Much of the matches on this SummerSlam 2002 PPV are structured as they are because of WWE's brand separation between Raw & Smackdown. Basically, at that time the company was trying to promote those two weekly shows as completely different brands (despite McMahon's WWE corporation owning both, of course).
One's mileage for this sort of promotion setup will vary. For me, matches like Angle/Mysterio, Flair/Jericho, Edge/Guerrero, VanDam/Benoit, and Undertaker/Test were either uninspiring or completely arbitrary pairings based on Raw/Smackdown affiliations (rather than, say, actual heat between the two competitors).
Fortunately, the strength of the final two matches somewhat redeems this overall event:
-Shawn Michaels' return to in-ring actual is a big success. Sure, he is somewhat helped along by consummate-professional HHH, but the Heartbreak Kid shows he still can channel the old charisma and perform a 27-minute campaign.
-The push for Brock Lesnar continues, what with him upsetting The Rock to become a very young WWE undisputed champion. I like this early push for Lesnar, as his physique and charisma certainly warrant it. It of course remains to be see how he carries the strap, but this match was entertaining from start to finish.
Overall, I can't give this card a great rating because I'm simply not a fan of the Raw/Smackdown brand war angle. But the final two matches are worthwhile of viewing, to be sure.
One's mileage for this sort of promotion setup will vary. For me, matches like Angle/Mysterio, Flair/Jericho, Edge/Guerrero, VanDam/Benoit, and Undertaker/Test were either uninspiring or completely arbitrary pairings based on Raw/Smackdown affiliations (rather than, say, actual heat between the two competitors).
Fortunately, the strength of the final two matches somewhat redeems this overall event:
-Shawn Michaels' return to in-ring actual is a big success. Sure, he is somewhat helped along by consummate-professional HHH, but the Heartbreak Kid shows he still can channel the old charisma and perform a 27-minute campaign.
-The push for Brock Lesnar continues, what with him upsetting The Rock to become a very young WWE undisputed champion. I like this early push for Lesnar, as his physique and charisma certainly warrant it. It of course remains to be see how he carries the strap, but this match was entertaining from start to finish.
Overall, I can't give this card a great rating because I'm simply not a fan of the Raw/Smackdown brand war angle. But the final two matches are worthwhile of viewing, to be sure.