To read my previous reviews, including the Tag Team Table Match, Chris Jericho versus John Cena, and the Cruiserweight, European, and Intercontinental Championship Matches, click HERE.

       To help the crowd come down from the amazing RVD/Lesnar match, and to further the storyline, movement finally occurred outside the office of Smackdown's new GM, Stephanie McMahon. With an anxious Bischoff waiting outside, Stephanie emerged sullenly stated the Triple H had "signed". Predictably, when Triple H emerged from the office, Bischoff made an ass of himself, berating Helmsley for not signing with him. However, Triple H did not sign to star on Smackdown, he signed, you guessed it, his divorce papers. His official decision was yet to come.

       Given my low opinion in the past of both the competitors, I really didn't expect much from this match. However, I did have some hope, given that both had been improved in their work of late and both needed an entertaining bout to continue their momentum. I hoped they recognised their need for a good showing and would go out there and give it their all. My hopes were realised as this was an entertaining little number, highlighted by a couple of big spots. As I suspected, the match began with The Big Show overpowering the Bookerman, making his eventual comeback all the more heroic. His comeback started with his first big spot, a scissors-kick that drove the Big Show through the Spanish Announce Table (as pictured on the right). It drew quite the reaction from the crowd (who were live all night), even getting the "Holy Sh*t" treatment. Here's my problem: I hate the scissors-kick to the back of the head. In fact, I hate any move that requires the recipient to be in an unnatural position, like say... doubled over for thirty seconds. However, the next big spot made up for it, when Booker beat the Show with the WWE debut of the "Houston (formerly Harlem) Hangover". That move was almost as good as the Spineroonie.

Result: Booker T wins via pinfall

       The lead-up was done and decision-time came. It was time for Triple H to decide where The Game would be played. Despite the fact that no wrestling would take place, this spot was given significant air-time, unusual for a PPV, and managed to entertain throughout. All three players proved their abilities to entertain on the mic, with Stephanie's new turn at being a babyface becoming more and more obvious, as obvious as her newly-unscreechy voice. However, just as Helmsley was about to join the recently former Mrs. Helmsley, out came the Show-Stopper, Shawn Michaels. I'm glad one thing was cleared up in the proceedings: on RAW, Eric Bischoff said that the one wrestler he was never able to get was Triple H. However, Helmsley was a WCW performer under Bischoff's reign, they just never used him. Stephanie brought that up and Bischoff tried to downplay it. What went ignored this time was that Triple H's best friend, HBK, who was there to offer him fun and friendship, was threatening to kick his ass two weeks prior back when he was recruiting for the nWo. Oh well, I guess we're supposed to forget that as quickly as we're supposed to forget the whole nWo fiasco.

Result: Triple H signs with RAW

       I would like to say that half this match was alright, the half that Hollywood Hulk Hogan spent on the ring apron, but even then the stink of his performance hung over the proceedings. Even though this match featured some of my favourite performers (Edge, Christian, and Lance Storm) and my new favourite storyline (the Anti-Americans), I was basically waiting for this match to end as soon as it began. At least my guys, the Canadians won the tag titles, and at least my prediction that Chris Jericho would make that happen came true. Still, having to witness Christian sell to the ridiculous "Hulking Up" of Hogan, just when he's starting to develop some teeth as a heel, is really painful to watch. Actually, just watching Hogan "Hulk Up" is painful to watch.

Result: Lance Storm and Christian win WWE Tag Team Titles via Christian pin of Hollywood Hulk Hogan.

       Thankfully, that match didn't take too long, and it was time for the main event. I had previously stated that this pay per view was a little top-heavy, with the undercard having a hard time matching the main event in terms of anticipation. Well, the undercard did what it was supposed to, keeping the audience charged throughout the show. Would the main event hold up its end of the bargain? Would it ever.

       Simply put, this was the best Triple Threat Match I've ever seen. Now, I'm not a big fan of the Triple Threat match in general, given how difficult they are to choreograph. But these three are three out of the four best WWE has to offer (Triple H being the fourth), and showed why in a thoroughly entertaining affair. The combatants began by showing how difficult Triple Threats can be by having a hard-time starting off the match- who attacks who? This led to a nice little jaw-jacking session between Undertaker and Rock with Angle completely ignored- all serving to increase the anticipation for the eventual match to come. When the match kicked off, the typical Triple Threat trick of having one of the three combatants thrown out of the ring while the other duke it out, with the third coming back to break up the count at the last second. But then, as the story was building, everything changed. Actually, then, the satellite feed was interrupted and I was unable to see what happened next. This lasted for a few minutes, leaving me quite worried that I would not see what I'd paid just under $40 to see. However, the feed would return in time for me to see the flurry of action that would build to a triumphant finale.

       Each man would get off another man's finisher, creating a series of false-finishes that not only served to build excitement, but also provided a legitimate reason for the third man to not be involved in the fight. Also, since each man had a legitimate claim to the WWE Championship, each potential pinfall felt like it could be the winner. The fact that this carried on for about 10 minutes meant that the fans were on the edges of their seats anticipating a finish for what felt like a lifetime. Excitement like that doesn't occur very often in any match, and could probably only occur in a multiple opponent scenario.

       In the end, the predictable (although not predicted by me) happened: Hollywood's newest star, The Rock will headline Summerslam by virtue of his victory at Vengeance. I'll give Rocky credit; he hasn't lost a step in all the time he's missed. However, my reaction to his victory is mixed at best. To read my full commentary on the Great One's record seventh WWE Championship, click HERE.

Result: The Rock wins WWE Undisputed Championship via pinfall of Kurt Angle.

For more WWE content on this site, click on any of the following:

THE YEAR 2001- YEAR IN REVIEW- See how the superstars of the WWF stacked up using my rankings system for the entire year of 2001. Who was number 1, Stone Cold or Kurt Angle? Who were the top tag team, The Dudley Boyz or The Hardy Boyz? Along with my usual brand of commentary is new photos and stats for the year 2001, including title reigns and PPV information.

THE YEAR 2000- YEAR IN REVIEW- See how the superstars of the WWF stacked up using my rankings system for the entire year 2000. Who was number 1, The Rock or Triple H? Who were the top tag teams? Also, the title pictures for each belt from the WWF Championship all the way down to the Light Heavyweight Title, with my own commentary on each reign.

LITA- ONE MAN'S OBSESSION- I admit, I was in love with Lita. I also admit that this behaviour did become a bit of an obsession. I have since conquered this insanity, but you can still see pictures of the Team Extreme Diva, biographical info and random career facts, all presented while I was attempting to come to terms with the fact that I was in love with someone I saw on TV.

PREVIOUS RANKINGS- Ranking archives dating back to November 2000. Missed a posting? Want to track my biases? Find all past information here.

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