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[2000-06-29-WWF-Smackdown] Kurt Angle vs Hardcore Holly


soup23

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Wow, this was a really good match. Holly takes the fight to Angle and this showed Angle in a different environment really having to overcome a bruiser. This also felt like it went longer than the typical Angle tv match. Eventually, resourcefulness is Angle’s out as he hits a low blow and then the Angle Slam for the win. Angle is growing as a worker here as he is advancing up the card and Holly has went from someone that didn’t look like he really belonged in the IC picture in January to a very serviceable gatekeeper character. ***1/4 (6.7)

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  • 8 months later...

Angle is in the dressing room with Kaientai and informs them that he’s no longer Kurt Angle, and would like for them to call him ‘King’ Kurt (“it’s your version of an emperor or warlord or head ninja”) ‘Hardcore’ Holly wanders in and wonders what the hell he’s talking about, telling him that they’re Japanese not stupid! Kurt’s in full on comedic role here, questioning what Holly is doing here as he didn’t summon him! He decides not to stick around, but in leaving kicks Angle’s crown setting up a match between them for later in the show.

 

‘King Kurt’ says how he doesn’t choose to make fun of Hardcore Holly because he dyes his hair, or what’s left of it. He doesn’t make fun of him because he couldn’t afford to go to the orthodontist when he was a kid and now has those protruding teeth, yet he chooses to mock him by kicking his royal crown and costing him thousands of dollars in damages! To him, he is no different than everyone here tonight; jealous, foul smelling peasants! Big pop for Holly tonight. ‘Hardcore’ opens aggressive, avoiding the Angle clothesline and going to town with a series of punches and an elbow smash. He then ties Kurt up in the ropes and peppers him with more shots before he falls through them and to the arena floor. There’s no let up as Holly continues his attack on the outside until Kurt is able to reverse the whip to the ring post, sending ‘Hardcore’ crashing into it. Overhead belly to belly for a two count. It looks like one of Holly’s shots connected as Angle is bleeding from the mouth. ‘Hardcore’ fights his way out of the rear chinlock and gets a two of his own after a running crossbody. A quick fire knee to the gut stop him in his tracks and Angle is back in control. Not for long though as he’s too slow when climbing the turnbuckles and Holly slams him to the mat. Belly to back suplex. The picture perfect Holly dropkick which Michael Cole calls “the most devastating dropkick in the business”! He gets a near fall off a ‘Jackhammer’ and Jerry Lawler makes reference to Cole using that name for the move, almost like he shouldn’t because it automatically reminds people of a certain wrestler in the opposition company. Angle counters the huracanrana with a powerbomb and lands the moonsault. This is the spot that breaks Holly’s forearm and you can see him wincing and grabbing at the arm the moment Kurt’s shins hit it. Dude’s tough as nails though; he kicks out of the pin and is continuing the match even though he’s clearly favouring that arm. He battles on, but eventually succumbs to the ‘Olympic slam’ after a low blow.

 

Still not that blow away great Holly match, but another really strong outing from him and again proving that he can hang at this level when given the chance, something that really shouldn’t even be questioned now after the past couple of months. The reaction from the crowd also seems to indicate that they now see him at this upper mid-card level, it’s just unfortunate that the injury came when it did, derailing all this momentum he had. He deserves tons of credit for continuing the match though after Angle broke his arm on the moonsault when he could easily have just stayed down on the pin.

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  • GSR changed the title to [2000-06-29-WWF-Smackdown] Kurt Angle vs Hardcore Holly

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