World Wrestling Entertainment presents RAW
Date: 12/2/2002
From: Austin, TX
A video package highlighting last weeks title match between Shawn Michaels and Rob Van Dam is shown. Triple H ended up getting involved and hit a pedigree on Rob Van Dam on the floor. HHH delivered a backbreaker onto a chair on Michaels and stood tall.
Opening Contest: Dudley Boys vs. Jamal & Rosey: All four men start off the match brawling with the Dudley’s getting the advantage. Rosey misses a spear and hits the ring post. Jamal hits a back suplex on Bubba. Rosey is driven down with a double back suplex. Jamal returns to hit a double clothesline. Bubba and Rosey collide on stereo crossbody attempts. Jamal and D-Von are tagged in and D-Von gets control with strikes. D-Von yanks on the left arm and tags in Bubba. Jamal and Bubba trade chops with Bubba getting the advantage. Bubba takes Jamal down to the mat with a cross arm bar and kicks Jamal several times. D-Von returns to the match and keeps arm control. D-Von plants Jamal with an arm breaker. D-Von knocks Rico off the apron with a right hand. Rosey trips D-Von and allows Jamal to hit a splash off the ropes. Rosey rams D-Von back first into the apron and rolls D-Von back into the ring. Bubba is out of position preventing a tag by D-Von. Jamal rams D-Von into the corner and Rosey enters to hit a double elbow drop. Rosey mounts D-Von with right hands on the mat. Rosey clubs D-Von over the back, but D-Von fights back with a DDT and both men are down. Bubba gets the tag, but the referee didn’t see the tag. D-Von is double teamed by Jamal and Rosey. Jamal drops D-Von with a throat strike and tags in Rosey. D-Von sends Rosey into Jamal’s head and hits a neckbreaker.
Bubba finally gets the hot tag and jabs Rosey several times. Bubba boots Rosey in the corner and hits a spear for a near fall. Bubba counters a backdrop and jabs Rosey several times followed by an elbow strike. Rico kicks Bubba from the apron and Rosey hits a belly to belly suplex. Spike Dudley comes out and attacks Rico and shoves Jamal off the top rope. Spike drops Rosey over the top rope throat first. Bubba slams Jamal and that leads to the What’s Up. Rosey recovers and clotheslines D-Von followed by a spinebuster to Bubba. Rosey heads to the top, but is crotched by D-Von. Rosey staggers to his feet, but Rico prevents the 3D by decking bubba. Rosey misses a splash in the corner and is hit with the 3D leading to the three count. (*1/2. Sadly, I think that Jamal and Rosey are losing their push. They are an entertaining and fun team, but it looks like WWE may be going with more established teams. The match was fine for a formula tag match. I’m not sure how long the Dudley’s will maintain crowd interest since they had been stale prior to the WWE Draft.)
Backstage, Ric Flair and Triple H have arrived to the arena and HHH has a large briefcase with him.
During the commercial, Chris Jericho and Christian attacked the Dudley Boys with Jamal and Rosey. Spike Dudley was thrown off the stage onto the announcers table. Bubba was splashed in the corner and driven down with a Samoan Drop. D-Von was sent into the ring steps. Jericho had the Walls of Jericho on D-Von and Christian smashed D-Von with a Con-Chair-To.
Backstage, Erich Bischoff is talking with Sean Morley. Bischoff needs Morley to keep things from getting out of control. Morley promises to do that. Morley wants to be known as Chief Morley from now on. Triple H enters the room and gets in Bischoff’s face. HHH wants to know what the deal is. HHH is pissed about nearly getting his career ended in the Chamber match. HHH doesn’t like having to beat Rob Van Dam to become number one contender. HHH doesn’t care about the fans and believes the title shot belongs to him. HHH is insulted by all this. Bischoff says that he respects HHH for wrestling injured, but believes he’s been fair to HHH. Bischoff wants great television and that’s why the number one contender match is the main event tonight. HHH tells Bischoff he’s going to give him a train wreck. Morley thinks the number one contenders match is going to get out of hand. Bischoff thinks the match needs a special referee.
Backstage, WWE Women’s Champion Victoria is watching the next match and has Trish Stratus’s hat.
Second Contest: Ivory vs. Trish Stratus: Ivory gets a side headlock on Trish, but Stratus breaks free with a head scissors and they have a standoff. Ivory gets a hammerlock on Trish and works over the left arm. Stratus counters for a moment, but Ivory leg sweeps Trish to the mat and continues to work on the arm. Trish forearms Ivory and delivers a couple of arm drags. Stratus gets a two count after a clothesline. Ivory connects with a kick to the head and nearly wins with a rollup. Ivory decks Stratus with a clothesline and stomps on the mat. Ivory takes Stratus over with a gut wrench slam for a two count. Ivory gouges Trish’s face and tosses Trish across the ring by her hair a couple of times. Ivory slams Stratus by her hair for a two count. Stratus hits a neckbreaker and both women are down. Stratus forearms Ivory a few times and connects with a couple of clotheslines. Stratus nails Ivory with the Chick Kick for a two count. Ivory elbows Stratus in the corner and goes to the middle rope, but Stratus hits a hurricanrana for a two count. Ivory clubs on Trish a few times. Trish plants Ivory with a springboard bulldog for the win. (*. There’s very little depth in the women’s division thus making this an extended squash for Trish essentially. The match dragged simply because there was zero chance of Ivory winning this match.)
Backstage, Victoria is looking through clothing when Jacqueline comes in and says that’s her clothing. Victoria says she’s sure she’ll find something battery operated in her bags. Jacqueline challenges Victoria to a match and calls her a psycho bitch. Victoria pushes Jacqueline against the lockers. Jacqueline counters and sends Victoria into the lockers before walking off.
Backstage, Jericho and Christian warn everyone that they will do that to anyone that disrespects them. Christopher Nowinski gives them props. Christian tells Jericho he’s got to prove that he’s not a sucka tonight. Jericho says that everyone needs to fear and respect the King of the World.
Third Contest: Lance Storm & William Regal vs. Tommy Dreamer & Jeff Hardy: Dreamer and Hardy meet Regal and Storm on the ramp to brawl before the bell sounds. Hardy runs the railing to hit a double clothesline on the floor. Dreamer and Storm are in the ring where Hardy leaps off Dreamer’s back to splash Storm. Regal enters the match, but the referee didn’t see the tag. Dreamer hits a spinebuster and locks in a Boston Crab. Dreamer fights off Regal, but Storm delivers a jawbreaker and a dropkick for a two count. Storm puts a modified STF on Dreamer and tags in Regal. Regal stomps Dreamer followed by knee strikes. Regal delivers a running boot to the head and Storm tags in to keep control on the mat. Regal uppercuts Dreamer, but Dreamer fights back until a left hand drops Dreamer. Storm elbows Dreamer to the mat leading to a near fall. Dreamer punches Storm, but is taken down and Storm keeps a front face lock on Dreamer. Dreamer backdrops Storm and tags in Hardy, but the referee didn’t see it. Regal takes the turnbuckle off and rams Dreamer into the exposed buckle. Storm covers Dreamer and wins the match. After the match, Hardy fights off both men. Hardy nails Storm with the Whisper In The Wind. Storm chop blocks Hardy to stop him and locks in the Sharpshooter. Regal has a chair, but Dreamer comes in with a kendo stick to make the save. (*1/2. Interesting that Hardy didn’t get any in-ring time, but that shows the great teamwork of Regal and Storm. I think Regal and Storm are going to be the next heel team to get a push once Jericho and Christian are elevated out of the tag team scene.)
Backstage, Ric Flair meets up with Batista, who is doing pull-ups. Flair has got to talk to him before the match. Flair says that Batista has something special and hasn’t seen anybody like him in a long, long time. Flair wants Batista to open up and take advantage of his past. Batista says that Flair doesn’t know him. Flair tells Batista he knows enough and that Batista had to fight as a kid and jumped from foster home to foster home. Flair wants Batista to let the rage out. Batista understands and they walk towards the ring.
Fourth Contest: Batista vs. The Hurricane: Batista attacks before the bell and press slams Hurricane into the ring. Batista has Hurricane over the shoulder, but Hurricane fires back with right hands. Batista plants Hurricane with a spinebuster. Batista hits a pop-up sit out powerbomb for the win. (NR. Batista is a stud.) After the match, Kane runs down to the ring to save Hurricane from a further beating. Kane hits a leaping clothesline and clotheslines Batista to the floor.
Backstage, Booker T is walking towards the ring.
Backstage, Terri is with the RAW World Champion Shawn Michaels for an interview. Michaels says he’s here and must be doing okay. Michaels is here for the number one contenders match for a title match at Armageddon. Michaels needs to get his hands on Triple H for what he did last week. Rob Van Dam enters the scene and says that HHH saved Michaels from losing the title. RVD says that HHH ruined it as usual. RVD asks how HBK was such good friends with such an asshole. Eric Bischoff enters the scene and agrees that HHH was way out of line. Bischoff ends up putting Shawn Michaels as the special referee. Bischoff tells Michaels to call the match down the middle. If Michaels doesn’t then Bischoff will strip Michaels of the title tonight.
During Jericho’s entrance, Booker demands the music be stopped. Booker talks about how Jericho claims to be a rockstar, but after last week Booker thinks that Jericho isn’t huge anywhere. Booker thinks that Jericho should be a movie star and be in the film Stuart Little. Booker would be in a film named 8 Mile.
Fifth Contest: WWE RAW Tag Team Champions Chris Jericho & Christian vs. Booker T & Goldust: Jericho storms the ring and is knocked down by Booker. Booker elbows Jericho coming off the ropes and delivers a few chops. Jericho elbows Booker in the corner and connects with a clothesline. Jericho continues with right hands and rams Booker into the corner followed by a chop. Jericho chokes Booker in the corner. Jericho boots a charging Booker and leaps off the ropes, but is met with a strike. Booker hits a snap suplex for a two count. Booker plants Jericho with a side slam for a near fall. Booker kicks Jericho and misses a leaping side kick and ends up over the top rope. Jericho springboard dropkicks Booker off the ropes to the floor. Jericho leaps off the ring steps to deliver an axe handle to Booker on the floor. Jericho heads to the top rope and hits a leaping elbow strike for a near fall. Jericho keeps Booker on the mat with a chin lock. Booker elbows free, but is yanked down by Jericho. Jericho leaps off the middle rope to hit a forearm drop for a two count. Jericho continues with a back suplex and taunts the fans.
Booker stops Jericho on the top rope and hits a superplex. Booker punches Jericho followed by a chop and a few clotheslines. Jericho kicks Booker, but runs into a flapjack for a two count. Booker gets a rollup out of the corner, but Jericho counters with the Walls of Jericho only for Booker to reach the ropes. Jericho shoves the referee, but is shoved back. Booker goes to the top rope hitting a missile dropkick for a near fall. Booker catapults Jericho into the corner followed by a heel kick to the back of the head. Jericho responds with a bulldog, but misses a springboard moonsault and is met with a spin kick. Booker decks Christian off the apron, but Jericho goes for the Walls of Jericho. Booker counters with an inside cradle for a two count. Christian beats on Booker while the referee is distracted. Goldust comes out to attack Christian. Booker savant kicks Jericho and hits the scissors kick, but Chief Morley comes out and stops the match. Morley makes it a tag title match! Jericho ad Christian can’t believe it as RAW goes to commercial.
Sixth Contest: RAW Tag Team Champions Chris Jericho & Christian vs. Booker T & Goldust: Goldust comes off the middle rope to strike Christian to the mat. Goldust shoulder blocks Christian and delivers an atomic drop. Goldust misses a clothesline and butt strikes Chrisitan for a near fall. Christian stops Goldust with strikes and Jericho enters, but is arm dragged by Goldust. Booker tags in and heel kicks an elevated Jericho for a near fall. Booker knee lifts Jericho and delivers strikes against the ropes. Christian decks Booker from the apron and is knocked to the floor. Jericho bails to the floor to regroup. Goldust send the champs into each other. Booker punches Jericho in the corner until Christian drops Booker over the top and Jericho baseball slides Booker to the floor. Christian tags in and stomps on Booker before choking Booker over the middle rope. Christian works over Booker in the corner with strikes and tags in Jericho. Jericho chokes Booker over the middle rope and hits a running splash onto Booker. Christian keeps control, but misses a splash and lands on the ropes.
Goldust and Jericho get the hot tags with Goldust cleaning house and hits a neckbreaker on Jericho. Goldust clotheslines Jericho and continues with strikes in the corner. Goldust nails Christian with a right hand and powerslams Jericho for a two count. Goldust drops down and decks both men with strikes. Goldust sets Christian up for Shattered Dreams and connects. Jericho is sent face first into Christian’s groin for a two count. Jericho elbows Booker, but Booker connects with a double leg slam for a near fall. Booker heel kicks Jericho and does the spinarooni. Christian tries to use the title belt, but is knocked to the floor. Jericho hits a sleeper hold slam for a near fall with his feet on the ropes. Booker plants Jericho with the Book End, but Christian pulls the referee out. Jericho nails Booker with the tag title and hits the springboard moonsault for the win. (***1/4. That goes for both segments. It’s quality action and they got the crowd invested in the impromptu tag title match. I’m starting to think that they may miss the time to pull the trigger for the most effective title change moment.)
F-View TV is looking through a plant to see Stacy Keibler talking to Test. She has an idea for his testicles and he just keeps kissing her.
Seventh Contest: WWE Women’s Champion Victoria vs. Jacqueline in a non-title match: Victoria knocks Jacqueline down and delivers a scoop slam. Victoria shoulder rams Jacqueline in the corner. Victoria hits a snap suplex and gets a two count. Victoria kicks Jacqueline to avoid a backdrop, but Jacqueline leg sweeps Victoria. Jacqueline hits a hurricanrana for a two count. Victoria boots Jacqueline in the corner and goes to the top rope, but is crotched by Jacqueline with a kick. Jacqueline hooks Victoria and hits a superplex for a near fall. Jaqueline continues with strikes, but Victoria decks Jacqueline from the floor and hits a somersault leg drop for a near fall. Jacqueline stops Victoria with a jawbreaker. Jacqueline misses a spear in the corner. Jacqueline backdrops Victoria and delivers a spin kick for the clean win. After the match, Steven Richards runs to the ring and consoles Victoria. (*. Well, that’s a major surprise. I suppose it needed to happen so that Victoria can had a challenger other than Trish Stratus. I doubt Jacqueline is getting a PPV match, though.)
After a commercial, Victoria and Richards are still in the ring. Victoria says she’s not done with Jacqueline and says that Jacqueline cheated. Victoria wants Jacqueline, but instead Scott Steiner’s music hits! Steiner poses for the fans and gets a microphone. Steiner wants to show Victoria what it’s like to be a real man. Steiner tells her why they call him freakzilla. Steiner says that Eric Bischoff has a surprise. Victoria doesn’t think Steiner has what it takes to be with her. Richards attacks from behind and is tossed with a suplex. Steiner drops Richards with a press slam. Steiner slams Victoria to the mat and elbow drops Richards before doing push-ups.
Eric Bischoff comes out as Steiner is in the ring. Bischoff personally welcomes Steiner back to RAW. Bischoff acknowledges that Steiner is the best free agent in wrestling. Bischoff has a special gift for Steiner and asks Steiner to accompany him. Steiner follows Bischoff and the cameras are with them. Bischoff has over a half dozen ladies waiting for Steiner. Steiner appreciates it and Bischoff tells him he’s got to see his freak in the limo. Bischoff is excited to see the super freak. Bischoff opens the limo and it’s Stephanie McMahon. Stephanie asks if Bischoff is jealous that she can offer Steiner something that Bischoff can’t. Stephanie taunts Bischoff before driving off. Bischoff is pissed.
RNN Breaking News with Randy Orton at the World in New York. Orton has a special treat for the fans. Jim Ross cuts off Orton and Orton is pissed.
Backstage, Triple H and Ric Flair are looking for Shawn Michaels. HHH finds Michaels by the curtain and asks how his back is doing. HHH says the chair shot was just the beginning. HHH tells Michaels he will get the title back sooner or later. HHH is going to win tonight and finish what he started at Armageddon. Michaels reminds HHH that he won at SummerSlam and Survivor Series. Michaels reminds HHH that he has to cross the referee one time and it’s game over. Michaels walks off for his entrance.
Main Event: Rob Van Dam vs. Triple H in a number one contenders match: RVD hammers away on HHH with right hands and hits a spinning kick. HHH tries to punch RVD, but Michaels stops the closed fist. RVD elbows HHH in the corner and hits a springboard heel kick for a two count. RVD nails HHH with a step over heel kick for a two count. HHH kicks RVD and looks for the Pedigree, but is dumped over the top to the floor. RVD plays to the crowd and hits a slingshot crossbody onto HHH. RVD sends HHH into the ring steps knee first. RVD baseball slides HHH over the railing into the crowd. RVD hits a spinning heel kick off the apron onto HHH’s back over the railing. RVD rolls HHH into the ring and heads to the top rope hitting a kick to the face for a near fall. RVD forearms HHH, but is met with a high knee lift. Michaels slowly makes the count and HHH is pissed. RVD gets an inside cradle for a near fall as Michaels counts faster. HHH locks in a sleeper hold, but RVD shoves HHH off and puts a sleeper on HHH. Michaels is pushing the rope further back as HHH drops to the mat. RVD keeps the sleeper on HHH and almost wins the match, but HHH got his boot on the ropes.
RVD misses a split legged moonsault. HHH works over RVD with strikes in the corner, but RVD comes back with a shoulder ram. RVD accidentally hits Michaels with a springboard crossbody. HHH drops RVD over his knee face first and goes to the floor to grab a steel chair. HHH tries to use the chair, but Michaels takes it away. RVD accidentally spin kicks Michaels. RVD gets out of a back suplex to hit a spin kick. RVD hits the rolling thunder splash. HHH whacks RVD over the head with a steel chair. HHH has the cover and counts the fall. HHH is the number one contender. (**. That was the expected result as HHH continues to be the top heel on RAW. I’m not sure who else would be the challenger for HBK on the heel side at this point in time that would be worthwhile. RVD is protected with the miscues and chair shot finish. RVD probably needs to back to the midcard and get some steam before being inserted back into the main events.)
HHH gets in Michaels face and wants his arm raised by Michaels. Michaels raises HHH’s arm and begins to trade right hands with HHH. HHH pummels Michaels in the corner until referees come out to break them apart. Officials come out as well, but they are taken out by punches. Michaels hits a leaping forearm smash on HHH. Michaels tunes up for Sweet Chin Music, but is stopped by officials. Michaels breaks free and nails HHH with the Sweet Chin Music. Michaels stands on the ramp to end the show.
Final Thoughts:
I’ll consider this an average episode of RAW as the extended segment with Jericho/Booker was enjoyable. The Batista squash was entertaining and I look forward to seeing his rise on the RAW brand. The main event scene with HBK and HHH is a little bland and repetitive, but there’s not many options aside from them to carry the main event scene.
Thanks for reading.