WWE Survivor Series
Madison Square Garden
New York City, NY
November 17, 2002
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, Tazz
Ring Announcers: Howard Finkel and Tony Chimel
We finally made it to Survivor Series and what a month it has been. We'll start with Smackdown. Jamie Noble finally ran into competition when Billy Kidman beat him two weeks in a row to earn a Cruiserweight title shot. Edge and Rey Mysterio Jr defeated Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit to become the new WWE Tag Team Champions but has to defend them against Angle & Benoit and Los Guerreros in a triple threat tag team match. Finally, Big Show jumped ship to Smackdown and immediately put Undertaker on the shelf by throwing him off the stage the night after No Mercy. He then smashed Brock Lesnar to the point Brock's agent Paul Heyman says Lesnar can't beat him. Big Show goes one on one with Lesnar for the WWE Championship. Now for the Raw side. Spike and Bubba Ray Dudley team with Jeff Hardy against 3 Minute Warning and Rico...kind of a waste of time but there was NOTHING going on Raw apart from the main event which I'll get to in a second. Secondly, we got a Women's Championship hardcore match where the demented Victoria faces Trish Stratus for the title. Finally, Eric Bischoff cooked up a new concept for Survivor Series, the elimination chamber. Triple H must defend his World Heavyweight Championship against five other guys. It was established early that four of the challengers were Kane, Rob Van Dam, Booker T and Chris Jericho. The sixth and final challenger turned out to be the returning Shawn Michaels. HBK is back to active duty and his mission is to keep HHH from winning the match. Let's get started with tonight's show. We start with a video montage before the pyro shoots off. We are shown the elimination chamber in the rafters before a camera crew show The World. On to our first match.
Match 1
The Dudley Boys (Spike and Bubba Ray) and Jeff Hardy vs 3 Minute Warning (Rosey and Jamal) with Rico in a 6 man elimination tables match
Commentators: Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler
3 Minute Warning had been Eric Bischoff's hit squad for months but after No Mercy, they put Spike out of a tag title match and then cost Bubba and Jeff their shot. So now both Dudleys and Jeff get their hands on the Samoans and Rico. The rules are all 3 guys must go through tables and they must leave after being put through one. A pier six brawl starts in the ring but the faces shitcan the heels. Bubba press slams Spike over the top rope but 3 Minute Warning catch him. Jeff hits poetry in motion with the heels just literally standing there. Bubba brings Rico in the ring the hard way and drops him with a back elbow smash. Rico gets an uppercut as the crowd chants for tables. Bubba corners Rico and open hand slaps him in the chest. Spike hits a hurracarana on Jamal and does the wazzuppp headbutt with Bubba. Bubba scoop slams Rico and Jeff does the legdrop off the top rope. Bubba tells Jeff and Spike to get the tables. Bubba sets one up in the corner but gets run over by Rosey with a clothesline. Spike gets dropped face first and Jeff Hardy is backdropped over the top rope to the floor. Rosey grabs Spike and throws him head first into the corner table. Spike moves and Rosey launches himself into the table, but JR points out that it doesn't count if you put yourself through a table. Rosey hits Spike with a broken table and drops Bubba with a spinebuster. Rosey fails to catch Jeff on a flying crossbody but makes up for it with a big splash. Rico kicks away at Bubba as Jamal throws another table in the ring. Rico sets up the table and goes to suplex Spike through a table but Spike blocks it. Rico gets him up but Spike rolls out of it and goes for the acid drop. Both Jamal and Rosey come from behind and catch them. Rosey and Jamal face plant SPIKE DUDLEY through a table so he's out of there.
The other referees run out to get Spike out of there as Rico barks orders. Rosey and Jamal go upstairs and Rosey moonsaults nothing when Bubba gets up. Jeff shoves Jamal off the top and Bubba shitcans Rico. Jeff hits poetry in motion on Rosey in one corner but gets dropped by Jamal. Rosey throws Jeff over the railing into the crowd. Rico and Jamal double team Bubba inside the ring as Rosey and Jeff brawl to the old Exit sign. Rico kicks Bubba in the temple and Jamal goes for an avalanche, but Bubba pulls Rico in to take the blast. Bubba hits the Bubba Bomb on Jamal then runs out to help Jeff. Bubba sets up a table as Jeff climbs the exit way. Bubba puts ROSEY on the table and Jeff swanton bombs him through the table to even this up.
Jamal and Rico set up a table in the ring and Jamal puts Bubba on it. Rico looks like he's going for a moonsault but Hardy is nowhere to be found, causing Rico to shout loudly "Come on Jeff!" Finally Jeff shakes the top rope to crotch Rico....and there we have one of the staples of early Botchamania. Jamal knocks Jeff off the apron and Bubba hits back suplex...but Jamal moved the table. Jeff hits whisper in the wind and a dropkick on Jamal then goes outside. Jeff grabs a table and hits Jamal with it. Jeff runs the barricade but Jamal shields himself with the table and Jeff crashes into it. Jim Ross asks if that counts as an elimination but the refs say no. Jamal sets up another table with Jeff on it and go up to the top rope. Inside the ring, Bubba sets up a table but gets knocked down by an elbow smash by Jamal. Jamal goes back up top and hits the big splash through a table to eliminate JEFF HARDY.
By himself, Bubba rallies with Dusty punches on Rico and puts him on a table. Bubba hops to the second rope but Jamal stops him. Jamal rolls Rico off the table and goes for the superplex, but Bubba blocks it. Bubba hits the Bubba Bomb through a table to eliminate JAMAL.
Down to Bubba and Rico, Rico stomps away at Bubba and goes to set up another table. All of a sudden Rosey gets in the ring as referee Jack Doan tells him to scram. Bubba rallies with right hands on Rosey but Rosey recovers with a belly to belly suplex. King tells JR to go down and tell him to leave. Jamal gets back in the ring as well and now its three against one. Jamal sets up for the samoan drop but from out of nowhere D'Von Dudley hits the ring in his old cammo gear. D'Von cleans house of Rosey and Jamal as the crowd goes nuts. D'Von heaves Rosey and Jamal over the top rope then sets up the table. The pop gets progressively louder as RICO walks right into the 3D through a table to end the match. JR "Oh testify!" D'Von revs up the crowd and hugs Bubba, guess the Dudleys are re-united. The match itself was a standard mess but the appearance of D'Von to help Bubba got a huge pop. Good booking.
Time of match: 11:22
Winners: Dudleys and Hardy (Bubba survives)
We cut to The World in Times Square where Stacy Keibler is there saying she's conducting a PR tour of testicles. Stacy then introduces Saliva to perform Alive live....thankfully they show WWE highlights throughout to at least remind us this is supposed to be a wrestling show. I like Saliva and its a good song, but this could have been another match. We cut to Rob Van Dam doing the JCVD split with Michael Cole and Tazz ready for the first Smackdown match.
Match 2
Billy Kidman vs Jamie Noble (with Nidia) for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship
Commentators: Michael Cole and Tazz
Cole points out before the match Noble won the title at King of The Ring and has been virtually unbeatable since (against Cruiserweights anyway). Then two weeks in a row Billy Kidman got the better of him so he gets the title shot tonight. Kidman comes out to his Dollar Store DMX theme for the first time. Bell's gone and Kidman gets a quick schoolboy and a hurricarana. Noble bails to the outside but Kidman throws him inside. Noble kicks away at him first back in the ring then counters a clothesline with a neckbreaker. He covers for two and rams Kidman back first into the corner. Jamie "Get up boyyyy" and he locks in a surfboard. Kidman powers out of it but Noble throws him over the top rope. Tazz says Noble would have something up his sleeve but he's not wearing a shirt. Jamie suicide dives through the second rope onto Kidman then throws him inside. Noble comes off the top but Kidman counters with a dropkick. The camera spots blood on the mat and Tazz says Rico's arm got cut up during the tables match. Kidman hits a back elbow smash and a hiroshi goroshi before covering for a deuce. Noble does a suplex bomb and covers for two as Kidman executes a sit down faceplant. Kidman goes for the 7 Year Itch but Nidia pulls Jamie out of there. Kidman hits a crossbody on Jamie on the floor. Nidia yells at Jamie on the floor as Kidman throws him inside. Slingshot legdrop by Kidman gets 1..2....no. Noble goes for the tiger bomb but Kidman backdrops Jamie out of it. Nidia grabs Billy's leg and he drags her on the apron. She slaps him but that takes him out of the way of a charging Noble who knocks her off the apron. Kidman hits the sky high and covers for 1...2...no. Kidman counters the tiger bomb with a backslide but Noble rolls through it and hits the tiger bomb anyway. The cover gets 1....2.....NOOOO, Kidman kicks out and Jamie can't believe it. Jamie charges in the corner but eats boot and Billy goes to the top rope. Kidman hits an X-Factor from the top rope and covers for 1...2...nope. Noble hits a top rope DDT and covers for 1...2....noooooo. Jamie screams and stomps around only to walk into an enziguiri. Kidman pulls Noble into the corner and goes to the top rope but Nidia stops him. Kidman kicks her off but Jamie punches him. Kidman punches him down and hits the 7 Year Itch, covering for 1...2....3 to win the match. The 5 month reign of Noble is over as Billy Kidman is now the cruiserweight champion. The problem with this match is they didn't sell much so they could do as much shit as possible.....which would be come the standard for the indies over the next 20 years. Wasn't a bad match but not spectacular either.
Time of match: 7:10
Winner: Billy Kidman by pinfall (new Cruiserweight champion)
Backstage Kurt Angle has been watching the monitor and asks Chris Benoit if Kidman can win the Cruiserweight title, they can win the tag titles. Benoit "WHAT? WHAT?" Kurt says they're a team and amigos, busom buddies, friends to the end. Again, how Benoit isn't cracking up I'll never know. Benoit cracks a smile and goes for a handshake. Kurt "I'm not gonna shake your hand, tag team partners don't shake hands, tag team partners gotta hug." Kurt awkwardly hugs Benoit who looks totally confused. Now you see where Batista stole that bit years later. We cut to Chris Jericho preparing in the back before hidden camera footage shows Victoria in a closet getting ready. She asks the mirror who the prettiest diva is and goes crazy because the mirror apparently said Trish. She tears up a cardboard cutout of Trish and we cut to JR and King. JR asks what the hell is wrong with Victoria and King says she hasn't been the same since the house fell on her sister (hahahaha). The women's match is up next apparently. We get a recap of the feud where the storyline was Victoria and Trish Stratus were fitness models together but Trish blocked her from getting her WWE tryout. Victoria went nuts and waited for her chance to get revenge. Wouldn't this make her the babyface?
Match 3
Victoria vs Trish Stratus for the WWE Women's Championship in a hardcore match
Commentators: Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler
Ross says its been two years since the last women's hardcore match and Victoria doesn't wait, she attacks right at the bell. She strangles Trish with her own trench coat then throws her down with it twice. Victoria grabs a broom as JR asks if she's going to ride it. Trish kicks Victoria and monkey flips her with it, but Victoria holds on and chokes her with it. The crowd chants "HLA" as Victoria chokes Trish with the broom on the second rope but Trish pulls her down with it. Trish grabs the trash can lid but Victoria whacks the lid into her face with the broom. Victoria throws Trish into the lid twice and they spill outside. Victoria throws Trish into the garbage can full of weapons then throws her down. Back inside Victoria does a slingshot legdrop and covers for 1..2...nope. Victoria sets up a trash can in the corner but the hole is facing the ring. Trish slingshots Victoria up into it but her head is nowhere near the can so she uses her hands to create the sound. Trish then sets up the trash can on Victoria's face and kicks it of....that shouldn't have hurt either. Trish covers for 1...2...nope. Trish grabs an ironing board and sets it up in the corner. Trish whips Victoria into it and hits a chick kick. She covers for 1...2....no. Trish grabs a singapore cane and waffles Victoria with it. Victoria grabs a trash can lid and SMASHES Trish in the face with it. Victoria heads to the second rope but Trish does Stratusphere only grabbing the lid first. Trish hits Victoria with the lid knocking her to the floor. Trish sends Victoria into the ring steps. Back inside a bloody nose'd Victoria hits a powerbomb then grabs a mirror outside. Back inside Trish ducks the shot and hits another chick kick. The cover gets 1....2...no. Trish gets a cookie sheet but Victoria whacks her with the singapore cane. Trish goes for a bulldog but totally botches it when Victoria's head hits her ribs. She covers anyway for 1...2...no. JR ties to save face by saying she didn't get all of it. Victoria drops Trish face first onto the cane and goes outside for the fire extinguisher. Victoria sprays Trish with it, hits a snap suplex and covers for 1...2....3 to win the match. King "You gotta be kidding me!" Yeah really, Victoria wins the title on a snap suplex? Non-finisher aside, Victoria gets her revenge by beating Trish like she said she would. Sloppy match but that's actually a good thing for a match like this designed to beat the hell out of each other. The demented Victoria is the new women's champion.
Time of match: 7:04
Winner: Victoria by pinfall (new Women's Champion)
We cut to the back where Booker T is getting ready then to Jonathan Coachman. Coach is with Eric Bischoff and asks what we can expect. Bischoff says we're gonna see history and the future and praises himself. Suddenly Big Show walks up and says "hi stranger". Show says it was a big mistake trading him and he's going to walk out of MSG as the new WWE Champion. We cut to Brock Lesnar preparing when Paul Heyman walks in looking sad. Heyman says he's been nervous since Big Show showed up and nothing's been the same since Hell In A Cell. Heyman says he has to put everything behind him and he'll make sure his client leaves as WWE Champion. We get a montage of Big Show and Brock's feud after No Mercy and I've said it a hundred times....this WOULD have been epic if Big Show hadn't been booked as an idiot for a year.
Match 4
Big Show vs Brock Lesnar (with Paul Heyman) for the WWE Championship
Commentators: Michael Cole and Tazz
Cole says Lesnar is the underdog for the first time in his career. Although mid-card title matches are never a good thing for the champion. They go nose to nose right at the start and Show shoves him backwards. The crowd chants "Let's go Lesnar" and Show drives Brock in the corner before hiptossing him out. Show calls for the chokeslam early but Lesnar hits a double leg takedown and punches him. They spill outside and Brock gets rammed into the ring post. Show rolls Brock in and goes for another chokeslam but Brock hits a back suplex. Brock backs Show in the corner with shoulderblocks but is whipped into the corner. Show charges but misses and Brock german suplexes him. Brock goes for the F-5 but Show counters with forearms to the back. Lesnar goes for another takedown but Show moves, causing Lesnar to blast referee Mike Chioda through the ropes to the outside. Lesnar ducks under the big boot and hits the overhead belly to belly suplex. Heyman tosses a chair into the ring and Lesnar picks it up but Show punches the first swing away, only to be cracked in the head with it on the second attempt. Lesnar goes for the F-5 and hits it. He covers with referee Mike Sparks hitting the ring for 1...2....Paul Heyman pulls Sparks out, what the hell? Heyman decks Sparks and Lesnar looks at Heyman angrily. Lesnar chases Heyman into the ring but Show walks into a steel chair shot to the ribs, then across the back. Show chokeslams Lesnar on the chair as Chioda comes back in. Show covers for 1....2....3 to win the match. We got a new WWE Champion! Heyman celebrates with Big Show as Tazz calls Heyman a scumbag. Cole wants to know why Heyman would turn on Lesnar after being his manager since he came to WWE. Just goes to show you that anything can happen in WWE. Big Show was languishing on Raw while Lesnar was wiping out Hulk Hogan. The Rock and The Undertaker.....and all it took was one month to turn him into a monster again. Short and sweet and for the first time in 3 years, Big Show is WWE Champion.
Time of match: 4:23
Winner: Big Show by pinfall (new WWE Champion)
Show and Heyman hightail it out of there into a limousine in the back as Tazz tells Heyman to watch his back. Cole and Tazz go over what we just saw. A lot of people felt the turn made no sense after Lesnar manhandled Big Show, thus proving to Heyman Brock COULD beat him. The real logic is Heyman is a heel and will always be one, Lesnar turning face pretty much negates Heyman's heat. Brock didn't need him anymore and now Paul can get heat for others. Cole says we've had 3 straight title changes, will their be a fourth? Up next is the triple threat elimination tag match. The storyline is Edge and Rey are the champs but when they're not killing each other, Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit are arguably the most dominant tag team. Then you have Los Guerreros lurking in the shadows. After a video montage, let's get to the match....after we see Al Wilson and Dawn Marie at ring side for god knows what reason.
Match 5
Los Guerreros (Eddie and Chavo Jr) vs Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit vs Edge and Rey Mysterio Jr in a triple threat elimination tag match for the WWE Tag Team Championships
Commentators: Michael Cole & Tazz
Originally this was just a triple threat match but they added in the elimination portion out of nowhere it seems. The Smackdown Six are on full display here and we start with everyone in the ring. Kurt and Eddie jaw at each other with Benoit trash talking Rey Mysterio. Benoit and Rey start it out and Chris chops Rey in the chest twice. Rey hits a hurracarana and a flapjack on Benoit and punches Angle on the apron. Rey hits a drop toe hold in the corner and Edge tags in. Edge and Rey hit a double hiptoss as Edge drops an elbow. Chris chops him in the chest and tags in Angle. Edge cuts him off with a backdrop. Edge hits a flying forearm and Chavo tags himself in when Angle goes flying out of the ring. Edge hits a droptoe hold on Chavo and drops him with a shoulderblock. Edge hits a dropkick and a scoop slam before tagging Rey in. Rey hits a top rope splash and covers for 1...2...nope. Rey hits an armdrag as Cole starts babbling on about Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman....that's gotta be Vince in his ear telling him to do it randomly in the middle of a tag team title match. You do that shit in the middle of chinlocks, not high flying moves like Chavo hitting a huge face plant on Rey. Eddie tags in with forearms and stomps before taunting the irate crowd. Rey hits an armdrag and monkey flip on Eddie who tags Kurt in. Kurt rallies with right hands on Rey as the crowd chants "Let's go Angle", gotta love MSG. Kurt goes shoulder first into the ring post and Rey goes for a springboard but completely falls on his head. Kurt takes a second to make sure Rey's not dead before stomping away at him. Kurt chokes Rey with his boot as Tazz says the Guerreros are smart for staying on the apron. Kurt hits a suplex and covers for a deuce before hitting a clothesline. Benoit tags in and hits a spinning neckbreaker followed by a back suplex. Benoit covers for a two count as Cole calls the 28 year old Mysterio a "kid"....yeah. Angle tags in and hits a back suplex of his own before covering for a dos. Kurt stomps on Rey before knocking Edge off the apron. Rey counters an Angle Slam with an arm drag but Kurt clotheslines him. Kurt covers for two then tags in Benoit. Benoit hits a running knee to the ribs as Cole blows the ending by saying the Guerreros are gonna wait until one team eliminates the other then pounce on the survivor. Benoit hits a suplex for two then tags in Angle. Angle goes for the front headlock as Eddie taunts from the apron. Rey fights out of it and rolls out of a suplex. They counter each other several times then hits the heel kick. Kurt goes to tag one of the Guerreros but they both drop down. Kurt tags Benoit but Edge gets the hot tag. Edge wipes out both Kurt and Benoit then Eddie and Chavo off the apron. Angle runs into a belly to belly suplex and Chavo gets thrown over the top. Rey hits a hurracarana over the top rope on Eddie leaving Edge in the ring. Edge goes to spear Benoit but Kurt hits a droptoe hold and Benoit locks in the crossface. Kurt has the anklelock on as well but Rey hits the West Coast Pop on Angle then a dropkick to Benoit's back. Chavo pulls Angle out and Rey hits a corkscrew plancha on both of them. Benoit hits a german suplex on Edge but Eddie sunset flips off the top rope onto Edge for the double pin 1...2...nope, everyone kicks out. Benoit rolls over Eddie and heaves him over the top to the floor. Benoit hits three german suplexes on Edge then calls for the top rope headbutt. Benoit goes upstairs but Eddie beats him to the punch by hitting the frog splash on Edge. Eddie covers but Benoit hits the headbutt on Eddie to break up the count....why? Should have just let him finish off Edge THEN hit the headbutt. Kurt hits the Angle Slam on Eddie then pulls the straps down. Benoit slaps the crossface on Edge as Angle has the ankle lock on Eddie. Chavo waffles Benoit with the title belt and throws it to Angle before sliding out of the ring. Benoit gets up and sees Angle holding the belt.....and you thought Eddie came up with that spot? Benoit shoves Angle and Kurt pushes him back then Rey comes off the top with a dropkick to send both guys into each other. Mysterio baseball slides into Chavo then hits a hurracarana. Edge hits a spear on Benoit and covers for 1..2...3 to eliminate Kurt and Benoit.
Kurt hits a german suplex on Edge and Chris hits one on Rey. Benoit hits a back suplex on Chavo and Angle hits an angle slam on Edge. Benoit and Angle yell at each other and still bicker as they leave while Eddie covers Edge in the ring for 1...2...no. Eddie hits a suplex on Edge as Cole's prediction came true, the Guerreros are pouncing on Edge & Rey. Chavo goes to town on Edge before tagging out to Eddie. Eddie locks in a sleeper hold. Chavo tags in who hits a dropkick on Edge before covering for a deuce. Chavo stomps away in the corner then distracts the ref allowing Eddie to choke Edge with the tag rope. Chavo tags in Eddie who hits a back suplex and goes to the front facelock. Eddie tags out to Chavo who continues the onslaught before Eddie tags back in, only for Edge to hit a double flapjack. Rey gets the hot tag and he hits a crossbody followed by a hurracarana on Chavo. He hits the tilt-awhirl backbreaker on Eddie and then sends Chavo into Eddie. Edge spears both men in the corner and Chavo falls out. Rey hits a dropkick on Eddie on the ground then gets launched by Edge onto the top rope for a hurracarana on Eddie from the top. Edge shitcans Chavo again but Edge throws Eddie onto the second rope. Rey hits 619 on Eddie but Chavo hits Rey in the back with the title belt. Edge baseball slides Chavo outside but Eddie locks in El Paso Lasso in the ring. Rey taps and Los Guerreros are the new tag team champions! Two belt shots lead to the new champs being crowned. Damn good match and a good conclusion to "The Smackdown Six" as we know it. There was no way they were keeping Angle & Benoit as a team plus Rey & Edge were better off on their own. The Guerreros just need teams to go against.
Time of match: 19:18
Winners: Los Guerreros by submission (new Tag Team Champions)
Kane is preparing in the back as we've had four title changes tonight, will there be a 5th? Before we get to our main event, here comes Christopher Nowinski for a conference. Nowinski says he's the only Harvard grad in the arena (are you sure?) and New York's street smarts are not the same as real intelligence. Nowinski says the New York Yankees bought their world series titles and the fans aren't intelligent. Nowinski goes on to say they're number 1 in stupidty as Matt Hardy's music hits. Mattitude fact is he keeps the room temperature at a toasty 75 degrees and he drinks low fat chocolate milk. Why is he here? Matt grabs a mic and asks who the hell Chris thinks he is. Matt says New Yorkers aren't stupid, they're classified as losers. Matt "There's a huge difference". He goes on to say he expected to see Mattitude in the building and they're sucking the Mattitude out of him. He's choking worse than the Knicks...hahahaha. He used to think New York was cool but now its full of losers. JR "Where is this going, King?" King "I don't know but can we hurry up and get there." Chris "These people aren't losers, they're too stupid to know any better." Chris "Are you losers or are you stupid?" Matt says New Yorkers are losers and stupid...lupid. Chris and Matt shake hands and raise their arms when Scott Steiner's music hits....THERE'S your payoff. They're going to debut Steiner as a babyface apparently as he walks out in his wrestling gear. Steiner takes his chain mail and sunglasses off as Matt shoves Nowinski forward. Steiner hits the Steiner Line and overhead belly to belly suplexes Matt. He hits a tbone Taz plex on Nowinski and a standard belly to belly suplex. The crowd loudly chants for Steiner as he throws Nowinski over the top to the floor. Steiner overhead press slams Hardy onto Nowinski on the floor. The heels retreat with Steiner standing tall to a loud ovation. Steiner gets on the mic and says to all the freaks in New York City, holla if ya hear him. They do, in fact, holler. Here's the problem, if they cut out the Saliva performance and some of the elimination chamber vignettes they could have had time for a standard match where Steiner beats either of these guys.
JR sends us to Terri Runnells for an interview with Shawn Michaels...or just her ass anyway (nice camera work Dunn). Terri asks if he can win the World Heavyweight Championship and before Shawn can answer we cut to RNN Breaking News. Ha! Nice one. Randy Orton in a Survivor Series t-shirt says he's here at Survivor Series and an extra pillow on his flight caused no further damage to his elbow. Orton says he'll be back in no time. Can we get to the chamber now? Nope, another damn recap vignette set to Always again. We cut to Jonathan Coachman and Triple H (with Ric Flair) and Coach asks what he's thinking. He says in September he was deemed World Heavyweight Champion and in the past 3 months he's beaten everyone. Tonight he will beat all five other guys because he's still the game, still the best, and that damn good. But right now....he's got a first class ticket to hell, and he just wants to know who's coming with him. Here comes Eric Bischoff in the ring to put himself over and go over the rules....again, we already know them. They could have added another match with all this wasted time. Bischoff goes over the chamber dynamics while inside it. Since this was the first time we've seen the chamber, it does look impressive. Its like a combination of Hell in A Cell and Wargames with the chain link fence top and surrounding the ring. Not only that, there's steel areas around the chamber outside of the ropes. Eric finally leaves and FINALLY we get to our main event.
Match 6
Chris Jericho vs Rob Van Dam vs Kane vs Booker T vs Shawn Michaels vs Triple H (with Ric Flair) in an Elimination Chamber match for the World Heavyweight Championship
Commentators: Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler
Saliva performs Jericho's entrance song at The World as he makes his entrance. Shawn Michaels, Kane and Booker T are the other men locked in the individual chambers with Y2J. It's going to be Triple H and Rob Van Dam to start things off. HHH backs him in the corner but Rob reverses it and rallies with right forearms. Rob ducks the line and hits a heel kick then a reverse enziguiri. rob runs into a knee to the face as King asks if Rob pins HHH right here and now. JR explains HHH would have to leave and Rob would wait for the next guy to come out. HHH goes for the pedigree but Rob backdrops him onto the steel ramp. Rob rams HHH into the side of the cage four times. Rob does his RVD taunt as HHH blades already. RVD does a monkey flip to send HHH into the steel ramp and does rolling thunder over the top rope onto HHH on the ramp. The good thing is the cage door is locked and there's no way to get under the ring so Flair can't theoretically interfere. Van Dam flips off Jericho and climbs to the top of Jericho's chamber. Jericho reaches over head to grab his leg. Rob manages to kick Jericho off and somersaults on top of HHH, landing heavily on his left hip. Shawn Michaels from inside his chamber asks if Rob is okay. Rob sends HHH face first into the chamber and Hunter falls into the ring. RVD stomps away at HHH on the corner as the countdown starts.
Chris Jericho is next in the ring but RVD cuts him off with a heel kick. RVD hits a moonsaults and covers for 1...2..no. RVD hits the second rope dropkick on Jericho and clotheslines him over the top rope to the steel. Rob jumps off the top rope but Jericho ducks, causing RVD to catch himself in the cage like Spiderman. He hits a crossbody on Jericho but HHH clotheslines him down. Jericho stomps on Van Dam and hits a back suplex. Jericho slaps Rob who starts to rally with right hands on both men. RVD runs right into a high knee and Jericho hits a standing senton. Jericho covers for 1....2..no. Jericho holds Rob and tells HHH to give him a shot. Hunter punches Rob down and Jericho does a crotch chop to Shawn Michaels. HHH throws Rob over the top rope to the steel. Hunter and Jericho launch Rob back first into the steel. Jericho shouts he's the king of the world and throws Rob to HHH. They throw Rob into the cage three times in a row. JR says Jericho and HHH despise each other but King says they'll do anything to be world champion. Van Dam rolls over Jericho, clotheslines HHH and hits a heel kick to Jericho. HHH hits a DDT on RVD as the countdown starts again.
Booker T hits the ring and cleans out both HHH and Jericho. Book clotheslines Jericho and HHH over the top rope and does a spinaroonie. He and Rob Van Dam slug it out in the center of the ring as JR says the stakes are too high for them to co-exist. Booker drops Rob with the axe kick and covers for 1..2....no. Rob hits the stepover heel kick and covers for 1...2...no. King says Kane and Shawn have the advantage since everyone else is beating each other down. Booker hits another kick and covers for a deuce. HHH punches Book but he counters with a scissors kick. Jericho clotheslines Booker and Van Dam hits a dropkick on Y2J. RVD heads up to the top rope then climbs to the top of an empty chamber. He hits a big splash on HHH but couldn't get the five star due to the cage in the way. Booker from off the top hits a missile dropkick on Rob Van Dam and covers for 1..2.....3 to eliminate ROB VAN DAM Oooh the crowd did NOT like that. Booker covers HHH but the ref was busy was Rob. Earl Hebner counts 1....2..no, HHH got the foot on the trope. Jericho chokes Book on the second rope and chops him. Jericho hits the facebuster but runs into a spinebuster by Booker T. Booker covers Jericho for 1...2...no. The countdown begins again.....
Here comes Kane to drop Booker T with right hands then backdrops Jericho. Kane pounds away on Booker and clotheslines him in the corner. Kane heaves Jericho over the top rope and launches him face first into the cage. Kane then sends Jericho through the glass of an empty chamber. Kane turns his attention to HHH and uppercuts him in the corner. HHH flops down and he's moving very slowly. Apparently Rob's splash caught him right in the throat and he's legit not breathing right. Booker goes for the axe kick on Kane but Jericho low blows him. Booker staggers into the chokeslam by Kane. Kane slugs HHH and Jericho hits the lionsault on Booker. He covers for 1...2.....3 and Jericho eliminates BOOKER T. Crowd didn't like THAT either. Jericho is busted wide open from the glass shot and Kane punches him. Kane heaves Jericho into the ring then punches HHH down again. Kane hits a suplex on Jericho and covers for a deuce. Kane misses an elbow drop as JR wonders if Shawn Michaels thinks he can win. He's the last one in, two guys are already gone and both heels are bleeding. If there's ever a time for him to win, its now. HHH is slammed off the top rope by Kane into the ring and he continues to grab his throat. Yeah Rob hurt him for real. Jericho hits a missile dropkick as the final countdown begins.
Shawn Michaels enters his second match in four years and goes to town on Jericho and then Kane. Shawn backdrops Jericho but gets clotheslined down by Kane. Kane sends Shawn off but Shawn hits a flying forearm. Michaels gets whipped into the tree of woe before he falls. Kane choke bombs Jericho and chokeslams Shawn. Kane chokeslams HHH and Jericho in succession. Rather than cover, Kane signals for a tombstone. Kane grabs HHH but Hunter rolls out of it. Kane walks right into Sweet Chin Music but sits right up. HHH then hits the pedigree on Kane and Jericho hits the lionsault. He covers for 1...2...3 and KANE is gone. We're down to the only 3 guys who had half a chance going into this match. Jericho clotheslines Michaels over the top onto the steel. Jericho sends Shawn into the cage as King says this is Shawn's first Survivor Series since 1997. HHH punches Shawn down as he and Jericho are both bloody messes. Shawn is also bleeding from the forehead as both Jericho and HHH punch the open cut to draw more blood. Jericho jumps on Shawn on the second rope and does the Ali shuffle. HHH sends Shawn over the top rope onto the steel. HHH grates Shawn into the cage like parmesan cheese. Jericho and HHH punch away at Shawn then Jericho taunts him inside the ring. Jericho squeezes Shawn's head and punches it then sends takes him outside. Shawn sends Jericho into the cage and punches HHH down. Shawn clotheslines HHH into the ring then goes for a piledriver on the steel ramp. Jericho backdrops him instead. Back in the ring Shawn ducks the line and drops Hunter with a big forearm. Shawn nips up but hits a bulldog on Shawn. Jericho hits the lionsault and covers for 1.....2...nooooo. Jericho tries again but only gets a two count. Jericho shouts to stay down but a charge in the corner eats boot. Shawn hits a moonsault and covers Jericho for 1.....2....noooo, at the last second Jericho kicked out. Shawn of all people locks in the Walls of Jericho but HHH counters with a ddt. Jericho covers for 1...2...no, HHH pulls Jericho off. Why? Apparently Hunter wanted to do it himself. Jericho and HHH slug it out and Hunter hits Jericho with a hard clothesline. Jericho gets knee lifted and Hunter covers for 1...2...no. King says Shawn can rest with these two beating each other. Jericho jumps off the second rope into a kick. HHH goes for the pedigree but Jericho counters with the Walls of Jericho. Suddenly from out of nowhere Shawn buries Jericho with Sweet Chin Music. Shawn covers Jericho for 1...2....3 and CHRIS JERICHO is history.
We're down to one on one, HHH vs Shawn, just like everyone thought for weeks going in. Shawn and Hunter are bloody messes and they tee off on each other. HHH then lands a spinebuster and covers for 1...2....no. Shawn kicks Triple H in the head but Hunter backdrops Shawn over the top rope onto the steel. Shawn throws HHH into the cage and goes for the pedigree out there. HHH counters with a slingshot through the glass of an empty chamber. HHH pulls Shawn in the ring and covers for 1...2....no. Hunter punches down Shawn and yells to get up. Shawn gets to his feet to slug it out again but Shawn eats a facebuster. HHH clotheslines Shawn over the top rope onto the steel. HHH goes for a pedigree on the steel but Shawn counters with a slingshot into the cage. Shawn clotheslines HHH over the top rope back into the ring. He goes up to the top rope then to the top of an empty chamber. Shawn hits the elbow drop but doesn't cover. He tunes up the band in the corner but HHH kicks him in the ribs. HHH hits the pedigree but takes a long time to cover. Hebner counts 1....2....nooooo, Shawn kicks out. HHH screams at Earl Hebner then turns around to go for another pedigree. Shawn backdrops Hunter and WHAM, hits Sweet Chin Music. Shawn covers for 1...2....3 to win the match and the World Heavyweight Championship. JR shrieks Shawn has won as MSG actually cheers for Shawn six years after booing him out of there. Confetti shoots into the air as Ross screams "Do you believe in miracles? MICHAELS BELIEVED IN HIMSELF AND HE HAS SURVIVED IT!" Future chamber matches would be a little bit more fast paced but this one was the first and can't be compared to what hadn't happened yet. The bottom line was this was all about Shawn vs HHH with four extras and Shawn walked out the champion. Ironically this would be Shawn's last major world championship with eight more years of service to go.
Time of match: 39:12
Winner: Shawn Michaels by pinfall (New World Heavyweight Champion)
This night was one big reset button. D'Von Dudley saving Bubba pretty much reunited the Dudleys on Raw to give them a legit tag team. All five titles that were on the line changed hands and some more shocking than others. Kidman and Victoria winning were mostly for a change of pace but the Guerreros coming out on top pretty much sent Rey, Edge, Benoit and Angle back to singles competition. The big one, no pun intended, was Big Show winning his first WWE title in three years after being booked as an idiot for the last year. Literally during the spring he was a lackey for the nWo then in the summer he was just background fodder on Raw. Now he's the man who ended Brock Lesnar's undefeated streak albeit with help from Paul Heyman. Like I mentioned earlier, Heyman was a heel manager and having Brock as a face wouldn't have worked with him. Finally the elimination chamber was telegraphed from day one this was going to come down to Shawn and Hunter. The only drama was if Jericho would sneak in and steal it like he did the year before at Vengeance beating Austin & The Rock. Then add in the debut of Scott Steiner and we got some new feuds and matches coming up. It'll be interesting to see how Brock Lesnar and Triple H respond to losing. Tomorrow night Raw comes to Bridgeport, CT at the old Harbor Yard Arena. I'll see you there.
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