WWF Vengeance (December 2001)

From San Diego, California; Your Hosts are Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler

Opening Match: Christian and Test v Scotty 2 Hotty and Albert: Brawl to start, with the dust settling on Christian and Scotty. Criss cross goes Scotty's way with a drop-toehold, and Christian bails to Test. He tosses Scotty around with ease, so Albert tags in to give us this 'dream' T&A showdown match. They trade shoulderblocks until Scotty tags back in, but he walks right into a clothesline from Test, and caught in a heat segment. Test misses a cross corner charge to allow Scotty a superkick, and he makes the tag to Albert! He's a house of arson to trigger a four-way brawl, and Albert finishes Christian with a Baldo Bomb (no, really, that's the official name) at 6:19. Boring, formula stuff. ¼*

WWF Intercontinental Title Match: Edge v William Regal: Long battle over the initial lockup goes to a stalemate, so Edge simply decks him, and adds a clothesline to set up a 2^nd rope dropkick - leaving the challenger on the outside. Edge follows him out, but gets run into the post, and Regal rolls him in for a clothesline. European uppercuts follow, but Edge counters a full-nelson into a sunset flip - only for Regal to crack him with a knee to block. Edge fires off an inside cradle for a quick two count, but takes a running kneelift for a pair of two counts. Regal with a vertical suplex for two, so Edge snaps off a swinging neckbreaker, and this time manages to follow-up with a clothesline before Regal can cut him off again. Edge-o-Matic is worth two, and a rana off the top gets two. Bridging northern lights suplex for two, and he knocks Regal to the floor for a diving spear off the apron - only for William to sidestep, and Edge to go crashing into the steps. Edge is on dream street, so Regal muscles him back in to cover, but the champ manages to get a foot across the rope at two. Regal with a double-underhook powerbomb for two, but Edge manages to snap off an enzuigiri to leave both men down. Edge manages to get up first, and schoolboys Regal for two, then hooks a backslide for two - only to walk into a closed fist as he tries for another move. Regal delivers two consecutive double-underhook powerbombs for only two to his frustration, so he finds a set of brass knux, but before he can swing with them, Edge surprises him with a spear to retain at 9:09. Far from a classic, but a perfectly decent midcard match, with solid effort from both guys. * ¾

Jeff Hardy v Matt Hardy: Lita acts as the special guest referee. Matt controls the initial lockup with a standing side-headlock, but Jeff counters into a standing hammerlock, so Matt takes him down to win the sequence. Matt with another headlock, but Jeff counters into an armbar, and they trade armdrags as Matt unsuccessfully tries to reverse. He makes the ropes and drives a backelbow, then bodyslams his brother to setup a fistdrop for two. Into the corner, Matt fires off some chops, but Jeff turns the tables, so Matt dives at him with a hangman’s clothesline for two. Sleeper, but Jeff reverses, so Matt side suplexes him - only to miss a 2^nd rope legdrop, and take a sitout jawbreaker. Jeff with a 2^nd rope legdrop of his own for two, but an attempt at a flying moonsault gets him crotched, and stuck in a tree of woe. Matt schoolboys him for two, and tries a sunset bomb out of the ring, but Jeff counters into a rana. Jeff tweaks his knee while attempting to slingshot back into the ring, so Matt chopblocks it, and pounds on the part. Well, that's what you get for doing that fancy flippy-floppy bullshit instead of just walking back in like a normal person. Matt slaps on a poorly executed half-crab, but Jeff makes the ropes - possibly in an attempt to save Matt from more embarrassment by having to be seen applying that hold so badly. Figure four, but Jeff uses his free leg to shove Matt out of the ring, and nails him with a baseball slide. He tries a plancha, but the knee acts up, and he can't execute it - allowing Matt to pounce, but walk into a modified enzuigiri. Slugfest goes Matt's way, but Jeff counters the Twist of Fate into a legdrop to the crotch, and he adds a side suplex to setup the Swanton, but Matt manages to slam him down. Twist of Fate, but Jeff manage to reverse, so Matt counters into a backslide for two. Backdrop, so Jeff sunset flips, but Matt drops down, and grabs the ropes for leverage - only to get caught by Lita. As he protests, Jeff schoolboys him for two, and hits the Swanton for the pin at 12:33. Very disappointing, as people were (understandably) expecting a crazy spotfest, and instead it was just... dull. They were clearly going for the Rockers vibe, but instead of fluid sequences that illustrated that both brothers know each other very well, the sequences came off as sloppy and awkward. * ¾

WWF Tag Team Title Match: The Dudley Boyz v Big Show and Kane: D-Von starts with Kane, and a criss cross ends in Kane hitting a big boot and backdropping the champion. Both guys tag, and Bubba gets tossed around, but manages to avoid the Chokeslam and tag back to D-Von. He takes a sidewalk slam, and Show headbutts him out of the ring for Kane to dive onto with a flying clothesline. That draws Stacy Keibler in, so Show promptly spanks her, but his kinky adventures leave Kane alone for the Boyz to catch in a tandem neckbreaker. They briefly work Kane over, but miss the Death Drop, and Show gets the tag to start a big-and-tall shop of fire! Four-way brawl, but a pair of miscommunications between the challengers allows the Boyz to stungun Show into an exposed turnbuckle to retain at 6:50. Nothing to see here. ¼*

WWF Hardcore Title Match: Rob Van Dam v The Undertaker: Tons of RVD signs in the crowd. Tons. 'Taker tosses him around to start, but gets outmaneuvered into the corner, and pounded with lightning kicks. Flying somersault senton bodyblock gets two, and a spinheel kick is worth two, but an attempt at a standing side-headlock gets him crotched on the top rope, and Undertaker big boots him clear out of the ring. 'Taker follows to post him out there, but a second try gets reversed, and Rob knocks him into the crowd for a brawl. They fight over to the entrance set for RVD to blast him with a fire extinguisher, and Rob rushes up the steps to the bottom of the lower level seats - diving at UT with a flying bodypress for two. Undertaker manages to toss Van Dam into a piece of the set, but Rob blocks the Last Ride, and hits Rolling Thunder for two. Rob adds a chair-assisted dropkick for two, but an attempt at knocking Undertaker off of the stage gets him chokeslammed off and through a table - Undertaker hopping down and scoring the fall off of it at 11:06. It all fell apart for me once they left the ring area, but if you're a fan of these hardcore-style brawls, this is certainly one of the better ones from the period. *

WWF Women's Title Match: Trish Stratus v Jacqueline: They roll around for a bit, until Jacqueline hits a backdrop, and stomps the champette down. Pair of bodyslams follow, but Trish manages a short-clothesline to block a third, then manages to badly botch a cradle. Ugh, that looked terrible. Jacqueline sweeps her and hits another backdrop, then a seated dropkick for two. She goes for the kill, but Trish quickly backslides her to retain at 3:36. Total mess, with tons of blown spots, poor cooperation between the two, and no flow. –¼*

WWF Title Match: Steve Austin v Kurt Angle: The crowd is rabid for this one. Big lockup battle goes to a stalemate, so Austin simply stomps him down, and levels him with chops until Kurt bails. Back in, Kurt quickly goes for the Anklelock, but Steve slugs at him, and counters into a wristlock, then tosses Angle out of the ring. Austin goes to work on the arm with a few shots into the post, and a single-arm DDT on the way back in is worth two. Angle surprises him with a random Anklelock out of nowhere, but Steve makes the ropes to escape, and he backdrops Angle over the top. He tries going after him, but Kurt sweeps him from the floor, and wraps the knee around the post a couple of times to setup a ringpost figure four. Inside, Angle hits an release overhead suplex, followed by three-alarm rolling German suplexes for two. Flying moonsault misses, and Austin dives at him with the Thesz press, followed by a spinebuster for two. Austin delivers a five-alarm rolling German suplex for two, so Kurt fires off a mule kick to avoid a finisher, then hits the Olympic Slam for two. Stunner, but Stone Cold reverses into the real thing baby, and retains at 15:01. Fine, but certainly nowhere near some of their earlier matches, and it just felt kinda 'there.' * ¾

WCW World Title Match: The Rock v Chris Jericho: Weird Jeff Hardy hairdo for Jericho here. Rock wins the initial lockup with a standing side-headlock, and wins a criss cross with a pair of armdrags into an armbar. Jericho counters into a side-headlock, but loses a criss cross, and gets cross corner whipped into a lariat. Chris fires back with a spinheel kick to put the champ on the outside, then follows with a springboard dropkick before rolling Rocky back in for a flying backelbow. That gets two, so Jericho adds a vertical suplex, but gets cocky, and takes a jumping clothesline for two. Rock with a release overhead suplex and a Samoan drop for two, so Jericho tries a sleeper - Rock fading. The arm drops twice, but Jericho cuts off a comeback with a backelbow, and adds a bulldog to setup the lionsault for two. Chris with a snap suplex, but a flying bodypress gets rolled through for two, and they spill out to the floor, where Chris manages to drop him across the rail, then add a slingshot into the post. He tries a uranage through the announce table, but gets countered into a DDT through it instead! Inside, Rock goes for Bottom, but Jericho counters into the Breakdown, and adds a senton splash. He tries a People's Elbow, but Rock counters into a sharpshooter - only to get quickly reversed by his challenger! Man, a lot of nods to Bret Hart on this show, between the sharpshooters and the ringpost figure fours. Rock gets the ropes to break, so Chris decides to slap on the Walls, but Rock inside cradles him for two, and quickly follows with the Rock Bottom. That draws Vince McMahon out to distract the referee from counting the pin, and Rock lets off to go deal with him. He still manages a spinebuster to setup the Elbow on his challenger, but gets distracted by Vince again, and Chris manages a low blow to setup a uranage for the title at 19:04. Not as good as the No Mercy match, but still well worked, and exciting. ** ½

Main Event: Unification Match: WWF Title v WCW World Title: Steve Austin v Chris Jericho: Kinda weird that they threw away the biggest potential unification match in history for the December show. I mean, I get that they were trying to boost business during a dead zone on the calendar, but in what world is this not the built up to be the main event of WrestleMania? So, anyway, Austin heads right down to capitalize on Jericho's weakened state, but Angle is back to attack him - the bell sounding with both men looking up at the lights. Jericho manages to get the best of it by getting an arm across Steve's chest for two, and he manages a running forearm smash to setup some mounted punches. Jericho stays on him in the corner, but takes a spear, and Austin returns the favor with some mounted punches of his own. He unloads a series of turnbuckle smashes, and they spill to the floor for Austin to unload chops. He introduces Jericho to the post, but wastes time exposing the concrete, and Jericho clotheslines him, then slaps on the Walls aboard the Spanish announce table. Austin escapes and manages a snap suplex out there, then rolls Chris back in - where Steve promptly misses a corner charge and hurts his shoulder. Jericho capitalizes by ramming it into the post a couple of times, but misses a dropkick, and Steve sends him into the turnbuckle with a slingshot for two. Jericho grabs the arm for a fujiwara armbar, but gets caught using the ropes for leverage, and the referee forces a break. Chris with a snap suplex, but he gets gut-punched while trying a flying axehandle, and Austin unleashes chops in the corner. Backdrop, but Jericho counters into the Walls, but Steve's in the ropes. Jericho responds by diving at him with a forearm, but Steve ducks, and Chris ends up taking out the referee with it instead. Oh shit. That allows Austin to hit a backelbow, but Chris blows him low, and hits a stunner - no referee to count. That draws Vince McMahon out again to bring a handpicked official in, but Ric Flair shows up to put the brakes on that - still looking good and healthy compared to how he'd look by the end of his run. He and Vince brawl as Austin manages to blow Jericho low, and he catches Chris with a Thesz press into a pointed elbowdrop. Jericho desperately tries a 2^nd rope dropkick, but Steve counters into his own version of the Walls, but now Booker T runs in to break it up with a title belt shot, and Jericho scores the fall off of it at 12:37 - becoming the unified world champion. Eh. Historical significance aside, this was massively overbooked in all the worst, Russo-ish ways, where they really needed a good clean finish. I mean, come on, it's not like you've got feuding promoters who can't agree on a finish like most unification matches, and they have to do a screwy ending to keep all sides happy. Boo! * ¾

BUExperience: Certainly historically significant for the big title unification, but really, all the big matches from this card were done better elsewhere during this same period, and there’s no reason to bother with this show.

DUD