World Wrestling Entertainment – Summerslam 2002 – 25th August 2002
There were points during my trip through 2002 WWE pay-per-views (especially during the interminable Undertaker/Austin match at Backlash) where I never thought I’d get to this show. Despite showing signs of improvement at both King Of The Ring and Vengeance, by and large the quality of WWE’s monthly extravaganzas had been SO poor through the majority of this year. It’s fair to say that the decks are stacked for this card in a way we haven’t seen in a long time though – possibly since WrestleMania 17. Brock Lesnar challenges The Rock for the Undisputed Championship in a match which could shape the future of the promotion. Shawn Michaels completes a remarkable return to the ring when he steps into an ‘unsanctioned’ Street Fight with Triple H in the second main event…and those two matches alone rival anything even WrestleMania had to offer this year. That’s before you get to an undercard packed with eye-catching clashes: Angle/Mysterio, Edge/Guerrero, Flair/Jericho and Benoit/RVD are all on tap this evening. Sure there is still some crap to sit through (Undertaker, I’m looking at you AGAIN buddy) but on the whole this ppv wound up being so good you almost couldn’t believe you were watching the same company. I’ve not seen the whole event since it went out live (though obviously I’ve seen HHH/HBK quite a few times) so I can’t wait to get started. Having reviewed countless Undertaker suck-fests on the road here I really feel like I’ve EARNED my enjoyment of this one. JR and Jerry Lawler are on hand for Raw, whilst Michael Cole and Tazz handle Smackdown commentary duties. We’re in Uniondale, NY.
Kurt Angle vs Rey Mysterio
So Rey had debuted the week after Vengeance, quickly dropped the ‘Jr’ from his name, and started impressing people with some polished and slick in-ring performances. Making his WWE ppv debut against Angle is an indication as to how thrilled management were with their new recruit.
Kurt’s pyro apparently fails, and he is wearing an incredibly ugly singlet. Not a great night for him already. Hearing Rey come out to almost no pop and without that annoying POD song is really weird. He sneaks in through the crowd and ambushes the Olympian – springboarding into a flying headscissors from behind! Kurt’s response is breathtaking as he FLIPS Mysterio into an early Anklelock attempt. 619 misses as an insane opening minute continues! Kurt sensibly slows the pace and looks to punch and suplex the cruiserweight. OCEAN CYCLONE NAILED! He resorts to choking the smaller man in the ropes as Rey continually finds a way to counter and utilise his lucha skills to his advantage. The approach succeeds in wearing Mysterio down, as evidenced when the masked man attempts a satellite headscissors but is viciously planted into the mat with a sidewalk slam – then applies a high angle half crab to pile more pressure on the spine. Even when Mysterio dials up the pace he is thwarted by Angle, who scores with a belly to belly suplex. Angle Slam countered to a lucha armdrag though! SOMERSAULT PLANCHA – OVER THE REFEREE TO THE FLOOR! Rey gets a 2-count after Dropping The Dime – but as he springboards off the ropes again he nearly gets caught with the Anklelock. COUNTERED TO THE 619! WEST COAST POP…GETS 2! Mysterio then SOMERSAULTS over the rope run belly to belly attempt…only for Kurt to jump forward out of a frankensteiner into the ANKLELOCK! Rey taps at 09:20
Rating - **** - Outstanding way to get a pay-per-view started. In 2002 Rey was younger, less injured and carrying significantly less muscle mass (artificially enhanced or otherwise)...so looked incredible on his WWE ppv debut. He moved around the ring unbelievably quickly, and showed he was able to credibly execute a lot of his signature cruiserweight offence even when paired off with a non-Cruiserweight division guy like Kurt. Speaking of Angle, the way he meshed with a lucha worker was incredible. He was pretty much untouchable as a wrestler by this point and was tearing it up with pretty much every opponent placed in front of him, but to so effortlessly produce a classic with someone so much smaller and so stylistically different to him is testament to his phenomenal skill. The match itself was pretty basic in lay-out, but made special by the pace and precision of the execution. Mysterio got in some great spots at the start, Kurt busted out some incredible counters then used his awesome mat wrestling to dominate, before Rey came back with more fantastic high-flying stuff at the end. The final stretch, with Mysterio avoiding the rope run belly to belly, then Angle breaking out of the frankensteiner was brilliant on a number of levels.
Stephanie McMahon enters the General Management office to find that she has to share it with Eric Bischoff tonight. They sit down to watch the show…
Chris Jericho vs Ric Flair
Having seen his career nosedive on Smackdown, culminating in his devastating defeat to John Cena last month at Vengeance, Jericho decided to make the jump to Raw. He took an instant dislike to the Nature Boy and began verbally running him down and assaulting him. The week before this show, after a particularly bloody attack, Ric decided to get some revenge by crashing a Fozzy performance and trashing their equipment.
Flair slaps Jericho in the face, insulting him just when Y2J looks to start the match in dominating fashion. A multitude of chops put Flair in the ascendancy forcing Chris to knock him out of the ring then drop him over the guardrails. The fact that Jericho is younger and faster than the Nature Boy is really coming into play now, with the Canadian out-striking and out-wrestling Ric at every turn. He can be an efficient rule breaker too, and starts choking Flair out with first his wrist tape, then the ring ropes. Naitch manages to catch Jericho with the top rope press slam he’s fallen victim to so many times in his career, but isn’t on top for long before Y2J is looking for the Walls Of Jericho. That fails so Chris attempts the bulldog/Lionsault combo instead. Ric avoids it…so Jericho puts him in the FIGURE 4! Flair taps out to his own move but thankfully got to the bottom rope first so it didn’t count. He gives Jericho a low blow (unseen by the ref) and wins with the Figure 4 at 10:23
Rating - ** - The idea behind the match was solid, with Jericho looking to use his youth, power and athleticism to beat down the war-weary veteran. Unfortunately, though the plot was solid, it was never particularly interesting to sit through. Flair showed his age and looked extremely one dimensional here. His in-ring appearances were becoming more and more frequent, therefore less and less special, and fans were starting to wise up to his rather limited act. Jericho’s career, meanwhile, was in an absolute hole. He’d been booked to sh*t as Undisputed Champion, been sent out at Backlash to verbally point out that he hadn’t even been booked, made to look like HHH’s b*tch at Judgment Day and after defeats to RVD at King Of The Ring, John Cena at Vengeance and now Flair tonight hasn’t won a ppv match since No Way Out. I really don’t see the logic in putting Flair over here.
Paul Heyman gloats about Brock Lesnar ‘ending Hogan’s career’ and encourages Brock to do the same to The Rock in the main event tonight.
Eddie Guerrero vs Edge
Another beneficiary of the ‘open season’ on talent contracts, allowing them to trade between Raw and Smackdown, was Guerrero. He (and Benoit) arrived on Smackdown following the Vengeance ppv, and promptly entered into his critically-acclaimed feud with Edge.
It’s a bit of a sloppy start, with Eddie and Edge pretty much stumbling into a rather ugly flapjack spot. Guerrero snaps his opponent’s neck over the top rope…before getting dropped hard on his neck himself following a high angle monkey flip. Edge ties Guerrero in the ropes for an unprotected Spear – but tries the same spot seconds later only for Latino Heat to move and send him crashing to the floor. The fall injures his arm and Eddie is on it in a flash by driving it into the ring steps. Back in the ring he hits an armbar DDT…followed by a TORNADO DIVORCE COURT! Crossface chickenwing locked in, then transitioned into a Fujiwara armbar as he completely picks apart the arm. Edge tries to fight back with a powerslam but he rolls around on the canvas in pain after executing the manoeuvre. Faceplant scores too even though his arm is still hanging limp by his side. SUPLEX TO THE FLOOR on Eddie! SUICIDE DIVE OFF THE TOP! Eddie punches at the injured shoulder as they jostle for position on the ropes…but is dragged out of the corner in an AVALANCHE GOURDBUSTER for 2! Spear COUNTERED with a dropkick to the shoulder! Frog Splash blocked with knees though! Edgecution nailed, but he used the bad arm to hit the move and loses valuable seconds before covering! Guerrero hits a northern lights suplex with the bad arm cradled…and headbutts the shoulder as Edge tries to chase him up the ropes. FROG SPLASH ON THE INJURED SHOULDER! FOR 2! Using one last burst of energy Edge hits the SPEAR, and wins the match at 11:47
Rating - **** - Edge could use some work on his selling, which could best be described as ‘patchy’, but other than that this was a hell of a midcard battle. Eddie was in blistering form, finding a number of entertaining ways to work the shoulder yet still looking vulnerable enough himself to make every single Edge comeback believable and exciting. Although it would be some time yet before either would win their first World Championship, you certainly saw glimpses of the abilities, skill and pacing within matches that made them viable main event talents in the future here.
The Un-Americans complain about American fans ‘sitting on their hands’ for their matches and tell Coach that they don’t intend to lose the Tag Titles tonight.
Lance Storm/Christian vs Booker T/Goldust – WWE Tag Title Match
The Un-Americans were another group of talents who’d switched brands during this period, making the jump to Raw and bringing the Tag Titles with them. Booker T and Goldust had been a popular, if not always entirely cohesive tag team for several months now, and the arrival of the champions on their brand meant that they immediately began pursuing them for the gold.
The only way Lawler can combat the Un-Americans is to fire off racial slurs about Canada. Two wrongs and all that. The challengers start well, until Storm rams Goldust into a ringpost which injures him and allows both Un-Americans to take cheap shots. They spend several minutes working Goldy over with Booker getting enormously frustrated as a spectator on the apron. The champs line up an illegal Con-Chair-To as the climax to a series of increasingly cheap tactics…only for Goldust to duck it and make the hot tag. Heat Seeker dropkick gets 2 on Christian…who looks to counter the Ghetto Blaster into the Unprettier, and wins up getting floored with the flapjack instead. DOUBLE GHETTO BLASTER to both champs! The ref has been bumped though so he can’t count the fall. Test arrives for his inevitable run-in, knocks out Booker with the Big Boot, and allows the champs to retain at 09:37
Rating - ** - Much like the Jericho/Flair match, technically there weren’t any issues with this, but it was rather dull and unappealing to sit through. The heat segment on Goldust (which took up most of the match) was exceptionally boring which, when you consider the calibre of Christian and Lance, is a major disappointment. It also doesn’t help that Storm and Christian pretty much never won matches without the help of Test. You could hear the groans of the crowd as he arrived. It wasn’t heel heat, it was ‘does he have to do this in EVERY ONE of their matches??’ heat. All four of these guys are capable of much better.
Jamie Noble and Nidia are at The World conducting a contest where the winner gets to make out with Nidia. The very definition of a waste of pay-per-view time…
In the GM’s office Bischoff compliments Nidia for ‘knowing her place in the business’. He and Steph prepare for the inter-brand Intercontinental Title showdown between Benoit and RVD up next…
Chris Benoit vs Rob Van Dam – WWE Intercontinental Title Match
So the Wolverine defeated RVD for the IC Championship, then promptly took it with him when he defected to Smackdown. It meant that the title was exclusive property of Stephanie McMahon’s show for a few weeks – before Bischoff enforced RVD’s contractually-entitled rematch clause. He is still on Raw, meaning this is a effectively an inter-brand match with the winner ensuring that the belt remains the exclusive property of their show.
RVD starts by HAMMERING Benoit with kicks which drive him out of the ring. When the champ returns he showcases his mat-wrestling prowess and effortlessly takes Van Dam to the mat. Rob tumbles into a springboard crossbody then flattens Benoit again with a thrust kick. GERMAN SUPLEX by Benoit! Looks like RVD has the edge in speed and strikes, with Benoit having an advantage when it comes to strength and wrestling. Sensibly Chris starts to slow the pace, delivering suplexes and stretches; trying to wear down as many body parts as possible. Even when Van Dam does manage to execute some of his signature complicated offensive manoeuvres, Benoit pops back up and levels him with a brutal clothesline. Split-legged moonsault gets knees…but the Flying Wolverine misses soon afterwards! FIVE STAR MISSES! CRIPPLER CROSSFACE! RVD makes the ropes on this occasion, to the delight of Eric Bischoff watching on a monitor in the GM office. Unfortunately the respite is short-lived for the challenger, as he hops to the top rope and is shoved off the top into the railings. It injures the shoulder and, just like his fellow Radical Eddie Guerrero, Benoit attacks the arm viciously. It’s worth pointing out that both men are working really stiff tonight – Chris isn’t holding anything back with his strikes, but has a busted mouth and bruised face as a result of Rob’s wayward kicks. Surfboard applied by the champion, transitioned into a stranglehold…before he simply flings RVD neck-first to the mat. Handspring moonsault misses for an increasingly desperate challenger, allowing the Wolverine to lock in another Crossface temporarily. When Mr PPV escapes that Benoit hammerlocks his arm then drives it into the ringpost to inflict yet more damage. ROLLING NORTHERN LIGHTS…with the arm hammerlocked! CROSSFACE! When Rob edges towards the ropes again Benoit floats into a Stretch Plum! RVD idiotically tries to put him into a Crossface, and is rightly punished with a savage dropkick to the shoulder. Out of nowhere he hits a springboard heel kick but is so beaten up he lies around on the mat looking as dazed as Benoit does. Rolling Thunder nailed for 2 only for Chris to counter the tumbling monkey flip and crotch him on the top rope. BACK SUPERPLEX…COUNTERED TO A CROSSBODY! Both men go down on that, with Rob up first for the FIVE STAR FROG SPLASH! RVD wins at 16:30
Rating - **** - I’m a real fan of this match. It’s not perfect, but it got plenty of time…and the sheer stiffness and physicality of it is something that you don’t see too often on WWE television. RVD looks extremely happy not having to pull his kicks around Benoit, and in return the Wolverine was very obviously kicking the crap out of Rob at several points. It brought an incredible intensity to what they were doing, and took it’s toll on both of them – with Benoit bleeding from the mouth and RVD looking like a bedraggled mess by the end. Benoit’s strategy was pretty awesome too – wrestling the match like a killer and picking apart Van Dam’s neck and shoulder at all times. Unsurprisingly RVD didn’t always sell it particularly well, especially when it came to dramatic Crippler Crossface sequences, but most of this was hard-hitting and high quality stuff.
Bischoff gloats to Stephanie about having control of the IC Title now. She laughs in his face then walks out. Clearly she still has something big planned
SIDENOTE – The ‘something big’ was signing Brock Lesnar exclusively to Smackdown. It meant his newly-won WWE Championship became exclusive property of her brand – forcing Bischoff to break out the ‘big gold belt’ and create his own World Championship for Raw.
Test vs Undertaker
Having fallen flat as a heel, and failed to deliver the sort of numbers management had been hoping for as WWE Champion Taker was quietly transitioned back into the role he’d been played near enough constantly since his May 2000 return to the company. He was back being an ‘American Badass’ and back being a rather stale babyface just below the main event level. To do this they put feuded him with the Un-Americans. Test, getting ANOTHER decent push, was obviously singled out as the potential breakout star of the Canadian trio, so got to work with the Deadman at Summerslam.
‘Test has been living off the “unlimited potential” label for a long time’ – JR. Undertaker decides to start wrestling like a cruiserweight, so starts the match leapfrogging, armdragging and hitting that diving lariat spot. Test has to shove the ref into the ropes to stop the Old School rope walk then proceeds to rough the veteran up on the outside. Next we get several minutes of slow, plodding stalling. You can’t even call it ‘wrestling’ as it’s just two huge guys pretending to punch and kick each other. Test breaks up the monotony of that with an armbar. Not to be outdone, Taker shows he knows at least SOME wrestling moves also by delivering a back suplex. Old School nailed this time, soon followed by the Chokeslam for 2. Lance Storm and Christian predictably try to interfere…but equally predictably Undertaker BEATS THEM ALL UP. How the hell will they ever get over as credible heels if Talker can beat them all up at once? Test decides that having two guys help him isn’t enough and tries to use a steel chair too…only to get it booted into his face. Tombstone wins it at 08:18
Rating - DUD - For the third year in a row Undertaker stinks the place up at Summerslam. If you’re looking for a positive then you could point out that this was, at least, better than the farcical tag team Cage Match he was part of last year. This match was seven minutes of exceptionally dull stalling, a minute of Undertaker fighting off all the Un-Americans at once, then Undertaker squashing Test like a bug. Nobody benefits from this. The match was so bad that the crowd didn’t give a sh*t. Getting such a comprehensive defeat makes Test look like a chump. Even Christian and Storm got to look like idiots too. But hopefully Undertaker went back to the locker room with his big fat ego nicely stroked…
Shawn Michaels vs Triple H – Street Fight
Technically Eric Bischoff never sanctioned this match, so officially it ‘isn’t happening’. What we learned from this feud was that when a mystery assailant puts a wrestler’s head through a car window – you should suspect the guy he’s feuding with (vintage horrible writing from WWE’s creative). HBK had been lurking around Raw for a few months now, initially as part of the nWo then as a random guy who appeared in backstage skits. He hadn’t wrestled a match since his WrestleMania 14 loss to Steve Austin and most believed his in-ring career to be over thanks to the back injuries he suffered in 1998. He has been persuaded out of retirement thanks to a double-cross perpetrated by his supposed ‘best friend’ Triple H. Having convinced Hunter to sign with Raw at Vengeance, Shawn welcomed his buddy to the Monday night brand with a teased D-X reunion (ignoring Chyna’s involvement obviously). Sadly for him HHH levelled him with a Pedigree; the Game apparently unwilling to play second fiddle and back-up act to Shawn as he had in the late 90’s. After the aforementioned car window assault, Michaels surprised everyone by challenging HHH to a fight at Summerslam. Although it’s non-sanctioned, this is genuinely the first time Shawn had wrestled in four years. People didn’t know what shape his back was in. WWE had skilfully built this up to make you believe his back was as fragile as glass, and HHH had verbally poured scorn on his comeback with some fantastic sound-bytes (‘You can’t wrestle anymore…HBK IS DEAD’). At the time people were psyched for this, genuinely concerned for Shawn’s health and legitimately had no idea how it would turn out.
I’m pretty sure they spent the entire pyro budget for the show on Shawn’s entrance. He doesn’t wait to get things started, and launches straight into a flurry of punches before tossing his former friend out of the ring. Pescado nailed too and HHH is looking to do nothing more than get away in the early stages. Michaels skins the cat (to a big pop) then levels Helmsley with a trash can. Sweet Chin Music ducked though, and HHH drops him with a huge backbreaker. The crowd groans in disappointment then falls into a hushed silence as Shawn writhes in pain and Earl Hebner frantically starts to check on him. HHH starts seriously working over the back, which Michaels backs up with a quite incredible sell job. A steel chair is drilled down into the spine causing HBK to drop to the canvas almost in slow motion. DDT ON A CHAIR! That splits Michaels open and Hunter almost smirks as he gets a shoulder up at 2. Next the Game starts whipping Shawn across the back with his own leather belt before using the belt buckle to open up the head wound. As Michaels desperately tries to drag his ailing body back up off the mat HHH is routing around under the ring to find his trusty sledgehammer. Somehow Shawn punches the hammer out of Hunter’s hands…but his only reward is getting trapped in an abdominal stretch instead. Hebner forcibly retrains Helmsley from using the ropes to inflict further punishment (even though it should be perfectly legal in this environment) but Shawn barely makes it up to the top rope before HHH crotches him. STEEL CHAIR TO THE BACK! BACKBREAKER THROUGH AN OPEN CHAIR! SIDEWALK SLAM ON THE CHAIR! Michaels just refuses to be counted down though, causing Triple H to get increasingly annoyed. Pedigree on the chair blocked with a wild low blow but even then HHH is on his feet wielding a chair before Shawn is able to recover.
SWEET CHIN MUSIC THROUGH THE CHAIR! BOTH MEN DOWN! HHH has bladed as well, and the blood appears to motivate Shawn. He NIPS UP, defying the pain in his back and getting the biggest pop of the night thus far, before blasting Hunter with a massive chair shot. HHH crawls out of the ring…with massive pools of blood forming on the black ringside mats wherever he pauses. He makes it as far as the steps before Michaels runs at him and HURDLES the steps into a bulldog onto them! Under the ring goes HBK – and he returns with a ladder! He repeatedly drives it into Hunter’s chest then catapults him face-first into it for 2! Such is the power of Shawn’s performance, and the crowd’s desire for him to avoid a serious injury, that a decent portion of the crowd actually buy that as a genuine nearfall. The bloody HHH manages to baseball slide the ladder into Michaels’ face…and together they meet on the top rope. SUPERPLEX BY SHAWN! And amazingly he modified it in mid-air so he didn’t land on the back! Blood is still pouring from Triple H’s forehead – and it’s soon made worse as he takes a drop toehold into the ring steps. Shawn drags a table from under the ring then KO’s Hunter on top of it with a fire extinguisher. To the ropes he goes…TOP ROPE SPLASH THROUGH THE TABLE ON THE FLOOR! HHH is a mess and drags his broken body back into the ring to get away from Michaels, as HBK himself sets about hauling the ladder into the ring. He can’t seriously want to do this? ELBOW DROP OFF THE LADDER! And the pop is DEAFENING as Shawn gets straight back up to let everyone know he’s ok! SWEET CHIN MUSIC…BLOCKED! PEDIGREE COUNTERED TO A ROLL-UP! THREE COUNT! SHAWN WINS! It’s over at 27:21
Rating - ****1/2 - At this point in 2002 this was WWE’s MOTY by a country mile. Shawn’s performance here, having not wrestled for four years, is a thing of absolute beauty and is rightly acknowledged as one of the finest of his entire career. To give credit where it’s due, this had been brilliantly built up. Not even internet insiders knew exactly how healthy (or not) HBK’s back was. It was billed as a one night only return, it was billed as an unsanctioned match. People wondered how much Shawn and Hunter would be able to do, how much Shawn would need to be protected – and certainly nobody expected anything on this level. You could hear the gasp of the crowd the first time Michaels bumped hard on his back. They roared in fury when Triple H started working it. That response was brilliantly cultivated by both wrestlers – HHH with his aggressive work and Shawn with his marvellous selling. They wound up telling the story so well that, when Shawn started hitting moves at the end, you couldn’t accuse him of no-selling. It wasn’t no-selling. People KNEW the injury was legitimate. They knew that he was, to some extent, risking his health and his life jumping off a ladder or flying through tables. They didn’t need him to clutch the back or grimace into a camera. Sure, as it turns out, Michaels was actually a lot healthier than WWE had let on. Such was the success of this match that he actually resumed his in-ring career later in 2002, and worked more or less a full schedule until his final retirement in 2010. But these guys had you believing his back would break at any moment. They had you believing he was risking his life to beat Triple H. It was the kind of raw emotion that only the very best wrestling matches, and only the very best entertainers can elicit. Only Rock/Hogan even comes close to this on that score. A great match, and I actually find it rather harsh that this one isn’t remembered nearly as fondly as it should be.
Even Earl Hebner has to suppress his smile as he raises Shawn’s hand in victory. The moment is short-lived though as Triple H rises to his feet and SLEDGEHAMMERS MICHAELS IN THE BACK! Referees and a doctor rush out to Shawn’s aid as HHH walks away smiling.
Howard Finkel provides us with some fun Fink facts as the ring is cleared ahead of the main event. I forgot this gimmick – and found it completely hilarious. Trish Stratus interrupts but is verbally SMACKED DOWN by the Fink! Lillian Garcia pops up behind him to slap him down for his misogyny. This was fun…mostly thanks to heel Fink
The Rock vs Brock Lesnar – WWE Undisputed Title Match
Brock had been on an unstoppable tear throughout 2002. He’d physically destroyed the Hardy Boyz. He’d assaulted Hulk Hogan so badly many thought the Hulkster’s career was over. And he’d booked his WWE Championship opportunity in this match thanks to a dominant victory in the King Of The Ring tournament. The Rock won the Undisputed Championship at Vengeance and is now the only thing standing between Brock and being the youngest WWE Champion of all time.
Rock mocks Lesnar’s ‘jog on the spot’ taunt on his way into the arena…causing an angry Brock to DESTROY him with a massive belly to belly suplex. Portions of the crowd are behind Lesnar, with loud ‘Rocky sucks’ chants and cheers as he tears lumps out of the champion in the opening minutes. Brock tosses Rock around with ease with any chance of a comeback quickly nullified by the persistent interference and cheating from Paul Heyman on the outside. The boos and jeers for The Rock are getting louder as the match progresses, and the crowd whoop with delight as Lesnar defiantly refuses to bump to a clothesline thrown at him. Sharpshooter applied – inflicting serious damage to the challenger and allowing Rock to stare at and cuss the crowd as they get on his back. Paul E. comes to Lesnar’s aid by distracting The Rock…and Brock utilises the distraction to blast him in the ribs with a chair. Big chunks of the crowd even applaud that blatant cheating and chant Brock’s name as he grinds onto a mounted bear hug. In the end Rock escapes using a cheap low blow and stands to his feet fully embracing the hostility of the live audience. Still Brock’s assault is relentless with him driving Rocky’s ribs into the turnbuckles with running football tackles. Rock digs deep into his reserves and punches back with such force that it drives Lesnar clean over the top rope. He stares out at the crowd and angrily strips the Spanish announce table before catapulting his opponent into the ringpost. Paul Heyman is dragged onto the announce table. ROCK BOTTOM THROUGH THE TABLE FOR HEYMAN! Back in the ring be coils up behind Brock…for the ROCK BOTTOM! Lesnar kicks out! BROCK BOTTOM NAILED! It’s Rock’s turn to kick out of his own finisher now. He puts Lesnar into the ground with a spinebuster…but doesn’t even get halfway through The People’s Elbow routine before Brock levels him with a lariat. F-5 BLOCKED…ROCK BOTTOM BLOCKED! F-5 SCORES! NEW CHAMPION! Lesnar wins the title at 16:01
Rating - **** - It never resonated on a visceral level like HHH/HBK but this was still a top notch main event which oozed ‘big match’ aura and makes a mockery of the booking theory that you can’t have a hot main event AFTER bloody, high spot filled, heated undercard matches. The fans were seriously up for this and were all over The Rock from the outset. After a year of him going back and forth between wrestling and his movie career his fans had seen enough – and were fed up of The Rock as a part time act (how times have changed). Brock was ‘their guy’ now; the hard-working, ass-kicking demolition machine who was on every show beating the hell out of people whilst Rock picks and chooses his dates. The match itself was a masterclass in how to get someone over by Rocky. Lesnar overpowered and dominated him for most of the match (to such an extent that Paul Heyman’s interference felt completely unnecessary), with Rock only able to inflict damage in short, sharp offensive bursts. Ultimately the match finished with Lesnar kicking out of one of Rock’s finishers, interrupting his vaunted ‘People’s Elbow’ then laying waste to him with a single F-5. A new star was born on this evening – with Rock laying down like Hulk Hogan before him to legitimise Lesnar.
Tape Rating - **** - Not everything is perfect, and the gulf between the Raw and Smackdown brands was becoming extremely noticeable by this point, but despite that this still remains arguably the best pay-per-view event since WrestleMania 17. Shawn Michaels completes a fairytale comeback, Rock’s full-time career formally ends by putting over new champ Brock Lesnar in a hard-hitting main event, and there are three absolutely outstanding undercard matches which I really enjoyed. If you can look past a couple of forgettable matches from the Raw brand (plus the usual Undertaker suck-fest) this is an awesome show well worth checking out on the Network if you’ve never seen it.
Top 3 Matches
3) Chris Benoit vs Rob Van Dam (****)
2) The Rock vs Brock Lesnar (****)
1) Shawn Michaels vs Triple H (****1/2)