[2000-02-03-WWF-Smackdown] Dean Malenko vs X-Pac

[soup23]

Long promo starting out with Foley speaking on behalf of the Radicalz. Stephanie has good heat although this is the taped show. They essentially tell the Radicalz here they are B+ players. HHH sets the matches for tonight which does make this SmackDown seem like a big deal. Tori has just turned on Kane to go with X-Pac. Good action here. Tori pays dividends immediately as she low blows Malenko allowing X-Pac to hit the X-Factor and take the 1-0 advantage in the DX vs. Radicalz battle. I thought Malenko’s cloverleaf especially was clenched really snuggly here. **

[Loss]

Foley's promo is great for getting the Radicalz over and shows just how much more the WWF was in tune with the wrestling audience at this point in time than WCW in terms of perceptions about age of the top guys and younger midcarders not getting honest chances at the top spot. The more things change. HHH gets great heat and cuts a tremendous promo full of false bravado about what he would do to everyone in the ring if he felt like it. He even put over Benoit as a former big fish in a small pond who is used to being the standard bearer elsewhere, but now has to face the standard bearer in the WWF. What happened to this great heel who puts over his opponents in his promos and gets heat by telling lies, talking tough and showing fear when Foley threatens him to close the segment? Stephanie is a much better TV performer today, but she was far more of a heat magnet then. HHH is just AWESOME in this promo segment.

 

The match is okay. I want to say Waltman trained with Boris Malenko at one time, so they know each other fairly well. The action looked really good and was really smooth, and we should have known the result, because as CRZ frequently reminded us back in 2000, X-Pac never jobs in singles matches, unless it is to Steve Blackman.

[GSR]

This starts with the opening from Smackdown and Cactus Jack heading to the ring with The Radicalz. Cactus explains they are here, not as members of the WWF, but as his guests, although they intend to try and change all that tonight. He says how they had Triple H flat on his back in the middle of the ring and they chose to leave; not because they’re after his blood, but because they’re after contracts. Foley says how there was a simple saying in Atlanta about keeping your mouth shut, you check your pride at the door and collect a big fat pay cheque. That wasn’t good enough for these four men because wrestling is much more than a pay cheque to every one of them. What they want to do is take on the best and the only place to do that is in the WWF. They want to be in front of WWF fans, and deep down they know no matter how good they were, how good there matches were, they were not quite old enough for WCW! Cactus asks Triple H to come out and they can have a contract signing or they’ll turn Smackdown into a two hour long sit down. Just as they collect some chairs HHH’s music plays and he’s out with the rest of DX. He says that the four of them are trespassing, and if he wanted he could just order two armed guards from the back to come and throw them out. Stephanie says how they may have been hot shots where they used to work but you have to earn your stripes here, and based upon their actions Monday night, they’re not worthy of working in the WWF. They’re not bad or anything, they’re just average! Triple H then claims that the McMahon-Helmsley era is all about fairness, so tonight they’re going to give them a chance, not a contract but a try-out. Dean Malenko will face X-Pac, Perry Saturn & Eddy Guerrero will take on the New Age Outlaws and Chris Benoit, who was a big fish in a small pond the last time he saw him, will if it comes to it, step in the ring with him. There are rules to the try-out though. If they can win two out of the three matches they will get their contracts, however he thinks that it won’t get to himself and Benoit. Cactus Jack then says he knows how DX works and to make sure everything is above board he’ll be watching from backstage and he’ll have a barbed wire 2x4 with him.

 

X-Pac gets the better of a shoulderblock and crotch chops at his opponent. Back heel kick from Malenko who then reverses a whip to the corner. As he comes charging in X-Pac gets his foot up, although when he rushes at Malenko, he catches him with a lovely powerslam as DX watch on from the dressing room. X-Pac ducks a lariat and a spinning heel kick takes Malenko off his feet. Malenko escapes a rear chinlock, X-Pac goes for another spinning heel kick, but this time he catches the leg and hits a ‘dragon screw’. A series of kicks in the corner drop Malenko, X-Pac signals for the bronco buster, however Malenko rolls out the ring and he crotches himself. Running clothesline in the corner and a brainbuster for a near fall. Texas Cloverleaf but X-Pac is able to grab the ropes to force the break. Tori is up on the apron distracting the official, X-Pac with a low blow followed by the ‘X-Factor’ and it’s 1-0 to DX.

 

Wise decision pairing the Radicalz with Foley, even moreso as it not only associates them with one of the top faces in the company, it also gives them somone to cut the long WWF promos for them. Cactus does an excellent job talking about how they’re here because they want to wrestle and not just pick up a pay cheque, whilst also getting in his jibes at WCW. I had pretty high expectations for this so the match was a tad disappointing. The work between the two wasn’t bad at all, but it just never fully connected with me.

[Kronos]

This is a decent match, with Dean and Pac meshing well. Malenko gets more offense than Eddy and Perry get later against the NAO, with X-Pac having to cheat to win.

 

The promo segment with Foley works well for them (Benoit gets an especially big cheer).