Steve-a-mania Reviews: Rebellion 2001

Rebellion 2001 took place in the Manchester Evening News Arena in the United Kingdom, during this time WWF was at war with the Alliance in one of the most controversial storylines in WWF history, this visit to the UK was the last PPV stop until the big Survivor Series PPV just weeks away.

November 3, 2001

Attendance: 15,612

Jim Ross and Paul Heyman are the commentators.

Edge vs. Christian- Steel Cage match for the WWF Intercontinental title

A few weeks prior to this match Christian turned his back on Edge and joined the Alliance out of jealousy for the success Edge achieved throughout the year which included a King of the Ring win which is where it all started. After a physical match Edge and Christian are duking it out on top of the cage with Christian gaining the advantage and Edge falling to the ring, Christian climbs down the cage as quick as his legs will allow, but is met with a surprise when Edge grabs Christians legs and pulls them through the holes in the cage, tying up his legs and climbing out of the cage to victory. (20:49)

This was a really good opener and a great start to get the fans pumped up for the show, Edge took some really convincing bumps into the cage and worked equally well with Christian having a more aggressive streak with everything he did, a very exciting start.

Winner: Edge
Overall Rating: ***½

Scotty 2 Hotty vs. The Hurricane

Pretty much a filler match for the event with Scotty 2 Hotty reversing a back drop bouncing off the ropes nailing the bulldog, then hit’s the Worm and gets the win (8:55) which is just a reminder of what an unrealistic finisher it is for getting an opponent down for the three, but whatever it got over. Standard filler match that was ok for what it was, it went on a little too long for who was in it and didn’t have much in the way of heat, but wasn’t offensive.

Winner: Scotty 2 Hotty
Overall Rating: **

Big Show vs. Diamond Dallas Page

At this time DDP was working his overly optimistic gimmick and would insist that every bad thing is not so bad and is actually a good thing, obviously on happy pills. DDP works the leg throughout the match but Show counters that with some power moves, DDP gets the near fall with a Diamond Cutter. DDP goes to work on Big Show with some kicks but Big Show hit the choke slam to wipe the smile off DDP’s face for the three count (3:15)

It was never going to be a crisp and exciting classic but served its purpose of Big Show being a dominant giant, it’s just a shame it was at the expense of a talented guy that could have been used a lot better than he was, but in match quality it wasn’t anything special.

Winner: Big Show
Overall Rating: *¼

APA vs. Hardy Boyz vs. Dudley Boyz- WCW World Tag Team titles

I was looking forward to this match as I like all three teams. All hell breaks loose early on as all teams get involved on the action, in the ring though Dudleyz hit Farooq with a 3D Bradshaw comes to his partner’s aid taking out Buh Buh with a clothesline from hell. Matt Hardy quickly enters the ring and hits Farooq with a twist of fate and a pin eliminating APA.

APA’s exit was somewhat premature and they hardly featured in the match at all, which begs the question why were they there in the first place? I imagine it was an effort to change things up from the Survivor Series match set to take place. The match now reverts back to formulaic tag team wrestling with Jeff playing the face in peril role. He gets the hot tag to Matt Hardy and takes D-Von down with some punches to the face and then hit’s a clothesline on Buh Buh. He then hit’s the leg drop from the second rope for a near fall. Matt Hardy locks in the Twist of Fate on D-von but its reversed! He gets pushed to the ropes and the Dudleyz hit the 3D for the win. (12:01)

Underwhelming match with APA going out first and very early on as well with the match reverting to tag team formula, Jeff deserves credit for his selling and playing the face in peril role that Ricky Morton would be proud of, the finish seemed a little out of nowhere and felt like a match on Raw rather than a title match on a PPV.

Winners: Dudley Boyz
Overall Rating: **

Tajiri vs. Commissioner Regal

– Before the match begins Regal cuts a promo on the UK crowd claiming to be everyone’s role model and someone the English people can be proud of, who wouldn’t be proud of someone who’s well known for being a voluntary member of the kiss my ass club? It seems to have worked though as the crowd begins a chorus of boo’s for Regal.

After a few minutes of back forth action with Regal using a ground based offence and Tajiri’s offence being more high flying and kick based, Tajiri locks in the tarantula releasing the hold before the referee counts to 5, he goes for the moonsault, but misses! Regal then see’s an opening and locks in the devastating Regal Stretch! Tajiri has no choice but to tap out. (5:55)

It was better than expected considering the time they had and how the rest of the night bar the opening has gone too, not much in the way of storytelling but the contrasting styles was interesting as well as Tajiri’s exciting offence.

Winner: Commissioner Regal
Overall Rating: **½

Chris Jericho vs. Kurt Angle- WCW Championship

Around this time Kurt Angle was also the United States champion but only the WCW World title is on the line, so he has nothing to lose and everything to gain! It starts off with a good pace and some back and forth action with the advantage swaying over from Jericho to Angle back to Jericho then to Angle again. Chris Jericho goes for a Walls of Jericho early on but Angle scurries to the ropes. They both tease their finisher’s early on and Angle uses his various suplexes to combat Jericho’s high flying offence. Kurt Angle goes for the Angle slam after a failed Lion Sault by Jericho but Jericho slips down the back of Angle and rolls him up for the win. (14: 55)

Really good competitive wrestling match, it went back and forth so many times with the advantage swinging like a pendulum, overall it was a great performance by both that was devoid of interference, shenanigans or foul play by either guys, just giving us straight up wrestling with no bullshit.

Winner: Chris Jericho
Overall Rating: ***¾

Lita & Torrie Wilson vs. Stacy Kiebler & Mighty Molly (Special Referee: Trish Stratus)

I am really putting my expectations low for this one, in another Alliance vs. WWF type match that probably has no right being on the card in the first place, but you gotta have a breather before the main event, and I won’t complain at Trish in a tight shirt, so it’s a win win.

It was smart of them to keep the Torrie and Stacy exchanges very limited and their main spot being a cart wheel, and not screwing it up so they should get major points for that. Lita wins with a twist of fate on Mighty Molly (4:16). Having either Lita or Molly be in for the majority of the match was a smart choice, but Stacy and Torrie were featured enough for it to be an unimpressive bout. I would have preferred the Lita and Molly spots to be more extended against each other as they were really great for the very short time they were involved.

Winners: Lita & Torrie Wilson
Overall Rating: ¾*

Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. The Rock- WWF World Title

Austin wastes little time in getting the match underway with attacking The Rock from behind, the brawl leads to the outside with The Rock spitting water in Austin’s face, Rock is fantastic at using his surroundings into the match he is in. After about 10 minutes of outside brawling with Austin being the more dominant they are back in the ring. The Rock mounts a comeback but is greeted with a Thesz Press, Austin plays to the crowd and drops an elbow.

The Rock manages to get back in it with a Thesz Press of his own! Irish Whip from The Rock sending Austin into the Referee, The Rock goes for a clothesline but its ducked and he hit’s the referee! The Rock locks in the sharp shooter but the referee is down, he tries his best to revive the referee but is unsuccessful. Angle comes down to the ring with a chair in hand and whacks The Rock across the back with it, Bam!

Jericho comes to the rescue though and takes down Angle, getting the chair off of him and throwing him out of the ring. The Rock gets to his feet and see’s Jericho with the chair, a look of disbelief painted across his face. They start going at it, rights and lefts being traded between the two, The Rock then hit’s a Rock Bottom on Jericho! Angle comes back in but The Rock quickly disposes of him. He hit’s the spine buster on Austin and sets up the People’s Elbow, the crowd are eager for a title change! He hit’s the ropes but his ankle is grabbed by Kurt Angle, he just won’t stay down. Angle gets up on the apron and hits Rock with the title belt, Rock turns around groggy and is greeted with a Stunner! Austin gets the win. (22:09)

A pretty fun brawl, it’s not as good as their other matches but when they are some of the best matches in wrestling history its hard to add up to that when its not at Wrestlemania or even a major PPV. It lacked the sense of urgency and near falls that made their other matches so special.

Winner: Stone Cold Steve Austin
Overall Rating: ***½

The 411: It was good for a UK PPV event with 3 good to great matches on the card, the Angle vs Jericho match is worth checking out and it being so different from the WWF title match gives both title matches enough differences to be enjoyable. Austin and Rock have had better matches with each other, so you would be forgiven for missing this encounter.
Final Score:  6.5   [ Average ]