Rock Bottom

May 24, 2010 - by Steve Gerweck

rockbottom

IYH: Rock Bottom

Sunday, December 13th in Vancouver, B.C.

D-Lo Brown and Mark Henry defeated Val Venis and The Godfather

Val Venis came out first to a huge pop, as did the Godfather delivering the usual stick.

D-Lo Brown and Mark Henry came out next; Jackie and Terri Runnels came out with Brown, one on each arm.

The match was pretty good; fast, unspectacular wrestling by today’s standards but very enjoyable.

Henry looked good too. His persona and ring ability has really improved, he’s done a great job. It was nice to see the old “two on one” bigman deal; his splash in the corner got a big pop from the crowd, as did the double suplex on him.

Henry got the pin after a somewhat awkward splash off the ropes when Jackie came in and gave Venis a low blow.

The Headbangers def. Kurrgan & Golga (Pinfall)

No ICP, as can be expected, but the Oddities still came out to their music. Kurrgan just looks so stiff, when he delivered a clothesline he looked as if he’d collapsed with a stroke, and the Headbangers haven’t looked very good at all since turning heel.

The match was really nothing special. The Headbangers won via pinfall after a double team.

Steve Blackman defeated Owen Hart by Countout

Owen got a huge pop, but the match was average. He put in a lot of work, but Blackman, now celebrating his one year anniversary in the WWF, is unspectacular and best suited to weekend programming.

After five minutes the action started getting really hot and heavy, and the workrate (horrible word as it is) was generally excellent.

As we’ve seen in the past, the main problem was Blackman’s lack of offense; every time he got in control it went to a rest hold after what seems to be invariable a move off the ropes. In the end, Owen just walked out on the match.

The Brood defeated The Job Squad (Snow, Holly, Scorpio)

Technically the match was sound, just unrehearsed, apart for the ending, which was badly choreographed. Christian was laid out in the ring and Scorpio hit the top for an inverted 360 degree legdrop; but Edge was standing on the outside and looked to be ready to pull his “brother” out of harm’s way; but he didn’t. He just stood there. Scorpio hit the move, and Edge then came in… but too late to break up the pin believably. The ref was quick to try and convince everyone he succeeded in breaking it up by waving two fingers in the air, but it was paper thin. Edge hit a mega plancha over the top rope using Gangrel as a springboard, hitting both Al Snow and Bob Holly. Scorpio just stood in the ring until Christian came from behind and hit his finisher for the 1-2-3.

Goldust def. Jeff Jarrett (Reverse Decision)

– Loser has to Strip; either Goldust or Debra for Jarrett

The crowd was solidly behind Goldust…. for obvious reasons, but the bout itself was again void of much crowd interest. Jarrett was solid as usual, but he’s still not getting any heat. He’s pretty entertaining in a Norman Smiley kind of way…

The ref saw Debra on the outside planning to hit Goldust with the Guitar; this sidetracked him when Goldust went for his “curtain call”. The fans were going absolutely ballistic, begging the ref to turn around and count the three. From that point they ran a series of well-planned near falls on JJ which left the crowd in a frenzy.

Goldust set up Jarrett for the “Shattered Dreams” kick. Debra came in with the guitar and brained Runnels with it. Jarrett recovered and ultimately got the pin.

Shawn Michaels came down the ring and sent Jarrett back to the dressing room, who was happy to oblige. He then let us all in on a clause in the WWF rule book, and reversed the decision.

Debra was moving towards removing her bikini before Jarrett and the Blue Blazer ran in to stop the proceedings.

New Age Outlaws def. Ken Shamrock & Big Bossman (w/Michaels)

– They Retain the tag straps

Michaels did a great job on the outside of the ring during the match, which kept the crowd in it a lot of the time. Most of the encounter had predictable offense, from four of the most predictable men in the game.

The pace picked up near the end of the bout. Gunn hit a big powerbomb but Bossman came in and just destroyed the outlaws with the nightstick as the ref was distracted by Michaels. Gunn countered a Shamrock Vertical suplex and got one of his own, but his leg was pulled by Michaels and Shamrock dropped right down on him. Gunn rolled through and took the pinfall.

World Title Bout – The Rock (c) vs. Mankind

Mick Foley wins by submission – but no new champion

The storyline running throughout the evening was that Foley had a contract which said that if Rock couldn’t wrestle, he’d be declared champion. All he wanted, to agree not to wrestle, was for McMahon to admit that he didn’t give up when he lost the main event for the championship at Survivor Series. There was a lot of mic work before the beginning of the encounter.

“The Rock heard you say it, and that’s good enough for me!” shouted McMahon; The Rock attacked from behind and the match was off.

They went almost immediately to the outside, with Mankind taking the advantage and nailing Rock with the steel steps. They brawled around the ring for a few minutes, with McMahon warning the ref that he better DQ Mankind for doing anything illegal, “anything at all”.

Mankind threw Rock to the outside and went to the second turnbuckle; but he was distracted by a stooge and the champ yanked him off, as he did a somersault and landed on the concrete (similar to the bump he did against Kane at Survivor Series last year). The Rock got on a headset and gave a good minute’s worth as Mankind was recovering, ramming his head into the broadcast table in mid-sentence.

“For the million’s and million’s of the Rock’s fans watching at home”…. he grabbed Foley by the head, but Foley reversed it and knocked him back into the barricade, subsequently jumping onto the table to pound on him some more. Rock kicked Foley in the gut as he went for a chair shot and ddt’d him on it before throwing him back in to the ring for a two count.

A few minutes of solid wrestling later, McMahon demanded that the referee disqualify Mankind for a low blow. The ref never had a chance to consider the situation; Foley nailed him with a piledriver, then took out the time keeper for good measure as “The Boss” went to ring the bell. The Rock hit his opponent on the outside with a chair and followed up with a Rock Bottom in the ring. There was no ref to count, so he pulled Foley up to his feet and held him from behind as Shane McMahon went to hit him with the belt; he hit the corporate champion by mistake, as Foley ducked and then covered the champ for and went for the pin. A reserve ref ran in and got two, as the excitement built. Rock went for a DDT and got a two,as did Foley with his own double-arm. The crowd was heavily into it. It was time; To call out Socko.

He locked in the Mandible Sock right in the middle of the ring, as McMahon looked on in sheer disgust. Rock came close to the ropes before hitting the ground. Mankind won the match, as the ref called for the bell and Mick Foley was the new world champion.

“All right, Mankind wins the match… however, the only way to become a WWF champion is by pinfall or submission, so because the Rock did not pass out or say “I quit”, still the world champion, “The Rock!”

Mankind won the world title, and McMahon basically just said “you’re not the champ”.

Shane nailed Foley in the back with the steel chair, but it was brushed off by the 300lb madman. He hit him in the head next, but it failed to register, as he was then taken down himself. All the stooges ran in and were put down one by one. Finally Ken and the Bossman hit the ring to subdue him.

Steve Austin def. The Undertaker

– Gets his Royal Rumble shot

Austin launched himself at his 6’10 opponent from the getgo, as they brawled down the isle. He picked up a steel guard rail, but was knocked over as the hunk of steel crushed him on the ground.They battled all around the set and back up to ringside again. Austin ran off the opposite ropes, ducked a clothesline and hit a Lou Thez press. They quickly took it to the outside again, as the crowd started chanting “Austin”.

“Stone Cold” lived up to his name by striking Taker’s legs off the steel post and dragging him to the outside, before leaping from the side board with a double axe. After taking the advantage, Undertaker destroyed the Spanish announce table before Austin went for a piledriver which was, predictably, reversed. I’d have to bet that there isn’t an insurance company in town that will cover that broadcast booth.

They fought back to the open grave, as the Undertaker attempted to knock him in. His blow was blocked, and Austin sent his larger opponent sailing down the hill of dirt and followed up with a steel guard rail in his face for good measure.They fought back up to the site again, which saw the Undertaker the first to go into the hole. He grabbed a reef (I guess it was poison ivy…) and nailed Austin with it to bring him in with him. Taker went for the shovel, but absorbed a right hand before he could use it. He attempted to climb out but was dragged back in by the crowd favorite Austin, who again heard his name chanted around the arena.

Out of the grave once more, they brawled around the set a bit more before heading back to the ring. Taker grabbed a steel chair and leveled the former world champion with it flush in the forehead and shot him back into the ring. Austin lept from the apron onto Taker, but was caught and rammed into the ring post.

After making it back to the ring, they hit a good 3/4 moves in succession which ended with The “Rattlesnake” tasting the mat by way of a choke slam. The Undertaker then dragged him back to the grave, throwing him in, and began to cover him with dirt. Austin hit the ‘Taker with a gas can in the head twice, but wasn’t ready to hit him when approached first; so the Taker turned around and went to kick some dirt before approaching Austin a second time, when he was ready. It looked bad. Austin nailed him twice with the can and Stunnered him into the grave, before disappearing into the backstage area. Taker eventually climbed out, and slid down the bank.

An explosion rocked the grave; Kane appeared from it, and the Undertaker charged at his younger brother with a shovel. Kane launched himself off the top of the mount of dirt as they struggled to ground level and back up to the gravesite again. Taker took the advantage in the brawl with a low blow and went for the tombstone. But before he could deliver it, he was sidetracked; by Steve Austin in a digger.

Austin leapt out as the referee made his way up to the dirt pile. Unfortunately the operator didn’t seem too adept at using the giant metal beast; after two minutes of waiting, Austin had to take up his shovel again and start doing the job himself, only looking out to make sure he wasn’t nailed in the head himself by the scoop.

Kane had meanwhile turned the tables and tombstoned Taker, pushing him into the grave to be covered with dirt, as Austin was declared the winner.

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