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-and we are back for another In Your House pay per view. And we are going... OVER THE EDGE!
-the show kicks off with a nicely done montage of the Austin-McMahon feud with some nice authoritarian propaganda touches. Great stuff, even 15 years later.
-our first match is the Legion of Doom 2000 taking on DOA. The Warriors have Sunny and Puke with them. I care about one of these two and you have to guess which it is. I don't mind a good old fashioned brawl but something about this one doesn't really click for me. Its not terrible but I just don't really enjoy it that much. Legion 2k win.
-we get the Intercontinental champion The Rock out next to insult Milwaukee for awhile. It leads to a vicious assault by Farooq. They play up the injury angle nicely without going overboard like they would today.
-Wormy Cole interviews Steve Austin backstage.
-the second match of the evening is Stripper Mode Jeff Jarrett versus Steve Blackman. I enjoy this one a bit more than the opener but its still a pretty meh affair. Jarrett wins. We move on.
-the Sable-Mero separation takes another twist as Sable is going to have someone wrestling Mero with her freedom (from her personal services contract) on the line. Sable hasn't picked anyone – she will fight him herself. Mero suckers her by claiming he will let her win, then rolls her up to get the victory. And Sable is gone from the WWF. Forever.
Cuz there is “forever” in pro wrestling...
-the Nation is backstage with the “severely” injured Rock. This is awful. He will still have to defend the IC title tonight.
-we get a handicap match that puts three members of Kaientai against Taka Michinoku and Justin Bradshaw. This match is just fun – the junior heavyweights flying around and Bradshaw just being a powerhouse. I probably enjoy this one more than it warrants but fuck it. Its fun.
-Farooq comes out for the IC title match but when Rocky Maivia is announced, he isn't there. He's introduced again. Commissioner Slaughter comes out and makes threats, stumbling over his words nicely. The Rock appears with a neck brace on. Awesome. Its all Farooq in the early going but Rocky gets going. A near-fall convinces Farooq he won and The Rock takes the cheap win. D-X hit the ring to clear house after the match.
-Kane versus Vader... loser unmasks... There is some bad blood here, as Kane put Vader “out” for three months with a wrench and the Mastadon wants payback for missing his WM payday... or something. The match is decent. End seems quick as Vader misses a Vader Bomb then gets chokeslamed. He gets de-masked and Paul Bearer puts it on. That's the highlight of the match for me.
-we get a segment with Mad Dog Vachon and The Crusher, which culminates in them getting insulted by The King. The Crusher punches Lawler and the fans love it. The segment ends with The Crusher having no shirt on and he's holding Mad Dog's prosthetic leg. Awesome.
-the D-X introduction takes a gawdawful long time but it brings back some memories. The Nation of Domination don't get near as much time. The six-man tag is Trips and the Outlaws against Owen, D'Lo, and Kama. The tag goes almost twenty minutes and its a lot of fun. Its back and forth, with both sides getting good spells. Both Mark Henry and Chyna are at ringside and they get involved in the action. Its actually NOD who wins after some shenanigans. I really enjoy this match.
-the main event is Steve Austin defending the world title against Dude Love, who has turned heel and gone corporate. The overbooking of the situation is insane – Vince is the guest referee, The Undertaker is the ring enforcer, Pat Patterson is guest ring announcer, and Gerald Brisco is the time-keeper. The match itself is almost as overbooked as there are tons of shenanigans. Some good action, too. During the match, its made no disqualification, then falls count anywhere. McMahon gets taken out, the stooges interference but The Undertaker chokeslams and Austin gets the win when he pins Dude and counts out the pin with McMahon's hand. The semi main event, I enjoy the fuck out of this one. Its overbooked, but the overbooking works with the storylines they have going on.
-its not a great event but it feels like pure Attitude Era to me. I remember watching this back in the day, so its hard not to enjoy. The last two matches are particularly enjoyable for me, but that might be at least partly nostalgia. Fuck it, I enjoy it.
Results
LOD 2000 d. DOA
Jeff Jarrett d. Steve Blackman
Marc Mero d. Sable.
Kaientai d. Taka & Bradshaw
The Rock (c) d. Farooq for the WWF Intercontinental championship
Kane d. Vader
The Nation d. D-X
Stone Cold Steve Austin (c) d. Dude Love for the WWF World championship
Recommended:
D-X versus the Nation of Domination
Dude Love versus Steve AustinComment
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I loved that awkward era right before Attitude and just as Attitude was getting going. Lots of forgotten stuff that was pretty cool.Comment
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