Part 2 is here.
Let’s take this home.
With Flair at the point in leading Edge to relinquish his belt, Steamboat leaves it to him to decide with the Worldwide Titles.
Flair calls to the ring Benoit, Michaels, Angle, and Jericho.
There’s gonna be a mini-tournament. 2 matches at Summer Slam – winners meet for the vacant Worldwide Titles at Survivor Series in Detroit.
Benoit v. Jericho
Angle v. Michaels
Angle/Michaels is obvious, Flair says, we’ve all seen the Clique (Flair says that with some scorn, even though they are babyfaces) take on Team Angle for the past year. But during that time, a match we haven’t seen on PPV – in fact, a match we haven’t seen in a few years – is two time WWF Champion and Triple Crown Winner Shawn Michaels (clip of Michaels winning his first WWF Championship, along with the coveted Triple Crown, pinning Owen at Survivor Series ’94 in San Antonio) meeting two time WWF Champion Kurt Angle (clip of Angle winning his first WWF Title at XVII, pinning Benoit).
Angle and Michaels go face to face. At ringside are Benjamin and Regal, the surviving members of Team Angle. With the Clique tension, they are not present.
Flair notes that he actually wanted another Clique/Team Angle matchup at Summer Slam – that he wanted to see Paul London meet S Money – as he loves to see the young WWF wrestlers. But when he went to Kurt Angle – he was told in no uncertain terms that Shelton Benjamin not only would not be wrestling Paul London, he would not be wrestling at all on PPV for the foreseeable future.
Benjamin looks shocked at this – starts to bark at Angle.
Angle cuts him off – says it’s his fault that Charlie couldn’t cut it – and now that they killed Charlie – that means S Money is now the weak link in Team Angle. None of us have any belts, Kurt says, and that’s an intolerable situation. At Wrestlemania, while I was getting Christian to tap out – the rest of you – all of you who actually had title shots at Wrestlemania – were getting your asses handed to you.
That’s gotta stop.
So, you can wrestle on the road, you can wrestle on RAW – but on PPV, with the money on the line – until I say different…Shelton….you’re gonna be carrying my bags.
Benjamin bleats out, “Why would I do that?”
And Angle goes old school. “Because I’m Kurt Angle.”
They go nose to nose – Angle hands Benjamin his bag. Benjamin backs down.
That’s gonna lead to Regal’s leaving Team Angle – down the road, there’s a RAW where they are talking in the back, let’s say it happens after Summer Slam when this angle continues through Survivor Series. Regal tells Angle what he’s doing is wrong – I know you’re trying to teach the kid a lesson – but he’s a 3 time tag champ – he’s not your flunky – and you’re gonna lose him. Just like you lost Lesnar.
Which is the first Brock reference since he skipped. And it causes Angle to flip out.
Regal doesn’t know what the hell he’s talking about. Money’s an amateur wrestler, it’s in his marrow, he doesn’t respect people who don’t push him until he nears the breaking point. You’re right, Steve – I lost Lesnar, I was easy on the kid, he was so freaking ridiculously talented that I let him slide, and he slid all the way to obscurity. I’m not gonna lose Money – this guy’s gonna be my legacy, Steve – this guy’s gonna win the Triple Crown – he’s gonna be the guy to carry Team Angle colors into the next decade, when you and me have hung it up – and right now, right now is when he’s learning how to do that.
Angle’s got the veins in the neck popping, the nostrils flaring, he’s totally bugged out.
Regal says no hard feelings Kurt – if you ever need me, give me a ring – I won’t try to stop this – but it’s a bad idea, it’s gonna go south on you – and I can’t be here to watch.
So, after Summer Slam, with Charlie gone and Regal on his own, effectively, that ends Team Angle.
One wonders what becomes of the Clique after Summer Slam…
Back to the ring, Flair then says the other semifinal will feature the two remaining members of the (again with the grimace) Hart Foundation, 3 time IC Champ Chris Jericho (clip of Jericho’s first IC win in his PPV debut at Survivor Series ’99) and 2 time WWF Champion Chris Benoit (clip of Benoit’s first WWF Title, over Cactus at XVI).
Jericho, now without Trish, but still with the whiskey bottle, offers a drink to Benoit, who slaps it out of his hand. “You’re an embarrassment, Jericho. A damn embarrassment”
Jericho spits some whiskey at him – Benoit takes a shot, but Jericho tumbles out of the ring, grabbing the bottle (which is not empty) and notably trying to scrape its inside with his tongue as he stumbles up the aisle.
The story here is of course, Jericho’s arc. Recall, he, Benoit, and Storm were set up as the next generation of Harts, who one day all would come to the WWF and claim their place in the family legacy that built WWF PPV, Dynamite, Bret, Owen, Davey Boy all World Champions.
It was, of course, Jericho who held up the banner early, memorably telling Benoit he was turning his back on the family during Benoit’s long heel title run.
Then it was Jericho and Storm, winning the tag belts as the Hart Foundation, then losing them to a masked Benoit and Eddy, who then joined the Horsemen. Jericho and Storm broke apart in the Stacy triangle that led to Lance’s losing the Loser Leaves match and Jericho’s heel turn.
Now, Jericho’s in the fullest Jim Morrison debauchery. He lost the Worldwide belts to Edge at the Rumble, then lost to Michaels at XXI – he’s bloated, drunk, virtually falling down – the desperate sadness evidence in every molecule.
Benoit thinks it’s his fault.
Benoit, of course, is now a longtime babyface, having just come off his long second title run, losing the strap to Eddy at XXI. And while there have been no Harts for him to lead, we clearly see that he is the new patriarch – the standard bearer for the Hart name, for the entire nation of Canada in terms of its wrestling legacy. And while he can’t embrace Jericho, can’t help him, can’t do anything but express disgust at his current condition – we know that underneath Benoit’s warrior rage is the feeling that, as Owen was Bret’s responsibility, Jericho was Benoit’s, and he failed him somehow.
So, this being wrestling, naturally they have to fight.
Flair adds one more twist – he says since Steamboat is so hung up on the Mexicans, with a lucha libre match at the top of the card – why not use another lucha concept – parejas increibles – for the bottom of the card?
I like the idea of JR trying to work his way around that one.
So, Flair says, for the benefit of any of you who don’t speak Spanish – that means I’m going to put together an opening tag with men you wouldn’t normally see together.
Parejas Increibles.
At Summer Slam, in Washington DC – to begin the show – will be the Hart Foundation: Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho – against Shawn Michaels…and Kurt Angle.
Crowd pops as it will and we’re set.
So, a month from now when I write the thing, you’ll see Summer Slam ’05. Matt will make his return to the WWF after a year to meet Edge in the Unsanctioned Match the entire world is talking about. Eddy defends against Rey in the 2 of 3 falls Lucha match. Orton and Cena defend the tag belts against the NeoCons: Bradshaw and Dinsmore. In the Worldwide Tournament: Angle meets Michaels and Benoit meets Jericho. SpreeKiller Helms takes on Leviathan, now trained by AA. Hulk Hogan’s retirement match – he meets the Undertaker. And in the opener, the Hart Foundation meets Angle and Michaels.
Oh yeah...one more angle.
The very last thing on the very last RAW before the PPV is JR. He takes off the hat, says give or take a show or two, he's been the WWF play by play voice for the last 12 years. He took over the chair that first belonged to Gorilla Monsoon, may he rest in peace, and he hopes he's served it half as well. He wants to thank the men who have sat next to him, principally Jim Cornette, and in recent years, Paul Heyman and now Taz, but all things come to an end.
At Summer Slam, JR will be calling what might be his final WWF PPV. He may be around a little bit, maybe not, but he's giving up Gorilla's chair.
"So, hope you all turn in to see this Okie say goodbye."
It’s double loaded from DC. Summer Slam. You can't help yourself. Call. Your. Thing!
