World Wrestling Federation presents Metal
Date: 9/8/2001
MATCH #1: JUSTIN CREDIBLE VS. BILLY GUNN
FINISH: Gunn wins following the Fame-Asser.
Bob’s Take: Early on, Credible sends Gunn into the corner, but Gunn landed on Credible’s groin. Snow mentions a ‘man of war’ as a joke on Credible for his Aldo Montoya character, which could be lost on others. Credible nearly wins following a superkick. Just moments later, Gunn finished off Credible with the Fame-Asser. Gunn sold his left arm very well to the point I had to check to see if he missed any time and he did not. It’s amazing how poorly Credible is seen in the WWF after being the top heel in ECW just last year. I guess in the WWF world he’ll always just be.. Aldo Montoya.
Match Rating: *1/2
MATCH #2: SCOTTY 2 HOTTY VS. CHUCK PALUMBO
FINISH: Hotty finishes off Palumbo with a springboard DDT.
Bob’s Take: Visually, there’s no reason to suggest that Hotty would have a shot in hell to win here. Hotty naturally controls the early portion of the match and arm drags Palumbo among other basic holds. Palumbo stops Hotty with a back suplex to display his power advantage. Palumbo hit a nice overhead belly to belly suplex, too. Hotty tried for the bulldog leading to the WORM, but Palumbo avoided it once, but not a second time. Hotty using the springboard DDT is a strong finisher than the WORM ever would be. It’s a forgettable match, but it’s another instance where the Alliance should be winning.
Match Rating: *
MATCH #3: WWF LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION X-PAC VS. CHAVO GUERRERO JR.
FINISH: Pac finishes Guerrero off with the X-Factor.
Bob’s Take: It kind of blows my mind that X-Pac is regulated to WWF Metal in 2001 as that’s how deep the roster is this point. Early on, they avoid each others offense until Pac delivered a dragon screw leg whip. Guerrero responded with a dropkick. Guerrero head scissors Pac to the floor and hit a slingshot crossbody to the floor. Pac cuts off Guerrero by knocking Chavo off the top rope and hit the bronco buster. Pac delivered nice spin kicks. Guerrero almost rolls through a top rope crossbody for a pin. Pac is one of the few WWF wrestlers who continues to get heel heat despite the Alliance existing. This was a fine match and Pac looked great.
Match Rating: **
MAIN EVENT: RAVEN & TOMMY DREAMER VS. KAIENTAI
FINISH: Raven spikes Funaki with the Raven Effect for the win.
Bob’s Take: Kaientai gets the early advantage on Dreamer and Raven by hitting a crossbody/dropkick combo and Taka dives off the top to the floor onto them. Dreamer clotheslines Funaki on the floor to gain the advantage for his team. Dreamer rammed Funaki into the post. Raven drives his knee into Funaki’s neck from the middle rope. Dreamer plants Funaki with a Sky High, but can’t get a three. Terri actually gets involved taking Funaki out with a top rope crossbody! Funaki battles back with a head scissors on Raven and Taka got the hot tag. Taka spinning heel kicks Raven. Funaki bulldogs Raven and Dreamer is double teamed in the corner. Moments later, Taka is dumped to the floor and Raven finished off Funaki. Not a bad match, and I was shocked that Terri got involved on Metal of all shows. As someone who knows the ECW lore, it is a bit odd to see Raven and Dreamer teaming considering their history, but it’s WWF and we ignore that here, folks.
Match Rating: *1/2
Booker T is the special guest on WWF Heat tomorrow night.
Final Thoughts:
A bland episode this week, but it was fun seeing X-Pac in action and that was enjoyable. But, this is probably an episode that could be skipped.
Thanks for reading.