The “appeal” to the tourney this year is that it would have inter-brand matches in the semi-finals. Thanks to the helpful DVD extra, I know that RVD defeated Eddie Guerrero and X-Pac to get here, while Jericho beat Edge (via forfeit) and Val Venis. Both men vie for an advantage, but they match each other, move-for-move, in the opening minutes. RVD tells Jericho who he is, so Jericho slaps him. But RVD comes right back with a boot to the face. RVD monkey flips Jericho and then legdrops him for 2. Jericho comes back with a flying forearm. Jericho knocks RVD to the apron, but when he goes for the springboard dropkick, RVD ducks and Jericho falls to the floor. Then RVD connects with a somersault plancha. Back inside, RVD kicks Jericho down and then goes for the Five Star Frog Splash. Seeing this, Jericho kicks the referee into the ropes, causing RVD to get crotched. Jericho goes up and delivers a double-arm superplex. Wow! That gets 2. After another nearfall, Jericho goes over and removes a turnbuckle pad. As the referee tries to put it back on, RVD gets Jericho in a small package. By the time the referee comes over, Jericho kicks out at 2. Jericho hits the Breakdown and gets another pinfall. Jericho chokes RVD with his wrist tape and the referee does nothing about it. RVD avoids a charging Jericho, who ends up ramming his shoulder into the post. RVD begins to mount a comeback against Jericho. Rolling Thunder by RVD gets 2. Jericho avoids a legsweep and hits RVD with a standing enziguri. That gets 2. Jericho hits RVD with a nice German suplex, which RVD sells beautifully. RVD gives Jericho a hot shot and then connects with a split-legged moonsault. That gives him a nearfall. Jericho attempts the Walls of Jericho, but RVD rolls him up for 2. Jericho rams RVD into the exposed corner and then rolls him up with his feet on the ropes. Somehow, RVD kicks out before 3. Jericho delivers his crappy bulldog and goes for the Lionsault, but RVD moves. RVD hits Jericho with a spin kick and goes for the Five Star Frog Splash, but now Jericho moves. Jericho connects with the Lionsault and covers, but RVD kicks out at 2. Wow. RVD attempts a hurricanrana, but Jericho reverses it into the Walls of Jericho. Luckily for RVD, he’s right by the ropes and grabs them. Jericho tries to bring RVD up top with him, but RVD kicks him and Jericho crotches himself on the top rope. RVD then goes up and delivers the Five Star Frog Splash. RVD covers and scores the win.

Postmatch: As RVD is doing a postmatch interview with Lawler, Jericho attacks him and puts him in the Walls of Jericho.

Bottom Line: Overall, this is a pretty solid match. I really liked Jericho’s heel tactics throughout and I thought they were effective. There were also some decent moves and good false finishes. The only problem is that there were too many dead spots in the match, which prevented it from being considered great. If the action had been a bit more consistent, this could have been a real winner. Still, a very solid opener. *** ¾ (Interestingly enough, this match is somewhat famous as Jericho went online days later and criticized aka worked the IWC for not rating this match better. I hope my review was to your satisfaction Chris.)

- Paul Heyman uses RVD’s postmatch coments to help motivate Brock Lesnar. Somehow, Brock doesn’t strike me as the type of person who needs verbal motivation to want to beat people up.

Brock made it here by winning against Bubba Dudley and Booker T. Meanwhile, Test advanced over the Hurricane and Hardcore Holly. A lockup between the two goes nowhere. Brock works Test over in the corner, but Test comes back with a pair of clotheslines. Test goes for the big boot, but Brock bails to the outside. Brock catches a charging Test with a spinebuster. A back suplex by Brock gets 2. Test slows Brock with an atomic drop, but Brock comes right back and powerslams him. That gets a nearfall. Test catches Brock coming off the ropes with a sidewalk slam. Test gives Brock some rough turnbuckle treatment. A full nelson slam by Test gets 2. Brock escapes the pump handle slam, but Test recovers and hits it on his second attempt. Test covers, but Brock somehow kicks out at 2. Just like with the pump handle slam, Brock avoids one big boot, but gets hit with the second. That gets 2 ¾. Heyman nearly had a heart attack on that one. Test goes for another boot, but Heyman distracts him. That gives Brock enough time to recover and hit Test with the F5. The pin after that is academic and Brock advances.

BL: This was more about storytelling than it was about action. The wrestling content was severely lacking here. However, it did a good job of showing what a tough monster Brock was and how much of a force Heyman is in his corner. I applaud them for that effort, but it probably should have come a lot sooner than the King of the Ring semi-finals. ¾ *

- Jonathan Coachman heads to the RAW lockerroom to talk to the superstars about the fact that two RAW guys are in the finals. He finds Bubba Dudley, who says nothing interesting, so let’s head to Marc Lloyd, who’s at the Smackdown lockerroom. He gets Lance Storm and Christian, who are upset over how things turned out tonight. They claim that Jericho and Test losing tonight is more proof of the WWE’s conspiracy against Canadians. It’s nice that the tourney was booked to kick-start this anti-American angle, but it’s a shame that it produced such an uncreative final. The lure was supposed to be RAW vs. Smackdown here, yet Smackdown doesn’t get represented in the finals. Plus, it also forced a Brock vs. Test match in the semis, which as we just saw, wasn’t pretty.

The storyline here is that the Hurricane and Nidia used to date. The Hurricane ended the relationship and now Nidia’s new boyfried, Jamie Noble, looks to get revenge on her behalf by beating him and becoming the new cruiserweight champion. We get a lot of vanilla action to start. Noble works the Hurricane over in the corner. The Hurricane knocks down Noble and hits him with a Shining Wizard. Noble escapes a chokeslam attempt, but gets hit with a superkick. That gets 2. Nidia botches a trip attempt, so the Hurricane just stops and runs after her. That allows Noble to blindside him with a clothesline. Noble gives the Hurricane some rough turnbuckle treatment. A back suplex by Noble gets 2. The Hurricane attempts a victory roll, but Noble reverses it into an electric chair. The Hurricane applies a sleeper, but Noble jawjacks him. Now Noble puts on a sleeper. A slugfest is won by the Hurricane, who then delivers a neckbreaker. The Hurricane begins to mount some offense. Noble comes back with a German suplex and gets 2. The Hurricane grabs his cape, but Nidia takes it away from him. The Hurricane suplexes Noble out of the ring in a very scary looking spot. Then the Hurricane comes off the top rope with a crossbody. Nidia distracts the Hurricane long enough for Noble to dropkick him. Both men fight up top and it ends with the Hurricane delivering a top rope neckbreaker. Nice. As the Hurricane covers, Nidia distracts the referee. The Hurricane tosses Noble into her and then chokeslams him. He covers, but only gets 2. The Hurricane goes up, but gets crotched. Noble then powerbombs the Hurricane. As Noble covers, the Hurricane puts his foot on the rope. Nidia quickly knocks it off and the referee makes the 3 count. New champ!

BL: A disappointingly slow cruiserweight match. It’s nice to see storylines for this title and having PPV matches, but they need to bring something different to the table. If you’re gonna have a match full of restholds and punches, it might as well be for the Intercontinental or World title. Despite the lackluster effort, this was at least a sign that the cruiserweight division may be starting to get more TV time. * ¾

- Earlier tonight, The Rock arrived at the building. Shockingly, he didn’t demand that there be a red carpet waiting for him upon his arrival.

- Terri Runnels tries to get Eddie Guerrero’s comments on his upcoming match against Flair. However, Eddie is more concerned with saying hi to all of his family members. Had he been given time to talk to everyone, this would have been a 7 hour PPV.

So the wheels were in motion for Eddie to start a feud with Austin. Once he bolted, things got all turned around. First of all, Vince McMahon claimed that Flair was a horrible owner for causing Austin to leave. The two fought for full ownership of the company, which Vince won. Things then got worse for Flair. Now just a wrestler on the RAW roster, Flair was confronted by Eddie. Eddie blamed Flair for costing him his high-profile feud with Austin and then attacked him, which set up this match here. It’s not the best storytelling, but it was decent, given the rushed nature behind it. Eddie starts off as the aggressor, but Flair won’t let him gain an advantage. Eddie dropkicks Flair, who then takes a breather outside. Eddie oversells a Flair chop and now he goes outside for a time out. Back inside, Eddie trades chops with Flair and then Flair kicks him low. Flair chops Eddie again and he takes another rest outside. Eddie applies a front facelock, but Flair escapes with a suplex. Eddie dropkicks Flair in the knee and then works over that body part. Eddie puts on a figure four leglock, but Flair manages to get to the ropes before submitting. Eddie charges at Flair and gets backdropped all the way to the floor. Meanwhile, in the ring, Flair flops to the mat. Eddie suplexes Flair and goes for the frog splash, but Flair moves out of the way. Flair chopblocks Eddie and then puts him in the figure four. Meanwhile, Chris Benoit has come down to ringside. Benoit had aligned himself with Eddie against Austin when he returned a few weeks ago and is now still with him against Flair. Eddie gets out of the hold by grabbing the ropes. Eddie comes back with a pair of nearfalls on Flair. A tornado DDT by Eddie gets 2. As Eddie argues with the referee, Benoit takes Flair outside and puts him in the Crossface. The referee comes over and orders Benoit to leave ringside. As that happens, Bubba Dudley comes through the crowd, goes in the ring and gives Eddie a Bubba Bomb. Flair crawls back in the ring and somehow covers him for 3.

BL: These two didn’t break any new ground with what they did in there. It was just some good old-fashioned rasslin’. You had two pros in there and both were really working the psychology. Everything was going just fine up until that finish. What are they thinking trying to involve Bubba with the likes of Eddie, Flair and Benoit. It brought an otherwise decent match to an unwelcome thud. ***

- The World’s biggest loser (get it, because the restaurant is named The World) is…William Regal and Chris Nowinski (participant in the first Tough Enough). They’re upset with the slow service there. After Nowinski mocks the waitress for going to community college, she sticks her finger in his food. Not exactly a ringing endorsement for the restaurant is it?

Molly defeated Trish in a non-title match to earn this shot. As Trish takes off her belt, Molly attacks her. Molly works on Trish’s arm with an armbar. Trish gets Molly in a victory roll for 2. A neckbreaker by Trish gives her another nearfall. Molly does a drop toe hold, which sends Trish into the bottom rope. Molly dropkicks Trish to the floor and then attacks her around ringside. Trish knocks Molly off the apron with a kick to the head. Molly goes up top, but Trish crotches her. Trish then does the handstand hurricanrana. Trish really lays into Molly with everything she’s got. Trish goes for the Stratusfaction, but Molly shoves her off. A German suplex by Molly gets a long 2 count. Molly attempts the Molly-Go-Round, but Trish avoids it. Trish rolls up Molly, but Molly rolls through it, grabs the tights and keeps Trish down for 3. New champ!

BL: Well what do you know… a decent women’s match. These two nicely blended brawling with legitimate wrestling. I actually would have liked for this to go on longer. This would get a real solid rating if it wasn’t for two factors: 1) that cheap finish and 2) an uninterested crowd. I blame Lawler for the crowd. His idiotic insistence on focusing on Molly’s virginal status and granny panties prevented Molly from being viewed as a capable wrestler. Despite that idiocy, this was a nice start to one of the strongest feuds ever in the women’s division. ** ¾

- Marc Lloyd has the gall to tell Kurt Angle that his match against Hollywood Hulk Hogan tonight is a battle of “real American heroes”. Appropriately enough, Angle rants about that claim and proves why he’s the only one who should be considered a “real American hero”. It’s true. And now you know…and knowing is half the battle!

Hogan attempted to “retire” but Vince wouldn’t let him. Hogan confronted Vince and wanted to fight him, but Angle ambushed him from behind. That set-up this match here. There’s also the issue of Angle wearing a wig and wrestling headgear to cover up the fact that he was shaved bald last month by Edge. We get the standard lockup which Hogan, of course, wins. Hogan knocks down Angle, so he bails to the floor. Back inside, Angle clotheslines Hogan and off comes the bandana. One bald head down, one to go. Hogan comes back and launches Angle out of the ring. The two fight outside where Hogan dominates. Back inside, Hogan repeatedly rams Angle’s head into the turnbuckle. Hogan attempts to remove Angle’s wig, but Angle kicks him low. A pair of back suplexes by Angle get 2. Hogan comes back with a suplex of his own. Angle applies a sleeper, but Hogan manages to fight out of it and put Angle in a sleeper of his own. Angle quickly escapes with a back suplex. Angle connects with the Angle Slam, but only gets 2. Angle throws down the straps, but Hogan is Hulking up. Who wins here? Hogan gives Angle the big boot, but instead of going for the legdrop, he removes Angle’s wig. Hogan goes for another big boot, but Angle escapes to the outside. Angle begins to walk away, but changes his mind and brings a chair into the ring. He swings but misses and the chair bounces off the ropes and smacks him in the face. Hogan boots him and attempts the legdrop, but Angle grabs his leg and puts on the ankle lock. Hogan makes numerous attempts to break the hold, but Angle refuses to let go. Finally Hogan is stuck in the middle of the ring and taps out.

BL: Even year later, I still can’t believe this finish. I enjoy Hogan’s nostalgia runs, but I enjoyed this even more. It’s rare to see Hogan job, but to see him submit is the holy grail. The match involved subpar action, but they still managed to keep it entertaining throughout. At this point, I felt like Hogan was ready to start putting over younger talent. Time, however, has shown that isn’t necessarily true. Still, this match is a guilty pleasure of mine. ** ¾

- Backstage, Goldust parodies The Rock for Booker T. Suddenly, The Rock comes up behind him and shows Goldust how it’s done. The three then improv on one another to humorous results. This segment has no real purpose, but it is so damn funny. John Cena wishes he was this funny.

This year’s winner gets a title shot at Summerslam. RVD tries to gain an early advantage by kicking away on Brock’s left knee. Brock turns a monkey flip into a powerbomb. Now Brock works on RVD’s lower back. A powerslam by Brock gets 2. RVD avoids a charging Brock, who ends up ramming his shoulder into the post. RVD kicks away on Brock and finally knocks him down. RVD connects with Rolling Thunder and gets 2. RVD goes up and hits the Five Star Frog Splash. Before he can cover, Heyman grabs him and drops him across the top rope. However, RVD falls right on top of Brock. The referee counts, but Brock kicks out at 2. Cute sequence. RVD gets up and dropkicks Heyman. He then tries for a crossbody from the second rope, but Brock catches him. Brock puts RVD on his shoulders and delivers the F5. Brock covers and just like that it’s over. Brock Lesnar is the 2002 King of the Ring.

BL: That was short and sweet, wasn’t it? I never understand why KotR finals always seem so short. It was apparent that Brock was winning this thing, but there’s no need to job RVD out in such quick fashion. Not only is he an “over” superstar, but he’s also the Intercontinental Champion. You can’t really comment too much on the action. What was there was fine, but it never had time to develop into anything good or bad. This was quite the unexpected squash. **

- As HHH is walking backstage, he’s greeted by the nWo, which now includes Shawn Michaels. He came back a few weeks ago and was a big surprise by Kevin Nash. The group hugs HHH and says that if he needs help tonight, they’ll be willing to come out and assist him. HHH gives no reaction whatsoever to that offer. And the plot thickens…

HHH defeated Hogan to become the #1 contender. Heyman joins J.R. and Lawler for commentary. Good, finally a heel commentator. The two waste no time in slugging it out. HHH clotheslines Taker out of the ring. Taker drags HHH outside with him and the two brawl around ringside. Back inside, Taker tries to boot HHH, but ends up getting hung up on the top rope. HHH does a 10-punch count, but Taker then drops him across the turnbuckle. A sidewalk slam and elbow by Taker gets 2. Taker continues to dominate HHH by legdropping him on the apron. HHH elbows a charging Taker and then starts to fight back. However, Taker drops him with a big boot. The two head back outside and continue to brawl. A legdrop by Taker gets 2. Taker gets another nearfall after a big clothesline. Taker removes a turnbuckle pad and tries to ram HHH’s head into it, but HHH blocks it. HHH reverses a whip and sends Taker into the exposed corner. A spinebuster by HHH gets 2. Taker gives HHH Snake Eyes in the exposed corner, but HHH comes right back with a knee lift. That gets a nearfall. Taker gets a nearfall of his own with a DDT. HHH goes for a Pedigree, but Taker reverses it and catapults him into the ref. Now both men clothesline each other. Suddenly, The Rock comes out and chases away Heyman, who had claimed Brock had punked him out in the back. Now The Rock is on commentary. OK then. Taker grabs a chair, but HHH prevents him from using it. HHH connects with a facebuster and clotheslines Taker to the floor. The two brawl outside and suddenly Taker boots The Rock in the face. Taker tries to hit HHH with a chair, but The Rock attacks him. The Rock tries to hit Taker with the chair, but hits HHH on accident. Taker then throws The Rock into the post. HHH, meanwhile, has been busted open. Inside, Taker delivers the Last Ride to HHH. That gets 2 ¾ from a second referee. Frustrated, Taker boots him out of the ring. The Rock comes in now and hits Taker with a Rock Bottom. HHH rolls over and covers. The first ref slowly counts and Taker kicks out at 2. HHH Pedigrees Taker, but the ref is still groggy. As HHH tries to revive him, Taker lowblows him. Taker rolls up HHH, holds his tights, and gets a slow, tedious 3 count.

Postmatch: Taker talks trash to The Rock, so he comes back in and attacks him. HHH then comes over and Pedigrees The Rock. Taker gets back up and chokeslams HHH. We finally end with Taker standing tall.

BL: What an utter bore. They rushed the RVD/Brock match for this snooze-fest. I don’t know what happened, but these two failed to do anything that interested me. Not even Heyman’s commentary or The Rock’s antics could save this dog. Having HHH fight for the title was a logical move, but these two just did not produce here. A sour end to the show. * ¼

Final Thoughts: This show should get a thumbs down if you follow The Rick’s adage of judging a show by the way it ends. The KotR finals was criminally short and the main event was just awful. However, I’m not ready to fully condemn this show yet. There are a handful of decently fought matches that were making this enjoyable in the first half. There’s nothing that stands out as being memorable about this show, aside from the fact that this is the last King of the Ring PPV. Still, the first part is entertaining enough for you to give it a look. Just do yourself a favor and ignore the main event.

Next time, Hulk Hogan meets his old nemesis…Joe Louis