SGW RIVALS Chapter Four: EnC versus Kanyon & Tajiri
Sept 15, 2022 8:35:11 GMT -6
josh, jared, and 1 more like this
Post by Scott on Sept 15, 2022 8:35:11 GMT -6
CHAPTER FOUR: Edge and Christian (Scott Smith) versus Kanyon & Tajiri (Anthony H)
Timeframe: November 11, 2001 - November 25, 2001
Feud Facts:
-A stable time for the tag team division
-First time two feuding teams shared a reign
-Ended with Edge and Christian tying a (then) record for most title reigns
I'm going to be completely upfront and honest here. I'm being a little selfish and writing about a feud I had. It's not on the level of Austin/Storm, or as historically significant as CVE/Jinny, but I do think it has its spot as a really great tag team feud.
This feud lasted three shows, which was an eternity back then, but in those three shows, the Tag Team Championships saw its most consistent and stable time during that 2001 era, had a cool feud going on for the belts, and led to a fulfilling conclusion in a high-profile pay-per-view match.
I also got my first taste of feuding with a SGW legend and Hall of Famer (and friend) in Anthony.
Tag team e-fedding isn't sexy, not a lot of people join as teams even though it's the easiest route to e-fed gold.. but for me, I love it. I love tag wrestling, too, so maybe that has something to do with it? Divisions always rise and fall, but SGW's always had a pretty consistent one from a talent standpoint.
Edge and Christian won their second Tag Team Championships in a weak division and Josh wasted no time finding a good feud for them - the newly-formed team of Chris Kanyon and Tajiri. Kanyon was always used heavily back then, most notably by Mike A., a Hall of Famer in his own right. Anthony wrote some great, entertaining stuff as this duo and we went straight into build for Total Destruction set for late November.
Starting it off on November 4, Edge and Christian won the Tag Team Titles from The Outsiders. Later in the show, The Outsiders attack EnC but are saved by Kanyon and Tajiri. Kanyon gets laid out but Tajiri survives, escaping with half of the Tag Team titles and Nash with the other. The next week on Shock, Edge faces Tajiri and Christian manages to steal Tajiri's belt back after interfering in their match, causing the disqualification victory for Tajiri. Later in the show, Christian pins Scott Hall and Chris Kanyon pins Nash with interference from EnC, effectively squashing The Outsiders from title contention.
There was one flaw, though, EnC forgot to steal the second title back during the Kanyon/Nash match. So now we're left with a dilemma: two teams are claiming possession of one belt each even though Edge and Christian are the rightful champions. So what do we do?
Shane McMahon takes the belts and gives one to Edge and the other to Kanyon, making them the 26th team to reign as Tag Team Champions. Shane-O-Mac booked them in a title defense for the next Shock and also warned them that if either man cost one another the match, they were both suspended. The next week on the go-home episode of Shock before Total Destruction, the new champions faced off against Taz and Test while the partners left out in the cold, Christian and Tajiri, bonded over their jealousy.. Also, Kanyon had a segment where he was being spanked by two hookers. Hindsight is 20/20, right?
Though, Josh had a good point when I brought it up to him. The gender of the hookers were not revealed in the segment.. But it was 2001 and Kanyon had not come out yet, so c'mon. Let's not kid ourselves.
(Go back on the archives and read the 2001 results that are available. This feud is featured. Also, you can see how odd results were back then compared to now.)
Anyway, the title defense. I'm unsure whether or not this Taz was Emerson, and I doubt it was or else he would've tried to have killed me or something. The match ends with Tajiri kicking Edge in the face for a disqualification victory for the champions. Shane McMahon is furious at the two teams fighting and strips them of their titles, putting them up for grabs in a ladder match at Total Destruction.
At the pay-per-view, Edge and Christian capture their (then) record-tying third SGW Tag Team Championship over Kanyon and Tajiri. It was my biggest win at that point in my career being in e-fedding around seven months at this time and was absolutely the biggest match I had ever been in, period. Being in a title match on a PPV was a huge deal back then, so beating Anthony and tying Josh's record with the Dudleyz for most title reigns in one swoop put me on top of the world.
My third reign with the belts lasted until I met Anthony again at Holiday Hell.. Against his best character The Sandman. Suffice to say, he had my number in our rematch and ended my reign and got his revenge.
I don't recall a lot about 2001 minus 9/11, but I remember Frost not really featuring the division much or having feuds ready. I mean, I lost to Demolition in my first reign as punishment for breaking Josh's record for longest Tag Title reign, so the division wasn't exactly a breeding ground for greatness. But it changed when Josh took over and a handler like Anthony showed up with a good team for us to do some cool stuff in a short period of time. It really made the division competitive, brought some attention to it with two consistent handlers vying for the belts, and made it okay to chase Tag gold.
I love tag team e-fedding. It's what I'm most known for, so I selfishly added this feud to the RIVALS list, but I think it stands the test of time and has its place as one of the best feuds in the tag division. It was also the last real Tag Team title feud until SGW returned in 2006, as the champions after Anthony beat me were short-lived, not very good, or very reliable. SGW always had good tag teams, even in the '19-20 run that fact remained true. I'd love to get Josh and Matt G. to discuss their 2000-era reigns with the straps with the Dudleyz/Harlem Heat feud as well. Most feds struggle to find enough teams to make it worth it - heck, SGW '06 literally ran out of teams and we shut the division down completely. But I'm glad we're able to focus on one of the bright spots in the division... and it being a feud that I won.
Because being selfish is okay when you're the one writing the articles.
Thoughts From Anthony: "Admittedly, I can’t remember my Kanyon/Tajiri too well. BUT what I more importantly remember was just now intense this rivalry was. We all knew Josh was a monster, but then Scott just completely tossed things up even more. It really can’t be stated enough how tremendous his EnC was. Remember, this was a time when the WWE was actually still really good and I’d easily say his EnC was far more entertaining than the actual act themselves.
But the big thing is something I’ve said recently of current friends/rivals like Dave and Ailly.
Scott pushed me.
You never knew what Scott was coming up with and back then a few were like 'who is this little 16-year-old shit trying to step up to us?' And you know what? He let me exactly know who he was. I remember having to try and dig deep and figure out something to match his super unique RPs. It was a bit of a wild west back then, but you knew what certain guys might do. Scott? Scott was a true wildcard.
I think he even forced me to go back to the Sandman well to finally get the victory over him."
Thoughts From Josh: "This was Scott's first real big feud in SGW. He'll be the first to tell you that I gave him hell in the early days when I took over. I jobbed him to Demolition, which we still crap on in results from time to time, and then I tried to feed him to Anthony. Part of it was not wanting people to think I was playing favorites (which happened anyway), and the other part was being a selfish dick who wanted to make him earn every single achievement that brought him closer to mine. Eventually, he destroyed my tag title record with a single team and Edge & Christian are "household names" in SGW to this day while no one even remembers my Dudley Boyz.
Anyway, back to me trying to feed Scott to Anthony. Like I said in a post a few weeks ago, I love seeing guys step up and crack established handlers in the teeth. That's what Scott ended up doing. I came up with the (admittedly awful) idea to split the titles. We did co-champions until the ladder match finale where he knocked Anthony off to become the undisputed tag champions.
In the grand scheme of things, the feud itself wasn't written as anything epic. The importance of the feud was more behind the scenes as it was Scott's breakout feud, his first legitimate win over a top guy, and the statement that he was here to play and win big. Afterward, Anthony went on to continue being a force in the main event scene while Scott continued his ascent. Eventually, he reached a point where I really had to hold him back to keep a roster, but I at least let him in on it instead of jobbing him to the Colossal Towers."
Feud Facts:
-A stable time for the tag team division
-First time two feuding teams shared a reign
-Ended with Edge and Christian tying a (then) record for most title reigns
I'm going to be completely upfront and honest here. I'm being a little selfish and writing about a feud I had. It's not on the level of Austin/Storm, or as historically significant as CVE/Jinny, but I do think it has its spot as a really great tag team feud.
This feud lasted three shows, which was an eternity back then, but in those three shows, the Tag Team Championships saw its most consistent and stable time during that 2001 era, had a cool feud going on for the belts, and led to a fulfilling conclusion in a high-profile pay-per-view match.
I also got my first taste of feuding with a SGW legend and Hall of Famer (and friend) in Anthony.
Tag team e-fedding isn't sexy, not a lot of people join as teams even though it's the easiest route to e-fed gold.. but for me, I love it. I love tag wrestling, too, so maybe that has something to do with it? Divisions always rise and fall, but SGW's always had a pretty consistent one from a talent standpoint.
Edge and Christian won their second Tag Team Championships in a weak division and Josh wasted no time finding a good feud for them - the newly-formed team of Chris Kanyon and Tajiri. Kanyon was always used heavily back then, most notably by Mike A., a Hall of Famer in his own right. Anthony wrote some great, entertaining stuff as this duo and we went straight into build for Total Destruction set for late November.
Starting it off on November 4, Edge and Christian won the Tag Team Titles from The Outsiders. Later in the show, The Outsiders attack EnC but are saved by Kanyon and Tajiri. Kanyon gets laid out but Tajiri survives, escaping with half of the Tag Team titles and Nash with the other. The next week on Shock, Edge faces Tajiri and Christian manages to steal Tajiri's belt back after interfering in their match, causing the disqualification victory for Tajiri. Later in the show, Christian pins Scott Hall and Chris Kanyon pins Nash with interference from EnC, effectively squashing The Outsiders from title contention.
There was one flaw, though, EnC forgot to steal the second title back during the Kanyon/Nash match. So now we're left with a dilemma: two teams are claiming possession of one belt each even though Edge and Christian are the rightful champions. So what do we do?
Shane McMahon takes the belts and gives one to Edge and the other to Kanyon, making them the 26th team to reign as Tag Team Champions. Shane-O-Mac booked them in a title defense for the next Shock and also warned them that if either man cost one another the match, they were both suspended. The next week on the go-home episode of Shock before Total Destruction, the new champions faced off against Taz and Test while the partners left out in the cold, Christian and Tajiri, bonded over their jealousy.. Also, Kanyon had a segment where he was being spanked by two hookers. Hindsight is 20/20, right?
Though, Josh had a good point when I brought it up to him. The gender of the hookers were not revealed in the segment.. But it was 2001 and Kanyon had not come out yet, so c'mon. Let's not kid ourselves.
(Go back on the archives and read the 2001 results that are available. This feud is featured. Also, you can see how odd results were back then compared to now.)
Anyway, the title defense. I'm unsure whether or not this Taz was Emerson, and I doubt it was or else he would've tried to have killed me or something. The match ends with Tajiri kicking Edge in the face for a disqualification victory for the champions. Shane McMahon is furious at the two teams fighting and strips them of their titles, putting them up for grabs in a ladder match at Total Destruction.
At the pay-per-view, Edge and Christian capture their (then) record-tying third SGW Tag Team Championship over Kanyon and Tajiri. It was my biggest win at that point in my career being in e-fedding around seven months at this time and was absolutely the biggest match I had ever been in, period. Being in a title match on a PPV was a huge deal back then, so beating Anthony and tying Josh's record with the Dudleyz for most title reigns in one swoop put me on top of the world.
My third reign with the belts lasted until I met Anthony again at Holiday Hell.. Against his best character The Sandman. Suffice to say, he had my number in our rematch and ended my reign and got his revenge.
I don't recall a lot about 2001 minus 9/11, but I remember Frost not really featuring the division much or having feuds ready. I mean, I lost to Demolition in my first reign as punishment for breaking Josh's record for longest Tag Title reign, so the division wasn't exactly a breeding ground for greatness. But it changed when Josh took over and a handler like Anthony showed up with a good team for us to do some cool stuff in a short period of time. It really made the division competitive, brought some attention to it with two consistent handlers vying for the belts, and made it okay to chase Tag gold.
I love tag team e-fedding. It's what I'm most known for, so I selfishly added this feud to the RIVALS list, but I think it stands the test of time and has its place as one of the best feuds in the tag division. It was also the last real Tag Team title feud until SGW returned in 2006, as the champions after Anthony beat me were short-lived, not very good, or very reliable. SGW always had good tag teams, even in the '19-20 run that fact remained true. I'd love to get Josh and Matt G. to discuss their 2000-era reigns with the straps with the Dudleyz/Harlem Heat feud as well. Most feds struggle to find enough teams to make it worth it - heck, SGW '06 literally ran out of teams and we shut the division down completely. But I'm glad we're able to focus on one of the bright spots in the division... and it being a feud that I won.
Because being selfish is okay when you're the one writing the articles.
Thoughts From Anthony: "Admittedly, I can’t remember my Kanyon/Tajiri too well. BUT what I more importantly remember was just now intense this rivalry was. We all knew Josh was a monster, but then Scott just completely tossed things up even more. It really can’t be stated enough how tremendous his EnC was. Remember, this was a time when the WWE was actually still really good and I’d easily say his EnC was far more entertaining than the actual act themselves.
But the big thing is something I’ve said recently of current friends/rivals like Dave and Ailly.
Scott pushed me.
You never knew what Scott was coming up with and back then a few were like 'who is this little 16-year-old shit trying to step up to us?' And you know what? He let me exactly know who he was. I remember having to try and dig deep and figure out something to match his super unique RPs. It was a bit of a wild west back then, but you knew what certain guys might do. Scott? Scott was a true wildcard.
I think he even forced me to go back to the Sandman well to finally get the victory over him."
Thoughts From Josh: "This was Scott's first real big feud in SGW. He'll be the first to tell you that I gave him hell in the early days when I took over. I jobbed him to Demolition, which we still crap on in results from time to time, and then I tried to feed him to Anthony. Part of it was not wanting people to think I was playing favorites (which happened anyway), and the other part was being a selfish dick who wanted to make him earn every single achievement that brought him closer to mine. Eventually, he destroyed my tag title record with a single team and Edge & Christian are "household names" in SGW to this day while no one even remembers my Dudley Boyz.
Anyway, back to me trying to feed Scott to Anthony. Like I said in a post a few weeks ago, I love seeing guys step up and crack established handlers in the teeth. That's what Scott ended up doing. I came up with the (admittedly awful) idea to split the titles. We did co-champions until the ladder match finale where he knocked Anthony off to become the undisputed tag champions.
In the grand scheme of things, the feud itself wasn't written as anything epic. The importance of the feud was more behind the scenes as it was Scott's breakout feud, his first legitimate win over a top guy, and the statement that he was here to play and win big. Afterward, Anthony went on to continue being a force in the main event scene while Scott continued his ascent. Eventually, he reached a point where I really had to hold him back to keep a roster, but I at least let him in on it instead of jobbing him to the Colossal Towers."