World Wrestling Entertainment presents RAW
Date: 12/23/2002
From: Oklahoma City, OK
Opening Contest: Rob Van Dam & Kane vs. Rosey & Jamal: Rosey and Kane kickoff the match with Rosey delivering right hands. Kane fights back with a few right hands and a clothesline. Jamal tags into the match, but Kane fires back with strikes until Jamal decks Kane with a clothesline. Kane punches Jamal in the corner and hits a clothesline. Kane nails Jamal with a big boot and tags in RVD. Kane tosses RVD with a rocket launcher, but only gets a two count. RVD drop toe holds Jamal into the corner and hits a split legged moonsault for a near fall. RVD boots Jamal in the corner and Kane delivers a clothesline from the apron. Rosey pulls the ropes down to cause RVD to crash to the floor. Rico gets a few cheap shots in before rolling RVD back into the ring. Rosey and Jamal hit a double elbow drop leading to a near fall. Rosey decks RVD over the back and Jamal delivers a strike to the back. Jamal keeps a front face lock on RVD and punches Kane on the apron. Kane goes to the top rope hitting a flying clothesline on Jamal. RVD goes to the top rope and nails Rosey with a kick to the face. Kane plants Jamal with a side slam. RVD hits the rolling thunder on Jamal while Kane clotheslines Rosey over the top to the floor. Kane hits the chokeslam on Jamal. RVD heads to the top rope as Kane decks Rico off the apron. RVD hits the Five Star Frog Splash on Jamal for the win. (*1/2. 3MW must be done for at this point. RVD and Kane are a good team and the chokeslam/frog splash combo is a predictable finish for the duo. I’m curious how long they will be a team before the lack of singles face stars impacts RAW in a negative way. I’m not sure who will be elevated up the ranks at this point for the RAW brand.) After the match, Rico is livid with Jamal and Rosey. Rico slaps both men and is yelling at them. Rico likes that they are chopping each other and wants to see that more. Rico appears to have motivated them.
Backstage, Chief Morley is with Eric Bischoff and says that he’s heard that Triple H is going to call out Scott Steiner tonight. Bischoff doesn’t want anything to compromise the main event at Royal Rumble. Spike Dudley storms into the office pissed about Regal cheating last week and the Dudley Boys not getting a rematch. Morley threatens to beat respect into Spike. Bischoff tells Spike that he’s wrestling Batista tonight. If the Dudley Boys get involved then all three of them will be suspended. Morley laughs in Spike’s face.
Earlier in the day, D’Lo Brown talked with Stacy Keibler about her helping him become a bigger name similar to Test. D’Lo has changed his clothing to be more gangsta. He notes that he has a new catchphrase “Down with the Brown.” Brown walks off when Stacy said she’d keep in touch with him about working together.
Second Contest: Test vs. D’Lo Brown: Brown backs Test into the ropes and backs off. Test backs Brown into a corner, but Brown counters and shoves Test before backing off. Brown bails to the floor to stall, but Test follows. Brown drops Test throat first over the top rope and knocks Test off the apron to the floor where Brown keeps control by sending Test into the ring steps. Test elbows Brown from the apron and delivers right hands. Brown pulls on the ropes to low blow Test and delivers elbow drops to the back. Brown locks in an abdominal stretch and uses the ropes for leverage while the referee doesn’t see it. Brown gets caught and his arm kicked off. Test hip tosses Brown and tries for the pumphandle, but his back gives out. Brown hits a spinebuster for a near fall. Brown puts a chin lock on Test, but that doesn’t last long. Test misses a clothesline and Brown hits a back suplex. Brown misses a middle rope senton splash. They trade right hands in the middle of the ring until Brown elbows Test on the lower back. Test clotheslines Brown a few times. Test tries for a full nelson slam, but Brown breaks free. Test hits a full nelson slam on a second try. Brown decks Test over the back and misses a kick. Test plants Brown with a pumphandle slam, but Brown gets his hand on the bottom rope. Test tries for a big boot, but Brown bails to the floor. Brown grabs Keibler, but she breaks free. Brown sends Test into the ring post and tries for a cover with his feet on the ropes, but the referee sees his feet. Brown shoves the referee down to the mat and gets disqualified. After the match, Brown knee lifts Test and shoves Test to the floor. Brown bails to the floor after Test returns to the ring and save Keibler. (*. I’m not liking this new look for D’Lo at all. I can’t buy into him as this thug or gangsta they they’re going for. It’s kind of silly that his new look is all because the referee didn’t see his foot on the ropes and he thinks its a sign of racism.)
Eric Bischoff and Chief Morley make their way to the stage to cut a promo. Bischoff promotes the Royal Rumble and the RAW main event that will see WWE World Heavyweight Champion Triple H defending against Scott Steiner. Bischoff also promotes the 15 RAW superstars vs. the 15 Smackdown superstars in the Royal Rumble match. Bischoff is explaining the Royal Rumble as if nobody has ever watched it before. Bischoff puts it over as the biggest event in Royal Rumble history. Bischoff gets annoyed looking at Jerry Lawler and Jim Ross at the announcers table. Bischoff wants to show footage of something that happened during the commercial break. Apparently, Lawler and Ross were talking about how Bischoff showed footage of Ross kissing McMahon’s ass in Oklahoma. They were talking about Bischoff not focusing on the right things. Bischoff thinks they are taking their jobs for granted. Bischoff reminds Ross that he has Tony Schiavone’s number on speed dial. Bischoff wonders what Jesse Ventura would be up to when his run as Governor of Minnesota is over. Bischoff admits he’s not perfect, but he prides himself in producing good TV. Bischoff reveals that tonight it will be Jerry Lawler & Jim Ross debuting as a new tag team. If they don’t win tonight, they are both fired.
Backstage, Coach is standing outside Triple H’s locker room and says that a few people have said that HHH was punked out. He’ll try to get words with HHH following the next match.
Third Contest: The Hurricane vs. Christopher Nowinski: Nowinski stomps on Hurricane and shoulder rams Hurricane in the corner. Nowinski hits a gut wrench slam for a near fall. Nowinski knee lifts Hurricane and hits another gut wrench slam. Hurricane hits a neckbreaker as Nowinski stumbles out of the corner. Hurricane clotheslines Nowinski and delivers a boot in the corner before hitting a blockbuster for a two count. Hurricane misses a strike, but avoids a back suplex. Nowinski tackles Hurricane to the mat and goes to the top rope. Nowinski gets distracted by Maven coming out and Hurricane knocks Nowinski off the ropes. Hurricane delivers a shining wizard and pins Nowinski. (*. Okay, didn’t care for that. I don’t have much interest in a Maven/Nowinski issue.)
Backstage, Coach is with WWE World Heavyweight Champion Triple H for an interview. HHH isn’t stupid and he hears what people are saying. HHH didn’t backdown from Scott Steiner. He’s not afraid of Scott Steiner. He’d slap Steiner on the head and there’s nothing Steiner could do. HHH is going to call Steiner out tonight and we’ll see who is afraid.
Fourth Contest: Batista vs. Spike Dudley: Spike bails to the floor and rolls back in to baseball slide Batista. Batista catches Spike off the apron and powerbombs Spike onto the railing. Batista rolls Spike into the ring to continue the match. Batista slams Spike to the mat by his leg and chokes Spike over the middle rope. Batista pulls back on Spike between the ropes. Batista drives Spike down to the mat with a Batista Bomb to win the match. (*1/2. Batista is going to be a star and is evident already.)
Backstage, Eric Bischoff and Chief Morley are happy about Spike Dudley being destroyed. Morley thinks they can solve another problem they have. Morley suggests they team up to beat up Lawler and Ross. William Regal and Lance Storm enter the room and talk about the disrespect Lawler and Ross showed the regime. Storm offers their services since they are the only undefeated team on RAW. Regal puts Bischoff over as the brains and doesn’t need to getting his hands dirty in the ring. Regal wants to punish the pervert Jerry Lawler and the dreadful hillbilly Jim Ross. Bischoff loves that idea and approves the match. Bischoff says they can use as much force as needed. Bischoff suggests the usage of brass knuckles.
Backstage, F-View hidden camera shows Jacqueline, Trish Stratus and Stacy Keibler preparing for their match.
Fifth Contest: WWE Women’s Champion Victoria, Molly Holly & Ivory vs. Trish Stratus, Jacqueline & Stacy Keibler in a Santa’s Little Helper match: All six women start brawling leaving Molly and Stacy in the ring. Stacy nails Molly with a spin kick, but Ivory makes the save on the cover. Victoria tags in and Stacy is met with a double clothesline. Victoria takes Stacy over with a snap suplex for a two count. Victoria slaps Stacy across the face. Victoria shoulder rams Stacy in the corner and the referee gets distracted by Trish and Jacqueline allowing Stacy to be attacked. Stacy avoids Victoria in the corner and Jacqueline is tagged into the match. Jacqueline head scissors Victoria followed by chops. Jacqueline yanks Molly off the apron and strikes Ivory coming off the apron. Victoria gains control by slamming Jacqueline and hits a somersault leg drop from the apron for a near fall. Ivory tags into the match, but Jacqueline catapults Victoria into Ivory. Trish gets the tag and takes Ivory off the top with a head scissors for a near fall as Molly makes the save. Stacy pulls Molly’s costume up to reveal her grandma panties. Ivory and Trish go at it while Jacqueline and Victoria brawl. Trish and Jacqueline hit stereo bulldogs and they win the match. (1/2*. It’s just six women in Santa costumes looking hot and doing some wrestling moves.)
Backstage, Coach is with Scott Steiner for a promo. Steiner says that HHH backed down last week because he backs up what he says. Steiner says HHH got scared because of his arms. Steiner says that he’s going to give HHH a reason to be scared.
Backstage, Goldust is looking for Booker T, but bumps into Chris Jericho. Jericho says that Goldust is still the weak link and that’s not going to change. Goldust reminds Jericho of Shawn Michaels hitting the Sweet Chin Music. Jericho says he knows how it feels to be a real champion. Jericho reminds Goldust of his failures in recent weeks. Jericho says that Goldust is a failure as a performer, husband and a human being. Jericho promises that his luck will run out tonight.
Sixth Contest: WWE Tag Team Champions Booker T & Goldust vs. Chris Jericho & Christian: Goldust and Christian kickoff the title match. Christian kicks Goldust in the midsection and tries for a slam, but Goldust blocks it and hits an atomic drop. Christian avoids a butt strike, but Goldust delivers a clothesline. Goldust tags in Booker and Booker strikes Christian over the arm followed by a standing heel kick for a near fall. Christian backs Booker into a corner and Jericho tags in. Booker forearms Jericho and Christian several times. Booker takes Jericho over with a suplex. Goldust tags in and comes off the middle rope to strike Jericho. Christian decks Goldust from the apron. Goldust catapults Jericho over the top onto Christian on the floor. Goldust works over Jericho in the corner with right hands. Christian drops Goldust over the top rope and Jericho hits a missile dropkick. Jericho elbow drops Goldust on the back several times. Jericho splashes onto Goldust over the middle rope. Christian keeps control with a backbreaker for a two count. Christian keeps Goldust on the mat with a chin lock. Goldust elbows Christian, but Christian yanks Goldust down to the mat. Jericho comes off the top to elbow strike Goldust. Christian tags back in and keeps control with strikes. Goldust ducks a strike and hits a neckbreaker on Christian.
Booker gets the hot tag and clotheslines Christian followed by a savant kick to Jericho. Booker avoids Christian in the corner and hits a backdrop. Booker side slams Jericho and plants Christian with a spinebuster for a two count. Booker chops Christian in the corner several times. Booker sends the challengers into each other and hits a leaping side kick to both men. Goldust decks Jericho to the floor. Booker does the spinarooni and scissors kicks Christian for a two count as Christian gets his foot on the bottom rope. The referee saw it and says the match must continue as the show goes to commercial.
Jericho hits a back suplex on Booker and taunts the fans. Jericho stomps and chokes Booker against the bottom rope. Jericho jabs Booker several times and Booker hits a leaping kick to stop Jericho. The referee didn’t see Booker tag Goldust. Booker is double teamed and Christian chokes Booker on the mat. Booker chops Christian and runs into a dropkick. Jericho chops Booker in the corner, but Booker responds with strikes. Booker gets a rollup on Jericho out of the corner for a near fall. Jericho forearms Booker and tags in Christian. Christian snapmares Booker and keeps control with a sleeper on the mat. Booker elbows free from the hold and chops Christian. Christian elbows Booker in the corner and leaps off the middle rope. Booker catches Christian with a flapjack and both men are down. Booker tags in Goldust as Jericho gets tagged in, as well. Goldust pummels Jericho with strikes and a clothesline. Christian comes off the top and is met with a strike. Goldust punches Jericho in the corner, but Jericho takes Goldust down looking for the Walls of Jericho. Goldust counters with a rollup for a two count.
Christian and Jericho double team Goldust, but Goldust counters a backdrop hitting a double DDT. Goldust sets Christian up in the corner and kicks Christian in the nuts. Goldust sends Jericho into Christian in the corner and almost wins the match following a snap powerslam. Goldust looks for the Curtain Call on Jericho, but Jericho counters and locks in the Walls of Jericho in the middle of the ring. Goldust struggles in the hold, but reaches for the ropes. Jericho drags Goldust away from the ropes. Booker nails Jericho with a boot, but misses a scissors kick. Booker hits a leaping heel kick on Jericho and sends Christian to the floor. Jericho gets a rollup on Goldust and has his feet on the ropes, but Goldust kicks out. Jericho hits a bulldog and goes for a springboard moonsault, but Goldust gets his knees up. Goldust rolls Jericho up with a handful of tights and wins the match. (***1/2. It’s a feel good match where Goldust finally proved that he’s not the weak link even if he had to cheat to do so. It’s a good match and the crowd erupted for the action. This is probably the peak of their tag team run. I don’t envision them lasting as champions for a long time since the money is always in the chase. They need new challengers and need them quickly.)
Backstage, Rob Van Dam meets up with Kane and says that it was cool teaming with Kane tonight. RVD says that Christmas was a nice time for him growing up. Kane says he was kept in the basement where he tortured squirrels with razor blades. RVD offers a present to Kane. Kane opens the gift and it’s the board game Hungry, Hungry Hippos. RVD explains why he got the game because they are all hungry hippos. Kane doesn’t like Christmas and he doesn’t like games. RVD asks if Kane wants to scrape up roadkill with razor blades. Kane declines and says he has to go. RVD thinks he should have went with Shoots and Ladders instead.
D’Lo Brown makes his way down to the ring. Brown thinks the decision tonight was bullshit and wants Test to prove he has big testicles. Brown wants a match with Test where the winner wins Stacy Keibler. Test makes his way down with Stacy Keibler.
Seventh Contest: D’Lo Brown vs. Test: Test hammers away on Brown against the ropes. Test almost collides with Stacy on the apron and Brown knocks Test to the floor. Brown sends Test into the corner and delivers a spinebuster for a two count. Brown controls Test with a chin lock. Test elbows Brown a few times, but Brown delivers a strike to the back. Test tries for a pumphandle, but Brown breaks free and hits a back suplex. Brown misses a top rope moonsault and crashes to the mat. Test decks Brown with several strikes. Test backdrops Brown and delivers a clothesline in the corner a couple of times. Test plants Brown with the pumphandle slam, but Brown gets his arm on the bottom rope. Brown goes to the floor and says he needs Stacy Keibler now. Brown stalks after Keibler on the floor and she gets in the ring. Test nails Brown with a running big boot to win the match. (1/2*. This new version of D’Lo Brown is not going to work and this feels like they know it.)
Earlier today at Heritage Park Mall, Santa is meeting with several kids. Santa calls them all greedy and says that dreams don’t come true. Santa says that Santa Claus isn’t real. A woman is pissed about Santa’s behavior. It’s Sean O’Haire and he says that he’s telling the kids the truth. O’Haire says that the truth hurts and he lets out an evil laugh.
Jerry Lawler tells Jim Ross to go get something to wear for their match and he promises to take care of it.
Backstage, Triple H tells two guys to wait for his cue. Ric Flair tells HHH that Scott Steiner is a loose cannon and wants HHH to worry about Steiner at the Royal Rumble. HHH understands the concern and says screw Scott Steiner. He’s not afraid of Scott Steiner and he’s going to go to the ring to call out Scott Steiner right now.
WWE World Heavyweight Champion Triple H comes down to the ring with Ric Flair to cut a promo. HHH reminds everyone that he’s The Game and that he’s the best in the business. HHH insists that he’s not afraid of Scott Steiner. HHH wants to know why Scott Steiner chose last week to call him out. HHH wonders if it had anything to do with the fact that he wasn’t 100%. HHH mentions he was in a two out of three falls match the night prior against Shawn Michaels. HHH had no time to rest or recovery. So, naturally, Steiner chose that time to call him out. HHH believes Steiner knows that he’s not in his league if he’s at 100%. HHH is feeling good tonight and wants Steiner to face him right now.
Scott Steiner makes his way out to the ring to confront Triple H. HHH says he’s not backing down from Steiner, but rather being smart. HHH notes they have signed a contract to wrestle at the Royal Rumble. HHH says they stand to make a lot of money in four weeks. HHH isn’t going to give up any cash for the fans to see them go at it right now. HHH goes over the various nicknames Steiner has for himself. HHH recites the “to be the man, you gotta beat the man” line, but Steiner yanks the microphone away. Steiner believes people are there to see him kick HHH’s ass. Steiner asks that HHH is feeling good enough to go one on one with freakzilla tonight. Steiner doesn’t want to talk about it and wants to do it right now. HHH tries to take the microphone, but Steiner doesn’t let go. So, HHH gets his own microphone. HHH wants Steiner to prove himself tonight in an arm wrestling match. HHH calls for the two guys to bring the stuff for the arm wrestling contest down to the ring. HHH asks if Steiner is afraid. HHH says that Steiner’s arms don’t compare to him. HHH is built to go while Steiner is for show. Steiner says that HHH is going to be embarrassed. Steiner sits down for the arm wrestling match and HHH looks a little bit concerned. They lockup and HHH is trying really hard to move Steiner’s arm. HHH senses that he’s winning, but Steiner just smiles and then gradually overtakes HHH. HHH oversells the strength of Steiner quite a bit in a comical way. Steiner ends up winning the arm wrestling match. HHH wants to do it again and Steiner slams HHH’s hand down a few times. Steiner stalks after HHH, but HHH bails to the floor. Steiner says he’s the next World Champion.
Eric Bischoff and Chief Morley come out to be on commentary for the main event.
Main Event: William Regal & Lance Storm vs. Jim Ross & Jerry Lawler: Regal knocks JR’s hat off and the fans didn’t like that. Lawler and Regal kickoff the main event. Regal controls Lawler with a wrist lock, but Lawler counters. Lawler gets out of a front face lock by flipping Regal to the mat. Storm tags into the match and puts a headlock on Lawler. Lawler backdrops Storm causing Storm to backoff into a corner. Storm backs Lawler against the ropes and delivers a few shoulder rams. Storm slams Lawler, but Lawler dropkicks Storm. Ross drops Storm over the top rope leading to a near fall for Lawler. Regal tags in as Lawler atomic drops Storm. Regal knee strikes Lawler and covers for a two count. Regal knee lifts Lawler for a near fall. Regal stomps on Lawler’s face and tags in Storm. Storm knee lifts Lawler in the corner followed by a right hand for a two count. Regal stomps on Lawler, but Storm collides with Regal on accident. Lawler decks both men with right hands to clean house. Lawler slams Regal and goes to the middle rope to hit a fist drop on Regal, but Storm breaks the cover. Storm misses a heel kick and nails the referee on accident. Regal misses a brass knuckles shot. Lawler nails Regal with strikes on the mat. Lawler tries for a piledriver, but Regal low blows Lawler. Ross is on the apron and tags in to grab the brass knuckles. Ross is decked by Storm from behind. Regal and Storm stomp Ross in the corner. The Dudley Boys come into the ring and attack Regal and Storm. Dudley’s hit the 3D on Storm. Ross has the brass knuckles and decks Regal with them. Ross covers a laid out Regal and wins the match. Bischoff and Morley can’t believe it. (*1/2. Obviously the match isn’t great, but it’s a good moment for JR. It’s a bit of a disappointment for Regal and Storm’s first loss be against commentators even if they cheated and the Dudley Boys helped. I’d rather Regal and Storm be the tag champs and maintain their undefeated streak for a longer period of time.)
Jim Ross is lifted onto the shoulders of the Dudley Boys and has his moment where the fans are showering him with cheers.
Final Thoughts:
An average episode RAW with a good RAW tag title match and the feel good moment for JR. The D’Lo Brown character change is not good and the fact they brought him out again to cleanly lose to Test might mean that’s already dead. The Steiner/HHH segment didn’t accomplish adding interest to their title match at the PPV for me, at least.
Thanks for reading.