World Wrestling Entertainment – Survivor Series 2002 – 17th November 2002
After the serious lows during the spring and early summer of 2002, it’s fair to say that WWE enjoyed a pretty serious renaissance. King Of The Ring and Vengeance showed tangible improvements, Summerslam was (and still is) a truly outstanding show…and whilst the subsequent Unforgiven and No Mercy ppvs weren’t as consistent, the Smackdown side of the roster meant there were some stunning matches to be enjoyed. Tonight WWE returns to the historic Madison Square Garden to produce the last of it’s ‘Big Four’ for the year. The headline act is Raw’s attempt to get some momentum going around their rather lacklustre World Heavyweight Championship – with the Elimination Chamber making it’s debut. HHH defends against Booker T, Kane, Chris Jericho, Rob Van Dam and Shawn Michaels in that one. Elsewhere there is plenty of gold up for grabs, with the pick of the matches being a three team elimination match, pitting all of the ‘Smackdown Six’ against each other for the WWE Tag Titles. Big Show’s demand for main events has been met as he faces Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship, Victoria challenges Trish for the Women’s Title in a Hardcore Match and there’s plenty more besides. Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole and Tazz welcome us all to Manhattan, NY.
SIDENOTE – I’m aware I missed the Rebellion UK ppv. As I’m not a WWE Network member yet (I’m waiting to see how they structure it here in the UK) I couldn’t watch it there and I didn’t pick this up on DVD when I was acquiring old shows. In truth I’m a little sad to miss out on Lesnar/Heyman vs Edge for the WWE Title and the WWE Tag Title clash pitting Benoit & Angle against Los Guerreros as both of those matches were reportedly far better than your usual UK-ppv stuff…so maybe I’ll go back and catch up on this if/when I get the WWE Network.
SIDENOTE – MSG looks fantastic for this show. Having the big screen set up against two big entrance doors (which the wrestlers push open), with a couple of separate pyro decks elsewhere is extremely unique. It’s something they’ve only ever really done for this venue and makes the show feel different and special.
Bubba Ray Dudley/Spike Dudley/Jeff Hardy vs 3-Minute Warning/Rico – Elimination Table Match
I still maintain that 3MW would have been a lot more successful if they hadn’t been stuck with Rico. He never felt like the right fit for their act. Nevertheless, three notoriously tough veterans of hardcore matches, big bumps and going through tables stand across the ring look to bring them down after months of sneak attacks and violent assaults.
Bubba tries to throw Spike at their opponents…and when they catch his little half brother he ducks so Jeff can hit a POETRY IN MOTION TO THE FLOOR onto everyone! Back in the ring Spike stands on Jamal’s shoulders before hitting a hurricanrana…then hop to the top rope for the Wassup Headbutt. Rosey back drops Hardy to the floor, but then smashes HIMSELF through a table trying to spear Spike through it. 3MW catch Spike going for the Acid Drop on Rico…and PANCAKE HIM THROUGH A TABLE! That looked brutal! Spike is eliminated and his remaining partners are now at a serious disadvantage. Rosey drags Jeff through the crowd, and in the ring Bubba is doing his best to fight off Jamal and Rico at the same time. Jeff is climbing up to a balcony, with Rosey on a table under him! ROYAL RUMBLE 2000 SWANTON BOMB THROUGH THE TABLE! Rosey is eliminated! In the ring Rico is crotched attempting a top rope moonsault and Jamal has to haul a table aside to prevent his manager from being suplexed through it. Hardy returns to the ring with Whisper In The Wind! GUARDRAIL RUN LARIAT…BLOCKED WITH A TABLE BY JAMAL! Hardy slipped on the rails and went splat through the wood but as it was his offensive move he’s still in. The man who would come to be known as Umaga climbs the ropes. WILD SAMOAN SPLASH THROUGH A TABLE ON THE FLOOR! Hardy is eliminated, and also potentially dead! Jamal tries to get a piece of Bubba as well, only to get an AWESOMEBOMB through a table! Rico and Bubba are the final two but 3MW take advantage of the no rules environment and refuse to leave. Rosey levels Dudley with a belly to belly suplex…before the crowd goes NUTS as D-Von Dudley runs in! He is decked in the fatigues of the Dudley Boyz and he scoops Rico up for the 3-D THROUGH A TABLE! Bubba wins at 13:54
Rating - **** - A wildly generous rating for a match which featured moments of extreme sloppiness, but I had so much fun watching it. It wasn’t always pretty but there were some ridiculous bumps, some awesome spots, some stunning moments of athleticism from the big Samoans and the Dudley Boyz reunion (after both their singles runs went so flat they were becoming the worst parts of their respective brands) made this a genuine spectacle. Supposedly management were already going sour on 3MW by this point as their clumsiness meant they just kept hurting people. However, they looked like killers here, and it’s a shame they didn’t get to perform in this kind of match with tougher workers more often.
SIDENOTE – It was later revealed that D-Von had signed with the Raw brand as part of the trade which brought Big Show to Smackdown.
Stacy Keibler looks stunning at The World. She is there to introduce Saliva – who make their second WWE appearance of 2002 to perform ‘Always’.
Jamie Noble vs Billy Kidman – WWE Cruiserweight Title Match
Noble has dominated the Cruiserweight division for a long time now. He’s actually beaten Kidman on ppv already – but in recent weeks Billy has scored two victories over the champ and is now in line for another shot at the gold.
Kidman starts fast and drives Noble out of the ring after a pop-up rana. But Jamie is a smart wrestler and catches him running in once too often to drop him with a swinging neckbreaker. He does it again seconds later to toss the challenger out of the ring – into the path of a tope suicida. Dropkick to the ribs from Kidman to block a flying crossbody, followed by a DVD over the knee for 2. The spots keep coming as Noble rattles the ring with a falcon arrow. BACK SUPLEX GOURDBUSTER from Billy! Nidia has to save Jamie from the SSP – so when she drags her boyfriend to the floor Billy turns on the ropes for a SUICIDE DIVE! Gibson Driver blocked, and after Nidia gets knocked off the apron Billy lifts his opponent into the BK Bomb. GIBSON DRIVER gets 2! SUPER DDT BY KIDMAN! SLINGSHOT DDT BY NOBLE! Kidman hits an enzi (to the ribs) before climbing up the ropes for the SHOOTING STAR PRESS! New champion at 07:29
Rating - *** - They didn’t get much time, they got a crappy spot on the card having to go on after the 6-man Table Match…and they still produced a great match. They packed more spots and action into seven minutes than HHH’s last two ppv World Title defences combined (and here’s the thing – it had plenty of solid psychology too). Kidman subtly worked the ribs to set up for the SSP, whilst Noble was constantly dropping Billy on his head and neck as preparation for the Gibson Driver. Noble was a really decent Cruiserweight Champion but his gimmick was starting to turn stale – and it was time for a different guy to lead the fun-but-completely-irrelevant division for a while. It’s not like Billy was any more over but people had seen Noble’s style of match multiple times and were ready for something else.
In the locker room Kurt Angle (watching a monitor) buries Kidman for no reason then tries to keep the peace with his tag partner Chris Benoit.
A weird perv cam has been set up in Victoria’s locker room. She argues with a mirror, then a cardboard cut-out of Trish Stratus, about who the ‘prettiest diva in the WWE’ is.
Trish Stratus vs Victoria – WWE Women’s Title Hardcore Match
As we saw at No Mercy, Victoria came to the WWE extremely pissed off at Trish thanks to events stemming back to their time in the fitness modelling industry. She didn’t let the issue die after her defeat in October – and in fact has become increasingly deranged. The multiple, weapon-filled brawls between these two ladies led to this one being booked as a Hardcore Match.
Victoria attacks Trish during her entrance and begins choking her with her own ring jacket. Trash cans filled with weapons are in all four corners FYI. Victoria reaches into one and pulls out a broomstick which she uses to throttle her rival. She then grabs it again to blast a trash can lid into Stratus’ face. Violent, face-first Irish whip into one of those garbage cans next then a slingshot somersault leg drop which visible connects with Trish’s jaw and leaves her a little rattled. She retorts by catapulting Victoria into one of the trash cans for 2. Whip through an ironing board by the champ before she starts smoking the challenger with multiple kendo stick shots. Trash can lid shot TO THE FACE from Victoria! So Stratus repeatedly smacks her about with the same lid to knock her off the top rope. Victoria is bleeding from the nose but it doesn’t stop her dragging a mirror out from under the ring. Kendo stick shot to the back by Victoria…then a drop toehold into the stick for 2. Fire extinguisher to the face…and that’s apparently the win for Victoria at 07:02
Rating - ** - Plenty of effort and guts on display, but at times this was a real mess. There were multiple times where you could see things going wrong – be it through poorly executed manoeuvres or weapons not working as they should have. The finish looked horrendous too.
We’ve been seeing shots of the Elimination Chamber competitors warming up all evening. The hype for the main event continues as Coach interviews Eric Bischoff – who calls the Chamber ‘groundbreaking’ and ‘history in the making’. Big Show and his Big Gut interrupts him…
In the WWE Champion’s locker room Paul Heyman confesses to Brock that he is nervous. He doesn’t see how the injured Lesnar can win tonight...but promises to do everything possible to ensure that ‘his client’ leaves with the belt. That’s not at all subtle.
Brock Lesnar vs Big Show – WWE Title Match
After bitching to Eric Bischoff that he wasn’t being put in main events, Big Show forced a trade to Smackdown. He debuted sporting a handlebar moustache, flat top, black pants and black shirt look which made him look like a mutated villain from a 70’s soap opera…but to give credit where it was due, he was booked like a killer. He put Undertaker on the injured list by press slamming him off the Smackdown set and he inflicted several beatings on Lesnar that left him with a broken rib. Brock’s own agent, Paul Heyman, believes that the champ’s injuries (both those inflicted by Show and those sustained during Hell In A Cell at No Mercy) are such that he doesn’t stand a chance tonight. Can Lesnar, with his ribs taped, defeat the rampant giant?
Lesnar pie-faces Show before the bell…and we are underway with the NY fans right behind the champ. Show is undaunted and hits an overhand chop to the ribs before tossing Brock across the ring. Lesnar explodes off the ground and beats the challenger out of the ring – only to be driven ribs-first into the ringpost when he gives chase. Show Stopper COUNTERED with a back suplex. GERMAN SUPLEX ON BIG SHOW! The ribs prevent him getting Show up for an F-5 though. BELLY TO BELLY INSTEAD! The ref got bumped in the process, and as Brock feels his ribs Heyman tosses a chair into the ring. He got that chair ominously close to Big Show wouldn’t you say? Brock grabs it anyway, and whacks him in the face. F-5 NAILED! It’s over…but Paul drags the ref out of the ring to break the pin! Lesnar chases after his agent…straight into chair shots to the ribs from Show. CHOKESLAM ON THE CHAIR! Big Show wins the title at 04:18
Rating - ** - This feud got so much right, only to be blown at the end with some of the worst booking you’ll ever see. Big Show was presented as a serious threat for the first time in ages. The feud had been decent, the crowd lapped it up and WORSHIPPED Lesnar. The match itself was kept short, and played to both men’s strengths whilst hiding Show’s obvious weaknesses. Beating Show in three minutes after a dominant performance would have sky-rocketed Brock’s career. Isn’t that what WWE had been working on all year? Wasn’t making Brock the face of the WWE why they spent months feuding him with Undertaker, and had Taker put him over in perhaps the bloodiest Hell In A Cell ever? Why, when Lesnar was on the cusp of something so special would they waste it to put the title on the f*cking Big Show...who had four years of sucking and blown opportunities to prove that he didn’t even have HALF of the potential that Lesnar had. And, as an extra kick in the teeth the finish made NO SENSE! Paul Heyman didn’t think Brock could beat Big Show, but then screwed him over when it was obvious Brock had him beaten? There was plenty to enjoy about this match and this feud. But ultimately ridiculous booking and an appalling finish drag it down – and many actually attribute this finish as the end of Smackdown’s late-2002 glory days. It’s hard to disagree
SIDENOTE – It was clear WWE realised the error of their ways pretty quickly, as they took the belt off Big Show again the following month. Any fool could have told you that the money match for Brock at WrestleMania 19 was Lesnar vs Angle. This detour with Show getting the belt made zero sense and represented yet another failed attempt to make Big Show the second Andre The Giant – despite the fact that this wasn’t 1981 anymore and people just didn’t buy into him. It shouldn't have taken the destruction of Brock Lesnar, the finest prospect of his generation, to make them realise this.
Big Show and Paul Heyman immediately leave the arena in a waiting limousine as Cole and Tazz struggle to make sense of things without overtly ridiculing the booking.
Edge/Rey Mysterio vs Kurt Angle/Chris Benoit vs Los Guerreros – WWE Tag Title Match
History would come to acknowledge these man as the ‘Smackdown Six’. After the late summer and autumn of 2002 the six of them engaged in interwoven feuds and produced any number of high quality matches. The Edge/Guerrero feud was critically acclaimed. Edge and Kurt had been stealing shows with their feud earlier in 2002. The Angle/Benoit vs Edge/Mysterio clash at No Mercy was immediately heralded as a MOTYC…as was their televised 2/3 Falls rematch which saw Edge and Rey take the gold. Dysfunctional team-mates Angle and Benoit desperately tried to maintain an operational tag team unit despite their personal issues…which the hysterical antics of Eddie and Chavo often exacerbated. Smackdown GM Stephanie McMahon felt she had no choice but to book the six of them into a triple threat elimination match to finally settle the score between them all.
Los Guerreros prance around the ring clearly trying to ramp up the tensions between their four opponents…before backing away to make sure neither of them have to start. Mysterio and Benoit get us going, with the Wolverine struggling to cope with Rey’s fast-paced antics and Rey struggling to cope with an ill-fitting mask. Angle forcibly tags Chavo in, who is promptly squashed with a springboard splash from Rey. Eddie tags in for a dazzling little exchange with Mysterio before aggressively tagging back out to Kurt. Rey somersaults up the ringpost to drive Angle into the ringpost, but seconds later is back dropped at the same turnbuckles by the Olympian…where he slips and lands ON HIS HEAD! Benoit and Angle begin working over the luchador’s neck (which is pretty ideal because it means Rey can adjust his mask whilst selling it). Eventually Rey lands on his feet from a Kurt Angle German suplex attempt, and defies several minutes of abuse on his neck to make a hot tag to Edge. Eddie and Chavo were again refusing tags and staying out of the match there too. RUNNING RANA TO THE FLOOR from Rey to Eddie! CROSSFACE/ANKLELOCK COMBO ON EDGE! REY SAVES WITH A SPRINGBOARD HILO! Chavo and Angle brawl on the floor, until they are wiped out by a corkscrew pescado from Mysterio. Guerrero sunset flips Benoit INTO A GERMAN SUPLEX ON EDGE! BACK SUPLEX TO THE FLOOR from Benoit to Eddie! ROLLING GERMANS for Edge! Guerrero hilariously tries to steal Benoit’s pin with the FROG SPLASH! FLYING WOLVERINE ON EDDIE! ANGLE SLAM! Angle puts Eddie in the Anklelock, which causes the ref to miss Chavo nailing Benoit in his surgically repaired neck with one of the title belts. He then hands it to Kurt so Benoit blames him! Mysterio wipes Chavo out with a baseball slide headscissors as in the ring Edge nails the SPEAR on Benoit! Angle and Benoit are eliminated at 13:07. They aren’t happy about it though and assault all four remaining participants before storming up the aisle arguing with each other. Eddie suffered least at the hands of the eliminated team so recovers quickest and leads his team in isolating Edge. As you might expect, some of the tactics they employ in wearing down the Canadian aren’t particularly sporting but it leaves the match and the titles in real jeopardy. Somehow Edge recovers with a double flapjack on both Guerreros and get the crucial tag to his partner. Rey absolutely KILLS it with some stunning hot babyface tag offence before his partner joins him. LEAPFROG SUPER RANA NAILED! CHAVO SAVES! 619! Chavo saves his uncle from the West Coast Pop as he nails Rey with the OTHER title belt! LASSO FROM EL PASO! Los Guerreros are your new tag champs at 19:24
Rating - **** - The limitations of a triple threat tag match didn’t really help these guys here, but this was still an awesome match which showcased everything we came to love about the ‘Smackdown Six’ era. Benoit and Angle brought some stunning wrestling to the party. Edge was an outstanding babyface, looked like a veteran and was involved in all the best multi-person spot exchanges. Los Guerreros were brilliant and hysterical in equal measure with their lying, cheating and stealing. That leaves Rey Mysterio who, despite issues with his mask, was the star of the show. Some of the stuff he did (particularly with the Guerreros who are the most comfortable with his style) was unbelievable, and he took some amazing bumps too. The submission finish was a little flat, and the action did die down a little after the first elimination, but I was pleasantly surprised by how good this was, as I remembered feeling a little disappointed when I watched live.
It’s supposed to be time for the Elimination Chamber but Chris Nowinski decides to interrupt the show to brag about being intelligent. Matt Hardy comes out to disagree with Nowinski’s assertion that New Yorkers are stupid…because he thinks they are actually ‘losers’. JR and Lawler don’t help the segment by burying it whilst it’s going on. Scott Steiner makes his first WWE appearance in years to take them both out.
Terri Runnels tries to interview Shawn Michaels, but is interrupted by Randy Orton who provides an update on his injured shoulder.
HHH thinks he has a ‘first class ticket to hell’ by being booked into this match…and invites all his opponents to join him.
The stalling before the main event continues as Bischoff comes out to introduce the Elimination Chamber and run through the rules. The idea is that it combines the ‘brutality of Hell In A Cell, the unpredictability of War Games, the heritage of Survivor Series and the prestige of the World Title’.
SIDENOTE – I reviewed this one as part of the WWE’s Elimination Chamber compilation DVD. I’ve copied and pasted the bulk of the below from that…
Triple H vs Shawn Michaels vs Chris Jericho vs Booker T vs Kane vs Rob Van Dam – World Heavyweight Title Elimination Chamber Match
In a sensible move, WWE started promoting Raw as Eric Bischoff’s demented wrestling creation where ‘anything could happen’. Booking decisions ranging from bizarre to awful like HLA, Raw Roulette, Katie Vick and giving away World Titles were explained in this manner – and it actually served as a unique selling point for Raw (in a rather twisted way). Eric’s latest perverse creation is the Elimination Chamber. HHH defends his belt against five of his top challengers, most of whom hate his guts. He and Jericho have a feud going back years, and met earlier in the year in Hell In A Cell. He has made Kane and RVD’s lives miserable during his reign as World Champion, and he did his best to cripple Shawn Michaels with a sledgehammer after their brutal Summerslam Street Fight. Can he survive this sternest of tests to his championship? Can Shawn complete his fairytale comeback by once again becoming a World Champion? Is Booker T relevant to this match at all? Lets find out…
Michaels has a girls haircut and ugly brown tights…and is in his first Survivor Series appearance since the infamous Montreal incident. Saliva (from The World) play Chris Jericho to the ring with a HORRIBLE song. HHH (who has Ric Flair in his corner) and Van Dam will start. There is a bit of an awkward hush as the bell rings, with the crowd not really knowing what to expect. HHH goes for an early Pedigree and gets backdropped onto the steel grating outside the ring. Van Dam throws him into the chains so hard that HHH almost busts through the door, busting the defending champion open. Rolling Thunder OVER the ropes, to HHH on the steel outside. He climbs up the chains onto the roof of Jericho’s chamber…but Y2J decides to grab his leg and preoccupy him. SOMERSAULT SENTON to the steel floor again! Next into the action is Jericho, who walks into a spinning heel kick from Van Dam who has been dominant thus far. RVD jumps at him…AND LANDS ON THE SIDE OF THE CHAMBER LIKE SPIDERMAN! He dives backwards into a plancha onto Jericho and gets a huge round of applause for that. In the end Triple H and Jericho decide it’s best to team up on a mutual enemy. Van Dam gets driven back-first into the chains repeatedly.
Ten minutes in, the next entrant is Booker. He clears the ring, which obviously means it’s time for an Elimination Chamber Spinaroonie. RVD and Booker trade heel kicks and nearfalls whilst Jericho and the bleeding HHH have some lying around time. Axe Kick on Triple H, but Y2J saves before Booker can pin. RVD capitalises…and climbs another chamber. FIVE STAR FROG SPLASH OFF THE CHAMBER! He ended up drilling a knee into HHH’s throat and gave him a legit injury there. Cool spot, but it ended up being another moment of career suicide for RVD. The move took so much out of Van Dam that he turns into a missile dropkick from Booker and is eliminated at 13:41. The New York fans HATE that. Booker avoids the Lionsault from Jericho and drops him with a spinebuster for 2. Kane is in now, with his first act being to throw Jericho THROUGH some of that ‘bullet-proof’ glass. Chokeslam on Booker, and the now-bleeding Jericho sneaks in to hit the Lionsault and eliminate him at 17:40. 20 minutes have now passed, and about ten seconds late, the clock counts down…in comes Shawn Michaels. Flying forearm for Kane, who retaliates by whipping Michaels into the turnbuckles. Chokeslam on HBK! Chokeslam on HHH! Chokeslam on Y2J! He tries to hoist HHH up for the Tombstone, but Hunter manages to shove him into a superkick from Michaels. PEDIGREE! LIONSAULT BY JERICHO! Kane is eliminated at 22:53. Just as they did with Van Dam earlier, Triple H and Jericho start double-teaming Michaels. Pretty soon Shawn is bleeding too.
He tries to piledrive Jericho on the steel, but ends up taking a back drop, his notoriously injured back crashing into the grating. Forearm on HHH, but just as Michaels looks like he’s getting some momentum going, Jericho wipes him out with a bulldog. LIONSAULT! But HBK kicks out. MOONSAULT PRESS FOR 2! WALLS OF JERICHO ON Y2J! But HHH takes the opportunity to DDT his nemesis for 2. Jericho and HHH come to blows over who gets to beat up Michaels as we approach 30 minutes. Pedigree countered to the Walls Of Jericho! SUPERKICK BY MICHAELS! Jericho is eliminated at 30:42, and it’s down to Triple H and Shawn Michaels for the World Championship. HHH goes straight to the spinebuster on the bad back for 2. Back body drop on the steel next! HBK tries a desperate Pedigree on the steel, but he ends up getting CATAPULTED through another one of those chambers! Michaels tries to swing some right hands, but takes a facebuster then another clothesline over the ropes to the steel floor. He still manages to block the Pedigree and sent Hunter into the chains again. Shawn to the top rope…then to the top of the chamber! ELBOW DROP OFF THE CHAMBER! He goes to the corner…SWEET CHIN MUSIC BLOCKED! PEDIGREE! But Triple H, who has been in since the very start, is too tired to cover. He finally does pin HBK but it took too long and Shawn gets a shoulder up. A second Pedigree is blocked. SWEET CHIN MUSIC! SHAWN WINS! NEW WORLD CHAMPION AT 39:20!
Rating - **** - Sure there were some moments where the wrestlers were visibly stalling with several very apparent lulls in the action. But this is a fine example of what the WWE does very well. Whatever you think about the actual wrestling abilities of some of these men, you can’t deny that the WWE machine makes their fans CARE about what is going on in the ring. A lot of what Hunter and Shawn did in the last ten minutes was very basic...but people hated HHH, and were so DESPERATE to see Michaels win the World Title again that they were literally on the edge of their seats. The pop when he finally won was amazing. It’s a shame more wasn’t done with the unique environment that the Elimination Chamber provides though. Outside some generic bumping on the steel, and a few whips through the plexi-glass…it was basically left to Rob Van Dam to innovate some cool stuff to do with the new structure. He clearly went out there intent on stealing the show since he was first out, and credit to him because that Spiderman spot is still, as far as I can tell, one of the signature Elimination Chamber moments. I liked Jericho in here too. He was obviously in a hard place in that he wasn’t a babyface like everyone else, and wasn’t particularly over as a heel either. But from a workrate perspective it was him that carried large portions of this match, particularly after Van Dam injured HHH with the Frog Splash. The negatives were obviously that this was a LONG match, with several dead-weight moments of generic brawling that could have been culled. I’m an RVD mark so I could’ve done with his elimination coming later and being handled better too. There are better EC matches, but this was a great way to debut the new concept – and Shawn regaining the World Title at the end of it obviously goes down as a historic moment.
Tape Rating - *** - This pay-per-view has it flaws but it’s mostly pretty enjoyable. The opener is violent and chaotic, there are title changes galore, Lesnar/Show is pretty spectacular before the booking ruined it, the Smackdown Six delivered the goods again and the debut of the Elimination Chamber was memorable. Shawn cementing his comeback with the title win is still a pretty emotional moment to watch more than a decade later. The whole show LOOKS pretty cool as well. MSG was set-up incredibly well for a wrestling show, and the whole graphics and production package felt very cutting edge. It wasn’t on the level of Summerslam, and it may not have had anything as good as the top matches at Unforgiven or No Mercy – but it was pretty consistent and it definitely FELT like a ‘big four’ pay-per-view. A solid recommendation from me
Top 3 Matches
3) Bubba Ray Dudley/Spike Dudley/Jeff Hardy vs 3-Minute Warning/Rico (****)
2) Edge/Rey Mysterio vs Los Guerreros vs Kurt Angle/Chris Benoit (****)
1) Triple H vs Shawn Michaels vs Chris Jericho vs Booker T vs Kane vs Rob Van Dam (****)