[2001-01-01-WWF-Raw] The Rock vs Kane

[soup23]

Pretty big match and this shows the depth of the star power of the roster as this show has Rock vs Kane, Rikishi vs Taker and Austin in action and they are presenting next week as the show to see. Rock starts off hot and him and Kane actually have a really good opening stanza of fighting with each other until the action spills outside.  Kane sends Rock into the guardrail and starts taking over.  Kane’s uppercut punch lands flushly here and Rock retreats deeper into the crowd.  Rock gets slammed onto the concrete. Back inside, Kane hits the flying clothesline and he is looking spry tonight. A lot is made of the year Austin has in 2001 but I am keeping tabs on Rock too. He presented himself in 2000 as someone that could carry the company on the face side and improved greatly as an in ring worker. I am intrigued to see if that continues throughout 2001 and into 2002 when he stops becoming a full time performer. Its amazing looking at Rock’s cagematch and seeing he has less than 150 matches period from this point onward. The comebacks of Rock are timed so well and Angle comes out to provide interference. Angle eats a Rock Bottom on the floor but due to his distraction, Rock runs into a Kane chokeslam and gets pinned which was a bit of a surprise for me. Good match here. *** (6.1)

[AstroBoy]

This was pretty fun and Rock and Kane are not a bad pairing here at all.  It's mostly a brawl to start and then Kane turns the tide in the crowd.  From there Kane can overwhelm Rock, who does a nice job with his charisma and urgency to fight back.  Angle comes out and they utilize the interference real well before Kane gets a hell of a chokeslam for the win.  A real nice mesh and a good match.