[2001-05-13-WWF-Sunday Night Heat] Jerry Lynn vs Dean Malenko

[GSR]

Tazz is confident that these two will tear it up here and put on a wrestling clinic.  We get the WWF version of a ‘stand off’, and although you see a couple of fans get to their feet to give them a round of applause most are just blasé about it.  Malenko rolls through on the Lynn sunset flip out of the corner, but as he tries for the Texas Cloverleaf the champion cradles him up.  Deep, deep powerslam by Malenko.  Lynn transitions to a sunset flip off the crucifix after first ducking a clothesline, they then run through the fabled Malenko/Guerrero sequence of pinfall attempts and reversals.  That does get a slight murmur from the crowd who are still on the whole fairly indifferent to these two.  Tazz talks about how he thought he was in Tijuana whilst he was watching that.  Malenko with a suicideplex, Lynn cradling him on landing for a near fall.  He looks for a Victory Roll but Malenko sits him in the top turnbuckle to block it.  Lynn with a right hand to stun the challenger and a leaping tornado DDT sees him retain the strap.

Dull.  Lynn hasn’t gotten over one iota in the WWF and comes across very bland while Malenko is even worse.  At this stage I’d just have Lynn go full on heel, not this slight tweener act he’s been playing, give the fans some reason to care about his matches or care about seeing his title potentially being ripped away from him.