Raw is War

New York City
August 26, 2002

Eric Bischoff started off the show by welcoming everybody to his RAW. He continued to set the stage for the evening by announcing that the Hardcore Championship and the Intercontinental Championship would be unified. In addition, he mentioned that a WWE Hall of Famer would later be honored. Not long after did Bischoff welcome back the new Undisputed Champion Brock Lesnar and his agent Paul Heyman.

Heyman then grabbed the mic and went on to tell us all that "he told us so." After a long diatribe, Heyman handed the mic to Brock. Brock gloated that he is the youngest WWE Champion of all-time. Shawn Michaels music then hit, however, it was Triple H that came out, not HBK.

A proud Triple H went on to say that he crippled Shawn Michaels, saying HBK would never get in the ring again. In fact, Triple H continued, Michaels would never walk again. Triple H then turned his attention to the Champ. He told Brock that he wanted a shot at his title, because it was he who softened up Rock for Brock last week. Undertaker's music then sounded through the sound system at Madison Square Garden.

Undertaker claimed that he should get first crack at the title. The Dead Man then asked if Brock was "the Next Big Thing" or "the Next Big Bitch," before all hell broke loose amongst the three WWE Superstars.

Booker T defeated WWE Tag Team Champion Christian
Each Superstar had their respective tag team partner with them at ringside. At times, each would get involved in the match in some fashion, however, neither affected the outcome. Booker T pinned Christian after hitting him with a Scissors Kick.

Bubba Ray & Spike Dudley def. William Regal & Christopher Nowinski
Molly accompanied Regal and Nowinski to the ring for the match. Early on, it looked as though Regal and Nowinski would have their way with the Dudleys, however, that would not be the case. The Dudleys picked up the win after Bubba hit Regal with the Bubba Bomb. After the match, Nowinski saved Molly from getting wood. Regal wasn't as lucky -- Bubba powerbombed Regal right through the table.

After the break, Eric Bischoff welcomed Hall of Famer Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka to the ring. Bischoff then presented Snuka with the WWE Lifetime Achievement Award, however, he did not let the legend speak. Bischoff then told "Superfly" that his three minutes were up. Jamal and Rosie soon attacked the Hall of Famer, leaving him motionless in the ring.

Jericho then came out complaining that he should not have lost to Ric Flair last night, claiming that he had already made him tap. After crying about his loss, he sang Frank Sinatra's New York, New York, however, his version did the classic no justice. Luckily for everybody with ears, Jeff Hardy interrupted the song.

Jeff Hardy defeated Chris Jericho via DQ
The action was both fast and furious. After a classic encounter, it was Jeff Hardy winning via disqualification after Y2J refused to let go of the Walls of Jericho while Hardy was in the ropes.

Test threatened to burn the American flag, however, Kane's music frightened the young Canadian. It appeared to be just another tease when Booker T and Goldust came in for the save. But then Kane finally did make his long-awaited return, destroying Test and the Un-Americans.

Rob Van Dam defeated Tommy Dreamer
Prior to the match, it was announced that this would be the last Hardcore Rules match on RAW. Both RVD and Dreamer pulled out all the stops in this historic match. In the end, it was Van Dam pinning Dreamer after hitting him with the Five Star Frog Splash.

Lilian Garcia defeated The Fink in an Evening Gown/Tuxedo Match
With a little help from Stacy and Trish, Lilian disrobed The Fink, exposing his bright red bikini briefs.

Undertaker defeated Triple H
The two battled each other tooth and nail. For a while, it looked as though Undertaker would turn back The Game, however, Brock Lesnar interfered, causing the Dead Man the match. Triple H was named the winner and the No. 1 Contender.

After the match, Stephanie McMahon informed Eric Bishoff that the Undisputed Champion, Brock Lesnar, is now exclusive to SmackDown! According to Stephanie, she paid the Champion a hefty number to not appear on RAW again.