WWE Raw (11/11/02)

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.

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 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 Monday Night Raw (10/28/02)

Last week's Raw may have been the single worst in company history and that's saying something considering the boring as hell post-Manhattan center to pre-Nitro Raw's were from 93-95. One could argue that the Katie Vick angle Raws put Raw on a path of destruction they really never recovered from. One week ago we had to suffer through one of the most tasteless and idiotic segments in wrestling history when Triple H basically screwed a mannequin on live television pretending to be Kane. Now we have the continuation of his wretched angle as Kane kidnapped HHH at the end of last week's Raw. What could he have in mind for the World Heavyweight Champion? We're headed toward Survivor Series and the other headache HHH has to suffer is Rob Van Dam once again got one over on Ric Flair and is in hot pursuit of that title. To make matters worse, Shaw Michaels is ready to return to full active duty for the first time since March of 1998. This week's episode has ECW originals Rob Van Dam and Tommy Dreamer taking on William Regal and Lance Storm with Chris Jericho and Christian defending the tag belts against The Dudleys. When we last left off, Eric Bischoff promised something called "Elimination Chamber" while HHH was thrown in a trunk and driven off by Kane. That means this week's Raw won't be so bad.....right? 

Joe Louis Arena

Detroit, MI

October 28, 2002

Commentators: Jim Ross and Jerry "The King" Lawler

Before we do anything, we got some dark matches and a Sunday Night Heat taping. We'll only do the dark matches here.

Dark Match 1

Ernest "The Cat" Miller vs Johnny Stamboli

Miller was getting a tryout after sitting out his WCW contract during the Invasion. Then again, so was Stamboli. Eventually both guys would be making their debuts. Miller won this match.

Winner: Miller

Dark Match 2

Raven and Redd Dogg vs Tyson Dux and Larry Destiny

Raven and Dux we all know and Redd Dogg was being featured on house shows and dark matches before getting the eventual call-up. Larry was last seen on Jakked back in March of 01 and was primarily a Canadian local. Raven and Dogg got the win.

Winners: Raven and Redd Dogg

Now let's start the show. The show opens with a casket being wheeled to ringside....oh no, I forgot about this. HHH makes his way down to the ring as JR and King speculate how he's even here after last week. HHH says "Kane, next time you put someone in the trunk of a car, make sure there's no child safety hatch they can pull and jump out before you drive off".....well that's a lame payoff. HHH goes on to say that people were offended last week about the tape and people would never watch Raw again. HHH says he agrees that Kane was disgusting for doing that to Katie Vick. HHH says they need to hear from Katie Vick herself and HHH says he's gonna get her opinion. He then opens the casket and a mannequin is in there in a cheerleader uniform. Like I mentioned last week, RD Reynolds of Wrestlecrap.com bought the outfit on the mannequin. HHH introduces "Katie Vick" as JR says this is disgusting. I'm not gonna sit through this again so I'll just give the cliff notes. HHH does a ventriloquist act making horrible "dead" puns to almost no crowd reaction. Hunter then does say something noteworthy as he somewhat breaks character to say if you're offended, he doesn't give a damn because he's going to do what he wants. Finally The Hurricane hits the ramp to break up the monotony. JR "Thank God." Hurricane says HHH got humiliated and "whatsupwithdat!" HHH says nothing happened as he jumped out of the trunk and Hurricane says he's got proof that he's lying. He then shows footage of an equally tasteless skit where someone wearing a HHH mask is "operated" on with items being pulled out of his ass including a sledgehammer and his own head. JR "The tables are turned on the game." HHH then beats up the mannequin with a steel chair and heaves it outside. HHH continues to beat up the mannequin outside as a fan says "You're not funny!" After a minute of this, Kane hits ringside and drops HHH in the ring with punches. Kane mauls Hunter as security hits the ring to stop him. Kane disposes of security and Eric Bischoff then brings the officials in to break it up including road agents Sgt Slaughter and Terry Taylor. Eric Bischoff grabs a mic and says "That's the end of this!" He orders a casket match for the main event and HHH freaks out while Kane smiles. We fade to commercial and thank christ this angle is almost over. It was clear as day as no one wanted this angle and the big blowoff at No Mercy had Kane losing. Vince wanted to milk this feud no matter what cost when he had a fully functional Shawn Michaels ready to return to active duty.

When we get back from commercial we get a hidden camera of Trish Stratus on the phone with someone while she changes her outfit. King has an aneurism on commentary and at least that's an improvement over the first 15 minutes of the show, FINALLY we get to our first match

Match 1

Rob Van Dam and Tommy Dreamer vs William Regal and Lance Storm

ECW vs WCW a year after the Alliance angle ended and Regal gets on the mic in the ring. Regal says people fear for their lives walking the streets and they send their children out to ask for candy anyway, happy Halloween. They show footage of Dreamer vs RVD from 2 months ago at MSG to show how they respect each other. RVD start with Storm and they exchange go-behinds but Lance Storm misses a spin kick. RVD hits his own spin kick and counters for just a one count. Regal tags in and Van Dam brings him in the hard way before hitting shoulder blocks in the corner. Rob does a back flip, ducks under a clothesline and hits a second rope crossbody for a two. Van Dam hits another spinning heel kick to Storm but Regal counters with a suplex for a two count. Storm tags in and delivers a back elbow smash but the cover only gets two. Storm locks in a chicken wing as the crowd chants "RVD".  Rob hits a second rope dropkick and Regal tags in only to get kicked by Rob. Dreamer gets the hot tag with a hat on and he cleans house. A spinebuster on Regal only gets a two count and he goes for a ddt only to clothesline an interfering Lance Storm. Van Dam comes off the top with a dropkick on Regal and a double clothesline sends Storm to the outside. Van dam misses a top rope splash on Storm and Storm comes off the top with the Canadian flagpole on the back of Dreamer's head. Regal inside covers for 1...2..3 to win the match. Regal and Storm win it in a short three minute match.

Time of match: 3:13

Winners: Regal & Storm by pinfall

We cut to Eric Bischoff's office who gives 3 Minute Warning and Rico the business for blowing last week's match. Rico tries to talk but Eric says save it. Eric says his reputation goes in the toilet if Big Show beats Brock Lesnar for the WWE title. Eric tells Rico to shut up and says Spike Dudley told him to bite him two weeks ago. Eric says they all work for him and if they don't go out and make an impact, their 3 minutes are up. I wouldn't piss them off Eric, but that's just me. We go to footage of a public signing at Madison Square Garden the previous Saturday and say tickets are available for the next show there. We then cut to Test and Stacy Keibler on a date and Stacy is coming up with gimmicks for Test. Stacy bends over in front of the camera (thanks Dunn) and says Test's fans are called "Test-icles". Stacy says when she's done with him, his Test-icles are gonna be huge. Dick jokes aside, Test always did better with a manager whether its Stephanie or Trish Stratus. On to the next match where Bubba Ray and Spike Dudley are to meet Christian and Chris Jericho for the World Tag Team titles. JR and King show footage of the week before where Spike & Bubba beat Lance Storm & William Regal but was beat up with brass knuckles following the match. After Bubba and Spike enter they're suddenly attacked by 3 Minute Warning and Rico. Rosey hits a big splash on Spike and they double samoan drop the poor guy. Bubba is out cold and Spike rolls around in pain as 3 Minute Warning leave....so much for the tag match.

When we get back from commercial we get a vignette of Deacon Bautista coming to Raw only under the name Batista. Essentially Bischoff traded Big Show for Batista. We see footage of the attack from just a minute ago and we move on to the next match

Match 2

Goldust vs Test (with Stacy Keibler)

JR and King say next Monday night will be at the Fleet Center in Boston as Test and Stacy make their entrance. King drools over Stacy as Test grabs the mic and says "I'd just like to say hi to all my.....to all my....to all my Test-icles!" That gets a huge pop but Goldust is not impressed and attacks him at the bell. He sends Test off the ropes and right in to a reverse atomic drop....so much for the Test-icles. A lariat by Goldust almost takes Test's head off but Test crotches Goldust on the top rope. Test goes to work on Goldust in the corner as JR brings up that Scott Steiner was just signed to a contact.....remember that in a few weeks. Test goes for the pump handle slam but Goldust slides out of it and hits a clothesline. Goldust gets whipped into the corner but a charge eats boot. Goldust hits a second rope bulldog and covers for 1...2.., nope. Goldust goes for shattered dreams in the corner but Stacy interferes and gets kissed for her troubles. He sets her up in the corner and the crowd explodes when he teases shattered dreams on Stacy. He goes to kick Stacy but referee Jack Doane stops him. Test gets free but Goldust ducks under the big boot and hit a clothesline. Goldust goes for the curtain call but Stacy hits a lowblow allowing Test to hit the big boot. Test covers for 1...2....3 to win the match. Test picks Stacy up by the ass as King goes "woah WOAH!". We go to the replay and JR bitches Stacy should have been disqualified. Short match but it served its purpose as trying to get Test & Stacy over.

Time of match: 2:30

Winner: Test

Back to Eric Bischoff's office and an irate Bubba Ray Dudley barges in complaining about Eric sending 3 Minute Warning to jump them. Bischoff says his title shot is still on and to find another partner. Bubba says "Anyone I want?" Bischoff said sure and get out because he has business. When we get back from commercial we get a vignette of Scott Steiner coming to the WWE, way to ruin it JR. JR brings up last week showing Shawn Michaels is healthy and ready to return. After this Katie Vick garbage is over, HBK vs HHH round 2 is upon us. 

We then cut to RNN Breaking News with JR going "The hell is that?" Its actually Randy Orton who's arm is in a sling and he talks about how he wasn't even mentioned the previous week. He says he's rehabbing to return and wants the ladies to write to GetWellRandy@WWE.com. As ridiculous as this sounds, WWE had plans for him....oh did they have plans for him.

After that's over, Jonathan Coachman catches up to Kane and says the match is non-title with HHH. Kane says he doesn't care about the title, he wants to seal HHH in a casket. He says what he did to Katie Vick was an accident but what he's gonna do to HHH tonight won't be. Like  I said, thank god this is coming to an end. Before we got to commercial again, Chris Jericho and Christian are on their way to the ring. We come back from commercial with Jericho & Christian making their entrance. Bubba makes his entrance with a smile on his face and we go to a highlight of how Bubba suffered a concussion a few weeks earlier. Bubba's partner is......Jeff Hardy. Ha, we got 1/3 of TLC with Christian, Jeff and Bubba.

Match 3

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

King goes "What??" as JR says he'd never seen a Dudley and a Hardy team up in any capacity.....uh the 2000 Survivor Series? Jeff starts with Christian who's wearing the red singlet tights. Christian attacks Jeff with punches and kicks but Jeff slides under and take shim down with a double leg takedown. He does the legdrop between the thighs and tags in Bubba. Bubba works over Christian with open handed chops in the corner and hits a big splash in the other corner. Bubba does the Dusty Punches & Elbow then drops Jericho off the aprin. Jericho then grabs the leg to trip up Bubba allowing Christian to make the tag. Jericho puts the boots to Bubba and hits a rude awakening neckbreaker. Jericho dropkicks Bubba and drapes him across the middle rope. Jericho runs and jumps on Bubba before taunting the crowd. Christian tags in and they hit a double back body-drop. Christian covers for a 1 count and Bubba tries to rally with Dusty punches but Christian stops him with a kick. Bubba catches Christian with a face-buster and tags Jeff in who cleans house of Jericho and Christian. Christian quells the momentum with a knee to the head but Jeff rolls into a legdrop cradle for 1...2...nope. Christian ducks and Jeff hands a flying headbutt....on referee Nick Patrick. Whoops! Christian heaves Jeff over the top rope and Jericho hits a flying dropkick off the top rope on Bubba. Jericho tells Christian to get some chairs for a con-chair-to. Bubba ducks the attempt and hits a double clothesline on them. Jeff revives and uses Bubba to hit whisper in the wind then Bubba slingshots Jericho over the top rope onto Christian. Jeff uses Bubba as a springboard to hit whisper in the wind onto the floor. All of a sudden 3 Minute Warning hits the ring to attack Bubba and Jeff, but Jeff takes them out with a crossbody. Nick Patrick throws the intruders out but Bubba hits a flying crossbody off the top onto Rosey, Jamal and Jericho. We cut to commercial and when we get back Jericho has Jeff in an abdominal stretch as we're shown during the break the heels got the advantage by Christian low bridging Jeff to the floor. Back to real time Jericho goes for the Walls of Jericho but Jeff cradles him for 1....2....nope. Jericho dropkicks Hardy in the head, gets up and calls Bubba a son of a bitch to get him irate. Jericho fakes a tag with the ref dealing with Bubba to allow Christian to come in and execute a backbreaker. The cover gets two and Christian gets in a front headlock. Jeff tries to escape and makes his way to Bubba but Jericho distracts the ref to do the "face gets the tag but the ref doesn't see it" routine. Bubba gets chased out as Jericho and Christian double-team Jeff.  Jericho taunts the irate crowd and JR says "I guarantee there won't be any bad officiating in the casket match!" Jericho sends Hardy into the corner and unloads with right hands but Hardy fights back with rights of his own. Jericho charges into the corner but eats boot only to drop Hardy with a sleeperdrop. He covers but Bubba breaks up the count and Jericho protests. He drops Bubba off the apron as JR calls him a real jackass. Chris chops Jeff in the corner and whips him into the other corner where he stuns Jericho with a crossbody. Chris grabs his league but eats a mule kick. Bubba gets the hot tag and lays waste to Jericho and an interfering Christian. Jericho counters a Bubba Bomb but eats a sidewalk slam. The heels try a backbody drop but Bubba kicks Jericho and clotheslines Christian before tagging in Jeff. Bubba slams Chris and he and Jeff do the Wazzup Headbutt. Bubba shoves Jeff and tells him to get the tables. King "The tables???" Referee Nick Patrick tells Jeff not to do it as Bubba gets one. Before Bubba can set it up, Christian baseball slides him down only to get bumrushed by Jericho after Hardy moved. Hardy rolls up Jericho for 1...2..NOOOOOO. Jericho chops Jeff in the corner again and whips him to the other side only to eat a whisper in the wind. Jeff covers for 1...2...nope. Christian grabs a tag belt and goes to hit Jeff with it only for Hardy to duck. Bubba spears Christian but turns around to see Rico & 3 Minute Warning holding Spike Dudley upside down like high school bullies. Bubba leaves the ring and runs after the trio leaving Jeff by himself. Hardy hits a reverse twist of fate and goes up top for a swanton. Christian gets kicked off the apron but Jericho stops Jeff only to pushed off. Jeff hits the swanton and covers for 1...2....no, Christian pulls the ref out. Jeff dropkicks Christian into Patrick and Jericho waffles Jeff with the belt Christian brought in. Jericho hits the lionsault and covers for 1...2.....3 to win it. JR "Dammit!" King puts over the match and Jeff's effort as JR is irate that 3 Minute Warning took Bubba out of the match. Jericho and Christian celebrate up the ramp as King congratulates them. That was a hell of a match considering it was a makeshift team of Hardy & Bubba but all four of them made it work. Finally a bright spot to a lackluster time period for Raw.

Time of match: 15:44

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

We're with Jonathan Coachman interviewing Triple H on his upcoming casket match. HHH sarcastically makes fun of Kane and subtlety calls him gay without actually saying so. "You just keep your little burnt up banana in its hammock and you and me will be just fine." Thankfully Coachman switches gears to something less embarrassing by asking about Shawn Michaels making his return. HHH says no way is Shawn is going to convince him that he's 100% and Shawn is a lot of hot air. A phone starts ringing and Hunter tells Coach he has to go. JR "Kane is going to kick Triple H's ass tonight I can feel it." The same hidden camera that filmed Trish changing now is filming Hunter taking a phone call. Its Ric Flair and HHH asks why he isn't at the arena yet. Apparently Ric's dealing with bad weather and can't make it. HHH vents that he's booked against Kane and sounds very nervous, the opposite of the bravado he showed just a minute ago with Coach. Basically the point is he's not as confident as he appears.

After commercial we're shown Al Snow confronting Chris Nowinski. Al said he stood up for Chris and stayed loyal during Tough Enough but he's not proud of his behavior. Al runs him down and says he made the right decision choosing Maven to win and Chris responds that he would have been successful without Tough Enough and his attitude is a reflection of himself, not Snow. Chris tells Al to get him an opponent of his choosing and to be at ringside to witness Chris winning. He calls him "dad" and leaves. Al Snow is the LAST person you want to choose an opponent for you because he knows everyone.

We cut to the arena where Eric Bischoff makes his appearance. He says Scott Steiner is coming to WWE (after sitting out his guaranteed contract). Bischoff says he traded Big Show for a lot of talent but doesn't mention who. Bischoff then says he was behind the hidden cameras which technically Trish could sue him for that. Bischoff then gets to the point and says he's going to debut the Elimination Chamber at Survivor Series. He says next week he'll give the details but says there will be six men involved. Its going to have elements of Royal Rumble, War Games and Survivor Series mixed in plus it'll be for the World Heavyweight title. He names the six as Chris Jericho, Booker T, Rob Van Dam, HHH, Kane and Shawn Michaels. Bischoff says he's gonna give Shawn his chance to get revenge on HHH and to get back to him by next week. All of a sudden Booker T comes out to give his two cents. Booker says "you damn skippy, hippie" about being in the match and tells Bischoff to shut his trap and get to the back because the five time, five time, five time champ is on the attack, jack. After Bischoff leaves, Booker calls out Chris Nowinski and tells him to get out there. Guess we know who Al Snow picked to face Chris. We cut to commercial here and its interesting how that segued from Scott Steiner to Elimination Chamber to Booker T vs Nowinski.

Match 4

Chris Nowinski vs Booker T

Al Snow is at ringside and Chris doesn't look too scared he's facing Booker as he bumrushes him to start the match. Booker gets the upper hand with right hands and drops him with a back elbow smash, Booker chops and strikes Chris who bails to the outside. Booker pulls Chris back in on the apron by the air, brings him in the hard way and drops him twice with clotheslines. A cover gets two and Booker locks in an arm wrench. Nowinski counters with knees in the corner as JR finally gives a shoutout to Rebellion the UK PPV that took place two days earlier. Nowinski hits a hot shot off the top rope followed by a spinebuster. Chris covers for a near fall as King says Oklahoma football is jealous of Harvard football which JR hilariously says King must be hallucinating. Chris hits a powerslam for a deuce, delivers a snapmare then locks in a chinlock. King tells Al to give Chris up and let go. Booker fights back with right hands but eats a boot to the head. Booker hits a spinebuster as JR says Booker may be the next champion on November 17th at Survivor Series. Booker chops, punches and hits an axe kick on Chris. Booker hits another axe kick and covers for 1...2...nope. Chris rakes the eyes but misses a clothesline. Booker lands a third axe kick as Chris goes outside and punches Al Snow. Al gets in and beats the crap out of Chris to cause a disqualification. JR figures out that was on purpose and King laughs that Nowinski outsmarted everyone. Booker drops Al Snow with a right hand and kicks the crap out of Nowinski after the bell hitting a backdrop. Booker hits the scissors kick and clotheslines him over the top to the floor. Booker's music plays as he does the spinaroonie despite losing the match. Why would you put Booker in the main event at Survivor Series and have him LOSE to Nowinski?

Time of match: 3:06

Winner: Chris Nowinski by disqualification

After the match we cut to Trish and King screams "Puppies!" as the women's title match is next.

Match 5

Jacqueline vs Molly Holly vs Trish Stratus for the WWE Women's Championship

King whoops it up for Trish to start and JR asks if he likes Lil Kim. King & JR hock X-Box, Lugz and the movie Half Past Dead as Jacqueline makes her entrance. Molly comes out last after King makes a tasteless breast joke as JR explains triple threat rules. Trish runs over Jackie but Molly kicks her off. Molly kicks Trish in a head but is clotheslined for her trouble. Jackie gets an Oklahoma roll for a two count on Trish then locks in a half crap. Molly grabs the other leg and Jackie elbows her in the head. They trade blows as Victoria in the back watches the match. Molly hits the Molly Cartwheel on Jackie and Jackie hits a tornado DDT on Trish. Jackie covers for 1...2...Molly stops the count. Jackie gets two nearfalls on Molly including a backslide and but Molly delivers a backbreaker. Trish grabs Molly and goes for the Stratusfaction and on the way down she grabs Jackie as well for the double Stratusfaction. Trish covers Molly for the 1....2.....3 to win the match and retain the title. Not a great way to showcase your only women's match to have it go 2 minutes while HHH gets to babble on and on about Katie Vick. All three women deserved better. Still, point is Victoria is hot on Trish's tail.

Time of match: 2:33

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

Our final commercial comes after hype for the casket match, thankfully this is the end of the Katie Vick saga.....we hope.

Match 6

Kane vs World Heavyweight Champion Triple H in a Casket Match

The title is not on the line so Hunter has essentially nothing to lose. JR predicts comeuppance for HHH but King isn't so sure. King "Have you ever been in a casket?" JR "Why in God's name would I ever be in a casket?" King "Well I have, its horrible!" Kane has a smile as he enters the ring and he slugs Hunter to start. Kane drops HHH with a series of clotheslines and slugs away in the corner. Kane stomps away with Hunter as JR denounces Hunter's recent tapes and tactics. Kane throws HHH repeatedly in the corner and hits a pump handle slam and calls for referee Earl Hebner to open the lid. HHH fights back as King says you're never the same if you get locked in a casket. Kane shoves HHH into the casket but quickly squirms out. Kane brings Hunter in the hard way but he gets a thumb to the eye. Kane shakes it off and hits a powerslam as JR says he hates being around caskets. Kane heaves Hunter off the corner to the floor as JR says he'd rather be cremated. Hunter grabs the ring bell and waffles Kane with it as JR says its legal. King "Cremated, you want to make an ash out of yourself?" Hahahahahahaha! Triple H sends Kane into the ring steps and sends him into the ring. Hunter pounds away with right hands but Kane fires back with his own right hands. HHH hits a big spinebuster but Kane sits up causing HHH to fire away with more right hands in the corner. Hunter hits a facebuster then a DDT as King asks if Kane's gay without actually saying so causing JR to retort "What's wrong with that?" HHH drags Kane to the open casket and shoves him almost in, but Kane fights out of it. Kane drops Hunter with a big right hand and goes upstairs only to be crotched. JR says there hasn't been a casket match since 1998 and Hunter hits a superplex. King asks what Katie Vick saw in Kane and deducts it must have been a cool car. Wasn't the original Kane story that he was locked up in a mental institution for 30 years? When did he have time to date Katie Vick? Inconsistencies aside HHH tells Hebner to open the lid. Hunter rolls Kane into the casket but Kane's feet are sticking out. Kane then grabs Hunter by the throat but Hunter fights him off. Hunter misses a clothesline but he blocks the chokeslam. Kane counters a pedigree with a backdrop but Hunter applies a sleeperhold. JR tries to explain why a sleeper is effective in a match like this as Kane sits up again. Kane pseudo-hulks up as JR says he can't beat Kane in a fair fight. Kane hits a big boot and hits a clothesline in the corner. Kane catches Trips with a sidewalk slam then goes upstairs. Kane hits the flying clothesline then calls for the chokeslam. Hunter counters it with a forearm to the gonads then goes outside to grab a chair. Hunter blasts Kane in the head and poses for the irate crowd, but Kane sits up. Hunter hits him in the head again and asks for the casket to be open. The casket opens and OUT POPS SHAWN MICHAELS! HBK goes to town on HHH and hits a flying forearm before nipping up. The crowd goes berserk and he tunes up the band. Shawn buries Hunter with sweet chin music and gets out of the ring when Kane sits up. Kane finally lands the chokeslam and rolls Hunter into the casket. He slams the lid to win the match and FINALLY put an end to the Katie Vick angle. Unfortunately the ramifications were Kane needed Shawn Michaels to win a match against HHH. Kane leaves allowing Shawn to dance in the ring and on the casket to end the night's festivities. JR "You don't hunt what you don't kill" and says Hunter not finishing off HBK might prove to be fatal come Survivor Series. Casket matches are kinda blah anyway but it had a purpose, now we can move on.

Time of match: 11:16

Winner: Kane

Apart from the return of Shawn Michaels and the tag match, this show SUCKED. The Katie Vick saga was a disgrace, Booker T is announced as an Elimination Chamber contestant and loses to Chris Nowinski, the women got 2 minutes in the ring, Test vs Goldust was too short.....see a problem here? It was 2002 but this smacked of Vince Russo booking by keeping the matches short as possible to put over the extra garbage. Of course this was the problem with giving HHH too much power as Smackdown had their pecking order but had a core of 10 guys that could put on great matches while Raw basically has six and even then none of them besides Shawn Michaels has a chance to beat HHH. Raw was lacking in main event talent as it is but the stupid storylines made it even worse. Like I said before, Raw really never recovered to this day. Although if you want to focus on the positives, Shawn Michaels is back to full time duty, the tag match was good and the women's wrestling is actually good when given enough time. Hopefully next week's show will be better with everything gearing toward Elimination Chamber. As for the next show on the Timeline, its another Ruthless Aggression Smackdown which means good things in store. See you there.

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.

WWE No Mercy 2002 (10/20/02)

WWE No Mercy

Alltell Arena

Little Rock, AR

October 20, 2002

Its a shame things turned into the way they did. After the awesomeness that was Summerslam came the good but not great Unforgiven. As I said on the last review, the in-ring action of Unforgiven was awesome but the storylines were borderline dreadful....well this month the storylines not only crossed the border but almost went to the point of no return. After playing hot potato with the Intercontinental Championship on Raw all year, some brainiac decided it was a good idea to retire the belt. Now they had already retired the European title in July when Rob Van Dam beat Jeff Hardy in a unification match. Then they retired the Hardcore title in August after Rob Van Dam beat Tommy Dreamer in another unification match. Both those titles had run its course, but dropping the IC title was stupid because mid-carders had nothing to wrestle for on Raw. Smackdown was all set to debut the brand new WWE Tag Team Championships (which I'll explain later) so why retire a belt in its place, especially with that kind of lineage. We open up the event with The Undertaker sitting at his locker looking sad, then Kane sits next to him and says "So, how was your week?"  This would be a reference to one of the most horrible storylines in WWF/E history and another bad one. In order to add a little pizazz to the Kane vs Triple H showdown, they had Hunter go out on Raw and say Kane was a murderer (I thought it was The Undertaker who was the murderer) and Kane responded by saying it was an accident. This led to the horrific Katie Vick necrophilia angle covered on Wrestlecrap.com (cheap plug) where Hunter and Kane did increasingly tasteless vignettes to get under each other's skin. Now over on Smackdown, The Undertaker was involved in a feud with the current WWE Champion Brock Lesnar, so to add pizazz to that one they decided to bring in a woman named Tracy and claim Taker was cheating on his wife Sara with her. Combine these two trainwrecks with the upcoming Al Wilson storyline, is it any wonder why the ratings tanked so bad during the next few months? Let's get on with the show.

Match 1

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

Commentators: Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler

  As I said before, to enhance the "brands" they decided to keep the "World Tag Team Championship" on Raw and debut the "WWE Tag Team Championship" on Smackdown. The boys at Pro Wrestling Illustrated (cheap plug) are gonna have a massive headache trying to figure out the lineage for their yearly year-end almanac. Long story short Kane and The Hurricane lost the straps literally a week earlier to Jericho and Christian, who have been messing with Goldust and Christian for weeks. Goldust starts with Y2J...better make it Booker T and Christian. Booker starts out on offense and clotheslines Christian to the ground. He goes for Jericho but Christian cuts him off but heel kicks him for 1...2..nope. Goldust tag in and mule kicks Christian for a 2 count before Y2J tags back in. Goldust cuts him off and does the Runnells Punch then Thumps him. Goldust knocks Christian off the apron then slingshots Jericho over the top onto Christian. Booker throws Jericho into the ring where Goldust punches him in the corner until Christian hotshots the bizzare one off the top rope. Jericho delivers a missle dropkick and covers for a near fall. Jericho calls himself the king of the world then jumps on Goldust before tauting Hogan style. The heels make frequent tags and Christian prevents Goldust to make the tag as they continue to isolate him. Goldust hits a standing powerslam on Christian as Booker T checks out his hand. "Bet he wants to do a spinaroonie too" says Lawler.  Y2J tags in so Goldust makes the hot tag to Booker who unloads offense on both the canadians. Booker misses with the scissors kick but delivers a spine buster to Jericho for 1...2...nope. Booker turns a charge into a sunset flip for a nearfall but misses the axe kick and crotches himself on the top rope. Christian runs in and Goldust blind tags in then sets Christian up for shattered dreams. The ref is busy trying to get Jericho out of the ring so Goldust runs and kicks Christian in the junk.....its up and its good! Jericho charges and Booker drop toe holds him head first into the package causing poor Christian even less chance to have children. Goldust rolls up Y2J for a near fall then goes for the Curtain Call but Jericho rolls out of it. Jericho applies the Walls of Jericho until Booker hits the scissors kick to break up the submission then Goldust rolls over on top for 1...2..nope, Christian pulls Goldust to the outside to break up the count. Booker baseball slides Christian into the barricade then goes upstairs where he delivers a missle dropkick to Y2J. Booker does the spinaroonie as Christian grabs the tag belt then charges only to be heaved over the top rope by Booker. Jericho goes for his springboard missle dropkick but THE SECOND ROPE BREAKS and Jericho falls flat on his face. Good thing he didn't hurt himself as he quickly gets up and backdrops Booker T over the top to the floor. Goldust runs in and bulldogs Y2J and covers but Christian puts the foot on the rope to break the count. Booker and Christian brawl into the crowd as Jericho bulldogs Goldust face first on the tag belt. He instinctively goes for the lionsault but remembers theres no second rope so he just goes upstairs and delivers a moonsault. Jericho covers for 1...2.....3 and the Canadians retain. Good match with absolutely no rest-holds but the rope breaking was a bad omen for the night ahead.

Time of Match: 8:46

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

We go backstage to Funaki, SMACKDOWN NUMBA WUN ANNOUNCA, who interviews Al Wilson, Torrie's father. To give Dawn Marie and Torrie something to do, they brought Torrie's actual father and have him start dating Dawn Marie. Unfortunately, this would only be the beginning of a horrific storyline which will play out on Smackdown in the upcoming months. Torrie just caught Dawn days earlier in the shower with him. Yeah, if you ever wonder why everyone's happy that Vince is gone, he made Torrie Wilson's own father a pawn in a storyline.

Match 2

Dawn Marie vs Torrie Wilson

Commentators: Michael Cole and Tazz

    As if the whole soap opera wasn't bad enough, now we have to see these two in the ring? Dawn hops up on the apron and Torrie dropkicks her off to start the match. Torrie works her over outside before throwing her in as the bell rings meanwhile Cole and Tazz tell us Al Wilson's recent actions. Torrie ducks under a clothesline and delivers a series of her own before whipping Dawn into the corner. A charge eats boot so Dawn starts kicking away at Torrie as Michael Cole asks why Al would date the one girl who Torrie doesn't like. Tazz "Cause Dawn's hot...duh!" Torrie hits a sunset flip for a 1 count before Dawn flips over the corner and shoulderblocks a charging Torrie in the mid-section. Dawn snaps her off the top rope but Torrie baseball slides Dawn to the ground. On the outside Dawn rams her back first into the side of the ring before putting the boots to her inside the ring. Michael Cole hypes up the Rebellion pay per view up in England the week after this event. Dawn whips Torrie into the corner then stomps away at her again, booooooring, do something else please. Dawn applies a rest hold as Cole says Torrie's beaten her in a bikini contest and a lingerie bowl but Dawn beat her in a mixed tag match thanks to Matt Hardy. Dawn scoop slams Torrie and hits an in-between the legs headbutt, which Tazz scoffs saying that shouldn't hurt. Cole "You have no idea if that would hurt or not, least I hope not" Dawn starts screaming at Torrie in her New York accent before Torrie takes her down and they start cat fighting. They roll over referee Mike Sparks and he appears to enjoy it......didn't Torrie do the same sequence with Stacey Keibler 2 months ago at Global Warning? Actually this time Sparks grabs a hold of Dawn and all 3 roll together before he prys her off Torrie, hops up and cheers himself as the crowd and Tazz laugh it up. Tazz "What a sick man he is!" Dawn looks mortified and shoves him before kicking Torrie in the mid-section. Dawn whips her in the corner but the charge eats boot but she runs right into a clothesline. Dawn whips Torrie off but puts her head down so Torrie counters with a boot and a snap suplex. The cover only gets 2 then Torrie hits another baseball slide but again the cover only gets 2. Torrie throws Dawn by the hair then slingshots her in the corner then school girls her for 1....2..nope. Dawn charges but Torrie hits the sorriest looking hot shot I've seen in a while but hits a nice running neckbreaker for 1.....2....3 and this ones over. Torrie says that was for her dad but unfortunately the storyline was far from over. The match wasn't too bad thanks to the referee hijinks but the REAL women's match would be later on in the night.

Time of match: 4:40

Winner: Torrie Wilson by pinfall

We cut to Jonathan Coachman interviewing Rob Van Dam on his upcoming match with Ric Flair. Ric cost RVD the World title at Unforgiven so this is the big grudge match so to speak. The heel turn by Ric was awesome for HHH claimed in Ric's prime he was a viscous heel which made him one of the best wrestlers of all time, so by turning heel he regained his fire so to speak. Rob says he's not kiss stealing, jet flying, etc but he's more "Chair smashing" *struts* "Frog splashing" *struts* "Risk Taking" *struts* "Yinning and Yanging" *struts* "Van Daminating dude named Rob....Van...Dam" You have to see it to appreciate it. Rob walks off as Coach notices Brock Lesnar, Paul Heyman and Tracy walk by. Lesnar and Paul ignore him as Tracy runs down Taker saying he's a scumbag. Like I said earlier, this was the continuation of the feud which would end inside Hell in a Cell later tonight.

Match 3

Rob Van Dam vs "Nature Boy" Ric Flair

Commentators: Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler

 The 16 time champion turned on Rob Van Dam last month then cost him another shot the previous Raw. They brawl on the outside to start the match as Rob executes a dropkick from the second rope then does the leg drop on the guardrail he used so famously on Jerry Lynn. Finally back inside the bell rings and its officially underway. Rob goes upstairs and delivers a missledropkick then cartwheel moonsaults onto Flair for 1....2..nope, kicked out. Flair begs off so Van Dam dropkicks him in the corner before Flair gets a thumb to the eye. Flair chops RVD in the corner but Rob whips into the corner where he Flair Flips back down. Flair runs into a spinning heel kick then pounds away with right hands as Lawler says "Flair's 53? Dawn Marie will be hitting on him next!" Hell I'd rather have seen THAT than Al Wilson because at least Kidman could wrestle Flair and keep the women outside....anyway back to the match. Flair charges into an elbow and an RVD springboard dropkick for a near fall before Flair begs off again. Flair low blows Rob then attacks the left leg, great ring tactics by Flair. Van Dam can't go arial on one leg so Flair goes old school on the left leg. Flair chops him in the corner before stomping a mudhole in him, vintage Flair right here. Flair chokes RVD in the bottom corner and uses the 5 count effectively then woo's the irate crowd. Flair chops and punches Van Dam in the middle of the ring then continues to work over the left leg. Van Dam rallies with chops and right hands before Flair rakes the eyes then kicks the leg out once again. Great ring psychology even if it does go unappreciated by the fickle fans of today, the arial artist can't fly if the savy veteran takes the legs out. Flair chopblocks RVD and stomps another mudhole in him as Lawler says how hot Tracy is. JR retorts by saying Undertaker's a married a man. King "So what, Tracy's hot!"  JR "To some people, wedding vows mean something!" Oh snap....King won't like that one. Flair chops Rob in the corner then continues to use the right hands to knock Van Dam off his game. King "Do you think pregnant women are attractive?" Jr "What in the hell does that have to do with this???" Flair executes a backdrop then calls for the figure four before applying it.....uh oh. Rob cries and screams in pain then writhers about, trying to reverse the momentum which he eventually does. Flair breaks then stomps Van Dam outside the ring, so rob shoulderblocks and sunset flips back in for a near fall. Rob backslides for a 2 count then misses a dropkick as the cagey veteran holds on to the ropes to block the kick. Flair struts then goes for another figure four, but Rob counters with a cradle for 1...2...nope. Rob charges but eats elbow then Flair goes upstairs, only to be thrown off. Rob hits rolling thunder for a 2 count, heel kicks him then goes upstairs. He calls for the 5....STAR...FROGSPLASH and hits it, then takes forever to cover Flair for 1......2..3...and Van Dam wins it. Great ring psychology in this one although it got a little repetitive in the middle. Van Dam gets a little bit of revenge for the world title lost last month.

Time of match: 7:58

Winner: Rob Van Dam by pinfall

We cut to Big Show of all people and Stephanie McMahon discussing the possibility of Show jumping to Smackdown. Eric Bischoff appears asking just what the hell is going on so Steph takes off. Big Show then cuts a promo saying how he hasn't been on a ppv since Vengeance (true) and hasn't main evented a ppv in god knows how long. (He was in the main event of the previous Survivor Series but that involved 9 other men, meaning his last real main event had to be Wrestlemania 16 in 2000, also involving other guys) and he's sick of being just a big doofus with his thumb up his ass. Eric scoffs and tries to run him down but Big Show slams him up against a row of trays and says Eric better push him in main events or he's gonna snap his neck. JR and King then hype up the upcoming Winner Take All match between Kane and Triple H before showing a highlight package of the history of the IC title, why end something so prestigious is beyond me. It does show my favorite moment of Steve Austin throwing the belt in the river and The Rock's response to it. On to the next match....

Match 4

Tajiri vs Jamie Noble (with Nidia) for the WWE Cruiserweight Champiobship

Commentators: Michael Cole and Tazz

  Noble and Nidia had a fight on Smackdown and picked their buddy Tajiri to be the referee for the match, after the end of it they both turned on him setting up this showdown. Michael Cole "Jamie Noble may be freaky but he's been a great cruiserweight champion, holding it for 4 months now" Yes, a rare logical fact uttered by Michael Cole. Noble walks to the ring and into a baseball slide by Tajiri, who then moonsaults Jamie on the floor.....this is the 3rd match in a row that's started like this. Tajiri springboard moonsaults Noble then throws him inside for a quick nearfall. Noble whips Tajiri into the corner and delivers a knee to the back. Jamie stomps a mudhole in Tajiri and then taunts him and the crowd before executing a snap mare/kick to the back combination. Tajiri then reverses a neckbreaker into his own much deadlier kick to the back combo. Tajiri scoop slams Jamie, drops a knee to the forehead then covers for a near fall. Noble goes for a sunset flip but Tajiri sommersaults out of the ring....now that's innovative. Tajiri buzz-saw kicks Noble from the outside then crawls in for the cover 1...2..nope, too early. Noble whips Tajiri into the corner where he flips onto the shoulders of Noble who carries him across the ring and slams him backwards to the canvas. Jamie covers for a near fall then executes a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for another near fall. Noble applies a surfboard for about 30 seconds before Tajiri powers out of it then goes for a crucifix, which Jamie counters with a samoan drop. They trade a series of near-falls before Noble stands and taunts the crowd before whipping Tajiri hard into the corner. Tajiri rolls through a slam into a sunset flip but Noble rolls through that and delivers an elbow to the back. Noble delivers knees to the back then goes back to the surfboard, where Tazz applauds the mat wrestling. Tajiri powers out but Noble delivers a series of shoulders to the back in the corner. Noble atomic drops Tajiri on the top turnbuckle then goes for a back superplex, but Tajiri fights him off. Tajiri goes for a moonsault, Noble moves, Tajiri lands on his feet and kicks Jamie in the mid-section. Tajiri runs up the turnbuckle then delivers a spinning tornado ddt that gets a pop from the crowd. Things degenerate into fisticuffs where Tajiri takes over with a bunch of kicks to the ribs. A fired up Tajiri delivers his spring board back elbow smash then goes for the buzz-saw kick which Noble blocks, only to nail Jamie with a savate kick to the chin. Tajiri covers for 1....2...nope, Noble gets the shoulder up as Nidia damn near has a heart attack outside the ring, Tajiri then does A STANDING TARANTULA then hits a german suplex, he bridges and we got 1....2.....NOOOOO, Noble kicks out just in time. Noble charges into the corner where Tajiri finally does the real tarantula and breaks at 4. Tajiri misses the buzz-saw kick and Noble goes for the tiger bomb, which Tajiri counters by slingshotting him into the ring post. Jamie turns around into the buzz-saw kick then Tajiri covers...but oh wait....Nidia climbs on the apron to distract referee Brian Hebner by kissing him. Tajiri gets up and gets between them allowing Noble to nail him from behind then deliver the Tiger Bomb for 1...2...nooooo, Tajiri kicks out at 2. Tajiri hops on Noble's shoulder and goes for a victory roll but Nidia grabs onto Jamie's ankles and he falls onto Tajiri for 1....2....3 and Noble's your winner. Nidia grabs the belt and hands it to Noble as Tajiri grabs a hold of her then.....kisses her deeply. Tajiri comes up for air as Nidia is smiling from ear to ear while Noble goes :-O. He then says "Whataya think yer doin? Let me show ya how a man does it!" then he kisses her until Tajiri has enough and buzz-saw kicks their heads simultaneously. Heh, the crowd loved that spot. Not the worst but not significant either, pretty average cruiserweight match.

Time of match: 8:14

Winner: Jamie Noble by pinfall (still Cruiserweight champion)

We cut to Chris Benoit looking for Eddie Guerrero in the back. He finally catches him and says Chavo is getting his brains beat in by Kurt Angle, but Eddie doesn't believe him due to what's happened recently on Smackdown. You can clearly hear Chavo screaming behind the locked door as Eddie refuses to believe it and scoffs at Benoit. Finally the door opens, Chavo is thrown out of the room, and sure enough Kurt Angle walks out. Eddie charges but officials pull them apart as Kurt and Benoit share a laugh. The idea was to get Los Guerreros hot since Angle and Chris were set to take on Edge and Rey Mysterio later on in the night for the new WWE Tag Team Championships. On to the Raw main event...

Match 5

Kane vs Triple H for the WWE Intercontinental and World Heavyweight championships (Winner take all)

Commentators: Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler

 Normally title vs title matches like this are a dead give away the IC Champion is going to win since what the hell does the world champion need the IC title for, but with HHH involved this may not be on the level. As I said earlier, the whole saga with Kane being a murderer and HHH pretending to dry hump a dummy won the dubious 2002 Gooker Award for worst storyline of 2002. Someone actually went on record who was involved in the booking said Vince thought it was a great idea and really psyched for it, and the employee in the interview said the whole room thought it was disturbing. For the sake of keeping my sanity I'll just leave it at that and get on with the match. They just stare at each other for a whole minute before Kane backs HHH into the corner, using the power advantage. Triple H lands a right hand but Kane answers with one of his own that floors the champ. Triple H goes on offense but is whipped into the corner, however a sloppy charge eats knee. Kane pounds away on HHH in the corner finishing with an uppercut. Triple H runs off the ropes then Kane delivers a back bodydrop, then HHH bails to the outside to regroup. Triple H runs inside into right hands by Kane and a clothesline but the cover only gets a near fall. Kane again wails on HHH in the corner then whips him into the other corner where he delivers a running clothesline. Kane continues to fire away but this time he misses the charge completely. Triple H runs off the ropes and barely executes a neckbreaker, wow this looks sloppy so far. Triple H runs into the arms of Kane then squirms out but runs into a powerslam. Kane gets a near fall then continues with the right hands...boring. Kane bounces off the ropes but Triple H delivers a knee to the face then clotheslines him over the top rope to the floor. Triple H goes outside but runs into a choke, but gets a thumb to the eye to break away from the monster. Triple H puts the boots to Kane back inside then rams him head first into the top turnbuckle. A slugfest envelops in the corner until Triple H sneaks in a neckbreaker then covers for a near fall. Triple H lands yet another neckbreaker as the crowd begins to get very bored then he DOES IT AGAIN. If they want to tell a story that Kane has to come back from a bad neck to beat HHH, at least do different moves to the neck. Hunter pounds on Kane in the corner, whips him to the far side but the charge eats elbow. Kane runs right into a spinebuster but Helmsley's cover only gets 2. Triple H guillotines Kane on the second rope which is an impressive show of strength as Hunter slowly delivers a boot. Kane rallies with right hands but Hunter ducks under a clothesline and applies a sleeper hold, great..more rest holds. Kane doesn't exactly fade but he goes down,  then gets up and delivers a back suplex to the champion. Kane runs off the ropes but misses the elbow drop but Hunter runs straight into a big boot. Kane delivers a running clothesline into the corner then executes a one armed sidewalk slam. Kane goes upstairs and delivers a flying clothesline that knocks The Game down. Ric Flair runs out and hits the ring which causes Kane to throw referee Earl Hebner out of the way to get to Flair. Ric snaps Kane off the top rope where HHH pounces with right hands then runs off the ropes....into yet another big boot. Flair brings the WHC belt in the ring and drops it for Hunter as Kane puts the boots to him. Triple H winds up and levels Kane with the belt then covers for 1.....2...nope. All of a sudden The Hurricane hits ringside and beats on Flair outside, he throws Ric into the stands but turns around into a pedigree by  Hunter. Apparently Kane and The Hurricane were tag teaming recently on Raw. Kane sits up and rallies with clotheslines then right hands into the corner before finishing with a running powerslam. Kane covers for 1....2..nope, HHH kicks out as Flair yells at the ref. Hunter climbs to the second rope but Kane catches him in midair then drives him into the buckle. Kane sits Hunter on the top rope and fires away with right hands before being shoved off by HHH. The Game jumps into a boot from Kane then falls backwards, before Kane sits up and calls for the chokeslam. Kane grabs the neck but Hunter blocks it so Kane goes for another big boot....which catches Earl Hebner as Hunter moves out of the way. Kane charges but Hunter backdrops him over the top rope to the floor but Kane catches Hunter then chokeslams him through the Spanish announce table. Ric Flair runs over to distract Kane only to be met with a right hand that sends him flying. Kane throws Hunter inside and covers him, meanwhile Ric Flair goes underneath the ring and grabs the sledgehammer. Ric goes inside and goes to hit Kane but Kane catches it and thows Flair out of the ring. Kane stalks Hunter with the sledgehammer but The Game boots Kane in the nads, making him drop the hammer. Hunter goes to waffle Kane but Kane catches him and puts Hunter in the tombstone position, only to be hit in the nads with the hammer..OWWWWWW, that's gotta hurt. After a bit, Kane staggers to his feet and somehow executes the chokeslam on Hunter then covers. Another referee runs into the ring and counts 1....2..noooo, Flair pulls him out then punches him out. Flair goes upstairs but jumps into a chokeslam by Kane. Hunter drives Kane into the buckle then delivers the Pedigree in the center of the ring. Hunter covers, Hebner revives and counts 1.....2......3....awww shit. Yup, for the first time in history the IC champion LOSES in a winner take all match. Bad match and even worse ending as Ric Flair wrestled as much in 5 minutes as Hunter did in 16, not the best way to end the IC title. After ALL that HHH put Kane through, he comes out on top anyway. Get used to that, folks.

Time of Match: 16:12

Winner: Triple H by pinfall (World Heavyweight and IC Titles are unified)

Back to Stephanie in her office, she's visited byTracy and we're subjected to a girl talk segment. Tracy claims that she wanted to forget what Mark (yes, the writers of this garbage had The Undertaker's real name said on screen) did but Paul Heyman called her up and told her to bring the past up. Stephanie then gets her to confess that its all a flim flam as The Undertaker himself walks in. He calls Tracy a lying bitch then thanks Steph for the tip off. Steph tells Tracy to get lost and we never see her again. They could have eliminated the entire Tracy aspect of this equation and focus just on the cast the last few weeks and no one would have complained. Oh well...

Match 6

Edge and Rey Mysterio Jr vs Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit for the WWE Tag Team Championship

Commentators: Michael Cole and Tazz

 This is the finals for the new tag team titles on Smackdown. Again, in terms of lineage, the World Tag Team Titles are the ones that's been around forever but yet these new belts are the WWE Tag Team titles. Anyway, Edge and Mysterio had defeated Brock Lesnar and Tajiri, Ron Simmons and D-Von Dudley beat Billy and Chuck, then Los Guerreros beat Rikishi and Mark Henry, Angle and Benoit beat Billy Kidman and John Cena to finish the first round. Edge and Mysterio defeated Simmons and D-Von to advance to the finals as Angle and Benoit took care of Los Guerreros on Smackdown to set up the finals. Angle and Benoit must co-exist or else they will be suspended since they had been feuding the past 2 years or so. Mysterio starts out with Angle and he goes behind Rey and won't let go, so Rey stomps on his foot to break the hold. Angle hops around then runs after Rey who counters with a fireman's carry and a dropkick to the knee, Rey delivers a lightning quick leg drop then hops up on the second rope where he delivers a hurracarrana where he flips over Angle's head, great spot. Rey delivers a drop-toe-hold then slaps Angles heads which angers Kurt to chase Mysterio out of the ring. Rey tags in Edge who gets a pop then he locks up with Kurt, then they do a nice chain wrestling sequence before Angle shoulderblocks him to the ground. Edge delivers a series of arm drags and a dropkick. Kurt trash talks Edge then makes the tag to Benoit who circles around with Edge before tying up. They chain wrestle with Benoit getting the early advantage before Edge backs him into the corner. Benoit executes a headlock takeover then holds it until Edge powers out of it. Benoit runs straight into a knee to the midsection then Edge follows up with a stomach breaker but the cover only gets a near fall. Edge continues to work over Benoit then delivers a flapjack then majistrol cradles him up for a near fall. Edge bounces off the ropes but Angle drives a knee to the small of the back to stop the momentum. Chris sends Edge off the ropes where he spears Angle off the ring apron. Edge does a running roll up for a near fall but he's kicked off where Angle grabs him then snaps him throat first off the top rope. Benoit delivers a clothesline then a neckbreaker before tagging Kurt back in. Angle stomps away at Edge before trading blows in the center of the ring until Kurt catches him with a knee to the midsection. Kurt covers for a near fall before applying a sleeper hold. Edge powers out of it then fires away at Kurt in the corner but gets whipped into the other corner. Angle charges but Edge gets the boot up, only to run into a BtB suplex from Kurt. Angle taunts Mysterio as Benoit tags in to deliver more punishment to Edge. He goes with rights and lefts in the corner then stomps away before sending Edge sternum first into the far corner. Benoit continues to fire away before doing his 3 german suplex in a row combination. Chris knocks Rey off the apron then gives the sign for the flying headbutt before going upstairs. Edge gets up and knocks Chris crotch first onto the top turnbuckle before delivering a superplex which the crowd loved. Edge slowly makes it over too his corner where he tags in a fired up Rey Mysterio. Rey knocks Angle off the apron as retaliation then does a spinning hurracuranna to Benoit. Benoit staggers and Rey delivers a drop-toe-hold which sends Benoit into the bottom turnbuckle. Rey runs across the ring and delivers a low dropkick in the corner as Angle runs inside only to be met with a dropkick. Rey positions Chris back first into the second rope then delivers a springboard guillotine leg drop, nice one. Rey covers for 1....2..and nooooo, Kurt breaks up the count which causes Edge to run and clock him. Edge clotheslines himself and Angle over the top and out while Benoit counters a wheelbarrow bulldog by throwing Rey down.  Benoit locks in the crippler crossface and Rey looks like he's about to tap when Edge runs in and saves the day. Angle pulls Edge out so they brawl on the outside as Rey dropkicks Benoit into the second rope then calls for the 6-1-9. Rey goes for it but Benoit catches him and goes for a running powerbomb but Edge flies off the top rope unnoticed and dropkicks Rey on top of Benoit for 1....2...nooooo, Chris kicks out at the last second. Rey slowly goes upstairs when all of a sudden Angle runs into the ring and up the turnbuckle then delivers a sick BtB suplex off the top rope. Chris crawls over and covers for 1...2...noooo Rey gets the shoulder up. Chris and Kurt isolate Mysterio in the corner as Angle tags in and works over the battered and bruised Rey. Tazz makes a comment how he was undersized like Mysterio so he got beat up on a nightly basis. Kurt delivers a floatover suplex for a near fall then applies a front headlock. Rey delivers a nothern lights suplex but runs smack into a BtB suplex by Angle. Kurt covers for 1....2...negative, Rey gets shoulder up. Benoit tags in who backdrops Mysterio about 9 feet in the air, yikes but the cover only gets 2. Benoit executes a suplex then covers for another near-fall then knife edge chops him in the corner. A charge by Benoit eats boot then Rey hurracaranna's Benoit shoulder first into the ring post. Benoit crawls over and tags in Angle but Mysterio crawls and makes the hot tag to Edge who cleans house with clotheslines. Edge delivers a backbody drop to Kurt then faceplants Benoit in the center of the ring. Edge ducks under an Angle clothesline and delivers Edge-o-matic with a bridge for 1...2...no, Benoit breaks up the count. Mysterio whips Edge into the corner where he hits his Spear before he whips Mysterio into Benoit who delivers a bronco buster. Edge delivers a spear to Angle in the corner then flips Rey over his head who delivers a hurracaranna off the top rope, holy shit that was good. Benoit goes upstairs and Edge covers for 2 before rolling out of the way where Benoit connects with the flying headbutt on his own partner. Mysterio dropkicks Benoit through the ropes and to the outside as Edge covers Angle for 1...2...new champi....no, Angle kicks out. Angle recovers and delivers a released german suplex then gives the sign for the angle slam. Rey runs and Edge flips him over who plancha's onto Angle, holy crap times two. Edge gives the sign for the spear but Benoit trips him up from behind and locks in the crossface before Edge makes it to the rope. Benoit refuses to let go so Rey delivers a 619 out of nowhere but also out of nowhere comes Angle who executes the angle slam on Mysterio. Kurt pulls the singlet straps down then applies the ankle lock on Edge, who kicks Angle off then cradles him up for 1.....2...NOOOO wow that was close. Edge hits the spear on Kurt for 1....2..nope, Benoit saves the day. Edge flips Mysterio over the top rope and onto Benoit on the outside. Edge goes for the Edgecution but Angle switches out and applies the ankle lock in the center of the ring. Edge manages to roll out and apply an anklelock of his own, but Angle rolls through that then re-applies the hold. Tazz "You can't outwrestle Angle" and sure enough Edge taps out to end the match. Angle and Benoit are the new WWE Tag Team Champions. That was awesome and everyone knew it to. 

Time of match: 21:58

Winners: Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit by submission (New WWE Tag Team Champion)

Back in the trainers room, Undertaker tells the Larry the trainer to shoot him up with pain killers so his broken hand doesn't act up on him during Hell in a Cell later on. Larry is reluctant to do it but does it anyway. Pretty pointless segment but whatever, on to the next match.

Match 7

Victoria vs Trish Stratus for the WWE Women's Championship

Commentators: Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler

Lisa Marie Varon was a fitness model in the 90's that somehow became one of The Godfather's hos and eventually trained to be a wrestler herself. The at this point 31 year old was rechristened Victoria, who's character was a psycho. The storyline was Trish and Victoria used to be fitness models but Victoria was jealous that Trish became world famous so she wants her revenge. In real life, they were both fitness models at one point but I doubt they ever worked on a project together. JR hypes up Victoria as a very evil woman as she backs Trish into the ropes where they exchange slaps to the face. Victoria applies a side headlock then takes her over with it before Trish powers out of it. Victoria delivers a clothesline then stomps away in the corner. Trish answers with a clothesline and a near-fall before doing a Steve Blackman like pump kick. She goes for another kick but Victoria blocks it then ducks under a roundhouse kick only to take a thrust kick square in the jaw, ouch. She covers for a near fall then Victoria bails to the outside for a breather. Trish slides outside and rams Victoria shoulder first into the ring post then clotheslines her down. Victoria staggers to her feet then throws Trish face first into the ring post then drops her sternum first into the black barrier. Victoria kicks Trish around as JR continues to hype Victoria as the second coming of Bull Nakano in terms of size, strength, etc which is weird because Trish is pretty much the same size as her. Trish slides in the ring as Victoria climbs to the apron then executes a slingshot flipover legdrop the covers for 1....2...nope. Victoria drives Trish into the corner with shoulderblocks then goes for a monkey flip, which causes Trish to land ass first on Victoria's face....someone screwed up. Either Victoria didn't kick her off enough or Trish didn't push off. Victoria goes for a second monkey flip but Trish counters by sitting her on the top rope and fires away with forearms. Trish delivers the Stratusphere and covers for 1.....2....negative, Victoria gets the shoulder up. Victoria gets up and applies a Jesse Ventura style backbreaker until Trish flips over for another near fall. Victoria slaps Trish across the face then delivers a scoop slam and a tilt-a-whirl sidewalk slam. Victoria goes upstairs but Trish puts her in victory roll position and falls backward to the canvas, then covers for 1...2...nope. They trade blows in the center of the ring before Trish hits the Chick Kick from out of nowhere and covers for 1...2....nope Victoria kicks out at 2. Trish delivers two swinging neckbreakers then goes for Stratusfaction but Victoria counters, so Trish does a running roll up for 1....2...3 and this one's over, Trish retains the title. After the bell Victoria kicks Trish in the throat which prompts referee Jack Doan to tackle Victoria. Jack tries to restrain Victoria and eventually rolls her out of the ring as JR calls Victoria a vixen.

Time of match: 5:32

Winner: Trish Stratus by pinfall (Still Women's champion)

    We go to Rikishi at The World over in Time's Square to give his 2 cents about the upcoming Hell in a Cell match. Rikishi picks Undertaker to win because of his track record, kind of hard to argue that. Next is a montage of the last month or so's events. My favorite was the Smackdown where Undertaker was chasing Matt Hardy backstage,  Lesnar attacked Taker then executed the F-5 to him on bags of popcorn. We then are treated to the whole Tracy storyline where Taker admits to not having seen her in 7 years, also my favorite where Tracy attempts to slap him across the face but catches him half heartedly behind the ear. Now we never have to say her name again. On to the main event.

Match 8

The Undertaker vs Brock Lesnar (with Paul Heyman) for the WWE Championship in a Hell in a Cell match

Commentators: Michael Cole and Tazz

 Lesnar had been dominating everything his path since his debut, but this would be his toughest challenge to date. Can he survive the the Cell and prove to be a worthy champion or will the dead man reign supreme? Taker enters wearing the cast which was declared legal by Stephanie three days earlier. The bell rings and Taker immediately goes to smash Lesnar's face in with the cast, but Brock moves out of the way. Brock locks in a go behind takedown before Taker runs off the ropes into a powerslam. A pinfall attempt gets 2 then Lesnar drives shoulders into the corner but the charge misses. Undertaker delivers a huge punch to the mid-section then goes on offense as the camera pans to show Lesnar's bandaged forehead. Taker goes to waffle Brock with the cast but Lesnar bails to the outside. Brock tries to go out of the cell but its padlocked so he tries to kick the door in. Taker stalks Brock back inside the ring who puts the boots to him, veteran move by the rookie. Brock attacks the injured arm in the corner before firing away with forearms to the back. Lesnar locks in an armbar on the injured arm before Taker catches him with a big right hand. Taker sends Brock off and nails him with the cast again, Taker grimaces in the corner as Heyman looks concerned then Brock bails to the outside. Brock blades on camera as Heyman screams NOOOO then Taker goes after the open wound of Lesnar. Taker throws Lesnar into the steel steps and Lesnar crashes into the cell as well. Taker begins throwing Lesnar in opposite directions of the cell then actually climbs it a bit to drop a knee on the champion. Taker rakes Lesnar's face against the cell then throws him off the cage into a clothesline. Taker covers for a near fall before raking Lesnar against the steel mesh of the cell. After manhandling Brock on the outside of the ring, Taker finally rolls him onto the ring apron as Tazz says he's never seen the champ dominated like this before. Taker continues to use the cast as a weapon then drops the leg across the face. Taker goes up to the top rope which is weird since there's a cell in the way, then he drops a knee before falling off the apron. Lesnar crumples to the floor as well before Taker covers for 1.....2....nope, too early. Taker throws Lesnar against the cell as Heyman reaches into the cell with his right arm. Taker just looks at him before delivering a right hand to the busted open forehead of the champion. Heyman calls him a bastard so Undertaker turns around and big boots Heyman much to Tazz's delight. Taker throws Lesnar against the steel steps as a busted open Paul Heyman staggers to his feet, only to be grabbed by the tie by The Undertaker through the cell. Taker rams Heyman against the cell using the tie a few times before Lesnar charges only to nail Heyman instead. Taker charges but Lesnar catches him then pancakes him against the cell, the momentum has shifted. Lesnar goes on offense for the first time in about 7 minutes and puts the boots to Taker. Brock grabs the belt that Taker tied around his cast and slips it through the cell into the hands of Heyman, who holds Taker up while Brock buries a chair to the back of the deadman. Lesnar then whacks the arm a bunch of times with the chair until the belt actually breaks in half, ouch. Lesnar tries to rip off the cast but cant so he tries to bite it off, prompting Taker to unload on him with fists. Brock continues to ram Taker's arm into the cell then desperately tries to rip the cast off. Lesnar takes too long to rip it off so Taker boots him in the face. Lesnar rolls Taker back inside and continues to stop on the injured arm as the crowd begins to get antsy. Lesnar FINALLY gets the cast off and rips it in half, yeah you show that cast who's boss!  Lesnar stomps away as Taker tries to cover up the now exposed broken right hand before Lesnar continues to attack, attack, attack. Brock suplexes Taker nut first on the top turnbuckle then rips his bandanna off before landing clubbing blows to the back. Lesnar grabs a hold of the ceiling of the cell and kicks  Taker repeatedly, that's impressive. Taker delivers a low blow then tosses Brock halfway across the ring as Heyman says "Oh please god no!" Taker walks across the top rope using the top of the cell for support then drops an elbow on the champion. Taker covers as Heyman screams...1.....2...nope, got the shoulder up. Lesnar goes to the floor then Taker dives through the ropes onto Lesnar into the cell. Taker goes to pick up the steel steps but his broken hand prevents him from picking them up. Lesnar attacks him then throws him into the cell before finishing with a clothesline. Brock picks up the steel steps and dents Taker's skull in with them, causing Taker to blade really bad. Its funny because Brock's face looks completely clear and the only blood remaining is in his buzz-cut. Brock once again slams the steel steps into Undertaker's cranium as Heyman struggles to get to his feet. Brock heaves the steps over the ring to the other side of the cell as Taker bleeds all over the floor. Brock chokes Taker with his boot against the cell then rolls him inside as Heyman celebrates. Taker completely forgets his injury and rallies with right hands before running into a spinebuster delivered by Lesnar. Brock covers for a near fall before going back on offense, both men appear to be spent. Brock pounds away at Taker in the corner before Taker connects with right hands (again forgetting the injury completely) and a clothesline. Taker stomps on Brock's right had as a form of redemption before giving the sign for Old School, however, he takes too long so Lesnar throws him off the top rope. Tazz makes the dumb comment that Undertaker has never been pinned in a Hell in a Cell, guess he forgot the very first HIAC where he got pinned by Shawn Michaels. Lesnar goes for the F-5 but Taker counters with a chokeslam (again ignoring his "injured" hand) then covers for 1.....2...NOOOOOO, Lesnar gets the shoulder up. Brock staggers to the corner where Undertaker delivers a running avalanche before sending him into the opposite corner. Taker charges but eats boot then Brock gives the sign for the last ride....stealing The Undertaker's finisher. However, Taker counters with a backdrop then delivers his running ddt. Taker covers..1.......2...noooooo, another kick out by Brock. Take gives the sign for the last ride but Lesnar counters with shoulders in the corner. Lesnar climbs the turnbuckle and goes for the 10 punch in the corner routine until Taker counters with the Last Ride out of nowhere. Taker covers...ONE...TWO....THR...nope, Lesnar grabs the bottom rope at the last possible moment. Taker is still bleeding like crazy and Brock is covered in Taker's blood, must not be a good feeling at all. Taker struggles to his feet beaten...spent....exhausted, then he gives the sign for the last remaining hold he knows....the Tombstone Piledriver. Taker goes for it but Lesnar counters by pulling on Taker's pants then putting Taker in the F-5 position. Lesnar BURIES the F-5 and covers for 1....2....THREEE and Lesnar wins it. Wow.....not as bad as I thought it would be, I'd say this was the second best match on the whole card. Lesnar exits the cell and grabs the WWE Title belt then climbs to the top of the cell. Brock poses on top of the cell as Michael Cole shills by saying "Can anyone stop this man?" as we go off the air. 

Time of match: 27:15

Winner: Brock Lesnar by pinfall (Still WWE Champion)

     

 Remember my editorial of King of the Ring where I said the matches were great but the storylines were absurd? Well not only were these storylines much MUCH worse, but the in ring action suffered as well. I will say the seeds were planted for Smackdown to take off as they boasted legitimate talent such as Rey Mysterio Jr, Matt Hardy, Edge, Brock Lesnar, The Guerrero's, Kidman, Tajiri, Kurt Angle and others, but they just needed proper storylines in order for the fans to tune in. The paid attendance for the event was just over 9 thousand fans, almost HALF the amount of the previous years No Mercy. When the second rope broke in the 1st match, that was an ominous sign for the matches that followed. The Raw matches besides Van Dam were mostly boring although once again Smackdown stole the show. Tomorrow night's Raw will be held at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Knoxville, Tennessee. I'll see you there.