BRM Reviews WWF Royal Rumble 2001

[Big Red Machine]

WWF Royal Rumble 2001 (1/21/2001)- New Orleans, LA

WWF WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: Edge & Christian(c) vs. The Dudley Boyz- 6.25/10. Very good opener.

LADDER MATCH FOR THE WWF INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE: Chris Benoit(c) vs. Chris Jericho- 9.5/10. AMAZING! I love this match because it told a much more complicated story than the standard “wrestler A and B are tough and get up despite taking huge bumps.” They actually worked over body parts.

WWF WOMEN’S TITLE MATCH: Ivory(c) (w/Steven Richards) vs. Chyna- DUD! There was one point where they definitely should have been counted out. Chyna dominates the whole match, then hits her handspring elbow… then, for some reason, she just collapsed and Ivory got the win. Apparently they were going for something like working that Chyna reaggravated her neck injury, but if that was what they were going for, this was a terrible way to do it. Why not have Ivory work over the neck and reaggravate the injury to get her some more heat. Having Chyna squash Ivory then get hurt makes Ivory look ridiculously weak.

WWF TITLE MATCH: Kurt Angle(c) (w/Trish Stratus) vs. Triple H (w/Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley)- 8.5/10. Good story, and, aside from the catfight dragging on a little too long, I think the overbooking worked very well.

ROYAL RUMBLE MATCH- 9/10. A personal favorite Royal Rumble match for me. Kane is a BEAST! The stuff with the Honky Tonk Man was great, and was made even better by Lawler being the only person in the arena marking out for HTM.

Overall, an amazing show from WWE (especially if you just fast forward through the dud).

[NWK]

I thought Chyna legitimately hurt her neck that night, and the whole thing wasn't kayfabe. Am I wrong?

[Big Red Machine]

I thought Chyna legitimately hurt her neck that night, and the whole thing wasn't kayfabe. Am I wrong?

It was a work