble after HHH had beaten him bloody, then the no contact contract (although HHH beat him up and pedigreed him cause he never signed) then stunners and pedigrees to Stephanie and JR. all culminated at No Way Out with their epic 2 out of 3 falls match that HHH won after just by holding out for a moment after Austin fell and landed on top of him.... never before seen ending to end of the feud. both men would later on go to form the two man power trip.

The Rock vs Stone Cold Steve Austin. their second chapter to this amazing feud was IMO the best out of the 3. Paul Heyman summed it up perfectly in his build up at wrestlemania. this was a match that both men needed to win but neither men can afford to lose. debra getting included, finishers being stolen. it made the belt look great. and these two delivered at wrestlemania match and actually surpassed expectations. the ending was such a heel turn with Austin shaking hands with "satan himself" and the rock looked awesome never giving up until he was butchered with a steel chair. and then the night after with their steel cage match. amazing stuff that would make the stakes higher at survivor series later that year.

Edge and Christian vs The Dudleys vs The Hardy Boys. what needs to be said? these 3 teams and combinations tore the house down not only at wrestlemania but every time they faced each other

Kurt Angle vs Stone Cold. after Stone Cold turned heel and Angle face, angle was a great chaser, never giving up, and before that they were hilarious together. it all culminated at summerslam where angle took 3 stunners and he still kicked out each time. Milkomania ensued, a rematch in Angle`s hometown and he won the belt in an awesome celebration surrounded by family and friends after bringing the title home.... too bad the feud had a bad ending and the belt went back to Austin 3 weeks later.

The Rock vs Chris Jericho with The Rock claiming Y2J wasn't good enough to win the belt was priceless and they both brought their A game to make this feud work

finally WWE vs The Aliance.... easy WCW and ECW invaded the wwe after shane and Stephanie kayfabe bought wcw and ecw to take the WWE out of business it all culminated with a great 5 on 5 that ended with the rock, and the wwe, standing tall

what do you got?

 

[Matty~!]

Although their feud didn't progress due to Benoit's injury he had some absolutely fantastic matches with Steve Austin that year both in singles competition and tag team competition. there was one early in the year while Austin was still a face on Raw. Then there was 2 matches in the same week in Canada when Austin had turned heel which despite losing both made Benoit look like a total superstar. Other matches that really had great Austin / Benoit interaction were a tag match with Austin and Rock against Angle and Benoit just before Wrestlemania 17 and then the famous match where Triple H blew out his quad tagging with Austin against Benoit and Jericho. Not to mention the 3 way at King of the Ring with Austin / Benoit / Jericho.

I'd slightly disagree with it being a fresh year because I don't really think with the exception of RVD any one from the alliance really stepped up into a truly starring role at the point. It could be argued Booker T but I think he hit his stride WWE wise the following year. The good thing about 2001 was Austin, Rock and Triple H could all still go as main event performers stemming from the attitude era and the likes of Benoit, Jericho, Angle proved they could hang properly in the main event scene once they had the extended run there.

Also a forgotten classic for that time I think Austin and HHH vs Taker and Kane doesn't get nearly the credit it deserves. Austin and HHH really channelled the feeling of The Hollywood Blondes in that match, Taker and Kane were super hot with their gimmicks and it led to a super fun match at Backlash

 

[Eyebrows]

Benoit's feud with Angle gave us some fantastic matches, likewise his feud with Jericho at the start of the year that gave us the excellent ladder match at Royal Rumble. Jericho and Regal gave us some funny moments with Jericho besmirching Regal.

I always look at 2001 through rose-tinted glasses as it's when I really sat down and watched wrestling week to week. Although Austin's heel turn is always criticized, I actually really enjoyed the Two Man Power Trip vs Brothers of Destruction storyline. Everybody wanted to see Undertaker and Kane kick Austin and HHH's ass. I'd have to re-watch it to see if I enjoy it as much now as I did then.

 

[King Patrick Star]

2001 is one of my favorite years for the WWE. Keep in mind, my Top 6 favorite Superstars of all time are:
1. Jericho
2. Austin / Rock
4. Angle
5. Flair / Hogan
So let’s take a look at what my top 4 favorites did that year in the WWE.

Royal Rumble
• WWE Intercontinental Championship match – WWE Intercontinental Champion, Chris Benoit vs. Chris Jericho
• WWE Championship match – WWE Champion, Kurt Angle (w/ Trish Stratus) vs. Triple H (w/ Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley)
• Royal Rumble match – Stone Cold Steve Austin wins

No Way Out
• WWE Intercontinental Championship match – WWE Intercontinental Champion, Chris Jericho vs. Chris Benoit vs. Eddie Guerrero vs. X-Pac
• Three Stages of Hell match – Triple H vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin
• WWE Championship match – WWE Champion, Kurt Angle vs. The Rock

WrestleMania X-Seven
• WWE Intercontinental Championship match – WWE Intercontinental Champion, Chris Jericho vs. William Regal
• Singles match – Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit
• WWE Championship No Disqualification match – WWE Champion, The Rock vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin

Backlash
• Duchess of Queensbury match – William Regal vs. Chris Jericho
• Ultimate Submission match – Chris Benoit vs. Kurt Angle
• WWE / Intercontinental / WWE Tag Team Championship match – The Two Man Power Trip (WWE Champion, Stone Cold Steve Austin and WWE Intercontinental Champion, Triple H) vs. WWE Tag Team Champions, The Brothers of Destruction (Undertaker and Kane)

Insurrextion
• Two out of Three Falls match – Chris Benoit vs. Kurt Angle
• Queen’s Cup match – Chris Jericho vs. William Regal
• WWE Championship Handicap match – WWE / WWE Tag Team Champion, Stone Cold Steve Austin and WWE Intercontinental / WWE Tag Team Champion, Triple H vs. Undertaker

Judgment Day
• Olympic Gold Medals Two out of Three Falls match – Olympic Gold Medalist, Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit
• Tag Team Turmoil match – Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit win
• WWE Championship match – WWE / WWE Tag Team Champion, Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. The Undertaker

King Of The Ring
• King Of The Ring Semi-Final match – Kurt Angle vs. Christian
• King Of The Ring Final match – Edge vs. Kurt Angle
• WWE Championship Triple Threat match
• WWE Champion, Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Chris Jericho vs. Chris Benoit

InVasion
• Inaugural Brawl match – Team WWE (WWE Champion, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, and The Brothers of Destruction, Undertaker and Kane) vs. Team WCW / ECW Alliance (WCW / WCW United States Champion, Booker T., Diamond Dallas Page, Rhyno, and The Dudley Boyz, Bubba Ray and D-Von)

SummerSlam
• Singles match – Chris Jericho vs. Rhyno (w/ Stephanie McMahon)
• WWE Championship match – WWE Champion, Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Kurt Angle
• WCW Championship match – WCW Champion, Booker T (w/ Shane McMahon). vs. The Rock

Unforgiven
• WWE Hardcore Championship match – WWE Hardcore Champion, Rob Van Dam vs. Chris Jericho
• WCW Championship Handicap match – WCW Champion, The Rock vs. Booker T. and Shane McMahon
• WWE Championship match – WWE Champion, Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Kurt Angle

No Mercy
• WCW Championship match – WCW Champion, The Rock vs. Chris Jericho
• WWE Championship Triple Threat match – WWE Champion, Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Kurt Angle vs. WWE Hardcore Champion, Rob Van Dam

Rebillion
• WCW Championship match – WCW Champion, Chris Jericho vs. WCW United States Champion, Kurt Angle
• WWE Championship match – WWE Champion, Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. The Rock

Survivor Series
• Team WWE (WCW Champion, The Rock, Chris Jericho, The Brothers of Destruction, Undertaker and Kane, and The Big Show w/Vince McMahon) vs. Team WCW / ECW Alliance (WWE Champion, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Kurt Angle, Booker T. WWE Hardcore Champion, Rob Van Dam, and Shane McMahon w/ Stephanie McMahon and Paul Heyman)

Vengeance
• WWE Championship match – WWE Champion, Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Kurt Angle
• World Championship match – World Champion, The Rock vs. Chris Jericho
• Undisputed WWE World Championship Unification match – WWE Champion, Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. World Champion, Chris Jericho

Looking back, my Top 4 guys had a pretty damn great 2001. I think it’s without question, that my favorite feuds of 2001 were any combination of Chris Jericho vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. The Rock vs. Kurt Angle. These 4 Legends / Hall of Famers, in my opinion, are the Best in the World, and that’s the bottom line, if you smell what the Rock is cooking, it’s true!! If I had to pick just one, I would have to go with Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. The Rock. What started out as just business, turned personal, and ended with respect. Now I feel like watching my DVDs of InVasion to WrestleMania X8 when I get home later today. HAHA!!

 

[CrucifiedRaven]

For me it was Triple H vs Stone Cold.

This was the culmination of a year in a half feud that began at No Mercy 1999.

Obviously, Austin was out of action for most of 2000. And even though the "who ran over Steve Austin" reveal was probably changed from Billy Gunn to Rikishi, I believe the mastermind behind all of it, from the beginning was always meant to be Triple H.

It was the biggest angle to end the year 2000. Austin was back, and he was pissed. And the biggest babyface in a decade took on the biggest heel in the company.

As mentioned above, they had a brutal rivalry. Austin almost "killing" Hunter by dropping the car he was in. Both costing each other the WWE title. The "no contact" stipulation just added to the heat of this feud. They couldn't wait to get their hands on each other at No Way Out 2001, and when they finally did, it was epic.

The first ever Three Stages of Hell match. I was always surprised Austin didn't win the match. But at the end of the day, it didn't matter. He stunned Triple H afterwards to get his heat back and then went on to main event the biggest and best WrestleMania of all time. And Triple H looked great in the process, winning the match... and then going on to feud with The Undertaker.

This all adds to how ridiculous it was to turn Austin heel at 'Mania. He spent the last 4 months trying to kill Triple H. And the last 2-3 years fighting Vince McMahon. Yet in one night, he's best buddies with both of them. Especially knowing The Rock was leaving the company for a few months to film a movie... I still think turning Austin heel at this time was a bad decision. The fans didn't want it. They weren't ready for it. They could have milked Stone Cold 3:16 for even longer than they did.

In any event... this was my favourite feud of 2001. Even though there was a lot of good stuff that year. Mostly involving Kurt Angle and Chris Jericho, two of my favourites. This was the biggest babyface vs the biggest heel. And it had so much meaning and backstory behind it.

 

[Rhodes2TheFuture3313]

Without a doubt the best feud of 2001 was Y2J vs. the Rock. These 2 were meant to be in the ring together since Jericho's debut when he interrupted The People's CHampion in that August Raw in Chicago 1999. From the moment the millenium clock wound down you knew that was going to be a big moment in WWE history and it sure was. The PPV year ended perfectly with Y2J emerging as the WWE's 1st Undisputed CHampion beating The Rock & Stone Cold in the same night. All Hail the Ayatollah of Rock N' Rollah!!!

 

[Matty~!]

I remember Rock and Jericho doing a great back and forth promo backstage in 2000 where they basically ragged on each others catchphrases to the bewilderment of Michael Cole. I really enjoyed their No Mercy match but always felt the Vengeance match was a bit anti-climatic.

 

[Irishock]

HHH/Austin for me. It wasn't long but it worked better than anything else the WWE put out that year. It was also Hunter at his very best, pre-backstage politics.

 

[HBsam31]

Without a doubt the best feud of 2001 was Y2J vs. the Rock. These 2 were meant to be in the ring together since Jericho's debut when he interrupted The People's CHampion in that August Raw in Chicago 1999. From the moment the millenium clock wound down you knew that was going to be a big moment in WWE history and it sure was. The PPV year ended perfectly with Y2J emerging as the WWE's 1st Undisputed CHampion beating The Rock & Stone Cold in the same night. All Hail the Ayatollah of Rock N' Rollah!!!

This one for me too. Rock and Y2J had great chemistry in and out of the ring. Their promos were fantastic, and the matches were up there two. I especially liked their stuff during the Invasion. Stone Cold vs Rock would be a very very close second for me that year.

 

[BretHitmanHart92]

Two Man Power Trip vs. Brothers of Destruction. I loved that feud. I went to Backlash that year too. Second would be Austin vs. Angle.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

For me, it has to be the WWF vs The Alliance (WCW & ECW)

I say every time the Alliance is mentioned, but even with its flaws, it still remains my favourite period of watching wrestling in all my time as a fan. I really enjoyed seeing my favourites of the time, Undertaker, Kane, The Rock and Jericho working together, as well as the heel turns of Angle and Austin (who was HILARIOUS in his paranoid heel role), plus the extra WCW titles, the regular title changes and people jumping from the WWF to the Alliance.

The way ECW was introduced, with Tommy Dreamer and Rob Van Dam interfering in a WWF vs WCW tag team match, and the WWF locker emptying, only for them to turn on their WWF team mates to join ECW is a clip I still watch regularly on YouTube. Van Dam was a revalation when he first arrived on WWF tv, and it was great seeing the likes of Booker T, Mike Awesome, Dreamer, Diamond Dallas Page, Billy Kidman, Palumbo & O'Haire etc on Raw and SmackDown, as well as the likes of Rhyno and Lance Storm being in major feuds. It freshened up the programming and made for alot of exciting never-seen-before matches.

It was a shame the storyline was ended so quickly, as it is something that could have gone on for a couple of years, with wrestlers switching sides all the time, and when the likes of Goldberg, Kevin Nash and Hulk Hogan became available, they could have been added to the storyline and freshened it up yet again. It could, and probably should, have been the greatest angle in wrestling history, but Vince's ego prevented that from happening. Shame.