Stojy watches WWE 2002

[Stojy]

WWE Raw
May 27th, 2002
Edmonton, Canada​

We start with our commentators, JR and The King hyping some of the stuff planned for tonight, which includes Eddie Guerrero defending the WWE Intercontinental Championship against Rob Van Dam in a ladder match, and Brock Lesnar vs. Bubba Ray Dudley. I’m pumped for the ladder match.

We start things off with in ring promo time from Chris Benoit, as he makes a surprise, unannounced return in his hometown. He starts with “it sure as hell feels good to be back”. He admits that he’s been drafted to Smackdown, but he had to be here in his hometown tonight, and he’ll be back soon. He then says there’s a good reason to be here but is interrupted by the WWE Intercontinental Champion Eddie Guerrero. Eddie tells Benoit that it’s great to see him. But then he talks about how Benoit has always been jealous of him. Eddie says he was the Radical with the most charisma, skill and LATINO HEAT~! He says that Benoit was always trying to hold him back. But since Benoit left, Eddie has become the Intercontinental Champion. He then brags about taking out Austin last week and says Benoit can’t change that. Benoit admits that he can’t take out Eddie tonight, but Rob Van Dam can. And as far as finding out if Eddie’s a better wrestler than Benoit, they’ll find out tonight whether he can have a better ladder match than Benoit. Eddie gets annoyed and challenges Benoit to fight, and Benoit takes off his shirt, ready to go. Ric Flair interrupts and comes down and asks if the fans want to see Benoit vs. Guerrero tonight and the fans pop. Flair says no and says he let Benoit come out here to hype the crowd, and like a typical Canadian, he tried to start a fight. Flair then mentions that Stone Cold isn’t here tonight and even if he was, he was a welcoming committee waiting for him. Austin and Debra are running late due to a family emergency. Flair says Benoit isn’t benched like Austin though. But he’s not letting a Smackdown guy fight his Raw IC Champion so get out. Eddie tells Benoit to get out of the ring as well, and Benoit shoves Eddie down to the mat. Flair calls for security and they come and escort Benoit out of the arena. Cool moment to have Benoit make his return here. A nice surprise for sure. I’ll just quickly touch on Benoit once and say I’m not going to refer to anything surrounding the tragedy and will be focusing on only him as a wrestler in here, and as you’ll come to recognise, I do think he was one of the best. Anyway, a really fun, fresh segment to open the show. This was great.

Backstage, Molly Holly tells WWE European Champion William Regal that she used to date Spike Dudley and is nervous about getting in the ring with him. She says he was such a pervert. This segments a nice little touch, playing on Molly and Spike’s history together before the match. No issues.

Match One
WWE European or WWE Womens Championship Match
Mixed Tag Team Match
Trish Stratus (c) and Spike Dudley vs. William Regal (c) and Molly Holly

I don’t know if the match title makes it clear so just to clarify, which title is on the line is all dependent on the falls. For example, if one of the women get the fall, the Womens Title is on the line, and if one of the men get the fall, the European Title is on the line. They keep this one quick, which is a bit disappointing because Spike and Regal can do well enough, and it feels like Molly/Trish is the best possible women’s pairing we can have at the moment. This match comes to an end when Molly is choking Trish on the ropes, and then slamming her face first to the turnbuckle. Out of nowhere, Trish reverses Molly and gets a Backslide for the out of nowhere victory. The action wasn’t bad, but they didn’t get enough time which hurt the match a lot. *1/2​

After the match, Regal gives Molly the brass knuckles, and he attacks Spike, sending him outside of the ring. This allows Molly to nail Trish in the back of the head with the brass knuckles. Fine, dastardly heel stuff, to further heat up the women’s feud. I’m good with this.

We see The Coach standing around in the parking lot, awaiting the arrival of Stone Cold.

Backstage, Terri interviews WWE Hardcore Champion Steven Richards and he talks about how Jazz is recovering from knee surgery and how she’s so cute and cuddly. Jacqueline interrupts and quizzes him on his description of Jazz. Jackie then kicks Richards in the knee and nails him in the head with the microphone. Jackie makes the cover, but Shawn Stasiak comes over and tries to steal the pin instead. Big Bossman then shows up and pulls Stasiak off the cover, and Bossman and Stasiak end up brawling out of the picture. Meanwhile, Richards is still down so Terri decides to pin him and become the new Hardcore Champion. She celebrates, showing off plenty, when Richards gets a quick Roll Up to regain his title. The Hardcore title stuff has become repetitive and not fun at this point, but this one was okay. For some reason I marked at Terri becoming the champion out of nowhere.

In the back, Kevin Nash talks to the rest of the New World Order. Nash talks about how tonight Big Show faces Bradshaw and Booker T and X Pac face The Hardy Boyz, and they will be getting no help. This is the new era of the NWO and if you lose the match, you’re out of the group. Booker T then says he doesn’t want to make his entrance to the NWO theme because it has a lack of bass. Booker and Pac then leave, and we see Goldust, hiding in a bathtub in the NWO locker room, listening in to their conversation. NWO regrouping continues so I don’t mind the attempt from Nash here to straighten things out. Booker is clearly the star of the group, which is fine, and Goldust is there for the funnies. All solid stuff.

Match Two
Booker T and X Pac vs. The Hardy Boyz

This was a completely fine match, with the action throughout entertaining enough. Also worth calling out that X Pac is still coming to the ring wearing Kane’s mask, which is a cool way to remind us that Kane will be back at some point. Whilst this was solid, the match last week with Show and Pac against The Hardyz was better, as Pac controlled the action and put in more effort. These four could probably put on a really epic tag if they were given some good time though. Booker nails Jeff with the Scissors Kick and Pac tags himself in. As Booker knocks Matt off the apron, Pac nails Jeff with the X Factor and gets the pin. Solid, as the NWO rebuild begins in style. **​

After the match, Booker grabs a microphone and insists on giving the people what they want, and then hits the Spinaroonie, before he and Pac leave.

Backstage, Paul Heyman heads towards the Trainer’s Room, looking for Trish Stratus. When he enters, he finds Bubba Ray Dudley, who beats on Heyman and tells him to stay away from Trish. Nice continuation of Heyman being a creep on Trish and adds further heat to the Brock/Bubba match tonight. Good stuff.

Strangely enough, it’s in ring promo time for Tommy Dreamer as he tries to convince the crowd that he’s just a normal guy. Then he notices a guy eating a hot dog and tries to steal it. The hot dog falls on the floor, and then Tommy accidentally steps on it, but still eats it. Thankfully, this then gets interrupted by the WWE Undisputed Champion The Undertaker. ‘Taker says that Tommy is on his time now, but Tommy doesn’t leave. ‘Taker eventually offers Tommy a title shot, and Tommy says he’d love that but ‘Taker says too bad. He says that Dreamer isn’t worthy. Nobody can challenge him in the back either, but if Tommy wants to entertain the people, he can drink his tobacco spit. Tommy declines, saying that’s to gross, but ‘Taker threatens him if he doesn’t. Tommy drinks it and admits that it’s actually pretty good. After this, Undertaker snaps and beats the hell out of Tommy, ending by wrapping a chair around his neck and ramming him into the ring post. Not sure if this is the best use of your champ with this joke character, but I can look passed that, because I love ‘Taker coming out every week and just bullying people. He’s the champ and can do what he wants. Segment was okay thanks to ‘Taker, still not good, but I’m hoping this can just write Dreamer off.

Backstage, an annoyed Paul Heyman gives Brock Lesnar a pep talk. Solid.

Match Three
Brock Lesnar w/Paul Heyman vs. Bubba Ray Dudley

Really solid, fun stuff here from these two which is good to see. Was awesome to see Brock throw Bubba around as if he was still wrestling The Hardy Boyz. Really cool stuff. Brock’s offense and power was awesome, but unfortunately Bubba lets it down with some awful selling, which makes the epic offense lose some of its impact. Considering Brock is getting the monster push, I was surprised by the amount of offense that Bubba got in towards the end. Heyman even had to intervene to help Brock, which I’m not sure I like Brock needing help to beat Bubba, to be honest. After Heyman trips Bubba when he bounces off the ropes, and this is after earlier interference, Brock catches Bubba with the F5 for the win. Brock potentially losing without Heyman’s help aside, this was very solid, and the Brock train continues as it should. **1/4​

Outside, The Coach finds Raven sitting outside and asks if he knows anything about Austin and Debra’s family emergency. Raven says that it’s not Debra’s family that is having the emergency but Austin himself. He says that Austin is a troubled soul, and he wishes he could help him. I don’t mind the reminder that we are waiting on Austin, but this was really weird, random stuff. Coach looks like an idiot asking Raven this question, why would he have any insight? Strange. Also no mention of Raven ditching Coach on Heat makes me sad.

Match Four
Bradshaw vs. The Big Show

Bradshaw kind of felt like he was getting some sort of push on Raw recently, so to see him basically get squashed by Show here was surprising. Squash match, but Show does a good job and finishes his demolition of Bradshaw with a Chokeslam. Weird booking of Bradshaw aside, the NWO rebuild remains on track. **​

In the back, the NWO are content with how the night has gone when Goldust shows up with black and white face paint on, and of course, he’s wearing an NWO shirt. Booker says that Goldust looks like a freaky Oreo cookie. X Pac says he’s going to go tell Kevin Nash that Goldust is disrespecting the colours, and as Pac leaves, Booker says he’s a stooge. This all makes sense from a Goldust wanting to be Booker’s partner scenario. Whilst I’m sure there will be some fun moments, I’m not sold on NWO being this involved in comedy angles.

At THE WORLD, the final four Tough Enough contestants have arm wrestling matches. Jake beat Kenny whilst Linda Miles beat Jackie Gayda for those keeping score. Meh, still don’t care about this fake reality contest.

In the back, Terri interviews RVD and he starts by congratulating her on briefly winning the Hardcore Title. From there, RVD cuts a pretty standard promo, hyping his Intercontinental Title ladder match against Eddie Guerrero tonight. Solid enough promo to hype the main event.

Austin still hasn’t arrived, but The Coach gets excited and then frustrated when a pickup truck speeds up, only to drop off the late running Howard Finkel. A nice tease here.

Match Five
Crash Holly vs. Goldust

Another squash match here as Goldust, apparently representing the NWO takes care of poor Crash relatively easily. It’s a basic squash but Goldust performs well, only issue is that the fans don’t care about Crash, so there isn’t much reaction to anything. Goldust finally finishes things off with the Curtain Call. Meh, it’s a squash, not as good as the other squash tonight. *3/4​

After the match, Kevin Nash comes down and he doesn’t look happy. As Nash enters the ring, Goldust exits so Nash hits Crash with a Big Boot and then poses. Nash being annoyed at Goldust for wearing the colours makes sense.

Backstage, Eddie Guerrero approaches Ric Flair and tells him that he is nervous about getting hurt and Stone Cold showing up. Flair reassures Eddie that if Austin comes tonight or tries to interfere, he has the welcoming committee waiting for him. Solid. Does the job of hyping the two things left on the show, the main event, and the angle of whether Austin will show up or not.

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

Ladder matches are really hard to watch when they were over twenty years ago. Not because they weren’t good, this was another great match between the two, but it’s hard for them to stack up. Ladder spots have become so different in the last twenty years, that whilst good for the time, nothing they do here seems out of control insane. Just feels like business-as-usual ladder match spots. So yeah, match is still great, but not a classic. It’s still potentially a match that could be in a best matches on Raw list or something like that though. RVD had moments that weren’t great in this one as well. Felt like there were times where he no sold when he should have been selling, there’s some stuff that just look a bit off/sloppy and a few contrived spots that look fake just to show off some cool athleticism or something. I probably really enjoyed the Sunset Flip Powerbomb off the ladder spot the most here. I’ve pointed out the negatives because it’s easier to do so, but there still was a lot of good stuff here. There’s a moment where an idiot fan comes in and tries to shove Eddie off the ladder to. As the match progresses, Chris Benoit makes his way through the crowd, but security don’t kick him out because he reveals he has a ticket. The other awkward botch here is probably when RVD looks to attempt a Five Star Frog Splash off the ladder but slips and falls. Credit to the commentators to link it to the psychology of Eddie working on the leg earlier in the match. It seems after that, they have to somewhat improvise an ending, as Eddie climbs for the gold, only for RVD to shove him off the ladder and to the outside, and then RVD claims the gold. An awesome feud, capped off by another really good, although not perfect match. Great stuff though. ***1/2​

After the match, a furious Eddie attacks RVD until Stone Cold runs down and starts stomping all over Eddie. Ric Flair and Arn Anderson run down to help but Austin just starts dropping them with right hands as well. Austin eventually clears the ring of all three. Chris Benoit jumps over the crowd barricade and slides in the ring to have Austin’s back. But it’s a swerve because then Benoit clocks Austin from behind. Benoit lays out Austin and Eddie comes back in to hit a Frog Splash, with the former Radicals standing tall to end the show. Awesome ending. Nice swerve. Benoit injured his neck wrestling Austin to, so the turn makes a whole lot of sense.

Another solid episode of Raw here, with the main event being particularly awesome, and the Eddie/Benoit stuff throughout the entire night really delivering.

 

[Chris]

The Dreamer gimmick was the worst but it popped Vince so you have to deal with it

 

[Stojy]

The Dreamer gimmick was the worst but it popped Vince so you have to deal with it

It's Vince's world (at least in 2002). We just live in it

 

[Stojy]

WWE Smackdown
May 30th, 2002
Calgary, Canada​

Michael Cole and Tazz welcome us to the show, and they hype the main event, Edge vs. Kurt Angle inside of a steel cage. Awesome, looking forward to this one. Because I’ve only just recently watched Raw as well, I feel like this is a telltale sign of some of the formulaic booking WWE likes to use. Edge/Angle and Eddie/RVD feuds virtually identical. Match at Backlash, match at Judgment, blow off on a weekly show with a gimmick attached to it, on the same week none the less. Not an issue or anything, just found the symmetry interesting.

Match One
WWE Tag Team Championship Match
Rico and Rikishi (c) vs. Billy and Chuck

I’m just not that big on this angle. I get they’re going for somewhat of a comedy approach here, but it just isn’t quite hitting the mark for me. And I’m not sure why, because I actually enjoy the Billy and Chuck gimmick. I think it might be because Rikishi is washed at this point, and Rico is meh, so it’s difficult to get behind them. Anyway, not only is the angle meh, but this match was pretty bad as well. Rikishi is holding his own against Billy and Chuck by himself, but Rico keeps coming in and helping Billy and Chuck regain the advantage. Eventually Rico tries to do the same again, but Rikishi hits Rico with a Superkick, and Rico falls on top of Chuck for the three count. Meh. Bad match, not a good angle for my taste. *3/4​

After the match, Billy and Chuck are mad at Rico because Rico is still somehow one half of the tag team champions. Rikishi is in celebration mode though, doing a dance at the top of the stage.

We then see a clip which shows Hulk Hogan arriving to the arena.

Backstage, Torrie Wilson comes up to Maven and gives him a good luck kiss for his match tonight. They then walk off screen together, and we see Tajiri pop up behind the window, having listened to and watched the whole thing, and he’s not happy. Tajiri as the jealous boyfriend here is fun. Wish he would destroy Maven. Solid way to build to the eventual match between the two of them, I guess.

Match Two
Christian vs. Maven

They do some uninspiring stuff for a few minutes, mostly just killing the few minutes they have. This is less about the match and more about the booking, as Tajiri eventually comes down and pushes Maven off the top rope. Of course, Christian distracts the referee so there is no DQ. Christian then picks up the scraps and finishes Maven off with the Unprettier. I get the booking to continue the Maven/Tajiri feud, but this match also wasn’t good. I’m happy Christian got a win though. *1/2​

In the back, Vince McMahon is on the phone and he’s unhappy as he talks about Chris Benoit appearing on Raw. He’s told that apparently because Benoit is inactive, he can go on both shows. Dawn Marie then walks in, making her debut in WWE, saying that she’s a paralegal. She has some papers that she wants him to look over. Stacy Keibler is at some Tough Enough thing, so Vince starts hitting on Dawn. Chris Jericho interrupts, annoyed about being booked in a match tonight with Faarooq, as he’s still never received a rest after Hell In A Cell. Vince basically manipulates Jericho and gives him a pep talk on how good it would be if he wins again tonight. Dawn Marie debuting is awesome, definitely a good addition. She’s legitimately really underrated as a character worker in my opinion. Vince trying to hit on her with Stacy gone is so typical lol. Really like that they addressed Benoit appearing on Raw as well, and the Jericho stuff does enough to continue this angle with McMahon not really caring about Jericho now that he lost to Triple H at HIAC.

Match Three
Chris Jericho vs. Faarooq

This one is a bad match. Not really Jericho’s fault, although maybe he could have dragged Faarooq to something better, but Faarooq and good matches are long gone by this point. This is simply another win for Jericho to keep him looking strong after the HIAC loss. Jericho was rocking the pink and black attire which is epic. Due to Faarooq being ready for retirement, the match is just slow and plodding and not interesting at all. In the end, Jericho nails the Breakdown for the win. Not good at all. *​

In the back, Lance Storm is talking to Reverend D’Von, and he confesses his sin, he’s really Western Canadian. D’Von forgives him. Lol this is awesome. Part of what makes these rewatches so fun. On first watch as a youngster, I hated that D’Von became a Reverend and was ‘boring’ and not putting people through tables. Now I can appreciate just how awesome this character was.

Backstage, Hulk Hogan talks and says that Vince McMahon can take his contract and shove it. Hogan admits he will retire but not yet. He wants a match with Vince McMahon before he retired and that’s his new goal. Vince McMahon confronts Hogan and gets in his face which allows Kurt Angle to hit Hogan from behind with a lead pipe. Segment was fine, did its job. Continued the Hogan/Vince stuff and is setting up a new foe for Hogan in Angle as well.

Match Four
WWE Undisputed Championship Match
The Undertaker (c) vs. Randy Orton

I think this match was solid enough and achieved what it needed to. They gave Orton a huge rub by giving him a chance to be competitive with the champion, and ‘Taker notches up another successful title defence. The match begun with a handshake after ‘Taker talked up Orton, which I definitely didn’t expect. This was a good showing for Orton I think, proving himself for his future. He’s first time in there with a main eventer, and whilst all his stuff was pretty basic, he hit it all really well, and that’s all he really needed to do here. Funnily enough, when they get into a heated feud in a few years, they’ll have some matches better than this, but there will also be some matches that aren’t as good as this one. They tell the story of cocky veteran versus young and hungry up and comer really well. In a nice touch, as Orton gets more offense in, ‘Taker can be seen getting more annoyed, which then throws him off his game even further. In the end, despite Orton looking really good, Undertaker catches him with a Chokeslam to finish him off. Well booked and a solid match. **1/2
​

After the match, an annoyed Undertaker is no longer a nice guy as he throws Orton out of the ring and grabs himself a steel chair. ‘Taker wraps the chair around Orton’s head, preparing to really mess him up, when Triple H runs down and attacks ‘Taker. He rams ‘Taker headfirst into the announce table and the ring steps, before sending him back into the ring. Undertaker tries to fight back in the ring, but Triple H overwhelms him and eventually Clotheslines him over the top rope and back to the outside. Triple H then grabs a hold of the Undisputed Title which ‘Taker left in the ring and says he wants an opportunity to challenge for the championship. Solid enough stuff here, with the Orton attack leading to Triple H beating up ‘Taker. Insurrextion doesn’t count so these two have never really had a blow off to their issues since Backlash, so smart to reignite this.

Match Five
Billy Kidman and The Hurricane vs. Chavo Guerrero and Tajiri

Just a good Cruiserweight tag match here. The match was laid out nicely with a good structure, meaning it wasn’t just a spot fest, but they still managed to incorporate some awesome spots throughout as well. This is a better version of this match than they had previously so credit to them on the improvement. I felt like Kidman put on a really good performance here to, which is good to see. I just assumed he was horrible for his entire WWE run. Kidman used the Shooting Star Press as a move to jump on his opponents outside the ring which was definitely a highlight. Towards the end, The Hurricane sets up for his Chokeslam on Tajiri. He’s interrupted by music on the titantron and there’s another message for Hurricane which reads “You’re wondering who I am, but this is just a peak. The mystery is over, when I reveal myself next week”. The distraction is enough, and it allows Tajiri to hit Hurricane with a kick to the head for the win. A good effort from all involved, maybe could have been better if the finishing run wasn’t impacted by booking. With that being said, this angle has been fun as well, so happy to see it get some shine. Good stuff. **3/4

Match Six
Test vs. Triple H

Sometimes there are just pairings in a wrestling ring that don’t work, and this is certainly one of them. they’ve had numerous matches together and just have bad chemistry together. It never works out. The first part of the match is a fired-up Triple H dominating Test, pretty much like he does in all their encounters, until Lance Storm walks out to the stage. The distraction is enough to allow Test to take over, but his offense looks awful throughout here. The match goes on and Triple H keeps attempting to fight back, but Storm keeps proving to be the difference maker on the outside. Triple H has his super babyface come back though, regardless of the deck stacked against him. The Undertaker then comes out and gets on the apron, and Triple H immediately charges him and knocks ‘Taker off the apron, but he then turns straight into the epic Big Boot from Test. Test gets the pin and I can’t really believe that Test has just beaten Triple H here. Triple H is well protected here of course, but crazy to think out of his last four matches, he’s lost three of them. Whilst I called out these two don’t have good matches together, it’s worth noting this probably isn’t as bad as their previous encounters and is at least somewhat solid. **1/4
​

After the match, The Undertaker is in the ring and now it’s his turn to attack and hammer away on Triple H. He then follows up with the Chokeslam. ‘Taker then brings a chair into the ring and cracks it over the skull of Triple H, before following up with repeated shots to the back. Several officials come down to try and break things up, but it doesn’t go very well. ‘Taker beats on Triple H some more until he’s decided that he’s done. Taker wants revenge. Fine for what it was, I guess.

In the back, Val Venis is talking to Edge, and he asks Edge to take that wig off of Kurt Angle. Edge says he thinks everybody in Calgary wants to see Angle’s bald head. Short and sharp but did not what it needed to. Last minute hype for the main event and reminds us of Angle’s bald head still needing to be revealed.

Backstage, Marc Lloyd shows Kurt Angle footage of him having his head shaved at Judgment Day and Angle cracks, telling him to never show that footage again. He says he’s going to embarrass Edge in front of his home country tonight. Nice intense promo from Angle here to hype the main event.

We see The Hart Family sitting in the crowd which is always nice to see…

Match Seven
Steel Cage Match
Edge vs. Kurt Angle

What a feud these two have had and they deliver another classic here. For me, this sits in between in their series. I don’t think it hits the Backlash level, but I definitely think this is better than their match at Judgment Day. This was a really great cage match as they deliver yet again. Edge has a really good blade job here, creating an awesome, bloody visual, and they have some cool spots where they use the cage as a weapon. As the match escalates and the stakes seemingly get higher, the brutality does as well. These two portray their hatred for each other really well here to. It doesn’t just feel like a wrestling match, there’s a ton of hate between the two, which adds so much to the match. The match wasn’t perfect though but that’s probably more to do with the booking. They have a ref bump and then Angle gets on top and escapes the cage, winning cleanly, but Hulk Hogan runs down, attacks Angle and rolls him back into the cage. Just seemed kind of backwards and like Angle was the face and Edge was the heel, plus it takes away from the end result a bit as well. Only part of the wrestling that’s bad is that even after three matches together, Edge hasn’t figured out how to apply an Ankle Lock that doesn’t look putrid. The match kind of resets after the Hogan interference, and they start trading near falls, building things up to the crescendo really well, and the fans get super into it. And in the end, Edge leaps off the top rope, and hits a Flying Spear, that he almost overshot but it still looked cool as hell anyway. That’s enough for Edge to get the win. An awesome feud and a great match here to blow it off. Just the Hogan interference takes some of the shine off Edge winning arguably the biggest feud of his career. Still, really great stuff though. ****​

After the match, Hulk Hogan interrupts Edge’s celebration and attacks Angle, ramming him into the cage a few times. Hogan signals that he’s going to take the wig off, but Angle manages to escape. Hate this ending. We already had some Hogan/Angle stuff happen to establish this will be a thing. Edge should have just had his moment here to celebrate alone.

A wrestling heavy show which I’m all for. A tale of two halves really. First half of the show was bad matches, bad wrestling, and then the second half was really enjoyable, so this ends up somewhere in the middle. At least most the booking is on point here on Smackdown.

 

[Stojy]

WWF May 2002
Top 5 Matches of the month​

Steel Cage Match: Edge vs. Kurt Angle – Smackdown, May 30th
WWF Intercontinental Championship Match: Eddie Guerrero (c) vs. Rob Van Dam – Judgment Day
Hair vs. Hair Match: Edge vs. Kurt Angle – Judgment Day
WWF Intercontinental Championship; Ladder Match: Eddie Guerrero (c) vs. Rob Van Dam – Raw, May 27th
Hell In A Cell Match: Chris Jericho vs. Triple H – Judgment Day

Bottom 5 Matches of the month​

Booker T and Goldust vs. The Hardy Boyz – Raw, May 20th
Molly Holly vs. Terri – Raw, May 13th
WWF European Championship Match: Spike Dudley (c) vs. William Regal – Raw, May 6th
WWE Womens Championship Match: Trish Stratus (c) w/Bubba Ray Dudley vs. Stacy Keibler w/Deacon Batista and Reverend D’Von – Judgment Day
Christian and Test vs. Faarooq and Mark Henry – Smackdown, May 2nd

Top 5 Wrestlers of the month​

Edge/Kurt Angle (tied for first)
Triple H
Rob Van Dam
Eddie Guerrero
Billy Kidman

Bottom 5 Wrestlers of the month​

Terri
Stacy Keibler
Faarooq
Goldust
Big Bossman

 

[Stojy]

WWE Velocity
June 1st, 2002
Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Match One
Mark Henry vs. The Godfather

So apparently the fans boo Godfather now? He’s a heel because he quit his escort business so now, he comes out without the girls. I’m genuinely curious about when this happened because I don’t remember watching or writing about it, but it’s a thing now anyway. The fans start up a “we want Ho’s” chant right away. This is a showcase for Henry really, as without the girls by his side, Godfather doesn’t even get a mention on Smackdown. Henry is featuring frequently therefore he picks up the win here with a Bear Hug. The Bear Hug is a strange finish for Henry for me. It works and fits in with the ‘World’s Strongest Man’ gimmick, but it feels like such a heel move. Anyway, Henry makes Godfather submit to that, and basically does us all a favour by ending the match. This was not good. *​

Next up is a video package, recapping The Undertaker and Randy Orton match from Smackdown, followed by the attacks from Triple H and ‘Taker to set up their future match.

Match Two
Albert vs. Hugh Morrus

For two big men like these two, I was hoping for more of a hard hitting, hoss battle than what I got here. We didn’t really get that, but it’s probably because this wasn’t really presented as a competitive match. I mean, Morrus had his moments but for the most part this was clearly about showcasing and giving Albert a win. I’m really hoping Albert can start tearing it up on Velocity until he gets a chance on Smackdown, but this wasn’t exactly the best start to that. Anyway, after Morrus misses a Clothesline, Albert gets the Baldo Bomb for the win. Two from two on the bad match brigade tonight, although this was marginally better than the opener. *1/2​

Our next video package we get shows highlights of Edge defeating Kurt Angle in a Steel Cage match from Smackdown. We then transition into a Velocity Exclusive with what went down after Smackdown and it’s just Edge and Hogan posing in the ring to end the show. Meh. They sold the Velocity exclusive a bit throughout the night, so was hoping for something better than this.

Backstage, Stacy Keibler meets up with Torrie Wilson. Stacy asks Torrie about her infatuation with Maven. Torrie bites back and asks Stacy if spending her time with a man three times her age is not weird to her. Torrie then adds that it looks like Stacy has some competition with what went down with Dawn Marie and Vince McMahon on segment. A nothing segment for the most part, but it was cool to see Stacy’s reaction about Dawn, as this will most likely get some airtime on Smackdown.

We get a recap of the Maven and Torrie Wilson stuff, before they talk about how Maven is out for four to six weeks with an injury to his leg.

Tough Enough Recap. And the winners are Linda Miles and Miss Jackie… Still don’t care. I’m happy these recaps will be over.

Before the main event can start, Reverend D’Von talks about being in Canada and delivers a sermon. He says they want donations, but they don’t take Canadian money, only US. D’Von then sends Deacon Batista to go around and collect money from the audience. D’Von will bring us the light but for it we must pay. Be generous because a dollar today means salvation tomorrow. Before he can go further, Val Venis interrupts because it’s main event time. More fun from D’Von, getting the crowd going with his amazing portrayal of this gimmick. Good stuff.

Match Three
Reverend D’Von w/Deacon Batista vs. Val Venis

D’Von starts this one fast, attacking Val from behind as he’s getting ready to gyrate in the ring to finish off his entrance. I don’t know what it was about this one, it felt like they tried hard, but this match didn’t quite work for me. The action was much better than the previous two, but I’d say the match is still probably below solid. Just didn’t click for me. Al Snow probably delivered line of the night when referring to Batista and saying, “if he’s a deacon, I’m a nun”! I thought that was good. Michael Cole also tries to deliver some funnies but fails. As much as Cole gets his flowers now, it’s easy to forget just how bad he was here. Anyway, there’s a ref bump here which allows for Batista to first trip Val from the outside, and then smash him with the collections case. That’s enough for D’Von to get the pin and the win. Meh. Not a good in ring wrestling night at all. *3/4​

After a positive first week of Velocity, it turned into a standard episode of Heat this week. Not good.

 

[Stojy]

WWE Heat
June 2nd, 2002
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada​

The Coach starts off on commentary alone, recapping the fact that Raven quit his commentary position last week on Heat. Before we get underway with any action, Jacqueline comes out as now she’s apparently a wrestler/referee/commentator.

Match One
Justin Credible vs. Matt Hardy

This was better than what I expected. Not going to win any awards for match of the year but was a solid back and forth contest. Hardy clearly put in a lot of effort and looked really good as a result. Matt got a seriously big pop from the fans to, which I maybe didn’t expect on an episode of Heat, but it shows even at this point, with all the bad booking, and potential break ups, The Hardyz are still VERY over. And whilst I’m not a Credible fan at all really, he seems to be on a good run here of putting on semi decent matches on the B show, which is a solid person to have around, I guess. Anyway, a solid back and forth between these two, with Hardy picking up the win after eventually catching Credible with a Twist of Fate. Solid, and the right man won. **

Match Two
Raven vs. Shawn Stasiak

Okay so Raven is fresh off his commentary run, and hopefully they do something interesting with him, because his character basically always has limitless potential. A weird match though with Raven kind of tweener ish and Stasiak a comedy heel. Just came across as a bit awkward, especially with the amount of offense Stasiak got. The fans did seem into Raven here, which is hopefully a promising sign. Match didn’t flow very well. I think Stasiak got to much offense, and his offense just wasn’t very impressive, so that brought down the match. The ending hurt to as it also felt like they never really got into a finishing run. Stasiak gets a near fall with a Clothesline and a few moments later, Raven gets the Raven Effect and it’s over. Glad Raven one, but Stasiak got way too much in this match for me, and the match itself was not good. *1/2

Match Three
WWE Hardcore Championship Match
Steven Richards (c) vs. Crash Holly

Crash tried to interfere in the Richards/Bradshaw Hardcore Title match on Heat last week, so because of that, apparently, he gets a shot this week. Yeah, this one didn’t for me, just felt like they weirdly got the psychology all wrong. Richards started by playing the role of the Hardcore Champion who doesn’t want to use weapons. He even clears the weapons from the ring when Crash brings them in, which is completely fine. But then just a few minutes later, he has no issue laying into Crash with a trash can lid. Didn’t really play this up enough to match the story, so just felt really weird and out of place. It’s like they needed to mention the character, before just reverting back to a standard Hardcore match anyway. From here, it turns into a pretty by the numbers Hardcore match. Crash tries to charge at Stevie with a trash can, and Stevie Superkicks it into his face to get the win and keep the title. The crappy psychology, and the unoriginal, nothing worth mentioning action afterwards have this one down as my least favourite match of the night. Bad. *1/4

Match Four
D’Lo Brown vs. X Pac w/The Big Show

The Attitude Era child in me marked out when I saw this on the card. This was a damn fun European Title feud in 1998 amidst The Nation and DX war, so this feels like some nice nostalgia, within the 2002 rewatch nostalgia. Anyway, whilst they are clearly not trying to tear the house down on Heat, it’s clear the chemistry between these two remains, and they are able to put on a solid B show, half effort main event. I’m probably giving it the same rating, but I do think this match was a little better than the opener, hence making it match of the night. D’Lo looks good here and when he seems like he’s going to build to much momentum, Big Show interferes and settles things back down. Ending irked me a little bit as its one of those ones where D’Lo climbs to the top, and Pac gets to his feet, D’Lo comes down headfirst like a missile so Pac can hit an X Factor out of nowhere to win. It looks cool but realistically, what move was D’Lo trying to land by jumping that way? Defies logic, but I still think this was solid overall. And just quickly, another positive is that it’s another victory for the New World Order since their reset last week. **​

After the match, X Pac hurriedly slides out like he forgot they were going to attack D’Lo afterwards, so then when Show gets in the ring, Pac joins him. He drags D’Lo up and gives him to Show, who delivers a Chokeslam. Bradshaw comes in and clears Show from the ring with a Big Boot before nailing X Pac with a Clothesline From Hell. Bradshaw stands tall to close the show. Ending is fine to continue the Bradshaw/NWO issues, and Bradshaw was another one who sounded super over with the pop when he came to defend D’Lo.

Two solid matches is a good performance for Heat. A solid show, and surprisingly better than Velocity this week.

 

[Stojy]

WWE Raw
June 3rd, 2002
Dallas, Texas​

In the back, Ric Flair is going over tonight’s plan with Arn Anderson, Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero. Flair tells Arn he has some stuff to go say in the ring and that if Stone Cold shows up, send him to the ring. Flair, Benoit and Eddie look to head to the ring, and they’ve got heaps of security following them. I’m okay with this as a starting point, setting the scene for what’s to come.

Of all the things to be hyped for tonight, our commentators tell us about Terri vs. Trish Stratus in a Lingerie match, and Kevin Nash has an announcement regarding the New World Order. Trish/Terri in Lingerie will be fun to watch, but not for a classic wrestling match, and it’s kind of hard to get excited for NWO announcements nearly every week, when most have been underwhelming so far.

Flair, Benoit and Guerrero, as well as all the security guards then head down to the ring for in ring promo time. Flair says he loves it when a plan comes together before handing the mic over to Benoit. Benoit says he paid Stone Cold a visit last week because Austin is the reason he can’t wrestle. He’s waited almost a year to get payback. Eddie takes the mic and says he felt like less of a man for losing the Intercontinental Title, but Frog Splashing Austin made the Latino Heat come back. Flair says that he knows Austin wants to compete tonight in Dallas, but he is still benched. Suddenly, the titantron comes to life and Stone Cold is holding up a beaten up Arn Anderson. Austin says this benching thing sucks, and he wants a match with Eddie or Benoit. If he doesn’t get one of those, he’ll take Flair out. Flair tells Austin that he is not going to bully him into making decisions. Eddie is already booked tonight, and Benoit is both inactive and on Smackdown. Austin makes a challenge, and Flair agrees to a match with Austin, but if Flair wins, Austin is benched forever. But there’s one condition, it’s an old fashion wrestling match, not a saloon bar fight. Austin agrees and then pisses on Anderson, before busting out the killer line, “it’s better to be pissed off than pissed on”!... A fun promo here, solid enough stuff to set up tonight’s main event.

Match One
WWE Hardcore Championship Match
Steven Richards (c) vs. Bradshaw

They keep this one relatively quick which is probably for the best. Also after being commentator on Heat, Jackie is back to being a referee tonight, so she’s basically a ‘jack’ of all trades at this point. I actually didn’t mind Jackie as a referee. Anyway, this ones quick, like I said, and Bradshaw runs through Richards, disposes of an interfering Spike Dudley, and then finishes Richards off with a Clothesline from Hell to become the new Hardcore Champion. Kept really short which was for the best. *1/4 ​

After the match, Justin Credible runs down to try his luck at becoming champion but Bradshaw takes care of him pretty easily. As Bradshaw heads up the ramp, Crash Holly runs down with a trash can, but Bradshaw kicks it into his face, before making his exit. Nice way to set the scene that Bradshaw is ready for all these shenanigans. Actually looking forward to him just mauling people as Hardcore champ.

The NWO are all in the back, having a discussion. Kevin Nash brings up the fact that Booker T and X Pac both have King Of The Ring Qualifying matches tonight. Goldust then comes in, impersonating The Coach and asks Nash if his big announcement is that Goldust is now in the NWO. Nash immediately shoots that down with a no. Booker then suggests that if Goldust beats X Pac tonight in their match, then Goldust is in the NWO and Pac is out. Nash agrees and says okay, and everybody leaves, whilst X Pac is annoyed. Fun segment here. Hypes the announcement later on and the KOTR matches, but more importantly, another hilarious performance from Goldust. Great stuff.

Match Two
King Of The Ring Qualifying Match
Goldust vs. X Pac

This was a solid match, as Goldust proves yet again that he’s not just a comedy act, and when given the right opponent and the right amount of time, he can do good stuff. Obviously, this one’s made maybe a tad predictable by the angle going in, as Goldust would seriously never work in the NWO. Also worth noting that Pac is still wearing Kane’s mask down to the ring, which seems like the easiest yet effective long term booking ploy for whenever Kane is fit to return. Anyway, this is really carried by Goldust, he leans into everything, throwing his epic punches, and making sure Pac is forced to bump well for him. In the end, Goldust hits an ugly looking Bronco Buster to a huge pop, but when he goes for a second one, Pac gets his foot up. That’s enough to soften up Goldust for Pac to hit the X Factor and pick up the victory. Solid stuff from these two really. **1/4​

We see some clips of the epic ladder match between Rob Van Dam and Eddie Guerrero last week, before The Coach is interviewing RVD in the back, and starts by congratulating him on regaining the Intercontinental Championship last week. RVD says now that he has his title back, this is going to be the summer of RVD. Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar then interrupt and RVD makes fun of Heyman, about eating subway and losing weight. Brock looks ready to fight but Heyman stops Brock, telling him it’s okay, because RVD knows that he made RVD, and tonight in Brock/Eddie Guerrero vs. RVD/Bubba Ray Dudley, Brock will show him all about The Next Big Thing. Good stuff here. The play on the Heyman/Van Dam history is good, but I’m just super pumped to get some Brock/RVD stuff going.

Backstage, Jeff Hardy is playing the guitar when Matt Hardy approaches and they talk, before Jeff tells Matt that he’s bummed that they don’t live by extreme anymore. They’re hypocrites. Matt is confused, and Jeff says he’ll show Matt and then walks away. Jeff just sucks at talking so bad. Looked like he might be high, to be honest. Meh as a segment, although it does leave an open-ended question on just what Jeff is going to do which is a good thing.

Backstage, Ric Flair and his lawyers are adding stipulations to the match with Austin, saying that if Austin loses, he has to be Flair’s assistant. “Wash my car, mow my lawn, wear a dress, Austin has to do it all”! It’s also in the contract that Austin can’t throw punches because it’s a wrestling match, and Austin comes in and immediately signs the contract whilst Flair laughs. Solid segment, good hype for the main event.

Match Three
Lingerie Match
Terri vs. Trish Stratus

I’m honestly not sure how to rate this. The creep in me enjoyed it so I’ll probably give it some good ratings. Terri actually looked pretty solid for a non-wrestler in this era, landing some good moves, including a pretty awesome Crossbody from the top rope. Loved that moment. Once things settle down though, Trish gets on top, and they even have some not bad reversals. It’s clear Trish is leading the way and after some better-than-expected exchanges, Trish gets a Bulldog for the win. Controversial rating I know, and I know it’s 2024, but I still get an enjoyment out of hot women in lingerie wrestling. Deal with it. **3/4​

After the match, Molly Holly sneaks into the ring to try and deck Trish with the brass knuckles for the second week in a row, but Trish is ready for it and knocks out Molly with the Womens Title instead. Trish then takes off her panties to reveal a thong, and she throws her panties at the downed Molly before leaving. Solid advancement here. Trish gets payback on Molly after last week, and the whole panties thing works, because Molly is pure and looks down this sort of stuff. I guess in that sense, the Lingerie match, and it being Trish’s idea, was a really smart thing to book so Trish could get further under Molly’s skin. I probably didn’t think of that until now, but it makes me appreciate the situation a lot more.

In the back, Arn Anderson and Chris Benoit talk, and Anderson is pissed about being pissed on. They then talk about how Austin can’t outwrestle Flair, and after tonight, Austin will clean toilets in Flair’s big house on the hill. Solid enough hype for tonight’s main event.

Match Four
Bubba Ray Dudley and Rob Van Dam vs. Brock Lesnar and Eddie Guerrero w/Paul Heyman

They did a tremendous job with this. It was fun, it kept a really good pace for most the match, with no dull parts, and it felt like each talent had their moments, meaning everybody came out of this looking good. You can’t really ask for much more than that. Eddie and Brock, who’re both awesome on offense, controlled most the match, taking apart RVD and Bubba. Brock hit some great power moves throughout, and then when hell started to break loose, Brock took a sick German Suplex from Bubba. A great nine minutes really, and I thought the fact they got through most of this without somebody being isolated, until eventually only falling into a slight period of domination on Bubba helped this, and it made both Bubba/RVD look tough. Even though he’s clearly the lesser of the four, it feels like they’re doing quite well with the booking and use of Bubba here too. When we got into the hectic finishing run, Brock did look a little lost for a few moments, which probably makes sense since he’s still quite inexperienced. Awesome, chaos into the finishing run though, with RVD getting caught with an F5. Brock then gets taken down with a cool as hell POUNCE~! From Bubba, and as Bubba/Brock brawl, Eddie is able to get a Frog Splash on RVD for the win. Really great match. ***1/4 ​

Backstage, The Coach is interviewing WWE European Champion William Regal about Molly Holly getting beaten up earlier, and Regal says it’s a shame. He then talks about King of the Ring and says he represents WWE better and he’s royalty. Booker T interrupts and says if anybody is going to be king, it’s going to be him. Regal says that Booker couldn’t spell king, but Booker says neither could his boy George Washington, since he was too busy chopping down cherry trees and whipping King Geroge’s ass. Pretty fun promo here that does a good job of hyping their match. Also in hindsight, funny to see these two arguing over who is king, as they’ll both go on to become king at different times in their careers.

Match Five
King Of The Ring Qualifying Match
Booker T vs. William Regal

They probably didn’t get enough time to really show out, but they did have some decent action. Some good back and forth from both men, but again, before they could take this up another few notches, the ending came about. A cool foreshadowing type of moment on commentary for what would happen in later years, with JR telling King, “If Regal ever became King of the Ring, I wouldn’t really want to be around anymore”. The one positive of the short match is they’re able to basically just go at full pace for the whole match, so it was still fun. Another cool commentary moment for future reference is when JR asks King, “what’s wrong with King Booker”? The King answers with, “that sounds stupid, that does not roll off the tongue”. When Regal is in control, he’s got some terrific, brutal offense, although Booker could have maybe been a little better at selling the shots. In the end, Regal brings in a steel chair and his European Title. As the ref looks to dispose of the chair, Booker manages to grab the title, and he hits Regal in the head with it to get the win. Solid stuff. **1/4​

In the back, The Coach asks Tommy Dreamer how he’s feeling about his match with The Undertaker tonight. Tommy has a bucket filled with vomit and says he hasn’t been feeling well ever since he found out he had to wrestle ‘Taker tonight. The Coach shows some footage of The Undertaker brutalising Triple H on Smackdown and that causes Tommy to puke again. Yuck, I hate this gimmick, and it’s ridiculous that for the second week in a row, our Undisputed Champion is tied to this garbage.

Match Six
WWE Undisputed Championship Match
The Undertaker (c) vs. Tommy Dreamer

I know we’ve already talked a little about the random title matches that happen quite a bit in 2002, but this takes even that to the extreme. How the hell is Tommy dreamer getting a title shot right now? Anyway, this one is basically just a squash for The Undertaker. I guess a highlight is maybe the beginning when Tommy tries to psych ‘Taker out, by eating some of his vomit and then attacking him. Of course, we get the “ECW” chants from the audience, despite the fact that this is an embarrassment to ECW. Tommy tries hard I guess, but this is a squash, his gimmick sucks and he’s not a good wrestler at the best of times. ‘Taker has things won a couple of times, but pulls Dreamer’s shoulders up at two, before forcing him to submit to the Dragon Sleeper. Not good, I’m glad it’s over. *1/2​

After the match, ‘Taker takes Tommy to the outside and pours his own vomit all over him. Jeff Hardy then comes from nowhere and Dropkicks ‘Taker in the back, causing him to fall into the puddle of vomit. Well, well, turns out this puke/Dreamer nonsense leads to something good. I’ll take that then I guess.

In the back, Matt Hardy is on the phone and The Undertaker barges in. He tells Matt that he has a message for Jeff and then beats the shit out of Matt, before throwing him into a wall. Good stuff. Natural reaction from ‘Taker here, and now this should anger Jeff too.

Now it’s in ring promo time with Kevin Nash. He admits that a lot of times in this business, surprise never lives up to the hype. He promises that isn’t the case before introducing the newest member of the NWO… IT’S SHAWN MICHAELS~! Michaels gets a great reaction as he comes out, dances around and he and Nash perform their old school jumping high five and pose together in the ring for a little while. Maybe a little awkward for Shawn to just come out, dance for a little bit and leave, but this is a HUGE moment for sure, and one that makes this Raw memorable, regardless of what happens with Shawn and the NWO from here.

In the back, Austin is getting ready for the main event and his wife Debra is reading the contract. She says the contract must have been written in a hurry as it states that the loser must become the winners assistant. Nice. Cool moment. Flair’s rash behaviour with the lawyer could potentially come back to bite him. Good hype job yet again.

Match Seven
Ric Flair vs. Stone Cold

Considering Austin’s form throughout this year, and Flair only wrestling on occasion, I was shocked that even with the stipulations, they really delivered a good match here. Austin basically replaced his punches with chops to abide by the rules of the match. In a nice bit of psychology, they teased Austin multiple times almost thinking to punch out of instinct, and then having to hold himself back. I guess the only potential negativity around the booking is the stipulation about Austin being benched forever means the winner is going to be Austin… Although he might as well have been benched forever but I’ll comment on that after the match. In typical heel Flair fashion, he’s constantly hitting cheap moves and thumbs to the eyes to build more heat. At one point when it looks like Austin has won, Chris Benoit comes down and distracts the ref, which allows Eddie Guerrero to sneak in and hit Austin with a low blow, followed by the Frog Splash. They do a lot of cool, old school wrestling reversals with Inside Cradles and Backslides. It’s a nice contrast to what we normally see in WWE main events. And for somebody who was apparently still lacking confidence at this time, Flair put in another good performance. Austin was clearly motivated by being in there with somebody he looks up to, putting in his best performance in awhile as well. In the end, Austin gets a flash Stunner to pick up the win. A really good match from these two. Told a nice story, stuck to the stipulations, well done. ***
​

That’s how the show ends but unfortunately, we’ll never get to see the fun that Austin could have had with Flair as his assistant. Why? Because this is the last Raw Austin will appear at until February 2003, as he will take his ball and go home next week. I mean, this obviously sucks but at least we got one more good performance out of him here, as opposed to what he offered up for most of 2002. Really disappointing after an epic 2001.

This was a strong show. One of the strongest Raw’s in a while. I enjoyed this. A lot of good wrestling, a big time return in Shawn Michaels, and Austin/Flair main events. This also becomes the Raw which held the last match of Austin’s full time wrestling run, as when he comes back, he only wrestles on PPV a couple of times. A really good episode of Raw, and a significant one in the history of WWE if you think Austin and HBK.

 

[Stojy]

WWE Smackdown
June 6th, 2002
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma​

We open the show and strangely enough quite a large chunk of the roster are already in the ring, dressed to compete. After a few more entrances, Vince McMahon comes out and announces that tonight there will be a traditional Battle Royal where the winner will challenge The Undertaker for the WWE Undisputed Championship at the King of the Ring pay per view. I just assumed Triple H would automatically get the title shot against The Undertaker after last week, so I actually like this as a way to validate who the number one contender will be.

Match One
Number One Contenders Match
Battle Royal

It’s a Battle Royal which means the action isn’t all that exciting, especially in the early stages. It’s full of punches, kicks and holding each other against the ropes because that’s what happens for 95% of these. Godfather is thrown out first by Triple H and Chris Jericho tosses out Faarooq. I won’t go through all the eliminations but the big shock before we get down to the ending, is probably the fact that Hardcore Holly of all people eliminated Kurt Angle. Test then connects with a Big Boot to Holly, to eliminate him. The final four are Triple H, Jericho, Hulk Hogan and Test. They split into pairs and Hogan eliminates Test and Triple H eliminates Jericho. We’re down to the final two and Triple H eventually clotheslines Hogan over the top rope, but he falls out with him. Before we get into the aftermath and the conjecture around the result, this was a solid Battle Royal, and an unexpectedly fun way to start the show. **1/4​

After the match, one referee raises Triple H’s hand and the other raises Hogan’s, as they go back and forth arguing over the decision. The arguing continues until Vince McMahon comes out and makes a singles match between Triple H and Hogan tonight with the winner getting a shot at The Undertaker at King Of The Ring. Logical reaction to the result and turning this into a one-night angle is a smart booking move.

In the back, Kurt Angle is interviewed, and he says a WWE legend was screwed and an icon just got screwed. He complains about last week’s Steel Cage match and having it won until Hogan’s interference, before complaining about Hardcore Holly eliminating him from behind in the Battle Royal. Hardcore Holly comes over and says that Angle stresses to much and might lose his hair from the stress. Angle tells Holly that the remark was funny, but it wouldn’t be funny for Holly to face him in a match. Solid segment to make a match for tonight, again building off the Battle Royal.

In the back, Rico approaches Billy and Chuck and they are still mad at him. Rico tries to get their trust back, but they’re not overly happy with him so then he starts telling them about how they have really let themselves go. Meh, it is what it is. I didn’t recap it, but they did mention there’s another title match tonight so there’s that.

Match Two
WWE Tag Team Championship Match
Elimination Match
Rico and Rikishi (c) vs. Billy and Chuck

They still play over the fact that Rico and Rikishi are unlikely partners which makes sense. The two argue over who’s going to start the match tonight. Rikishi ends up relenting and letting Rico start, and Rico taps almost immediately to a Wrist Lock. Dick move from Rico that works well here for the story being told. The only real positive out of this is that this angle is over, and Billy and Chuck regain the titles here. They do some unenjoyable stuff until Rikishi gets a Pop Up Cutter to eliminate Billy. Rico continuously interferes to hinder Rikishi, including nailing him with a Spinning Heel Kick. That allows Chuck to hit a Superkick and get the pin for the win. Oh and just to protect Rikishi even more, he has his foot on the ropes, but Rico knocks it off before the referee can see. Not good and glad this angle is over. *1/4​

Backstage, the WWE Cruiserweight Champion The Hurricane finds another note. This one says, “You think I’m a witch? I flew in on my broom. If you’re looking to find me, I’m in your locker room”!... It’s just about time for the reveal. These notes have been fun, I’m a sucker for a mystery.

In his locker room now, The Hurricane walks in to find Nidia. He says she’s the last person he wanted to see. Nidia teases him, saying “stand back there’s a hurricane coming through”! She reveals that they used to date, but Hurricane says the Nidia/Helms relationship is way over. He says he has something good going on and doesn’t need to be bothered by her. He also calls her a “Hurri-bitch”! She says her new boyfriend is going to take Hurricane’s title and then Jamie Noble debuts and attacks Hurricane from behind. He yells at Hurricane a lot and then makes out Nidia, celebrating their successful debut as a couple. Great stuff here, setting up Hurricane’s next feud, and I LOVE that Noble is here. Noble is the man.

Match Three
King Of The Ring Qualifying Match
Christian vs. Val Venis

A pretty short match, but the action was decent throughout, and showed if these two got more time, this would be good. Also, I’m a fan of Venis so the fact that they are booking him as relevant for the first time since the Right To Censor run which basically killed his career makes me happy. I mean, this got over three minutes so yay for Val. I think the result here is definitely considered a major upset as well, as Venis actually picks up the win. Val uses an awesome Reverse Figure Four here which was a cool moment to. But just typical solid Val stuff here, good hold working, great intensity and execution as well, and we know Christian is always a good hand. In the end, Christian attempts the Unprettier but Val reverses into a Blue Thunder Driver for the upset win. Very solid stuff, and I’m sad to see Christian get underutilised, but I’m happy to see Val get some flowers here. **1/2​

Backstage, Vince McMahon is on the phone to The Undertaker, talking about Hulk Hogan and Triple when Jackie Gayda and Linda Miles, the two Tough Enough 2 winners enter and talk to Vince. They introduce themselves and are polite. Ivory then barges in and yells at them for disrespecting Vince. She tells them that they are lucky that Tough Enough is over. Vince then intervenes and decides to book a match between Ivory and Linda for Velocity this Saturday. A solid segment, I guess. Need to get the Tough Enough girls on TV somehow. Despite not being amazing herself, I like the idea of Ivory being paired with them here, so they’ve still got an experienced hand to carry them through some matches. Smart booking, and I’ve always been a fan of Ivory so glad to see her featured. Will most likely be pissed when she jobs to Linda Miles lol.

Match Four
Hardcore Holly vs. Kurt Angle

A really strangely booked episode of Smackdown really. It’s not bad, and I don’t mind it, but first we get Val Venis getting a push, and now Holly eliminates Angle in the Battle Royal, and then looks amazing in a match against him to? Considering Holly has been jobbing to newcomer Randy Orton the last few weeks, this is completely out of nowhere. Apparently, they have a rematch on Velocity in a few days as well, so Angle on Velocity will obviously get a thumbs up from me. Anyway, these two put on an enjoyable, competitive match, very solid work. I guess Holly really is the giant killer, jobbing to Orton and then running Angle close. One thing I will say is for those who argue that Angle is the GOAT, or at one point was the best wrestler in the world, this is the type of match to look at. Not the finisher spam stuff he fell into probably from later this year onwards, but something like this where he bumps like crazy to make Holly look good. This is the definition of a carry job as he takes a guy who has been around for 7 years or so and has always had horrible matches except for some token fun ones in the Hardcore division. And they then have a very solid match together, probably one of Holly’s best. What helps this even further is based on the Battle Royal earlier and the confrontation backstage, the fans really get behind Holly, who is suddenly a babyface tonight. The match ends abruptly when Holly goes for a kick, but Angle rolls him up into a pin and grabs the ropes for leverage to get the win. Best match of the night so far, very solid. Well played Mr. Angle. **3/4​

After the match, Holly isn’t happy with the cheating from Angle and nails him with an Alabama Slam! Angle then nails a low blow when Holly tries to rip his wig off. Angle gets the ring bell, but Holly manages to get a hold of it, and he knocks out Angle with it. I guess this is the reason we get a rematch on Velocity. Again, CRAZY how strong Holly looks here, and smart that they put in another wig tease to remind us of that as well.

We now cut to a hospital where Maven is laid up with a broken leg or whatever. Torrie Wilson comes in and wants to make him better and uses innuendo by seductively eating a banana. Outside of the room, Tajiri has arrived at the hospital and is looking for the room Maven is in. After the break, Tajiri poses as a doctor but before he can enter the room, other doctors grab him and drag him away to some type of emergency. Firstly, fuck you, Maven. Lucky bastard. Secondly, harmless fun, Tajiri’s facial expressions are awesome, as he’s an underrated comedy guy. Good continuation of their angle here, with Tajiri being an epic jealous ex-boyfriend. Go watch this though, it’s great.

It's in ring promo time now from Edge, who comes out with his shoulder in a sling. Funny, as they have been advertising Edge vs. Jericho tonight in a KOTR Qualifying match, although they mentioned ‘rumours’ that Edge might not be able to compete. Edge says in nine years in this business, up until now he’s been lucky with injuries. He announced that he tore his shoulder badly in the Steel Cage match last week and will be out of action for a while. Edge says finally the company put the ball in his hands and he can’t hold onto it. He says he would perform the Spear off the top rope again if he could. He hates not being able to defend his KOTR crown or to be able to fight Jericho tonight, but when he comes back, he wants the WWE Title. Chris Jericho then comes out and says Edge makes him sick and he wants Edge to raise his hand in victory, but Edge declines. Edge gets fed up with Jericho and punches him in the face instead. They fight, and brawl, until Jericho starts hitting the injured shoulder. Jericho rams Edge shoulder first into the corner, followed by the crowd barricade and the ring post on the outside. Jericho then uses the sling to choke Edge. Jericho eventually sandwiches Edge’s should between the ring steps and a chair. Jericho gloats to the fans before looking to further damage but Val Venis runs down and runs Jericho off. Really good stuff here. Gives Edge a readymade program with Jericho when he’s able to wrestle again, and hypes what most likely will be a match for KOTR in the next round between Val and Jericho. Plus, just makes Jericho look like an awesome douche. Good.

Backstage, Dawn Marie has more papers for Vince McMahon to sign but finds Stacy Keibler instead. Stacy says she will take them. This breaks down into a catty argument where Stacy calls Dawn desperate, and Dawn says Stacy is jealous because she has tits. Well, she doesn’t say that, but she implies it. Fun little follow up from last week.

Backstage, Lance Storm approaches Billy Kidman before their match tonight and calls him boring and dull. Storm says Kidman doesn’t have enough charisma to make it in the WWE. Kidman says that he appreciates hearing that from Storm because Storm is so exciting in the ring. He also says Lance has the best haircut in the WWE. Lol. Harmless segment to add some more form of feeling to their match so I’m okay with it.

Back at the hospital, and Torrie is getting dressed after pleasuring Maven and doctor Tajiri walks into the room. Tajiri spits green mist in the face of Torrie and then rolls Maven off the bed, throwing his little hospital bed table onto him. Fun stuff again. Love Tajiri here, playing this role well.

Match Five
Billy Kidman vs. Lance Storm

Not much of a story or psychology to this one but with a three-minute match length what can you expect. They just jam as much enjoyable stuff as they can into the three minutes, and therefore deliver a pretty solid sprint. They clearly try really hard to impress, they bump like crazy, have plenty of cool reversal sequences and in the end it’s a Superkick from Storm that gets him the win. Solid job from these two here. **3/4​

Backstage, Triple H is interviewed and asked about his match with Hulk Hogan tonight, but Triple H doesn’t answer and just leaves. Meh, whatever. I guess puts over how much of a bad ass Triple H is because he’s in a bad mood.

Match Six
Number One Contenders Match
Hulk Hogan vs. Triple H

This is better than the match at Backlash and probably what the match at Backlash should have been. Hogan gets a super ovation again but it’s Smackdown, so some of that is probably piped in. Another thing that was the right move is that Triple H wrestled the match as a pseudo heel. He’s a natural heel anyway, so it worked well. Triple H gets the win against Hogan back here, and again, good this only went for about six minutes or so. Whoever booked them to do a 25-minute mat-based match at Backlash was out of their mind. Anyway crowd was into it and the action wasn’t bad. In the end, Triple H avoids a Leg Drop and then hits the Pedigree for the win. Solid stuff from these two. **1/2​

After the match, Hulk Hogan shakes hands with Triple H and they pose for the crowd. Kurt Angle’s music then hits, and he begins making his way down to the ring, which allows The Undertaker to sneak from behind and attack Triple H. With Hogan then distracted by what’s happening in the ring, Angle comes down and attacks Hogan. ‘Taker ends up dropping Triple H with a Chokeslam, as Angle nails an Angle Slam on Hogan. No issues with the heels standing tall here. Considering it looks like these two are big programs heading into KOTR, it feels like we’ll probably get the standard tag match main event next week.

A strong week of WWE television this week. Raw was probably better but Smackdown delivered as well. Even the one angle I didn’t like, the tag title one, feels like it came to an end tonight so that’ll get a pass to. More of the same and I’ll be happy.

 

[Stojy]

WWE Velocity
June 8th, 2002
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Match One
Randy Orton vs. Test

These two had a solid match which Test got the win in a few weeks back on Smackdown, so cool to see them getting a rematch here. They put on another solid one here, although realistically, it’s probably a bit beneath their match on Smackdown. That makes sense as whilst Orton would be busting his ass in every match at this point, it’s Velocity so Test probably doesn’t put in the same amount of effort. Test jumps Orton from behind to get the early jump, and they progress from there. Honestly, Test really wasn’t good here, and this is arguably Orton’s best individual performance so far. I was pleasantly surprised the first time, and this time I was content as these two manage to put on another solid match. Test hits the Roll Of The Dice for his second win over Orton in a couple of weeks. Solid stuff from these two, and a good start for a show like Velocity. **

Match Two
Hugh Morrus vs. The Godfather

Yuck. This is awful. Not good at all. Godfather attacks Morrus from behind, which isn’t an interesting start like in the previous match, because it literally just happened. Surely, they didn’t have to do the exact same beginning for a match two weeks in a row. The fans are all over Godfather again because he’s a sole act now, with no Ho’s or escorts by his side. I assume the company is mistaken that for some good heat because he picks up the win here. I didn’t expect this, and I don’t expect to see him get any sort of push. He’s passed his prime, which wasn’t that great in the ring anyway. The ending comes about when Godfather brings the ring bell into the win. As the ref gets rid of it, Godfather nails Morrus with his Cane and gets the win. Not good. Pretty bad actually. Slow, boring, plodding. Yuck. *

Match Three
Chavo Guerrero Jr. vs. Funaki​

I don’t mind these two but surprisingly this match didn’t do it for me. Just didn’t quite click. I don’t need every Cruiserweight match to be a spot fest, but these guys are probably two of the slower, less high risk, more grounded style Cruiserweights. Blending them together, and neither looked overly intense on offense, and they didn’t really have any amazing mat exchanges either, so it kind of felt like a really tame, disappointing Cruiserweight division match. With that being said, I’d be down for a Chavo push in the long run because he can deliver a good match when motivated and with the right opponent. The ending is cool here though as Chavo spins out of a Reverse DDT attempt and nails an awkward looking Brainbuster instead. Probably not a bad match, but for what I expected I was left disappointed so it’s getting a low rating. *1/2

Backstage, Jackie Gayda meets up with Linda Miles and wishes her good luck in her debut match against Ivory tonight. Jackie wants to be by in Linda’s corner tonight. Linda says it would be an honour to have Jackie in her corner tonight. A fluff promo about how their strong women and they survived Tough Enough. Ugh, I can’t stand Tough Enough. I guess it makes sense for them to band together against the nasty teacher Ivory though.

Match Four
Ivory vs. Linda Miles w/Jackie Gayda

Easily the worst match of the night for the main event. You’ve got Ivory, who I enjoy as a character, but doesn’t really set the world on fire in the ring, against Linda, who is green as all hell and most likely will remain awful forever. They kept this one really simple for Miles, but it was still relatively sloppy and bad. They go for the swerve ending as Linda is in control and heads to the rope, only for Jackie to turn on her and push Linda off the top rope. Ivory then gets a Face Buster, which Miles surprisingly bumps well for, and Ivory gets the win. Not good, but I do think the idea of Jackie being a mean girl with Ivory is probably the best way to use her. Still bad match, and I don’t think I’ll get behind Linda as a face either. ½*​

After the match, Al Snow gets off his spot on commentary and comforts Linda Miles in the ring. I guess once you win Tough Enough, you are stuck with the stigma of Al Snow hanging around you to get some screen time.

A pretty meh episode this week. Started strong with a solid match, but 2 out of 3 of the remaining matches were largely terrible. That’s enough to not be a good week. Also, turns out I was mistaken thinking Angle/Holly happened on this episode.

 

[Stojy]

WWE Heat
June 9th, 2002
Dallas, Texas​

The revolving door of commentators to join The Coach since Raven quit continues this week, with D’Lo Brown joining him at the desk. I’d prefer to see D’Lo in the ring, but I don’t mind him here. Giving me a few years back TNA vibes.

We see a clip from earlier today which shows Terri trying to interview Raven. In typical Raven fashion, he cuts one of those cryptic promos, before letting Terri know he won’t be accountable for his actions. Typical Raven promo really which is good. I don’t know where all this leads, but I just appreciate that we’re getting some character work on Heat.

Match One
Raven vs. Spike Dudley

A really solid way to kick off Heat this week. Pretty standard stuff from the two until they head outside, and Raven uses the awesome Russian Leg Sweep into the crowd barricade to take over. Even when Raven is in control though, they keep things at a relatively fast pace, which keeps things interesting since Raven doesn’t really tell a story by attacking a particular body part. Good solid offense from both men, and in the end, Raven continues the trend of hitting his Raven Effect DDT seemingly out of nowhere. This time after kicking out of a Hurricanrana, he reverses an Irish Whip and pulls Spike in for the DDT and the win. Booking wise I’m happy because I’m always down for a Raven push of sorts, even if it is only on Heat, and Spike does his usual good job of taking a beating. Very solid. **1/4​

Next up we get a video package to promote King Of The Ring which is two weeks away.

We then get a ‘Desire’ video package, which shows some of the behind-the-scenes workings of the WWE.

Match Two
Crash Holly vs. Shawn Stasiak

Firstly, I’m surprised by the result of this one if I’m being honest, but before we get to that, this was a pretty bad match. The highlight was probably from before the match, where Crash hands the commentary team a note which tells them he’s going to beat Planet Stasiak or something along those lines. Outside of that, the match isn’t good. Stasiak maybe looked a little better on offense than in previous matches, but that isn’t saying much. Nothing to get excited about here, and then Crash gets a sloppy Roll Up that’s half botched out of nowhere to pick up the win. Yeah, this brought me back down to earth after the opener. Not good. *1/4​

Next up we get an advertisement for seeing WWE live, and the slogan they are promoting, which I like is “the moments are waiting”.

Now we get a video package promoting a DVD focusing on the New World Order called “Back in Black”!

This is followed by a video package, highlighting Shawn Michaels return on Raw as the newest member of the NWO, and him and Kevin Nash celebrating together.

So I’ve managed to deal with the Tough Enough 2 recaps, and now it’s finished, I have to deal with them trying to sell a Tough Enough 2 soundtrack? Lol, go away, Tough Enough.

This weeks WWE Rewind shows the end of Smackdown with Triple H and Hulk Hogan celebrating, until The Undertaker and Kurt Angle come down and beat them up.

Now we get some hype for the first four men to qualify for the King Of The Ring Tournament which are: Booker T, Chris Jericho, Val Venis and X Pac. A pretty good first four in my book.

Match Three
Jacqueline vs. Molly Holly

Better than the previous match but not by much. This was another one that wasn’t good as they go back and forth with some sluggish action. D’Lo does some really awesome commentary towards the end of the match, as Jackie whiffs on a Spin Kick and clearly misses Molly. She then goes for the cover and gets a two count, as D’Lo explains to the audience that Jackie only grazed Molly with her toes, hence not getting all of the shot and only getting a two count. Small thing but for somebody just filling in to do commentary, I thought that was really good. As for the match itself, kind of felt like a full circle type of thing which was kind of neat. Jackie seems to try and catch Molly off guard with Roll Ups throughout the match, and then Molly ends up catching Jackie with a Roll Up whilst holding the tights to get the win. This still wasn’t good though, and we just had a flash pin result in the last match. Lazy match structuring again with two matches back-to-back having very similar finishes which I don’t like. Meh. *1/2
​

They show that Neurotica’s “Ride Of Your Life” is the official theme song for King Of The Ring.

We then get a video recap of all the events between Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Ric Flair and Stone Cold over the last two weeks. This culminates with Austin beating Flair on Raw in a straight wrestling match, meaning Flair will have to be Austin’s personal assistant. Again, really is a shame that we never got to see Austin torturing Flair in this role.

We then get the obligatory “Don’t try this at home” warning video package.

Match Four
Jeff Hardy vs. The Big Show

Was a nothing match and it was bad, and I’m honestly trying to analyse but still unsure how I feel about this from a booking perspective as well. Show started this one off by easily pulling Jeff off the top rope during his entrance, which allowed the beat down to begin. Show is dominant throughout the quick match, with Jeff getting next to no offense until he brings a steel chair into the ring. Even then, Show initially punches the chair away, it’s only when Show blocks a Hurricanrana attempt, that Jeff manages to pick up the chair and crack Show with it. The referee has no choice to DQ Jeff. Crappy match really, disappointing as these two could do good, which means I’ll give this a really bad rating for what the match could/should have been. On another note, in terms of the booking, felt like they booked themselves into a corner here. They need Show to look good as the NWO are still early stages of being built back up, he can’t afford to lose. But then it seems Jeff will be heading into a program with The Undertaker and considering he’s trying to be all ‘extreme’ again, it probably would have been more effective to have him beat a larger opponent here. This way he could look dangerous against ‘Taker. So yeah, match wasn’t good, and I just don’t think they got this one right from a booking sense either. For that, it gets the honours of worst of the night. *​

After the match, Big Show is down after the chair shot so Hardy lands a Swanton Bomb, before heading up the ramp. Show gets up and is mad. I can’t remember if it happens but the way this played out here kind of feels like they’re building to a rematch.

Not a good episode of Heat this week. Outside of the opener, everything else felt pretty awful.

 

[Stojy]

WWE Raw
June 10th, 2002
Atlanta, Georgia​

The show begins with some in ring promo time from Ric Flair. Flair starts by admitting that he lost last week and has to become Stone Cold’s assistant. He said he was willing to take it like a man. He was willing to do whatever Austin wanted, but Austin didn’t show up tonight. Vince McMahon then surprisingly interrupts and comes down to the ring. Vince says he knows that he’s not supposed to be on Raw. But he created this show ten years ago and Flair is the sorriest thing he’s seen in his life. He says as an owner, Flair drove Raw into the toilet. Flair asks Vince what they should do to change the status of Raw. Vince says that he does what he does for his own ego, and he can’t go another day with Flair as half owner of what he created. Flair sucks as an owner so Vince challenges him to a No DQ match for one hundred percent ownership and Flair accepts. Obviously, Austin being away has thrown a spanner in the works, so this is the beginning of a reset on things at Raw, as Flair no longer has a babyface foil to play off. A perfectly fine segment for what it was, although admittedly the disconnect to what has happened over the past few months still makes it feel rather awkward.

We see a clip from earlier today where the New World Order are in the back chatting away. Shawn Michaels is locked in the bathroom as Nash says Big Show and X Pac are in a six-man tag team match with Booker T tonight and Shawn wants to talk them about it. Big Show leaves because he needs to go find another toilet to use because he ate Mexican Food. Booker T then comes in and says he wants to talk to Michaels. Booker T then AMAZINGLY sings a version of Michaels’ song and he; Nash and Pac all break down laughing throughout. If you haven’t seen this already, go watch it. One of my favourite breaking character moments ever in wrestling.

Match One
NWO (Booker T, The Big Show and X Pac) vs. Shawn Stasiak, Spike Dudley and Tommy Dreamer

I think it’s obvious based on the names in the opposition team that this was set up as a squash to showcase the NWO. Basic squash, with nothing to exciting happening, and Booker pins Tommy after hitting with a Harlem Sidekick. Not much else to say as the rebuild of the NWO continues along, and am glad Booker is the man picking up the fall too. Still, a forgetful match in the scheme of things. *3/4​

Oh I also forgot to mention that they show Christopher Nowinski, the Harvard graduate from Tough Enough one in the crowd. FML. Tough Enough references all over the place.

After the match, Booker T gets a microphone and says he’s going to give the fans what they want, before hitting the Spinaroonie. The other members of the NWO don’t look all that impressed as Booker continues to get a big pop from the fans. I like this bubbling in the background.

Booker T is backstage celebrating the win, when he’s approached by Goldust, who this week is dressed as ‘Undercover Brother’. Booker tells him that he tried to get Goldust in the NWO, but Goldust lost. Goldust doesn’t want to be in the NWO and instead pleads with Booker to quit the group because of Shawn Michaels. He says Michaels doesn’t like “their kind”… More fun stuff from Booker/Goldust, with the dressing up and stuff, but not sure we needed a racist type of mention for this angle here, or at least a racist undertone to Goldust’s statement. Doesn’t do much for me.

In the back, Terri is interviewing Molly Holly, but Molly is talking down to Terri. She says she has a problem with Terri and her layout in the WWE Diva calendar. WWE Womens Champion Trish Stratus interrupts and basically says Molly is jealous because she has a “FAT ASS”! Molly tells Trish that she is crass and says a Womens Champion should be pure and wholesome. They agree to have a match tonight where if Molly wins, she gets a title shot, however if Trish wins, Molly has to wrestle in a thong. The fat ass stuff is very miss for me, not required. There’s already a perfectly set up angle of pure and wholesome, judgmental Molly, against free and body empowered Trish. Doesn’t need this bad extra stuff.

Backstage, Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero approach Ric Flair and question his decision to accept Vince McMahon’s challenge. Flair says that he was thinking on his feet. He also says that he and Vince have been negotiating over Benoit for weeks and if Flair wins, there’s no need. He assures them everything is going to be okay, but they are mad at him and don’t seem convinced. Flair’s own rabid dogs feel almost set to turn on him here which is a cool thing. Also this segment is further used to position Flair as the face in this situation, which shouldn’t be difficult tonight considering Raw is in Atlanta.

Match Two
WWE European Championship Match
William Regal (c) vs. Bradshaw

Bradshaw is now going back to his roots, wearing short trunks and cowboy boots. Honestly, seems like a really delayed call to do this the week AFTER they were in Texas, but whatever. Some okay brawling here but nothing that set the world on fire. Christopher Nowinski is once again focused on in the crowd. The match continues with pretty average action if I’m honest, until Nowinski decides to hop over the crowd barricade. Nowinski gets on the apron, causing a distraction to everybody, and he sneakily tosses a pair of brass knuckles to Regal. Regal then knocks out Bradshaw with the brass knuckles to retain the title. From a booking standpoint, the pairing of Nowinski and Regal feels like it makes sense, but this match was average at best. *3/4

Match Three
Molly Holly vs. Trish Stratus

Jerry Lawler really grinds my gears on commentary this one. He substitutes his usual puppy talk, and instead spends the whole match making jokes about Molly’s ass. Considering I don’t even like the angle to begin with, Lawler ramming it down our throats like this almost made me want to watch the match on mute. As for the match itself, it’s not good. It’s okay for 2002 women’s stuff, but Molly/Trish have done better against each other previously as well. It’s a pretty epic finish for the women’s match though, as Molly lands the yet to be coined Molly Go Round to score the win. I hate to mention but I guess using her ass like that to finish off Trish fits with the ‘big ass’ angle as well. This wasn’t good, but I’m excited to see them potentially do better in a future title match. *1/2​

After the match, Molly pulls out the panties Trish threw at her from last week from underneath her knee pad and chokes Trish with them. This is awesome continuation from last week. Pure and wholesome vs. powerful and free. Trish threw these panties at Molly last week to infuriate her and now Molly returns serve. Simple and very effective. Big ass stuff adds literally nothing. Also why’s big ass an insult, but maybe that’s a conversation for another day?

Backstage, Arn Anderson goes up to Vince McMahon and asks what he is thinking by risking his business to try and defeat Ric Flair in a wrestling match. Vince gets mad and shoves Arn. Anderson leaves, but not before telling Vince that he’ll have an early retirement tonight. Solid segment to hype the main event.

Match Four
King Of The Ring Qualifying Match
Eddie Guerrero vs. Rob Van Dam

This is still a good match between these two, but it is the least of their entire 2002 series. They get about nine minutes which is adequate time for them to deliver. Eddie was the usual Eddie, but this did feel like RVD was just off one step with a bunch of stuff tonight. They trade some moves in the early stages which is entertaining, but RVD just doesn’t sell or bump to his usual standard. Even on offense, most of his kicks and stuff all look like their whiffing, nothing really looks like it connects. Eddie eventually takes over and beats down RVD for a few minutes, until there’s an awesome spot where Van Dam lands a variation of the Frog Splash on the outside. Eddie bumped amazingly well though, and really did carry this match. The crowd was a bit down for this one as well though, which hurt the atmosphere however it picked up late when RVD’s Split Legged Moonsault seemed to wake them up. In the end, RVD snatches an awkward looking Roll Up, to suit the rest of his performance here, to get the win. Not their best work but still a good match and what is most likely going to be the best thing on the show. **3/4​

After the match, they show a replay saying that Eddie had his shoulder up and it was a controversial count, but that clearly isn’t the case. An annoyed Eddie tries to attack RVD, but RVD avoids contact and heads out to celebrate. Unless we’re getting another match between these two, I don’t think really understand why any of this was necessary.

The Coach heads to the NWO locker room to try and talk to Shawn Michaels, but Kevin Nash says they’ll talk later and sends Coach on his way. I guess this does the job of promoting the fact that we will hear from Michaels last week. Good. Because it’s definitely needed after his silent return last week.

Next up is in ring promo time for the WWE Undisputed Champion The Undertaker. He talks about being the champion and that people need to understand that. He deserves to be treated with respect and even the stupid people of Atlanta should know that. We then see a replay from Smackdown of The Undertaker beating down Triple H. He tells Triple H that there is blood in the water now. ‘Taker says he is the great white shark. He’s going to kick Triple H’s head off his body at King of the Ring, but other people need to learn about respect too. He calls out Jeff Hardy for kicking him into a puddle of vomit last week. We then see a replay of it. ‘Taker says he knows Jeff is extreme and lives in the moment but asks if he’s also ready to die in that same moment. Instead of Jeff, Matt Hardy comes out with a ladder and says that The Undertaker disrespected him last week. ‘Taker says that if Matt comes down to the ring, it’ll happen again. Matt walks down the ramp with the ladder, but Jeff sneaks from behind. He tries a sneak attack, but it fails. ‘Taker catches him coming off the top rope and drops him with a Chokeslam! Matt and ‘Taker then have a really fun fight, until ‘Taker is ready to hit the Last Ride, but Jeff makes the save. Jeff then sets up the ladder and hits a huge Leg Drop on ‘Taker from the top of the ladder. Great segment here, really fun. ‘Taker doesn’t lose anything by being beat up by two men, and now he’ll want more revenge. Great stuff by all involved.

In the parking lot, Christopher Nowinski and the WWE European Champion William Regal are leaving together. Terri catches up to them and asks about their alliance. Regal promotes Nowinski as the only Harvard grad in the WWE. Nowinski then brags about all the things he accomplished whilst at school. As they are talking, Jeff Hardy runs into screenshot, interrupting and saying, “plank remains unfilled – Jeff Hardy”! Jeff then sprints into his car and drives away. Regal is astounded and Nowinksi says Jeff is like Harvard in the summer. No class. A fine segment to put over the partnership between Regal and Nowinski. No complaints there, although the Jeff stuff here was weird.

Match Five
King Of The Ring Qualifying Match
Brock Lesnar w/Paul Heyman vs. Bubba Ray Dudley

Before we get onto the actual match, tonight is the first show where Brock uses the epic theme music that he will carry for the rest of his career. I marked for hearing it for the first time here. Honestly, not much to say about this one. It was solid, but not very creative. A really similar match to the also solid match they had a couple of weeks ago on Raw. In the end, Brock catches Bubba with the F5 for the win. Solid yet not inspiring. **1/2​

Backstage, Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman approach Vince McMahon and Heyman tells Vince that he hopes McMahon wins back full control of the company and then Vince can think about The Next Big Thing moving forward. Interesting segment here. Seemingly out of nowhere but Brock rubbing shoulders with Vince can only do wonders for him at this point. Also further hypes the high stakes main event.

We then see a clip from WWE confidential where The Rock says, “The Rock is coming back to the WWE”… Woo. This makes me happy.

Now we get some in ring promo time with Shawn Michaels. He says years ago when the WWE was full of garbage men, he was the only real thing in the company. He then brings up WrestleMania 14 and how the company gave the ball to Stone Cold. He says that the Attitude Era started because he broke his back. He says Austin had no problem stealing his spotlight. But he has no problem with Stone Cold. He blames the fans for turning their backs on him and favouring Austin. He says he’ll never make the mistake of giving his body for the fans again, because HBK is dead, and the fans killed him. Michaels then credits the ONE man who always had his back, Kevin Nash. Nash and the rest of the NWO then join Michaels in the ring. Shawn says he couldn’t be prouder of Nash. But he says something’s missing in the NWO and something stands out. Michaels puts over Big Show for standing out, and calls X Pac the most talented performer in the business today. Michaels then starts to think before dropping Booker T with Sweet Chin Music. Michaels says Booker tried to steal the spotlight from the NWO like Austin did from him and like The Rock did from Triple H. Booker is the problem and nobody will ever steal the spotlight from the NWO again. I actually really enjoyed this. I thought Shawn’s explanation and turning on the fans for turning on him was really good. Also don’t mind him weeding out Booker T because Booker is so over as a face that he can’t work in this group long term. And of course, it wouldn’t be a Michaels promo without him getting political and talking nonsense about the Rock/Triple H feud. Really great stuff here though, really starting to feel like the NWO can be successful again, even if they aren’t being booked like the original NWO.

Match Six
Winner Is The Sole Owner
Ric Flair vs. Vince McMahon

I’m certain that Jerry Lawler has amnesia at this point, as when Vince makes his entrance, Lawler is all shocked at how jacked Vince is, despite the fact that we’ve seen Vince looking huge multiple times over the past four years or so. As expected, this one is mainly just a brawl, leaning on the No DQ stipulation because otherwise this would be an awful match. Also I’m not sure this really needed ten minutes. We could have given some more time to other matches on the card. Flair does the usual epic bladejob but when you do it on a throw away match on Raw, whilst the visual will always be cool, it kind of loses its impact. There are no major spots to remember in this one and as expected, Vince is terrible when trying to be on offense. Arn Anderson ends up getting in the ring and taunting Vince when Flair regains control, but then Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman come out. Anderson decides to bail to the back, as Brock gets in and nails Flair with an F5. It’s clear that Vince LOVES Brock if it wasn’t already. Brock and Heyman leave as Vince crawls on top of Flair to get the pin and regain full control of the WWE. As I mentioned at the beginning, this was probably a necessary evil for us to do a reset on Raw now Austin is gone and evil owner Flair doesn’t have a storyline, but this match wasn’t very enjoyable. *1/2​

Raw’s in a real strange spot now. Some good stuff on this show, some not so good stuff, and some completely random stuff that doesn’t make sense but is needed. Not entirely sure how to judge this show, it just is what it is.

 

[Stojy]

WWE Smackdown
June 13th, 2002
Greenville, South Carolina​

The show starts with something like twelve security guards and a table set up in the ring. Vince McMahon comes down for in ring promo time and climbs up to stand on the table. After gloating over his victory against Ric Flair at Raw to become sole owner of the company, Vince announces that this is going to be a contract signing between the WWE Undisputed Champion The Undertaker and Triple H, for their match at the King Of The Ring. Vince introduces The Undertaker first, and ‘Taker comes to the ring, and the two hug. Triple H then comes down as well and after some further talk from Vince, The Undertaker signs the contract. Vince then tells Triple H to sit down and sign the contract. Triple H throws the chair to the floor, opting to stand and then signs the contract. Vince then leaves the ring, with some of the security exiting with him. ‘Taker and Triple H then have an intense stare down until ‘Taker attacks Triple H. The guards hold Triple H so ‘Taker can tee off on him. ‘Taker then gives Triple H a Big Boot, which sends him falling out of the ring. Triple H goes under the ring and gets a sledgehammer and ‘Taker and most of the security run away. Triple H gets on the mic and demands that ‘Taker come back to the ring. He promises that it’s going to be a long night for The Undertaker, and then Pedigrees one of the left-over guards.

We cut to commercials and when we return the WWE Tag Team Champions Billy and Chuck, are at the top of the ramp, armed with steel chairs, and of course they are accompanied by their stylist, Rico. They are mad at Triple H because they need to get into the ring for their upcoming match. Triple H tells Billy that he’s glad he and his partner found new meaning to the term “suck it”! He then says if he comes down to the ring, the only thing he’ll be sucking on is the end of the sledgehammer. Billy runs down with his steel chair and Trips uses the sledgehammer to smash the chair back into the face of Billy. Chuck and Rico quickly run down and try and help Billy away. Triple H gets back on the mic and says he wants The Undertaker right now, otherwise he’ll make sure there isn’t Smackdown anymore. He says you can’t have a show without an announce table and then goes out and destroys the announce table with the sledgehammer. Back in the ring, Triple H attacks a camera man and takes control of what he calls a fifty-thousand-dollar camera. He is about to destroy the camera when Vince comes back out. He gives Triple H a tag team match, as he will team with Hulk Hogan to take on Kurt Angle and The Undertaker. Triple H says it’s fine but has a message for Vince and ‘Taker. He looks right into the camera and says, “see ya in hell deadman”! Triple H then destroys the camera with the sledgehammer anyway. This was a good opening in theory. The failed set up and Triple H holding the show hostage, it all works. I could have done without the tag champs looking like chumps, they should have found somebody else to play that part. I also thought this didn’t need to go for 25 full minutes, yet it did. Still okay but would have been better if they trimmed some of the fat.

We see a clip from earlier today where the WWE Cruiserweight Champion The Hurricane is backstage, and he comes across Nidia. Nidia says that The Hurricane will meet Jamie Noble soon and Hurricane says bring it on. Nidia then tells Hurricane that confrontation turns her on and she licks his face. Segment makes sense to continue this story here and have to compliment Nidia on how well she plays this character. Makes it so much more fun.

Match One
King Of The Ring Qualifying Match
Test vs. The Hurricane

They did the whole big man vs. little thing here, but to be honest, it wasn’t very good or entertaining. Thought they’d be able to do something solid, but something didn’t quite click for me. Eventually, Test finishes off Hurricane with the Test Drive to get the win. Whilst the match was quick and not good, from a booking perspective, Test looked okay and comes across like a threat to the KOTR tournament which is good. The match wasn’t though. *1/4 ​

After the match, Jamie Noble and Nidia come to the ring and Noble says that he bagged himself a real-life superhero before he begins slapping Hurricane. Noble then holds Hurricane in place so Nidia can slap him, and then Nidia rips Hurricane’s mask off. Noble then puts Hurricane’s cape on Nidia and they kiss. Awesome way to have immediate heat here. The loss of mask should be made to feel like a big deal, so hopefully there’s adequate hype on this… But this as a standalone segment was great.

Match Two
King Of The Ring Qualifying Match
Hardcore Holly vs. Tajiri

Holly is awful and I love Tajiri, so putting these two together anything could have happened. Probably could have been better if Holly was the heel and Tajiri was the face, but they put on a solid contest regardless. With the Angle match last week, now this, and the semi decent match with Orton before these, this might be Holly’s career best run. Anyway, the finish to this one was really cool, as Tajiri had the Tarantula locked in, but Holly powered out and drilled Tajiri with the Alabama Slam! Surprisingly solid. **
​

Backstage, Chris Jericho is watching a video of himself beating on Edge last week. Val Venis comes over and says he’s going to stick his foot up Jericho’s ass. Perfectly acceptable segment to promote their future match together.

Match Three
Billy Kidman and Val Venis vs. Chris Jericho and Lance Storm

Really cool to see Jericho and Storm team together here, because if you know their history, you know they started off together as The Thrill seekers. I didn’t realise these two had actually teamed together in the WWE, so this was cool to see. They put on a really solid match, and considering Kidman gets the pinfall victory here, this does really good things for him here. Maybe Val had a bit of an off night and wasn’t as smooth as usual, but I can live with that. Towards the end of the match, Kidman nails the Shooting Star Press on Storm, but Jericho pulls the referee out to interrupt the three count. Jericho then comes in and hits the Breakdown on Kidman, and Storm eventually pins Kidman, but Kidman somehow gets a shoulder up. As he and Storm get back up, Kidman then snatches a Roll Up variation for the surprise three count. Really solid, match of the night so far. **3/4​

After the match, Storm and Jericho are pissed as Storm is adamant he got his shoulder up during the decisive count. Footage is then played which shows Storm is right, but the referee doesn’t change their decision. I’m okay with this just because I know where it’s heading.

In the back, Hulk Hogan is being interviewed and he says he couldn’t be happier about tonight’s main event. Hogan is asked about Kurt Angle and Hogan says he and Angle are both bald, except Hogan lost his hair due to mother nature, whereas Angle lost his hair because of Edge. Hogan announces that he wants a match with Kurt Angle at the King Of The Ring, and he says he’ll take Angle’s wig off tonight. Again, solid enough promo from Hogan. Nothing offensive and promotes the main event.

During the commercial break, Lance Storm confronted referee Brian Hebner telling him that screwing over Canadians must run ins his family. Storm says Americans see what they want to see and Hebner is shocked. Nice reaction to the bad call from earlier. Solid stuff here.

Backstage, Linda Miles tells us that she has found a partner to team up with her to take on Jackie, who turned on her. It’s revealed that the partner is Trish Stratus. Poor Trish getting roped into this. She’s not really at the point where she can carry people yet. Linda is awful on the mic to. Meh.

In his office, Vince McMahon is on the phone to somebody, complaining about the fifty-thousand-dollar camera that Triple H broke. Kurt Angle enters the office and explains to Vince that he is concerned with Hogan ripping the roots of his hair out of his head tonight. Vince just stares at him with a hilarious expression on his face. Angle sees the looks and asks Vince whether he thinks Angle’s hair is real. Angle offers to let Vince pull his hair. The Undertaker then joins them, and he admits that’s concerned with Triple H’s mindset as well. Vince tries to reassure them by telling them it’s all about taking risks, for example he took the biggest one on Raw. He assures them that they have it easy tonight. Fun segment here, where Angle and Vince were hilarious together when discussing the hair. The variety of topics here meant they put over Angle being bald, the main event, and H’s mindset. Good stuff.

Reverend D’Von and Deacon Batista come out for in ring promo time. D’Von talks about how masturbation is a sin and that anybody who does it, will burn in hell. Faarooq interrupts and admits he’s a masturbator and he says he’s going to get sinful on D’Von’s ass. Lol, this was a pretty fun play on words from D’Von.

Match Four
Faarooq vs. Reverend D’Von w/Deacon Batista

This one’s getting the worst rating it could possibly get. Faarooq hits D’Von with the mic, and then immediately nails D’Von with the Spinebuster for the win. On commentary, Michael Cole annoyingly calls the Spinebuster a Dominator, which it is not. Meh. Bad. ¼* ​

After the match, Deacon Batista tries to attack, but Faarooq kicks the steel collection briefcase into Batista’s face and then leaves. Meh, I didn’t like this at all. D’Von is such a fun character whilst Faarooq is adding no value at this point. Also don’t like Batista looking like a chump so early on in his run as well.

In the back, WWE Womens Champion Trish Stratus is helping Linda Miles stretch. Okay.

Match Five
Ivory and Jackie Gayda vs. Linda Miles and Trish Stratus

This was bad. Not a good match, and nothing to call out as happening that’s super important either. Really just feels like an uneventful match to get the Tough Enough gals on the card. Trish tried really hard, doing most the work for her team is Miles is bad, however Ivory is solid at best, and Jackie is awful, so this really had no hope. Trish ends up hitting the Stratusfaction on Ivory for the win, but this was a bad performance from all. *​

Backstage, Vince McMahon is eating when Stacy Keibler walks in. Vince says there is a side of him that she’s never seen. From now on, she will always refer to him as “Mr. McMahon”! There’s a knock on the door and it’s Dawn Marie, but Vince doesn’t allow Stacy to open the door. Instead Vince kisses Stacy and she screws up her face, clearly not liking it. I don’t mean to be that guy, but this is an uncomfortable watch nowadays. Ugh.

Backstage, Hulk Hogan is walking and comes face to face with The Undertaker, and then gets attacked from behind by Kurt Angle. The two beat on Hogan and leave him lying on the floor before the main event. Old school heel tactics here, I like it.

Match Six
Handicap Match
Kurt Angle and The Undertaker vs. Triple H

They started this one off with Triple H attacking Angle from behind during this entrance. Knowing he’s one man down, and being the Cerebral Assassin and all, this strategy fits Triple H perfectly, so I liked the booking there. Once the match got going, this was probably way more solid than I thought it would be. Angle and ‘Taker dominates for the most part, with Trips having little bursts of offense here and there. The match ends when Triple H gets on top, but knowing he’s fighting for survival, he hits ‘Taker in the mid-section with a sledgehammer. I like this as well, because it further plays on the anger factor, with Trips being furious earlier tonight. Nothing earth shattering but just a logical main event which made sense. **1/4​

After the match, Angle ends up in the ring with Triple H and he manages to connect with an Angle Slam! Angle’s music then hits, and he backs up the ramp, celebrating as if he just won the match in a really meaningful way, and you know, not by DQ. Hulk Hogan sneaks up behind Angle though and throws him back into the ring. A recovered Triple H immediately drops Angle with a right hand. Angle gets pinballed around the ring by both men, until Triple H goes for a Pedigree, but Angle reverses with a Back Body Drop. Angle then stands over Triple H and Trips pulls down Angle’s tights. As Angle grabs at his tights so he doesn’t reveal all, Hogan rips off his wig. The bald head is finally revealed, and Angle is in shock as Triple H hits the Pedigree. Trips and Hogan then celebrate together to end the show. Fun aftermath here, with Angle FINALLY showing his bald head. Hogan being the one to take his wig adds plenty more heat to their feud which is a good thing.

A solid episode of SD here. Bits of the show that I really liked, and then there a few really awful matches/moments which dragged it away from being a good show.

 

[Stojy]

WWE Velocity
June 15th, 2002
Greenville, South Carolina
​

Al Snow isn’t at this show, so we get the A Team for the blue brand, the Smackdown commentary duo of Michael Cole and Tazz.

Match One
WWE Tag Team Championship Match
Billy and Chuck (c) w/Rico vs. Mark Henry and Randy Orton

I was genuinely surprised by how solid this was, this was better than I thought it would be. A pretty solid way to start the show, and it seemed like the crowd was pretty into the match as well which always helps. Credit to these guys for putting in this level of effort on a show like Velocity. It kind of shows that guys like Henry and Orton, who’re getting another chance or their first chance, are desperate to bust their ass at every chance they get. This is arguably the best Billy and Chuck match in forever to. The pairing of Orton/Henry was a really random one, but for some reason they meshed really well here. The match ends when Orton has been taken out, so we’re left with Henry against the tag champs. Rico distracts Henry, allowing Chuck to catch him with a Superkick. Billy then hits the Fameasser, and the champs retain. Solid work from all involved, and I wish we’d see more from the good Henry/Orton pairing. **1/4

Match Two
Albert vs. Rikishi

This is almost a direct contract from the opener, where I potentially expected more, but got way less. Maybe I shouldn’t have been so high on this, as Rikishi has been phoning it in since the end of his heel push last year really. Anyway, end result, and I thought we’d get better from Albert, but end result is this was a bad match. I’m probably also annoyed in the booking as Albert turned on Scotty, looked in line for them to do something with him, and has languished since and now he’s taking losses on Velocity. What a waste. Not good, and Rikishi eventually gets a Bonzai drop for the win. Yuck. * ​

After the match, Rikishi gets a Fedora and dances on stage to celebrate.

Fabulous Moolah and Mae Young come down to the ring and wave to all the fans. As the ladies stand around in the ring, Michael Cole and Tazz hype that Moolah has a book coming out. Weird that they wouldn’t let these two get some mic time to promote the book. Strange execution to just have them standing around waving, feels like a waste of an appearance to me.

Match Three
Funaki vs. Jamie Noble w/Nidia

Noble has recently appeared on Smackdown and has made a huge impact, immediately in a program with the WWE Cruiserweight Champion The Hurricane. I must admit, based on this, it’s maybe a little underwhelming that Noble’s actual in ring debut is on Velocity. Would have thought he earned enough eyes on him by now for the match to be on Smackdown. I’ll always advocate for Noble because he’s the man. This was another solid match here tonight, a good match for TV really. Funaki performed his role well here to, and it seems these two might have some chemistry, which is why the match worked the way it did. I would be in on them getting a little bit longer to strut their stuff on a future show. Realistically though, this one was all about Noble, as it should be. In the end, Noble applies his Trailer Hitch submission hold, and Funaki has to tap out. Solid work. **1/4

Match Four
Hardcore Holly vs. Kurt Angle

I’ve been waiting for this rematch on Velocity since two Smackdown’s ago so glad that I’ve finally made it here. Based on the fact that he’s in a program with Hulk Hogan at the moment, I think it was obvious Angle was always winning this one. That’s as it should be really so that’s fine. Love finding these little hidden gems on a show like Velocity. They have another really solid match, which is probably close to the same level as their Smackdown match. It’s still match of the night on Velocity, but I’m giving it lesser marks than Smackdown. They basically recycled the exact same ending from their previous match, with Angle getting a flash pin and clinging onto the ropes for victory. Would have been nice to see something different here. The match was built on Angle getting a cheap finish, so they have Angle get another one, in the EXACT same way here. Unless this becomes a long-term program, it doesn’t make sense. And it felt very uncreative to be so similar to last time. Ending brings this down a little, but still solid. **1/2​

More fun stuff from Velocity this week. Seems they’ve found a formula that works the last two weeks, with solid matches all over the place. Enjoying this.

 

[Stojy]

WWE Heat
June 16th, 2002
Atlanta, Georgia

Match One
Goldust vs. Steven Richards

I didn’t enjoy this match, but I’m still happy with the overall direction for both these characters really. This was mainly just a squash/showcase for Goldust here, which is fine by me to. Richards tries to get the early jump by attacking Goldust before the bell. And in another highlight which continues Richards’ current angle, he’s wearing a top which says he misses Jazz. Small thing but a really clever way to remind us that Jazz is still alive. This was basically just Goldust running through his offense after he recovers from the sneak attack, which is probably the right move here. He’s pretty recently turned face, and now it’s time to start getting this new version of his character over in the ring. Not much to this one but feels like a step in the right direction, and I can’t wait until he gets a chance to put in some work in the ring later on in the year, because Dustin Rhodes is the best Rhodes, and I won’t hear otherwise. Anyway, Goldust runs through his greatest hits and then hits the Curtain Call for the victory. A meh match but there’s some exciting times ahead here. *1/2

Match Two
Shawn Stasiak vs. Tommy Dreamer

Colour me surprised, this was actually somewhat solid, in what is probably both these guys best performance for the year so far. Or at least close to. Early highlight here is when they are on the outside and Dreamer takes a sip of a fans beer, only to spit it in Stasiak’s face. I’ll take that over all the gross stuff he was doing a few weeks ago for sure. What I really liked about this is they kept things simple and didn’t try and overcomplicate anything. Stasiak worked on the lower back of Dreamer after landing a few big moves. Nice strikes to the back, a few attempts at a Bear Hug. Simple psychology that works a treat and Tommy sold the damage relatively well too. Tommy eventually makes a comeback, and they get into their back and forth finishing run, which is nothing special but does the job. After battling out of a Piledriver attempt from Tommy, Stasiak attempts a Splash in the corner and misses. This allows Dreamer to hit the Death Valley Driver and get the win. Solid work from these two, I’m impressed. **​

Crash Holly makes his entrance next and continues his recent gimmick of handing a note to the commentary team. The Coach says this note isn’t for him and hands it over to D’Lo Brown, who is irritated at the note. In the ring, Crash calls out D’Lo, saying that he’s been holding him back for fifteen years and wants a match. On commentary, D’Lo is shocked and says he hasn’t even known Crash for fifteen years, but he still accepts the challenge. Nothing groundbreaking here, but this suits Crash’s gimmick and sets up the next match, so it gets a pass.

Match Three
Crash Holly vs. D’Lo Brown

D’Lo continues to be pretty over with the Heat crowd which is nice to see as a fan of the guy. Really not much to say about this, as it’s very quick. Crash tries to stop Brown from just beating him easily, and does get a little bit of offense in. He also mocks the D’Lo pose and head wobble during the match which is probably the best thing he did. D’Lo dominates what is really a nothing match for the most part though, eventually hitting a Swinging Side Slam for the win, which The Coach coins Sudden Impact. No ratings for lack of Lo Down or Sky High here. Not much of a match so yeah, bad rating. Still happy to see D’Lo picking up wins on TV though ½*

Match Four
Jeff Hardy vs. Raven

These two could probably deliver a good match together, but this one didn’t hit the mark for me. The action in the early stages was fine, but the way it went with the ending, there was just a bit of a disconnect for me. So it’s fairly fine back and forth stuff for the most part. Nothing really exciting to call out, but nothing abysmal either. Clearly though, they’ve got this ‘extreme’ thing going with Jeff at the moment, where he’s doing crazy stuff. One minute, he’s hitting a Jaw Breaker and trying to win a match, the next, without anything crazy really happening to set him off, he’s choking Raven with a microphone cable which causes the ref to call for a DQ. Just a strange, out of nowhere way of doing things, and I couldn’t completely get behind it. The ending ruined the chances of this match being good. I understand the moments where you need to sacrifice match quality for character work, but even the sudden change up out of nowhere didn’t hit for me. Not great. *1/2​

After the match, Jeff stops choking Raven when he passes out and is basically unconscious. Jeff then hits the Swanton Bomb off the top, and clearly doesn’t care about the match result as the show comes to a close.

More bad stuff than good which is expected on these shows, but if I get at least one solid match out of Heat, which I did here, I’m relatively okay with that.