WWE SUMMERSLAM FLASHBACK REPORT
AUGUST 19, 2001
SAN JOSE, CALIF.
REPORT BY WADE KELLER, PWTORCH EDITOR

Jim Ross and Paul Heyman introduced the event.

(1) Edge pinned Lance Storm at 10:21 to capture the Intercontinental Title. Storm asked for silence from the fans before the match. He got it, and then said, "Splendid!" His voice inflection was really funny, as if he weren't expecting silence and was shocked and somewhat pleased he actually got it. A second later Edge's music began and he came out. Edge was aggressive at the start, and Ross said it was because Team WWF's back was against the wall, having lost at Invasion and all. At 2:30 Storm took over offense. Edge came back and scored a near fall at 3:15 with a surprise cradle. Storm returned with a quick cover a few seconds later, and in a nice touch, Edge kicked out before two (two counts mean more and are more dramatic late in a match if early pin attempts end after just one count, something Heyman specifically took pride in practicing sometimes in ECW). Storm continued to dominate offense with kicks and stomps. They showed Team WWF watching backstage, cheering on Edge. After a few more minutes of solid back and forth action, Christian ran out to help Edge who was caught in a Storm half Boston crab. Christian went to spear Storm, but Storm side-stepped him and he hit Edge by mistake. Edge kicked out of Storm's pin attempt. Edge then caught Storm's attempt at a sidekick and then gave him an Impaler DDT for a clean three count. Heyman complained that it was like a two-on-one. Ross said that Christian hurt Edge so it didn't matter, but Heyman said just the distraction threw Storm off of his gameplan. Most of the match lacked intensity, but it was still a solid opener. (**1/2)

Test said he joined The Alliance because the WWF was overlooking his potential. He talked up the Dudleys, saying they didn't deserve to be upstaged by little Spike. Test said Shane McMahon recognizes their greatness.

Lilian Garcia interviewed Chris Jericho. Jericho called her Vivian. He said "everybody remembers their first time." He said Stephanie must remember her first time because it was with the captain of every sports team and school organization at the same time. [8:21 p.m.]

(2) Test & The Dudleys beat The APA & Spike Dudley when Test pinned Bradshaw at 7:17. Heyman complained that APA beat up Test thinking he was a mole when it turned out he wasn't. Ross quipped suggestively, "You do think the Mole deserves to be beaten up, right Paul?" Test and the Dudleys fought evenly with APA early, but when Spike tagged in he took a beating. Test was going to drop Spike over the top rope onto a ringside table, but Spike shifted his weight and fell on top of Test in the ring. D-Von and Bubba gave Spike a flapjack. Bubba scored a two count. At 6:00 Bradshaw tagged in and went on a flurry of hard-hitting offense against The Dudleys and Test. Bradshaw ducked Test's big boot and gave him a powerbomb for a two count. Bubba yanked Bradshaw off of Test to save the match. Test threw Spike over the top rope through the table at ringside. Bradshaw gave Test the Clothesline from hell. Shane, though, entered and nailed Bradshaw with a chair giving a groggy Test the pin. Great high-impact chaos in the final two minutes, although a couple of key camera shots were missed due to ill-timed cutaways to other happenings, most notably Bubba saving Test after the powerbomb. (**3/4)

Christian said Grandma was on the phone to congratulate Edge for his title win. After Edge said hi to Grandma, Christian tried to say goodbye, but Grandma already hung up. Christian blamed a bad connection.

Shawn Stasiak entered Debra's dressing room and said he has "Mecca" written on the back of his tights but he doesn't even know what it means. Debra asked Stasiak why he's bugging her when Steve Austin has a big match against Kurt Angle later. He said he just wants to impress Austin. Debra said he could impress Austin by winning a match. She told him to knock next time, too.

(3) X-Pac pinned Tajiri at 8:38 to become both WCW and WWF Light-Heavyweight Champion. Ross announced early in the match that this was the last WWF PPV on DirecTV. Tajiri flipped onto X-Pac at ringside at 2:00. X-Pac fought back by shoving Tajiri in a surfboard submission hold followed by a powerbomb for a two count. The crowd popped for Tajiri's comeback against X-Pac at 4:00 with a killer slidekick and a graceful handspring elbow. He followed with the Tarantula which also popped the crowd. Tajiri went to the top and hit a crossbody block, but X-Pac rolled through and scored a two count. Tajiri put X-Pac in a series of innovative pinning combinations including a backslide type move off the ropes. X-Pac hit Tajiri with a somersault plancha over the top rope at ringside. At 7:00 Albert walked to ringside. Tajiri sprayed Albert with the red mist. X-Pac immediately surprised Tajiri with an X-Factor for the pin. Good match. (**3/4)

They went live to WWF New York where Perry Saturn asked the fans to help him find Moppy. He showed a milk carton with a drawing on Moppy on the side. He said Moppy wouldn't wander away on her own because they're in love... A preview of next week's "Tough Enough" aired... Stephanie gave Rhyno a pep talk saying Jericho's never been able to defeat him before. He said he'd take out Jericho once and for all. Steph said she was counting on it. Talk about pressure!

(4) Chris Jericho beat Rhyno (w/Stephanie) via tapout at 12:34. Heyman pointed out that Rhyno was the last ECW Champion. Good back and forth action the first couple of minutes, including some Jericho chops. At 2:20 Jericho climbed to the top rope. Steph tried to throw him off balance, but he fended her off. He then leaped off the top rope at Rhyno at ringside, but Rhyno caught him with the Gore. Rhyno rolled Jericho back into the ring and scored a two count. Rhyno then put Jericho in a body scissors. Ross pointed out it was an effective move for somebody of Rhyno's bodytype. The announcers did a good job of putting over the old-style move that you don't see often anymore. Rhyno gave Jericho an airplane spin into a High Impact. Later Jericho came off the ropes with a flying forearm, then hit some chops, then went for a Lionsault. Jericho slipped on the second rope and almost landed on his head. He managed to save it relatively well, landing on Rhyno without killing himself, although it looked terrible. The crowd barely had a chance to groan as Jericho climbed to the top rope, but slipped off as he leaped. He landed hard on his right hip. Ross tried to cover for Jericho by saying he must have something slippery on his boots. Rhyno covered the stunned Jericho, but Jericho kicked out at two. The lifts in his boots seemed to be giving him more trouble than usual. He got right back on the horse, though, as a few seconds later he climbed to the second rope and hit a flying dropkick that looked solid. Steph distracted the ref as Jericho made the cover. Jericho got up and forced a kiss on Steph in retaliation. Jericho hit two consecutive Lionsaults, which looked as harmless as they always do (and it's one of those moves that doesn't look like it hurts the opponent, but it actually does). Rhyno came back and put Jericho in the Walls of Jericho, stealing Jericho's move. Rhyno then set up Jericho for the Gore, but Jericho moved. Rhyno hit the ringpost. Jericho then put Rhyno in the Walls of Jericho and ten seconds in Rhyno tapped out. Steph threw a fit at ringside. Most of the match was good, but the two slips really threw off the flow of the match and took the crowd out of it. Those lame Lionsaults don't help either. As Jericho left the ring, he grabbed at his right hip. (**)

William Regal talked to The Rock backstage. Rock said Booker tried to keep him from arriving at SummerSlam, but it didn't work; it just "pissed him off" instead. As Rock and Regal talked, Stasiak flew at Rock, but he missed and flew right between Rock and Regal, crashing into a garage door. Rock and Regal ignored him. Stasiak's bit is funny. It's good use of his goofy charisma. He has charisma, but it's certainly not the type that you take seriously.

(5) Rob Van Dam beat Jeff Hardy at 16:33 to capture the Hardcore Title. This was one of those crash and burn high-impact highspot matches that could have easily led to one of them badly breaking his neck or a leg. They executed some innovative spots with the ladder, which was introduced to the match at 3:30. The match lacked certain discipline in the sense that there was no obvious story told, there was inconsistent long-term selling, and they attempted overambitious spots which ended up botched. Hardy climbed the ladder to try to reach the Hardcore Title belt hanging from the ceiling above for the first time at 9:40. Van Dam leaped off the top rope and knocked Hardy to the mat. At 11:00 Van Dam climbed the ladder. Hardy leaped off the top rope and dropkicked Van Dam off the ladder. The two wrestlers and the ladder all fell to the mat at once on top of each other. They each went for their big splashes (Swanton, Five-Star), and both missed. Van Dam suplexed Hardy off the top of the ladder to the mat. About as smooth a suplex as you'll see under those circumstances. They both climbed the ladder again and Hardy gave Van Dam a sunset flip off the top of the ladder, perhaps the high point of the match. Hardy climbed the ladder and grabbed onto the belt. Van Dam yanked the ladder out from underneath Hardy, leaving Hardy swinging from the belt. Van Dam went to the top rope and leaped toward Hardy with a kick, but missed by several feet. Hardy dropped to the mat on his own and slapped the mat in disappointment (either because of the missed spot or to sell that he couldn't get the belt down). Hardy climbed the ladder again, but Van Dam knocked him off. Hardy bumped to the mat hard. Van Dam then climbed the ladder and won. A flawed, yet exciting, high-risk high-impact match, and the fact that they walked away was amazing (and lucky). (***1/2)

(6) Undertaker & Kane beat Dallas Page & Kanyon at 10:15 in a cage match to capture the WWF Tag Team Titles and retain the WCW Tag Team Titles. Taker and Kane (who was limited due to a back injury) dominated offense from the start. Kanyon tried to escape up the side of the cage but ended up taking a big bump to the mat. Taker set up a chokeslam at 1:30, but Page kicked him low to escape. Page and Kanyon got in some offense, but Taker and Kane brushed it off. At 5:50 Kanyon and Page both climbed to the top of the cage to escape. Taker climbed the cage and knocked Page to the mat and then bravely stood on the top of the cage. Kane let Kanyon escape. That left Page against both Taker and Kane. Page yelled at Kanyon for leaving him alone. Taker gave Page a sidewalk slam, but he lifted Page‘s shoulder after the second count. At 9:00 Taker offered Page a chance to leave if he agreed to never look at Taker's wife again. Kane yelled at Taker, apparently telling him not to let off Page easy. Taker then turned around and chokeslammed Page off the top rope. The crowd cheered as Taker signalled for the Last Ride. He slammed Page to the mat and scored the pin. Taker's wife yelled at Page after the match. Solid match. (**1/2)

As Rock assured a trainer he was ready to wrestle, Stasiak charged at Rock again, but missed badly.

(7) Kurt Angle beat Steve Austin via DQ, so Austin retained the WWF Title at 22:30. They brawled in the aisle for a minute before the bell. They fought back and forth in the ring for the opening few minutes. At 5:00 Angle hit a series of suplexes, but when he went for the Olympic Slam, Austin escaped. Austin suffered a small cut on the side of his head. At 7:30 Austin hit Angle with the Stunner out of nowhere. Angle kicked out. Austin hit another Stunner, then grabbed the WWF Title belt to use as a weapon, but ref Earl Hebner yanked it away first. Austin rammed Angle into the ringpost, then punched at his face. Angle was bleeding so heavily from his forehead that Heyman suggested they stop the match. Austin scored a very near fall on the bloodied Angle. They brawled at ringside and briefly into the crowd. Angle surprised Austin with the anklelock at ringside. In a burst of adrenaline, Angle yelled, "Ya-hooo!" and the crowd popped. Back in the ring Angle applied the anklelock again. Austin reached the ropes at 13:40. At 16:00 Angle hit the moonsault off the top rope. Austin kicked out. Austin then reversed Angle into a cobra clutch. Austin gave Angle the Stunner at 19:00, but Angle kicked out. Angle surprised Austin with his Olympic Slam, but he was too groggy to make a quick cover. Angle applied the anklelock again, but Austin reached the ropes. Austin then hit the ref. Angle quickly gave Austin a DDT. Another WWF ref came out, but Austin gave him a Stunner. A third one came out, but Austin hit him in the face with the WWF Title belt. Angle gave the distracted Austin the Olympic Slam. WCW ref Nick Patrik ran to the ring and counted one, but then stopped and signalled for the bell. He explained to ring announcer Howard Finkle that Austin was DQ'd for excessive abuse of the referee. Austin fled the scene. Angle threw Patrik into the ring and gave him the anklelock. Ross yelled, "Kurt Angle just got screwed out of the WWF Title." Great match on every level. The finish didn't take away from it since it fit the storyline and feud context. (****1/2)

(8) The Rock pinned Booker T (w/Shane McMahon) at 15:22 to capture the WCW Hvt. Title. Rock exploded at Booker at the start with a series of punches. He then chased Shane around ringside. They brawled at ringside, then into the crowd. Ross said it would be wrong for the ref to DQ the wrestlers for leaving ringside because that would a "kiss your sister type finish," trying to sympathize with the fans' frustration over the finish of the previous match. They returned to the ring at 6:30 where Booker scored a two count. Booker dominated Rock for a few minutes, then went to his usual mid-match house show chinlock. Shane hit Rock with the WCW Title belt; the ref didn't see it. The APA ran out and chased Shane around the ring. Shane, in his PPV Moment of Glory, took a great bump off of Bradshaw's Clothesline from Hell at ringside. Back in the ring Booker hit the Book End at 12:00. Ross called it "Rock's Rock Bottom." Rock kicked out. Rock made a comeback. Rock hit the People's Elbow. Just as he was about to score the pin, Shane ran into the ring (somehow having recovered already from the Bradshaw clothesline) and yanked the ref out of position to count the pin. Rock gave Shane the Rock Bottom, but Booker T fought back with an axe kick, then did the Spinarooni. As Booker showboated, Rock surprised with him with the Rock Bottom for the pin. Satisfying main event. Booker played his part well. Nothing close to Austin-Angle, though. (***)

[Torch art credit Grant Gould (c) PWTorch.com]

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