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ROYAL RUMBLE 2002
Live from Atlanta, Georgia.
By Joe O'Connor
 WWF Tag Team Championships
Spike & Tazz © Vs Dudley's with Stacey Kielber
A good match overall, Spike got knocked around for most of the match, only for Tazz to come in and clear up. The match could of done with more time and only lasted for like 5 or 6 minutes. Tazz knocked Stacy off the apron then locked in the Tazzmission on D-Von for the submission. Interesting note Tazz has new music by Cyprus Hill, sounds good. However the new music doesn't necessarily mean Tazz and Spike will keep the belts. Billy and Chuck seem a good choice for next champs.
Winners And Still Tag Team Champions: Tazz And Spike
Match Rating: **
 WWF IC Championship
Edge © Vs William Regal
This match was really exciting to watch and this surprised me. It was back and forth, as soon as one man got an advantage the other countered straight back. The backing to this match was good and it wasn't just thrown together at the last minute, their feud has lasted for months. The use of the brass knucks to gain Regal his victory cemented his role as an evil heel.
Winner And NEW IC Champion: William Regal
Match Rating: **1/2
 WWF Women's Championship
Trish Vs Jazz
Special Ref: Jacqui
Another pointless women's match, it really needs some kind of boost and this was the time to do it. If they would of given it to Jazz, the division would have had a breath of fresh air. I guess by keeping it on Trish, people stay more interested. It was an ok match however, Trish really is improving and she got the win with the Statusfaction.
Winner And Still Women's Champion: Trish Stratus
Match Rating: *
 Street Fight
Ric Flair Vs Vince McMahon
Considering Vince isn't a full time wrestler (although he certainly looks like one) and Flair is pushing north of 50, this match was excellent. The build up was top notch and the match had great psychology. The part with Flairs kids taking pictures really added to it. McMahon got the early advantage but Flair fought back, with both men busted open, Flair locked on his patented Figure Four in the centre of the ring for the submission. It was a brutal match
Winner: Ric Flair
Match Rating: ***1/2
 Undisputed WWF Championship Match
Chris Jericho © Vs The Rock
Another excellent match on an all round brilliant PPV. Jericho is the cocky heel and Rock is the fans favourite. The match moved back and forth in the ring until it spilled to the outside where Rocky put Jericho through the WWF announce table. Nick Patrick then screwed the Rock as Jericho once again cheated to gain the 1-2-3. This is a good thing for the WWF to do, as they need to cement Jericho as a top-notch star and keep the belt on a star for more than 5 minutes.
Winner And Still WWF Champion: Chris Jericho
Match Rating: ****
HBK is over at WWF New York. Jeez I really hope he come back soon, I miss him.
 Royal Rumble Match
For A Place In The Wrestlemania Main Event.
Well what a Royal Rumble match. I think this was one of the best Rumbles in a long time. Here are some of my thoughts about the match.
It was good to see Goldust, Godfather, Val and Mr.Perfect all bag in the big leagues. Goldust is a weird man and maybe the can bring back GTV for him. Val and Godfather can go back to their old ways and the addition of Perfect is well, perfect. He is a brilliant performer and should help boost locker room morale.
Well the biggest shock of the night and perhaps any Rumble match is the eliminating of the Undertaker by the young rookie Maven. This truly was an amazing moment and anyone who watched it live like myself will realise the shock of this event. And technically isn't Maven still in the Rumble as he didn't get thrown over the top rope?
There were no long survivors this year and the ring didn't seem that full at any one time. If it did get a bit packed a big name would come out and "clear house". I believe Austin lasted the longest.
The final 5 were all big name stars and I don't know if this was deliberate but it they all seemed a bit rushed. The sheer strength of Kane has too be admired, him managing to get Show over the top was awesome.
So it all came down to Angle Vs Triple H. And from there on it was obvious who would win. Triple H was always my favourite. The ending of Angle thinking he had won only for HHH to stay in has been done before but its still good to watch. I thought HHH would of finished Kurt of with the Pedigree, but the knee to face was good enough.
Well the Road to Wrestlemania starts now and it looks to be a good one with plenty of twists and turns! Will Jericho survive to Wrestlemania? Who will the big stars feud with? What now for Austin? Will Steph and HHH split? Can HHH win the big one? What will Vince do now? And what impact will the nWo have on the WWF?
Well that wraps it up for me, much longer than I thought! Anyway I will be back for No Way Out in February. Until then this is Joe O'Connor signing off.
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