[2000-04-20-WWF-Smackdown] Chris Benoit vs Kurt Angle

[soup23]

With even less time than usual, they really had to go quickly here and they delivered a satisfying match at a quick speed. For three minutes, this is about as good as you can hope for action wise. Angle should be commended for sliding right in with the workrate vets and not feeling out of place. 3 Germans and Benoit goes for the diving headbutt before Big Show shoves him off for a quick DQ. That was cheap. **

[Loss]

These two keep getting time to do three-minute matches and underdelivering and I guess that's how it will be until 2001. Nothing really worth seeing here.

[GSR]

Collar and elbow tie up and Benoit backs Angle into the corner. A clean break, but Kurt is right back at him with a go-behind and a big waistlock takedown. Nice overhead belly to belly as Angle starts to unload on him. ‘The Crippler’ retaliates though with some boots to the mid-section and a snap suplex for a one count. Kurt ducks under a clothesline and goes for a backslide; when he realises he’s not going to get it, he transitions to a double arm belly to belly. Fireman’s carry throw/suplex for two. Benoit reverses a whip to the corner and Angle careers chest first into the turnbuckles. Three rolling German suplexes by ‘the Crippler’ who then heads upstairs, but as he’s climbing out rushes the Big Show. He pushes Benoit off the top and to the arena floor and goes after Angle, however he’s able to make his escape as Show chases him all the way back to the dressing room.

 

When I saw the time length here I didn’t think we’d be getting a classic, still there was some nice stuff like Angle’s suplex variations, the rolling Germans and ‘the Crippler’s’ usual intensity. The finish was a build for the Angle/Show match at Backlash, and there’s clearly better to come from these two.