DaveKOTW

man, i cant believe the anti-climax of it all. If they were going to ruin it, they should have just said, and the person going is......and got it over with.......so annoying that they had to kill the show.

At least if im right at least....

im not disappointed if Luke goes though

Maysoon wasn't all that bad, but she really didn't add much to the house apart from her good looks and all.

You can still look at Rachel and Sara, can't you Dave?

Meh, but Maysoon was my kinda girl!

Plus, Sara is all kinda two faced and fake and Rachel is like a puppy. But Maysoon was a woman damn it!

son of a......

Maysoon has left the house!

Well there you go, my enjoyment in the show has gone down 10 fold. GREAT!

Thank you for showing the VTs! Thank you sooooo much!

it has to be released. I wasnt aware that activision owned Sierra anyway but the video game website is up and everything and if they've got to that stage in the advertising/newsletter side etc etc, to can it now would be nuts. One problem could be though if they decide to limit the number of consoles they release it on.

Maybe it will be dropped by WI or X-Box or something?

A CHAMPIONSHIP CELEBRATION

Smackdown Preview - April 11 , 2002

Smackdown will host the very first World Heavyweight Championship Celebration fresh off the back of Kane's victory over The Undertaker at Backlash. There is no question about it; Kane is a dominant human being and one has to wonder who, if anyone, will be able to stop him. Stay tuned to follow all the latest developments with the World Heavywight Champion.

The Intercontinental Title was also put on the line at Backlash by Shawn Stasiak against the up and coming Smackdown Superstar, Matt Hardy. But despite Matt's best efforts, he was unable to get the job done and Stasiak somehow managed to walk away from the Kemper arena still the Intercontinental Champion. Tonight, Matt teams with Kazuhiro against the Cruiserweight Champion Brian Moore and his partner, the Intercontinental Champion Shawn Stasiak. You can be sure that both Kaz and Matt Hardy will be out to impress tonight as they both chase for title gold in the future.

An issue that has been boiling over for the past few weeks has been the relationship of Shawn Michaels and Kurt Angle. This all started two weeks ago when Kurt Angle was pinned by Shawn Michaels in the World Heavyweight Title tournament and Kurt Angle felt that he was screwed. Angle retaliated one week later when he attacked Shawn Michaels in the World Heavyweight Title Tournament Semi Final Match and Shawn Michaels was eliminated from the competition. With both men out for each other's throats, who knows what's going to happen next? Tonight Kurt Angle sees action against The British Bulldog while Shawn Michaels goes one on one with Diamond Dallas Page.

Also in action tonight will be the Dudley Boyz, Randy Orton, Donovan Clark and Al Snow making Smackdown the hottest television show on TV.

CARD PREVIEW

Al Snow vs. Donovan Clark

Matt Hardy and Kazuhiro vs. Brian Moore (the Cruiserweight Champion) and Shawn Stasiak (the Intercontinental Champion)

Kurt Angle vs. The British Bulldog

Shawn Michaels vs. Diamond Dallas Page

The Dudley Boyz in action

The World Heavyweight Title Celebration

SOMEBODY'S GON' GET THEIR ASS KICKED

Raw Results - April 8, 2002

We are live for Monday Night Raw as Jim Ross and Mick Foley welcome us to the latest edition of the Raw brand. The show starts with a recap of last night’s Backlash where The Rock retained the WWF Championship against Chris Jericho thanks to some timely interference by the “World’s Strongest Man” Mark Henry. Just then they were interrupted by some new music as Mark Henry appears at the entrance to a chorus of boos from the crowd.

Making an Impact

Mark Henry climbs into the ring wearing his ring attire with sweat pouring down his head and his chest. He grabs the microphone and demands the crowd shut their mouths because he’s got something real important to say. He tells the WWF fans that over the past few weeks, the World Strongest Man has been something of a hot commodity and had been promised big things by both of the WWF brands. Henry says that when it came down to it, Henry decided to join Raw because he knew that with all the talent on Raw, it would be damn near impossible not to make a impact and that’s just what he did last night on Backlash. Henry says that last night on Backlash he destroyed Chris Jericho and proved to the entire world that he is the future of the World Wrestling Federation and no one can stop him.

Cue Chris Jericho’s music to a standing ovation from the crowd. Jericho comes down to the ring sporting some bandages around his ribs staring straight into the eyes of the World’s Strongest Man. Jericho climbs into the ring grabbing a mic and proceeds to clap. Jericho tells Henry that the reason he’s clapping is because he was just so darn impressed at how Mark Henry jumped him last night – he really showed just how talented he was. Then again, Jericho admits that jumping someone from behind probably is challenging for a man that can’t even walk from one place to the other without breaking a sweat. Henry is clearly pissed off and Henry and Jericho go toe to toe and look like they are just about to fight when…

The Rock’s music hits in the arena and the WWF Champion quickly makes his entrance mic already in hand. The Rock says that he can’t believe what he’s hearing because it sounds to him like Chris Jericho is bitching and moaning in the ring about losing his title opportunity. The Rock says that at the end of the day, Jericho lost and as he never had the title to start with, there are also no rematch clauses so that’s Jericho’s lot. Jericho reminds The Rock that while he didn’t win the match, The Rock hasn’t beaten him and so in all fairness, he still deserves a legitimate shot at that WWF Title. The Rock says there is no way but then Jerry Lawler’s music hits.

Jerry Lawler is not happy with what has been going down but nevertheless, something needs to be sorted. Lawler understands that on the one hand, Jericho has had his title opportunity but on the other hand, Jericho hasn’t had a legitimate shot. Therefore, Lawler suggests that the only real way that this can be sorted is by a Qualifying match tonight and that will be Chris Jericho versus the World’s Strongest Man Mark Henry. Lawler says that if Jericho can overcome the World’s Strongest Man, then Chris Jericho will get his title shot at WWF’s next Pay Per View outing, Judgement Day. The Rock tries to protest but Lawler has none of it. As the camera focuses on The Rock, the crowd explode and we shift back to the ring. Mark Henry has just attacked Jericho from behind!!! The crowd are furious with Mark Henry who poses in the middle of the ring while The Rock makes his way back up the ramp grinning from ear to ear. Can Jericho beat Mark Henry?

X-Pac and Ron Waterman vs. Jeff Hardy and Scotty 2 Hotty (For the World Tag Team Titles)

X-Pac and Ron Waterman make their first title defence against the Tag Team veterans Jeff Hardy and Scotty 2 Hotty. The tag champions looked impressive against their opponents isolating Scotty from his opponent while tagging well with one another keeping Scotty in their corner for a large portion of the match. When Scotty finally made the tag out, Jeff Hardy flew into the ring like a man possessed taking the fight to tag champions. Jeff threw Waterman out of the ring before planting X-Pac with the twist of fate. But just like at Backlash, the tag champions stopped their opponents from performing their top rope finisher Ron Waterman knocking Jeff Hardy off the turnbuckle with a wicked shot to the lower back before removing Scotty out of the action with a kick to the head. X-Pac meanwhile finished the job hitting Jeff Hardy with the X-Factor for the ……1….2……3 before celebrating in the ring with his partner while the crowd jeered him

Winners – Ron Waterman and X-Pac (and still World Tag Team Champions)

Maybe Next Week…

The scene changes to Jerry Lawler’s office and Lawler is chatting away with WWF diva Trish Stratus. Lawler tells Daffney that he has been impressed by Daffney’s “talents” over the past few weeks and since Daffney declined to be involved in Lingerie and Bikini Matches versus Trish, he has decided to search for some new female superstars to challenge for her Women’s Title. Key and Charles Wright all of a sudden enter shot and Wright tells Lawler that he was hoping that he could get a word with him. Lawler excuses himself from Daffney and asks what he wants. Wright says he wanted to know why his “boy”, the WWF Hardcore Champion Key is absent from this weeks card and Lawler says it’s simple. Right now, Lawler sees no place for hardcore wrestling on his show. Key and Wright are shocked at what Lawler has to say but Lawler has no time to discuss this issue telling them both that he’s got things to do and excuses himself. What will become of the WWF Hardcore Title?

Mr Perfect vs. Billy Kidman

WWF veteran Mr Perfect put in another stellar performance tonight as he easily defeated former Cruiserweight Champion Billy Kidman in short time. Kidman started the match off in a very aggressive approach but it wasn’t long before Mr Perfect fought back with some hard chops and his other trademark moves that fans have become accustomed too. Perfect ended the match with the rolling snap before planting Kidman with the Perfect-Plex for the…….1…..2……..3. Mr Perfect got back to his feet and celebrated in the ring but failed to notice the arrival of Raven who dropped him from behind with a vicious chair shot that dented the chair badly. Raven then threw the chair to the floor before hitting Perfect with the Raven Effect square onto it to the distaste of the audience. Raven has got is revenge!

Winner – Mr Perfect

Test vs. Spike Dudley

After a commercial break, we returned to in ring action with a squash match between Test and Spike Dudley. Spike probably should have stayed backstage for this one getting little to no offence in a match which Test dominated finishing it off with the big boot to the face for the 1……2……3. Test looked in a bad mood throughout the match got tremendous amount of heat from the crowd for his troubles.

Winner – Test

Get out of my Life

We go backstage once more to The Rock’s private locker room where he is messing around with one of his jackets when in walks The Rock’s cousin, Rikishi. The Kish is all smiles when he asks how The Rock is doing but The Rock’s disinterest in his cousin’s presence finally gets the better of him. Rikishi asks The Rock if everything’s okay but he knows something’s wrong but The Rock just sighs. When Kishi tries to interrogate him further, The Rock blows his top and goes into a rant about Rikishi. He tells the Phat Man that despite being blood related, The Rock wants to make it crystal clear that as far as he is concerned, the two of them are nothing. The Rock says that Rikishi is nothing but an overweight disgrace to their family. The Rock tells Rikishi that the best thing he could do right now is turn his sorry ass right around and get out of his locker room or better yet get out of his life all together. Rikishi looks gutted!

Rob Van Dam and Sabu vs. Lance Storm and Marc Mero

A great match between two teams who were intending to impress the Owner of the Raw brand but the crowd were only ever behind one team and that was RVD ad Sabu. Storm and Rob Van Dam started off the match and put on somewhat of a wrestling clinic with both wrestling countering each others moves time and time again. Mero became the difference maker in the match making the blind tag and dropped Van Dam to his knees taking control. Van Dam tried to fight back but the good team work between Mero and Storm was sufficient to keep RVD for a good deal of time. RVD would not be denied the tag however and when Mero missed a Shooting Star Press, RVD managed to get the tag and Sabu was finally allowed into the match. Sabu took the fight to both men knocking both down with forearm smashes before sending Lance Storm to the outside. Sabu dove against the ropes and drove Mero’s head into the back of the head with a leg drop before tagging in Van Dam as he climbed up top. Sabu took Storm out on the outside with a suicide dive as RVD hit the Five Star Frog Splash on Marc Mero to take the 1…….2…….3. RVD & Sabu win and the crowd love it!

Winners – Rob Van Dam and Sabu

I’m Still Breathing

After another short break, we turn to ringside and we see Jim Ross leave his announce position and head for the ring grabbing a mic on his way. JR recaps to Backlash on Sunday Night where Edge was attacked from behind by Stone Cold Steve Austin before Austin attempted to break his ankle by trapping his leg in a steel chair and stomping on it. JR calls out Edge who makes his way to the ring with his leg in a cast on crutches to a good pop from the crowd. Edge gets into the ring and is handed a mic by JR who has a genuine look of concern on his face as Edge tries to get comfortable in the ring. Edge tells the crowd that last night, Stone Cold Steve Austin crossed the line. Last night, Stone Cold took this little feud from a sneak attack during a match to a full blown out assault where he came to the ring with one intention and one intention only and that was to end his career. But Austin made a mistake because Austin didn’t get the job done. He says that he might be incapacitated but he’s not dead and when gets better he’s going to…..*Glass Shatters*

The crowd get on their feet to a chorus of boos as the Rattlesnake Stone Cold Steve Austin appears at the arena entrance with a sick look in his eyes. Austin takes no time in getting into the ring and circles both JR and Edge who both look extremely uncomfortable as Stone Cold has that sick look in his eyes. After a while, Austin stops and looks straight at Edge but before anything happens, JR jumps in the way and he begins to plead with the Rattlesnake. Stone Cold looks at the crowd and then looks at JR who continues to plead with Austin to leave Edge alone and Austin considers. Has JR got through? Austin looks like he’s caught between two minds and looks like he could but then begins to turn around but then he hits JR with a stunner! Austin just hit his good buddy JR with a stunner! Austin begins to stomp a mud hole in his buddy when Edge tries to stop him with a crutch shot to the back of the Rattlesnake but that just makes him even madder and he grabs hold of the crutch with Edge’s second shot. Austin quickly disposes of all of Edge’s support and Edge falls to the ground struggling. Austin stands over the fallen Superstar like a predator stalking his prey and without any remorse begins to stomp away on Edge’s injured ankle. Austin breaks off his cast and continues to stomp away on it screaming with agony before leaving the ring and grabbing a steel chair. Just like he did at Backlash, Austin returns to the ring and beats away on Edge with the chair before putting that same ankle he hurt just one night ago back in the chair and going up top! No Austin! No! Not Again! Austin dives with a double stomp off the top rope onto Edge’s damn Ankle! Austin is a sick human being! The crowd boo like crazy as Austin stands over his victim while EMTs run to the scene, Austin smiling his sick smile.

Chris Jericho vs. Mark Henry

.

Great match that really saw the crowd behind Chris Jericho who really came out fighting, taking it to the World’s Strongest Man ducking and diving away from any shot that came his way from his opponent. But despite all the aggression from Y2J, he was unable to take Henry off his feet and he just stood there taking it all in but Jericho finally got caught with a huge clothesline for his trouble. Henry was an unforgiving animal that seemed to enjoy beating down on his opponent slamming him hard time and time again before sending him in the corner only to crush him a running full body block. Jericho tried to fight back but every time he got any offensive, Henry was right there to stop it even resorting to kicks to the head to slow him down and Jericho had to escape to the outside. Henry chased by Jericho was faster and Jericho smartly returned to the ring and got the advantage on Henry attacking him as he slid back in the ring. Jericho connected with a drop kick and Henry went down but it wasn’t enough to get the three but Jericho continued. Jericho went up top and he hit another drop kick but Henry is still not down so Jericho goes back up again. This time, Jericho goes for a leg drop to the back of the head. Henry goes face first into the mat! Mark Henry is in trouble here. Jericho drags Mark Henry closer into the middle of the ring and he locks in the Walls of Jericho! Will Henry tap? Wait the WWF Champion is approaching the ring and he gets onto the apron. Jericho lets go of the Walls of Jericho and goes straight for The Rock but he misses with the clothesline and The Rock hangs him on the top rope and then Mark Henry charges into him with another running body block! The referee rings the bell but that does stop either The Rock or Mark Henry. Henry lifts up Jericho and here comes the World’s Strongest Slam (Falling Powerslam). Henry is decimating Jericho! Now The Rock is throwing away his arm band! You know what that means…but wait! Here comes the cavalry and it’s the form of Rikishi. The Kish slides into the ring and he sends punches to both The Rock and Henry. Rikishi hits Mark Henry with the Savate Kick and Henry gets knocked backwards into the corner of the ring. Rikishi then hits The Rock with a belly to belly suplex but Mark Henry is back on him with another running body block. The Rock is not done with Rikishi either and he gets a Rockbottom for his troubles. The WWF Champion and Mark Henry have just dominated two of Raw’s biggest athletes. Can anyone stop them?

Winner – Chris Jericho by DQ

OOC: I hope you all enjoyed the show! Feedback appreciated as always!

ONE DAY REMOVED

Raw Preview - April 8, 2002

We are one day removed from Backlash and what a PPV it was. Last night, The Rock retained the WWF Champion in conspicuous circumstances when Mark Henry made his return to the squared circle and became the difference maker in what was a very evenly fought match. The Rock, who has since claimed to have no involvement in the recruitment of Mark Henry, was happy to see Henry decimate his opponent which resulted in the match being declared a no-contest before adding salts to the wounds of his challenger by Rockbottoming Jericho and asking the referee to make the count. The Rock declared in an exclusive interview with WWF.com that his actions were totally justified as the fans came to see a winner. "It was the professional thing to do!". Lets see if Chris Jericho feels the same way when he steps in front of the WWF crowd here tonight. It will be also interesting to see what words Jericho has for the World's Strongest Man!

Chris Jericho wasn't the only man to get the short straw of things last night at Backlash as Edge found himself at the end of a very brutal and savage attack from the hands of Stone Cold Steve Austin. Edge made a bold move by confronting Austin after the Rattlesnake attacked him a few weeks back but Edge should have been more careful. You don't anger a Rattlesnake and that'd just what Edge did. As a result, Edge ended up having his ankle placed in a chair and Austin dropped down on it severely damaging Edge's ankle. Initial reports have stated that Edge could be out for 3 months but Edge refuses to admit it. See what Edge says when he comes to Raw tonight!

The World Tag Team Champions X-Pac and Ron Waterman will also be on Raw tonight when they make their first title defense against Jeff Hardy and Scotty 2 Hotty. RVD and Sabu, who lost to the Tag Champions at Backlash will be sure to be paying close attention to the new Champs as both Superstars have stressed their desire for a return match as soon as possible. Pay close attention to this one!

Find out all the latest news and more on Raw, Monday night at 9/8 CT on TNN.

CARD PREVIEW

WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH

X-Pac and Ron Waterman © Vs Jeff Hardy and Scotty 2 Hotty

Mr. Perfect vs. Billy Kidman

Rob Van Dam and Sabu vs. Lance Storm and Marc Mero

WWF BACKLASH RESULTS

Welcome everyone to WWF Backlash! We are LIVE here in the Kemper Arena in Kansas City Missouri with a sold out crowd and we are all hoping for one action packed night of Sports Entertainment. We quickly are introduced to our Raw commenting team of JR and Mick Foley who introduce themselves before introducing their Smackdown colleagues, Michael Cole and Tazz. Both teams seem to be glad to be in each other’s company despite the fact that they are now on different brands are effectively competing with one another here tonight.

World Tag Team Championship Match – Rob Van Dam & Sabu Vs Ron Waterman & X-Pac

The Raw brand kicked off the night’s action with a huge World Tag Team Title match as Raw looked to announce their first tag team champions here tonight. X-Pac and Waterman came into the match with a game plan and that plan was to isolate one of their opponents and that man was Rob Van Dam with X-Pac and Waterman both looking to ground their opponent working a lot on his legs in the early goings, X-Pac even locking in the figure four leg lock. With RVD incapacitated and in severe pain, RVD and Sabu looked unlikely to be taking the tag team titles home but X-Pac provided with some hope after that overly sensitive X-Pac got took too long interacting with the crowd and consequently botched a moonsault attempt. When Sabu got into the action, the Suicidal Homicidal Genocidal Sabu looked like man possessed taking on both opponents single handily first clearing X-Pac from the ring before delivering the Arabian Skullcrusher to Waterman although he was unable to put him away. The finish came shortly after shortly after RVD made the tag back in and he delivered the Rolling Thunder on Ron Waterman while X-Pac and Sabu were brawling on the outside. A crash on the outside is heard as RVD gets back to his feet holding onto his ribs as he makes his way up to the top rope for the 5 Star Frog Splash. Will RVD and Sabu become the New Tag Team Champions? As RVD is set to leap, the camera shifts to the side to see X-Pac jumping onto the apron and he grabs hold of RVD’s leg. RVD manages to shift X-Pac with some hard fists to the head but doesn’t notice the mammoth Waterman collide with the ropes dropping him from his pouncing position. The crowd are unable to hide their emotions booing Waterman as Waterman body slams RVD off of the top rope before begging him to get back to his feet. Here it comes! WATER BOMB! Waterman has nothing left to do except hook the leg while the referee counts the……1……….2……….3 and announces the new World Tag Team Champions!

Winners – X-Pac and Ron Waterman (New World Tag Team Champions)

WWF Women’s Championship Hardcore Match – Daffney Unger © Vs. Trish Stratus

This match exceeded all expectations in a match that was predicted to be the worst match of the night – the stipulations really helped this match go a lot further. Trish and Daffney both started this match off without weapons but it didn’t take long for the women to take it to the outside. Daffney seemed intent on marking Trish’s chest with severe back hand chops before Trish delivered cleverly dropped Daffney into the steel steps busting Daffney open at the mouth with a drop toe hold. Trish went under the ring and brought out the weapons and proceeded to work on Daffney’s back with multiple Singapore cane shots before choking Daffney with the television cable. Daffney however was not to be out done by some “blonde bimbo” and fought back before busting Trish’s head open with multiple shots to the ring post before knocking her flat out with a huge chair shot that echoed through the arena. The finish came shortly after Trish planted Daffney with a DDT in the ring but was unable to take the three from the cover. Trish, determined to take back her title unbuckled one of the turnbuckle covers exposing the metal below had an Irish whip attempt backfire on her Daffney countering the move and nearly sending Trish into it herself. While Trish was able to dodge the buckle, she was unable to dodge Daffney’s jumping DDT. Daffney did not step there however and she climbed up to the top rope and connected with a Moonsault to secure the victory, the crowd surprisingly cheering her performance as she made the cover.

Winner – Daffney (still WWF Women’s Champion)

Donovan Clark & Randy Orton vs. Steve Blackman & Maven

A short match that really showed where Maven stands in the scheme of things. Clark & Orton came with a game plan jumping Steve Blackman as he made his way to the ring, removing him from the match before Maven even made an appearance with a double Powerbomb to Blackman. With Blackman out of the match up, Maven might as well have not turned up as he walked into a heap of trouble, Orton and Clark playing with him as Blackman lay motionless on the outside. Orton and Clark slapped Maven around and Maven did manage to connect with one drop kick on Donovan Clark but it didn’t take long for Orton to level Maven with a big forearm before planting him in the mat with the O-Zone for the 1…..2…..3. After the match Orton and Clark proceeded to underline their actions with Orton telling Clark to bring Blackman back into the ring so that Orton could also hit Blackman with the O-Zone. Clark and Orton are two cocky SOBs!

Winners – Randy Orton and Donovan Clark

The Greatest of all Time

We go backstage where The Coach joins The Rock for an exclusive interview with the WWF Champ. The Coach asks The Rock how confident he is about his match up and The Rock blows up in Coach’s face. The Rock says he is damn confident about his match up tonight. The Rock says that over the past 4 months, The Rock has been to hell and back with matches against the WWF Chairman, the Undertaker as well as being in matches with wrestlers like Kurt Angle, Stone Cold and so on and so on and The Rock has come through all of these challengers as the WWF Champion. The Rock said it is clear now to everyone or at least should be clear that as far as WWF Champions go, The Rock is the VERY BEST past present and future and there is no way in hell that some WCW reject like Chris Jericho is going to out do him here tonight. Paul Heyman doesn’t however smell what The Rock is cooking. Heyman quickly comes into shot interrupting the former People’s Champion with his client Kane and proceeds to clarify some of The Rock’s comments with The Rock. Heyman says that everyone in this industry who knows him by now knows that he is a huge fan of The Rock and that he is sure that The Rock will be able to beat Jericho here tonight. BUT, Paul Heyman has to disagree with The Rock’s statement about being the very best in the business because tonight, tonight, a new era is going to begin on Smackdown, an era bigger than The Rock’s and that is the era of the future World Heavyweight Champion, Kane! Heyman says that tonight, Kane is going to prove to the World that he is the very best by beating The Undertaker. Heyman tells The Rock that if he disagrees with what Heyman says, he’d be more than happy to set up a match between The Rock and Kane to see who the better man really is but The Rock puts his hands up and tells them that everything is cool and to relax. Heyman smiles and walks off with Kane wishing The Rock luck in his match tonight but before The Rock he reassures The Coach that he could take Kane. He just didn’t want to upset him. The Rock says he cares about how people feel! Empathy, you know? Oh we know Rocky! We know!

WWF Intercontinental Championship Match – Shawn Stasiak © vs. Matt Hardy

This match had little build up but certainly didn’t disappoint as both wrestlers fought tooth and nail is this hard fought contest. Shawn Stasiak came down to the ring first and decided that he would get on the microphone and belittle Matt Hardy. Stasiak said that Matt Hardy was not in his league and nothing more than a Tag Team Wrestler. Matt Hardy came out with a point to prove and set himself upon the Intercontinental Champion to a huge response from the crowd. Matt delivered a bunch of forearms one after the other before going for the twist of fate but Stasiak managed to push Matt Hardy away before bailing out of the ring knowing he just averted a certain defeat. Stasiak was flustered on the outside and even considered walking out but somehow, the fans reaction and the referee’s count caused him to double back and get in the ring just before the referee reached the 10. Stasiak got pummelled with some more Matt Hardy offensive and Matt Hardy took both men to the outside. As soon as both men got back to their feet, right hands were traded with Matt attempting to send Stasiak into the steel steps but Stasiak countered and Matt Hardy went crashing. Stasiak followed this up with a slam against the barricade that really seemed to take the wind out of his challenger. The tides began to turn and Stasiak really began to beat down on his opponent getting. Stasiak planted Matt Hardy with a shoulder breaker that produced a big reaction from the crowd but only managed the two from the cover. The two wrestlers proceeded to get the crowd going with some good spots, Matt missing the top rope leg drop and later countering the Death Valley driver by Stasiak before connecting with the Twist of Fate but somehow, Stasiak kicked out on the two. The finish came shortly afterwards when a stunned Matt Hardy got back to his feet begging his opponent to do the same as he waited to hit the Second Twist of Fate but Stasiak countered the move before planting Matt with a belly to belly suplex. Stasiak got back to his feet once more and went for the Death Valley Driver but Matt once again slid of his back and went for a roll up but Stasiak countered the roll up, rolling up Matt Hardy instead, but he held onto the bottom rope as the referee made the three count. Stasiak just stole the win from Matt Hardy! Shawn Stasiak quickly escaped from the ring grabbing hold of his Intercontinental Championship the crowd booing Stasiak heavily as Matt Hardy protested in the ring to the referee.

Winner – Shawn Stasiak (and still WWF Intercontinental Champion)

Raven vs. Mr. Perfect

This was a great back and forth match with a bunch of trademark moves thrown in for good measure. Mr Perfect looked aggressive in the early going delivering several back handed chops to his opponent but he was unable to finish the job early despite a belly to back suplex pin attempt. Raven came back hard and fast with some right hands before focusing his attack on the right leg of Mr Perfect. Raven used all of the standard moves including knee drops and chop blocks to the back of the knee to keep Mr Perfect grounded but even by doing this, was unable to take the three. Nevertheless, Mr Perfect was grounded and Raven began the trash talk slapping his opponent around before locking in the Cobra Clutch working the lower back of Mr Perfect and you could tell from his face he was in absolute agony. But Perfect crawled and crawled and eventually got the ropes to the cheers from the crowd not that he was allowed to soak in the applause as Raven quickly followed up with a huge club to the back of the head. Raven locked Mr Perfect in a side head lock and continued to berate him with smash talk like some angry 15 year old kid that had listened to too many Limp Bizkit albums. Perfect did try to get back to his feet but once again, Raven stuck a thumb to the eye and then followed up with a big bulldog. Another pin fall attempt. Another kick out. What does Raven have to do? Raven complained to the referee again and again with each attempt Raven somehow feeling that every time he made the cover, he was owed the victory. But Raven should have focused on the match in hand as that’s what Mr Perfect did. Raven walked back and walked straight into some right hands to the midsection of Raven and Mr Perfect got was back in this match. Perfect, despite the injured leg, took it to his opponent with some stiff clotheslines before dragging him into the corner with some hard back hand chops. Next from Perfect was a snapmare followed by Rolling Cutter for good measure. Perfect went for the Perfect-Plex but Raven countered the move before trying to hit the Perfect-Plex himself but Perfect managed to counter the move back and this time connected with his trademark move folding up his opponent for the ……..1……….2……….3 and taking the win. Mr Perfect stood tall in the ring to a standing ovation from the WWF fans as Raven headed backstage licking his wounds in a hard fought contest.

Winner – Mr. Perfect

World Heavyweight Championship Match – The Undertaker Vs Kane (w/Paul Heyman)

We arrived at the first of Backlash’s two Main Event matches and this one was for the World Heavyweight Championship. This match certainly did not disappoint with two powerhouses fighting with everything they had. On one hand, you had the Veteran, the Legend, the Phenom the Undertaker who had dominated the World Wrestling Federation for over ten years and on the other side, you had a real life monster that had not lost a match since his turn in December and with Paul Heyman by his side, who know what was possible? Kane was the definite heel in this match up with the crowd heavily behind The Undertaker. Taker and Kane started off the match swapping hard fists but neither man looked like dropping. The Undertaker however was determined to get the Monster off his feet and despite Kane landing on his feet when he was sent to the outside, was unable to avoid crashing and burning when The Undertaker hit Kane with a suicide dive to the outside. The Undertaker began to take control on the outside seeming to be more relaxed in his surroundings than Kane using them to his advantage while Kane seemed more like a fish out of Water. Heyman tried to inject himself into the match grabbing hold of a steel chair but Taker caught him in the act and Heyman dropped the chair in shock. Heyman would have been in deep trouble as the Deadman approached but Kane off camera got back to his feet before attacking The Undertaker from behind with a clothesline dropping The Undertaker to his knees before following up with a big boot to the face. Heyman began to get more vocal and directed Kane to clear the announce table before chucking The Undertaker on the top. Kane then decided to take this match to the next level backing up onto the apron and signalled off the crowd. Michael Cole and Tazz knew what was coming! Kane went for a DIVING ELBOW DROP but The Undertaker rolled out of the way and Kane crashed the announce table. Holy Hell Kane! Heyman can’t believe it! The crowd can’t believe it! Hell even I can’t believe it! The Undertaker rolled onto his belly and slowly got back to his feet. He knew what he had to do and he began to drag Kane back to the ring. Will Taker be the World Heavyweight Champion? 1…………………2…………..Kane kicks out! Taker can’t believe it. Taker gets back to his feet and goes for the chokeslam but Kane grabs Taker by the throat and both men struggle to hit their own move. Taker eventually breaks them up with some right hands but Kane responds with a big boot. Kane heads up top and goes for the flying clothesline from hell on The Undertaker. Kane goes for a chokeslam but Taker counters with an elbow to the head before grabbing Kane and this time connecting with his own chokeslam! Taker has done it! Heyman dives onto the apron screaming at the referee and The Undertaker turns away from Kane and grabs hold of Kane by the jacket throwing him but as he does this KANE SITS UP! Look out Taker! But it’s too late! Kane attacks Taker from behind with a club to the back of the head. Kane then whips The Undertaker hard into the adjacent turnbuckle before signalling for the end and he hits the Tombstone Piledriver on the Deadman! Kane folds Taker’s arms on his chest……..1…………..2…………….3 Kane wins! Kane is the new World Heavyweight Champion! Kane grabs hold of his new title and Heyman bows down to the World Heavyweight Champion as The Undertaker lays motionless on the ground. Kane defeated The Deadman! Paul Heyman’s prophecy was true! God help the Smackdown Roster!

Winner – Kane (and New World Heavyweight Champion)

The Challenge

After a brief commercial break, we return to ringside as Raw Superstar Edge makes his way to the ring. Edge gets on the mic and says that he has come to the ring for some answers. Edge reminds the fans that last week on Raw, he made a challenge to Stone Cold Steve Austin who a few weeks ago, attacked him without provocation. Edge said that he last week on Raw, he challenged Austin to a match at Backlash but despite a bombardment of phone calls and emails, Stone Cold still hasn’t responded. Edge questions Austin’s manly hood and thinks that Austin may not be the tough guy he always maintained he was. All of a sudden, the Glass Shatters and the crowd heats up but where is Austin. To the surprise of everyone, Stone Cold then becomes visible on the Titantron. Austin says that he’s back in Texas and that the reason Austin hasn’t responded to any of Edge’s calls or emails is nothing to do with the fact that Austin is scared of Edge. Austin says that as far as he is concerned, he attacked Edge because Edge is a nobody! Edge is Pathetic! In fact, as far as Stone Cold is concerned, Edge isn’t even fit to tie up his boots. The camera is focused on Edge as Edge watches the screen and only has a quick glance as they notice a figure slide in the ring behind him. It’s Austin! Austin attacks Edge from behind with a steel chair knocking Edge flat against the floor. Austin then begins to beat down Edge with a bunch of chair shots to the absolute disgust from the fans and screams and shouts of the Raw Announce Team. Austin was fuming though. Austin grabbed hold of Edge by the ankle and locked into the chair before going up top! No Austin! Don’t do it! TOO LATE! Austin stomps onto the steel chair and Edge yells in pain! Austin could have just broken Edge’s damn Ankle! EMTs come to the ring as Austin walks off with a big grin on his face. Austin is one sick S.O.B!

WWF Championship Match – The Rock © vs. Chris Jericho

Well here it is! The second Main Event and what a Main Event it was. The Rock had been WWF Champion for the past 3 months and looked nothing short of unstoppable while Chris Jericho was on absolute fire on Raw so both Superstars had a great chance of coming away with the gold tonight. The Rock started the match off in an arrogant fashion taunting Jericho but Jericho pushed all the right buttons on The Rock when he told him to “Just Bring It” and The Rock swung for the challenger. Jericho and The Rock had good back and forth action with The Rock trading his punches for Jericho’s back hand chops and it wasn’t long before both men were on the outside. The Rock tried to flee from his opponent who was in hot pursuit as they circled the ring before The Rock slid back into the ring and beat down on Jericho. Rock and Jericho exchanged the action with both men taking near falls on countless occasions. Later on The Rock slapped the sharpshooter on Chris Jericho and Jericho was looking in serious trouble. Jericho, however, had a strong support from the crowd here in the Kemper Arena and Jericho somehow managed to get his hands on the bottom rope and The Rock should have let go but The Rock refused. The referee grabbed hold of the WWF Champion and he pulled him but The Rock and The Rock reluctantly let go. The Rock felt he was being cheated here and complained to the referee grabbing him by the shirt and there was struggle and that struggle nearly cost The Rock as Jericho rolled him up from behind and the referee was only a fraction away of counting the three. The finish came when The Rock had The Rock Bottom countered by Jericho who followed up with a full nelson facebuster. Jericho was fired up and so where the crowd! All he has to do is go for the pin! But No! Jericho goes for the Walls of Jericho! Is The Rock going to tap out to the Walls of Jericho? Wait! Someone just got into the ring! It’s It’s! MARK HENRY! Mark Henry clubs Jericho down to the ground with a huge clothesline and the referee rings the bell! What the Hell is Mark Henry doing here? Henry grabs hold of Jericho and throws him into the corner! Running Splash on Chris Jericho! Henry, sweating like crazy, grabs hold of Jericho. FALLING POWESLAM! Jericho has been destroyed here by The World’s Strongest Man Mark Henry! Mark Henry stands over the destroyed Jericho and raises his arms as the crowd boo the man who has been hyped to return for the past month. But Jericho’s night isn’t over yet! As soon as Henry leaves the ring, the WWF Champion returns with his belt and looks down at his fallen opponent and in an act of a surprise, puts out his hand and helps Jericho back to his feet. What a good mark of Sportsmanship by The Rock! But just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water…..NO WAIT ROCKBOTTOM! The Rock just cheapshotted Y2J! The Rock grabs hold of the referee and tells him to make the count as The Rock hooks the leg of Y2J and he makes the three but the match is still over! The Rock is a sick human being! The Rock raises the WWF Championship to a chorus of boos while Jericho lays motionless on the mat!

Winner – No Contest (The Rock remains the WWF Champion)

We got a 1.90 buy rate for 'Backlash'!

The attendance was 20125 people.

We made $4750000 from pay-per-view revenue.

We made $1207500 from ticket sales.

The Backlash MVP is Kane

OOC: Feedback Appreciated as always I hope you enjoyed the show

WWF BACKLASH PREDICTION CONTEST

Okay everyone, as unbelievable as it is, we are just about to reach WWF Backlash and this is the time when you, the reader, gets to make your PPV predictions with the winner getting a prize for their troubles. So good luck everyone. I look forward to seeing your predictions and thank you for continuing to read and participate in this diary.

Okay guys so the rules are as follows; 1 point for each correct prediction on each match. Also below are 5 bonus questions that are worth an additional 1 point each; Make sure all of who makes their prediction complies with the Diary Dome Rules which states that each prediction made MUST be reasoned. Anyone who doesn't gives reasons for their predictions will not be counted. Thank you and Good Luck!

WWF CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH

The Rock © vs. Chris Jericho

WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH

The Undertaker vs. Kane

WWF INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH

Shawn Stasiak © vs. Matt Hardy

WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH

Rob Van Dam & Sabu vs. Ron Waterman & X-Pac

Mr. Perfect vs. Raven

Donovan Clark & Randy Orton vs. Steve Blackman & Maven

WWF WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP HARDCORE MATCH

Daffney Unger © vs. Trish Stratus

Edge challenges Stone Cold Steve Austin

1)Which match will open Backlash?

2)Which match will Main Event Backlash?

3)Who will take the fall in the Clark/Orton vs. Blackman/Maven Match?

4)Will Stone Cold answer Edge's challenge?

5)Who will be the Backlash MVP? (Remember this is determined by who came out on top during the highest rated segment of the show)

“Superstar” by Saliva hits as Smackdown kicks off and we hit the arena where the crowd go wild as the fireworks light up the entrance way. Our Announcers Michael Cole and Tazz welcome us to the show which we finally decide who will face off at Backlash for the World Heavyweight Championship. Vince McMahon’s music hits the arena and the crowd heats up as the owner of the Smackdown brand makes his way down to the ring to open up the show.

The Dominant Brand

Vince McMahon gets on the mic and tells the fans to listen up carefully. Vince says that one week has passed since the initiation of the roster split and having had time to reflect that anyone who is anyone can tell just how superior the Smackdown brand is to the Raw brand. Vince says that while the Raw roster has had to fill their cards up with former ECW superstars and wrestlers that couldn’t cut the grade when the rosters were united, Smackdown is producing shows that are filled with champions and superstars who will be the future of the World Wrestling Federation. Vince says that while this might only be semi evident now, in time, just like WCW and ECW, Jerry Lawler’s brand will die and Vince will once more have complete control of the WWF. Looks like all Vince wanted to do tonight was to toot his horn and he did a fantastic job at that.

The Intercontinental Champ

We head backstage to the corridor where we join Shawn Stasiak with a group of unknown women. Stasiak tells the women that as much as he’d love their company right now, he has a huge match tonight against The Undertaker and he needs to prepare if he is to become the first World Heavyweight Champion of the Smackdown brand. The women seem to buy it and wish him luck but Matt Hardy is less than impressed. Matt tells Stasiak that if he thinks he’s going any chance in hell of beating The Undertaker, then he is insane – comments which Stasiak doesn’t take to kindly. Stasiak reminds Matt that last week on Smackdown, he beat WWF Legend; The British Bulldog while all Matt succeeded in doing was losing to Kane in the shortest qualifying match in this tournament so far. Matt challenges Stasiak to a match at Backlash for the WWF Intercontinental Title but Stasiak declines it as feels he won’t be able to pull double duty on a PPV with the World Heavyweight Title Match already taking place. Will Stasiak be regretting these words later on tonight?

Donovan Clark vs. Steve Blackman

After a short commercial break, we get down to our first wrestling action of the night pitting one of the newest superstars in the WWF Donovan Clark against the Lethal Weapon Steve Blackman. Blackman came out with a very aggressive line, Steve obviously not happy with Clark and Orton’s treatment towards Maven over the past few weeks. Blackman counters a clothesline from Clark and plants him with a Russian Legsweep but only manages the two from the pin fall attempt. Clark resorts to playing dirty and rakes the eyes of his opponent before taking advantage with a vicious under-hook Powerbomb on his opponent before just missing out on the three after hitting Blackman with a high impact shoulder block. Clark gets back to his feet and tries to hit the Golden Gate Spin on Blackman but Blackman counters and nearly scores the win for himself with a suplex with a bridge. Clark gets back to his feet and side slams Blackman but foolishly doesn’t capitalise on the move. Clark would leave ringside cursing his moves second later as when he returns to Blackman, Blackman grabs hold of him and rolls him up grabbing the tights stealing the win. Blackman quickly makes his escape from the ring celebrating his victory while Clark looks on. But Blackman never was going to get out of this arena unscathed being jumped by Orton on the outside seconds after leaving the ring. Orton brings Blackman back inside the ring where he and Clark beat down on him hard. An enthusiastic Maven is next to show up coming to the aid of his opponent but when Orton catches sight of him, causes Maven to halt his attack. In a shocking turn of events, Maven backs off of his challengers and walks back up the ramp holding up his hands while Blackman gets the boot stuck in. Nice team work there Maven!

He’s Coming Next Week

It’s time for another Mark Henry promo. We’re told that Mark Henry is returning to the WWF next week but which brand is he going to be on? Whatever happens, Somebody’s Gonna Get Their Ass Kicked!

Cheated

We go backstage to Josh Matthews who is standing by with Kurt Angle. Angle says he’s got to get something off his chest because the current situation in the WWF is freaking Crazy! Angle says that last week on Smackdown, he dominated Shawn Michaels throughout their match up only for HBK to get a lucky roll up and now he’s facing Kane in the Semi Finals of the World Heavyweight Title Tournament. Angle says that he was cheated and everybody knows it! Josh Matthews asked Kurt what his future holds for him now but Angle said that even he didn’t know. Angle promised that as soon as he knew, he’d let the world know just what he had planned!

World Heavyweight Title Match Semi Final #1 – The Undertaker vs. Shawn Stasiak

After all the early hype during the night, one would have thought Shawn Stasiak would have been confident but his facial expression was far from cool and collected and he came to the ring. The Undertaker however looked like a man on a mission and his mere entrance music sent a shiver down the spine of the Intercontinental Champion. But despite his fears, Stasiak started off the match in an aggressive fashion blindsiding The Undertaker was testing the ropes but he should have thought more carefully about his approach – after all you’re not going to beat The Undertaker in a brawling match. The Undertaker quickly took control and it wasn’t long before The Undertaker got Stasiak in a pinning predicament Taker planting Stasiak’s head into them at with a DDT, Taker getting a 2 from the cover. Taker brought Stasiak back to his feet but Shawn decided to cut his losses raking the eyes of The Deadman before heading out of the ring and back up the ramp. The Undertaker however was not about to let someone walk out on him and immediately went in hot pursuit of his opponent cutting him down just as Stasiak got to the top of the ramp. The Undertaker grabbed hold of Stasiak by the head and dragged him back down the ramp and despite Stasiak’s best efforts, was sent right back into the centre of the ring. The Intercontinental Champion did however manage to get some offensive back in cutting The Undertaker down as he climbed back into the ring and sent Taker reeling with some hard upper cuts. Stasiak went for the Death Valley Driver but The Undertaker countered with ease before crushing the Intercontinental Champion’s chances of making the final of the World Heavyweight Title tournament, choke slamming Stasiak with force into the mat. All that was left was the 1,2,3 and The Undertaker is going to Backlash!

The Undertaker?

After the break we return backstage with Josh Matthews who is live with Paul Heyman and The Monster Kane. Heyman and Kane are asked about their feelings on The Undertaker making it to the final of the World Heavyweight Title Tournament and Heyman admits he’s concerned – Heyman says he’s concerned because he feels sorry for all of the WWF fans who have paid to see the same thing happen once more when The Undertaker gets beaten into the ground on by the future World Heavyweight Champion, Kane. Matthews questions Heyman’s confidence as he may not even make the final. Heyman tells Matthews to just watch and see.

WWF Cruiserweight Title Match: Brian Moore © vs. Kazuhiro

Brian Moore makes his Smackdown brand debut tonight facing off against the skilful Kazuhiro in this fast paced match up that really shows the talents of both competitors. Like most cruiserweight matches, both men put their bodies on the line with some crazy high flying moves but none stuck in the minds as much as Kazuhiro’s 360 splash that failed to connect with Brian Moore. The finish came shortly after Kazuhiro planted Brian Moore with a drop kick before heading up to the top rope. Sadly for Kaz though, his high impact style took the better of him and he took just a bit too long getting up to the top rope and Brian Moore took the advantage dropping him with some right hands before hitting him with a huge Tornado DDT off the top rope. The crowd were not happy that Moore retained but he won’t care! You don’t know what it’s like to be him!

Lost eh?

The WWF Intercontinental Champion Shawn Stasiak was having a bad day. Just when he thought his day couldn’t get any worse losing in the Semi Finals of the World Heavyweight Title Tournament to The Undertaker, Stasiak could now not find the beautiful women who just a short time ago were desperate to be with him. He did find someone however and that person was none other than Matt Hardy! Matt grinned as Stasiak looked at him with contempt obviously wishing he could have met anyone but him and Matt didn’t take him long to remind him about his loss. Stasiak looked to have taken his loss well until Matt decided to walk away when Stasiak struck him from behind knocking him flat against the concrete floor. Stasiak told Matt that no one disrespects him and that he eats guys like him for breakfast? Is Stasiak asking Matt out or is he challenging him to a match at Backlash?

World Heavyweight Title Match Semi Final #2 – Shawn Michaels vs. Kane (w/Paul Heyman)

This match was the most anticipated match of the night with both competitors coming down to the ring with a purpose. Shawn Michaels started off strong throwing everything he had at the Monster Kane but nothing seemed to be able to get the big man down. Michaels began to make Kane shake at the legs after hitting him with two flying clotheslines but he would never get to see the effect of the third one as Kane stuck his big sized 16 boot right into the face of the Show Stopper. HBK’s night was not about to get any better as Kane began a huge beat down on the Heart Break Kid with a plethora of hard right hand shots and some power slams that could have broke the back of his competitor. Kane decided he wanted to end the match as soon as he could heading up the top rope before connecting with the clothesline from hell and Michaels looked in deep trouble. Shawn had plenty of in ring experience however and when Kane went for that chokeslam, HBK did what any in ring veteran would do and that was a kick down low that took all the wind out of his opponent. It looks like Kane is human after all! Michaels began to show signs of life as he fought back with some hard fists before taking Kane to the mat with a clothesline and then followed up with an elbow drop from the top rope to make double sure that Kane was down. HBK had the fans behind him and soon enough he was in the corner tuning up the band. Could we see The Undertaker vs. HBK at Backlash? Sadly for Michaels, he did not connect with Kane but instead with the referee! Kane doesn’t take long to get a hold of HBK once more and he quickly looks for the tombstone but HBK somehow manages to counter the move and he hits Kane with the Sweet Chin Music but the referee is still down. HBK could have this match won! Sadly for HBK, that would be as far as things go as the man who he “cheated” out of the World Heavyweight Title just last week, returned to claim his revenge against HBK hitting him over the back of the head with a forearm before planting him with the Angle Slam. Angle thought he had done enough for Kane but when Kane made the cover; HBK kicked out on the two much to the surprise of both Angle and the crowd. Kane wouldn’t be denied his spot at Backlash however and finished the job with a huge chokeslam for the 1,2,3.

See you At Backlash

After the match, Paul Heyman got into the ring and congratulated the Monster Kane who obviously had been put to the test here tonight. But Kane didn’t look happy – Kane never looks happy and The Undertaker’s appearance at the stage certainly didn’t do anything to change that. Taker tells Kane that he will see him at Backlash and one way or another, this Sunday, there will be a NEW World Heavyweight Champion! Will it be Kane or The Undertaker? Find out at Backlash!

OOC: Hope you enjoyed fellas! Feedback appreciated as always!

SEMI FINALS

Smackdown Preview - April 4, 2002

Last week on Smackdown, 8 competitors took part in the first round of a World Heavyweight Title tournament that culminates at Backlash. Tonight, the 4 remaining competitors, Kane, Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker and Shawn Stasiak will step up one more time to fight for their place in that Backlash match. Which two competitors will make that final leap to face each othat at Backlash? Find out only on Smackdown!

Ever since their debut, Randy Orton and Donovan Clark have been nothing short of a two man wrecking crew beating every team in their path. But at Backlash, Orton and Clark will face two very different opponents in the form of Steve Blackman and Maven. Orton and Clark feel confident about this one but will Steve Blackman look to unsettle their mood tonight when Blackman takes on Donovan Clark.

Also in action tonight is the WWF Cruiserweight Champion Brian Moore who just four weeks ago, won the Cruiserweight Title in a shock debut that saw him snatch the Cruiserwight title out of the grasp of Jerry Lynn. Brian Moore sees action tonight against Kazhurio who has gone from strength to strength since splitting from Taka' grasp. This match certainly could go either way.

CARD PREVIEW

Steve Blackman vs. Donovan Clark

WWF CRUISERWEIGHT TITLE MATCH

Kazuhiro vs. Brian Moore ©

WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE TOURNAMENT MATCH #1

The Undertaker vs. Shawn Stasiak

WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE TOURNAMENT MATCH #2

Shawn Michaels vs. Kane

EUROPEAN DOMINANCE

Raw Results - April 1, 2002

We are live on Monday Night Raw with our hosts, Jim Ross and “the Hardcore Legend” Mick Foley for a huge night of Sports Entertainment. We are only 6 days away from Backlash and tonight, the Number One Contender for the WWF Championship, Chris Jericho will go one on one with the WWF European Champion William Regal in the Raw Main Event. We also have Inter-gender tag team action between the WWF Women’s Champion Daffney Unger and her partner Raven and their opponents, Trish Stratus and Bradshaw. Daffney and Trish have been at each other’s throats now for the past few months and will face each other once more at Backlash for the WWF Women’s Title with both competitors eager to take the title. But now it’s time for the opening match.

Rob Van Dam vs. Ron Waterman (w/X-Pac)

What a bout to kick of Raw with both competitors eager to take the advantage before they face off again at Backlash for the World Tag Team Titles. Rob Van Dam dominated the match in the early goings taking it to Ron Waterman with a bunch of high flying moves which culminated with a missile drop kick for the two count. Waterman however had a back up in the form of X-Pac who stealthily injected himself into the match grabbing the foot of Van Dam as he continued on the offensive and allowed Waterman to get himself back into the match with a big clothesline. Waterman followed the cheap shot up with a series with belly to belly suplexes on the ECW legend but was unable to put Van Dam away. Waterman’s night wasn’t about to get any better for him as RVD countered a Powerbomb attempt with a hurricanranna with a pin for the three to his huge surprise. RVD wasn’t about to be given the chance to celebrate however as X-Pac jumped him as soon as he got back to his feet and Waterman and Pac began to stick the boots in before they were chased off by a chair wielding Sabu who came to the rescue of his tag team partner.

Lawler speaks on Hardcore Wrestling

We cut backstage to Jerry Lawler who is standing with Jonathan Coachman eager to get the latest scoop from the owner of the Raw brand. Jerry Lawler says that he wants to make something perfectly clear to all the WWF fans that have been sending him emails, taking to him in the street and so on and that is that he has no intention to turn Monday Night Raw into the next ECW. Lawler says that he appreciates the fact that Raw is full of former ECW superstars like Rob Van Dam and Sabu and the WWF Hardcore Champion Key but as far as he is concerned, the sooner Hardcore Wrestling dies, the better. The crowd did not respond too kindly to Lawler’s words.

Raven and Daffney Unger vs. Bradshaw and Trish Stratus

This match, while on paper would probably seem poor, exceeded all expectations in providing some top action from all four competitors with a special mention to both of the female superstars. Trish and Daffney started off the match with some high pace action, both women looking just to hurt each other rather than score the pin fall Trish looking the more aggressive of the two women. Trish landed Daffney with a vertical suplex and went for the pin but Raven broke up the count in what would not be the last time in the match that Raven attacked Trish. Both men took over and Raven and Bradshaw traded some punches before Raven took down Bradshaw with a high knee to take control. It would take more than a high knee to keep Bradshaw town and despite some strong offensive by Raven, Bradshaw began to fight back with some hard shots and nearly ended the match with a fallaway slam only for Daffney to break up the count just before the three. Daffney’s interference didn’t do anything to please Bradshaw and Bradshaw responded angrily to Daffney but Raven managed to make the save before Bradshaw did something stupid taking him down with a neckbreaker. Both men were down and out and had no choice but to tag back in the women who were more than happy to take over once more and Trish once again took it to Daffney while Raven and Bradshaw recommenced their fight on the outside. Trish scored a couple of pin fall attempts but Daffney refused to lie down much to the despair of the crowd. Raven disposed of Bradshaw on the outside before getting back on to the apron to cheer on Daffney while Trish continued to take the fight to her and it took a blind tag from Raven followed by the Raven Effect to put Trish away and Raven gladly took the win. After the match, Raven went back to Trish and he dragged her to her feet and looked like he was going to hit her with the Raven Effect for a second time when Mr Perfect rushed to the ring to make the save, Raven hightailing it before Mr Perfect could get his hands on him.

“You Disgust Me”

After a commercial break, we return to the ring to see Mr Perfect speak of his disgust of Raven. Mr Perfect says that Raven talks about being bullied and about having a horrid life but Mr Perfect wonders how a man who beats on women can complain that he is disliked. Mr Perfect says that Raven disgusts him and it’s not because of how he looks or what he believes in but how he acts and how he treats people. Mr Perfect says he cannot wait to get his hands on Raven on Sunday because if he gets his way, Raven is going to leave Backlash with another asshole.

“Do you know what you’re doing?”

We go backstage to the Men’s Locker Room as William Regal walks in with his wrestling gear and is approached by Billy Kidman. Kidman wants to know if Regal has anything planned tonight for his match against Jericho but Regal tells him that he’s going to do what he does best and outwrestle Jericho. Kidman laughs at Regal’s comments but Regal tells Kidman he’s serious and guarantees Kidman that he is going to beat Jericho tonight. Has Regal lost it?

WWF Hardcore Championship Match: Key © (w/Charles Wright) vs. Chuck Palumbo

In what probably was the quickest match of the night had Key totally dominate Chuck Palumbo in this hardcore match up. The match started with a chair duel between the two opponents but it wasn’t long before Key took Palumbo down with a clothesline. Key dragged Palumbo to the outside where he introduced him to the steps and the ring post before dropping him hard onto the crowd barrier to the disapproval of the WWF fans. Key decided it was the right time to go for a table and took too much time trying to set up allowing Palumbo to get back into the match with some right hands and a forearm before placing Key onto the table and going up top. Fortunately for Key, he had Charles Wright at hand who pulled Key off the table just in the nick of time and Palumbo crashed through the table. A disgruntled Key dragged the carcass of Palumbo back into the ring where he hit him with the Victimiser for the three count in another successful title defence. I bet Jerry Lawler loved that match!

“I’ll see you at Backlash!”

After a heinous attack from Austin just last week on Raw, Edge decides to speak out on his attacker telling the WWF crowd that if Austin is looking for a fight, he’s got one. Edge says that his entire career he’s had the utmost respect for the Rattlesnake and he can’t figure out why he would stoop to such levels but he certainly won’t back down from a fight! Will Austin accept his challenge?

Test vs. Rikishi

These two superstars are two wrestlers who certainly have been overlooked since the roster split and both men aimed to put on a good match with some good solid action. Rikishi started off the match in control and tried to finish the match off quickly with the savate kick but Test held onto the ropes and pulled himself to the outside avoiding the danger. Rikishi decided to follow Test and Test used Rikishi’s eagerness to his advantage cheap-shotting him as soon as he hit the ground and sending him hard into the ring post. Test beat Rikishi down hard on the outside before sending him back into the ring and climbing up top but Test missed the elbow drop and both men lay motionless on the mat for a good 15 seconds. Both men dragged themselves back to their feet and began to trade punches some more before Test attempted to hit Rikishi with a big boot but Rikishi countered before this time connecting with the savate kick but Test managed to kick out of the cover. Rikishi shocked tried again and again but he was unable to get the three and so he decided he had only one option – the banzai drop. Unfortunately for Rikishi, Test had scouted the move and as Rikishi dropped, Test pulled away and Rikishi landed firmly on the mat. Test got back to his feet quickly and realising that he had the opportunity, struck the prone Rikishi in the head with the big boot and took the 1, 2, 3 for the win. Test was lucky to escape this match with a win.

Regal’s had too much tea!

We go backstage to see Jonathan Coachman joined with the Number One Contender for the WWF Title Chris Jericho and Jericho looks to be in a mischievous mood. The Coach asks Jericho what he makes of Regal’s comments over the past couple of days about being able to beat him with ease and Jericho says he is perplexed with the comments. Jericho says that he doesn’t know whether all the tea has finally gotten to his mind but in case Regal hasn’t noticed, he is the WWF European Champion for a reason and it isn’t because Regal doesn’t like the look of the WWF Title. Nevertheless Jericho promises that tonight, just like he did at Wrestlemania X7, Jericho is going to give Regal a beating that he will NEVER EVER FORGET!

Chris Jericho vs. William Regal

Both men stare off at each other in the middle of the ring when they are interrupted by the arrival of the WWF Champion, The Rock, who comes down to the ring with a huge grin on his face causing immediate suspicion from JR as The Rock joins them. While Jericho and Regal go at it trading control, The Rock takes time to insult his Backlash opponent reminding Mick and JR that the only way Jericho has ever been able to win the big one is by the assistance of other people and come Sunday at Backlash, The Rock is going to show the world once again why he is the very best in the business. The Rock then goes on to promote how William Regal is a technical marvel and how he is an inspiration for all British people. “Hell even the Queen is a William Regal fan!” Regal hits Jericho with a snap suplex but is unable to get the three and the match continues with Regal desperately trying to suplex his way to victory. After some strong dominance by Regal, Jericho begins to fight back with some stiff hard chops followed by a pair of standing drop kicks. Jericho then goes up top and hits a missile drop kick on Regal but is unable to seal the deal with the three. Jericho grabs hold of Regal and tries to lock in the walls of Jericho but Regal counters and locks in the half Boston crab on Jericho only for Jericho to quickly get to the ropes. Regal refuses to let go and the referee has to pull Regal off Y2J and Regal nearly swings at him. Regal should have paid more attention to Jericho who came back at him with another stiff chop before locking in the Walls of Jericho and Regal looks in serious trouble. The Rock panics and rushes from the announce position climbing onto the apron where he distracts the referee just as Regal begins to tap. Jericho notices The Rock and let’s go of the hold before taking a swing at the WWF Champion and the referee tries to intervene but as a result fails to notice Regal remove the brass knucks from his tights and then clobbers Y2J. Regal grins as The Rock backs off knowing what he’s done as Regal hooks the leg of Jericho and takes the three. After Regal takes the three, Regal clambers out of the ring and makes his way up the ramp with his WWF European Title as The Rock enters the ring. In what is a sickening finale to a bad day for Y2J, The Rock waits as Jericho gets back to his feet before planting him with The Rock Bottom to a huge amount of boos from the crowd. Can Jericho beat The Rock? Find out on Backlash

OOC: Sorry for the delays. I've been having a lot of work difficulties and such recently. Hopefully it was worth the wait. All the Best, Dave!

EUROPEAN DOMINATION?

Raw Preview - April 1, 2002

Last week on the premiere edition of the new Raw brand show, Chris Jericho overcame all the odds to become the Number One Contender for the WWF Title. But while many of his colleagues and fans stare in awe, the WWF European Champion William Regal spits on Jericho's achievement. "Just because he won a match against a sub-ordinary wrestler like Test does not make you a number one contender" moaned Regal. "He is where he is because he's the owner's pet project". WWF European Champion William Regal has been showing his mean streak as of late defending his European Title belt wherever and whenever required but tonight, Regal faces a much tougher opponent in Jericho in a Non-Title fight, something that Regal says he never asked for. Find out who is the better man only on the Raw main event.

What is up with Stone Cold? Last week on Raw, Stone Cold made his big return to the WWE ring with a vicious attack on Edge and Jeff Hardy. Stone Cold blames the fans for the way he is and claims that every WWF title belt is now in his sight. Will the psychotic Austin return for more action tonight?

Also in action tonight is Rob Van Dam who is scheduled to face the man who in 6 days he will face in World Tag Team Championship Match, Ron Waterman. Waterman and X-Pac displayed their in ring savvy last week on Raw when Pac and Waterman outsmarted RVD and Sabu (at least that's what they claim) to beat them in that fateful 6 man intergender tag match. Who will pick up the momentum as we step ever closer to Backlash?

Find out all this and more on Raw, Monday night at 9/8 CT on TNN.

Smackdown kicked off with a NEW opening video to the music of "Superstar" by Saliva before we headed off to the Pyramid Arena in Memphis, Tennessee for the first show of the new Smackdown brand. Michael Cole and Tazz welcomed us all to the show and reminded us that tonight is the first round of the World Heavyweight Championship Tournament put together by Mr. McMahon. The tournament consists of eight of Smackdown's finest talents including The Undertaker, Kane, Kurt Angle and the Heart Break Kid Shawn Michaels!

NO CHANCE! NO CHANCE IN HELL!

The crowd turned their attention to the stage as the owner of the Smackdown brand, Mr McMahon, strode out from behind the curtain and made his way down to the ring, briefcase in hand. Vince received a reasonable reaction from the fans but that doesn't seem to affect his doleful face. Vince slid the case into the ring and grabbed hold of the nearest microphone before getting into the ring to kick off business.

Vince welcomed the fans to the show in what promised to be a new era in Sports Entertainment. Vince added that he couldn’t quite believe that his first ever show as Owner of the Smackdown brand would in fact be the home town of the man who caused all of this to happen, Jerry Lawler. After all, it was one thing having to have the company which he spent so many years expanding be split into two right in front of his eyes but it was another having to parade his product around in some hick country that most of America doesn’t even care about. Vince said the only thing that makes him feel better right now is the fact that all the people in the audience will probably not be able to eat having spent the majority of their unemployment benefits to come to the show tonight. Vince boasted that tonight is the very first night of the World Heavyweight Title Series that pits eight of Smackdown’s biggest talents against one another to determine who will be the Smackdown’s first World Heavyweight Champion which will come to a conclusion in just 10 days time at Backlash. Vince then removed the World Heavyweight Title from his briefcase and paraded it over his shoulder for all the fans to see. Vince added that tonight there would be four opening round matches featuring all eight competitors. The four victors would then go on to face each other next week on Smackdown leaving the final two to then go at it at Backlash and he would be crowned the New World Heavyweight Champion. Vince finished off by saying that the first match of this tournament would be next and the first competitor of the night would be none other than Matt Hardy!

The Hardy Boyz music blasts out of the PA system and the crowd went wild as Matt Hardy appeared through the curtain for the first match of this World Heavyweight Championship Series. Who will he be facing? Find out....after the break!

When the show returns, Matt is waiting in the ring staring at the entrance when the entrance turns into flame as the 7ft 300lbs Monster Kane appears at the entrance with his counter part Paul Heyman looking down at Matt Hardy with a sick grin on his face. Michael Cole reminds the fans that less than four months ago at Vengeance, Kane was responsible for putting Matt Hardy and his girlfriend Lita out with injuries when Team Xtreme took the monster on in a 3-on-1 Handicap Match.

Matt Hardy wasted little time to take the fight to Kane attacking him as soon as he stepped foot into the ring. But despite Matt Hardy's multitude of right hands shots, Kane quickly took control of the match with a single upper cut sending Matt Hardy backwards like he'd just been hit by a bus. Kane followed after Hardy but Hardy decided to play possum and ducked out of the way of Kane and getting in a few shots wherever possible and this strategy annoyed the monster a great deal. Kane eventually seized his opponent and chucked him into the corner before unleashing severe bodily damage with a bombardment of left and right hand shots before sending Matt Hardy to the ground with another upper cut. The sadistic cheerleader Paul Heyman was pleased on the outside.

Kane took Matt Hardy to the outside with a sickening clothesline before distracting the referee allowing Paul Heyman to get in some shots of his own and the crowd are furious but the referee sees nothing. Kane then follows Matt to the outside and introduces him to the barricade where he begins to choke him up to the 4 count. Kane then drags Matt Hardy back to the ring and takes him down with another uppercut. Matt Hardy is simply being outclassed here by a bigger stronger more sadistic individual. Kane heads to the top rope and delivers with the clothesline from hell to make matters worse for Hardy before Kane finished the job with a huge chokeslam from hell for the three guaranteeing himself a spot in the next round of the World Heavyweight Title Tournament. Can anyone stop Kane?

Winner: Kane

After another commercial break, we went backstage to Josh Matthews who had caught up with Paul Heyman and the Big Red Monster himself. Matthews congratulated Kane on his victory in the opening round of the World Heavyweight Title tournament and told Kane that he could now reveal that he will be facing either Shawn Michaels or Kurt Angle in the next round of the Tournament with both men scheduled to face each other later tonight. Matthews wanted to know how Kane felt about the possibility of facing either of these two competitors but Heyman wanted to answer all the questions. Heyman told Matthews that as Kane’s Manager, he could guarantee that neither Kane nor he feared any man because that is all that they are…human. Heyman guaranteed that when the World Wrestling Federation rolls into Backlash, Kane will be still in the World Heavyweight Title tournament and when the night is over, he will be the first World Heavyweight Champion.

We then head back to the ring just in time for the second match of the night and this was another World Heavyweight Title Tournament Match Up pitting the Intercontinental Champion Shawn Stasiak against Manchester England’s own, The British Bulldog. Michael Cole mentioned the fact that Shawn Stasiak had been on one hell of a roll as of late first winning the Intercontinental Championship at the Royal Rumble and now, just 3 months down the line is in the World Heavyweight Championship race. Tazz agreed with Cole but added that this would be his first big test at this level as his previous matches were with wrestlers of a much lower calibre than the British Bulldog. Could Shawn Stasiak become the first person on both brands to be a dual champion?

Bulldog and Stasiak started off the match circling the ring with Bulldog looking for the lock up. Stasiak on the hand no intention of getting into a battle of strength with Davey Boy Smith and after much deliberation, Stasiak departed from the ring to regroup himself much to the amusement of both Bulldog and the fans and the referee began the count out. Eventually, a reluctant Stasiak got back into the ring and both men locked up. Bulldog quickly overpowered Stasiak and put him into a Hammerlock hold. Stasiak looked in quiet a lot of pain but couldn’t escape despite even managing to hit the Bulldog with a body slam. Bulldog let go of the hammerlock and planted Stasiak with a belly to back suplex on Stasiak before going for the pin and got a two count. Bulldog picked up Stasiak from the ground and continued to keep the pressure landing Stasiak with some hard punches to the face followed by a big back body drop. Bulldog went for the pin once but he still only managed the two.

Stasiak was determined to get a foot hold in the match and took advantage of a missed clothesline from Bulldog and locked in a sleeper hold but he couldn’t bring Bulldog to the ground. Bulldog carried Stasiak over to the corner where he smashed him into the turnbuckle causing Stasiak to release the hold but Stasiak was intelligent quickly raking the back of his opponent before chopping the back of the knee and relocking in the sleeper hold. Stasiak drove knees in the back of Bulldog to keep his opponent down but Bulldog refused to stay down. Bulldog managed to get back to his feet and with some elbows break loose before dropping his opponent with some clotheslines before hitting Stasiak with another back body drop and follows that with a vertical suplex. Bulldog drops to the ground and goes for the cover again but he can’t get the three. Bulldog gets back to the feet and heads to the top rope but looks uncomfortable at the top and allows Stasiak to take advantage by shaking the ropes causing Bulldog to slip. Stasiak heads over to the corner and throws some punches the way of Bulldog but Smith returns with some punches of his own and he knocks Stasiak backward. Bulldog eventually gets back his balance and goes for a double axe handle but connects instead with a drop kick from Stasiak. Stasiak then gets back to his feet and lifts up Bulldog into the Death Valley Driver but Bulldog slides down the back and tries to hit the running powerslam but Stasiak counters dropping behind him before kicking Bulldog into the gut this time connecting with the Death Valley Driver for the three. Shawn Stasiak has someone got himself in the final four of the World Heavyweight Title Tournament! After the match, Stasiak left the ring and celebrated on the ramp with his IC Title. Can Stasiak go the distance?

Winner: Shawn Stasiak

After a short commercial break, we went backstage to Vince McMahon’s office where Vince was sitting with Diamond Dallas Page who will be in action later tonight against The Undertaker. Vince told DDP that he thought Smackdown was going far better than Raw just like he imagined. DDP agreed but promised Vince that the night still had the potential to get better and it would when he beats The Undertaker tonight to qualify for the next round of the World Heavyweight Championship Tournament. Vince nodded in approval at DDP and told him that he felt he Page had it in him to beat the Dead Man. A knock at the door was heard and in walked none other than Marc Mero’s former girlfriend, Torrie Wilson who was quick to congratulate Vince on the success of the show. Vince quickly got to his feet and told Torrie that she was looking incredible and kissed her hand. Torrie was very appreciative of Vince’s complement. DDP, who looked completely uncomfortable, told Vince that he had some other stuff to do and left his Vince’s office while Torrie and Vince made some odd looking faces at each other.

Thankfully, the show quickly returned to the ring and it was time for the third match of the night and this one was the match made last week on Smackdown between the third generation Superstar Randy Orton and the Tough Enough Winner, Maven. Randy Orton came down to the ring first and he was accompanied by his tag team partner Donovan Clark to an unfavourable response from the crowd, Michael Cole being quick to complement the early success of this team. Randy Orton got into the ring and tested the ropes while Donovan Clark stayed on the outside and clapped his partner on.

Maven’s music followed next and the crowd cheered on as the Tough Enough Winner came out to the ring to a decent pop from the audience and he looked totally thrilled to be there. Michael Cole said that he had never seen a WWF Superstar so happy to be in action than Maven and he wondered if Maven could possibly cause an upset tonight! Tazz thought….not.

As soon as Maven entered the ring, Randy Orton began to laugh shaking his head. Orton couldn’t believe that Maven actually had the guts to enter the ring with him and quickly got into Maven’s face but Maven showed no fear. Orton took a cheap shot and slapped Maven across the face but this only made Maven mad and he exploded with right hands to Orton. Maven then grabbed hold of Orton with all his strength wiped him hard against the ropes before sending him to the outside with a clothesline much to the crowd’s excitement. Orton couldn’t believe his eyes!

Orton yelled with frustration to Clark who told Orton to keep his calm and Orton cautiously entered the ring. An amused Maven gave Orton space to get back into the ring and the two men locked up in the centre. Orton took an advantage with a kick to the gut and put Maven used the ropes to his advantage making Orton break up the hold before planting Orton with a drop kick. The crowd went wild as an eager Maven hooked the leg of Orton but Orton kicked out with ease. Orton got back to his feet and went for a clothesline but Maven dodged the attack and went took Orton down to the mat with a leg scissors take down and went for the pin but Orton kicked out once more. A concerned Donovan Clark tried to interject himself into the match jumping onto to distract the referee catching Maven’s attention also. Maven got to his feet and took Clark off the apron with a right hand before walking straight into a forearm smash by Orton. Orton got back to his knees quickly and finished Maven off with the Overdrive for the win. Randy Orton just stole the win!

After the match, Donovan Clark got into the ring and he and Orton began to give Maven a beating. Luckily for Maven, Steve Blackman was quick to come to his rescue, Kendo Stick in hand. Donovan Clark tried to take on Blackman but got a huge crack of the stick for his troubles and Orton decided against any further attack and quickly dived out of the ring. Maven could have just been spared from a huge beating by Clark and Orton! You can be damn sure this one is no where near finished!

Winner: Randy Orton

We are then taken back to Highlights of Monday Night Raw when Chris Jericho took on Test for a shot at the WWF Championship at Backlash. Jericho won the match by hitting Test with the Lionsault but nothing should be taken away from Test who put up one hell of a match! Chris Jericho will fight The Rock at Backlash for the WWF Championship!

Next up is the Olympic Gold Medallist Kurt Angle who is backstage with Josh Matthews, moments away from his World Heavyweight Championship Tournament Match Up against The Heart Break Kid Shawn Michaels. Kurt Angle said that tonight could be the most important night of his wrestling career because Angle felt that this could be the night that he gets his life back on track. Angle reminds the fans that less than a year ago, he was the WWF Champion and he was one of the most popular Superstars now in the World Wrestling Federation and now…well now, he is treated as nothing more than some mid card wrestler who the company wouldn’t even want to put the Hardcore Championship on. Angle said he respected Shawn Michaels as a performer and as an athlete but Michaels is no Olympic Gold Medallist and tonight, Shawn Michaels was going to tap out to the Angle Lock! Shawn Michaels vs. Kurt Angle is NEXT!

Both men stood and faced each other as the bell went and they locked up in the centre of the ring. Kurt Angle quickly capitalises with a couple of arm drags before hitting Michaels with a huge backbreaker which gets him a two from the cover. Michaels gets back to his feet and gets whipped into the ropes before Angle hits him with a huge belly to belly suplex, Michaels making huge impact with the mat. Angle takes some time out to celebrate spinning in the ring but the crowd are not impressed and begin to boo Angle. Angle gets to the mat and locks HBK in a headlock talking down to him like he’s a wrestling amateur wrenching the neck but Michaels quickly adapts and starts to get back to his feet filling Angle’s gut full of right hands. HBK manages to escape the grasp of Angle and sends Angle into the ropes but Angle ducks the clothesline and locks HBK back in the head lock. Angle wrenches the neck some more before hitting HBK with a big belly to back suplex with the bridge but Michaels kicks out again! HBK is getting decimated here by the Olympic Gold Medallist.

Angle tried for the cover again but HBK kicked out on the two. Angle got back to his feet and dragged HBK up and sent him backwards with some right hands before going for another whip but this time Michaels grabbed hold of the ropes and kicked a huge shot to the face of Angle before taking him down with a swinging neckbreaker. HBK got back to his feet and hit Angle with three consecutive clotheslines before hitting Angle with a back body drop and went for the cover but Angle got the shoulder up. HBK got back to his feet and unleashed a bunch of right hands before taking with a shoulder block. HBK then hit Angle with a gut buster and got another 2 count. HBK brought Angle up against and whipped him once more into the ropes but Angle ducked his clothesline and hit HBK with a triplet of German suplexes each time HBK’s head crashing hard against the mat. Angle must have done it! Angle quickly hooks the leg of HBK but Michaels somehow gets the shoulder up! Angle has his head in hands!

Angle gets back to his feet and jumps up and down on the spot! He wants to finish HBK right here right now! Angle then goes for Angle Slam on HBK but HBK counters the move and hits Angle with the Sweet Chin Music! It’s got to be over………1……………….2……………Angle gets the shoulder up! I CAN’T BELIEVE IT! HBK didn’t get the job done with the Sweet Chin Music. HBK gets back to his feet slowly and heads up to the top rope but he has some problem climbing. As soon as he reaches the top, Angle shoots back to his feet and hits a top rope arm drag to the mat to the cheers to the applause from the crowd. Angle and HBK lay flat on their backs from a moment and Angle eventually makes the cover but HBK gets the shoulder up! Angle gets back up and pushes the referee but the referee pushes him back and Angle realises he is on dodgy ground but doesn’t look happy. Angle turns his attention back to HBK and drops his straps and locks in the Angle Lock on HBK who immediately looks in serious agony. HBK still crawls across the floor and manages to get to the bottom rope but Angle refuses to break the hold and wrenches HBK back out to the middle of the ring. Will HBK tap out? No! HBK uses his leg strength to roll Angle up and he pulls a miraculous three out of the bag! HBK did it! HBK is through to the next round! HBK quickly rolls to the outside and raises his arm up as Angle gets back to his feet in a look of shock knowing that this match had just been stolen from him!

Winner: Shawn Michaels

We head off to another promotional video. “The World’s Strongest Man” Mark Henry is returning to the World Wrestling Federation and he’s coming back soon.

We are now moments away from the Final First Round Match of the World Heavyweight Title Tournament and it’s between Diamond Dallas Page and the Undertaker. Which of these two Superstars will be victorious? Shawn Stasiak awaits the Victor! The Main Event is right after the commercial break!

We return from our final commercial break to the Main Event pitting The Undertaker vs. Diamond Dallas Page.

BANG! IT’S ME IT’S ME! IT’S DDP

Diamond Dallas Page’s music hits and DDP makes his way to the ring to some heat from the WWF crowd. Michael Cole said that DDP and The Undertaker have not had a pleasant history where just last year, DDP had stalked The Undertaker’s wife Sara! You can be sure The Undertaker would not have forgiven DDP for that “little” incident.

DEAD MAN WALKING!

Next out to the arena was The Dead Man who had a huge response from the audience. Taker walked down the ramp with a look of intent on his face staring right at his opponent. Could The Undertaker be Smackdown’s first World Heavyweight Champion?

The match kicked off with DDP and The Undertaker standing toe to toe both trading words instead of fists and the anticipation began to rise in the arena. DDP threw the first punch at the Dead Man but it wasn't long for the Undertaker respond and both men went back and forth with big right hand hooks. DDP was never going to win a fist fight with Big Evil and it wasn't long before The Undertaker had DDP cornered and beat him down with some hard shots before choking him with his boot. The Undertaker then backed out of the corner and allowed DDP to recover as The Undertaker raised his arms to the ground. The crowd were hot for The Undertaker here in Memphis! DDP got back to his feet and he and The Undertaker locked up. DDP took the advantage with a kick to the gut and folowed up with some punches before whiping the Undertaker into the ropes and taking him down with a Discus Clothesline. DDP thought he had the three but the man was delusional! Taker kicked out just after the one.

DDP brought Taker back to his feet and sent him into the corner where he smashed him with an elbow attack before mounting the turnbuckle and beating away on the face of the Dead Man. DDP then hit The Undertaker with a snapmare before drop kicking him to the back and going for another cover this time getting the two. DDP didn't waste anytime with the follow up and quickly got Taker back to his feet before hitting with another clothesline. DDP got back to his feet and taunted the crowd with his Diamond sign off before climbing up to the top rope and nearly landed himself in trouble! DDP, for some reason, tried to attack Taker with a crossbody but Taker caught him in mid flight and tried to plant DDP with the tombstone piledriver but DDP managed to wriggle free and rake the eyes and took Taker back to the floor with a huge shot to the back of the head. Michael Cole thought The Dead Man could have a concussion!

The impressive looking DDP put The Undertaker in a wrenching chin lock as he dominated this match up and the crowd got more and more behind The Undertaker. Tazz mentioned that if Page wins this match and it certainly looks like he would do, then there would be 2 former WCW Superstars in the last for of the World Heavyweight Title Tournament! What a crazy thought that is! Back to the match and The Undertaker began out of the chin lock but DDP refused to give up without a fight driving his knees into the back of The Undertaker. Taker still perceived and after a struggle, he managed to get back to a vertical base and began to take elbow shots at DDP and broke out of the hold. The Undertaker then took DDP down time after time with multiple clotheslines before hitting DDP with a huge back body drop. DDP out of instinct jumped back to his feet and got hit with the snake eyes to the crowds delight The Undertaker then following up with a big boot to the face. The Undertaker still wasn't done with DDP and brought him back to his feet going old school on the former three time WCW Champion before making the cover but DDP just got his shoulder up in the nick of time.

The Undertaker wasn't a happy man. How could it only be the 2? The Undertaker then rose to his feet and raised his arm back, he wanted to finish this off but DDP had other plans and stuck his thumb into the eye of The Undertaker gasping with air after the big hand of The Dead man began to crush his throat. DDP saw his opportunity and tried to hit Taker with the Diamond Cutter but The Undertaker chucked him to the ground and DDP yelled as his hit the ground. The Undertaker then raised his arm back once more and this time connected with the chokeslam to the approval of the WWF fans. The Undertaker wasn't done yet! Taker looked down at DDP who lay motionless on the mat and raised his right arm before bringing Page back to his feet and kicking him the Gut and Page went for his Last Ride! DDP was planted with force! The Undertaker dropped to the mat and hooked the leg of DDP and took the three. The Undertaker is through to the Semi Finals!

Winner - The Undertaker

After the bell rings The Undertaker gets back to his feet and raises his arms to the audience in all four corners of the ring gesturing around his waist that the World Heavyweight Title is coming to him. The Undertaker has managed to pull through a gruling match to guarantee himself a spot in World Heavyweight Title Tournament Semi Finals! Will The Undertaker be Smackdown's first World Heavyweight Champion? Stay Tuned to Find Out!

The show closes with a close up of The Undertaker's face one more time before the screen fades to black and the show comes to an end!

--

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Just to say I hope you all enjoyed the show. I thought Smackdown was probably better than RAW. It certainly came across that way in overall rating which was 78. Speaking of Ratings, i decided against putting them up this week but will reconsider for the next show. More World Heavyweight Title Tournament action to come next week on Smackdown! Thanks for reading Guys!

Eight Contenders…One World Heavyweight Champion

Smackdown Preview - March 28, 2002

Smackdown owner Vince McMahon made a huge announcement today regarding the future of the Smackdown Main Event by bringing in a new title to headline the Smackdown brand – the World Heavyweight Championship. “With Raw now in complete control of the WWF Title, Smackdown needed its own belt to identify who exactly is the premier wrestler on the Smackdown roster. The World Heavyweight Championship does just that”. Mr McMahon guaranteed that whoever wins the World Heavyweight Championship would have to be “pretty damn special” because he would have to go through seven other guys to get it. The first round will commence tonight with the second round commencing the following week. The final two competitors would then battle it out at Backlash to decide who will be crowned champion.

The Eight Competitors are:

The Undertaker (3 x WWF Champion)

Kane (1 x WWF Champion)

Shawn Michaels (3 x WWF Champion)

Kurt Angle (2 x WWF Champion, 1 x WCW Champion)

Diamond Dallas Page (3 x WCW Champion)

Shawn Stasiak (Current WWF Intercontinental Champion)

The British Bulldog (1 x WWF Intercontinental Champion)

Matt Hardy (5 x WWF Tag Team Champion)

All the matches will be drawn at random which means, anyone could meet anyone.

WWF Tough Enough Winner Maven will also be in action tonight when he takes on Randy Orton in a Singles Match following a war of words between the two last week on Smackdown and third generation wrestler Randy Orton has vowed to teach Maven a lesson. Could, the rookie, Maven shock the world tonight and defeat Orton?

Find out Thursday night at 9/8 CT on Smackdown on UPN

It was just like any other day for Vince McMahon. Just like always, Vince had his usual 6am wake up call from the luxury hotel he was staying at in Memphis, Tennessee before the most attractive looking hotel clerk brought him his egg whites and grapefruit juice just as he requested. But Vince wasn't feeling particularly enthusiastic today and as he looked in the mirror, he realised that, just like everyone else, he was getting old.

Vince: "Pull yourself together! You're a McMahon"

But with all his words, Vince knew that today was going to be a tough day. After all, tonight was the night that WWF Smackdown made it's big brand debut and Vince knew that it had to be one hell of a spectacle.

Vince: "It's time to get the show on the road..."

Vince was aware that rumours were flooding the wrestling websites and while he would have never admitted it to anyone who wasn't close to him, Vince began to have concerns about the roster split. After all, while the WWF would never admit to this, Raw had certainly been delt the better hand in terms of roster and that certainly did not make the impact that it was expected to on Monday Night. Vince continued to look at himself in the mirror, prodding and pulling in different places, fooling himself into believing that youth was still on his side. Vince often told himself that despite being married, he could have any woman in the world if he wanted to and that was probably true although Vince would probably dispute the reasons for their attraction.

Vince continued to watch himself like a hawk in the mirror until his mobile phone broke his concentration. While you may think that it would be outrageous for someone to call Vince at such hour, anyone in the business knew that Vince woke early and it was customery for Vince to get calls just after 6am. Vince grasped the phone and flipped it open - it was Jerry Lawler. Lawler had apparently been trying to contact Vince ever since last night to see if he was enjoying his suite. Lawler, the so called King of Memphis (at least in the wrestling world) had recommended this hotel to Vince for many years but this was the first time he had ever tried it. It certainly was "fit for a King".

Jerry Lawler wasn't on the phone for long. He spoke of his appreciation for giving him this opportunity to do something as major as this at this stage of his career and Lawler promised to do his best with such a prominent on-screen role and Vince had no doubt that he would. The question that remained however is whether the fans would like it. After the call, Vince quickly finished the remainder of his grapefruit juice before convening to the extravagent marble bath and shower room where he washed and prepped himself before getting his business face on.

*Knock Knock*

The door rattled. Vince couldn't find his tie anywhere!

Vince: "Who is it?"

Shane: "Hey Dad its Me! Look we've got a limo down stairs. We've gotta head off to the Pyramid arena right now. We've got things to discuss!"

Vince: "Alright Shane, gimme a minute!"

Shane: "We've gotta go now!"

Vince: "I SAID GIMME A DAMN MINUTE!"

Shane: "Alright Dad, I'm sorry! Look Stephanie and Paul are downstairs in the lobby. We'll meet you there."

Vince: "See you in a second"

Shane: "Oh and Dad....Tonight is going to be Great...."

Vince didn't answer. Shane knew immediately that something wasn't right but didn't dare ask...at least now. As for Vince, he just didn't have time for speculation. Vince knew there was a lot to sort out in a short period of time and tonight had to be spot on. Vince knew that the company had to stay vigilant. Just because there was no major competition anymore didn't mean that it would be like this forever and Vince knew there were people out there who would like nothing more than to stick it to him. After all, in the wrestling business, you can NEVER say never.

WRESTLING NEWS

Hello all and welcome to the latest wrestling scoop direct to your door step. It's been a while since our last major update and the boy are things changing!

- Reports backstage is that the World Wrestling Federation are generally not satisfied with the current quality of the shows. A source had leaked that while Vince McMahon had been one of the biggest supporters of the Roster split, it is thought that he, as is many others, is not particularly happy about the way the talent has been split with Raw looking to be by far the more dominant brand of the two. Most people backstage currently expect to see a fair amount of talent get unexpected pushes as well as the arrival of much needed new talent in the next few months.

- Sabu is currently getting a lot of heat off some of the wrestlers in the Raw locker room as they felt that not only was his 30 day punishment not severe enough considering his behaviour backstage but he also seems to be getting a push. Many people believe that the main reason that Sabu still has a job was down to Rob Van Dam who stuck in his corner while others were happy to see the back of him. One friend of RVD felt that Van Dam could severely damage his chances with the WWF if he tries to protect Sabu too much and hopes that if Sabu was to get into trouble again in the future, RVD would detach himself from it.

- Chris Benoit is reportedly doing extremely well following his major surgery last year and is expected to return to the WWF around July/August. Chris Benoit is thought to be extremely excited about returning to action and has insisted he has no preference on a brand. It is most likely that when Benoit returns, he will head off to Smackdown as they desperately need talent of that like of Benoit in it's current state.

- WWF Backlash is going to be a cross brand PPV featuring both Raw and Smackdown Superstars with the Main Event being The Rock vs. Chris Jericho for the WWF Championship. There has been no comment as to what part the Smackdown Main Eventers will play on the show but it is more than likely that Smackdown Superstars, The Undertaker, Kane, Kurt Angle and Shawn Michaels will be on the show.

Raw Brand News

- Test is reported to be extremely happy about being considered as a Raw Main Eventer especially since the Raw brand is considered to be the top brand of the two. Many felt that Test's confidence was severely knocked after The Undertaker refused to put him over at No Way Out but people now feel that is only a matter of time before Test is properly in the WWF title race.

- Chuck Palumbo was commended following his WWF title match with The Rock. While many doubted that Chuck would ever have the potential to be in a match of that calibre, Palumbo certainly held his own in the match and the current buzz backstage is that once Palumbo properly learns the WWF way of things and works on his mic skills some more, he might be able to go all the way to the top.

- Many backstage were glad to see Stone Cold's attitude return to show on this week's edition after many felt that Stone Cold had been going weak through and after the Invasion. But while many on the roster are happy with Austin's latest change, Stone Cold has been reportedly miserable backstage. While the reasons behind this are uncertain, some have suggested that Austin is finally starting to feel all the injuries he's had over the years and that it won't be too long before the Rattlesnake has to hang up his boots.

- Bradshaw was supposedly very unhappy about his low card status and has supposedly been telling friends backstage that he feels that he'll never get anywhere in the company while he's continually used as a fall guy for other talent and has openly commented that if his contract was not so length, he might try his luck in another federation. Bradshaw was scheduled to begin a feud with Hugh Morrus in the next few months but this plan was scrapped after Morrus was released from the company.

- Chavo Guerrero and Billy Kidman look likely to be teaming up in the near future after impressing onlookers in a dark match before Raw against OVW superstars Air Raid (Styles and Paris). One other thing to note is that Chavo Guerrero used the Frog Splash as his finisher last night which was previously used by his Uncle, Eddie Guerrero, during his tenure with the World Wrestling Federation.

Smackdown Brand News

- The Smackdown brand is thought to be under the watchful eye of many people under the WWF.com regarding fears that the brand doesn't have enough depth. One particular concern is the midcard level of the roster which is practically empty although some have questioned this means that the Cruiserweights will play a bigger role on Smackdown?

- Taiyo has been removed from the Smackdown Roster page on WWF.com. While there has been no news as of yet as to why he has been removed, many feel that he has no way near the expected impact he was meant to have in the World Wrestling Federation and it may not be long before he joins Hugh Morrus in the released section

- Many people have also been concerned about the scheduled match between Maven and Randy Orton on this week's episode of Smackdown. While it is no secret that Randy Orton is still relatively green, he is in no way as green as Maven who, despite huge amibition, is no where near competent enough as of yet to be a full time member of the Smackdown Roster. It will be interesting to see how Maven gets on against Orton on the show!

- The Undertaker is apparently very happy that he is on Smackdown Brand. While some superstars (Kurt Angle is believed to be one) have privately complained about being put on the show that doesn't air live, The Undertaker is thought to be of the opinion that the Smackdown brand would allow Wrestlers to relax more and enjoy themselves while Raw can be too tense at times. Rumours however have recently been a foot that with there now being two seperate brands, the WWF would look to put Smackdown Live in the future but obviously these are only suggestions.

A NEW NUMBER ONE CONTENDER FOR THE WWF TITLE

Raw - March 25, 2002

Monday Night Raw kicked off with Jerry Lawler sitting in his office welcoming all the WWF fans to the new era of sports entertainment. Lawler said that Monday Night Raw was the place to be to find all the top talents in the wrestling industry and that he intended to prove that tonight when he puts on the show of a life time topped off with the a huge Main Event match where Test will take on Chris Jericho for a shot at the WWF Championship at WWF Backlash. Lawler said that he hopes we enjoy the show.

Ooh ah ah ah ah!

Raw gets revamped with a new video to the music of“Down with the Sickness” by Disturbed as well as new fireworks, a new set and a new attitude. The new set isn’t too dissimilar from the old one but we get a new logo and a new angled titantron the show getting very much a broken metal make over. JR and Mick Foley welcome us to an “historic night in WWF history” and hyped up both the Main Event between Test and Chris Jericho as well as a WWF Championship Match later in the night between The Rock and his challenger, Chuck Palumbo. That match should be off the hook! (Wait…Tazz is on Smackdown isn’t he?)

Back at ringside, William Regal’s music started up and the WWF European Champion made his way to the ring for his European title defence. Regal was not a popular man with the fans and while he waved at them with the best intentions, or so he led us to believe, the fans only responded with boos. JR quickly reminded us that over the past few weeks, the European Champion had been using brass knucks to take out his opponents and that made, in JR’s eyes, William Regal a poor excuse for a human being.

Bradshaw’s music then hit the arena and the Big Texan made his way down to a small applause from the WWF fans. As Bradshaw made his way down the ramp and into the ring, Mick Foley spoke of how Bradshaw had been trying to keep his career going ever since his long term Tag Team Partner Ron “Faarooq” Simmons went down with an injury that promised to keep him out for at least 6 more months! DAMN!

The match kicked off with Regal trying to catch Bradshaw with a cheap shot but Bradshaw quickly spotted the danger and an exchange of right hands commenced. Bradshaw’s strength advantage over Regal meant that he, despite his time on the mean streets of Blackpool England, was unable to win this fist fight and delivered Bradshaw a thumb to the eye of the Big Texas before taking Bradshaw to the ground with a chop block to the back of the knee. Regal began to bring on the technical offensive planting Bradshaw with a double under hook suplex before following up with a knee to the face. Regal made the cover but Bradshaw got the shoulder up on the two and the match continued, despite Regal’s displeasure.

Regal continued to deliver a technical wrestling clinic planting Bradshaw with a variety of suplexes including a perfectly executed exploder suplex but he was still unable to get the job done and the crowd was starting to get on his back. The European Champion got down to the mat and locked in a Fujiwara armbar on the Texan but Bradshaw managed to fight out of the hold only to get a second thumb to the eye and put in a sleeper hold. But Bradshaw was not done and with the backing of the fans used all of his strength to break the hold. Regal tried to fight off the threat with some right hands but Bradshaw was just too strong and Regal got hit with a fallaway slam. Bradshaw attempted to finish the match off with the clothesline from hell but Regal ducked the clothesline and hit Bradshaw with a double knee strike. Regal quickly took advantage of the strike and locked in the Regal Stretch to make Bradshaw submit and retain his European Title.

Winner: William Regal

We head off to another promotional video. “The World’s Strongest Man” Mark Henry is returning to the World Wrestling Federation and he’s coming back soon!

We return from a commercial break to see Jeff Hardy already in the ring. He is soon joined by his opponent for the night Edge in a match that will surely enable two rising stars to display their talents for Jerry Lawler and the world to see.

The match kicked off with both wrestlers shaking hands in the middle of the ring in a show of good sportsmanship before locking up in the centre of the ring with both men trying to stamp their authority on the match. Edge took Jeff to the corner and delivered some right hands to Jeff but Jeff soon turned the tabled and retaliated in kind. Jeff grabbed hold of Edge and sent him with force into the ropes but missed the clothesline follow up and paying the price with a big spear from Edge. Edge went for the pin but Jeff Hardy somehow managed to kick out on the two and the match had to continue.

Edge wasted no time and quickly made his way up to the top rope connected almost immediately with a drop kick. Edge went for another cover but Jeff kicked out again. Edge knew he had to just keep plugging away. But neither man was going to be able to finish this match tonight! As soon as Edge got to his feet, the Glass Shattered in the arena and Stone Cold Steve Austin appeared at the entrance way and he didn’t look at all happy despite the huge cheers from the crowd. Austin quickly got into the ring and he went face to face with Edge who had no idea what was going on. Austin and Edge traded some words and Austin grinned. Austin suggested that Edge continue with his match up but just when Edge thought it was safe, Austin clobbered him from the back sending him to the ground and Austin stomped the Canadian right out of the ring. Jeff Hardy was next up and he got hit with a huge Stunner from the Rattlesnake, no one in the arena able to grasp just what was going on! Stone Cold quickly made his way out of the ring and went back to Edge and sent attacking him once more from behind before dropping him with the second stunner of the night. What the hell is going on here?

Winner – No Contest

After a short commercial break, we returned to the ring where Stone Cold was waiting with the microphone. The crowd were now incredible agitated, some even booing but Austin looked like he had something else on his mind. Austin said that at WrestleMania, something amazing happened. Austin said that somehow, Stone Cold Steve Austin actually was convincingly beaten by Kane at WrestleMania. Austin said he thought and he thought about what happened and he still couldn’t quite understand it. He is a Man’s Man! He was a Champion of Champions yet somehow, Kane managed to get the job done. But Stone Cold said he figured out what the problem was. He said that the reason that he lost the match was because he was going soft and the reason he had lost his edge was because of the WWF fans and that just pisses him off. But Stone Cold said that everything is going to change because from this point on, he no longer gives a damn what any of the people think. Stone Cold said that he is a Champion and Champions should have title belts and the Rattlesnake recommends that every single Champion on RAW better watch their back because that’s the bottom line and STONE COLD SAID SO! What?

Next up is the WWF Champion the Rock who is only moments away from his first WWF Title defence on the Raw brand taking on former WCW Superstar Chuck Palumbo. The Coach is the Rock’s interviewer tonight and The Rock quickly commented on the fact that despite the Raw brand claiming to have the top talent, they still have The Coach. The Rock said that he was surprised to see who his opponent was tonight and he felt that everyone in the world knew that Chuck Palumbo doesn’t hold a candle to him and that he wouldn’t stand a chance. The Rock did guaran-damn-tee that when he gets his real number one contender whether it be Canadian A or Canadian B, The Rock is going to do what he does best and that is that he is going to whoop their candyasses. The Rock vs. Chuck Palumbo for the WWF Championship is next!

The match kicked off with both men standing face to face only to have the Champ laugh in the face of his challenger. But Chuck wasn’t in the mood for humour and quickly knocked the Rock back with some huge right hands before whipping him hard into the ropes and dropping him with a big clothesline to a big reaction from the audience. Palumbo quickly followed up with a side slam and went for the cover but The Rock kicked out on the two. Chuck got back to his feet at The Rock with a backbreaker before going for the cover once more but The Rock kicked out again. Palumbo planted The Rock with a body slam before taking it to the top rope and went for an elbow drop but The Rock managed to get out of the way and Chuck crashed into the mat. The Rock looked to quickly capitalise on the slip and hit Palumbo with a DDT but only managed a two count. The Rock, unhappy not to have the match ended there went for a second cover attempt but Palumbo kicked out that as he did with the third cover attempt!

The Rock still couldn’t believe that the match wasn’t over and got back to his feet arguing with the referee but the referee told him to deal with it and that he only got the two. The Rock quickly turned his attention back to Palumbo and signalled for the Rockbottom but Palumbo fought out of the side slam with some elbows and the two men began to exchange some punches. Palumbo dropped The Rock with multiple clotheslines before dropping The Rock with a big back body drop that got the crowd going once more. Palumbo quickly followed with a big sidewalk slam that got the crowd dreaming of a title upset but it wasn’t to be! Palumbo tried to connect with the Jungle Kick but the only thing he found was the ropes as The Rock spotted the attack. The Rock grabbed Chuck from behind and hit him with a belly to back suplex before the ill tempered Champion went for Rockbottom once more, this time hitting the finishing move. He quickly makes the cover and gets the three count! After the bell sounds, The Rock gets back to his feet and angrily climbs up the turnbuckle raising his WWF Title to the crowd who boo him.

Winner: The Rock

After a quick infomercial from one of our sponsors, we head off to the announce table where JR told us that there had been an incident backstage during the WWF Title Match. We then jump back in time to earlier in the night to the backstage area. We are told that it all started while Mr Perfect was chatting away with Scotty 2 Hotty when Raven appeared out of no where and attacking Mr Perfect from behind with a steel chair. Raven yelled down at the bloodied Mr Perfect that he will stop at nothing till his Vengeance has been fulfilled before doing his crucifix pose and disappearing into the background while Scotty 2 Hotty tried to find some help. Mick Foley informed the fans that Mr Perfect apparently needed some stitches for the laceration on the back of his head but more importantly, has responded to Raven’s attacks by challenging him to a match at Backlash. What a huge match that could be!

Despite all six competitors raring to get the match started, it was the two ladies that kicked the match off with Trish spearing Daffney to the crowd unloading multiple right handed shots to the face of the Women's Champion. Trish totally dominated Daffney in the early goings planting her with move after the move before Ron Waterman had seen enough and injected himself into the match grabbing Trish and slamming her to the mat following a bulldog on Daffney. Waterman had sadistic ideas on his mind as he held Trish in his hand but Van Dam quickly broke up the danger with a flying thrust kick allowing Trish to tag out to Sabu who immediately went for Waterman. Sabu brought everything he had to Waterman with a multitude of kicks and punches sending Waterman backwards but Waterman managed to regain control with a clothesline following an Irish whip attempt. X-Pac got the tag in and immediately went to work on Sabu with some quick kicks before taking Sabu to the mat with his signature spinning heel kick. The cocky X-Pac raised his arms to the crowd looking for some crowd approval but all the crowd did was break out into an "X-Pac Sucks" chant. X-Pac took too long on making the cover and only got the 2 as a result and he had to bring Waterman back into the fold.

Waterman immediately continued where X-Pac left off and keeping Sabu in their half of the ring with some huge forearms to the back of Sabu. Waterman then picked Sabu off the mat and locked him in the bearhug submission move with the intention of squeezing the life out of his competitor but Sabu had the fans on his side and that was enough for him to fight on. Sabu first tried to power his way but when this option proved useless, Sabu did the only thing he could and that was to bite the nose of Waterman. The referee immediately called for the bell and disqualified Sabu, RVD and Trish for the illegal offence but that didn't stop the brawl from going on as all six opponents went at it in the centre of the ring. It wasn't long before Sabu and Van Dam cleared X-Pac and Waterman from the ring before both doing suicide planchas in unison onto their opponents leaving Trish and Daffney alone in the ring. Daffney swung off and missed with a clothesline but Trish didn't miss with the Lou Thez Press. Meanwhile on the outside, RVD and Sabu brought out the weapons and Sabu didn't take long to toss the first chair into the face of X-Pac while Van Dam used the drop toe hold manoeuvre to send Ron Waterman face first into the steel steps. Inside the ring, Trish didn't take long to finish Daffney off with the chick kick while on the outside, Sabu bodyslammed X-Pac to the floor to which RVD followed up with some rolling thunder. Waterman was next to eat chair Sabu tossing the same chair he used on X-Pac straight into the face of Waterman before Sabu picked up a second chair and Van Dam hit Waterman with the Van Daminator. RVD and Sabu eventually join Trish back in the ring and they all raise their arms to the cheers of the crowd. Waterman, X-Pac and Daffney may have won the match but it looks like RVD, Sabu and Trish have won the war here tonight!

Winners: Ron Waterman, X-Pac and Daffney Unger

After the final commercial break, Test makes his way down to the ring for the Main Event and this match decides who the number one contender for the WWF Championship is. Test gets heavily booed from the audience who haven’t been impressed the type of guy Test is turning into despite his impressive performances against The Undertaker and The British Bulldog. Next up was Chris Jericho who, just 2 weeks ago, screwed cost Vince McMahon his WrestleMania match which allowed Jerry Lawler to keep his share of the company and split the World Wrestling Federation into two separate brands. Jericho gets into the ring and salutes the audience who are firmly behind Jericho in this huge match up.

The match started with both men going at it in the centre of the ring. Jericho chopped away on Test sending him straight to the corner before bashing his head on the turnbuckle and delivering some more chops. Jericho then plants Test with a standing dropkick and quickly gets down for the cover but only gets the two. Jericho doesn’t give Test a second to recover bringing him back to his feet and hitting him with some stiff chops. Jericho pulls the arm of Test and sends him into the ropes and goes for a back body drop but Test grabs the ropes, kicks Jericho in the face and then clotheslines him to the ground. Test delivers Jericho with a swinging neckbreaker before making a cover but he only gets the two. Test thought he had the match won.

Test propped Jericho up in the corner and hit him with a huge running splash knocking the lights out of the fan favourite before beating him in the corner with some more right hands. Test decided to send him into the opposite corner and splash him once again taking a page out of the book of the Undertaker before hitting Y2J with a full nelson slam and made yet another pin fall attempt but still the two. Test begins to lose him temper and shouts at the referee but the referee sticks by his judgement and Test has to continue. Test went for the Big Boot on Jericho but Jericho managed to get out of the way and Test just avoided the ropes but couldn’t avoid more fists from Jericho followed by a Spinning Heel Kick. Jericho decided to take it to the top rope to the delight of the audience and went for a missile drop kick but Test avoided the attack but this didn’t stop Jericho for long who quickly took his feet from under him and locked in the walls of Jericho. Test looks in deep trouble but somehow just manages to get to the bottom rope in the nick of time and Jericho is forced to break up the hold. Jericho however refuses to let go of the hold at first and the referee had to pull him off allowing Test some time to recover but Test doesn’t take advantage of the situation missing a clothesline and Jericho takes Test to the mat with a bulldog before hitting the Lionsault for three! Jericho is the new Number One Contender for the WWF Championship.

Winner: Chris Jericho

After the bell rings, Jericho immediately goes to the outside and begins to celebrate with some fans but his celebration is cut short by the sound of The Rock’s entrance music. The WWF Champion and the Number One Contender lock eyes and exchange some words. In just 13 days, The Rock will go one on one with Chris Jericho for the WWF Championship at Backlash. Will we see a new WWF Champion?

--

Author's Note

Hope you like the new layout. I'm currently trying very hard to get a layout that actually gives you guys some half decent play by play without being overly long and still having all the segments in them. I hope I have somewhat achieved this with this latest format but I'd love to hear from and what you think about it. I am also going to be trying a few new things in the next few shows to get you guys more involved in the diary and provide you with some different bits and pieces to make the whole thing a bit more exciting than just continuous rolls of storyline. I'm also going to start adding segment and match scores to the results so you can see how bad/good everything is going. This week's RAW score was a lowly 73. Thanks for reading guys!

Seeing as they're getting more and more of the Premiership/FA Cup (as well as a lot of European leagues), I'm thinking of subscribing. Does anyone here get it, and if so what's the coverage like? Do they have some decent presenters/commentators or is it basically another ITV?

Basically, is it worth the £15 a month?

that or you could get Lesnar to chase you up the cell and then knock him off the top a few times. Will wear down even the strongest of guys.

THE NEW BEGINNING

Raw Preview - March 25, 2002

This week, Raw will begin a new era under the sole control of WWF Co-Owner Jerry Lawler after the World Wrestling Federation split into two separate brands following the inability for neither Co-Owner to co-operate with the other. Tonight Raw emanates from Mobile, Alabama for an action packed of Sports Entertainment.

With only two RAW’s left before Backlash, the first PPV since the Roster Split, the WWF Champion, The Rock, is looking surprisingly confident that no one will take his WWF Championship from him yet there are those that disagree. One man in particular is Chris Jericho who has seemingly been a thorn in the champ’s side ever since he made his return at WrestleMania but last week on Smackdown, The Rock struck back against Jericho removing him from the show so that he could use underhanded tactics against his opponent The Undertaker who The Rock has frequently faced since WrestleMania. Jericho has not been perturbed by The Rock’s actions on Smackdown and wants at shot at The Rock’s WWF Championship. Will Jericho get his shot tonight on Raw?

Last week, Test made his feelings on Smackdown when he told the WWF fans that he was sick about being overlooked calling Jerry Lawler a “liar”. Test felt that he deserved to be properly utilised and demanded that Lawler make good on his promise “or else”. Will Lawler succumb to Test’s threats or will he stand tall?

WWF European Champion William Regal will also be in action tonight when he takes on Bradshaw for the title. Regal has been incredibly efficient in the past few weeks using brass knucks against his opponents to win the matches but can he maintain his fortune now he is a member of the Raw roster?

Find out all this and more on Raw, Monday night at 9/8 CT on TNN.

For some reason, Darkness Falls creeped the hell out of me. I wouldn't go to the bathroom which was through a dark room after watchng that movie. It wore off quick, but for those first few minutes after the movie I was like "DAMN" and wasn't moving out of the light.

ALL SQUARE IN INDIANA

Smackdown - March 21, 2002

The World Wrestling Federation kicked off it's new dual brand era with The RAW and Smackdown brands going head to head for the first time ever in Indianapolis, Indiana on WWF Smackdown in what promised to be an explosive night of Sports Entertainment.

The show kicked off with Smackdown Owner Vince McMahon coming to the ring to let a few things off his chest. Vince McMahon told the WWF fans that although he felt the draft had not gone in his favour at the beginning of the night, Vince now feels confident about the Smackdown brand has all the potential to become the dominant brand in this company. Vince said that ever since the rosters were drafted, his phone has been going none stop with Wrestlers from all around the world who want nothing more than to be a part of the Smackdown brand and Vince said that he would damn sure be giving everyone an opportunity to prove themselves. Vince told the crowd that tonight was instrumental in the success of Smackdown because tonight the Smackdown Superstars would go head to head with RAW Superstars and Smackdown and to show it's dominance. Vince said that he believed that despite many people questioning the locker room mentality of the Smackdown Superstars, Vince told the crowd that they were strong and that tonight, they were going to grasp hold of the neck of Jerry Lawler and RAW and squeeze the life from it. But then.....

...Jerry Lawler made his way down to the ring to confront Vince's comments. Lawler told Vince that he was surprised to see Vince so joyful considering his draft demolition last Monday Night on RAW. Lawler said that it wasn't just clear that the RAW brand had more star power than Smackdown but the RAW brand also had more attraction power than it and that the RAW brand had been hot in negotiations all through the week. Vince called Lawler a liar and told the audience that he was bluffing but nobody was quite sure what Lawler was up to. Lawler then told all the WWF fans that if they were interested in Real Sports Entertainment unlike this joke of a brand called Smackdown, fans should tune in to TNN next Monday for the grand opening of the New RAW. Lawler's music hit the arena again and he left the ring with a huge grin on his face as Vince McMahon looked on dejected.

The first match of the night was the huge tag team match with the Intercontinental Champion Shawn Stasiak and the Olympic Gold Medallist Kurt Angle representing Smackdown taking on the RAW team of Rikishi and Scotty 2 Hotty. Considering the quality of the Smackdown team, one wouldn't have been surprised if this match had of only lasted a short period of time but the RAW tag team had an impressive outing. Scotty played the majority of the match as the face in distress with both Angle and Stasiak providing tough beat downs on the little fella before Scotty managed to make the hot tag out to his partner Rikishi who looked on top form bringing the fight to both of his competitors. Rikishi nailed Stasiak with the Savate Kick but took his eyes off the legal man Kurt Angle for a second too long and Angle punished him nailing him with a huge forearm to the back of the head before planting him with the Angle Slam for the win. (Smackdown lead RAW 1-0)

Test was the next man out to come to the squared circle and it was the first time the WWF fans had since him, minus a very short appearance on RAW, since WrestleMania. Test said that last Monday on RAW, Jerry Lawler proved to every RAW Superstar just what sort of a man he was when he lied to every RAW Superstar and Fan of the WWF. Test was angry that Lawler said that Test had a huge future on RAW yet Lawler didn't even have the respect to put him on the huge Smackdown vs. RAW card that even includes people like Raven! "What's that Aboot?" Test said that he's been in this company too long to be treated like that and he demands some damn respect. Or else. Did Test just threaten the Owner of RAW?

The WWF Hardcore Champion Key was up next and looked to level the score for RAW when he took on the legendary Al Snow in Hardcore action. Key and Snow fought tooth and nail through the match with both wrestlers using an array of weaponry on each other but Al was unable to hold off the double attack of both the Champion and his Agent Charles Wright, Wright eventually making the breakthrough attacking Snow from behind with a vicious chair shot before Key hit Snow the Face Eraser to pick up the win. Key held on to his title for another week and the question that must still be going through everyone’s mind is whether anyone can actually beat him for that Hardcore Title? (RAW 1 - 1 Smackdown)

Smackdown's night didn't get any better when the WWF European Champion William Regal defeated The British Bulldog in the third match up of the night. Regal won the match by utilising the brass knucks once more to take out his opponent after miscommunication between the wrestlers and the referee led to Bulldog unintentionally knocking the referee out with a huge clothesline. Regal quickly left the ring after the match clutching onto his WWF European Title belt and Michael Cole and Tazz both felt that Regal could certainly prove himself to be handful in the future on RAW. (RAW 2 - 1 Smackdown)

Next up was another hype video for the “World’s Strongest Man” Mark Henry who is returning to action in 3 weeks time.

Maven got his first real taste of Third Generation Arrogance when his conversation with Steve Blackman was rudely interrupted by Randy Orton and his tag team partner, Donovan Clark. Orton looked Maven up and down before telling Clark that he is just like he expected before attempting to walk off but Maven grabbed hold of Orton's arm and immediately got his attention. Orton demanded an explanation but Maven got back in his face and told Orton that if he's got something to say, why doesn't he just come out and say it to his face. Orton told Maven that he better read a couple of books about wrestling because Orton said he was the wrong person to disrespect. Maven said to Orton that if he wanted his respect, he'd have to earn it causing both Orton and Clark to laugh. Orton and Clark then looked like they were about to start something but Blackman stepped in the way and protected the rookie. Orton told Maven that he wanted his ass in a match, next week at the first edition of the new Smackdown show and Maven accepted! Is Maven crazy?

Smackdown's night wasn't the only thing that was on the slide as Chris Jericho was found lying on the floor unconscious and bloodied just moments away from his match with the Big Red Monster Kane. The WWF Champion The Rock was on the scene and had told people that Kane had to be culprit. One of the security guys barked out orders into a walkie talkie to secure Kane and to review the tapes. This could be serious!

Over a week ago, Shawn Michaels told the wrestling world that, despite the injury of his best friend, he would be returning to the squared circle and he was ready for a fight. Raven, who one week ago beat Rob Van Dam for the 1,2,3, rose to the challenge and took the fight to the Heart Break Kid but was unable to put him away following a Superplex off the top rope. Raven tried to put Michaels away with the Raven Effect but HBK countered before planting Raven with the Tear Drop Suplex but he like Raven was unable to get the pin! HBK hasn't used that move since the early 90s! The match continued with with a lot of back and forth action before Michaels hit Raven with a belly to back suplex before going up top and scoring with the flying elbow. Michaels ended the match as he usually does tuning up the band and planting Raven with the Sweet Chin Music for the win and the crowd were highly delighted with his third victory in a row! But while the crowd were delighted, Raven was less amused with his loss and Raven attacked Michaels from behind with a low blow before he began to choke his opponent on the mat. Thankfully, Mr Perfect quickly came to HBK's aid causing Raven to clear the ring and leave through the crowd. Mr Perfect helped HBK back to his feet and HBK raised Perfect's arm to the applause of the crowd. (Smackdown and RAW are now tied on 2)

Backstage the tension was rising in both locker rooms as we approached our fifth match. Michael Cole announced that the next match pitted Rob Van Dam and Sabu against The Dudley Boyz in a Non Title Hardcore Tag Team Match.

Before we went off to the match, we joined The Rock who was backstage with The Coach. The WWF Champ told The Coach that he had to apologise if he was off but after the horrific attack on his good buddy Chris Jericho, he didn't feel all that with it this evening. But The Rock did have one message for all of his colleagues in the back of WWF fans and that The Rock didn't give a damn about this brand war. The Rock added that the only thing The Rock cares about is himself and it doesn't matter how many matches Smackdown win or how many RAW win because the real brand winner is the brand that has The Rock!

Following a commercial break we return to the ring for some Hardcore Tag Team action between Sabu and RVD and the WWF Tag Team Champions the Dudley Boyz. Rob Van Dam and Sabu get huge pops from the WWF fans as they make there way to the ring but the same can’t be said for the Smackdown representatives who, despite representing the Smackdown brand, are certainly not liked by the Smackdown fans. Michael Cole reminds the WWF fans that all four of these men had history back in ECW and Tazz said that this match will be totally off the hook as all four opponents square off in the ring. RVD and Bubba Ray eventually agree to kick the match off and Bubba Ray wastes no time in talking smack to Van Dam. Bubba goes for a cheap shot and just like that, the match is under way with both wrestlers trading punches and holds for several minutes. Bubba tries to counter a kick from Van Dam gets hit with an enzuigiri for all of his troubles and all hell breaks loose with D-Von and then Sabu and brawl commences first in the ring and then on the outside. It wasn’t long till the weapons were introduced with Bubba getting sent hard into the steel steps before Van Dam brought out a couple of tables from under the ring as well as assorted weaponry and brought it all into the ring while Sabu hit D-Von with an Asai Moonsault on the other side of the ring. Van Dam brought Bubba back to the ring and beat him down on the ground before setting up one table in the middle and resting the other on in the corner with the help of Sabu. Van Dam and Sabu planted Bubba with a Rolling Thunder Springboard combination before going for the pin but D-Von broke up the count just in the nick of time. D-Von hit Rob Van Dam over the back with a steel chair before taking a page out of Sabu’s book throwing the chair into his face getting a big cheer from the crowd. Unfortunately for D-Von his domination wouldn’t last Van Dam quickly countering his Irish whip attempt into the propped up table before sending himself and D-Von through the table with a rolling thunder splash. Sabu torn between his partner and Bubba got hit with a low blow by Bubba who then followed up on Sabu with the Bubba Bomb to number of boos from the WWF audience. Bubba however had no intention of stopping there and smartly went back for the hurt RVD and sent R-V-D through the other table with a Powerbomb. Bubba tried to make the pin but Sabu broke it up and Bubba and Sabu then traded some more punches. Bubba went for the Bubba Cutter but Sabu countered quickly grabbing hold of a chair and throwing it into the face of Bubba before using the chair one more time to plant Bubba’s head on after a springboard tornado DDT to pick up the win! Sabu and RVD beat that WWF Tag Team Champions! What a huge victory! (RAW 3-2 Smackdown)

-It was now main event time, and it was one of the biggest main events in recent memory for Smackdown with both RAW and Smackdown’s reputations lying in the balance! The WWF Champion The Rock came down to a chorus of boos from the fans while The Undertaker received a huge ovation as he made his way down to the ring. Both men exchange words as the referee checks both men who no doubt have a long and violent history including this year’s Main Event of WrestleMania. The Rock and Taker continued a war of words until The Rock told The Undertaker to just bring it and both men kicked the match off with a huge brawl. The Rock took The Undertaker into the corner and unleashed some right hands but the crowd quickly got behind The Undertaker and soon the rolls were reversed. Both men continued to trade right hands back and forth around the ring before the fight spilled to the outside where The Undertaker took control with some more fists. The Rock countered an Undertaker whip and sent The Undertaker into the steel steps before dropping him with a huge forearm smash knocking Taker down to the ground. The Rock brought The Undertaker back into the ring and locked him in the sharpshooter and tried to get the Dead Man to tap out but his attempt was in vain as The Undertaker made it to the ropes with ease. But The Rock never gave up and continued to keep on top of his opponent nearly taking the win with a Samoan drop. The Undertaker managed to turn the tides by reversing an Irish whip attempt from the WWF Champ and planted him with a huge running DDT. The Undertaker decided to then go old School on the Brahma Bull to the applause from the fans but The Undertaker couldn’t put The Rock away. The Undertaker went for the chokeslam on the Champ but The Rock countered the move and planted The Undertaker with a DDT taking both men out of the picture temporarily. But while both men were flat out on the floor, Kane’s pyros exploded in the arena and the Big Red Monster made his way out to the ring much to the surprise of everyone in the audience. Kane was supposed to be incarcerated! The Rock looked on in fear as the Monster approached the ring and Michael Cole announced that he’s just got word from backstage that Kane was released from security guard custody after video evidence had suggested that Kane was not in fact that person who attacked Chris Jericho. It was The Rock! Kane got in the ring and stood face to face with the WWF Champ and both men looked like they were both about to go at it with Heyman screaming in the background as The Undertaker tried to get back to his feet when all of a sudden, the Monster turned and he grabbed hold of the Dead Man instead and chokeslammed him to the mat! What the hell is going on here?!!! Kane stood over the lifeless body of The Undertaker in some sort of trance as Paul Heyman climbed into the ring and he shook the hand of the WWF Champion. The Rock is smiling!! What the hell is going on here? The show ended with Heyman holding up the arms of his client Kane and the WWF Champion the Rock! (Smackdown and Raw end the show with tied scores at 3 all as The Undertaker won the match by DQ)

RESULTS

Shawn Stasiak and Kurt Angle def. Rikishi and Scotty 2 Hotty

Key def. Al Snow

William Regal def. The British Bulldog

Shawn Michaels def. Raven

Rob Van Dam and Sabu def. The Dudley Boyz

The Undertaker def. The Rock via DQ

SMACKDOWN VS. RAW

Smackdown Preview - March 21, 2002

Tonight the World Wrestling Federation rolls into Indianapolis, Indiana for a very special edition of Smackdown where the Smackdown Superstars will go head to head with the Raw Superstars for the very first time in a night that will surely symbolise the end of one whole WWF brand. RAW and Smackdown Owners Jerry Lawler and Vince McMahon are both highly excited about the show and both feel that tonight is the night that their respective brand can show the other why they will be the dominant brand in the WWF.

So what are the rules and who is going to be facing who? "Well for Starters.." said Jerry Lawler, "none of the titles will be on the line tonight". Vince McMahon added "Humiliating the opposition is the only goal and I can hardly wait. Tonight the Smackdown brand is going to choke the life out of the RAW brand just like I did to WCW!". With such evident animosity between the two brand owners, you can be sure that tonight's Smackdown will not be one to miss!

THE LINE UP

The Rock vs. The Undertaker

Rob Van Dam and Sabu vs. The Dudley Boyz

Raven vs. Shawn Michaels

Chris Jericho vs. Kane (w/Paul Heyman)

William Regal vs. The British Bulldog

Key (w/Charles Wright) vs. Al Snow

Rikishi and Scotty 2 Hotty vs. Kurt Angle and Shawn Stasiak

THE DRAFT HAPPENS

RAW - March 18, 2002

For the past week, everyone in the world of wrestling has been speculating what would go down with the WWF. Would the roster split take place? Which WWF superstars would go where? Tonight provides fans everywhere with the nights they were waiting. Tonight everything goes down and it happened only on Monday Night Raw!

We kick of the show in the arena and JR and Mick Foley expressed the excitement for a show that promised to live in the memory for the WWF fans. Tonight would be the first time in WWF history that the company would be split in two, right down the middle and nobody could wait to see what would happen. We caught a quick glimpse of the podium at the top of the ramp where it was suggested the Co-Owners of the WWF would make their announcements before we were taken backstage to show the entire WWF roster congregating in a big room waiting which show they’d be on.

The first man to step into the arena was none other than Jerry Lawler and the crowd go wild. JR reminded the fans watching that Jerry Lawler had chosen RAW brand to be his brand and that Lawler has promised everyone involved with RAW currently that the future will be bright and by God, JR believed him. Lawler headed off to the podium and said that he was glad to be the man who was opening up this momentous occasion and guaranteed that with him as the head of the RAW brand, RAW was going to enjoy many more years of exciting Sports Entertainment and he couldn’t wait to get his hands dirty. Vince McMahon however didn’t share the same feelings for his brand. Vince burst out through the entrance, mic already in hand, and was furious with Lawler. Vince said that despite Lawler’s involvement with the future of RAW, whether he likes it or not, the records will show that WWF RAW was invented by Vincent Kennedy McMahon and anything he ever achieves will be thanks to Vincent Kennedy McMahon. Lawler agreed with Vince and told him that he’d make sure that when RAW is the number one brand in Sports Entertainment to credit him as the man who created the brand that later came back to annihilate him out of the Sports Entertainment business. Vince was furious but the fans loved it. After the crowd cooled down, Lawler got down to business. Lawler said that there had been rumours going through the day about who his first pick. He said that some speculated incorrectly while others guessed right. Nevertheless, the RAW brand’s first pick is the WWF Champion….The Rock!

…The Rock’s music hit the arena and the crowd booed as the WWF Champions stats came up on screen. JR said that The Rock wasn’t in the building at the moment but the crowd but he thought that The Rock was going to be not pleased about being part of Lawler’s new administration. Vince McMahon was not happy and he quickly stormed off to the back. It looks like we’re going to an unscheduled commercial break.

When the show returned, Vince McMahon was backstage with his group. All three of his henchmen tried to offer him advice but Vince told them that he would call them up as soon as he knew it was safe to. Vince was paranoid that Lawler was playing mind games and Vince said that he didn’t want to fall for any mind games. Therefore, Vince proclaimed that he was going to go out to that ring and announce that his first pick was none other than Chris Jericho. However, just as Vince made this decision, Paul Heyman seemed to dive through the air begging Vince to reconsider. Heyman told Vince that he and Vince have a long history and Heyman was the first to admit that their relationship wasn’t always wonderful. However, Heyman advised Vince that hiring someone of the calibre of Chris Jericho was an immense mistake. Heyman said he knew that Vince wanted his revenge and Heyman respected that. But Heyman felt that Jerry Lawler wasn’t looking for someone like Jericho, he didn’t want “yes men”. Heyman said what Jericho wanted was people like Kane, men who are the “future” of the company. Heyman told Vince that Kane is not your mere mortal of a man like Jericho. Kane is 7ft tall. Kane weights 320lbs and at WrestleMania, Kane destroyed Stone Cold Steve Austin in a Last Man Standing Match but Vince wasn’t particularly sold on the idea. Vince told Heyman that he’d think about it on the way to the ring.

We next had another hype video for the “World’s Strongest Man” Mark Henry who is returning to action sometime soon.

After the hype video, we returned back to ring side where Vince McMahon was seen standing by the podium. Vince said that his next pick was a huge decision to make but he has decided, possibly against his better judgement, that the Smackdown brand’s first pick would be……“The Big Red Monster” KANE. Kane’s music immediately hit the arena and his stats were shown on the titantron. Vince’s celebratory moment did not last more than a few seconds as Jerry Lawler joined him back in the arena. Lawler told Vince that he was impressed with Vince’s insight and congratulated Vince on the excellent choice in signing Kane. But Lawler told Vince that he felt that his next choice could easily make just as big an impact as Kane on RAW because Lawler’s next choice was…..CHRIS JERICHO. The crowd went wild as Jericho’s music hit the arena but Vince couldn’t believe his ears. Vince wanted revenge on Jericho but now he’ll never be able to get his hands on him!

Backstage, Matt and Jeff Hardy were walking towards the ring which could only mean one thing. The Tag Team Title Triple Threat Match was NEXT!

When the show returned the Hardy Boyz, Ron Waterman and X-Pac and the WWF Tag Team Champions the Dudley Boyz fought tooth and nail to keep their chances of being a team alive as well as getting their hands on some WWF Tag Team Gold. Ron Waterman and X-Pac, to the surprise of fans, took the advantage of the early goings of the match, Waterman nearly scoring the pin fall on Jeff Hardy following a Spinebuster but Bubba Ray Dudley somehow got back into the ring and made the save. After much back and forth action from all three teams, it was the Dudley Boyz who stole the victory from the hands of X-Pac and Ron Waterman, X-Pac planting Jeff Hardy with the X-Factor but Matt Hardy came into the ring and took him to the outside allowing an opportunistic D-Von Dudley to slide back into the ring and make the cover while everyone else was occupied. After the match, the Dudley Boyz quickly made their exit back up the ramp way taunting X-Pac and Waterman with their title belts as Matt Hardy looked down at his brother Jeff bitterly disappointed. Is this the end of the Hardy Boyz?

We returned to Vince McMahon backstage and he was livid. He yelled at DDP telling him that he couldn’t believe that Chris Jericho was called up to RAW. Vince said that he wanted revenge and he told DDP that he was going to get it. Vince’s office door smashed open and through it walked The Undertaker and the Dead Man did not look happy. Taker told Vince that he didn’t care who he wanted to call up next, Taker said he wanted in on Smackdown and he wanted Kane. Vince furiously told The Undertaker that he couldn’t talk to him like that but The Undertaker grabbed hold of Vince by his jacket and strung him up against the wall. Taker told Vince that either he is Vince’s next choice or The Undertaker promised that Vince’s choice would be his last. McMahon hastily agreed with The Undertaker to make him his next pick and Taker let him down giving Page a harsh look before he left the office. Page tried to straight up Vince’s jacket but Vince was in no mood for niceties. It looks like The Undertaker is Vince McMahon’s 2nd pick!

The second match of the night featured the WWF Women’s Champion Daffney Unger taking on an unknown female wrestler by the name of Christina. Unger made easy work of her opponent with opponent albeit with some sloppy work. Unger finished off her opponent with a hurricanranna which she then followed up with her trademark jumping DDT to retain the WWF Women’s Title.

Backstage Jerry Lawler is looking at a profile on a clipboard. Lawler said to himself that this next pick is going to make Vince McMahon’s night even worse.

When the show returned from the commercial break, Jerry Lawler was out in front and he was raring to tell the world his next pick. Lawler told the world that he knew this one was going to make all the fans and he was damn sure that JR would happy because WWF Raw’s next pick was…..STONE COLD STEVE AUSTIN.

Backstage Vince McMahon was watching the TV with Diamond Dallas Page and Vince was shaking his head. Vince wouldn’t believe what was going down here. Vince told Page that Lawler has got three of the best WWF Superstars in the business and it was damn wrong. Vince said that his next pick was certainly going to make up for it though because his next pick was HBK Shawn Michaels!

Further backstage, Jerry Lawler’s number one pick, the WWF Champion, The Rock is walking backstage when he is halted by the Coach who says he has news for the WWF Champion. The Rock didn’t look one bit happy and told The Coach that he refused to answer any questions about the draft but Coach told him it had nothing to do with it. The Coach said that Jerry Lawler had made a match tonight with The Rock and he would be teaming up with his RAW brand colleague Chris Jericho against Smackdown’s own Kane and The Undertaker!

The next match of the night saw the WWF Hardcore Champion Key take on Sabu, fresh of the back of a 30 day suspension, in a Hardcore Title Match. This match was the first time the two opponents had faced each other since No Way Out and both men fought tooth and nail to get their hands on the WWF Hardcore Title. Charles Wright played a huge factor at the beginning of the match assisting Key in the beat down of Sabu on the outside both men whipping him hard into the steel steps. However, Charles Wright did not escape the night unscathed as Sabu sent Wright crashing through a table via the Air Sabu for getting too involved in his business. Key, despite having a major concern for his agent’s welfare, kept it together to retain his WWF Hardcore Title moving off the table just as Sabu went for his Flying Arabian Skullcrusher causing Sabu to crash and burn through the thick table wood and all Key had to do with make the cover. Key needed to be helped up after the match but it didn’t change the fact that the current WWF Hardcore Champion was on one hell of a run of form!

After another commercial break, we returned to the arena with Jerry Lawler who announced that his fourth draft pick for Monday Night RAW was a man that had proven this year that he could hang with the big players in the WWF. Lawler said that he hoped that this on RAW, this man could take the step up to the Main Event permanently and he would do everything he could to make sure he gets there – The Raw brand’s fourth pick was TEST.

The show went backstage to the room where all the WWF Superstars were congregating and Test didn’t look happy. JR and Foley commented that Test certainly had Main Event Material but while they did, Vince McMahon made his way to the top of the rap and joined Lawler. Vince said that he was impressed with The King’s picks so far but Vince said that he finally outsmarted him. Vince said that while Test is no doubt a great superstar who he’d love to have on the Smackdown roster, Vince’s fourth pick was a man who had WWF Title Gold and he is the WWF Intercontinental Champion Shawn Stasiak. Lawler laughed off Vince’s call and said that he admired Vince’s attempt to out play him but two can play this game. Lawler said that in light of Vince’s decision, his firth roster pick for the RAW brand would be the WWF European Champion William Regal. An unhappy Vince said he wouldn’t be beaten by these games and told the fans that if Lawler picked Regal four his Fifth pick then his fifth pick would have to be someone of “Olympic” proportions to out do him. That is why Vince McMahon’s 5th pick for WWF Smackdown was none other than the Olympic Gold Medallist and former WWF and WCW Champion, Kurt Angle!

JR and Mick Foley quick take some time out to recap on the first 10 picks in the WWF roster draft.

The RAW brand have drafted 1)The Rock (The WWF Champion), 2)Chris Jericho, 3)Stone Cold Steve Austin, 4)Test and 5)William Regal (WWF European Champion), while The Smackdown Brand have drafted 1)Kane, 2)The Undertaker, 3)Shawn Michaels, 4)Shawn Stasiak (WWF Intercontinental Champion) and 5)Kurt Angle.

After a short advert, the WWF returned to more in ring action pitting the Heart Break Kid Shawn Michaels against Marc Mero. This match was a quick one that was only ever going to go one way. Mero tried to take the advantage of coming to the ring first jumping HBK before he even got to his feet in the ring and beat down on Michaels with some huge clubbing blows. Everyone knows by now though that HBK only needs a second to turn the match and it didn’t take long for Michaels to reverse an Irish whip attempt before planting him with the Sweet Chin Music for the 1, 2, 3. After the match, HBK grabbed hold of a microphone and told the fans that he can’t quite believe how quickly the wrestling industry changes and that RAW had been a very special show to him for as long has he could remember. HBK said that while his future will lie on Smackdown, he will never forget the great times he has had on Raw and promised that he would one day return! HBK dropped the mic and bowed down to all of the fans before heading off up the ramp way for possibly his last time to the applause of the fans.

Backstage, Vince McMahon was in his office and was discussing his next move with DDP when The King made an appearance. Lawler told Vince that he just wanted to send his appreciation over to Shawn Michaels for putting over his superior brand live on RAW and Vince looked liked he might explode but DDP told Vince that Lawler wasn’t worth it. Lawler said that he didn’t come to see Vince to get him excited but to reveal to him his 6th pick of the night and he is the WWF Hardcore Champion Key! Vince told Lawler that while Lawler might have the WWF Hardcore Champion, Vince’s 6th pick was the WWF Tag Team Champions the Dudley Boyz. An angered Lawler quickly retaliated making Edge his 7th pick and Vince then countered Lawler with……with……with…….DIAMOND DALLAS PAGE! Lawler laughed it off and walked off leaving DDP with a big grin on his face although Vince looked less happy with his decision.

Up next was Kurt Angle against Perry Saturn in a non-title match up. Kurt Angle had not been having the best months first losing a chance to regain the WWF Championship at Vengeance before losing his match at WrestleMania against Key for the WWF Hardcore Championship. Tonight however was a different story altogether and Kurt Angle looked as aggressive as he had ever been completely decimating his opponent Perry Saturn. Angle finished Saturn off hitting him with the Angle Slam before dropping his straps and locking in the Ankle Lock on Saturn who quickly tapped out. After the match, Angle walked off without a celebration and Angle looked totally focused. Could this be the Angle revival?

After another break, we returned ring side to find out the final six picks of the WWF Draft. Lawler was up first and after he and Vince McMahon shared some stern looks, Lawler told the fans that RAW’s next pick would be none other than the man who last year made a huge name for himself in the WCW/ECW Invasion and his name is none other than Rob-Van-Dam. Vince McMahon laughed off Lawler’s choice and reminded him that while Van Dam did make a name for himself during the Invasion, the WWF crushed the life out of the WCW just like Vince was going to do to Jerry Lawler and his RAW roster. Vince said that his 8th pick for Smackdown would be a man that could help Smackdown develop its tag team division as he was influential in developing the WWF Tag Team Divisions in the few years. Smackdown’s 8th pick would be none other than Matt Hardy! But while Vince had plans to use the Hardy Boyz on Smackdown, Lawler refused to let Vince get his hands on another successful tag team and made his 9th pick for the RAW roster Jeff Hardy! The crowd booed Lawler’s decision and back in the locker room, where everyone was congregating, the Hardy Boyz hugged each other as their time as a team had ended. Vince McMahon was furious once more, as he had been most of the night, yelling at Lawler that the game he was playing was wrong and he knew it and Vince tried to make out he was more concerned about splitting up brothers although we all knew his real concerns. After Vince got himself back into focus, Vince announced that his 9th pick would be the WWF Cruiserweight Champion Brian Moore. Lawler continued to play the title game and made his 10th roster pick for RAW the WWF Women’s Champion Daffney Unger which meant that all the WWF titles were now taken. But Vince still had one ace up his sleeve as he announced that his final pick for the Smackdown brand would be a man who had a bright future in the company…a man who really wanted to be in the WWF…Smackdown’s 10th pick was the Tough Enough Winner, MAVEN! The crowd laughed at Vince’s decision to pick the Tough Enough winner as his 10th pick and Vince resorted to telling the WWF fans to shut the hell up which only got their back up more. Lawler made life more difficult for Vince when Lawler told the crowds to say goodbye to Vince and it would be the last time they’d ever have to see his face on RAW and the crowd joined in song and said goodbye to the WWF Co-Owner as he stormed out of the arena.

We take one final recap on the Roster Draft

RAW

1.The Rock

2.Chris Jericho

3.Stone Cold

4.Test

5.William Regal

6.Key

7.Edge

8.Rob Van Dam

9.Jeff Hardy

10.Daffney Unger

SMACKDOWN

1. The Undertaker

2. Kane

3. Shawn Michaels

4. Shawn Stasiak

5. Kurt Angle

6 The Dudley Boyz

7. Diamond Dallas Page

8. Matt Hardy

9. Brian Moore

10. Maven

It was finally time for the main event, and JR and Mick Foley speculated how the new brands would function with all the titles dispersed over both brands as the WWF Champion The Rock, Chris Jericho, Kane and The Undertaker made their respective entrances. This was one very intense match. Both teams seemed to accept their responsibilities at the start of the match as Jericho mixed it up in the ring with Kane although the tension between the four competitors was definitely noticeable.. Jericho started off the match by trying to take Kane off of his two feet by working the leg of the Big Red Monster but Jericho only anger the Monster and Kane soon took his head off with a huge clothesline. Jericho tagged out to the WWF Champion and The Rock tried to make some head way with a fierce attack hitting Kane with a DDT although Kane powered out of The Rock’s cover attempt after the two count. The Undertaker wanted in at the match but Kane refused to acknowledge The Undertaker’s existence and continued to go back to the fight with Kane angering The Dead Man. Things got worse as The Rock began to make some head way with Kane only for Chris Jericho to make the blind tag and follow up on one of The Rock’s attacks with a drop kick. Jericho went for the cover on Kane but The Rock pulled him off and the two men kicked off a yelling contest which quickly looked like it was going to turn into a fist fight but Kane broke the two up with a double clothesline taking both opponents to the outside. The Rock and Jericho weren’t the only team having problems though as Kane turned around and nearly walked straight into the hand of The Undertaker who dropped the Big Red Monster with a huge chokeslam. The Undertaker’s music hit the ring and The Undertaker left the ring but as he did, Kane sat back up and The Undertaker and Kane stared off at each other while The Rock and Chris Jericho lay motionless on the outside. Have Smackdown just taken the edge here tonight?

THE RESULTS

The Dudley Boyz def. The Hardy Boyz and Ron Waterman and X-Pac to retain the WWF Tag Team Titles

Daffney Unger def. Christina to retain to the WWF Womens Title

Key def. Sabu to retain the WWF Hardcore Title

Kurt Angle def. Perry Saturn

Shawn Michaels def. Marc Mero

The Rock and Chris Jericho drew with Kane and The Undertaker