Emanating from the Kemper Arena in Kansas City, MO

in charge of RAW, while Vince McMahon led Smackdown. This PPV features a mix of RAW and Smackdown matches and I’ll indicate which are which throughout the review.

Since we last saw Tajiri on PPV, he made a heel turn. Torrie Wilson is still with him, but Tajiri forces her to wear kimonos and be submissive. As most of you know Kidman and Torrie are a real life item. Oddly, both men vie for an advantage early by trying to show they’re more powerful than the other. Tajiri baits Kidman to the corner and drops him across the turnbuckle. Kidman goes for a hurricanrana, but Tajiri blocks it and catapults him to the corner. Kidman hops onto the ropes, however, and comes back with a missile dropkick. As Kidman sends Tajiri to the floor with a hurricanrana, the crowd chants for “Torrie”. Tajiri grabs Kidman and drops him across the guardrail. Tajiri nails Kidman with a stiff kick and then applies a chinlock. Kidman hits another hurricanrana, but Tajiri comes right back with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Tajiri sets Kidman in a tree of woe and then dropkicks him. Tajiri then puts Kidman in a surfboard-like move across the post. Tajiri really begins to work on Kidman’s back. Tajiri attempts the Tarantula, but Kidman shoves him off. However, Tajiri manages to apply it on his second try. Tajiri goes for his big kick, but Kidman avoids it. As Tajiri goes for his handspring elbow, Kidman dropkicks him from behind. A German suplex by Tajiri gets 2. Kidman misses a clothesline and then Tajiri blasts him with a thrust kick. Somehow Kidman kicks out at 2. Kidman reverses a powerbomb into a facebuster on Tajiri and gets a nearfall. Kidman attempts the Shooting Star Press, but Tajiri moves out of the way. Tajiri lands another KO kick and covers, but Kidman kicks out again. Tajiri places Kidman up in the corner and then joins him. Kidman fights him off and then gives him a sit-out powerbomb from the top rope. That gets 2 ¾. Unbelievable! Kidman gets Tajiri up for a powerbomb, but Tajiri mists him. Tajiri falls on top of Kidman and covers him for 3. New champ!

Postmatch: Michael Cole tries to interview Tajiri, but he just responds in Japanese. Shouldn’t Cole know he doesn’t speak English?

Bottom Line: This one may have started out a little slow, but picked up nicely. Even though Kidman didn’t get a ton of offense in, he looked impressive in his resiliency. It’s pretty impressive that the crowd went from chanting “Torrie” to “Kidman” over the course of the match Watching this match you would think they were trying to legitimize the cruiserweight division or something. What a crazy notion! *** ¾

- Backstage Farooq and Bradshaw bump into each other (they were split up as a result of the brand extension, along with every other tag team it seems). They share some awkward pleasantries before Bradshaw leaves for his match. The way this played out you would have thought they used to date each other.

Bad news all around here: Scott Hall is joined by the recently returned X-Pac (Kevin Nash was recently “suspended indefinitely” by Ric Flair). Not only that, but X-Pac is wearing Kane’s mask after ripping it off of him a few weeks ago. Oh goodie, I was hoping that feud would start up again. As Bradshaw gets in the ring, Hall and X-Pac surround him. Suddenly Farooq comes out to be in Bradshaw’s corner and even the sides. Hall throws his toothpick at Bradshaw, so Bradshaw clotheslines him. A DDT by Bradshaw gets 2. Hall bails to the floor and bumps into Farooq, who decks him and throws him back into the ring. Bradshaw gets another nearfall with a suplex. Hall drops Bradshaw with a discus punch. While the referee is distracted by Farooq, X-Pac gets a cheap shot in on Bradshaw. Bradshaw stops Hall’s attack with a shouldertackle. As Bradshaw boots Hall, J.R. starts making “bowling shoe” comments. Hall misses a charge in the corner and then gets nailed with the Clothesline from Hell. Bradshaw covers, but X-Pac puts Hall’s foot on the ropes. Farooq begins to chase after X-Pac. As Bradshaw watches this, Hall lowblows him from behind and then rolls him up for the win.

BL: An awful pairing here and they didn’t help themselves by having 85% of the action be punches. The corner men helped keep the crowd alive, but did nothing for me. This did not get the RAW brand off to a good start. ¼ *

- Vince McMahon barges into Flair’s office and tells him that he’s starting to see similarities between himself and Flair. Vince is referring to the fact that they are both unappreciated as owners by their wrestlers. However, I figured he was talking about how hot women are somehow gravitating to them even though they’re both well beyond their 50s.

Trish beat Molly Holly to get this title shot. Speaking of Molly, she comes out before the match and claims Trish cheated to beat her. She then attacks Trish and throws her into the steps. Jazz grabs Trish and picks up where Molly left off. A sidewalk slam by Jazz gets 2. Trish comes back with a hot spot. The two slug it out and then Trish levels her with a side kick. That gets 2. Trish places Jazz in the corner and then delivers the handstand hurricanrana. Trish gets a nearfall with a neckbreaker. Jazz comes back with a powerbomb and gets 2. Jazz misses a splash in the corner and Trish rolls her up for another nearfall. Trish attempts the Stratusfaction, but Jazz reverses it into a back suplex. Jazz takes down Trish in the corner and then puts her in a Boston Crab. As Trish approaches the ropes, Jazz pulls her back and turns the hold into an STF. Trish struggles, but eventually taps out.

Postmatch: Marc Lloyd tries to get some comments from Jazz, but she blows him off. Aisle-side reporters are 0 for 2 tonight.

BL: The women did a nice job keeping the match lively for the time they were out there. However, I would have liked more work for Jazz on Trish’s back to make the submission finish more meaningful. Molly’s interference at the beginning was a nice touch, though. Overall, not a bad effort from the women. * ¾

- The night after Wrestlemania, there was a huge debut in the form of Brock Lesnar. Upon first seeing him, he looks like a muscle-bound freak of nature. Since arriving, he’s destroyed everybody in his path. Brock alone would be bad enough, but he also has an agent; none other than Paul Heyman. Brock’s latest victim was Matt Hardy, so tonight, in his PPV debut, he fights Jeff Hardy, who’s looking for revenge.

Jeff tries to get an early advantage by jumping Brock, but he quickly recovers and tosses Jeff to the floor. Brock tries to ram Jeff into the post, but Jeff escapes and throws him in it instead. Jeff gets a nearfall after a high crossbody. Brock sends Jeff into the corner and beats him up. Now Brock delivers a pair of overhead belly-to-belly suplexes. Jeff tries to fight back, but Brock quickly knocks him down. Brock whips Jeff to the corner, but he comes back with the corkscrew moonsault. Jeff jawjacks Brock and then hits the swanton bomb. Jeff covers, but Brock kicks out at 2. Jeff grabs a chair, but Brock tackles him before he can use it. Then he delivers his version of the TKO. Brock gives Jeff three big powerbombs. The referee looks at Jeff and stops the match.

BL: About as impressive of a squash as you can get. Jeff was a very good choice for a foil to Brock as he was able to bump magnificently for all of Brock’s power moves. As in any squash, Jeff got his hope spots in, but they were all for naught. Having the referee stop the match goes a long way in showing how powerful Brock is. It was clear that Brock would have a bright future ahead of him. ** ½

Edge got a fluke win over Angle, so now Angle wants revenge on his former friend. Angle quickly knocks down Edge and the crowd starts up an “Angle sucks” chant. Angle elbows a charging Edge, but Edge comes right back with a dropkick. Edge gives Angle a flapjack and then sends him to the floor. Back inside, Angle gets hit with a spinning heel kick, but he gets right back up and delivers a German suplex. The two now exchange chops. A suplex by Angle gets 2. Angle gives Edge a German suplex, but when he goes for a second, Edge fights out of it and gives Angle an overhead belly-to-belly suplex. Edge begins to mount his comeback. Edge DDTs Angle and gets a 2 count. Edge escapes a back suplex and gives Angle a facebuster. That also gets a nearfall. Edge goes up top, but Angle pops up there and throws him off. That gets 2 ¾. Angle tries for the ankle lock, but Edge shoves him off. Angle delivers 3 German suplexes and gets a nearfall from them. Edge avoids the Angle Slam and gives Angle a German suplex of his own. Angle charges, but Edge backdrops him out of the ring. Then Edge climbs up and hits Angle with a high crossbody. Back inside, a missile dropkick by Edge gets 2. The two go through a reversal sequence which ends with Angle hitting the Angle Slam. Somehow Edge kicks out at 2. Down go the straps and here comes the ankle lock. Edge reverses it into a rollup and gets 2. Frustrated, Angle gets a chair. He swings, but Edge avoids it and the chair bounces off the ropes and smacks Angle in the face. Edge then hits the Edge-o-Matic and covers, but can only get 2. Edge knocks down Angle and then goes for the spear. As Edge charges, Angle kicks him in the face. Angle then connects with another Angle Slam and covers him for the 1-2-3.

BL: I was a little concerned in the opening minutes of this match. Everything was so simplistic that I was worried Angle had to lower himself to Edge’s level. However, the match increasingly got better as time went on. All of the false finishes really got the crowd into it. This wasn’t the best Angle match, but by the end of it, I at least had hope that Edge was ready to take his game up to the next level and be able to hang with our Olympic hero. *** ½

- The loser at WWF NY tonight is…Tazz, who’s interviewing people to see who they think will win tonight’s main event. Of course, they all give inane responses, but at least they interviewed some hot chicks to make the segment somewhat tolerable.

- We are suddenly joined in the ring by Chris Jericho. He’s here to bitch about the fact that he’s not on the card, despite the fact that he was just in the main event last month at Wrestlemania. He then verbally berates Hulk Hogan and says he’s more worthy of the title shot. He ends by saying that since he’s not booked, he’s just gonna leave. I can’t really argue with the guy, but I don’t know if I need my PPV time wasted with him telling me.

- As Flair chats with Arn Anderson, the Undertaker comes into his office. Taker doesn’t say anything, but just stares down Flair. I’m sure that was enough to intimidate Flair to the degree that he’ll just bow down and agree to every single demand made by Taker from now on.

After dealing with some personal demons, Eddie is back and ready to compete again. This has been dubbed the battle of the frog splashes. As RVD taunts, Eddie attacks him. RVD comes back and monkey flips Eddie out of the corner. Both men try to wear the other one down in the corner. A standing moonsault by RVD gets 2. RVD goes up top, but Eddie crotches him. Eddie attempts a superplex, but RVD drops him across the top rope. RVD falls to the floor, however, in the process of doing that move. RVD climbs back up and delivers a top rope kick. Now RVD does a cartwheel into a moonsault for 2. Eddie gets a pair of weak nearfalls. On the outside, RVD moonsault off the apron and barely hits Eddie. RVD sets Eddie on the barricade and then legdrops him. Back inside, RVD tries for rolling thunder, but Eddie gets his knees up. Eddie then delivers a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. The crowd begins a “mullet” chant. A back suplex by Eddie gets 2. Eddie locks RVD in a unique back submission, but RVD escapes. Eddie puts RVD on his back and stretches him, but RVD won’t give up. A hurricanrana by Eddie gets a nearfall. Eddie gives RVD two different suplexes and then gets another nearfall. Eddie climbs up for the frog splash, but RVD gets up and kicks him. RVD climbs up with him, but Eddie manages to deliver that awesome top rope sunset flip into a powerbomb. Somehow, RVD kicks out at 2. RVD escapes another powerbomb attempt and hits Eddie with a spin kick. Eddie goes outside and gets the IC title. When RVD snags it away from him, he accidentally knocks down the referee. Eddie then delivers a neckbreaker to RVD on the belt. Eddie goes up top and connects with the frog splash. The referee is back up and makes the 3 count. New champ!

BL: Both of these guys got to display a lot of their skills and trademark moves. While that made the match decent, I would have liked the pace to be a little bit quicker. The slow pace they took prevented me from getting more into the match. While I don’t mind Eddie winning the title, I’m a little surprised they took it off RVD so soon. I thought they could have run a similar angle to RVD’s TV title reign in ECW. A good match, just not the most exciting one of the night. ***

- So we all know the problem Flair has had with the Undertaker recently. However, he’s also had difficulty with Austin lately as well. Austin is out to prove to his new boss that nobody tells him what to do. Now Flair gets to play the wild card as he refs a match between two people who clearly don’t care for him.

I’m so glad this brand extension was able to produce fresh match-ups like this one. The two do some major stalling to begin. Even when they begin to fight, it’s an extended “feeling out” process. Now Austin does some push-ups for some reason. Austin offers a test of strength, but when Taker begins to oblige, Austin gives him the finger. Austin takes down Taker and begins to work on his left arm. Taker boots a charging Austin and then clotheslines him down. Taker connects with Old School and gets 2. Austin comes back with the Lou Thesz Press and F.U. elbow. That gets a nearfall. The two head outside and begin to brawl. Austin abuses Taker over on the Spanish announce table. As Austin tries to get back in the ring, Taker boots him. The two now fight amongst the people. Austin tries to do a piledriver on the floor, but Taker backdrops him. As Taker attacks Austin by his bike, the nWo stroll on out to the ring. Taker is in complete control as he legdrops Austin across the apron. Back inside, Taker works over Austin’s left leg. Austin tries to fight back, but Taker quickly knocks him down. Austin applies a sleeper, but Taker gets free with a back suplex. Austin attempts a Stunner, but Taker avoids it and clotheslines him. That gets 2. Taker connects with a big clothesline and gets another nearfall. Frustrated, Taker goes over and removes a turnbuckle pad. Austin reverses a whip and sends Taker into the exposed corner. Both men clothesline the other and they both go down. Austin stomps a mudhole in Taker in the corner. Taker goes for a Tombstone, but Austin escapes and whips Taker into Flair. Austin then connects with the Stunner and covers, but there’s no referee. With Flair still down, Taker nails Austin with a low blow. Taker chokeslams Austin and gets 2 ¾. Taker grabs a chair, but Flair takes it away from him. That allows Austin to lowblow Taker. A big boot by Taker gets 2. Now Austin gets a nearfall with a spinebuster. Austin tries for another Stunner, but Taker shoves him off and into Flair. Taker nails Austin with a chair. Flair crawls over and counts, but Austin kicks out at 2. Taker goes for another chairshot, but Austin avoids it. Austin grabs the chair, but Taker boots it in his face. As Taker covers, Austin puts his foot on the rope. However, Flair never looks for it and makes the 3 count.

Postmatch: Taker mouths off to Austin, so Austin gives him a Stunner. Then backstage, Jonathan Coachman shows Flair footage of the pinfall. When Flair sees his error, all he can say is “Aw shit”. No kidding.

BL: What an utter bore this match was. I would say they were going through the motions, but that would be giving them too much credit. Given where Austin would wind up shortly after this, I probably would have to blame him for the less than stellar effort. Then again, Taker has never been a workrate freak either. To top things off, you get a really bad looking finish that just annoys everybody. By the way, can anybody tell me why the nWo came down? They literally did nothing. * ¼

With almost all tag teams split up, this is the best they could come up with for #1 contenders. By the way, Billy and Chuck now have a new manager/stylist, Rico. Snow and Maven get jumped as soon as they enter. The faces recover and dump Billy and Chuck out of the ring. Chuck pulls Maven out of the ring and attacks him along with Billy on the floor. Maven whips Billy, who crashes into Snow on the apron. Maven goes to tag, but nobody’s there. Billy and Chuck continue to isolate Maven in their corner. Maven knocks down Chuck with an enziguri and then tags Snow. Snow takes it to both Billy and Chuck. With the referee distracted by Rico, Chuck clotheslines Snow from the apron. A neckbreaker by Billy gets 2. Billy goes for a corner splash, but Snow avoids it. Snow then drops Chuck into Billy’s nether regions. Maven gets the tag and is a house of fire. Maven puts his head down and gets caught with a Fameasser. Billy covers, but Snow pulls Maven out of the ring. Chuck knocks down Snow with a superkick. Heel miscommunication leads to Rico kicking Chuck instead of Maven. Snow gives Billy a spinebuster and then Maven follows up with a high crossbody. He covers, but can only get 2. Behind the ref’s back, Chuck superkicks Maven. Billy then covers and gets the victory.

BL: I don’t know how much I can say here, because a match like this makes me so angry that I can’t speak rationally. I mean, look at what’s wrong here: Billy Gunn is undeservedly a champion, the champions have a joke gimmick and their opponents should be nowhere near the title scene. The whole tag team division is a farce at this point. Then you have the match, which was a big clusterfuck with no flow to it whatsoever. This is meant to be a cool down match between two big fights, but it looks worse when it follows a “big fight” that bombs. ¾ *

From a storyline perspective, Vince simply named Hogan the #1 contender, which didn’t make a whole lot of sense. However, we all know from a reality perspective that he got chosen in order to capitalize on his popularity since his return. The two lockup and HHH shows he’s more powerful in the opening minutes. Now Hogan gets to show his power after another lockup. The two engage in a test of strength and HHH gets Hogan to his knees first. As Hogan recovers, HHH kicks him down. HHH backs Hogan to the corner and beats him down. Hogan comes back with a backdrop and pair of clotheslines. Hogan gives HHH a 10-punch count in the corner. Hogan backdrops HHH out of the ring and then follows him outside. Hogan blocks a suplex on the floor and delivers one of his own on the floor. Back inside, HHH gives Hogan some rough turnbuckle treatment. Hogan blocks a Pedigree attempt and catapults HHH into the corner. Then he rolls him up for 2. Now Hogan gives HHH some rough turnbuckle treatment. HHH escapes a powerslam and clips Hogan in the knee. HHH goes to work on that knee of Hogan’s…and does it for a looooong time. HHH applies a figure four and starts to use the ropes for leverage. Somehow Hogan turns it over and gets the hold broken. HHH locks in a sleeper and drops Hogan to the mat. Suddenly, Hogan gets back up and gives HHH a back suplex. Hogan starts to comeback. He connects with the big boot and legdrop and then covers. However, Jericho runs out and pulls the referee out of the ring. Hogan goes over by Jericho, who blasts him in the head with a chair. As Jericho tries to wake up the referee, HHH grabs him and beats him up. HHH goes back over to Hogan, who begins to Hulk up. Hogan tries for another legdrop, but misses. HHH, however, connects with the Pedigree. The referee begins to count when Taker runs out and hits him. Taker comes in and blasts HHH with a chair. Hogan gets up and clotheslines Taker out of the ring. Then Hogan drops another leg. He covers and gets 1-2-3. Hogan has done it. New champ!

Postmatch: HHH gets back up and shakes Hogan’s hand in congratulations.

BL: This was no 5-star classic and in fact, at times, it was painfully dull. This lacked the crowd atmosphere and in-ring action that made The Rock/Hogan match so memorable. Thank goodness Jericho and Taker arrived to liven things up. As for the outcome, I’m divided. It was clear that fans were digging the Hogan act for now, but it’s obvious Hogan wasn’t the future of the company either. I’ll give credit to HHH for being willing enough to drop the strap so soon after he won it. It’s just a shame he couldn’t take Hogan to a better match. * ¾

Final Thoughts: This show is evenly split between some decent, well-worked matches and some god-awful, boring fights. Ultimately, the tie-breaker here is whether you’re a Hogan fan or not. If you are, the feel-good moment at the end of the show erases the stink of the lousy matches. If you aren’t, the stuff that was awful just becomes all that more apparent. For me, the final hour really sunk this show, so I’m gonna have to go thumbs down.

Next time, WANTED: One letter F. To be used to bring back the good name of famed wrestling company. If found, please contact Vince McMahon.