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Booker T & Goldust v Chris Jericho & Christian


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Chris Jericho & Christian v Booker T & Goldust - WWE No Mercy 2002

 

I have to ask why this match doesn't get talked about in the same light as the other tag team match to take place that night, because after watching them both twice, I'm convinced this is the better match. It doesn't go as long, but they make better use of the time they have and they actually work it the way a tag match is supposed to be worked, with Jericho and Christian doing everything right to turn the crowd against them and beg off from the babyfaces. It also has far more heat between the "Jericho sucks!" and "Booker T!" chants. Jericho is the total ring general here. He teases a confrontation with Booker T for the duration of the match, only to chicken out anytime Booker is going to face him on a level playing field, playing off of Jericho sneak attacking him on TV building to this match. He also saves the match when the ropes collapse by keeping his cool and still salvaging the finish, getting a really good moonsault off the top rope for the final pin after doing a facebuster on Goldust on the championship belt. Christian is very good as well, sneaking in at the beginning to create an opening, and unlike most WWE tags of the past few years, he and Jericho actually cut the ring in half and wrestle this like they're the Midnight Express or something. They don't have the double team moves, which is the one advantage the Edge/Rey babyface team has over anyone in this match, but they do drop toeholds and distract the ref so they can cheat behind his back. Vitamin C really gelled well as a team, and I wish that could have gone longer. Both of teams really should have been on Smackdown to add to the booming tag division.

 

Goldust is great as the face in peril, and pulls off a great powerslam, which is as deep as any Ricky Steamboat armdrag. He also finally connects with the Shattered Dreams on Christian, which rarely happened in this time period at all. Booker T is very motivated to put on a good showing, getting the hot tag and busting out all the offense, and when he finally gets his hands on Jericho, it gets great heat because it was teased so well. Jericho knows how to sell the scissors kick properly because he doesn't just squat down and wait -- he struggles to get to his feet, and the move looks much more natural as a result. He also pulls off a really great spinebuster, which the crowd is convinced is the end of the match, even though it isn't, and his baseball slide looks awesome. They do a nice job of giving the babyfaces the moral victory by having Goldust, who was still considered the weak link of his team, pin Jericho, who was easily the big star on his team, only for the ref not to be there to make the cover. When the ref finally comes around, Christian is there to put Jericho's foot on the bottom rope in the knick of time, much to the chagrin of the crowd. They work to the finish, which sees Jericho go for a lionsault and sees the rope break. The match could have fallen apart here, but they worked a few additional sequences while Jericho and Dustin improvised in the ring and Booker and Christian brawled into the crowd to get them more excited. One moonsault later and the heels squeak by with the victory. Give this 24 minutes and it would have completely outshined the other tag match later that night.

 

***

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Now ya tell me ... I just registered at a board and got trolled right away, because I don't think they understood the concept of humor. You should see the flaming directed toward Tim in the past over Eddy/JBL that I'm sure will be directed to me as well. Want a link so you can join in, if it comes to that?

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While you guys are at it, try sellin' them on Eddy/JBL there too. Some writer at Rajah gave his "Top 50 WWE PPV matches of 2000-2004" and that match didn't even crack it.

 

I'd love to see you guys break that match down nicely, resulting in dumbfounded reactions by them. In fact, I may join in for that.

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"I'd love to see you guys break that match down nicely, resulting in dumbfounded reactions by them. "

 

There's a ton of that going on right now. :)

 

The Oratory board is just depressing, to me, because they massively overrated the matches that are "supposed" to be great and ingore everything else. Something like Eddy-JBL isn't given even the slightest chance whereas HHH-Shawn HIAC is given automatic classic status.

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HHH/Shawn?  Who the fuck thinks that is a classic?  Maybe if they cropped off 20 minutes it would have been bearable.

Almost everyone at that board thinks it is a ****3/4+ classic MOTY. I am entirely serious. They've called it one of the greatest blowoffs to one of the greatest feuds of all time.
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The guys at the oratory rate matches based on reputation. Any Shawn Michaels or Benoit match is **** automatically. They don't give matches with guys they don't like any chances. If JBL or Undertaker is in a match, it automatically sucks. Plus, I'm a big Shawn fan, but they severely overrate him over there, to the point of nausia.

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Guest Some Guy

HHH/Shawn?? Who the fuck thinks that is a classic?? Maybe if they cropped off 20 minutes it would have been bearable.

Almost everyone at that board thinks it is a ****3/4+ classic MOTY. I am entirely serious. They've called it one of the greatest blowoffs to one of the greatest feuds of all time.
It wasn't even a blow off, they wrestled on PPV 4 months later.

 

The guys at the oratory rate matches based on reputation. Any Shawn Michaels or Benoit match is **** automatically. They don't give matches with guys they don't like any chances. If JBL or Undertaker is in a match, it automatically sucks. Plus, I'm a big Shawn fan, but they severely overrate him over there, to the point of nausia.

I'm a huge Shawn mark but that match was not even close to great. Being long does not make a match great. By my count HHH and HBK have had 5 singles PPV matches, I have not seen Taboo Tuesday, so I'll call it four. Of those four the first one at Summerslam is the only one I like. That is the only one that is an HBK-style match, the rest are over-long HHH bore-fests with lots and lots of blood. Blood is another thing that does not make a match great, it can add a certain element to the match, like JBL/Eddy but blood alone does nothing except stain the mat.

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