WWE Heat 11/10/2002

World Wrestling Entertainment presents Heat
Date: 11/10/2002
From:

Matches:
1.) Goldust defeated Johnny Stamboli
2.) Steven Richards defeated Aaron Stevens
3.) Spike Dudley defeated D’Lo Brown

Angle Developments/Notes:
1.) Goldust slaps Stamboli’s hat off from behind, which pisses off Stamboli. Goldust puts a hammerlock on Stamboli, but is taken down to the mat. Goldust controls Stamboli with a hammerlock, but Stamboli breaks free with a slam. Goldust comes back with a clothesline. Goldust hip tosses Stamboli and delivers a butt splash. Goldust tries to setup a kick to the groin in the corner, but Stamboli avoids it and hits a press slam into a powerslam. Stamboli chokes Goldust on the mat before delivering a few stomps on the mat. Stamboli sends Goldust into the corner and delivers an elbow drop. Stamboli tries for a cover, but Goldust kicks out at two. Stamboli sends Goldust hard into the corner back first managing a two count. Stamboli keeps a chin lock on Goldust, but doesn’t get a submission. Goldust elbows free and takes Stamboli down with a backslide for a two count. Stamboli delivers a backbreaker for a two count. Stamboli pulls back on Goldust’s arms while pressing his foot into Goldust’s back. Goldust plants Stamboli with a back suplex. Goldust atomic drops Stamboli followed by a clothesline. Goldust plants Stamboli with a DDT. Goldust misses the Shattered Dreams, but hits a snap powerslam for a near fall. Stamboli stops Goldust with a jawbreaker. Goldust finishes Stamboli off with the Shattered Dreams for the win. (*1/2. There wasn’t much time for Stamboli to showcase himself at all, so that was a disappointment. The main focus was on just Goldust and that’s probably the right decision anyway.)

2.) Raven makes his way down to the ring to cut a promo and reveal his masterpiece. Raven tells the fans to cease their babbling so that he can begin. Raven says there has been a lot of chatter about his masterpiece. Raven says that temptation leads to sin, which is what his masterpiece is all about. Raven knows the fans look at him like he’s a freak. Raven sees a lot of hypocrites in the crowd and says they live lives of quiet desperation. Raven needs to complete his masterpiece to bring salvation to their souls.

3.) Aaron Stevens would go on to be better known as Damien Sandow in the WWE. Richards slaps Stevens in the corner to start the match and is happy with doing that. Richards clubs Stevens over the back a few times in the corner. Stevens comes back with a hip toss and a scoop slam. Stevens punches Richards and gets arm control. Stevens keeps wrist control for a few moments. Richards shoulder rams Stevens against the ropes. Stevens dropkicks Richards leading to a near fall. Richards backs Stevens into a corner and delivers a few forearm strikes. Stevens responds with strikes of his own. Richards nails Stevens with a double boot to the face. Richards stomps on Stevens and delivers a few knee strikes to the lower back. Richards chops Stevens in the corner. Stevens is sent chest first into the corner. Richards keeps Stevens on the mat with a body scissors. Richards keeps a full nelson on Stevens with a body scissors, but doesn’t get a submission. Stevens misses an elbow drop off the ropes. Richards blocks a boot in the corner, but Stevens elbows Richards. Stevens manages to drop Richards with a neckbreaker. Stevens clotheslines Richards a few times and a leaping back elbow. Stevens hits a flipping neckbreaker for a near fall. Stevens works over Richards with strikes in the corner and connects with a spinning heel kick for a near fall. Stevens avoids Richards in the corner, but misses a crossbody attempt. Richards plants Stevens with a double arm DDT for the win. (**. The crowd was not buying into Stevens, but I enjoyed his flurry of offense. Richards gave most of the match to Stevens, which was a bit surprising. Regardless of the crowd reaction to Stevens, I didn’t think it was all that bad.)

4.) Brown sits Spike on the top turnbuckle, but backs away taunting Spike for a bit. Brown sends Spike into the ropes and delivers a shoulder block. Spike hip tosses Brown and Brown backs off into the corner showing some respect. Brown shakes hands with Dudley, but the crowd didn’t like that. Brown keeps a headlock on Spike for a moment and is arm dragged to the mat. Brown slams Dudley, but Dudley keeps arm control. Brown sends Dudley into the ropes and drops Spike gut first to the mat. Brown stomps Spike followed by a strike to send Dudley to the floor. Brown drops Spike chest first over the barricade. Brown scoop slams Spike and delivers a leg drop. Spike boots Brown in the corner and hits a head scissors takeover. Spike stomps on Brown in the corner and plays to the crowd. Brown sends Spike chest first into the corner hard. Brown delivers a gut buster for a two count. Brown keeps control with a bearhug in the middle of the ring. Brown nails Spike with a heel kick, but Spike comes back with a headbutt to the midsection and a forearm smash. Spike ducks a clothesline and tries for a crossbody, but is caught and driven down with a swinging side slam. Spike counters the Sky High with a rollup to pin Brown. After the match, Brown is clearly pissed off and pulls Dudley up. However, Brown instead embraces Dudley and raises his arm to show respect. (*1/2. They were just a little bit off in there against each other. There were just a few clunky spots to the match, but it wasn’t a bad one by any means. I thought D’Lo was about to turn heel afterwards and I’m wondering if that is a little bit a tease of a turn coming for him at some point soon.)

Final Thoughts:
It’s kind of bizarre to me that the best match on the show was essentially a tryout match for Stevens against Richards. I’ll give this week a mild thumbs up overall.

Thanks for reading.