Last Wrestling Match Watched 2.0

[Crippler]

WWF Wrestlemania X8 - WWF Intercontinental Title: William Regal vs. Rob Van Dam

Regal is opening up WrestleMania in an IC Title match for the second straight year. RVD gets off to a fast start with his unorthodox offense (tm JR). William counters a charge with a back elbow and looks for the brass knux in his tights. RVD kicks them out of his hand, and Regal begs off because his equalizer is gone. RVD heads up top, but the 5 star frog splash misses. Regal gets numerous 2 counts as he tries to get out of here early. RVD ducks a clothesline and gets his own near fall off a cross body. They do some reversals before Regal grounds RVD with a drop toe hold. He gets another near fall off a standing vertical suplex. RVD flips out of a backdrop attempt, but gets killed with a sweet neckbreaker. As seems normal for a Regal match, he gets a bloody mouth from a RVD boot. Rolling Thunder from RVD hits nothing but knees from Regal. It appears Regal was looking for a pedigree of all things, but RVD drives him back into the corner. Van Dam fires off some of his patented offensive moves, but he gets too cute, and Regal folds him in half with a half nelson belly to back suplex. That shit was nasty, and the crowd enjoyed it as well. Regal tosses RVD back into the ring, and grabs his brass knux while out there. The ref catches him though and tosses them back to the floor. That gives RVD the opening he needs as he hits a spin wheel kick and the 5 star frog splash 1-2-3. Pretty much a extended RAW match. **1/2

 

[Crippler]

WWF Wrestlemania X8 - WWF European Title: Diamond Dallas Page vs. Christian

Christian cuts an anti-Toronto promo because I guess it’s vitally important for him to get booed 18 matches down the card or something. hristian quickly dumped DDP when he got that elusive win, and thus we have a match. In a weird twist, DDP makes his in ring Mania debut 12 years after driving the Honky Tonk Man to the ring at WrestleMania VI (also in Toronto). Christian jumps DDP as he slides into the ring, and then celebrates with the title. DDP ducks a clothesline and fires away with some rights. He follows with a gutwrench bomb onto his knee, and they brawl on the floor. Back in the ring Christian tries to create distance, but he gets cornered. DDP starts firing away, but a well timed low blow by Christian drops DDP. They head back to the floor, but soon head right back into the ring. Okay then. Christian fires away to very little response, and mocks the Diamond Cutter symbol to get some reaction from the crowd. Christian gets posted crotch first into the post, but DDP gets yanked head first into the same post. Christian resorts to using an abdominal stretch, but gives up on the hold as the crowd is fading on them. A blind charge from DDP misses, and Christian heads up top. He gets caught however, and gets slammed to the canvas. That leaves both men down as the ref starts his ten count. The discus punch from Page gets him the advantage, and a powerbomb gets a near fall. Christian flips out of a suplex and looks for the unprettier, but DDP tries for the Cutter, but Christian is able to counter with a scorpion death drop. That only gets two though, and Christian calms himself from having a temper tantrum. It does him no good though as DDP is able snap off the Diamond Cutter for the win. Post-match DDP causes Christian to throw a tantrum. Match had no heat and was sloppy. **

 

[Crippler]

WWF Wrestlemania X8 - WWF Hardcore Title: Maven vs. Goldust

This is when Goldust was in limbo as they had nothing for him to do. Goldust attacks him to start and sends him upside down into the railing. Goldust jumps off the apron to the railing. A cookie sheet gets used and a gold garbage can is brought in. Spinebuster and Goldust slingshots him into the can. Maven dropkicks the garbage can in his face for two. Maven with a small package for two. Neckbreaker by Goldust-two. Goldust with a gourdbuster and he gets a golden shovel which meets Maven’s neck. Goldust hammers away and sends Maven into the trashcan. Both guys hit each other with lids and Spike Dudley runs in to win the Hardcore title. DUD!

WWF Wrestlemania X8 - Kurt Angle vs. Kane

This kinda remminds me of this past WM with Kane and Orton, basiclly They needed something for Kurt and Kane to do, so why not put them in a match together. Angle blasts Kane with the ring bell before we ever get the opening bell, and thus has the early advantage. The story coming in is that Kane is suffering from head trauma (caused by Angle) coming into this match. Kurt continues working the head by dumping Kane with a German suplex. Kane gets the pissed kicked out of him, but regains his composure enough to fire off shots to stagger Angle. A two handed choke leads to a slam, and a hard right hand leaves Angle on the canvas. Kane charges, but Angle ducks and snaps over a beautiful overhead belly to belly suplex. The two men exchange blows in the center of the ring before Angle gets the advantage with a belly to back suplex this time. Seeing Angle suplex the shit out of people is nothing new, but seeing him do it to Kane is pretty damn impressive. Kane powers out of a front facelock by casually tossing Angle halfway across the ring. Angle runs right into a sidewalk slam, but Kurt counters a suplex attempt into the Triple Germans. Kurt Angle was just sickeningly awesome at this point in his career. He heads up top and comes off with a sweet clothesline, and even the crowd is getting behind the awesomeness of Angle. Kurt’s a little full of himself and tries the same move, but Kane stops him on the way down. That leaves both men down for the count, and once they get to their feet the start exchanging blows again. The pace quickens and that actually favors Kane as he pounds away. He catches Kurt out of the corner with another sidewalk slam, but turns it into a powerslam instead. Nice! The chokeslam looks to finish, but Kurt’s able to grab the bottom rope to break the count. Angle counters the tombstone by ripping at the mask, and that leads to an Angle Slam for a two count. The straps come down and the ankle lock gets applied. Kane fights out and even breaks, but Kurt is relentless with the hold. Kane uses the ropes to gets back to vertical base, and breaks the ankle lock with an enziguiri. He heads to the top rope, but Kurt hits up the running pop-up suplex to send Kane flying across the ring. Another Angle Slam is countered to another chokeslam, but that gets countered to a roll-up and Angle uses the ropes for added leverage to get the win. The story about Kane suffering from head trauma disappeared early, but Kurt was so on at this point it was scary. Kane seemed a little more motivated here, and the results were a pretty sold midcard match (crappy finish aside). ***

 

[Crippler]

WWF Wrestlemania X8 - No DQ: Ric Flair vs. The Undertaker

Flair was 50% owner of the WWF at this point. He cost Taker his match against Rock at No Way Out, so Taker wanted a piece of Flair at Wrestlemania. Flair refused the match, wanting to take the high road, causing Taker to beat up Arn Anderson. Flair still wouldn’t accept, so Taker went to the Trax training facility and beat up David Flair (his only WWF TV appearance, I believe). Flair finally got the message and accepted. Vince took this opportunity to try to get full power back and asked the Board of Directors to give him a full confidence vote. He got 100% authority up until Wrestlemania ends (which set up the roster split), so Vince made the match no DQ. Flair sprints to the ring and a big ass brawl starts. They head to the floor and brawl over the announce table. Flair gains the early advantage and just fires off punch after punch in front of the Toronto Raptors sitting in the front row. The action heads back to the ring, and it’s still nothing but Flair punching away. Taker bails to the floor and Flair jumps after him, but gets caught and rammed back first into the ring post. He gets tossed into the steps as some fan lets us know “damn that’s to hurt.” Thanks for that sir. Back in the ring Flair fires off a chop, but gets caught with a right hand in mid Woo. Taker fires Flair into the corner for the Flair flip, but he can’t get over the top, and they have to repeat the spot. This time Flair gets over to run the apron, but he runs flush into a boot. Taker lets us know it’s time to go to school as they brawl again on the floor. The boot and some subsequent right hands bust Flair open. JR lets everyone know that Flair isn’t in the prime of his career, and that he is north of 50. Crazy thing is it took 6 more years for him to retire. The blood is really starting to flow now and that seems to fire Flair up as he rips off some chops. They only stun Taker though and a stiff clothesline sends Flair back to the mat. In a awesome visual the one camera actually has some of Flair’s blood on the lens. Flair gets set up on the top rope, and a superplex brings both men crashing down to the mat. That gets a two count only because Taker pulls Flair up to continue the ass kicking. Lawler has been great on commentary here as he still had some heel tendencies at this point. Things have kind of slowed as Taker continues to just beat the holy hell out of Flair and pull him up at every count of two. Taker has a pretty nice gash on the side of his face as well, but nothing near the level of blood flow from Flair. Lawler point blank asks JR what a booger red is, but we don’t get an answer. It’s time to go to school, old school style, but Flair yanks Taker down, and starts fight back with chops. It doesn’t last long though as Taker drops him with a sidewalk slam. This time Flair kicks out, and Taker is getting frustrated. Guess you should have taken the win when you had the chance. The brawl heads back to the floor and Flair grabs a lead pipe off Taker’s motorcycle. Taker takes some abuse from the pipe and that’s get the blood pouring from his skull. In today’s PG WWE, it’s nice to see some double juice. Flair struts right into a goozle, but the dirtiest player in the game hits a kick to the balls to stop that. The figure four follows (a kick to the balls is as good as anyway to set up the hold I guess), but Taker uses his long reach to the break the hold with a chokeslam. That only gets a two count, and Taker is pissed. He punches away, but still can only get a count of two. Taker has had enough and takes out the ref. He grabs the pipe, but Flair sends him into the ropes, and Arn Anderson comes out of nowhere to kill Taker with a picture perfect spinebuster. That was tremendous and the crowd was quite pleased to see AA. The spinebuster only gets two, and Arn pays for it as he gets locked in the Dragon Sleeper. Flair breaks that by wearing Taker out with a chair. A running boot gets the chair out of Flair’s hands. Taker looks for the last ride, but Flair it gets botched, so Taker just opts for the tombstone and that’s enough for 10-0. A few blown spots aside, this was a pretty brutal brawl. A little slow at times, but never enough to kill the crowd or my enjoyment of the match. **3/4

 

[Crippler]

WWF Wrestlemania X8 - Booker T vs. Edge

They lock up and slug it out with Edge winning. Booker T takes him down but walks into a dropkick. Faceplant gets two. Sign: They are fighting over shampoo. Edge hammers away but Booker T gets a stungun. Spinkick gets two. Booker clotheslines him out and nails him from the apron. Back in- Booker T gets a top-rope missile dropkick for two. Booker works him over and stomps a mudhole. Edge hammers away and chops him. Booker with a spinebuster for two. Booker goes up top and gets crotched. Edge fucks up a top-rope hurricarana. Edge with a reverse heel kick and he clotheslines him. Booker T misses the scissor kick and the Edge-o-matic gets two. Top-rope spinkick gets two. Booker T gets his Jack Briscoe rollup but Edge reverses into a slingshot. Booker blocks the spear and hits a superkick. The first ever Wrestlemania Spinaroonie is then done and Booker hits a scissor kick for two. Edge gets a takedown and the spear gets two. Edge with a bad looking Edge-a-roonie. Booker blocks the Edgecution once but not twice and Edge gets the win. A little too short and the botched rana hurt it but this was a pretty good match. **1/2

 

[Crippler]

WWF Wrestlemania X8 - Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Scott Hall (w/Kevin Nash)

Hall cost Austin the Undisputed title at No Way Out by Stunning him. Austin kidnapped Hall and tortured him by tying him up in a room full of beer, then beat him up. Hall challenged him to a Wrestlemania match. Austin wastes no time and starts stomping a mud hole as the crowd chants “What” with each boot. That really did get old fast, and thankfully, it has almost been wiped out of the minds of today’s fans. Hall continues to get his ass kicked, and he has to bail. Austin gives chase and lands the first blow on Nash, which Lawler helpfully points out. Nash loosens the pad in one of the corners to expose the buckle. Hall and Austin brawl in the opposite corner, and it’s Austin who gets sent back first into the exposed steel. Nash finally gives Austin a receipt for the earlier shot, and Lawler tries to explain that to JR. That doesn’t go well for Lawler as JR gets a little cranky. Hall controls back in the ring with a fall-away slam to a good pop. A stiff clothesline sends Austin back to the mat, but he is able to kick out at two. The ref gets distracted once again, and Nash buries another forearm into Austin’s head. The crowd starts a Razor chant, and Nash gives Austin another shot. Hall makes the mistake of charging into a spinebuster, and that’s gives Austin a chance to catch his breath. Some beautiful right hands from Hall keep Austin down, but he ends up walking right into a Stunner. Nash saves by pulling out the ref and blasting him. Now Nash gets in the ring and Austin gets hammered with some elbows. Hall grabs a chair, but Austin is able to fight off both members of the n.W.o and lay both out with stunners. Austin gets a second visual pin on Hall, but the actual pin doesn’t occur thanks to Nash. Hall goes for the Razor’s Edge, but he eats a backdrop to the floor instead. A gang of refs toss Nash from the ringside area and the crowd is none too pleased with that decision. Austin and Hall continue their brawl in the ring and Hall gets a stunner of Austin, but the ref is slow about getting to position and it only gets a hot two count. Irony comes back to bite Hall in the ass as he eats the exposed steel and two stunners. 1-2-3. I’ve certainly seen worse matches from Scott Hall in WCW, but Austin would have been better off wrestling himself. *1/2

 

[Crippler]

WWF Wrestlemania X8 - WWF Tag Title: Billy and Chuck vs. The Dudley Boys (w/ Stacey Keibler) vs. The Hardy Boys vs. The APA

Saliva plays the Dudley Boys down to the ring. The benefit is we get some dancing from Stacey Keibler, and that’s a damn good thing. The APA decides to jump Chuck before the match and so those teams start this thing. It settles down to Bradshaw and Chuck, and Bradshaw overpowers both tag champs. A nasty belly to back suplex leaves Chuck on his back, and the tag is made to Faarooq. A blind charge from Faarooq meets a stiff clothesline from Chuck. He makes the tag to Billy and JR informs us that these guys love to double team. They even gets a rise out of Lawler. Please read that last line without the innuendo though. Billy starts taking a beating and opts to tag D-Von. The Dudleys brawl with Team 3D and Billy and Chuck try to pick the bones. The clothesline from Hell kills Billy, but Bradshaw walks right into a 3D to eliminate the APA at 3:35. Love how the APA just got the Big Show treatment. The Hardys get involved to the shrieks of the females in the crowd. On the floor the Dudley boys get some tables ready. Billy and Chuck are an after thought as we get Dudleys vs. Hardys for the thousandth time. Jeff hits the Whisper in the Wind, but Stacey shakes her ass on the apron to distract him. She even pulls up the shorts to show off her ass. Always a plus! Lawler offers to put salve on her ass. The champs are more than content standing on the apron watching these 2 rival teams beat the hell out of each other. Good strategy there. D-Von gets the tag and mows down Jeff with a clothesline. Jeff is your pasty Carolinian in peril as the crowd seems a little distracted. D-Von hits a jumping back elbow and asks the crowd who the man is, and it’s a little sad when only three people in the front row say “you are.” Jeff finally makes the lukewarm tag to Matt, and he hits everyone including the tag champs standing on the apron. D-Von misses the backsplash from the middle rope, but rebounds to set Jeff up for the “what’s up” drop. Billy shoves D-Von off the top rope and he crashes through the tables that were set up earlier. That leaves Bubba distracted and he eats a Twist of Fate/Swanton combo to eliminate the Dudleys at around 11:30. The Hardys get the early advantage and run through their standard offense. The Swanton looks to finish, but Billy hits a fame-asser to get Chuck a close two. Billy comes back with in the ring with the tag belt and blasts Jeff in the head. That’s enough for Chuck to get the pin. This match completely fell apart midway through and never recovered. *1/2

WWF Wrestlemania X8 - The Rock vs. “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan

Hogan came out on the RAW after No Way Out and said the fans turned on him and ran him out of the WWF. He’s the reason wrestling became huge and there will never be another star like him again. That drew the Rock out. Rock told him the fans (and the Rock himself) believed in him and challenged Hogan to a match at Wrestlemania. Hogan accepted and was Rock Bottomed. Hall and Nash jumped him in the aisle and Rock got beaten down, which would have been an awesome way to end the segment, but they had Hogan smash the ambulance Rock was in with a semi, which was overkill in my opinion. Hogan pinned Rock on the previous RAW tag match and beat him up some more.

Hogan gets a monster pop on his entrance and a HUGE Hogan chant. Rock comes out to a fair amount of boos. They stare each other down and then look at the crowd as they break out into simultaneous “Hogan” and “Rocky” chants. The heat here is INSANE. The bell rings and they lockup. Hogan shoves Rock off and poses to rabid cheers. They lockup again and Hogan gets a side headlock as a big “Rocky sucks” chant starts. Rock pushes him into the ropes but Hogan knocks him down and poses again, to more cheers. He tells Rock to “just bring it”. Hogan clubs Rock, but he comes back with some punches, but Hogan clotheslines him down. Hogan whips and Rock ducks a clothesline and hits a flying one of his own to boos. Rock tells Hogan to “just bring it” and they shove each other. Rock blocks a punch and punches Hogan out of the ring. Rock follows him out and elbows Hogan in the head. Back in, Hogan puts his head down and Rock clotheslines him, and then goes for a Rock Bottom, but Hogan escapes and elbows Rock in the head. He drops some more elbows and steps on his face. He whips Rock into the corner and follows with a clothesline. He whips him again, but Rock spears him down and punches, but Hogan hits a backdrop suplex for 2. Hogan puts on an abdominal stretch and rolls him up for 2. He rakes the back, and Rock oversells it (hey Terry, it ain’t the 80s anymore, those went out with recreational cocaine use.) Hogan slugs and chops in the corner, but Rock counters and gets some chops himself, getting completely into heel Rock mode. Hogan reverses a whip and runs into an elbow, but takes Rock down with a quasi-chokeslam. Hogan chokes him with some tape. Rock comes back and charges, but Hogan uses the momentum to toss him over the top. Hogan goes out and tosses him into the steps and barrier and then clears the American table. Rock slugs and slams his head on the table, then goes for a chair, but the ref takes it away and Hogan clotheslines Rock down. Back in, Hogan whips Rock, but accidentally knocks him into the ref. Rock reverses another whip and hits a spinebuster. Rock slaps on the Sharpshooter and Hogan is tapping, but the ref is still out. Rock releases to kick the ref a bit, but turns around into a low blow and Rock Bottom from Hogan! The fans go nuts as the ref crawls over, but Rock kicks out at 2. Hogan takes off his weight belt and whips Rock with it, but he ducks a punch and DDTs Hogan. He grabs the belt and whips Hogan and hits a Rock Bottom, but Hogan kicks out at 2 and Hulks Up, with the crowd going INSANE again. Hogan hits the BIG BOOT and BIG LEG, but Rock kicks out at 2. He hits another boot, but misses the legdrop and Rock hits two Rock Bottoms. He kips up and hits the People’s Elbow for the pin. Afterwards, Hogan and Rock make nice-nice, as presumably Hogan is all “Sorry about the attempted murder, brother” and Rock is all “It’s cool, I didn’t sell the injury anyway” and they shake hands. Rock encourages Hogan to pose (what, no “Real American”?) but the treacherous Outsiders come out and turn on Hogan, allowing Rock to make the save. ***1/2 for the match because there was little structure other than "you do your stuff, and I'll do my stuff," but the entertainment value was off the charts and that's what the WWE is all about.

 

[Crippler]

WWF Wrestlemania X8 - WWF Women’s Title: Jazz vs. Lita vs. Trish Stratus

These poor women have to follow Rock/Hogan. Even Trish all decked out in the Maple Leaf can barely get a pop from the crowd. Lita and Jazz start brawling as Trish makes her way to the ring. The two faces work over the champ, but that doesn’t last long as Jazz puts Trish in a half crab. Lita gets put in the double arm chicken wing as Jazz just overpowers both women. As usual Lawler makes vague sexual references about the positions in which the women are placed. Classy! The arena is dead, and all you can really hear are a few whistles directed at the women. Trish hits a stiff kick on Lita, but Jazz breaks the count. Jazz gets a fisherman’s suplex, but Lita breaks that pin attempt. A scorpion death drop gets a two count for Trish as Lita breaks that count. Lita and Trish square off as the crowd starts to show some life. They both a backdrop, and a sloppy twist of fate follow. Lita tries to hit a moonsault on both women, but Trish brings up the knees to block. Trish fires off some Flair chops and the crowd chants for puppies. Jazz gets elevated over the top by Lita, and Trish gets sent crotch first into the turnbuckle in a rather painful spot. Jazz capitalizes by killing Lita with a top rope fisherman’s suplex for the win. *

WWF Wrestlemania X8 - WWF Undisputed WWF Title: Chris Jericho (w/ Stephanie McMahon) vs. Triple H

Sadly, the main issue leading into this seemed to be HHH vs. Stephanie with Jericho just being there. They had not introduced the new undisputed belt yet, so Jericho is still carrying around the WWF and World Heavyweight (WCW) Title at this point. I actually liked the visual of the champion carrying around two titles. Drowning Pool plays their version of HHH’s theme as he makes his way to the ring. HHH has the repaired quad heavily taped thanks to an attack by Jericho six days earlier. JR starts harping on the injury already and that pretty much sums up what we’re going to see as far as the story of this match goes. They should have either let Rock/Hogan end this show, or they needed more than just the women’s title match as a bumper. We’re told that Dr Andrews confirmed the repaired quad is hanging by a wire. Jericho gets a decent response from the Canadian crowd as one would expect. Jericho immediately goes for the leg, and HHH backs away. HHH sidesteps a take down attempt and starts firing off right hands. A clothesline is ducked, but a high knee drops Jericho to the mat. The move backfires on HHH though as he starts feeling pain in the knee. He charges, but gets sent over the top to the floor. Jericho heads up top, but HHH meets him there and tosses him to the barrier on the floor. HHH preps the announce table, but it’s doesn’t get used as Jericho starts kicking at the quad. They head back in the ring, and HHH starts working on the quad of Jericho. A knee breaker continues the damage on the knee, and HHH’s locks in the figure four. Steph rakes the eyes of HHH to break that. She celebrates, but HHH pulls her up to the apron by the hair. Jericho tries to spear HHH, but he moves and Steph takes the spear. HHH goes for the Pedigree on Steph, but Jericho saves her with a missile dropkick. The quad takes some abuse on the ring post, and Steph makes sure to get in a cheap shot. Jericho grounds HHH and takes great pleasure in twisting the leg in as many directions as possible. Steph slaps the taste out of HHH’s mouth and Jericho locks in the ring post assisted figure four. That’s a sure fire way to get on the good side of a Canadian crowd. Speaking of that crowd, they seemed a little burnt out, and even start a Hogan chant. I bet while rehabbing for those 8 months HHH never thought his big shot at the title would be upstaged by a match featuring Hulk Hogan. To HHH’s credit he is selling the hell out of that leg, and he makes sure to sell the leg even when he hits an offensive move. He snaps off a spinebuster, but can’t really capitalize and ends up flying over the turnbuckle to the floor. A small “Y2J” chant starts, but it doesn’t last long. Jericho preps the other announce table and looks to apply the Walls of Jericho. HHH kicks off, and looks for the Pedigree on the table. Jericho counters with a backdrop and HHH gets sent from one announce table through the other. Nice! Back in the ring a lionsault gets a two count as JR bemoans this may very well be the last match we ever see from HHH. The Walls get locked in to the loudest pop of the match so far. HHH crawls for the ropes, but gets pulled back to the center of the ring to another sizeable pop. Things go old school as Hebnar checks on HHH’s arm, but it only drops two times. Jericho thinks the match is over and realizes the hold to celebrate. He gets a little pissed and heads to the floor to grab a chair. He heads for HHH, but the chair gets kicked back in his face, and a DDT on the chair gets a two count. Steph tries to hit HHH with the chair, but Hebnar pulls the chair out of her heads. HHH finally sticks her with the Pedigree, and that wakes up the comatose crowd. Jericho hits a sick chair shot, but it only gets a long two count. Jericho gets cocky and tries to hit the pedigree, but HHH counters to a slingshot. Jericho casually lands on the middle rope, but he gets caught with a boot coming back and the Pedigree finishes things. Technically this was a fine Main Event, but it should have been more. ***1/2

 

[Keith]

ROH Bitter Friends, Stiffer Enemies 16.08.03 - Christopher Daniels VS. Xavier
This was a match to crown the number one contender for the ROH Title, the winning going on to face then champion Samoa Joe. Daniels worked the crowd supremely well, there was an interesting story to the match as both were memebers of the Embrasy. The match was slowly paced at first, with some fine techical wrestling back and fourth on the mat, as things heated up there were some stiff shots and Xavier nailed one or two choice high risk moves. Things later on as Daniels missed TBMSE which almost lend to his downfall, but in the end he pulled the victory out with a roll up and handfull of tights. A gripping enounter.
****

 

[Crippler]

WWF Backlash 2002 - Cruiserweight Title: Billy Kidman vs. Tajiri (w/Torrie Wilson)

Tajiri was dating Torrie onscreen, while Billy was dating her offscreen. Advantage: Kidman. This was also during Tajiri's abusive streak when he forced Torrie to wear geisha garb. This was during the time period when the Cruiserweight Title ment something Shoving match to start, which Tajiri kips out of. Stalemate is established with armdrags and Kidman eats turnbuckle. He comes back with chops, but gets catapulted, then turns it into a dropkick out of the corner for two. That sequence looked a bit messed up. Headscissors puts Tajiri on the floor, where he pulls Kidman out and dumps him on the railing. Back in, Tajiri drops a knee and chokes away. He gives Kidman a quote, dehabilitating, unquote, kick to the face and hits the chinlock. You can’t get much more devastating than dehabiliating someone. You can discombobulate them occasionally and bamboozle them if you’re lucky, but to actually move above debilitating someone and force JR to mangle the English language in an effort to describe the action, well Dang Jethro, that’s something special. Kidman snaps off a rana, but walks into a backbreaker and gets hung in the Tree of Woe. Tajiri dropkicks him in the face and chokes him against the post like Yashin trying to jam in a goal. Another backbreaker turns into a submission hold, but Kidman knees out for two. Tajiri pounds him down again and drops an elbow. Kidman fights back, but walks into the Tarantula. The Big Kick misses and they slug it out, with Kidman using a dropkick to counter the handspring elbow. Tajiri reverses a suplex into an enzuigiri in a sweet move, and then they reverse each other until Tajiri gets a bridged german suplex for two. Kidman misses a clothesline and gets kicked in the face for two. Tajiri tries a powerbomb, but you can’t yada yada. It gets two. Shooting Star Press misses, and Tajiri gets the Big Kick for two. Crowd chants for Kidman. They head up, and Kidman manages a Rydien bomb off the top, for two. Yikes!!!!. Kidman is about to powerbombs Tajiri, but gets the RED mist for the pin. Good cruiserweight match from the WWF, they put on a decent ten-minute match to open the show. Too bad WWF did not continue to push this feud after the PPV, but yeah they put a lot of effort into this match, and the near falls at the end made things pretty exciting. ***1/4

 

[Crippler]

WWF Backlash 2002 - Scott Hall (w/X-Pac) vs. Bradshaw (w/Faarooq)

X-Kane tries to get involved early, so Farooq comes out for the triumphant APA reunite. Bradshaw dumps him to start giving Farooq some cheap shots. Back inside Bradshaw shoulderblocks him down for two. Then Bradshaw slugs him down for two. Hall slugs his way back into it and stomps him for five minutes. JR notes that you won’t see Hall making any mistakes. Then JR notes that this match is as “ugly as a bowling shoe.” Hall misses a charge and falls victim to the Clothesline From Hell, but X-Pac puts his leg on the rope. Farooq takes care of him, but that gives Hall time to sneak in a low blow and roll him up for the win. What a horrible match, nothing but punches, punches, clubbing blows and more punches. The crowd’s early enthusiasm saves it from being a complete wreck, but there was so little action it became embarrassing. The only two wrestling moves in the entire thing was a suplex and a DDT from Bradshaw. 1/2*

 

[Crippler]

WWF Backlash 2002 - WWF Women's Title: Jazz vs. Trish Stratus

Before we get started, Molly Holly is out to intervene, allowing King to make “virgin” jokes. She mocks Trish for cheating and flaunting her body around. Molly says the Women’s champion should be pure and wholesome. She then punches Trish in the face and throws her outside. Trish fights back, but Molly sends her back first into the ring steps. Here comes Jazz who wastes no time in taking advantage of the situation. Trish is sent into the corner and Jazz follows up with a sidewalk slam for a two count. Trish manages to drop Jazz on the top rope, but Jazz takes back control with a fireman’s carry slam. JR calls Jazz “Mike Tyson-like”, which seems a bit harsh. But to prove his point Jazz starts punching away at Trish, but Trish reverses a big right and connects with a Chick Kick for a two count. Trish chops and stomps away at Jazz in the corner, before setting her up on the top rope and hitting her Stratusphere hurracanrana. Neckbreaker from Trish gets a two count, but Jazz reverses an Irish whip and connects with a sit-down powerbomb (Batista Bomb?) for another two count. Jazz chokes Trish on the bottom rope, then whips her into the corner but misses a Stinger Splash; Trish rolls her up for a two count. Trish goes for the Stratusfaction, but Jazz is able to reverse into a back suplex for a two count. Another whip into the corner from Jazz, and she catches Trish’s boot as she follows in, allowing her to hit a dragon screw. Boston Crab locked in by Jazz, and Trish is forced to crawl towards the ropes, but Jazz drags her back into the centre of the ring, and locks in an STF. Trish has no choice, and is forced to tap out! This was right around the time when people started recognizing that Trish was maturing as a wrestler and it was on full show here. **

 

[Crippler]

WWF Backlash 2002 - Brock Lesnar (w/Paul Heyman) vs. Jeff Hardy (w/Lita)

If my memory is correct: Brock Lesnar debuted on the draft show itself, and began obliterating undercard wrestler after undercard wrestler. He eventually picked on the Hardys, powerbombing Jeff into oblivion whilst his agent Paul Heyman cheered him on. The Hardys attacked him the following week with a steel chair, but whilst the chair was crumpled beyond use, Lesnar remained on his feet during the assault. The next week Heyman visited Lita in her locker room, looking to make a “deal” in exchange for Brock going easy on Matt Hardy at Backlash. Heyman stole her entire bag of thongs, luring Matt to try to attack him, where Lesnar attacked him and gave him the F5 on the steel ramp. Jeff Hardy then took his brother’s place in tonight’s match.

Jeff enters first, beginning his body painting phase that lasts to this day. Lita accompanies him to the ring, and she looks to be on some kind of drug. As does Jeff mind you. Lesnar comes out to his first, even more generic theme, with Heyman by his side. This is in fact Lesnar’s first match, and Jeff attacks to start, but Brock overpowers him and slings him out of the ring. Brock chases Jeff back in, but Jeff dropkicks him off the apron. Brock catches a Hardy plancha but Jeff sends him into the ringpost. Jeff hits a top rope crossbody for a two count, but Brock shoulder thrusts him in the corner, then belly to belly suplexes him over his head. Heyman shouts at Lita that this is her fault, as Brock delivers another belly to belly suplex. Brock picks Jeff up by his belt, and hits his series of backbreakers with ease. Jeff tries to fight back with right hands, but Brock reverses and sends Jeff flying into the corner, and chokes Jeff. Brock sends Jeff into the opposite corner, but Jeff is able to hit the Whisper in the Wind, and then connects with a jawbreaker. A double leg drop to the groin from Jeff, and Jeff hits the Swanton Bomb! 1, 2, but Brock sends Jeff off of him before the three! Jeff heads outside to grab a steel chair, but Brock ducks a shot, and gets Jeff up to hit the F5! It’s said he landed on the chair, but he was nowhere near it. Heyman tells Brock to hurt Jeff, and here come three Powerbombs. Two to start with, but Jeff doesn’t give up, so Brock gives him a third. Referee Teddy Long stops the match, and gives Brock the victory by KO. This was a pretty decisive victory for Brock, and it certainly got him over as a monster. 1/2* for not being a complete squash.

 

[Crippler]

WWF Backlash 2002 - Edge vs. Kurt Angle

Angle takes him down to start but Edge gets clothesline and pounds away in the corner. His charge meets an elbow, but Angle walks into a dropkick. Edge gets a flapjack and clotheslines him to the floor. King starts insulting Edge’s natural hair. That has to be a sign that you are losing it. Back in, Edge gets a spinkick but Angle snaps off a quick German. They reverse hammering off in the corner where Edge snaps off some chops, but Angle gets a belly to belly for two. Angle kicks away and gets a snap suplex for two. Angle grabs a grounded headlock but the third arm DOES NOT drop! Edge gets out but falls victim to a German. A mule kick blocks a second rolling German, and Edge pulls a page out of Angle’s playbook with a belly to belly for a Double-KO, which is rather odd placing since the only thing Angle had done that could have drawed him to be down that long was that suplex. Edge gets a leg lariat and back drop for two. Edge slips out of a backdrop suplex and Edge nails the Edge-O-Matic, which of course never gets anything, but Angle’s close count-out always makes things look good. You would have thought he would have learned from now not to do that. Edge perches up for the Missile, but Angle runs up and gives him a superplex for two. Edge kicks out of an Ankle Lock attempt but falls victim of the rolling Germans, the third one being a bridge, for two. Edge slips out of the Olympic Slam and Edge gets a German where Angle lands on his head. Edge gets a crossbody sending them both outside, and inside gets the Missile Dropkick for two. Olympic Slam gets two. Angle locks in the Ankle Lock, but Edge reverses into a bridge schoolboy for two. Angle goes out and grabs a chair, but misses and wacks the rope, sending it back into his face, then into the Edge-O-Cution for two. Angle BLOCKS the Spear with a knee to the face and gets the Olympic Slam for the win. Really entertaining match from these two, the nonstop action in that one certainly made it great. It had a superb finishing sequence with several near falls to keep the crowd on the edge of their seat. **** TOTAL MOTN

And after that, we see Chris Jericho making his way to the ring, and even the announcers are wondering why he doesn’t have a match tonight. Wondering why he doesn’t have a match, just thirty days after main eventing WrestleMania. He also wonders why Kidman, Trish, and Maven have matches though. You can’t argue his point there. He think he deserves the Undisputed spot more than Hogan does, and mocks Jericho mocks the Hulkamaniacs, saying Hogan will never win the title again. Hogan isn’t worthy of being a champion, but Jericho is. As he doesn’t have a match, Jericho decides to leave, sending a message of “screw all of you” to Kansas City on his way out.. Usual great early-WWF career heel Jericho stuff here.

 

[Crippler]

WWF Backlash 2002 - Intercontinental Title: Rob Van Dam vs. Eddie Guerrero

Eddie Guerrero made a surprise return to the WWF after over a year’s absence due to rehab-related issues, attacking RVD and giving him his version of the Frog Splash. Eddie then attacked RVD during a #1 Contenders match against The Undertaker, costing him a chance to fight for the Undisputed Title. Eddie gave his reason that RVD stole his finishing move, the Frog Splash, and he’s come to take it back.

JR burns Lawler by pointing out D’Lo Brown as the first person to use the Frog Splash in the WWF, whilst RVD points to himself again and gets a right hand for his trouble. RVD ducks a right and sends Eddie off the ropes, Eddie goes over RVD’s back, but RVD connects with a spin kick. RVD sends Eddie into the corner and follows in with a monkey flip, before hitting a spinning heel kick for a two count. Eddie catches an RVD kick and hits a dragon screw, then focuses on the knee of RVD in the corner. RVD reverses a whip to hit some shoulder thrusts, but Eddie takes back control, beating RVD down in the corner until the referee Tim White tells him to stop. RVD reverses and gives Eddie another kick to the head, and a standing moonsault gets a two count. Suplex from RVD gets another two count, before slamming Eddie and heading to the top, but Eddie is up fast and RVD lands on the turnbuckle groin first. Eddie joins RVD on the top rope, but RVD blocks a superplex attempt by hanging Eddie up on the top rope. RVD back up top, and connects with a top rope kick, and then a cartwheel moonsault gets another two count. Eddie reverses an RVD suplex attempt to a small package for a 2 count, and then reverses a suplex into another roll-up for another two count. Eddie rolls outside, but RVD connects with a baseball slide, then a moonsault off the apron connects. RVD then sets Eddie up on the barricade, and hits his spinning leg drop from the apron. Back into the ring and RVD gets a two count, before he tries for Rolling Thunder, but Eddie gets his knees up. Eddie sends RVD off the ropes and hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker, followed by a back suplex which gets a two count. Eddie takes RVD down with a drop toe hold, and locks in a Mexican surfboard stretch, nearly bending RVD in half. RVD lasts 32 seconds before getting out, but Eddie maintains control, getting RVD up into a Gory stretch, which doesn’t look all that painful. RVD flips out into a sunset flip for a two count, but Eddie clotheslines him down to the mat. Eddie sends RVD off the rope and hits a jumping calf kick, then heads to the apron, flipping over the top rope to hit a hilo for a two count. Eddie starts to attack RVD’s arm, before getting a wristlock and heading to the top rope to hit a hurracanrana, getting him another two count. Eddie hits a suplex, rolling through to hit a side suplex, and getting another two count. Eddie’s feeling froggy, and heads to the top rope, but RVD kicks one of his legs away, then kicks him in the head. But Eddie fights back, and hits a sunset flip powerbomb(!) for a close two count. Eddie managed to do it without a pause, unlike every Money in the Bank match that has tried it since then. Eddie elbows the head of RVD, and goes for another powerbomb, but RVD reverses into a windmill kick. Eddie rolls outside and gets the Intercontinental Title. He swings, but RVD kicks him in the gut, but in grabbing the title he knocks down referee Tim White, and Eddie takes advantage to hit a neckbreaker on the title. Eddie heads up top, and here’s the original version of the Frog Splash! He connects, and covers to get the three count, and we have a NEW Intercontinental Champion! This was one-sided, but they picked the right one side to dominate. Eddie DISMANTLED him for 10 straight minutes and this was the type of preformance Eddie needed to cement his comeback, and kudos to Van Dam for letting Eddie turn him into his bitch. It paid off too, because the two had a memorable feud and both guys came out of the summer the better for it. ***1/2 - ***3/4