This is the final pay-per-view before Wrestlemania X8 and it’s a sold-out crowd inside the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, WI on February 17, 2002. This PPV is infamously known as the debut of the nWo black & white on WWF soil! We will certainly get to that soon. One of the many special things about this era was how amazing the cards were every PPV. At this point, in 2002, it was the deepest roster Vince McMahon has ever had up to that point. As we run down the matches we will see how many Hall of Famers were on this show and just how special it was to be a fan at this time.

Enough side talk, let’s go through this show.

The event opened with McMahon introducing the (poison to kill off his own creation) New World Order as the original three, ‘Hollywood’ Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall, and Kevin Nash made their entrance to a WWF ring. In an odd first impression, the faction proclaimed they aren’t in the WWF to kill it but simply to be given a chance to prove themselves. They thanked McMahon, the fans, and all the ‘boys’ in the back. The live crowd did not know what to think or how to react as there were both cheers and groans. Nonetheless, like the nWo’s run in the WWF, the segment was lackluster at best. 3/10

Match 1–  Tag-team Turmoil Match to determine the number one contenders for Tag-Team Championships: The Hardy Boyz, APA, Lance Storm & Christian, Billy & Chuck, Scotty 2 Hotty & Albert, and The Dudley Boyz. The APA defeated Billy and Chuck at 16:40

Super fun tag-team match to open up the pay-per-view. Albert and Scotty 2 Hotty were eliminated first by Storm and Christian quickly, the Hardyz eliminated Storm and Christian with a Twist of Fate followed by a Swanton Bomb. Then shockingly, Billy and Chuck eliminate the favorited Hardy’s after they eliminated the Dudley’s. Billy and Chuck were the ultimate opportunists on this one and it paid off.

The APA, Faarooq and Bradshaw, came out last and began smashing Billy and Chuck. The match finished when Billy Gunn fell victim to the clothesline from hell. 5/10

Match 2- Rob Van Dam defeated Goldust at 11:10
Good overall match, better than expected. RVD got his stuff in and on the other side sold very well for Goldust’s offense. RVD hit the rolling thunder for a near fall but would later miss his first attempt at his Five-Star Frog Splash leading to a devastating DDT from Goldust. Near fall. RVD counted Goldust’s attempt at a bulldog and was able to finally hit the frog splash for the win. Good wrestling match with little heat going into it, but the crowd enjoyed RVD during this time so he was gold. 5/10

Match 3- Tazz and Spike Dudley (c) defeat Booker T and Test to retain the WWF Tag-Team titles at 7:15
Unfortunately, not too many good things to say about this one. The crowd was dead once the entrances were finished. Not too much time to really get things going. I think the main issue with this match had to do with just a bunch of styles not meshing well in the ring. Booker T and Test were an odd pairing to begin with and the same can be said for defending tag-team champions. Test pinned Tazz but the referee noticed Test using the ropes for leverage, voiding the pinfall. Whilst arguing the non-call, Test was caught by Tazz from behind. Tazz forced Test to submit to the Tazzmission to retain the title. Not a fan at all. 1/10

Match 4- William Regal (c) defeats Edge in a Brass Knuckles on a Poll match to retain the WWF Intercontinenal Title at 10:20
In their second consecutive pay-per-view match-up, the stakes were a little higher, no pun intended. I thought this was a Vince Russo booking until I reminded myself this was 2001. Nonetheless, these two had superb chemistry going back the previous month at the Royal Rumble and it showed in this match again. Regal was the first to snag the brass knuckles but Edge knocked the IC champ off the top rope. Later, Regal knocked the brass knuckles out of the ring to prevent Edge from using them. Good heat from the crowd here. Edge nailed Regal with a Spear on Regal, then retrieved the brass knuckles whilst Regal pulled another pair out of his tights. Regal hit Edge with a loaded left hook thus knocking Edge out cold for the win to retain his coveted IC title. 5/10

Match 5- The Rock defeated The Undertaker at 17:25
In the first of three main events on this card, The Rock took down WWF’s resident American Badass in a stellar contest. The crowd was hot from start to finish. The Rock was at the pinnacle of his popularity at this juncture and fans loved the Undertaker as well. Some high points: Undertaker hit the ‘The Great One’ with a huge chokeslam for a near-fall. After throwing the referee into the steel steps, Taker retrieved a lead pipe from his motorcycle ringside. The ‘Nature Boy’ Ric Flair interfered, attacking Undertaker but the deadman big booted Flair off the apron. Undertaker attempted to hit Rock with the pipe but Rock locked in the Sharpshooter instead. Then Vince McMahon interfered, distracting the new referee. Rock attacked McMahon, which distracted the referee. Undertaker attempted a Tombstone on Rock but Flair hit Undertaker with the pipe and Rock pinned Undertaker after a Rock Bottom to win the match. Just awesome. Great match between two legends. 8/10

Match 6- Kurt Angle defeated Triple H with Special guest referee Stephanie McMahon to become the number one contender for the Undisputed Title at Wrestlemania X8 at 14:40
These two had chemistry man. They were special for each other inside the ring. At this time, Angle and Triple H may have been the two main ring generals in the WWF. It seemed like neither could have a bad match and against each other it was more than likely going to be a mat classic. And these two delivered on this night. Triple H was fresh off his monumental Royal Rumble win and is arguably the WWF’s top babyface besides The Rock.

To the match: Stephanie McMahon exited the match when Angle attempted a clothesline on Triple H but The Game avoided the move, resulting in Angle knocking out Stephanie. Tim White replaced Steph shortly after. Angle attacked White and performed a low blow on Triple H when all of sudden Stephanie returned to officiate the match! At this point, the crowd was hot! Angle applied an Ankle Lock on Triple H but Hunter countered the hold, resulting in Angle knocking Stephanie down yet again! After Angle missed a chair shot, Triple H hit his Pedigree on Angle for the pin but Stephanie nailed White with a low blow. Triple H attempted a Pedigree on Stephanie but Angle hit Triple H with a chair and pinned Triple H after an Angle Slam to win the match. Top notch main event with near perfect storytelling. 9/10

Match 7- Chris Jericho (c) defeated Stone Cold Steve Austin to retain the WWF Undisputed Championship at 21:30
Good, solid title fight. This wasn’t the greatest match between two of the best of all-time. Mainly because these two guys have completely different styles. Austin was a brawler, through and through, while Jericho was a catch-as-catch can style guy. A Shawn Michaels type. There were a few spots here that wren’t timed right by both guys which created some ugly spots. Jericho really had to slowdown for this match to get on Austin’s level. I thought midway through Austin looked gassed. He seemed ‘blown up’ to quote wrestling vernacular.

Later, Jericho grabbed his title belt, the referee was knocked down. Austin hit an Arn Anderson spinebuster on Jericho onto the title belt. Then Austin attempted a Stunner on Jericho but Y2J countered the move for a near-fall. After the referee was knocked down again, Austin forced Jericho to submit to his own Walls of Jericho finish. Austin hit a Stone Cold Stunner on Jericho but the nWo interfered, attacking Austin! Scott Hall performed a Stunner on Austin while Jericho helped the referee regain consciousness. Jericho pinned Austin to retain the title. After the match, and another stunner from Hall, Hogan spray-pained the initials “nWo” on Austin’s back to close the show. 7/10