WWF RAW 4/22/02
1. Brock Lesnar (w/Paul Heyman) vs Matt Hardy
Matt entered through the crowd and attacked Lesnar from behind before the bell. Matt landed several punches and a kick. Lesnar whipped Matt into the corner but ran into a boot. Lesnar blocked a second kick and gave Matt a brutal spinebuster. Brock gave Matt a kneelift and followed with two of the more brutal backbreakers I’ve seen in a while. Lesnar applied a bearhug and backed Matt hard into the corner. Lesnar missed a tackle and crashed shoulder first into the ringpost. Matt rammed Lesnar’s left arm into the ringpost repeatedly and landed more punches. Lesnar ran into a kick and Matt gave him somewhat of a lariat slam. Matt hit a second rope legdrop twice. He attempted a twist of fate but Lesnar countered and gave him his version of the TKO. Lesnar powerbombed Matt and scored a knockout win at 3:08. A very effective match in that Matt was able to get in some offense while Brock really showcased his strengths. Fans were really into Brock’s power moves. *3/4
2. Rob Van Dam vs Mr. Perfect
Why Perfect? Oh well. Van Dam confronted Eddy Guerrero, who was doing color commentary, at ringside but Perfect attacked him from behind. Van Dam did a split and gave Perfect a monkey flip. He dropkicked Perfect out of the ring and hit a moonsault bodyblock off the apron. Van Dam did a somersault into the corner but Perfect moved and gave him a back suplex from the second rope to the mat. Perfect landed a couple chops, snapmared Van Dam and gave him his trademark neck snap. Van Dam fought back with some forearm shots. After a series of misses and counters Van Dam scored with a spin kick for a near fall. Van Dam slammed Perfect and legdropped him. Van Dam then hit his rolling thunder splash for a near fall. Van Dam gave Perfect a couple shoulderblocks in the corner. He attempted a monkey flip but Perfect countered and gained a near fall with his feet on the ropes. Van Dam missed a kick but caught Perfect’s leg and did his sweeping spin kick (which appeared to miss its mark). Van Dam hit a five star frog splash and pinned Perfect at 3:03. Guerrero attacked Van Dam after the bell but then missed his own frog splash. Van Dam spin kicked Guerrero and Guerrero bailed out of the ring. A solid match because Van Dam got to do many of his spots and Perfect looked sharper than usual. *1/2
3. Jazz & Molly Holly vs Trish Stratus & Jacquelyn
I missed this match since my attention was diverted at the time and I had forgotten to tape the show. Molly pinned Jacquelyn at 2:16 after Jazz hit her with the women’s title belt. From what I heard I didn’t miss much. NR
4. Bubba Ray & Spike Dudley vs Booker T & Goldust
T and Goldust make a pretty stupid pairing, but a kinda perversely funny one at that. As they conversed at ringside Bubba threw Spike out of the ring and onto them for a pop before the bell. Bubba Ray dominated Goldust early including landing a couple loud chops. He whipped Goldust into the corner but ran into a boot. Bubba Ray recovered and back suplexed Goldust but then missed a Vader bomb. Goldust kicked Bubba Ray and landed a couple punches. He missed a clothesline and Bubba Ray fired back with a series of punches and then a hilarious flip-flop-n-fly elbow reminiscent of Dusty Rhodes. Bubba Ray gave Goldust a second bionic elbow as well as a clothesline. Spike gave Goldust a top rope foot stomp and an elbow strike for a near fall. Spike rolled up Goldust for a near fall. Booker kicked Spike from behind allowing Goldust to give him a lariat. Booker rammed Spike into the ring steps and slammed him head first on the barricade. Goldust gave Spike a hip attack. Booker pummeled Spike in the corner with several kicks and gave him a savate kick for a near fall. Booker gave Spike a flapjack slam and tagged Goldust. Goldust tried to block a sunset flip attempt by grabbing the ropes but Bubba Ray punched him and Spike gained the near fall. Goldust fought back and gained a near fall of his own. Goldust applied a sleeper on Spike. Spike fought back with a facedrop and a spear. Goldust grabbed Spike’s leg but he kicked Goldust with his free leg. Bubba Ray gave Booker several punches and chops and a side suplex. Bubba Ray whipped Booker into the corner and clotheslined him and also clotheslined Goldust off the apron. Bubba Ray slammed Booker, landed a couple elbowsmashes, and danced. Spike gave Booker a top rope Thesz press for a near fall. Bubba Ray got the better of Goldust as Spike backdropped Booker out of the ring. Spike then shoved Bubba Ray and yelled “Bubba, get the table” for a huge pop. Goldust clotheslined Bubba Ray at ringside. Booker kicked Spike in the ring and gave him a scissors kick for the pin at 6:16. Steven Richards then ran in and hit Bubba Ray with a trash can lid for a near fall attempting to win the hardcore title. Richards threw Bubba Ray out of the ring and threw Spike out of the ring when he tried to intervene. Richards set up the table but Bubba Ray attacked him and powerbombed him through the table at ringside. Bubba Ray then danced. A pretty solid match because it kept moving. Booker and Spike really looked good while Bubba Ray was entertaining as usual. **
5. William Regal vs Shawn Stasiak
Stasiak ran into the ring but Regal then flattened him with one punch in an almost slapstick manner and pinned him. The bell never even rang. Regal clearly used brass knuckles and the ref saw them, but the ref counted anyway. Funny stuff, but I generally don’t like such short “matches”. NR
6. Scott Hall & X-Pac vs Steve Austin & Big Show
Show easily overpowered X-Pac early on. Hall came in but Show overpowered him as well. Hall then challenged Austin, and Show made the tag. Austin gave Hall a slew of punches and also punched X-Pac off the apron. Austin telegraphed a backdrop and Hall gave him a kneelift. Hall gave Austin a few punches and tagged X-Pac. X-Pac landed a kick, chop and punches but Austin fought back with a spinebuster. Austin gave Hall a spinebuster and rammed X-Pac’s head into the turnbuckle 10 times. Austin pummeled Hall in the corner and gave X-Pac several punches. He whipped X-Pac into a corner and X-Pac ran butt-first into Hall’s face, then fell against Hall. Austin then kicked X-Pac repeatedly into Hall. Austin pounced on X-Pac in the ropes and went to do the same to Hall but Hall moved. X-Pac clotheslined Austin. Hall gave Austin a fallaway slam and a discus punch. X-Pac gave Austin his usual series of kicks in the corner. Hall landed a punch but Austin fought back with a Thesz press and several punches of his own. Austin elbowsmashed Hall for a near fall but X-Pac ht him. Hall repeatedly stomped Austin and applied an abdominal stretch, holding X-Pac’s hand for leverage. Austin fought back with a hiptoss and several punches but Hall scored with a kneelift and a lariat for a near fall. Austin tackled X-Pac and landed a series of punches. Austin missed an elbow and X-Pac landed a spinning kick for a near fall. Hall whipped Austin into opposite corners and clotheslined him each time. Austin applied a sleeper but Hall escaped and applied one of his own. Austin escaped and hiptossed Hall. He went to tag Show but X-Pac hit him from behind. Austin finally tagged Show but Show then grabbed Austin and chokeslammed him. Hall & X-Pac raised Show’s arms as the N.W.O.’s music played. The match went 8:20 until the chokeslam. A decent match, but nothing memorable, and weaker than Hall vs Austin from two weeks ago. None of the four really seemed inspired to put forth a stronger than average effort. Definitely a surprise finish with Show joining the N.W.O., but my optimism for future quality of main events has gone out the window. *1/2
Best Match: Dudleys vs Booker & Goldust: The best of a fairly weak show, although not a bad match.
Worst Match: Main event: I didn’t see the women’s match, but I didn’t enjoy the main event. Regal vs Stasiak was over before it started, so that doesn’t count.
Overall: About 23 total minutes of action, and no really good matches, which is somewhat of a rarity. Definitely the weakest in-ring RAW in a while.
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