Steve Austin and the Undertaker had weird chemistry for being two A+ guys that often crossed each others paths. The matches ranged from solid, but not memorable to flat out boring. It seemed like Summerslam 1998 was when they were aiming for their classic but Austin got concussed real early in that match and needed 'Taker to guide him through.
Well this isn't that match but rather their 2001 encounter with Austin in full-blown heel mode.
Enjoy.
Well this isn't that match but rather their 2001 encounter with Austin in full-blown heel mode.
Enjoy.
Yeah, the build to that SS match was just all kinds of hyped. That's the one where VKM licensed "Highway to Hell" and played THE SHIT out of it, yes? Match was not good.
ReplyDeleteNailed it. I'm not so sure about this match... Austin's heel run + lazy Bikertaker = Uh-oh?
ReplyDeleteThat ending was an overbooked cluster fuck.
ReplyDeleteOh and Randy Savage from 1980 attacking Ronnie Garvin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRUP8wiIHE0
There was a lot wrong with that match, including the rumors that Taker didn't want to go full heel and the crowd "farted" as I remember someone (maybe Austin?) describing the heat.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Rocky/HHH totally stole the show. AND that match went long.
To be fair, Undertaker had terrible matches with everyone not named Mick Foley from 1998-2006.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I can't really watch this match at work, but I have a hard time coming up with much of anything I liked from BikerTaker.
ReplyDeleteA+ MATCH? LOL. TAKER WAS NEVER A+ OR A GOAT.
ReplyDeleteAngle, Flair, Orton, Edge, Batista and HHH point and nod.
ReplyDeleteWell look at it on the bright side, the Raw after this match HHH tore his quad and disappeared off of our TV's.
ReplyDeleteDamn. Randy was pretty much was the same, wasn't he? Nice.
ReplyDeleteFor the most part, although I thought his match with HHH at Wrestlemania 17 was a pretty kick ass bloody brawl.
ReplyDeleteOf course maybe Wrestlemania 17 should get a special exemption since everything seemed to work that night.
And the Wrestlemania match with Orton (2005 I think) was pretty solid. I thought most of the Orton stuff was between non-offensive to "hey that really didn't suck at all."
HHH was the rare exception.
ReplyDeleteAnd he was out of his funk by 2005, IIRC.
And the Hell in the Cell match with Lesnar was like 2002 or 2003. That was great, he put Brock over like a man.
ReplyDeleteThat is NOT a bright side.
ReplyDeleteI've said it before: HHH pre-quad blow was quickly becoming "the man", and showing GOAT potential. HHH post-quad... was off a bit, and understandably so. He still had it at times, but overall he never got back to that level, IMO.
Hulk Hogan would jump in agreement, but he can't. Then or now.
ReplyDeleteDidn't that one have a screwy finish, or was it the month before? I just remember that whole angle being average at best.
ReplyDeleteThe Hell in the Cell had a VERY decisive finish.
ReplyDeleteRemember when Undertaker tried to lift Hogan, couldn't, then yelled 'I'M NOT SORRY AND I NEVER LOVED YOU' and chokeslammed him dead-lift style?
ReplyDelete... that was the point.
ReplyDeleteAfter making him look like a bitch the month before.
ReplyDeleteThere was barely any blood in the match. Taker bled from the sledgehammer shot, but the match ended a few minutes later.
ReplyDeletePlus, you know. Rumble avec Steiner.
ReplyDeleteDude. Bee's knees? Really?
ReplyDelete1999-2000 HHH salvages something useful out of Steiner. 2003 HHH says "You think Rumble was bad? Watch No Way Out!"
ReplyDeleteUm... he is accurate about the blood folks.
ReplyDeleteBut the match felt like a bloodfeud, as it should have.
Taker's blood loss in that match was sickening. The finish was awesome too. Tombstone into an F5! It's my second favorite HIAC
ReplyDeleteJudging by how much muscle mass he had when he came back his rehab included being bombarded with large amounts of gamma radiation.
ReplyDeleteIt's pretty sparse. WMX7 vs. HHH, the Angle matches from 2002 and 2003 and the HIAC vs. Brock are really the only standouts from what I remember.
ReplyDeleteHe is correct. Given how liberal they were in 2001 I'm am a little surprised both guys didn't tap every available artery. I remember UT chokeslamming HHH off a camera tower and it looked like a hell of a bump given the crowd reaction but the replay show that he basically fell on a mattress.
ReplyDeleteYea, that always cracks me up. You think HHH is dead and took some insane bump. Then they show you how they did the trick.
ReplyDeleteWhy are you happy about a guy suffering a massive injury?
ReplyDeleteFunny that these 2 never had great matches together. The first blood match @ Fully Loaded 99 was SO damn boring
ReplyDeleteI can't totally blame Taker for the poor match because something was botched early, and I forget what...and I don't want to watch that match again, really fucked Austin up. So whatever they had planned was probably scrapped or at least adjusted heavily.
ReplyDeleteI know...There are some situations where you don't need the overhead replay and that was it because I was willing to buy it based on the crowd reaction
ReplyDeleteThey hit heads on an early spot... I know it's in a Botchamania somewhere.
ReplyDeleteYeah their match at Over the Edge that year wasn't that great either. Then again I was just watching because I wanted to see The Blue Blazer vs The Godfather.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2cQ8y0vZno
ReplyDeleteThe camera angle is outright unlucky, but at 7:27 Austin kicks a bent over Taker, and Taker's head flies up into Austin's jaw, and nearly KTFO the "toughest son of a bitch in the WWF".
So that match has a very valid excuse for not being great, IMO.
Where you one of his dr/nurses/rehab people? That would explain a lot!
ReplyDeleteThe SummerSlam match was solid but unspectacular.
ReplyDeleteBut you know what? It really didn't matter. It was one of those occasions where the storytelling going into the match had been done so well, that nobody was going to come out of the building or turn off the PPV with anything other than a 'That was EPIC' feeling. It wouldn't be until months or years of retrospective that most would say 'yeah, that was actually kinda meh'.
The hype for it was insane. They had slow-built that feud from Over the Edge 1998 (so... April?) with Undertaker helping Austin overcome Mcmahon and the stooges, through, the Austin/Kane and Undertaker/Foley feuds, through the Austin/Undertaker vs. Kane/Mankind tag feud, way to late August. Fans were FROTHING to see the two biggest names in the company go at it.
It was a 3-star match I would say. Would have been better had Austin not been completely out of it.
Their Revenge of the Taker match was pretty good if I recall, minus a run-in ending by the heart foundation.
Umm...what?
ReplyDeleteAlso steroids. Lots of steroids.
ReplyDeleteNot a dude.
ReplyDeleteI'm aware. I used "dude" as a gender neutral term.
ReplyDeleteWasn't that against Kane?
ReplyDeleteAnother glaring fuckup was the multiple angle replay of Evan Bourne getting caught in the RKO by Orton.
ReplyDeleteHis matches with Cena were pretty decent too if I remember correctly.
ReplyDeleteIronic how the word "under" was written over "taker".
ReplyDeleteUndertaker didn't really have "great" matches until like 2006.
ReplyDeleteExactly. He didn't start having great matches until he reinvented himself in about 2006
ReplyDeleteExactly. That was Brock's first big feud after winning the title (and murdering Hogan AND Rock). He should have beaten Taker like that the FIRST time and moved on, if they wanted Lesnar to be the dominant monster. That Unforgiven match didn't help his development one bit
ReplyDeleteI recall the one with Jeff Hardy being pretty great too
ReplyDeleteglorified squash
ReplyDeletemonth prior
ReplyDeleteThe build for this match was incredible. I LOVED the teased and then confirmed Undertaker/Kane alliance. This was the first PPV I ordered in, I'd say, close to 6 years. I was hooked on this story.
ReplyDeleteThe Summerslam match you mean? If so, I liked the teased/confirmed alliance to. It was actually a surprising twist because usually in wrestling when it looks like the good guy is in cahoots with the heel it's a set up - but in this case he actually was.
ReplyDeleteI've said it before, but Undertaker being Austin's first feud killed the heel turn for me. I was curious to see where it went. I'd still rather be cheering Steve Austin than booing him, but I was willing to see how it all played out. Triple H aligns with Austin, The Rock leaves, Jericho goes nowhere, and we get the fucking Undertaker. I didn't understand the appeal of the Biker-Undertaker character at all - he looked filthy and he walked around like he had the biggest cock in the room and wanted everyone to know it. Seriously, go back and watch how Biker-Undertaker carries himself and I challenge you to find another wrestler who thought he was as cool and badass as he did.
ReplyDeleteEveryone is talking about how awesome the build to their SummerSlam match was... but it really wasn't. It was merely the two top starts of the promotion, facing off one one one for "the richest prize in our industry." Simple as that...
ReplyDelete... but AC/DC did help.
You're acting as if Undertaker is supposed to adopt the character of a pussy...
ReplyDeleteI'm with you in not liking Bikertaker originally, but once he turned heel, he was fantastic, for all of the reasons you mentioned.
ReplyDeleteCalling this the "A+ Match of the Day" is the joke.
ReplyDeleteSometimes, that's all you need.
ReplyDeleteI liked his hardcore match with RVD at Vengeance 2001 enough.
ReplyDeletepardon her, she meant the cat's pajamas.
ReplyDelete*facepalm* Fair enough.
ReplyDelete