RAW
March 25th, 2002
Bryce Jordan Center
State College, Pennsylvania
 
Dark Matches:
 
1. Scotty 2 Hotty and Albert defeat Hugh Morrus and Perry Saturn.
2. Randy Orton pins Justin Credible.
 
3/30 Jakked taping:
 
1. Lance Storm pins Val Venis at 5:39.
2. Tommy Dreamer pins Raven at 4:09.
3. Test pins Spike Dudley at 2:52.
4. Tajiri (w/ Torrie Wilson) and Funaki defeat the Hurricane and Billy Kidman at 5:46.
 
Actual Show:
 
We see Linda McMahon addressing the WWF roster as she says that tonight, they will have the first-ever WWF Draft with Vince McMahon representing Smackdown and Ric Flair representing RAW, and she says that due to time constraints, only 20 picks will be made live tonight and a lottery will be held on WWF.com to determine placement of the rest of the roster. She says that the outcome of tonight’s draft will become official starting with next week’s RAW but due to the Triple Threat match tonight, neither Triple H, Chris Jericho, or Stephanie McMahon are eligible to be drafted and due to a contractual clause, Steve Austin is ineligible to be drafted as well and he can sign with either brand. She thanks everyone for their attention and she wishes the WWF Superstars the best of luck.
 
We see the opening video for RAW.
 
Your hosts are Jim Ross and Jerry “The King” Lawler.
 
1. Tazz forces Mr. Perfect to tap out at 1:51.
 
Analysis: We kick off this historic episode of RAW with a pretty basic matchup. Tazz was floating in the midcard and looks to get back on track here against Perfect, who was also floating in the midcard and looks to get a win here. Tazz gets a good pop from the crowd while Perfect had decent heat as a heel. Perfect catches Tazz with a back elbow to start the match and he pounds on him in the corner as Tazz reverses a whip and Perfect leaps over him, and he hits a dropkick on Tazz and pounds on him in the corner as Tazz turns it around and stomps on Perfect repeatedly. He pounds on him until Perfect rakes the eyes and Tazz reverses a whip as Perfect avoids him by doing a cartwheel, and Tazz hits a clothesline and a modified suplex on Perfect as he looks to pound on him in the corner only for Perfect to hit an atomic drop. He hits the Perfect-Plex on Tazz for a two count as Tazz grabs the rope and Perfect stomps on him repeatedly, and he pounds on Tazz in the corner as Tazz tries to battle back only for Perfect to splash him in the corner. Tazz catches him with a knee to the ribs and Perfect reverses a whip into the corner as Tazz catches him with an elbow, and he hooks the Tazzmission on Perfect who taps out and Tazz wins the match. The match itself was nothing much as both men did what they could for the 2 minutes they got and put on a fairly sloppy match. The crowd was into the match and popped for Tazz when he won. Tazz gets the quick win over Perfect and both men move on. Grade: .5
 
We see a shot inside Ric Flair’s War Room as he and Arn Anderson are discussing strategy.
 
We see a shot inside Vince McMahon’s War Room as Vince leaves the room.
 
Commercial break
 
Vince McMahon comes out on the stage and thanks everyone for the warm Penn State reception as he has the #1 pick in the draft due to winning the coin toss, and he says that pick comes to him and on behalf of Smackdown, he chooses the Rock as we see in the locker room where Rock looks stunned and he leaves the room. He then comes out on the stage and Vince says he wants to get some things off his chest as Rock is the #1 pick, but he says there will be new rules including Rock never putting his hands on him again nor talking about shoving his foot up anyone’s candy ass. He says that Rock will never use the phrase “It Doesn’t Matter” because it does matter to him since Rock and his new friend Hulk Hogan have a lot in common, and he says that Rock and Hogan have massive egos though they need to remember that he made Hogan and he made Rock as well. He says that he brought Rock into this world and he can take him out of it as he thanks everyone and goes to leave, but Rock asks if Vince is done running his mouth because if so, he says that finally he has come back to Penn State. He says that Vince made him the #1 pick and is bringing him to Smackdown though he wants to go out with a bang, and he says that he wants to remind Vince of his history on RAW as it was on this show he won the WWF Title and it was on this show where the Rock and Sock Connection was formed. He says that it was on RAW where he took Vince’s face and shoved it up Rikishi’s ass as Vince now wants to take him away from this, and he asks if Vince really wants this though it doesn’t matter what he wants as the only thing that matters is Vince never made Hogan nor him. He says the ones that made him were the people and he listens to the people as they are in Penn State which is the home of the Nittany Lions, and he says that he’s played here many nights in college and when you mess with him, you mess with the people as there’s a saying that goes “We Are Penn State”. He says that there will be a different saying in that every night Vince messes with him, the fans will chant “You Are An Asshole” to Vince as he has the fans do the chant and Vince storms off as Rock says his last appearance on RAW ends with him saying if you smell what he is cooking.
 
We see Ric Flair walking down the hallway.
 
Commercial break
 
Ric Flair comes out on the stage and says that despite his differences, he’s picking a man who is the cornerstone of the WWF as his first pick in the draft is the Undertaker, and we go into the locker room where Taker freaks out and leaves the room.
 
We see Vince in his War Room freaking out as Kurt Angle comes in and says he can’t believe how Vince hurt his feelings, and he says that Vince should’ve picked him first and he’s the best Vince has as Vince says that he can’t believe Flair took Taker. He says that he threw a swerve at Flair who just threw it back as Taker comes in and says that Vince told him that Flair wouldn’t pick him, and Vince says he doesn’t know what Flair is thinking and Taker says he wants to know what Vince will do as Vince says he will make this right somehow and he gives his word which Taker says he better keep this time.
 
2. Booker T and Christian defeat Edge and Diamond Dallas Page when Booker pins Page at 2:12.
 
Analysis: Our next match on the card is our lone tag match of the night. These four men have continued to go at it this last week and they face off here to settle their issues. Edge and Page get a good pop from the crowd while Booker and Christian had solid heat as heels. Edge starts off the match with Booker and they trade blows with Edge taking control as he stomps on him repeatedly in the corner, and Booker reverses a whip into the other corner and Edge catches him with a boot to the face as he ducks a shot and knocks Christian to the floor. Booker hits a side kick on Edge and tags Christian who pounds on Edge and he hits a powerslam for a two count, and Edge tries to battle back and Christian pounds on him until Edge catches him in a spinebuster and Page gets the hot tag. He ducks a shot and fires up on Booker as he hits a spinning clothesline and then he knocks Christian to the floor, and he ducks a side kick and a shot though Booker blocks the Diamond Cutter by shoving Page off and Christian hotshots him on the top rope. Christian rakes Edge’s eyes as Page avoids the scissors kick and hits the Diamond Cutter on Booker for a two count as Christian breaks it up, and he hits the Unprettier on Page as Edge gets in the ring and hits a spin kick on Christian as both men roll outside. Edge pounds on Christian on the floor as Booker hits the scissors kick on Page which gets the three and he wins the match for his team. The match itself was decent as both teams worked hard and put on a basic match. The crowd was into the match and Page and Edge, but are not happy when Booker and Christian win. Booker and Christian get the win over Page and Edge as both teams move on. Grade: 1
 
We see Vince McMahon and Kurt Angle in Vince’s War Room as Angle runs down his credentials to Vince who says that he needs to collect his thoughts and says that Flair chose Taker, he could choose the nWo next as Angle says Flair will choose him next and he only chose Taker due to a personal vendetta. He says that Flair doesn’t want poison but he wants an Olympic Gold Medalist as he would rather work with Vince and Vince says that Flair won’t get that chance because Angle is his next pick. Angle embraces Vince and he says he loves him though he still should’ve been picked first.
 
Flair comes back out on the stage and says that while he appreciates Vince’s belief that he can sign Steve Austin, he says he will work as hard as he can to bring Austin to RAW and it’s Vince’s move next as his second pick for RAW is the collective that is the New World Order.
 
We see Vince and Angle in Vince’s War Room as Vince yells that he knew Flair would take the nWo next though he won’t get Austin as he will get him to sign with Smackdown, and Angle says that Vince can throw Flair off his game as there is someone who is coming back soon and he knows Flair is talking to him. He says this guy is ready as he whispers something in Vince’s ear and Vince smiles as he says that on behalf of Smackdown, his next pick is Chris Benoit.
 
Commercial break
 
We see a shot outside the Bryce Jordan Center.
 
We see Flair and the nWo in his War Room as they say Flair thinks he’s so smart drafting them and he can’t tell them what to do, and they say they only listen to Vince and Flair says that they are a poison as he won’t let Vince lead them and they work for him. Just then, Arn Anderson comes in and says it’s time for Flair to make his next pick as they say Flair needs to deal with them now, and he says that they should listen closely as his next pick is Kane and he will be dealing with them personally.
 
3. Trish Stratus pins Ivory with the Stratusfaction at 2:11.
 
Analysis: Our next match on the card is a pretty basic matchup. Ivory attacked Stratus last week and now Stratus looks to get revenge here. Stratus gets a good pop from the crowd while Ivory had decent heat as heels. Ivory wastes no time and kicks at Stratus to start the match as she pounds on her until Stratus catches her ducking with a kick, and she ducks a shot and pulls Ivory to the mat by her hair repeatedly as she hits a high crossbody for a two count. Ivory catches her with a jawbreaker and pounds on Stratus who reverses a whip and she hits a backdrop on Ivory, and she pounds on Ivory in the corner and Ivory reverses a whip into the other corner as Stratus leaps to the middle rope only to miss the crossbody. Ivory hits a low dropkick to Stratus and stomps on her repeatedly as she tears at her face and hoists her up by her hair before slamming her to the mat, and she continues to stomp on Stratus and goes up to the middle rope as Stratus gets a shot and hits a handstand hurricanrana before hitting the Stratusfaction which gets the three and she wins the match. The match itself was nothing much as both women did what they could for the 2 minutes they got with Stratus getting the clean win. The crowd was into the match and popped for Stratus when she won. Stratus gets the win over Ivory and both women move on. Grade: .5
 
We see the WWF Superstars in the locker room as Vince comes back out on the stage and says that on behalf of Smackdown, his next pick is “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan as he mocks Hogan by posing.
 
Commercial break
 
We see an ad for the WWF Divas Swimsuit magazine.
 
Flair comes back out on the stage and says that the next pick for RAW is the Intercontinental Champion, Rob Van Dam.
 
We see Vince and Angle in Vince’s War Room as Vince says both he and Flair are on a roll as he wanted RVD for the brand because he’s a great athlete and is the IC Champion which is what he really wanted, and Angle says that if Vince wants the IC Title, he can get it if Vince puts him in a match with RVD tonight and Vince agrees to it as he says maybe Angle should’ve been the #1 pick.
 
We see the Rock in his dressing room as Hulk Hogan comes in and he heard what Rock said as he agrees the people did make Rock, but they also made Hogan and last week Rock was put through a table and the nWo hit him with a chair. He says that since they’ve both been drafted to Smackdown and this is their last night on RAW, they should face the nWo in a handicap match and Rock says that they will give the people something to remember them by.
 
Vince comes out on the stage and says that on behalf of Smackdown, his next pick are the WWF Tag Team Champions Billy and Chuck as we see Billy, Chuck, and Rico celebrate with Rico saying they need to get new robes and headbands.
 
We see the New World Order walking down the hallway.
 
Commercial break
 
Lugz Boot of the Week: The New World Order taking out the Rock and Hulk Hogan last week on Smackdown
 
4. The New World Order defeat the Rock and “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan by disqualification in a handicap match at 5:03.
 
Analysis: Our next match on the card is a big handicap match. The nWo assaulted Rock and Hogan on Smackdown last week and now Rock and Hogan team up here to face the three of them in a handicap match. Rock and Hogan get huge pops from the crowd while the nWo were pretty hot as heels. Hogan starts off the match with X-Pac and they lock up with Hogan sending X-Pac over the top to the floor, and X-Pac returns to the ring and tags Hall as they lock up with Hogan shoving Hall to the mat and Hall throws his toothpick at Hogan. Nash tags in and they lock up with Nash shoving Hogan to the mat and they lock up again with Nash getting a knee in, and he drives the elbow into the back of Hogan’s head and pounds on him as Hogan starts to fire up and knocks Nash down. He rams Hall and X-Pac’s heads together as he pounds on Nash in the corner and whips him into the other corner before splashing him, but Nash catches him ducking with a shot and tags X-Pac who pounds on Hogan and he hits a legdrop for a two count. He drops an elbow on Hogan and tags Hall who pounds on Hogan in the corner and Hogan ducks a shot as both men clothesline each other, and Rock gets the hot tag and ducks a shot as he fires up on Nash and ducks two shots before hitting a flying clothesline. He kicks at Hall and hits a DDT only for X-Pac to nail him from behind though Rock nips up and pounds on X-Pac, and he knocks him over the top to the floor and hits the Rock Bottom on Nash as Hogan tags in and he hulks up. He nails Hall and Rock hits a spinebuster as he hooks the Sharpshooter on Hall while Hogan hits the legdrop on Nash, and he gets a two count as X-Pac breaks it up and he hits a spin kick on Rock before pounding on both men. Nash pounds on Hogan while Hall holds Rock up and X-Pac grabs a pair of nunchuks until Kane comes down to the ring and he clotheslines X-Pac over the top to the floor which draws the DQ and the nWo win. The match itself was decent as both teams worked hard and put on a basic handicap match. Hogan and Rock looked good as a team while the nWo were hitting their stride as well, and this was more about Kane coming out to help Hogan and Rock. The crowd was into the match and Hogan and Rock, but are not happy when the nWo win. The nWo get the win over Hogan and Rock by DQ, but this issue isn’t over yet. Grade: 2
 
After the match, Kane knocks Hall down and Nash pounds on him until Kane reverses a whip and he hits a big boot on Nash, and he grabs Hall by the throat as X-Pac brings a chair into the ring and hits Kane in the back with it though Kane no-sells it and kicks the chair back in X-Pac’s face. Hogan pounds on Nash and sends him outside as Rock pounds on Hall and knocks him down as Kane grabs him by the throat and hits the chokeslam.
 
Commercial break
 
We see Flair and Anderson in Flair’s War Room as Vince barges in and says that Flair is the man in charge of RAW though he stole Taker and the nWo from him, and he says that he knows Flair sent Kane to the ring moments ago and Flair says that he doesn’t have to explain anything to Vince anymore. He says that since Vince is all about personal projects, he’s going to take Booker T with his next pick as Vince says he will take the man who beat Booker at WM in Edge, and Flair says that he will take the Big Show with his next pick and Vince says if Flair wants to talk big, then he’ll take Rikishi with the next pick and Flair says maybe they’ll see Vince get Rikishi’s ass in his face again as Vince shoves him back and leaves the room.
 
5. Jeff Hardy (w/ Matt Hardy and Lita) pins Billy (w/ Chuck and Rico) with a rollup at 1:51.
 
Analysis: Our next match on the card is a pretty interesting matchup. Billy and Chuck defeated the Hardyz last week on Smackdown to retain the tag titles and now Jeff looks to get some revenge here against Billy. Jeff gets a good pop from the crowd while Billy had decent heat as a heel. The two men lock up to start with Billy backing Jeff into the corner and he gets a kick in as he pounds on Jeff, and he stomps on him repeatedly and chokes him as he rams him into the buckle and pounds on him in the corner. He whips Jeff into the other corner only to miss a charge and Jeff fires up on him as he hits a flying clothesline on Billy, and he hits a legdrop to the groin and kicks at Billy in the corner as Billy reverses a whip into the other corner only for Jeff to hit a tornado DDT. He goes up top as Chuck gets on the apron and Jeff kicks at him while Matt pulls him down to the floor though Jeff misses the Swanton, and Rico grabs one of the belts as Lita gets on the apron and she hits a hurricanrana on Rico while Jeff hooks a rollup on Billy which gets the three and he wins the match. The match itself was nothing much as both men did what they could for the 2 minutes they got and put on a basic match. The crowd was into the match and popped for Jeff when he won. Jeff gets the win over Billy and both men move on. Grade: 1
 
Commercial break
 
We see Flair and Anderson in Flair’s War Room as Flair says he’s going to take one of the most dominant teams in history, and he will start with Bubba Ray Dudley as his next pick.
 
We see Vince in his War Room as he says that Flair wants the Dudleyz on his roster by taking Bubba, but he says that his next pick will be D-Von Dudley.
 
We see the WWF Superstars in the locker room as the Dudleyz freak out before embracing.
 
Rikishi comes down to the ring for his match and then William Regal comes down to the ring, but then Brock Lesnar comes out of the crowd and gets in the ring as he ducks a shot and hits a clothesline on Rikishi. He then hits a spinebuster on Rikishi and hoists him onto his shoulders as he hits the spinning flapjack on Rikishi, and Paul Heyman gets in the ring and stands tall with Lesnar.
 
Commercial break
 
We see a shot outside WWF New York and we go inside where Jazz is as she says that she’s waiting to see where the Divas end up and she wants to mess up their pretty faces, and she says that she doesn’t care if she’s called a bitch because she will be the only bitch on both shows.
 
Vince comes out next and says that he will choose the man everyone saw a minute ago in Brock Lesnar, but then Flair comes out on the stage and says that it’s not Vince’s pick as Vince says that he did make his choice so Flair can make two straight picks now. Flair says that Vince isn’t changing the rules as it is his pick now and he is taking Brock Lesnar instead, and Vince says that Flair clearly wants potential so he will choose someone with equal potential in Mark Henry as Flair then says his next pick is the European Champion William Regal. We then cut to the locker room where Regal says he wanted to be with Vince and he walks away as we go back to the stage, and Vince says that since Flair is going for the champions he will take a champion with his last pick in the Hardcore Champion Maven. He says that Flair only has one pick left and Flair says that he is picking Lita with his last pick as Vince says that Flair took a woman for his last pick, and Vince says that Flair chose a woman because he’s a pig and he will turn RAW into a cesspool. He says that Flair may get lucky with Lita though during the lottery later tonight, Flair will learn about luck as he says that Steve Austin is coming to Smackdown and in the event Flair’s Superstars will get too frisky on Smackdown, his guys will take them out as Flair says that the crowd has said it best as Vince is an asshole.
 
Commercial break
 
6. Rob Van Dam defeats Kurt Angle by disqualification at 2:53 to retain the WWF Intercontinental Championship.
 
Analysis: Our last match before the main event is our first title match of the night. RVD has been rolling as IC Champion and looks to have a successful defense here against Angle, who was looking to bring the IC Title to Smackdown on behalf of Vince. RVD gets a good pop from the crowd while Angle was red hot as a heel. Angle wastes no time and hits a German suplex on RVD to start the match for a two count as he pounds on him in the corner, and he stomps on him repeatedly and whips him into the other corner as RVD flips over him and hits a superkick for a two count. He kicks at Angle and pounds on him as Angle reverses a whip and hits a belly-to-bell suplex on RVD before stomping on him, and RVD lands on his feet on a suplex attempt and Angle catches a kick attempt as he ducks an enzurgiri and hits a pair of German suplexes. RVD blocks a third one and hits a pair of back elbows as he rams Angle into the corner twice and gets a kick in, and he hits the Rolling Thunder on Angle for a two count and Angle rakes the eyes as he pounds on RVD who reverses a whip and he hits a spin kick. He goes up top as Angle rolls outside and grabs the belt only for RVD to go outside and he kicks at Angle before ramming him into the steps, and he throws Angle back into the ring and goes up top as Angle pulls the ref in the way of a kick which draws the DQ and RVD retains the title. The match itself was decent as both men worked hard for the 3 minutes they got and put on a basic title match. Both men were hitting their groove and had good chemistry as RVD retains though Angle doesn’t lose clean. The crowd was into the match and RVD, but are not happy with the ending. RVD gets the win over Angle by DQ and retains the title as both men move on. Grade: 1
 
After the match, RVD checks on the ref until Angle hits the Angle Slam on RVD and hooks the Ankle Lock on until Edge runs down to the ring, and he pounds on Angle and hits a belly-to-belly suplex as Angle avoids the spear with Edge hitting the corner. He hits a German suplex on Edge only for Edge to escape the Angle Slam as he ducks a shot and hits the spear before pounding on Angle on the mat, and officials come out and force the two men apart as Angle rolls outside and heads to the back.
 
Michael Cole interviews Stephanie McMahon, who says that she’s not going anywhere and she will be on both shows as the new Undisputed Champion.
 
Commercial break
 
Castrol GTX Rewind: Stephanie McMahon announcing the Triple Threat match on Smackdown last week
 
7. Triple H defeats Chris Jericho and Stephanie McMahon in a Triple Threat match when he pins Stephanie at 8:07 to retain the WWF Undisputed Championship.
 
Stipulation: If Triple H pins Stephanie, she must leave the WWF
 
Analysis: After a long and historic night of wrestling, we come to our main event. Triple H won the Undisputed Title last week and was set to face Jericho and Stephanie in a handicap match, but now it’s a Triple Threat match with Stephanie’s career on the line in addition to the title. Triple H gets a big pop from the crowd while Jericho and Stephanie were red hot as heels. Stephanie tries to distract Triple H to start the match only for Triple H to pound on Jericho and he hits a backdrop, and he stalks Stephanie until Jericho pounds on him and Triple H reverses a whip as Jericho catches him ducking with a kick. He clotheslines Triple H over the top to the floor and Stephanie tells him to pin her which he does for a two count as Triple H pulls him outside, and he gets in the ring and grabs Stephanie as he looks for the Pedigree only for Jericho to pull her outside. Triple H hits a baseball slide that sends Jericho into Stephanie and he rams Jericho into the steps before throwing Stephanie back into the ring, and she begs off in the corner and he grabs her by the hair only for Jericho to nail him from behind and he pounds on him. Triple H catches him on a dropkick attempt and he slingshots Jericho into Stephanie in the corner as Jericho falls to the mat, and Stephanie hits a falling headbutt to Jericho’s groin and Triple H kicks her to the outside as Jericho escapes a back suplex attempt. He hits a dropkick to Triple H’s leg and kicks at it as he hits a chop block and yells at him while Stephanie gets back in the ring, and he drops a pair of elbows on Triple H’s leg as Stephanie does the same and Jericho hooks a spinning toehold on while using the ropes for leverage. Triple H kicks him off and sends him into Stephanie as he helps her up only for Stephanie to slap Jericho in the face, and he shoves her to the mat and they argue until he hits the bulldog on Triple H though he misses the Lionsault. Stephanie goes to pin Jericho and gets a two count as they argue again and Jericho blocks a slap from Stephanie, and he trips her up and hooks the Walls of Jericho on until Triple H breaks it up and he avoids a charge from Jericho who hits Stephanie. Triple H sends Jericho over the top to the floor and grabs Stephanie as he looks for the Pedigree again only for Jericho to come off the top with a missile dropkick for a series of two counts, and he goes outside and throws one of the belts into the ring before bringing the other belt and a chair into the ring. The ref takes the chair from him and Jericho picks up one of the belts while Triple H grabs the other belt and they hit each other with them, and Stephanie gets in the ring and goes to pin Triple H for a two count as she then tries to pin Jericho for a two count. She stalks Triple H who hits a clothesline and Jericho trips Triple H up as he hooks the Walls of Jericho on him, but then Stephanie jumps on Jericho’s back to break the hold and she chokes him until he slams her to the mat. Triple H gets a kick in and hits the Pedigree on Jericho for a two count as Stephanie breaks it up and Jericho rolls outside, and Triple H grabs Stephanie by the hair and hits the spinebuster which gets the three and he retains the title. The match itself was good as all three worked hard and put on a solid title match. Triple H was getting back into a groove while Jericho was hitting his stride and Stephanie held her own as well, and they had good chemistry as Triple H gets the last laugh on Stephanie by pinning her. The crowd was into the match and popped for Triple H when he won. Triple H retains the title and all three move on as we bid farewell to Stephanie. Grade: 2.5
 
After the match, Triple H stands tall over Stephanie with the belts and she recovers as she realizes what has happened and Triple H calls for security, and they come down as she holds onto the bottom rope until they pull her off and drag her out of the ring. She tries to hold onto the post and the apron only to be dragged to the back as the crowd sings “Goodbye” and Triple H celebrates as we go off the air.
 
Final Analysis: Overall, this edition of RAW was a very historic episode as we begin a new era for the WWF. With the Monday Night War ending one year ago, this was a new way to possibly create competition from within while also getting more people time to shine on TV. We did have two title matches as Triple H and RVD retain their titles while Tazz, Booker, Christian, Stratus, the nWo, and Jeff get big wins, and the matches were nothing much as it was more about Vince and Flair making their draft picks and building their rosters. 2002 has been an interesting year to this point as we’ve had a few big returns and now with the rosters split, it was going to be interesting to see who would step up and if some new faces would make an impact. As for this show, it is a pretty historic show to begin the brand extension era of the WWF. Final Grade: B+