| Royal Rumble | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Promotional poster featuring a silhouette ofThe Rock | |||
| Promotion | World Wrestling Federation | ||
| Date | January 20, 2002[1] | ||
| City | Atlanta,Georgia[1] | ||
| Venue | Philips Arena[1] | ||
| Attendance | 16,106[2] | ||
| Buy rate | 670,000[3] | ||
| Tagline | 30 Men, One Match, One W1nner | ||
| Pay-per-view chronology | |||
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| Royal Rumble chronology | |||
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The 2002Royal Rumble was the 15th annualRoyal Rumbleprofessional wrestlingpay-per-view (PPV)event produced by theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It took place on January 20, 2002, at thePhilips Arena inAtlanta,Georgia. It was the final Royal Rumble event produced under the WWF name, as in May, the WWF was renamed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was also the final Royal Rumble held before the introduction of the firstbrand extension in March. Six matches were contested at the event.
As has been customary since 1993, theRoyal Rumble match winner received a world championship match at that year'sWrestleMania. For the 2002 event, the winner received a match for theUndisputed WWF Championship atWrestleMania X8—this was the last Royal Rumble until2014 to feature one world championship. Themain event was the 2002 Royal Rumble match, which was won byTriple H, who last eliminatedKurt Angle. In other prominent matches,Chris Jericho defeatedThe Rock to retain the Undisputed WWF Championship,Ric Flair wrestled his first WWF match in 9 years by defeatingVince McMahon in aStreet Fight, andWilliam Regal defeatedEdge to win theWWF Intercontinental Championship.
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TheRoyal Rumble is an annualgimmickpay-per-view (PPV) produced every January by theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) since 1988. It is one of the promotion's original four pay-per-views, along withWrestleMania,SummerSlam, andSurvivor Series, which were dubbed the "Big Four",[4] and was considered one of the "Big Five" PPVs, along withKing of the Ring.[5] It is named after theRoyal Rumble match, a modifiedbattle royal in which the participants enter at timed intervals instead of all beginning in the ring at the same time. The 2002 event was the 15th event in the Royal Rumble chronology and was scheduled to be held on January 20, 2002, at thePhilips Arena inAtlanta, Georgia.[6][7]
The Royal Rumble match generally features 30 wrestlers. Traditionally, the winner of the match earns aworld championship match at that year's WrestleMania.[8][9] For 2002, the winner earned a match for theUndisputed WWF Championship atWrestleMania X8, following the unification of the WWF Championship and(WCW) World Championship as the Undisputed WWF Championship atVengeance in December 2001.[6]
The event comprised six matches that resulted from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayedheroes,villains, orless distinguishable characters in scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. Results were predetermined by WWF's writers, while storylines were produced on WWF's weekly television shows,Raw andSmackDown.[10][11]
The mainfeud was betweenChris Jericho andThe Rock for Jericho'sUndisputed WWF Championship. The feud, which had begun in October 2001 while the two were members of Team WWF during theInVasion and traded theWCW Championship between them, continued atVengeance, when Jericho defeated both The Rock and the reigning WWF ChampionStone Cold Steve Austin to unify the titles.[12][13] On the following night's episode ofRaw, Jericho successfully defended the Undisputed title over Stone Cold Steve Austin in aSteel Cage match with help fromBooker T. During the following two weeks, Jericho had successfully defended the title against the likes ofRob Van Dam,The Big Show, andKurt Angle. The Rock earned a match for the Undisputed WWF Championship at the Royal Rumble on the January 3 episode ofSmackDown! by defeating Booker T.[14] On the January 10 episode ofSmackDown!, The Rock and Rob Van Dam defeated Jericho andTest when The Rock made Jericho submit with theSharpshooter.[15]
The secondary feud was between the two WWF Co-OwnersRic Flair andVince McMahon. The feud began on the November 19 episode ofRaw, when Flair made his return to the WWF and revealed that he had boughtShane andStephanie's stock to the WWF, which now meant that he and Vince were co-owners the company. On the December 27 episode ofSmackDown!, McMahon came to the ring to share his new year's resolutions when he was interrupted by Flair. Flair reminded Vince how he had tried to hire him to come to the WWF when he was under contract with theNWA back in 1988, until Flair eventually left the NWA (which, at this point, had becomeWCW) and came to the WWF in 1991, and how he had won the1992 Royal Rumble match and becameWWF Champion. Flair also brought up his main event match with"Macho Man" Randy Savage atWrestleMania VIII. Flair then claimed that he looked through all the contracts one of which he pulled out that said "Vince McMahon - Owner/Wrestler" which meant that Flair could officially book Vince to wrestle at the Royal Rumble. McMahon then asked "who's got the balls" to step into the ring with him, before Flair punched Vince in the mouth and announced that the two of them would face each other at the Royal Rumble. The following week, Flair announced that the match would be aStreet Fight, which Vince agreed to. The next four weeks saw Flair and McMahon confronting each other in the build up to their match, including McMahon mocking Flair by putting on a blonde wig and one of Flair's trademark robes, before also assaulting Flair with a lead pipe. During a promo, McMahon stated he "loves destroying lives" and promised to destroy Flair's life at the Royal Rumble.
On the January 7 episode ofRaw, buildup towards the Royal Rumble match started, with"Stone Cold" Steve Austin declaring his entry. Later that night,Triple H officially made his return after missing nearly eight months with a quadriceps injury, and announced that he too would be entering the Royal Rumble match. He was quickly interrupted by Kurt Angle, who then announced his intentions to enter the match, which was to be his first, and mentioned his victory over Triple H at the previous year'sRoyal Rumble event, when he was the reigning WWF Champion. Triple H then performed aPedigree on Angle in retaliation.[16] During a match between Austin and Angle on the January 10 episode ofSmackDown!,Kane,The Big Show, and Triple H all interfered, leading to a huge brawl. In the end, only Triple H remained standing, untilThe Undertaker stared him down from the top of the ramp.[15] On the January 14 episode ofRaw, Triple H stated that he wants to win the Undisputed WWF Championship. Austin came out, and they fought until The Undertaker came out, and hit Triple H with a chair, allowing Austin to hit him with theStone Cold Stunner. The Undertaker then hit Austin with the chair.[17] On the January 17 episode ofSmackDown!, Austin and Triple H defeated Angle and Booker T. After the match, The Undertaker once again came out, and stared them down.[18]
The feud betweenEdge andWilliam Regal continued from Vengeance. On the December 10 episode ofRaw, Edge mocked Regal, prompting Regal to nail him from behind withbrass knuckles.[19] On the December 13 episode ofSmackDown!, William Regal and Kurt Angle faced Edge and Rikishi in a tag match. After the match, Edge hit Regal with a steel chair, before giving Regal anEdgecution onto the chair, legitimately breaking his nose.[20] On the January 7 episode ofRaw, Regal interfered after Edge's victory overLance Storm and hit him with brass knuckles.[16] Regal then challenged Edge to a match for theWWF Intercontinental Championship at the Royal Rumble, which Edge accepted.[15] On the January 14 episode ofRaw, Edge andRob Van Dam faced William Regal andTest, where Regal pinned Edge after once again using the brass knuckles.[17] On the January 17 episode ofSmackDown!, Regal defeated Rob Van Dam when he used brass knuckles behind the referee's back. Later on that night, Regal came out during Edge's match with Test, but failed to interfere when Edge nailed him and refereeNick Patrick with a chair.[18]
| Role: | Name: |
|---|---|
| Commentator | Jim Ross |
| Jerry Lawler | |
| Carlos Cabrera(Spanish) | |
| Hugo Savinovich(Spanish) | |
| Interviewer | Jonathan Coachman |
| Michael Cole | |
| Lilian Garcia | |
| WWF New York host | Shawn Michaels |
| Ring announcer | Howard Finkel |
| Referee | Mike Chioda |
| Jack Doan | |
| Brian Hebner | |
| Earl Hebner | |
| Jim Korderas | |
| Theodore Long | |
| Nick Patrick | |
| Charles Robinson | |
| Tim White |
The show opened with a tag team match betweenSpike Dudley andTazz, and theDudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley andD-Von Dudley) for theWWF Tag Team Championship. The Dudley Boyz dominated Spike in the beginning, with Bubba Ray ripping off Spike'sneck brace. Spike fought back by performing aDudley Dog, but failed to capitalize. The Dudley Boyz then double-teamed Spike while thereferee was preoccupied with Tazz. Tazz eventually came in, and both dominated.Stacy Keibler, who accompanied the Dudley Boyz to ringside, climbed on the apron, and attempted to distract Tazz. Tazz then locked in the Tazzmission until D-Von broke the hold. Spike then hit the Dudley Dog on Bubba and attempted to do the same on D-Von, but Spike was thrown out of the ring. D-Von then ran at Tazz in the corner which he dodged, before then applying theTazzmission to retain the titles.[6][7]
The second match was betweenEdge andWilliam Regal for theWWF Intercontinental Championship. Before the match, the referee foundbrass knuckles in Regal's tights, and confiscated them. The match went back and forth, until Regal knocked Edge out of the ring. Once back inside this ring, Regal applied theRegal Stretch, but Edge reached the ropes to break the hold. Edge then attempted aspear, but Regal pushed the referee in his path, incapacitating him. Regal then took out another pair of brass knuckles which he had hidden, and hit Edge with them. The referee then recovered to count the pinfall, and Regal won the title.[6][7]
The next match was betweenTrish Stratus andJazz for theWWF Women's Championship, withJacqueline as thespecial guest referee. Jazz had the early advantage, focusing on Stratus' injured hand. Jazz then confronted Jacqueline, and they shoved each other. Stratus attempted to capitalize by hitting Jazz with abulldog, but Jazz countered with aroll-up, and executed asnap DDT for a near fall. Stratus then blocked an attack in the corner, and delivered a bulldog to win the match, and retain the title.[6][7]
The fourth match was aStreet Fight betweenRic Flair andVince McMahon. Flair quickly gained the early advantage with punches andknife edge chops. McMahon then attacked him with weapons, and sent him into the ringpost and steps. McMahon then applied thefigure four leglock, but Flair reversed it. McMahon reached the ropes, and retreated outside the ring. Flair then hit McMahon with alow blow, a television monitor, and a lead pipe. Flair then forced McMahon to submit to the figure four leglock to win the match.[6][7]
The semi-main event was betweenChris Jericho andThe Rock for theUndisputed WWF Championship. The Rock quickly took control of the match and got a near-fall following asamoan drop. However, Jericho soon regained control, and removed the padding off one of the turnbuckles. Jericho then attempted theWalls of Jericho, but The Rock escaped. Jericho continued his control, until The Rock delivered asuperplex, and asnap overhead belly to belly suplex. Jericho retaliated with twoLionsaults. The Rock then countered an attemptedmissile dropkick, and applied theSharpshooter. Just then,Lance Storm andChristian distracted the referee as Jericho submitted, meaning The Rock could not win the title. As The Rock disposed of them, Jericho took advantage and executed aRock Bottom and attempted aPeople's Elbow, but The Rock avoided it and threw Jericho out of the ring. Jericho then gained back some control and tried to hit a Rock Bottom through the Spanish announce table, but The Rock countered and executed a Rock Bottom of his own through the English announce table. Back in the ring, The Rock covered Jericho for a close near-fall. Jericho then countered another attempted Rock Bottom and again applied the Walls of Jericho, but The Rock reached the ropes and rolled Jericho up for another close near-fall on the second attempt. The Rock then accidentally hit the referee, and Jericho took advantage by hitting The Rock with the WWF title belt. Jericho then signaled forNick Patrick (aheel referee) to come out and referee the match. The Rock then executed aDDT, but Patrick refused to count the pinfall. The Rock then attacked Patrick with a Rock Bottom, and executed aSpinebuster and a People's Elbow on Jericho. As The Rock tried to revive the original referee,Earl Hebner, Jericho again took advantage and hit a low blow, and sent The Rock into the exposed turnbuckle. Jericho then pinned The Rock with a roll-up using the ropes as extra leverage to retain the title.[6][7]
Themain event was theRoyal Rumble match.The Undertaker, the eighth entrant, dominated upon entering the match, and eliminated all four of the remaining participants.Matt Hardy entered next andLita, who accompanied Matt, entered the ring to help. The next entrant wasJeff Hardy, and all three attacked The Undertaker, reigniting their previous rivalry with him. The Undertaker eventually eliminated them both. The Hardys returned, however, and continued their attack, but were thrown out again. This distraction allowedMaven, the following entrant, to eliminate The Undertaker. The Undertaker returned, beat down Maven, and eliminated him. The Undertaker then assaultedScotty 2 Hotty during his entrance, and continued his attack on Maven into the crowd, and to the backstage area, including smashing his head into a popcorn machine. The match continued withChristian and Scotty 2 Hotty battling it out, and the ring began to fill with more wrestlers. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, the nineteenth entrant, dominated upon his entrance, and eliminated all three of the remaining participants. While he waited for the next entrant, he brought Christian andChuck, whom he had eliminated, back in, and beat them down with Stone Cold Stunners, before throwing them back over the top rope . Austin then eliminated the next two entrants, leaving him as the only man in the ring.Triple H then made his official in-ring return from injury at No. 22, brawling with Austin.Mr. Perfect returned as the twenty-fifth entrant to a loud ovation.The Big Show, the twenty-seventh entrant, dominated upon entering, untilKane entered next. Kane eliminated The Big Show, before Kane was also eliminated by Austin andKurt Angle, the twenty-sixth entrant.[6][7]Rob Van Dam made his Royal Rumble debut by entering the ring at No. 29, taking down nearly everyone with a variety of high-flying moves, until Triple H delivered the Pedigree to him.Booker T, also making his Royal Rumble debut, entered at No. 30, and quickly eliminated Van Dam. He then performed the "Spin-A-Roonie", and was quickly eliminated from the Rumble after receiving a Stone Cold Stunner from Austin.
The final four remaining were Austin, Triple H, Angle and Perfect. Angle executed anAngle Slam on Triple H and threeGerman suplexes on Austin. Austin then hit a low blow on Angle, but Perfect and Angle double-teamed him. Angle then eliminated Austin as he was trying to eliminate Perfect. Austin then pulled Perfect outside and attacked him, before Angle attacked Austin from behind. Back in the ring, Perfect and Angle attacked Triple H. Austin once again entered the ring and hit Perfect, Angle and Triple H with asteel chair before finally leaving. Angle then attacked Perfect with aclothesline by accident, and Perfect executed aPerfect-Plex on Angle out retaliation. Triple H then eliminated Perfect with a clothesline, leaving only Angle and Triple H as the final two. It went back and forth before Angle sent Triple H over the top rope with a back body drop, but Triple H held on. Angle thought he had won, and prematurely celebrated. Triple H took advantage, and executed afacebuster knee smash on Angle, followed by a clothesline over the top rope to win the Royal Rumble match.[6][7]
In 2011, Jack Bramma of 411Mania gave the event a rating of 7.5 [Good], writing, "Despite the super hot crowd, this is a great rumble but only a good show altogether. The Rock-Jericho match is mildly disappointing knowing what they are capable of and the Flair-Vince match is nowhere near the level of even Vince’s best garbage matches. The Edge-Regal match is a good title match but easily missable. [Not] overwhelmingly outstanding, but still a solid recommendation."[22]
Austin won a number one contender's match againstKurt Angle on the January 28 episode ofRaw to earn a match for theUndisputed WWF Championship atNo Way Out. A feud between Austin andChris Jericho started with Jericho interfering in Austin's match by attacking him with his title belt.[23]
The Undertaker continued his feud with Maven over the elimination during the Royal Rumble match, which grew to includeThe Rock after he mocked The Undertaker for his quick elimination. The Undertaker's interference led to The Rock losing to Kurt Angle in the tournament to challenge for the Undisputed championship at No Way Out.[24] On the February 4 episode ofRaw, during a tag team match, The Undertaker grabbed a steel lead pipe from his motorcycle and nailed The Rock in the head with it, allowingChris Jericho to score the pinfall win. The Rock retaliated by hitting him with a chair and helping Maven win theWWF Hardcore Championship that The Undertaker had won at Vengeance; however The Undertaker performed aTombstone Piledriver on The Rock onto the hood of a limousine in revenge.[25] A match was made between the two at No Way Out.[23]
Kurt Angle started a feud withTriple H, unhappy about how he lost the Royal Rumble match, and attacked Triple H after a confrontation.[26] During Triple H's match with Booker T, Angle interfered and attacked Triple H. Angle then had Vince McMahon make a match between the two at No Way Out for Triple H's title shot atWrestleMania X8.[27] Triple H and his on-screen wifeStephanie McMahon were having problems, so she faked a pregnancy and demanded that they renew their wedding vows. Triple H discovered the truth, and ended their marriage.[23] Stephanie McMahon then announced herself as the guest referee in the match at No Way Out.[28]
The 2002 Royal Rumble was the last Royal Rumble held under the WWF name, as in May 2002, the promotion was renamed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).[29] It was also the last Royal Rumble until2014 in which there was only one world championship for the Rumble winner to challenge for as in March 2002, the promotion introduced the firstbrand extension, which split the roster into two distinct brands,Raw andSmackDown!, where the wrestlers were exclusively assigned to perform. At first, the Undisputed Championship was available to both brands, but in September, it became exclusive to SmackDown! and renamed to WWE Championship after Raw introduced theWorld Heavyweight Championship as their top title.[30] Additionally, King of the Ring was discontinued as a PPV following its2002 event, thus the Royal Rumble, along with WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series, reverted to being called the "Big Four" until October 2021 whenMoney in the Bank was recognized as one of the "Big Five".[31]
| No. | Results[1][32] | Stipulations | Times[33] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spike Dudley andTazz (c) defeatedThe Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley andD-Von Dudley) (withStacy Keibler) bysubmission | Tag team match for theWWF Tag Team Championship | 5:06 | ||
| 2 | William Regal defeatedEdge (c) | Singles match for theWWF Intercontinental Championship | 9:45 | ||
| 3 | Trish Stratus (c) defeatedJazz | Singles match for theWWF Women's Championship withJacqueline asspecial guest referee | 3:43 | ||
| 4 | Ric Flair defeatedMr. McMahon by submission | Street Fight | 14:55 | ||
| 5 | Chris Jericho (c) defeatedThe Rock | Singles match for theUndisputed WWF Championship | 18:50 | ||
| 6 | Triple H won by last eliminatingKurt Angle | 30-manRoyal Rumble match for anUndisputed WWF Championship match atWrestleMania X8 | 1:09:23 | ||
| |||||
A new entrant came out approximately every 2 minutes.
–Winner
| Draw[34] | Entrant | Order eliminated | Eliminated by | Time[35] | Eliminations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rikishi | 6 | The Undertaker | 13:39 | 1 |
| 2 | Goldust | 4 | 12:52 | 0 | |
| 3 | Big Boss Man | 1 | Rikishi | 03:05 | 0 |
| 4 | Bradshaw | 3 | Billy | 07:17 | 0 |
| 5 | Lance Storm | 2 | Al Snow | 04:46 | 0 |
| 6 | Al Snow | 5 | The Undertaker | 05:12 | 1 |
| 7 | Billy | 7 | 03:37 | 1 | |
| 8 | The Undertaker | 10 | Maven | 07:40 | 7 |
| 9 | Matt Hardy | 9 | The Undertaker | 04:16 | 0 |
| 10 | Jeff Hardy | 8 | The Undertaker | 01:30 | 0 |
| 11 | Maven | 11 | The Undertaker[1] | 03:34 | 1 |
| 12 | Scotty 2 Hotty | 12 | Diamond Dallas Page | 02:36 | 0 |
| 13 | Christian | 16 | Stone Cold Steve Austin | 12:14 | 3 |
| 14 | Diamond Dallas Page | 13 | Christian | 05:15 | 1 |
| 15 | Chuck | 17 | Stone Cold Steve Austin | 09:04 | 2 |
| 16 | The Godfather | 15 | Chuck and Christian | 01:48 | 0 |
| 17 | Albert | 14 | Chuck and Christian | 00:48 | 0 |
| 18 | Perry Saturn | 18 | Stone Cold Steve Austin | 02:57 | 0 |
| 19 | Stone Cold Steve Austin | 27 | Kurt Angle & Mr. Perfect | 26:46 | 7 |
| 20 | Val Venis | 19 | Stone Cold Steve Austin | 02:58 | 0 |
| 21 | Test | 20 | 01:42 | 0 | |
| 22 | Triple H | - | Winner | 23:14 | 4 |
| 23 | The Hurricane | 21 | Stone Cold Steve Austin & Triple H | 00:39 | 0 |
| 24 | Faarooq | 22 | Triple H | 00:36 | 0 |
| 25 | Mr. Perfect | 28 | 15:18 | 1 | |
| 26 | Kurt Angle | 29 | 16:09 | 2 | |
| 27 | Big Show | 23 | Kane | 02:45 | 0 |
| 28 | Kane | 24 | Kurt Angle | 01:02 | 1 |
| 29 | Rob Van Dam | 25 | Booker T | 02:12 | 0 |
| 30 | Booker T | 26 | Stone Cold Steve Austin[2] | 00:33 | 1 |
^ Undertaker assaulted and eliminated Maven following his own elimination by Maven.
^ This was Austin's 36th career elimination in the Royal Rumble, which was a record held for eight years untilShawn Michaels broke it in the2010 Royal Rumble.
At the time, SummerSlam was one of WWE's "big five" Pay-Per-Views (Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, King of the Ring, and Survivor Series were the others), ...