King of the Ring (2002)

The 2002 King of the Ring was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was the 10th annual King of the Ring event and hosted the finals of the 16th King of the Ring tournament for men. It took place on June 23, 2002, at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown! brand divisions.

This was the first King of the Ring PPV and tournament held under the WWE name after the promotion had been renamed from World Wrestling Federation (WWF) to WWE the previous month. Although the tournament continued to be held periodically, with the next one occurring in 2006, this was the final King of the Ring event held until 2015, which was broadcast exclusively on WWE's streaming service, the WWE Network. In 2003, the King of the Ring's June PPV slot was replaced by Bad Blood. This would also be the final King of the Ring event broadcast on traditional PPV until 2024, which was rebranded as King and Queen of the Ring to incorporate the women's Queen of the Ring tournament that was established in 2021.

The main match from SmackDown! was a singles match for the WWE Undisputed Championship in which champion The Undertaker defeated Triple H to retain the title. The main match from Raw was a singles match in which Brock Lesnar defeated Rob Van Dam in the King of the Ring tournament final to win the 2002 tournament and earn a match for the WWE Undisputed Championship at SummerSlam. It was the only King of the Ring tournament to award a reward other than the title of "King of the Ring" until 2024 when a SummerSlam world title match became a permanent annual reward. The predominant match on the undercard was Kurt Angle versus Hollywood Hulk Hogan; the other matches on the undercard were Ric Flair versus Eddie Guerrero, a WWE Women's Championship match between champion Trish Stratus and challenger Molly Holly, and a SmackDown! WWE Cruiserweight Championship match between champion The Hurricane and challenger Jamie Noble.

Production Background

King of the Ring was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event held annually in June by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) since 1993. The PPV was named after the King of the Ring tournament, a men's single-elimination tournament that was established in 1985 and held annually until 1991, except for 1990, with the winner crowned the "King of the Ring"; these early tournaments were held as special non-televised house shows. Unlike the non-televised events, the PPV did not feature all of the tournament's matches. Instead, several of the qualifying matches preceded the event with the final few matches then taking place at the pay-per-view. Other matches took place at the event as it was a traditional three-hour pay-per-view. The King of the Ring event became considered as one of WWE's "Big Five" PPVs, along with the Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series, the company's five biggest annual shows of the year.

The 10th King of the Ring PPV hosted the finals of the 16th tournament and it was held on June 23, 2002, at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Previously, the only award for winning the King of the Ring tournament was being crowned the "King of the Ring". For the 2002 tournament, it was decided that the winner would also earn a match for the WWE Undisputed Championship at that year's SummerSlam.

The 2002 event was the first King of the Ring tournament and PPV held under the WWE name after the promotion was renamed from World Wrestling Federation (WWF) to WWE the previous month. It was also the first tournament and PPV held after the promotion introduced the brand extension in March, in which the roster was divided between the Raw and SmackDown! brands where wrestlers were exclusively assigned to perform. The 2002 tournament and PPV in turn featured wrestlers from both brands.

Storylines King of the Ring featured professional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing feuds, plots, and storylines that were played out on Raw and SmackDown! – WWE's television programs. All wrestlers were from WWE's Raw and SmackDown! brands – a storyline division in which WWE employees are assigned to a television program of the same name.

The main rivalry heading into the event was between The Undertaker and Triple H for the WWE Undisputed Championship. On the May 30 episode of SmackDown!, the storyline began when The Undertaker defeated Randy Orton to retain the title. Afterwards, Triple H assaulted The Undertaker, claiming that if The Undertaker would give him a title shot, he would not retain the title. Later that night, The Undertaker distracted Triple H and cost him a match against Test. After the match, The Undertaker hit Triple H with multiple chair shots targeting his arm with it. On the June 6 episode of SmackDown!, Triple H and Hollywood Hulk Hogan co-won a battle royal to determine the number one contender for the WWE Undisputed Championship at King of the Ring. SmackDown! owner Mr. McMahon booked Triple H and Hogan for a singles match, which was also a rematch from Backlash between the two. In that match, Triple H defeated Hogan to become the number one contender for the WWE Undisputed Championship at King of the Ring.

The predominant feud from the SmackDown! brand was between Kurt Angle and Hollywood Hulk Hogan. At Judgment Day, Angle got his head shaved bald after losing to Edge in a Hair vs. Hair match. Later that night, Hogan lost the WWE Undisputed Championship to The Undertaker due to interference from SmackDown! owner Mr. McMahon. On the May 23 episode of SmackDown!, Angle started wearing a hairpiece with a piece of amateur wrestling headgear after being shaven bald. On the May 30 episode of SmackDown!, Angle interrupted a staredown between Hogan and Mr. McMahon when he nailed Hogan with a steel pipe to the back of the head. Later that night, Hogan cost Angle a steel cage match against Edge. On the June 13 episode of SmackDown!, Hogan challenged Angle to a match at King of the Ring, which Angle accepted. Later that night, Angle and The Undertaker attacked Hogan before their tag team match against Hogan and Triple H. After Angle and The Undertaker defeated Triple H by disqualification, Hogan went after Angle and eventually stripped Angle's wig from his head.

The predominant feud from the Raw brand was between Ric Flair and Eddie Guerrero. For the previous two months, Flair had feuded with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin ever since the start of the brand extension where Austin was a free agent and signed with the Raw brand on the April 1 episode of Raw, following advice from Mr. McMahon and Flair. On the May 27 episode of Raw, Chris Benoit returned to WWE from a neck injury that he suffered the previous year at the King of the Ring event. Later that night, after Guerrero lost the Intercontinental Championship to Rob Van Dam in a ladder match, Guerrero knocked Van Dam over the top rope with the ladder. Moments later, Austin charged to the ring and attacked Guerrero along with Flair and Arn Anderson until Benoit got to the ring and assaulted Austin, enabling Guerrero to perform a frog splash on him. On the June 3 episode of Raw, Austin defeated Flair in a match where Flair became Austin's servant. If Flair would have won, Austin would have forever been on the bench. However, the feud ended abruptly with Austin's unexpected departure from the company on June 10 for his refusal to lose a hotshotted match to Brock Lesnar. That same night, Flair lost his half of WWE's ownership to McMahon and returned to active wrestling. On the June 17 episode of Raw, Flair gave a speech over losing the position of Raw owner to McMahon. The speech was interrupted by Guerrero and Benoit. Flair challenged Guerrero to a match at King of the Ring, which Guerrero accepted. Afterwards, both Guerrero and Benoit assaulted Flair, ending with Guerrero strapping Flair in Flair's own Figure-four leglock submission hold.

A secondary feud from the SmackDown! brand was between The Hurricane and Jamie Noble for the Cruiserweight Championship. On the June 6 episode of SmackDown!, Noble and his valet Nidia made their WWE debut by attacking The Hurricane in his locker room. The following week on SmackDown!, after The Hurricane lost to Test in a King of the Ring Qualifying match, Noble and Nidia made their way to the ring and took turns finishing The Hurricane off with a series of slaps before taking his mask. On the June 20 episode of SmackDown!, Noble defeated Billy Kidman to become the number one contender for The Hurricane's Cruiserweight Championship at King of the Ring. After the match, The Hurricane got his mask back after nailing Noble with a chokeslam.

A secondary feud from the Raw brand was between Trish Stratus and Molly Holly for the WWE Women's Championship. On the April 1 episode of Raw, after Stratus defeated Terri Runnels in a Paddle on a Pole match, Holly returned in a drastic attitude change and new look by nailing Stratus in the head with a paddle, breaking it into two. On the May 27 episode of Raw, Stratus and Spike Dudley defeated Holly and William Regal in a mixed tag team match. After the match, Holly attacked Stratus with Regal's brass knuckles. Holly would sneak attack Stratus on many occasions, leading to a title match between the two for Stratus' Women's Championship at King of the Ring.

Canceled match "Stone Cold" Steve Austin was scheduled to face Eddie Guerrero at King of the Ring, as the two developed a storyline feud. However, Austin walked out and left the company prior to this event. Ric Flair was announced as a last-minute replacement for Austin in the match against Guerrero.

Event + Other on-screen personnelRole:Name:English commentatorsJim RossJerry LawlerSpanish commentatorsCarlos CabreraHugo SavinovichInterviewersMark LloydJonathan CoachmanRing announcerHoward FinkelBreak announcersMichael ColeTazzRefereesMike ChiodaCharles RobinsonBrian HebnerEarl HebnerChad PattonJim KorderasJack Doan

Before the event aired live on pay-per-view, The Hardy Boyz (Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy) wrestled Raven and Steven Richards in a match that aired live on Sunday Night Heat. The Hardy Boyz won when Jeff pinned Richards after Raven turned on his partner.

Preliminary matches The event began with the semifinal round of the King of the Ring tournament involving Rob Van Dam and Chris Jericho. The match went back and forth and both men earned momentum against each other. In the end, Jericho applied the Walls of Jericho on Van Dam, but the latter reached the ropes and executed a Five Star Frog Splash to advance to the final.

The second match of the semifinal was between Brock Lesnar and Test. Lesnar dominated most of the match until Test got control and attempted a pumphandle slam on Lesnar but Lesnar ducked the move. Test attempted a big boot, but Lesnar countered with the F-5 for the victory.

In the third match of the event, The Hurricane defended the WWE Cruiserweight Championship against Jamie Noble. The Hurricane dominated earlier part of the match until Noble got control. The Hurricane regained momentum and finished Noble and went for the pin, but Noble's valet Nidia distracted the referee. Noble took advantage and executed a powerbomb and attempted a pin. The Hurricane put his feet on the ropes, but Nidia knocked his feet and Noble won the title.