RAW
June 17th, 2002
Oakland Arena
Oakland, California
 
Dark Match:
 
1. Shelton Benjamin defeats the Prototype.
 
6/23 Sunday Night Heat taping:
 
1. Bradshaw defeats Justin Credible.
2. William Regal defeats Tommy Dreamer.
3. Goldust defeats Shawn Stasiak.
 
Actual Show:
 
We see the opening video for RAW.
 
Your hosts are Jim Ross and Jerry “The King” Lawler.
 
1. Rob Van Dam pins X-Pac with the 5-Star Frog Splash at 6:00.
 
Note: This is a King of the Ring quarterfinal match
 
Analysis: We kick off this edition of RAW with our first KOTR quarterfinal match. Both men won their qualifying matches and now they face off here to see who will go to the semis. RVD gets a big pop from the crowd while X-Pac had solid heat as a heel. The two men square off to start the match and they lock up with X-Pac hitting an armdrag as they lock up again with X-Pac hooking a headlock, and he goes behind RVD and trips him up as he spins around his back repeatedly and slaps the back of his head repeatedly. They lock up with X-Pac working on the arm and RVD turns it around as he kicks at X-Pac repeatedly and hits a spin kick, and he pounds on X-Pac who rakes the eyes and RVD reverses a whip as he does a split and hits a monkey flip on X-Pac. He clotheslines X-Pac over the top to the floor and goes out to the apron as he hits a moonsault onto X-Pac on the floor, and he rolls back into the ring and X-Pac gets on the apron as RVD hits a baseball slide that knocks him back to the floor. He slides outside and hoists X-Pac up for a suplex as he drops him on the barricade and he leaps onto the apron, and he hits a spinning legdrop to the back of X-Pac’s head and rolls back into the ring as X-Pac gets on the apron and gets a pair of shoulders in. RVD avoids a slingshot and X-Pac lands on the mat as RVD hits a standing moonsault for a two count and stomps on him, and he works the arm and X-Pac pounds on him as RVD reverses a whip and X-Pac blocks a hurricanrana attempt with a powerbomb. He hits a spin kick on RVD for a two count and then he hits a snapmare as he hooks a submission on RVD, and RVD fights to his feet and breaks the hold only for X-Pac to avoid a charge and he sends RVD through the ropes to the outside. He hits a slingshot somersault senton onto RVD on the floor and throws him back into the ring as he pounds on him in the corner, and he kicks at him repeatedly and chokes him with his boot only to miss the Bronco Buster as he crotches himself in the corner. RVD hits a clothesline and catches a kick attempt as he hits a spin kick on X-Pac who escapes a slam attempt, and RVD blocks the X-Factor by doing a split and he knocks X-Pac down as he hits the Rolling Thunder for a two count. He stomps on X-Pac who reverses a whip into the corner and RVD catches him with a boot to the face as he goes up top, but X-Pac hits a dropkick that knocks RVD off the top into the barricade as Booker T runs down to the ring. He hits the Bookend on X-Pac and heads to the back as RVD goes up top and hits the 5-Star Frog Splash which gets the three and he wins the match. The match itself was good as both men worked hard and put on a solid match. RVD was hitting his stride by this point while X-Pac was hitting his peak by this point, and they had good chemistry as Booker gets some revenge and costs X-Pac the match. The crowd was into the match and popped for RVD when he won. RVD gets the win over X-Pac and advances to the semis as both men move on. Grade: 2
 
We see highlights from Confidential two nights ago.
 
Commercial break
 
We see the New World Order backstage as X-Pac complains about what happened and he wants Booker now as Kevin Nash and Shawn Michaels say they will get him back and they have a plan.
 
Vince McMahon comes down to the ring and says that since last week, the question on everyone’s mind is if Steve Austin is really gone and sadly, the answer to that question is yes and he doesn’t like it either. He says that the other question is will Austin be back in WWE and he sincerely hopes so as he says that he doesn’t have the answer to that question, and he says that Austin has some apologizing to do before he comes back as when Austin walked out last week, it wasn’t the first time as it happened before the night after WrestleMania and he went home. He says that Austin stayed home for two weeks claiming to be burned out and he understands that, and he says that given Austin’s contributions to the company he was forgiven and came back to work. He says that in his mind, Austin owes an apology to every Superstar in the locker room as well as to the company he helped build, and he says that Austin owes an apology to all the fans for walking out on them and he doesn’t know if Austin will ever come back. He says that last week, Austin was scheduled to be on RAW and many attempted to talk to him though he refused to speak to anyone, and he says that Austin eventually took a call from Jim Ross who pleaded with Austin to come to the arena and talk to them as a man. He says that Austin didn’t do that and the plea fell on deaf ears as Austin’s actions personally and professionally are uncharacteristic, and he says that Austin will be held accountable and they have to move on as a company without him. He says that they will develop new stars and new concepts as the winner of the King of the Ring will face the Undisputed Champion at Summerslam, and he says that while Austin is gone, he will never be forgotten and he knows Austin wishes everyone well so he wants to say on everyone’s behalf, thank you to Steve Austin for the memories as he is handed a beer and he takes a drink from it before leaving it in the center of the ring.
 
Commercial break
 
2. Jeff Hardy pins Raven with the Swanton at 3:48.
 
Analysis: Our next match on the card is a pretty interesting matchup. Jeff has been needling the Undertaker over the last two weeks and looks to get a win here over Raven, who was floating in the midcard and looks to get a win here. Jeff gets a big pop from the crowd while Raven had decent heat as a heel, and then Taker appears on the stage as the match begins. The two men exchange slaps to start the match as Raven tackles Jeff to the mat and pounds on him until Jeff hits a headscissors, and he hits a flying clothesline on Raven and then he clotheslines him over the top to the floor before going outside himself. He runs the barricade and hits a clothesline on Raven as he throws him back into the ring though he gets distracted by Taker, and Raven avoids a charge as he sends Jeff to the outside and he rolls outside as well before hitting a Russian legsweep into the barricade. He throws Jeff back into the ring and tears at his face as he goes up to the middle rope and uses his knee to drive Jeff into the mat for a two count, and he whips Jeff into the corner and hits a clothesline as he hits a running kneelift for a two count and Jeff catches him with a jawbreaker. Raven catches a kick attempt and Jeff hits a modified enzurgiri as he pounds on Raven and hits a spin kick, and he hits a clothesline on Raven who reverses a whip and Jeff holds the ropes as Raven misses a dropkick attempt. Jeff hits a legdrop to the groin for a two count and Raven avoids a charge in the corner as Jeff lands on the middle rope, and he hits a headscissors that sends Raven into the buckle and he goes up top only for Raven to crotch him on the top rope. He goes up himself only for Jeff to block a superplex as he sends Raven to the mat and sets himself on the top rope, and he hits the Swanton on Raven which gets the three and he wins the match. The match itself was basically a squash as Raven got a few shots in, but he puts Jeff over strong in just under 4 minutes. The crowd was into the match and popped for Jeff when he won. Jeff gets the win over Raven and both men move on. Grade: 1
 
Commercial break
 
We see Booker T backstage as Goldust walks up to him calling himself the “Duke of Gold” and he wants to serve in his court, and Booker says that he’s down with becoming King though he hasn’t won yet and Goldust says he warned about Shawn Michaels last week. Booker says that his star is brighter than the entire nWo and Goldust says the nWo wants revenge for what happened earlier tonight, and Goldust says Booker will be one step closer to becoming King Booker and Booker says Lesnar will get his ass kicked tonight.
 
Jonathan Coachman interviews Molly Holly, who says that she was offended by Stratus’ words last week though she will beat her tonight as well as at KOTR to become the new Women’s Champion.
 
We see the Big Show in the nWo’s dressing room as X-Pac comes in and complains about what happened earlier, and then Shawn Michaels and Kevin Nash come in as X-Pac tells him what they are going to do about Booker. Just then, Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman come in and say that they are sorry about what happened to X-Pac tonight, and Heyman says that the same thing can’t happen to Lesnar and the KOTR will be Number One Contender as Lesnar is the future Undisputed Champion and he tells them to stay out of Lesnar’s match tonight. X-Pac says that sounds like a threat and Heyman says that he’s telling them to stay out of the match as Lesnar steps up to them and Heyman escorts him out.
 
Commercial break
 
3. Christopher Nowinski (w/ William Regal) pins Spike Dudley with a full nelson slam at 3:19.
 
Analysis: Our next match on the card sees a newcomer in action. Nowinski made his debut the week before helping Regal retain the European Title and he makes his in-ring debut here against Spike, who was floating in the midcard and looks to get back on track here. Spike gets a good pop from the crowd while Nowinski had decent heat as a heel. Spike wastes no time and kicks at Nowinski to start the match as he pulls his shirt over his head and pounds on him, and he stomps on Nowinski in the corner and hits a low dropkick as Nowinski reverses a whip and he sends Spike through the ropes to the outside. He goes outside as well and pounds on Spike as he whips him into the steps and throws him back into the ring, and he hits a backbreaker on Spike for a two count and pounds on him as he chokes him on the ropes and continues to choke him with his boot. Spike escapes a suplex attempt and Nowinski blocks a rollup attempt as he hits a clothesline for a two count and he stomps on Spike in the corner, and he whips Spike hard into the other corner for a two count and he puts him on the top rope before going up himself. Spike blocks a superplex attempt and knocks Nowinski to the mat as he sets himself on the top rope and hits a double stomp, and Nowinski reverses a whip and Spike hits a headbutt to the ribs as he hits a pair of flying forearms and gets a kick in. Regal gets on the apron and Spike chases him to the floor as Nowinski gets a kick in and hits a full nelson slam which gets the three and he wins the match. The match itself was decent as both men worked hard and put on a pretty basic match. Spike was hitting his groove by this point while Nowinski looked decent in his debut, and they had decent chemistry as Regal helps Nowinski gets the win. The crowd was into the match and Spike, but are not happy when Nowinski wins. Nowinski gets the win over Spike and both men move on. Grade: 1
 
After the match, Regal gets in the ring and stomps on Spike along with Nowinski until Bradshaw runs down to the ring and hits a clothesline on Regal, and Nowinski runs to the back and Regal rolls outside as Bradshaw checks on Spike.
 
We see Ric Flair walking down the hallway.
 
Commercial break
 
We see a shot outside the Oakland Arena
 
Ric Flair comes down to the ring and says that there’s a lot of people in the world that think he lost everything last week, and he says that the biggest star of his company walks out and then he loses his ownership of RAW to Vince McMahon. He says that he had to go home and take a long look at himself in the mirror as he had to get out or put out, and he says that he found the real Ric Flair and he let the ownership go to his head as he made some bad decisions. He says that his life isn’t over and he didn’t go home like Steve Austin as he came back tonight because he took a different look at what’s going on, and he says that he saw Hulk Hogan come back and become WWE Champion as he looked at his own legacy. He says that he won’t let his last match on RAW be that loss to Vince and he said to himself that he may have lost ownership, but he is still ahead of every Superstar in the locker room and he signed a contract today that he will be an active RAW wrestler. He says that he will prove to himself that he has one more good run left in him and he was the dirtiest player in the game, and he says he will prove that to Brock Lesnar before he says goodbye and he will prove he is the Nature Boy. Just then, Steve Austin’s music hits only for Eddie Guerrero to come down to the ring and says everyone needs to listen to him, and he says that everyone has heard Austin’s music for the last time and at King of the Ring, he was set to face Austin in a match and he was going to kick his ass. He says that won’t happen anymore and that match was everything to him as he worked hard for that opportunity, and he says that it meant everything to his family and Flair has the audacity to say that he found himself again. He says that Austin left on Flair’s watch and he holds him responsible for him not having the match of his life, and he says that Flair is a worthless piece of crap as Chris Benoit comes down to the ring and asks who the hell Eddie thinks he’s talking to. He says that Flair has spent 30 years in the business and has beaten the best in the business as he asks Eddie what this means while holding up the Four Horsemen sign. He says that Flair is a 16-time World Champion and has dedicated his life to the business as Eddie says that his whole family has as well, and he says that Flair paved the roads though in his book, he’s a loser and Flair says he has one last run in him though it will be worse than his run as an owner. Flair says that if Eddie is feeling so good about himself, he can take Austin’s spot at KOTR against Eddie who says that Flair thinks he is one of the homies now, and he says that what he was going to do to Austin he will now do to Flair 3 times over. Benoit gets between them and says he won’t let him talk to Flair like that as Flair is a hero and a legend, and he says that Flair also took away his opportunity and his dream as he’s sat at home for a year because Austin broke his neck. He asks Flair if he has any idea what Austin took from him and Austin left on Flair’s watch as he holds him responsible for ruining his life, and he asks if Flair hears what he’s saying as Flair knocks him down and he pounds on him until Eddie hits a dropkick to the knee. They stomp on Flair repeatedly and Eddie hooks the Figure-4 on while Benoit taunts him as officials come out and force them to the back.
 
We see Vince McMahon in his office on the phone with someone as Christopher Nowinski comes in and introduces himself, and Vince says he’s a graduate of East Carolina and Nowinski mentions all his accomplishments at Harvard as Vince takes another call briefly and says that he was told that Steve Austin is on his way.
 
Commercial break
 
We see footage from the break of Vince McMahon telling security and Sgt. Slaughter that if Steve Austin does show up, he wants him to be welcomed in and allowed to speak his piece as he wants a camera crew to document everything.
 
4. D-Lo Brown and Trish Stratus defeat Crash and Molly Holly when Brown pins Crash at 2:46.
 
Analysis: Our next match on the card is our lone tag match of the night. Stratus and Molly were preparing for their match in 6 nights and face off here with Brown and Crash as their partners. Stratus and Brown get a good pop from the crowd while the Hollys had decent heat as heels. Brown starts off the match with Crash who gets a kick in and he pounds on Brown who reverses a whip and Crash ducks a shot, and Brown hits a flapjack and a slam on Crash as he hits a legdrop for a two count and Crash retreats to his corner to regroup. Molly tags in as does Stratus who ducks a shot and she pounds on Molly who reverses a whip as Stratus hits a clothesline, and she hits a dropkick on Molly and pounds on her as she hits the Chick Kick for a two count and she continues to pound on Molly. Molly catches her ducking by slamming the back of her head into the mat and she hoists Stratus up by the hair as she slams her to the mat, and she grinds Stratus’ face into the mat and stomps on her as she drops an elbow on Stratus and hits a backbreaker. She goes up top only to miss the Molly-Go-Round and Brown gets the hot tag as he fires up on Crash and hits a side dropkick, and Crash reverses a whip and Brown ducks a shot as he hoists Crash up and hits a swinging side slam for a two count with Molly breaking the pin up. Stratus hits a spear on Molly and they both roll outside as Crash catches Brown with a boot to the face only for Brown to hit the Sky High 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 quick tag match. Stratus and Brown looked decent as a team as did the Hollys and they had decent chemistry with Brown and Stratus getting the clean win. The crowd was into the match and popped for Brown and Stratus when they won. Brown and Stratus get the win over the Hollys as both teams move on. Grade: 1
 
After the match, Stratus gets on the apron only for Molly to pull her off and send her into the announce table as Brown goes outside and checks on Stratus.
 
We see a shot outside the World and we go inside where Lita is as she says that even though she can’t be there, she believes in Matt though she is worried about him and it might be worth the risk.
 
We see the Undertaker arriving to the arena.
 
Commercial break
 
We see Vince McMahon in his office with the camera crew as he asking if they are ready and to document everything Austin does, and then Jackie Gayda comes in and says that she wanted to sign with RAW as Vince says she would be a great fit and he brings up the Divas Undressed competition next Tuesday as he can give her a preview on RAW next week.
 
5. The Undertaker pins Matt Hardy with the Last Ride at 2:11.
 
Analysis: Our last match before the main event is a pretty big matchup. The Hardyz attacked Taker last week and now Taker looks to get revenge as he faces Matt here. Matt gets a good pop from the crowd while Taker was pretty hot as a heel. Taker wastes no time and grabs Matt by the throat to start the match though the ref gets hit by mistake and Matt hits a low blow on Taker, and he pounds on Taker in the corner and Taker reverses a whip into the other corner as Matt catches him with a boot to the face. Taker hits a clothesline on Matt and stomps on him as he drapes him across the apron and he hits a legdrop on Matt, and he sets up for the Last Ride only for Matt to escape and he ducks a shot as he catches him ducking with a tornado DDT for a two count. He pounds on Taker in the corner and Taker reverses a whip into the other corner as he hoists Matt up and hits Snake Eyes, and Matt ducks two shots only for Taker to grab him by the throat and he hits the chokeslam for a two count as Jeff Hardy runs down to the ring and pulls the ref out of the ring. He gets in the ring and pounds on Taker who gets a knee in and Matt ducks a big boot as he hits the hooking clothesline, and Jeff goes up top only for Raven to run down to the ring and he shoves Jeff off the top into the barricade. Matt gets a kick in and looks for the Twist of Fate only for Taker to shove him off and he hits the big boot, and then he hits the Last Ride on Matt which gets the three and he wins the match. The match itself was decent as both men worked hard and put on a basic match. Matt looked good in this solo outing while Taker was hitting his stride by this point, and they had decent chemistry as Raven and Jeff get involved and Taker gets the win. The crowd was into the match and Matt, but are not happy when Taker wins. Taker gets the win over Matt and his issues with Jeff aren’t over yet. Grade; 1
 
After the match, Raven throws Jeff back into the ring and pulls out a pair of handcuffs as he cuffs Jeff to the top rope, and Taker pounds and stomps on Jeff while Raven holds Matt down and Taker celebrates with the title.
 
Commercial break
 
Terri Runnels interviews the Undertaker, who says that what happens when someone tries to make a name for themselves at his expense, and he says that he hopes Triple H was watching because he needs to bring his A-Game and he is the best because he’s the champion.
 
We see Vince McMahon in his office as he gets a quick phone call and he tells the camera crew to get ready.
 
We see Paul Heyman speaking to Earl Hebner as he says that he and Brock Lesnar respect him and his authority and he doesn’t want anyone to get involved in the match, and Hebner says that he doesn’t tell Heyman how to do his job so he shouldn’t tell him how to do his. He leaves as Heyman turns around and Booker T is standing there as he says Heyman needs to worry about Lesnar getting his rookie ass whooped by the 5-time WCW Champion.
 
Commercial break
 
6. Brock Lesnar (w/ Paul Heyman) pins Booker T with the F-5 at 3:22.
 
Note: This is a King of the Ring quarterfinal match
 
Analysis: After a fairly quick and interesting night of wrestling, we come to our main event. These two men advanced in the tournament with big wins and now they face off here to see who will go to the semis. Booker gets a good pop from the crowd while Lesnar was pretty hot as a heel, but then the New World Order come down to ringside with Michaels and Nash joining commentary. Lesnar wastes no time and attacks Booker in the corner to start the match as he rams the shoulder into the ribs repeatedly, and Booker ducks a shot and pounds on Lesnar who counters a whip with a belly-to-belly suplex. He clotheslines Booker over the top to the floor and goes outside himself as Booker battles back until Lesnar reverses a whip and sends Booker into the steps, and he rams Booker’s back into the apron and throws him back into the ring as he rams him into the buckle and rams the shoulder into the ribs repeatedly. Just then, Goldust comes down to ringside and Lesnar pounds on Booker who battles back and he hits a clothesline, and Lesnar catches a kick attempt and hoists Booker onto his shoulder as he hits a powerslam for a two count and Goldust shoves Heyman to the floor. Lesnar looks to go after Goldust only for Booker to pound on him and he kicks the ropes into his groin, and he hits a pair of side kicks on Lesnar and ducks a shot as he hits the scissors kick and does the Spinaroonie. X-Pac gets on the apron and Booker knocks him to the floor as Show also gets on the apron and Booker knocks him to the floor, and Lesnar hoists Booker onto his shoulders and hits the F-5 which gets the three and he wins the match. The match itself was decent as both men worked hard and put on a fairly quick match. Booker was hitting his groove by this point while Lesnar was continuing to gain steam, and they had good chemistry as the nWo end up costing Booker. The crowd was into the match and Booker, but are not happy when Lesnar wins. Lesnar gets the win over Booker and advances to the semis as both men move on. Grade: 1.5
 
After the match, Lesnar and Heyman head to the back and Goldust checks on Booker as the nWo get in the ring, and Show grabs Goldust by the throat and hits the Chokeslam as X-Pac chokes Booker on the mat and Show stomps on Booker’s groin. X-Pac pounds on Booker on the mat and Show picks him up as he grabs him by the throat and hits the Chokeslam.
 
We see Vince McMahon in his office as Sgt. Slaughter comes in and says that he’s on his way, and Vince says that he wants Slaughter to tell Austin to come meet him in the ring.
 
Commercial break
 
Vince McMahon is in the ring as he asks for a beer and says it’s for someone else as he was told that Steve Austin is in the building, and he says that he will let Austin come out and say whatever it is he wants to him and to the audience. Just then, Tony Garea comes down to the ring and tells Vince that the “he” he was talking about was not Austin, and then the Rock comes down to the ring and says that he has finally come back to Oakland as he says that Vince seems surprised to see him. He says that Vince though Austin was going to come out though it doesn’t matter what he thought and it wasn’t Austin that came out, and he says that instead it was him that came down to the ring and since he wanted to address the people, Vince has 15 seconds to get out of the ring which Vince does. He heads to the back as Rock throws the beer at him and he says that everyone knows he was supposed to return next month on Smackdown, and he says that after what happened last week he wanted to come back at the first opportunity and speak to everyone live. He says that 5 years ago when he arrived to WWE, he had one goal in mind which was to be the best ever and he would work his ass off to make that happen. He says that the same fire and passion that he has is present when he is in the locker room and all the guys in the back are here because they want to be, and he says that they get in the ring and bust their ass because they love to do it so if there is anyone that doesn’t want to be here, they can get the “F” out. He says that he wants to move on and up as he was set to return on July 11th though he instead will be at King of the Ring, and he says that he has WWE in his blood and he was born in this business as 50 years from now, he will come down at 80 years old using the People’s Walker and continue to bring it. He says that it is in his blood from his grandfather Peter Miavia who started here in the Bay Area to his father Rocky Johnson, and he says that it goes all the way down to him and Austin can take his ball and go home, but as far as he’s concerned this is home if you smell what he is cooking and he poses for the fans as we go off the air.
 
Final Analysis: Overall, this edition of RAW was a pretty standard show serving as the go-home to KOTR for the RAW brand. After what happened the previous week, it seemed like the company was in damage control to get over that and they did what they could to turn that negative into somewhat of a positive. We had no title matches as RVD, Jeff, Nowinski, Brown, Stratus, Taker, and Lesnar get big wins, and the big moment of the show was the return of Rock to pump up the company while also subtly burying Austin for his actions. 2002 has been an interesting year for WWE as they were trying to build up new stars though took a major hit with Austin leaving last week, and as we head into KOTR we will see how they continue to rebound from that. As for this show, it is a pretty basic show as we head towards KOTR. Final Grade: C-