Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan
Vengeance 2002 came hot on the heels of a marked shift in the direction of World Wrestling Entertainment.
Since February, the New World Order had tried -and largely failed- to recapture the magic they once had in WCW, only for Scott Hall's firing, the random inclusion of Booker T, and multiple injuries to Kevin Nash all scuppering plans.
In fact, Nash injured himself in March, taken a few months off to recover, and then immedietly reinjured himself in his first match back on Raw, ultimately putting him on the shelf until the spring of 2003.
By this point, Vince McMahon had seen enough.
The following week, he came out to inform fans that he had officially disbanded the nWo once and for all.
Still, those pining for the glory days of World Championship Wrestling didn't have to miss out altogether as Vince introduced another icon of the Monday Night Wars - none other than his former rival Eric Bischoff- as the new Raw General Manager.
With Easy E in charge of Raw and Vince's daughter Stephanie McMahon heading up Smackdown, the stage was set for Vengeance.
Here's what went down:
I Will Strike Down Upon Thee With Great Vengeance
This one had a biblical theme, with the participants in tonight’s main event -Undertaker, Rock, and Kurt Angle- reciting Ezekiel 25:17 as clips played off them looking awesome in the ring.
Yes, I know this is more familiar to people from Pulp Fiction and that most people talk about this video being a nod to that movie, but since the Good Book precedes Quentin Tarantino’s masterpiece by a few thousand years, I think its fair to say that this is the proper source of the reference.
Anyway, It was good stuff that eventually led us to the obligatory opening pyro, crowd shots, and a check-in with The World in New York.
Michael Cole and Tazz then welcomed us to the show, informing us that they’d cover the first half of the event with Jim Ross and Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler taking the second half.
With that, it was onto the ring for our first match of the evening.
Tag Team Table Match
Bubba Ray & Spike Dudley vs. Eddie Guerrero & Chris Benoit
Last seen on PPV at King of the Ring 2001, Chris Benoit had subsequently spent 13 months on the shelf with a broken neck.
The Crippler had recently returned and aligned himself with former Radicalz team mate Eddie Guerrero.
One thing this fan really liked about the duo during this time was that whenever they teamed together they always wore their respective ring gear in matching colours. It was a small touch, but one that definitely helped to present them as a cohesive unit.
Here, the duo spent the first half of the match destroying Bubba Ray Dudley. It was decent, but obviously, it was only when the tables came into play that the match really took off.
At one point, Bubba lay Benoit on a table and lept off the ropes. Benoit moved and Dudley crashed through the table but was allowed to continue since it wasn’t an offensive move.
Later, Spike Dudley put Eddie through a table with a Dudley Drop to the outside in what looked to be a nasty spot.
Benoit then hurled Spike over the ropes on the other side of the ring and eliminated him, but then Bubba planted Benoit through a third table and that was that.
Your Winners: The Dudley Boyz
Backstage, Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff gave an interview to Jonathan Coachman before getting distracted by the arrival of Triple H.
Both Bischoff and The Game’s estranged wife Stephanie McMahon (now Smackdown GM) had been trying to secure his services for their respective brands, and Bischoff was none too happy that Hunter was on his way to negotiate with Steph.
WWE Cruiserweight Championship
WWE Cruiserweight Champion Jamie Noble (w/ Nidia) vs. Kidman
Jamie Noble and Billy Kidman were both talented performers and gave us a fine match, but it just wasn’t the absolute all-out stormer it could have been.
Noble retained his title after a good effort.
Your Winner and Still Cruiserweight Champion: Jamie Noble
Backstage, Kurt Angle’s interview with Marc Lloyd was interrupted by the arrival of Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman.
Heyman reminded Angle that Lesnar had a guaranteed title shot at Summerslam as a result of winning the 2002 King of the Ring and would face the winner of Angle’s match with The Rock and The Undertaker.
Unperturbed, Angle promised Lesnar that when the two did meet, The Next Big Thing would be taken down by the Olympic Gold Medalist.
This was good stuff.
WWE European Championship
WWE European Champion Jeff Hardy vs. William Regal
After a very good, albeit short, battle, The Charasmatic Enigma retained his gold.
Your Winner and Still European Champion: Jeff Hardy
Post match, Hardy was congratulated backstage by both Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan.
Once Jeff left, Hogan told Flair that he was considering going to the top rope and doing a swanton bomb of his own in his match tonight. This prompted Flair to mock Hogan, saying he’d be too slow climbing up to the top and would make a mess of the move.
It was a very funny moment, but the two legends found nothing funny about Bischoff and Stephanie McMahon running the company and questioned whether Bischoff in particular would run WWE out of business.
Chris Jericho vs. John Cena
Yes, ladies and gents, this was the Pay Per View debut of the one and only John Cena.
The future legend had arrived on the scene a few weeks earlier and promptly set about trying to embarrass Kurt Angle before entering into a feud with Chris Jericho.
Tonight, the two went tooth-and-nail in a match which was much better than the unenthusiastic crowd would have you believe.
Moving at a good pace, Cena and Jericho worked hard to deliver an entertaining performance before the rookie scored the upset in his first major win.
Your Winner: John Cena
Out in the back, Eric Bischoff accosted Stephanie McMahon’s lawyer whom she had summoned to deliver some important documents. Fearing that he was about to lose HHH, Bisch’ was livid.
Say what you will about Eric Bischoff, he was always a very entertaining personality in front of the camera.
RVD and Brock are Ready for War
As we moved into the second half of the show, Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler made their way out to take over from Cole and Tazz.
Their first task was to show us clips of Brock Lesnar and Rob Van Dam preparing for their upcoming Intercontinental Championship clash.
This was followed by an ace video highlighting their rivalry which was soundtracked by the kind of dramatic music you’d normally here in the Smackdown video games for the PS2 around this time.
WWE Intercontinental Championship
WWE Intercontinental Champion Rob Van Dam vs. Brock Lesnar (w/ Paul Heyman)
RVD vs. Lesnar was a fine match that ignited the crowd for the first time on the show.
The champion continually countered the challenger’s brute power with quickness and innovative offence and even looked to have the match won.
After a very fine match indeed, RVD hit the Five Star Frog Splash and made the cover, only for Paul Heyman to yank referee Charles Robinson out of the ring and cause the DQ.
The ending was pretty predictable given that Lesnar couldn’t really lose and yet didn’t need the IC belt either, but before that, this was a lot of fun.
Your Winner by DQ: Rob Van Dam
Post match, we got even more fun as Charles Robinson began to rain down on Heyman with the weakest looking punches in wrestling history, only for Lesnar to pick him up and toss him aside like a rag doll.
RVD then came careening off the top rope and took out The Next Big Thing, only for Lesnar to recover and destroy the champion with an F5 onto a steel chair.
He Signed
Naturally, Bischoff jumped to conclusions and began gloating about her inability to sign Triple H.
“He signed,” said Steph, wiping the smirk off the Raw GM’s face before walking away.
Moments later, The Game himself emerged and was railroaded by Bischoff for making the wrong choice.
That’s when Hunter set him straight, informing the former WCW head that the papers he signed were actually his divorce papers and that he still hadn’t decided which brand to work for.
This pleased Easy E no end.
No Disqualification Match
The Big Show vs. Booker T
Booker T and Big Show had been feuding ever since ‘T had been kicked out of the now-defunct New World Order.
Their No DQ match tonight was never going to be the best thing on the card but it was surprisingly more enjoyable than anyone could have expected.
This, of course, was largely due to the sweet spot where Booker ran off the US announce table and scissor kicked Big Show through the Spanish announce table.
This short match didn’t last long after that, but it was fun while it lasted.
Your Winner: Booker T
Meanwhile, over at The World, Torrie Wilson and Dawn Marie argued about who had the best butt.
Time to Play The Game
Just when it looked like The Game was about to side with Steph, none other than Shawn Michaels hit the ring.
HBK reminded us that while Hunter had been out with a minor injury, it was he, Shawn, who had been promising to head to Vengeance and bring his buddy “home” to the nWo before “Big Kev” had gotten hurt and Vince had dissolved that faction.
With the fans all chanting for DX, Michaels reminded HHH how much fun they used to have together, and that seems to do the trick, promoting Hunter to announce he was signing with Raw so that he and HBK could make Bischoff’s life a living hell.
Reacting to Triple H
Backstage, Rikishi expressed his disappointment about Triple H joining Raw, telling Marc Lloyd that it was a big loss to the young guys on Smackdown who looked to The Game as a leader.
Across the way, Terri interrupted Booker T and Goldust to get their thoughts.
Hilariously, Goldust sheepishly covered his crotch when Terri walked in the room. He then stood by while an enlivened Booker ranted about the time Shawn Michaels super kicked him out of the nWo.
“That’s right Booker,” said Goldust. “He may be The Game, but we’re the ones with the bigger joysticks.”
“Imma ignore that,” quipped Booker as Goldie left the room.
This was, as you might expect, a very entertaining segment.
Prior to the next match, we got a brief look back at the rivalry between Edge & Hulk Hogan and Christian & Lance Storm.
WWE Tag Team Championship
WWE Tag team Champions Edge & Hulk Hogan vs. Lance Storm & Christian
It was at that point that the match really kicked up a notch and started to get exciting.
A ref bump allowed to Test to run in for his Canadian team mates, but that wasn’t enough to give Lance Storm and Christian the win, so Jericho had to get involved, interfering to help his fellow countrymen capture the tag team titles.
It wasn’t the best match on the card, but it was a perfectly serviceable tag bout that served a purpose.
Your Winners and NEW Tag Team Champions: Lance Storm & Christian
Out in the back, Eric Bischoff tried to recruit Kurt Angle to Raw, but the Olympic Gold Medalist was far too focused on his match to think about that right now.
Elsewhere, Marc Lloyd asked Stephanie McMahon about Bischoff’s heavy-handed recruitment tactics.
Steph wasn’t concerned about Bischoff, telling Lloyd that she was in direct contact with every Raw superstar and would “rip the heart” out of the red brand.
“What does that mean?” Asked Lawler. “Are you going to Smackdown, JR?”
“Nope, I’m a Raw guy. Besides, I’m not the heart of Raw,” replied Ross. “I may be the butt.”
Bless JR, that was funny.
WWE Undisputed Championship
WWE Undisputed Champion The Undertaker vs. The Rock vs. Kurt Angle
While I can neither confirm nor deny that it is, I can certainly say that it was a damn good match which, though it started slow, got infinitely better as it progressed.
Though the WWE's tried-and-trusted formula of one guy napping on the outside while the other work and then switch certainly came into effect here, it was a formula that was used sparringly and effectively.
For the most part, all three world-class performers worked their asses off to deliver.
There were peaks, there were valleys, there was drama and suspense and everything you'd want from a compelling match.
There was even a five-minute Finisher Fest at the end too, and though I suppose that could be cause for criticism, it, like everything else in this match, worked.
After a gripping 20 minute epic, The Rock drove Kurt Angle into the mat and pinned him to become the new undisputed champion.
Your Winner and NEW Undisputed Champion: The Rock
As JR yelled about how The Rock was the first-ever seven time champion, The Great One posed for the fans and this writer questioned whether having him pin Angle rather than The Undertaker was such a smart move.
Ultimately, I think it was.
Sure, pinning the actual champion rather than the third-man would have added a little more kudos and credibility to The Rock's win, but was The F'N Rock for crying out loud. At this point in the game, he simply didn't need any more kudos or credibility to be considered a worthy champion.
Plus, by the sheer fact alone that he had never been pinned for the gold, The Dead Man would have a legitimate reason to jump right back into the title picture post-Summerslam.
And so Vengeance 2002 was over and had proved to be a decent but hardly spectacular show.
The main event was off-the-page excellent, but the rest of the card was full of those "good but not great" matches which, while they may have been entertaining, didn't really go all out to impress.
Still, this was a watchable show with nothing noticeably terrible going on, so if you're looking for a dose of Ruthless Aggression-era nostalgia capped off with a smoking hot main event, this may be worth your time.
Other 2002 pro wrestling reviews:
- WWF Royal Rumble 2002
- WWF No Way Out 2002
- WWA - The Revolution
- WWF Wrestlemania X8
- WWF Backlash 2002
- WWF Insurrexion 2002
- WWE Judgement Day 2002
- NWA-TNA: Weekly PPV #1
- WWE King of the Ring 2002
- WWE Vengeance 2002
- WWE Global Warning 2002
- WWE Summerslam 2002
Other WWE Vengeance Reviews:
Be the first to catch the latest Retro Pro Wrestling reviews by following on Facebook, Instagram @retroprofessionalwrestling or Twitter @RetroPWrestling.
1 Comments
Makes you wonder what would have happened with HHH and the nWo if Nash hadn't been injured.
ReplyDelete