Wrestlemania XVIII 2002

The Rumble is here.

Wrestlemania XVIII 2002 Toronto
(Dark: Brock Lesnar d. Haas/Benjamin)

Vince appears on the Titan Tron. Hi, Vince!

Vince appears to be in some type of convalescent home, presumably there since his attack by PAUL and Kane one year previous. Vince is no longer in the rags, now is in institutional garb, and in a very soft spoken fashion welcomes the great fans of Canada, where the WWF has always been so warmly received, to the Legends Come Home Wrestlemania.

He has an announcement: beginning tomorrow night, with the Number One Contender's Battle Royal, the WWF will no longer be run by the McMahon Family.

Vince realizes that he's no longer in any position to make business decisions, and he's been a mere figurehead for several years. He always hoped that one day, his children might take over, but after the episode with Skip, he realizes what he should have known all along...

The people best positioned to make the decisions that impact the WWF are the wrestlers.

So, tomorrow night on RAW from Montreal, the WWF will be placed in the hands of a trust, a 3 man TitanTrust, made up of 3 retired wrestling legends - and they will now be in charge. So, great fans, I say goodbye.

And the TitanTron goes dark - a bombshell dropped by Vince McMahon, a 3 man TitanTrust to be introduced at RAW tomorrow.

But it's tonight - and tonight - JR and Paul E are on the announce (it's JR's 29th PPV which ties him with Gorilla for most all time, that's referenced at some point) and the Legends Come Home Mania is coming at you from Toronto!

1. Edge/Christian (w/Trish) d. Razor/HHH (w/Diesel)
- This is interesting – the vets are the absolute face team – but the crowd’s gonna cheer E and C – they’re local, and with all the Hart/Clique stuff we’ve done over the years – a Toronto crowd is primed to attack these vets. The way to do this is have E and C cut an anti Toronto promo – but I’m not gonna do that – let the people cheer for whom they want to cheer.

-Razor can’t do anything in 2002 and HHH can’t do a lot – but the combustible nature of the match with the return of Razor/Diesel, and hopefully, the willingness of E and C to take all the bumps and just sell like crazy – will make a good match.

Razor's gotta be the one who eats this, he takes a Chick Kick, a spear, and then a Crusader for the fall. E and C go over the veterans, and now ready for the postmatch beatdown.

So, with Diesel and Razor both down – E and C set up the Con Chair To on HHH --- they're gonna wipe Hunter out one_last_time.

Lights out.

Pause.

Lights on…..

Michaels.

Crowd, you know – acts as they will – Shawn Michaels has returned to the WWF after 4 years.

Michaels superkicks E, C, and Trish for good measure - Razor, Diesel, and Hunter revive and all hit their finishers, leaving the Canadians laid out in the ring.

Michaels, Razor, Diesel, Hunter each go to the buckles – make the sign of the Clique – the four men then pose in the ring, I don't know if they're cheered or booed out of the building, but it's fucking loud, it's the reunited Clique on the buckles in Toronto at XVIII with the Canadians laid out in the ring – and Wrestlemania is underway.

2. Legend's Match: Ric Flair (w/Leviathan) d. Hulk Hogan d. Undertaker (w/DMW)
Your legend’s match. One fall to the finish. This is what they’re for – we pop like crazy for the entrances, keep it short, Flair goes over Hogan with the figure four. Wooooooooo.

Neither Hogan or Undertaker get that fifth legend's win.

After the match, Flair and Leviathan victoriously, hold up four fingers, the symbol, of course, for the Four Horsemen, in the middle of the ring. Odd.

DMW enter as Hogan lies alone - Undertaker, PAUL, Kane hitting Hogan with the Triple Chokeslam, leaving him sprawled in the ring. Undertaker is frustrated again in his attempt to win that 5th legends match.

3. Sugar Shane Helms (w/Chavo) d. Al Snow (w/Morley)
Helms and Chavo, shirtless, maybe some random scrawlings on their bodies (like dude from Memento on crystal meth) go over big, they’re The Spreekillers, remorseless, wild, out of control – they take pleasure, giggling as they leave Morley and Al laying in the middle of the ring – they taunt the fans, begging for the fans in the front row to take a shot at them – they want debris thrown at them – they revel in being bad, bad men. They scream, they run, they have no respect for anyone or anything. They’re out of control. SPREEKILLERS~ SPREEKILLERS~ SPREEKILLERS~

4. Booker T. d. DDP
This will wrap up Page. Booker, the newly turned face who fights for the money, goes over DDP clean with the Harlem Hangover. Can you dig it – sucka!

5. Submission Match: Rock d. Steve Regal (special guest referee - Brock Lesnar)
Rock finds the submission that works – the sharpshooter – and the Canadian fans pop as Regal taps. The Rock!

6. Unified Tags: TLC3: Jericho/Storm (w/Stacy) d. Hardys d. Spike/Bubba
Canadians come in the pink and black, waving the Canadian flag – Jericho’s from Toronto, the fans are aching for the hometown win – and they give it to them. They suspend all 3 companies' title belts above the ring and do the collision match. Jericho and Storm each grabbing belts – holding them high in the air while the people cheer. They injure Bubba here, take him out of the game for the summer. Jeff and Matt again have words after the match, arguing up the aisle, their frustration evident. Hugs all around for Stacy and Jericho and Storm, they wave the Canadian flags. Big Canadian pop.

Paul E leaves the announce for the Worldwide Titles match - and is replaced by Taz. JR is scared and a little freaked out - Taz tells him to relax - that he'll be surprisingly helpful.

Taz now joins the announce crew permanently. It's a 3 man booth, JR/Paul E/Taz. With Paul often times gone as he remains Van Dam's manager.

7. Worldwide Titles: ECW Rules: RVD (w/Paul E) d. Austin
Van Dam earns his WWF bona fides with the garbage match win. They let Austin get a shot in on Paul E, which gets the big fan pop – this match is similar to Austin’s win over Regal the year before, all the RVD matches are No DQ – so they fight all over the place – but Van Dam is too young, too athletic – and he takes out Austin with the frog splash. R…V…D… R....V....D......R....V.....D....

And now your main event - both men come to the ring, walking down the long white ramp, then are introduced once they get there as the fans toss the ribbons into the ring.

8. WWF/ECW Titles: Kurt Angle d. Curt Hennig
I bet they could sign Bobby to second Hennig here, I’d bet a lot on that, actually, but I won’t assume – so I won’t book it. But what you want to see is Hennig tossing the white towel over his shoulder to Heenan, who makes a surprise appearance - that would pop the Counterfactual crowd huge. Goosebumps everywhere. I also bet that if Hennig got this spot, he would have given everything he had left to make it a great match, don't you? Don't you think if Counterfactual Hennig, the longtime WWF Champ, returning for his last shot at the main event of Wrestlemania in Toronto - where 12 years before (as the clips have consistently reminded us) he beat Randy Savage in a title defense - don't you think he would step up and give you every last bit of wrestling goodness he had stored up?

I feel real comfortable about this match. Angle/Hennig.

Angle keeps, clean, he escapes the PerfectPlex, hits the Angle Slam, and gets the ankle lock submission. Angle stands unquestionably at the top of the WWF mountain, he holds the WWF and ECW title belts aloft in the ring as the show ends.

Kurt Angle debuted in the Jarrett flag angle at XV - and has still never lost a professional wrestling match. He's an unstoppable force. He's taken out how many champions? He beat Taz, Davey Boy, Benoit, Van Dam, Flair, and Hennig. Kurt Angle.

At the beginning of the Montreal RAW the next night - we meet the TitanTrust.

Arn Anderson, WWF Tag Champ, NWA US and Tag Champ
Fit Finlay, international superstar
and...in a surprise...

Dean Malenko. Former member of the Alliance. Former NWA Champion.

The three men stand in the ring, say that they hope to take the WWF to bold, fresh new places. That majority will rule, so if they disagree, that's why there are 3 of them.

Tonight, they say, is the Number One Contender's Battle Royale, the winner to go onto Summer Slam, in Long Island, to wrestle for the WWF and ECW World Heavyweight Titles.

But this is not an ordinary battle royale...

This is the Most Star Studded Battle Royal Ever. 26 of the 30 entrants have held title belts in WWF, NWA, or ECW – and 9 have been World Heavyweight Champions!

Big pop. 9 Champs in one battle royale? 26 of the 30 have held title belts? The TitanTrust rules!

9 World Heavyweight Champions, almost a third of the field, everyone wants a shot at Angle. And there will be some very familiar faces –-- plus, the TitanTrust says, they have secured the services of a mystery entrant who will come in at number 30! This is a big time free agent - one who will excite these people to their core! TitanTrust! Arn and Dean and Fit! Arn and Dean and Fit!

Angle goes to the announce. Who will face him at Summer Slam? Who? Who? Place…your… bets…


1. Y2J (w/Stacy)
World Champ number 1. Jericho was NWA Champ.
2. Edge (w/Trish)

-And we get our Hart/Clique fix in early for the Montreal fans who are digging some Canadian on Canadian Violence. Will one of these men go on to meet Angle at Summer Slam?

3. Spike
-Spike, now without Bubba, injured at Mania, remains a face and goes after both men.

4. Chavo
-Evil Chavo, the Spreekiller, goes after everyone in the ring, it’s a 4 way battle.

5. Regal
-We now face/heel this; Regal and Chavo attempt to eliminate Jericho, while Spike battles Edge. Who will win? Who will go to Summer Slam? Do you have a guess? Make a guess! I dare you. I double dare you!

6. Booker
-Further selling Booker’s face turn as the guy who fights to put food on the table, Book aids Jericho against Regal and Chavo. Spike v. Edge. 6 in the ring - 24 to go.

7. Christian
-Well, you know where he’s going.

8. Stevie
-Stevie joins his sometimes tag partner Spike – they battle E and C. Time for some eliminations. Jericho and Book get Regal (30). E and C get Spike (29)

9. HBK
-World Champ number 2. The Triple Crown winning Michaels returns to the WWF, he left four years ago, came back last night – and here he is competing for the first time – the Triple Crown Winner – Shawn Michaels! Superkick to Edge (28). Michaels and Stevie double superkick Christian (27) Hey, look at that! Michaels superkicks Stevie (26).

Big return for Michaels – as he eliminates three guys.

10. Dustin Rhodes.
-Hey, it’s the Southern Man! There are surprises! Rhodes comes in, waving the Confederate flag. Michaels goes right after him. Chavo, Jericho, Booker is now every man for himself. 5 in the ring, 20 left. Who? Who? Who?

11. Tajiri
-World Champ 3. An ECW World Champ and former holder of the Worldwide Belts. The Japanese buzzsaw goes into the Rhodes/Michaels thing – so we have two separate 3 ways. Just like college. Yeah, daddy. I gots my freak on back in college. Mmmmmm.

12. Helms
-Joins his Spreekilling partner, Chavo, again battling the faces Book and Jericho. They toss Book (25). Spreekillers!

13. Raven
-Raven comes in on Tajiri's side and joined by the heel Dustin – they all try to toss Michaels. Helms and Chavo have the numbers against Jericho. The heels are dominant in the Rumble!

14. Dreamer
-Dreamer comes in on the side of the other ECW guys – all 3 and Dustin ganging up on the legendary HBK. 4 on 1 - all 4 men close to eliminating Michaels!

15. Lance…
...but not.

-Lance doesn’t make it to the ring – he is wiped out by two mid sized guys wearing masks in the aisle – they put the wood to him, Bam, Bam, Bam – drawing Jericho’s attention – and allowing Helms and Chavo to dump him (24)! Spreekillers! Jericho gets to Storm and the masked men take off. Who were those masked me? Who? Who?

We scramble to the back – we see Arn, from the Gorilla position, yelling – we need a new 15 –

15. Jamie Noble
-We haven’t met Noble before – right now, he's as young southern babyface – he’s a terrific wrestler, sort of a pocket Benoit – they're gonna tag him with Kidman, give them matching trunks – make them a high flying babyface tag. Kidman’s a little cocky – Noble’s trailer trash – so they’re a good, weird mix. Consider the matches between them and Chavo/Helms – the SpreeKillers as driving the summer. Eventually, Noble will adopt the nicknames Mother Trucker, as in Jamie MotherTrucker Noble, and the Redneck Messiah. But right now, Noble’s attacked by Chavo and Helms as he enters.

16. HHH
-Babyface HHH comes in to save Michaels – sure, HHH pedigreed Michaels out of the company the last time we saw them – but it’s been 4 years, all is forgiven, and after their triumph last night, the Clique is reunited. HHH dumps Dustin (23).

17. Kidman
-And we have that 2 on 2. HHH and Michaels are down 2-3 to the ECW contingent of Raven, Dreamer, and Tajiri.

18. Diesel.
-Nash’s first appearance in the WWF ring in 6 years – and he gets, oddly enough, the Nash spot. Jacknife to Noble (22) Jacknife to Kidman (21). Big Boot to Helms (20). Big Boot to Chavo (19). Big Daddy Cool!

19. Razor
-Take…a look…at the Bad Guy….

I want ECW guys on one side of the ring…Clique on the other side…let the moment build…let them jaw back and forth –-- Razor tosses a toothpick at Raven – and it’s on.

Razor’s Edge to Raven (18). Pedigree to Dreamer (17). Superkick and a Jacknife to Tajiri (16). Big pop as the Clique clears the ring and each man stands on a turnbuckle!

Good God! The four man Clique is all alone in the ring! But there are still, Taz notes, 6 World Heavyweight Champions left!

20. Matt
-Matt takes a deep breath outside the ring – he’s got incredible odds against him – then he runs in the ring…and is immediately thrown out (15). The Clique again goes to all four buckles – making the handsign in the air. The Clique is Back! Matt's frustration is evident.

21. Jeff
-Same spot. (14) Wow. Matt and Jeff again have words.

This time, the Clique teases that it’s gonna go down afterward – they do a four man nose to nose to pop the crowd – then they say nah – and each goes to rest in a corner – leaning back against the buckles. Nash mimes having a smoke. The Clique! The Clique! The Clique!

22. Hogan
World Champ 4.
-See how this works? Hulk Hogan gets the old guy pop – he warily circles on the outside, taking his time, uncertain – but he then charges in…and is tossed right out…(13). The Clique! They are using their numbers! Their plan is to be Final Four! Who will possibly stop the Clique! Every man who comes in gets tossed out - he can't compete against the numbers! The crafty Clique, as have they so many times before, have taken over the WWF!

23. Austin.
World Champ 5
-Good God! Triple Crown Winner Steve Austin – and he doesn’t hesitate – the crowd pops as the Rattlesnake goes right after the Clique – he gets shots in on all four guys – Austin brawling with all four guys, Austin gets a heat segment on all four guys, blasting them all down - Steve Austin with rights and lefts, Stone Cold! Stone Cold! Stone Cold!

And Austin's hit by a spinkick from a running in Waltman.

Oh my god - Sean Waltman, in streetclothes, he doesn't work here - he's not in this Battle Royale - he runs in, kicks Austin..

and Austin is leveled over the top with a Michaels superkick and a Helmsley clothesline (12). The Clique eliminates Austin! All five members of the Clique - Michaels, Razor, Diesel, Hunter, and the Kid - standing in the ring - celebrating - Waltman chopping his crotch in Angle's direction - the Clique!

That wraps Austin for the year – he quits the company.

24. Brock Lesnar
-Yeah, daddy – I am going somewhere with this Clique stuff.

I’ll do the Brock character sketch later – right now, you know he’s an athletic freak, he’s a hothead – he’s Angle’s protégée – and he’s making his debut right here, right now – against the entire Clique. This is Brock Lesnar's first match after Camp Angle.

The Clique attacks – Brock beats them all back – they attack again – he beats them all back – now they come one at a time – Waltman throws a kick, which Brock catches and press slams him over the top. Razor misses a clothesline – Brock knocks him to the outside with a running elbow shot (11). That wraps Razor up. Nash tries the big boot – Brock grabs him for the exploder suplex and hurls him over the top rope. Diesel blows out his quad (which is what happened to Nash in his first match back on Raw after Mania) and is gone for the year (10). With the crowd shocked – and Angle standing up and cheering for him like a 12 year old boy, Angle just freaking out, hopefully, the crowd freaking out – Brock hits the F5 on HHH and dumps him over the top (9). Brock Lesnar has just taken the Clique apart – and he now stands nose to nose with Shawn Michaels! Only two men left in the ring - Brock Freaking Lesnar and Shawn Michaels!

That's how you debut a guy.

25. RVD (w/ Paul E.)
-World Champ 6. The Worldwide Champ is in, posing, pointing his thumbs at himself – taking the mixed pop – and it’s a 3 way.

26. Hennig
World Champ 7
-Former WWF Champion Perfect hits the ring – and Brock goes right after him, recall their thing on Angle’s show. RVD/HBK is the other battle – and it’s a spirited one. Angle is trying to get Brock to keep moving – he’s left the announce and he’s playing trainer now by the ring – trying to get Brock not to let the veteran Hennig tie him up near the ropes. Angle yelling at Brock to get away from the ropes. 4 men in the ring - 4 men left - 2 World Heavyweight Champs left - who will go to Summer Slam???

27. Undertaker
-Dead Man comes in clubbing everyone. Club. Club. Club. Club.

28. The Rock
-Rock gets shots in at Van Dam and Michaels. Rock and Undertaker reprise their legend’s feud from XVII with a brawl. Angle is screaming now at Brock to stay away from the ropes.

29. Flair (w/Leviathan)
World Champ 8
-Woooooo. The Nature Boy comes into get some shots at Michaels and Van Dam – then shots at Rock and the Undertaker for a Legends 3 way. Flair occupies the Undertaker enough that Rock can slip away – and seeing the position of Brock and Hennig – he takes advantage and helps Curt dump Brock (8)!! Lesnar is furious and hops back on the apron (which he can do – 295 pound man can leap from a standing position to the apron) and grabs Rock by the neck and pulls him over (7) Angle comes in to separate the two – as Rock is now furious that Brock would have eliminated him – and the three men work to the back.

We still have Van Dam/Michaels. We still have Undertaker/Flair – we now have Hennig waiting for the mystery entrant at number 30…

30. Rey Mysterio
World Champ 9. Your big surprise.
-It’s the last ever NWA champ – and he’s wearing the belt. Rey comes in with the flying head scissors to eliminate Mr. Perfect (6) and that’s the last we’ll see of Curt. Undertaker grabs Rey for the chokeslam – but Flair catches him with the low blow – and Flair and Rey dump the Dead Man over the top (5), a split second later – Michaels catches Van Dam with the superkick, knocking him over the top rope (4) – and there are 3 remaining. Rey. Flair. Michaels. Who? Who? Who?

Michaels and Flair go nose to nose – chopping at each other – Rey comes flying off the top rope – Michaels and Flair catch him together – and try to dump him over – but Rey headscissors Flair up and over the top…(3)

Michaels and Rey take a breather – and stalk each other warily. It’s the legendary Shawn Michaels – the Triple Crown winner, making his return to the WWF – it’s Rey Mysterio, Jr., the NWA Champion, arguably the greatest luchadore who ever lived, who is going to Summer Slam!!! Who? Who? Who?

It’s Mysterio – he head scissors Michaels over – Michaels skins the cat – not eliminated – and then Rey dropkicks him right back over. Rey Mysterio Jr is going to Summer Slam!

As I said, that's how you debut a guy.

3 things happen between here and Summer Slam. Lou Thesz dies, and given the importance of the NWA title to Summer Slam, there is a significant tribute package to him, clips and interviews.

Davey Boy Smith dies, and that's even more important in this context, he's a former WWF Champ, a multitime tag champ, an orginal member of the Hart Foundation, they do a ten bell salute on RAW, and end the show by showing his title win over Perfect.

And, in the real world, the company changes its name. Fortunately, in the Counterfactual, Vince was smart enough to make a good deal with the World Wildlife Fund years ago, as mentioned.  In fact, Vince's good work will eventually lead to his being named chairman of that WWF.  But not yet. 

Okay, so Summer Slam is coming from Long Island.

They've set up some things in the battle royal. HHH/Dustin as an undercard singles. They feuded years before when Hunter was young heel Cliquester and Dustin was Goldust. Now, they've switched and Helmsley’s babyface push continues, Dustin will do the full Southern Man gimmick.

We’re gonna get some legends – Flair will meet the Undertaker, the Dead Man wanting revenge for Mania. Flair, with Leviathan at his side, constantly talk Horsemen – and since we have tape library access, the WWF fans will become acquainted with the Four Horsemen. Flair will tell the fans to forget the Harts…forget the Clique…forget the Alliance…the only wrestling stable that has ever mattered in this business is the By God, Kiss Stealing, Wheeling Dealing, Limousine Riding, Jet Plane Flying – Four Horsemen --- and whether you like it or whether you don’t like it – you’ve got to learn to love it – because with Flair (and he holds up 1 finger) and Leviathan (and he holds up 2 fingers) and two men coming soon….it’s about to be the best thing going today.

We'll get DMW v. Flair/Leviathan stuff to get us ready for the first ever meeting between Flair and the Dead Man. Least, I think it’s the first ever meeting – I may have done Flair/Undertaker on TV during his first run. I don’t remember.

Our big, big, big undercard singles match is Brock/Rock.

Okay, here’s who Brock Lesnar is – He’s a frat guy, a musclehead, he’s a locker room guy – he enjoys snapping towels, taping guys butt cheeks together. He’s 14 years old. We only know parts of that right now, we’ve seen him on the reality show, so we know he’s immature, hot tempered, but he’s still a babyface – largely because of Angle, who is our Bruno, completely above reproach. Angle is devoted to molding the young guys, and in Brock, he sees the opportunity to one day move from being a great wrestler to a great trainer (and perhaps, Angle knows, even though we don’t yet, that his body is giving out on him, and he won’t get a long career) so Angle is completely, completely blind to all of Brock’s shortcomings as a guy – and Brock’s not evil, yet, just juvenile and right now he’s still a face – so it’s not like we’re playing the Angle is an idiot card. Not yet.

But you can see how this will progress. And with Rock being the Rock, it's natural that fans will boo Lesnar - and Angle won't understand that or appreciate that even a tiny bit.

We’ve got lots of good tag teams, and over the summer, we’ll be using them, Hardys and E and C, The Spree Killers and Noble/Kidman, Spike/Stevie and Raven/Dreamer. Add in DMW and Michaels/HHH and Morley/Snow. Lots of tags. Tag matches just fill TV, just spill out everywhere. The TitanTrust loves the stags.

And all of them (except for the Spree Killers) will at one point, get attacked by the guys in the masks who took out Lance at the battle royal. Those guys in the masks will also punk out Jericho and Storm again, really lay them out – leading to a furious Jericho challenging them to meet the Hart Foundation 2K at Summer Slam, if they have the guts to actually wrestle a real match.

The TitanTrust debates - can you have two guys in masks (let's make them red, white, and blue masks) wrestle Jericho and Storm for the straps at Summer Slam? They debate...Arn saying yes....Fit saying no....Dean undecided, coming back the next week, he's about to give his decision in the ring, Jericho and Storm enter - Jericho says he and Dean have gone round and round, in the NWA, in the WWF - but dammit, the tag champs want this match -

---Dean says he was prepared to rule against it - there are so many good tag teams in the WWF that it would seem insulting - but he knows about wanting revenge - and the Hart Foundation deserves that revenge - so he is granting the request - and the match is made.

Dean~ TitanTrust!

And at the bottom, we’ll get E and C against Stevie and Spike.

The IC is Van Dam defending against HBK. Which, you know, you gotsta love.

Michaels is not the same guy, he’s a veteran now, miles on the tread – and this contrast with the younger Van Dam, who we’ll sell as the new cocky high flyer, perhaps the new HBK, works for us. And since Paul E talks for him – Van Dam doesn’t have to cut intense promos. Paul E can promo on Michaels, he’s a has been, he’s washed up, he used to be the icon, the showstopper, the main event – he used to be the Heart Break Kid – now he’s just an old man, coming back to try to steal the spotlight – but the ladder match was 8 and a half years ago – this is 2002 – and at Summer Slam in Long Island – the fans might start the match chanting H…B…K….but by the end – 18,000 people will be chanting R…V…D….

Michaels will accept the love of the fans – and we’ll show enough Michaels stuff that they will love him – but he says Paul E isn’t entirely wrong – he isn’t the same guy he was four years ago. When he was a kid winning the Triple Crown – he was the cockiest guy in the locker room – the Clique wasn’t a gimmick, the Clique was him 24/7. When he got hurt, when he blew out his back against the Undertaker, when he had to submit to Owen at Mania, when his best friend HHH kicked him out of the Clique during his retirement show – he couldn’t be HBK anymore.

So, he went home, went home to San Antonio – and he decided it was time to give back, he started a small wrestling school, the Texas Wrestling Academy, and he trained some of the greatest kids you’d ever want to meet – nice kids – hard working – talented and hungry. He hopes that the TitanTrust will sign a couple of them up at some point, as he thinks his trainees might be his real legacy to leave the WWF. And seeing how much they wanted it – seeing how badly they wanted to one day just get a match in the WWF – that rekindled his love of the business. So he trained, he got in shape – and when he goes to Summer Slam to face RVD for the Worldwide Titles – Paul E is right – he won’t be the same old HBK ---

He might just be better.

Van Dam/Michaels. Worldwide Straps.

And of course, we have Angle/Mysterio, not just for the WWF and ECW – but the NWA title as well. And for the first time in history, someone will be the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the World.

Angle’s Angle. Rey is little and masked – and we can use Rey to teach the WWF fans about lucha.

But the main interest is the unification aspect. I want a highlight package of WWF, NWA, and ECW Champions – still photos of the guys before TV – and then TV clips from the 50s on.

The point is – none of those men were Undisputed Champion.

But – at Summer Slam – someone is walking out of that ring with all 3 World Title Belts – and he will be acknowledged as the greatest wrestler alive. The Undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the World.

You know you love you some Counterfactual. Tell your friends. It's free. The Angle/Mysterio Unification, HBK returns to the WWF to take on RVD, the Mystery Team against Jericho and Storm, Brock’s debut against the Rock, Flair v. Undertaker, add in HHH/Dustin and E and C against Spike and Stevie – how can you possibly pass up Summer Slam 2002?? Call your cable company today!!