We've made it to Summerslam, after a month of buildup and a tour of Australia, a lot has happened since Vengeance. The showdowns are the monster match between The Rock and Brock Lesnar for the big one, but also the return of Shawn Michaels after a 4 year layoff to face his former best friend HHH. We also got the American pay per view debut of the high flying Rey Mysterio along with great stars such as Rob Vam Dam, Kurt Angle, Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho. The general manager storyline was beginning to take shape and a lot of other things I'll cover as we move on, let's get to the action.
AUGUST 25, 2002
NASSAU COLISEUM
UNIONDALE, NY
Match 1
Kurt Angle vs Rey Mysterio Jr
Commentators: Michael Cole and Tazz
The Rey Mysterio era began at Global Warning for anyone following my reviews, but this is the big match for him on the national level. Before we get started Vince finally figured out a way to incorporate the announce teams by having Cole and Tazz call the Smackdown matches and JR and Lawler call the Raw matches. Rey's music hits but he's not making his entrance, but then we see Rey on the apron behind Angle and he hits a springboard hurracurrana on Kurt to kick off the ppv. Rey ducks under a clothesline and hits a head scissors, monkey flip and a dropkick. Kurt rolls through a dropkick and turns it into an ankle-lock before Rey makes it to the ropes. Rey still in ankle-lock position backflips out of it then floors Kurt with a drop-toe hold into the ropes, but Rey missed the 6-1-9. Kurt pulls Rey out for the first breather since everything I typed has been non-stop. Back inside Kurt puts the boots to Mysterio then hits a back suplex. Kurt puts his head down and pays for it as Mysterio kicks him between the eyes and Kurt turns a sit-down bulldog into a german suplex.....sick spot. Kurt tries to ride Rey freestyle but Mysterio makes it to the ropes and scales to the top as Angle tries to beat him down. Rey hits a surprising sunset flip for a 2 count before Angle nearly takes Mysterio's head off with a clothesline. The cover gets 2 as Kurt hits a backbreaker and covers for another near fall. Kurt chokes Rey on the second rope as the crowd chants Angle Sucks so Kurt pounds away at Mysterio in the corner. Mysterio flies into a head scissors.....but Kurt stops mid-air and turns it into a side suplex, nice. Kurt covers for 1...2... and no. Kurt applies a half-crab Lion Tamer style. (The Lion Tamer was when Jericho would put his knee behind the head of his opponent after applying the crab part, but Vince told him not to do that for some reason and Walls of Jericho is basically an elevated boston crab without the knee, whereas the original Tamer looked a lot more painful) Rey inexplicably turns the crab into an inside cradle for a 2 but Kurt slows the pace down again with another hard clothesline. Michael Cole brings up the pinfall Rey scored over Angle on a recent Smackdown to set this match up as Kurt puts the boots to Rey. Rey hits a jawbreaker and a series of forearms then goes for the sunset flip. Kurt drops down but Rey bridges out of it then runs into an overhead suplex....ouch! Kurt pulls the straps down but Rey counters the Angle-Slam attempt with an arm drag. Kurt charges but Mysterio pulls the top rope down and Angle goes flying. Kurt staggers on the apron where Mysterio baseball slides him back to the ground, then goes for a high flying tactic but referee Jimmy Korderas stops him. Jimmy puts his head through the ropes so Rey front flips over the ref onto Angle below....nice acrobatics. Rey rolls Kurt in then hits a springboard legdrop from the apron over the top rope onto the back of Angle's head. Rey covers for 1........2....noooooo. Rey bounces off the corner but Kurt catches him on his shoulders then electric chair drops him before hitting the ankle-lock. Rey counters and Kurt ends up on the second rope where Mysterio executes the 6-1-9. Rey hits the West Coast Pop for 1...2....NOOOOO, wow Kurt got the shoulder up. Rey hits a spinning wheel kick to the chin then goes upstairs but Kurt ducks under the plancha. Kurt's on the second rope so Rey hops on the second rope and dropkicks him. Rey goes upstairs behind Kurt and tries the hurracarana but Kurt either botches the flip or decides not to sell it and locks in the ankle-lock. Rey nearly makes it to the ropes before Kurt pulls Rey back to the middle and Mysterio finally taps to end the match. That was an AWESOME opener, no rest holds, just high impact action and mat wrestling, all any grumpy fan could ask for.
Time of Match: 9:20
Winner: Kurt Angle by submission
The next segment is Stephanie McMahon in the hallway talking to a PR guy about how great Smackdown is, then goes into the GENERAL MANAGER'S office where Eric Bischoff is sitting on the couch. Stephanie asks what the hell he's doing there and Eric nonchalantly tells her its both their office for the evening since they're on neutral ground. They taunt each other over which brand is better and they sit and watch the ppv as we send things to JR and The King. They hype up the upcoming Raw matches but not before Lawler calls Summerslam "Smackdown" for a second.
Match 2
Chris Jericho vs "Nature Boy" Ric Flair
Commentators: Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler
Jericho's been on a losing streak ever since Wrestlemania and apparently scoring a win over the ancient Ric Flair is the best remedy for it. They show highlights on Raw how Ric Flair attacked Jericho with a trash can before Jericho returned the favor later on the evening. Jericho later on has a Fozzy concert that Flair breaks up and destroys the set, setting up this encounter. Ross says this is Flair's first Summerslam and he's partially right as he was only referred to by name at Summerslam 91 and only did a run-in at Summerslam 92. Jericho backs Ric up in the corner and Ric slaps him hard....then struts. Ric hits a go-behind takedown for a near fall then struts again. Jericho fires away at Ric in the corner then backdrops him 5 feet in the air, then clotheslines the Nature Boy. Chris hits a back suplex then says he's the king of the world, but can't find the elbow. Ric chops away then throws Y2J over the top....where Jericho skins the cat back in the ring. Chris charges but runs into another chop and then is met with rights in the corner. Jericho returns the favor before whipping Flair into the corner where he BOTCHES HIS OWN FLAIR FLIP. Jericho has to improvise so he clotheslines him over the top to the floor instead. Jericho pulls back the padding on the security wall and drops Flair throat first onto the exposed steel. Jericho goes upstairs and axehandles Flair who staggers into the camera-man. Chris throws Ric back inside and knocks him down with a series of right hands then does the Ali shuffle. Ric blocks a right hand then chops Jericho into the corner but the charge eats elbow. Jericho goes upstairs and hits a missile dropkick then covers for 1...2..nope, got the shoulder up. Chris unhooks one of the top turnbuckles and as referee Charles Robinson tries to re-hook it, Jericho strangles Ric with some of his own wrist-tape. They trade blows before Jericho chokes Ric on the second rope then jumps on him. Jericho hits a snap suplex as Jim Ross brings up Flair's 1975 plane crash which almost ended his career. Jericho goes upstairs but Flair cuts him off with chops then throws him off the top. Flair catches his wind in the corner where Y2J charges but goes shoulder first into the ring-post. Flair hits another series of chops then a backdrop and finishes with a back suplex for a 2 count. Flair goes for a vertical suplex but Chris rolls out of it, schoolboys Ric then goes for the Walls of Jericho. Flair turns the Walls into an inside cradle for 1...2....nooooooo. Jericho clotheslines Flair then chops him in the corner, finishing with the one arm facebuster. Jericho misses the lionsault so Flair chops him some more. Flair goes for the Walls of Jericho but Y2J counters with the figure four....they switched brains or something. Flair does his part by selling the move like he's in a chinese torture chamber before tapping out to end the match. What's that you say, its not over? Oh lookie here, while Flair was tapping his hand was on the second rope and referee Charles Robinson (a former Flair stooge in WCW storylines) noticed it then negates the tap. Jericho shoves Robinson then puts the boots to Ric before setting him up for another jump....which he crotches himself on the second rope after he misses. Flair chops Chris into the ref who goes down allowing flair to hit a low blow on Y2J, then puts him in the figure four. Jericho wails in pain the TAPS OUT and we have a winner. Flair hobbles around the ring as Lawler can't believe what we just saw. We go to the instant replay which shows Ric's hand on the second rope before tapping meaning Robinson made the correct call. Yeesh, the first undisputed champion has now lost his last 6 consecutive ppv matches including his Global Warning match with Edge. No wonder the company went downhill so damn quick this year, terrible writing like that does it every time. Don't get me wrong the match was ok but jobbing out Jericho like this is dumb when you need important heels as much as strong faces.
Time of match: 10:30
Winner: Ric Flair by submission
The next segment is a commercial for Hulk Still Rules, which is ironic given Hogan was about to miss the next 5 1/2 months due to injury but we'll get to that later. Meanwhile back in Lesnar's locker-room, Paul Heyman basically says exactly what I just typed saying how they released the DVD in memorium because Hulkamania's dead. He then hypes up the showdown between Brock and Rock saying The Next Big Thing has arrived. Let's go back to Cole and Tazz.
Match 3
Eddie Guerrero vs Edge
Commentators: Michael Cole and Tazz
Apparently when Eddie had jumped to Smackdown, he began feuding with Edge. Michael Cole calls Edge "the future of Smackdown" which I laugh considering he'd only be on Smackdown another 6 months before the neck injury went down. They start out with go-behinds before Guerrero runs into a flapjack before engaging in more chain wrestling. Edge tries to suplex Eddie over the top to the floor but Guerrero catches himself on the apron and snaps Edge off the top rope. Back inside Guerrero puts the boots to Edge before ducking under a leapfrog and monkey flipping about 7 feet across the ring. Edge hits a powerslam for a near fall before tying him in the ropes Andre the Giant style. Edge hits the spear and goes for a second but this time Eddie moves causing Edge to fly out of the ring. Eddie goes for something outside but Edge shoves him away selling a shoulder injury. It looks like Edge legitimately hurt himself until Eddie pounces and rams him shoulder first into the steel steps, yeah its a work. Cole tells us he injured it in a cage match with Kurt Angle earlier in the month so Eddie goes right to work on it. Eddie hits a series of moves to the left arm before hopping up to the top rope, then executes a jumping arm breaker from off the top (ouch). Eddie covers for a near fall then applies a rest hold as Cole brings up Tazz's neck injury back in his ECW days during downtime. Eddie hits a crossface chickenwing as Cole brings up how Eddie and Chris Benoit jumped to Smackdown from Raw. Edge actually does the "fade then revive" routine then hits a snapmare but Eddie takes Edge down and applies a Fujiwara armbar. Eddie hits a back suplex then applies a top wristlock as some yahoo on a cell phone waves to the camera....I get enough of that during Red Sox games, I don't need to see that BS here. Guerrero runs into a powerslam and into a series of clotheslines before Eddie whacks Edge with an elbow to the face. Edge executes a facebuster and covers for a near-fall before finally hitting the suplex to the floor he tried earlier. Edge goes upstairs and flies onto Guerrero which from a kayfabe standpoint is beyond idiotic since he's selling a shoulder injury. Back inside Edge goes up to the top again and after Guerrero also goes up, he hits a sitdown facebuster off the top onto Eddie. Edge covers for 1....2...nope. Edge calls for a spear and charges but Eddie counters with a well placed dropkick to the shoulder. Eddie goes upstairs and goes for the frogsplash but Edge gets the knees up just in time. Edge does the edgecution on Eddie then covers for 1...2....nooooo, Eddie got the shoulder up. The announcers are shocked then Eddie counters another Edgecution attempt with a northern lights suplex for 1...2...negative. Eddie applies a swinging neckbreaker then goes back upstairs whereEdge catches up to him forcing Eddie to hit a series of headbutts to the injured shoulder, knocking Edge off the top. Eddie does the frogsplash...on Edge's injured shoulder then covers for 1.....2.......no chance. Did he really expect Edge to be down for the count when he can easily lift his good shoulder up, if he was smart he would have done it on the good one. Eddie goes back to the injured shoulder and hops up to the top rope but this time Edge heaves him off. Edge ducks under a clothesline and hits the spear then covers for 1...2.....3 that's it! Edge picks up the win in a decent match as Cole shills Edge on his performance.
Time of match 11:54
Winner: Edge by pinfall
The next segment is a commercial saying how WWE stars are unlike every sport in the mainstream including this quote "Contract disputes do not determine the outcome of the season" Yeah, tell that to Bret Hart, Wendi Richter, Shawn Michaels, Christian, Kurt Angle, and on and on and on. We send things to Jonathan Coachman in the locker room with the Un-Americans. Lance Storm rips on the Long Island crowd as Christian says they're gonna beat the other guys as Test scowls. Back to JR and The King
Match 4
Booker T and Goldust vs The Un-Americans (Christian and Lance Storm) for the WWE Tag Team Championship
Commentators: Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler
The Un-Americans had been dominating the scene with their anti-American heel tactics and Booker T and Goldust were the great white hope so to speak (yes I know Booker is black). This is actually Goldust's first ppv match since Wrestlemania as he was de-pushed to Booker's lackey due to punishment stemming from Plane Ride From Hell (see Insurrexion 2002). Lance and Christian enter without Test, strange given how Test was behind them in Coach's interview. Goldust starts out with Christian and Christian runs into a butt bump as JR brings up Goldust's debut in 1995. Lance interferes and runs into a powerslam then Goldust goes back to work on Christian. Goldust hits the Runnels Punch (where he bounces off the ropes, falls on his back and punches his opponent in the throat). Storm tags in as Goldust hits an inverted atomic drop followed by a clothesline then tags in Booker T. Booker attacks Storm and hits a back elbow smash followed by a sidewalk slam. Booker hits his Huffman Kneedrop (where he points to the sky before dropping a knee across the opponents chest) and covers for a nearfall before tagging in Goldust. Goldust is whipped into Christian, who turns around and slugs him off the apron as Lance takes advantage with a thumb to the eye. Lance throws Goldust over the corner turnbuckle to the floor...sick bump taken by Goldust. Christian outside rams Goldust into the guard-rail then rolls him inside where Lance covers for a near fall. Lance Storm puts the boots to Goldust then tags in Christian as the crowd chants USA. Goldust rallies against Christian but loses the battle and Christian/Lance make frequent tags, isolating Goldust in the process. Lance Storm misses a dropkick so Goldust makes the cover for a deuce then hits a chokeslam (!!!) but collapses from exhaustion. Christian tags in and locks in a frontheadlock as Booker tries to get the crowd to wake up during downtime. JR "The Un-Americans....for the record, I do not like them" Goldust backdrops Christian but the ref's back turned so they do the "guy makes tag/ref doesn't see it" routine so the heels take advantage. This match is 10 years too late in terms of being formulatic. Storm chokes Goldust in the corner with his boot then hits a short arm clothesline for a 2 count as Booker breaks up the count. The crowd chants for Booker T but the heels continue to work over Goldust. Goldust tries to rally in the corner then slingshots Christian into Lance Storm then rolls up Christian for 1...2..nope. Both men clothesline each other and after a while Goldust begins to crawl over to Booker. Lance Storm runs around and cuts Booker off, allowing Christian to inflict more damage to Goldust. Lance gets chairs then tosses one to Christian so we may be looking at a Conchairto here. Goldusts ducks under the attempt, hits a double clothesline and FINALLY makes the tag to Booker T. Booker T beats the crap out of Lance and Christian with chops, slams and backdrops before going upstairs where he hits a missle dropkick. Goldust knocks Lance out of the ring as Booker covers for 1..2.....NOOOOOO, wow that could have been the finish but Christian got the shoulder up. Booker misses the scissors kick then blocks the Unprettier before hitting a flapjack as Lance Storm hits a dropkick on referee Nick Patrick (he was aiming for Booker). Booker catches both heels in the mid-section then does the scissors kick to both men at once getting a nice pop from the crowd. Booker is feelin it then does the spinaroonie before finishing it with an axe kick to Christian. Booker covers but the ref is out, so Lance grabs one of the tag belts and goes to clock Booker with it, but Goldust cuts him off. Booker and Goldust double clothesline Storm over the top when out of nowhere TEST interferes and hits the big boot to Booker. Test takes off through the crowd as Christian crawls on top of Booker then Patrick revives...1.......2.....3. and the champs retain. Goldust grabs the belt and clean house as JR scoffs at Test for interfering, hey it was a briliant coup....he's their stable-mate after all. Pretty formulaic tag match but the crowd was red hot for Booker T....can't say I blame them.
Time of match: 9:37
Winners: The Un-Americans by pinfall
The next segment is over at The World where Jamie Noble holds a makeout contest where 2 buff looking dudes pose with the winner getting to make out with Nidia.....yikes. Nidia chooses a guy and pounces on him and nearly eats him alive as Noble squeals. Back at Bischoff and Stephanie's office, Eric talks about stealing Nidia from Smackdown before they trade barbs about which brand is walking away with the IC title in the next match. Back to JR and The King.....
Match 5
Rob Van Dam vs Chris Benoit for the WWE Intercontinental Championship
Commentators: Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler
This match stems from the previous month where shortly after Vengeance, Chris Benoit defeated Van Dam for the title and then shockingly jumped to Smackdown with Eddie Guerrero. Eric Bischoff, no doubt suffering a massive headache from the jump, then employed Rob to bring the title back to Raw which sets up this inter-promotional match. Rob starts off with a kick to the left leg as JR and King get excited, then Rob kicks Benoit down. Benoit bails to the outside as Rob poses in the ring, then JR shills where each man is from. Chris hits a single leg takedown then goes for a side-headlock as JR tells us how each man should try to win the match. Benoit hits a shoulderblock but then Van Dam backflips out of the corner, front flips into the other corner and hits a moonsault on Chris....nice acrobatics. Rob goes on offense, they trade counters before Benoit hits a release german suplex as the crowd applauds. Benoit goes on offense then hits a short armed clothesline for a near fall as JR says he misses Benoit on Raw...don't worry he'll be back in about 18 months. Benoit hits a backbreaker for a near fall, puts the boots to Rob and hits a snap suplex just as JR mentions Benoit idolized Dynamite Kid (who's trademark was a snap suplex). Benoit applies an arm-bar, Van Dam armdrags out of it, Benoit clotheslines him down and Rob hits an inside cradle for a near fall. Van Dam executes a backslide for a near fall, monkey flips Benoit 7 feet across the ring before running into a clothesline. Benoit chops Rob in the corner then a charge eats boot so Rob goes for the split-legged moonsault but Chris gets the knees up in time. Benoit calls for the flying headbutt so he goes upstairs but misses the attempt as Rob rolled out of the way, then Rob emphatically drops a leg before going upstairs himself. Rob misses the 5-Star Frogsplash as Benoit locks in the Crippler Crossface as King says this match is over. Somehow Rob gets a foot on the rope as the camera pans to Bischoff and Stephanie in the locker room cheering on their respective representatives. Benoit chops Rob in the corner, a charge eats elbow, Van Dam goes upstairs where he's pushed off onto the arena floor. Benoit goes outside and throws Rob shoulder first into the ringpost, now Rob is selling a shoulder injury. Benoit hits a sloppy looking shoulderbreaker then methodically works over Rob as the crowd cheers the efforts. They trade blows before Benoit hits a clothesline for a 2 count then applies a surfboard as the crowd all turns to see something going on in the stands. Rob tries to stand out of the surfboard but Benoit turns it into a triangle lock, Rob rolls through and reverses the hold, Benoit throws Rob down to end the sequence. Rob sweeps Chris off his feet, misses the cartwheel moonsault and Benoit sinches in the crossface with his arm between Benoit's legs so you know something's going to happen. Sure enough Rob hits a Peterson Roll which Benoit counters for a pinning combination for 1..2...noooooo, that was close. Benoit throws Rob into the ringpost shoulder first then applies another arm-bar before executing northern lights while still holding the arm. Benoit repeats the sequence twice as the crowd cheers Benoit's excellence of execution (like someone else I know named Bret). Benoit applies the crossface this time in the center of the ring but Rob begins to crawl toward the rope. Benoit turns the crossface into a dragon sleeper which Rob counters with a crossface of his own. Benoit rolls out of it, dropkicks Van Dam down, backs Rob in the corner and fires away with forearms. Benoit charges but eats elbow, Rob does a springboard dropkick from the second rope and covers for 1..2....negative. Rob hits his step-over heel kick then rolling thunder and covers for 1....2...noooo. Van Dam hits a shoulderblock in the corner which he sells the previous shoulder injury, ducks under a clothesline and heel kicks Benoit for yet another near fall. Van Dam goes upstairs but Benoit crotches him and goes for a back suplex, but Van Dam counters it mid-air. Rob goes upstairs and hits 5 STAR FROGSPLASH and covers for 1...2...THREEE and we got a new champion. Bischoff cheers in the GM's Office as JR and King shill what we just saw. Beautiful match....simply beautiful. We've seen 5 matches so far, 2 of them outstanding, 1 very good and 2 ok ones, looking good so far.
Time of match: Rob Van Dam by pinfall (new IC champion)
Winner: 16:30
The next segment has Bischoff gloating about bringing the IC title to Raw before Stephanie retorts by evily laughing in his face. I know why she's laughing but I won't ruin it...you'll have to see for yourselves, back to JR and King
Match 6
The Undertaker vs Test
Commentators: Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler
This next inter-promotional match will certainly not be the technical wrestling display we just saw. The hype to this one was The Undertaker had recently turned face because of the whole "American Bad Ass" image to take on the Un-Americans, Test in particular. Test comes out to the theme song I prefer over his previous one from 99-01 where people were actually paid to decipher the lyrics to it. The Undertaker makes his entrance on the bike as JR hypes up the Tough Enough 3 winners....one of whom would go on to become Johnny Nitro/Morrison/Mundo. Test starts out with a shoulderblock, ducks under a leapfrog and runs into an arm drag. Taker begins working over the left shoulder before Test counters with a series of knees to the mid-section. Taker ducks under a clothesline then hits his flying clothesline but the cover only gets a near fall. Taker goes back to work on the left arm then goes upstairs but Test blocks old school by throwing referee Jack Doane into the ropes. Test knocks The Undertaker off the apron then goes on offense outside the ring before they trade blows. Test whips Taker knee first into the steel steps as JR says someday Test will wear major gold in the WWE...um, that's a big no. They tried shoving Test down our throats for years and years and he just wasn't good enough in the ring or on the mic for the fans to get behind him. Back inside Test puts the boots to him, rams him into the turnbuckle, hits a series of elbows in the corner and chokes him down with a boot. Test hits a running clothesline in the corner, poses for the irate crowd then trade blows in the corner. Test hits a short-armed clothesline then applies a rest hold as King roots on The Undertaker during downtime. Test botches a clothesline so Undertaker counters with a back suplex, but misses the ensuing elbow drop. They trade blows in the center of the ring before Taker hits the running ddt for 1.....2.....nope, Test got the shoulder up. Taker goes back upstairs and finally hits Old School before avalanching Test in the corner. Taker hits snake eyes, misses a big boot attempt, rolls through the pump handle slam and signals for the chokeslam. Test blocks the chokeslam attempt and goes for the Big Boot but misses, then turns around into a chokeslam by the dead man. Taker makes the cover for 1.....2.....NOOOOOO. JR says "Mah gawd, how many people have ever kicked out of the chokeslam?" Taker signals for the last ride before Lance Storm and Christian hit the ring, yet the ref doesn't call for the bell. Taker cleans house with avalanches in the corner and chokeslams the two men before turning around into THE BIG BOOT. Test quickly covers for 1....2....NOOOOO, wow I thought that was the finish. Test goes nuclear on the referee then goes outside to steal Michael Cole's chair. Test boots Doane but then Taker boots the steel chair into Test and follows with the tombstone piledriver. The cover...1......2......3 put it in the bank, its over. Taker hops the guardrail as if to leave through the crowd before he steals someone's American flag then waves it around in the ring. Bad match but what do you expect...its Test!
Time of match: 8:18
Winner: The Undertaker by pinfall
The next segment is a highlight package hyping up the "non-sactioned match" between the returning Shawn Michaels and HHH. Let me go back a bit to tell everyone how it all came about....last month at Vengeance we learned that HHH had jumped from Smackdown to Raw with a huge assist from Shawn Michaels. They actually wore their DX attire out to Raw (which got a massively huge ovation) and they cut a DX promo before HHH TURNED ON SHAWN and hit the pedigree on him. HHH cuts a promo the next week saying how they were never friends and they just used each other before a camera guy tells HHH Shawn's been jumped in the parking lot and someone rammed his head through a car window, HHH shows sympathy upon arrival and calls for an ambulance. Shawn comes out the next week saying he knows who did it, and the security camera's reveal it was HHH himself. Shawn then challenged him to a fight at Summerslam which prompts Bischoff not to sanction it. Which means basically we got a street fight on our hands and anything goes.
Match 7
"The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels vs HHH in a non-sanctioned match (which in English means Street Fight)
Commentators: Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler
It is the unlikely return of one of the greatest superstars to ever grace the WWE ring, "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels. Shawn hadn't wrestled for four years prior to this so needless to say he may be a little rusty. Shawn comes out in jeans and cowboy boots as HHH enters with standard wrestling gear....remember this is supposed to be a fight not a match per se. Shawn attacks Hunter immediately with right hands before HHH throws HBK through the ropes to the outside. Shawn bullrushes Hunter back inside, takes him down with punches before getting knocked down with a shoulderblock. Shawn leapfrogs over Hunter then tosses him over the top rope to the floor then slingshots himself onto HHH. HBK rams Hunter into the ringpost then clotheslines him as the announcers speculate how long Shawn can last after a 4 year layoff. Shawn goes underneath the ring and heaves a trash can into the ring, so the fight has begun to coin a phrase. HHH drops Shawn sternum first off the security wall as the crowd goes silent, a hush has fallen over the 18,000 strong or whatever the number is. Shawn sits on the apron and when Hunter comes over, HBK belts him with a trash can lid then skins the cat back into the ring. Shawn picks the trash can and nails Hunter right between the eyes with it, goes upstairs and floors HHH with a right hand. Shawn calls for sweet chin music but misses and Hunter counters with a side backbreaker. Hunter hits another one as Shawn cringes in pain as the crowd chants HBK. Hunter goes on offense with hard irish whips in the corner then does the DX suck it taunt to a huge pop. Hunter goes back to work on the lower back then covers for a near fall then goes outside to get a chair. Hunter eyes Shawn and connects with the steel chair on the lower back, rolls him over and covers for 1...2....nope, not over yet. The announcers speculate if Shawn's better off staying down but that's not HBK's style for he continues to fight back. Shawn counters a back suplex with a running roll up for a near fall before eating a kneelift from The Game. Hunter signals for a ddt on a chair and scores with it then covers for 1....2...hellll no. Shawn is busted wide open then Hunter takes Shawn's belt off and whips him with it....now that shit hurts. Hunter wraps his hand with the belt and punches Shawn in the head, drawing more blood. Shawn goes outside for his sledgehammer but can't find it initially before eventually getting his hands on it. Hunter goes to waffle him but Shawn fight back with right hands only to be put in an abdominal stretch by HHH. Jim Ross pleads for HBK to submit but Shawn can't hear him obviously so he continues to feed off the crowd. Hunter uses the ropes for leverage and referee Earl Hebner tells him to break.....cept there are no DQ's so that should be legal. Hunter breaks and shoves Hebner which Earl responds by shoving back and getting in Hunter's face. Earl turns beet red and they shout at each other buying Shawn enough time to regain focus in the corner. Hebner goes on a rampage and even Hunter backs off before running into right hands by Shawn before setting him up on the top rope. Shawn punches Hunter off the top and signals for the flying elbow drop, but Hunter shoves Hebner into the ropes causing HBK to crotch himself and fall forwards. Hunter gets the chair and....hits him in the ass? Hunter attacking Shawn's exposed anal cavity is certainly unexpected and even Hebner doesn't know what to make of it. Hunter sets the chair down and executes a backbreaker onto it then covers for 1.....2....nooooooo. JR and King wonder why Shawn isnt giving up as Hunter hits a sidewalk slam on the chair then covers again for 1....2...negative. Hunter sets the chair down and attempts to pedigree Shawn on the chair but HBK counters with a low blow, that'll stop him for sure. HHH picks the chair up again but Shawn counters with SWEET CHIN MUSIC, kicking the chair in Hunter's face causing a blade job. Both men are down as JR says "It couldn't have happened to a nicer guy" sarcastically. Shawn swings the momentum his way with right hands including his flying forearm smash/nip up combo. Shawn hits a backdrop, picks up the steel chair and crunches Hunter in the head with it. Shawn whips Hunter over the corner to the floor, goes outside to pick up the trash can lid, hits him with it then starts whipping Hunter with the belt that was used earlier. Shawn grabs the trash can and cracks Hunter in the head with it as the crowd chants "We want tables!" Shawn hits Hunter with the trash can lid who goes flying backwards into the Smackdown announce table. HBK goes over to the Spanish announce table and takes Hugo Sevenevich's boot off......riiiiiight. Shawn hits Hunter with the boot, removes the top half of the steel steps, runs around the ring and bulldogs Hunter into the bottom half of the steel steps. Shawn goes under the ring and gets the *drumroll* LADDER. JR calls Shawn the innovator of the ladder match which is absurd considering a certain Bret Hart was the true innovator. Shawn torpedos the ladder into HHH then rams it into the mid-section a bunch of times on The Game. HBK sets the ladder against the ringpost then slingshots Hunter into it, rolls back inside and covers for 1.......2....nooooo, Hunter kicks out. Shawn picks the ladder up but Hunter baseball slides the ladder into Shawn. Hunter goes upstairs but Shawn counters with a superplex back into the ring then covers for a long near fall. Shawn counters a slam into a crucifix/sunset flip for a near fall but runs into a high knee by The Game. Hunter goes outside and grabs the steel steps, but back inside Shawn executes a drop-toe hold causing HHH to crash into them. Shawn clotheslines Hunter over the top to the floor but HHH lands on the ladder, bad positioning there. Shawn goes under the ring and gets the one item that hasn't been used yet...a table. Shawn sets the table up, grabs a fire extinguisher and belts Hunter with it onto the table. Shawn goes up to the top rope and flies off, splashing Hunter through a table then covers.....but this isn't falls count anywhere unfortunately. Shawn brings the ladder back into the ring, climbs all the way up and hits the flying elbow drop onto The Game. HBK nips up full of energy, tunes up the band as the crowd roars and......Hunter catches the foot. Hunter goes for the pedigree but HBK rolls through it into a bridge for 1.....2.....THREEEEE Shawn wins, Shawn wins, Shawn wins!!! Shawn celebrates but Hunter gets the sledgehammer and hits Shawn in the back, ruining the celebration. Hunter looks Shawn right in the eye and bludgeons him in the back of the neck, knocking Shawn out. Hunter does the suck it taunt as JR scoffs, then Hunter leaves ringside a bloody mess. Sgt Slaughter and the medics hit ringside as JR calls Hunter a sonovabitch. The medics haul Shawn off on a stretcher as the announcers speculate if we'll ever see Shawn again, wait a couple of months. Awesome match and the ending gave Shawn enough time to get in game shape to return to active duty. This feud is far from over, that's for sure.
Time of match: 27:20
Winner: Shawn Michaels by pinfall
The next segment is a Get the F Out commercial before we go to Howard Finkel who....cuts a promo? Apparently Howard says this is his first ppv in the Nassau Coliseum since Wrestlemania 2 and that baseball may go on strike but wrestling fans will always have him. (MLB was in danger of going on strike in the summer of 2002 but it never happened) All of a sudden Trish Stratus makes her way to ringside (who's been humiliating Finkel on Raw the last month) and Howard goes nuclear on her. Trish appears to be coming on to Howard who then says "Trish its a dog-eat-dog world and since you've got the puppies...I've got my weiner." Jim Ross says he's about to vomit and Trish offers a hug to Howard. All of a sudden Lillian Garcia hits the ring and Howard turns around into a slap to the face followed by a boot to the nads. Apparently they must have been having an announcer free-for-all on Raw, plus I guess they needed to have this segment to calm the crowd down before the main event. JR and King send things to Michael Cole and Tazz for the highly anticipated final match. All month prior to this they showed both The Rock and Brock Lesnar training really hard for this match meaning both men are in the best shape possible for the monster matchup. Basically, whoever wins will have beaten the other man at the top of his game so either The Rock adds to his legendary status or Lesnar becomes a legend himself.
Match 8
"The Next Big Thing" Brock Lesnar (with Paul Heyman) vs The Rock vs the WWE Championship
Commentators: Michael Cole and Tazz
Finally.....after months of booking Lesnar as the unstoppable monster, he gets The Rock face to face for the biggest prize in the industry. Like I said earlier, all month long they showed vignettes of the two training so each man looks championship worthy. The Rock rushes the ring and attacks Lesnar at the opening bell as the crowd goes wild. Brock suddenly hits an overhead BtB suplex and covers for a nearfall then hits 2 backbreakers for yet another near fall. Lesnar drives Rock into the corner with football shoulderblocks as Cole brings up how HHH, Benoit, Guerrero and Lesnar have beaten The Great One up recently, which is dumb considering how they've been hyping both up to be in the best shape of their lives. Brock knees Rock through the ropes to the outside before Heyman sneaks over and gets a few shots in. Brock clotheslines Rock over the guardrail into the fans, drops him sternum first into it, then clotheslines him back into the ringside area. Back inside Brock hits another overhead BtB and once again the cover only gets a deuce before Rock rallies with right hands. Rock bounces off the ropes but Heyman trips him up then Lesnar goes to work with elbow drops and boots. Referee Mike Chioda admonishes Lesnar so Heyman takes the opportunity to choke Rock down. Rock fights back with right hands and a boot to the head (yeah yeah) but runs right into a powerslam. Brock covers for 1...2...nope, Rock gets the shoulder up as Heyman evilly grins. The crowd chants "Rocky Sucks" so apparently the crowd's behind Lesnar, even more writing on the wall. Brock shoulderblocks Rock into the corner again then delivers a running shoulderblock...but the second attempt eats ringpost. Rock slows down Lesnar with a back suplex and both men are down until both men nip up at the same time. Rock clotheslines Lesnar but Brock doesn't move, so he ducks under a Lesnar clothesline and floors the monster with one of his own. Rock hits the people's ddt and covers for 1...2...near fall, then goes for the sharpshooter before Heyman hops up on the apron. Rock shoves Chioda out of the way and punches Paul off the apron much to Tazz's delight. Brock goes to deliver a boot but Rock catches it, single leg takedowns Brock and finally applies the sharpshooter. The crowd chants "Lets go Lesnar" as Rock pretty much turns heel and tells the crowd to fuck off. Brock motions that he's gonna tap before Heyman once again hops up on the apron, tosses a chair into the rings before Rock comes over and hiptosses him into the ring. Rock motions for the rock bottom but Brock stops him with a clothesline to the back. Heyman and Chioda wrestle to the ground as Brock picks the chair up and drives it into the ribs of The Rock, then applies the bearhug that killed Hulkamania (or so we thought). Brock turns the hug into a back suplex as the crowd chants "Lets go Lesnar" again, finally acknowledging the fact is Tazz. Brock applies another bearhug on the ground and Rock does the "fade then revive" routine. Rock powers out of it before the crowd starts chanting "Rocky"...now the crowd's split in two, great. Rock fires away at Lesnar with punches and Heyman once again hops up on the apron, this time Rocky takes advantage by low blowing Brock. Lesnar drives Rock into the corner and hits a running shoulderblock but runs into a clothesline during the second attempt. Rock looks at his hand and punches Brock over the top rope to the floor as the crowd cheers. Rock goes outside and takes apart the Spanish announce table, here we go. Heyman runs over so Rock rams him head first into it before clotheslining Lesnar down. Rock slingshots Brock head first into the ring post then rock bottoms Heyman through the table....now that EVERYONE wanted to see. Brock crawls into the ring as the crowd chants again, this time I can't make out what they are saying. Rock gets back into the ring and signals for the rock bottom and buries Brock with it. The cover 1......the count...2....NOOOOO, Lesnar kicked out of the rock bottom! Rock taunts the crowd so Lesnar takes advantages with a rock bottom of his own and covers for 1.....2....noooooo, Rock gets the shoulder up. Cole brings up Rock won a national championship in football (as apart of the 92 Miami Hurricanes) while Lesnar had won a college wrestling title in 2000. Brock runs into the spinebuster as Rock slowwwwly removes his arm pad...you know what's coming. Rock bounces off the ropes but suddenly Brock pops up and clotheslines Rock down. Rock staggers to his feet and Lesnar goes for the F-5, which Rock counters with an elbow to the head. Rock goes for the rock bottom but Brock counters by ducking under and finally hits the F-5. Lesnar covers Rock for 1.......2.......THREE AND WE GOT A NEW WWE CHAMPION! Brock Lesnar, a legitimate amateur wrestler has become the youngest WWE champion in history. The ramifications are huge, The Rock had trained his ass off for this match meaning Brock Lesnar had beaten him on his best day, don't get much more put over than that. Speaking of the great one, this would be The Rock's last match for six months for he left the company again to film the movie Walking Tall. The only drawback to Brock's victory was that this was the 5th title change in six months which really devalues the championship. Hopefully an extended run by a legitimate wrestling champion will help turn the company around, and without The Rock around, stopping Brock looked to be a tall task indeed.
Time of match: 14:38
Winner: Brock Lesnar (New WWE Champion)
Now that was a ppv for the ages, it featured the American debut of Rey Mysterio Jr, the return of Shawn Michaels and the coronation of Brock Lesnar to legendary status. It was an awesome ppv all around from the in-ring action to the storylines but once again they played hot potato with the world title. Brock Lesnar's win was the 5th title change in the last 6 months compared to 2001 where the title changed hands 5 times ALL YEAR. In terms of brand vs brand....the night after Summerslam was when Stephanie announced the Raw superstar who jumped to Smackdown, Brock Lesnar himself. According to the storyline Lesnar had become exclusive property to Smackdown so that left Bischoff and Raw without possibly ever seeing the WWE title again.....but Bischoff had a plan which would change the complexion of the company, which I'll get to later. As for the ppv....believe it or not 5 stars out of 5, nothing to complain about from an in-ring standpoint or storyline. Definately pick this up if you see it in stores, well worth it.
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