The start of 2002 in the WWE's main event scene was dominated by the return of Triple H, but at WrestleMania 18, "The Game" took a complete back seat to the return of Hulk Hogan. Fueled by the pure essence of nostalgia, Hogan's showdown with The Rock captivated those in attendance in the Toronto SkyDome, immediately turning the red and yellow warrior into the face of the company once more. You can read my review of both that match and the entirety of WrestleMania X8 here. Triple H just couldn't compete with the starpower Hogan provided, so a changing of the guard was quickly made at Backlash, with Hulk picking up the WWE Undisputed title as a result. With the first brand split now in effect, Vince McMahon needed someone to carry the company until the creative team could figure how best to utilize this new system, and much like he was back in '83, Hogan was the right man at the right time. Hulk was given The Undertaker as his first major challenger, which had the potential to be interesting. Undertaker was doing terrific work as a heel, and the prospect of seeing these two unique and popular entities duke it out in the main event could've drawn some extra pay-per-view buys. Combine that with a pretty stacked undercard, featuring a big WrestleMania rematch between Chris Jericho and Triple H, this time inside Hell in a Cell, and you had the recipe for what promised to be a defining event for this new era.
- Judgment Day 2002 comes to you from the Gaylord Entertainment Center(now Bridgestone Arena) in Nashville, Tennessee, the home of the Nashville Predators and a popular host venue in the country music scene. As I mentioned at the end of my last review, this is the first pay-per-view since the WWF became the WWE, though the promotional materials still used the old logo, as you can see from the poster above. Jim Ross and Jerry "The King" Lawler are on the call.
- Our opening contest promises to be a doozy, as Eddie Guerrero defends the Intercontinental Championship against Rob Van Dam. Eddie has been missing from these shows for a while, as he was sent to rehab in May of last year, before being released in November following an arrest for drunk driving. He worked his way back, taking tons of gigs on the independent scene, finally making his return to the Fed after WrestleMania, quickly taking the IC strap away from RVD at Backlash. It's clear that these two men are very capable of putting on an absolute barnburner with each other, but they've only been given ten minutes so this one never really gets out of second gear. The action does pick up at the end, before Guerrero manages to steal a win with his feet on the ropes. It wasn't a terrible opener but they were capable of so much more.
- I'm not certain I can say the same about the competitors in our next bout, as Trish Stratus defends the Women's title against Stacy Keibler. Keibler is serving a very similar eye candy role with Vince that Trish had last year, and she's accompanied to ringside by the forgotten tandem of Reverend Devon and Deacon Batista, who are also allies of the boss. This is a weird combination of talent to be certain, but the match wasn't a disaster at all. Trish and Stacy don't botch anything too badly, and the champion gets a huge pop for kicking out of a big slam from Batista. Stratus hits a running bulldog to retain, but Devon and Batista get their heat back afterward, putting Devon's former tag partner Bubba Ray through a table.
- The rollout of Brock Lesnar on the WWE main roster is one of my favorite pieces of booking the company has ever produced, as they played to his strengths perfectly, giving him Paul Heyman as a mouthpiece and Matt and Jeff Hardy to sell his offense. Here, Brock and Heyman team up to face the Hardy Boyz in a really fun match. Brock tosses everyone around, and even though he takes some offense, it never makes him look weak, as Matt and Jeff have the advantage of the numbers game. Even though Heyman is useless as a tag partner, he gets the win anyway, as Lesnar launches Jeff into Matt before planting the younger Hardy with an F-5, before Paul demands the tag and makes the cover. It's a perfect piece of heeling and allows Heyman to continue to be a heat magnet, while Brock looked vulnerable but still dominant, setting him up to be a threat outside of squash matches.
- Just like with Hulk Hogan, it's obvious that Vince really wants to just play the hits at this point, as "Stone Cold" Steve Austin has found a new suit-wearing authority figure to feud with in the form of Raw General Manager Ric Flair. Flair has aligned himself with WWE's bastardized version of the New World Order, and teams up with nWo member Big Show to face Austin in a handicap match. The first few minutes of this one are very fun, as Austin just starts throwing hands, flipping off everyone in sight, including referee Charles Robinson, which was great. It cools down when Show and Flair take control, wearing down Austin for the Figure Four, which Steve manages to counter. X-Pac, also a member of the nWo, runs in and accidentally takes out Big Show with a superkick, earning himself a Stunner. Another one connects on Flair as Austin picks up his last real pay-per-view win. He would depart the company in June after being asked to lose to Brock Lesnar on Raw, returning for a comedy match with Eric Bischoff at No Way Out before retiring following his loss to The Rock at WrestleMania 19. This is the last we'll see of Austin as a full-time competitor, and it was sort of inevitable by this point, his body was breaking down at the end of 2001 and he had never been given time off to recuperate. Even though this match wasn't good, Austin entertained like only he can.
- I don't tend to have tons of nuclear hot takes on these reviews, and I don't know if this is particularly controversial, but I can't stand the feud between Edge and Kurt Angle. Their matches are pretty good, sure, but the promos they had in the build up to this were absolutely cringeworthy, including an abysmal skit where Edge embarrasses Kurt via t-shirt. Humiliated, Angle wants to get one back on Edge by taking his golden locks, which leads to a Hair versus Hair match. The first ten minutes are dreadfully dull, mostly consisting of headlocks, before the action really picks up down the stretch. Edge hits two Spears for a near fall, before the crowd comes unglued when he kicks out of an Angle Slam. Kurt attempts to get the Ankle Lock in, but Edge wriggles his way free, sending Angle rebounding off the ropes and rolling him up for the win. These final few minutes were blisteringly hot, and while I didn't appreciate a lot of the comedy in the build to this match, the skits on this show were entertaining. Angle runs away from the hair cut, hiding backstage before Edge turns his lights out with a sleeper hold, shaving Kurt bald, which I've always felt was a much better look for him, it gives off a much more intense aura.
- Time for the eighth Hell in a Cell match in WWE history, as Chris Jericho and Triple H finish their feud inside the steel. After losing both of his titles to Hunter at WrestleMania, Jericho has stayed in his business, costing Triple H the belt at Backlash and a number one contender's match with The Undertaker. The two face off here in a grudge match, and they just beat each other senseless with weapons, no fancy daredevil stunts or flaming 2x4s to be found here, just pure punishment. It's definitely fitting for the gimmick of Hell in a Cell and was entertaining to watch, but this match is just not as memorable as other matches that took place prior to this point inside the Cell. Lots of weapons are used here, including a chair, a ladder, the steel steps(which Triple H just throws at Jericho), a sledgehammer and even a non-flammable 2x4. Both men end up atop the Cell and referee Mike Chioda joins them, meaning the match can end up there, apparently. The Walls of Jericho are applied but Triple H fights free, nailing a shot with the 2x4 before hitting the Pedigree for the win. The Pedigree on top of the steel was a really risky spot, but it went off without a hitch and was a very emphatic finish.
- Billy(Gunn) and Chuck(Palumbo) are scheduled to defend their tag titles here, though they don't know the identity of the man who will be partnering with Rikishi to challenge them. Howard Finkel stuns everyone with the announcement that Rico, the champions' manager, is Rikishi's partner, although Rico isn't really involved in the match at all. Rikishi gets the win and dances on the stage to celebrate, and while his clients are disappointed, Rico sneakily grabs the other tag title, apparently intent on being a champion. The match was uninteresting and the story was abandoned quickly, with Billy and Chuck winning the belts back a few weeks later with Rico's help.
- Main event time, as Hulk Hogan, still using the "Hollywood" prefix for some reason, defending the Undisputed title against The Undertaker. The opening brawl is classic Hogan, as both men use the champion's weight belt to whip the opponent, and the crowd loves it. Then everything slows to a halt when they try to wrestle, the only "highlight" of which is the terrible chokeslam that Hogan absolutely refuses to jump up for, creating one of the worst moments in either man's career. Vince McMahon runs in to take a leg drop, allowing Undertaker to hit a chair shot and a slightly better chokeslam for the win. This was terrible and everyone involved should feel bad.
7/10
I was not a huge fan of this show, especially after watching that dreadful main event. The definite highlight of the night was the Hell in a Cell match, brutal carnage but maybe not as good as some of the previous classics in the Cell. There was some entertainment to be found in the Hair versus Hair match, the handicap match and the opener but none of them were amazing and everyone involved was certainly capable of much more. I would recommend watching Triple H versus Chris Jericho and skip everything else.
Next time on Henry's Pay-Per-View Reviews: I'm skipping King of the Ring and going to Vengeance, where The Undertaker defended the Undisputed title against Kurt Angle and The Rock. See you soon.
- Henry
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