Monday Night RAW | BI-LO Center – Greenville, South Carolina | TV Rating: 4.6
The Good: The tag teams met last night and Rob Van Dam joins the tag team champs Spike Dudley & Tazz whilst Booker T joins the vanquished Dudley’s because Booker eliminated RVD in the Rumble. It’s a nice change of pace to open with a match but as ever they’re not given that long (less than six minutes here) so there’s not an awful lot they can do with it. Still, it’s combining a feud with some Rumble fallout so it has “reasons” to happen and is good fun for what it is.
The Bad: It’s set up by the fact that Kane turns down Billy & Chuck’s offer to team up (they offer him his own named headband) and Big Show being a surprise partner for the 456th time this year (and we’re only three weeks in) is as boring as it ever was. That then the match lasts less than two minutes…well let’s just say that Billy & Chuck Vs Kane & Big Show was not a classic for the ages. The skit between The Godfather (who now apparently is legit as he runs an “escort service”) and Lance Storm serves no real purpose at all, except maybe make Lance Storm feel more serious than ever.
The Indifferent: Of course, Chris Jericho is going to get in-ring mic time to gloat over his win against The Rock last night and Of course, Triple H is going to interrupt him. And even Trips points out that Jericho has never beaten him and a sly dig that he will fight him at Mania if Jericho keeps the title isn’t an outright burial. But it’s all much of a formulaic segment, a feeling amplified by Kurt Angle and then The Rock also interrupting and cleverly setting up that main event match. Leading to The Rock & Triple H teaming up in the main event (Below)
Edge & William Regal met last night, with the latter winning the Intercontinental Title. They meet again here because there wasn’t any “no automatic rematch” clauses in 2002. It goes less than five minutes and ends in a DQ when Nick Patrick catches Edge using the brass knuckles that Regal had introduced to the match. I mean it’s ok, but all seems a little pointless.
The Ric Flair in-ring promo is another thing that’s fine. It’s just that it’s the same old same old and all builds up to Vince McMahon coming out to say that he’s going to do something so bad that even he might end up regretting it. Without that pay off yet. Which is fine, but it all seems a bit excessive to set up something we’re not going to find out about tonight.
Val Venis and Mr Perfect have no chance with a two-minute no-contest that sees Stone Cold run in and batter both men. His post-match promo about what happened at the Rumble and how he is going to kick some ass at Mania anyway is yet another thing that’s entertaining enough but it really does scream of “Steve, we’re ten minutes short of stuff, go out there and do something”… A singles match between Austin & Perfect would’ve been pretty fun, but we know Austin is being used less and less.
The finish should by rights see this match go into the “bad” category but I will be kind and say that the WWE star power at least of Jericho & Angle against The Rock & Triple H at least carries the match to something watchable. Jericho being pinned by the Rock Bottom really keeps a champion already in the quicksand looking strong, doesn’t it?
Overall: A generally mediocre show. Nothing is really great, not much is all THAT bad. There’s just a lot of middling, uninteresting stuff going on and all the big promo’s of the night just seem phoned in, “seen it all before” stuff. And we all know HHH is walking into Mania and winning the title but they could at least make some attempt to suggest it’s not a foregone conclusion couldn’t they?