JANUARY 13TH — ROSEMONT, IL — ALLSTATE ARENA
THE HELMSLEY’S ADDRESS RIGHTING THE WRONGS; CACTUS JACK RETURNS
CONTEXT: WWF World Champion Triple H and Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley make their way out to start the program. Stephanie can’t get a word out at first as the fans are booing her loudly. She wants to clarify a misunderstanding. Stephanie says none of the WWF superstars are leaving the company and declares they have righted the wrongs. She admits they are confused as to why any of the wrestlers would threaten to leave as they can always talk to them. Stephanie insists they are fair. Stephanie reminds us that there is only one McMahon running the company and that is her. She also happens to be married to the WWF World Champion, Triple H. HHH says after Monday he feels the need to apologize, but not to any of the fans or any of the wrestlers who threatened to leave the company. HHH says the wrestlers don’t understand the sacrifices they put out there every week for the wrestlers. HHH declares he’s the champion for the wrestlers and for the fans. HHH does make apologies to DX and admits he was wrong. HHH tried to fix his mistakes with tough love and did to them what he would want them to do to him. HHH is going to show how sorry he is to them tonight. HHH is going to start with the New Age Outlaws. HHH books the Outlaws in a handicap match against Bradshaw in a no disqualification match where if Faarooq interferes the Acolytes lose their title shot at Rumble. HHH notes that Faarooq will compete against the Outlaws in the same match stipulation. HHH notes that X-Pac is like a brother to him and thus tonight they will team up to wrestle The Rock and Big Show in the main event. HHH turns his attention to Mick Foley. HHH says Foley is wrong to think he had HHH against a wall. HHH brags about beating Foley in the middle of the ring and leaving him in a puddle of his own blood. HHH says what Foley experienced on Monday is a small taste of what he’ll experience at the Rumble. HHH is confident that he’ll beat Foley worse than he’s ever been beaten. HHH knows Foley is in the arena and says they don’t need to wait for the Rumble. HHH will finish Foley tonight.
Foley’s music hits and Foley makes his way out to the aisle. Wait a minute, it’s the fake Mankind. ‘Mankind’ collapses to the mat and apologizes to HHH for having to kick his butt on Monday and praises HHH. HHH calls ‘Mankind’ the most pathetic person he’s ever seen in his life.
The actual Mick Foley makes his way out to the aisle and is still wearing the bloody shirt from Monday. Foley tells HHH he’s had enough. Foley asks if this is what HHH gets off on by making fun of him. Foley talks about HHH taking his pride and dignity from him. Foley notes that he took a shower and watched the blood go down the drain, and it made him think about what Mankind was. Mankind is an entertaining son of a gun and a damn good author. Mankind is a tough SOB and one hell of a fighter. It saddens him to say is that Mankind isn’t ready to fight HHH in a street fight at MSG. Foley puts over HHH as being the best in the business right now while Mankind is a beaten up pathetic fool. Mankind thinks the fans deserve a subsuite for the match. Foley takes off his mask and removes his shirt to reveal a Cactus Jack shirt! HHH is stunned. HHH looks terrified. Cactus Jack enters the ring and trades strikes with HHH managing to get the advantage. ‘Mankind’ enters with a chair and hits Jakc over the back, but Jack isn’t bothered by it. Jack tosses ‘Mankind’ to the floor as HHH has escaped with Stephanie. Jack baseball slides ‘Mankind’ onto the announcers table and delivers a running chair shot off the apron. HHH and Stephanie stare at Cactus with a look of worry from the aisle. Cactus says HHH is going to make him bleed and says it will not be the first nor the last because he has a lot of blood to give. Cactus promises to tear HHH apart in NYC. Cactus will take the WWF World Championship.
Bob’s Take: I loved this. Cactus Jack returning to challenge HHH at NYC instead of Mankind adds a bunch of interest into the match. Foley has a unique ability to portray different characters. Mankind may have been seen as an underdog and unlikely to beat HHH for the title. However, now Cactus Jack is back after a near two year hiatus and he’s the kind of character that is in his element for a street fight and a serious threat to HHH. HHH sold this wonderfully as his facials showing fear and worry regarding Cactus played very well for the match. Helmsley lost to Cactus at MSG in September ’97, so there’s a connection there that HHH hasn’t been able to beat Cactus in the past. Can he do it with the biggest prize on the line? This was great and well worth the twenty minutes or so they gave it. 1 for 1
MATCH #1: WWF TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS NEW AGE OUTLAWS VS. BRADSHAW — HANDICAP, NO DISQUALIFICATION
FINISH: Dogg whacks Bradshaw over the head with a chair shot and the Outlaws pin Bradshaw for the win.
Bob’s Take: At first, I thought the Outlaws were going to lose the match because Bradshaw does come across as a force even in a handicap environment. I like the Outlaws winning here since they have a clear advantage and they are the tag champions. It would be a little counter productive to have the Outlaws lose in this kind of match. I enjoyed the match, though. 2 for 2
THE ROCK INTERVIEW
CONTEXT: Coach chats with Rock backstage. Rock does his usual catchphrase. Rock asks Coach who he is, and Coach introduces himself. Rock welcomes Coach to the WWF and to his show, Smackdown. Coach tells Rock his nickname is Coach. Rock jokes about the nickname before talking about the tag match tonight. Rock doesn’t care who his tag partner is tonight as long as he gets his hands on HHH. Rock puts over Big Show as a great partner due to his success. Rock asks how Coach got his nickname and promptly tells him it doesn’t matter. Rock finishes off with his catchphrase to end the segment.
Bob’s Take: This is Coach’s debut on WWF TV and this is just the beginning of the harassment he’ll endure thanks to The Rock. Rock is entertaining and I feel like it will be a rare occurrence for his promos to not deliver entertainment at this point in his career. 3 for 3
MATCH #2: AL SNOW & THE HOLLYS VS. RIKISHI & TOO COOL
FINISH: Rikishi pins Crash following the Rikishi Driver. After the match, Snow hits Crash and Hardcore with Head. Snow is pissed because he’s been letdown again.
Bob’s Take: Not too bad for a quick six man tag match. I wasn’t expecting a clean finish, but Crash eating the pin makes sense. Rikishi has been in the company for a short time, but is getting a lot of momentum and the act of Too Cool as a trio is connecting well with the audience. A simple and effective six man tag. 4 for 4
HELMSLEY’S PRAISE THE OUTLAWS
CONTEXT: Hunter and Stephanie sit down with the New Age Outlaws and praise them. HHH asks if they’ve seen X-Pac, but they haven’t seen him.
Bob’s Take: Looks like a tease that X-Pac isn’t onboard with the Helmsley’s. There was a period of time in 1999 where X-Pac was super popular, but his turn on Kane made him a bonafide heel moving forward, so I don’t think a babyface turn is logical. 4 for 5
MATCH #3: TEST VS. GANGREL
FINISH: Luna Vachon pulled the referee out of the ring and delivered a strike before attacking Test causing the disqualification. After the match, Test slams Luna and does the same to Gangrel. Test leaps off the top to elbow drop Gangrel.
Bob’s Take: Test actually got a rather decent face reaction upon his entrance despite a clear shift down the card in recent weeks since Helmsley stole his girlfriend. There wasn’t much to this one and I’m a bit surprised Test wouldn’t have just won this cleanly and continued on with his life. 4 for 6
THE CO-INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONS SQUASH THEIR BEEF?
CONTEXT: Jericho meets with Chyna and The Kat. Chyna wants to tell Jericho that she’s not upset and would have rather Jericho be on her team instead of turning on her. Chyna wants to work together and move forward. Chyna offers a hand and Jericho accepts the apology.
Bob’s Take: There’s no chance this is going to be a formation of them as a team. Chyna is going to screw Jericho to get revenge. 5 for 7
MATCH #4: THE HARDY BOYS VS. PRINCE ALBERT & BIG BOSSMAN
FINISH: Jeff dropkicks Bossman into Albert leading to a rollup and pin. After the match, Bossman decks the Hardy’s and brawls with Albert at ringside. Albert and Bossman forearm officials as they continue to brawl and seemingly have broken up as a team.
Bob’s Take: I was feeling like Albert and Bossman were a bit of an odd pairing, so this split isn’t a bad idea. The match was okay and the spotlighted the Hardy’s fairly well as they are a fun high flying centric duo. 6 for 8
THE BIG SHOW INTERVIEW
CONTEXT: Earlier tonight, Lilian Garcia talked with Big Show. Show is excited about tonight because he can get his hands on HHH. Show is a bit upset about not getting a rematch with HHH and is mad about X-Pac bragging about beating him recently even though it took a chair shot and DX. Show took Rock’s comments personally because he’s not a jabroni. Show dismisses the notion that Rock is going to win the Rumble and is confident he’ll throw Rock into the seventh row. Show is a professional and he’ll be Rock’s partner, but makes it known that he doesn’t like the Rock.
Bob’s Take: Show has some valid points about not getting a rematch and has a logical gripe with Rock’s comments. Show not liking Rock and admitting to it could be a tease that Rock is going to be getting laid out tonight. 7 for 9
CHYNA HAS BAD NEWS FOR TORI
CONTEXT: Chyna runs up to Tori backstage and has something bad to tell Tori. Chyna walks off with Tori to tell her the bad news.
Bob’s Take: Tori is probably going to make this bad news a lot worse. 8 for 10
MATCH #5: EDGE & CHRISTIAN VS. KURT ANGLE & STEVE BLACKMAN
NOTE: Val Venis appears on the big screen with a kendo stick to distract Blackman.
FINISH: Christian dropkicks Blackman into a rollup by Edge for the win. After the match, Angle expresses his frustration with Blackman losing.
Bob’s Take: Venis appearing on the big screen to cause the finish was a bit weird. I don’t care for a Venis vs. Blackman feud, but I don’t see that being the case here. The match wasn’t all that good, though Angle is clearly very good already. 8 for 11
CHYNA HAS BAD NEWS FOR TORI — CONTINUED
CONTEXT: Chyna and Tori are sitting backstage. Chyna hasn’t even told Miss Kitty the news because it’s a bit embarrassing. Chyna can’t stand being around Jericho, but claims that Jericho is talking about Tori and has a fantasy about Tori in a flight attendant uniform. Tori gets anxious and isn’t comfortable. Tori leaves the room to likely tell Kane. Chyna is proud of herself.
Bob’s Take: Yeah, what a shocking development that Chyna would get her co-champion in danger. Tori plays the role of an anxious person rather well, but I don’t care much for this Chyna/Jericho dynamic. 8 for 12
MATCH #6: WWF TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS NEW AGE OUTLAWS VS. FAAROOQ — HANDICAP — NO DISQUALIFICATION
FINISH: Outlaws double pin Faarooq after a knee drop by Dogg. After the match, Bradshaw runs down with a pipe to scare the champs from the ring.
Bob’s Take: Well, that was significantly worse than the other handicap match. Faarooq lost to a knee drop essentially. That kind of took away from his badass persona for me. 8 for 13
THE HELMSLEY’S PRAISE OUTLAWS AGAIN; BUT WHERE IS X-PAC?
CONTEXT: HHH and Stephanie praise the Outlaws again. HHH asks again if they’ve seen X-Pac, but Gunn notes they’ve been kind of busy today.
Bob’s Take: I’m not buying the dissension. 8 for 14
MATCH #7: THE HEADBANGERS VS. D’LO BROWN & THE GODFATHER
NOTE: During the Headbangers entrance, the number 13 and orange lighting appears on the screen with a voice saying “the mood is about to change.”
FINISH: D’Lo pins Thrasher following the Lo Down.
Bob’s Take: It’s kind of funny that the only difference in D’Lo Brown’s presentation is that he’s wearing a vest to signify he’s a pimp associate. It’s a mostly one-sided encounter. I kinda like the duo of D’Lo and Godfather. This is just a forgettable bout, though. 8 for 15
BIG SHOW & THE ROCK INTERVIEW
CONTEXT: Coach is standing with the Rock and Big Show backstage. Show tells Rock he doesn’t care about what he’s got to say. Show tells Rock that he doesn’t like him and just needs Rock to be his partner and stay out of his way. Rock raises his eyebrow as Show walked off. Rock says Show will never be the People’s Champion. Rock is going to give HHH the back of his hand while X-Pac gets the front side.
Bob’s Take: Rock and Show are not going to get along and that’s likely going to cost them. I feel like we’re just filling airtime by having these guys in another interview segment. 8 for 16
MATCH #8: WWF INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPION CHRIS JERICHO VS. KANE — NON-TITLE
NOTE: Jericho cut a promo before the match saying Tori is a liar and this is all Chyna’s doing. Jericho tells Kane that Tori is not attractive and says someone would have to be half-retarded, but doesn’t mean Kane is a retard. Jericho didn’t help himself here, folks.
FINISH: Kane finishes Jericho off with a tombstone
Bob’s Take: It shouldn’t be a surprise that Kane destroyed Jericho here, though Jericho did put up a bit of a fight. Kane is a dominate force, and I dig it. This was just mostly an angle for Jericho/Chyna’s dynamic, though. 8 for 17
X-PAC SHOWS UP; HHH APOLOGIZES
CONTEXT: X-Pac has shown up and sits on the couch as HHH apologizes to him. Stephanie also apologizes, but Pac doesn’t want to hear from Stephanie. Pac tells HHH he rolls with him, but doesn’t want to hear from Stephanie. Pac wants to know what is going to benefit him. HHH tells Pac to trust him on this and wants Pac to trust him.
Bob’s Take: Something is up with HHH saying to trust him. I like Pac not caring to trust Stephanie, but he’s loyal to his best friend. 9 for 18
MAIN EVENT: WWF WORLD CHAMPION TRIPLE H & X-PAC VS. THE BIG SHOW & THE ROCK
FINISH: Late in the match, Show short arms Rock on a tag attempt and walks out on Rock. HHH low blows Rock and delivers the Pedigree to win the match. After the match, Show plants Rock with a chokeslam.
Bob’s Take: It’s not a surprising heel turn, but I’d say it’s a right move for Show’s career. At this point, he’s a distant third behind Rock and Cactus. I’d even say he’s potentially behind Kane as a fourth top babyface. With a heel turn, Show is essentially only behind Triple H, but Kurt Angle is on the rise and could be a number two within a short amount of time. The match held my interest despite being an angle for the most part. I’m glad there was a finish instead of a DQ or anything along those lines. 10 for 19
The undercard in the WWF is a low point for the company. I’d say the main event scene is absolutely carrying the company heading into the Royal Rumble. Cactus Jack returning to challenge Triple H at the Rumble in a street fight is likely must-see and a great switch from Mankind.
I’m not feeling the dynamic between co-WWF IC Champions Chris Jericho and Chyna. It’s a feud that isn’t catching my interest, but it’s been a focus on the shows lately. I think they can’t wait to cut bait on the angle at Rumble and move them into different feuds.
Big Show heel turn is the right move, but I don’t think he’s going to be directly associated with HHH. Show feels like he dislikes everyone and right now his focus would be on Rock in order to get back at HHH anyway. Rock is Show’s biggest roadblock from getting a title rematch (aside from Cactus).
1/13 WWF Smackdown TV Rating: 5.0
Thanks for reading.