Unforgiven '02

Legacy Review

Unforgiven '02

September 22, 2002 from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA

 

Commentary: Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler (Raw matches), Michael Cole and Tazz (Smackdown matches)

 

I want to say Brock Lensar winning the Undisputed WWE Title at Summerslam after barely six months on the main roster was a shock, but between the obvious massive push the company wanted to give him and Rock becoming more focused on Hollywood than wrestling it really wasn't. It was more expected than anything else, and everyone was more curious what would come next. Which was Lesnar electing to stay on Smackdown instead of jumping between brands as champions had done in the short life of the brand split so far. That led Raw GM Eric Bischoff to bring back the Big Gold Belt as the new WWE World Heavyweight Championship, and to make fans hate him even more after his turn back heel and dastardly attacks on Shawn Michaels just handed the belt to Triple H with no need to win it in a match. At the same time the "Undisputed" moniker was dropped from the WWE Title since it clearly wasn't anymore. (A lesson modern WWE needed to remember, I have no idea why the WWE Title is still called "undisputed" when there's a World title again too. Some genius in marketing's idea probably.)

 

The opening video has a bunch of classic clips of NWA and WCW World champions past, even though the new WWE Big Gold Belt is not officially part of that lineage, but starting a whole new one. Amusingly they even include Great American Bash '91, which had one of Dusty's old Florida belts with a couple of plates hastily riveted on since Flair had walked out to WWF with Big Gold and they hadn't had time to make a replacement yet. 

 

Kane, Bubba Ray Dudley, Booker T & Goldust def The Unamericans in 9:52 (Raw)- William Regal had recently joined the Unamericans group, a natural fit. Christian and Lance Storm from that faction are still the tag champs, which right now are still the only set of tag titles, but those will soon be split like the world titles. Bubba Ray's wrestling in shorts instead of pants now. This is Kane's first PPV match since Wrestlemania, and his first wearing his smaller mask that left his mouth uncovered. Goldust and Christian start. Hip attack and drop down uppercut from Goldust for 2. He cuts off a Christian/Storm double team with a double clothesline. Bubba Ray tags in and he and Goldust do some stereo bionic elbow Dusty tributes. Jawbreaker from Storm on Dudley. Dudley counters a whip and gets Storm up in a tree of woe and gives him some chops. Flapjack from Dudley for 2. Christian trips Goldust from the floor and drags him out for a couple of shots. Test goes nuts on Goldust with elbows in the corner. Diving clothesline from Goldust and he tags out to Booker. Flying forearm. Side kick on Test for 2. Dudley comes in, slams Regal from behind, and Booker hits the D'Von end of the Whazzup Drop. Dudley tells Booker to get the tables! Storm and Christian manage to baseball slide the table into Booker. Test hammers on Booker in the ring to keep him in peril. European uppercut from Regal for 2. Suplex for 2. Booker tries his corner floatover roll up on Christian for 2. Spinebuster on Christian. Crawl over and tag to Kane for the first time in the match. Kane backdrops Storm, then takes out all the heels as they run in. Powerslam on Storm but the Unamericans break up the pin. DONNYBROOK! Everyone goes to the floor while Kane stays in the ring. Kane ducks Test's Bicycle Kick of Death. Test then muscles Kane up for the pumphandle powerslam. Booker scissors kick on Test! Spinaroonie! Christian grabs Booker right after and hits a reverse DDT. Christian low blows Kane to save Storm from a chokeslam. Storm superkick on Kane for 2. Booker side kick on Storm. Christian ducks a side kick and knocks Booker to the floor! Bubba Bomb on Christian! But Regal pushes Dudley out before he can cover. Goldust sets Christian up in the corner. Shattered Dreams! But Goldust turns around into Test's bicycle kick! Kane clothesline off the top on Test. Chokeslam on Storm and Kane gets the pin! Fun milti-man spotfest tag, always a good choice for an opener. This would end up being the last major show for the Unamericans as they were originally put together. They'd lose the tag titles to another great odd couple team, Kane and the Hurricane, on the next Raw, then slowly fizzle out. ***1/4

 

WWE Intercontinental Championship: Chris Jericho (c) def "Nature Boy" Ric Flair in 6:16 (Raw)- This is a rematch from Summerslam, a Flair win that turned out to be not a bad match, but a disappointing one considering the talent involved. Legends that for whatever reason didn't click. Since then Jericho has defeated RVD for the 5th of his record nine IC title wins. Lockup and they both trade slaps in lieu of a corner break. Flair tries to momentum toss Jericho to the floor, but Jericho lands on the apron, hops up top, and comes down but Flair cuts him off with a shot to the gut. Flair hits the first chops. Leg takedown and Flair goes for an early figure four, which Jericho has already tapped out to multiple times. Jericho pushes free before it's on, sending Flair out to the floor. Jericho hits the springboard dropkick. Missile dropkick from Jericho back in for 2. He hooks on an abdominal stretch, surprisingly without any extra leverage. Flair eventually is able to hiptoss out and fires off some more chops. Flair Flip! AND HE MAKES IT OVER! First time in a while, he's slowly getting back in the groove. Flair then ducks Jericho's clothesline attempt and punches him. Jericho gets tossed over the top in the corner to the floor! Stair shot for Jericho. Back in Flair hits the kneedrop. Snap mare and Flair goes up to the second rope to hit another kneedrop for 2. Jericho springs up to the second rope on a whip. Flair cuts off him doing anything else with a punch that might have been in the back of his knee or a bit north of there but south of the equator. Flair then lifts Jericho off the ropes into a kneebreaker! Another figure four attempt. Jericho counters with a small package for 2. Back elbow from Jericho. He goes for the Lionsault. Flair dodges and Jericho sees it and lands on his feet, but he hurt his knee on the landing. Jericho backs off hard from Flair trying to protect his knee, and ref Lil' Naitch holds Flair back from attacking it. Naitch goes so far as to call for a trainer. When his back is turned Jericho pops back up, nothing wrong, and chops blocks Flair! Walls of Jericho! Naitch looks shocked, but Flair is already tapping and he has to call for the bell. They were going a bit better than their Summerslam match, but that was a weak ass finish, even if it does lead into something else later in the night. Among other issues, the longtime Dirtiest Player in the Game fell for one of the oldest tricks in the book. Dumbass Babyface Syndrome. **1/4

 

Future Andre the Giant Battle Royale entrant Shaquille O'Neal is in the crowd tonight. WWE really took their time getting him signed after that tease. 

 

Eddie Guerrero def Edge in 11:48 (SD)- Another Summerslam rematch here. Edge got concussed by a chairshot earlier in the week on SD, but has cleared protocol and is active tonight. Guerrero goes to the floor to stall after the bell, then sneaks around Edge into a roll up for 2. Chase around the ring and Guerrero catches Edge coming back in. Big backdrop from Edge, then a flapjack as he turns things around. Powerslam from Edge for 2. Delayed suplex. Guerrero hits a back elbow in the corner and hops to the second rope to hit a tornado DDT. Stomps and snap suplex from Guerrero for 2. He grounds Edge with a unique looking neck crank. Back suplex from Guerrero for 2. Now Guerrero hooks on a front facelock, then twists into a form of cravat. Edge really fades down from that, then manages to fight back up. Another back elbow from Guerrero puts him back down. Guerrero taunts Edge to hit him back and easily dodges all of Edge's wild swings. Until one finally lands and Guerrero does a phenomenal delayed flop sell. I'm forever a sucker for those, always love it. Guerrero dodges and Edge crashes into the corner and Guerrero is back all over him, insanely intense. Ref Jimmy Korderas physically backs Guerrero out of the corner. Guerrero takes the time to tell him to kiss his ass with very pointed gestures, allowing Edge to sneak in and roll him up for 2. Small package from Edge for 2. Swinging neckbreaker, but that hurt Edge as much as it did Guerrero. On knees slugfest. Edge gets up and starts to build some momentum. Flying forearm. Faceplant for 2. Reverse DDT for 2. Guerrero gets a jawbreaker. He goes for a springboard flying headscissors, but Edge catches him into a powerbomb for 2. Guerrero blocks a backdrop attempt and perches on Edge's shoulders. Edge uses that to drop him into the corner and sets up opposite. Guerrero dodges the spear, but Edge slams on the brakes before he crashes into the corner. Edgecution! Guerrero gets a foot on the rope before 3! Guerrero dodges a missile dropkick. He sneaks a top turnbuckle pad off. Corner whip reversal and Guerrero is the one that takes it in the back. Spear into the corner! Edge sets Guerrero up top. Guerrero runs Edge's head into the exposed buckle! Buckle bomb! Guerrero grabs an extra handful of tights on the follow up cradle and gets the pin! Great stuff. Between working with Angle and then Guerrero after the brand split started Edge is getting a hell of an advanced wrestling education. ***3/4

 

World champ Triple H walks into the Raw group locker room. He runs into his opponent for tonight RVD. Trips says RVD looks so calm so close to their match, and that tells Trips he's got no passion or desire. Trips then points out a very dejected looking Flair in the background and says he *used* to have that burning desire. Trips calls Flair a loser and that gets Flair on his feet. RVD backs Flair up, but it's clear what Trips said resonated with Flair.

 

3 Minute Warning (w/Rico) def Billy & Chuck in 6:30 (Interpromotional)- This special interpromotional match is the result of a bet between the two GMs as their feud continues. It started with Bischoff sneaking into SD and working as the reverend under a crazy film quality old man mask for Billy & Chuck's "commitment ceremony" before siccing 3 Minute Warning on them. 3 Minute Warning, Jamal (future Umanga) and Rosey, had recently debuted as Bischoff's new heavies. He'd tell someone they had "three minutes" for one thing or another, which was the gang's cue to attack. This is their first proper match. If Billy & Chuck win for SD, Bischoff has to kiss Steph's ass McMahon style. If 3MW win for Raw, Steph has to perform...."Hot Lesbian Action". HLA. Because it amuses Bischoff, and clearly turns him on. So either way Bischoff wins really, I don't see why Steph agreed to it all. Bischoff's also stolen away B&C's old manager Rico to help out 3MW. A side note to this, the angle is dumb, but Bischoff's definitely gotten into a groove as the over the top heel Raw GM. B&C charge in on their entrance and it's on. Billy Cactus clotheslines Jamal out to the floor. Rico gets a kick in on Chuck in the ring and Rosey Saito suplexes him. Things settle in with Chuck trapped in the wrong corner and in peril. As you'd expect it's mostly generic big man offense from 3MW to keep Chuck isolated, not a whole lot really going on here. After a bit Rosey goes up to the second rope. He fires off a moonsault! Chuck's able to dodge it. Tags on both sides. Hot tag run from Billy. Nice 360 sell from Jamal off a clothesline. Good old double noggin knocker that doesn't hurt 3MW at all. Samoan blood. They double headbutt Chuck instead. Now Jamal goes up top for his big splash finisher. Chuck manages to slam him off. Billy tries to hook Rosey up for a cobra clutch, but Rosey's too big. He turns Chuck around and flapjacks him instead. Superkick from Chuck on Rosey. Superkick from Jamal on Chuck. Billy counters a Jamal pop up into the Fameasser! Rico gets in and Billy puts him down, then tosses him out. But that distraction allows Jamal to hit him with a pop up Samoan drop, and that gets the pin. Bischoff is ecstatic. HLA to take place later on tonight. This would be the last major match for Billy & Chuck. On screen after their wedding was wrecked they realized they didn't see as much in each other as they thought. As tag partners. Offscreen, them becoming a much more overtly gay couple was drawing the ire of some watchdog groups so WWE killed it. Not defending it in either direction, just pointing out the facts. *1/4

 

WWE World Heavyweight Championship: Triple H (c) def Rob Van Dam in 18:17 (Raw)- HHH has kept the clean shaven look from Summerslam. I assumed it was an early DX callback for his match with Shawn. Maybe Steph wanted him to instead. Getting the Big Gold Belt also means we're at the start of the period where HHH became the absolute #1 most hated man in hardcore wrestling fandom, mostly over his perceived unwillingness to put anyone else over, an image that we know now years later he actively cultivated. HHH was working the internet years before anyone else and no one realized until much, much later. Cautious lock up after the bell. We get a series of headlock/headscissors sequences and stalemate. RVD seems to think he got the upper hand in that, so on the next lockup HHH drags him down by his hair. Hammerlock tradeoff into an RVD headlock as the nicely old school start continues. HHH tries a pin in the headlock, then takes a rope break. It's a clean break, but HHH shoves, then RVD slaps. That surprises HHH. Speed run with HHH hitting a hard shoulderblock, then RVD gets an armdrag and headlock takedown. HHH takes another rope break and goes out to the floor to apparently rethink things. While he's out there RVD gets a water bottle. During the build RVD made a point about HHH being able to "spit water" on his entrance, so RVD decides to do his version of HHH's entrance and pulls it off decently well. As planned, that sets HHH off more and he runs into another armdrag, then another headlock. HHH backs RVD into the corner, and there's no clean break this time. RVD floats over in the corner into a roll up for 2. HHH flips over and they do the bridge up/backslide fight spot. RVD flips over out of the backslide, HHH ducks a high kick, but RVD gets him down with a sweep kick. Back to the RVD headlock. Another counter sequence and RVD hits a back kick that sends HHH to the floor again. HHH dodges a tope con hilo and RVD splats on the floor! That was a Mick Foley level bump. RVD barely gets back in before the 10 count. Sort of, Hebner gave him a break there. HHH gets right back on him. Stair shot for RVD. Back in HHH covers for 2, then lays in some ground and pound. He slingshots RVD in the ropes. RVD flips out of a suplex attempt and rolls HHH up for 2. HHH hits a neckbreaker for 2. After a pointless trip back out to the floor RVD slugs back in the ring. HHH cuts him off with the high knee for 2. HHH goes up top and mocks RVD's thumb point. That gives RVD time to get up and slam him back down. HHH hooks on a sleeper. After fading RVD manages to throw HHH into the corner to get free. Spinning heel kick from RVD. Slugfest. RVD flips over a backdrop attempt and hits a misdirection kick, then another back kick. Cartwheel rolling thunder for 2. He hits the monkey flip out of the corner, then a back kick off the second rope. Regular rolling thunder hits for 2. HHH smartly rolls out to try to kill the momentum. RVD is having none of it, hitting a plancha. Back in RVD hits a one foot kick off the top rope for 2. HHH hits the facebuster. RVD leapfrogs and HHH runs right over Hebner. High kick from RVD and a cover but there's no ref. HHH hooks up for the Pedigree. RVD counters with the slingshot into the corner. He springs up top. Five star frog splash! But Hebner's still dead on the floor. HHH sneaks up and low blows RVD. He goes under the ring and here comes Mr. Sledgehammer. RVD kicks it into HHH's face! Ric Flair runs in, and picks the sledge up. He sets up to hit HHH with it. HHH sees and backs off. Then Flair turns around and hits RVD with it! HHH looks like he did not know that was coming. Pedigree on RVD, with HHH looking at Flair the entire time. Flair drags Hebner back in the ring, and HHH gets the pin to retain. Flair gets the belt, hands it to HHH, and raises his hand. They then shake hands and hug. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the beginning of Evolution. Very good match let down a bit by the ref bump, but in the long run it's a plus because it got HHH and Flair together. ***1/2

 

Apparently there were people backstage pushing for RVD to win the title here based on how big he had gotten with WWE audiences so quickly. How that would have potentially changed the history of this period. 

 

Some actor from the daytime soap opera the Young and the Restless shows up backstage with D'Lo Brown and Billy Kidman, and leaves with Dawn Marie all over him. O....K....then. Don't even ask me to try to explain that one, I don't have a bloody clue. 

 

WWE Women's Championship: Trish Stratus def Molly Holly (c) (Raw) in 5:43- Trish lost the title to Holly at King of the Ring, this is the first PPV defense of it since. Lockup into some nice basic jockeying for position, until Holly goes to a hair pull. Trish kips up and works around into a hammerlock. Holly gets a nice fireman's carry takedown for 2, then Trish gets a roll up counter for 2. Stalemate and reset. Trish gets a regular and Japanese armdrag, followed by a nice dropkick. Hangman's neckbreaker for 2. Holly floors Trish with a straight forearm. Snap suplex from Holly for 2. She goes to the hair again and tosses Trish out to the floor. Stair shot for Trish. While the ringside knockaround continues I can rarely resist a good jersey spotting in the crowd. At a show in LA there's one guy in an Eagles Donovan McNabb jersey, and guy near to him wearing an Eddie George Titans jersey. Of course in 2002 LA didn't even have an NFL team. The Rams were in St. Louis, the Raiders were still in Oakland, and the Chargers were where they belonged in San Diego. Anyway, back in Holly straitjackets Trish's arms around her throat and cranks back. Trish eventually snap mares free. Holly pops back up with a basement dropkick. Flash small package from Trish for 2. Waistlock into a cradle for 2. Holly drop toe holds Trish throat first into the bottom rope! Trish flips around Holly and hits the bulldog for 2. Chick kick! That gets a 2 count. Corner boots up from Holly plants Trish down again. Holly goes up top but Trish hits the ropes to drop her down crotch first. Trish goes for the handstand hurricanrana but Holly blocks it and stretches the hell out of Trish in a tree of woe! Holly does her own DOUBLE handspring elbow for 2. Trish counters a wheelbarrow into a bulldog, and that gets the pin to win the title back! Trish's third title win. Another quality outing from the women of this era, though they still aren't getting enough time to do anything more. **1/2

 

The week after on Raw it was announced that the women's title, therefore the women's division, were now an exclusive Raw property. So essentially, Raw got the women's division and SD got the new Cruiserweight division.

 

In the back, 3MW and Rico are really enjoying their time with women that are supposed to be lesbians. Do they think they can all be converted? As they leave to go party in LA ("Use my name if you run into any trouble getting in someplace" says Bischoff), Bischoff picks out his two favorites for Steph. 

 

Chris Benoit def Kurt Angle in 13:58 (SD)- These two had one of the best pure wrestling feuds in recent WWF/E memory nearly all of the first half of 2001. After Benoit's return from injury it was only a matter of time before it got rekindled. Angle continues to get pops from the crowd before they start up the "you suck" chant. Nice rough lockup to start, to the ropes, across the ropes, back into the middle, then they tumble out to the floor without letting go! Back in they stare down some more. Angle gets a quick waistlock takedown into a great extended mat exchange. This type of opening was about to become a regular part of Angle matches, one of the many things I always loved about them. Benoit works around into crossface position and Angle quickly grabs a rope break. After a bit more staredown Angle drops down and gets a leg takedown, then rides Benoit around in the middle of the ring. He gets in position for an ankle lock and now Benoit escapes in the ropes. Angle works around into a hammerlock. Benoit tries to snap mare free but Angle rolls through and hangs on! Very nice. Off the ropes Angle hits a shoulderblock. Coming off again Benoit grabs Angle's arm in an obvious crossface setup. Angle counters into a fireman's carry. Benoit counters that into a roll up for 2. That gets off a rapid fire cradle exchange that gets 4 or 5 near falls, then they do the bridge up/backslide spot. Angle gets free from the backslide fight, but Benoit grabs his arm into the crossface! Angle is just able to grab a rope before it's on fully and he slides to the floor to regroup. Back in they trade arm holds again, then Angle says frak it and flips the script by tossing Benoit out to the floor. He goes out and drops Benoit on the barricade. Back in Angle hits a backbreaker for 2. Angle wraps Benoit up on the mat with a combination reverse bear hug and body scissors. Benoit slowly powers Angle's legs open, then cranks on Angle's ankle to force him to break the hold. Knee to the gut from Angle. He pounds on Benoit in the corner for a bit. Benoit dodges in the opposite corner and Angle flies shoulder first into the post. Benoit then runs it into the opposite post to make sure it hit good. Back suplex from Benoit for 2. Short clothesline. He goes for another. Angle ducks and hooks up for a belly to belly suplex. Benoit hits knees to the gut to cut it off. Angle fights Benoit back around and hits the belly to belly! Benoit ducks a punch swing and it's ROLLLLLLLLLLLING GERMANS time! But only two. Angle back kicks free, switches, and it's Angle rolling Germans time! This time Benoit stops it at 2 and switches to hit 3. Then Angle switches and hits 3. And 4! 5! Angle wins the German suplex fight 5-3. That whole sequence gets applause from the crowd. THE STRAPS ARE DOWN! Angle Sla....NO Benoit counters into a waistlock and hits another German that Angle 180 sells right onto his face! There's some scattered "holy shit" chants for that. Benoit goes up top. Angle runs all the way across the ring to do his run up suplex counter! The crowd loves that. Crawl over and cover for a long 2. Leg takedown from Benoit into a jackknife cover for 2. When Angle kicks out he rolls over and gets the ankle lock on! Benoit rolls over and kicks free. Benoit gets Angle on his shoulder. Angle counters that into tombstone position. Benoit flips over to counter that! Instead of a tombstone (Taker's watching) he hits a shoulderbreaker. Throat slash and Benoit goes up top. The headbutt hits! Benoit's slow to cover. He compensates by stacking Angle up but Angle still kicks out. Crossface! Angle comes SO CLOSE to tapping, but then grabs Benoit's foot and puts on an ankle lock. Benoit releases the crossface and Angle has the ankle lock fully on! Benoit counters that back into the crossface! Angle escapes and gets the ankle lock on again. Now Benoit teases almost tapping, but then gets one last burst to get a rope break. Angle pulls Benoit back and puts on his own crossface! Benoit gets close to the ropes. Angle puts a foot on the rope to push him back, but can't get the push and Chioda forces a break. Benoit rolls over into a cradle, puts his feet on the ropes for leverage, and steals a pin! Angle is FURIOUS he got caught like that. Like I said at the top, pure f'n wrestling, as good as it gets. Say what you will about Benoit (and you most certainly can given how he ended) but he and Angle were magic every single time out in a way very few pairs of guys in wrestling history have ever been. The crowd was eating up every last bit of this up too. Another example why you never take anyone seriously that says great wrestling doesn't get over. ****1/2

 

Before the main event, it's HLA time. Bischoff comes out with his two chosen "lesbians". I'm willing to bet that when Howard Finkel first started ring announcing at MSG all those years ago he never thought he'd ever introduce someone as "the lesbians". The ladies' names are Peaches and Cream. I'm also willing to bet that those aren't real names. Bischoff then calls Steph out to the ring. Once Steph's in Bischoff goes full sleezy porn director, telling Steph the reason there's two women here is because it's going to be a three way, then he tells "Peaches" and "Cream" to lose some clothes, which they do, giving Lawler a heart attack. He then tells the women to take Steph's jacket off, give her a back massage, then a full body massage, then says let's get the HLA started. Then, naturally, Bischoff pulls the rug out and dismisses his two chosen women. Instead he brings out his REAL "fattest, ugliest, most physically repulsive lesbo I could find". And here she comes. After some more moment milking Bischoff says go at it. Steph looks terrified.....then gets right into it! Then the woman superkicks Bischoff! It's Rikishi! He squashes Bischoff in the corner, takes his skirt off, and it's stinkface time as Steph cheers it on. End scene.

 

I'm very sorry I had to recap all of that. It's so dumb. Once that's over we get the "I was there" commercial. Man, I'd completely forgotten about that one.

 

WWE Championship: Brock Lesnar (c) (w/Paul Heyman) and the Undertaker double DQ in 20:25 (SD)- Among others, Lesnar destroyed legends Hulk Hogan and the Rock on his path to the top. Now Taker is stepping in to protect "his yard". That alone should have been plenty to sell this match, but they had to throw in some weird shit with Taker's pregnant wife Sara that's best forgotten. No bike for Taker on his entrance. We're in the period where Tazz was forced to say "Well, here comes the pain!" every single Lesnar entrance. It's amusing to hear him start somewhat enthusiastic but then phone it in more and more as time goes on. Hebner Junior is working this match instead of Chioda, which I find interesting but I'm likely the only one. I've always been a ref watcher. They go nose to nose, literally they actually touch noses, after the bell. Taker shoves, which actually staggers Lesnar. They do some no contact jockeying and finally lock up. Lesnar powers Taker out. Another lockup and again Lesnar wins the fight. Third time and this go Taker pushes Lesnar so hard he falls out of the ring! Lesnar did not like that. He hops back in and grabs a headlock. Speed run with Lesnar hitting a shoulderblock, then Taker gets a hiptoss and clotheslines Lesnar 360 out to the floor. Lesnar is PISSED, kicking the stairs down like they did something to him. Heyman gives it his all trying to keep Lesnar calm. Back in Lesnar gets the first strikes in and works Taker into a hammerlock. Taker armdrags out and starts in on his usual arm work. Lesnar cuts that off with a knee and gets Taker in the corner. Taker hits the flying clothesline with Lesnar leaping up with him to sell it for some reason. Old school hits. After Lesnar gets whipped into the corner Heyman gets up on the apron. Taker big boots him off! Lesnar uses the opening to ram Taker into the corner. Suplex from Lesnar for 2. After some more corner beatdown Lesnar goes to the floor, drags Taker down in the corner, and YANKS him ribs first into the post! After some recover Taker slugs back out of the corner with the "soupbone" (copyright Tazz) right hands. Off the ropes Lesnar hits a powerslam for 2. Staying focused in the ribs, Lesnar hooks on a bear hug. Taker falls to the mat and Lesnar keeps it locked on. Taker pounds Lesnar across the head to get him to release it. Lesnar staggers Taker again with a knee to the ribs, then does a waistlock takedown right back into the grounded bear hug. Taker stands back up but Lensar tosses him right back down. Finally Taker walks around to build momentum and tosses Lesnar out to the floor. Now Taker starts pounding on Lesnar's ribs. A measured punch to the head sends Lesnar flying out to the floor again. Heyman distracts Hebner Jr and Lesnar nails Taker with the belt. That busted Taker open. Cover back in and Taker barely has any energy to kick out. Lesnar stays focused on attacking the cut. Taker manages to slug back again. Corner clothesline from Taker. Another. Goozle! Lesnar fights off the chokeslam, but runs into a big boot for 2. The snake eyes/running big boot combo hits for 2. Corner whip reversal and down goes the ref. Taker hits the chokeslam but Hebner Jr is dead. Both world title matches have had ref bumps tonight. Matt Hardy runs in to try to attack Taker but Taker cuts him off with a clothesline. Matt had just turned heel and started up the awesome Matt Hardy Version 1 character, and was also feuding with Taker. Punching above his weight I think. Taker plants Matt with the Last Ride. Lesnar uses the opening to hit Taker with a spinebuster. Hebner Jr is back and Taker *just* kicks out. Taker hits a DDT for 2. He throat slashes to say that's it. Tombstone scoop. Lesnar quickly squirts free, pushing Taker and sending him into Hebner Jr, putting him down again. Clothesline from Lesnar. Heyman gets a chair and tosses it to Lesnar. Taker cuts a chairshot off with a big boot! Chairshot to Lesnar! Taker bent the seat of the chair all to hell with that shot. Another chairshot sends Lesnar out of the ring. A punch from Taker sends Heyman flopping over the barricade. Other than that Taker seems content to let Lesnar recover, or he's waiting for the ref to revive. Finally Taker goes out and rolls Lesnar back into the ring, and Hebner is back up too. Lesnar is also now bleeding for the first time in his career. Taker hits the Hogan big boot/legdrop combo and Lesnar barely kicks out. Last Ride setup. Lesnar backdrops out. F5 scoop. Taker blocks it midmove and hits a punch. Lesnar backs him into the corner and they slug it out. Hebner Jr tries to separate them but Taker tosses him aside, then Lesnar traps him in the corner and lets him know about it. Then Taker punches Lesnar, squashing Hebner Jr in the corner. Hebner Jr's had enough and calls for the bell, throwing the match out. Lame ass finish. Probably a combination of them wanting the feud to go longer than one match and neither guy wanting to lose because of that. Neither guy gives a damn about the bell, they keep fighting as the ring fills up with SD refs. Taker hits the chokeslam, then Heyman and the ref gaggle get Lesnar out of the ring. After a minute Taker chases him down and they continue to fight up the aisle. Taker tosses Lesnar through the stage! End show. Not a bad match by any means, they were going pretty well. But all the refs bumps and non-finish hold it back. **3/4

 

OVERALL SHOW THOUGHTS- Pretty up and down quality wise. There's some very good stuff and no horrendously bad matches, but that whole HLA segment was as bad as a DUD match, and as long. You could tell they were putting some extra effort into what's normally a B PPV because it was the first one with split titles. There's also already a clear contrast starting to form between the brands, with Raw being the "sports entertainment" brand, and Paul Heyman booked Smackdown the "pro wrestling" brand. I'll give you one guess which one hardcore fandom and the internet got behind.

OVERALL SHOW GRADE: C+