Stojy watches WWE 2002

[Stojy]

WWE Vengeance
July 21st, 2002
Detroit, Michigan​

This PPV opening video package is probably one of my favourites, and I’ve written plenty of video packages in BTB land that are loosely inspired by this one. It’s based around the Pulp Fiction bible passage and it’s great. Awesome opening.

Match One
Tag Team Tables Match
Bubba Ray Dudley and Spike Dudley vs. Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero

A really good opening choice here. Four guys who throw down, working a little stiff, even Spike. They literally just beat the hell out of each other even before the tables come into play. This is also Benoit’s first PPV match back in thirteen months, and he looks AMAZING, which probably isn’t surprising based on his performances on Raw. I really enjoyed that this wasn’t just a bunch of contrived table spots and near misses. Benoit and Eddie literally beat the hell out of Bubba for a big portion of the match, not even worrying about the tables. Strategically, that makes a lot of sense, don’t play into the tables game with the experts, and just beat them up before they’re easy game to put through the table at the end. Spike has moments where he gets absolutely brutalised as well, which is basically what Spike does best. Benoit and Eddie are just so crisp here, from virtually start to finish, a really good watch. I think the way they structured the match by not spamming tables meant the crowd reaction when tables did finally get introduces was great. Once the tables did get introduces, the teases of somebody getting put through were all done well. One spot in particular that I really liked where Spike was about to get whipped into the table, but Bubba tackles Spike to prevent him going through the table. That was awesome. The only negative about the way that they structured the match is that the ending feels rushed. They go from no table action, to basically every elimination occurring within a minute or so of each other. Eddie got drive through a table on the outside with a Dudley Dog off the apron, Benoit Military Pressed Spike over the top rope and to a table on the outside, and Bubba gives Benoit the Bubba Bomb through the table to win. A good opener here. ***​

In the back, Eric Bischoff says he’s here to sign the most ruthless athlete he knows of. He finds Triple H walking towards Stephanie McMahon’s office and Bischoff tells him not to do that. Triple H says he’s going to hear both sides, and like Eric said, always negotiate. A fine segment to put over the Triple H signing as a big deal, with both GM’s jostling over him.

Match Two
WWE Cruiserweight Championship Match
Jamie Noble (c) w/Nida vs. Billy Kidman

I’m not that big on WWE Kidman but I thought he put on a pretty good performance here. He showed a lot of good fire as the babyface trying to fight back and got the fans behind him somewhat. I love the idea of Noble consistently working on his opponents legs, but then for this match, he works on Kidman’s arm. It’s like a strategic change up, although doesn’t make a lot of sense with his submission being the Trailer Hitch. Also, probably more effective to go after Kidman’s leg so he can’t spring off it for the Shooting Star Press. Kidman does a good job of selling the arm though and takes a sick looking bump into the ring post shoulder first, which sends him falling outside of the ring. Once Kidman took over on the comeback, he expectedly turned up the pace of the match. The issue with this, and where the match probably gets hurt some, is once he’s on offense, Kidman completely forgets about his injured arm. Of course, there’s the obligatory YOU CAN’T POWERBOMB KIDMAN spot also. In the end, Kidman goes for a Shooting Star Press but Noble rolls out of the way and rolls Kidman up for a near fall. When they both get up, Noble hits him with the Tiger Driver for the win. A level below the opener but still good. **3/4​

In the back, Kurt Angle talks about how he’s going to win tonight. Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman then approach him. Heyman talks up the idea of Brock vs. Angle at Summerslam and how much Brock respects him. Kurt and Brock then shake hands. Kurt then tells Heyman to save it. He’d love to face Brock at Summerslam, and if Brock messed with him the way he screwed with The Undertaker last week, Angle would take him down. It’s not the summer of Brock, it’s all year Angle. Brock then gets in Kurt’s face and wishes him luck. Similar to the ‘Taker segments on Raw, some awesome foreshadowing here. Fun to see these guys on camera together for the first time.

Match Three
WWE European Championship Match
Jeff Hardy (c) vs. William Regal

I know he has his fans, but I’ve never been the biggest Jeff Hardy guy, therefore in his state in 2002, I wasn’t expecting to like this at all. They actually put together a solid match though, which really shocked me. It’s clear they’re trying to keep Hardy’s momentum going after the awesome stuff with Undertaker a week or two ago. Despite how different their styles are, one being brutal, one being sloppy, they kind of mesh together surprisingly well. Jeff had a few bumps where he definitely wasn’t bumping as good as he was for ‘Taker, but it is what it is. I think some of Jeff’s sloppiness comes across as recklessness or living for the moment, so you can pretend he’s just following his gimmick really closely. Hardy gets a fluke Roll Up to win which makes me think they might fight again sometime soon. Solid enough. **1/4​

In the back, Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair both congratulate WWE European Champion Jeff Hardy and put him over. After Jeff leaves, Hogan says he might use a Swanton later. They then talk about how terrible both the new General Manager’s are. This was fine. Another big rub for Jeff. How did he not capitalise on the push they were giving him at this point? Crazy.

Match Four
Chris Jericho vs. John Cena

For a guy who has had a reputation for the prime of his career as somebody who can’t wrestle, Cena looked pretty good here, wrestling more than what he currently does. They tell a pretty simple story here of the arrogant veteran trying to take advantage of the determined rookie. More solid work from these two, although there’s a couple of times where Cena almost makes some awkward moments by missing things he wouldn’t normally. And things really heat up into a really fun finishing run. Jericho even tries to cheat and it’s not enough, and then Cena sneaks a Roll Up for the win. I’ve voiced my displeasure for multiple matches in a row finishing with the same flash pin scenario. A pet peeve of mine for sure. Match was solid again. **1/4​

In the back, Eric Bischoff and The Coach are leaning side by side against the wall waiting outside Stephanie McMahon’s office. Stephanie’s attorney attempted to enter the room. Bischoff asks the lawyer if those are contracts, and the lawyer says these are legal documents but he’s not at liberty to discuss what kind. A nice tease here that Triple H is planning to sign with Smackdown.

JR and The King now come out to take over from Michael Cole and Tazz on commentary. Cool. This half/half split is weird.

A video package airs hyping the Brock Lesnar vs. Rob Van Dam match.

Match Five
WWE Intercontinental Championship Match
Rob Van Dam (c) vs. Brock Lesnar w/Paul Heyman

Brock is already the number one contender for the WWE Undisputed Championship by this point, so it was unlikely they were going to give him the Intercontinental Title here. Felt like a placeholder more than anything for Lesnar here, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t deliver. This one starts off fun, the fans heavily behind RVD and he keeps Lesnar off balance with his fast-paced offense. Brock eventually took over though and when he did, things continued to be good, because RVD puts on one of his better selling performances. Brock’s displays of strength are epic also. There’s an amazing spot when Brock first takes over, where RVD attempts a Moonsault off the apron, but Brock catches him, and Powerslams him outside of the ring. From there, Brock did whatever he wanted with RVD, and it was all relatively good. Brock’s selling when RVD fights back is very good also, very realistic yet out of control at the same time. Not sure how else to put it, Brock is just a great seller. RVD’s comeback perfectly captures the fact that the damage is building on his body, but also plenty of desperation and hope for the fans. A hot finishing run with some good near falls, but that ends when RVD hits the Five Star Frog Splash. RVD pins Brock, but Heyman pulls the ref out and Brock gets’ DQ’d. Disappointing ending, although I get it with future booking plans in mind, and still a good match. ***​

After the match, referee Charles Robinson is mad at Heyman and starts punching him. That’s until Brock goes after him and throws the ref off of Heyman, which allows RVD to nail Brock with a Flipping Senton. The brawl between these two continues and they end up back in the ring. RVD sets up Brock for the Van Terminator, but Heyman holds RVD’s leg. Brock pulls RVD away and nails RVD with an F5 on the steel chair. I’m still questionable on the booking here. Why book Brock to lose here? Even if it is by DQ. And then he needs Heyman’s help to beat up RVD after the match as well? Really strange you’d make him look so vulnerable considering what’s coming.

In the back, Stephanie McMahon walks out of her office looking sad. Eric Bischoff is happy and asks Stephanie, he didn’t, right? She thinks about it, says Triple H signed and then walks off. Triple H walks out of the office and Bischoff yells at him about signing, but Triple H says those were divorce papers. Triple H says as far as business goes; he hasn’t made up his mind. Another good segment to hype the decision. LOVE the divorce papers playing into this the way it did, a really fun detail. Continuity for the win.

Match Six
No Count Out, No Disqualifications
Booker T vs. The Big Show

They go through the motions a little bit here. It’s okay, but nothing special, as they basically just killed time until they got to the two big spots of the match. Kind of sad that this is the last taste of the New World Order story that we will get. As expected, Booker gets thrown around like a rag doll by the bigger man for most the match. Booker runs off the announce table to Scissor Kick Show through the Spanish announce table. It’s a cool spot and when they are back in the ring, Booker hits a Houston Hangover (think Harlem Hangover) off the top for the win. Another solid match but probably the least of all the matches so far. At least Booker got the win, based on his crowd reactions, this man needs to be pushed. **​

Next up is in ring promo time from Triple H as he comes out to decide which show he was going to be on, either Raw or Smackdown. Eric Bischoff comes out and offers to introduce Hunter to his friends in Hollywood. Stephanie McMahon then comes out to do her pitch as well, and just as it looks like Triple H will stay with Smackdown, Shawn Michaels comes out. He convinces Triple H to come hang out at Raw with his friend, so Triple H apologises to Steph and signs with Raw. Solid stuff, nothing crazy, but cool to see Shawn/Trips potentially realigning.

Backstage, Rikishi says he’s disappointed in Triple H for not signing with Smackdown because it really hurts the young guys on Smackdown. Like the idea of them trying to make this a big deal like this. This one feels way more forced than the free agency Stone Cold one earlier in the year though, which hurts it. However, I’m taking Rikishi talking about Triple H as epic continuity, because they are so close after they worked together to run down Austin…

In the back, Booker T and Goldust are asked about Triple H. They both say they don’t care about Triple H coming to Raw. Goldust says he’s the game, but they have the biggest joysticks. Lol, good one liner they’re from Goldust, and again, a good segment at making Triple H signing feel like a big deal. However, this kind of ruins my theory for why they asked Rikishi.

We get a video package hyping the upcoming WWE Tag Team Championship match.

Match Seven
WWE Tag Team Championship
Edge and Hulk Hogan (c) vs. Christian and Lance Storm

This was pretty solid, with three good wrestlers being able to carry Hogan to a somewhat respectable match. Which is kind of funny, because the other three handled the work rate, and Hogan probably handled having the crowd invested in the match, as he got a nice ovation throughout. His ovations have been so up and down this year but feel like the taped Smackdowns are probably always playing tricks on me. Edge starts off like a house on fire in typical fiery babyface fashion, as he continued to show how far he has come as a wrestler in the last six months. Hogan unfortunately looks even more slower and beat down than usual, and he botches heaps of stuff. Genuinely doesn’t look good and doesn’t sell either. The other three tried to work around him until Tests interference is thwarted by Rikishi. Chris Jericho then runs in from the crowd and hits Edge with one of the tag belts. Jericho runs off through the crowd and Storm gets the pin. New champs. I’m glad they are putting the straps on the anti-American group because they are an enjoyable act, and their promo work, especially Storm, has been really good recently. I can deal with the interference from Jericho as well, since he’s got his pending showdown with Edge on Smackdown. Solid match, no thanks to Hogan. **1/4​

Kurt Angle is walking through the backstage area when Eric Bischoff stops him. Bischoff tries to get him to sign to Raw. Kurt tells Eric that he has a title to go win. Nice little segment to show off focused Kurt, but also love the GM’s trying to poach each other’s talent.

In the back, Stephanie McMahon watched that conversation on a monitor when Marc Lloyd appears. He asks her about Bischoff’s signings and potential signings. She says that’s alright that Kurt Angle talks to Bischoff because she’s in direct contact with everyone on Raw, and when the time is right, she’ll rip the heart out of Raw. Nice to get Steph’s reaction, this was fine. I find the whole wrestlers watching other backstage segments from backstage on a monitor, only to then seemingly not realise they are on the big screen to be interesting. Oh well, decent promo from Steph.

Hype video for the main event airs, and “Downfall” by Trust Company works so well for package.

Match Eight
WWE Undisputed Championship Match
Triple Threat
The Undertaker (c) vs. Kurt Angle vs. The Rock

An awesome main event by three top level, main event experienced guys who know how to tell a story and engage a crowd. ‘Taker’s been showing some face tendencies over the last few weeks, and it’s clear his heel run is ending, as his pop here matches the pop of The Rock. Admittedly Rock’s popularity has been starting to dwindle all year, but he’s still a top three guy for sure. Angle is annoyed early on because he can’t get the attention of the other two, who have plenty of personal animosity towards each other. When Angle finally gets their attention, he regrets it. Triple Threats usually don’t have much psychology but ‘Taker constantly throwing Angle out of the ring in the early stages, because he wants to inflict punishment on The Rock was great. Match is off to a hot start and never really dips, with a nice section where Angle goes nuts with Suplexes on Rock. They do go a bit finisher happy in the second half of this, which could be seen as a fault, but it’s a minor one considering how good everything else is. Not sure stealing each other’s finishers is needed for a thrown together match like this. That should only really be dusted out in matches where there’s a big, personal feud, in my opinion. Angle and Rock settle in to doing a fair bit of the in-ring stuff, and ‘Taker kind of just brawls with whoever ends up out of the ring. ‘Taker and Angle recycle the Triangle Choke spot from their match a few weeks ago on Smackdown, which is a fine way to play off that drama. ‘Taker’s arm isn’t hooked in the hold though so it looks awful, as if he could just slide his head out whenever he felt like it. JR is amazing on commentary in the finishing stretch, as finally Rock hits his own finisher, the Rock Bottom on Angle to score the win. Incredible, loved this, not perfect, but very entertaining. ****
​

Holy shit. I didn’t realise how awesome Vengeance was. This was a great PPV, hoping they can continue the momentum into Summerslam.

 

[Stojy]

WWE Raw
July 22nd, 2002
Grand Rapids, Michigan​

We kick off the night with an in ring promo time from Eric Bischoff, and the first thing to note is that the Raw commentary team has been moved from ringside to by the stage, similar to the commentary position on WCW Nitro. Bischoff gets plenty of heat from the crowd. When he talks, he promises the WWE Undisputed Champion The Rock will be here later. He then introduces the man who is going to be the cornerstone of Raw, Triple H. Triple H then comes out and he introduces his best friend, Shawn Michaels, who is wearing a horrendous purple t-shirt. Bischoff reveals he’s going to make Michaels the manager for Triple H. He says anytime you see Triple H, Shawn Michaels will not be far behind. Shawn says he doesn’t have an issue, but he has an issue with Bischoff TELLING him that. Bischoff says he’s telling Michaels because he’s Eric Bischoff. HBK doesn’t have the stroke he once had in the WWE. He has no choice. The fans start an asshole chant directed at Bischoff. Shawn says whenever he has to do something someone else’s way or the highway, he always chooses the highway and with that Shawn leaves. Bischoff says Shawn’s not welcome back and Triple H is not pleased. Bischoff tells Triple H to talk some sense into Michaels. Triple H leaves to go after Michaels. Bischoff then announces there will be a unification match for the Intercontinental and European Championship, and it will be a ladder match. A pretty good opening here. We get the first glimpse of a talent (Michaels) disagreeing with Bischoff and the way he reacts so that was good. Triple H just kind of standing around like an extra was a bit awkward but it served its purpose. I have mixed feelings on the booking of RVD/Jeff, but I’ll touch on that during the match.

Backstage, Shawn Michaels tells Triple H that he has earned the right to do whatever he wants to do. Triple H says Shawn is the one who brought him to Raw and now he’s just going to leave? He tells Shawn not to walk out and asks if managing him would be THAT bad, since Shawn’s back is shot. Shawn says he has a back injury, but he still has his pride. Triple H says he’s not asking him to be his lackey. It wasn’t Triple H’s ideas but he’s asking Shawn to not take his ball and go home like Stone Cold did. He wants to make the ride together. He says he has some ideas, and Shawn says it better be damn good. This was more interesting with these two delving a little deeper here into Shawn’s motivations and H’s response. Love that when babyface Triple H threw out the pot shot at Austin, he got booed. This segment makes us wonder what the idea is.

Match One
WWE Intercontinental and WWE European Championship Unification Match
Ladder Match
Jeff Hardy (c) vs. Rob Van Dam (c)

They had some good ideas as the match progressed, but it took them a bit to get going. The first minute or so just wasn’t good, as Jeff was overly sloppy, and it seemed like a lot of the stuff he was trying were contrived spots that made everything look fake and to organised. After the first minute or so though, they settled into a nice groove, with both men hitting some nice spots to keep the fans invested. It’s Jeff’s second ladder match in three weeks but wouldn’t surprise me if Jeff is out of it here. With that being said, he did do a good job of selling general soreness, based on the other big matches he has had recently (think ladder match with ‘Taker). Despite being two guys known to lean on spots, it was nice to see them not just break out into an immediate spot fest. They both do a good job of making the other persons offense look super cool. In the end RVD knocks Hardy off a ladder, then hits the Five Star Frog Splash from the top of the ladder, and then climbs up to retrieve the titles. RVD wins. Now it wasn’t perfect, but the match was still good. Booking is a little all over the place though. Two ladder matches in like three weeks. No thanks. Also, Jeff’s been getting this SUPER push lately, and then he loses to RVD, who is an upper midcarder at best. Way to kill his momentum. Not only that, RVD is probably one of only a few guys on the roster with the same or more popularity than Jeff, so it kind of got the fans cheering for Jeff less. Especially in Michigan. Still, I don’t want to just talk negatively of this, because it was really good. ***​

Christopher Nowinski is out next for some in ring promo time. He thanks Eric Bischoff for giving him the time to speak his mind because he has something to get off his chest. He then basically insults the people and the city that they are in, but The Undertaker comes out and beats the shit out of him. This was fine. Nowinski plays the arrogant heel role well, and this completes ‘Taker’s face turn which has been inevitable for the past month.

Backstage, Eric Bischoff is talking to Rhyno trying to recruit him too Raw. Rhyno thanks Bischoff for the opportunity and says that when he’s healthy he will be back better than ever. He thanks Bischoff for the first class travel as well and will keep in touch with Bischoff when he’s ready to return. As Rhyno leaves, D’Lo Brown and Shawn Stasiak approach Bischoff about getting some time on Raw. Bischoff finally gives in. He says he as a three minute hole in the show and wants them to entertain him in the three minutes. He says if they don’t entertain him, they’ll never be on Raw again. I guess a fine way to remind us that Rhyno exists, and again, the GM’s trying to recruit and steal talent is just so much fine right now. Hate to see D’Lo being treated like such a jobber, but this does lead to something cool. A good segment overall.

Match Two
Bubba Ray Dudley and Trish Stratus vs. Molly Holly and William Regal

Eh, I don’t have a lot to say about this one. Not putrid but not very good either. The big stipulation here is that the opposite sex don’t have to tag out and can wrestle each other. That smartly plays into the finish, as Regal makes Trish tap out to the Regal Stretch. Nice way to make Regal look like a scumbag, but not a good match. *3/4
​

Backstage, Eric Bischoff is talking to someone and tells them that they know what to do. He then bumps into Chris Benoit and congratulates him on a great match last night. As a taste of what he’s bringing to Raw, Bischoff books Benoit vs. Booker T tonight in what was one of WCW’s greatest rivalries. The winner of the match will get a shot at the WWE Intercontinental Championship. Another solid segment here. Benoit not looking overly impressed because of their history, despite being a heel, is something I liked.

In the back, The Rock has arrived with the WWE Undisputed Championship. Yay.

Now it’s in ring promo time from the new WWE Undisputed Champion The Rock. He starts by putting over the match he had with Kurt Angle and The Undertaker last night. But that was last night, tonight he is here just like he told Eric Jerkoff, Eric Jackoff, he is here as the Undisputed Champion. Before he can say much else, Eddie interrupts and remains on the stage, asking Rock who he thinks he is. Guerrero has a problem with The Rock. He has two little girls at home, and they worship the ground their father walks on. He saw a poster of The Rock next to a picture of himself in his daughter’s room, and he had to teach them discipline. He tore the poster up and burned it, and they cried, and he blames The Rock. Rock calls Eddie a psycho freak. He says he isn’t a movie star, but Eddie is. They go back and forth a bit until Eddie calls his hair The People’s Mullet. Rock tells Eddie that he looks like Billy Ray Cyrus had sex with a Blue hyena. Eddie says he will teach Rock a lesson on how to respect him and it will start tonight in the ring. Eddie makes the challenge and The Rock accepts. This was awesome. Completely out of nowhere, but awesome. One of the highlights of having one champion across two brands, was the champ would do really random stuff on the show his number one contender usually wasn’t a part of, and it would create some hidden gems. This felt similar to that, even though it’s slightly different because Rock’s next challenger is on Raw. Eddie here especially was amazing on the mic, great work.

After Eddie has left, The Rock heads up the aisle, and Brock Lesnar makes his entrance, walking right past The Rock and not even acknowledging him. Loved this, thought the mind games are a terrific strategy. Got Heyman written all over it.

Match Three
Singapore Cane Match
Brock Lesnar w/Paul Heyman vs. Tommy Dreamer

A really great squash here as Brock looks like a million bucks in beating the hell out of Dreamer. Highly entertaining for a squash. This is exactly what it should have been. The match ends when Dreamer hits Lesnar with a DDT which gets a two count. Brock then bounces back into the action and hits Tommy with an F5 for the win. I loved the fact that Brock didn’t actually use a Singapore Cane during the match, because he simply didn’t need to. Solid work here. **1/2​

After the match, The Undertaker attacks Lesnar, using a Singapore Cane to send Brock out to the floor. Nice continuity here. Even though ‘Taker is no longer champ and on a collision course with Brock, but he still needed to get one back on Lesnar for the attack last week. I like it.

Backstage, The Big Show and Shawn Michaels meet up. Show says that Michaels gave him tough love with that Superkick. Right now, he doesn’t see Kevin Nash, or the rest of the New World Order and Shawn doesn’t look so tough. Shawn says he doesn’t know how tough he is and asks how bad Show wants to find out. Show laughs and says maybe he will find out and walks away. Again, I really like the continuity here. Fine enough segment.

Back from the break, D’Lo Brown and Shawn Stasiak are fighting in the ring as Eric Bischoff sits on the stage and yells at them to do better. Bischoff cuts their guy to one minute as two men enter tine ring and attack them. It’s Jamal and Rosey, better known as 3 Minute Warning. I mentioned earlier I hate to see D’Lo used in this generic role, but I’m pumped for 3 Minute Warning which should make things okay.

Backstage, Triple H hands Shawn Michaels a t-shirt and says he’s dead serious. Shawn laughs. An anticipation building segment which does it’s job, even though you know exactly what they’re building towards.

In the back, Goldust decrees Booker T king of the giant killers. They talk some more, and Booker says Goldust wants him to look like a fool by wearing a crown. Goldust says no, but he has something better. Goldust has a wig because he couldn’t find a crown. Booker puts it on and cuts an awesome Don King style promo. Ends it with ONLY IN AMERICA. ONLY IN AMERICA. NOW CAN YOU DIG THAT? The comedy wasn’t amazing here tonight, but Booker still delivered a terrific promo.

Match Five
Booker T vs. Chris Benoit

One thing that was disappointing for this one, so I’ll get the negative out of the way is the crowd reaction. Booker is over as hell right now, and so is Benoit, but the reaction just isn’t very loud, almost as if they are uninterested. As for the action itself, it went for about six minutes, and it was really damn good. Benoit’s beat down on Booker’s back and ribs was typical Benoit being brutal which was enjoyable. Benoit spent a good chunk of the match hitting plenty of tight looking Suplexes and strikes. Booker’s comeback is filled with great hope spots and near falls, but Benoit gets the Crossface and Booker has tap out. Not on the level of some of their WCW matches, but still good in its own right. ***​

Eric Bischoff comes down to sit at commentary for the next match. He says nice things about Jerry Lawler and Jim Ross saying he’s glad where he’s at right now with the best announcers. Cool way to put over Bischoff as a fake douche for what he’s doing to Spike Dudley here.

Match Six
Spike Dudley vs. The Big Show

Another squash, this one nowhere near as entertaining as the Brock one earlier in the night. Bischoff’s opportunity giving is just a way for Spike to get destroyed, and Show eventually finishes him off with a Chokeslam. Meh. ½*​

After the match, Bischoff directs Show from the announcers table to use a table. Show gets a table and brings it into the ring but before he can use it, Bubba Ray Dudley runs down and low blows Show. Show takes over thought and ends up Chokeslamming Bubba onto Spike and through the table. Whoa, Show being booked like a monster again. That’s a shock. Solid enough if it leads somewhere.

It’s in ring promo time for Shawn Michaels and Triple H, and they come out to the D Generation X music, wearing their trusty DX t-shirts. Triple H does his usual Michael Buffer schtick with his version of the DX intro but right before he finishes with the SUCK IIIIIIITTTT part, he turns on Shawn and nails him with Pedigree. I’m happy this his because it gets Triple H to play as his natural heel self. Plus Shawn wrestling will be good for PPV’s whenever it happens.

Backstage, Triple H gets in a limo and drives off. Another limo then pulls up and the window rolls down. It’s Stephanie McMahon. She tells security that she wants Bischoff to know that his competition has arrived. Awesome. Steph here to cause shenanigans sounds fun.

Match Seven
Eddie Guerrero vs. The Rock

This was a good match, although they probably could have done better with the right circumstances. This honestly just makes me sad though, two of my all time favourites and we never got a proper feud out of them. Not only that, but this went about six minutes, and they never got a rematch. So much potential missed. They both bump really well and the reversals they do to each other throughout are just so smooth. When Eddie is in control, as he beats down The Rock, he seems super intense and angry which is great. Eventually, The Rock fights back and hits The People’s Elbow for the win. A good match, but there were better matches on the show if I’m honest. **3/4​

After the match, Brock Lesnar runs down and takes the belt from the referee. Lesnar stares at The Rock, who climbs down the middle rope, and he stares just as much as he realises. Brock then puts the title out for Rock to grab it, but Rock doesn’t reach for it. Lesnar aggressively throws the belt to the ground and leaves, whilst Rock watches him all the way. LOVING the way this is starting. Great mind games so far from Lesnar, hope he’s okay too.

In the parking lot, Eric Bischoff argues with Stephanie McMahon, and she says she’ll kick him in the testicles. Steph gets out of the limo and Bischoff does some karate taunts. Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman then show up and stand between the two of them. Bischoff hides behind Brock and mocks Stephanie. Steph then opens the limo door to allow Lesnar and Heyman to enter the limo. Bischoff is upset and Steph asks how it feels to be kicked in the testicles. AMAZINGLY good ending to the show. Steph hits back with a HUGE signing which is great. Also Heyman takes his client, Lesnar, away from arguably one of his biggest enemies in the business in Bischoff. This works on every level.

Raw is honestly cooking since we said it would start to suck. Another good show here, some good wrestling littered throughout, the GM competition stuff still feels really fresh, and can’t complain with Trips/Shawn at this point.

 

[Stojy]

WWE Smackdown
July 25th, 2002
Indiana, Indianapolis ​

A video package airs where Stephanie McMahon promotes her first Smackdown in charge, talking about how tonight we will see Chris Jericho vs. Edge in a steel cage match. On top of that, Christian and Lance Storm will defend the WWE Tag Team Championships against Hulk Hogan and the WWE Undisputed Champion The Rock, and we’ll also get the debut of Rey Mysterio. Logically, Rock and Hogan have no business getting a title shot, but I’ll looks past that. Stuff Stephanie has hyped sounds like we’re in for a good show.

Match One
Kurt Angle vs. Mark Henry

This was solid enough from these two, and probably would have been even better if not for the booking, and the short run time. Angle was so giving to everybody in 2002, making anybody look good really, and whilst Henry is naturally an AMAZING heel, he played the powerful race role well here. I was enjoying this up until the point where the booking and interference took over. Henry is well and truly in control, when Brock Lesnar comes in and attacks Henry, finishing him off with an F5 before walking away with Paul Heyman. Based on the blatant interference, the ref gives a disqualification victory to Henry. Low level solid due to booking and time. **​

As Brock and Heyman walk up the ramp, Angle is confused. He then quickly leaves the ring to follow Brock and Heyman to the back. Clearly showing there is no alignment here, makes sense for Angle to be annoyed at being cost a match. Now that he’s on Smackdown, Brock’s wasting no time with rubbing shoulders with the big guns, which is the right move considering he has a title shot in a few weeks.

Backstage, Kurt finds Brock and asks what that was for. Brock says Kurt looked like he needed help. He tells him to relax because he helped him out. Kurt asks who the hell he thinks he is, and Brock answers that he’s the next WWE Champion. He was hoping to face Angle at Summerslam, but Angle blew it. The days of Angle being number one on Smackdown are over. A pissed off Angle storms off. Great follow up here, although I’d prefer Brock let Heyman do the talking. Angle being pissed but choosing to walk away in my eyes further puts over how dangerous he knows Lesnar is. This was all really good. Brock is a star.

In the back, Stacy Keibler asks Stephanie McMahon if she can have her old job back. She starts by getting the door when there’s a knock. She comes back with some flowers. She gives them to Steph and asks who they’re from. The card with the flowers says “Smackdown’s loss is Raw’s gain. See you tonight. Love, Eric”. Stephanie throws the flowers against the wall out of anger. More good stuff here. Even though she’s a relatively minor character, I love that there’s even continuity for Stacy and her predicament now Vince McMahon is gone. On top of that, the battling GM stuff continues to be enjoyable.

Match Two
Reverend D’Von w/Deacon Batista vs. Val Venis w/Hardcore Holly

This was another solid match here, as both are rather competent when they want to be, and thankfully the match has enough run time, unlike the opener, so they can actually do some good work. Val looks super fit here as well, as in really in shape, so I’m really hoping this push lasts a lot longer than I think it does. In the end, Holly cuts off Batista’s interference on the outside, and that allows Val to hit the Blue Thunder Driver for the win. Solid stuff. **1/2​

After the match, Batista slides into the ring and Clotheslines Venis. Holly tries to help but Batista nails him with an awesome Spinebuster. The beastly booking of Batista continues. No issues from me.

In the parking lot, Stacy Keibler is with security and tells them if they see anything out of the norm to get in contact with Stephanie McMahon. Stacy then notices Edge walking out of the arena and tells the guards to go stop him and they all run off. The idea of Steph being on high alert of wrestlers potentially leaving to sign with Bischoff is a good one.

Earlier tonight, WWE Tag Team Champions Christian and Lance Storm are talking about being champions and how they earned the titles at Vengeance. Storm says today they have to make a statement against Rock and Hogan. Christian calls Americans lazy and stupid, which is what Americans are. Storm says he thinks they will be tag champs for a long time. This was okay, I guess. Heels running their mouth to build some heat for their match tonight. No issues.

In the back, security had detained Edge when Stephanie showed up. Stephanie wants to know what’s going on and if Edge is leaving to sign with Bischoff on Raw. She hasn’t even talked to him yet. Edge says he’s not bailing and that he’s on Smackdown for the long run. Edge wants to show Stephanie something in the production truck. They go to the truck, and he tells a crew member to pop in the tape. It’s a countdown clock to stay on the screen until he gets Jericho in the cage. The accusing of Edge potentially leaving was good. Honestly though, the countdown clock thing was pretty lame. I could have done without that.

In the back, Marc Lloyd tries to interview Kurt Angle in the parking lot, but he’s on the phone and walks off saying “hold on, Eric”. After Angle walks off, Lloyd talks about how Eric Bischoff was seen at the airport earlier. Nice progression with the big angle for the night, with Kurt being teased as the one talking to Bischoff.

Match Three
Albert vs. Rikishi

This is exactly what it needed to be. Two big, strong guys beating the crap out of each other and using strength based moves. As opposed to rest holds, these two have an old fashioned hoss battle, really battering and throwing each other around. Albert looks especially amazing when he’s on offense, but then Rikishi comes back and the quality dips. Rikishi continues to get pushed for some reason. Solid stuff and The Kish eventually hits the Banzai Drop to get the win. Admittedly it was nice to see Albert get his first appearance on Smackdown in what feels like forever. Another solid match here **1/4​

We get a vignette reminding us that Rey Mysterio debuts tonight. YAY, about time.

In the parking lot, Marc Lloyd is talking to Stephanie McMahon about the Kurt Angle situation. Stephanie looks upset so she calls Angle but can only leave a voicemail. She encourages Angle to not listen to whatever Eric Bischoff is telling him. More interesting advancement in this angle tonight, good stuff.

Match Four
WWE Tag Team Championship Match
Christian and Lance Storm (c) w/Test vs. Hulk Hogan and The Rock

Just add this to the list of solid matches to take place on this show. The heels were great here, with Christian and Storm bumping really big for their high profile opponents. On the other side of the ring, The Rock seemed a bit off for arguably the first time all year, and Hogan continues to be Hogan. The nostalgia that was around in March/April has worn off now, and whenever he’s in the ring for longer than one or two moves, the quality of the match deteriorates badly. Of course being the worst of the lot, Hogan hits the Leg Drop and pins Christian, about to win the match, when Brock Lesnar runs in and attacks Hogan. Rock and Hogan win by DQ, but they don’t win the titles. Despite Hogan, still a solid match. **1/4​

After the match, Brock hits the F5 on Hogan. The Rock only spots Brock and Paul Heyman walking away and becomes furious but Brock motions for the belt across his waist before walking to the back. Again, not as prominent or as fun as Raw’s antics, but The Rock wanting to fight and Brock being all calm and just leaving are great mind games.

In the parking lot, Brock and Heyman try to get into a limo, but the driver says that it’s Hogan’s. Lesnar and Heyman take the limo and force the driver to drive them out of the arena. Brock fleeing isn’t necessarily something I’d normally like, but I’m going to chalk it up to not wanting Rock to come get physical with him, so he can continue with the mental warfare.

John Cena is asked about his upcoming match with Test. Cena answers by mocking Test’s teeth, so Test comes in and slaps the hell out of Cena. Test says that Cena is a punk. Not the best segment. It did the job of adding some heat to their match, but Cena’s lame jokes here were the first reminder of some of the worst qualities he would have during his long run at the top of the WWE in a few years.

In the back, Stephanie McMahon asks Chris Jericho if he’s going to jump to Taw. Jericho says he would never jump tonight, and he can’t wait to leave Edge in a pool of his own blood. Solid enough segment to get over the main angle and main event match for the night. No complaints.

Match Five
Chavo Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio

These two put on a good match, which is probably no surprise, so I’d call this a successful debut for Rey for sure. As it should be, there’s parts of this match where it just feels like a Mysterio showcase, where he busts out of a lot of cool high flying and Lucha moves to make a good first impression. With that being said, it’s not a squash by any means, as Chavo has a heat period, where he puts in some really great work focusing on the mid-section of Mysterio. Chavo hit the Gory Bomb here to which was great to see, and I thought Rey’s selling of the mid-section throughout was good. Mysterio debuts the 619 here, which Tazz calls the six nineteen, which sounded SO strange. After that, it’s the West Coast Pop and the win for Mysterio. Good stuff. **3/4​

In the back, Test was walking towards the entrance for his match and bumps into Rey Mysterio. Rey goes to walk off but Test tosses Mysterio into a roller door and tells him to go back to kindergarten. Lol Test is just picking on everyone tonight… It didn’t take long for the short jokes to start for Mysterio either. Not really sure how to judge this one right now, just seemed completely random.

Match Six
John Cena vs. Test

This was rather by the numbers for these two here, but still probably eeks into low level solid territory, as there was nothing necessarily bad about the match. Nothing stood out about the match at all though, which is probably an issue it itself. In the end, Test looks for a Powerbomb but Cena reverses into a Sunset Flip for the win. Solid, although I’d love to see Cena win with some actual offense, or a finishing move for once. **​

After the match, Test nails Cena with the Big Boot. Hoping this indicates a rematch where Test wins. The booking of Test as part of this foreign heel group has been awful so far, because he loses every week. There are only so many after the match attacks after you’ve lost that you can dot maintain heat.

Backstage, Stacy Keibler and Stephanie McMahon continue to try and call Kurt Angle, but he refuses to pick up. Stephanie leaves a message saying Kurt won’t return any calls, so she’s asking him to at least have the common courtesy to tell her to her face that he’s leaving if he is. She demands he come back and do so. I probably sound like a broken record but more good stuff here.

Match Seven
Steel Cage Match
Chris Jericho vs. Edge

This was not perfect but still good and easily match of the night. There’s just some weird spots and stuff in this one. The one that stands out immediately is when Jericho gets tied up in the ropes and Edge delivers the Spear. Jericho then basically unhooks himself, no sells it and throws Jericho into the cage five seconds later. Weird. Both men bled which I thought added to the match, and both men portrayed the hatred which associated the angle well in the cage. The other thing I like is they don’t try and do the forced WWE 25 minute epic, there’s literally no fat in this match at all, as it goes all of twelve minutes. Having another cage match so close to the Edge/Angle one, you can’t help but compare. I think the Edge/Angle one was quite a bit better than this, and unfortunately here, the blade job from Edge was nothing compares to what he did previously. The other thing I like here is the result. Edge has crazy momentum right now, and is on a hot streak, so him capitalising on all of that here and getting the win felt like the right decision. A couple of really cool spots that both guys deserve credit for, was Jericho hitting a Bulldog off the top rope, and then Edge nailing the Electric Chair Drop on Jericho, who was basically at the top of the cage. I wasn’t the biggest on the ending of this one because I didn’t feel like it matched the reason for the match. These two HATE each other, Edge is craving revenge, you’d think he’d want to destroy Jericho, but instead they go with the trope where the heel crawls towards the door, and the face begins climbing the cage to escape. Edge gets out first and wins. Like I said, still a good match so this deserves some credit, but it’s far from perfect. ***1/4​

After the match, Christian, Lance Storm and Test attack Edge on the floor. They send him back into the cage and work him over until John Cena comes down for the save. Rey Mysterio also runs down and hits a giant Crossbody off the top of the cage. Test tries to Powerbomb Rey, but he reverses into a Hurricanrana. Rey and Cena both Dropkick Test and take out storm, whilst Jericho climbs over the top and escapes. The three faces, which Cole dubs the future of Smackdown, remain in the ring to celebrate. I guess this is why Test was making all these enemies. A six man would be fun next week if that’s where they’re heading. Hopefully.

Backstage, Stephanie McMahon is backstage talking with Billy Kidman about the match they just saw. Stacy Keibler runs in to tell her that Eric Bischoff is in the parking lot. As Steph gets there, the limo door is locked, but Eric pops out from the sunroof. Bischoff says he told Stephanie he’d knock her out. His gain would be Smackdown’s loss. He says he’ll see her on Monday. Bischoff leaves and Stephanie can’t believe it. From behind, Kurt Angle comes over and Steph is relieved to see him. She says she thought he was with Eric, and he says he was talking to his brother, Eric. Stephanie then says that if Kurt wasn’t in the limo with Bischoff, who was? Great final segment here to pay off the long running angle for the night with a swerve and a further mystery. Was well done throughout.

A really good edition of Smackdown here. Good main event, good to solid wrestling throughout, a huge debut and an enjoyable angle to carry us through the night. Enjoyed this.

 

[Chris]

Lance Storm has told this story a few times, but as of when this show was taped, he was under the impression that he and Christian would essentially be a main feature of the SD tag division and work with the newly debuted Rey, etc.

But I'm pretty sure Vince decided to move them to Raw with next to no notice before the next Monday so this was actually their last SmackDown appearance

 

[Stojy]

Lance Storm has told this story a few times, but as of when this show was taped, he was under the impression that he and Christian would essentially be a main feature of the SD tag division and work with the newly debuted Rey, etc.

But I'm pretty sure Vince decided to move them to Raw with next to no notice before the next Monday so this was actually their last SmackDown appearance

I feel sorry for Lance here. He was going to be prominent on SD and instead got shafted over on Raw, until the partnership with Regal took off later in the year.

I like Storm but both tag divisions were pretty amazing in the second half of 2002, so the knee jerk reaction from Vince turned out pretty well here.

 

[Chris]

The raw division would have been abysmal if not for them so I can't really disagree, just sucks for Lance specifically (or I guess more accurately my own enjoyment in watching him)

 

[Stojy]

The raw division would have been abysmal if not for them so I can't really disagree, just sucks for Lance specifically (or I guess more accurately my own enjoyment in watching him)

Yep, makes sense. I'd consider myself a Storm fan as well. This is especially a shame for Storm since I'd argue over the past month on Smackdown, Storm had probably been delivering the best promos of his career. Well, on a positive, at least he won't be "boring" until I watch 2003.

 

[Stojy]

WWE Velocity
July 27th, 2002
Indiana, Indianapolis

Match One
Billy and Chuck w/Rico vs. Shannon Moore and The Hurricane

Wow did not expect this, but the fast paced awesomeness of Moore and Hurricane has taken Billy and Chuck to a good match. They kept the pace up for the most part, and for that reason it was really good. All of the high risk stuff pretty much hit the mark without any issues, and nothing crazy that didn’t make sense to me. Chuck got hit with quite a few Neckbreakers so maybe he could have sold that somewhat, but otherwise, this was really good. Making note of the fact that Moore has impressed yet again. Seems kind of unfortunate that Billy and Chuck’s best performance in ring comes after their title reign, and when they are most likely on their way down the card as a team. Based off of this, I hope we see some more of the Moore/Hurricane team. This was a good opener for sure. ***​

Next up is a video recap from all of Stephanie McMahon stressing on Smackdown, and by the end of the show, Kurt Angle is proven to be staying on Smackdown, so she still has no idea who has signed with Eric Bischoff to join Raw.

Match Two
Mike Awesome vs. Tajiri

I didn’t even know this existed, so I marked out for the appearance of Awesome on Velocity. Two former ECW guys meet here on Velocity of all places, and they put on a solid match. Coming back from injury, I don’t know it was a lack of confidence in his knee, or if it was just some ring rust, but Awesome wasn’t hitting all of his spots as smoothly as usual and looked to lack some confidence. Also, if you’re an ECW fan like me, it’s weird to see Awesome lose this match, as he destroyed virtually everybody in ECW. Tajiri’s kicks were on point, even if Awesome no sold at points, which is strange, because he should have remembered how to sell his actually injured leg. Tajiri ends up getting Awesome down and hits the Buzzsaw Kick. A solid match for sure, although a loss to Tajiri on return, with the way WWE view Tajiri, says they don’t have any plans for Awesome really. **1/2​

In the back, Funaki and Rico are walking down a hallway together. Funaki is happy that Billy and Chuck won tonight, and Rico says it’s only a matter of time until they are tag team champions again. They then come across Hardcore Holly who asks Rico when was the last time that Billy and Chuck lost. It was last week against Holly and Val Venis. Holly wants to beat down Rico later tonight. Holly laughs at Rico’s fearful reaction before walking off. A meh segment to be honest. Wasn’t great, and Holly/Rico main eventing over the Cruiserweight Title match is a joke. Also, what a strange combination of wrestlers in the one backstage segment…

We get a video recap of the Chris Jericho vs. Edge in a Steel Cage at Smackdown. After Edge wins, Christian, Lance Storm and Test attack him but John Cena and Rey Mysterio make the save.

Match Three
WWE Cruiserweight Championship Match
Jamie Noble (c) w/Nidia vs. Billy Kidman

This was a really good match, very fun. Two on the one episode of Velocity is awesome. These two are good in the ring here, better then their PPV match in my opinion. Sometimes you just have a night where everything works. They even have a false finish spot, where Noble runs into Nidia on the apron and Kidman gets a Roll Up. The referee accidentally counts to three, but somehow, it just made the situation even more dramatic. Didn’t take away from the match at all which is surprising. Probably because they all acted like true pros and didn’t get flabbergasted. Noble worked on the back of Kidman throughout, which was nice, but unfortunately, they forgot about it completely in the home stretch. In the end, Kidman has Noble on the apron and attempts to Suplex him back into the ring (whilst already standing in the ring himself), but Nidia trips Kidman. Noble lands on top for the pin and Nidia holds Kidman’s foot down for the win. A well-executed finish against two guys who meshed really well here, good performance. ***1/4

Match Four
Hardcore Holly vs. Rico w/Billy and Chuck

I really didn’t like that this got the main event slot over the Cruiserweight Title match. They tried hart and whilst the match was very basic, a lot of plain punches and kicks, it was low level solid if I’m feeling generous. One thing I’ll give them credit for is not making things boring. Rico hit a really nice Moonsault during this match as well which was cool to see. Decent stuff, and after overcoming interference from Billy and Chuck, Holly wins with The Alabama Slam. Solid-ish. **​

After the match, Billy and Chuck attack Holly to get revenge for Rico. Val Venis comes in swinging wildly, making the save for his tag team partner. Holly recovers and Clotheslines Billy to the floor. Holly and Venis then hit a botched Hart Attack on Chuck, with Val driving Chuck down well before Holly collided with him. Don’t mind a little undercard feud between these teams. Holly/Val putting together some double team offense would be awesome if it wasn’t messed up. I appreciate the effort, just not the execution.

Boom, awesome episode of Velocity. Nothing bad, and a couple of bangers.

 

[Stojy]

WWE Heat
July 28th, 2002
Grand Rapids, Michigan

Match One
Matt Hardy vs. Steven Richards

Wow, I must admit I did not expect this. Not necessarily the match quality, which was as solid as I expected, but the result. Did not expect Richards to be getting the win here at all. This one was a rematch from three weeks ago on Heat, in which Hardy got the win. I’m all for series of matches and competitive feuds coming out of Heat, so this sort of booking works for me. It’s a cheap win as he gets a Roll Up and holds the tight so there will be likely be another match between the duo, which again, works really well here. It’s also crazy to see just how the WWE were on Jeff Hardy, but the type of shit they were putting Matt, the better brother, though. Crowd were into it and the action was solid so I’m okay with these two going at it again. **​

Terri is backstage with Raven. She notes that Raven has been disgruntled with his treatment. She wonders why he hasn’t tried to sign with Smackdown since he was banished from Raw. Raven says he has zero leverage since he’s been relegated to Heat. He isn’t being exposed enough. He knows that they’d find a way to kick him off Smackdown. So he decides to make Heat his own personal playground. A good promo like Raven as per usual. The idea of him running roughshod on Heat to rebel the system is a fantastic one. This gets me excited for him all over again, even if I know WWE won’t do anything valuable with him.

Match Two
Crash Holly vs. Raven

It’s a pretty simple formula here as Raven misses a Running Knee, and collides with the corner of the ring, which allows Raven to work on Crash’s leg. The work on the leg was pretty uninspired and whilst Crash should decent enough, it was nothing overly impressive. Match was a bit meh actually, but at least they used psychology, with Crash’s leg giving out, with allows Raven to get his patented DDT for the win. Good result, bad match. *1/2 ​

We see a video recap of Triple H turning on Shawn Michaels during last week’ Raw.

Match Three
Goldust vs. Justin Credible

Pretty similar to the previous, another meh match. Credible tries hard here, and it’s not his worst performance in recent times, but it’s still not good either. He clearly tried hard on offense, which includes awkward posing and attempting to look cool (Credible’s specialty). As the character work from Goldust continues on Raw, he’s getting louder positive reactions by the week which is great to see. Goldust can’t hit the Curtain Call, as Credible escapes, but he does hit a sharp looking Director’s Cut (Powerslam) to get the win. Not good unfortunately. *1/2​

We see a video recap of the WWE Undisputed Champion The Rock defeating Eddie Guerrero on Raw, before it shows a replay of Brock Lesnar choosing to appear on Smackdown instead of Raw.

Match Four
WWE Hardcore Championship Match
Bradshaw (c) vs. Johnny Stamboli

Eh, unfortunately by 2002 the Hardcore division is a bit like beating a dead horse. It’s no longer creative, and it’s just the same meandering around with some generic weapons like the division has been since last year’s Mania. Bradshaw dominates for the most and it’s not a pretty match, barely passable but he does beat the living hell out of Stamboli. The Hardcore Champion retains after placing a trash can over Stamboli’s head and hitting the Clothesline From Hell. Worst match of the night. *1/4
​

Bleh. Not a good episode of Heat this week.

 

[Stojy]

WWE Raw
July 29th, 2002
Greensborough, North Carolina​

JR and The King welcome us to the show and tonight we’ve got the WWE Undisputed Champion The Rock in non-title action against Ric Flair, and Rob Van Dam will defend the WWE Intercontinental Championship against Chris Benoit. Two matches, I’m looking forward to, let’s go.

Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff makes his way down to the ring and is greeted with boos. He introduces the newest members of Raw, the WWE Tag Team Champions. It’s the UnAmericans, Christian, Lance Storm (the champs) and Test as well. The new Raw recruits make their way down the ring and Test has an upside down US flag. Storm starts insulting American icons such as Elvis, Marilyn Monroe and Babe Ruth. He also insults John Wayne, and JR loses it on commentary, yelling HEY NOW WAIT JUST A DAMN MINUTE which was hilarious to me. Storm says they’re all disgraceful for their actions. Christian lets us know that the heart of America is as cold as Ted Williams’ frozen corpse. Eventually Shawn Michaels comes onto the stage to interrupt, and he says he wants Triple H tonight. He doesn’t know if Triple H has the night off or if he shot himself after “listening to these pinheads”. Michaels wants to exercise his right to beat Triple H all over the ring. Bischoff says that Triple H isn’t here, and Michaels is about to leave until Test tells him to beat it. Shawn says he knows they are upset because he kicked Bret Hart’s ass, but they need to learn to live with it. He tells Bischoff to find Triple H or else Shawn will bring him what’s left. Shawn leaves and Storm promises that they will make an impact tonight. The UnAmericans are a big coup for Raw, especially Storm and Christian so this started really well. Michaels wanting Triple H and not caring about who he interrupts works as well. The Bret line irked me, because are we trying to say the reason these guys hate American is because of what Shawn did five years ago? Okay. Just felt like he was looking for any reason to bring it up really. Still, segment was fine overall.

Backstage, Eric Bischoff wishes Eddie Guerrero luck for tonight for his match against Booker T. A stagehand then tells Bischoff that a woman is in the parking lot to see him. Bischoff says he’ll deal with it himself. Nice tease of something bigger happening here to keep viewers on the hook, I’m okay with this.

Match One
Booker T vs. Eddie Guerrero

These two need MORE time. They didn’t get to long here, but even for what they got, they did a good job. The action was good and enjoyable for the most part. In a nice bit of continuity, Eddie uses the same strategy his buddy Benoit used last week to beat Booker. He worked the mid-section of Booker, hit Suplexes and Back Breakers, and even looks to use an exposed turnbuckle the way Benoit did. This strategy also turns out to his undoing which is some great psychology, as this week Booker is not as injured from the PPV and has the move well scouted. Booker ends up nailing Eddie with a Flapjack, which sends Eddie onto the exposed turnbuckle. Booker then follows up with a really athletic and cool Scissors Kick because Guerrero didn’t really bend down for it. The Scissors Kick is enough for Booker to get the win. A good five minute match, but more time would have been appreciated. **3/4​

Backstage, Eric Bischoff opens the limo and its Fabulous Moolah and Mae Young. He yells for them to get the hell away from his building and shuts the door. Random. Meh, although I do like Bischoff getting all worked up thinking this was Stephanie McMahon.

In the back, Shawn Michaels is looking for Triple H and he bumps into Booker T and Goldust. Booker tells him he saw him get his ass hit with the Pedigree. He says it ain’t so funny now, being dissed in front of millions of people by someone you thought was on your side. Shawn says that was business, and he’s not concerned with anything but Triple H right now. As Shawn leaves, Booker suggests that’s an invite for an ass whipping. Good segment here. Shawn on the hunt for Triple H works, and I really like the fact that Booker isn’t just playing nice with Shawn now that he’s a babyface. Love the continuity and layers to characters.

Before the next match, WWE Womens Champion Molly Holly comes out with a microphone. She says William Regal is sick, so Eric Bischoff allowed her to choose a replacement, and she chose The Big Show. Typical heel shenanigans by getting the big giant as her partner, I like it.

Match Two
Bubba Ray Dudley and Trish Stratus vs. Molly Holly and The Big Show

Eh, I don’t know what it is, but this just didn’t do anything for me. Maybe whilst I like the booking, the random inclusion of Show hurt the match because there’s no heat there. I’m genuinely unsure, but just didn’t enjoy this. It looks like they tried hard to keep the pace up, but just didn’t hit the mark. The women do the standard women stuff, I think the issue here was the Show/Bubba stuff was pretty terrible. In the end, Show gets cleared from the ring and Bubba hoists Molly on his shoulders, whilst Trish climbs to the top and they win with a Doomsday Device. Cool finish, but it couldn’t save the match. *3/4​

After the match, The Big Show shoves Trish down, and Chokeslams Bubba, before grabbing a table from underneath the ring. Trish tries to use a chair but Show blocks it. Show gets Trish up for the Chokeslam, but Bubba whacks Show over the back with the chair to save Trish from going through the table, and then they bail to the floor, away from Show. Result says we’ll get a Molly/Trish rematch, and this aftermath suggests Show will probably want to get his hands on Bubba. Only looking forward to one of these two matches, Show/Bubba will be awful based off their interactions in the match tonight.

In the back, Shawn Michaels is still looking for Triple H, but he bumps into Big Show. Show asks if Shawn just saw what happened to him. Show wants to talk. Shawn doesn’t have time and as he leaves, Show says maybe he should make Michaels have time for him. Solid segment to continue the Shawn/Triple H stuff and enjoyed Show getting annoyed here as well. Logical reaction.

Ric Flair is sitting with one of the members of the production crew, but he sees Jeff Hardy and calls him over. Flair talks to Jeff and Eric Bischoff comes over. Flair tells Jeff he doesn’t need to risk his career for ratings. Flair asks Bischoff if he agrees. Bischoff says Jeff vs. Bradshaw for the WWE Hardcore Championship tonight is great TV, and Jeff confirms he is fine. Because he’s home. Eric then asks Ric what his “big announcement” is. Flair says he learned from Bischoff to always save the big moments for the end, and that’s great TV. Flair leaves and Fabulous Moolah and Mae Young enter the scene with Mae trying to kiss Bischoff. Moolah says if Bischoff doesn’t let her promote her book, she will let Mae kiss him more. Bischoff will let her promote her book later. The Jeff push already feels like it’s over. He loses the Euro Title, which no longer exists, and now he’s thrown into the fledgling Hardcore scene. Despite the interaction with Flair here, his push is dead in the water only four weeks after that AMAZING match with ‘Taker. Disappointing result. Flair teasing a big announcement in North Carolina, maybe he’s retiring…lol. The Moolah/Mae stuff was maybe okay to be used as props in 99 but feels old (no pun intended) and played out now.

Match Three
WWE Hardcore Championship Match
Bradshaw (c) vs. Jeff Hardy

An okay match between these two, which admittedly is an upgrade compared to anything else involved with the Hardcore Title recently. Or at least this was decent until all of the shenanigans towards the end, because we can never just have a normal title match in this division now, we have an established trope. So maybe they are trying to keep the Jeff push alive, and are just bad at booking, as Jeff actually wins the title here after landing a Swanton Bomb off the ladder. Solid at best. **​

After the match, Johnny ‘The Bull’ Stamboli ran down and won the title from Jeff, but then Bradshaw nailed him with a Clothesline From Hell. Tommy Dreamer then appears and hits Bradshaw with a Kendo Stick, before pinning Stamboli to become the champion. Tommy then leaves with the Hardcore Title through the crowd. Meh, same shenanigans as always without any new creativity. Just not as fun anymore.

In the back, The Un Americans talk to William Regal, who happens to agree with their viewpoints. He then says he’s recovering from his muscle pull before leaving. Chris Benoit then comes out of his dressing room and Christian wishes Benoit luck in his match. Benoit says he doesn’t need any luck. Love the idea of this group coming to Raw and on night one, they’re playing with friendly with the other non-American talent on the roster. Good idea.

Match Four
WWE Intercontinental Championship Match
Rob Van Dam (c) vs. Chris Benoit

Considering the two involved and the years they’re both having, it’s probably no surprise that this is a really good match. I thought it was really great how in the early stages RVD used his unique flexibility and speed to frustrate Benoit, by escaping a lot of his holds. Benoit then has to resort to plan B and starts throwing vicious chops and headbutts instead. There’s a cool spot here where Benoit is running off the ropes, and RVD does the splits, but instead of Benoit jumping over Van Dam, he hits a Basement Dropkick! Not only is it a cool spot, the Dropkick connects on RVD’s arm, which sets up the rest of the match. Now Benoit’s offense has focus, as he works on the arm in typical brutal fashion. Always cool to see Shoulder Breakers as part of the offense, and RVD took some really gruesome bumps when Benoit threw him shoulder first into the ring posts. This probably could have been better if during the hot finish of sorts, RVD didn’t completely forgot to sell the shoulder. The match eventually ends when Benoit applies the Crippler Crossface. RVD breaks the hold and rolls Benoit over, but Benoit uses the momentum to roll again into a pin of his own and he puts his legs on the ropes to get the win. A bit of a shock result out of nowhere, but I’m okay with Benoit having a reign, and the match was good. ***1/4​

In the back, Shawn Michaels tells a stagehand that he’ll be in the parking lot waiting for Triple H and to tell him if he sees him. During this scene, Big Show can be seen lurking in the background. More good continuation here, short, sweet and no issues.

Eric Bischoff introduces Fabulous Moolah and Mae Young to allow Moolah to promote her book. He tells them to talk about the book, but they only have three minutes. Highlight of her speech is Moolah calling Cyndi Lauper a little bitch. Mae wants Moolah to talk about Hank Williams and they begin to argue. Bischoff says that the two ladies just aren’t entertaining enough. Rosey and Jamal then come through the crowd and DESTROY the two elderly women. LOVE this. LOVE the gimmick of 3 Minute Warning, and destroying these two at the behest of Bischoff makes them look assholes, or extremely epic.

After the break, Mae Young is getting stretchered out after taking a top rope Splash from Jamal. Eric Bischoff is in the ring, and he says all he has to do is snap his fingers, and stuff happens. The Undertaker then comes to the ring. ‘Taker asks if he heard correctly that Bischoff just needs to snap his fingers to make things happen. He tells Eric to snap his fingers now and make ‘Taker do something. Christopher Nowinski then comes out and he says that Mr. Bischoff doesn’t need to take that from ‘Taker. He then wants Bischoff to make ‘Taker apologize for attacking him last week. Bischoff gives Nowinski a match against ‘Taker tonight. Nowinski says that Bischoff can’t just make ‘Taker fight with the snap of his fingers. But ‘Taker wants to fight. Good stuff here. ‘Taker ready to keep Bischoff in check was nice, and Nowinski continues to play his lower card heel role very nicely.

Match Five
Christopher Nowinski vs. The Undertaker

This one is just an extended squash for ‘Taker. It’s bad in the sense that Nowinski is still VERY green. ‘Taker eventually finishes toying with his pray and hits the Last Ride for the win. Worst match on the card by a fair distance. ½*​

After the match, The Un Americans come out and surround ‘Taker. He tries to fight them but it’s a three on one. They triple team him in the corner. Christian and Lance Storm then give ‘Taker a conchairto, as Test gets a mic and says, “here lies your American badass”. Test then stands over ‘Taker waving the upside down American flag. This is terrific stuff. Talk about this group making an impact by taking out one of the biggest names in the entire company. Amazing angle.

Backstage, The Un Americans are talking about their night not being over, as they have one more piece of business to take care of. Hmm, this is interesting to say the least. I thought they’d be done for sure by now.

In the back, The Rock is interviewed by The Coach. Coach asks if Rock can make a serious impact against Ric Flair. Rock breaks into his usual making fun of Coach, getting him to admit to illicit activities with a cow. The Rock also respectfully mocks the Ric Flair strut and addresses his issues with Lesnar. I couldn’t give this justice with a recap so kept it very brief, but this is arguably The Rock’s best promo of the year. Go find it and watch it, it doesn’t take very long.

Now it’s in ring promo time for Triple H. He says he’s not fighting Shawn Michaels in a parking lot. Last week, he had to show Shawn who was right. After all he did for Shawn, Shawn couldn’t do this one thing for him. It was his idea for Michaels to be his manager. But Shawn couldn’t stand not being the one in the spotlight. Shawn couldn’t lower himself to that. Triple H believes that the game has passed Michales by. He’s now the icon and the main event, while Shawn’s career is over. Shawn needs to accept that. Triple H thinks its funny to suggest that Michaels could hang with him in the ring. Shawn’s back is busted up and is mind is even more broken up. Triple H tells Shawn to come out and accept his role, but the ringside stagehand then tells Triple H something. Triple suddenly runs backstage. He finds Shawn unconscious in a pool of blood, surrounded by a group of other Raw wrestlers. Michaels is in front of a car with a hole in the window. Triple H looks around and demands someone get help for Michaels. Promo from Triple H here was good, explaining and justifying his actions really well. He’s just so much better playing a heel role. Shawn being attacked is a development for sure, and with the issues Shawn has had with multiple people tonight, it creates a mystery angle for us… Unless you know wrestling and aren’t a casual, in which case, it’s pretty obvious what’s happened here.

After the break, in the parking lot, they are loading Shawn Michaels into an ambulance. Eric Bischoff stands next to Triple H, and says he guesses Triple H and Shawn aren’t friends anymore. Triple H denies doing it by telling Bischoff “fuck you” before walking off. LOVE Bischoff being impressed by this more than anything, says a lot about his character. Obviously, they’ve had Triple H swearing here to make this feel like a bigger deal, but it felt a bit forced for me. Still, cool to get some further character reactions after the big event.

Match Six
Ric Flair vs. The Rock

I thought this was a good match. Being in North Carolina and facing a legend, The Rock becomes the heel for this match. As usual, he’s awesome at flicking a switch and playing that role, taking cheap shots and showing blatant disrespect. They go about seven minutes and it’s a lot of fun. Even though the result was kind of obvious, Flair was never beating the champion, being in Flair country, the fans were super into it, and the atmosphere helped the match even more. A cool moment during the match was when Flair went for the Figure Four, but Rock reversed it straight into the Sharpshooter. Psychology works here with heel Rock, as he’s cockier than normal and takes longer than normal at times to capitalise, and that lets Flair get his comebacks in. A nice back and forth finishing run here as well. Flair gets on top and starts to strut, but Rock kips up and Flair basically runs straight into a Rock Bottom for The Rock to win. A good, fun match. **3/4​

After the match, Rock is back to being a face as he and Flair shake hands, and then Flair even raises Rock’s hand in victory. After Rock leaves, Flair grabs himself a microphone. He starts to make his announcement when suddenly he’s cut off by the entrance theme of Chris Jericho. Jericho then appears from behind Flair and nails him with a chair. Jericho then takes the mic. He says the only announcement that matters is that RAW IS JERICHO!!! Big ending with Jericho being another big name pick for Raw to steal, good stuff here. I also think it makes sense for Jericho to want to leave on a character level, after he tried to buddy up to Steph and she booked him in the cage match. So this all works for me and is a great ending to the show.

For the most part, another pretty good episode of Raw. Plenty of new talent to keep things feeling fresh, and they all did some big things on this show. Everything else continued well, and there was some decent wrestling to.

 

[Stojy]

WWE July 2002​

Top 5 Matches of the month
WWE Undisputed Championship Match: The Undertaker (c) vs. Kurt Angle vs. The Rock - Vengeance
WWE Undisputed Championship; Ladder Match: The Undertaker (c) vs. Jeff Hardy - Raw, July 1st
Elimination Match: Bubba Ray Dudley, Jeff Hardy and Spike Dudley vs. Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero and William Regal - Raw, July 15th
Steel Cage Match: Chris Jericho vs. Edge - Smackdown, July 25th
WWE Intercontinental Championship Match: Rob Van Dam vs. Chris Benoit - Raw, July 29th

Bottom 5 Matches of the month
Bradshaw and Trish Stratus vs. Christopher Nowinski and Jackie Gayda - Raw, July 8th (surprise lol)
Johnny Stamboli vs. Shawn Stasiak - Heat, July 7th
Bradshaw vs. Christopher Nowinski - Raw, July 1st
WWE Womens Championship Match: Molly Holly (c) vs. Torrie Wilson - Smackdown, July 11th
Spike Dudley vs. The Big Show - Raw, July 22nd

Top 5 Wrestlers of the month
Chris Benoit
Eddie Guerrero
The Rock
Rob Van Dam
Kurt Angle

Bottom 5 Wrestlers of the month
Christopher Nowinski
Bradshaw
Molly Holly
Trish Stratus
The Big Show

 

[Leon TrotSky]

Not even counting Jackie Gayda as a wrestler I see

 

[Stojy]

Not even counting Jackie Gayda as a wrestler I see

This is a great call actually. Real reason is that I kind of operate with an unwritten rule that for wrestler of the month/year things, they had to at least wrestle a few times in that month. Jackie only had one match that month, so based on my logic, which is probably flawed, she didn't get mentioned. She got a free pass. It probably doesn't hurt bottom wrestler standings as much, but I didn't want wrestlers being named top 5 wrestlers of the month because they had one 4 star match and did nothing else.

However, I much prefer your interpretation so we'll go with not counting Jackie Gayda as a wrestler.