Chairshot Classics

Chairshot Classics: WWF SummerSlam 2001

Published

8 years ago

June 23, 2018

It’s the year of the Alliance as Booker T squares off against The Rock for the WCW Gold and Stone Cold takes on Kurt Angle for the WWF Strap. All this and more in this edition of The Chairshot Classic.

The date is August 19, 2001 and we are fresh off the heals of Vince McMahon’s acquisition of WCW (March 23, 2001) and ECW filing for bankruptcy (April 1, 2001). These event lead to the Invasion angle that was a big part of this SummerSlam. (You can find more on the InVasion PPV here.) The arena that will be our host for the evening in the Compaq Center in San Jose, California and we are joined by 15,293 eager fans. There is another 565,000 tuning in at home on PPV. This was almost a less significant number due to an ongoing feud with DirecTV at the time over revenue splits. The RAW Neilsen ratings for the month of August were excellent and are as follows: Aug.6-5.4, Aug.13-5.2, Aug.20-5.2, Aug.27-4.8. As always these were gathered from www.2xzone.com

The show opens with the music video for the theme song, “Bodies” by Drowning Pool, cut with clips of the current WWF roster. This was pretty well put together but as I’ve been re-watching a lot of these lately this one isn’t as good as some of the others. Then again, I’m sure the fifteen year old me enjoyed it.

The purple and green stage pyro is blasting off as we enter the Compaq Center. The fans are on their feet and have the usual sea of signs. Jim Ross tells us, “The battle for sports supremacy continues and rages on here tonight”. He continues to tell us the show is sold-out before he introduces us to his colleague for this evening, Paul Heyman. They waste no time introducing the first match and the IC Title bout is set to begin.

The Intercontinental Champion, Lance Storm enters first and he is defending the Alliance. Lance takes to the mic when he hit the ring and the fans give him some “BOOS” for this. He starts to speak about how he doesn’t want any shenanigans tonight but he is cut off by Edge’s theme music. When the fans hear this they come to life with excitement. Both these men spent some time training with the Hart Family, Edge with Bret and Lance more with Stu in The Dungeon. We star with the usual collar and elbow lock that slowly transitions into them exchanging some hammer locks. Storm takes a huge flapjack drop, that he no-sells. But when he bounces back to his feet, Edge is there in waiting to clothesline him from the ring. This receives a nice pop. After Edge returns him to the ring and continues to have the momentum. He gets airborne for a huge crossbody that leads to the first false finish, a two count. Storm finally goes on the offensive when he drops Edge on his midsection, over the top rope. Storm sends him off the apron next and into the security wall. He returns Edge to the ring and slaps him a few times while talking trash. He hits a lifting knee and tries to cover but Edge is quick to kick out at the count of one.

The pair exchange some punches but Lance is soon trying to cover again, this time after a face-first suplex. But again only a two. The crowd starts to rally for Edge as Storm delivers some kicks to the head. The rally begins with some punches to Storm’s midsection that allow Edge regain his footing. After an Irish whip Edge attempts a dropkick but Storm grabs the ropes and this leaves Edge landing flat on his back. Edge is quick with an inside cradle, but again only a two. The camera cuts to the back where members of “Team WWF” are cheering on Edge. Back in the ring Storm maintains momentum with some really boring offense. Edge attempts to counter into a tornado DDT but Storm catches him and hits a Somoa drop. Edge, again, manages to get the shoulder up. Storm goes to leap off the top rope and Edge uses Storm’s own momentum to flow into a scoopslam. This leaves both men laying on the mat as the ref begins his count. They return to their feet at the count of eight and Edge is now on the attack. After some right hands, he levels Storm with a pair of clotheslines. After an enziguri that draws a big pop, Edge goes for a cover but again only a two. Edge reverses an attempted hurricanrana next into a sit-down powerbomb and this draws an even bigger pop from the crowd. When Edge come off the rope Storm hits the drop-toe hold and transitions it into his finisher, the single-leg Boston crab. The crowd is on their feet as Edge struggles to find the ropes. He eventually makes it to them and this leads to Edge applying a single-leg crab of his own. Storms pulls the official into Edge to break the hold and incapacitate the official. This is when we see Edge’s kayfabe brother, Christian, make a run-in. Edge has said in his book that he went over the booker’s head to Vince to have the Run-in put in the match. He attempts to spear Lance Storm but he avoids the maneuver and instead Edge gets it. Storm then lays Christian out with a nice superkick and the crowd is unsure what they just witnessed. Storm goes for the pin but Edge is still kicking out. Storm goes to superkick Edge next but he catches storms foot and hits a lifting DDT. Edge follows it with a cover and this time it works. Edge get the three count and is the new Intercontinental Champion. This gives the WWF the first win of the night. Christian joins him in the ring after to give him the title and to help celebrate. Edge is hesitant at first but he soon joins in. The match overall didn’t pace well and I thought the only highlight came from Edge. This match has the potential to be skipped over. Match Time: 11:16

Three of the competitors for the six man tag match are walking through the back when they are stopped by Michael Cole. He asks Test and The Dudley Boyz “why have you turned your backs on the WWF?” Test tells Cole that it was the WWF that turned its back on them. Test then compliments his boss, Shane ‘O’ Mac, and says “He knows who the cream of the crop really is”. This is a nice homage to The Macho Man here, I’d like to think.

Chris Jericho is in the back next and he is being questioned about his feud with Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley and his upcoming match with Rhyno. Someone that, Lillian Garcia says, Jericho has never beat. He says “There is a first time for everything and everyone remembers their first time.” He uses this as an opportunity to mention Stephanie’s “first time” with “The football captain, the swim captain, the captain of the basketball team and even Olaf, the foreign exchange student.” He then mentions how she has the home field advantage here because “We are in Silicon Valley.” This is just classic Jericho here and we can see why he is still a master of the profession all these years later.

Spike Dudley is entering when we are back in the arena and he is joined by Molly Holly. The crowd is on their feet when Faarooq and Bradshaw, or The APA, enter next and they are Spike’s partners for this six-man tag. These three will be fighting under the WWF moniker. The first member of team Alliance, Test, enters next and he receives zero reception from the crowd. Test stops and waits for his partners, D-Von and Bubba Ray Dudley, before he heads to the ring. Once the bell sounds we get Faarooq and Bubba in the ring first. Bubba unloads some punches and he is quick to tag D-Von in who continues the beating of Faarooq. Faarooq bounces back up from a pair of clotheslines but a spinning back elbow keeps him down for a moment. Test comes in next and delivers some right hands until Faarooq lands an elbow that allows him to tag Bradshaw. They hit Test with a double shoulder block before Faarooq exits the ring. Test takes a beating until he is able to counter into a back drop that enables him to put Bradshaw in the corner and make a tag. D-Von comes in and the boys hold Bradshaw so he can unload some punches. When D-Von tries to back drop Bradshaw next he gets a clubbing chop to the back instead. Next Bradshaw drives his head to the mat with a DDT that he follows with a cover. But D-Von manages to kick-out.

Spike gets to make his appearance next and is quick to try a pair of inside cradles that D-Von is just as quick to kick out of. Bubba takes it upon himself to slow Spike’s momentum and flapjack him onto the top rope. Bubba stays in the ring, even though no tag was made, and atomic drops Spike onto the top turnbuckle. He then yanks him to the mat by his hair so fast its hard to fathom how he didn’t get whiplash. Bubba then tags Test in who tries to drop an elbow that Spike avoids. This allows the little guy to start unloading some punches and re-enter the fight. Spike then tries to hit a tornado DDT but Test goes nowhere and slams him right to the mat. The crowd explodes before we get the shot of The Dudleyz setting some tables up outside the ring. JR says “This isn’t a tables match” to which Heyman replies “It doesn’t need to be, its a Dudley match”. Test attempts to press slam Spike out of the ring next but a well timed eye-rake saves him the painful ring exit. Both Dudleyz come in now and send Spike sky-high with a pancake drop. Bubba goes for the cover but Spike is still kicking out. D-Von tags in next and tries to come off the second rope onto Spike. He manages to move and the crowd is popping for the hot tag as they chant “APA”. Bradshaw and Test both come in off tags and Bradshaw sends him “post-to-post”, meeting him with clotheslines both times. D-Von comes in but Bradshaw lays him out with a big boot. Bubba is in next, but so is Faarooq, and The APA deliver a double spinebuster on Bubba that looks just brutal. Bradshaw delivers a huge powerbomb onto D-Von next but the cover is broken up when Bubba pulls Bradshaw from the ring by his foot. Spike comes running in to attempt his finisher, The Acid Drop, on Test but he just catches Spike and tosses him over the top rope. Of course he flies through the table on the outside, that The Dudleyz had set up earlier. Bradshaw lays Test out with a Clothesline From Hell but there is no ref to count the cover. As the ref is on the outside attending to Spike. Shane ‘O’ Mac comes from left field here to lay Bradshaw out with a chairshot and the crowd is going bonkers. Test rolls over to make the cover and the ref counts the three. The match as a whole wasn’t bad and was better than the first one on the card. My main takeaway here is how much punishment little Spike Dudley can and would take. If time is a factor though, don’t be afraid to fast-forward this match. Match Time:7:19

There is a quick clip of Edge being celebrated by Team WWF when Christian‘s phone rings and it is their grandmother. She quickly ask Christian to speak with Edge so she can congratulate him on his win. When Edge hands the phone back so Christian can talk to her but the line is dead. Another quick clip follows this one before we return to action. It’s Debra and she is joined by Meat, who is trying to learn how to win Steve Austin’s favor. Meat was named for the bulge we see in his pants and was used to show that the WWF isn’t afraid to objectify men either. He was used by the ladies in the locker room, hence making him a piece of Meat. She tells him to leave and that Steve Austin to busy preparing to defend The Alliance is his match versus Kurt Angle. Meat A.K.A. Shawn Stasiak is the son of former WWWF Champion Stan Stasiak. He has since retired from wrestling and is now employed as a chiropractor.

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Chairshot Classics

24 Years Of The Viper: Randy Orton Hits 24 Years In WWE

Chris King takes a look back at some of the most iconic feuds of Randy Orton and his 24 years in WWE.

Published

4 days ago

April 25, 2026

Chris King

Chris King takes a look back at some of the most iconic feuds of Randy Orton and his 24 years in WWE.

Twenty-four years ago, Randy Orton made his debut on the April 25th episode of Friday Night SmackDown against the veteran Hardcore Holly. ‘The Viper’ has had a decorated career in WWE: grand slam champion, a fourteen-time world champion, two-time Royal Rumble winner, former Money in the Bank, and multi-time tag team champion. Here are some of Orton’s most iconic feuds in WWE.

Randy Orton vs. Mick Foley

The ‘Legend Killer’ was so disrespectful to Mick Foley by verbally abusing him and spitting at him. Foley retired in 2093 but made his shocking return at the 2004 Royal Rumble, eliminating Orton. The two superstars would begin a heated rivalry at WrestleMania XX, where Evolution (Randy Orton, Batista, and Ric Flair) would face off in a six-man tag team match against The Rock and Mick Foley. Orton’s victory would continue his ascension through the WWE, but it also continued his feud with Foley. Foley would take Orton to hell with him at the 2004 Backlash PLE.

Both superstars would have a No Holds Barred Falls Count Anywhere match, which Orton himself considers one of his favorite matches of his career.

The legend helped solidify Orton as a top heel in the company, where people had some misconceptions that a pretty boy couldn’t get hardcore and messy against the hardcore legend. Without their iconic feud, perhaps Orton’s greatest achievement may not have happened.

Randy Orton vs. Triple H

Evolution’s leader Triple H had been telling Orton that he was the diamond in the group. Orton was so appreciative of his mentor’s support as he challenged Chris Benoit at the 2004 SummerSlam PLE. Orton would shock the world by becoming the youngest world champion in WWE history. The very next night after a successful defense, Evolution came out to celebrate with him. With Orton on Batista’s shoulders, his world turned upside down with the iconic “thumbs down” moment. HHH went from friend to rival in seconds, bloodying up his protege out of pure jealousy and rage. The two would have a mini feud where HHH would take the world title away from Orton.

The rivalry was restarted after ‘The Viper’ hit Vince McMahon (HHH’s father-in-law) with a vicious punt kick after he was about to fire him. Orton, along with his two Legacy stablemates Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase Jr., made it his life’s mission to destroy the McMahons, including

Shane McMahon and HHH’s wife Stephanie McMahon. The Viper blamed IED for his actions, but in reality it was Orton getting his ultimate revenge against his former mentor when he was viciously kicked out of Evolution.

Randy Orton vs. The Undertaker

In 2005, The Legend Killer was looking to do the impossible when he challenged The Undertaker to a match at WrestleMania 21. Orton was young and arrogant and was trying to do everything to break his rival’s undefeated streak at WrestleMania, but The Phenom got the job done. During the match, Orton’s father Bob Orton Jr. tried to help his son win. At SummerSlam, Orton and Undertaker would do battle again; this time, Orton’s dad would be disguised as a fan, and The Legend Killer would get the victory.

At No Mercy, both Ortons would face Undertaker in a casket match. Orton won the contest, and as his rival lay in the casket, they lit it on fire.

A few months later, The Deadman would make his shocking return at the 2005 Survivor Series PLE after Orton was named the sole survivor for his team. Taker rising through the fire and kicking the casket open was one of the coolest moments in WWE history. Orton thought he had the last laugh, but in true Taker fashion, he challenged him to a Hell in the Cell match. Orton with nowhere to hide inside the demonic structure, as The Phenom finally got his revenge.

Randy Orton vs. John Cena

This rivalry was the next generation’s Stone Cold vs. The Rock because it spans throughout the years. Orton vs. Cena was simply both GOATs trying to prove who was at the very top in the company. This storied rivalry began in 2007, when Cena was the WWE Champion and Orton was challenging him at SummerSlam. Cena would retain it, and The Viper struck back, delivering a vicious punt kick to Cena’s father, who was at ringside. They would feud for a few months until Cena got injured and needed surgery.

All throughout 2008, both rivals would go their separate ways until the following year. After Orton’s vengeance was successful at the 2009 Backlash with winning the WWE Championship, his and Cena’s rivalry was restarted. They competed in a series of matches throughout the summer. Their iconic I Quit Match, a 60-minute Ironman Match, will go down in history as one of the greatest of all time. Cena would finally get his comeuppance inside Hell in the Cell by winning the WWE Championship. This would put a pause on their rivalry.

Both superstars would find their way back to each other in 2014, when Orton won the WWE Championship after cashing in his MITB briefcase on Daniel Bryan. The Viper was the focal point of The Authority (Triple H, Randy Orton, and Stephanie McMahon), and Cena once again was the thorn in his side. Cena had won the World Heavyweight Championship, and this was building to a huge title unification ladder match. Both superstars would utilize everything in their arsenal, but Orton handcuffed his rival’s hand to the ring ropes. Cena went crashing through the table, and The Viper claimed both titles.

In 2025, Cena would do the unthinkable and turn heel, which shocked the world. Mr. ‘Never Give Up’ actually gave up on his fans and verbally attacked everyone for wanting to be like him. While the self-proclaimed GOAT was gloating about defeating Cody Rhodes to become a seventeen-time WWE champion, an old rival snuck up behind him and gave him an RKO! The two longtime rivals would face off one final time at Backlash inside Orton’s hometown. Their match wasn’t incredible because Cena was still trying to find his footing as a top heel. Cena would retain the title, and sadly, this is how one of the greatest rivalries in WWE history ended.

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Opinion

Chris King Looks Back: WWE WrestleMania 36

Chris King takes a look back at one of the most surreal wrestling events of all time, 2020’s WWE WrestleMania 36!

Published

2 weeks ago

April 18, 2026

Chris King

WWE WrestleMania 36 Drew McIntyre Brock Lesnar

Chris King takes a look back at one of the most surreal wrestling events of all time, 2020’s WWE WrestleMania 36!

As we get geared up for WrestleMania 42, one of my favorite things to do is go back and watch previous Manias and find that special magic again. Six years ago, we were living in a worldwide pandemic and nothing felt the same. WrestleMania 36 was supposed to be held in Tampa Bay but, unfortunately it took place inside of the Performance Center.

For the first time in WWE history, WrestleMania was split into two nights, which would become a constant going forward. Each night would feature a plethora of matches including Goldberg vs. Braun Strowman for the Universal Championship, Seth Rollins vs. Kevin Owens, AJ Styles vs. The Undertaker in a Boneyard Match, and Brock Lesnar vs. Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship.

On Night one, one of the greatest bouts with an incredible build would be ‘The Messiah’ Seth Rollins vs. Kevin Owens. Rollins had been fighting for the greater good flanked by The Authors of Pain and Buddy Matthews and blatantly destroying Owens on multiple occasions. Rollins portrayed the perfect manipulating heel here.

The resilient ‘Prizefighter’ was so sick of Rollins’ crap that he challenged him to a match at Mania. What started as a simple match, quickly turned into an all out brawl with no disqualifications. Both superstars fought all over the ringside area, and KO would climb off the huge WrestleMania sign and hit a massive elbow drop! Owens would pick up the huge victory over The Messiah.

Braun Strowman would challenge Goldberg for the Universal Championship in what was relatively a squash match. Roman Reigns was supposed to challenge Goldberg, butdue to health concerns, he took a hiatus from WWE. ‘The Monster Among Men’ would take four massive Spears from the veteran and retaliate with four running power slams to win his first Universal Championship!

The main event of night one saw The Undertaker battle AJ Styles in a really fun and chaotic boneyard match. This dream match was supposed to take place in front of 75,000 screaming fans but, this was truly the perfect ending to Taker’s illustrious career. Styles had some massive balls calling out his opponent by calling him by his official name and disrespecting his family. ‘The Phenomenal One’ just kept poking the bear all the way into their match. Watching Styles arrive in Undertaker fashion inside of a coffin and give a maniacal laugh was hilarious. All the games were over after Taker rode in on his motorcycle to beat his ass!

The Deadman would have to face off against The OC, and even his druids to shut his opponent up once and for all. Taker delivering a massive chokeslam and tombstone piledriver on the roof was a sight to see. Taker kicked Styles right into his own grave and rode off into the darkness, as usual! The Undertaker cross symbol blaring through the fire while Metallica plays was iconic! Taker would be so satisfied with the cinematic match that he would formally retire later that year!

Night Two of WrestleMania 36 was awesome and electric, as Edge faced off with his greatest former friend now rival Randy Orton in a last man standing match, John Cena faced off with ‘The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt inside the Firefly Funhouse, and Drew McIntyre looks to win his first-every WWE championship from ‘The Beast Incarnate’ Brock Lesnar!

Edge made his shocking return at the 2020 Royal Rumble, after a career-ending neck injury. Randy Orton was excited to see his former Rated-RKO partner but he quickly put a stop to a reunion in a disgusting manner. Orton delivering a vicious Concerto to Edge and hitting an RKO on Beth Phoenix brought back flashbacks to ‘09 Orton and his feud with Triple H!

‘The Viper’ came out of nowhere disguised as a cameraman to hit an RKO to start the match. Orton was a mastermind here playing the sinister antagonist to Edge’s comeback story. Both superstars went to war throughout the performance center in a hard-hitting performance. Orton choking out Edge while saying “I’ll always love you, man” was just vile and really fun to watch. Edge finally got the advantage in the gym area using the machines to gain some revenge.

They fought through the backstage areas, a boardroom all the way to the top of an NXT production truck. Orton hitting his signature draping DDT on the bed of a pickup truck was nasty. The Viper tried to Punt Edge’s lights out but, got hit with a massive spear. Edge got the final shot hitting Orton with a devastating Concerto to win the match!

John Cena entered The Firefly Funhouse for one of most spectacular cinematic masterpieces of all time. This match was a cinematic journey of John Cena’s history within the company, and looking back at his greatest failures. It was so interesting to see how his future could have been way different had he turned heel, instead of maintaining being a babyface who was shoved down our throats for years! Bray Wyatt as ‘The Fiend’ finally got his comeuppance after Cena refused to put him over at Mania 30.

Wyatt was red-hot at that time but, Cena gave him his greatest defeat of his career. The Fiend may not have been created if it wasn’t for this loss on the grandest stage of them all. Wyatt would defeat Cena and go on to become the Universal Champion months later.

The final match of the grand event was Drew McIntyre defeating Brock Lesnar to win his first WWE Championship. After Lesnar’s impressive performance at the Royal Rumble, McIntyre humiliated him by eliminating him and punching his ticket to the biggest match of his career. The way WWE hyped McIntyre is very similar to how they are hyping Oba Femi right now. They made him look like an unstoppable beast.

The match started with a free trip to Suplex City followed by a F5 for a kickout at one! Lesnar’s eyes grew wide as his opponent kept coming back. ‘The Scottish Warrior’ would not stay down and, The Beast was getting pissed. McIntyre would ultimately slay the beast hitting four massive Claymore kicks to win his first WWE Championship! Paul Heyman has a look of shock and disappointment as McIntyre poses with his title. What a way to end WrestleMania 36!

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