World Wrestling Federation presents Metal
Date: 4/7/2001
From: Ft. Worth, TX
Matches:
1.) Haku defeated Shawn Hernandez
2.) Essa Rios defeated Vinnie Valentino
3.) K-Kwik defeated Brandon Groom
4.) Steve Blackman & Grandmaster Sexay defeated Big Daddy & Redd Dogg
Angle Developments/Notes:
1.) Hernandez gets a waist lock on Haku, but Haku reaches the ropes quickly. Haku shoulder blocks Hernandez. Hernandez tries for a short arm clothesline, but Haku doesn’t budge. Haku backdrops Hernandez and taunts the crowd. Haku hits a vertical suplex for a two count. Haku shoves Hernandez into the corner and delivers a few chops. Haku clotheslines Hernandez in the corner. Haku continues to work over Hernandez with strikes, but Hernandez fires back with right hands to the chest. Hernandez chops Haku in the corner several times. Haku doesn’t budge and is causing Hernandez to gas himself out. Haku rams his own head into the turnbuckle pads. Haku sends Hernandez into the corner and locks int he Tongan Death Grip to win the match. (*. It was mildly entertaining to watch Haku not be bothered by any of Hernandez’s strikes in the corner. Aside from that, there wasn’t much to this one. Yes, this is Hernandez that would have a successful TNA run.)
2.) Rios takes Valentino down with a quick headlock, but doesn’t keep control. Valentino shoulder blocks Rios for a one count. Rios kicks Valentino over the back and delivers a kneeling dropkick. Rios knee strikes Valentino and delivers a clothesline. Rios scoop slams Valentino and goes to the apron to hit a slingshot leg drop for a two count. Valentino drop toe holds Rios over the ropes throat first. Valentino works over Rios with right hands in the corner followed by a chop. Valentino avoids Rios in the corner and completely whiffs on a dropkick. Rios misses a running dropkick and lands on the ropes. Valentino hits a bridging suplex for a two count. Valentino comes off the ropes to deliver an elbow drop for a near fall. Valentino backdrops Rios, but Rios lands on his feet. Valentino keeps control with strikes, but Rios knee lifts Valentino followed by a kick to the chest and a springboard snap powerslam for a near fall. Rios shoves Valentino into the corner and delivers a chop. Rios gets a rollup out of the corner for a two count. Valentino almost wins with a backslide. Rios manages a two count with an inside cradle. Rios slams Valentino to the mat and goes to the top hitting a shooting star press for the win. (*1/4. Valentino completely whiffing on the dropkick was a low point of the match and I’m not sure he mentally recovered from the mess up. Rios seems to have been a lot more tame in his Metal appearances recently.)
3.) Groom controls Kwik with a wrist lock to kickoff the match, but Kwik counters quickly. They trade hammerlocks, but Kwik takes Groom down to the mat with a headlock. Groom counters with a head scissors on the mat. Kwik kips up and arm drags Groom several times followed by a dropkick. Groom stops Kwik with a strike to the midsection and punches against the ropes. Kwik hits a flying forearm smash off the ropes. Kwik plants Groom with a flatliner. Kwik slams Groom leading to a near fall. Groom hits a belly to belly suplex for a two count. Groom kicks Kwik in the ribs and Kwik rolls to the floor. Groom overhand strikes Kwik and delivers a standing dropkick for a two count. Groom keeps Kwik on the mat with a sleeper. Kwik elbows free and they trade right hands. Kwik does a split and nails Groom with a heel kick. Groom misses a spear in the corner and Kwik hits a leaping shoulder block leading to a near fall. Kwik heads to the top rope and hits a missile dropkick. Kwik covers Groom for a two count. Kwik kicks Groom and hits a sit out front suplex for the win. (*. Not a terrible outing, but a little bit sloppy. Kwik has charisma and some fun offense, but he’s way behind in terms of being a regular on the A shows. Road Dogg being gone certainly set him back.)
4.) Daddy and Blackman kickoff the tag match. Blackman delivers a shoulder block and does a few pushups followed by strikes to Daddy. Daddy kicks Blackman, but is driven down to the mat face first. Blackman pummels Daddy with right hands on the mat before tagging in Sexay. Sexay dances for the crowd and comes off the ropes to deliver a kick to the head. Daddy eye rakes Sexay and Dogg enters to deliver a few strikes in the corner. Dogg sends Sexay into the corner, but runs into a boot. Sexay leaps off the middle rope to dropkick Dogg leading to a near fall. Sexay ducks a clothesline and is met with a knee from Daddy. Dogg decks Sexay with a clothesline and taunts the crowd. Dogg grabs Sexay and delivers a scoop slam. Daddy hits a gut wrench suplex on Sexay and taunts the crowd. Sexay almost wins with a rollup. Daddy delivers a strike and tags in Dogg to keep control of the contest. Dogg pummels Sexay with right hands in the corner. Dogg nails Sexay with a clothesline and leaps off the middle rope missing a splash attempt. Sexay crawls to the corner and tags in Blackman. Blackman cleans house with a strike to Dogg and a leaping back elbow. Blackman nails Dogg with a savant kick. Sexay slingshots Daddy into the ring form the apron and Daddy is backdropped. Blackman holds Dogg for the Hart Attack clothesline. Blackman hits a front suplex on Daddy and Sexay leaps off the top to hit the Hip Hop Drop for the win. (*1/2. I’m not sure why, but the crowd seems to love Grandmaster Sexay. The duo of Blackman and Sexay seems to work fairly well, but it’s likely limited because it’s an odd couple comedy angle and the tag division is simply way too loaded at this point. If this was 1999, they’d probably get a shot with the titles.)
Final Thoughts:
There’s nothing all that important taking place on the show and there’s not any notable guys getting a few moments to shine. A skippable episode, but a skippable episode of Metal is still a guilty pleasure for me.
Thanks for reading.