Stojy watches WWE 2002

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Chris

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Even with the shitty Taker/Test match, this would be the perfect PPV if Booker and Goldust would have won
 

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Honestly I'm not too much of a Bookdust fan - it felt like they were trying to shove Booker into a comedy role before his time
 
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Even with the shitty Taker/Test match, this would be the perfect PPV if Booker and Goldust would have won
I didn't mind the 'Taker/Test match. It was easily the worst thing on the show, but I didn't think it was awful or anything.

Same kind of goes with the Booker/Goldust result. Would have been cool if they won, but I didn't have an issue with them dragging it out either.

Honestly I'm not too much of a Bookdust fan - it felt like they were trying to shove Booker into a comedy role before his time
I don't think I've heard this take before. Interesting. I always thought the comedy for the most part came across pretty well, and more importantly, their in-ring work is pretty good mainly because Goldust is really underrated as a worker.
 

Stojy

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WWE Raw
August 26th, 2002
New York, New York

The show opens with some Eric Bischoff in ring promo time. He announced Rob Van Dam vs. Tommy Dreamer in a WWE Intercontinental Title and WWE Hardcore Title unification match. And a lifetime achievement award will be given to a Hall of Famer. Bischoff brings out WWE Undisputed Champion Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman and they head to the ring. Heyman gets on the mic and says, “you can take Bruno Sammartino, Superstar Billy Graham and Hulk Hogan, combine them all, and they still don’t equal The Next Big Thing.” They talk about how Brock is the youngest WWE champion ever and how he’s unbeatable. Shawn Michaels’ music then hits but Shawn Michaels doesn’t come out. Triple H comes out instead. He says it’s the last time we’ll ever hear that song again, and brags about what he did to Shawn. Triple H doesn’t think that Michaels will ever walk again. Triple H then starts walking towards the ring and reminds Brock that he wouldn’t be champion if it weren’t for Triple H. He softened up The Rock last week and now he wants a title match. The Undertaker’s music hits and ‘Taker makes his way down to the ring. ‘Taker says the way he sees it, Triple H is all wrong. ‘Taker calls out Brock because he wants the title shot, but Triple H attacks ‘Taker. ‘Taker gets double teamed by both men in the corner. Triple H then starts to attack Brock which allows ‘Taker to fight back and he knocks Triple H out of the ring. ‘Taker drives Lesnar from the ring as well and stands tall. This was good. Brock and Heyman cut their victory speech, and right away, there’s two new challengers ready to get at the still relatively inexperienced champ. Good stuff.

After a commercial, Eric Bischoff stands at the announcers table and reveals it will be Triple H vs. The Undertaker in the main event to determine the number one contender to Lesnar’s championship. A big name main event that’s for sure, hoping they can deliver as their chemistry is up and down. Either of these men against Brock sounds awesome though.


Match One
Booker T vs. Christian w/Lance Storm


It’s only about four minutes but they do a good job with the time they have. Solid proceedings as there’s no real story, but it’s a bunch of fun moves in the allocated timeslot. Booker plays a baby face so well, looking super energetic, and Christian would cut him off and kill the crowd with simple yet effective moves. This happened throughout until they finally pulled the trigger on the big Booker T comeback. Lance Storm gets involved so Goldust runs down to take care of Storm, and Booker is then able to hit the Scissors Kick to get the win. Solid work from all involved. **1/2

Backstage, Christian is pissed about what happened and thinks he’s got screwed. Christian complains to Storm, but Test comes up and tells them to cool down. Tonight will have something that makes people talk about them for years to come. This was fine. Logical reaction from Christian and Storm, and Test teases something big happening later to keep us interested. Ticking all the right boxes.

Earlier in the day, Christopher Nowinski asked WWE Womens Champion Molly Holly to be in his corner tonight and assured Molly she’d be safe from the Dudleys. Victoria was there and wished Nowinski luck. Nowinski has a feeling he’ll be getting really lucky. Nowinski continuing to try and get in Molly’s pants is fun to follow. This was fine.


Match Two
Bubba Ray Dudley and Spike Dudley vs. Christopher Nowinski and William Regal w/Molly Holly


Nothing really positive to say about this one. As much as I compliment Nowinski on his character work, he still can’t wrestler. This was awful really. Molly keeps interfering throughout to help her new friend, but Bubba catches Regal with a Bubba Bomb and pins him. Not good at all. *1/4

After the match, Bubba sets a table up in the middle of the ring. Bubba looks to Powerbomb Molly through the table, but Regal hits Bubba in the head with the brass knuckles. More shenanigans happen and Nowinski leaves with Molly, saving her, whilst Regal still gets Powerbombed through the table. Aftermath was fun, and gives the fans the table spot they want, whilst continuing the fun Nowinski/Molly stuff. No complaints.

Backstage, Eric Bischoff is talking to someone in the Raw special guest locker room. He tells them to stay in there while he goes out and to wait for their introduction to receive the award. Meh, filler segment to tease who the HOF might be.

Backstage, Molly Holly thanks Christopher Nowinski and asks if there is anything for her to do to repay him just to let her know. She then gives him a hug. More good advancement here.

Eric Bischoff is in the ring and brings out his guest, Jimmy Snuka. Bischoff has a plaque for Snuka and shows a Snuka tribute video. The movie is highlighted by Snuka’s famous flight off the top of the steel cage in Madison Square Garden. He asks Snuka to talk, but takes the mic back and says these past three minutes in the ring have just been hold on… He says to hold on and asks DID SOMEBODY JUST SAY… THREE MINUTES? Jamal gets in the ring, but he gets chopped by Snuka. Rosey and Jamal end up destroying Snuka. Bischoff laughs from the ramp as we go to commercials. Back from the break, they show footage of the attack and Snuka is being helped out, but Chris Jericho comes down dressed for a match, and puts Snuka in the Walls Of Jericho, and then laughs. 3 Minute Warning stuff is fine as I continue to enjoy their stuff, although I don’t like Snuka doing well against Jamal in the early stages here at all. Jericho putting Snuka in the Walls after the fact is AMAZING heel antics, love that.

Jericho then gets on the mic and says he’s had enough of all of these has beens and says he was robbed at Summerslam. He shows footage of making Ric Flair submit at Summerslam, albeit with Flair’s hand on the bottom rope. Jericho is pissed off and going to take his anger out on Flair’s little buddy, Jeff Hardy. Perfectly acceptable reaction for Jericho’s character and taking out his frustration on Jeff works.


Match Three
Chris Jericho vs. Jeff Hardy


A solid match here between these two. They were given a good amount of time to the point where I maybe hoped for something better, but considering where both men are at in 2002, whether motivation wise or personal problem wise, this is probably all we were ever going to get. It felt slow and plodding for chunks of the match which is disappointing considering who is involved. A few botches throughout because Jeff is sloppy as hell, and Jericho really upped his trash talking, asshole gimmick, and then pumped really well for Jeff’s offense. They probably didn’t play on it enough throughout the match, but Jericho being in a mood comes into play for the finish. He has the Walls Of Jericho on Hardy, and Hardy makes the ropes, but Jericho refuses to break the hold. The referee has no choice but to call the DQ. Solid match but definitely room for improvement, and some consistency with Jericho’s fury, as opposed to just feeling like he’s wrestling a normal match for 95% of this would have been nice. **1/2

After the match, Jericho looks like he’s snapped as he continues to refuse to let go. Referees and Sergeant Slaughter had to come out and pull him off. I’m okay with Jericho letting off some steam like this after last night’s result. This is good.

Backstage, Terri meets up with Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar. She asks Heyman who he prefers as the number one contender, but Brock says that it doesn’t make a difference. Heyman and Lesnar laugh it off. Solid enough I guess, portraying the confidence of the champ, but in the long run, the particular words he chose, mean SO much more.

Elsewhere, Test holds up a US flag and says tonight, this goes up in flames, and he has a blow torch. A tease for the next big in ring segment. I like the ambition here from The Un Americans, something that would really make a statement.

And now we get Un Americans in ring promo time so they can light the flag on fire. Test says that it’s about time the Americans realize what the rest of the world thinks of America. They are about to burn the flag, but then the Kane video airs again. However, Kane doesn’t appear, and they are going to continue to burn the flag. Booker T and Goldust come through the crowd and attack the Un Americans, taking out Lance Storm and Christian, but it leaves Test in the ring with the flag. Test tries to light the flag on fire again, but THIS TIME KANE MAKES HIS RETURN TO MAKE THE SAVE!!! Kane ducks a flag shot and decks Test with a few right hands. Christian hits Kane with a chair shot that doesn’t faze him. Kane runs off the Canadians. The Un Americans bail up the aisle. Booker celebrates and Goldust waves the flag. Booker then does the Spinarooni. Kane stops Booker from leaving and says the fans didn’t come here just to see that. They came to see the Kane-a-roonie. Kane does it and it’s awesome. Well booked to go with something like the flag being burned to signal the return of Kane, and setting up a new nemesis for The Un Americans as ‘Taker looks to move onto bigger things. Good work.

WWE: OUR SEASON NEVER ends video package airs.


Match Four
WWE Intercontinental Championship vs. WWE Hardcore Championship
Unification Match
Rob Van Dam (c) vs. Tommy Dreamer


I like the booking of this one. I think each show only really needs one mid card title, and the IC Title is way more prestigious than thew Hardcore Title. Outside of the odd moment, the Hardcore division was played out by this point anyway, so this was the right call. Considering this is two former ECW guys at Madison Square Garden, it seems they try really hard to deliver tonight. Really great stuff, and the end of Tommy’s run as anything decent in the WWE. Both men did a good job of playing up the mutual respect card, and they managed to keep the fans involved which was good. No real new spots or anything AMAZING, but everything they did do, they did well, and sometimes that’s enough. Nothing bad, and in the end, RVD gets the Five Star Frog Splash for the win. A really good farewell to the Hardcore Title. Good match. ***

After the match, they embrace, and Dreamer shows respect to RVD before leaving. Cool to see them getting to refer back to ECW in New York.

Backstage, Triple H is preparing for the main event when Lilian Garcia and Trish Stratus walk towards Lilian’s match. Cool.

As we come back, Stacy Keibler comes down the ramp and says that she isn’t in Fink’s corner. Stacy is here to make sure that Trish Stratus doesn’t interfere in the match. Fink says that “Stacy’s getting involved with something in his trousers” … LMAO epic call from The Fink, and I like the way they are maintaining the Stacy/Trish feud here without ruining or forgetting about it.


Match Five
Evening Gown vs. Tuxedo Match
Winner is full time ring announcer of Raw
Howard Finkel vs. Lilian Garcia


I don’t normally like ring announcer angles, so I was already not enjoying this, and this match made it worse. Awful. I’m happy I will never have to watch this again. Trish and Stacy end up getting in and helping Lilian and they all strip off at The Fink’s clothes which means Lilian wins. Not good, and the match is probably worse than the image of Fink in his bright red underwear. Yuck all around. ¼*

Match Six
Number One Contender’s Match
The Undertaker vs. Triple H


Another match between these two in the year 2002, whilst not being downright awful, isn’t very good. How weird that ‘Taker has awful chemistry for the most part with Rock and Triple H. Anyway, this was basically just a brawl, with Triple H controlling most the match. They brawled a lot, A LOT of meaningless punching, and at one point Triple H locks in a Sleeper, because apparently all the brawling is because he’s working on the head of ‘Taker. But yeah, just solid but disappointing, until Brock comes in and hits ‘Taker in the skull with the title, which allows Triple H to pick up the win. Solid, but not anything special. **1/4

In the parking lot, Stephanie McMahon has arrived, and Eric Bischoff tells Stephanie to leave, but he knows she can’t help herself. He then brags about how he has the number one contender. Stephanie asks what’s he contending for. Brock Lesnar is now exclusive to Smackdown. Bischoff says the Undisputed Champion wrestles on both shows, but Steph opens the limo door for Lesnar and Heyman, before telling Bischoff that it is champion’s choice what show he wrestles on. She pays Brock a lot of money to be EXCLUSIVE TO SMACKDOWN, and they all drive off. HUGE steal here for Steph, as she makes the biggest title in the game exclusive to SD. Must admit, if you look at the moves from both brands so far, Bischoff is getting slaughtered in this brand warfare battle.

Middling at best here. Not anywhere near the level of stuff that was happening pre Summerslam. Hoping we can get back to that next week.
 
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Stojy

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WWE Smackdown
August 29th, 2002
Mohegan Sun, Connecticut

The show kicks off with Stephanie McMahon in ring promo time. She reiterates that WWE Champion Brock Lesnar is now EXCLUSIVELY on Smackdown. She says tonight will decide a number one contender, with an elimination style series of matches and the winner of the last match will face Lesnar, and the series starts now. Well, hey, we’re getting straight down to business on the wrasslin’ show. I like it, and this series is great booking. Should be a lot of fun throughout the night.

Match One
Number One Contender’s Series
Eddie Guerrero vs. Edge


A great match to start the show and set the tone for this number one contender’s series. It’s a bit lesser than Summerslam but it’s still really good. I’m not the hugest fan of a PPV rematch immediately after, but the booking works here with something new up for grabs, and with their series now tied at a victory each, this is good foundations for more to come from these two. They started off fast out of the gates, trading moves but Edge gets the better of it. Eddie tries to for a handshake, calling for a truce, but Edge doesn’t accept and just beats on Eddie some more instead. Eddie’s bumping is amazing as usual as well. The finish makes me excited because Eddie cheats to win, and it feels like this is one of the first time he uses the tactics that will become his go to over the next few years. The heel wasn’t better than the face tonight, but Eddie outsmarted Edge. Eddie brings two chairs into the ring, one hidden outside the ring apron. Eddie then purposely overthrows one of the chairs in the ring so Edge can pick it up. Edge threatens to hit Eddie, but the ref pulls the chair away from Edge. Eddie then grabs the other chair, and he blocks a Spear attempt with the chair, and the ref doesn’t see it as he’s to busy getting rid of the first chair. This allows Eddie to hit the Frog Splash and get the win. Good match here, and good booking to. ***

Backstage, Matt Hardy stops Stephanie McMahon and says the fans love him. He then asks if he’s the next one in the series. She says it’s actually Rikishi, and he asks when he goes on. Steph is non-committal, and Matt is ready for a match, and as she leaves, he starts doing jumping jacks. A nice segment to continue Hardy’s character change. The signs are there, and obvious, but he’s still not fully heel yet. Whilst I understand the booking here, I would much rather Hardy in the series then god damn Rikishi lol. Ugh.

Match Two
John Cena vs. Reverend D’Von


These two have crossed paths in some tag matches recently and are yet to do anything good together to be brutally honest. This is another bad one. A lot of sloppy stuff as they make a pretty bad attempt at portraying the experienced veteran vs. the three month rookie angle. Weirdly enough, they started off really fast paced and energetic, seemingly trying but then this fell off a cliff. The result is one worth noting as well, as Cena losing cleanly to D’Von, who is becoming a lesser character by the week, probably shows that they aren’t as high on this current iteration of Cena as they were when he debuted. A lot of botches here, the worst being Cena messing up and Oklahoma Roll, where even Tazz points out on commentary that Cena was rolling the wrong way. In the end, D’Von hits a Reverse Brianbuster type move for the win to put us out of misery. Not good and the Cena push, at this particular moment, looks in a lot of trouble. *1/2

Post match, Batista comes down and kills D’Von with a Lariat. Batista then hits a Sitout Powerbomb, yet to be named the Batista Bomb to leave D’Von laying. This has run it’s course. It’s been good to see Batista break free, but I think he just needs to squash D’Von next week now and be done with it.

A Rey Mysterio highlights video airs. Cool, cool.


Match Three
Rey Mysterio vs. Rico


The result of this one is never in doubt. Coming off an impressive performance albeit a loss at Summerslam, this is just a Mysterio showcase to get him a win back. Rico is basically just a warm body, but similar to some of his Velocity matches recently, he bumps incredibly well, and Rey hits all of his stuff clean. On the other end, when Rico does get on the offensive, Mysterio sells to make Rico look like the real deal as well. For what this is, or was booked it to be, it’s quite good. Definitely better than what I was expecting. Just want to take a moment to mention how epic Rico’s offense was as well, as he lands a Sideslam Powerbomb, a Delayed Vertical Suplex into a Falcon Arrow, and a Snap Powerbomb. How amazing is power offense Rico lol? In the end though, the right man wins as Rey hits his usual 619 and West Coast Pop combo to get the win. Shockingly good. **3/4

Backstage, Hardcore Holly is telling Stephanie McMahon that he should be in the title tournament series. Dawn Marie interrupts and says Stephanie has an important phone call waiting. Steph goes into her office, leaving Dawn in the hall with Hardcore. Holly yells at Dawn that no phone call is more important than him. Really liking multiple wrestlers wanting to be in the series, really making a shot at the WWE Championship feel like a coveted prize. That’s really good. Holly is a charisma vacuum though and watching him try and talk is painful. I am curious as to what Steph’s phone call is about though.

Backstage, after the break, Stephanie assures the person on the phone that she would never treat them how they were treated on Raw. She says that Dawn can deliver the papers right now since the hotel is connected to the arena. Matt Hardy barges in and hangs up the phone. He wants a shot in the title tournament. Steph calls him a son of a…She stops and yells that if he wants Brock, he can have him, and she books Brock vs. Matt tonight, and Matt is all excited about it. Another good segment here. The balls on Matt Hardy, this was fantastic, and the reaction from Steph to set up the match works.

Backstage, Marc Lloyd is with Rikishi for an interview. Rikishi says he was F5’ed a few weeks ago so he’s got some unfinished business. He will give Brock “a piece of the Kish”. Eddie Guerrero interrupts and starts mocking Rikishi. Guerrero thinks that Rikishi’s diaper is too tight cutting blood circulation. Tonight he’ll be taking on Latino Heat, not Brock Lesnar. Rikishi asks how to say back that ass up in Spanish and they both walk away. I don’t mind this. Nothing special but a solid segment to add some heat to their upcoming match.


Match Four
Number One Contender Series
Eddie Guerrero vs. Rikishi


I think I’m probably letting my disdain for the result cloud my judgment here, but I didn’t like this. Realistically, Eddie was okay, trying hard to make something involving Rikishi in 2002 not abysmal, and whilst he succeeded at that, this still wasn’t good. Booking wise giving Rikishi a clean win over Eddie, even if Eddie already competed tonight, really annoys me. Eddie works on the knees for half the match, trying to give it focus, but Rikishi barely sells it, comes back and wins with a Superkick. Uninspiring stuff, and a crappy result from a booking perspective. *3/4

Post match, Chris Benoit comes down and he and Eddie beat down Rikishi. Guerrero goes up top and hits a Frog Splash on Rikishi’s back. Benoit then puts him in the Crossface. The beating continues until Edge runs down to run Benoit and Eddie out of the ring. Aftermath is fine. Feels like Benoit must be next in the elimination series, and honestly, this aftermath has all the makings of a tag match between these four next week. I would not be surprised.

Backstage, Stephanie McMahon confronts Benoit. She tells him he must feel bad about losing the Intercontinental Title and he must want to take out that anger. He will fight Rikishi in the series next. Confirmed as expected no issues with this.


Match Five
Shannon Moore w/The Hurricane vs. Tajiri w/Jamie Noble and Nidia


Tajiri is pretty consistent at this point, you know what you’re going to get. Moore on the other hand isn’t as good here as he has been since he debuted, where he’s been on a roll. Not just kayfabe, his in ring performances have been pretty good so far. Here he isn’t at that same level, but due to an awesome opponent, the match is still low level solid. A fun moment during the entrances is that WWE Cruiserweight Champion Jamie Noble high fives Michael Cole for two reasons. One to ensure that Cole talks good about him, but two, because he’s impressed from when Nidia and Cole made out. How awesome is Jamie Noble lol? I appreciate that even with the title elimination series happening, this still managed to get some good time. Moore was a little sloppy throughout, botching multiple things not to the point where they completed messed up, but things just weren’t looking smooth. Also it’s a bit same old, as much like last week with Noble, Moore just gets a flash pin. Thankfully Tajiri tried his best to carry this. I do like that they’re giving Moore a chance though, breaking Noble away from the Kidman and Hurricane feuds, which have already seen multiple matches. It’s not official but I assume Moore would be the number one contender with this win, as he reverses a German Suplex into a sloppy Roll Up for the win. Solidish. **

Match Six
Number One Contender Series
Chris Benoit vs. Rikishi


Not much to say about this because it was so quick. Two minutes of Benoit destroying Rikishi, focusing on the injured arm which is the story here. After just a couple of minutes, Benoit already applies the Crossface for the second time in the match, and Rikishi has no choice but to tap. A nothing match that’s too quick due to the booking, but I do like the booking. Still, not a good match due to circumstance. *3/4

In the back, Kurt Angle tells Marc Lloyd that Stephanie McMahon just told him that he’s the last man in the series, so it will be Angle vs. Benoit in the finals. Angle says that Lesnar may be the youngest champion, but he’s not the best. Anytime Angle/Benoit get in the ring together it’s a positive so this should be great. Solid segment to hype the now announced main event.

Funaki tries to interview WWE Champion Brock Lesnar, but Paul Heyman comes out of the locker room and says that it’s not a good idea to bother Lesnar during his before match preparations. Funaki thinks twice about it and decides against interviewing Lesnar. Matt Hardy shows up behind them. He says it’s not WWE Attitude, it’s WWE MATTITUDE! Good stuff. Funaki being scared of Brock helps put over the aura of the champ, and Hardy introducing the term Mattitude for the first time was always going to make me mark.


Match Seven
Brock Lesnar w/Paul Heyman vs. Matt Hardy


I thought this was a solid squash match for the most part, but with Hardy’s character twist, and the fans slowly catching on, Lesnar could have been mistaken as the babyface here. He got a fair pop from the fans to, and I just think it’s way to early for Brock to be shown in this light. He’s only just become the champ on his monster heel run. This was fun though, and Matt does get some offense in, and Brock sells terrifically for it as always. Hardy bumps like crazy to, and for the most part, this is a cool spectacle, just watching the dominating Brock throw Hardy around the ring. Hardy has one last fight back at the end, but when he attempts the Twist Of Fate, Brock hoists him onto his shoulders and nails the F5 to get the pin. A fun squash for Brock. **1/2

Post match, Lesnar runs back to the ring and Powerbombs Hardy twice. Nice.

In the back, Dawn Marie brings Stephanie McMahon the signed papers. Stephanie reveals the main event tonight is a now a triple threat match. It will be between Chris Benoit, Kurt Angle and the Raw defector. She tells Dawn to call Eric Bischoff and tell him to watch this. Boom, huge news. This is a nice tease of the mystery as to who will be the new signee. After just getting exclusive rights to Brock, Stephanie is OWNING Bischoff right now.

With Angle and Benoit in the ring, Stephanie comes out and announced the third man… The Undertaker. Another GIGANTIC win for Stephanie, another exciting signee. Plus, the idea of ‘Taker following Lesnar over after some of their interactions recently is awesome.


Match Eight
Number One Contenders Match
Chris Benoit vs. Kurt Angle vs. The Undertaker


Typical triple threat shenanigans throughout, and a great match to end the show. Benoit and Angle show their technical prowess with awesome reversals and counter sequences throughout the match, and the Benoit/Taker stuff is great to see as well. Unfortunately it’s a tease only, as we never actually get to see Benoit/Taker go at it properly in a one on one setting. The action here is good and I think the booking makes sense. Benoit and Angle stop each other from pinning or submitting ‘Taker several times throughout, so it seems we will have a program between these two. Angle and Benoit teaming up together so take out ‘Taker makes sense logically and was fine. All three men take brutal bumps at times so having one man down on the outside feels organic, as opposed to forced because it’s a typical WWE Triple Threat trope. The ending comes about when Benoit throws Angle over the top rope and to the outside, but then turns into The Last Ride from ‘Taker. Undertaker gets the pin and becomes the number one contender. Great booking, great surprise with ‘Taker appearing and a good match. Also Benoit/Angle (an assumption) and Brock/’Taker are two epic feuds to take us forward. Good stuff. ***

The wrasslin’ brand delivers again. A great show here, with the elimination series being an awesome idea. The inclusion of ‘Taker just gives a nice touch of star power to go with the amount of in ring talent on SD. I’m down for SD to be 7-8 matches with minimal promos every week if this is what that looks like.
 
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Stojy

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WWE Velocity
August 31st, 2002
Mohegan Sun, Connecticut

Match One
Chavo Guerrero vs. The Hurricane


A fine start to the show, as these two get together and put on a solid match. It feels like these two can do that at will at this point, even dating back to their days in WCW where they put on some okay matches. Maybe a few moments of awkwardness at times, but not enough to hinder the match for the most part. After losing the Cruiserweight Title, and then moving away from the title program, Hurricane seems to have started something of a losing streak. That’s in singles action at least anyway. I think it’s also strange that Hurricane seems to be trying to wrestle a mainly power based offense, that’s not what brought him to the dance and got him where he is today. Needs to revert back. The Chokeslam as a one off is fine, but it can’t be his entire offensive strategy. It’s just not working. Still, this was solid enough, with Hurricane missing the Vertebreaker, and Chavo Getting a Roll Up with the tights for the victory. This was decent. **1/2

Match Two
Albert vs. Mark Henry


This is not good. Plodding and slow, as much as I like Henry, he’s not suited to be a babyface for the most part. A strange moment early where Albert looks like he’s going to attempt a German Suplex, but Henry reverses, only to just kind of shove Albert face first to the canvas. Looked really sloppy. As the match progresses, the one thing that is a positive is that Henry’s strength is real, as he’s able to land some incredible power moves on Albert, who is no small man. For example, the Military Press on Albert was incredible. I know I’ve harped on this before but from a booking perspective, I can’t believe we are this late into the year and Albert is just still losing on Velocity. It’s disappointing. Henry hits a Stalling Suplex which is pretty crazy as well. Impressive power moves aside, this is pretty awful, and Henry eventually nails a Power Slam after fighting out of a Baldo Bomb to get the win. Hoping I don’t have to sit through this again at any point. *1/4

We get a video recap of WWE Undisputed Champion Brock Lesnar destroying Matt Hardy on Smackdown.

Match Three
Billy and Chuck w/Rico vs. Hardcore Holly and Randy Orton


A solid tag match here as Billy and Chuck continue to have their best performances in the ring of their entire run now that they have lost the tag titles. This was okay and from a booking perspective, the long term arch of Rico once again getting under Holly’s skin and costing him a match works a treat. Billy and Chuck’s offense is all fine enough, as they use quick tags, showing their expertise as a team to isolate Holly. After the hot tag to Orton and all hell breaking loose, Orton hits the Play Of The Day on Chuck and looks set for the win. The referee doesn’t count though, as he’d distracted by Rico. This is when Holly goes after Rico, allowing Billy to come in and illegally hit the One And Only on Orton. Chuck gets the pin. Typical heel win which I’m fine with and match was solid. **1/4

We get a video recap of the title elimination contender series on Smackdown, which ended with The Undertaker making a surprise return to Smackdown. He defeats Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle in the final to earn the right to face Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship.

Match Four
WWE Cruiserweight Championship Match
Jamie Noble (c) w/Nidia vs. Funaki


This is probably better than what I thought it would be. It’s not mind blowing or anything but it’s good, as not for the first time recently, Funaki steps it up a level when it counts, this time hanging with Noble throughout the match. Noble focuses on the neck of Funaki, and it’s pretty great. After a Snapmare, some elbows to the neck, and a Neckbreaker, Noble ties Funaki in a Tree of Woe, but then heads outside and pulls on Funaki’s head to wrench the neck. Epic. Noble is such an awesome heel Cruiserweight Champion, using his mat based style to ground all the highflyers. I like that Noble keeps the focus on the neck even with the matches rest hold, using a Sleeper, which still somewhat applies pressure on that area. Funaki fights out of it and fights back, and they end up trading some close near falls in what is a fun finishing run. After failing twice previously, Noble reverses a German Suplex attempt from Funaki, and finally hits the Tiger Bomb to get the pin and retain the title. A good main event, easily match of the night this week. **3/4

Post match, Funaki is barely able to get up, but he grabs a mic and cuts a promo. “I may have lost to Jamie Noble, but I know you people still love me because Funaki Smackdown Number One announcer”. This gets a huge pop from the fans and is a fun way to end the show. Fuck yeah, go Funaki. Can’t wait until he gets to interview Al Wilson at No Mercy.

Three of four matches here were watchable meaning this was another pretty strong episode of Velocity.
 

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WWE August 2002

Top 5 Matches of the month
Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero vs. Edge and The Rock - Smackdown, August 1st
Unsanctioned Match: Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H - Summerslam
Chris Benoit vs. The Rock - Smackdown, August 15th
Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero and Kurt Angle vs. Edge, John Cena and Rey Mysterio - Smackdown, August 8th
WWE Undisputed Championship Match: The Rock (c) vs. Brock Lesnar w/Paul Heyman - Summerslam

Bottom 5 Matches of the month
Bra And Panties Match: Stacy Keibler vs. Torrie Wilson - Global Warning Tour
Nidia w/Jamie Noble vs. Torrie Wilson w/Billy Kidman - Smackdown, August 15th
Rico vs. Rikishi - Global Warning Tour
Mark Henry vs. Mike Awesome - Velocity, August 24th
Bradshaw vs. Shawn Stasiak - Heat, August 18th

Top 5 Wrestlers of the month
The Rock
Edge
Chris Benoit
Eddie Guerrero
Rey Mysterio

Bottom 5 Wrestlers of the month
Spike Dudley
Rikishi
Reverend D'Von
Albert
Mark Henry
 

Stojy

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How bad must those matches have been for Fink vs. Lilian not to register
Literally exactly what happened. Decided it was so awful that I wasn't putting it in the match rating list.
 

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Unfortunately, this will most likely be the last post in here for at least one month. With the WWE's move to Netflix, the streaming service I use for Raw/SD here in Australia (Binge) has officially removed anything pre 2024 Raw or Smackdown from their app over the last couple of days. It's likely I will need to wait for Netflix to put some 2002 weeklies on their app before I can watch again. I will be back though, I've never actually gotten this far into a rewatch before (as in writing and posting reviews anyway), so definitely want to finish off the year when I can.

WWE Heat
September 1st, 2002
New York City, New York

Earlier today, Johnny Stamboli cuts a promo about a guy asking what the key to a successful marriage is and that is to never introduce your wife to Stamboli. Meh, everything about Stamboli is cringe for me. Struggled to get into this, regardless of show short it was.

Match One
Goldust vs. Johnny Stamboli


Not a good match at all. And I’m a Goldust/Dustin Rhodes guy, which means the blame on this one is falling directly on Stamboli. He’s just awful. There’s an awkward moment, where he gets Goldust up for a Suplex, but looks to drop him across the top rope, but kind of has Goldust land on his side, instead of stomach. Looked weird and painful, but not in a good way. Goldust really did try hard, but Stamboli just clearly isn’t at the level. Goldust ends up hitting the Curtain Call to put us out of our misery. Bad. *1/2

Match Two
Crash Holly vs. Steven Richards


Richards has kind of gone through a mini resurgence over the last little while, so I’m happy to see him get some showcase time here. These two put together a basic match which is completely solid and perfect for an episode of Heat really. It’s short but solid with the highlight probably being a nice Missile Dropkick that Crash lands on Richards. In the end, Richards reverses a Bulldog, and lands a Superkick, picking up the clean victory, as he should. Low level solid from these two. **

We get some hype for our main event tonight, which will see D’Lo Brown vs. Raven finally happen. We then get a video recap of highlights of Rob Van Dam vs. Tommy Dreamer from Raw.

Match Three
Bradshaw vs. Justin Credible


Okay so this is worse than the opener. I like JBL, I really do, but I was one of the people who never envisioned him becoming what he did. And it’s probably matches like this that gave me that opinion. Credible tries to work on the leg at one point, but it gets no sold by Bradshaw so there’s was no real point to it. Bradshaw hits Credible with a laughably soft Big Boot during this one as well, which is strange from somebody who usually works so stiff. No redeeming qualities here, and Bradshaw eventually takes Credible’s head off with the Clothesline From Hell. Worst of the night. *

Match Four
D’Lo Brown vs. Raven


Just want to start off by saying that I think it’s kind of cool that the one feud they put effort with on Heat gets to have their big match against each other at Madison Square Garden of all places. It’s a nice touch. This match was obviously easier to get into and follow than anything else on Heat because of the hype behind it so that was fun, and they delivered a really solid match for the most part. After D’Lo crashes into the ring post, the focus is on his shoulder and Raven works on it well. Even some cool moments where a move might not necessarily impact the shoulder, but it does here. For example, Raven hits a Bulldog from the top rope, but D’Lo lands right on the injured shoulder. D’Lo of course fights back and it’s all solid, with D’Lo eventually catching Raven with the Sky High to get the win. Main event is rightfully match of the night. **1/2

This was probably one of the better episodes of Heat. A couple of stinkers but two passable matches also, which is better than most weeks.
 
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2002 is cursed, we didn't finish our rewatch of it either :slip:
 
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