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Raw Report (7.01.02)

Major nWo announcment; Jeff Hardy gets title shot�

by Kevin Mercer TheProWrestler

Monday, June 17, 2002

The show began this week with Brock Lesnar issuing a challenge to any veterans who wanted to retire. Ric Flair returned to Raw seeking revenge on Lesnar for costing him his half of WWE ownership. Both grapplers cheated of course, but Lesnar won by pinfall.
Molly Holly interuped an interview with Jackie (Tough Enough 2), which turned into a fight, which spilled into the ring. Molly schools rookie Jackie, then is attacked Trish Stratus.
Chris Nowinski faced Hardcore Champion Bradshaw in a non-title matchup. Although it was a normal match, Bradshaw filled the ring with weapons, only to be laid out by his own cow bell. Chris Nowinski wins again.
Intercontinental Champion Rob Van Dam squared off against European Champion William Regal in a non-title match. RVD won by pinfall and challenged Brock Lesnar to a match on Raw. Under the advice of Paul Heyman, Lesnar accepted the challenge, but the match will take place in 3 weeks at Vengance, the next pay-per-view.
Bubba Ray and Spike Dudley reunited to face Eddie Guerrero and the returning Chris Benoit in tag team action. Benoit (now Raw property) has been out a year, but he looked very intense in his return. His intensity wasn't enough, however to save his partner from being pinned by Bubba Ray Dudley. In a display of being an old fashioned sore loser, Benoit and Gurrero dismantled the Dudleys after the match.
Goldust and Booker T were set to take on X-pac and the Big Show, but Kevin Nash attacked Goldust, and Booker T attacked X-Pac, so the match was changed to Booker T vs. The Big Show. Before the match, Nash warned the Big Show not to lose, or Nash would personally kick his ass. Booker T won by countout. (Yes, by countout) Booker T laid Show out with the ring steps to score the victory. Would Nash hold true to his promise?
Immediately after the match, Shawn Michaels and Nash made their way to the ring. Nash punched Show, Show, punched Nash. Before things get out of hand, The Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels steps in and calms them down. HBK announces the newest member of the nWo...HHH! HHH is at home recovering from his elbow surgery, and was not at the show. (This may seem bogus unless you saw the King of the Ring. HHH hugged all of the nWo except The Big Show.) HBK convinced Nash and Show to shake hands then --BOOM-- sweet chin music; Show's out like a light. On the ramp during their exit, Nash and HBK were telling The Big Show that it's tough love. We're not sure about the status of The Big Show ang his place in the nWo.
Moving on to Vengance, The Undertaker will face the Rock, most likely for the WWE Undisuted Championship, that is if Taker can hang onto the gold.
Speaking of the dead man, He faced Jeff Hardy in the main event - a ladder match for the Undisputed Championship. The Undertaker was not prepared for Jeff Hardy, as his mind was set on Kurt Angle (his match thursday on Smackdown!) and The Rock (at Vengance). The Undertaker in his 11 years with the WWF/E has never been in a ladder match, which really helped to even the odds for Hardy. Taker beat the crap out of Jeff, but Jeff would not stay down at all. The Undertaker vowed to make Hardy unable to stand after the match, but had his work cut out for him. Jeff had his fingers on the title twice. He was given the last ride off the ladder, and the chokeslam off the ladder, which finally was enough. Undertaker left with the title, but was yet to make good on his promise. As Taker left, Jeff got back up. The Undertaker returnedt to the ring to deliver another last ride to the almost champ. The Dead man began to exit again, as Jeff Hardy screamed into the microphone. With the help of the ropes, Hardy was still standing. Taker again entered the ring, raised his fist above Jeff's head, but to our surprise, he raised Jeff Hardy's hand high in the air. If you can read lips, you can see Taker tell Hardy that he's "One tough sonnuvabitch" The crowd erupts as Taker leaves this time.
That's all for this week, hopefully you'll see it next week and not need the Raw Report (but hey, that's what we're here for. we gotcha covered like a jimmy-hat). Until next week - happy bodyslams.