- Steven Richards didn't even tag in to the match, but he was the main
factor in the outcome. When most of the superstars spilled to the outside of
the ring, Val Venis was the victim of a "Dudley Device." However, the
Goodfather broke up the pinfall attempt. Moments later, Steven seemed to
come out of nowhere to deliver a Steven kick to Buh Buh Ray. Val quickly
pinned him for the victory. After the match, the APA and the Dudleys put the
beating of a lifetime on Steven, who was eventually put through a table.
- Winners: Right to Censor by pinfall
• Leather Strap Match: Tazz versus Jerry Lawler
- According to the rules of the match, the winner of the match was the first
superstar to score a pinfall, submission or touch all four corners. Lawler
was quite the aggressor in the match, as he delivered three straight
piledrivers to the Tazz! But Tazz was barely phased (in fact, he wasn't
phased at all until the third piledriver). Lawler tried to drag Tazz around
to all four corners, but before he could get to the fourth, the referee was
inadvertently knocked out. As Lawler tried to choke out Tazz, Raven made a
shocking World Wrestling Federation appearance and delivered a DDT to
Lawler! Tazz seized the opportunity and slapped the Tazzmission! The referee
recovered just in time to see Lawler tapping out!
- Winner: Tazz
• Backstage, Kevin Kelly was waiting for Stone Cold Steve Austin to arrive.
The First Union Center exploded as the Rattlesnake pulled up, and Kelly
asked Austin how he felt. But the Rattlesnake said he was in Philadelphia to
ask questions, not to answer them. With that, Austin tossed Kevin into the a
wall and dropped several steel rods on top of him!
• Hardcore Open Invitational: Steve Blackman defends against Perry Saturn,
Crash Holly, Funkai, Al Snow, and Test
- In this anything-goes affair, the title would change hands each time the
champion was pinned. The superstar who was champion after the 10-minute time
limit expired would leave Philadelphia with the title. Four minutes in to
the match, Crash pinned Steve Blackman. Crash tried to run a way, but
seconds later, Perry Saturn scored a pin to win it. After the Lethal Weapon
grabbed a Kendo stick and proceeded to clobber all the other superstars in
the match, including Saturn, he pinned Perry to win back the title. With
less than one minute left in the match, Blackman tried to retreat to the
locker room with his title, but the other superstars chased after him. They
ganged up on him, but no one was able to pin him as time expired. So
Blackman retain the title -- at least until RAW.
- Winner: Steve Blackman retains
• Backstage, Kurt Angle was talking with a couple of Federation officials
about his Olympic gold medal. He told them he had to go get ready for his
match, but as he walked away he ran right in to Stone Cold Steve Austin!
Angle introduced himself, but Austin was in no mood to shake hands. Angle
even gave Austin an "honorary medal" -- even though it was admittedly much
smaller than one of his own. He "thanked" Angle with several punches and
kicks!
• Chris Jericho versus X-Pac
- The two young competitors fought tooth-and-nail, in and out of the ring.
At one point, Chris Jericho hit the bronco buster on X-Pac! A few minutes
later, Y2J finished him off with the Walls of Jericho. After the match,
X-Pac attacked Jericho with a pair of nunchakus!
- Winner: Chris Jericho by pinfall
• Backstage, Kurt Angle complained to Commissioner Mick Foley about Austin's
actions. It just angered Foley, who made Angle's match with Triple H a
no-disqualification affair!
• Meanwhile, Austin knocked on a door, and it turned out to be The Rock's
locker room! The two superstars glared at each other for several seconds
before finally shaking hands, and the People's Champion welcomed the
Rattlesnake back. Austin said that even though he and The Rock are cool, he
still wanted to know if The Rock had any idea who may have stolen the keys
to the car that ran him down. The Rock said it could have been anyone. Just
then, Joe walked in to the locker room and said he had heard some talking
backstage that Austin might want to know about. Austin responded that he too
had heard some backstage talk -- he heard that Joe was going to get his rear
whooped by Austin! And Austin did just that!
• Steel Cage Tag Team Championship: Edge/Christian versus Hardy Boyz
- Just moments into this brutal affair, Jeff Hardy ended up falling outside
the cage. That meant that if Matt could escape or score a pinfall, the Hardy
Boyz would win the titles. That also meant that Matt was left alone in the
ring with Edge & Christian. Jeff tried to climb the cage to get back in, but
Christian knocked him back down. Later, Jeff tried to get the key to the
cage door from the referee. When the official refused to give it to him,
Jeff threw him in to the cage and took the key away. When Jeff tried to
climb back in the ring, the champions clobbered him with the cage door. Edge
took the key to the cage and dropped it down his tights. Meanwhile, Matt
Hardy was busted open inside the ring as both Edge & Christian picked up
steel chairs. But Matt avoided a double chair shot and delivered a double
clothesline to the champions. Matt tried to climb out of the cage, but
Canadians pulled him back in. Jeff grabbed a ladder and threw it at
Christian, knocking him off the cage and out of the ring. Jeff set up the
ladder and climbed it, and then jumped on top of the cage. Then he dove
backwards and delivered a Swanton bomb off the top of the cage, knocking
down both Edge and Matt! Christian tried to climb the ladder, too, but Lita
appeared and gave Christian a huricanrana off the top of the ladder! When
Edge recovered enough to climb the cage, both Hardys chased after him, and
they were carrying steel chairs. On top of the cage, Matt and Jeff delivered
a double chair shot to Edge, who went flying back down to the canvas. Matt
and Jeff then climbed down outside of the cage, touching the floor
simultaneously to win the Tag Team Championship!
- Winners and New Champions: Hardy Boyz
• Backstage, Stone Cold Steve Austin barged into Stephanie
McMahon-Helmsley's locker room. Stephanie said she had a gift for him, and
she gave him the hat he was wearing last year at Survivor Series, when he
was run down by the car. Stephanie reiterated that the footage from the
incident clearly shows that it couldn't possibly have been Stephanie or
Triple H driving the car. But Stone Cold said that you could only count on
three things -- death, taxes, and that you can't trust anybody in the WWF.
With that, he barged out of the locker room.
• Meanwhile Triple H confronted Commissioner Foley, making sure he planned
on calling his match with Kurt Angle down the middle. Foley insisted that he
would.
• Intercontinental Championship: Eddie Guerrero versus Rikishi Phatu
- When Eddie Guerrero tried to escape to the locker room, Chyna grabbed him
and threw him back in to the ring -- insisting that her man fight like a
man. On the other hand, when Rikishi set up the champion for a Stink Face,
Chyna pulled her fiance to safety. Rikishi confronted her, allowing Guerrero
to dive from the top rope and splash the Phat Man. Minutes later, Rikishi
gave Guerrero a sit-down splash and had the champion covered, but Chyna
interfered again. Rikishi was now irate, and he tossed Chyna into the ring,
superkicked her, and then splashed her from the second rope. Rikishi won the
match by disqualification, but Guerrero kept the title.
- Winner: Rikishi Phatu by disqualification
• Jonathan Coachman interviewed the Undertaker, who said he was the Big Dog
in the World Wrestling Federation, and he would regain the Federation
Championship! Meanwhile, Kurt Angle seemed genuinely concerned about his
match with Triple H. As he wondered aloud what he was going to do, Trish
Stratus came in to his locker room and said she'd be willing to help if
Angle needed it. But Angle suddenly came up with a plan, and he excitedly
walked out of the locker room, leaving a confused Trish behind.
• No Disqualification: Triple H versus Kurt Angle
* Mick Foley is the special guest referee.
- Commissioner Foley came out to referee the match, which he had announced
earlier in the night would be a no-disqualification affair. Kurt Angle
followed, and he grabbed a microphone to announce that it was Stephanie
McMahon-Helmsley's birthday. He led the First Union Center crowd in a
rendition of the "Happy Birthday" song. The birthday girl came out with her
husband, whose ribs were heavily taped after Angle brutally attacked him
last Thursday on SmackDown! Both competitors utilized the
no-disqualification stipulation to their advantage. Triple H went for the
Pedigree on J.R. and the King's announce table, but Angle low-blowed him,
picked him up, and gave him a belly-to-belly suplex, throwing him through
the Spanish announcers' table! Stephanie went over to check on her husband,
shoving Angle in the process. Foley checked on Triple H as well, asking him
if he wanted to give up. But Triple H said he'd continue. Back in the ring,
Angle went to work on the Game's ribs. Still, Triple H managed to kick out
on two after the Olympic gold medalist suplexed him off the top rope. At
this point, as Angle slapped on the abdominal stretch, Triple H was bleeding
from his mouth, and he appeared to be cut near his right eye as well. After
Angle missed a moonsault off the top rope, Triple H recovered enough to go
for the Pedigree, however, he could only use one hand, as his left arm was
also badly injured. Stephanie entered the ring, and Triple H told her that
she needed to choose between him and Angle. Stephanie paused for a moment,
and then walked behind Angle and kicked him with a low blow! This time,
Triple H ignored the pain and he administered the Pedigree with bold hands.
The Game went for the pinfall and won the match! After the match, Stephanie
seemed concerned, and she even walked over to check on Angle. Triple H
grabbed his wife and kissed her in a forcible manner. He left the ring;
Stephanie didn't follow him initially, but after a few moments she joined
him in walking back to the locker room.
- Winner: Triple H by pinfall
• In one of the most anticipated moments of the last several months, Shane
McMahon appeared, claiming that he knew who hit Stone Cold Steve Austin and
he could prove it. Shane said that the man who did it has a history of
vehicular assault, and Shane showed a clip from several months ago of Steve
Blackman backing in to Ken Shamrock. Blackman came out, apparently to
dispute Shane's claims, but before he could, Stone Cold Steve Austin himself
appeared as the crowd at the First Union Center went crazy! Austin got right
in to Blackman's face and stunned him! Shane was ecstatic, and he grabbed a
cooler full of beers and shared a few with Austin. But just when it appeared
that a new alliance was born, Austin stunned Shane -- clearly proving that
he doesn't believe Shane's claim that Blackman was the culprit. When Shane
recovered, Austin stunned him again! In fact, Shane was the victim of a
stunner three times, as Austin chugged several beers and the crowd went
wild.
• Fatal Fourway Heavyweight Championship: The Rock Versus Kane versus
Undertaker versus Chris Benoit
- The rules of the match stipulated that all four men would battle in the
ring at the same time, and the first superstar to score a pinfall or
submission would walk away with the Federation Championship. Because of the
rules, The Rock could have very well lost the title without being pinned or
submitting. That is exactly what seemed to happen. Chris Benoit clobbered
the Undertaker with a steel chair and pinned him. The referee administered
the three count, and Benoit was announced as the new champion. However, the
Undertaker's foot was on the bottom rope (the referee didn't see it) and as
Benoit celebrated in the aisle, Commissioner Foley came out, grabbed the
title away from Benoit, and ordered the match to continue. All four
superstars proceeded to take an incredible amount of punishment. The Rock,
for example, was the victim of a Last Ride by the Undertaker, and later he
was locked in the Crossface for minutes. Both times, however, The Rock was
eventually saved before he was pinned or forced to tap out. After Undertaker
kicked Benoit, breaking up the Crossface, he and Kane battled outside the
ring. Meanwhile, The Rock somehow mustered enough energy and delivered the
Rock Bottom to Benoit. This time, there was nobody in the ring to break up
the pin, and The Rock retained his title! After the match, the People's
Champion could barely stand, but he finally got up and celebrated with the
crowd in Philadelphia.
