The Year in PPV- 2002, Part III

Let's see how the WWE finished up the year 2002...


10. Unforgiven

The best thing I can say about Unforgiven is that it tried its hardest to follow the amazing spectacle of a show that they put together with SummerSlam. This really felt like the first PPV in the war between RAW and SmackDown, thanks to the two world championship matches. On RAW, the newly crowned World Heavyweight Champion Triple H defended his title against Rob Van Dam, in a match that planted the seeds of the stable that would become Evolution. SmackDown continued to get Brock Lesnar over as the next face of the company by having him defend his WWE Championship against the Undertaker, and while the match ends inconclusively, the fans definitely wanted to see these guys go at it again in the future.

Overall, this show indicated that the better brand was SmackDown, thanks to two midcard battles of Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit, and Eddie Guerrero vs. Edge. These four men, along with Chavo Guerrero and Rey Mysterio would be dubbed the SmackDown Six, indicating the great quality matches these six men had with one another every week on the blue brand. Add a main event program in Lesnar/Undertaker, and it seems obvious which show had the better wrestling talent.

Recommended


11. No Mercy

Who knew that a PPV featuring one of the most despised and ridiculous feuds in wrestling history could also have a TON of great matches scattered throughout the night. The main event for RAW was a unification match between the World Heavyweight Champion Triple H and the Intercontinental Champion Kane. That alone would have enough hype to have fans interested, but the booking felt the need to butcher the build up by throwing in the Katie Vick storyline where Triple H tried to prove that Kane was a "murderer and necrophiliac." Seriously, if you haven't heard of this wrestling angle, go look it up because it is one of the most infamous for its tasteless approach. The fact that Vince McMahon still doesn't see what all the fuss was about and stands by his creative decision is completely laughable, and the storyline fully deflates the hype for its main event match. Point is, this match was a HUGE step backwards for the RAW brand, which was not good since SmackDown brought their A game for this show.

SmackDown General Manager Stephanie McMahon decided to hold a tournament to crown their first ever WWE Tag Team Champions, with the tournament final being Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle against Edge and Rey Mysterio in one of the greatest tag team matches I have ever seen. This match felt like it could have been the main event of the entire show (which is no surprise since it features four of the SmackDown Six), but the show's real main event more than delivers in quality. The WWE Championship was on the line in a Hell in a Cell match between Brock Lesnar and the Undertaker and is one of the bloodiest matches I've ever seen in WWE History (just look at how busted up Undertaker is). This match more than serves as a method of continuing the growth of Lesnar as a legitimate superstar by having him combat the Phenom in the match he made famous.

Recommended


12. Rebellion

What I said about UK shows in my Insurrextion review still rings true for most UK PPVs, but this edition of Rebellion doesn't range on THAT bad of territory. While it's nothing spectacular, it does offer a more exciting show, thanks to many talented wrestlers on the roster. One of the better matches was the tag team match between Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit against Eddie and Chavo Guerrero for the WWE Tag Team Championships, another fine example of the SmackDown Six going out and having one of the best matches on the card.

The main event for the WWE Championship was a handicap match with Edge challenging Brock Lesnar AND Paul Heyman. I wish it would have just been Lesnar and Edge because it would have been a better display of young talent without having to focus on the possibility of Heyman getting in the ring. Still, the match is very good and I wish a feud with Edge and Lesnar would have been further explored (maybe it could have in 2003 had Edge not suffered his neck injury). The rest of the card is harmless, but overall the show isn't too meaningful on wrestling history.

Skip It


13. Survivor Series

SmackDown attempted to continue its dominance by booking Brock Lesnar's biggest challenge at that time, a WWE Championship match against Big Show. The match is brief, and the two do have great chemistry, but it was more about creating a moment to generate heat for the Madison Square Garden crowd than the actual match. The SmackDown Six were also on display in Triple Threat Elimination Match between the teams of Edge and Rey Mysterio, Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit, and Eddie and Chavo Guerrero. The match sells itself given the reputations of all six men at the time.

How would RAW General Manager Eric Bischoff get RAW to top the Hell in a Cell match between Lesnar and Undertaker? By creating the Elimination Chamber match, putting six men (Triple H, Chris Jericho, Rob Van Dam, Kane, Booker T, and Shawn Michaels) inside it, and debuting it at Survivor Series in Madison Square Garden. The entire show was building up to this epic encounter for the World Heavyweight Championship and many people didn't know if the match would be a success or not. The match's innovative spots from high flyers like Van Dam and Michaels, mixed with the violence and brutality from brawlers like Kane and Triple H created a violent match that exceeded all expectations. I think this is an instance where magic was created by having it at the right venue (Madison Square Garden shows always have strong fan interaction) and having the right six competitors. Had one of these factors changed, and we might not have this match every February on the last PPV before WrestleMania.

Even the undercard is full of fun moments that make this Survivor Series feel like a great variety show. From the Elimination Tables match, to the Hardcore match for the Women's Championship, to Scott Steiner's return to the WWE, this show offers a little bit of everything to everyone, and is a truly successful show for both brands by utilizing SmackDown's quality wrestling (SmackDown Six match) and an innovative gimmick match courtesy of RAW (Elimination Chamber match).

Highly Recommended


14. Armageddon

What is it about Armageddon that feels the need to be categorized as an end of the year filler PPV? The midcard feels very unimportant and the main events don't offer the kind of excitement that fans would hope for. The show is completely stolen by a solid match between Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero (I think it's impossible for those two to have a bad match together), and there is some significance in the PPV debut of Batista, but other than that, there's nothing special to end the year on a high note.

The SmackDown main event was a WWE Championship match between Big Show and Kurt Angle that was more focused on Brock Lesnar's interference than who would actually walk away as champion (it was pretty obvious whoever had the belt was holding it to transition over to the face-turned Lesnar). RAW tried to up the ante with a 3 Stages of Hell match for the World Heavyweight Championship between Shawn Michaels and Triple H, but it drags on too long on the first fall (Street Fight). By the time that fall was decided, there was still a Steel Cage match and a Ladder match (if necessary) for fans to have to endure, so the response to the match is very underwhelming. It's a shame really considering how intense their rivalry was at the time that this match didn't deliver, but such is the case when they try to make a match TOO epic.

Skip It


Final Thoughts: The year 2002 wraps up with the brand warfare continuing, and at this point, it felt like an appropriate beginning to the Ruthless Aggression Era. The era was introduced by Mr. McMahon wanting to see which stars had that type of aggression, and many answered the call. It was obvious that SmackDown felt more focused on the quality of the matches, while RAW felt more character oriented, which isn't a bad thing, as each show had its own style of entertainment that allowed fans to filter out what they liked and disliked about both brands. Within the year, Hogan, Rock and Austin left, Undertaker and Triple H were put in the veteran main event roles, Booker T, Van Dam, Jericho and the SmackDown Six dominated the midcard, Shawn Michaels was able to make his return to the ring after 4 years, John Cena, Randy Orton and Batista were merely rookies, and Lesnar was the newly emerged star of the company. Overall, the year 2002 was a year of change, but I would say that the changes were handled well and well received by majority of the fans.



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