[2000-07-31-WWF-Raw] D-Von & Bubba Ray Dudley vs Chris Benoit & Kurt Angle

[soup23]

I remember attending this show with my friend Cam and there was a lot of rumors in the crowd that WM17 was going to be in the Dome since it would be a year after the Super Bowl and WWF had established itself in the market again. That of course was all for naught but boy was I excited. Good tag match here as Benoit/Angle continue to gel really well as a team and the Dudley’s are game to mix it up with more athletically gifted opponents. Angle and Bubba do hilariously botch a back body drop at one point. Shane flies off the top rope with an elbow and Angle is able to get a nearfall off of that. Angle uses the referee as a shield to prevent damage but Benoit eats a 3D. D Von retreats a table when Big Show makes a run in and chokeslams Bubba. Benoit is then placed on Bubba for the pin. This didn’t make Benoit as a title contender just 8 days before look all that strong. Shane’s group still strong. **1/4

[GSR]

Jim Ross informs us that Chris Jericho is going to be out of action indefinitely as a result of that “heinous attack” by Chris Benoit. Before the bell has rung the action has already gotten underway with all four throwing punches at one another. As Tim White tries to get control of the situation by ushering Bubba out to the apron, that gives Angle and ‘the Crippler’ the chance to double team D-Von behind his back. D-Von reverses the Irish whip, nails Benoit with a flying elbow and the crowd are already chanting for tables. Double shoulder charge by the Dudley’s. Benoit fires back on Bubba and tags out to Kurt who runs straight into a powerslam. A big powerbomb followed by a diving headbutt as Lawler is still the lone voice leading the charge in shouting “wassup”. Shane McMahon with the distraction and Benoit is in there, nailing both Dudley’s and turning the match in his team’s favour. D-Von counters the belly to back, landing on ‘the Crippler’, but only gets a one count. The ‘Crippler crossface’ is broken up by Bubba, saving his partner, as they’re still protecting that hold. Inverted face first suplex by D-Von who’s then able to make the hot tag. Bubba with a DDT on Kurt and a full nelson into a modified atomic drop on Benoit. ‘Doomsday Device’, and now Benoit is doing the breaking up on the pinfall attempt. A horrible botch off a backdrop where it looks like Bubba was possibly trying to catch Kurt and hit a Samoan drop all on one motion, but who knows as it looked dreadful. Fortunately they’re not in some gym somewhere where the 100 folk in attendance would have been straight on them with a “you f*cked up!” chant! ‘Bubba cutter’ and as he makes the cover, Shane McMahon with an elbow off the top to the back of Bubba’s head. A great near fall as Shane puts Kurt on top only for Bubba to roll a shoulder at the last split second. Bubba reverses the whip to the corner and you can see what’s coming a mile off as White is way too close to the action. Running splash, Angle pulls White in front of him and he gets squashed between them. 3-D on ‘the Crippler’ after Bubba had blocked the third rolling German. D-Von goes to collect a table and Shane is signalling for some help from the back. He’s barely got the table out from under the ring when he’s jumped by the Big Show. Huge chokeslam on Bubba, Shane places Benoit on top of him and White comes back around to count the fall.

 

One atrocious botch and one predictable, not very convincing ref bump aside, this was a good little tag team encounter.