WWE Raw
US Bank Arena
Cincinnati, OH
November 11, 2002
Commentators: Jim Ross and Jerry "The King" Lawler
Ring Announcer: Lilian Garcia
We're six days away from Survivor Series with only two matches set, the elimination chamber and Victoria vs Trish Stratus for the Women's title. The good news is the Katie Vick saga is over and the better news is Shawn Michaels is coming back to active duty. The bad news is the rest of the roster is still a big bucket of meh with Randy Orton still out with injury. It was announced on Heat that tonight's main event will be Booker T vs Triple H. Whether the title was on the line or not wasn't given. Before we get to the shows, we have not only dark matches but the European Heat matches.
Dark Match 1
Rob Conway vs Nathan Jones
For those that don't remember, Conway was one of the top stars of OVW and had been there for 5 years just waiting for his big break. He has been on and off WWF/E TV doing jobs here and there. Tonight he does the job for Jones.
Winner: Jones
Dark Match 2
Chris Kanyon & Damaja vs Charlie Haas and Lance Cade
Kanyon was still on the comeback trail after suffering the devastating shoulder injury in July and he's got the OCW guys with him. Haas was just about to get his call but who are the other two? Lance Cade was trained by Shawn Michaels and was 21 years old at the time. He was getting a look after Heartland Wrestling Association bit the dust. Damaja is actually Danny Holliday who used to work Jakked years ago. He was rechristened "Damaja" in OVW and became a frequent partner with Doug Basham. Unfortunately down the road, they would both be called up but not as anyone wanted. Haas and Cade got the win.
Winners: Haas and Cade
Now for the European Heat matches. Since folks in the UK weren't getting the Survivor Series pre-show, they were getting their own cold matches.
Heat Match 1
Tommy Dreamer vs Justin Credible
ECW alumni Dreamer and Credible go at it for Heat. All that's written is Dreamer knocked Credible cold and Credible had to be carried out on a stretcher....uh oh.
Winner: Dreamer by referee stoppage
Heat Match 2
Jacqueline vs Ivory
The frequent partners of Trish Stratus and Molly Holly face each other here. Thanks to Youtube I was able to find the Italian broadcast of this match. Bell rings and Ivory starts with a kick to the ribs. Ivory gets in a headlock takeover but Jackie sends her off the ropes. Ivory drops Jackie with a clothesline but Jackie rallies with right hands. Jackie skins the cat and head scissors Ivory over the top rope to the floor. Jackie baseball slides Ivory down then throws her back inside. Ivory staggers as Jackie chops her into the corner. Jackie punches on the second rope but Ivory counters with a powerbomb and Flair Pin for 1..2...no. Ivory hits a dropkick and kicks Jackie before botching a gut wrench suplex. Jackie catches her with an inside cradle for a two count, ducks the line and hits a martial arts kick to the ribs. Jackie's charge eats boot in the corner but she still hits the rolling front slam and covers for 1...2..nope. Jackie goes for the tornado DDT but its blocked by Ivory. She slingshots Jackie into the second rope and schoolgirls her for 1...2...3 to win the match. Short and sweet as Ivory gets the duke.
Time of match: 3:05
Winner: Ivory by pinfall
Heat Match 3
Johnny Stamboli vs Raven
Probably a continuation of Raven's "masterpiece" but we don't get to see it. Raven wins with the evenflow.
Winner: Raven by pinfall
Finally we get started with Raw. We're shown Shawn Michaels reading a newspaper in the back to start the night. Having him play Batman and striking at any time is fun, but eventually he's got to work a match. Speaking of matches, let's get to our first.
Match 1
Kane and Rob Van Dam vs Christian and Chris Jericho for the World Tag Team Championship
Kane, RVD and Jericho are all in the Elimination Chamber match but Christian is not. Jericho comes out to the Salvia King of My World theme. Rob starts with Jericho to start and Y2J starts with a headlock and a shoulderblock but Rob uses his athleticism and hits a heel kick. Rob hits a rolling monkey flip in the corner and a moonsault for 1....2...no. Kane gets the tag and he kicks at Jericho's shoulder. He clotheslines Jericho in the corner but a second charge eats boot. Jericho gets dropped coming off the second rope and Kane hits a choke bomb. Christian gets decked and clotheslined over the top rope for getting in then Kane press slams Jericho over the top rope onto Jericho below. Rob Van Dam hits a somersault plancha on both of them. Rob hit his head on the ground as Jericho rolls in. Kane hits hits a chokeslam on Jericho inside but the ref is trying to break up Rob and Christian outside. Finally he rolls in but Christian also rolls in to stop the count. Kane grabs Christian but Christian kicks him in the gonads. Christian goes for the blatant choke first on the floor then in the corner. Kane whips Christian in the corner but a charge eats boot. Christian runs right into a sidewalk slam and Rob gets the tag. Van Dam knocks Jericho off the apron and hits a heel kick on Christian. He hits the step over heel kick and the rolling thunder before covering for a deuce. Jericho climbs the top rope but Van Dam crotches him. Christian charges but runs right into Jericho, Van Dam rolling up Christian for 1...2..nope. Christian charges into the corner but eats boot. Van Dam goes upstairs but Christian throws him off the top to the floor. Jericho puts the boots to him and strangles him with a camera cable. Christian throws Van Dam inside and tags in Jericho. Jericho hits a back suplex and covers for 1...2..no. Jericho locks in a chinlock then pulls Rob down by the hair when he tries to escape. Jericho does the Ali shuffle for some heat and chokes Rob on the second rope. Jericho jumps on Rob then tags in Christian. Jim gets excited about someone beating Triple H for the World title and one of them could be in the ring now. Van Dam rallies with heel kicks on both heels as the blood in the ring from the Dreamer/Credible match is still on the canvas. Kane gets the hot tag and he goes nuts on both Canadians. A big boot to Jericho is followed by a tilt-a-whirl slam on Christian. Kane throws Jericho over the top rope and goes upstairs. Kane hits the top rope clothesline and calls for the chokeslam. Jericho gets in and kicks Kane allowing both man to hit a double suplex on him. Van Dam hits a crossbody on both men and Jericho bails outside. Kane hits the chokeslam on Christian but Jericho grabs a title belt and clocks Kane with it. Van Dam kicks Jericho outside then goes up to the top rope. Rob jumps OVER Kane laying in the middle and hits the five star on Christian. Kane rolls on top for 1...2......CRACK! Jericho from out of nowhere hits Kane in the back with a steel chair to earn a DQ. Jericho unloads on Kane with chair shots then starts beating Van Dam with it too. Lawler correctly points out he's softening them up for this Sunday. Jericho shouts that he's going to be the new champion and he beats up the ring post with the chair as well. Good match for what it was and the ending was to get some heat on Jericho going into this Sunday with Triple H the only other heel in it.
Time of match: 9:15
Winners: Kane and Rob Van Dam by Disqualification (Champs retain)
Back from break, we get a highlight of Jericho going apeshit with the chair. Terri asks what Jericho is doing and he says he's softening up every single ass clown that's in the chamber match with him. He says no one is winning that match but him. He walks off and Christian says if anyone can't make it, Bischoff told him he gets the spot. He says he doesn't care if he has to beat Jericho to win the title and out of nowhere Chris waffles Christian with the chair. Nobody but him is winning, NOBODY! Again, they had to do something to get some heat on Jericho.
Back to JR and King who says Jericho has gone nuts. We then cut to a highlight package of the Shawn Michaels and Triple H's recent history. Shawn says "don't hunt what you can't kill" Cut to Booker T in the back when ace reporter Gregory Helms comes in and asks him what he thinks about the elimination chamber. Booker says he's been thinkin more than Abraham Lincoln that he's going to kick Triple H's ass. Gregory turns around into Goldust and Goldust says Greg's microphone is as big as his. Goldust asks what green and gold and has victory written all over, Goldust and The Hurricane beating Steven Richards and Test. Goldust says "Beware of the testicles as they are becoming more powerful and stronger than ever." Helms says Test is dangerous but Goldust says he wasn't talking about him. He looks down at his own package and breathes at Helms. Yay, more dick jokes. Least we got a match out of it. We cut to Jeff Hardy getting prepared for a match with Lance Storm. Jeff heads to the ring as we cut to commercial. On to the next match.
Match 2
Lance Storm (with William Regal) vs Jeff Hardy
Kind of a filler match but oh well. Lance goes to work on Hardy but he immediately hits a mule kick on Storm, Jeff fakes out Storm and hits a second rope legdrop before covering for a deuce. Jeff goes for a crucifix but Storm counters with a front slam and covers for 1..2...nope. Lance hits a side backbreaker and covers for a two count. Storm lands knees to the back of Hardy and goes for an overhead backbreaker. Jeff rolls out and goes for a backdrop but Lance bridges out of it. Jeff still takes him down and hits a legdrop in between the legs. Jeff covers for a near fall but runs right into a powerslam. Lance covers for a deuce then sends Jeff into the corner. He tells referee Jack Doan to shut up then hits another side backbreaker. He covers for a dos then locks in a surfboard. Jeff mule kicks out of it then rallies with right hands. Lance is hotshotted off the top rope and Jeff hits a forearm. Jeff is sent to the corner but he runs up the ropes and hits Whisper In The Wind. He covers for 1...2....nope. Lance blocks a whip but Jeff hits a russian leg sweep then traps the legs for 1...2....no. Lance gets a thumb to the eye and hits a dropkick of his own, followed by a near fall. Lance hits a knee to the ribs but is backdropped over the top rope to the floor. Jeff runs the rails but slips off and just delivers a standard clothesline on Lance. Jeff throws Storm in but the ref is distracted by Storm so Regal pounds away on Jeff outside. Regal throws him inside but Tommy Dreamer comes down and clobbers him to even the odds. Dreamer sends Regal into the ring post and Storm hits a baseball slide on him. Jeff from behind hits a reverse neckbreaker on Storm, goes upstairs and hits the Swanton Bomb. He covers for 1...2...3 to win the match. May have been a filler match but it was good for what it was.
Time of match: 5:14
Winner: Hardy by pinfall
We got back to last week where Victoria manhandles Terri and rips her clothes off. Back to real time, she is called into Eric Bischoff's office where Eric says he's very happy. He puts over the chamber match and Terri wants to know what he wants. He booked Terri in a match with Victoria after what happened las week. Terri says Victoria is a complete psycho and doesn't want to wrestle her. Victoria is already in the ring and calls for Terri to come out. Victoria compares Terri to Trish and cuts a promo saying since they have so much in common, she's going to annihilate Terri. Terri says she's not a wrestler and is an interviewer. Eric says she has two choices, either face Victoria and get her to let up or she's fired.
Back from break Terri walks out with a microphone She says she may be small in stature but she's big enough to say Victoria is the better woman. She says there's no need to fight and Victoria says fine, the match is off. Then she grabs Terri and says the match is off...but she's gonna rip her heas off. Victoria punches Terri down and rips her shirt open. Victoria throws Terri down as JR scoffs this isn't a contest and Bischoff should be ashamed of himself. Victoria sniffs Terri's shirt and Terri starts fighting back by beating Victoria with her shoe. She jumps on Victoria's back but is slammed off by Victoria. Victoria puts the boots to Terri and throws her outside. Victoria slams her on the steel ramp and throws her into the steel steps. JR "God almighty." King "I think the referee is afraid of Victoria." Victoria rolls Terri inside and kicks Charles Robinson right in the berries. Victoria throws Robinson out of the ring, goes under the ring and grabs a ladder. She throws the ladder halfway into the ring but Trish Stratus runs out and see saws the ladder up into Victoria's face. Trish hits the chick kick and throws her outside. Trish throws Victoria into the steps and pounds away on her until the refs separate her. King says to let her go and Victoria laughs maniacally at her as we cut. Glad they gave these two a segment like this since it makes the women's title seem important.
Backstage we see Batista walking in the hall when Ric Flair walks up to introduce himself. Batista refuses a handshake but Flair says he's very impressed with him since his Smackdown debut. Flair says he might be bigger than the champ, Triple H. He goes to pat him on the back and stops then says good luck. Batista says coldly "thanks" On to the next match.
Match 3
D-Lo Brown vs Dave Batista
Guess D-Lo is the sacrificial lamb this week. Lilian calls him "Dave" Batista so we'll go with that. D-Lo wastes no time with punches at the bell but gets backdropped by the big guy. Batista hits the rolling front slam but gets kicked in the head. D-Lo clotheslines him but Batista unfazed hits the 360 line on D-Lo. Batista crushes D-Lo in the corner with a running clothesline then goes for another one, but eats elbow. Batista hits the spinebuster and the sit down powerbomb. He covers for 1..2...3 to win the match. JR says that was the first Eurocontinental champion that Batista just annihilated. Total squash but that was the point.
Time of match: 1:31
Winner: Batista by pinfall
Backstage Shawn Michaels is walking around and looks like he's coming to the ring. Back from break we get a tribute to veterans video montage then Shawn Michaels comes out for a conference. Shawn's epic soliloquoy says he has a belief system. He believes in god, himself, his family and all the fans. He says he's human and wants retribution on Sunday. He doesn't know what an elimination chamber is but he also didn't know what a ladder or hell in a cell match was either. He won the HIAC as JR points out. He says a career ending back injury didn't stop him, he could win or he might not but he's going back to Madison Square Garden. He's not the heartbreak kid anymore or the showstopper (oh he would be again), he's just plain Shawn. He says he's known Triple H for a very long time but they ended up in very different places. He's a forgiving man but he can't forgive him for trying to put him out for good. He says he doesn't care if its Kane, Chris Jericho, Rob Van Dam or Booker T walking out in the end as long as he takes out Triple H himself. The word of God says all things are possible to those who believe and he believes this Sunday night he'll be the new World Heavyweight Champion.
Suddenly Triple H's music hits and Hunter walks out for a rebuttal. HHH mocks Shawn for believing he can win and in this arena, HE is god (Hunter that is). Shawn raises his fist and the crowd cheers and Hunter repeats that he is God. HHH says he's gonna kick Shawn's ass and he heads to the ring. Shawn is ready as HHH takes off his warmup jacket. They get it on in the ring with right hands but Shawn gets dropped with a hard clothesline. HHH hits the pedigree and trash talks the fallen Michaels. HHH smiles and goes to the outside, finding his sledgehammer under the ring. The referees run out along with Terry Taylor, Arn Anderson and Sgt Slaughter to stop him. HHH is restrained from causing Shawn further damage but the message has been sent. Jericho and HHH have taken out Kane, RVD and Shawn Michaels tonight leaving just Booker T in the main event. Not only that but Shawn's mission is simple, above all else, keep HHH from winning. After we come back from break, we're shown a highlight of HHH's attack but Shawn walking off under his own power. On to the next match.
Match 4
The Dudley Boys (Bubba Ray and Spike) with Jeff Hardy vs 3 Minute Warning (Jamal and Rosey) with Rico
JR announces that this Sunday it'll be a six man tables match between all six of them this Sunday....FINALLY we have another match signed. We start with Bubba pounding away on Jamal in the corner. Bubba chops Jamal but Rosey provides the distraction for Jamal to escape. Bubba still hits the reverse neckbreaker on Jamal then tags Spike in. Spike hits the coup de gras and a running forearm. Spike gets backdropped over the top rope to the floor where Rico just throws him back in. Both Samoans hit a huge double face plant but the announcers are too busy yapping about Shawn Michaels to notice how high Spike was in the air. Rosey tags in and hits a leg drop as King still babbles on about HBK. Jamal tags in to pound away on Spike before hitting a press slam. Spike kicks Jamal in the head who no sells it and goes for a big clothesline. Spike ducks but is sent all the way to the outside where Bubba tags him on the way out. Bubba goes to town on both Samoans and hits the Dusty Punches on Jamal then moves as Rosey clotheslines his own partner by accident. Bubba hits a football tackle on Rosey as Jeff Hardy outside wipes out Rico. Rosey avalanches the distracted in the corner and Jamal hits the Samoan drop. Jamal covers for 1.....2....3 to win the match. The samoans win and they throw Bubba over the top rope to the floor. Jeff chases Rico into the ring and he hits a double dropkick on both samoans. He takes down Rico as well and goes for the Swanton, but Rosey pulls Rico out of the way. Rico hits a belly to belly suplex as Rico gets a table. They set it up as Spike tries to go for the Acid Drop on Rosey only to be thrown into the corner. Rosey avalanches Spike and sets him up on the table as well. Jamal hits the big splash off the top rope onto both Spike and Hardy. Lot of heels going over tonight.
Time of match: 2:51
Winners: 3 Minute Warning by pinfall
Back from break JR shills WWE Confidential with "Mean" Gene Okerlund this Saturday night. After a Scott Steiner vignette, here comes Christopher Nowinsky for our next match. We get shown a highlight of Maven chasing off Nowinsky last week. Nowinsky comes out with a book and says Pete Rose should be in the Hall of Fame. He hypes up the crowd for Pete then stops and says "How stupid can you guys be?" Chris says the crowd deserves a hall of fame nod for stupidity. He's going to manipulate and defeat his mentor Al Snow. He goes to quote Dickens but Al Snow comes out for the next bout.
Match 5
Al Snow vs Christopher Nowinsky'
Nowinsky calls him "dad" before the bell and Snow takes him down instantly. Al restrains himself from beating up Nownisky and Al takes him down with technical wrestling holds. Al hits a fireman's carry takeover and applies an armbar before swinging him around. Al backs him in the corner and he begs off. Nowinsky gets in a cheapshot but gets dropped with an uppercut. Al hits a dragon leg takedown and a crossbody only for Nowinsky to roll through and put his feet on the ropes for 1...2...3 to win the match. Al after the match says that was a nice one and Chris goes to shake his hand, but is pushed away. Nowinsky then beats Snow down with the giant book he's holding. Maven runs in and chases Nowinsky away for the second week in a row. Once again the heel goes over. Nowinsky is great at being a cheap, chicken heel and he's got good size, maybe he'll be worth something some day.
Time of match: 1:33
Winner: Nowinsky by pinfall
Back from break here comes Eric Bischoff for a soliloquy. Eric says on Super Tuesday there will be a 10 man tag on UPN featuring Raw guys and the bikini contest between Trish Stratus and Torrie Wilson. Now he sends us to a vignette of the elimination chamber being built. Again, that's just the schematics. Eric then goes over the rules. Two men will randomly be chosen to start the match in the ring with the other four locked into individual chambers. Every 5 minutes a randomly chosen chamber will open. Elimination occurs at any time until one remains. The winner is the World Heavyweight Champion. Bischoff says he is the most dynamic force in sports entertainment today.
We cut to a hidden camera of Steven Richards talking with Stacy Keibler. Steven says congrats on making Test a star and he wants her to make him a star too. Stacy says her hands are full and Steven says to do him one favor to motivate him for tonight's match. Steven wants her to spank him with the singapore cane he's holding. Stacy is reluctant but then Test walks in with Steven unaware. Stacy silently hands Test the cane and he whacks him with it. Stacy then wants her turn as well...but Test drops the cane.
Cut to RNN Breaking News with Randy Orton. Randy says the sling was chafing him but the doctors healed him. Since then his sling has been padded then plugs his Get Well email and he'll be back in no time. Bottom line is Randy will be back soon. Back from break, onto the next match.
Match 6
Steven Richards and Test (with Stacy Keibler) vs Goldust and The Hurricane
Richards comes out holding his ass after getting caned by Test but he's got no choice but to let it go since they got a tag match. Goldust crouches down as Test smacks Steven on the ass just to screw with him (hahahahaha). Test starts with Goldust and gets a knee to the ribs to start. Test pounds on Goldust but Goldust responds with the ass bump. Steven gets atomic dropped but Test hits a full nelson slam. Richards tags in but Goldust hits a choke bomb. Hurricane tags in who drops Richards with a clotheslines then rams his head ito the buckle. Hurricane hits blockbuster and then shining wizard the covers. Test pulls Hurricane off but Goldust hits an uppercut on Steven. Test tags in, backdrops Goldust to the floor and catches Hurricane in midair. Richards nails Test from behind by accident. And Hurricane hits Eye Of the Hurricane. Hurricane covers for 1....2...nope. Hurricane elbows Test, ducks under the big boot then goes for the chokeslam. Test hits Cross Rhodes and covers for 1...2...3 to win the match. After the match Steven grabs Stacy and jumps around with her and Test buries him with the big boot. Test grabs the mic and says not to ever touch one of his testicles. Great, another dick joke. Least Test is getting a push.
Time of match: 2:14
Winners: Test and Richards by pinfall
Backstage Booker runs up to Triple H and says his chances of walking out the chamber the winner are between slim and none and slim just left town. Also he doesn't have just Book to deal with but FIVE GUYS, FIVE GUYS, FIVE GUYS, FIVE GUYS, FIVE GUYS whooping his punk ass. Can you dig that? HHH says he's right that he does have five opponents. He then lowers his fingers until only his middle one remains up and says it'll be down to just you and him. Can you dig THAT? Booker has to be restrained and we cut here.
Match 7
Booker T vs Triple H (with Ric Flair)
Non-title match and the writing is on the wall. Jericho and HHH have taken out all the faces in the chamber match except Booker. Booker runs in hot to start, ducking the line and hitting an axe kick. Booker punches away at Hunter in the corner then axe kicks HHH over the top rope to the floor. Outside Booker continues the assault and suplexes HHH on the floor. Booker is sent into the ring steps and Flair throws him back inside. HHH punches Book and they slug it out inside the ring. Booker ducks the line but runs into the high knee. Hunter covers for a deuce then slugs away in the corner before dropping him with a forearm. Hunter hits a facebuster on Book and suplexes him onto the top rope. JR says HHH won't win at Survivor Series as Book knocks him off the rope. Booker hits a missile dropkick and rallies with right hands. Booker hits a forearm and punches him in the corner. HHH ducks the axe kick and kicks Booker in the ribs. HHH goes for the pedigree but Booker counters and slingshots Hunter into the top turnbuckle. Booker hits the axe kick followed by the scissors kick. Booker then gives the sign for the spinaroonie then slams Ric Flair off the top rope. Booker does the spinaroonie and hits a double clothesline on Flair and Hunter. Booker hits both of them with axe kicks but HHH hits the low blow while referee Earl Hebner rolls Flair out. HHH hits the pedigree and covers for 1..2...3 to win the match. Once again HHH goes over and there really is no one on Raw that can beat him.....except for Shawn Michaels who runs in.
Time of match: 5:14
Winner: HHH by pinfall
Michaels blasts Hunter with right hands until HHH goes down. Shawn hits Sweet Chin Music on Flair but then Chris Jericho runs in. Shawn clotheslines HHH and Jericho down but Y2J starts pounding away on Shawn. Jericho rams Shawn in the corner and double team him until Kane runs in. Kane pounds away on HHH and hits the big boot. Rob Van Dam runs in to get him some of Jericho. Jericho throws Rob outside and Kane goes for the chokeslam. Rob hits the top rope dropkick on Kane and a heel kick on Jericho. Kane throws Rob over the top rope and Kane punches away on HHH. Kane runs into a spinebuster but HHH turns around into a Booker axe kick. Van Dam hits the five star frog splash on Kane but Booker hits him with a scissors kick. Jericho hits a missile dropkick on Rob and shoves HHH. Kane sits up and clotheslines both men. Kane clotheslines both men in the corner then hits a chokeslam on Jericho. Kane turns around into Sweet Chin Music and only Shawn and Hunter are left inside. Shawn tunes up the band but HHH blocks the superkick. Shawn backdrops HHH out of the pedigree and hits one of his own on Hunter. Shawn's music plays but then Jericho crushes Shawn in the head with a steel chair. Jericho is last man standing and he says he's going to be the new champ. JR signs off and we're done here.
This was a heel dominated show and it got a bit ridiculous. The babyfaces on Raw look like complete, incompetent buffoons except for Shawn Michaels. He seems to be the only one who can hang with Triple H but as Jericho just demonstrated, he's got a habit of rising to the occasion when people least expect it. Still, Shawn says he's going to take Hunter out no matter what and he might be the only one who can. Its very obvious Booker, Van Dam and Kane have no chance in hell. Its just a question of will HHH's reign of terror continue, Shawn wins or Jericho steals one again. Victoria and Trish Stratus is going to be a war and nobody gives a rats ass about the tables match because none of those guys in the tables match are getting high praise. Its on to Super Tuesday so I'll see you there.
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