• Home
  • Movies
  • Music
  • TV
  • Video Games
  • Wrestling
  • Topics
  • Latest Comments
Search
Cult of Whatever logo
  • Movies
    Featured
    • The Living Daylights: Timothy Dalton as James Bond

      The Living Daylights is still awesome, thirty-five years later

      By Matthew Martin
      | March 28, 2022
      Movie Blogs
    Recent
    • Elvis: Austin Butler

      REVIEW: ELVIS beautifully mythologizes the King of Rock and Roll

      By Matthew Martin
      | June 25, 2022
    • The Black Phone: Ethan Hawke as The Grabber

      REVIEW: THE BLACK PHONE is a flat, dull, rushed non-horror movie

      By Matthew Martin
      | June 25, 2022
    • Jurassic World Dominion Logo

      REVIEW: Jurassic World Dominion – Here we go again…again

      By Matthew Martin
      | June 12, 2022
    • Three Men and a Baby: Tom Selleck and Ted Danson

      Three Men and a Baby is still awesome thirty five years later

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 31, 2022
    • The Bob's Burgers Movie Poster

      REVIEW: Bob’s Burgers The Movie is Bob’s Burgers The Show, which means it’s great

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 28, 2022
    • Top Gun Maverick: Tom Cruise

      REVIEW: Top Gun Maverick is a sequel that soars!

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 27, 2022
  • Music
    Random
    • Over Rhine Snow Angels Album Cover

      YOUR official Christmas 2019 LISTENING Guide

      By Matthew Martin
      | December 17, 2019
      Music Blogs
    Recent
    • The Beatles: Get Back

      What GET BACK reveals about the Beatles

      By Matthew Martin
      | December 15, 2021
    • Simon And Garfunkel at Feyenoord Stadium in Rotterdam1982

      The Boxer is a song about being conned

      By Matthew Martin
      | July 4, 2021
    • Lady Gaga: Chromatica Album Cover

      Lady Gaga’s discography is totally out of order

      By Matthew Martin
      | June 3, 2021
    • Michael Jackson Thriller Album Cover

      Thirty years ago music fans said “Nevermind” to Michael Jackson

      By Matthew Martin
      | March 21, 2021
    • Queen II Album Cover

      On Queen’s The Miracle, and the importance of track ordering

      By Matthew Martin
      | February 16, 2021
    • Linda Paul Mccartney 1976

      50 years ago, McCartney dropped “Lennon” and went solo…

      By Matthew Martin
      | June 5, 2020
  • TV
    Featured
    • Nancy Drew S03e01: Kennedy McMann as Nancy

      Nancy Drew S03E01 Review: The Warning of the Frozen Heart - Uh-oh!

      By Salome G
      | October 10, 2021
      TV Blogs
    Recent
    • Riverdale S06e18: Camila Mendes as Veronica Lodge

      Riverdale S06E18 Review: Biblical – Spooky chaos!

      By Salome G
      | June 29, 2022
    • Roswell, New Mexico S04e04: Heather Hemmens and Sherri Saum as Maria and Mimi DeLuca

      Roswell, New Mexico S04E04 Review: Dear Mama – Emotional?

      By Salome G
      | June 29, 2022
    • Evil S03e03: Katja Herbers and Aasif Mandvi as Kristen Bouchard and Ben Shakir

      Evil S03E03 Review: The Demon of Sex – Contrived?

      By Salome G
      | June 29, 2022
    • Dark Winds S01e03: kinaaldá Ceremony

      Dark Winds S01E03 Review: K’e – Swoon!

      By Salome G
      | June 29, 2022
    • Roswell, New Mexico S04e03: Sibongile Mlambo, Lily Cowles and Michael Trevino as Anatsa, Isobel and Kyle

      Roswell, New Mexico S04E03 Review: Subterranean Homesick Alien – Treading water?

      By Salome G
      | June 23, 2022
    • Obi-Wan Kenobi Series: Ewan McGregor and Vivien Lyra Blair as Obi-Wan and Leia

      REVIEW: Obi-Wan Kenobi had a good season and little else

      By Matthew Martin
      | June 22, 2022
  • Video Games
    Featured
    • Arkham Knight

      Batman: Arkham Knight - A fitting end to a trilogy

      By Tom Farr
      | July 18, 2015
      Video Game Reviews
    Recent
    • Legend Of Zelda

      Can a Legend of Zelda movie work?

      By Matthew Martin
      | April 6, 2022
    • Super Mario 64

      Which system had the better launch: A battle of four Nintendo consoles

      By Matthew Martin
      | December 1, 2021
    • Luigi's Mansion

      Happy twentieth to Nintendo’s underrated gem, the Gamecube

      By Matthew Martin
      | November 18, 2021
    • Metroid Dread

      Metroid Dread – Post Game analysis and sequel needs

      By Matthew Martin
      | October 29, 2021
    • Mario Headphones

      The SNES Turns 30: A look at some of the system’s best soundtracks

      By Matthew Martin
      | October 22, 2021
    • Metroid Dread Poster

      REVIEW: Metroid Dread reawakens the old gamer in me

      By Matthew Martin
      | October 11, 2021
  • Wrestling
    Featured
    • Wwe Payback 2017 Poster 2

      Your SO OF COURSE preview of WWE Payback 2017

      By Matthew Martin
      | April 30, 2017
      WWE Blogs
    Recent
    • AEW Double or Nothing 2022: CM Punk vs Adam Page

      REVIEW: AEW Double or Nothing 2022 delivered an up-and-down show

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 30, 2022
    • MJF on AEW Dynamite 17th November 2021

      Getting AEW to the next level…

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 29, 2022
    • Raw 210501: Triple H and Stephanie McMahon

      May 21, 2001 – A (forgotten) date that will live in WWE infamy

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 20, 2022
    • WWE WrestleMania 39 Logo

      Your WAY TOO EARLY predictions for WWE WrestleMania 39!

      By Matthew Martin
      | April 20, 2022
    • WWE WrestleMania 38 Poster

      Your SO OF COURSE preview of WWE WRESTLEMANIA 38!

      By Matthew Martin
      | March 30, 2022
    • Wrestlemania 31 Paige Aj Lee 2

      BOOK REVIEW: The Women of WrestleMania is a balanced take on an under-valued slice of history

      By Matthew Martin
      | March 16, 2022
  • Topics
    • site logo
    Latest
    • Riverdale S06E18 Review: Biblical - Spooky chaos!
    • Roswell, New Mexico S04E04 Review: Dear Mama - Emotional?
    • Evil S03E03 Review: The Demon of Sex - Contrived?
    • Dark Winds S01E03 Review: K'e - Swoon!
    • REVIEW: ELVIS beautifully mythologizes the King of Rock and Roll
    • REVIEW: THE BLACK PHONE is a flat, dull, rushed non-horror movie
    • Latest Comments

    May 21, 2001 – A (forgotten) date that will live in WWE infamy

    By Matthew Martin
    | May 20, 2022
    WWE Blogs

    History is filled with important dates and milestone moments on the calendar. Wrestling history is no exception. Twenty years ago, this past May, featured a date with not just one important historical occurrence, but multiple. The date was Monday, May 21, 2001, and it was arguably the most WWF-altering day that no one really talks about.

    The site was the Compaq Center in San Jose California. The show was Monday Night Raw, a two-hour broadcast with JR and Paul Heyman on commentary. We are seven weeks removed from WrestleMania X-Seven, the biggest show in company history. The Rock is gone. Steve Austin is a heel. The competition—World Championship Wrestling—has been acquired by Vince McMahon, and tentative plans are underway to relaunch the company as a new “brand.” If things continue as they are, the next several months will feature a bevy of new superstars rising to the main-event level as challengers to Steve Austin’s title reign, and Triple H will slowly undergo a face-turn that will culminate in a Royal Rumble win and a challenge to Austin at WrestleMania X8.

    The roadmap is there for this to be an epic 2001 for the company and then, on May 21st, everything got tossed into a blender.

    It all began that morning, as the talent started arriving at the Compaq Center for the night’s USA Broadcast. Chyna, then the public girlfriend of Triple H, confronted her supposed-lover about a secret affair he was having with Stephanie McMahon. The story concerning the breakup of Triple H/Chyna has been inconsistently told over the years, and there are a variety of reasons for that; it’s a sensitive issue considering it involves the heir-apparents to the WWE empire, not to mention the circumstances involving Chyna’s later years and ultimate death. One version of events, which we will call the Official WWE Narrative, is that Triple H and Chyna broke up in May, and then, after he went down with an injury, he and Stephanie started hitting it off during his rehab, leading to a relationship that led to marriage. However, years later, Triple H would say in an interview with Howard Stern, that he and Chyna broke up after she discovered the affair. She then confronted them at a TV taping and was ordered to leave after the argument evidentially became disruptive. After that, Chyna never returned and Triple H did not see her again until many years later. The last time Chyna was seen on WWF programming was the Judgment Day 2001 PPV, which occurred the night previous. If they broke up “at a TV taping” then that would be the next night on Raw, May 21st.

    The loss of Chyna was the loss of an icon of Attitude Era women’s wrestling. Chyna was the first female performer to compete in a Royal Rumble, the first female to compete in the King of the Ring Tournament, and the first to win a title in WWF that wasn’t the “Women’s” Championship. She was the biggest and most accomplished female star in wrestling history until the present era, and had just started working women’s matches when she was sent home. Had she continued in the WWF, there’s no telling the quality of women’s matches she could have had with feuds against the likes of Trish Stratus and Lita. After she left, “divas matches” lost a lot of luster, and it would be fifteen years before they were given the kind of respect and equality with men’s matches that a superstar like Chyna had first trailblazed for them.

    Raw 140501: Lita and Chyna

    Only hours after Chyna was sent home did Monday Night Raw hit the air, the main-event of which was one of the most highly regarded matches in Raw history, at least among the fans. At the time, Steve Austin was the WWF Champion, and Triple H was his running buddy. Together they were a faction dubbed “the two-man power trip” and had won the WWF Tag Team Championship. They teamed up for the main-event of this Raw, with their Tag Titles on the line, against Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho. The nearly-fifteen minute match that followed, according to the record books, saw Chris and Chris become new tag champs.

    Raw 210501: Triple H and Stephanie McMahon

    As it turned out, there was so much more to this match than just what the record books show. Near the end of the classic contest, Triple H tore his quad. Despite the injury, he insisted on continuing the match, leading to the now-infamous spot where he told Jericho to put him in the Walls of Jericho (a move that specifically stretches the very muscle that he had just torn clean off the bone).

    Raw 210501: Chris Jericho with Triple H in the Walls of Jericho

    Of course, despite how excellently it was worked, this match is barely mentioned in WWE history, apart from vague descriptions of Triple H’s heroism to compete amidst injury. It was arguably the hottest TV match of the year, in front of one of the hottest crowds the WWF had hosted in months, and featured a title change that was meant to signal who the future babyfaces of the company were. Instead, because of Chris Benoit’s murder-suicide, the match has been all but stripped from existence.

    Raw 210501: Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho

    As a result of the Triple H injury, a number of plans were scrapped, altered, or completely reworked. As said, the Rock was gone, Austin was a heel, and now Triple H was on the injury shelf. The list of established main-event players was thin, and Undertaker and Kane had just proven themselves incapable of carrying the main-event scene to any financially beneficial degree (buyrates for the post-Mania PPVs, which featured the Brothers of Destruction, were not stellar).

    Lacking confidence in Benoit and Jericho’s ability to jump straight to the main-event, and needing something to keep the product exciting to viewers, Vince McMahon decided to bring the recently-acquired WCW talent to Raw. Originally, the plan had been to relaunch WCW by rebranding Monday Night Raw into Monday Nitro. The first test for this came on the July 2nd Monday Night Raw, which saw the whole look and presentation change to a WCW brand, and featured the now-infamous main-event match between WCW World Heavyweight Champion Booker T and Buff Bagwell. To say the match was poorly received would be an understatement and it led to Vince shifting to the “InVasion” storyline, bringing in the rest of the WCW roster, as well as the ECW roster, turning them all heel and pitting them against the WWF. While the initial InVasion PPV did strong numbers, the booking that followed led to the whole angle being infamously mishandled, leading to sharply declining business.

    Raw 020701: Buff Bagwell vs. Booker T

    It took years before John Cena stopped the ship from sinking, but the WWE has never been as big as it was in 2001, and while many will point to the Austin heel turn as the iceberg that struck the titanic, it might well have been one forgotten Raw on May 21st, that really marked the beginning of the end for the second wrestling boom.

    Raw 210501: Triple H and Stephanie McMahon

    Share this article:

    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit

    Tags

    Attitude EraTriple-HWWE

    You might also like

    • 5 Great WWE Matches That Never Happened

      By Ben Spindler
      | May 22, 2013
    • DVD Review: WWE Monday Night War Vol.1 – Shots Fired

      By Henry Higgins
      | August 12, 2015
    • How pro-wrestling got attitude

      By John Hancock
      | October 26, 2012
    • Mandy’s WWF UK Tour Scrapbook

      By Tony Cottam
      | April 6, 2014

    FIND THE TOPICS YOU WANT...

    Wrestling Topics

    Recommended for you

    • REVIEW: AEW Double or Nothing 2022 delivered an up-and-down show

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 30, 2022
    • Getting AEW to the next level…

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 29, 2022
    • May 21, 2001 – A (forgotten) date that will live in WWE infamy

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 20, 2022
    • Your WAY TOO EARLY predictions for WWE WrestleMania 39!

      By Matthew Martin
      | April 20, 2022
    • Money in the Bank and making a main-eventer

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 31, 2017
    • What we want from an AEW video game

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 31, 2021
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Affiliate Disclosure
    • Cookie Policy and Settings
    • Terms of Use
    • Photo Credits
    • RSS
    All Cult of Whatever articles, logos, illustrations and graphics are copyright CultOfWhatever.com. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. © 2021 CultOfWhatever. All Rights Reserved.
    • facebook
    • twitter