[2000-09-11-WWF-Raw] The Rock & The Undertaker vs Chris Benoit & Kane

[soup23]

Foley starts the show off saying that he is fledging an investigation as to who ran over Austin last November. He says that he would appreciate it if the guilty party just admitted it and came out there. Rock’s music fires up and Lawler gloats that he knew it all along. Rock says oh hell no to the notion that he ran over Austin but he wants a piece of Kane tonight. This brings out the #1 contender brigade including Benoit, Kane and Taker. They have a big brawl and Foley gets bumped by Kane in the middle of it. Foley says backstage he will name a #1 contender by the end of the night. He sets up the tag team main event for later. The Kane and Benoit backstage segment felt off. They humanize Kane somewhat but he is actually projecting himself as a decent monster in this role with the turn not making any sense. Rock and Taker also have tension and agree they are never going to be friends but will try to stay together. We cut backstage to Jericho busted wide open from a nun chucks shot by X Pac. The build to Unforgiven has been strong even with these unconventional big matches. Foley is out for commentary. Match is brief but continues the hot streak of WWF matches in providing a satisfying appetizer for the action that can sustain and hook the viewer into the big PPV. A fan jumps the rail off camera and gets taken out by security. A neat spot for the finish as Taker has Benoit in Last Ride position and Kane clotheslines Taker allowing Benoit to float over and pin him. JR blows the call by saying Jericho had pinned Taker. Foley says the only thing he can think of is to make the Unforgiven match a fatal four way. **

[AstroBoy]

Fun action with Rock taking down Benoit and putting the crossface on him early in this one. Benoit and Kane work on the Rock for a little bit and Benoit keeps nudging his way further into the main event scene, looking like he belongs with these guys. We get the big comeback and then miscommunication leads to a surprising Benoit pin over Undertaker.

 

*1/2

[GSR]

Commissioner Foley is doing what he does best in getting plenty of ‘cheap pops’ in.  Steve Austin is planning on interrogating each and every WWF superstar at Unforgiven to find out who ran him over last November, but says that they don’t have to wait until then as he is going to conduct an investigation of his own.  He explains that ‘Stone Cold’ isn’t here tonight, and if anyone wants to come forward and admit they were responsible it will be far easier facing calm, cool, collected Commissioner Foley than an unforgiving rattlesnake.  With Austin waiving off criminal proceedings nobody is going to be criminally negligent and, although there will be some repercussions, if anyone has the guts they can settle the matter here tonight in Phoenix, AZ (another bleeding cheap pop!).  The Rock’s music plays and as he makes his way down the ramp way, a confident Jerry Lawler claims that he knew it was him all along.  Foley is in disbelief and as he starts going off at the Rock for his cold hearted callousness, ‘the Great One’ puts up a hand to stop him mid-tirade.  The Rock calls this the biggest half assed criminal investigation he has ever seen, with the penny slowly dropping with the Commissioner that he didn’t run over Steve Austin after all.  ‘The King’ has a sudden change of heart, now claiming that he really didn’t think he was the one responsible!  When Foley asks him outright if he ran ‘Stone Cold’ over, he replies with an “Oh, hell no!”  The Rock goes on to say that the only reason he came out here was for payback after what Kane did to him on Smackdown, and he wants him to bring his number one contendership to Unforgiven so he can lay the smacketh down on his candy ass!  On hearing the words “number one contender” it brings out Chris Benoit who surely hopes that Mick Foley isn’t going to make a title match between the Rock and Kane?  He says that he’s already beaten this “joke of a champion” once, so if anyone deserves a title match it should be him.  ‘The Crippler’ is followed by Kane and then the Undertaker, both thinking that they too should be the number one contender.  All four start fighting amongst each other with Foley even getting bumped from an errant Kane shot.  A bunch of referees and officials eventually separate them as a confused Commissioner looks on wondering how he is going to solve this.

Backstage Foley tells Michael Cole that by the end of the night he will announce the number one contender before setting up a tag team match between the four for later in the show.

It’s going to be Chris Benoit teaming with Kane, so ‘The Crippler’ goes to see his partner in the dressing room beforehand stating that they need to function as a team, regardless of who ends up being the number one contender.  They try to add some humour into the dialogue which doesn’t work with either’s character, especially Kane’s.  Rock and the Undertaker have a pretty similar conversation, although it’s clear that the three main protagonists have their eyes on the main prize of getting that title shot at Unforgiven.

After the Benoit and Kane team make their entrance, Commissioner Foley joins JR and ‘the King’ at the commentary desk and it turns out he still hasn’t come to a decision about the number one contendership.  The Undertaker picks up right where he left off against Kurt Angle, hitting that same modified powerslam and forcing Kane to break up the early pin.  Rock with a back elbow smash before using Benoit’s own finisher against him.  Kane is again in the for the save, and when the Undertaker tries to even things up in there Earl Hebner prevents him from doing so, giving Kane and Benoit the chance to double team ‘the Great One’.  Kane pulls the Rock to the floor where he drops him throat first across the barricade.  Rock with a clothesline to Benoit followed by a spinebuster.  He’s about to hit the ‘People’s elbow’ when Kane trips him from the outside causing him to face plant into the mat.  Diving headbutt connects, although it looks like that took as much out of Benoit as it did the Rock.  Irish whip is reversed, release overhead belly to belly and Rock makes the hot tag to the Undertaker.  Taker clears the ring of Kane leaving him all alone with ‘the Crippler’.  Huge chokeslam and he’s about to give him the ‘Last Ride’ when Kane returns and clotheslines him.  He’s still got hold of Benoit though who uses the momentum to flip over and cradle Taker for the upset three.  Great finish!  So great in fact the JR loses his train of thought and says that “Chris Jericho pinned the Undertaker”.  The four of them continue to go at it after the bell, and Foley says they have all been so impressive that the only thing he can do is make it a ‘Fatal Four-Way’ match at Unforgiven.