Match of the Day - Scotty 2 Hotty upsets Dean Malenko again! + Taka Michinoku!

Scotty 2 Hotty vs. Dean Malenko vs. Taka Michinoku - Light Heavyweight title match - WWF Sunday Night Heat (2000)

This little gem occurs just on the heels of Scotty 2 Hotty winning his first title in WWF. Along with the former Light heavyweight champion looking to win back what he had lost almost a week prior on Raw, Taka Michinoku (the first Light Heavyweight champion in WWF), is also thrown in the mix to try to capture the gold once more. Unfortunately for both challengers, Scotty 2 Hotty was not ready to lose the title on this Sunday night C-show, and successfully defends it against his worthy opponents.

After the match though, Dean Malenko, shades of Alberto Del Rio today, 'sends a message' to Scotty by knocking him out with the Light Heavyweight title and locking in the Texas Cloverleaf on the defenseless champion.

Match of the Day - Raven breaks Pre-Damien Sandow's fingers

Raven vs. Aaron Stevens - Heat (2002)

Probably the most remembered moment in Aaron Stevens', now known to the little Jimmies of the WWE Universe as Damien Sandow, first run in the WWE. Raven, who had been banished to wrestle on WWE's c-list shows thanks to the dreamer back in June, decided to humiliate his poor rookie opponent by "breaking" his fingers after the match was over. 

What does this have to do with Easter?

Less than a year after this, Aaron Stevens returned to WWE to take part in APA's Bar Room Brawl Invitational as the one and only, Easter Bunny!

So basically Aaron Stevens is Jesus... He suffered (as Aaron Stevens), died (as the Easter Bunny), and was buried (as Idol Stevens), but then was resurrected (as Damien Sandow)!

Match of the Day - Jerry Lynn's WWF debut

Jerry Lynn vs. Crash Holly - Light Heavyweight title match - WWF Sunday Night Heat (Backlash pre-show) (2001)

In honor of Jerry Lynn, one of the most underrated workers in wrestling, calling it quits for real this time last Saturday night, here's a little gem of him during his short stint in WWF after making a name for himself in ECW...

In Jerry Lynn's first match on WWF television, the New F'N Show challenged Crash Holly for his Light Heavyweight belt. And won.

Crash Holly, an already 11 time Hardcore champion by this time showed that he could also wrestle without weapons (or his cousin Bob) as he held his own pretty well in this precursor to the Cruiserweight Division in WWE type match. Unfortunately for Crash however, Lynn got the better of him and ended his one time reign as Light Heavyweight champ via a quick roll-up and a little help from tights.

Lynn would go on to hold the title from April until June of that year before dropping the belt to Jeff Hardy on Smackdown! Lynn didn't get much air-time on WWF other than that and some dark matches and matches on Heat with Rob Van Dam (who he has had countless solid matches with) and even a young debuting Chris Daniels.

Props to WWF for letting Paul Heyman talk up Jerry Lynn during this match - including amention of Lynn's early feud in GWF with "X-Pac" (who was The Lightning Kid at the time) in the early 90's.

Bonus: In Jerry Lynn's retirement match facing off against Horace the Psychopath, JB Task, and Sean "X-Pac" Waltman, Waltman supposedly tore open his anus performing his signature Bronco Buster. I shit you not! It's even on Wikipedia... check it out.

Spectators had no idea that Waltman was hurt; they thought that he was crying after the match because Jerry Lynn is now retired.

Match of the Day - WWF goes UFC... kinda

Owen Hart vs. Steve Blackman - WWF Sunday Night Heat (1999)

In an attempt to sort of get fans interested in more mixed martial arts type wrestling such as the Ultimate Fighting Championship where stars like Ken Shamrock and Don Severn were from, a little cage was constructed to contain athletes in a match known as the "Lion's Den".

The original concept for the Lion's Den was that the only way to win was via submission. This would later change as rules for cage matches always seem to in pro wrestling, and the opportunity to win by pin-fall was later excepted - along with weapons.

Dan Severn, serving as ref for this match, is in a neck brace for this match as Owen Hart "dropped him on his head" with the same tombstone piledriver that legitimately broke Stone Cold Steve Austin's neck a year and a half prier. It is later revealed that  Severn was not hurt and actually jumps into the den and beats up on "The Lethal Weapon" Steve Blackman - not Owen.

All in all, this is just what I would expect WWF to look like if Vince ever introduced a UFC-side of the company.

Speaking of Vince, Mr. McMahon himself actually fought (I guess that's what you would call it) in one of the other Lion's Den matches against the man who has been in pretty much every Lion's Den match except this one mentioned above, Ken Shamrock.