WWE SummerSlam 2001

RATING LEVELS:

Curt Hennig – A “GOAT” show, as Perfect as possible

Watch It – A consistently good show worth watching in its entirety

Watch It…With Remote in Hand – 3 or more above-average ratings

High Risk Maneuver – Mostly filler, inessential, but 1-2 good matches

DUDleyville – Zero redeeming qualities, chore to watch

SummerSlam 2001 - August 2001

San Jose, California

COMMENTATORS: Jim Ross and Paul Heyman

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: The Alliance's Steve Austin is the reigning WWE World Champion while Booker T holds the WCW World Championship. Lance Storm (also of the Alliance) is the Intercontinental Champion while Kanyon (also Alliance) holds the US Championship. The APA were the WWE Tag Team Champions, but lost the straps to Kanyon and DDP (of the Alliance) two weeks before this event. On the Team WWE side of things, Jeff Hardy came into the event as Hardcore Champion, The Undertaker and Kane held the WCW Tag Team Championships, X-Pac was the WCW Cruiserweight Champion, and Tajiri was the WWE Light-Heavyweight Champion.

Drowning Pool's classic "Let The Bodies Hit The Floor" opens the show up. I loathe this song and, unfortunately, the WWE opted to play a vast majority of it, with their own footage edited into the actual music video. I'm going to be nice and not include negative points in the rating for this. 

In the opening contest, Lance Storm defends his title against Edge. These two have natural chemistry in the ring and, with such a giving opponent, Storm is able to show off an impressive offensive arsenal for the first half. He makes everything look fluid and purposeful and this isn't missed by Heyman on commentary, who puts him over strong. When the counters and nearfalls come in, the crowd is very much into things, but  I do think the final minute suffers from overbooking. There is a meaningless run-in and further teasing of Edge's next major rivalry, but this match didn't need the extra storyline elements or the contrived "ballroom dancing" of the final 10 seconds. (2.5/5)

Test is in the back with the Dudleys, talking about why he turned on the WWE and joined The Alliance. He cuts a promo on Spike Dudley and Molly Holly. Then its Jericho's turn, speaking with Lillian Garcia about Rhyno...but, really, about Stephanie McMahon and her trampy ways. Typical filler.

Spike Dudley and the APA vs. Test and the Dudleys is next. While I wasn't necessarily super excited about this match, it did win me over - the action is stiff, watching Spike get tossed around is always fun, and Test wasn't nearly as terrible as I thought he'd be. I wouldn't call this a classic or anything, but thanks to Bradshaw connecting with an awesome powerbomb, a good table spot, and Shane-O Mac making an appearance, there's no time to get bored with things. This match is almost the polar opposite of the opening contest, which told a good story through wrestling alone. Instead, this one is all about "toys" and extra characters and it largely works. (2/5)

WWE Light-Heavyweight Champion, Tajiri, challenges WCW Cruiserweight Champion, X-Pac, in a Title vs. Title match next. I thoroughly enjoyed Tajiri's match against Tazz at the previous month's InVasion PPV, so I went into this one with high hopes. The majority of this match is really, really good, with both men pulling out a variety of maneuvers that few could do better or at all. Pac locks in a brutal surfboard at one point, while Tajiri delivers a pinfall combo that I must admit to never having seen before. Unfortunately, instead of getting 5 more minutes of pulse-pounding action and a definitive finish, we get yet another run-in on a show where we've already seen two of em'. Such a sad ending to what would probably be a 3.5-to-4 star match if it just been given more time and a less disappointing conclusion. (3/5)

Saturn is at WWE New York searching for his mop.

Before their match, we get a video package hyping the rivalry between Chris Jericho and Stephanie McMahon's man-beast Rhyno. In the ring, the action is fast-paced and well-executed and both guys work hard. Still, this match just doesn't have enough heat or even Stephanie involvement to make it an "epic." There is a very good false finish towards the end worth watching out for. A good match, but nothing more. (2.5/5)

The Hardcore Championship is on the line with Rob Van Dam challenging Jeff Hardy, who had been feuding and trading the title back-and-forth a bit since InVasion. This is a ladder match, but like their InVasion bout, they wisely start things off with straight-forward wrestling in the center of the ring, making the audience wait for the inevitable big spots. The wait isn't long, with Hardy connecting on an excellent springboard maneuver to the outside. When the ladder gets introduced, we get a series of spots that some might criticize for being a bit contrived, but if you're looking for subtlety in a hardcore ladder match between Jeff Hardy and Rob Van Dam, you are looking in the wrong place anyway. While the fans in attendance wanted this one to be an all-time great ladder match, and Van Dam and Hardy obviously take some very big bumps, the match suffers from not having anything more to its story than two daredevils doing progressively more dangerous stunts. At no point does either man seem to have any strategy beyond popping the crowd. It is noticeable that neither man necessarily gets cheered in the match as much as their spots do. This is not to say that this isn't a fun watch, but it certainly doesn't make for one that will pull in viewers' emotions. (3/5)

Kane and The Undertaker take on DDP and Kanyon in a cage match next. This one was designed to unify the World Tag Team Championships as well as put an end to the long-running and insanely idiotic DDP/Undertaker feud. As one-sided as one might expect, the teams run out of things to do after the first 4 minutes, then proceed to just have DDP get tortured with chokeslams and tackles into the cage walls. The last minute is particularly lame (for example, what's with the chain that gets all of one use despite Taker making a big deal of bringing it into the match?), but at least it ends without interference. I'm not sure this match could've been better - tag matches in cages are tough and this was meant to be more of a bloodletting than a contest - but I do wish it had featured a more engaging story with some more thought-out high spots. (2/5)

Kurt Angle arrives next to challenge WWE World Champion, Steve Austin. The brawling begins right away, with Angle and Austin getting right into it on the entrance ramp before the bell can even ring. The action gets very good quickly, with Angle delivering a series of suplexes that obviously takes a ton out of both guys. From there, Austin gets the upperhand and bloodies Angle on the outside, which leads to a series of near-falls that help build the story and bring us to a final 3-5 minutes that are just pure gold. Austin's viciousness is really pronounced as he wrestles with more ferocity than he ever seemed to as a babyface. To his credit, Angle plays the underdog just as expertly and the crowd is wholly behind him. Unfortunately, what prevents this match from being an all-time classic is the last 10 seconds, a screwjob finish that effectively makes this match difficult to recommend and almost impossible to ever want to rewatch. (4/5)

The main event is upon us - WCW World Champion, Booker T vs. The Rock. This match was promoted as the return of the Rock, who had last competed at WrestleMania XVII, falling victim to Austin's historic heel turn and alliance with Vince McMahon. Very back-and-forth from the first minute, with both guys trading blows inside and outside of the ring, this one is not as technical as Angle/Austin, which did a better job of mixing in a variety of suplexes and submissions. Rock and Booker do a good job of playing up the parallels between their characters, though. As was always one of his strengths, the Rock does an admirable job of making Booker look like a main event-level talent with his selling and kickouts, but when The Great One gets on a roll, its obvious that his star shines just a bit brighter than his opponent and that there really was never a question as to who would be leaving with the belt. Ultimately, the predicability of the outcome undermines the match and prevents it from achieving epic status, though, it is not as if either man took a night off. (3.5/5)

With an average match rating of 2.81-out-of-5, SummerSlam 2001 was not a home run for the WWE, but it wasn't a pop out either. The two main events are better than average, but not all-time classics. The worst two matches on the card (the Tag Team Titles match and six-man tag) are passable, no worse than mediocre. Storm/Edge and XPac/Tajiri are borderline great. So why does this show's score seem so low? The answer is the finishes. With so much outside interference in the first half of the card, by the time we get to the main events, the surprise nature of run-ins is ruined. Multiple times during the show a babyface is screwed by blind or battered referees. With no single match that I would strongly recommend, but no low point so staggering that it ruins the entire event, this one is recommended for die-hards only, those so enamored with the InVasion angle that they'd be willing to wade through a tedious show to enjoy a few of high points.

FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver