Insurrextion (2002)

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Insurrextion
Insurrextion 2002 DVD cover.jpg
DVD cover featuring Triple H, Trish Stratus, The Undertaker, and Stone Cold Steve Austin
PromotionWorld Wrestling Federation
Brand(s)Raw
DateMay 4, 2002
CityLondon, England
VenueWembley Arena
Attendance9,308[1]
Pay-per-view chronology
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Insurrextion chronology
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2003

The 2002 Insurrextion was the third annual Insurrextion professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the American promotion, World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It was held exclusively for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw brand division, which made it the promotion's first-ever Raw-exclusive PPV. The event took place on May 4, 2002, at the Wembley Arena in London, England and was broadcast exclusively in the United Kingdom.

This event was the last live televised event to run under the WWF name. Due to a lawsuit by the World Wildlife Fund over the "WWF" initialism, the promotion quietly changed its name to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) over the next two days. The company officially began to use the WWE name beginning with the May 6, 2002, episode of Raw.

In addition, a series of notorious incidents on the return flight to the United States occurred, which has been referred to as the "plane ride from hell". Wrestlers Scott Hall and Curt Hennig were fired following the event for their involvement in the incidents, while Goldust and Ric Flair were also reprimanded by the company for their involvement in other incidents during the flight.

Production[]

Background[]

Insurrextion was an annual United Kingdom-exclusive pay-per-view (PPV) produced by the American professional wrestling promotion, World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE), since 2000. The 2002 event was the third event in the Insurrextion chronology and was held on May 4 at the Wembley Arena in London, England.[2] It was also the first Insurrextion produced under the brand extension introduced in March, which divided the roster into two separate brands, Raw and SmackDown!, where wrestlers were exclusively assigned to perform.[3] The 2002 event was in turn made exclusive to wrestlers of the Raw brand, which was the promotion's first Raw-exclusive PPV produced.[2]

Storylines[]

The event featured nine professional wrestling matches and two pre-show matches that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers portrayed villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in the scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches.[4]

Aftermath[]

The 2002 Insurrextion was the final PPV produced under the WWF name as the company was renamed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) just two days after the event. This name change came as a result of a lawsuit from the World Wildlife Fund over the "WWF" initialism.[5]

"The Plane Ride from Hell"[]

During the flight back to the United States, a series of incidents occurred that has been referred to as the "plane ride from hell", which has been described as one of professional wrestling's most infamous scandals. The Boeing 747 plane that was chartered included an open bar, and many of the wrestlers indulged. This led to many incidents, including physical altercations and the sexual harassment of two female flight attendants, Taralyn Cappellano and Heidi Doyle. Scott Hall had a history of alcoholism. Although he did not appear at the PPV, he did perform at the house shows during this UK tour. In addition to pranking other wrestlers with shaving cream, he said sexually vulgar things to Doyle before passing out. Curt Hennig, known for being a prankster, also pranked wrestlers with the shaving cream, including Brock Lesnar, which resulted in a competitive fight between the two that almost caused them to accidentally open the plane's emergency exit. Goldust also said vulgar things to Cappellano, and later got on the public address system and started to sing a song for his ex-wife and fellow wrestler, Terri Runnels, who was also on the plane. Additionally, Ric Flair exposed himself to both flight attendants and allegedly grabbed their hands and had them touch his private parts; Flair denied the accusations. Both Hall and Hennig were fired following the event, while Goldust and Flair were also reprimanded by the company. A 2004 lawsuit was filed by both Cappellano and Doyle, although WWE settled out of court with both women.[6][7][8] Vice's Dark Side of the Ring series covered the incident in September 2021.[9]

Results[]

No. Results[2][10] Stipulations Times[1]
1D Mr. Perfect defeated Goldust Singles match -
2 Rob Van Dam defeated Eddie Guerrero (c) via disqualification Singles match for the WWF Intercontinental Championship 11:24
3 Jacqueline and Trish Stratus defeated Jazz and Molly Holly Tag team match 7:43
4 X-Pac defeated Bradshaw Singles match 8:49
5 Booker T defeated Steven Richards (c)[Note 1] Hardcore match for the WWF Hardcore Championship 9:50
6 The Hardy Boyz (Jeff Hardy and Matt Hardy) defeated Brock Lesnar and Shawn Stasiak (with Paul Heyman) Tag team match 6:42
7 Spike Dudley (c) defeated William Regal Singles match for the WWF European Championship 4:56
8 Stone Cold Steve Austin defeated Big Show Singles match with Ric Flair as special guest referee 15:00
9 Triple H defeated The Undertaker Singles match 14:31
  • (c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match
  • D – indicates the match was a dark match
  1. ^ Following the match, Crash Holly (who was not involved in the original match) pinned Booker T, who later pinned Crash to regain the title; Richards later pinned Booker to return the title to himself.

Other on-screen talent[]

Commentators
Interviewers
Ring announcer
Referees

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "WWF Insurrextion 2002 « Events Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  2. ^ a b c "Dark Pegasus Video Review: Insurrextion 2002 - 411MANIA". 411mania.com. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  3. ^ "WWE Entertainment To Make RAW and SMACKDOWN Distinct Television Brands" (Press release). WWE. March 27, 2002. Archived from the original on April 17, 2010. Retrieved April 5, 2012.
  4. ^ Grabianowski, Ed. "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks, Inc. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on 2013-11-18. Retrieved 2014-01-05.
  5. ^ "World Wrestling Federation Entertainment Drops The "F" To Emphasize the "E" for Entertainment". WWE. Archived from the original on January 19, 2009. Retrieved August 28, 2008.
  6. ^ Baines, Tim (May 8, 2002). "Hall, Henning and F are out". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on July 24, 2017. Retrieved February 24, 2019.
  7. ^ Mooneyham, Mike Raw Crew Lives Down To Name The Wrestling Gospel (May 11, 2002). Retrieved 19-12-2011.
  8. ^ Konuwa, Alfred (May 6, 2012). "Ric Flair, Sex & Steroids in Flight: 10 Years After WWE's Plane Ride from Hell". Bleacher Report. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  9. ^ "The Plane Ride from Hell". Vice News. September 16, 2021. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
  10. ^ "Insurrextion 02 - London, England - Wembley Arena - May 4, 2002 (9,308; sell out)". The History of WWE. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
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