Royal Rumble 2002 Thoughts
Royal Rumble 2002 was the 15th annual Royal Rumble PPV event produced by the WWF. The event took place on January 20, 2002 at the Phillips Arena in Atlanta Georgia. Attendance was at 16,106 and we had record breaking royal rumble PPV buyrate of 670,000 (which broke the 1999 event record). This would also be the final Royal Rumble to be produced under the WWF name as in May, the company would go on renamed WWF.
2002 had a lot going through very early as this was the first full year since the purchase of Rival WCW. Roster was huge and loads of talent just kept coming which eventually lead us to the brand extension months later. 6 matches consisted on this card including the Royal Rumble match which was going through the usual formula that started since 93 of winner getting a title shot. Match was notable for the return of the Game, Triple H who had a torn quad injury that had him out of action for 7 months. The Rock also battled Chris Jericho for the Undisputed Championship and Ric Flair made his return to the WWF ring post-purchase of WCW.
The Good - We had a solid Undisputed WWF Championship match as both The Rock and Chris Jericho put up a fantastic match. The two never feuded much during their years co-working but they had great chemistry in this match. The match had clever booking end to protect both stars heading into the future as this was WrestleMania season. The royal rumble was awesome as expected and they did a good job at keeping the crowd invested from start to finish. It was obvious the Game was going to win but star power he was going to go through kept it highly anticipated. There was two things of the Rumble that bothered it but I'll get to that. Also an amazing highlight of that match was no doubt the Maven Elimination of the Undertaker.
The Meh - Undercard was a bit underwhelming. Opening was fine for a quick match but not that good for an opener. Edge vs. Regal was okay too. It was kind of predictable of what the finish was going to be considering they were trying too hard to make it look like Regal had nothing up his trunks. Street Fight was entertaining but not something recommended to look at again.
The Bad - Women's Championship match was a letdown for being way too short and lousy booking. Jazz dominating majority of the match but Trish getting the win out of no where made Jazz look weak. The Rumble also had 2 flaws. It was a bit too long at nearly 70 minutes. The Undertaker continuing the beat down of Maven was getting a bit dragging to watch especially when he attacked the next entry to continue the work.
Overall - It was a good PPV. Wasn't as great as the last 2 Rumbles but the show delivered at the end. With what was coming up in the future such as the N. W. O WWF joining and the Split rosters, they had a good start. I don't think I would want to rewatch this whole show for awhile due to the weak undercard but the last 2 matches are recommended highly.
Score - 7 out of 10: Good
0 = Terrible : 1 = Bad/Lackluster : 2 = Decent : 3 = Good : 4 = Awesome : 5 = One of the Best of all Time :
1. The Dudley Boyz vs. Tazz & Spike Dudley: WWF Tag Team Championship - 2/5
2. William Regal vs. Edge: WWF Intercontinental Championship - 2.5/5
3. Jazz vs. Trish Stratus: WWF Women's Championship - 1.5/5
4. Ric Flair vs. Mr. McMahon (Street Fight) - 3/5
5. Chris Jericho vs. The Rock: Undisputed WWF Championship - 4.5/5
6. 30-Man Royal Rumble Match - 4/5
Best Match - The Rock vs. Chris Jericho
Worst Match - Jazz vs. Trish Stratus
Most Memorable Moment - Maven eliminating the Undertaker. Too bad they didn't really have plans for him in the future.
Top 5 Performers
1. Steve Austin - Outstanding Performance
2. Chris Jericho - Great Performance
3. The Rock - Great Performance
4. Triple H - Great Performance for a return
5. Undertaker - Great Performance.
Royal Rumble 2002 was the 15th annual Royal Rumble PPV event produced by the WWF. The event took place on January 20, 2002 at the Phillips Arena in Atlanta Georgia. Attendance was at 16,106 and we had record breaking royal rumble PPV buyrate of 670,000 (which broke the 1999 event record). This would also be the final Royal Rumble to be produced under the WWF name as in May, the company would go on renamed WWF.
2002 had a lot going through very early as this was the first full year since the purchase of Rival WCW. Roster was huge and loads of talent just kept coming which eventually lead us to the brand extension months later. 6 matches consisted on this card including the Royal Rumble match which was going through the usual formula that started since 93 of winner getting a title shot. Match was notable for the return of the Game, Triple H who had a torn quad injury that had him out of action for 7 months. The Rock also battled Chris Jericho for the Undisputed Championship and Ric Flair made his return to the WWF ring post-purchase of WCW.
The Good - We had a solid Undisputed WWF Championship match as both The Rock and Chris Jericho put up a fantastic match. The two never feuded much during their years co-working but they had great chemistry in this match. The match had clever booking end to protect both stars heading into the future as this was WrestleMania season. The royal rumble was awesome as expected and they did a good job at keeping the crowd invested from start to finish. It was obvious the Game was going to win but star power he was going to go through kept it highly anticipated. There was two things of the Rumble that bothered it but I'll get to that. Also an amazing highlight of that match was no doubt the Maven Elimination of the Undertaker.
The Meh - Undercard was a bit underwhelming. Opening was fine for a quick match but not that good for an opener. Edge vs. Regal was okay too. It was kind of predictable of what the finish was going to be considering they were trying too hard to make it look like Regal had nothing up his trunks. Street Fight was entertaining but not something recommended to look at again.
The Bad - Women's Championship match was a letdown for being way too short and lousy booking. Jazz dominating majority of the match but Trish getting the win out of no where made Jazz look weak. The Rumble also had 2 flaws. It was a bit too long at nearly 70 minutes. The Undertaker continuing the beat down of Maven was getting a bit dragging to watch especially when he attacked the next entry to continue the work.
Overall - It was a good PPV. Wasn't as great as the last 2 Rumbles but the show delivered at the end. With what was coming up in the future such as the N. W. O WWF joining and the Split rosters, they had a good start. I don't think I would want to rewatch this whole show for awhile due to the weak undercard but the last 2 matches are recommended highly.
Score - 7 out of 10: Good
0 = Terrible : 1 = Bad/Lackluster : 2 = Decent : 3 = Good : 4 = Awesome : 5 = One of the Best of all Time :
1. The Dudley Boyz vs. Tazz & Spike Dudley: WWF Tag Team Championship - 2/5
2. William Regal vs. Edge: WWF Intercontinental Championship - 2.5/5
3. Jazz vs. Trish Stratus: WWF Women's Championship - 1.5/5
4. Ric Flair vs. Mr. McMahon (Street Fight) - 3/5
5. Chris Jericho vs. The Rock: Undisputed WWF Championship - 4.5/5
6. 30-Man Royal Rumble Match - 4/5
Best Match - The Rock vs. Chris Jericho
Worst Match - Jazz vs. Trish Stratus
Most Memorable Moment - Maven eliminating the Undertaker. Too bad they didn't really have plans for him in the future.
Top 5 Performers
1. Steve Austin - Outstanding Performance
2. Chris Jericho - Great Performance
3. The Rock - Great Performance
4. Triple H - Great Performance for a return
5. Undertaker - Great Performance.