by Denny Burkholder
OnlineOnslaught.com/TheSmarks.com

It was The Game's first match since severely injuring his leg in May 2001. Although he spent limited time in the ring and was understandably a bit tentative with moves that involved legwork, he did not seem to be favoring the injured leg. In the ring, he went close to full speed, hitting his trademark knee to the face, facebuster, and pedigree without hesitation.

Triple H was met with a standing ovation by the capacity crowd (which is somewhere between 6,000 and 7,000 people for the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena, if I recall correctly). Our side of the arena was chanting "Welcome back," and the other side was chanting "Triple H." Either way, the whole place went nuts when The Game emerged in his wrestling gear. After his water-spitting shtick, Triple H acknowledged the ovation by patting his heart and gesturing to the fans.

Chris Jericho suffered a bloody nose during his first exchange with Triple H, from either Triple H "stomping a mud hole" in Jericho for the first official move of his return, or from a crisp HHH clothesline. Jericho's face was bloody for most of the match. After the victory, the crowd erupted again for HHH, who grabbed the house mic and told the fans that after eight months, they can tell people The Game is back.

Also post-match, there was a little segment where HHH coaxed Kurt Angle back into the ring for a one-on-one confrontation, only to sucker Angle into a Kane choke slam. Kane left the ring in disgust after Triple H refused to shake his hand. Triple H grabbed the mic and told Kane they had some unfinished business from a long time ago, and to get his ass back in the ring. As Kane returned to confront Triple H, The Game shook Kane's hand, and the two posed for the crowd. As champ Jericho left the ring, HHH made the title belt gesture with his hands.

Quickie results of the entire 1/4/02 WWF house show in Binghamton:

- Crash defeated Rico Constantino with a rollup

- Spike Dudley pinned The Brooklyn Brawler after an Acid Drop. er, Dudley Dog

- Jazz pinned Jacqueline (subbing for WWF Women's Champion Trish Stratus)

- Lance Storm pinned Brock Lesnar with his feet on the ropes

- Billy Gunn & Chuck Palumbo defeated Scotty Too Hotty and Albert (Gunn pinned Scotty following a fameasser)

- Justin Credible pinned Ron "H20" Waterman

- Tag champs The Dudley Boyz defeated The APA

- Booker T defeated Diamond Dallas Page following interference from The Big Bossman

- Triple H & Kane defeated Chris Jericho & Kurt Angle when Triple H pinned Jericho following a Pedigree

Other notes:

- This was the first WWF event in Binghamton since the summer of 1998, which may have added to the enthusiasm of the crowd.

- Jacqueline's stand-in for the absent Trish Stratus confused a lot of people, since Trish was listed on the card and in all promotional material, and no announcement was made that Trish wouldn't be appearing. Nonetheless, the audience got behind Jacqueline after the match got rolling. Strong performance by Jazz (and I love the theme song).

- Match of the night: Storm vs. Lesnar. Brock Lesnar is an absolute monster, and he ought to be ready for prime time very soon. Lesnar entered the arena to almost zero crowd reaction, and left the ring with people applauding him all the way back down the aisle. Only blown spot in the match was Lesnar's attempt to vertical suplex Storm into the ring from the apron. Otherwise, a great match.

- Fans seemed impressed with Ron Waterman as well, although his match with Credible was a bit too short to get a real idea what he's made of. Looks like a smaller Scott Steiner, and seems to have some real charisma.

- Gunn & Palumbo vs. Scotty & Albert was played mostly for comedy, but the fans loved it. Albert pantsed Scotty after a post-match performance of the worm, and as my friend E.C. Ostermeyer might say, much hilarity ensued. They also copped Billy & Chuck's headbands and forced referee Charles Robinson to wear one of them.

- Lots of heel heat for Booker T. A few people cheering for The Book also, which is usually a sign that the heel is doing well.

And that's about it. a lively crowd, a solid house show, and Triple H looks very good. Monday's Raw ought to be interesting!

E-MAIL DENNY
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