'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The year of 2002 in WWE has always been a mixed opinion for WWE fans. Many look at it as being the year that WWE went down in quality, thanks to incidents like Stone Cold Steve Austin leaving WWE, The Rock focusing more on Hollywood and the inaugural brand split have an initial negative effect on TV, mostly on RAW.
However, we think it was a pretty good year. The roster was an amazing blend of superstars of the past, like Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, The Undertaker, superstars of the present, like Triple H, Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, Eddie Guerrero, Rob Van Dam, Booker T and many more, and superstars of the future, like the then newly debuted Brock Lesnar, John Cena, Randy Orton, Batista and more.
What really stood out though, was the wrestling. WWE had more than a dozen excellent matches that you could consider to be among the very best you will ever see. There were several Hell in A Cell, Cage, Ladder matches and more, like the debuting Elimination Chamber, that was jaw-dropping in excellence. It was hard to do, but here are what I believe are the top 10 best WWE matches of 2002.
#10 The Undertaker vs. Jeff Hardy - RAW, July 1
The Undertaker in a ladder match. the mere idea of it sounded strange but boy did it blow everyone's expectations. Going into this one, no one believed Jeff Hardy stood a chance, especially with the match only being made on short notice and having no build up.
Amazingly, there were so many moments during the match where you actually believed Jeff really did stand a chance. There were so many death-defying spots and Jeff really shined as what may happen if he were to go solo.
The Undertaker played his part very well and helped make Jeff look like a future megastar. Taker would Chokeslam Jeff off the ladder before taking the WWE Championship down.
We then got a truly awesome moment where Jeff took to the mic to proclaim that he was still standing. Taker hit the ring prepared to further beat him down, before raising his arm in respect.
#9 Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit - Unforgiven
Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit had a series of excellent matches in WWE in 2001, most notably their classic at WrestleMania X-7 and a Steel Cage match on RAW. Overall, I think that their battle at the 2003 Royal Rumble event was their best match, but this one from Unforgiven 2002 is a close second.
The pacing of this match was great. A lot of chain wrestling, more than a dozen submissions, a lot of counters and counters into each others' key submissions moves. We also had several suplexes from both men, probably enough to make Brock Lesnar blush. At one point, Benoit gives Angle a German and he flips over landing on his face and belly in an incredible spot.
Benoit went up top for a Diving Headbutt but Kurt quickly recovered to deliver a beautiful top rope belly to belly. The end came when Kurt applied a Crossface on Benoit, but Chris countered into a pinfall, with his feet on the ropes for leverage to get the three count.
#8 Eddie Guerrero vs. Edge - SmackDown, September 26
Edge and Eddie Guerrero had been feuding for nearly two months prior to this match, seeing pay-per-view matches at SummerSlam and Unforgiven 2002.
While these two PPV bouts delivered in the ring, they still were not the 'Match of The Year contender' that everyone knew they were capable of. And then this epic match happened. Being contested under NO DQ rules, the two future Hall of Famers tore the house down, They proved here why both were easily among the best in the world and deserved to be a WWE Champion one day, which both later did.
They fought in and out of the ring, frequently used weapons, most notably chairs and ladders and worked at a very fast and incredible pace and they beat the life of out each other. The end came as both men were on top a ladder, Eddie then balances on the top rope and Edge grabs his opponent and delivers an Edgecution DDT off the ladder and taking the win.
#7 Rob Van Dam vs. Eddie Guerrero - RAW, May 27
Rob Van Dam and WWE Intercontinental Champion Eddie Guerrero had been feuding for about two months heading into this match. Eddie had only returned to WWE after a one-year absence that April and had immediately set his eyes on RVD's IC title, which he defeated him for at Backlash.
Despite Eddie and RVD being two of the best in the world at the time, their matches at Backlash, Judgement Day and the UK's Insurrextion had been good, but not as great as they could have been. This last match of their feud made up for all that, however, as it is one of the greatest matches in the history of WWE RAW.
The match had a lot of high spots off the ladder, beautiful fast-paced action, vintage moves from each man's arsenals both with and without ladders and a thrilling conclusion. There was also one point during the match where Eddie was standing at the top of the ladder and some moronic fan jumped in the ring and pushed him off, leading Eddie to punch him out.
RVD would take the title down in the end to win his second WWE Intercontinental Championship.
#6 The Rock vs. The Undertaker vs. Kurt Angle - Vengeance
Now, this was a war!
After a mostly dismal 2001, The Undertaker was on top of his game in 2002, and this was one of his shining moments. The Rock was also at the peak of his career, while Kurt Angle was just always this damn good.
The audience was red hot for this, and rightly so. Some crazy cool moments including The Rock hitting The Undertaker with a Chokeslam, Rock uses Angle`s Anklelock until Angle reverses it until Angle hits a Rock Bottom.
Everyone is hitting their own finishers left and right with each man kicking out at every pinfall attempt. Rock pins Angle after a Rock Bottom for the three count and Taker's WWE Championship.
WWE and wrestling as a whole have had so many excellent Triple Threat matches over the years, but this one may just the best of all time.
#5 Brock Lesnar vs. The Undertaker - No Mercy
The Undertaker losing his legendary WrestleMania streak to Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 30 in 2014 might be what everyone will always remember from the matches and feud of these two, but this Hell in A Cell bloodbath will always be their finest encounter.
Where before Taker took Shawn Michaels, Mankind and Rikishi outside of the Cell for moments that made those matches truly epic, Taker and Brock stayed inside for all near 30 minutes of this often underrated stunner.
The match was just pure violence. Both men were covered in blood long before the match ended, in fact, there was so much blood that even Paul Heyman, who was outside the Cell, bled like a stuffed pig. We have a lot of use from a steel chair, several power moves, and some near fall from the Chokeslam and Last Ride.
Much like Wrestlemania 30, Brock reverses an attempted Tombstone into an F-5 for the win. Brock and Taker would go at it again n another Hell in A Cell match 13 years later in 2015, but as great as that was, it still doesn't hold a candle to this gem.
#4 TLC 4 - RAW, October 7
This is the most brutal and carnage-filled matches in the history of RAW. It was RAW Roulette in Las Vegas, and the main event was to be a Tables, Ladders and Chairs match, the 4th one in history.
Eric Bischoff decided it would be a Tag Team Championship match with defending Champions Kane and The Hurricane to hang the belts high against one-half of the three teams who made the match famous and a partner of their choice.
RAW had Bubba Ray Dudley, Jeff Hardy and Christian, while D-Von, Matt and Edge were on SmackDown. Bubb Ray chose Spike Dudley as his partner, Jeff Hardy chose Rob Van Dam and Christian chose Chris Jericho.
On his way to the ring, The Hurricane would be attacked by Triple H and Ric Flair, so Kane would have to defend the belts on his own. A big brawl started it, everyone attacked each other, before several focused on Kane.
The Big Red Machine is quickly put through a table after Jeff Hardy leapt off a high ladder. Just after, Jericho took Bubba Ray off a ladder with a bulldog, giving the Dudley a concussion.
Some more high-risk moves, RVD took Kane out with an incredible coast to coast with a chair. Jericho attempted to grab the gold but Spike pushes the ladder and Jericho took a super rough landing to the mat outside the ring. Spike then meets wood after a failed Dudley Dog. Jeff Hardy is next, Bubba leapfrogged him into a somersault through a table from inside the ring to the outside.
It looked like Jericho was about to take the gold down, before Kane reemerged and gave Jericho a Chokeslam off the ladder and took the gold down to retain.
#3 The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan - WrestleMania X8
WrestleMania X8 had a lot to live up to after WrestleMania X-7 the previous year had become the best pay-per-view in WWE history. So no, it didn't come close to being better but did deliver one of the most historic matches of all time.
The card itself wasn't bad but wasn't great either. It was saved by just one match, the first time meeting of The Rock and Hulk Hogan. It was a dream match that lived up to the hype. Hulk Hogan was the biggest name in the history of the industry by this point, while The Rock had already solidified himself as one of the greatest in history.
While it wasn't originally supposed to happen, with Hogan vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin being the original plan, Austin giving the match a pass may have disappointed some, but gave us a match that we will never forget.
Although The Rock was arguably WWE's most popular superstar at the time and one of the most popular ever, Hulk Hogan was still possibly the most popular ever and even though he returned to the WWE as a leader of the dastardly NWO, fans refused to boo him.
Hogan hadn't been seen in WWE in 9 years and he was sorely missed. He was considered the biggest name ever in the business, so despite the NWO's dirty tactics in the build-up to the match, Hulkamania was still running wild.
As far as the actual wrestling went, the match was just about good, both delivered on their vintage moves and more, but the fans that night at WrestleMania in Toronto, made it amazing. In terms of crowd reaction, emotion and drama it’s one of the better matches you will ever see as the fans just couldn't get enough of the Hulkster.
The match almost saw a double turn as The Rock was received a lot of boo's and it seemed like Hogan didn't have one doubter in sight.
This had emotion, this had drama and this had nearly 70,000 people going crazy from start to finish. Perhaps the most memorable moment was the incredible stare down at the beginning, fans lost their minds over it. Even several current and former WWE stars such as the Hardy Boyz and Shane Helms have called it their favourite WrestleMania moment.
The match went back and forth for a while with the fans on Hogan's side every step of the way. Rock kicked out of the Leg Drop and gave Hogan two Rock Bottoms and a People's Elbow to put him away. While Rock stood tall in victory, both men were winners in everyone's eyes and both left the stage together knowing they just had what may forever be the most iconic match in WWE history.
The Rock and Hulk Hogan would have a rematch at No Way Out 2003 just 11 months later, also in Canada in Montreal, which was okay at best, with a good reaction from the live audience.
#2 Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels - SummerSlam
No one ever had a better comeback match than Shawn Michaels at SummerSlam 2002. After 4 years away, with only one match wrestled during that time (outside of WWE), Shawn Michaels returned to the ring to battle his then former best friend Triple H in this stunning unsanctioned match.
The live crowd was super hot for this match as there was barely ever a moment in this near 30-minute match where they paused for a second to rest. We had a lot of back and forth action, one of the most drama filled matches in the history of WWE, a lot of weapon use leading to blood, and Michaels giving a stunning crossbody to Triple H through the table.
This was an all-out war. Michaels took the win when he reversed an attempted Pedigree into a bridging pin for the win. Not only the greatest comeback match ever but the greatest comeback ever.
#1 Kurt Angle & Chris Benoit vs. Rey Mysterio & Edge - No Mercy
This one was to crown the first ever WWE Tag team Champions of SmacDown (ironically these are the RAW titles today) Rey Mysterio was paired with Edge in an unlikely team who made it to the finals at No Mercy with another unlikely team, in then bitter rivals Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit.
The action here was simply phenomenal. Rey and Kurt started things off with a very fast pace of arm drags and takedowns. Angle and Edge had some nice mat wrestling, Kurt and Benoit both delivered a dozen suplexes each to their opponents as Edge and Rey battle back. We had an amazing spot of Edge hoisting Kurt on the top rope and would alley-oop Rey onto him into a Frankensteiner.
Some close near falls, everyone hitting their finishers and more double team moves before Angle forces Edge to tap out for the win.
An outstanding performance!
The two teams would also have an almost as excellent 2 out of 3 Falls match on SmackDown 2 weeks later, and a fantastic Triple Tag Team match at Survivor Series 2002, also involving Chavo and Eddie Guerrero.
What makes Sting special? His first AEW opponent opens up RIGHT HERE.
