World Wrestling Federation

[Da Prophet]

World Wrestling Federation

Face = Dark Red
Heel = Red

The Roster

The Big Show
Matt Hardy
Jeff Hardy
Bubba Ray Dudley
D-Von Dudley
Spike Dudley
Test
Bradshaw
Faarooq
William Regal
Edge
Christian
Rhyno
The Rock
The Undertaker
Steve Austin
Triple H
Kurt Angle
Kane
Chris Benoit
Chris Jericho
Eddie Guerrero
Perry Saturn
Dean Malenko
Crash Holly
Hardcore Holly
Steve Blackman
Grandmaster Sexay
Scotty 2 Hotty
TAKA Michinoku
Funaki
Al Snow
K-Kwik
Tazz
Albert
Raven
Billy Gunn
Jerry Lynn
Rikishi - Suffering Injury
D-Lo Brown
Bull Buchanan
The Goodfather
Val Venis
Steven Richards
X-Pac
Justin Credible

The Women
Chyna
Trish Stratus
Lita
Molly Holly
Ivory
Jacqueline
Terri

Tag Teams and Stables
The Dudley Boyz (Bubba-Ray, D-Von and Spike Dudley)
The Holly's (Crash, Hardcore and Molly Holly)
The Radicalz (Eddie Guerrero, Perry Saturn and Dean Malenko)
X-Factor (X-Pac, Justin Credible and Albert)
The Right to Censor (Steven Richards, The Goodfather, Bull Buchanan, Val Venis and Ivory)
The Brothers of Destruction (The Undertaker and Kane)
Edge and Christian
The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray and D-Von Dudley
The Hardy Boyz and Lita (Jeff, Matt Hardy and Lita)
The A.P.A. (Bradshaw and Faarooq)
Too Cool (Grandmaster Sexay and Scotty 2 Hotty)

RAW is WAR! Staff
Jim Ross -- Play-By-Play Commentator (RAW is WAR!)
Paul Heyman -- Color Commentator (RAW is WAR!)

Smackdown Staff
Michael Cole -- Play-By-Play Commentator (SmackDown!)
Tazz -- Color Commentator (SmackDown!)
Tony Chimel -- Ring Announcer (SmackDown!)

Universal WWE Staff
Howard Finkel -- Ring Announcer (Pay Per Views)
Lillian Garcia -- Ring Announcer/Backstage Interviewer (RAW is WAR!/SmackDown!)
William Regal -- Commissioner
Jonathan Coachman -- Backstage Interviewer
Kevin Kelly -- Backstage Interviewer

Pay Per View Schedule
Backlash - April 29, 2001 - Rosemont, IL
Judgment Day - May 20, 2001 - Sacramento, CA
King of the Ring - June 24, 2001 - East Rutherford, NJ
Fully Loaded - July 22, 2001 - Cleveland, OH
Summerslam - August 19, 2001 - San Jose, CA
Unforgiven - September 23, 2001 - Pittsburgh, PA
No Mercy - October 21, 2001 - St. Louis, MO
Survivor Series - November 8, 2001 - Greensboro, NC

World Wrestling Federation Champion – Steve Austin
World Wrestling Federation Hardcore Champion – Kane
World Wrestling Federation Intercontinental Champion – Chris Jericho
World Wrestling Federation Tag Team Champions – Edge and Christian
World Wrestling Federation European Champion – Eddie Guerrero
World Wrestling Federation Women's Champion – Chyna​

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My new thread is here. I’m doing a time period where big things were happening and I can’t wait to really get going. I will be doing the shows in recap up until Backlash. Some of the bigger/main segments will be done in full (example will be on the first show with Austin cutting his promo) as they have more impact on the show. So get ready to enjoy this thread. I have just started the first show and I really am enjoying it. One finally thing, I don’t want to hear questions about WCW coming in. I may do something with them or I may go the way of not including them at all. You will have to wait and see.

 

[Da Prophet]

The Preview
RAW is WAR! |Fort Worth, Texas| April 2, 2001

Let the games begin!

After what many are calling the greatest PPV in the history of professional wrestling the World Wrestling Federation continues to raise the bar in the sport. This week on RAW is War the entire world will be asking one main question and it is something nobody has ever thought they would ask. Why has Steve Austin joined with Vince McMahon? What could this mean for RAW in the coming months and what would cause Austin to turn on his fans that have supported him through the years? This week Steve Austin will address the audience and face the backlash that comes from his decision to turn on the people. After years of being the Rattlesnake that would kick ass, smash face and knock down everyone in his path. This new side of Steve Austin has taken the world by storm and not the same way he did back in 1998. Back then the fans were fully behind Austin and were cheering him every single step of the way. But today the fans have been shocked as Austin shook the hands with the devil himself. As beer rolled down his chin and Steve Austin stood as the WWF Champion it was clear that Austin 3:16 no longer said “I just kicked your ass” but it now says “I just turned on the fans”. It will be a must see for the fans this week as the NEW WWF Champion Steve Austin heads to the ring to address the people who will be certain to make their opinions on Austin clear.

Of course we have another side of the story as The Rock was screwed last night during the main event of WrestleMania 17. The Rock could do nothing as his hopes and dreams were taken from him by both Austin and McMahon. Well tonight on RAW is War, The Great One has promised to send a message to Steve Austin and to anyone that tries to screw him over again. However The Rock is not only here on RAW to speak about last night but he will be in action. This week The Rock will face off against The Big Show. Can The Rock take down one hell of a giant or will The Big Show layeth the Smackdown on The Rock this week?

Another champion who will be in action this week is Chris Jericho. The Intercontinental Champion comes off a strong victory last night at WrestleMania when he beat the commissioner to retain his tonight. This week Jericho will be forced to fight in a triple threat match against both Eddie Guerrero and Val Venis. The stipulation being that if Chris Jericho loses the match then the winner will receive an Intercontinental Championship match at Backlash. If Chris Jericho wins however he will get the chance to select his own opponent for the PPV in a couple of weeks. It’s No DQ, the only way to win is by pinfall or submission. It’s going to be an amazing triple threat.

And finally it has been confirmed that The Undertaker is going to be in the arena and will be in action this week. In a huge match up this week The Undertaker and his brother Kane will face Perry Saturn and Dean Malenko who will be representing The Radicalz. Which team will walk out of RAW with a victory? Can Undertaker and Kane get the victory or will Saturn and Malenko manage to steal victory just hours after WrestleMania 17.

-- Confirmed --

WWF Champion Steve Austin will address the crowd
The Rock vs The Big Show
WWF Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho vs Eddie Guerrero vs Val Venis
The Undertaker and Kane vs The Radicalz (Perry Saturn and Dean Malenko)
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Plus Vince McMahon rumoured to make an appearance​

 

[Da Prophet]

RAW is WAR! |Fort Worth, Texas| April 2, 2001

Let the games begin!​

The opening to this edition of RAW is WAR shows the amazing highlights of WrestleMania last night. The atmosphere was one of a major event, the crowd was on fire, and the matches were amazing. Last night the WWF showed why they are the greatest promotion in the world. This package mainly focuses on the Rock vs Austin match which saw Steve Austin become the WWF Champion and turn on the fans. The reactions of several fans at the event are shown and they all present the same emotion, shocked. When the video package ends the opening clips for RAW are played before we hear the pyro go off in the area. The camera pans out over the arena to show the building to be sold out here tonight. Everyone is cheering like mad as Jim Ross and Paul Heyman welcome us to the show. The excitement in the voice of Jim Ross is clearly coming through the monitors as this looks to be a great show here tonight.

“Glass Shatters”

The entire crowd here tonight jumps to their feet and deliver heat that has not been heard since the times of Hulk Hogan and the NWO. With the WWF Championship on his shoulder Steve Austin appears at the top of the stage. With an arrogant smirk on his face Steve Austin, the WWF Champion, makes his way down to the ring. The crowd are giving it to Austin at the moment with a very distinct ‘traitor’ chant breaking out amongst the crowd. Slowly Austin enters the ring after grabbing a microphone from ringside. The Texas Rattlesnake steps forward into the middle of the ring to show off his most prized possession. Even with the fans totally hating him at the moment Austin seems content with it as long as he has the WWF Championship. For what feels like an age Austin just stands in the ring, allowing the crowd to give him a piece of their minds. Finally after a good two minutes of stalling Steve Austin raises the microphone up to his lips.

Steve Austin: What?

The infamous “You Sold Out” chants break out toward Austin. His actions last night are not being received well with the fans here tonight in Texas.

Steve Austin: I’m sorry, I’m a little hard at the hearing tonight, can you repeat that?

The crowd chants even louder.

Steve Austin: Schools Out?

The Texas crowd finds it in themselves to chant even louder as Austin continues to mock them.

Steve Austin: OK, I hear what you’re saying, settle down now. I guess some of you are a little angry at Steve Austin for what he did last night? Well quite frankly, I don’t give a damn what you people care about anymore. If there was a time for censorship it would be now because I am not going to hold back. First and most importantly let me get this off my chest, you people suck!

More heat thrown toward Austin.

Steve Austin: I have never seen more pathetic people in my life. You all walk around here acting like you deserve to see me here tonight. Well let me tell you this, not one of you deserves to see me. I’m the WWF Champion; I beat your hero last night, and then walked out of WrestleMania with the greatest mind in wrestling standing with me. I walked out of WrestleMania with Vincent Kennedy McMahon. The man who made the WWF what it is today, the man who took down everyone who got in his way, Vince McMahon is a legend in professional wrestling. Vince is the legend, well other than me, he is the greatest man to ever step into this ring. His vision has become a reality and soon, with his help, mine will be to.

The classic Vince Sucks chant takes control. Austin pauses for a moment to allow the crowd a chance to quiet down so he can continue. It takes a few moments but soon enough Austin can forward on.

Steve Austin: As I was saying, I have a dream; I have a vision that will come true with Vince by my side. My dream is to rid the World Wrestling Federation of all the talentless drones that steal my time on the show. I’m the WWF Champion which means I’m the guy you pay to see each week. It means that nobody else deserves to be the first thing you see and the last thing you see each time you tune into WWF programming. This dream I have will come true and it starts with one of your favourites Texas. It starts with the guy you love, it starts with The Peoples Champion, and the quest to rid the WWF of the lacklustre wrestlers begins with… … The Rock!

Huge pop for the mention of The Great One.

Steve Austin: The hero, the man, the Scorpion King. You know how they call Dean Malenko the man with a 1000 holds, well The Rock is the boy with a thousand names. Cause believe me, The Rock is no man. No, The Rock is nothing more than Steve Austin’s bitch. That is fact because at two WrestleMania’s I have beaten that boy and his sideburns all over the arena. The Rock has never and will never be on my level. He doesn’t have what it takes to be the guy that the WWF stands behind and says, that is our main man. Now Texas answer me this, do I know what it’s like to be the main guy?

A small pause from Austin and surprisingly he gets no response from the crowd.

Steve Austin: It’s not even a real question because everyone knows that Steve Austin was and still is the main man for the WWF. No matter how many Rock’s, Kurt Angle’s, Chris Jericho’s or even Undertaker’s come through that curtain, nobody will ever replace me. Nobody can ever say they were as good as Stone Col… …

For some unknown reason Austin stops his rant about being better then everyone. Slowly the WWF Champion looks up to the roof of the arena and back down to the ring. He does with again however a little faster. Suddenly Austin drops the WWF Championship and takes off his Stone Cold shirt. Underneath is another shirt that is black and has the words “Austin Sells Out”. The crowd go up with heat as the camera zooms in on the shirt. Texas goes nuts and absolute hatred is being poured onto their home grown boy. Austin picks up his microphone while having a laugh to himself about this incident.

Steve Austin: Don’t act like you stupid son of a bitches won’t buy one of these bad boys tonight. Now to some it may seem like this is just a shirt however it is much more. This shirt represents the birth of something new. This shirt is the beginning of a new day for the WWF. This is the beginning of the Age of Austin. This day will go down in history as Steve Austin drove The Rock out of the WWF. Tonight I send a message to your hero. By the end of the night, The Rock will understand he has no choice other than to give up. There will be no more Austin 3:16, no more bottom lines, no more Stone Cold. Tonight is the birth of a new Steve Austin; I guess you could call me… … corporate Austin.

“Glass Shatters”

With the crowd booing like mad, the WWF Champion, Steve Austin drops the microphone and heads out of the ring. Both Jim Ross and Paul Heyman are in shock at what they have both heard. Out of the two Paul Heyman sounds a little excited about what is to come as Austin heads backstage and we go to commercial.

-- Commercial Break --

Returning from the break RAW gets underway with the first match of the night between The Hardy Boyz and X- Pac and Justin Credible. The contest was fast paced with Jeff Hardy flying all over the ring during this contest. The Hardy Boyz stayed with the offense that made them famous, flips and suicide dives. Each time either Hardy did one of these dangerous moves the crowd would cheer in support. The match went back and forth with X-Factor having a great showing tonight. X-Pac shined through the pack when he climbed onto the turnbuckle and dived onto both Matt and Jeff who were on the outside. The match was very exciting and all four guys showed how well they all work. The finish came when Jeff Hardy went for the Swanton but Justin Credible moved out of the way, tagged in X-Pac who then hit his finisher on Jeff. With Justin running over to Matt and taking him off the apron, X-Pac hooked both legs and scored the 3 count. The crowd weren’t happy with the result at all as X-Pac and Justin Credible slid out of the ring and made their way up the ramp. Two members of X- Factor pick up a strong victory here tonight in a match that went for 7 minutes and 14 seconds.

The camera switches to the backstage area where Chris Jericho, the reigning Intercontinental Champion, is getting ready for his upcoming match tonight. While Jericho is minding his own business, the WWF Commissioner, William Regal approaches with a smug look on his face. With certain arrogance about him William Regal reminds Jericho that if either Val Venis or Eddie Guerrero wins the triple threat match, then they will face Chris Jericho in a title match at Backlash. It seems the odds are stacked against Jericho tonight and Regal loves it. He continues to mock Jericho by saying that last night was nothing but a fluke win by Y2J. In the end Regal will win and Jericho will be left without a title. After taking all of the ridicule from William Regal, the Intercontinental Champion gets to his feet. Jericho gets right in the face of Regal and promises to win the triple threat match. With a small smile on his face Jericho tells Regal that when he wins, he is going to pick Regal to face at Backlash. Instantly the facial expression from Regal changes, no longer smug and arrogant, too timid and afraid. Before he can say anything more to get himself thrown into a match, Regal steps away from the area.

The scene now changes to a hallway where Steve Austin is seen walking toward his locker room. The reigning WWF Champion turns a corner and runs into The Undertaker. Massive pop from the crowd as Austin and Undertaker stare into each other’s eyes. The tension is thick; the atmosphere is intense, while Austin and Undertaker go face to face right here. Nobody moves an inch, both men are holding their ground, tonight. Slowly Austin motions to his championship around his shoulder, followed by Austin pushing past The Undertaker. As Austin goes to walk away The Undertaker grabs his arm and pulls him back. Not a word is spoken during this interaction but Taker makes one thing clear with a single motion. The Undertaker preforms his cut throat motion before rolling his eyes back into his head. An attempt at intimidation from The Undertaker but it doesn’t seem to make Austin think twice. The toughest man on the planet gets right in the face of The Undertaker and talks some smack. Austin mouths off about being the champion and how he has kicked the ass of The Undertaker for years. Taker isn’t on the same level according to Austin but the people don’t agree as a loud boo goes up. Austin pushes Taker back to loosen the grip before walking off. The segment ends with Taker shaking his head in disappointment at what Austin has done tonight.

-- Commercial Break --

Coming off a victory at WrestleMania 17 Chris Jericho, the Intercontinental Champion looked to continue his hot run here tonight on RAW is War. With thousands (AND THOUSANDS) of people chanting his name Jericho came out strong. However this was no Jericho moment tonight as Val Venis and Eddie Guerrero were on target to go for the win. In the opening moments both Val and Eddie took to the double team work on Jericho as they looked to eliminate the champion and gain a title match at Backlash. The advantage went back and forth between men with each seemingly having the match one at some point. The first came when Val Venis hit a superplex off the top rope on Chris Jericho which got a long two count. The official was just an inch away from touching the ground and giving the win to Val Venis but Eddie cut it off. Action came in full force during this match and the ending was insane to say the least. It started with Jericho hammering away with shots to the head of Val Venis before sending him into the ring ropes. A big drop kick from Jericho connected which got a positive reaction from the crowd. It was all Jericho at this point and he made that clear when he hit the lionsault right in the middle of the ring. When everything looked to be in the bag for Jericho it went downhill. In came Eddie Guerrero who grabbed Jericho by the tights, threw him out of the ring and then covered Val Venis for the 3 count at 10: 45! After the match Eddie’s celebration was cut short when Chris Jericho ran into the ring and attempted to assault Guerrero. Luckily for Eddie he was able to escape to the outside of the ring, grab his European Championship, and rush to safety up at the top of the ramp. With Jericho extremely angry inside the ring Guerrero pointed to the Backlash logo and said “At Backlash that title is coming to Papa”.

RAW now turns backstage to Jonathan Coachman and his guest… … The Rock. A massive pop from the crowd as The Rock makes his way into the main view of the camera. Obvious frustration covers the face of The Rock after being screwed last night at WrestleMania 17. During the open words spoken by Coach the incredible microphone skills of The Rock take over. The Great One cuts Coach off after 3 words and begins another of his famous interviews. The Rock starts off by saying that last night at WrestleMania he was screwed by Vince McMahon and Steve Austin. It was one of the saddest moments in his life but tonight begins the road back to the top for The Rock. With the words of Steve Austin ringing in his head, The Rock says this “Steve Austin, you’re lucky you joined Vince McMahon last night because after The Rock is finished kicking your ass, having someone to cry on will be good for you”. The Rock continuous to rant about Steve Austin, mainly focusing on how Austin is full of shit for joining Vince after all the time he spent fighting him. A brief moment of the interview is spent talking about The Big Show with The Rock saying he will not 10 pounds off that fatty just by making him walk to the ring tonight. Coachman does get in one question about how The Rock feels about what Steve Austin thinks about him. This progressed to The Rock asking what Steve Austin thinks about him, Coach went to answer but was cut off by IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT STEVE AUSTIN THINKS ABOUT ME! The interview spans for a couple of minutes with the message being really simple, The Rock isn’t finished fighting Steve Austin and plans on invoking his rematch for the WWF Championship sooner rather than later.

-- Commercial Break --

When RAW returns from the break the WWF Tag Team Champions, Edge and Christian, are sitting in their locker room taking pictures of each other. The new champions complement each other on the success they have had over the years and after last night Edge and Christian have proved they are the best tag team in the world. The fans don’t agree but Edge and Christian are convinced they reek of awesomeness tonight on RAW. Christian grabs what looks to be a copy of WWE Magazine which features them on the cover, with both joy and delight Christian recreates the pose he pulled off for the photo-shoot. The two continue to laugh and joke around for a moment but that is cut short when WWF Commissioner William Regal walks into the room. Edge and Christian looked confused at first, so Edge asks if Regal wants an autograph with. No surprise that Regal turns them down but before he can tell them his message Christian asks if he wants a photo with them instead. The answer is still no and Regal is losing his patience. The champions finally shut up long enough for Regal to tell them that this Thursday Night on Smackdown they will be in action. While Edge seems pleased, Christian argues they will still be feeling the effects of the TLC match and shouldn’t be forced to compete. In an unlikely situation Regal agrees with them. He says that he agrees a fresh team shouldn’t face one that competed in a TLC match just days before. However on Smackdown Edge and Christian will not be facing a fresh team, they will be facing Matt and Jeff Hardy! Both Edge and Christian freak out. They plead with William Regal to drop the match from the show but Regal is hearing nothing. He walks out leaving both Edge and Christian worried about competing in just a couple of days on Smackdown.

The third match of the night involves The Undertaker and Kane going up against The Radicalz (Perry Saturn and Dean Malenko). The match was controlled by Undertaker and Kane with The Radicalz getting little offense in during the match. This contest saw Perry Saturn take most of the damage while Malenko was lucky enough to hang around on the outside of the ring. The match finished when The Undertaker grabbed Saturn by the throat for the chokeslam. In came Dean Malenko who looked to help his partner but became a victim instead when Undertaker grabbed him by the throat and nailed a major chokeslam. The crowd cheered Taker on as he sent up for another chokeslam on Saturn. The American Badass stalked his prey and when the time was right, the chokeslam connected for the three count to give Kane and The Undertaker the win at 6:01. The crowd give the brothers a thunderous ovation for their efforts tonight as they make their way up ramp. Jim Ross mentions on commentary how this victory could be the beginning of the title hunt for Kane and Taker should they look to challenge Edge and Christian in the future.

RAW switches from ringside to the interview area where Chyna, the new WWF Women’s Champion, is standing by with a live microphone. She shows off her title to the crowd and tells them how much it means to her to be holding the gold once more. Every single time Chyna has the chance to be the champion it makes her so proud because she is representing the WWF and its fans. The crowd cheer as Chyna speaks about how she has worked so hard to get into the position she holds and last night as a moment she will never forget during her life. Nothing has meant more to her then this WWF Women’s Championship and each time she gets the chance to hold the title it because more special to her. STOP RIGHT NOW! STOP THIS RIGHT NOW, THIS IS DISGUSTING. In walks Steven Richards, The Goodfather and Ivory who are collectively known as Right to Censor. Both The Goodfather and Ivory walk in with picket signs that say “Ban Chyna” on them. A loud groan is heard from the audience who are watching this or maybe it is just the groan from Chyna who doesn’t looked too impressed. Steve Richards steps forward as the leader of the group and tells everyone that Right to Censor has found someone who is more disgusting then anyone on the planet. That person is Chyna. She walks around with her boobs hanging out for everyone to see and it is disgusting. A woman should not be showing off her private parts, they should be covered up like Ivory has done. Richards goes on to say that the world will not be shown this image of Chyna ever again because Right to Censor has started a petition to ban Chyna from the WWF unless she covers up for good. The loud mouth Richards gets right in the face of Chyna and before he can say a word the WWF Women’s Champion punches he right in the mouth! The crowd comes alive as blood trickles down the lip of Steven and onto the floor. Quickly his Right to Censor members come to his aid while Chyna heads to the ring for her match which is next.

-- Commercial Break --

Back from the break we see a match that would make Jerry Lawler proud because we have puppies. Yes the WWF Women’s Champion Chyna faces off against Jacqueline in a back and forth match up. After winning the title last night Chyna looked to come out and continue this winning roll she was on. The crowd wasn’t too into this match as it was your basic women’s match on a RAW so basically nothing of note happened during the contest. Chyna looked strong again but was distracted when RIGHT TO CENSOR RUSHED DOWN TO THE RING! They never entered the squared circle but Chyna was so focused on them that she failed to see that Jacqueline was sneaking up behind her and she was able to roll the champion up for the three count at 4:39. Quickly Jacqueline rolls out of the ring and heads up the ramp but inside the ring Chyna is pissed. She screams at RTC to come into the ring with her but nobody moves. The job has been done and Steven Richards orders his men and woman back to the homestead. Inside the ring Chyna continues to rage about her loss her tonight. By the looks of it this isn’t the last time that Chyna and RTC are going to meet.

Ladies and gentleman welcome to WrestleMania 17! An incredible highlights package of last night’s event is shown for the fans that happened to miss it. The video shows each match that was on the card with the finishes being the main focus. It doesn’t take long for the video to reach the main talking point of the WWF, The Rock vs Steve Austin. The highlights alone do not show how much the match meant to the professional wrestling business. Austin is no longer against Vince but now stands by his side in support. The video package ends with Austin and Vince shaking hands and sharing a beer together at the end of WrestleMania in a moment that shocked the world.

After the video package the camera shows the parking lot of the building. Slowly a black limo pulls up beside the camera and a foot steps out. We can’t see the face for a moment but the camera moves up the body to reveal Vince McMahon is here tonight! Major heat from the crowd as Vince McMahon struts forward to make his address to the WWF fans here tonight regarding his alliance with Steve Austin and his son Shane McMahon. Just as Vince walks past the camera and opens the door Paul Heyman says something that could best describe the situation at hand “This could be a slobber knocker”.

-- Commercial Break --

With the famous ‘No Chance’ blasting throughout the area Vince McMahon stands alone in the ring here tonight on RAW is War. When his music finally cuts out Vince gives the fans a chance to let their opinions be heard. They hear Vince McMahon is receiving is out of this world. They absolutely hate the man who turned their favourite hero into a villain. With the crowd giving him the worst reception ever Vince McMahon gives his opening words to the people. He begins by talking about his match with Shane McMahon last night. Even though Vince didn’t walk out the victor, the chairman of the WWF shows pride in his performance. He says that Shane McMahon no longer holds a position in the WWF anymore and will not hold a position in this company ever again. The crowd boo this decision and Vince lets them know he does no care what anyone thinks. Shane McMahon has been fired from the WWF by his own father and Vince is excited about it. With no job Shane has no income and because of that Shane will lose his house. Vince laughs at the misfortune of his son and makes mention of his ownership of World Championship Wrestling. According to Vince WCW has no worth anymore because no network will touch the garbage that is WCW. The company is dead and buried and nobody can save it. The world saw the WWF destroy WCW during the late 90’s because of me. I killed WCW and I killed ECW. Hell I even killed the territory days of wrestling and I killed the NWA with a smile on my face.

You see this business needs guys like me who are willing to kill anything in his path to get the best result for the company. I will do anything for the WWF and nobody can deny that. You people here tonight can ask yourself the question, who works harder than Vince McMahon for the WWF? The answer is nobody. I worked harder than anyone. I am the God of professional wrestling, I create stars each day. Steve Austin was made by Vince McMahon, The Rock made by me, Hulk Hogan was made by me, and everything that has been successful in wrestling was made by me because I’m a genius. I have the brains to run a ship to the top and a brain to kill anything that gets in my way. Vince pauses for a moment and gets back onto Shane. He speaks about how WCW will never cause problems for the WWF again and as long as Vince lives the WWF will continue to dominate the world of wrestling. His vision is the direction wrestling goes in this generation and nobody says what is cool unless it is Vince McMahon.

The crowd once again boo Vince but soon turn into a loud pop when… … IF YA SMELL!

The roof comes off the building when The Rock appears at the top of the ramp. Everyone is in shock as The Rock points toward Vince McMahon and the WWF Chairman may have shit himself. The Rock comes running down to the ring and nails Vince with a right hand to the face. The WWF Chairman stumbles back into the ropes, he is then sent flying into the turnbuckle hard before being hit with a spinebuster. The people are going like mad; this place is red hot at the moment for The Rock. With everyone standing The Rock throws his elbow pad out to the fans, runs off the ropes and connects with the PEOPLES ELBOW! Heyman goes nuts about how The Rock is breaking the rules and probably some laws as well. The WWF Chairman has been attacked by The Rock and the crowd loves it! When it looks like it may not be over for Vince, The Big Show appears at the top of the stage and it is main event time for RAW is War. The Rock turns his attention to The Big Show but not before giving Vince one last kick to the back while he was rolling to the outside. When RAW returns it will be The Rocks vs The Big Show live!

-- Commercial Break --

Back from the break the main event has started and WWF Champion Steve Austin is on commentary for this contest. The crowd have settled down for the moment after being involved in one of the biggest moments in the history of the WWF. Vince was just attacked and now The Big Show hammers away with rights and lefts to the stomach of The Rock. This match went back and forth between the two guys with The Big Show getting a near fall on the former WWF Champion when he hit a big slam right in the middle of the ring. Nobody thought The Rock was going to find it in him to fight back but he did. With the odds stacked against The Great One and The Big Show firing away with huge punches to the head, something must have caused a spark in The Rock. Out of nowhere The Rock ducked a shot to the head and sent four straight punches to The Big Show. The crowd came alive for the finish which saw The Big Show go for the chokeslam but The Rock struggled out of it and shoved The Big Show into an exposed turnbuckle which was undone by the big man. Off the steel The Rock grabbed The Big Show and nailed The Rock Bottom for the three count at 9:56. With his music playing in the background The Rock climbed onto the turnbuckle and threw his right arm up into the air. This caused a loud cheer from the crowd who have embraced The Rock as their hero since the turning of Steve Austin. With RAW all but over The Rock stepped down from the turnbuckle and walked back into the middle of the ring… … ONLY TO BE HIT WITH THE WWF CHAMPIONSHIP! A loud thud is heard throughout the arena as the WWF Championship smacks The Rock in the back of the head. From behind like a coward Steve Austin strikes with the title he won last night. With the WWF Championship in hand Steve Austin stands over The Rock while RAW is War comes to an end.

END OF THE SHOW

The World Wrestling Federation
Backlash - April 29, 2001 - Rosemont, IL

WWF Intercontinental Championship
Chris Jericho © vs Eddie Guerrero​

​

 

[GrandSword]

The GrandSword Review

Howdy Proph,

your show is up and I'm looking forward to this one as this was probably the time when the Attitude Era was beginning it's final act. Austin is now the top heel let's see your vision of this time in wrestling history.

Austin promo to start the show. Not bad, would have preferred if Vince came out with him and the new alliance between them was developed here. Also the "Age of Austin" and the "Corporate Champion" just seems a bit too "smart" or sophisticated for the Rattlesnake...

Hmmm, I'm not sure about how you've written your match here, format wise I mean. Reading it, I see it's the Hardyz vs. X Factor, however later down it's harder to figure out who's in your triple threat match... Maybe give them a title just so we know who's in the match.

X Factor wins... interesting choice seeing Edge and Christian are heel Tag Champs and then on SD they have to face the Hardyz... The Hardyz lost to X Factor, why do they get a match against the champs? And I'm not sure if it's a title match or not. I'm assuming it is because Christian is worried about it, but then again, it's not actually stated so I'm unsure what is happening...

I'm not sure about the Jericho / Regal segment. Jericho is a smart ass, wise cracking character, not a bad ass type which he comes off here when he gets in Regal's face.

Next is Austin / Undertaker confrontation backstage. I don't really like this either. They are probably the two biggest stars (apart from the Rock) and after Austin turns they bump into each other backstage.. Wouldn't Taker punch Austin in the face for talking to him like that? It seemed like a wasted opportunity to me, something that could have been huge out in the ring. Taker in the end shakes his head and is dissaponted??

Looking forward to a Y2J / Latino Heat feud.. should be awesome. But once again as stated writing of the matches seems a bit confusing. I know you listed some of the matches in your preview but I think they need to be titled, sorry to harp on it.

The Rock cutting his "I got screwed" promo in the back with Coachman seems like a pussy act to me... I was hoping he would have come out in the opening segment with Austin and then maybe the main event could be set up that way... Rock as now the top face should have gone out as soon as he saw Austin and beat his ass... But at the time, Rock was always booked to have these backstage promo segments before he came out so it keeps with what the WWF were doing at the time I spose.

I'm thinking Regal is heel, so I'm not sure why he's trying to stitch up E&C? Wouldn't they be firends? And where's Kurt? Wasn't he hanging out with them back then? Maybe not in your BT, but he's doesn't seem to be on your show tonight.. nor HHH for that matter... maybe they'll come out during the main event...

Next is Taker and Kane against the Radicals. I'm thinking that Taker is far above the tag belts at this stage, especially after bumping into Austin earlier on. Didn't he defeat HHH at WM in an awesome streetfight? Is Triple H on the shelf now after that beating? Also not a fan of the American BadAss, hopefully turning him back to the Deadman is part of your plans for the BT.

RTC vs. Chyna feud. No probs there, Ivory needs all the help she can get. After all Chyna back then could rip the door off of a cage.

Here comes Vince. Why is a Vince promo going to be a slobberknocker though? Also wouldn't Vince be a little smarter and have some protection with him after what he did and what the Rock just said? Some bodygurads or the Big Show perhaps?

Out he comes and he trashes WCW, ECW and Shane. Hell even the territories and NWA.. is he trying to make the WWF fans feel guilty aboyut supporting his company? I'm not sure..

Rock is now man enough to show himself and attack a 50+ year old man. he beats the hell out of him and then takes on the Big Show with Austin on commentary. Why is Show involved in this again?

Rock wins, but then showboats to the crowd even though Austin is out there, and due to his stupidity is put down by Austin... Rock's not too bright. Austin stands over the Rock to end the episode to continue the fued.

I've gotta say Proph, the show seemed a bit rushed to me. The matches seemed like filler almost as you just wanted to keep with the Austin/Vince/Rock stuff. Where was Angle, Beniot, Triple H even the Dudleys on the aftermath show of a WM? And your main story seemed to be in too many segments throughout the show.

However this time is a great part of WWF, so I'll keep reading to see how your story progresses.

 

[JamJam]

Jam's Review​

Well, what an opening that was from Steve Austin. For me, Austin works great as a heel or a face. When you hear his music, you just have to instantly cheer the man but in this case, you have the people booing him which works too. Interesting to see how Austin “rids” the WWF of the superstars he believes stealing his air time. Austin vs. Rock, let's see this again!

Intense backstage segment with Austin and the Undertaker. Not often do we see the Undertaker hanging out in the back. I like how the tension between the two were obvious even if all the talking was done by Austin. Undertaker made his point when he did his cut throat taunt. Love this era!

Typical Rocky promo here with him basically taking over. With Rock's recent appearances in the WWE, this thread has gotten me more excited more than ever because of The Rock. His promo ability is second to none and well, it's just not fair how good he is.

Ha, Right To Censor. I think this group was brilliant. Interrupting Chyna was pretty comical for me. Chyna was a she-woman, I wouldn't mess with her around this time period.

The last thing I want to comment on is this whole BT revolving around Steve Austin. Idk, I just feel like a BT should be building up new characters and some younger guys and making them credible. But this show wasn't bad. Matches were pretty alright. I gotta agree with GS here, show seemed a little bit rushed. You could've taken your time here Proph, no real hurry. But I understand because once you get the ideas, you wanna post soon so that you'll get some response from others and that's fine. Lately, the section has been slow and I hope it picks up soon with the reviewing and everything.

So overall, good show Proph. You seem to know what you're doing with this and I always loved the early 2000s so I'm sure you'll do great. Cheers!

 

[Da Prophet]

The GrandSword Review

Howdy Proph,

your show is up and I'm looking forward to this one as this was probably the time when the Attitude Era was beginning it's final act. Austin is now the top heel let's see your vision of this time in wrestling history.

Austin promo to start the show. Not bad, would have preferred if Vince came out with him and the new alliance between them was developed here. Also the "Age of Austin" and the "Corporate Champion" just seems a bit too "smart" or sophisticated for the Rattlesnake...

I had said that I wasn't feeling writing with Austin and I have no problem saying that some of the promo wasn't my best. I wanted to change Austin from being the Rattlesnake character so things like Austin 3:16 will not be used during this thread. The thing is I wanted Vince to have his own time in the ring so Austin having the stage to himself was the best bet.

Hmmm, I'm not sure about how you've written your match here, format wise I mean. Reading it, I see it's the Hardyz vs. X Factor, however later down it's harder to figure out who's in your triple threat match... Maybe give them a title just so we know who's in the match.

X Factor wins... interesting choice seeing Edge and Christian are heel Tag Champs and then on SD they have to face the Hardyz... The Hardyz lost to X Factor, why do they get a match against the champs? And I'm not sure if it's a title match or not. I'm assuming it is because Christian is worried about it, but then again, it's not actually stated so I'm unsure what is happening...

I didn't title the matches because I found no need to. If it is really something people need to have then I will change it for Smackdown but I found it easy for me to just not use them. As for The Hardyz losing the only I have is because I like X Factor. I have always been a fan of X Pac so I thought having his team go over would be a nice way to advance the stable. The reason why Christian is worried is because The Hardy's have kicked the living shit out of them for 2 years, I think he would be worried don't you? It's a non title match and the reason they are getting is to try and show they are still a solid tag team. I plan on having an interview segment where they talk about losing and how this chance to face Edge and Christian is something they need.

I'm not sure about the Jericho / Regal segment. Jericho is a smart ass, wise cracking character, not a bad ass type which he comes off here when he gets in Regal's face.

Jericho just beat the guy last night, I thought he would be very arrogant in the way he spoke to Regal.

Next is Austin / Undertaker confrontation backstage. I don't really like this either. They are probably the two biggest stars (apart from the Rock) and after Austin turns they bump into each other backstage.. Wouldn't Taker punch Austin in the face for talking to him like that? It seemed like a wasted opportunity to me, something that could have been huge out in the ring. Taker in the end shakes his head and is dissaponted??

Taker was more of the leader in the locker room around this time and during the Invasion angle he really took a step into that on RAW. What I was going with here is that Taker doesn't attack everything that moves anymore. I have seen Taker shake his head like that multiple times when dealing with disrespectful talent in feuds (example John Cena 2003). I don't see the point in throwing my eggs in one basket with having Austin vs Taker when I want to do Austin vs Rock.

The Rock cutting his "I got screwed" promo in the back with Coachman seems like a pussy act to me... I was hoping he would have come out in the opening segment with Austin and then maybe the main event could be set up that way... Rock as now the top face should have gone out as soon as he saw Austin and beat his ass... But at the time, Rock was always booked to have these backstage promo segments before he came out so it keeps with what the WWF were doing at the time I spose.

Once again I wanted to keep this show simple (great job I did in that factor) and focus on the main things. Rock had to cut some type of I got screwed thing and having him out in the ring with Austin would have hurt what I wanted to do. Austin needed to be the star of the show and by being the only man out in the ring it showed that. I wanted to show Austin as the greatest and by him being the first thing you saw and having nobody come out it allowed Austin to really get the point across.

I'm thinking Regal is heel, so I'm not sure why he's trying to stitch up E&C? Wouldn't they be firends? And where's Kurt? Wasn't he hanging out with them back then? Maybe not in your BT, but he's doesn't seem to be on your show tonight.. nor HHH for that matter... maybe they'll come out during the main event...

You see this time period is difficult because you have no seperate brands to keep things easy. I wanted to try and keep certain guys on one show (example having Angle as a Smackdown regular), by no means am I going to make it brand exclusive but I have some idea on who will always be on RAW and some that will appear on and off. Plus Regal isn't friends with everyone, no heel is. Back in 2010 Nexus were heels but attacked everyone, just being a heel doesn't make you friends. In 2009 Orton hated Rhodes, they were both heel but heels hate everyone. Regal is just a prick to everyone on the roster because he believes he is above them.

Next is Taker and Kane against the Radicals. I'm thinking that Taker is far above the tag belts at this stage, especially after bumping into Austin earlier on. Didn't he defeat HHH at WM in an awesome streetfight? Is Triple H on the shelf now after that beating? Also not a fan of the American BadAss, hopefully turning him back to the Deadman is part of your plans for the BT.

The thing is that Taker was in the tag division back in 2001. Kane and Taker would win the titles in a few weeks during this period so having him in the tag division makes perfect sense. Simple answer is yes, HHH is having a little rest so he missed RAW. He will be on Smackdown this week however. As for the gimmick, I'm not changing it. I like the American Biker gimmick and I don't think changing him will do anything good in the long run.

Here comes Vince. Why is a Vince promo going to be a slobberknocker though? Also wouldn't Vince be a little smarter and have some protection with him after what he did and what the Rock just said? Some bodygurads or the Big Show perhaps?

Out he comes and he trashes WCW, ECW and Shane. Hell even the territories and NWA.. is he trying to make the WWF fans feel guilty aboyut supporting his company? I'm not sure..

Rock is now man enough to show himself and attack a 50+ year old man. he beats the hell out of him and then takes on the Big Show with Austin on commentary. Why is Show involved in this again?

It will be a slobber knocker because you must see what Vince has to say and he will say anything. It was really just a shot at Jim Ross which is something Heyman did each week during this time. Vince thinks he is untouchable so he doesn't need people protecting him and he just arrived to the building and didn't see what The Rock had to say. Vince just wanted to bring up how awesome he was so saying that about WCW was fine. The Big Show was a heel at the time and Rock needed a victory, do the math.

Rock wins, but then showboats to the crowd even though Austin is out there, and due to his stupidity is put down by Austin... Rock's not too bright. Austin stands over the Rock to end the episode to continue the fued.

How many times has a top face done the same thing?

I've gotta say Proph, the show seemed a bit rushed to me. The matches seemed like filler almost as you just wanted to keep with the Austin/Vince/Rock stuff. Where was Angle, Beniot, Triple H even the Dudleys on the aftermath show of a WM? And your main story seemed to be in too many segments throughout the show.

Yeah it was probably rushed now that I look at it. I'll end up doing full shows after seeing this by the looks of it. I find that I do better work when it is in full. Coming off Mania the matches weren't something I was to worried about. It was all about Austin and it should have been. Triple H is still feeling the pain caused by Taker, Angle will be on Smackdown and so will Benoit.

Thanks for the review and it has made me think about a few things. I guess I'm going to end up doing my shows in full as the emotions and things didn't seem to come off to well for this show.

 

[GCB]

GCB's REVIEW:

First of all, I'm loving the time period you've chosen. As I've often said, I'd love to have BT'd this one. However, you've pinched my idea (!) so I'll have to read yours instead. I reckon you needed a WrestleMania recap - just a list of the matches or maybe even a YouTube link to a recap video. Just to remind people. I loved WM17 so I know what happened well but others may have needed a recap? Also, there are a couple of spelling and grammar errors in your show - just be careful of those!

Right, here we go! Straight off the bat, Austin is out in front of the Texas crowd with the WWF Championship. I'm not sure that Austin wouldn't have still got some kind of positive reaction from some of the home state crowd but I understand why you've built up the heat. Getting rid of all the Austin trademarks is clever, make sure you follow it through. The opening gambit really helps to recap on the main event of WM17 and remind us what went off and how the landscape is changing. I didn't quite feel Austin but I'm guessing that is because you were making him so heel that it didn't seem quite right!

First match, Hardy Boys vs. X-Factor. Two things: I agree with GrandSword about the formatting of the matches, they need a title to make them stand out as well as a bit of colour. Red is a strain on the eyes after a while - put the matches in black or something? Next up, there was no mention of Albert with the X-Factor. Am sure he was always ringside as an enforcer? Having him there would have been good - I always liked the X-Factor team, I think they have potential and I'm happy that they've gotten a 'clean-ish' win over the Hardys to set them on their way up the tag team rankings. Matt and Jeff can take the defeat without it hurting them too much.

Regal and Jericho's falling out in the back suggests that they will face each other at Backlash again. I really enjoyed their Backlash match in real life - the Duchess of Queensbury thing was hilarious! Regal as the Commissioner is entertaining, interesting to see how you use him. The Austin and Taker confrontation backstage was superb - at first - loved the no speaking parts. I don't think that you needed to make Austin speak though, the silent confrontation was enough as it made it tense and electric.

Eddie Guerrero vs. Val Venis vs. Chris Jericho: Jericho dominates but Eddie steals it and the European champion will have an Intercontinental Title match as well. After the way Eddie screwed Test out of the European Title at WM17, I would have stuck Test in the match to make it a Four Way match though. Test needs to get retribution on Eddie but now he is heading towards Jericho and the Intercontinental Title instead? Bit of a waste for me. What I want to see is you building Eddie up in this BT - this was three years before Eddie hit the big time so I hope you won't let sentiments come into play. Build him just like he needed to be built and don't rely on what people know about him from later on.

Rock's interview - like GrandSword, I would have preferred to see this happen in the ring rather than backstage but it was fine. I think, after Austin's promo was in full, Rock's maybe needed to be in full as well though to set both sides of the feud? Rock determined to get revenge on Austin and it looks as if we are heading for a Backlash rematch - maybe with Taker involved? However, Taker and Kane squashing Saturn and Malenko seemed to then suggest they are heading for a Tag Team Title instead? That's not right for me - I want to see them higher than that. Kane and Undertaker should team up to deal with problems together but not to go for Tag Team gold. Also, Kane is the new Hardcore Champion but there is no mention of this fact. It is like you've forgotten that we have a new Hardcore Champion and a new European Champion last night.

Chyna and the RTC still having problems. RTC were another group I liked - no mention of Bull Buchanan though. I'd like to see them become a thorn in the side of some more major WWF talent - maybe you could push them to Tag Team gold or take a completelu undeserving Steven Richards or Goodfather towards the WWF Title? They'd be the ultimate heel champion if RTC were pushing them to it! RTC try to ban Chyna from WWF but she punches Richards in the face, good effort! RTC then cost Chyna her match with Jacqueline - will she now get a Women's Championship opportunity?

You then had a WM17 recap - again, tell us the results to remind us!

Vince McMahon was amusing. He ran out Shane, NWA, WCW and the ECW! I think that Vince would have expected an 'attack' from the Rock and would have ensured he had protection - bit unrealistic to let Rock get him and you could have built that up so that Rock got him at a PPV to make it a mark out moment. Big Show vs. Rock was a decent main event, Rock gets the win quite rightly. But why would Rock allow Austin to be out there on commentary? Surely he would've left Big Show alone and gone for Austin as soon as he got chance? He certainly wouldn't have turned his back on him and allowed the attack with the title belt!

Overall, a solid first show and I cannot wait to see what you do further down the line. I think there could have been more matches in the show - you left out the likes of Dudley Boys, Mick Foley, Chris Benoit, Kurt Angle, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, Too Cool, Test etc ... Maybe some matches involving these - Benoit vs. Angle rematch would have been good. Other than the Triple Threat and the main event, the matches didn't really advance any storylines.

Keep it up, looking forward to an even better SMACKDOWN next time out!

GCB

 

[Theo Mays]

Bearded Review

-Here we go Prophster. Been looking forward to this as I miss your presence around these parts. This is a different concept, so I look forward to seeing how you handle this. Shall we dance?

-I hate that damn "what" chant, but here it worked for Austin in terms of mocking the crowd. I kinda chuckled. As for the promo itself, I liked it. Sure it isn't the Stone Cold we know and love, but that's the point. You are trying to get Austin over in a new way and this was a nice start. I look forward to seeing how you handle Austin from here on out.

-Wow! X-Factor over the Hardys, surprising. A feud could be setting up here possibly? Not really a fan of the preview style, which I've mentioned in other reviews as I like to take everything in. I see the point in doing it, as it can be draining go full out. Just a side note.

-Nice little segment with Jericho and Bill. I expect a Jericho win tonight. That or Regal does something fishy. A little tension between Austin and Taker. Something could definitely be brewing there. Both men look strong in the matter, I like that.

-And I was wrong. Eddie wins and it looks like we are going to have a champion vs. champion match at Backlash. That should be a show stealer right there, so I can't complain. Rock has some fighting words for Austin and I bought into Rock's promo. And despite my dislike for Rocky I want to see him kick Austin's ass.

-Edge and Christian have the Hardys on SD, that'll be epic. Gotta think X-Factor will be waiting in the wings. BoD dominate the Radicalz. Wouldn't have it go any other way and now the BoD get into the title picture. Good to see a really strong tag team presence being shown on screen. I dig.

-Chyna and a RTC feud in the works here. Interesting. Only issue I had here was the description of the match. You sort of put down the woman's division with how you described the match and considering we are on the verge of the peak of woman's wrestling, something to hype it up would likely have done better.

-I'm with GCB, some results of WM17 would have been nice during the video package. I enjoyed the Vince promo. Very Vince like and his ego oozed through the monitor. Rock intervening was great and it furthers the feud at hand. Now we move to the main event. Solid little main event. Rock going over was the right move and Austin coming out on top was right as well. You need to establish Austin as this badass heel and you did well tonight. I really am buying into Rock as this underdog and I hope he has to really climb his way back into it before possibly winning the title.

-Overall the show was solid. I enjoyed it. Wasn't a fan of the recap writing style, but I saw you were going full for SD, so I look forward to that. We could have used some more stars like GCB said, but that may have cluttered things up as I felt the flow of the show was nice. I look forward to the next installment Proph. Keep up the good work!

 

[Theo Mays]

Bearded Review

-Here we go Prophster. Been looking forward to this as I miss your presence around these parts. This is a different concept, so I look forward to seeing how you handle this. Shall we dance?

-I hate that damn "what" chant, but here it worked for Austin in terms of mocking the crowd. I kinda chuckled. As for the promo itself, I liked it. Sure it isn't the Stone Cold we know and love, but that's the point. You are trying to get Austin over in a new way and this was a nice start. I look forward to seeing how you handle Austin from here on out.

-Wow! X-Factor over the Hardys, surprising. A feud could be setting up here possibly? Not really a fan of the preview style, which I've mentioned in other reviews as I like to take everything in. I see the point in doing it, as it can be draining go full out. Just a side note.

-Nice little segment with Jericho and Bill. I expect a Jericho win tonight. That or Regal does something fishy. A little tension between Austin and Taker. Something could definitely be brewing there. Both men look strong in the matter, I like that.

-And I was wrong. Eddie wins and it looks like we are going to have a champion vs. champion match at Backlash. That should be a show stealer right there, so I can't complain. Rock has some fighting words for Austin and I bought into Rock's promo. And despite my dislike for Rocky I want to see him kick Austin's ass.

-Edge and Christian have the Hardys on SD, that'll be epic. Gotta think X-Factor will be waiting in the wings. BoD dominate the Radicalz. Wouldn't have it go any other way and now the BoD get into the title picture. Good to see a really strong tag team presence being shown on screen. I dig.

-Chyna and a RTC feud in the works here. Interesting. Only issue I had here was the description of the match. You sort of put down the woman's division with how you described the match and considering we are on the verge of the peak of woman's wrestling, something to hype it up would likely have done better.

-I'm with GCB, some results of WM17 would have been nice during the video package. I enjoyed the Vince promo. Very Vince like and his ego oozed through the monitor. Rock intervening was great and it furthers the feud at hand. Now we move to the main event. Solid little main event. Rock going over was the right move and Austin coming out on top was right as well. You need to establish Austin as this badass heel and you did well tonight. I really am buying into Rock as this underdog and I hope he has to really climb his way back into it before possibly winning the title.

-Overall the show was solid. I enjoyed it. Wasn't a fan of the recap writing style, but I saw you were going full for SD, so I look forward to that. We could have used some more stars like GCB said, but that may have cluttered things up as I felt the flow of the show was nice. I look forward to the next installment Proph. Keep up the good work!

 

[#1Peep]

A Peep Review

* Here we go Proph, time to review the first episode of your latest project. I started watching wrestling a lot later than 2001 although I am familiar with most of the wrestlers at the time through YouTube. This could be a problem for you if you didn't watch during this period as you might not fully capture the superstars' personality/promo/match style. However, I'm sure you have done your research.

* It would have been nice, especially as it is the first episode, to do a much longer video package on Wrestlemania. You didn't have to list all of the matches but a mention for something other than Rock/Stone Cold as well as a more in depth look at how Austin turned (mention of Vince) would have done wonders. Jim Ross and Paul Heyman is a great combination, two of my favorite announcers together. Perfect way to start off the show with Austin cutting a promo - he is the biggest star you have and this shows it. I loved the opening of the promo but, I don't know why, you kind of lost me. I did however like that there is no more Stone Cold, no more lame catchphrases etc. Maybe you could have had Vince or the commentators coin him as 'Corporate Austin' as he just said there would be no more nick names. Great way to open the show and I liked how Austin was given the stage to talk and the Rock didn't get in his way (for the time being anyway). Adding Vince besides Austin would have been a nice touch but it doesn't matter.

* I'm not so sure on X-Factor beating one of the hottest tag teams, alongside Edge and Christian, at the time but it could be the start of a push for Pac/Credible. I agree with what people have said, maybe a little match title would be nice and even a match card would help. It certainly helps me get the competitors in mind, especially as I don't know the time period terribly well. Wouldn't Regal love to get a rematch for the gold? I loved this interaction between Steve Austin and 'Taker but Austin talking ruined it, it would have been perfect for Taker to do his slit throat taunt only for Steve to flick him the bird and stalk away. Onto the next match, I would love to see you do something with Val Venis, I think he is a great superstar. Jericho should be a big focus of your thread and I like that he is being put into a feud with Eddie, you have already created a bit of heat between the two with Guerrerro stealing the win from Y2J and I look forward to what comes next. Don't leave the Euro Title in the dark however, it must be involved.

* Basic promo from The Rock about wanting to kick Austin's ass and it's good you are doing full shows from now on as it will be better for promos. I would love to book this version of E & C and you have a great team to lead your division here Proph. I don't know why the Hardys were granted a match against the champions if they just lost to a rather low cast team at this point. Kane and 'Taker in the tag division is interesting but a bit of explanation as to why they are teaming once again after the Deadman just came off a high profile feud with Triple H would have been good. I am also excited about this feud between Chyna and RTC as an interesting feud with your Womens Champion would be a breath of fresh air as you don't see that often, in real life or BT. Maybe RTC bring in a new Diva to challenge Chyna as Ivory doesn't seem like much of a threat to the Womens Champion.

* A good promo from Vince and it seems as though you are setting up the Invasion slightly with his comments on Shane. I didn't like Vince being beaten down by Rock and a temporary bodyguard in the form of the Big Show would have made a lot of sense. It also takes away a bit from the storyline as Rock should be working towards getting at Austin and Vince, not taking down one of his major rivals on the first night. Rock then goes over Show with the Rock Bottom before being belted in the head with the title belt. A good, effective ending to continue the feud between Rock and Austin.

Overall: It was a good opening show to start off the thread Proph but I think a bit more thought needs to go into the storylines and proofreading is essential. A lot of grammatical mistakes can take away from the action. I am looking forward to the next episode, as it will be in full, and of course the following weeks shows and Backlash. You have such a big roster and you have a tough task to either splitting the brands up all together to trying to give everyone the right amount of time across two shows. Add in a possible Invasion to that dilemma. But I am sure you can handle it. Once again, great show.

 

[Da Prophet]

Thursday Night Smackdown| Oklahoma City, OK| April 5, 2001

Toothless Aggression

The wounds from WrestleMania are still stinging and Smackdown this week is just going to be like rubbing salt into them. With Smackdown airing from Oklahoma City this week the fans will be in for a treat. After going through a war at WrestleMania 17, Triple H will compete on Smackdown this week. With the battle wounds cutting deep into the skin Triple H is going to need every ounce of power to get a win this week. The Game will be in action against the self-proclaimed greatest Hardcore Champion ever, Crash Holly. The Houdini of Hardcore looks to pull of the greatest upset in the history of Smackdown this week. Can Crash Holly pick the bones and grab a win right from under the nose of Triple H? Will Triple H be able to overcome the damage he sustained at WrestleMania? They say anything can happen in the WWE but can this really happen on Smackdown?

When Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle faced off at WrestleMania it was incredible. The two fought back and forth during their match. The submissions broke out, the different versions of the suplex came to town and the crowd were on the edge of their seat. With an ending that left bad taste in the mouth of many at the PPV it was only fair that these two meet again. By order of WWE Commissioner Regal these two will meet face of face this week on Smackdown at some point. If their last encounter was anything to go by than this week if going to be fireworks.

The WWF Tag Team Champions will be in action this week when Edge and Christian face off against long-time rivals Matt and Jeff Hardy. With the rivalry dating back to 1999 at the No Mercy event, these two teams will do anything to get the win. Both have something to prove, firstly Edge and Christian need to show they don’t need Rhyno to fight their battles for them, and The Hardy Boyz need to make up for the loss on RAW. It’s non-title this week on Smackdown with Edge and Christian vs The Hardy Boyz!

Finally Smackdown will have the honour of hosting WWF Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho this week. No word on why Jericho will be on the show but it has been confirmed that Jericho will be in Oklahoma City this week. Will more tension build between Eddie and Chris? Maybe The Radicalz will make an appearance to help one of their own gain an edge? Anything is possible on Smackdown this week.

-- Confirmed --

Triple H vs Crash Holly
WWF Tag Team Champions Edge and Christian vs The Hardy Boyz
Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle confrontation about WrestleMania match finish
WWF Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho makes an appearance

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Rumour: WWF Champion Steve Austin and The Rock to clash again​

 

[Da Prophet]

Thursday Night Smackdown| April 5, 2001
Oklahoma City, OK

Toothless Aggression ​

*Opening Video*

*Pyro*

The arena is buzzing tonight ladies and gentleman as Smackdown airs from the wonderful Oklahoma City. Just days ago the world was talking about WrestleMania 17 but it is time to move onto better things. Both Michael Cole and Taz warmly welcome us to the show before Cole runs down what we have in order for tonight. Rumours have been flying around that the WWF Champion, Steve Austin, will be on the show tonight and so will his arch rival The Rock. Another exciting aspect of the show is the appearance of Triple H who missed RAW this past week due to injuries sustained at WrestleMania against The Undertaker.

“Medal”

The conversation between Michael Cole and Taz stops as Kurt Angle steps out from behind the curtain. Instantly the crowd begins to boo the Olympic Hero, Kurt Angle, tonight. With his red, white and blue ring gear Kurt Angle steps forward onto the stage. He soaks up all the responses from the crowd with a small minority cheering him on. Angle ducks his head down before rising up to hear his pyro go off behind him. Slowly Angle enters the ring, at which point he does a spin for the crowd, causing a negative reaction. As the crowd settle down Kurt smiles arrogantly while staring out at the sold out building here tonight.

Kurt Angle: What an honour it is to be here tonight. I can’t believe how special this moment is right now. When people talk about wrestling, they will think about this very moment in Oklahoma City. April 5, 2001 will be a date that everyone remembers. Mothers will be waiting to have children on this day, fathers will be teaching their sons how to catch a baseball on this day, you people here will be telling your families about this day. People thought that being at WrestleMania was important; well this may even be bigger than WrestleMania. Tonight is a life changing experience for everyone here even Kurt Angle.

The crowd wonder what Angle is talking about.

Kurt Angle: Tonight is special for one reason… … I’m on the show!

Loud heat from the crowd as Angle shakes his head in disapproval.

Kurt Angle: For those of you who watched RAW, that number can’t be many because I wasn’t on the show, I know you missed me. I know that everyone around the world wanted to see Kurt Angle and tonight you get your chance. After I beat Chris Benoit in one of the greatest matches in the history of WrestleMania, I’m now a legend. With that defeat Chris Benoit will have to admit that I’m just simply better than he ever will be. I have said it time after time that Chris Benoit will never be on the same level as me but nobody would believe it. I heard everyone say he would beat me at WrestleMania and after what evidence?

‘You Tapped Out’ chants start up from the fans. Angle quickly raises his right hand and shakes it furiously.

Kurt Angle: No I didn’t. No referrer was ever present so it never happened. Chris Benoit is not in my league, he never stood a chance at WrestleMania. I out wrestled him, I outsmarted him and at WrestleMania I beat him! I defeated your hero and the man you all call the best wrestler in the world. The fact is Kurt Angle reigned supreme last Sunday night because I’m better than him. You people will realises that he is nothing compared to me. I won a gold medal with a broken freaking neck. I’m the only Olympic Gold Medallist in the history of professional wrestling. I’m a legend in this sport. From this day when people talk about Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Steve Austin and The Undertaker they will include Kurt Angle. I’m the man around here and Chris Benoit is nothing. His greatest achievement was losing to me on Sunday. He has done nothing else besides win a title that meant nothing in WCW. When the company was dying they put the title on Chris Benoit and he didn’t have the respect to stay with them.

More boo’s for Angle.

Kurt Angle: I have stayed with the WWF since day one. I bleed for this company; I’m a loyal soldier for Vince McMahon (heat for the mention of Vince). The man gave me a job and I treat him with respect. But when Chris Benoit gets a chance to be the man he ran away like a little puppy. He doesn’t have what it takes to be a champion and that is why he left WCW. Chris Benoit is not for real, he is a phony, and he is weak. When Chris Benoit looks into the mirror he ---

“Whatever”

The crowd give a warm ovation for, Chris Benoit, a big time fan favourite here tonight. The majority of the audience cheer Benoit as he makes his way down to the ring. The place has gone crazy and Angle acts calm on the outside but inside he must be wondering what is coming. For the first time since WrestleMania both Angle and Benoit are in the ring at the same time. The place is about to explode for this encounter. It’s an intense stare down between the two, both men not moving an inch, while the crowd move to the edge of their seats.

Chris Benoit: Is something wrong with you Kurt? I mean aside from the obvious ass kicking I gave you at WrestleMania, did you have a headache or something?

Kurt Angle: The only thing wrong with me is that you had the nerve to come out during my celebration speech. I’m giving this people the chance to cheer their hero, I’m a legend. This people came to see me tonight. I wasn’t on RAW so these people are going through withdrawals at the moment. The world needs a serving of Kurt Angle, they need me Chris and you are robbing them of that chance to hear my words of wisdom. Angle knows best is a phrase that will sweep the nation.

More heat for Angle.

Chris Benoit: You see Kurt this is what I was talking about. You are delusional. How can you think that you’re better than anyone when I made you tap out twice in the space of 6 days? I made you tap out Kurt, it’s on film. Do you want to see the footage?

The crowd yell out a very obvious yes to Benoit. On the other hand, Kurt is shaking his head saying no.

Chris Benoit: Listen Kurt, they want to see you tap out again but I was thinking why not make it better than watching footage? Why don’t we give these people what they want to see? Kurt you have spoken about beating me all night and you did on Sunday. I’ll give you all the credit you deserve for grabbing my tights and stealing a victory like that.

Kurt Angle: I had you beat from the start of the match anyway, the finish was only a matter of time and I did what I had to.

Chris Benoit: Can you beat me without these tricks? I think everyone around the world wants to know if Kurt Angle can beat Chris Benoit one on one without cheating. I think everyone around the world wants to know if Kurt Angle can go toe to toe with Chris Benoit. With the millions watching at home and the thousands here tonight answer the question, can you beat me fairly?

The arena becomes silent while Angle ponders the question. He looks up at Chris, then back down, up and down once more. Chris asks the question again, this time without the microphone. After waiting around 40 seconds Angle lifts the microphone up to his lips.

Kurt Angle: I can beat you any day of the week. In fact why don’t we make something happen tonight?

Chris Benoit: You want a match with me? Great, make it happen. Kurt Angle vs Chris Benoit right here tonight!

Huge pop from the crowd however things may be more complicated as Angle shakes his head.

Kurt Angle: No, on second thought, you have to earn a one on one match with me Chris. In fact I’ll give you a chance tonight to earn the opportunity to face me at Backlash. It’s really simple, go find a tag partner for tonight and if your team wins then I’ll be more than happy to face you in a rematch from WrestleMania.

Chris Benoit: Anyone I want?

Kurt Angle: It can be anyone in the world that makes it here before the show ends.

Chris Benoit: You’re on!

“Whatever”

With the music playing in the background both of these great talents lock eyes in the middle of the ring. All eyes are on these two men to deliver something special here tonight in our big main event. Both Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle will find tag team partners for the main event. Should team Benoit win then Chris will receive a match with Angle at the upcoming Backlash PPV event. It’s all on the line tonight on Smackdown. Can Chris Benoit walk out with a victory and a chance to get payback on Kurt? Or maybe Angle will once again prove he is better than Benoit and send a message to everyone in the locker room.

-- Commercial Break --

"What About Me?”

Back from the break Cole and Taz are still talking about the exciting main event we have for later tonight. With all the buzzing going around the arena, Raven makes his way down to the ring. The former Hardcore Champion, who lost the title to Kane this past Sunday, isn’t getting much of a reaction from the fans tonight. As usual Raven climbs onto the top turnbuckle, raises his arms up, and then takes a seat on the canvas.

"This Is A Test"

Another former champion appears here tonight on Smackdown and to a better reaction from the fans. After losing at WrestleMania Test looks to get back on a winning streak with a victory over Raven his next goal. Before Test can even enter the ring Raven rushes forward and blasts him with a right hand. The ECW Original hammers away on test, only stopping to throw his jacket off.

Match #1 - Raven vs Test

During the opening minutes of this contest Raven took the advantage quickly. By using his knowledge of the ring and how to use the elements of it without being disqualified, Raven was able to deal out enough damage so he was in the driver’s seat. Throughout the match Raven used cheap shots to head and neck area of Test when the official wasn’t looking. Not only did Raven place his feet on the ropes during one of the pinfall attempts, he also delivered a low blow after pushing Test into the official. While Raven continued to use his tricks, Test looked for a way back into this match. In a turning point Test was able to lift Raven up off his feet and slam him down with a back body drop. Raven hit the mat hard and this gave Test a chance to take the victory on Smackdown. For the next several minutes Test was on offense but this isn’t to say Raven was beaten up without a break. The two switched back and forth as they fought for the advantage in the match. Finally the finish came when Raven went for his DDT, only for Test to shove him off into the ropes and connect with the big boot to the face.

Test defeated Raven @ 06:34

"This Is A Test"

Exciting time for Test here tonight on Smackdown with a win that can only do good things for his career. Cole goes over how important a victory like this is because you don’t get many chances here in the WWF. Cole continues to talk about grabbing the brass ring while Test makes his way up the ramp. Before Test heads back to the locker room he lifts his arms up in victory, lets out a huge roar, which gets a small pop from the crowd.

*Backstage Area*

The camera moves to the interview area of Smackdown with Jonathan Coachman standing by.

Jonathan Coachman: Good evening, ladies and gentleman, my name is Jonathan Coachman and joining me at this time is one of the best tag teams around today… … The Hardy Boyz!

A very loud pop from the crowd as Matt and Jeff Hardy walk into the area.

Jonathan Coachman: Matt, Jeff, what happened on Monday Night RAW this past week with you two during your match? You guys weren’t on your game and it cost you big time. With X-Factor getting the victory I have heard rumours they could be getting a number one contenders match next week on Smackdown. Is there anything you guys would have done differently?

Matt Hardy: Coach, we can’t worry about the past anymore, we need to move forward with our careers for the better. If we just sit back and cry about every defeat then nothing is going to change for us. What we want to do is set an example that you can come back from defeat. You can turn things around and not only that but anyone can change. We did lose on RAW but we can’t change it now can we? All we can do is move on and work hard to once again be the WWF Tag Team Champions.

Jonathan Coachman: Tonight you guys will face off against long-time rivals Edge and Christian, what is it like going up against guys you know so well time and time again?

Matt Hardy: The deal with Eg---

Just as Matt began to speak Jeff seems to cut him off.

Jeff Hardy: When you face off against a team like Edge and Christian or any team for that matter time and time again you learn so much about them. The first thing that comes to mind is that they know our signatures and tag team moves that took us years to perfect. They know us better than anyone on this earth and it is a challenge every time we go out there. Tonight we look at this like another match where we have to show the world that The Hardy Boyz are the best damn tag team in the world today.

Matt Hardy: Just like Jeff said we are the best in the tag team division and we showed that by winning the titles without help from guys like Rhyno or Kurt Angle. Edge and Christian need them to win but we don’t. When you look at The Hardy Boyz you see two guys who love this business more than anything in the world. We love the fans, we love the thrill of competition and we love holding the gold. Tonight we send a message to Edge and Christian, we want the gold boys and we will do anything to get it.

The two brothers look each other right in the eye for what seems like ages. Coach points the microphone at the two, he gets nothing from Matt but when he points it at Jeff he gets a reaction.

Jeff Hardy: This is our night Edge and Christian, this is our moment. This is our chance to shine once again and we will not let it slip through our fingers. The Hardy Boyz will be champions again, I promise you that. Tonight Smackdown goes to the extreme!

The brothers walk away from the area, leaving Coach alone for the moment. We stay on Coach who looks around for someone to interview but nobody is in sight.

*Parking Lot*

A long black limo pulls up in the parking lot with the WWF logo on the side of it. The crowd in the arena pop out of excitement but that soon turns to heat when they realise who owns the limo. One at a time those lovely legs of Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley make their way out of the limo. The billion dollar princess looks stunning tonight which is no surprise according to Taz. Suddenly Triple H steps out from the limo to an even bigger chorus of heat from this crowd tonight. With one of his own custom shirts on tonight Triple H puts his arm around his wife before heading into the building.

Michael Cole: It’s him, Triple H, The Game is here!

Taz: We knew he was coming to Smackdown tonight but this is still exciting.

Michael Cole: In his first appearance since WrestleMania 17, Triple H goes one on one with Crash Holly tonight on Smackdown.

Taz: I can’t wait to see The Game back inside the square circle Cole. You know he belongs inside that ring, he lives for this kind of stuff.

Michael Cole: You do not want to miss this ladies and gentleman, tonight Triple H will wrestle for the first time since his amazing encounter with The Undertaker.

-- Commercial Break --

"We're Comin' Down"

With their music blasting throughout the arena The Dudley Boys, Bubba Ray and D-Von, step out onto the entrance ramp. Quickly both Bubba Ray and D-Von make their way down to the ring while slapping a few hands along the way.

“Annoying Siren”

The entire crowd turn their attention toward the stage when they hear the familiar ringing of the Right to Censor siren. With their trademark white shirts and black tie the entire Right to Censor group walk out from behind the curtain. Leading the pack is Steven Richards, who happens to hold a microphone in his hand, while The Goodfather, Bull Buchanan, Val Venis and Ivory follow behind.

Steven Richards: Stop the music. Quickly I don’t have all day, cut the music.

At his request the RTC music is cut off.

Steven Richards: Ladies and gentleman standing before you is Right to Censor. We are the group that strives to keep the World Wrestling Federation clean and respectable for you viewing. We want the best for you and especially the children. This world is filled with filth and we are here to clean it up.

A “You Suck” chant breaks out from the crowd as they continue to hear Richards rant. A look of disgust comes over the face of Richards while the people continue to shout rude things at him.

Steven Richards: This is my point, you people don’t understand what you are doing is wrong. You need someone to help you through this and Right to Censor is the answer. We can help clean the WWF of everything that isn’t PG. Speaking of PG something that doesn’t fall into this group is Chyna. The WWF Women’s Champion is not what a woman should be. She walks around with her genetically modified breasts hanging out for each and every one of you to see. Her ring attire doesn’t cover her knees, you can see her thighs!

Right to Censor enter the ring and Richards moves toward the front once again.

Steven Richards: Chyna is not what a champion is meant to be and we will make it our quest to have her banned from WWF television. We will not stop until Chyna is banned and you people are not subjected to seeing her private parts every week. Ban Chyna!

The group begins to chant “Ban Chyna” over and over again until the official asks everyone not competing in this match to exit the ring. After hearing the rant from Richards it appears that The Dudley Boys are even more agitated than usual. With The Goodfather on the ring apron and Bull Buchanan being the legal man, this match is on.

Match #2 - The Dudley Boys vs Right to Censor (The Goodfather and Bull Buchanan)

With both Bubba and D-Von Dudley still feeling the effects of TLC from WrestleMania, Right to Censor had a huge chance to pick up a victory. This match saw every member of RTC play a role in some way, whether it is big or small. Firstly Steve Richards would get onto the apron causing a distraction for the official. Then Ivory ran through the ring but was hit with a 3D from Bubba and D-Von. Chaos broke out here as Val Venis went to attack Bubba but he was also hit with the 3D. The crowd was hot at this point because the fan favourites were kicking some major ass on Smackdown. As Bubba and D-Von grabbed Richards and pulled him into the ring for the 3D, The Goodfather struck from behind and shoved Bubba to the outside of the ring. This left D-Von by himself and he was nailed with the Death Valley Driver. The cover was made and Right to Censor picked up a victory over The Dudley Boys.

Right to Censor (The Goodfather and Bull Buchanan) defeated The Dudley Boyz @ 08:54

“Annoying Siren”

Once again the annoying siren is heard playing in the background while The Goodfather and Bull Buchanan celebrate on the ramp. Soon they are joined by the other members of Right to Censor as Smackdown rolls on.

*Chris Jericho’s Locker room*

The tables now turn to the locker room of Chris Jericho. Having just taken a seat in his locker room Jericho places his Intercontinental Championship across his lap. The gold sparkles into the eyes of Jericho causing him to pause for a moment. Jericho grabs the title belt from his lap and gives it a quick shine with his hand towel. While Jericho is admiring his piece of gold the door opens and in walks WWF Commissioner William Regal. The sense of joy and excitement that was on the face of Jericho disappears as he turns around to see Regal.

William Regal: Well, look what we have here, Christopher all by himself. How must it feel to know that you have nobody in the world that cares about you Chris? With little talent, no fans and a terrible haircut I must think you don’t ever succeed in anything you do. I think that is why you target me Chris, you are jealous of my position of power here in the World Wrestling Federation. You wish that Vince McMahon had made you a powerful figure and not me. Oh well, we all can’t be powerful can we Chris. If someone like you was running things who knows what would happen.

Chris Jericho: Mr Regal how nice it is that you dropped in tonight. Would you like some tea?

The expression on the face of Regal changes to disgust as he remembers the last time he had tea that Chris Jericho had come into contact with.

William Regal: You are disgusting, how dare you---

Chris Jericho: Disgusting you think that was disgusting? What’s disgusting is that thing you call a face.

Big pop from the crowd.

Chris Jericho: I’ll tell you what is disgusting how about Stephanie McMahon’s breast, or that thing people call Steve Austin beginning his man crush with Vince, what about the fact that Chris Jericho doesn’t know what the hell he is doing tonight they are all pretty disgusting things Mr Regal.

William Regal: Listen here you---

Chris Jericho: Why don’t you just (crowd echo’s after Jericho) SHUT THE HELL UP!

Humiliation comes across the face of Regal and he has had enough off Jericho for one night.

William Regal: I will not be disrespect like this, I don’t care who you are, but I am the WWF Commissioner and what I say goes. You want to know who you’re facing tonight well you’re lucky because I happen to know. Tonight Chris Jericho will face off against X-Pac...

Jericho seems fine what that but Regal shakes his head.

William Regal: Plus Albert and Justin Credible in a 3 on 1 handicap match!

A very loud chorus of boos from the crowd tonight as they hear the news. With an evil grin on his face Regal makes his way out of the room leaving Jericho alone to think about the huge battle he has coming up tonight. It will be Chris Jericho vs X-Factor, 3 on 1, tonight here on WWF Smackdown.

The following has been paid for by the WWF

Narrator: It was a time of fierce battles that seemingly had no end

The Rocking hits the Rock Bottom on Steve Austin and then Austin hits the Stunner

Narrator: Two men who were destined to take each other to the limit

Chris Benoit is shown screaming in pain at the hands of Kurt Angle

Narrator: Three teams took extreme to another level

Several clips for the past TLC matches between The Dudley Boys, The Hardy Boyz and Edge and Christian

Narrator: They all thought that the fighting was over

Steve Austin celebrating his title win with Vince McMahon after beating The Rock

Narrator: They were wrong

The attack from Austin to The Rock is shown

Narrator: That was only the beginning of the war

Several clips of WWF superstars fighting each other

Narrator: Now comes the Backlash!

Buy the PPV​

--Commercial Break--

“Loaded”

When Smackdown returns from the break “Loaded” is heard playing, it gets a solid pop when it starts, as The Hardy Boyz make their way down to the ring. With the support of the entire crowd tonight the two brothers take their time getting into the ring as they interact with their fans.

“Over the Edge”

At the flick of a switch all the support for The Hardy Boyz turns to hatred for Edge and Christian. The fans who were once cheering turn to the entrance ramp to see the NEW WWF Tag Team Champions heading to the ring. It was at WrestleMania that Rhyno helped Edge and Christian win the titles by attacking anyone who attempted to grab the gold. Edge and Christian look very confident.

Match #3 - The Hardy Boyz vs Edge and Christian

The match begins with Matt Hardy and Christian inside the ring while Jeff and Edge watch on from the apron. The two go to lock up in the middle of the ring however Christian backs off before any contact is made. Christian looks at Edge, reassuring him he has this under control, and then he focuses back on Matt. Quickly Hardy comes forward, grabbing the arm of Christian, attempting to drag him down for an arm drag. The two struggle for a moment with Christian getting the better of the situation as he elbows Hardy in the head. The hard shot from Christian causes Matt to break his grip, which in turn allows Christian to deliver a kick to the stomach and then a solid DDT. Without hesitation Christian goes for the cover.

…1…

…Kick Out…

Easily Matt gets the shoulder up at a one count. Christian continues to keep the control at this point by grabbing Matt by the head and applying a rear chin lock from a standing position. With things going in their favour in the opening minutes of this match Christian gives a nod to Edge that all is well. Ironically just as Christian does this Matt Hardy begins to fight back. He strikes with several punches to the stomach, all of which come from the right hand, before pushing him up onto a standing position. The rear chin lock is all but gone at the moment with Hardy now breaking it completely with a snapmare. Christian goes over the shoulder of Hardy and into a sitting position in front of him. With this little moment of opportunity Matt runs toward the ropes, rebounds, and hits a dropkick to the face of a sitting Christian. This time Matt goes for the cover on Christian.

…1…

…Kick Out…

Not a lot of surprise shown by Matt as he continues the offense after a kick out from Christian. Several hard shots to the back of Christian connect while Matt pulls him over to the corner of the ring. With his back up against the turnbuckle Christian is hammered by flying fist and forearms to the face and anywhere else on his body that is exposed. Making sure that he isn’t disqualified Matt backs away before a five count, this doesn’t last for long because Matt is quick to grab Christian again and this time send him into the corner where Jeff is standing. The two Hardy brothers are quick to react in this situation with Matt getting the tag to Jeff. The crowd pops for the introduction of Jeff into this match, with his high flying skills being shown instantly in this match. A quick succession of rights and lefts from Jeff connect until Christian ducks a shot, grabs Jeff by the hair and pulls him down hard with a sickening thud. The crowd go silent as Christian hooks both legs for the pin.

…1…

…2…

…Kick Out…

Just moments into the match and Jeff Hardy has already suffered a high impact move. When the camera zooms in on the face of Christian it is clear that he believes that this is their night to walk away with a victory. Slowly Christian pulls Jeff to his feet before delivering a stiff kick to the stomach and then dragging him over to the corner. The twisted mind of Christian begins to turn at this point with Edge begging to get into the action himself. After a quick look around the ring Christian decides to make the tag to his partner Edge for the moment. The action doesn’t stop just because Christian has left the ring though. Quickly Edge goes on the attack with boots to the head of Jeff. He screams at Jeff to get up, slapping him on the back of the head at the same time, and fight back. Throughout the crowd a loud Hardy chant breaks out, much to the dismay of Edge and Christian. The champions shake their heads in disapproval as Edge executes a suplex dead centre of the ring. Cocky as ever Edge steps back, aims up, and drops a knee to the upper chest of Jeff. The crowd are trying to get Jeff back up but the big head shot by Christian has really taken a toll on one half of The Hardy Boyz. With nothing to lose in this match Edge drops Jeff down with a picture perfect dropkick and then he goes for a cover.

…1…

…2…

…Kick Out…

It isn’t enough to keep Jeff Hardy down at this point but it will not stop Edge from trying. With his long blonde hair cover most of his face Edge brushes it to the side. He looks back at Christian and wonders what to do next, all the while keeping an eye on the wounded Jeff Hardy. Suddenly something clicks for Edge as he pulls Jeff over to a corner, lifts him up, and places him in position for a superplex. The crowd are hooked at this point and while Edge attempts to hit this high impact move, Jeff fights back. He fires away with a head butt with everything on the line for The Hardy Boyz tonight. He is fighting to stay alive in this match and he is able to send Edge stumbling back to the mat. Down goes Edge and Jeff looks to be getting a second wind at this moment. However this is cut short when Christian rushes over and pushes Jeff off the turnbuckle and to the outside of the ring.

He hits the ground in a dangerous position with his knee looking like it bent the wrong way. The official quickly heads to the outside of the ring and seems to have words with Jeff. At that moment the camera is taken away from Jeff and switches to the face of his worried brother Matt. Nobody knows what has just happened but both Edge and Christian are chopping at the bits to get back on the attack. While all this madness is going on a tag is made between the champions and the official does see it. After a delaying of about one minute the official begins a ten count for Jeff. To the surprise of the announcers Christian goes to the outside and attacks the injured leg/knee of Jeff Hardy. Michael Cole describes it as a sickening attack while Taz brings up the argument that it is competition. With Jeff being the walking wounded Christian doesn’t waste time on beating up a dead horse. He gets Jeff back into the ring and he hits the Unprettier. Ever the arrogant wrestler Christian doesn’t look the legs as he covers Jeff.

…1…

…2…

…3…

Edge and Christian defeated The Hardy Boyz @ 09:01

“Over the Edge”

With the shocking turn of events that could see Jeff Hardy sidelined for a very long time Edge and Christian make no secret that they are happy with what has just happened. The WWF Tag Team Champions celebrate their victory inside the ring as medical comes down to check on Hardy. Then in another disgusting act by Edge and Christian they slide to the outside and attack Matt and a defenceless Jeff Hardy. The assault is making Michael Cole, Taz and every fan sick to their stomach. Nobody is stopping this assault until…

‘DEAD MAN WALKING’

“Rollin”

Instantly the attack on The Hardy Boyz stops and Edge and Christian look toward the ramp for a sighting of the demons known as Kane and The Undertaker. A moment passes and nothing is seen so Edge thinks all is well. However Christian takes a step toward the ramp and then realises that while they were looking toward the ramp, nobody was looking behind them!

Kane and The Undertaker are inside the ring watching Edge and Christian almost wet themselves. The crowd is going crazy as The Undertaker looks at his brother and they charge forward! The WWF Tag Team Champions want nothing to do with either Kane or The Undertaker and this is clear because they run up the ramp in a spilt second. No contact was made tonight but is it clear that Kane and The Undertaker what the WWF Tag Team Championships in the near future.

 

[Da Prophet]

*Backstage- Hallway*

With all the troubles going on outside Smackdown changes pace to a calm Chris Benoit sitting down drinking a bottle of water. He is seen putting on his tape for tonight’s match with Angle and a partner of his choosing. All seems well until someone walk up to Benoit causing him to stop.

Chris Benoit: Can I help you?

With confusion all over the face of Benoit the camera zooms out to reveal the man he is talking to is none other than The Rock.

The Rock: Finally… … The Rock has come back to… … Oklahoma!

Huge pop from the fans.

The Rock: Hey, The Rock knows you, you’re Chris Benoit. You’re that guy that made Kurt Angle tap out last week on Smackdown right?

Benoit chuckles softly at the comments made by The Rock.

The Rock: Oh yeah The Rock knows who you are and tonight The Rock knows the situation you are in. Tonight Chris Benoit and a partner vs Kurt Angle and a partner, now that is the match The Rock would love to see live right here in Oklahoma City. But tonight The Rock just doesn’t want to see it, no; The Rock wants to be in that match tonight. For the first time ever Chris Benoit and The Rock vs Kurt Angle and his partner… … Steve Austin.

What! The crowd are stunned to hear that Steve Austin will be the partner for Kurt Angle tonight.

The Rock: The biggest piece of trailer park trash the world has ever seen will team with Kurt Angle tonight on Smackdown. The question stands with you Chris, will you team with The Great One? Will you stand toe to toe with the most electrifying man in all of entertainment? Chris Benoit the question is will you team with The Rock tonight on Smackdown so that The Rock can get his hands on Steve Austin?

Chris Benoit: If you’re up to it, I would be honoured to have you be my partner.

Chris extends a hand to The Rock as a sign of unity and The Rock accepts it. The two shake hands as the main event is set for Smackdown tonight, it will be Chris Benoit and The Rock vs Kurt Angle and Steve Austin in a major tag team match.

--Commercial Break--

The hatred between Regal and Jericho shines through at this moment because Jericho doesn’t even get an entrance on television. When Smackdown returns Chris Jericho is already in the ring awaiting his 3 opponents for tonight.

"What 'Chu Lookin' At?"

The appearance of X-Factor, which consists of X-Pac, Justin Credible and Albert, gets a small amount of heat from the crowd. The group gets into position at the top of the stage X-Pac does his suck it taunt, Albert shows off it arms and Justin Credible does his Shawn Michaels like stance. After this the group heads down to the ring where they surround Chris Jericho. The official explains that only one man can be in the ring at one time but X-Pac hands him a note. After taking the time to read it the official calls Jericho over and Y2J looks pissed. From the looks of it the entire group will be allowed to stay in the ring at one time, it will literally be 3 on 1 for the whole match.

Match #4 - Chris Jericho vs X-Factor (X-Pac, Justin Credible and Albert)

With a 3 on 1 advantage in this match X-Factor are very confident going into it. They all started off by surrounding Jericho and then like a pack of dogs went on the attack. It was a beat down that would last the entire match with Jericho getting little offense because of the numbers advantage that X-Factor had. The Intercontinental Champion was hit with everything that X-Pac could think of as he gave orders throughout the match. At one stage Albert backed up like a truck and then rammed his large body into Jericho who was being held back in the corner. The crowd were shocked to see Jericho being destroyed here tonight but this is what William Regal wanted. His plan was looking perfectly and nothing was stopping it. We did see one brief period where Jericho ducked a clothesline and was able to attempt the Walls of Jericho but Albert was the saving grace for the group. His power was too much of Jericho and with X-Pac being the brains of the operation X-Factor was destined to win this match. In the end Albert came off the second rope with a Vader Bomb and X-Pac covered for the victory.

X-Factor (X-Pac, Justin Credible and Albert) defeated Chris Jericho @ 07:45

"What 'Chu Lookin' At?"

After strong victory for X-Factor tonight but for Chris Jericho it was a death sentence. After taking the huge beating Jericho is down in the middle of the ring and unable to get up. He is seen holding his ribs and suddenly the crowd begins to boo. From the crowd comes Eddie Guerrero, the man that will face Chris Jericho at Backlash and the reigning European Champion. Quickly Eddie climbs onto the top rope, he gives a little shimmy, and then he nails the Frog Splash on Jericho. The crowd is silent while Eddie calls for a microphone.

Eddie Guerrero: Hey papa, can you hear papa?

Nothing is said from Jericho.

Eddie Guerrero: You see the pain you’re in tonight, this is nothing compared to the pain you’ll be in at Backlash. I’ll not only break you but I’ll take you title to. That’s a promise and you know that Eddie never breaks a promise papa.

An evil laugh from Eddie Guerrero.

Eddie Guerrero: Enjoy your little title while you have it Jericho because at Backlash I’ll leave with a championship on both shoulders.

The message is clear; Eddie wants to take the title and will stop at nothing to get it. With just over two weeks until Jericho vs Guerrero anything can happen. After tonight’s attack will Chris Jericho be one hundred precent at Backlash or will Eddie have done enough to get a victory even before they step into the ring?

*Interview Area*

We are back once again with the amazing Jonathan Coachman who is standing by with Crash Holly.

Jonathan Coachman: Ladies and gentleman please welcome my guest, the man who will face Triple H here tonight, Crash Holly.

A visibly shaken Crash walks into the view.

Jonathan Coachman: Crash tonight you face the biggest challenge of your career; it will be you against Triple H. If history is anything to go by then Triple H is certain to be walking out of here with the victory but anything can and probably will happen here in the WWF. Even with such a strong presence surrounding him, can you defeat Triple H?

Crash Holly: I’m the underdog tonight Coach and to be honest it is something I have gotten used to over my career. When people look at me they can tell I’m not the biggest, the strongest or even the smartest but I am the toughest here in the WWF. I’m the Houdini of Hardcore, Coach, I’m the guy that gave the fans so many great moments with the Hardcore Championship. Tonight I’m going to give the fans another huge moment when I upset Triple H.

The crowd pop for Crash and his dream of beating Triple H.

Jonathan Coachman: You don’t really think that do you? You’re talking about Triple H, The Game, he is going to kill you out there.

At first it looks like disappointment on the face of Holly but it quickly turns to an intense look of purpose.

Crash Holly: Win or lose it really doesn’t matter. In the end I always go down swinging.

The crowd are all pumped for Crash Holly to do battle with Triple H tonight, even if he has little chance in the match. With Jonathan Coachman standing with an arrogant smirk Crash walks away and back to the locker room.

*Trainer’s Room*

This edition of Smackdown has been injury central and inside the trainer’s room Chris Jericho is getting his ribs checked out by the doctors. From the sounds that the doctor is making (the basic groan of disapproval for a person’s health) Jericho could be in bad shape heading into Backlash in two weeks.

Chris Jericho: Tell me Terry, how bad is it?

Terry “The Trainer”: It’s hard to tell at this point but things could be worse Chris. You were lucky not to break anything. Just keep the ribs protected over the next few weeks and you should be fine for the match at Backlash with Eddie.

Chris Jericho: That’s sure to work with Regal putting me into these ridiculous matches against multiple opponents.

The trainer continues to feel out the rib area of Jericho.

Terry “The Trainer”: They did do a number on you didn’t they? William does know how to get payback against someone doesn’t he?

Chris Jericho: When you have the power Regal has it is easy to get back at someone. He won’t stop me though, I’ll be able to recover.

Just as Jericho finishes saying this William Regal walks into the room. The WWF Commissioner has a huge smile on his face after seeing his main rival with his ribs all taped up after the beating. Regal admires the work done by X-Factor and he seems overly impressed.

William Regal: Rough night?

Chris Jericho: Not really, tonight was a walk in the park. I’m having the time of my life.

A sudden strike of pain runs through Jericho’s body and causes Chris to groan aloud.

William Regal: Well since you had such a nice time tonight and because you don’t have any injuries I guess you’ll be fine to work this Monday on RAW?

No answer from Jericho but Regal wasn’t looking for one.

William Regal: Of course you will what pointless question for me to ask. You’re Chris Jericho, the Intercontinental Champion, and the fan favourite. I can’t leave you off the card and with Eddie working this Monday it would be unfair for him to work and you not to wouldn’t it?

Chris Jericho: I don’t seem to remember him working tonight Regal. How was that handicap match fair?

William Regal: I don’t need to give reasons for my match making Jericho and who are you to question my authority? I’m doing a fine job as WWF Commissioner and you will soon see Jericho that me having the power is the best choice. Now as for Monday you will compete against an old friend of yours I believe Dean Malenko… … Eddie Guerrero and Perry Saturn.

What! A stunning turn of events that have left Chris Jericho facing three men on Raw this Monday. Jericho looks agitated after hearing the news while William Regal looks overjoyed about the situation he has put Jericho into. Even the trainer looks disturbed at the news but there is nothing anyone can do.

--Commercial Break--

Back from the break we waste no time in waiting for the next match on the card tonight.

"Slow Death"

Solid pop for the Houdini of Hardcore, Crash Holly, who faces one of the biggest challenges of his career facing him in just a few minutes. Holly doesn’t look confident at all; in fact he looks afraid more than anything. Holly enters the ring and awaits the arrival of Triple H.

“The Game”

Here comes The Game. With the entire audience against him tonight Triple H steps out onto the stage with confidence flowing through his body. His muscles are shining, his fists are taped heavily so he can inflict as much damage as possible without coming to injury, as the lights beam down against him. With his bottle of water in his hand Triple H takes a sip before heading down to the ring. After preforming his spitting routine, Triple H enters the ring and gets right in the face of Crash Holly. Obviously Crash is a little tentative at first however Crash finally gets up the courage to shove Triple H away from him. The pop for this action is big and it puts a shock look on the face of the crowd and even Triple H.

Match #5 - Crash Holly vs Triple H

The best way to describe this match is solid but the actual match was the last thing on the mind of the audience when this match was over. The contest last for 10 minutes and was very exciting for everyone that was watching. Triple H and Crash Holly went back and forth throughout the match and this kept the audience on the edge of their seats. For the opening minutes Triple H stuck to his usual ground game and wrestling moves that involved taking your opponent into a submission. The use of submission such as armbars and sleepers came often from Triple as he tried to beat Holly down to the point where he couldn’t fight back. It looked like Triple H was going to run away with this contest in the early stages but a turning point came when these two men were on the top rope. Triple H was firing off rights to the head of Holly, with each one connecting with great force, even as Crash attempted to block. While in this dangerous position and after taking several shots to the head Holly used everything he had to push Triple H off the top rope and to the mat. The reaction from the fans was huge and it looked like Holly had a chance to take the match at this point. With a big chance Holly took his time and allowed Triple H to stand up. When Triple H turned around Holly jumped, connecting with a missile dropkick. It hit spot on and the crowd cheered like mad. Holly moved into the cover and with the world watching the official slid into the count but it was only two!

A loud groan from the crowd was heard all over the arena and even Holly himself had to show how upset he was about not getting the victory he wanted so bad. Triple H found his way up to his feet but was still reeling from the effects of the attack. He stumbled up into the arms of Holly who went for a suplex, which was countered by Triple H into a modified brainbuster in the middle of the ring. To say that this match was a surprise in terms of actual offense from both men would be a major understatement. Nobody thought Holly had a chance but the little guy stuck in there and was able to execute the biggest counter of 2001. When we were nearing the 10 minute mark Triple H got cocky after hitting the spinebuster. His arrogance caused him to yell at fans, taunt Holly who was on the ground and even give him a slap across the back of the head. All of this time that was wasted allow Crash Holly to execute a school boy on Triple H. The crowd went nuts when Holly got the three count on Triple H. Yes, Crash Holly just pinned The Game! Crash Holly just upset Triple H on Smackdown.

Crash Holly defeated Triple H @ 10:27

"Slow Death"

The people are stunned, Cole and Taz are stunned and Triple H is stunned! Crash Holly just beat a former WWF Champion right here on Smackdown. The arena is going nuts for this moment and Crash Holly is shedding tears of joy as he stumbles up the ramp. He couldn’t stay in the ring or anywhere near the ringside area because Triple H has snapped. The Game begins to destroy anything that isn’t nailed down after losing his match. All the focus that should be on Holly has turned to Triple H while he attacks a camera man who was just standing there filming this outbreak. Nobody is able to control Triple H not even the security that grabs him. Two guards grab Triple H but he is able to fight back and he punches them in the face! The people are stunned at what they are seeing and it doesn’t look to be ending.

Without any notice the camera switches to a video package so the audience doesn’t see what happens next (more guards were coming down).

WrestleMania 17 Highlights
[youtube]ye1zEQQszto[/youtube]​

Before the commercial break takes place Chris Benoit is shown standing near the entrance. His music hits and Benoit heads out the curtain as the show goes to commercial.

--Commercial Break--

“If Ya Smell”

A huge ovation breaks out, to the no surprise of nobody, for The Rock. Even with all the fame this man has, The Rock still takes the time to give a little kid a high five, hitting a soft spot for Michael Cole. With Rock and Benoit standing inside the ring they have a moment of tense with neither moving an inch. While they may be partner for tonight you can never be positive with who you can trust.

“Medal”

Straight after the music hits the crowd begins to chant ‘You Suck’ at our Olympic Hero Kurt Angle. Having gain a pinfall victory over Chris Benoit at WrestleMania, Angle comes into this match with a lot of confidence. He has also picked an amazing partner, the reigning WWF Champion, Steve Austin. Angle doesn’t enter the ring instead he waits down at the bottom of the ramp for his back up to arrive.

“Glass Shatters”

Definitely the biggest amount of heat for a superstar tonight and that is saying something. With the WWF Championship hanging from his shoulder, Steve Austin starts heading down to the ring. Austin doesn’t interact with the fans, instead he focuses on The Rock, causing most of the fans to feel disrespected. The Champion enters the ring, with Angle following, and the first thing he does is get right in the face of The Rock. The crowd come alive as Rock and Austin start talking smack and the tension is high. The official tells everyone to go into a corner so this match can get underway. It has a big fight feel to tonight’s encounter and with four huge superstars it should.

Match #6 - Chris Benoit and The Rock vs Kurt Angle and Steve Austin

The bell sounds in the background and this match is underway. To begin it’s Chris Benoit vs Steve Austin because Angle had no intension of facing off against Chris tonight. While it is a little disappointing for Benoit not to get his hands on Angle this does give him the chance to show his skills against the best in the federation. Benoit asks for a lock up, Austin goes to accept the challenge, only for Austin to strike with a right hand to the face. A hard shot from Austin and continues with the powerful right hands. After four hard punches to the head Austin sends Benoit into the ropes and then he ducks down for a back body drop. The quicker of the two men, Benoit, is able to put the brakes on and counter with a swinging neckbreaker. With his history of neck problems a move like that could cause real damage to the champion. Benoit took advantage with a quick cover following the neckbreaker.

…1…

...Kick Out…

Surprisingly kicks out but right away he holds his neck for safety. It doesn’t look to be any real trouble and Austin goes right back into fight mode. The two legal men in this match trade shots in the centre with Austin getting the better of the situation. He strikes again with a kick to the stomach and then Austin throws Benoit to the outside of the ring. The match continues on the outside with Austin grabbing Benoit by the head and dragging him over to the guard rail. A little trash talking from Steve costs him and allows Benoit the chance to deliver an elbow and slam Austin head first into the rail. A loud pop from the audience and Benoit does it again to the same reaction. While we aren’t on the basketball levels yet with how many times Austin hits the rail, Benoit does do it a fair amount of times. With the crowd cheering him on Benoit watches as Austin crawls toward the ring apron. The former Texas Rattlesnake pulls him to a vertical base using the cover of the ring. Austin looks stunned for the moment so Benoit makes a move to take advantage.

At a count of eight Benoit breaks the count and then he goes back to the outside. While keeping an eye on the official Benoit grabs Austin by the arm, drags him over to the ring post, and slams his right arm into the steel! As mentioned by Jim Ross “steel always win” and this is no different. You can hear the smack that the bone makes when it hits the steel and it is sickening. In this business it is anything goes and Benoit is making sure he does everything he can to take down the WWF Champion. Quickly Benoit sends Austin back into the ring and he goes for another cover on the champion.

…1…

…2…

…Kick Out…

Austin is fighting through the pain his right hand is in which is no surprise. For the first time in this match The Rock makes some noise by calling for the tag from Benoit. The two give each other the nod and Benoit allows The Rock into this match. To say The Rock gets a pop is an understatement because the crowd goes nuts for a tag. In comes the Braham Bull with his fighting shoes on. The crowd begin a “Rocky” chant which gets The Rock all pumped up for this encounter. Slowly Austin finds his way back up to a vertical base but he doesn’t find the view any better than the ring mat he was on. The first thing Austin comes into contact with is a big old right hand punch from The Peoples Champion. Another shot from Rock and Austin stumbles back a little. The Rock continues to hammer away for a short period of time and changes his attack to sending Austin into a corner. The crowd once again cheers for Rocky as he comes rushing forward at Austin. Boot meets face of Rocky and the crafty Steve Austin saw that one coming. Austin was able to get the boot up and The Rock had no chance to stop before coming into contact with the leather.

From here Austin looks to keep the control so he drops a knee into the back of The Rock. The attack focuses on the lower back area of The Rock, Austin does change it up a little with him going after the legs and knees at one point. After taking a fair amount of abuse so far, Austin feels the time has come for a tag which he makes after moving The Rock to the corner of the ring. A small amount of double teaming occurs while Austin is leaving and Angle is entering the ring. It’s nothing major, just a few cheap shots from both men. The Rock is in a pretty bad position and Angle looks super confident. He drives the knee into the stomach and then he takes Rock down to a body scissors and rear chin lock. The Olympic Hero is showing what types of moves won him the gold medal he wears around his neck so proudly and it is all coming at the expense of The Rock. With Angle working the body, which is all follow up from the work Austin did, Chris Benoit shows concern on his face as he watches his dreams of facing Angle again at Backlash slowly slip away before him tonight.

The match begins to turn the speed up at this point, Rock has been in the grasp of Angle for thirty seconds and the crowd have begun to come restless. They chant for Rocky to bring some life back to this match but Angle doesn’t care if the fans are entertained at all. He changes position, going from the body scissors to a grounded face lock, and this doesn’t please the fans at all. They want action and excitement but Angle only wants the victory. His hold is so strong, a right hand from Rock might change that and another, so when Rock breaks it the crowd goes crazy. The people come alive once more as The Rock fires four quick shots to the face of Angle. He then runs toward the ropes and nails a huge clothesline sending Angle down to the canvas. With the crowd behind him The Rock raises his right hand and gives Austin the middle finger for good luck! He isn’t telling Austin that he is number one but that got a laugh out of the crowd. Feeling disrespected Austin gets himself into this match and the place is rumbling. Rock vs Austin in the ring and the tension is high. Both men circle the ring, with Austin talking some smack along the way. Two icons of this business look the other dead in the eye and the fight is on.

Austin and Rock throwing bombs tonight on Smackdown the crowd is going nuts for this. Nothing is bigger than the WrestleMania main event we had this year, even still the fans still want more. A shot from Austin catches The Rock just in the right place to send him down to the mat. Austin jumps into the mount position and hammers away with closed fist punches to the head. The official comes in and orders for the position to be broken but Austin doesn’t care. He hammers away and is not stopping for anyone. His hatred for The Rock has taken over and the official begins the count for a disqualification. The count gets to a four before Angle comes in and pulls Austin off the Rock! A stunning turn of events and let the pigeons loose at this point. Angle is screaming at Austin to keep his cool because he doesn’t want to face Benoit again. The two partners seem to have settled it with Angle going back to the outside. After the incident Austin calls the official over to the make the count for another pin attempt.

…1…

…2…

…Kick Out…

A Huge pop from the audience for the kick out by The Rock. Austin shakes his head and argues that the count was to slow by the official. The arguing only last a second or two before Austin goes back on the attack. He picks Rock up by the arm, drags him over to the ropes and drops a knee across the lower back. He does this not once but three times to get just enough damage so The Rock isn’t able to pull of some of his big signatures moves that involve lower back strength. From here Austin moves over to the corner, lines up his shot and goes for a running boot to the head. Unfortunately The Rock moves out of the way and Austin trips forward face first into the turnbuckle. He hits the upper padded turnbuckle, bounces back into a DDT from The Rock which is followed by a cover.

…1…

…2…

…Kick Out…

It is still not enough to end this match and both teams are wondering what has to be done here. The Rock is in a huge amount of pain at the moment with his lower back being the focal point of all the attacks. He looks over at his corner and sees the arm extended by Chris Benoit. The crowd are all cheering The Rock on but while he is making his way to the corner so is Steve Austin. It’s a race between two legends, who will win? Both men are just inches away- Angle gets the tag- he rushes forward- Rocky gets the tag- Chris Benoit is the legal man and he comes flying into the ring. Benoit goes right to work on Angle who tries to back away out of the ring but Benoit isn’t allowing him to go anywhere. The place is hot for Benoit who nails forearm after forearm before hitting a suplex. Benoit comes in off the hot tag and has Angle running for his life. You can tell that Angle does not want any part of Benoit but at this point he is getting a large serving.

Chris Benoit continues to use his suplexs to take down Angle and after about two minutes of beating the crap out of Angle tonight, Benoit pauses. He looks down at Angle who has just received a massive German suplex off the second rope as he went to climb away and Angle isn’t moving. Benoit can smell the match with Angle at Backlash and he gets another cheap pop for doing his throat cutting taunt. The place goes nuts, Benoit is on the top rope and he nails the flying head butt right on Angle. Cover by Benoit as he looks to seal the deal with Angle for Backlash.

…1…

…2…

…3…

Chris Benoit has a match with Kurt Angle at Backlash ladies and gentleman.

Chris Benoit and The Rock defeated Kurt Angle and Steve Austin @ 15:57

"Whatever"

We have the match set for Backlash this year ladies and gentleman, it will be Chris Benoit vs Kurt Angle in a rematch from WrestleMania 17. It was a match that Angle didn’t want to have but because Benoit has pinned Angle tonight we will see it live on pay per view. After successfully booking himself into a match for the PPV, Benoit climbs on top of the turnbuckle and celebrates. His fans are all cheering him on while Angle rolls out of the ring. Smackdown looks set to go off the air with Benoit standing tall until Steve Austin slides into the ring without Benoit seeing him. He rushes toward Benoit, who had just gotten down from the turnbuckle, with the belt in hand. A shot with the title is missed and Benoit shoves Austin right into the arms of The Rock!

ROCK BOTTOM TO THE WWF CHAMPION STEVE AUSTIN FROM THE ROCK!

It is insane tonight on Smackdown with The Rock getting some payback for the attack on Monday. We end this night with Chris Benoit and The Rock, who now holds the WWF Championship in his hand, standing in the same ring while Angle scrambles up the ramp and Steve Austin is out cold on the ground. Michael Cole and Taz sign off from Oklahoma City for WWF Smackdown.

End Show

Scheduled Card For Backlash
April 29, 2001 - Rosemont, IL

Intercontinental Championship
Chris Jericho © vs Eddie Guerrero

Chris Benoit vs Kurt Angle

*card subject to change*​

 

[Da Prophet]

Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Following the April 5 edition of Smackdown Jeff Hardy is reportedly suffering from a serious injury. Hardy was involved in a spot where he was knocked off the top rope but things didn’t go to plan. Instead of landing on his side Hardy ended up landing on his knee. The match quickly came to an end afterwards and officials rushed down to the ring. When the show went to commercial Jeff Hardy was helped up and ramp and then rushed to the hospital. No word on what is wrong with the knee but it according to several sources Hardy will be out for 7 months at least. This puts Hardy out until November in the calendar. It would seem that The Hardy Boyz were in line to get the tag team championships in the coming months with Judgment Day being an event that continues to come up. The scene wasn’t pretty when Hardy left Smackdown, apparently screaming out in pain because of the injury.

It has been just over a week since Shane McMahon announced he had purchased World Championship Wrestling and a huge amount of discussion has been devoted to the possible angles involving members of WCW. The idea of an invasion by WCW wrestlers was the first thing that creative pushed to Vince McMahon and he seemed happy with the outline that was presented to him. However one member of creative presented the idea of both WCW and the nWo faction coming into the company to take over. The general idea would be that the nWo would work together with WCW in the hope of destroying McMahon. Both ideas were seemingly liked by Vince and nothing has been decided on what will happen with the WCW wrestlers. Some members of creative feel that the fans may not want to see an invasion so anything could or may not happen at this stage.

Rumours have been flying around the WWF about The Rock possibly taking time off in the near future. It would seem that The Rock has offers from several Hollywood directors to star in upcoming movie roles. It should be noted that The Rock’s contract is up with the World Wrestling Federation after Backlash which takes place on April 29, 2001.

Finally a former member of the Extreme Championship Wrestling organisation has signed with the WWF today. At this point nobody is talking about who it is but it would seem it is either Rob Van Dam, Tommy Dreamer or Sabu that will be making their way to the WWF in coming months.

A little bit of news to keep everyone happy over the Christmas period. I have started work of RAW so the preview will be up when I'm finished the show. Hopefully I can get it done before the new year. Merry Christmas to everyone.

 

[LSN80]

LSN's review of Smackdown for April 5th, 2001​

---I like the fact that you recalled that Smackdown was on Thursdays at this point, so very nice touch here. I would have forgetfully gone with "Friday Night Smackdown" myself, so Kudos to remembering the small things.

--Decent heel promo from Angle to start the show, although it went a little long. I was also slightly let down when he referenced the "life-changing" event that would take place that night, only for him to refer to it being him appearing on the show. Sure, it's heel heat to exaggerate one's greatness, and it did lead in to him bragging about how he beat Benoit, so it worked. But I was relieved when Benoit did come out, as I felt the promo was starting to drag somewhat, to be honest.

--- From the intense staredown between Angle and Benoit, I loved the interaction between the two. Benoit rightfully pointed out that he made Angle tap out, and it was a good heel tactic to have Angle accept the rematch with Benoit for that night, only to change his mind and have him win a tag match first. It would have been too soon for the two to have another one-on-one match the first Smackdown after Wrestlemania.

--- No reason given for the match between Test and Raven, with nothing at stake? Seems on par for the Attitude Era. Anyway, nice job of building Test to being sympathetic with him having lost his title at Wrestlemania, and overcoming Raven's cheating to win the match. Cole covered nicely with discussing how this win was the chance for Test to "climb the ladder" if he keeps winning.

---A decent promo by the Hardy Boyz, but it can't help me think that they're going to lose once again. Could we be seeing a long losing steak with the two before a nasty split? With them losing to X-Factor Monday, I don't see them defeating Edge and Christian tonight. Maybe I'm reading into things, but with the two cutting the other off, it seems like you're planting seeds of dissension. If so, nice start.

---HHH vs......Crash Holly? This seems like somewhat of a letdown after his match with the Undertaker on Sunday. Maybe it's just an enhancement win to give him some heat back with a decisive win, and possibly a beatdown afterwards. HHH seems to be someone without a real direction right now.

---I legitimately laughed at the promo by RTC, as Richards was so believable in his delivery in the past. The long nature of the promo and the attacks on Chyna sort of foreshadowed their win over the Dudley's, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. They had the numbers advantage and took full advantage of it.

---Enjoyable backstage interaction between Jericho and William Regal. I like Jericho referencing the tea incident between he and Regal, and Regal doesn't even pretend to hide his disdain for Jericho, nor does he hesitate to put him into a handicap match. Looking forward to that later in the show. I'm thinking Jericho will overcome the odds here.

--- Good video package for Backlash. I like the highlighting of the big Wrestlemania moments and how those feuds will continue at Backlash. The narration highlighting those specific feuds was good as well.

--- Well, I was wrong about the Hardy's here. I like how you took a big match approach to what truly is a big match. Jeff getting injured and being targeted by E &C made sense from a psychology standpoint, and it gives the Hardy's an out for losing. Obviously the bigger concern is Jeff's injury, and the return of Kane and The Undertaker to stop the attack on Matt and Jeff. Obviously this changes the dynamic of the tag team division completely, I just hope Edge and Christian don't get squashed in all of this.

---I like the backstage interaction between Rock and Benoit. This is a nice way of mixing two feuds into one, with some decent stakes. I think it gives away Rock and Benoit winning to give Rock a win back after WM17 and Raw, and Benoit his match with Angle, but this works for me. \

---Nice touch not giving Jericho entrance music. Why should he get it when he's feuding with the WWE Commissioner, and pissing him off? Regal should do everything and anything to make Jericho's life difficult, and even head games like this are nice. And although I expected Jericho to overcome the odds and pick up the win, X-Factor getting the win was the right call with them not only winning on Raw(with this win building momentum), but a 3-1 loss would be detrimental. Good booking. I like the Guerrero pairing at Backlash after the post-match attack, and Regal putting him in an even more difficult handicap on Raw.

---Wow, Crash Holly defeating HHH! Apparently HHH took him lightly, at least that was the story I got from the match. Hopefully this will lead to a storyline in some way with HHH, perhaps a losing streak that turns him face?

---Really good main event to close out Smackdown. The aggression from all four men worked here and it was good that you limited the interaction between the two feuding, and had Austin/Benoit and Rock/Angle work the majority of the match together. This avoids overexposure, and when they did interact, it leaves the fans wanting more, giving them incentive to buy the PPV. The right outcome was here, as Benoit/Angle needs to happen again, and following the Rock Bottom from Rock to Austin, it appears this will be a match for Backlash as well, although not officially announced yet.

---Good show. Everything here seemed to build towards Backlash or serve some purpose. The Angle/Benoit promo picked up when Benoit came out, and Test/Raven was serviceable. Crash Holly defeating HHH was a surprise for sure, but hopefully for storyline purposes. The Regal/Jericho interaction was great, and Regal surely is stacking the deck against Jericho before Backlash. I'm interested in a Kane/Undertaker vs Edge/Christian feud, as long as E & C aren't buried. The main event was excellent in writing and storytelling, and I like how those two feuds are progressing. Nothing blew me away here or felt special, but not every show needs that to work. Good show. B+

---

 

[Theo Mays]

Bearded Review

Sorry for the lateness of the review Proph, as I read the show the minute it was put up but seemingly forgot to give some feedback. Shall we dance?

-I liked the Jericho involvement in the show here. He was prominently focused on and his little feud with Regal and Eddie has been fantastic. I liked Jericho much better here than I did on Raw. Jericho being a badass on Raw wasn't like Jericho (like GCB said), but here you hit him perfect. Kudos.

-Crash Holly defeated Triple H I expected, but that isn't a bad thing. Crash Holly is one of my guys and this sort of reminds me of Shelton Benjamin's surprise victory over Hunter on Raw. Hopefully this means something is coming for Crash in the midcard scene. I look forward to seeing how that develops.

-A Hardy injury angle? Interesting as it seems you'll be taking away a strong point of the tag team division. I recall you mentioning you struggle with Hardy and maybe this is why the move was made. Time for either a new team or possibly X-Factor to step it up and do work.

-I enjoyed the work with Angle and Benoit. I thought it was top notch and easily the best part of the show. They really work well together and you've hit that nicely. However I wasn't really feeling Rock/Benoit's segment. Something just felt off about it. Maybe I just can't see the pairing work. Also would have liked to see something with Angle/Austin to confirm the teaming.

-Overall I felt the show was solid though. I enjoyed it more than I did Raw, but I expect Raw to get better now that it seems you got into the flow of things with SD. Segments were mostly solid and the matches as always were top notch. I'm interested to seeing where we go from here with the WCW/nWo stuff and who may or may not be there. I expect the ideas are brewing and I look forward to seeing them come to fruition.

 

[Da Prophet]

RAW is War!| April 9, 2001
Boston, MA​

The Battle Royal​

With just 13 days separating us from Backlash the WWF Champion Steve Austin will discover who his opponent will be for the event. In the main event of Raw is War! 10 men will battle it out in an over the top battle royal with the winner gaining the chance to face Austin on PPV. The men in that match will be announced on Raw but we can confirm that The Undertaker, The Rock and Triple H will be in the match. With these three big names 7 other men will step into the ring with their eyes on the main event. All 10 men will start inside the ring with the only way you can be eliminated is to be thrown over the top rope with both feet hitting the floor. Anything is legal in this match so expect to see eye raking, low blows and even a possible hiding under the ring tactic like Jerry Lawler did back in the day. No word on what Steve Austin will be doing on Raw but we can be sure that the champion will be watching to see his next challenger.​

By order of WWF Commissioner William Regal once again Chris Jericho will face, what looks to be, unbeatable odds. It will be Chris Jericho, the reigning Intercontinental Champion, facing off against Perry Saturn, Dean Malenko and Eddie Guerrero in a 1 vs 3 handicap match. After all the problems between Jericho and Regal the WWF Commissioner seems to be doing his best to make sure Jericho isn’t able to compete at Backlash. If Chris Jericho is hurt then it will be easy pickings for Eddie who can take the title from the arch rival of William Regal. Even after the beating he took on Smackdown Chris Jericho continues to fight. Will The Radicalz weaken Chris Jericho even more then he already is? Perhaps Chris Jericho will pull through with the miracle and beat the 3 men. Anything can happen so tune in and watch Monday Night Raw this week.​

Speaking of upsets this past week on Smackdown Crash Holly picked up a huge victory over Triple H. It was a match up that looked like Triple H was going to walk all over Crash but things turned on The Game. It was a roll up that saw Crash Holly gain the biggest victory of his career and pushed him to a spot he has never seen before. This week Triple H will be in the arena to address what happened on Smackdown and to possibly confront Crash over the victory. What is going to happen when Triple H gets a live microphone in his hand? Will The Game stay composed or will he go over the rail this week?​

We will also see the Hardcore Champion Kane defend his title against Raven in the opening contest for Raw. After losing the title to Kane at WrestleMania Raven has been asking for his rematch and this week he finally receives it. Anything goes when these two meet in the ring live on Raw is War!​

-- Confirmed --​

10 Man Battle Royal – WWF Championship Number One Contendership
Chris Jericho vs The Radicalz (Perry Saturn, Dean Malenko and Eddie Guerrero)
Triple H speaks about Crash Holly​

-- Plus --​

Kane defends the WWF Hardcore Championship against Raven​

 

[GCB]

Finally, I’ve got chance to post you a review, Proph. Sorry for the delay, been busy.

Big night for the first SMACKDOWN since WM17 – Angle, Benoit opening the show, Triple H, Rock and Austin to come. Sure to be a humdinger of a show with those five guys guaranteed. I liked the opening segment with Kurt Angle – seemed a very ‘Angle’ like speech. Ignoring the fact that he tapped out, exactly as he did IRL, Angle would never accept that he was inferior to Benoit. Siding with Vince was clever as well due to the obvious hate towards him right now. Having said that, I didn’t buy Benoit so much – I reckon his intensity will prove hard to write with and would suggest that words alone aren’t going to do it. From what I remember of Benoit, a lot of his interaction was via the way he conducted himself rather than what he said. Either way, a chance to earn a Backlash match with Angle – interesting to see how you write that one. Angle vs. Benoit was full of mat wrestling and I reckon that could be difficult to write. I’m looking forward to it – I fully expect it will happen!

Good to see some comments referring to WrestleMania, i.e. noting Test losing the European Title for example. I wanted you to make sure you reminded us of this more for other readers who might have forgotten. Test gets a big win over Raven – I like this. Although it was Raven who was getting a decent build IRL, I don’t think Test was ever utilised as well as he could have been after T&A. Hoping to see big things as he moves up the ranks, maybe into IC Title contention down the line? Woop woop, a win for the RTC! I loved RTC – another set of guys not used to their full extent, they just ended up being fodder for Undertaker in the end I think? They beat an established team in the Dudleys and with Hardys losing to X-Factor on RAW, you’ve already got the makings of an exciting Tag Team division. If I was to be critical of WWF at this time, it was exciting with Dudleys, E&C, Hardys and APA but there wasn’t much more than this. Already you have RTC and X-Factor involved, maybe Taker and Kane too. I do think that you could use babyface champions as you have a stack of heel teams – Hardys or Dudleys makes sense right now. They could feud with E&C, then X Factor and RTC down the line.

Continuation of Jericho and Regal having issues and I see Regal interfering in the Backlash IC Title match with Jericho and Eddie Guerrero. I can’t decide if you will have Regal helping Eddie to win the IC gold or if you will – considering Eddie has the European Title – have Jericho win and then face Regal later down the line. Either way, you caught Regal well in his promo and I hope you continue using him in a big way as he is a favourite of mine from this time. Interesting way to end the Tag Team match as Jeff Hardy appears injured. I’m not sure what your reasoning for this is – I know you don’t like Matt and Jeff much but they make an interesting team in WWF. I think you especially need them for the heel teams. You were teasing that Matt and Jeff were having slight tensions in their promo so I wonder if Matt will go as a singles competitor instead and turn heel by blaming Jeff? Undertaker and Kane make the save for Team Extreme – I will say this again, I hate this. Undertaker took out the red hot Triple H only four days ago and now he is going after the Tag Team gold? Kane just won the Hardcore Title and now goes after Tag Team gold? You have some great teams without throwing the Brothers of Destruction in there too. They should be feuding with the main eventers IMO.

Right, Rock teams with Benoit. Hmmm. I like it, I can see the reasons for it. I would have had Benoit approaching Rock for the match as it didn’t seem a very ‘Rock’ thing to do. That’s me being picky there though! Unsurprisingly, X-Factor destroy Jericho and you didn’t get tempted to give Jericho much offense in the match – good. Eddie Guerrero sneaking in to hit the Frog Splash was the exclamation mark and just shows how much jeopardy the IC Title is in right now. With Regal seemingly favouring Eddie here, well, hating Jericho anyway, Eddie should become champion. I doubt it though. Now, now, Crash Holly and Triple H. You know, I had a feeling you would have Crash win this one as soon as it was announced. From his interview, it was there. I’m not sure what this was meant to accomplish but it better be a set up for something or else! I just don’t see what benefit this can have on your show – nobody will ever take Crash Holly seriously for anything higher than the Hardcore Title. It must be a bigger picture for a story with Triple H – I’ll wait to see what happens before I tell you I hate it though!!!!

Nice one for posting the YouTube video for WM17. Still needs a list of results though!

Main event and for me there is only one outcome here – Rock and Benoit must win so that Benoit gets Angle at Backlash and to start to further the feud for Rock and Austin. I am surprised that there has been no repercussion tonight for Rock’s attack on Vince McMahon but I expect it on RAW. Benoit and Rock do win, Benoit getting the pin on Angle. That is good. The WWE would have had Rock pin Angle there for fear of making Angle look weak in the lead up to Backlash. Good on you for having Benoit pin Angle to even up the score from WM. Whoever comes out on top in this feud has to go after Austin/Rock after Backlash. Benoit vs. Austin or Rock vs. Angle? Seeing as Rock has had the title and he won it from Angle before WM, I think it has got to be Benoit vs. Austin after Backlash. I hope so. Especially after Benoit aided Rock in hitting the Rock Bottom.

I think that was a great show and I am enjoying what you are doing, Proph. I don’t agree with Crash winning or Undertaker and Kane going for the Tag Team Championships but it still entertains me. Looking forward to RAW.

 

[Da Prophet]

Thanks for the review GCB, really like reading what you have to say. I would like to clear a few things up though. Firstly the upset victory for Crash Holly is leading to bigger things for Triple H but at the moment I wanted to give him something to do while people like Austin, Taker, Rock and the other main eventers are busy. So putting him against a young guy like Crash who can get a surprise victory keeps him doing something instead of random matches each week. I'm not looking to make Crash a main eventer but I would like to make him a solid IC Champion or something like that at one point. I could have done Taker vs Triple H but I wanted to get away from the WWF angles.

As for Taker and Kane being a tag team, relax, it isn't going to last to long. I have plans for both of them but I'm still finding my base with this thread so give it time. Don't judge the angles so quickly with only one week of shows to go on. I understand people want Taker in the main event and I do to but things need to happen first. I'm going to do something with Edge/Christian and Taker/Kane very soon so I can't really change anything at this point.

I have said it many times that I hate writing as Jeff Hardy so getting him out was for my own personal issues with his character. I would like to give Matt Hardy a run as a singles competitor and with teams like APA, Too Cool, Dudley Boyz and more teams that will arrive when I reach KOTR, I think I have enough to get rid of Jeff. I've always liked writing for Matt Hardy and I think it will be better in the long run.

 

[Da Prophet]

RAW is War!| April 9, 2001
Boston, MA

The Battle Royal​

~ Opening Video

~ Pyro

Jim Ross: Welcome ladies and gentleman to the greatest show in professional wrestling today, this is Monday Night Raw. Tonight we are in Boston as we make our way toward the pay per view event known as Backlash. Tonight, as always, I’m joined by my broadcast partner Paul Heyman.

Paul Heyman: Can you feel the excitement JR? Tonight is going to be huge because we will crown a challenger for the WWF Championship. Ten superstars will battle it out to for a chance to face Steve Austin at Backlash. The only way someone can be eliminated is to be thrown over the top rope with both feet hitting the floor, it’s like the Royal Rumble but this time everyone will be inside the ring.

Jim Ross: Not only will we see that match here tonight but Raw will also feature a Hardcore Championship match between the reigning champion Kane and former champion Raven. After the intense match at WrestleMania 17 between Kane, Raven and The Big Show we have truly seen how violent the hardcore division is and tonight we get to see even more of it.

Paul Heyman: You know I’m the godfather of hardcore wrestling right?

Jim Ross: Sure Paul. Anyway Monday Night Raw never disappoints the great fans that tune in every single week. Tonight is going to huge in the development of Backlash and by the end of the night we will all know who is going to be in the main event of that pay per view with the WWF Championship on the line.

The Never Ending Story

The crowd break out into a massive cheer when “If Ya Smell” blasts over the arena. Not a single person in the building is sitting down or booing at this moment. The reaction is amazing and it manages to become even louder with the appearance of The Rock. The Peoples Champion strides out from behind the curtain with his neck stretched out. The Rock then heads toward the ring with a microphone already in his hand. Once inside The Rock stands dead centre of the ring, stalls for dramatic suspense, while the crowd chants his name.

The Rock: Finally… The Rock has come back… … to Boston.

A cheap but rather large pop from the crowd because of the city mention.

The Rock: After eight days of hearing Steve Austin talk about how he is going to change the WWF and how he has changed into this corporate champion, The Rock cannot stand it anymore. After hearing all the talk from Austin about how he beat The Rock at WrestleMania and all the talk about him beating The Rock like a government mule by using a steel chair, there is only one thing left to say.

Long pause from The Rock.

The Rock: SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTH!

Big pop from the crowd.

The Rock: After taking more than 15 chair shots The Rock made it to his feet not once but twice. Nothing that Steve Austin could throw at The Rock was good enough to keep your champion down. With every last ounce of strength The Rock rose to his feet even with defeat staring The Rock right in the face. WrestleMania was a test of not only strength but also resilience, perseverance and courage. At the end of the night Steve Austin may have had his hand raised but he did not prove himself to be better than The Rock in anything. Even if WrestleMania 17 is going to be remember for Steve Austin winning the WWF Championship, The Rock will always remember it as the day Steve Austin screwed The Great One.

For the first time tonight The Rock makes comments that get a negative reaction.

The Rock: Time after time Steve Austin and The Rock face off with the outcome always being uncertain. WrestleMania was The Rock’s night to win it all. But for the second year in a row Vince McMahon screwed The Rock on the biggest stage of ‘em all. The Rock looked at WrestleMania as the cultivation of a lifetime of hard work in this business. With the lights on bright, the fans cheering, it was set to be the greatest moment in The Rock’s career. But Steve Austin took that away, he screwed me. Some say to forgive and forget well The Rock will never forget what Steve Austin did.

Some more cheers from the crowd.

The Rock: Tonight in the battle royal The Rock will win and go on to face Steve Austin at Backlash. Not only will The Rock gain a chance to face Austin but The Rock promises that the WWF Championship will be back around the waist of the Peoples Champion. Not only that but The Rock says this, Steve Austin you bald headed son of bitch when The Rock gets his hands on you the world will see the biggest ass kicking they have ever seen.

Another big pop for Rocky as he throws his sunglasses to the ground.

The Rock: Not only will The Rock kick your ass Austin but after your face turns blue, The Rock will go and knock the teeth out of the mouth of Vincent Kennedy McMahon himself. It doesn’t matter where you are on the corporate ladder from the janitor to Vince himself, The Rock will shove his boot straight up your candy ass!

“Glass Shatters” gets the attention of not only the audience but also The Rock. After a moment of anticipation Steve Austin, the extremely arrogant WWF Champion, steps forward onto the stage. A harsh reception for Austin tonight in Boston but once again he doesn’t give a damn what these people think about him. All Austin cares about is the WWF Championship which he holds on his shoulder. Tonight Austin decides not to head down to the ring, instead he stays on the ramp, probably for safety if nothing else.

Steve Austin: This has got to be the most boring start to a Monday Night Raw in the history of the WWF. I have never seen someone talk more bullshit then you Rock. You cry and cry about being beaten at WrestleMania and I’ve been in the back trying not to throw up. You sound like a spoiled brat who didn’t get his dummy from his dad. You sound pathetic you idiot.

The Rock: Hold the phone, Steve Austin is calling The Rock pathetic; you are saying that The Rock is pathetic?

A loud Rocky chant breaks out over the arena.

Steve Austin: Last time I checked I was the one standing tall at WrestleMania. I left you down on the mat screaming in pain just like I do every time we face. Not only did I prove that Steve Austin is the biggest and greatest star in this business today but I also proved that Steve Austin is better than The Rock.

The Rock: You aren’t better than The Rock, you have never been better than The Rock. WrestleMania 17 didn’t prove you were better, what WrestleMania proved was that Steve Austin is coward. You stand there and talk about being the toughest son of a bitch on the planet but eight days ago the world saw Steve Austin take the cheap way out. Not only did you join forces with the devil himself Vince McMahon but you also threw away all of these people. They supported you through thick and thin and at WrestleMania you threw them in the trash for the WWF Championship.

Steve Austin: And I would do it again in a heartbeat. I said that I would do anything to win this title and nothing you say will take this away from me. I am the WWF Champion Rock and that means I’m the best. I’m the top dog of this company, I’m the man. You are nothing more than an afterthought when it comes to facing Steve Austin. I gave you two main events at WrestleMania and you wouldn’t have been in either without me. I made you superstar Rock. I gave you the breakthrough moment of your career and that was you getting hit with the stunner at WrestleMania 15.

Austin lifts the WWF Championship up above his head.

Steve Austin: You will never hold this championship as long as I am in this company. I plan on going into next year’s WrestleMania with this around my waist. If anyone can do that it will be me. Nobody is tougher then Steve Austin and whether you win or lose the battle royal it doesn’t matter. At the end of Backlash I will still be the WWF Ch---

The Rock: You will be nothing! At the end of Backlash the only man standing will be the NEW WWF Champion and that will be The Rock!

Rocky leans forward and places the microphone right on his lips.

The Rock: IF YA SMELL… … WHAT THE ROCK… … IS COOKING!

“If Ya Smell” plays in the background with the crowd going crazy. The hype for the battle royal has begun and anyone can win. The chance to face off against Steve Austin is on the line and by the remarks made by Rocky he wants it bad. Who will win? The camera focuses switches back between Austin and Rock so that the stare off takes us to a commercial break.

-- Commercial Break --

Coming back from the break "What About Me?” hits and out comes Raven. In the opening contest for Raw, Raven will face off against Kane in a Hardcore Match for the Hardcore Championship. Raven brings some protection to the ring in the form of a steel chair which will be legal in this contest.

Jim Ross: Hello ladies and gentleman and welcome back to Raw. Just moments ago we saw that incredible exchange between The Rock and Steve Austin which adds even more interest to our main event for tonight. We could get a rematch from WrestleMania if The Rock can win Paul.

Paul Heyman: I’m pumped for later tonight but now we have Raven challenging for the Hardcore Championship against the monster Kane. You know Raven is going to win this right JR?

Jim Ross: All I know is that Kane got a victory over Raven at WrestleMania to win the title so if anyone has an advantage it would be Kane going into this match. Plus the guy is huge and it’s anything goes in this match.

Paul Heyman: But Raven is ECW and that makes him a winner.

Just as Heyman finishes talking about how Raven is going to win this match the arena goes black and the pyro goes off. This could only mean one thing and surely enough “Out of the Fire” plays and out comes Kane. The big red monster makes his way down to the ring with no weapons with him. All he carries is the Hardcore Championship on his shoulder.

Paul Heyman: Kane is certainly not prepared for this match because he didn’t bring a weapon. What idiot doesn’t bring a weapon to this kind of fight JR?

Jim Ross: I think Kane doesn’t need the weapons to be honest Paul. He has shown how tough he can be in the past couple of years and I have seen Kane destroy men without weapons.

Match 1# - WWF Hardcore Championship – Kane © vs Raven

The match begins and surprisingly nobody makes a move. The two opponents stand their ground, with Raven threatening to use the chair. This threat has no immediate effect on Kane or so it would seem because he steps forward and rips the chair out of the hands of Raven. The weapon goes flying to the outside of the ring and now we have an even match up. The camera focuses on Kane and shows that the monster has a smile on his face. Now Kane moves forward, with Raven stepping back, while the ECW original pleads for mercy. Raven isn’t getting any mercy tonight and Kane is the last person to ask for anything. With his right hand Kane grabs Raven around the neck and rams him against the turnbuckle. The crowd count out the shots as Kane hammers away with fast jabs to the face and the throat of Raven. They get to ten and then Kane slings Raven into the ring ropes. Off the rebound Kane ducks down and gets caught by Raven with a swinging neckbreaker. Now Raven moves into the mount position where he strikes with closed fist to the skull of Kane. He aims for the areas that aren’t covered by the mask so he inflicts as much damage as possible. After around six shots to Kane the sinister Raven grabs him by the arm, pulls him over to the bottom rope and drops a knee across the joint.

Raven jumps again and is targeting the right arm which is the focal point of the chokeslam finisher that Kane uses. On commentary Heyman mentions how this is a fantastic move to weaken one of the best weapons Kane has in his offence. While Raven focuses on the arm he tries out several different moves. He switches from the rope to a simple knee on the joint and pulling it up to create pressure. We aren’t up to the screaming from Kane yet but he does let out a soft grunt when Raven yanks the arm, attempting to pull it from the socket. At this point all the technical wrestling goes out the window when Raven rolls to the outside and he grabs the steel chair he had brought to ring at the start of this match. Back inside the ring now and Raven lines up the chair shot… but Kane blocks it with his right arm! The same arm Raven has been working on. The impact was intended for the head but this could be better in the long run for Raven. With the chair still in his possession Raven steps back and fires another shot, this time to the back of Kane. The monster is hurt and Raven knows it. Another shot by Raven and this time he gets the big head shot he has been looking for. The chair is thrown down to the canvas while Raven goes for the cover.

ONE!

TWO!

KICK OUT!

After three chairs shots Kane is still able to kick out and Raven cannot believe it. Quickly Raven stands back up, he grabs the chair, and sets up for the fourth shot with the steel. The crowd try to warn Kane about what is coming... it works! Kane moves out of the way and counters with a boot to the head of Raven. Not only did the boot hit Raven square in the face but it also caused the chair to bounce into his face. Now Kane takes a step forward and he grabs Raven by his long hair. The champion jabs Raven in the throat causing his challenger stumble backward into the ropes. With Raven leaning back against the three ropes Kane charges forward and sends him over the top and to the outside of the ring. It is clear that the crowd is fully behind Kane in this match and they begin to cheer as Kane exits the ring to go after Raven. This hardcore match is living up to the name as Raven and Kane fight on the outside near the announce table. At this point Raven staggers to his feet and is met with a huge clothesline from the monster. With little protection on the outside Raven’s head bounces off the floor to a loud thud. This doesn’t stop Kane from inflicting more punishment because he looks under the ring and he pulls out steel chain!

The pop from the crowd is big and the anticipation rises when Kane rapes the chain around his fist. The different scenarios flowed through the minds of everyone in the arena and Kane takes the time to pick the most devastating. He waits for Raven to get back to a vertical base before punching him right in the mouth, which busts his lip, with the steel chain. Once again Raven goes down and for the first time tonight Kane goes for the cover.

ONE!

TWO!

KICK OUT!

This match continues and Kane goes right back on the attack. He unravels the chain and allows it to hang for a moment in his hand. Then Kane raises it above his head and starts to whip Raven in the back with the chain. The shots are devastating to the back of Raven and Kane seems to be getting some joy out of the action. Even when Raven tries to get back up Kane follows through with more strikes with the chain. As small amounts of blood move down the back of Raven, Kane continues the beat down. He uses his injured right arm of pull Raven over to the announce table and to execute a quick jab. Kane now goes for another chain shot but this time Raven moves out of the way – hits Kane with a forearm and then delivers a cheap shot in the form of a low blow. With his back being belted to shit Raven fights through the pain and continues with this contest. Slowly Raven pulls off all the covering from the announce table and he rips out the monitors. The first one is thrown without a second thought but the second monitor is used to inflict damage on Kane. The twisted mind of Raven ponders what he could do with this weapon – taking the time to flip the object so that the point is sticking out for the impact. When Kane reaches a vertical base Raven rushes forward and connects with a clean shot with the television monitor.

Conveniently Kane is knocked onto the announce table, which had been stripped by Raven moments before. Both Heyman and Ross make their way out of the arena so they don’t get hit with anything that may come from the fight. The monitor is dropped on the floor with Raven climbing on top of the announce table. He strikes with a punch to the face of Kane and then sets up for the overflow DDT. Everything looks good for Raven but then Kane begins to struggle for his freedom. Both men are on top of the announce table and Raven begins to feel the body shots from Kane. Somehow Kane gets free and is able to place his hand around the throat of Raven. The depths of hell open up as Kane lifts Raven up and chokeslams him to the floor! Raven hits the ground very hard and he could be knocked out cold here. His eyes shut and the movements stop completely. The monster stands on top of the table and he begins to laugh at the pain he has inflicted. Kane steps off the table and he goes in for the cover.

ONE!

TWO!

THR!

Just before the official can make the three count Edge and Christian break the count up with Rhyno in support. The reigning WWF Tag Team Champions and Rhyno go right after Kane. It’s three on one and Kane tries to fight the best he can but the odds are two much. Even with his strength Kane is unable to fight back against the champions. While Edge keeps Kane down with boots to the stomach, Christian looks under the ring and he grabs two steel chairs. Everyone in the building knows what is coming next as Edge and Christian both take a chair. They stand on either side of Kane and wait for the monster to get back up. Kane tries to get up but he can only make it to his knees at this point. In an execution style attack Edge and Christian strike with two chairs off the skull of Kane, while Rhyno holds him front behind, which knocks him out cold. They have taken down the monster and now they look to inflict more punishment but this doesn’t enough punches or kicks. Both Edge and Christian grab Raven by the pants and pull him over to the lifeless Kane. They place him in the cover and then all three men take off through the crowd like cowards. The official is disgusted having seen what happened but he has no choice but to make the count.

ONE!

TWO!

THREE!

Result: Raven defeated Kane @ 10:29 to win the WWF Hardcore Championship.

What a shocking turn of events here tonight on Raw, we have a new Hardcore Champion and his name is Raven. The crowd are pissed off about the interference because Kane had the match won if it wasn’t for Edge, Christian and Rhyno coming into the scene. Raven is knocked out cold and can’t even stand on his feet at the moment while Kane is face down on the floor beside him. The EMT’s rush down to the ring to check on both men and it doesn’t take too long before Raw makes an exit from this car wreck.

 

[Da Prophet]

He Still Has Hair At This Point

Raw turns to the backstage area with non-other than the hermaphrodite Kevin Kelly.

Kevin Kelly: What a turn of events here tonight ladies and gentleman with Raven becoming the new Hardcore Champion of the world. It appears that tonight is going to be filled with so much excitement and joining me at this time is a man who always brings the best to the ring and that man is Kurt Angle.

Big heat for Angle making his first appearance tonight.

Kevin Kelly: Kurt last week on Smackdown you were pinned by-

Angle cuts Kevin off mid-way into the sentence.

Kurt Angle: Hold it. I know where you’re going with this and quite frankly I don’t like it at all. For weeks everyone has been talking about Chris Benoit and how he made me “tap” at WrestleMania. Now every time I hear this I ask the same question, who hand their hand raised at the end of the night? If you look in the history books it states Kurt Angle was victorious and that will never change Kevin. You want to talk about Smackdown you can go ahead but I don’t want to hear the name Chris Benoit again.

Kevin Kelly: Well Kurt I want to ask you about your upcoming match at Backlash against Chris-

The mention of Benoit makes Angle even angrier then he already was.

Kurt Angle: Do you not listen very well Kevin? Do you have some type of disability? If you really want to talk about Chris Benoit then fine. Chris Benoit isn’t on my level and he never will be. I beat him once and at Backlash I’ll do it again. The only thing that will be different is that all these fans will finally see that I’m better than him. I’m a hero for this country; Chris Benoit wasn’t even born here. I’m an Olympic Gold Medallist and I deserve the respect that Benoit gets. Chris Benoit couldn’t win a medal in the Olympics like I did, in fact he couldn’t win a game of bingo without cheating. Tonight I’m being forced into a match with a dancing idiot isn’t even capable of shining my shoes. I won’t walk away from the lacklustre competition; in fact I’ll do the opposite. When I step into the ring with Grandmaster Sexay I’ll imagine he is Chris Benoit. I break his ankle just like I’ll do to Chris Benoit at Backlash.

Angle walks away and we cut to another backstage area.

Walking Down A Hallway

Triple H is walking down a hallway and on his way to the ring. Hunter passes a few ring workers who chuckle when he walks past. After suffering the loss to Crash Holly on Smackdown Triple H has been facing ridicule from other workers, non of it to his face of course.

Paul Heyman: After what happened on Smackdown this past Thursday I’m very interested to see what Triple H has to say about his loss to Crash Holly. You can sense the tension can’t you JR?

Jim Ross: I think Triple H is going to be stinging from the loss because he underestimated Crash and when you do that here in the WWF you lose.

Paul Heyman: Be sure to stay with us as Raw is War rolls on.

-- Commercial Break --

I’ll Make You Famous.

When Raw makes its return from the break “The Game” hits to a chorus of boos from the audience here in Boston. The lights go out with only a spotlight giving any real light to the building. Slowly Triple H steps forward into the spotlight wearing a pair of jeans and a WWF Triple H shirt.

Jim Ross: Here he is ladies and gentleman, The Game, Triple H. One of the toughest men on the face of this earth and one of the smartest as well but it was last week on Smackdown that Triple H suffered the most humiliating defeat of his life. When Triple H stepped into the ring with Crash Holly I doubt anyone believe Crash had a chance but the impossible happened ladies and gentleman, Crash Holly beat Triple H.

Paul Heyman: He was robbed JR, Triple H had the match won.

The Game heads toward the ring as the fans continue to boo loudly. He enters the ring and immediately demands that a microphone be placed in his hand. With the fear of a beat down one of the crew members rushes to the demand and hands the microphone over. It doesn’t take long for Triple H to get started on a big issue that was his loss to Crash Holly on Smackdown.

Triple H: I guess you all think Crash Holly accomplished something on Smackdown right?

Pause from Triple H.

Triple H: As usual you people are dead wrong. Crash Holly got lucky one time and he will never get the chance again. I’m a top star here in the World Wrestling Federation and Crash Holly isn’t even a star here. Crash is the guy that is used so the fans have a chance to go to the toilet or buy stuff from the carts out the front. You don’t pay to see Crash Holly; you pay to see Triple H.

Apparently not because the fans begin to chant “You Suck”.

Triple H: It doesn’t matter what you say about me because not matter what you pay to see me each week. I’m the guy you tell your friends about after the show. When you get home and run to your mother you tell her about me. You women here all dream about being with me. Not one of you wants to be the scrawny runt Crash Holly.

More heat.

Triple H: You men here tonight all want to have a body like me. All you men want to be with the billion dollar princess like me but you can’t. None of you want to be like Crash Holly with his little muscles walking around here like a woman. No matter what Steve Austin, The Rock, The Undertaker or any of the men back in the locker room say the fact is I’m the best. I’m the man and I should be the WWF Champion.

Once again Triple H milks the cheap heat from the crowd.

Triple H: When you people get up in the morning and take a look at yourselves in the mirror you can’t help but cry. I can see it in your eyes tonight. I can see the disappointment for what your life has become. Each of you wished for something better but you aren’t able to achieve anything because you all suck!

"Slow Death". Oh hell no, Crash Holly is interrupting Triple H. The crowd give a solid reaction for Crash who appears on the top of the stage. Then to the surprise of everyone the little guy heads down to the ring and gets right into the personal space of The Game. It feels like something big is about to go down as the arena comes to quiet.

Triple H: Who the hell do you think you are? Do you know who you’re messing with kid?

Holly interrupts.

Crash Holly: No I think you don’t know who I am. While I may not be a former World Champion like you but I’m the greatest Hardcore Champion of all time. I’ve worked hard to be here and have a place in the WWF so I think that you should show me some respect.

Triple H: Respect. You want respect from me? If you want respect why don’t you do something to earn it? You don’t get respect handed over to you Crash and just by looking at you I see how weak you are. You don’t have what it takes kid to be on my level or to earn my respect.

Crash Holly: What about on Smackdown? I beat you Triple H or did you forget about that?

The crowd cheer the mention of the upset victory.

Triple H: Let me make this clear Crash, you got lucky once. One time you caught a break. You hit a home run once but you missed ten other times. In this business you earn respect but being consistent and fighting like there is no tomorrow. To earn respect you have to fight like a man but all you do is run like a dog back to the kennel. I saw your title reign, I also saw you run every time someone challenged you to a match. What type of champion runs? I didn’t. I stood up and fought against the very best that this business had to throw at me. Now people challenge me to earn respect. People want my respect and unlike you I take up every single challenge. What happened on Smackdown was a fluke and that is all it was. You didn’t breakout from the bunch, all you did was get five minutes of fame.

Triple H taps his wrist like there was a watch on it.

Triple H: Times up Crash.

To the distain of the crowd Triple H goes to leave the ring. Though it seems that Crash has something to say when he grabs Triple H by the arm, causing Triple H to stop in his tracks.

Crash Holly: Triple H you talk a lot about being a fighting champion. I was the first guy to put his title on the line 24/7. It has been done as well since and never will. I took the division to the next level by defending my title seven days a week. That is a champion how takes on everyone. I didn’t care who you were because I wanted to fight. I wanted competition and unlike you I didn’t need the boss’s daughter to keep my title.

The dig at Stephanie McMahon – Helmsley causes Triple H to react with violence and the fight is on. The right hands fly from both men and it ends up with the two guys being down on the ground hitting each other. They roll around on the mat until security comes down to the ring to break it. A loud groan of disappointment from the crowd as Crash and Triple H are pulled apart. Triple H makes his way back up the ramp while Crash slowly heads the same way.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Backlash Hype

Narrator: It was a time of fierce battles that seemingly had no end

The Rocking hits the Rock Bottom on Steve Austin and then Austin hits the Stunner

Narrator: Two men who were destined to take each other to the limit

Chris Benoit is shown screaming in pain at the hands of Kurt Angle

Narrator: Three teams took extreme to another level

Several clips for the past TLC matches between The Dudley Boys, The Hardy Boyz and Edge and Christian

Narrator: They all thought that the fighting was over

Steve Austin celebrating his title win with Vince McMahon after beating The Rock

Narrator: They were wrong

The attack from Austin to The Rock is shown

Narrator: That was only the beginning of the war

Several clips of WWF superstars fighting each other

Narrator: Now comes the Backlash!

BACKLASH – APRIL 29, 2001 – ROSEMONT, IL
- - - - - - - - - - - -​

When the add ends the camera focuses on the entrance ramp as “Who I Am” hits. The arrival of Chyna gets a small reaction from the crowd but the interest in the Women’s Champion is very limited. Chyna enters the ring, holds up her title and then relaxes it on her shoulder.

Jim Ross: Chyna has to be one of the strongest women we have ever had in the WWF Paul. The nickname the 9th wonder of the world speaks true about Chyna.

Paul Heyman: I’ve always found Chyna to be more like an aggressive bulldog. If you make it mad it bites but if you pat it gently then it’s puppy love.

“It Just Feels Right” hits and the crowd give a much better response for the appearance of Lita. The Queen of Extreme does her over the top body movements before running down to the ring. Lita plays to the crowd a little but quickly gets set for action.

Match 2# - Chyna vs Lita

A very quick match here on Raw with the main objective being Chyna getting some air time tonight. Heyman and Ross mainly focus on the issue between Right to Censor and Chyna rather than the actual match. A few basic moves from Lita connect and a quick cover gets a two count. From this point Chyna begins to fight back and the ending phase begins. After Chyna counters the Twist of Fate she shoves Lita into the ropes, kicks her in the gut and connects with the Pedigree. Chyna gets down on the ground, hooks both legs and gets the three count.

Result: Chyna defeated Lita @ 05:01

Jim Ross: Another strong victory for Chyna here tonight on Raw and this woman seems to be unstoppable Paul.

Paul Heyman: Two tough women fighting it out on Raw, can this show get any better? Well they could just wrestle without clothes.

Ross shakes his head in disapproval and doesn’t even respond to what Paul has said.

Do You Understand?

Backstage Chris Jericho, who has the Intercontinental Championship hanging over his left shoulder, is standing with a microphone on live television.

Chris Jericho: Welcome to Raw… … is… … JERICHO!

Big pop.

Chris Jericho: How appropriate it is that the name of this show is Raw is War. It’s fitting because Commissioner Regal has declared war on Chris Jericho. Quite frankly I don’t know what I could have done to annoy William. I always thought we were friends; we could have a cup of tea together and enjoy the simple things in life.

Jericho laughs and runs his hand through his hair.

Chris Jericho: But William has a problem with me being the Intercontinental Champion.

Boo, the fans hate that.

Chris Jericho: He wants Eddie Guerrero to take the Intercontinental Championship from this gorgeous waist. But even old William himself can’t take this away from me because I’m just too good. Each time William tries to wrestle I beat him, just like I’ll beat Eddie at Backlash. No matter what day, year, month, country, weather or even planet we are on at Backlash I’m walking out with this title around my waist.

Jericho kisses his title and walks away with a pop from the crowd.

-- Commercial Break --

Back on Raw, the camera is in the office of Vince McMahon who is standing next to The Big Show, when Steve Austin enters into the room.

Vince McMahon: Where the hell have you been?

Steve Austin: I went got a beer, I was thirsty.

Probably the only time you’ll hear a pop for Austin but the crowd do cheer a little for that comment.

Vince McMahon: Listen we need to discuss a few things.

Steve Austin: I thought we covered this? What can he do, he has nothing? He doesn’t have a leg to stand on with those guys so quit worrying about it.

Vince McMahon: I’m not worrying but I want to make sure that nothing is in the works. I won the war, I killed that company and I don’t need that fool coming in here and ruining this business.

The Big Show steps forward and makes a fist.

The Big Show: If Shane does try anything I’ll handle him.

Steve Austin: See Vince, everything is fine. Tonight we can focus on our match and then we can all watch the Battle Royal. Not that I need to know who wins, they’ll be losing to me anyway.

McMahon turns to The Big Show.

Vince McMahon: After what happened last week I don’t want another performance like that Show, you hear? You’re the muscle and I need you to be feared by everyone and not looking like a little girl to The Rock. I want you two to destroy the APA, make an example out of them.

The Big Show: No problem boss, I’ll make sure everyone gets the message.

Show looks very focussed about his match tonight while Austin seems more relaxed. The three men all continue to talk as the camera goes back to ringside.

Jim Ross: That makes me sick Paul. I thought I knew Steve Austin but seeing that makes me question everything I ever thought about the man.

Paul Heyman: You had no idea about the evil side of Steve Austin JR because you never knew the real Steve Austin. This man is an animal who has no problem taking out the weak to get to the very top. This man was born to be a champion and he will do whatever it takes to go there.

Jim Ross: Why does he need Vince McMahon now? He didn’t need him before.

Paul Heyman: Money.

Once again Chris Jericho is refused an entrance of television because the camera stayed with Jim Ross and Paul Heyman the entire time he has walking down to the ring. Everything that William Regal can do to make Jericho feel second rate is in full effect and now he must face one of the biggest challenges of his life. It will be 3 men vs 1 here on Raw. With their theme music playing The Radicalz, Perry Saturn, Dean Malenko and the reigning European Champion, Eddie Guerrero make their way down to the ring. The Radicalz enter the ring and they challenge Jericho to step forward. With the 3 on 1 advantage in their favour The Radicalz are very confident. With Malenko and Guerrero on the apron, the official calls for the bell to start this match.

Match 3# - Chris Jericho vs The Radicalz (Perry Saturn, Dean Malenko and Eddie Guerrero)

The difference in confidence going into this match is ridiculous. While The Radicalz have huge smirks across their faces, Chris Jericho shows nothing but concern. The match starts off with Jericho getting a hold of the right arm and pulling it behind Saturn. With control Jericho twist the arm again to apply a chicken wing. A few steps are taken by Saturn to try and cause some separation between himself and Jericho. After that doesn’t work Saturn attempts to throw Jericho over his shoulder with a snap mare which is successful. Y2J goes tumbling over the shoulder of Saturn but he quickly comes back with a kick to the body. A right hand by Saturn connects and another kick by Jericho as these two men trade shots. The younger of the two men, Jericho, catches one of the rights and uses this counter to take Saturn for a modified arm bar. Jericho lies on the side of Saturn and pulls the arm up toward him. The expressions have changed for all the men in this match as Jericho strikes with a quick punch to the head of Saturn.

After lying on the ground for about thirty seconds Saturn and Jericho begin to make it to their feet. Saturn turns his body causing the arm bar to lose leverage and with a couple of punches to the body the hold is broken completely. With both men separated Saturn looks to take advantage of the situation. He strikes with a punch once again to the jaw of Jericho before sending him into the turnbuckle. Quickly Saturn rushes forward, looking for a clothesline, unfortunately for him, Jericho counters by sticking his boot up in the face of Saturn. The crowd pop for that counter and Jericho follows it up with a running bulldog and a cover.

ONE!

KICK OUT!

With Saturn getting to his feet after the kick out Jericho sets up his next move. He steps back, waits for Saturn to completely stand and then he rushes forward for a clothesline. Jericho then throws a few kicks to the body of Saturn, who tries to cover up best he can. With control of the match at this point Jericho grabs Saturn by the head, pulls him to a vertical base – Saturn counters into a DDT out of nowhere! The crowd aren’t pleased with that at all and now Saturn crawls to the corner and tags in Malenko. Being the fresh man into the man Malenko goes right to work on Jericho. A few elbow drops to the back, a kick to the leg and a strong knee to the back are all used by Malenko in the first minute that he is in the ring. Being long-time rivals Jericho and Malenko know each other so well and Malenko looks to use that knowledge to his advantage.

The crafty Dean Malenko allows Jericho to reach and vertical base after beating him up on the ground. They engage with Malenko striking with cheap punches. He has Jericho stepping back and now Malenko grabs Jericho by the arm and sends him into the ropes. On the rebound Malenko bends over but Jericho counters with a swift kick to the face. Malenko flips backward and lands on his back off the kick. Now Jericho grabs Malenko, pulls him over to the corner and lifts him onto the top rope. The fans stand, waiting to see what happens here. Jericho gets onto the second rope and fires off a quick couple of punches. He hooks the arm of Malenko and goes for a superplex off the top rope. The first attempt is unsuccessful because of Malenko holding onto the top rope for safety. The second attempt does work either. After blocking twice Malenko gets in a few forearms to the ribs which knock Jericho off balance. Gingerly Jericho stumbles off the second rope, still able to land on his feet. Quickly Malenko jumps off the top and connects with a missile dropkick right on the money. Now Malenko goes into the cover.

ONE!

TWO!

KICK OUT!

While Jericho crawls struggles to stand, Malenko heads to the corner and tags in Guerrero. Ever so arrogant Guerrero yells at the top of his lungs for Jericho to get up and fight. He goes so far to slap Jericho before driving his foot into the stomach. Each time Guerrero connects with a kick Jericho sells them like he is a fish out of water by bouncing around so much. The pace of the match begins to speed up as Guerrero lifts Jericho up and slings him into the ropes. Instead of ducking down like everyone else in the company Guerrero runs alongside Jericho and once they reach the ropes he throws him over! The heat from the crowd is big and it becomes even louder when Malenko and Saturn jump down from the apron and assault Jericho on the outside. Like a pack of dogs Saturn and Malenko belt the shit out of Y2J. This of course is unseen by the official because Guerrero has him covered by faking an ankle injury inside the ring. After a good twenty second beat down Malenko and Saturn head back up onto the apron. By case of a miracle here in Boston the injury to Eddie heals up. Quickly Guerrero heads to the outside of the ring to grab Jericho. Even though Jericho had been on the outside for over ten seconds the official hadn’t started counting because of the distraction by Guerrero. With a handful of tights Guerrero throws Jericho back inside the ring. Eddie slides back in and covers Jericho arrogantly.

ONE!

TWO!

KICK OUT!

To say that Eddie is shocked would be a major understatement. He is totally shaken up by the fact that Jericho kicked out of the cover. With some hesitation Guerrero drags Jericho over into the corner of The Radicalz. Things don’t look good for Jericho as Eddie makes the tag to Saturn. Trapped like a rat fits perfectly here as Perry Saturn drives his shoulder into the stomach of Chris Jericho. He gets all the force he can behind each movement and even gets a few shots to the face in as well. Another tag is made with Malenko coming back in for the second time. Still with Jericho in the corner Malenko grabs his head and strikes with the fast knees to head. The speed of Malenko is of course freakishly fast and the knees all connect right on the dot. In fact one of the knees causes Jericho to collapse, with his legs buckling from under him. Jericho appears to be knocked out cold and now Guerrero wants the tag. The tag is made and Guerrero quickly heads up to the top. The crowd are booing very loudly at this point but known of that matters to The Radicalz now. Guerrero dives forward and nails the frog splash perfectly. He hooks the leg.

ONE!

TWO!

THREE!

Result: The Radicalz defeated Chris Jericho @ 08: 29

The crowd isn’t happy at all with the result of this match and to make matters even worse The Radicalz don’t seem to be finished. All three members of the group enter the ring, with Saturn grabbing the Intercontinental Championship first, and they surround Jericho. Still feeling the effects of the knees to the head Jericho is basically knocked out cold. He is defenceless against anything this group does and cannot fight to save his life. Guerrero takes charge of the group, ordering Saturn and Malenko to grab Jericho by the arms and stand behind him. They follow the orders and have Jericho set up on his knees facing Eddie. Latino Heat steps forward holding both the European and Intercontinental Championships in his hands. Eddie screams at Jericho that he will take his title at Backlash. Nothing will stop him says Guerrero. With bad intensions Guerrero drops the European title and grabs the Intercontinental Championships with both hands. With the famous evil grin on his face Guerrero rushes forward and strikes Jericho in the face with the gold belt. The shot is heard around the arena and on the replay you can see that the shot connected very hard. As their music plays in the background The Radicalz step out of the ring, leaving Jericho unconscious in the middle of the ring.

-- Commercial Break --

 

[Da Prophet]

X Marks The Spot

Back from the break Jonathan Coachman is standing by with X- Pac, Justin Credible and Albert who are collectively known as X- Factor.

Jonathan Coachman: Ladies and gentleman please welcome my guest, X- Factor.

Some boo’s from the crowd.

Jonathan Coachman: Guys tonight all three of you will be featured in the big battle royal for a chance to face Steve Austin at Backlash. Seeing as you are a unit, how do you think you will work together in such a high stakes match?

X- Pac: See Coach, it isn’t about how long we can last as a unit, it’s about how long the other guys can last with us. You see X- Factor is going to stay together tonight and no matter what we will make sure one of use has that title match with Austin. As a unit we all understand that only one can win and we plan to make it one of us. Seeing as last week we beat Matt and Jeff Hardy, I would think that X- Factor would be in line for a future title match. So if things go to plan tonight, we could see every member of this unit with gold in the near future.

Justin Credible grabs the microphone off Coach.

Justin Credible: Not only that but X- Factor dominated Chris Jericho on Thursday. We smacked him so hard he didn’t know how to tie his shoes. If William Regal wants to reward us with a tag title match then go ahead. We are the most dominated group in this company and we will be the most dominate champions this company has ever seen.

The microphone is handed to Albert.

Albert: If anyone disagrees, you can come and complain to me.

X- Pac: And we got two words for ya!

Pac and Credible let out a suck it with the hand motion to go along. They walk away from the interview and we go back to ringside.

Paul Heyman: I got 20 on X- Pac being the first to turn on his partners.

Jim Ross: Well friendship doesn’t mean much in a battle royal but now we have a pretty big tag team match coming up Paul.

Paul Heyman: Your favourite guy Steve Austin and The Big Show vs APA, this is going to be good.

"Protection" hits and out comes Bradshaw and Faarooq make their way out. The APA quickly enter the ring where they do some last minute warming up as they wait for their opponents. “Glass Shatters” hits to a smaller amount of heat then the first time Austin appeared here tonight on Raw. With the gold on his shoulder Austin and The Big Show head down to the ring. Unlike the APA this team does not get a warm reception. In fact fans yell slurs toward Austin looking for a reaction but they do not get one. Ever the heel Austin ignores them all as he walks down to the ring. With both teams now inside the ring the official rings for the bell.

Match 4# - A.P.A vs Steve Austin and The Big Show

A very good tag team match from these four men with Austin and Bradshaw extremely well together. It was a big slug fest from all the men involved and everyone had their chance to shine on Raw tonight. The main focus of the match was the team work between The Big Show and Steve Austin to cement their alliance, along with Vince, to the audience. There were many tags during this contest with no arguing between either pairs. The action spilled to the outside of the ring once but overall the match was mostly clean from both sides. Austin very aggressive during this match and so was The Big Show who was looking to make up for losing last week against The Rock. The APA looked very good tonight as they had the control of the match for several minutes twice. The crowd was fully behind APA tonight and the loud Austin sucks chants were plenty. The end of the match saw Austin caught off guard by Bradshaw who nailed a big boot to the head. Austin stumbled back into the APA corner and was beaten up by the two hard hitters. With punches raining down on Austin, The Big Show came into the ring and pulled the APA off his partner. The APA was quick to recover from this as they hit a double clothesline to send The Big Show to the outside of the ring. Faarooq went after The Big Show to make sure he stayed down. On the inside of the ring Austin countered a clothesline attempt for Bradshaw and he hit the Stunner for the pin and the victory.

Result: Steve Austin and The Big Show defeated APA @ 10:34

With “Glass Shatters” playing in the background Steve Austin gets to a standing position. The crowd are still very vocal on their views about Austin and don’t let up one bit. Austin heads to the outside of the ring where he grabs The Big Show, telling him to get up. Soon enough both men begin to head up the entrance ramp and back the locker room with victory in their possession.

-- Commercial Break --

PG Back In 2001?

Raw returns from the break in the office of Vince McMahon. Once again Vince is not alone, this time he is speaking with Chris Jericho. Still suffering from his match earlier tonight Jericho holds the back of his head while talking to Vince.

Vince McMahon: No problem Chris, in fact I actually like the idea.

Jericho has a small smirk on his face but can’t really express any happiness because he is still hurt. A small nod from Jericho ends the interaction and he walks out of the room. However at the same time Steve Richards of Right to Censor enters and he doesn’t look too happy.

Steven Richards: Excuse me Vince, we need to talk. I have some issues I would like to discuss.

Vince looks very annoyed at the appearance of Richards.

Vince McMahon: First of all it’s Vince to you. Secondly I don’t have to discuss anything with you. I’m Vince McMahon; I rule the world of professional wrestling. Finally what could you possibly have to tell me?

Steve Richards: Well Mr McMahon I want to discuss this situation with Chyna. She is a running pornography magazine that the whole world has a copy of. She is disgusting Mr McMahon, the children are seeing her private parts on television. She is vial and needs to be stopped.

Vince looks around the office.

Vince McMahon: What the hell do you want me to do? If you have problems fix it yourself. I don’t want you to come running to me every time you need some help.

Steve Richards: But sir…

Vince McMahon: But nothing. Fix whatever issue you have with Chyna yourself and don’t come running into my office again. I don’t have the time to waste it on you.

After being completely shut down by Vince McMahon, Steven Richards makes his way out of the office. We head back to ringside with Vince still looking annoyed.

This Is Going To Be Short From All Angles.

Back at ringside “Turn It Up” is heard throughout the arena. To the delight of the audience appears Too Cool. Yes, Grandmaster Sexay and Scotty 2 Hotty are making an appearance here on Raw is War. They dance down to the ring and get a very positive response from the crowd. “Medal” kills the party atmosphere that Too Cool had brought. All the cheering and happiness turns to some great heat for Kurt Angle. The self-proclaimed Olympic Hero or American Hero, it really doesn’t matter which one you pick, steps out onto the stage with his gold medal around his neck. The fans don’t like Angle at all but Angle acts like the fans giving him a god like reception.

Match 5# - Grandmaster Sexay vs Kurt Angle

Total squash match and this is clearly just a way to make Angle look strong by totally destroying someone. Angle takes advantage of the match quickly and hits several different versions of the suplex. He takes Sexay down and locks in the ankle lock and gets the tap out very quickly.

Result: Kurt Angle defeated Grandmaster Sexay @ 01:30

After the bell sounds for the end of the match Angle doesn’t let go. He continues to punish Sexay and could break his ankle. Scotty comes into the ring and tries to help his tag partner but he is hit with right hand from Angle. Another shot by Angle, who has released Sexay, and Scotty stumbles back. He goes behind Scotty and nails the Angle Slam much to the dismay of the crowd. Now Angle sets his sights on the ankle of Scotty but before he can get the hold locked in… … Chris Benoit comes running to the ring.

The fight is on between Angle and Benoit right here tonight. The chops and punches are wild and both men are getting in some very physical shots. It seems Angle winning this fight when suddenly Benoit grabs the arm and goes for the crossface! The crowd is going nuts for this. Everyone stands up as Benoit fights to get the arm locked in for the submission move. They struggle for position and Angle is seeing his life flash before his eyes. Luckily Angle is able to scramble to the outside of the ring and he heads straight up the ramp to safety.

So Many Catchphrases

We cut to the backstage area and see WWF Champion Steve Austin walking around. With the title hanging down from his shoulder, Austin goes to turn a corner but he runs into The Undertaker. The appearance of Taker gets a huge pop from the crowd as these two icons go face to face. Nobody is saying anything as the eyes are locked in the stare down. This could be the main event of Backlash should Taker win the battle royal in just a few moments.

As these two lock eyes, Triple H walks up into the picture. Big heat from the crowd and now these three legends stand across from each other. Still not a word is said and the tension mounts. Everyone is waiting for this situation to explode but no move is made. All three men look back and forth between at each other as they try to see who will make a move first.

The crowd is excited to see this but they go get even louder when The Rock walks up behind the three men. Everyone now turns to The Rock and this is huge. Austin stares at all three men, who are all, looking at his title. Their eyes are locked on the gold and Austin knows it. Slowly Austin grabs his title and raises it high in the air as Raw heads to commercial.

-- Commercial Break --

For the final time tonight Raw is back from the commercial break. The crowd is heard cheering in the background in anticipation of what they are about to see. Inside the ring already are seven of the ten men who will be taking part in this match. The men standing in the ring are X-Pac, Justin Credible, Test, Albert, Crash Holly, Rhyno and Hardcore Holly. “Rollin” kicks in to a huge pop from this crowd and out comes The Undertaker. No motorbike tonight because he wants to get right down to the ring for the action. At about half way “The Game” begins to play and the focus turns to Triple H. Just as The Undertaker did Triple H quickly walks down to the ring for the fight. Finally “If Ya Smell” hits and here comes The Rock. The crowd are standing and cheering the most electrifying man in all of entertainment. He heads down to the ring, with a look of determination on his face. The Rock enters, everyone takes their positions and the match is on.

Match 6# - Ten Man Battle Royal – Triple H, Crash Holly, Rhyno, The Rock, Hardcore Holly, The Undertaker, X-Pac, Justin Credible, Test and Albert.
Winner Receives A WWF Championship Match At Backlash

Another good main event to end the show this week. The match wasn’t too long in length and while some guys didn’t get the best showing, Hardcore Holly for example, most of the competitors were just happy to be involved in the main event. The fans were totally behind The Rock during the entire match as they had been cheering him all night long. Any time that Rocky was nearly eliminated the crowd would let out a collective gasp of worry for their favourite son. He managed to save himself multiple times, even skinning the cat once which provided a cool moment on Raw. The eliminations began with Hardcore Holly being thrown over the top rope by a red hot Triple H who really took control of this match from the beginning. Every time The Rock was nearly eliminated it was because of Triple H. The Game racked up a totally of four eliminations, Test, X- Pac, Albert and Justin Credible, during this contest but was unable to gain the victory.

While Triple H was going through anyone in his path The Undertaker was dealing with Rhyno. A friend of Edge and Christian was the punching bag for The Undertaker tonight as he took out the frustrations he had for the tag champions on Rhyno. The battle went on with Rhyno getting Taker onto the ground for a moment. It ended up with The Undertaker getting the better of Rhyno with a huge boot that sent the war machine to the outside and thus eliminating him.

The final four men in this match were Triple H, Crash Holly, The Rock and The Undertaker. All four men could see the Backlash logo on the stage and a match with Austin waiting at their feet. The first of these four men to go was The Undertaker and that elimination was by The Rock after he pulled the rope down and sent Taker stumbling over to the floor. The end of the match came when Crash attempted to eliminate Triple H. While the attempt was unsuccessful and Triple H was able to counter and eliminate Crash instead, this little altercation allowed The Rock to come from behind and eliminate Triple H to give himself the victory. The crowd went nuts for The Rock and so did Jim Ross who screamed at the top of his lungs “Rock vs Austin, we’re gonna get Rock vs Austin one more time”. The excitement was incredible and everyone was standing and cheering for The Great One.

Result: The Rock defeated Triple H, Crash Holly, Rhyno, Hardcore Holly, The Undertaker, X-Pac, Justin Credible, Test and Albert @ 16:40

Jim Ross: He done it Paul, The Rock is going to Backlash. It’s going to happen, Austin vs The Rock for the WWF Championship.

Paul Heyman: A rematch from WrestleMania and who knows what is going to happen.

Jim Ross: I’ll tell you what is going to happen Paul, The Rock is going to kick Steve Austin’s ass. He’s going to teach Austin a lesson and I hope he makes Austin pay for what he has done.

Before Paul can respond to Jim Ross “Glass Shatters” blasts over the arena to a chorus of heat. Slowly Steve Austin steps out from behind the curtain with the WWF Championship on his shoulder. Just like we started the show Raw is ending with The Rock and Steve Austin staring at each other from afar. In just 20 days these two warriors will meet up for battle once again on pay per view. With everything on the line who will emerge as the WWF Champion? The show ends with Austin lifting his championship high in the air while The Rock sticks out his arm and tells Austin to bring it!

End Show​

Backlash - April 29, 2001 - Rosemont, IL
Steve Austin vs The Rock – WWF Championship
Chris Jericho vs Eddie Guerrero – Intercontinental Championship
Kurt Angle vs Chris Benoit

 

[Theo Mays]

Bearded Review

-Monday Night Raw time! I just got really tired here working night shift and I'm just gonna review some shows. You're next on my list my friend. Let's do this bitch!!!

-Awesome, awesome promo to start the show. I'm no fan of The Rock, but I was buying everything he was saying damn it. His interaction with Austin was fantastic and I just pictured it playing out in my head. I want Rock to win this battle royal, but something tells me something fishy is gonna happen.

-Side not before I get into the match, I love Heyman's commentary. You have that som' bitch down. I loved the whole weapon comment with Kane. Reminded me of Bobby Heenan. Anywho, the match. Fabulously brutal match. Shocked to see Raven scoring the victory with a little help from The RECing Crew (yeah that's lame, I'm tired leave me be). I believe you are a Raven mark, so I'm looking forward to seeing what you do with him as champion. He being the carrier of the Hardcore division is fitting.

-MmmMmmMMM. No I'm not describing the coffee I'm drinking, I'm talking about the Kurt Angle promo. You sir can pat yourself on the back, Barry Horowitz style. That Angle promo was perfuckingfection. I just could see the intensity that Angle always brings to the table. It had humor with the "he was even born here" bit. You have Kurt Angle down and that can only mean big things for Mr. Angle are on the horizon. This feud with Benoit is easily my favorite piece of yours in this book this. It has been fabulous in the early going.

Spoiler

-Beautifully written piece between Crash and Hunter. I like that Hunter is taking a back seat from the main event for the time being and elevating someone as talented and entertaining as Crash. If you keep this up, this could turn the little Holly brother into a nice little star for you. I don't see this doing any harm to Triple H, as he can get right back into the big picture and still be believable. Also the line from Crash about Stephanie...excellent work.

Spoiler

-I have no idea why I keep posting images, they are probably getting ridiculous. But I'm exhausted and they are amusing me. Deal with it . A nice short divas match. Good to see Lita get some offense in and the right move was made in focusing on Chyna's spat with the RTC. I expect a counter from them later on.

-Solid backstage stuff from Jericho and McAustiShow. I'm interested in seeing when/if Shane McMahon comes to "ruin business". Nice segments.

-Jericho puts up a hellin', but still loses. Good to see Jericho ain't going down without a fight and looking damn good doing so. Sure he is losing, but eff'n'eh he is fighting 3 people. Eddie gets the win, making him look like the future IC champ. Good booking all around. No complaints.

-Solid little diddy with X-Factor. You are making them work here and I'm buying them as a threat in the midcard. Good job on that account as I was a little worried about that going forward. Still early though. And there's Heyman again making me chuckle. He's in here for the LULZ!

-I'm glad to see the APA didn't job out to the much better Austin and Show. Seeing as Austin and Show are two main eventers I expected them to win (and they should have), but I'm glad the APA looked strong in the process. With the Hardyz out of the picture teams get the chance to step up, hopefully the APA is one of them.

-Vince and Jericho discussing something? Interesting, wonder what that could be. And here is the RTC. I expected they'd pop in sooner or later. Vince tells him off and Steven can't be thrilled with that outcome. And we have a squash, go figure. Off topic: I dig the little titles before each segments. Nice little touch.

Spoiler

-That's the last one, I promise. Good main event and Rock won, much to my surprise. I expected something fishy to go down with someone (courtesy of Vince and Austin) to screw Rock over. However that isn't the case and we have a rematch of epic proportions. I look forward to you recreating history with one of the biggest feuds this industry has ever seen. Also the ending was perfect. Triple H throwing out Crash and following that up with some unnecessary words, thus costing Trips. Excellent addition there.

-Overall the show was fabulous, nearly perfect. Not sure how much I'd change, but nothing that threw the show off course. I expected this to be a grade A show as you seem to catch your stride with the previous SD. Hopefully you continue this hot streak and produce even better things. Backlash is shaping up nicely with three solid matches and more to come. You have progressed some pretty big storylines and hinted at some others throughout the night. Excellent work as always Proph, ain't much else I can tell ya.

 

[Da Prophet]

The Wrestling Observer

As reported last week the WWF has been in negotiations with a former ECW talent. Several names were thrown around such as Tommy Dream, Sabu and Rob Van Dam. While the official name of the person has yet to be leaked to the public, we can confirm that it is not Sabu. Nothing has been sent to Sabu about coming into the WWF and it looks like it will either be Tommy Dreamer or Rob Van Dam making their way to the promotion. The current feeling around the WWF is that having someone like RVD on the roster could add another element of excitement with his high risk style of wrestling. The positive with Tommy Dreamer is that he has history with Raven, the reigning Hardcore Champion, and a storyline with those two would be easy to write for the creative team. No matter who comes into the promotion it would seem that they will be entering the company as a face.

More news is coming from the WWF creative room regarding the Steve Austin and Vince McMahon alliance angle that is running. Apparently Vince wasn’t pleased with the promo Austin gave following WrestleMania XVII because he felt the promo wasn’t written the way Austin would normally speak. He has said that the heel Steve Austin needs to keep an edge and have an element of badass to him like the old character did. Because Vince felt that Austin could use an enforcer, someone to back him up, The Big Show was added to the pair last minute. In no way is the use of The Big Show to make Austin look like a frightened heel but Vince felt that having The Big Show behind Austin will make him look even stronger (think Jericho and Big Show from 2009). With Austin set to hold the WWF Championship for the near future having The Big Show side with Austin is also a way to give the champ less matches on Raw/Smackdown.

Furthermore the rumours that The Rock would be taking time off are totally false. Reports have been coming in today stating that The Rock was offered a role in a movie but decided to turn it down so he could continue to work in the WWF. At this time The Rock is one of the highest paid wrestlers on the roster. A new contract has been sign by The Rock and he will be a part of the WWF for at least another two years. No word on how much he will receive for the contract but he will be near the top of the list money wise.

We can also report that the reason why the WWF Hardcore Championship was taken off Kane was because creative felt that the title needed to be on someone who would have the time to defend it. With Kane and The Undertaker working their program with Edge and Christian it left little time for Kane to get a match in with any of the Hardcore talent. This feud with the tag champions is said to only go on until Judgment Day should Vince feel the feud has enough value in it. With a lack of Hardy Boyz Vince is seeing the tag team division having a huge problem coming into the summer period.

One final bit of news is that yesterday evening Vince McMahon held a meeting behind closed doors about the WCW talent that was available to them. Obviously nothing has been leaked yet, other then the topic of discussion, so we can’t give you any names at this time that the WWF are thinking of bringing in. We can speculate about Kevin Nash, who wrestled as Diesel in the WWF, being seen leaving WWF headquarters on Tuesday. Only time will tell what will come from this.

OOC: Nothing to big but this should cause some minds to start thinking of what is coming in the next few months for this thread. I’m sure the last couple of lines will have people wondering what is coming and how soon will they arrive… … if they do at all.

Smackdown preview is going to be up Friday or so I hope.

 

[LSN80]

--- Great job of setting up the show through commentary. This was a staple of the Attitude era through the late 2000's that is sorely missing in today's wrestling. The diwcussion between Heyman and Ross got me excited for the Battle Royal and The Hardcore Championship match, in particular.

---I really like the subtitles for every segment. It's a nice touch that I haven't seen before.

--- Awesome promo from the Rock. I like him referencing Wrestlemania and the match between him and Austin, and how Rock came out of it the better man, even though he lost. This promo exuded the confidence of the Rock while still remaining a massive babyface. My only complaint was Rock went on far too long before Austin interrupted, as one would figure he would have responded sooner. The exchange between the two was ho-hum st best, as Austin correctly pointed out that Rock did sound like a crybaby of sorts for going on and on about Austin and Vince screwing him, as that truly wasn't Rock's style. They recovered nicely with Austin vowing that Rock won't be WWF champion as long as Austin is champion. This makes me think that Austin will interfere in the Battle Roya later to ensure his words are true, but Im guessing it will backfire and Rock will win. A hit or miss promo overall for me.

--- A true masterpiece of a match between Kane and Raven. With all sincerity, this may be the most thoroughly written match in my history of reading Book This! Every move and action was intricately described, and I felt like I was part of the crowd watching this match. I was emotionally invested in this match, period. Interesting decision to have Raven win the title right back from Kane after losing it at Wrestlemania, but Raven had a plan and executed it well. My only thought was that this match seemed longer then the 10 minutes it was given. Otherwise, excellent match.

---Excellent intense promo from Kurt Angle. He really brought the aggression and re-inforced his defeat of Benoit at Wrestlemania, all-the-while dismissing Benoit pinning him on Smackdown in the tag match. I like this Kurt Angle who discusses imagining his opponenet as being Chris Benoit, as it shows he's fully locked in. Good start.

---Good exchange between HHH and Crash Holly. Unlike withRock, and to a lesser extent Austin, you really nailed HHH in terms of his promo. The cheap heat was good and reminscent of HHH from 2001, where he talked about men wanting to be like him, and the women wanting to be with him. Holly did a nice job of standing up to HHH. While Holly has no business winning this feud, I like how he's being presented on an equal level with HHH , and mentioned being a fighting champion, The brawl was a good touch as Holly went face to face and didn't back down from the bigger, stronger, HHH.

--- I was hoping for a match next after three promo segments and only one match, and that's what we got with Chyna vs Lita. Lita had yet to be established as a top wrestlern at this point, so I have no problem with Chyna dominating her. Heyman and JR should have focused on the match, however, as it made it seem unimportant. I know Chyna was dominant, but that's what JR and Heyman should have been putting over.

---Another promo in a talk-heavy show thusfar, but a good one from Jericho. I love his cavalier attitude regarding how he can't imagine how he got on Regal's nerves, then quickly focused on Eddie Guerrero as his Backlash opponent. Short and sweet, and Jericho was good here.

---And the promo/talk-heavy show continues. I suppose it was appropriate that Show and Austin meet with Vince to discuss strategy for the night, but all of the talk segments are maing the show drag slightly.

---I like how Regal is stacking the odds against Jericho more and more each week. If Jericho is successful at Backlash, he'll look like the ultimate babyface. Jericho put up a great fight in a losing effort, with the Radicalz appropriately going over. The beatdown at the end really solidified the personal nature of this feud.

---Fine promo from X-Factor to hype both the Battle Royal, as well as their win over the Hardy's the past week. Good emphasis on them being deserving of a title shot.

---Good to see two matches essentially back to back. I also like that Austin and Show got the clean win over the APA. It's good to see the champion go over clean here, as he doesn't have to resort to heelish tactics just to win a match.

---Interesting exchanges between Vince with Jericho and Stevie Richards. A nice hook with Jericho getting the seal of approval from Vince about something, which makes for a nice hook. Typical RTC stuff with Richards, and it will be interesting to see how they take care of Chyna.

---Good squash match for Angle as he punished GMS as he promised to do, and sent a message to Benoit in the process. Great job of brutalizing GMS after the match as promised, as it truly seemed he was focused on picturing him as Benoit. Message received by Benoit, as he makes the save and the two brawl. progressing this feud nicely.

---Good tease of the possibility of it being Taker and Austin at Backlash. I still believe the ROck will win, but it's a nice tease that creates doubt nonetheless.

---Good battle royal to end the show. These are hard to write, and you did a decent job of describing the action, especially with the crowd being behind the Rock. The first 6 eliminations felt very ho-hum, but the final four were very well done. A nice rub for Crash Holly to get into the final three, and HHH gets a means of retribution by eliminating Holly. I imagine that will be an official match for Backlash that's announced sooner then later. Rock winning was the right call, and JR's excitement over Rock and Austin again at Backlash was great. The card for Backlash is shaping up very nicely.

---This was a very good show, albeit a bit talk heavy. The matches that did take place varied from excellent to very good, and the card for Backlash is shaping up nicely, with teases for other possible matches. The matches on the card are being developed nicely. The matches were well-written, and the right men went over. Backlash is shaping up nicely. B+










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