WWE SmackDown welcomed fans into 2001 with an action-packed show on January 4. The main event featured “Stone Cold” Steve Austin in a triple threat match against Kane and The Undertaker for a shot at the WWE Championship.
The blue brand continued to deliver great in-ring action and consistent storytelling throughout the rest of the year. Vince McMahon also brought some of the names from ECW and WCW to work on televised shows and pay-per-view events.
Let’s take a look at some of the best WWE SmackDown matches of 2001:
The Rock vs. Rob Van Dam (October 25)
The Hardcore Championship was arguably one of the most sought-after titles in WWE. The title pitted who’s who of the business inside the squared circle. From The Undertaker to The Rock, some of the biggest names in the industry competed for the strap at one point in time.
Speaking of The Rock, The Great One took on defending champion Rob Van Dam for the title at the October 23 WWE SmackDown taping. Both men went to great lengths to best each other for the championship.
RVD scored a surprise win over Rocky following Booker T’s interference.
Kurt Angle vs. Booker T (July 26)
Steve Austin turned his back on WWE by joining The Alliance at the Invasion pay-per-view. The Rattlesnake cost his fellow Team WWE member Kurt Angle the main event by attacking him, allowing Booker T to pick up the win.
Angle vowed to right the wrong by challenging the Bookerman for the WCW Championship at the July 24 SmackDown taping. Both match displayed their tremendous athleticism from bell-to-bell.
Austin once again intervened in the closing moments of the match. Angle, however, reversed Booker T’s momentum into the Ankle Lock to pick up a huge win in front of his hometown crowd in Pittsburgh, PA.
Chris Jericho & The Rock vs. Steve Austin & Kurt Angle (November 15)
The war between WWE and The Alliance had reached a fever pitch by the time this tag team match went down. All four men involved in this match-up had bigger stakes to take care of at Survivor Series 2001.
The star-studded tag team affair on WWE SmackDown is more famous for its chaotic ending than the match itself. The post-match angle gave fans one of the best endings to a WWE show and created huge excitement for the infamous PPV that was Survivor Series 2001.
Steve Austin vs. Chris Benoit (May 31)
Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho received a standing ovation in their home country of Canada when they arrived to kick off the show. The Rabid Wolverine was all bandaged from the torso due to the extreme physicality he had endured in the weeks leading up to the bout against Austin.
This was a wrestling match in every sense of the word. Austin brought his tenacity to the ring. The paranoid Rattlesnake stomped a mudhole on Benoit. The challenger retaliated with his ferocity, but a distraction from Vince McMahon forced him to lose the match.
TLC III (WWE SmackDown – May 24)
Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho barely had time to celebrate their tag team title win over the Two-Man Power Tripe on the May 21 episode of RAW. The champions got to work the very next night at the WWE SmackDown taping.
Their challengers were the three teams that had made careers out of the iconic Tables, Ladders, and Chairs matches. TLC III featured some great spots. Benoit, in particular, got himself banged up due to several high-risk spots.
The Rabid Wolverine delivered a diving headbutt from the top turnbuckle all the way through a table on the outside, but missed his target Matt Hardy. He and Jericho still went on to retain the titles after an excellent match.
Also read: Best WWE SmackDown Matches Of 2006
