The Comeback People Waited 4 Years For: The Return of Nick Patrick

Nick Patrick/Dudley Boyz vs. Chris Jericho/The Rock/Mike Chioda WWF Smackdown 10/4/01

ER: We're all familiar with Nick Patrick's legendary WCW match against Chris Jericho, so I was dying to revisit how Patrick handled his first match with actual wrestlers (and not just another referee) since that Jericho match. That Jericho singles has a very special place in my heart, and this was special in a different way. This was Patrick's swan song, his final match, and it's cool that it came during maybe the hottest business period in wrestling history (just a few months after the Invasion angle that was the beginning of the end for the boom period). It's smart to structure the match as mostly a straight Dudleys vs. Rock/Jericho tag while leaving some big moments for Patrick and the actual non-wrestler Chioda. Rock and Jericho were sky high babyfaces, and it's great seeing Patrick feed off that. Chioda stays completely out of this until his big moment at the end, whereas Patrick is actively interfering and working from the apron. Bubba Ray was really entering his working peak at this point, and here he handles the bulk of the bumping, going up for a big back suplex from Jericho, two bumps off the turnbuckles (including his big missed senton) and a huge bump over the top to the floor that sets up our fantastic finishing sequence. Bubba also drops two gorgeous elbows and follows them up with a cool falling axe handle. But before that Patrick gets in a couple of really good moments, stooging from the apron and acting like he doesn't want to get involved, but then being the first in the ring to break up a pinfall! That's a fun twist on the "non-wrestler" forced into a match, as you don't typically see Jimmy Hart or Cornette running in just to break up pins.

So Patrick puts the boots to Rock and then takes off running around ringside, filled with regret. He's got his ref slacks with the unflattering ankle break, his little league coach WCW shirsey, and he has no interest in tangling with The Rock. But Chioda chases him back into the ring and Patrick dives right into a Jericho double leg before Bubba Ray makes a great save, keeping Jericho from locking in the Walls. The finish involving the refs was the best part of the match. The match match really had the feel of a classic Smoky Mountain main event trios, and the finish felt like something ripped straight from a Cornette agented OVW match. Bubba gets tossed to the floor in a great bump, and then Jericho follows it up by hitting his Silver King shoulderblock to knock D-von off the apron, leaving Patrick alone on the apron as the only guy to get in the ring and face The Rock. This show was in front of at least 10,000 people in Mobile, AL, and this felt like something that was specifically designed to be expertly played out in front of 70 people in Mobile, AL. Chioda gets tagged in and spears Patrick, throwing awful punches and worse stomps, ripping off Patrick's WCW shirt. Patrick eats a Rock Bottom and a picture perfect Lionsault, and then Rock actually stops Chioda from pinning Patrick and motions for Chioda to do the People's Elbow. The crowd is legitimately going nuts for referee Mike Chioda - in the only wrestling match of his career - to do the elbow, and he somehow pulls it off. It's weird when WWF accidentally lets super southern territory tropes into their main events. Very little of this felt like a WWF main event. This felt much more like a main event of a show in a high school gym, and I wish that was a vibe that WWF aimed for more often.