Best of the Velocity Matches #7

 
Albert vs John Cena, 10/1/2002

First time in a while Albert faces another young heavyweight in the rookie John Cena. And Albert basically wrestles like a 2002 Walter here stiffing Cena around and smacking him. He had some pretty nice knee strikes and his Bicycle Kick looked absolutely unreal. Cena wasn't as good as he has looked in previous matches but he was fine enough. And he wins it with the Protobomb for the first time, too! Poor Albert just couldn't catch a break, jobbing to Funaki and now rookie Cena.

Billy Kidman vs Doug Basham, 10/1/2002

Doug Bashham is really amusing here looking like a total creep with his greasy hair and leather pants. It was his second match on TV too. Kidman is super nice here, taking a huge bump for Doug over the rope. Doug had some slick moves - a cool bow and arrow against the buckle, nice quick russian legsweep, a flying leg lariat from the rope that was really cool. It's almost weird how much offense Kidman gives Doug in this match. You don't know what Doug Basham of all people is gonna do in a 5 minute 2002 TV match and that makes this fun. Kidman wins it with the Shooting Star and Doug is sent back to developmental.

Tajiri vs Shannon Moore, 10/1/2002

Eh, Moore isn't that good. He is athletic enough and that's fine with me, but his character doesn't go far beyond 'he trained with the Hardys'. Tajiri is the Velocity god though and he does some really nice legwork on Moore here and kicking him in the face for good measure. To be fair Moores leg selling was quite good and it produces some interesting results because of his athletic style. The spin kick to the back of Tajiris head was surprisingly brutal, too.

 Chavo Guerrero vs Crash, 10/8/2002

A match up that will make any 2002 Velocity superfan excited. Both these move really well and precise, and they just do that little extra to make a 4 minute throwaway match memorable. In this case Chavo does a really nice job working attacking Crashs neck. Crash makes a really nice comeback to constantly selling his neck. Like, he would make Chavo bump, but had to clutch his neck, so he couldn't follow through for the usual 'guy takes 2 clotheslines in rapid succession' spot. Pretty nice. He even takes the time to give Chavo some payback by elbowing his neck and bouncing his head against the turnbuckle. Chavo takes it with a nasty Brainbuster. Good stuff.

Albert vs Funaki, 10/8/2002

Albert is trying hard to escape 'Velocity jail' as he called it. I think he was actually thriving there. I'm really enjoying this match series between him and Funaki. Albert really beats the crap out of the smaller guy in this match and Funaki is great trying to evade him and bombard the bigger man with fast dropkicks and other credible offense. At one point Funaki hit this really hard Dick Togo esque back senton for a nearfall that was just totally awesome. And the 'working the back hair' rules once again. Crowd really got into it, too. Really nice little match series between these two.
 

Best of the Velocity Matches #6

 Tajiri vs Billy Kidman, 9/17/2002

You give Tajiri 4 minutes to have a match, you're gonna get a really nice match. Even though this was short, it had everything. Cool armwork from Tajiri, Kidman doing a nice job selling said armwork and making one-armed comebacks, surprising nearfalls, and a neat finish. Tajiris kicks certainly hold up very well and his Arn Anderson-like focus is just great.

Albert vs Funaki, 9/17/2002

This was really fun. Albert had it rough in 2002, feuding and trading wins on Velocity with Funaki, but he gave his everything into these matches. Really exemplifies hard work. Funaki barrages Albert with fast dropkicks to start, they do some cool big man vs small man action, and Albert clobbers Funaki with great looking Vader hammers. Crowd is really into hating Albert, I guess looking fat hairy and disgusting is excellent heel work in itself. Funaki working Alberts chest hair rules and the crowd popping big for the finish is once again awesome.

Crash vs The Hurricane, 9/17/2002

This has a really amusing backstage promo. Funaki (who had just taken a beating from Albert) interviews Crash backstage telling him he will face THE HURRICANE and Crash does this really funny terrified face. The match is fun too. Hurricane is an amusing goofy babyface and Crash feeds into him in all kinds of interesting ways. Nobody ever talks about guys like Crash or Hurricane anymore and that's why it's cool to discover how they would work a match. Neither guy here is a generic highflying cruiserweight or technician so just the way they do things is cool. There are some fun reversals, Hurricane teasing the CHOKESLAM, a really well timed nearfall for a pin with the foot on the ropes etc. Just fun all around.

 Crash vs Billy Kidman, 9/24/2002

Crash rules. He's such a great stooge, he's sneaky, and he is great at pulling off odd and interesting stuff without coming across as cute. Kidman doesn't show a ton of fire but he is good enough when he needs to sell and he obviously has the athleticism to go hard.. This had some great backwork from Crash, including dropping Kidman over the guardrail with an awesome backbreaker, Crash feeding into Kidman in interesting ways, Crash countering Kidmans bulldog that normally sets up his finish, and then immediately stealing it, plus the way Crash does the finish is awesome.

John Cena vs D-Von Dudley, 9/24/2002

Rookie Cena is a lot of fun to watch. He has really good form on everything, and you don't know what he's gonna bust out. His cookie cutter arm drags and shoulder blocks control segment is cool, and he takes a BIG bump face down to the floor when D-Von cuts him off. D-Von nails him with a really hard clothesline and then takes a big bump of his own missing an elbow drop off the top. Cena at this point is oddly athletic - he hits a really sweet dropkick, counters D-Vons finisher by backflipping out in an impressive display. Great nearfall here when Cena is able to survive D-Vons nasty looking neckbreaker off the ropes. The finish is neat too as they do a callback to the cut off. Cena wins with a sunset flip over the ropes of all things and whoever does that anymore? I love pro wrestling.
 

Best of the Velocity Matches #5

Mark Henry vs Albert, 8/27/2002

This is allllll about Mark Henry and how good he is at this point. He has the awesome strength spots and big athleticism - okay nothing new. He press slams Albert which looks totally awesome, he hits his awesome leaping butt attack through the ropes, and he sells the fuck out of an Albert big boot just flinging himself over the top rope. When a knee from Albert lands slightly awkwardly Henry makes sure to sell his eye. Albert does some nice brief work on the back and Henry makes a really fired up comeback. People were loving Henry, that's for sure. Nice build to the finish too to top of a very good 4 minute big boy TV sprint.

Jamie Noble vs Funaki, 8/27/2002

It's so interesting to see these guy work a condensed junior epic with title match nearfalls in a 5 minute span. Noble is the workrate god of the early days of Velocity, and Funaki can still do some nifty things. They breathlessly run through their stuff to get to the nearfall portion, but it's all fun. Funaki has a slick inside cradle and some more cool pin attempts and reversals. He gets absolutely SPIKED with a nasty reverse piledriver thing from Noble (why the hell did Funaki agree to that?) and hits about the most awesome Tornado DDT you've ever seen this side of Super Delfin for a massive nearfall. Did Funaki even have a finisher at this point? Nice stuff anyways.


Albert vs Billy Kidman, 9/3/2002

I love that Velocity is basically a weekly competition on who can deliver the perfect 5 minute TV match. This was pretty close to a perfect big vs little match. Man Albert can't ever get a win, he can't even beat KIDMAN, but he is so over and the crowd are loud before the match even begins. I really like that he is doing his own thing instead of just being a distaff Vader or generic big guy. The backbreakers variations, vicious knees etc are all really good. Because he's facing Kidman he can really make his shit look good in this match. Kidman is perfectly good here and the way he pulls out the victory is awesome. The crowd flipping out when he gets the 3 is awesome too. It's a meaningless Velocity match but they loved that like he just won the Royal Rumble. 2002 was something else.

John Cena vs Chavo Guerrero, 9/3/2002

It's rookie John Cena! Pre-jorts and everything. The WWE version of black young lion trunks just being oddly coloured shorts is pretty fun. Chavo is great here. He works some fun straight wrestling with Cena, and then he does a fun job stomping his leg and stretching him. Cool submissions, nasty face wash, he was probably high on Shinjiro Otani at the time. Cena sells the fuck out of that leg and he gets a nice comeback and the finish is very nice too. This lasted 7 minutes and while it had less nearfalls than other Velocity matches the build made it feel bigger.

D-Von Dudley vs Shannon Moore, 9/10/2002

I continue to oddly enjoy Reverend D-Von Dudley. He makes for a very good clobbering heel against a blowjob face, and he is willing to bump his ass off. Moore is really fast, hits all of his fancy flying stuff clean, and he has really nice snap on something like a basic back elbow which is something I can't say about many highflying type guys these days. D-Von has a great cut off where he really nails Moore in mid-air with a big clothesline, and he even takes a missed diving headbutt in an awesome nearfall. His finisher looked great, too.

Tajiri & Jamie Noble vs Crash Holly & The Hurricane, 9/10/2002

Well if these aren't a bunch of b-show GODS!! And they work a really nice, breathless 6 and a half minute match. Complete with character work, multiple cutoff spots, and several nearfalls. Really amazing when you think about it. They never slow down, Tajiri and Nobles heel team work is really cool, The Hurricane amuses me, and Crash Holly is really fun too selling FIP and getting a bloody mouth from bumping into the steps hard. All the switches and reversals at the end were catching without ever being too cute. I didn't know Crash was even around in 2002 but this was his first of several Velocity matches and I look forward to seeing more.
 

Scotty 2 Hotty Matches

Scotty 2 Hotty vs. Chavo Guerrero, Jr., WWF 7/22/2001

I really like Scotty 2 Hotty. He was slick, he had good worked punches, great timing and the dance moves are awesome. What more do you want a wrestler to have? Add in the fact that he was almost never given more than a few minutes in singles matches and you have a wrestler with a great portfolio of 3-4 minute TV sprints. And Chavo always busts his ass, so they have an awesome 6-7 minute match on this random HEAT episode. I really wish we could have gotten Chavo Jr. vs. Otani in their primes but Chavo Jr. vs. Scotty is the next best thing. Scotty looks great sliding underneath Chavo really fast, landing on his feet, hitting a great punch on the floor... Chavo always mixes so much high end shit into these short throwaway matches. In this case his springboard moves were awesome. They do a few great cutoffs and some big nearfalls, plus a classic Japanese big move finish. What more do you want?

Scotty 2 Hotty vs. Tajiri, WWF 7/2/2001

Tajiri is another short TV match king and this was basically a get-your-shit in 3 minute sprint with a few dandy moments. Scotty always does different cool things in his matches, talk about knowing how to keep your act fresh. In this case he hits some really fast elbow drops, a great spinning suplex, great superkick, big powerbomb counter, a slick re-entry flip into the ring etc. The finish was brilliant as Scotty gets ready to hit the Worm but Tajiri mists him in the face, in a clash of the coolest WWF moves of the early 2000s. It was like the 3 minute RAW match equivalent of Kobashi slipping out of the Emerald Frosion to hit the Burning Hammer.

Scotty 2 Hotty vs. Tajiri, WWF 1/29/2002

The rematch that also only goes 3 minutes! Man, can you imagine these two being given a proper stretched out 7 or 8 minute match?? This was a breathless sprint and there were some absolutely awesome slick spots. Obviously Tajiri is great with his kicks and smooth moves, but Scotty shows he can hang. Scotty has no problem working a knuckle lock and then dropkicking Tajiri right in the face, or working complicated reversal segments. The finish was absolutely awesome with both guys doing counter after counter, Tajiri having the slickest most awesome Tarantula set up you've ever seen etc. Amazing shit.

Scotty 2 Hotty vs. Dean Malenko, WWF 4/30/2000

Widely considered to be Scottys best match, probably because this one goes over 10 minutes and actually was on a PPV. Some commenters may argue that this was because of Dean, but really, Scotty is the heart and soul of this thing. He opens as a hóuse on fire throwing a wad of punches at Dean, working a fast segment with some cool counters before Dean starts cutting off his leg. Leg work was solid with Scotty making nice comebacks but if you've seen a few Scotty matches you know he was capable of more. The WORM after all the legwork was a bit iffy but what the hell, don't question the magic of something the crowd loved this much. Scottys fire is awesome and Dean just gives nothing. Really solid match with a great random finish.

Best Of The Velocity Matches #4

 

Tajiri vs. Chavo Guerrero, Jr., WWE 8/4/2002

One of only two singles matches between them! It‘s really good! The other match between them was also on Velocity a year later! These two mesh insanely well, busting out some slick as hell fast junior exchanges before Chavo goes to town on Tajiris leg. Velocity is really the show you want to check out if you want to see guys working limbs in interesting ways in throwaway matches. I loved Chavo attacking Tajiris leg from the Tarantula (while still selling the effects of the Tarantula!), and all the different Tajiri leg selling bits were great. Tajiri also had a cool spot where he slickly rolled out of the ring to elbow Chavo in the face. I actually liked the ending DQ, as it felt Tajiri was out of options so he opted for a prick move by misting Chavo in the face.

Hardcore Holly vs. Albert, WWE 8/4/2002

These two are sure on an unlikely hot streak of good 4-5 minute matches. This was also cool because they just waffle each other hard. Albert starts with a huge lariat and Holly just chops the hell out of his mammoth chest. Albert drops some HUGE bombs including a massive backbreaker on Holly just comes back chopping him and hitting his amazing dropkick. No matter the match, Holly IS gonna chop you really hard and dropkick you in the face, the guy only had one mode. We get a choice nearfall and fiery stoic babyface Holly too, so yes this match is a real winner in my book!

John Cena vs. D-Von Dudley, WWE 8/13/2002

JOHN CENA ROOKIE BEATDOWN!! Rookie Cena just does so many things that feel like him but also unlike him. Like he wasn‘t quite there yet when he hit a big crossbody and followed with a huge leaping forearm, it felt a bit like watching the GAEA version of Meiko Satomura (just.. you know… not quite as intense). And Devon really leathers Cena with right hands and super snug clotheslines. Cena has an absurdly athletic dropkick and leap from the corner. HUGE moment where Devon hits a 2nd rope neckbreaker and drags Cena way into the middle of the ring. Rating for this match: FASCINATING.

Mike Awesome vs. Mark Henry, WWE 8/20/2002

 

Yeah, Mike Awesome vs. Mark Henry! Awesome was looking rough in 2002, but he wasn‘t afraid to trade bombs with a monster. This was just two huge guys crushing each other for 3-4 minutes with both of them taking some huge bumps and spots. Awesome gets press slammed straight to the ceiling, Henry does his awesome leapfrog, absolutely gigantic big splash from the top from Awesome etc. This had it all.

Tajiri vs. Funaki, WWE 8/20/2002

This was also 3 or 4 minutes and absolutely ruled. The crowd is iffy on these two since they don‘t really want to boo Tajiri against Funaki, so they just hit a bunch of cool shit while Tajiri does amusing high pitched yelling and stereotypical jokes (he gets Funaki to bow so he can kick him in the face!) to add some character. The cool shit was really fucking cool, usually 3 minute spotfest means guys hitting a bunch of dives and big moves, but these two do a bunch of slick arm drags and cool technical reversals and its awesome. LOVED Funaki countering the Tarantula and then teasing to put Tajiri himself in the hold. That alone would have made this an awesome match but everything else was cool as hell too.

Best of the Velocity Matches #3

 Hardcore Holly vs. Chavo Guerrero, Velocity 7/6/2002

 

Low key great four minute match between two miserable bastards. Starts great with Chavo not handshaking and Holly slapping the taste right out of his mouth. We get some pretty hard hitting for WWE standards with Chavo setting himself up in fun ways to get chopped by Holly, as well as a nasty Chavo face scrape and Holly dropkicking Chavo in the face. Ending was totally awesome with multiple cool Alabama Slam attempts and counters, Chavo stomping Holly in the face, plus Holly busting out a gnarly powerbomb. Will Velocity make a Holly fan out of me?

Test vs. Val Venis, Velocity 7/9/2002

 

This was a match that I got weirdly invested in. The action was rather standard WWE TV stuff, but they really committed to their stuff. Test has great clotheslines and man looking at him you think he would be a megastar now, being big and good looking, but in 2002 he is doing a generic anti-american thing and getting himself DQ‘d. Venis always has ridiculously perfect offense, an absolutely sick boot to the face (the GUTS to completely outdo a guy whose finisher is a big boot), he also has a reverse figure 4 which he locks in in super slick fashion and Test really puts it over as this dangerous submission nearfall, coming up limping and everything. Crowd got really hot for this too and into the fire of Val Venis of all people, and the DQ actually left me salty. It didn‘t even lead to anything, but at least I know now they gave it their all with what limited tools they had to have a 6 minute Velocity main event.

Jamie Noble vs. Funaki, Velocity 7/16/2002

This was GREAT. Funaki had his working boots on. I didn‘t think he still had it in him, but he was busting out slick armbars and taking mad bumps like he was in his prime. Noble was great too, and him zoning in on Funakis leg lead to some damn great selling from Funaki. They did some great stuff with a northern lights suplex and a tornado DDT, not exactly the most exciting junior moves at this point, but they made them look cool. Super neat finish too. It‘s funny how Noble had this trailer trash gimmick but works like a brainy technician. This has to be the top match in the pile for today.

Tajiri vs. Mike Awesome, Velocity 7/23/2002

Well I may have spoken too soon, because this goes right head to head with Noble/Funaki. Great mix of Mike Awesomes power offense and willingness to take absolutely psycho bumps, and Tajiri taking him apart with brilliant kicks. Tajiri is an absolute god of the b-show match, he‘s just doing something neat ever second. Here he was attacking Mike with all kinds of kicks from odd angles, axe kicking the knee, kicking the back of the knee, stomping on his neck, it was just the right mix of flashy and ruthless. Loved the Tarantula specifically targetting the leg. Mike looked to be in a rough place but gave his all, diving face first into Tajiris feet, splatting on the floor in crazy moment, selling the leg at just the perfect time. Best 4 minute b-show match ever?

Best of the Velocity matches #2

 Chavo Guerrero vs. Funaki, Velocity 6/8/2002

Nifty four and a half minute match. Chavo is like a slicker Arn Anderson here, targetting Funakis back with a variety of cool offense, including a nasty dropkick to the kidney and a big backbreaker. I also really dug his smooth Stretch Plum. Funaki gets some nice brief flashes of offense including a really nice reversal into a Magistral. Funaki ends up going for some convoluted move trapping Chavos arm behind his back only to get kneed in the face and a Brainbuster for the 3. Cool!

Randy Orton vs. Rob Conway, Velocity 6/18/2002

WWE rookie match! Conways first TV appearance. They start working some nice basic grappling, both guys having really nice firemans carries. Conway goes for an up and over and seemingly twists his leg on the landing. They signal for an injury, having a bunch of officials come out, Orton is young and sportsmanlike and – Conway boots him in the face! Really effective opening that good a great reaction. I assume Conway was leading this and he does a solid job continueing to lead Randy through the match. Randy has a really nice dropkick, and wins with a big crossbody off the top which rules.

Chavo Guerrero Jr. vs. Albert, Velocity 6/18/2002

Aw yeah! Are these two gonna be our Velocity godheads? This was really good big vs. Little match! Opening of this ruled as both guys took some recklessly awkward bumps. Chavo gets flung around by Albert a bunch to start, but Albert misses a charge and flies over the top rope splatting on the floor in nasty fashion! Albert ends up catch a Chavo plancha though and drives him into the ringpost. Chavo continues to bump like a freak, getting gorilla pressed into the ring (getting his foot caught in the ropes and tumbling awkwardly), then he eats the catapult into the rope spot by just flying with his chin into the rope! Alberts big backbreaker was another highlight. Loved the way Chavo made his big comeback making use of the turnbuckle pad that Albert himself exposed (Albert needs to cheat to beat Chavo in a 4 minute match!). And then that finish! This was a blast.

Tajiri vs. Hugh Morrus, Velocity 6/18/2002

Two great big vs. little matches in one episode! Tajiri is so fucking good in 2002, it‘s unreal. They probably knew Albert and Chavo would do a bumpfest in the previous match so they don‘t event try for that and so they just slug it out. Tajiris precise kicks targetting Morrus‘ leg are so good, he even hits a slick dropkick through the ropes on him. I really liked how they worked the size difference, surprisingly Tajiri is higher in the pecking order than Morrus so he dominates, but they also have Morrus shrug off Tajiris chops and leather him with big chops of his own because Morrus is bigger and thicker. Tajiri does the Tarantula and continues to yank at Morrus leg against the rope which rules. Tajiri goes out of his way to let Morrus look good. Morrus makes the most of his 5 minutes on TV, he hits a really nice powerslam where he comes up limping paying tribute to Tajiris leg kicks, he hits an absolutely gorgeous huge elbow drop off the top and once again misses a huge moonsault. Brilliant finish.

Tajiri vs. Albert, Velocity 6/25/2002

These two are on a roll with good matches on Velocity, so seeing them go at it for 4 minutes is really nice! Tajiri is great once again, firing away at Albert with kicks from left and right, just looking awesome landing unexpected kicks. Really good big vs. Little work as Tajiri gets launched by an Albert kick out to the second rope and continues to attack. Albert has solid enough power offense, including a really nice stalling butterfly suplex. Finish was great as Albert went for a Vader Bomb but caught another kick coming down. Totally unexpected as I thought Albert was gonna go over this time. Tajiri remains strong killing giants!

Best of the Velocity matches #1

 

Tajiri vs. Billy Kidman, Velocity 5/21/2002

 

Really freaking good Tajiri performance, who may be one of the all time great TV workers. He just did it all here, busting out cool holds, viciously cutting off Kidman, timing some excellent spots, kicking the crap out of Kidmans shoulder. Kidman was good as your cookie cutter flyer selling an arm injury but Tajiri was the man in this. Loved all the unique spots like the Tarantula getting denied and then turned into an armbreaker, Tajiris awesome handspring right into a Kidman dropkick etc. I didn‘t love the distraction but I guess at least they didn‘t go the obvious route ending it on a roll up right there.

Hardcore Holly vs. Val Venis, Velocity 5/21/2002

This was a four and a half minutes heavyweight sprint! And these two work a nice heavyweight sprint but damn, would it have killed them to stretch out 2 or 3 more minutes and let things breathe and work the crowd a bit? But damn, for two early 2000s WWE muscle heads they do a nice job working like a pair of joshis. Really nice opening with both guys working some fast trips and snug headlocks, before they really leather each other with some hard chops and clotheslines. Venis doesn‘t even do any sexy man spots, he‘s all business hitting snug elbow drops and knee drops! And he busts out a lot of high end offense against Holly, even dropping him with a big Blue Thunder Driver! I loved that move in WWF No Mercy. Holly evades the Money Shot and he nails Venis with a dropkick in the face and pins him. Yeah, Holly won a match with a standing dropkick and that rules.

Hugh Morrus vs. Albert, Velocity 5/28/2002

Hugh Morrus was working WWE TV in 2002?! And of course Morrus is game to work hard in a 4 minute big boy clash! Really fun work with Morrus clashing into the bigger Albert trying to take him down. Morrus hits a nice powerslom, but then dives right into Alberts big boot in a really cool big man spot! I‘d expect Morrus to job but he refuses too, he hits a huge german suplex on Albert and then goes for the kill with a huge moonsault off the top!!! That misses! Good try. Albert takes a hard chest bump into the corner for no reason before winning with the Baldo bomb. This was a heap of fun.

Val Venis vs. Reverend D-Von Dudley, Velocity 5/28/2002

Val Venis, 2002 Velocity workrate matchine? This was the main event and they work an epic 7 minute match with narrow kickouts and everything! It‘s fun to see how two guys like these two would work that kind of match and this had some nice moments. D-Von is aggressive to start but Venis comes back with his snug offense. Venis works the legs for a minute, even getting the tap with a cool reverse figure 4 but the hilarious Deacon Batista has the referee distracted. D-Von works the back, including doing a Fuchi-ish turnbuckle assisted stretch and Venis is selling really nice and makes a nice comeback. Venis hits the Blue Thunder Driver, which Devon again kicks out and Venis sells it huge, full Taker/HBK Wrestlemania Shocked Face! Venis goes to the top but Devon catches him with a second rope neckbreaker in a really nice moment. Devon takes a really nice bump on a missed diving headbutt but the ref ends up getting bumped and Venis eats the COLLECTORS BOX from Batista! What a match.

2022 MOTY Project Update #2

 Charlie Dempsey vs. A-Kid, WWE 4/21/2022

Charlie Dempsey is Regals kid, and by god he wrestles and looks like a slightly skinnier Regal! He was awesome in this. Great bridges and nifty technical moves galore. A-Kid is kind of a generic indy kickpadded workhorse. His stuff looks a bit awfully light and dainty, but what can you do. He goes along well with Regal Jrs. technical stuff. The first round alone (this was rounds for some reason) would have made a great opening round to any WoS match. Loved all the Regal suplexes and the butterfly suplex sequence was fantastic. The first two finishes were really good, dug the slick back switches. The last fall was a bit of a let down as it was basically an RoH finish and not some kind of cool technical conclusion, but that's purely a purists concern. Hearty recommendation to check this out just for all the cool stuff little Regal can do.

2022 MOTY List

2002 MOTY Project Update #18

 

74. Perry Saturn vs. Paul London, WWE 3/9/2002

Classic inexplicably great 6 minute TV squash. Saturn must‘ve liked London because he seriously gave him a lot of offense in this. He puts a big beating on London and throws him about the ring like a grappling dummy, as if he wanted to try some moves he normally can‘t do against your typical WWF guys. Highlights include a cool tomoe noge from the bottom, nasty back elbow, booting London in the face a bunch and a cool quarter nelson neckbreaker. It was the right mix of being an offensive machine without doing too much. London makes the most of his brief offensive runs including a nice dropsault, landing a spin kick in Saturns face and planting hard on a missed SSP. Kicking out of Saturns picture perfect elbow drop was a nice moment and seemed to give the feeling that an upset might really happen.

42. Goldust & Booker T vs. Christian & Chris Jericho, WWE 12/23/2002

Most of 2002 WWE looked like Smackdown vs. Raw, but they worked an old school structure here. Everyone here was really good, but obviously Goldust was the standout. From selling, to crowd control, do hitting great punches and excellent timing. The crowd psychology was excellent with the story being Goldust trying to prove himself as not being the weak link and they got nuclear heat. Goldust looked like a million bucks. Jericho and Christian were a really good ratty heel team too, and Booker Ts stuff looked great too. Extremely worthwhile and holds up unlike a lot of the more hyped Smackdown stuff.

2002 MOTY Master List

2002 MOTY Project Update #16

 13. Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar, WWE 10/20/2002

Slow paced, violent, triple juice hell in a cell match. Almost the ideal match for two monsters locked in a cage to have. The opening work around the cast was fun and things got plenty intense once Lesnar started smashing up his hand. I admit I dislike melodramatic overacting in wrestling so I was a bit annoyed by Heyman. Takers punches were weak, but he had a few badass moments such as the big boot that sent Brock into the cell and the weird kneedrop thing that almost killed Brock. Brock was great in the match. He wasn't yet the MMA guy but just this crazy beast and threw Taker around like a puppet. Match went long but ended at just the right time.

32. Meiko Satomura & Ayako Hamada vs. Aja Kong & Manami Toyota, GAEA 8/30/2002

Classic match built around a pair of rising stars trying to overcome some asskicking veterans. Lots of fiery fighting and great spots. I guess due to the match format Toyotas no selling didn't hurt match. And Aja was just a tank. And Ayako and Meiko - for two talented girls stuck in GAEA limbo - gave their all. Not much to say on this, it's just a straight forward, immensely enjoyable match.

2002 MOTY MASTER LIST