WWE Unforgiven 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

Unforgiven 2002 - September 2002

Los Angeles, California

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Brock Lesnar is the WWE Champion and Triple H holds the freshly-minted World Heavyweight Championship coming into tonight's show. Lance Storm and Christian (the Un-Americans) hold the World Tag Team Championships, Chris Jericho is the recognized Intercontinental Champion (for the 5th time), Jamie Noble is still the reigning Cruiserweight Champion, and Molly Holly is the Womens' Champion. 

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

Unforgiven 2002 kicks off with a video package hyping tonight's double main event. In the build-up to the show, Triple H was awarded the World Heavyweight Champion by Eric Bischoff for no greater reason than because Bischoff believed RAW needed a top title (as Brock Lesnar had taken the Undisputed WWE World Championship to SmackDown after SummerSlam 2002). What's a bit silly about the video is that the show's basic premise (that TWO World Championships would be defended) is not really that novel when you consider that, a year earlier, not only were there two World Championships up for grabs (the WCW and WWE Championships), but there were five other titles on the line.

Kicking off the in-ring action we have an 8-man tag, Christian, Lance Storm, Test, and William Regal (aka the Un-Americans) taking on Booker T, Goldlust, Bubba Ray Dudley, and a lean and mean looking Kane. Goldust and Christian start things off while the crowd chants "USA" in support of the babyfaces. Lance and Bubba take over a few seconds later while the crowd awakes again with a short "Regal Sucks" chant for no particular reason. Test comes in and dominates Goldust a bit before the Bizarre One tags in Booker T, who cleans house and assists Bubba on a "Waassup" headbutt from the top and the teasing of a table spot. The Un-Americans break it up, though, drawing a big "We Want Tables" chant from the crowd as Test takes control in the ring and starts wearing down Booker. After eating some offense from Regal, we get a really good sequence between Christian and Booker, building up to a hot tag for the Big Red Machine that signals the beginning of the end for the Un-Americans. An 8-man brawl breaks out, but Booker T is able to land his scissors kick onto Test and pop the crowd with a Spinnerooni before getting hit with Christian's finish. Kane makes the save, but is hit with a super kick by Lance Storm for his troubles. The "finisher spamming" continues with Bubba hitting a Bubba Bomb on Christian and Goldust connecting wiith his kick-to-the-nuts before Test lands a big boot and Kane finally hits his patented chokeslam on Lance Storm. A frenetic, fast-paced 8-man that never gets boring, but also offers no curveballs, this match is nothing special, but the crowd's enthusiasm helps make it somewhat enjoyable. (2.5/5)

In a SummerSlam rematch, Chris Jericho defends his Intercontinental Championship against Ric Flair. While their previous bout was a briskly-paced, fairly well-structured back-and-forth contest, this one is a bit more story driven, starting off with Jericho busting out some familiar nods to the Nature Boy's signature selling and Ric Flair working hard to lock in the figure four. The build is there for this one to live up to their previous encounter, but the finish is too gimmicky to give the audience any feeling of satisfaction. (2/5)

...And we get another SummerSlam rematch next, Eddie Guerrero seeking to gain some revenge against Edge. Prior to seeing these two bouts, I never considered Guerrero and Edge to have in-ring chemistry, but they're fairly excellent together. Guerrero is stronger comparatively, but that's typically the case when Guerrero is on. I particularly like the way Guerrero starts thing off by stalling, then, once he takes control, wrestles with a mix of sneaky, behind-the-ref's-back tactics and unrelenting offense. Edge gets in some good hope spots, but sells a dazed, "concussed" status for the most part (which works well here). A very strong, believable finish that plays on a "blink-and-you-missed-it" moment from early on puts this one up a notch and makes it the early Match of the Night. (3/5)

Some explanation is necessary before our next bout, Chuck and Billy vs. Three Minute Warning. A few weeks prior, Chuck and Billy's wedding ceremony was interrupted by Eric Bischoff and his henchmen, Jamal and Rosey, as a show of blatant disrespect towards SmackDown's general manager Stephanie McMahon. In a lame attempt at art imitating life, Bischoff's homophobic and misogynist actions (this storyline was linked to the uncannily distasteful "Hot Lesbian Action" segments) drew protestors outside of RAW (the WWE-created I.O.W) that Bischoff lambasted as being a group of "angry lesbians." Cue Stephanie hitting Bischoff with a kick to the groin and Billy and Chuck delivering their finisher. So, yeah, their match at this show got plenty of build. Still, time has not been kind to either team, Three Minute Warning was a completely forgettable pairing of Samoans now known more for being Roman Reigns' brother (Rosey) and the future Umaga (Jamal). Chuck and Billy's wedding coordinator, Rico, arrives with Three Minute Warning and a brawl ensues once the Lifetime Partners get into the ring, Rico's interference allowing Rosey to take control of Chuck with a back suplex. From here, the heels maintain their dominance for a stretch while Gunn watches from the outside, unable to get a tag. Rosey does attempt an impressive moonsault from the second rope, but Palumbo gets the tag and Billy cleans house with forearms and fists. Moments later, though, Billy falls prey to a pop-up Samoan Drop from Jamal, a move he would later use as a singles competitor. Cole reminds the audience that, per the stipulation of the match, Stephanie McMahon is now forced to perform "Hot Lesbian Action" with one of the "lovely lesbians" that Bischoff has rounded up backstage. Had this match gone longer, I'd have even fewer kind words to say about it, but by not overstaying its welcome and wrapping up with a pretty fun flurry of action, I will kindly grant it a score in the ballpark of average. (2/5)

The World Heavyweight Championship is on the line in our next bout - Triple H defending against Rob Van Dam. What's a bit surprising here is that while RVD is certainly over, I wouldn't necessarily call this the "peak" of his popularity, with at least a portion of the LA crowd welcoming The Game with a respectful pop. In a bit of a surprise, the match begins with some actual wrestling, headlocks and counters, wristlocks and reversals. Van Dam rattles HHH with a slap to the face and his quickness, forcing Hunter to take a breather on the outside and regroup. At this point, RVD mocks Triple H's entrance, angering the Champion and taking him even more out of his "game," following it up with another big headlock takedown and a spin kick. From here, though, Van Dam gets a bit too confident, attempting a front flip to the outside but hitting the concrete for his efforts. Triple H capitalizes with a whip into the steps and follows it up a minute later with a slingshot in the ropes. Van Dam gets a hope spot in, but Triple H regains control via a textbook neckbreaker. Triple H attempts to get an RVD imitation in on the ropes, but RVD launches him off the ropes. Still, this is only a momentary change of pace as Triple H then locks in a sleeper. RVD breaks free, though, and lands a huge heel kick, evening the score and putting both men on the mat. RVD lands two more big heel kicks, an awesome cartwheel moonsault, a monkey flip, and his rolling thunder but only manages a two. RVD continues his assault outside and inside the ring, but can't put away the Cerebral Assassin. With the ref on the floor, RVD finally scores not one, but two should-be pinfalls. With Hebner incapacitated, though, Hunter hits a low blow and grabs a sledgehammer from under the ring. While one would expect this to lead to a predictable finish, kudos goes to the WWE for adding an extra element to the finish, a twist that effectively adds intrigue to RAW's top storyline and also protects Rob Van Dam. Overall, a pretty strong outing from these two that I'd even call one of the more underrated bouts in their respective careers. (3.5/5)

D'Lo Brown and Billy Kidman are backstage with one of the stars of Young and the Restless. Okay. 

Trish Stratus vs. the Women's Champion Molly Holly is next. The crowd is pretty indifferent to this match, popping for neither competitor's offense despite the women working hard and landing some respectable dropkicks and suplexes. When the action spills to the outside, Trish takes good bumps into the steps and barricade before getting locked up in a straightjacket submission back in the ring. From here, Trish gets some offense in, but it's not all pretty - some of the spots and bumps looking just a hair mistimed or telegraphed. With Stratus in a tree of woe position, Holly hits an impressive handspring splash, but it's not enough to seal the victory for her. The finish comes moments later and while it is well-executed, it still comes off as a bit anti-climactic, the match wrapping up just when an extra 30-40 seconds of back-and-forth action would've made it feel like a true, full story was told. Instead, it feels like they hit the fast forward button on the last minute. (1.5/5)

Bischoff is backstage with Three Minute Warning and, at this point, I am absolutely sick of this storyline. 

A video package shows how we got to our next match - Chris Benoit vs. Kurt Angle. While the purpose of this match is hokey (attacks on each other on Smackdown led to each suffering a Rikishi stinkface), when they get in the ring, they wrestle with serious intensity, giving the bout a "big match" feel by making this all about one-upsmanship. As one would expect, the match starts with rapid-fire catch-as-catch-can wrestling, Benoit and Angle jockeying for dominance. Cole and Tazz hype the athleticism on display in the match but venture into hyperbolic territory when they overstate how interested the crowd is (there is at least one moment when the gaze of the audience turns dramatically towards either a fight or bare breasts in the crowd). The final third of the match, though, is full of head-turning maneuvers, including an absolutely awesome sequence where Benoit and Angle trade over a half-dozen german suplexes, building to Benoit delivering a release german that looks like it could kill the average mortal. Unfortunately, the finish of the match doesn't necessarily work for me. While both guys are basically heels coming into the contest, Angle is the one the audience wants to boo more. By wrestling a clean fight throughout, the crowd ends up cheering the moves and not performers. Benoit and Angle are good enough to turn this into a plus when heel/heel matches often run the risk of crowd-killing, but the ending pulls the rug out from under a crowd that now cared who won. Very solid bout and probably the match of the night, but the fact that some people called this the best match of 2002 (or even placed it in the top 5) shows how the metrics have certainly shifted in 13+ years and I'm not even talking about the Benoit Tragedy. The fact is, as good as this match is (and it is very good), it doesn't carry the same importance and "Must See" cred of the previous month's Lesnar/Rock battle or the underrated and brutal Jericho/Triple H Hell in a Cell match from earlier in the year. (4/5) 

Eric Bischoff makes his way to the ring (along with a pair of "lovely lesbians") to give Stephanie McMahon her punishment. This is a seriously painful-to-watch segment, insulting to the audience with how cloyingly and forcibly "R-rated" it tries to be without offering a shred of any sort of intelligent or even camp-quality drama. As one could easily predict, it ends with a big swerve that sees Bischoff end up with egg (or, to be more specific, a large man's butt) in his face. People talk about what era happened when - I might call this 1-month span of WWE the "Overuse of Cosmetic Make-Up Era." I'm going to go ahead and deduct a point for the terribleness of not only this segment, but all the backstage segments and video hype that helped filled up what seemed like at least a quarter hour of time. (-1)

Main event time - The Undertaker challenging Brock Lesnar for his WWE Championship. Unlike their most recent bouts, the fun of this one is that, while Taker was a respected vet and already an established Hall of Fame-level worker, he certainly wasn't at his peak of popularity or credibility. In his Bikertaker gimmick, he also didn't have the aura that the Deadman persona gave to his biggest matches. Meanwhile, Lesnar was still a rookie here, an absolute dynamo in the ring, but not yet The Beast of Suplex City that we know and love today. When Lesnar and Undertaker clashed in 2015, their matches needed to live up to their previous battles, but this match had no previous watermark to reach. Hell, it's not like Taker was coming off having 5-star matches at the previous few pay-per-views. If anything, one could've had fairly low expectations for this one going on. Fortunately, Taker wisely leads the match through a straightforward story that doesn't overrely on his own signature spots, granting plenty of opportunities for Lesnar to show that he is (at the very least) the Phenom's equal in ability, if not in experience and craftiness. Cole and Tazz continue to outshine Ross and Lawler by playing up the clash of styles - Taker's brawling against Lesnar's unmatched wrestling skill - and come off as credible because the match delivers exactly that blend of action. There are a number of nice sequences, but the second half will certainly not please everyone. An ultimately unnecessary run-in, at trio of ref bumps, and the addition of a chair into the mix (not to mention Paul Heyman's on-going interferences) reminds viewers that this match is every bit an "Attitude Era main event," which is why the ending is not only disappointing but somewhat confusing (how many other matches featured similar shenanigans and didn't end this way?). There were rumors at the time that Taker refused to "do business," but I'm not sure that was ever true. While there was no way to know that this match was Chapter 1 of one of the company's most epic rivalries of the decade, this was obviously designed to push what they knew would be one of the biggest feuds of the year. (3.5/5)

SummerSlam 2002 was one of the best all-around pay-per-views the WWE ever produced, so expecting the follow-up to achieve the same status is a bit like expecting to win the lottery in March after finding a pot of gold on your doorstep in February. Still, Unforgiven 2002 is not without its moments - the highly-entertaining-but-indecisive main event, a strong Angle/Benoit match, Guerrero and Edge topping their SummerSlam match, one of Trips' better non-stipulation matches I've seen against Rob Van Dam. Unfortunately, there's not much good to say about the rest of the card, which is heavily weighed down by the distasteful and unfunny Bischoff/Stephanie/HLA storyline. With a solid but not-so-special watchability score of 2.63-out-of-5, Unforgiven 2002 sits firmly in the territory of...

FINAL RATING - Watch It...With Remote in Hand