X-PAC VS. ROAD DOGG

Before the match we see Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley arriving earlier tonight on Heat, Jonathan Coachman meets her at the door and she asks where Triple H is. Coach doesn’t know but he says Kurt Angle just arrived and points Stephanie in the right direction. Then we cut to Angle walking into Stephanie’s locker room with Triple H not here. Cut again to the kiss on Smackdown 3 days previous. Michael Cole is backstage with Shane McMahon, Shane says he supports Stephanie no matter what and doesn’t get any further before Steve Blackman is shown following him, so Shane O’Mac bails.

Road Dogg enters the match first, JR says this used to be a friendly rivalry, we go back to the previous episode of Raw where X-Pac bumped Road Dogg from the apron through a table. Lawler makes the decent point that “friendly rivalry” is an oxymoron. Road Dogg has the mic and says at the end of the match we’ll know who the best man is. During X-Pac’s entrance we see Road Dogg walking out on X-Pac during a handicap match against Undertaker on the previous episode of Smackdown.

Jim Ross and Jerry “The King” Lawler are on commentary for this match. Howard Finkel is our ring announcer

X-PAC VS. ROAD DOGG

WWF Summerslam 2000 (27^th August 2000)

  They lock up, X-Pac gets a headlock, transitions into a hammerlock, and takes Road Dogg down to draw first blood.
  They lock up again, this time it’s Road Dogg that gets the headlock, X-Pac fights out but is knocked down with a shoulder tackle. The fans really don’t like X-Pac at this point as he leapfrogs Road Dogg but is kicked in the ass and goes through the ropes to the floor. X-Pac goes back to the headlock as he’s back in the ring, he gets sent off the ropes and they fight for a hip toss, Road Dogg catches X-Pac’s spinning kick and knocks him down with a clothesline. Road Dogg sends X-Pac into the corner but follows him and hits the turnbuckles. X-Pac connects with a combination of kicks but Road Dogg bails to the floor to avoid the bronco buster. X-Pac is back on him with right hands as Road Dogg makes it back to the ring but Road Dogg backs him across the ring with jabs.
  X-Pac jumps on Road Dogg’s back with a sleeper hold, it moves into a reverse chinlock as Road Dogg fades, but he fights out of it and hits the ropes, running into X-Pac’s spinning kick. X-Pac covers but only gets 2. X-Pac chokes Road Dogg with his boot calling for another Bronco Buster. This time he hits it and takes time to celebrate in the corner. Road Dogg gets back to his feet, connecting with right hands and his combination of jabs to knock X-Pac down. X-Pac is knocked into the middle rope, Road Dogg squashes him there and follows up with a knee drop for 2. X-Pac escapes the Pumphandle Slam but hesitates on the X-Factor and is sent to the mat like a terrible-looking Pop-Up Powerbomb by Kevin Owens.
  X-Pac mule kicks Road Dogg with a low blow and hits the X-Factor to win the match.

WINNER: X-PAC

This wasn’t a bad match, the counters and counters to counters worked to show how well they knew each other, but it wasn’t a particularly memorable match. The awkward powerbomb near the end didn’t help it either, but there wasn’t much for it to harm, at the least. [*½] 2.75/10

After the match, we see that X-Pac has at least one fan in the crowd, but the guy’s wearing an open Hawaiian shirt, so yeah… X-Pac grabs the microphone and tells Road Dogg they found out who the better man was and that they’re a great team. X-Pac extends his hand, Road Dogg uses it to get back to his feet and hits the Pumphandle Slam on X-Pac.