World Wrestling Federation presents Metal
Date: 8/4/2001
From: Philadelphia, PA
Matches:
1.) Raven defeated Essa Rios
2.) Albert defeated Hugh Morrus
3.) Justin Credible defeated Scotty 2 Hotty
4.) Billy Gunn & Big Show defeated Mike Awesome & Rhyno
Angle Developments/Notes:
1.) Raven backs Rios into a corner and delivers several forearm strikes to the chest. Rios head scissors Raven and clotheslines Raven over the top to the floor. Rios baseball slides Raven on the floor a couple of times. Rios misses a slingshot crossbody attempt. Rios drop toe holds Raven face first into the ring steps. Raven shoulder rams Rios and tries for a suplex into the ring, but Rios counters and forearms Raven on the lower back before delivering a chop block. Rios stomps Raven and heads to the top missing a corkscrew dive. Raven pummels Rios on the mat several times and rams the back of Rios head onto the mat. Raven keeps control with knee strikes, but Rios responds with kicks. Rios springboards off the ropes to arm drag Raven followed by a spin kick and a springboard crossbody for a two count. Rios counters a dropkick and catapults Raven into the corner. Rios tries for a rollup managing a two count. Raven strikes Rios and heads to the top turnbuckle, but is stopped by Rios. Rios fails on a top rope hurricanrana attempt. Rios kicks Raven in midair to avoid an axe handle. Raven flips Rios backward and hits the DDT for the win. (**. An interesting matchup considering the difference in styles. Rios displayed his aerial offense and the risk behind it. I enjoyed the bout for what it was. It’s probably important for the Alliance to defeat guys such as Essa Rios.)
2.) Morrus strikes Albert over the back several times and keeps control with stomps in the corner. Morrus clubs Albert over the back and continues with strikes in the corner. Morrus clotheslines Albert in the corner, but Albert responds with a splash in the corner. Albert catapults Morrus into the middle rope throat first and they head to the floor. Albert strikes Morrus on the floor and delivers a knee strike against the railing. Albert drops Morrus with a right hand in the ring. Albert hits a double under hook slam for a two count. Albert press slams Morrus to the mat gut first and hits a big splash for a two count. Albert sends Morrus into the ropes and delivers a big boot. Albert signals for the Baldo Bomb, but Mark Jindrak runs out to the apron to cause a distraction. Morrus delivers a back suplex and heads to the top rope. Morrus misses an elbow drop. Jindrak slides into the ring and drops Albert with a DDT. Morrus covers, but Albert kicks out at two. Albert ducks a clothesline and is grabbed by Jindrak. Morrus knocks Jindrak off the apron on accident and Albert hits the Baldo Bomb for the win. (**. I don’t know what’s going on in Philadelphia tonight, but they are responding very well to the action on Metal. Jindrak’s interference looked bad as he’s coming across as a guy who has no idea what he’s doing and I never got that vibe when he was in WCW at the end. This was a solid match.)
3.) Hotty backs Credible into a corner, but Credible cheap shots Hotty as the referee was out of position. Hotty is shoved into a corner, but responds with more right hands and drives Credible to the mat butt first. Hotty comes off the ropes to dropkick Credible for a two count. Credible knee lifts Hotty, but Hotty hits a head scissors and backdrops Credible over the top to the floor. Hotty slides to the floor, but Credible rams Hotty groin first into the ring post. Credible rolls Hotty into the ring and stomps Hotty on the mat. Credible chokes Hotty over the middle rope and eye rakes Hotty. Credible elbows Hotty coming off the ropes for a near fall. Hotty elbows Credible and comes off the ropes to hit a back suplex. Hotty strikes Credible several times and hits a leaping forearm strike. Hotty sends Credible into the corner and kicks Credible. Hotty shakes the ropes and Credible falls off. Credible ducks a clothesline, but Hotty avoids a back suplex and runs into a superkick leading to the three count. (**. Credible managing a clean win is a rarity in his WWF career. The finish was actually a good one.)
4.) Show and Awesome kickoff the tag match. Awesome avoids Show in the corner followed by stomps and chops. Show doesn’t sell the chop and gives Awesome a couple of chops and knee lifts. Show clotheslines Awesome in the corner. Show headbutts Awesome and tags in Gunn. Awesome hits a springboard back elbow to gain control and tags in Rhyno. Rhyno works over Gunn in the corner with strikes. Gunn boots Rhyno in the corner followed by a neckbreaker for a two count. Awesome decks Gunn from the apron and Rhyno hits a spinebuster for a two count. Gunn jabs Rhyno several times and delivers a running spear in the corner. Gunn recovers in the corner and avoids a GORE by hitting a forearm smash and both men are down. Awesome tags into the match and Show enters, as well. Show cleans house with strikes and clotheslines. Show tries for a double chokeslam, but settles for a double clothesline. Gunn returns to the match and all four men battle. Awesome hits a belly to belly suplex on Gunn for a two count. Gunn plants Awesome with the Fame-Asser to win the match. After the match, Rhyno GORES Gunn. (*1/2. There wasn’t much to this one, but Awesome got to show some of his ability. Awesome is the kind of talent that should be getting a better focus in this angle considering his ECW success, but his heat with Heyman prevented that from happening.)
Final Thoughts:
Philadelphia is a great crowd as their reactions to the matches made this a better viewing experience than most Metal episodes.
Thanks for reading.