The Year in PPV- 2002, Part II

Let's continue looking at 2002 by looking at the very first WWE PPV...


6. Judgment Day

A lot of people regard Judgment Day as a very memorable and enjoyable show, but I would lean more towards the overrated side than anything else. Sure, the show is full of great workers, majority of the matches are very underwhelming. The main event between Hulk Hogan and the Undertaker is one of the worst worked main event matches in company history, and the Hell in a Cell match between Triple H and Chris Jericho is a mixed bag for many fans. I can appreciate their use of various weapons, but they still have not improved their chemistry since WrestleMania X8 (I swear they had good matches at one point. Go watch their feud from 2000 as proof).

For me, the best match of the night was actually the Hair vs. Hair match between Kurt Angle and Edge. Based on history, it is pretty obvious that Angle gets his head shaved, but the match itself is very good and full of back and forth momentum and false finishes, that when the match actually ends, it catches the fans off guard (the perfect recipe for crowd excitement). Nevertheless, the match is not enough to save this show as a poor first entry in the new era of the company.

Skip It


7. King of the Ring

I really hate it when one of the most important shows of the year feels like filler. Aside from the three King of the Ring Tournament matches, the rest of the show falls very flat. Rob Van Dam and Chris Jericho know how to open a show with a very exhilarating match full of grappling and high flying moves, followed by Test and Brock Lesnar having a surprisingly good match between two big powerhouses. Once Van Dam and Lesnar make it to the finals, it should be pretty obvious who wins based on the booking they had had leading up to the match.

A lot of the show's focus is also on the return of The Rock on PPV (his first show since WrestleMania X8), and if he would get involved in the Undisputed Championship match between the Undertaker and Triple H. The match itself is pretty boring, and only picks up when The Rock makes his appearance. You would think that the involvement of these three stars would lead to a Triple Threat match down the road, but it doesn't (at least not for Triple H), so the ending of the show feels a little pointless. The man who would take Triple H's place (booking wise) in the Triple Threat match was Kurt Angle, who faced Hulk Hogan on this night in a battle of patriotism that has a GREAT finish for a very mediocre match.

Skip It


8. Vengeance

On paper, this is a show that is centered on the main event, but there is actually a lot more to offer. A lot of the show's success is due to a top notch roster of stars. One of the most intriguing is John Cena, who was making his PPV debut against Chris Jericho. While the match is in no way a technical masterpiece, it is very fun to see how far the current face of the company has come. There aren't too many matches in the undercard that are historically significant, but they are serviceable in constructing a practical roster of matches for a show.

The highlight of the show is the main event Triple Threat match for the Undisputed Championship between The Rock, Kurt Angle, and the Undertaker. Each competitor offers a different wrestling style (Undertaker as a powerhouse brawler, Angle as a technical and submission specialist, and Rock as a charismatic showman), and offers many entertaining sequences where they copy each other's signature moves, brawl around the ring, and kick out as much as possible, showing three of the WWE's all-time greats giving it all they have to walk out champion.

Recommended


9. SummerSlam

Here we have what many fans consider as the greatest SummerSlam PPV of all time. To be certain: the roster is STACKED for the amount of amazing showdowns on this card. When your undercard matches are Rey Mysterio vs. Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho vs. Ric Flair, Edge vs. Eddie Guerrero, and an Intercontinental Championship match between Chris Benoit and Rob Van Dam, you know it's gonna be a quality show for sure. I'm sure some would say Undertaker vs. Test, and the Tag Team Championship match are lacking something, but they have enough momentum from the amount of heat on the UnAmericans storyline to make the matches entertaining.

This edition of SummerSlam gives us two of the most important matches in WWE History. The main event between The Rock and Brock Lesnar works wonderfully as the culmination of the "Summer of Brock," but it is the Street Fight between Triple H and Shawn Michaels that completely OWNS the show. Shawn's first match since WrestleMania XIV in 1998, he makes sure to give the fans a match to remember, as it was originally supposed to be his "last" match (only to continue his career for 8 years). SummerSlam is an extremely satisfying show and the measuring stick for all other SummerSlams (and WWE PPVs in general) to try to live up to.

Highly Recommended


Thoughts: The beginning of the Ruthless Aggression era got off to a VERY poor start, but picked up the pace quickly with solid shows like Vengeance and SummerSlam. The summer was used as a way to book some newer talent, like Brock Lesnar, and also focus on talents that needed to be wrestlers first, instead of having to rely on character. After SummerSlam, guys like The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and Hulk Hogan (faces of the company's success) were gone and the brand split needed to focus on newer main event talent for both RAW and SmackDown.

Concluded in Part III...


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