WWE Velocity 7/27/2002

World Wrestling Entertainment presents Velocity
Date: 7/27/2002
From:

Matches:
1.) Billy & Chuck defeated The Hurricane & Shannon Moore
2.) Tajiri defeated Mike Awesome
3.) WWE Cruiserweight Champion Jamie Noble defeated Billy Kidman to retain the title
4.) Hardcore Holly defeated Rico

Angle Developments/Notes:
1.) Billy and Moore kickoff the tag match with Moore delivering forearm strikes. Billy jabs Moore a few times until Moore nearly wins with a rollup. Moore dropkicks Billy followed by an arm drag. Billy decks Moore and tags in Chuck, but Moore drop toe holds Chuck and keeps a headlock on. Hurricane tags in, but Chuck isn’t aware and Hurricane hammers away on Chuck. Hurricane head scissors Chuck to the mat and delivers a shining wizard. Hurricane counters a back supelx with a neckbreaker for a two count. Moore tags into the match and hits a leaping neckbreaker for a two count. Chuck dumps Moore through the ropes to the floor. Billy cheap shots Moore on the floor. They toss Moore back into the ring through the middle rope, though they were aiming for the top rope. Billy plants Moore with a cobra clutch slam. Chuck returns to the match and decks Moore with a right hand. Moore forearms Chuck and hits a spinning heel kick. Chuck tries for a powerbomb, but Moore counters with a hurricanrana. Hurricane tags in and clotheslines Billy a few times. Hurricane plants Billy with a tornado DDT for a two count. Hurricane boots Billy in the corner and hits a somersault neckbreaker. Hurricane heads to the top rope and hits a crossbody on Chuck, but Billy decks Hurricane. Moore leaps off the top to hit Billy with a hurricanrana. Chuck catches Moore on the floor to drop Moore over the railing. Billy avoids a chokeslam, but Hurricane connects on a second attempt. Rico distracts the referee allowing Chuck to superkick Hurricane and Billy gets the three count. (***. I enjoyed the match with Moore and Hurricane providing some fun fast pace action. Moore has been on a good roll since debuting in WWE,. Billy and Chuck bumped around well for them, too. I can get behind an underdog tag team of Moore and Hurricane.)

2.) This is Mike Awesome’s return from injury. He has a large brace on his right knee.

3.) Tajiri tries to go after the leg, but Awesome tosses Tajiri away quickly. Tajiri kicks Awesome a few times for the early advantage. Awesome shoulder blocks Tajiri and hits an overhead belly to belly suplex, which Tajiri landed poorly on. Awesome splashes Tajiri in the corner, but Tajiri comes back with a tarantula attempt only for Awesome to drive Tajiri face down to the mat. Awesome scoop slams Tajiri, but gets kicked on a splash attempt. Awesome misses a big boot and is kicked by Tajiri a couple of times. Tajiri focuses on the left knee with stomps. Tajiri splashes down on Awesome’s knee, but is kicked over the top to the floor. Awesome sends Tajiri into the railing, but misses a slingshot crossbody. Tajiri kicks Awesome on the apron and locks in the tarantula, but can’t get a legal submission. Awesome comes back with a slingshot shoulder block for a two count. Awesome decks Tajiri with a few right hands. Awesome plants Tajiri with a sit out powerbomb for a two count. Tajiri tries for a handspring, but settles for a drop toe hold and a kick. Awesome knocks Tajiri down to the mat and goes for a running powerbomb, but Tajiri breaks free and kicks Aesome twice for the clean win. (**1/2. I enjoyed this one, too. It’s kind of an odd feeling to see Awesome lose when I have so many memories of him being a force in ECW. Perhaps Tajiri isn’t going to be regulated to being just a Cruiserweight in the future. If not, it’s a little confusing to have a guy like Awesome lose in his return from injury. When healthy, Awesome could be a great addition to Smackdown.)

4.) Backstage, Rico is talking to Funaki and is happy with the outcome for Billy and Chuck tonight. Rico says it is only a matter of time before they are tag team champions again. Harcore Holly walks by and insults Rico for talking crap. Holly asks when is the last time Billy and Chuck lost a match, which was last week against himself and Venis. Holly tells Rico that they are going to have a match tonight and he’s going to knock the smell out of his mouth. Holly laughs before walking off. Rico doesn’t seem excited about this match.

5.) Kidman goes after Noble with right hands to start the match and a head scissors. Kidman dumps Noble to the apron and knocks the champ to the floor where Kidman delivers a baseball slide. Kidman taunts Nidia before rolling Noble back into the ring,. Noble knocks Kidman off the apron into the railing following a distraction by Nidia. Noble covers Kidman managing a two count. Kidman is sent hard into the corner back first and Noble follows up with a back suplex for a two count. Noble presses his knee into Kidman’s back while pulling back on Kidman’s arms, but doesn’t get a submission. Kidman is kicked by Noble, but almost wins with a rollup. Noble tosses Kidman with an exploder suplex for a near fall. Nidia helps Noble get more leverage with an abdominal stretch, but Kidman doesn’t give in. Kidman hip tosses free and goes to the apron. Kidman shoulder rams Noble and delivers a leg drop over the middle rope. Kidman hits a slingshot leg drop into the ring, but can’t make a cover. Noble gets to his feet first, but Kidman punches Noble a few times. Kidman sends Noble into the corner and delivers a clothesline for a near fall. Noble plants Kidman with an electric chair slam for a near fall.

Kidman avoids a bulldog and a double under hook attempt. Kidman drops Noble head first over his knee for a two count. Kidman tries for a powerbomb, but Noble counters looking for a powerbomb. Kidman instead hits a sit out powerbomb, but Nidia gets on the apron. Noble collides with Nidia and Kidman nearly with a rollup. The referee literally counted three and acted like he counted two. Kidman dropkicks Noble to the floor. Kidman hits a slingshot crossbody to the floor and both men are hurting. Kidman tries for a suplex into the ring, but Nidia trips Kidman and holds his leg down to allow Noble to win the match. (***. That was a fun match despite the referee messing up the count towards the end. Nidia remained hidden well enough for the finish for it to be a surprise outcome and not an obvious direction for the finish. These two work incredibly well together and I enjoyed the match a lot.)

6.) Billy is in the ring to distract Holly to start the main event. Rico is being protected by his men. The referee kicks them out of the ring leaving Rico by himself in the ring. Rico begs off, but Holly is not interested in not hurting him. Rico wants his guys to come back, but they can’t. Holly chases after Rico and grabs his hair against the ropes. Holly delivers a kick to the lower midsection followed by a clothesline for a two count. Holly hammers away on Rico in the corner. Rico runs into a boot, but superkicks Holly. Rico stomps on Holly to keep control of the match. Rico shoulder rams Holly in the corner a few times. Rico chops Holly and taunts the crowd. Holly pummels Rico with chops in the corner, but en eye rake stops him. Rico kicks Holly several times and delivers a jump kick to the face for a near fall. Rico knee lifts Holly a few times to maintain the advantage. Rico kicks Holly in the midsection and nails Holly with a knee strike to the midsection. Rico kicks Holly again, but can’t keep Holly down on the mat. Rico boot scrapes Holly and delivers a scoop slam. Rico heads to the top rope missing a moonsault. Holly delivers a few clotheslines. Holly ducks a clothesline to dropkick Rico for a near fall. Holly counters a backdrop and drops Rico with a powerbomb for a two count. Rico mule kicks Holly, but Holly comes back with an overhead suplex for a two count. Rico powerslams Holly for a two count. Rico waits for a superkick, but Holly ducks and hits the Alabama Slam for the win. After the match, Billy and Chuck attack Holly to get revenge for Rico. Val Venis slides into the ring and makes the save with strikes. Holly clotheslines Billy to the floor. Venis and Holly mistimed their Hart Attack on Chuck, but they stand tall. (*1/2. I am a bit surprised by this being the main event, but at least it wasn’t a boring encounter. Rico can be entertaining in the ring when given the opportunity to do so. They worked a decent enough match, but I wouldn’t have put it in the main event spot this week.)

Final Thoughts:
This may be the best episode of Velocity in the brief existence of the program. The matches were all entertaining with the undercard being quite strong. A strong thumbs up for Velocity this week.

Thanks for reading.