RAW
July 8th, 2002
First Union Center
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
 
Dark Match:
 
1. Justin Credible pins Shelton Benjamin at 3:38.
 
7/14 Sunday Night Heat taping:
 
1. Sean O’Haire pins Shawn Stasiak at 5:09.
2. The Big Show pins Matt Hardy at 4:19.
3. Bradshaw pins Raven at 5:03.
4. Molly Holly pins Jacqueline at 4:13.
 
Actual Show:
 
We see the opening video for RAW.
 
Vince McMahon says that based on the fact that the Undertaker defended the Undisputed Title twice last week, he has given Taker the night off and he is preparing to welcome the Rock back to Smackdown this week though in the interest of Vengeance, the main event will be Taker, Rock, and Kurt Angle in a Triple Threat for the Undisputed Title.
 
Your hosts are Jim Ross and Jerry “The King” Lawler.
 
Booker T comes down to the ring and says that all week, he’s been told that the New World Order wants to take him out for what he did to X-Pac and he says they can do what they want to him, and he says that he will make a promise in that he won’t be screaming like that punk X-Pac and he wants it right now in the ring. He says that he might get his ass kicked, but you have to bring some to get some and to take some if everyone can dig that, but then Eddie Guerrero comes down to the ring and asks who Booker is calling a sucka because if anyone is a sucka, it’s Booker and the nWo will kick his ass on their terms. He says that last week, the Dudleyz cheated him out of a win and he promised himself and Benoit that he would take out his frustrations on the first man that ran his mouth which means it will be Booker.
 
1. Booker T pins Eddie Guerrero with a sunset flip at 3:08.
 
Analysis: We kick off this edition of RAW with a pretty interesting matchup. Booker has still been dealing with the nWo and looks to get a win here over Eddie, who was having issues with the Dudleyz and looks to get a win here. Booker gets a good pop from the crowd while Eddie was pretty hot as a heel. Booker wastes no time and attacks Eddie to start the match as Eddie battles back until Booker reverses a whip and hits a backdrop, and he hits a pair of clotheslines and a side kick on Eddie as he gets a kick in and pounds on him. Both men counter a whip and Booker gets a knee in only for Eddie to block the scissors kick with a dropkick to Booker’s knee, and he stomps on Booker’s knee repeatedly and pounds on him in the corner as he continues to stomp on the knee. He hooks a small package for a two count and hits a back elbow on Booker as he hooks a rollup and uses the ropes for leverage for a two count, and he pounds on Booker and drives the elbow into the back of Booker’s head twice as he pounds on him in the corner. Booker turns it around and pounds on Eddie who trips him up and drops an elbow on the knee as he stomps on Booker, and Booker reverses a whip and Eddie ducks a shot as Booker hits a side kick though hurts his own knee. Eddie gets a kick in and hits a suplex on Booker for a two count as he hits a back suplex and a neck snap for a two count, and he pounds on Booker in the corner and whips him into the other corner as Booker leaps over him and hooks a sunset flip which gets the three and he wins the match. The match itself was decent as both men worked hard for the time they got and put on a basic match. Both men were hitting their groove by this point and had good chemistry as Booker gets the surprise win. The crowd was into the match and popped for Booker when he won. Booker gets the win over Eddie though their night isn’t over yet. Grade: 1.5
 
After the match, Booker ducks a shot and hits a side kick on Eddie as he looks to do the Spinaroonie until Chris Benoit runs down to the ring and gets a shot in, and he stomps on Booker repeatedly along with Eddie until Goldust runs down to the ring and tries to make the save only for both men to beat him down. Just then, the Dudleyz run down to the ring with chairs as Eddie rolls out of the ring and Bubba gets a kick in on Benoit before hitting him in the back with the chair as Benoit rolls outside.
 
Commercial break
 
We see a vignette hyping the debut of Rey Mysterio.
 
We see Booker T and Goldust backstage as Goldust says that they are again victorious and tries to dance with him, but Booker says that they aren’t out of the woods yet in that the nWo will get them and Goldust says he has another plan. Booker says that he will get his ass kicked again and Goldust says that like Jon Bon Jovi in “Young Guns II”, he will go down in a blaze of glory and he runs off as Booker believes he sees X-Pac and attacks him only to realize it is a snack vendor. He props him up in a chair and hands him his bucket of pretzels though he takes one for himself before running off.
 
Jonathan Coachman interviews Trish Stratus and Jackie Gayda as Stratus says Molly Holly got what she had coming last week, and Gayda says that she had the issue with Molly though Stratus had to get herself involved because she’s jealous of her. She says that she is beautiful and has a better body as she got a lot of attention on Tough Enough, and Stratus says that Gayda is living in a fantasy world as Christopher Nowinski walks up and says that Stratus is the one living in a fantasy world. Stratus says they can settle this in a mixed tag match tonight with Gayda and Nowinski facing her and a partner of her choice, and Nowinski jokes about Stratus’ potential partner until she says that her partner will be Bradshaw.
 
Commercial break
 
We see highlights from the 9/4/01 Smackdown.
 
We see the Dudleyz backstage as Goldust walks up to them dressed as Benjamin Franklin and says he has a message for them, and he says that he saw them save Booker and Goldust so he thinks they should join forces with them to take out the nWo. Bubba says that Ben Franklin doesn’t laugh like Santa and they don’t give a damn about Booker and Goldust, and Goldust says the Founding Fathers didn’t like each other and he wants to punch Thomas Jefferson in the gonads though they are all in this together and Bubba says they’re not fighting the nWo before walking away.
 
2. Chris Benoit (w/ Eddie Guerrero) forces Bubba Ray Dudley (w/ Spike Dudley) to tap out at 3:56.
 
Analysis: Our next match on the card is a pretty big matchup. The Dudleyz had saved Booker and Goldust from Benoit and Eddie moments ago and now Bubba faces Benoit here. Bubba gets a good pop from the crowd while Benoit was pretty hot as a heel. Eddie distracts Bubba and Benoit attacks him from behind to start the match as he kicks at him repeatedly and whips him into the corner, and he hits a back elbow and a snap suplex on Bubba as he stomps on him and rams him into the buckle. He pounds and stomps on Bubba in the corner as Bubba turns it around and pounds on Benoit in the corner, and he whips Benoit into the other corner and hits a back suplex as he rams him into the buckle and hits a slam. He goes up to the middle rope as Eddie distracts Bubba from the floor and Benoit pounds on him before going up himself, but Bubba blocks a superplex attempt and shoves Benoit to the mat only to miss the senton and Benoit goes behind him. Bubba turns it around and Benoit gets a back elbow in as he goes behind Bubba and pounds on him before hitting a German suplex, and he hits a clothesline on Bubba for a two count and stomps on him as both men trade blows until Benoit gets a kick in. He rams Bubba into the buckle and Bubba catches him ducking with a kick as he goes behind Benoit and hits a German suplex, and he fires up on Benoit and hits a sidewalk slam for a two count as Eddie nails Spike on the outside. Bubba gets distracted and Benoit gets a shot in as Bubba counters a whip and ducks a shot before hitting the Bubba Bomb for a two count as Eddie throws Spike into the ring to break the pin up, and Eddie gets on the apron and Bubba knocks him to the floor only for Benoit to hook the Crossface on Bubba who taps out and Benoit wins the match. The match itself was decent as both men worked hard and put on a basic match. Bubba was still getting into a groove as a singles star while Benoit was back in his groove, and they had good chemistry as Eddie makes the difference and helps Benoit win. The crowd was into the match and Bubba, but are not happy when Benoit wins. Benoit gets the win over Bubba though their night isn’t over yet. Grade: 1.5
 
After the match, Eddie gets in the ring and stomps on Bubba before pulling Spike in the ring and pounding on him in the corner, and Benoit sends Bubba into Spike and takes him to the mat as he hooks the Crossface back on with Eddie providing extra leverage. Just then, Booker T and Goldust run down to the ring and attack Eddie and Benoit as they clear them from the ring and check on the Dudleyz.
 
Commercial break
 
We see a video package of Christopher Nowinski talking about his time at Harvard.
 
We see a shot outside the First Union Center.
 
We see highlights from RAW last week.
 
We see footage from earlier tonight of Ric Flair giving Jeff Hardy his props for last week and wishes him luck tonight until Steven Richards walks up and mocks Flair who challenges him to a match and Richards gets a cheap shot in.
 
Commercial break
 
3. Bradshaw and Trish Stratus defeat Christopher Nowinski and Jackie Gayda when Stratus pins Gayda at 3:14.
 
Analysis: Our next match on the card is a pretty interesting mixed tag match. Bradshaw and Nowinski have been going at it for the last few weeks and they team up with Stratus and Gayda here. Stratus and Bradshaw get a good pop from the crowd while Nowinski and Gayda had decent heat as heels. Bradshaw starts off the match with Nowinski with both men going into 3-point stances though Nowinski quickly tags Gayda, and Stratus tags in and hits an armdrag on Gayda as she hits a dropkick and pounds on her until Gayda reverses a whip and Stratus hits a clothesline for a two count. Stratus tries something though Gayda is out of position until Stratus hits a sloppy drop toehold though Gayda recovers and chokes Stratus on the mat, and she chokes Stratus on the ropes and stomps on her as Nowinski tags in though he misses a pair of elbows and Bradshaw tags in. He knocks Nowinski down and hits a big boot as Nowinski ducks a shot and Bradshaw catches him on a crossbody attempt before hitting the fallaway slam, and Gayda tags in and jumps on Bradshaw’s back until Bradshaw snaps her to the mat and tags Stratus. She hooks a headlock as Bradshaw chases Nowinski into the crowd and Stratus hits a snapmare on Gayda, and she pounds on Gayda in the corner and Gayda reverses a whip into the other corner as she splashes Stratus. She stomps on her repeatedly and chokes her with her boot as she puts her on the middle rope and pounds on her, and she goes up herself though Stratus shoves her to the mat and gets a kick in as she hits a bulldog on Gayda who sells it too late though Stratus gets the three and wins the match. The match itself was not good as both teams tried, but it wasn’t meant to be as most of the fault was with Gayda who looked terrible in the match and Stratus did what she could while Nowinski and Bradshaw were afterthoughts. The crowd was not into the match and let them know it, but they did pop for Stratus when she won. Stratus and Bradshaw get the win over Gayda and Nowinski as both teams move on. Grade: DUD
 
We see Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero backstage as Benoit says Booker and Goldust are going to pay and Eddie says them and the Dudleyz got involved in their business, but then the New World Order walk up to them and tell them to chill out as they might be good, but there’s strength in numbers and they have something to say that they should listen to.
 
Commercial break
 
We see a compilation of the Rock’s greatest quotes.
 
The New World Order come down to the ring and Shawn Michaels says that you’re either with them or against them and at King of the Ring, everyone saw Triple H with them as they play the footage from King of the Ring and Michaels says that brings a tear to his eye. He says that last week, they extended the offer to Triple H to come back home as several years ago, they were a powerful group and traveled the road together while also getting hammered together, and he says that they did everything together and they had each other as they were family and as of now, they’ve not heard from Triple H. He says that he wants Triple H to know that while they are a forgiving family, they won’t be ignored and Triple H needs them more than they need him as Triple H used to be one of the best and now just flexes his muscles for the approval of the fans. He says that Triple H has 2 weeks to decide if he’s with them or against them as before the nWo, there was the Clique which is for life and at Vengeance, Triple H will either make the right decision or the last decision of his life. Kevin Nash says for the last 3 months, he’s been injured watching his friends have all the fun though now he is cleared to compete, and he says that he’s got a lot of aggression and emotion built up as he wants to have a match tonight. He says that Booker T’s been running his mouth and has some friends with him so they should let Benoit and Eddie team with them in a 10-man tag match against Booker, Goldust, the Dudleyz, and a partner of their choice, and he says that he knows Triple H is watching and he knows he won’t turn on family though if he does, what he does to Booker will be what he does to Triple H.
 
We see Ric Flair walking down the hallway.
 
Commercial break
 
4. “Nature Boy” Ric Flair forces Steven Richards to tap out at 3:42.
 
Analysis: Our next match on the card is a pretty interesting matchup. Flair was looking to climb the ladder one more time and looks to get a win here over Richards, who was floating in the midcard and looks to get a big win here. Flair gets a good pop from the crowd while Richards had decent heat as a heel. The two men lock up to start with Richards hooking a headlock and he knocks Flair down as they lock up again, and Richards backs Flair into the corner though Flair turns it around and pounds on Richards in the corner. He stomps on him repeatedly and continues to pound on him as he continues to stomp on him and throws him to the outside, and Flair goes outside and continues to pound on Richards as he throws him back into the ring and Richards begs off. Flair gets a kick in and Richards reverses a whip into the corner as he hits a backdrop and pounds on Flair, and Flair holds the ropes to avoid a dropkick with Richards landing on the mat and Flair drops an elbow on him. He pounds on him in the corner and Richards catches him ducking though Flair blocks a suplex attempt and pounds on Richards, and he hits a back suplex on Richards and hooks the Figure-4 on as Richards taps out and Flair wins the match. The match itself was pretty much a squash as Richards got a few shots in, but he puts Flair over strong in just under 4 minutes. The crowd was into the match and popped for Flair when he won. Flair gets a fairly easy win over Richards and both men move on. Grade: 1
 
Commercial break
 
Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman come down to the ring as Heyman says that though he walks through the valley of the extreme, he fears nothing from his enemies for he has Lesnar at his side and they have a keen interest in the main event at Vengeance. He says that whoever leaves as Undisputed Champion will be the sacrificial lamb at Summerslam against Lesnar, and he says that Vengeance, the match between Lesnar and RVD is now for the IC Title as he says Lesnar will beat RVD at Vengeance and become the new IC Champion. He says that he can make that prediction because here in Philadelphia, he made RVD and he created RVD as well as exploited him like he did to the Dudleyz, Tommy Dreamer, Rhyno, and many others to wet the appetite of the Philly fans. He says that the moral is that it was the Philly fans that crowned him the mad scientist and a genius, and he says that since they called him a genius, he was able to sign the man who will dominate the industry for the next 10-20 years in Lesnar. Just then, Tommy Dreamer comes out on the stage and says he needed to come out here and say Heyman didn’t create anyone, and he says that everyone busted their ass in ECW because they love the business and the fans as Heyman says Dreamer can do stupid things that he’s good at. Dreamer says that before he was that crazy guy, he was the Innovator of Violence and there is no beating that Lesnar can give him that he can’t take, and he says that if Lesnar wants it, they can take it to the extreme as he hits Lesnar in the leg twice with his Singapore cane. He gets in the ring and hits Lesnar with the cane until Lesnar blocks a swing only for Dreamer to hit a low blow, and he hits Lesnar in the head with the cane which sends him to the outside and he goes outside as well. He throws a pair of chairs into the ring and hits Lesnar in the back with the cane as he rolls back into the ring and sets the chairs up, and Heyman gets in the ring and nails Dreamer in the back which Dreamer no-sells as he grabs Heyman and sets up for a powerbomb. Lesnar gets in the ring and hits a clothesline on Dreamer as he stomps on him and sends him to the outside, and he goes outside himself and hoists Dreamer onto his shoulders as he hits the F-5 on the floor only for Rob Van Dam to come out of the crowd and get in the ring. He hits a spin kick on Heyman and a baseball slide that knocks Lesnar back to the floor as RVD hits a slingshot plancha onto Lesnar, and he hits a spin kick on Lesnar and grabs another chair as he goes up top and hits the Van Terminator on Heyman with Lesnar carrying Heyman to the back.
 
Commercial break
 
5. Jeff Hardy pins William Regal with the Swanton Bomb at 4:23 to win the WWE European Championship.
 
Analysis: Our last match before the main event is our lone title match of the night. Regal has been rolling as European Champion and faces a tough challenge here in Jeff, who came close to becoming Undisputed Champion last week and looks to become a champion here. Jeff gets a big pop from the crowd while Regal had solid heat as a heel. Jeff ducks a shot and pounds on Regal to start the match as Regal reverses a whip into the corner and Jeff hits a springboard reverse crossbody for a two count, and he kicks at Regal in the corner and Regal reverses a whip into the other corner as Jeff goes up top and hits Whisper in the Wind for a series of two counts. He trips Regal up and hits a legdrop to the groin as Regal begs off only to send Jeff through the ropes to the outside, and Regal rolls outside and rams Jeff into the steps as he bounces him off the ropes and throws him back into the ring. He drives Jeff’s throat into the apron and rolls back into the ring as he stomps on him repeatedly and hits a double underhook powerbomb for a two count, and he stomps on Jeff and knocks him to the apron as Jeff gets a shoulder in and hits a slingshot sunset flip for a two count. He pounds on Regal who counters a whip as he hits the modified neckbreaker for a two count and gets a knee in, and he hits a running kneelift on Jeff for a two count and chokes him on the ropes as he hooks a submission on Jeff who fights out of the hold. Regal catches him with a back elbow and drops an elbow on Jeff for a two count though Jeff counters a double underhook with an armdrag, and he ducks a shot and hits a crossbody on Regal for a two count as Regal gets a knee in and he throws Jeff to the outside. Regal looks to take the pad off the buckle only for Jeff to hit a dropkick as he hits a spinning clothesline on Regal, and he goes up top and hits the Swanton which gets the three and we have a new champion. The match itself was decent as both men worked hard and put on a solid title match. Jeff was getting into a groove as a singles star while Regal was hitting his groove as well, and they had good chemistry as Jeff wins singles gold again. The crowd was into the match and popped for Jeff when he won. Jeff gets the win over Regal and is the new European Champion though this issue isn’t over yet. Grade: 1.5
 
Commercial break
 
We see highlights from “This Is Your Life, Rock” on the 9/27/99 RAW.
 
Jonathan Coachman attempts to interview William Regal who breaks down in tears as Christopher Nowinski comes up and consoles him.
 
We see the Dudleyz talking to someone as Bubba says that they’ve been through a lot in this town at the bingo hall everyone made fun of, and he says that they kicked each other’s asses in that building so they could get to WWE and when they were told they had to find a partner, he knew he had to get the most extreme guy. He says that the man is him and the nWo will run over them if he doesn’t step up, and he says he needs to do it for his roots and this town as we see they are talking to Rob Van Dam who accepts the offer.
 
Commercial break
 
6. The New World Order (w/ Shawn Michaels), Chris Benoit, and Eddie Guerrero defeat the Dudleyz, Booker T, Goldust, and Rob Van Dam when the Big Show pins Booker at 9:28.
 
Analysis: After a fairly quick and interesting night of wrestling, we come to our main event. Booker and Goldust have been dealing with the nWo while the Dudleyz have been dealing with Benoit and Eddie, and now they face off here in a 10-man tag with RVD joining Booker, Goldust, and the Dudleyz. Booker, Goldust, RVD, and the Dudleyz get big pops from the crowd while Benoit, Eddie, and the nWo were pretty hot as heels. RVD starts off the match with X-Pac and they lock up with X-Pac hooking a headlock and RVD whips him off, and he does a split and hits a monkey flip on X-Pac as he works the arm until X-Pac pounds on him and RVD reverses a whip. He leaps over X-Pac and catches a kick attempt as he hits a spin kick on X-Pac and then he hits a standing moonsault for a two count, and he grabs the arm and tags Goldust who gets a kick in and he hits an atomic drop on X-Pac before hitting a clothesline. He pounds on X-Pac in the corner until X-Pac rakes the eyes and pounds on him in the corner before whipping him into the other corner, but Goldust catches him in a powerslam and tags Bubba who pounds on X-Pac and he hits a slam as he drops a trio of elbows on him for a two count. Spike tags in and goes up top as he hits an axehandle on X-Pac and pounds on him until X-Pac reverses a whip, and Spike ducks a shot and hits a headscissors on X-Pac as he hooks a headlock only for X-Pac to escape with a back suplex. Benoit tags in and gets a kick in as he catches Spike with a knee to the ribs and then he hits a front suplex, and he rams Spike into the buckle and stomps on him repeatedly in the corner as he hits a slam and tags Eddie who hits a slingshot somersault senton. Spike ducks a shot only for Eddie to catch him with a back elbow and he pounds on Spike who reverses a whip and hits a dropkick, and RVD tags in as Eddie pounds on him and rams him into the buckle only for RVD to reverse a whip into the corner. He hits a monkey flip on Eddie who ducks a shot and tags Benoit who kicks at RVD repeatedly and he hits a back suplex, and he hits a slam on RVD and tags Show who hits a headbutt on RVD and he throws him into the corner. He pounds on RVD and hits a hiptoss out of the corner as he hits a delayed suplex on RVD and tags X-Pac, and he drives the knee into RVD’s throat repeatedly and chokes him with his knee as he pounds on him and kicks at him in the corner. RVD ducks a shot and hits a superkick on X-Pac as he hits a slam and goes up top only for Michaels to crotch him on the top rope, and RVD falls to the mat and X-Pac drops a knee on him repeatedly as he chokes him with the knee and RVD flips over his back. He hits a spin kick on X-Pac and tags Bubba who pounds on X-Pac as he gets a shot in on everyone before hitting a clothesline on X-Pac, and Show comes in and Bubba hits a pair of clotheslines on him only for Michaels to grab his feet from the floor. Bubba pulls Michaels onto the apron only for Show to get a shot in and he hits a back suplex as RVD pulls Michaels to the floor, and he chases Michaels up the ramp to the stage where Brock Lesnar comes out and hits a clothesline on RVD as he hoists him up and hits the F-5 on the stage. Show pounds on Bubba in the corner and hits a slam as Benoit tags in and stomps on Bubba before whipping him into the corner, and he stomps on Bubba repeatedly and whips him hard into the other corner as Eddie tags in and pounds on Bubba. Bubba reverses a whip and hits a backdrop on Eddie as Booker tags in and he knocks Eddie down before hitting a clothesline on X-Pac, and he knocks Benoit and X-Pac down as he hits a side kick on X-Pac and gets a shot in on Nash before getting a kick in on X-Pac. Nash gets a shot in from the apron  and tags in as Booker ducks a shot only for Nash to hit the big boot, and he charges at Bubba only to collapse to the mat as he appears to have hurt his leg and everyone brawls. Show hits a headbutt on Booker and Benoit stomps on Spike repeatedly in the corner as Michaels gets in the ring and hits Sweet Chin Music on Booker, and Show grabs Booker by the throat and hits the Chokeslam which gets the three and he wins the match for his team. The match itself was good as all 10 men worked hard and put on a fun tag match. All 10 men were hitting their groove and they had good chemistry as RVD looks strong until Lesnar takes him out, but the match unfortunately fell apart when Nash got hurt though they did save it somewhat thanks to Michaels directing it. The crowd was into the match and the faces, but are not happy when the heels win. The nWo, Benoit, and Guerrero get the win over the Dudleyz, Booker, Goldust, and RVD as these issues aren’t over yet. Grade: 2.5
 
After the match, Michaels takes the mike and tells Triple H that what he sees is the future as at Vengeance, he will stand tall with the nWo or face down with all the rest and they help Nash to the back as we go off the air.
 
Final Analysis: Overall, this edition of RAW ended up being a pretty memorable episode albeit for the wrong reasons. We are continuing the build to Vengeance and there were some big things planned for that show, and the RAW side of things were pretty standard as we were going through the build. We did have a title match as Jeff rules the midcard while Booker, Benoit, Stratus, Bradshaw, Flair, the nWo, and Eddie get big wins, and in terms of the matches the main event was the best though again this show is best remembered for the mixed tag debacle and Nash getting injured in his first match in 3 months. 2002 has been an interesting year to this point as we’ve had some new faces pop up amongst returning veterans, and we will see how things continue to play out as a major happening would occur the next week. As for this show, it is a pretty memorable again for the wrong reasons as it has gone down in infamy. Final Grade: C+