WWF Royal Rumble 2002 1/20/2002

January 20, 2002
Phillips Arena
Atlanta, Georgia
Attendance: 12,915
Buy Rate: 1.69
Announcers: Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler

1) Spike Dudley (Matt Hyson) and Tazz (Peter Senerchia) defeat the Dudley Boys to retain WWF Tag Team Titles when Tazz forces D-Von Dudley (Devon Hughes) to tap to the Tazmission at 5:06

Fun Fact: In a huge upset, Spike and Tazz beat the Dudleys on the 1/7 Raw from Madison Square Garden to become Tag Team Champions.

Scott: Our first PPV match of the New Year pits the underdog Champions against 2001’s tag team of the year. The Dudleys dominated 2001 as both faces and heels, but as the New Year dawned they were snuck up on by little runt brother Spike and his new pal, Tazz. Spike spent the tail end of 2001 getting the crap kicked out of him by his big brothers, yet in front of a capacity crowd in the World’s Most Famous Arena; little brother shocked the world and took the precious gold from his bullying big brothers. The match itself is pretty standard, as the Dudleys beat the snot out of Spike and Tazz would protect his teammate and eventually force D-Von to tap out and retain their titles. This would be the beginning of the end of the Dudleys initial WWF run. With the new plan put in place in a few months, the most successful tag team of the past three years would come to an end. Grade: 2

Justin: After spending 2001 alternating between being the whipping dog of the Alliance and the new guy in the broadcast booth, Tazz found himself an unlikely champion as 2002 dawned. He and Spike stole the titles from the Dudleys and became quite the underdog champions. Many people expected them to drop the belts right back at this show, but they would keep control of the straps and pick up another upset win. The Dudleys took Tazz out early with a nasty double team neckbreaker on the floor. Spike was actually wrestling in a neck brace thanks to a stiff 3D on the pavement on the previous Smackdown. The Dudleys would control immediately thanks to putting Tazz out early and they would work a great heat segment on their little brother. The crowd was pretty into it and when the champs battled back and D-Von was forced to tap, they popped huge. The bout was short but it was an effective opener that got the crowd up and going. The one thing the bookers needed to watch out for now was inadvertently making their underdog champions into favorites. Grade: 2

2) William Regal (Darren Matthews) defeats Edge (Adam Copeland) to win WWF Intercontinental Title after a brass knuckles shot at 9:45

Scott: A successful 2001 has Edge starting the year as Intercontinental Champion, but here finally falls prey to the evil brass knucks. Regal had a strange 2001, bouncing from one role to another, but is back to his role of snobby, nasty blueblood who wins his first Intercontinental Title. The match was a little better than their Vengeance match, as Regal does such a good job of both putting on a good beating as well as delivering one. Here Edge gets distracted, and Regal outsmarts the referee by hiding some knucks in the ring apron and uses them to win his first IC Title. Edge is the sacrificial lamb for Regal, as Regal is a mere transitional champion who will eventually pass it on to the next big star. Grade: 2.5

Justin: After Edge barely escaped with a victory last month, Regal gets another crack at the gold. Despite his push, Regal had been battling some health problems over the past few weeks as he was getting chronic bloody noses. Every match would see his nose get busted open and start bleeding, and this match would be no exception. Nick Patrick searched around the ring for Regal’s knucks before the match and he finds a pair in his trunks. He didn’t look hard enough, though, as Regal would yank a pair out from the ring apron and use them to take home his first IC title. The match was back and forth early and Regal would again use his super stiff offense to ground and neutralize Edge. Both men would go toe to toe as it wore on and traded some nice suplexes and other reversals. The atmosphere was weird for this one as they seemed into it, popping at the right moments, but were not overly loud throughout. I think it was the style and pacing of the match that created that specific sort of reaction. Also, both men did a better job of meshing their styles this time around and it produced a better match than at Vengeance. I was actually pretty into it and the crowd got on Regal nicely at the end after he used the knucks to steal Edge’s belt. The battle may have ended, but the war was yet to be over. Grade: 3

3) Trish Stratus (Patricia Stratigias) defeats Jazz (Carlene Moore-Begnaud) to retain WWF Women’s Title with a bulldog at 3:43

Fun Fact: Jazz had beaten down Trish pretty badly on the Smackdown prior to this show.

Scott: After a train wreck of a title match with Jacqueline at Vengeance, Trish ups the ante against one of the most vicious and stiff women’s wrestlers in the world. Jazz beat the hell out of guys in ECW, much less women. Now against the current champion, she certainly gets her licks in but Trish hits her “Stratusfaction” bulldog to get the win and retain her title. Not much more to really say here, except Jazz will get another chance with Trish and the results will be different, but more on that at Wrestlemania. Trish retains her title, for now. Grade: 2

Justin: Jackie is the referee here, keeping here involved with the main women’s championship angles. Trish’s hand was injured by Jazz on Smackdown and Jazz focuses on it during the bout. The crowd was digging the match thanks to Trish and that allure was a major part of her evolution as a wrestler and a star. Trish picks up the upset win and the victory here started to really show Trish’s toughness as she hangs in during a brutal match and comes out victorious. Grade: 1

4) Ric Flair (Richard Fliehr) defeats Mr. McMahon in a street fight with the figure-four at 14:55

Fun Fact I: This is Ric Flair’s first WWF PPV singles match since losing the WWF Title to Randy Savage at Wrestlemania VIII. It is also his first match on WWF TV since losing to Mr. Perfect on the 1/25/93 Raw.

Fun Fact II: This match was made official on the December 27, 2001 Smackdown after an intense face to face showdown between the two men. Flair knocked Vince on his ass and it was on. It was around this time that the WWF really started to embrace history and their vast tape library and the following Raw they presented a great Ric Flair tribute video set to Kid Rock’s “Cocky”. Later that night, Vince came out dressed up as Flair and mocked the Nature Boy. Flair came out incensed that Vince was desecrating his robe and crapping on his legacy. When Flair came after Vince, Vince pulled out a pipe and smacked Flair in the face with it, busting him wide open. A week later, Vince got the last laugh again as he and Chris Jericho attacked Flair and drilled him with the pipe once again.

Scott: The moment I’ve been waiting almost nine years for. Ric Flair, the greatest wrestler to ever step into a ring, makes his WWF return against his “partner” in the company. The writers did a great job of incorporating Flair into the post-Invasion world with some logic and continuity. After returning to WCW in 1993 and winning the World Title at Starrcade, Flair felt he was back home and where he truly felt comfortable. Then, everything changed. The NWO came along, led by Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash and the other sloths and although had some bright spots, pretty much flushed WCW’s future down the toilet. Flair leaves WCW, but doesn’t join the rest of the flock to WWF in the spring to start the Invasion. Instead he went back to his home in North Carolina and contemplated his future. Flair was demoralized at the constant berating and burying in WCW and his self-confidence was shot. Well now he’s back in the WWF and suddenly Vince has put the twinkle back in the Nature Boy’s eye. So here in his first WWF TV match since losing to Mr. Perfect on an early episode of Raw he’s battling the Boss. This match was well booked, as weapons were used quite liberally, and Vince was at his nastiest and most evil. He was great when he was mocking Flair’s daughter at ringside while taking her camera and snapping a shot of her bloodied father. Eventually Flair would get the upper hand and ratchet the Figure Four on. Vince, a bloody heap himself, eventually tapped out. The Hot-lanta crowd paid homage to their old school NWA hero and Flair officially, for now, has the upper hand on his partner and he’s calling the WWF shots. This was a great match that really got the crowd over the top and ready for the next two matches. Grade: 3.5

Justin: For the first time in nine years, the Nature Boy walked the WWF aisle and wrestled in a WWF ring. After a rough ending to his WCW career, Flair’s self confidence was in the toilet. He inked a deal with the WWF but didn’t expect to step back in the ring any time soon. Well, Vince would come calling and wanted a match and he persuaded Flair into stepping in the ring. Despite his damaged psyche, Flair pulled it together and put on an entertaining brawl with the boss. The match would help Flair’s confidence but it would be over another year before he would truly be himself out there again. At the time I was actually a bit surprised that they had this match here as it seemed tailor made for Wrestlemania. But, with a solid three weeks of build, they put together a compelling angle and some stiff beatdowns and the fans were ready to see Flair get some payback. With his kids in the crowd and the rest of Atlanta solidly in his corner, Flair would go toe to toe with his partner and they would take turns beating the piss out of each other. Vince would use his power advantage to dominate early and then would turn to some serious weapons usage. From there, the bout became a straight up garbage match with some intense drama bridging the spots. This was shrewd booking as the style covered for Vince’s ability. The spot with Vince taking a picture with Megan Flair’s camera was great stuff as well. Vince would start focusing the leg and would eventually mock Flair again by locking in the figure four. After Vince dominated the first half of the match, Flair would stage his big comeback and totally destroy Vince. The best part about Vince’s matches is that he always is sure to let his opponent get his revenge in the end. After humiliating and beating Flair down for weeks, Flair totally wrecks Vince and stands victorious at the end. The whole angle and match was a great revenge story and featured tremendous psychology. The match was well crafted and not overbooked. Despite the decisive victory, this feud was far from over and Vince would end up going off the deep end and taking drastic measures to gain revenge on Flair. Grade: 3.5

5) Chris Jericho (Chris Irvine) defeats the Rock (Dwayne Johnson) to retain WWF Undisputed Title with a roll-up at 18:48

Fun Fact: The last time Rock had a WWF Title shot at the Royal Rumble, he defeated Mankind in 1999.

Fun Fact II: Rock received this title shot by defeating Booker T on the 1/3 Raw. One week later, Rock & Rob Van Dam defeated Jericho & Test.

Scott: This is the final match of what has become a fantastic feud dating back to early October. This is their fourth major match, and it does seem like they’ve gotten progressively better. Jericho has really stepped up his game as both a champion and a heel. Here’s a guy who everyone thought was a pretty good wrestler and a great mid-card superstar, but a main eventer? Probably not. That changed last month at Vengeance when he stunned the wrestling world by defeating the Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin in the same night. Both men start the feud with a great four-star match at No Mercy, then an equally good match on Raw a few weeks later, followed by a very solid match at Vengeance which was the precursor of Jericho’s unbelievable night. This match may have been the best of them all. Rock always brings it on the big stage, and now Jericho seems to be wrestling with confidence now that he’s been given the chance to run with the ball. I like the connection already with Christian also, one that will solidify later in the year when Jericho is shunted down the card. Rock will have a holdover match next month, then be given the chance of a lifetime with a match that will cement his legacy as one of the greatest of all time. This is a fantastic match, equally as good as their others, if not better. Grade: 4

Justin: In their fourth battle in five months, Chris Jericho walks in the champion yet is still considered the underdog. Outside of retaining his belt, Jericho’s main objective was to gain the legitimacy he craved. He was tired of being called a fluke and wanted desperately to prove he belonged at the top. And judging by his performance here, I would say he more than accomplished that. The match was hot out of the gate as Jericho worked a quick paced offense mixed in with a healthy dose of disrespect for the Great One. Rock was also his usually awesome self as he broke out his top notch selling and perfectly timed comebacks. The match was a nice mix of wrestling and the usual Main Event brawl style and that quick paced mix kept the crowd in it the whole way. Lance Storm and Christian had begun palling around with Jericho and they run some interference here as the original ref is taken out. The highlight of the match had to be the killer Rock Bottom through the table as Jericho took a sick bump off it. After Dave Hebner came out and was knocked down, Nick Patrick would make his presence felt as he refused to count a pinfall for Rock. Well, Rock doesn’t take that kind of stuff lying down and he crushed Patrick with a Rock Bottom to a monster pop. Jericho would take advantage and pick up the win, using the ropes for leverage, giving him a basically clean win. And it was a big win, as well, for Jericho as he took another step towards legitimacy. The question now was whether he would continue to be given the chance to get over. Grade: 4.5

6) Triple H (Paul Levesque) wins the Royal Rumble

Order of Entry (Followed by who eliminated them)

1. Rikishi (Solofa Fatu): Undertaker
2. Goldust (Dustin Runnels): Undertaker
3. Big Boss Man (Ray Traylor): Rikishi
4. Bradshaw (John Layfield): Billy
5. Lance Storm (Lance Evers): Al Snow
6. Al Snow (Al Sarven): Undertaker
7. Billy (Monte Sop): Undertaker
8. Undertaker (Mark Callaway): Maven
9. Matt Hardy: Undertaker
10. Jeff Hardy: Undertaker
11. Maven (Maven Huffman): Undertaker
12. Scotty 2 Hotty (Scott Garland): Diamond Dallas Page
13. Christian (Jay Reso): Steve Austin
14. Diamond Dallas Page (Paige Falkinburg): Christian
15. Chuck (Charles Palumbo): Steve Austin
16. The Godfather (Charles Wright): Chuck & Christian
17. Albert (Matt Bloom): Chuck & Christian
18. Perry Saturn (Perry Satullo): Steve Austin
19. Steve Austin (Steve Williams): Kurt Angle
20. Val Venis (Sean Morley): Steve Austin
21. Test (Andrew Martin): Steve Austin
22. Triple H: Winner
23. The Hurricane (Gregory Helms): Triple H & Steve Austin
24. Faarooq (Ron Simmons): Triple H
25. Mr. Perfect (Curt Hennig): Triple H
26. Kurt Angle: Triple H
27. Big Show (Paul Wight): Kane
28. Kane (Glen Jacobs): Kurt Angle
29. Rob Van Dam (Rob Szatkowski): Booker T.
30. Booker T. (Booker Huffman): Steve Austin

Longest Time In: Steve Austin (26:46)
Shortest Time In: Booker T (:33)
Most eliminated: Undertaker & Steve Austin (7)

Fun Fact: Triple H made his triumphant return from his torn quad muscle on the 1/7 Raw from Madison Square Garden. He also joined Steve Austin and the Undertaker that night in putting his name in the Rumble. He entered to a thunderous reaction from the MSG fans and had a quick showdown with Kurt Angle. During a match between Austin and Angle on the 1/10 edition of Smackdown, Kane, Big Show and Triple H all interfered. In the end, only Triple H remained standing, and the Undertaker stared him down from the top of the ramp. On the 1/14 edition of RAW, Triple H stated that he wants to win the Undisputed WWF Championship. Austin came out, and they fought until the Undertaker came out and hit Triple H with a chair, allowing Austin to hit the Stunner. The Undertaker then hit Austin with the chair. On the 1/17 edition of Smackdown, Austin and Triple H defeated Angle and Booker T. After the match, the Undertaker again came out, and stared them down.

Fun Fact II: Let’s talk about our two big returns for two men who had some time away. Goldust returns after making his last appearance at Backlash 1999. He moved on to WCW where he would become the bizarre character Seven. After that character quickly bombed, he would wrestle as himself for two years until WCW went under. He returns here as his most famous character.

Fun Fact III: Our other big return is the great Mr. Perfect, who was last seen helping Triple H defeat Marc Mero for the IC Title on Raw in 1996. He would also move on to WCW and be an integral part of the war between WCW and the NWO. He would almost replace Arn Anderson in the Four Horsemen before turning on the Horsemen at Fall Brawl 1997. He would become a US Champion, reignite his feud with Bret Hart and be part of the West Texas Rednecks. They would have the awesome “Rap is Crap” song and that pitiful feud with the No Limit Soldiers. Hennig would then move to the short-lived XWF where he would have a match with Hulk Hogan that would eventually be featured on Hogan’s Anthology DVD. He would appear in the Sunday Night Heat match at Wrestlemania, but this would be his last PPV appearance. He would be released on May 8 after the infamous “Plane Ride from Hell” (more on that in future reviews). He would go to TNA and hang there until he would pass away on February 10, 2003. Curt Hennig was just 44 years old and his death was attributed to cocaine, but his father believes steroids and painkillers also contributed. It was definitely a tragedy. He would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2007. Rest in peace Curt, you will always be considered one of the greatest ever. His final record, counting Royal Rumble matches was 6-13. He was 0-5 at the Royal Rumble, 1-3 at Wrestlemania, 1-3 at Summerslam, 3-1 at Survivor Series and 1-1 at King of the Ring.

Fun Fact IV: The Big Boss Man makes his first PPV appearance since Backlash 2000. He would appear in the Sunday Night Heat match at No Way Out, but this would be his last appearance on PPV, as he would eventually be sent to Ohio Valley to help train the young guys. He would be spotted at a TNA show in 2003, but wouldn’t be on mainstream TV again. Sadly, Ray Traylor would pass away from a heart attack on September 22, 2004 at his home. His final PPV record, including Rumble matches, was 15-20. He was 2-7 at the Royal Rumble, 5-1 at Wrestlemania, 2-2 at Summerslam, 3-5 at Survivor Series and 3-5 at other events.

Fun Fact V: This would also be Perry Saturn’s final PPV appearance. He would suffer an ACL tear in April and be released from WWF in November. He would spend the next couple of years working in both TNA and in the WWA in Australia. Sadly, no one knows where Saturn is right now. His last known place of residence is Long Island, but no one has seen Saturn since 2005 when he was supposed to make Shane Douglas’ “Hardcore Homecoming” show but cancelled. His final record was 4-9, including Rumble matches, is 0-2 at the Royal Rumble, 0-1 at Wrestlemania, 1-1 at Survivor Series and 3-5 at other events.

Fun Fact VI: The big surprise of this Rumble was some unknown eliminating the Undertaker. That unknown is Maven Huffman, who was no relation to Booker T. He was the first male winner of the “Tough Enough” competition. The WWF decided to jump on the reality show bandwagon and have a competition where unknowns would get a chance to show their stuff and win a WWF contract. The first year would see Maven and Nidia winning the men’s and women’s titles respectively. We’ll see Nidia soon but Maven earned a shot here via his win.

Fun Fact VII: After a disappointing outing at Vengeance, the Hardy Boys were taken off TV to recharge their batteries. But first, on the December 17 Raw, Undertaker defeated Jeff Hardy and then brutalized him after the match, eventually sending him careening off the stage with his Last Ride powerbomb. He would then send Lita off the stage after him. During this, Matt Hardy had been hosting Raw at WWF NY and he was shown flipping out as his brother and girlfriend were brutalized. Later that week on Smackdown, Undertaker finished the job when he crushed Matt’s throat with a chair, putting him on the shelf as well. The Hardys would be gone until they enter back to back here. Upon their entrances, the embraced in the ring and showed that they were back together after their brief feud. Along with Lita, they would gain some revenge on Undertaker here as they all took turns attacking him and eventually distracting him long enough to allow Maven to eliminate him.

Scott: This is the longest Rumble on record and was definitely one of the most exciting. There was something going on in every aspect of the match. In the beginning it was Undertaker laying out everyone and anyone around him. Then this snot-nosed little rookie making his PPV debut comes in, and when Taker wasn’t looking, the kid dropkicks Taker out of the ring and eliminates him. The crowd goes insane, but then Maven, who has already learned great facial expressions, gets his ass handed to him for about ten minutes. Then we have about forty minutes of regular Rumble action, until Austin comes in and cleans everybody out in Taker-esque style. Austin’s waiting, and it’s time to play the game! Triple H makes his triumphant return to the ring and now the shit is on. The rest of the Rumble is non stop action with no fluff. All thoroughbreds like Austin, Triple H, Angle, and even Mr. Perfect, who deserved to be with the big players as he makes his first PPV appearance in the ring since Summerslam 93. The end is frantic and unpredictable as any of these guys could win this thing. Conventional wisdom says that the returning Triple H wins the Rumble and moves on to Wrestlemania but you never know how bookers are thinking about things. Angle apparently eliminates Triple H, but the Game does the old Shawn Michaels ’95 when he dangles over the floor, comes back in and pitches Angle out to win the Rumble and move on to Wrestlemania. At least that’s what you think with conventional wisdom, but alas we have some swerves from here till March 17 at Skydome. Wait until our next show. For now, it’s all about the game, and how you play it.

Justin: Another year is upon us and thus another installment of the Royal Rumble match. This year’s edition was another strong one as the pacing was good and the action was steady throughout. Also helping this year’s Rumble was the stacked roster of combatants and handful of big returns. Goldust was the first returning star to enter and he gets a good pop for his classic entrance. After some basic battle royal brawling, Undertaker becomes the first major name to enter and he completely cleans house, tossing everyone out to the floor very quickly. At that point, the Hardy Boys made their return and they were back together again. They would get some shots in on Taker to gain some revenge, but Taker would end up tossing both of them out. That would lead to the fantastic Maven/Taker showdown and Maven would use a Hardy distraction to shockingly eliminate the Deadman. And as great as that moment was, the post elimination beatdown by Taker may have been even better. Taker would drag Maven all around the arena and punish him for costing Taker a shot at the Undisputed Championship. The good flow would continue and the bookers were wise to have a lot of the midcard stars carry the early part of the match so they could save the big names for a stacked finish. Godfather was the next star making his return and he was quickly followed by Val Venis who had now returned to his old porn star gimmick. It was finally time to start bringing out the big guns and Austin was the first. He came out to an enormous pop and cleaned house, sending everyone to the floor. Triple H then made his way out and the showdown was on. After a few minutes of brawling, Hurricane came out and did a funny spot where he tried to chokeslam both men at once, but he ate a quick beating for his troubles. The ring would stay thin until the very end when it finally started to fill up for the big finish. The final major return of the match saw Mr. Perfect strut his way and return to a WWF ring for the first time since late 1996. He was right back to his old tricks when he pulled off a tricky gum swat while he was on the verge of elimination. Both Perfect and Goldust had good showings here and actually ended up being offered contracts off of their pops and performances. Kurt Angle was the main heel out there towards the end and he was still generating solid heat as he was embroiled in feuds with both Austin and Hunter. Kane and Big Show had a cool showdown too and it was one that ends with Kane impressively slamming Show over the top and out of the ring. Kane would continue to gain momentum as 2002 rolls on. The only major disappointment of the Rumble was the quick exits and weak showings by RVD and Booker. They came in late and were quickly eliminated prior to the finish. After a strong second half of 2001 both men seem to be stuck in neutral now that the Invasion has ended. The final four in the ring were Austin, Angle, Perfect and Hunter and they busted it to bring a hot end to the match. Angle shockingly tossed Austin first but that only allowed the heat to be transferred so Hunter would be cheered when he won the match. If they would have had Hunter and Austin at the end, the crowd would have been split and they needed to avoid that. Thus, Hunter tosses Perfect and Angle and picks up his first Rumble win and the title shot at Wrestlemania.

Final Analysis

Scott: A pretty good show to start an unpredictable 2002. The opener isn’t bad as the plucky team of Tazz and Spike survive a battle with the bigger Dudleys. I liked the Edge/Regal match, but I’m not sure if I liked this one or their next PPV match coming up better, we’ll see. The women’s match is kind of a mess as, although Trish Stratus has learned a lot over the past year, she still needed more seasoning if she expects to be the anchor of the division. We know she does. Vince and Flair put on a great ugly brawl full of tension, hatred and drama. Vince played his asshole role to the hilt, particularly when he took the camera from Flair’s daughter and took a picture of her bloody father with it. That was a fun match that fortified Vince as the guy you always like to see get his ass kicked, and Flair definitely got his groove back and in a couple of months would really step it up again. Rock and Jericho have another awesome affair that concludes one of the most unlikely successful feuds in recent memory. I don’t know if anyone expected these two to go at it and mesh this well. Chris Jericho impresses everyone with his work ethic and effort putting himself over as a solid heel champion. Unfortunately he gets caught in a big storyline clusterfuck soon, but we won’t spoil the moment for now. Triple H wins a great Rumble full of tension and unpredictability, and the surprises of Mr. Perfect and Goldust added a nice nostalgic effect to it. We get 2002 off to a good start, but the first of two huge returns in 2002 happens next month. Final Grade: B

Justin: While the Invasion had ended before Vengeance, there was still a lingering feel at that event. However, by the time we hit this show, things feel completely different. Instead of a whole PPV being focused around a major angle, we are now back to shows with numerous, well developed feuds. And a few of those feuds were blown off or furthered here. The undercard was quite entertaining with two excellent matches and two other good ones. The Rumble was quite good and loaded with terrific talent and they mixed everyone in nicely. For the first time, WWF is really starting to showcase and utilize their amazing roster. With many guys returning from injury, they are starting to overflow with top talent and it will end up leading to a radical shift by the spring. It was also around this time that they began embracing their deep tape library and the rich history of the entire business. The first sign was the great Ric Flair tribute video and within weeks, the historical videos would start to become a regular staple of TV and compilation DVDs would start flowing by mid year. The Attitude era was officially in its final days as the bridge to the next era has begun. 2002 would be a bizarre year of major changes and polarizing booking. The one standard that lasts the whole twelve months will be the loaded roster and solid in ring action. 2002 has started off hot with a great PPV and we will see if the momentum carries over from here. Final Grade: B+

MVP: Chris Jericho & Rock
Runner Up: Triple H
Non MVP: Booker T. & Rob Van Dam
Runner Up: Trish Stratus & Jazz
Honorable Mention: Mr. Perfect and Big Boss Man