RAW
July 1st, 2002
Verizon Wireless Arena
Manchester, New Hampshire
 
Dark Match:
 
1. Justin Credible defeats Shelton Benjamin.
 
6/7 Sunday Night Heat taping:
 
1. Trish Stratus pins Victoria.
2. Raven pins Tommy Dreamer.
3. Matt Hardy pins Steven Richards.
 
Actual Show:
 
We see the opening video for RAW.
 
Your hosts are Jim Ross and Jerry “The King” Lawler.
 
Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman come down to the ring as Heyman says that he told everyone a few weeks ago that this would be the summer of the Next Big Thing, and he says that everyone says that it will be the summer of RVD and RVD doesn’t have the ruthless aggression to make it his summer. He says that Lesnar will take control all the way through Summerslam when he becomes Undisputed Champion, and he says that including ruthless aggression, Lesnar has intelligence to be inspired by other men like Kurt Angle. He says that Angle challenged any rookie to face him last week on Smackdown though Lesnar can outdo any man, and he says that Lesnar has a challenge of his own in that he is challenging any veteran that has the guts to come out and step in the ring with Lesnar. He says that they will be able to tell their grandchildren that they were sent into early retirement by Lesnar, and then Ric Flair comes down to the ring and takes the mike from Lesnar as he says that he hasn’t forgotten what they did to him to cost him his ownership. He says that they are calling for a veteran and he’s a legend as he says Lesnar will find out why he’s the dirtiest player in the game, and Lesnar takes the mike and says Flair is in the wrong year with the wrong guy.
 
1. Brock Lesnar (w/ Paul Heyman) pins “Nature Boy” Ric Flair with the F5 at 7:00.
 
Analysis: We kick off this edition of RAW with a pretty interesting matchup. Lesnar had cost Flair his co-ownership of WWE a few weeks ago and now Flair looks to finally get revenge here. Flair gets a big pop from the crowd while Lesnar was pretty hot as a heel. The two men lock up to start with Flair hooking a headlock and Lesnar whips him off as he knocks Flair down, and they lock up again with Lesnar shoving Flair to the mat and he grabs Flair by the hand as he squeezes down on it. Flair sends Lesnar into the corner and gets a chop in as they lock up with Lesnar backing Flair into the corner, and Flair ducks a shot and pounds on Lesnar as he whips him into the other corner only for Lesnar to reverse a whip and he hits a powerslam. He misses the elbow and Flair rolls outside to regroup as Lesnar goes outside and he chases Flair back into the ring, and Flair hotshots Lesnar on the top rope though Lesnar no-sells it and returns to the ring as Flair rakes the eyes. He hits a snapmare and drops a knee on Lesnar for a two count as Lesnar hits a clothesline and stomps on Flair repeatedly, and Lesnar whips Flair into the corner and splashes him as Flair flops to the mat and Lesnar whips Flair into the other corner. He hits a pair of backbreakers on Flair who rolls outside to regroup and Lesnar goes outside as well as he kicks at Flair, and he pounds on Flair who tries to battle back and he whips Lesnar into the post as both men roll back into the ring. Lesnar gets a shot in and whips Flair into the corner only to miss a charge as he rams his shoulder into the post, and Flair pounds on Lesnar who knocks him down and he catches him in a bearhug as Flair fights out of the hold. He pounds on Lesnar who reverses a whip and Flair ducks a shot only for Lesnar to catch him in a spinebuster and Flair begs off, and Heyman gets on the apron and distracts the ref as Flair hits a pair of low blows on Lesnar and then he hits a back suplex for a two count. He hits a chop block on Lesnar and hooks the Figure-4 on as Heyman again gets on the apron and Lesnar grabs the rope to force a break, and Flair knocks Heyman off the apron and Lesnar hoists Flair onto his shoulders as he hits the F5 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. Flair was getting back into a groove as a wrestler while Lesnar was hitting his groove, and they had good chemistry as Flair puts Lesnar over strong. The crowd was into the match and Flair, but are not happy when Lesnar wins. Lesnar gets the win over Flair and both men move on. Grade: 2
 
Commercial break
 
1-800-Call-ATT Rewind: Trish Stratus and Linda Miles defeating Molly Holly and Jackie Gayda last week on RAW
 
We see Jackie Gayda getting her makeup done as Jonathan Coachman comes up for an interview and she says that she disappointed she didn’t win at Divas Undressed last Saturday, and she says that she wasn’t the one who was pinned in the tag match last week as Molly Holly walks up to her. She says if Jackie spends less time parading around in her undergarments and more time paying attention to a role model like her, she would be a better competitor as Jackie says at least she looks good in her underwear. Molly slaps her in the face and throws her into a case as she sends her out into the arena and pounds on her, and she grabs a lead pipe though Jackie ducks the swing and gets a kick in as she whips Molly into the ramp. Jackie grabs the pipe though Molly avoids it and gets a shot in as she grabs the pipe and chokes Jackie with it, and she drags her to ringside as Jackie tries to battle back though Molly gets a shot in and hits a suplex on the floor. She throws Jackie into the ring and tears at her face as she hits a backbreaker and she goes up top before hitting a missile dropkick, and she slaps Jackie in the face again and heads to the back as Trish Stratus runs out and nails Molly before ramming her into the apron. She throws Molly back into the ring and ducks a shot as she pulls Molly’s pants down revealing her underwear and Molly quickly pulls them back up as Stratus heads to the back.
 
Terri Runnels interviews Christopher Nowinski, who says that he would never want the Hardcore Title and doesn’t want to worry about the Hardcore Division, and he says that he wants to wrestle like he did at Harvard where it’s all about intelligence.
 
Commercial break
 
2. Christopher Nowinski pins Bradshaw with a cowbell shot at :56.
 
Analysis: Our next match on the card is a pretty interesting matchup. Nowinski defeated Bradshaw the week before in a tag match and now Bradshaw comes here looking for revenge. Bradshaw gets a good pop from the crowd while Nowinski had solid heat as a heel. Bradshaw wastes no time and hits a big boot on Nowinski to start the match as he pounds on him and knocks him down, and he goes outside and throws several weapons into the ring as the ref takes the bullrope from him only for Bradshaw to hit another big boot on Nowinski. He grabs a chair though the ref takes it from him as Nowinski grabs the rope and hits Bradshaw in the head with the cowbell which gets the three and he wins the match. The match itself was nothing as Bradshaw dominated the 56 seconds until Nowinski stole it at the end. The crowd was into the match and Bradshaw, but are not happy when Nowinski win. Nowinski steals the win over Bradshaw though this issue isn’t over yet. Grade: DUD
 
We see William Regal watching on the monitor as Rob Van Dam comes in looking for Brock Lesnar and he asks Regal where he is, and Regal says Lesnar and Heyman are cooling down later tonight though if he got here on time, he would know. He says RVD is rude for barging in here looking for a fight and he should apologize as RVD says since he can’t fight Lesnar tonight, maybe he can fight him instead and Regal accepts as it will be one champion against another and RVD says he won’t apologize after he beats him tonight.
 
Commercial break
 
Terri Runnels interviews Jeff Hardy, who says that this isn’t a regular match as he doesn’t have to pin Taker or make him submit and it’s about climbing the ladder, and he says that all that stands between him and the Undisputed Title is the ladder as he will be the next champion and he will live for the moment.
 
We see Booker T in his dressing room as he sees someone and asks who they’re supposed to be as we see Goldust dressed as Darth Vader, and Goldust says the Force is strong with Booker and Booker says he’s never watched any Star Wars film. Goldust says that last week, they pulled off a marvelous plan and he has another one tonight as he will be back shortly and Booker takes the lightsaber which he plays around with and he says that he is the Master Jedi champion.
 
We see Vince McMahon and Eddie Guerrero in Vince’s office as Vince says that he has to keep the brands separate and he likes competition, and he says that Eddie knows all about ruthless aggression as Chris Benoit comes in and he says that Benoit is now property of RAW. He says that Benoit owes him for this and Benoit says they will pay him back tenfold as Vince says he wants to see ruthless aggression.
 
Commercial break
 
3. Rob Van Dam pins William Regal with the 5-Star Frog Splash at 3:48.
 
Analysis: Our next match on the card is a pretty big matchup. These two men had a confrontation just moments ago and now they face off here to settle their issues. RVD gets a big pop from the crowd while Regal had solid heat as a heel. The two men lock up to start with Regal hooking a headlock and he knocks RVD down as he drops an elbow on him for a two count, and he pounds on RVD in the corner and whips him into the other corner as RVD leaps over him and does a backflip before catching a kick attempt. Regal blocks a spin kick and hits a modified German suplex on RVD who rolls outside to regroup and Regal goes outside as well, and he stomps on RVD and bounces him off the ropes as he pounds on RVD and throws him back into the ring. He slams RVD’s throat into the apron and rolls back into the ring as he hits a running kneelift for a series of two counts, and he drives the knee into RVD’s face repeatedly and whips him hard into the corner as he hits a snapmare and drops a knee on him for a two count. RVD blocks a suplex with a small package for a two count and Regal hits a drop toehold as he floats over into a submission, and RVD fights to his feet as Regal pounds on him and RVD reverses a whip into the corner before hitting a monkey flip. He fires up on Regal in the corner and whips him into the other corner as he drives the shoulder into the ribs twice and does a backflip, and RVD ducks a shot and hits a springboard reverse crossbody for a two count as he gets a kick in and hits a spin kick on Regal. He hits the Rolling Thunder on Regal for a two count and Regal counters a whip as he looks for a double underhook powerbomb though RVD counters with a backdrop, and he goes up top and hits the 5-Star Frog Splash on Regal 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. RVD was hitting his stride by this point while Regal was also hitting his stride as well, and they still had good chemistry as RVD gets a clean win. The crowd was into the match and popped for RVD when he won. RVD gets the win over Regal and both men move on. Grade: 1
 
After the match, RVD takes the mike and says that he and Lesnar both won their matches tonight so they should settle their issues right now, and then Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman come out on the stage as Heyman says that’s what he’s always liked about RVD as he has guts. He says that’s the only reason why he’s doing him a favor in that Lesnar will not come down there and take him out, and he says that they should do this on a grander scale in that he proposes RVD and Lesnar face off at Vengeance if RVD has the guts. RVD says that they can do it at Vengeance and many don’t think they can beat Brock, but he’s not like everyone else as Lesnar may be the Next Big Thing, but he’s Rob Van Dam.
 
Commercial break
 
We see a shot outside the Verizon Wireless Arena.
 
4. Bubba Ray and Spike Dudley defeat Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit when Bubba pins Eddie at 9:24.
 
Analysis: Our next match on the card is a pretty big tag match. Bubba was attacked by Eddie and Benoit last week after Eddie stole a win over Bubba and now Bubba teams with Spike here against Eddie and Benoit, who is making his return after a year on the shelf. Bubba and Spike get a good pop from the crowd while Eddie and Benoit had solid heat as heels. Spike starts off the match with Eddie and they lock up with Eddie going behind Spike as he hits a snapmare and rakes his boot across Spike’s face, and he stomps on Spike and pounds on him as he hits a back suplex on Spike who reverses a whip and hits an atomic drop. He hits a dropkick on Eddie and ducks a shot as he hits a neckbreaker for a two count and rams him into the buckle, and Bubba tags in and he pounds on Eddie in the corner only for Eddie to catch him with a dropkick and he pounds on Bubba. Bubba reverses a whip into the corner and splashes him as he hits a monkey flip and a slam before dropping a trio of elbows on Eddie for a two count, and he pounds on Eddie who flips over his back and tags Benoit as they lock up with Bubba backing Benoit into the corner. He pounds on him until Benoit avoids a shot and stomps on Bubba repeatedly in the corner as he whips him hard into the other corner, and he drops an elbow on Bubba and hits a short clothesline for a two count only for Bubba to hit a sidewalk slam for a two count. He pounds on Benoit who counters a whip and he ducks a shot as he hits a German suplex on Bubba who catches him ducking with a shot, and he hits a neckbreaker on Benoit and tags Spike who gets a two count as he pounds on Benoit who counters a whip. He gets a kick in and whips Spike into the corner as Spike avoids a charge and hooks a rollup for a two count, and he hits a bulldog on Benoit for a two count and Benoit pounds on him as he hits a backbreaker for a two count and Spike escapes a suplex attempt before hooking a rollup for a two count. He gets a shot in on Eddie and Benoit takes him to the mat as he looks for the Crossface only for Bubba to break it up, and Eddie comes in and they stomp on Spike repeatedly as Eddie pounds on him and hits a back elbow. Benoit tags in and they stomp on Spike in the corner repeatedly as Benoit hits a back suplex and stomps on him, and he rams Spike’s shoulder into the post and tags Eddie who pounds on Spike and he rams his shoulder into the post again. Benoit rams Spike into the buckle and holds him from the apron only for Spike to avoid a dropkick from Eddie who hits Benoit by mistake, and Spike hits the Dudley Dog on Eddie and Bubba gets the hot tag as he hits a pair of clotheslines on Eddie who counters a whip. Bubba gets a kick in and hits a powerbomb for a two count as Benoit breaks it up and Bubba reverses a whip into the corner, and he hits a back suplex on Benoit and pounds on Eddie as he drives the elbow into his head and hotshots Benoit on the top rope. He hits a slam on Eddie and holds his legs up as Spike goes up top and hits a diving headbutt to Eddie’s groin, and Spike goes outside and pulls a table out which he sets up at ringside until Benoit gets a shot in and pounds on him. Eddie grabs Bubba’s hand and kicks at him repeatedly as he goes up top and hits an armdrag on Bubba, and he goes up top only to miss the Frog Splash as Benoit gets on the apron and Bubba hits a clothesline on him. He ducks a shot and hits the Bubba Bomb on Eddie which gets the three and he wins the match for his team. The match itself was good as both teams worked hard and put on a solid match. The Dudleyz looked good as a team as did Eddie and Benoit, who looked fine in his first match back, and they had good chemistry as Bubba gets a surprisingly clean win over Eddie. The crowd was into the match and popped for Bubba and Spike when they won. Bubba and Spike get the win over Eddie and Benoit though this issue isn’t over yet. Grade: 2
 
After the match, Benoit gets in the ring and hits a German suplex on Bubba as Spike gets in the ring and gets a kick in, but Benoit blocks the Dudley Dog by sending Spike through the table on the floor and he hooks the Crossface on Bubba as Eddie goes up top and hits the Frog Splash on Bubba while officials come off and pull Benoit off.
 
Commercial break
 
We see a vignette hyping the debut of Rey Mysterio.
 
We see Goldust still dressed as Darth Vader backstage as he runs into the Big Show who calls him a freak and asks about what happened last week, and Goldust says the nWo didn’t tell him what happened to his father as he takes the helmet off and claims he is Show’s father before breaking the lightsaber over Show’s head. He turns around only for Kevin Nash to be standing there and he says he’s his daddy as he and Show attack Goldust with Nash jabbing a pipe into Goldust repeatedly, and Nash tells Show that he has one left and he tells him to take Booker out or he’ll get his ass kicked.
 
We see the Undisputed WWE Championship hanging above the ring.
 
We see a video package highlighting Jeff Hardy in ladder matches.
 
Terri Runnels interviews the Undertaker, who says that Kurt Angle thinks he’s somebody by making Hulk Hogan tap though he doesn’t tap and Angle needs to have a Plan B, and he says that after Angle he’s moving on to the Rock and he will make Rock regret getting involved at KOTR as he says the interview is over.
 
Commercial break
 
We see the Big Show finding X-Pac unconscious backstage and he storms off.
 
5. Booker T defeats the Big Show by countout at 3:24.
 
Analysis: Our last match before the main event is a pretty big matchup. This was supposed to be a rematch from last week though after Goldust and X-Pac were taking out backstage, Booker and Show now face off one-on-one. Booker gets a good pop from the crowd while Show had solid heat as a heel. Booker wastes no time and attacks Show to start the match as Show tosses him into the corner and pounds on him, and he tosses Booker to the mat only to miss a charge as Booker pounds on him in the corner and Show counters a whip with a short clothesline. He hits a delayed suplex on Booker for a two count and he hooks a bearhug on Booker who fights out of the hold, and Booker ducks a shot and hits a side kick on Show as he pounds on him until Show counters a whip with a sidewalk slam for a two count. Booker pulls the top rope down and sends Show over the top to the floor as he comes off the apron with an axehandle to Show, and Show reverses a whip and sends Booker into the barricade as he hits a clothesline and he grabs the steps. Booker hits a side kick as the steps fall on top of Show and Booker rolls back into the ring as the ref counts Show out and Booker gets the win. The match itself was decent as Show dominated most of the match until Booker gets the win via countout. The crowd was into the match and popped for Booker when he won. Booker gets the win over Show by countout though this issue isn’t over yet. Grade: 1
 
After the match, Booker does the Spinaroonie as he starts to head to the back only to head out through the crowd.
 
We see Shawn Michaels and Kevin Nash walking backstage as they rant about Show not getting the job done.
 
Commercial break
 
The New World Order are in the ring as Kevin Nash gets in Show’s face and they trade blows until Shawn Michaels gets between them, and he says that they need to destroy Booker T which is why he got out of town and they know Booker took out X-Pac. He says that next week, they will take Booker out and he needs them to calm down as he has a big announcement to make, and he says that they are a family despite being dysfunctional and they aren’t the same when they are missing a member. He says that one of their members is injured and sitting at home recovering as he says that this man is watching them right now, and he says that everyone who saw KOTR know who he’s talking about and everyone felt the electricity and the chemistry. He says that in the very near future, in this very ring, everyone will see standing alongside the nWo will be Triple H who will be the newest member of the group. He then tells Nash and Show to finish this by making up as they shake hands only for Michaels to hit Sweet Chin Music on Show.
 
Commercial break
 
We see the Undertaker in Vince McMahon’s office as Vince says he is proud of what Taker has done and he’s stepped up for the last 10 years, and he says that tonight won’t be an exception and at Vengeance, Taker will face Rock whether he’s champion or not as Taker asks what that’s supposed to mean and Vince says he’s confident Taker will be successful this week. Taker says that not only will he beat Jeff Hardy tonight, but he will make it so that Jeff can’t stand up.
 
We see the Undisputed WWE Championship hanging above the ring.
 
We see Jeff Hardy warming up in his dressing room as Matt Hardy comes in and wishes him luck, and he says that he has someone else who wants to wish him luck as he brings in Lita who says she can’t wait to ride with the WWE Champion and Matt says Jeff needs to do what he does best.
 
Commercial break
 
6. The Undertaker defeats Jeff Hardy in a Ladder match at 14:05 to retain the WWE Undisputed Championship.
 
Analysis: After a fairly quick and interesting night of wrestling, we come to our main event. Jeff has been getting under Taker’s skin for the last month and now he gets his shot at the title here in his type of match. Jeff gets a big pop from the crowd while Taker was red hot as a heel. Jeff gets on Taker’s bike to taunt him and Taker goes outside to start the match as Jeff gets in the ring and kicks the ladder into Taker, and then he hits a slingshot plancha onto Taker on the floor and grabs a chair as he hits Taker in the face with it. He grabs the ladder and throws it at Taker who catches it and charges only for Jeff to avoid him and Taker runs the ladder into the apron, but Taker recovers with a clothesline on Jeff and he pounds on him as he rams him into the barricade and splashes him. He gets a knee in and hoists Jeff onto his shoulder though Jeff slides off and rams him into the ladder, and he grabs the ladder and slams it down on Taker as he goes onto the apron and hits a legdrop that drives the ladder into Taker. He rolls back into the ring and tries to bring in the ladder only for Taker to slingshot it into Jeff’s face from the floor, and then Taker kicks the ladder into Jeff’s ribs and rolls back into the ring as Jeff rolls out to the apron and Taker grabs the ladder. He nails Jeff with the ladder which knocks him off the apron into the announce table and he sets the ladder up, and he climbs up though changes his mind and he goes outside instead as he hotshots Jeff on the table. He rams Jeff into the table and then he rams him into the timekeeper’s table as he grabs a chair and jabs it into Jeff’s ribs, and he rams the back of his head into the barricade and throws him back into the ring as he stomps on him and puts the ladder on the mat. He kicks at Jeff and rams him into the ladder as Jeff tries to battle back only for Taker to knock him down, and he stomps on Jeff and goes outside as he pounds on Jeff while putting him in the ladder and he kicks at him. He gets on the apron and hits a legdrop that sandwiches Jeff in the ladder as he pounds on him and gets back in the ring, and he puts Jeff in the corner and splashes him as he grabs the ladder and props it in the corner before ramming Jeff into the ladder. Jeff avoids a charge as Taker runs into the ladder though he recovers and gets a kick in as he whips him into the corner, but Jeff runs up top and hits Whisper in the Wind on Taker as he grabs the ladder and puts it on the mat. Taker catches him with a big boot and sends him to the outside as he goes outside and grabs Jeff who hits a low blow, and Jeff rolls back into the ring and springboards off the ladder as he hits a somersault senton onto Taker on the floor. He pulls the ladder outside and rams it into Taker as he pulls a second bigger ladder out from under the ring, and he slides it into the ring and sets it up as he climbs up until Taker rolls back into the ring and gets a shot in. He pulls Jeff onto his shoulders only for Jeff to pound on him and hit a hurricanrana that sends Taker to the outside, and he climbs the ladder again as Taker rolls back into the ring with a chair and he hits Jeff in the back with it before pulling him down to the mat. He jabs the chair into Jeff’s ribs twice and puts it on the mat as he sets up for the Last Ride only for Jeff to pound on him, and Taker blocks a hurricanrana attempt though Jeff grabs the chair and he hits Taker in the head with it twice. He climbs the ladder again as Taker grabs the chair and hits Jeff in the back twice with it before climbing the other side, and Jeff grabs the belt only for Taker to grab him by the throat and he chokeslams him off the ladder before retrieving the belt to win the match. The match itself was very good as both men worked hard and put on a really fun ladder match. Jeff was looking good in this solo run while Taker was hitting his stride by this point, and they had good chemistry as Jeff comes close to breaking through only for Taker to win in the end. The crowd was into the match and Jeff, but are not happy when Taker wins. Taker retains the title over a game Jeff and both men move on. Grade: 3.5
 
After the match, Taker rolls out of the ring and gets on his bike as Jeff struggles to his feet and Taker gets back in the ring, and he grabs Jeff and hits the Last Ride as he gets out of the ring and gets on his back before driving up to the stage. Jeff grabs the mike and says that Taker hasn’t broken him as he is still standing and Taker comes back down to the ring, and he pushes the ladder aside and grabs Jeff as he winds up for a punch only to pat him on the head and raise his hand out of respect. Jeff collapses to the mat and Taker heads to the back as we go off the air.
 
Final Analysis: Overall, this edition of RAW was a pretty solid episode that was mainly carried by the main event. As we enter a new month, we now really begin the build to Vengeance with a few matches already set and we are seeing what feuds on RAW would get on that show. We did get a title match as Taker is still the man while Lesnar, Nowinski, RVD, Eddie, Benoit, and Booker get big wins, and in terms of the matches the main event was easily the best and most memorable as the rest were fairly standard for TV. 2002 has been an interesting year for the WWE to this point as RAW was really finding their groove in terms of the roster and the feuds, and we will see how things continue to gel as we head towards Vengeance. As for this show, it is a pretty solid show that is basically remembered for the main event. Final Grade: B-