[2000-05-08-WWF-Raw] Chris Jericho vs Kurt Angle / Chris Jericho vs Big Show / Chris Jericho vs Chris Benoit

[soup23]

HHH starts off the night with a promo describing the chain of events that have happened since Backlash and his dealings with Earl Hebner. He ends up issuing the challenge for the Iron Man match and does it in a convincing way that helps protect both guys. Really great promo by him. Just as Vince is about to speak, Jericho interrupts. Jericho calls him Vance McMahon that makes me laugh more than it should. Jericho gets a huge pop saying that Vince has a small penis. I did laugh at King asking JR if that is true and JR saying “HOW SHOULD I KNOW”. Vince says he has a set of grapefruits and grapefruits grow on a tree that has a trunk. Vince sets up a match vs. Angle and he offers a guarantee that Jericho wont leave the building as IC champ. Shane has some words for Big Show which sets up their Judgement Day match. Shane is called a pussy by the crowd.

 

Angle comes out for his match and says he is honored to defend Stephanie. Stephanie possesses class which is something these people on Long Island could never possess. Pretty good five minute popcorn match with Angle again having a clear vision of what the match is wanting to accomplish and him doing that. Jericho looks strong as he puts Angle away with the Walls clean in the ring. **

 

Shane is upset backstage and Show comes in and chokes Shane. Shane informs Show that he was wanting to see that fire and that Show has a chance to become IC champion. Shane is leading Big Show out who seems to have taken the advice and is becoming more serious. Show is dominating and they are showing on the big screen the added portion from the night before where Shane makes fun of Show and says he has him brainwashed and making fun of him. Show is now furious at Shane and leaves the ring. That draws Jericho a countout win. *

 

Vince is such a pompous ass backstage announcing the Benoit match. HHH comes out in a referee shirt. This is really start to become an endearing feud where they don’t have a ton of time to work with at points but they maximize the effort. Benoit suplexes Jericho on the outside to establish dominance. He maintains that work on the back with a back suplex inside the ring and barks at Choida about a slow count. Benoit is a brilliant technician on the back doing a Northern Lights suplex and back drop before running through the Germans sequences. Benoit continues to stake his claim as the best worker in 2000. Jericho is able to hook on the Walls of Jericho and we get an interesting moment where Choida gets shoved by Benoit who then gets shoved by HHH. HHH now takes charge of the match himself. Walls of Jericho is applied but HHH is preoccupied by Steph walking down. Well, he is a loving husband. Crossface is applied and HHH calls for the bell without Jericho tapping out. I thought it was a good moment after the match that Benoit just leaves allowing DX and HHH to lay the boots to Jericho. Show ends with Too Cool, Rikishi and Big Show coming to Jericho’s aid and making the McMahon-Helmsley regime retreat. They did an admirable job on this show without Rock. ***1/4

[GSR]

The ‘D-X Regime’ are out, and first of all Triple H starts by making fun of what happened to Earl Hebner, something that could’ve been avoided if he’d just kept his nose out of their business! He gets Kevin Dunn to roll the footage of the beating they gave him, and wants that to be a warning as to what happens when you cross the McMahon-Helmsley regime. He turns his attention to The Rock and it will all come to a head at Judgment Day, only this time there will be no Steve Austin, no Linda McMahon and no Earl Hebner. It will just be the two of them, and to up the ante, to find out “who the man” is, he challenges him to a 60 minute Iron Man match, where the person with the most falls at the end of sixty minutes will be the undisputed WWF Heavyweight champion. ‘The Game’ hands the mic over to Vince McMahon, and as soon as he starts to speak he’s interrupted by ‘Break Down the Walls’. Jericho insults Shane, Stephanie and Vince (everything he did was to make up for the fact he had a small penis!), and the latter responds that there’s not a damn thing he can do to stop them from coming up there and kicking his ass! As ‘the Regime’ head out to go and get Y2J, he’s joined by the Dudleyz, Big Show and Rikishi, at which point they have second thoughts and return to the ring. Vince then informs Jericho that he’ll be defending the Intercontinental title against Kurt Angle and guarantees that he will not be leaving this building with that belt. Shane tells Show that one way or another tonight they’re going to settle things, and then Vince finally addresses the Dudley Boyz and Rikishi. The Dudleyz will face Gerald Brisco in a tables match, and Rikishi will take on the first ever Intercontinental champion, Pat Patterson. Brisco and Patterson are not too enamoured with that announcement, but Vince says if people think he’s gone crazy, remember there is a fine line between insanity and genius, and before the night is over, everyone in this arena will once again know of his superior mental acumen!

 

Chris Jericho vs Kurt Angle (WWF Raw 5/8/00)

Kurt Angle is honoured the McMahon-Helmsley regime has picked him to take the Intercontinental title from Chris Jericho tonight, while on a personal note he is privileged to defend the honour of Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley; a woman with class! He tells Jericho that when he insults Stephanie, he insults everything that is good about society. Shoulder tackle by Angle, but he then runs into a Jericho back elbow. Y2J lights him up with some chops and Angle is forced to go for the eyes. Whip to the corner is reversed, and as Jericho rushes at his opponent, Kurt lifts and then drops him ‘snake eyes’ onto the top turnbuckle. He’s too slow on the follow up, and Y2J backdrops him over the top rope and to the outside. As he’s up on the apron, a springboard dropkick sends him careering back to the floor. Angle avoids the baseball slide, but when he charges, Jericho sidesteps out the way and shoves him into the ring steps. He rolls back into the ring and heads upstairs, however Angle is quickly to his feet and lands a belly to belly off the top for two. Reverse chinlock as he tries to slow the champion down. Jericho escapes via some elbows to the mid-section and when Angle telegraphs a backdrop, Y2J with a double underhook into a backbreaker for a near fall. Spinning heel kick soon followed by a bulldog for another two. Overhead belly to belly by Angle. Jericho escapes the ‘Olympic slam’, double leg takedown into ‘the Walls’ and Kurt is forced to tap.

 

Chris Jericho vs Big Show (WWF Raw 5/8/00)

Shane McMahon is watching the end of Y2J/Angle when he’s confronted by an angry Big Show. Shane tells him that this is what he wanted though; he doesn’t to see Showkishi or Shownan the Barbarian, he wanted to piss him off, bring out the guy he knows, the guy he took to Wrestlemania! He continues to sweet talk him and says that tonight he’ll be facing Chris Jericho for the Intercontinental title and with Shane O’Mac in his corner, he can be a champion again.

 

Shane accompanies Show for the title match, and he’s all business, there’s no joking around here. Jericho tries to use his speed to keep out of Show’s grasp, but foolishly attempts an Irish whip and ends up on the receiving end of a clothesline. Thrust kick and Y2J goes tumbling through the ropes to the outside. Big press slam over the top rope and back into the ring. Jericho avoids a charging Show and he goes crashing into the turnbuckles. Missile dropkick, Lionsault and a huge kick out at two. Show with a military press slam, he signals for the chokeslam, when some VT plays on the big screen. It’s the video of Shane and Show from earlier in the night, and after Show left the room, Shane is on the phone saying how he’s got him brainwashed and has got the Big Show completely wrapped around his finger. Show turns to Shane, says “your ass is mine!” and chases him all the way to the back with Shane having to flee the arena in a limousine, giving Jericho the victory by count out.

 

Chris Jericho vs Chris Benoit (WWF Raw 5/8/00)

Stephanie is not happy that Jericho is still the I-C champion and says to Vince how he guaranteed that Chris Jericho would no longer be the champion. Vince then announces that he will be defending the title yet again tonight, this time against Chris Benoit.

 

As Lilian Garcia is making the ring introductions, she’s interrupted by “the self-appointed, troubleshooting referee who will be on the outside” Triple H. Jericho is straight in with a drop toe hold and a flurry of knife edge chops, knees and rights in the corner. Benoit ducks the spinning heel kick and fires back with some chops of his own. Y2J with a running back elbow to the face dropping his opponent. Lionsault, ‘the Crippler’ rolls out the way but Jericho lands on his feet and then hits the spinning heel kick. Benoit takes to the floor for a brief rest bite and when he’s back on the apron Jericho looks for the springboard dropkick, however ‘the Crippler’ has it scouted and shoves him off the top sending him crashing into the ringside barricade. Snap suplex on the arena floor. Belly to back for two. Jericho fights his way out of the seated abdominal stretch submission, only to miss a dropkick as Benoit hangs onto the ropes. Catapult and Y2J goes head first into the turnbuckle. ‘The Crippler’ puts the boots to him as Jericho crumples in the corner. He continues to ignore Mike Chioda’s count and the official has to drag him away. The pair of them exchange shoves, and after Benoit’s drops Chioda, Triple H is in to reprimand him about putting his hands on the official. Now these two are nose to nose and shoving each other, but things aren’t as they seem as ‘the Game’ slugs Chioda, hurls him from the ring and tells Benoit to go get that Intercontinental title. As ‘the Crippler’ turns around he’s immediately nailed with a missile dropkick for two. Northern Lights suplex by Benoit. Jericho blocks the third rolling German and counters into a roll up before transitioning to ‘the Walls’. Y2J’s got if fully locked in, when out wanders Stephanie and Triple H forgets about the match to go and see his wife, missing seeing ‘the Crippler’ tap. Jericho lets go of the hold and slaps HHH who responds by clubbing him in the back of the head. Benoit with the crossface and Triple H immediately calls for the bell even though he never gave up, screwing Jericho out of the title. The Regime are out and assault Jericho until Rikishi, Too Cool, Big Show and the Dudleyz run them off. Jim Ross then has a great line about how these men in the ring showed no fear of the McMahon-Helmsley regime, but they just may have committed career suicide.

[ohtani's jacket]

 This was a pretty decent RAW. I'm glad I went back and watched some of this TV. I didn't really mean to. I kind of stumbled into it. It's had an interesting effect, though. Jericho is a guy who isn't that great on the mic, has lousy catchphrases, and doesn't have any signature spots that electrify the crowd, but I'm able to accept him as a player in the main event scene thanks to episodes like this. This was a big night for Jericho wrestling three times in one evening and being the focal point of the McMahon-Helmsley ire. He did a good job carrying his end and the WWF machine did the rest.