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Angle wins WWF title at Unforgiven

John Molinaro

The WWF can prove to be a weird dichotomy at times. Take last night’s Unforgiven pay-per-view event from the Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh, for instance.

Hard to imagine that the same company that booked a classic main event that saw Kurt Angle capture the WWF World Heavyweight title from Steve Austin also booked that terrible Undertaker and Kane vs. Kronik mess of a match. Hard to imagine why Lance Storm, a wrestler of considerable skill and talent, had to sell and do the job to the Big Sloth (AKA Big Show) on the same card that produced another great RVD match, this time with Chris Jericho. Hard to imagine how we were spared the nausea of sitting through another Rock interview where he refers to himself endlessly in the first-person while we were force-fed a healthy dose of the irritating Stephanie McMahon in the show’s major storylines.

Storm putting over Show, the brutal WCW tag match and Stephanie’s ridiculous implants notwithstanding, the WWF’s Unforgiven was a solid pay-per-view and an excellent follow up to their SummerSlam event from last month.

A few observations before I get into the main event. Big Show, Brian Adams and Bryan Clark all proved tonight why they have absolutely no business making a living in wrestling. They are huge, lumbering oafs that couldn’t put on a decent match if their lives depended on it.

It bothers me that these three, who don’t feel the need to properly sell their opponents’ offence, are depriving far more deserving wrestlers of a spot on the WWF roster. One has to question what exactly Jim Ross, WWF Senior Vice-President of Talent Relations, was thinking when he signed Kronik earlier this month. Do these guys have pictures or some scathing dirt on ‘ol J.R.? Must be, because I can’t explain what on earth Ross, an otherwise keen judge of talent, sees in these guys.

Such a statement will no doubt ruffle the feathers of the Don Callises of the world who feel reporters and fans who have never stepped one hob-toe in the ring are not qualified to comment on the work rate of pro wrestlers. Let’s be realistic here: Big Show, Adams and Clark are so brutal it doesn’t take years of travelling the road as a wrestler to see that, only a clear sense of the obvious.

Some other quick notes from last night: Rob Van Dam is over… Who did Perry Saturn piss off to be saddled with that moronic ‘moppy’ gimmick?… The Hurricane’s shtick is hilarious but he should tone it down a bit. It would be a shame if people lost sight of the fact that Shane Helms is a terrific wrestler… Why does Shane McMahon bop up and down like that?… I miss Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero… Lance Storm is being terribly misused. It’s a crime against wrestling logic when a wrestler of his calibre is jobbed out in the opening match.

As for “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and Kurt Angle they managed to top their performance last month at SummerSlam by staging another great title tilt. Angle attacked Austin as he was coming down the ramp way to start the match as the two brawled towards the ring. Austin quickly grabbed his belt and headed for the back. Angle chased him down the ramp way and threw Austin down to the floor. They fought their way back down to ringside where Angle started to remove the floor-mats in order to give Austin a pile-driver but the ‘Texas Rattlesnake’ blocked it. Austin then executed three consecutive gut-buster suplexes on the Spanish announce table.

Austin tossed Angle back into the ring and started working him over before spilling out to the floor and giving Kurt Angle’s family, who were sitting front row ringside, the finger. Angle caught Austin with three consecutive German suplexes before scoring a near-fall after a DDT.

Then came my favourite portion of the match. Angle picked Austin up and hit him with the Stone Cold Stunner for a two-count. He then tried his Olympic Slam but Austin reversed it and executed his own for a near-fall. Nice spot and great psychology where they executed each other’s signature moves.

Moments later, Austin gets Angle in a pile-driver and drives his head into the mat and scores a two-count. Austin then motions as if he’s going for the Stunner but Angle catches Austin’s leg in mid air and forces him down and quickly applies his ankle-lock on Austin and forces him to tap out.

After the match, Kurt’s family jumps into the ring and puts him on their shoulders as The Rock and the rest of the WWF locker-room come down to congratulate the new champion.

A fantastic match that had it all: great psychology, sequences that flowed seamlessly from Point A to B to C, a compelling storyline and a superb, surprise ending that played out very well on television. Kudos to Kurt Angle and especially to Steve Austin for selling it so well.

The next WWF pay-per-view is No Mercy on October 21st.

WWF Unforgiven 2001 Results

The Dudley Boys (champions) vs. Lance Storm & Hurricane Helms (challengers) vs. The Hardy Boyz (challengers) vs. Big Show & Spike Dudley (challengers) in a four-way elimination match (WWF World Tag Team Title Match)

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