Will I make up the Week in Review column? Ok, real quick: this week, the WWE went from SUCK to BLOW, God-like Kurt Angle is #1 on the Jackson 5, Weak of the Week is the WWE in general, Match of the Week was Rob Van Dam vs. X-Pac, and whatever else. How about them apples?
Time to review the King of the Ring 2002.
The first match of KOTR was Chris Jericho vs. Rob Van Dam. Match of the Night here, as both looked well in the ring, hitting their usual trademark spots, and it went for a good 20 minutes or so. Or at least it seemed long to me. Good stuff. I didn't care for the botched finish, as neither man appeared to know what was going to happen on the top rope. RVD seems to blow many finishes, doesn't he? Oh well.
Backstage, Paul Heyman was pumping up Brock Lesnar, calling him "Godzilla". Brockzilla wouldn't be a bad nickname for Lesnar for fans to recognize him.
Next match was Test vs. Brock Lesnar. Lots of power moves, but a weak heel vs. weak heel match didn't receive much reaction with the crowd in Columbus. Test lost, although he needed a distraction from Heyman to lose. Geesh. There's always an excuse to protect Test at all times.
Crappy interview with Lance Storm and Christian. I thought at Wrestlemania 18, Christian announced he now hailed from Tampa, Florida?
Decent, but not outstanding, Cruiserweight match between Jaime Noble and the Hurricane. At least the WWE tried to clearly explain their storyline before the match. Noble won, although I fear fans still don't know who he is. Let's get Rey Misterio in there, and let that division finally roll.
Ric Flair vs. Eddie Guerrero was next. Eh, decent, but the Flair's oldschool style badly contrasted with Guerrero's more modern style. A better Eddie Guerrero vs. Ric Flair match can be seen at Bash at the Beach 1996. Flair won, which I didn't predict, as Bubba Ray Dudley of all people helped him out. Huh? Did I miss a storyline on RAW or something?
Trish Stratus vs. Molly Holly was up next. OK women's match, but better suited for an edition of RAW than a Pay Per View. The Women's division just lacks a certain element for anyone to even care about it right now. Molly won, much to my surprise, as I thought Trish had this one in the bag. Anyone care to bet that Molly won't be allowed to travel to both television shows as Women's champion, like Trish did?
Kurt Angle vs. Hulk Hogan was entertaining, but as far as match quality goes, it was your usual bump-for-Hogan match. I did, however, enjoy the clean loss on Hogan. Hogan lost to the Anklelock submission, although he fought it for a good while. Still, Hogan just let a HEEL beat him cleanly. Man, this truly is the year 2002.
I liked the segment with Booker T, Goldust, and the Rock. The Rock was on top of his game with his Goldust cutdowns. Entertaining indeed.
Brock Lesnar is the NEW King of the Ring. He beat RVD in a slow match, given that both guys were tired. Understandable, and plus, the crowd didn't really seem to believe that RVD could win it all. Not bad though, as I expect these two to wrestle at Vengeance for the IC title with more energy. The WWE has 2 WHOLE MONTHS to groom Lesnar into Main Event material for his Undisputed title match at Summerslam, so let's cross our fingers and hope the WWE doesn't drop yet another ball. I bet you that Triple H will be the champ by then, and be the first to pin Lesnar in a WWE ring.
Speaking of Triple H, he bumped into the nWo backstage, and he saluted all of his old Clique buddies. Oh no, that will start up internet rumors! Such as... "HUGE NEWS ON CLIQUE REUNION!!! *CLICK HERE*" I can't hardly wait. With this segment, I was thinking they'd get involved with the Main Event, but they didn't...
The Main Event totally sucked. Triple H vs. Undertaker was sooooooo boring! When will the WWE learn that this match isn't worthy of headling a Pay Per View, especially with a slower Triple H due to added muscle mass and an older Undertaker? They won't, which is partially why they will NEVER improve. Gotta keep those same old faces on top, baby. I wasn't too big on the many interferences by the Rock, making his hyped up appearance at KOTR seem very weak. Too bad Rocky can't stick around on a full time basis. Undertaker retained, which was easy to predict because of his loss on the recent Smackdown. I bet you that the WWE hotshots the Undisputed title off at this week's or an upcoming Smackdown, possibly to Triple H.
Looks like the WWE planted plenty of seeds for a Triple H vs. Rock showdown, down the road. Hmmm...
LAST WORD: This show would have been solid if the Main Event was anything to watch, but instead, it was the same old Undertaker fighting the same old Triple H. Yawn, yawn, yawn. It's time to realize that some fresh faces need to be fighting over that title, and NOT some old guy with seniority and a guy who is screwing the boss's daughter. The WWF became successful in 1998 by dumping off old faces and creating new ones, so why can't the WWE of 2002 do the same? This show gets a
Seeing Chris Benoit slapping Ric Flair into the Crossface made me realize that he's one of the few last reasons to even watch anymore.
AOL Instant Messenger: BookerTito - It's recommended that you send your questions or feedback as your first message so that it could be answered, instead of saying "hi", "hey", "what's up" or whatever else. Just get to the point, please, to make it easier since I get drilled with messages.
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@I SHOULD have the RAW edition of the PDC up sometime on Tuesday. If not, assume that I'm getting worked like a dog and that I should be sleeping like a log. It's a hard day's night. Until the next column, just chill....
Take Care, and Thanks for Reading.