Raw - April 22nd 2002

Don’t Trust Anybody

Backstage, Raw owner Ric Flair shows up but when he’s friendly towards some backstage staff they’re standoffish. Flair exasperatedly explains that he did NOT intentionally screw Stone Cold over as referee last night at Backlash and it was an accident. The Undertaker shows up and he thanks Ric for what he did, implying that either because he’s afraid of Undertaker or because he’s sick of Austin bucking his authority he did intentionally screw Austin over. Flair does seem guilt ridden by what happened.

Backstage, Flair’s misadventures continue and William Regal sarcastically congratulates him on his excellent job of referee last night. Flair tells him it was an accident and an innocent mistake but Regal doesn’t believe him. King doesn’t either but JR does. Do you? 

Ric Flair in his office talks to Arn Anderson about the way he’s being treated tonight and the fact that no one believes him screwing over Stone Cold was an accident. Arn doesn’t seem like he believes him either but says he does, and points out that if the staff backstage don’t believe him and some of the talent don’t believe him then lots of fans probably don’t either so Ric Flair says he’s going to go down to the ring and address this and prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that when he didn’t see Stone Cold’s foot on the ropes to break the pin, it was an accident and genuine mistake. Flair heads down to the ring next and does his best to explain himself. He seems humble and sincere and says he understands why Stone Cold is so upset with him. He should have seen the foot on the ropes, stopped the pin and let the match continue but he didn’t. He has the footage from the finish of the Austin/Undertaker match at Backlash play and in the footage it does indeed seem like he noticed Austin’s foot but still counted! He asks for more footage from a different angle and sure enough in that footage you cannot see Austin’s foot on the ropes through Undertaker’s body, so Ric seems to be innocent afterall. He says that he respects and likes Steve Austin and even calls them friends. He asks Stone Cold to come down to the ring so they can bury the hatchet and move past this. He apologises from the bottom of his heart, which gets some boos. It seems like the fans might still not be buying this.

He says that he respects and likes Steve Austin and even calls them friends. He asks Stone Cold to come down to the ring so they can bury the hatchet and move past this. He apologises from the bottom of his heart, which gets some boos. It seems like the fans might still not be buying this.

The Rattlesnake makes his way down to the ring and looks like he’s going to do his normal entrance but keeps stopping like he has second thoughts. Austin looks distracted and even more pissed off than usual. Ric can’t even look him in the eyes as he berates him and says he thinks he’s full of crap! He doesn’t trust or believe him for a second. The more Flair whines about it, the more he pisses him off! Austin calls screwing him the worst mistake he’ll ever make. Flair starts to get angry and tells Austin to respect him because he’s not Vince McMahon. Austin says he wishes he was Vince McMahon because at least he’s direct about trying to screw him. He sticks his middle finger in Flair’s face as the Nature Boy continues to try and talk sense and logic, and offers to make things right tonight. He says that he didn’t bring the nWo down to the ring - which is interesting because no one was accusing him of that, is that a little overly defensive? - but tonight it’ll be Stone Cold and Bradshaw vs. the nWo so that he can get his revenge on them. Austin doesn’t seem happy with that - he wanted to be put back into the WWF title picture. Flair leaves and the Rattlesnake looks very thoughtful as he leaves.

Backstage, medical personnel are checking on Bradshaw who is out for the count, face down on the concrete. Now Stone Cold doesn’t have a partner for tonight’s main event. Ric assumes, as we all do, that the nWo are behind this and goes to confront Hall and X-Pac. They assume that means tonight’s main event is now a handicap match but Ric says he’ll find Austin a new partner for tonight. After he leaves, Kevin Nash comes out of the bathroom but he’s supposed to be suspended. Ric comes back in and reminds them of that, telling Nash to get out of the arena and to not come back! I previously said that Nash was “suspended” to cover for him filming some TV appearances but I was wrong - he tore his bicep and needed minor surgery. Anyway, Flair says seeing “the big man” has given him an idea and Austin’s partner tonight will now be the Big Show! 

In the main event, Scott Hall and X-Pac from the nWo take on Stone Cold and Big Show. It’s interesting that they’ve let us know Kevin Nash is here and in the area tonight, even if he has been kicked out of the arena. With all that's going on with Austin and Ric Flair, and Bradshaw being taken out it seems like there’s a trap closing around the Rattlesnake. Hall and Pac isolate Austin and tag in and out to stay fresh and after several minutes of beating him down two on one, Austin scores with a Stunner on Hall so he can finally tag in the Big Show. To everyone’s shock, Show doesn’t attack the nWo and instead grabs Austin by the throat, planting him with a massive, awesome looking chokeslam! The Big Show has joined the nWo and the three of them stand over the fallen Rattlesnake with the nWo music playing as Raw goes off the air. I talked about X-Pac’s history with the nWo during Backlash but The Big Show has similar history - he was actually the first person to join the group in WCW after the original three (Hall, Nash and Hogan) so this makes sense and stacks the deck even more against Stone Cold Steve Austin. Once again, Ric Flair’s actions have indirectly led to misfortune for Stone Cold.

The Game Goes to Jail

The Undertaker heads down to the ring. He is officially the number one contender for the Undisputed WWF Championship and personally made sure that man is Hulk Hogan. Why did he screw Triple H? He thanks Ric Flair for helping him, even though he’d have beaten Austin anyway. The fans chant Austin at him. He turns his attention to Hulk Hogan and tells him that he’s welcome, and at Judgment Day he’ll enjoy being Judge, Jury and Executioner on Hulkamania. As he talks, Triple H is shown arriving backstage and The Undertaker exclaims that as a Smackdown talent, Triple H cannot be here!

He’s right and JR and King echo the sentiment but it doesn’t stop The Game and Triple H marches to the ring and tackles Undertaker, beating the hell out of him. They fight to the outside and he tackles him up and over the announce desk and hits him in the head over and over again with one of the television monitors which looked really cool and busts Undertaker open. Triple H continues the vicious beating as an army of referees come down to escort Triple H from the building. Undertaker throws a cheap shot at him and tries to leave but that just motivates Triple H to break free and run after him, continuing the assault. Triple H seems determined to try and kill Undertaker for costing him the Undisputed title last night. Undertaker still hasn’t really explained why he screwed over Triple H but the implication was that he’d rather beat Hulk Hogan for the title than The Game. They fight all the way backstage and Triple H is so brutal and focused that even Undertaker is forced to beg for mercy! Triple H grabs his sledgehammer from what is presumably his car and after a shot to the ribs prepares to cave his head in with the hammer but he’s grabbed by arena security and then finally arrested by the police. Triple H is led away in handcuffs as a bleeding Undertaker lays helpless against The Game’s car. Triple H gives him one last boot to the chest while handcuffed for good measure. That was awesome.

Hulkamania Lives

The show opened with a recap of Hulk Hogan’s big victory last night at Backlash

and throughout the show there’s more highlights from his career including his first WWF title win in 1984, him defeating Macho Man Randy Savage for the WWF title at Wrestlemania 5, beating Sgt. Slaughter at Wrestlemania 7 and beating Yokozuna at Wrestlemania 9. 

That leads to later in the show, the new Undisputed WWF Champion Hollywood Hulk Hogan comes to the ring and gets a massive reaction from the fans who are happy to keep riding this nostalgic Hulkamania wave. He says basically what you’d expect him too - appreciates the fans, Hulkamania lives, he mentions his history and brings up what Vince said on Smackdown. Whatcha gonna do when reality comes crashing down on him? Thanks to all the Hulkamaniacs, he has reality around his waist in the form of the WWF title belt. He says whether this run ends this week, next week or however long it lasts he’ll be leaving a happy man because the fans have brought Hulkamania back from the dead. That’s a nice sentiment. He ends up on The Undertaker and asks what he’s gonna do at Judgment Day when Hulkamania runs wild on him? This was just a nice promo to let the fans see Hogan and let him soak in the moment a bit as the new champion. 

Other Happenings

• Raw opens with Brock Lesnar vs. Matt Hardy. This match was scheduled for Backlash but after Matt was injured last week, Jeff took his place. Brock injured Jeff Hardy last night and won their replacement match by referee stoppage. Basically Matt doesn’t stand much of a chance here but he wants revenge. He jumps Brock from behind, coming through the crowd but it makes no difference as Lesnar absolutely destroys Matt, all the while Paul Heyman screams at him not to pin Matt - hurt him! Lita isn’t here tonight and I talked about why at Backlash, but in the storyline Matt asked her to stay away because of how dangerous Brock is which is fair enough. Just like against Jeff at Backlash, Brock wins by referee stoppage. 

• During the show, JR and King tell us all about the phenomenal success of The Scorpion King, The Rock’s first terrible movie. He was gone for months after Wrestlemania X7 to film it and he’s currently off TV for a few weeks to promote it. Seems like that’s working out for him.

• The new Intercontinental Champion Eddie Guerrero joins commentary for the next match which is Mr. Perfect vs. Rob Van Dam. Eddie is very funny. This match is decent and RVD wins clean with the Five Star Frog Splash. Eddie, apparently still offended that Rob uses the Frog Splash, jumps him from behind and hits him in the back of the head with the title belt. He tries to follow up with his own Frog Splash but misses and RVD sends him scurrying with a spinning hell kick. RVD is due a rematch and I look forward to it because their Backlash match was great.

• This is also Mr. Perfect’s final appearance in the WWF and you can find out why by reading my Insurrextion coverage.
• Trish Stratus was unlucky last night at Backlash thanks mostly to Molly Holly so tonight she’s teaming with Jacqueline against Molly and women’s champion Jazz. Molly’s main gimmick continues to be how wholesome and virtuous she is which is disappointing as it means we have to listen to King squeal about how she’s a virgin every time she appears. King just in general really gets on my nerves but very much so during this match as between squeals about virgins and Trish’s puppies, he keeps making nasty comments about Jazz’s appearance. He did the same at Backlash. Jazz and Molly win the match as Jazz sends Trish into the ringsteps to take her out and then hits Jackie with the women’s title belt leaving her as easy pickings. Jazz and Molly continue the attack after the match but Trish fights them both off even with a bad back because she’s a hero. 

• Hardcore Champion Bubba Ray Dudley and European Champion Spike Dudley take on the new makeshift team of Booker T and Goldust, who were successful against The Hardyz last week. It is heartwarming to see Bubba and Spike reunited after being at each other’s throats for months. JR and King mention that earlier tonight Booker T and Goldust reviewed The Scorpion King but that segment is removed from this version of the show which I assume is a copyright issue but here it is on YouTube;

• Seems like Booker and Goldust’s bond comes from a love of movies, but more so believing they should be big movie stars themselves. They’re still wrestling as heels but making people laugh is going to make them good guys in no time. Bubba and Spike get distracted trying to set up a table but it backfires and Booker puts down Spike with a Scissors Kick to win the match. As Bubba consoles his little brother, Steven Richards runs down with a trashcan lid to try and steal the Hardcore title. Spike helps out his brother but is dumped to the outside and Richards finishes setting up the table. Bubba takes advantage of the distraction to powerbomb Richards right through the table and make sure no one steals his 24/7 Hardcore title. 

• Backstage, Shawn Stasiak chats to Tommy Dreamer and continues to speak entirely in rhyme. Dreamer asks him what's going on with Planet Stasiak and he rambles on about the voices in his head. He’s interrupted by William Regal who calls him a silly tart and challenges him to a match tonight, which is accepted and up next. Planet Stasiak, who is straight up craziak vs. William Regal. He rushes the ring and walks right into a straight brass knuckles assisted punch. Regal covers and the referee shrugs but counts the pin anyway. That seems massively unfair. 

Smackdown - April 25th, 2002

More Number One Contender Battles

Smackdown opens with the Undisputed Champion Hulk Hogan. He takes a long time to soak up the crowd reaction and enjoy the cheers before saying that he has something to clear up. If it wasn’t for The Undertaker he might not have beaten Triple H at Backlash and so tonight he wants to give The Game his rematch for the title! He starts to praise Triple H and calls him the best he’s ever been in the ring with until Triple H’s music hits and he comes down to the ring to presumably accept that title match for tonight. Triple H says that Hogan’s question of whether he’d have still won the title without The Undertaker - there is no question, he wouldn’t be! Triple H says he respected Hogan at Backlash and shook his hand, and he respects him offering the title match tonight and asks if he’ll shake Triple H’s hand after losing like he did? Their face to face conversation is interrupted by Smackdown owner, Triple H’s future ex-father in law, Vince McMahon. He says neither one of them are co-owners of the WWF and have no ability to make matches. He says he makes the best matches for the fans and after asking if they want to see Hogan vs. Triple H for the title tonight, says it’s not happening and gets loud boos and an “asshole” chant. He says that Triple H got arrested on Raw and so doesn’t deserve a title match tonight. He also says that Triple H never gave Chris Jericho a rematch for the title after Wrestlemania so tonight it’ll be Triple H vs. Chris Jericho and the winner will challenge Hogan for the Undisputed title next week on Smackdown! McMahon taunts them both, doing Hogan’s muscle poses and then taking a drink of water and doing Triple H’s trademark water spray entrance. Both Triple H and Hogan look like they’re trying not to laugh when he does that.

Mark Lloyd interviews Chris Jericho who calls Vince McMahon a genius and extremely fair for giving him this chance to earn a title match against Hogan and not just handing one to Triple H. He says he’ll beat Triple H tonight, Hogan next week and then retain his title against Undertaker at Judgment Day. He points out that Triple H held the title for 4 weeks whereas he held it for 4 months. That is true and I’m not sure what the original booking plans were before Hogan’s popularity exploded and forced a change but I’m sure The Game was supposed to hold the title a lot longer. 

In the main event, Chris Jericho goes one on one with Triple H in a Wrestlemania main event rematch. It’s been hyped all night but the winner challenges Hulk Hogan for the Undisputed WWF title next week on Smackdown, which is a big deal. As this match begins there’s 19 minutes left of the show which is a long time for a TV main event in this era. Smackdown did eventually become known as the “wrestling” show vs. Raw which was more storyline focused and it seems like that reputation started very soon into the brand split. As the match progresses, Vince McMahon is shown watching the match all cuddled up with Stacy. If the storyline of her as his assistant makes you uncomfortable you’re not alone. They’re interrupted by The Undertaker and we’re left to wonder why the Raw superstar is here. Neither Triple H or Jericho know he’s backstage while Tazz and Cole speculate. Maybe he’s here for revenge on Triple H for Raw? This is a really good match - probably better than their Wrestlemania match honestly - with Jericho countering out of the Pedigree again and again including locking in a long Walls of Jericho. I’m starting to think that the negative reaction to their Wrestlemania match is what inspired them to do this long main event tonight - to prove people wrong and that they can have a great match. Triple H goes for the Pedigree again but when The Undertaker comes down to distract him, Jericho is able to roll up The Game and steal the victory, earning a title match with Hulk Hogan next week. Undertaker rushes the ring and he and Jericho beat up Triple H two on one. He drills Undertaker with a massive, awesome looking chokeslam and then Jericho locks him in the Walls of Jericho. Undertaker grabs a steel chair and it seems like they’re far from finished with The Game but Hulk Hogan gets down to the ring and fights Undertaker, clotheslining him up and over the top rope. Smackdown ends in chaos with Hogan and Undertaker fighting in the crowd while Jericho celebrates being the number one contender.

Fashion Show Gone Awry 

Backstage, Kurt Angle arrives and is all smiles after beating Edge last night. He meets a backstage member of staff and tells him to get excited because tonight he’s going to unveil his new t-shirt. On the back, it’ll list all of his accomplishments and because he has so many, the smallest size this t-shirt will be available in is 3XL. I don’t think thats how t-shirts work Kurt.

Backstage, Kurt Angle has his new t-shirt under a blanket waiting to be unveiled tonight. He spends some time stressing the importance of this moment to a photographer and as he does, Edge tiptoes past in the background with a smile on his face and a backpack like it’s a Looney Tunes cartoon. I think he might have swapped out Kurt’s new t-shirt. That segment is next and Kurt goes down to the ring and after insulting the town they’re in and telling them how lucky they are to see him in person. He designed this t-shirt himself and after a lot of build up as he’s about to finally remove the sheet, Edge comes out onto the stage. He’s dressed entirely in black leather which might be cool? I guess he has the long hair and the rock music as his theme song so it all fits. Edge wanted to be here for the unveiling and congratulated Kurt on beating him last night. He wants to see his t-shirt because he has a lot of respect for him. Kurt shakes his hand and removes the sheet before the assembled photographers. It says “You Suck” and Kurt doesn’t realise and obliviously praises it until he spots the switch. Edge asks for Kurt’s music to play and leads the crowd in a You Suck chant as he leaves and Angle is furious. 

Later, Edge teams with Rikishi against Albert and Kurt Angle. The match gets really good in the closing moments with a flurry of finishing moves. An Angle slam on Rikishi and a Spear to Kurt. It’s Albert who comes out on top with a Bicycle Kick to Rikishi and then a Baldo Bomb which was very impressive given Rikishi’s size. After the match, Angle tries to attack Edge with a steel chair but gets it kicked back into his face and with a low blow to Albert, Edge manages to fight them both off. Backstage, Kurt comes across the same member of staff he insulted earlier who is now wearing the You Suck t-shirt that Edge made. The guy isn’t a performer and stands there blank faced as Kurt reacts to it and storms off.

Another Important Debut

In Mr. McMahon’s office, his executive assistant Stacy Keibler gives him a scalp massage until they’re joined by a new Smackdown superstar - the 22 year old Randy Orton! Vince says he has a try out match tonight and mentions Randy’s father, Cowboy Bob Orton and grandfather who was also a wrestler. He wishes him luck but then when he leaves, Stacy flirts with the, let's be fair, very handsome Randy. She talks about how big his hands are and asks him to take his top off so she can check out his body. The women in the arena squeal for him. It's wild to see him look so slim and with so few tattoos. When Vince returns, Stacy accuses him of stripping and feeling her up! Vince is pissed and says that Randy’s tryout match will be against Hardcore Holly. 

Randy Orton’s debut match is a big deal. Much like with Brock Lesnar, you probably don’t need me to explain why and who he is. He works fast and goes for early covers with no luck and Holly lives up to his real life reputation as a bully laying in some stiff looking punches to the face and a hard kick to the gut. Randy scores an upset win with a roll up and quickly gets out of the ring with a shocked look on his face. The first win of many for one of the most decorated Superstars in history. But I’m getting ahead of myself. 

Other Happenings

• In a six man tag team match Al Snow, Maven and Billy Kidman take on their respective Backlash opponents WWF Tag Team Champions Billy and Chuck and Cruiserweight Champion Tajiri. Before the match, Tajiri and Torrie Wilson drop in to see Billy and Chuck. Rico is teaching Chuck the proper way to rub fake tan into Billy’s shoulders. Billy does an extremely racist Japanese accent which makes Torrie laugh. I don’t think it was supposed to, she’s just a terrible actor. Rico talks about how ugly Torrie’s outfit is, but it would probably look better on someone more attractive. Tajiri drags Torrie behind him when they head off for the match which is next. Kidman and Tajiri had a great match at Backlash and Kidman deserves a way better reaction from the fans than he’s getting. Kidman still works for the WWE in 2025 as a backstage agent and producer. Maven and Snow pull off Billy and Chuck’s trunks revealing their matching thongs and so the tag team champions run away! Rico is left behind so Torrie pulls his pants down too to show another matching thong! That leaves Tajiri in a three on one situation and Kidman lands a Shooting Star Press to win the match for his team. Snow and Maven put on Billy and Chuck’s trunks and ruin the whole thing by acting really camp. I’m not really into homophobia.

• Backstage, Mark Henry’s feats of strength continue and the assembled crowd of superstars place bets on whether he can bend a frying pan in half. Faarooq tells him not to take the bet because there’s no way he can do it! Mark wants to and is sure he can and they all scramble to get their bets in. He uses a towel for grip and Mark Henry does actually manage to bend the frying pan, rolling it in half like a newspaper. Test is unimpressed and challenges Mark to bend a steel bar which he accepts for double or nothing. He does it with what looks like ease and folds it in half. The World’s Strongest Man indeed. Christian hits Mark from behind with the bent frying pan and he and Test run off. What a sore loser. That sets up Mark Henry vs. Christian later tonight.

• Mark dominates Christian, who uses a low blow to get some offence in. Mark locks Christian in a bearhug and shakes him like a ragdoll until he finally submits. The World’s Strongest Man and his funky theme song is a much better gimmick than Sexual Chocolate for sure.
• Reverend D-Von makes his way through the crowd with his collection box, raising money for the Mr. McMahon building fund. It seems that D-Von aims to build a church! A fan/plant steals his box so D-Von chases him down and beats the hell out of the kid who looks a bit like Rodney from the Mean Street Posse (remember them?) but it wasn't. 

Raw - April 29th, 2002

This is the final WWF Raw, and the final Raw to open with the familiar WWF Attitude signature.

What is Flair Up to?

JR and King recap the events of last week and Backlash where Ric Flair made a mistake which cost Austin a title shot and then led to him being jumped by Big Show and the rest of the nWo but was it a mistake? Stone Cold arrives and tells a backstage member of the crew to tell “that lying sorry son of a bitch” (he means Ric Flair) that he wants to see him out in the ring.

The Rattlesnake marches to the ring and immediately asks for a beer, chugging it before his music even stops playing. He’s a little pissed off. WHAT. He takes that back. WHAT. He's a LOT pissed off. WHAT. He tells the crowd a story about a bald headed son of a bitch named Stone Cold Steve Austin. He recaps everything that Flair did at Backlash and last week on Raw. Stone Cold doesn’t trust Flair and thinks the whole thing is a conspiracy. He demands Flair come to the ring and tell him the only thing he wants to hear - he wants a match with Big Show tonight. Ric does come out and starts by saying he had nothing to do with the nWo or Big Show last week. The fans chant “asshole” at Flair and seem to not believe a word he’s saying! Austin’s paranoia might be justified. Stone Cold is sick of Flair’s apologies and empty words and wants his match with Big Show tonight! Flair says the match can’t happen because he knew Austin would be a beer drinking, ass kicking lunatic tonight so he sent Show on a promotional tour of India. He says he respects Austin and so he remakes the match from last week - him and Bradshaw vs. Scott Hall and X-Pac but to make sure tonight doesn’t do the same way as last week he makes himself the special guest referee. That didn’t work out so great last time! This was an entertaining segment mostly thanks to Stone Cold being the best talker in wrestling.

Terri interviews Bradshaw and asks if he knows who attacked him last week? He says it was Big Show and when he gets back from India he’s going to attack him back and kick his ass. That’s interesting as how could Show possibly have known ahead of time that if he took out Bradshaw, Flair would make him the replacement in the match?

On the phone in his office, Ric Flair explains to someone on the phone that he will carry tonight’s main event right down the middle. He asks to speak to Debra who comes to see the owner and he begs her to get her husband Stone Cold to believe him and trust him. Debra says she has a message from Austin herself and slaps him across the face! DTA - Don’t Trust Anybody. 

Ric Flair has another chance this week to prove to Stone Cold that he’s on the level as referee for this tag team match. Hall and X-Pac are two of four nWo members currently but with Nash suspended and Show in India, they’re without backup tonight and looking down the barrel of a fair fight. During this match, JR mentions that Big Show is in Bombay. He means Mumbai - it hasn’t been called Bombay since 1995. Bradshaw and Austin tag in and out and enjoy taking out their frustration on X-Pac until he shuts Bradshaw down with a dropkick to the knee and he and Hall isolate the big Texan and work on his leg. It breaks down into a wild brawl and Stone Cold hits a Stunner on X-Pac. He covers and Scott Hall puts his buddies foot on the ropes but just like at Backlash, Flair doesn’t see it and counts the three anyway. At least this time it worked out for Stone Cold rather than against him. Ric Flair might have screwed the nWo but he didn’t screw Stone Cold. When he gets backstage, Hall and Pac go to confront him and tell him off. Scott Hall says that if Flair was still wrestling they’d take him out - he says to be careful what they wish for and to get out of his office! 

As Stone Cold and Bradshaw sit together throwing back beers after their victory, Ric Flair enters and asks if he’s proven himself tonight? Neither Austin or Bradshaw are convinced and so he says he’ll convince them next week. It’ll be Hall, X-Pac and Big Show vs. Stone Cold, Bradshaw and Nature Boy Ric Flair in a six man tag team match. He’s determined to prove that he’s a good guy and got Austin’s back.

This is Scott Hall’s final appearance and you can find out why by reading my Insurrextion review. 

Judge, Jury and Executioner

Backstage, The Undertaker is on the prowl and comes across Sgt. Slaughter. He says that since he and Hogan go back a long way and ended up friends after all their battles, he has a message for Hogan. He tells him to go and let him know that he’s in the building and he’s going to call him down to the ring to get a few things straight between them. Feels like he could have just gone and called him out without the pre-warning.

The Undertaker heads down to the ring to apparently call out Hulk Hogan. Hogan is scheduled to defend the title against Chris Jericho on Smackdown so maybe it’ll be him he faces at Judgment Day instead? He says that unlike The Rock and Triple H, he isn’t awestruck by Hogan’s presence or impressed by him. He beat him back in the day and he’ll beat him again. He says Hogan left the WWF in 1993 because he was afraid of the Undertaker and says that if he makes it to Judgment Day he’ll beat him and bloody him and take his title from him. He tells him to get to grips with the fact that the party is over. He says he wants Hogan to make it to Judgment Day as champion so he can see the look on people’s faces when he kills Hulkamania. That brings Hogan out and they get face to face. Undertaker doesn’t even let the champion speak and says that when “Hulkamania runs wild on me” I’ll beat you down like the bitch you are. Hogan punches him in the face but Taker doesn’t want the fight and quickly gets out of the ring and backs off leaving the Hulkster to stew on it. 

In a pre-recorded segment, William Regal - who is scheduled to face Hulk Hogan in tonight’s main event - sits surrounded by Hogan merchandise and makes fun of him and his fans. I love this promo so here it is in all its glory.

Him miming a Hulk-up and then shaking his head “I don’t think so” made me laugh out loud. 

In the main event, a non-title match between William Regal and WWF Champion Hollywood Hulk Hogan. Before the match, Regal asks Hogan to join him for a spot of tea and has a pot and cups set up at ringside. Seems like Hogan isn’t a tea drinker as he spits the tea in Regal’s face and attacks him.

The match never really starts properly as Undertaker runs down and attacks Hogan from behind, hammering him with punches to the body and head. He takes Hogan’s weight lifting belt off and positions the buckle so that the point is sticking out between his knuckles. He uses it to bust Hogan open with big right hands and whips him across the back with the belt. Hogan tries to get to his feet but Undertaker beats him brutally with whips across the back and metal-buckle assisted punches to his bloody head. Raw ends with the Number One Contender standing dominant over the bloody Undisputed WWF Champion, finishing him off with a chokeslam. 

Odd Couple Blues

As Booker T warms up for his singles match with Rob Van Dam tonight, Goldust approaches and asks him how he could do this to them? They are on track to be the greatest team of all time and yet tonight he’s forced to have his own singles match with Spike Dudley. He puts his wig on Booker’s head and asks him to represent them both tonight. Booker throws off the wig and calls Goldust a lesbian which doesn’t make sense but he makes himself laugh.

Booker and Goldust are 2 - 0 as a team, but Booker doesn’t want to be buddies with a freak like Goldust. This kind of comedy odd couple pairing has been done to death in wrestling but it was fresh enough in 2002. Booker vs. RVD is up next and is a good match. Goldust comes down to ringside to watch this match up close. He tries to help but misses a punch on Rob to hit his own partner and RVD follows with a heel kick and a Five Star Frog Splash to pick up the win. Booker is furious at Goldust who looks very apologetic. 

Goldust challenges Spike Dudley for the European title late in the show. You’d think Goldust would be pleased to have a title match tonight but it seems that he’s more focused on being tag team partners with Booker T. I’m shocked Spike has managed to stay European Champion for a few weeks now - I was sure he’d lose the title back to Regal really quickly. Goldust likely has the match won but Booker T - upset about the accident earlier - comes down and intentionally costs Goldust the match with a heel kick leading to a Dudley Dog and victory for Spike.

Other Happenings

• In the opening match, Eddie Guerrero defends the Intercontinental title against Jeff Hardy. During the entrances, JR mentions that Lita is having neck surgery the following day for her broken neck, which is very sad and why Matt Hardy isn’t here tonight. I said my goodbyes (for now) to Lita during Backlash. This is a good match and a strong singles showing for Jeff Hardy. When the referee goes down, Eddie uses the Intercontinental title belt as a weapon and follows up with his awesome looking Frog Splash to retain his title.
• Backstage, Molly Holly find the women’s champion Jazz doing pushups and asks if she’s crazy challenging Bubba Ray Dudley for the Hardcore title tonight? She’s tough as nails but is she that tough? Molly has cut her hair a little short and now has “The Rachel” for my fellow 90s kids.
• Jonathan Coachman interviews Shawn Stasiak and says he hasn’t had much luck so far but will that be different tonight against Brock Lesnar? Planet Stasiak says that he might seem out of wack, and Lesnar might have a big tattoo on his back, but nothing can stop Planet Stasiak. I think he might be mistaken. That match is next and Brock Lesnar’s theme song now has a sort of distorted electronic whine at the start of it, but is still his original theme rather than the one he’s used for 20+ years. It isn’t long until he gets the better song. I’ll keep you updated of course. Shawn’s gimmick is confusing as he doesn’t seem to be able to decide if he’s FROM Planet Stasiak or if he is Planet Stasiak, which obviously makes less sense because he’s a man, not a planet. He attacks Brock right away but is easily dominated and beaten up. Brock has won both his matches so far by referee stoppage and that continues as Heyman screams “don’t pin him, ruin him!”. Brock connects with the F5 and a big powerbomb and once again wins by technical knockout. 

• Before his Hardcore title defence against Jazz, Bubba speaks to Coach. Normally they’d do a storyline about being conflicted over fighting a woman but Bubba is famous for putting women through tables so doesn’t have any problems with it. Jazz attacks Bubba right away but he is unphased by her punches. King continues to talk excessively about Jazz’s appearance and being really nasty about it as Bubba does comedy spots, forcing Jazz to dance with him and biting her on the ass. Bubba gets ready to put Jazz through a table but Steven Richards runs down and smashes a guitar over Bubba’s head. He covers and wins the Hardcore title under the 24/7 rules. Richards and Jazz make their getaway together and it looks like this was a setup between them. After a commercial break, the two champions run through the parking lot and get to Jazz’s car and drive off as JR and King speculate that they are “together”

Smackdown - May 2nd 2002

Much like Raw, it feels like I have to mention that this is the final episode of WWF Smackdown and therefore also the final episode of WWF weekly television period. It’ll be a different world when we get to Raw on Monday. Well, not literally but a lot of people do view this divide of WWF vs. WWE as a huge turning point. I’ll address it on Raw.

Mind Game(s)

In the Mr. McMahon office he’s softly running his finger around Stacy’s belly button which enormously turns my stomach. He’s about to kiss her on the belly button until Chris Jericho bursts in to crow about how he’ll be regaining the Undisputed WWF title tonight. He has a good chance given how much The Undertaker hurt him on Raw. Jericho says that Hogan might get himself intentionally disqualified to keep the title so Vince makes the main event a no disqualification match. He’s also worried about Undertaker interfering again so Vince says he and Flair spoke about it and any Raw or Smackdown superstars jumping shows in future will be suspended. He’s ALSO worried about Triple H getting involved so Vince tells him that if Triple H lays a hand on Jericho before the end of the match it’ll be career suicide. After Vince finally makes Jericho leave, he says that he and Stacy should get busy and leans in for a big kiss but thankfully the camera cuts away before we have to watch him make out with a beautiful 20 year old woman. Gross. 

Chris Jericho heads down to the ring and calls himself the King of the World (something that becomes a regular catchphrase for him) and the Mack Daddy (that doesn’t) and says he’ll do what Triple H couldn’t do at Backlash and beat Hogan tonight for the Undisputed title. Triple H’s music hits and The Game makes his way to the ring - he takes his time because I assume it’s in his contract that he has to make his full entrance every single time - and laughs in Jericho’s face. McMahon said earlier that if Triple H lays a finger on Jericho he’ll regret it so Jericho goads him and dares him to punch him. Triple H remains cool, calm and collected and smiles in his face as he rants. Jericho is flustered and Triple H finally explains that he’s smiling because he knows something Jericho doesn’t and there’s no chance in hell he’ll win the title tonight. Triple H leaves as Jericho throws a little temper tantrum. Does Triple H actually know something or is this just mind games to mess with Jericho?

Backstage, Vince and Stacy are both in the middle of getting redressed as if they’ve just had sex. God I HATE this storyline and it’s aged incredibly badly. It serves no purpose and Vince tells her to go and get Triple H, which she does. It’s just to give him another warning about tonight’s main event - he doesn’t know what Triple H has up his sleeve but wants him not to test him by getting physically involved. Triple H smirks and leaves. Does he have something up his sleeve?

In the main event, Chris Jericho challenges Hollywood Hulk Hogan - who has a bandaged up head from the bloody beating Undertaker gave him on Raw but you can’t see it because of his bandana - for the Undisputed WWF Championship in a no disqualification match.

The match itself is fine as Hogan moves slowly but Jericho bumps around him as best he can. Jericho avoids a big elbow drop and follows up with a Lionsault but we’ll never know if he had the match and title won as Triple H’s music plays and he distracts Jericho, swaggering to the ring and slowly circling the ring to take a seat on commentary. He says he doesn’t need to lay a hand on Jericho to know he’ll lose and after all the distractions, Hogan’s leg drop is blocked and turned into a Walls of Jericho. Hogan makes it to the ropes to break the hold so Jericho goes out and gets a steel chair. He hits Hogan across the back as Triple H asks if anyone feels a presence? A chil in the air? Undertaker’s music plays and Hogan rolls up a distracted Jericho to win the match. The Undertaker isn’t here, it was all mind games by Triple H. And now that the match is over, Triple H can attack Jericho and rushes the ring, hammering him with punches until he runs off. Triple H raises Hogan’s arm and celebrates with him to end Smackdown.

Hair vs. Hair

Backstage, Kurt Angle finds Val Venis (who has been officially renamed The Big Valbowski) and Lance Storm chatting and says that they’re biggest contribution to Smackdown so far is betting on Mark Henry. He asks if one of them wants to model his REAL new t-shirt tonight. Val makes fun of him and tells him he sucks, so Lance Storm volunteers and says he’s happy to model it. Kurt says that Smackdown tonight is in his hometown so they wouldn’t dare chant You Suck tonight. I mentioned it in the previous Preview but the fake crowd noise effect they’ve been using for Smackdown is doing overtime in this segment. Fake cheers and fake boos over and over and over. It’s insane. 

Kurt was wrong and as he makes his entrance to talk about his t-shirt his hometown does indeed chant You Suck at him anyway. He’s followed by Lance Storm who is modelling his new t-shirt as promised. He runs down all of his accomplishments - most of them are printed on the back of the t-shirt - until he’s interrupted by Edge. Edge has Valbowski with him who is modelling Edge’s t-shirt which says “You Suck” on the front. Kurt is sick of Edge and challenges him to a rematch at Judgment Day and he wants to humiliate him. Lance Storm whispers in Kurt’s ear and gives him an idea - he challenges Edge to a match where if he loses he gets to shave his head bald. Edge agrees as long as Kurt puts his hair on the line too. He agrees and the hair vs. hair match is set for Judgment Day. Given that Edge has long blonde hair and Kurt is already starting to go bald it’s pretty obvious who’s going to win that! These two pairs will clash later in a tag team match.

Edge and Valbowski (real life former brother in laws - Edge was married to Val’s sister briefly in 1999 but it didn’t last long) take on Kurt Angle and Lance Storm. This is a competitive match between four talented workers with Edge being the stand out both in terms of crowd reactions and action, taking down Angle and Storm with a double clothesline off the top rope and dropping Kurt with a Spear. Val rolls up Kurt and has a visual three count but a superkick from Lance Storm reverses it and Kurt picks up the win for his team.

Physical Strength vs. Strength of Conviction

Backstage, Faarooq thanks Mark Henry for all the money he’s made taking bets on his feats of strength and offers to share it with him. Mark isn’t interested and is just happy to be able to show off his power. They’re joined by Reverend D-Von who’s mouth is practically watering looking at all of that cash and he talks about all that filthy, dirty money needing to be cleaned and purified by donating it to him. Mark tells D-Von to testify his ass out of the room before he does something sinful with the collection plate. D-Von says that if lightning doesn’t strike him down first, maybe Reverend D-Von will. 

Mark Henry still doesn’t have ring gear since his return and is wrestling in a Backlash t-shirt which makes him look like a jobber. He teams with Faarooq against Christian and Test who Cole calls the “ring leaders of the doubters of Mark Henry”. He’s not Jesus. As the match continues, Reverend D-Von comes through the crowd with a mic on his face like he’s Britney Spears, collecting money and lecturing. He gets down to the barrier and Mark Henry loses his temper, taking the collection box and throwing the cash into the crowd. D-Von slaps him across the back of the head so Mark chases off after him through the crowd which leaves Faarooq in a two on one situation and easy pickings for Christian and Test. 

Other Happenings

• The opening match is an odd couple pairing of Rikishi and The Hurricane challenging Billy and Chuck for the WWF Tag Team titles. Hurricane and Rikishi work well as a team and almost win the titles but thanks to a spinning heel kick from Rico, the champions steal the win. After the match, Hurricane gives Rico a chokeslam and Rikishi punishes him further with a Stinkface.

• In a rematch from last week, Hardcore Holly (who has added his “How do you like me now?” catchphrase to the start of his theme song) faces the newcomer Randy Orton. Randy is currently a bland smiling babyface but gets a decent reaction from the crowd mostly on the grounds that he’s very good looking. Earlier today Stacy Keibler once again flirted with him backstage and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Last week she did the same but then manipulated Vince into yelling at him so what is her game? Randy is the second Third Generation Superstar in WWF history after The Rock. Randy shows off some explosive offence going for covers with roll ups and crossbodies but Holly continues to kick out and gives Orton a blatant low blow right in front of the referee, getting himself disqualified. Holly is angry and beats Randy up the ramp and finishes with a brutal Alabama slam to the 22 year old on the metal grating at the top of ramp, knocking him out cold. 

• In a Backlash rematch, Tajiri defends the WWF Cruiserweight Championship against Billy Kidman. Torrie still has the geisha outfit on which Cole calls humiliating. It’s just a matter of time before she kicks Tajiri to the curb now surely? This is good but doesn’t quite kick into high gear like they did at Backlash. Tajiri uses Torrie as a human shield, pulling her in front of a Kidman dive out of the ring which she takes the brunt of. Tajiri retains the title with a kick to the head of a distracted Kidman and doesn’t even bother to check if she’s ok after the match. 

On May 4th 2002 the World Wrestling Federation presented its final show. Less than 48 hours later and back on US soil, the company was officially renamed World Wrestling Entertainment. The first episode of WWE takes place on May 6th 2002 with Raw but go and read my Insurrextion coverage first. I also talk about the infamous “Plane Ride from Hell” and why Scott Hall and Mr. Perfect no longer worked for the company by the time we got to Raw.

Raw - May 6th 2002

Get the F Out

This episode of Raw starts with the brand new WWE signature, which you can see here in all its glory, as well as the original “Get the F Out” commercial.

If you want to read about the name change then you can also read this;

which I also linked to in my Insurrextion coverage. There were a couple of moments during the show where talents misspoke and said World Wrestling Federation, but corrected to World Wrestling Entertainment. It’ll get easier if you focus on saying WWE rather than the whole thing guys.

Another nWo Surprise

The nWo unit of X-Pac, Scott Hall and The Big Show make their way down to the ring. Big Show asks for a replay of what he did to Stone Cold two weeks ago and explains his anger - two years ago he Main Evented Wrestlemania but this year he was at WWF New York instead of at Wrestlemania. It’s because Stone Cold is back. When Austin was gone he was the WWE Champion and main eventing but with Austin being back he’s shunted to the bottom of the card. He says all the small people - including Stone Cold - are insecure and can’t stop or control someone like him. He says that with him as a member, the nWo is bigger and badder than ever and no one can do anything about it. That brings out the Raw owner Ric Flair, who is scheduled to wrestle in tonight’s main event in a six man tag.  Ric talks a bit about tonight’s main event but weirdly just announces the match we already know is happening. Scott Hall says that they aren’t worried and that tonight they have a surprise for everyone which will “change this company forever” which might be over promising.

Back in Ric Flair’s office he tells Arn Anderson that he’s outraged at the nWo and their surprise and heads off to their locker room to get some answers. He does just that and when he gets there he finds no one, but he does find an APA baseball cap and is now even more suspicious. Later, the nWo are spotted out in the parking lot like they’re waiting on someone to arrive.

In Ric Flair’s office, he discusses his concerns with Arn Anderson. The APA hat in the nWo locker room is weird but no one SAW Bradshaw get attacked a couple of weeks ago. He goes off to confront Bradshaw and asks what's going on. He goes to Bradshaw’s locker room and sure enough he can’t find him either but what he does find is Kane’s mask, which X-Pac has been carrying around for weeks. Flair goes to find Stone Cold since Bradshaw now has some explaining to do. Flair doesn’t find Austin but he does find Bradshaw and demands an explanation. He refuses to explain himself and tells Flair that he and Austin will kick the nWo’s ass with or without Flair. Is Bradshaw telling the truth or has he made a deal with the nWo?

In the main event, Scott Hall, X-Pac and Big Show take on Ric Flair, Bradshaw and Stone Cold Steve Austin. What is the nWo’s big surprise? Is it Bradshaw? As they make their entrances, we cut backstage to see Undertaker’s reaction to finding his destroyed bike (see the other section for more on that) and while the cameras are out there we see a long black limo arrive containing the fourth nWo member, the suspended Kevin Nash. Is that the big surprise Scott Hall mentioned earlier? There’s some miscommunication early as Austin and Bradshaw bicker over who should start. It’s Austin and he has no issues beating up the nWo. Bradshaw tags himself in and it backfires as he’s isolated and Big Show beats him up for a long time. The match finally breaks down after Flair gets the tag and with fighting everywhere, Flair goes down on the outside and Big Show drills Bradshaw through the announce table with a chokeslam.

Austin hits a double Stunner on both X-Pac and Scott Hall at the same time sending them both flying and leaving his match as Stone Cold and Big Show one on one. Austin bumps his ass off for Show, bouncing around the ring and making the big man look like a million dollars. There’s what I would call a botch as Austin, out on his feet, stumbles when hitting the ropes and falls completely out of the ring. Big Show hasn’t left his feet for this whole match but finally is taken down by a Thez Press off the middle rope. The referee goes down so Ric Flair brings a steel chair into the ring. He’s stopped by Show but provides a distraction so that Stone Cold can hit him low and drop the big man with a Stunner! Stone Cold tries to get the referee up and walks right into a chairshot by Ric Flair! The owner of Raw hammers on Austin’s legs with the steel chair and asks for a microphone, explaining to the Rattlesnake and the crowd that at Judgment Day Stone Cold will face Ric Flair and Big Show in a handicap match! Has Ric Flair joined the nWo or is he just in cahoots? Flair locks Stone Cold in the Figure Four as Show laughs hysterically and Scott Hall takes Flair’s hands, helping him apply more pressure to the Rattlesnake’s legs in the hold.

This was Scott Hall’s final appearance as after the events on the flight home from the UK (which you can read about at Insurrextion) he was fired the following day. They mention it next week and provide a kayfabe explanation for it on screen.

Dead Bike Walking

Undertaker arrives at the arena and leaves his motorbike with a parking lot attendant telling him to keep an eye on it for him because he won’t be long. He returns a few minutes later to be told that Hulk Hogan has taken it! 

With his bike apparently stolen, The Undertaker’s music hits but it’s not him that comes out, it’s Undisputed Champion Hulk Hogan on his stolen bike! He very, very slowly circles the ring on it and does his full entrance, posing and bringing the fans to their feet, all to Limp Bizkit’s Rollin’ which is a bit hilarious and weird. He tells Undertaker he isn’t afraid of him and he’s looking for revenge. He dares Undertaker to come out and take his bike back by force and doesn’t have to wait long before he comes out onto the stage. Undertaker says that he has sent people to the hospital for giving his bike a funny look, never mind stealing it.

Undertaker continues to talk until Hogan cuts him of with a loud blah blah blah blah, which got a big laugh. Hogan then says if he won’t come down and fight him, he’ll come up to him. He has a REALLY hard time getting Undertaker’s bike to go, stalling it three times before finally giving up and just getting off and chasing Undertaker on foot instead. This was a good segment in theory but the bike stalling makes it all a bit silly. Hogan does come back down and eventually gets the bike going and drives it backstage, rolling around looking for Undertaker. He can’t find him as Undertaker has uncharacteristically run away from a fight. Angry about it and wanting revenge for last week, Hogan parks the bike and jumps into a truck, using it to crush the bike! Hogan gave Undertaker a chance to come and fight him and it cost him a motorbike.

A Night of Title Changes

The opening match is Jazz defending the WWE Women’s Championship against Trish Stratus. Jazz is accompanied by the Hardcore Champion Steven Richards who he’s formed a little working partnership with. This is a no disqualification match so when Trish hits the Stratusfaction bulldog, there’s no consequences for Richards stopping the count and laying out Trish with a superkick. Jazz retains the title thanks to Steven but their celebration is cut short when Bubba Ray Dudley runs down with a referee and puts a beating on Richards and drops Jazz with an atomic drop for good measure. Bubba sets up a table, and then puts down Richards with a Bubba Bomb and covers to regain his Hardcore title. He’s jumped from behind by Raven who flattens Bubba with a DDT and HE wins the Hardcore title. He walks into a superkick from Justin Credible who covers and now HE’s the Hardcore champion. Crash Holly comes in with a missile dropkick and becomes the fifth man in as many minutes to win the Hardcore Championship! Bubba hits Crash with a trash can and Trish Stratus steals the win to win the Hardcore title herself! Jazz sprays Bubba Ray with a fire extinguisher and while blinded, he powerbombs Trish through the table. Steven Richards covers her and he regains the Hardcore Championship and after six title changes is smart enough to quickly escape to the back leaving Bubba to wash his eyes out and realise what he did to Trish - Bubba historically doesn’t care about putting women through tables and has even done it to Trish before but he regrets this, he meant to do it to Jazz! 

Spike Dudley defends the WWE European Championship against William Regal. During Regal’s entrance they talk about Insurrextion and recap the Spike and Regal match from the event including Spike’s ankle injury and Regal laying him out with the brass knuckles afterwards too. Spike comes out heavily limping and before the match begins, Regal offers Spike the chance to forfeit the title to him rather than endure another beating. Spike refuses and jumps on Regal but is quickly beaten down and with a single leg boston crab on the injured leg and a submission, William Regal wins the European Championship for the fourth time. He declares himself the greatest European Champion of all time and attacks Spike again after the match, hammering on his injured leg and dragging him back to the ring. He’s attacked by another former European Champion, the long forgotten D’Lo Brown! D’Lo runs down and sends Regal packing with a Sky High spinbuster, rescuing poor little Spike.

Other Happenings

• Recorded earlier today, Booker T gets to 7/11 and looks around for Goldust who has apparently been stalking him. Awkwardly on this first ever WWE show, the merchandise in the 7/11 all still has the WWF logo on it. The change over will take some time. Booker does run into Goldust who HAS been stalking him. He apologises for last week’s mishaps and says they should be a tag team. Booker is teaming up with Eddie Guerrero tonight against RVD and Jeff Hardy but he is a better partner than Latino Heat. Booker says he’ll think about it, mostly so that he can escape. Goldust says if he gets a slurp of Booker’s slurpee he’ll give him a bite of his hotdog. 

• Jonathan Coachman interviews Terri who has challenged Molly Holly to a swimsuit contest tonight. Molly thinks she’s better than everyone else because she’s pure and wholesome and has insulted Terri for being proud of her body so she’s going to let the people decide what's more important. That segment is next and disappointingly for me, noted pervert and sex pest Jerry Lawler has the emcee duties for the swimsuit contest. Molly comes out in a much larger dressing down which covers more of her than Terri’s and is carrying a pair of flippers. Molly asks to go first and puts on a swimming cap, stripping off to reveal a very old fashioned swimsuit. Terri is up next and hers is obviously a much smaller and very revealing leopard print thong bikini. Terri obviously looks pretty incredible and is easily voted the winner by the crowd. It’s pretty funny that Terri says Molly is jealous of what God gave her. I think Terri’s surgeons had more to do with it than God. Molly attacks Terri from behind, hitting her across the back with her flippers. Molly and Terri appear to be using the exact same theme song in this segment but in truth it's hard to tell. They sound so similar.

• Brock Lesnar goes one on one with Shawn Stasiak - Planet Stasiak is what he’s just fully known as now, and he has a new theme song which is basically just a collection of comedy sci fi sound effects and wacky noises. They recap the events of their tag team match at Insurrextion, which you’ve already read about right? Heyman screams at his client that he needs to hurt Stasiak and make an example of him. Brock does as he’s instructed and absolutely destroys Planet Stasiak with spinebusters and slams, finishing with the F5. He puts one boot on his chest for the cover and easily wins another match - his first by pinfall rather than by referee stoppage. 
• Intercontinental Champion Eddie Guerrero and Booker T take on the dream team of RVD and Jeff Hardy. Matt Hardy is gone for a week or two as he tends to real life girlfriend Lita who is now recovering from neck surgery. During this we learn that RVD and Eddie Guerrero’s rematch for the title will take place at Judgment Day. This match also gives us the first good look at one of the title belts tonight and confirms that they haven’t swapped those out for the new logo yet - it still has the WWF logo on it. This match is decent but Goldust runs down to try and help Booker T and prove he’s a good partner. It backfires and when Jeff Hardy throws him out of the ring he lands ON Booker T leaving Eddie Guerrero easy pickings for a Swanton Bomb and then a Five Star Frog Splash and a victory for RVD and Jeff. 

Smackdown - May 9th 2002

Continuing to Get the F Out

This show opens with the same Get the F Out advert as Raw but unlike Raw, Smackdown being pretaped and edited means that any and all WWF references are easy to remove. Michael Cole and Tazz actually do talk about the reason for the name change and sarcastically mock the World Wildlife Fund. That’s unreasonable - Vince and the Federation were warned many, many times. That’s a weird quirk that continued for years as while on Raw they’d mostly keep clear of real life social or political issues (aside from the obvious Republican support from JR and KIng) on Smackdown Michael Cole would often be asked to address things like that, talking about news stories and the WWF/WWE’s detractors and challenging them head on

Sending The Game to Hell

The first episode of WWF Smackdown opens with Mr. McMahon’s executive personal assistant Stacy Keibler comes to the ring and dances for a little bit before introducing her boss and the owner of Smackdown, Vince McMahon. I’ve not made it a secret that all of Vince’s sexual antics bother me and have aged like milk but this current storyline where Stacy is just straight up sleeping with him is particularly bad. Unlike the stuff with Trish in 2000, there isn’t even a second, hidden level to this - he’s booked the storyline so that this beautiful 20 year old woman just fancies him. Vince sends her to get a second microphone so that she’ll bend over, then changes his mind and they pump in that damn fake crowd seagull pop about six times. I’ll stop mentioning it soon I promise. You’d think that Vince being Vince would address the company’s name change but he’s just ignoring it and pushing ahead as normal. He says that while Stacy is a model employee, Triple H is not.

Triple H tells The Game that he needs to start doing exactly what he says from tonight then there will be hell to pay. He is laying down the law with his soon to be former son in law. Triple H is sick of listening to him and comes down to the ring, but Vince just said that he cannot come within 10 feet of him and Triple H immediately breaks that first rule and gets into the ring and in his face anyway. He dares Vince to make his life hell - he isn’t afraid of the boss. He gets in Stacy’s face and asks if she’d rather have a young man who can satisfy her, and then makes a bunch of small dick jokes directed at Vince. Vince gets angry and tells Stacy to leave, making like he’s about to fight Triple H but instead a bunch of WWE superstars - Christian, Test, Reverend D-Von, Lance Storm and Hardcore Holly - come down to the ring and swarm The Game, attacking him six on one at Mr. McMahon’s behest. With Vince encouraging them on the microphone, Chris Jericho saunters down to the ring and takes a seat in the ring enjoying his henchmen’s attack. Triple H keeps fighting as best he can until Jericho hits him with the chair and then locks a bloody Triple H in the Walls of Jericho. Vince gets in his face and tells him that at Judgment Day he’ll face Chris Jericho inside Hell in a Cell. 

In the locker room, Vince McMahon congratulates himself for the genius setup they created for Triple H at the start of the show. I mean, it wasn’t exactly an intricate plan - you just beat him up, seven on one. Jericho delights in having The Game’s blood on his fist and Vince books Triple H tonight against Reverend D-Von. Oh Testify! D-Von’s loud preacher antics make Stacy break character and start to laugh which I enjoyed.

Backstage, Christian brags to Kurt Angle about the beating he gave Triple H earlier and says he can’t wait to see Kurt beat Edge at Judgment Day and then shave his head. He’ll be so UGLY with no hair. Kurt says that he’ll prove that tonight.

Backstage before his match with Triple H, Reverend D-Von prepares some huge muscular unseen figure to be at ringside. That person is another massive debut and someone who would go on to know Triple H very well - Deacon Batista. The massive bald behemoth is D-Von’s backup but much like Brock Lesnar on Raw and Randy Orton over the past couple of weeks, this is a debut that would go on to much bigger and more important things both in and out of wrestling. This silent, devoutly religious version of Batista didn’t stick around for long and he’ll already be on to bigger and better things by the end of the year. Lets not get ahead of ourselves.

Triple H is bandaged up but still covered in dried blood and limping heavily as makes his way to the ring. He’s fired up and attacks fast but is too hurt and that doesn’t last long. Batista lays in a big clothesline on the outside too to give D-Von an advantage. Triple H fights them both off but as he sets up a Pedigree, Batista distracts the referee so that Jericho can run down and hit him in the face with D-Von’s big heavy metal money box, giving D-Von a big upset victory over the former Undisputed Champion.

Kurt Angle heads down to the ring to address Edge and his Judgment Day hair vs. hair match. Michael Cole does specify that the loser of the match will be shaved bald - to the skin - because in fairness, Kurt already has very thin hair. Kurt shows some doctored photos of Edge and what he’ll look like after his head gets shaved.

He’s interrupted by presumably Edge who puts up one of Kurt as bald (which looks fine to me, but then writing this from the future I’m very used to that look) and Kurt gets very flustered. He demands Edge come out to face him but instead it's the Undisputed WWE Champion Hollywood Hulk Hogan. Hogan says that some of the greatest champions in history were bald including Stone Cold and himself, and points out that if Edge doesn’t make him bald at Judgment Day, mother nature will. He’s right, Kurt is thinning already! Kurt says that he hopes Undertaker kicks his butt and if he doesn’t take the title from Hogan, he will. He’s the only real American in the WWE. Hogan has enough of Kurt’s insults and attacks him, throwing him out of the ring. Kurt leaves but as he gets to the top of the ramp he’s speared by Edge who was lying in wait for him. After a commercial break a furious Angle goes to see Mr. McMahon but he can’t decide if he wants to get his hands on Hogan or Edge more so Vince says that he can have them both in a tag team match with Chris Jericho as his partner. 

Backstage, Edge goes to find Hulk Hogan and talk strategy for their tag team match later. Edge can’t find him but does find all his stuff. The lifelong Hulkamaniac dresses up as Hogan and cuts a Hogan 80s style promo and muscle poses in the mirror until the Undisputed Champion walks in and catches him.

They have a happy little moment and Edge has what I’m sure was a very real smile on his face during all of it. 

In the main event, Undisputed WWE Champion Hollywood Hulk Hogan and Edge take on Chris Jericho and Kurt Angle. All four of them now have big matches at Judgment Day but only Edge and Angle’s are related. I do think that since the brand split they’ve done a good job of planting seeds for later PPV matches though - Triple H vs. Undertaker and now Hogan vs. Angle do happen later on, and Jericho and Triple H took a break from their feud after Wrestlemania but have come back to it for Judgment Day. I like it. Edge is worked over until a hot tag to the champion who Hulks up and finishes Jericho off with a Big Boot and Leg Drop. Kurt stops the referee’s count and after Edge puts down Kurt with a DDT, Jericho low blows Edge and then puts Hogan in a Walls of Jericho. Triple H runs to the ring and has totally snapped. He has a sledgehammer with him and hits Jericho, Edge, Angle, Hogan and even the referee with sledgehammer blows! The Game is beyond angry. Vince McMahon comes out onto the stage and dares Triple H to come and hit HIM with the sledgehammer if he has the guts. He walks to the ring and dares Triple H to hit him too and shows no fear. Triple H calls his bluff and swings with the hammer but McMahon drops off the apron to avoid it and the distraction was only to allow Jericho to recover and he flattens Triple H with a chairshot and ends Smackdown the same way it started - standing over a bloody Triple H. 

Other Happenings

• Tajiri defends the WWE Cruiserweight Championship (which is still the WCW Cruiserweight title belt) against The Hurricane. His mistreatment of Torrie continues as not content with a geisha outfit and using her as a human shield last week shoves her multiple times on the walk to the ring. This is a good match and after Tajiri shoves Torrie again, she has had enough and climbs onto the announce desk, stripping down to her underwear! Tajiri is distracted and gets counted out while arguing with her, losing the match but not the title. The Hurricane plants him with a chokeslam so he might have kept his title but he lost the match AND his girlfriend. 

• In the locker room, Al Snow drops by the Hurri-cave and praises him for his Hurri-victory. Snow says that Spider-man is his favourite hero so Hurricane says that he could EASILY beat up Spider-man. He gives Al a Hurricane shirt to replace his Spider-man one and while getting it, finds a handwritten note. It’s a mysterious “I know who you really are” threat from no doubt a nefarious supervillain! 

• World’s Strongest Man Mark Henry vs. Test, which has been built up for a few weeks as Test is the most vocal doubter of Mark’s feats of strength. This match is ok as it's too short for them to get tired, just hitting each other with big moves. In a shocker, Test uses a low blow the referee didn’t see and a Big Boot to knock out Mark and win the match. I was sure Mark would win this.
• Mark Lloyd interviews the WWE Tag Team Champions Billy and Chuck and Rico, showing Al Snow and Maven showing their thongs to the world two weeks ago, and then Rico getting a Stinkface last week. Rico makes his in ring debut tonight in a six man tag and he says that he actually has a black belt in karate which is the most stylish thing he owns.
• WWE Tag Team Champions Billy and Chuck, with Rico take on Rikishi, Maven and Al Snow in a six man tag team match. Thisi s quite chaotic and didn’t really find a flow. Billy picks up the win for his team with a Fameasser on Al Snow. Rico did at least hold his own with his spinning kicks and avoided another Stinkface.
• Mark Lloyd interviews newcomer, Randy Orton. He scored a big upset win over Hardcore Holly in his first match, and won the second one via disqualification but paid the price for it afterwards. Randy gives us a bland smiling babyface promo about how his dad taught him to ignore the bumps and bruises, get back up and dust yourself off etc. Lance Storm interrupts him and says that Randy makes him sick - he’s been handed all of these opportunities because of his family name but here’s Storm, one of the world’s best wrestlers, placing bets on whether Mark Henry can roll up a frying pan. I mean he’s not wrong. He challenges Randy to a match tonight, which is accepted.

• That match is next but once both men are in the ring, Cole realises there’s no referee. On cue, Hardcore Holly’s music hits and he comes out in a referee shirt. Holly counts very slowly whenever Randy goes for a cover and quickly when Storm goes for a cover so this seems like it’ll be over pretty soon. Lance locks Orton in his single leg boston crab and as he crawls to the ropes, Holly uses his foot to stop him from reaching the ropes so he eventually has no choice but to tap out. Holly and Storm attack Randy two on one until Valbowski - which still sounds dumb so I think I’ll keep calling him Val Venis - runs down to make the save.

Raw - May 13th 2002

Abuse of Power

Backstage in Ric Flair’s office, nWo members X-Pac and Big Show are standing by looking for an update. Flair implies that he is now the leader of the nWo as he says there’s no room for failure in this unit. This is the onscreen confirmation of what I’ve mentioned a couple of times - Scott Hall is fired - which Flair says is because he kept losing to Stone Cold, rather than because of the real life legal troubles. He also lets the cat out of the bag that Kevin Nash isn’t really suspended and is just recovering from bicep surgery and will be back soon. He tells Pac and Show that we’re getting a new nWo member tonight and it's so much of a secret, even HE doesn’t know he’s joining yet. The Nature Boy and The Big Show make their way down to the ring together. Flair insults the local sports teams to confirm he’s definitely a heel now and talks about respect and how Austin didn’t respect him - the 16 time World Champion. He doesn’t make it entirely clear whether Austin was right about him all along, or whether this heel turn and joining the nWo was motivated by Stone Cold’s actions but he does say he now sympathises with Vince McMahon for having to deal with Austin. He tells him that he should have kissed his ass and been his friend because now at Judgment Day he has both himself and Big Show to deal with. He finishes with a huge announcement - he has let power go to his head and gives us an Undisputed WWE Championship match tonight, legend vs. legend. Hollywood Hulk Hogan will defend the title against himself, the Nature Boy Ric Flair! That’s a big main event, and immediately afterwards Hulk Hogan is shown arriving at the arena on his motorbike.

Jonathan Coachman is backstage trying to get an interview with Stone Cold Steve Austin. He finds Debra who says she’ll go and talk to her husband and get him to come out for the interview. After a commercial break he does just that and the Rattlesnake is PISSED. It’s as entertaining as always as he barks and berates Coach between WHATs and says he’ll be watching closely. He tells Flair that he messed with the wrong Rattlesnake and will pay for it at Judgment Day.

Hulk Hogan defends the WWE title against Ric Flair. This is a huge match, historically speaking and the WWE presents it as such but they wrestled so often in WCW that long time fans were bored of it. Much has been made this past month about Ric Flair’s 16 World titles, a record which stood for decades. Coincidentally as I write this I’m only days removed from John Cena losing his 17th World title having finally beat Flair’s record of 16 in 2025. Hogan himself is a 12 time World Champion (6 WCW and 6 WWF/WWE titles) and holds the distinction now, after the name change, of being the last WWF Champion and the first WWE Champion. Flair has abused his power further and made this a no disqualification match but the two circle and wrestle an old school match in the early going. The fans are red hot for this and there’s loud boos for Flair and loud Hogan chants throughout. Hogan drops Flair with the big boot and Leg Drop combo and has the match won but is jumped by X-Pac and Big Show. Bradshaw runs down to make the save and chases X-Pac off through the crowd. Stone Cold takes his moment and runs to the ring, dropping Flair with a Stunner! He leaves with a smile on his face so Hogan can finish with a Leg Drop and the fans go MENTAL for the three count - one of the loudest reactions I’ve heard on Raw honestly. Hogan smartly leaves without celebrating too long as Big Show pursues him, driving away on his motorbike which he rode to the ring ala The Undertaker, which is no doubt mind games for his Judgment Day opponent too.

After a commercial break, a furious Flair throws a major temper tantrum in his office and screams at Big Show and X-Pac. He books Bradshaw in a handicap match against them tonight, and says that that Austin will face the newest member of the nWo in a lumberjack match - we don’t even know who the new member will be yet! He says he’ll handpick all the lumberjacks and he wants both him and Bradshaw “dead or alive”

Backstage, Coach tries to get some comments from Undertaker about Hulk Hogan destroying his bike last week and his successful title defence earlier. A stoic Undertaker doesn’t respond and leaves in silence. 

Backstage, Goldust and Booker T prepare to act as lumberjacks in tonight’s main event and Booker has dressed up as a lumberjack because Goldust told him they were supposed to! 

A Kane-mask wearing X-Pac and Big Show take on Bradshaw who is still dressed like he’s in the APA in a handicap match later in the show. Bradshaw has no problem with X-Pac but it’s two on one so after a chairshot to the back and two chokeslams, X-Pac tags in and pins Bradshaw to win the match.

As Hollywood Hogan leaves the arena successful, he’s stopped by Coach for an interview. Hogan says that since Stone Cold did him a big favour earlier he’s going to stick around and be a lumberjack and repay the favour and have Austin’s back in the main event. That’s just a fun thought for fantasy bookers however as Undertaker jumps him from behind, seemingly breaking his collarbone with a metal wrench. He wraps chains around Hogan’s legs and ties the other end to his motorbike, driving Hogan behind the bike! Thankfully for Hogan he was already wearing his full motorcycle leathers otherwise this could have been devastating (kayfabe). It’s an awesome looking stunt and dangerous too as if Hogan had grabbed onto or got caught on something he’d have been legit torn in half. He eventually spins Hogan into a stack of boxes and pipes and is left in a heap by his Judgment Day challenger. This was a very cool segment. After a commercial break, Hogan has a neckbrace put on and is loaded onto a stretcher by the EMTs.

In the main event lumberjack match, Austin rushes the ring and starts to fight the lumberjacks before the match even begins. They include Raven, Bossman, Brock Lesnar and William Regal, as well as the nWo and some more of the Hardcore division regulars. Booker T and Goldust are also out there and after Stone Cold is beaten up and thrown into the ring, Ric Flair tells him that his opponent is Booker T! So Booker is now in the nWo which seems to be news to everyone including Booker T. He seems happy enough to be invited to join the crowd and gets into the ring to start the match. Austin fights like a man possessed and and dumps Raven and Credible over the security wall with punches but runs into Brock Lesnar and the rookie mixes it up with one of the biggest stars in history, running him into the ring post and ring apron before throwing him back inside. That feels like a big moment, historically.

The fans have been red hot all night but are in a stunned silence for most of this, I think confused by the whole “Booker T just joined the nWo” thing which in fairness, is odd booking. Austin is continually dumped to the outside to be beaten up but he just keeps fighting and throwing punches. He knocks Intercontinental Champion Eddie Guerrero off the apron and drops European Champion William Regal with a Stunner before pinning Booker T with a quick roll up, sneaking a victory. Austin leaves quickly, fighting with Raven as he does and seems to have escaped unscathed until he’s attacked from behind by Ric Flair’s best friend Arn Anderson who has apparently turned heel along with his buddy. He jumps Austin and throws him back to the ring where Big Show plants him with not one, not two but three chokeslams. The nWo stands tall over Stone Cold who is bleeding from the mouth as Raw goes off the air. 

New Champion

An interesting tag team match as Bubba Ray and Trish Stratus take on Women’s champion Jazz and Hardcore champion Steven Richards with both titles on the line. This Raw takes place in Trish’s hometown of Toronto so the fans are solidly behind her of course, and the rules here are what you’d expect where if Trish pins Jazz or Bubba pins Richards then they win their title. It is also hardcore rules as Bubba and Trish fill the ring with trash cans and weapons. The fans are really into all of this which made it a lot of fun to watch. Justin Credible and Crash Holly run down to try and cash in on the ongoing Hardcore 24/7 shenanigans but are chased off with a fire extinguisher and a guitar by Bubba. In the chaos, Trish plants Jazz with a Stratusfaction bulldog to regain the WWE Women’s title in her hometown which got a huge reaction. Jazz attacks her as a sore loser but pays for it when Bubba Ray stops her and drives her through a table for her actions! I enjoyed all of this. 

Other Happenings

• Raw opens with a handicap match - Brock Lesnar vs. both Matt and Jeff Hardy who he has destroyed over and over again since his debut. Brock mauls them both but in a two on one situation, Matt and Jeff overwhelm the Next Big Thing and land a tandem splash and leg drop off the top rope. To me it looked like Lesnar kicked out of that but Heyman wasn’t taking any chances and pulled the referee out of the ring to stop the count, getting his client disqualified. The Hardyz aren’t done and land a Twist of Fate and Swanton Bomb combo and leave Lesnar laying with the first blemish on his record, albeit by disqualification in a handicap match. Heyman is furious and grabs a microphone, angrily challenging Matt and Jeff to rematch at Judgment Day. Then, he thinks better of it and says that instead of that being a handicap match he’ll join Brock as his tag team partner. Matt and Jeff accept, obviously.

• Planet Stasiak goes one on one with Intercontinental Champion Eddie Guerrero in a non-title match. This came from an altercation backstage earlier as Eddie implied that Stasiak’s various ramblings are caused by him being high as a kite. He could be right, but Stasiak is offended by the implication. As you can see in the image, the title belts still have the WWF logo on them but I’ll let you know when they make the final switch to WWE. I don’t know how much anyone else is interested in these minor cosmetic tweaks but I am! Before the match starts, Eddie’s challenger at Judgment Day Rob Van Dam comes out to watch this match up close. Eddie wins pretty quickly with the Frog Splash. RVD attacks Eddie after the match and throws him out of the ring to prove a point I guess? Eddie gets on the mic and asks Rob “who the hell do you think you are?” which is just to give him and the crowd a chance to chant R-V-D.

• There’s a pre-taped video “A Day In the Life of Tommy Dreamer” where the ECW legend shares a toothbrush with his dog, drinks toilet water from a urinal (the cleaning water that was coming out so it was clean) and shaving his tongue. Weird guy. 

• European Champion William Regal joins commentary for the next match which is non-wrestler Terri vs. Molly Holly. I mentioned it during the Invasion but the WWE did ask Terri to train as a wrestler and get in the ring more often as they expanded the women’s division and needed more familiar faces for the fans to get onboard. She did the minimum but ultimately her heart wasn’t in it which is what eventually led to her leaving the company. Molly is a great worker, especially for the era and leads Terri through a passable match which Molly wins with a small package, throwing Terri out of the ring afterwards. William Regal gets into the ring and praises Molly’s poise and grace and asks to escort her up the ramp, which she accepts and they leave arm in arm.

• There’s a second Get the F Out commercial during this show joining the “lady with hedge” one that's been on the last couple of shows. Shout out to Mark Henry’s old sexual chocolate theme song!

• WWF New York has been renamed “The World” which was needed due to the company’s name change from WWF to WWE, but why didn’t they go with WWE New York? Well because the restaurant wasn’t going well financially so the decision was made to move away from the wrestling connection and try to make it a viable business/general sports bar. Will that work? Well it closed in 2003 so what do you think?

Smackdown - May 16th 2002

Final Momentum

After a recap of the McMahon led plot against Triple H last week where he was beaten bloody, pinned by Reverend D-Von and ended the show in a sledgehammer wielding fury, The Game heads down to the ring. He puts over the danger and seriousness of a Hell in a Cell match before telling Jericho that he’s The Game etc etc. He’s going to chew him up and spit him out. I have to say, babyface Triple H is a much worse promo than heel Triple H. It’s all a bit cliche. He’s going to take Jericho “straight to hell” and dares him to come out to the ring now for a preview. It’s not Jericho who comes out, it’s Edge. He gets in Triple H’s face and says that as good guys, they aren’t supposed to have issues with each other but he hit him with a sledgehammer last week so this week Edge wants to play The Game. Triple H says he is a lot of things but he is not a “good guy” and he’s more than happy to fight Edge tonight. Edge wastes no time and throws a punch, turning into a brawl between the two. They’re attacked from behind as they fight by their respective PPV opponents, Chris Jericho and Kurt Angle. Kurt gives Edge a Spear and then run Triple H into the ringsteps. Kurt uses a pair of scissors to cut a chunk out of Edge’s hair and they leave triumphant before a steel chair wielding Triple H can get to them. 

In McMahon’s office, Stacy Keibler is ready for a swimsuit contest with Torrie Wilson later. Vince absolutely turned my stomach here, asking for a peek and to “nuzzle her puppies”. Jesus Christ. Thankfully Jericho and Angle exploded into the room before it got too gross and brag about what they just did to Triple H and Edge. Vince delights in making a tag team main event featuring those four men, knowing Triple H and Edge won’t be able to get along after they fought each other too.

Later, Mark Lloyd interviews Chris Jericho who says lots of cliches about sending messages and how he’s going to destroy Triple H in Hell in a Cell. Just like in the build up to Wrestlemania he takes credit for injuring Triple H’s quad muscle last year and says that at Judgment Day it won’t be a long haired gum chewing rockstar with a big mouth, he’ll face the “real” Chris Jericho who is far more dangerous. 

In the main event, Chris Jericho and Kurt Angle take on Triple H and Edge. Kurt still has the chunk of Edge’s hair he cut off early and waves it to taunt his PPV opponent which brings him running to the ring to fight Kurt and Chris two on one. Triple H turns down to save his tag team partner so Edge did us all a favour, saying us from sitting through Triple H’s whole entrance which I swear is getting longer every week. The song just about loops by the time he gets to the ring, he basically makes us listen to the full four minute Motorhead song every time he enters an arena. The match breaks down into a brawl and with Jericho and Triple H fighting out into the crowd and disappearing backstage, Kurt Angle cracks Edge with a chair shot to the face and finishes him with an Angle Slam for the victory. 

Hulkamania ready to face Judgment

Undisputed Champion Hulk Hogan is limping heavily when he arrives at the arena, seemingly struggling physically after what Undertaker did to him on Raw.

Undisputed Champion Hollywood Hulk Hogan heads down to the ring with a heavy limp. Just like they did at Wrestlemania and the next night on Raw, the fans in Canada give him an insanely positive reaction which Hogan milks and savours for as long as humanly possible, tearing up and letting the fans chant and cheer for him for several minutes without speaking. The cynic in me wants to say that this is master politician Hulk Hogan making sure that the real life decision makers in WWE reconsider taking the title off him, if that is indeed the plan any time soon (wink wink). Hogan talks about his whole comeback so far including Wrestlemania, the fans loving him so much he was forced to turn babyface again, winning the title one last time and now holding it at 48 years old. As much as I don’t care for the Hulkster, you can’t argue with that crowd reaction - they LOVED him in 2002. His promo is cut off by Smackdown owner Vince McMahon who gets a lot of hatred from the fans - this is the same arena where he famously screwed Bret Hart at the 1997 Survivor Series.

I’ll probably review and talk about that one day! Vince tells Hogan that Hulkamania sucks and he enjoyed watching Undertaker torture him on Raw. He says Hulkamania has cancer and that at Judgment Day, Undertaker will bury it for good. The fans drown Vince out with goodbye chants, wanting the owner to leave. Vince says that he created Hulkamania and calls Hogan a coward, slapping him in the face. Hulk has had enough and rocks Vince with a pair of big right hands and then drops the Immortal Leg Drop on the owner for good measure. 

Dudley vs. Dudley? 

Stacy Keibler and Torrie Wilson aren’t wrestlers and have had very few matches in WWE or WCW but this feels like the 40th time they’ve been put in this kind of segment together in their short careers so far. I can’t be mad at seeing these two women in swimsuits obviously but it feels so seedy especially with Stacy’s on screen role as Vince’s personal assistant/sex slave which I absolutely loathe. At least Torrie is free of abusive boyfriend Tajiri now. Wow when you list the two stories side by side like that, it's clear whoever was writing Smackdown at the time didn’t respect women (it was Stephanie McMahon running the show). Torrie goes to strip first but her ex boyfriend Tajiri runs to the ring and covers her up, forcing her to come backstage with him. So I guess Stacy wins by default and refuses to still strip but before she can leave, the new WWE Women’s Champion Trish Stratus comes out in a robe of her own to replace Torrie. Trish doesn’t have a bikini and strips to her underwear, and when Stacy tries to hit her with her shoe, Trish ducks and sends her flying out of the ring. So Trish wins. Let’s move on.

After the break, Stacy goes back to see Vince and is furious, asking for a women’s title match with Trish. He books that match for Judgment Day and then, assuming that Trish’s friend from Raw Bubba Ray Dudley will be in her corner he asks Reverend D-Von and Deacon Batista to be in Stacy’s corner for protection. I’m not sure why he’d assume that Bubba would be in Trish’s corner but it certainly adds some intrigue having the former Dudleyz in their corners for that match.

Other Happenings

• Hardcore Holly and Lance Storm take on the team of Valbowski (still dumb) and Randy Orton. Val is wearing red tights which isn’t that interesting but is weird as he’s only ever worn black, white or purple previously. Randy wins the match for his team with a rollup on Lance Storm while Val and Holly fight on the outside. Another victory for the rookie. 
• Backstage, Torrie is ready for her own swimsuit contest and is stopped by Maven who just straight up asks her out on a date. She accepts (good for him) and after she leaves he's accosted by Reverend D-Von and Deacon Batista. D–Von lectures him on his lustful thinking and how the man upstairs would now appreciate him going with that bleach blonde jezebel. Maven is backed up by his mentor Al Snow. D-Von wishes Maven luck in his match tonight and they back off. That match is next after a string of backstage segments and interviews and is D-Von (with newcomer Batista) vs. Maven with his buddy Al Snow. D-Von wins quickly with a big reverse DDT he calls the Salvation. A brief postmatch brawl is ended quickly by Batista, hitting both Snow and Maven with the metal collection box.

• Gregory Helms conducts an investigation, asking Funaki if he has any information on the threatening notes that resident superhero The Hurricane has been receiving. He finds another note on Funaki’s back - it wishes him luck in his title match with Tajiri tonight, but says if he wins the title then his pain will truly begin.

• Tajiri defends the Cruiserweight Championship in a triple threat match against The Hurricane and Billy Kidman. This is a fun match but quite short. Hurricane pins Tajiri with a chokeslam to win the Cruiserweight title. He still doesn’t know who is targeting him and his secret identity though.

• Rico (with WWE Tag Team Champions Billy and Chuck) faces Rikishi. Rico does a good job of distracting the referee so that Billy and Chuck can interfere but Rikishi fights off all three and pins Rico by sitting on his chest, dancing in victory old school after the match. The Tag Champions go backstage and go to see Vince, angry about Rikishi. He calls them losing to him a disgrace - I’ve no idea when they became so friendly with Vince or what his issue with Rikishi is - but he makes another title match for Judgment Day - Billy and Chuck defend against Rikishi and “a partner of my choosing”

As we head into Judgment Day, the card is a mix of big name vs. big name matches, and weird matches thrown together at the last minute. You can see who they’re trying to push and promote and I do appreciate the effort to include the women’s division on every show, even if trying to take the title seriously is at odds with the way they’re presented in swimsuit contests and the like. Here’s a video of Michael Cole and Tazz running down most of the show on Smackdown, and the final card as it was.