WWE Judgment Day 2001 (2001)

Listen To Your Wallet!

***NOTE - This is a review of the VHS tape. I didn't wanna pay this much money for the DVD.***


My favorite years in WWF/WWE history are 2001 and 2002. So, I blindly swallowed my buyer's caution, and just bought this PPV on a whim. I should've been more careful, considering I think WRESTLEMANIA 17 is overrated, and also since BACKLASH 2001 wasn't exactly the greatest event in Chicago history, either.

JUDGMENT DAY is a good card, but is it worth this much money?

1) William Regal (WWF Commissioner) v. Rikishi
---The more I read other Amazon reviews, the more I realize that people hate pointless grudge matches like this. I didn't watch this match for the story; I sat through it because I really like both wrestlers. But my fellow fans & reviewers are right about this one. There really is no reason to go out of your way to check this opener out. I wasn't bored, but other than Regal's bloody forehead, I couldn't tell you what else happened.
"5.0 / 10"
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2) Two-Out-of-Three Falls Match
(Pinfall Only / Submission Match / Ladder Match)
Winner Keeps The Olympic Gold Medals
Kurt Angle v. Chris Benoit
---I'm guessing you already know what a great series of matches these men had in their careers, so let's move onto this particular encounter. I hate to spoil things, but you might be disappointed that the pinfall victory occurs in less than 2 minutes. But trust me, once the Submission Match begins, you won't care. It allows both men to try to outperform their BACKLASH Ultimate Submission Match, and in my opinion, they come close. And when the Ladder Match begins (don't even pretend you didn't know it would), Angle proves that he indeed can compete in this style of match if he had to. This is the main reason to buy this DVD. Most will say that JUDGMENT DAY 2001 is the least of the Angle/Benoit encounters; I say you should watch them all.
"8.5 / 10"
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3) Hardcore Championship
Test v. Big Show v. Rhyno (champion)
---If you want the epitome of disappointment, look no further. Surely, these three tough-as-nails competitors could've done more than a punch-kick brawl all over the arena. I know WWF thought "hardcore" simply meant "Falls Count Anywhere", but gimme a break. Other than the last few moments - ironically, when everybody returns to the ring - there isn't anything remarkable about this one.
"3.0 / 10"
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4) Women's Championship
Lita v. Chyna (champion)
---If you're a fan of Chyna's (which I was), then this is a good one. If you're not, then this might not change your mind. I never expected Chyna to be a technical competitor; the fact that she could fistfight and lift some male wrestlers was enough for me. I liked the power/speed contrast between both ladies. Unfortunately, there is an over-exaggerated issue where one of Chyna's breasts kept slipping out of her costume, which prevents the ladies from going all out. Also, because this is pre-injury Lita, you can expect more dynamic work than in her later career.
"7.0 / 10"
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5) Chain Match - Intercontinental Championship
Triple H (champion) v. Kane
---Boy, did these guys beat the crap out of each other, or what? Like the classic Angle/Shane Street Fight that occurred one month later, the sheer amount of punishment these two inflict is unbearable. I never liked any HHH/Kane matches that I can remember, but this is one exceptional exception. Now, this isn't the most hardcore or brutal match I've ever seen. But I think fans of the old ECW will have a blast watching this!
"8.0 / 10"
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6) Tag Team Turmoil
The APA v. Dean Malenko & Perry Saturn v.
The Dudley Boyz v. X Factor v. The Hardy Boyz
v. Chris Jericho & Chris Benoit v. Edge & Christian
---This number-one contender event is truly a mixed bag. On the one hand, there is a tremendous amount of talent, and each gets a good few minutes to make their mark on the match. There are times when this gauntlet-style showcase reminds you of the tag team classics that we saw in late 2002. But on the other hand, there are times where this match is incredibly sloppy and hard to follow. I honestly think that this match kept alternating between two extremes: confusing mishmash & legendary presentation, and rarely the two shall meet. Overall, this is a good display of the Fed's tag team division, but there are moments where you'll stare at disbelief, and wonder how the quality suddenly sunk.
"7.0 / 10"
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7) No Holds Barred - WWF Championship
"Stone Cold" Steve Austin (champion) v. The Undertaker
---First off, I give all the credit in the world for Taker and Austin giving their absolute best for the 25 minutes they gave us. They used everything from weapons & tables, to fists and mat-style wrestling. This isn't the poor lazy effort we saw from BACKLASH 2002. However, I have two huge complaints that totally ruined it for me. For starters, the interference from Vince McMahon and Triple H would've been predicted by someone who knew nothing about wrestling. Instead of being a suspenseful turn of events, I just kept waiting for the finish because I knew everything else was inconsequential. But secondly, I wasn't all that interested in the match itself. Taker and Austin kept going at it for an endless amount of time, I just couldn't keep track. Here's the bottom line: the pickier the wrestling fan you are, the less you'll like this main event. I admit I probably gave this one way too much thought, but 25 mintues is a long time to digest what's going on.
"6.0 / 10"
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OVERALL
---JUDGMENT DAY 2001 is a pretty good PPV, but not worth the amount of money that people are asking for on Amazon. It's worth the standard $20 price tag; anything more is pure retail markup. This is one of those PPVs that if you choose to pay the money, you'll have a good time, but it's not a must-own event. September 30, 2008

WWF Judgement Day 2001

Rikishi VS William Regal: A good, fun opener. Regal was really nice when I met him in person, but he can play a heel better then anyone in the WWF/WWE.

Kurt Angle VS Chris Benoit in a 3 Stages of Hell match: Two of the finest wrestlers ever. Would you expect a bad match from these two? Edge and Christian help out Angle to win but it really didnt take away from the match.

Then we got a promo with Jerry Lynn, the light heavyweight champion. Really Lynn worked all of his life for this worthless belt? He goes off on JR, then goes into a heavy metal growl saying Judgement Day, then he says just watch him. What ever happened after this?

Test VS Rhyno VS Big Show: What WWE is lacking this days, the hardcore division. It started off as a joke but towards the end, they got serious with it. This was a great match even though I dont care for Test or Rhyno. Rhyno might have been good in ECW but his career never took off after ECW folded- either in WWF/WWE or TNA. He was a world champion in TNA for a short time and then sent back to the midcard.

Chyna VS Lita: Both women can wrestle, but I never watch women wrestling.

Kane VS HHH in a Chain Match: Overall, a good match and im glad Kane won it.

The Radicals vs APA vs The Dudley Boys vs The X Factor vs Hardy Boys vs Edge and Christan vs Chris Jerhico and Chris Benoit: This match is featured on alot of WWE PPV's for some reason. This one had the most talented tag teams and it was a classic. Benoit and Jericho win in a predictable ending but I still enjoyed it.

Steve Austin VS Undertaker: It was made a No DQ match during this PPV. I liked Undertaker putting Austin thru the table with a chokeslam, alot of vicious chair shots, a great brawl overall. I just hated the ending.

A really good PPV overall that was stacked from top to bottom. May 11, 2008

Will It Be Judgment Day for The Rattlesnake & The Game?

Just like in my Vengeance review, this one of the hardest DVDs that I have received and I can not explain how much I was looking forward to this one. This event had something to prove considering that many people thought Backlash was a huge disappointment (I gave it a 3-4 stars). Now to the matches.

Rikishi vs WWF Commissioner William Regal. This is not one of those openers that I consider as one of the best on the card but it was one of those openers that was short & sweet with the added comedy of Regal getting the stinkface from Rikishi. Not to mention, Regal's hilarious facial expressions after receiving it.

3 Stages of Hell Medals Match: Chris Benoit vs Kurt Angle. The first fall was a singles match that Benoit won in less than a minute. The second fall was a submission match and the third was a ladder match. As usual, Angle and Benoit give us one of the best performances of the night & added another classic showcase to their very memorable series of matches. However, this does not top their previous or future matches but it ranks right up there with all of them.

Hardcore Champion Rhyno vs Test vs The Big Show. This is what you expected it to be. A regular hardcore match with a few spots here and there while using weapons to make moves look more impactful. They fight through the crowd, the backstage area and right back to the ring to finish an entertaining match.

Womens Champion Chyna vs Lita. I was concerned about this match considering that I thought Lita was going to get squash by he/she Chyna. Luckily that does not happen,and we get a nice back and forth contest between the two. Watch out for the part where Chyna has a malfunction; not as glamourous as you might think guys. Overall, this was the best match of Chyna's reign as champion as Lita was one of the best female workers in the business.

Chain Match: Intercontinental Champion Triple H vs Kane. Before dealing with a dumb storyline in 2002, these two gave an awesome performance here. They did a great job in telling a story of what these two men were doing to each other with the chain & selling it's effect. The ending is funny because it involves Stone Cold and making him look like a guy who can't aim with a steel chair. Kane wins his first Intercontinental championship.

Tag Team Turmoil. The winners will get a shot at the tag team titles the next night on RAW. This was the best "Turmoil" match they did as the beginning features some decent wrestling from Dean Malenko & Saturn against the APA. An interesting segment involving the Hollys and The Dudleyz. Then the Hardy Boyz come out and get the pace and the crowd involved. It all ends with Chris Jericho and his surprise partner Chris Benoit leaving a nice impression in this entertaining match.

No Holds Barred: WWF Champion Stone Cold Steve Austin vs The Undertaker. Undertaker threatened William Regal earlier in the night to make the match No Holds Barred, which Stone Cold accepted. This was an intense brawl that did not feature the use of many weapons (other than a few chair shots) but it was brutal in its own right while Austin set the record for the most lowblows in a match ever. The ending involving Triple H & Vince McMahon did not take away from this match as it was my favorite encounter between Taker & Austin.

In the end, this was the best Judgment Day event of them all as most of these matches ended up being lost classics that were overshadowed by previous or future encounters involving these wrestlers. I highly recommend.

April 7, 2008

Great ppv!

Judgment Day 2001 was yet another great ppv during the last full year of the wwf. With several titles on the line, including Stone Cold Steve Austin putting the WWF title on the line against the Undertaker as well as Kane and HHH figing it out in a chain match for the Intercontinental championship...

Rikishi vs. William Regal:
I was not much of a fan of Rikishi when he was still around, but the crowd did enjoy seeing Regal suffer a lot during this match! Rikishi gives Regal the stinkface much to Regal's horror! Regal even gets cut open near the end of the match but still manages to win by pinning the big man. 7.5/10

3 Stages of Hell
Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit:
After a great submission match between these two just one month earlier, they met again in a best of 3 falls match. the first match was a normal wrestling match, in which Benoit won. The second was submission match which Angle won. The third was a ladder match where Angle's gold medals were on the line. Angle gets the win in another great chapter of one of my favorite rivalries. 9/10

Hardcore Championship
Test vs. Rhyno (champion) vs. Big Show:
A good hardcore title match fought between these three men. a lot of back and forth action, including the three of them fighting backstage and using weapons all over the place. In the end Rhyno gets the win after goring The Big Show through a trash can and gets the win. 8/10

Women's Championship
Chyna (champion) vs. Lita:
A good match between these two former WWE divas. A lot of back and forth action and Lita uses her high flying ability to try and take down the massive looking chyna. However at the end Chyna gives Lita a vicious powerbomb and later gets the win to retain the championship. 7.10

Intercontinental Championship
Chain Match
Kane vs. HHH(champion):
A great match between these two involving the chain and a steel chair. HHH tried to take down the monster, who was wrestling with a broken arm, but Kane used his strength and power to take down the Game. A lot of hard hitting shots took place in this match, including one sick spot with the chair and HHH. At the end of the match Stone Cold comes down to the ring but hits HHH with a chair by accident and Kane gets the win and the IC title. 9/10

Tag Team Turmoil Match
The Radicals vs The APA vs The Dudley boys vs The x factor vs the Hardy Boys vs Edge and Christan vs Crhis Jerhico and Chris Benoit:ot
A lot of great moments in this match. One of my favorites is when D-Von Dudley gets an Alabama Slam through a table by Hardcore holly. The ending of the match had Edge and Christian vs. Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho. The ending is great as Benoit and Jericho get the titles after beating E and C. 8.5/10

WWF Championship
Stone Cold Steve Austin (champion) vs. The Undertaker
Not the best these two have put on, but still a very good match. The undertaker at one point chokeslams Austin through the announce table! Mr. McMahon tried to get involved but Austin nailed him with a chair by accident! In the end Taker tries to hit the last ride powerbomb to Austin but HHH comes down and hits Taker with a sledgehammer to get the win. 9/10

This is really hard to get on DVD. Took me a couple of days and several different video stores before I finally found a used version that still had the WWF logos on it. Still a good buy if you can find it, highly recommended June 19, 2007

Hardcore, No Hold Barred, Chains, Ladders & Much More

This was one of the best PPV's in 2001 but it gets forgotten about due to the fact that it's either not one of the big 5 PPV (Rumble, Mania, King Of Ring, SummerSlam, S. Series) or this was one of the PPV's before the infamous WCW/ECW invasion angle. Either way, this was a good standout PPV on the behalf of the WWE.

Rikishi vs. William Regal - Rikishi just recently turned face again & put into a fued with Regal who was defending the honor of Stephanie McMahon (who recieved a stinkface). Rikishi had a shoulder injury so this was pretty short & sweet but very entertaining as Regal's facial expressions after the stinkface were priceless.

3 Stages Of Hell Match: Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit - The first fall was a "pinfall only" match which Benoit won in under a minute. The second fall was "submission only" while the third fall was a ladder match with Kurt Angle's medals hanging from the top. This doesn't match their previous & future encounters but it ranks right up there as one of the match of the years as they put forth a tremendous effort resulting on another awesome chapter in their ongoing series of matches.

Hardcore Champion Rhyno vs. Test vs. Big Show - This wasn't strickly a "New Jack" weaponsfest as it was just a 3 way brawl that went all over the place and very entertaining with the occassional weapon being used only to have things more impactful.

Womens Champion Chyna vs. Lita - This was Chyna's best match as champion since Lita was able to show off how tough she was with Chyna including that powerbomb at the end. This wasn't a blow away performance but it wasn't a Chyna dominated match as they whole streak in the womens division was.

Intercontinental Champion Triple H vs. Kane - 17 months before they would meet again in a Unification match that was overshadowed by a unbelievable storyline involving "Katie Vick", they put on an awesome performance here in this chain match. Watch out for some of the chain & chair shots...including the last one by Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Tag Team Turmoil Match: This was probably the best "turmoil" match WWF has had since it wasn't heavily rushed though or had a bunch of quick fluke wins. The two big highlights were Hardcore Holly's "Alabama Slam" on D-Von though a table & the last two matches with Benoit's performance concidering the long 3 falls match with Kurt Angle a little over an hour earlier.

No Holds Barred Match: WWF Champion Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Undertaker - This was unbelievable as they didn't use weapons alot (minus a couple of chair shots) but this was a straight intense brawl & I think Austin set the record for the most low blows in one match. These two work well together & this ranks right up there with their First Blood match as my favorite encounter between these two. Vince McMahon doing the commentary added to this match as well.

Overall, there was only one average match in the Womens match but overall, this is a "forgotten" 5 star classic that I recommend. June 1, 2007

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