KOR Quarter final
Chris Benoit v. Rikishi 7.0
Benoit brought a lot of intensity and technicality here and a crazy German suplex on Rikishi. Ended in DQ which was good because Rikishi had just won the intercontinental belt from Benoit.Good match.
Val Venis vs. Eddie Guerro 6.0 Another solid match from Eddie. Eddie had some good but not great moves in this one. Over his career he became much more intense and technical. Val was decent, nothing special but the ending sucked with a fisherman suplex. Not impressive.
Crash v. Bull Buchanan 3.0 Crash looked weak in this one but at this time period he was known as the "houdini" of hardcore. Meaning he basically was able to sneak out with a win out of nowhere. So maybe that's what they were going for because all he got in was just a barrage of punches. Bull was dominant during the entire match but the crowd didn't seem to care. That's because he was slow and sloppy (maybe that's why he's not in the WWE anymore). Crash won by a roll up. One of the worst matches the entire night.
Kurt Angle vs. Chris Jericho 8.0 Anything with Angle in it will be great. He's intense, has great technical skills and is fun to watch in the ring as well as out. The Mic bit in the beginning was funny as well as Jericho. Jericho looked good in this one. Great match and ending.
Four Team Elimination Match for the WWF tag team championship
Edge and Christian v. T & A v. The Hardy Boyz v. Too Cool 7.5 Promo kind of sucked with Edge and Christian on the Mic. Even when Christian was hyping up the whole Boston accomplishments the crowd was whatever. T & A worked well in this match with their powerful moves contrasting the Hardyz. Very good beginning with Hardyz and T & A. Crowd wasn't happy when Hardyz were eliminated and the pace slowed a bit when they were. Ending was classic heel.
KOR Semi Finals
Val Venis vs Rikishi 4.5 Rikishi had limited offensive movements here
because he was selling his injury to his arm. Honestly this is a match you could skip. Val isn't as technical, intense or good as Chris Benoit so it lacked a special quality to it. The crowd also didn't care too much. The ending was weak with a simple belly to belly suplex for the win. Not sure if the bookers told all participants in val venis matches to end with weak moves and non finishers but bad to have 2 matches end with non finishers in the same night.
Crash Holly vs Kurt Angle 6.5 Quick pace worked well in this match. Only downside is, as a casual fan, you knew that Crash wouldn't win against someone like angle but at least it was wishful thinking. Obviously Angle is the better draw than Crash (that would have been a weak WWF championship match. Crash v. Triple H or Rock yeesh. If you don't believe me check out the Big show v. Big boss man for the WWF championship. Horrible.). Still entertaining match and glad to have another heel win legitimately.
Evening gown match for the WWF Hardcore championship
Pat Patterson v. Gerald brisco: 1.0 Horrible match. Seeing two grown men in drag for a hardcore title or any title for that matter is terrible. Only saving grace that the crowd cheered for was Crash coming in and beating Pat. Skip this match. Worst match of the entire night.
Tag Team Handicap table dumpster match D-Generation X (X pac and Road Dogg w/Tori) v. The Dudley Boyz 7.8
The "X pac sucks" chants started early in this one as well as the "We want tables" chants. The match started with a good regular style tag match before going hardcore. Headbutt to Tori's "area" was not expected but a welcome surprise. Sick table spots in this one. Good match. After match mayhem was very good.
KOR Finals Angle vs. Rikishi 8 Overall it was smart to have Rikishi get hurt by chairs, stairs etc because it shows that, had he been healthy he may have been able to win the KOR. Plus, because he just won the IC, it didn't make him look like a weak IC champion due to his injuries. Angle did some awesome moves, good offense by both men.
6 man tag team match for the WWF Championship 7.5 Rock Kane and Undertake vs Triple H, Vince and Shane This was the only time in recent memory that they have ever done a tag team match for the wwf championship or any singles championship in this format. Didn't seem to translate too well. Kane got in limited offense as did Taker. Vince and Shane weren't used that much other than punching bags. Triple h was the only one from the team that was a threat and the Rock got in most of the offense. Think there was a missed save as the Rock kicked out of the Pedigree (undertaker was supposed to make the save but missed it). The match started slow but ended solid with some sick spots by Undertaker on Shane and good finish by the Rock. Very solid match but would have been better as either a fatal 4-6 way or elimination.
Chris Benoit v. Rikishi 7.0
Benoit brought a lot of intensity and technicality here and a crazy German suplex on Rikishi. Ended in DQ which was good because Rikishi had just won the intercontinental belt from Benoit.Good match.
Val Venis vs. Eddie Guerro 6.0 Another solid match from Eddie. Eddie had some good but not great moves in this one. Over his career he became much more intense and technical. Val was decent, nothing special but the ending sucked with a fisherman suplex. Not impressive.
Crash v. Bull Buchanan 3.0 Crash looked weak in this one but at this time period he was known as the "houdini" of hardcore. Meaning he basically was able to sneak out with a win out of nowhere. So maybe that's what they were going for because all he got in was just a barrage of punches. Bull was dominant during the entire match but the crowd didn't seem to care. That's because he was slow and sloppy (maybe that's why he's not in the WWE anymore). Crash won by a roll up. One of the worst matches the entire night.
Kurt Angle vs. Chris Jericho 8.0 Anything with Angle in it will be great. He's intense, has great technical skills and is fun to watch in the ring as well as out. The Mic bit in the beginning was funny as well as Jericho. Jericho looked good in this one. Great match and ending.
Four Team Elimination Match for the WWF tag team championship
Edge and Christian v. T & A v. The Hardy Boyz v. Too Cool 7.5 Promo kind of sucked with Edge and Christian on the Mic. Even when Christian was hyping up the whole Boston accomplishments the crowd was whatever. T & A worked well in this match with their powerful moves contrasting the Hardyz. Very good beginning with Hardyz and T & A. Crowd wasn't happy when Hardyz were eliminated and the pace slowed a bit when they were. Ending was classic heel.
KOR Semi Finals
Val Venis vs Rikishi 4.5 Rikishi had limited offensive movements here
because he was selling his injury to his arm. Honestly this is a match you could skip. Val isn't as technical, intense or good as Chris Benoit so it lacked a special quality to it. The crowd also didn't care too much. The ending was weak with a simple belly to belly suplex for the win. Not sure if the bookers told all participants in val venis matches to end with weak moves and non finishers but bad to have 2 matches end with non finishers in the same night.
Crash Holly vs Kurt Angle 6.5 Quick pace worked well in this match. Only downside is, as a casual fan, you knew that Crash wouldn't win against someone like angle but at least it was wishful thinking. Obviously Angle is the better draw than Crash (that would have been a weak WWF championship match. Crash v. Triple H or Rock yeesh. If you don't believe me check out the Big show v. Big boss man for the WWF championship. Horrible.). Still entertaining match and glad to have another heel win legitimately.
Evening gown match for the WWF Hardcore championship
Pat Patterson v. Gerald brisco: 1.0 Horrible match. Seeing two grown men in drag for a hardcore title or any title for that matter is terrible. Only saving grace that the crowd cheered for was Crash coming in and beating Pat. Skip this match. Worst match of the entire night.
Tag Team Handicap table dumpster match D-Generation X (X pac and Road Dogg w/Tori) v. The Dudley Boyz 7.8
The "X pac sucks" chants started early in this one as well as the "We want tables" chants. The match started with a good regular style tag match before going hardcore. Headbutt to Tori's "area" was not expected but a welcome surprise. Sick table spots in this one. Good match. After match mayhem was very good.
KOR Finals Angle vs. Rikishi 8 Overall it was smart to have Rikishi get hurt by chairs, stairs etc because it shows that, had he been healthy he may have been able to win the KOR. Plus, because he just won the IC, it didn't make him look like a weak IC champion due to his injuries. Angle did some awesome moves, good offense by both men.
6 man tag team match for the WWF Championship 7.5 Rock Kane and Undertake vs Triple H, Vince and Shane This was the only time in recent memory that they have ever done a tag team match for the wwf championship or any singles championship in this format. Didn't seem to translate too well. Kane got in limited offense as did Taker. Vince and Shane weren't used that much other than punching bags. Triple h was the only one from the team that was a threat and the Rock got in most of the offense. Think there was a missed save as the Rock kicked out of the Pedigree (undertaker was supposed to make the save but missed it). The match started slow but ended solid with some sick spots by Undertaker on Shane and good finish by the Rock. Very solid match but would have been better as either a fatal 4-6 way or elimination.
