WWE SummerSlam 2002

RATING LEVELS: 

Curt Hennig – A “GOAT” show, as Perfect as possible

Watch It – A consistently good show worth watching in its entirety

Watch It…With Remote in Hand – 3 or more above-average ratings 

High Risk Maneuver – Mostly filler, inessential, but 1-2 good matches

DUDleyville – Zero redeeming qualities, chore to watch

Has it really been over a month since I reviewed a 2002-era WWE pay-per-view? Time flies when you're having fun watching WCW, I guess. I've seen this show end up on all sorts of "Best PPV Ever" lists, but have never watched it in full as one single piece. I'm curious to see how it holds up.

WWE SummerSlam 2002 - August 2002

Long Island, New York

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into tonight's show, The Rock holds the WWE Undisputed World Championship, The Un-Americans are the WWE Tag Team Champions, Chris Benoit is the Intercontinental Champion, Tommy Dreamer is the Hardcore Champion, Jamie Noble holds the Cruiserweight Title, and Molly Holly is the Womens' Champion.

COMMENTATORS: Michael Cole & Tazz (SmackDown), Jerry Lawler and Jim Ross (RAW)

SummerSlam 2002 kicks off with the WWE pay-per-view debut of Rey Mysterio Jr., his challenger being noneother than Kurt Angle. I've seen this match heralded as one of Mysterio's best ever (ditto for Angle) and there's ample reasons why. While Mysterio wasn't doing as many high-risk moonsaults in 2002 as he was in 97', he is still incredibly agile and innovative here, especially compared to the cruiserweights that WWE had offered in the past. Angle is an excellent "base" here too, keeping Mysterio grounded with an impressive array of suplexes. The chemistry these two had is off the charts, Angle seeming to relish in being able to play the "big man" for the first time in his career, tossing Mysterio with ease, while Rey is in his element playing the undying underdog who has to use his quickness and agility to outmaneuever the Olympic Gold Medalist. More than anything, though, what puts this match into Match of the Night contention (on what is an inarguably stacked card for its time) is the execution on display - there's no simply no wasted motion and no wasted minute, the only possible "flub" being in the closing sequence. I put "flub" in quotes, though, because while it may not be an absolutely perfect counter that leads to the finish, the sloppiness makes it all the more believable. Flawless choreography can stifle realism and many great cruiserweight matches suffer from it. This one does not. I still wouldn't hoist this one into the upper echelon of all-time great matches, but as an opening contest, it stands the test of time. (3.5/5)

Jerry Lawler and Jim Ross take over commentary duties for tonight's first RAW match, Chris Jericho vs. Ric Flair. Jericho's band, Fozzy, played a big role in the build-up here as Jericho was in full rock star heel mode and Flair interrupted the group's mini-concert on an episode of RAW a week or so prior. Naitch is in pretty great shape here, cutting a brisk pace with an in-his-prime Y2J, taking a big back body drop early on before taking control with some knife-edged chops. Jericho skins the cat but ends up eating even more chops before getting roughed up in the corner. Jericho takes control, though, delivering a neck-first drop on the guardrail before hitting a big forearm onto the outside from the top rope. Jericho continues his dominance with the help of some tape around the Nature Boy's neck and then lands a big vertical suplex before falling prey to his arrogance and getting tossed from the top rope. In a nice call back to the earliest portion of the match, Jericho gets back body dropped and then taken down again with a back suplex, but Jericho still has too much left in the tank and ends up nearly locking in the Walls of Jericho, which Flair wisely reverses into an inside cradle for 2. A bulldog later and Jericho seems to have it made, but face-plants onto the canvas with a missed Lionsault. Flair attempts a Walls himself, but Jericho reverses it into Flair's figure four finisher, attempting to end the match with some serious humiliation. Flair reaches the ropes, which only infuriates Jericho, who releases the hold and ends up on the receiving end of even more chest chops (and a low blow the ref doesn't catch). Flair locks in the figure four and ends up with the unexpected W. Not a bad contest and one that, due to Flair tapping while reaching the ropes, has just enough controversy to keep some credibility on Jericho. Not a classic, but certainly better than average and far from an embarrassment for a 50+ year old Flair. (3/5)

A comparatively slim Paul Heyman is back stage with a young, also comparatively slim Brock Lesnar, trying to hype him up for his World Championship match against The Rock. 

The action continues on the SmackDown side with Eddie Guerrero taking on Edge. In a cool spot early on, Edge ties up Guerrero in the ropes and hits him with a spear. On the second attempt, though, Guerrero escapes and Edge ends up on the floor, clutching his left shoulder. Eddie, smelling blood, rams him into the steel steps and keeps on the attack, hitting the damaged limb with stomps and forearm strikes before landing a clever "arm DDT" (not sure what it's called) from the top rope. Having given the crowd a solid opening, Latino Heat slows it down with a hammerlock, refusing to break the hold before kneeing Edge in the back like a true heel should. Unlike the first two matches, Eddie lets the heat build with extended submission holds, keeping the crowd engaged with hope spots here and there including taking a suplex over the top rope and onto the floor. Edge comes off the top rope with a huge splash to the outside but it's the follow-up move, a ridiculous face-buster/suplex thingamajig that really wows the crowd. From here, we get two excellent finisher-reversals and a well-timed false finish, kicking this match into high gear that peaks with Eddie landing a brilliant frog splash onto Edge's injured shoulder. While this would be a reasonable ending, we get something a bit more predictable to cap it off. As good as the opener, if not better. (3.5/5)

After an "Our Season Never Ends" ad, we're backstage with Jonathan Coachman and the Un-Americans, Christian and Lance Storm (the defending WWE Tag Team Champions) and their crony, Test. 

Booker T and Goldust make their way down the aisle for their battle with the aforementioned Christian and Lance Storm, the crowd giving them a respectable ovation (and booing the heels plenty). For whatever reason, Test does not arrive the villains, foreshadowing that he'll likely be involved later on. This one is worked pretty simply, but the crowd eats it up with a spoon and when you have four workers as good at the fundamentals as these four, it is no surprise that they can get the audience to pop big at the right times and stay engaged. There's a big over-the-turnbuckle spot out of Goldust early on that sets the stage for the Bizarre One to play face-in-peril, ultimately leading to the heels taking every advantage they can to stay in control and keep Booker out of the game. When Booker does finally get the hot tag, the Nassau Coliseum explodes for him and the closing 3 minutes do not disappoint with all sorts of twists-and-turns. Like the previous matches on tonight's show, this one is not an all-time classic, but it is definitely an above-average outing that shows how a hot crowd, a straightforward outline, and over characters can combine to make for a perfectly acceptable, arguably great match. (3/5)

The Intercontinental Championship is on the line in our next match - Chris Benoit defending the title against Rob Van Dam. This is what people are talking about when they describe this show as having a "stacked card." By my count, 5 matches in, we've seen at least 10 would-be/should-be/could-be/already are Hall of Famers perform. As one would expect, this is a highly, highly physical affair with Benoit getting his lip busted within the first few minutes. The story of the match is that the Wolverine is set on "kill mode" and goes after RVD's left arm repeatedly. To me, it's a bit of.a mixed bag, though - there are moments of genuine innovation and creativity that make me want to love this match (Benoit somehow delivering a trio of hammerlock-applied Northern Lights Suplex is insane) but there are also too many instances where things come off a bit "paint by numbers" (RVD's spill from the top rope as the precipice for Benoit's dominance). I'm also not a huge fan of the finish as one guy simply dominates the other for so much of the match that making such a miraculous comeback just doesn't make sense to me. Of course, such comebacks are commonplace in pro-wrestling (and RVD matches) so making a big deal of it seems nit picky, but in this instance, it was just too glaring to overlook. (3/5)

The Undertaker takes on Test in our next contest. The most commendable thing here is Taker's bumping, which is a bit surprising considering that this is around the time when he was arguably at his least popular among "smart" fans for not doing too much in the ring and really relying on lazy strikes and a not-yet-MMA-inspired moveset. I raved about Test's match against Brock Lesnar at the King of the Ring, but as this match is significantly less physical, it doesn't merit the same praise. Like the tag match earlier, the rest of the Un-American crew show up as expected to add an extra wrinkle, but not necessarily any sort of swerve, to the match. Easily the lowest point of the show and one that is definitely worth skipping over on a rewatch. (2/5)

A lengthy video package hypes up our next bout - an Unsanctioned Street FIght between the returning Shawn Michaels and his best friend, Triple H. The story coming into this one is that The Game welcomed Shawn back into the WWE on RAW, but ended up hitting him with a pedigree (and smashing his face into a car window) when he tricked him into believing that DegenerationX was reuniting. Michaels is back in action after 4 years, so the question was whether or not he was capable of producing a "shows topping" performance that lived up to his output in the 90s. Despite this being an "unsanctioned" match, both men get their usual entrances and Earl Hebner is around. After getting a bit of offense in, Michaels ends up the receiving end of some of the most brutal lower back attacks ever, including several well-executed backbreakers and an insane pair of sidewalk slams into a folding chair. Triple H also connects with a DDT onto a chair that busts Michaels open. Like the Benoit/RVD match, things are ridiculously one-sided for a lengthy strength, but at least in this one the babyface's retaliation is almost equally as brutal as what the heel put him through. While this makes the finish a bit more plausible, it also makes this the most Shawn Michaelest of Shawn Michaels matches ever, with the Showstopper somehow managing to kip-up, dance around, and blatantly no-sell any of the damage that Triple H had inflicted upon him. Meanwhile, Triple H pulls out his usual bag of tricks, essentially bleeding profusely and doing the kind of over-the-top bumps (one off the apron into the outside is barricade is noticeably silly) that he learned from watching his opponent for so many years. As a spectacle, the match is hard not to enjoy, especially for first-time viewers, but the more I re-watch the match (this had to be my 3rd or 4th viewing), the less impressed I am. Jim Ross does a hell of a job on commentary, though, hitting the exact right tone for one of the more overdramatic matches in WWE history and one that simultaneously celebrates the return of Shawn Michaels while completely destroying any legitimacy his 4-year back injury had built up with the audience. Entertaining as hell, but when the bell sounds, you'll need to turn your brain off to enjoy it as much as the Long Island crowd did. (3.5/5)

Howard Finkel takes the mic to promote himself. I totally forgot that this character turn ever happened. Trish Stratus interrupts him to the delight of the crowd, apologizing for slapping him in the face a few weeks prior and telling him that she never realized how sexy his voice is. The Fink makes an absolutely disgusting joke in reference to his wiener and Trish's puppies. Yuck. Lillian Garcia shows up to slap the taste of his mouth and kick him in the balls. Thankfully the segment doesn't last long.

Main event time - The Rock defends his WWE Undisputed Championship against "The Next Big Thing" Brock Lesnar. A video package hypes how we got to tonight's main event, including clips of Brock decimating Hulk Hogan. I wasn't following the product at the time but it is hard to believe anyone thought The Rock would be leaving with the title. Before the bell even sounds, Rocky tries to take the fight to Lesnar but Brock tosses him across the ring with a belly-to-belly. As the crowd chants "Rocky!" Brock continues to dominate, ramming The People's Champ in the corner and tossing him to the outside through the middle ropes. On the outside, Heyman gets involved early and often, wisely getting shots in against The Rock with the back turned to keep the heat on despite portions of the audience seemingly turning on The Great One with each passing minute. Lesnar is awesome here, too, unloading a flurry of high-impact offense and impressive strength spots. Shockingly, despite a warm reception for his entrance, the "Rocky Sucks" chants become noticeable once The Rock gets some offense in. There's a slight botch on The Rock's leg whip leading to the Rock's Sharpshooter, a move that only seems to amplify the audience's disapproval of the champ. A chair finds its way into the ring, but instead of getting booed for using it, the audience doesn't really react (or doesn't sound like it does), the cheers and boos for the blatant cheapshot drowning eachother out. Lesnar locks in a bear hug. A loud "Let's Go Lesnar" chant breaks out and Tazz can't ignore it on commentary as Cole mentions how Hogan was felled by the very same move. A low blow by the Rock draws some boos and his facial expression, a look of disgust at how the fans are treating him, is absolutely pitch-perfect - the exact opposite of whatever Shawn was doing in the previous bout. Ever the arrogant, self-driven warrior, The Rock is obviously rattled by the crowd, but continues his assault regardless, connecting with an imperfect Rock Bottom on Paul Heyman through the Spanish Announce Table. Lesnar, meanwhile, spends some time selling and, while his bumping is a bit over the top, it's at least warranted by the moment, the crowd on their feet for every second of the match and giving a tremendous reactions for the near-falls. Unable to put away Lesnar with his patented finisher, The Rock is distracted by his self-doubt and ends up eating a Rock Bottom himself. While they could easily go to the finish here, they postpone it to tease a People's Elbow and set-up a series of reversals and counters that make for the night's most satisfying and believable finishes. Anyone who prefers the "epic" of HHH/HBK over this match, a tightly-packed showcase of everything one could ever and would ever love about these two legends is an idiot. I want to say that this match would be better given 2-3 more minutes, but like a Ramones song, part of the brilliance is that there is nothing to edit out of it. Lean, mean, and riveting. (4.5/5)

With a strong 3.25-out-of-5 on the ol' watchability meter, SummerSlam 2002 may not be the highest scoring show I've ever seen, but it is certainly up there. Only Taker/Test falls below average, while the remaining 7 matches each have their merits. I have no question that, at the time of the event, Benoit/RVD and HHH/HBK wowed audiences considerably more than my scores for these particular matches would suggest - but time has not been kind to Shawn's over dramatic style and RVD's formulaic "take a beating for 10 minutes then hit a frog splash" match patterns. Fortunately, Edge/Guerrero, Flair/Jericho, and the hot opener all stand the test of time. The match of the night, though, is the main event, a landscape-altering whirlwind of a match that achieves everything and more that the previous bout attempted to do in what feels like half the time. A lengthy article could dig into each element on display - Lesnar's abilities being unlike any foe the Rock previously encountered and how that plays into the finish, the way Paul Heyman (even back then) may have been the business's last truly great manager, the Rock's uncanny ability to read the crowd and adjust his performance to play on their emotions, the symbolic "passing of the torch" that not only changed who the main event was but, arguably, what type of match the main events would now be, how the 50/50 crowd in this match predates the John Cena/Roman Reigns crises that have befallen today's WWE. Excluding all these talking points (but why would you?), the match itself is tremendous fun and captivating from beginning to end and easily one of the must-see matches of this era. With only one match in the below average range, I grant SummerSlam 2002 a....

FINAL RATING - Watch It All