The 1-2-3 Killam
Mid-Card Championship Winner
Survivor Series 2002
Date: November 17, 2002
Location: Madison Square Garden – New York City, NY
Attendance: 17, 930
Commentators: Jim Ross & Jerry Lawler (Raw), Tazz & Michael Cole (Smackdown)
Sorry KB if I'm stealing "your thing" here. I just finished re-watching this event and thought I would give my take on it. Here goes nothing...
Elimination Tag Team Tables Match
Jeff Hardy, Bubba Ray, and Spike def. 3-Minute Warning & Rico
This match was right in the midst of the dominant tag team wrestling era within the WWE. The history of this particular match is a little bit clouded, but essentially D-Von had been “traded” over to the Smackdown brand, separating Team 3D and allowing Spike to fill the role. I'm not positive on why Jeff Hardy inserted himself into this match, but one can assume with the tag team history between these guys it only made sense at the time. 3-Minute Warning was build perfectly up to this point, displaying dominance and brushing off beat-downs left and right. They tore through Spike in a matter of minutes, and left the match feeling pretty one-sided for the first half. It's hard to imagine that Rosie was such a dominating force in the WWE in 2002, and that Jamal (who later became Umaga) was close behind him!
The match itself was fantastic! If you want what is basically a manual on how to deliver an extreme tables match in about fifteen minutes, this is your go-to guide. The spots were fantastic for each guy, albeit a few expected mishaps along the way (gotta love the Madison Square Garden crowd and their “you f****d up” chant!). What I loved most about this match was that it proved you don't need blood to put on a brutal back-and-forth gimmick match. Not a single ounce was shed in this contest, and you literally could have taken it and pasted it into today's PG product! Bookers need to take a serious look at this when they're doing gimmick matches – almost a dozen tables were used, bodies were broken, the crowd was on their feet, and each guy came off looking like a million bucks (ok...maybe not Spike).
As an opener I couldn't have asked for more. The MSG crowd ate it up, and the whole thing culminated in the return of D-Von, the reunion of the Dudley Boys, capped off with a big 3D on Rico through a table to end it all. Excellent work. Rating: A-
After the match we were treated to a performance by Saliva, who did the theme song while a video package of the night's matches was played in the foreground.
Cruiserweight Championship
Billy Kidman def. Jamie Noble (new champion)
The first title change of many to come at Survivor Series 2002. Noble was coming off a losing streak, but still carried the second longest Cruiserweight title reign in history, making Kidman's win kind of a big deal. I say “kind of” and not “totally” because this match didn't really do a whole lot for me (and because honestly, who says “totally” any more?). There were some great near-falls that would have been perfectly executed in a fifteen or twenty minute match-up, and I appreciate their time restraints here, but there are better ways of booking a seven minute match. These guys worked well together in the ring, and for the time they had to work with did a decent job. If anything I blame the booking, not the actual wrestlers in question. Not bad, but it could have been much better consider what stakes were on the line... Rating: C
After the match Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit had an incredibly awkward promo backstage that was a blatant reference to Tommy Boy. The “tag team partners gotta hug” line was probably funny in 2002, but it just had me rolling my eyes. It's also a bit of a challenge to see Benoit in any capacity these days, let alone in a light-hearted segment like this.
Another weird backstage segment, this time involving Victoria going insane, breaking a mirror, and ranting about Trish Stratus. Moving on...
Hardcore Match for the Women's Championship
Victoria def. Trish Stratus (new champion)
This sounds incredibly basic, but it is so nice to see actual weapons being used in a HARDCORE match. It is even more nice to see women wrestlers putting on a real match, taking real bumps, and bringing credit to their gender's role inside professional wrestling. If you took just about any of the women from today's WWE roster, this match would have fallen flat on its face. Victoria and Trish Stratus don't look like they're thinking between each and every move. They don't stumble around the ring trying to figure out what to do next, and when they do botch a move they get right back up and capitalize on the moment. This wasn't a picture-perfect match by any stretch of the imagination, but it was incredibly refreshing to see a good women's wrestling match, and they did a better job at wrestling a hardcore match than most men in today's product. A job adequately done, for sure. Rating: B-
And the awkward backstage moments continue... When did Paul Heyman become Lesnar's gay lover? If you don't know what I'm talking about, watch this promo and tell me Heyman isn't a bit too “worried” in his delivery. Weird.
WWE Championship
Big Show def. Brock Lesnar (new champion)
The build-up to this match was pretty great. The most dominant WWE Champion in over a decade, after defeating the Undertaker at No Way Out inside the Cell, colliding with the largest athlete in the world. As dominating as Lesnar was, they booked up Show to make it seem impossible for the champion to retain the title. The week before Survivor Series, Brock Lesnar attacked Big Show and busted him open, providing the first evidence that he could possibly get the job done. It was simple, intense, and one of the better feuds on Smackdown at the time.
You remember that awkward promo I referenced a few seconds ago? The one with Heyman? Now I remember why they did that... This is one of those situations where you look back and have to give credit to whoever booked this whole thing. They took full advantage of the Madison Square Garden crowd, the ONLY crowd on the planet that would cheer Lesnar in the midst of his heel run, and used that energy to turn him face against the Big Show, simultaneously turning Show heel and aligning him with Paul Heyman. The managerial “screw-job” was played perfectly, especially when you haven't watched the event in ten years and forgot about the twist! The match itself was short, but Brock got the crowd behind him with a belly-to-belly on Show, followed by an F5. I've seen Cena lift the big man a dozen times, and it never looks quite this impressive...
Effective short match, great build, excellent twist...overall a great way to give Lesnar his first pinfall loss, take the title off him, and turn him face. I didn't see it coming, and I have hindsight AND Wikipedia! Rating: A-
Triple Threat Tag Team Championship Match
Los Guerreros def. Angle/Benoit and Edge/Mysterio (new champions)
I know I'm beating a dead horse, but how difficult is it to build interesting feuds in the tag team division, and follow that up with a fun match at a big-time PPV? It's obviously not impossible, because they managed to do it here – I'm just wondering why we haven't seen that since the Miz and John Morrison split up. This feud was living proof (maybe a poor choice of words...) that random mid-card stars could be placed together and create magic. Edge/Mysterio and Benoit/Angle weren't the greatest tag team in history, but they had good chemistry, put on good matches, and passed time while teams like the Dudley Boys, Haas & Benjamin, and Team Extreme were split up. HOW are we not learning from this ten years later...?
My only complaint with this match was that after a huge breakdown in the middle, and the intense elimination of Angle and Benoit, I had very little energy for the actual finish. By the time Los Guerreros actually won the belts, I was ready for it to be over. Don't get me wrong, I'll never complain too hard about a good twenty minute match, I just wish it was booked slightly different to captivate on the crowd's obvious love for Angle and Benoit as a team. Having the Guerreros go over them would have helped to solidify their heat much more than the former champions. But I digress...
It was definitely interesting to see six veterans from different parts of the world coming in to their own. With the hindsight that five out of six of these men would go on to become World champion in the coming years, it was cool to see their roots shine through in the WWE. The breakdown was an insane brawl that had shades of WCW cruiserweight action, which makes sense given who was in the ring. Edge and Angle adapted to their style nicely, and provided a polished dichotomy, bringing together both worlds. I had also forgotten how intense Benoit was... Overall a fantastic tag team war that only suffered slightly from the sheer amount of things going on. Rating: B+
In between this match and the main event we were “treated” to an in-ring segment where Chris Nowinksi and Matt Hardy ran down the New York City crowd. If ever there was a big ball of charisma, it was these too... (for those of you who can't read sarcasm, just get out) The segment redeemed itself after the return of Scott Steiner to the WWE for the first time in 8 years. Big Poppa Pump is your hook up...holla, if you can hear me!
Woah...cue old Randy Orton promo! I can't help but feel like this underwhelming segment, interrupting Shawn Michaels right before one of the biggest moments in his career was not the best idea WWE has ever come up with. Following this we had the Elimination Chamber video package and a classic promo for the then-champion Triple H, who was with Ric Flair. Eric Bischoff came out and hyped up the Chamber, explaining the rules to the fans. After literally twenty minutes of filler since the last match, I was definitely begging to move on.
Elimination Chamber for the World Heavyweight Championship
Shawn Michaels def. Triple H, Booker T, RVD, Kane, and Chris Jericho (new champion)
Note: Saliva did Jericho's entrance theme “King of My World” live, and it was pretty terrible. I like this song when it's been edited by a couple hundred thousand dollars of equipment, but Josey Scott has a terrible voice when he's not growling...
This is it. This is the match that people often talk about when they refer to Shawn Michaels. There are dozens of other amazing moments, but in my opinion few compare to his return to Madison Square Garden after five long years to win the World Heavyweight Championship from Triple H. It was the crowning jewel to a stunning PPV, but the match itself had a few flaws. With any origin match comes difficulty, as none of the competitors had any time to prepare, and virtually no idea what to expect from the unforgiving Elimination Chamber. Moves were botched early on, specifically when it came to Rob Van Dam, but more than that: the first half of this near-forty-minute contest seemed almost lazy in comparison to the later half. Sluggish would be a better word for it.
All that aside, this was a war. There have been better Chamber matches since the original in 2002, but if you go back to that date and pretend you've never seen it before, you have to be impressed with just how brutal the structure could be. Bischoff created it as the “Devil's Playground” and they did an excellent job of booking it to match its name. Another fun aspect was that there almost seemed to be several different matches going on at once. RVD took it to the champ early on, and when Jericho got involved they dissected Van Dam – that was segment one. After Booker T got rid of RVD in a rather unconventional fashion, Kane entered and we saw a totally different contest between the Big Red Monster and every one else in the ring – segment two. All of that was leading up to the moment when HBK made his return, coming out of the pod last (nice touch, by the way! When you have a moment like this, it's all about the fine details).
I loved that they beat down Shawn Michaels, allowing Jericho to come off strong and play up HBK's big come-back towards the end. The last pedigree from the Game was excellently placed, and for a minute you really thought it was all over. After all, it wouldn't be the first (or last) time WWE built up a big return and allowed the unpopular to go over. To make matters worse (or better) Triple H was on fire at that time, and I really believed he would walk out with the World Heavyweight title. Excellently booked final fifteen minutes, showcasing Jericho, getting him out of the way, and allowing the champion to go to work on his greatest opponent. Rating: A-
Final Thoughts: This is what I would call a near-perfect wrestling PPV. All of the components were there: big fight feel, huge title change in the main event, an excellent opener, and well-above average content to fill the rest of the night. The "worst" match of the night was the Cruiserweight title bout, and even that was a fun contest that did what it needed too. The only noticeable blemishes on the face of Survivor Series 2002 were the 20 minutes of intermission leading into the main event, and the little flaws that stacked up over the course of nearly three hours. But factoring in that they needed time to set up the Chamber (it had never been done before!), and that when you're trying to build up under-card stars you are bound to have a few awkward segments, the night went splendidly.
There is definitely a lot a feel current WWE bookers could learn from this PPV. The opener was a testament to how to run a PG-friendly hardcore match, the women's match was well-wrestled and showed more intensity than any modern-day Diva, and the tag team division at the time dominated this show! Excellent action all the way through, and no real deal-breakers to keep me from re-watching this event in the future. But what truly made this night special, above everything I've already mentioned, was the commentary team that took us home. As Shawn Michaels held the title in his arms and fell to the ground, streamers falling from the sky and cluttering the air, the great Jim Ross took us to black with the iconic words: "You better believe! You better believe! We have a new World Heavyweight Champion!"
Final Rating: A-
Date: November 17, 2002
Location: Madison Square Garden – New York City, NY
Attendance: 17, 930
Commentators: Jim Ross & Jerry Lawler (Raw), Tazz & Michael Cole (Smackdown)
Sorry KB if I'm stealing "your thing" here. I just finished re-watching this event and thought I would give my take on it. Here goes nothing...
Elimination Tag Team Tables Match
Jeff Hardy, Bubba Ray, and Spike def. 3-Minute Warning & Rico
This match was right in the midst of the dominant tag team wrestling era within the WWE. The history of this particular match is a little bit clouded, but essentially D-Von had been “traded” over to the Smackdown brand, separating Team 3D and allowing Spike to fill the role. I'm not positive on why Jeff Hardy inserted himself into this match, but one can assume with the tag team history between these guys it only made sense at the time. 3-Minute Warning was build perfectly up to this point, displaying dominance and brushing off beat-downs left and right. They tore through Spike in a matter of minutes, and left the match feeling pretty one-sided for the first half. It's hard to imagine that Rosie was such a dominating force in the WWE in 2002, and that Jamal (who later became Umaga) was close behind him!
The match itself was fantastic! If you want what is basically a manual on how to deliver an extreme tables match in about fifteen minutes, this is your go-to guide. The spots were fantastic for each guy, albeit a few expected mishaps along the way (gotta love the Madison Square Garden crowd and their “you f****d up” chant!). What I loved most about this match was that it proved you don't need blood to put on a brutal back-and-forth gimmick match. Not a single ounce was shed in this contest, and you literally could have taken it and pasted it into today's PG product! Bookers need to take a serious look at this when they're doing gimmick matches – almost a dozen tables were used, bodies were broken, the crowd was on their feet, and each guy came off looking like a million bucks (ok...maybe not Spike).
As an opener I couldn't have asked for more. The MSG crowd ate it up, and the whole thing culminated in the return of D-Von, the reunion of the Dudley Boys, capped off with a big 3D on Rico through a table to end it all. Excellent work. Rating: A-
After the match we were treated to a performance by Saliva, who did the theme song while a video package of the night's matches was played in the foreground.
Cruiserweight Championship
Billy Kidman def. Jamie Noble (new champion)
The first title change of many to come at Survivor Series 2002. Noble was coming off a losing streak, but still carried the second longest Cruiserweight title reign in history, making Kidman's win kind of a big deal. I say “kind of” and not “totally” because this match didn't really do a whole lot for me (and because honestly, who says “totally” any more?). There were some great near-falls that would have been perfectly executed in a fifteen or twenty minute match-up, and I appreciate their time restraints here, but there are better ways of booking a seven minute match. These guys worked well together in the ring, and for the time they had to work with did a decent job. If anything I blame the booking, not the actual wrestlers in question. Not bad, but it could have been much better consider what stakes were on the line... Rating: C
After the match Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit had an incredibly awkward promo backstage that was a blatant reference to Tommy Boy. The “tag team partners gotta hug” line was probably funny in 2002, but it just had me rolling my eyes. It's also a bit of a challenge to see Benoit in any capacity these days, let alone in a light-hearted segment like this.
Another weird backstage segment, this time involving Victoria going insane, breaking a mirror, and ranting about Trish Stratus. Moving on...
Hardcore Match for the Women's Championship
Victoria def. Trish Stratus (new champion)
This sounds incredibly basic, but it is so nice to see actual weapons being used in a HARDCORE match. It is even more nice to see women wrestlers putting on a real match, taking real bumps, and bringing credit to their gender's role inside professional wrestling. If you took just about any of the women from today's WWE roster, this match would have fallen flat on its face. Victoria and Trish Stratus don't look like they're thinking between each and every move. They don't stumble around the ring trying to figure out what to do next, and when they do botch a move they get right back up and capitalize on the moment. This wasn't a picture-perfect match by any stretch of the imagination, but it was incredibly refreshing to see a good women's wrestling match, and they did a better job at wrestling a hardcore match than most men in today's product. A job adequately done, for sure. Rating: B-
And the awkward backstage moments continue... When did Paul Heyman become Lesnar's gay lover? If you don't know what I'm talking about, watch this promo and tell me Heyman isn't a bit too “worried” in his delivery. Weird.
WWE Championship
Big Show def. Brock Lesnar (new champion)
The build-up to this match was pretty great. The most dominant WWE Champion in over a decade, after defeating the Undertaker at No Way Out inside the Cell, colliding with the largest athlete in the world. As dominating as Lesnar was, they booked up Show to make it seem impossible for the champion to retain the title. The week before Survivor Series, Brock Lesnar attacked Big Show and busted him open, providing the first evidence that he could possibly get the job done. It was simple, intense, and one of the better feuds on Smackdown at the time.
You remember that awkward promo I referenced a few seconds ago? The one with Heyman? Now I remember why they did that... This is one of those situations where you look back and have to give credit to whoever booked this whole thing. They took full advantage of the Madison Square Garden crowd, the ONLY crowd on the planet that would cheer Lesnar in the midst of his heel run, and used that energy to turn him face against the Big Show, simultaneously turning Show heel and aligning him with Paul Heyman. The managerial “screw-job” was played perfectly, especially when you haven't watched the event in ten years and forgot about the twist! The match itself was short, but Brock got the crowd behind him with a belly-to-belly on Show, followed by an F5. I've seen Cena lift the big man a dozen times, and it never looks quite this impressive...
Effective short match, great build, excellent twist...overall a great way to give Lesnar his first pinfall loss, take the title off him, and turn him face. I didn't see it coming, and I have hindsight AND Wikipedia! Rating: A-
Triple Threat Tag Team Championship Match
Los Guerreros def. Angle/Benoit and Edge/Mysterio (new champions)
I know I'm beating a dead horse, but how difficult is it to build interesting feuds in the tag team division, and follow that up with a fun match at a big-time PPV? It's obviously not impossible, because they managed to do it here – I'm just wondering why we haven't seen that since the Miz and John Morrison split up. This feud was living proof (maybe a poor choice of words...) that random mid-card stars could be placed together and create magic. Edge/Mysterio and Benoit/Angle weren't the greatest tag team in history, but they had good chemistry, put on good matches, and passed time while teams like the Dudley Boys, Haas & Benjamin, and Team Extreme were split up. HOW are we not learning from this ten years later...?
My only complaint with this match was that after a huge breakdown in the middle, and the intense elimination of Angle and Benoit, I had very little energy for the actual finish. By the time Los Guerreros actually won the belts, I was ready for it to be over. Don't get me wrong, I'll never complain too hard about a good twenty minute match, I just wish it was booked slightly different to captivate on the crowd's obvious love for Angle and Benoit as a team. Having the Guerreros go over them would have helped to solidify their heat much more than the former champions. But I digress...
It was definitely interesting to see six veterans from different parts of the world coming in to their own. With the hindsight that five out of six of these men would go on to become World champion in the coming years, it was cool to see their roots shine through in the WWE. The breakdown was an insane brawl that had shades of WCW cruiserweight action, which makes sense given who was in the ring. Edge and Angle adapted to their style nicely, and provided a polished dichotomy, bringing together both worlds. I had also forgotten how intense Benoit was... Overall a fantastic tag team war that only suffered slightly from the sheer amount of things going on. Rating: B+
In between this match and the main event we were “treated” to an in-ring segment where Chris Nowinksi and Matt Hardy ran down the New York City crowd. If ever there was a big ball of charisma, it was these too... (for those of you who can't read sarcasm, just get out) The segment redeemed itself after the return of Scott Steiner to the WWE for the first time in 8 years. Big Poppa Pump is your hook up...holla, if you can hear me!
Woah...cue old Randy Orton promo! I can't help but feel like this underwhelming segment, interrupting Shawn Michaels right before one of the biggest moments in his career was not the best idea WWE has ever come up with. Following this we had the Elimination Chamber video package and a classic promo for the then-champion Triple H, who was with Ric Flair. Eric Bischoff came out and hyped up the Chamber, explaining the rules to the fans. After literally twenty minutes of filler since the last match, I was definitely begging to move on.
Elimination Chamber for the World Heavyweight Championship
Shawn Michaels def. Triple H, Booker T, RVD, Kane, and Chris Jericho (new champion)
Note: Saliva did Jericho's entrance theme “King of My World” live, and it was pretty terrible. I like this song when it's been edited by a couple hundred thousand dollars of equipment, but Josey Scott has a terrible voice when he's not growling...
This is it. This is the match that people often talk about when they refer to Shawn Michaels. There are dozens of other amazing moments, but in my opinion few compare to his return to Madison Square Garden after five long years to win the World Heavyweight Championship from Triple H. It was the crowning jewel to a stunning PPV, but the match itself had a few flaws. With any origin match comes difficulty, as none of the competitors had any time to prepare, and virtually no idea what to expect from the unforgiving Elimination Chamber. Moves were botched early on, specifically when it came to Rob Van Dam, but more than that: the first half of this near-forty-minute contest seemed almost lazy in comparison to the later half. Sluggish would be a better word for it.
All that aside, this was a war. There have been better Chamber matches since the original in 2002, but if you go back to that date and pretend you've never seen it before, you have to be impressed with just how brutal the structure could be. Bischoff created it as the “Devil's Playground” and they did an excellent job of booking it to match its name. Another fun aspect was that there almost seemed to be several different matches going on at once. RVD took it to the champ early on, and when Jericho got involved they dissected Van Dam – that was segment one. After Booker T got rid of RVD in a rather unconventional fashion, Kane entered and we saw a totally different contest between the Big Red Monster and every one else in the ring – segment two. All of that was leading up to the moment when HBK made his return, coming out of the pod last (nice touch, by the way! When you have a moment like this, it's all about the fine details).
I loved that they beat down Shawn Michaels, allowing Jericho to come off strong and play up HBK's big come-back towards the end. The last pedigree from the Game was excellently placed, and for a minute you really thought it was all over. After all, it wouldn't be the first (or last) time WWE built up a big return and allowed the unpopular to go over. To make matters worse (or better) Triple H was on fire at that time, and I really believed he would walk out with the World Heavyweight title. Excellently booked final fifteen minutes, showcasing Jericho, getting him out of the way, and allowing the champion to go to work on his greatest opponent. Rating: A-
Final Thoughts: This is what I would call a near-perfect wrestling PPV. All of the components were there: big fight feel, huge title change in the main event, an excellent opener, and well-above average content to fill the rest of the night. The "worst" match of the night was the Cruiserweight title bout, and even that was a fun contest that did what it needed too. The only noticeable blemishes on the face of Survivor Series 2002 were the 20 minutes of intermission leading into the main event, and the little flaws that stacked up over the course of nearly three hours. But factoring in that they needed time to set up the Chamber (it had never been done before!), and that when you're trying to build up under-card stars you are bound to have a few awkward segments, the night went splendidly.
There is definitely a lot a feel current WWE bookers could learn from this PPV. The opener was a testament to how to run a PG-friendly hardcore match, the women's match was well-wrestled and showed more intensity than any modern-day Diva, and the tag team division at the time dominated this show! Excellent action all the way through, and no real deal-breakers to keep me from re-watching this event in the future. But what truly made this night special, above everything I've already mentioned, was the commentary team that took us home. As Shawn Michaels held the title in his arms and fell to the ground, streamers falling from the sky and cluttering the air, the great Jim Ross took us to black with the iconic words: "You better believe! You better believe! We have a new World Heavyweight Champion!"
Final Rating: A-
