My favourite WWF/WWE card of 2002 was Survivor Series/WrestleMania X8. This would rank as my second favourite and was a big improvement over King of the Ring.
Spike and Bubba took on Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit in a tables match. I wasn't sure why the referee was waving his warning finger at times towards the competitors because I thought there were no rules in these matches. It was a strong opening match. Bubba and Spike were the winners.
In a Cruiserweight Title match, the talented Jamie Noble beat Billy Kidman.
Jeff Hardy beat William Regal in a relatively short match that was very good. It was a European Title match.
Rookie John Cena then took on Chris Jericho. I am not sure why the bookers had Cena win because they haven't done much with him since but it was a good contest. There are some great rookies coming into the WWE.
Brock Lesnar then battled Rob Van Dam in a match for the now defunct Intercontinental Title. An excellent match which Brock won. Despite what some people say, Brock is very convincing when it comes to selling the opponents moves and telling a story in the ring. Paul Heyman was also at ringside. He reminds me of the managers from years ago such as Jimmy Hart and Slick in that he is always trying to interfere. It was his interference that got Brock the win.
Booker T then beat the Big show in a no DQ, no count out match. Quite good.
There was then a promo involving Triple H, the lovely Stephanie McMahon, Eric Bischoff and the forever charismatic Shawn Michaels. Stephanie and Bischoff were bidding for Triple H's services (this brand extension thing has been the best thing to happen to WWE in 2002). Triple H eventually signed with Raw.
Lance Storm and Christian battled Hulk Hogan and Edge in a very entertaining tag team title match. I still can't get over wrestling's top guy Hogan sharing a title with someone else but it was a good match in which everyone pulled their weight.
Then came the main event in which Rock won the Undisputed Championship by beating Kurt Angle and the Undertaker. The holder of the belt, the Undertaker, didn't even get pinned but lost the belt when the Rock beat Kurt.
Overall, a fantastic event from start to finish. If you buy the DVD version, you will get a bland music video by Desire, 7 insightful interviews with the stars of WWE and the match in which Hogan and Edge won the tag belts from Billy & Chuck. Well worth anyone's money.
