WWF Royal Rumble 2001
January 21, 2001
New Orleans, LA
It’s over.
WCW didn’t really believe it to be so, but at this point it really was. The WWF vs. WCW war hadn’t really mattered to the WWF in over a year. WCW then proceeded to put on one of the worst years, if not the worst year, that a major wrestling promotion had ever put together. While WCW would have some strong moments in 2001 before its demise, it was way too little and way too late.
Meanwhile, the WWF was riding high. New stars such as Kurt Angle had really hit their stride. The WWF was also pushing the hell out of former WCW stars Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit, and even taking chances with guys like Rikishi. The WWF had all of that talent while also having their mainstays be at the very top. Stone Cold, HHH, Undertaker, Kane and The Rock were still at the top of their games. While that wouldn’t actually remain viable forever (not enough top spots), at this point the WWF was simply rolling.
Then again, there was some small concerns. Ratings in December were low comparing to past years, and that’s with the ultra-hot Austin comeback. Shouldn’t be a problem on the Road to Wrestlemania though…right?
The Card
WWF World Tag Team Championship: Edge and Christian © vs. The Dudley Boyz
From 2000 on, it’s just safe to assume the Hardyz, E and C and Dudleyz were feuding with one another. The con-chair-to was an awesome move. Shame we won’t ever see it again, although it’s for the best.
I always thought the chemistry between the three teams was awesome…especially since the Dudleyz adapted to the WWF style practically instantly.
This whole match revolves around the Dudleyz having concussions. My how times have changed.
Edge and Christian miss the con-chair-to and D-Von hot tags Bubba! The crowd is very into all of this.
“D-VON! GET THE TABLES!”
The Dudley Boyz win when D-Von Dudley pins Edge in 9:59. Edge and Christian go for the Dudleyz’ WASSUP! Headbutt, but it’s reversed. Edge eats the 3D, and the Dudleyz win the title! Crowd pops huge for a very good opening match. Chemistry was just perfect with these teams.
Drew Carey is here! I think he’s promoting a PPV or something. He talks to HHH and Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley and promotes his PPV.
Crash Holly then threatens The APA about the Rumble. Good for a laugh.
WWF Intercontinental Championship: Chris Benoit © vs. Chris Jericho
Their entire promo video is just them beating the hell out of one another throughout 2000. Sounds good to me.
Benoit and Jericho just go at it right away. No time to waste here.
One of the most cringeworthy moments I’ve ever seen: Benoit goes for a tope…and Jericho whacks him right in the head with a chair. Worse when you think about what ultimately happened with Benoit. What a sick spot.
This is just hard hitting stuff back and forth, not a lot of flying. It’s an old school ladder match and it’s awesome.
Ridiculous ladder teeter-totter spot that got Benoit in the face. Jeez.
Walls of Jericho on top of the ladder!
Benoit misses a top of the ladder diving headbutt. Sick.
Chris Jericho wins the title in 18:48. Jericho nails Benoit with a chair, then shoves him off the ladder and over the top. It’s enough time for Jericho to grab the IC Title. Great great match. One of the best ladder matches of all time. It’s forgotten because of the Benoit deal. Hard hitting, great spots and a great crowd. 2/2 so far tonight!
Drew Carey hits on Trish Stratus…but here comes Vince! Vince isn’t happy…so he has Drew enter the Royal Rumble! When Trish says it would impress her…Drew goes for it!
WWF Women’s Championship: Ivory© vs. Chyna
Storyline here: The Right to Censor injured Chyna’s neck…and Chyna wants revenge.
It may have been fun to see Chyna destroy Ivory at the time, but in retrospect this killed the Women’s title until Trish revived it at the end of the year.
Ivory retains the title via pin in 3:32. Chyna goes for her cartwheel elbow, but goes down and holds her neck. Ivory pins her. Chyna is stretchered out. Really a glorified angle. Chyna would crush Ivory two months later anyway.
Drew Carey meets Kane. Kane should be afraid.
WWF Championship: Kurt Angle© vs. Triple H
Weird match here. HHH and Angle had feuded in 2000 in the love triangle storyline, but we got past that randomly in the last couple of months…and HHH had turned heel on Stone Cold. Suddenly HHH is the #1 contender causing Angle to think he’s against the McMahon family…but he’s still a heel and enlists Trish to help him, which infuriates Stephanie (well that and Vince’s flirtations with Vince). Still, both are heels, and the match actually feels like a backdrop of the Steph-Trish feud sadly.
As a result, except for some early “Angle Sucks” chants, the crowd really isn’t into it.
HHH works on the knee, even using a chair against Angle’s knee against the post. This makes Angle the face of the match then?
HHH with a strange Indian Deathlock. He had been using the Indian Deathlock in late 2000, notably against Benoit at No Mercy 2000.
Trish breaks up a Figure Four, leading to a Steph-Trish catfight…and the crowd goes nuts.
Razor’s Edge! Angle kicks out.
Moonsault from Angle! HHH survives though.
The crowd is on HHH’s side now.
Ref gets taken out…twice! HHH has it won…
Kurt Angle retains by pin in 24:16. Stone Cold comes out and beats the hell out of HHH…and hits him with a Stunner. Angle gets the pin. While this is a very good match, the Trish-Steph angle was distracting, and we didn’t even get remotely a good finish. I mean, I know Angle is a chicken-shit heel, but he really struggled to beat anyone during this reign…this match included.
The Royal Rumble
#1 is Jeff Hardy. #2 is Bull Buchanan.
#3 is Matt Hardy, pretty much ending the Bull Buchanan run.
The Hardyz oddly don’t wait for the next guy and go at it after dumping Bull.
#4 is Faarooq, who fends for himself pretty well for a minute before getting eliminated.
#5 is Drew Carey! Carey watches on the outside…and the Hardyz eliminate each other at the same time! Drew wins!
#6 is Kane. Kane slowly walks around the ring and Drew begs him not to hurt him. Drew hilariously offers money, but Kane says no. Kane is about to chokeslam drew, but #7, Raven saves him with a kendo stick shot. Drew eliminates himself.
It’s a Hardcore Rumble!
Al Snow runs in early and attacks Raven he confirms himself to be #8 shortly.
Raven takes a bowling ball to the nuts. Ouch.
#9 is Saturn. Interestingly, Saturn’s titantron has the same style that would be used for Chris Jericho’s Save.Us campaign later.
#10 is Steve Blackman as the Hardcore Division keeps coming out.
#11 is Grandmaster Sexay. It would be his last appearance until 2004.
Kane literally has a “fuck this moment”. Trash can shot knocks out Grandmaster. Blackman is next. Then Al Snow. Raven goes afterwards….then Saturn as well. Kane has cleaned house!
#12 is The Honky Tonk Man! He wants to sing his song. He does so, before Kane whacks him with a guitar and throws him out.
#13 is The Rock. Business has picked up!
#14 is The Goodfather! Goodfather never recovered from his RTC heel turn sadly.
And Rock takes out the Goodfather. That was fast.
#15 is Tazz, and he lasts less time than the Goodfather does. Kane knocks him out in about 5 seconds.
#16 is Bradshaw. He actually kicks some ass and takes Rock out with a clothesline.
#17 is Albert.
#18 is Hardcore Holly. Five guys in there now.
GETTING ROWDY! #19 is K-Kwik. Amazing that Killings never really got higher than this spot other than his heel run in 2011.
#20 is a Right to Censored Val Venis. It seems like we are just waiting for someone to clean house here.
#21 is William Regal. Test follows at #22, and dumps Regal.
Business picks up now as The Big Show returns and is #23. Show was last seen in July after being sent to OVW to lose weight (which he didn’t do, for the record). He chokeslams everyone in sight and gets rid of K-Kwik and Test. The Rock counters the chokeslam and out goes Show.
Big Show drags Rock under the ropes as #24, Crash Holly gets in. Big Show chokeslams The Rock through the Announcer’s table before leaving.
Undertaker is #25, and he and Kane clean out the ring…and DON’T attack one another (see Hardyz, it works!). Scotty 2 Hotty comes out in total fear, and is promptly chokeslammed and eliminated.
#27 is Stone Cold Steve Austin, leading to one of my all time favorite Rumble moments. Taker and Kane in the ring where Stone Cold comes down with no fear. HHH ruins the moment though by attacking Austin. Austin doesn’t make it to the ring. Rock gets back in and fight Taker and Kane.
#28 is Billy Gunn. Gunn gets some good offense in, probably the last good offense he’d get in until 2013.
#29 is Haku. Haku is the current WCW Hardcore Champion! You knew it was a death knell for WCW when the WWF didn’t even acknowledge that they stole Haku.
#30 is Rikishi. Rikishi sees Austin trying to get back to the ring and tries to take advantage, but Austin springs into action and attacks! Anyway, Rikishi, Gunn, Austin, Rock, Kane, Haku and Undertaker are the final seven.
Austin dumps Haku.
You can see there is a little Austin fatigue at this point. It’s not that Austin couldn’t be a top draw, but his out of nowhere attack of Rikishi would have gotten a huge reaction before. Now, it’s just something Austin did.
Rikishi superkicks Undertaker out!
Rikishi goes for a Banzaii Drop, but Rock knocks him over the top rope. Really bad showing from Rikishi here kayfabe wise. All that hype for #30 and he ended up lasting 5 minutes?
Austin, Gunn, Kane, Rock is the final four. One of these is not like the other.
Gunn hits Austin with the Fameasser…then Austin throws Gunn out just like that. Down to three.
Austin and Rock have locked eyes. These two went at one another at Armageddon the month prior as well.
Austin and Rock going at each other here was a huge deal. It was funny when WWE tried to replicate it with Orton and Cena in 2011.
Austin and Rock keep going at it and Austin even gets a Stunner. Austin tries to dump Rock, but Rock counters and tries to dump Austin. Kane comes from behind and tries to dump both, but only succeeds in dumping Rock (the record setting 11th elimination).
Stone Cold wins the Royal Rumble at 61:55, last eliminating Kane. Austin and Kane go at it, and Kane grabs a chair. Austin gets the chair though and whacks Kane a few times, before clotheslining him over the top for the win. Very good Royal Rumble. Had some slow moments…but clearly had its moments as well.
A really good PPV here. Only one match was lacking, and it only lasted three minutes. Everything else ranged from awesome (the IC Ladder Match) to very good (the WWF Title match). Historically this was Austin’s last great babyface moment of the Attitude Era, and Kane got a historical accolade that took 13 years to beat. Kane did kinda get wasted though after this.
Royal Rumble really had some good stuff. Comedy with Carey, Honky Tonk and Scotty 2 Hotty. Kane’s reign of terror. The hardcore part of the Rumble. The Austin-Rock staredown. The Big Show comeback (it got a good pop and he was a main guy always before this).
The entire show did provide good build-up for Wrestlemania as well. Can’t go wrong there.
Final Grade: A