Steve Austin v Kurt Angle (No DQ)

[Loss]

Steve Austin v Kurt Angle - WWF Smackdown 03/15/01 (No DQ)

 

TSM review from last summer:

 

Steve Austin v Kurt Angle ? WWF Smackdown 03/01/01

Holy shit, this is one of the best matches Austin and Angle have ever had, and it?s gone largely ignored. Angle was a wrestler possessed in the weeks following his loss to The Rock, and that aggression is here in spades. Angle is so effective in this role that it makes everything else he does look pale by comparison. The brawling nature of this match makes for a more fun outing, and this just may be the closest to Austin Versus Angle Done Right that we?ve ever seen. There are all sorts of nifty little advances on the clich?s of their typical matches that we don?t normally get to see, the most notable of which is Angle actually connecting with the moonsault for a change. Angle comes out of this even angrier, which is a good thing, even if it wasn?t followed with anything else, while Austin goes over another good worker in the build to Wrestlemania. Yes, there are some of the usual annoying tactics and yes, the match needed more time to develop, but as a short TV match, it doesn?t get much more fun than this.

 

***

Revised:

 

Steve Austin v Kurt Angle ? WWF Smackdown 03/01/01

Holy shit, this is one of the best matches Austin and Angle have ever had, and it?s gone largely ignored. Angle was a wrestler possessed in the weeks following his loss to The Rock, and that aggression is here in spades. Angle is so effective in this role that it makes everything else he does look pale by comparison. The brawling nature of this match makes for a more fun outing, and this just may be the closest to Austin Versus Angle Done Right that we?ve ever seen. There are all sorts of nifty little advances on the clich?s of their typical matches that we don?t normally get to see, the most notable of which is Angle actually connecting with the moonsault for a change. Angle comes out of this even angrier, which is a good thing, even if it wasn?t followed with anything else, while Austin goes over another good worker in the build to Wrestlemania. Yes, there are some of the usual annoying tactics and yes, the match needed more time to develop, but as a short TV match, it doesn?t get much more fun than this.

 

That's the good. And as much as Austin and Angle deserve credit for creating a fun match here, Rock deserves equal credit. He's at ringside and his presence overwhelms the match a little too much at times, as he stands up while he does commentary and the cameras switch mostly over to him. Rock also works several spots throughout the match, and there are several moments where Rock goes crashing into Austin or Angle puts them in situations where they accidentally hit each other. That sort of thing is fun, but it's also no wonder that Rock was being booed so strongly in the build to 'Mania, and it's no wonder that they had to start confiscating anti-Rock signs in the crowd. For all of Vince's crowing about freedom of expression, he sure does his best to make sure others don't get the opportunity to express themselves, including his paying customers, but that's another rant. The rant at hand is that this match, while incredibly chaotic, still managed to be fun, if only because all three guys were very over and the match is benefitted by Rock's presence because they're able to create so many unexpected spots. Nicely, the show a clip of Angle putting Debra in the anklelock on RAW, a part of the Austin/Rock storyline that was eventually wisely aborted, but it does give Austin a reason to come to the ring on a mission -- he always wrestled at full speed, to a point where when he needed to be even more pissed off, it wasn't typically conveyed properly, but it sure helped here.

 

***