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[2000-04-30-WWF-Backlash] Chris Benoit vs Chris Jericho


soup23

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Really classic style match. It starts with some nice chain wrestling but breaks down into some brutal chops really quickly. I liked the action on the outside and Benoit takes a brutal bump going for a tope and hitting it face first. He is able to regain the advantage though by kicking the steps into Jericho’s midsection. This becomes the focal point for Benoit and he utilizes a great variety of moves to go after the midsection culminating in an abdominal stretch. The crowd comes alive for the submission attempts. The finish is probably the weakest part of this match but continues the feud. Benoit introduces the IC belt and hits Jericho but the referee is out of position. Benoit goes for the diving headbutt and Jericho uses the belt to smash him. A dangerous bump that makes you cringe giving Benoit’s future but effective as a visual for the moment with Benoit bleeding. ***3/4

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  • 4 weeks later...

This was a great match with an awful finish, but not enough to take it down. It also ensures that the feud continues, which is a great thing for these two, since it's simultaneously elevating both of them at this point. Brutally stiff, uncomfortably so at many points, but hard fought and designed to get Jericho over as a tough *wrestler* when to this point, his character hadn't really shown that side very much. I liked the missile dropkick where Jericho misjudged Benoit's placement and Benoit noticed and raised up his hand to swat him away to cover for the spot and make it go off without a hitch. I wish we could have had a finish, but building to a match that had one makes that fine. ****

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  • 1 year later...

Did JR say this was going to be a restaurant quality match? Good match but it seemed like they were put off by the lack of crowd heat and had to generate their own momentum instead of feeding off the crowd. The crowd woke up for the finishing stretch and were treated to some bullshit with Tim White. And it wasn't restaurant quality bullshit either. JR was confused about the finish and then Jericho snapped and put White in the Walls of Jericho. He suddenly grew wild-eyed and looked a bit like Emilio Charles Jr. Now I remember why this feud was such a disappointment to me at a time where I mostly watched WWF from PPV to PPV. The detail work was good but the overall arc was poor. PPV matches should be better than TV matches but this wasn't half as exciting as the tag match on RAW. That's a fail in my book, but I don't think it was the workers' fault. The booking swung from WWF at its best on RAW to lazy as fuck PPV payoff. If you want to keep the feud going find a more creative way to do it. 

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  • GSR changed the title to [2000-04-30-WWF-Backlash] Chris Benoit vs Chris Jericho

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