Bottom Line: A little on the short side, but otherwise a real fun match. This one was action-packed from bell to bell. The involvement of the women was a nice touch as well. As decent as this was, you can’t help but wonder how much better it would have been had there been any sort of feud/storyline to go along with the match. This was the perfect opener and it really got the crowd to come alive. *** ½

- William Regal approaches RVD and questions his loyalty to the Alliance after he attacked Stone Cold last Thursday on Smackdown. RVD says that he’s only looking out for #1. Why? Because he’s too cool for school. And if anybody gets that reference, I will be very impressed.

- As Vince McMahon gets out of his limo, Michael Cole comes up with a number of questions for him. Vince says not to worry because all questions will be answered by the end of the night. I hope, then, that one of the questions is “when is the invasion angle going to stop sucking?”

Instead of doing a tag team rematch, they decided to break it up into two singles matches. Double the fun for us! Kane comes in and immediately slugs away on Test. Now Kane gives Test some rough turnbuckle treatment. Test whips Kane to the corner, but Kane comes right back with a powerslam and gets a nearfall. Kane catches Test charging and drops him across the top rope. That was an ugly looking spot. Kane picks up Test and press slams him to the floor. Kane argues with the ref, which allows Test to hit him with the ringbell. Somehow Nick Patrick didn’t see that. Back inside, Test suplexes Kane and gets 2. Kane misses an elbow, but Test connects with a clothesline from the second rope. Test delivers a sidewalk slam, but misses the big elbow. Kane comes back with a neckbreaker. A back suplex by Kane gets a nearfall. Now Kane clotheslines Test to the floor. When Kane follows him out there, Test is able to shove him in the post and then give him the big boot. Test brings him back in and covers, but Kane kicks out at 2. Test goes for the boot again, but Kane ducks and then chokeslams Test. Kane covers and Test kicks out at 2. Kane powerslams Test, but misses his top rope clothesline. Test delivers the pump handle slam, but can’t get the pinfall. Test goes up and hits the big elbow. He covers and Kane kicks out at 2 again. Frustrated, Test grabs a chair, but Kane dropkicks it back into his face. Kane goes to use the chair, but Nick Patrick stops him. Kane grabs Patrick, but when he sees Test charging, he grabs him instead. Test kicks Kane low and then gives him the big boot. Patrick gets up and makes the 3 count.

Postmatch: Kane gives Patrick two chokeslams and a powerbomb.

BL: The first half of this match was really ugly. Some sloppiness between the two and a lack of exciting action made it appear as if this one was headed to DUD-ville. However, they somewhat redeemed themselves in the second half. I liked Test pulling out his entire arsenal to try and beat Kane. It’s a shame his victory couldn’t have been cleaner, as that could have really helped him. However, shady tactics by Nick Patrick are always effective in getting the crowd riled up and this match was no exception. * ¼

- Jonathan Coachman tries to interview Stone Cold, but gets Debra instead. Austin says he doesn’t want to talk to Coach, but then proceeds to give Debra several messages to tell Coach for him. This was more comedy gold from Austin, as shown by Coach’s failure to keep a straight face.

- Stacy Kiebler walks backstage and runs into Matt Hardy. She shows him her lingerie, which he enjoys. She leaves and soon Lita arrives. Matt lies about what he was looking at and then hugs her. He’s relieved he didn’t get caught, but what he doesn’t know is that Lita probably just got back from giving some dude a hummer in the bathroom.

This came as a result of Stacy resenting Torrie for starting a relationship with the WWF’s Tajiri. Torrie is wearing a lovely red number, while Stacy is in all black. Stacy avoids some of Torrie’s early offense by doing some cartwheels. Stacy boots a charging Torrie and then takes off her robe. Stacy then pulls out a whip and uses it on Torrie. She also uses it on the referee, but he just smiles. Perv. The two roll around and then roll over the referee. Now the ladies exchange a series or pinfalls. A snapmare by Torrie gets 2. Torrie then hits Stacy with the handspring elbow. Torrie rolls Stacy up and gets her for 3. She then gives her a little spank for good measure.

BL: It’s a T & A match, so you know it’s not very good. However, this blows the water out of most of the T & A matches you see today. I think there are a couple of reasons why: 1) It was between two legitimate hot ladies, instead of involving someone who’s fake-hot like Candice Michelle, 2) They stayed within their safety zone of moves, so as not to botch anything, and 3) they didn’t overstay their welcome. The match was short and sweet and left the men wanting more. For what it accomplished it deserves ****, for it’s wrestling content, it warrants about ½ *

- And after that match, all the men watching suffer serious shrinkage, as Michael Cole pops on the screen. He’s interviewing Kurt Angle. In the middle of Angle’s promo, Vince McMahon comes in and wishes him luck. Angle says he doesn’t need luck because he’s definitely winning the WWF title once again. It’s not just true. It’s ‘Oh Hell Yeah’ true and it’s ‘Van Dam’ true. Clever.

- Lillian Garcia talks to Christian, who says he’s out to prove he’s the better man. That’s fine, as long as he remembers that no one’s better than Kanyon.

The two meet each other in the aisle and Edge gains an early advantage. In the ring, Edge continues the assault. Christian bails to the floor and when Edge tries to bring him back in, Christian drops him across the top rope. Christian tries to bring the ladder into the ring, but Edge baseball slides it into him. The two now take their fight into the crowd. Back at ringside, Edge catapults Christian into the ladder. Edge sets a ladder up on the steps and guardrail, but it’s Christian that drops Edge onto it. As Christian straddles the ladder, Edge hits him, causing him to crotch himself on the rungs. Yee-owch! As Edge tries to bring the ladder in, Christian legdrops it into Edge’s face. Christian sets up the ladder and begins to climb, but Edge knocks it down. Christian comes back and wedges Edge between the ladder and the corner. Christian climbs above Edge with a chair, but Edge knocks it out of his hand and then slams Christian onto the ladder. Nice! Edge puts Christian on his shoulders and then drops him onto the ladder. With the ladder set in the corner, Christian reverses a whip and sends Edge into it. Christian then catapults Edge into the ladder in a unique way. Both men set up a ladder and begin to climb. Edge then attacks Christian and gives him an Edge-o-Matic off the ladder. Edge begins to climb, but Christian stops him and then does a reverse DDT to him off the ladder. Christian brings 2 chairs in and sets Edge up for the one-man Conchairto. Edge escapes and then brings a third ladder into the ring. Edge props the ladder on the two chairs and then places Christian on the ladder. Edge goes up top and connects with a big splash on Christian. Edge climbs up, but Christian knocks him down with the extra ladder. As Christian goes up, Edge climbs to the top rope and spears Christian off the ladder. Both men go up again and as they battle, the ladder tips over and both men fall over, all the way to the floor. Christian starts to scale the ladder again, but as he does, Edge comes in and low blows him with a chair. Edge then climbs up and gives Christian a one-man Conchairto on top of the ladder. Christian crumbles to the mat and Edge reaches up to grab the Intercontinental title and once again become champion.

BL: You can’t deny that these guys put their bodies on the line for this match. They had some unique spots that looked pretty devastating. The only problem I had here was that they booked this like a TLC match. It was a succession of big, cool spots. However, when there are only two guys, you either get a longer lull between spots or you have guys unrealistically recovering from the previous spot. I will commend them on the finish, as it was big and also a fitting cap to the feud. ****

- The loser at WWF New York tonight is…Spike Dudley, who’s doing tequila shots. They better be in thimbles or else the bouncers are going to have a rough time dealing with him tonight.

I see the random tag team generator has placed Tajiri with the Big Show this month. How many partners for Show does that make in ’01 alone? D-Von distracts Tajiri, which allows Bubba to attack him as the match gets underway. Tajiri comes back with some kicks to D-Von. A standing moonsault gives Tajiri a nearfall. Show is tagged in and he continues the attack on D-Von. A double-team by the Dudleyz backfires and Show cleans house. As the Dudleyz regroup on the floor, Tajiri hits them with a somersault plancha. Show hits D-Von with a sidewalk slam and gets 2 on D-Von. Now Show tags Tajiri back in. Why? A blind tag by Bubba allows him to hit Tajiri with a Bubba Bomb. Quick tags and double-team moves by the Dudleyz make Tajiri your face-in-peril. Tajiri kicks D-Von, as he comes off the second rope. Tajiri crawls over and tags Show, but the referee didn’t see it because he was tied up with Bubba. Now the Dudleyz hit Tajiri with the Wassup Drop, as Show argues with the referee. Tajiri catches Bubba with a DDT and now makes the actual hot tag. Show takes out both Dudleyz and then does the “me me me” taunt. That must be code that Scott Hall is coming back soon. D-Von clips Show, who falls into his corner and is tagged by Tajiri. Tajiri goes up top, but is slammed off by Bubba. Tajiri places D-Von in the Tarantula, but Bubba breaks it up. Bubba whips Tajiri, who comes back with the handspring elbow on both Dudleyz. Tajiri goes to mist Bubba, but hits the referee instead. Show comes in and chokeslams Bubba. He covers, but the referee still can’t see. Now Rhyno comes out and GORES Show to a surprising pop. Tajiri lays some stiff kicks in on D-Von and covers. The referee slowly counts and gets 2. The Dudleyz now catch Tajiri in the 3-D and that’s all she wrote.

BL: Was the result of the match a surprise to anyone? While it was pretty obvious who was winning, they still tried their best to make this as fun as possible. The early parts of the match were pretty pedestrian, but it became a whole lot more interesting after the misting. There were a number of times in the closing minutes where you thought the 3-D would happen, but they did a good job of teasing it out. ** ¾

- Regal compliments Rhyno on his actions. Rhyno responds that he plans on proving the Alliance isn’t a joke. It sure is nice to dream, isn’t it?

- Backstage, Booker T and Shane McMahonn congratulate Test on his win earlier tonight. Then Booker promises that after tonight, the Undertaker will be one dead sucka. At least he didn’t fall into his old trap and call him one dead nigga.

As Taker gets off his bike, Booker attacks him. The two brawl around ringside with Taker gaining the upper hand. Inside, Booker hits a crossbody and gets 2. Booker misses a charge and rams his shoulder into the post. Taker now begins to focus on Booker’s injured arm. This culminates in him connecting with Old School. Booker bails to the outside. Taker follows him out there and Booker throws him into the steps. Booker tries to use the ringbell, but the WWF referee takes it away from him. The fight heads into the crowd briefly. Back at ringside, Booker kicks Taker and throws him into the post. Inside, Booker delivers a missile dropkick. That gets 2. Booker gets another nearfall with a sidewalk slam. Booker teases the Spinaroonie, but doesn’t do it. Taker boots a charging Booker and whips him to the corner. He tries for Snake Eyes, but Booker escapes and delivers a neckbreaker. Booker tries a move from the second rope, but Taker boots him. A slugfest is won by Taker. Taker gives Booker a big boot and gets 2. Taker catches Booker with his head down and DDTs him. That gets another nearfall. Now Taker gives Booker some rough turnbuckle treatment. Booker catches a charging Taker and drops him in the corner. A follow-up heel kick allows Booker to do the Spinaroonie. Booker connects with the scissors kick and covers, but Taker puts his foot on the rope at 2. Taker goes for the chokeslam, but Booker kicks him low. Booker does a 10-punch count on Taker, who suddenly grabs him and gives him the Last Ride out of the corner. Taker covers and just like that, it’s over.

BL: There was nothing inherently wrong with the match, it just wasn’t particularly interesting. It wasn’t a squash, but you didn’t really feel like Taker gave Booker anything either. The ending is depressing too, as Booker was in firm control, but Taker hits one big move out of nowhere and wins it. Taker was a real pain to watch during the invasion angle.

- Coach asks Jericho his thoughts about his upcoming match, but Jericho doesn’t want to talk. He says it’s time to put up or shut up. Wow, forgoing a chance to mock Coach? He must really mean business.

This came as a result of some jealousy issues between the two and Jericho trying to prove he can win the “big one”. The match begins with neither man being able to gain a clear advantage. After some back and forth mat wrestling, Jericho just goes and slaps The Rock. Here we go…Now Jericho lays some chops in on The Rock. The Rock puts on the brakes after being whipped and then punches away on Jericho. The Rock goes for the Rock Bottom, but Jericho escapes. He then goes for the Walls of Jericho, but The Rock grabs the ropes. A springboard dropkick by Jericho escapes. Jericho hits an elbow from the top rope and gets 2. The Rock tries to come back, but Jericho drops him with a flying forearm and gets another nearfall. Jericho again chops away on The Rock, but now he comes back with chops of his own. However, Jericho is able to knock The Rock down with a spinning heel kick. The Rock can’t seem to get out of the blocks thus far. The Rock connects with a clothesline, but when he charges again, Jericho sidesteps him and drops him across the top rope. After slamming The Rock, Jericho climbs up top. However, The Rock gets up and crotches him. Now The Rock climbs up and gives him a superplex. The Rock is on fire now, as he delivers a belly-to-belly throw and a Samoan drop. That combo gets 2. The Rock punches away on Jericho in the corner and knocks him out of the ring. The Rock abuses Jericho on the announce table and then throws him back in the ring. A suplex by The Rock gets 2. The Rock sidesteps a charging Jericho and throws him to the floor. Back inside, The Rock wears down Jericho with a chinlock. The Rock avoids a dropkick and then catapults Jericho into the corner. The Rock places Jericho up top, but when he tries to climb up, Jericho shoves him down. Then Jericho connects with a missile dropkick. A swinging neckbreaker and a hurricanrana by Jericho give him a nearfall. Jericho escapes a back suplex and hits The Rock with the Rock Bottom. He follows that up with the Lionsault. Somehow, that combo only gets 2. Wow! Jericho delivers his crappy bulldog and then goes for the People’s Elbow, but The Rock moves. The Rock does a legsweep and then applies the Sharpshooter. Somehow, Jericho makes it to the ropes. The Rock clears off the Spanish announce table and then gives Jericho a Rock Bottom through it. Back inside, The Rock tries for another Rock Bottom, but Jericho fights out of it. However, Jericho charges and gets caught with a spinebuster. The Rock goes for the People’s Elbow, but Jericho grabs his leg and puts him in the Walls. The Rock gets close to the ropes, but Jericho pulls him back. Out of nowhere, Stephanie McMahon comes down with a chair. Jericho releases the hold and knocks her off the apron. This allows The Rock to DDT Jericho. Now The Rock brings Stephanie into the ring and gives her a Rock Bottom. Jericho then grabs The Rock and does a face-forward Russian legsweep to him onto the chair. Jericho covers and gets the shocking 1-2-3. He won the big one! New champ!

BL: Surprisingly, I’m not as high on this match as a lot of people. Don’t get me wrong, it was really good; just not OMG MOTYC good. For me, the first part of the match was too basic with no real psychology. Things really started to get good in the end. But, just as I was really starting to dig the match, Stephanie sticks her nose in the match. I would be ok with her interference, had it led to something. Had Jericho swerved us and aligned with Stephanie, that would have been an ok payoff. Or if it led to an extended feud with The Rock, trying to exact revenge on Stephanie, that’s ok too. But the way it played out was too unnecessary. This is a strong match that is slightly tainted. **** ¼

- Allow me to set up the storyline for the main event for you. After Austin lost the WWF title to Angle at Unforgiven, he left for a while. In his absence, RVD stepped up as a leader for his fellow Alliance members. Once Austin returned, he got a rematch with Angle and won the title back thanks to Regal turning on the WWF. Now back in control, Austin didn’t appreciate RVD overstepping his boundaries. With Regal out as WWF commissioner, Mick Foley temporarily stepped in and made a triple threat match for the WWF title between Austin, Angle and RVD. Austin and Angle clearly hate each other and RVD is the wild card, as he has shown no allegiance to either side since the match was set.

As Austin and RVD confer, Angle runs up and German suplexes Austin. He then goes back and forth giving suplexes to both men. Austin and RVD recover and put the boots to Angle. After dispensing Angle, Austin and RVD jaw at each other. This allows Angle to come in and gives RVD a Russian legsweep. Now Austin stomps away on both men. Austin goes for the Stunner, but Angle blocks it and applies the ankle lock. Before Austin can tap, RVD dropkicks Angle. RVD kicks down both men and gives Angle rolling thunder. That gets 2. Austin knocks Angle out of the ring and hits RVD with a spinebuster. Now Austin works over RVD’s left knee. Austin applies a half crab, but Angle breaks it up. Austin dumps Angle and puts RVD in an STF. Well, that’s the most deadly submission ever. I’m sure RVD will tap immediately. Oh wait, that’s just when Cena applies it. Nevermind. On the floor, Austin catapults Angle into the post. Then he rams RVD’s knee into the post repeatedly. Austin and Angle brawl some more and RVD comes off the top rope and dives onto both of them. RVD then jumps off the announce table and legdrops Austin. Inside, Angle suplexes RVD and then connects with the moonsault. Austin comes in and covers RVD for 2. Angle puts Austin in a sleeper now. Austin escapes and tries to hit Angle with the Stunner. Angle avoids it and goes for one himself. Austin also avoids it and then they clothesline each other. RVD tries for the Five Star Frog Splash, but misses both of them. Angle delivers a German suplex to RVD and gets 2. Austin connects with the Stunner on Angle and covers, but RVD breaks it up. Now RVD hits Austin with the split-legged moonsault and covers, but Angle breaks that up. Angle gives RVD the Angle Slam and gets a nearfall. That’s broken up by Austin. Austin and Angle brawl on the announce table. Austin goes for a piledriver, but Angle backdrops him instead and the table doesn’t break. Ouch. Then RVD leaps out of the ring and tackles Angle. Suddenly, Vince McMahon walks down to ringside. Inside, RVD knocks Angle down with a spinning heel kick. RVD goes up top, but Angle pops up and give him an overhead belly-to-belly suplex off the top. Awesome! Austin comes back in and gives Angle the Stunner. Austin starts to go after RVD, but Vince comes in and nails Austin with a chair. RVD gets up and hits the Five Star Frog Splash. He covers, but Angle makes the save. Angle delivers four German suplexes to RVD and then gives him the Angle Slam. Unreal! Angle goes to cover, but Shane McMahon runs out and attacks him. This causes Vince to run over and tackle Shane. All that’s left in the ring is Austin and RVD. Austin picks up a motionless RVD and gives him a Stunner. With everyone else down or preoccupied, Austin is able to make the cover and get the 1-2-3.

BL: Man oh man, that was awesome. Unlike the Rock/Jericho match, these guys were busting out big moves from the word go. Some triple threats have a lot of lulls, but this was nonstop action. Best of all, all three men looked strong and were treated as equals. This one would get top marks if it weren’t for those pesky McMahons. They tainted the last match and did the same here. I think we could have had the match work just as well without them. So, because they stuck their noses in there, this one has to settle for **** ¾

Final Thoughts: Considering this is an off-month PPV, you don’t expect much, but this is a really fantastic show. It may not be as consistently good as Summerslam from this year, but whenever you get three ****+ matches, you’re looking at a success. When you throw in a solid opener and a better than normal T & A match, there’s no reason not to check out this show. It’s always nice to see great action overcome lousy storytelling. You may not remember the invasion angle fondly, but don’t write off this show just because it took place during that time.

Next time, someone’s winning immunity and Jeff Probst is nowhere to be found.