World Wrestling Federation - 2002

[Guest HYA]

WWF News & Notes – 01/28/02

- Rob Van Dam has signed a new 3 year contract extension, while Booker T has inked a new 2 year deal.

- In more contract news, Billy Kidman, Mike Sanders and The Island Boyz have deals coming up over the next few months. There is some doubt whether Sanders’ contract will be renewed, but it is expected that Kidman and the Island Boyz will stay within the company.

- There has been an increasing amount of complaints about the stiff in ring work of both Rob Van Dam and William Regal in recent weeks.

- Raven has “found religion” and is apparently a changed man.

- Former WWF performers Bob Backlund and Mr. Fuji announced their retirements from the business in January.

- The Royal Rumble received a 1.80 buyrate.

- Edge began the biggest angle of his career as of yet last night at the Royal Rumble, kicking off a feud with Steve Austin. There is some question in the back as to whether Edge is ready for such a high calibre program. Despite Edge’s interference last night, there was nothing to lead us to believe he’d become a new member of the Canadian Alliance. Edge will continue to pushed as a singles star.

- Expect a major roster clearout after WrestleMania. The plan is also for there to be a much bigger focus on the lower and mid carders once WrestleMania is out of the way.

- The WWF’s closest competition in WDW have a new TV show on Monday nights, running in the graveyard slot. Speaking of WDW, their first PPV which ran in competition with the Royal Rumble gained a buy rate of 1.20. The card was headlined by Scot Hall vs Curt Henning.

Scheduled for Monday Night RAW 01/28/02:

• Tonight’s main event sees The Canadian Alliance take on Big Show, Kane and Rob Van Dam in six man tag action.
• What will Steve Austin have to say after Edge cost him the undisputed title last night at the Royal Rumble?
• Al Snow puts the hardcore title against a man who returned in last night’s royal rumble match – Raven!
• Booker T squares off with The Hurricane
• Billy & Chuck take on the Hardy Boyz in tag team action
• After returning to the WWF last night and taking the European title, Goldust will face William Regal in a non-title match.
• Plus, The Rock is on his way to WrestleMania! What will he have to say on Raw?

[Guest HYA]

RAW

Monday, January 28th, 2002

No Way Out For The Rock?

The Rock came down to the ring to kick off RAW. He talked about last night’s RR and going on to WrestleMania, before being interrupted by Kurt Angle. Angle said that this was a freaking joke! He said that he was in that match from start to finish and HE deserved to be going to WrestleMania! Angle then challenged the Rock for a match at No Way Out with his WM main event spot on the line. The Rock thought about it .. before hitting Angle with the Rock Bottom! Rock got on the mike and said “that’s a no!”

Rating: 99

Goldust d. William Regal

The opening match saw the new European champion in action against William Regal, with no title on the line. Regal’s facial expressions toward Goldust’s “sexually questionable” antics were priceless, and pretty much made the match enjoyable. In the end Goldust scored the win after hitting the Curtain Call.

Rating: **¼

Just The Beginning

Vince McMahon and The Undertaker were in the back, cutting a promo on Ric Flair. Vince said that last night was just the beginning, and things were going to get a whole lot worse for Flair unless he stepped down as co-owner. He said that the beating he received last night was NOTHING, compared to what the Undertaker has in store for him.

Rating: 87

Billy & Chuck d. The Hardy Boyz

This was pretty much your average formula tag match. Billy & Chuck isolated Matt Hardy for most of the match before Jeff got the hot tag and came in on a roll. The match neared the finish as Jeff went up top looking for the Swanton Bomb, but Billy shoved him off of the top rope – launching him right into a superkick from Chuck, which got the win for B&C.

Rating: **½

One Way Or Another

Kurt Angle was watching a monitor in the back, before being approached by “The Coach.” Coach started to ask about the Royal Rumble last night and what went down in the ring earlier on RAW, before Angle quickly cut him off, saying “One way or another .. I will be going to the main event at WrestleMania. One way .. or another.” Angle seemed incredibly focused with what he had to say, before walking off down the hall.

Rating: 89

Raven d. Al Snow to lift the Hardcore title

This was an entertaining brawl, with many weapons being brought into the mix. The two ended up brawling their way to the backstage area, and eventually out to the parking lot. In the end, Raven broke the handle of a mop over Snow’s head before hitting the Evenflow DDT on the concrete to pick up the win and take the Hardcore title!

Rating: **¼

A Man Of His Word?

Chris Jericho was standing by with the Canadian Alliance in the back, being interviewed by Terri about last night’s Royal Rumble. Y2J said that last night not only did he prove to be a larger than life, living legend .. He also proved to a man of his word – in that not one member of the Canadian Alliance got involved, and he still walked out as the champ. Terri went to mention the fact that Edge’s interference played a huge role in the match, but Y2J cut her off, saying that the interview was over, as they had a match to prepare for. The group then walked off, as Christian, Storm and Test shook their heads at Lillian.

Rating: 94

Booker T d. The Hurricane

Booker was not in the mood for fun and games after losing the Royal Rumble last night, meaning we saw a much more focused Booker than usual. While Hurricane remained competitive, Booker controlled the match. The finish came when Hurricane went to the top rope, only to be caught by Booker, who threw him down to the mat. Booker than nailed the Scissors Kick to walk away with the victory.

Rating: ***½

The Canadian Alliance d. Kane, Big Show & Rob Van Dam

Christian, Storm and Jericho were in action for the CA, with Test accompanying them to the ring. This was a chaotic brawl, with the ref struggling to maintain order throughout the contest. Eventually the finish came when Storm had the referee distracted, as Test made his presence felt and nailed Kane with a Big Boot! Y2J then hit the Lionsault and made the cover to pick up the win for his team.

Rating: ***

Edge Gets One More On Austin

Steve Austin stomped down to the ring, and said he was in a pissed off mood after what happened last night. He called Edge out, who apparently had an ass kicking with his name on it. Edge’s music hit, but there was no sight of Edge. The music hit again .. and still no Edge. Eventually Austin said that if Edge wasn’t going to come out here, then “Stone Cold” would have to come to him. Austin started running up the ramp to look for Edge in the back, when all of a sudden Edge came out at the top of the stage and levelled Austin with a chair shot to the head! Austin was busted wide open as Edge continued to nail Austin with several chair shots, before eventually leaving, as a number of officials checked on the condition of “The Texas Rattlesnake” as the show went off the air.

Rating: 84

Overall Rating: 84 (+1)

TV Rating: 6.55 (-0.65)

[Visionary]

As i read, nice opening segment between Rock and Angle and i have to agree with Angle, he deserves a shot. I'd love to see this match with them both in their current characters, good stuff and i guess Goldust is on a mini push. Nice to see this storyline contiuing as Vince trying to force Flair to give power up through Taker is a great angle. Odd to see the Hardy lose here, i assume they will split soon? I wonder what Angle has in store? Hopefully it's something good. Nice trash wrestling i guess to help keep the flow going, i think the Hardcore Title has run its cause though don't you? Nice interview but i hope we get to see more between him, Edge and Austin later on. Good to see Booker in action and get the win, i guess Hurricane is the resident jobber then? The CA go over again i see, nothing to great for the main event match really but acceptable. Interesting way to end Raw but i'm not a fan of ending on a promo.

Overall your best show so far i think, a strong B+ from me, could of been more but the ending wasn't to my taste.

[Guest HYA]

Scheduled for SmackDown! 01/31/02:

• A huge main event has been set for SmackDown! as The Undertaker faces Steve Austin!
• The Canadian Alliance picked up a cheap win over Kane & Big Show on RAW, but this Thursday night the two big men have a chance for revenge when they take on Christian & Lance Storm
• Long time rivals the Dudley Boyz and The Hardy Boyz square off in tag action
• IC champion Rob Van Dam takes on Test in non-title action.
• Ric Flair will address Vince McMahon and The Undertaker
• And what does Kurt Angle have planned to try and lure The Rock into putting his WrestleMania main event spot on the line at No Way Out?

[Guest HYA]

SmackDown!

Thursday, January 31st, 2002

The Dudley Boyz d. The Hardy Boyz

These two rival teams faced each other once again to open SmackDown! in a fast paced encounter. Stacey Keibler was noticeably missing from ringside, she also wasn’t at the Royal Rumble either. It made little difference in the end however, as the Dudley Boyz were too good on the night and walked away with the win after hitting the 3D on Matt.

Rating: ***½

Ric Flair cut a promo in the back about his recent feud with Vince McMahon and The Undertaker. Flair said that it seemed as if he needed to “even the odds” so to speak. He said that maybe he needed a little backup of his own .. and come to think of it, he could think of just the man for the job. Flair warned Taker and Vince that this man would be at Raw, next Monday night!

Rating: 93

The Canadian Alliance were seen in the back, before bumping in to Edge. Jericho said that Edge’s attitude as of late has been impressive, and if he keeps it up there might even be a spot in the Canadian Alliance for a guy like him. Edge declined the possible invitation, saying that he doesn’t need a team by his side to get the job done – he does it himself! Edge walked off, leaving the CA to talk about “what a jackass” Edge was.

Rating: 96

William Regal d. Rikishi

The big man Rikishi took the advantage early on in the match, much to the frustration of Regal. The tide turned late in the bout when Rikishi looked for the Stinkface. As Rikishi went to “back that ass up” Regal snuck in a low-blow just in time, before rolling Rikishi up and getting his feet on the ropes to get the three count and the win. A close call for Regal, just barely escaping the wrath of Rikishi’s ass.

Rating: *

The Canadian Alliance were hanging out backstage, when Jericho noticed Ric Flair walking by and wandered over to him. Jericho talked about No Way Out, wanting to know who his opponent was going to be. Flair said that he was still in the middle of running it through the board, but he had a very special opponent in store for Y2J at NWO. Jericho told Flair to hurry things along, as No Way Out was just over two weeks away .. and he was starting to get impatient.

Rating: 88

Rob Van Dam d. Test

The big man had the champ in trouble early, as he managed to ground the high flying RVD. Test continued to keep the match at his pace, until RVD scored big with a missile dropkick off the top rope. RVD then hit a split legged Moonsault for a long 2 count, before going on to hit the 5 Star Frog Splash for the win.

Rating: **¼

The Rock made his way down to the ring, but before he could speak, he was interrupted by Kurt Angle who appeared on the titantron. Angle was in the parking lot, standing next to the Rock’s personal limousine. Angle threatened the Rock, saying that unless he put his WrestleMania spot on the line at No Way Out, he would destroy the Rock’s limo with a sledgehammer! Rock replied, telling Angle to kiss his ass, before running to the back to try and save his vehicle. However, it was too late, as Angle proceeded to destroy it with a sledgehammer.

Rating: 100

Lance Storm & Christian d. Big Show & Kane

For the second week in a row, Test’s interference screwed Kane & Big Show out of a victory. Once again, Test made his presence felt late in the match, hitting the Big Boot on Kane at an opportune time with the ref distracted. Christian took advantage and hit the Unprettier to get another victory for the Canadian Alliance.

Rating: ***¾

Terri Runnels was standing by with Steve Austin. She talked about Austin’s recent altercations with Edge, before a very intense, serious Austin cut her off, looking right down the camera. Austin cut a promo on Edge, basically saying that if he wanted to get involved in his match with Undertaker tonight, there was a big can of whoop ass with his name on it waiting for him.

Rating: 94

The Undertaker d. Steve Austin

This was a hard hitting contest between two men who were very familiar with each other. The two brawled their way up the ramp and back again, before eventually ending up back in the ring. Edge appeared at the top of the stage, ready to make his presence felt – but Austin saw his attack coming and started brawling with Edge, before hitting him with a Stunner! He may have got the better of Edge, but when he turned around he was met with a boot to the gut and a Last Ride from the Undertaker. Taker made the cover for the win, and again Edge had costed Austin a match.

Rating: **¼

Overall Rating: 87 (+3)

TV Rating: 5.09 (-.81)

[Guest HYA]

Scheduled for Monday Night RAW 02/04/02:

• Tonight’s main event sees the IC champion Rob Van Dam face The Undertaker!
• Big Show will be out for revenge when he takes on Test
• Goldust defends the European title against Hardcore Holly
• Does Kurt Angle have a “plan B” to try and lure the Rock into putting his WrestleMania title shot on the line?
• And who is Ric Flair’s “backup?”

[Visionary]

As i read, I see the Dudley's are getting a big push in the tag division, are the Hardy's actually going to do anything or what? Interesting, i wonder who Flair will bring in? Haha, i like Edge, Champion material there he really is, much better than Jericho at the moment in my eyes. Regal beat Kish in a filler match, i think you need to fill up your card with some more feuds and build up for NWO as at the moment there's a lot of people doing nothing. I wonder who Y2J's opponent will be? Hopefully it'll be earned by whoever gets it. Another filler. Odd way for Angle to act, he's not Stone Cold Steve Austin and it certainly doesn't fit in with his three i's. I'd like to see Angle being a bit smarter than that really and smashing limos isn't in his character. Show and Kane need to stop losing and split, them losing this much is ridicilous it really is. Good interview but Edge has already been on the card pissing the CA off, is he going to get in the middle of the Y2J/Austin feud, could be interesting if done right. Taker gets the win and Edge costs Austin another match, i see Austin going over Edge at NWO.

Overall a bit of a letdown from Raw, a D- from me.

[Guest HYA]

As i read, I see the Dudley's are getting a big push in the tag division, are the Hardy's actually going to do anything or what? Interesting, i wonder who Flair will bring in? Haha, i like Edge, Champion material there he really is, much better than Jericho at the moment in my eyes. Regal beat Kish in a filler match, i think you need to fill up your card with some more feuds and build up for NWO as at the moment there's a lot of people doing nothing. I wonder who Y2J's opponent will be? Hopefully it'll be earned by whoever gets it. Another filler. Odd way for Angle to act, he's not Stone Cold Steve Austin and it certainly doesn't fit in with his three i's. I'd like to see Angle being a bit smarter than that really and smashing limos isn't in his character. Show and Kane need to stop losing and split, them losing this much is ridicilous it really is. Good interview but Edge has already been on the card pissing the CA off, is he going to get in the middle of the Y2J/Austin feud, could be interesting if done right. Taker gets the win and Edge costs Austin another match, i see Austin going over Edge at NWO.

Overall a bit of a letdown from Raw, a D- from me.

[JStarr]

lol, america