WWE King of the Ring was a 2002 professional wrestling event put on by World Wrestling Entertainment. It was the 18th (and final) King of the Ring event, the 6th event of 2002, and the 150th event overall in the alternate WWF timeline. Emanating from the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York, the main event was a WWE Championship Match between The Undertaker and Hulk Hogan. Other matches on the card included those associated with the King of the Ring tournament, as Brock Lesnar faced Rikishi for Smackdown, and Rob Van Dam faced Christian for Raw, with the winners advancing to the KOTR finals. The undercard also featured a Hair vs. Hair match for the US title between Kurt Angle and Edge, and a six-man tag team match featuring Triple H and the Harris Twins facing Sting and The Dudley Boys.
Prelude[]
With The Undertaker as WWE Champion (and Chris Jericho having been written off TV following a loss to Brock Lesnar, due to needing knee surgery), the Deadman made it clear that Smackdown was now his yard and that no one else was welcome in it. His promo brought out, to everyone's surprise, Hulk Hogan, who had signed with the blue brand. He reiterated that he "didn't like bullies" and challenged the Phenom to go one on one with one person he had never had the chance to "make famous." Undertaker then chokeslammed Hogan, which the Hulkster no sold, before slamming the Phenom and tossing him out of his own yard. While Vince McMahon initially refused to give Hogan a title match (even insisting that the "backstabbing" Hogan would forever be relegated to curtain jerker's status), but after the Undertaker threatened the Smackdown owner, Vince relented, thus setting up the titanic clash at King of the Ring.
With the brand split in effect, the annual King of the Ring tournament (though this would in fact be the last year the tournament would be an annual staple) was altered to become an interpromotional match. Both Raw and Smackdown conducted their own mini-tournaments to decided who would advance to the King of the Ring finals, with the finals of each mini-tournament also taking place at the event. On the Smackdown side, Rikishi was set to face rookie sensation Brock Lesnar (along with his "advocate" Paul Heyman), while on the Raw side, Intercontinental Champion Rob Van Dam was set to face Christian, though his title wasn't on the line.
One title that was on the line was the US Title, as Edge was set to defend against Kurt Angle, having defeated the Olympian the month before in the US Title Tournament final. To spice things up, the match was initially made with Edge demanding Angle put his hair on the line versus the US Title. This was changed by Vince McMahon (as a favor to Angle, for an unspoken favor in return) to become a Hair vs. Hair match instead, with the US Title still on the line.
On the Raw side of things, the inaugural World Heavyweight Champion, Sting, had quickly run afoul of one of the men who was in the 4 way match (but not the man who was pinned), Triple H. Rather than gain a world title shot though, Raw GM Dusty Rhodes booked a six-man tag match with Triple H teaming with the Harris Twins against Sting and the Dudley Boys.
Event[]
Coming Soon...
Results[]
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-Show | Team Canada [Lance Storm & Tyson Kidd] w/Coach Poffo d. Kidman & Jerry Lynn | Non-Title Tag Team Match | 10:20 |
| 1 | Rob Van Dam d. Christian by Pinfall | KOTR Semifinal Match | 13:00 |
| 2 | Brock Lesnar w/Paul Heyman d. Rikishi by Pinfall | KOTR Semifinal Match | 8:30 |
| 3 | Taylor d. Trish Stratus (c) by Countout | Singles Match for the WWE Women's Championship | 7:29 |
| 4 | Test w/Coach Poffo d. Eddie Guerrero by Pinfall | #1 Contenders Match for the US Title | 12:23 |
| 5 | Triple H & The Harris Twins [Ron & Don Harris] d. Sting & The Dudley Boys [Bubba Ray & D-Von Dudley] by Pinfall | Six Man Tag Team Match | 15:20 |
| 6 | Edge (c) d. Kurt Angle by Pinfall | Hair vs. Hair Match for the United States Championship | 17:40 |
| 7 | Brock Lesnar w/Paul Heyman d. Rob Van Dam by Pinfall | King of the Ring Finals | 10:00 |
| 8 | Hulk Hogan d. The Undertaker (c) by Disqualification | Singles Match for the WWE Championship |
Aftermath[]
Vince McMahon's return favor from Kurt Angle was indeed the Olympian interfering in Hulk Hogan's WWE Title match against the Undertaker, leading to a match between the two at Vengeance. The beating put on Rob Van Dam by Brock Lesnar would wind up costing him the IC Title the following night on Raw. Also at Vengeance, Triple H would finally get the one on one match with Sting that he had been demanding with the championship on the line.
As previously stated, this would be the last regular King of the Ring event due to changes in WWE's Pay Per View schedule. The tournament itself would be revived several times over the years, but at irregular intervals.