Shane vs Angle, KOTR 2001

[andre28bc]

A while back when we had a "favorite match of all time" thread, I remember thinking to myself, "there is no way I could narrow it down to one....." but the first match that did come to my mind was Shane-O-Mac vs Kurt Angle at King of the Ring 2001. This was a streetfight, so no DQ. I rewatched it just now, and I remember why I liked it so much. The first part of the match, Kurt just beats the living hell out of Shane, stiff forearms to the back and head, Angle challenging SHane to mat wrestle, going as far as getting into the down position. Shane turns the tide with a sweet DDT and gets some punches in, and then goes for the plunder. A nice little sequence dumps them outside and we see Shane stand on the barrier behind the announce table and jump over both Paul Heyman and JR and clothesline Kurt. They get back into the ring and Shane nails Kurt with some trashcans but then leaves the can laying on top of Kurt. Shane goes to the top rope and unleashes.....A SHOOTING STAR PRESS??? He misses, and it looks like he cracks his knees pretty bad. They could of ended the match there, and it would of been a fun little match, no problem. Angle goes for the cover and Shane kicks out. This is where the match gets fun. They both dump out of the ring and start to make thier way to the big KOTR set. For those of you that don't remember, they had a giant Electric Chair set thing, it looked pretty pimp. Angle slams Shane's head into the chair leg and then Angle sets Shane up for one of the sickest bumps I've ever seen. Another part of the set a set of 3 plate glass windows with KOR printed on them. Angle them proceeds to suplex Shane against the first one. THe problem is, it doesn't break and Shane literally lands on his head. He BOUNCES OFF HIS HEAD ON EXPOSED CONCRETE. Angle shrugs, picks Shane back up and tosses him again against the glass and it breaks into a million pieces. My question I've always had about this match, why didn't they use Stage glass or some kind of glass that wouldn't cut. There has to be safety glass, something from Holywood they could of used? So, now SHane and Angle are behind the set and Angle wants to put SHane through the second plate-glass window, but going from behind the set to back out in front of it. He belly-to-belly's Shane once, and again, the glass doesn't break and SHane lands on his head. We try again, belly-to-belly, and still, the second sheet of glass will not break, Shane gets bounced, this time off his shoulder, on the concrete. Angle is getting pissed, so this time, he just tosses Shane head first into the glass and it breaks. A spectacular camera angle from the front of the set shows Shane flying through the glass. By this time, both guys are bleeding BADLY. THere is a gash on Angle's arm that looks deep, it ends up leaving puddles of blood in the ring later. Shane is pretty much dead at this point so Angle grabs a rolling case that the stage is stored in and tosses Shane on top of it and wheels him back to the ring. A cover and Shane kicks out. THe Crowd, by this point, is really hot. Shane comes back and gets a bit more offense in, including an Angle Slam, but Kurt kicks out. Kurt subdues Shane in the corner, hanging him from the turnbuckle after grabbing a flat piece of plywood and slamming it against Shane's back. Angle then proceeds to climb the turnbuckle behind Shane, lay the plywood out across the top turnbuckle rope, making himself a platform, grabs Shane while standing on this flimsy, shaky plywood board on top of the third turnbuckle and delivers an Angle Slam of his own off the platform. Needless to say, the crowd is going apes*** by this point, and Angle gets the pin. In a classy move, the fans cheer Shane as he's helped to the back. Incredible f'ing match.

[TheDieselTrain]

Well I dont know what to say. Either you have a good ass memory or you have WAY too much free time on your hands

[HoagieWithPastrami]

I thought it was awesome too.

Shane was fun to watch as a wrestler. People can dissagree, but if there's any McMahon that had any business whatsoever in the ring, it was Shane.

In fact, (might get flamed for this) I would've liked to have seen Shane become a full time wrestler. He was decent in the ring (although he did rely on high spots too much) and he already had a gimmick built in (owners son).

[drainingyou]

Andre28BC said:

My question I've always had about this match, why didn't they use Stage glass or some kind of glass that wouldn't cut. There has to be safety glass, something from Holywood they could of used?

I'm guessing that to put a guy through a window, and have him not get cut up would look kinda odd. They needed the real thing, or at least some sort of glass that would only make small cuts, I don't know, I'm not good with glass.

The match was pretty good in a spotty sense. It had some awesome spots, but what really hurt the match is the fact that we're supposed to believe that SHANE MCMAHON could keep up with a world class wrestler like Kurt Angle. I know that we're supposed to believe that he's got that "McMahon fightin' spirit", but c'mon. It's just too much. I still like watching it for the bumps though; it's just a brutal match.

[dorf]

drainingyou said:

I'm guessing that to put a guy through a window, and have him not get cut up would look kinda odd. They needed the real thing, or at least some sort of glass that would only make small cuts, I don't know, I'm not good with glass.

The match was pretty good in a spotty sense. It had some awesome spots, but what really hurt the match is the fact that we're supposed to believe that SHANE MCMAHON could keep up with a world class wrestler like Kurt Angle. I know that we're supposed to believe that he's got that "McMahon fightin' spirit", but c'mon. It's just too much. I still like watching it for the bumps though; it's just a brutal match.

It could've been Kayfabe-believable when Angle already worked 2 other matches, whilst that was Shane's only match of the night.

[richardnoggin]

thats definitely in my top 3 favorite angle matches ever. I was impressed with both of those guys. Angle finishing the match with a broken tailbone and Shane McMahon taking an ass kicking of a lifetime

[bigblu89]

I was at that KOTR, and it might be becasue I saw it live, but that match is BY FAR my favorite wrestling match of all time.

The crowd was beyond rediculous for that match.

I've been to Wrestlemania 1, multiple MSG Raws and Smackdowns, Hogans return on Raw at MSG three weeks ago, and I honestly think nothing tops the crowd reaction fro that match.

[drainingyou]

Womelsdorf™©® said:

It could've been Kayfabe-believable when Angle already worked 2 other matches, whilst that was Shane's only match of the night.

Eh, maybe, but I still have a tough time with it. In the match, they didn't really play up the fact that Angle had already wrestled twice, so even in kayfabe, I don't know if that works.

[andre28bc]

hey Big, can you go into some more detail of what it was like live? What was the attitude of the crowd? I noticed when Shane came out, the crowd seemed pretty dead, (although, a side note, "Here Comes THe Money" has got to be my favorite entrance theme music ever, great frickin song lol, I know, flame away), what were people around you saying? I'd love to hear more.

[bigblu89]

Andre28BC said:

hey Big, can you go into some more detail of what it was like live? What was the attitude of the crowd? I noticed when Shane came out, the crowd seemed pretty dead, (although, a side note, "Here Comes THe Money" has got to be my favorite entrance theme music ever, great frickin song lol, I know, flame away), what were people around you saying? I'd love to hear more.

For most of the matches, the crowd in general was pretty dead, except for when RVD was out there.

For the Angle/Shane match it was pretty weird. It was like a snoball rolling down a mountain. When Shane and Kurt came down, everyone was cheering, but nothing big, and as the match slowly progressed, the crowd reaction just kept getting bigger and bigger. By the end of the match, the crowd reaction was like 1987 Hulk Hogan marking out.

I don't quite remember exactly when in the card it was, but I remember the KOR final (which edge won) and the 3 way match main event were still being overshadowed by people buzzing abotut he Shane/Angle match.

Remember wrestlmania 18, how after Rock-Hogan was over, the arena was completely dead for the woman's match and the HHH-Jericho match? Well it was pretty much the same thing. We knew nothing would top that, so it was hard to get excited about anything that happened after Shane walked up the ramp.

[Ozman]

This match was AWESOME!!! Kurt Angle was at his best, (as usual), and Shane McMahon was able to keep up with Angle. I was truely impressed!!!

[premiumcream]

I always liked when Shane wrestled. Well....until he had his fued with Kane.

[Christianv2]

ya it was one of my favs too