Vengeance (2002)
Vengeance | |||
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Promotion World Wrestling Entertainment | | ||
Brand(s) | Raw SmackDown! | ||
Date | July 21, 2002 | ||
City | Detroit, Michigan | ||
Venue | Joe Louis Arena | ||
Attendance | 12,000 | ||
Buy rate | 375,000[1] | ||
Tagline(s) | Quick & Merciless | ||
Pay-per-view chronology | |||
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Vengeance chronology | |||
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The 2002 Vengeance was the second annual
The
Production
Background
In December 2001,
Stone Cold Steve Austin was featured on early promotional posters for the event, despite not wrestling or appearing at the event due to him walking out from the company the previous month.[7]
Storylines
Vengeance featured
The main
The main feud from Raw heading into Vengeance was between
Another storyline heading into Vengeance was Triple H determining what
John Cena made his WWE debut a month before Vengeance on the June 27 episode of SmackDown! and had entered a minor feud with Kurt Angle and Chris Jericho. Jericho and
Chris Jericho then asked Mr. McMahon to let The Un-Americans (Lance Storm and Christian) to wrestle Hollywood Hulk Hogan and Edge for the WWE Tag Team Championship at Vengeance, to which McMahon agreed.[18]
On the July 8 episode of Raw,
Booker T had been feuding with the nWo at the time of their demise after being kicked out of the group on the June 10 episode of Raw.[20] On the June 17 episode of Raw, Booker T competed in the King of the Ring quarter final round against Brock Lesnar, who won following the interference from the nWo. On the July 15 episode of Raw, Booker T defeated former nWo member Big Show by disqualification after Big Show hit Booker T with a chair. After the match, Big Show asked Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff if he could fight Booker T in a no disqualification match at Vengeance, which Bischoff granted.[21]
On the June 6 episode of SmackDown!, Jamie Noble debuted by attacking The Hurricane and was joined by Nidia. On the June 20 episode of SmackDown!, Noble defeated Billy Kidman after he nailed him with a DDT off the top rope. Afterward, Hurricane got his mask back (that Noble and Nidia had taken from him the previous week) after nailing Noble with a chokeslam. Then at King of the Ring, Noble defeated Hurricane for the Cruiserweight Championship.[12] The following three weeks on SmackDown!, Kidman and Hurricane defeated Noble and Tajiri in two tag team matches and Kidman then challenged Noble to a Cruiserweight Championship match at Vengeance.
Event
Role: | Name: |
---|---|
English commentators | Michael Cole (First half) |
Tazz (First Half)
| |
Jim Ross (Second Half) | |
Jerry Lawler (Second Half) | |
Spanish commentators | Carlos Cabrera |
Hugo Savinovich | |
Interviewers
|
Jonathan Coachman |
Marc Lloyd | |
Terri | |
Ring announcer | Howard Finkel |
Referees | Mike Chioda |
Charles Robinson | |
Nick Patrick | |
Jack Doan | |
Jim Korderas
| |
Mike Sparks | |
Brian Hebner
| |
Chad Patton | |
Earl Hebner | |
General managers | Eric Bischoff (Raw) |
Stephanie McMahon (SmackDown!) |
Before the event went live on pay-per-view,
The show began with
Preliminary matches
The first match saw
The second match was for the
The third match was for the WWE European Championship between Jeff Hardy and William Regal. Hardy pinned Regal with a roll-up to retain the title.
The fourth match was between John Cena and Chris Jericho. Jericho attempted to apply the Walls of Jericho on Cena, but Cena countered with a roll-up to win the match, ending their feud.
The fifth match was for the WWE Intercontinental Championship between Rob Van Dam and Brock Lesnar. In the end, Lesnar attempted an F5 on Van Dam but Van Dam countered with a DDT and executed a Five Star Frog Splash on Lesnar. Van Dam attempted to pin Lesnar, but Paul Heyman pulled Charles Robinson out of the ring, meaning Van Dam retained the title by disqualification. After the match, Van Dam performed a Baseball Slide on Heyman and Robinson attacked Heyman. Van Dam attempted a Van Terminator on Lesnar, but Heyman stopped Van Dam and Lesnar performed an F5 onto a steel chair on Van Dam.
The sixth match was a No Disqualification match between Booker T and Big Show. Booker T performed a Scissors Kick on Big Show through a broadcast table, another Scissors Kick and a Houston Hangover to win the match.
A segment occurred involving SmackDown! General Manager Stephanie McMahon and Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff trying to sign Triple H to Raw or SmackDown!. After Shawn Michaels told Triple H he had an idea (referencing reforming D-Generation X), Triple H decided to sign with the Raw brand.
The seventh match was for the
Main event match
The main event was a Triple threat match for the WWE Undisputed Championship between The Undertaker, The Rock and Kurt Angle. During the match, The Rock performed a Chokeslam on The Undertaker and applied an Ankle Lock on Angle, but Angle countered with a Rock Bottom on The Rock. Angle attempted an Angle Slam on The Undertaker, but The Undertaker countered with an Angle Slam on Angle. The Rock performed a People's Elbow on The Undertaker, but Angle pulled The Rock out of the ring and nearly pinned The Undertaker for a near-fall. Angle hit The Undertaker with a steel chair and performed an Angle Slam on The Rock, getting near-falls on both competitors. The Undertaker performed a Last Ride on The Rock, but Angle broke up the pinfall by applying an Ankle Lock on The Undertaker, The Undertaker escaped the hold. The Undertaker performed a Chokeslam on Angle and The Rock performed a Rock Bottom on The Undertaker for a near-fall. Angle performed an Angle Slam on The Undertaker and The Rock performed a Rock Bottom on Angle to win the title for a record seventh time.
Aftermath
After winning the WWE Undisputed Championship, The Rock then entered a feud with the number one contender Brock Lesnar for the upcoming SummerSlam event. Lesnar went on to win the match and become the youngest champion in the title's history.[23] It was also the last match for The Rock as an active WWE wrestler, and his final reign as WWE Champion until winning the title at the Royal Rumble in 2013, prior to being a full-time actor in Hollywood.[24]
Triple H and Shawn Michaels came out the night after Vengeance and what appeared to be a reunion for D-Generation X was instead Triple H turning heel and nailing a Pedigree on Michaels.[25] This caused Michaels to retaliate and challenge Triple H to an Unsanctioned Street Fight at SummerSlam, marking his first official match since WrestleMania XIV. Michaels won the match, and Triple H attacked him after the match.
The following night on Raw, Eric Bischoff decided to merge the Intercontinental Championship and the European Championship into one, putting Rob Van Dam and Jeff Hardy against each other in a ladder match. Van Dam won the match, and the European Championship was retired.[25] On the next Raw, Van Dam lost the Intercontinental Championship to Chris Benoit, who would then jump to the SmackDown! brand.[26] Van Dam used his rematch clause for SummerSlam and brought the Intercontinental Championship back to Raw.[27][28]
After losing to
After losing the triple threat match to The Rock, Kurt Angle was pinned by Rey Mysterio in a six-man tag team match on the August 8 episode of SmackDown!.[32] As a result, on the following episode of SmackDown!, he challenged Mysterio to a match at SummerSlam to which Mysterio agreed.[33]
Although the 2002 Vengeance featured wrestlers from both brands, the following year, Vengeance was promoted as a SmackDown!-exclusive PPV.[34]
Results
No. | Results WWE Undisputed Championship 19:47 | | |||||
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References
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- World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2018-08-03.
- ^ Martínez, Sebestián (December 11, 2020). "Jim Ross reveals why WWE did not celebrate the 2001 edition of Armageddon". Solo Wrestling. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
- ^ "World Wrestling Federation Entertainment Drops The "F" To Emphasize the "E" for Entertainment". WWE. 2002-05-06. Archived from the original on 2009-01-19. Retrieved 2008-07-13.
- World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-07-18.
- ^ "WWE Entertainment To Make RAW and SMACKDOWN Distinct Television Brands" (Press release). WWE. March 27, 2002. Archived from the original on April 17, 2010. Retrieved April 5, 2012.
- ^ Edler, Daniel (2002-06-12). "WWE Vengeance PPV Poster: Austin To Make Return For It?, more". TWNP-Wrestling News. Retrieved 2021-04-13.
- ^ "Live & Televised Entertainment of World Wrestling Entertainment". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-02-24.
- ^ "King of the ring 2002 results Information". WrestleView. Retrieved 2008-08-13.
- ^ "Angle vs Undertaker part 2 Information". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2002-10-17. Retrieved 2008-08-16.
- ^ a b "RAW 8th July Results Information". WrestleView. Retrieved 2008-08-13.
- ^ a b "King of the ring 2002 results Information". WrestleView. Retrieved 2008-08-13.
- ^ "RAW 27th Results Information". WrestleView. Retrieved 2008-08-13.
- ^ "RVD 2nd I.C. reign – Information". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2008-08-13.
- ^ "Mat monguls on same team now Information". SLAM Sports. Archived from the original on January 15, 2013. Retrieved 2008-08-16.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Edge and Hogan tag title reign". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2008-08-13.
- ^ "Edge and Hogan win the tag titles". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2002-10-17. Retrieved 2008-08-16.
- ^ "Tag title match at Vengeance". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2002-10-17. Retrieved 2008-08-16.
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- ^ "Brock's first reignInformation". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2008-08-14.
- ^ "SummerSlam 2002 Main Event Result Information". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2008-08-14.
- ^ a b "RAW 22nd July Results Information". WrestleView. Retrieved 2008-08-13.
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- ^ "August 8th edition of Smackdown results". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2002-12-16. Retrieved 2008-08-16.
- ^ "August 15th edition of Smackdown results". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2002-10-15. Retrieved 2008-08-16.
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- ^ "The Rock defeats Undertaker and Kurt Angle in a Triple Threat Match to become WWE Champion". WWE. Retrieved 2007-07-29.
- ^ "Vengeance 2002 Results". WWE. Retrieved 2007-07-29.