The Crossface: Judgment Day 2002

[Guest TSMAdmin]

Well, Judgment Day is in the books. Since people normally have different views on PPV’s, we felt it would be in the reader’s best interest to experience different opinions on a PPV. We gathered up various staff members, who actually bothered to watch this show, and hope this will give you a chance to decide whether or not the show was worth purchasing. Without further delay, let’s examine Judgment Day, warts and all.

 

Rob Van Dam vs. Eddy Guerrero

 

Danny Gregory: Much better than last month's effort, as both guys seemed to be on. While I don't necessarily agree with the booking--RVD should be the IC champion if they have no intention of elevating him and dragging this out another month does nothing for either guy--I can't fault the match.

 

Byron Vester: Very good match and MUCH better than last month's subpar effort. RVD actually seemed motivated again and Eddy's CHEAT TO WIN~! finish had me smiling for a while.

 

William Helmick: I did not see last month’s PPV so I don’t know if this measured up or not. With that said, this was an excellent way to start the PPV. Great back and forth action throughout but the ending was really cheap. I’m still bitter that RVD is curtain-jerking and it’s about time they elevate him…NOW!

 

Damian Gonzalez: I thought this was a solid contest and a damn good opener. Even though they wanted to keep the title on Eddy, I feel that by beating RVD pretty much clean, it ruins RVD's credibility. Good match though.

 

Trish Stratus vs. Stacy Keibler

 

Danny: At least it was short. Let's not kid ourselves here: the ultimate purpose of this match was to establish D-Von as a heel by having him attack his brother. I really don't feel that that's such a noble cause, so the segment meant little to me.

 

Byron: Eh, they tried, but good lord... There were like 5 or 6 spots where they TOTALLY BLEW THEM. I mean, we're talking about selling a boot that didn't come within 3 feet of the opponent's head here. Please Jazz.... hurry back...

 

William: This match really pissed me off. Not because I was disappointed in the match. I knew it was going to suck. I’m pissed because we get this pathetic display of missed spots and botched moves while Molly Holly isn’t wrestling. The Dudley confrontation afterwards was so unoriginal and contrived that I became completely uninterested.

 

Dames: Really short and thank God for it. They blew a lot of spots for a match that was like 3 minutes. The angle afterwards wasnt executed well as it was just mighty predictable that D'Von would jump Bubba. I'm looking forward to a match between those two, just because of ECW nostalgia.

 

Hardy Boyz vs. Brock Lesnar & Paul Heyman

 

Danny: A pretty meaningless, dull match. Hopefully they'll get Lesnar the hell away from the Hardyz now and let him participate in actual matches with people who could realistically compete with him.

 

Byron: This sucked the meat missile hard and came back for seconds. Hell, Brock even got the "Goldturd" chants again. It may be time to end this push before the fans turn on Brock and don't pop for or boo him at all.

 

William: This match sucked. It was a complete squash and I still don’t understand how the WWE expects this guy to get over. I think the Goldberg chants are a fair indicator that the fans aren’t buying into the monster role. If he disappeared tomorrow, I wouldn’t care.

 

Dames: This went exactly how I thought it would, down to Heyman getting the pin. The Hardyz just aren't over right now and Brock seriously needs to move up. We need a real reason to hate Brock if he's a heel...sticking him with Paul E is just going to make us want him to separate from him, not hate him.

 

Steve Austin vs. Ric Flair & Big Show

 

Danny:About as bad as could be expected, though I have hope for a straight-up Flair/Austin match. Austin certainly seemed to be putting in a little more effort than he has been recently, but it wasn't enough to salvage what was a terrible match idea to begin with. And Austin going over is the most asinine thing imaginable. I pray that Flair will just disband the nWo tomorrow night, as there's no way that anyone can consider them a threat at this point.

 

Byron: Well, they went the comedy match routine a lil bit, but beating 3 guys? Come on now...

 

William: Another reason I hope Steve Austin retires soon. Since Wrestlemania, I have been praying for an Austin-Flair matchup. Sometimes you have to be careful of what you wish for. Bad booking. Bad wrestling. Bad storyline. This match was shit and I’m glad they got it over with in the first hour.

 

Dames: MUCH better than I thought it would be, due to the fact that Flair was in the match most of the time. I figured that Flair would hide behind Show and pick his spots. The fact that Austin won the match really pisses me off though, because it makes a weak NWO look even weaker, which isn't what they should be aiming for.

 

Kurt Angle vs. Edge

 

Danny: Great match. A little slow at first, but they picked it up near the end and really had me on the edge of my seat with all of the near finishes. And for the one time this evening, I understand the booking. Edge went over, which certain helps his credibility, but it was done in such a way that Angle doesn't look any worse for it. Other than the whole bald thing.

 

Byron: You know what? Fuck all the anti-Edge pissants. He proved himself tonight with an awesome match with Angle and I can totally buy him as an upper midcarder along with Jericho, Benoit, and Angle. I didn't need all those fucking skits, though. It was just a waste of time.

 

William: Since I didn’t see Backlash, I can’t compare this match to last month’s. If last month’s match was half as good as tonight’s match, then I hope these guys feud for another two months or so. I was bothered by the sleeper hold four minutes in, but the rest was gold. Highlight of the show.

 

Dames: I was kinda disappointed because their Backlash match set the standards up so high. The psychology wasn't there like their last match, but the nearfalls did have drama, which was good.

 

HHH vs, Chris Jericho (Hell in a Cell)

 

Danny: Fuck! I fucking hate Triple H. Jericho needed this win. Did you hear that lack of reaction he got? That's because no one could possibly take him seriously with the way he's been booked. The match itself was glorious; one of the best, if not THE best in the WWE all year. But putting Triple H over here was like the final nail in Jericho's credibility. I hope and pray that they have something planned to repair the damage that they've done to his career.

 

Byron: Awesome match that started out kinda slow and had a bullshit ending. What the FUCK does HHH gain from beating Jericho again? Nothing. What does Jericho gain from pinning HHH in an HIAC match? More credibility. I'm not going to copout and say that politics was behind this because I don't know, but the booking team is on crack if they think that they can just make Chris look like a total jobber and he won't feel the effects of a massive backlash from the fans like what he had received last summer.

 

William: The bitterness I felt after Triple H won the match has clouded my objectivity. The match was solid from a workrate perspective. No big bumps, but I’m glad they lowered the bar for crazy stunts. The ending was so anti-climatic and disappointing, I drank two shots and a beer to numb my mind. Forgive me if I don’t give the next two matches my full attention.

 

Dames: Very good match and the pacing was great. I think it was hurt by the fact that everyone was expecting the Big Bump. I think Jericho should have gotten the win, because he had a lot more to gain, but he still gave it a damn good effort.

 

Billy & Chuck vs. Rkishi & Rico

 

Danny: I don't know what to say. Do they want all of their titles to look completely disposable and meaningless?

 

Byron: You're kidding, right? THIS is how you wanted them to lose the tag titles? What in the high, holy FUCK were they thinking? The match was pretty horrible(second worst match of the night) and it had NO HEAT WHATSOEVER. They might as well ditch the tag titles like WCW did a few years ago and crown new champs later on from a heated tourney because the belts are DEAD now.

 

William: Well, on one hand I was happy. I correctly guessed Rico was the mysterious partner. On the other hand, I had to sit through this match. If a match ever defined piss-break, this was it. Remember when we were calling the Hardyz and Dudleyz and E&C stale? Fuck that! I would gladly watch those three teams fight each other again for the next year than be subjected to this crap.

 

Dames: Pretty much a handicap match, the crowd fell asleep and didnt even pop for the title change, so thats a telling sign on how bad the tag division is. I wasn't entertained at all.

 

Hulk Hogan vs. Undertaker

 

Danny: This match was seriously ugly. JR's line about "bowling shoe ugly" doesn't even do it justice. This was like seeing Eleanor Roosevelt in nothing but a pair of bowling shoes. The titles off of Hogan, though, so maybe--just maybe--his old, tired ass will finally retire.

 

Byron: And speaking of horrible, we have these two. The main events of the last two PPV’s have been fucking horrible and then you go and give TAKER the fucking title? Taker's not over, can't work, and has new, shittier music too. Sometimes I fear for my sanity when watching WWE programming sometimes... And what's Hogan supposed to do now? We put up with his shitty title reign and THIS is the payoff? I need a drink...

 

William: I tried to get really drunk before this match. Alcohol does not kill the pain that I witnessed. The actual match wasn’t the worst match I have seen this year but it tried hard to be. Well, at least the belt is off Hogan… but it’s on Undertaker now!!! When you win, you lose.

 

Dames: This match was an abortion. It was slow as fuck with very weak offense. The only saving grace for it was that the title is finally off The Bane of My Existence.

 

Final Thoughts

 

Danny: I cannot, in good conscience, give this PPV a thumbs up. As much as I loved Triple H/Jericho, Edge/Angle, and RVD/Eddie the rest of the show was just nothing. Thumbs in the middle for those three matches alone.

 

Byron: The undercard outside of the tag title match, women's match, and the Brock match was great. The main event was not. Gee, it's starting to look more and more like WCW by the day, isn't it?

 

William: Edge-Angle was one of the best matches I’ve seen this year. RVD-Eddy was solid. But as a whole, the PPV was the shits. Hell In A Cell was a big disappointment. The main event was horrible. The undercard is meaningless. I guess the best I can say about this show is it was better than No Way Out. That isn’t saying much.

 

Dames: Few matches were good sporadically throughout the show, and the main event blew, but it got the title off of Hogan. The good outweighed the bad for me, so I'll give it a slight thumbs up. I liked RVD/Eddy, Angle/Edge, HIAC, and hell, even Austin/Flair & Show... a decent outing overall.