RAW
July 18th, 2002 (taped July 16th)
First Union Arena
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
 
Dark Matches:
 
1. Simon Diamond defeats Johnny Swinger.
2. Shannon Moore defeats Hugh Morrus.
 
7/20 Velocity taping:
 
1. Albert defeats Nick Dinsmore.
2. Jamie Noble defeats Funaki.
 
Actual Show:
 
We see the opening video for Smackdown.
 
Your hosts are Michael Cole and Tazz.
 
1. John Cena defeats Chris Jericho by disqualification at 2:43.
 
Analysis: We kick off this edition of Smackdown with a rematch from two weeks ago. Jericho defeated Cena two weeks ago and Cena pinned Jericho in a tag match last week, and now they face off here to settle their issues. Cena gets a decent pop from the crowd while Jericho was red hot as a heel. The two men have a staredown to start the match as Jericho slaps Cena in the face and Cena tackles him to the mat as he pounds on him, and he hits a back elbow and a hiptoss on Jericho who reverses a whip and Cena catches him in a spinebuster for a two count. Jericho reverses a whip and Cena catches him ducking with a kick only for Jericho to send Cena over the top to the floor, and Jericho goes outside and kicks at Cena as he slaps him in the face and pounds on him before throwing him back into the ring. He goes up top only for Cena to catch him with a dropkick and he pounds on Jericho who reverses a whip as Cena hits a flying forearm, and he hits a German suplex for a two count and Jericho reverses a whip into the corner as Cena avoids the bulldog. He hits a belly-to-belly suplex on Jericho for a two count and Jericho avoids the knee as he hooks a rollup and looks for the Walls of Jericho, but Cena flips Jericho to the mat and gets a kick in as he hits a DDT for a two count and Jericho avoids a dropkick with Cena falling to the mat. Jericho misses the Lionsault and Cena hooks a rollup for a two count as Jericho catches him with a low blow which draws the DQ and Cena wins the match. The match itself was not much as Cena almost dominated most of it until Jericho gets himself DQ’ed. The crowd was into the match and Cena, but are not happy with the ending. Cena gets the win over Jericho by DQ though this issue isn’t over yet. Grade: 1
 
After the match, Jericho trips Cena up and hooks the Walls of Jericho on as officials run down to the ring and force Jericho to break the hold, and Jericho goes outside and brings a chair into the ring as he beats Cena down with it until the officials force him to the back.
 
We see a limo pull into the arena as Marc Lloyd walks up to it though we see Eric Bischoff step out of it, and Lloyd asks why he’s here though Bischoff just smiles and walks away.
 
Commercial break
 
We see Eric Bischoff introducing himself to Randy Orton as he asks where Hulk Hogan’s dressing room is and Orton points him in the right direction, and Bischoff goes into Hogan’s dressing room where Hogan is getting ready and he says it’s nice to see him as Bischoff says he’s the new GM of RAW. He says that he will take RAW and make it bigger than it’s ever been as he’s going right for the best talent and Hogan brings up him signing Triple H, and he says that Hogan taught him to cover his bases and Hogan says he knows Bischoff is here to see Rock as Bischoff asks about Edge and it’s always about negotiating.
 
2. Chavo Guerrero forces the Hurricane to tap out at 4:10.
 
Analysis: Our next match on the card is a pretty basic matchup. Hurricane has been cruising in the Cruiserweight Division and looks to get a win here over Chavo, who was floating in the division and looks to get back on track here. Hurricane gets a good pop from the crowd while Chavo had decent heat as a heel. Hurricane offers a handshake to start the match and Chavo slaps his hand away as Hurricane pounds on him and he knocks Chavo down, and he ducks a shot and hooks a headlock as Chavo escapes with a back suplex though Hurricane lands on his feet. He hits a neckbreaker on Chavo and pounds on him as he hits a backdrop and goes up top before hitting a crossbody for a two count, and he pounds on Chavo who reverses a whip and he catches a kick attempt as he drops an elbow on Hurricane’s knee. Chavo stomps on the knee repeatedly and rolls outside as he rams Hurricane’s knee into the post and wraps it around the post, and he hoists Hurricane up and puts him in the tree of woe as he hits a dropkick to the knee and Hurricane tries to battle back. Chavo kicks at the knee and Hurricane grabs him by the throat though Chavo blocks the chokeslam by hitting a drop toehold on Hurricane, and he stomps on Hurricane in the corner and wraps his knee around the ropes as Hurricane battles back. He kicks Chavo away and hits the Shining Wizard for a two count as Chavo reverses a whip into the corner and Hurricane catches him with a back elbow, and he goes up to the middle rope and hits a modified neckbreaker though hurts his knee and he gets a two count. Chavo escapes a suplex attempt and hits a kneebreaker on Hurricane as he hooks a submission on though Hurricane reaches the rope, but Chavo pulls him back and hoists him up as he hits a modified powerbomb and hooks an STF of as Hurricane taps out and Chavo wins the match. The match itself was decent as both men worked hard and put on a basic match. Both men were hitting their groove by this point and they had good chemistry as Chavo gets a clean win. The crowd was into the match and Hurricane, but are not happy when Chavo wins. Chavo gets the win over Hurricane and both men move on. Grade: 1.5
 
After the match, Chavo takes the mike and says that he is the premiere Latin Cruiserweight in WWE yet everyone is talking about Rey Mysterio, and he says that he’s sick of it and next week on Smackdown, he is challenging Mysterio to a match.
 
We see a limo pull into the arena and Marc Lloyd walks up to it as Vince McMahon steps out of it and says the new GM of Smackdown might already be here, and Lloyd tells him Eric Bischoff is here and Vince says this will make for an interesting evening.
 
Commercial break
 
We see Eric Bischoff meeting with Rico backstage and he asks where Rock’s dressing room is as he walks into Vince McMahon, and Bischoff says he had to stop by and check things out as Vince says he will name Smackdown’s new GM shortly and Bischoff says he wanted to check out the competition live. He says that it doesn’t matter who the new GM is as he will sign Triple H this Sunday at Vengeance and he will show him ruthless aggression, and he says that Triple H won’t be his only target as he is about to meet Rock.
 
We see footage from earlier today of Michael Cole talking to the Undertaker about his reign as Undisputed Champion and the main event at Vengeance.
 
Commercial break
 
3. Hardcore Holly and Val Venis defeat Billy and Chuck (w/ Rico) when Venis pins Billy at 3:40.
 
Analysis: Our next match on the card is our first tag match of the night. Billy and Chuck have been on a slide the last few weeks and look to get back on track here against Hardcore and Venis. Hardcore and Venis get a decent pop from the crowd while Billy and Chuck had solid heat as heels. Hardcore starts off the match with Billy and they lock up with Billy backing Hardcore into the corner and he pounds on him, but Hardcore battles back until Billy reverses a whip and Hardcore knocks him down as Billy leaps over him and Hardcore hits a dropkick. Billy reverses a whip and Hardcore escapes a slam attempt as Billy blocks a rollup though Hardcore holds him up and kicks him in the ribs, and he hits a clothesline on Billy for a two count and Chuck tags in as Hardcore hits an atomic drop and tags Venis. He fires up on Chuck who reverses a whip into the corner and Venis catches him with a boot to the face only for Chuck to get a shot in, and Venis catches Chuck with a big boot only for Chuck to hit a clothesline though Venis catches him with a back elbow. He hits a slam and drops a knee on Chuck for a two count as Hardcore tags in and hits a slam while both men drop an elbow on Chuck, and Chuck reverses a whip as Billy comes in and hotshots Hardcore on the top rope as Chuck hits a belly-to-belly suplex for a two count. He hoists Hardcore onto his shoulder and Hardcore slides off as he sends Chuck into the corner and hits a back suplex, and Venis gets the hot tag and fires up on Billy as he hits a flying tackle and he hits a clothesline on Chuck. He hits a dropkick on Chuck and clotheslines him over the top to the floor as he ducks a shot and hits a back suplex powerbomb on Billy for a two count as Chuck breaks it up, and Hardcore knocks Chuck to the outside as Rico gets in the ring and hits a spin kick on Venis only for Hardcore to knock him to the outside. Chuck pulls Hardcore outside as Billy gets a two count and gets a kick in only for Hardcore to get in the ring and he hits the Alabama Slam on Billy, and Venis goes up top and hits the Money Shot 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 tag match. Hardcore and Venis looked decent as a team while Billy and Chuck were hitting their peak as a team, and they had decent chemistry as Hardcore and Venis get the win. The crowd was into the match and popped for Hardcore and Venis when they won. Hardcore and Venis get the win over Billy and Chuck as both teams move on. Grade: 1.5
 
Commercial break
 
JVC Extreme Blast of the Night: Rikishi defeating Test on Smackdown last week
 
We see a shot outside the First Union Arena.
 
4. “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan, Edge, and Rikishi defeat Lance Storm, Christian, and Test when Edge pins Storm at 8:14.
 
Analysis: Our next match on the card is our second and last tag match of the night. Hogan and Edge saved Rikishi last week from Storm, Christian, and Test and now the two teams face off here. Hogan, Edge, and Rikishi get a big pop from the crowd while Storm, Christian, and Test were pretty hot as heels. Rikishi starts off the match with Christian as Rikishi ducks a shot and pounds on Christian before hitting a backdrop, and he knocks Storm off the apron and Christian rakes the eyes as he pounds on Rikishi and tags Storm only for Rikishi to hit a double clothesline. Edge tags in and goes up top as he hits a clothesline on Storm and then he clotheslines Christian over the top to the floor, and he ducks a shot and knocks Test off the apron as he hits a flying forearm on Storm who reverses a whip and Test trips Edge up from the floor. Storm hits a side dropkick on Edge for a two count and Christian tags in as he pounds and stomps on Edge, and he pounds on Edge on the mat and chokes him as Test tags in and he pounds on Edge in the corner. He whips Edge into the other corner and splashes him as he hits a short clothesline and hooks a submission on Edge, and he fights to his feet and breaks the hold as Test counters a whip and gets a knee in before hitting a pump handle powerslam. He looks for the big boot though Edge avoids it and ducks a shot as he hits a modified facebuster though Test keeps him from tagging, and Christian gets a shot in on Hogan and Test drags Edge to his corner as all three men stomp on Edge repeatedly. Storm pounds on Edge on the mat and whips him into the corner as he splashes him and tosses him to the mat before going out to the apron, and he attempts a springboard only for Edge to catch him in a powerslam and Hogan gets the hot tag as he fires up on all three men. Test nails Hogan from behind as Rikishi and Edge come in and they send Christian and Test to the outside, and Storm hits the superkick on Hogan for a two count as Hogan starts to hulk up and he no-sells Storm’s shots. He pounds on Storm and tags Edge as he whips Storm into the corner and splashes him before Edge rams the shoulder into Storm’s ribs, and Rikishi comes in and splashes Storm in the corner as Test and Christian pull Hogan and Edge to the outside. Test gets in the ring and hits the big boot on Rikishi as Hogan gets in the ring and pounds on Test before hitting the big boot, and Christian gets in the ring and hits an inverted DDT on Hogan as Edge gets in the ring and hits the spear on Christian. He catches a superkick attempt and gets a kick in as he hits the Edgecution on Storm 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 tag match. Hogan, Edge, and Rikishi looked good as a team while Storm, Christian, and Test were gelling well as a team, and they had good chemistry as Edge gets the win for his team. The crowd was into the match and popped for Edge, Hogan, and Rikishi when they win. Edge, Hogan, and Rikishi get the win over Storm, Christian, and Test though this issue isn’t over yet. Grade: 2.5
 
We see the Rock warming up in his dressing room as Eric Bischoff walks in and offers a handshake though Rock doesn’t take it, and Bischoff says that he wants Rock on RAW this Monday night and he knows Rock is talented as them together would take Rock to places he’s never been before. Rock says that he has finally come back to Wilkes-Barre and he says he’ll be at RAW as Bischoff gets excited about him signing, and Rock says that he’s going to RAW as he will face Undertaker and Kurt Angle at Vengeance. He says that after what happens at Vengeance, he will be the new Undisputed Champion which means he can be on both shows and even on other shows if he wanted, and Bischoff says he should’ve had Rock on Nitro and Rock says that while Bischoff was on Nitro, he did his part in putting WCW out of business which isn’t personal as he walks away.
 
Commercial break
 
Stacker 2 Burn of the Night: Vince McMahon revealing Eric Bischoff as the new General Manager of RAW
 
Vince McMahon comes out on the stage and says that never before has he seen such angst on the faces of the Superstars just because of his announcement of General Managers, and he says that if the RAW Superstars are that concerned and want to move to Smackdown, they can negotiate with Smackdown’s GM while saying the Smackdown stars can do the same with Eric Bischoff. He says that he has complete control of his mind and people told him that Bischoff tried to put him out of business, and he says that he made Bischoff GM because he is the best person for the job and he enjoys ruthless aggression. He says that he is here to announce the new GM of Smackdown who is the best person for the job and who also tried to put him out of business, and he says the difference is that RAW’s audience deserves Bischoff as GM though he doesn’t know if the Smackdown audience deserves their new GM. He says that with that in mind, he wants to announce the new GM of Smackdown which is Stephanie McMahon as she comes out on the stage and shakes Vince’s hand, and he heads to the back as she welcomes everyone to her show and she says Bischoff is a parasite. She says that Shane McMahon was wrong when he said that Bischoff would screw the company and their family as she says she won’t let that happen, and she says that she won’t allow Bischoff to steal the Smackdown stars from the fans including the Rock, Hulk Hogan, Edge, and the man who Bischoff knows is the greatest ring general in wrestling today being Triple H. She says that Bischoff claimed he would sign Triple H to RAW at Vengeance and if Bischoff wants Triple H to choose which brand he’s on, she doesn’t mind because Bischoff will have egg on his face when Triple H comes back to Smackdown, and she says that she is the GM of Smackdown like Bischoff is the GM of RAW and her official act as GM will take place right now by throwing him out of the building. She heads to the back and finds Bischoff talking to Lance Storm, Christian, and Test as she gets in his face and says he can either walk away willingly or she will have him thrown out, and he says that he’ll leave though a lot can happen between now and Vengeance.
 
Commercial break
 
Reebok Slam of the Week: Billy Kidman pinning Jamie Noble in the tag match last week on Smackdown
 
5. Billy Kidman pins Tajiri with the Shooting Star Press at 3:37.
 
Analysis: Our last match before the main event is a pretty interesting matchup. Kidman was preparing for his title shot in 3 days and looks to get a win here over Tajiri, who was floating in the midcard and looks to get a win here. Kidman gets a good pop from the crowd while Tajiri had decent heat as a heel. Tajiri gets a kick in and pounds on Kidman to start the match as Kidman ducks a shot and hits a modified snapmare on Tajiri, and Tajiri rolls out to the apron and gets a shoulder in only for Kidman to hit a legdrop to the back of the head and he stomps on Tajiri. He pounds on Tajiri in the corner and Tajiri reverses a whip into the other corner as Kidman leaps onto his shoulders and Tajiri hotshots him on the top rope, and Tajiri hits a spin kick on Kidman and rams him into the buckle as he pounds on him in the corner though Kidman turns it around and pounds on Tajiri. He whips Tajiri into the other corner and Tajiri avoids a charge as he attempts the Tarantula only for Kidman to toss him to the apron, and Tajiri gets a kick in and slingshots back into the ring as he hooks the Tarantula on Kidman and he drops a knee on him for a two count. He pounds on Kidman on the mat and chokes him on the ropes as he hits a snapmare and hooks a submission on, and Kidman fights to his feet and breaks the hold as he slides under Tajiri who catches Kidman with a series of back elbows. Kidman blocks the handspring elbow with a dropkick to the back and he hits a back elbow and clothesline on Tajiri, and he hoists Tajiri onto his shoulders and hits a modified neckbreaker on Tajiri for a two count as Tajiri blocks a tornado bulldog and ducks a shot. He hits a superkick and a standing moonsault on Kidman for a two count as he goes up top though Kidman avoids the moonsault with Tajiri landing on his feet, and Kidman hits a sitdown spinebuster and goes up top as he hits the Shooting Star Press 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 decent match. Both men were hitting their groove by this point and had good chemistry as Kidman gets the clean win. The crowd was into the match and popped for Kidman when he won. Kidman gets the win over Tajiri and both men move on. Grade: 1.5
 
After the match, Jamie Noble runs down to the ring and Kidman pounds on him as he whips him into the corner and hits a backdrop, and Noble ducks a shot and Tajiri sprays the green mist in Kidman’s face as Noble gets a kick in and hits a powerbomb on Kidman while Nidia stands over top of him.
 
We see Chris Jericho go into Stephanie McMahon’s office and says it’s great to see her as he congratulates her on her new job, and she says that he’s always been complimentary to her and he was so unselfish in giving up his match with Edge at Vengeance so we would get the tag title match instead. She says he deserves a reward as next week on Smackdown, he will face Edge and he says that’s just what he wanted as he leaves the office and is left stewing.
 
Commercial break
 
We see a vignette hyping the debut of Rey Mysterio next week.
 
We see the Rock warming up in his dressing room.
 
The Undertaker comes out to do commentary for the main event.
 
Commercial break
 
6. The Rock defeats Kurt Angle by disqualification at 12:14.
 
Analysis: After a fairly quick and interesting night of wrestling, we come to our main event. These two men were set to challenge for the Undisputed Title in 3 days and face off here to build momentum. Rock gets a big pop from the crowd while Angle was red hot as a heel. Rock wastes no time and pounds on Angle to start the match as he hits a clothesline and then he clotheslines Angle over the top to the floor, and he goes outside as well and rams Angle into the steps as he kicks at him and pounds on him before ramming him into Taker’s bike. He hits a back suplex on the ramp and rams him into the apron as Angle counters a whip and ducks a shot before tripping Rock up, and he slingshots him into the post and throws him back into the ring as he stomps on him repeatedly and chokes him with his boot in the corner. He hits a suplex on Rock for a two count and pounds on him in the corner only for Rock to turn it around and he pounds on Angle in the corner, and both men counter a whip and Rock gets a kick in as he hits a belly-to-belly suplex on Angle for a two count. Angle gets a knee in and hits a series of German suplexes on Rock for a two count as he pounds on him, but Rock battles back until Angle catches him ducking with a kick only for Rock to hit a clothesline and Samoan drop for a two count. Angle ducks a shot and hits a back suplex on Rock as he goes outside and drives his elbow into Rock’s throat twice, and he rolls back into the ring and stomps on Rock repeatedly as Rock battles back until Angle hits a high crossbody with Rock rolling through for a two count. Angle hits a clothesline on Rock and then he hits a pair of belly-to-belly suplexes for a two count as he hooks a submission on and uses the rope for leverage, and Rock fights to his feet and breaks the hold as he fires up on Angle who counters a whip and gets a kick in before hitting the Angle Slam for a two count. Rock catches a kick attempt and snaps Angle to the mat as he hooks the Sharpshooter on and Angle reaches the rope to force a break, and Rock hoists Angle up by the legs and slams him to the mat as he looks for the Rock Bottom though Angle blocks it with a series of back elbows. He hits a clothesline on Rock and fires up though Rock nips up and pounds on Angle as he knocks him over the top to the floor, and Rock goes outside as well and knocks Angle onto the announce table as he hits a low blow and Angle falls into Taker who shoves him away. Angle avoids a clothesline from Rock who hits Taker and knocks him over the barricade into the crowd as Angle rams Rock into the table repeatedly, and both men roll back into the ring and Angle hooks the Ankle Lock on Rock who rolls through and sends Angle to the mat. He pounds on Angle who reverses a whip and Rock hits a floatover DDT for a two count as Taker gets on the apron and Rock knocks him to the floor, and he hits a spinebuster on Angle and looks for the People’s Elbow only for Taker to get in the ring and he hits a clothesline on Rock which draws the DQ and Rock wins the match. The match itself was good as both men worked hard and put on a solid match. Angle was hitting his stride by this point while Rock was getting back into a groove after being gone for some time, and they still had great chemistry as Taker ends up getting involved. The crowd was into the match and Rock, but are not happy with the ending. Rock gets the win over Angle by DQ and this issue isn’t over yet. Grade: 3
 
After the match, Taker pounds on Rock on the mat and Angle rolls outside as he brings a chair into the ring and Taker grabs Rock by the throat, but Angle hits Taker in the back with the chair and Rock ducks a swing as he hits a clothesline on Angle. He looks for the Rock Bottom though Angle escapes and trips Rock up as he hooks the Ankle Lock on and makes Rock tap before releasing the hold and he stands tall.
 
We see Marc Lloyd rushing out to the parking lot as he catches up with Triple H who is about to get into his limo, and Lloyd asks which brand he will sign with as Stephanie McMahon comes up as well and says she needs to talk to him. She says that this is business and wants to talk with him about the future as Triple H asks if she doesn’t want her lawyer there for this, and she says that she deserves that as he says that he will everything from all sides on Sunday and will make his decision at Vengeance. He asks if she’s gained weight as he gets in the limo and the window rolls down as Eric Bischoff is in the limo as well and he says that she looks great, and the limo drives off and she is left frustrated as we go off the air.
 
Final Analysis: Overall, the go-home edition of Smackdown was a pretty decent show that was focused more on the revealing of the new GM with not much emphasis on the PPV. With Vengeance only 3 days away, we did get some build to it, particularly with the main event, but it seemed like most of it was on which brand would sign Triple H. We had no title matches as Cena, Chavo, Venis, Hardcore, Hogan, Edge, Rikishi, Kidman, and Rock get big wins, and the main event was easily the best while the rest was standard as the big moment was Stephanie being revealed as Smackdown GM and Bischoff trying to poach the roster. 2002 has been an interesting year to this point as we were now a few months into the brand split and with the additions of the GMs, it will be interesting to see how the year continues to go as we head towards Summerslam. As for this show, it is a pretty decent show best remembered for Stephanie being unveiled as the new GM and also continuing the build to Vengeance. Final Grade: C