WWF Heat 3/31/2002

Written by: Bob Colling

World Wrestling Federation presents Heat
Date: 3/31/2002
From: Philadelphia, PA

Matches:
1.) WWF Women’s Champion Jazz defeated Molly Holly in a non-title match
2.) Lance Storm defeated Scotty 2 Hotty
3.) Edge defeated Goldust
4.) WWF European Champion William Regal defeated WWF Cruiserweight Champion Tajiri

Angle Developments/Notes:
1.) Earlier today, Molly Holly talked about being drafted to different brands than the Hurricane. Holly is going to focus on her own career and show that she’s more than just a sidekick.

2.) Jazz attacks before the bell sending Holly into the corner. Holly drops Jazz chest first into the corner and delivers a few stomps. Holly yanks Jazz down by her hair and they roll to the floor. Holly forearms and chops Jazz before sending the champ into the ring post. Holly rolls Jazz into the ring and tries for a crossbody, but Jazz catches her. Jazz plants Holly with a slam for a two count. Jazz elbows Holly followed by a kick to the ribs. Jazz jabs Holly several times and drops Holly with a right hand for a two count. Jazz connects with a vertical suplex for a near fall. Holly tries to fight back with strikes, but Jazz stops her. Holly almost wins with a rollup, but Jazz delivers a clothesline and a leg drop for a two count. Jazz slams Holly in the corner and comes off the middle rope looking for a splash, but Molly got her knees up. Holly almost wins with a rollup and drops Jazz with a few clotheslines. Molly pulls Jazz off the ropes for a two count on a rollup. Jazz clotheslines Holly and avoids a dropkick. Jazz locks in the half Boston Crab and switches to an STF for the submission win. (*1/2. Two of the better women wrestlers putting on a decent match here. It’s nice to allow the women to actually compete.)

3.) Storm and Hotty counter each other early on until Hotty hits a head scissors. Hotty avoids being sent to the floor and taunts Storm. Hotty kicks Storm and delivers a seated dropkick for a two count. Hotty kicks Storm several times in the corner. Storm staggers Hotty with an elbow strike and sends Hotty into the post shoulder first. Storm knee lifts Hotty coming off the ropes. Storm drives Hotty down with a delayed vertical suplex. Storm keeps a headlock on Hotty to maintain control of the match. Storm hammers away on Hotty in the corner several times. Hotty is stopped by a knee to the midsection. Hotty runs into a boot in the corner, but stops Storm with a powerslam. They begin to trade rights with Hotty getting the advantage. Hotty clotheslines Storm followed by a backdrop. Hotty misses a bulldog attempt, but Hotty connects on a second attempt. Hotty executes the Worm causing Storm to bail to the floor. Hotty baseball slides Storm into the guard railing. Storm brings Hotty back into the ring with a back suplex attempt, but Hotty counters with a rollup for a two count. Hotty misses a clothesline and Storm tries for a half Boston Crab. Hotty almost wins with a rollup. Storm nails Hotty with a superkick for the win. (**. A decent match between these two keeping a good pace and holding interest. Storm might be getting on track with the Draft taking place and will likely thin out the roster between two shows. He was good in WCW as a near top heel and could return to form here.)

4.) Goldust hammers away on Edge to start the match, but Edge battles back with right hands. Goldust atomic drops Edge and misses a clothesline. Edge flapjacks Goldust and avoids a monkey flip attempt. Edge backdrops Goldust but misses a spear and goes over the top to the floor. Goldust continues his offense by sending Edge into the guard railing and stomps away on Edge. Goldust heads to the top rope hitting a clothesline for a two count. Goldust comes off the ropes to deliver a forearm drop for a near fall. Edge kicks Goldust away and delivers more right hands. Goldust nails Edge with a jumping butt strike for a two count. Goldust sends Edge hard into the corner back first for another near fall. Edge plants Goldust with a cutter of sorts and a neckbreaker. Edge delivers a spinning heel kick for a near fall. Goldust throat thrusts Edge and tries for a lifting reverse DDT, but Edge floats over and drops Goldust from behind for a two count. Goldust stops Edge with a jawbreaker and a clothesline. Goldust puts Edge on the top turnbuckle looking for a superplex. Goldust hits the superplex but only manages a near fall. Goldust sets Edge up in the corner for Shattered Dreams. Edge puts the referee in the way and low blows Goldust. Edge comes off the ropes with a spear for the win. (*1/2. Nothing all that great going on here.)

5.) Regal and Tajiri counter wrist locks in the opening moments. Tajiri arm drags Regal and yanks Regal’s arm down to cause Regal to somersault over. Regal takes Tajiri down to the mat as the fans are chanting that Regal sucks. Tajiri kicks Regal on the butt and delivers a kick to the leg. Tajiri puts himself in a pretzel and takes Regal down to the mat. Regal knee lifts Tajiri to the mat and delivers a leg drop. Regal locks in a modified STF until Tajiri reaches the ropes. Regal stomps on Tajiri several times. Tajiri tries a few kicks, but Regal comes back with strikes and a snap suplex for a two count. Regal uppercuts Tajiri into the corner. Tajiri kicks Regal in the corner and locks in the tarantula in the corner. Tajiri has to let go and kicks Regal again. Tajiri puts the octopus on Regal leading to a near fall. Tajiri with another kick for a near fall. Tajiri connects with a handspring back elbow. Tajiri is tossed out of the corner by Regal. Regal plants Tajiri with a doubler under hook powerbomb for the win. (**. A solid match to end the show and I like that they went with a clean finish.)

Final Thoughts:
A good show this week for Heat as there were a couple of solid matches on the hour program and nothing overly offensive. It should be interesting to see who is regulated to Heat following the Draft. I also wonder if this will lead to more angles being developed for Heat to keep guys relevant to some extent.

Thanks for reading.