King of the Ring 2002 Review

 I was doing a week by week review of each Raw/SD/PPV from the brand split and on. I stopped enjoying writing out things for every week so now I’m just doing PPVs and giving backstories that sort of cover the major moments from Raw/Smackdown.

(A few of the match recaps are shorter because I was doing a few off memory.)

King of the Ring 2002

Match #1 – King of the Ring Semi Finals

Rob Van Dam vs Chris Jericho

Backstory: This is a Raw vs Smackdown match with no real backstory behind it. RVD defeated his rival Eddie Guerrero in the first round and X-Pac in the second. Chris Jericho defeated Edge via forfeit in the first round (attacking Edge’s injured arm after Edge couldn’t compete) and Val Venis (surprisingly good match) in the second.

The Match: Jericho heels it up in this one, doing everything in his power to cheat and get an advantage. RVD uses his usual arsenal of innovative moves, mostly using his legs. Jericho takes off the turnbuckle pad and as the ref is re-attaching it, RVD small packages Jericho for no count. Jericho chokes RVD with his wrist tape. Jericho rolls up RVD with his feet on the ropes for two. RVD with a split legged moonsault. Jericho goes for the Lionsault and RVD avoids it. Van Dam dives off the ropes, going for the Frog Splash but Jericho dodges it and hits the Lionsault for two. This seems to be around the time the Lionsault more or less stopped being a finisher. RVD and Jericho both fight on the top rope and RVD knocks Jericho off, following up with the Five Star Frog Splash to advance to the finals.

After the match, Jerry Lawler goes to interview RVD but Jericho attacks him from behind, locking in the Walls of Jericho.

Thoughts: This was a prety good match. Jericho is the best heel in WWE at this point with really just Kurt Angle coming close. I thought the pace was pretty much just right and these two have fairly good chemistry with each other. RVD is just plain fun to watch in the ring. Dude is always doing something. His selling was top notch in this as well. The beatdown after the match protects him a bit from the expected beating he’ll get most likely from Lesnar. No real qualms about this match though.

Quick promo backstage with Lesnar & Heyman, hyping up the idea of Lesnar winning KOTR.

Match #2 – King of the Ring Semi Finals

Brock Lesnar vs Test

Backstory: Another KOTR match here between a Raw and Smackdown wrestler. Test got here defeating The Hurricane & Hardcore Holly, while Lesnar got here defeating Bubba Ray Dudley (very fun match) and Booker T. Test is also coming off a big win over Triple H, despite getting some help from Undertaker in that one.

The match: Test actually looks like a total star here, getting a ton of offense in on Brock. Despite Test being a big heel, he’s getting some solid pops here every time he does something to Lesnar. Lesnar throws him around a bit but Test keeps coming back. Test goes for the Pumphandle Slam and Brock fights out but Test manages to hit it moment later for an extremely close near fall. Crowd actually really into this. Test hits a big boot for another near fall. Test gets distracted by Heyman and Lesnar hits the F-5 for the victory.

Thoughts: This was shockingly awesome. I’ve never been a fan of Test but he 100% held his own here. Brock looked great too. This whole match I was getting Big Cass vibes from Test. A lot of the same offense and working as a face, their mannerisms are kind of similar. I’m actually a bit confused why this isn’t the Test I’ve been watching be a somewhat boring heel the last two months on Smackdown. I’m curious where he goes from here because this is the kind of thing that should probably earn him something.

Backstage Bubba Ray Dudley gets interviewed and says he thinks Lesnar will beat RVD. He says he wishes he could be in that match tonight but will make an impact soon. Christian & Lance Storm get interviewed and they’re both pissed. They wanted an all Canadian finals of Jericho vs Test. Christian and Storm say that every other country hates America.

Match #3 – Cruiserweight Championship

Jamie Noble vs The Hurricane (c)

Backstory: For weeks, The Hurricane was finding cryptic notes backstage. Turns out, they’re being left by Tough Enough winner Nidia. She calls Hurricane a joke and tells him that her boyfriend is going to kick his ass. In comes Jamie Noble who destroys Hurricane backstage. After losing a match to Test, Noble and Nidia attacked Hurricane in the ring and stole his mask and cape. The next week, Nidia revealed as she was wearing the mask under her skirt and made out with Noble while he was wearing it. Hurricane came out, chokeslammed Noble and got his mask (but not cape) back.

The match: Noble beats up Hurricane for a good portion of the match, straight up bullying him as Nidia taunts. Hurricane begins to fight back but gets electric chair dropped. Hurricane goes for the Eye of the Hurricane but gets reversed into a german suplex. Hurricane hits The Eye on a second try for two. Hurricane suplexes Noble from inside the ring to outside the ring in a brutal looking spot, following it up with a crossbody from the top rope to the outside. Hurricane gets distracted by Nidia, who kisses him as Noble baseball slides him to the ground. Hurricane and Noble both climb up the ropes and Hurricane hits the most beautiful swinging neckbreaker I’ve ever seen off the top rope. Seriously a thing of beauty. Nidia gets up on the apron and Noble accidentally knocks her off. Hurricane hits the chokeslam and Noble just barely kicks out at two, getting a pretty large reaction from the crowd. Noble manages to trip Hurricane on the ropes, causing him to fall. Noble hits a powerbomb and covers. Hurricane gets his foot on the rope but Nidia pulls it off, giving Noble the win.

Thoughts: This was seriously a fantastic match. Noble plays a great hell, Hurricane plays a fantastic sympathetic face and Nidia really impressed me on the outside, she’s hilarious. Funny enough in an interview on Heat apparently Noble described Nidia as “one man’s trash, another man’s treasure”. I already know I’m going to love these two. The neckbreaker Hurricane hits off the ropes is seriously beautiful though. I should try and make a gif of it. And the finish was great. The chokeslam spot seriously had the whole crowd fooled. Hurricane hits his finisher late in a match, Nidia is out of the picture and everything looked right. Then Noble kicks out and gets the win with some help. Awesome stuff.

Eddie Guerrero has a pre-match promo where he gives shoutouts to his entire family. It takes forever and it’s pretty great. He also talks about how he can do things in the ring that Flair can’t even dream of doing.

Match #4

Eddie Guerrero vs Ric Flair

Backstory: Eddie and Stone Cold Steve Austin were beginning to have a bit of a feud, after Eddie knocked Austin out in a bar with a beer bottle. Flair had Eddie and Chris Benoit on his side, protecting him from Austin. With Austin now out of the picture due to leaving the WWE, Flair was critiqued by Vince and challenged to a match for full ownership of the company. Flair lost and the next week, after challenging Eddie to a match at KOTR, Flair was attacked by both Eddie and Benoit, even being put in the Figure Four by Eddie.

The match: This one starts off a bit slow with a lot of chops and retreating by Eddie. A solid amount of cheating by both men in the early going. Eddie works over Flair’s leg, trying to soften it up for the Figure Four. Eddie tries to lock it in but Flair rolls him up for two. Eddie hits a suplex and goes for the Frog Splash but Flair dodges. Benoit makes his way down to the ring. Eddie with a tornado DDT. Benoit tries to attack Flair but the referee gets in Benoit’s face and yells at him outside the ring. Meanwhile, Bubba Ray Dudley runs in from the crowd and hits the Bubba Bomb on Eddie. Benoit chases Bubba through the crowd as Flair covers Guerrero for the win.

Thoughts: This was a bit too long, in my opinion. Felt like it could have told the same story with about five minutes less. Fun match though and both Eddie and Flai have such similar values as characters that it was fun to see them interact. Also I love the idea of Bubba Ray vs Benoit or vs Eddie. Those have a lot of potential. Not a bad match by any means.

Match #5 – Womens Championship

Molly Holly vs Trish Stratus (c)

Backstory: So this is an odd feud. Molly Holly said Trish was an embarrassment to the division for posing half naked in magazines. Trish says that Molly is just jealous because Molly has a fat ass. The next week Trish wins a bikini match against Terri Runnels and Molly attacks. Trish knocks her out and strips off her own panties, revealing a thong underneath, and tossing the panties on Molly’s face. The next week, Molly faces Trish and Lawler can’t stop making ass jokes about Molly and the camera keeps zooming in on her butt. Molly wins with the Molly Go Round and after the match, chokes Trish with her own panties from last week. Yup. This is what a Women’s Championship feud gets you in 2002. We can complain about stuff like Charlotte vs Natalya but at least it’s not this. This whole feud Trish has felt more like a heel than Molly (despite Molly also being heelish).

The match: Molly attacks Trish before the bell rings. Body slam from Molly, followed by an elbow. Molly locks in an armbar on Trish early. Victory roll from Trish for two, followed by a neckbreaker for another near fall. Trish with another roll-up near fall. Molly trips Trish onto the bottom rope and chokes her. Molly sends Trish out of the ring and throws her into the side of the ring. Molly sends Trish over the barricade and then tosses her back over by the hair. As Molly goes to get back into the ring, Trish kicks her in the head. Trish hits the Stratusphere huracanrana off the 2nd rope. Trish and Molly trade chops to the chest. Trish with another kick to the head. Trish goes for the Stratusfaction and Molly throws her into the ropes and hits a rebound suplex. Trish doesn’t look like she kicks out but the ref stops the count anyway. Molly misses the Molly Go Round and Trish goes for an O’connor roll. Molly rolls it into a pin of her own and holds Trish’s tights for the three count!

Thoughts: This wasn’t too bad for the time it got and for the absurdness of the feud. I’ve never been a fan of Trish, especially as a face, but she bumped and sold extremely well in this match. And Molly’s offense was pretty good and hard hitting. Honestly Trish as a face just never worked for me, mostly because of her booking. She was always just as big a jerk, if not bigger, than most of her opponents so it never really bothered me when she lost. Also not big on her offense at all. While I never liked Trish in the ring, I will say she’s was extremely charismatic and pretty great on the mic.

Match #6

Kurt Angle vs Hulk Hogan

Backstory: Hulk Hogan tried to retire after losing the WWE title to Undertaker at Judgment Day, however Vince told Hogan that he signed a contract and would sue his ass if he left. Hogan beat up Vince but the next week, Angle attacked Hogan. For weeks the two traded words. At this point, Angle was wearing wrestling head gear with a wig underneath, since Edge shaved him bald. In the go-home show to KOTR, Hogan rips off the wig, revealing Angle’s bald head.

The match: Hogan wins a test of strength in the early going. Angle stalls outside the ring. Hogan sends Angle back out of the ring and they brawl for a bit. Angle wears down Hogan for a while. Long restholds here. Hogan hits the big boot and pulls of Angle’s wig. Angle runs down the ramp as Hogan fools around. Angle runs back down with a chair. He misses Hogan and hits the ropes, hitting himself in the face with the rebound. Hogan hits a big boot and goes for the leg drop but Angle catches the leg and locks in the ankle lock. Hogan nearly gets the ropes but Angle pulls him away, forcing Hulk to tap in a rare moment of weakness.

Thoughts: Outside of the finish, this match was really weak in my opinion. Just way to slow and with not enough happening. Surreal to see Hogan tapping out, especially to a clean move, but as a whole this felt way too long (turns out it was only 12 mins) and just didn’t have enough happening.

We have Booker T backstage, along with Goldust, who is dressed as The Rock. The actual Rock shows up behind him. Rock talks about Booker and him having a common enemy in the NWO. Rock says the WWE title is more important than the People’s Elbow, Spinnerooni and whatever it is Goldust does. Goldust repsonds with “I have more ammunition in my cannon than…” and Rock cuts him off asking what’s wrong with him. Rock and Booker both leave Goldust confused. This was hilarious.

Match #7 – King of the Ring Finals

Brock Lesnar vs Rob Van Dam

The match: RVD is still looking a bit banged up. RVD tries to monkey flip Lesnar but Lesnar catches and powerbombs him. Brock sends RVD into the corner, back first. Lesnar continues to beat the hell out RVD with knees to the back. Lesnar locks in a bearhug. RVD kicks Lesnar in the head and hits a diving karate kick off the ropes. Van Dam with the Rolling Thunder but Lesnar powers out of the pin. Spinning leg drop by RVD. RVD hits the Five Star Frog Splash but Heyman pulls RVD’s neck down onto the ropes after. RVD gets a two count. RVD kncks Heyman off the ground. RVD tries to diving crossbody Lesnar but Lesnar catches him and hits the F-5 for the victory. Lesnar wins the King of the Ring and earns the main event spot for the title at Summerslam.

Thoughts: This was pretty good for what it was. Kept RVD looking good since he got brutalized earlier and still made Lesnar look likea beast. Didn’t do a backstoy for it since there really isn’t any. It’s funny, reading a review of this show from when it happened the guy was complaining hard about how Lesnar wasn’t good in the ring and that they were making a huge mistake pushing him. Dude even compared him to King Mabel.

Backstage Triple H and the NWO (HBK, Nash, Big Show & X-Pac) run into each other. They tell Triple H that if they need him tonight, just holler.

Main Event – WWE Undisputed Championship

Triple H vs Undertaker (c)

Backstory:  Triple H won a battle royal on Smackdown to win a shot at this match. During all this, Undertaker has been doing these awful segments with Tommy Dreamer, making him drink his tobacco spit and his own puke. Really gross, lame stuff. There actually hasn’t been much build for this other than sneak attacks on each other. For the most part, Undertaker has just been beating up people like Jeff Hardy, Tommy Dreamer and Randy Orton. Also dear lord heel Undertaker on the mic is seriously brutal. I love Taker but he’s almost unbearable.

The match: Taker and Triple H trade some strikes outside the ring, then inside the ring. Snake eyes by Undertaker. Undertaker with a sidewalk slam as he continues a slow beatdown on Triple H. Triple H finally gets back into the match and hits a suplex outside the ring. Taker takes control again. Heyman is on commentary talking up Lesnar and it’s pretty great. He’s heavily implying Lesnar vs Rock in the near future and that Lesnar chased Rock out of the building.. Undertaker takes apart the turnbuckle pad. This is incredibly slow. Undertaker with a DDT. The Rock comes out towards commentary and Heyman runs away. Rock takes Heyman’s spot on commentary. The subplot in this match on commentary is beating the main match. Ref goes down and Undertaker grabs a chair. Taker is lucky that Earl is down for ages because it took Taker about 3 minutes to lazily grab a chair and get back in the ring. Triple H fights him off and clotheslines him out of the ring. Undertaker boots Rock in the head. Taker goes to hit HHH with a chair but Rock stops him. Rock swings a chair at Taker but accidentally hits Triple H. Undertaker sends Rock into the ring post. Ref is STILL not moving. Undertaker hits the Last Ride and the ref is still out. New ref comes in and Taker pins, Triple H just kicks out. Undertaker takes out another ref and Rock gets back in. Rock Bottom to Taker. Triple H and Taker both lie down for at least 3 minutes. Triple H covers and Hebner is STILL down but is coming to. Hebner counts, which take about 14 seconds and Taker kicks out at two. Everyone is lying down now. Crowd is straight up dead with a small Rocky chant going. Triple H hits a Pedigree and he knocks himself down, Earl is somehow down again and Triple H slowly crawls over for the cover. HEBNER IS STILL DOWN. What the hell is this? Triple H tries to wake up Hebner. Undertaker low blows Triple H and rolls him up, holding the tights. Takes Hebner 15 seconds to make the count but he does and Undertaker wins.

Thoughts: Honestly didn’t like this match at all and it felt like both guys were playing the wrong role. I just don’t enjoy heel Undertaker in the ring much and Triple H is a million times better as a heel. This was extremely long and there’s a good 10+ minute portion where nearly nothing that adds to the match in any way happens. This reaches Michaels vs Triple H in a cell levels of “let me hit my finisher we’ll lie here for an hour and then do it again” debauchery. I don’t even remember what put Hebner down but it better have been a damn gun because he stayed down a good 15 minutes and then somehow knocked himself out after counting.

Rock comes back and hits the People’s Elbow on Undertaker. Then Triple H attacks Rock and hits the Pedigree. Then Undertaker get up and chokeslams Triple H.

Overall:

Hurricane vs Jamie Noble was amazing and definitely the best match of the night. All three matches in the KOTR varied from decent to great. Guerrero vs Flair was pretty fun. Trish vs Molly was solid but definitely had potential to be better. Angle vs Hogan was fairly boring but not the worst thing I’ve ever seen. Then there’s Triple H/Undertaker which actually may be the worst thing I’ve ever seen. This actually makes me dread having to watch HBK/HHH in the cell again when I come to that PPV. I’m having damn war flashbacks. Hebner literally takes a 15 minute nap in the ring at one point. Of the 23 minutes this match went, I’d generously say 8 of those minutes mattered in any way. This match could have gone 10 minutes with the same story and been below average. Still enjoyed the PPV as a whole though.

Ranking the matches of the show:

Hurricane vs Noble

Van Dam vs Jericho

Test vs Lesnar

Lesnar vs Van Dam

Guerrero vs Flair

Holly vs Stratus

Angle vs Hogan

Triple H vs Undertaker