Emanating from the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville, TN

The two get into a shoving match to kick things off. RVD gets the better of their criss-cross exchange, so Eddie heads outside for a breather. RVD fakes a kick and then catches Eddie with the split-legged moonsault. Nice. RVD begins a nice attack on Eddie’s back. RVD puts Eddie in a surfboard and then turns it into a pinning combination for 2. As the referee tries to separate the two, Eddie gets a cheap shot in on RVD. Eddie hammers away on RVD, but he comes back with a monkey flip. RVD drops Eddie into the top rope and then delivers rolling thunder. That gets 2. RVD climbs up top, but Eddie crotches him. Then Eddie powerbombs him off the top. Eddie attempts the frog splash, but RVD avoids it. Now RVD tries for the Five Star Frog Splash and he misses as well. Another criss-cross sequence ends with a crossbody by RVD and he gets a nearfall from it. RVD ducks a punch and gets Eddie in a backslide for 2. Now Eddie avoids a heel kick and puts RVD in a backslide. Eddie puts his feet on the ropes and manages to keep RVD down for 3.

Bottom Line: A very odd match for the fact that Eddie didn’t seem to want to be out there at all. RVD did a lot of great stuff and tried working over Eddie’s back with a variety of moves. Meanwhile, Eddie exhibited a moveset that more resembled Kevin Nash’s than his own. The ending was another fine example of Eddie’s “cheat to win” mentality, but it really came out of nowhere. If both guys had wanted to play ball here, this could have been fantastic. *** ½

- Reverend D-Von leads Deacon Batista, Stacy Keibler and Vince McMahon in a prayer. While everyone bows their head and closes their eyes, Vince checks out Stacy’s ass. In McMahonism, that isn’t considered sacrilegious.

This is here not because Trish and Stacy have any legitimate feud, but so there is a reason for Bubba and D-Von to interact once again. Bubba has been hanging out with Trish lately and is in her corner tonight. Meanwhile, Vince asked Rev. D-Von and his assistant, Deacon Batista (Yes, that Batista) to go out and protect Stacy, who was Vince’s “personal assistant” at the time. Stacy connects with an early roundhouse kick on Trish and gets a 2 count. Trish puts Stacy in a Boston Crab, but Stacy reverses it into a pinfall for 2. Trish gets a nearfall of her own with a neckbreaker. A kick to the head sends Stacy to the floor. Bubba comes over and laughs at her, so she slaps him. The referee stops Bubba from retaliating, but that allows Batista to slam Trish behind his back. Stacy comes back in and covers, but Trish kicks out at 2. Stacy puts her head down and Trish kicks her. Then she runs over and dropkicks Batista. Heel miscommunication leads to Stacy nailing Batista. Trish bulldogs Stacy and pins her for 3.

Postmatch: D-Von tries to jump Trish, but she runs out of the ring. However, D-Von and Batista are able to double-team Bubba and eventually put him through a table.

BL: As I said, this wasn’t really a match, but an excuse to have the Dudleyz together again. The match was short and inoffensive. The outside participants also kept the crowd interested. I do question the need to start a feud between Bubba and D-Von when they are on different shows.

- In a nice bit of continuity, Vince enters Ric Flair’s office and Flair shakes his hand, after he refused to last month. You see, since the last PPV, Flair has turned heel. However, Flair appears to step over the line when he tells Vince that, unlike him, he’ll be able to control Stone Cold after tonight. Flair’s foolish if he thinks he can do something that the almighty Vince McMahon could never do.

The Hardyz are still looking for revenge on Brock for the injures they’ve sustained from him. Heyman gave them that opportunity and also made himself Brock’s partner. When Brock comes down to the ring, Jeff leaps over the top rope and onto him. Brock catches him, but Matt then gives both of them a baseball slide. With Brock down, the Hardyz go after Heyman, but he quickly recovers and clotheslines both of them from behind. Now Brock begins to manhandle Jeff. Jeff escapes a Snake Eyes attempt and tags Matt. Matt receives the same kind of treatment that his brother just got. Brock puts his head down and Matt gives him a DDT. Jeff is tagged back in and he connects with a corkscrew moonsault. The Hardyz begin to double-team Brock. After clotheslining Brock to the outside, the Hardyz go after Heyman. He tries to run, but is caught by Matt. The Hardyz deliver Poetry in Motion to Heyman. Lawler takes glee in making fun of Heyman’s bald head, yet we never hear any jokes about Hogan. Jeff goes for the swanton bomb on Heyman, but Brock comes in and stops him. Brock catches Jeff coming off the ropes and launches him into Matt. Brock delivers his version of the TKO to Jeff and Heyman screams for the tag. Brock obliges and Heyman comes in to easily pin Jeff for the victory.

BL: We got more of the same here as we got last month from Brock. He has a lot of power moves and the Hardyz bump well for them. Of course, the Hardyz got their requisite hope spots in, but Brock prevails in the end, once again. The only new twist here was Heyman’s involvement and that was barely dealt with, except for the pinfall. I guess that is supposed to put more heat on Brock for some reason. Nothing new here and I don’t like paying for reruns. * ¼

- Marc Lloyd asks Booker T about becoming the newest member of the nWo. Before he finishes his thoughts, he spots an attractive woman standing nearby. He goes over to talk to her and she gives him a key to her hotel room. Booker can definitely dig that!

Let me do my best to explain the set-up for this next match here, even though the storytelling isn’t very good. Point #1: The Big Show joined the nWo a few weeks ago because he was pissed off for constantly being overlooked (like being at WWF NY for Wrestlemania). Point #2: Flair was still having problems getting Austin to obey him and he was getting increasingly frustrated by it. Point #3: In a tag match pitting the nWo against Austin, Bradshaw and Flair, Flair officially turned on Austin and attacked him in a move that everyone saw coming a mile away. Point #4: Flair announced that Austin would take on him and Show in a handicap match, even though Flair wasn’t a part of the nWo. The pairing made no sense. Why not Austin vs. Flair, one-on-one? Or if you’re gonna do a handicap match, why not have it be two members of the nWo? Things were kinda tulmutuous on RAW at this time, so a lot of storylines didn’t make sense.

Austin tries to divide and conquer early on. He attempts the figure four leglock on Show, but then sees Flair and goes after him. He then puts Flair in the figure four. Show tries to drop an elbow, but Austin avoids it, while still having Flair in the hold. Austin grabs a chair, but the referee won’t let him use it. Asutin gives him the chair and gets another. He takes a seat in that one and flips off the referee before tossing the chair away. OK then. After getting knocked down, Flair decides to take a breather. That gives Austin time to grab a beer, but the referee won’t let him drink it. Flair finally gets an offensive move by thumbing Austin in the eye. Now the two exchange chops. Show gets tagged in, so Austin does push-ups. Show doesn’t care for that, so he gives him a few big chops. Show boots Austin and then tags Flair. Again, they exchange chops as the crowd exchanges “what” and “wooo” chants. Flair goes up top, but gets slammed off. Now Austin stomps a mudhole in him. Show comes in and powerslams Austin. Flair starts to attack Austin’s knee and then tags Show to continue the work. Flair comes back in and goes for the figure four, but Austin puts him in a small package for 2. Now Flair is able to recover and get the hold on Austin. Austin manages to turn it over, but Show comes in and drops an elbow on him. Austin gives Flair a spinebuster and then puts him in a figure four. However, Show comes in again and legdrops him. Show is tagged in legally, but gets booted by Austin upon entry. Now Austin gives both men a Lou Thesz Press. As Show goes to chokeslam Austin, X-Pac runs out. Austin avoids the chokeslam and gives Show a Stunner. X-Pac comes in and tries to kick Austin, but nails Show on accident. Austin gives X-Pac and Flair Stunners and then covers Flair for the 1-2-3.

BL: This was painful to watch. Once again, Austin treated this match like a joke and the quality suffered tremendously. It appeared that everything was booked on the fly and they weren’t trying to produce anything decent. With the way they were portrayed, Flair and Show might as well have been Reno Riggins and Tom Stone with X-Pac playing the role of Dwayne Gill. This was just a mess and it’s not surprising Austin left the company less than a month after this. DUD

- J.R. and the King finally throw Smackdown a bone by having Michael Cole and Tazz do a quick intro for the next match. I could do without seeing Cole, but Smackdown certainly deserves better representation than this.

Neither man can get an advantage in the opening minutes. Edge dumps Angle to the floor and then baseball slides into him. Back inside, Edge locks Angle in the ropes and spears him. However, Angle gets free and backdrops Edge out of the ring. Angle brings Edge back in and beats him up in the corner. A spinebuster by Angle gets 2. He gets another fall after connecting with a DDT on Edge. Angle uncharacteristically wears down Edge with a pair of restholds. Edge finally comes back with an overhead belly-to-belly suplex. The Edge-o-Matic gives Edge a nearfall. Angle stops Edge’s momentum with an overhead belly-to-belly suplex. Edge backdrops Angle to the apron and then dropkicks him to the floor. Then Edge leaps over the top rope and hits Angle with a crossbody. Edge climbs up top, but Angle pops up there with him. However, Edge shoves him right back down and then connects with a missile dropkick. That gets 2. After DDTing Angle, Edge goes back up top. Angle pops up again and this time is able to throw him off. He gets a nearfall from that. Edge kicks Angle and then gives him another DDT. That gets a long 2 count. Edge goes for the spear, but accidentally nails the referee. Angle comes up behind him and delivers a German suplex. Seeing the referee is down, Angle grabs a chair. When he comes back in, Edge spears him. Edge goes for a second one, but Angle kicks him. Angle tries for the Angle Slam, but Edge escapes and spears him. The referee slowly crawls over and can only make a 2 count. I thought that was it. After a reversal sequence, Angle catches Edge with a spear. He follows that up with an Angle Slam. That gets 2 ¾. Down go the straps and on goes the ankle lock. Edge scales the ropes and then hits Angle with an enziguri. Angle gets the ankle lock on again, but Edge shoves him off and then quickly gets him in a small package for the 3 count.

Postmatch: Angle attacks Edge, but Edge recovers and delivers the Edgecution. Edge takes Angle over to the barber chair, but Angle runs away backstage.

BL: For some reason, these two always take things slow in the opening minutes of their matches. Fortunately, they redeem themselves with strong finishes. This match was no different. Edge benefits from working another match under the tutelage of Angle and the end result is positive. It took a while for the crowd to come around, but they were certainly hot for the finish. ****

- At the local Nashville Marriott, Booker and his mystery woman are about to get biz-ay. She asks him to turn out the lights. When he does, we hear another man’s voice. Booker turns the lights back on and Goldust is in the bed with them. Goldust and Booker had formed a friendship, but Goldust hadn’t been able to talk to Booker since he was named the new member of the nWo. Booker is freaked out by this and runs out of the hotel room in only a thong. Ewww. Whenever Goldie and the Book work together, you’re guaranteed comedy gold.

After losing the undisputed championship last month, HHH became a member of the Smackdown roster. With Vince still upset about what HHH did to Stephanie, he’s out to make his life a living hell. Appropriately enough, that means putting HHH in a Hell in a Cell match against his old nemesis, Chris Jericho. The two don’t waste any time before slugging it out. HHH gains the first advantage with a high knee and backdrop. Jericho comes back with a flying forearm. Jericho misses a charge and rams his shoulder into the post. Now HHH gives Jericho some rough cell treatment. Back inside, HHH suplex Jericho and gets a nearfall. Jericho whips HHH out of the ring and then sends him into the cell. HHH reverses a whip and throws Jericho into the steps. HHH attempts a piledriver on the steps, but Jericho reverses it into a monkey flip, which sends HHH into the cell. Jericho goes under the ring and grabs a ladder. He takes it and rams it in HHH’s face. That busts HHH wide open. Seeing that, Jericho gives him the cheese grater spot. Back in the ring, Jericho continues to use the ladder to attack HHH. Jericho charges at HHH with the ladder again, but HHH nails him with a chair. Jericho comes back with a crappy bulldog that rams HHH’s head into the ladder. Jericho brings the steps into the ring, but HHH gives him a drop toe hold that sends him face-first into those steps. HHH hits Jericho with a facebuster and then throws the steps at him. HHH takes Jericho outside and tosses him into the cell like a javelin. As they go back in the ring, HHH throws Jericho, who crashes into referee Tim White. White flies off the apron and into the cell in a wicked looking bump. That would be the bump that would in essence cost White his refereeing career. Jericho hits HHH with a chair and covers, but there’s no referee. Jericho goes over, picks up White and throws him into the cell. That’s just excessive. Jericho charges at HHH, who catches him with a spinebuster. A handful of referees come out with bolt cutters to open the door and help White. Meanwhile, in the ring, HHH boots a chair in Jericho’s face. HHH goes under the ring and finds his sweet lady sledge. HHH nails Jericho in the face with it and covers, but we still have no ref. As HHH tries to get one of the other referees to take over, Jericho crawls out the now open door. When HHH tries to follow him, Jericho slams the door in his face. Both men are out of the cell and now fight by the announce table. Jericho tries to Pedigree HHH through the Spanish announce table, but HHH blocks it and DDTs him through the table instead. HHH then goes over by the timekeeper’s table and finds a barbed wire 2x4. However, Jericho grabs it from him and nails him in the back with it. Now Jericho locks HHH in the Walls of Jericho. As that happens a ref climbs to the top of the cell. HHH manages to power out of the hold. Jericho tries to use the 2x4 again, but HHH gives him a low blow. HHH attempts a Pedigree, but Jericho backdrops him instead. You held your breath hoping the roof wouldn’t break on that spot. HHH grabs the 2x4 and gives Jericho a nasty shot to the head with it. That gets a nearfall. HHH then gives Jericho a Pedigree on top of the cell. HHH covers and that’s enough to give him the win.

BL: A brutal match, in a good sense, that saw a lot of new spots for a Hell in a Cell match. While this was a blood bath, everything was done in a safe way to protect any legitimate injuries from occurring. I will say that when you watch this match the first time, you hold your breath for the entire time that they are on the roof. While some may complain about Jericho jobbing again, I have no complaints about HHH winning this match. This is one of the better cell matches. About the only thing that could have been improved was a quicker pace. **** ½

- Backstage, Angle is still trying to run away from Edge. He hides in Janet the Makeup Lady’s chair, but that’s only a temporary fix. Soon, Edge spots him and the chase is on again.

- The loser(s) at WWF NY…errr, I mean, The World (the new name of the restaurant after the lawsuit) is Maven and Torrie Wilson, who are there on a date. Oh please, let’s leave all the fake romance angle to Trish Stratus. She’s the only one who can make them look half-way believable.

Rikishi had issues with the champs, so Vince told him he would give him a partner to fight Billy and Chuck for the titles. The Fink then announces Rikishi’s partner is…Rico. Huh?!? The crowd doesn’t seem thrilled by that choice. Rikishi tells Rico to go to the corner and then he takes it to Billy and Chuck. Now the champs come back and stomps away on him. Rikishi avoids a dropkick by Billy and looks to tag Rico, but Rico isn’t looking at him. Billy comes up and gives Rikishi a neckbreaker. A belly-to-belly suplex by Chuck gets 2. Billy connects with the Fameasser on Rikishi, but somehow he kicks out at 2. Chuck puts his head down and Rikishi kicks him. He follows that up with a belly-to-belly suplex and gets 2. Now Rikishi takes out both Billy and Chuck. Chuck dropkicks Rikishi and then holds him for Rico. Rico delivers a spin kick, but accidentally nails Chuck. Rikishi kicks Rico and then covers Chuck for 3. Huh? Whaaa? Gah!

BL: I seriously wonder who thought any of this would be a good idea. I mean, had they stuck Rico with Rikishi and that was what caused his downfall, it would have been lame but logical. This move was just plain moronic. And I thought the tag division was in trouble when Maven and Al Snow were going for the titles. They somehow topped themselves here. By the way, the crowd was absolutely dead for all of this. ¼ *

- As Edge continues to look for Angle, Angle blindsides him. The two head back out to the barber chair now. Angle looks to cut Edge’s hair, but Edge recovers and puts Angle in a sleeper. Once Angle is out, Edge proceeds to shove our Olympic Hero bald. How disgraceful!

The less said about the build for this match, the better. Before the bell rings, Taker whips Hogan with his own weight belt. Hogan no-sells it and now uses the belt against Taker. Hogan backdrops Taker and then clotheslines him to the floor. On the outside, Hogan whips Taker into the steps. Inside, Taker works on Hogan’s arm. Taker goes up for Old School, but gets crotched by Hogan. Then Hogan delivers a superplex. That gets 2. Taker ducks a clothesline and clips Hogan from behind. Hogan’s knee becomes the focus of Taker’s attack. A slugfest breaks out and is won by Taker. Hogan boots Taker and goes for the legdrop, but Taker blocks it and applies a half crab. Taker goes for a big boot, but Hogan ducks and Taker gets hung up on the top rope. Taker chokeslams Hogan and covers, but Hogan kicks out and Hulks up. Hogan delivers the boot and legdrop, but Taker kicks out at 2. Hogan puts his head down and is hit with a DDT. Taker covers and gets a nearfall. As Taker heads outside, Vince comes down to the ring. Taker grabs a chair, but when he brings it into the ring, Hogan boots it into his face. Hogan delivers another legdrop and covers, but Vince has the referee distracted. Hogan brings Vince in the ring, knocks him down and gives him a legdrop. That allows Taker to hit Hogan from behind with a chair. Taker then delivers another chokeslam. He covers and gets the 1-2-3. New champ!

Postmatch: Taker gives Hogan a few more shots with the chair.

BL: This was about the best match that those two could put on, given their skills at this time. In case you can’t tell, that’s a backhanded comment. This was far from a great match. It was extremely slow and pathetic. Clearly, Hogan only deserved a short run, but I’m not sure Taker is the best choice to dethrone him either. Perhaps the most confusing element here is the Vince interference. Just last month, Vince named Hogan the #1 contender. Then he wasn’t involved at all in the build for this match. So why did he suddenly want Hogan to lose so bad? It was probably just a case of Vince wanting more TV time. * ½

Final Thoughts: There are a couple stand-out moments on this show. Namely the Hell in a Cell and Hair matches. However, there is just too much suckiness in this show to ignore. The last two matches, plus the handicap match are just insultingly bad. The WWF…errr, WWE was still in a feeling-out process of this brand split. Some things were clicking, but a lot was just out-right bombing. Despite some decent matches, I just can’t in my right mind recommend this show for your viewing pleasure.

Next time, the Scorpion King returns while the next big king is crowned.