Mega Powers Running Wild!

The legendary 'Macho man' Randy Savage teams up with 'The Immortal' Hulk Hogan to take on Ted Dibiase and Andre The Giant in the first ever WWF Summerslam!

Shawn Micahels vs. Mankind

The Heartbreak Kid defends the WWF Championship against Mankind in a thrilling main event at WWF In Your House: Mind Games.

The Birth of the nWo

From Hulk Hogan's shocking turn at WCW Bash at the Beach 1996 to the addition of Ted Dibiase, THe Giant Syxx and more, relive the very beginning of the New World Order.

Austin 3:16 Says I Just Kicked Your Ass

It's one of the most famous promos of all time; Stone Cold Steve Austin wins the 1996 King of The Ring and serves notice on all the WWF superstars. Check it out in our complete review

Wrestlemania 12 Review

The boyhood dream comes true as Shawn Michaels battles champion Bret 'The Hitman' Hart in a classic 1-hour iron man match. Plus, Diesel vs. Undertaker and more.

WCW Fall Brawl 1996 Review

Was Sting in cahoots with the New World Order? Would Lex Luger be able to get along with the Four Horsemen as they faced the nWo in War Games? Find out in this review

Showing posts with label Edge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Edge. Show all posts

Saturday, 12 March 2022

PPV REVIEW: WWE No Way Out 2003

WWE No Way Out 2003 Review - Event poster
February 23, 2003, 
Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

No Way Out 2003 was the first event of this name to come under the WWE name, so it was interesting that the show featured three returning superstars from the glory days of the World Wrestling Federation.

First of all, Hulk Hogan was once again donning the red and yellow after last being seen on PPV back at Vengeance 2002 and taking a break shortly after.

Tonight, he was going up against rising Hollywood star The Rock. The Great One had also enjoyed a lengthy break after Summerslam 2002 and was now heel, a role he was almost forced to play after the crowds began to turn on him due to his growing movie career.

Still, while this was both men's first PPV appearance in months, the real story tonight was that No Way Out 2003 would mark the return of Stone Cold Steve Austin, a man who had famously walked out of the company the previous summer.

Here's what went down when three of WWE's all-time biggest stars returned to action:







A Boring Opening

Long-time Retro Pro Wrestling readers will probably know that I have a certain fondness for the WWE’s opening video packages.

WWE No Way Out 2003 Review - Jerry 'The King' Lawler and Jonathan Coachman call the action


99.9% of the time, they do a great job of setting the scene and getting me pumped up about what I’m about to watch.

This was different though. This was about six seconds of a random computer animation that took us up a flight of stairs to a locked window and then showed some distressed bald dude hanging to some railings.

It was pretty rubbish, but I guess WWE could only get so much mileage out of rolling stock footage of Freddie Blassie chilling out in an abandoned warehouse.

Anyway, with that brief and boring intro out of the way, Jonathan Coachman welcomed us to No Way Out 2003, informing us that since JR had suffered a concussion on Raw, he -Coach- would be sitting alongside Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler tonight.

Chris Jericho vs. Jeff Hardy

As Chris Jericho made his way out for tonight’s opening contest, Coach informed us that Raw GM Eric Bischoff had granted The King of the World’s request to have Shawn Michaels banned from ringside before noting that this was the first WWE PPV in Montreal since Survivor Series 1997.

WWE No Way Out 2003 Review - Chris Jericho puts Jeff Hardy in the Walls of Jericho


The match soon got underway and quickly turned into an exciting opener that remained utterly compelling from start to finish.

With the crowds torn between rooting for fellow countryman Jericho and perennial babyface Hardy, both gave it their all before a hot crowd who hung on every move.

After a solid effort, the self-proclaimed King of the World countered a top-rope hurricanrana attempt with a superbomb before locking his adversary in the Walls of Jericho.

The Charasmatic Enigma tried to hold on, but when he found himself dragged into the middle of the ring with no chance of escape, he had no choice but tap out and give the match to his opponent.
Your Winner: Chris Jericho

Post match, Jericho refused to relinquish his hold on Hardy, prompting HBK to rush to the rescue.

Unsurprisingly, the man whose name will be forever linked to the Montreal Screwjob received a frosty reception.

At least he did until Christian ran into help out his running mate, at which point Michaels managed to win the audience over by taking both men out with a double DDT, delivering a clothesline to the outside on Y2J and a well-placed Sweet Chin Music to Christian.

A Team Angle Pep Talk

WWE No Way Out 2003 Review - Team Angle talk tactics before their big match


Out in the back, Kurt Angle blasted the Canadian audience and promised that tonight, he, Shelton Benjamin, and Charlie Haas would prevail over Brock Lesnar, Edge, and Chris Benoit because there was simply no way that Team Angle could lose to “a walking gorilla and two Canucks.”

The Olympic Gold Medalist looked set to talk strategy with his two henchmen, but before we could hear what he had to say, we cut to the parking lot where Evolution arrived in a limousine.

Tonight, Evolution leader Triple H would defend the World Heavyweight Championship against Scott Steiner, but first, this:

WWE World Tag Team Championship
WWE Tag Team Champions William Regal & Lance Storm vs. Rob Van Dam & Kane

WWE No Way Out 2003 Review -  Lance Storm and William Regal


Though the general consensus seems to be that this match wasn’t all that good, this fan in particular enjoyed it very much.

Relatively short, this one made Lance Storm and William Regal look like credible, fighting champions, even if they did only pick up the win when Kane accidentally chokeslammed RVD due to having his vision impaired by an Ill-placed match.
Your Winners and Still Tag Team Champions: Lance Storm & William Regal

Out in the back, Matt Hardy was about to talk about how he miraculously cut weight in order to challenge for the cruise weight title when he was distracted by the appearance of his brother, Jeff Hardy.

WWE No Way Out 2003 Review -  Matt Hardy confronts his brother, Jeff


Confronting his clearly wounded sibling, the Master of Mattitude insisted that Jeff would actually begin winning some matches if he started following his brother’s teachings.

Rather than get into it, Jeff simply slapped the taste out of V1’s mouth and walked off, leaving an irate Matt to be restrained by his lackey, Shannon Moore.

WWE Cruiserweight Championship
WWE Cruiserweight Champion Billy Kidman vs. Matt Hardy V1 (w/ Shannon Moore)

WWE No Way Out 2003 Review -  Matt Hardy is annoyed by snow and Ice.


As I’ve mentioned in the past, I’d stopped actively watching wrestling by 2003, so when I eventually came back to it, I was always confused how Matt Hardy -a man who was clearly no Cruiserweight- had managed to compete in the division.

The explanation here that he’d had to work hard to cut weight made a lot of sense, but unfortunately, it didn’t make for a great match.

Don’t get me wrong, there was nothing particularly wrong with this one, but the crowd clearly weren’t into it and that had a negative impact on the way this one played out.

After a decent but kinda blah match, Hardy hit Billy Kidman with an admittedly excellent Twist of Fate to capture a title which he really had no rights competing for in the first place.
Your Winner and New WWE Cruiserweight Champion: Matt Hardy

Backstage, Brock Lesnar and Chris Benoit tended to Edge, who had been mysteriously laid out backstage at the hands of an unknown assailant.

Smackdown GM Stephanie McMahon and a gaggle of officials also came to the former Intercontinental champions aid, but it looked like Edge was officially out of action for tonight.

Not just tonight, either. By all accounts, this was just a way to write Adam Copeland off TV so that he could have surgery for a recent injury.

We wouldn’t see him again until the following year.

The Big Show (w/ Paul Heyman) vs. The Undertaker

WWE No Way Out 2003 Review -  The Big Show vs. The Undertaker


Prior to the match, we got a look back at how The Undertaker had returned to action to get revenge on Big Show for taking him out of commission in the fall.

Show had been awol, but had sent Big Evil a number of gifts, including Brian Kendrick dressed as a bell boy, ‘Taker’s first manager, Brother Love, and, for some reason, a singing Chris Kanyon.

The Dead Man had destroyed all of them and now, tonight looked to destroy Big Show in a better-than-average big man brawl.

Though it was far from a classic, the two did the best with what they had to make sure that this, the longest match on the card, never felt boring or sluggish.

After a decent effort, a busted open ‘Taker got his revenge by drilling Show to the mat for the cover, the count, and the fall.
Your Winner: The Undertaker

Backstage, Edge was wheeled into an ambulance, confirming that we wouldn’t see him compete tonight.

Elsewhere, Chief Morley and Eric Bischoff talked about what a good team they had behind them, only for Vince McMahon to inform them that if anybody got involved in Bischoff’s match with Stone Cold Steve Austin, they’d be fired on the spot.

Handicap Match
WWE Champion Kurt Angle & WWE Tag Team Champions Shelton Benjamin & Charlie Haas (w/ Paul Heyman) vs. Brock Lesnar & Chris Benoit

WWE No Way Out 2003 Review - Team Angle ready for action


As the combatants made their way out for tonight’s match, Michael Cole informed us that Stephanie had given Brock & Benoit the option to choose another partner but they had refused, instead opting to take on Team Angle in a 2 vs. 3 handicap match.

This turned out to be a good match that could have -perhaps should have- been much better.

Though you had a whole bunch of talented performers here, the match took a while to really kick it up a gear, and even then, it wasn’t until the final minute or so that we got the kind of balls-to-the-wall wrestling spectacular it had the potential to be all along.

Perhaps expectations were just too high given the caliber of performers involved, but while this was certainly the best match of the night so far, this ram expected a little more.

In the end, Benoit made Charlie Haas tap to the crossface while Lesnar took out his rival, Angle, with an F5.
Your Winners: Brock Lesnar & Chris Benoit

Prior to the next match, we got a look back at the rivalry between Triple H and Scott Steiner, and how they feud had led to the World Heavyweight Champion forming the Evolution stable to back him up.

Those two would be in action next.

WWE World Heavyweight Championship
WWE World Heavyweight Champion Triple H (w/ Ric Flair) vs. Scott Steiner

This was far, far from the best match on the card, but it was certainly the most interesting in terms of fan reaction.

WWE No Way Out 2003 Review -  HHH and Scott Steiner go nose-to-nose


Despite being the babyface here, Steiner’s shit-show of performance back at the 2002 Royal Rumble meant that he was routinely booed by the Montreal faithful while dastardly heel HHH was cheered every time he struck an offensive move.

The biggest heel of the match, however, was referee Earl Hebner, who received a hostile reception for his role in the Montreal Screwjob five years earlier.

In fact, Hebner’s mere presence here overshadowed everything the two combatants did, and when Hunter got into a shoving match with the official, it received the biggest pop of the night so far.

After a somewhat lackluster effort that was, at least, marginally better than their Rumble outing, we got an inevitable run-in from Batista and Randy Orton.

That distracted the challenger long enough to be whacked in the face with the world title belt by his opponent.

That didn’t quite put him away, but a quick pedigree a few moments later did.
Your Winner and Still World Heavyweight Champion: Triple H

Post-match, the champion made his way triumphantly to the back, being congratulated by Orton.

Eric Bischoff vs Stone Cold Steve Austin

WWE No Way Out 2003 Review -  Steve Austin returned


Prior to this one, we got a look back at the storyline which basically amounted to Bischoff failing to resign Austin, Austin deciding to come back anyway, and Vince McMahon booking the two against one another.

Jim Ross then came out, ostensibly to help call the action, but really just to cheer on his buddy Steve Austin as he whooped Bischoff from pillar to post.

It would be a stretch to call this a match, but it was fun to see Austin do his thing to the absolute delight of the Montreal faithful.
Your Winner: Stone Cold Steve Austin

Afterwards, Austin celebrated his return while Jim Ross absolutely lost his shit.

I’m not exaggerating either.

I get that Ross was out there to put over Austin’s return, but his level of over-the-top enthusiasm was ridiculous.

It was hilarious at first, but then it was just sadly kind of embarrassing and I actually felt bad for JR.

The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan

WWE No Way Out 2003 Review -  The Rock puts Hulk Hogan in a sharpshooter for the ages


By this time, The Rock was one of the fastest rising stars in Hollywood but had no problems coming back to WWE to assist Vince McMahon in his rivalry with Hulk Hogan.

That had brought us to tonight, a rematch from Wrestlemania X8 that was never going to live up to the original but was still entertaining enough in its own right.

At least it was until the finish.

After hitting The Rock with a big hoot and leg drop of doom, Hogan made the count but the lights in the arena went off before the referee -Sylvian Greenier- could count to three.

When they came back up, Hogan and Greenier were both out and a chair had been placed in the middle of the ring.

Vince McMahon then made his way out, distracting Hogan long enough for The Great One to destroy his opponent with a chair.

At that point, referee Greenier sprang to his feet, revealing himself as in cahoots with Rock and McMahon, and made the three count.
Your Winner: The Rock

“It’s a Screwjob! It’s a Screwjob!” Yelled Michael Cole in the most obviously rehearsed fashion ever.

Seriously, it was very apparent that Cole had been waiting for the whole match just for his moment to say that line.

As he did so, McMahon mocked and ridiculed a battered Hogan to bring No Way Out 2003 to a close.

——







All in all, WWE No Way Out 2003 is a difficult show to sum up. None of the matches were outright terrible (not even HHH/Steiner II), but you almost got the sense that many of the company's major players were either holding back or simply having an off night, resulting in matches which were never quite as a good as they had the potential to be.

Still, there was a lot of fun to be had here. Austin's return was entertaining, the handicap match was still good even though it could have been better, and the whole Rock/Hogan thing was as good as it was going to get right up until the rather necessary finish. 

Ultimately then, despite featuring the PPV returns of  three all-time greats, No Way Out 2003 wasn't a very significant show, nor is it something anyone need go out of the way to watch. 



Other 2003 pro wrestling reviews: 
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Friday, 18 February 2022

PPV REVIEW: Armageddon 2002

WWE Armageddon 2002 Review - Event Poster
December 15, 2002
Office Depot Center, Sunrise, Florida

Armageddon 2002 came at the end of a big period of change for WWE.

With the Invasion angle now but a distant memory, the company had gone into the New Year with a bloated roster, leading to the creation of the first roster draft.

Shortly after, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) became World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), and, shortly after that, one of the company's biggest stars of the previous decade, Shawn Michaels, had returned to action following a four-year hiatus.

In another landmark moment for 2002, the Elimination Chamber was invented and took place at Survivor Series '02, giving Michaels a World Heavyweight Championship win and quickly re-establishing himself as the main event attraction that he was.

Tonight, Michaels would head back to the main event to defend that title against former friend turned bitter rival, Triple H, while on the undercard, the WWE's last PPV of the year would see young stars like Dave Batista and John Cena start their journey to the top.




Here's what went down when Armageddon 2002 came to Sunrise, Florida.

The End is Here

WWE Armageddon 2002 Review - Jim Ross and Jerry 'The King' Lawler called all the action


Tonight’s show began with all of WWE’s trademark opening video staples.

You wanted an elderly Freddie Blassie waxing philosophical like he’d done in countless other videos in the past?

You got it.

You wanted shots of that abandoned warehouse they always showed?

You got that too.

You wanted that bad ass rip-off of The Doors’ that featured on several other PPVs?

Here it was!

You wanted shots of wrestlers interspersed with random pictures of missiles and war-torn lands?

Yep, you got that too.

Ok, so it wasn’t the most impressive video of all time, but it was still mighty good.

With the video over, we got crowd shots and a greeting from our announcers Jim Ross & Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler who led us right into our opening match.

Four Team Elimination Match for the WWE World Tag Team Championship
World Tag Team Champions Chris Jericho & Christian vs. The Dudley Boyz (D-Von & Bubba Ray Dudley) vs. Lance Storm & William Regal vs. Booker T & Goldust

WWE Armageddon 2002 Review - The Dudley Boyz go WASSUP!


I’ve got to be honest with you, dear readers, this match was a bit of a letdown, at least in the early going.

After a few minutes of decent but unremarkable action, the recently reunited Dudley Boyz got taken out, followed quickly by Lance Storm and William Regal, denying this fan of the opportunity to see some kind of interaction between Storm and his former Thrillseekers partner, Chris Jericho.

With those two teams out of the running, Jericho and Christian went at it with Booker T and Goldust in what turned out to be a fun and explosive exchange.

It was good stuff, but I couldn’t help but feel that the match would have been a lot better had they kept it as a straight 2 vs. 2 between the two remaining teams.

After a good effort, Booker put Jericho away to capture the gold for his team.
Your Winners and New Tag Team Champions: Booker T & Goldust

Post-match, the new champions were interviewed at ringside by Jonathan Coachman, with The Booker Man putting his partner over and working the crowd.

Will Brock Be in Angle’s Corner?

WWE Armageddon 2002 Review - Josh Mattews interviews Brock Lesnar


Out in the back, Smackdown backstage reporter Josh Matthews asked Brock Lesnar whether he would be in Kurt Angle’s corner tonight against WWE Champion The Big Show.

Rather than give Matthews a straight answer, The Next Big Thing simply promised to make an impact on tonight’s show.

Edge vs. A-Train

WWE Armageddon 2002 Review - Edge faced A-Train


I don’t know about you, but A-Train was always one of those wrestlers who -though he wasn’t terrible in the ring- I certainly never had any desire to watch wrestle.

He got his way into this match by virtue of beating up Edge’s buddy and tag partner Rey Mysterio before costing the future Rated R Superstar a shot at the title.

The match was surprisingly enjoyable. Not amazing by any stretch, but certainly a solid performance from both men.

After a good outing with a couple of exciting near falls, A-Train got fed up and blasted Edge in his supposedly injured knee with a chair.
Your Winner via DQ: Edge

Afterwards, Edge went loco and destroyed his nemesis with the chair, much to the delight of the audience.

Big Show Wants Respect

WWE Armageddon 2002 Review - The Big Show demands respect


Backstage, an angry Big Show ranted to Paul Heyman about not getting any respect. For some reason that I couldn’t quite follow, he had decided they the best way to get it was to barge into Stephanie McMahon’s office.

Before he could do that, however, the champion’s agent, Paul Heyman convinced him to go prepare for his match instead, insisting that he, Heyman, would handle everything.

WWE Tag Team Champion Eddie Guerrero vs. Chris Benoit

WWE Armageddon 2002 Review - Eddie Guerrero faced Chris Benoit


With Michael Cole informing us that the winner of this match would inevitably get a title match, both Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero made their way to the ring with purpose.

As they did so, you got a distinct feeling that this was about to be a show stealer and proverbial Match of the Night candidate

Unfortunately, these two talented performers failed to live up to expectations on this particular night.

The first half of the match saw Guerrero and Benoit focus on a mat-based approach with lots of holds and chain wrestling. It was solid, but unfortunately, it only served to elicit a noticeable “boring”
chant from the Florida faithful.

The two would occasionally liven things up by trading rolling German suplexes or having Guerrero leap off the top to the outside with a big time crossbody on his former Radicalz teammate, but then it was back to basics.

Things picked up towards the finish (which saw Eddie tap to the Crossface) but by that point it was too little, too late.

This was a fine match, for sure, but just not what the crowd wanted to see and by no means either man’s best outing.
Your Winner: Chris Benoit

WWE Armageddon 2002 Review - Paul Heyman and Stephanie McMahon


Back in Stephane McMahon’s office, the Smackdown GM refused Paul Heyman’s request to ban Brock Lesnar from being in Kurt Angle’s corner tonight.

Steph refused, prompting Heyman to sweat that if Lesnar did get involved tonight, Big Show would break his neck.

No lie, the interaction between Steph and Heyman was one of the most entertaining things on the show so far.

Dawn Marie Seduces Torrie Wilson

WWE Armageddon 2002 Review - Al Wilson and Dawn Marie


Up next, we saw a video package of the time Dawn Marie promised to call off her marriage to Al Wilson if his daughter Torrie Wilson spent the night with her in her hotel room.

This was followed by Dawn and Al coming to the ring where the former began rolling footage from said hotel room where she began to seduce Torrie.

The live crowd ate it up, but, honestly, it wasn’t sexy in the slightest. It was weird and uncomfortable and this writer for one was glad when Al Wilson put his foot down and ordered Dawn Marie to
Stop.

That was horrible.

Kane vs. Batista (w/ Ric Flair)

Batista hit the ring to what sounded like a demo version of his signature “I Walk Alone” theme while Jim Ross told us that the future champion was making his PPV debut here.

WWE Armageddon 2002 Review - Batista and Ric Flair


Ross wasn’t wrong here, this was certainly his PPV debut match, but he’d technically appeared before as Reverend D-Von’s hired muscle back at Judgement Day 2002.

With Ric Flair in his corner, Batista went up against Kane in a match that was…OK.

Sure, it was competently performed and a strong effort from both men, but the match simply wasn’t that interesting or exciting.

What’s more, the regular interference from Flair (who was the most popular man in the whole thing) took the shine of his rising star protege.

After a so-so outing, Batista put away Kane for the three.
Your Winner: Batista

Out in the back, Kurt Angle searched for Brock Lesnar…

Cena Raps

Up next, heel John Cena came out with Bull “B-12” Buchanan in tow to spit lyrics about how awesome he was.

WWE Armageddon 2002 Review - John Cena raps raps raps


The whole thing, which sounded more like slam poetry than actual rapping, was greeted with near silence from the crowd.

WWE Women’s Championship
WWE Women’s Champion Victoria vs. Trish Stratus vs. Jacqueline

Prior to the match, we were taken back to Survivor Series 2002 where Victoria beat Trish Stratus for the women's championship, after which she stole Jacqueline’s clothes for no other reason than the fact that she was supposed to be off her rocker.

WWE Armageddon 2002 Review - Trish Stratus vs. Victoria vs. Jacqueline


The match was a good effort by all three women but, much like the previous bout, did almost nothing to capture the imagination and compel you watch.

After several minutes, the reigning champion picked up the fall to continue her big-time push.
Your Winner and Still WWE Champion: Victoria

After the match, a victorious Victoria stole Jacqui’s hat and took it to the back.

Time for Retribution

Out in the back, Kurt Angle tried to persuade Brock Lesnar to be his corner for tonight’s WWE title match by reminding him that he would be only 20ft away from the man who screwed him out of the gold, Paul Heyman.

In a compelling segment, Lesnar refused to confirm that he’d be there, but did promise that Angle wouldn’t regret helping to get his recent suspension lifted.

This was followed by a video package highlighting the Lesnar/Angle/Show/Heyman storyline before we went down to our penultimate match of the evening.

WWE Championship
WWE Champion The Big Show (w/ Paul Heyman) vs. Kurt Angle

WWE Armageddon 2002 Review - The Big Show clobbers Kurt Angle


This was a decent match that was hampered by having the Lesnar appearance tease lingering overhead.

Angle tried to use his speed and agility to get the better of Big Show in the early going, but the champion countered by using his strength and size to his advantage and wearing The Olympic Gold Medalist down.

It was as good as you could ask for from a match involving The Big Show, but it was met with reserved applause from an audience who were clearly just waiting for Lesnar to show up.

In fact, when the referee got knocked down along with the two combatants, the crowd merely chanted “We want Brock!”

They would, of course, get him, but not before A-Train ran in with a completely random attack on the challenger.

Eventually, The Next Big Thing hit the ring while official Mike Chioda was napping and hit Show with an F-5.

It got the biggest response of the whole match and led to Angle covering Show to capture his third WWE title.
Your Winner and New WWE Champion: Kurt Angle

Prior to the main event, Rob Van Dam came to us live from The World to give us his prediction.

Though he’d been in the ring with both men and knew how tough they were, The Whole F’N Show gave the nod to Michaels, noting that there was nothing he loved more than seeing Triple H get his ass kicked.

Three Stages of Hell Match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship
WWE World Heavyweight Champion Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H (w/ Ric Flair)

I’ve read numerous complaints from other reviewers who say that something about this match just didn’t click or wasn’t quite right.

WWE Armageddon 2002 Review - Triple H prepares to hurt Shawn Michaels with a flaming barbwire 2x4



Honestly, I’m not sure I agree with them.

This was a good match. It didn’t live up to their awesome unsanctioned match back at Summerslam 2002, but it was enjoyable in its own right.

Both champ and challenger wasted no time in going at one another with fists, fury, and a flurry of weapons as they battled in a street fight.

Triple H won that round after planting HBK with his patented pedigree.

The second fall was a cage match, and it’s here where I’ve seen this contest draw the most criticism, as surely it would have been better to end the match on that one?

Again, I don’t agree with that criticism as it allowed both men to masterfully tease a spot where Michaels would have crashed off the cage through a two-tier stack of four tables, leaving fans wanting more.

They didn’t get it at that moment. Instead, they rolled back into the ring where Ric Flair’s interference infuriated the champion to the point where we got a great spot in which the defending champion simply went ape shit on his adversaries.

This entertaining part of the match saw HBK take out both Flair and Hunter before pinning the latter to even the score.

Blood soaked and battered, the two men intensified their fight in the third and final fall, a ladder match.

Separately, both men had given us better ladder matches than this one, but it was still gripping in its own right.

After six or seven minutes of war, The Showstopper took out his rival then slowly dragged his weary body up the ladder in pursuit of the gold.

Before he could make it however, the challenger recovered and toppled the ladder, sending Michaels crashing out of the ring and through the four tables…just as he’d teased earlier:

The spot -which certainly cool- pretty much killed The Heartbreak Kid, giving the game all the time he needed to scale the ladder and reclaim the title he’d lost one month earlier at Survivor Series.
Your Winner and NEW World Heavyweight Champion: Triple H

As the show went off the air, a destroyed Shawn Michaels lay comatose on the outside while his nemesis scaled the top rope, his face a bloody mess but his hand holding a loft the championship.






Speaking of blood, the one thing I didn’t mention was that during Flair’s run-in, the Nature Boy blades and proceeded to seriously gush.

I don’t mean he bled just a little, I mean he bled like he was competing on an NWA show booked by Dusty Rhodes back in the 80s.

I mean more blood than any of the two men actually competing in the match.

Anyway, Armageddon 2002 wasn’t the greatest PPV in the world but, then again, WWE’s December offerings have rarely ever been considered all-time classic shows.

The main event was the highlight of the night for me, though Benoit/Guerrero was also an enjoyable performance.

Given that the worst two things on the show weren’t matches at all but rather the Cena rap and that awful Dawn Marie business, I’m happy to say that this was at the very least a decent show.


Tuesday, 8 February 2022

PPV REVIEW: WWE Survivor Series 2002

WWE Survivor Series 2002 Review - Event poster
November 17, 2002
Madison Square Garden, New York, New York

At first, I was going to begin this Survivor Series 2002 review by saying that, for all intents and purposes, this could have just been any other show. 

Indeed, the days of stacking a Survivor Series card from top-to-bottom with teams of four or five facing each other in a series of elimination matches were long gone.

And while World Wrestling Entertainment had continued to use the traditional Survivor Series elimination match sparingly throughout the 90s, they had still been a popular part of the show.

Tonight, they were no such matches outside of an opening six-man which, again, could have been on any other show.

But that doesn't mean that the company had abandoned the survival concept altogether. 

They'd simply refreshed and revitalised it for the new millenium, giving us not your usual tag team affair, but instead, a deadly new concept called Elimination Chamber. 






Far from the played out, over-polished non-spectacle that today gets its very own pay per view, the Elimination Chamber was a genuinly cool and exciting gimmick back in 2002, but don't just take my word for it.

Here's what went down when Survivor Series 2002 came to Madison Square Garden.

Welcome to The World’s Most Famous Arena

WWE Survivor Series 2002 Review - Jim Ross & Jerry 'The King' Lawler called all the action

Tonight’s opening video wasn’t one of WWE’s greatest but it still did a solid job of making tonight’s event seem huge.

On the Smackdown side of things, the video focused on Brock Lesnar defending his WWE title against The Big Show while Raw’s focus was on Eric Bischoff creating the monstrous Elimination Chamber in which the World Heavyweight Championship would be up for grabs.

With that, it was onto pyro and crowd shots galore as Saliva’s Always played and Jim Ross welcomed us to The World’s Most Famous Arena.

JR and his broadcast colleague Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler hyped up the Elimination Chamber before we got onto our first contest of the evening.

00.05.23 - 3 MINUTES WARNINg

Six Man Tables Match
Jeff Hardy, Bubba Ray Dudley & Spike Dudley vs. Rico & Three Minute Warning (Rosey & Jamal)

WWE Survivor Series 2002 Review - Rico teamed with 3 Minute Warning

You know, I’m watching this after being completely burned out on wrestling for months and coming nowhere near this blog.

Sitting down to watch this incredibly enjoyable six man match reminds me why the hell I love wrestling in the first place.

If you ignore a weird spot at the beginning where Rosey & Jamal held Spike Dudley in place outside the ring for half an hour waiting for Jeff Hardy to dive over the ropes onto them, and if you ignore the spot where Rosey failed to catch Jeff coming off the ropes and the crowd all chanted “you f**ked up!” at him, everything about this match was fantastic.

Spike Dudley got taken out early on before Hardy took Rosey out into the crowd and hit the exact same Swanton-off-the-stands spot he’d done back at Royal Rumble 2000.

The Charismatic Enigma then got taken out himself, leaving Bubba Ray Dudley against Jamal and Rico.

The former got planted with a top rope powerbomb through the table, but before Bubba could win the match, both members of Three Minute Warning returned and helped Rico beat him down.

At that point, Bubba’s former tag team partner and then-current Smackdown star D-Von Dudley rushed out wearing full Dudley Boyz regalia and helped his old pal win the match.
Your Winner and Sole Survivor: Bubba Ray Dudley

That match was superb, and the Dudleyz reunion led to such a huge pop from the MSG faithful that you couldn’t help but enjoy it.

Saliva Perform

Over at The World, Stacy Kiebler introduced us to Saliva who performed the show's theme song, while we got a look at the remaining matches on this card.

WWE Cruiserweight Championship
WWE Cruiserweight Champion Jamie Noble (w/ Nidia) vs. Billy Kidman

WWE Survivor Series 2002 Review - Billy Kidman faced Jamie Noble

Although very different from the last match, this was still nonetheless highly enjoyable.

The two former WCW stars battled back and forth in a high-octane Cruiserweight battle with as many near-falls and high spots as you could ask for.

After a top quality battle, Kidman hit the SSP on Jamie Noble to capture the gold.
Your Winner and New Cruiserweight Champion: Billy Kidman

Backstage, Kurt Angle expressed his conviction that if Billy “Freakin’” Kidman could win the Cruiserweight title then he and Chris Benoit should have no problems winning the tag team titles tonight.

WWE Survivor Series 2002 Review - Chris Benoit & Kurt Angle


The estranged partners once again bickered about who the team captain was before agreeing to put their differences aside tonight.

Across the way, Chris Jericho psyched himself up for tonight’s elimination match.

Victoria Is Crazy

Over in the women’s locker room, we saw CCTV footage of Victoria courtesy of the short-lived “F-View,” a rehash of the I’ll-fated GTV which, in the storyline, had been implemented by Eric Bischoff to spice up Raw.

The footage showed us Victoria talking to herself in a mirror about how much she hated Trish Stratus before finally deciding to trash both the mirror and a Trish cut out.

This was followed by a video package recapping the rivalry between the two women.

If you need a refresher, the basic story involved Victoria being mad that despite WWE previously being interested in both women, she had been robbed of her opportunities by the women’s champion.

Their match was next

Hardcore Match for the WWE Women’s Championship
WWE Women’s Champion Trish Stratus vs. Victoria

WWE Survivor Series 2002 Review - Trish Stratus vs. Victoria

I’m going to be honest, this was much better than I expected it to be.

That’s not taking anything away from the talent of Trish and Victoria, just that most hardcore matches were usually anything but the highlight of the show.

This wasn’t the highlight either, but it was still a fun match in which the two women used the hardcore gimmick to its full advantage and came up with some unique, entertaining spots.

After a good battle, Victoria captured her first WWE women’s title by blasting her rival with a fire extinguisher then drilling her with a float-over snap suplex.
Your Winner and New WWE Women’s Champion: Victoria

Out in the back, Booker T warmed up for the Elimination Chamber.

Elsewhere in the arena, Jonathan Coachman asked Eric Bischoff what we could expect from tonight’s main event.

Bischoff answered by bigging himself up before he was interrupted by The Big Show.

Show warned the Raw GM that he had made a big mistake by trading him to Smackdown, all of which led us nicely to Show’s upcoming opponent, Brock Lesnar.

WWE Survivor Series 2002 Review - Paul Heyman & Brock Lesnar

As the WWE Champion pounced, his manager Paul Heyman expressed how nervous he was that Lesnar wouldn’t be able to get the job done tonight.

Alas, Heyman vowed that his “client” would leave with the title tonight.

Ooh, ominous

WWE Championship
WWE Champion Brock Lesnar (w/ Paul Heyman)

Before the bell sounded, we got a video package that showed Big Show dominating the hell out of everyone while Heyman constantly reminded Lesnar that there was no way he could beat his opponent.
Like the previous match, this one delivered beyond expectations.

WWE Survivor Series 2002 Review - Brock Lesnar vs. Big Show

Both champ and challenger then went at it in a short but explosive match which saw them demonstrate their brute power to full effect.

Show manhandled his opponent multiple times, but The Next Big Thing would always mount a comeback, even taking his larger adversary to Suplex City on a number of occasions, all to the jaw-dropping admiration of the MSG faithful.

Speaking of jaw-dropping, Heyman’s chin nearly hit the floor when Brock leveled the challenger with an F5, but then the cowardly former ECW manager revealed his true colors by preventing the referee from making the three count.

Realising he’d been betrayed, Lesnar gave chase but got walloped by a chair courtesy of Big Show.
One pinfall later and Big Show won the WWE championship for the second time at the very same event where he won his first one.
Your Winner and New WWE Champion: The Big Show

Afterwards, the new champ and his new manager fled in a waiting limo.

A video package for the upcoming tag team title match followed, as did a shot of Al Wilson his new fiancé Dawn Marie hanging out in the crowd.

Triple Threat Elimination Match for the WWE Tag Team Championship
WWE Tag Team Champions Edge & Rey Mysterio vs. Eddie & Chavo Guerrero vs. Kurt Angle & Chris Benoit

This was, as you might expect, a mighty fine match.

The action never stopped and barely slowed down from start to finish, giving us a compelling contest delivered by four stellar performers at the top of their game.

Angle and Benoit went out first and argued all the way to the back, leaving Los Guerreros to duke it out with the champions.

The action then continued to enthrall and entertain until, eventually, Eddie Guerrero made Rey Mysterio tap.

Everything up to and including that finish was great.
Your Winners and New WWE Tag Team Champions: Los Guerreros

Prior to the main event, Chris Nowinski and Matt Hardy V1 hit the ring to argue about whether New Yorkers were stupid or losers.

WWE Survivor Series 2002 Review - Scott Steiner made his debut as a singles star to WWE

It was an entertaining little segment that only got more entertaining when sirens rang and none other than Scott Steiner made his official WWE debut.

Receiving a thunderous ovation from the live crowd, The Big Bad Booty Daddy made light work of Nowinski and Hardy before making it clear that yes, Big Poppa Pump was indeed our hook up..holla, if ya hear me!

That was cool.

What wasn’t so cool was Shawn Michaels’ pre-match promo being interrupted by a video from Randy Orton.

Now playing a smarmy heel, Orton disingenuously thanked fans for their get-well cards and well-wishing emails as he recuperated from injury.

Rather than going back to the HBK interview (in which we were just about to learn why he believed he could be the champion tonight), we instead got an impressive package about tonight’s main event.

Elimination Chamber Match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship
World Heavyweight Champion Triple H (w/ Ric Flair) World Tag Team Champion Chris Jericho vs. Booker T vs. Kane vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Rob Van Dam

Before the match started, Eric Bischoff came to the chamber, partly to gloat about inventing the whole thing, partly to explain the rules to us all.

From there, Chris Jericho came out while, simultaneously, Saliva played his ‘King of my World’ theme live from The World.

Kane also had a new theme, the always-popular Slow Chemical one, while Shawn Michaels did have his old theme music but also had a weird haircut and those terrible poop-colored tights.

All that aside, this was a compelling match that had the novelty of being the first Elimination Chamber match and a whole bunch of talented performers going for it.

WWE Survivor Series 2002 Review - Ric Flair watches on as Jonathan Coachman interviews Triple H


The World Heavyweight Champion and Rob Van Dam kicked things off in fine fashion, and continued to look impressive as Chris Jericho and Booker T both entered the fray.

Then, RVD lept off one of the pods with a frog splash right onto The Game’s throat, prompting Earl Hebner to throw up the dreaded X sign.



Van Dam was eliminated shortly after and thus the match continued until only the champion and his former friend turned bitter rival, Shawn Michaels remained.

More good wrestling followed, culminating in Shawn Michaels hitting Hunter with a little sweet chin music to lift a major title for the fist time since Survivor Series 1997 on that fateful night in Montreal.
Your Winner and New World Heavyweight Champion: Shawn Michaels

Man, that was good stuff.






In fact, the whole show was good stuff!

It’s interesting that a title changed hands in all five championship matches tonight, and it’s even more interesting that both major titles were won by guys who won their last big titles at previous Survivor Series events.

What’s most interesting, however, is that this was a mighty fine show with every match grading somewhere on the Good - Great scale.

The tag title match and Elimination Chamber were the standouts here, but really, Survivor Series 2002 was a success from start to finish.




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Wednesday, 2 February 2022

PPV REVIEW: WWE Rebellion 2002

WWE Rebellion 2002 Review - Event poster
October 26, 2002,
Manchester Arena, Manchester, England

WWE Rebellion 2002 may not be a show anybody talks about today, but it does have the distinction of clocking up a number of firsts and lasts in the history of Vince McMahon's sports entertainment empire.

Since all of the previous incarnations of this event had been held while the company was still known as the World Wrestling Federation, tonight's show was the first Rebellion event to be promoted under the WWE banner.

In fact, it was the only Rebellion to be promoted under this banner as Vince would decide to stop doing UK-exclusive PPVs entirely the following year, making this the last ever Rebellion.

Notably -and here's a bit of obscure trivia for you- it was technically the first Smackdown-exclusive Pay Per View in WWE history as the Blue Brand made their way over to Manchester for one last hoorah.

Of course, the only question is:






Was it any good?

Let's head down to jolly old England and find out together, shall we?

The Rebellion Has Begun

WWE Rebellion 2002 Review - Michael Cole and Tazz called the action
We started tonight's show with a very impressive opening video in which a little girl gave a monologue over shots of the Smackdown superstars.

When the heels were shown on screen, the girl talked about how sad she was that evil forces had taken control and took pleasure in the pain and suffering of others. 

Switching over to shots of the babyfaces, she spoke of her hope that things would get better now that the rebellion had begun. 

This was very well done, especially for a UK PPV. 

From there, Michael Cole and Tazz welcomed us to the show as pyro exploded, the cameras panned the crowd, and WWE Rebellion 2002 got underway. 

Steph Starts the Show

WWE Rebellion 2002 Review - Stephanie McMahon made an announcement at the start of the show
Much as she'd done back at WWE Global Warning, Stephanie McMahon kicked off another international event by hitting the ring and taking to the microphone. 

This time, the Smackdown General Manager informed us that The Undertaker would not be here, partly becasue he'd been beaten up by Big Show and Brock Lesnar, but mostly because his new child was due to be born any day. 

She went onto inform us that Edge would be taking The Dead Man's place in a scheduled 2 vs. 1 handicap match against Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar for the WWE title, before wrapping up by announcing that, as part of a "special trade agreement" with Raw GM Eric Bischoff, Smackdown had secured the services of Booker T for one night only. 

On that note, the Booker Man himself made his way to ringside and it was on to our opening match.

Booker T vs. Matt Hardy V1

WWE Rebellion 2002 Review - Matt Hardy loves English muffins
Here, we had the PPV debut of Matt Hardy's V1 character, complete with "Matt Facts" and that awesome Monster Magnet theme song.

Tonight, he went up against Booker T in a fun opening contest. 

This wasn't an all-out wrestling classic, but it wasn't designed to be.

It was designed to entertain the fans by pitting a despised heel against a beloved babyface and having them appeal to the crowd. 

From a pure wrestling stand-point, it was average at best, but entertainment value, it was very good indeed.

To the surprise of no one (especially given that the faces usually always went over on these UK PPVs), Booker T picked up the win.
Your Winner: Booker T

Post match, The Five Time, Five Time, Five Time WCW champion continued to entertain the fans with a spinarooni.

Paul Heyman is Furious

WWE Rebellion 2002 Review - Paul Heyman confronts Stephanie McMahon about his role in the show's main event
Out in the backstage area, an upset Paul Heyman burst into Stephanie McMahon's office and did his damndest to get out of the handicap match later on in the show. 

Heyman first appealed to McMahon by noting how unfair it was that Edge could become champion by pinning him, rather than Lesnar.

When that didn't work, the former ECW owner insisted that he couldn't wrestle anyway because he hadn't brought his "trunks," as if he ever owned a pair of wrestling trunks in his life. 

That didn't work either, with Steph simply demanding that Lesnar's manager go and get ready for the match.

This was followed by a look back at the rivalry between Dawn Marie and Torrie Wilson, and was pretty much the same video we'd just seen back at No Mercy 2002 the week before.

Mixed Tag Team Match
Dawn Marie & John Cena vs. Torrie Wilson & Billy Kidman

WWE Rebellion 2002 Review - Kidman & Torrie Wilson vs. John Cena & Dawn Marie
John Cena
had recently turned heel on Kidman after the two had lost in the recent tag team titel tournament, making both men the perfect partners for Wilson and Marie.

Much like the last match, this was more about entertainment than actual wrestling, but it certainly wasn't bad. 

OK, so they once again did the lame spot where the girls cat fight and wind up rolling around on top of one of the guys, only this time it was Billy Kidman who got to be the "lucky" recipient rather than the referee as it usually was. 

I'd complain that this is the third event I've watched in about two weeks that I've seen this spot, and that Wilson and Marie did the exact same thing back at No Mercy, but hey, it always got a pop and Kidman's reaction afterward was pretty funny.

After that, we got a little more action before the girls toppled to the outside and Kidman smacked Cena with a wicked kick, causing the future world champion to face plant the mat in such a glorious fashion that it almost put the famous "Flair Flop" to shame. 

Billy followed this up with a shooting star press and, one three count later, won the match.
Your Winners: Billy Kidman & Torrie Wilson

Afterwards, Torrie celebrated by giving Kidman a good snog. Once again, the former cruiserweight champion's reaction was gold.

Edge Swears Victory

Out in the back, Edge cut an intense promo in which he vowed to become the WWE champion in front of the "Manchester chapter of the Edge Army."

This was good stuff from Edge, but he wasn't yet at a point in his career where I imagine many saw him as a legitimate threat to Lesnar. 

Funaki vs. Crash Holly

Holy crap, an actual Funaki match. 

WWE Rebellion 2002 Review - Funaki vs. Crash Holly
Funaki hadn't beeen seen on PPV since participating in a Battle Royal at Survivor Series 2001, and it had been so long since he'd participated in a non-battle royal PPV match that I can't even figure out when that would have been. 

Smackdown's Number One Announcer was popular with the UK crowd, but not popular enough to get them invested in this match.

In fact, despite the fact that it was competently performed, this one played out to almost total silence.

Not even Crash Holly sporting a Japanese headband and busting out Karate Kid moves was enough to elicit a response, proving that racial stereotyping wasn't always as funny as the wrestling business used to pretend it was.

In fact, the match was so uninteresting that Tazz started entertaining himself with a Gordon Sollie impression.

The match ended with a roll-up for Funaki.
Your Winner: Funaki 

Out in the back, Jamie Noble and Nidia agreed that people in the UK were smelly trash while across the way, Rey Mysterio psyched up himself up to face Noble and Tajiri in this next match.

Triple Threat Elimination Match for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship
WWE Cruiserwieight Champion Jamie Noble (w/ Nidia) vs. Tajiri vs. Rey Mysterio 

WWE Rebellion 2002 Review - Jamie Noble defends his Cruiserweight title
This was just about as good a cruiserweight match as you might expect it to be, showcasing the kind of fast-paced, back-and-forth action that you just weren't going to see anywhere else on the card.

Somewhat predictably, Tajiri got taken out of this elimination rules match early on, clearing the way for champion Jamie Noble to have an exciting one-on-one encounter with Mysterio.

At multiple points, the challenger looked to have the match won, only Nidia to get in the way and stop things. Eventually, Noble drilled Mysterio down in to the mat and got the win thanks to his girflriend's assistance.
Your Winner and Still Cruiserweight Champion: Jamie Noble 

Post match, Mysterio delivered a 619 to both Noble and Nidia. 

Who's The Captain?

Out in the back, Kurt Angle tried to explain to Chris Benoit that because he was American, he was therefore better than his Canadian tag team partner and therefore the captain of their team. Benoit countered by reminding the Olympic Gold Medalist that since he'd beaten him on Smackdown, that technically made him the captain. 

The two were clearly at loggerheads, but somehow they'd have to settle their differences in order to defend their titles on tonight's show. 

Chuck Palumbo & The Big Valbowski vs. D'Von & Ron Simmons

WWE Rebellion 2002 Review - Ron Simmons puts a hurting on Chuck Palumbo
After the whole wedding-that-wasn't debacle between Billy & Chuck, Billy Gunn had been injured, leaving Chuck Palumbo wandering around with nothing to do, hence a random tag team with The Big Valbowski

Across the ring, D'von had dropped the whole Reverand thing while Ron Simmons had ditched his Farooq moniker.

The match between the two teams was fine for what it was, but the crowd were practically silent for it and I can't really blame them. It was a by-the-numbers, go-through-the-motions affair which ended with a win for Ron and D'Von when the latter rolled up Valbowski.
Your Winners: D'Von & Ron Simmons

Prior to the next match, Eddie Guerrero & Chavo Guerrero cut a backstage promo in which they played up to some Mexican stereotypes and then tried to get heat by ragging on British staples like tea and crumpets.

Their match was later, but first, we had this. 

Kiss My Arse Match
Albert vs. Rikishi

WWE Rebellion 2002 - Rikishi faced Albert in a "Kiss My Arse" match
Yes, it's a Kiss My Ass match, but we're in England, so it's Kiss My Arse instead.

Prior to the bell, Albert took to the microphone to talk about how sexy he was and promised to make Rikishi kiss his "Big Hairy Ass."

Unfortunately for the big fella, he didn't get to keep his promise. 

After a decent but rather unexciting match, 'Kishi predictably toppled his "sexy" opponent and picked up the victory.
Your Winner: Rikishi 

Post-match, Albert tried to leave but Rikishi called him back to the ring. Instead of willingly puckering up, the former Hip Hop Hippo attacked and went to ram his hairy butt into his foe's face, only for Big Kish to hit him with a low-blow and an equally as predictable stink face.

From there, the one-time Headshrinker called Michael Cole, Tazz, and Tony Chimmel into the ring for a spot of some of the most awkward dancing you've ever seen in your life. 

This was followed by a look back at the rivalry between The Guerreros and the team of Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit, leading into their upcoming title match.

WWE Tag Team Championship
WWE Tag Team Champions Kurt Angle & Chris Benoit vs. Los Guerreros (Eddie & Chavo Guerrero Jr)

WWE Rebellion 2002 - Eddie Guerrero Tries to Break Kurt Angle's back
It's fair to say that, alongside Bret Hart vs. The Undertaker from One Night Only 1997, this was one of the best matches ever showcased on a UK PPV. 

Whereas many wrestlers tended to phone it in at these kind of shows, Eddie, Chavo, Benoit, and Angle all busted their behinds to deliver an excellent performance that was captivating from start to finish. 

At various points, it looked as though Los Guerreros would genuinly be taking the titles home with them but, of course, that never happened. 

After a thrilling contest, Kurt drilled Eddie with the Angle Slam and that was that.
Your Winners and Still Tag Team Champions: Kurt Angle & Chris Benoit

Post-match, Angle and Benoit continued their "partners who hate each other" thing by almost coming to blows before finally united to see off Eddie & Chavo, who had tried to steal the tag titles.

Brock is Mad

Backstage, Brock Lesnar scolded his manager Paul Heyman for not getting tonight's main event cancelled, and insisted that if Edge should beat the former ECW manager, he (Lesnar) would have no problem busting him in half. 

Handicap Match for the WWE Championship
WWE Champion Brock Lesnar & Paul Heyman vs. Edge

WWE Rebellion 2002 - Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman
This was another thrilling match in which Edge looked like he could genuinly beat The Next Big Thing and become our new champion.

Of course, despite it being a handicap match, Paul Heyman didn't get involved any more than he would have done in his capacity as a manager, though he did recieve a wicked spear courtesy of the future Rated-R Superstar. 

After a tremendously exciting match in which the challenger gave his opponent everything he could possibly throw at him, Brock hit an F5 to retain.
Your Winner and Still WWE Champion: Brock Lesnar

Post-match, Paul Heyman yelled at Edge for spearing him and looked to hit him with a chair, only for Edge to kick the chair right into Heyman's face and give him a Downward Spiral to end the show. 








The last ever WWE Rebellion Show was a largely positive show. 

While matches like Albert/Rikishi, Funaki/Crash, and Dvon/Simmons vs. Palumbo/Valbowski didn't really deliver, everything else did to varying degrees. 

The opening Hardy/Booker match was a fun sports entertainment contest, the Cruiserweight title match was great, and the last two matches were as exciting as you could possibly ask for. 

Despite nothing major happening in terms of development, this was still a very watchable show that saw the Rebellion brand go out on a high note. 




Other 2002 pro wrestling reviews: 

Retro Pro Wrestling

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