[2000-12-02-MPPW-TV] Lance Cade vs Tracy Smothers (Texas Death Street Fight)

[GSR]

Lance Cade is out and wants a word with Dave. Earlier in the show Tracey Smothers jumped him from behind as he’s fed up with it. Although he respects Tracey for how long he’s been in this business, he needs to realise that he’s not a kid anymore, and Shawn Michaels taught him that if you’ve something to settle you do it right there in the ring, man to man, face to face. He challenges him to a Texas Street Fight right now and before Dave has even gotten back to his seat, Tracey is out and swinging as the two trade blows at ringside. Smothers rams him head first into the ring steps and looks to clothesline him, but Lance moves and he clotheslines the ring post instead. Tracey rolls into the ring and Cade catches him with a lariat off the top. The two continue to go at it as Jason Sensation joins Dave and Corey to provide some additional commentary. Texas Street Fight means that this is no DQ, so Fabulous Rocker (who I didn’t see arrive) is free to interfere and interfere he does, hitting an Arabian moonsault on Cade for a two count. This is turning into a handicap match as Rocker now lands a ‘Swanton bomb’, although the action isn’t called as Sensation is doing his Shawn Michaels impersonation (which is good to be fair!). Tracey tosses Lance to the outside, however appears to forget it’s no DQ as he distracts the ref so Rocker can cannonball off the apron and out onto him. Smothers makes the cover on the arena floor though Lance kicks out. Chair shot across the back before he throws Cade back into the ring. ‘Three point stance’ but Tracey runs right into an elbow. Bulldog off the middle and the Fabulous Rocker is in to break up the pin attempt. He starts celebrating like he’s won the match or something, and Lance clotheslines him over the top rope and to the outside. Cade fails to execute a simple ‘O’Connor roll’, however smartly moves his own position to turn it into a regulation roll up so it doesn’t look nearly as bad as it might have. Rocker waffles Cade with a road sign but he kicks out of the pin. Smothers superkicks a chair into his face and that’s still not enough to put his opponent away. The finish sees Tracey go to blast Lance once more with the chair, but Cade avoids the shot and it rebounds off the top rope and into Smothers’ own face. As he staggers around, Cade with a big boot into that chair, again sending it crashing into Tracey’s head, and he comes out on top.

 

I thought I would like this a lot, I wanted to like it a lot, but it never quite reached those expectations I had set myself. Lance Cade overcoming the two-on-one odds and getting the clean win in a stipulated match like this should mean this was the blow off to the feud, but I can’t help think it would have been better had it just been Smothers and Cade going one on one without any involvement from Rocker. The brawling was good and I liked how Cade showed the maturity to cover for that blown roll up, though the finish was bad with Smothers stopping, before hitting himself in the head with the chair. Jason Sensation also provided a distraction from the action, not allowing Dave and Corey to call what was going on as they had to keep quiet to let him do his HBK impressions.

[soup23]

Cade does an interview saying that he isn’t a kid anymore and challenges Tracy to a fight. You don’t have to tell Tracy twice and the fight is on. Jason Sensation does a good HBK on commentary. Rocker interferes on Tracy’s behalf inside the ring. Cade shows some fire at points but is still sloppy in other points botching a roll up. Slingshot chair shot looks as ridiculous here as it does anywhere else but Tracy’s personality does sort of fit that shit. Big kick by Cade and he picks up the big win. **1/4