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THE 2001 SERIES, PART 7 - SUMMERSLAM 2001: AUSTIN BATTLES ANGLE IN A CLASSIC, RVD AND JEFF HARDY DESTROY EACH OTHER IN A CRINGE-INDUCING LADDER MATCH, THE WCW WORLD TITLE IS DEFENDED IN THE MAIN EVENT, A HISTORY LESSON ON THE WWF LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE, AND MORE

The WWF came into Summerslam 2001 on the defensive because, while they fully expected to emerge victorious over the Alliance at the InVasion PPV, the balance of power shifted when Stone Cold Steve Austin turned on the WWF in the main event and handed the Alliance the win. Austin had been the dominant star of the WWF for the better part of four years now, and even with the bad blood between them, Vince McMahon was counting on Austin, the WWF Champion, to lead his company to victory. Instead, Austin doublecrossed him and had now become a very dangerous enemy.

In the weeks following InVasion, the situation grew even more grim for the WWF as several WWF titles fell into the hands of Alliance wrestlers. The WWF came into Summerslam with something to prove, and this show would prove to be step one in what would become the total annihilation of the Alliance.

The show opened with Lance Storm defending the Intercontinental Title against Edge, who was riding a big wave of momentum into his first big singles push after winning the King Of The Ring tournament a couple of months earlier. Edge was in control until Storm dumped him on the top rope and rammed him off the apron and into the barricade. Edge began his comeback but Storm caught him in the Canadian Maple Leaf, Edge made the ropes and tried one of his own but Storm got out of that too. Christian ran in to try and help and almost blew it all for Edge when he went for the spear, but Storm moved and Christian nailed Edge. Storm superkicked Christian and then covered Edge, but only got 2, and then went for a superkick on Edge but Edge blocked and hit the Edgecution to win the Intercontinental Title for the second time. Christian hands him the belt, gives him a hug, and then leaves to give Edge his moment. They did a funny spot backstage later where everyone is congratulating Edge for bringing the IC Title home to the WWF, and Christian comes over and tells Edge that he got a shot at the European Title tomorrow on Raw. Everyone ignores him, but Edge & Christian's Grandma Edna calls Christian's phone to congratulate Edge. Edge thanks her and gives the phone back to Christian, but she had already hung up.

Next up was a six man with Spike Dudley & the APA taking on Bubba & D-Von Dudley and Test. Spike had come in on his brothers' side, but had wound up on the outs with them as he often had, and instead took up with his new girlfriend, Molly Holly. In the meantime, Test had been a flag waving member of the WWF roster, but was incorrectly identified as the mole who was helping WCW sneak attack the WWF, and the APA led a gang of WWF wrestlers in a 10-on-1 gang beating on Test. Test said screw it and went with the Alliance after that, and cost the APA the WWF Tag Team Title when he interfered in their title loss. Hard hitting brawl with a great finish where Spike went for the Acid Drop on Test but Test launched him over the top rope and through a table at ringside, then Bradshaw hit the Clothesline From Hell, but Shane McMahon ran in and nailed Bradshaw with a chair so Test could crawl over and get the win.

The next match is for both the WWF Light Heavyweight Title and the WCW Cruiserweight Title between Tajiri and X-Pac, who had held both titles until Tajiri had beaten him for the WWF LHW Title. This is the rematch where Tajiri is going double or nothing for a chance to take home both straps. This was an interesting time for X-Pac, because he had never meant less in the WWF than he did at that point, but he was back in the lightweight setting that he had come from and was working really hard to have some great matches. He had gotten really lazy during the DX days, but really seemed a lot more motivated during this run and was pulling out a lot of athletic and high flying moves he hadn't done very often for years. X-Pac slid under the handspring elbow and hit the X-Factor for 2, Tajiri went for the knockout kick but Albert got on the apron and distracted Tajiri. Tajiri blew the red mist in Albert's eyes, but X-Pac hit a low blow and a second X-Factor to get the win and walk out with both titles.

Interestig trivia fact: X-Pac may have been the first man to simultaneously hold both the WWF Light Heavyweight and WCW Cruiserweight Titles AFTER the WCW buyout in 2001, but he was not the first person in history to do it. That honor goes to the Ultimo Dragon, who held the LHW Title when it was part of the eight title J-Crown, and then added the WCW Cruiserweight Title to his collection by beating Dean Malenko at Starrcade 96. The dual reign only lasted six days before Ultimo Dragon lost the J-Crown to Jushin Liger, but it was a pretty historic six days that went largely unnoticed. The truth is that while it carried the WWF name, the LHW Title was rarely, if ever, mentioned on WWF television and spent most of the time being defended outside the United States. It was originally created in 1981 in Japan, but quickly found its way to Mexico where it became featured in the UWA, a lucha promotion the WWF had a business relationship with at the time, as a business tactic to help spread the WWF name abroad while giving UWA a rub by having a WWF title on their shows. It would be defended there for most of the next 15 years and was held many times by Perro Aguayo and Villano III, and even by a young Pegasis Kid, aka Chris Benoit, a solid nine years before he would ever actually set foot in a WWF ring. It finally found its way back to Japan when the UWA went under in 1995 and ended up in New Japan Pro Wrestling as part of the J-Crown in 1996, during which time it was held by names like the Great Sasuke, Liger, Ultimo Dragon, El Samurai, and Shinjiro Otani. It was during Otani's reign in late 1997 that the WWF decided it wanted to start their own Light Heavyweight Division in response to the WCW Cruiserweight Division, and called up New Japan asking for the title and belt back. New Japan returned the belt, and the J-Crown (which had already dropped to seven titles after WAR took its title back) was dissolved and all of the different titles were returned to their promotions, leaving Otani as just the NJPW Junior Heavyweight Champion. Feel free to use this one to impress your friends.

With that little history lesson out of the way, we move on to our next match as Chris Jericho faces Rhyno of the Alliance. Jericho had been verbally abusing Stephanie for months, coining the classic phrase "dirty, disgusting brutal, bottom feeding trashbag ho" in reference to Mrs McMahon-Helmsley. Stephanie, finally tired of listening to Jericho run her down, enlisted the help of Rhyno, whom Jericho had never managed to defeat, to shut Jericho up once and for all. Rhyno came out on top of an early slugfest, but Jericho took control with a flying clothesline and a leg lariat and Rhyno went to the outside, but Jericho tried to dive off the top rope to the floor and Rhyno Gored him on the way down in a pretty awesome spot. Stephanie was gold in this one, slapping Jericho when the referee's back was turned and generally being a nuisance at ringside. She really doesn't get the credit she deserves for being such a great heel. Rhyno continued to work Jericho over, hitting a TKO and then stretching Jericho out with a kneeling surfboard, but made a mistake by going for a diving headbutt from the top rope and knocked himself silly when Jericho moved. Jericho started to come back with a series of pinning combinations and hit a Lionsault for 2. Stephanie tried getting in the ring and saved Rhyno by distracting the referee, so Jericho went over and kissed her and then hit his bulldog and another Lionsault but only got 2 as Paul Heyman declared Rhyno the cure for Jerichoholism. Rhyno flattened Jericho with a spinebuster and then got Jericho in the Walls Of Jericho but Jericho made the ropes so Rhyno hit a belly to belly suplex and set up for the Gore, but Jericho moved and Rhyno hit the corner, and Jericho went right for the Walls Of Jericho and Rhyno tapped away his first loss to Jericho. Stephanie threw a fit at ringside and stormed off to the back. Great match, and it's a shame that this would end up being the highlight of Rhyno's WWF career, because he would hurt his neck soon after this and ended up needing the neck fusion surgery that became unusually common around this timeframe. By the time he came back a year later, his momentum was totally gone and he never again rose above the midcard until he was let go in 2005.

Speaking of people getting hurt, it's time for our cringe-inducing car crash match of the evening as Jeff Hardy faced Rob Van Dam in a Ladder Match for the WWF Hardcore Title. Before there was a They, before Jeff Hardy was the Antichrist, and before RVD was getting laid out with a nail bat named after the owner's mother, these two spent much of the summer of 2001 destroying each other in increasingly brutal spotfests, and whether it was blown spots, weapons, or just Hardy and RVD stiffing the hell out of each other, we always got a show when these two were in the ring and the series really elevated both guys in the eyes of the fans. It was especially great for RVD, who won all but I believe one match in the series with Hardy, and it helped elevate him really quickly when he was dominating such a popular name WWF guy on a regular basis. They started off pretending for a few minutes like they were going to try wrestling, but quickly got down to business when Hardy hiptossed RVD over the top to the floor, then hit a twisting springboard dive through RVD and nearly went through the announce table. Hardy went up top for another dive onto the floor but RVD moved and Hardy smacked his face into the barricade, so RVD picked him up for a suplex but dumped him gut first on the barricade, then hit a legdrop off the barricade onto Hardy. Hardy got the ladder and tried dragging it through the ropes into the ring, but RVD leaped off the barricade onto the end of the ladder, see-sawing it into Hardy's face. Then RVD got in and grabbed the ladder, but Hardy leapfrogged over him onto the ladder on the outside and see-sawed it up into RVD's nether regions, then followed it with an Arabian Press from the outside of the ring. RVD set the ladder up like a table in the corner and put Hardy on top of it, then went to the corner across the ring and leaped off the second rope, rolled across the ring, and used the momentum to hit Rolling Thunder on Hardy on the ladder. This is just insane. Hardy tried coming off the ropes so RVD just spinkicked his head off, then superkicked Hardy on top of the ladder, and hit a slingshot legdrop onto Hardy. Hardy finally gave RVD a receipt by running off the ropes and dropkicking the ladder into RVD on the outside of the ring. Hardy brought the ladder inside and tried to climb, so RVD climbed the ropes and jumpkicked Hardy off the ladder, then put the ladder on top of Hardy and came across the ring with a cartwheel moonsault. Now RVD climbed the ladder and Hardy dropkicked the ladder out from under him, and RVD came down and landed on top of Hardy. Hardy spiked RVD and went for a Swanton but RVD moved and went for the Five Star Notebook Splash, and Hardy moved. Hardy set the ladder up and tried to climb yet again but RVD started climbing up the other side and suplexed Hardy off the ladder. They both went up the ladder again and this time Hardy hit a sunset flip off the ladder and powerbombed RVD into the ring. Hardy went back up again and had his hands on the belt, and RVD knocked the ladder out from under him but Hardy hung onto the wire. RVD tried yanking him down but only succeeded in swinging Hardy back and forth like a pendulum, so RVD went up top and tried spinkicking Hardy off the wire but missed by a mile and landed in the middle of the ring, and then Hardy fell on top of him. Hardy went up the ladder again and RVD tipped the ladder over and hung Hardy up on the top rope, then climbed back up the ladder and grabbed the belt. This was just unbelievable, they simply destroyed each other out there and I have no idea how either guy was able to walk out after the abuse they took in this match. I really have to wonder after watching this how so many other people never had matches that were anything like this but still ended up getting seriously injured or had their careers ended outright because of the crazy stunts they pulled back then, but these two made a career out of flying around like crash test dummies and never suffered any major injuries. More power to them, but I wouldn't want to be their chiropractors.

Time for the big three title matches, beginning with WWF Tag Team Champions Diamond Dallas Page & Chris Kanyon facing WCW Tag Team Champions Undertaker & Kane. To quickly recap the history here, Diamond Dallas Page had revealed himself as the man who was stalking the Undertaker's wife Sara, leading to a heated feud between them and soon drawing Page's buddy Kanyon and Undertaker's brother Kane into the mix. You might wonder what interest DDP would have in Sara given what his own wife looked like, but that's a question that's baffled greater men than I. What we do know is that DDP & Kanyon won the WWF Tag Team Title, putting them under the jurisdiction of WWF Commissioner William Regal, who was now able to order them into a cage match with Undertaker & Kane at Summerslam. Just to add a little something extra to the mix, Undertaker & Kane beat Sean O'Haire & Chuck Palumbo for the WCW titles, so now this match would be title for title with the winners being the first team to simultaneously hold both the WWF & WCW tag titles. For as historic an occasion as this was, it was a total squash, with Undertaker and Kane just destroying DDP & Kanyon, who got almost no offense in the entire match. DDP & Kanyon got a couple of lucky shots in and tried to climb over the top and escape, but Undertaker grabbed DDP and told Kane to let Kanyon go so they could have DDP all by himself. Undertaker looked DDP in the eye and told him to leave now and never come back, but when DDP started to scale the cage, Undertaker changed his mind and chokeslammed DDP off the top of the cage and hit the Last Ride to claim victory and become the first unified WWF/WCW Tag Team Champions. Kind of an underwhelming end to the match, though it did at least mean the end of Stalker DDP as he would soon reinvent himself as the smiling, happy DDP who told us that it's not a bad thing, it's...A GOOD THING!

Onto something a little more competitive, as Stone Cold Steve Austin defended the WWF Title against Kurt Angle. This was fresh off of Austin turning on the WWF and joining the Alliance at the InVasion PPV, with the story being that he thought Angle was being groomed to take his spot and wanted to be on the side that appreciated his talents. This match kicked ass, really physical and competitive match where Austin got the early advantage by backgrupping Angle to the floor and laying a beating on him on the outside, but Angle recovering and hitting 6 or 7 German Suplexes in a row. Angle then made a mistake by going up top and Austin hit a superplex and a Stunner, but only got 2. Austin hit another Stunner and the momentum caused Angle to spill out to the floor where Austin busted Angle open by bashing him into the ringpost four times in a row, and then slumped Angle against the ring apron and just pounded his face in. He finally rolled Angle back into the ring and covered him, but only got a 2 count, so he tossed Angle back to the floor and rammed him into the post yet again, then the announce table, and then suplexed him into the crowd. Austin continued the vicious assault in the crowd, but Angle caught Austin in the anklelock as Austin tried to get back over the barricade, then dragged him back into the ring and applied the anklelock again but Austin made the ropes. Angle chased Austin out to the floor where he hit an overhead belly to belly overhead suplex and then a back suplex, then tossed Austin back in the ring and hit a moonsault for 2. Austin got the Million Dollar Dream and Angle did the Bret Hart reversal from Survivor Series 96, but Austin knows that score and rolls off his back before getting pinned and holds onto the move. Angle hangs on and is able to escape, but Austin hit a third Stunner and again only got 2. Austin tries for a fourth Stunner but Angle counters to the Angle Slam for 2, and then Austin suddenly punched the referee out of nowhere. Angle gave Austin a DDT, but Austin gave him a lowblow and when a second referee runs into the ring, Austin gives him a Stunner as well. A third referee runs in and Austin takes the WWF Title belt and knocks the third ref out with it, but then falls victim to another Angle Slam. Angle goes for the cover and WCW referee Nick Patrick runs out and counts 1, but then changes his mind and calls for the bell, disqualifying Austin for knocking out the other referees. The WCW official had saved Austin's title, and an infuriated Angle put Nick Patrick in the anklelock while Austin ran for his life. This was an awesome brawl with both guys just fighting it out and trying to destroy each other to be the one walking out with the WWF Title. To the WWE and TNA booking teams, I present this as an example of how the World Titles should mean everything and everybody should be willing to kill both themselves and the other guy to be the one walking out with that strap.

We now come to the final match of the evening, as Booker T defends the WCW World Title against the Rock, and even now I can't believe that a WCW Title match main evented one of the WWF's biggest PPVs of the year. I suppose they decided that they couldn't end the show on the finish of the Austin-Angle match, so they decided to put this on last instead. This had to be a huge thrill for Booker T to walk into the company and main event Summerslam pretty much right off the bat. Booker was the only true homegrown WCW guy who wasn't treated like a total jobber by the WWF, and I think that having him main event Summerslam showed that the WWF saw more in him than the rest of the WCW crew. It also helped that Rock was a guy who always worked hard to make his opponents look good since he realized that you have to make your opponents look strong so it means something when you beat them. Rock controlled early until they went out to the floor and Booker took the advantage, crotching Rock on the barricade and beating him all through the crowd and back to ringside where he rammed him into the ringpost. They headed back into the ring and Rock got Booker in the Sharpshooter, but Shane McMahon jumped up on the apron and Rock went after him, then turned around just as Booker caught him with the Harlem side kick. Rock came back by hitting a catapult into the corner and a DDT for 2, but then Shane McMahon nailed Rock with the WCW Title belt while the referee's back was turned. The APA run out and lay Shane out to keep him from interfering, but Booker hits the Bookend out of nowhere as the referee herds the APA to the back, and Booker covers but only gets 2. Rock hits the spinebuster and the People's Elbow, but Shane McMahon recovers and zips into the ring to drag the referee to the floor before he can finish the count. Now Rock has had enough and he goes after Shane and gives him the Rock Bottom on the floor, then heads back inside and continues taking the fight to Booker. Booker gets a spinebuster of his own and hits the Ax Kick, then does the Spinarooni to the delight of the crowd, but unfortunately for Booker he comes out of the Spinarooni just in time for Rock to kip up and give him the Rock Bottom for the win and the WCW World Title.

* * *

Summerslam closed with the Rock bringing the WCW Title home to the WWF, but the WWF Title remained in the hands of Steve Austin and the Alliance. Both titles would change hands in coming months, as Kurt Angle would get a rematch with Austin the following month at Unforgiven in his hometown of Pittsburgh and defeat Austin to claim the WWF Title in front of his friends and family. The celebration would be short lived, as Austin would regain the title mere weeks later and then go on to defeat Angle and also Rob Van Dam in a Triple Threat Match at No Mercy.

The WCW Title scene would be similarly tumultuous, as the Rock would face not only Booker T but also Shane McMahon in a handicap match, with the WCW Title again on the line, at Unforgiven. Rock would win that match and then defend against Chris Jericho at No Mercy in a match that saw Jericho, then a babyface, take a shortcut to victory by hitting Rock with a chair to win the WCW World Title. Jericho's shortcut was not lost on Rock or the fans, but when Rock regained the WCW Title a few weeks later on Raw, Jericho lost control and again attacked Rock with a chair. As two of the WWF's top soldiers in the war against the Alliance, the rift between them was a threat to the continued survival of the WWF.

But aside from the on-screen storylines, this show pretty much marked the beginning of the Alliance being systematically jobbed out to the WWF as, with the exception of Rob Van Dam and the Alliance guys who were really WWF guys, every member of the Alliance did the job tonight in convincing fashion. The Alliance had gotten one solid month of an advantage over the WWF, and Vince McMahon decided that it was enough, and they would not only be jobbed out, but actually replaced. The legitimate WCW and ECW wrestlers were pushed to the back in favor of WWF guys who suddenly began filling the Alliance's top ranks and everyone else was relegated to being little more than MAD agents. The war was beginning to look less and less like a real war, but for appearances sake it would continue staggering along for another couple of months before mercifully being put out of its misery.

Coming up in Part 8: Survivor Series 2001, the WWF-Alliance war reaches its conclusion with a Winner Take All, tag team elimination match!

Summerslam 2001: 8/19/2001 in San Jose, California

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