WWE: Ruthless Aggression - Jericho vs Van Dam - Ladder Match

[King Of Spice]

June 23, 2002 | Nationwide Arena, Columbus, OH


WWE Championship
Edge vs The Undertaker (c)

[King Of Spice]

Today, June 2nd, 2002, WWE Superstar Faarooq announced his retirement from in ring competition. We would like to thank Faarooq for his years of service to WWE and we wish him the best in his future endeavours.

[King Of Spice]

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June 3rd, 2002, live from the American Airlines Centre in Dallas, Texas

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Raw was opened up with Stone Cold Steve Austin, walking down to the ring in his usual manner, before grabbing a microphone.

"Last week, I took care of the yellow piece of trash known as Eddie Guerrero, and I got him fired from Raw. But you see, I still ain't satisfied. Uh uh. Eddie Guerrero was just one piece of trash on this show. There is one other piece of trash that I need to take care of, his name being Eric Bischoff. Eric, it's no secret, I don't like you, and you sure as hell don't like me, so, if things here with you and I are gonna work, I suggest you come down here, and we air whatever grievances we may have with each other.

Eric Bischoff's theme started to play.

"Steve.. Steve.. Steve. What makes you think that I want to co-exist with you? Huh? When two weeks ago, you stunned me in this ring, and have done nothing but disrespect me since I took over management of this brand? You're right. I don't like you, in fact, Austin, I hate you. I hate your guts. I hate everything about you. I hate everything you stand for. You, Steve Austin, represent everything that's wrong with modern day America. You're a foul mouthed, beer swilling, bald headed, ignorant, stupid piece of trailer park trash, and two weeks ago, you made the biggest mistake of your life when you attacked me."

Bischoff shoved Austin's shoulder.

"Well, Eric, if you hate me so much, then why don't you fight me? Actually, what do you say, you fight me at King Of The Ring. One on one, we find out who the better man is, huh?"

"Heh.. Do you think I was born yesterday, Austin? Why would I agree to fight you at King Of The Ring?"

"Two reasons. Reason #1; What I'm about to do. Reason #2; This."

Austin flipped Bischoff the bird, and hit him with another Stone Cold Stunner. The GM of Raw fell to the mat, as Stone Cold enjoyed a couple of cold ones and left up the ramp. Bischoff, breathing heavily, started to talk into the microphone.

"...Austin... You want me... At... King Of The Ring... you got me."

"The Texas Rattlesnake" laughed and enjoyed another beer on the ramp.

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Maven def Tommy Dreamer (2:03)

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Rob Van Dam, walking backstage, was stopped by Mr. McMahon.

"Rob, could I have a second please?"

"Yeah, sure."

"..Right. Yeah, there's something that needs to be addressed. You haven't defended that Intercontinental Championship in over a month, and, I'm a man who's all about fairness, and it just wouldn't be fair if you could sail along without having to defend your title. But, I wanna make things interesting, and to give the fans the best match possible, I'm going to put you in the main event tonight. Yeah.. In a ladder match, for that Intercontinental Championship, and you'll be defending against Chris Jericho. Good luck, champ!"

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-Commercial Break-

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The Un-Americans made their way to the ring, with Christian grabbing a microphone.

"In three weeks, we put these titles on the line against The Hardy Boyz. Now, I understand that some of you people might like Matt and Jeff Hardy, but the fact is, they represent everything that's wrong with modern America. They come out here, dressed like a pair of idiots, doing ridiculous stunts to try and impress people, and now that they've won a few matches, they think they've earned the right to face us. Well let me clear one thing up for you, boys; we are no joke. We will run through you like every other team is gonna run through the United States in the World Cup. America sucks!"

The Un-Americans def Colt Cabana and Ace Steel (2:01)

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Victoria def Jackie Gayda (3:46)

After the match, Victoria grabbed a microphone and started to speak.

"For too long, this division has been filled with talentless little skanks who aren't even worthy of lacing up my boots. It's time for a change. Starting tonight, the Women's division will become about one thing; wrestling. No models. No actresses. Just wrestling, and I'll make sure to start as I mean to go on, by beating Trish Stratus at King Of The Ring."

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-Commercial Break-

Eric Bischoff, Raw's general manager, made his way down the ramp, flanked by six or seven police officers, holding a microphone. He got into the ring, and the officers formed a wall in front of him.

"If "Stone Cold" Steve Austin thinks that it's funny to lay his hands on his own boss, then he has another thing coming, quite literally. Steve, I know you've been doing your whole "badass who disregards all authority" schtick for a while now, but tonight, you crossed the line. When you grabbed me and gave me a Stone Cold Stunner, you put your hands on your boss, and that is what is known as assault, my little friend, so I'm requesting that you make your way down here, because you've got some explaining to do to eight of Texas' finest."

Bischoff stopped talking, and Stone Cold's theme song began to play and he walked down the ramp until he was stopped by the officers. Bischoff egged them on, but one of the officers got into the ring and said something to Bischoff in his ear, to which he replied..

"What the hell do you mean, "provoked"? He attacked me."

"He may have attacked you, Mr. Bischoff, but you provoked it. Legally, we cannot convict someone if it was an act of self defence."

"Do you know who I am?"

Bischoff shoved the officer.

"I'm Eric Bischoff, god da-"

The officer grabbed Bischoff and tackled him to the ground, before placing him in handcuffs, and ordering the other officers to drag him away, kicking and screaming. Stone Cold laughed as Bischoff was forcibly removed from the arena and into the back.

"JR, this is a travesty! Do you know what they do to people like Eric Bischoff in jail?"

"I dread to imagine, King, but like it or not, he had that coming. You do not put your hands on a police officer."

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Maven def Tommy Dreamer to retain the WWE Hardcore Championship (4:17)

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-Commercial Break-

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As we returned form commercial break, we saw Eric Bischoff being forced into a police car as Stone Cold looked on, laughing.

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WWE Intercontinental Championship - Rob Van Dam vs Chris Jericho
"This match was made by Eric Bischoff earlier tonight, King, and, uh, I understand Van Dam is a fighting champion and all, but competing in a dangerous ladder match cannot bode well for Rob Van Dam, just three weeks away from a World Heavyweight Championship match with Triple H at King Of The Ring."

The champion and challenger stared each other down as the match began. Both men began things very cagey, circling each other, both men daring each other to make a move. Jericho teased a lock up, but it was a ruse, as he would rush Van Dam into the corner and connect with strikes to the neck and back of the head. Van Dam fell down, but Jericho didn't let up, and started stomping away and using his boot to choke the Champion. Van Dam rolled under the bottom rope, and Jericho followed him. "Y2J" sent the Champion head first into a ladder, before rolling back into the ring. Jericho went for a suicide dive, Van Dam avoided it by rolling under the bottom rope and then diving over the top and onto Jericho with a topé of his own. Both men were slow to make it back up to their feet, but Jericho got there first, and resumed his attack on RVD. Dropping the Intercontinental Champion throat first across the security wall, before sending him spine first into the ring apron and hitting with a knee to the midsection, folding the Champion in half. Jericho then grabbed a ladder, got in the ring and began his ascent, leaving RVD down on the outside. Jericho only got halfway up the ladder, however, before Van Dam got back up on the apron and connected with a springboard kick to the head, knocking Jericho off of the ladder and almost taking himself out in the process. For the next part of the match, Van Dam tried to ignore the ladder and instead focused on wearing down Jericho and taking him out of the equation, but the challenger was having none of it, and instead it was Jericho connecting with a series of high impact moves, including a bulldog, a spinebuster and even the Walls Of Jericho for a brief period. Jericho continued to assault Van Dam, until eventually the champion fell out of the ring and Jericho once again began his ascent up the ladder, but stopped when he once again saw RVD getting back into the ring. Jericho grabbed him by the head, but Van Dam pushed him away and connected with a big roundhouse to the side of the head, and started to climb up the ladder, but before he could reclaim the title, Jericho grabbed him and he hit the mat after a huge powerbomb. Jericho slowly got back up and then rolled out of the ring to grab some more weapons. Jericho grabbed a short ladder, a steel chair and a taller ladder before throwing them all into the ring. "Y2J" positioned the chair in the corner, and left one the ladders on the mat and stood one up in a corner. Jericho tried to send Van Dam head first into the chair, and he thought he had, but as it turned out, the Intercontinental Champion had stopped himself and grabbed the chair, and as a result proceeded to throw it at Jericho and hit the Van Daminator. Jericho fell down on his ass in the corner, and Van Dam looked at the ladder, then at Jericho, and then at the chair in his hands, then at the ladder in the center of the ring, and it became clear it was do or die time. Van Dam had to choose between going for the Van Terminator or climbing the ladder and taking the belt, but he chose the Van Terminator. Van Dam climbed the ladder, threw the chair at Jericho and connected with Van Terminator, putting his own body on the line to take out Jericho. "Van Dam may have connected with that Van Terminator, but is it gonna prove costly in the long run?" asked King, as RVD crawled across the ring to the ladder, and tried to climb it, but before he could, Triple H hit the ring and started attacking him. The World Heavyweight Champion started kicking away at Van Dam in the corner, before throwing a ladder on him, hitting the Pedigree, and handcuffing him to the ropes. "The Game" could be heard yelling at Van Dam "You're nothing, you hear me, nothing! This'll teach your ass to get involved in my business". Triple H left up the ramp, but in the ring, Van Dam was stuck in the corner, handcuffed to the ropes. Jericho realised this, and climbed to the top to steal the win and the Intercontinental Championship.
Chris Jericho defeats Rob Van Dam to become the new Intercontinental Champion (15:27)

Jericho ran away up the ramp, over-celebrating, as a pissed off Van Dam sat in the ring, a far cry from his usual calm self.

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© 2002, World Wrestling Entertainment.

[King Of Spice]

June 23, 2002 | Nationwide Arena, Columbus, OH


WWE Championship
Edge vs The Undertaker (c)

[King Of Spice]

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June 7, 2002, live from the Cox Convention Centre in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

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Smackdown began with the number one contender for the WWE Championship, Edge, walking down to the ring and taking a microphone from Tony Chimel. Edge began to address the crowd.

"Now that I've taken care of Kurt Angle and can finally put that behind me, there's something new I need to address, and that is one man. One man who I will face in two weeks at King Of The Ring, The Undertaker. For the few weeks, since I became number one contender, Undertaker has attacked me from behind and left me laying in the middle of this ring, but tonight, that isn't gonna happen. Because Undertaker.. I'm calling you out. Me and you. Face to face. No sneak attacks, no hiding, just me and you, one to one."

The Undertaker's theme started to play, and walked through the curtain and stood on the stage. The music stopped, but The Undertaker didn't walk down the ramp. Instead, he stared down Edge for a while, before turning around and making it look like he was going to leave. Edge turned his back, and Undertaker ran down the ramp to try and get another sneak attack in, but Edge was one step ahead, ducked the clothesline attempt, and ran right through Undertaker with a spear. The Deadman rolled out of the ring, and Edge held the WWE Title over his head, as Undertaker favoured his ribs on the outside.

"Is this a preview of what we're going to see at King Of The Ring?", asked Michael Cole.

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-Commercial Break-

Raven vs Maven - WWE Hardcore Championship
Raven came in like a house on fire, running down the ramp with his shopping cart and hitting Maven in the head with a stop sign, sending the champion down. Maven continued his onslaught, hitting Maven with everything from a trash can to a toaster. Maven started to fight his way back in later on, and retained the title after a Halo DDT onto a trash can.
Maven defeats Raven to retain the WWE Hardcore Championship (2:00)

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A promo for King Of The Ring was shown, featuring Brock Lesnar, Chris Benoit, Booker T and Test talking about the war they will have to go through to earn the right to be called King Of The Ring.

"My mind is spent."

"My muscles ache."

"My body is broken."

"Lead me to my throne."

WWE King Of The Ring is live on Pay-Per-View, Sunday, June 26, 8e/7c.

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Chris Jericho, wearing the Intercontinental Championship proudly around his waist, strutted down to the ring, microphone in hand.

"It's good to be the champ! Woo! You all doubted me! You all said that I couldn't do it again, but, guess what? I did it again. Chris Jericho, "Y2J", "The Ayatollah Of Rock'N'Rolla, stands before you the new WWE Intercontinental Champion! Now that that trash Rob Van Dam no longer has his grubby little paws all over this, maybe I can restore some prestige to it. So I promise, that as long as Chris Jericho is breathing, you will never have to worry about any ass clown taking this title from me!"

Jericho was interrupted by the sound of Rey Mysterio's theme song. Rey came down to the ring, and took a microphone.

"Chris, congratulations, man, I'm happy for you. But in the spirit of competition, and if you really wanna make this Championship as prestigious as you say you do, then you should defend it as much as possible. So I guess, what I'm saying is, I beat you two weeks ago in a tag team match, and therefore, I'm entitled to an opportunity at that title."

"Wait a second, what? Are you serious? Rey, don't make me laugh. This is the Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship. Not the Flippy Vanilla Midgets Championship. Now, I understand you might have been able to challenge for this belt in WCW, but that's not how it works around here, if you want to fight the best, you've gotta earn it, junior."

"Well what do you say I earn it by kicking your ass again here tonight?"

"..yeah, okay. But we're gonna do it on my terms. If you can beat me.. AND a partner of my choosing in a handicap match, then and only then will I give you a shot. Good luck, Ronald."

For the first time since returning to WWE, Eddie Guerrero's theme played and he started to walk out onto the ramp and into the ring.

"Olale, Chris, vato, did I just you hear you say that he only gets a shot if he beats you and whoever your partner is?"

"..yeah? What's it to you, greaseball?"

"Heh.. homes, that's just not fair, esé. So what I propose is, we do Chris Jericho and your partner vs Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero, and if we win, he gets his shot at you at King Of The Ring."

"Why the hell would I agree to that? And who do you think you are coming out here and calling me out? Who have you beaten to deserve to be in the ring with me?"

"Homes.. You're right. I haven't beaten anybody. But I think I got a good reason for you to agree to this match tonight."

Guerrero and Mysterio rolled out of the ring, as Jericho looked on confused, when suddenly, what appeared to be horse manure fell from the ceiling and covered Jericho from head to toe. The irate champion slipped up in the manure, before grabbing a microphone and declaring that the match was on.

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-Commercial Break-

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Val Venis vs Tajiri
"The Japanese Buzzsaw" started the match in control, going after Val and using his quickness to get past him. Tajiri connected with a series of kicks and managed to keep Venis down for the best part of the match. Val fought back later on however and all it took after that was a spinebuster and a money shot to end the match.
Val Venis defeats Tajiri (3:09)

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A recap of last week's Smackdown was shown, replaying the footage of Undertaker attacking Edge after the steel cage match.

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The Un-Americans vs CM Punk and Ace Steel
The two local competitors were no match for Storm and Christian, who defeated them easily after an Unprettier.
The Un-Americans defeat CM Punk and Ace Steel (1:02)

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-Commercial Break-

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The Undertaker, angrily storming around backstage, started grabbing and questioning members of staff.

"Where is he?!"

"I.. uh.. w-who?!"

"You know damn well who I'm lookin' for, where the hell is Edge?"

"I don't know, m-man.. I.. I swear to god."

"Goddammit, get the hell out of here."

"The Deadman" started throwing things around and tearing apart the set backstage, when suddenly, a motorcycle could be heard pulling up. The camera panned around, and it was revealed to be Edge driving what appeared to be Undertaker's bike.

"Hey, 'Taker! If you want me, come and get me."

Undertaker ran towards the bike, but Edge drove off in the opposing direction. Undertaker tried to chase him, but failed. 'Taker grunted and started to cause more damage backstage.

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Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero vs Kurt Angle and Chris Jericho
"Well, the king of the world is here, Tazz, a man who thinks he's a rockstar, but he didn't look much like a rockstar earlier tonight when Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio poured, well, horse manure all over him, which has more than likely only made the new Intercontinental Champion angrier.", said Michael Cole, as Jericho made his way to the ring. Once all participants had arrived, the match began with Kurt Angle and Rey Mysterio starting things off, with Angle trying to take Mysterio to the mat, but the Champion was too quick, rolling out of Angle's attempts at mat wrestling and catching the former Olympian with a dropkick to the back, and almost hit the 619, but Angle was quick to roll out of the ring and regroup with Jericho on the outside, however, it would prove to be a mistake, as Mysterio and Guerrero both dived through and over the ropes to take out Angle and Jericho. As the action moved back into the ring, Angle caught Mysterio with a chop block, and tagged in Jericho, allowing "Y2J" to get some revenge for the nights earlier events. Angle and Jericho showed great tag team wrestling, splitting the ring in half and preventing Rey from getting the tag, as well as frequently tagging each other in and out to let the fresh man in, but the heart of Rey would prove to be too much as he fought back and tagged in Eddie, who came in with a dropkick to Angle and Three Amigos for Jericho. Eddie then jumped over the ropes and came back over with a Hilo on the Intercontinental Champion and went for the cover, but Jericho was able to get the kick out. Eddie then carried on his offence, ducking Angle's clothesline attempt, tripping him up and causing him to land face first on the mat before tagging in Mysterio who connected with a splash to the back of Angle. Rey got up, and almost got hit with a shot from Jericho, but he ducked it, and instead, the referee was taken down, and Rey and Jericho took their brawl to the outside, leaving Guerrero and Angle in the ring. Rey grabbed a steel chair from the outside and slid it in to Eddie, who looked at Angle, and then at the chair, before laying down and placing it on his own chest, making it look like Angle had attacked him with the chair. Angle got up at the same time as the referee, who looked at Angle and then saw the chair, and thinking that Kurt had used the chair, disqualified him and Jericho and rewarded it to Guerrero and Mysterio. The winners rolled to the outside, as an angry Angle and Jericho looked on, arguing amongst themselves.
Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero def Chris Jericho and Kurt Angle

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© 2002, World Wrestling Entertainment.

[King Of Spice]

June 23, 2002 | Nationwide Arena, Columbus, OH


WWE Championship
Edge vs The Undertaker (c)