This is one of WWE's best bell-to-bell shows ever - so it'll be a welcome change of pace from the plodding Summerslam '88. "Fight" is a perfect song for this. Kurt's barber pole gear was terrible in 2002 and worse today. Rey jumps him with a springboard headscissors, but Kurt gets the ankle lock, and Rey gets the ropes. Kurt evades the 619 and pulls Rey out. It's amazing that here in 2020, Rey remains one of WWE's best workers and here in '02, he felt like he was on borrowed time due to his bad knees. Thank God for stem cell therapy. Big German hits for 2.
Angle slam into an armdrag and Rey flip dives over the ref to the floor. Rey drops the dime for 2. Ankle lock, but Rey mule kicks him into a 619! West Coast Pop for 2.9! Between this and the Psicosis match at BATB '96, Rey may be the best opening match guy ever. Rey goes for a dragonrana, but Kurt moves and that had to a take a year off Rey's career. Rey dropkicks him and goes for a rana, but Kurt hangs on and gets the ankle lock and taps him out.
Backstage, Steph tells a random dude to tell Eric to top that. She goes in the General Manager office and WOULDN'T YOU KNOW IT, Eric is there. Jericho vs. Flair is up with the DVD replacement theme for Flair being his '92 theme. Flair is only three years older here than Jericho is now. Flair runs wild with chops. Jericho hits a running back elbow and missile dropkick. Jericho gets the Walls, but Flair cradles him for 2. Lionsault misses and Flair gets a half crab before Jericho escapes that and gets his own Figure 4. I love Flair biting his own hand to sell how devastating HIS OWN HOLD IS! Flair gets the rope and Jericho shoves Lil Naitch, who misses a low blow from Flair somehow. Flair GETS THE FIGURE 4 AND WINS! This should have just been for the WCW World Title because fuck it why not. God this was a great match for Flair to win.
Heyman hypes Brock up backstage. Eddie's out and we get a DEPORT EDDIE sign before Edge comes out to induce seizures. Edge's white and gold gear is top-shelf stuff. Edge gets a flapjack and they just soar around shockingly well for roidy magoo guys. Eddie hits a springboard divorce court and then gets a kimura. Eddie gets a crossface chickenwing. Edge suplexes Eddie to the floor and Edge crossbodies him off the top. Eddie goes for the frog splash, but eats knees. Impaler DDT gets 2. Eddie goes up and headbutts him down and frog splashes the arm. Edge avoids a run-up armdrag and gets a spear to end it.
Rock/Brock workout vids. Christian and Lance talk about exposing Booker and Goldust for being horrible Americans. Booker T, thankfully, doesn't get his WWE game dub theme. Lance works over Goldust for a while before choking him in the rope and then choking him again with his boot. Booker gtes a hot tag and runs wild. Ref goes down and Booker gets the side kick and a Test boot shot ends it. WWE The World bit with Nidia making out with dudes while Noble looks on. Benoit vs. RVD is up for the IC Title with that belt's WWF logo being blurred.
Rob gets a nice blind-dive crossbody for 2. Backslide gets 2 for RVD. RVD lands a corner kick, but Benoit gets the knees up on the split legged moonsault. Diving headbutt misses for Benoit. Benoit gets the crossface, but RVD gets the ropes. RVD eats chops and ACTS. Benoit snap elbows him and slaps him. Benoit gets the mid-ring crossface and that RVD fights out. Benoit cradles him for 2. Benoit hammerlocks the arm and smashes it into the buckle. Hammerlock northern lights and another crossface and RVD tries for the rope, but Benoit turns it into a dragon sleeper before RVD gets a crossface and rolling thunder for 2. Spin kick hits hard for 2 and he goes up top, but gets crotched. Crossbody counter off a super belly to back and the five star wins the day for RVD.
Eric and Steph snipe at each other for a bit. Taker vs. Test is up with a rah rah America video leading into the UnAmerican history package insulting stupid Americans...by pointing out facts. Quick-ish big man action here. Old School leads to Test shoving the ref into the rope to crotch Taker. Test tosses him into the buckle for a big lariat. Taker gets Old School and gets his usual comeback, but Test boots his gut and goes for the pumphandle. Taker chokeslams him and TEST TAKES 2 BUMPS FOR IT. Test's buddies run in and fly around for one-armed chokeslams. Taker boots a chair into his face and gets a rare for the time TOMBSTONE TO WIN IT. He celebrates with the American flag a ton.
HBK vs. HHH is up. Love the CSI ZOOM IN camera bullshit. HHH in '02 trying to run in this video package is unreal. They tie up and HBK tosses HHH out to the floor. HHH works the back constantly and tosses him into the buckle for great heat. HHH sells an elbow to the back like pure death. HBK is such a great Ricky Morton in this match. HBK gigs and takes a backbreaker on the chair. HBK superkicks the chair into HHH's head. Big chair to the head of HHH and he takes the Harley bump over the top. HHH gets his ass kicked around ringside and flies over the announce table before eating a bulldog on the step base.
HBK gets a ladder and beats him up with it for a bit. HBK drop toeholds him into the steps mid-ring and sends him out over onto a ladder. HBK puts him on a table and dives off the top through a table onto him. HBK goes for a superkick and HHH blocks it with a KICKWHAM but HBK counters the pedigree into a jackknife cradle and wins it. Fantastic match and well-worth a rewatch. HHH loses the battle, but wins the war for tonight by sledgehammering HBK's back.
Fink talks about this being the first show he's called here since WrestleMania 2. He is a heel here and Trish comes out and he says that just because she's out with more Long Island skanks, it doesn't means he can bully him. He says it's a dog eat dog world when she's got the puppies and he's got his wiener, and then Lillian comes out and slaps him and he takes a low blow. Rock vs. Brock hype vid is up and DAMN IS THIS PURE SPORTS BUILD still great.
Brock comes out and Rock's out and just gets manhandled right away. Big corner charge by Brock in the corner, but a second misses and he eats a back suplex. DOUBLE NIP UP AND STAREDOWN! Rock gets the sharpshooter and Brock taps with Heyman blocking the ref. Chair from Brock to Rock sets up the Brock Lock bearhug that took Hogan out right before this show. Reverse gutwrench rolling cradle gets 2 for Brock. Grounded version of the bearhug gets a two count off the ref arm raise. Rock fires back with punches, but gets corner charged again. BROCK GOES FLYING over the top for the punches.
Rock preps the announce tables for destruction before slingshotting Brock into the post. Rock hits Heyman with a shitty Rock Bottom through an announce table. Mid-ring, Rock hits a Rock bottom and gets 2. Rock is just shocked by it. Rock hypes himself up, but eats a Brock Bottom for 2.9! Rock goes for the elbow, but Brock avoids that. Brock avoids a Rock bottom and F5s him to win it! This was a better match than I remember it being, and really feels like a modern WWE main event formula match.
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