Stojy watches WWE 2002

[Stojy]

WWF Backlash
April 21st, 2002
Kansas City, Missouri​

Okay so a few things before we get started. This is a historic PPV in a sense for two different reasons. Firstly, it’s the first PPV of the brand split, but it’s also the last PPV that will officially fall under the WWF banner. Despite having separate commentary teams for Raw and Smackdown, and matches from brands on the PPV, Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler are the only commentary in action also.

Match One
WWF Cruiserweight Championship Match
Billy Kidman (c) vs. Tajiri w/Torrie Wilson

Probably the perfect choice of opener based on what the rest of the card looks like as these guys put on a pretty awesome ten minute spotfest. These two have wrestled each other a bit in the past, and it seemed like they were both pretty comfortable with the match having a good level of stiffness about it. Tajiri’s kick to Kidman when he was in the Tree Of Woe looked crazy and got a nice reaction from the crowd as well. Another interesting fact here is that the storyline is Tajiri is the jealous boyfriend of Torrie, but Kidman and Torrie were actually together in real life at the time. Anyway, by 2002 Kidman isn’t the same Kidman that he was in WCW, but this was definitely one of his better WWE performances. Type of match and type of finish that makes me hope this feud continues. Tajiri was so awesome here, and in the end, when the Buzzsaw kick doesn’t work, he resorts to the green mist, blinding Kidman before getting a Roll Up to regain the Cruiserweight Title. A really good opener here to set the scene for the PPV. ***​

After the match, Michael Cole comes to ringside to interview Tajiri, and despite her once again doing nothing wrong, Tajiri yells at her and clearly berates her in Japanese before they head up the aisle. Nothing wrong with this. Short, sharp and continues the angle with Tajiri mistreating Torrie.

Bradshaw and Faarooq meet up backstage for a reunion segment, with the two complimenting each other and congratulating each other on what they’ve done as singles wrestlers so far. Feels funny to be hitting these reunion segments after only two weeks apart, but with the entire landscape of the company changing so quickly, it does feel like it has been longer, so these segments are still enjoyable.

Match Two
Bradshaw vs. Scott Hall w/X Pac

After such a good opener, this one brought us back down to earth really quick. This match was awful, the highlight most likely being right at the beginning. X Pac, who is still wearing Kane’s mask, gets into the ring and tries to interfere and distract Bradshaw, so Faarooq comes down to even up the odds. Once Bradshaw and Hall start going at it though, it’s just some plodding brawling, nothing exciting at all. Hall is especially awful here. Unfortunately Bradshaw is supposed to be fired up and holding the NWO accountable, but the action lacks intensity, so you don’t really get that feeling here. Instead we get a dull match, even though it’s quick, which ends when X Pac gets involved and Faarooq takes him out, but it allows Hall to land a low Blow and get a Roll Up to get the win. I’m not big on two Roll Up finishes in a row, to be honest. Match was not good at all, and another fun fact, this is Hall’s last PPV match of this run. It pretty much went the way this entire run did for him, badly. *1/4​

Vince McMahon walks into Ric Flair’s office to tell him he’s sneaky for naming himself the guest referee in the Austin and Undertaker match later tonight. Vince almost sounds proud. Vince goes further, telling Flair that he likes his new style and says he is learning what it’s like to be an owner and you can’t please everybody. Now that Flair is a legitimate owner, he must know how it feels to be constantly questioned and doubted on every move. Vince sympathises with Flair. Flair tells Vince that he will never be like him. Enjoyable segment here, with these two getting together again, and considering where Flair ends up, that makes this segment even better.

Before the match can start, Trish Stratus has made her entrance but then Molly Holly comes out, probably so Jerry Lawler can have fun on commentary. Molly calls Trish a cheater for how she beat her on Raw, and says that unlike Trish, she is pure and wholesome. They begin to fight and head to the outside, where Molly sends Trish flying into the steps before the bell rings.

Match Three
WWF Womens Championship Match
Jazz (c) vs. Trish Stratus

Jazz makes her way out with Trish struggling, and due to Trish starting so far behind, this one isn’t really in doubt. Jazz just beats the hell out of Trish for the most part, taking advantage of Molly’s attack, but Trish sells well too. Trish focuses on selling her back, which gives Jazz a focal point for her offense, and she managed it relatively okay. I don’t think this is their best match together, but it’s far from their worst also. In the end, Jazz locks in the STF and Trish taps, giving the champion a relatively clean victory. Match had some effort, and they stuck to a story, but these two still have work to do to have a good match. *3/4​

In the back, Paul Heyman motivates Brock Lesnar ahead of his first match. One more awesome hype job before Brock finally gets into the ring for an official match.

Match Four
Brock Lesnar w/Paul Heyman vs. Jeff Hardy w/Lita

This was a pretty decent squash as Jeff’s a great foil for this type of match. Lesnar destroys him with hard hitting stuff, and Jeff shows no care for his body, willing to basically die on every bump. I didn’t notice this on first watch, but after reading about it, I rewatched this match and it’s even noticeable during Jeff’s interest. Lita holds her neck a lot during this match as this is just after she had hurt herself filming Dark Angel, and before the end of the month, she’ll be in for spinal fusion surgery. This means we won’t be seeing Lita for a while. Back to the match, probably need to compliment Brock here. His aura and confidence are so great to watch for somebody having their first televised match on PPV of all places. Jeff had a good comeback at one point, and as Brock will only get better at, he sells well enough to look kind of vulnerable, yet still dominant at the same time. Brock looks like a monster here as he continues his reign of terror, as the ref stops the match after Lesnar nails a Spinning Powerbomb. Match stoppage makes Lesnar look even better, and match was okay for what it was. ** ​

We get a video package for Edge vs. Kurt Angle!!!

Match Five
Edge vs. Kurt Angle

This match was awesome. For me, Edge is far from the perfect wrestler with his striking usually looks weak, and his offense in general can be questionable. With that being said, they managed to put on a terrific match regardless, and Edge did a really good job. It even looked like he set himself for this much and he put some extra effort into his strikes. Edge has been a project guy for the WWE for awhile now, attempting to give him a singles push for awhile now. This match felt like the turning point. This was just nonstop action for the entire thirteen and a half minutes, with a lot of fun sequences and reversals thrown in, and the end stretch had a lot of awesome false finishes. It kind of felt like they started to get into the idea of Angle being ready for all of Edge’s moves, but it also felt like it got dropped rather quickly, so that was strange. But yeah, Edge nailed this, selling really well and showing what he can do when put in the ring with a main event level guy. Edge also busted out a Belly To Belly Suplex and German Suplex to give Angle a taste of his own medicine. It was a cool moment, but the moves looked really awkward, which took away a little from the moment. Still, pointing out a few small things here, because that’s how invested I was in this. Awesome stuff really. The ending comes about when Angle brings a steel chair into the ring. He swings at Edge, who avoids it, and the chair bounces off the ropes, and hits Angle in the face. Edge then pulls Angle down to the canvas but only gets a two count. Edge sets up for the Spear, but Kurt kicks him in the face and nails a second Angle Slam for the win. Awesome stuff. Angle wins, but Edge is made, really well done. ****1/4​

Surprisingly for a PPV, it’s now Chris Jericho in ring promo time. Jericho is mad because he deserves to be in the main event, but instead he doesn’t even have a match on Backlash. He can’t believe people like Kidman, Trish and Maven are wrestling and he isn’t. He just main evented WrestleMania and is left off Backlash, and that old creepy bastard Hulk Hogan is in the main event. Jericho gets angrier as the fans keeping booing him and he decides to leave. Actually a really good promo. Jericho sold his anger well, because there’s probably some truth to it. Agreed with most of what he said in this promo actually, it felt real. Good stuff, even if I’m not a big fan of long in ring promos on PPV’s.

Match Six
WWF Intercontinental Championship Match
Rob Van Dam (c) vs. Eddie Guerrero

This was another awesome match here. Not quite on the level of the previous one, but still better than anything else on this show. What probably was a challenge for these guys, was that after the last match, the crowd were a bit burnt out, however this was so good that they managed to bring the fans back in as the match progressed. The whole angle is built around Eddie being mad at RVD stealing the Frog Splash from him. Trying to prove the point to be right, on commentary, The King asks JR who the first person to hit the Frog Splash in the WWF was, and JR says D’Lo Brown lol. Thought that was funny. Eddie was just on another level here, he’s clearly back with a point to prove. He bumped amazingly well, but then when he's on the attack, everything from the moves and strikes themselves, to his facial expressions portray intensity and viciousness when he’s beating up RVD. It’s so damn good to see. Again, they used the lower back of RVD as a focal point when Eddie was in control which was fine. Should probably give RVD credit for hitting all of his stuff well and selling decently to, although there were a couple of no sell moments on the back that we will ignore. Still though, a great match from these two. The ending happens when Eddie manages to land a Neckbreaker onto the WWF Intercontinental Title. He gets rid of the evidence and climbs up top to hit his Frog Splash for the win. Very good, and awesome to have Eddie, one of the best in the world, back in action. ***3/4​

Stone Cold vs. The Undertaker gets the video package treatment as well.

Match Seven
Number One Contenders Match
Special Guest Referee: Ric Flair
Stone Cold vs. The Undertaker

Outside of how bad this match is considering the talent involved, the other awful thing that stands out are Ric Flair’s bright red, Ronald McDonald esque shoes. Anyway, as previously mentioned, this was not good. I genuinely felt sorry for Undertaker here, as it felt like he was trying to put on a good performance. Unfortunately for him, it really did look like Austin, who is a far cry from 2001 Austin only a few months later, did not really care or want to be there. Considering how big this feud has been over the course of the most successful period within the WWF, it’s a damn shame that their last PPV match together is this one. Outside of the action not being good, they had 27 minutes to fill here, and it really did feel like an eternity. After approx. ten minutes of crappy and pointless brawling, the NWO come out to watch from the ramp. The point of this is to probably add drama, but considering how badly the NWO have been booked, I don’t even want them on my screen anymore. Undertaker’s heat period is a little strange to, as he works on the knee for a while, and then starts to focus on the neck instead. The change up came out of nowhere and seemed weird. This match really did feel like slow motion. Okay, so we get 10 minutes of nothing brawling, followed by a block of pointless submissions and rest holds, and then the last third of the match is where the overbooking comes into play. Flair gets hit with a ref bump and Austin eventually Stuns Undertaker, but nobody is there to make the count. Undertaker would end up bringing a chair in and using it but would only get a two count. Austin fights back and grabs the chair, only for Flair to try and stop him from using it. Austin snatches the chair from Flair and turns around, only for Undertaker to boot the chair straight in Austin’s face. Austin puts his foot on the rope, but Flair still counts to three. Controversial booking, bad action, this was depressing. *3/4​

The Coach catches up with Ric Flair backstage and takes him to a monitor and shows him what he missed, and that was Stone Cold’s foot on the rope. After seeing the vision, Flair replies with “aw shit”, and walks away. Thoughts on the match aside, I don’t mind this part of the booking, as it can only make the Flair/Austin rocky relationship even worst. And now we kind of want to see how Austin will react on Raw.

Match Eight
WWF Tag Team Championship Match
Billy and Chuck (c) w/Rico vs. Al Snow and Maven

I know I’m supposed to be talking about this match, and no longer complaining about Austin/Taker, but I’m giving this match the same rating. That should tell you how disappointed I am in Austin/Taker. It makes sense to position this match here as a way to give the crowd a breather before the main event. This was another match that wasn’t good. The fan’s break out a “Rico’s gay” chant to remind us that we are in the year 2002, and Rico responds by telling them to talk to the hand. BURN~! Anyway, yeah this just wasn’t good, which is really the in-ring story of the Billy and Chuck run. Billy is much better in a tag team then as a singles competitor, but the match quality with Chuck just is not there. In the end here, Rico interferes, and Al Snow chases him around the ring on the outside. With the referee distracted, Chuck comes in and nails Maven with an illegal Superkick, and Billy crawls to the cover to get the win. As I mentioned, another underwhelming title defence for the champs. *3/4

Match Nine
WWF Undisputed Championship Match
Triple H (c) vs. Hulk Hogan

This suited the feud leading in, which means that this wasn’t very good. The first mistake they made is how much time they give this. How is Hulk Hogan going twenty-three minutes in 2002? Ridiculous call. Especially with jacked up Triple H, who can barely move himself, meaning all we get is a slow paced, bore fest. They try to pick things up with the overbooked finish to set up things for what’s next, and that was a little more enjoyable, but still not great. To their credit, the battle of strength stuff early on was a nice way to keep the fans engaged, but from there, everything fell apart. Hogan probably actually looks like he can move a bit better than he did at WrestleMania, showing that he’s put in some work now which is nice. Triple H works the legs for around ten minutes, but it all leads to nothing when Hulk starts to Hulk Up, because it means his legs are fine apparently. They do some mat work mixed in to, and it’s just an unfocused mess. Hogan actually ends up hitting the Leg Drop and it looks like he’ll get the win, but Chris Jericho breaks up the pin. Jericho attacks the ref and then hits Hogan with a chair, before waking the ref back up. Kind of comical how quickly he tried to wake up the ref, after he just dropped him. Triple H doesn’t appreciate the Jericho interference and ends up taking care of Jericho, clearing him from the ring. Triple H ends up hitting a Pedigree on Hogan and now it looks like he’s about to get the win, but The Undertaker breaks up the count. Undertaker hits Triple H with a chair and puts Hogan on tip for the pin. Hogan isn’t happy and removed Undertaker from the ring, before deciding to drop a Leg on Triple H and get the win anyway. And suddenly, he’s not so disappointed in trying to win that way. If I wanted to be really generous, I could say they tried really hard with the entertainment aspect and the overbooking, but this was solid, if I’m being extremely generous. **1/4​

Backlash was actually shaping up to be a really great PPV, until the last few matches which were extremely disappointing. A show of two halves, meaning it ends up being middling at best.

 

[Stojy]

WWF Raw
April 22nd, 2002
St. Louis, Missouri

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

Opening up with a match? That’s different, and I like it. This is similar to the match with Jeff at Backlash last night, in the sense that it’s not quite a squash, as Matt has some credibility in his performance, but Brock still dominates because he’s the man getting the push here. I will say, and I think I referenced this before Backlash as well, but the Jeff/Lesnar version of this at Backlash was probably a little better than this. I think Matt is the better overall wrestler, but Jeff bumps around like a lunatic, and that suits a match like this better, where somebody is just getting destroyed. Brock still looks like a beast throughout, and the fans are clearly into the act as well which helps. Matt eventually looks for the Twist Of Fate, but Brock spins out and hits a Spiral Bomb! Brock doesn’t go for the pin and instead hits the Triple Powerbombs and just like at Backlash, the referee calls for a stoppage. Matt got in a fair bit of offense, but I still think this did the job of making Brock look strong. Solid. **1/4​

Backstage, Ric Flair arrives and there are some crew members who don’t want to shake his hand after he counted the pin with Stone Cold’s foot on the ropes at Backlash. Flair tells them that he didn’t see Austin’s foot on the ropes last night. The crew don’t look all that convinced and then The Undertaker comes over. He thanks Flair for doing the right thing and says that he owes him one. Love this. Puts over the doubt everybody has on Flair after the controversial finish at Backlash. Best part is Undertaker being a sarcastic dick and only coming up to Flair and saying this in the hope of ruining Flair’s reputation further.

Now it’s time for The Undertaker to have some in ring promo time. He starts off by complimenting Ric Flair on a job well done at Backlash. When the time came, Flair counted the 1-2-3. The Undertaker then talks about how Hulk Hogan would not have won at Backlash if not for him. At Judgment Day, he becomes judge, jury and executioner of Hulkamania. The titantron then comes to live to show Smackdown superstar Triple H entering the arena, and Undertaker says that he’s property of Smackdown and shouldn’t be on Raw. Triple H comes to the ring, and they start brawling, falling to the outside and over the announce table. Triple H maintains the advantage and makes Undertaker bleed with a monitor. The fight continues into the backstage area where Undertaker begs off when Triple H grabs a sledgehammer, but police arrive and handcuff Triple H. I’m torn on the booking of this one, tbh. On one note, Undertaker straight up cost Triple H the title, so this reaction from Triple H is understandable, and he came across like a bad ass. However, Undertaker is the number one contender, not sure how much I like him getting beaten up rather one sided by somebody other than the champion.

The commentators talk about how the Scorpion King was number one at the box office this week, and they compliment The Rock. Bye Rock

A HILARIOUS video plays of Booker T and Goldust reviewing The Scorpion King. Booker and Goldust both roleplay as the Scorpion King, but Booker tells Goldust he is more like the Scorpion Queen. My words can’t do this justice. Hilarious, awesome, and Booker and Goldust starting to get into their comedy makes me happy. Find a way to watch this if you haven’t already.

In the back, Ric Flair is making himself a drink when William Regal makes fun of him for counting down Austin with his foot on the rope. Flair defends himself but Regal doesn’t seem to believe him either. Another solid segment to push this story of nobody believing Flair.

The new WWF Intercontinental Champion Eddie Guerrero makes his way down to provide commentary for the next match.

Match Two
Mr. Perfect vs. Rob Van Dam

Perfect just isn’t being used in any sort of important role, which is fair enough at this point. This is simply a showcase match for RVD, to get him a win back after losing his title at Backlash. Based on Perfect’s current standing in the company, this only went about three minutes which is pretty disappointing. There’s an interesting commentary exchange here, where Eddie speaks in Spanish and Lawler pretends to know what’s being said. JR asks, “how do you know what Eddie said”, and King responds with, “I’m bilingual”, and JR says, “yeah, you’re bi alright”! This caught me off guard and kind of made me laugh, because as a kid you think JR is the sensible one, but upon rewatching, he has these little quips throughout where you can tell he’s just having fun to. Anyway, after three minutes of okay action, Van Dam hits the Five Star Frog Splash to get the win. *3/4​

After the match, Eddie attacks RVD from behind before dropping him with a Back Suplex. Eddie then goes for his version of the Frog Splash, but Van Dam rolls out of the way. As they get up, Van Dam clears Eddie from the ring, who hurries away with the IC Title. I don’t mind this as a way to tell us this feud is going to continue, especially after the great first match they had together.

A WWF Flashback video airs, and it shows Hulk Hogan defeating The Iron Shiek to win the WWF Championship in 1984.

Match Three
Jackie and Trish Stratus vs. Jazz and Molly Holly

Some more commentary shenanigans that I can’t help but highlight here, as they discuss Molly Holly and her new virgin character. Lawler says, “I call virgins trouble”. I think JR already knew what was coming as he audibly sighs and asks, “why is that”, and King answers, “cause I’d like to get in them”. Holy shit, King. Anyway, the match is relatively quick, and the action is bad, but I do just want to compliment the booking of the women’s division at the moment. It has been a slow burn but suddenly we have two heels that the fans dislike in Jazz and Molly, and we’ve got a sympathetic babyface in Trish that the fans love to chase them. It’s a good dynamic. As for the match itself, King being a creepy old man on commentary was probably the highlight. Action was sloppy and the match ends with Jazz sneaking a title shot on Jackie, allowing Molly to pin her. Not good. *​

Backstage, Ric Flair and Arn Anderson are together in Flair’s office and Flair is complaining about being disrespected. Arn gives him this look that almost tells Flair that he doesn’t necessarily believe him either. Arn proposes that Flair go out to the ring and explain himself. More solid progression here.

Ric Flair in ring promo time now as he comes out and admits to doing a poor job as the referee last night at Backlash. He admits that he made a mistake. He shows video footage from his view which shows that The Undertaker’s body was blocking his view, so he never saw Austin’s foot on the rope. Flair apologizes to Stone Cold. Stone Cold then comes to the ring to confront Flair, and he skips going to each corner as he normally would on his entrance, selling how pissed off he is. Austin says Flair is full of crap, but he’s also right. He made a huge mistake, when he screwed Stone Cold he made the biggest mistake of his life. Austin continues to berate Flair, until Flair decides to appease him by booking him in a match against the New World Order with Bradshaw as his tag team partner. Flair leaves but it's clear Austin still isn’t happy. Solid segment here, with Austin in a bad mood. Honestly surprised we didn’t see another Stunner here. This continues their rocky relationship though, which seems to be the long-term angle at the moment so it’s fine.

Match Four
Booker T and Goldust vs. Bubba Ray Dudley and Spike Dudley

These four actually put on a pretty solid match. I wouldn’t quite call it good, but it was okay, which makes sense since Booker and Bubba have those crazy tag team backgrounds. The fun here lasts for about six minutes or so which is a pretty decent time for this era. The only thing that comes across a bit awkward at times are Booker and Goldust cast in the role of heels. They perform the role okay, but with their comedy act in full swing, it’s clear the fans want to cheer them at all costs. Anyway, Goldust and Booker performed their job well, and Bubba’s hot tag was good too. Bubba eventually heads to the outside to get himself a table, but Goldust attacks him out on the floor. As they fight, Booker hits Spike with the Scissors Kick inside the ring to get the win. Solid stuff here, and happy with the booking of the victors as well. **1/4​

After the match, Stevie Richards runs down with a referee and hits Bubba with a trash can lid. Spike grabs Stevie and attempts the Dudley Dog, but Stevie throws him over the top rope and to the outside. It’s clear he’s after the WWF Hardcore Championship of Bubba’s as he takes Bubba to the outside and sets up a table. He yells at Bubba, “I’LL SHOW YOU, YOU’LL SEE”, but Bubba ends up getting the advantage and Powerbombing Stevie through the table. Meh, don’t really care for this particular Hardcore title shenanigan.

Another WWF Flashback video airs, this one highlighting Hulk Hogan defeating Sergeant Slaughter at WrestleMania 7 to win his third WWF Championship.

Backstage, Shawn Stasiak is going off on a random tangent regarding Planet Stasiak. He also makes sure everything he says rhymes. Tommy Dreamer looks concerned and asks how he’s going. Stasiak comes back, “why do you ask, Tommy? DO YOU THINK I’M A BIT OF A MANIAC? DO YOU THINK I’VE GONE A LITTLE CRAZIAC”? Tommy looks genuinely concerned as he says, “Shawn, Shawn, that’s what I’m talking about. What’s this Planet Stasiak thing”? Stasiak’s eyes go even wider as he responds, “Oh, Tommy. Planet Stasiak is all about choices and the voices that run through my head. Some may think it’s whacky while others may think it tacky, but it cannot be ignored. So is my sanity under attack? Is it mental faculties that I lack? That’s just another life in the day of PLANET STASIAK”! Tommy is clearly freaked out and leaves and then William Regal comes over and demands that Stasiak makes more sense. Stasiak says that Regal will have a chance to explore Planet Stasiak tonight, which is his way of challenging Regal to a match. Stasiak is nothing but a jobber, and didn’t really have any redeeming qualities, but for some reason Planet Stasiak is a guilty pleasure of mine, so obviously I enjoyed this. Harmless, fun.

Match Five
Shawn Stasiak vs. William Regal

Stasiak is last to make his entrance and slides in the ring in a hurry, and Regal immediately knocks him out with the brass knuckles. The ref doesn’t seem to care and is happy to count the pin so Regal wins really quickly. Comedy match more than anything, meh. Would be happy for this act to stick to backstage segments if this what’s going to happen in the ring. Not giving this one a star rating for obvious reasons.​

In the back, Ric Flair and Arn Anderson are taken to an unconscious Bradshaw. He isn’t moving and is being checked on by the EMT’s. Ric Flair says that he thinks he knows who did it. I think we all know who did it, as this is clearly the NWO trying to ruin the main event tag team match.

After the break, Ric Flair finds the NWO and they obviously sarcastically deny having anything to do with the attack, and fake concern. It turns out Kevin Nash is randomly there to, and Flair kicks him out because he’s suspended but doesn’t want to be fired. The NWO expect a Handicap match with Austin now but Flair names Big Show as Austin’s new tag team partner. Solid enough segment, with a decent reaction from Flair, trying to get back at NWO by giving them a difficult opponent.

In ring promo time for the new WWF Undisputed Champion Hulk Hogan. He says as far as he is concerned, Triple H deserves a rematch. He talks up Triple H and talks down on Undertaker’s interference before saying the Undisputed belt proves that Hulkamania is back. Hogan says he believed in the Hulkamaniacs asks what The Undertaker is going to do when Hulkamania runs wild on him, as he’s ripping his shirt of course. Meh. Filler, generic victory speech promo. Wasn’t very enjoyable, because literally words were spoken, but nothing was really said.

Match Six
Big Show and Stone Cold vs. Scott Hall and X Pac

Whilst the Austin vs. NWO angle in general just feels lackadaisical and uninspired, I thought all involved did a decent job here. They’ve had worse matches against each other for sure when compared to this one. Austin is in for a majority of the match, being beaten down by the NWO. Having a somewhat motivated X Pac in this match is probably what makes this better than some of the standalone Hall/Austin matches. This one ends rather abruptly when Austin finally makes the tag to Show. Show comes in, and instead of rushing the NWO, he takes down his straps, and Chokeslams Austin. This basically ends the match as a no contest, and whilst booking of this is interesting/questionable, this match itself was okay. **1/2​

After the match, the NWO, including Show, who is clearly their newest member, stand over Austin and celebrate to end the show. The live reaction from this seemed like genuine shock for the swerve from the audience, but Big Show joining NWO feels meh to me. I know this is WWF and not WCW, but after all the ins and outs during his time in WCW, it almost feels laughable that he’d join again.

No matches really worth going back and watching, and even the main angle throughout the night, ended in a way that I didn’t necessarily like. Although the execution throughout the night was done pretty well, I have to give them that. Leaning towards not liking this episode as opposed to liking it though.

 

[Stojy]

WWF Smackdown
April 25th, 2002
Peoria, Illinois​

We start the show with the WWF Undisputed Champion Hulk Hogan getting some in ring promo time. Hogan’s topic of discussion is that he wants to give Triple H a rematch. Hogan says that Triple H made him step his game up to a whole new level, and he wants Triple H to know that he’s the best he has stepped in the ring with. Triple H comes down now and says Hogan earned his respect, which is why at Backlash, Triple H offered him a handshake. But what Triple H wants to find out, is when he takes his title back, will Hogan be man enough to shake his hand. Vince McMahon interrupts and comes out onto the stage, thwarting his authority and saying he’s the one who makes matches. He says that tonight’s main event will be Chris Jericho vs. Triple H, with the winner facing Hulk Hogan for the title next week. The Hogan being in love with Triple H stuff was getting sickening and is getting old considering he had the same dynamic with The Rock. Surprisingly got a bit better when Triple H came down and added some intensity. Still not the best opening segment, but I’m looking forward to Jericho/Triple H so that’s a positive.

In the back, Rico shows Chuck the best way to massage Billy’s shoulders. Tajiri and Torrie Wilson walk into the room, and they all greet each other. The tag champs congratulate Tajiri for regaining the WWF Cruiserweight Championship at Backlash. Rico then tells Torrie that the geisha look isn’t working for her. Torrie is offended but then they all give Tajiri a red headband with his name on it so he can match the champions. Fine segment to put over the dynamic of the team. Tajiri not caring about Torrie’s insults but being pumped at the red headband is awesome.

Match One
Al Snow, Billy Kidman and Maven vs. Billy, Chuck and Tajiri w/Rico and Torrie Wilson

A decent match between five of these guys here, as Snow didn’t really contribute anything here, but that’s probably to the benefit of the match. On the opposite side of things, probably could have been better if there was some more Tajiri, but that match didn’t get that much time. Billy and Chuck end up getting their pants pulled down by Snow and Maven, whilst on the outside, Torrie does the same thing to Rico. They all run to the back, leaving Tajiri and Kidman in the ring. Tajiri looks for a Powerbomb, but everybody knows you can’t Powerbomb Kidman, as he reverses into a Facebuster. Kidman then heads up top and hits the Shooting Star Press for he and his team. A somewhat solid opener, and a high rating for a Billy and Chuck match really. **​

After the match, Al Snow and Maven put on Billy and Chuck’s bright red chunks, and with Kidman pretending to be Rico, the three make fun of their opponents.

Backstage, Kurt Angle sees a random crew member and asks if they can help him with something. Kurt says he is going to unveil his new t-shirt, which will only be available in 2XL or larger, as that’s the only sizes that will fit all his accomplishments. Usual goofy stuff from Angle, clearly building towards a bigger segment later on which is fine.

Stacy Keibler is in Vince McMahon’s office giving him a brain massage. They get interrupted by the debuting Randy Orton, who comes in and introduces himself to both of them. Vince remembers that Randy has his tryout match tonight. Vince leaves the office and Stacy gets closer to Orton, introducing herself. She likes the size of Orton’s hands and wants to see his body before the match. Orton agrees with her request and takes off his top. Vince walks back into the ring and is shocked, so Stacy pretends that Orton was hitting on her. Vince is mad at Randy and decides his opponent will be Hardcore Holly. Mark this moment down, we just saw the debut of Randy Orton. A nice way to intro him here, but also put him over as a face as Vince doesn’t like him.

In the back, Christian, Lance Storm and Test bet that Mark Henry can’t bend a frying pan, but he does easily. They then challenge him to bend a steel rod, and he does that too. An annoyed Christian hits Henry from behind with the frying pan and then runs off. Lol, Christian’s cowardly attack made me giggle. Harmless way to set up a match, I guess.

Match Two
Hardcore Holly vs. Randy Orton

The match itself isn’t good, but Orton shows enough here on his first appearance, and whilst it’s not clear what he would become, he doesn’t disgrace himself here. Holly is a bully that Vince McMahon puts to task, so he dominates Orton for a couple of minutes, until Orton fights back with a perfect Standing Dropkick! They go back and forth for a bit and Orton ends up winning with an Oklahoma Roll. Awesome booking to give Orton a win over a veteran with a tough reputation. Match wasn’t great, but the result does wonders for the young kid already. *3/4​

Kurt Angle is still preparing for the unveiling of his new t-shirt, when Edge sneaks in and replaces Angle’s shirt with another shirt. Clear shenanigans to hype what’s to come. All good.

In ring promo time now from Kurt Angle as he comes to the ring with his new t-shirt hidden under a sheet, displayed on an easel. Angle talks about how most people desire to be rich and famous but end up in hick towns like this one. Before Angle can get to the unveiling of the shirt, Edge interrupts and comes to the ring. He says Angle was the better man at Backlash, and he just wants to shake his hand and see Kurt’s new shirt. Angle is happy and pulls off the sheet, only to unveil that the shirt now says, “YOU SUCK”. Angle is all mad as Edge laughs his way to the back. Solid enough segment here to continue the Angle/Edge feud. I don’t this is one of those amazing moments the way WWE tries to sell it, but they also give credit to Edge for creating the you suck chant, when you could hear fans chanting in January, months before Edge started feuding with Angle. Nothing is worse than when WWE tries to force us into thinking something is a classic. Enough of my tangent though, segment was fine for what it was, and continues probably the best feud in the company right now.

Match Three
Christian vs. Mark Henry

This only went about two minutes, but it was a hell of a lot of fun. Mark Henry is the man. Christian bumped really well for all of Henry’s stuff, making his power spots look even better. And Henry gets a rugged looking Bear Hug to get the win. Squash, and I’m biased to Henry, but this was a lot of fun. **1/2​

In the back, Chris Jericho is interviewed and talks about how Triple H only had the WWF Undisputed Title for four weeks, whereas his reign lasted four months. He hypes the match with Triple H tonight and then says he’ll beat Hogan for the title next week. Perfectly fine interviewing, hyping everything it needed to.

Match Four
Albert and Kurt Angle vs. Edge and Rikishi

This was a really solid match. They had ten minutes or so which is pretty decent for this time period, and they did okay with it. Rematch with fifteen minutes please. Followed a pretty basic formula with a brawl to start things off, before Edge gets isolated by Angle and Albert. Albert and Angle did some cool double team moves when on top which I probably didn’t necessarily expect. Shows me how awesome they are. The finishing run is enjoyable and ends with Edge and Angle fighting on the outside, whilst Albert finished off Rikishi with a Baldo Bomb. Solid stuff from all involved, and glad to see the Albert momentum continue to build. **1/2​

After the match, Albert and Angle look to continue the attack on Edge, but Edge thwarts the attack, grabbing a steel chair from Angle, and scaring them from the ring. Rematch please.

D’Von Dudley is talking to himself in the back, and he says he’s ready to kick it off the right way. After the commercial break, he’s in the crowd, passing his collection plate around, until a fan steals it. D’Von starts chasing the thief. He catches the fan and beats him up, telling him that thou shall not steal. Not as fun as the other Reverend D’Von stuff so far, but kind of logical progression with him collecting and continuing his mission so I still don’t mind it.

Kurt Angle is hunting around the backstage area, looking for Edge. He finds the crew member from earlier who is wearing a you suck t-shirt now. Edge is pissed.

Match Five
Number One Contenders Match
Chris Jericho vs. Triple H

Best match on the show here, as this was good, which is no surprise. These two nearly always deliver. Triple H surprisingly controls for a long portion in the early stages, despite being the babyface, but that works for me, because these guys are better as the opposite alignment to what they are currently anyway. This is definitely better than their ‘Mania match to. We see a clip of Stacy Keibler and Vince McMahon in the back and Vince is shocked because The Undertaker shows up. In a great moment, he looks scared, but he yells, “WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE” as if he doesn’t sweat ‘Taker. Jericho counters a Pedigree into a Walls Of Jericho to gain the advantage, before we eventually hit a commercial break. Upon returning, there’s a really good back and forth finishing run, with some good, original reversals, which these two seem to manage every time they work together. The ending comes when Triple H sets up for the Pedigree again, but Undertaker is out and distracts him. This allows Jericho to get a School Boy with the tights to get the win. I really like this result. We don’t get the dreaded Triple H/Hogan rematch, this continues Triple H’s issues with Undertaker, and he doesn’t lose anything with this loss, and after being left off Backlash and kind of just piggy backing other angles for the last month, Jericho feels important again. Good main event ***​

After the match, Jericho and Undertaker work together to further beat down Triple H. It eventuates into Undertaker nailing a Chokeslam and then Jericho locking in the Walls of Jericho. Hulk Hogan then comes down to save, and Clotheslines Taker from the ring before fighting him into the crowd to end the show. Ending makes sense, I guess.

Hogan as champ is just really annoying me already, but outside of his stuff, this was actually an okay episode of Smackdown. Booking made sense, and there wasn’t any terrible wrestling, even if only one match was really good.

 

[Stojy]

WWF Heat
April 28th, 2002
St. Louis, Missouri

Match One
Big Bossman vs. Crash Holly

Bossman pushes Crash away, showing off his strength in the early stages. Crash attempts to pick up Bossman, but he gets interrupted with a throat thrust. They end up doing a test of strength bit, and Crash climbs to the top rope for leverage, but Bossman just throws him off. Bossman hits his epic slide underneath the bottom rope to nail a right hand. Bossman then gets a corner splash back in the ring for a near fall. Crash tries to fight back and get Bossman up for a Scoop Slam but can’t, and Bossman slams Crash instead, only to follow up and miss with an Elbow Drop. Crash fights back with some punches again, only for Bossman to get a Hip Toss, before brutally ripping at the face of Crash. Again, Crash tries to fight back, landing some right hands, but he runs into a Big Boot. Bossman sends Crash into the corner, before running in after him, but Crash gets his boots up, and this time he gets Bossman up and nails the Scoop Slam. The fans pop for that as Crash follows with a Flying Forearm and a Dropkick. Crash bounces off the ropes for momentum but runs into a Bossman Slam which is enough for the three count. They played up the story of Crash trying to slam Bossman throughout, so that was a nice moment, but the match really wasn’t good. Bossman is still getting some good heat from the crowd though. *1/4​

We get some hype for The Rock and The Scorpion King.

Match Two
Justin Credible vs. Tommy Dreamer

They start off with some basic wrestling, with Tommy landing a Shoulder Block and a Hip Toss. Credible bails to the outside where Tommy follows, lands a few shots, and then gets the action back in the ring. Credible ends up crotched over the top rope and Tommy shakes the ropes to hurt his nuts. Momentum changes when Credible is able to use Tommy’s momentum to send him shoulder first into the ring post. This is followed by a Powerbomb from Credible which gets a two count. They go into trading some strikes, until the match gets focus with Credible wrapping Dreamer’s arm around the ring post, and slamming his hand on the steps. Back in the ring, Tommy tries to fight back, but falls victim to a DDT for a near fall. Tommy bounces back though and Clothesline Credible over the top and to the outside. Credible is frustrated as he gets back in and runs at Tommy, straight into a Sky High Powerbomb. Tommy can’t make the pin though, as he sells his injured arm. When he does get up, Dreamer gets a Swinging Neckbreaker and then a Powerslam for a two count. Now Tommy hits a DDT for another near fall. Tommy goes for high risk, jumping off the middle rope, right into a Superkick for a two count for Credible. Credible goes for another Superkick, Tommy catches the leg and hits the Spicoli Driver for the win. A nice little flashback for ECW fans. These two did a decent job, and Tommy sold the arm well throughout. **​

Backstage, Lilian Garcia interviews the returning D’Lo Brown. D’Lo is excited to be back, and he doesn’t want to be gone ever again. He’s going to take the opportunity tonight against WWF Intercontinental Champion Eddie Guerrero to prove that he is back. He then asks Lilian, “what’s my name”. Lilian says D’Lo and Brown answers, “you’re damn right”. Lame catchphrase aside, this did the job of hyping the main event. And I’m excited to see some D’Lo, even if it will mainly be on Heat.

We see a recap of Hulk Hogan winning his first world title eighteen years ago.

This is followed by highlights of Hulk Hogan vs. Triple H at Backlash.

We then see a video package recapping Triple H’s surprise appearance on Raw, and his assault on The Undertaker.

ANOTHER video package shows us The Undertaker’s less cool retaliation on Smackdown.

Next up is some Steven Richards in ring promo time. And he’s mad because on commentary, Raven has called him a wacko. He says his mind and his body are in the best shape of their respective careers. Richards challenges Raven to a match and Raven gets out of the commentary position to accept. Feels like another ECW flashback. Cool.

Match Three
Raven vs. Stevie Richards

As soon as Raven gets into the ring, Stevie immediately goes on the attack, showing that he’s fired up. Raven fights back and sends Stevie into a corner, before following up with a Clothesline in the corner, and then a Bulldog for a two count. Stevie looks for a reprieve with an eye poke, but Raven still nails a Clothesline for a near fall. In the corner, Raven chops the chest of Richards. The fans are cheering for Raven pretty loud, which is nice to see, until Richards hits an awesome Crossbody which sends both me tumbling through the ropes and to the outside. Stevie brings it back in for a pin but only gets a two count. Richards is on top now, hitting a Suplex, and then a Side Slam for a near fall. Richards then hits a punch to the body, followed by a Roll Up for a two count. Raven fights back upon getting up, landing some rights, followed by a Back Body Drop! Raven follows up with a right hand, a Clothesline and then a Knee Lift for a near fall. Raven goes for the Raven Effect, but Richards rams him into the corner. Stevie Kick gets ducked by Raven and this time he hits the Raven Effect for the win. More solid stuff from ECW alumni. **​

We get the weekly Tough Enough 2 recap. Yeah, I’m back to not caring about this.

Match Four
D’Lo Brown vs. Eddie Guerrero

They start off with a lock up, which allows Eddie to get a Side Headlock, which he eventually follows with a Shoulder Block. D’Lo hits back with an Arm Drag as they go through the motions in a bit of a feeling out process. Guerrero gets frustrated and starts striking D’Lo in the corner, abandoning the wrestling. D’Lo eventually hits a charging Eddie with an elbow and follows with a Backbreaker for a two count. Guerrero fights back and hits a Back Suplex, before his custom Slingshot Senton Splash for a two count. Eddie kicks away at the fallen Brown, before locking in an Abdominal Stretch. Eventually, D’Lo fights out with a Hip Toss. Eddie maintains the advantage with a Snapmare though. Then Brown comes out of nowhere with a Snap Powerslam for a near fall. Eddie again fights back and regains control with shots, before sending D’Lo into the ropes, and landing a Dropkick! D’Lo now reverses and sends Eddie to the ropes, nailing him with a Heel Kick, followed by a Back Body Drop! D’Lo’s Scoop Slam and Leg Drop combo then gets a two count. They go up for a Superplex spot, but Eddie shoves D’Lo off the middle rope. Eddie goes for the Frog Splash, D’Lo moves, but Eddie rolls through. He then leaps up and hits a really cool Tornado DDT, before finishing Brown off with the Frog Splash. Another solid match here. Eddie keeps doing Eddie things, although on a lesser level here on Heat, and a good outing for D’Lo on his return. **​

Not a bad episode at all. Some nostalgic ECW stuff followed by Eddie/Brown is enough to give this episode of Heat a pass mark.

 

[Stojy]

WWF Raw
April 29th, 2002
Buffalo, New York ​

We open up with JR and King on commentary, giving us the usual welcome before hyping that the WWF Undisputed Champion Hulk Hogan will go one on one with William Regal tonight.

Match One
WWF Intercontinental Championship Match
Eddie Guerrero (c) vs. Jeff Hardy

This was awesome and maybe even more surprising than that, it wasn’t just Eddie dragging Jeff to a good match. Eddie was great here but so was Jeff, as these two have proven to have chemistry in a previous match a few years back as well. Just as a note, Jeff’s appearance is getting weirder by the night. He’s got that glow in the dark crap all over him, covering his chest, face and arms, and no idea how anybody could think this looks cool. Anyway, key here is that for the most time in forever, Jeff looked motivated to have a good match. Eddie was aggressive when in control, looking vicious, and Jeff was happy to bump for Eddie the same way he was happy to bump for Brock Lesnar. They end up hitting a ref bump spot, which gives Jeff a visual pin to keep him looking strong. Jeff eventually tries a Plancha to the outside, but Eddie rams the IC Title into Jeff’s face. He then rolls Jeff back in the ring and finishes him off with the Frog Splash. I don’t mind Eddie cheating because it foreshadows to when it basically becomes his gimmick, so I’ll give them credit in my own imagination for continuity. However, I wasn’t big on Jeff getting the pin with no ref to count. Jeff’s doing nothing at the moment, especially not in the singles division, so I could have done with Eddie looking a bit stronger. Questionable booking aside, still a very good match, as Eddie continues to be on a hot streak since returning. ***1/4​

After the break, we get a video package highlighting Ric Flair accidentally costing Stone Cold his match with The Undertaker at Backlash. This is followed by Flair choosing Big Show to be Austin’s partner last week, and then Show turns on Austin and joins the New World Order. The video package also shows Flair’s apology. We’re back to live action, and we see Stone Cold arriving and he tells a member of the crew to go get Ric Flair and tell him to meet him in the ring. Solid enough stuff here, as they have to make Austin’s reaction a big part of the show, after how last week finished.

Now we get Stone Cold in ring promo time as he comes down and tells everybody that he’s not in a good mood tonight. He calls out Ric Flair because he wants him to book Stone Cold vs. Big Show for tonight. Ric Flair comes out but stays on the stage and explains he’s not coming to the ring so nothing happens that would make him have to suspend Austin or worse. Flair makes it clear that he doesn’t appreciate the accusation of being involved with Big Show joining the NWO last week. Austin says appreciate this and gives Flair the finger lol. Flair says that he wouldn’t let Austin standalone against the NWO, because they’re bad dudes. He got him the best partner he could find. Flair also explains that a match with Show won’t happen tonight because he sent Show on a promotional tour of India. To make things up to Austin, he books Austin and Bradshaw vs. Scott Hall and X Pac tonight. Austin says that’s the same match as last week, but it got messed up, but Flair books himself as the special guest referee. Flair says Austin may the man, but if he lays his hands on Flair, there will be hell to pay. Austin says if Flair screws him, he’ll open the biggest can of whoop ass Buffalo has ever seen. Solid enough segment here. Nothing overly great about it. Flair continues to try and prove himself to Austin, and Austin continues to be, well, Austin. Interesting there’s some inconsistencies in Flair’s stuff here, as last week he said he’s a terrible referee, yet now he’s putting himself in that position again. Interesting.

Backstage, Goldust approaches Booker T, and he’s upset they aren’t teaming together tonight, as Booker T promotes his match tonight against Rob Van Dam. Booker tells Goldust that he doesn’t want to be a in a tag team with him, but Goldust puts his wig on Booker so now he can represent both of them. Booker T’s not happy with how he looks, as he throws the wig off. Goldust says he looks like the kid of Denzel and Lil Kim. Booker says Goldust looks like if Big Bird and Spiderman had an illegitimate lesbian. Another fun comedic segment for these two, with Goldust being hilarious, and Booker’s face when he saw himself in the wig standing out. I guess also hyped their individual matches for tonight as well, whilst continuing their unlikely team angle.

Match Two
Booker T vs. Rob Van Dam

The action they had in here was a lot of fun, but they didn’t get enough time, and this once was more about angle advancement with the Booker/Goldust stuff then the match itself. Basically three minutes of Booker and RVD getting their highlights in. Goldust comes down to help and swings at Van Dam, but RVD ducks and Goldust hits Booker instead. I do have to admit the way they set this up was weird. Looked awkward and not sure how Goldust was ever going to hit Booker with the way they set it up. Anyway, the blow staggers and shocks Booker, and that’s enough for Van Dam to hit a Spin Kick, which he then follows with the Five Star Frog Splash for the win. Solid few minutes and did its job from a booking perspective. **1/4​

In the back, Terri interviews Bradshaw and asks about his current condition and if he knows who attacked him last week. Bradshaw says Big Show was the one who attacked him last week and he’s pissed off. Bradshaw will get revenge on Show next week. He says tonight the Texas boys are going to light up the NWO, and if Ric Flair gets in the way, he’ll get the same. Solid enough promo from Bradshaw, hyping main event and his issues with the NWO.

In the back, the WWF Womens Champion Jazz is doing some push ups. Molly Holly approaches and questions if Jazz is really going to challenge Bubba Ray Dudley for the WWF Hardcore Championship tonight. Jazz doesn’t respond and Molly seems concerned. Hypes a match I guess, but the booking of Bubba vs. Jazz is stupid and makes little to no sense on so many levels.

In another area in the back, The Coach interviews Shawn Stasiak and asks about getting knocked out by William Regal in two seconds. He also doesn’t understand why Stasiak is signed on to face Brock Lesnar tonight. Stasiak does his usual Planet Stasiak bit, and he rhymes Planet Stasiak with Brock having a big tattoo on his back… I don’t care what anybody says, this gimmick is entertaining to me. This was fun and hypes a match. Gets a pass mark from me.

Match Three
Brock Lesnar w/Paul Heyman vs. Shawn Stasiak

This is the definition of a squash, as after Stasiak gets an impressive Double Legged Takedown on an unsuspecting Brock, this is all one-way traffic. After nailing the F5, Brock doesn’t go for the pin at the instruction of Heyman. He then hits a Spinning Powerbomb and it’s another referee stoppage as this monster push continues. Not much of a match but does the job in terms of booking. *​

We head to Ric Flair’s office where he is on the phone and telling somebody that he will prove to everyone that he is telling the truth. Debra eventually walks in because she’s been summoned by Flair, and he wants her to give a message to Stone Cold. He wants Debra to convince Austin that he’s telling the truth. He needs her to take that message back to Austin. Debra says Austin also has a message for Flair, and she slaps him before telling him “D…T…A… Don’t trust anybody”! Debra leaves and safe to say Flair is not thrilled. Flair/Debra together here kind of gave me flashbacks of their work together in WCW which was fun. Anyway, again, another logical segment here to continue this angle. No issues.

Backstage, The Undertaker approaches Sargeant Slaughter and interrupts his phone conversation to ask if he and Hulk Hogan are friends. Slaughter says there is a lot of mutual respect there, and Undertaker tells Slaughter to pass on a message to Hogan. The message is to meet The Undertaker in the ring later. Fine enough to hype a potential face to face confrontation between Hogan and Undertaker. My issue here is having the two ‘using a messenger to send message’ segments back-to-back. To same/same for my liking. Surely the show could have been laid out better, or they could have only had one of these, and found a different way to execute the other.

Match Four
Special Guest Referee: Ric Flair
Bradshaw and Stone Cold vs. Scott Hall and X Pac

Nothing groundbreaking here from these four but it’s fine wrestling, and the match is probably put up to another level by the fact that the crowd are into everything that they are doing. As expected, another match here used to further the Ric Flair/Austin angle. The match goes about seven minutes or so and the ending comes about when Bradshaw clears the ring of Hall, even if there’s a moment of confusion where it looks like Bradshaw wants to whip Hall across the ring, but he can’t because Austin and X Pac are in the way. With it down to the two of them, Austin nails the Stunner on X Pac. As Flair counts the pin, Hall puts Pac’s foot on the rope, but Flair doesn’t see it, just like Backlash, and counts the three. Solid match, and again, continues the Flair/Austin angle, as you wonder if either Flair is just that bad of a referee, or is Flair that desperate to get on Austin’s good side that he decided screwing the NWO was okay. **1/2​

Backstage, Scott Hall and X Pac approach Ric Flair in his office and complain about what just happened. Hall tells Flair that he’s lucky he’s not a full-time wrestler otherwise the NWO would take him out. I didn’t like this. Jobbing another week, and then tamely complaining and leaving is not the way to book the NWO. I shouldn’t be surprised by this point.

Next up we’ve got in ring promo time for The Undertaker. He brags about being better now then what Hulk Hogan was in his prime. He says the more things change, the more they stay the same which works well for Hogan. Undertaker isn’t like The Rock or Triple H, he’s not awestruck or impressed by his presence, because he’s already beaten Hogan for the WWF Title once. Undertaker completely takes credit for Hogan running away from the WWF in the mid-nineties. Hogan doesn’t want any of him, and it’s why he wanted to fight Triple H again, and it’s why he’ll probably lose to Chris Jericho on Smackdown. Undertaker says he wants Hogan to win, which is why he let Hogan win at Backlash. He wants to see everyone’s face when he kills off the legend of Hogan. Hulk Hogan comes down and gets in the ring with The Undertaker, looking mad. Undertaker knows what Hogan’s going to ask him and says when Hulkamania tries to run wild on him, he’ll beat Hogan down like the bitch that he is. Hogan snaps and punches Undertaker in the face and wants to fight, but Undertaker shakes his head and says no, before leaving the ring. Awesome start to their program here, a very good promo from The Undertaker. Enjoyed this a lot, and love that he played on their brief history together as well. Continuity for the win.

Match Five
WWF Hardcore Championship Match
Bubba Ray Dudley (c) vs. Jazz

Despite my negativity towards the booking of this, and I still have those feelings, I was surprised by how much I thought his was decent. Not decent in terms of a normal wrestling match, but it’s clear that they try and do a comedy match, and from that aspect, I actually think it kind of worked. To his credit, Bubba gives Jazz a fair bit of offense, but when it looks like he’s about to Powerbomb Jazz through a table, Stevie Richards runs down. Stevie comes in and thanks to a distraction from Jazz, he’s able to smash a guitar over Bubba’s head. Stevie has his own referee and makes the pin to get the win, before he and Jazz flee, hand in hand, to the back. Better than expected before Stevie came in for the finish, so I’ll give these two their props. **​

We see Jazz and Stevie Richards run straight out of the arena, get into a car and leave.

Backstage, William Regal is sitting at a table surrounded by Hulkamania gear and is watching an old cartoon that features Hulk Hogan. He wonders why anyone would worship a man who walks around like a 50 pence tart in feather boas with orange skin. Regal makes it clear he’s not a fan of Hogan or his fans. He says it will change tonight when they all find a man worth idolizing. Short and sharp, but a pretty damn great promo from Regal. Maybe it’s propped up because I’m not a big Hogan guy on this run, but this was great.

Backstage, Bradshaw and Stone Cold are sharing some celebratory beers when Ric Flair comes over and asks if he has proven himself to Austin. Austin says no and asks Bradshaw for his take, and Bradshaw also says no. Flair is frustrated but then says he’ll prove it next week and books NWO including Big Show vs. Austin, Bradshaw and Ric Flair. He then lets off a “WOOOOOOOOOO”, before leaving. More progression here which is okay, but admittedly getting tired of the repeat of Flair just booking different tag matches to try and appease Austin. Which is fine, some longer running angles have peaks and valleys, but looking forward to this angle hitting its next phase.

Match Six
Goldust vs. Spike Dudley

They barely got anytime, and much like Booker T’s match earlier, this one was less about the match, and more about promoting the Booker/Goldust stuff. Short and not very good. Goldust tries hard but these two just aren’t a good match. Spike’s strength is selling when he’s getting beaten up by vicious, power guys, and unfortunately Goldust isn’t that, so the chemistry doesn’t click here. Booker T comes down and still being mad from earlier, he hits Goldust with a Harlem Sidekick, which allows Spike to get the Dudley Dog and get the win. The booking makes sense, but the match itself, and the time given to the match, were both no good. *​

William Regal and Hulk Hogan come out for the main event, but before the match can begin, Regal offers Hogan some tea, which has been set up on a table outside the ring. Regal serves them both cups and they drink the tea. Regal is the perfect gentleman whilst Hogan spits the tea in Regal’s face and then smashes him over the head with the serving tray. Hogan beats Regal up around ringside, sending him into the ring steps and the announce table face first. Regal leans against the crowd barricade and Hogan lands some knees to the mid-section. They then make their way into the ring, but before the bell can ring, The Undertaker makes the save for Regal and attacks Hogan. Undertaker lands a Running Clothesline in the corner and continues to stomp all over the fallen Hogan. Undertaker pulls Hogan’s belt off and wraps it around his fists, using the pin in the buckle to punch Hogan and bust him open. He whips the hell out of Hogan with the belt, and then keeps punching at the cut on Hogan’s head. Undertaker then lands the final blow, a Chokeslam to end the show. Firstly, weird for Regal to act the way he did with the tea, and not attack Hogan or be rude to Hogan first. Especially after the promo he cut earlier in the night. Feels like an attempt to make Hogan feel young and hip and cool here, but it didn’t work. The attack from The Undertaker on the other hand was savage and awesome, and actually has me hoping Hogan beats Jericho on Smackdown, because Hogan/Taker build has started VERY strongly. We haven’t really had good build to a title match since the Royal Rumble, depending on how you rated No Way Out Jericho/Austin build.

This was probably the most enjoyable episode of Raw in a little while. Nothing overly head shaking, a hot opener, and even some matches I maybe thought were going to be bad, overperformed. A solid episode at best, but that’s better than the last few weeks.

 

[Stojy]

WWF April 2002
Top 5 Matches of the month​

Edge vs. Kurt Angle - Backlash
WWF Intercontinental Championship Match: Rob Van Dam (c) vs. Eddie Guerrero - Backlash
Rob Van Dam vs. The Undertaker – Raw, April 8th
WWF Intercontinental Championship Match: Eddie Guerrero (c) vs. Jeff Hardy – Raw, April 29th
Chris Jericho vs. Edge – Smackdown, April 11th

Bottom 5 Matches of the month​

Bikini Paddle On A Pole: Terri vs. Trish Stratus – Raw, April 1st
Crash Holly vs. Jackie – Raw, April 15th
Shawn Stasiak vs. The Big Show – Raw, April 15th
Goldust vs. The Big Show – Heat, April 7th
Al Snow w/Maven vs. Chuck w/Billy and Rico – Smackdown, April 11th

Top 5 Wrestlers of the month​

Edge
Eddie Guerrero
Kurt Angle
Rob Van Dam
Chris Jericho

Bottom 5 Wrestlers of the month​

Shawn Stasiak
The Big Show
Crash Holly
Jacqueline
Trish Stratus

 

[Stojy]

WWF Smackdown
May 2nd, 2002
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Match One
WWF World Tag Team Championship Match
Billy and Chuck (c) w/Rico vs. Rikishi and The Hurricane

Continuing to try and establish Smackdown as the wrestling show by kicking off with another match which I’m all for. They try hard to keep this relatively fast paced and keep the crowd hot, and the finishing run has some decent false finishes. The false finishes would have had a better impact if the booking of this wasn’t so questionable, as there was no way the challengers were winning this. Didn’t Rikishi just save Scotty from Albert the other week? He has absolutely no association with The Hurricane and now suddenly they are a team. Not only are they a team, but apparently, they qualify for a title shot. Very strange. Further example that the brand split murdered the tag division, and it’ll take them a little while longer to recover. This one was pretty standard with the champs trying to isolate Hurricane, until Rikishi comes in off the hot tag and cleans house. They follow a simple tag formula, and yeah, felt like this was a semi decent effort for a Billy and Chuck match. Anyway, Rico hits a bunch of interference in the end, including hitting a Spin Kick on Hurricane which allows Chuck to pin him. Weird booking and not a great match even though it seemed they tried hard. *3/4​

After the match, somehow the champs hurry away but Rico gets left behind. He gets trapped inside the ring and Hurricane hits him with a Chokeslam, before Rico cops the Stinkface. Feels like this is the first time Rico has got any kind of comeuppance, so a nice moment here for the fans.

Lance Storm and Val Venis are in the back having a conversation when Kurt Angle walks in. Angle tells them that neither of them have done anything on Smackdown, so he gives them the chance to model his new t-shirt. Venis is quick to decline, telling Angle that he and his new shirt both suck. After Val leaves, Storm agrees to model the shirt for Angle tonight. Storm mentions there might be some risks of the shirt though, but Angle says he’s not worried about his hometown crowd chanting “YOU SUCK”! Solid enough segment to hype an in-ring segment later. Nice to have Storm and Val be involved in something as well.

It's not in ring promo time as Kurt Angle and Lance Storm come out, and Storm has the new shirt on. Angle tells the fans that Storm doesn’t suck even though he’s Canadian, before reading all the accomplishments listed on the back of the t-shirt. Edge and Val Venis interrupt and come onto the stage, and Val is wearing the ‘you suck’ shirt that Edge revealed last week. Angle is mad and says that he is sick of Edge. Angle wants another match with Edge, this time at Judgment Day, but Storm whispers something in Kurt’s ear. Kurt proposes that if he beats Edge, Edge has to shave his head bald. Edge accepts as long as Kurt’s hair is on the line to, and says Kurt will be red, white and BALD after Judgment Day. Again, can’t complain here. A solid enough segment to hype the Angle/Edge feud which has been a standout since the brand split.

We see a clip from earlier tonight where Randy Orton is warming up for his match and Stacy Keibler comes over. Stacy hits on Randy and gives him a kiss on the cheek but he isn’t happy after she got him in trouble with Vince McMahon last week. This angle with Stacy being enamoured with young Orton, annoying Vince is a fun, small angle to get Orton on side with the fans, so glad to see its continuing here.

Match Two
Hardcore Holly vs. Randy Orton

This one doesn’t go very long and is basically a tool to put Orton over. He works hard, using his quickness to stay on top of Holly, and the furious, desperate Holly ends up hitting a blatant low blow in front of the ref for a DQ. Pure angle advancement here with this crappy finish most likely leading to another match between the two. Holly, as the veteran bully is a decent first feud for Orton, and the crowd seem to like him which is a good start. Unfortunately due to the nature of the booking, this match didn’t hit the same as the previous week *1/2​

After the bell rings, Holly keeps assaulting Orton in the ring before dragging him up the ramp. He then nails an Alabama Slam on the stage. Boom. Nice bump to take on your second week. Clear this will continue, and whilst a Holly feud will never set the world on fire, I do think it’s a good starting point for Orton playing the plucky babyface role.

Backstage, Faarooq is trying to offer Mark Henry some money because of all the cash he’s making off betting on Henry’s strength. Reverend D’Von comes over and suggests that the money Faarooq has won should go into his collections box. He says a dollar is a terrible thing to waste. Henry says no and threatens D’Von who decides to leave. Not a bad segment to keep the D’Von thing going.

In his office, Vince McMahon is hitting on Stacy Keibler when Chris Jericho walks in. Jericho lets Vince know that he will win the WWF Undisputed Championship tonight. Jericho manages to convince Vince to make it a No DQ match and to ensure everybody is barred from interfering. Vince says that no member of Raw, referencing The Undertaker is allowed in the arena, and if Triple H were to touch Jericho before the end of the match, it would be career suicide. I like this. Hypes the main event, as well as Jericho and Hogan’s respective issues with Triple H and Undertaker, and the No DQ stipulation hopefully gives the match a better chance of being good.

Match Three
Edge and Val Venis vs. Kurt Angle and Lance Storm

So they’ve clearly changed Val’s name to the Big Valbowski now, but I refuse to do that, so he’ll remain Val Venis in here. I really enjoyed this, because this is really simple yet effective booking. You book a tag match two guys feuding to continue that feud, but then you’re giving a rub to two guys who most definitely need it. Smart booking. It helps that Storm and Venis are both solid hands, so they’re able to keep up with Edge and Angle and ensure the match remains solid. This was a good seven minutes, with Edge selling well during the heat segment. The ending comes when the ref is distracted by Edge, trying to get him out of the ring, which allows Storm to hit Val with an illegal Superkick, and Angle gets the roll up for the win. Again, simple yet effective booking, and the wrestling was really solid. **3/4​

Now it’s Chris Jericho in ring promo time as he comes out and talks about how he is the king of the world, and nothing can keep him down tonight. He even says he’s the Mack Daddy. He then talks about how he beat Triple H last week and is about to beat Hollywood Has Been to become the champion again. Triple H comes out and foes face to face with Jericho and is all smiles. Jericho gets frustrated, as Triple H tells Jericho that there’s no chance in hell of him winning the championship tonight. I guess this puts over the Triple H stipulation for tonight, but this came across as extremely filler. Not great.

Match Four
Christian and Test vs. Faarooq and Mark Henry

Yeah, not good. This only goes a few minutes and none of it is good, which is a shame because Christian is awesome, and Henry is just in the wrong alignment. Anyway, as the match goes on, Reverend D’Von comes through the crowd to collect donations which distracts Henry and Faarooq. Henry hops the barricade and chases after D’Von, but it leaves Faarooq outnumbered. He drops Test with a Spinebuster, but falls to a Reverse DDT from Christian, and that’s enough to end it. Pretty awful match. Don’t watch. ½*

Match Five
WWF Cruiserweight Championship Match
Tajiri (c) w/Torrie Wilson vs. Billy Kidman

A rematch from Backlash and well, multiple matches these two have had together by now. These two have a chemistry and know how to put on a good match, but this was easily the lesser of their matches so far. I don’t think that’s a bad thing, as they were most likely holding back, because this felt like another feud extender as opposed to a blow off. If this is the final match, it would be pretty disappointing, especially since they only got a few minutes. The fans are heavily behind Kidman, when just a few weeks ago, he was barely getting a reaction, which shows that this feud has done wonders for him. It’s another Tajiri abusing Torrie ending as Kidman goes for a Suicide Dive, but Tajiri drags Torrie in the way. Torrie is out of it and Kidman is distracted, allowing himself to get kicked in the head. Tajiri hits another hard kick back inside the ring to get the win. Decent, but bad if it’s the feud ender. **1/4​

Vince McMahon and Stacy Keibler are in the office putting their clothes back on, when Vince asks her to go find Triple H. When Triple H comes in, Vince smugly tells him if he interferes in the main event, he will be fired. Putting over the stip one last time. Filler but fine, I guess it does demonstrate the hatred between these two.

Match Six
WWF Undisputed Championship Match
No Disqualification
Hulk Hogan (c) vs. Chris Jericho

As usual for Hogan, the match isn’t great, although it’s clear that they try hard, and it helps that Hogan is once again super over, meaning the atmosphere helps this one. I think this match shows the whole issue with putting Hogan, as a nostalgia act, as champion. He just doesn’t have it to wrestle weekly anymore, he can’t have a solid reign. One night like WrestleMania, it was amazing and okay, but it isn’t long until you see through and realise that he really can’t go anymore for the most part. Still, Jericho put in the hard yards to make this decent at the very least. Triple H comes out mid-way through to be on commentary, and nothing else happens, until we get to the finishing run. Triple H randomly says that he senses The Undertaker might be here. Then ‘Takers music hits, and Jericho gets distracted, and instead of walloping Hogan with the steel chair in his hands, he falls victim to a Roll Up and a loss. Not good, but still probably better than I expected it to be. **​

After the match, Jericho goes to attack Hogan, but Triple H is quickly into beat up Jericho and make the save. Triple H stalks Jericho to the back as Hogan celebrates to end the show.

An okay show this week. Somewhere between good and bad, but Smackdown is still my preference over Raw at this point.

 

[Stojy]

WWF Insurrextion
May 4th, 2002
London, England​

The show begins with an opening video package. Considering this is a Raw brand event, the video package mainly focuses on Raw owner Ric Flair seeming losing control of the brand, whilst being in between issues with Stone Cold Steve Austin and the New World Order.

Match One
WWF Intercontinental Championship Match
Eddie Guerrero (c) vs. Rob Van Dam

These two had a great match at Backlash, and in their official rematch here. It’s not as good as the Backlash match, but these two are going to realistically struggle to put on a bad one. They go through the motions, it’s all a little house show ish, which makes sense, but they do a decent enough job. It helps that seeing they don’t get many events; the London crowd is super-hot for everything. Eddie keeps things relatively simple, as he softens up and focuses on RVD’s leg. Everything is pretty basic, but executed well, giving the match a bit of focus and psychology wise, it really makes sense for an opponent to want to focus on Van Dam’s leg and limit his offense. In the end, Van Dam comes back though, but when he goes for the Five Star Frog Splash, Eddie rolls out of the way. Eddie then rolls out of the ring and grabs the IC Title to hit RVD with. The referee tries to prevent Eddie from doing so, and Eddie throws the ref across the ring, and that’s enough for the ref to call a DQ. A good match between the two, with a tame ending for a glorified house show, but still a good match. ***​

After the match, RVD gets the best of Eddie, dropping him and this time nailing the Five Star Frog Splash.

Backstage, Terri interviews Molly Holly and the WWF Womens Champion Jazz. Molly is mad because women like Terri, Jackie and Trish Stratus focus on flaunting their bodies in bikini instead of being pure. Terri basically says she thinks they are jealous because they don’t have what she has and unbuttons her top to reveal her boobs (in a bra). I don’t really like this segment. Molly’s content was fine, but I don’t really like Terri standing up to these two, basically punking them out, and getting no consequence. Shouldn’t be having an interviewer able to do that to your two strongest heels in the division.

Match Two
Jacqueline and Trish Stratus vs. Jazz and Molly Holly

Actually some pretty good action here from the ladies, as it feels like they get a bit more time than they usually would, and they manage to maintain decent action throughout, which is all I’m really asking for. I disliked the catfight spot though between Molly and Jackie where they rolled around on the floor and rolled over the referee and stuff. This works when you’ve got non wrestlers like Torrie Wilson and Stacy Keibler rolling around in bra and panties. Don’t like it as a cheap pop spot for two women who are supposed to be more legitimate wrestlers. I think it’s also clear here that Trish and Molly are the way forward, because they are the better wrestlers, whereas Jackie and Jazz simply aren’t as good. Will have to see if the booking team have the same thoughts that I do. Again, not perfect, but a solid effort from these four if I’m honest. All hell breaks loose at the end and Jackie hits Jazz with a Tornado DDT, as Trish hits Stratusfaction on Molly for the double pin. Solid work from the divas tonight. **1/4​

X Pac and Scott Hall are in the back and X Pac talks about how he is going to beat up Bradshaw in their match tonight. Hall is ready to accompany Pac to the ring, but X Pac wants to do this on his own and requests that Hall stay in the back. X Pac is obviously carrying Kane’s mask with him as he says if he doesn’t win, he’ll never come to this country again. After Pac leaves, Hall says he doesn’t know why he’d want to come back here anyway lol. Eh. Hypes the match I guess, but NWO are all about the numbers advantage. Pac wanting to do it alone doesn’t really fit with their motto so found this to be odd. Also, where is The Big Show?

Match Three
Bradshaw vs. X Pac

This was probably the least of the matches on the card so far, but it still didn’t necessarily feel like a bad match. It probably just pushes the solid mark, which is more than what I expected from these two on an event like this. I do have a slight issue with the booking though. Simply put, I don’t understand the concept of X Pac winning this match. This might sound hypocritical because I’ve talked about NWO being booked weak continuously, however in this scenario, I do feel like Bradshaw is getting a fresh singles push, so a singles win over a decent name within the NWO makes a lot of sense. Instead he loses here to arguably the weakest member of the group. Doesn’t make a lot of sense for his singles run. They kind of had Pac beat down Bradshaw a lot as well, which felt like a weird way to structure this. I would have thought the sneaky, slimy would have been hitting and running, because he knew if Bradshaw got his hands on him, he was in trouble. The ending here is Scott Hall comes out anyway, making the previous segment even more pointless, and Bradshaw ends up knocking him off the apron. As the ref is distracted with Hall on the floor, Pac gets a low blow, followed by the X Factor for the win. Weird booking, weird match structure, but somehow, I still come out of this one saying it was maybe still solid. I guess the rating is weird as well. **​

The Undertaker is interviewed backstage by The Coach, and he basically talks about how he is going to beat up Triple H tonight. He says he will not show any remorse or passion tonight. Promo was solid enough to hype the main event, although the “WHAT” stuff from the crowd is admittedly starting to get annoying when you’re watching so many of these shows in quick succession.

Match Four
WWF Hardcore Championship Match
Steven Richards (c) vs. Booker T

A bit of a strange pairing here as I probably never thought I’d be watching a Hardcore Title match between Steven Richards and Booker T. Still, another pretty solid match here as they deliver a fun Hardcore affair. It helps that the London fans seem to love Booker T, which is awesome considering his comedic stuff with Goldust recently as well. This was definitely carried by Booker T, and I think it shows how valuable of an asset Booker really is. Whilst his 2002 will eventually turn out to be pretty good, it’s kind of sad to see him at this level, after having an awesome first year in the WWF in 2001. Best way to call this is solid, although they could have potentially thrown in more Hardcore spots. There were times where this resembled a solid normal match as opposed to a Hardcore match. Best definition of this is probably harmless fun. Booker gets the win after nailing the Book End. Fun stuff. **1/2​

After the match, Crash Holly runs down and immediately pins Booker T with a Roll Up to become the new Hardcore Champion. Crash celebrates and starts mocking the beginning of the Spinaroonie, only for Booker to nail a Scissors Kick and regain the Hardcore Title. Justin Credible and Tommy Dreamer then run down and attack Booker. Dreamer hits Booker with a DDT and they then set up a table. Booker fights them off and then looks to finally celebrate, hitting an exhausted Spinaroonie, when Jazz and Steven Richards attack him. Richards hits two Flapjacks on the table to Booker, the first one not breaking but the second one does, and the Hardcore Title shenanigans end with the same champ as the start: Steven Richards. These were fun because they involved Booker T, which made it feel different than usual.

We get a video recap highlighting all of the damage Brock Lesnar has done to The Hardy Boyz so far. We then head to the backstage area, where Paul Heyman is trying to calm down Brock’s tag partner for tonight, Shawn Stasiak. Stasiak has volunteered to be on Brock’s team, but Heyman tells him to just stay on the apron and stay out of the way. Stasiak doesn’t seem like he’s taking Heyman’s advice seriously, even after Brock threatens him. Stasiak as Brock’s partner is incredibly random, and kayfabe, I don’t really like it. Brock and Heyman had to choose a partner because Hardyz signed for a tag match. Could have picked anybody, but they pick the one guy who might be to loopy and unstable to follow instructions. Makes Heyman looks dumb, when his whole gimmick is based on being intelligent and guiding his talent. So, I don’t really like this, but super obvious they want Hardyz to win and Brock not to lose which is why this is happening.

Match Five
Brock Lesnar and Shawn Stasiak w/Paul Heyman vs. The Hardy Boyz

I don’t know if it’s because I was annoyed at the strange booking, as per my comment above, or if it was the match itself, but this really didn’t hit for me. As of right now, my least favourite match of the night, and the first I’d really throw on that meh scale. Not enough to be solid here. They tell the story of Stasiak ignoring the advice and charging down to start the match and getting dominated. Brock looks good when he’s in, but then Stasiak tags himself back in and eventually costs Brock victory. Makes sense in that Hardyz win, Brock was still dominant when he was in the ring, and then the joke that is Stasiak takes the fall. But yeah, match itself wasn’t enjoyable for me. Jeff hits the Swanton Bomb on Stasiak for the win. Meh. *3/4​

After the match, Lesnar is furious at his first official loss, so he hits both Hardy Boyz with the F5, which is yet to be named. He then destroys Stasiak with a Spinebuster and his epic Spinning Powerbomb. Brock still looks on top of the world as he should, glad he left everybody laying at the end.

Next up, we see clips of a charity dinner to raise money for the Make A Wish Foundation. Good cause, no further comments.

Backstage, The Coach is now interviewing William Regal. There is a pop when Regal first appears on screen, so he then cuts a promo insulting his home country to get the fans to turn on him. It seems to work for the most part to. He obviously also talks about how he will beat Spike Dudley in their match tonight and regain the WWF European Championship. Good promo from Regal here, hyping his match, but also turning the fans against him in the space of a few minutes.

Match Six
WWF European Championship Match
Spike Dudley (c) vs. William Regal

Spike begins this one running hot, until he attempts the Dudley Dog, but Regal throws him off. Spike immediately begins selling his ankle, saying he heard something pop, and trainers and medics come down, and the match is basically stopped. Honestly, from here it’s not much of a match, as it’s basically just Spike selling his injury with this stoppage for most the time. It looks like Spike is getting carried away but Regal attacks and brings him back in to continue the match and put over his sadistic side by beating up the ankle. This was my favourite moment of the match by far, as Regal looked like a real ass. Outside of this, from a bookings perspective, I don’t understand this one. Spike gets an Inside Cradle out of nowhere to retain. Spike has an out here with his injured ankle, and we’re in Regal’s hometown. Seems like the perfect time to give him the Euro Title back, whereas this loss to Spike, injury and all, harms Regal’s standing, in my opinion. Wasn’t a fan of the match or the booking, new worst match of the night. ¾*​

After the match, Regal knocks out Spike with the brass knuckles. Too little too late for mine.

Next, we get a video package of all the happenings with Ric Flair and Stone Cold and the lack of trust there. This was escalated by the fact Flair chose Big Show to be Austin’s tag partner, only for Show to turn on Austin and join the NWO.

Ric Flair comes out in a referee shirt and announces that he’s going to act as a second referee on the outside to ensure the NWO don’t interfere. I guess this continues the Flair trying to help Austin stuff.

Match Seven
Special Guest Referee on Outside: Ric Flair
Stone Cold vs. The Big Show

A disappointment from these two unfortunately. This got the most time of any match on the card so far, pushing sixteen minutes, and it was just boring really. A lot of pointless stuff that made the sixteen minutes feel unfocused and slow. Apparently, I read somewhere that Show was supposed to win this, which would make sense considering he just joined the NWO and should look strong. Instead, Austin continued being Austin in 2002 and refused to do the job, so the result was changed. Maybe that’s why it looked like Show didn’t care about this all that much. The one thing that did help this match is again, being in a region where they don’t come often, the crowd is crazy for Austin. Almost feels like one of the late 90’s, Austin pops. Yeah again, not much else to say, just boring and dull. Austin was outmatched physically but kept finding a way to fight back. Flair actually does his job here, keeping Scott Hall and X Pac at bay and chasing them to the back. This allows Kevin Nash to sneak through the crowd unexpectedly, but Austin fights off Nash and Show really quickly, and Stuns show twice for the win. Austin wins and the NWO look like chumps yet again. Match was not good. *3/4​

After the match, Ric Flair runs back down and grabs a steel chair to chase Kevin Nash, who is supposed to be suspended, to the back. Flair comes back to the ring and grabs a mic, telling Austin he wasn’t going to let him down tonight. They then share a beer until Austin Stuns Flair yet again in typical Austin fashion. More continuation of the angle here. Hoping for some more advancement on Raw, as I do feel like Flair sucking up to Austin and constantly getting rejected has run its course.

We get a video package for the main event, showing The Undertaker costing Triple H the WWF Undisputed Championship at Backlash, before seeing clips of both men showing on the others show and attacking them.

Match Eight
The Undertaker vs. Triple H

I thought this was a relatively solid main event. These two would do plenty of better stuff together in the future, and probably did better at Mania X7 as well, but this was a solid house show main event. Considering a lot of matches on this card, it was nice to see these two go at it and have a clean finish. Unfortunately, it seemed like the awesome crowd for most the night blew their load with the Austin match, meaning they fell kind of flat for the main event which is disappointing. Just a slugfest here really, as the two portrayed their hatred for each other nicely. These two would have been thrown off as well as the top rope broke pretty early on, which stopped a lot of what they could do. It makes it hard when you can’t even bounce off the ropes properly, but these two are professionals and still made it work. Maybe a bit slow at times, but a really fun finishing run, and in the end, Triple H hits the Pedigree to get a clean win. Solid way to finish the show, and the number one contender losing here doesn’t really matter because it’s one of those UK house shows which they won’t really acknowledge back in the US. Solid. **1/2​

A glorified house show which is what these usually are. Relatively uninspired action, with only the opener really being enjoyable, and even that was held back and had a lame ending because of the event it was on. A skippable event if there ever was one.

 

[Chris]

UK fans should be appalled thats what they got for decades after SummerSlam 92

 

[Leon TrotSky]

Soon... Heat May 5. The last moments of the WWF

 

[Stojy]

UK fans should be appalled thats what they got for decades after SummerSlam 92

Summerslam 92 was awesome, hot crowd and atmosphere so I get the complain. But as an Australian, there's a bitter part of me that says at least UK fans were getting something.

Soon... Heat May 5. The last moments of the WWF

Yep. End of an era. Will probably do a post a little bit about the transition from WWF to WWE after I write the Heat review.

 

[Stojy]

WWF Heat
May 5th, 2002
Buffalo, New York​

I know they treat those UK shows like they didn’t happen in the US but can’t help but chuckle at this beginning with The Coach hyping whether Stone Cold will finally get his hands on The Big Show tomorrow night on Raw. It just happened yesterday, Coach. At Insurrextion.

Match One
Mr. Perfect vs. Tommy Dreamer

They start with a basic lock up, but neither man gains advantage so they shrug each other off. Frustrated at breaking even, Perfect slaps Dreamer which gets Dreamer angry, and he backs Perfect into the corner. Tommy is forced to chase Perfect on the outside, eventually getting him back into the ring. Dreamer beats on Perfect until Perfect hits a Rolling Neck Snap! Dreamer fights back with some chops, but when attempting to continue on the attack, he missteps and hurts his left knee. That’s the focus of the match now as Perfect works on the knee, before attempting a Figure Four, which Dreamer reverses into an Inside Cradle for a two count. Tommy eventually tries the Death Valley Driver, but Perfect gets out of it and nails the Perfect Plex for the win. Making note of this since it’s probably Perfect’s last win on WWF TV. Despite being a jobber, being in New York, Dreamer got a nice ovation which helped the match a little, but admittedly, this wasn’t very good. *1/4

Match Two
Big Bossman vs. D’Lo Brown

Bossman continues to get really good heel heat from the fans, and he builds on that by attacking D’Lo before the bell rings to get this one started. D’Lo eventually fights back with some right hands of his own though. D’Lo bounces off the ropes and ducks a Clothesline from Bossman, but when he comes back from the other side, Bossman catches him with a Spinebuster, which gets a two count. Bossman uses basic brawling style offense to stay on the offensive. D’Lo eventually fights back, hitting a big Clothesline off the middle rope. A Leg Drop gets Brown a near fall. Brown gets disposed of to the outside, which allows Bossman time to grab his nightstick and hide it from the ref. Brown comes in, attempting a Sunset Flip, but Bossman uses his stick to hold the ropes, until the ref kicks Bossman’s grip away and D’Lo gets a three count with the Sunset Flip. Nice to see D’Lo get the win here, but unfortunately, this was probably less entertaining than the opener. *

Match Three
Justin Credible vs. Rob Van Dam ​

These two start with a lock up and surprisingly Credible back RVD into the corner. Less surprising, he gets all cocky about it afterwards. Credible stays on top momentarily with some strikes, until RVD gets him down and then gets a Standing Moonsault for a two count. Credible comes back with a Superkick, and then stomps and chokes on Van Dam in the corner. After scoring a near fall off a Powerbomb, Credible applies a Reverse Chinlock. RVD fights out of it and lands his patented Step Over Heel Kick! After landing Rolling Thunder, RVD goes to work with forearms in the corner. A middle rope Moonsault gets Van Dam another two count, until he heads to the top rope and finishes things off with a Five Star Frog Splash. For a relatively one sided, predictable match these two did a decent job. Never thought I’d say this about a Credible match, but they could probably do something better with more time. **

Backstage, Terri interviews the WWF Intercontinental Champion Eddie Guerrero. He’s all flirty with her, asking if she wants some Latin blood in her, and ignoring her question regarding RVD challenging Eddie to a rematch for the title. Eddie eventually says he will answer her question because he likes Terri. He says RVD is cocky and not humble like him, and he says he knows he’ll be feeling froggy and will retain his title at Judgment Day. A short yet solid promo to pencil in what’s sure to be another good match between Eddie/RVD. Excited for this one.

Match Four
Molly Holly w/Crash Holly vs. Trish Stratus

Jacqueline is the referee for this one, and this is the reason why Crash is with Molly. He’s using his very lose association with his cousin Molly to continue his issues with Jackie. Anyway, Molly starts this one by slapping Trish, thanks to a distraction from Crash, and immediately follows with some Arm Drags and a Backbreaker, for a two count. Trish fights back though, eventually hitting a Neckbreaker for a near fall of her own. Trish ends up on the apron and Crash yanks her feet out, causing her to crash face first into the apron. Molly beats on Trish on the outside, including repeatedly ramming her face into the apron, before sending the action back to the ring. Eventually, Molly charges at Trish in the corner, but runs straight into an elbow. Trish follows up with a Hurricarana and then some Clotheslines. Trish gets a Backslide and Crash tries to get involved, but Jackie lands a Low Dropkick to get rid of Crash. Due to the delay of the count, Molly gets out of it, but Trish then hits the Stratusfaction for the win. Not a lot of time but it’s clear these two have chemistry. Easily the best pairing in the division at the moment. Decent ish match. ** ​

Meh, a pretty skippable episode of Heat if I’m honest, with the first two matches in particular being bad. I think the novelty of watching Heat has worn off.

 

[Stojy]

So here we are, the next episode of Raw (which I've only got the main event left to watch) will be the first branded as WWE Raw. It's kind of a cool pivot in the sense, as the timing I think works well for the company. Not on purpose or anything, but it's clear few the opening half of the year, they're trying to find something that works, constantly jumping from champ to champ, and struggling for consistency. The name change really does feel like the start of a new era as Brock will take over soon, Orton has just debuted, and Batista and Cena aren't that far behind. As always, WWE now try and tell their own version of history, making it seem like they did the name change to usher in a new era and a change. But that's not true.

Rebranding to WWE was actually due to a lawsuit from the Worldwide Fund for Nature, or World Wildlife Fund (WWF) as it's called in the US and Canada. After seemingly letting the McMahon's have the same with no issues throughout the 80's, after McMahon's company's publicity issues in the early 90's, the World Wildlife Fund got an injunction in Switzerland. The two parties reached a settlement where McMahon's would not use the term WWF internationally, but they basically continued to do so. Final star from the Wildlife Fund seemed to be the new WWF logo, which more clearly stated WWF, whereas the retro 90's logo looked like 'WF', and the McMahon's registered the wwf.com domain. The courts sided with the Wildlife Fund and here we are, the WWF is no longer, and the WWE is born.

And it led to some pretty fun promotional commercials from the WWE, as well as the slogan below which I thought was awesome as a child. Anyway, that's enough from me, next post will be Raw review.

 

[Chris]

The Get the F Out slogan is one of the best marketing campaigns WWE has ever done if not the best, as usual Vince's best work was usually when his back was against the wall and he didn't have time to think about things too much

 

[Stojy]

The Get the F Out slogan is one of the best marketing campaigns WWE has ever done if not the best, as usual Vince's best work was usually when his back was against the wall and he didn't have time to think about things too much

I didn't think of it from a holistic point of view, comparing to other campaigns but I think you're right. I can't remember a time an ad hit like this from a WWE/F perspective.