WWE Sunday Night Heat review
January 27, 2003
Aired on MTV
Report by Tony Marshall, Torch Team Contributor

What, no pyro? Nope, not yet. Heat opens with a Raw flashback of Vince McMahon's challenge to Eric Bischoff to "grab Raw by the throat and shake it to its very foundation!" Then, there's Bischoff's "bombshell" announcement the following week on Raw inviting Stone Cold Steve Austin to show up at the No Way Out PPV, and welcoming The Rattlesnake back to Raw.

Oh, here's the pyro. Whew.

Coach and Lita welcome us all to Sunday Night Heat (like anybody's even watching while the Super Bowl is on), and Coach asks, "Is it really going to happen? Is the Raw Superstar of the Decade coming back to Raw?" Well, golly, Coach, if you don't know, what makes you think I do? On to the show.

(1) Molly Holly pinned Jackie in 3:52. My favorite flotation device vs. The Uber-Frump. Molly's got a new Medusa-like hairstyle. No, not the "Micelli" Medusa -- the Greek mythology Medusa. A good brawl from these two Heat regulars; a little sloppy at times, but still a decent effort. Molly got the pin after dropping Jackie -- Hangman-style -- over the top rope and slamming her back on the mat. Nothing special. We've seen it before (at least, the twelve people who usually tune in to Heat have).

The Nathan Jones vignette aired. Will he live up to the hype or will he go the way of Outback Jack? Time will tell.

(2) Rico pinned Aaron Stevens in 3:21. Nice to see Rico on his own; not playing second fiddle to Two Tons of Fun. The crowd appreciated it, too, and showed it with some loud "Rico sucks" chants. Rico played the heel very effectively. Stevens got in a fair amount of offense, but in the end he succumbed to a spinning heel kick and Rico rolled him up for the win. Too quick a match to be a real thorough showcase for their respective talents, but there were no screw-ups and they worked well together.

Highlights of the Tough Enough 3 finale were shown. Congratulations to winners John and Matt. Now, the real work begins, gentlemen.

Chris Jericho's Royal Rumble experience was highlighted. He was shown eliminating Shawn Michaels (by less than honorable methods), Rey Mysterio, Tommy Dreamer, Tajiri, and Edge & Christian. Then, he was shown getting eliminated by Test after HBK's run-in, and brawling with HBK outside the ring. His match with Test the following night on Raw was also highlighted, as was his inadvertent chair shot to Stacy Keibler. Poor Stacy...poor sobbing Test...poor Y2J. It wasn't his fault!

WWE (Starburst) Rewind: Rob Van Dam vs. Jeff Hardy from last week's Raw. Jeff Hardy turning heel? How will the Tiger Beat set react to that? Jim Ross said that the rivalry between RVD and The Illustrated Man had been brewing "under the radar." I knew it.

(3) Christian pinned Spike Dudley in 5:38. Man, Christian's stock must be falling if he's been relegated to Sunday Night Heat. Gotta make up for giving Raven the boot, I suppose. Good match from these two, though. I love Spike's antics and Christian was at his nasty, whiny, best. In the end, Christian blocked an Acid Drop and pinned the littlest Dudley with his feet on the ropes.

Hey, The Best of Confidential, Vol. 1, is available on DVD and videocassette! Buy it now before Triple H puts the kibosh on the show!

Sean O'Haire's anti-religion vignette aired. God will forgive him, though.

More highlights from the post-Rumble Raw; the ones everybody was looking forward to seeing: Scott Steiner vs. Triple H and his new as-yet-unnamed faction. Clusterf--- does not do it justice.

JVC's Extreme Blast of the Night: Steve Austin's story, in his own words, in the upcoming Raw Magazine. I'm really looking forward to reading that.

(4) Maven pinned Chris Nowinski in 4:47. Good match between these two, considering their time in the business. Nowinski definitely looked more polished, and he played his heel role very well. There's just something about him -- his facial expressions -- that make you root for him to get his ass kicked. In the end, Nowinski whipped Maven into the corner, but Maven leaped to the second turnbuckle. He faked coming off with a flying body press and Nowinski hit the deck. When "Harvard" got to his feet, Maven hit him with a missile drop-kick and got the one, two, three.

An average Heat, but this is the third show in a row without Johnny Stamboli and I'm going into Grappling Guido withdrawal. I've already lost Raven, Justin Credible, Shelton Benjamin, and Sean O'Haire. If I lose Stamboli it just might send me over the edge.

Tony Marshall reviews Sunday Night Heat -- hey, somebody's got to -- and writes WWE PPV cob-alt perspective reviews for PWTorch.com, where, every Friday, "Uncle T Looks At The Carnage" in The Lounge. Send feedback to tmarshall@pwtorch.com.            

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