In this WWE Raw 6/17/02 review, Vince McMahon teases the return of Steve Austin, two superstars advance to the King of the Ring semifinals, and much more.
Let’s jump in!
- Show: WWE Raw
- Date: June 17, 2002
– We get a recap of Shawn Michaels superkicking Booker T and talking about no more disrespecting the nWo.
Rob Van Dam vs. X-Pac – KOTR Qualifier
Seems like a fun matchup on paper. RVD was so over with fans. Shiny black mats on the outside. RVD incredibly skilled with his moves. X-Pac with an impressive somersault plancha. Great back and forth, and Booker hits X-Pac with Book End after ref checks on RVD on the outside. RVD hits the frog splash for the win.
– Video from WWE Confidential on Austin walking out. JR basically calling Austin a coward for leaving. That was something.
– X-Pac is angry and nWo calms him down. Nash has a plan.
– Vince says Austin is gone from WWE and hopes he returns. Vince throws Austin under the bus for leaving and thinks he should apologize to everyone. Vince goes through the whole story and sends a message to Austin and thanks him before drinking a beer and sitting it in the middle of the ring.
Jeff Hardy vs. Raven
Taker watching from the stage. Their ladder match was awesome. Crazy to think how long Jeff has been wrestling. Jeff with the swanton and quick win as Taker looks on.
– Booker T and Goldust backstage. Goldust dressed up like someone. Booker is pissed at Michaels for what happened with the nWo. Goldust teases King Booker which is funny. Booker hypes his match with Brock Lesnar.
– Coach walks in on Molly Holly doing squats. Trish made fun of Molly’s ass on Raw. Coach saying these things is hilarious and Molly slaps him.
– X-Pac is pissed at Big Show. Michaels and Nash calm him down. Paul Heyman comes in with Brock. Heyman tries to keep them out of Brock’s match with Booker. Michaels goes face to face with Brock until Nash steps in.
Christopher Nowinski vs. Spike Dudley
Nowinski’s first match and he’s wearing a button-up and khakis. Regal ringside with Nowinski, who finally strips to his ring gear. Nowinski destroys Spike for a while until Spike rallies. But Regal distraction allows Nowinski to hit his finisher for the win. Bradshaw runs in and makes the save.
– Ric Flair says he had to find the real Flair and let ownership get to his head. He takes a shot at Austin and says he saw Hogan come back to win the title. Flair says he signed a contract to wrestle on Raw to prove he has another run in him. He takes aim at Brock. Austin’s music hits but turns off and here comes Eddie Guerrero. Fans aren’t happy about that. Eddie’s pissed about not getting his match with Austin at KOTR. Eddie blames Flair for Austin leaving and taunts Flair. Chris Benoit comes out and defends Flair while mentioning Four Horsemen. Eddie calls Flair a loser and Flair challenges him at KOTR. Benoit turns on Flair and blames him for Austin breaking his neck. Flair decks Benoit and Eddie but they gain the upper hand with Eddie using figure four.
– Vince backstage and Nowinski walks in. Nowinski tries to impress Vince with his accolades. Vince gets call from Tony Garea saying the man is on his way. Vince thinks he means Austin. Vince lines up security during the commercial.
Trish Stratus and D’Lo Brown vs. Molly and Crash Holly
So the main storyline is that Molly has a fat ass. That’s something. Lawler making lots of jokes which is no surprise. He wants to chant “she’s a fat ass” at Molly. Simply incredible. D’Lo was quite a talent. Action breaks down and D’Lo pins Crash for the win. Molly throws Trish face first off the apron and onto the announce table.
– Lita is at The World in New York. She has a neck brace on and she’s concerned for Matt against Taker.
– Vince wants camera crew documenting Austin. Jackie Gayda walks in and she tells Vince she wants to be a Raw girl. Vince wants her to be in the Divas Undressed competition, and if she agrees, she’ll give him a preview next week. Vince does it again.
The Undertaker vs. Matt Hardy
This is quite a sprint with these two for a few minutes, but as you would expect, the bigger story was Jeff’s involvement. He hits the ring and pulls the ref out, leading to a 2-on-1 advantage for the Hardyz. But out comes Raven, who shoves Jeff off the top and that’s all Taker needs to hit the Last Ride on Matt for the win.
– Raven handcuffs Jeff to the rope, and Taker goes to work as Raven takes it to Matt. Taker and Raven in their 1998 characters would’ve made for an interesting duo or feud.
– Terri questions Taker backstage. He was showing Triple H what he was capable of.
– Vince is still waiting on Austin.
– Heyman tries to butter up Earl Hebner. Earl isn’t having it. Heyman then bumps into Booker, and he says he’s gonna take it to Lesnar.
Brock Lesnar (w/Paul Heyman) vs. Booker T – KOTR Qualifier
The nWo make their way to the ring before the match. That allows Lesnar to jump Booker. HBK and Nash join commentary. They’re pretty great. Goldust joins the crowd and stares down Heyman. Booker rallies on Lesnar, but X-Pac and Show cause the distraction. Lesnar hits the F5 on Booker to score the victory.
– The nWo destroy Booker and Goldust after the match.
– Sgt. Slaughter tells Vince that Tony Garea has arrived, and Vince thinks Austin will arrive soon. Vince heads to the ring and says Austin is in the building. Garea runs out and whispers something in Vince’s ear. The Rock’s music hits and the crowd goes nuts. This was well done to do the switcheroo with Austin and Rock. Vince’s facial expressions are awesome. Rock taunts Vince and tells him to hit the road and throws a beer at the tron. The crowd loves it. Rock gives a passionate speech about the locker room wanting to be here, which is obviously a shot at Austin. Rock is gonna be at KOTR and he says WWE is home while once again mentioning Austin walking out on the company. Vince wasn’t playing around.
BLAKE’S TAKE ON WWE RAW 6/17/02
This edition of Raw was fine, though it was mostly built around a superstar that didn’t appear. Of course, instead, the fans got the return of The Rock, which made up for the disappointment of not getting Austin. The Flair stuff was good, as was the running theme with Taker and Jeff. Everything else was just sort of there.
For more of my show reviews, visit the Pro Wrestling Reviews section!