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Ian Challis

Main BLAH	JUDGMENT DAY 2000 Overdue Plug: Live in the UK? Need wrasslin'? Head over to www.strongstyletapes.com, where Mark'll hook you up. Tell 'em Ian sent ya! No, seriously, that way I get a discount... Pointless Observation: I know everyone knows already but good GOD 1wrestling SUCKS. I really, honestly don't know how they can put forth this fair, unbiased facade. Scherer gets the Idiot Award this week, for slamming the WWF over the Saturn incident. Did he complain when Rick Steiner almost killed Konnan in March? Hey, I know it's only Konnan, but fair's fair... Judgment Day is coming! Again!! Geez, it's becoming a yearly thing now, ain't it? Last year's apocalypse was held in the same month as this year's, meaning we're travelling back twelve months to a time when things were, arguably, better. It was an interesting time to be a WWF fan; Rikishi was showing us that fat men are indeed party animals, Chyna's neck was perfectly healthy, and Stephanie McMahon didn't talk as much... Comin' atcha liiiiiiiive(original airdate 21st May 2001)from Louisville, Ky., your hosts are Good Ol' JR and The King. Nice li'l opening package starts us off, listing everything that could take place in an hour. "37 Goldberg Matches" wasn't included, sadly. Vince McMahon constructs a little speech to the Regime, but neglects to confiscate X-Pac and Road Dogg's stash. He sends WWF Hardcore Champion Gerald Brisco to get coffee, and Brisco promptly gets jumped by the Headbangers. Shit, were they still around back then? Brisco manages to escape with his belt, somehow. Shawn Michaels walks, looking ready to act like an ass. Opening Match: Edge/Christian/Kurt Angle Vs. Too Cool/Rikishi: Angle's promo prematch is pretty damn funny, but he was still a little off from today's excellence. The Blondes are tag champs here, and they present their pose for the Louisville fans: The Jug Band! The poses were the greatest invention in cheap heat EVER. Too Cool get a BIG pop. Big ol' brawl to kick off, and the heels get stacked up and buttalanched in the corner. Kurt avoids Rikishi's attempt, however, and they regroup. Edge starts with Sexay, and Sexay gets a shoulderblock. Edge escapes a belly-to-back, so Sexay lures him into an enzuiguri. Second rope dropkick, tag to Scotty. Double clothesline, double elbowdrop. Edge gets a cheapshot and tags out to Christian, who fares no better. Scotty hits a suplex and dances, and Christian clobbers him. They do a cute spot where Sexay blocks Scotty's impact on an Irish whip, then Edge tries the same and gets pounded. Double Irish whip for Christian, double clothesline, and the heels bail again. Sexay dances his pants down, literally, causing Scotty to go into fits of hysterics. Christian jumps Sexay and mocks the dance, but Rikishi tags in and kicks his ass. Angle comes in and suffers the same fate, but he dodges another buttalanche and all three heels beat on 'Kishi. Christian in, and Rikishi swats him off and tags Scotty. Bulldog, and he calls for the Worm, so Angle nails him, putting him in the B-Boy In Peril role. Word. The heels do some standard quick tag and chokery stuff, and Angle suplexes Scotty for two as the crowd warms up "Angle Sucks". Christian in and he tries a powerbomb, but Scotty flips through and hits an over-the-shoulder powerbomb hotshot thing. I dunno, ask The Rick. Hot tag Rikishi, and he kicks righteous ass. Buttalanche for all three heels, and Angle takes the Stinkface. Rikishi hoists Edge up for the Fire Thunder Driver, but Angle and Christian double DDT him. He pops straight back up and knocks down both, so Edge spears him. He mocks the Worm, then falls victim to the real version from Scotty. Sexay superkicks Angle, and he too suffers the W-O-R-M. Christian sneaks in a ringbell shot for Rikishi and Edge covers, but Sexay hits the Hip Hop Drop on Edge, and Rikishi rolls over for the half-assed pin at 9:47. Standard pop-the-crowd opener, crammed with some really good wrestling.*1/4. And it wouldn't be a Too Cool match without some dancing... Shawn Michaels bashes the internet backstage. SCUM! Earlier tonight, THE RADICALZ EXPLODE (figuratively) in the parking lot. European Title Match: Eddie Guerrero w/Chyna Vs. Perry Saturn Vs. Dean Malenko: All three are essentially heels here, killing any heat in the match. Dean's also the Light Heavyweight Champion, but that comes as no surprise. Saturn and Malenko beat Eddie down to start, hitting Demolition Decapitation early, to establish just who the face is supposed to be. They do some stompin', then Perry clobbers Dean off of an Irish whip double team for two. Dean and Perry fight, and Dean gets a leg lariat, then Saturn responds with a pancake. Press slam for Eddie, and Saturn goes for a suplex, but Dean catches Eddie, and Eddie low blows both men. Nice spot. Eddie fights off both and hits a buttbutt on Saturn, then an Essa rana on Dean. Rana on Saturn, but Dean catches Eddie on a pumphandle and slams him for two. Perry saves, and Eddie fends him off, hitting a tornado DDT for two. Dean saves and pounds Eddie. Butterfly powerbomb for two. Dean nails Perry, and Eddie gets a sunset flip, but Dean rolls through and tries the Cloverleaf. Saturn goes to break it up, so Dean clotheslines his head off. Eddie reverses an Irish whip and sits Dean upstairs. Superplex attempt by Eddie, but Perry hotshots him, then hits an overhead belly-to-belly. Man, Saturn's pounding on him like he was a jobber that messed up an armdrag. He goes upstairs and Dean shoves HIM down, then Eddie tries his luck again. Dean fights him off and hits his top rope gutbuster. Perry nails Dean and frog splashes Eddie for two. We HIT THE SWANKNESS, as each guy starts stealing the other's moves. Saturn starts off the plagiarism by giving Dean the Cloverleaf, but Eddie saves and hits a Saturnish brainbuster for two. Dean saves and puts the Rings Of Saturn on, well, Saturn, but Eddie hits a dropkick o' death to break it up. Eddie puts the Cloverleaf on Dean, but Dean rolls him up for two. Perry waylays both, but Eddie tosses him to the floor. Dean gets a belly-to-back on Eddie, and a frog splash. He nails Saturn, and they pull out ANOTHER great spot-a triple German suplex. Bossanova! Saturn hits the floor, and Chyna smacks him with her roses. Eddie sunset flips Dean in the ring but Dean holds on, then grabs the roses from Chyna as she tries a cheapshot. It's all for nought, as Chyna trips Dean and he goes face-first into the flowers, and Eddie gets the pin with La Majistral at 7:58. Eddie, king of cheating to win, reveals his lead friend lurking in the roses. Great, great match, which was sadly sold short by the fans in attendance.3/4. Of course, Eddie would be massively over within the month, while the others...Well, yeah. It's The Gerald Brisco Show! More wackiness with everyone's favourite washed-up hasbeen, including highlights of him winning the title from Crash Holly in one of the most surreal scenes ever. No-Holds-Barred: Shane McMahon Vs. The Big Show:* Show's using the Aggression theme, and looking pretty damn cool too. He catches a Shane suicide dive ans smashes him into the ringpost a coupla times, then tosses him into the steps. Slam onto the steps, and Show press-slams him OVER THE TOP and into the ring. Damn, that looks cool. Into the ring, and Show literally kicks Shane's ass. Superkick, and Show calls makes the International Sign Of The Chokeslam, which is the cue for the run-ins to start. Bossman gets first honours, but Show smashes him and finishes him with a powerbomb. T&A come in brandishing chairs, and Show simply wallops the weapons back in their faces. Trish sneaks in and low blows Show, so he picks her up and throws her out of the ring! Nice bump there. Show beats up T&A down the aisle, and chases Shane to the entrance area. Shane gets thrown into the entrance structure, and Show pulls down a girder, but Shane manages to dropkick it into Show's face. T&A return and stomp the Show, and Shane runs an equipment case into him for two. Show fights back and kills T&A, and Shane tries to escape by climbing the entrance scaffold. Thankfully this was BEFORE Shane was certified legally insane. Bull Buchanan provides the rescue with his trusty nightstick, and puts Show down long enough for Shane to push an amplifier onto Show's legs. Shane grabs a "concrete block" and breaks it over Show's head "well, "breaks" is probably the wrong word to use..."crumbles" is more accurate)for the pin at 7:14. Pretty pointless little match, though Shane's bumps are always worth some attention.1/2. The roadies help Show to the ambulance, and Show is drooling EVERYWHERE. Ewwww... Look! Gerald Brisco's getting scared in the toilets. I guess that's what happens when you hang around with Patterson... Shawn and Triple H reminisce about old times. Submissions Match For Intercontinental Title: Chris Jericho Vs. Chris Benoit:* Another in the ten-month series between the two. They lock up a couple of times and Benoit takes over with some knees and chops. Jericho comes back with a bulldog and knees to the face, then some more chops. Jericho gets a Fujiwara armbar off the ropes and Benoit rolls through, then they fight over a Tombstone. Benoit gets control and hits a shoulderbreaker. Air Canada, and Benoit slaps on a sitting abdominal stretch. Jericho fights out and tries the Walls, but Benoit rolls through. Jericho gets a back elbow, and the springboard dropkick. They fight on the floor, as Val Venis looks on backstage. Benoit throws Jericho into the steps and stomps the shoulder, but Jericho gets a kneebreaker onto the steps. Back inside, Jericho stays in charge with a double-arm backbreaker and covers. IDIOT! They exchange some chops and Jericho tries a charge, but Benoit moves and Jericho hits the post shoulder-first. Benoit takes advantage by ramming him into the TINY EXPOSED STEEL TURNBUCKLE RING OF DEATH, then slaps on an armbar. Jericho fights out and they fire off some more chops, then Benoit gets his snap suplex. Some more shoulder workage, and a clothesline, and Benoit hooks a cross armbreaker. Jericho makes the ropes, and Hardcore Holly ponders this backstage. Hey, he and Val should hook up. Jericho dodges a charge and follows up with a flapjack, then goes to the knee. Dragon screw, and Jericho yanks off Benoit's knee brace. He smacks the knee with it and hits a flying shot to the face, but Benoit blocks a figure four. Jericho dropkicks Benoit's knee out and puts on the Tarantula! Whoo yeah! Benoit fights out, to XFL hype from the commentators. Hmm. Jericho ducks an enzuiguri, but Benoit hits a pair of German suplexes. Jericho blocks the third and tries the Walls again, but Benoit cracks him with the discarded knee brace and rolls him down into the crossface. Jericho makes the ropes, so Benoit yanks him back into the centre of the ring and applies the hold again. He inches his hands down to Jericho's throat and chokes him out, and Jericho is literally turning blue. The ref calls for the bell and awards the match to Benoit at 13:28. But Benoit won't release the hold. This is actually pretty frightening, as Jericho has turned blue and seems to be choking on his own hair. Awesome, awesome selling, probably because it wasn't 100% selling in the first place. Benoit finally releases the hold and chases off Tim White. Now THIS is a submissions match.**1/2 Oh, goodie, MORE Brisco stupidity! This whole horrible plot led to the worst match of all time, the Hardcore Evening Gown Match between the Stooges at KOTR. Fortunately, that's not on THIS show. Rocky lays down the law to Michaels, Great One-style. Tables Match: Cheech & Chong w/Tori Vs. The Dudley Boyz: Road Dogg and D-Von start. WHY?? It's freakin' tables match, WHY do they insist on running standard rules? Bleearrggh. Psst, I hear "X-Pac sucks". Roadie takes a shoulderblock and back elbow, but nails D-Von and tags Pac in. D-Von gets another shoulderblock and tags Buh Buh. Pac hits a spinning heel kick and goes for a table, but gets cut off. Buh Buh misses an Avalanche, but blocks a blind charge and gets a second rope clothesline. Wazzup! Dogg comes in, next verse, same as the first. DX bail, so the Duds chase them down the aisle and drag them back to the ring. Dogg and D-Von get in the ring as Buh Buh goes for Tori, but he gets distracted when the heels begin doublet eaming D-Von. They choke D-Von down and Pac hits the broncobuster, then Roadie comes in for some more choking. Front facelock, and D-Von fights over to his corner, but the ref misses the tag. The heels stomp D-Von some more and Pac gets a heel kick, but D-Von strikes back with a double clothesline. Hot tag, and Buh Buh cleans house. Sidewalk slam for Pac, Buh Buh Bomb for Roadie. Samoan drop on Pac, and they GET THE TABLES. Two get propped up in opposite corners, and Roadie drags D-Von to the floor. They fight, and Roadie pumphandle slams D-Von off the steps and through a table for the first elimination. Buh Buh goes for Roadie on the floor and Pac sets up a broncobuster through a table for D-Von, but Buh Buh stops it. Another table gets set up, and Pac takes a powerbomb through it to put the teams equal. Roadie comes in and gives Buh Buh the funky punches, then both guys lose it and hiptoss the ref through one of the corner tables. Of COURSE, the Duds choose THIS time to 3D Roadie through a table, because they're idiots. Buh Buh goes for Tori to a big pop, and Gerald Brisco joins us to rescue DX. He blocks Toritaking a superbomb through a table as Pac clobbers D-Von. Buh Buh sits stunned on the second rope, and Pac fnishes it with an X-Factor through a table. DX win at 10:56*. The Duds give Brisco a BAD 3D through a table post-match, but sadly fail to pin him for the Hardcore title. No Tables Match ever lived up the Hardys/Dudleys at RR2001, and this was no exception.1/2-the "standard rules" crap at the start didn't help matters either. The Spooky Hopscotch video plays ONE MORE TIME before the main event, just to give us something to think about... Iron Man Match For WWF Title: Triple H Vs. The Rock-Special Referee: Shawn Michaels: Fink announces BOTH men as the champeen during the intros. Ooops. Trip pulls a SHOCKING SWERVE, sending the Regime to the back because he "wants to win it on his own". LIAR! CHEATING POLITICAL-MINDED SCUM! Trash talk to start, and they fight over a lockup. Break, again. Into the corner, and they break it up and get into a shoving contest, then talk some more. You can feel the pace for the match being set. Lockup again, and Rocky grabs a headlock and works it. Trip powers out and muscles Rocky down into a bridge. Rock fights up and goes back to the headlock. Off the ropes, and Rocky gets a shoulderblock for two. Another for two. Rollup for two, and Trip bails. Back in, and Trip grabs a headlock. Shoulderlock by Trip, but Rocky knocks him down and he bails again. He milks the count, then stalls some back in the ring. Lockup and Rocky gets a headlock, then pounds Trip in the corners. Irish whip, and Trip gets a back elbow and a clothesline. FullarmdragandTWIST, and Trip works the arm. To the armbar. Rocky fights out, and Trip gets an armbar takedown for two. Back to the armbar. Ten minutes gone. Rocky fights up and pounds Trip, then hits Rock Bottom for the first fall at 10:44. Trip bails again, and they fight in the aisle. Rocky stays in charge around the ring, then back up the aisle. Trip fights back but gets whipped into the rail. Trip drops Rocky onto the barrier, and pounds him. Rocky dodges a high knee, but Trip punches him in the gut. Back to the ring, and Rocky suplexes Trip into the ring for two. He goes to work on Trip's knee round the ringpost, then takes it the floor. Kneebreaker on the steps, then back in for more workage. Figure four, but Trip won't submit. It gets a couple of two counts. Trip tries to turn it over, but Rocky rolls it back for two. Trip turns it over, and both guys roll to the ropes. They hit the floor, and Trip takes over with a clothesline. Into the crowd we go, and Trip backdrops Rocky back over the rail. Twenty minutes gone. Back in the ring, Trip shakes off the leg and stomps Rock. Suplex, and a pair of elbowdrops gets two. Trip holds Rocky down for a series of four nearfalls, but Rocky keeps on muscling up. Trip pounds Rocky in the corner and Rocky tries some shots to the knee, so Trip throws him to the floor. Rocky reverses a whip to the steps and Trip hits them knees-first. Back in and Rocky stays in charge, slapping on a kneebar. Tripper fights out with a legdrop, and both struggle up. Rocky gets another kneebreaker and tries the figure four, but Trip shoves him into the corner and hits the Pedigree for the pin at 25:28. It's 1-1. Tripper chokes him down some more, and gets an inside cradle off the ropes for another pin at 26:29. 2-1 to Tripper. Slugfest, and Rocky takes charge, so Tripper throws him through the ropes. he pounds Rocky down the aisle, and clotheslines him at the entrance. Rocky reverses a whip into the entrance scaffold and clotheslines Trip down, but Trip reverses a suplex. They fight back down the aisle, and Rocky hits a sloppy belly-to-back on the floor. Thirty minutes gone. Rocky beats up Trip round the ring, hitting a backdrop, as Michaels tells JR that "there ain't gonna be no BS countouts". Fair enough. Back inside, and Rocky goes back to the leg, but Trip gets a facebuster and a piledriver for a third pin at 32:24. 3-1 to Trip. Tri[ stomps a mudhole in Rock, but Michaels pulls him off and Rocky bursts out of the corner with a clothesline. Tripper gets a back elbow for two and goes upstairs, but Rocky throws him down. Both men down, and Rocky's first up. He fights back against Trip, and gets la Majistral(!) for two. Trip hits his high knee for two. They get into another slugfest and Rocky again wins, but Trip gets a sleeper. At this point, I'll mention the AWESOME commentary here. JR and the King were absolutely swank at their job. Of course, as soon as I write THAT, JR suffers a brain melt and calls the sleeper a figure four. Rocky fights up, so Trip puts his feet on the ropes, but Michaels catches him and break it up. Trip gets another sleeper, and Rocky counters with a belly-to-back. Both down, and forty minutes gone. Rocky rolls over for a two count, and gets the Smackdown DDT moments later for a pinfall at 40:35. 3-2 to Trip. Rocky drags Trip outside and pounds hm, but Tripper throws him into the ringbell. Shawn stops a chairshot, however, and Rock sends Trip into the steps. Swinging neckbreaker on the floor, and they go back inside. Trip begs off, then KILLS Rock with a chairshot, drawing a DQ at 43:42. 3-3. Of course, Rocky's down and out, so Trip pins him "with his feet on the ropes) to regain the advantage at 44:10. 4-3 to Trip. Both men are out on the ropes, and Trip gets a sleeper, eventually putting Rocky down again at 47:28. 5-3 to Trip. Trip keeps the sleeper on, so Shawn forces him to break, and they get into a shoving contest, to a BIG pop. Rocky struggles up and sends Trip to the floor on an Irish whip. Trip knocks out a camera on the way down. Rocky follows and beats on him some more, then back inside Trip gets a quick DDT for two. Fifty minutes gone. Tripper goes upstairs and gets superplexed down. Both down, and Rocky eventually rolls over for two. Rocky back elbow, and he clotheslines Trip to the floor. More Trip beatings on the floor, including a VICIOUS catapult into the ringpost. He comes back by reversing Rocky into the steps, then drags Rocky onto the table. Rock Bottom attempt, but Rocky blocks, and gives Trip the Pedigree, and the TABLE DOESN'T BREAK. Owww. Rocky rolls into the ring, and Michaels counts Trip out at 56:59. 5-4 to Trip. Trip's pulled out a sweet bladejob, and he begins crawling to the ring as the McMahons saunter down to the ring. Trip just beats the count at ( and 9/10, so Rocky pounds him. DDT, and Rocky nails Vince and Shane. Roody Poo spinebuster, and the People's Elbow evens it up at 58:02. 5-5. Shane pulls Michaels out, so Shawn flattens him with a right, then clocks Vince too. Trip throws Rocky into Shanw, and Shawn crashes off the apron. Rock Bottom, and DX arrives for a beatdown. They lay into Rock, and the Spooky Hopscotch video hits the TitanTron. The crowd goes INSANE, for The Undertaker is BACK at ringside on his beautiful Titan bike. He gets in the ring and just lays waste to the Regime. Big boot for Roadie, chokeslam for Shane, right hand for Vince, chokeslam for Pac. Steph gets in his face, so Taker grabs her, but Trip breaks it up. Chokeslam for Trip. The bell rings at 60:08, and Taker drills Tripper with the Last Legal Tombstone. There is a brief pause...and Shawn awards the last fall to Trip by DQ, giving him the title back. Final Tally: 6-5 to Triple H. BIG boos there. Taker stalks Shawn down the aisle as the Regime help Tripper out. Best Iron Man Match Ever.*** JR and King speculate on Shawn's call to end the show. Final Thought: Hugely recommended show, one of the best ever, and if you haven't sen it, get it NOW. There's some interesting discussion material, however...Between this show and present day, there is ONE major difference to the layout of the card-Road Dogg's been fired. Seriously, this show could be put on next week and be believable as a WWF card. Anyone else find that sad and/or worrying? Oh well, onto the predictions for THIS year's Judgment Day... WWF World Title Match: Steve Austin Vs. The Undertaker Feh. It'll be okay, the buildup just hasn't grabbed me. I'm way willing to cut WWF some slack, though, seeing as they're trying to rearrange a whole new company while running another at full speed. I SAY: I dunno...I'm gonna go out on a limb and say Austin, seeing as Taker seems the slight favourite here. Rating:* IC Title Chain Match: Triple H Vs. Kane Again, it won't be downright awful, but the buildup's just been uninspiring. And each guy's gonna have a Hell of a time putting the other down-Trip survived an auto wreck and returned unharmed a week later, while Kane's shattered arm has healed within two weeks. I SAY: Kane will walk away with the title, as Operation Jacobs reaches it's peak. It sets up Trip's face turn, too. Rating:* Medals Match: Chris Benoit Vs. Kurt Angle The only match which has real standout, five-star potential on the card. It should also finally wrap this issue up once and for all. I SAY: Angle all the way, baby, by some nefarious means. I was thinking maybe Jericho heel turn, but after his announcement that he'll be in the Tag Team Turmoil Match I'm not so sure. Rating:1/2 William Regal Vs. Rikishi No, no, NO. No. I said No. I SAY: Really, really ugly match sees Regal go over in some fashion. God knows how. Rating: DUD. Hardcore Title Match: Rhyno Vs. Test Vs. The Big Show I THINK this is on the card, although it'll probably change before belltime. Well, I HOPE it will. I SAY:** Test wins, and Rhyno Gores him post-match. Presto! Insta Feud! Rating:* Women's Title Match: Chyna Vs. Lita I don't even wanna TOUCH on this one. I'm sure Paul Heyman had some hand in it, though. I SAY: Lita wins. She's the lesser of two evils. Rating: DUD. Tag Team Turmoil Match This is, apparently, for the number one contendership, meaning Trip and Austin will actually have to DEFEND the titles. I know, I'm as shocked as you. Entries so far are: Hardys, Dudleys, Blondes, Acolytes, X-Factor, Radicals, and Jericho/Mystery Man. I SAY: Jericho will win it, regardless of who he brings with him. Will it be Tajiri? Or will be Road Warrior Animal? Rating: *1/4 Well, that's it for me. I'll see you next week, for I am POOPED. New address is aciddropaciddropaciddrop@hotmail.com, so gimme a bell if you need to yell. Toodles! Ian Challis** freelance Mail the Author Comment about this article on the EZBoard	BLAH
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