TNA Match 4: The Rock and Sock Connection vs. Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho

[Y 2 Jake]

TLC III was for me more memorable than any of the Rock and Sock connections matches, that's not because I'm a fan of big bumps, I just think to come into a match as unique as the TLC which the other 3 teams had experianced before and winning is a BIG feat.

TLC 3 is the lost orphan of the TLC matches.

Beating Austin and Triple H is also more memorable especially as Trips and Austin went over Undertaker and Kane. Even the gauntlet they ran to earn a shot at the titles is more impressive (although not as memorable) considering that Benoit went 3 falls with Angle earlier in the night.

What would Benoit & Jericho be as a team then without all of these big stars to help them?

That's a clutching at straws factor, I could say something like, Benoit and Jericho needed to proove themselves against the big boys so they would step up there game and intensity.

They didn't step up though, that's the thing. Jericho spent most of 2001 playing an unimportant role in the Invasion. It took 12 months off and another two years before Benoit became a main event wrestler. Then both back to mid card staright after their reigns.

But none of that matters in a one off match.

In a one off match Kaientai could win.

One on one no.

I think it was No Mercy 2000 when he did.

True, although out of the four I believe a 6 sided ring suits Jericho the most, and in the rock and sock connection he had no experiance of it.

Jericho is one of the sloppiest wrestlers around. More ropes equals more fuck ups on Jericho's part.

 

[jpfizzle]

TLC 3 is the lost orphan of the TLC matches..

I'm not really sure wether I understand this statement... are you saying that it's forgotten? Left out on the proverbial doorstep? For me it was one of the most memorable matches on free TV , it could have been on any PPV (although perhaps risk having a TLC overkill.

What would Benoit & Jericho be as a team then without all of these big stars to help them?.

Well what would any team be if they couldn't go over big stars?

They didn't step up though, that's the thing. Jericho spent most of 2001 playing an unimportant role in the Invasion. It took 12 months off and another two years before Benoit became a main event wrestler. Then both back to mid card staright after their reigns..

In that tag team they stepped up, they looked like they could beat anyone. Outside of the tag team as you say, Jericho went off the boil and Benoit needed to recover from an injury and work his way back.

In a one off match Kaientai could win..

Indeed.

Jericho is one of the sloppiest wrestlers around. More ropes equals more fuck ups on Jericho's part.

Whilst I have seen him botch moves, notoriously f*ing up an RKO from Randy Orton, I have seen worse. For some of his better moves - (dropkick to the opponent on the apron and lionsault) The ring suits him grand. Even Benoit and the flying headbutt now has 6 choices.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

I'm not really sure wether I understand this statement... are you saying that it's forgotten? Left out on the proverbial doorstep? For me it was one of the most memorable matches on free TV , it could have been on any PPV (although perhaps risk having a TLC overkill.

It's a good match. But it's not half as popular as the previous two, or even the Cena/Edge one.

Well what would any team be if they couldn't go over big stars?

Rock & Sock don't need to go over big stars. They are the big stars.

Also teams like The Bulldogs, Hart Foundation, Demolition and others didn't need the rub from Hogan & Savage to get over.

In that tag team they stepped up, they looked like they could beat anyone. Outside of the tag team as you say, Jericho went off the boil and Benoit needed to recover from an injury and work his way back.

If beth were supposed to be big stars then WWE would have plugged away and made them into one.

Whilst I have seen him botch moves, notoriously f*ing up an RKO from Randy Orton, I have seen worse. For some of his better moves - (dropkick to the opponent on the apron and lionsault) The ring suits him grand. Even Benoit and the flying headbutt now has 6 choices.

Jericho near the top of the fuck up league table.

 

[jpfizzle]

It's a good match. But it's not half as popular as the previous two, or even the Cena/Edge one.

It's still an impressive feat none the less.

Rock & Sock don't need to go over big stars. They are the big stars.

Also teams like The Bulldogs, Hart Foundation, Demolition and others didn't need the rub from Hogan & Savage to get over.

Differen't times. and they are as I have already admited a manufactured team rather than a tag team in the respect that those you listed are. I don't think I would vote for the Chris's over any of them.

If beth were supposed to be big stars then WWE would have plugged away and made them into one.

Making them win a gimmick match against three of the biggest tag teams the wrestling industry had produced (a match said tag teams innovated) making them win a tournament even though one half had already wrestled earlier in the night and having them win the title of the two biggest stars in the company sounds like plugging to me, Benoit got injured before we could have seen what happened.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

It's still an impressive feat none the less.

To have a good gimmick match with 6 other wrestlers involved? I don't think so, could happen to anybody.

Making them win a gimmick match against three of the biggest tag teams the wrestling industry had produced (a match said tag teams innovated) making them win a tournament even though one half had already wrestled earlier in the night and having them win the title of the two biggest stars in the company sounds like plugging to me,

Beating Hardys, Dudleyz, Edge & Christian isn't the same as beating big stars.

Benoit got injured before we could have seen what happened.

Nothing. Lost in the shuffle during the Invasion. Same as everyone else. Only Angle & Austin came out of it looking good.

 

[jpfizzle]

To have a good gimmick match with 6 other wrestlers involved? I don't think so, could happen to anybody.

Agreed, but it's not like MITB, TLC was seemingly those tag teams game. They'd made it so succesful. It's the fact that they went over. Like for example, beating Undertaker in a hell in a cell, or beating Kane in an inferno.

Beating Hardys, Dudleyz, Edge & Christian isn't the same as beating big stars. .

They were the tag team division at the time, they sped up the process of a few months by going over them all at the same time.

 

[Luther_Hull]

Two of the most successful wrestlers ever, in their prime no less, against two guys who do a lot of suplexes, hmmm.

Rock n Sock easily on this one, in fact, The Rock could probably take this one on his own.

 

[IrishCanadian25]

I haven't read everyone else's posts yet. I hadn't even ventured into this thread yet. You know why?

This is a terrible match-up.

Put aside for a moment the fact that the match-up involves 4 of the greatest singles wrestlers in history. AS TAG TEAMS, neither of these two teams did much that made a difference.

The Rock and Sock Connection was a comedy act designed to promote two babyfaces out of two guys who'd just gone through a war. They had no relevance as a tag team, and the only thing they accomplished was furthering some singles feuds for The Rock and helping Foley sell some books.

Jericho and Benoit are the same story. These guys were the only viable faces at the time to combat the 2-man powertrip. It was fun watching them as a team, but they were not much of a tag team together, and just because they won a terrific match against HHH and Austin doesn't make them anything of a decent tag team. Again - two singles wrestlers, jammed together.

Strange thing is, this is a match up of two teams that consistent of guys who were FAR better enemies than friends. Rock and Foley had epic wars, and Jericho and Benoit classic match-ups in Japan, WCW, and WWE. But neither represent a tag team.

I voted Jericho and Benoit. They had some history teaming together before this, and had some synergy. Rock and Sock was such a vessel for Rock's singled push, it's laughable. Their only chemistry was backstage - the Canadian Chris Connection at least put together some in-ring tag team chemistry.

 

[Shocky]

The Canadian Chris Connection takes down the Rock and Sock Connection 19-15 in the most debated match of the first round.

My Thoughts:
The Right Choice, and by a mile. The Rock and Sock Connection were absolutely god awful. As I've said before, The Rock, especially in 1999, was terrible. His mic skills were the only thing that kept him over and he was given 3 crap title reigns. Mick Foley at this point of 1999 was awful. Sure he came off of a Summerslam main event, but Mick Foley was a shadow of his former self. The years of wear and tear had caught up with him.

The Chris' were the two up and comers, on the verge of the main event spotlight. In one week, this team did more then most great tag teams do in their entire run. In one week they won a gauntlet match with featured the APA, The Hardy's, the Dudleys, and Edge and Christian. The next night they beat the Two Man Power Trip cleanly for the titles, and the next night they beat Edge and Christian, the Hardys and the Dudleys in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match. That one week right there is more impressive of a resume then the Rock and Sock Connection could ever have dreamed of.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

You on crack Shocky. I would post more, but the forum probably couldn't take it.

 

[Shocky]

Crack? Racist