Forgotten Favorites 08.17.10: Raw 2002 – Rob Van Dam vs. Tommy Dreamer

Welcome back, wrestling fans. It’s time once again to turn back the clock to take a look at some of the greatest unrecognized wrestling action of yesterday.

We’re just coming off of what is typically referred to as WWE’s second biggest show of the year, and there are some … less than flattering opinions floating around the internet. Having seen nearly the entire show (minus the IC Title match), I can say that it wasn’t a bad show. I thought Sheamus/Orton was excellent up until the DQ finish, and Kane/Rey was entertaining enough, with a more than entertaining return from the Deadman to follow it up. Team WWE vs. Team Nexus more than lived up to the hype and delivered one of the best multi-man elimination matches in recent WWE history. Not exactly worth what I consider to be an outrageous PPV price tag, but the final three matches delivered some quality wrestling action.

And so, we move forward into the past … if that is at all possible. This week we’re going to travel back eight years to take a look at the very last match featuring the WWE Hardcore Championship. Per orders of Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff, the Hardcore Title was to be merged with the Intercontinental Title, as the Raw brand continued to move towards the goal of featuring only one singles champion. On the night after SummerSlam 2002, the reigning IC Champ was set to take on the reigning Hardcore Champ, in a match where the winner walked out the unified champion.

And so, who wants great wrestling?

Raw – August 26, 2002
Intercontinental Championship
Hardcore Championship
Rob Van Dam vs. Tommy Dreamer

WHY IT SHOULD BE REMEMBERED

Last weekend I sat down and watched a wrestling company produce a reunion event for another wrestling company that — when going under — was bought out by yet another wrestling company. In a pseudo-sport where women give birth to hands and an Irish Whip causes a man to lose control of his own legs, such cross-over company complications are not so extraordinary or hard to accept. Despite the criticism thrown the way of the reunion both before and after it took place, the fact that it did take place at all was hardly shocking to the wrestling world, considering both the business practices of the Florida-based reunion-organizer and the nature of the industry itself. As any fan knows, you never say never within the world of professional wrestling. No matter how much a certain idea or trend has been beaten into the ground and assumed to be dead, there is always the chance (/strong likelihood) that it’s going to rear its head in some way or form somewhere down the line.

Total Nonstop Action is an interesting creature indeed. Drawing upon the past or dressing up old ideas are common practices within the world of wrestling, and TNA has been no stranger to the art of the rehash. Loaded up with a stacked roster of some of the most well-known names in wrestling history, along with some of the brightest young prospects in the business today, TNA seems to have all the talent necessary to produce consistently compelling, engaging, and original television. Sometimes they will stumble upon something that is fresh by mainstream standards — the AJ/Joe/Daniels X-Division series — but they’re more often than not they’re finding themselves relying upon nostalgia to drive their show. While nostalgia has proven to be a draw to an extent for both TNA and WWE, the fact is that an entire wrestling show cannot succeed for a lengthy period of time if its entire focus is on stars and storylines of a decade ago.

Waltman puts the butts in the seats, brother.

TNA is a company that has shown throughout its existence to be completely incapable of sticking to any one long term direction. From the wrestling-focused phase to the PG-13-focused phase to the “We’re more Attitude than Attitude!” phase, along with their inability to decide long-term on whether or not to push the established names or the “homegrown” guys, TNA has — for better or worse — constantly been re-branding itself. The latest of TNA’s radical changes that could change the face of wrestling forever(!) is their Extreme Movement, wherein competitors from the original ECW have gone from a one-off reunion show to full-fledged participants in the storyline universe of TNA. Love it or hate it (and the IWC certainly has plenty of ammunition on both sides), this is Dixie Carter’s latest whim; and sadly, just like a tween must have whatever is deemed this month’s coolest accessory, Dixie must have the toy that all the cool kids are talking about. It doesn’t matter that she (and the rest of us, really) can’t say for sure how long this whim will remain “in,” or how long it will carry her own interest, but things of this sort have never mattered much before in TNA and, to un-paraphrase Sam Cooke, a change is not gonna come.

Now, let’s make it clear that I was not opposed to the Hardcore Justice reunion show, and I’m not outright opposed to an “invasion” storyline involving EV2.0 representatives. The reunion, given all of the legal limitations TNA faced, was as entertaining as could have been expected. Likewise, while I don’t think they should necessarily be the focal point of the TNA’s programming, I think that an angle that has the original ECW crew mixing it up with TNA wrestlers could provide some interesting television. RVD can definitely still go in the ring, and guys like Team 3D, Stevie Richards, Rhino, and Dreamer are all in passable-to-decent shape. Add on that the still strong vocal abilities of guys like Mick Foley and Raven, and it would seem on paper that EV2.0 isn’t nearly as awful as some naysayers within the IWC would have you believe.

Of course, having said that, I have great fears for TNA’s immediate future, particularly concerning the company’s presentation of these original masters of hardcore. The thing that has stood out to me over the course of this mini-revival of ECW is something that also stood out to me within the time frame of the two WWE-produced One Night Stand events. Wrestling fans weren’t necessarily in love with the characters, finishers, and catch phrases of the original ECW; rather, they were in love with the feeling of an ECW show. The roster of the original ECW was in constant rotation over the years as one wrestler after another was plucked out by Vince McMahon or Eric Bischoff, and yet, even when almost all of the ECW guys were gone in the final era and the days of TNN, the show still felt like an authentic ECW production. Chalk it up to Paul Heyman, the ring crew, the camera guys, or whoever … fact is that ECW events never stopped feeling like the unpredictable showcases of total mayhem that they’d always been, even when their most heavily pushed and widely known names fell off of the roster. ECW events had an aura that, while contributed to by the talent featured, was not all about the talent.

Being pulled into wrestling fandom during the pandemonium of the WrestleMania 14 hype in 1998, I had a very limited knowledge of the goings-ons of Extreme Championship Wrestling for my first year of marky-markiness. Thanks to magazines and radio, I was at least aware of who the top names were in ECW, and I knew that it was a place for the best guys to get noticed by the promised land of WWE or WCW. It wasn’t until Hardcore Heaven 1999 that I witnessed my first ECW PPV, and it was this event — RVD vs. Lynn in particular — that finally showed me what the whole ECW thing was all about. After a year of being spoonfed five-minute punch/kick/finisher television matches and the Attitude style of wrestling — which had recently begun exploiting that magic word, “Hardcore” — I finally saw what all of the fuss was about. And the thing that stuck out to me the most (again, mostly from RVD/Lynn), was just how different a hotly contested ECW match was from an allegedly “exciting” match held by the World Wrestling Federation.

Now, you know me better than to think I’m going to start ragging on the Attitude Era. It was my first foray into pro wrestling and it holds a dear, special place in my markish heart. However, given that I am now in the future and have witnessed more matches than I could ever care to name, I do have to admit that the style of wrestling that dominated the WWE between 1998 and early 2000 was less than ideal. Matches were much shorter, less varied in spots and moves, and most ended up as a brawl that led to one guy hitting his finisher and scoring the pin. Submissions or creative innovations were not completely absent, but they were far from heavily featured or frequently seen. It wasn’t a god-awful time for wrestling action in the WWE, but it was at least most definitely a time of paint-by-numbers in terms of ring psychology. Every match on the card, from the opener to the main event, had certain expectations of them, most of which were the same regardless of title division or card placement. Matches weren’t all identical, but the vast majority of Attitude match-ups were variations of the same cooke-cutter layout.

But ECW … well, that was something different all together. And aside from having matches of total badassery that were complemented by moves and vocabulary not so often used in the big two companies, there was a feel to ECW events. I feel that sometimes a certain section of the IWC gets a little too overly nostalgic for the glory days of ECW, perhaps holding the company a little too high in their memory than it actually was at the time, but when it comes to the genuine ECW “aura,” I am completely there with all of these lovers of the hardcore. I was only a year into watching wrestling when I saw Hardcore Heaven ’99, and, instantly, I knew that there was something different about this company. The entire show just felt different, and it’s a feeling I got whenever I was able to catch the live airing of an ECW event.

My point here — and the reason I chose Dreamer/RVD from ’02 to represent it — is that TNA needs to re-evaluate what exactly they hope to achieve with this new EV2.0 angle. This week’s Forgotten Favorite reeks of all things ECW, featuring two original ECW competitors who are locking up to the tune of thousands upon thousands chanting those three familiar letters. And yet, the match has absolutely nothing to do with ECW in kayfabe-ish terms. It is a WWE-produced match on WWE Monday Night Raw, wherein two WWE championship belts are unified by two WWE-contracted wrestlers. But still, this very last Hardcore Title match is dripping with extreme.

For one night (and sadly, one night too late, it seems), RVD and Tommy Dreamer recreated that genuine ECW aura. It may have only lasted ten minutes, but hot damn, those ten minutes were among the best in the history of the E’s Hardcore Championship. The match was bittersweet at the time, as the Hardcore Championship seemed more important in its last match than it had in its entire final year of existence. The title had been reduced to such a lower midcard absurdity that it was time for the belt to go, and yet this last match gave flashbacks to what the Hardcore Title once was and potentially could have been again. I had long been calling for the Hardcore Title to be scrapped, but this match had me scratching my head as to whether I was upset with the belt or just the booking of the belt in general. Turns out it was the latter. Had the Hardcore Title been kept around and treated as something similar to the original ECW World Title or TV Title — a legitimate singles title simply competed for in a no disqualifications environment — we could’ve had a bit of that ECW “feeling” back in the product

Well … at least we had it for a little while …

And so, TNA, I offer you this: Wrestling fans love themselves some old school ECW, but they love watching it on their old school DVDs. Yeah, they miss watching guys like Raven, Tommy Dreamer, and Taz in the prime of their extreme careers, but it isn’t just the wrestlers that they miss. They miss the genuine feeling of unpredictability that went along with every ECW show. If TNA’s EV2.0 could somehow focus on reviving the feeling rather than just the wrestlers, the TNA product would take a turn for the better. And it might even allow them to not completely change gears in a different direction within six weeks.

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BONUS MATCH(!)

Sunday Night Heat – August 5, 2001
Hardcore Championship
Rob Van Dam vs. Jerry Lynn

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Feedback! (or, the Backfeeding!)

Certainly not a forgotten favourite for me, Shawn Michaels’ performance once is a thing of beauty and it rekindled my appreciation for the man after years of Smark driven hatred for him.

Posted By: caboose

Even after the awesome battles with HHH and Jericho, I think this was HBK’s best match since his 2002 return. It showed that the Showstopper hadn’t lost a step and could still compete on the epic, bloody level that he’d been known for prior to his four-year absence.

This honestly was my favorite match of all time. There was so much drama and so much to love about this match. Nice call, I thought I was the only one that remembered it. Classic.

Posted By: yeah

Yeah, Yeah. Can’t say it’s my all-time favorite but it’s damn sure up there. HBK’s performance is legendary stuff.

Great choice this week. Also should be remembered for the first truly big win for Orton. He’d go on to win the IC title next month, then Foley at WM XX….

The Dudleyz vs. Rey, Kidman and London at SS2004 is another in my increasingly long list of recommendations for the following reasons:

A) Last WWE PPV appearance of the Dudleyz (not counting ONS)
B) Spike’s heel CW title run
C) Kidman/London’s tag title run which lead to the the Kidman/London feud following the botched SSP

Actually, Kidman/London at No Mercy 2004 should be considered too…

Posted By: mr_wishart

I was actually considering that Dudleys match a couple of weeks ago but ended up going with Cena/Jericho instead. Still a great match, and still one that may end up being covered here in the future. I don’t remember much of the London/Kidman feud, so I’ll go back and take a look at what the wonders of YouTube can refresh for me.

One of my favorite matches of all time…Michaels was amazing here!

Posted By: Duffy

Truth!

A good match to cover would probably be Ric Flair vs. Edge in their TLC Match for the WWE Title on Raw in January. This was one of the first matches I ever saw and really sold me on the WWE and pro wrestling in general.

Posted By: Joseph M.

A great, fun match, indeed. Only thing is that I’m not too sure this one qualifies as Forgotten. It’s either on the Edge or Ladder Match DVD, or maybe it’s on both. Regardless, a great match.

I absolutely LOVE this match. Its a little slow to begin with but the last 10 minutes with HBK vs Christian/Jericho/Orton is pure gold. Epic booking

Posted By: Heffer

HBK’s almost-comeback is incredible. I don’t consider myself a bloodthirsty wrestling fan in any capacity, but I still get to missing the crimson mask when I go back and watch this one. Blood can add a ton of emotion to a match when it’s worked in the right way, and HBK was the master of adding that extra bit of drama. This match doesn’t depend on blood for drama, but it damn sure helps add some.

You just scored huge points with me for the “It’s Always Sunny” Troll Toll reference

Posted By: kingave66

The new season can’t start soon enough. Frank Reynolds is my personal hero.

I don’t know if it’s been covered before, but I think Tajiri v Rhyno v Eddie Guerrero v Chris Benoit for the United States championship from SummerSlam 2003 might be just forgotten enough to be worthy of this column. It is definitely one of the best 4-ways WWE has ever done, plus none of them work for WWE anymore!

Posted By: Cactus

Definitely a match that isn’t so well remembered, but definitely also a match that features that one guy. I won’t rule it out, due to three other wrestlers being involved. But still … that one guy …

And so Judgment Day strikes again. I’m gonna have to go back and check both matches out one more time before I make any decisions. I encourage other readers to find more Punk/Burke matches so that I may be even more unable to make a decision.-Jim Grimm

You could also do their Unforgiven 2007 match for the ECW title,but it’s not as great as JD 2007.Or if you want a good match that includes them but not only them, Extreme Rules 2007 has a great 6 man tables match with Punk/Dreamer/Sandman vs Burke/Striker/Cor Von.There you go Grimm I hope I made it harder for you to pick one.

Posted By: Guest#8287

Damn you, 8287th Guest. Damn you and your mind confusion. Despite your damnedness, I will go back and review these matches as well.

Until then, stay safe and out of Dundalk.
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i don’t read this column as much as i should, is that a reference to The Wire?

Posted By: Joe

It’s a reference to a hellish place that exists less than an hour’s drive from where I currently sit as I type this. I don’t watch The Wire, but from what I understand it’s enlightening the general American public about the murderous dangers of my own daily life in Baltimore.

Forgotten Favorite: Shawn Michaels -vs- Steve Austin at King of the Ring ’97. Good god almighty was that the shit.

Posted By: neverAcquiesce

I hate to say this because it makes me look like I’m 9 years old, but … again, another one that’s before my time. Just barely, but still, before my time.

* * * * *

So you weren’t around for Raw in ’97? My condolences, sir, cos that is hands down my favorite period ever. Even if you don’t review it go out of your way to see it cos it rocks; I much prefer it to their WrestleMania match which I also love.

The blueprint for Michaels’ performance at Survivor Series was laid in an Action Zone match with Diesel against Razor Ramon and the 1-2-3 Kid back in ’94. Both had Shawn left alone to take a beating and bump like only he can. Love both matches like they were my squared-circle offspring.

Oh, and it sounds like you’re saying “boy’s hole” when I clearly wrote “boy’s soul.”

Posted By: neverAcquiesce

Oh, I have definitely seen the greatness of the KOTR match, but I’d get all kinds of dirty feelings if I tried to preach the IWC gospel on it. But I haven’t seen this HBK/Diesel match you speak of, and so I will make it my mission to track it down.

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And so, another week of Forgotten Favorites comes to a close. I’m curious to hear what you guys think about my ECW/TNA theories, so please, let your voice be heard! Also remember to keep those suggestions coming.

As always, stay safe and out of Dundalk.