Insurrextion 2002 would take place deep in the heart of England. I should point out this would be the very last ppv under the name WWF as they changed to WWE 2 days later. The event was pretty much a rehash of the Backlash storylines while hyping up the upcoming Judgement Day ppv. I should point out that real life events were more important than what went on in the ring. On the plane back to the US, Scott Hall, Goldust and Ric Flair apparently sexually harrassed a flight attendant while Mr. Perfect and Brock Lesnar got into a fight. Hall and Perfect were both fired while Flair and Goldust continued to be jobbed out on television. Lesnar received no punishment for it was perceived that Perfect instigated it and continued his push. The main event was to feature the match that wasn't, The Undertaker vs HHH. Taker tried to cost HHH the WWF championship at Backlash so he wants his revenge. This is an exclusive Raw ppv so Jericho, Hogan and other Smackdown stars will not be attendance.
INSURREXTION
MAY 4, 2002
WEMBLEY ARENA
LONDON, ENGLAND
Commentators: Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler
Match 1
Rob Van Dam vs Eddie Guerrero for the WWF Intercontinental Championship
The rematch from Backlash is shown here in England as Van Dam wants the title that Guerrero basically stole from him. I didn't think it was such a great idea to play hot potato with the IC title since Edge was the champion three months earlier before losing it to Regal, who lost it to Van Dam at Wrestlemania, who lost it to Guerrero at Backlash. As the match starts....I hear the sound of doom. That damn horn that haunted me during the World Tour tapes from way back is loud and clear....I HATED that and now I have to deal with it again. JR and King is on commentary so I can't mute it either, guess I'll just have to deal with it. They exchange holds before Van Dam botches a sweep attempt but they still get an ovation after. They yell at each other before Guerrero starts taking over but Van Dam counters with a spinning wheel kick. Guerrero rolls to the outside and Van Dam catches him with a baseball slide. Van Dam hits a second rope asai moonsault. RVD throws Eddie back inside and hits a springboard leg drop, followed by a split-legged moonsault. A few near falls later, Guerrero counters a charge into a sunset flip. After a sequence Van Dam does a split and monkey flips Eddie across the ring. Eddie ducks a charge and Van Dam flies through the ropes to the outside. Eddie goes to work outside and then back inside as Ross mentions this event sold out 6 months earlier in a matter of hours. Guerrero takes over on offense and stomps a mudhole in Rob. Later on Guerrero hits a float over suplex that merits a 2 count. They exchange blows in the ring until Eddie hits a back suplex. Eddie goes to the apron and hits a beautiful sommersault on Van Dam but the cover gets a deuce. Eddie locks in a rest hold as the crowd chants RVD. Van Dam makes it to the ropes but Guerrero grabs his feet and slingshots him throat first onto the bottom rope. Guerrero stomps away and chokes Rob with his boot. After the crowd chants "Eddie sucks" Van Dam hits shoulderblocks from the apron and goes for a sunset flip but Eddie holds onto the ropes. The ref kicks the ropes and Eddie falls backward but kicks out at 2. Eddie shouts at the referee "what are ya doing?" in regards to kicking his hands off so Van Dam sneaks up and schoolboys Guerrero for a 2. Guerrero quickly gets to his feet and quells the momentum with a clothesline. Eddie puts the boots to him and locks in a version of the anklelock as JR brings up how Flair accidentally cost Austin at Backlash. Rob makes it to the ropes so Eddie clubs away with forearms in the corner. They exchange martial arts kicks before Eddie dropkicks Rob's leg out. Eddie does a move that neither JR nor myself can figure out but its some sort of leg lock. After screaming a bit, Rob uses his other leg to kick Eddie away. Eddie continues to work over the left leg and does an elbow drop/leg lock combo. Van Dam makes it to his feet as Lawler points out there is no king of England yet. Eddie back flips over Van Dam but Rob superkicks him for his troubles. Van Dam rallies back and hits a monkey flip in the corner followed by a float-over suplex for a 2 count. Rob hits rolling thunder but gets a loooong 2 count. Eddie goes for a victory roll but is countered by Rob into a rolling slam. Rob its a second rope moonsault for a near fall. After executing a step-over heel kick, Van Dam goes upstairs but misses the 5 star frog splash. Eddie goes outside and gets the IC title but when the ref goes to take it away, Guerrero throws him down causing a disqualification. The ref goes outside and Eddie chases him around the ring as Van Dam gets up. Once the ref and Eddie get in the ring RVD hits a spinning heel kick on Guerrero followed by a back body drop kick. Rob grabs the belt and wallops Eddie with it as King cries foul. Van Dam goes upstairs and hits the 5 star as the crowd chants with him. Decent opener with the right ending in my opinion, don't want to spoil the feud on a ppv not many people will see.
Time of Match: 11:23
Winner: Rob Van Dam by disqualification (Guerrero retains)
The next segment is Terri interviewing Molly Holly and Jazz about their upcoming match with Trish and Jackie. Molly complains that England is full of trash and the divas are too because of the video that came out at the time. She says that all the divas are garbage because they take off their clothes....and this was 2002 when the women's division was still damn good. It wouldn't be for another three years before it spiraled out of control. Molly then holds up a newspaper with naked models on it and says England sucks because they allow stuff like this to be seen in public. Terri then says that she's better than Molly and Jazz because she has *drumroll* PUPPIES and then she unbuttons her shirt. King goes crazy as Molly and Jazz walk away disgusted.
Match 2
Trish Stratus and Jacqueline vs Molly Holly and Jazz
Molly beat up Trish before Trish's title match with Jazz at Backlash, so Trish teams with Jackie to take on the dastardly duo. The heels attack the faces as the bell rings and Jazz heaves Trish outside. Molly and Jazz hit a double suplex on Jackie. Jazz leaves and Jackie counters with an atomic drop as JR of all people hints that Molly has a big ass....so that's where it started huh? I'll get to that horrific angle in due time but for now Jackie proceeds to hammer away at Molly. They then log roll over referee Jack Doane. Molly gets up and yells at the ref so Jackie schoolboys her for 2 as Jazz breaks up the count. Molly baits Trish to get in the ring and she and Jazz double team Jackie while the ref's back is turned. They hit a double clothesline and Molly exits as Jazz covers. Jackie ducks under a clothesline and tries a crossbody but Jazz catches her in mid air. After a powerslam, Jazz hits a running leg drop and then poses for the crowd. Jackie whips Jazz in the corner but a charge eats boot. Jazz goes for another legdrop but misses, so Jackie rolls over and tags in Trish. Trish gets in a few clotheslines but Jazz counters with a jawbreaker, but Trish fires back and even brings Molly in for good measure. Trish goes to work on Molly in the corner but turns around into a spinning back kick by Jazz. Jazz locks in a double-arm chickenwing and then throws her down as King says "oh no, the puppies!". A cover gets two but angers Jazz enough to shout "COUNT A LITTLE FASTER SPOT"Jazz makes the tag to Molly who proceeds to beat her from pillar to post and hits a nice hand-spring elbow. Molly makes a cocky cover but Jackie interferes and kicks Molly in the head. JR mentions he doesnt give a damn that Molly is a virgin or not as she tags in Jazz, they do a double hair pull slam...if that's the name for it that is. Jazz then does her Mike Tyson impression by jabbing Trish in the face a few times and then does a Peter McNeely impression as Trish rallies with forearms of her own. Trish nails Molly off the apron and hits Jazz with a backslide but Jackie distracts the ref for satan knows what reason. Trish shouts invectives at the ref but Jazz rolls her up for a 2 count. Jazz misses a clothesline so Trish hits a neckbreaker. After a near fall, Trish tags in Jackie who goes to work on Jazz and hotshots her on the top rope. They trade rolling prawns before Jackie hits a ddt, as Molly breaks up the cover. Jackie nails Molly before Jazz floors her and locks in a boston crab. King starts cheering for Jackie who nearly makes it to the rope before Jazz drags her to the middle of the ring and turns it into an STF. Out of nowhere Trish hits a dropkick so all 4 get in the ring, then the faces begin to dominate. Jazz and Molly whip Jackie and Trish into each other, but they spin around and Trish hits the stratusfaction on Jazz as Jackie hits the spinning tornado ddt from the second rope on Molly. They both cover and the ref counts 1...2....3 and its over. Decent match as JR says that match was quite smashing.
Time of Match: 7:40
Winners: Jacqueline and Trish Stratus by pinfall
The next segment is X-Pac and Scott Hall in the locker room going over how Bradshaw had pinned X-Pac on Raw the previous Monday. X-Pac says he's going to take him out the same way he took out Kane and if he doesn't, he'll never come back to England again. He tells Scott to stay put because he wants to do it on his own, so Scott says "I dunno why you wanna come back to this lousy country after you beat him anyway."
Match 3
Bradshaw vs X-Pac
This match stems from Backlash when X-Pac cost Bradshaw his match with Scott Hall. Speaking of Hall, this would be his last show in the big time for years as he was fired within the week for the before mentioned Plane Ride From Hell. JR mentions how the nWo took out Bradshaw during the infamous tag match where Big Show rejoined the nWo to salvage the situation. X-Pac enters wearing Kane's mask and JR scoffs. They circle around as a sign pops up saying "Hall fears beer". Bradshaw heaves X-Pac around with power moves as the crowd chants "X-Pac sucks" I should point out Sean Waltman aka X-Pac was one of the biggest risk takers in the early 90's, he would do things in indy feds and early on his WWF career that Jeff Hardy would cringe at. Those same high risk moves caught up with him and he missed a total of 2 years because of a broken neck, while still a relatively speedy wrestler, he was never the same high flyer and his backstage antics didn't help either. Being arrested for stalking Chyna certainly didn't help. Meanwhile back in the ring, Bradshaw continues to pummel X-Pac with boots, forearms and a back body drop. Bradshaw hits a running clothesline in the corner as King says X-Pac called timeout. JR says there ain't no time out as Bradshaw misses a clothesline. X-Pac does his 3 kicks in the corner spot. X-Pac ducks under a clothesline and attempts a spinning wheel kick, but the future JBL catches him and slams Pac down. JR hypes the double main events as Bradshaw continues to club away at X-Pac. Bradshaw goes for another clothesline but Pac counters with a dropkick to the leg. X-Pac attacks the leg and unhooks the second turnbuckle. X-Pac rams Bradshaw's head into it a bunch of times and Bradshaw does a blade job. X-Pac stomps away at Bradshaw in the corner before pounding away on the open wound. X-Pac hits a spinning back kick and covers for a 2 count. Pac continues to punch away in mount position and then chokes Bradshaw with his boot using the rope for leverage. X-Pac continues to chop and fire away before hitting a boot to the head (yeah, yeah). X-Pac locks in a rest hold as the crowd cheers for Bradshaw. X-Pac lets him go as JR mentions that if X-Pac loses it won't cause many sleepless nights for the people of England. X-Pac starts chopping Bradshaw in the corner until Bradshaw rallies. X-Pac gets the upper hand and then climbs to the second rope. He tries the 10 punch spot but Bradshaw counters with a powerbomb. They get to their feet and Bradshaw goes on the offensive with elbows, fists and another clothesline in the corner. A Bradshaw charge in the corner eats boot but X-Pac runs into a powerslam. A cover gets a long two count and Bradshaw hits a reverse neckbreaker, then goes upstairs. He hits a flying shoulderblock and a cover gets 2 when X-Pac puts his foot on the rope. King brings up Backlash when Flair didn't see Austin's foot on the rope. X-Pac ducks under a clothesline and hits a spinning heel kick but the cover gets 2. X-Pac goes upstairs as that god damn horn blows again. Bradshaw catches him in midair and hits a fallaway slam as Scott Hall runs down to ringside. JR scoffs as Hall gets on the apron and is knocked off by Bradshaw. Bradshaw turns around and stops a running X-Pac with a big boot. Bradshaw goes to attack Hall, but Scott picks up X-Pac's nunchucks and wallops Bradshaw with them. X-Pac covers for the 1...2...NOOOO Bradshaw kicks out at 2 much to Hall's surprise. Bradshaw crawls into the corner and then gets out of the way of a bronco buster attempt. Bradshaw goes for the clothesline from hell, but X-Pac ducks and Bradshaw nails Scott Hall off the apron. Bradshaw turns around into a low blow by X-Pac, who follows it up with an X-Factor. The cover gets 1...2..3 to win the match for the nWo. Bad match but for historical purposes this was the last time Scott Hall would ever appear as an active roster member. He'd come back for the Hall of Fame and reunion shows but this was it.
Time of match: 8:47
Winner: X-Pac by pinfall
The next segment shows Jonathan Coachman interviewing The Undertaker about his upcoming match with HHH later on. Undertaker says he beat the crap out of Hulk Hogan so he will do the same to HHH. Undertaker gives respect to HHH for coming back from the quad injury but says he's still going to pummel Trips. On to the next match...
Match 4
Booker T vs Steven Richards for the WWF Hardcore Championship
Booker T was never known for being hardcore while Steven Richards is an ECW alumni. I should point out the 24/7 rule was still in effect and the title itself wasn't going to be around much longer after this. Buh Buh Ray Dudley was the champion going into the previous Raw and was in the middle of defense against Jazz....yes Jazz, when Richards interfered and won the title. JR mentions that Buh Buh Ray is at home with his sick mother so apparently Booker T was his replacement. Richards arm drags Booker and celebrates as JR brings up the rules....which there are none. They lock up and Booker goes on the offensive in the corner and totally beats the piss out of him. Booker T goes outside and starts throwing weapons into the ring. Steven clears the ring and starts laughing as Booker T picks up a tray, gets inside and waffles him hard in the back of the head with it. Booker goes back on the offensive and hits a back kick that the crowd pops for. He throws Richards over the top rope and shouts "get outta here!" Booker goes outside and rams Steven's head into the steel steps and then drops him stomach first into the guardrail. Booker T then pulls out a broom and whacks Richards with it. Booker T rolls Richards in who proceeds to beg for mercy before a thumb to the eye. Steven goes on the offensive with chops before Booker nails him with another spinning back kick. After a near fall, Booker scores with a suplex, goes outside and gets a trash can, then dents it over Steven's head upon returning. Steven staggers to his feet then Booker tosses him the trash can, only to superkick it into Steven's face. A near fall gets 2 and Steven rallies, only to be flapjacked by Booker. Booker continues to work over Richards before a low blow stops that. Steven picks up the serving tray and waffles Booker with it, getting a 2 count on the cover attempt. Booker T rallies with a back bodydrop but is backdropped over the top rope by Richards. Steven heaves a trash can onto Booker and makes the cover outside that gets a 2. JR throws in a European Vacation reference as Steven throws Booker T back in the ring, Steven drops an elbow and mocks Booker's taunt. They trade blows but he misses a shuffle kick and crotches himself on the top rope. Richards locks in a rest hold while the crowd chants for Booker T. JR compares Booker T to Lennox Lewis which King points out that Booker has won the WCW title more times than Lennox won the Boxing crown. Booker powers out of it and bodyslams Steven and picks up the busted up trash can but Big Stevie Cool comes back with a dropkick. Steven positions the trash can in between the top and middle turnbuckle but Booker whips him into it. They trade blows before Booker goes on the offensive with a huge spinebuster. After a near fall Booker hits another spin-kick and goes outside to get a new trash can. After putting it on Steven's head he goes upstairs and hits a missle dropkick. A cover gets 1...2...NOOO Steven kicks out and the crowd can't believe it. Booker goes for the axe kick but Steven counters with a superkick, the cover gets a lonnnnng 2 and Steven goes for a clothesline. Booker T counters the clothesline with the book end and covers for the 1...2....3 to win the match and the title. All of a sudden Crash Holly runs to the ring with referee Jimmy Korderas and rolls up Booker for the 1...2...3 to win the match and title. The 24/7 rule in effect as usual and its not over yet as Booker T nails Crash with an axe-kick 30 seconds later and covers for the 1...2...3 to win the title back. Booker celebrates but then Tommy Dreamer and Justin Credible hit the ring and attack Booker T. The ECW alumnists work over Booker before Dreamer hits a ddt. Credible pounds away on Booker as Dreamer rolls outside and gets a table, ECW style. Justin sets it up but Booker rallies and floors the both of them. The old Harlem Heat theme plays and Booker tries the spinaroonie but can't do it. All of a sudden Jazz hits the ring and low blows Booker, allowing Richards to sneak up and flapjack Booker head first on the table. The table doesn't budge so Richards does it again until finally the table crumbles and covers for the 1...2...3 to win/retain the title. After all that with Crash, the extremists and everything else Richards walks out the hardcore champion. Credible was basically a Sunday Night Heat jobber at this point until he was released in January 2003.
Time of Match: 10:42 from the final bell, not counting the run-in's
Winner: Booker T, Crash Holly, Booker T again and finally Steven Richards (New, New, New, New Hardcore champ)
The next segment is Brock Lesnar, Shawn Stasiak and Paul Heyman to hype the upcoming tag match against The Hardy Boys Lesnar was the hot new rookie who had demolished both Hardys in single competition so they want to team up to take Brock down. Heyman tells Shawn to calm down but Shawn says him and Lesnar would be an unstoppable tag team and he tells Paul to listen to the voices talking. Heyman's look is priceless and he says "No Shawn, I'M talking" He then tells Shawn to stand the apron and do nothing, take an easy paycheck. After Shawn laughs it off, Heyman says in a harsher tone that he didn't want Stasiak but he figured he at least would be smart enough to know his role. Lesnar gets in his face and says if things don't go according to plan he'll beat up Shawn worse than he did before on Raw.
Match 5
The Hardy Boys (Matt and Jeff) vs Shawn Stasiak and Brock Lesnar with Paul Heyman
Shawn Stasiak is another one of those second generation guys that couldn't come close to filling his father's shoes. His father was former WWWF Champion Stan "The Man" Stasiak and even though Shawn had a much better physique, his dad had enough charisma to be a draw in New York. At least Planet Stasiak is a better gimmick than Meat...and lets not go there. Meanwhile JR and King bring to light the recent neck injury Lita had suffered. Sad how she broke her neck in a tv show rather than in the ring. Lesnar makes his entrance first but Shawn sprints out and attacks The Hardy's at the opening bell. Jeff shoulder tackles Shawn but he counters later on with a spine buster. Stasiak works over Jeff and hits a sidewalk slam but the cover gets 2. Shawn locks in a rest hold as Heyman screams "SHAWN! SHAWN! WHAT ARE YOU DOING??" Jeff powers out of it and hits a sit-down jaw breaker, then tags out to Matt. Matt hits a side effect and sets himself up for the Hardy Special but Brock pulls Shawn out of the way and tags himself in. Lesnar hits shoulderblocks in the corner as Heyman shouts at Shawn. Lesnar glares at Stasiak so Matt takes advantage and pounds at Brock. Hardy goes upstairs but Brock catches him in mid-air and hits a back breaker before a whiplash slam. Lesnar begins to brutalize Matt as Heyman calls him the next big thing. Lesnar hits a huge powerslam and nails Jeff off the apron, then continues to serve Matt a beating. Brock hits two driving shoulderblocks into the corner as Stasiak taunts Matt. Brock charges but Matt moves and Lesnar goes shoulder post into the ringpost, then Shawn tags himself in. Shawn charges into a different corner but misses and Matt makes the tag to Jeff. Jeff goes to work on Shawn with clotheslines and leg-drop combo along with whisper in the wind. Jeff covers but gets 2 and then both Hardys knock Brock off the apron. Its academic from here, Matt hits the twist of fate and Jeff hits the swanton then covers for the 1..2...3 to win the match. After the match, Brock lays out both Hardys and then Stasiak for defying Heyman. Lesnar's push had just begun and this would be Stasiak's final ppv match for the company for he became a jobber until he was released from his contract in early 2003.
Time of Match: 6:47
Winner: The Hardy Boys by pinfall
The next segment is showcasing the charity dinner from the night before. They had a jolly old auction to serve the make a wish foundation. After this, we go to Coach who interviews William Regal about his upcoming European title match against Spike Dudley. He basically runs down England and says he's the only thing to cheer for in London. After the heel promo, we go to the next match.
Match 6
Williams Regal vs Spike Dudley for the WWF European Championship
I don't understand why this match wasn't between the double main events instead of before them since nobody gave a damn about the European Championship. JR and King document how a month before on Raw, Spike won the title from Regal by using William's brass knucks. Regal starts out on offense and JR and King go over the British phrase titchy. One minute into the match Spike begins to rally with clotheslines and dropkicks. Regal begs for mercy and Spike continues to hit moves including a headbutt to the mid-section. Spike goes for the acid drop but Regal counters it and Spike lands awkwardly on his ankle. After rolling around, the trainers hustle down to ringside and take his boot off. They prepare to help Spike to the back and Regal goes out and attacks him. Regal then works over the right leg and slams him into the ropes as the crowd cheers. Regal hits a double under-arm powerbomb and covers for the 1...2...NOOO he pulls Spike up as JR scoffs. Regal goes for a suplex but Spike counters with a small package for a 1...2...3 to win the match. This match went less than 5 minutes, why wasn't it after the Austin/Show showdown? After the match, Regal pulls out the brass knocks and waffles Spike with it as the crowd cheers again. King says Regal's arrogance led to his downfall.
Time of match: 4:54
Winner: Spike Dudley by pinfall (still European Champion)
The next segment is a highlight package showcasing the upcoming battle between Austin and Big Show. At Backlash, Ric Flair as the guest ref accidentally cost Austin the number 1 contender slot for Judgement Day. Austin then came out on Raw and berated Flair for it, then Flair says he's gonna make it up to him by making a tag match between Austin and Bradshaw against Scott Hall and X-Pac. Later on in the night the nWo attacked Bradshaw so Flair named Big Show as his replacement. Big Show proceeded to turn on Austin and join the nWo, causing even more animosity between Austin and Flair. The addition of Big Show was pretty much the last attempt to salvage the original nWo since Hall was on his way out and Nash was out with an injured shoulder. Before the match starts, Flair runs out in a referee's shirt and then names himself guest outside referee for this upcoming double main event.
Match 7
Steve Austin vs Big Show (Ric Flair is the special guest ref outside of the ring)
Austin was nursing 2 bad wheels and a bad neck while Big Show was nowhere near as mobile as he used to be due to his own laziness (he admitted it years later), this could be one boring match. Nick Patrick never actually rings the bell so I'll start timing from the time Austin takes his vest off. Big Show says he's gonna break Austin in half, prompting Steve to give him the one finger salute. They circle around and lock up, and Big Show proceeds to power him around the ring. Austin does push-ups as the crowd chants "What?". They stall before locking up again, then Austin fires away with fists before Big Show stops the momentum with an elbow to the head. Austin regroups outside as the damn horn starts blowing again. 4 minutes into this thing I haven't seen one wrestling hold other than a series of collar and elbow tie ups, and Austin continues the trend with kicks to the knees before Big Show hits a clothesline. They stall for another 30 seconds before Big Show hits a series of open handed chops to the chest in the corner. Austin goes back to kicking at Big Show's knees and then floors him with a clothesline. He grabs both Big Show's legs and boots him in the berries, that's one way to take down a giant. Austin hits a series of elbows to the left leg which I guess is the first wrestling hold in the match nearly SIX MINUTES into it. Austin continues to work over Big Show's left leg and rams it into the ringpost. The fans start chanting something and King says it sounds like "You Fat Bastard", heh. Austin continues to dominate on offense before Big Show hits a headbutt out of desperation. Austin does an Undertaker style elbow drop/leglock. Show powers out of it but Austin hits a chop-block and continues to kick away at the leg. Austin ducks under a clothesline and elbow but Show powerslams him. Show pulls his singlet strap down and chops Austin in the corner before heaving him across the ring twice. Big Show stands in him then goes to work on the lower back and kidney area, finishing with a suplex. Big Show sells Austin's leg attacks from earlier and slowly chops away on Austin from the outside. Back inside Austin rallies against the lef leg but Show hits a back body drop. Big Show hits another back bodydrop while they show the prevous one at the same time. Big Show wears down Austin in the corner and goes for another but gets a boot instead. Show clothesline and tries to pin him but only gets near falls. Austin rallies with fists but Big Show goes back to work in the corner and catches him in a bear-hug. Austin bites his way out but Show hits another headbutt and covers for a near fall. Show locks in another bear-hug as the once rabid crowd begins to die down. Austin does the "fade then revive" routine and rallies out of it with headbutts to the nose. A charge in the corner eats boot and Austin goes to the second rope and hits a Lou Thez press. Austin opens up a can of whoop ass but Big Show hits a big boot to stop the momentum. Austin ducks under a clothesline and Show nails referee Nick Patrick instead. Show turns around into a stunner by Austin but there's no one to count the fall. All of a sudden Scott Hall and X-Pac run out to ringside and prevent Flair from counting out Show. Flair beats them both up and chases them to the back as Austin is pissed Flair deserted him. Show gets up and goes for a Chokeslam but Austin counters it, so Show big boots him instead. Big Show hits another headbutt as Kevin Nash appears from the crowd and gets in the ring with X-Pac's nunchucks. Austin boots Nash and then low blows Show, then stuns them both. Patrick wakes up and Austin covers for the 1...2...3 to win the match. Flair runs back to ringside and chases Nash away with a chair. Austin does his beer bash celebration and after a while Flair picks up the mic and starts butt-kissing Austin. Austin then grabs the mic and goes off on how bygones should be bygones and as they start downing the suds, Austin stuns him as the crowd cheers. Saw that coming a mile away.
Time of Match: The bell never rang so an unofficial 17:30
Winner: Steve Austin by pinfall
The next segment is a highlight package of how Undertaker cost HHH the title at Backlash and how they're gonna get it on one more time tonight. Only problem was hardcore fans had already seen this match a year earlier at Wrestlemania so it was nothing new. After HHH had came to Raw and beat up Undertaker, Taker got his revenge by costing HHH and number 1 contender's match against Chris Jericho. Which means Jericho had to job to Hogan on Smackdown at one point or another. Lets send it to our second main event....
Match 8
Triple H vs The Undertaker
HHH is supposedly on Smackdown but is allowed to appear on this Raw ppv. The crowd cheers very loud for The Undertaker despite him being a heel, or maybe its piped in chants. Howard Finkel announces that HHH is 272 lbs...keep in mind he was about 240-245 in his early WWF days. HHH charges and they slug it out to start. HHH hits a flying knee and a back bodydrop then clotheslines him over the top rope to the floor. Outside, Taker works over HHH but Trips shoves him into the ringpost. HHH goes back on offense and throws him back inside, where Taker counters with a clothesline. After a near fall, Taker goes to work in the corner with fists and hits another clothesline. Taker goes for an arm wrench as King marvels at Triple H's physique, then Taker goes upstairs but HHH blocks the Old School attempt. JR says "HHH jerking The Undertaker off the top rope!" Take away "the top rope" out of it and there's a soundbyte that people would pay for. HHH unloads with fists and hits a snap suplex then hits an elbow drop. A near fall gets 2 and Taker begs for mercy...then throws trips through the ropes to the outside. HHH rams Taker into the US announce table then clotheslines him. Taker climbs onto the apron and HHH slugs him a few times before motioning that he's gonna throw Earl Hebner over the top rope. Taker hits a stun gun and clotheslines HHH in the corner. Taker places HHH's head outside the ring and hits the chest area with a forearm. Taker turns him over and hits a leg drop on the back of HHH. Taker charges in the corner but eats elbow and HHH rallies with punches. Taker ducks under a clothesline and hits a chop block, then goes to work on the left leg. King brings up the quad injury as Taker hits the elbow to the leg/leglock combo. HHH uses his right leg to counter and rallies again and whips Taker into the ropes....which collapse on impact. The ring crew has some splainin' to do after the show's over, good thing this happened in the main event and not earlier. Earl Hebner checks on the broken rope as Taker lowblows HHH, BRILLIANT! Taker drops an elbow and covers for 2, then locks in a rest hold. 45 seconds later HHH powers out of it and hits a back suplex, then they do a double clothesline spot. The damn horn blows as they slowly rise to their feet, Taker goes for a big boot but HHH moves out of the way. Taker lands sack first on the broken rope and HHH slugs away at him. HHH hits a swinging neckbreaker but Taker doesn't sell it, so HHH does it again. HHH hits an Arn Anderson style spinebuster but only gets a long 2 count. Taker blocks a pedigree attempt and hits a big boot then calls for the chokeslam. HHH counters the chokeslam with a sloppy looking ddt but only gets 2 on the cover. Taker whips HHH into the corner where the steel part that holds the turnbuckle in place flies off and clangs against the steps. This ring is all messed up now so they better finish up before someone gets hurt. HHH hits the knee lift, but Taker counters the pedigree with a chokeslam. Taker takes too long to cover so HHH kicks out at 2, then Undertaker rolls outside and gets a steel chair. Hebner tries to pull the chair away so when Taker gets control, HHH hits a running high knee into the chair. HHH covers but Taker kicks out at 2, then hits a ddt upon standing but gets a near fall of his own. Taker signals for the dragon sleeper but HHH counters with a clothesline. Taker whips HHH into another corner and breaks that part off too. Taker hits snake eyes on HHH in the broken turnbuckle but HHH counters with another high knee. HHH hits the pedigree and covers for the 1...2...3 to win the match. Wow....Taker was going to wrestle for the WWF title in less than 3 weeks and they put HHH over, go figure. JR shills the match as something special even though it was the same style as the one at Wrestlemania 17 a year earlier in front of a hell of a lot more people. Still, a good match is a good match whether its in front of no one or everyone.
Time of Match: 14:29
Winner: HHH by pinfall
I know this was supposed to be a British skybox only ppv, but the match quality was UGGGGGGLYYY. The opener was good, the women's match was ok and Booker T was good....it was all downhill from there. I loved the Heyman and Stasiak part but the match itself wasn't that great. I will say no matter what was going on or who was involved, the fans were always annoyingly loud, but that's a good thing since it means they're actually interested in the product. The next British ppv would be Rebellion in late October which would feature only Smackdown stars. Insurrextion was completely meaningless in terms of Judgement Day hype but it was at least something to present to the UK. Up next is Judgement Day 02.
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