World Wrestling Federation presents Metal
Date: 7/28/2001
From: Buffalo, NY
Matches:
1.) Mark Jindrak defeated Jerry Lynn
2.) Shawn Stasiak defeated Haku
3.) Chavo Guerrero Jr. & Hurricane Helms defeated Kaientai (Funaki & Taka Michinoku)
4.) Crash Holly defeated Justin Credible
Angle Developments/Notes:
1.) This is Mark Jindrak’s in-ring debut in the WWF.
2.) Jindrak shoves Lynn into the corner and delivers a few stomps. Jindrak misses a splash in the corner and Lynn delivers a few strikes. Jindrak slams Lynn after catching Lynn on a crossbody attempt. Jindrak misses an elbow drop and Lynn gets arm control. Jindrak tries for a slam, but Lynn dropkicks Jindrak to the floor and follows up with a baseball slide dropkick. Lynn takes Jindrak out with a slingshot crossbody to the floor. Lynn works over Jindrak with a few strikes, but runs into a tilt a whirl slam for a two count. Jindrak drives Lynn to the mat with a vertical suplex for a two count. Jindrak continues with a short arm clothesline for a near fall. Lynn ducks a clothesline and is met with a kick to the head for a two count. Jindrak keeps a sleeper on Lynn, but doesn’t get a submission. Lynn hammers away on Jindrak. Jindrak tries for a powerbomb, but Lynn counters and drives to ram Jindrak down to the mat, but Jindrak didn’t fall down and it looked awkward. Lynn takes Jindrak over with a hurricanrana followed by a clothesline. Lynn missile dropkicks Jindrak for a two count. Lynn plants Jindrak with a wheelbarrow bulldog for a two count. Jindrak drops Lynn chest first over the top rope and hits a sit down powerbomb for the clean win. (**. Despite a couple of sloppy moments due to Jindrak’s inexperience it wasn’t a bad match. Lynn isn’t a valued wrestler in the WWF world, but this is still a major upset. Jindrak is one of the young WCW wrestlers that has loads of potential.)
3.) Haku works over Stasiak with strikes against the ropes and blocks a clothesline. Stasiak kicks Haku and delivers a clothesline on a second attempt. Stasiak rams Haku into the corner, but Haku no sells it. Stasiak leaps off the top to hit a twisting crossbody. Stasiak strikes Haku and chokes Haku over the top rope. Haku chops Stasiak, but Stasiak responds with a strike. Haku savant kicks Stasiak and delivers a chop followed by a falling headbutt a couple of times. Stasiak kicks Haku, but runs into a Samoan Drop. Haku chops Stasiak in the corner followed by a running clothesline and several jabs. Haku suplexs Stasiak and leaps off the middle rope to deliver another headbutt for a two count. Stasiak misses a splash in the corner and Haku tries for a back suplex, but Stasiak lands on top and puts his feet on the ropes to steal the victory. (*. There wasn’t much to this. Haku is another guy that doesn’t add much value to the WWF roster so Stasiak winning here doesn’t do much for him.)
4.) Helms and Funaki kickoff the match with Funaki getting double teamed, but Funaki fights them off with a dropkick and a head scissors. Guerrero stops Funaki with a backbreaker. Funaki drop toe holds Helms and puts a chin lock on Helms allowing Taka to deliver a dropkick to the face. Helms knee lifts Taka and misses a clothesline. Helms strikes Taka several times, but Taka eye rakes Helms followed by a strike to both Helms and Guerrero. Helms powerbombs Taka after Guerrero lifted Taka into the air. Taka is double teamed as Funaki tried to get involved an d failed. Guerrero dropkicks Taka in the corner and rams Taka into the corner chest first followed by a back suplex for a two count. Helms leaps off the middle rope to leg drop Taka for a near fall. Helms drops Taka face first over his knee for a two count. Helms strikes Taka in the corner, but runs into an elbow strike. Taka nails Helms with a kick to the head. Helms and Taka tag out to Guerrero and Funaki. Funaki cleans house with strikes and sends Guerrero into Helms. Funaki bulldogs Guerrero and Taka returns signaling for the finish. Helms nails Taka with a neckbreaker, but Funaki takes Helms out with a crossbody to the floor. Helms decks Taka from the apron allowing Guerrero to spike Taka with a brainbuster for the win. (**1/2. A solid match with some constant action. I’m honestly getting a vibe that the losers on the WWF side are not going to be used too much longer with an inflated roster.)
5.) Holly and Credible trade wrist control at the start of the match . Holly shoulder blocks Credible for a two count. Holly forearms Credible and avoids Credible in the corner to hit a hip toss and a head scissors. Credible drop toe holds Holly over the middle rope followed by a spinning DDT. Credible stomps Holly in the corner. Credible hits a powerbomb out of the corner for a two count. Credible baseball slides Holly in the corner. Credible dropkicks a seated Holly over the back for a two count. Credible puts a sleeper on Holly, but doesn’t get a submission. They collide on stereo clotheslines in the middle of the ring. They trade right hands until Holly elbows Credible to the mat. Credible elbows Holly and tries for That’s Incredible, but Holly counters. Holly manages to get a victory roll and pins Credible for the win. After the match, Credible nails Holly with a superkick to leave Holly laying. (*1/2. A bit shocking that Credible lost here. It’s amazing how little the WWF sees Credible considering he was a top heel in ECW and a former ECW World Champion. They’ve stripped Credible of everything that made him interesting.)
Final Thoughts:
While there was some sloppy action, I didn’t mind this weeks episode. The tag match was enjoyable and I like that there were several upset wins that I wasn’t expecting.
Thanks for reading.