Gimmick infringment ahoy!
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Kurt Angle vs Rey Mysterio
You know you're in for a great show when Kurt Angle vs Rey Mysterio is your
opener. Rey sneak attacks Angle from behind to start. Heel tactics my arse, Rey can do no wrong! These two just match up soooooooo well here, both mens styles work flawlessly. Angle goes for the Ankle Lock early on but Rey gets out of it. Watching this, I forgot just how great Rey was, he moves with the same grace he had in '97. The crowd for this match is absolutely molten. Rey reverses an Olympic Slam into an armdrag that looks pretty sweet. They do one spot where Kurt is on the outside and Rey goes for a dive, but the ref stops him and the heat for the ref is just insane. So Rey takes a run and and flips over the ref onto Angle on the outside~! Awesome spot. Back in the ring Rey goes for an Ultimo-rana but Angle lands on his feet and locks in the Ankle Lock, and Rey has no choice but to tap. As far as opening matches go, this is hands down the best I've ever seen bar Bret/Owen. For ten minutes, they cram alot in. A great clash of styles, lots of big near falls and a hell of a lot of fun. 9:20
***3/4
Backstage Steph McMahon tells some lacky to go tell Biscoff Smackdown pwns Raw, but then Biscoff is already in her office. Ok. You can feel the sexual tension between them. They basically just talk up each others brands as being better. Gotta love this kinda angle with both brands trying to be as good as they can. This was before the epic stale brand vs brand matches like Batista/Umaga @ WM.
King botches and says "we want to welcome people to RAW section of Smackdown...I mean Summerslam". CRACK HEAD.
Chris Jericho vs Ric Flair
This match came about after Jericho ran Flair down leading to Flair hitting him with a trash can, which in tern lead to Jericho beating Flair to a pulp backstage. What ever happened to awesome backstage assaults? Early on Flair makes with the struts and the antics. I'm entertained by it but I can't help but feel if I had been watching him for 30-40 odd years I'd be kinda sick of the same routine over and over. About a third of the way in Jericho hits a dive off the top to Flair on the baricade and Flair runs into a camera man yelling "oh God!". Maybe its because its retirement year but I'm actually enjoying Flair's performance here more than I have done before. Jericho tries to remove a cover from the ring corner but the ref stops him and Jericho chokes Flair while the ref is putting it back. Jericho is also making with the great antics and taunts throughout. Jericho misses the Lionsult and Flair tries to lock in the Walls Of Jericho in him! Jericho reverses into a Figure Four! Flair gets to the ropes then taps on the mat, Jericho gets up and thinks its a submission. Dirtiest player in the game I tells ya! Flair fights back and Jericho falls into the ref allowing Flair to get in the low blow. Flair locks in the Figure Four and Jericho taps. I'm always kinda iffy on Flairs "heel-but-not-actually-heel" tactis. But Jericho did choke him so I suppose you could argue it as fair play. Lots of good back and forth action, both mean showing lots of charisma and some cool sequences. 10:30
***
Backstage Lesnar is working out. Heyman is greatness as usual in the promo.
Eddie Guerrero vs Edge
I loved Edge in 2002, as far as his charactor goes I probably prefer him then to him now. He was like the perfect mid-card face. Some nice back and forth chain wrestling to start things off. Eddie sends Edge to outside and brawls with him and sends him into the steps, injured shoulder first. Eddie targets the shoulder and continues to work over it through the match which is nice. People often forget how great of a technical wrestlier Eddie was. Edge fights back but still sells the shoulder well. Edge suplexes Eddie to the outside then hits a big dive which is almost an exact replica of the one Jericho hit. Both men take turns in reversing each others finishers and kicking out of big moves before Eddie hits a Frogsplash right on Edge's shoulder! Great finishing stretch between the two with Edge winning with a Spear! Some really nice armwork from Guerrero, lots of good counters and kickouts, both men at the time were perfect midcarders but looked like they were ready to be main eventing. I may be alone here, but I actually think Edge was better as a face. Ok sure he's still producing some great matches and all that, but idk, his was just so much more likeble here. 11:54
***1/2
Backstage Coach is with the Un-Americans (Christian, Storm and Test). I actually thought this faction was pretty good, but just too short lived. Heel foreigner groups are always atleast halfway entertaining. OH GOD STORM IS SO BORING PUT CHRISTIAN BACK ON THE MIC.
Booker T & Goldust vs The Un-Americans (Christian & Lance Storm)
I don't know one person who failed to find the Booker/Dust team hilarious. The only time I found Dustin Rhodes entertaining in anyway was when he was with Booker and his short fued with RVD. They don't fuck about with the foreplay and go straight into the back and forth action from the bell. The Un-Americans attack Dust on the outside and begin the double team beatdown on him which triggers a "USA" chant. Typical tag team match with the heels keeping Dust away from his partner, whilest building to the hot tag. They even do the spot where he gets tag but the ref doesn't see it. They actually do a good job of teasing the tag. Storm brings in chairs and they go for a Con-chair-to whilest the ref restrains Booker, but Dust ducks it. The ref turns around to see all three down and two chairs in the ring. He just kicks the chairs out. O...k... HOT TAG TO BOOKER and he goes nuts of these crazy fools. Him and Christian exchange finisher attempts before Storm accidently KOs the ref with a sweet looking dropkick. Booker hits both of them with a Scissor Kick~! That looked epic. Spinerooni(~!) and a pin, but the ref is out cold. Test runs in a lays out Booker with a Big Boot allowing his team to get the win. I'm not keen on interference finishes but this was a pretty entertaining match with lots of drama. Comedy wrestlers getting uber-serious nearly always results in good things. 9:37
**1/2
Elswhere
your Cruiserweight Champion, Jamie Noble, is busy pimping out his white trash girlfriend to some guy in front of a crowd. Classy. Back to Steph and Biscoff and the sexual tension is still there
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 20 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Chris Benoit vs Rob Van Dam
Benoit is on Smackdown and is the heel IC champ, RVD is the RAW face sent to bring the title back. You know this won't fail. Just like all the previous singles matches, these twos' styles just work so so well together. Benoit goes for a lock up but RVD kicks around the ring to start th match off. RVD makes with the martial arts and the amazing agility and Benoit makes with the ground-and-pound and suplexing RVD on his head. What you'd expect really. Benoit sends RVD off the top onto the gaurd rail and RVD is selling a hurt arm (his selling, as usual, is great), so Benoit goes to work the injured arm. RVD plays a enoyable underdog as he constantly fights back but Benoit keeps on him and always kills his momentum. Benoit hits three hammerlock suplexes in a row and goes back to the Crossface on the now decimated arm of RVD. Benoit was awesome tbh. RVD fights back and gets a Crossface of his own locked in! RVD reverses a super back suplex into a crossbody which sets him up for win with a Five Star Frogsplash. New Champ! In many ways this match felt a bit too similar to Eddie/Edge, and I think Eddie/Edge was a actually a little bit better. But still, mark out for RVD. 16:30
***1/2 Test vs The Undertaker
Fun fact, Steve actually thinks Test was quite underated. This match is essentially just a slugfest with some high impact moves thrown in, but its enjoyable. Later on in the match, Test goes for a Pump-handle Slam, but 'Taker floats over and goes for a Chokeslam, but Test blocks it. Test goes for the Big Boot but 'Taker ducks it and hits the Chokelsam this time. But Test kicks out! 'Taker goes for the Last Ride, but Storm and Christian run in... and get pwnt with Chokeslams. Ladies and Gentlemen, your tag champs! It serves as a good enough distraction to allow Test hit to hit 'Taker with the Big Boot, but 'Taker kicks out! Test is irate and yells at the ref. Test brings a chair in, but 'Taker boots it into his face. Is that a DQ? idk. Undertaker gets the three with a Tombstone. Passable match, but still enjoyable. Picked up towards the end and the crowd added alot to it. 8:18
**
After the match 'Taker grabs a flag off a fan and celebrates in the ring with it to a huge reaction.
Shawn Michaels vs Triple H - Unsanctioned Match
Oh boy. The set-up for this match alone is incredible, former best friends turned arch enemies due to jealousy with one returning after something like 4 years or so. Basically, this was hands down the most anticipated match of the year in most peoples' books. Hell, I even love the stipulation that the wwe wouldn't sanction it due to how violent it would be. Everything about this match is just flawless. From Michaels attacking Trips at the bell, to all the nods to Michaels's career (the skinning-the-cat, the ladder), from Triple H's epic heel work (the Suck It taunt then the kick to the face was great) to the absolutely molten crowd, this match is just about as good a match as you will see in a wwe ring. HHH's working over Michaels's injured back in fantastic, I love the crowd chanting Holy Shit for the backbreaker on the chair, its not an elaborate looking spot but it means so much in the match. Even the table spot which I guess some may argue as pointless I would say serves its purpose in driving the point home. This match also benefits greatly from it being the first between these two, as I've said elsewhere I feel alot of their matches feel kinda recycled and they re-use alot of the same stuff over and over, but this one gets the benefit of being the first. It's bloody, it's violent, but it's so emotional. When Michaels kip ups and reveals his back is fine (HBK has fighting spirit@~~!) its a huge MARK OUT moment. Michaels is so charismatic throughout as well with his facial expression and crowd work, watching it its hard not feel he could be the most charismatic wreslter ever. The finish is epic too, with the corwd going absolutely batshit for both reversals before Michaels wins with a jacknife counter to the Pedigree. Love or hate JR and King, their commentary is alos gold in this match ("Stand up and meet you best frind now~!" "Sweet Chin Music, number one with a bullet~!"). I genuinely feel this is the best performance of HHH's career, and the best of Michaels's too. Hell, it's not just one of the best wwe matches ever, it one of
the best matches ever. 27:19
*****
After the match while Michaels is celebrating, the crowd are cheering and JR is having a stroke, HHH grabs the sledgehammer and smashes Michaels in the injured back with it twice. Such an epic heel, imo. The heat for this is awesome, and the heat for the Suck It afterwards is better. Michaels had won the battle, but the war was far from over. The two would continue to fued for the next year or so with mixed results, but I don't think anyone with an inch of sanity can deny the greatness of this match.
Brock Lesnar vs The Rock
These two have a huge act to follow, but the crowd were still energetic which is nice. I think it's a real credit to Lesnar to see that within the space of five months not only was he in a title match, but he was also more popular than The Rock of all people. Throughout the match we get "Let's go Lesnar", "Lesnar sucks", "Rocky!" and "Rocky sucks" chants. Taz even says himself he wished the crowd would be more decisive >_>. But generally speaking the crowd are solidly behind the super-heel Brock Lesnar. They work in some psycology with Lesnar using his brute strength to work over Rock's injured ribs, but the crowd really are the most entertaining thing here. I'm a huge Rock fan, and he does his part with his entertaining taunts and stuffs, but this is most definately the Brock Lesnar show. Heyman interferes every now and then but Rock gives him a Rock Bottom through the announce table. It looked kind bad, Heyman didn't even get in the air. Maybe its just because I'm tired from the rest of the fantastic show, but I'm actually finding this dull in alot of parts. Finishing stretch is pretty great through, they really kick it up a notch with loads of finisher reversals before Lesnar finally gets the pin with an F5 to a huge ovation. New champ! It's debatable, but I'd be willing to say Brock is a perfect example of how to push a guy quickly and to have it work well. Within five months not only was he performing at a high level, but he was one of the most over guys on the roster. Although The Rock as once again a transitional champion doesn't make me too happy, I'd say giving the belt to Lesnar was a good move. Passable match raised up alot by a hot crowd and a great finish. 14:38
*** --------------------------------------------------------------
Overall, an amzing PPV. WO gave it Show Of the Year Award for 2002 for a good reason, not only was it the best of that year, but its hands down one of the best PPVs ever. This show has everything in it, great technical wrestling, a great hardcore match, a good tag match, title changes and title defences. Even the worst match of the night was an entertaining affair, and everything else was a of a high standard and the crowd were red hot the whole night. If you havent seen this show, you owe it to yourself as a fan to see it, even if its just for the Unsanctioned match.
Match Of The Night: Michaels/HHH
Quote:
Kurt Angle vs Rey Mysterio - ***3/4
Chris Jericho vs Ric Flair - ***
Eddie Guerrero vs Edge - ***1/2
Booker T & Goldust vs The Un-Americans - **1/2
Chris Benoit vs Rob Van Dam - ***1/2
Test vs The Undertaker - **
Shawn Michaels vs HHH (Unsanction Match) - *****
Brock Lesnar vs The Rock - ***
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Grade: A+
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