Heat Report for 6/2/2002.

Matches taped on 5/27 in Edmonton, Alberta.

Your Announcers are Jonathan Coachman and Jacqueline.

Pyros explode and Coach welcomes us in solo-Jacqueline’s music hits, and she joins him at ringside. No word on if she’s going to be the permanent replacement for Raven, who abruptly quit his job on color commentary last week. Into the ring…

1^st Match: Matt Hardy vs. Justin Credible.

Big pop for Matt, crowd hates Justin. Lockup, Justin goes for a waistlock, Matt evades. They go to opposite corners, circle, another lockup, Justin forces Matt to corner. Standing switch, Justin into corner, he scores a forearm to Matt’s face. Justin goes for the taunt, Matt scores a knockdown punch. Up, Matt wrings the arm, Justin punches out, shoots Matt off ropes, misses a clothesline, Matt off ropes again, scores with a short-arm clothesline, Justin down. Up, Matt scores shoulder to gut, Justin down again, Matt lays in mounted punches. Justin to corner, Matt tries for whip, reversed, Matt to opposite corner. Justin charges, Matt gets the elbow up, Justin staggered. Matt tries for the Side Effect, Justin elbows out. Matt charges, Justin scores drop toe hold, Matt goes through ropes and out of ring. Matt up on apron, Justin lays in forearms, Matt gets hung up on ropes. Justin to 2^nd turnbuckle, connects with guillotine legdrop, Matt down for 2. Matt to corner, Justin lays in chop, kicks to gut, Matt down, Justin goes for boot-choke, gets warned off by ref. Justin scores his trademark sit-down corner powerbomb, just gets 2. Justin applies a side headlock, Matt gets to feet, elbows out. Justin goes for hair-pull slam, Matt counters with series of punches. Justin gets in knee to gut, tries for DDT, Matt counters with a Northern Lights suplex. Both men down for 5, they exchange punches, Matt comes out on top, whips Justin off ropes, scores with a back elbow, Justin down. Matt drops a punch, Justin up quickly, Matt tries for whip, reversed, Matt into corner, Justin goes for dropkick as he bounces out, Matt holds ropes, Justin up and down. Matt slingshots Justin into turnbuckles, scores a powerslam as he bounces out. Matt to 2^nd turnbuckle, sets for legdrop, Justin up, Matt checks his move, lands on feet. Matt ducks a clothesline, scores Side Effect, just gets 2! Go Justin! Up, Matt scores boot to gut, sets for Twist of Fate, Justin rams him into turnbuckles. Justin brings Matt out, ref into corner, Justin attempts to whip Matt into him, Matt puts on brakes. He turns, Justin connects with Superkick (or ‘X Marks the Spot’ for the legion of X-Factor fans out there), Matt down for 2. Justin getting frustrated, he brings Matt up, sets him on top turnbuckle, ascends 2^nd turnbuckle, sets for superplex. Matt punches him off, Justin to canvas, Matt goes up top, scores with flying elbow.

(Commentary: Coach-“a la Shawn Michaels!” Excuse me, what about Randy ‘F-ING’ Savage???)

Up, Justin staggers into boot to gut, Twist of Fate, Matt covers, gets the 1-2-3.

Winner: Matt Hardy.

(Commentary: Anybody remember the last time Justin won a match? Call me a cynic, but I’m starting to think this stuff is rigged.)

Jackie seemed very skittish on commentary-first time nerves, I guess. Break.

Snap of the Night; The Undertaker forces Tommy Dreamer to drink the contents of his tobacco spit cup, then beats him up last week on Raw.

Back to work…

2^nd Match: Raven vs. Shawn Stasiak.

Mixed responses for both-our announcers have some uncharitable comments toward our (HIGHLY MISSED) former commentator. Lockup, Shawn works a top wristlock, then tosses Raven into corner. Up, they circle, face off, Raven shoves Shawn to little effect, Shawn responds with a forearm, Raven to mat. Raven to corner, Shawn makes goofy faces as he stares at the ceiling, they again circle, Raven scores boot to gut. Shawn to corner, Raven lays in chops, tries for whip, Shawn puts on brakes, applies Full Nelson, slams Raven down for 2. Shawn slingshots Raven into corner, lays in punches, Raven down, Shawn lays in boots, gets warned off by ref. Raven up, Shawn whips him to opposite corner, charges, Raven sidesteps, Shawn into turnbuckles. Raven goes to 2^nd turnbuckle behind Shawn, sets his knee on back of neck, falls, Shawn goes face-first to mat, Raven covers for 2. Raven applies arm wringer, follows up with armdrag takedown, goes off ropes, low dropkick to face is good for 2. Raven tosses Shawn through ropes to the outside, joins him, scores his trademark leg-sweep into guard rail. Raven rolls Shawn in, follows, whips him into corner, goes off ropes, scores clothesline as Shawn bounces out. Raven to corner, Shawn up slowly, Raven scores kneelift, Shawn down for 2. Up, Raven goes for whip, reversed, Raven off ropes into a sleeper. Raven gets out with reverse jawbreaker, both men down. Up, Shawn scores pair of punches, Raven off ropes, Shawn scores flying reverse elbow. Shawn whips Raven off ropes, gets in another reverse elbow, brings Raven up, scores ribbreaker. Raven down, Shawn pauses to rant at ceiling, comes to senses as Raven gets to feet, scores boot to gut, gutwrench slam gets 2. Shawn sets Raven in corner, scores punch, whips him to opposite corner, charges, Raven gets both boots up, Shawn staggered. Raven charges, Shawn turns, leapfrogs, Raven into opposite corner, Shawn scores a quick roll-up for 2. Up, Raven takes a clothesline, down for another 2. Up, Shawn attempts another whip, Raven puts on brakes, scores boot to gut, Raven Effect DDT is good for the 1-2-3.

Winner: Raven

We see the final moments of last weeks Tough Enough 2 finale. The winners were both female, Linda and Jackie. Break.

WWE Rewind: ‘Taker defeats Randy Orton to retain his Undisputed Championship last week on Smackown. ‘Taker went for the traditional post-match beatdown, save made by HHH, who reminded the Dead Man he wants his shot at the belt.

More Smackdown recap. Later in the show, Hunter was engaged in a match with Test-‘Takers interference cost him the match. ‘Taker then scored a chokeslam, followed by a series of chair shots in and out of the ring. Break.

Back to the ring…

3^rd match: For the Hardcore title: Crash Holly vs. champ Steven Richards.

Crowd hates Steven, Crash gets nice pop by default. Lockup, Steven scores a quick knee to gut, forearm to back, chop, Crash to ropes. Steven gets in quick choke/taunt, whips Crash off ropes, tries dropkick, Crash holds ropes, Steven up and down. Crash scores clothesline, Steven down, Crash off ropes, Steven up, Crash hurricanranas Steven through ropes and out of ring. Crash to apron, hits a flying crossbody on Steven outside, just gets 2. They brawl, Crash slams Stevens head into guard barrier, starts tossing in plunder as he recovers. Steven attacks from behind with a forearm, then hotshots Crash into 2^nd rope. Steven rolls Crash in, drops the elbow, clears the ring of plunder while Crash is down. Steven lays in a headlock as Crash is in seated position, Crash to feet, elbows out, goes off ropes, ducks a clothesline, off again, gets single-leg takedown into a roll-up, Steven down for 2. Up, Crash goes for headscissors, Steven counters with powerbomb, good for 2. Steven goes outside, gets trash can lid, gets in shot to Crash’s head as he’s rising, sends him back down. Steven brings Crash up for another lid shot, Crash down again, this time for a 2-count. Steven brings Crash up, scores suplex, Crash down yet again. Steven gets the lid, ascends 2^nd turnbuckle, flies, Crash gets the boot up, Steven takes lid to face, goes down. Both men up, exchange of forearms, Crash goes for whip, Steven off ropes, Crash elbows him down. Crash sends Steven to mat with dropkick/powerslam combo, gets the lid, Steven up, takes lid shot to top of head, goes down for 2. Crash brings Steven up, whips him into corner, charges, Steven gets an elbow up, Crash staggered. Steven to top turnbuckle with his back to Crash (Why?), Crash shoves him down, Steven crotched up top, then gets caught in tree of woe. Crash goes outside for more plunder, ref helps Steven out of ropes, Crash re-enters with trash can, StevenKick into can sends Crash down, Steven covers, gets the 1-2-3.

Winner and still Hardcore Champion: Steven Richards.

Shockingly, no one attacks Steven as he makes his exit. Break.

We come back to footage from last weeks Raw main event-Rob Van Dam challenging Eddy Guerrero for the Intercontinental Championship. Rob got the win in what was probably the non-PPV match of the year. Post-match, Eddy got in some ladder shots-save made by Stone Cold Steve Austin. Ric Flair and Arn Anderson came to Eddy’s aid to little effect. Austin cleaned house, and was joined in the ring by Chris Benoit, who was seated at ringside.

(Commentary: Chris made his return to WWE during the shows opening segment and appeared to be starting up a feud with Eddy.)

Chris then laid out Austin, setting him up for Eddy’s frog splash, much to Flair and Arn’s approval. Break

Time for our main event….

4^th match: X-Pac vs. D’lo Brown. X-Pac is still wearing Kane’s mask, and is accompanied to the ring by fellow n.W.o. member The Big Show.

Crowd has the usual response for X-Pac (pure hate), decent pop for D’lo. X-Pac bounces around, they lock up, X-Pac scores first with an armdrag takedown. D’lo catches breath in corner, X-Pac is hot to go, they circle, another lockup, X-Pac applies side headlock, switches to hammerlock for a split second, decides single leg takedown is the way to go, D’lo down, X-Pac spins around on is back, lays in slaps to back of head.

(Commentary: X-Pac may want to consider decaf.)

X-Pac walks over D’lo’s back, goes to 2^nd turnbuckle, pauses to bask in crowds adoration. Yah! D’lo looks as disgusted as crowd sounds, they again circle, X-Pac cinches in another headlock, D’lo gets him to ropes, breaks hold, sends X-Pac off ropes, shoulder block sends X-Pac down. D’lo off ropes, over X-Pac, D’lo off again, X-Pac up, tries for hiptoss, D’lo blocks, scores clothesline/armdrag takedown combination, lays in an armbar, X-pac punches his way out. X-Pac off ropes, D’lo scores with a back elbow, X-Pac down, D’lo scores famous legdrop, just gets 2. X-Pac to ropes, D’lo lays in punches, gets friendly warning from legendary bastion of fair play and sportsmanship referee Nick Patrick. (sorry, HAD to get in my Nick name-check). D’lo goes for whip, reversed, Show (yeah, he’s hanging around outside) holds down ropes, D’lo goes over top and out of ring. Show gets in a quick cheap shot as X-Pac bothers Nick, then tosses D’lo in. X-Pac scores chop to back of head, sets D’lo in corner, lays in pair of chops, standing switch by D’lo, he lays in chops to X-Pac in corner. D’lo goes for whip, reversed, D’lo to corner, X-Pac charges, D’lo gets a boot up. X-Pac staggered, D’lo approaches, looks like cagey ol’ X-Pac was making like Brer’ Possum, he scores a spinning kick to send D’lo down for a 2-count. X-Pac brings him up, whips D’lo into corner, tries flying headscissors, D’lo sidesteps, X-Pac into turnbuckles and down. Up, exchange of punches, D’lo takes control, whips X-Pac off ropes, scores with a dropkick, X-Pac down. D’lo brings X-pac up, sends him off ropes, swinging spinebuster gets 2. D’lo gets in punch, sends X-Pac off ropes, misses a clothesline, X-pac again off ropes, D’lo brings him up, scores what Coach refers to as ‘Sudden Impact’ (I described it as ‘Swinging Inverted Facebuster’ last week). D’lo goes to cover, he notices Show on apron, he breaks from X-Pac to hit a dropkick on Show, knocking him to ringside. D’lo goes to top turnbuckle, attempts flying crossbody on Show outside, gets caught and slammed into ring post. Show tosses D’lo in over top, X-Pac seizes opportunity, covers-just gets 2. X-Pac brings D’lo to corner, goes for boot-choke, Nick warns him off, X-Pac skips around like a lil’ girl, goes for Bronco Buster, D’lo gets a boot up, X-Pac down. D’lo goes up top, X-Pac up slowly, D’lo flies STRAIGHT into X-Factor, X-Pac gets the easy 1-2-3.

Winner: X-Pac.

Post-match, Show entered the ring and chokeslammed D’Lo. Bradshaw then did a run-in and cleaned house, getting the pop of the night for hitting X-Pac with the Clothesline from Hell.

Coach and Jacqueline hype tomorrow nights Raw to end the show.

Matches were decent this week, Matt and Justin started things off hot but things were pretty static after. On Jacqueline-man, I hate to be negative, but when Coach has to carry you, that’s a bad sign. Suggestion for permanent replacement for Raven-‘Above Average’ Mike Sanders. His mic work helped make watching the last days of (the real) WCW less painful, and I’m pretty sure he’s still signed to the developmental territories. I think he could step into the ‘heel’ commentator role that Raven has regrettably ditched very nicely.

Please send any feedback to john.f.keane@worldnet.att.net.