On this day in.... 2001: Gregory Helms (c) vs Billy Kidman for the WCW Cruiserweight Championship, WWF Smackdown on July 5th, 2001. When WWF purchased WCW in 2001, they purchased the name, the video library, contracts for certain WCW Superstars and even the WCW Championships. Included in that, would be the Championship for a division that had grown to become a highlight of WCW during the 1990s, the WCW Cruiserweight Championship. Thanks to the likes of Chris Jericho, Rey Mysterio Jr., Eddie Guerrero, Dean Malenko, Juventud Guerrera and many more, the Cruiserweight division was a talking point, with high flying and entertaining action, and usually a high point of any show or Pay Per View they were on. That continued till WCWs dying days too, with Mysterio still around, as well as stars like Billy Kidman, Chavo Guerrero, Elix Skipper, and the last ever Cruiserweight Champion in WCW, Sugar Shane Helms (whose on-screen name was changed to Gregory Helms on his WWF debut). On WWF TV, Shane McMahon had planned on leading a WCW invasion, to cause his father Vince a few headaches. Linda McMahon stepped in, and suggested a WWF vs WCW style Pay Per View, as well as allowing Shane and WCW some airtime on WWF Television, to showcase the talent of WCW stars. Vince reluctantly agreed, and gave WCW airtime, with the first match not going down too well, as Booker T and Buff Bagwell fought over the WCW World Title, ending in a no-contest thanks to Stone Cold Steve Austin and Kurt Angle trying to rid the WWF of trash. On the July 5th, 2001 episode of WWF Smackdown from the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington, WCW action would appear again. This time round, WCW Cruiserweight Champion, Gregory Helms would defend the title against Billy Kidman, and heres that match in full! #WWF #WWE - dailymotion/video/x76632_wcw-smackdown-billy-kidman-vs-shane_sport
Posted on: Sat, 05 Jul 2014 18:13:24 +0000