Friday, June 22, 2001

The World's Greatest WWF King of the Ring 2001 Preview

It's been a genuinely exciting time to be a WWF fan over the course of this past month, with the elevation of the Canadians Chris, the Free-TV TLC match, several shows in front of an always entertaining Canuck audience and a white hot Steve Austin dominating the promotion's programming. That's why it surprises me so to see a card so full of white space just three days before the first bell is set to toll. While the main event story has been told magnificently, several feuds have gone without a blowoff or simply floated off into nothingness. Who's Kane going to defend his Intercontinental Title against, and why are we going to care about the end result? What about Matt Hardy and his European Title? Test and the Hardcore gold? The upward motion from the midcard has been a thing of beauty lately, but the rest of the roster has been shut out in the cold, so to speak.

Certainly, we'll see more than one match added to this lineup before bell time. However, it'll be up to the workers and the short term build to interest the crowd. Not a good position to be in.

Jeff Hardy vs. X-Pac
Light Heavyweight Championship Match

I think we'll end up with a neat, tidy little battle here. It's been built quite loosely, with X-Pac leading a series of assaults over the last couple weeks, but nothing of a reason's been given. I see it as something of a step down for the so-called "leader" of X-Factor to be taking on Jeff Hardy, while his brother remains unchallenged for the more highly regarded European title. It's becoming more and more obvious that X-Pac's failing as a stable master, but that won't keep us from seeing some fireworks here. Waltman had a nice clean fight with Eddy Guerrero a few weeks back, so I see no reason why we wouldn't get a repeat performance here. Jeff retains, for the same reasons Dave introduced above.
Winner: Jeff Hardy

Kurt Angle vs. Christian
King of the Ring Tournament Semifinal

I think Angle's attempt at another KOTR reign is absolutely appropriate and fits into his character flawlessly. I was surprised when he won it last year and I'll be surprised if he wins it again here, but I'd be lying if I said it doesn't work. Angle's been the single most quickly elevated superstar in WWF history, and another victory at the King of the Ring could start the ball to the top rolling once again. Along with Stone Cold Steve Austin, Angle's the only upper card heel the WWF's got, and they need to re-establish him quickly to build toward a new feud at the top in the near future. A strong showing here would pretty much seal that deal. Christian's good, but he's not ready to go over Angle. Not yet.
Winner: Kurt Angle

Edge vs. Rhyno
King of the Ring Tournament Semifinal

I don't think it's out of hand at all to call this match the "real" KOTR finals, as I think whichever man comes out on top in this one is going all the way to royalty later in the night. Both Edge and Rhyno are right on the verge of breaking through as a solid new face on the scene, and an upset victory over Kurt Angle in the finals would provide that all-important last little push toward establishment. I like what Dave mentioned about the competition between the Gore and the Spear, and with the WWF's continued recognition of Edge's maneuver (don't think it was coincidence E&C were discussing it during Raw), I think the fed's already got that little comparison planned.

What we'll see in the ring here is a good, physical, story. Rhyno recently realigned himself as a heel, turning on the Suicide Blondes this past Thursday on Smackdown, and I think that action alone may cost him. Edge has really gone lengths to establish his character in the past few months, and I think there's no doubt he's the field leader of the team with Christian. The time seems just about right for his breakthrough performance... I think Sunday Night's the place.
Winner: Edge

Edge vs. Kurt Angle
King of the Ring Tournament Finals

Well, I pretty much gave away my prediction for this match earlier in the preview. But just for old times' sake, let's pretend like I didn't already say "Edge is going to win." OK?

Coming in to this PPV, I can't help but remind myself of a statement Angle made about Chris Benoit's 'four falls in one night' last month. I can't quote directly, because I lost the original file, but Angle said something along the lines of "I don't know how he did it." He's got an unbelievable amount of stamina, but I don't know how he's going to handle three falls with sustained breaks between them. His body's going to want to start cooling down just as it's time for another match. Rest assured, if Angle makes it out of King of the Ring with three solid performances, he'll have made himself as a lasting star on the WWF's lineup. If he doesn't, well... who knows. Working with Edge, Christian and Shane, he won't have too rough a time of it.

Anyway, the match should be stellar. Both guys realize what an important match this is, and will likely turn it up that extra notch as a result. Edge can be quite good when he wants to, and working with Angle should give him plenty of ammunition to put on the best match of his career. Whether the finish comes clean or with interference from WCW, I think Edge is coming out with the advantage. We'll have a new King this weekend, and he totally reeks of awesomeness.
Winner: Edge

Shane McMahon vs. Kurt Angle
Street Fight

The complete surprise appearance by DDP on Raw this past Monday has left me wondering just how "up in the air" the contracts of big names like Booker T, Rob Van Dam, Sting... hell, Ric Flair, really are. The WWF has been tightening a stranglehold on the news that makes its way to the boards lately, and I for one really like that fact. It's been a long time since I've been surprised the way I was Monday, and that's a feeling I could really get used to. This is the kind of stuff that got me interested in the scene again.

I think it's extremely likely we'll see the floodgates opened completely in this matchup, with the remaining members of WCW all rushing the ring at once and giving the WWF talent a run for their money. However, along the way there's still a match to be finalized and an Olympic champion to deal with. As Dave mentioned, Shane's got the unenviable task of topping himself to worry about here, and unless he jumps from the ceiling into a bed of broken glass, razor blades, baby spiders and dead babies I just don't see how he can manage. Then again, if there's one thing Shane McMahon knows it's how to keep an audience interested. This should be quite the interesting little brawl, and when the bell tolls we'll be left with one man standing tall with his own promotion.
Winner: Shane McMahon

Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Chris Benoit vs. Chris Jericho
World Wrestling Federation Championship

If the undercard isn't filled with another match or two, this is going at least forty five minutes. It's Benoit and Jericho's big chance to prove themselves in the biggest spotlight on earth, and if they don't take advantage of this, it'll be a long time before they're granted another chance. I'd be surprised if WCW doesn't have a hand in this somewhere, but a clean finish would be a welcome change. Austin's been more than willing to give Benoit and Jericho the chance to look strong in their matches over the past month, and seeing him tap to the Walls of Crossface on Raw was, in my opinion, a great way to lead up to the main event this Sunday. We've got a champion who just proved he's not invincible, we've got two eager, hungry young athletes ready to make their mark and we've got a main event at one of the big five PPVs acting as their stage.

And while I won't argue with the fact Austin's the heavy favorite, a good showing and a lot of fan interest could go further to elevate Benoit and Jericho than anything else right now... perhaps even a World Title reign. As we all know, the chase is far more interesting than the reign.

Just take a look at the match that pretty much sealed this deal; Benoit and Jericho vs. Austin and Helmsley, with the Tag Titles on the line. Going into the match, fans didn't know what to think of the Canadian Chrises. They weren't ignored, but they sure didn't get a standing ovation. But as the match progressed and the two worked their magic in the ring, the audience became more and more involved with the events unfolding before them. It all built up at a crazy pace until the bell rang, with the crowd foaming at the mouth with excitement. If these two could do that with a tag match, when both agree the singles matches are really their cup of tea, imagine what we'll get Sunday evening. It's not often I'm the optimist in these previews, but I firmly believe this is gonna be significant. I'm going out on a limb with my choice.
Winner: Chris Benoit

IN CLOSING...

The WWF's blown big chances before, and I won't say it's not a possibility here. Everything's going to have to be perfect to work here, but I don't think you could ask for a better cast. I seriously doubt DDP and the Undertaker will clash at KOTR, as the angle's still in its infancy. We'll certainly see an advancement of the feud, but I doubt they'll come to blows. If anything, I see DDP bailing on KOTR entirely to kidnap / assault the Undertaker's wife while the Deadman searches for him in the arena. Of the matches the WWF's provided, I think we'll see some real quality. It's just up to the performers right now.
until next time, i remain
drq

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