World Wrestling Federation presents Heat
Date: 9/2/2001
From: Detroit, MI
Michael Cole and Al Snow host the show from WWF New York. Tazz is the special guest this week on Heat.
MATCH #1: TAKA MICHINOKU VS. CHAVO GUERRERO JR.
FINISH: Chavo wins following a middle rope sit out suplex.
Bob’s Take: Chavo is using music that I’ve never heard him use ever before. I feel like he had been using Eddie’s old WCW theme. Taka keeps wrist control on Chavo to gain the advantage and kicks Chavo away. Taka’s offense is arm dragged focus in the early portions of the bout. Chavo stopped Taka with a quick powerbomb. Taka nails Chavo with a superkick. Taka hit a springboard spinning heel kick and a quick dropkick for a good sequence. Chavo comes back with a sit out suplex off the middle rope to win the bout. The finish almost felt a little abrupt since Taka had been dominating the match it felt like. However, it was a fine bout with competitive action.
Match Rating: **
MATCH #2: HUGH MORRUS VS. HARDCORE HOLLY
FINISH: Holly finishes Morrus off with the Alabama Slam.
Bob’s Take: Holly has the early advantage with hip tosses and kept arm control. Morrus stops Holly with a flapjack to gain control of the bout followed by a clothesline. Morrus knocks Holly to the floor and they traded blows until Holly is sent into the ring post. Holly takes Morrus off the top with a nice superplex. Holly delivers a beautiful dropkick for a near fall. Moments later, Holly plants Morrus with the Alabama Slam. A fine encounter, but Holly stood out considerably compared to Morrus. I don’t think Holly plays any significant part of the InVasion angle, which is kind of a shame.
Match Rating: *1/2
Tazz is working the merch table and is trying to sell his shirts to fans instead of WWF merch. Tazz bullies the fans into giving him money but not any merch.
MATCH #3: BILLY GUNN VS. SHAWN STASIAK
FINISH: Stasiak accidentally knocks Keibler off the apron and that allowed Gunn to hit the Fame-Asser for the win.
Bob’s Take: Stasiak survives the early offense of Gunn that included a dropkick to deliver a flapjack to start his segment of control. Stasiak continues with a leaping elbow strike for a near fall. Stasiak pulls off a modified F5, but didn’t go for a cover and instead missed a crossbody off the top. Gunn hit a tilt a whirl slam and almost won after a cobra clutch slam. The crowd erupted for the Fame-Asser and I’m thinking it’s because they truly disliked Stasiak. There’s not much to this match, but there was some solid action to hold interest.
Match Rating: *1/2
Tazz joins the show on the stage to be interviewed. Tazz asks if Al Snow thinks he can kick his ass because he’s taller than him. Cole thinks it’s fun to be on the stage with his current and former co-host. Snow thinks Heat is a fantastic show. Tazz notes that Snow is only there because he decided to join the Alliance. Tazz promises that Snow won’t be on Heat when the Alliance takes over. Tazz suggests Snow gives him a hug that he didn’t get earlier. Tazz gets annoyed by footage of Snow working with the trainees and not him kicking their butts on Tough Enough. Snow decides to leave the segment, but Tazz calls him a bitch for walking away. Snow gets in Tazz face, but security gets involved to keep them apart. When Snow gets back to commentary he promises to kick Tazz’s ass.
MAIN EVENT: MATT HARDY VS. CHUCK PALUMBO
FINISH: Hardy avoids Palumbo in the corner and manages to win with a rollup. After the match, Palumbo attacks Hardy from behind. Palumbo lays out Hardy with a superkick.
Bob’s Take: Hardy hit a top rope crossbody early on, but Palumbo got control on the floor by dropping Hardy over the barricade. Palumbo hit a nice overhead belly to belly suplex. Hardy fights back with a reverse DDT to counter a slam attempt. Hardy almost wins after a middle rope leg drop. The finish is not all that great, but the aftermath puts some heat on Palumbo. I think these are the kinds of matches that Alliance members should be winning. Palumbo looked okay here.
Match Rating: *1/2
Final Thoughts:
A bit of an underwhelming show for in-ring action as none of the matches were something I was interested in to begin with this week. The most notable segment was the heated confrontation between Tazz and Al Snow. This is a skippable episode.
Thanks for reading.