Royal Rumble 2002 Fallout

Well, now that the 2002 Royal Rumble is behind us, let’s take a look at where we stand…

Triple H is the winner of this year’s Royal Rumble & appears to be headed to the main event at WrestleMania, which kinda leaves the question still unanswered as to what Stone Cold Steve Austin will be doing for WrestleMania. HHH is quickly on his way to a fifth Federation Championship and with Jericho retaining the coveted title, I’m sure we’re in for a fun ride to WrestleMania.

Other bits of interest regarding the Rumble match itself, it seems that both “Mr. Perfect” Curt Hennig and “Goldust” Dustin Runnels may be sticking around a bit longer than originally expected. WWF.com reported in two interviews with the respected superstars that they both would like to continue their stays in the WWF with Goldust stating that he still has some revenge in store for someone he has history with and Perfect stating that he will be on hand for both RAW tonite and Smackdown, tomorrow nite. I personally would like to see both of these guys back just to spice things up. Both looked good in the Rumble last nite, specifically Curt Hennig — who made it to the final four, getting eliminated by Stone Cold Steve Austin. Goldust also lasted awhile until the Undertaker made his entrance & cleared the ring.

The Hardyz were the next two (or rather 3) to enter the Rumble & combined their attack on the man who put them out for some time, the Undertaker. Lita even got involved too. There seems to be a pretty decent feud starting up between the Hardyz & the Taker, which could make for some interesting TV. But the most enjoyable segment of the Undertaker’s stay in the Rumble would have to be his elimination by Tough Enough 1 Champion, Maven. While being distracted by the Hardyz after they were eliminated, Maven delivered a beautiful dropkick to the Taker’s back to send him over the top & out.

Other news of interest….it appears that it is virtually impossible to execute a double chokeslam to the two man power trip of Triple H & Stone Cold Steve Austin. Not one, but two men tried the feat but came up short. Maybe next time, Big Show & Hurricane.

And a few little bits left that need to be mentioned about the Rumble match itself, a truely impressive elimination of the Big Show by Kane, and also Goldust finally met someone he might have something in common with….Billy Gunn. Here’s hoping they can form a new trio….Chucky, Billy & Goldust.

On to the Undisputed Title match….a good match all around with Jericho winning after interference from fellow Canadians, Lance Storm & Christian. Good stuff, especially the final roll-up with Jericho’s feet on the middle ropes for extra leverage. Old school heel stuff….not many are better than Jericho at pulling it off.

The Flair/McMahon Street Fight was good as well with Flair hitting all his spots. The Flair Flop, the flip over the turnbuckle, the crimson wig, the low blows, it was all there, complete with the figure-4 for the win. Vince McMahon was priceless too, giving Flair a backhanded chop in the corner, followed up with a WOO! Absolutely priceless, Vince!

The Intercontinental Championship match saw a new champ crowned in William Regal. Though I think the referee may have invaded Regal’s privacy a bit too much while reaching down the front of Regal’s tights in search of the brass knuck(le)s.

The Tag Team Titles match was a typical Dudleyz match, only for some strange reason, Tazz & Spike came out the victors once again. Personally, I can’t stand Tazz, Spike or even the Dudley Boyz for that matter. So this match was a complete waste for me. I really hope they do something to get the tag division moving again, because those titles are losing value by the second.

And finally, the Womens match, which Trish surprisingly won. Jackie was thrown in as a guest referee the last second, but didn’t really have much say in the outcome. Trish got this one herself by wrestling a halfway decent match with Jazz. She’ll most likely drop the Womens Title tonite in a rematch on Raw.

So where do we go from here? That’s the big question, and for the answers, I’ll be turning you over to Matt E Bonez’s fantasy booking (whenever he gets done with his first week). Will Scott Hall, Kevin Nash & Hollywood Hulk Hogan be making an appearance on tonite’s Raw? Will Goldust, Curt Hennig, Val Venis or The Godfather be back tonite? Only time will tell. So tune in for RAW, LIVE tonite from the BI-LO Center in Greenville, South Carolina at 9/8 ct. only on TNN.