King of the Ring

There's nothing really all that great about this King of the Ring '02 card. Flair/Guerrero is fine if you are into the legacy stuff, Undertaker/HHH is a decent-enough finale (if sort of a random pairing), and the KOTR tournament matches are long since played out as a concept.

However, there are two aspects of this PPV that give it at least a little juice:

-Angle/Hogan is a surprisingly effective pairing. Personally, the whiny/sniveling Angle is the role I feel he was born to play, and in contrast with the legacy of Hogan the personality mixture works really well.

-This is the PPV that introduced Brock Lesnar to WWE audiences, and he surely looks impressive. Sort of a Bill Goldberg clone, to be sure, but the type of massive piece of humanity that Vince McMahon loved and knew exactly how to promote.

Soup to nuts, KOTR '02 isn't any great shakes. But it does have a few fun and memorable moments to keep it from being forgotten entirely in the grand scheme of things.

King of the Ring disappointed again right from the start. Let's be honest it had a lot to live up to after last year's Angle vs Shane McMahon match. The first match was RVD vs Y2J which had a lot of missed spots and some bad selling. RVD won as Y2J jobbed again much to my disgust...** The second match was Brock Lesnar vs Test which saw the 'Next Big Thing' continue his meteoric rise to the top and beat the dreadful Test. Not a great match...** Third was the match of the night - Hurricane vs Jamie Noble for the Cruiserweight title. Two solid performances and an awesome top-rope neck breaker from Hurricane ensured this was a great match...**** Next was Eddie Guerrero vs Ric Flair which was a waste of Eddie's talents and was quite crap. Overall...* Next was Trish vs Molly Holly...DUD Next was the KotR final between RVD and Lesnar which was a mismatch of styles but a good match with Lesnar crowned King and rightly so...*** Main event: HHH vs Undertaker. This could have been awesome (see WM16) but was not great at all. The end saw a lot of stalling as if something (nWo anyone?) was supposed to happen but didn't and to end the main event with a schoolboy roll-up was cheap. Poor stuff...** So, get it together WWE cos people who aren't big fans are not gonna hang around to watch much longer.....

This was OK, but it could have been better. It was known who was going to win the Ring of the Ring title, and not many matches were exciting.

Match 1 saw RVD challenging Chris Jericho in a semi final match up. This was very good. RVD got the win.

Next up was a semi final match between Test and Brock Lesnar. While this was enjoyable, it was all Test. This was strange because Lesnar is supposed to be tough, mean, nasty and damn right destructible. All this did was make him look like a kid. Next up Ric Flair challenges Eddie Guerrero in a p*ss poor contest. It was boring, crap, slow and useless. OK yeah so WWE had to find a replacement for 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin, but Flair? Give me a break! Next up Jamie Noble challenged The Hurricane for the Cruiseweight in a boring match. Nidia done my head in with her interfering actions. However I must be fair, one good spot was when Hurricane gave a Noble a neck breaker off the top rope.

Next up Molly took on Trish Stratus in a usual Women's match. In other words, useless. Then Hulk Hogan took on Kurt Angle. I just fast forward this match, because I couldn't have been arsed about it. Apologies if it was good, but Hogan was getting on for 49 years of age 3 years ago, and he's no Chris Benoit is he? Next up RVD battles Brock Lesnar in the KotR final match. Common do I need to tell you who won?! This was a very good match though.

Then The Undertaker challenges Triple H in a passable main event match. This was nowhere near as good as their Wrestlemania 17 clash in March 2001.

Overall Grade - C+

It's a terrible main event with Undertaker/HHH stuffing their match with arm holds that women in a mud wrestling school could do. Mediocre matches all around with Angle/Hogan, Test/Lesnar, Guerrero/Flair, and RVD/Lesnar. Molly/Trish is overrated and below average in terms of quality and Hurricane/Noble has no high spots. Guerrero/Flair was put together at the last minute with Flair taking Stone Cold Steve Austin's place due to his problems with Vince McMahon behind the scenes. But it has nothing of great value from either men. I'm sorry but this is an awful PPV led by the main event hogging Undertaker/HHH match. Even The Rock couldn't do that much to make the match interesting in commentary. In case you've heard about the Booker/Goldust/Rock scene, don't buy this for it. Buy The Rock's "Just Bring It" collector's DVD for it and other great moments in The Rock's career. But to summarize, this is an iceberg of a PPV that showed that the old guys were keeping the young guys down and a PPV split should have happened a long time ago. I apologize to Undertaker and HHH fans, these two guys can still do something good for the business just never have them work together again.

Match 1: King of the Ring Tournament semifinal - Chris Jericho vs Rob Van Dam Chris Jericho met Rob Van Dam in the evening's first match, a King of the Ring Tournament semifinal. The match got off to a fast start. Jericho went for a full body press to RVD on the outside of the ring, but the Intercontinental Champion moved out of the way and somersaulted over the top rope onto his opponent. RVD followed that up with a kick to the face from the top rope. He tried to seal the win with a Five-Star Frog Splash, but Y2J shoved the ref into the ropes to knock RVD down. Soon after, Y2J removed the cover off one of the turnbuckles. The referee had to replace the covering, and in the process missed RVD's rollup that had Y2J's shoulders pinned to the mat. By the time the ref turned back around, Y2J had kicked out. RVD began to take over, nearly obtaining a pinfall after scoring a kick to the face and the Rolling Thunder. Jericho mounted a rally, but fell victim to a split-legged moonsault. Y2J managed to catch RVD in the Walls of Jericho, but Mr. Pay-Per-View reversed into a pin attempt that Jericho kicked out of. Moments later, Jericho rolled away from a Five-Star Frog Splash and hit a Lionsault. That looked to be the end of the match, but Van Dam somehow kicked out after a two-count. Jericho managed to put the Walls of Jericho on Van Dam again, but RVD grabbed the bottom rope to break the hold. Y2J tried to set up a superplex, but was thrown to the mat. That allowed RVD to hit his Frog Splash and get the pinfall to advance to the King of the Ring Tournament Final! After the match, Jerry "The King" Lawler" got a word with RVD. Van Dam said he wasn't afraid of facing Test or Brock Lesnar in the final. While he was talking, Jericho attacked him and locked on the Walls of Jericho, refusing to let go! Winner: Rob Van Dam

Match 2: King of the Ring Tournament semifinal - Test vs Brock Lesnar The two big men met in the ring next for the second KOR Tournament Semifinal. Test struck down Brock with several stiff clotheslines early, causing Brock Lesnar to bring his protégé outside for a quick conference. Once back in the ring, Test continued to take it to Brock. The former NCAA Champion countered by ramming his shoulder into Test's gut in the corner. Lesnar slammed Test with a powerful suplex and followed with a back breaker. Test bounced Brock off the ropes, but only received a powerslam for the effort. Test's experience helped him get back into the match. He appeared to have the match locked up after hitting a Big Boot square to Brock's jaw. Somehow, Lensar managed to get his shoulder up at the last instance. Moments later, Paul Heyman stepped onto the ring apron and took a swing at Test. That allowed Brock to sneak up and hit the F5 on Test! Lesnar covered up his opponent and got the three-count to advance to the King of the Ring Final against RVD! Winner: Brock Lesnar

Match 3: WWE Cruiserweight Championship - Jamie Noble vs The Hurricane Jamie Noble came to the ring with Nidia to challenge The Hurricane for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship. The Hurricane wore his mask, but his green cape was draped around Nidia's neck. The Hurricane got the better of his challenger early on, but got into trouble when he started chasing after Nidia. Noble cut down the champion with a clothesline outside the ring. Noble continued to hold control, locking The Hurricane in an abdominal stretch. The champion rallied by crashing a big neckbreaker onto Noble. He delivered another neckbreaker by launching his body off the middle turnbuckle. Noble took the Eye of the Hurricane, but managed to kick out. Hurricane spied his cape hanging on a turnbuckle and went to retrieve it, but Nidia jerked it away. Hurricane responded with a cross body onto Nidia's boyfriend to the outside of the ring. Noble attempted to superplex THe Hurricane onto the the outside of the ring, but Hurricane instead dropped a huge neckbreaker from the top rope! Nidia tried to step in and help out, but she got blindsided accidentally by Noble. Hurricane chokeslammed the challenger, but Noble managed to kick out. The Hurricane's luck ran out there. Noble slapped Hurriane with a powerbomb and rolled up the champ. The Hurricane appeared safe after getting his foot on the rope, but Nidia shoved it off and Noble got the pin to become the new Cruiserweight Champion! Winner and New WWE Cruiserweight Champion: Jamie Noble

Match 4: Ric Flair vs Eddie Guerrero Latino Heat clashed with the Nature Boy next. Guerreo, feeling confident, mimicked Flair's walk early on. Although Guerrero mocked Flair'd abiities, the 16-time World Champion showed he's got plenty of fire left. He picked Guerrero straight up into the air and held him for several moments before suplexing him to the mat. Guerrero seemed intent on insulting Flair. Before long, Latino Heat locked Flair into the Nature Boy's own signature move, the Figure Four leglock. Flair made Eddie release him and later latched on the maneuver after Guerrero missed a Frog Splash. Chris Benoit made his way to ringside and watched the action intently. Guerrero tossed Flair from the ring and distracted the ref, allowing the Rabid Wolverine to strike. Benoit put the Crippler Crossface on Flair, who screamed in pain. The ref saw this and went out to order Benoit back to the locker room. Meanwhile, Bubba Ray Dudley stormed into the ring and nailed Guerrero with a Bubba Bomb! When the ref returned, Bubba had exited but Flair had draped himself over Guerrero and picked up the three count! Winner: Ric Flair

Match 5: WWE Women's Championship Molly Holly vs Trish Stratus The WWE Women's Championship went on the line next with Molly Holly attempting to take the title from Trish Stratus. Molly started off by wrapping Trish in an armbar, but the champ reversed into a rollup that the challenge had to kick out of. Molly climbed the top turnbuckle, but was sent crashing to the ring with a hurracanrana by Trish. Molly went for the Stratusfaction, but Molly pushed her off and countered with a belly to belly suplex. The two continued to tangle, with each using tremendous agility and strength to roll the other woman up. Molly came out on top and jerked on Trish's tights to gain enough leverage for a three-count!. Molly Holly became the new WWE Women's Champion! Winner and New WWE Women's Champion: Molly Holly

Match 6: Kurt Angle vs Hollywood Hulk Hogan Kurt Angle set out to prove that he's the real American hero by taking on Hollywood Hulk Hogan. The more experienced Hogan controlled Angle from the start, tossing him over the top rope several times. On one occasion, the Hulkster followed Angle outside the ring and smashed his face into the ring barrier. Angle managed to storm back, dropping the Hulkster with a belly to back suplex. He followed that with an Angle Slam, but miraculously, Hogan kicked out after two! Angle whined to the referee while Hogan Hulked up. He bounced Angle off the ropes and hit a boot to the face! Hogan then took Angle's wig off to reveal his smooth, bald cranium. Embarrassed, Angle turned and walked up the entranceway to grab a steel chair. Angle went to nail Hogan, but the Hulkster ducked and the chair bounced off the ropes and into Angle's face. But Hogan found himself in the ankle lock soon after. The pain was visible on Hogan's face, but he sucked it up. He tried to reverse several times, but Angle kept applying the pressure, and Hogan finally tapped out! Angle strapped his wig back on and celebrated in the center of the ring. Winner: Kurt Angle

Match 7: King of the Ring Tournament Final Brock Lesnar vs Rob Van Dam Two athletes competing in their first King of the Ring Tournament met in the final. It was a clash of styles, with Brock's power meeting RVD's agility and unorthodox attack. Lesnar began by overpowering RVD and bossing him around the ring. RVD struck back with a couple of kicks followed by Rolling Thunder. RVD tried for his Five-Star Frog Splash and nailed it, but Heyman whiplashed RVD on the top rope. RVD tried a springboard lateral press, but Brock caught him in midair and whirled off the F5! Just like that, Brock Lesnar lived up to his billing as the Next Big Thing by pinning Van Dam to become the 2002 King of the Ring! Winner: Brock Lesnar

Match 8: WWE Championship The Undertaker vs Triple H Triple H attempted to take the WWE Undisputed Championship out of the Undertaker's hands in the night's main event match. The Game started off by knocking Taker down with a series of shots to the head. Taker, not to be outdone, thrust Triple H into the corner and delivered several punches to his abdomen. The champion controlled the pace of the match. He smashed Triple H with a guillotine leg drop off the ring apron. Triple H fought back with a suplex to the hard floor outside the ring. But a leg drop onto Triple H's throat back in the squared circle ended that rally. Triple H again mounted some offense, this time in the form of a spinebuster that knocked Taker for a loop. A high knee that connected with Taker's chin earned The Game a two-count. Things got crazy after that as referee Earl Hebner got trapped in the corner and was smashed by both men. Suddenly, The Rock came down to the announce table, sending Paul Heyman - who had been doing some commentary - scurrying. With the referee still down, the Undertaker went and grabbed a steel chair. He didn't get to use it initially, as Triple H knocked it from his hands. Outside the ring, Taker nailed The Rock with a cheap shot. The Rock tried to get a bit of revenge, but wound up hitting Triple H with a steel chair by accident! Back in the ring, Taker decked a bloody Triple H with the Last Ride. A second referee dashed into the ring to officiate the action. But after counting to two on the pin attempt, Triple H kicked out and the ref was thrown from the ring by Taker! Suddenly, The Rock dashed in and Rock Bottomed Taker before making his exit. Three battered men lay in the ring. Slowly, Triple H collected himself and draped his arm over Taker. Hebner came to his senses and began to count, but Taker awoke after a two-count. The Game scored a Pedigree to again put Taker sprawled on the mat. The ref couldn't count right away as he was still dealing with his own pain. Triple H attempted to help him, but Take caught him with a low blow. Taker rolled up The Game and got the pinfall to retain his title! Winner: The Undertaker

This pay-per view wasn't that good, I'm going to give it a C