[2001-01-31-WCW-Thunder] Billy Kidman vs Shane Helms

[GSR]

Helms jumps Kidman at the bell, trying to get an early advantage.  That doesn’t last long, Kidman catching him with a slingshot headscissors after being dumped onto the apron.  As he walks Shane towards the ropes to counter his bodyscissors, Helms is able to take him over the top to the outside.  Froggy crossbody.  Kidman reverses the whip on the floor, sending Helms over guardrail into the front row before leaping off the railing at his opponent.  He tosses him back inside and goes for a slingshot, but gets trapped on Shane’s shoulders, who then drops him face first across his own knee.  Mike Tenay is really trying to push this ‘Sensation of Innovation’ moniker for Helms, that’s twice this match already.  Fist drop from the second rung.  Gut wrench suplex.  Double clothesline sees both men go down, Kidman coming off the worse of the two.  Figure Four chinlock, Shane deliberately slowing the pace.  Kidman floats over on the suplex, lands a belly to back but can’t capitalise.  Helms with a variation of the shoulderbreaker and more ‘Sensation of Innovation’.  Cool double underhook submission, which really was innovative.  Kidman breaks loose as the two exchange blows in the middle of the ring.  A dropkick floors Helms before a Sky High powerbomb for a near fall.  Shane blocks the attempted superplex and counters with a face first suplex.  Super sunset flip.  They’ve each got the other scouted, Kidman escaping out of the ‘Nightmare’ and Helms the ‘Kid Crusher’.  Eventually Shane sits Kidman on the top turnbuckle , facing away from the ring, and gets underneath him.  It’s a new set up for the ‘Vertebreaker’.  He hits it, 1-2-3 and Helms picks up what, on the back of his performance at Sin and in the Cruiserweight gauntlet, feels like a career changing win.  Good match.