WWE Judgment Day (May 2002)

From Nashville, Tennessee; Your Hosts are Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler

Opening WWE Intercontinental Title Match: Eddie Guerrero v Rob Van Dam: They shove each other around at bit at the bell, and Rob snaps off a shoulderblock for two, then wins a criss cross with a clothesline for two. Powerslam gets two, and Eddie wisely bails to break the momentum. He stalls out there for a bit, then powers Rob into the corner off a lockup, and unloads uppercuts. Van Dam responds by head faking him during cross corner whip to setup a splitlegged moonsault, and he backdrops him to setup a corkscrew legdrop for two - as Ross and Lawler have a weird conversation about Van Dam's taste in movies. RVD with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two, and he fires a bunch of kicks at the back to setup a surfboard. A really good, long one, too - which you usually don't see. Standing moonsault gets two, so Eddie begs off - then promptly takes a cheapshot to put his challenger down. Guerrero chokes him out in the corner, but walks into a monkeyflip, then takes another one for good measure. Rob electric chairs him onto the top rope to setup rolling thunder for two, but Guerrero counters a vertical suplex with a well executed rollup for two. Rob cuts off the comeback with a spinkick, but he ends up getting crotched on the top as he goes for a moonsault, and Eddie powerbombs him down. Guerrero's back delays him as he goes for the Frogsplash, however, and Rob is able to roll out of the way, then win a slugfest with another spinkick. Five Star Frogsplash, but Guerrero also manages to roll out of the way to even the score on that front. That leaves both men looking up at the lights, and Rob tries a backslide as they recover, but Eddie kicks out at two, then hooks his own - while adding two feet on the middle ropes for leverage to retain at 10:55. Another fun match in this series, that nicely built on the foundation of the earlier matches with both guys learning from their mistakes, but Eddie's cheating overwhelming Van Dam. *** ¼

WWE Women's Title Match: Trish Stratus v Stacy Keibler: Trish attacks from behind, but runs into a spinkick for two, and Stacy backdrops her for another two. Trish fires back with a pair of clotheslines to setup a Boston crab - Stacy's impossibly long legs providing for an interesting visual. Trish with a neckbreaker for two, and a roundhouse kick knocks the challenger out of the ring. She gets into an altercation with Bubba Dudley (in Trish's corner for this) out there, but as the referee intervenes, Deacon Batista (in Stacy's corner, along with D-Von Dudley) sneaks in a bodyslams Stratus. That allows Stacy a two count as she re-enters, but she walks into a bicycle kick, and Trish bulldogs her to retain at 2:52. Really poorly worked junker of a match, but Stacy and Trish rolling around in small outfits for three minutes is never not welcome. DUD

The Hardy Boyz v Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman: The Boyz attack Brock on the floor before the bell to neutralize him and go after Paul in the ring, but Brock shrugs them both off, and railroads Jeff Hardy into the corner. Jeff tries to stick and move, but runs into a release overhead suplex, so he quickly bails to brother Matt. That doesn't work out to well for him, though, and Brock casually destroys him. Powerslam and a backbreaker hit, but Lesnar telegraphs a backdrop, and takes a tornado DDT to allow the tag back to Jeff. The Boyz stick and move with quick combos to put Brock on the floor, and go for the kill on Heyman with the Poetry in Motion. Jeff with the Swanton to finish, but Brock saves, and hits him with the F5 - Heyman then tagging in to get the pin himself at 4:57. Watching Brock squash guys is always fun, but this was nothing we hadn't already seen a couple of times before. ¼*

Handicap Match: Big Show and Ric Flair v Steve Austin: The heels try cornering Austin, but the Rattlesnake strikes, and backdrops Flair, then takes Show down by kicking at the knee. Flair tries a flying axehandle, but Steve nails him on the way down, then clotheslines him out to allow him the freedom to figure four Show. Flair saves, so Austin slaps the hold on him instead, and dodges an elbowdrop from Big Show as he does. The referee is doing nothing about the blatant double-teaming, so Steve goes out to grab a chair to even the odds, and NOW the referee suddenly objects. Steve responds by bringing two chairs in. Heh. The referee finally restores order (though, not so much 'restores' as simply 'stores'), and Flair starts with Austin. Steve manhandles him, then gets bored and literally stops to have a drink, but the referee objects to that, too. Criss cross ends in Steve backdropping Ric, and he goes to stomp a mudhole, but Flair rakes the eyes to block, and blasts him with chops in the corner. He gloats too soon, however, and Austin responds in kind - flopping Flair. Another backdrop leaves Ric begging off, but Austin ten-punches him anyway, then hits a lariat as Flair tries countering with an inverted atomic drop. Over to Big Show, and he uses his size advantage to control - blasting Austin with a big boot. Now that Austin is down, Flair wants back in, and he blows him low. Hilarious moment follows, as Flair taunts some guy in the front row with his usual hip thrusting motion, and some poor mom sitting with her husband and children who clearly isn't familiar with the gag gets a look on her face that would have surely resulted in an angry Facebook post had Facebook existed in 2002. Ric chops him, but makes the mistake of heading to the top, and gets slammed down. No surprise there. Steve stomps a mudhole, but Show waltzes in with a powerslam before the referee manages to intervene. That gets Ric two, and he goes after Steve's knee. Also, more cock thrusting, since why not? He and Show take turns pounding Stone Cold's knee, until Ric is satisfied, and decides it's Figure Four time - only for Steve to cradle him for two. Ric responds by kicking at the leg and trying again, this time successfully, but Austin reverses, so Show runs (well...) in to break it up. Steve still manages a backslide for two, and a chopfest with Flair ends in Austin hitting a spinebuster and slapping on his own figure four - broken up by Show. Show tags in all official-like, but runs into a Thesz press, and Steve hits the pointed elbowdrop. That draws Flair in, so Austin gives him the same treatment, then adds another spinebuster for two. Show comes over to save with a Chokeslam, but Steve counters with the Stunner. X-Pac runs in, but takes a Stunner as well, and one more for Flair finishes at 15:34. I wasn't expecting much, but this was actually really fun, with Austin overcoming the odds. Flair/Show was actually a fun pairing, too, as Show could come in and neutralize Austin in a believable manner, with Flair (who could still go at this point, and hadn't slipped into self-parody yet) doing the heavy lifting in terms of spots and match flow. ** ¾

Hair v Hair Match: Kurt Angle v Edge: Kurt controls through the initial lockup with a standing front-facelock, but Edge gets into the ropes to trigger a criss cross, and he schoolboys Kurt for two when Angle tries a kneelift. Another criss cross ends in Angle getting launched over the top rope, and Edge quickly follows up with a baseball slide, then bounces his head off the rail for good measure. Back in, Edge backdrops him, then ties him up in the ropes to setup a spear - only for a second try to get him overhead suplexes clear over the top rope. Terrific bump there. Not surprisingly, that takes the pep out of Edge's step, and Kurt brings him for a slew of chops and stomps. Edge tries fighting back, but gets spinebustered for two, then DDTd for two. Chinlock, so Edge fights up - only Kurt to take him down with a handful of hair. Heh. Snap suplex gets two, and Kurt grounds him again with a front-facelock. Edge escapes and hits a dangerous looking overhead suplex out of a criss cross, and he manages a diving forearm, followed by a spinheel kick to take control. Edge-o-Matic gets two, so Kurt desperately tries an overhead suplex to sway things back, but ends up getting backdropped out, and nailed with a tope suicida. Edge rolls him in and climbs to the top, so Kurt tries popping up for an overhead superplex, but Edge is ready for it, and counters with a missile dropkick for two. Kurt PLANTS him with a release German suplex, but a second try is countered into a victory cradle for two, and Edge follows with the Impaler. Back to the top, but this time Kurt manages to play possum, and surprise him with the popup overhead superplex for two. Edge manages a superkick to setup a DDT for two, but the spear ends up hitting the referee, and Kurt German suplexes him again. Looked really odd, as Edge sold it weird. So, now without the referee, Angle decides to go for a chair, but Edge blocks him with a spear. Still no referee to count, however, so Edge sets up another one, but Kurt counters into the Olympic Slam - only for Edge to counter back into the spear for a dramatic two count from the dazed official. Impaler, but Kurt counters into a spear of his own, and adds the Olympic Slam for another dramatic two. Anklelock, but Edge quickly uses an enzuigiri to escape. Kurt goes back to it, but gets shoved into the ropes, and Edge catches him with an inside cradle for the pin as he rebounds at 15:28. The match lost a lot of momentum after the backdrop spot early on, but picked up nicely towards the end, with both guys building drama as they threw everything at each other without being able to finish, until Kurt got frustrated, and Edge capitalized. ***

Hell in a Cell Match: Triple H v Chris Jericho: HHH wins a quick slugfest, and blasts him with a high knee. Backdrop, and he tosses Chris over the top to setup a shot into the cell, but Jericho blocks. Back in, Jericho hits a jumping forearm, and he chops Hunter in the corner, but misses a charge into the post, and falls out of the ring. This time, Hunter manages to toss him into the cell a couple of times, and Jericho starts bleeding from the arm. Back in, HHH unloads a pair of short-clotheslines, and a snap suplex for two. Chris manages to reverse a corner whip to send HHH flying out of the ring, but gets reversed going into the steps. HHH tries a piledriver onto them, but gets backdropped, and Chris fires him into the cage with a slingshot to draw blood. He finds a ladder to ram Hunter with, and inside, Chris pounds on the cut. He whips HHH into the ladder to send the Game crashing out of the ring again, and tosses the ladder after him for good measure. Back in, Chris tries charging with the ladder, but Hunter whacks him with a chair to block. Jericho responds by bringing the steps into the ring, but ends up having them thrown into his face, and Hunter takes him out to the floor for a ram into the cage. Back in, the referee takes an epic bump off the apron and into the cage, and there's no one to count as Jericho covers Hunter. Chris responds by going out to the floor to beat up the referee, and the poor guy even adds a bladejob. My, how times have changed. That interlude allows Hunter to recover with a spinebuster, as additional referees work to cut the padlock into the cell to help their fallen comrade. Meanwhile, HHH finds a sledgehammer and whacks Chris with it, but there's still no referee to count. As HHH goes to search for one, Jericho escapes through the still open door, and when Hunter goes after him, Chris slams it in his face. So, now that they're both outside of the cage, they fight over to the announce tables, and Chris takes a visually impressive DDT through the Spanish one. Chris climbs to the top of the cell as HHH finds a barbed wire wrapped 2x4, and Chris manages to use the high ground advantage to get it away from him as he follows up there. Chris slaps the Walls on up there (though, it's really more of a Boston crab due to the mesh), but HHH escapes, and tries the Pedigree - only to get backdropped onto the roof of the cell. Unfortunately for Jericho, Hunter lands right beside the 2x4, and he whacks Chris with it for two, then finishes for real with a Pedigree on the roof of the cell at 24:29. Like a lot of Triple H matches in 2002, this was overindulgent, and boring. This one reminded me a lot of the John Cena/Randy Orton match from Hell in a Cell this year, where it just plods along forever with little drama, and reliance on flashy weapon spots (and, in this case, blood) to fill the gap. ¾*

WWE Tag Team Title Match: Billy & Chuck v Rikishi and Rico: The idea here is that Rico is Billy & Chuck's manager, and is being forced to partner with Rikishi by Vince McMahon. Rikishi starts with Billy, and Billy tries a DDT, but Rikishi no-sells and superkicks him. That draws Chuck in, and the champs double-team to take control, but Billy misses a dropkick. Rikishi looks for the tag, but Rico isn't interested - allowing Billy a neckbreaker. Chuck tags and suplexes Rikishi for two, and Billy hits the Fameasser for two. Chuck ends up walking into a belly-to-belly suplex for two, and Rikishi backdrops him, then drops an oncoming Billy like a Samoan. Sitdown splash gets two, so the champs try double-teaming again, and manage to overwhelm their challenger. They ask Rico to punctuate it with a superkick, but you can guess what happens next... and indeed, it ends up hitting Chuck by accident, and Rikishi scores the fall at 3:51. Why were the Tag Titles being treated like the Women's Title so much during this period - with quickie matches sandwiched between the main event stuff as a cool down? ¼*

Main Event: WWE Title Match: Hulk Hogan v The Undertaker: Undertaker attacks Hogan with his own weight belt as he slides into the ring, but Hulk slugs him down, and returns the favor. More punching, and Hulk hits a backdrop, then clotheslines 'Taker over the top. Hogan follows for a whip into the steps, but he walks into a shoulderblock as they re-enter, and Undertaker wrenches at the arm. Ropewalk forearm, but Hulk crotches him to block, then superplexes him down for two. Hey, if nothing else, you gotta appreciate the effort. Unfortunately for the champ, Undertaker manages to clip the knee, and he wraps it around the post. Leglock, but Hulk manages to escape, and he controls a slugfest to set up a double-axehandle. Big boot sets up the Legdrop, but Undertaker rolls out of the way, and Hulk lands on the bad knee! Half-crab, but Hulk makes the ropes. Again, there's a limit to how good this is going to be, but I appreciate the actual effort at stuff like psychology, instead of just watching them phone it in. Everyone's got their physical limitations, and as long as there's effort, that's all you can ask for, really. To me, that's better than watching someone, like, Bret Hart half-ass house show matches, because you know Hart can actually go, but just chooses not to, as opposed to giving it his all despite physical limitations. Undertaker hammers him in the corner, but a big boot misses, so Hulk tries a clothesline, but gets countered into an embarrassing looking chokeslam to trigger the HULK UP!! Fists of Fury! Big Boot! Legdrop! Two? Undertaker comes back with a jumping DDT for two, and Vince McMahon makes his way down to ringside as Undertaker grabs a chair. Hulk kicks it into his face and hits another Legdrop, but now McMahon is distracting the referee, so no count. Hulk lets up to go deal with him, but of course, that allows Undertaker to wallop him with the chair, and hit a chokeslam for the title at 12:30. Total junk, but the reinvigorated Hulkster put in a strong effort with everything from his offense to his selling, and at least it was kept on the short side. *

BUExperience: Very decent show until the Hell in a Cell gave new meaning to ‘show stopping,’ but certainly not worth checking out, considering that all the two best matches were done better the month before at Backlash anyway.

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