Triple H loses, Austin wins at J-Day
By JOHN POWELL -- SLAM!
Wrestling
How do you kill a good angle? The same way you kill a good match, with a
lame run-in. Just ask the booking minds behind World Championship
Wrestling's red hot nWo angle. Following in their footsteps, the World
Wrestling Federation has managed to do the same thing in a shorter period
of time. Since a critically-acclaimed WrestleMania 17 show every WWF
statistic from its weekly television ratings to its pay-per-view buyrates
have sunk. Overwhelmingly, fans are voicing their opinion on the WWF's
feeble product by turning out completely. Besides a few bright spots, the
undercard is mired in mediocrity and the Austin - Triple H - McMahon (ATM)
alliance angle has been met with yawns. It is not that Austin or Triple H
have begun slacking off. It's not that their opponents - Kane and The
Undertaker - haven't been up to the task. It's the scripting. Fans can only
watch Austin - Triple H closing out a show by wailing on their enemies or
interfering in each other's matches so many darn times before they are
lulled into a coma.
Dare I say it? World Wrestling Federation angles have become predictable
and that's why even the most diehard fans are finding better things to do
with their time. For those fans, relief just might be right around the
corner. At the Judgment Day pay-per-view another serious crack appeared in
the ATM alliance. While Triple H lost the WWF Intercontinental Title to
Kane because of "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Austin held onto the WWF World
Heavyweight Title because of Triple H. Of course this miscommunication
sets-up an Austin-Triple H feud on the road to this year's SummerSlam
pay-per-view.
Austin's gaffe that cost Triple H the gold was an imprecise chair shot. As
far as Chain Matches go, the Triple H and Kane bout was okay but certainly
nothing to write home about. Triple H jump-started things by attacking Kane
with a chain just as the official was confiscating the one Kane brought
with him to the ring. In a replay of any Raw or Smackdown! broadcast over
the last month or so, Triple H worked on Kane's "broken" arm. He smacked it
against a post and with a steel chair. When it came time to attached the
steel chain to both combatants, Triple H pulled a clever move by shackling
it to Kane's injured arm. This allowed The Game to inflict all sorts of
damage on it. Once again, Triple H bled like a stuck pig as he went outside
the ring to retrieve a steel chair. Kane yanked on the chain and the
momentum sent Triple H crashing into the chair he himself was carrying.
At just under twelve minutes into the match, Steve Austin executed his
run-in. He swung a steel chair, missed Kane and hit Triple H. Kane got the
pinfall and the Intercontinental Title. Moments later, a dazed Triple H
complained bitterly to Vince McMahon backstage about what had just gone
down.
Where Austin has messed up, Triple H would come through for team ATM.
Turning in a pretty good performance -- as they should since this is about
the millionth time a meeting between them has headlined a WWF pay-per-view
-- The Undertaker and Steve Austin really gave it all they got. It's just
too bad that their hard work was subverted by another run-in finish and you
just knew it was bound to occur when Vince McMahon came out to join the
announce team. Taker on the other hand made his way to the ring without his
trademark motorcycle.
Taker paintbrushed Austin through the first part of the bout. Meeting him
at the entrance way, Taker threw Stone Cold into some audio equipment, a
steel fence and the ring stairs before taking off his bandanna and throwing
it in Vince McMahon's face. Taker then belted Austin with a fire
extinguisher. Austin finally made a comeback concentrating his attention on
Taker's knee wrapping it around a post and bending it in all sorts of
awkward positions. The Undertaker though didn't sell the damage
afterwards.
Outside action included Austin being chokeslammed through the announce
table and The Dead Man taking a really frail monitor shot to the head by
Austin. Taker came up bleeding. Back in the ring, Austin chair shot Taker
to the head and taunted him to get up. Taker got to his knees and gave
Austin the "one finger salute". Austin Stone Cold Stunnered Taker but could
only get a two count. Austin did his usual chair assault until Taker put a
stop to it with a low blow. A Last Ride from The Undertaker put Austin
down. Taker picked up the steel chair and payback began with Austin being
beaten with the chair. From there, everything went South very quickly.
Triple H and his sledgehammer roar into the ring only to be met with a
chair shot by The Undertaker. McMahon dived in to halt The Undertaker's
pinfall so Taker punched his lights out in a corner. For the second time on
the show, Austin screwed up a chair shot hitting McMahon instead of The
Undertaker. Triple H connected with the sledgehammer though and as Kane ran
to the ring. Austin got the pin but we didn't see it until the producers
replayed it moments later because the camera was focused on Kane and not
what was going on in the ring.
As the show went off the air, the announcers made much of the fact that if
it wasn't for Triple H, Austin wouldn't be champ.
The next WWF pay-per-view is
King Of The Ring on June 24th.
WWF Judgment Day 2001 Results
William Regal versus Rikishi
A total best-left-for-television match. Rikishi delivers the Stink Face
and Regal sells it magnificently by rolling out of the ring and staggering
around. Regal bled the hard way from the forehead after Rikishi threw him
into the ring stairs. Rikishi collided with the ring post and Regal scored
a neckbreaker for the victory.
Winner: William Regal at 3 minutes and 56 seconds.
Match Rating: 3 / 10.
Edge and Christian yack backstage about who Jericho's partner will be.
Angle asks them for their advice about the ladder match. Edge tells Angle
that "falling off a ladder sucks". Vince questions Triple H about that
goofy angle with the Undertaker's wife. Triple H throws it back in Vince's
face saying he's not husband of the year. Some bickering ensues.
Kurt Angle versus Chris Benoit (Two Out Of Three Falls
Match)
Angle's medals on are the line. Not as good as their last few
showpieces though still better than anything the WWF is putting on these
days. Benoit scores a quick fall at 1:02 by using Angle's own Olympic Slam
against him. At 13:25, Angle evens things up with an Olympic Slam then an
Ankle Lock. The ladder match portion is commendable. They knock each other
off and throw each other into them. Benoit takes a snap suplex on the
ladder. Benoit traps Angle underneath the ladder as he attempts to grab the
medals hanging above the ring. Angle tips the ladder over so Benoit is
guillotined on the ropes. Edge and Christian intervene distracting Benoit
outside the ring so that Angle can take the medals and the win.
Winner: Kurt Angle at 24 minutes and 2 seconds.
Match Rating: 8 / 10.
Regal is getting stitched up in his office. The Undertaker busts in and
makes Regal change the main event to a No Holds Barred match. And the
reason for announcing this on the pay-per-view and not before is...? A
ticked off Jerry Lynn cuts a promo from the WWF New York Restaurant. He
resents not being on the pay-per-view and remarks that he has worked his
"whole life" to become the WWF Light Heavyweight Champion. How Lynn can say
that with a straight face is anyone's guess.
Test (challenger) versus Big Show (challenger) versus Rhyno
(champion) (WWF Hardcore Title Match)
More Test fodder for Mick Foley's next bestseller. All three brawl to
the back, however, it seems that the arena has failed to pay its electric
bill because we can't see a darn thing that's going on. To end our misery,
Rhyno throws Show a trash can in the ring. As Show catches it, Rhyno leaps
onto the ringstairs and gores Big Show to retain the title.
Winner: ...and still WWF Hardcore Champion...Rhyno at 9 minutes and
12 seconds.
Match Rating: 2 / 10.
A WWF Divas ad runs. There is no mention of Chyna just Trish and Lita.
William Regal is reluctant to break the news to Austin about the added
stipulation to the main event. All Regal's worrying seems for naught as
Austin accepts the change with a smile. Eddie Guerrero tries to give Lita
some advice for her match against Chyna. The best advice of course being
that Lita should call in sick until she can work a match with someone who
can actually wrestle. Lita declines Eddie's help saying she wants to win
the match on her own.
Chyna (champion) versus Lita (challenger) (WWF Women's World Title
Match)
WOW is alive and well, folks. Missed spots galore due to Chyna not
being able to sell or work with Lita's aerobatics. Chyna completes her
transformation into Cher by wearing peacock feathers to the ring. Funniest
moment comes watching Chyna try to put one of her breasts back into her top
as it falls out during the match. Eddie Guerrero takes in the action from
the entrance way. Lita is put away by a powerbomb. Chyna and Lita hug after
the match to show there are no hard feelings.
Winner: ...and still WWF Women's World Champion...Chyna at 6
minutes and 29 seconds.
Match Rating: 0 / 10.
Angle says that there will be an Olympic awards ceremony for him on
Raw. He thanks Edge and Christian for their assist. When he is gone, Edge
and Christian say that Operation
Never-Have-To-Hear-Kurt-Bitch-About-His-Medals-Again was a success. Austin,
Triple H and Vince meet to set tonight's agenda.
Kane (challenger) versus Triple H (WWF Intercontinental Title Chain
Match)
Winner: ...and new WWF Intercontinental Champion...Kane at 12
minutes and 33 seconds.
Match Rating: 7 / 10.
The APA versus Malenko-Saturn versus The Dudley Boys versus X-Factor
versus The Hardy Boys versus Chris Jericho-Chris Benoit versus Edge,
Christian (Tag Team Turmoil Tournament)
The winners will be the Number One contenders to the tag team titles
held by Austin and Triple H. Very well booked mini-tournament with non-stop
action and no cop out finishes. Every match and team is given enough time
to put in a quality match. Good stuff.
Match One: The APA versus Malenko-Saturn
Winners: The APA with a Spinebuster on Saturn at 1 minute and 30
seconds..
Match Two: The APA versus The Dudley Boys
Winners: The APA at 4 minutes and 54 seconds. The Hollys interfere
as D'Von goes to get a table. Bradshaw's Clothesline From Hell pins Buh
Buh.
Match Three: The APA versus X-Factor
Winners: X-Factor at 3 minutes and 43 seconds. Outside the ring,
Albert trips up Faarooq as he presses X-Pac. X-Pac falls on top of Faarooq
and Albert holds onto his leg so he can't kick out.
Match Four: The X-Factor versus The Hardy Boys
Winners: X-Factor at 3 minutes and 11 seconds. Albert pulls Matt
Hardy outside the ring. Jeff lands a Swanton Bomb on him. X-Pac and
Credible double thrust kick Matt as he steps back inside.
Match Five: The X-Factor versus Chris Benoit, Chris
Jericho
Winners: Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho at 5 minutes and 19
seconds. Benoit and Jericho knock Albert out of the ring and put on the
Crippler Crossface and The Walls Of Jericho.
Match Six: Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho versus Edge,
Christian
Winners: Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho at 7 minutes and 11
seconds. Edge and Christian go outside to get steel chairs. Jericho and
Benoit double drop kick the chairs into their faces. They foil another
Con-Chairto inside the ring and Benoit gets the win with the Crippler
Crossface. Word is that this might be a set-up for Benoit and Jericho to be
elevated to main event status against Austin and Triple H.
Overall Tournament Rating: 8 / 10.
"Stone Cold" Steve Austin (champion) versus The Undertaker
(challenger) (WWF World Heavyweight Title, No Holds Barred
Match)
Winner: ...and still WWF World Heavyweight Champion...."Stone Cold"
Steve Austin at 23 minutes and 8 seconds.
Match Rating: 5 / 10.
Total Event Time: 2 hours and 45 minutes.
Overall Event Rating: 7 / 10.
