Welcome to the third and final part of this 2001-2002 WWF fantasy booking. If by some chance you haven’t checked out the other parts, I’ll pin them below. If you’re up to date, let’s get straight back to it!
A Perfect Opponent
Kurt Angle runs down all of the names he has beaten during his championship reign. He has defeated all of the best wrestlers that WWF has to offer. There ain’t no way that Vince McMahon is getting this title away from him, because there is not a single man alive who can wrestle like he can.
Kurt is interrupted by music we haven’t heard in many years. Out comes ‘Mr Perfect’ Curt Hennig. Hennig comes face to face with Angle and says he is impressed by what he has seen. Angle is an exceptional wrestler, but he is not perfect. Hennig has won various championships all over the country, but the biggest prize has always alluded him wherever he has went. He calls the WWF championship the greatest prize and he is the greatest wrestler to have never held it. Hennig challenges Kurt Angle to a match at the Royal Rumble for the championship, which Angle accepts. He wants to prove that Kurt Angle is better than perfect.
Road to WWF Royal Rumble
The Rock, Steve Austin, Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit, Rhyno, Scott Hall among many others are confirmed for the 2002 Royal Rumble match. It is also announced ahead of time that Triple H is returning from his injury and his first appearance back will be in this match.
Matt Hardy is campaigning for a championship rematch with William Regal but the European champion is finding excuses not to. When a match is finally set up, Regal sneak attacks Matt Hardy backstage and the doctors do not medically clear him for action. Jeff Hardy steps up on behalf of his brother and will challenge Regal for the belt. Jeff crosses paths with Edge and tells him that he hasn’t forgotten that he cost him his title. He understands that it was an accident, but they will need to settle their issue one way or another soon. If this is what must be done, then Edge is happy to fight.
Christian’s Intercontinental celebration is interrupted by former ally Edge who takes credit for his success. Christian claims to have carried their tag team, Edge has always been inferior and this title proves it. Edge challenges Christian to prove how great he is by putting his title on the line against him at the Rumble. Christian considers it but only if Edge meets some criteria. He makes Edge wrestle a match against former leader and mentor Gangrel, which Edge wins. Edge then faces the APA in a handicap match which Edge manages to score a flash pinfall victory.
Finally, Christian prepares a statement Edge must read. Edge reads a statement that embarrasses him and praises Christian as superior to him in every way. After all of that Christian refuses the match. So Edge attacks him and threatens him with a conchairto unless Christian accepts the match. Christian reluctantly caves in and books the match.
It turns out that Lita was right about Trish Stratus, because she goes behind her back and convinces Vince McMahon to grant her a title match at the Royal Rumble. Trish tries to play it peacefully and claims that she never asked for it but was given it nonetheless. Jazz doesn’t buy it and she takes out Trish Stratus with her DDT.
Raven carries around the urn and talks about the destruction of the Undertaker being his greatest success. He thinks that is about time that everyone is introduced to the master who made this all possible, because he is finally here. At the Royal Rumble, we will all meet the man who orchestrated the end of Undertaker. Kane shows a rare sign of his old self by questioning this master plan. Killing his brother was never discussed. Raven tells Kane that asking questions is not his role in the Hive, it is following orders. He warns Kane against thinking for himself, reminding him what happened to him last time he tried to do that.
WWF Royal Rumble
The 15th annual Royal Rumble airs from Atlanta, Georgia and we begin with the IC championship. Christian can only run away for so long before Edge finally delivers some justice. They wrestle a close match since both men know each other so well. Edge counters the Unprettier and hits one of his own to defeat Christian and become the Intercontinental champion.
Next up, William Regal defends the European championship against Jeff Hardy. Regal grounds Jeff using his technical style but Jeff fights back valiantly. He goes for the Swanton bomb but Regal moves out of the way, rolling Jeff up with a hand full of tights.
Jazz successfully defends her women’s championship against Trish Stratus. A fun little match, Trish finds ways to counter the powerful Jazz but the champion remains on top of the women’s division.
Kurt Angle defends his WWF championship against Mr Perfect. A wrestling masterclass and a re-introduction for Mr Perfect to the WWF audience. Perfect displays his excellent ability, he isn’t as nimble as he once was but Angle can make up the difference. Angle makes Hennig tap to the ankle lock. After the match, Perfect extends a handshake and shows respect to the champion.
Raven and his Hive come out to the ring with the urn in possession. He demands all of his followers kneel before the master. Raven lifts the urn up to the air and we see a mysterious figure descend from the ceiling. It is the debuting Vampiro! (His WCW contract was set to expire at the end of 2001). Vampiro collects the urn from Raven. He has been watching from afar, intrigued by the mystical allure of the Undertaker. He loved watching him tear through any damned soul that stood in his way. Then, all of a sudden, his aura was lost. We saw a man named Mark, riding a bike and being human. This was not the spectre that I idolised.
Vampiro realised that in that moment he was conned. The Undertaker was merely an illusion cast by a wretched fiend. He was no immortal God. Undertaker is a mimic, a poser. Vampiro made it his mission to destroy this “Undertaker” thanks to the talents of Raven brainwashing Kane to be their greatest weapon. Vampiro looks at Kane and says “I am glad at least one of you is every bit as dangerous as you say you are.” Kane has not taken all of this news very well and he thinks for himself. Kane punches Vampiro. The Hive rush to protect Vampiro and fight Kane off. Raven takes Vampiro to safety as Kane chokeslams all the members of the Hive. A huge fiery blast from Kane to shown just how pissed off he is.
Finally of course we have the Royal Rumble. I’m not going to fantasy book this whole thing but I’ll cover some of it.
Chris Benoit enters number 1 and number 2 is the returning Eddie Guerrero, back from injury and not being fired only to be rehired like 3 months later. The friends shake hands before wrestling the match. The ring fills up until Big Show comes in to score a bunch of eliminations. Tough Enough winner Maven enters and scores a massive upset elimination by dropkicking Big Show over and out of the match. This impresses X-Pac who is in the ring when it happens and they work together briefly, until Maven is eliminated by Scott Hall, who just shrugs at X-Pac. Chris Jericho enters at number 12 and joins the fray, being the one to eliminate his rival Chris Benoit from the match.
Jericho and Guerrero go at it. Rhyno comes in and has gores for anyone in sight. Rhyno is trying to eliminate Scott Hall when we have another return entrant, it is Kevin Nash! (His WCW contract was set to expire at the end of 2001). Nash saves Hall and eliminates Rhyno. The Outsiders reunite in the rumble to cause havoc and score a bunch of eliminations. They eliminate Guerrero but Jericho rolls out to avoid their graps. Nash and Hall hold the ring and taunt when we hear the glass shatter and Steve Austin comes out.
Austin and Hall have been sort of allies for several months, but Austin does not trust him and Nash together so he attacks them both. Austin fights a losing battle but he gives it his all. He manages to eliminate Hall but Nash beats him down. Nash continues his dominant run until The Rock enters, he comes in full of fire and whoops Big Daddy Cool’s ass. The Rock eliminates Nash before staring face to face with his old rival Stone Cold once more. They fight to a stalemate, taking breaks from fighting each other when Jericho attacks or new entrants come down.
Eventually we are down to Austin, Rock and Jericho, Austin and Rock talk trash face to face as the timer runs out for the final entrant, Triple H. If you remember, Steve Austin took credit for Triple H being injured in the first place. Triple H rushes in and targets Austin immediately whilst Jericho fights The Rock. This is our final four. HHH and Austin trade blows, we see the signature knee strike and spinebuster before Triple H eliminates Austin from the match.
Triple H and The Rock run it back once again Attitude Era style. It looks like Triple H is unstoppable, poised to win the Rumble in his comeback match but Steve Austin hops on the apron and cheap shots HHH. Hunter drops Austin with a punch, but this distraction allows Jericho to flip him over and out of the match. Austin and Triple H continue their fight on the outside. We are down to The Rock and Chris Jericho. The Rock actually eliminates Jericho from the match, but the referees are so distracted by Austin and Triple H fighting that they don’t notice it. Jericho slips back into the ring and low blows Rock, throwing him out of the ring at the referees feet to make sure they see. Chris Jericho wins the Royal Rumble and will be going to Wrestlemania.
Familiar Foes
Triple H returns to WWF TV and he has a lot on his mind. He is torn between two pathways that he wants to follow. On one hand, he wants to climb back up the mountain and become the WWF champion once again. He has missed proving everyone every week that he is The Game and the very best in this company. He nearly booked himself a ticket to Wrestlemania, but he was screwed over by that son of a bitch Steve Austin.
The other pathway is one of revenge and it is a very enticing one to go down. Steve Austin put him on the shelf many months ago, during a time when Triple H was willing to let bygones be bygones and work together. Austin proved he is still the same piece of crap he always thought he was. One thing he wants to know though is if anyone else was involved in this. Triple H calls out Vince McMahon and questions him about his involvement. Vince denies it and says that Austin has been losing his mind ever since they shook hands at Wrestlemania X-Seven.
McMahon thinks he might have broken the Rattlesnake. Vince wants to do right by Triple H and he acknowledges that he was eliminated from the Rumble by a man who was already eliminated. So, Vince gives Triple H a world title match against Kurt Angle at No Way Out. McMahon publicly cuts ties with Steve Austin.
Kurt Angle and Triple H reignite their feud and dig up some old wounds. Kurt tells Triple H that things have changed, he is not the same Angle that he was able to defeat in the past. He is operating at a level far beyond Trips’ ability. HHH says we will find out just how good you are when we run it back once more for the world title.
Road to WWF No WAy OUt
Chris Jericho gloats his Royal Rumble victory and calls it his destiny to win the WWF championship at Wrestlemania. He is confronted by The Rock, who runs down Jericho with a barrage of insults. Everyone knows that his candy ass was eliminated, The Rock should be challenging for the world title at Wrestlemania, not him. Jericho does not care because his hand was raised at the end of the match. However, both Kurt Angle and Triple H have no love for Chris Jericho and they propose that he has to defend his world title match against The Rock at No Way Out. They belittle his chances of winning a world title, whilst at least competing with The Rock is a guaranteed classic. Chris Jericho, insulted by this, decides to accept the challenge anyway and prove to everyone he deserves to challenge for the world title at Wrestlemania.
X-Pac is impressed with the youngster Maven’s performance in the Royal Rumble that he decides to take him under his wing to work with. They work well together and manage to win a contender match to face the WWF tag champions Perry Saturn and Stevie Richards.
Lita resumes her pursuit of the women’s championship whilst also trying to rebuild Jacqueline’s confidence in herself. After Jazz crushed Jackie in the tag match, she has regressed a little but Lita pushes her to compete against the likes of Ivory and Molly Holly. Trish calls Lita pathetic for wasting her time on a “senior citizen” when she should be focused on the title. However, Trish comes extending an olive branch because they both know that Jazz is far too powerful to be taken out on her own. This leads to Trish and Lita attacking Jazz together in an attempt to weaken her. Jazz knows their alliance is fake and she is happy to face them both at No Way Out and prove why she is the most dominant woman on the planet.
Raven and Vampiro are at an undisclosed location for a promo. Raven says he gave Kane a fresh start and a purpose. He brainwashed Kane to save him from his own weakness, but it seems Kane is beyond saving. Vampiro says that Kane has sealed his fate, he doesn’t have to worry anymore. He will be joining his brother soon, eternally resting in damnation. Vampiro tasks Raven in facing Kane at No Way Out. He and the rest of the Hive will circle the ring and witness the final hour of Kane. Kane vs Raven in a Lumberjack match is booked.
William Regal has done Europe a service by keeping the European championship out of the hands of filthy Americans like the Hardy’s. He vows that he will never let a single American anywhere near the European championship ever again. That brings out the homicidal Sabu and he slides a note to Tazz before attacking William Regal. Tazz says that the note just says that it has been too long since Sabu inflicted some serious punishment on someone. Sabu puts Regal through a table before leaving. A match between the two is later confirmed for the PPV. (I know that Sabu is actually American, but he is billed from India or Saudi Arabia depending on where he wrestles).
Edge’s IC championship celebration is interrupted by Jeff Hardy. He congratulates Edge, but thinks this is a perfect opportunity for them to get even for what happened at Vengeance. Jeff says he wanted a clean fight with Edge, but even fairer would be if Edge gives him a championship match at No Way Out. Edge is not one to back down from a challenge and he accepts. Christian kicks up a fuss demanding that he gets a title rematch as well, but he is taken out by Edge and Jeff Hardy with relative ease.
WWF No Way Out
We are in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for No Way Out. The show begins with tag action. Perry Saturn & Stevie Richards, representing Raven’s Hive, defend the tag titles against X-Pac and Maven. This doesn’t overstay its welcome, X-Pac helps guide his young protégé to a huge victory, Maven dropkicks Richards into an X-Factor and they win the tag titles.
Next up, Sabu takes on William Regal for the European championship. A massive clash of styles here, but Sabu proves that he can hang with Regal within the squared circle. Sabu throws his body around with reckless abandon which can sometimes be a blessing and sometimes be a curse. This time it worked out in his favour, hitting a moonsault press to pin and defeat Regal to win his first title in WWF.
Edge defends the IC title against Jeff Hardy next. They wrestle a close encounter, countering each other’s biggest moves but Edge manages to retain. Jeff lands the swanton bomb, but Edge rolls him into his shoulders and pins him. Both men show a sign of respect, but they’re ambushed by a very pissed off Christian. Christian hits them both with an Unprettier and takes the Intercontinental championship away with him.
Kane vs Raven, with Vampiro and the entire Hive circling the ring, each of them carrying a torch of fire. They place their torches around the ring, making this match feel like some sort of ritual. This doesn’t go long at all. Kane starts off pretty dominant but the numbers game is too much of course. Kane is overwhelmed and beaten down within minutes. Vampiro sends Snow and Buchanan to collect a casket and some lighter fluid, not a good sign for Kane. Vampiro hits Kane over the head with the urn a few times before taunting with it. He goes to hit him again, but the lights go out.
Gong
The lights come back up and the urn has vanished. Vampiro looks around for it, but he is startled when the casket door bursts open. The Undertaker has risen! Not biker-taker, Deadman-taker. He clears house, saving his brother from whatever plans they had for him. Vampiro and Raven escape unharmed but the rest of the Hive are destroyed with chokeslams and tombstones. The Undertaker helps his brother Kane to his feet and they reunite. The brothers of destruction are back and you can bet there is hell to pay.
Following that we have Jazz defending her women’s title against Lita and Trish Stratus. They wrestle a good match and Jazz looks poised to retain, but she is dragged off the pin by Jacqueline who saves her friend Lita from a loss. Jazz shoves Jackie onto her ass, but the veteran has built her confidence back up and she lunges at Jazz. They fight on the outside. Lita is watching on proud but Trish is behind her waiting. Lita turns around, Trish fires a Chick Kick but Lita catches and counters with a twist of fate. She hits the Litasault and pins Trish to win her second women’s championship.
The Rock vs Chris Jericho with a Wrestlemania world championship match up for grabs. A predictably great 15 minute match sees Rock and Jericho take each other to the limit. Jericho struggles to put Rock away after 2 Lionsaults and in his frustration, knocks the referee out of the ring. The Rock dodges a third and uses the last of his energy to hit a Rock Bottom. Both men are down and the referee is out.
Then, a familiar face runs through the crowd and into the ring. The crowd lose their mind, we haven’t seen this man in over 5 years. He climbs the top rope, points to the sky and hits his famous diving elbow drop on The Rock. ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage is back in the WWF. He drags Jericho on top of Rock and wakes up the referee. Jericho wins the match, Randy Savage is back and what a time for him to return.
The main even is Kurt Angle vs Triple H for the WWF Championship. Triple H is ambushed by Steve Austin during his entrance, Austin escapes through the crowd before security get to him. Before the match begins, Triple H grabs a microphone and says he knows Austin will return and try and cause a DQ, so if Angle is feeling man enough why don’t they make this match a No DQ match. Kurt Angle accepts and this match starts off as a fight. HHH comes out on top of the brawl so Angle aims to slow the match down and return to what he is best as, wrestling.
After 20 minutes, Triple H has fought back into the match but yet again Steve Austin makes his presence known and tries to attack HHH. Trips is able to fight him off, but this gives Angle the chance to hit the Olympic slam and retain his title.
Icon vs Icon
Randy Savage returns to WWF ahead of Wrestlemania and he has a lot to get off of his chest. Randy does a worked shoot promo and talks about why he left the WWF in the first place. He still had a lot to offer wrestling, as proven by helping a rival promotion become a legitimate challenger. However, Vince wanted Macho to stick to doing commentary and working backstage. Randy sees this as the ultimate insult to a professional wrestler, even when he was 40 years old there wasn’t a single guy who could lace his boots in the WWF. He was not ready to hang up his boots.
Savage watched the WWF struggle while he was away, but he also watched it flourish again with a new crop of stars. Steve Austin, Triple H, The Rock. He attacked The Rock for one simple reason. He takes issue with Rock calling himself ‘The Great One’. Randy thinks that is bullshit. “The only reason you were able to become the great one, is because all the real great one’s left.”
The Rock comes out lays it down to Savage. He tells Savage that he was The Rock’s childhood hero growing up, he idolised the Macho Man, which will make it bittersweet when he whoops his candy ass. The Rock gives him a reality check about how the WWF benefited from the old guard leaving, how Savage had done enough in wrestling and had deserved a spot on the side-lines. It was not a demotion, it was a reward. Rock throws a few comedic digs at Savage before laying down the challenge. The Rock vs The Macho Man for Wrestlemania X8
Savage tells Rock that he doesn’t have a lot of time left, in fact, he probably only has one more match left in him. How can he be sure that The Rock is worthy of being his last opponent? Rock makes a joke about how Savage hasn’t won a match in over 2 years and that was against a washed-up basketballer (Dennis Rodman). He didn’t think his standards would be so high. Randy Savage decides to accept the challenge and prove that it is the Macho Man who is the true ‘Great One’.
RoAD To Wrestlemania
Royal Rumble winner Chris Jericho faces Kurt Angle for the WWE championship. Jericho is adamant that it is his destiny to win the world championship, but Kurt says that Jericho is just not good enough to reach the top of the mountain. He says that it will take a miracle for Jericho to walk out with the WWF world title.
Trish Stratus criticises Lita for manipulating and using Jacqueline for her own gain. She claims Lita knew that she couldn’t win the title on her own. Lita admits that she is unsure if she could have beaten Jazz without Jacqueline, but she appreciates that she helped her. Lita has no doubt that she can defeat Trish though, calling her nothing but a pretty face who gives out “favours” to earn her success. Trish says Lita is just jealous that there are no boys pining after her. She also knows that Lita won’t fight her 1v1 because she doesn’t want to be embarrassed by just a pretty face. Trish baits Lita into challenging her at Wrestlemania with the women’s title on the line.
It is clear that Steve Austin and Triple H are not going to be able to move on until they face each other once more. Steve Austin calls back to when Triple H was the one who ran him over with a car. “You should have finished the job”. Austin knew that it was only a matter of time until Triple H stabbed him in the back again. Triple H says that he had nothing to benefit from taking Austin out. However, Austin did by taking him out, being able to reign over the WWF on his own.
Triple H repeats Austin’s lines back to him “you should have finished the job.” Both of them want the match at Wrestlemania but Vince McMahon is unsure because he knows that both men are willing to do ungodly things to each other that he isn’t willing to go ahead. Austin and Triple H push for a Street Fight but McMahon demands that they follow the rules and have a clean match to settle their differences. McMahon books the match but makes it a regular match, however, the referees are refusing to work the match.
After weeks of attacks between Austin and HHH, any referee who tries to separate them receives a beating of their own. They do not want to deal with this anymore. Vince says “well I guess we need to find someone man enough to stand in-between these two.” Then, we have another returning legend. “Rowdy” Roddy Piper. He drops an eccentric promo, he ain’t afraid of anybody and he is willing to fight fire with fire if they throw it at him. Piper will be the special referee for Austin vs HHH.
The Undertaker has been resurrected as the Deadman, no longer is he a biker. He talks about how Vampiro and Raven have underestimated the power of The Undertaker. They have concocted this plan to destroy him, thinking he is a work of fiction. They have been proved wrong. Undertaker’s power is very real and they have tried to mess with it. Now, it is time for retribution. He reveals that at Wrestlemania, alongside his brother, they will destroy Raven and Vampiro for good. Vampiro admits that he was wrong, he never expected The Undertaker to possess such power and he is giddy with excitement. They planned to destroy Kane and steal his power for themselves, but now they can harness Undertaker’s power as well. Vampiro says that Wrestlemania X8 will be the final resting place for the Brothers of Destruction. Kane and Undertaker will be buried alive and vanquished forever.
A promo by Chris Benoit talking about how he is the best wrestler in WWE is interrupted by Mr Perfect, Curt Hennig. They have a back and forth about who is the better wrestler so Mr Perfect challenges him to a series of tests to see who is better. This is a series of call backs to Mr Perfect’s early WWF vignettes. A few short pre-recorded segments of Benoit and Perfect playing baseball, bowling, table tennis and hockey trying to compete. Hennig calls Benoit good, but not perfect. He reminds him that they have met once before 1v1 in a different company and he beat him. Benoit wants a rematch, Hennig accepts but warns him the result will be the same.
Jazz hunts down Jacqueline for costing her the women’s championship at No Way Out. Jacqueline says that she has rediscovered her confidence and remembered who she is. Jazz might be tough, but she was the original tough woman in the WWF. She challenges Jazz to a match at Wrestlemania, a historic first ever match between two black women at Wrestlemania.
You have probably noticed that for the last few months there have been several Intercontinental and European championship title changes. That is by design. Edge goes into Wrestlemania as the IC title, whilst Sabu is the European champion. Christian, William Regal, Jeff Hardy and Matt Hardy all stake their claim for wanting a championship opportunity at Wrestlemania for either title. Vince McMahon decides to give them all an opportunity and also unify the IC and European titles in dramatic fashion. These 6 men will meet in a ladder with both titles suspended above the ring. In the lead up, the 6 men face each other in a series of singles and tag team matches.
Maven and X-Pac celebrate their championship success and Maven is incredibly appreciative for his guidance towards the gold. Scott Hall and the recently returning Kevin Nash confront X-Pac and ask why he is hanging around with a loser like Maven when he could hang out with his boys. X-Pac says he doesn’t want anything to do with them anymore, blaming them for his career with the opposition going nowhere. Hall & Nash push back and they try to get him to betray Maven but X-Pac says no. The Outsiders say they tried to do this nicely, but now they have to do things their way. They want their hands on the WWF tag titles, so if X-Pac won’t jump ship then that makes him their opponent. “That’s fine by me”. Maven and X-Pac prepare to face The Outsiders at Wrestlemania.
Paul Heyman parades around Rhyno as an unbeatable monster. He runs down a large list of names that Rhyno has beaten up and put down with his gore. He doesn’t see a need for Rhyno to defend the ECW championship at Wrestlemania, because who is going to beat him? There is not a single man from WWF, ECW or otherwise that can keep up with Rhyno.
“Viva La Raza” Eddie Guerrero makes his WWF return, he makes a return from being fired earlier than in real life. Guerrero talks about is time in WWF, WCW and ECW and he has never found anyone who outwork him. He has seen many rise and fall to Rhyno, but Eddie always finds a shortcut to victory. Heyman laughs at Guerrero stepping up to Rhyno. If he is willing to be the sacrificial lamb, then Rhyno is happy to have an easy payday at Wrestlemania.
Recent WWF hire Tajiri has made a quick impact, challenging and defeating Jerry Lynn for the Light Heavyweight championship. Lynn gets his rematch at Wrestlemania.
WWF Wrestlemania X8
Our fantasy booking comes to an end at the SkyDome in Toronto, Canada. Wrestlemania X8. We open the show with Tajiri defending the Light Heavyweight title against Jerry Lynn. A fun, fast-paced opener with some exciting moves. Tajiri retains by hitting the Buzzsaw kick.
Rhyno defends the ECW championship against Eddie Guerrero. Rhyno is aggressive but Eddie finds ways to dodge him and land some quick offence. Guerrero gradually turns the tide as the match goes on, eventually hitting a pair of frog splashes to be the first man to defeat Rhyno in over a year. Heyman is in shock as Guerrero walks out with the ECW championship. After Wrestlemania, he can use this loss as a reason to ditch Rhyno in favour of the new beast on the block, Brock Lesnar.
X-Pac & Maven defend their tag titles against The Outsider’s Scott Hall & Kevin Nash. Maven enters first for his team but he is not followed by X-Pac. A camera backstage shows Pac laying down backstage clutching at himself in pain. Maven is on his own for this one. The youngster puts up a good fight, but the numbers and experience advantage for The Outsider’s work in their favour. A short match is won after a Razor’s Edge by Hall.
A 6-man ladder match to unify the Intercontinental and European championships. Edge, Sabu, Jeff Hardy, Matt Hardy, William Regal and Christian. Whilst 5 of the men are more than willing to risk life and limb for the titles, Regal is overly cautious about climbing the ladder out of fear. His slow approach to the match costs him several opportunities at winning. Edge, Christian and the Hardy’s continue their ladder match legacy, whilst Sabu gets the opportunity to take death defying stunts on the grandest stage. At the end of it all, Christian is the one to pull down the championships and leave as the winner. The European title is then quietly retired and Christian goes on as the IC champ.
Next is Jazz vs Jacqueline. A hard-hitting back and forth between these 2 legit tough women. Jacqueline shows heart and resilience, but at the end of the match it is Jazz who has her hand raised in victory.
Chris Benoit vs Mr Perfect, a technical masterclass between two of wrestling’s most prolific grapplers. Benoit can hide any of veteran Hennig’s weaknesses and I think this would be a great wrestling contest. Hennig focuses on the neck for his Perfect Plex, Benoit does to same for his crossface, which he eventually locks on to tap out Mr Perfect.
We have a tag team Buried Alive match next. Kane and The Undertaker vs Vampiro and Raven. Vampiro is an entertaining character but not a great wrestler, plus these Buried Alive matches tend to get worse the longer they go on, so this shouldn’t go too long. Kane and Undertaker whip Vampiro and Raven’s ass and finally get their revenge. Raven’s Hive try to run interference, but the Brother’s of Destruction are too dominant together. Kane and Taker both chokeslam their opponents into a grave and cover them in dirt to win the match.
A brief break from the action when Vince McMahon comes out. He reads the attendance but that is not the only reason that he is out here. Vince talks about the ongoing war that has been waged for several years between WWF and WCW. He can confirm that this war has finally come to an end. Vince McMahon has bought his competition. He now owns WCW. Vince gloats about being the emperor of professional wrestling, now in control of everything. Vince is cut off by his returning son Shane McMahon, who says that Vince only thinks that he bought WCW. In fact, Shane has been working with someone to steal WCW from under Vince’s nose. He promises that tomorrow on Raw, Vince will meet the new owner of WCW. (I haven’t really thought ahead of who this could be. Ric Flair or Eric Bischoff are your best options.
Back to in-ring action, Steve Austin and Triple H fight with Roddy Piper as the special guest referee. The match is a complete brawl, within minutes it spills to the outside. They fight on the announce table, Triple H hits a pedigree and both men are down. Piper begins counting, but then he stops and grabs a microphone. “Vince McMahon and management can all screw themselves, we don’t want to see these two wrestle, we want to watch them tear each other apart! This is now a Street Fight.” Austin and HHH resume their war, kicking each other’s ass all over the SkyDome.
Austin drops HHH with a stunner and his the match won, but Piper is pulled out of the ring by Kevin Nash. Piper argues with him and punches him but Scott Hall is here too and he drops Piper. The Outsider’s get in the ring and beat up Austin. X-Pac comes out limping, seemingly to get revenge against his former friends but it was a ruse. Pac joins in the assault, he was faking the injury all this time and he is on side with his boys. Hall, Nash and Pac help Triple H defeat Austin. Triple H is a full-blown heel again. The Kliq have properly formed on-screen in WWE. Steve Austin can transition into being a good guy badass again.
Lita defends her Women’s Championship against Trish Stratus. An impressive showing by Trish, proving that she is more than just a model, becoming an adequate wrestler. However on this night, Lita walks out still the women’s champion.
Kurt Angle defends the WWF Championship against Chris Jericho. Jericho feels like he has something to prove as everyone writes him off as not being at the main event level. Jericho proves the doubters wrong, wrestling an incredible match and defeating the Olympian. Angle and Jericho both set up for submission finishes but neither man is able to submit the other. Jericho manages to pull the referee over on top of him when Angle hits a moonsault. Jericho uses the WWF title as a weapon and hits a Liontamer to win the match. Chris Jericho wins his first world championship.
As much as a world title match should usually main event Wrestlemania, I think the WWF wrestling return of Randy Savage is a similar level of drawing power as Hulk Hogan and deserves to be the show closer. The Rock vs Randy Savage. Icon vs Icon. I imagine the Toronto crowd will similarly cheer massively for Savage who at one point was just as popular as Hogan was. If Rock can get a good match out of Hogan, he can get an even better one out of Randy Savage. They wrestle a similar slow main event match, playing off the crowd rather than getting a load of moves in.
Savage plays the classics, but The Rock still walks away as the victor. After the match, The Rock offers a handshake to Savage, in a similar image of the end of Wrestlemania V. Savage shakes his hand, turns face and celebrates with the crowd. This would be a nice final match in Randy Savage’s career. Or, if you want to milk the cash cow, Rock & Savage form a team called ‘The Mega Greats’ to give Savage one final match at Summerslam
And there we have it. A full calendar year rebooked with full PPV match cards. I didn’t do Insurrextion and Rebellion because, well, they were never consequential at all. They were kinda glorified WWE house shows.
I hope you enjoyed reading. If you have an idea for future fantasy bookings drop me a comment and I will see what I can do.
I watched some more bad wrestling so you don’t have to! Recently, I watched Cage of Death XXI and it was certainly something. Check it out.
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