WWE at Santander Arena (11/16/02)

Santander Arena

Reading, PA

November 16, 2002

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

Match 1

Batista vs Steven Richards

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

Winner: Batista by pinfall

Match 2

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

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

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

Match 3

Al Snow vs Christopher Nowinsky

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

Winner: Nowinsky by pinfall

Match 4

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

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

Winners: Hurricane and D-Lo by pinfall

Match 5

Kane vs William Regal

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

Winner: Kane by pinfall

Match 6

Justin Credible vs Tommy Dreamer

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

Winner: Dreamer by pinfall

Match 7

Lance Storm vs Rob Van Dam

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

Winner: RVD by pinfall

Match 8

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

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

Winners: Rosey, Jamal and Rico by pinfall

Match 9

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

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

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

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

WWE Sunday Night Heat (11/10/02)

WWE Sunday Night Heat

Fleet Center

Boston, MA

November 10, 2002

Commentators: Jonathan Coachman and Lita

Ring Announcer: Howard Finkel

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

Match 1

Goldust vs Johnny Stamboli

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

Time of match: 5:00

Winner: Goldust by pinfall

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

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

Match 2

Steven Richards vs Aaron Stevens

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

Time of match: 5:49

Winner: Richards by pinfall

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

Match 3

Spike Dudley vs D-Lo Brown

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

Time of match: 5:41

Winner: Spike by pinfall

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

WWE at Giant Center (11/10/02)

Giant Center

Hershey, PA

November 10, 2002

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

Match 1

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

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

Winners: 3 Minute Warning

Match 2

Justin Credible vs Batista

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

Winner: Batista

Match 3

Raven vs D-Lo Brown

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

Winner: D-Lo by pinfall

Match 4

Christopher Nowinski vs Al Snow

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

Winner: Al Snow

Match 5

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

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

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

Match 6

Tommy Dreamer vs Steven Richards in a Singapore Cane Match

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

Winner: Dreamer

Match 7

Goldust and Spike Dudley vs William Regal and Lance Storm

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

Winners: Regal and Storm

Match 8

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

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

Winner: Trish (still Women's Champion)

Match 9

Kane vs Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship

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

Winner: HHH by disqualification (still World Heavyweight Champion)

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

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

Bryce Jordan Center

State College, PA

November 8, 2002

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

Match 1

Rico vs Raven

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

Winner: Raven

Match 2

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

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

Winners: Rosey & Jamal

Match 3

Justin Credible vs Batista

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

Winner: Batista by pinfall

Match 4

Christian vs Bubba Ray Dudley in a Tables Match

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

Winner: Bubba Ray Dudley

Match 5

Test vs Booker T

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

Winner: Booker by pinfall

Match 6

Steven Richards vs Tommy Dreamer in a Singapore Cane Match

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

Winner: Dreamer by pinfall

Match 7

Christopher Nowinski vs Al Snow

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

Winner: Snow by pinfall

Match 8

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

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

Winners: Van Dam & Dudley by pinfall

Match 9

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

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

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

Match 10

Kane vs Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship

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

Winner: HHH by disqualification

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

WWE Sunday Night Heat (11/3/02)

 

WWE Sunday Night Heat

November 3, 2002

Joe Louis Arena

Detroit, Michigan

Commentators: Jonathan Coachman and Lita

Ring Announcer: Howard Finkel

There's a lot going on WWE Raw these days and none of it good although its time for Sunday Night Heat. As per norm, this was taped before Raw started the week before. I already covered the dark matches on the Raw show so let's get right to the action.

Match 1

3 Minute Warning (Jamal and Rosey) with Rico vs Bobby Rude and Mark Maraculi

Yes, THAT Bobby Roode....or Rude in this case. For those that don't remember, Bobby was a Canadian wrestler trained by Val Venis that made his name in TNA before coming to WWE at the end of his career. Maraculi was local talent, not much is known about him. As usual Coach and Lita babble on about that week's Raw so I'll just ignore them. Rosey starts with Rude and Rosey starts with forearms to the back. Rosey taunts Rude as the crowd erupts with a "We want Shawn" chant. Rude ducks the line but runs right into a shoulderblock. Rosey heaves Mark in the ring and makes the tag to Jamal. Jamal runs into a double drop toe hold and a double clothesline. Bobby and Mark waste too much time celebrating so Jamal double clotheslines them down before heaving Rude over the top rope. Jamal clotheslines Maraculi over the top rope as Rico gets in some kicks on Rude over by the heel corner. Rico throws Bobby in the ring as Jamal chokes him in the corner with his boot. Rosey tags in and slingshot splashes Rude in the corner. Rude walks into a kneelift by Jamal. Maraculi heads up top and goes for a flying bodypress but somehow Jamal catches him mid-air for the Samoan drop. Jamal hits the Superfly splash off the top rope but the ref tells him Rosey is legal. Rosey makes the academic cover for 1...2.....3 to win the match. Rude was destined for good things in the future but that bodypress into a Samoan drop was awesome. Rico celebrates with the Samoans as we go to the replay of Jamal's big splash. Just like his older brother, Jamal did a hell of a top rope splash. Coach hypes up the next match, Justin Credible vs Mark Jindrak....yay.

Time of match: 2:53

Winners: 3 Minute Warning by pinfall

Back from break we get our Boot Of The Week which was Kane trying to abduct HHH at the end of Raw. Then we get our recap which was the opening segment of last week's Raw featuring HHH wheeling out the casket, Hurricane making fun of him, Kane running out and causing a scrum, Bischoff  makes the main event a casket match. After this we go to break again. Back from break we get our Overdrive of the Night which is Trish Stratus retaining her title on Raw in the three way match. In real time, Lillian Garcia catches up with the demented Victoria who's hanging around in the bag gathering up weapons in a trash can. Victoria says she got hurt by Trish and had to sweep at night to make rent. She also had to haul garbage in the snow in order to pay bills. Victoria blames Trish for everything and she challenges Trish for the Women's title in a hardcore match at Survivor Series. Victoria says she's going to show her the true feeling of pain and scares Lillian with the kendo stick. We cut to Stevie Richards with Raven who asks what Raven's masterpiece is. Raven tells Stevie he and everyone else will find out next week and to be more concerned about D-Lo Brown. Never understood why Raven and Stevie didn't have a little reunion on camera, oh well. On to the next match.

Match 2

Justin Credible vs Mark Jindrak

As mentioned in the Halifax show, Credible was just wrestling out his contract while Jindrak was being considered for a big push....how big? More on that another time. Bell's gone and they lock up with Credible getting a takedown. Credible messes with Mark and attacks with a knee to the gut. Credible tries an up and over in the corner but Jindrak fakes him out and does a waistlock takedown. Jindrak messes with Justin and delivers a series of dropkicks. Justin begs off then runs into an armdrag takedown. Credible gets a thumb to the eye and chops Mark in the corner. Mark retialliates with right hands and hits a modified stinger splash in the corner. Jindrak rams Credible's head in the corner and hits a sunset flip. Credible grabs the rope and referee Jack Doane tells Credible to cut the crap. Justin chops Mark in the corner again and taunts the crowd before hitting a baseball slide. Credible gets in a chinlock as Coach brings up the Eric Bischoff and Stephanie McMahon kiss that was never mentioned again. Credible rams Mark's head in the corner and punches him down. Mark rallies with left hands but misses the dropkick. Justin covers for a deuce and locks in another chinlock. Jindrak blocks a suplex and hits a vertical one of his own. Jindrak rallies with left hands, a scoop slam and a dropkick. Jindrak runs into a boot in the corner but hits a tilt-a-whirl slam. He covers for 1...2...noooo. Mark puts his head down and eats a forearm to the back but Credible runs into an inverted atomic drop. Mark hits a springboard clothesline off the top rope and covers for 1...2...3 to win the match. Good crash style match and Jindrak looked headed for good things....then wasn't. Coach hypes up our main event next.

Time of match: 5:15

Winner: Jindrak by pinfall

We come back from break with an update from Tough Enough 3. Scott hurt his hand playing volleyball and Lisa suffered a nervous breakdown, quitting. Apparently that was a real breakdown that nearly got the show cancelled. Then we get an ad that Batista is making his Raw debut soon, no more church boxes. Our next Raw recap is the casket match between HHH and Kane where Shawn Michaels popped out of it to help Kane win the match. Also the Elimination Chamber for Survivor Series is booked and Shawn Michaels has been invited to be the sixth and final man for it. We'll get our answer on Raw. Next up is an ad for Scott Steiner to make his WWE return. For which show is yet to be determined. Finally its time for our main event.

Match 3

Steven Richards vs D-Lo Brown

Its a shame the office never really forgave D-Lo Brown for hurting Darren Drozdov as he still got a decent pop for his entrance. Bell rings and they circle to start. Richards back D-Lo in the corner and gets a cheap shot. The ref stops D-Lo from retaliating from some inane reason. D-Lo hiptosses and scoop slams Richards as Lita asks who Raw got in the trade for Big Show. D-Lo gets an armdrag and an armbar in but Steven powers out of it. D-Lo is sent off and stuns Richards with a swinging neckbreaker. D-Lo delivers a second rope elbow and covers for a deuce. D-Lo sends Steven into the opposite corner and is backdropped to the apron. Richards knocks him off with a back elbow smash then throws him back in, Richards takes over with forearms to the back then calls for a suplex. He hits it as Coach says Steven had too much coffee tonight. Lita says eventually someone will get a pinfall with a simple suplex. Steven goes for D-Lo's legdrop with the head shaking but misses completely. D-Lo hits an atomic drop to make Stevie hop around before hitting an inverted run. A clothesline and cover gets a two count but Richards kicks him in the head. Stevie chokes D-Lo on the second rope then pounds away on D-Lo's back in the corner. Steven does a back suplex and covers for a deuce then locks in a chinlock. D-Lo powers out of it, hits the rope and schoolboys Steven for 1......2...nope. Steven clubs on D-Lo's neck and locks in a full nelson before D-Lo elbows his way out of it. D-Lo drops Steven with a flying elbow smash and both men are down. Both men are down for an 8 count before Steven gets up first. D-Lo rallies with right hands to drop Steven and a backdrop. D-Lo flips over Stevie and delivers a scoop slam. Coach and Lita go nuts for the D-Lo Legdrop as he hits it. He covers for 1...2...nope. D-Lo continues to punch away on Steven and goes for Sky High but Steven counters it. Steven runs into the flying heel kick then goes upstairs. Steven kicks D-Lo causing Brown to crotch himself. Steven sets up for a superplex with chops then goes for it. D-Lo counters with SKY HIGH OFF THE TOP ROPE! D-Lo puts his hand on Steven's chest for 1..2....3 to win the match. That was pretty damn good for a one off on Sunday Night Heat. Amazing what happens when there's no bullschmidt, just good wrestling. Coach and Lita says they've never seen a top rope Sky High before. Coach hypes up Raw tomorrow night as he signs off.

Time of match: 7:46

Winner: D-Lo Brown by pinfall

For Sunday Night Heat, that was pretty good. 2 of the 3 matches were better than expected and even the squash match had a young Bobby Roode. At this point, the show was half hour of wrestling and half hour of recaps & commercials. The guys on the show may either be middling mid-carders or guys wrestling out their contracts but at least they're trying. For those that don't know, Mark Jindrak was the original choice to be in the upcoming Evolution stable with Triple H, Ric Flair and Randy Orton. He was even filmed in the vignettes but Triple H argued he didn't fit. They would eventually find a suitable replacement but that's why Jindrak was being showcased around this time. As for the next show, believe it or not its not Raw. For some stupid reason Vince had his Smackdown guys work a house show in Bangor, Maine so I'll see you there.

WWE Sunday Night Heat (10/27/02)

Gaylord Entertainment Center

Nashville, TN

October 27, 2002

Commentators: Jonathan Coachman and Lita

Ring Announcer: Howard Finkel

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

Match 1

Raven vs Cassidy O'Reilly

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

Time of match: 4:25

Winner: Raven by pinfall

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

Match 2

Mark Jindrak vs Mike Owens

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

Time of match: 4:16

Winner: Jindrak by pinfall

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

Match 3

Steven Richards vs Johnny Stamboli

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

Time of match: 5:27

Winner: Richards by pinfall

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

Match 4

Jacqueline vs Molly Holly

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

Time of match: 4:43

Winner: Molly by pinfall

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

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

Toledo Sports Arena

Toledo, Ohio

October 27, 2002

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

Match 1

Mark Jindrak and Johnny Stamboli vs Justin Credible and Steven Richards

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

Winners: Credible and Richards

Match 2

Redd Dogg vs Batista

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

Winner: Batista by pinfall

Match 3

Tommy Dreamer vs Rico

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

Winner: Rico by pinfall

Match 4

William Regal and Lance Storm vs Spike Dudley and The Hurricane

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

Winners: Spike and Hurricane by pinfall

Match 5

Raven vs D-Lo Brown

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

Winner: D-Lo by pinfall

Match 6

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

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

Winners: Trish and Jackie by pinfall

Match 7

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

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

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

Match 8

Test vs Rob Van Dam

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

Winner: Van Dam by pinfall

Match 9

Kane vs Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship

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

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

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

WWE at Kansas Coliseum (10/26/02)

Kansas Coliseum

Wichita, Kansas

October 26, 2002

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

Match 1

Mark Jindrak and Johnny Stamboli vs Steven Richards and Justin Credible

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

Winners: Stamboli and Jindrak by pinfall

Match 2

Redd Dogg vs Batista

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

Winner: Batista by pinfall

Match 3

Rico vs Tommy Dreamer

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

Winner: Dreamer by pinfall

Match 4

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

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

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

Match 5

Rob Van Dam vs Test 

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

Winner: Rob Van Dam by pinfall

Match 6

Raven vs D-Lo Brown

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

Winner: D-Lo Brown

Match 7

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

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

Winners: Molly Holly and Victoria by pinfall 

Match 8

Lance Storm and William Regal vs Spike Dudley and The Hurricane

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

Winners: Spike and Hurricane by pinfall

Match 9

Kane vs Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship

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

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

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

WWE at Landon Arena (10/25/02)

Landon Arena

Topeka, Kansas

October 25, 2002

The superstars of Raw invaded Topeka, Kansas for a Friday night house show. After the God awful Raws the past two weeks, fans could breathe easier knowing the tasteless skits wouldn't be on house shows....right? Anyway we got some ex-WCW guys in Johnny Stamboli and Mark Jindrak take on ECW alumnists Justin Credible and Steven Richards. Deacon Bautista has been rebranded simply Batista and he takes on Redd Dogg, another OVW guy looking for a break. ECW aluminst Tommy Dreamer takes on Rico of 3 Minute Warning and more WCW alumni Lance Storm and William Regal take on ECW star Spike Dudley and WCW guy The Hurricane. Test takes on Rob Van Dam, D-Lo Brown goes one on one with Raven and the tri-main event has the titles on the line. Women's champion Trish Stratus takes on Molly Holly with Jacqueline in Trish's corner and Victoria in Molly's corner. The tag straps are on the line with Chris Jericho and Christian taking on the makeshift team of Jeff Hardy and Bubba Ray Dudley. Finally, World Heavyweight Champion Triple H defends the title against Kane in the main event. Let's get to it.

Match 1

Mark Jindrak and Johnny Stamboli vs Justin Credible and Steven Richards

WWE wanted to take a look at Jindrak and Stamboli, the ex-WCW guys and they put them against the ECW guys in Credible and Richards. Probably due to seniority, Credible and Richards won the match.

Winners: Credible and Richards by pinfall

Match 2

Redd Dogg vs Batista

OVW alumni Batista takes on another OVW guy in Redd Dogg. Batista was transitioning from Deacon Bautista to simply, Batista. They had BIG plans for Batista and he beats Redd Dogg here.

Winner: Batista

Match 3

Tommy Dreamer vs Rico

This entire house show is basically OVW, ECW and WCW guys as Rico takes on Dreamer here. Shockingly, Rico got the duke.

Winner: Rico

Match 4

Lance Storm and William Regal vs Spike Dudley and The Hurricane

And once again we got ECW and WCW guys with the remnants of The Unamericans taking on the motley crew of Spike and Hurricane. Apparently the babyfaces were victorious after Spike hit the Acid Drop on Storm.

Winners: Dudley and Hurricane by pinfall

Match 5

Raven vs D-Lo Brown

Believe it or not, D-Lo was about to be brought back on mainstream TV for a push and he needed a few wins on the house show circuit to be taken seriously again. Raven was wrestling out his contract and Brown got the victory.

Winner: D-Lo Brown

Match 6

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

Molly gets the title shot but has the insane Victoria in her corner, but Trish has backup of her own in the form of Jacqueline. Trish won the match....hooray!

Winner: Stratus (still WWE Women's champion)

Match 7

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

We got 1/3 of TLC with Hardy, Bubba and Christian so this must have been an interesting matchup. Jericho pinned Jeff with the lionsault to retain the titles.

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

Match 8

Test vs Rob Van Dam

If it wasn't for Brock Lesnar, this would have been the King of The Ring Finals. Kind of a random match but RVD takes it with the 5 Star Frog Splash.

Winner: Van Dam by pinfall

Match 9

Kane vs Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship

Raw on Monday raked the eyes of all the fans that watched it with the god awful Katie Vick garbage and it continued with Kane getting another title shot in Topeka. Apparently this match was full of mayhem. Kane went nuts with a steel chair on Triple H, the refs and some of the boys before HHH made his getaway. Why couldn't they just do that on Raw instead of the god awful storyline? Ah well, HHH retains.

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

House shows were known for featuring guys that weren't on television as either a sub or for a tryout. Guys like Redd Dogg, Jindrak and Stamboli hadn't been on TV yet while they were grooming D-Lo and Batista for future roles. Like I said, most of the time the terrible storylines on television didn't carry over to house shows and watching Kane take a steel chair to a bunch of hapless referees would have been far more entertaining than what HHH did on Monday. Still, if you can get past the crap, matches featuring Chris Jericho, Christian, Lance Storm and Rob Van Dam at least on paper look good. Unfortunately this show has been lost to time, too bad there weren't smart phones back then. Now this show was Raw's midwest outing, the soliders on Smackdown had a show on this night in Belfast, Ireland as apart of their European tour. Once again Vince McMahon splitting up the rosters allowed him to promote two shows a night.....and people wonder why so many people died young or got burnt out. I'll see you in Belfast for the Smackdown show.

WWE Sunday Night Heat (10/20/02)

OCTOBER 20, 2002

ALLTELL ARENA

LITTLE ROCK, AR

Commentators: Jonathan Coachman & Lita

Welcome to a special edition of Heat as its the night of WWE No Mercy. This entire show will mostly be hype for the upcoming ppv with one match for the DVD most likely. Our hosts are Jonathan Coachman and Lita who's still recovering from her injury. Lita says she's no longer a virgin of pay-per-views and Coach gives her a look. Coach hypes up the main event Hell In A Cell match between The Undertaker and Brock Lesnar for the WWE title and Kane taking on Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship. The WWE tag team title finals as Edge & Rey Mysterio Jr face Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit. Coach sends us to the tag team title tournament highlights which had Edge & Mysterio defeat Brock Lesnar and Tajiri (yes I'm serious). Los Guerreros defeated Mark Henry and Rikishi and Reverend D'Von and Faarooq defeated Billy & Chuck in the first round. Stephanie orders enemies Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit to team together and if they fight, they'll be suspended a year without pay. Angle and Benoit put their differences aside to defeat Billy Kidman and John Cena in the first round only for Los Guerreros to attack Chris Benoit. Angle & Benoit defeat Los Guerreros in the semi-finals with Edge and Mysterio defeating D'Von and Faarooq to set the stage for No Mercy. Edge & Rey can get along, but will Kurt and Chris? Coach hypes up Saliva's Always with Saliva themselves performing at The World....yippie.

Before we go to commercial we get Paul Heyman alone giving his thoughts on Hell In A Cell. He talks about how it ends careers and shortens lives. He mentions Shawn Michaels, Mick Foley and Tim White never was the same after it. Paul says when Brock retains the title, he'll come out a different man and nobodies lives will be better. Talk about long term storytelling. We then get our road schedule with Raw in Nashville tomorrow night, Tuesday night in Memphis, Friday night in Topeka, Saturday night in Witchita, one week from tonight in Toledo and next Monday night in Detroit. Back from commercial, Coach and Lita hype up Tough Enough 3...ugh. We recap the audition process where the superstars went to 25 different people to personally invite them. Somebody named Wendell says he's the best athlete but gets cut for talking back to Al Snow when he half-asses calisthenic drills. Then the crew has to bike for 3 miles with Bill Demott yelling at them then has to run another 3 miles. You gotta be in great shape to survive that. The 13 that survives are the ill fated Matt (Cappotelli), Rebekha, Justin, Jill, Jonah, Eric, Chad, Lisa, Nick, Jamie, Scott, John (Morrison) and Kelly. Out of the 13 that were picked, only two made it to OVW with one a lengthy WWE career. Out of the 11 that didn't make it, only two had minor success. That means only 4 really had any kind of success out of 25 picks....and that's the problem with taking athletes and trying to teach them to wrestle, they might not have the passion. Whereas indy vets that have nothing to lose will never see the big time.

Back to Coach and Lita who hype up the World Tag Team title match between Chris Jericho and Christian taking on Booker T and Goldust. Then we got a grudge match between Ric Flair and Rob Van Dam after Flair turned heel and cost Rob his WHC match with Triple H. We get a highlight of Tim White getting knocked out at Hell in A Cell at Judgment Day and we got to an interview with White himself. He says there's no winners, only survivors and his livelihood was taken away. He never wants to be in another HiAC match ever. One of the commercials is Pete Rose insulting wrestling fans coming to his door for Halloween until the real Kane shows up.

Back to Coach and Lita, they hype up Kane vs Triple H unification title match. We get a montage of all the great Intercontinental champions of the past. Also included is Goldust winning the title, Steve Austin getting paralyzed by Owen Hart, Steve Austin throwing The Rock's belt into the river, Chyna becoming the first women's champion, Kurt Angle becoming the Euro-continental champion and highlights of various matches. They wanted to get rid of the IC title to have just five titles in the company, two sets of tag champs, two sets of world champs and the Cruiserweight champion. We then show Saliva backstage at The World, guess they're up next.

Back from commercial, Coach and Lita sends us to The World in New York City. They interview Saliva who's new CD comes out November 12 called Back Into Your System. They worked with Chris Jericho on King Of The World and Saliva kayfabes saying they want to slap the taste out of his mouth. They explain what their new song is about and they go right into Always. After the song, we go to an interview with The Undertaker who downplays being the "master" of Hell in A Cell saying its not a compliment. Its war and anything goes in the match. Undertaker says he shortened Shawn Michaels' life and Mick Foley's career and he has no idea what he did to himself. He says only he and Lesnar go in, but one man comes out.

Back from commercial we go to the Slam of The Week. Jamie Noble and Nidia were supposed to fight each other with Tajiri as the ref and naturally they turn on Tajiri. Was anyone fooled? Jamie Noble puts the title on the line against Tajiri and then Dawn Marie faces Torrie Wilson....ugh. We then go to the recap of the feud between Kane and Triple H....and its not pretty. Kane enjoys a babyface run culminating in winning the IC title but Eric Bischoff says "One show, one champion. Kane vs Triple H winner take all". Usually title vs title means the IC Champ wins but this is unification rules.....and Triple H goes into the Katie Vick storyline which doesn't need to be told here. Back to Coach and Lita, Lita says Kane may not be 100% in the head and he has to worry about Ric Flair as well. Coach and Lita are going to send it to Michael Cole and Tazz when they come back. But first, we got to Brock Lesnar for an interview. He's not nervous about Hell In A Cell, he's excited. If he beats The Undertaker at his own game, he'd be unstoppable. Lesnar says Taker has won before but he won't tonight. Lesnar says Taker's broken hand will be a factor one way or another. Lesnar says he won't just be WWE Champion but Hell In A Cell champion as well. After commercial we go to our pre-show match.

Match 1

The Hurricane vs Steven Richards

Commentators: Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler

Ring Announcer: Howard Finkel

Last month we had a Smackdown pre-show match and tonight its the Raw crew. Richards attacks Hurricane at the bell but Hurricane counters with a sunset flip. Hurricane eats a back suplex as JR brings up how Chris Jericho and Christian defeated Hurricane and Kane to win the tag straps last Monday. Richards delivers a snap suplex then locks in a surfboard. Hurricane powers out of it and flips over Steven. Hurricane delivers a neckbreaker then a big clothesline. Richards charges but eats elbow and Hurricane hits a neckbreaker off the second rope. Hurricane kicks Richards in the head and covers for 1...2...nope. Hurricane calls for the chokeslam but Richards counters with a knee. Richards hits a Stevie Kick and covers for 1...2...no. Richards puts Hurricane on the top turnbuckle and goes for a superplex. Hurricane knocks Steven off then delivers a vertebreaker. He covers for 1...2....3 to win the match. Short and sweet but Hurricane wins it. Serviceable crash style match that hypes the crowd up for tonight's show.

Time of match: 3:05

Winner: Hurricane by pinfall

JR and King sends us to a montage of the events leading up to tonight. Taker and Lesnar fought to a draw at Unforgiven and Lesnar broke Taker's hand with a propane tank. Stephanie tells Paul Heyman and Brock that Taker will fight Brock in a rematch anyway in Hell in a Cell. Then we get the stupid "Tracy" storyline where she lies about sleeping with Taker and gives one of the worst slaps in wrestling history. Taker says he's going to take it out on Brock at No Mercy. Lesnar intimidates Stephanie and lays out Taker, stomping on Taker's injured hand. Taker fights back and beats up both Heyman & Lesnar before they retreat. Michael Cole and Tazz are in the ring and describe how Hell In The Cell works and how evil the match is. The cell lowers and it would have been funny if Cole and Tazz had an impromptu match inside it. Cole asks will Lesnar finally put an end to the dead man or will Taker keep his master of the cell streak alive? Find out tonight at No Mercy!