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SURVIVOR SERIES 2002
November 17, 2002
Location: New York, New York
Arena: Madison Square Garden
Attendance: 17, 930
RESULTS:
â–º [RAW Match] Bubba Ray Dudley, Spike Dudley, & Jeff Hardy defeated Rico & 3 Minute Warning (Rosie & Jamal) in a team elimination tables match.
Eliminations: Spike was the first eliminated when Rosie & Jamal put him through a table. Jeff evened the teams by eliminating Rosie. Jamal eliminated Jeff Hardy with a big splash through a table. Bubba Ray Dudley eliminated Jamal with a power bomb off the top rope. It was down to Bubba Ray Dudley and Rico, but Rosie & Jamal returned and attacked Bubba Ray. D-Von Dudley, last seen as a member of the Smackdown roster, ran in to help his brother, and they hit Rico with a 3-D through the table to win the match.
Survivor: Bubba Ray Dudley
â–º [Smackdown! Match] Billy Kidman won the WWE Cruiserweight Championship when he pinned Jamie Noble following a Shooting Star Press. Nidia accompanied Jamie Noble to ringside.
â–º [RAW Match] Victoria pinned Trish Stratus in a hardcore match to win her first WWE Women’s Championship.
â–º [Smackdown! Match] Big Show defeated Brock Lesnar to win the WWE Championship. Paul Heyman accompanied Brock Lesnar to ringside, but turned on Lesnar and helped Big Show steal the win. The match lasted just over four minutes due to Lesnar’s injury and Big Show’s limitations, though Lesnar did manage to get Big Show up for the F5. Lesnar had the match won, but Paul Heyman pulled the referee out of the ring, allowing Big Show to hit Lesnar with a chokeslam on a steel chair before covering him for the pin.
â–º [Smackdown! Match] Los Guerreros (Eddie & Chavo Guerrero) defeated Kurt Angle & Chris Benoit and WWE Tag Team Champions Edge & Rey Mysterio in a triple threat elimination match to win the WWE Tag Team Championship. Edge pinned Chris Benoit following a spear to eliminate Benoit & Angle. Following the elimination, Chris Benoit attacked Chavo Guerrero and Kurt Angle attacked Edge, before taking out their frustration on each other and fighting back to the dressing room. The match ended when Chavo leveled Rey Mysterio with a tag title belt and Eddie locked him in the Lasso From El Paso, forcing the submission and earning Los Guerreros their first WWE Tag Team Championship.
Following the match, Chris Nowinski and Matt Hardy entered the ring and berated the New York crowd, until Scott Steiner made his big return to the company and attacked both wrestlers.
â–º [RAW Match] Shawn Michaels defeated Chris Jericho, Booker T, Rob Van Dam, Kane, and World Heavyweight Champion Triple H in an Elimination Chamber Match to win the World Heavyweight Championship.
The Elimination Chamber is a dome-shaped steel cage that encompasses the ring and ringside area. The ringside area proper is actually replaced with four steel platforms that are level with the ring, and each corner of the ring contains a large Plexiglas box. Two competitors start the match, with the other four participants locked in the Plexiglas containers. Every five minutes another wrestler enters the match, and the match ends once all but one of the competitors has been eliminated.
Eliminations: Triple H and Rob Van Dam started the match. Chris Jericho was the next man to enter, followed by Booker T. The match took an ugly turn when RVD tried to hit Triple H with the Five-Star Frog Splash, but ended up smashing his knee into Triple H's neck instead. Triple H was legitimately injured, but continued the match anyway. Booker T hit RVD with a missile dropkick and covered him for the pin. Kane was in next, and Shawn Michaels was the last man to enter the match. Chris Jericho pinned Booker T following a Lionsault. Shawn Michaels hit Kane with Sweet Chin Music, followed by a Triple H Pedigree, and finally a Chris Jericho Lionsault that earned the pin. Jericho hooked Triple H in the Walls of Jericho, but Michaels hit Jericho with a superkick and covered him for the pin. The match ended when Shawn Michaels eliminated Triple H following a superkick. This was the first title run for Michaels since he lost the WWF Championship to "Stone Cold" Steve Austin at Wrestlemania XIV.
NOTES: This was the first dual-brand Survivor Series pay-per-view. Jim Ross and Jerry "The King" Lawler did commentary for the RAW matches, with Michael Cole and Tazz handling commentary for the Smackdown matches. Carlos Cabrera and Hugo Savinovich did Spanish commentary. Jonathan Coachman & Terri Runnels handled backstage interviews. Howard Finkel & Tony Chimel were the ring announcers. Stacey Keibler hosted the show from The World in New York... Lance Storm & William Regal defeated The Hurricane & Goldust in the only match featured on the live Sunday Night Heat prior to the pay-per-view... The theme song for the pay-per-view was "Always" by Saliva, and promotional materials for the event featured Rob Van Dam.
Mike Johnson: I was never a big fan of the Birdcage match, as I like to call it, but they did some cool spots. I thought Rob Van Dam killed Triple H with the frog splash off the plexiglass tower....Man, Scott Steiner’s run in the company sure was forgettable, wasn’t it? On this night though, it looked like they had a new superstar in the making.....That Smackdown tag title match was really underwhelming giving the level of talent involved. Edge wrote that same opinion in his new book....What were they thinking putting the belt on Big Show? They really killed a lot of Brock Lesnar’s momentum with that babyface turn.
Buck Woodward: I dug the Elimination Chamber. As hokey as it sounded, and as silly as the wrestlers being in plexiglass booths looked, I really enjoyed the match. It was something fresh and different, and I also don't think many expected Michaels to win the strap in such a gimmicky match. ... Having Brock Lesnar lose to the Big Show was surprising, but they obviously wanted to get the belt off of him so he could win it back at Wrestlemania. ... I could watch matches like the three way tag title bout all day long. Ironically, though, I think some of the Smackdown matches between the teams leading up to this bout were even better than this.
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