WWE Heat 7/28/2002

World Wrestling Entertainment presents Heat
Date: 7/28/2002
From:

Matches:
1.) Steven Richards defeated Matt Hardy
2.) Raven defeated Crash Holly
3.) Goldust defeated Justin Credible
4.) WWE Hardcore Champion Bradshaw defeated Johnny Stamboli to retain the title

Angle Developments/Notes:
1.) Richards backs Hardy into a corner, but Hardy punches Richards away. Hardy puts a wrist lock on Richards and delivers a right hand to send Richards into the corner. Hardy arm drags Richards, but misses a clothesline and hip tosses Richards. Richards dumps Hardy to the apron. Hardy punches Richards and rams Richards face first onto the top turnbuckle. Hardy hits a top rope moonsault for a near fall. Richards eye rakes Hardy and backdrops Hardy over the top to the floor. Hardy awkwardly had his arm in the ropes, but appears to be okay. Richards elbow drops Hardy a few times and delivers a neckbreaker after a knee lift to the lower back for a two count. Richards forearms Hardy on the back and continues to gain control with right hands. Hardy fights back in the corner, but is stopped quickly by Richards. Richards locks in a modified leg lock, but Hardy breaks free. Richards switches to a headlock, but doesn’t get a submission as Hardy hit a back suplex/elbow drop combo for a two count. Hardy hits a snap suplex and a leaping clothesline off the ropes. Hardy decks Richards with a discus punch and a backdrop. Hardy delivers a headlock neckbreaker for a two count. Hardy tries for the Side Effect, but Richards breaks free. Hardy blocks a superkick and hits the Side Effect for a two count. Hardy slams Richards and goes to the middle rope, but Richards cuts Hardy off with a slam off the middle rope. Richards taunts Hardy, but is met with a boot coming off the middle rope. Richards avoids the Twist of Fate and counters a rollup in the corner by holding the ropes and manages to pin Hardy for the upset win! (**. I love that Richards got the win. I’ve been enjoying Richards on Heat and picking up the cheap win is a fantastic decision. I’d love to see Richards get a serious look as a heel in the midcard ranks. This loss is not going to hurt Hardy at all. The crowd was loving this and it exceeded my expectations.)

2.) Backstage, Terri interviews Raven. Terri notes that Raven has been disgruntled with his treatment. Terri asks why Raven hasn’t taken the advantage to sign with Smackdown. Raven says he has zero advantage since he’s regulated to Heat. Raven knows that they’d find a way to kick him off Smackdown. Raven knows that people call him a freak. Raven isn’t a a deprived human being. He’s going to make Heat his own personal playground.

3.) Raven backs Crash into the corner, but cleanly backs off. Raven hammers away on Crash in the corner to keep the advantage. Crash head scissors Raven and clotheslines Raven over the top to the floor. Crash rolls Raven into the ring and misses a running knee strike hitting the top turnbuckle. Raven chop blocks Crash and delivers a kick to the leg. Raven works over the injured knee with knee drops and elbow drops. Crash kicks free from Raven, but Raven continues to deliver knee strikes in the corner. Crash collapses to the mat when being sent into the corner. Crash almost wins with an inside cradle, but Raven decks Crash with a clothesline and goes back to working over the leg with a spinning toe hold. Crash kicks Raven into the corner chest first and almost wins with a rollup. Raven knee lifts Crash for another two count. Raven stomps on the knee, but Crash comes back with a neckbreaker. Crash elbows Raven and drop toe holds Raven over the middle rope. Crash kicks Raven in the corner, but his leg is hurting. Crash heads to the top rope and hits a missile dropkick for a near fall. Crash elbows Raven and nearly wins with another rollup. Crash counters the DDT with a clothesline for a near fall. Raven avoids a bulldog and plants Crash with a DDT for the win. (*1/2. Crash did a fine job selling the leg and it played a part in the finish. Raven is thriving on Heat and seems to be getting over even more with the crowd while being regulated to Heat.)

4.) Goldust takes Credible down to the mat, but doesn’t take advantage. Goldust shoulder blocks Credible followed by arm drags. Credible decks Goldust with a right hand, but Goldust responds with a clothesline. Goldust knee drops Credible on the arm. Credible plants Goldust with a jumping DDT. Credible stomps on Goldust in the corner to keep control of the contest. Credible keeps a headlock on Goldust, but doesn’t get a submission. Goldust elbows free and is met with a superkick for a two count. Goldust fights back with strikes and sends Credible groin first into the ring post. They continue to trade strikes until Goldust delivers a clothesline. Goldust atomic drops Credible followed by a clothesline. Goldust drops down with a strike and a headlock takeover. Goldust tries for a reverse DDT, but Credible breaks free. Goldust hits a snap powerslam, known as the Director’s Cut, and wins the match. (*1/2. A better performance for Credible than I’ve seen in recent weeks as his offense was more interesting and entertaining. Goldust is doing well as a face and continues to get a strong reaction from the crowd.)

5.) Bradshaw backs Stamboli into a corner and beats on Stamboli with strikes. Bradshaw shoulder blocks Stamboli, but Stamboli deliver a knee lift and a running knee strike for a two count. Stamboli takes Bradshaw over with a snap suplex for a two count. Stamboli sends Bradshaw into the corner, but Bradshaw delivers a clothesline sending Stamboli to the floor. Bradshaw sends Stamboli into the ring steps face first. Bradshaw nails Stamboli with the ring steps. Bradshaw beats on Stamboli with a paddle and boots Stamboli to the ground. Bradshaw rolls Stamboli into the ring and grabs a kayak and hits Stamboli with it. Bradshaw tosses a few more weapons into the ring. Bradshaw hits Stamboli with a trash can lid. Stamboli whacks Bradshaw over the head with a trash can several times for a two count. Stamboli hits Bradshaw with a trash can lid and a DDT. Stamboli goes to the top rope, but Bradshaw hits Stamboli with a trash can lid and hits a suplex into the ring. Bradshaw nails Stamboli with a cowbell. Bradshaw hogties Stamboli with a cord. Bradshaw puts a trash can over Stamboli and hits the Clothesline From Hell for the win. (*1/4. It’s just the usual hardcore stuff that you see every week. Bradshaw mostly dominated the match and I’m okay with it. Bradshaw has been enjoyable in this singles run, but I hope he’s not stuck as a hardcore guy.)

Final Thoughts:
Hardy/Richards was a fun match and I really like that Richards got a big upset win. I also like the reactions for Raven, Goldust and Bradshaw. Despite their placement on the card it seems like they are getting over with the crowd rather well. A decent overall episode of Heat that flew by for me.

Thanks for reading.