WWE Velocity 5/25/2002

World Wrestling Entertainment presents Velocity
Date: 5/25/2002
From: Tupelo, MS

Matches:
1.) Billy Kidman defeated Tajiri
2.) Hardcore Holly defeated Val Venis
3.) WWE Women’s Champion Trish Stratus defeated Stacy Keibler in a bra and panties match

Angle Developments/Notes:
1.) This is the debut episode of WWE Velocity. Velocity will act similar to Heat does for RAW. We’ll likely see undercard matches on a regular basis with a rare main event act appearing.

2.) Michael Cole and Al Snow are the commentary team.

3.) Kidman takes Tajiri down to the mat and they trade some mat wrestling positions. Tajiri gets a stretch muffler on Kidman, but doesn’t get a submission. Kidman kicks free and hammers away on Tajiri before putting a headlock on Tajiri. Tajiri counters with a hammerlock and a wrist lock. Tajiri takes Kidman down to the mat with a headlock to maintain control of the contest. Kidman breaks free with a jawbreaker followed by vertical suplex for a two count. Kidman goes back to a arm lock, but Tajiri breaks free to slam Kidman and delivers a knee drop. Kidman yanks Tajiri off the ropes and delivers an arm drag followed by a hurricanrana to send Tajiri to the floor. Kidman looks for a dive, but Tajiri walks away. Kidman nails Tajiri with a baseball slide. Kidman slams Tajiri and hits a slingshot leg drop from the apron for a two count. Kidman runs into a kick and Tajiri sends Kidman shoulder first into the post as the show goes to commercial.

Tajiri chokes Kidman over the bottom rope. Tajiri kicks Kidman from the floor and taunts the crowd. Tajiri controls Kidman on the mat with an arm lock. Tajiri kicks Kidman several times on the arm. Tajiri slams Kidman to the canvas and locks in a modified surfboard. Tajiri wraps Kidman’s arm around the top rope and delivers several strikes. Kidman hits a crossbody off the ropes and kicks Kidman several times followed by a dropkick for a two count. Tajiri chokes Kidman in the corner and misses a splash. Tajiri plants Kidman with an arm breaker and keeps a submission locked in, but Kidman doesn’t give in. Tajiri chops Kidman in the corner and tries for the tarantula, but Kidman breaks free. Tajiri drops Kidman’s arm over the ropes and misses a springboard moonsault attempt. They trade right hands with Kidman hitting a clothesline after sending Tajiri chest first into the corner. Tajiri plants Kidman with a DDT for a near fall. Kidman blocks a hurricanrana with a powerbomb for a near fall. Tajiri nails Kidman with a superkick for a two count. Kidman blocks a handspring with a dropkick to the back of Tajiri. Tajiri recovers and locks in the tarantula. Torrie Wilson makes her way out and distracts Tajiri leading to a near fall. Wilson grabs Tajiri by the leg and Kidman hits a wheelbarrow facebuster for the win. (***. They got a bunch of time and they used that time very well. The match was full of big spots and then they’d slow it down only to bring the viewer back with more big spots. It’s a risky format to do for a Cruiserweight match, but I enjoyed this. A good way to debut a brand new show.)

4.) Holly takes Venis down to the mat to start the match, but Venis quickly counters with a hammerlock. Venis shoulder blocks Holly and decks Holly with a clothesline. Holly chops Venis in the corner several times. Venis hammers away on Holly followed by chops in the corner. Venis tosses Holly with an under hook suplex for a near fall. Venis elbows Holly followed by an elbow drop and a knee drop. Venis mounts Holly with punches. Holly drops Venis throat first over the top rope and connects with a belly to belly suplex for a two count. Holly kicks Venis between the legs and clotheslines Venis. Holly drives Venis down to the mat with a vertical suplex. Venis kicks Holly followed by more strikes. Venis elbows Holly in the corner, but is met with a clothesline. Venis powerslams Holly for a two count. Holly hammers away on Venis, but Venis comes off the ropes with a shoulder block. Venis backdrops Holly and hits a fisherman suplex for a two count. Venis plants Holly with a spinning sit out powerbomb. Holly almost wins with a rollup, but runs into a spinebuster. Venis heads to the top rope missing the Money Shot. Holly nails Venis with a dropkick and wins the match cleanly. (*1/2. Well, I was not expecting Holly to win the match with a dropkick. This isn’t 1985 where that kind of finish makes sense. If anything, that finish makes Venis look really weak.)

5.) Keibler attacks Stratus from behind with kicks to the ribs and lays the championship in the middle of the ring. Keibler slams Stratus onto the championship and rams Stratus into the corner. Keibler chokes Stratus in the corner briefly. Keibler tries to remove Trish’s top, but fails. Stratus chops Keibler against the ropes and tries for a bulldog, but is sent into the corner. Keibler gets Stratus in the tree of woe and takes her top off. Stratus gets out and takes off Keibler’s top. Keibler nails Stratus with a spin kick. Keibler tries to take Trish’s pants off, but Stratus counters with a rollup and takes Keibler’s bottoms off to win the match. After the match, Stratus avoids a slap and kicks Keibler to leave her laying. (*. This was exactly what you’d expect it to be.)

Final Thoughts:
I enjoyed the show largely because of the Kidman/Tajiri match. There’s nothing horribly offensive here and they included the good segments from Smackdown to highlight. A good debut for Velocity.

Thanks for reading.