[2000-10-22-WWF-No Mercy] The Rock vs Kurt Angle

[soup23]

Another 2000 main event with a lot of bells and whistles that mostly works. The thing this had going for it was the quick pace right out of the gate. They get the crowd brawling out of the way and Rock shows some aggression sending Angle through the stage set. I thought Stephanie was fantastic in this match being delighted that she can freely interfere. Angle is going to be one of my more interesting wrestlers to rank in all of 2000. It again feels like he is protected in the confines of a garbage style match with a lot of run ins. On the other hand, you have someone 11 months into his career doing a main event with The Rock and Angle doesn't feel out of place at all. A few things in this match put me off such as Angle's chinlock halfway through. I think that is an easy critique of inexperience as you had this really relentless pace where they brutalized each other and then Angle resorts to a chinlock? The finish has a bevy of run ins but keeps things interesting and it sure looks like Rock was at least being slightly flirted with going heel with his involvement with Rikishi. Huge pop for Angle as he wins and him crying the show off the air is a memorable moment. Most point to this as Kurt's first big time great match and I don't think it quite reached that level but it was still very good. ***1/2 (7)

 

[ohtani's jacket]

This felt more choreographed than your typical WWF main event. They all feel choreographed to some extent or another since presumably the road agent, or whoever was in charge at the time, maps out the bout with the workers beforehand to ensure its a match worth laying down your bucks for. Perhaps the Rock had a little bit of leeway the same way they allowed him creative license with his promos but he's a worker who excelled within the WWF formula so I can't imagine him deviating too much what Patterson or another production guy had to say. Angle clearly needed the safety net of a WWF match layout and it was mostly for his benefit that the match felt like color by numbers. The booking continues to be stale but I guess that's what happens when you don't have an offseason. I was surprised that Angle went over here. Even if it was mostly for storyline purposes he was still green and didn't look ready for the big time yet. They didn't exactly stick a rocket on him but he's come a hell of a long way in the six months since Wrestlemania.