| Rebellion | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 DVD cover featuringBrock Lesnar | |||
| Promotion | World Wrestling Entertainment | ||
| Brand | SmackDown! | ||
| Date | October 26, 2002 | ||
| City | Manchester, England | ||
| Venue | Manchester Evening News Arena | ||
| Attendance | 13,416[1] | ||
| Pay-per-view chronology | |||
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| Rebellion chronology | |||
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| WWE in Europe chronology | |||
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The 2002Rebellion was the fourth annual and finalRebellionprofessional wrestlingpay-per-view (PPV)event produced by the Americanpromotion,World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was held exclusively for wrestlers from the promotion'sSmackDown!brand division, which made it WWE's first-ever SmackDown!-exclusive PPV. The event took place on October 26, 2002, at theManchester Arena inManchester, England and was broadcast exclusively in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. It was the first Rebellion held under the WWE name, after the promotion had been renamed from World Wrestling Federation (WWF) to WWE in May earlier that year. Rebellion was discontinued after this event due to the promotion's discontinuation of UK-exclusive PPVs in 2003.
Rebellion was an annualUnited Kingdom-exclusivepay-per-view (PPV) produced by the Americanprofessional wrestling promotion,World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), since 1999. The 2002 event was the fourth event in the Rebellion chronology. It was scheduled to be held on October 26, 2002, at theManchester Arena inManchester, England.[1] It was also the first Rebellion produced under the WWE name, as the company was renamed from World Wrestling Federation (WWF) to WWE in May earlier that year.[2] It was also the first Rebellion produced under thebrand extension that was introduced in March, which divided the roster into two separate brands,Raw andSmackDown!, where wrestlers were exclusively assigned to perform.[3] The 2002 event was in turn held exclusively for wrestlers from the SmackDown! brand, which was the promotion's first SmackDown!-exclusive PPV produced.[1]
The event featured nineprofessional wrestling matches and two pre-show matches that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds andstorylines, where wrestlers portrayedvillains,heroes, orless distinguishable characters in the scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches, with results predetermined by WWE's writers on the SmackDown! brand. Storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television showSmackDown!.[4]
| Role: | Name: |
|---|---|
| Commentators | Michael Cole |
| Tazz | |
| Interviewer | Mark Lloyd |
| Ring announcer | Tony Chimel |
| Referees | Mike Chioda |
| Mike Sparks | |
| Brian Hebner | |
| Jim Korderas |
Prior to the start of the pay-per-view,Bill DeMott defeatedShannon Moore in adark match.[6]
The first match of the pay-per-view was scheduled to beThe Undertaker facingMatt Hardy. However, SmackDown!General ManagerStephanie McMahon came out and revealed that The Undertaker was not at the event since his wife was expecting a baby. Stephanie then revealed that, as part of a trade to acquireBig Show,Raw'sBooker T would substitute for The Undertaker for one night only. The match ended when Hardy went for theTwist of Fate, but Booker T reversed it and hit thescissors kick for the win. Following the match, Booker T performed the Spinaroonie before leaving the ring.[5][7]
The next match was amixed tag team match which sawJohn Cena andDawn Marie faceBilly Kidman andTorrie Wilson. After Cena hit Wilson with abodyslam, Wilson responded by executing alow blow on Cena. Kidman performed theShooting Star Press on Cena for the win.[5][7]
The third match was betweenFunaki andCrash. When Crash went for theOklahoma roll, Funaki blocked it and performed aroll-up to win the match.[5][7]
Next was an eliminationtriple threat match for theWWE Cruiserweight Championship betweenJamie Noble,Rey Mysterio andTajiri. Noble first eliminated Tajiri after executing theTiger Bomb. When Mysterio went for avictory roll, Noble grabbedNidia outside the ring and pinned Mysterio to retain the title. After the match, Mysterio attacked Noble, knocking both him and Nidia down, followed by Mysterio hitting the619 on both of them.[5][7]
The next match sawReverend D-Von andRon Simmons faceChuck Palumbo andThe Big Valbowski. D-Von grabbed Palumbo's tights and performed a roll-up to win the match.[5][7]
The match that followed was aKiss My Ass match betweenRikishi andAlbert. After Albert hit an exposedturnbuckle, Rikishi executed aBanzai Drop on Albert for the win. After the match, Albert refused to kiss Rikishi's ass, resulting in thereferee threatening to suspend Albert if he did not. Albert attempted to hit Rikishi with a low blow, but Rikishi regained control and hit theStink Face on Albert. Following the match,Tazz,Michael Cole andring announcerTony Chimel rejoined Rikishi in the ring to dance.[5][7]
In the penultimate match,Chris Benoit andKurt Angle defended theWWE Tag Team Championship againstLos Guerreros (Eddie Guerrero andChavo Guerrero). The match went back and forth as Benoit and Angle both delivered a series ofsuplexes to both Guerreros. As Angle prepared to execute theOlympic slam on Eddie, Eddie slipped off his shoulder and shoved Angle into Benoit, causing an argument between the two which knocked the referee down. Eddie applied theLasso From El Paso on Angle, who countered with anankle lock before Chavo hit Angle with the championship belt for a near-fall. After Benoit threw Eddie throat first onto the top rope, Angle executed the Olympic slam on Eddie for the win.[5][7]
The main event sawBrock Lesnar defend theWWE Championship againstEdge in ahandicap match, in which Lesnar teamed withPaul Heyman. The match was evenly controlled by Lesnar and Edge, while Heyman spent most of the match in the corner of the ring. In the end, when Edge attempted to come off the top rope, Lesnar hit Edge in the midsection with asteel chair and executed anF-5 to win the match and retain the title. After the match, Heyman attacked Edge with the chair, before Edge kicked the chair into Heyman's face and hit him with theEdgecution.[5][7]
The 2002 Rebellion would be the final Rebellion event, as WWE discontinued UK-exclusive PPVs after the2003 Insurrextion PPV and the company began to broadcastRaw andSmackDown! from the UK in 2004.[1]
| No. | Results[1][6] | Stipulations | Times | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1D | Bill DeMott defeatedShannon Moore | Singles match | 8:26 | ||||
| 2 | Booker T defeatedMatt Hardy | Singles match | 12:00 | ||||
| 3 | Billy Kidman andTorrie Wilson defeatedJohn Cena andDawn Marie | Mixed tag team match | 5:22 | ||||
| 4 | Funaki defeatedCrash | Singles match | 5:36 | ||||
| 5 | Jamie Noble (c) (withNidia) defeatedRey Mysterio andTajiri | Triple threat elimination match for theWWE Cruiserweight Championship | 12:47 | ||||
| 6 | Reverend D-Von andRon Simmons defeatedChuck Palumbo andThe Big Valbowski | Tag team match | 4:06 | ||||
| 7 | Rikishi defeatedAlbert | Kiss My Ass match | 7:15 | ||||
| 8 | Chris Benoit andKurt Angle (c) defeatedLos Guerreros (Eddie andChavo) | Tag team match for theWWE Tag Team Championship | 16:35 | ||||
| 9 | Brock Lesnar (c) andPaul Heyman defeatedEdge | Handicap match for theWWE Championship | 18:50 | ||||
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