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October Classics: Chris Jericho vs. The Rock - No Mercy 2001

By request! Also because it was next on my list anyway. Rock is WCW Champ here near the end of the Invasion angle, and Jericho has not quite turned heel. Which is better; this one, or their match at Vengeance 2001?



The Rock vs Chris Jericho (No Mercy 2001 WCW... by puropwgwwestuff

Comments

  1. I'm really confused, you mean to tell me there was an actual interesting feud and storyline going on in WWE this time of year?

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  2. Didn't we go through this yesterday?
    Much like in 2000, this was kind of actually the only good thing going at this time in 2001.

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  3. Always dug this match. Yeah, it happened in the WWF, but it was a trip to see Jericho with the belt he was told he was never going to get close to while in Atlanta.

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  4. Most of the angles were terrible, but there were a TON of great matches that year.

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  5. One of the things I remember most about this match was that most online fans (myself included) seemed to be expecting a complete clash of styles, and were blown away by how good this match was.

    I don't remember much about the rematch at "Vengeance", but it seems to be held in decently high regard, and their match at "Royal Rumble 2002" (a great, and very underrated, PPV) was fantastic.

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  6. This match is great and the Rumble match is amazing, but I thought the Vengeance one was always a smidge overrated.

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  7. "The Austin/Angle/RVD thing was kind of mangled and RVD's white-hot heat was unnecessarily cooled off."
    Do you think that RVD should have gotten the belt at No Mercy?

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  8. Charismatic eNegro Jef VinsonOctober 22, 2014 at 1:26 PM

    Serious question: Was the Rock the only main event wrestler that put Jericho over clean on a consistent basis at this time?

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  9. This was such an awesome match and I was so happy to see Jericho win the belt at the time. For whatever flak the Invasion gets, I was a fan of what was going on at the time. The only thing that didn't appeal to me was The Brothers of Destruction crap. Diamond Dallas Page went from number one member of the Alliance (Coalition I believe it was called during Invasion) to a complete joke.

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  10. I think a case could be made for it. Neither Austin or Angle really needed it at the time (and Angle turned heel like four seconds later anyway), and since neither of them ended up winning the undisputed title anyway, did one of them need to have it going in?

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  11. Your intro reminds me of Lazlow from GTA radio. And I'm paraphrasing:

    "If you call me and request a song that's in our rotation, I may play it if it's in my playlist."

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  12. At the time definitely. Austin didn't and HHH certainly didn't the year before.

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  13. Probably, but Jericho is 2-0 against Stone Cold in ppv matches

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  14. Austin didn't put Jericho over particularly well. But Jericho beat him in their only 2 ppv matches (Vengence 01 and No Way Out 02)


    I don't think Jericho ever beat HHH on ppv

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  15. I don't disagree with you at all, just wanted to see your opinion. RVD was incredibly on fire at the time. Plus the month before he went over Jericho who ended up obviously winning the other title a month later. It could have been another way to dissolve the Alliance than have Angle do a fake turn or whatever it was that he did.

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  16. That's true. I guess that Rock didn't necessarily go over "Clean" here with Steph's interference.

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  17. even though it was pretty obvious by the time of the show that HHH was winning, I was hoping RVD wins the Rumble and takes the strap from Jericho at WM, with Austin vs Rock vs HHH in a who ruled the attitude era match (this, of coarse, was before I knew about the nWo coming in)

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  18. I remember that pissed Scott off in his original rant of this show. I was just psyched that Jericho was winning!

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  19. I remember in Jericho's second book Undisputed they even considered having Nash take the belt to face HHH at Mania.

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  20. I think Austin/Rock/HHH v. the nWo with either RVD or a babyface Angle challenging for the title would be a good alternate booking to that show.

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  21. Based on his reviews, Scott didn't seem satisfied with Jericho as a legit champ until Vengeance.
    On an unrelated note, why wasn't the December PPV that year called Armageddon? Only one in a 10 year period that didn't carry the Armageddon name.

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  22. ewwwwww!


    and then almost the same exact situation plays out in 2011!

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  23. That's solid. You can even run the former as the main event to appease those three guys. One downside is we don't get Hogan-Rock one on one.

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  24. Ah, gotcha.

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  25. save it for a rainy day

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  26. All I know is DDP went from monster pop for the initial promo and looking like a total jerk for months afterward.

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  27. Eh, any "name" WCW guy would've gotten a monster pop in that spot.

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  28. LOL..."I kiss Mr. MACK MAN'S ass all the time! YOU THINK YOU'RE BETTER THAN ME, BOY?!" was one bizarre heel turn.

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  29. Cranky old man "GIT OFF MY YAAAAAAAARD" Undertaker is underrated imho. Rather than basing his feuds off cryptic death nonsense, it he was playing the part of grizzled vet who hates the youth. Very easy heel to dislike.

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  30. Yeah, plus you're having to rely on Scott Hall wrestling in 2002 as part of your WrestleMania main event. It was a middling show and Rock/Hogan should've gone on last, but it's probably best it was the way it was.


    Another alternate booking option: we couldn't have gotten Shawn out of mothballs sooner for DX v. the Outsiders?

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  31. Just that, though - he most definitely WAS a "name" guy, and then they pissed on it for no reason. When you consider how much money he gave up to take the buyout for that result, well...I sure hope DDP Yoga has made up the difference, lol.

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  32. winning team gets custody of X-Pac?

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  33. In hindsight I agree, but I wasn't digging it at the time. I loved his May 2000 return as the ghostlike "biker from hell," so to speak, and didn't like how he almost immediately became just a redneck biker guy.

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  34. I'm not sure what was going on at the time...even the Summerslam match was considered a one off.

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  35. I'll say this, it did give a lot of weight (along with it just being The Undertaker in general) when he did the mutual respect arm raising bit with Jeff Hardy after their ladder match on Raw. Crazy Old Man Undertaker pointing at your fallen body and saying "that's one tough bastard" meant something, haha.

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  36. ditto for when he shook hands with young John Cena after his debut against Angle

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  37. Fortunately for him, I think it has. Pretty sure he's rolling in it from DDP Yoga.
    They did piss on it, sure, but then again they fucked up most of it.

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  38. Stranger in the AlpsOctober 22, 2014 at 1:47 PM

    You got a request for Angle-Austin from RAW where Austin wins the title back? Because that might be next.

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  39. Certainly did. And yeah, DDP Yoga's gotta be bringing it in. I just figured a DDP-Rock "people's champ" program was a no-brainer.

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  40. did you mind-meld me?

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  41. That too. Plus I always really liked that ladder match, JR was on POINT that night.

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  42. I think I cut out of work at Sears early to catch that match at a friends place

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  43. It wasn't a one-off match either, I remember there was some build-up

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  44. I remember on the Internet there was a lot of "well, maaaaaaaaybe...?" talk in the week leading up to it, as a shock value thing.

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  45. Jericho and Rocky had great chemistry overall, but I never enjoyed their feud(s) as much as I did some of Rocky's other big feuds, probably because of Jericho's character. Austin/Rock felt like a clash of megastar rivals. HHH/Rock felt like a clash between sworn enemies who had risen through the ranks at a similar time and pace. Jericho/Rock felt like a clash between Rocky and a cross between an upper-midcard, poor man's Rocky and an upper-midcard, poor man's HBK. They never felt close to being equals to me, the way Austin/Rock and to an extent HHH/Rock did.

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  46. Jeff had a great backstage promo pre-match where he says Undertaker is too slow to catch him and he starts climbing on the backstage set hopping around...convinced me!

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  47. I think this is Rocks best pure wrestling match ever. Love it lots. Probably the quickest continuous pace hes had in a match too.

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  48. Even though this is "technically" Jericho's first title win, Jericho himself didn't consider his first title to be until Vengeance when he beat Rock and Austin.

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  49. The match from Rumble is one of my favs. The finish is the ultimate tribute to cheating!

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  50. I love the ending to the Rumble, Jericho pills out EVERY single dirty tactic imaginable.

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  51. Sums it up perfectly. I remember making that point to a friend years ago about 2001 oddly enough. They delivered tons of just great matches but the plots and angles all sucked.

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  52. I always liked their royal rumble 02 match best. Prolly cuz I've seen it more times

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  53. So this led to Jericho/Rock becoming tag champs, which in turn led to Test getting a pin over The Rock when he and Booker T defeated Y2J/Rock for the belts.

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  54. I always found Rock and Jericho had great chemistry together. I'm not a super big fan of Jericho, but his "Suit Wearing, Nick Bockwinkeling" heel run vs The Rock would have been just awesome.

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  55. Rock holding the chair at the end and walking away is some great stuff.

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  56. That was always my dream match during the Attitude Era. I was hoping they'd get serious with him and Kanyon as a tag team as well, because the division was still pretty good & with all the talent coming in that'd be a perfect way to use most of them. But no, Taker's wife had to pin the biggest name WCW guy they had.

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  57. If only he didn't completely suck in the ring back then... but yeah, I agree. It's always bugged me that they went back to the supernatural stuff, because the way they've decided to explain why he was a non-superpowered biker for 3 years is just by not doing so & ignoring it.

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  58. I like the idea of getting RVD/Jericho for the belt(s), but I'd let Jericho retain so Team Get the F Out could send the fans home happy against the nWo in the main.

    RVD was over, but I don't think he'd acclimated to the soon-to-be-WWE style yet. One could argue that he never really did, but I don't feel like busting on Van Dam right now. I also like this scenario because even if Scott Hall is unreliable, it's a six man tag. He don't gots to do much. Plus I've never been a big fan of Rock/Hogan, but I understand why some people are.

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  59. Totally agree - I like Jericho as much as the nextguy, but I've put him pn that "third tier" of stars, after your Austin/Hogan/Rock and your Trips/Savage/Taker. He's along the lines of a Kane, Orton, or Perfect. One of those guys that could be plugged into the main-event at times, but wasn't going to carry the company.

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  60. Ugh, those Austin/Jericho matches were NOT what you would expect from those two.

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  61. I'll have to rewatch that PPV soon, but I remember being highly disappointed in most of the matches and the poor booking.

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  62. I just watched the match, and while it was good--from a purely entertainment standpoint--I enjoyed the main event of the show more.

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  63. I friggin' LOVED heel Bikertaker - just a miserable prick that went around picking on people half his size. He was amazing in the role.

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  64. Probably true to his real self

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  65. This is a great match. Easily one of the ten best of the '00s. Probably my second favorite of Jericho's career behind the Michaels ladder match now that the Benoit ladder match has become a bit more complicated to love.

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  66. Agreed but I thought the Jericho/Rock angle was consistently good. It just happened a long time after it should have.

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  67. Totally agree. They always worked well in multi-man matches (the tag match between Jericho/Benoit and the Power Trip and the Triple Threst with Benoit right after at KOTR) but all their singles matches were awkwardly-worked, boring disappointments.

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  68. has this already been posted? because I think it's amazing:

    Justin Roberts Got To Live Every Wrestling Fan’s Dream And Here’s Proof
    http://www.buzzfeed.com/nicholaswray/justin-roberts

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  69. DDP kind of pissed on that on his own by cutting a 17 minute promo =)

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  70. That actually could have been quite the fun feud. You know the promos would have been worth watching, if nothing else.


    As is stands, though, I'm glad HBK's comeback happened the way it did. That match against HHH was freaking awesome.

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  71. Gunther the Nasty LoserOctober 22, 2014 at 4:23 PM

    What does this have to do with farts?

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  72. I don't specifically remember their matches right now, but I could definitely see a style clash between those two. Sometimes, guys just don't work well together.

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  73. Gunther the Nasty LoserOctober 22, 2014 at 4:26 PM

    I was there live for that one. Good stuff

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  74. It's unfashionable to admit, but while Mania 17 was what got me back into wrestling, the Invasion angle is what kept me hooked. Say what you like about how it was booked, but I don't think any Summer/Autumn since has been as interesting. The over-abundance of wrestlers at least made for fresh matches and dynamics.

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  75. Nice. So he's got a podcast coming too?

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  76. actually made me a bit misty eyed

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  77. Honestly, on a scale of 0 to Meekin. How bad do your farts smell?

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  78. I remember at one point Big Show came in to stand up for all of the little people who Undertaker was picking on - and then proceeded to get squashed. Pretty fun stuff.

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  79. This match is a piece of shit.



    Mainly, because I just watched the trailer for the next Avengers movie. Um, YES!

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  80. Justin Roberts was on Jerry Springer? Whaaaaaaaa

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  81. I was SO pumped for the Invasion, I hadn't been that excited for wrestling since the USA/Hart Foundation feud.

    Boy, that turned out well.

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  82. HowmuchdoesthisguyweighOctober 22, 2014 at 10:43 PM

    Still think the love her or leave her Summerslam match could/should have led to big things for Test.

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  83. HowmuchdoesthisguyweighOctober 22, 2014 at 10:45 PM

    When regal turns heel? And austin returns from a dramatic 2 week vacation?

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  84. HowmuchdoesthisguyweighOctober 22, 2014 at 10:47 PM

    They never had a ppv match with austin working heel vs a face Jericho. That dynamic could of been better.

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  85. Agreed. I've heard more than a few people label Mania X-7 as the end of the hot period for WWE that started in 2000, but summer 2001 was fun for me because of the Invasion for the reason you mentioned (and just before that, the cool shit that Jericho and Benoit were involved in with Austin before Benoit's year off). The beginning of the calendar year 2002, and HHH's return and march to WrestleMania, is the end of the honeymoon for me.

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  86. The Rock making sure to offer Jericho a chair every time he saw him on Raw was some good shit.

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  87. The whole "look" was pretty generic - black jeans and a denim shirt, and he was noticeably heavier. Once he turned heel, though, I think everything clicked: he cut his hair, lost weight, and went with the leather pants and singlet top. It didn't seem as "redneck" and low-rent.

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  88. I've been saying that for years!

    http://www.aspiringwwewriter.com/m2-re-bookings.html

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  89. I would've had Van Dam upset The Rock for the WCW Title in the Raw main event the night after Angle beat Austin for the WWF Title. Deranged, paranoid Austin then comes back as RVD really is taking over leadership of the Alliance and has the gold to back it up, unlike Austin, pushing Stone Cold further over the edge, rather than just giving Austin the WWF Title back thru a lazy Regal heel turn to reset everything.

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