Stojy watches WWE 2002

[Stojy]

WWE Raw
June 17th, 2002
Oakland, California​

JR and The King welcome us to the show and hype some of the stuff in store for tonight. Booker T vs. Brock Lesnar and Rob Van Dam vs. X Pac in King Of The Ring Quarter Final matches, and we will hear the real story behind why Stone Cold left the WWE. Two promising matches and the Austin stuff is enough to get me invested, to be honest.

Match One
King Of The Ring Quarter Final
Rob Van Dam vs. X Pac

Pretty solid stuff from these two, and honestly, if it wasn’t for the booking of the ending, which makes sense from a storyline angle, I likely would have rated this even higher. RVD looked awesome here, hitting crazy kicks from all different angles. This played into a cool bit of psychology as they played up the jealousy factor. As more of Van Dam’s kicks were successful and more of Pac’s failed, Pac got more annoyed and aggressive. I knew this would be fun due to the way these two both like to utilise their kicks. Whilst it was solid, there were times when Pac was connecting with kicks, they just didn’t seem to have the same effort as RVD’s. Potentially Pac was cruising a little bit here, but he did hit a really cool Flipping Senton to the outside, so I’ll forgive him. The ending was a bit meh as Pac Dropkicks RVD, sending him flying off the top rope and to the outside. The referee goes out to check on RVD, instead of counting him out, and it allows Booker T to sneak in and hit Pac with the Book End. RVD is then strangely back to one hundred percent, as he heads to the top and hits the Five Star Frog Splash. The booking makes sense, but even the interference spot could have been crafted a bit better. Felt lazy. I felt the ending hurt this one but was still a very solid way to start the show. **1/2​

We see a clip of JR talking on Confidential. He says he never saw Stone Cold leaving coming. He still doesn’t believe it, but he won’t be on Raw anymore. JR says that Austin bailing, was like John Wayne becoming a coward in a fight, you’d never see it coming. Cool to play this little clip, as anytime JR speaks on Austin it feels really personal.

Backstage, X Pac is pissed that Booker T screwed him over. Shawn Michaels tries to calm him down and tells him the night is young, but Pac wants to get at Booker now. The New World Order calms Pac down and Kevin Nash tells him he has a plan. Solid segment here. Logical reaction from X Pac, and Nash having a plan gives us a hook on how NWO will retaliate later on.

Next up it’s in ring promo time for Vince McMahon as he’s back in charge of Raw. He comes out and speaking out of character says that Stone Cold is no longer a part of the WWE. He says that Austin has a lot of explaining to do if he wants to come back. Vince says that last week, Austin just went home. Vince says that Austin owes an apology to every wrestler and every fan. He admits he doesn’t know if Austin will ever come back to action. Vince reveals that the same thing happened after WrestleMania, but they were lenient. McMahon then thanks Austin for building the WWE and thanks him for the memories. Vince then gets a can of beer from ringside, takes a sip and leaves it in the middle of the ring. Whilst he did reveal some minor dirty laundry with the Mania stuff, it was clear Vince still wanted Austin back badly. Hence, we get a relatively respectful goodbye. This was actually some really compelling stuff to watch.

Match Two
Jeff Hardy vs. Raven

All this shit over Jeff’s arm is horrendous and makes me not want to watch him. It’s the glow in the dark body paint stuff and it’s horrendous. I read somewhere somebody say it looks like a ghoul unloaded a bunch of cum on Jeff’s left arm, and that feels like a pretty apt description unfortunately. Anyway, onto the match itself, they got a bit more time here, did a bit more and had a proper ending. This means this was a step up from Heat and they put on a relatively solid match. As things progress, the WWE Undisputed Champion The Undertaker comes down to watch the match. They continue with some solid action with no botching from Jeff which is good. Raven’s offense looks pretty painful throughout as well, which is another positive, but in the end, Jeff gets him down and hits the Swanton Bomb for the win. Solid stuff from these two. ** ​

After the match, The Undertaker surprisingly leaves but signals to Jeff that he’ll be watching him. Very intriguing for ‘Taker to show up and then not do anything. Mind games, I guess. Fun stuff.

Backstage, Goldust approaches Booker T, and he’s dresses as the ‘Duke Of Gold’, as he tells Booker that he is going to serve in his royal court after he wins King Of The Ring. Booker says he wants to win King Of The Ring but wants nothing of Goldust. Booker does remind Goldust that he hasn’t won the tournament yet. Goldust chimes in and reminds Booker that he warned him about Shawn Michaels last week. Booker says he will upstage the NWO. Solid segment from these two. Not as good comedy as the others, as Goldust’s parody didn’t really do much for me this week. Still, this put over Booker’s issues with the NWO and the fact that he’s still in the KOTR tournament so not a complete miss by any means.

The Coach walks into a room with gym equipment and Molly Holly looks to be using the thigh master. The Coach asks her about WWE Womens Champion Trish Stratus. Molly says she was offended when Trish called her a fat ass, but Trish was offended when Molly beat her last week. She’s going to beat Trish again tonight too. The Coach says if that happens maybe Molly wont’ be “the butt” of anymore jokes. Molly is pissed and slaps Coach in the face. Ugh. I’ve made my thoughts on the whole fat ass thing clear, simply not a fan. It’s unnecessary. I will admit that Coach starting to show some personality here is a big positive though.

We cut to the NWO locker room where Big Show was watching what just happened on a monitor and laughing about it. X Pac comes over and complains about losing his match to RVD, when Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar walk in. Heyman says he is very sorry that X Pac lost tonight, but it had nothing to do with Brock. Heyman asks the NWO not to get involved in Booker vs. Brock. That leads to Brock staring down Shawn Michaels, and then Kevin Nash gets in a stare down with Brock. The entire NWO step up to Brock, who does not back down, but Heyman ushers him to leave. Really good stuff here. Makes sense for Heyman to do this because he doesn’t want his client to be disqualified. Also some fun micro moments here with Brock staring down HBK and Nash. He also looks like a badass for not backing down from the entire group.

Match Three
Christopher Nowinski w/William Regal vs. Spike Dudley

This is not very good. Spike tries his hardest to bump well for Nowinski, and even then, this is still bad. Nowinski just isn’t very good. As Spike begins a comeback and gets on top, Regal gets onto the apron. Spike knocks Regal off the apron but it leaves him open to a Full Nelson Bomb from Nowinski for the win. It doesn’t help that Nowinski botched the finish as well. Not good. *3/4​

Next up it’s in ring promo time from the former owner of Raw, Ric Flair. He admitted that last week sucked and as owner, he let the power get to his head, but he came back tonight. Last week he lost his top star, and he lost his ownership. As owner, he became an asshole and made some bad decisions. However, he refuses to let his last match be a loss to Vince McMahon. He admits he’s lost a half a step but says he’s still two steps ahead of everybody else in the back. He isn’t going to walk out like Stone Cold did. So he’s signed a contract and now he’s a Raw wrestler. He’s going to prove to himself that he has one more good run in him. Stone Cold’s music then interrupts to a HUGE pop, but Eddie Guerrero comes out instead. Eddie tells everyone that they just heard that music for the last time. Eddie talks about how his match with Austin at King Of The Ring was supposed to make his career. Now he has nothing, and he blames Flair. He calls Flair a worthless piece of crap. Chris Benoit then interrupts and makes his way out to the ring. Benoit says Eddie can’t talk to Flair like that and then Flair challenges Eddie for King Of The Ring and Eddie accepts. Benoit then changes his tone and says his opportunity was stolen by Flair too. Benoit was out for one year because of Austin, and now he can’t get back at Austin. Realising where this is going, Flair strikes first and attacks Benoit and Eddie. As Flair punches Benoit, Eddie takes him down from behind. They then beat up Flair until Eddie locks in the Figure Four as Benoit stands over Flair and mouths off. I really enjoyed this. Benoit and Eddie have legitimate reasons to be pissed, and this works really well to pivot Flair into a sympathetic face. For some last-minute booking, this was all very good.

Backstage, Christopher Nowinski introduces himself to Vince McMahon and lists all of his accomplishments. Vince ends the conversation though as he has to take a phone call. Vince says Tony Garea is his look out at the airport, and Garea is saying that “he” is on his way, and Vince says that must mean Austin. Solid stuff here. LOL at Nowinski and then hyping Austin’s potential return is smart.

We see a video package from last night on Heat, where Crash Holly came out and challenged D’Lo Brown to a match. D’Lo then beat him relatively easily.

Match Four
Crash Holly and Molly Holly vs. D’Lo Brown and Trish Stratus

It’s a pretty quick match as they don’t get a lot of time, and honestly, it’s not very good. They do some back-and-forth stuff with both the men and women, before D’Lo pins Crash after hitting the Sky High. Well, at least the Sky High is back, and I guess it makes sense for the women not to have a decisive fall here, considering they have a PPV match this Sunday. Still, match wasn’t good. *1/2 ​

Backstage, Jackie Gayda approaches Vince McMahon and tells him she hasn’t signed a contract with any brand and wants to be a Raw girl. Vince flirts back with her and says Jackie will have the opportunity to do some stuff that I can’t be bothered recapping in the next two weeks. Solid enough to hype some future Jackie appearances, I guess. Vince flirting with nearly EVERY diva is fast getting old though.

Over at The World, Lita is there, in a neck brace but still hosting the Raw party. She wishes her boyfriend Matt Hardy luck tonight against The Undertaker but says that she’s recently learned that sometimes it’s not worth the risk. Good way to remind us that Lita is still around, just injured, and more importantly, her concern puts over the grave danger of facing The Undertaker.

Match Five
Matt Hardy vs. The Undertaker

Fast paced as they don’t have a lot of time, and it also helps put over the aggression from both men. They do some stuff with ‘Taker mainly dominating, until Jeff Hardy runs down to try and help his brother. Jeff pulls the referee out of the ring to prevent Matt being pinned. The Hardyz then double team ‘Taker before Jeff climbs to the top rope, but Raven comes down and pushes Jeff off the top. This allows ‘Taker to focus back in on Matt and hit the Last Ride for the win. Not much of a match, more about the booking, which hit the right notes. *3/4​

After the match, Raven rolls Jeff back into the ring. He then pulls some handcuffs out and handcuffs Jeff to the top rope. Raven holds Matt back as Undertaker beats the hell out of Jeff for a while. Raven and Undertaker working together is something I truly thought I’d never see, but this angle in general was awesome. The build for Undertaker/Jeff continues to deliver.

After the break, Terri interviews The Undertaker, and he tells her that this is what happens when you try and make a name for yourself at the expense of The Undertaker. Fine enough promo here.

In his office, Vince McMahon gets another call from Tony Garea who informs him that “he is almost at the arena” … Another nice tease.

Backstage, Paul Heyman approaches Earl Hebner and tells him to now allow any interference in the upcoming Booker and Brock match. Heyman sucks up by talking about how much he respects what Hebner stands for. Hebner basically tells Heyman not to tell him how to do his job. Hebner walks away and Heyman goes to turn away but turns into Booker T. Booker tells him not to worry about Brock getting DQ’d but worry about Brock getting his rookie ass whooped. Love the side angle of Heyman being worried about Brock getting DQ’d to the point where he goes to the ref. Very good stuff, and the Booker interaction was okay for some last-minute hype.

Match Six
King Of The Ring Quarter Final
Booker T vs. Brock Lesnar w/Paul Heyman

The NWO make their entrance before the match even begins, just to build tension to this one even more, which was a good move. This was a short match, only getting a few minutes, but what they delivered was very solid. Kind of has me wishing that we get to see them for longer at some point (but my memory tells me that won’t happen). Considering Booker is seemingly on the up as a face, the booking protects him here and I’m okay with that. Goldust comes down to ringside during the match as well to try and counteract the NWO’s presence. In the end, the NWO work together to distract Booker, including an awesome moment where Heyman holds Show’s leg to ensure he can’t actually hit Booker, allowing Brock to hit an F5 and get the win. Quick but solid. **​

After the match, the NWO continue to beat down Booker, whilst Show nails Goldust with a Chokeslam. Aftermath here is fine, as this feud isn’t finished.

In the back, Sargeant Slaughter comes in and tells Vince McMahon that Tony Garea has just arrived. Vince tells Sarge to tell him to come to the ring. One last tease, cool.

It’s more in ring promo time from Vince McMahon as he comes out and calls out Stone Cold. Tony Garea then comes down and tells Vince that he wasn’t talking about Austin. The Rock then returns, getting an EPIC pop from the fans. The Rock gets on the mic and begins running through things, getting Vince with the old it doesn’t matter trick. The Rock then forces Vince to leave the ring before cutting a passionate promo about being loyal to the WWE, and how Austin took his ball and went home. He then announces he’s bringing his return forward and will be at King Of The Ring this Sunday, before hitting us with the line, “If you smell what The Rock is cooking” … Feel good ending here for the fans. They replace one star with another, and arguably Rock is the only guy who could work in this position. If this was anybody else, after they teased Austin all night, assuming it wouldn’t have been a good reaction. Nice, passionate promo from The Rock, even if WWE won’t be his home for that much longer… Still, good promo here to end the show on a high.

A middling show here for me. Wasn’t great but wasn’t awful. Still think they deserve some credit for the pivoting they’ve had to do for the past couple of weeks, and how they’re starting to make it work (Rock coming back, Flair vs. Eddie, etc).

 

[Stojy]

WWE Smackdown
June 20th, 2002
Sacramento, California​

Michael Cole and Tazz welcome us to Smackdown and on the agenda tonight are the two Smackdown King Of The Ring Quarter Finals. We’ll get Chris Jericho vs. Val Venis and Hardcore Holly vs. Test tonight. I’m looking forward to Jericho/Venis. Not so much the other match.

We start off with some in ring promo time from Kurt Angle. He’s upset because he knows everyone has been laughing at him. He knows the guys in the back are laughing at him and pointing every time he walks by. Angle then plays a video on the tron from last week’s Smackdown which shows Hulk Hogan ripping off Angle’s wig to reveal his bald head. He admits he’s upset because his hair won’t grow back. He says this is no joke. He’ll make Hogan tap and break his ankle and his spirit at King Of The Ring. Hulk Hogan interrupts and heads down to the ring and says he’s a one-hundred-year-old man and he’s going to punk out Angle at the pay per view. He says he will take Angle’s wig off again. They then break out into a fight. Hogan gets the upper hand and takes Angle down, but Angle bails before he can lose the wig again. Pretty entertaining opening here because Angle is awesome. Nice segment to build more heat to their match at the PPV.

Backstage, Dawn Marie approaches Stacy Keibler and lets her know that Vince McMahon entered her into the Lingerie contest. Both girls overhear Torrie Wilson thanking the seamstress and they go up to her. Torrie shows them her bra and panties, causing Stacy and Dawn to be mad/jealous of Torrie as she walks away. Catty stuff to hype the thongathon or whatever it is that probably won’t be on TV. Meh.

Match One
Christian vs. Rikishi

This was a bit rushed but solid enough from these two. Rikishi hits the same offense that he always does, but Christian puts on a terrific bumping performance to make everything look top notch. Eventually, Rikishi is able to hit Christian with a Pop-Up Cutter! Rikishi makes the pin, and Christian gets his foot on the ropes, but the ref doesn’t see it and counts the three. Rikishi wins. Solid match, and obviously the ending fits into an angle as well. **​

After the match, Christian isn’t happy with the referee and eventually Lance Storm comes down to join in the argument. After the break, Storm has a mic and says this is more than innocent incompetence. The same thing happened to him last week. Storm says the WWE has a prejudice against Canadians. They’ve been screwing Canadians every chance they get. Storm then talks about how Americans think they’re better than everyone else. Storm says there is a reason to hate America. America deserves it. And he ends it by saying that AMERICA SUCKS~! Honestly, this could actually be the best promo of Storm’s career. Can’t think of one he’s done better. Really good stuff, and the angle works. Maybe could have been dragged on a little longer before this happened, but that’s me being picky because I’m a fan of the slow build. This was good.

Backstage, Marc Lloyd interviews Triple H and Trips talks about winning back the WWE Undisputed Championship. He says he will accomplish that. He also mentions Billy Gunn being a part of DX when Billy was known as Bad Ass Billy Gunn or Mr. Ass. He then says actually, now he thinks about it, maybe he’s still Mr. Ass because of his partnership with Chuck. Solid enough promo to hype match tonight and match against ‘Taker at KOTR.

Backstage, Jamie Noble and Nidia are talking, and Nidia is confident that Noble is going to beat Kidman tonight. And then he will beat The Hurricane at King Of The Ring. That makes her happy, and when she’s happy, she makes her man happy. She then says she hopes The Hurricane comes look for his mask because she has it stored in a warm location. She then lifts up her skirt to reveal she’s using the mask as panties. Awesome stuff. Nidia is a freak and Noble is epic. I love this pairing, so much fun.

Match Two
Number One Contendership for WWE Cruiserweight Championship
Billy Kidman vs. Jamie Noble w/Nidia

I know he’s had the match with Funaki on Velocity, but this is JAMIE NOBLE BOY’s first match on Smackdown, so I want to mark the occasion by mentioning it. As is the running trend, they unfortunately don’t get a lot of time, but this is solid for the amount of time that they do get. Noble puts on a fantastic performance here, even if most the offense in the match was controlled by Kidman. Kidman looks like he might be set to win the match, climbing up top for the Shooting Star Press, but Nidia causes him to fall and crotch on the top rope. Noble then hits a brutal Elevated DDT to get the win. The Noble run has begun. Yes! Really solid stuff here. **1/4 ​

After the match, Nidia gets in the ring to celebrate with Noble, and she places The Hurricane’s mask on Noble’s face. The lights then go out and The Hurricane’s music hits. He comes from the crowd and lands a Chokeslam on the unsuspecting Noble. This allows Hurricane to get his mask back. I guess this is sort of rushed as their match is on the weekend. I could have done with Hurricane chasing the mask a bit longer, but this was still good fun.

Match Three
Billy w/Chuck and Rico vs. Triple H

There are some pairings that just don’t seem to have any natural chemistry, and this is one of them. Add to that the fact that Billy is not in his element (tag team action), and Trips is passed his prime in ring (late ’99-’01), we get a crappy match. Can’t blame one person and say the other tried, both were most likely as equally bad as each other. And of course, after all his losses recently, Triple H was booked like a monster here, to overcome the WWE Tag Team Champions and Rico all by himself. Triple H eventually gets Billy with a Pedigree to pick up the win. Not good. *3/4​

After the match, Rico is furious, and he tries to get in and Clothesline Triple H. Triple H ducks and sets up Rico for the Pedigree. Before he can hit it, Kurt Angle attacks Triple H from behind. The WWE Undisputed Champion The Undertaker then also comes down to attack Triple H. Triple H reverses and nails ‘Taker with a Facebuster. He then looks like he’s trying to Pedigree The Undertaker. Angle comes back in the ring with a chair and swings at Trips, but Trips moves, and Angle accidentally slams the chair across ‘Taker’s back. Triple H exits the ring and laughs at Angle as he backs up the ramp. Angle then quickly escapes the ring as well as ‘Taker picks up the chair and is mad as hell when he gets up. Unexpected but fun aftermath here, although not sure Triple H needed to get the better of FIVE guys.

After the break, we’re in the back and The Undertaker demands that Vince McMahon book him vs. Kurt Angle. Vince tries to act tough and says nobody tells him what to do, but he’ll give ‘Taker the match anyway. Logical progression here, solid stuff.

Match Four
King Of The Ring Quarter Final
Chris Jericho vs. Val Venis

These two have a solid match together, with Jericho putting in a really good performance, but then Val also holding his own and making his offense looks especially good. They get about six minutes which is enough as an appetizer, but man, I wish they got double this one day to really build something. This is definitely a benefit of the draft at this point that guys like Val and Randy Orton are getting a chance to shine. As we get into the finishing stretch, we have some cool false finishes, which the fans really buy into. In the end, Jericho gets a sneaky low blow behind the referees back which allows him to lock in the Walls Of Jericho and get the win. Solid work from these two, and Jericho advancing in the tournament overall is probably the right call. **1/2​

Backstage, Hardcore Holly confronts Test ahead of their match tonight and lets him know he’s not taking the match lightly. Test tells Holly he will know just how serious he is. Not a great segment. Two guys who aren’t great talkers. Served its purpose of hyping the match, but it wasn’t good.

The Rock’s surprise return and promo from Raw gets played in full…

In the back, Kurt Angle complains to Vince McMahon about having to face The Undertaker tonight when he has Hulk Hogan to fight in three days. Vince tells Angle that ‘Taker demanded the match. Vince then gives Kurt a pep talk, talking about all of his accomplishments. Stacy Keibler then chimes in and asks if Kurt is afraid of ‘Taker. Angle gets all fired up and says he’s going to pretend ‘Taker is Hogan out there tonight. A good segment. Love the manipulation of Angle here by Vince, and then it potentially backfiring by getting Kurt to fired up. Good stuff, and of course, some good hype for the main event as well.

Match Five
King Of The Ring Quarter Final
Hardcore Holly vs. Test

So it turns out these two aren’t only bad talkers, they are bad workers for the most part as well. Put them together and what do you get? A bad, unenjoyable match. This was horrible, and even the finishing run was uncreative, as Holly throws a half-hearted Clothesline, Test ducks and gets one of the worst Big Boots for the win. I call it out because Test’s Big Boot is usually epic, but it wasn’t here. Yuck stuff. *1/2​

After the match, Marc Lloyd interviews Test at ringside and asks him about wrestling Brock Lesnar at King Of The Ring. Test says The Next Big Thing is going to eat his next Big Boot, then he’ll become king and the new big thing around here. Not the worst considering it’s a Test promo and hypes the match at the PPV. Trying to be positive here.

In the back, Vince McMahon tells security to get him The Undertaker and Kurt Angle to try and calm him down before their match. Cool.

After the break, Vince McMahon has The Undertaker and Kurt Angle with him, and he tells them he wants a good, clean match tonight but Angle and ‘Taker refuses to shake hands. Kurt says that ‘Taker has a bad attitude. ‘Taker responds by telling Angle that Kurt has a bad wig and calls him cueball. That causes Angle to lose it, and he attacks ‘Taker, even knocking over Vince in the process. They get pulled apart. Really good stuff here. Thought the banter between Angle and ‘Taker was entertaining, and in one night, they’ve turned this into a compelling, must-see match.

Match Six
Kurt Angle vs. The Undertaker

They get seven minutes which isn’t bad time during this era, and these two put on a perfectly acceptable match. It’s enough to be match of the night, but it’s still a level or two below what these two could potentially be doing. They did a really good job of keeping this competitive, managing to keep the fans engaged in a heel vs. heel scenario which can be difficult based on past history. They have some nice reversals of some of each other’s key signature moves as expected. I think it’s clear that they’re holding back a little, which makes sense with what’s to come in the coming weeks. The match ends when ‘Taker looks for the Chokeslam, but Angle shifts in the air and pulls ‘Taker down, locking in the Ankle Lock in the process. ‘Taker fights out of it and regains control but then Triple H walks down the ramp. The distraction is enough for Angle to sneak a Roll Up whilst holding the tights and Angle wins. Maybe a little unexpected for Angle to beat the champion three days before a pay per view, but based on the Triple H appearance, this doesn’t hurt ‘Taker so I’m okay with it. Good stuff from these two, with better most likely to come. **3/4​

After the match, Triple H and ‘Taker gets in a brawl on the floor, as Hulk Hogan comes down to the ring. Hogan puts on an ugly, although not as ugly as Edge’s Ankle Lock, until ‘Taker gets back in the ring and breaks it up with a Chokeslam. Triple H then slides back in and hits ‘Taker with a Pedigree to stand tall to end the show. Boy, did Triple H ever look strong tonight. Either way, this was a fun ending to give us one last sell for the two main attractions for King Of The Ring (outside of the tournament itself of course).

A solid episode of SD here which did a good job as a go home show for hyping the important angles heading into King Of The Ring.