This review was commissioned by Nicholas Anderson over on my Ko-fi account.
Perhaps the most famous of the TakerArts matches.
This has something of a reputation as an unheralded classic from the mid-2000s WWE. Enough of a reputation even, that it probably has already surpassed the status of “unheralded” and is more of a favorite among a certain circle of fans. Speaking anecdotally, this is one of the first pay-per-view main events I kept up with in real time. I vividly recall either procrastinating some homework or doing it early just to make sure that I caught the broadcast of this on TV. I enjoyed the hell out of it as a kid, full on screaming at the screen for Taker not to give in.
All these years later, and it still kind of rules. Perhaps not to the degree that many claim it does, but I find it remarkably charming nonetheless.
For one, The Undertaker’s performance is fascinating in this. As I’ve written before, I have a soft spot for The Undertaker’s work, but it’s matches like this that really demonstrate the quality he could bring to a WWE main event. Especially in this mid-2000s period, he’s a lot sprier and agile than he’s typically given credit for. He genuinely charges in on Angle early, and even with his size, he moves fairly quickly and imposingly throughout the entire bout. In this bout too, there’s a real implicit story of Taker wanting to prove himself as a wrestler on the caliber of Angle. What that means is we get a lot of him incorporating more chain wrestling early on (even an attempt at some arm work) while leaning on MMA-adjacent counters in the finishing stretches.
While this may be interpreted as stolen valor by some, I find it hilarious in the best way possible. Like Taker’s actually sticking to some real fundamental ideas here early on. He’s the one grabbing a limb and trying to control his opponent in that way, meanwhile Angle makes his first big transition by doing a German suplex. Shock of shocks, Angle needs his big signatures to believably turn the tides in the match.
I’m not going to dunk on Angle too much though, because he does have room to shine here. The best way to enjoy him is to simply accept that the reality of his Olympic gold medal has no real bearing on his ring work. He is a technical shooter in the truest sense: he is technically a shooter. Between these ropes though, he’s really just a big bombs guy that slots nicely into the WWE main event template of the 2000s. Here at least, that skill is both maximized and given a little more texture too.
Angle’s best contribution to the bout is an early leg work segment that works to both hobble Taker and set up his multiple ankle locks in the final moments. It’s good stuff, pretty much note for note the same as his similar attack at this very pay-per-view on John Cena the year prior. Taker’s no Cena but his big man selling of the leg is pretty strong as well. It’s present basically the whole way through after the attack, and that man’s limping on the bad leg for most of this. Angle’s also at least smart enough to build most of the match’s key counters around that weakness, always finding a way to roll into the ankle lock, including a few cool counters like catching the apron leg drop or picking the leg while in Tombstone position.
Taker focuses a lot on trying to get that Triangle Choke and early Hell’s Gate appearances over in the last stretch. It is again, hilarious, but not entirely unwelcome. It’s a fun enough big hold to slip into the arsenal, and while it doesn’t really flow as well as I’d like, it does make for a neat little finish that works well for the match. That’s the story of most what we get here, it’s still just your big WWE main event primarily built around finisher evasion and counters, but Taker doing all these weird little things like the arm work and the grappling on the mat just makes it a little bit more interesting.
A charmer for me, great but flawed.
Rating: ****
