[crowd cheering "Hogan"]
[Hogan] This year in WrestleMania, the crowd was unbelievable.
The moment I got in the ring with The Rock,
I felt Hulkamania, brother.
He won the match, I won my fans back,
but The Rock became a pure-bred Hulkamaniac.
[Triple H] I always wished I could prove
what I had against The Immortal Hulk Hogan.
I'm honored to get in the ring with him, but I'm also little bit sad
because I've got to take a bit of my childhood
and I've got to destroy it.
[Hogan] Tonight at Backlash, has now become
the most important night of my life.
The Undisputed WWE Championship represents
everything that I've worked.
The Undisputed WWE Championship represents the fact
that Hulkamania wasn't a dream.
[Triple H] In this business, there is only one goal
and that is to be the best.
I will stop at nothing to make sure
that I remain the Undisputed World Wrestling Entertainment Champion.
[Hogan] The Undisputed WWE Heavyweight Championship shows
that Hulk Hogan is the man that is the best at his game:
past, future, present.
[Triple H] You talk about the icon and all the things that come along with it.
That was then, this is now.
[Hogan] I need that belt to etch my legacy in stone.
Yes, I am the greatest. Yes, I am the Babe Ruth of WWE.
[Triple H] Right now, right here, tonight,
there's nobody bigger, there's nobody higher than Triple H.
[Hogan] I need that belt more than life itself at this point.
[Triple H] Getting to WrestleMania and proving that I could be everything
that I once was, the greatest thing ever.
I will not let that be for nothing.
["Waiting for a Moment" by Quench plays]
♪ Whatever you say to me… ♪
[announcer] And now, World Wrestling Entertainment presents…
Backlash.
[fireworks popping]
[cheering and applause]
[J.R.] It is an emotional and potentially history-making night
in the annals of World Wrestling Entertainment.
We are live in Kansas City, Missouri.
And we welcome you and our worldwide audience
to World Wrestling Entertainment Backlash,
Jim Ross and Jerry "The King" Lawler at ringside.
And King, as Hollywood Hulk Hogan said,
I'm sure the fans of WWE New York will agree,
Hogan is the Babe Ruth of the WWE when he is going against tonight
the best in the game, the Barry Bonds, if you will.
[King] Can The Immortal One do it?
For some reason, J.R., I got this feeling… I got a feeling in the pit my stomach
that the Hulk is gonna be able to rise to this momentous occasion.
[bell dinging]
[announcer] Scheduled for one fall, it's for the World Wrestling Entertainment
Cruiserweight Championship.
Introducing first,
accompanied by Torrie Wilson, the challenger from Japan,
weighing 206 pounds…
Tajiri!
Well, Tajiri will be challenging Billy Kidman for the Cruiserweight Title.
Sadly, Tajiri has not been the ideal boyfriend to…
to Torrie Wilson, and in the last several weeks
has been very disrespectful to the young lady, mind you.
[King] Well, you know, thanks to the brand extension, J.R., at the WWE,
I hadn't had the opportunity to see what's been happening to Torrie.
This is just-- Well, this borders on revolting.
How could you cover up a knockout body like that?
[Billy Kidman's theme music plays]
[announcer] From Allentown, Pennsylvania,
weighing 215 pounds,
the World Wrestling Entertainment Cruiserweight Champion,
Billy Kidman!
[J.R.] Tonight at Backlash, the first time
all the WWE Superstars will be under one roof
in several weeks since the brand extension,
as Billy Kidman set to defend his Cruiserweight Championship.
When you talk about irony,
it was at this very arena on October 22nd of last year, King,
that Tajiri beat Billy Kidman for the Cruiserweight Title.
[bell dings]
Of course, it begs the question, will lightning strike twice
on-- or so-- for Tajiri here tonight?
[King] I don't know what Tajiri's got on his mind,
I mean, I don't know what he could be thinking.
All I can think of is looking over there at Torrie and--
Whoa! Oh, look at this.
Yeah, over there at Torrie and not seeing that beautiful body.
[J.R.] Kidman and Tajiri are building a tremendous rivalry
as we have seen develop on SmackDown in the Cruiserweight division.
-[King] Look out. -[J.R.] Kidman, an outstanding champion
to say the least. Arm drag takedown by Tajiri.
And Tajiri, with those,
almost like a mafia kick. Little kicks that Tajiri can deliver.
And he aims right for the temple and normally hits it.
Can be debilitating.
[audience exclaims]
A big shot by Tajiri.
-A former Cruiserweight champion… -[Tajiri groans]
Certainly with unbelievable skills, and Billy Kidman is a proud young man.
Kidman made the comment last week on SmackDown.
He thought that people didn't really know who he was,
and I can tell. You see this kid very many times,
you'll know who he is and you'll never forget him, he's that good.
[King] Well, Kidman's impressive all right,
but don't sell Tajiri short… Watch out here, Kidman.
Oh, look at this.
[J.R.] Great athleticism in this Cruiserweight division, to say the least.
The drop kick, and the cover, the hook of the leg
in a first near fall of contest.
[King] Look at that. J.R., tell me,
why would you cover something like that up?
[J.R.] That'd be like covering up the Mona Lisa. With a canvas.
[King] Wait a minute. Mona Lisa?
She's not… she's not that hot.
[J.R.] Tajiri taking it outside. And again this relationship
with Tajiri and Torrie Wilson has been
somewhat complex in my point of view.
I don't know why
Torrie is still staying with Tajiri, but in any event,
she's certainly loyal in that respect. 'Cause Tajiri takes Kidman
and hangs him on the security wall.
[King] I understand that Torrie is under… Well, she signed a contract
-to be in Tajiri's corner… -[referee] Two!
[King] …but I don't know if she was expecting this kind of get-up.
What's he gonna do, trying to make her into a geisha girl or something?
[J.R.] Well, Tajiri's changed, King, since Tajiri and Torrie, uh,
really got together and established their relationship.
We have seen Tajiri change before our very eyes.
And there's a devastating knee drop
right to the face of Billy Kidman.
[King] He's changed for the worse if you ask me. He's not too smart.
Next thing you know, he'd take all his money he makes here in WWE
and try to open a towman shop in Tokyo.
-Get him off the rope. You're choking him. -[J.R.] Tajiri hanging up Kidman
on that bottom rope. Certainly, uh, referee Mike Sparks,
right on top of the call there. Got him to the five-count,
Tajiri would have been disqualified, and of course Tajiri cannot
win the Cruiserweight Title.
Those are those debilitating kicks we were talking about.
-[King] That may have knocked Kidman out. -One! Two!
[J.R.] We saw what happened the last time
these two men were in the same proximity.
That was on SmackDown Thursday night
where… where Kidman was literally knocked unconscious
by one of those kicks of Tajiri.
[King] Look at that kick one more time.
Look at how high this kick is.
Right in the side of the head, right in the tip.
[J.R.] Tajiri is really an expert marksman
when it comes to those shots with his feet, I'll tell you.
And now, Billy Kidman is grounded, not a bad strategy from Tajiri.
Kidman is especially a lethal when…
when able to execute his high-risk offence.
-[King] Uh-oh. There you go. -[J.R.] That's hurricanrana.
Billy Kidman grew up in Allentown, Pennsylvania,
lifelong WWE fan.
Tilt-a-whirl backbreaker around the world there by Tajiri.
-[King] That may be Kidman's problem. -[J.R.] What's that?
[King] Grew up in Allentown.
[J.R.] I don't think there's anything wrong with Allentown.
-[King] Uh-oh, look out here. -[J.R.] And now, Kidman
tied up to the proverbial Tree of Woe by Tajiri.
[Tajiri] Shut up!
[King] What did he say? "Shut up!"
-Look out. -[J.R.] Tajiri with baseball slide kick
right to the face of the defenseless Billy Kidman.
And at this point in time, the reigning Cruiserweight Champion
finds himself into a great deal of difficulty.
[King] Can you just tell that Torrie is not enjoying herself?
I mean, is a geisha girl not allowed to show any emotion
or smile or anything?
[referee] Come on. One! Two! Three!
[J.R.] Kidman's head snapping back.
He has no way to protect himself in that environment.
And that's the second big-time kick
that Tajiri has gotten in in this contest on Billy Kidman.
You gotta wonder how this is gonna…
what the result would be. You know it's a scrambled brain situation.
[King] I am wondering how much more can Kidman take.
I am wondering how much more can I take
lookin' at Torrie all covered up like that.
I can't see the puppies.
[J.R.] She hasn't smiled in weeks.
-And… -[King] Neither have I.
[J.R.] Another backbreaker by Tajiri,
trying to turn this into a submission maneuver here.
Billy Kidman… Kidman,
after that second kick,
was moving a little lethargically and rightfully so.
[King] What does a girl wear under those geisha outfits anyway, J.R.?
Anything?
[J.R.] There ain't too many geishas in Oklahoma that I've run across.
So I couldn't answer that question.
[King] But we are not in Oklahoma, we're in Kansas City.
[J.R.] Same difference. Oh!
And Kidman with a knee.
There's a counter, but Kidman is almost just laying on Tajiri,
Kidman… That second shot to the head
has really taken Kidman out of the Champion's game.
And now the elbow to the kidneys.
[speaks Japanese]
Tajiri grounding the Champion.
And that takes away a great deal of Kidman's offensive arsenal.
And again, focusing on the lower back, is Tajiri.
Tajiri, a very bright young man with a degree in economics.
[King] Tajiri's got a degree in economics?
[J.R.] He certainly does. Now, Kidman fighting back.
Can't be tipped on the line,
and now…
[King] Which university did Tajiri go to?
[J.R.] Some university in Japan, I'm not sure.
[King] Oh, look at this.
[J.R.] And Tajiri finds another way
-to execute the Tarantula. -One, two, three.
[J.R.] Another painful maneuver. You can't beat Kidman that way.
But you can certainly slow him down. That's what Tajiri has done,
all inside the referee's five-count.
-[King] Whoa. -[J.R.] Looking for the knockout there.
And Kidman has worked his way back up, fighting with everything he's got,
knowing that his Cruiserweight Title is on the line here.
[King] Look at this. Oh, my goodness!
[J.R.] Great counter move by Kidman. The drop kick.
Kidman's got the cover and he got a near fall there.
[King] That might have took some of the wind out of Tajiri's sails there,
that drop kick right in the middle of the back.
[J.R.] Billy Kidman, a very resilient
-young WWE superstar and-- -[King] Oh!
[J.R.] A glancing shot to the back of the head
that did drive Kidman down.
And human anatomy can only sustain so many blows to the head.
You get concussed.
Vision is blurred and reactions are off.
-German suplex with a bridge. -[King] Look at this.
[J.R.] Right back to Kidman-- With a pinning predicament.
[King] Oh, look at Tajiri.
He can't believe that Kidman kicked out of that and I can't either.
[J.R.] Tajiri put a couple of great offensive moves together there
to get the near fall on the Cruiserweight Champion.
[audience member exclaims]
[J.R.] Tajiri's shoulder first into the turnbuckle.
and comes again with that kick, and that's got to be it right there.
The leg is hooked,
and-- Oh, Kidman kicked out!
Billy Kidman refusing to stay down
with his Cruiserweight Title at stake here.
[King] Look at Tajiri.
Like a snap… Listen to this.
-[loud crack] -[audience exclaims]
[J.R.] …sole of that boot, and Kidman countered.
Kidman's countered here. That could be over for Tajiri.
Oh! Tajiri just barely able to kick out.
Kidman with a great offensive counter driving Tajiri's face into the canvas.
-Got a near fall out of it. -[King] What a match this is.
-[J.R.] Uh-oh. -[audience cheering]
[J.R.] And Tajiri lying motionless on the canvas.
[King] Serious concern on the face of Torrie now.
[J.R.] High risk here. Could be the Shooting Star.
And it is, but nobody there.
Billy Kidman missed the Shooting Star Press.
And now can Tajiri take back over?
-[all] Oh! -[J.R.] There's that shot.
The hands are down the side.
That's got to be it, the shot to the face. Oh, Kidman!
My God, how'd he do that?
[King] How many shots can Kidman take to this head? And Tajiri…
[J.R.] Tajiri is scrambling Kidman's brains.
-[audience chants] Kidman! Kidman! -[J.R.] And the crowd here
starting to get into this match now
and suddenly getting behind Billy Kidman.
And Tajiri has got those…
those undeniable kicks.
-And not to the chest, but the head. -[referee] Get it down.
[J.R.] And now both men in the top turnbuckle here.
Feast or famine.
-[King] Oh! -[J.R.] Powerbombed by Kidman!
Kidman outmaneuver…
-He's got the hold of it. -[King] Oh, man.
-Now, Kidman can't believe it. -[audience booing]
[J.R.] And Tajiri, King, showing a great deal
of resiliency himself.
[King] Both of these guys.
[J.R.] Cruiserweight Championship,
I'd certainly believe is gonna be one of the…
the shining jewels in the WWE, no doubt about it.
[King] Speaking of shining jewels, look at Torrie.
Still no smile.
[J.R.] Uh-oh, Kidman got Tajiri up on the…
Tajiri sprayed in the eyes.
-Kidman got sprayed in the eyes. -[bell dings]
-[King] What? -[J.R.] Where the hell did that come from?
[King] Oh, my God.
[announcer] And new Cruiserweight Champion,
Tajiri!
[J.R.] It looked like Tajiri is about to be powerbombed.
when he got sprayed right in the eyes, King.
[King] That's not blood coming out of his mouth.
That's some sort of liquid that--
How did he do that, J.R.?
[J.R.] Right behind the referee's back.
And Tajiri is the new Cruiserweight Champion.
Kidman temporarily blinded here.
So, Tajiri, by hook or crook, is the new champion.
Tajiri, a controversial victory.
Let's talk about your recent change of heart.
[speaking Japanese]
[J.R.] I haven't got any idea what the man said,
but let's take another look
at what happened just moments ago.
[King] Well, I would translate what Tajiri said, J.R.,
but it's a family show.
Did you see that? [J.R.] Right in the eyes.
-That was all she wrote! -[bell dings]
[King] Wow.
-Man, what's happening? -What's up, Ron?
-[laughs] -Well, good to see you, man.
-How you doin', man? -Good. How have you been?
It's good to see you.
You look great on SmackDown. I've been watching every Thursday.
I've been watching you too, brother, on RAW. You're knockin' 'em out.
-Yeah, it's good to-- -[music playing]
You saw what them NWO did on RAW, didn't you?
Yeah, I saw that, man. But check this out.
You're gonna make sure that don't happen again, right?
-I'm gonna take care of that right now. -I'll be glad, man.
-It's good to see you. Good to see you. -See you, bro.
[J.R.] Nice reunion from the former APA members,
Bradshaw on RAW now, Faarooq on SmackDown
since the brand extension.
And here comes The Poison.
[bell dinging]
[announcer] The following contest is scheduled for one fall.
Into the scene first, accompanied by X-Pac
representing the NWO,
weighing 275 pounds…
Scott Hall.
[J.R.] So we come off the crowning of a new Cruiserweight Champion
into a match where there's no titles on the line, King,
but a great deal of pride
as two of the three members of the NWO-- Kevin Nash, of course,
has been suspended indefinitely without pay
by RAW owner, Ric Flair, and Nash is not here.
[King] Well, there's a lot on the line in this match, all right.
I mean, Bradshaw is gonna do everything he can,
not just… not just
get a little revenge for what the NWO did to their APA office, but…
They tried to put an end to this NWO poison
before it completely affects the WWE.
[J.R.] Bradshaw's got payback on his mind, I guarantee ya.
Look at X-Pac with Kane's mask on.
[audience cheering]
[announcer] From Sweetwater, Texas,
weighing 292 pounds…
Bradshaw!
[J.R.] Certainly sickening to see
X-Pac wearing the mask of Kane who is injured
at the hands of all three members of the NWO.
Kane still healing from those injuries.
And now Bradshaw--
[King] Think Kane's got, like, a spare mask or something?
-[J.R.] I don't know if he's even ever-- -[King] Is he recuperating…
maskless?
[J.R.] I have no idea, but I…
I just…
That mask is practically an improvement for X-Pac.
He looked better than his 8/10s.
Bradshaw, the big former offensive lineman from Abilene Christian.
A Ric Flair RAW draft pick.
[King] All right, they got… they got Bradshaw surrounded.
[audience cheering]
[J.R.] It's gonna be a hit-- Wait a minute.
Well, I don't know how surrounded Bradshaw's gonna be for long.
Because here comes Bradshaw's former partner, Faarooq.
[King] Wait a minute. Are they able to do this?
[J.R.] Who's gonna stop Faarooq?
Matter of fact, with Faarooq out here, it's gonna even the sides up.
X-Pac and Faarooq are gonna stay out of here.
The NWO thought they are gonna have
a two-on-one advantage.
It's not gonna be, thanks to Faarooq.
Back to the drawing board for the NWO here.
[J.R.] Bradshaw, now competing on RAW. Faarooq, now competing on SmackDown.
[bell dinging]
They just saw each other few minutes ago for the first time
in several weeks.
Keeping separate schedules.
Separate agendas now, and this matchup can certainly-- oh.
Scott Hall, he's a tough guy,
former four-time Intercontinental Champion is Scott Hall.
But why would you wanna stick a sharp stick in a bull?
Well, Bradshaw is.
[King] That was literally with a toothpick right in the eye of Bradshaw.
[indistinct shouting]
[J.R.] The NWO, they have imposed their will on many occasions but the…
the heinous act they perpetrated on Kane
was very sickening.
-[screams] -[audience exclaims]
And Bradshaw now hammering Scott Hall.
-[King] Look out. -[J.R.] Nice DDT by Bradshaw.
A big roughhouse and the cover.
If this thing breaks down into a slug fest,
I got to believe that Bradshaw's got the advantage.
Well, I'm not so sure Bradshaw can now wrestle
Scott Hall.
[audience screaming]
Uh-oh, Scott Hall is in a kind of no man's land, if you know what I mean.
[King] I wouldn't turn around if I were you.
[J.R.] NWO tore up the APA office.
[both grunting]
And Faarooq now hammering Scott Hall.
[King] Wait a minute, take a look at this.
[J.R.] And X-Pac gets a taste of Faarooq as well.
[King] I can just hear you, if X-Pac had done that first…
Well, you just said that it was heinous.
[J.R.] Referee showing some leniency here
on the rivalry between these two.
And a lateral press and another near fall
by Bradshaw on Scott Hall,
who is unable to get on track offensively here.
[King] What do you expect with those clubs coming around across you?
Ooh, shoulder blades.
[J.R.] Bradshaw is a smashmouth son of a gun. There's no doubt about it.
-[King] Oh. -[J.R.] Nice suplex. Bradshaw floats over.
Again, another lateral press, and again, another near fall,
as Bradshaw pressing the advantage here
on his adversary, representing NWO, Scott Hall.
[King] Did you say Bradshaw floats over?
-[J.R.] He kind of… -[King] Bradshaw don't float anywhere.
He just bulls over there.
[J.R.] Well, I was… Artistic license, I heard.
The right hand by Bradshaw. Scott Hall is…
-[King] Reeling… -[J.R.] He's barely able to stand.
Scott Hall better figure out another path here.
Another cover and again Bradshaw keeping all that pressure on Scott Hall.
For Hall to win this match, I'm just gonna tell you
in my view, he's got to wrestle
-Bradshaw's feet. -[King] I don't know.
That was a nice right hand. Listen to those shots.
Scott Hall can…
-Punch with the best of 'em, J.R. -[J.R.] There's no doubt about that.
Hall is a… he is a tough man.
He is one of the bigger superstars
in all of the sports entertainment we've seen Monday nights on RAW.
And Hall now, choking away at Bradshaw.
Manipulating the referee's count here.
And the cheap shot by X-Pac
as Bradshaw was…
[King] I just want explained one thing to me real quickly.
Why would that cheap shot there by X-Pac when Faarooq…
-You didn't say a thing about that. -[J.R.] That was a cheap shot too.
-It just slipped my mind. -[King] Ah, it's… Okay, as long as…
-[J.R.] If I make a mistake, you know… -[King] I got you.
[J.R.] Irish whip.
[Bradshaw grunts]
And Scott Hall follows it in the clothesline.
You just can't play with Bradshaw.
Well, you get a chance to put Bradshaw away,
you put him away and leave.
[King] Scott Hall playing with him right now.
[referee] Two! Three!
[J.R.] Hall now imposing his will on Bradshaw.
It's been a very emotional day,
not only the mere fact that
all the superstars involved on SmackDown
are under on roof first time in several weeks.
But the mere fact that five titles are on the line.
One's already changed hands tonight.
And at the end of the evening, it'll be Hulk Hogan coming out here
to challenge maybe for the last time
for World Wrestling Entertainment's Undisputed Title
against the very best in this business, Triple H.
[King] That's got to be some… Wow.
That was like a trainwreck.
-[J.R.] Bradshaw knows no meaning… -Come on, you're the best.
…of "quit" or "slow down."
Bradshaw is hurting for certain here.
Hall's not gonna make many mistakes. He's a…
classic example of a veteran. He just doesn't make many mistakes.
-But he's going back to that fisticuffs… -[King] Is that a tooth?
-Did I see a tooth fly out? -[J.R.] Might have been.
Bradshaw knocking down Scott Hall with another right hand.
Nothing pretty about this match.
It kinda resembles that old bowling shoe, a little bit ugly here.
[King] Hey, those bowling shoes are coming back in style.
People are wearing them out on the street now.
[J.R.] He may have other things flying out of his body as Hall,
if he gets nailed again from other orifices.
[King] Orifices?
Whoa!
That may do it right there.
[J.R.] I'd say he's going to start percolating any minute.
Hall reversing…
Irish whip, nobody there for Hall.
And, Bradshaw! Another Clothesline from Hell from Bradshaw!
This may be over…
-[audience booing] -[King] Foot on the rope.
[J.R.] X-Pac put Hall's foot on bottom row.
-And then another shot on Bradshaw. -[King] He slapped him.
And now X-Pac running like a scalded dog away from Faarooq.
[King] It's like an insult.
[J.R.] Bradshaw scored with his Clothesline from Hell.
[King] And you've gotta admit, this is pretty smart.
-This is… This is… -[audience exclaims]
-[J.R.] Whoa. -[King] Whoa.
Whoa!
[J.R.] Faarooq…
There's a low blow. There's a low blow by Hall.
A cradle.
-[bell dings] -[J.R.] And Hall beats Bradshaw
with a low blow.
[announcer] Here's your winner, Scott Hall.
[J.R.] X-Pac caused the confusion on the outside.
He eventually paid for that.
[King] Yeah, but he sacrificed himself for the good of the NWO.
X-Pac sacrificed his own health and welfare
for the win for Scott Hall. Look at him there.
[J.R.] NWO's sticking together here
in what's not a pretty victory.
It was not a pretty match,
but it was a significant victory for the NWO,
doing what they do best:
and that's isolating and taking the unfair advantage.
[King] But that was a hard-fought battle.
[audience booing]
[King] Are you sure there was a low blow there, J.R.?
[J.R.] I think we can confirm that.
We said earlier, our veteran here didn't make many mistakes.
Boom! Right there.
-That was a low blow by Hall. -[King] I didn't actually see it.
I think he was just trying to reach it through there.
[J.R.] And a handful of tights. Ladies and gentleman,
we are in Kansas City's Kemper Arena. What a night!
Hollywood Hulk Hogan will challenge The Game
for the Undisputed WWE Title.
Also tonight, a number one contender's match
"Stone Cold" Steve Austin will meet The Undertaker
and RAW owner Ric Flair has appointed himself
the special guest referee.
Well, well, well.
What the hell do you want?
Don't stand up for me, Ric. Easy.
How about that NWO, huh?
Pretty damn impressive.
But I didn't come here to talk to you about NWO.
I came here to tell you that
I think I'm beginning to like your style.
What do I mean by that is that
now that you're an owner, you're really beginning to know
what it's like to be an owner.
No matter what you do for your employees,
it's never enough.
They're just a bunch of ungrateful people.
And not only that,
they question everything that you do.
They question your integrity, Ric.
That's got to be getting to you.
And they're very distrustful of you.
So what I'm saying is, Ric, you're beginning to feel the heat
as an owner.
And now, what have you done?
You placed yourself between a rock and a hard spot.
I don't get it.
Your named yourself the guest referee
in the Austin/Undertaker number one contender's match.
Now, either you are a fool…
-[scoffs] -or…
maybe this is a stroke of brilliance on your part.
I don't know yet.
But, um, just wanna let you know, I'm beginning to relate to you.
You can't relate to me.
You haven't got a clue who I am.
You never have known who I am and you never will.
One thing for sure,
I'll never be like Vince McMahon.
[audience cheering]
Well, maybe not, but
you could try.
Never.
[King] What about that, J.R.?
The hand of friendship was offered to Ric Flair and he just,
Well, he just disrespected Mr. McMahon.
[J.R.] I'd say Ric Flair is a very good judge of human nature.
-[Trish Stratus' theme music plays] -[King] What?
-Woo-hoo. -[bell dings]
[announcer] The following contest, scheduled for one fall,
it's for the World Wrestling Entertainment Women's Championship.
Into the scene first, the challenger,
from Toronto, Canada,
Trish Stratus!
[J.R.] Well, Trish Stratus got here via RAW last week
when she competed with Molly Holly
for a number one contender's match. And as you will see here,
Molly tried to cheat to win,
and quite frankly, as you will see,
Trish beat Molly at Molly's own game.
[King] Yeah. Pull those pants down.
I mean, pull those pants if you got a chance.
[J.R.] And the virtuous Molly did not like that one bit.
And Trish Stratus earned the right to meet Jazz
for the WWE Women's Title here tonight.
[King] Oh, look at Trish.
She's came out here with a cowboy hat…
-Looks like she's got a blue brand. -[Molly Holly's theme music playing]
-[J.R.] Wait a minute. -[King] What?
[J.R.] It's not Jazz.
That's little…
-[King] Molly. -[J.R.] …dear Molly.
[King] Dear Molly.
Wow.
[J.R.] I don't understand why Molly is even out here.
She had her opportunity last week on RAW.
to win the number one contender's opportunity.
That didn't happen, if you just saw.
-[King] She is very virtuous. -[J.R.] Yeah, she's told us.
[King] I heard they had a parade in her honor in the Virgin Islands.
-[J.R.] The Virgin Islands? -[King] Yes.
These people don't want their WWE Women's Champion
to be a cheater.
[King] Uh-oh. Cheater?
And these people don't want their WWE Women's Champion
to flaunt her body around.
[King] Well, now, wait a minute. Speak for yourself.
-[audience cheering] -[King] Flaunt all you want.
These people want their WWE Women's Champion
to be pure and wholesome…
-[audience booing] -…like me.
Trish Stratus, you are nothing more than a cheater.
And you know what happens to cheaters.
[King] Oh!
[J.R.] What a cheap shot that was by Molly on Trish.
-[King] Look out. -[J.R.] Hit her right in the face
with that microphone, and now dumping Trish outside.
And Molly Holly showing--
Actually no sportsmanship whatsoever.
-[King] There you go. -[J.R.] Now fighting back against Molly.
Here comes the champion.
-[King] Don't look. Don't look. -[J.R.] Wait a minute. Oh, man.
Trish may have-- she could have broken her back with that shot.
Molly just sent Trish for the ride in those steel steps.
Get to the back!
[J.R.] And referee Charles Robinson…
-admonishing Molly to leave with this one. -[bell rings]
Well, Trish is starting out at a huge disadvantage.
[King] Oh.
-[J.R.] And Molly is… -[King] Oh.
[J.R.] This is a bad break for Trish.
A cover! Here we go.
And Trish barely able to kick out.
And this one may be academic because of this move right here.
[King] Oh, man.
Yeah, that could do some serious damage to the puppies.
There we go.
[J.R.] And Trish trying to get underneath Jazz and does so.
Boy, these two women have really… have hammered each other.
We've seen the black eye that Trish delivered to Jazz a few weeks ago.
You're nothing.
[J.R.] Jazz is a Mike Tyson-like, in-your-face competitor.
[King] Nah. Mike Tyson better look at Jazz.
-Oh, my God. -[J.R.] Great athletic move there.
And a knockdown by Trish Stratus.
Trish is trying to fight through the pain that she's got to be countering here,
thanks to Molly Holly.
And it certainly has started Trish off at a disadvantage in this match.
[King] Oh, look. She is Mike Tyson.
Look at those jabs.
Oh, she's got the big right hand.
[J.R.] Stinging Jazz with a right-hand block.
And Trish Stratus will score.
Trish Stratus really coming to her own
as an in-ring competitor here in the WWE.
The beautiful diva.
with a kick, the knockdown.
The hook to the leg, and a near fall.
And Trish Stratus taking it to Jazz.
[King] Trish missed with that one chick kick, but she got through.
-She connected with that second one. -[Jazz screams]
-[Trish screams] -[King] I can tell you, Trish wants it.
Get her out of the corner. One! Two!
-Three! -[King] She'd like to be champion too.
-Oh, look at this. -Get her down.
-[J.R.] You're dreaming again. -[King] Huh?
[J.R.] This is certainly a dangerous area of the ring here.
-Trish upside down. -[King] There you go.
[J.R.] Great leg strength taking Jazz to the top turnbuckle down.
And Trish showing tremendous tenacity.
[King] Ooh! I didn't know Trish's legs were that long.
[J.R.] Really taking it to Jazz here.
A neckbreaker. Could be all here.
Reaching back. Hook to the leg.
And referee Robinson found a two count.
And Trish showing certainly no intimidation
in trying to block out the pain.
Molly Holly had no business coming out here.
The virtuous one.
[King] Here we go.
Oh, no. Oh!
[J.R.] Referee's got a good look.
And Trish able to get a right shoulder off the canvas.
Jazz thought she had it with Trish.
And Trish is showing tremendous heart and the will to win
and regain the Women's Title here tonight in Backlash.
-[King] I thought her puppies were done. -One!
Two! Three! Four!
[J.R.] Always got to--
[Trish groans]
Get off her.
-What's your problem, Jazz? -I'm gonna tear her.
Get off with your foot! Get off!
[J.R.] Jazz is like…
[referee counting]
[J.R.] I would like to to wake up next to that girl.
With who?
-Jazz. -[King] Uh-uh. I don't--
She's one of those girls that doesn't even get prettier at closing time.
[J.R.] Boy, she's tough though. I'll tell you.
And dangerous.
Look at Trish.
Trish on her way there. Under cover, here you go.
-One! Two! -[Trish grunts]
[King] Very, very close.
Trish, she told me during Heat that,
well, the puppy power is going to have nothing to do with this match.
She felt she's earned this shot at the title. She wants it.
Look at-- She's through with it.
Oh, no.
[J.R.] Trish was looking for the… that bulldog headlock.
Got it countered.
And Trish kicked out again.
And Jazz can't believe it. Quite frankly, neither can I.
Trish's lower back got to be screaming in pain after…
those field steps earlier by Molly Holly.
[King] She's probably going to need some serious massage.
[J.R.] Maybe some sand--
Legs takedown. Nice move by Jazz.
-[Trish screaming] -[King] There we go.
[J.R.] And, boy, this is a Boston crab that
not even lotion is going to make her feel any better.
[King] Trish! Fight it, Trish.
[J.R.] She's showing great guts.
You got a long way to go to get to those ropes.
And that's her goal here.
[King groans]
[J.R.] And Jazz pulling Trish back out to the center of the ring.
The stepover cross-legged. The STF.
That's a painful submission move.
[King] Hang in there.
[J.R.] Trish is fighting for all she's got to get to the ropes.
This has got to be excruciating.
And Trish is tapping out.
[bell dinging]
-Oh, God. -[King] And look at Jazz.
She will not release the hold.
[referee] Three! Get off her!
[announcer] The winner of this bout, and still women's champion…
-Jazz. -[J.R.] I'll tell you one thing.
Jazz ought to take Molly Holly out to dinner,
because I've got to believe that
it was Molly Holly's pre-match interference and attack
that cost Trish a fair opportunity
to regain the Women's title here.
Jazz, congratulations on the victory tonight.
But do you think you would have been as successful as you were
beating Trish Stratus if it wasn't for the interference by Molly Holly?
[J.R.] Nice interview. I can't think of anything other than no comment.
I'd like to be able to say we've got no comments
about Paul Heyman's actions last week on RAW, King.
That was one of the most…
I want to go take a shower myself after seeing that
sleazier than sleaze Paul Heyman going to Lita's locker room.
I better not comment.
I must admit I've fondled a thong or two in my day.
But you're right. Seeing Paul Heyman do it was sickening.
Take a look at this last week on RAW.
You know, Lita, I represent the next big thing, Brock Lesnar.
And Brock, this Sunday at Backlash,
can make it one of two ways.
One way is to play nice
with your boyfriend Matt Hardy.
The other is to play rough
with your boyfriend Matt Hardy.
The choice, Lita, is yours.
It all depends on how you want to play…
with me.
[chuckles slyly]
[audience cheering]
Get out of my locker room now, Paul.
[giggles]
[inhales] You like to play rough?
[whispers] So do I.
[J.R.] What a sick human being.
[King] Oh, no!
He's got her whole bag of thongs!
[J.R.] I think Heyman has gotten Lita's…
-[King] He's hit the jackpot -[J.R.] …her travel bag.
[King] Look at that. He is hot. What's…
[J.R.] Oh, my God, look. There's the monster himself.
Brock Lesnar.
[King] I wouldn't go any-- What is Matt Hardy doing?
[J.R.] Matt Hardy, with the full head of steam.
The former NCAA Heavyweight Champion taking down now
Matt Hardy.
Brock Lesnar-- Oh, my God, no.
That's solid steel up there! That's steel!
Matt Hardy's face, his ribs,
and Lesnar and Heyman running for the hills
and Lita with a look of shock on her face.
And I… And we can see that Matt Hardy's limp.
This is sad for Matt Hardy
and it is damn sure sick of Lesnar and his agent Paul Heyman.
[Heyman] Tonight…
Tonight…
Tonight is your first official match.
And you never get a second chance
to make a first impression.
I want the beating that you gave Matt Hardy
to pale in comparison
to the beating that I envision you giving Jeff Hardy.
I want you to have no regret.
I want you to have no remorse.
I want you to remember that this is all Lita's fault.
Lita wants to play rough.
I want you to show Lita how rough you can play.
And I want you to show the world that the next big thing
-is Brock Lesnar. -Yeah.
[The Hardy Boys' theme music playing]
[bell dings]
[announcer] The following contest is scheduled for one fall.
Introducing first, to be accompanied by Lita…
from Cameron, North Carolina,
weighing 218 pounds…
Jeff Hardy!
[J.R.] We certainly want to wish a speedy recovery to Matt Hardy
who is at home in Cameron, North Carolina,
recovering from the injuries sustained at the hands of Brock Lesnar last week.
When Matt's doctor examined him,
he thought Matt had been in a car accident.
He had bruises literally from the top of his head to his toes.
Concussed.
[Brock Lesnar's theme music plays]
[J.R.] All thanks to this animal.
[announcer] To be accompanied to the ring by Paul Heyman,
from Minneapolis, Minnesota,
weighing 275 pounds…
Brock Lesnar!
[King] Well, J.R., Paul Heyman is, uh…
he's a legend in his own mouth.
But I'm afraid that this time he's really got something.
I'm afraid he really does have the next big thing here.
[J.R.] This is Brock Lesnar's first official televised match.
And his… his agent,
a pancake-sized fever blister on the lips of life,
-Paul Heyman on the outside. -[bell dings]
[J.R.] And Jeff Hardy right in the face of Brock Lesnar.
Lesnar stands at 6'3", maybe 6'4".
Close to 300 pounds.
You can see the physique on this man.
He was an NCAA Heavyweight Champion,
All-American at the University of Minnesota,
Wrestling Coach J. Robinson.
Yeah, look at the great agility by Lesnar
and Jeff Hardy.
[King] Pretty good agility by Jeff Hardy.
[J.R.] And the strength of Lesnar catching Jeff Hardy.
And Hardy dismounted and ran Lesnar right into the ring post.
[King] That's what Jeff Hardy's gonna have to do.
He's gonna have to stick to moving.
He's gonna have to quicker than Brock Lesnar.
[J.R.] Oh! Crossbody! Could be here!
Look at the power of Lesnar.
That's scary-- with his body strength.
And he's just manhandling Jeff Hardy.
And Jeff Hardy's a former Hardcore and a former Intercontinental Champion,
A four-time former Tag Team Champion.
[King] Get out of the ring. You need to stay away, regroup.
Lesnar can bench press a Volkswagen.
You can't match strength with this guy.
[J.R.] But more importantly, I think on Lesnar's strength
is that he has, without a doubt,
a very pronounced and bona fide meat strength.
[Heyman] Bet that hurt!
Greco-Roman throw right into the suplex by Brock Lesnar.
[Heyman] Because I hate Lita.
[J.R.] And Lesnar is a scary, scary prospect.
That's on your conscience.
[King] The crowd is standing looking at this guy.
I mean, he's an awesome sight. Believe me.
[J.R.] This audience looking all in awe at Brock Lesnar.
And Paul Heyman who has had a lot of success in a--
[King] Look at the strength with he just throws Jeff…
-[J.R.] That's scary. -…like a ragdoll.
[J.R.] And Jeff Hardy coming into a point in this match
where he's having a hard time breathing. You can tell.
He's gasping for air here.
And every time he gets a breath of air in those lungs,
it's knocked out of him again by Brock Lesnar.
[King] Makes him a point at this that…
Oh.
[Heyman screaming]
[J.R.] Lesnar's holding Jeff Hardy.
The backbreaker: driving that knee
-again into the kidneys. -That's for you, Lita!
[J.R.] I've never seen anybody this strong
impose his will on another human being in my career.
[King] Did you see Heyman? He just said, "That's for you, Lita."
[J.R.] If Lesnar's gonna break Jeff Hardy in half,
I admire Jeff Hardy for coming to the defense of his own brother
who's also been debilitated by Lesnar.
[King] Yeah, but sometimes, the old saying is right, fools rush in.
It may not have been the smartest thing to do.
And as you hear Heyman yelling at Lita, this is all her fault, he's saying.
[J.R.] And look at Jeff Hardy showing great courage.
Trying to fight back. Jeff fighting back with everything.
He's got every fiber in his being--
Ooh! What an impact!
I mean that short Irish whip.
The torque of that Irish whip
was almost like being rear-ended by a car, the whiplash effect.
[King] I think that Jeff may have just made Brock Lesnar angry.
[J.R.] There's not another human being in sports entertainment
that can match up and overpower Brock Lesnar on this day.
I can tell you.
And when he gets more experience,
how deadly and how dangerous is this human being gonna be?
And we're seeing his first official televised match,
I'm sure, of many in this young man's future.
-[King] Oh. -[J.R.] And Jeff Hardy hits him! Big move.
Lesnar got taken off his feet which is a rare occasion.
[King] Right? For the first time, Lesnar's down.
Come on, you got to capitalize on this.
Look at that!
[J.R.] Lesnar down again.
…Jeff Hardy scored.
The high-risk taker, the barrel diver.
Taking his chances, and that was a low blow there.
[King] This is the first time we are actually seeing
pain on the face of Brock Lesnar.
[J.R.] And now Jeff Hardy's got a chance.
He's actually got a chance here.
-[King] Get up there. -[J.R.] The low blow.
-[King] Here we go. -[J.R.] Swanton Bomb!
[J.R.] He's gonna do it! He's gonna do it!
Oh, my God!
The low blow and Jeff Hardy in shock.
[King] Can't stop, can't hesitate.
He's going offensive.
-[J.R.] Not Jeff Hardy. -[King] Wait a minute.
Not that offensive.
[J.R.] He's looking for some retribution for his brother.
And this thing just before.
And Lesnar overpowers Jeff Hardy.
Brock Lesnar's an animal.
[King] Oh, no! Look what's coming!
[J.R.] Face first down, Jeff Hardy right on that chair.
He's motionless.
Brock! Don't pin him! Hurt him!
[J.R.] Heyman just said, "Brock, don't pin Jeff Hardy.
Hurt him."
And Lesnar, you can tell with a glow in his eye…
A twinkle in Lesnar's eye.
He enjoys hurting people.
[King] You're right. You're right about Heyman.
He's a sick individual.
[J.R.] Well, this is scary. A powerbomb.
And-- Oh, my God.
Another.
Brock Lesnar's gonna break this young man in half.
[King] That'd what please Heyman more. For Brock Lesnar to cripple…
Jeff Hardy here.
[J.R.] Referee has got to use good judgment here, King.
Come on, Jeff.
[J.R.] Pinfall or not, you gotta use good judgment in these situations.
You've got an animal imposing his will
on another human being that is absolutely defenseless.
Oh, that's enough.
[Brock screams]
[J.R.] We've seen two powerbombs
and Lesnar even getting more momentum, drilling Jeff Hardy.
-And Lesnar likes it. -[bell dings]
And the referee's stopping him.
And the referee's calling for the bell.
[King] I don't blame him.
[announcer] Ladies and gentlemen, the referee has stopped this contest
and awards the decision to Brock Lesnar.
[J.R.] First it was Matt Hardy,
who's home recuperating from a Lesnar attack,
and now it is Jeff Hardy.
And Lita looking on as helpless as she can.
There's nothing she can do.
And perhaps, ladies and gentlemen, there's nothing anybody can do
as it relates to Brock Lesnar.
[King] Who could stop that thing?
The next big thing.
[J.R.] And the sad part about it is Lesnar's agent.
[King] "Poo." I'd use the word "poo."
[J.R.] Agent is Paul Heyman.
And that's even more repulsive.
[King] Well, I can assure you, as far as Heyman is concerned
and as far as the world is concerned,
you can't have a more impressive debut match here in the WWE.
[J.R.] There may be a day, and that day may be near--
it may be here-- that Brock Lesnar is untouchable.
[King] Take a look at this again.
Watch this. Chair was brought into the ring by Jeff.
And then, oh!
Brock Lesnar-- Bouncing right off of him.
[J.R.] Take a look at this.
Watch Jeff Hardy's head here, folks.
Watch it bounce.
Right off the canvas.
And the referee right there stepped in and stopped this match.
It may have been too little, too late for Jeff Hardy.
I don't know what kind of damage has been done to him.
But Brock Lesnar is an awesome animal.
And we are just moments away, ladies and gentlemen,
from a tremendous one-on-one contest
between two of the brightest young superstars
in World Wrestling Entertainment.
They are the SmackDown brand.
And certainly, there is no lack of confidence
when it comes to Kurt Angle.
[Angle] In the Olympics,
I beat Russians and Iranians a heck of a lot tougher
than Nikolai Volkoff and the Iron freakin' Sheik.
I am better than anyone on RAW or SmackDown.
[J.R.] Angle on Edge. Oh, the execution!
The execution on Angle! The hook on the leg!
[King] Wait a minute!
[J.R.] Big opportunity here for Edge!
[King] Edge has this matchup won!
Oh, but there is Kurt Angle!
[man 1] Kurt Angle with a clothesline!
[man 2] Angle! Slam by Kurt Angle!
[man 3] Kurt Angle has screwed Edge, that sore sport Olympian.
[man 4] And there's Edge!
[man 5] Edge coming to get in the face of Kurt Angle!
-Kurt's mad now! -[King] Now you've done it, Edge!
[man 5] And Edge in hot pursuit of Angle!
Kurt Angle battling in the backstage area.
-Angle Slam! -The Angle Slam on the concrete!
[man 6] I got a feeling this is not gonna be the last time
these two guys want to tear each other apart.
Kurt, I know we've had our problems lately.
Well, the more I've been thinking about it, the more I feel bad.
What?
Well, we used to be really tight.
I mean, really good friends.
Yeah, we were. So what?
Well, I was going through my attic the other day.
Look what I found. I found these pictures.
-Check it out. -Oh, this is cool.
-That's us. -That's you and me together.
-Oh, this is so cool. -Yeah.
-I hope these cheer you up. -Oh, they have.
-See you out there later tonight, okay? -Oh, yeah.
That Edge, he's okay.
I really like the guy.
Son of a…
[man 1] Kurt Angle not happy, embarrassed, and humiliated
by, uh, well, a rather sarcastic Edge.
[Angle] If there's one thing I can't stand,
it's a loudmouth Canadian
with long blonde hair who dresses like a rock star.
[Edge] Kurt, Kurt, Kurt.
Maybe you and I can settle some unfinished business at Backlash.
You want a shot at me, you snot-nosed punk?
It'll be my honor to kick your ass.
[audience cheering]
[man 1] Edge and Kurt Angle will meet one-on-one at Backlash.
[man 2] Once very good friends, now bitter competitors.
[man 3] Two young lions going at it.
[man 4] A lot of pressure, a lot at stake for these young superstars.
Will Edge grab the opportunity?
Will he run with the ball?
[Kurt Angle's theme music playing]
[audience, in unison] ♪ You suck ♪
♪ You suck, you suck ♪
♪ You suck ♪
[bell dings]
[announcer] The following contest is scheduled for one fall.
Entering the ring,
from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
weighing 237 pounds…
Kurt Angle!
[J.R.] Kurt Angle, the 1996 Olympic gold medal winner.
Former King of the Ring.
Former WWE Intercontinental, European
and a Hardcore Champion.
He has done it all quicker than anyone
in the history of World Wrestling Entertainment.
[woman] I think you know me.
[Edge's theme song playing]
[announcer] From Toronto, Ontario, Canada,
weighing 242 pounds…
Edge!
And the great, young competitor in his 20s,
here, at World Wrestling Entertainment, hails from Toronto.
Four time Intercontinental Champion. Seven time, King, Tag Team Champion.
[King] Yeah, but he's never been an Olympic champion.
That man has.
For being an Olympic champion, he deserves respect.
I can't believe our own United States fans here in Kansas City would
disparage Kurt Angle.
[J.R.] Fans around the world are concurring.
Essentially, over 150 countries will see Backlash here.
-And many of 'em watching us live tonight. -[bell dings]
Wanna thank our fans in the U.K. for staying up late
and watching Backlash tonight live on Sky Box Office.
[King] Now did you think that was funny, that the little prank,
the little stunt that Edge tried to pull there, embarrassing Kurt?
You thought that was funny?
[J.R.] I thought it was pretty ingenious, actually.
[King] Why didn't you laugh when I was sitting here
and I had that stupid T-shirt on? You didn't like that.
[J.R.] I don't remember that.
That's when you were working with Michael Cole.
[King] Oh, yeah, yeah. Well, he didn't like it.
[J.R.] Great athleticism by Edge.
-Edge and Kurt Angle… -[King exclaims]
…both coming off significant victories last month at WrestleMania.
Angle defeated Kane.
Edge defeated Booker T in Toronto at WrestleMania.
-[loud snap] -Oh, man.
And a hard shot by Angle, catching Edge--
Coming in, Edge counters with a dropkick of his own, taking down Kurt Angle.
Both these young men have a wealth of confidence
as you can see in the highlight package.
-[King yelps] -[J.R.] Flapjack.
Landing on that shoulder from that Flapjack.
And Edge with full head of steam…
And the momentum,
enabling Edge to take Angle over the top rope to the floor.
[King] Edge with full head of steam and full head of nappy hair.
[man] He's okay.
[J.R.] What's wrong with his hair?
-[man 2] Come on. -[J.R.] He needs a haircut or something?
[King] Look at it.
One!
[King] Better hair than that guy… showered in.
[J.R.] Bringing Edge to the outside,
and it's Kurt Angle with a punch in those right hands,
and right now, Edge is clearly establishing himself
as the aggressor in this context,
which is somewhat unusual for Angle, who counters a series-- I said that.
[King] Yeah, I was gonna say, as you were saying there…
I mean, Kurt Angle is the epitome of an athlete.
Olympic champion, J.R.
Do you think a Canadian like Edge knows anything about the Olympics?
Not just Olympic wrestling, he probably thinks that
parallel bars are somewhere you go to drink or something.
[J.R.] I don't know if I would agree. Lot of great Olympiads in Canada.
-[King] Oh, man! -[J.R.] German suplex,
He just stuck the German suplex about as perfectly as you'll ever see.
[King] You got that right, he is so proud of himself. [laughs]
Look at that, he knows he did it.
Angle is waiting for the day, and so is Edge,
to get back in the WWE Championship hunt,
but these two men have got a personal issue
that they're attempting to settle here.
[King] Who are some of those great Canadian Olympic athletes, J.R.?
[J.R.] Well, uh, Stu Hart was a great amateur.
[King] He in the Olympics?
-[J.R.] Bret Hart. -[King] The Olympic champion?
[J.R.] I don't know.
[King] Oh, maybe… maybe Ben Johnson?
[J.R.] Ben Johnson had a little problem…
[King] Ben Johnson made the country proud, didn't he?
-[J.R.] That was a… Ben made a mistake. -[King chuckles]
[King] There's a man that doesn't make mistakes right there, Kurt Angle.
Man, we should be proud of.
[J.R.] I think he's made several mistakes in this career.
Like putting his Olympic-sized lips in Mr. McMahon's backside
every opportunity he gets.
[King] There's the pot calling the kettle black.
I still got a big 8x10 hanging on my wall of you kissing Mr. McMahon's butt.
[J.R.] Well, that was under duress.
[King mimics kissing]
[J.R.] Angle does it willingly.
Oh, now look at Edge.
Boom! Turned his table on Angle.
Angle reverses the Irish whip.
Coming around … again. It was a counter by Edge.
And Angle locks those hands, sets those hips,
and it's all over this time. There's the hook of the leg.
And Edge able to kick out, quickly,
before Angle could cinch in that pinning combination.
[King] I just don't know why you have a problem admitting
that Kurt Angle is probably the greatest athlete in the whole WWE.
[J.R.] Oh, he may be. He may be the…
Before it's all said and done,
Kurt Angle may be the greatest WWE superstar in history.
That may happen someday.
[King] Man, I can't believe you finally admitted that.
[J.R.] But "may" is the key word.
[King] Look, he hates that long hair.
Hey, well, it shouldn't be his history.
[J.R.] That is classy, don't you think?
What, he's got asthma?
He's got the phlegm. He's got a…
-[King] He may have. -[J.R.] He's sick. He's got the flu.
That is disrespectful.
-[King] His fighting through that. -[J.R.] His mom taught him better.
Going downstairs
and Angle now hooking up Edge and taking it over with a suplex.
Man, these suplexes…
Look out here and… Another near fall.
Angle having a, I'm sure, less than flattering word
with the referee there about his count
as he wraps that arm and grounds Edge in this matchup.
I'd love to be a fly on the wall in the Hogan and Triple H locker rooms
and see what that how that emotion must be building for those two men.
[King] I'm just enjoying watching Kurt Angle.
He is methodically taking Edge apart.
I mean, look, he's just grinding him down, taking him apart bit by bit.
It's just like a strategic plan
and it's a pleasure to watch it unfold right before our very eyes.
[J.R.] Angle was the number two draft pick of Mr. McMahon on SmackDown.
[King] What's up with that referee's hair?
[J.R.] He lost a bet out there.
[referee shouts] One!
[J.R.] So we can't forget that Edge, back in November,
defeated Kurt Angle for the now defunct
WWE Champions--
Holding on there. Wouldn't let that hand drop for the third time.
[King] Put the pressure on, Kurt.
Edge walks his way back up to a vertical base.
Allows him to create a little bit of offense here.
-[Edge screams] -[J.R.] But Angle gives another suplex.
And Angle this time, he's holding on.
Angle gets behind.
And Edge trying to fight out of this predicament and does so.
[King] Wait a minute!
You can't do that to Kurt Angle!
[J.R.] And now Angle's suplex.
Edge pulling that page out of Angle's playbook
using the suplex on Kurt Angle.
[referee] Two!
[J.R.] Edge not endearing himself to Mr. McMahon
last Thursday night on SmackDown.
[King] He was disrespectful. Go ahead and tell it like it is.
[J.R.] Well, he was certainly in Mr. McMahon's face.
I'll tell you that.
Felt no fear or intimidation by the owner of SmackDown.
And Angle now back up.
[King] I've never had more respect for Mr. McMahon than I do now.
[J.R.] Oh, that's emotional. I hope he doesn't start crying.
[King] No, no. It's about his new personal assistant.
-[J.R.] I thought you wouldn't like-- -[King] He wouldn't like that.
Right!
No, John would like that. He don't even… Never mind.
Irish whip there.
-[King] Oh, no! -[J.R.] Look at that! Back body drop.
[King] Oh, no.
[J.R.] Edge trying to build some momentum here.
And Angle somewhat reeling.
A hard whip.
But it's in that lower back. The backdrops, the Irish whips.
-[King] Ooh! -[J.R.] And face first goes Kurt Angle.
Edge has got the arm hook here.
And referee got a great look.
And, Angle, he's got… He got his shoulders up.
And Angle knows he was less than a second away from losing.
-[Edge screaming] -[King] Here we go.
Oh, my gosh! Look out.
Nice athleticism by Edge.
And Edge again, high impact, taking Angle.
Taking him down. He's got the three-- No!
-Wow, that was… -[referee] It was two. One, two!
-[J.R.] A two and a half count. -[King] At least.
Kurt, that was very, very close.
[J.R.] I think he got that. I think he's feeling that right now.
[King] You know what?
[J.R.] Edge climbing the ladder here.
He's gonna try to create some more offense in the top rope.
And that could be dangerous.
-And it is! -[King] Yes!
[J.R.] And Angle's climbing those ropes like a cat.
[King] There you go!
[J.R.] Crawls over. Puts the leg.
Suplex. Got the door.
He didn't get through.
[King] What's it gonna take, Kurt?
[J.R.] Angle getting somewhat frustrated. He can't put Edge away.
And you know what happens when Kurt gets real frustrated.
Oh, here we go. There's the ankle lock.
[King] What happens when Kurt gets frustrated?
[J.R.] He cries like a baby.
-Like he was galled. -[King] They are.
He needs a Pampers.
And he's clubbing those… those clubbing blows to the back.
Well, Edge has been landing on those suplexes.
Angle trying to get into the punishment there.
[King] I've only ever seen Kurt Angle shed… Boom!
…tears of joy. And he'll probably--
there'll probably be a tear of joy that trickles down his cheek
-when he finishes off Edge here tonight. -[J.R.] Boom! A hard suplex.
A succession of suplexes delivered expertly by Kurt Angle tonight.
[King] You've never been so happy, you cried, J.R.?
-[J.R.] And there's a cover. -[King] Got it.
[J.R.] And another…
I mean, the referee said another was close, but it was not three.
Come on, get up.
Let's go.
[J.R.] Angle in the driver's seat, showing a little bit of impatience here.
[King] Sit up. Fight like a man.
[J.R.] He gets too frustrated, trying to win or lose this thing.
-[King exclaiming] -[J.R.] Oh, man!
And that shoulder there, that was…
[King] On his neck! On his head!
[J.R.] Angle had a broken neck going into the Olympics.
-Still competed. Still won the gold medal. -Two!
-[J.R.] He knows how to play through pain. -Three!
[J.R.] But he got drilled right on his shoulder and head there
-by that suplex by Edge. -Four!
[King] Nobody's playing here.
[J.R.] And Edge's eyes are a little glazed over.
Five!
Anybody's ball game here in this one-on-one matchup.
[King] Kurt's gotta be in a lot of pain after landing on his head.
Let's do that again.
Watch the back of Kurt's head.
Oh! He landed right on his head!
-[J.R.] That was a bad landing. -[King] Very bad landing!
[J.R.] Then the elevation right in front of us.
Edge taking Kurt Angle. Elevating him up and over.
And Angle now lying helplessly in front of our announce table.
[King] Can I give Kurt some of my water?
-Kurt! -[J.R.] I don't think that'd be fair.
Edge just…
Wait a minute!
Now, look out!
-[King] Ooh! -[J.R.] Caught Edge
-off the top… -[Edge moans]
…to the outside with a crossbody.
And I'm not so sure who got the worst end of the deal.
[man] Whoa!
[J.R.] Angle down and so is Edge.
Edge's the aggressor with a move, but…
[King] Well, let's see. Let's see it one more time.
We'll figure out who got the worst of this.
Oh, I think poor Kurt got the worst, without a doubt.
[J.R.] Angle's head gotta get right in the midsection of Edge.
Now, Edge again, he's fearless, I'll tell ya.
Edge's going back up top.
The old Evel Knievel school of wrestling.
Let's see what page this was from!
[J.R.] It's a dropkick!
He's got the hook of a leg, and it's--
No!
We thought for sure he had Angle there.
Another illustration of just how tough Kurt Angle is.
[King] He's resilient, J.R. He's a true champion.
That's a mark of a true champion:
Resiliency.
Is that the right word? Resiliency?
-[J.R.] You got it. -[King] Okay.
Kurt's got plenty of it.
[J.R.] Heads over to Edge…
Execution -[King] Oh, no.
-[J.R.] Angle counters. -[King] There it is. Boom!
[J.R.] That's the Angle Slam!
Angle got the Angle Slam!
-And will that be enough? -[King] Yes.
-[J.R.] And no, it's not. -[King] What?
[J.R.] It is not enough.
[King] I'd have freaked out over someone.
[J.R.] Edge kicked out of the Angle Slam and Kurt Angle--
And most of us here cannot believe it.
[King] I'd punch the referee. He's an idiot.
[J.R.] Uh-oh. Here you go.
[King] Now you've pissed off Kurt Angle.
-Break his leg! -[J.R.] Angle's got the ankle.
[King] Here we go.
[J.R.] Angle…
[King] Now, you're gonna see Edge cry.
…
Look at the dangerous angle of that.
It can snap at any moment.
[King] Edge is crying. He's whimpering like a baby.
[J.R.] He's not. He's gotta get to the rope.
He can't do it.
[King] His leg… [yelps]
[J.R.] A counter! A roll-up!
Oh, no!
[King] Get his leg. Get his leg.
[J.R.] Angle…
The damage done with that ankle lock, but what a resourceful counter…
[King] Don't get frustrated, Kurt. Don't get frustrated. Keep your composure.
[J.R.] What a resourceful counter by Edge,
countering Angle and almost getting the victory.
[King] Calm down, Kurt.
-[J.R.] Angle's wandering around. -[King] Kurt, where are you going?
[J.R.] He's got to figure out what he's going to do to beat this guy.
-[King] Don't do it. -[J.R.] His ankle slam didn't work.
The ankle lock didn't work.
-And now Angle said to hell with it. -[King] Uh-huh.
[J.R.] And this is going to get Angle disqualified.
-[both] Oh! -[King] Oh, no!
[J.R.] The chair bounced back to Angle's face.
The fight is over. It's not…
-Did he get it? -[King] No!
[J.R.] Of course, he failed.
[King] Kurt Angle is unbelievable!
[laughs] Oh, man!
[J.R.] That was as close as you can get
and not be hearing the bell sound.
[King] Watch, this, J.R.
Everything going against Kurt. Look at that, steel chair in his hand--
Look at this movie by Angle. He's still…
[J.R.] Angle really on dream street here,
and a kick to the face by Edge. Referee getting that chair out of here.
[King] That chair out of there before Edge uses it.
[J.R.] Now, he's poised. He is thinking about his Spear.
-Angle… -[King] Watch his spear, Kurt.
[J.R.] Edge hits his spear, it's going to be over.
-[King] Ooh! -[J.R.] Oh, Angle,
-he felt it, he saw it… -[King] he caught it!
[laughs] He caught it!
Oh!
[J.R.] Another Angle Slam!
This one with great velocity.
-[King] Got it! -[bell dings]
Kurt Angle wins with the hardest long matches we've seen.
[announcer] Here is your winner:
-Kurt Angle! -[King laughs] You got him there!
Come on, J.R., stand up!
-What's wrong with you? -No, that was great!
I've never seen anything like that!
[audience chants] ♪ You suck! ♪
[J.R.] And the fans, they think it was great too,
but they still think that Angle sucks.
[King] Oh, I've never had more admiration for an athlete.
-I don't suck! -[King] You should cry, Kurt, go ahead!
-I don't suck! -It's okay!
Tears of joy and pride.
-[J.R.] I'll tell you what? -Whoo!
[J.R.] Get a hold of yourself.
Everybody hates a fool, especially an old fool like us.
[King] Okay, uh… That was so emotional!
He snapped the victory from the jaws of defeat, Kurt Angle did!
[J.R.] And watch this impact.
-What? -[King] Boom!
[J.R.] It could have gone either way, folks, no doubt about it.
But it was Kurt Angle's night.
But these two will meet again. You can bet on that.
Oh, I don't think Edge wants anymore Kurt Angle.
[theme music playing]
[J.R.] This is certainly neither RVD or Eddie Guerrero.
This is unmistakably Y2J's--
-[King] Oho! -[J.R.] Y2J's music.
Y2J's video,
-and… -[King] But why Y2J now?
[J.R.] And there's Chris Jericho, who's not even scheduled to be here tonight.
He was not signed for a match.
[King] He should have been here tonight.
Well, he is here tonight, but he should have been signed for a match.
[J.R.] That's Mr. McMahon's problem.
Jericho's a SmackDown talent.
[King] Oh.
Yeah, he'd better pick that up with his new assistant.
Get right on the case.
[J.R.] I have no idea what Jericho is…
Why he is here.
I know one thing. I can tell you.
I just saw that sign.
Jericho does not like being referred to as a has-been.
[King] Well, maybe if he comes over here, you can refer to him as a has-been.
Then we'll find out why he's out here.
[J.R.] Uh-oh. I think we're gonna find out anyway.
Jericho won the Undisputed Championship in December,
the first ever to hold that distinction
in World Wrestling Entertainment history.
He's the man that defeated The Rock and Stone Cold on the same night.
Won it by by any means necessary.
[King] That's right, but you gotta give the man credit.
He was the first ever history-making Undisputed Champion of the WWE.
-[J.R.] I think I did give him credit. -[King] Oh, you did?
[J.R.] I'll have to parade in his honor next time I'm in Oklahoma.
Look at the look on his face.
What a surly look.
[King] Sourpuss.
What will that parade consist of in Oklahoma?
Okay, let me try to rationalize this.
Let me try and get this straight. All right?
Thirty days ago,
I was in the main event of WrestleMania X8,
the biggest show in the history of World Wrestling Entertainment.
[audience shouting]
And I was in the main event as the Undisputed Champion,
the very first Undisputed Champion
in the history of World Wrestling Entertainment.
The top guy in the business.
The top money-paying position in the industry.
But tonight, I stand in this ring, in this filthy little town,
-and I don't even have a match. -[audience booing]
[King] It is quite a comedown, J.R.
I don't even have a match tonight at Backlash.
I'm not good enough to have a match.
I'm not worthy enough to have a match.
So I am here at Backlash, the lowest of the low,
nothing more than a common spectator
like each and every one of you jackasses.
[J.R.] Oh, he is really something lower.
And that is absolutely unacceptable.
I mean, Billy Kidman had a match.
Trish Stratus had a match.
Even Maven has a match.
But the very first Undisputed Champion in the history of the WWE
is not good enough to have a match.
-[J.R.] What a bitter young man. -[King] I'd be hot too.
[J.R.] What a bitter human being.
And that offends me!
That insults me!
And most importantly of all, that hurts my feelings!
[King] Oh! It's true. He's speaking the truth.
Yeah, that hurts my feelings.
Not that any of you jackasses care!
[King] They don't.
But you know what makes me feel really good?
You know what makes me feel absolutely tremendous?
The fact that even on a day like this, the worst day of my career,
I am still better than each and every one of you!
[King laughs] Even on his worst day, J.R.
And I am still better than that has-been, Hulk Hogan!
[audience booing]
Oh, come on! Come on!
Do any of you really, truly believe
that Hogan deserves the title shot more than I do?
[audience, in unison] Yes!
[J.R.] I think that is a yes.
You honestly believe that?
[audience cheering]
Well, here is a news flash for you. For all you…
[mocking] Hulkamaniacs…
[normally] …that are trying to live vicariously through Hogan.
Hoping, praying, believing
that The Hulkster can bring the championship back home one last time.
Well, you are going to be very disappointed.
Because that is not going to happen tonight, nor ever again!
Because Hogan is not worthy of being a champion.
But Chris Jericho is worthy of being a champion.
And Chris Jericho is worthy of having a match at Backlash tonight.
But since I don't, I guess that means I am not welcome here in Kansas City.
-[audience agreeing] -[King] Can we get him a match?
Well, if that is the case, then I am just going to leave right now!
-[audience, in unison] Yes. -[King] Wait a minute.
Yeah, screw all of you! Hit my music!
[Jericho's theme song plays]
[King] You are only leaving?
[J.R.] Man, that was a bright spot in our night.
Jericho is so bitter that he--
First of all, loses to The Game at WrestleMania,
his Undisputed Title.
And then for whatever reason…
[King] J.R., come on, this was just a disgusting display
by these fans here in Kansas City.
That is why they call this the Heartland of America.
Because the brain is not here.
You people should show some respect.
He was the first ever Undisputed Champion.
That means a lot.
Make sure we've got enough contenders tomorrow night for RAW.
We have to make sure the match is right down in the middle.
Austin, Undertaker, the best man to win. The way it is going to be.
-Just call it to where you see it. -[door opens]
-Here we go. -What do you want?
[Undertaker inhales]
[King] I think Flair is being intimidated, J.R.
[King chuckles]
[J.R.] Well, I am sure that is The Undertaker's intent.
-Keep your eye on that guy. -I will.
-No matter what you do. -I haven't forgot.
[man] Latino Heat.
[Eddie Guerrero's theme song plays]
[J.R.] Intercontinental Title time.
[King] Latino Heat! [laughs]
[bell dings]
[announcer] The following contest is scheduled for one fall.
It's for the World Wrestling Entertainment Intercontinental Championship.
Introducing first the challenger, from El Paso, Texas.
weighing 215 pounds…
Eddie Guerrero.
-[King] Come on, J.R., Latino Heat! -[J.R.] Latino Heat is right.
Eddie Guerrero has a tremendous opportunity here to challenge RVD
for the Intercontinental Title.
Eddie, part of the tremendous Guerrero family dynasty
that includes his grandfather, the late Gory Guerrero,
Héctor, Mando, his dad…
his brother, Chavo,
and his nephew, Chavo Jr., who competes on SmackDown.
[RVD's theme music plays]
[announcer] From Battle Creek, Michigan,
weighing 230 pounds,
the World Wrestling Entertainment Intercontinental Champion
Rob Van Dam!
[J.R.] Hard to believe that
…between these two great, talented athletes,
there's probably a lot of things they have in common.
But the Frog Splash is a point of contention
as far as the challenger, Eddie Guerrero, is concerned.
[King] Let me ask you this question today, J.R.
Be perfectly honest, be truthful.
Who was the first person here in the WWE you ever saw do the Frog Splash?
[J.R.] That would be D'Lo Brown.
[King] What?
-[J.R.] You said-- -[King] All right, the second person.
[J.R.] That would be Eddie Guerrero.
[King] Okay. So, there you go.
Rob Van Dam copied it from Eddie Guerrero.
[J.R.] That's your story. That's Eddie Guerrero's story.
-[King] There you go. -[bell dings]
I've been waiting to see that for a long time.
[J.R.] This should be a great match.
RVD defending his Intercontinental Title against Eddie Guerrero.
Guerrero just has returned to WWE less than about a month ago.
[RVD] Yeah!
[King] This match is going to be lightning quick, J.R.
[J.R.] Van Dam is such an unorthodox, unique offensive competitor.
One of the great young, shining stars
on RAW every week.
[King] Monkey flipped Guerrero completely across the ring.
[J.R.] Nice heel kick by RVD.
Looking for the cover here.
And Van Dam got a near fall on his challenger, Eddie Guerrero.
[King] Not going to beat Eddie Guerrero that quick.
Look at that little move on those educated feet.
[J.R.] Nice legless takedown by Eddie Guerrero.
Torquing that knee as he did of Rob Van Dam.
And now Guerrero…
Those fists to the face, also a shot to the knee.
You've got to wonder what that legless takedown,
the torque of it, did to the leg of Rob Van Dam.
[King] Well, you know that Eddie Guerrero, he's read Van Dam's book. He knows it.
He hears you talking about those "educated feet."
He's ready for it.
[J.R.] Facelock.
With Guerrero trying to fight out, forces Van Dam back into the corner.
And this matchup in the Intercontinental Championship,
live from the Backlash in Kansas City.
Wherever you are, around the world, we thank you very much
for inviting us into your home once again, as Eddie Guerrero is inviting his foot
into the face of Rob Van Dam in this corner.
[King] Man, oh, man. Wearing Van Dam out.
Guerrero, a former European and Intercontinental
Champion here in World Wrestling Entertainment.
And that shot right to the ribs. Oh, another one.
Well, we saw Tajiri use his feet expertly.
Cover here and another near fall,
as Van Dam comes at you in so many different ways.
So many different angles.
He's hard to predict. He's hard to scout.
He's hard to defend.
-And there's a cover. -One! Two! No!
[J.R.] And Guerrero barely-- Gonna push those shoulders off the canvas there.
Warm shots to the side of the head by Rob Van Dam.
And Van Dam reaching in, trying to get some leverage.
And does so.
And oh, what a suplex.
The float over in one movement.
And got another near fall.
[King] And that was a float over.
[J.R.] RVD, number four draft pick
in the grant extension draft by Ric Flair on RAW.
Van Dam up quickly.
And Eddie Guerrero up just as quickly to counter Van Dam,
who finds himself in a rather…
Well, he ain't sitting on a La-Z-Boy,
-I'll tell you. -[King] Well, that's all right.
[J.R.] Great right hand by Guerrero.
Eddie Guerrero is certainly in Van Dam's boat.
He's got to be considered in the top five competitors in the entire world.
Certainly are in my book.
[King] I see your face all the time.
-[J.R.] Oh! -[King] Oh, man!
[J.R.] Van Dam.
That was a unique counter.
Van Dam went to the outside.
But Guerrero got hung up over the top rope.
[King] Van Dam did that intentionally.
He pulled Eddie's head, neck right down across that rope. Now…
[RVD] Yeah!
[J.R.] Van Dam limping a little bit from that attack earlier by Guerrero.
And now Van Dam…
[King] Look at this!
[J.R.] Van Dam with his Rolling Thunder.
Oh! Got a near fall there.
Guerrero able to kick out.
And this match is certainly nonstop offense.
These guys have…
Inside cradle!
Totally not stopped to explode a body part.
That's for darn sure.
It's just been offense after offense here.
-[King] There you go. -[J.R.] Nice roll-up.
Guerrero, the roll-up. Good one!
Looking for the time and got a near fall there.
And Van Dam uses his leg strength to power out of it.
Van Dam scoring with that baseball slide.
Van Dam…
Moonsault-like maneuver from the apron to the outside.
Van Dam puts his own body
through about as much risk as he puts his opponent through.
[King] Gotta make one of those martial arts moves.
[J.R.] People kicking each other.
Another scorpion game, I'll tell you that.
[audience cheering]
[audience and King, in unison] Rob Van Dam!
-[King] Oh, no! -[loud snap]
[J.R.] Van Dam scoring. We could hear the impact there.
Van Dam holding that knee again.
[King] Oh, Latino Heat!
[J.R.] And Guerrero kind of
looking around to make sure all his attachments are still there.
[audience member whoops]
[King] I think Latino Heat is missing his Mamacita at ringside.
[J.R.] Cover!
Van Dam locked the hands and Guerrero able to kick out.
[all exclaim]
[J.R.] Van Dam attempting the Rolling Thunder for the second time.
And Guerrero…
he's ready for him.
Got his knees up, drove 'em to the lower back of RVD.
[RVD screams]
Tilt-a-whirl backbreaker applied very nicely by Eddie Guerrero.
Again using that… that lower back there.
[King] Look at the hair.
[J.R.] Guerrero with a handful of hair.
Referee Tim White says, compete on.
And a hard suplex by Guerrero.
-That could be it right there. -Two!
[J.R.] Guerrero's only got the high cover. Van Dam's face.
And now going right back to that lower back.
Guerrero delivered that… delivered the goods in that suplex,
and then goes right back to work on the lower back of RVD.
Drop toe-hold.
[King] Oh, watch this.
This should be good.
-[J.R.] Guerrero… -[King] Another arm.
-You got him! -[J.R.] Get a look at this.
Surfboard-like maneuver here by Eddie Guerrero.
And now look at him bending Van Dam backwards.
[King] Come on! Van Dam may give up here.
[J.R.] It is a submission move, to say the least.
And now look at the facelock applied.
[King] I don't see any way out of this.
[J.R.] And we've all often talked about Van Dam's flexibility.
And his back has been bent in a very unnatural position here.
And the fans starting to get into this thing.
Van Dam…
He may be… He may be on his way out of this business.
Business of this Intercontinental Title match.
Fights his way out of it, but the lower back has got to be…
Really giving Van Dam some problems here.
Guerrero, a veteran,
has been around this industry since he could…
since he was a baby.
[King] Now really starting to assert himself here.
[J.R.] Magnificent maneuver here by Guerrero,
against-- stretching Van Dam.
Putting the pressure on the lower back of the Intercontinental Champion.
[King] And it's like RVD is on a rack of some kind there.
[referee] Come on.
[J.R.] Van Dam is shaking his head no.
I'm assuming he's answering Jim White's question.
"Do you want to give up?" And the answer is no.
Oh, Van Dam has a roll-up.
A little sunset flip there, and Van Dam got a near fall.
But Guerrero beating Van Dam to his feet.
Van Dam still hurting.
[King] It is a good thing that RVD is as flexible as he is
or he'd be broken in half by now.
Eddie Guerrero is trying every trick in the book to put pressure
on that lower back and that spinal area of Rob Van Dam.
[J.R.] Van Dam won the Intercontinental Title at WrestleMania,
becoming one of only five superstars in the history of this company
to win the Intercontinental Title at that event.
That includes Ricky Steamboat, Rick Rude,
Bret "The Hitman" Hart, Chris Benoit.
Van Dam joins some pretty elite company.
[King] Some Latino Heat for you.
-[RVD screams] -[J.R.] Eddie, over the top.
His body is a battering ram.
And the cover and a near fall.
And Van Dam using a…
maybe all the strength he's got left, King, just to kick out.
And you can see the look on Van Dam's face.
He is really hurting in that lower back area.
[audience chanting] RVD! RVD!
[J.R.] Got a muscular attack on the lower back.
That's bad enough 'cause you don't know
what kind of damage you're doing to your kidneys
that have been just hammered on more than one occasion.
Look at the agility of Eddie Guerrero!
Right off the top with a hurricanrana.
Not one wasted motion, not one mistake, not one eyelash off…
A cover and--
Van Dam shooting that right shoulder off the canvas.
Van Dam not able to get back up.
He's pulled up by Eddie Guerrero.
[King] I gotta believe that Van Dam can't believe
all of these maneuvers that Eddie Guerrero is using on him.
[J.R.] And again, the suplexes by Guerrero.
Dropping Van Dam on his back.
Guerrero holding on.
[King] Like pages out of Van Dam's own book.
[J.R.] Another suplex by Guerrero.
Again, impacting the lower back of Van Dam.
And now Guerrero, lateral press.
Forearm to the face.
But again, Van Dam gets his right shoulder off the canvas.
And Guerrero is just relentless here.
[King] Uh-oh, here we go!
[J.R.] We saw Jeff Hardy lose a match tonight when the referee stopped--
I don't want to think about stopping this.
He's feeling "froggy." Think he's gonna jump.
[J.R.] I'll tell you what, if Eddie Guerrero hits this,
you know what I'm gonna say. It's over.
And Van Dam with an adrenaline rush gets up.
Scoring with those kicks right to the head of Eddie Guerrero
who was about a step away from trying to execute the Five-Star.
[King] I don't think Eddie Guerrero calls his the Five-Star, does he?
[J.R.] I don't know. It's Frog Splash Oh, man!
[King] Oh, whoa! That's gotta be it!
[J.R.] It's over!
Man, that was some impact.
What an amazing offensive maneuver there by Eddie Guerrero.
Again, driving the air out of Van Dam.
[King] That should have been enough to beat anybody.
[J.R.] See that Van Dam, that lower back is about to be just…
[King] Watch and listen.
[J.R.] That is… That is snug, I'll tell you.
And now Van Dam…
Van Dam's got a bunch of offense here.
As resilient as he is, as flexible as he is,
Van Dam cannot survive this much longer.
You just gotta believe.
[King] Uh-oh!
-[King] Oh! -[J.R.] Van Dam, step over kick.
Scoring against Eddie Guerrero.
And Guerrero rolling to the outside right in front of us here.
Guerrero's biding himself some time.
[King] Wait a minute.
[J.R.] Guerrero now with the Intercontinental Title.
You can't win the title that way, Eddie.
And Eddie knows that as well as anybody.
Eddie's been around the block a time or two.
But he's got the Van Dam's belt. And, oh!
Van Dam inadvertently nailed referee Tim White.
And with a second on the neckbreaker.
[King] Right on that championship belt!
[J.R.] Guerrero just planted Van Dam with a neckbreaker
right on the Intercontinental Title belt.
Referee shaking it loose.
Guerrero with a look of confidence on his face.
Guerrero up on top. Look at Van Dam's positioning.
-[King] Here he comes! -[J.R.] Can Eddie Guerrero even reach him?
[King] Frog Splash! Wow!
[J.R.] God! What an impact! What impact!
-And Eddie Guerrero has just defeated RVD! -[bell dings]
-[King] What a shot! -[announcer] The winner of this bout
and new Intercontinental Champion,
Eddie Guerrero!
[King] Latino Heat! Oh, man!
[J.R.] The certainly dubious use of the Intercontinental Title belt
contributed to the downfall of Rob Van Dam.
Not to take anything away from Eddie Guerrero's ability.
The key bottom line is that that neckbreaker
on the Intercontinental Title belt is what really took the title out of RVD.
And then the Frog Splash just put the cherry on the sundae.
[King] Oh, look at Latino Heat!
He is celebrating!
Let's check it out one more time! What a thing of beauty!
The real Frog Splash! Wow!
Nobody does it better!
[J.R.] Guerrero's rock hard body driving the air…
Boom!
…out of a helpless RVD!
And Eddie Guerrero is the new Intercontinental Champion!
Well, King, I had the privilege of seeing the premiere of The Rock's movie,
The Scorpion King, last Wednesday night in Los Angeles.
It is a phenomenal movie. I'm going to go see it again this week.
And it is already in the record books.
It's the highest grossing movie opening
in the month of April in the history of motion pictures.
Over 36 million dollars in one weekend! Unbelievable!
The WWE fans certainly deserve a pat on the back
for making The Scorpion King the overwhelming success that it is.
And folks, if you haven't seen it, I guarantee you, I'm not Roger Ebert.
The Rock had a little bit to do with making it a success, you know.
Oh, absolutely. But it is an amazing movie.
You've got to see it. I'll tell you.
You do look like Roger Ebert.
[J.R.] All I am saying, he's kinda portly.
Folks, the number one contenders matchup
between two men that know each other very, very well.
This match has slobberknocker written all over it.
But what about the wild card?
The special guest referee, Ric Flair.
[Ric] From the time I drafted you, you have made my life miserable.
You have threatened me with WrestleMania moment
after WrestleMania moment.
Are you gonna make me the number one contender?
Or am I going to have to reach down in my bag
and pull out another WrestleMania moment?
[J.R.] You've got to wonder what exactly Stone Cold's got on his mind tonight.
[Austin] Ric, you know what my watch is telling me?
It's time for Ric Flair to make a decision.
Is it going to be Stone Cold or is it going to be The Undertaker?
[Ric] What should have been one of the greatest moments
in the history of RAW here,
you turn around and give me the Stone Cold Stunner.
That doesn't work for me either.
We're going to have two number one contenders matches.
It's going to be The Undertaker against Rob Van Dam
[J.R.] The Undertaker looking for the last ride.
Van Dam countered it… oh!
The Undertaker is the number one contender
for the Undisputed World Wrestling Entertainment Title.
But what does that mean for Austin and Hall later tonight?
All that means is tonight if you win your match, you too will go to Backlash.
You'll wrestle each other.
The winner will be the future number one contender.
[J.R.] Wait a minute.
The referee's down and The Undertaker…
He doesn't wanna face Austin in the Backlash.
Kablam!
The Undertaker destroying Austin.
-[King] Wait a minute. -[J.R.] Here comes "Nature Boy" Ric Flair.
The co-owner of WWE.
[King] I guess Flair's had enough.
[J.R.] A Texas-style Stunner of Stone Cold.
Referee… Three.
Austin's going to Backlash.
Austin's going to meet The Undertaker.
-Right now. -[King] What?
[J.R.] Oh, my God.
He just done the co-owner of World Wrestling Entertainment.
[King] What is this going to mean?
[Ric] I'm making myself special guest referee.
Anybody who puts their hands on me, there's going to be hell to pay.
[J.R.] Three highly combustible elements.
Sunday at Backlash, I'm going to beat you.
[Austin] You're looking at the number one contender.
[King] Both the Rattlesnake and The Undertaker,
they think they're number one.
[Austin] Make no mistake about it, it will be a war.
[J.R.] Who's going to be the number one contender?
Woooo!
["Also Sprach Zarathustra" playing]
[announcer] Ladies and gentlemen,
introducing your special referee
for the forthcoming contest.
The co-owner of World Wrestling Entertainment,
"Nature Boy" Ric Flair.
[J.R.] Wearing those red boots…
Like Johnny "Red Shoes" Dugan.
-[King] Who? -[J.R.] A referee in California
-many years ago when you were just a pup. -[King] Never heard of him.
I just thought that was a fashion faux pas.
[J.R.] The owner of RAW has had his problems
with both competitors of this match.
[The Undertaker's theme song plays]
♪ Keep rollin', rollin' Rollin', rollin' ♪
[bell dings]
[announcer] The following contest, the number one contenders match,
scheduled for one fall.
Introducing first, from Houston, Texas,
weighing 305 pounds,
The Undertaker.
[J.R.] The winner of this match will meet the winner of tonight's
Triple H/Hollywood Hulk Hogan Undisputed Title matchup.
Left a bloody mess at the hands of The Undertaker
last month at WrestleMania.
And then Ric Flair shocked the world
when he made The Undertaker his number one draft pick.
[King] Look at Flair. Look at Flair.
Stay back. Stay back!
Intimidation at its best, right here, J.R., look.
[J.R.] At least, attempted intimidation.
[King] Oh, it's working, believe me.
[King laughs] He almost jumped out of his pants.
[Steve Austin's theme music plays]
[announcer] From Victoria, Texas, weighing 252 pounds,
"Stone Cold" Steve Austin.
[J.R.] He's a beer drinkin', hell raisin', Texas Rattlesnake,
who knows to get back to WWE Championship,
he's got to go through The Undertaker.
To get to Judgment Day to meet the WWE Undisputed Champion,
Stone Cold has got to beat The Undertaker here tonight.
Judgment Day is 30 days away in Nashville, Tennessee.
And The Undertaker not taking his eyes off of "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.
On at least three different occasions, in these two men's career,
The Undertaker has been responsible for Austin losing the WWE Championship.
[King] Oh, this is going to be good. This is going to be good.
[J.R.] The Undertaker said last week he would out-wrestle,
out-fight, or out-cheat Austin
to win this number one contender's match here tonight.
[King] You think Flair's going to let somebody out-cheat the other?
[J.R.] Flair, I think, is gonna call it right down the middle.
Flair's had his issues with both men.
The Undertaker's issues with Flair are well-documented.
As we mentioned, Austin was fined $5,000 last week by Flair.
He's giving Flair a stunner after Flair warned him to keep his hands off of Flair.
[King] This place is electric today. Look at that.
Every person in the Kemper Arena is on their feet.
And look at Flair… You know, Mr. McMahon was exactly right.
Flair's really put himself between a rock and a hard place.
[bell dings]
[J.R.] Ric Flair calling for the bell.
[King] How are you, Flair?
I'd just get over to the corner and stand there very quietly.
[J.R.] Well, Flair's never done anything quietly.
And he's never given anybody a stand around,
the former 16-time World Champion.
Now the owner of RAW.
And these two men, The Undertaker and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.
Deeply proud.
[King] Uh-oh. Look out.
[J.R.] Knowing what's on the line here.
Look at that size advantage The Undertaker has.
Close to seven feet tall.
-[speech drowns] -[J.R.] And Austin is…
[King] That's what great about this, J.R. This is for the number one contender.
And both of these men feel in their heart that they're number one.
… one of these guys
are gonna be number one.
Here we go.
[J.R.] Elbow tie-up. The Undertaker with the advantage here.
With a side headlock.
The Undertaker, as we said, close to seven feet tall,
300 pounds, taking on Stone Cold Steve Austin.
And that Texas Rattlesnake…
-[King] He's cheating already. -[J.R.] He lives to be the WWE Champion.
But certainly the same can be said for The Undertaker.
The Undertaker uses size and power.
He has the advantage. Austin feeling it there.
He is knocked down hard with that shoulder block.
It's certainly--
[King] …they can take you right out of your game plan.
I can assure you that "Stone Cold" Steve Austin
wasn't expecting to be knocked down. He's dazed.
Let's face it. He's dazed right now.
He wasn't expecting that this early in the match.
[J.R.] I think it was mid-week before Austin was undazed
from that chair shot that he sustained at the hands of The Undertaker.
As we went off the air last week on RAW.
The Undertaker certainly got the last shot in on that occasion.
And he…
[King] The Undertaker said he'll out-wrestle him or he'll out-fight him.
[J.R.] The Undertaker is like a giant black cat.
He's got a lot of lives and he's got great agility.
[King] Bad luck for you if you cross his path.
A lot of super heavyweights from Clydesdale that plod along.
And The Undertaker's got…
He's just an amazing athlete.
His quickness is very…
-[King] Look at the strength. -[J.R.] Very misleading.
Austin trying to get that side headlock. Undertaker…
fights out of it. Austin delivers a shoulder tackle.
-But The Undertaker too big, too strong. -[King] That's intimidating, J.R.
-You know it is. -[J.R.] He got set. And yes, it is.
Austin knocked down by the tackle.
Could not put The Undertaker down with his tackle.
[King] You know it's amazing. I mean, Austin is a big, big guy.
But The Undertaker, like you said, he towers over Austin.
[J.R.] Austin's at over 250 pounds.
[King] Oh, wait a minute. Taking his time. He thinks he's wearing a watch.
Wait a minute. He's working out.
What the hell!
That's the intimidation on the part of the Rattlesnake.
[J.R.] Some mind game. That's some Victoria, Texas mind games by Dr. Austin.
He is a… He is the master of the mind games.
He's a psychologist. Getting in somebody's head.
He's seen it on many occasions.
Again, another hard shot by The Undertaker. Taking Austin down.
And Austin counters of what he does best!
And that's the literally thunderous right hand that caught The Undertaker coming in.
And now, now look at Austin.
… Undertaker truly number one.
He'll be number one if he… if he beats Austin.
Who has been somewhat inconspicuous, which is…
[King] He's doing what I told him to do, what I suggested.
Get in the corner and hide if you can. Save a place for you.
[J.R.] You're getting the very best, ladies and gentlemen,
in the history of this business.
Not only the WWE, but the history of this business.
The Undertaker and Stone Cold in the ring tonight.
And quite frankly, you gotta throw Ric Flair in there as well.
And now Austin is playing those mind games.
He's running into the head of The Undertaker.
Undertaker, side headlock.
[King] I don't understand why Austin isn't just wrestling him.
Move off the mind games. Why does he have to do that?
Look out! He can wrestle.
[J.R.] Arm drag takedown. Austin taking--
Taking down off his feet.
Dropping toeholds. Austin right up in that upper arm now.
Austin now pulling back on that elbow.
Trying to hyperextend the elbow of The Undertaker.
-[King] Austin can wrestle, can't he? -[J.R.] Of course, he can.
As good as anybody in the WWE, period.
And now, that's a good psychological move.
Good tactical move.
That big tricep muscle of The Undertaker.
Look at the position of that left knee of Austin.
It's buried right into the tricep of The Undertaker.
[King] He had a big metal brace to prove there.
[J.R.] You want to charley horse that thing up.
And it certainly lessens the effectiveness, obviously,
-of The Undertaker's left arm. -[King] Uh-oh, look out here.
[J.R.] Austin now shooting that half-nelson.
Undertaker pinning predicament.
And Flair there, had to get a two count out of him.
Where-- a very deliberate count. I think you'll see that all night long.
Don't think the competitors are too concerned about the count
as long as it's the same every time.
[King] Don't you know Flair's going to hate
to count out either one of these guys?
What do you think The Undertaker would do to Flair if Flair were to count him out?
Or vice versa, Stone Cold, either one of these guys.
[J.R.] Both men very cautious here in the early going.
Neither can afford to make a mistake. There's no re-dos here.
There's no net.
There's not two out of three falls. It's one fall to a finish.
And the winner of the one fall will be the number one contender.
And will be the Undisputed Champion at Judgment Day.
[King] I don't even know why Flair would want
to be in the same ring with these two guys.
They both hate each other. Ooh, man.
Whoa! Look at that.
[J.R.] Hard knockouts chops by Austin.
That's right out of Ric Flair's playbook.
Great presence of line and flexibility, and then power.
The Undertaker's got it all.
Looking for the cover here. And he's got a…
got a near fall there. Flair with a two count.
Flair is not an experienced referee.
He is… And I've often times criticized special guest referees
because they just don't have the game experience.
[King] Flair is not an experienced owner either.
If he was as smart as Mr. McMahon. Can you imagine Mr. McMahon
ever putting himself in a position like this?
-[J.R.] He has. -[King] Huh?
-[J.R.] He's even wrestled. -[King] Well, that's smart.
Because, let's face it, he's a tough competitor.
[J.R.] Well, he is a tough competitor, but he's not a 16-time former World Champion.
And now The Undertaker…
And, uh…
[King] Whoa! Here's some old-school Undertaker.
[J.R.] Vintage old-school Undertaker.
[King] Ooh! Right across the back of the Rattlesnake's neck.
[J.R.] And there's a cover by The Undertaker, from the top rope.
And Austin scoots out of there.
[King] Do snakes have necks?
[J.R.] That Austin certainly does. And right now, it's hurting.
The Rattlesnake does.
[King] Do you see what I'm seeing there, J.R.?
I think Flair is definitely intimidated by The Undertaker.
-Oh! -[J.R.] Lou Thesz Press!
-[King] Uh-oh! -[J.R.] Stone Cold, Lou Thesz Press.
[King] He's opening up a can of whoop-ass. Here it comes!
[J.R.] Driving that elbow right into the sternum of The Undertaker.
Hooking the leg.
Flair's got it--
Got a two count.
-[King] But that count by Flair… -[J.R.] That's deliberate.
I thought I pointed out earlier if you've been listening to it.
Deliberately slow.
I don't know if it's deliberately slow, but it's the same count all the time.
-[King] Watch it. -[J.R.] And Undertaker's pulling
Stone Cold to the outside.
Both these guys are brawlers, but both can wrestle.
Can wrestle as well as anybody in the WWE.
[loud snap]
Got a hard shot, and Austin fighting back.
Undertaker and Austin laying the leather to each other here on the outside.
Flair encouraging both men to get back in the ring.
One fall to a finish here,
so Flair would be somewhat reluctant to utilize his count.
Undertaker bouncing off a security wall.
[King] Come on, Flair. Get out there. Do your job.
[J.R.] Texas Rattlesnake is not going to miss this opportunity.
Following The Undertaker out to inflict more pain.
[King] Watch it, J.R.
No Spanish announce table.
[J.R.] Undertaker's head rammed right into the Spanish announce table.
[King] Keep him up there.
[J.R.] Undertaker's got a far-away look in his eye.
A hard knock there by Austin.
And Austin, he's really asserting himself here, King.
Flair's letting this thing go.
[King] I don't think Flair has any choice.
I don't think it can be stopped by the referee.
I don't think it can be stopped by the Red Cross.
Austin adjusting those knee braces as he gets back up on the apron.
And The Undertaker goes with that huge foot
right to the face of Stone Cold. Man.
Undertaker showing, again, great presence of mind and flexibility
in a weakened and kind of an awkward state,
to catch Austin right in the face of that big boot.
Now Austin's head
and his upper body, bouncing off the announce table.
Get out of here.
[J.R.] Austin again, knocked down.
Or knocked on the table and bounces up. But he's on dream street here.
Austin barely able to stand,
as The Undertaker now is punishing "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.
[King] You're scared, J.R., just get behind me.
[J.R.] All right.
Awesome blocking it.
Took his head off that climb for that move.
Steel steps.
[King] And here comes that Rattlesnake.
[J.R.] Austin fighting back. Right hand.
That's what brought him to the dance. And the right hand found their mark,
The Undertaker, his hands are dropped to his side.
-Good right hand. -[King] Double bird.
[J.R.] Undertaker…
[King] Do something.
Don't let them fight out in the fans.
Ric trying to get these men back in the ring.
It's easier said than done.
With stakes as high as this match.
[audience whooping]
Austin choking The Undertaker.
There now. You're not going to be able to reason with these men,
but I can understand where Flair is coming from.
[King] I'll tell you where he is coming from.
He's afraid of exerting himself.
He's intimidated.
Oh, watch it.
[J.R.] Throwing him back over to the time keepers' table.
[King] Jeez.
Undertaker right into the steps of the ring post.
And again Austin is topping away at The Undertaker.
These men have been outside a long, long time.
[King] What is he going for here?
[J.R.] Austin is going to try to piledrive The Undertaker.
He's going to try to use a Piledriver.
And Austin back drops out of the Piledriver.
And The Undertaker drops that elbow on Stone Cold.
This is not a Hardcore match, even though it's turning into one.
[King] That's the referee for you.
[J.R.] It's a brawl. Why are you so quick when Flair's…
What's he ever done to you?
[King] He should just call it right down the line.
He shouldn't even be in there.
[J.R.] He pays you a lot of money for RAW. What else do you want?
Eggs in your beer?
-And now… -[King] Oh, man!
…Austin getting a closer look at The Undertaker's cycle.
[Ric] Get back in the ring, big man.
[King] Come on, J.R. Would you not criticize that?
I mean, what referee is going to let something like that go on?
[J.R.] Wait a minute.
What the hell is this?
We've already seen Scott Hall tonight,
and thanks to X-Pac, Hall beat Bradshaw earlier tonight.
The NWO's have big problems with Ric Flair,
they've had big problems with Stone Cold,
and I don't know that the NWO is sending any,
uh, how-are-you-today cards to The Undertaker.
[King] Oh, you're right. What are they doing out here?
[J.R.] I don't know.
[King] it's up to the referee to get rid of them.
[audience chanting]
[J.R.] … on those steps.
Austin's hurt, man. He…
His leg…
[overlapping talking]
[King] Finally, Flair's showing some authority.
[J.R.] Ric checking on Stone Cold.
Back in the ring, man.
[J.R.] Flair trying to get The Undertaker back.
That's like changing the weather. You just can't do it.
Knee to the face. Steve Austin is just…
he's getting hammered here, and Flair is just…
-I'll tell you what-- -[King] Austin may have a broken nose.
[J.R.] Ooh! Hard right hand, knocked down by The Undertaker.
And the NWO boys are getting a little closer to the ring,
and I don't understand anymore why they're here to get a look at this.
[King] They're here. If you notice, they just keep creeping in
a little bit closer and closer.
A couple of creeps.
Look at this.
[J.R.] Scott Hall and X-Pac wearing Kane's--
Kane's mask.
[King] And they just keep getting a little bit closer.
[J.R.] Like a scout.
They're checking on Austin.
Austin's holding that thigh. He's really…
The point of those steel steps drove into Austin's thigh.
Now, The Undertaker follows him back up for the elbow.
And this match has been competed as much on the outside of the ring, quite frankly,
as it has on the inside, it would seem to me.
[King] Well, who do you blame for that?
-Rick Flair! -[J.R.] I'm not blaming anybody.
[King] You gotta fault him for that.
[J.R.] I don't know what your problem is with Rick Flair.
[King] This was not signed-- These guys didn't sign for it.
A street fight or a Hardcore match.
You know that? But Flair's letting it become that.
-Oh, look at this! -[J.R.] Oh, man!
[King] That did it.
[J.R.] Undertaker dropping that huge leg right across Austin.
[King] The NWO was impressed by that.
[J.R.] Again, I have no idea, no logical reason that the NWO is here.
[King] Maybe the monitor is out back in their wrestling…
[J.R.] Yeah, maybe. Maybe not.
[King] Well, they had their own monitor back there.
[J.R.] Austin trying to fight his way back up.
The Undertaker taking the legs of Austin from him again.
Austin trying to get up as quickly as he can.
Now, The Undertaker taking down the Rattlesnake
and dropping that 300 plus pounds
right on that injured thigh of "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.
Austin "The Bionic Redneck",
with those two knee braces supporting his legs.
And that's now the focus of The Undertaker to punish Austin.
Take his legs away.
[King] The Undertaker saw, he saw that injury to Austin's leg.
He saw Austin favoring that leg after it was driven into those steel steps.
And now, he's zeroed in on it.
Like a shark, he smells blood.
[J.R.] Undertaker now…
looking for a submission move here in that…
almost a hyperextended leg there.
He's got the leg grapevine. You can see it's-- hard from that angle.
But there you see it, right there.
[King] Get around there, Flair. Get in position.
Austin may tap out.
[J.R.] Austin trying to fight to those ropes.
Flair, gonna get a good look at that.
Austin reaching. Now he's in the ropes.
And the referee calling to break.
And you gotta… you gotta get the break.
Undertaker continue to punish Stone Cold.
[King] Undertaker just said no.
-He blatantly told him he… -[J.R.] Wait a minute.
Flair put his hands on The Undertaker?
Austin, full on the accelerator.
Austin now fighting back.
The Texas Rattlesnake trying to fight back.
But he's going on one leg here. And The Undertaker catches Austin.
Got the lateral press there.
And got a… Well, he got a near fall. Austin able to kick out.
Now, The Undertaker using that weight to press down on Austin's neck.
[audience booing]
Trying to make sure--
He's not gonna get a full breath of air there.
[King] Everybody in here checking out the NWO. They're doing nothing.
They're just standing there, watching.
[J.R.] You condone that? They got no business out here, King.
[King] You and I are just sitting here, watching.
[J.R.] We're paid to be out here doing this.
They're wrestlers. They've already wrestled enough.
[Undertaker screams]
Austin's had neck boxed in by Undertaker.
Now he's got leverage and strength advantage.
[King] Not blocking anybody's view or anything.
[J.R.] Oh, they're nice guys. You can trust them.
They're good human beings. They love the business.
-[King] Look at this. -[loud snap]
[J.R.] Shot by The Undertaker again.
Boy, he's got-- he is in the driver's seat, The Undertaker.
[Undertaker grunting]
[J.R.] Nice hands.
Austin is just a… he's like a sitting duck here.
He's gonna break The Undertaker's eyes.
And Undertaker comes back with a clubbing blow
on the, on the poor-- now pinning predicament here.
And Austin able to kick out.
This has been a mighty ground attack
in the last several minutes by The Undertaker.
Nothing fancy about this one whatsoever.
-[King] Uh-oh! Sleeper! -[J.R.] And Austin with a sleeper.
Austin trying to slow The Undertaker down with a sleeper hold.
[King] He didn't get behind The Undertaker. Oh!
[J.R.] The Undertaker counters in the suplex.
[King] That sleeper, you gotta get behind your opponent for it to be effective.
[J.R.] And Undertaker with the cover.
And Flair's coming down for the three count.
[King] What happened to Flair? Arthritis strike him or something?
My gosh!
[J.R.] Has he counted any differently any time…
[King] That may have been the slowest count in the history of the WWE.
-[J.R.] A little slower than the others? -[King] Much.
[Ric] … Austin?
[King] A little bit.
[J.R.] He'll get back in the neck vice. The Undertaker punishing Austin.
Austin had a big bruise there. You see it on his thigh there.
That's where he went to those steps earlier on his right thigh.
And that's what The Undertaker was… working that leg just a few minutes ago.
And Austin hammering The Undertaker with right hands.
Causes some separation.
You just gotta wonder how much he and…
got those right hands after being hammered.
Get ahead of steam here.
-Undertaker. -[King] Hey!
[J.R.] Looking for the stunner
And Undertaker looked and found the clothesline.
There's a lateral press. There's a cover.
Ooh! Austin kicked out and got to his stomach.
[King] Oh, look at that look.
[J.R.] Not a real endearing look by The Undertaker, I'll tell you.
[King] May have to give him a WrestleMania moment.
And The Undertaker's big forearm…
right across the face of Austin.
Punishing.
And the NWO looking all of that.
I feel so repulsed to see X-Pac in that Kane mask.
[King] Earlier you said he looked good in it.
-[J.R.] Who did? -[King] You said it was an improvement.
[J.R.] It improves his looks. Yeah, that don't take much.
Kane convalescing. We don't know all the details of Kane's recovery.
[King] If you think it's repulsive to see what X -Pac looks wearing,
you should see what Kane looks like without it. [grunts]
[J.R.] That's something he couldn't help being in a fight.
That's The Undertaker.
Getting fired on here now by Austin with his right hand.
And Stone Cold back with the right hands. And they're finding their mark.
This is the clothesline.
And The Undertaker goes airborne.
Catches Austin with the clothesline.
Will that be enough there?
The lateral press. And Austin…
Austin kicking out with everything he's got that goes right to his stomach.
Which is a smart move.
And you gotta believe, King, at least I would suspect
that The Undertaker is getting just a little bit frustrated right now.
[King] I guess so with those slow counts from Ric Flair.
-[J.R.] Wait a minute. -[King] I'd be frustrated too.
What's he doing?
[J.R.] Undertaker is getting either a close look at the turnbuckle
or he's taking it off.
I suspect the latter.
And I suspect him right on that one.
-That turnbuckle exposed. -[King] Now let me ask you this.
Would a good referee notice that the turnbuckle cover was gone?
Yes, he would. Especially an experienced referee.
-Ric Flair is not. -[King] There you go.
Uh-oh! Look out, Undertaker!
[J.R.] Undertaker went right into that exposed turnbuckle.
Spring first. Dumps the clothesline.
And both men colliding.
Both men had the same idea.
[King] Now what are you gonna do, Flair?
[J.R.] These two men that are no doubt Hall of Fame bound
in World Wrestling Entertainment
both had the same idea.
And both have another idea in common.
That is to meet the winner of the Hollywood Hogan/Triple H match
at Judgment Day.
[King] What is Flair doing? Flair's confused. He's like…
He's like a statue standing there.
[J.R.] I don't think he wants to go to the countout.
[King] Do something.
[J.R.] Maybe he's uh… internalizing.
Maybe he's counting internally. Maybe he's counting amongst himself.
-[King] Internally? -[J.R.] Well, maybe not.
-[King] He never counted. -[J.R.] Austin pulling himself back up.
I've said it earlier, he's an inexperienced referee.
And Austin now fighting back.
But at least, he's honest.
[audience chanting] What? What?
[chanting continues]
-[J.R.] … for The Undertaker. -[King] What?
[J.R.] I said he…
-[King] Oh, man. Here we go. -[J.R.] Stomping that mudhole.
Walk it dry, the "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.
Austin now beating down The Undertaker.
[King] Austin is about get that proverbial second wind here. Look at Undertaker.
[J.R.] …for the ride.
He got caught coming in.
Catching Austin coming in.
-[King] Oh, boy. -[J.R.] Has he not? Well, look out here.
Undertaker with that Tombstone…
Or the last ride on Stone Cold.
-[all exclaim] -Austin threw The Undertaker,
and Flair is in the wrong place at the wrong time,
and there's a stunner.
Flair in the wrong place at the wrong time…
[King] He's stunned as well.
[J.R.] …and Austin got the stunner on the Undertaker.
The hook of the leg.
[audience counting] One! Two! Three! Four! Five!
-[J.R.] Indeed, more than three. -Six! Seven!
[King] He'd have won the bout to a three count by Flair, but now…
Get up, Flair.
[J.R.] Austin now going to Flair and trying to revive the Nature Boy.
Austin scored with a stunner.
[King] Look at Flair. "Where am I? Who am I?"
[J.R.] And… Oh! What a low blow.
Undertaker, the blatant low blow,
went undetected by the referee, Ric Flair.
And Undertaker now re-seizing the advantage.
[King] Everything's going undetected by referee Ric Flair.
You've gotta see this.
-[J.R.] Undertaker… -[Austin groans]
… pull here.
-[King] Oh, man! -[J.R.] And there's the chokeslam.
The Undertaker with a chokeslam, and that's gotta be all.
Flair is up.
Another count, and a three--
Oh, no!
Austin kicked out.
[King] I'm begging you, J.R. What kind of count--
Undertaker!
[J.R.] King, he threw the same count every time.
[King] I know it!
[J.R.] I mean, what has Undertaker got to do here?
-What else can he do? -Get another referee!
[J.R.] He chokeslammed Austin. He's hitting with a low blow.
[King] And you'll get a steel chair.
[J.R.] This is not real smart on The Undertaker's part,
because he loses this match with disqualification.
[King] Well, he's had enough, J.R.
Look at Flair, look at Flair!
[King] And Austin comes back with a low blow, too!
Flair unarmed The Undertaker, Austin came with a low blow of his own!
It's reversal… Oh, The Undertaker caught Austin!
With that big boot right to the face!
The big boot right to the face, and that's gonna be it here!
Oh, no, it's not!
Austin again reaching down into his toes to kick out here.
[King] Oh, boy.
[J.R.] And it was a two count. Flair reconfirms with The Undertaker.
-[King] Uh-oh! Oh! -[audience cheering]
[J.R.] Spinebuster by Austin.
A hook to the leg.
First time, a good position, but The Undertaker kicked out.
That was a great position.
Austin thought he had The Undertaker.
Austin wanted three. Got two.
[Austin] Get up, you son of a bitch!
[King] Do something.
You're gonna have to really do something to get a three out of Ric Flair.
[J.R.] Austin wants that one more stunner.
He hit the stunner earlier.
Flair was out of position there.
-And there's a-- -[King] Oh, man!
[J.R.] Undertaker countered the stunner and Austin went sailing right into Flair.
And now The Undertaker's got that steel chair.
-[King] Yes, he does. -[J.R.] Flair is down.
Austin is barely able to…
Oh, my God!
Undertaker using that steel chair as a weapon.
Cracking the cranium of the Texas Rattlesnake.
Oh, come on. This can't happen this way. Come on.
Wait a minute! No! No!
Austin kicked out and Flair did not see the chair shot.
[King] The Undertaker cannot believe this!
[J.R.] Both these men, Austin and The Undertaker knew
what they would be in for in this match.
[King] Flair please get in the corner and stay out of the way!
[J.R.] Uh-oh! Undertaker signifying that the end is near.
[King] You know what that means?
Will it be the last ride for the Rattlesnake?
[J.R.] That's exactly what you gotta believe The Undertaker is thinking.
Oh, wait a minute. Look at that submission move!
Austin countered the clothesline.
Got a hook of the leg.
One, two! And--
Another near fall. Flair's--
[King] Now, was that count the same speed, J.R.?
Or did that just… uh… speed up just a little bit?
[J.R.] It might have been a little faster.
[King] Oh, yeah, it might have been.
[J.R.] Austin now using The Undertaker's finishing maneuvers
with The Undertaker using his strength to power Austin back into the corner.
And catching Austin with those elbows.
[King] Not the chair again. Not the chair again.
[J.R.] Flair sees this chair being used.
He's gonna get swallowed by The Undertaker for damn sure.
He makes contact with Austin.
[Undertaker grunting]
Austin firing back up.
[audience chanting] What? What?
[chanting quickens]
[J.R.] Walking in front again, it's the Rattlesnake.
And Austin now with the chair. And he's gotta be dealt carefully.
Flair trying to unarm "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.
You don't want to get disqualified.
Oh, my God!
Austin just got the shot.
The chair right back to his face.
Oh, wait a minute!
-Wait a minute! -[bell dings]
Austin's foot was on the rope.
[announcer] Here's your winner.
The Undertaker!
[King] How did he not see that, J.R.?
[J.R.] The Undertaker…
… out of that steel chair that caught Austin in the face.
But I guarantee Austin has his foot on the bottom rope.
[King] I saw it! You saw it!
[J.R.] Flair obviously or apparently didn't see
Stone Cold's foot on the bottom rope.
But irregardless, The Undertaker is the number one contender
for the Undisputed Title and will meet the winner of tonight's
Triple H/Hogan match.
[King] Can you believe this?
Tonight, Flair has made the biggest mistake of his life,
and he wasn't even wrestling.
[J.R.] You're right, King. You're actually right. It was a mistake.
I've said before. He was not an experienced referee.
And I know he means well. He wanted to call it down the middle.
[King] Undertaker says he's number one contender!
[J.R.] Austin knows his foot was on the bottom rope.
Austin knows he got hell of a bad break on that call.
But he also knows that The Undertaker is going
to Judgment Day to meet whomever the WWE Champion is.
[King] Yeah, but, J.R., you know… accidents happen every day.
People get hit by buses and all this sort of thing.
It's an accident.
[J.R.] Now The Undertaker's talking a little trash to Austin.
"I beat your ass."
And now Austin firing back up on The Undertaker.
The match is over!
Oh, there's the Stunner!
[Steve Austin's theme music plays]
[J.R.] "Stone Cold" Steve Austin
got to The Undertaker with a stunner.
But it's too late.
[King] Austin may think he's number one, but…
it's gonna go down in the books that The Undertaker is gonna be
the number one contender!
[J.R.] What a bad break for the Rattlesnake!
Mr. Flair! Mr. Flair!
Did you not see "Stone Cold" Steve Austin's leg on the rope
-when you counted one, two, three? -What are you talking about?
-You didn't see it? -No, I didn't see it.
I gotta show you…
[King] What's he gonna do?
Come over here. Come over here to the monitor.
I wanna show you what just happened in that match.
Watch real quickly, Mr. Flair.
No, no, no!
[audience exclaims]
[J.R.] There was that boot like you saw.
There's the foot on the rope.
-Flair doesn't see it. -[bell dings]
[King] He sees it now!
Now, Mr. Flair, what do you have to say after seeing that footage?
Oh, shit.
[King] Oh!
[King chuckles]
[J.R.] I guess that pretty well sums it up.
I mean, the bottom line is Flair made a mistake.
[Billy and Chuck's theme song plays]
[announcer] The following contest is scheduled for one fall.
It's for the World Wrestling Entertainment Tag Team Championship.
Introducing first, accompanied by Rico,
at a combined weight of 549 pounds,
the World Wrestling Entertainment Tag Team Champions,
Billy and Chuck!
[J.R.] Well, you've seen a lot of emotions here in Kansas City
for a variety of reasons for all of us.
Still to come, the Triple H…
Undisputed Title defense of Hollywood Hulk Hogan.
Sort of an emotional story there, but what a bad break for "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.
There's no disgrace to lose to The Undertaker,
but to lose thanks to a bad officiating call
is really gonna lay heavy on his heart.
[King] Right, I told you, Ric Flair had no business
being the referee in such an important match.
-Did I tell you that or not, J.R.? -[J.R.] Yeah, you did.
-[King] Thanks. -[J.R.] Yeah, you are always right.
[Al Snow and Maven's theme music playing]
[announcer] The challengers, at a combined weight of 476 pounds,
Al Snow and Maven.
[J.R.] Al Snow and Maven, the teacher and the pupil,
from Tough Enough,
to challenge Billy and Chuck,
and Billy and Chuck, the Tag Team Champions, not wasting any time.
I say, Billy and Chuck look a little bit angry.
They're missing one of their favorite shows tonight, Queer as Folk.
[King] What?
[J.R.] This could be the night for Al Snow and Maven.
Maven, teaching school just a little over a year ago,
was in the first Tough Enough.
[King] Oh, look at this.
[J.R.] Tough Enough, male winner.
And Al Snow, one of his instructors.
Of course, Snow also instructing these Tough Enough 2 contestants
this year as well.
[King] Oh, man. We'll see. You're right.
We'll see if little Maven is coming up tonight.
He's been there with the WWE Tag Team Champions, J.R.
[J.R.] Maven getting abused by the Tag Team Champions.
You can hear him. That's enough talking.
Their stylist Rico, who is at ringside.
[King] Boy, Rico is, he is always in style.
You see those sideburns? You know they're back.
-Sideburns are back in. -[J.R.] You can always grow yours back.
Oh, sure. Everybody down in the hometown of Memphis grown 'em.
-They're in honor of Elvis. -[J.R.] You mean some of the guys do.
Billy has been a Tag Team Champion on nine different occasions.
Certainly putting him in the ranks of one of the greatest Tag Team wrestlers.
Greatest Tag Team Champions ever in the WWE.
And Al Snow, knocked off the apron here.
Nice DDT by Maven.
Maven, over a year ago, thought that his opportunities to get the WWE would…
just were non-existent until Tough Enough came along.
He was teaching school. Teaching elementary school.
Hit his tape.
Made the touch.
First Tough Enough winner.
Referee Nick Patrick encouraging the Lima, Ohio native Al Snow
to get back in his corner.
-[King] Do you remember elementary school, -[J.R.] Oh, yeah.
[King] When your dad used to walk you to school
because you and he were in the same grade?
[J.R.] I hadn't heard you use that on a couple months. That's good.
I didn't graduate. I just outgrew the desk.
-[King] There you go. -[J.R.] Reverse elbow by Chuck.
And Maven, nice enzuigiri
that found its mark on Chuck.
Chuck is a good looking athlete, I'll tell you.
[King] Do you think he and Billy ever get embarrassed
when they go in Victoria's Secret and say, "You have this in my size?"
[J.R.] I have no idea about their personal lives.
Al Snow now, started building some momentum here.
The unorthodox Al Snow.
What a great teacher he has been with these youngsters.
They pull this-- on the strings of his heart.
He loves these kids he trains.
Strong affinity for Maven and his work ethic and his desire.
[King] Did you watch Tough Enough the other night?
-Yeah. -See the little incident with the hot tub?
-Yeah, I did. -[laughs] What did you think of that?
Did Al Snow teach him that?
[J.R.] Well, I doubt he did.
Shot there by Chuck.
-Anything can happen… -[referee] Get out!
We're a double team.
[J.R.] Nice neckbreaker by Billy, taking down Al Snow.
And Snow, regrouped here.
Maybe too little, too late.
And Snow barely able to kick out.
As referee Nick Patrick found a two-count.
And Snow being isolated.
Brought back into the corner of the champions.
That's just time tested tag team strategy.
Snapmare by Chuck.
But you notice he didn't snapmare out too far over the center of the ring.
[King] Look at Rico.
What are these people saying to Rico?
[audience continue chanting]
Rico's what?
That's one of them stylish shirts, J.R.
[J.R.] Still a little bit shocked.
[King] That is right on InStyle magazine.
[J.R.] shocked the way The Undertaker won the number one contender's shot.
He's all over the cover here.
There we go.
[King] I fully expected there to be some kind of screw-up
in that matchup with Flair in there.
[J.R.] Well, again, he's an inexperienced guy.
But his heart was in the right place.
And I've told coaches that when you make a bad call…
Look, you're crying.
But more often than not, it fell on deaf ears.
Now, Snow…
Baseball slide.
But he shoved right into the turnbuckles.
And a little hangtime by Billy.
He hung himself right into the turnbuckles.
-[all exclaim] -[J.R.] Drop toehold. Oh, my God.
[J.R.] That was kind of a misdirected blow.
And…
Now, Snow gets the… Attack of Maven.
And the young man Maven with all of his enthusiasm.
And his zest for the game…
Oh! Turned his back and he gonna pay for that.
Maven reverses Billy.
And Maven dropped!
He set himself too early.
Billy hits the Famouser.
And look at Al Snow pulling Maven out of the ring, out of harm's way.
And Snow catches Billy with the uppercut.
Maven the legal man. Maven and Billy are legal.
And, oh, man!
Chuck just…
He just chilled up…
Al Snow.
[King] Now what? What's gonna happen to Maven?
What the heck? Rico!
[J.R.] The stylist had no business in there.
And he may have taken some teeth out of Chuck
with that air kick.
That was intended for Maven.
Maven reverses.
And Al Snow with a powerbomb.
-Maven driving to the top. -[King] What is Maven doing?
[J.R.] Maven climbing to the top. Billy is in…
He's in another zip code.
Crossbody!
Maven's got it! The leg is hooked!
-Oh, no! -Two!
[J.R.] That's a count away from new Tag Team Champions.
That would've been as big a travesty as what happened with…
Get up! Get up!
…"Stone Cold" Steve Austin a few minutes ago.
-Look at Rico! -[J.R.] And Rico back in the ring.
And Rico being chased by Al Snow.
Oh, man! Chuck!
Behind the referee's back scored that kick.
What a hellacious kick!
And Billy and Chuck
-[bell dings] -…retain their Tag Team titles.
[Billy and Chuck's theme song plays]
[announcer] And still Tag Team Champions,
Billy and Chuck!
[J.R.] Well, Rico is… the hideous attire he's wearing.
He's the man that was the difference maker here.
Rico the stylist.
[King] I think that was Chuck's kick. He was responsible for that.
[J.R.] Yeah, well, sure.
[King] Take a look one more time at this replay here.
Look at Rico's face!
[J.R.] Rico running a scalded dog.
And boom!
-Man, that big man, Chuck. -[King] Yeah! That was Chuck's spinner.
[J.R.] He put his right foot right in the face of Maven.
And Al Snow and Maven had things going their way.
I don't think they're getting another opportunity.
Referring to Snow and Maven, Rico had no business in there.
[King] I thought you wanted those shirts, J.R.
[J.R.] Ladies and gentlemen, coming up next,
a matchup for the Undisputed Championship,
Can Hollywood Hulk Hogan
do it one more time?
We're about to find out.
[man] Have you decided on who the number one contender is?
I don't succumb to public pressure.
I could care less what the public wants,
'cause quite frankly I know what they want better than they do.
Therefore, at Backlash, Triple H defends
the undisputed WWE Championship against…
Hulk Hogan.
-[audience cheering] -[man] The true colors
of the Hulkster!
The bright red, the bright yellow!
Hulk Hogan is back!
I thought I couldn't get any bigger than WrestleMania III.
With 94,000 fans screaming, I pressed Andre the Giant over my head.
Look at this!
[man] I can't believe it.
I thought it couldn't get any bigger than WrestleMania X8
where I took on The Rock.
[J.R.] This is an extraordinary moment.
[Hogan] The fans bought Hulkamania back.
But it doesn't get any bigger than the Undisputed Title.
So, if these fans believe I deserve a shot,
well, then, brother, I'm gonna take it.
Make no mistake, nothing will come between me
and this Undisputed World Wrestling Entertainment Championship.
[man] Triple H has hurtled many obstacles.
The injured thigh.
The 29 other men at the Royal Rumble.
When you step in the ring with me,
You're not immortal. You're not an icon.
You are an obstacle.
And I will run… you… down.
[Hulk Hogan's theme music plays]
[bell dings]
[announcer] The following contest, scheduled for one fall,
it's for the Undisputed World Wrestling Entertainment Championship.
Introducing first, the challenger,
weighing 275 pounds…
Hollywood Hulk Hogan!
[J.R.] And the fans here in Kansas City on their feet.
Hulkamania lives.
And Hollywood Hulk Hogan,
a former five-time WWE Champion
who last fought for the most coveted title in our industry
almost nine years ago,
June 13, 1993.
[King The back of the shirts are the best!
Hulkamania, J.R., is still runnin' wild.
If you don't believe it, just look around Kemper Arena right now.
[J.R.] One thing about it, you can bet your bottom dollar,
Hogan can pull this off.
-If he can pull this off… -[King] Look at this.
…it is gonna be the biggest comeback story
in the history of World Wrestling Entertainment.
At this stage of his career, it's not about the money.
It's about, "Can I do it?
Can I make my body do it one more time?
And take me to limits that I've not been to in years?"
Because Hulk is gotta go there. He's gotta be over the edge.
He's gotta be over the top.
Because he is going against the very best that this business has to offer.
[King] But I just get the feeling, J.R.
If I look around this arena, there's a feeling among these Hulkamaniacs.
They can inspire Hogan to do it.
[Triple H's theme music plays]
[audience cheering]
[announcer] From Greenwich, Connecticut,
weighing 272 pounds…
the Undisputed World Wrestling Entertainment Champion…
Triple H!
[J.R.] Well, we have said that… a year ago,
we would have never thought this match was even possible.
Because, number one, The Game has sustained a career-threatening injury.
His quadriceps… his thigh muscle, ripped it completely off the tendon.
Eight months of rehabilitation.
Returning to the Royal Rumble to win it.
Earning the right to go to WrestleMania to fight for the WWE Title.
And The Game, he came, he saw, he conquered
at WrestleMania against a great champion in Chris Jericho.
But the emotion here is the wild card.
Hogan not taking his eyes off The Game.
The young lion to fight the older lion.
A standing ovation for The Game.
A standing ovation for the Hogan.
[King] Boy, what a shot that was.
You said it.
The young lion with the old lion peering over his shoulder there.
What a shot.
[J.R.] Triple H showing a lot of guns, and he's got them.
He's got some … turning his back,
daring to turn his back on Hollywood Hulk Hogan.
This championship is as much a part of The Game's life
as any fiber in his being.
But the same can be said for Hollywood Hulk Hogan.
Hogan's legacy is written.
He will go down in history as the greatest icon
in the history of sports entertainment.
Triple H is still writing his legacy.
And to say he beat Hollywood Hulk Hogan on this night,
on April 21, 2002, in Kansas City…
would be an awesome, awesome thing.
There's no intimidation,
there's no fear
between these two men.
I do believe, in my opinion,
that they have a great deal of respect for each other.
Again, The Cerebral Assassin.
[bell dings]
One of the great mat wrestlers of any generation.
A great strategist.
But when you talk about tricks of the trade, King,
knowing every shortcut to take,
-Hogan knows them very well. -[King] Oh, yeah.
[J.R.] He invented a lot of them.
That's the strength here, collar-and-elbow tie-up
And Triple H…
the stronger of the two in that exchange.
[King] You saw that sign earlier in the crowd.
"Battle of the biceps."
Both these guys have tremendous physiques.
We're gonna see who's the stronger.
[J.R.] Another collar-and-elbow tie-up.
Hogan with the leverage advantage, a little taller than The Game.
And again, The Game getting underneath Hogan and shoving Hogan off.
Certainly marking his territory,
as the, maybe the most intense WWE Champion that…
many of us have ever seen.
[King] Listen, listen.
[audience chanting] Hogan! Hogan!
[King] This is what he needs, J.R.!
You look at me. You understand me?
[King] Those Hulkamaniacs!
[J.R.] Just like the 12th man in football, the 6th man in basketball,
all these Hulkamaniacs,
-they motivate Hogan. -[Hogan screams]
[J.R.] And Hogan is now motivated
enough to shove The Game and overpower the champion
back into the corner.
[King] Yes, look at that.
[J.R.] Hogan is using the adrenaline provided
from these Hulkamaniacs to his full advantage.
But the question still remains, will it be enough?
Triple H looking to lock up here.
Another little test of strength.
Greco-Roman knucklelock.
This is… The way it seems to be…
ready, willing, and able.
[King] I think Triple H honestly feels that he is the stronger.
[J.R.] We'll have to find out. He may be.
The Game is a stallion, I'll tell you that.
[King] And he would love to prove that point to Hogan.
That would be a tremendous ego deflator for Hogan.
[J.R.] And The Game has got the youth on his side in this particular matchup.
And Hogan now with that leverage advantage with the height.
Now on top of The Game. Pressing The Game down.
-Hogan winning this. That's the strength. -[King] Look at that!
Uh-oh! Uh-oh!
[J.R.] And The Game gutting it out.
Regaining the advantage.
The Game now…
on top of his game.
Taking Hogan down to a knee.
And this crowd trying to
encourage Hollywood Hulk Hogan
to fight back into it.
But The Game's got something to say about that.
[audience chanting] Hogan! Hogan!
Here in the early going…
Attempting to dominate Hollywood Hulk Hogan.
[King] Here comes Hogan!
[J.R.] Hogan now just took a deep breath.
He's trying to gut it out here. Get back up to that vertical base.
And is successful in doing that.
And now Hogan…
Can Hogan regain the advantage on The Game?
And The Game not giving Hogan that opportunity.
Getting into the overhand wristlock on Hollywood Hulk Hogan.
And now The Game putting Hogan down, back down to one knee.
That overhand wristlock…
[King] Now that's a clever maneuver on the part of Triple H.
He's using that leverage.
[J.R.] Seeing referee Earl Hebner in good position.
He's asking Hogan if he wants to give it up. And that's his job.
I think Earl even knew as we did, Hogan's gonna say no.
-And he did. -[King] I hope Flair's watching this.
Even more importantly, I hope Earl Hebner doesn't make a mistake in this match
like Flair made in Undertaker/Austin matchup.
[J.R.] And that was certainly unfortunate.
-High-stakes matchup was that one. -[King] Look at the spring of Hulk Hogan.
[J.R.] This one is even more high-stakes.
[King] He's about to reverse that leverage.
[J.R.] Hogan.
Now turning into the side headlock on The Game.
So, Hogan…
He can get very basic and I think we'll see that from Hogan in that matchup.
That's a hard shoulder tackle.
And Hogan again
trying to insert his will in this matchup
and do a little intimidating of his own
with his massive size and physique.
[King] This is like a chess match right here, J.R. These guys are just…
They're just feeling each other out right now.
[J.R.] As big and powerful as these two are,
the first man to make a huge mistake obviously is gonna…
Perhaps not even lose.
May lose more than just the match.
As powerful as these men are.
Right. One, two…
Come on. Back it up. Back it up.
Back it up. Come on.
[J.R.] Really wanna thank all of our fans for staying up late with us in the U.K.
-[King] Oh, did you see that slap, J.R.? -[J.R.] I did.
Slapped Hogan and got the taste out of his mouth.
[King] You know what he's doing there. You know it.
That Triple H was… That's a momentum shifter right there.
He was trying to take these Hulkamaniacs completely out of this match.
-Look at Triple H go now. -[J.R.] And that did it.
Triple H now pounding away on Hollywood Hulk Hogan.
Got him back in the corner.
Hard right hand. That taped right hand of The Game.
Beating Hogan down in the corner.
So the fans from all over the world got to be, as we are,
extremely interested in the outcome of this contest.
The young lion, The Game. There you see him.
In magnificent shape.
Has fought his way back from serious injury.
Against the older lion.
A man in his late forties
that has not had a WWE title match since 1993.
And Hogan, high back body drop.
Taking The Game up and over.
And Hogan…
coming with a very basic clothesline,
using his power and his strength here.
[King] You're right, J.R. They're watching this all over the world.
They're watching the Hulkamaniac take charge now.
-Two. -[audience shouts]
[referee] Come on Hogan. Come on.
[King] And they're watching this right now in England.
It's like 3:30 in the morning there.
[audience] One! Two! Three! Four!
[J.R.] Hogan on that second rope mounting The Game.
Hammering down with those big right hands.
And Hogan not going to do anything fancy.
That's not his style. He is a power guy.
But The Game is, in my view, certainly more multi-faceted
as far as his in-ring technique is concerned.
-And Triple H, own momentum. -[King exclaims]
[King] Oh, man.
On that knee.
[J.R.] Triple H's own momentum bit him in the backside that time
as Hogan elevated The Game over the top.
And The Game on the outside, here comes Hogan out to get him.
Hollywood Hulk Hogan.
Can he capture lightning in a bottle one more time?
That has been the question we have asked ourselves
since Mr. McMahon named Hogan the number one contender.
And therefore, leading The Game here tonight at Backlash.
And Hogan scores with the right hand.
-[loud thud] -Oh, man!
[King] Even though Hulk lost the match in WrestleMania to The Rock,
he won back his legions of Hulkamaniac fans.
[J.R.] Game raking the eyes. Trying to slow down Hulk Hogan.
-[King] Gotta be kidding me. -[J.R.] And Hollywood Hulk Hogan…
Suplex, he's trying to block it. Hogan's squatting down.
And then he… into the suplex of his own.
And The Game's backs splattering on the outside.
After the… the suplex of the challenger for the Undisputed Championship.
[referee] Come on, Hogan! Inside! Three…
[J.R.] A countout would mean that
The Game would retain the Undisputed Title.
As Hogan now rakes the eyes, much as Triple H did earlier.
[both grunting]
[King] What about what Mr. McMahon said earlier?
Should-- Oh!
Should Hulk Hogan win this and become the Undisputed Champion,
Well, then Triple H, he becomes the undisputed property of SmackDown.
[J.R.] Which means that The Game will… will be working
for his soon to be former father-in-law.
-[King] Oh, boy. -[J.R.] I wouldn't like that at all.
If I were The Game, I don't know how I could endure that.
[King] What? It's a pleasure to work for Mr. McMahon.
[J.R.] It is if you'd like to kiss his ass.
And you're… pretty good at that.
Don't know, just don't like it.
[King] It's only kissing up if you're not sincere.
[J.R.] What a hard whip that was by The Game.
A lot of velocity there.
And Hogan… smashing into those turnbuckles and coming right back out to his…
right on his gut.
And now… momentum has certainly changed.
You can see it. You can feel it.
[King] Started with that slap. That slap earlier.
That was smart of Triple H.
I mean he knew what to do to take these Hulkamaniacs right out of this match.
Because that's what Hulk feeds on.
[J.R.] The Game with the recover.
And Hogan with the counter.
Hogan countered. And now what's he gonna do here?
Hogan catapulting The Game
into the top turnbuckle.
And now Hogan with a cradle.
Hollywood Hulk Hogan with a cradle--
and The Game powered out. Got the legs.
Used his legs to power out of that… that cradle by Hogan.
And Hogan retaliates with one of his best offensive maneuvers.
A straight right hand.
[King] A big huge fist of the Hulk Hogan.
[J.R.] And Hogan… Hogan now picking up.
Beginning to build momentum
against The Game.
Straight right hands.
Hogan scored the first attempt at pinfall in this matchup, if you recall,
and is now using nothing but basic straight-ahead stuff.
[King] Look at that!
[J.R.] Hogan with a modified neckbreaker.
Almost a diamond cutter-like move by Hogan.
Taking down The Game and now reaching back for the leg.
And The Game kicked out.
Hogan… wanting a faster count. And we have had all those…
[King] Let's be thankful Rick Flair's not in this match.
[J.R.] We've had our share of problems with the counts tonight
and… the officiating.
Again I'm…
Well, I'm not going to get into that Flair story after.
Oh! The Game went right downstairs in that…
in that left knee of Hollywood Hulk Hogan
I know, Hogan wears a knee brace on that knee.
[King] That just… That just demonstrates just how important this match is!
[J.R.] The crowd was booing, but it's a legal maneuver.
The Game's not doing anything illegal.
He's very aggressive, but rightfully so.
The Game's championship is on the line.
And as I said, the WWE Undisputed Title means as much to The Game
as it could possibly mean to any human being.
[King] And obviously Triple H realizes
that he's definitely on to something with that leg there.
[J.R.] And of course, as we have mentioned…
[Hogan screams]
…the winner of this match awaits The Undertaker.
-And Triple H hammering away. -One! Two!
Three! Come on, dammit! Get in there.
How ironic, The Undertaker meeting the WWE Champion.
[Hogan] Oh, God!
Oh! Oh, my God!
[J.R.] And Hogan here… Hogan…
-[King] He's in some serious pain. -[J.R.] He certainly is.
Hogan has had numerous surgeries on that left knee.
And over the years, in his over-two-decade career,
he's had his share of knee injuries.
[King] And that's why J.R., they call Triple H "The Cerebral Assassin."
You know, he does his homework. He knows… probably knows
every injury that Hulk Hogan has sustained throughout his entire career.
[J.R.] And if anybody knows about leg injuries
and the delicacy of a knee and a thigh,
it's The Game, 'cause he just… He endured eight months of rehab.
Look at Hulk Hogan writhing in pain,
screaming in pain,
as The Game just drove his elbow,
and Hogan trying to intervene here.
Right now The Game is continuing to build the momentum.
And he's destroyed the vertical base of Hollywood Hulk Hogan.
There's not going to be any big foots to the face
or any leg drops if your opponent is on his back.
[King] What I'm seeing, J.R., is I'm seeing
Triple H do exactly what he told the world he was going to do.
He looked at Hulk Hogan as an obstacle and he was going to run him over.
[J.R.] And now The Game focusing on that left knee of Hollywood Hulk Hogan.
-And Hogan is… -[Hogan yells]
[King] What we're seeing here, J.R., is Triple H's pedigree,
and no pun intended there.
[J.R.] Triple H is effectively taking these Hulkamaniacs
right out of the ballgame.
This crowd is somewhat silent right now.
As Hogan, as you can see, he is writhing.
He's trying to figure out some way
to take some of that pressure off his injured knee.
And that left knee is just being… it is being tortured by The Game.
And everything The Game is doing is methodical and legal.
[King] Listen. Here come these Hulkamaniacs.
They're not silent anymore.
[J.R.] I can guarantee the more these Hulkamaniacs get in this match,
the louder they are,
the more effective it will be for Hollywood Hulk Hogan.
[King] They're not being very effective right now, but…
[J.R.] The Game looked like he was thinking about a Figure Four leglock.
And Hogan kicked out of it.
And The Game, relentless and extremely focused on that left leg.
And this crowd is booing, but The Game is doing nothing illegal.
He's just tough.
[King] You're right. He's not doing anything
he said he wasn't going to do.
[J.R.] What we've got here is… Triple H is relentless on that knee.
Triple H is finding himself in the same position The Rock was at WrestleMania.
This is a very pro-Hollywood Hogan crowd.
[King] Why is that, J.R.?
Do you understand it? Do you get it?
[J.R.] I would like to be able to tell you I have all the answers.
I don't. The Hulkamania…
Hulkamaniacs, it's an intangible.
How do you describe what Hulkamania is?
It's a feeling. It's an emotion.
It's the best way I can describe it.
And The Game now, now up to his vertical base.
Look at the physics of this encounter.
The Game on a vertical base using the step-over leglock.
And now again.
And Hogan powered out with that one good leg
and took The Game right to the turnbuckle.
But Triple H still maintains that vertical base.
And now, out of frustration, The Game
hammering those right hands
on that rather ample-sized head of the challenger.
And the choke.
-Well, frankly, a blatant choke. -[King] And you're right.
And the people here are booing. And I…
You know, you got to wonder, what is it about Hulkamania?
What is it about the Hulk?
Why are the majority of these fans for an athlete that…
Well, I mean, when you look at the two of them,
let's face it, Hulk's in his late forties.
[J.R.] Oh, wait a minute. The Game…
Trying to set in the Figure Four.
And he's got it.
Triple H with a Figure-Four Leglock on Hollywood Hulk Hogan.
And Hogan is a long, long way from the ropes.
[King] Big trouble. Big trouble.
[J.R.] Hogan's hopes and dreams may be going up right up in smoke.
They're being flushed by The Game down the drain.
And The Game with all the strength and power on the Figure Four.
And Hogan, if he could turn The Game over
to The Game's stomach, he'll release the pressure.
-But… -[King] Look at The Game.
[J.R.] And Triple H, he's taking a shortcut here.
Using the unfair advantage.
[King] Ah, don't think Hogan wouldn't do the same thing
-if he had the opportunity. -[J.R.] There's no doubt about that.
You're right about that. Hogan will do anything he has to do
to become a WWE Champion one more time.
Hogan has called himself the Babe Ruth of the WWE.
And I believe that this is his last chance to compete with a WWE title.
And Hogan now, he knows the counter to the Figure Four.
He's trying to roll The Game over.
But Triple H is using those ropes again
to his fullest advantage.
Right or wrong-- and it's not right--
but it's very effective.
[King] There's the referee making a mistake.
He's not seeing what Triple H is doing.
Uh-oh. Now the referee is looking. He's got to turn.
[J.R.] And Hogan's turned it.
The pressure now is on the legs of The Game.
Hollywood Hulk Hogan has put the pressure on that…
that bad knee of Triple H.
Let's not forget his liabilities.
Once his knee is twisted and punished.
[King] Uh-oh. Sleeper hold.
[J.R.] Triple H navigating Hogan to the ropes on one leg.
That wasn't a pretty sight.
Because Hogan is damn near a one-legged man right now.
Now, a sleeper hold.
Certainly a modified version thereof.
As Hulk Hogan, again, in a hell of a bad position.
And again the Hulkamaniacs starting to stir.
Starting to attempt to interject their momentum.
Their adrenaline into the big frame of the challenger,
Hollywood Hulk Hogan.
-[King] Well, that's what Hulk needs, but… -One!
right now it's not working.
[all] Two!
-[J.R.] Hogan's hand. -[King] Whoa.
-Uh-oh. -[J.R.] He says it's not over yet.
[King] He may hold up right here.
[J.R.] Hogan won his first WWE title 18 years ago.
And comes with a desperation suplex,
that at least is going to buy the challenger a little bit of time.
Two!
[J.R.] Hogan's left leg. There you see.
He's moving that right leg around. Look at the left leg. Just lying,
like it's a limp.
[King] Well, that bought Hogan some time,
but you can't help but feel that Hogan is running out of time.
Because the longer this match goes, the more it favors Triple H.
[J.R.] Hogan countering Triple H. And scoring with the right hand.
Triple H trying to get back to those legs of Hollywood Hulk Hogan.
Hogan with an adrenaline rush here.
And the sledge right to the head of the Undisputed Champion.
[King] Here he goes.
[J.R.] Hogan now with another adrenaline rush.
Got the big foot1
-[King] Wait a minute. -[J.R.] Hogan got the foot.
[King] Wait a minute, J.R.
[J.R.] And the lariat! It's gonna be over here.
[King] Can you see what I see?
[J.R.] Hogan's got the-- Wait a minute!
Chris Jericho just assaulted Earl Hebner.
What the hell is this about?
Hogan had this match won, but got screwed by…
by Jericho.
And Jericho with that chair drop…
that steel chair bouncing off Hogan's head.
Triple H is calling to Hulk Hogan.
Jericho's trying to revive the referee.
Jericho does not want Hulk Hogan to win this match.
-Wake up! -[J.R.] What a bitter human being
is Chris Jericho.
[King] Wait a minute! Look at this!
[J.R.] And The Game does not want any of Chris Jericho's help.
Facebuster by The Game!
Jericho's got no business out here!
And the bitter, former Undisputed Champion being evicted from the premises.
Hogan had the match won, quite frankly. Uh-oh.
-Hogan's trying to Hulk up here. -[King] Yes, he is.
[J.R.] My God, can it be?
Do you think it's going to happen?
Is this really happening or is this some dream for Hogan?
It's a perception of reality.
Hogan now sending The Game to the line.
Hogan, with a big foot.
And the leg drop didn't score.
The Game avoided the legdrop on that occasion.
Hogan going to the well the second time.
But The Game avoided contact.
And Triple H, going down stage.
Triple H, Logan Hogan up.
The Pedigree.
Hogan's head is faced through the canvas with a Pedigree.
This one is gonna be over. Triple H is--
Oh, my God!
The Undertaker just struck the referee.
-[King] The hell, -[J.R.] The Undertaker struck the referee
right in the head.
[King] I don't think the referee knew what hit him.
[J.R.] The Undertaker didn't want Triple H to win this match.
[King exclaims]
[J.R.] God almighty.
You can hear a human being's skull…
just being cracked and his brain scrambled.
Triple H knocked down and look at-- Oh, look at The Undertaker.
He's pulling Hogan over to cover Triple H,
and Hogan says, "Hell, no! I don't want your help!
I don't need your help!"
Hogan scores with the right hand. Four right hands.
Clothesline on The Undertaker.
-Look out here! -[King] Oh!
[J.R.] The legdrop! Logan got the legdrop!
Referee's there… to count!
-[King] Whoo! -[bell dings]
[J.R.] My God! My God, he's done it!
[King] My God!
[announcer] And the new Undisputed World Wrestling Entertainment Champion
Hollywood Hulk Hogan!
[J.R.] We have witnessed the rebirth of Hulkamania!
Hulkamania is alive!
Hulkamania is real!
-It is reality! -[King] Can you believe it!
Can you believe it. We're looking… [squeals]
[J.R.] Is it perception or is it reality?
Tonight, it's, by God, reality.
Because Hollywood Hulk Hogan has climbed again to the top of the mountain.
For the first time in his life, he's the Undisputed WWE Champion.
And The Undertaker…
making sure that Triple H didn't win this match.
[King] That chair shot busted Triple H wide open.
[J.R.] Triple H just bleeding profusely, thanks to The Undertaker.
And I don't-- Oh, The Game is shaking.
Looks like staring down at the new champion.
The Game knows what went down here.
[King] Oh, my God.
[J.R.] Triple H has just lost the most important thing in his life.
The Undisputed Title.
And what's gonna happen here?
It could be another explosion.
[audience chanting] Hogan! Hogan!
[King] And Triple H, look at him, he's just shaking.
[J.R.] And it won't be pretty when they get it all here again, I guarantee it.
This one is not over.
Hogan has won the--
-[King] What? -[J.R.] I'll be damned.
I'll just be damned, ladies and gentlemen.
The Game extending his hand.
I wonder, does he mean it?
Does The Game mean this?
My God, he meant it.
That is a class act.
The blood of Triple H pouring from his head
thanks to The Undertaker.
The Undertaker cost Triple H his dream,
his life on this night.
But this night belongs to Hollywood Hulk Hogan.
This night belongs to the Hulkamaniacs.
[King] People hoped for it, J.R.
People dreamed about it, but I don't think anybody really believed it would happen.
But it has happened.
Hollywood Hulk Hogan
has just defeated the very best in the business
to become the Undisputed World Wrestling Entertainment Championship.
He won his first one eighteen years ago.
He fought for his last one nine years ago.
But on this night, in Kansas City,
Hollywood Hulk Hogan has won again the richest prize in the game.
[King] And you see it. That says it best.
Hulkamania will live forever and I believe it.
[J.R.] I'll be damned, ladies and gentlemen,
I'll just be damned, Kansas City.
Hulkamania is alive!
Hulkamania has been reborn!
Hollywood Hulk Hogan is once again the man.