| Unforgiven | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Promotional poster featuringStone Cold Steve Austin | |||
| Promotion | World Wrestling Federation | ||
| Date | September 23, 2001 | ||
| City | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | ||
| Venue | Mellon Arena | ||
| Attendance | 13,855 | ||
| Buy rate | 350,000[1] | ||
| Tagline | The Greatest of Battles are Fought from Within.[2] | ||
| Pay-per-view chronology | |||
| |||
| Unforgiven chronology | |||
| |||
The 2001Unforgiven was the fourth annualUnforgivenprofessional wrestlingpay-per-view (PPV)event produced by theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It took place on September 23, 2001, at theMellon Arena inPittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was the final Unforgiven event held under the WWF name as the promotion was renamed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in May 2002. It was also the last Unforgiven held before the introduction of thebrand extension in March 2002.
Themain event was astandard wrestling match for theWWF Championship.AlliancerepresentativeStone Cold Steve Austin defended the title against WWF representativeKurt Angle. Angle defeated Austin to win the title by forcing him tosubmit to theAnkle Lock. Other prominent matches wereThe Rock versusBooker T, andShane McMahon in aHandicap match for theWCW Championship, andRob Van Dam versusChris Jericho for theWWF Hardcore Championship.
Theundercard featuredTajiri versusRhyno for theWCW United States Championship,Brothers of Destruction (The Undertaker andKane) versusKroniK (Brian Adams andBryan Clark) for theWCW Tag Team Championship,Edge versusChristian for theWWF Intercontinental Championship, andPerry Saturn versusRaven. The night kicked off withDudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley andD-Von Dudley) versusBig Show, andSpike Dudley,Lance Storm, andThe Hurricane, andHardy Boyz (Matt Hardy andJeff Hardy) in aFatal Four-Way Elimination match for theWWF Tag Team Championship.
Unforgiven was first held by theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) as the21st In Your Housepay-per-view (PPV) in April 1998. Following the discontinuation of theIn Your House series in February 1999, Unforgiven branched off as its own PPV in September that year, becoming the WWF's annual September PPV.[3] The 2001 event was the fourth event in the Unforgiven chronology, and took place on September 23 at theMellon Arena inPittsburgh, Pennsylvania.[2]
Theprofessional wrestling matches at Unforgiven featured professional wrestlers performing as characters inscripted events pre-determined by the hostingpromotion, World Wrestling Federation (WWF).Storylines between the characters played out on WWF's primary television programs,Raw Is War, andSmackDown!.[4][5]
The predominantrivalry heading into Unforgiven was betweenStone Cold Steve Austin, andKurt Angle over theWWF Championship. AtSummerSlam, Angle challenged Austin for the WWF Championship, but in the end, Austin intentionally gotdisqualified in his title defense against Angle by attacking severalreferees. As a result, Austin retained the title.[6] The following night, onRaw is War, Austin held an "appreciation night" on retaining the title against Angle, and was appreciated by severalmembers ofThe Alliance. However, Angle interrupted the appreciation night, and ruined it by entering in a milk truck, and spraying milk on all the Alliance members.[7] On the August 27 edition ofRaw is War, Austin stole Angle'sOlympicgold medals after atag team match pitting Angle, andChris Jericho against theWWF Hardcore ChampionRob Van Dam, andTazz.[8][unreliable source] Austin went on to throw Angle's medals into theDetroit River. On the September 3 edition ofRaw is War, Angle threatened to throw Austin into a river inToronto,Ontario,Canada if he did not give him a WWF Championship rematch at Unforgiven. Austin agreed to defend the title against Angle in a rematch at Unforgiven. Angle then told Austin that he was still going in the water, and proved his point by shoving Austin into a kiddie pool.[9][unreliable source]
Another predominant rivalry heading into Unforgiven was betweenThe Rock, and the team ofBooker T, andShane McMahon over theWCW Championship. The Rock returned to the WWF on the July 30, 2001 edition ofRaw Is War, where he chose to align himself with the WWF instead ofThe Alliance forThe Invasion.[10][11][unreliable source?] This action was shown by The Rock delivering aRock Bottom, and thePeople's Elbow ontoShane McMahon, The Alliance leader.[10][11] At SummerSlam, Rock defeated Booker to win the WCW Championship.[6] On the August 27 edition ofRaw is War, McMahon announced that Rock would defend the title against Rhyno later in the night, but Rock challenged McMahon to a match, which McMahon initially accepted before escaping. Rock would retain the title against Rhyno.[8] On the August 30 edition ofSmackDown!, Booker, and McMahon cost Rock, and Chris Jericho a tag team match against the WWF Hardcore Champion Rob Van Dam, and Rhyno.[12][unreliable source] On the September 4 episode ofSmackDown!, McMahon announced that Rock would defend the title against Booker, and himself in aHandicap match at Unforgiven.[13][unreliable source] The following week on "Raw Is War", The Rock lost to Stephanie, and Test in the same match due to interference by Shane McMahon, and Booker T.
On three occasions, Chris Jericho, and the WWF Hardcore Champion Rob Van Dam wrestled each other in several tag team matches with different partners.[8][9][12][14] This eventually led to a title defense for Van Dam against Jericho at Unforgiven.
On the September 3 edition ofRaw is War,Steven Richards attacked one half of theWCW, andWWF Tag Team ChampionsThe Brothers of Destruction,The Undertaker during his match withTest.[9] This led to a match between Undertaker, and Richards on the next night onSmackDown!. Before their match, Richards explained that he had attacked Undertaker because he considered Undertaker responsible for the disbanding of hisfactionRight to Censor. As Undertaker, and Richards' match started, former WCW Tag Team ChampionsKroniK (Brian Adams andBryan Clark) debuted in WWF, and attacked Undertaker.[13] The following week onRaw Is War, Richards interfered in The Undertaker's match againstBooker T. Afterwards, as Undertaker was about to perform aLast Ride on Richards, Adams, and Clark took down Undertaker with the clothesline, and finished him off with adouble chokeslam through the announce table. On the September 17 edition ofRaw is War, KroniK cost Brothers of Destruction (The Undertaker andKane), the WWF Tag Team Championship againstDudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley andD-Von Dudley). After the match, theon-screenWCW OwnerShane McMahon announced that Brothers of Destruction would defend the WCW Tag Team Championship against KroniK at Unforgiven.[14]
AfterEdge won the2001 King of the Ring tournament, histag team partnerChristian started growing jealous of him, and insisted on carrying his King of the Ring trophy.[8][15] Apart from winning the King of the Ring tournament, Edge found more success by defeatingLance Storm for theWWF Intercontinental Championship atSummerSlam.[16] On the other hand, Christian failed in his respective title opportunities againstMatt Hardy for theWWF European Championship, and The Rock for the WCW Championship.[7][9] On the September 3 edition ofRaw is War, Christianturned on Edge by hitting him aOne-man Con-chair-to after Edge successfully defended the Intercontinental Championship against Lance Storm.[9] The following night onSmackDown!, Christian announced that he attacked Edge because he wanted an Intercontinental Championship title shot, and announced that he would wrestle Edge for the title at Unforgiven.[13] On the September 10 edition ofRaw Is War, Christian defeatedBilly Gunn by using his feet on the ropes for leverage. He followed it by nailing Gunn with a chair to the head, and finishing him off with the One-Man Con-chair-to. The following week, Christian was going to finish off theWCW United States ChampionTajiri with the same move until Edge returned, and attacked him from behind, only to be restrained by the referees, enabling Christian to leave the ring, and walk to the back.
On the September 17 episode ofRaw Is War, Tajiri retained theWCW United States Championship against Christian bygetting disqualified, but was attacked by Christian, and his ribs were injured. As Tajiri was being accompanied to the backstage by hisvalet,Torrie Wilson, Rhyno attacked him by hitting him with aGore. As a result, the WCW Owner Shane McMahon announced that Tajiri would defend the United States Championship against Rhyno at Unforgiven.[14]
On the September 17 episode ofRaw Is War, Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley) defeated Brothers of Destruction for the WWF Tag Team Championship.[14] During this time, two new tag teams were formed, consisting ofBig Show, andSpike Dudley, and the team of Lance Storm, and the WWF European ChampionThe Hurricane. Hardy Boyz were also in contention for the titles. On the September 20 episode ofSmackDown!, The Hurricane, and Lance Storm defeated Spike Dudley, and The Big Show. After the match, the Dudley Boyz attacked Spike, and The Big Show, and followed it by double suplexing The Big Show through atable. Later that night, The Hardy Boyz defeated the WWF Tag Team Champions, The Dudley Boyz, in a non-title match when Spike Dudley interfered. Afterwards, the Dudleyz retaliated by performing a3D on Matt Hardy through a table. As a result, aFour Corners Elimination match was made between the four teams for the WWF Tag Team Championship at Unforgiven.
On the June 21 episode ofSmackDown!,Perry Saturn discovered amop during a match against Test for the WWF Hardcore Championship.[17] He carried the mop around with him for several months. He dismissed his valet,Terri Runnels, and kept the mop, which he named Moppy, in his corner during matches. Runnels, andRaven eventually stole Moppy, and destroyed it in awood chipper, which led to a match at Unforgiven.[14][unreliable source][18] On the last edition ofSmackDown!, after Raven lost to Rob Van Dam in aHardcore match, Perry Saturn charged to the ring, and attacked Raven until Terri caused a distraction, enabling Raven to perform aRaven Effect on Saturn.
| Role: | Name: |
|---|---|
| Englishcommentators | Jim Ross |
| Paul Heyman | |
| Spanish commentators | Carlos Cabrera |
| Hugo Savinovich | |
| Backstageinterviewers | Michael Cole |
| Lilian Garcia | |
| Jonathan Coachman | |
| Ring announcer | Howard Finkel |
| Referees | Mike Chioda |
| Nick Patrick | |
| Jack Doan | |
| Earl Hebner | |
| Tim White | |
| Chad Patton |
Before the event aired live on pay-per-view,Billy Gunn wrestledTommy Dreamer on a live edition ofSunday Night Heat. Gunn performed aFameasser on Dreamer to win the match.[19]
As the event began,Jennifer Holliday performed "America the Beautiful" in honor of the victims of theWorld Trade Centerattacks on September 11. The first match that took place was aFatal Four-Way Elimination match for theWWF Tag Team Championship betweenThe Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley andD-Von Dudley),Big Show, andSpike Dudley,Lance Storm, andThe Hurricane, andHardy Boyz (Matt Hardy andJeff Hardy). Bubba performed aBubba Bomb on Matt, allowing D-Von topin Matt to retain the title.[2][20][19]
The second match was betweenPerry Saturn, andRaven. Raven attempted aRaven Effect, but Saturn countered the move into aThree Handled Moss Covered Family Credenza for the win.[2][20][19]
The third match featuredEdge defending theWWF Intercontinental Championship againstChristian. Christian performed aEdgecution on Edge for a near-fall. Christian attempted aOne man con chair to, but Edge avoided the move, and attempted the same move on Christian, but thereferee stopped Edge. Christian took advantage, and attacked Edge with alow blow, pinning him to win the title.[2][20][19]
The fourth match was atag team match for theWCW Tag Team Championship betweenThe Brothers of Destruction (The Undertaker andKane), andKroniK (Brian Adams andBryan Clark). The Undertaker performed a Chokeslam on Clark to retain the title.[2][20][19]
Next,Rob Van Dam defended theWWF Hardcore Championship againstChris Jericho. Jericho applied theWalls of Jericho on Van Dam, but Van Dam escaped the hold. Jericho attempted aLionsault, but Van Dam avoided the move. Van Dam attempted aFive Star Frog Splash on Jericho, but Jericho avoided the move. Jericho tried to strike Van Dam with the ladder, but Van Dam knocked him down. The two battled on the ladder until Van Dam escaped the ring. Jericho hit Van Dam witha chair untilStephanie McMahon distracted Jericho. Van Dam performed aVan Daminator, and a Five-Star Frog Splash to retain the title.[2][20][19]
The sixth match featuredThe Rock defending theWCW Championship againstBooker T, andShane McMahon in ahandicap match. McMahon attempted aLeap of Faith on The Rock, but The Rock avoided the move. The Rock performed aRock Bottom on McMahon, and aspinebuster on Booker T.Test interfered in the match, butBradshaw stopped Test from interfering. Booker T tried to pin The Rock, butMike Chioda, a WWF referee, attacked the WCW refereeNick Patrick, who was refereeing the match.Earl Hebner replaced Patrick, and took over as the official. The Rock performed a Rock Bottom on Booker T to retain the title.[2][20][19]
In the final match on theundercard,Tajiri defended theWCW United States Championship againstRhyno. Rhyno performed a Gore on Tajiri to win the title.[2][20][19]
Themain event featuredStone Cold Steve Austin defending theWWF Championship againstKurt Angle. Angle performed aStone Cold Stunner on Austin for a near-fall. Austin performed aAngle Slam on Angle for a near-fall. Austin performed aPiledriver on Angle for a near-fall. Austin attempted a Stone Cold Stunner, but Angle countered into anankle lock. Austinsubmitted to the hold, meaning Angle won the title. Following his title win, Angle celebrated with his family until the entire WWF roster came out to congratulate him on his title win.[2][21][20][19]
After losing theWWF Championship toKurt Angle,Stone Cold Steve Austin continued his pursuit of the title. On the October 8 episode ofRaw is War, Austin defeated Angle to regain the WWF Championship, with the help of theon-screenWWF CommissionerWilliam Regal. With this, Regal joinedThe Alliance, and becameAlliance Commissioner.[22][unreliable source?] Austin was alsofeuding with his Alliance teammate, theWWF Hardcore ChampionRob Van Dam, over the leadership of Alliance. As a result,Mick Foley made aTriple Threat match for the WWF Championship atNo Mercy, pitting Austin against Van Dam, and Angle.[23] At No Mercy, Austinpinned Van Dam after aStone Cold Stunner to retain the WWF Championship.[24]
After unsuccessfully challenging Rob Van Dam for the WWF Hardcore Championship at Unforgiven,Chris Jericho continued his rivalry with Van Dam, and Jericho'smain eventpush started. On the October 11 edition ofSmackDown!, Jericho defeated Van Dam in a number one contender's match for theWCW Championship.[25][unreliable source?] At No Mercy, Jericho defeatedThe Rock to win the WCW Championship.[26]
KroniK left the WWF not long after Unforgiven. Kane, and the Undertaker were reportedly unhappy with multiple mistakes made by both Adams, and Clark during the match, and the WWF was planning to send them both down to their developmental territory,Heartland Wrestling Association, for further training. However, they refused; which ultimately led to their departure.
The 2001 Unforgiven was the last Unforgiven held under the WWF name, as the promotion was renamed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in May 2002.[27] It was also the last Unforgiven held before the promotion introduced thebrand extension in March 2002, a storyline subdivision in which the promotion divided its roster into two separate brands,Raw, andSmackDown!, where wrestlers were exclusively assigned to perform.[28]