The Armageddon event name makes it's return after a one year hiatus, back to fill the spot as the final pay-per-view of the year for the WWE. The main event is another chapter in the never-ending war between Shawn Michaels and Triple H, a Three Stages of Hell match for the World Heavyweight title. Most of the time, you can tell that the creative team has mostly lost interest by the end of the year, just desperately trying to find anything to cover the gap between Survivor Series and the Royal Rumble, and this added stipulation is an obvious ploy to make up for the slow loss of heat in the feud between Shawn and Hunter. It's not the worst idea I've ever heard, since the Triple H-Steve Austin Three Stages of Hell match at No Way Out just under two years prior was hailed by most as a classic, but the flaws in that match style were laid bare on this night.
- Armageddon 2002 comes to you from the Office Depot (now BB&T) Center in Sunrise, Florida, although WWE insists it's in Fort Lauderdale. This venue actually hosted the first Armageddon in 1999, as well as WCW's Bash at the Beach earlier in the year. The area is well-known as a popular tourist destination, which typically leads to some mixed results for professional wrestling crowds, which was on display here.
- Our opening contest is a fatal four way match for the World Tag Team Championships, contested on the Raw brand, with champions Chris Jericho and Christian defending against Lance Storm and William Regal, Booker T and Goldust and the recently reformed Dudley Boyz, Bubba Ray and D-Von. This match is loaded with talent, and really gets going in it's final minutes when it comes down to Booker and Goldust facing off with the champs. Booker and Jericho go back and forth with the crowd hooked, including some brilliant moments, like Jericho countering a spinebuster into the Walls of Jericho and Booker kicking out of the Lionsault. In the end, the incredibly popular odd couple fight through all the cheating the champions can throw at them, and the Book End seals a title change. A great way to start the night with an emotional victory for Booker and Goldust, though the match did include an unfortunate botch during Bubba's elimination, but the final showdown was full of drama.
- The WWE creative team has finally realized that Albert is on the roster, so it's time for a push, as he's been renamed A-Train, which does sound a little more intimidating, and he gets a singles match with Edge on pay-per-view. This wasn't too bad, I liked A-Train's offense, as he counters a top rope dive with a pump kick and drills Edge into the canvas with a big powerbomb. The finish is lame, as A-Train gets disqualified by hitting Edge with a chair, which only results in the big man taking a beatdown at the hands of the young Canadian. Probably not a good sign for A-Train's future if he can't even get the win or get to stand tall afterwards, and it makes you wonder what the point of this even was.
- Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero got into an altercation during a fatal four way match to determine the number one contender to the WWE title on SmackDown, resulting in a singles contest here. Michael Cole references their behind the scenes friendship on commentary, which I thought was a good way to add some heat to this match, and that tidbit would obviously lead to some much bigger things in the future. Both men spend the first half of the match engaged in some intense mat wrestling, which a small part of the crowd greats with "boring" chants, but I though both guys did a great job staying active on the ground and presenting a compelling battle of wills. The second half was more of a traditional WWE-style showdown and won the fans in attendance right back, with some back and forth action and a run-in by Chavo Guerrero. The finish was great, as Benoit slips out of the Lasso from El Paso and locks in the Crippler Crossface, refusing to let Eddie escape. He switches which side of Eddie's body he's applying the move to prevent a rope break, then keeps the hold applied when Eddie tries to roll free, finally forcing the tap. Really quality hard-nosed grappling to be found here, one of Benoit's best performances since his return earlier in the year.
- You know, for as many years as they were both in the WWE, at times on the same brand as well, Batista and Kane seem to have only gotten one singles match on pay-per-view against each other, which is hard to believe. It takes place here at Armageddon, as "The Animal" has just jumped ship to Raw, picking up Ric Flair as his mentor, though Evolution hasn't officially formed just yet. This match is exactly what you'd expect, some big power moves, not much selling or psychology to be found, never really either man's specialty. Batista gets a statement win with the Batista Bomb, continuing Kane's slide down the card since No Mercy.
- The Women's Championship is on the line up next, as new champion Victoria defends against former champion Trish Stratus and Jacqueline. The Hardcore match between Victoria and Trish at Survivor Series was pretty good, and this match is too, as all three women can work and put together some nice spots. Victoria and Jacqueline catch Trish during her spingboard bulldog to hit a double team back suplex, and Jacqueline continues the legitimization of the women's division by smacking the other two around. Victoria gets the win by knocking out Trish with the title belt and stealing a pinfall on Jacqueline.
- Technically, the WWE title match on this night is a singles match between Big Show and Kurt Angle, but the entirety of the build has been focused more on former champion Brock Lesnar, who has been raising some Hell on SmackDown since Paul Heyman's betrayal, resulting in a suspension that was lifted with the start of the show. Still, Angle and Show do their best to get the crowd invested in seeing them fight, and I thought they did a pretty good job. Kurt is rarely put into the position of a plucky underdog, but he played the role well, wearing down the bigger man with strikes and slowly building up to some impressive offense. Angle jumps off the top rope for a missile dropkick, probably the only time he ever hit that move in his career, before he manages to get Big Show up in the air for an Angle Slam, which the crowd rightfully goes nuts for. A-Train, inspired by a speech from Heyman on SmackDown, runs in to lay out Angle, but that fails to get the job done, leaving Brock to come in and save the day. Just like at Survivor Series, Brock manages to hit the F-5 on Show, sending Heyman scurrying to the back and allowing Angle to get the win as the crowd celebrates. I'm not really sure why the decision was made to put the belt on Big Show, ending Lesnar's undefeated run, just so he could drop it immediately to Angle, but it did result in some shocking title changes, and neither title match was bad, so I don't have too much to complain about.
- Main event time, as Shawn Michaels and Triple H start off in a Street Fight, then battle inside a Steel Cage, and, if necessary, the World Heavyweight title would be hung above the ring, to be contested for in a Ladder match. The biggest issue with the Three Stages of Hell match is just how long they tend to be, it's essentially three matches in one, and it takes two great performers to make that good. Shawn Michaels and Triple H are two of the best to ever do it, so you'd think they would have a decent shot, but this was a very average match that completely lost the crowd about halfway through the near forty minute run time. The opening Street Fight was long but intense, with both men slowly dissecting each other with weapons. After they brawl up the ramp, Triple H decides to escalate the violence, grabbing a barbed wire 2x4, which he sets on fire by using the flames included in the set. The sight of the challenger brandishing that weapon was awesome, but the actual usage of it was underwhelming, as Shawn smacks Hunter in the face with it, being incredibly careful to avoid hitting him with the part that was ablaze. Despite being hit with arguably the most dangerous weapon utilized in the WWE, Triple H still recovers to hit a Pedigree and win the first fall, because of course he did. The second fall inside the Steel Cage was dull, with both men saving themselves for the finale. Shawn gets the pin after splashing Hunter through a table, which now results in ladders coming into play. This does provide some excitement, as Triple H takes a bump on the ladder, but Michaels gets it much worse, launched off the ladder through a stack of tables. "The Game" unhooks Big Gold, becoming the top champion once again on Raw, which is tragic. I disagree with those that really hate this match, it was perfectly fine, but it was also a chore to get through at points and contained many of the worst aspects of the Triple H main event formula, though Shawn provided enough highlights to make it entertaining.
4/10
I thought Armageddon was an average show, with some high points in the first two title swaps, plus the intense battle between Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit, but nothing quite approached classic level and the main event mostly underwhelmed. There was also a bore of a segment involving Dawn Marie and her terrible storyline with Torrie Wilson, plus a complete waste of the newly heel John Cena, who showed up for a quick rap. Despite some high points, this show did little to change the perception of Armageddon, or anything taking it's place in December, as the most skippable event on the WWE calendar.
Next time on Henry's Pay-Per-View Reviews: Royal Rumble 2003, where Brock Lesnar sets his sights on the main event of WrestleMania, Kurt Angle defends the WWE title against Chris Benoit and Triple H battles Scott Steiner in an infamous encounter. See you soon.
- Henry
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