Stojy watches WWE 2002

[Stojy]

WWF Heat
March 3rd, 2002
Boston, Massachusetts​

A new commentary duo for this week’s show as Michael Cole isn’t here, meaning we’ve got The Coach and Tazz on the job tonight.

Match One
Perry Saturn vs. Rikishi

Saturn gets on top of Rikishi early, laying in with strikes, and backing him into the corner. Saturn continues to stomp away, until Jacqueline, who is trying to be a referee again, breaks it up. The step in from Jacqueline allows Rikishi to get in some offence until he cops a Back Elbow, and then Saturn hits a cool Springboard Dropkick. Saturn sends Rikishi bouncing off the ropes, but The Kish comes back with a kick to the face, followed by a Samoan Drop. Saturn then gets drilled with a Belly To Belly Suplex. With Saturn in trouble, Rikishi then lands his version of the Earthquake Drop. Saturn crawls to the corner where Rikishi misses a Running Back Splash, as Saturn gets out of the way. Saturn then quickly drops Rikishi with a Clothesline. In an impressive feat, Saturn hits a Northern Lights Suplex and gets a two count for it. Once back up, Rikishi connects with a Superkick, which keeps Saturn down for the Banzai Drop, which gets Rikishi the win. Nothing amazing or anything, but for an opener on Heat, this was at a solid level. **​

After the match, Rikishi and Jacqueline dance together.

Backstage, referee Tim White catches up with The Hurricane. He asks The Hurricane how he is doing. Hurricane says that he is super as always, however Mighty Molly is hurting after the attack from that villainous Jazz. Despite that, Hurricane says he has a job to do tonight as he has a match against Test. I liked this just as a way to sell how deadly Jazz is, and of course, it reminds us that Hurricane has a match coming up.

Our WrestleMania moment for this show is Pete Rose getting Tombstoned by Kane at WrestleMania 14. The Kane/Pete Rose saga was so awesome.

A recap video plays of Jazz destroying Mighty Molly on Raw.

Match Two
Test vs. The Hurricane

Hurricane starts things off by snatching a Headlock, but Test uses his strength advantage to simply throw The Hurricane off of him and into the corner of the ring. Hurricane runs at Test with some high pace, babyface offense, only for Test to eventually catch him with a Full Nelson Slam! Test then takes the action to the corner, where he goes to town with elbows and stomps. After some more domination from Test, he goes for a Back Suplex, but Hurricane lands on his feet, and connects with a Neckbreaker. The superhero immediately follows up with a nice float over DDT which gets him a two count. Hurricane tries to keep the action fast paced, bouncing off the ropes but he runs straight into a Tilt A Whirl Powerslam! It only gets a two count, so Test gets up and yells in the referee’s face, even shoving him, but the ref shoves back. The shove from the ref sends Test straight into The Eye Of The Hurricane, which gains a very close near fall. Helms goes up top and looks for the Blockbuster, but Test avoids it. Test looks for the Big Boot, Hurricane avoids that and hits a Superkick for yet another two count. Hurricane heads back to the top rope, where he comes off with a Crossbody, but Test catches him with a Roll of The Dice to get the win. This was okayish. High level for Heat. They both played into the big man vs. little man stuff well. **1/4 ​

Next there’s a video recap of the latest stuff regarding Tough Enough 2. I still don’t care.

The “snap of the night” shows highlights of RVD beating Big Show and Lance Storm to become the number one contender for the WWF Intercontinental Championship. It also conveniently sets up our next match.

Match Three
Lance Storm vs. Rob Van Dam

Storm starts things strong here, as he’s able to back RVD into the corner and immediately go to town with strikes in the corner. RVD managed to be elusive though, flipping away from Storm, and then sending him flying across the ring with a Monkey Flip. RVD quickly follows up with a Savant kick, followed by a Standing Moonsault which gets him a two count. Van Dam sends Storm to the corner, where he begins driving his shoulder into Storm’s mid-section, until Storm moves, and Van Dam collides with the ring post. Storm drags RVD out of the corner and hits a DDT for a near fall. Storm is in control now, as he sends RVD to the corner and tees off with chops to the chest. RVD ends up elbowing himself free before taking Storm down with a Body Scissors. Storm quickly regains control and keeps Van Dam down, until RVD fights back with a couple of variations of Spinning Heel Kicks to get a two count. Van Dam goes to pick up Storm, but Storm drills him with a Jaw Breaker! RVD immediately comes back with a Back Suplex though, followed by Rolling Thunder for another failed pin attempt. Storm avoids a kick to the head and gets a near fall off of a German Suplex. Storm heads up to the top rope but RVD knocks him off, before climbing up and landing his Flying Kick from the top rope. RVD then gets back up and hits his Five Star Frog Splash for the win. Another solid showing for an episode of Heat. The right man went over to with RVD continuing his momentum as he rolls into a WrestleMania Intercontinental title shot. **1/4​

The next recap is of all the happenings between Stone Cold and the NWO on this week’s Raw and Smackdown.

And then this weeks “boot of the week” is a recap of Triple H and Kane beating Chris Jericho and Kurt Angle on Smackdown this week.

Match Four
Edge vs. Mr. Perfect

Another one that beings with a Lock Up, before Perfect gets a Headlock on. Edge pushes him off, but Perfect comes off the ropes and takes Edge down with a Shoulder Block. They go back and forth, including a brief romp on the outside, until Perfect gets an Abdominal Stretch, which kick starts the Edge fight back. Edge runs through Perfect with some Clothesline, before hitting the Edge O Matic for a two count. Edge then starts lining up Perfect for a Spear, but Perfect pulls the ref in the way, so Edge runs through the referee with the Spear instead. After dropping Edge, Perfect heads outside the ring and grabs a steel chair, however the referee has recovered quickly, because even he knows Edge’s Spear is weak, and he calls for the bell. Perfect is disqualified for shoving the referee in place for the Spear. Eh, this was disappointing. Would have liked more from these two. Didn’t have much time, didn’t deliver anything interesting in the time they had, and the non-finish hurts this one too. *1/2​

After the match, Edge Spears Perfect to knock the chair out of his hands, so we send the fans home happy.

Probably the best episode of Heat so far this year. The main event was disappointed, but the rest of the wrestling was at a consistent decent level for the first time this year. More of the same would be nice.

 

[Stojy]

WWF Raw
March 4th, 2002
Austin, Texas ​

We kick off with Vince McMahon in the back and he announces that fellow co-owner Ric Flair will not be here tonight due to circumstances beyond his control involving a family emergency. With Flair being gone, Vince decides to label tonight’s show fan appreciation night. To show his appreciation, McMahon books Kurt Angle vs. Triple H in a steel cage and announces that a member of the NWO will be in action tonight. Vince seems pretty happy as he believes tonight Raw returns to normalcy. Okay, so obviously I’m excited about the Flair family emergency stuff because I know where that leads, but Angle/Triple H in a cage will hopefully be good. Feel like cage matches are either really good, or two guys being lazy and ramming each other into the cage with no creativity/excitement. We’ll see how this one ends up.

Match One
Booker T vs. Steve Austin

Kind of hard to rate this one as they only get a couple of minutes. Austin’s knee is still all bandaged up to sell the cinderblock attack, so you’d think Booker would try and target it, right? Apparently not. They trade some basic, uninspiring offense including Austin’s growing fascination with using chops and not much else. At some point, Booker manages to get Austin in a Headlock, but the NWO make their way out to attack Austin, and that’s basically where the match ends. Not really enough time to get going, and it suffered because of it. Non finish doesn’t help. Looks like Booker is trying to get on the worst match list for March also. *1/4​

The NWO go right on the attack but Austin fights back. Just as Austin gets on top of Hall, Kevin Nash pulls him off. As Austin is distracted with the other members of the NWO, Hall goes outside and gets himself a wrench. Back inside, Hall nails Austin in the face with the wrench and Austin gets all bloodied. The attack continues but admittedly runs a bit long with Hall and co laying down punches and stomps. After what feels like forever, Hall nails Austin with a Stunner and that’s how the segment ends. This was okay for what it was, NWO looking somewhat dangerous, but it dragged on a little in terms of length.

After the break, Austin is still struggling and EMT’s are out with the stretcher and whatever, but he’s a badass so he refuses and limps his way to the back.

Test makes his way to the ring, and we get the gift of some Test promo time. Luckily, it’s short. Test talks about how usually his tag team partner is Booker T, but he’s managed to find the perfect replacement. Of course, the word “perfect” being used means Mr. Perfect is his partner. I can live with that at least.

Match Two
Albert and Scotty Too Hotty vs. Mr Perfect and Test

As usual, the match just didn’t get enough time to shine and that’s what hurt it. It probably also hurt it that Albert, who is much better than Scotty, was only in and having fun briefly before Scotty took over. Whatever quality the match had, dipped a little after that. It’s worth noting that considering both guys weren’t doing anything at this time, I probably could have done with Perfect and Test having some sort of run as a tag team. Nothing amazing here, but Perfect could have maybe carried Test as his big, dumb partner or something. Anyway, not enough Albert in this one, and after Scotty hits The Worm on Test, Perfect finishes him off with the Perfect Plex. I’ll take Perfect getting a pinfall victory at this stage anytime I can get it. For all the potential positives for the future, still not a good match here. It wasn’t allowed to be. *1/2​

After the match, Perfect kept on the attack and Test looked to join in when Albert made the save. Albert was doing okay, until he got nailed with Test’s Big Boot. Realistically, probably the only thing Test does really well. Rikishi makes the save now though, nailing Test with a Superkick, before giving Perfect the Stinkface. As Albert struggles to get back up, Rikishi and Scotty share a moment because they are old buddies.

Kurt Angle gets interviewed by The Coach and Angle has to admit that he liked watching Stone Cold get his butt kicked. He also says that Triple H got lucky by pinning him on Smackdown, but tonight inside the steel cage, Triple H’s luck runs out.

The NEW WWF Hardcore Champion Goldust comes out and talks about how since The Undertaker was the Hardcore Champ, it seems the 24/7 rule has been forgotten. Before he can go on about how nobody will attack him, Tazz interrupts and brings Jacqueline out with her in her interesting referee attire. Looks like we’ve got ourselves a Hardcore Title match.

Match Three
WWF Hardcore Championship Match
Goldust (c) vs. Tazz

Again, nowhere near enough time to be really good, but I again thought Goldust showed enough here to prove that he can put on some fun matches as Hardcore champ. As usual, he threw plenty of awesome punches, and he bumped well for some of Tazz’s Suplexes. Typical Hardcore match with the use of trash can, trash can lid and fire extinguisher coming into play. I guess now that he’s hardcore, Goldust can actually land the Shattered Dreams again so that happens here. In the end, Tazz locks in the Tazzmission, but Goldust falls on top of Tazz, and uses the trash can lid to knock him out and get the win. These two would be awesome in a 7-minute Hardcore match. *1/4​

In the back, the NWO must be in Stone Cold’s locker room as they are chilling and drinking his beer. Once they finish some beer, Nash mentions that he’s a little bored now the beer is done, and Hall says he isn’t scared to leave the locker room. Hogan tells them they should all go for a walk.

The Coach interviews Rob Van Dam, showing a replay of RVD becoming the number one contender for the IC Title, before congratulating him on a job well done. RVD is full of confidence as he nods along with Coach, before he says at ‘Mania, he will hit the Five Star Frog Splash and become the new champ. Lance Storm interrupts and announces that he’s taking this very seriously, but Van Dam tells him to lighten up. Storm gets even more irritated and slaps RVD, and Van Dam says that’s cool because they’ll settle it in the ring later. I know Van Dam is laid back but not sure how he can just take that face slap and not fight back.

We now go to the back where DDP and Christian are together again, as DDP continues to try and get Christian to see the positive side of things. Christian looks goofy as all shit when he puts on his fake DDP smile, as Page tells him they are skipping stage 1 and going straight to stage 2. Suddenly, Christian gets a phone call he needs to take, and after some silence says, “pull the plug, the sooner she goes, the sooner I get my money”. Page is shocked as Christian gets off the phone and asks about it, and Christian says his Grandma Edna is about to bite it. Holy shit, I love Christian. More fun stuff between these two, and the look Page gave Christian here was priceless as well.

The NWO see a crew member wearing a Stone Cold t-shirt so they decide to beat the shit out of him. Hogan and Nash egg Hall on, telling him that the guy flipped him off, which motivates Hall to inflict more damage.

The Godfather is at WWF New York partying with his escorts.

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

I’ve given Jazz a lot of hard time throughout these first couple of months, and that’s likely to continue. She just isn’t good. But on this night against this opponent, she delivers a five-star classic from her standards, but something that just isn’t a complete bag of shit in reality. Jazz really takes it to Trish here with some stiff offense, really beating the hell out of her. I think this is what really adds to the match and Trish’s selling is good to, as she continues to get better almost each time she wrestles. Trish made a good fiery comeback, but eventually finds herself locked in the STF. She manages to escape, and then because 2002 and sex appeal, Jazz rips off Trish’s top to reveal a black bra. God damn… Anyway, the match continues as Jazz slaps her, but Trish loses it and eventually locks Jazz in the STF. Jazz makes the ropes, but Trish has lost her cool and refuses to break the hold, so she gets disqualified. Solid stuff for this combination and I like Trish showing a little something of a mean streak here as well. **​

Stephanie McMahon is on the phone in the back, and she’s pissed off at Chris Jericho, who is lost and can’t find her lotion. A frustrated Stephanie tells him that it’s not the Bermuda triangle. Triple H enters the room, and he has a bunch of Steph’s crap in a box which he drops off. Trips tells another vagina joke, telling Steph her vagina and the box are the same size. Stephanie notices that her favourite lotion fell out of the box, so she quickly begins rubbing it all over her body. For some reason, Triple H seems pretty happy with that. Dun dun dun!

It's announced that The Rock will return on Smackdown. Finally.

The Undertaker comes out and talks about how Flair’s turned down his challenge for WrestleMania twice now, and it’s why The Undertaker had to attack Arn Anderson. We then see that replay before ‘Taker says he’s finding what makes Flair tick, but that wasn’t enough, so he had to push the envelope further. We then see a clip of The Undertaker showing up at the WWF Development Centre and beating the living shit out of David Flair. ‘Taker beats the shit out of Flair quite badly and it’s awesome. At one point, Flair asks what are you doing, and ‘Taker tells him he’s kicking his ass. That was awesome. After destroying Flair, ‘Taker says this is on Ric’s head and he doesn’t care how far he has to go. He asks if David has a younger brother before he says he remembers Flair has a daughter too. He makes the challenge again to Flair for ‘Mania as we cut away. Awesome, awesome, awesome. I love this build so much.

Match Five
Lance Storm vs. Rob Van Dam

We've got a Sunday Night Heat rematch here and I'm down for them to build on what was decent on Heat. This was really good; I’m actually shocked by how good it is for a mid-card match given the state of wrestling in the early stages of 2002 so far. Storm works on the leg throughout and does some really good work, and Van Dam sells the leg really well. RVD’s biggest strength isn’t exactly his consistency with his limb selling, but he does a really good job here. Makes complete sense from the Storm technician/tactician point of view to work on a leg as well. All of Van Dam’s big offense involve his educated feet or him leaping off the top, so immobilising him is literally the perfect game plan. In an awesome moment, RVD sells really cool when he looks to go for the Rolling Thunder, but his lost the explosiveness in his leg. So instead, he settles for a Leg Drop. In the end, RVD does hit the Five Star Frog Splash to get the win, but even then, instead of leaping to the top rope swiftly like he always does, he’s forced to head to the apron and climb up it like a normal person. A really good, enjoyable effort from these two. ***​

In the back, the NWO are hanging out and Hall talks about what he’s going to do to Austin, aka treat him like an animal. Hogan talks about what he did to The Rock, but they have more important things to worry about, like who is actually going to wrestle tonight. They get prepared to play rock, paper, scissors, but the coffee guy interrupts, and Hall shoves his head in burning hot coffee. Damn. Showing more of their lack of compassion, they then complete their game with the kid screaming about his face being burnt off. Hall wins the game and will be wrestling tonight. They’re lucky Kane wasn’t around, I guess.

We get a music video with highlights of The Rock, further hyping his pending return on Smackdown.

Apparently, it has been decided that Scott Hall will picking his opponent’s name out of a tumbler ala future Royal Rumble events when they pick their numbers. Hogan does some of his standard posing before saying they need to be ready to give The Rock an NWO welcome on Smackdown. Hall then finally picks a name out of the tumbler and looks genuinely afraid. I guess at least they are hyping up The Rock’s return.

So, after the NWO come out, the fear from Hall was all a swerve as his opponent is none other than Spike Dudley.

Match Six
Scott Hall vs. Spike Dudley

Just a squash match, really not much else to say. Hall doesn’t really do anything impressive, and there isn’t any crazy offense that allows Spike to bump his ass off. So instead, what we get is bleh. Beforehand, Hall said that he was going to pretend his opponent was Austin, so The King keeps calling Spike, Stone Cold throughout. Even though he has things well and truly under control, Hall tosses Spike to the outside so Hogan and Nash can get some shots in. In the end, it’s a Razors Edge and Hall literally just pins Spike with a foot on the chest. Hall is a shell of his former self (which wasn’t always amazing to begin with) at this point, not good. ½*​

Backstage, Stephanie McMahon is crying because she’s broken out in hives, because Triple H tampered with her lotion. Steph is fuming but Kurt Angle tries to make out like he can’t see it, but when Steph goes to touch Angle, he’s grossed out and hilariously backs away. She gets all worked up and yells at Kurt because she wants him to kill Triple H.

WrestleMania countdown – 2 weeks away.

Match Seven
Steel Cage Match
Kurt Angle vs. Triple H

I really enjoyed this as well. I think I mentioned earlier that cage matches can go one of two ways, and whilst this one didn’t overly focus on blood and gore, I definitely think was a good one. Kurt Angle bumped around really well throughout, which isn’t really a surprise at this point. The only part of this which bothered me is every time Triple H gets up and recovers from something, it’s like he hasn’t been touched. He got thrown around for periods of this match with Angle nailing all sorts of Suplexes, but he doesn’t even make to feel for his back. Like at all. That’s frustrating. I also wasn’t a fan of the ending, but I still enjoyed the match as a whole. Some better booking, and this could have got a REALLY good ranking. I like that they didn’t bother with pinfalls and whatever here as well, which allowed them to implement a number of false escapes. They did these well too. Towards the end, of course Stephanie gets involved when she slides a chair in. It backfires though and Triple H DDT’s Angle onto the chair. It doesn’t end there though as Hunter attempts to climb out of the cage, only for Steph to hit him with the chair. Trips falls and crotches himself on the top rope, and she nails another chair shot. This time Trips gets his ankle tangled up in the ropes. He can’t escape and with his ankle trapped, Steph drags Kurt out and he wins the match. A shock ending with Kurt, who doesn’t really have a big time ‘Mania angle getting the win here. I guess it had to be a dirty finish based on both participants current status, but Steph shouldn’t have come out of this looking the smarter/better of all three of them. This promoted Steph more than it did Kurt, and maybe that’s why Jericho needs her, and this was the point to prove behind the booking. I still don’t like it. Surely, she could have interfered and then Kurt could have still somehow won of his own accord. Anyway, not perfect, but still a really good cage match/TV main event. ***​

The NWO stuff continues to be a miss for me, they just don’t have that aura about them which is disappointing. I love The Undertaker stuff though and there were some pretty good matches for once so enjoyed this more than the last few shows.

 

[Stojy]

WWF Smackdown
March 7th, 2002
San Antonio, Texas ​

Show starts off in the backstage area, with a fired-up Ric Flair slamming on the door to the locker room of The Undertaker. In an awesome moment, we then footage of inside the locker room, where The Undertaker is watching the replay from Raw when he beat the crap out of David Flair. ‘Taker yells out to Flair to take it easy on the door because he’s trying to watch him beat up his kid again. “Your boys a hell of a bleeder, just like Arn” is honestly all types of awesome. Flair eventually relents on the door, but let’s ‘Taker know that this isn’t over. LOVE this turn of events. ‘Taker has been trying to get at Flair at weeks, and now that Naitch is furious, ‘Taker is biding his time. So good.

Ric Flair clearly plans on pressing the issue here as he’s straight down the to the ring. He starts by talking about he achieved a dream by being the owner of the WWF, but The Undertaker has pushed him too far. His dream came true but then Vince McMahon goaded him into a match. Now The Undertaker is trying to do the same thing. After the Arn attack, Flair almost agreed to the match, but Arn told him not to let ‘Taker get the best of him. The reason why Anderson told him this is because he's his best friend. From there, he moves on to talking about how apparently today is David Flair’s 23rd birthday, but he’s unable to celebrate because of the beating from ‘Taker. Flair lets ‘Taker know from this point forward, he has Flair’s attention as a wrestler. The Undertaker’s trophy cabinet isn’t big enough to hold Ric Flair, the wrestler. Flair then goes into epic Flair mode, “God damn it, I’m a wrestler again and at WrestleMania two of us will walk that aisle. You like blood? I’ll bleed. I’ll bleed”. Flair starts punching and slapping himself, getting really worked up when The Undertaker finally makes his way onto the stage. The Undertaker says that Flair is taking all of the fun out of this situation and after thinking about things since Raw, ‘Taker’s not sure he wants to fight Flair at ‘Mania anymore. He says that he’s willing to let bygones be bygones and forgive Flair for all that he’s done to him. ‘Taker’s playing some awesome mind games as he tells Flair that now he needs to think about it, and he’ll let Flair know later in the show. Flair’s passionate promo and eventually losing it was amazing, and ‘Taker’s mind games here are just awesome. This was all terrific.

In the back, Stephanie McMahon and Triple H bump into each other. They take turns with digs at each other, with Triple H commenting on Steph’s skin clearing up, whilst Steph gloats about Kurt Angle beating Triple H on Raw. Triple H then tells her he’s having her stupid corvette brought here tonight, but he wants his dog Lucy back. Steph says no, because they purchased her together, but Triple H says that’s bullshit because Lucy hates her. Triple H doesn’t understand why she would want another bitch in the house. Eh, another one of these segments.

The WWF Intercontinental Champion William Regal comes out to scout his opponent ahead of WrestleMania.

Match One
WWF Hardcore Championship Match
Goldust (c) vs. Rob Van Dam

We start off the in ring action with a rematch from No Way Out, and I enjoyed that match so hopefully this one delivers. Tonight is the first night that Goldust as WWF Hardcore Champion has all the weapons be tinted gold. Such a small thing but the gold trash cans and steel chairs here are just such an awesome addition to the match/his title reign. This was great for the little time they got, but as usual for a mid card weekly match, they don’t really get anytime to flesh anything out. Regal interferes here and another Van Dam dropkicks a chair into Goldust’s face, Regal gets on the apron and hits RVD with the brass knucks. This allows Goldust to get a School Boy for the win. I enjoyed this for what it was, and whilst I understand Regal interfering to get some heat, I think this would have been better if this was against somebody with a higher profile. Not sure why Van Dam would job against somebody like Goldust when he’s heading into a title shot at Mania. **​

It's at this point that Michael Cole mentions that Stone Cold won’t be on the show tonight due to injuries suffered on Raw. I’m okay with this. Makes sense to sell the impact of the cinderblock.

In the back, Chris Jericho isn’t happy about all the crap he’s having to deal with from Stephanie McMahon. To try and smooth things over, Stephanie offers Jericho a gift, and it’s Triple H’s first wrestling robe, given to him by Killer Kowalski. She says the robe is half hers and it should be worn by a champion. Jericho is all happy and giddy now and puts it on, saying he’ll wear it in his match tonight against Kane. For a moment I thought Jericho was going to have a backbone. Silly me.

Match Two
Booker T vs. Tajiri w/Torrie Wilson

Being an ECW fan, I’ve been a fan of Tajiri seemingly forever, so it was great to see him get some good shots in here. I don’t think the result was ever in doubt, but they gave Tajiri some good near falls which helped the match. Obviously due to WWE this was a sprint because they had no time, but Tajiri sold Booker’s stuff well enough, and landed some of his awesome sounding kicks. Despite all of that, they went with the right result here as Booker finishes things off with a Scissors Kick. Fun. **​

After the match, Booker T looks to do more damage to Tajiri, probably still mad that he didn’t get the Japanese shampoo role. The man who did though, Edge, interrupts the attack and takes out Booker with a Spear.

Oh hey, The Rock returns on this show, so here he comes and he makes his way to the ring. The Rock talks about how he’s human and he made a mistake, because when he thought about the NWO and Hogan, he was exciting to meet Hogan at ‘Mania, instead of looking at the NWO as the cancer they really are. He was so obsessed with what Hogan was that he forgot what he is, a bitter, self centered, jaded son of a bitch. The Rock says Hogan knows The Rock is better than him, and Hogan made a mistake as well. His mistake was not finishing off The Rock when he had the chance. The Rock then calls Hogan out, challenging him to try and finish off The Rock tonight. The NWO come out onto the stage and Hogan talks about he wants the millions and millions of fans to see him beat The Rock at ‘Mania like he has every other flash in the pan. Hogan is to nice of a guy to take advantage of The Rock’s crippled ass tonight. As the NWO have a huddle, The Rock says that he never thought the man with 24 inch pythons would have half inch testicles. That gets Hogan fired up and he wants to head down but Hall and Nash stop him from doing so. Scott Hall says that Hogan might be to nice to fight The Rock tonight, but he’s not. Rock accepts the challenge and it sounds like we’ll get Hall/Rock tonight. In the scheme of things, despite the issues with the direction of this overall, this makes sense for Rock to want revenge, and to throw one of the lesser NWO members at him in the lead up.

Match Three
Handicap Match
Al Snow and Maven vs. The Undertaker

Not much to say about this one just a brutal squash. ‘Taker takes care of both men, and demonstrates his mean streak by raising Maven’s shoulder himself to not finish things off after a Chokeslam. Instead, ‘Taker then locks in the Dragon Sleeper and gets the submission victory. Booking wise, obviously the right call to have ‘Taker end this thing with Maven looking so strong. *1/2 ​

After the match, The Undertaker gets a microphone because it’s apparently time for him to give Ric Flair an answer. He tells Flair the answer is yes regarding wrestling him at WrestleMania, but that is with one condition attached. Flair needs to come out here right now, get on his hands and knees and beg for the match. A furious Flair isn’t in a mood to beg as he runs down and begins brawling with ‘Taker, and he gets the better of it to. He sends ‘Taker to the outside and ‘Taker looks to escape, heading over the barricade and into the crowd. Flair follows and throws a right hand, but ‘Taker ducks and Flair accidentally nails a fan. Flair is furious but is being held back by security now as ‘Taker smiles with what has happened. More great stuff here. ‘Taker’s mind games lead to Flair making a huge mistake. This arc tonight has been brilliant.

Match Four
Chris Jericho vs. Kane

I feel like a broken record and I probably will continue to be until post draft, but again, this one didn’t really get a lot of time. For the few minutes they did get though, this delivered well enough. A good Jericho performance as he really made Kane look like a million bucks, bumping around nicely to all his big man offense. This match ends when Kane’s in control, but with the referee not looking, Kurt Angle runs out and drills Kane with an Angle Slam. This allows Jericho to capitalise with the Lionsault and get the win. Solid enough for the time given. **
​

After the match, it looks like Angle wants to do more damage to Kane, but Kane kicks a chair into his face, and they end up brawling to the back. Meanwhile, inside of the ring, Stephanie McMahon gives Jericho his two Undisputed Titles, and also Triple H’s old robe. This obviously makes Triple H mad as he runs down and fights with Jericho, quickly disposing of him with a Clothesline over the top rope. Trips looks set to nail the Pedigree on Steph, but Jericho drags her to safety. Another segment where Triple H looks a level above our champion. Again, a Pedigree tease but no execution which means Trips/Steph is far from over. Bleh.

In the back, Ric Flair is approached by police, and with them is the fan that Flair accidentally nailed with a right hand. The police let Flair know that the fan is pressing charges. They have to arrest Flair and as they do so, Flair doesn’t fight back, a look on his face that says he knows he messed up. As he gets taken away, Undertaker is shown watching to the side, laughing and enjoying what he’s made happen to Flair tonight. Yes, yes, yes, so good.

In the parking lot, Kane is on the hunt for Kurt Angle, when Angle attacks him and rams into a metal roller door. Angle then brings the door down hard, crushing Kane’s ribs. To add even further damage, with Kane down, Angle then nails him with a brutal chair shot.

Match Five
Lita vs. Stacy Keibler

Lita can wrestle. Stacy is fun to look at, but she can’t wrestler. To her credit, she does pull out a pretty awesome Spin Kick at some point, but this was another squash type scenario. A nothing match, not executed that well due to the talent involved and in the end Lita wins. This is probably going to be hard to top for worst match of the month to be honest. ¼*​

After the match, Lilian Garcia gets into the ring to interview Lita, and she asks Lita what her goals are. Lita makes it clear that she’s coming for the Womens Title, but before she can say more, an angry Keibler attacks her. Lita takes care of Stacy handily and then finishes her off with a Moonsault. The WWF Womens Champion Jazz then runs down and attacks Lita, eventually dropping her with a DDT. This gets a thumbs up from me. The division really feels like Jazz, Trish and nobody else being taken seriously. Lita being included as a serious threat and another face chasing the title is a good idea.

In the back, The Coach interviews Stephanie and she rants and raves about how Triple H’s robe is half hers. Triple shows up and gives Stephanie the keys to her corvette and takes her to the car. The car has literally been cut in half. It’s safe to say Stephanie is furious as she begins throwing a tantrum, as Triple H enjoys himself. He tells her that everything is 50/50 and he just wasn’t sure which half she wanted. Triple H continues to laugh at Steph losing her shit. Poor corvette.

Match Six
Scott Hall vs. The Rock

Even though this is the main event, they only get a few minutes. What they deliver in that time makes sense and is perfectly fine. The Rock starts off on fire, dropping Hall with a DDT relatively early. Hogan distracts The Rock which allows Hall to take over, and he focuses on the ribs. Simple, yet focused offense which is all I ask for. Considering The Rock has his ribs taped up to sell being rammed by a truck (lol), Hall HAD to make the ribs the focus. The Rock sells awesomely as always (post 99 anyway), and then he makes his fight back. After The Rock nails a Rock Bottom on Hall, Nash gets into the ring but Rocky manages to initially fight him off. Hogan then gets in and they stare each other down, only for Nash to cause another distract and then Hogan attacks. Now The Rock succumbs to a three on one attack and the referee has no choice but to call the DQ. Okay for what it was yet again. **​

It's a three on one beatdown as the NWO focus on the ribs of The Rock, until Stone Cold runs down to make the save and he has a steel chair. Hogan escapes as Austin chases Hall out, whilst Nash cops a few chair shots, and a Clothesline over the top from The Rock. As the NWO retreat, Vince McMahon makes his way out and announces that Austin and Rock will team up to face the NWO on Raw. The Rock and Austin don’t seem to have an issue with it as they drink beer to end the show. I guess Austin not showing up was a swerve, so The Rock looked doomed again until he made the surprise save. Okay booking I guess, and look, no matter what way you look at it, and what’s happened to this point, Austin/Rock vs. NWO is a fairly huge match for Raw. Only issue is by this point, the NWO have been overexposed and not used well, meaning they already don’t feel like a big attraction and just another act instead.

Not a match worth watching on the show which is disappointing. NWO angle continues to frustrate somewhat, but this show isn’t completely bad, as the ‘Taker/Flair stuff throughout is awesome. After a promising Raw though, this was definitely a turn back to the previous weeks of crappy shows.

 

[Stojy]

WWF Heat
March 10th, 2002
San Antonio, Texas

Match One
Diamond Dallas Page w/Christian vs. Lance Storm

The match begins with some basic wrestling, as DDP gains the advantage with a Hammerlock, until they continue to trade reversals. Things break down after Page runs through Storm with a Clothesline, as Storm gets up and leans against the ropes. This allows DDP to Clothesline him over the top rope and to the outside. DDP gets some time to pose to the fans to a nice ovation, until he stupidly allows himself to get hung up over the top rope. Storm then hits his Springboard Clothesline for a two count, but it also allows him to take control of the match. After beating DDP up with strikes, Storm lands Leg Drop for another near fall. Storm goes with the Reverse Chinlock for his submission attempt/rest hold, and DDP fights out of it. After breaking free, DDP ducks a Clothesline and gets a Roll Up for a two count. Storm takes back over and begins using the middle rope to choke Page. DDP tries to build momentum again with a few right hands, but Storm cuts it off with a Knee Lift. Storm takes the action to the corner of the ring, but DDP turns the tide, ramming Storm face first into the turnbuckle repeatedly. After DDP lands a Swinging Neckbreaker for a near fall, Storm gets one of his own after a Heel Kick. DDP comes back and gets a close near fall after a DDT. Storm actually gets his foot on the ropes, but I think they botched this, as he got his foot on the rope rather late. On the outside of the ring, Christian loses it at the referee for not counting the finish, and DDP tries to calm him down. This leaves DDP open for a Superkick and DDP just gets a shoulder up. Storm brings him back up and looks for a Suplex, but Page reverses into a Diamond Cutter for the win. Not a bad match here between these two, but nothing to write home about either. **​

After making their entrance, the WWF Tag Team Champions Billy and Chuck go around stomping on cowboy hats to piss off the Texas crowd. Considering the gimmick of Billy and Chuck, can imagine some Texans wouldn’t be happy with this. This is a harmless, fun way to get some heat.

Match Two
Bradshaw w/Faarooq vs. Chuck w/Billy

Chuck gets the jump with some right hands early, but Bradshaw immediately retaliates and gets the upper hand, before dropping Chuck with a DDT. Bradshaw continues on the offense, then landing a Neckbreaker! It’s all Bradshaw in the early stages, as he beats Chuck up, before eventually catching him when he tries something, and landing a Fallaway Slam. Bradshaw tries to finish things early with the Powerbomb, but Chuck reverses with a Back Body Drop. Once they get up, Chuck runs at Bradshaw, but runs straight into a Big Boot. Chuck heads outside for a breather, so Bradshaw goes after him. As the referee is distracted with keeping Faarooq away, Billy leaps off the steps to take Bradshaw down with a Flying Clothesline! The action goes back to the ring now where Chuck has the advantage, taking Bradshaw to the corner and beating him up with punches and kicks. Chuck continues to hammer away with strikes, until Bradshaw fights back and hits a Side Suplex. After a brutal Corner Clothesline, Bradshaw gets a Snap Suplex for a two count. As Bradshaw looks to bounce off the ropes, he gets tripped by Billy. He goes to grab Billy, but Billy hangs him over the top rope, allowing Chuck to get a Roll Up for a near fall. On the floor, Faarooq finally takes care of Billy, whilst Bradshaw avoids a charging Chuck in the corner, and takes his head off with a Clothesline From Hell. Bradshaw wins! A bit sluggish here and there, but not bad from these two. More importantly, Bradshaw gets the win to further push The APA for a title shot. **​

Now it’s in ring promo time for the WWF Intercontinental Champion William Regal. Regal says that there are heaps of people to claim to love this country, but he’s not one of them. He talks about his failed attempt at being an ambassador before talking up his power of the punch, and how it has beaten more people than any other move in the business. Regal says he’s seen RVD do moves that no other man can do, but those moves will not help Van Dam at all. RVD is lazy and weak. Regal claims to be nothing like Van Dam and he’s proud of it. Regal says he’s unrelenting, sadistic and English. That makes him better than RVD and he promises that he’ll keep the Intercontinental Title with his power of the punch. Solid interview from Regal. The ambassador stuff at the start probably didn’t need to be there. Also surprised there hasn’t been more made of RVD beating Regal in just a few minutes a little while back. Still, solid hype for their match at ‘Mania which would be the main purpose. Also, cool to see something other than just bland matches and video recaps on Heat.

Match Three
Mr. Perfect vs. Rikishi

Rikishi starts off well as they move towards the corner, landing some elbows and some punches. Perfect manages to trip Rikishi, and then stops him on the groin, probably narrowly avoiding DQ if we’re being honest. Perfect hits a Rolling Neck Snap, before continuing to dominate with chops. Eventually, Perfect goes for a Scoop Slam, but struggles to lift Rikishi, so Rikishi hits a slam of his own, followed by a Samoan Drop. The Samoan Drop didn’t look the greatest either but oh well. After a Running Sit Down Splash connects, Perfect looks for a reprieve in the corner, only for the Running Back Splash from Rikishi to squash Perfect. Perfect drops to a seated position, in the perfect spot for the Stinkface. As Rikishi begins to set up, Perfect grabs the referee. With the ref distracted, Test comes down and runs through Rikishi with a Big Boot. Test rolls out of the ring and Perfect gets the cover for the win. Unfortunately, this was pretty meh, but Perfect and Test is something I could get behind as a team, seeing how outside of the Rumble match itself, Perfects return has been pretty lacklustre. Long story short, a bad match. ½*​

A couple of decent matches and we got ourselves an in-ring promo this week. Last week was better but this was another pretty good show compared to some of the episodes I’ve watched so far.

 

[Stojy]

WWF Raw
March 11th, 2002
Detroit, Michigan​

The commentators go right into hype mode to begin tonight’s show, hyping up the main event of the evening which will be a Handicap match. Stone Cold will team up with The Rock to take on all three members of the NWO.

It’s also worth noting that our tag team title match for WrestleMania is announced here as well. Billy and Chuck will defend against The APA, The Hardyz and The Dudleyz in an Elimination match. I’m not really sure why Hardyz/Dudleyz are here, they haven’t really earned a title shot. However, I expect them to make the match infinitely better and I was never into the Billy and Chuck/APA program so I’m okay with this.

Match One
Rob Van Dam and The Hardy Boyz vs. The Dudley Boyz and William Regal

A fine way to kick off the show with a fun, fast, action packed four or so minute match. It would be remiss of me to not point out that Jeff Hardy has pigtails which is weird as, and probably points out to the fact that he was all over the place at this time. Anyway, really good stuff and even with minor interactions in a four-minute match, this gets me pumped for WrestleMania. It really looks like RVD/Regal’s opposite styles will mesh together to create a damn good match. RVD is over as hell too, the fans just love him and have basically since he walked into the company. Kind of crazy that it took them 5 years to give him the title, but we’ll cross that bridge another time. Anyway, this basically had the crazy, heavy finisher run with Jeff copping the 3D, D’Von getting the Twist Of Fate from Matt, Bubba getting Matt with the Bubba Bomb, so RVD Dropkicks Bubba and then nails Regal with the Five Star Frog Splash for the victory. Smart booking in the lead up to ‘Mania as it continues to look like Van Dam has Regal’s number, and a solid match. **1/4​

The Board Of Directors have called an emergency meeting at WWF Headquarters. Inside of the meeting, we see both owners, Ric Flair and Vince McMahon sitting on opposite ends of the table, shooting each other looks that could kill. Vince talks about how the company is in a state of emergency, so the board should choose who should own the company, and he’ll prove that Flair isn’t mentally capable of doing so. This ship can’t have two captains, only one of them can lead. Vince will prove tonight that only he should be in charge and have absolute power in the WWF.

We see a replay of Kurt Angle’s attack on Kane from Smackdown, before Angle himself comes out to cut a promo. In typical Angle fashion, he starts by hating on Detroit, before saying like the citizens of Detroit, Kane committed a robbery two weeks ago. All Kurt did on Smackdown was show Kane what happens when you rob Angle of a title shot. Kane screwed him out of the main event of WrestleMania. Kurt then calls himself the red, white and blue machine and announces that he’ll fight Kane at ‘Mania. Angle then switches back to the fans and calls them stupid, but before he can go any further, Booker T interrupts. Booker tells Kurt that he needs to stop calling the fans stupid, which gets an awesome reaction from the fans. But it’s a swerve as Booker says they are beyond stupid; they are brain dead because they cost him his Japanese shampoo endorsement deal. Booker then complains about how he still doesn’t have a match scheduled for ‘Mania, when Edge comes out. Edge shows clips of Booker’s hilariously bad effort on the Weakest Link, before saying that it’s funny for somebody with book in his name that he’s never actually read one. Edge then challenges a furious Booker for ‘Mania and Booker is happy to accept. Eventually, Kurt busts out an awful Spinarooni and Kurt and Booker challenge Edge for a tag team match tonight, telling him to find a partner as they know Kane isn’t here tonight. This was really entertaining for me, enjoyed it and if it sets up a solid tag match later, that’s a big thumbs up from me.

Stephanie McMahon has Lucy the dog backstage and she’s disgusted, talking about how fat and smelly Lucy is. It’s clear Steph hates the dog but when Triple H appears, he picks Lucy up and talks to her in a baby voice. Stephanie says that Lucy is officially her dog now, since she told the judge how Trips always beat Lucy and didn’t feed her. Steph even has a court order. She will keep Lucy until after the divorce is final. Triple H then forces Lucy into Steph’s arms and says, “you were right, she does smell doesn’t she, Lucy”? Triple H warns Steph that if she ever messes with his dog, there will be hell to pay. After Trips leaves, Steph says she’s going to introduce Lucy to the WWF Undisputed Champion Chris Jericho. Erm, I like dogs, so this is probably my favourite Trips/Steph segment.

Match Two
Rikishi vs. Test

Yeah look, Rikishi hasn’t been motivated/any good since his run in 2000, and Test is Test. He had a miracle solid run in 2001, but that’s well and truly finished by this stage. What I’m trying to say is this wasn’t good at all. It doesn’t help that the crowd is dead as well, they clearly don’t care about the match at all which means not even the atmosphere can get this one over the line. The only positive is that Mr. Perfect comes out and helps Test, which maybe means they are trying to do something with this Perfect/Test alliance. Anyway, Perfect’s distraction is enough to kill Rikishi’s momentum and allow Test to get the Big Boot for the win. *1/2​

Chris Jericho and Stephanie McMahon are in their locker room together, and Lucy (Triple H’s dog) is there also. Jericho starts complaining about how badly Lucy smells, and then they realise that Lucy has taken a dump. Basically, Stephanie forces Jericho to go take the dog for a walk. Trying not to rant about how Jericho needs to show some backbone, but it’s far to late for that at this point.

Back from the break, and Jericho is in the parking lot walking Lucy, but the best part is that he has both his Undisputed Titles with him. For some reason, I love that Jericho won’t even put his belts down when walking the dog. Jericho is mad though because he’s the Undisputed Champion so he shouldn’t be walking a dog less than a week before WrestleMania. He eventually has enough and just ties Lucy to the limo door. I swear with how bad this angle was, there was a potential Jericho face turn where he finally rebels against Steph post ‘Mania. Anyway, this isn’t the BTB section.

In another area backstage, DDP continues to try and motivate Christian to be positive, and together they work on their smiling. Billy and Chuck happen to walk in on what’s happening and they say that Christian and DDP are “those type of people”. Christian is mad and challenges Billy to a match tonight because he’s ready to snap his losing streak. I’ve talked about how I don’t mind the Christian/DDP stuff previously, because I really do think it’s harmless fun. I don’t like Billy and Chuck getting involved in this here though. They are the tag champs, and they have a ‘Mania title defence coming up. Surely, they could have been involved in something that would hype their PPV program instead.

The meeting with the Board of Directors at WWF HQ continues, and Vince McMahon presents them the footage of Ric Flair accidentally hitting the fan on Smackdown.

Match Three
WWF Hardcore Championship Match
Goldust (c) vs. Al Snow

I’ve never been a big fan of Al Snow’s Hardcore matches because he falls into the trope of just wandering around aimlessly for minutes on end, as opposed to doing anything that looks like it may hurt. I guess technically this match didn’t fall into that trope, but it’s because they only got like one minute of run time. It’s safe to say not even the awesome ability of Goldust could get me behind this one. I’m probably annoyed at the result as well. Anyway, they cram in some trash can shots, Goldust fails at Shattered Dreams when Snow gets the fire extinguisher, and Al wins with a Snow Plow onto a trash can. Disappointing result and just way to short for anything good to happen. 3/4*​

Back to the parking lot, where Jericho is hanging around, when Stephanie McMahon calls and busts his balls again. The room smells so bad from Lucy’s poop that Steph demands Jericho go and get some air fresheners. Lucy is still tied to the door and Jericho forgets as he gets in, and the limo driver starts to reverse and there’s a yelp. They ran over Lucy. No wonder they lost the rights to the WWF initials LOL. What an awful angle.

After the break, Jericho has gotten the hell out of there, wanting to be nowhere near the tragedy, but Triple H runs over. Apparently, the dog is stuck under the car but still alive. Triple H keeps his head underneath the car and tells Lucy to hold on because help is on the way. Yes, folks. Not kidding. This is the World Title angle just 6 days from WrestleMania. Ridiculously bad stuff.

Edge reveals that his partner for the following tag match is The Big Show!!!

Match Four
Booker T and Kurt Angle vs. Edge and The Big Show

I actually thought this was pretty solid stuff. Edge/Angle/Booker all worked really hard to maintain the sprint like pace, with no real rest period throughout. They also crafted the match well by utilising Big Show’s biggest strength (power spots) throughout the match as well. Even some nice teamwork from Show and Edge when Edge stands on Show’s shoulders to land a Crossbody on the outside. In the end, being the only guy to not really have anything substantial to do heading into the biggest show of the year, it makes sense for Show to take the fall here. Booker drills him with a Superkick which allows Angle to land an impressive Angle Slam. Edge Spears Booker but they go out to the floor, and it allows Kurt to apply the Ankle Lock and pick up the victory. I think Kurt getting the victory over a giant when he’s facing another one at ‘Mania is good booking also. **1/2​

In the back, Stephanie McMahon is freaking out about the fact that Chris Jericho got Lucy ran over. She’s stressed out because she knows how much Triple H loves the dog. Jericho tells Steph that he has a plan though.

Match Five
Billy w/Chuck vs. Christian w/Diamond Dallas Page

Not much to say about this one, it wasn’t good. The biggest chance they had to push Billy as a singles guy was 99 and it failed then because he wasn’t very good. He’s worse now. I liked the idea of Chuck distracting Christian for Billy to get the early advantage, showing that they’re a team and what not. Whereas Christian and DDP are new together, so it’ll take them time to be the way Billy and Chuck are. It all means nothing in the end, but I’ll get to that in a second. To continue the angle with Christian and DDP, there’s a moment where Christian is about to lose his temper here, but DDP keeps him under control. In the end, Billy looks set to get the win, but the referee is yelling at Chuck for Clotheslining Christian previously, so DDP sneaks in and nails Billy with the Diamond Cutter. Christian wins and breaks his losing streak. A nice moment for that particular angle but this match was painful. 1/2*​

After the match, Christian has a HUGE celebration and he hugs DDP, the two enjoying a feel-good moment. Christian then turns on DDP though, landing a Reverse DDT from behind, before beating him down. Christian finishes things off with an Unprettier before telling Page that he’s a winner. Scumbag move from Christian here, again for lower card angle this all gets a tick from me.

Back at the Board of Directors meeting, Vince McMahon is still pleading his case, when Linda McMahon says that now the Board will go away and take some time to deliberate and hopefully make a decision.

Match Six
Jazz and Stacy Keibler vs. Lita and Trish Stratus

Not good at all, the two who can actually wrestle (Trish and Lita) are unfortunately on the same team, meaning there’s always somebody not good involved in the action. At least Stacy looked good, so she brought that to the table, not sure what positive Jazz brings at this point. Action wasn’t good but the booking made a lot of sense here. Trish and Lita would be favourites going into this one, but with Lita recently getting involved in the title picture, they went the other way. Trish goes for the Chick Kick, but Jazz ducks and Trish nails Lita. A smart way to build tension between the faces chasing the gold, and it allows Jazz to get a roll up for the win. Match was awful, but I understand the booking behind it at least. 1/4*​

A panicked Stephanie McMahon comes to the ring, and she immediately apologises to Triple for what happened to Lucy. She makes it clear that Jericho and herself meant no harm to Lucy and what happened to her was an accident. For context, I should probably point out at this stage that during the last match, JR mentioned that Lucy was okay but suffered a broken leg. A pissed off Triple H stomps down the ramp now and he doesn’t even speak, instead getting Steph set up for the Pedigree. Before he can land it though, Jericho comes from behind and smashes Trips in his surgically repaired quad with a sledgehammer. Trips slowly tries to get up, but Jericho takes out his quad again, doing some real damage. Just going to lump this together here but when we return from the break, we see Triple H being helped up the ramp, and Jericho takes out his quad one last time. There’s plenty of panic now that Triple H may have reinjured his quad. Basic stuff, but awesome. This was all the Jericho/Triple H feud needed to be built on. Injured guy comes back, chases guy who hurt him and wins title. The story had written itself and the whole Steph/Trips drama really derailed this angle. As a stand-alone segment though, this was great and showed all the potential that the build for this one had.

We go back to the Board of Directors meeting one last time. Linda McMahon asks Ric Flair if he intends on going through with this match against The Undertaker at WrestleMania and Flair answers with a yes. With that answer, Linda announces that the Board is suspending Flair of his powers until after ‘Mania, and after the event, they will review their decision. Vince is ecstatic as he grins like a Cheshire cat, whilst Flair apologises if he embarrassed the McMahon family. However, he stands up and says that he could stand by and allow ‘Taker to do what he did to his friend and family stand. Flair’s first duty is to protect his family, no matter what, and nobody will ever strip him of his pride. I like the way this ended. Flair was only saying a few weeks back how being an owner was a dream come true, so how fitting that ‘Taker managed to take that away from him. That’s awesome, and obviously Vince would do ANYTHING to get all the power back, so this makes sense on so many levels. A little confusing that they ran this less than a week before ‘Mania, basically meaning Vince has not much time to abuse his power, which makes this feel a little meaningless in reality. But in theory, this was great progression that suited all characters involved.

Match Seven
Hulk Hogan and The Outsiders vs. Stone Cold and The Rock

With the numbers advantage that the NWO had, it made sense for them to use the standard tag formula of heels wear down faces. They did that but I think due to the big names involved, this just felt more fun than what it probably actually was. Average action throughout, but they made it work. Hogan only worked small bits, probably to save himself for ‘Mania, but even here he’s getting a great ovation. Even as part of the NWO, it’s clear here that Hogan as a heel just isn’t really working. Nash and Hall are solid enough here. Stone Cold continues his wobbly 2002 where it’s obvious he isn’t that motivated. Austin at his best is a frantic, ball of energy but there was none of that here. The Rock was the MVP of this one though, awesome fiery babyface stuff from him throughout. They go about ten minutes which is nice, and as Hall and Nash deal with Austin, Hogan beats Rock clean in the centre of the ring with the Leg Drop. Huge result, and something that definitely felt like a shock at the time. **1/2​

A really up and down show. Some solid wrestling, and then some AWFUL stuff also. They finally hit a high note with Jericho/Trips, but it was only after a bunch of more AWFUL stuff took place first. I’m a cynic though and the bad probably outweighed the good here. Still can’t believe this is the final Raw before ‘Mania.

 

[Chris]

I agree on the Al Snow hardcore matches, Head made them memorable in the 90s but he was clueless

 

[Stojy]

I agree on the Al Snow hardcore matches, Head made them memorable in the 90s but he was clueless

Unfortunately, there's another one on the episode of Smackdown I just finished watching. Not as bad as this one though.

 

[Stojy]

WWF Smackdown
March 14th, 2002
Cleveland, Ohio​

And we’ve made it. It’s the final show before WrestleMania. The show opens up with a video package highlighting all of the events that occurred between Chris Jericho, Stephanie McMahon and Triple H on Raw. This includes all of the horrible Lucy stuff, but also the much better Jericho FINALLY attacking Triple H’s quad stuff.

Match One
Kurt Angle vs. Rob Van Dam

This was definitely a really fun way to start the show, two guys who at this point were basically doing their thing on a nightly basis. It’s a weekly show in 2002 so they don’t get plenty of time, but it also means we don’t get a huge heat period. Instead, it just feels like a lot of back and forth which worked for this pairing here. The ending came about with RVD in control, and he gets up for the Five Star Frog Splash, but he’s WrestleMania opponent, the WWF Intercontinental Champion William Regal comes out to distract him. Angle explodes to the top and throws RVD off with a Belly To Belly (this still felt like a new and awesome move at the time), and this followed up with an Ankle Lock for the submission win for Kurt. A solid way to start the show. **3/4​

After the match, Regal slides into the ring and attacks RVD and Angle joins in. It’s a two on one assault, until Kane makes his way out. Angle meets him on the stage, and they brawl before eventually ending up in the ring. Kane clears the ring of Angle and then drills Regal with a Chokeslam.

Vince McMahon was in the back talking on his phone and mentioning how badly he can’t wait for WrestleMania, when Ric Flair walks into the room. Flair asks Vince why he wants to see him, and Vince tells Flair that he wanted him to see the man who has complete control of the company. McMahon then announces that Flair’s match with The Undertaker at ‘Mania will be a No DQ match. Finally, Vince gives Flair the night off to ensure he’s in one piece for ‘Mania, and before leaving, Flair calls Vince a piece of shit. Pretty much as you’d expect with Vince abusing his power.

Match Two
Billy Gunn w/Chuck vs. Bradshaw w/Faarooq vs. Bubba Ray Dudley w/ D’Von Dudley and Stacy Keibler vs. Jeff Hardy w/Matt Hardy and Lita

Eh, this is what it is. Standard PPV hype match with an individual member from each tag team doing battle. I think the guys involved tried hard to cram in a lot of action to fit with the usual WWE multi man match formula, but this didn’t quite hit the mark for me. Honestly, it could have something to do with how sour I’ve been of the angle altogether but who knows. Anyway, as expected with all the non-competing partners on the outside, chaos and carnage breaks out when they all start brawling, which allows Billy to nail Jeff with The One And Only. Billy then pins Jeff, whilst putting his feet on the ropes for leverage to get another cheap victory. *3/4 ​

Lilian Garcia is at the interview set with Christian and she questions him on turning on DDP after he finally helped him end his losing streak on Raw. Christian disagrees with Lilian’s assessment and says that he had the match won on his own. He says that maybe DDP did help him get back on the winning track, but once he started winning again, he knew he didn’t need DDP anymore. Christian also talks about how DDP probably figured that he forgot that DDP beat him for the WWF European Championship. DDP interrupts and says that Christian should have just asked for a rematch, before challenging Christian to a match at WrestleMania and Christian agrees. Solid enough follow up on what happened on Raw I guess.

We now see Lita in a locker room when Trish Stratus appears and she apologises for accidentally kicking Lita during their tag team match on Raw. Lita accepts the apology, saying there’s no problem, but she also says there will be no accidents at WrestleMania when she becomes the WWF Womens Champion. Trish disagrees and says she will be the one who becomes the WWF Womens Champion, and this leads to a slapping match between the two, which then escalated into a full on brawl. I like the drama they have added between the babyfaces who are chasing the title. Gives the ‘Mania match more of an unpredictable feel as opposed to the two of them just wanting to beat on Jazz.

For the second time tonight, Vince McMahon is on the phone in his office and gets interrupted by the arrival of somebody. This time the person arriving is David Flair. Vince starts off with such an asshole statement as he says Flair looks so much better then the last time he saw him, which was when The Undertaker was beating him up on Raw. Vince says he called David in because he wants to offer him the chance of a lifetime tonight. Right here tonight on Smackdown, Flair will get the chance to wrestle The Undertaker. David thanks Vince for the opportunity but asks if he’s nuts. He passes up the offer, basically not wanting to be murdered. Vince goes into manipulation mode here as he talks about how this is David’s chance to become a superstar and follow in his Dad’s footsteps. He even reminds him that to be the man you have to beat the man. Eventually, David agrees before leaving and Vince is all happy, when ‘Taker enters the room with a huge smile on his face. Awesome plan from Vince and ‘Taker here. Get rid of Flair and now beat up his son. A good way for Vince to abuse his power.

Match Three
WWF Hardcore Championship Match
Al Snow (c) vs. The Big Show

Just a typical Al Snow Hardcore brawl really. In the early stages, it looks like Show might just throw Al around and destroy him, but the weapons help the champion out. I did like that Al seemed much more competent with the weapons, which in my head plays on his experience in these types of matches. A broom helps him get some form of offense in, and of course, one of the highlights is Al including his bowling ball to the nuts spot. In the end though, the inevitable happens as Show nails Al with a Chokeslam, but before he can get the pin, Show is attacked by Goldust. Goldust then drills Al with a trash can lid, but before he can capitalise, The Big Show throws him from the ring. Maven then appears and Dropkicks Show, sending him to the outside and Maven pins his mentor to become the new champion. I said a typical Al Snow brawl, and that’s what it was. I will make it clear that I don’t really like those though. Sorry, Al. *1/4​

It's now in ring promo time as Hulk Hogan makes his way down to the ring. He recaps some of his career, saying that he’s seen every next big thing step into the ring and say that they would kill Hulkamania. This is probably some accidentally awesome foreshadowing considering who debuts on the next Raw. Hogan names Roddy Piper, The Ultimate Warrior and Andre The Giant as men who failed to kill Hulkamania, and men who fell victim to the same thing that The Rock did on Raw. The only thing that came close to killing Hulkamania was the Hulkamaniacs. When they left him, Hulkamania almost died, but then he realised that he didn’t need the fans. Hogan says that when he beats The Rock at WrestleMania, a terrifying thought will enter Rock’s mind. He will realise that he’s ordinary and common just like the fans. He says Rock is just like the millions of millions of Rock’s fans who thought they could put him out but fell victim to him instead. To gloat further, Hogan then replays him pinning The Rock in the Handicap match after the Leg Drop multiple times. The Rock has had enough and decides to interrupt. The Rock says that Hogan can beat him in a tag match or run him over with a semi, but he’s not beating The Rock at ‘Mania. The Rock tells Hogan that if he thinks that’s the case, he’s living in a fantasy world. Hogan tells Rock that talk is cheap but admits that The Rock was better than the rest, and the two of them together are putting on the biggest match in the history of wrestling. Hogan then says there is one question he’s asked every opponent of his though, “whatcha gonna’ do when Hulkamania runs wild on you”. The Rock stares down Hogan and tells him what he is going to do. The Rock now walks to the ring and gets right in Hogan’s face, before saying that this Sunday he puts an end to Hogan’s legend and becomes the best ever. If he was Hogan, he’d say his prayers, if you smell what The Rock is cooking. The two then continue to stare each other down. Such an awesome promo here. Really good stuff between the two of them, kind of makes you more frustrated at the whole semi angle and taking The Rock out of action. More of this would have been such a better build. At least we got one more piece of good business before the match itself.

Match Four
Booker T and Test vs. Edge and Tajiri w/Torrie Wilson

Well, I guess this is the end of the Perfect/Test alliance I was hoping for. Test is randomly back with Booker T now. Anyway, considering the guys involved in this match, this is disappointing. They don’t necessarily do anything wrong, but they get literally no time to do anything. It’s a spring to the finish and Edge looks set to get the win after hitting the Edgecution on Test, but Booker intervenes with a Scissors Kick on Edge to get the win. I’ve no issues with Booker getting the win here. *1/2​

The Coach is now ready to interview Stone Cold, and he starts by asking him about his match at WrestleMania with Scott Hall. Austin says he’s not nervous about the match because it isn’t his first ‘Mania. Scott Hall has pissed him off so now Austin will head to Toronto and open up a can of whoop ass on that sumbitch. As the interview is happening, Scott Hall actually makes his way out to the stage and says that Austin doesn’t have to hide in the back. Hall says that Austin is telling the whole world what he’s going to do to Hall, but Hall will show the whole world what he did to Austin on Raw. After the footage plays, Hall says that he heard Austin was the toughest SOB here, but he tells him to prove it. He tells Austin that if he has something to say to him, he should say it to his face. Hall says he isn’t going anywhere until Austin comes out here. Somebody steps through the curtain but it’s a referee and Kevin Nash was waiting to attack, and he drills with the ref with a steel chair. When they realise it's not Austin, they freak out as their plan has failed. Austin then comes through the crowd and attacks Hall from behind, nailing him with a Stunner. Nash eventually makes it to the ring with his steel chair but Austin leaves. I honestly thought this was good as well. They’ve nailed the promos for the most part tonight.

So apparently Triple H has an announcement to make tonight, so in the back Stephanie McMahon asks the WWF Undisputed Champion Chris Jericho what he thinks the announcement will be. Jericho says that he will probably announce his retirement. Steph says that would be like music to her ears. The two then brag about the attack on Raw, with Jericho saying that the sound of the sledgehammer hitting Triple H’s leg was like music to his ears. When Triple H announces his retirement later on, Jericho wants he and Steph to be up close and personal.

Match Five
David Flair vs. The Undertaker

Yeah, so this doesn’t last long. Loved the image of ‘Taker holding the ropes open for the younger Flair, just because of how confident he is. ‘Taker toys with David for awhile but Ric Flair runs out to get himself some of ‘Taker and that’s enough for a DQ. A nothing match really. *​

After the match, Ric tries to go at ‘Taker, but a Big Boot sends him tumbling to the outside. Now it’s David’s turn to intervene, but ‘Taker drops him with a right hand, before setting him up for The Last Ride. As ‘Taker gets David up, Ric nails ‘Taker with a steel chair. Flair saves his son and ‘Taker leaves the ring in a hurry. As I’ve said a few times now, the hype to this one has been so good and that continued here. Can’t wait for the match at ‘Mania.

More in ring promo time as now Triple H visibly limps to the ring to reveal whatever his announcement is. The announcement is unfortunate for Jericho because he didn’t get the job done. Ten months ago, when Jericho put him in the Walls Of Jericho on the announce table after he tore his quad, he failed to take Triple H out of the business, and he failed again on Raw. Triple H says he is 100% (why you limping then?), and pain is temporary but The Game is forever. This Sunday, he would go to the WrestleMania main event, kick Jericho’s ass and become the WWF Undisputed Champion. Chris Jericho and Stephanie McMahon make their way out now and they mock Trips, with Jericho clapping and complimenting him on his performance. Jericho asks Trips if he’s actually ready to face a living legend in the main event of ‘Mania for the most prestigious title in wrestling history. Jericho says he’s lying to himself and the fans. Steph then takes the mic and talks about how she called Triple H’s doctor who operated on his quad. He was sad to hear of their issues, but he was even sadder about the prognosis of Triple H’s leg. Dr. Andrews told her that Triple H’s quad was barely held together by wires, and the sledgehammer shot had put the leg in such bad condition that with one false move, the wires could snap. One miscalculation from Triple H and he’s career could be over forever. Jericho then takes over and says he takes credit for Triple H’s issues and says all the rehab will be for nothing when Jericho ends his career at ‘Mania. Jericho then makes the joke that Triple H and his dog Lucy both have bum legs. Triple H finally admits that he’s not 100% and that his quad is hanging by a thread. He admits that if does make one mistake, his career will be over. But he doesn’t care if this Sunday was his last step, last match or last damn breath, he would be there to stand across from Jericho. The time for talking is over apparently as Jericho runs to the ring and they start trading right hands. Triple H eventually sends Jericho to the outside, only to follow him out and start taking the top of the announce table off. Steph comes from behind and kicks Trips’ injured quad, but he grabs her and throws her onto the table. Triple H sets up Steph for the Pedigree through the announce table, but Jericho breaks it up by smashing one of his title belts into Triple H’s leg. Steph gets to escape, and Jericho now locks in the Walls of Jericho on the announce table just like he did ten months ago. Steph talks shit as Jericho keeps the hold locked in and Triple H starts tapping out to end the show. This was awesome as well. This is the way the build for this match should have gone. Find it funny that the build for so many of the big matches has been lacklustre but then they nailed it on this final show. Really good stuff.

My favourite show in a while. Realistically, wrestling wise probably only the opener is worth a watch, but from an angle perspective, this felt like the first time in forever that everything moved in the right direction and was treated as it should be. Great stuff and definitely a go home show worthy of WrestleMania.

 

[Stojy]

WWF Heat
March 17th, 2002
Toronto, Ontario, Canada​

Expect a very recap heavy show, without much new content, as it’s WrestleMania night. Show being with a recap of the introduction of the New World Order, which then feeds into the Scott Hall vs. Stone Cold feud.

Next up is a video recap to hype the WWF Hardcore Championship match between Maven and Goldust. This also allows Michael Cole and Tazz to talk a bunch about season two of Tough Enough, but we don’t care about that here.

After this video package, we head backstage where Lilian Garcia is ready to interview the WWF Intercontinental Champion Maven. He says that he’s ready for Goldust tonight, and he’s keeping his eyes open in case anybody tries to use the 24/7 rule tonight. Solid enough, I guess. Basically tells me that people will DEFINITELY use the 24/7 rule tonight, because Maven isn’t an intimidating champ like how The Undertaker was.

That’s enough new content for now as now we get a Rock vs. Hogan video package.

Now The Undertaker vs. Ric Flair video package is next.

WrestleMania Axxess video package.

Triple H appeared on Conan O’Brien recently so bits of that are shown before Chris Jericho vs. Triple H for the WWF Undisputed Championship gets some proper hype.

Match One
Albert, Rikishi and Scotty 2 Hotty vs. Lance Storm, Mr. Perfect and Test

Storm and Albert are the two legal men to start things off, and Storm attacks Albert from behind to get the advantage. Albert eventually uses his strength advantage to fight back and nail a Press Slam Powerbomb for a two count when Test breaks up the count. Scotty immediately gets tagged in, but he gets dropped by Mr. Perfect. Test and Perfect now both take turns, beating the life out of Scotty in different corners of the ring. I probably should have mentioned that the Jacqueline as referee experiment is still in full swing here, and she is mad at Test for pushing the boundaries in terms of five count. Eventually Storm is tagged back in, and he hits a Scoop Slam, before coming off the middle rope with an Elbow Drop, but Scotty rolls out of the way. Both men crawl to their respective corners, with Storm tagging Perfect in, whilst Scotty gives Rikishi the hot tag. Rikishi gets on top of Perfect and hits a really sloppy Samoan Drop. Not the first time I’ve called this out, as he seems to be getting really careless with them lately. The Kish lands Savant Kick to Perfect, which sends him outside to the floor. With Perfect down on the outside, Storm tries to come in and beat down Rikishi, but Scotty assists Rikishi, and ends up giving Storm The Worm. Right after, Test runs through Scotty with the Big Boot, only to turn into a Baldo Bomb from Albert. Perfect gets back in and throws Albert to the outside, only for Rikishi to splash Perfect in the corner, setting him up for the Stinkface. In a pretty cool spot, Perfect places his towel over his face to protect himself from the Stinkface. Despite maybe not feeling the full impact of the Stinkface, Perfect still then gets hit with a Superkick, and Rikishi follows with the Banzai Drop for the win. They didn’t get a lot of time, so the match wasn’t all that. Fans weren’t super into it either, as they’re probably waiting for the real Mania to begin. Also, thumbs down for me because the super duo of Perfect and Test were back together and didn’t get the win. *1/2​

We get one more hype video for Chris Jericho vs. Triple H…

And that’s it…

Next up…

WRESTLEMANIA X8!!!

 

[Stojy]

WWE WrestleMania X8
March 17th, 2002
Toronto, Canada​

Saliva performs the song ‘Superstar’ to start the show amongst the awesomeness of the opening video package. By this point, WWE are really leaning on their heritage and stuff with these ‘Mania video packages and it’s awesome.

Match One
WWF Intercontinental Championship Match
William Regal (c) vs. Rob Van Dam

I feel like these two are a pretty cool combination, as their polar opposite styles mesh well to create a fun dynamic. It really feels like a game of chess with Regal trying to keep things gritty and grounded, and RVD is at his explosive best. Before I touch on the negatives, I’ll get the positives out of the way. Both men did a fantastic job and clearly were ready to work ‘Mania. The crowd were still SO into RVD at this point that this is the perfect opener for the show also. RVD bumped his ass off, doing a tremendous job and Regal’s offense truly looks painful to the opponent which is great. What hurt this the most is clear the potential this combination has, and the fact that they just had nowhere near enough time to deliver. They only got about 6 minutes, and they did a terrific job to make the most of those 6 minutes, but I can’t help but feel that there could have been so much more here. I mean, take a couple of minutes off and it’s just like every other match on Raw to start the year. Considering his still playing the power of the punch gimmick, Regal was looking for the knucks throughout the match, with RVD awesomely kicking a pair off his hand earlier in the night. At the end, RVD manages to kick a fresh pair back into Regal’s face, keeping him down so he can hit the Five Star Frog Splash. Felt like the right call to give RVD the title here, and off the top of my head, I actually can’t remember the next WrestleMania where the IC Title will be defended which is pretty sad. Anyway, a fun start to the show even with its, well, shortcomings. **3/4​

Lilian Garcia is in the back interviewing Christian, and he talks about how once he got over his temper tantrums, he didn’t need DDP anymore. Just like when he became a star, he no longer needed Toronto, so he moved to Florida. He then says that tonight he will reclaim his spot as the champion of Europe and for DDP, that’s not a good thing. Nice stuff from Christian to get the Canadian fans to not cheer him later.

Match Two
WWF European Championship Match
Diamond Dallas Page (c) vs. Christian

Our next match is another 6-minute match, however, to be honest, based on the build and the situation these two were in, I think this time suited this match a little better than the opener. I didn’t remember much about this match but after watching it again here, it definitely stood out to me as more enjoyable than what I thought it would be. I should probably retract my previous statement as well, because as good as Christian’s heat gaining attempt was, it didn’t really feel like the crowd were THAT against him. Still both men bumped around pretty well for each other here, and I really liked the finish of this one because it played perfectly to the build of the match. Christian lands a Reverse DDT but it only gets a two count, and that causes him to lose his shit. He’s a new man now though, so he takes a few deep breaths, stops himself from having a tantrum and that’s that. But he takes to long, allows DDP back in and the Diamond Cutter quickly follows. This was exactly what it needed to be. **1/2​

After the match, DDP decides to rub in his victory as he gets on the mic and congratulates Christian. He’s proud of Christian because even though he just lost in front of 67,000 people, he didn’t have a temper tantrum. He also mentions the bazillions watching at home. And that’s not a bad thing, IT’S a good thing. As DDP leaves, Christian basically then regresses and throws a big temper tantrum. Aftermath suited the story so I’m okay with it.

The Coach is in the back and he’s ready to interview The Rock. What’s interesting and probably another thing I didn’t remember is that the fans are already against The Rock at this point. The heat he receives here definitely took me by surprise, showing just how much of a pro Hogan crowd this was from the start. Talking about Hogan, Rocky gets into the say your prayers bits and then despite Coach’s hesitation, he forces The Coach to say his prayers in front of everybody. Coach gets on his knees and starts with “WHAT UP, G”, and The Rock stops Coach, embarrasses him and kicks him off screen. The Rock gets serious now and talks about how he wants Hulkamania to run wild on him tonight, but the real question is. “Hulk Hogan, whatcha’ gonna’ do when The Rock runs wild on you”! Rock follows it up with the old t-shirt rip. Honestly, he was getting booed out of the building before this, and my recap doesn’t do it justice, but this promo was awesome. By the end of it, he was getting cheers again.

Match Three
WWF Hardcore Championship Match
Maven (c) vs. Goldust

I love Goldust, I really do, but for his return to WrestleMania, this was severely underwhelming. With that being said, it’s probably not his fault and more to do with the opponent and the booking of this one. Goldust on offense was actually really good, but Maven leaves a lot to be desired. Goldust attacked to get a jump start, and I guess the one positive here from Goldust’s brief stay in the Hardcore division is the gold weapons. I always thought that was a nice little touch. They do some work with a trash can before Goldust busts out a golden shovel and drives it into the neck of Maven. Shovel spots always make me cringe, just feels like something that would really hurt. The match probably gets messier as it goes on, and not in a good way, until they rip off the Rocky spot, with both men simultaneously knocking each other out, albeit with trash can lids. The 24/7 rule is back in full swing now that The Undertaker is no longer champ, so as Maven predicted on heat, an outside gets involved. Spike Dudley runs down and gets the pin on Maven to become the new Hardcore Champ. Not a good match, poor Goldust. Also, the 24/7 rule does feel a little dated because it’s not the year 2000 anymore when Crash Holly had that awesome run. Yeah, probably a shoe in for worst match on the card for this year’s Mania. *1/4​

After the match, Spike Dudley doesn’t get anytime to celebrate, as Crash Holly immediately runs down to get involved. Spike escapes through the crowd with Crash following, before Goldust, and eventually Maven also chases after them, because everybody wants the Hardcore Title. It is what it is. I don’t care much for this, but it does lead to some entertaining moments throughout the show.

Drowning Pool are up next to play their song Tear Away, and as they do, a video package hyping Chris Jericho vs. Triple H for the WWF Undisputed Championship plays on the tron.

After the musical performance, we are in the back where Crash Holly has apparently caught up with Spike Dudley and prevented him from leaving the arena. The two are brawling when Al Snow drives over with a golf cart, trying to run them over, but they move, and he crashes into a wall of boxes with fall all over him. Spike manages to throw Crash into a garage door to get rid of him, but The Hurricane flies in like the superhero that he is, Dropkicking Spike out of mid-air. Hurricane gets the pin and is the new WWF Hardcore Champion. Typical Hardcore Title shenanigans. Nothing overly exciting but Al Snow crashing the golf cart is the best thing he’s done on WWF TV this year.

Before the next match, Kurt Angle makes his entrance and gets on the microphone. He talks about how Canada’s gold medals aren’t legitimate because they bribed judges and how he’d be ashamed if that’s how he won his gold medals. No issues with this, just some generic insult local sport team heat seeking.

Match Four
Kane vs. Kurt Angle

Just want to call out, Angle is wearing a black version of his wrestling attire tonight, and it looks pretty damn awesome. Anyway, this one starts off with the bell not ringing. Why? Because Angle had taken the ring bell, and he hits Kane over the head with it to gain the immediate advantage. The match started promising with Angle focusing in on the head of Kane. JR and The King are on point with commentary too, putting over the head trauma Kane received from a steel chair to the back of the head with the build-up. That with the ring bell shot set them up with a nice, easy story to tell. They focus on the head in the early stages, but as the match progresses, it seems they forget this psychology, and it turns into more of a back-and-forth standard match. I think this probably hurts the match a little as I was enjoying the story they were telling. They had a pretty good singles match back in January and this one is probably a little bit better than that one, so at least they tried to step things up a bit for ‘Mania. There were some good spots, but unfortunately Angle didn’t bump well like usual, Kane didn’t really sell much, and surprisingly I thought there would have been more Ankle Lock struggles, as that was part of the build as well, but it didn’t happen. The ending sequence of the last few minutes did get really hot, although a more decisive ending probably could have been an improvement. In the end, Angle gets a botched Roll Up, which he just kind of turns into a pin with his feet on the ropes for the win. Room for improvement and maybe not an Angle Mania epic, but still a pretty solid effort from these two. **3/4​

In the back, The Hurricane is still the WWF Hardcore Champion, but he’s weary of the 24/7 rule and people being after him. He finds a room to hide in, but it just so happens to be the room where The Godfather’s Ho’s/Escorts are. The Ho’s start getting undressed, and Hurricane is comically holding a broom, which kind of starts to point up like he’s getting, erm, excited. The girls scream out of fear, and The Godfather goes after The Hurricane, but Hurricane gets away. Harmless fun. I didn’t mind this for a giggle, before we get back to serious business.

Now get a video package to hype one of the matches I was most looking forward to, Ric Flair vs. The Undertaker. This match for me, hands down, had the best build out of everything on this Mania card.

Match Five
No Disqualification Match
Ric Flair vs. The Undertaker

I was doing some reading on this one and just wanted to point out a couple of things before I get into the match itself. Firstly, in a cool thing, Ric Flair’s last Mania appearance at Mania VIII, he wrestled Randy Savage and wore red tights, and he’s donning the red tights again on his Mania return. Also we all know Flair was struggling with his confidence as an in-ring performer at this time. Apparently, The Undertaker actually requested this match, which is kind of awesome on his part. Before I get into some more specifics, I mentioned previously that this had awesome build, and as far as I’m concerned, the match lived up to the hype. Flair starts off on fire, attacking ‘Taker, seeking revenge after his best friend and son have been beaten up. The stiffs are all stiff, the two show plenty of hatred towards each other, and like only he can, Flair does an awesome blade job. It’s all simple offence but ‘Taker does such a good job. Despite ‘Taker’s dominance, Flair keeps attempting to come back, and as a viewer, his shots really come across as desperate. He portrays so well that he’s fighting to survive. Weapons are used but not overused as well like any other random Hardcore match. There is a steel chair used but the highlight for me was Flair going to town on ‘Taker with the lead pipe, because it’s a callback to what helped set this whole angle in motion at No Way Out. As the brutal brawl continues, ‘Taker gets frustrated and takes out referee Charles Robinson and this opens the door for one of the greatest run ins in history. Arn Anderson comes in and hits one of the smoothest Spinebusters on ‘Taker. In the end, ‘Taker shrugs it all off and ends up taking out Anderson with a Big Boot and right hands as well, making him look like an absolute beast. I’ll quickly touch on the only real flaws of the match because one of them ties in with the ending. Flair, with his lack of confidence and probably lack of in ring conditioning at this point, struggles with a couple of spots. The famous Flair corner flip spot is a failure on the first attempt, so they try it again and thankfully it works the second time. Also, in the end, Flair can’t help getting up for The Last Ride. Due to the nature of the brawl and aura of the match, I felt like they almost made it seem like Flair was fighting it, so ‘Taker switches to the Tombstone to finish things off. Not a perfect ending but I thought they played it off well, and it doesn’t take away from just an awesome, chaotic brawl. ****​

After the match, The Undertaker celebrates and in a cool moment, he raises both hands in the air with ten fingers up to signify being 10-0 at Mania. I’m not sure because I haven’t gone back to watch older stuff, with 2002 being the first thing I chose to watch. But this feels like it might be one of the first times they’re really acknowledging the streak as a thing.

Booker T is being interviewed in the back and he’s wearing glasses, because that makes him look smart. He says that despite what Edge says, he’s a highly intelligent man. Hilariously, Booker points out that he won an award in high school for his paper on Einstein’s Theory of Relatives. Cole corrects him and says it’s the Theory of Relativity, and Booker tells him “SHUT UP, SUCKA, HE HAD TWO THEORIES”! What can I say? Booker is comedy gold, this was fun, and I guess somewhat hypes his upcoming match with Edge.

Match Six
Booker T vs. Edge

Unlike the previous match, the build for this one was pretty meh, all surrounding Edge beating out Booker T for an endorsement deal with a Japanese shampoo. No, I’m not kidding. Look, they needed more time here to be able to do something really good. They only got six minutes, and it was a nice back and forth match, but again, it just didn’t really have time to expand into something really good. You can see Edge really put in a lot of effort here. On commentary, they mention how last time Mania was in Toronto, Edge was a fan in the crowd. If they got more time, feel like they could have really played into that, with Edge fighting against the tide to emulate his Mania heroes. They have some cool sequences to finish, and the fans are into it which is a positive. Edge performs an Edge A Rooni as well, which apparently, he’s said since gave him mat burns. White men (I am one so I can say this) can’t dance, I guess. Anyway, Booker kicks out of a Spear, but the Edgecution gets the win. I’d say this action was all solid enough, but the time really hurt it. **1/2​

In the back, The Hurricane’s trusty sidekick Mighty Molly is by his side to help him escape with the Hardcore Title. When he’s ready to leave, she hits him in the back of a head with the frying pan and pins him. Molly Holly is the new WWF Hardcore Champion. Fine enough comedy moment, I guess. Leads to the next Hardcore title switch soon which is my favourite one on this show.

Next up, we get a video package hyping our next match which is Scott Hall vs. Stone Cold.

Match Seven
Scott Hall w/Kevin Nash vs. Stone Cold

So this match stemmed from Austin and Hogan being unable to agree to a finish and work together, meaning Rock got Hogan, the Undisputed Title already had something in the works, and Austin got dumped with Hall. It’s clear this didn’t make Austin very happy. To be honest, Austin had some personal issues throughout this year, and it genuinely felt like you could tell at times. No urgency or intensity in his strikes and performance, which is something his entertaining, brawling heavy performances were usually known for. As for this match itself, it was okayish I guess, but up there with Savio Vega in ’96 as Austin’s worst ‘Mania match. Kevin Nash is still recovering from a torn bicep so he’s on ringside duty here. I am a Scott Hall fan, but when he’s on offense here, you can honestly tell he’s a shell of the performer he was when he’s Razor Ramon. There’s no just fire from Ramon at all, and Austin’s the same since he’s clearly unmotivated here. Kind of crazy considering I rate Austin’s 2001 as up there with some of the greatest calendar year in ring runs. One of the positives here is that Austin was still over as all hell with the crowd, so the audience does their part and carries this quite a bit. As the match goes on, Austin eventually hits the Stunner and we think this will be over quickly, but it’s a false finish as Nash breaks up the pin. Hall eventually gets Stunned some more, and Nash gets one as well. I think by the end I counted six Stunners. It was just too much, and it was stupid. Devalues the finish. Hall also has a pretty awful reaction to the Stunner, where he almost stays still for a second after Austin does his bit, before jumping backwards in an over-the-top fashion. Not great. Anyway, Austin wins with one of the endless Stunners. I want to reiterate this wasn’t necessarily bad but was disappointing for the guys involved. **1/2​

We get the same recap video that was shown on Heat, hyping WWF Fan Axxess. I guess the bad part of watching Heat is that all the cool video packages aired at Mania have already been spoiled.

Match Eight
WWF Tag Team Championship
Elimination Match
Billy and Chuck (c) vs. The APA vs. The Dudley Boyz w/Stacy Keibler vs. The Hardy Boyz

Okay, here we go. This one really feels like a passing of the guard in the tad division. Without spoiling to much for those following, some of these teams may or may not get split when we come up to the first ever draft, so this could be the last time, at least in a while, that we see them in action. APA won Tag Team Turmoil and the right to be tag champs, but their matches with Billy and Chuck are awful, so two of the better teams in history coming in to hopefully help the match works for me. The band Saliva plays The Dudley Boyz down to the ring, and Stacy gets on the stage and dances with the lead singer. That lucky bastard even gets some hand on her hips. The Hardyz and Dudleyz get some nice pops on their way to the ring, but realistically, they were pretty cold at this point. Nothing they were doing wrong, but they had just become stale after being the same teams for the past four years. Whilst they get cheers initially, the fans interest in the match dies down throughout, and without big crowd participation, we’re left to focus on the action, which isn’t exactly mind blowing. As much as the act of Billy and Chuck is entertaining, they aren’t great in the ring. Of course that means they were the team in control for the most part, so the action lacked. The APA look really strong in the early stages, dominating Billy and Chuck, only to then be eliminated by The Dudleyz. This whole thing started between Billy and Chuck and The APA so for them to not be involved in the fall of The APA to ‘finish’ the feud here seems like a strange booking decision to me. There is also a moment where Chuck gets hit with a DDT, but his head is like a mile off the mat. Just revealed more of the secrets of the business than Tough Enough right there. When The Hardyz and Dudleys get an extended period in the ring together, the match does improve, and the fans do get into it. D’Von takes a table bump for the sake of it and The Hardyz eliminate Bubba. The match deteriorates again when it’s Billy and Chuck vs. The Hardyz. In the end, Jeff gets hit with a cheap title shot to give the win to Billy and Chuck. Better than most of the champs title defences to this point, but still not good. **​

We see the New World Order in the back and Scott Hall and Kevin Nash are raging about Hall’s lost to Stone Cold earlier tonight. Nash vows the same thing won’t happen when Hogan faces The Rock. Speaking of which, Hollywood appears and tells Nash and Hall to stay in the back because he needs to prove that he can do this on his own. Hogan walks off, and Nash shakes his head, telling Hall they’ll get involved anyway. Fine segment here. Plants the seeds to issues within the NWO, which realistically is WAY to soon, but I think they’ve already realised this just isn’t working. Plus, it would have been around this time that with Hogan’s cheers they decided he needs a solo run at some point. Because Hogan needing to do it on his own, when he took The Rock out with the help of his NWO buddies, and then pinned The Rock on Raw with the help of his NWO buddies, doesn’t really add up.

In the back, a frantic Mighty Molly is running with the Hardcore Title in her possession, when somebody swings a door into her face, knocking her unconscious. The person steps through the door to reveal… Christian. He has a huge smile on his face as he pins Molly, and now Christian is the new WWF Hardcore Champion. Christian’s scumbag smile here after using a door to knock out a woman is so amazingly awesome. My favourite Hardcore Title change of the night.

Match Nine
Hollywood Hogan vs. The Rock

This match is famous for a couple of reasons actually. Firstly, it’s Hogan vs. Rock, icon vs. icon, two HUGE names, that for a long-time people wouldn’t have thought they’d see in action, which means everybody wanted to see this match. The second reason is because the crowd reaction is epic. This is probably my favourite atmosphere-based match up of all time. I can think of some other good ones that people might throw at me, but this is my all time favourite for me. The entrances kind of sets the scene for the crowd reaction throughout as well. Hogan gets the biggest pop of the night, whereas Rocky gets a more lukewarm reaction with some boos thrown in for good measure. The initial face off, the dualling Hogan and Rocky chants, it’s just an amazing experience to even watch. The match itself is interesting to rate. If you look at it from a work rate perspective, it’s not great. But what’s happening in the ring almost doesn’t matter, that’s how good this epic crowd is here. And to their defence, what they actually present from an in-ring presentation aspect is still completely passable. I guess there isn’t a real story or structure for the most part, it’s just both guys going through their best hits, but because of who they are, it works. The final few minutes or so are especially a lot of fun. I’m assuming they maybe didn’t except the crowd to be so one sided, as initially Hogan is the cheating heel, but he’s still getting all the cheers. As the match progresses, The Rock starts to slowly lean into some heelish tendencies, which is something Rock has always been good at doing when the crowd turns on him. Hogan sells his ribs a lot as well, and it has apparently since come out that he broke some ribs during the match. Then they decide to finally treat Hogan as a face, as Rock pins him after the Rock Bottom, and he starts to Hulk Up. It’s a crazy moment, and an epic false finish when Hogan finally hits the Leg Drop. Rock comes back though and after two more Rock Bottoms, The People’s Elbow finishes it. Solid in ring action, and the crowd carried this to amazing heights. My match of the night and probably match of the year so far. ****1/4​

After the match, the two share a handshake which eventually turns into a hug. In kind of a cool moment, the last time Hogan was in the building, he had a passing the torch type moment with Ultimate Warrior, and now here he is doing the same thing with The Rock. After The Rock leaves the ring, the remainder of the NWO come down and Scott Hall and Kevin Nash are not happy. They are pissed at Hogan and start beating him down, until The Rock makes the save and they clear the ring together. The Rock convinces Hogan to do his poses, and the fans go nuts, before they eventually leave the ring together. This does the job of solidifying the Hogan face turn but doesn’t make sense with the pre match at all. This guy used a truck to try and almost MURDER The Rock a few weeks ago and now they are hugging. WWE are hit and miss with continuity. When it hits, it’s amazing, when it misses like this, it’s kind of meh. Weird stuff, although I do understand the logic of turning Hogan due to the reactions he’s getting.

They announce a new Skydome attendance record of 68,237. Not bad.

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

This was old ‘piss break’ match I guess or giving the chance to give the crowd a breather. They expended tonnes of energy in the last match, and we need them back hyped for the main event of the biggest show of the year. I felt bad for these three having to follow that up, and I feel worse for Trish getting this spot in her hometown. She comes out in her Canadian themed wrestling attire and looks the goods, getting a nice pop, but that’s basically where it ended. It’s not a good match either if I’m honest. Maybe a little above par on some of the matches Trish and Jazz have had together, but still not good. Slow, plodding match really, and I wonder if they booked any other as the winner, or Trish as the winner, the crowd would have woken up. Instead Jazz wins and she’s awful always. With that said, the finish was nice, with Jazz landing a Fisherman’s Buster from the top rope to pin Lita. Yep, Jazz retains the title on the biggest stage of them all. Unlike the last match, this match was hurt by the atmosphere, and in the ring action did not help. *3/4​

Next scene is in the parking lot where our new Hardcore Champion is about to get into a taxi, with the title in his possession. He stops to give himself props and this is enough time for Maven to sneak from behind and School Boy him on the concrete. That’s enough for the win, the man who started as Hardcore champ tonight is once again the champion. Maven then steals Christian’s cab and leaves, whilst Christian is left to throw a temper tantrum probably. I guess a solid enough ending to the Hardcore Title shenanigans for the night.

Match Eleven
WWF Undisputed Championship Match
Chris Jericho (c) w/Stephanie McMahon vs. Triple H

The build to this was mainly terrible, however it got a bit better on this week’s Raw and Smackdown, with them touching on Jericho taking out Triple H. Even better, Jericho targeted the quad again, which means Triple H comes out with his quad taped up, which gives them an easy story in terms of psychology as well. Unfortunately the crowd doesn’t wake back up for the main event as hoped, and we get a pretty lame atmosphere for this one. I think there are two reasons for this. One being Hogan vs. Rock should have gone on last as it completely blew the crowd’s load for lack of a better term. Secondly, the booking of this one is awful. Jericho had a really good feud with The Rock leading to his initial title victory from here. His feud with Austin was a step down, but then this was a major step down. He’s gone from being Undisputed Champion to Stephanie’s lackey. He’s walking her dog, picking up her lotion. Basically being treated like a mid-carder with the title. It’s hard to take him serious by the time we get here, and to make matters worse, it’s hard to have a Canadian be a heel in Canada. On the other side, Triple H was on top of the world when he returned, with that epic ovation at Madison Square Garden and the Royal Rumble win. However since the feud with Stephanie McMahon, it seems his face reactions have been getting less and less, and honestly, he’s not that good of a face. Add in an already exhausted crowd with a main event that will go nearly twenty minutes with two acts who aren’t that hot at the moment, I think this one was destined for the crowd to struggle. I should mention that Triple H got the live music entrance treatment as well, as Drowning Pool played him down to the ring. Whilst there’s a lot surrounding this match that impacted it, what they did inside the ring was actually pretty good. Jericho bumped really well for Triple H’s offense, which you kind of have to do now Triple H is in bodybuilder mode and unable to move. And when Jericho finally managed to hit the quad and begin working on the leg, everything was going well. JR tries to sell that Jericho might end Triple H’s career, but it just doesn’t have that tension about it. Triple H turns the tide and tries to start working on Jericho’s leg, until Stephanie inserts herself into the match. We finally get some payoff here as Triple H Pedigrees Stephanie in what probably gets the loudest pop for this match. I will compliment Triple H on his selling of the leg throughout. Stuck to it, was consistent for the most part, with only one moment where he jumped off the apron, chasing Stephanie, and didn’t sell it on the landing. But he did a really good job overall. In the end, Triple H hits a Pedigree on Jericho to get the three count and have his fairytale moment… To not much of a crowd reaction. Good in ring action, but a lot was working against this one. **3/4​

So yeah, issue here is the main event of Mania didn’t feel worthy of a main event due to the booking and is probably solidified by the fact that Jericho goes right back to the mid card after this… Triple H celebrates with the title to end the show.

Definitely some highlights and some low lights. Some of the big stuff, Flair/’Taker, Rock/Hogan was AMAZING, but there was also a lot of middling or not to good stuff. At almost four hours long, I guess it falls somewhere as a solid Mania. Memorable for its moments, but not a fantastic show to heaps all this praise on.

 

[Stojy]

WWF Raw
March 18th, 2002
Montreal, Canada​

The show starts with JR and ‘The King’ welcoming us aboard, and they hype the fact that Linda McMahon has a huge announcement to make tonight regarding the future of the WWF. As well as this, Billy and Chuck will defend the WWF Tag Team Championship against The Dudley Boyz tonight.

Hulk Hogan makes his way to the ring to start the show, and much like WrestleMania, the ovation he gets is crazy loud. And it carries on, like a long running standing ovation. He talks about how he didn’t expect this type of reaction tonight or at ‘Mania, before he talks about how he expected Scott Hall and Kevin Nash to respect his wishes and stay away from the match last night. He didn’t expose to lose at ‘Mania but he also didn’t expect his NWO brothers to beat on him. Strangely enough, as he says this, you pay attention and realise that Hogan is still in his NWO gear, despite obviously being booted from the group at ‘Mania. Hogan puts over his match with The Rock as the greatest match ever, and he puts The Rock over for winning, before vowing to one day wrestle The Rock again. This brings The Rock out to the ring and after he lets the crowd boo him for a few minutes he gets into it, thanking Hogan for a great match at ‘Mania. He says that a future rematch would be his honour. On a play on his “finally” bit, when Rock first started talking, he said finally Hogan has come back to the Hulkamaniacs which feeds into his next question. The Rock asks Hogan why he’s wearing NWO colours. Hogan rips the shirt off and throws it out the ring to another big crowd reaction. This brings out the New World Order onto the stage, and Kevin Nash cuts a damn good promo about how Hogan ruined everything. Nash says Hogan turned on them before they turned on him. They had a plan to systematically eliminate the WWF. They were supposed to take out one guy at a time and Stone Cold was first on their list. However, once The Rock challenged him, Hogan had to let his ego get in the way and ‘Mania had to be his night. If it was three on one last night, Austin would have been gone. We were so caught up in being poison to the WWF that we didn’t realise the WWF had poisoned Hogan. The Rock makes fun of them complaining before calling Nash “Big Daddy Bitch”. Rock then challenged the NWO to a tag team match tonight. The NWO agree and the match is made to end the segment. Rock/Hogan stuff was fine, but this took a huge step up once Nash got on the mic. Easily one of the best promos of his entire career, and now tonight, we get the big-time main event and the first ever Rock/Hogan tag team match. I still don’t agree with Rock and Hogan being buddies, but since we’re going down that route, this segment was okay.

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

These two mesh pretty well together and this was solid enough without being anything outstanding. Van Dam basically got in all of his spots, and Christian made sure he was in the right position to take them expertly. Towards the end of the match, as RVD got on a roll, Christian decided to exit the ring. He grabs the IC Title belt and prepares to leave. This gets heat from the fans but honestly didn’t make sense to me. A heel champion threatens to leave with belt, is basically them begging to be counted out so they rely on the championship advantage. I don’t really understand the motivation for Christian, as the challenger, to do this. A miss in terms of psychology in this one, but I guess this spot had to be in here so Diamond Dallas Page could come from behind and send Christian back into the ring. Christian rolls back in and tries a kick, but Van Dam catches it and hits his Step Over Heel Kick. RVD then heads up top and nails the Five Star Frog Splash for the win. Not disgraceful or anything but not good either. **​

We head backstage where Chris Jericho is backstage, and he looks to be in a really bad mood. A security guard from Montreal is standing by as Jericho walks past and strikes up a conversation. It’s worth noting this guard is none other than Sylvan Grenier long before he made his wrestling debut. Sylvan talks about how the people of Montreal are not upset that Jericho lost. The fans are looking forward to rubbing it in Jericho’s face. Jericho asks if Grenier is from Canada, which he confirms, and then Jericho brutally beats Grenier down in the back. I thought this was good to put some seriousness against Jericho. Makes him seem like a threat and shows how angry he is after losing the title. Good stuff.

Match Two
Lita vs. Trish Stratus

This one gets underway in a hurry, as Trish rips Lita off the top rope during her entrance. Two bad mouth each other, before Trish strikes first and the match is on. These two, well especially Trish, are not yet what they would become, therefore despite them trying hard. This match was not good. I haven’t got much else to say except Lita eventually keeps Trish down for long enough to take off her top, hit a Moonsault and get the win. This was awful. ½*​

After the match, the WWF Womens Champion Jazz runs down to attack Lita, but then Trish Stratus notices and starts attacking Jazz. Trish inadvertently helps Lita, and it seems like they will clear the ring, when Ivory gets involved. Ivory comes out and helps Jazz beat down Lita and Trish. After they are taken care of, Ivory offers her hand and Jazz slaps her some five, making this partnership official. Meh. Ivory isn’t exactly the one to start making this better, but I do understand the idea of getting Jazz a partner so there can be a tag team match from this one.

Linda McMahon is on the titantron from her office at WWF Headquarters, and she talks about the Board of Directors having made a decision on the future of the WWF. Linda announces that there will be a brand split next week with a draft taking place also next week on Raw. She announces that Ric Flair will control Raw, whilst Vince McMahon will control Smackdown. The draft next week will determine who goes where, except for the WWF and Womens Champions who will be eligible to appear on both shows. Based on where WWE has gone from here, the draft announcement for the first time is HUGE. Thankfully Linda was quick on the mic to make the announcement, because she can be boring.

Our next segment sees Vince McMahon head to the ring to cut as promo, and he doesn’t seem happy after the previous segments announcement. Vince comes out and insults Montreal, says this will be the last time he’s on Raw, and also talks about how much he hates the fans. It’s worth noting that as Vince is trying to cut his promo, the fans sing “nah nah nah nah, nah nah nah nah, hey hey hey, goodbye”! Ric Flair comes out all bandaged up and McMahon comments on how badly ‘Taker kicked Flair’s ass last night. Flair ignores the last statement and instead talks about Vince and Raw. Flair says Vince did make Raw, but now he uses it to flaunt his wealth and affairs, shove his horrible kids down their throats and force people to kiss his ass. Flair thinks that Raw should be used to showcase the superstars putting on the greatest show on earth. Flair promises that Raw will not skip a beat without Vince being there. Vince wants to prove how good he is and proposes a coin toss on who gets to make the first selection in next week’s draft. Flair agrees and tosses the coin. Vince calls heads and heads it is. In celebration mode, Vince decided to sucker punch Flair. Vince then starts strutting and mocking Flair, but Flair is quick to recover and put Vince in the Figure Four Leg Lock to end the segment. This was a good promo, showing the hatred between the co-owners is still there, and then hyping the draft which will dominate next week’s Raw.

Match Three
Booker T and Kurt Angle vs. Edge and Kane

This was a pretty enjoyable match. There’s no real slow period, it’s a little bit spotty and an absolute sprint to the finish. Speaking of the finish, it helps that the finishing run to this one was really good as well. The interactions between Angle and Edge definitely stand out as above the rest in this one, and perhaps that’s an indicator of what’s to come between these two for the rest of the year. Even the heat segment on this one was fun. The ending comes out about when Booker goes for a Flying Sidekick on Edge, but Edge ducks and Booker accidentally takes out Angle. Kane trips up Booker and holds him from the outside, as Edge nails the stunned Angle with the Edgecution to pick up the win. Solid stuff here, with the ‘Mania opponents running it back in tag action. **3/4

Match Four
WWF Hardcore Championship Match
Maven (c) vs. Al Snow

Eh, not really much to say about this one, I guess was Maven and Snow do isn’t offensive, but we’re all just waiting for the interference here. Spike Dudley gets involved and begins taking out Al with a trash can lid, after Snow was having his way with Maven. Spike doesn’t get to go on the offensive much when some huge guy by the name of Brock Lesnar slides into the ring. Oh and of course he’s not alone, he’s got Paul Heyman with him, which the commentary team aren’t incredible fond of. Lesnar gives Snow a Spinebuster onto a trash can, before Maven cops the first F5. Brock basically murders everybody, finishing off Spike with a brutal looking Triple Powerbomb. The match as Hardcore match was probably the best work Snow has done all year, trying to force Maven, his student, to stay down and for that and for hosting an epic debut, the match gets a **1/4 ​

But I am under no illusions that the match doesn’t really mean anything. Brock Lesnar just debuted, and he already looks unstoppable. THAT is how you debut somebody and have them mean something right away. Brilliant stuff.

In the back, Matt Hardy and Lita are making out rather sickeningly, and William Regal walks past and he looks pretty appalled. Regal kind of stares and Matt and Lita make fun of him, but I can’t quite figure out what they say. Lita says something like tag and taps Regal on the shoulder. Regal plants doubt in their head and asks what they will do if one of them, or one member of The Hardy Boyz are drafted to a different show to the others. Regal then smugly leaves as Matt and Lita look genuinely worried. Good segment here, putting over the risk of the Draft, and advertising the potential of a big tag team being separated for ever.

Match Five
WWF Tag Team Championship Match
Billy and Chuck (c) vs. The Dudley Boyz w/Stacy Keibler

They don’t really get a lot of time here to settle into anything substantial. Instead they go through a bunch of back and forth, with The Dudleyz wrestling as faces because the champs are hated more. We all know the homosexual undertones that the Billy and Chuck act play with, and I thought they had an awesome moment here where they played on it. Stacy got onto the apron and lifted up her shorts to show her ass. That would distract just about any male talent in the back, but Billy shrugs it off and doesn’t really care. It makes me think he’s not into it because he’s so into Chuck and himself which is some harmless, funny in ring psychology if that’s the case. Stacy is offended as Billy shrugging her off, so she grabs one of the tag title belts, heads into the ring and smashes the title into the back of Billy. The referee calls for the bell for a DQ, but The Dudleyz don’t realise as Billy stumbled into a 3D. Bubba pins Billy but the referee won’t count and explains that they have been disqualified. Not much of a match here, not enough time.*1/4​

After the match, The Dudleyz are pissed once the referee explains to them what happened. Bubba and D’Von argue with Stacy, until she puts her palm out to say talk to the hand. After the show of attitude, Stacy turns to leave but as she steps through the ropes, Bubba drags her by the hair and brings her back in, before telling D’Von to get the tables. D’Von gets the table and sets it up and Bubba drives Stacy through the table with the middle rope Powerbomb. Stacy getting put through the table is a great standalone moment. Personally, I think Stacy and The Dudleyz parting ways happened a bit to abruptly, however kind of feels like Stacy being put through a table was the only way this relationship ever could have ended, so good stuff.

Now we get in ring promo time from our new WWF Undisputed Champion Triple H. Triple H limps to the ring before talking about having self-doubt regarding making it back to the level he was once at. He talks about how good it is to be champion again and says that he proved to the world and to Jericho that he is the game. In a good mood, Triple H says he has a gift for everybody and a clip of Triple H catching Stephanie McMahon with the Pedigree from ‘Mania is shown. Stephanie McMahon then comes out, in a black neck brace which matches her black dress and says that Jericho wants his rematch next week. Triple H basically says he's injured so the only way Jericho gets his match next week on Raw is if it’s a two on one with Stephanie included. Triple H says if he pins her in the match next week, she will have to leave the WWF. Initially, Steph tries to balk the proposal, saying the fans need her, but Triple H asks the fans and it’s clear they don’t want Stephanie in the WWF. Triple H says if she doesn’t compete next week, Jericho doesn’t get his shot. Stephanie thinks about it and then stupidly agrees. This was a pretty uneventful segment for these two. Triple H got his victory speech, before the match was organised for next week. Neither of these two are in any power, so I dislike the idea of them being out here and able to book themselves in a match. The idea of Stephanie competing doesn’t excite me either, except that we could be getting closer to a blow off of this whole angle. That excites me greatly.

Match Six
Hollywood Hogan and The Rock vs. The Outsiders

Hogan comes out to Voodoo Child instead of the NWO theme music for the first time since returning, and even that gets a big pop from these fans who can’t get enough of Hogan. As a match this isn’t very good, and whilst the fans still are clearly into it, it doesn’t have the same aura of the Rock/Hogan ‘Mania match to carry it to crazy heights. Makes sense the match wasn’t much here with The Rock being the only one capable of putting on bangers at this point. Hogan and Nash never really could, and Hall is clearly washed and past his prime by this point. Nash and Hall do most their work on The Rock, but when The Rock and Hogan start making a comeback and building momentum, the NWO decides to call it a day. They leave the ring and don’t come back, allowing the match and show to end rather cold, with a count out. The match already wasn’t good and the crappy ending probably hurt it even more. *3/4​

Not the most exciting show post Mania. Seems like quite a few of the main eventer angles, Rock/Hogan and Triple H/Jericho are having some form of continuation. In ring action wasn’t very strong here either, although the debut of Brock was amazing.

 

[Stojy]

WWF Smackdown
March 21st, 2002
Ottawa, Canada​

As usual, our commentary team welcome us to the show, and the big sell for tonight is Kevin Nash’s first singles match in the WWF since 1996 as Kevin Nash will go one on one with The Rock in tonight’s main event.

The first appearance of an actual wrestler that we see is Kurt Angle. He’s not in action tonight, instead he joins the commentary team to watch the WrestleMania rematch between Booker T and Edge. This makes sense. Angle won’t be happy after being pinned by Edge during the tag match on Raw.

Match One
Booker T vs. Edge

It’s a WrestleMania rematch, and whilst I guess this match is okay, for me it felt this was a little lesser than their WrestleMania match. Angle on commentary makes it clear he isn’t very fond of Edge, and even early stages in the match, Edge climbs to the top rope and Angle tries to interfere. Angle tried to get up and shove Edge off the top rope. This failed though as Edge maintained his balance, kicked Angle away and landed a nice Crossbody from the top on Booker. Whilst the match wasn’t all that great, you can see the constant improvement in Edge, as even from the start of the year, his performances have come along in leaps and bounds. It feels like if he keeps this up, we can finally call him a consistently good singles wrestler. After the Crossbody, Booker regains the advantage and looks for a Scissors Kick, but Edge avoids and drags Booker back down to the canvas. As they get up, Booker goes for a Flying Sidekick, but Edge avoids, and Booker accidentally hits referee Teddy Long instead. Edge then nails the Spear but there’s no referee to make the count. Angle sneaks in and nails Edge with an Angle Slam. Booker gets up and waits for Edge to work to his feet, only to land the Scissors Kick. The referee is now conveniently recovered, and Booker gets the win. This was okay, but not good. Booker gets his win back, but the main thing here is clearly Edge and Angle are heading into a feud which will be good. **1/4​

Backstage, Hulk Hogan is walking down a hallway when he comes face to face with Vince McMahon. Vince greets Hogan and reminds him that Vince created Hogan. Vince says every time Hogan goes into business for himself, he falls on his ass. Hogan could be the number one draft pick, but he would have to be a team player and take direction from Vince. Vince tells him to take the night off and think about it. Hogan says he will think about it, but he also says he won’t take the night off and will stick around at Smackdown. Some major foreshadowing here with Vince talking about creating Hogan, maybe we’ll someday talk about it in a 2003 watch. Enjoyed this though, as Vince clearly has motivations to have Hogan out of the arena so the NWO can destroy The Rock. One thing that irks me is Hogan, even though he’s not in NWO clothes, still donned in all black. Might as well have still been wearing NWO colours. Needs that “Hulk still rules” shirt to come into play immediately.

In their ‘office’, The APA are playing cards and drinking beer when William Regal approaches. Bradshaw requested five dollars, but Regal refused because Bradshaw would probably use it at a strip club. The APA clearly don’t see a problem with that. Regal then begins to talk to The APA about the draft. They could be split up after Raw. Bradshaw agrees with Regal but says one of them at least will still be on the same show as Regal, so they could continue to kick Regal’s royal ass. Regal leaves in a huff until he bumps into WWF European Champion Diamond Dallas Page who asks why Regal is mad. Is it because he lost the WWF Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania? Regal is mad about DDP being the European Champion and challenges DDP to a title match tonight. DDP accepts the challenge. Solid stuff here. Regal going around to all the teams and torturing them about being split in the draft is such a douche move, enjoying it. DDP/Regal interaction here was solid enough to set up the match.

We now head to the NWO locker room where Scott Hall is hyping up Kevin Nash for his match against The Rock tonight. Nash tells Hall that he will do what Hogan couldn’t do at WrestleMania and that’s “kick The Rock’s ass”. Short and sweet, does the job of reminding us of the main event.

Match Two
Ivory and Jazz vs. Lita and Trish Stratus

I feel guilty to give this match a bad rating but that’s what it’s going to get. It’s clear they tried hard, and they did get more time than most women’s matches during this time period to try and turn this into something good, but it just really didn’t work. It probably could have still been worse though, and there’s some signs here that you can see Trish is getting better and better at her in ring work. In the end, Trish gets an important pinfall victory over the Women’s Champ after she hits Jazz with the Stratusfaction. Yeah, signs Trish is going to flourish later in the year, but still not good. ¾*​

Rob Van Dam is interviewed in the back and asked about the draft. He says he doesn’t care where he is drafted because he’ll still be ROB… VAN… DAM! I like these little interviews on the draft. Making it feel like a huge deal as it should be.

Backstage, Spike Dudley is being checked on by one of the medical staff. Spike puts over Brock Lesnar as the baddest man he’s ever been in the ring with. Great idea here to put over Lesnar through one of his victims reliving the attack.

Match Three
WWF European Championship Match
Diamond Dallas Page (c) vs. William Regal

Another match here that was okay, but I wouldn’t exactly recommend it to anybody as a must watch. They have a few good exchanges with Regal hitting a nice Arm Trapped Neck Breaker, and DDP coming back with a Sit Down Powerbomb and a DDT. They clearly try hard, but it maybe does come across as a little dull due to the lack of fan interaction in here. They did seem to have some chemistry and with more time they probably could have developed more of a story and had a better match. Towards the end, Christian came down to distract the referee as DDP was trying to pin Regal. As Christian distracts the ref, Regal seizes the opportunity and knocks out DDP with the brass knuckles. Once the ref is back in business, Regal locks in the Regal Stretch, and with DDP not responsive, the referee calls for the bell. We’ve got a new WWF European Champion, which is the right call. The Euro title just suits Regal, it felt kind of out of place with DDP I think. Match was semi decent. **​

It's Chris Jericho and Stephanie McMahon in ring promo time as they make their way to the ring. Jericho tells the fans that he’ll be the WWF Undisputed Champion again after Raw when he teams with Stephanie to face Triple H in a Handicap match. Jericho says that Triple H put Stephanie in the match because he can’t beat Jericho twice in a row. He then talks about how Stephanie can’t leave because the WWF needs Stephanie. Triple H interrupts, remaining on the stage and starts by making fun of Jericho’s over the top clothing, telling him that Liberace wants his pyjamas back. Triple H says maybe the WWF needs Stephanie because they can never have to many whiny bitches. He says they couldn’t survive without all her contributions before playing a video package showing her most embarrassing moments, including Austin accidentally ripping off her top, and Steph getting Stinkfaced. Stephanie is mad and she reveals that she had the match changed to a Triple Threat, and it will be the ultimate humiliation for Triple H when she wins the title. Jericho seems rather upset with the change at first, but then smiles when he realises, he can pin Stephanie to win. This segment was fine. The Triple H/Stephanie stuff is not my cup of tea, but H playing the video package worked, and this hyped the match for Raw.

Match Four
Tajiri w/Torrie Wilson vs. Test

Tajiri. Test. Torrie. Let’s go. Tajiri starts things off fast, taking Test down with a Spinning Heel Kick, before looking for his first high risk move, but Test recovers and crotches him on the top rope. This is basically the story of the match, with Tajiri trying to use quickness to keep Test off balance, whereas Test can just overpower Tajiri whenever he catches him. They play the big man vs. little man angle quite well. They only got 4-5 minutes to work with though, and that’s what probably hurt this one. After Test gets a near fall after a Full Nelson Slam, Torrie gets on the apron to provide a distraction, but Test goes over and immediately shoves her off. This gives Tajiri time to recover and land a Superkick for a pretty cool false finish. In the end, Test recovers and lands his epic Big Boot for the win. They tried hard, and probably have a good match in them. Just needed more time so everything wasn’t so rushed. *3/4​

Backstage, Vince McMahon is now in the same room as the NWO. Vince compliments Kevin Nash, telling him that he looks ready for his match with The Rock tonight. Vince says tonight, the NWO makes a statement and Nash will castrate the Brahma Bull. Vince also lets them know he’s pulled some string and made is so that the NWO will get drafted as a collective and can’t be split during the draft next week. He also assures them there is no way Ric Flair will draft them because he won’t want to deal with them on Raw. No issues here. A fine segment to hype tonight’s main event and the big draft scheduled for next week.

Match Five
Mighty Molly vs. The Hurricane

They only get about a minute or so in this one until interference takes place. They tell a quick story here with The Hurricane showing some character and restraint, shaking Molly’s hand and refusing to fight her. He goes to leave but Molly attacks him from behind and actually has her way with him for a few moments, looking good on offense. Hurricane catches Molly for a Chokeslam but again can’t bring himself to do it. Then the match comes to an abrupt when Brock Lesnar comes from the crowd to commit another murder. Brock destroys Hurricane, finishing him off with an F5. Molly tries to get involved but then Brock runs through her with a brutal Clothesline as well. Match didn’t last long but was harmless fun. Real story here is Lesnar looks unstoppable again. *1/2​

The Undertaker finds Ric Flair in the back and basically tells Flair to draft him to Raw so he can make every day of Flair’s life like a WrestleMania moment. Another nice little tidbit to hype the draft, making it feel like a big deal, as I keep saying. This is smart.

Backstage, Billy and Chuck talk to each other and Billy mentions that he’s found them a third guy. Chuck is tentative and asks Billy if hiring Rico was a good idea. Rico then makes his first appearance and criticizes the tag champs appearance. He says their headbands are crooked and their colours are totally passe. He says they’re getting full body makeovers later, and as Rico walks away in a huff, Billy tells Chuck he’s the best stylist money can buy. Funny stuff here. I like the new wrinkle in their act with them getting a stylist.

Match Six
WWF Tag Team Championship Match
Billy and Chuck (c) w/Rico vs. The Hardy Boyz

The Hardyz try really hard but as with most their matches, Billy and Chuck do enough to drag this one down to a mediocre level. What I did realise here, which is disappointing since I’ve always preferred Matt, but it’s blatantly obvious that the fans are more engaged when Jeff is involved as opposed to Matt. This makes me sad. Anyway this one is about establishing Billy and Chuck’s new stylist as Rico hangs Matt over the top rope, leaving him easy pickings for Billy to hit the Fameasser. Match was not good unfortunately, and the fun act who can’t back it up in the ring retain the gold. *3/4

Match Seven
Kevin Nash w/Scott Hall vs. The Rock

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this match, as I wasn’t expecting much from 2002 Nash. Instead these two have a pretty tidy match, using the big man dynamic to allow Nash to dominate, with The Rock having explosive bursts using quickness when necessary. Nash’s offense is the same old punch, elbow stuff for the most part, but he’s clearly putting in extra effort to look vicious here, and The Rock sells it well, so it all looks rather crisp. There are a lot of good false comebacks from The Rock, and the real one is enjoyable as well when he finally does get back into the match. When The Rock clearly starts to take over, Hall gets in the ring to interfere, but Rock sends him out with a right hand. He then nails a Spinebuster and Peoples Elbow on Nash before going for the pin, but Hall breaks up the pin and the referee has to call a DQ. Again, was pleasantly surprised by this, even with the dodgy finish. Really solid stuff from these two. **3/4​

After the match, Hall and Rock brawl, and they end up on the outside, where Nash eventually gets involves, and it culminates with Nash sending Rock through the announce table with a Jacknife Powerbomb. After the big spot, Hulk Hogan runs down and starts fighting against Hall and Nash, making the delayed save. Hogan takes Hall back to the ring and takes him out with the Big Boot and Leg Drop! Nash then attacks Hogan from behind, but Hogan gets on top of him as well, until X Pac runs down and nails Hogan over the skull with a steel chair. X Pac is wearing an NWO shirt so there’s no question he’s joining the group here, as we get the visual of Hogan being busted wide open. Hall and Nash then also take turns nailing Hogan with chair shots. To end the show, the NWO spray paint the letters “NWO” on Hogan’s back. Aftermath was good here with NWO taking out The Rock, and then X Pac joins. Makes the group seem like a threat without Hogan which is good. I also don’t mind X Pac as a member, as he was a part of the original NWO just before it got to convoluted anyway.

Middling show here for me. Main event was good, not much else in terms of in ring action, although a few had potential but were cut off early due to lack of time. Most the angles seem to progress in the right direction though, and I think they did a really good job of promoting next week’s Draft show.

 

[Stojy]

WWF Heat
March 24th, 2002
Ottawa, Canada​

Michael Cole and Tazz are on commentary tonight and the show opens up with a video package highlighting Linda McMahon’s announcement that there will be a brand split and a draft on tomorrow night’s edition of Raw.

Match One
Lance Storm vs. The Big Valbowski

They start by trading strikes but Val wins the exchange and gets on top, teeing off on Storm repeatedly. I should make note that I’m not entirely sure when it happened, but this seems to be the first show where I’ve noticed they are no longer calling him Val Venis, instead he’s officially being called The Big Valbowski. ‘The Big Vabowski’ is fine as a nickname or moniker but not as his actual official name. A bit meh for me. Despite the bad name, he continues to be on fire early, squashing Storm with a Corner Clothesline, and following up with a Vertical Suplex. Storm tries to come back but Val shrugs him off and Clotheslines him over the top rope and to the outside. Next to nothing happens on the outside, and once back in, Val attempts another Suplex, but Storm reverses with a sick DDT. Storms in control now, landing a couple of Elbow Drops, followed by a Clothesline which gets a two count. The two continue to exchange strikes until Storm gets a Heel Kick for another near fall. Storm then lands a Side Russian Leg Sweep. Storm locks in a grounded Abdominal Stretch, which triggers Val fighting back. Val battles free and hits a Flying Shoulderblock! He follows that up with a few more strikes and an Elbow Drop. He then gets Knee Drop and hits a modified Powerbomb for a two count. Val waits for Storm to battle to his feet and then takes him down with a Bulldog. He looks to lock in a Cobra Clutch, but Storm reverses and gets the Half Boston Crab! Val manages to make it to the ropes, but eventually Storm lines up for a Superkick and misses, which allows Val to drop him with a Powerslam. Money Shot follows and Val gets the win. This got longer than expected for a Heat match, so considering I like both these guys I was surprised they didn’t deliver more. Equally surprised that Venis got the win, since he’s barely used, whilst Storm gets sporadically used on Raw and Smackdown. Match wasn’t that bad, but nothing special, and probably gets hurt by the fact the crowd didn’t care. *1/2​

Backstage, The Dudley Boyz are having a discussion before their match. Bubba is concerned about the prospect of them being separated after the draft tomorrow night. Things could never be the same after Raw tomorrow night. D’Von understands, replying with, “testify my brother, testify”. As I mentioned on the previous Smackdown review, really enjoying all of these interactions between wrestlers, showing how they feel about the draft. Makes it feel important.

Match Two
Kane and The Big Show vs. The Dudley Boyz

I’m genuinely surprised by the thrown together tandem of Kane and The Big Show here. I know they had some interactions in January, but their teaming together didn’t go well, and ended in a mini program between the two. So it’s a bit strange that suddenly there’s no continuity and their teaming together tonight and all is okay in the world. Kane and Bubba start the match, and Bubba hammers way but Kane no sells all of it. In some nice psychology, it seems The Dudleyz realise they won’t win in one-on-one situations, so they focus on using their experience as a team to overcome their size and strength disadvantage. It starts when they hit a Double Back Suplex on The Big Show. From here, they isolate The Big Show, eventually hitting a double team Belly To Back Suplex, followed by the WAZUUUUUUPPPPPP Headbutt! After this, Bubba tells D’Von to get the tables. D’Von sets the table up on the outside, and in another double team move, they Back Suplex Kane through the table. Once back inside, they continue to double team Show. Show tries to fight back by Headbutting D’Von, but then he misses a Splash in the corner. D’Von then gets a Sleeper Hold applied. Show powers out of the Sleeper and takes D’Von down with a Sidewalk Slam! Both men make the tag, and Kane comes in off the hot tag and dominates Bubba. He tees off with right hands, before dropping Bubba with a Spinebuster. He follows it up with a Sidewalk Slam, and then he drops D’Von with a Big Boot when he tries to intervene. Kane heads to the top rope and hits his Flying Clothesline, only to get a two count when D’Von breaks it up. Kane goozles D’Von for the Chokeslam, but Bubba makes the save. The Dudleyz try and set Kane up for the 3D. He avoids it though and Big Show gets back in the ring, and they hit stereo Chokeslams for the win. It’s Heat so nobody is working super hard, but they had the obligatory Dudley table spot, and I liked The Dudleyz having to resort to double team as their main source of offence. Thought that was a good story to tell. **​

Tough Enough 2 video package airs. I will continue to not care about it.

Match Three
Goldust vs. Rikishi

Goldust begins by trying to get into Rikishi’s head, taunting him and rubbing himself to play mind games. Rikishi just shrugs it off and retaliates with a right hand which drops Goldust. Rikishi follows up with a Shoulder Block. Goldust manages to hit a desperation low blow, which for some reason is not a DQ, before he climbs the corner to hit some mounted punches. Goldust takes Rikishi out of the corner and continues to hammer away, sending him down to the canvas. Rikishi fights back with some punches and sends Goldust off the ropes, looking for a Back Body Drop. But he ducks to soon, so Goldust kicks him hard in the face. Goldust bounces off the ropes again, but Rikishi catches him with a Belly-To-Belly Suplex to begin the comeback. Rikishi lands what looks to be a devastating Leg Drop on Goldust. Goldust manages to fight back with some kicks, and he hits a Neckbreaker, which gets a two count. Rikishi then reverses an Irish whip from Goldust and nails him with a Superkick. That’s all she wrote for Goldust as Rikishi heads up top and lands a Bonzai Drop for the win. Eh, not much here. Rikishi can still put on the odd, good performance but he’s not been the same Rikishi since early 2001. Goldust being treated like a jobber here annoys me. Anyway, match was uninspiring and so was the booking. *​

Video recap airs of the ending to Smackdown, which concluded with the NWO beating down The Rock and Hulk Hogan with the help of their new member, X Pac.

Match Four
WWF Intercontinental Championship Match
Rob Van Dam (c) vs. Mr. Perfect

This one starts off with Perfect backing Van Dam in the corner and landing some chops, until RVD reverses positions, and shoulder rams Perfect repeatedly. I have to be honest these two on paper sounds like an awesome match, but with Perfect’s body clearly failing him and his performances not being great since his return, I’m not excited. After having the air driven out of him, Perfect heads to the outside to regroup. After regaining his composure in a veteran move, Perfect gets back in and is able to land some right hands. He follows that up with a Rolling Neck Snap to completely take over the match. Perfect eventually locks in an Abdominal Stretch. RVD manages to Hip Toss Perfect to break the hold. He then goes for a Spin Kick, but Perfect ducks and goes for a Clothesline. RVD ducks this and lands another attempt at a Spin Kick. Fun sequence. Van Dam follows this up with Rolling Thunder which earns him a two count. RVD tries to do a Monkey Flip, but Perfect reverses and stacks RVD for a pin, with his feet on the ropes, but only gets a two count. That’s because the referee catches the cheating and refuses to count. Perfect isn’t happy and argues with the ref, allowing Van Dam to drop him with a Spin Kick. RVD then heads to the top rope and the Five Star Frog Splash finishes this one off. It’s an epic Five Star to, with Van Dam having to travel across more than half the ring to land it. Considering the two men involved, the match was very disappointing. Partially because they weren’t busting their guts on Heat, but it just didn’t get a lot of time, and Perfect never felt like a threat. I’m probably rating this a bit harshly because I’d love more from these two, but it is what it is. *​

Heat was a bit of a tease this week. Actually quite a few big names on the show, but none of the matches really delivered as most the talent seemed to coast, which makes sense as this is the C show after all.

 

[Stojy]

WWF Raw
March 25th, 2002
State College, Pennsylvania​

It’s time. The first ever draft is ever. We open up with Linda McMahon appearing via satellite, and she informs us that in the interest of time, only 20 draft picks will take place on the show tonight. Obviously ten each from Raw and Smackdown, and the remaining picks will happen off air by a lottery. The draft results will take effect from next week’s Raw. Due to their involvement in the WWF Undisputed Championship picture, Chris Jericho, Stephanie McMahon and Triple H are not eligible for the draft. Due to a contractual clause, Stone Cold is also unable to be drafted and is classified as a free agent. Smart to open the show by informing of us of how some of the draft stuff will work. Austin being a free agent is a decent way to cover for him deciding not to show up to work.

A podium is set up on the stage, which is kind of cool. That’s where the draft picks will be made.

Before the first match of the night gets underway, Mr. Perfect gets on the mic and says everybody will see an example of “the perfect pick”. Then before Tazz can react, Perfect cheap shots him to gain the initial advantage, as the referee calls for the bell. Some nice heel work here from Perfect.

Match One
Mr. Perfect vs. Tazz

Good work here from these two, but I feel like a broken record here when I say one of the issues, they have is just they don’t have enough time. Neither of these guys has been overly prominent recently also, so it’s an interesting one to pick as an opener, as the crowd aren’t exactly hot for it. They used the time they had well, but they just didn’t have enough of it to really give us something worth watching back. Tazz ends up locking in the Tazzmission to get the win. Solid, yet rushed match. **1/4​

In the backstage area, we see Ric Flair and Arn Anderson discussing things in a War Room. They have papers and drinks all around them to show they’re prepared for a long night of deliberation. Arn mentions that Vince has the first so pick so Flair needs a plan A, and a plan B. Flair agrees, saying Vince will probably go the unpredictable route so they need to have back up plans. Again, just really like how hard they are selling the importance of this first draft. Really good stuff.

Vince McMahon now makes his way out to the podium and is quick to announce that the first pick of the draft, going to Smackdown is “THE ROCK”! The Rock comes out to confront Vince, but Vince quickly gets his music turned off and said he has three rules over on Smackdown. One: Rocky can’t put his hands on Vince. Two: Rock can’t talk about shoving anything up anybody’s ass. Three: Rock can’t use the phrase “it doesn’t matter”. Vince then reminds The Rock that he made Hulk Hogan, but he made The Rock as well. The Rock disagrees and says that the people made The Rock. Rock then gets half the arena to chant “YOU ARE”, and the other half to chant “AN ASSHOLE” at Vinnie Mac. The Rock is definitely a worthy number one draft pick, and this was a fun segment to get the crowd going, and also show the relationship between Vince and Rock is unlikely to change anytime soon.

Now it’s Ric Flair’s turn to go to the podium and his first draft pick for Raw is a man he personally dislikes. This man is still a WWF cornerstone… “THE UNDERTAKER”! The Undertaker is shown backstage, and he is furious that he’s going to need to work for Flair now. Again, ‘Taker is a worthy first pic and shows that personal grievances won’t get in the way of Flair picking his roster.

Backstage, Kurt Angle is upset that Vince McMahon didn’t pick him as his first draft pick, saying Vince hurt his feelings. Vince says he picked The Rock as a swerve, but it’s clear Flair did the same thing with The Undertaker. Undertaker barges into Vince’s office and tells him that he better fix this, and Vince promises that he will. Undertaker gives him a veiled threat, saying he better stick to his word for once. Nice segment, putting over the seriousness of the draft, and Angle is hilarious as an ass kisser.

Match Two
Booker T and Christian vs. Diamond Dallas Page and Edge

Again, a relatively quick match here but they did well with the time that they had. At one point, it actually seemed like DDP was going to maybe pin Booker T, which would have worked in WCW. With the way DDP has been booked here in WWE, it wouldn’t have made a lot of sense. It’s also kind of weird setting out of the match here that Booker and DDP spent most the match fighting each other. The action was decent, but Booker has come out of a Mania feud with Edge, and Christian has come out of one with DDP. Considering these feuds probably won’t make the Backlash card, would have expected more interaction between the wrestlers with heat against each other here. In the end, after a hard-fought struggle, Booker was able to finish DDP off with the Scissors Kick. Decent match would have been better with more time. Geez I say this a lot. **1/4​

In the back, Kurt Angle has a poster of himself, and he’s reading a list of his accomplishments off the back of it, to prove to Vince McMahon that he needs to be drafted and should have been drafted first. He also talks about how he’s an Olympic Gold Medallist so Flair would like the credibility that he brings to Raw. Vince McMahon is convinced and makes the pic, Smackdown’s second draft pick is none other than Kurt Angle. Love the character work from Angle here, and The Rock and Angle are two very strong picks to start out for Smackdown.

Ric Flair is back at the podium to make his next pick, but first he talks about Stone Cold. He talks about how Austin is a free agent and says that he will work diligently to sign Stone Cold to Raw. Flair then reveals his next pick and it’s the New World Order. Interesting draft strategy by Flair, basically picking people that Vince loves just to get at him it seems.

Back to the Vince McMahon war room and Vince is furious. Kurt Angle does his best to calm him down, telling him that Flair wants to throw him off his game. Angle then mentions that he has an idea of somebody who has been gone for a while and will be back soon and whispers a name in Vince’s ear. Vince is happy with the decision and his next pick for the Smackdown brand is Chris Benoit!!! I’m not going to talk to much about the controversy and how it ended with Benoit, going to try and keep that stuff out of here. Will say that Benoit is an awesome pick for Smackdown, and Vince is smashing Flair so far at the draft.

Now we’re in Ric Flair’s War Room, and the NWO are in there and they’re unhappy. They are yelling at Ric Flair and Arn Anderson for drafting them too Raw. They say they only listen to Vince, but Flair stands up to them and they leave when Flair mentions that his next pick is somebody they will deal with directly, and it’s Kane. Nice segment here to show NWO being annoyed at not being with Vince. Again, Kane is another pick that feels rather lacklustre compared to what Vince has chosen so far.

Match Three
Ivory vs. Trish Stratus

I don’t really have a lot to say about this one. Trish is improving but needs somebody to carry her to a good match at this point and Ivory isn’t it. Very sluggish match with plenty of stuff they try and do which just looks ugly and off. After Ivory dominates early, Trish comes back and wins with the Stratusfaction. Not good stuff here. *​

Vince McMahon comes out to the podium for his next pick, and he chooses Hulk Hogan. It’s worth noting that during this entire segment, the fans continue those awesome “YOU ARE… AN ASSHOLE” chant. Based on his crazy popularity, makes sense for Hogan to be an early pick. Probably the first pick on the Smackdown roster who most likely won’t perform very well in ring.

Now it’s Ric Flair’s turn as he comes out to the podium and his fourth pick for the Raw brand is the WWF Intercontinental Champion, Rob Van Dam! Feels like the first pick since The Undertaker that feels like a good one from Flair. Surprised it sook somebody this long to pick a mid-card champion also.

Back in his War Room, Vince McMahon is mad again because Flair drafted RVD, which means Vince can’t happy the WWF Intercontinental Championship on Smackdown. Kurt Angle comes up with a solution. Angle suggests that he wrestled RVD tonight for the Intercontinental Championship so he can win and bring the title to Smackdown. Vince thinks the idea is brilliant. After Angle leaves to get ready for the match, Vince shrugs and admits that maybe Kurt should have been the number one pick. A good segment here, putting over the importance of the IC Title. Also pumped to get an RVD/Angle match on this show.

The Rock is in a locker room in the back when Hulk Hogan comes in to have a discussion. They start the way they always do post Mania; they give each other props because they are best friends now apparently. Hogan proposes going out on their final Raw with a bang. He proposes a Handicap match of them two versus the entire NWO so they can get their revenge from Smackdown well they can. The Rock likes the idea. Solid enough segment, leading to another match that will be fun for this show.

It's time for the next draft picks as Vince McMahon comes back out to the podium. To counteract Flair’s picking of the Intercontinental Champion, Vince McMahon’s next pick is the WWF Tag Team Champions Billy and Chuck! This pick is probably the least of all McMahon’s picks so far, but it makes sense that Vince would pick champions as he and Flair continue to try, and one up each other.

Match Four
Hulk Hogan and The Rock vs. The Outsiders and X Pac

Nothing overly special here but these five men get together and put on a completely acceptable pro wrestling match. Again, they probably could have developed this into something more, but tonight’s matches all seem rather rushed due to the amount of draft pick segments on the show. The NWO eventually forget the rules and making tags and just beat up Rock and Hogan, until Kane runs down and makes the save. Kane making the save adds another man to feud with the NWO on Raw which is good, however the referee DQ’s the babyfaces here for his involvement. This one was okay for the amount of time they were given. **1/2​

After the match, the brawl continues and the trio of babyfaces send the NWO packing. I don’t mind this booking here. Rock and Hogan won’t really deal with the NWO here, so was smart to use this match, and the earlier segment with NWO and Flair to really establish Kane as a threat to the group.

Backstage, Vince McMahon and Ric Flair come face to face and an angry Vince yells at Flair for taking his guys. Flair doesn’t have to explain himself to Vince, and now they go back and forth with picks, to rub it in each other’s faces. Since Vince is so worried about his favourites, Flair’s fifth pick is Booker T. Vince’s sixth pick he says is the man who beat Booker T at WrestleMania, Edge. Flair’s sixth pick to counter that is The Big Show. Staying on the theme of big guys, Vince’s seventh pick is Rikishi. Vince is happy with himself until Flair says that he hopes Rikishi sits on Vince’s face again. McMahon shoves Flair and they have a brief struggle, as Arn Anderson holds Flair back, and eventually Vince leaves. Another fun draft segment here. Got through a bunch of picks but continues to put over the rivalry between Vince and Flair. I thought this was good.

Match Five
Billy w/Chuck and Rico vs. Jeff Hardy w/Lita and Matt Hardy

This wasn’t a good match at all. It’s quick, and maybe not exactly offensive, but it’s pretty bad. Billy is not a singles wrestler, and Jeff basically looks out of his mind half the time during this time period. Matt and Lita thwart Chuck and Rico from interfering, and this allows Jeff to get a Roll Up for the win. Yeah, not good. *3/4​

Ric Flair makes the next pick from his War Room. He says he wants the most dominant team in recent years on Raw, so his seventh pick is Bubba Ray Dudley. Completely logical pick. Vince takes the tag champs so Flair will most likely want to build his own tag division on Raw.

We now see Vince McMahon in his War Room and he doesn’t want Flair to have The Dudleyz, so his eight pick his D’Von Dudley. The Dudleyz are pissed off as they are shown on screen. They embrace before Bubba leaves, as they got their separate ways. Vince willing to break up The Dudleyz just to annoy Vince is an amazingly dickish move. Good stuff.

Rikishi comes out for his match as he’s scheduled to face the WWF European Champion William Regal. The match doesn’t happen though as once Riksihi is in the ring, Brock Lesnar runs down and beats the shit out of Rikishi. More awesome stuff here from Lesnar, who’s booking as this young monster just destroying people whenever he feels like it has been impeccable so far.

At WWF New York, the WWF Womens Champion Jazz is there, and she insults all the other Divas, before bragging about being the only Diva who can appear on both shows. Solid enough promo to remind us that she exists, I guess.

Vince McMahon quickly comes back out to the podium rather unexpectedly, and he says his next pick for Smackdown is Brock Lesnar. Ric Flair quickly interrupts and lets Vince know it’s not his turn to make a pick. Vince tries to say after this, Flair can get two in a row, but Flair says he’s not letting Vince change the rules. The eight draft pick for Raw is Brock Lesnar! Vince is annoyed but retorts with Smackdown’s ninth pick being a man with the same amount of potential as Brock, Mark Henry! Flair then counters by drafting another champion, this time the WWF European Champion William Regal! Vince’s final pick is the WWF Hardcore Champion, Maven! Flair then for some reason picks Lita as his tenth pick, which is a strange pick for sure. More bickering from Flair and Vince to get us through the remainder of the on-air draft picks. Also love both guys being desperate for Brock, further putting over how awesome he is. Good segment here.

Match Six
WWF Intercontinental Championship Match
Rob Van Dam (c) vs. Kurt Angle

I know I’m a broken record, apologies for whoever is reading this (Chris). Another decent match here that is again rather quick, which probably prevents any chance of it being a classic. A lot of fun here though with Angle basically just hurling Van Dam around the ring, and RVD selling well. RVD ends up getting the advantage and comes off the top with a Flying Kick, but Angle avoids by pulling the referee in the way. Angle picks up Van Dam and connects with the Angle Slam, but the referee calls for the bell and Angle is DQ’d for abusing the ref. More of the same in terms of match rating tonight. Not bad, but not long enough to be good. **1/2 ​

After the match, Angle puts the Ankle Lock on RVD to let out some of his frustrations when Edge runs down to make the save. Edge rocks Angle before nailing him with an Overhead Belly To Belly Suplex. Angle fights back and gets the advantage until Edge eventually runs through him with the Spear. Edge keeps on Angle with right hands, and referees and security have to come down and break up the brawl. I don’t mind this, continues the budding Angle and Edge feud. I do wonder whether Angle will face any consequences for failing to bring the IC Title back to Smackdown.

Michael Cole interviews Stephanie McMahon backstage before the main event and she says that she is going to become the first ever female WWF Undisputed Champion. Oh god, please no.

Match Seven
Triple Threat Match
If Stephanie Gets Pinned, she’s gone from WWE
Triple H (c) vs. Chris Jericho vs. Stephanie McMahon

This was a little underwhelming also. An alright match at best, and they told some form of a story, but it didn’t quite hit the mark for me. I think the issue was that again, it was just all surrounding Stephanie McMahon, and not enough about Jericho trying to regain the title. It just made the match feel off. In the end, Triple H Pedigrees Jericho, and then lands a Spinebuster on Stephanie and he pins her. Meh as a main event if I’m honest. **​

After the match, security come out rather quickly to escort Stephanie out of the building. She tries to cling onto the ropes, ring post and even tries to hide under the ring, but eventually security is able to escort her out. As Steph is leaving, Triple H gets the mic and leads the fans in a chant of “nah nah nah nah, nah nah nah nah, hey hey hey, goodbye”! A fitting ending to the Stephanie McMahon character on TV… For now.

This shows a hard one to judge for me. Not really much good wrestling, but this was the first draft in history, the brand split was brand new, so it still felt like a really important, much watch show.

​

 

[Stojy]

I've watched the next Smackdown and just need to compile my thoughts, but before I do that, I wanted to post the draft results just for some additional info for anybody who might want it...

Pick No.	Brand (to)	Round No.	Employee (Real name)	Notes
1	SmackDown!	1	The Rock (Dwayne Johnson)
2	Raw	1	The Undertaker (Mark Calaway)
3	SmackDown!	2	Kurt Angle
4	Raw	2	nWo (Kevin Nash, X-Pac (Sean Waltman) and Scott Hall)
5	SmackDown!	3	Chris Benoit	Drafted while recovering from neck surgery. Benoit returned on the Raw brand instead.
6	Raw	3	Kane (Glenn Jacobs)
7	SmackDown!	4	Hulk Hogan (Terry Bollea)
8	Raw	4	Rob Van Dam (Rob Szatkowski)	Van Dam was the WWF Intercontinental Champion, making the title exclusive to Raw.
9	SmackDown!	5	Billy Gunn (Monty Sopp) and Chuck Palumbo	Billy and Chuck were the WWF Tag Team Champions, making the title exclusive to SmackDown!. In addition, Billy and Chuck's manager, Rico, went along with them in the draft.
10	Raw	5	Booker T (Booker Huffman)
11	SmackDown!	6	Edge (Adam Copeland)
12	Raw	6	Big Show (Paul Wight)
13	SmackDown!	7	Rikishi (Solofa Fatu)
14	Raw	7	Bubba Ray Dudley (Mark LoMonaco)
15	SmackDown!	8	D-Von Dudley (Devon Hughes)
16	Raw	8	Brock Lesnar	McMahon attempted to use his 9th draft pick for Lesnar but, as it was not his pick, Flair immediately picked Lesnar as his 8th pick. Lesnar's manager, Paul Heyman, went along with him in the draft.
17	SmackDown!	9	Mark Henry
18	Raw	9	William Regal (Darren Matthews)	Regal was the WWF European Champion, making the title exclusive to Raw.
19	SmackDown!	10	Maven (Maven Huffman)	Maven was the WWF Hardcore Champion, making the title exclusive to SmackDown!. However, Raven defeated Maven for the championship prior to the brand separation, bringing the title to Raw with him.
20	Raw	10	Lita (Amy Dumas)
21	SmackDown!	11	Billy Kidman (Peter Gruner)
22	Raw	11	Bradshaw (John Layfield)
23	SmackDown!	12	Tajiri (Yoshihiro Tajiri)	Tajiri was the WWF Cruiserweight Champion, making the title exclusive to SmackDown!.
24	Raw	12	Steven Richards (Michael Manna)
25	SmackDown!	13	Chris Jericho (Chris Irvine)
26	Raw	13	Matt Hardy
27	SmackDown!	14	Ivory (Lisa Moretti)
28	Raw	14	Raven (Scott Levy)
29	SmackDown!	15	Albert (Matt Bloom)
30	Raw	15	Jeff Hardy
31	SmackDown!	16	The Hurricane (Gregory Helms)
32	Raw	16	Mr. Perfect (Curt Hennig)
33	SmackDown!	17	Al Snow (Al Sarven)
34	Raw	17	Spike Dudley (Matthew Hyson)
35	SmackDown!	18	Lance Storm (Lance Evers)
36	Raw	18	D'Lo Brown (Accie Connor)
37	SmackDown!	19	Diamond Dallas Page (Page Falkinburg)
38	Raw	19	Shawn Stasiak (Shawn Stipich)
39	SmackDown!	20	Torrie Wilson
40	Raw	20	Terri (Terri Boatright Runnels)
41	SmackDown!	21	Scotty 2 Hotty (Scotty Garland)
42	Raw	21	Jacqueline (Jacqueline Moore)
43	SmackDown!	22	Stacy Keibler
44	Raw	22	Goldust (Dustin Runnels)
45	SmackDown!	23	Christian (Jay Reso)
46	Raw	23	Trish Stratus (Trish Stratigeas)
47	SmackDown!	24	Test (Andrew Martin)
48	Raw	24	Justin Credible (Peter Polaco)
49	SmackDown!	25	Faarooq (Ron Simmons)
50	Raw	25	Big Boss Man (Ray Traylor)
51	SmackDown!	26	Tazz (Peter Senerchia)
52	Raw	26	Tommy Dreamer (Tommy Laughlin)
53	SmackDown!	27	Hardcore Holly (Bob Howard)
54	Raw	27	Crash Holly (Mike Lockwood)
55	SmackDown!	28	Val Venis (Sean Morley)
56	Raw	28	Mighty Molly (Nora Greenwald)
57	SmackDown!	29	Perry Saturn (Perry Satullo)

And Undrafted wrestlers:
Triple H
Jazz
Chris Jericho
Stephanie McMahon
Stone Cold Steve Austin