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Rating:  -
The 2002 edition of the WWE's King of the Ring took place on June 23, 2002 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. This pay-per-view, like most, has its ups and its downs, but in the end, I think you will find it is worth the time and money to see it, especially if you can get it at a good price.
Leading up to the event, Raw and Smackdown hosted their specific sections of the King of the Ring tournament. This guaranteed that we would see two Smackdown superstars and two Raw superstars in the semi-final matches on the pay-per-view. Canadians, Chris Jericho and Test advanced from the separate Smackdown brackets, while up-and-coming rookie Brock Lesnar and veteran Rob Van Dam took the Raw brackets. This led us to the start of the pay-per-view and our first two matches of the night...
KING OF THE RING TOURNAMENT SEMI-FINAL MATCH (***3/4)
Chris Jericho vs. Rob Van Dam
---A very solid opener that set the bar very high for the rest of the night. The two ECW originals had great chemistry in this one. The ending, timing, psychology, etc. were all just right to make this a special match.
KING OF THE RING TOURNAMENT SEMI-FINAL MATCH (**1/2)
Brock Lesnar (w/Paul Heyman) vs. Test
---While they didn't measure up to the previous match's technical skills, this one made up for it in physicality. Test really works stiff on Lesnar here, and we even see a big boot early in the match that catches the "Next Big Thing" off guard. The ending made the rookie from Minnesota look dominate, but it could have been better, as Heyman didn't need to get involved.
WWE CRUISERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH (***)
Jamie Noble (w/Nidia) vs. The Hurricane (C)
---This advanced the pay-per-view nicely into its second hour with a solid combination of high-flying moves and ground attacks, making this match a solid one. Noble's pay-per-view debut with Nidia, the former girlfriend of The Hurricane, is an impressive one, especially since he gets to work with his former WCW counterpart. While the later days of WCW were difficult to see, these two were two of the brighter stars of the company. Here, they show you why.
SINGLES MATCH (**3/4)
Ric Flair vs. Eddie Guerrero
---Flair is out to a nice, respectful ovation after declaring that he had "one last run" in him. The 16-time former world champion had quite a battle with a future world champion in Guerrero. The time given to this match may have been a little much, and the ending seemed a bit overbooked (with a bit of interference). However, getting to see two of the greatest in-ring performers of all time is rarely anything that you should miss.
WWE WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH (**1/2)
Molly Holly vs. Trish Stratus (C)
---This match was, surprisingly, pretty entertaining. Don't get me wrong; these two are very good workers, but this match went beyond "techinically good". Molly takes some hard falls in the match, and Trish looks as good as ever. It's not the best match of the night, but definately not the worst.
SINGLES MATCH (***1/4)
Kurt Angle vs. Hollywood Hulk Hogan
---Many may wonder, when seeing this on the card, how Hogan can possibly stay with the mat-based former Olympic champion. Quite frankly, I thought this match was your typical big names, bad match combination, but to their credit, Hogan and Angle put on a nice match here. The wig that Angle is wearing after losing his hair at Judgment Day is used nicely for playing the crowd, and Angle carries Hogan to a good match. Many people also say "If you've seen one Hogan match, you've seen them all". However, the ending of this match calls for Hogan to do something he had never done in the red and yellow.
KING OF THE RING TOURNAMENT FINAL MATCH (*3/4)
Rob Van Dam vs. Brock Lesnar (w/Paul Heyman)
---This match, given more time, could have been excellent. However, with only five minutes and change to work with, Van Dam and Lesnar could only do so much here. Putting over Lesnar as the dominate force to face the champion at Summerslam was the logical thing to do, but WWE did not do that here. Van Dam was hot with the crowd at the time, but in making a superstar, such as Lesnar, sometimes he has to get big victories over key players. This was not a clean victory, as it should have been, and in my mind, Lesnar looked no more stronger for it. Nonetheless, (***SPOILER***) the "Next Big Thing" becomes the "Next Big King".
WWE UNDISPUTED CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH (****)
Triple H vs. Undertaker (C)
---Some people say this match started really slow, but I disagree. Paul Heyman would stay out and do commentary for this match (at least for the time being), and his constant "Brock Lesnar, Brock Lesnar" talk actually takes away from this match, not to mention Vengeance. It's like they are completely ignoring the pay-per-view to look at Summerslam. However, Big Evil and The Game put on a show in this one that, unlike Guerrero vs. Flair, was overbooked in the right way. We see the return of the People's Champ, The Rock, to chase away Paul Heyman, and after that, this match gets interesting. Many false endings, two outstanding legends, and solid commentary (after Heyman) make this one a lost classic. Would The Rock be more involved? Yes. How? In a big way.
In the end, I would definately recommend this pay-per-view. We also see backstage segments featuring (among others) Shawn Michaels, Kevin Nash, Booker T, Goldust, Big Show, and X-Pac. While it's not a five star event (and for me that's a hard mark to reach), King of the Ring 2002 is the next closest thing...a classic event from a solid year of wrestling that shouldn't be missed.
Rating: -
It seems that KING OF THE RING 2002 doesn't have a good reputation here on Amazon. I'm here to say that while criticisms are in order, they're not the kinds of problems that kill a show. I think WWE's last KOTR PPV is a remarkable event that deserves a peek.
1) and 2)
King-of-the-Ring Semi-Finals
* Chris Jericho v. Rob Van Dam
* Test v. Brock Lesnar
---Jericho and RVD started things off, and basically stole the show. I don't mean they just had the best match of the night; They Stole The Show!!! Too bad one of them had to lose, because both of these guys deserved a Forrest Griffin and Stephen Bonnar UFC treatment. For about 15+ minutes, both guys just kept delivering false finishes and crisp maneuvers. I can't think of any reason why someone would dislike this.
---Test and Lesnar put on a match that epitomizes the word "stiff". Seriously, when they delivered boots and punches and slams, I cringed a couple times. Lesnar and Test deserved their critics from their later WWE careers, but in 2002, they were (physically) at the top of their game. Not nearly as good as the opener, but that was a Match-of-the-Year candidate. Jericho and RVD were a tough act to follow, but Test and Lesnar held their own.
"8.5 / 10" for Jericho/RVD
"7.0 / 10" for Test/Lesnar
3) Cruiserweight Championship
Jamie Noble v. The Hurricane (champion)
---This belt has been shelved because of lack of talent, interst, and/or exposure. But back in 2002, this division was just as hot as any other. Noble and Hurricane pulled off some crazy high-risk moves that no human being should ever attempt. Plus, for guys their size, Helms and Noble are as tough as they come. A very strong showing between two underrated performers.
"7.5 / 10"
4) Eddie Guerrero v. Ric Flair
---Most WWE fans who know their history will say something like this, "This should've been Austin should've faced Guerrero, but he quit, so Flair was good enough." A little condescending, but those people are right. Nature Boy was still doing some strong in-ring work back then, and Latino Heat was pretty much always great. These two meshed well together, utilizing slower mat-wrestling that didn't bore too much. The match was a little long (20 minutes, I think), but a good show nonetheless.
"7.0 / 10"
5) Women's Championship
Molly Holly v. Trish Stratus (champion)
---Talk about a forgotten ladies' gem. These two women showcased a remarkable contest that makes me wonder why they didn't get a longer PPV program. When a crowd shows even a mild interest in a Divas wrestling match, you know it's something special. This wasn't the greatest thing since sliced bread, but if you miss solid action from the ladies' division, I think this will be worth a look.
"7.0 / 10"
***At this point, KING OF THE RING 2002 starts to fall apart. It's not unwatchable, but the final three matches should've been as strong as the first two hours.***
6) Kurt Angle v. Hollywood Hulk Hogan
---First off, Angle's headgear wig was awesome! Anyway, how's the match? If you're a Hogan fan, nothing I say will change your mind. But if you're as cynical as me, and think Hogan was an overrated phenomenon, I still think you'll get into this. After facing The Rock at WRESTLEMANIA X-8, this was probably Hogan's greatest match during his 2002 WWE run. I personally don't think this was a great match. It might've been because I couldn't stomach how Hogan could keep up with master technician like Kurt Angle, The match itself was pretty decent, but the finish is excellent. The ending was truly one of Angle's (and Hogan's) finest moments.
"6.0 / 10"
7) King-of-the-Ring Finals
Rob Van Dam v. Brock Lesnar
---RVD and Lesnar went full-force to win both the KOTR crown, and the SUMMERSLAM title shot. RVD's stick-and-move tactics against Lesnar's fearsome power was an awesome mix. The only problem - and it's a BIG problem - was that the Finals was shorter than either Semi-Final contest. Why, oh why, oh f***ing why did WWE do this?! These two had a classic the next month at VENGEANCE, but why did we only get 8 minutes for a Tournament final? Very solid physicality, but a ridiculous time length.
"6.0 / 10"
8) Undisputed WWE Championship
Triple H v. The Undertaker (champion)
---Easily the worst match on the card, I'm sorry to say. I think HHH had some sort of elbow injury, which prevented him from using his extensive wrestling library. After a while, I started watching Taker try to protect HHH's falls, rather than pay attention to the storytelling. The Rock made a guest appearance as color commentator (which WWE promoted weeks before the PPV broadcast). I gotta give both men a ton of credit for delivering the advertised main event, because I certainly can't do what they did. I also give credit to the crowd, who were generous with the pacing, and really got into the last few minutes. But I believe this main event put a firm nail in the PPV's coffin.
"4.5 / 10"
PPV RECAP and DVD EXTRAS
---The PPV had an excellent first two hours, but slowly tan out of gas during its third act. But there's something here for any kind of wrestling fan. A technical masterpiece, a stiff big-man showdown, one of Flair's greatest matches from his later career, a Divas "wrestling match", and strong Cruiserweight. The last three matches don't deliver...well, Hogan/Angle might've just not been my cup of tea.
Another perk of this DVD, however, is the Extras. WWE usually put a strong effort with their 1999-2003 PPV DVDs, and this time it really shows. First, we get a few PPV commercials, in which everyone from "the Queen of the Ring" to a pharoah auditions for a WWE job. I think TOUGH ENOUGH was in the middle of its second season at the time. Overall, it's amusing stuff, which comes with a brief making-of featurette.
The real bonus is where you get to watch the last few minutes of EVERY Tournament match from this 2002 King-of-the-Ring Tournament. Sure, I would've liked to see the complete matches, but you still a get good look at how strong WWE's talent was back then. It's interesting seeing the Dudleys being on spearate shows, and the New World Order's brief return.
I highly recommend the KING OF THE RING 2002 DVD. If you just wanna see the Jericho/RVD classic, pick up Rob Van Dam's ONE OF A KIND DVD. That, too, is an excellent purchase. But I think this PPV is much better than the trainwreck most have made it out to be.
Rating:  -
THIS WAS A GOOD PPV HHH VS. UT GOOD MATCH
KOTR TURNOMENT WAS GOOD
EG VS. FLAIR GOOD
EVERY MATCH WAS GOOD
HURRICANE VS. NOBLE GOOD
Rating:  -
When I was younger and I loved wrestling. I love the way the wove the angles and how it played out into matches. The King of the Ring was one of my favorite events. The WWE use to be so good at story telling and setting a PPV up, now adays everything feels thrown at you and unprepared expect for the world title match. Its too bad they did away with this PPV.
Chris Jericho vs Rob Van Dam: Two of the best wrestlers to ever lace boots in WWE. Probably the only real reason to watch this event.
Brock Lesnar vs Test: Brock was unstoppable at this point in his career. Good big man vs big man match, but you knew who was going win it.
Hurricane vs Jamie Noble: Decent match but nothing speical.
Trish Stratus vs Molly Holly: If you read my other WWE reviews, you'll know what I have to say about this match.
Ric Flair vs Eddie Guerrero: I would have loved to see Guerrero facing Austin instead of Flair but it was a good match. The ending really took away from what could have been a classic match.
Hulk Hogan vs Kurt Angle: I never really cared for Hogan, he had decent matches but I felt he kept alot of talent down in the early 90's. He did tap out to Angle but this match could have been much better.
Golddust, Booker T, and Rock then had a little skit. It was really funny and probably the best thing out of the whole card. Scary to say but besides RVD-Jericho, nothing really stood out.
Rob Van Dam vs Brock Lesnar- Its a shame the way RVD was used in WWE early on. Sure he won titles but he would have been an amazing world champion in this era of WWE. Of course, Lesnar was the next big thing and that gives you the ending.
Undertaker vs Triple H: A good match but both men seemed to be really slow in there delivery. Rock comes in towards the end but to no avail and Taker wins with a weak roll up. NWO does not help Triple H although they are seen talking to him before the match.
A sad ending to a great PPV franchise. Sure they brought it back briefly with Booker T winning it but I dont think anyone can remember it. I wish they'd bring back this PPV the way it use to be in the 90's.
Rating: -
This PPV is not as bad as people say it is. My only complaint is the packaging of the product. There are two semi-final matches for the King Of The Ring. On the back of the box when you see who vs. who and then the final KOR match....you already know who the final two participants are. D'OH!
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