[2000-02-14-WWF-Raw] HHH & Big Show vs Kane (Handicap)

[soup23]

Kane is back with Uncle Paul and is in a handicap match. HHH makes his entrance and then X-Pac. Ross is giddy at the thought of Kane getting his hands of X-Pac. Tori has a neck brace selling the damage from SmackDown. HHH pulls a switheroo and Big Show is now HHH’s partner vs. Kane. Kane grabs HHH during his water spit, why doesn’t that happen more often? Show and HHH work well as a team. It is weird watching this in 2017 and knowing how many hours I have spent watching HHH, Show and Kane and that 2 out of the 3 of them will have a high profile match at WrestleMania THIS year. Still, they both were doing well here and Kane was the weak link honestly and not being the best at garnering sympathy. He also hits a butt ugly big boot that misses by a country mile. Once Kane makes a bit of a comeback, HHH and show utilize the no DQ stip and just start double teaming Kane. Rock’s music fires up to a huge pop and he runs right into a chokeslam. Funny moment from HHH laughing at that. X-Pac jumps in too and now it is a 3 on 1 beatdown. Cactus Jack runs down the ramp and runs through Tori. Cactus and HHH have a wonderful punch sequence on the outside. Rock is able to hit Show with a chair and Kane pins him with a chokeslam. Raw keeps on cranking out quality stuff. **1/2

[Loss]

I don't know what to think of this as a match, but as an angle, it was highly effective. Kane had to beat HHH and Big Show to get X-Pac in a match at No Way Out and the deck was stacked against him in a big way. Rock tried to make the save and was chokeslammed immediately (rough night for him) and Cactus Jack came out to an enormous pop and cleared the ring. He and HHH really went at it. Great stuff. Anyway, Rock rebounded and hit Show with a chair, which allowed Kane to chokeslam and pin him. Huge heat for all of this as the babyfaces triumphantly clear the ring. The WWF seems to have a lot of top talent now between everyone involved in this, Rikishi and the incoming Benoit and they are doing a great job not making anything seem less important than anything else.

[GSR]

This was scheduled as a ‘no-DQ handicap match’ and everyone was kept in the dark over who Triple H’s partner would be. Kane is out first and in the ring when HHH makes his entrance. No partner and he’s all alone except for Stephanie. X-Pac’s music plays and here he comes (accompanied by a neckbrace wearing Tori), with Jim Ross quite excited thinking Kane will handle him with ease. It’s all a ploy though, as they get halfway down the runway, stop and the Big Show’s music starts. Kane tries to get the jump on his opponents, tossing HHH into the ring whilst he’s doing his water blowing entrance. He’s able to keep Big Show and X-Pac out of there to begin with, however a chokeslam attempt is cut off by a Big Show double axe handle. Show’s punches are looking bad and pulled here. He telegraphs a backdrop and Kane with a big right. It’s not long before Show’s back in charge after reversing an Irish whip and landing a chokebomb. A high knee and an elbow drop by HHH for a two. DDT for another close count. Kane starts to fire back and takes Triple H’s head off with a clothesline. Big boot to ‘The Game’ and Big Show is in but Kane floors him with a flying clothesline. As he signals for the tombstone (on Show!), HHH with a low blow. Show with a side slam and X-Pac hands Triple H a steel chair. He goes for a ‘pedigree’ on the chair when here comes The Rock, sprinting to the ring only to be immediately met with a chokeslam from the Big Show. Kane counters the pedigree with a backdrop and now X-Pac is in there helping out his buddies. Cactus Jack’s music plays and he’s the next man out. It’s the fastest I’ve seen Cactus run for quite a while, and he goes straight for Triple H, not wanting to wait for No Way Out. Show sets Kane up for a powerbomb, Rock’s back to his feet and cracks him in the back with a chair. One chokeslam later and Kane is victorious. Cactus uses a wrench to clear the ring and as a result of getting the win, Kane now gets a match against X-Pac at No Way Out.

 

This didn’t do much for me and I found it quite dull up until The Rock and Cactus Jack’s involvement (although the opening swerve with Show being revealed as the parner was smartly done). One thing that I don’t understand is why, in a no-DQ match, are Triple H and the Big Show behaving as though it’s a regulation tag match? Make the most of your advantage! Why is one of them waiting on the apron to be tagged in to the match? If the match it no-DQ you wrestle it that way. I know the stipulation was required for the finish with Rock and Cactus’ interference, but I find it infuriating having a stipulation like that and then the participants not ‘using’ it. As a bit of comic relief, Cactus’ charge and shoulderblock on Tori when he was jogging to the ring was pretty funny.