Christian and Edge made some quick tags with Edge slapping on a chinlock on D-Von to keep him grounded, then D-Von broke free and Edge hit another neckbreaker. The heels worked over D-Von in their corner as Edge hit a neckbreaker and Bubba broke up the pin attempt. Christian back in with a side Russian legsweep on D-Von followed by some head slamming into the mat.
Christian with a forearm to the head that the referee didn’t see, D-Von was selling the head injury and Edge stomped away on D-Von to keep him down. D-Von back in, Edge tagged in and D-Von hit a body slam for two. Bubba with a sidewalk slam on Christian for two as Bubba grabbed his head to sell the concussion story. Bubba tagged in and launched Christian into the air for a slam. The Dudleys hit a double team shoulder tackle. Back in the ring, D-Von with a neckbreaker on Edge, then Christian tagged in and D-Von hit a jumping elbow attack. The Dudleys attack right at the bell, then E&C left and the Dudleys chased after them in the aisle. Edge and Christian won the titles one month earlier from The Rock and The Undertaker and this was the 5th title reign for E&C. Sorry to break that news to those of you that thought they were real brothers. Pre-match notes: Edge and Christian were the heel champions while the Dudleys were the face challengers. The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray and D-Von Dudley) WWF Tag Team Championships: Edge and Christian vs. The story was that the Dudleys may have had concussions. There were highlights shown from the previous Raw where E&C hit the Dudleys each with chairshots in backstage segments. Edge and Christian were the champions that walked down the aisle. The Dudley Boyz entered as the challengers for the WWF Tag Team Championships and they got a nice pop from the crowd. Paul Heyman took over his announcer spot for most of 2001. Lawler returned in late 2001 after his marriage with The Kat fell apart. The announcers for the show were Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler as usual for this era.Īnalysis: Lawler was out of the company a few months after this when his wife at the time, The Kat, was fired. There were lots of signs in the crowd and lots of fans at WWF New York as well. There was a big pyro display in the New Orleans Arena as Jim Ross announced 17,137 fans in attendance in the sold out arena. They featured Steve Austin, The Rock, The Undertaker and Kane more than the others. The opening video package hyped up the Royal Rumble match with the winner earning a shot for the WWF Title at WrestleMania.
New Orleans Arena in New Orleans, Louisiana I have added some updated 2021 thoughts in blue font because there’s always more to say. It’s probably the best back to back to back PPV run in WWE history. The trio of PPVs to start the year with this show, No Way Out and WrestleMania 17 are incredible. In my opinion, WrestleMania 17 is the best PPV ever. This show was used to set up WrestleMania 17 (read my review here). Could he complete the comeback with a Rumble win for the third time? Let’s go back to 2001 to find out. The big story going in was Steve Austin’s return after missing most of 2000 with a neck injury.