Review for WWE Tagged Classics: Rebellion 2000 & Insurrextion 2001

With Raw and Smackdown being frequently filmed in the UK it seems there has been no time in creating these 'only UK' PPVs and this is a shame as they are usually better than most normal PPVs. These two were made just before the WWE takeover of WCW and ECW and the whole awful 'Invasion' angle and it shows the WWE at the peak of their success. Looking back on these it brings a great feeling of nostalgia at just how wonderful WWE were.

Rebellion 2000

Three-Team Elimination Tables Match:
Dudley Boyz vs. T&A with Trish vs. Edge & Christian
A great match full of exciting moments and action. All three teams are perfectly matched and though I would have preferred that the Hardy Boyz be here instead of T&A the fact it allows us to see Trish Stratus is enough for me to forgive that.

Women's Championship Match:
Ivory vs. Lita
After months of watching AWFUL AWFUL Divas matches from WWE this is almost like a Five Star classic! Lita is wonderful in this match and even Ivory as part of Right to Censor was pitched as a perfect heel character.

Hardcore Championship Match:
Steve Blackman vs. Perry Saturn
Filler match. No real point and more shows why the Hardcore title became viewed as a joke. Still not a horrible match though.

European Championship Match:
William Regal vs. Crash (with Molly Holly)
A good match. Regal is probably one of my Top Ten Heels of all time and Crash was the perfect underdog. The inclusion of Molly Holly adds something extra too.

"The One" Billy Gun & Chyna vs. Eddie Guerrero & Dean Malenko
A good tag match, but a little forgettable. Worth watching to see Latino Heat in his prime though.

Chris Jericho vs. Kane
Great match by both. I was unsure about it, but Kane and Jericho work very well together and put on a match that could have easily been a main event.

Tag Team Championship Match:
The Hardy Boyz vs. Bull Buchanan & The Godfather with Val Venis
A good match... but not a great one. The Hardys usually work well with the big guys, but this one just didn't quite work.

Undertaker vs. Chris Benoit
I'm not sure. This match didn't really work for me. The styles of both men are too different and the mix of Taker's basic hard hitting style and Benoit's thoughtful technical approach just didn't do it for me. Still enjoyable though.

Fatal Four-Way WWE Championship Match:
Kurt Angle vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. The Rock vs. Rikishi
WOW! Just WOW! The Rock and Austin in their prime. Kurt Angle still on the rise and Rikishi when he actually meant something. This was a great match. I'm not sure about the ending as it didn't have the satisfaction that it should have. However, Austin made it so that the actual match was secondary and the final five minutes was just perfect!

Insurrextion 2001

Eddie Guerrero vs. Grandmaster Sexay
Not as bad as I expected, but certainly not a great match.

Six Person Intergender Tag Team Match:
Hardcore Holly, Crash & Molly Holly vs. Dean Malenko, Perry Saturn & Terri
I still can't decide whether this was good or not. Fun? Yes. Oddly booked Hell Yeah!!!

Big Show vs. Bradshaw (with Test)
Waste of time. No seriously. I don't even know why they bothered.

Four Team Elimination Tag Team Match:
Dudley Boyz vs. Hardy Boyz vs. X-Factor vs. Edge & Christian
A great tag match. Felt the belts should have been on the line to make it mean more though and maybe lose X-Factor, but otherwise a great example of tag team wrestling.

Two-Out-of-Three Falls Match:
Chris Benoit vs. Kurt Angle
Amazing match and certainly one of the best technical matches I have ever seen. When people talk about how good Daniel Bryan is until he can find a Benoit or Angle to wrestle against (only CM Punk comes to mind) he will be nothing compared to these two in their prime.

First-Ever Queen's Cup Match:
Chris Jericho vs. Commissioner William Regal
A fun match. Both are great in the ring and always good to see Regal in the Commissioner role.

WWE Championship Handicap Match:
Undertaker vs. Triple H & Stone Cold Steve Austin
Not as a good as it should have been and maybe should have been a triple threat match instead to give it more of an even dynamic. A great showing from all three, but what is confusing is that it is billed as a Championship match in which Taker can only win the belt if he pinned Austin... so why would he pin Triple H? Just bizarre! Always good to see Stephanie though.

Also included is a great Right to Censor section which included Trish Stratus, Lita, Jackie and Ivory. I won't spoil it, but all looking really good.

Both of these PPVs are great and for those of you who go to a WWE house show this is the sort of thing you will expect. I think I enjoyed both of these more than any WWE PPV for as long time. One thing that does bug me is a little thing and it makes me just despair at the WWE sometimes. The Insurrextion blurb describes each match and then says 'Kurt Angle competes in a hard hitting two out of three falls match.' Against? Hell, I didn't have to guess. I knew that it would be Chris Benoit and I understand that WWE never wants to acknowledge him when it comes to 'Best ofs' or 'History' DVDs, but it's not like he's fighting himself? Again, I understand why WWE does it to some extent, but sometimes I wonder what harm mentioning Chris Benoit's name will do?

WWE Tagged Classics: Rebellion 2000 and Insurrextion 2001 is a great set for people who loved the Stone Cold/Rock era. Though they were in better matches during the 1998-2000 attitude era, this was definitely two PPVs that you should check out.