WWE at Santander Arena (11/16/02)

Santander Arena

Reading, PA

November 16, 2002

We are one day away from Survivor Series but there's some unfinished business to get to first. The stars of Raw ventured to Reading, Pennsylvania for a Saturday house show. Its been established that Triple H was virtually unbeatable and nobody else but Shawn Michaels had a chance to beat him in the elimination chamber. Christian and Chris Jericho were still the World Tag Team Champions despite Jericho hitting him with a chair on Monday. Let's get to the action.

Match 1

Batista vs Steven Richards

Raw's newest star takes on poor Steven who was humiliated by Test this past Monday. Batista wins it with a spinebuster.

Winner: Batista by pinfall

Match 2

Victoria (with Molly Holly) vs Trish Stratus (with Jacqueline) for the WWE Women's Championship

Same match as the past week with the same results. Trish gets inside cradle, Molly pulls Victoria on top. Jackie rolls Trish on top for the 3 count to retain.

Winner: Trish by pinfall (still Women's champion)

Match 3

Al Snow vs Christopher Nowinsky

Mentor vs pupil again with the same result. Nowinsky gets the Flair Pin for the victory.

Winner: Nowinsky by pinfall

Match 4

Raven and Johnny Stamboli vs The Hurricane and D-Lo Brown

D-Lo and Raven's perpetual feud on Heat and house shows continues only they have partners this time. Hurricane pinned Stamboli after Eye of The Hurricane.

Winners: Hurricane and D-Lo by pinfall

Match 5

Kane vs William Regal

Talk about bottom of the barrel for Kane. Nothing against Regal but Kane went from Tag & IC Champ and legit threat to Triple H to a mid-card match with Regal. Kane takes it with the chokeslam.

Winner: Kane by pinfall

Match 6

Justin Credible vs Tommy Dreamer

The ECW guys go at it in this random match in Reading, Pennsylvania. Dreamer wins it with the Dreamer Driver.

Winner: Dreamer by pinfall

Match 7

Lance Storm vs Rob Van Dam

Just like Kane, Rob Van Dam goes from the main event of Unforgiven to a mid-card match with Lance Storm. Nothing against Lance, its just the state of Raw. Van Dam takes it with the five star frog splash.

Winner: RVD by pinfall

Match 8

The Dudley Boys (Spike and Bubba Ray) and Jeff Hardy vs 3 Minute Warning (Rosey and Jamal) and Rico

A preview of tomorrow night's tables match with all six men going at it here. Jamal pinned Bubba with the samoan drop to win the match.

Winners: Rosey, Jamal and Rico by pinfall

Match 9

Goldust and Booker T vs Christian and Chris Jericho for the World Tag Team Championship

Guess Christian forgives Jericho for hitting him with a chair because they team up to face Goldust and Booker. Jericho pinned Goldust after hitting him with a tag belt. The heels win to end the night.

Winners: Christian and Chris Jericho by pinfall (Still World Tag Team Champions)

Kind of a lame house show just one day before Survivor Series but that might be the point. No Triple H or Ric Flair...or Shawn Michaels for that matter. The problem with booking HHH over everyone is the rest of the roster is just filler. Still, the matches might have been interesting if you saw this live. On the exact same day of this show, the stars of Smackdown were in Baltimore, Maryland for their own Saturday house show. I'll see you there.

WWE Sunday Night Heat (11/10/02)

WWE Sunday Night Heat

Fleet Center

Boston, MA

November 10, 2002

Commentators: Jonathan Coachman and Lita

Ring Announcer: Howard Finkel

Welcome to this week's edition of Sunday Night Heat. We're one week out from Survivor Series and so far we got the Elimination Chamber match signed and the hardcore match between Trish and Victoria. Shawn Michaels says he's in for the chamber match but hasn't wrestled since Summerslam. Tonight's card features Goldust vs Johnny Stamboli, Steven Richards vs Aaron Stevens and Spike Dudley vs D-Lo Brown. Let's get to Coach to get things started.

Match 1

Goldust vs Johnny Stamboli

Stamboli had been working babyface on live events and on Heat lately, guess they want to see how he does as a heel here. Goldust crouches in the corner to start then slaps Johnny's hat off. Stamboli sheds his tear-away pants and runs right into a headlock. Stamboli snap mares Goldust but Goldust hangs on to the hammerlock. Stamboli scoop slams Goldust and sends him in the corner but Goldust clotheslines him down. Goldust hits a hiptoss and an assbump before setting Johnny up for shattered dreams. The ref gets Johnny free and he gets a thumb to the eye. Johnny hits the military press powerslam and goes for the blatant choke. Stamboli stomps away at Goldust and whips him into the corner. Goldust falls down and Stamboli drops an elbow before covering for a deuce. Stamboli locks in a rear chinlock as Lita scoffs at the bikini match coming up on Super Tuesday. Goldust goes to power out of it and counters with a backslide for 1..2....nope. Stamboli hits a tilt-a-whirl slam and locks it in a surfboard. Goldust turns it into a back suplex then rallies with a reverse atomic drop and clothesline. Goldust hits the ddt and covers for 1...2...nope. Goldust goes for Curtain Call but Stamboli rolls out of it, running right into a powerslam. Goldust covers for 1...2...nope. Stamboli goes for a slam but Goldust counters with Curtain Call. He covers for 1...2....3 to win the match. Stamboli is pretty much harking back to his Mamaluke days with this Italian gimmick and Goldust still got the win. We'll see if Johnny goes anywhere moving forward.

Time of match: 5:00

Winner: Goldust by pinfall

Coach says Raven's big announcement is up next after commercial. Back from break we get Chris Jericho's "King of My World" Saliva music video available on the WWE Anthology CD. Raven hits the ring for a conference. Raven asks the crowd to cease their babbling so they can begin. Raven says curiosity leads to temptation and temptation leads to sin. Sin is what his masterpiece is all about. You mean Sin from Final Fantasy 10? THAT would be a surprise. Instead, Raven just yells at the crowd until they shout a loud "asshole" chant. Raven says he must complete his masterpiece to bring salvation to their souls. That was pretty damn pointless.

Back from commercial we get a Scott Steiner vignette saying he's coming back. Then Coach and Lita recap last week's episode of Tough Enough where Scott got alcohol poisoning and Chad got the heave-ho. Nobody cares. Then we get an ad for Super Tuesday coming up at 9 PM on UPN. After all that, time for the next match.

Match 2

Steven Richards vs Aaron Stevens

Yes, THAT Aaron Stevens that would later find fame as Damien Sandow in WWE. Here he was just 20 years old after starting in Chaotic Wrestling just a year earlier here in Massachusetts. Bell's gone and they circle to start. Richards backs him in the corner and slaps him then pounds away on his back. Richards punches away but gets whipped into the corner. Stevens hiptosses and scoop slams him before giving him a slap of his own. Stevens gets an armbar as Coach nonchalantly says Stevens can't beat Richards. Stevens slides under Richards, hits a dropkick and covers for a deuce. Aaron gets backed into the corner and Richards forearms him in the corner. Stevens reverses it with forearms and whips him into the other corner. A charge eats double boots as Coach hypes up Christopher Nowinski on Blind Date. Richards knees Stevens in the back and chops him. Richards whips Aaron sternum first into the buckle and stomps away at him. Richards gets a body scissors in and Stevens fights out of it. He misses an elbow drop by a mile but reverses a hiptoss into a neckbreaker. Aaron fights back with right hands and hits a series of clotheslines. Stevens hits a back elbow smash and a swinging neckbreaker before covering for 1...2....nope. Stevens punches away at Richards in the corner then hits a spinning heel kick. He covers for 1..2...no. Stevens goes up and over in the corner but Aaron misses the second rope cross body in the other corner. Bad mistake by Aaron as Steven hits the Stevie-T and covers for 1...2...3 to win the match. Nice of Steven to give the 20 year old some shine as Aaron held his own in that much. You'll be seeing him down the road for sure. Good match for what it was.

Time of match: 5:49

Winner: Richards by pinfall

Our Lugz Boot of The Week is Victoria and Trish brawling with each other. They face each other next Sunday in a hardcore match.  Our next recap is Raw's main event with Booker & Kane against HHH and Jericho with Shawn Michaels coming out to cost HHH the match. Shawn declares himself the sixth member of the elimination chamber. Afterwards, Booker and HHH are scheduled to go one on one tomorrow night on Raw. We cut to commercial and when we come back, our JVC Tower of Power Extreme Blast is Batista making his Raw debut, squashing Justin Credible. Lets get to our final match.

Match 3

Spike Dudley vs D-Lo Brown

Coach and Lita do a horrible ventriloquist act to make fun of Raven before the bell. Spike gets a waistlock and they trade reversals. Brown sets Spike on the top rope and backs off. Spike gets dropped with a shoulderblock but Spike counters with a hip toss. Coach brings up Super Tuesday, Raw, Blind Date and Lita randomly screams about Scott Steiner. D-Lo faceplants Spike and stomps away at him. D-Lo gets a punch to the ribs that sends Spike bailing outside. D-Lo drops him face first on the barrier before throwing Spike in the ring. D-Lo scoop slams Spike and hits the leg drop. D-Lo sends Spike in the corner but the charge eats boot. Spike gets a headscissors then the Spike Stomp in the corner. D-Lo whips Spike first into the corner and referee Nick Patrick asks if Spike wants to quit. Coach says they'll be live at 7:00 PM for Heat next week. D-Lo locks in a bear-hug but Dudley gets a bell ringer. D-Lo gets in a dropkick but Spike headbutts D-Lo in the ribs. Spike hits an elbow but D-Lo catches him with Sudden Impact. Coach asks why he's not covering and instead D-Lo goes for Sky High. Instead Spike rolls through, hooks him up for 1...2.....3 to win the match. Spike steals one!

Time of match: 5:41

Winner: Spike by pinfall

After the match D-Lo grabs Spike to tease hitting him but gives him a hug and raises his arm in victory. Awww isn't that sweet? Actually not a bad show all things considering. Stamboli working heel worked fine and a young Damien Sandow/Aaron Stevens was good to see as well. Even Spike/D-Lo was good for what it was. At least none of this was comedic nonsense or something embarrassing. We're one week away from Survivor Series but we still got a way to go. Not only do we have Raw, Smackdown, Velocity. Heat and house shows...we got Super Tuesday as well. Once again Vince decided to hold a Monday house show for Smackdown stars so I'll see you in Wheeling, West Virginia.

WWE at Giant Center (11/10/02)

Giant Center

Hershey, PA

November 10, 2002

The stars of Raw continue their Pennsylvania tour here in Hershey. We got the same exact matches from Friday and Saturday so let's get to the action.

Match 1

Johnny Stamboli and Sean O'Haire vs 3 Minute Warning (Rosey & Jamal)

WCW vs the Samoans for the second day in a row. Also for the second day in a row, the Samoans win the match.

Winners: 3 Minute Warning

Match 2

Justin Credible vs Batista

You know the drill, Batista was the newest Raw prospect and Credible was wrestling out his contract. Batista takes it.

Winner: Batista

Match 3

Raven vs D-Lo Brown

Third day in a row for the Sunday Night Heat mainstays. Also third day in a row D-Lo wins.

Winner: D-Lo by pinfall

Match 4

Christopher Nowinski vs Al Snow

Snow won on Friday night, Chris won on Saturday night. Who takes the rubber match? Al Snow wins this one.

Winner: Al Snow

Match 5

Booker T and Bubba Ray Dudley vs Christian and Chris Jericho for the World Tag Team Championship

Same match from yesterday with the makeshift team of Booker and Bubba against the tag champs. Same result too, the champs retain.

Winners: Christian and Jericho (still World Tag Team Champions)

Match 6

Tommy Dreamer vs Steven Richards in a Singapore Cane Match

Once again the same match from the last two days with the same result. Dreamer wins it.

Winner: Dreamer

Match 7

Goldust and Spike Dudley vs William Regal and Lance Storm

Another makeshift team with Goldust and Spike taking on Regal and Storm just like yesterday. Same result, Regal and Storm win.

Winners: Regal and Storm

Match 8

Victoria (with Molly Holly) vs Trish Stratus (with Jacqueline) for the WWE Women's Championship

Same match from the last two days with the same result. Trish retains.

Winner: Trish (still Women's Champion)

Match 9

Kane vs Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship

Same match from the last few days with the exact same result. Kane goes insane and attacks the referees, security guard, peanut vendors, camera guys and methodists to earn the DQ.

Winner: HHH by disqualification (still World Heavyweight Champion)

Another standard house show just like the last few days. Maybe this coming Raw will provide new matches for next week's house show circuit. Still, we're one week out from Survivor Series so it'll be interesting how the final Raw will play out tomorrow night. The stars of Smackdown had their own Sunday house show in Peoria, Illinois going on around this time. I'll see you there.

WWE at First Union Center (11/9/02)

First Union Center

Philadelphia, PA

November 9, 2002

The stars of Raw have invaded Philadelphia just 8 days out from Survivor Series. Victoria takes on Trish Stratus in a hardcore match and of course the elimination chamber are set, but other matches have yet to be announced. Hopefully that changes in the next few days. On with the show.

Match 1

Sean O'Haire and Johnny Stamboli vs 3 Minute Warning (Rosey & Jamal) with Rico

The ex-WCW guys take on the Samoans to open the show. Jamal pinned Stamboli after a kick from Rico and a Samoan drop.

Winners: Rosey and Jamal by pinfall

Match 2

Justin Credible vs Batista

Once again, Credible is wrestling out his contract so he gets fed to Batista here. Batista takes it with the sit-out powerbomb.

Winner: Batista by pinfall

Match 3

Al Snow vs Christopher Nowinski

Last night Al Snow beat his student with the snowplow. On this night, Nowinski gets the Flair Pin for the victory.

Winner: Nowinski by pinfall

Match 4

Raven vs D-Lo Brown

The Sunday Night Heat mainstays go at it once again with D-Lo getting the duke after the sky high.

Winner: D-Lo by pinfall

Match 5

Test vs Rob Van Dam

Days out from elimination chamber, Van Dam beats Test with the five star frog splash.

Winner: Rob Van Dam by pinfall

Match 6

Booker T and Bubba Ray Dudley vs Christian and Chris Jericho for the World Tag Team Championship

Kind of an odd pairing but you got two of the six men in the elimination chamber on opposite sides here. Jericho pinned Bubba after the lionsault to retain.

Winners: Christian and Jericho by pinfall (still World Tag Team Champions)

Match 7

Steven Richards vs Tommy Dreamer in a Singapore Cane Match

The ECW alumni put on an ECW style match beating the hell out of each other with the cane. Dreamer wins it.

Winner: Dreamer by pinfall

Match 8

Victoria (with Molly Holly) vs Trish Stratus (with Jacqueline) for the WWE Women's Championship

Just like yesterday, we got Trish and Victoria going at it with backup in their corners. The end came when Trish got an inside cradle on Victoria but Molly rolled Victoria on top. Jackie then ran in and reversed it to give Trish the victory.

Winner: Stratus by pinfall (still Women's Champion)

Match 9

Goldust and Spike Dudley vs Lance Storm and William Regal

Man the tag team division was a mess. A makeshift team of Goldust and Spike take on Lance and Regal. Wouldn't it make more sense to have Spike with Bubba against Christian/Jericho and have Booker here with Goldust? Oh well, props for at least doing something different. Regal pinned Spike to win it.

Winners: Regal and Storm by pinfall

Match 10

Kane vs Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship

Same as yesterday, HHH wins when Kane goes berserk, attacking anyone that moves including the popcorn vendor and the camera dude.

Winner: HHH by disqualification

We're sticking with this card for a while with Survivor Series looming. The state of Raw was in bad shape with no one over besides the returning Shawn Michaels and the ratings told the story. Its one thing to have a beast like Brock Lesnar as your dominating champion but having HHH be unstoppable was laughable. We got Velocity up next, so I'll see you there.

WWE at Bryce Jordan Center (11/8/02)

Bryce Jordan Center

State College, PA

November 8, 2002

The stars of Raw invade State College, Pennsylvania for a Friday night house show 9 days before Survivor Series. The house show circuit this weekend should stem from last week's Raw so let's see if there's anything new & exciting or the same old, same old.

Match 1

Rico vs Raven

Kind of an odd match to start the show since these two really have no beef, not to mention Raven hadn't been seen on Raw in a while. Raven still gets the win though.

Winner: Raven

Match 2

D-Lo Brown and Johnny Stamboli vs 3 Minute Warning (Rosey and Jamal)

Kind of a hodge podge with D-Lo and Stamboli taking on the Samoan hit squad. 3 Minute Warning win this one.

Winners: Rosey & Jamal

Match 3

Justin Credible vs Batista

Once again they're feeding Justin Credible to Batista just like this week's Raw. Only this time he's made his Raw debut so the fans should start getting into him down. Batista wins it with the sit-down powerbomb.

Winner: Batista by pinfall

Match 4

Christian vs Bubba Ray Dudley in a Tables Match

Two weeks ago Bubba Ray Dudley and Jeff Hardy had a hell of a tag match with Christian and Chris Jericho on Raw so here we have half of that match against each other in a Dudley special tables match. Bubba won it.

Winner: Bubba Ray Dudley

Match 5

Test vs Booker T

Another random match with Test not having beefed with Booker T since the dissolution of the Unamericans. Still, Booker wins it with the scissors kick.

Winner: Booker by pinfall

Match 6

Steven Richards vs Tommy Dreamer in a Singapore Cane Match

The ECW alumni go at it for old times sake in a half-ass weapons match. Dreamer got the win here.

Winner: Dreamer by pinfall

Match 7

Christopher Nowinski vs Al Snow

Teacher vs pupil as Tough Enough graduate Nowinski takes on Al Snow. Snow wins it with a snowplow.

Winner: Snow by pinfall

Match 8

Spike Dudley and Rob Van Dam vs William Regal and Lance Storm

ECW vs the old Unamericans....actually its 3/4 ECW with Storm there. RVD pinned Regal following the five star frog splash.

Winners: Van Dam & Dudley by pinfall

Match 9

Victoria (with Molly Holly) vs Trish Stratus (with Jacqueline) for the WWE Women's Championship

A Survivor Series preview with Stratus taking on the demented Victoria, only both women have backup. Trish takes it with Stratusfaction.

Winner: Trish by pinfall (still Women's Champion)

Match 10

Kane vs Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship

Now that Kane has lost the unification match, nobody cares about him anymore with Shawn Michaels returning to active duty. Triple H wins when Kane goes apeshit on the referee, other referees and security. That's one way to end the night.

Winner: HHH by disqualification

I'd say this show was more or less what we had been getting on the houses give or take a few changes. No Chris Jericho on this card, maybe he or Jeff Hardy was nursing an injury so a tag match was changed to a single between Bubba & Christian. Either way it might have been an entertaining card to see live. Shawn still wasn't wrestling on the houses yet so they were running with Kane vs HHH which was probably stale by this point. Tomorrow is a double shot as both Raw and Smackdown are running Saturday house shows. Smackdown would be in Champaign, Illinois at the Assembly Hall. I'll see you there.

WWE at Moncton Coliseum (11/3/02)

Moncton Coliseum

New Brunswick, Canada

November 3, 2002

The Raw house show circuit made its way to Canada yesterday when they worked Halifax, Nova Scotia. Now the crew had to make their way to New Brunswick, Canada. If you ever wonder why so many stars died young or had to retire early, its work schedules like this that wore people down. Worse, they had to fly back to the States to be in Boston the next night for Raw. Ain't no rest for the wicked as they say. The house show circuit was pretty standard with the same matches being presented every night, just with a few changes here and there. Let's see if they stick with the theme of having the Canadians on last and or win.

Match 1

Tommy Dreamer and Johnny Stamboli vs 3 Minute Warning (Rosey and Jamal) with Rico

Same match as last night with the exact same result. The Samoans take it after Jamal hits Stamboli with the Samoan drop.

Winners: 3 Minute Warning by pinfall

Match 2

Justin Credible vs Batista.

Like I mentioned yesterday, Credible was wrestling out his contract and the company had BIG plans for Batista. Doesn't take Sherlock Holmes to figure out who wins this one. Larry Holmes could have told you Batista was going to take it with the sit down powerbomb.

Winner: Batista

Match 3

Christopher Nowinsky vs Goldust

Third match in a row which was the same as yesterday's card with the exact same result. Goldust wins it with the Curtain Call.

Winner: Goldust by pinfall

Match 4

Lance Storm and William Regal vs Spike Dudley and The Hurricane

Same match as yesterday and pretty much all week except, just like yesterday, the Canadian gets the win. Lance Storm pins Dudley after a superkick.'

Winners: Lance Storm and William Regal by pinfall

Match 5

Test vs Kane

Same match as yesterday now that Kane was free of Triple H. Kane wins it with a tombstone.

Winner: Kane by pinfall

Match 6

D-Lo Brown vs Raven

Just like Justin Credible, Raven wasn't long for WWE and was just wrestling out his contract. D-Lo Brown wins it with sky high.

Winner: D-Lo Brown by pinfall

Match 7

Victoria and Molly Holly vs Jacqueline and WWE Women's Champion Trish Status

Same match as yesterday but someone must have forgot that Trish was Canadian in Halifax. They got it right tonight as Trish gets the duke after a bulldog on Victoria.

Winners: Trish Stratus and Jacqueline by pinfall

Match 8

Rico vs Rob Van Dam in a Martial Arts Challenge

Rico did have experience in martial arts as well as Rob Van Dam. Worked shoots usually suck so I can't imagine how bad this was. Rob Van Dam wins after a five star frog splash....which you see in UFC all the time, right?

Winner: Rob Van Dam

Match 9

Bubba Ray Dudley and Spike Dudley vs Christian and Chris Jericho for the World Tag Team Championship

Like I mentioned yesterday, this match was on the house show circuit and did so well they brought it to last week's Raw where it ended up being the best match of the night. Once again the Canadians win it when Chris Jericho pinned Jeff after a lionsault.

Winners: Christian and Chris Jericho (still World Tag Team Champions)

Unlike last night in Halifax, all the Canadians won this time. Christian and Jericho were probably going to win anyway but Trish and Lance Storm got thrown bones as well as Regal and Storm were putting over Spike and Helms in the States. With Triple H and Booker T not there and Shawn Michaels not back to active duty yet, these cards look painful to sit through on paper. Raw was pretty much lackluster as it was on television, can't imagine what the house shows were like. The stars of Smackdown were in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania on this same day so I'll see yall there for the next show.

WWE at Halifax Forum (11/2/02)

Halifax Forum

Halifax, Nova Scotia

November 2, 2002

The stars of Raw travel from Springfield, Massachusetts all the way to friggin Halifax, Nova Scotia for a Saturday night spot show. The stars of Smackdown were in Wilkes-Barre that night but the Raw crew went over the border to Canada. Most of the card was from the same run they had been doing with a few matches carried over from last night in Springfield. Let's get to it then.

Match 1

3 Minute Warning (Rosey & Jamal) vs Tommy Dreamer and Johnny Stamboli

No Mark Jindrak advertised this time, guess they liked what they saw out of Stamboli to keep him with Dreamer for this house show run. Rosey takes out Stamboli with the Samoan drop again.

Winners: 3 Minute Warning by pinfall

Match 2

Justin Credible vs Batista

Credible only had a few months left on his contract while Batista was being groomed for a run on television as a repackaged monster heel. Gee, I wonder who was going to win. Batista takes it with a sit-down powerbomb.

Winner: Batista by pinfall

Match 3

Christopher Nowinski vs Goldust

Same match from yesterday in Springfield with the same result. Goldust wins it with the Curtain Call.

Winner: Goldust by pinfall

Match 4

Test (with Stacy Keibler) vs Kane

Now that the god awful Katie Vick storyline is over with, Kane gets to move on from Triple H. Also Test gets to move on from Rob Van Dam as well on the house show circuit. Unfortunately for Test, Kane wins it with the tombstone.

Winner: Kane by pinfall

Match 5

Spike Dudley & The Hurricane vs William Regal & Lance Storm

The same match that had been on the house show circuit only this time the heels got the duke. Storm pinned Spike after a superkick. Guess Spike and Helms thought Storm deserved to win in his native Canada.

Winners: Lance Storm and William Regal by pinfall

Match 6

Raven vs D-Lo Brown

Once again Raven faces D-Lo on the house show circuit and once again D-Lo wins it with Sky High. Nothing new here.

Winner: D-Lo by pinfall

Match 7

Victoria and Molly Holly vs WWE Women's Champion Trish Stratus and Jacqueline

Funny how they threw Lance Storm a bone by having him win in his home country after jobbing on every house show in the States.....and Jackie takes the pin rather than give Trish the win. Oh well, Molly and Victoria get the duke.

Winners: Victoria and Molly Holly by pinfall

Match 8

Rob Van Dam vs Rico in a Martial Arts Match

No idea what they were going for by having Rico fight Rob Van Dam in a worked shoot but at least it was something new. RVD takes it with the 5 Star Frog Splash....just like in a real fight right?

Winner: Van Dam by pinfall

Match 9

Bubba Ray Dudley and Jeff Hardy vs Christian and Chris Jericho for the World Tag Team Championship

As mentioned yesterday, this match had been on the house show circuit and they found a way to put it on Raw this past Monday. If their match on Monday was any indication, this was a hell of a pairing. Brass threw Jericho and Christian a bone by making this the main event since they were both from Canada. Once again Jericho pinned Jeff after waffling him with a title belt.

Winners: Christian and Chris Jericho by pinfall (still World Tag Team Champions)

All in all the Canadians got their due with Storm picking up a victory and the tag title match put on last. Too bad Trish didn't win either but oh well. They were incorporating new matches even if some from the previous run were carrying over. Still, the problem with Raw was their god awful storylines were like a plague. I don't know what attendance was for Raw and Smackdown at the time but I wouldn't be surprised if Smackdown was drawing more. Still, without the storylines, this looks like a good card. Now while this was going on in Halifax, Smackdown had their own show in Wilkes-Barre going on plus an episode of Velocity was set to air. I'll see you in Wilkes-Barre.

WWE at Springfield Civic Center (11/1/02)

Springfield Civic Center

Springfield, Massachusetts

November 1, 2002

The stars of Raw came to Springfield, MA for a Friday night house show four days after the return of Shawn Michaels to Raw. Tonight's card was advertised for 3 Minute Warning against Tommy Dreamer and Mark Jindrak, Justin Credible against Batista, Christopher Nowinski against Goldust, Bubba Ray Dudley and Jeff Hardy against Christian and Chris Jericho for the World Tag Team titles, D-Lo Brown vs Raven, Rob Van Dam vs Test, Trish Stratus and Jacqueline vs Molly Holly and Victoria, Spike Dudley and The Hurricane vs William Regal and Lance Storm then Kane vs Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship. Its almost the exact same card they've been running with for a week except the first couple of matches. Let's get to it.

Match 1

3 Minute Warning (Rosey & Jamal) vs Tommy Dreamer and Johnny Stamboli

This was supposed to be Dreamer and Mark Jindrak but Mark must have hurt his knee again so Stamboli took his place. Rosey pinned Stamboli after a Samoan drop.

Winners: 3 Minute Warning by pinfall

Match 2

Justin Credible vs Batista

Once again, Batista was sent to Raw for a real big push but hadn't been shown on TV yet. They were seeing how he did on the house shows first and clearly he was getting a buzz. Batista takes it with a sit-down powerbomb.

Winner: Batista by pinfall

Match 3

Christopher Nowinski vs Goldust

Nowinski has been a pain in the ass on Raw showing respect to no one including Al Snow or anyone else. Goldust would be his latest test. Unfortunately for the Harvard man, Goldust wins it with the curtain call.

Winner: Goldust by pinfall

Match 4

Bubba Ray Dudley and Jeff Hardy vs Christian and Chris Jericho for the World Tag Team Championship

These four had been tearing up the house show circuit and finally got to have a match on this past Raw, the only bright spot to an otherwise bad show. Jericho got the pin for his team after hitting Jeff Hardy with one of the belts.

Winners: Jericho and Christian by pinfall (still World Tag Team Champions)

Match 5

Test vs Rob Van Dam

These two had been going around the house show circuit with the exact same finish and tonight was no different. RVD wins with the 5 star frog splash.

Winner: Van Dam by pinfall

Match 6

Raven vs D-Lo Brown

Just like the previous match, this one has been on all the house shows leading up to this one. As usual, D-Lo takes it with Sky High.

Winner: D-Lo Brown by pinfall

Match 7

Molly Holly and Victoria vs Jacqueline and WWE Women's Champion Trish Status

Once again the exact same match that was on the mid-west trip only this time, Molly and Victoria come out on top.

Winners: Holly and Victoria

Match 8

Spike Dudley and The Hurricane vs William Regal and Lance Storm

Stop me if you've heard this, the same exact match that had been on all the house shows the past week. As always, Spike wins it with an Acid Drop on Lance Storm.

Winners: Spike and Hurricane by pinfall

Match 9

Kane vs Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship

The good news was the feud was coming to an end with Shawn Michaels returning to active duty but they still had to get through this round of house shows. As per norm, Kane went nuts with a chair on everyone and Triple H wins by disqualification.

Winner: Triple H by disqualification (still World Heavyweight Champion)

The final six matches had been on every card the past week but the first three were something new. As I mentioned, Shawn Michaels was coming back so they just had to get through this round with the exact same card before something different was coming. Still, Bubba and Jeff had a great match with Jericho and Christian on Raw so their house show matches must have been good as well. Batista is definitely in for good things in the future and eventually Kane vs HHH will end. Tomorrow is a double shot where both brands are holding shows. Smackdown's stars will be in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania while Raw will be in Halifax, Nova Scotia. I'll see ya in Halifax.

WWE Sunday Night Heat (10/27/02)

Gaylord Entertainment Center

Nashville, TN

October 27, 2002

Commentators: Jonathan Coachman and Lita

Ring Announcer: Howard Finkel

Welcome to another edition of Sunday Night Heat featuring the stars of Raw. As usual, this was taped before Raw went on the air this past Monday and aired six days later. Tonight we got Raven taking on young prospect Cassidy O'Reilly, ex-WCW star Mark Jindrak against Mike Owens, Steven Richards going up against another ex-WCW star Johnny Stamboli and the main event has Molly Holly taking on Jacqueline. We don't waste any time, we get right to the first match.

Match 1

Raven vs Cassidy O'Reilly

Raven was finishing out his contract while the 26 year old O'Reilly gets a look at in this one. O"Reilly comes out to the song Drew Carey used at the 2002 Royal Rumble as the announcers babble on about that week's events rather than introduce O'Reilly. Raven tells O'Reilly to just leave but Cassidy says no. Raven wins a tie up and beats Cassidy in the corner with fists and boots. Raven hits a backdrop and puts the boots to Cassidy before sending him off the ropes. Cassidy lands on his feet and goes for a superkick but Raven blocks it. Cassidy ducks a line and rolls up Raven for a deuce before Cassidy punches Raven. Cassidy up and overs in the corners before they exchange go behinds, only for Raven to throw Cassidy down by the hair. Cassidy does a 360 on a clothesline as Coachman babbles on and on about what happened on Raw. Raven taunts the crowd, whips Cassidy off the corner and drops him with a clothesline. Raven snapmares O'Reilly and locks in a nerve hold as Coachman hypes up tonight's main event. Cassidy goes for a plancha off the top rope but Raven moves and puts the boots to O'Reilly. Raven drives Cassidy into the mat face first with a top rope knee and covers for 1...2...no! Another snapmare and chinlock by Raven as Lita lets us know Cassidy grew up around this area and its somewhat of a homecoming. See? THAT'S what they should be talking about. Coachman ignores Lita and talks about Survivor Series coming up. Raven gets whipped in the corner and Cassidy hits a springboard elbow in the corner. O'Reilly goes for the tornado DDT but Raven blocks it. Cassidy and Raven collide as it looked like Cassidy wanted a crossbody and Raven wanted a clothesline. Whoops! Raven looks like he's going for the Evenflow but then clubs Cassidy in the back with forearms. Cassidy then hits a springboard crossbody (good audible by Raven) for 1.....2...nope. Cassidy charges in the corner but eats knee. Raven finally hits the Evenflow and covers for 1...2...3 to win the match. Cassidy had a future but that botch didn't help his case. He'd resurface in TNA but as for now, Raven gets the victory.

Time of match: 4:25

Winner: Raven by pinfall

Back to Coach and Lita who bring up what could happen at Survivor Series and hypes up tonight's Divas match. I'm guessing there was supposed to be a recap here but its not on this copy of the show I'm watching. Instead when we get back from commercial, we go right to the next match.

Match 2

Mark Jindrak vs Mike Owens

Another tryout match so to speak as ex-WCW guy Jindrak takes on Mike Owens. Who's Mike Owens? He's a Memphis local known as Flex. Actually, Jindrak was being groomed for a big push.....that ended up not happening. Bell's gone and once again Coach babbles on about Chris Nowinsky and Al Snow. Owerns gets the upperhand with a go-behind and Jindrak drops him with a toe-hold. Jindrak drops Owens with a shoulderblocka and a hiptoss. Jindrak hits a tilt-a-whirl slam and gets a two count while Coach once again babbles on about everything except the match. Jindrak misses a stinger splash and Owens kicks away at Jindrak. Lita talks about her training as Owens hits a russian leg sweep and covers for a deuce. Owens drops an elbow and covers for another two count before Owens locks in another chinlock. Coach once again babbles on about Tough Enough as Lita tries to talk about the match. Jindrak rallies to cut Coach off with dropkicks and a backdrop then covers for 1...2...nope. Owens goes for an O'Connor roll for a two count then ducks the line. Owens hits a powerslam and covers for 1...2...nope. Owens whips Jindrak in the corner but eats boot. Jindrak does a springboard clothesline off the second rope and covers for a deuce. Jindrak hits a sit down powerbomb for 1...2...3 and that's it. Like I said earlier, good match and Jindrak was being groomed for better things.....but got the rug pulled out from under him. I'll tell the story another time, as for now Jindrak gets the duke.

Time of match: 4:16

Winner: Jindrak by pinfall

Next up are highlights of the latest episode of Tough Enough Season 3.....won by the ill-fated Matt Cappoteli and the future John Morrison. After this, we get a recap of Shawn Michaels' return to Raw coming out of his wheelchair ready to return to active duty. At least we got Shawn coming back to look forward to. Let's get back to the ring.

Match 3

Steven Richards vs Johnny Stamboli

Post Right-To-Censor Steven is still searching for an identity while Stamboli is still the same character he was in WCW, only without a crew. Still, this should be a good match.....key word should. Bell's gone and Coach goes right into Shawn Michaels' return rather than call the action. A tie-up goes nowhere but Richards celebrates anyway. Lita gets a kick out of it as Stamboli throws Steven halfway across the ring. Once again Coach ignores Lita just to talk about Shawn Michaels some more. Worst part is its not even Coach's fault, he's probably got Vince McMahon or Kevin Dunn in his ear telling him to do it. Steven kicks Stamboli and chops him in the corner before unloading with right hands. Stamboli backdrops Richards and rallies with a scoop slam before covering for a two count. Once again Coach just babbles on and on about Triple H as Stamboli goes upstairs and catches Richards with a clothesline. A cover gets a two and Stamboli takes over with a headlock. Stamboli drops Richards with a shoulderblock, leapfrogs over but gets dropped inti the second rope with a drop toe hold. Richards covers for a deuce and stomps away. Richards sheds his elbow pad and kicks Stamboli in the head. Richards calls for a suplex and hits it before covering for 1...2...nope. Richards takes over with knee drops and a chinlock. Stamboli stands straight up and drops Richards backwards to a nice pop before he ducks the line. Stamboli catches Richards mid-air and powerslams him but can't capitalize. Lita rationalizes that Richards took too much out of Johnny. Johnny and Richards trade punches and Stamboli rallies with clotheslines. Stamboli hits a back elbow smash and a stinger splash. He goes for a second attempt but eats boot. Richards charges but walks into a tilt-a-whirl slam. Stamboli covers for 1...2...nope. Stamboli goes for his finisher but instead does a gorilla press powerslam. Stamboli jumps from the ring to the top rope but misses the leg drop off the top. Steven hits the Stevie Kick and covers for 1..2....3 to win the match. Damn good match for 5 minute crash style even if the commentary took too long getting into it. Steven screams "I showed you! I showed you!" Richards wins although its a wonder why Stamboli isn't getting a push, his athleticism was on full display there. Maybe someday.

Time of match: 5:27

Winner: Richards by pinfall

Another Raw recap of Triple H's godawful shenanigans I don't want to mention again. All you need to know is Katie Vick....ugh. We also see Big Show getting traded to Smackdown, which turned out to be a great thing. Let's get to the main event.

Match 4

Jacqueline vs Molly Holly

Its kind of funny how Smackdown had the best men's roster but Raw had the best women's wrestling. At least this match will be serviceable. Jackie gets a nice pop from the crowd as Molly looks mad. Coach speculates what Eric Bischoff's Elimination Chamber will be like as Molly starts with an armringer. They trade arm-ringers and Jacqueline cradles her up for a two count. Coach talks about Spike and Bubba Ray Dudley getting a tag title shot on Raw as Jackie caters to the crowd. Molly gets in a headlock and a shoulderblock before eating a hiptoss & arm drag. Molly bails to the outside and claims her arm is broken. Charles Robinson throws up the X sign as other officials get to ringside to help her. Molly then breaks free and rams Jackie's head into the steel steps showing she was playing possum. Molly hits a rollover suplex for 1..2...nope. Molly rakes the eyes as Coach babbles on and on about Shawn Michaels and Triple H as Molly locks in a nerve hold. Jackie powers out of it and hits a crossbody for a deuce. Molly drops Jackie to quel the momentum and covers for a two count. Molly continues to get near falls then uses the ref's 5 count to rake the eyes repeatedly. Molly chokes Jackie on the second rope and sends her into the corner, but a charge eats elbow. Jackie rallies with clotheslines and a dropkick before delivering a back elbow smash. Jackie covers for a two count and kicks away at Molly. Jackie goes for a tornado DDT but Molly blocks it. Jackie goes for ten punches in the corner but Molly powerbombs her and puts her feet on the ropes for 1...2....3 to win the match. Lot of cheating by Molly in this one but at least it was a good match between two veterans. Molly taunts the crowd up the rant as we go off-air. 

Time of match: 4:43

Winner: Molly by pinfall

Typical C-show but at least it got something done by showcasing guys who haven't had a WWE run yet like Mark Jindrak and Johnny Stamboli. Jackie vs Molly was pretty good as well even if the commentators just yapped about that week's Raw....which is par for the course with all these C shows. Too bad for the Cassidy O'Reilly botch otherwise he might have been featured in higher profile matches. Anyway tomorrow night is Raw, I'll see you there.

WWE at Toledo Sports Arena (10/27/02)

Toledo Sports Arena

Toledo, Ohio

October 27, 2002

It was a busy Sunday for WWE. The stars of Smackdown were still on their European tour while the stars of Raw were on their mid-west swing. Also later tonight would be Sunday Night Heat. But let's get to the Raw roster's Toledo card first. If you've been following the past few house shows, the exact same card had been used during this run only with different finishes. It would be no different tonight as the same matches are presented. Mark Jindrak and Johnny Stamboli against Justin Credible and Steven Richards. Tommy Dreamer vs Rico, Redd Dogg vs Batista, Lance Storm and William Regal against Spike Dudley and The Hurricane, Chris Jericho and Christian defending the tag straps against Jeff Hardy and Bubba Ray Dudley, Jacqueline and Trish Stratus against Molly Holly and Victoria, D-Lo Brown vs Raven, Rob Van Dam vs Test and Kane vs World Heavyweight Champion Triple H. Let's get to the show.

Match 1

Mark Jindrak and Johnny Stamboli vs Justin Credible and Steven Richards

ECW vs WCW as we got Jindrak and Johnny against Justin and Steven. Both teams split the last two house shows but Richards and Credible get the duke on this night.

Winners: Credible and Richards

Match 2

Redd Dogg vs Batista

As mentioned in previous writeups, Batista was Deacon Bautista in a repackaging that was for the better. Redd Dogg was a good hand in Ohio Valley Wrestling after working for ECW at the end of their run. Batista took it with what would eventually be called the Batista Bomb, look for Redd Dogg to be renamed somewhere down the line.

Winner: Batista by pinfall

Match 3

Tommy Dreamer vs Rico

These two split the last two house shows and in the rubber match.....Rico takes it with a spinkick. So much for Dreamer.

Winner: Rico by pinfall

Match 4

William Regal and Lance Storm vs Spike Dudley and The Hurricane

Kind of an odd pairing in Spike and Hurricane as they take on the remnants of The Unamericans. Basically after The Unamericans split, Regal and Storm still teamed together while Christian won the tag belts with unofficial member Chris Jericho while Test turned babyface on his own. Dudley got the victory with an Acid Drop on Lance Storm

Winners: Spike and Hurricane by pinfall

Match 5

Raven vs D-Lo Brown

As mentioned in the previous writeups, D-Lo was about to get a repackaging so he was getting a few wins on the house shows while Raven was wrestling out the remainder of his contract. Naturally D-Lo got the win here with Sky High.

Winner: D-Lo by pinfall

Match 6

Jacqueline and WWE Women's Champion Trish Stratus vs Molly Holly and Victoria

These four had been feuding on the house show circuit and it looked like Victoria would get the next crack at Trish on television with Molly still milling around. Apparently it was a double pin on both Molly and Victoria.

Winners: Trish and Jackie by pinfall

Match 7

Bubba Ray Dudley and Jeff Hardy vs Christian and Chris Jericho for the World Tag Team Championship

Once again the makeshift team of Bubba and Jeff team up to face the tag champs. Once again Jericho wins it for his team, pinning Jeff with the lionsault.

Winners: Jericho & Christian by pinfall (still World Tag Team Champions)

Match 8

Test vs Rob Van Dam

Test was in the middle of a face turn being paired with Stacy Keibler while Van Dam was cooling off after his World Heavyweight title chase. Still, Van Dam won it with the 5 Star Frog Splash.

Winner: Van Dam by pinfall

Match 9

Kane vs Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship

The good news was the Katie Vick garbage doesn't really carry over to house shows but the bad news was these two were still going at it at least until Survivor Series. As with the other shows, the finish was Kane going berserk with a chair and taking out the roster as Triple H made his getaway.

Winner: Triple H by disqualification (still World Heavyweight Champion)

Another house show that was exactly the same as the previous few. In the days of limited internet and no smart phones, the guys worked the same match every night because chances are those who were there in Wichita the night before wasn't going to be in Toledo the following night....unless you're Vlad The Superfan. Still, this was the fallout of No Mercy and last week's Raw, maybe Monday will bring new storylines for the crew to work with on the house show circuit. Still, Vince was insane for having two crews work every single night for so long. As mentioned in the intro, on this night the Smackdown crew was in Sheffield, England while Sunday Night Heat featuring Raw guys would be shown on American television. I'll see you in Sheffield.

WWE at Kansas Coliseum (10/26/02)

Kansas Coliseum

Wichita, Kansas

October 26, 2002

It was a busy day for WWE. While the stars of Smackdown were in London for the Rebellion pay-per-view, the stars of Raw were in Wichita for a house show. It was pretty much the same card as yesterday's show in Topeka with a few alterations. Instead of Trish vs Molly one on one, NOW its a tag match with Trish and Jacqueline facing Molly and Victoria. Apart from that, its the exact same card from Topeka. May as well get right to it.

Match 1

Mark Jindrak and Johnny Stamboli vs Steven Richards and Justin Credible

The exact same match to open the show in Topeka opens the show in Wichita. Only this time, Jindrak and Stamboli get the victory. Both these guys would be in WWE....eventually.

Winners: Stamboli and Jindrak by pinfall

Match 2

Redd Dogg vs Batista

Just like yesterday, the repackaged Batista takes on Redd Dogg from OVW. Just like yesterday, Batista takes it with the sit out powerbomb.

Winner: Batista by pinfall

Match 3

Rico vs Tommy Dreamer

Yesterday Rico defeated Tommy Dreamer with a roll-up. Today Dreamer wipes out Rico with the Death Valley Driver. Least they're switching it up today.

Winner: Dreamer by pinfall

Match 4

Jeff Hardy and Bubba Ray Dudley vs Christian and Chris Jericho for the World Tag Team Championship

A rematch from yesterday's show with the makeshift team of Jeff and Bubba against the tag champs. Jericho clocked Jeff with one of the tag belts then hit the lionsault for the three count.

Winners: Christian and Chris Jericho by pinfall (still World Tag Team Champions)

Match 5

Rob Van Dam vs Test 

Stacy Keibler was the special guest referee for this one. Even though she was being groomed as the manager for Test, Rob Van Dam took the match with a five star frog splash.

Winner: Rob Van Dam by pinfall

Match 6

Raven vs D-Lo Brown

As mentioned yesterday, D-Lo was about to be brought back on television for a push so he needed some wins to let the crowd know he was still there. He got the win here.

Winner: D-Lo Brown

Match 7

WWE Women's Champion Trish Stratus and Jacqueline vs Molly Holly and Victoria

Yesterday Trish faced Molly one on one with the others in their corners, now its a straight tag match. Molly and Victoria got the win when Molly rolled up Jackie and hooked the tights.

Winners: Molly Holly and Victoria by pinfall 

Match 8

Lance Storm and William Regal vs Spike Dudley and The Hurricane

Same match from yesterday only with a slightly different result. Spike pinned Storm with a crucifix to win the match.

Winners: Spike and Hurricane by pinfall

Match 9

Kane vs Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship

Same match from yesterday with the same ending. Kane went absolutely nuts with a chair to get himself disqualified. Then he started fighting off the guys on the card until Batista pulled Triple H out of the ring. At least that's more entertaining than what was going on during Raw.

Winner: Triple H by disqualification (still World Heavyweight Champion)

Almost the exact same show as yesterday only with slightly different results. As mentioned earlier, Smackdown was far and away the better roster but without the god awful storylines on Raw, at least the house shows probably were better to sit through. Kane vs Triple H was coming to an end but the Katie Vick angle pretty much ruined it. Still, things were about to get a little better because an old star was coming back to active duty. As mentioned earlier, later on that night was the UK ppv Rebellion but first, we got Velocity. I'll see you there.