JANUARY 10TH — ST. LOUIS, MO — KIEL CENTER
THE ROCK LEADS A MUTINY
CONTEXT: The locker room has emptied to the ringside area and the Rock has been voted to be the spokesperson. Rock says they have demands and calls for HHH and Stephanie to hear them out in person. HHH and Stephanie eventually come out and Rock reveals that the entire roster is ready to join the “World Rock Federation” unless they meet their demands. Rock says everyone wants Mick Foley reinstated, and they agree claiming they were going to do that to begin with. Rock also demands that people can’t be fired without just cause, and that’s agreed to as well. Mick Foley comes out and thanks Rock for having his back and proceeds to challenge Triple H to a WWF World Championship match at Royal Rumble, and it’s accepted much to the surprise of the Rock. Rock announces he’s the first entrant into the Royal Rumble. Foley books the Outlaws to wrestle in a singles match since they have leverage. Foley also puts Triple H in a match against X-Pac tonight. Lastly, DX will compete in an a eight-man tag against the Acolytes and the Rock ’n’ Sock Connection!
Bob’s Take: It’s a logical way to get Foley reinstated into the promotion by forcing their hand. I’m sure in some aspect they booked themselves into a corner to get Foley back from the angle, but this was suffice. HHH vs. Mankind is a great match for the Rumble and they tend to have worthwhile matches. The segment was a bit lengthy, but it setup bigger things and I enjoyed it overall. 1 for 1
DX CAN’T BELIEVE TRIPLE H CAVED
CONTEXT: DX is not happy with Triple caving to all of Rock’s demands. Outlaws are not happy about having to wrestle each other, but HHH notes he didn’t have a choice. X-Pac mentions simply that he’ll see HHH in the ring later tonight.
Bob’s Take: DX pushing against HHH and Stephanie is a bit refreshing. I like that DX has a backbone against the guy who has the power and fumbled it here. 2 for 2
MATCH #1: BILLY GUNN VS. ROAD DOGG
FINISH: Dogg counters the Fame-Asser and hit a slam to win the match.
Bob’s Take: I was kind of expecting these two to make it a joke of a match, but that was not the case. I suppose they wanted to prove to each other who was the better wrestler. Personally, I’ve always enjoyed Billy far more in the ring than Road Dogg. The match was mostly average and nothing all that entertaining. 2 for 3
MANKIND HAS ‘MANKIND’ HOSTAGE
CONTEXT: Foley has the imposter Mankind tied up backstage and he’s none to happy with the insults over the past week.
Bob’s Take: Foley’s revenge is going to be good. 3 for 4
TERRI SIGNS THE OPEN CHALLENGE SHEET
CONTEXT: Terri walks up to the signup sheet and signs the Hardy Boys up for a match.
Bob’s Take: I’m not sure who they’d want to wrestle if it wasn’t a tag title match. 3 for 5
MATCH #2: KURT ANGLE & STEVE BLACKMAN VS. HARDY BOYS
NOTE: Before the match, Kurt Angle cut a promo insulting St. Louis sports teams and considers Kurt Warner to be on a lucky streak.
FINISH: Jeff Hardy missile dropkicks Blackman from behind and Matt hit the Twist of Fate to pin Blackman. After the match, Angle is pissed at Blackman for losing the match.
Bob’s Take: Why would the Hardy Boys want to wrestle Blackman and Angle? Why wouldn’t there be some kind involvement with Al Snow? Despite the randomness of the match, I thought it was a solid tag bout. The Hardy’s displayed fun offense throughout the action had a good pace to it. 4 for 6
MANKIND TORMENTS ‘MANKIND’
CONTEXT: Foley continues to torment the imposter and forces the imposter to laugh at his jokes.
Bob’s Take: Foley is going nuts and I love it. 5 for 7
EDGE & CHRISTIAN AT THE OPEN CHALLENGE SHEET
CONTEXT: Christian asks Edge if he’s happy about wrestling ‘him’, and Edge says he’s cool with the idea. We’ll find out soon who they are talking about.
Bob’s Take: The open challenge sheet is a fine concept and it provides a level of mystery as to what we’ll see on the show. The first one was a bit of a disappointment, but was a good match. Hopefully one of the open challenge reveals is a great one. 6 for 8
CHYNA & CHRIS JERICHO AT THE OPEN CHALLENGE SHEET
CONTEXT: They are standing by the signup sheet and Jericho convinces Chyna to signup for a match against the Holly’s so they can destroy them.
Bob’s Take: So much for the idea that it would be a mystery each time. This Jericho/Chyna dynamic isn’t vibing with me for whatever reason. I wouldn’t be surprised if Chyna signed them up for something different. 6 for 9
MATCH #3: WWF EUROPEAN CHAMPION VAL VENIS VS. EDGE
NOTE: Val Veni’s sister is engaged to Edge, as noted by Jim Ross on commentary. So, this match is a bit more personal than maybe people would know previously. Venis ends up referencing this in a pre-match promo.
NOTE #2: Prior to the match starting, the number 13 flashes on the big screen with an orange theme. The word “survive” is heard.
FINISH: Venis avoided a spear in the corner and hit a fisherman suplex to retain the title. After the match, Edge reveals that Venis isn’t going to be the best man at the wedding, but rather Christian. Venis accepts that.
Bob’s Take: The finish felt a little bit abrupt, but the action was decent throughout. Venis had a failed push at the end of ’99 and fits nicely in the midcard. The aftermath was also a bit.. weird. It sounded as if Edge was trying to make an issue about the best man reveal, but considering Christian is his brother that would be logical to be his best man. It felt a bit flat, but the action was solid enough. 7 for 10
DX HAS SOME SERIOUS DISSENSION
CONTEXT: X-Pac is trying to be the peacemaker between the Outlaws, but Billy tells Dogg that he got lucky tonight and to find his own way home tonight.
Bob’s Take: I kind of wish that DX would stay a strong unit a bit longer. 7 for 11
MATCH #4: CO-WWF INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPION CHRIS JERICHO & CHYNA VS. THE HOLLYS
NOTE: Jericho cut a promo on Chyna saying that he got a bigger reaction despite Chyna wearing the title.
FINISH: Hardcore pinned Chyna following a Falcon Arrow after Chyna failed to tag in Jericho.
Bob’s Take: Jericho acted a bit of a phony partner while on the apron, which caused the finish as he wasn’t there for the tag. Jericho is more concerned with having the title. I’m gathering that Jericho is the heel in this situation, but I have no interest in booing him at this point. Chyna isn’t connecting with me in this role. The angle itself is a bit bland and boring for me. They need to have a match at Rumble move back to a traditional singles champion. 7 for 12
MANKIND CONTINUES TO TORMENT ‘MANKIND’
CONTEXT: Foley spills hot coffee on the imposter to continue to torment him.
Bob’s Take: These are mostly filler segments at this point, but Foley’s revenge is entertaining regardless. 8 for 13
TRIPLE H & X-PAC CHAT BEFORE THEIR MATCH
CONTEXT: Pac and HHH talk about their match as Pac asks if HHH is ready to do this. HHH tells Pac that he meant what he said when he said that Pac is as good as him.
Bob’s Take: I’ve been a fan of X-Pac throughout the years and I like that HHH putting over Pac as a viable wrestler is fine by me. 9 for 14
MATCH #5: WWF WORLD CHAMPION TRIPLE H VS. X-PAC — NON-TITLE
FINISH: Late in the match, Stephanie crotched Pac on the top rope. HHH followed up and hit the Pedigree to win the match.
Bob’s Take: Well, this was a bit a disappointment in the sense that it wasn’t some kind of breakout match for Pac. Pac displayed some momentum, but it could have been a far more memorable TV match if they didn’t settle for the angle approach to have Stephanie get involved. It’s a decent TV match, but I wish for a bit more from these two. 10 for 15
DX DOESN’T LIKE STEPHANIE MCMAHON
CONTEXT: Outlaws and X-Pac discuss that Stephanie is having a negative impact on DX lately.
Bob’s Take: HHH is absolutely going to pick the power that Stephanie provides over his pals, no doubt about it. 11 for 16
MATCH #6: RIKISHI & TOO COOL VS. AL SNOW & THE HEADBANGERS
FINISH: Rikishi spikes Mosh with the Rikishi Driver to win the match. After the match, Snow attacks the Headbangers for losing the match.
Bob’s Take: I’m baffled by Snow working this match and not being in the match with the Hardy Boys when he had been involved in an angle with them thus far in 2000i. The idea of Snow and the Headbangers as a trio is actually compelling as it kind of fits. I wish the Headbangers were used better than being a jobber team at this point. Snow is psycho and I kind of like it, but the audience in general likes comedy Al Snow far more. 11 for 17
MANKIND’S TORMENT CONTINUES
CONTEXT: Foley threatens to force the imposter to watch an hour worth of Al Snow matches. Foley considers untying the impost if he’s learned his lesson and does so, but tells the imposter to not leave the room.
Bob’s Take: The mind games of torture by Foley is better than him just beating up the imposter. If it were a beating it would have lost its purpose far quicker than this version of attack. 12 for 18
MATCH #7: D’LO BROWN & THE GODFATHER VS. THE DUDLEY BOYS
FINISH: Dudley’s try to leave the match with Godfather’s hoes and it causes a double count-out.
Bob’s Take: How am I just now realizing that there’s history between Godfather and D’Lo dating back to the Nation of Domination days? For a long time I thought it was a random duo, but it’s not completely random at all. The action was entertaining, but the finish is rather lame. I would have liked to have seen a longer form match with an actual finish. 13 for 19
MANKIND MAKES TORI UNCOMFORTABLE, ‘MANKIND’ SUFFERS THE CONSEQUENCES
CONTEXT: Foley walks by Tori in the hallway and proceeds to hit on her before patting her on the butt. Tori is naturally horrified by this and Foley says he’s in dressing room #3 and for her to stop by. After a commercial, Kane enters the dressing room and attacks the imposter until the imposter Mankind escapes through a fire door exit.
Bob’s Take: This was an enjoyable payoff to the mind games. Kane going crazy on an imposter was enjoyable. 14 for 20
TRIPLE H TRIES TO BRING DX TOGETHER
CONTEXT: HHH tries to rally DX together insisting they have to stay together. Road Dogg seem to be buying into the speech, but is also skeptical of what’s going on.
Bob’s Take: I’m sure DX will figure it out and remain a unit, but Stephanie is creating a wedge between them that could break them apart down the road. 15 for 21
MATCH #8: TEST & BIG SHOW VS. PRINCE ALBERT & BIG BOSSMAN
FINISH: Test hit a top rope elbow drop to pin Albert. After the match, Big Show leaves both Albert and Bossman laying following a double chokeslam.
Bob’s Take: It seems as if when you get shuffled down the card you work with Big Bossman. It was a quick match, so that’s a positive. 15 for 22
MAIN EVENT: D-GENERATION X (WWF World Champion Triple H, WWF Tag Team Champions Billy Gunn & Road Dogg, & X-Pac) VS. THE ACOLYTES, MANKIND & THE ROCK:
NOTE: During the match, Triple attempted to tag out, but none of his partners accepted a tag and they left HHH to fight on his own.
FINISH: Late in the match, Triple H hit Mankind with a ring bell to cause Mankind to bleed. HHH proceeded to Pedigree Mankind through the commentary table and again in the ring for the victory. After the match, a bloodied Mankind fights back and smashes HHH with the ring steps. Eventually, HHH retreats up the ramp with Stephanie and looks a bit concerned.
Bob’s Take: I don’t hate that Triple H won here. Foley got a level of revenge on the imposter Mankind and the rest of the DX members got what was coming to them. However, the leader Triple H is ultimately still a winner and has the one-up on Foley. Foley is great at the chase, and is a rare performer where he could lose every single match and the fans will still adore him and cheer for him due to the damage he puts his body through. Foley got a level of momentum back with the aftermath and HHH does a fantastic job getting across his fear of Foley. The eight man tag match was enjoyable and the crowd was into it. It quickly broke down into HHH/Foley, which is what fans wanted to see anyway. 16 for 23
WWF’s undercard is leaving a lot to be desired, but the main event scene is absolutely carrying the program. HHH/Foley has been very good and their direct interactions make it a no brainer to be the main event program for Royal Rumble.
Aside from Foley/HHH there isn’t a program that’s grabbing my attention. It feels like the angles make be taking a backseat since the Rumble match itself is a drawing point for the PPV, so there doesn’t need to be a heavy focus on characters staying busy. Despite that, I enjoyed this weeks episode of RAW.
RAW 1/10 TV Rating: 6.8
Thanks for reading.