Chris Jericho as Champion | C
This grade would have been so much higher had his final month as champion not been so poorly booked. At December's WWE PPV event, Jericho beat both The Rock and Steve Austin to become the first ever Undisputed WWE Champion. In subsequent months, Jericho rounded out a compelling heel persona, working fantastically on the mic with both the Rock and Steve Austin. However, when it came time for his program with Tripe H, politics once again reared their ugly heads in WWE, and a sure-fire alliance with Stephanie McMahon became his downfall. Instead of being portrayed as a strong heel, he was instead made to look like an impotent errand boy, an after thought in the post-divorce storyline between H and Steph. His rematch even included Steph, who took the pinfall and was thankfully removed from WWE. Sadly, his 3+ month World Title reign only marginally elevated Jericho, who might never again get such an opportunity. .::.Widro

Triple H Returns And Triumphs | C
On paper it seemed like a can't miss. Triple H, who had been out of action with a quad injury since May, would come back as a triumphant babyface, win the Royal Rumble against all odds, break up with his wife and ride into the Wrestlemania main event to once again become WWE Champion. However, something was definitely missing from what actually happened. While he did indeed come back and rise to the top, he wasn't nearly as popular a babyface as he expected, possibly 4th behind Austin, Rock and Hogan. In addition, the booking of his divorce and match with Jericho was so underwhelming that it made the resulting match at Wresltemania a huge disappointment. .::.Widro

nWo | D+
One could probably say, in hindsight, that the nWo would never have worked in WWE this year because of the age of Hulk Hogan and Kevin Nash and the implosion of Scott Hall. But before that was totally clear, the booking of the nWo before Wrestlemania was atrocious. The teases were ok, but it would have been better to make them appear as a surprise on Raw. Then after getting some huge heat on the Rock and Steve Austin early in their tenure, they were made to look like impotent jobbers almost immediately after, rendering them as ineffective draws. They were allowed little time on the mic to get over, and very little previous footage of them in WCW was used to get them over. Even the introduction seemed too "WWE" to make them seem like a serious threat. .::.Widro

Brand Extension | D
It was a risk to take the WWE and split it into two separate divisions. Done correctly, it would create two rival promotions, with different wrestlers, styles, titles and atmospheres. Instead, it has been rendered nearly worthless in the months since the draft. Instead of keeping the shows separate, there has been a total disregard for any of the rules of the draft. Instead of two shows that look and feel like different federations, we have two watered down versions of last year's WWE, which is exactly what Vince McMahon didn’t need. Unless something is done soon to really differentiate Raw from Smackdown, and the wrestlers are kept clear of each other, the brand extension won't likely last in 2003. .::.Widro

Hogan's Final World Title | F
From a business standpoint, it was a total failure, and it drove off the casual teen fanbase in the millions. Hulk Hogan was getting some huge pops in arenas, but his days as a ratings and buyrate draw were over. He drew a huge number against the Rock for a dream match at Wrestlemania X8, but WWE incorrectly interpreted that as a sign that Hogan was ready for one last run at the top. If Ric Flair's "one last run" was given as huge a push as Hogan's one would have to wonder if it would have been as massive a failure as Hogan's was. Regardless, Hogan's short title reign and run as the company's top face can be pointed to as a major contributor to the downward spiral the company is experiencing now. .::.Widro

Steve Austin vs. Ric Flair | C+
With all of Steve Austin's behind the scenes problems, the actual TV and angles to support Ric Flair's turn to the dark side were generally well booked and enjoyable. Flair and Austin are two of the all time greats on the mic, and the slow build was a nice change of pace from the typically rushed WWE storylines. However, there was never a huge blowoff match, and Flair's nWo turn and match with the Big Show ended in a Stunner-fest, another indication of Austin's growing backstage turmoil. Suddenly turning Flair back to a face didn't help matters after the fact, either. .::.Widro

The Hurricane's Stalker | B
Shockingly, WWE added a storyline to the Cruiserweight division, with a slow building "stalker" to WWE Cruiserweight Champion, the Hurricane. Clues were leaked out weekly, and they caused quite a mystery on Smackdown. Eventually the stalker was revealed to be Nidia, a jilted ex-lover of the Hurricane who had a new man (Jamie Noble) bent on ruining the Hurricane. The matches between Noble and the Hurricane turned out to be slightly below expectations, but the characters remain strong after the feud, and the fact that there was a storyline surrounding the Cruiserweight title gave hope to fans of that division. .::.Widro

Angle/Edge | A
There is nothing better in wresting that a hot feud between two of the industry's best workers, and Kurt Angle vs. Edge did not disappoint. Edge is one of those upper-mid card guys who was on the brink of stardom, and Angle is arguably the top heel in the promotion. The storyline between the two played out in entertaining fashion, and their PPV matchups were all top notch, making Angle look strong and Edge even stronger, bringing him to a new level. As 2002 moves into its second half, Edge seems poised to move into the main event once he is fully healed, perhaps as a heel feuding with his longtime hero, Hulk Hogan. .::.Widro

RVD vs. Guerrero IC Title | A
Having been a model citizen since his WWE release in 2001, the promotion brought back Eddie Guerrero and immediately stuck him into a program with Rob Van Dam for the Intercontinental Title. The two feuded over who's "frog splash" was better, and the resulting matches became the highlights of Raw and PPVs for many months in the first half of 2002. The matches did something rare: elevated both wrestlers and the IC Title, which had been devalued extensively in the Invasion. Van Dam now sees himself as a top face feuding with Brock Lesnar on Raw, and Guerrero was catapulted into a main event feud with Steve Austin after this feud (which unfortunately never came to fruition). .::.Widro

Undertaker WWE Champion | D+
The Undertaker was given the title only a month after Hulk Hogan won it and has not done the title proud. Although he has earned respect backstage with the "boys" he can no longer carry his end of a main event title match in the ring. His title reign has seen business plummet even further for WWE, and his continued squashing of the Hardy Boys has done less to entertain and more to turn off WWE fans. The sooner WWE can get the title off 'Taker, the better, and it seems like the second half of 2002 will not have too much more time with the Undertaker as champion. .::.Widro

Benoit Returns, New Horsemen Tease | D
Chris Benoit had been out for over a year, and was shocking drafted by Vince McMahon on Smackdown to spite Ric Flair on Raw. This poised Benoit as a top star, and when he did return, it was surprisingly on Raw. He aligned with Eddie Guerrero and Ric Flair against Steve Austin, in a top card angle that seemed like a new version of the Four Horsemen could be around the corner. Instead, Austin left the company, leaving Benoit and Guerrero struggling in the midcard feuding with a makeshift Dudley team of Spike and Bubba Ray. Benoit has yet to get a strong win on WWE TV and seems directionless, with all momentum of his return lost. .::.Widro

Brock's Huge Push | INC
Brock Lesnar's huge push will be more of a story in the second half of 2002, but it began in the first half of 2002. It will be interesting in January to look back and see if the super-push worked. But the booking of Brock has been flawed so far, making him sell too much and expose his weakness as a green worker. He is not over as a monster heel yet, but could get more credibility with well booked wins over top names such as Rock or Angle. .::.Widro