KING OF THE RING QUALIFYING MATCHES (2001):
* Hey, I finally remembered to do another set of these! Except I’d done a bunch before realizing that it was KOTR *2000* that was next on my list, and so I’ve had to wait a month or two before posting any of these, but oh well! We were still in the “RAW matches are 2 minutes long” era, but most KOTR matches were like that anyhow, so let’s see what the company was like in the early “InVasion” era.
The tournament itself isn’t that notable, but served its purpose well- “Elevate Another Midcarder”. There’s some high-end names in here (Angle, Kane, Big Show), but it’s mostly midcard guys fighting over everything, with a lot of young acts mayyyyyyyyyyyybe on the precipice of stardom, if they’re handled right: Matt & Jeff Hardy, Edge & Christian, Test & Rhyno, plus the newly-debuted ECW alumnus, Tajiri. JTTS guys include Steve Blackman, Perry Saturn, Crash Holly, Tazz & Raven, some of whom are at least kept a LITTLE strong.
MATT HARDY (w/ Lita) vs. JEFF HARDY (w/ Lita):
(RAW, June 4th)
* Oh, magnificent. Throw both Hardy Boyz against each other in the Qualfying round to draw some interest and drama- apparently Commissioner William Regal has set up the brackets this way. Matt’s in a black shirt & Jeff’s in white, both in the same baggy “Hardy pants”, while Lita’s still in the “thong visible outside the jeans” era. Matt is the European Champion at this point.
