WEBVTT
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Welcome everybody to another massive edition of The Fall Count.
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I'm your host, Steve Fallen.
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Today we are hopping into the wrestling time machine and
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throwing it back to August two thousand and two. We
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were talking about SummerSlam two thousand and two. Now, if
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you look at the landscape of the business at this
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exact moment in history, everything was changing. This was the
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dawn of a brand new era. It was the first
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Summer Slam that took place after the company dropped the
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letter F and changed its name from the World Wrestling
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Federation to World Wrestling Entertainment.
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Not only that, it.
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Was the first Summer Slam after the infamous Raw and
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SmackDown brand extension. We had two distinct rosters competing for dominance.
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But let's talk about the elephant in the room regarding
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the main event scene. This was the first time the
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next big thing, brock Lesner was many venting a WWE
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pay per view. And who's missing from this card. It's
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stone cold Steve Austin. Now, history tells us that Austin
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was sitting at home at this point.
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Now why you ask.
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Because he walked out after refusing to put over brock
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Lesner In a King of the Ring tournament qualifying match
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on a random episode of Raw with absolutely zero build
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and you know what, I'm gonna say it right here
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on the fall count. I completely agree with Stone Cold's
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thinking on that decision. You don't just give away a
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generational money making match like Austin versus Lesner on free
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television of no build up whatsoever. It should have been
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handled so much better by Creative, But without the Texas
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Redlesnak on the card, the sheer star power on this
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show was absolutely incredible. Get a load of this statistic.
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There were eighteen wrestlers who competed on this broadcast.
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Out of eighteen, a staggering fifteen.
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Of them went on to become world champions in either
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the WWE before this event or after it. The only
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three guys on the entire card who didn't win a
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world title were gold Dust, who, let's be honest, is
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one of the best overall performers to ever not win
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the Big Gold One Tests and Landstorm. This is a
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loaded roster in the Summer Slam of two thousand and two. Now,
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the two Marquee blockbuster matches on the Marquee were the
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Rock defending the undisputed WWE Championship against Brockleusner and Shaw.
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Michaels stepping in the ring to compete in the first
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official match in over four long years against his former best.
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Friend Triple H.
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From a business standpoint, the show was a major success.
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It drew five hundred and fifty four thousand pay per
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view guys in North America. Let's get into the broadcast itself.
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The show kicks off with massive pyro display and a
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completely packed house, but right out of the gate something
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felt off.
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What was it?
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There was no opening video package boom boom for a
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major WWE pay per view. That is just flat out bizarre. Instead,
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they count to live shot of ww e's a restaurant
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the World in New York before going down to ringside.
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The Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle makes his entrance first
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to a chorus of booze in the legendary loud you
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Suck chance for the commentary team. The SmackDown Broadcast duo
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of Michael Cole and Taz were sitting at ringside to
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call the actions for the Blue Brand, along the Spanish
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announced team. Now ray Masterio was making his highly anticipated
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WWE pay perview debut here after signing with the company
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earlier that summer. Instead of walking down the ramp, Ray
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pulls off a classic surprise. He sneaks up and attacks
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Angle from behind with a beautiful her karana, and the
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referee rings the bell. This match was the ultimate opening
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contest for a summer Slam. I remember being sewing incredibly
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excited for this because Ray was one of my absolute
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favorites back in WCW in Kurt Engle was a wrestling machine,
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and keep in mind this was only Kurt Engle's third
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year on the main roster, third year.
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Thirty year.
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After an absolute clinic of counters, top rope maneuvers, and
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intense near falls, Kurt Engle manages to catch the high
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flying Mysterio locks in a grapevine ankle lock right in
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the center of the ring.
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Ray was absolutely.
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Stuck that nowhere to go. He's trapped and he is
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forced to tap out your winner by submission.
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Kurt Engele. Now, looking back, you know I'm gonnacuse by this.
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Looking back, it is honestly one of the greatest ten
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minute opening matches you'll ever see in professional wrestling history.
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They worked at such a frantic high octane pace that
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had never slowed down for a single second. It's the
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exact kind of match where you find yourself wishing they
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had another five or ten or fifteen minutes to play with,
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but they maximize every single second they were given. Now,
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Kurt Engel getting the victory was the absolute correct call here.
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He was the established, top tier main evant guy on
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SmackDown Now, while Ray was still the new kid on
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the block trying to prove himself to the w Ue audience.
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In losing to a competitor like the Olympic gold medalist,
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it didn't hurt Asteria in the slightest.
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In fact, it put him on the map.
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This match laid the groundwork for what we would later
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call the SmackDown six, a core group of talent that
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completely revolutionized television, especially on the Blue brand SmackDown. After
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that opening, we go back stage two Stephanie McMahon, the
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SmackDown General manager.
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She is shown walking through the corridors.
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Now, this was a historic transitional period for Stephanie's character.
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She was a major here heel on TV from late
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ninety nine all the way up into early two thousand
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and two, but this run marked her first time operating
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as a Babyface General Manager.
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She walks into her office only to.
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Find dun dun Dun Dun dun, the Raw General Manager,
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Eric Bischoff, casually sitting in her chair. Bischoff smirks and
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points out that there's only one official office for the
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GM in the arena, even though it's a gin arena.
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But we can't find more space, so he suggests they
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share it for the night. They sit down to watch
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SummerSlam together.
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Who sexual tension.
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Then we get a quick look at the Raw announced team.
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It's Jim Ross and Jerry the King Lawler who are
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stationed at their what looks like wcw ish. It's a
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classic perch near the entrance way that is where RAW
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is called. I feel bad for Jr and Jerry Lala
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being next to that pyro. This brings us to our
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next match. It's Chris Jericho taking on the.
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Night Shabbah Rick Flair.
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Now Jericho tries to lock in the walls of Jericho,
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but the veteran instincts of the Nate Jeboi kick in.
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Flair manages to trigger a distraction, locks in his iconic
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figure four leg lock and beats Chris Jericho.
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Now, it's a decent match.
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In this entire card, there isn't one bad match, and
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if there is a bad match, it's this one, and
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it's not bad. What's fascinating, though, is the behind the
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scenes story of this match. In Chris Jericho's book covering
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this era, he actually revealed that the original scripted finish
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for this match was an inside cradle. However, Jericho personally
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went to management and requested that the finish beat changed
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to Flair winning with the figure four leg lock. Jericho
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believed that winning with this signature submission would help rebuild
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Flayer's real life confidence because at the time, Rick was
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suffering from major self doubt during this stage of his career.
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Now it is while looking back.
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At it that Rick Flair, at fifty two years old,
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would have confident issues. As I record this, the man
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is still kicking, the man is still wheeling and dealing,
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and his confidence does not look broken. Next that bo
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we're going backstage into the locker room of the challenger.
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Brock Lesner is standing there absolutely terrifying alongside his master advocate,
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Paul Hayman. Now, Hayman always hated to be referred to
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as a manager. He was an agent. Hayman fires up
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Lesler with an intense, aggressive pep talk.
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He tells Brock that the Rock is going.
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To bring absolutely everything he has to the table, so
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Brock needs to strike fast, take him out early, and
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walk out of the building as the new undisputed heavyweight champion.
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That takes us back to the ring for a mac
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down showcases Eddie Guerrero taking on Edge. Guerrero was operating
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as an ultra crafty heel while Edge was the rising.
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White hot babyface.
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Now in the story of this match, heavily sended around
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Eddie Guerrero brudely targeting Edge's left arm and shoulder, trying
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to take away his power. Now, Edge is heavily selling
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this injury, screaming in pain, but he fights through the
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agony and he charges in. But Edge manages to summon
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a sudden burst of adrenaline and nail's jericho with a
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devastating spear. Using the exact injured shoulder, Edge rolls them
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over the rest the rought counts to three. The winner
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oge I love It, having Edge deliver the winning spear
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with the exact shoulder that Eddie was destroying for fifteen
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minutes to me was a night. Cherry on Top realized
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that the only way Edge could win is by hurting
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himself to defeat Eddie Guerrero. Following a brief commercial break
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highlighting ww's year round schedule, we go backstage and Jonathan Coachman,
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who's interviewing the UnAmericans, the trio of Christian Landstorm end Tests.
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They cut classic anti American promos, completely ripping into the
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fans for failing to appreciate their world class athletic abilities.
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This leads directly into the raw WWE Tag Team Championship
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match the challengers gold Dust and Booker T, who get
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a huge ovation from the crowd. This was one of
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the most popular tag teams during this era. They were
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easily the most entertaining of the night as well in
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my personal opinion. Now out next to the champions, it's
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Christian in land Storm.
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Booooo boom.
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Boom, absolutely on fire is Booker T cleaning house executing
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a textbook scissor kick. He goes with a pin. The
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referee is destructed by Tests. Running down to ringside. In
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the chaos, Lance Storm cracks Booker T with a brutal kick.
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Christian capitalizes, covering Booker T. And the referee counts to
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three your winners. In still WWE tag team champions Christian
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and Lance Storm. Now the formula was a classic tag
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team wrestling match. The heels cut off the baby Faces,
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isolating gold Dust for a long period of time, giving
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more heat to the aut Americans. It's It's on the
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card next week. Cut back to the World Restaurant in
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New York City rather a unique segment. Now, Nitdia is
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there alongside her on screen boyfriend, the Cruiserweight champion Jamie Noble.
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Yeah remember this, get ready? Jamie Noble is the Cruise
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aweight champion. Jamie Noble is giving Nitdia a task. The
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task is picking a random mail fan out in the
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crowd to passionately make out with what. She jumps right
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onto a guy and starts kissing him. Noble is on
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the microphone, screaming.
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You like that? Poor?
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You like that?
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Poor? Give it that tongue to him, Give that tongue
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to him? What?
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What?
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Yes?
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Talk about? Classy Pg. Thirteen Attitude Era fall off hangover
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a segment right here. But listen, people all always critique
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the Attitude Era, but the Ruthless Aggression two thousand and
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two year in two thousand and three four five are
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filled filled with offensive things like this, give that tongue,
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Give that tongue here. Yeah, we're going back in the
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GM office. Eric Bischoff is smirking, says a woman like
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Nydia clearly knows her exact place in the business. Stephanie
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Fire's back saying that women in this business are actually
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exactly like her, always on top.
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Woo sexual tension.
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That brings us to the Intercontinental title match. Though it's
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Raw Van Dam who was representing Raw while Chris Bunoir
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was representing SmackDown. The stakes were incredibly high here because
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whichever a brand won, the man kept the IC title
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for their respected show. Now your winner and brand new
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Intercondinal Champion is Rob van Dam defeating Crispin One. Now
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it was very entertaining, but really the situation around this
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match is how Eric Bischoff is celebrating that Rob van
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Dam has the Intercondinal title and it's gonna be on Raw,
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while Stephen McMahon is furious. This would actually start the
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process of SmackDown creating a secondary championship, which becomes the
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United States Championship to balance out the rosters. Now, next up, though,
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Test makes his entrance ugh and he's taking on the
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American badass, the Undertaker. When you think about the Undertaker,
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you never think him versus Tests as something you go, oh,
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I remember that. Because Undertaker always wrestling the Rock Austin
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Triple H Kine Big Show, you never think of Tests.
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This match is very basic, fundamental big man match with
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obviously a predictable outcome. Now, the company wanted to push Tests,
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but once him and Stephanie McMahon broke up at a storyline,
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everything kind of went down hill for him. Now, let's
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talk about the emotional centerpiece of Summer Slim two thousand
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and two. The video packages and I already have tears
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in my eyes. They're showing the real life in on
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screen friendship dating back to the formation of Degeneration X
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in nineteen ninety seven between Triple H and Sean Michaels.
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Fast forward to summer summer of two.
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Thousand and two, Triple H teases a massive DX re
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union with HBK, only to shock the world by turning
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on him, dropping him with a pedigree. Then came the
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infamous Mystery parking lot attack where Michaels was brutally ambushed
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security footage rat later revealed that the culprit was Triple H.
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All along.
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This led to Shawn Michael challenging his former best friend
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to an unsanctioned match at SUMMERSLA. I remember watching this
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live back in two thousand and two with a bunch
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of buddies.
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Now, I gotta tell you this was my night.
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Michaels came out though to the ring wearing jeans and
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cowboy boots while Hunter was in his traditional wrestling gear.
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The match was an absolute war, and it was a classic,
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and it lasted nearly thirty minutes. Let's jump though the
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incredible finish. Triple H goes to put Shawn Michaels away
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for good, setting him up for the pedigree. Michael's counters
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flipping backwards into a sudden lightning fast bridge pin. The
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referee slides into position one, two three. Shaw Michaels did it,
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crashing through tables, jumping off ladders, weapons destruction, But Shawn
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Michaels is the winner. This match is an absolute masterpiece.
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It is one of my favorite singles matches of all time.
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The storytelling was flawless, with Michaels brilliantly selling has repaired
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back while Triple H dismantled him with chairs, steps, and weapons.
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Even at thirty minutes, the match flew by because it
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is filled with NonStop action, drama and highly believable near falls.
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This was perfect because winning via a bridge showed that
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Michaels barely survived the match. Now, nobody expected Sean to
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be this phenomenal in this in shape after four years
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away from the ring. But the drama didn't stop at
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the bell, No, no, no. As Sean Michaels is being
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helped to his feet to celebrate, Triple H blindsides him.
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Hunter grabs his trusty sledgehammer and violently strikes Michaels directly
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in the spine. Michaels collapses in agony. Hunter strikes him
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a second time, leaving HBK completely motionless on the mat.
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As Jim Ross screams on commentary, Trevor, h you rotten
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hair for what you do?
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Did not do you have no show, you son of
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a prayer.
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There At the time, we all thought this was a
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tragic one and done.
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Farewell.
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Angle to write shawna television forever. There was no report
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suggesting he would ever wrestle again. Thankfully, his back heeled up.
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He returned to action just three months later and went
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on to become a champion and the first Elimination Chamber
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at Survivors Series two thousand and two. Then he retired
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in twenty ten WrestleMania twenty six But now it is
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time for the main event of the evening for the
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undisputed WWE Championship. But before we get into that, Lilly
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and Garcia, Trish Dress and Howard Finkel have a segment
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talking about puppies, and Howard Finkel has got a wiener.
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It's a strange, strange, strange moment, but I'm guessing they
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wanted to just have Trish out there Figle getting slapped,
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have a little break, because now it's time for your
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main event for the WWE champion Chip, the undisputed titles
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on the line. The video package highlights brock Lesner's rise
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from after winning the two thousand and two King of
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the Ring earning this exact title shot. On the other side,
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the Rock was entering as champion now after winning a
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legendary triple threat match at Vengeance. WWE ran these incredible
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cinematic training packages showing both men intensely preparing for the match,
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which made this bout feel like a legitimate, high profile
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athletic contest. The Rock was a beloved babyface, but his
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Hollywood movie career was taking him off.
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Into the stratosphere.
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Brock Lesner was a twenty five year old monster heeled
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challenger who only had debuted on the main roster four
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months earlier. Now let's get to the historic finish. The
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Rock mounts a massive comeback, taking out Paul Hayman at Rings.
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The Rock sets up Lesner for the rock Bottom, but
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Brock uses his sheer ungodly strength to break the hold.
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Lesnar pushes Rock off, catches him on the rebound, lifts
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him high onto his shoulders, and delivers a thunderous F
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five in the middle.
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Of the ring.
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One two three, Your winner and the brand new undisputed
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w W Champion is Brock Lesner. This was a monumental,
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historic passing of the torch. The Rock went out there
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like a professional and put over the rookie completely clean,
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right in the center.
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Of the squared circle.
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The live crowd in Long Island told a fascinating story here.
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They actively turned on the Rock and loudly cheered for
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the heel. Brock Lesner because they were completely debated by
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Lesnar's raw athleticism. And we're ready for the future of
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the WWE Lesler a hoist of the undisputed title high
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in the air. As Michael Cole famously yelled out on commentary,
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the next big.
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Thing has arrived.
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What historic, unforgettable night of professional wrestling. Thank you again
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for joining the fall Count.
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I'm ce Fall. We'll see you next time. Bye bye,
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Welcome everybody to another massive edition of The Fall Count.
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I'm your host, Steve Fallen.
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Today we are hopping into the wrestling time machine and
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throwing it back to August two thousand and two. We
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were talking about SummerSlam two thousand and two. Now, if
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you look at the landscape of the business at this
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exact moment in history, everything was changing. This was the
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dawn of a brand new era. It was the first
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00:00:28.839 --> 00:00:32.719
Summer Slam that took place after the company dropped the
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letter F and changed its name from the World Wrestling
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Federation to World Wrestling Entertainment.
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Not only that, it.
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Was the first Summer Slam after the infamous Raw and
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SmackDown brand extension. We had two distinct rosters competing for dominance.
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But let's talk about the elephant in the room regarding
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the main event scene. This was the first time the
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next big thing, brock Lesner was many venting a WWE
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pay per view. And who's missing from this card. It's
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stone cold Steve Austin. Now, history tells us that Austin
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was sitting at home at this point.
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Now why you ask.
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Because he walked out after refusing to put over brock
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Lesner In a King of the Ring tournament qualifying match
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on a random episode of Raw with absolutely zero build
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and you know what, I'm gonna say it right here
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on the fall count. I completely agree with Stone Cold's
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thinking on that decision. You don't just give away a
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generational money making match like Austin versus Lesner on free
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television of no build up whatsoever. It should have been
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handled so much better by Creative, But without the Texas
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Redlesnak on the card, the sheer star power on this
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show was absolutely incredible. Get a load of this statistic.
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There were eighteen wrestlers who competed on this broadcast.
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Out of eighteen, a staggering fifteen.
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Of them went on to become world champions in either
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the WWE before this event or after it. The only
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three guys on the entire card who didn't win a
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world title were gold Dust, who, let's be honest, is
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00:02:43.400 --> 00:02:49.280
one of the best overall performers to ever not win
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the Big Gold One Tests and Landstorm. This is a
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loaded roster in the Summer Slam of two thousand and two. Now,
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the two Marquee blockbuster matches on the Marquee were the
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Rock defending the undisputed WWE Championship against Brockleusner and Shaw.
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Michaels stepping in the ring to compete in the first
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official match in over four long years against his former best.
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Friend Triple H.
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From a business standpoint, the show was a major success.
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It drew five hundred and fifty four thousand pay per
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view guys in North America. Let's get into the broadcast itself.
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The show kicks off with massive pyro display and a
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completely packed house, but right out of the gate something
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felt off.
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What was it?
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There was no opening video package boom boom for a
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major WWE pay per view. That is just flat out bizarre. Instead,
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they count to live shot of ww e's a restaurant
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the World in New York before going down to ringside.
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The Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle makes his entrance first
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to a chorus of booze in the legendary loud you
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Suck chance for the commentary team. The SmackDown Broadcast duo
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of Michael Cole and Taz were sitting at ringside to
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call the actions for the Blue Brand, along the Spanish
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announced team. Now ray Masterio was making his highly anticipated
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WWE pay perview debut here after signing with the company
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earlier that summer. Instead of walking down the ramp, Ray
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pulls off a classic surprise. He sneaks up and attacks
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Angle from behind with a beautiful her karana, and the
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referee rings the bell. This match was the ultimate opening
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contest for a summer Slam. I remember being sewing incredibly
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excited for this because Ray was one of my absolute
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favorites back in WCW in Kurt Engle was a wrestling machine,
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and keep in mind this was only Kurt Engle's third
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year on the main roster, third year.
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Thirty year.
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After an absolute clinic of counters, top rope maneuvers, and
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intense near falls, Kurt Engle manages to catch the high
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flying Mysterio locks in a grapevine ankle lock right in
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the center of the ring.
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Ray was absolutely.
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Stuck that nowhere to go. He's trapped and he is
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forced to tap out your winner by submission.
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Kurt Engele. Now, looking back, you know I'm gonnacuse by this.
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Looking back, it is honestly one of the greatest ten
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minute opening matches you'll ever see in professional wrestling history.
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They worked at such a frantic high octane pace that
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had never slowed down for a single second. It's the
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exact kind of match where you find yourself wishing they
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had another five or ten or fifteen minutes to play with,
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but they maximize every single second they were given. Now,
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Kurt Engel getting the victory was the absolute correct call here.
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He was the established, top tier main evant guy on
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SmackDown Now, while Ray was still the new kid on
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the block trying to prove himself to the w Ue audience.
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In losing to a competitor like the Olympic gold medalist,
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it didn't hurt Asteria in the slightest.
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In fact, it put him on the map.
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This match laid the groundwork for what we would later
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call the SmackDown six, a core group of talent that
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completely revolutionized television, especially on the Blue brand SmackDown. After
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that opening, we go back stage two Stephanie McMahon, the
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SmackDown General manager.
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She is shown walking through the corridors.
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Now, this was a historic transitional period for Stephanie's character.
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She was a major here heel on TV from late
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ninety nine all the way up into early two thousand
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and two, but this run marked her first time operating
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as a Babyface General Manager.
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She walks into her office only to.
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Find dun dun Dun Dun dun, the Raw General Manager,
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Eric Bischoff, casually sitting in her chair. Bischoff smirks and
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points out that there's only one official office for the
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GM in the arena, even though it's a gin arena.
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But we can't find more space, so he suggests they
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share it for the night. They sit down to watch
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SummerSlam together.
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Who sexual tension.
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Then we get a quick look at the Raw announced team.
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It's Jim Ross and Jerry the King Lawler who are
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stationed at their what looks like wcw ish. It's a
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classic perch near the entrance way that is where RAW
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is called. I feel bad for Jr and Jerry Lala
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being next to that pyro. This brings us to our
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next match. It's Chris Jericho taking on the.
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Night Shabbah Rick Flair.
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Now Jericho tries to lock in the walls of Jericho,
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but the veteran instincts of the Nate Jeboi kick in.
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Flair manages to trigger a distraction, locks in his iconic
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figure four leg lock and beats Chris Jericho.
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Now, it's a decent match.
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In this entire card, there isn't one bad match, and
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if there is a bad match, it's this one, and
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it's not bad. What's fascinating, though, is the behind the
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scenes story of this match. In Chris Jericho's book covering
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this era, he actually revealed that the original scripted finish
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for this match was an inside cradle. However, Jericho personally
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went to management and requested that the finish beat changed
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to Flair winning with the figure four leg lock. Jericho
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believed that winning with this signature submission would help rebuild
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Flayer's real life confidence because at the time, Rick was
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suffering from major self doubt during this stage of his career.
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Now it is while looking back.
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At it that Rick Flair, at fifty two years old,
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would have confident issues. As I record this, the man
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is still kicking, the man is still wheeling and dealing,
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and his confidence does not look broken. Next that bo
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we're going backstage into the locker room of the challenger.
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Brock Lesner is standing there absolutely terrifying alongside his master advocate,
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Paul Hayman. Now, Hayman always hated to be referred to
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as a manager. He was an agent. Hayman fires up
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Lesler with an intense, aggressive pep talk.
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He tells Brock that the Rock is going.
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To bring absolutely everything he has to the table, so
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Brock needs to strike fast, take him out early, and
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walk out of the building as the new undisputed heavyweight champion.
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That takes us back to the ring for a mac
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down showcases Eddie Guerrero taking on Edge. Guerrero was operating
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as an ultra crafty heel while Edge was the rising.
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White hot babyface.
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Now in the story of this match, heavily sended around
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Eddie Guerrero brudely targeting Edge's left arm and shoulder, trying
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to take away his power. Now, Edge is heavily selling
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this injury, screaming in pain, but he fights through the
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agony and he charges in. But Edge manages to summon
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a sudden burst of adrenaline and nail's jericho with a
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devastating spear. Using the exact injured shoulder, Edge rolls them
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over the rest the rought counts to three. The winner
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oge I love It, having Edge deliver the winning spear
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with the exact shoulder that Eddie was destroying for fifteen
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minutes to me was a night. Cherry on Top realized
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that the only way Edge could win is by hurting
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himself to defeat Eddie Guerrero. Following a brief commercial break
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highlighting ww's year round schedule, we go backstage and Jonathan Coachman,
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who's interviewing the UnAmericans, the trio of Christian Landstorm end Tests.
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They cut classic anti American promos, completely ripping into the
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fans for failing to appreciate their world class athletic abilities.
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This leads directly into the raw WWE Tag Team Championship
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match the challengers gold Dust and Booker T, who get
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a huge ovation from the crowd. This was one of
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the most popular tag teams during this era. They were
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easily the most entertaining of the night as well in
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my personal opinion. Now out next to the champions, it's
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Christian in land Storm.
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Booooo boom.
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Boom, absolutely on fire is Booker T cleaning house executing
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a textbook scissor kick. He goes with a pin. The
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referee is destructed by Tests. Running down to ringside. In
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the chaos, Lance Storm cracks Booker T with a brutal kick.
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Christian capitalizes, covering Booker T. And the referee counts to
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three your winners. In still WWE tag team champions Christian
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and Lance Storm. Now the formula was a classic tag
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team wrestling match. The heels cut off the baby Faces,
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isolating gold Dust for a long period of time, giving
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more heat to the aut Americans. It's It's on the
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card next week. Cut back to the World Restaurant in
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New York City rather a unique segment. Now, Nitdia is
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there alongside her on screen boyfriend, the Cruiserweight champion Jamie Noble.
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Yeah remember this, get ready? Jamie Noble is the Cruise
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aweight champion. Jamie Noble is giving Nitdia a task. The
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task is picking a random mail fan out in the
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crowd to passionately make out with what. She jumps right
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onto a guy and starts kissing him. Noble is on
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the microphone, screaming.
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You like that? Poor?
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You like that?
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Poor? Give it that tongue to him, Give that tongue
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to him? What?
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What?
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Yes?
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Talk about? Classy Pg. Thirteen Attitude Era fall off hangover
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a segment right here. But listen, people all always critique
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the Attitude Era, but the Ruthless Aggression two thousand and
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two year in two thousand and three four five are
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filled filled with offensive things like this, give that tongue,
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Give that tongue here. Yeah, we're going back in the
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GM office. Eric Bischoff is smirking, says a woman like
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Nydia clearly knows her exact place in the business. Stephanie
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Fire's back saying that women in this business are actually
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exactly like her, always on top.
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Woo sexual tension.
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That brings us to the Intercontinental title match. Though it's
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Raw Van Dam who was representing Raw while Chris Bunoir
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was representing SmackDown. The stakes were incredibly high here because
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whichever a brand won, the man kept the IC title
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for their respected show. Now your winner and brand new
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Intercondinal Champion is Rob van Dam defeating Crispin One. Now
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it was very entertaining, but really the situation around this
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match is how Eric Bischoff is celebrating that Rob van
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Dam has the Intercondinal title and it's gonna be on Raw,
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while Stephen McMahon is furious. This would actually start the
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process of SmackDown creating a secondary championship, which becomes the
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United States Championship to balance out the rosters. Now, next up, though,
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Test makes his entrance ugh and he's taking on the
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American badass, the Undertaker. When you think about the Undertaker,
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you never think him versus Tests as something you go, oh,
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I remember that. Because Undertaker always wrestling the Rock Austin
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Triple H Kine Big Show, you never think of Tests.
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This match is very basic, fundamental big man match with
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obviously a predictable outcome. Now, the company wanted to push Tests,
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but once him and Stephanie McMahon broke up at a storyline,
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everything kind of went down hill for him. Now, let's
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talk about the emotional centerpiece of Summer Slim two thousand
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and two. The video packages and I already have tears
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in my eyes. They're showing the real life in on
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screen friendship dating back to the formation of Degeneration X
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in nineteen ninety seven between Triple H and Sean Michaels.
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Fast forward to summer summer of two.
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Thousand and two, Triple H teases a massive DX re
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union with HBK, only to shock the world by turning
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on him, dropping him with a pedigree. Then came the
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infamous Mystery parking lot attack where Michaels was brutally ambushed
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security footage rat later revealed that the culprit was Triple H.
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All along.
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This led to Shawn Michael challenging his former best friend
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to an unsanctioned match at SUMMERSLA. I remember watching this
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live back in two thousand and two with a bunch
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of buddies.
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Now, I gotta tell you this was my night.
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Michaels came out though to the ring wearing jeans and
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cowboy boots while Hunter was in his traditional wrestling gear.
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The match was an absolute war, and it was a classic,
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and it lasted nearly thirty minutes. Let's jump though the
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incredible finish. Triple H goes to put Shawn Michaels away
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for good, setting him up for the pedigree. Michael's counters
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flipping backwards into a sudden lightning fast bridge pin. The
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referee slides into position one, two three. Shaw Michaels did it,
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crashing through tables, jumping off ladders, weapons destruction, But Shawn
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Michaels is the winner. This match is an absolute masterpiece.
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It is one of my favorite singles matches of all time.
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The storytelling was flawless, with Michaels brilliantly selling has repaired
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back while Triple H dismantled him with chairs, steps, and weapons.
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Even at thirty minutes, the match flew by because it
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is filled with NonStop action, drama and highly believable near falls.
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This was perfect because winning via a bridge showed that
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Michaels barely survived the match. Now, nobody expected Sean to
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be this phenomenal in this in shape after four years
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away from the ring. But the drama didn't stop at
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the bell, No, no, no. As Sean Michaels is being
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helped to his feet to celebrate, Triple H blindsides him.
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Hunter grabs his trusty sledgehammer and violently strikes Michaels directly
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in the spine. Michaels collapses in agony. Hunter strikes him
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a second time, leaving HBK completely motionless on the mat.
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As Jim Ross screams on commentary, Trevor, h you rotten
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hair for what you do?
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Did not do you have no show, you son of
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a prayer.
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There At the time, we all thought this was a
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tragic one and done.
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Farewell.
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Angle to write shawna television forever. There was no report
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suggesting he would ever wrestle again. Thankfully, his back heeled up.
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He returned to action just three months later and went
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on to become a champion and the first Elimination Chamber
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at Survivors Series two thousand and two. Then he retired
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in twenty ten WrestleMania twenty six But now it is
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time for the main event of the evening for the
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undisputed WWE Championship. But before we get into that, Lilly
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and Garcia, Trish Dress and Howard Finkel have a segment
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talking about puppies, and Howard Finkel has got a wiener.
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It's a strange, strange, strange moment, but I'm guessing they
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wanted to just have Trish out there Figle getting slapped,
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have a little break, because now it's time for your
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main event for the WWE champion Chip, the undisputed titles
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on the line. The video package highlights brock Lesner's rise
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from after winning the two thousand and two King of
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the Ring earning this exact title shot. On the other side,
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the Rock was entering as champion now after winning a
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legendary triple threat match at Vengeance. WWE ran these incredible
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cinematic training packages showing both men intensely preparing for the match,
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which made this bout feel like a legitimate, high profile
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athletic contest. The Rock was a beloved babyface, but his
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Hollywood movie career was taking him off.
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Into the stratosphere.
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Brock Lesner was a twenty five year old monster heeled
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challenger who only had debuted on the main roster four
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months earlier. Now let's get to the historic finish. The
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Rock mounts a massive comeback, taking out Paul Hayman at Rings.
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The Rock sets up Lesner for the rock Bottom, but
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Brock uses his sheer ungodly strength to break the hold.
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Lesnar pushes Rock off, catches him on the rebound, lifts
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him high onto his shoulders, and delivers a thunderous F
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five in the middle.
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Of the ring.
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One two three, Your winner and the brand new undisputed
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w W Champion is Brock Lesner. This was a monumental,
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historic passing of the torch. The Rock went out there
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like a professional and put over the rookie completely clean,
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right in the center.
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Of the squared circle.
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The live crowd in Long Island told a fascinating story here.
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They actively turned on the Rock and loudly cheered for
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the heel. Brock Lesner because they were completely debated by
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Lesnar's raw athleticism. And we're ready for the future of
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the WWE Lesler a hoist of the undisputed title high
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in the air. As Michael Cole famously yelled out on commentary,
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the next big.
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Thing has arrived.
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What historic, unforgettable night of professional wrestling. Thank you again
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for joining the fall Count.
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I'm ce Fall. We'll see you next time. Bye bye,
