Steve Austin & HHH v Chris Benoit & Chris Jericho

[Loss]

My review last summer at TSM:

 

The setting for this match was perfect, even if it was totally by accident. Austin and HHH had been dominating the promotion for months (longer, actually) as the Two Man Power Trip. They sidelined Rock, held the top two singles titles and were tag team champions. HHH lost the Intercontinental title the night before to Kane, but Austin managed to hold off a challenge from the Undertaker. HHH was still a tag team champion and Austin was still a world heavyweight and tag team champion. Rock, Undertaker and Kane were the three most established babyfaces in the company at this point and the heels had managed to neutralize them all. There appeared to be no one that was capable of defeating them and no one gutsy enough to stand up to them.

 

Jericho finally settled a months-long program with William Regal just weeks before this match and did have some momentum. He and longtime enemy Chris Benoit had formed a partnership based on mutual respect and won a gauntlet match of sorts the night before that earned them the right to a shot at the tag titles. On the surface, each team seems just like the other. Both teams consisted of two members that were longtime rivals with their new partners. That?s where the similarities end. Benoit and Jericho formed a tag team out of mutual respect while Austin and HHH formed a tag team out of fear and paranoia. Benoit and Jericho were decided underdogs while Austin and HHH were clearly the top stars in the promotion.

 

The work building to the hot tag was tremendous, and it was magnified because the audience cared so much about all the participants. HHH attacked Benoit with a chair five minutes in, and Benoit kicked out at two, which the audience completely bought as a finish. Because they had been conditioned to five-minute main events at this point, it would have been conceivable that the match end here. The use of the chair was also effective in establishing that the champions had to cheat to maintain an advantage, and that theme is continued when HHH can only keep Benoit in the abdominal stretch with Austin?s help. Benoit managed to hiptoss his way out of the move and shoulderblock his way to the corner to tag in Jericho, but the referee did not see the tag, which angered the crowd immensely and further built anticipation for Y2J to save the day. Jericho responded by attacking Austin outside the ring and dropkicking HHH from the top rope before going back to his corner and waiting for the tag. Jericho was perfect in his role as the team?s cheerleader, charismatic enough to really get the crowd into the match, and his promo earlier in the night was strong enough to make them believe, even slightly, in the team?s chances of winning. Jericho would finally be tagged in and would do a few energetic exchanges with Austin. HHH broke up a Walls of Jericho on Austin, which is where he tore his quad. Jericho again shows his determination by following HHH outside the ring and putting a Walls of Jericho on him on top of the announce table.

 

The next sequence was so illogical that it could have ruined the match had the work preceding it not been so strong. Austin gave Benoit a stunner and covered him for the pin, which the referee counted. Jericho then pulled the ref out of the ring to break the count. Benoit was not the legal man and the referee should not have counted the fall. This nearly sabotaged the final stretch of the match. Jericho?s move, pulling the referee out of the ring, can be taken two ways. Some see it as a heelish move that babyfaces should not be doing, which I can?t say I don?t see. I saw it more as a babyface evening the odds by using a heel?s own tactics against him. Either way, a sequence so ambiguous had no place in a match that up until that point had been so straightforward.

 

Jericho got the best of Austin in yet another fast-paced and fun exchange. He missed his first attempt at the Lionsault, but successfully landed the second attempt. HHH entered the ring with a sledgehammer, which infuriated the crowd because again, they had been conditioned to seeing Austin and HHH victorious, but Benoit tackled him to the ground after he accidentally hit Austin and Jericho covered Austin for the three count.

 

This should have been the launching pad that permanently entrenched Benoit and Jericho in the main event scene, but it was not to be, as all the injuries forced panic to set in and the plug was pulled on the push midstream. This match was successful in blowing off the heel run of Austin and HHH as a tag team, but unfortunately, because of HHH?s injury, they were unable to fully capitalize on the momentum this match created. I?d consider this match excellent until the final few minutes, while also calling it a match that should have made a permanent difference in the company?s upper tier but was only a short-lived and false sign of hope. Unlike most classic matches, the sum of the parts is far greater than the whole.

 

****

Revised:

 

The setting for this match was perfect, even if it was totally by accident. Austin and HHH had been dominating the promotion for months (longer, actually) as the Two Man Power Trip. They sidelined Rock, held the top two singles titles and were tag team champions. HHH lost the Intercontinental title the night before to Kane, but Austin managed to hold off a challenge from the Undertaker. HHH was still a tag team champion and Austin was still a world heavyweight and tag team champion. Rock, Undertaker and Kane were the three most established babyfaces in the company at this point and the heels had managed to neutralize them all. There appeared to be no one that was capable of defeating them and no one gutsy enough to stand up to them. Jericho finally settled a months-long program with William Regal just weeks before this match and did have some momentum. He and longtime enemy Chris Benoit had formed a partnership based on mutual respect and won a gauntlet match of sorts the night before that earned them the right to a shot at the tag titles. On the surface, each team seems just like the other. Both teams consisted of two members that were longtime rivals with their new partners. That?s where the similarities end. Benoit and Jericho formed a tag team out of mutual respect while Austin and HHH formed a tag team out of fear and paranoia. Benoit and Jericho were decided underdogs while Austin and HHH were clearly the top stars in the promotion.

 

The work building to the hot tag was tremendous; in fact, the first 10 minutes or so are the best part of the match. Austin and Jericho start out and after initially finding himself on the short end of the stick, Jericho comes back strong until Austin has to thumb him in the eye to create an opening, an opening Jericho quickly takes back when HHH enters the ring. Benoit dominates both Austin and HHH until HHH attacks Benoit with a chair five minutes in, and Benoit kicks out at two, which the audience completely bought as a finish. Because they had been conditioned to five-minute main events at this point, it would have been conceivable that the match end here. The use of the chair was also effective in establishing that the champions had to cheat to maintain an advantage, and that theme is continued when HHH can only keep Benoit in the abdominal stretch with Austin?s help. Benoit managed to hiptoss his way out of the move and shoulderblock his way to the corner to tag in Jericho, but the referee did not see the tag, which angered the crowd immensely and further built anticipation for Y2J to save the day. Jericho responded by attacking Austin outside the ring and dropkicking HHH from the top rope before going back to his corner and waiting for the tag. Jericho was perfect in his role as the team?s cheerleader, charismatic enough to really get the crowd into the match, and his promo earlier in the night was strong enough to make them believe, even slightly, in the team?s chances of winning. Jericho would finally be tagged in and would do a few energetic exchanges with Austin. HHH broke up a Walls of Jericho on Austin, which is where he tore his quad. Jericho again shows his determination by following HHH outside the ring and putting a Walls of Jericho on him on top of the announce table.

 

The next sequence was so wrong that it pretty much destroyed the internal logic of the match. Austin gave Benoit a stunner and covered him for the pin, which the referee counted. Jericho then pulled the ref out of the ring to break the count. Benoit was not the legal man and the referee should not have counted the fall. This nearly sabotaged the final stretch of the match, and after this, the ref is mostly out of the match, apparently selling having his leg pulled. Jericho, a babyface, should also be above such tactics, and isn't laying your hands on a referee cause for a disqualification? And considering how long HHH and Jericho were outside the ring, shouldn't Jericho have been counted out, since he was the legal man? Jericho and Austin, to their credit, do go back and do some more fun stuff, but HHH enters the ring with a sledgehammer, which infuriated the crowd because again, they had been conditioned to seeing Austin and HHH victorious, but Benoit tackled him to the ground after he accidentally hit Austin and Jericho covered Austin for the three count.

 

This should have been the launching pad that permanently entrenched Benoit and Jericho in the main event scene, but it was not to be, as all the injuries forced panic to set in and the plug was pulled on the push midstream. This match was successful in blowing off the heel run of Austin and HHH as a tag team, but unfortunately, because of HHH?s injury, they were unable to fully capitalize on the momentum this match created. I?d consider this match excellent until the final few minutes, but upon rewatching, those final few minutes hurt what's going on pretty badly. The sledgehammer finish also doesn't put Benoit and Jericho over as much as it could have, as it only establishes that Jericho's finisher wasn't enough to do the job, but only that he was strong enough to capitalize on heel miscommunication. HHH's involvement drags the match down at times, even if he does get major credit from me for finishing the match on what was basically one leg. This really should have made a permanent difference in the company?s upper tier but was only a short-lived and false sign of hope.

 

***1/2

[Guest Bruiser Chong]

I still don't understand why they pulled the plug on the push so fast. The next month of WWF TV was some of the best they've had since the turn of the new millennium. I started taping WWF shows for the first time in six and a half year the week after this show aired. At the time, it seemed everything was on the right track.

[Guest Hunter's Torn Quad]

I still don't understand why they pulled the plug on the push so fast.

Ratings didn't turn around right away. Vince wanted ratings up immediately, and when it didn't happen, the plug was pulled on Benoit and Jericho's push. You'd think Vince would have understood that ratings wouldn't have turned around like that, and that he wouldn't panic anyway, because it's not like he had competition around to worry about.

[Guest Some Guy]

Benoit only stuck around for another month before having fusion neck surgery. His right arm was shrinking by the day to the point were he was doing his chops left handed. Watch KotR 2001 and see how fucked up Benoit's arm looked.

 

I'm sure the plug was going to be pulled anyway but atleast Benoit got out of it without being buried due to the injury.

[Guest Bruiser Chong]

Good call on Vince's part, since they continued to go down when they revamped the upper tier of the company once again.

[Guest Hunter's Torn Quad]

As soon as Vince lost his competition, he started taking fewer and fewer risks. You'd think with nothing to lose he'd take more chances, given that he is, or likes to say he is, a risk taker. Instead, he has stayed with a pat hand long after it stopped being viable for good business.