WWE Global Warning Tour
August 10, 2002
Colonial Stadium, Melbourne, Australia
Thanks to www.wwfdownunder.com for the results
The crowd was huge. 56,700+. They were enthusiastic from the start.
Before any action took place, a couple of the Desire videos aired. Crowd popped for Hogan, Rock, HHH, Andre etc.
Then, Tony Chimel told the crowd that when the pyro display began, to stand and cheer and wave their signs. There weren’t too many signs compared to television tapings, although there were enough cameras there to perhaps use the footage in the future. It was relayed onto about six different big screens (two on the stage, and four more throughout the stadium).
There were no commentators, however I would not be surprised if they released it on home video similar to the Mayhem In Manchester tape they released in 1998. They’d be crazy not to take advantage of the fact that they drew such a huge crowd.
Stephanie McMahon then officially welcomed the crowd. She then announced the 3 way main event, and introduced Brock Lesnar, who came out on to the stage with Paul Heyman. Heyman tried to get Lesnar some heat for the main event by telling the fans that Brock was the reason Hulk Hogan wasn’t appearing tonight. Roughly 5% percent of the crowd knew better.
Match 1: Rikishi vs. Rico (Kiss My
Ass Match)
Match was very short. Rico looked good in the 30 seconds that he
was given for offence, even if he “isn’t a real
wrestler” as someone in the crowd explained to their kid. We
don’t see much OVW here! Rikishi pinned Rico to win the
match, and then gave Rico the stink face. Post-match, Rikishi
danced with a couple of kids from the crowd.
Match 2: Reverend D-Von/Batista
vs. Mark Henry/Randy Orton
None of these superstars were very over with the crowd. Henry was
marginally, because he did a lot of promotional work back in
April. A few old-timers remembered Cowboy Bob Orton from the
B-show tours of the mid-80s, and so got behind Randy Orton as
well. This match was also reasonably short. Henry and Orton came
out victorious.
Match 3: Jamie Noble (w.Nidia) vs.
The Hurricane
(Cruiserweight Title)
The Hurricane received a nice reaction from the crowd. Good back
and forth cruiserweight action with Nidia interfering a couple of
times, eventually costing Hurricane the match. Noble won by
pinfall. After the match, Nidia began hitting on The Hurricane as
part of a set-up, but she ended up colliding with Noble. The
Hurricane then choke slammed Noble to a decent pop
from the crowd.
Match 4: Billy/Chuck (w.Rico) vs.
Hardcore Holly/Chavo Guerrero Jr. (w.Maven)
This match was announced as a “Tough Enough Tag Team
Challenge.” Billy and Chuck were fairly over with the crowd.
Less so were Holly and Chavo. This probably wasn’t helped by
the fact that, at last check, Chavo was a heel. Maven was fairly
popular though, however really did very little. Holly and Chavo
won (in something of an upset) after a missed Doomsday Device
ended with Chavo getting a roll-up victory. Post-match saw Maven
beat up Rico.
Match 5: Test vs. Kurt Angle
Test did some mic work before Angle was introduced. He began
comparing Australia to the US, and so became an un-Australian as
well. Kurt Angle then retaliated by sticking up for us poor
Aussies. Angle was wildly popular, but still got “You Suck”
chants throughout his entrance. Match was actually fairly good.
That said, Angle could get a decent match out of Jackie Gayda,
let alone Test. A lot of near finishes really got the crowd
involved, before Kurt won with the Olympic Slam.
INTERMISSION
After intermission, Michael Cole announced the crowd figure. Can’t remember it exactly, but it was definitely 56,700+. He also got the crowd to stand up and cheer again for the cameras.
Match 6: Lance Storm/Christian vs.
Rey Mysterio/Kidman (Tag Title Match)
Rey was very over with the crowd. The match was great.
A lot of high-flying action. The crowd reacted to all of Rey and
Kidman’s signature moves, especially the shooting star
press. However, Storm and Christian retained the belts after
using them as a weapon to help get the pin. There were a lot
of “Christian Sucks” chants throughout the match.
Match 7: Chris Jericho vs. Edge
Chris Jericho received a lot of “You are a Wanker”
chants. He really worked the crowd well, and in doing so, got
them right into the match (probably the most they had been into
the show to that point). Great match between the two saw Edge get
the victory by pinfall. After the match, Jericho threw a tantrum.
Edge meanwhile, seemed the most excited to be in Australia. He
filmed his entrance with a handycam, and following the match,
climbed the scaffolding at ringside to celebrate. I should
mention that the scaffolding at ringside was similar to that of
the old Road Wild PPVs.
Match 8: Stacy Keibler vs. Torrie
Wilson (Bra & Panties Match)
This match brought the crowd back down a notch. Don’t get me
wrong, they loved the women, just not when they were ‘wrestling.’
Val Venis was the guest ring announcer. Nidia interfered during
the match by helping Stacy. However, once Torrie removed her
cut-off shorts, she made a hasty retreat.
Torrie won by ripping Stacy’s skirt off and spanking her.
Match 9: Brock Lesnar vs. HHH vs.
The Rock (Undisputed Title)
HHH and The Rock got huge ovations from the crowd. HHH was not
involved highly in the match, and did juice. He sort of wavered
between playing face and heel throughout. The match was okay. It
was nowhere near the 3 way at Vengeance, or I would imagine the
NWA: TNA 3 way from this past Wednesday, but the crowd loved
every minute of it regardless. The Rock won by pinning HHH with
the rock bottom. It was a good feeling watching the match, just
knowing that HHH was the only man who could possibly do the job.
Afterwards, HHH and The Rock cleared the ring of Lesnar, before toying with Heyman. Eventually, they each gave him a People’s Elbow. After HHH left, The Rock thanked the fans.
Tony Chimel then thanked everyone for coming, and said that they would return sometime soon.
From a workrate standpoint, the show was really just an average house show, accompanied by a huge crowd. Most of the performances were mailed in, save for the tag title match, Angle/Test, and Edge/Jericho. While the wrestlers may not have lifted their performances for the crowd, they certainly relished the moment with their entrances and post-match celebrations. The atmosphere was electric. You could cut it with a knife as Gorilla Monsoon used to say.
Also, as a sidenote, they announced some matches as being special “Raw vs. Smackdown” matches.