WWE Royal Rumble 2002 Review - One of the Best Ever?

[@JGrath029]

I was 5 when this show happened, I remember I had the flu really bad that weekend and my dad ordered this show. I got all my figures and brought them in the living room and it was the best 3 hours ever and made me forget all about being sick

[@PapaCoco1128]

Those are the memories 💪🏻 life is beautiful sometimes

[@marcrapaccuiolo2406]

Non wrestling fans will never understand 😢

[@Penguingay]

Wrestling pay per views were always the highlight of my childhood too

[@Pocketrocket-pj1us]

Great story! I've got some similar ones, but in my story, I start off feeling well and end up being sick, (of bad booking) ;) JJ Cheers from Canada

[@gatchywatchyentertainmentb2090]

I remember I got back into wrestling in, I wanna say the end of 2018, or 2017(?) When I had Influenza. Looking back wrestling around that time wasn’t great, but I still have fond memories of it.

[@claytonrios1]

I'll never get tired of seeing The Hurricane fail to take out Triple H and Stone Cold.

[@MummysBraveBoy]

Excuse me, you better put some respect back on that name. He did NOT fail. He simply chose not to.

[@claytonrios1]

@@MummysBraveBoy Yeah. Sure

[@ryanporter2584]

Definitely in my RR Top 3 moments!

[@roccojamison89gooker51]

Donald Trump for 2024 Royal Rumble and WrestleMania 40.

[@jbowDonDiego1380]

Me either 😂

[@dankester5607]

That Maven moment taking out the Undertaker forever stands as my favorite in the Royal Rumble. I watched it with my dad and sister, and we laughed our asses off. A truly classic moment

[@JPdelaGhetto]

I like hearing Maven talk about it. The respect he has for the business and the veterans is incredible. I think that’s why people like Taker did that sort of stuff for him.

[@chaospoet]

The look on Taker's face is absolutely priceless. 😆

[@Spectre1323]

Well now i'm always going to refer to "Foreign Objects" as "Forbidden Machina". Also, very cool to see Curt Henning get a good run and look like an equal to the biggest stars in the company.

[@CSC52698]

​@IStevenSeagal, and he won.

[@roccojamison89gooker51]

International object or Brass Knucks That Don't Look Like Brass Knucks But We'll Call Them Brass Knucks Anyway.

[@frankf684]

⁠@@roccojamison89gooker51better than the old doughnut hole.

[@willkayl8793]

Say what you want about The Hurricane, he always knew how to make the most of the time he got on tv. One of my favorite characters from this era.

[@DeaDGoD_XIV]

I agree, he was always entertaining

[@slyfox2022]

Wassup with that!?

[@LordLOC]

Shane Helms should have been an upper mid-carder or lower end main eventer at his peak. He was so talented and charismatic. I think one of the bigger WWF/E failures from that era honestly. I don't know about being a world champion or anything, but in main events - absolutely.

[@PierzStyx]

@@LordLOC he was the kind of guy the IC title was made for.

[@LordLOC]

@@PierzStyx Back when the IC/US title meant something. Yeah.

[@JackOswaldWhite1940]

Fun fact: Stone Cold has a 50/50 win/loss ratio at royal rumbles. He’s only wrestled 6 times at the event and won 3 rumbles and eliminated from 3 rumbles.

[@deelove7518]

That 1997 rumble doesn't count

[@aztn19]

@@deelove7518Stone Cold “lost” in 1997 the way Big Show “won” in 2000.

[@mattjindrak]

Not Fun Fact: Stone Cold smacked Debra around

[@deelove7518]

@@mattjindrak he sure did. Wrestling fans love guys who abuse women. Austin and Benoit come to mind

[@Blocparty01]

Makes me wonder what wrestler has the best percentage in that way

[@MazeDaGr8]

I wish we could've seen Kurt Angle vs Mr. Perfect during the brief 2002. Hell, that should've been a match at Wrestlemania that year

[@jackjohnson5714]

yup, should've been. Curt is still one of a kind, a guy HBK still looks up to to this day. RIP

[@xndrwolf]

That would have been amazing 🙁

[@zachjohnson637]

Yes it should have, instead of the random Angle vs Kane match. Kane could have faced Nash instead.

[@KmanScan]

Flair didn't lack confidence, he just needed more Lvl 4 keys for the Sphere Grid.

[@ChaoticMeatballTV]

It always makes me happy hearing non-gaming creators talk about games, and seeing FFX and Square Enix sponsoring WWF for this Rumble is pretty dope. Personally, I'm a sucker for the sprite-based ones so FF6 will always remain my favorite.

[@kenterminateddq5311]

I think Final Fantasy 6 (III on the Super Nintendo) is every gamer's favorite game of the franchise.

[@KegOfMeat]

Yeah I thought it was pretty cool. Armageddon 03 was sponsored by FF X-2

[@sebastiancintron29]

FFVI is high up there for me too as one of my favorites in the franchise. XIV, VII, V and XVI are high up there too.

[@GlenGlingo9]

Final Fantasy X is more than a game, it's an experience.

[@tonydub98]

If you’re still into gaming, I’d recommend the Octopath Traveller games. They feel like the best evolution of those SNES-era pixel RPGs

[@Venemofthe888]

Its crazy how big of a year 2002 was looking back: -The nWo come back and disband within the year -Hogan having a WWE Title Run -A new Raw Stage -The Hardcore & European Titles being unified with the IC Title which was then unified with the WHC -Brock Lesnar debuting and winning the WWE Title in a short time -Booker T & Goldust becoming the best tag team on RAW for their comedy -Evolution starting to come together -The Elimination Chamber being introduced -King of the Ring as a PPV being retired -TLC 4 -The Brand Split -Jeff Hardy's star making match with the Undertaker -The Smackdown 6 Matches -and most importantly Test loving his testicles

[@jackwardle9664]

100% Test and his testicles

[@Fixxer315]

Let's not forget the debuts of John Cena, Randy Orton and Batista, all of whom would be front and center in the next decade or so. We also saw the debut of Team Angle, with Shelton Benjamin being a solid midcarder for much of the 2000's.

[@craighurley3068]

Also end of the WWF 😢

[@salamisumo2]

The return of HBK after 4 years & then wins the belt!

[@thetribalist6923]

@@salamisumo2that’s the biggest and best part of the whole year TBH. How could so many comments overlook that? Lol

[@jonathonbartos3061]

25:13 Absolutely one of my favorite spots of all time. And I adore Shane Helms talking about the development of this spot. He's the one who came up with it, but was too nervous to pitch it to Austin and Trips, cause he didn't want to piss either of them off. So he asked Kurt Angle about it, and Kurt told him to tell them, which he eventually did, and both Austin and Trips *loved* it.

[@ryankeefe2102]

The best is for like 15 seconds they put their beef on hold just to look at eachother and say you believing this

[@codyssmith73]

He had it to pitch it to Kurt, who said to pitch it to Steve, who told him to run it by Pritchard, who told him to run it by Hunter/Paul. 😂

[@timothygalvin3021]

Maven eas never eliminated

[@TonySpike]

​@@codyssmith73 apparently it was actually Pat Patterson, but still funny all the same that he had to pitch it 4 times 😂

[@Brimbino]

Jump off a building for call triple H, Trips? Lmao.. osw was right, next thing youll be calling him TRI

[@patrickerwin4922]

THE LAST RIDE. THE LAST RIDE. Really is a devastating move. The arena is electrified tonight. We can’t take our eyes off of this match.

[@MrLawyer711]

This will be an historic match.

[@e93sports80]

I've never seen something like this before.

[@PaidProgramming-th6tp]

I think this is good.

[@GlenGlingo9]

"Incredible move! Incredible move!" - Michael Cole, 2001

[@DiamondDust132]

THIS FATAL FOUR WAY MATCH...is great.

[@kenterminateddq5311]

Zane's line of "Di.....mond Cutter. Shoulders back, chest out! At ease....." is an all-time classic on Wrestling with Wregret. However, 23:10 is my favorite Brian Zane impression of Diamond Dallas Page. 😊

[@timbartschwolfman]

I agree

[@mattlewis8889]

I love his Terry Funk voice.

[@kenterminateddq5311]

​@@supersasukemaniac how about Zane's "It's luke and butch. The bushwhackers! (In a high-pitch voice)". I'm guessing Z-man is impersonating Jimmy Hart while managing Rhythm and Blue.

[@mfkrwill]

The ddp impression in this video definitely wasn't a bad thing

[@clarencesimmons8580]

Brian, can you see the review WWF No way Out 2000??

[@KMmouse20]

Spike being wrestling's crash test dummy has never gotten old. What a champ.

[@nehemiahpouncey3607]

Since ECW.

[@Beatnu3000]

Brian’s fandom of FFX is always a treat to see. Mines would probably be Drakengard sponsoring Backlash 2004 or Tekken 5 sponsoring Backlash 2005.

[@tremblind]

Drakengard was a horrible game.

[@DJVexillum]

Can't forget Final Fantasy XIV sponsoring Wrestlemania 33!

[@MrAjking808]

Having someone you don’t know as your pfp is weird

[@Beatnu3000]

@@MrAjking808 It’s a result of me pausing a video one time before walking out of the room and then coming back to notice it stopped on his face looking like he’s doing blue steel from Zoolander lol

[@MrBeardsley]

As an overall show 2002 is definitely in the conversation for not only best Royal Rumble of all time, but also one of WWE’s best PPV/PLE’s across the board. It’s one of those rare “all killer no filler” wrestling shows where the matches are good to great and the storyline/character stuff is firing on all cylinders.

[@ryankeefe2102]

Yea extremely underrated show

[@speedwaynutt]

I will never forget the pop when Triple H returned in 2002 and announced he is going to enter the Royal Rumble 2002.

[@ryankeefe2102]

I'm not a big triple h fan that said after that pop they needed to have him win the rumble

[@JohnAnthonyChihakSoltero]

Knowing that Vince is a former Royal Rumble winner and former WWF Champion is such a sobering thought. Ugh! Thanks for reminding us Brian.

[@zlinedavid]

@IStevenSeagalBro…..listen……bro…..what you don’t undahstaaaand…..about ress-a-ling…..

[@Speedyreedy1218]

Former ECW champ too.

[@Obscusion2]

I remember watching this PPV live and I was so excited to see Curt Hennig back in the Mr. Perfect gimmick, and seeing him make it to the final four actually felt completely natural; he truly looked like he belonged alongside Austin, HHH, & Angle. Just a shame his second WWF run got cut short by the Plane Ride From Hell, because he still looked amazing in 2002.

[@jeremyc9593]

I always thought that he would have been a perfect fit in DX had he stayed

[@JMC1396]

Not 2002, but immediately i thought, "Blitzballs dont hold grudges!"

[@maxmaier7023]

Brian your saying of "The Diamond Cutter" is just one of my favorite things, alongside THE MAN CALLED MENG

[@LuisHGarcia]

Was hoping for a Lightning Plains dodging minigame reference, but fitting that in wrestling context is probably harder than the minigame itself, so understandable.

[@siegmund87]

I know it has nothing to do with the pay per view itself, but i love the Rocks promo on Smackdown where he mocked how everyone was saying they were gonna win the royal rumble. Thats an underrated Rock promo, and one of the few times i can really remember WWE poking fun at themselves

[@CGaboL]

One thing that some wrestling fans also like to talk about in January, is how many birthdays there are on January 10th. Happy birthday, Brian!

[@VorpalBender]

22:48 I'll never get tired of the popcorn stand bit. 🤣

[@aaronsparrow2650]

It was the first wrestling show that I had ever watched. On a video tape in 2002, it started my love of wrestling, which is still ongoing to this very day 😁

[@gregsgreen5791]

This was the first PPV my parents let me order, I was 10 years old. So classic.

[@jcace13]

Reviewing wrestling with Final Fantasy references is a winning combination for me.

[@StarWolf5298]

Flair dodged that lead pipe like it was 200 lightning bolts!

[@governorboltz]

I said it in 2002, and I'll say it now. If they were bringing back Mr. Perfect, Val Venis, Godfather and Goldust, I would've liked to have seen Bossman come out with his late 80s/early 90s WWF gear and Hard Times entrance. The Rumble was in Atlanta, so I'm sure at worst it would've got a decent to good pop.

[@gabepollock1641]

Honestly, that would’ve been a really cool shout to a guy who was a trusted hand for so long in the WWF. You’re right that it would’ve gotten a good pop from Atlanta, too.

[@patrickmilner4149]

May very well be an underrated Royal Rumble even, doesn't get talked about enough like 1992 or 2001. Chris Jericho vs The Rock for the Undisputed Championship is a hidden gem people should check out

[@chozahfearless7524]

The intro to 1992 was epic Vince McMahon put his heart and soul into it 😂

[@danielallen3454]

I was there. It was the first Royal Rumble in my town. Great feeling all night. And Triple H's return was . . . Man, you can't forget that feeling.

[@wstine79]

Even if it was obvious that Triple H was gonna win, the match itself was still fun to watch. Maven tossing out Undertaker was still awesome.

[@Speedyreedy1218]

Wasn't too obvious. There were a lot of people who hadn't won the Rumble before. HHH, Kurt, Undertaker, Kane, Show... HHH should have won, but it wasn't a sure thing he would.

[@KazzBiggs]

You just unlocked so much buried down frustrations by bringing up that chocobo minigame. Perfect comparison Man Wrestling and FFX. It’s feeling like you made this video specifically for me, B Z. 😂

[@tcp2518able]

I remember being so hyped for this rumble. It was one of the few I actually got to see live on PPV. I told my friend who didn't see it that Hurricane won before we planned to watch the tape I recorded. He almost believed me until it got to his chokehold spot.

[@Batmanpooped]

This Rumble brings so many memories. I remember the nonstop "Beautiful Day" U2 package playing for Hunter. I still have the MSG return on VHS. As a 13 year old, Trips was the man to me. Really inspired me to get into lifting weights. This being his peak imo. It's also amazing how he went from the pinnacle of babyface here in January to the company's biggest heel when presented the World Championship in August. Amazing show.

[@Speedyreedy1218]

Trips was and always will be The Man to me. #TeamTripsSince95

[@Undertakerlover1306]

I remember Kurt angle mocking that song.

[@gatchywatchyentertainmentb2090]

My direct reaction to seeing this in my notifications was, “Ooh I like that!”

[@iamthurnis745]

this rumble is the earliest memory of life i have, i was almost 5 and i remember everything about this show and how my dad used the hacked directv card to get it for free. those were the days.

[@mikev4638]

That clip of the Austin audio playing over the Chocobo section made me laugh pretty hard.

[@avengedsoul6661]

This was the first PPV I ever saw. I must’ve begun watching WWF in late 2001, so this was the first show that my mum bought us to watch, and I was hooked on wrestling from there. And the spot(s) involving Maven eliminating Taker, the following chair shot and Maven’s head going through the popcorn machine… This show holds a special place for me!

[@JakeDeMarco]

Fun fact is that Triple H actually returned the night before his triumphant RAW return. I saw him at that house show in Springfield, Mass and the surprise return pop was far louder there than what he got on RAW the next night....

[@Speedyreedy1218]

Damn. Who did he work? He said that in his book he did a few house shows a week before to get his timing right in front of a crowd.

[@JakeDeMarco]

@@Speedyreedy1218 it was a tag team match. He and Kane took on Jericho and Angle. My ears rang that whole night from the cheers of his surprise return! kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZpLCk3dpnJenfrssi=pq0_Vy8uwzuRIezT

[@britneyspearsvillarosa]

The Return Of Mr. Perfect and the shocking moment when Maven from behind Dropkicked The Undertaker over the top rope in the Royal Rumble. I love Final Fantasy X too Brian.

[@richardferguson9663]

One interesting thing about this rumble is that Maven had a title shot the next night on Raw because he was technically never eliminated; Undertaker threw him between the ropes.

[@lucasblubaugh8786]

You had me at the Tidus laughter but the Forbidden Machina was chefs kiss

[@Sammmmmmmm617]

Love the Final Fantasy references. The Sin thumbnail is still my favorite thumbnail. The Sun Sigil still gives me PTSD to this day 😆

[@MrLawyer711]

One my all time favorites. I remember being shocked Austin got thrown out before the end, especially because he got thrown out before Mr. Perfect.

[@kevinclark5802]

The Hurricane spot with Austin and Hunter was so popular, they did it again 19 years later. Hurricane Helms did the same spot with Bobbly Lashley & Big E in the 2021 Royal Rumble.

[@Millwall77]

Can you really call something 'so popular' that they did twice...In almost two decades?

[@nickpearson890]

Who would've thought at the time that this would be Steve Austins last royal rumble match

[@Drowmerc]

Spot on DDP impression Brian. This was one of my favorite Rumble matches too.

[@Supreme_Valentine]

This is truthfully one of the most underrated Rumble's of all time. 1992, 2001, and 2004 are in my opinion the top 3 rumbles. But 02, 97, and 07 are some of the most underrated Rumbles of all time.

[@aaronhurst4379]

I love that other members of the wrestling KZbin scene are acknowledging Maven's channel haha, saw a Cultaholic list video do this too recently

[@spotthedogaye2921]

I wondered how his channel blew up so quick as I'd never heard of him. Literally just got done binging all his videos and yeah, I totally get it now, he's an absolute gentleman and very interesting to watch.

[@aaronhurst4379]

@@spotthedogaye2921 Yeah I knew who Maven was but didn't expect him to be such a massive draw, in such a short space of time. But yeah like you say, his charisma and insights on camera are very interesting

[@jeremyhegg9367]

RVD comes in with a lot of momentum, then gets snuffed out by Triple H. Sums up his 2002 pretty well. Hard to believe we this would be the last time we saw Stone Cold in a Rumble match. Also, this was the last Rumble to really have entrants come out every 2 minutes, after this it would be approximately every 90 seconds.

[@bigfatmel74]

Christian probably ruined that with his entrance/ring spot. Not surprising

[@tthomaselli2]

Wrestling With Wregret- Thanks for the trivia note around 10:20-10:27 that you pointed out about Vince McMahon. I never had so much as a single clue, guess & idea about any of that--literally...

[@goodsoup7608]

Brian vowing to knock out as many FFX references as he can manage already has me calling this my favourite classic PPV review. If there had been a bunch of in show references, HHH rocking Wakka's hair and absolutely pelting a blitzball off of people would have done me just fine.

[@marxmaxmuscle1]

21:42 and his hat! A simple line made extremely funny. Love this type of humor slipped in

[@RgScorpio]

At 28:19, Angle gets surprised to see Triple H so suddenly just like how suddenly you can get struck by lightning in the Thunder Plains. I appreciate the FFX references in this. It's in my top 10 games of all time.

[@LuigiFan64]

I still laugh when I watch the FFX-2 ad with Taz going "It's Yuna!" with his usual Taz gibberish.

[@KingPekeV1]

Greatest review ever. Loved the FFX references, the choco race and the lightning dodge haunt me.

[@misfyt_mcfly3084]

& butterfly catching 😂

[@jackjohnson5714]

Lightning dodge is truly hell on earth.

[@mikec4780]

This PPV was my birthday gift for my 10th birthday lol one of the best presents of my life. Brings flashbacks to how much I hated William Regal as a kid

[@blacktytrix]

For whatever reason, i feel like 2002 is a rumble that isnt often talked about at least from what ive seen so definitely excited about this. Edit: for halloween this year you gotta find the triple h denim jacket

[@aebking]

Proud to say I was there! Couple of side notes, when Taker popped Mavin with that chair it literally echoed throughout the arena. And also when Flair made his entrance,a whole bunch of fans were giving the 4 horsemen salute! This is my all time favorite Rumble and not just because I was there! Edit: I still love FFX to this day! Auron was the man!!

[@Speedyreedy1218]

Did the crowd like the finish?

[@aebking]

@@Speedyreedy1218 Definitely,crowd went crazy when HHH won

[@Speedyreedy1218]

@@aebking Nice! I bet Flair got a pop too.

[@aebking]

@@Speedyreedy1218 Definitely got a major pop!

[@glennwelsh9784]

24:08 We still haven't shaken the "WHAT?" chants. Even today, each heel has to speak in long phrases during every promo to keep the crowd from getting into a rhythm shouting "WHAT?" during every word break.

[@ProWrestlingFan1995]

Fantastic review Brian, I’m currently in the tail end of my Attitude Era binge rn I’m in late September 2001 so I’ll be at this Rumble in no time, and it is one of my favorite Rumble PPVs for sure.

[@Speedyreedy1218]

Likewise! Enjoy the binge.

[@tacothegreat5074]

I’ll always mark out for the “THE LAST RIDE…THE LAST RIDE”

[@peanutmansemporiumofrandom7472]

18:56 I don’t know why but I absolutely lost it with the zoom in on HHH’s face 😂😂😂

[@SonofJones]

Glad to see you review this one :) Always thought the 02 Rumble match was criminally underrated

[@mattm7798]

I popped HUGE for Mr. Perfect returning and held out hope he would be pushed some. Unfortunately was not to be for a variety of reasons, but still a great return here.

[@Musiclover19]

Really? Most people I know regard the 02 Rumble as one of the best shows, I never got the feeling that it was a “criminally underrated “ show.

[@AzulaNoSurname16]

Underrated? It's the biggest royal rumble buyrate

[@SonofJones]

@@Musiclover19 I don't mean in the sense that it's disliked, just that the Rumble match itself often gets overlooked in favor of Rumbles like 92, 01, 04, 2010 etc. Not saying those aren't great too, just that this one definitely belongs in the same discussion as those

[@Speedyreedy1218]

It was STAR STUDDED. 02 AND 92 are my favorites.

[@lfovah1287]

I love how undertaker slowly turns around to look at maven after being eliminated just stunned and shocked.

[@MrBlakeD82]

Hearing Maven tell the story about learning he was gonna take out Taker is great.

[@claymathewselevator8121]

Spike Dudley is underrated

[@mikecabral2420]

Oh God, that chocobo clip was instant PTSD. I've played alot of JRPG's and played alot of miserable mini games that had seemed to need frame perfect inputs when you finally get lucky with RPG for it to be possible but that one stood out as a possibly one of the most painful.

[@benespinosa5457]

royal rumble 2002 was an awesome PPV the opening tag team match was great Stacy Keibler and the dudley Boyz were an amazing pairing maven eliminating undertaker was hilarious undertaker's reaction made me laugh Trish Stratus Vs Jazz was an amazing match their matches were my favorite part of this era the fact that this happened 22-years ago still boggles my mind awesome review brian you're the best.

[@jaredthehawk3870]

Oh, all the FFX references are taking me on a very pleasant nostalgia filled trip down memory lane. It was my first Final Fantasy game and first PS2 game. I got all the references for the record.

[@criminalmindsgirl2936]

Mr. Perfect and Kurt Angle should've had a feud.

[@claymathewselevator8121]

YES

[@claymathewselevator8121]

Curtis Axel vs Jason Jordan 😂

[@MarvelousIggy]

The Maven dropkick lives in my head rent free. Great look back this Rumble and yes Praise be Yevon

[@franciscastiglione5832]

Regal showing toughness and coming back so fast is not a surprise. Many younger folks don’t know, because they only know Regal as the aristocratic persona, but Regal was a legit killer. He cut his teeth getting into the business working the Carnival shows; people got hurt in that unrestrained environment quite often and severely.

[@matthewandrew8423]

Dude also had to shower with random dudes and they would touch his stuff during the showers....Sir Regal went through alot but I think it made him stronger!

[@jackburton2680]

Any new/younger WWE wrestler had to deal with that too when JBL was part of the company

[@cjmoss51]

Re: Booker T. I remember being hype for the Booker T vs The Rock matches because it wasnt often when 2 black wrestlers were taken serious enough to be booked well. Booker was booked well (pun intended) when he was heel vs The Rock. Their matches the previous year for the WCW title made the title feel important even though the company itself was gone. I just wish that he had carried both titles over and hadnt been booked alongside Shane.

[@ShinRyojin]

Same, I loved their program together. In fact, they were the only dream match we got from that entire Invasion.

[@TCGThunderdome]

The "WHAT" chant was kind of my breaking point with wrestling as I was growing up. It was at that moment that I realized it just wasn't for me to the degree it used to be.

[@CSC52698]

And now the "WOAH!" is worse.

[@sensationaldenny]

the look on Takers face when Maven eliminates him is priceless!

[@cumexolaf3276]

sadly Maven's first ever on-screen moment remains the only big moment of his career ...

[@kyokugenryudisciple9349]

26:17 Fun fact from my experience playing Smackdown: SYM. Usually in my first Playthrough heading into the as Undisputed WWE Champion in the Royal Rumble Rob Van Dam usual ends up becoming the winner of it. Not gonna lie I always thought RVD would have been a cool winner when he was white hot at the time.

[@xXDTFKINGXx]

Glad you shouted out maven. Real recognize real ❤

[@Surv1vor1993]

The worst thing about this show is the removal of “Cocky” by Kid Rock cuz we don’t get Stone Cold Steve Austin saying “What!?” in time with the song during the video package

[@ryankeefe2102]

That video package is up there with My Way

[@Surv1vor1993]

@@ryankeefe2102 I wouldn’t go that far but it is a very good video package. The only packages I can think of that come close to, or surpass My Way are the Daniel Bryan “Monster” video package, and the Shawn Michaels VS Undertaker “Running Up That Hill” video package

[@Speedyreedy1218]

I'm thankful we don't have the what chant.

[@Speedyreedy1218]

​@@ryankeefe2102Unforgiven 2003, Enemy > My Way.

[@chrisbreezy3048]

0:46 And Chris Breezy, too! 🙂 Thank you for reviewing this show, Brian, as the '02 Rumble Match is also one of my favorites and the PPV itself is pretty darn good. In the future, I hope we'll get to see No Way Out '02 and WrestleMania X8 featured on the Classic PPV Review segment, as well.

[@SirDave1988]

As a huge FFX fan myself, referring to weapons in wrestling as forbidden machina is awesome 😂👌🏻

[@cloudbullets]

Damn, I forgot about Heel-Taker! Post-Invasion, this is where WWE really started to pick up on the final lap of the Attitude Era. The return of Ric Flair also helped tremendously. 2001 and 2002 Royal Rumble will always be a favorite for me. Excellent review as always. And yeah, I also wanted Triple H’s leather/denim jacket combo…it was a cool look back then! 😂

[@Speedyreedy1218]

He had one in 2001 also.

[@senorfish2503]

Def an underrated royal rumble

[@Silentnarcotic]

I always loved the Trips elimination tease, Angle turns around and gets H hitting the taunt button just to add a little zest to the finisher.

[@Enikeev14]

Well done with ffx integration. One of my favorites. The amount of hours I spent playing blitzball is wild. Great review as well. This was still part of the era that was in my youth wheelhouse.

[@WrestlingWithWregret]

Blitzball is the best!

[@Questionsleepp]

That FFX Tidus laugh meme never gets old, also thank you for all the references. Really a missed opportunity by WWE.

[@jrmichaels4648]

hey brian why don't you do a career retrospective on booker t in wwe...just a suggestion😊

[@AndersonTenecela]

Here’s a fun fact that ties into this PPV and Final Fantasy 10; Kazushige Nojima who was the scenario writer for the game managed to get many of the wrestlers who were at the Royal rumble 2002 event sign a copy of Final Fantasy 10. And then a year later; Final Fantasy X-2 would be sponsored on an episode of Smackdown where Tazz and Michael Cole played the game with Tazz going crazy for Yuna

[@marcohavokkhaos]

Overall show, I'd give it a C+

[@armnhc84]

Bro, he came out as Quadruple H that night…he was ABSOLUTELY ENORMOUS!

[@redbigun]

1993-2003 and 2007-2009 were my favorite years in entertainment in general. This Royal Rumble and its build is partly why 2002 is included. Triple H's return, the Kid "I hate Bud Light, but jk not really" Rock theme, the Rumble hype package. 2002 was a fun and wild roller coaster of a year for wrestling.

[@vandercudo]

I'm really glad you did one with Maven. Thank you!

[@patrickmcgavin2245]

What? What? What? What? What?😂

[@christopherwiessner555]

2008 is during my early fandom. I’m excited to see what you have to say. I always watch the show before watching your review for context and I’m excited to watch that one again

[@claymathewselevator8121]

He WHATs her to death

[@Mxyz]

I remember downloading this rumble back during the 56k days and having it take days to download so i could finally watch it.

[@criminalmindsgirl2936]

It's always funny when a wrestler thinks they got The Rock down and then he pops up! It kills me everytime! 🤣🤣🤣

[@cathycatsville67]

Thank you for the completely random PTSD trigger with that chocobo race reference... no really thank you... now i need to call my therapist... 🤣🤣🤣

[@pepito2847]

My problems with Rumbles from the attitude era is that they often include midcarders from the harcore division and often rely heavily on creating particular moments between certain wrestlers rather than having it be a full on rumble where numerous wrestlers are brawling That said, this one had good stuff like Maven eliminating Undertaker and Triple H telling a good comeback story by winning the Rumble

[@chozahfearless7524]

@IStevenSeagalsome people consider the ruthless aggression era to begin when McMahon gave the speech on raw and the week John Cena debuted on smack down others say wrestle mania 19 it’s so opinion based now.

[@pepito2847]

@IStevenSeagalNope, Ruthless Aggression era began around the time Raw and SmackDown became separate brands Early 2002 was still attitude era

[@pepito2847]

@IStevenSeagal A new era means a change in the product Undertaker turning heel and becoming a more ruthless character didn’t change the product in any way shape or form Early 2002 wasn’t different from say 2000 or 2001 as it still had the same stars like Rock, Austin, Triple H and Angle feuding

[@pepito2847]

@IStevenSeagal Austin and Rock weren’t full time wrestlers and in the main event title picture in 2003 like they were in the attitude era, that’s the difference Undertaker turning heel didn’t change the product anymore than Stone Cold turning heel did You didn’t even give context as to what was so different about the product other than “we knew” Early 2002 still had the same people in the main event scene, the hardcore division was still a thing and vanished by the time Ruthless aggression era started Just watch the Royal rumbles from the late 90s up to 2002 and compare them to the rumbles from 2003 to 2008 That’s another way you can tell they were different eras as the latter group of rumbles had a combination of wrestlers from different brands thus giving an entirely different feel

[@pepito2847]

@IStevenSeagal Also Hogan being a member of the roster in the 2000s is a bad comparison as well as not only was Hogan not the full on center of attention like the golden era But his look and character was also different, he had a rock jazz entrance them, had the Hollywood hogan name and was a part time attraction by 2003

[@kyleolson8977]

With Ray Traylor, I think the WWF should have done in 2002 what the WCW should have done in 1992 - Use a variant of the Big Bubba Rogers persona. In the WWF, he would still be called "Boss Man" of "Big Boss Man", but put him out there in the black suit and tie again. Blue cop Boss Man was old, "The Shield" Boss Man ran its course. Put him in the suit and he'll have a good look despite being out of shape from the injuries. The WCW ran into trouble because they tried to copy "The Big Boss Man" and then tried the silly (although legit) "Guardian Angel" persona (Traylor was a prison guard and worked with the Guardian Angels' founder for the new character, so you can't complain about his dedication to "the method". But they could have stuck him out there in the 1980's outfit. That was his JCP character and it was a good one. It's kind of sad he had been injured so much. He's only 38 here. In modern wrestling years, he's in his prime. In 1980's wrestler years, he was past his prime.