Hello my friends, Simon Miller here and welcome to Retro Ups and Downs for SummerSlam 2001.

Obviously, because you love the attitude era, the latest SummerSlam is upon us.

It's why we do get comfy in the intro as I will regale you of tales from this period.

I don't ever think the WWE has changed over the last 20 years, because do you know what

the big talking point before SummerSlam 2001 was, what should be the main event maybe

plans need to change?

Now the choices were the Rock vs Booker T for the WCW title, which seems so crazy, or

a bad guy Stone Cold Steve Austin taking on Kurt Angle for the WWE title and of course

here, we are in the midst of the Invasion Angle, and if you would like to know how that ends

of either series 2001 we did ages ago, you can see just how bad it is.

Now we did go with the Rock in the end, because one, this is when he was getting super duper

mega popular, but also two, when it did come to Austin vs Angle, they were going to have

a bunch of shenanigans, and I could only presume WWE went, oh hi, we should send the

fans home happy.

But look at the irony, in that sentence, we picked the world championship wrestling belt,

because there wasn't going to be any funny business, and if you watched the last 12 months

of WCW before it died, well you know.

Let me usual back and forth then continue, because when all was said and done, everybody

went, oh we should have made Stone Cold vs. can't go on last, it just goes to show.

You can never win, we may as well just cry into us here.

What's interesting part does come down to what the future was meant to hold, because

WWE did want to protect her Angle here, because it only just turned baby face, but also,

...