Watched it Again: Kurt Angle vs. The Rock : No Mercy 2000
Mar 10, 2023 18:49:59 GMT -5
EZ: Brainy Bae and dangerousdanpotato like this
Post by wendytorrancev1 on Mar 10, 2023 18:49:59 GMT -5
Happy Friday all my lovies!!!
Happy FRI-YAY!!!!
I hope everyone is doing well and will have a long, relaxing weekend!
I just wanted to speak a bit about one of my favorite WWF matches of all time that was on one of my favorite WWF PPVs of all time; Kurt Angle vs. The Rock for the WWF Heavyweight Championship at No WWF No Mercy 2000.
I watched this match today on my lunch between crazy ass meetings.
Leading up to the PPV itself, several storylines were going on at once. We had Triple H turn babyface a month prior against Kurt Angle, and it continued here, as he went up against Benoit over the fact that Benoit had disrespected him (interestingly, the crowd was solidly behind Triple H in this match). We had the genesis of the whole "Who Ran Over Stone Cold?" storyline wherein Rikishi had just admitted to it a few weeks prior, claiming that he did it for The Rock. This also started Rikishi's horrid heel turn. We also had The Rock, who was the incumbent champion, take on Kurt Angle.
I remember the night this PPV aired, as I was a freshman in college, and a few college friends and my boyfriend were drinking underage at this guy named Marty's house (who was WAAAAAAAYYY too old to be hanging around 18 year olds). He would allow us to chill at his house over the weekend, drink, smoke, etc. It was like a frat house. He was a friend of a friend via my boyfriend. Looking back on it, it was kinda creepy as he was like 36 or 37. Marty was a huge fan of the WWF and every time we would watch a WWF PPV at his house, he had this Hogan shirt on.
At any rate, it seemed as though the WWF was making the most out of Angle's rookie year; seemingly grooming him for a WWF Heavyweight Championship reign. Angle had just won the 2000 King of the Ring, which skyrocketed him to main event status. I think this was also helped by the fact that Austin was still MIA. Kurt got his first taste of main event status two months prior, with him being embroiled in a triple threat match at Summerslam 2000 for the WWF Heavyweight Championship. This was not all Kurt's doing, however, as he had an undeniable crush on the boss' daughter, Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley. This earned him the ire of her husband, Triple H, who did not appreciate the "friendship" that the two had. This made him an arch nemesis of Triple H, and somewhat of an ally to Steph, as Kurt did help her defend (i.e. cheat) her WWF Women's Championship at one point.
The month prior, Triple H got even with Kurt for costing him the WWF Heavyweight Championship in said triple threat match against the reigning champion, The Rock, but more importantly, Triple H wanted to teach Kurt a lesson about meddling in his marital affairs. At WWF Unforgiven 2000, Triple H defeated Kurt Angle in a no-DQ match (I think Mick Foley was the special guest ref, correct me if I'm wrong), ordering Stephanie to stay away from him. That didn't last long, as Stephanie took it upon herself to become more involved with Angle, to the point of offering her managerial services to him. There was an interesting match prior to the PPV that pitted the team of Angle, Edge, and Christian vs. The Rock and the Hardy Boyz that saw Stephanie all over the goddamn ring trying to make sure Angle got the victory. There was a spot in the match where Stephanie threw Lita into the ring steps (which looked like it hurt, I have to congratulate Lita on that bump), and Stephanie gave the most evil grin that I have ever seen her give before after Lita careened into those steps.
The Rock, on the other hand, was basking in his recent victories. His first major title defense was against Chris Benoit at Fully Loaded 2000. The Rock almost lost it, if it weren't for Mick Foley reversing the decision. At Summerslam 2000, it seemed as though the odds were stacked against The Great One as both Angle and Trips had it out for him. What The Rock didn't count on (or didn't really care about) was the wildcard being Steph, as both men were entangled in her; with Kurt vying for her affections and Trips attempting to keep the creepy Angle away from his wife. The Rock took advantage of his emotionally distracted opponents and picked up the dub. The next month, at Unforgiven, he was placed in a fatal four way match against The Undertaker (to me, The Undertaker and The Rock never really had any chemistry when they wrestled against each other), Chris Benoit, and Kane. This was when I believe The Rock wavered a bit in his confidence, although he maintained a tough exterior. Again, we got another reverse decision, which pissed Benoit off, but he relented in his feud with The Rock and focused his sights on Triple H.
Leading up to No Mercy 2000, The Rock wasn't even sweating Kurt Angle. In fact, if anything, The Rock took him as a complete and utter joke. Here you have this goofy goober who Triple H had just made fun of the month prior for crying at his victory in the 1996 Olympics, made a VERY goofy local pizza commercial, and someone who was infatuated with someone else's wife. The Rock did not take Kurt Angle as a legitimate threat. Why should he? He had just bested Triple H in June (along with DX/The McMahon-Helmsley Regime), The American Bad Ass, The Big Red Machine, and The Crippler. Why would he be in the least bit intimidated by this guy who dressed in an American flag patterned singlet and whined incessantly?
The Rock was also dealing with family drama brought up by his cousin, Rikishi. Though he didn't show it, he was probably pretty disturbed by the actions his cousin did on his behalf. If I were the writers, I would have toyed with this a bit more and made it ambiguous on whether The Rock approved of Rikishi's actions or not, before ultimately rejecting him. The way it was played out, The Rock was way too quick to jump on the high road, even though Rikishi's actions pretty much benefited The Rock by completely taking Austin out of the picture, thus paving a path forward for The Rock to only have Triple H as his main adversary. As an aside, they really should have gave Rikishi a makeover for his heel turn. I would have just made his hair darker and sleeker and gave him more of Umaga's wardrobe, minus the bare feet. I also would have given him a touch of eyeliner to make him look a bit more sinister.
So going into the match, we had the over enthusiastic, former Olympic gold medalist vs. a man who had been to hell and back to get this WWF Heavyweight Championship. When I was watching it, I would have never predicted the outcome, as this was one of the only times I was legitimately shocked (in a good way) by WWF programming. The Rock didn't take Kurt seriously at all, and that was his primary downfall.
This match, at least to me, had some serious psychology behind it. Rather than going through a play-by-play of a 20 minute match (which would no doubt bore the hell out of you), I'll talk about the finish.
Things began to go awry when Kurt Angle missed a moonsault, causing The Rock to gain momentum (the crowd was strictly behind The Rock, of course). The Rock reversed a whip from Angle, laying him out with a spinebuster. This is when The Rock began to ready himself to perform The People's Elbow. It started to look like the beginning of the end for Angle, when Stephanie, who was in Angle's corner, interferes in the match and begins talking shit to The Rock. The Rock, one of the only faces besides Jericho who put his hands on women, puts her in the Rock Bottom. While she lay unconscious on the mat, The Rock prepares to perform The People's Elbow on her!!!
Angle successfully interrupts The Rock, however, Trips, who came out of nowhere, pummels Angle out of the ring (for having his wife in harm's way in the first place), and performs The Pedigree on The Rock (for putting his hands on his wife). Trips drags Steph out of the ring, and an ultra sweet moment, Stephanie puts her arms around Triple H's neck as he carries her off to the back.
Angle crawls back in to try to take advantage of the situation and covers The Rock, but only gets a two count. Angle is clearly frustrated at this point, and this is when his whiny, sniveling, pouty personality goes from an 8 to an 8000. It had already manifested itself, however, this is when it becomes dominant in his personality.
The Rock and Angle get into a weird sort of chase where The Rock wants Angle in the ring, and Angle continues to bail from the ring, back to the floor. The Rock, himself, begins to get frustrated with the cat and mouse game and decides to ram Angle into the barricade. It's at this moment that Rikishi comes down the ramp after his match with Austin earlier in the evening where he got obliterated. He is sporting a bandage on his head.
Angle, in another display of cowardice, dips out the ring, only for Rikishi to throw him back in. The Rock takes Angle to The Smackdown Motel, however, Angle hits him in the nuts in a move of pure desperation. We cut to a brief shot of Rikishi, who looks absolutely livid. The Rock is able to regroup and hits another Rock Bottom on Angle. He has Angle dead to rights at this point, but that shot to his jewels is bothering him, so he can't cover him right after that devastating move. The Rock eventually covers Angle, but Angle somehow, someway kicks out.
Angle gets to his feet pretty quickly (this is when Angle was in terrific shape, I must say), prompting Rikishi to run into the ring to interfere on his cousin's behalf. Rikishi attempts a running butt splash, but Angle cleverly yanks The Rock in front of him to use as a human shield (crafty bastard) to absorb the damage. Rikishi, undeterred by Angle's quick thinking, attempts a superkick on Angle. Angle ducks it, causing The Rock to eat boot. Angle decides it's now or never, and puts Rikishi in the Angle Slam. Angle then puts the dazed Rock in The Angle Slam as well. Angle quickly goes for the cover and shocks the world by getting the pin and the WWF Heavyweight Championship after just 11 months in the company.
I remember at this point, everyone in the room got quiet. As you guys know, I'm no fan of The Rock, but this shocked even me where I couldn't even cheer. I don't think I knew it was real at that point (oh, I was wasted that night). It wasn't until the next night on Raw where I realized The Rock actually lost his title. It was surreal watching it as a whole, full grown adult. I don't think anyone was expecting Angle to walk away that night with the WWF Heavyweight Championship, and that's why this match is so very memorable. I actually love this match due to the buildup and the finish.
Anyway, I just wanted to share one of my favorite matches with you guys. I'm not sure if anyone even remembers this match which led to Angle's first WWF Heavyweight Championship reign. I've rambled on long enough. I hope you guys have a lovely weekend and I love you guys very much!! Have a fantastic weekend if I don't speak to you!
Happy FRI-YAY!!!!
I hope everyone is doing well and will have a long, relaxing weekend!
I just wanted to speak a bit about one of my favorite WWF matches of all time that was on one of my favorite WWF PPVs of all time; Kurt Angle vs. The Rock for the WWF Heavyweight Championship at No WWF No Mercy 2000.
I watched this match today on my lunch between crazy ass meetings.
Leading up to the PPV itself, several storylines were going on at once. We had Triple H turn babyface a month prior against Kurt Angle, and it continued here, as he went up against Benoit over the fact that Benoit had disrespected him (interestingly, the crowd was solidly behind Triple H in this match). We had the genesis of the whole "Who Ran Over Stone Cold?" storyline wherein Rikishi had just admitted to it a few weeks prior, claiming that he did it for The Rock. This also started Rikishi's horrid heel turn. We also had The Rock, who was the incumbent champion, take on Kurt Angle.
I remember the night this PPV aired, as I was a freshman in college, and a few college friends and my boyfriend were drinking underage at this guy named Marty's house (who was WAAAAAAAYYY too old to be hanging around 18 year olds). He would allow us to chill at his house over the weekend, drink, smoke, etc. It was like a frat house. He was a friend of a friend via my boyfriend. Looking back on it, it was kinda creepy as he was like 36 or 37. Marty was a huge fan of the WWF and every time we would watch a WWF PPV at his house, he had this Hogan shirt on.
At any rate, it seemed as though the WWF was making the most out of Angle's rookie year; seemingly grooming him for a WWF Heavyweight Championship reign. Angle had just won the 2000 King of the Ring, which skyrocketed him to main event status. I think this was also helped by the fact that Austin was still MIA. Kurt got his first taste of main event status two months prior, with him being embroiled in a triple threat match at Summerslam 2000 for the WWF Heavyweight Championship. This was not all Kurt's doing, however, as he had an undeniable crush on the boss' daughter, Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley. This earned him the ire of her husband, Triple H, who did not appreciate the "friendship" that the two had. This made him an arch nemesis of Triple H, and somewhat of an ally to Steph, as Kurt did help her defend (i.e. cheat) her WWF Women's Championship at one point.
The month prior, Triple H got even with Kurt for costing him the WWF Heavyweight Championship in said triple threat match against the reigning champion, The Rock, but more importantly, Triple H wanted to teach Kurt a lesson about meddling in his marital affairs. At WWF Unforgiven 2000, Triple H defeated Kurt Angle in a no-DQ match (I think Mick Foley was the special guest ref, correct me if I'm wrong), ordering Stephanie to stay away from him. That didn't last long, as Stephanie took it upon herself to become more involved with Angle, to the point of offering her managerial services to him. There was an interesting match prior to the PPV that pitted the team of Angle, Edge, and Christian vs. The Rock and the Hardy Boyz that saw Stephanie all over the goddamn ring trying to make sure Angle got the victory. There was a spot in the match where Stephanie threw Lita into the ring steps (which looked like it hurt, I have to congratulate Lita on that bump), and Stephanie gave the most evil grin that I have ever seen her give before after Lita careened into those steps.
The Rock, on the other hand, was basking in his recent victories. His first major title defense was against Chris Benoit at Fully Loaded 2000. The Rock almost lost it, if it weren't for Mick Foley reversing the decision. At Summerslam 2000, it seemed as though the odds were stacked against The Great One as both Angle and Trips had it out for him. What The Rock didn't count on (or didn't really care about) was the wildcard being Steph, as both men were entangled in her; with Kurt vying for her affections and Trips attempting to keep the creepy Angle away from his wife. The Rock took advantage of his emotionally distracted opponents and picked up the dub. The next month, at Unforgiven, he was placed in a fatal four way match against The Undertaker (to me, The Undertaker and The Rock never really had any chemistry when they wrestled against each other), Chris Benoit, and Kane. This was when I believe The Rock wavered a bit in his confidence, although he maintained a tough exterior. Again, we got another reverse decision, which pissed Benoit off, but he relented in his feud with The Rock and focused his sights on Triple H.
Leading up to No Mercy 2000, The Rock wasn't even sweating Kurt Angle. In fact, if anything, The Rock took him as a complete and utter joke. Here you have this goofy goober who Triple H had just made fun of the month prior for crying at his victory in the 1996 Olympics, made a VERY goofy local pizza commercial, and someone who was infatuated with someone else's wife. The Rock did not take Kurt Angle as a legitimate threat. Why should he? He had just bested Triple H in June (along with DX/The McMahon-Helmsley Regime), The American Bad Ass, The Big Red Machine, and The Crippler. Why would he be in the least bit intimidated by this guy who dressed in an American flag patterned singlet and whined incessantly?
The Rock was also dealing with family drama brought up by his cousin, Rikishi. Though he didn't show it, he was probably pretty disturbed by the actions his cousin did on his behalf. If I were the writers, I would have toyed with this a bit more and made it ambiguous on whether The Rock approved of Rikishi's actions or not, before ultimately rejecting him. The way it was played out, The Rock was way too quick to jump on the high road, even though Rikishi's actions pretty much benefited The Rock by completely taking Austin out of the picture, thus paving a path forward for The Rock to only have Triple H as his main adversary. As an aside, they really should have gave Rikishi a makeover for his heel turn. I would have just made his hair darker and sleeker and gave him more of Umaga's wardrobe, minus the bare feet. I also would have given him a touch of eyeliner to make him look a bit more sinister.
So going into the match, we had the over enthusiastic, former Olympic gold medalist vs. a man who had been to hell and back to get this WWF Heavyweight Championship. When I was watching it, I would have never predicted the outcome, as this was one of the only times I was legitimately shocked (in a good way) by WWF programming. The Rock didn't take Kurt seriously at all, and that was his primary downfall.
This match, at least to me, had some serious psychology behind it. Rather than going through a play-by-play of a 20 minute match (which would no doubt bore the hell out of you), I'll talk about the finish.
Things began to go awry when Kurt Angle missed a moonsault, causing The Rock to gain momentum (the crowd was strictly behind The Rock, of course). The Rock reversed a whip from Angle, laying him out with a spinebuster. This is when The Rock began to ready himself to perform The People's Elbow. It started to look like the beginning of the end for Angle, when Stephanie, who was in Angle's corner, interferes in the match and begins talking shit to The Rock. The Rock, one of the only faces besides Jericho who put his hands on women, puts her in the Rock Bottom. While she lay unconscious on the mat, The Rock prepares to perform The People's Elbow on her!!!
Angle successfully interrupts The Rock, however, Trips, who came out of nowhere, pummels Angle out of the ring (for having his wife in harm's way in the first place), and performs The Pedigree on The Rock (for putting his hands on his wife). Trips drags Steph out of the ring, and an ultra sweet moment, Stephanie puts her arms around Triple H's neck as he carries her off to the back.
Angle crawls back in to try to take advantage of the situation and covers The Rock, but only gets a two count. Angle is clearly frustrated at this point, and this is when his whiny, sniveling, pouty personality goes from an 8 to an 8000. It had already manifested itself, however, this is when it becomes dominant in his personality.
The Rock and Angle get into a weird sort of chase where The Rock wants Angle in the ring, and Angle continues to bail from the ring, back to the floor. The Rock, himself, begins to get frustrated with the cat and mouse game and decides to ram Angle into the barricade. It's at this moment that Rikishi comes down the ramp after his match with Austin earlier in the evening where he got obliterated. He is sporting a bandage on his head.
Angle, in another display of cowardice, dips out the ring, only for Rikishi to throw him back in. The Rock takes Angle to The Smackdown Motel, however, Angle hits him in the nuts in a move of pure desperation. We cut to a brief shot of Rikishi, who looks absolutely livid. The Rock is able to regroup and hits another Rock Bottom on Angle. He has Angle dead to rights at this point, but that shot to his jewels is bothering him, so he can't cover him right after that devastating move. The Rock eventually covers Angle, but Angle somehow, someway kicks out.
Angle gets to his feet pretty quickly (this is when Angle was in terrific shape, I must say), prompting Rikishi to run into the ring to interfere on his cousin's behalf. Rikishi attempts a running butt splash, but Angle cleverly yanks The Rock in front of him to use as a human shield (crafty bastard) to absorb the damage. Rikishi, undeterred by Angle's quick thinking, attempts a superkick on Angle. Angle ducks it, causing The Rock to eat boot. Angle decides it's now or never, and puts Rikishi in the Angle Slam. Angle then puts the dazed Rock in The Angle Slam as well. Angle quickly goes for the cover and shocks the world by getting the pin and the WWF Heavyweight Championship after just 11 months in the company.
I remember at this point, everyone in the room got quiet. As you guys know, I'm no fan of The Rock, but this shocked even me where I couldn't even cheer. I don't think I knew it was real at that point (oh, I was wasted that night). It wasn't until the next night on Raw where I realized The Rock actually lost his title. It was surreal watching it as a whole, full grown adult. I don't think anyone was expecting Angle to walk away that night with the WWF Heavyweight Championship, and that's why this match is so very memorable. I actually love this match due to the buildup and the finish.
Anyway, I just wanted to share one of my favorite matches with you guys. I'm not sure if anyone even remembers this match which led to Angle's first WWF Heavyweight Championship reign. I've rambled on long enough. I hope you guys have a lovely weekend and I love you guys very much!! Have a fantastic weekend if I don't speak to you!
