Team WWF member and WWF Light Heavyweight Champion Tajiri makes his way to the ring next for a match that will have two Titles on the line. JR mentions here that Tajiri has a degree in economics. To which Heyman replies “U.S. Dollars or Yen?” The WCW Cruiserweight Champion X-Pac is out next and the crowd doesn’t seem too fond of The Alliance member. After a few tie-ups Pac has the crowd booing him after a hip toss on Tajiri. JR tells us here that “This will be the last PPV event broadcast on DirecTV.” Tajiri takes Pac to the mat with a leg sweep that he follows with a standing moonsault. This move set leads to the first positive pop of the match. The match starts slow, and I expected better pacing from these two Cruiserweights. It starts to finally pick up when Tajiri lands a hurricanrana that forces X-Pac to leave the ring to regain composure. Tajiri doesn’t allow this and hits him with a baseball slide that sends X-Pac tumbling. Tajiri is quick to springboard off the second rope into a moonsault, that was really nicely done. This has the crowd popping and is more of what I expected when I saw this match on the card. X-Pac manages to duck a clothesline and this sets him up to atomic drop Tajiri into the ring post. X-Pac returns to the ring and Tajiri soon follows. Pac applies a surfboard stretch but he is forced to break the hold when his shoulders lay flat on the mat. Tajiri tries a hurricanrana next but Pac would just sit it down into a powerbomb but he is only rewarded a two count. X-Pac sets up for a Bronco Buster next but Tajiri counters it and this leaves Pac hanging from the turnbuckle upside down. Tajiri again baseball slides, but this time its into the face of Pac. This looks brutal, the way that X-Pac’s head snaps back. Tajiri lands a superkick, that X-Pac no-sells, and this sets up a cool springboard back elbow from Tajiri. He puts Pac into the Tarantula but since this is an “illegal” maneuver he is forced to break the hold. Tajiri is going up top after that and comes of the ropes with a crossbody that X-Pac rolls through and into a pin. It’s only a two count and the match continues.

It’s X-Pac’s turn to try and come of the top turnbuckle, but Tajiri is right there to bring him right back to the mat. This sets up a variety of strange pin attempts for Tajiri which Pac kicks out of. Tajiri folds Pac in half next with a German suplex, that he holds for another pin attempt. But again X-Pac kicks out. Tajiri goes to the apron but X-Pac hits him with a superkick that sends him off it. X-Pac gets airborne next when he hits a summersault plancha over the top rope and onto Tajiri. They return to the ring and Pac is quick to hit his finisher, the X-Factor. He takes too long to make the cover though, and Tajiri kicks out. At this time we see another member of the alliance, Albert, start to slow walk to the ring. Pac takes notice and this allows Tajiri to strike. Albert is quick to get on the apron but Tajiri meets him there to spray “red mist” into is his face. This is some kind of red liquid that he spits from his mouth. When Tajiri turns around X-Pac is there to greet him with another X-Factor. He makes the cover and gets the three. This makes The Alliance up 2-1 at this point, and X-Pac a double Champion. After the slow start, the match picked up for the most part and was good. They’re was a few dull spots, but overall the ring work made up for it. This match is worth the watch. Match Time:7:30

Rhyno is shown in the back after the match and is joined by Stephanie. She is telling Rhyno how important this match is to her and that he must win. Stephanie tells Rhyno to “Gore him through the ring” and he promises to “Finish him off once and for all”, before he exits the room. We cut to the build-up of the match next and it is really just Chris Jericho tearing into Stephanie with verbal assaults. It’s pretty hilarious. This is where the famous “Stephanie you are the most filthy, dirty, disgusting, brutal, bottom feeding, trash bag hoe” comes from. This enrages her and she looks to Rhyno to take care of it and he does so by goring Jericho through the screen, at the top of the SmackDown apron. When Stephanie sees Rhyno to thank him he says he wants a match with Jericho at SummerSlam and she is happy to oblige. Jericho promises the fans that “At SummerSlam I’m going to take care of that smelly, greasy animal. And I’m going to get you too, Rhyno.” This is just classic Jericho here and is must see stuff.

Rhyno makes his way to the ring first and is joined by the “Owner of ECW”, Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley. The crowd give them some “BOOS” as the make their entrance. Their emotions quickly change when Chris Jericho’s music plays and he makes his appearance. The “Y2J” chants begin and so does the match. The collar and elbow tie leads to some big right hands from Rhyno and the early advantage. This doesn’t last long because Jericho comes off the ropes with a crossbody and is delivering some punches of his own. He takes to the top turnbuckle next and comes off it to hit the top of Rhyno’s head with an elbow. He goes for the cover but only gets a two. After that he attempts the Walls of Jericho, but Rhyno slingshots him away. Rhyno bounces off the ropes but Jericho is there in waiting and throws him over the top rope. A stiff bump for sure. When Rhyno tries to return to the ring, Jericho jumps off the turnbuckle again to dropkick him off the apron. Jericho goes right back up top but this time Stephanie is on the apron to grab his foot. He manages to kick her away, but the delay allows Rhyno to spear, or Gore if you will, Jericho to the mat, mid-air. Jericho’s head snaps so viciously to the floor mats her and its likely he suffered a concussion here. I heard Jericho say on a podcast that he thinks he suffered one here as he don’t recall most of the match from this point forward. The crowd rewards him for this with some “Holy Shit” chants.

Rhyno returns Jericho to the ring to make the cover but he kicks out. You can see at this point Jericho definitely looks a little groggy.  Rhyno continues the beating and hits a powerplex onto the top rope. He stomps away at the midsection of Jericho so much that the ref warns him for this. This opens a window for Stephanie to slap Jericho in the face. After a rest hold body scissors, Jericho tries to rally behind some “Y2J” chants but the attempt is short lived. Rhyno picks him up for an airplane spin that he transitions into a nice cutter. But again Jericho manages the kick-out. Rhyno applies another stretch on Jericho that he transitions into a sleeper. Jericho manages to return to his feet and after some elbows to the midsection, he escapes. Jericho goes for a quick roll-up pin, and Rhyno narrowly kicks out. When they are back on their feet Ryhno is quick to hit a snap-suplex and climb to the top turnbuckle. He attempts a big splash but Jericho is able to roll away. This leaves both men on the mat as the official, Tim White, starts his count. They are on their feet at the count of six and Jericho attempts a quick backslide but again, a two count. Jericho gains some momentum next with some elbows and throws a lightning fast Lionsault in out of nowhere. This was really cool and I hit the rewind button on this one. Jericho rolls Rhyno up but he manages to kick out again. All the false finishes, folks. Rhyno reverses an Irish whip to the turnbuckle but when he charges, Jericho greets him with a pair of boots to the face. Jericho then gets on the second turnbuckle to deliver a missile dropkick into the chest of Rhyno. He goes for the cover but Stephanie is on the apron to distract the ref. When Jericho notices this, he breaks the cover and proceeds to grab Stephanie by the hair. The crowd is going crazy, but just when they think he is going to strike her he instead kisses her. This sends the fans into an absolute frenzy. Jericho attempts another Lionsault but when Rhyno moves he lands on his feet instead. This is good stuff here. He hits Rhyno with a back elbow and when he goes for the next Lionsault this one connects. The crowd counts along for the cover but are forced to stop at two. Rhyno reverses into a vicious spinebuster and puts Jericho into his own move, The Walls of Jericho. The “Y2J” chants are in full force and this powers Jericho to get to the ropes. A belly-to-belly suplex from Rhyno leaves Jericho in prime position for a Gore. Jericho moves and Rhyno instead hits the turnbuckle. Jericho grips him up and applies The Walls of Jericho and this leads to Rhyno tapping out. The look of disbelief on Stephanie McMahon’s face here is great. She then pouts her way into the back. This was I great match and I was thoroughly entertained throughout. The storyline with Stephanie, Jericho has credited as one that helped to really get him over as a babyface. Lets face it, Stephanie can play a Heel pretty well especially during her “Snobby Brat” run. This was a great match and I even hit rewind on a few spots. I would recommend viewing this one. Match Time:12:34

Pages: 1 2 3 4