The 2002 Unforgiven was the fifth annual

Unforgiven ''Unforgiven'' is a 1992 American Revisionist Western film starring, directed, and produced by Clint Eastwood, and written by David Webb Peoples. The film tells the story of William Munny, an aging outlaw and killer who takes on one more job, ...

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

pay-per-view (PPV)

event Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of e ...

produced by

World Wrestling Entertainment World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and va ...

(WWE). It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's

Raw Raw is an adjective usually describing: * Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made * Raw food, uncooked food Raw or RAW may also refer to: Computing and electronics * .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...

and SmackDown! brand divisions. The event took place on September 22, 2002, at Staples Center in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. It was the first Unforgiven held under the WWE name, after the promotion was renamed from World Wrestling Federation (WWF) to WWE earlier that year in May, as well as the first Unforgiven held during the first brand extension that began in March. Eight professional wrestling matches were scheduled for the event—which featured a

supercard In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...

, a scheduling of more than one main bout. The main event from the SmackDown! brand featured

WWE Champion The WWE Championship is a world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, representing the Raw brand division. It is one of two world titles on WWE's main roster, alongside SmackDow ...

Brock Lesnar fighting

The Undertaker Mark William Calaway (born March 24, 1965), better known by the ring name The Undertaker, is an American retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Calaway spent the vast majorit ...

to retain the title after both men were disqualified. After the match, The Undertaker continued to attack Lesnar, throwing him through the wall of a set. The main event from the Raw brand featured World Heavyweight Champion

Triple H Paul Michael Levesque (born July 27, 1969), better known by the ring name Triple H, is an American business executive, actor, and retired professional wrestler currently serving as the chief content officer for WWE. He is widely regarded as ...

defeating

Rob Van Dam Robert Alexander Szatkowski (born December 18, 1970) is an American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name Rob Van Dam (frequently abbreviated to RVD). He is best known for his tenures in Extreme Championship Wrestling ...

to retain the title. Four matches were featured on the

undercard In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...

. The first was a singles match where

Chris Benoit Christopher Michael Benoit (; May 21, 1967 – June 24, 2007) was a Canadian professional wrestler. He worked for various pro-wrestling promotions during his 22-year career including most notably the World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestlin ...

defeated

Kurt Angle Kurt Steven Angle (born December 9, 1968) is an American retired professional wrestler, Olympic gold medalist in American freestyle wrestling, and former collegiate wrestler. He is best known for his tenures in WWE and Total Nonstop Action ...

. The next was between

Trish Stratus Patricia Anne Stratigeas (; born December 18, 1975) better known by the ring name Trish Stratus is a Canadian professional wrestler, actress and yoga instructor. She is currently signed to WWE. Often regarded as one of the greatest Women's Pe ...

and WWE Women's Champion

Molly Holly Nora Kristina Benshoof (''née'' Greenwald; born on September 7, 1977) is an American semi-retired professional wrestler signed to WWE as a producer, she is best known for her appearances with the said company from 2000 to 2005 under the ring n ...

, where Stratus won and captured the title. The third was a singles match between

Eddie Guerrero Eduardo Gory Guerrero Llanes (October 9, 1967 – November 13, 2005) was an American professional wrestler. He was a prominent member of the Guerrero wrestling family, being the son of first-generation wrestler Gory Guerrero. Eddie Guerrero i ...

and

Edge Edge or EDGE may refer to: Technology Computing * Edge computing, a network load-balancing system * Edge device, an entry point to a computer network * Adobe Edge, a graphical development application * Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed ...

, in which Guerrero won. The final featured undercard match had

WWE Intercontinental Champion The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling Professional wrestling championship#Location-specific championships, championship created and promoted by the United States, American professional wrestling promotion, promotion WW ...

Chris Jericho Christopher Keith Irvine (born November 9, 1970), better known by the ring name Chris Jericho, is an American-Canadian professional wrestler and singer. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is the leader of the Jerich ...

defeating Ric Flair to retain the title.

Production

Background

was first held by

(WWE) as the 21st In Your House pay-per-view (PPV) in April 1998. Following the discontinuation of the

In Your House In Your House (known as NXT TakeOver: In Your House in 2020 and 2021 and then NXT In Your House beginning in 2022) is a professional wrestling series of events created by WWE, a professional wrestling promotion based in Connecticut. The events o ...

series in February 1999, Unforgiven branched off as its own PPV in September that year, becoming WWE's annual September PPV. The 2002 event was the fifth event in the Unforgiven chronology and took place on September 22 at Staples Center in

. It was also the first held under the WWE name, as the promotion was renamed from World Wrestling Federation (WWF) to WWE in May. It was also the first Unforgiven held during the first brand extension that was introduced in March, a storyline subdivision in which the promotion divided its roster into two separate brands,

and SmackDown!, where wrestlers were exclusively assigned to perform. The 2002 event in turn featured wrestlers from both brands.

Storylines

The event featured nine

professional wrestling matches Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

, with outcomes predetermined by WWE script writers. The matches featured wrestlers portraying their

characters Character or Characters may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk * ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to The ...

in planned storylines that took place before, during and after the event. All wrestlers were from one of the WWE's brands-- SmackDown! or

—the two storyline divisions in which WWE assigned its employees. The main feud heading into Unforgiven on the SmackDown!

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create ...

was between

and Brock Lesnar, with the two feuding over the

WWE Championship The WWE Championship is a world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, representing the Raw brand division. It is one of two world titles on WWE's main roster, alongside SmackDow ...

. On the August 29 episode of ''SmackDown!'', as Lesnar became exclusive to the SmackDown! brand,

Stephanie McMahon Stephanie McMahon Levesque (born Stephanie Marie McMahon; ; September 24, 1976) is an American businesswoman and retired professional wrestler. She is the current chairwoman and co-chief executive officer (CEO) of WWE, the world's largest prof ...

made a single elimination series of matches to declare the number one contender for the championship.

and

made it to the final, but McMahon put The Undertaker in the match, which he then won. On the September 5 episode of ''SmackDown!'', Lesnar and The Undertaker confronted each other. On the September 12 episode of ''SmackDown!'', during The Undertaker's match with

Matt Hardy Matthew Moore Hardy (born September 23, 1974) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He is best known for his time with WWE. With his real life brother Jeff, Hardy gained notoriety in WWF's tag team ...

, Lesnar threatened The Undertaker's wife, Sara, and attacked The Undertaker when he tried to save her. On the September 19 episode of ''SmackDown!'', The Undertaker tried to attack Lesnar, but was stopped by Lesnar's security. The main feud heading into Unforgiven on the Raw brand was between

and

for the World Heavyweight Championship. On the September 2 episode of ''Raw'', Triple H was awarded the newly created World Heavyweight Championship by

Eric Bischoff Eric Aaron Bischoff (born May 27, 1955) is an American television producer, professional wrestling booker, and performer. He is best known for serving as Executive Producer and later Senior Vice President of World Championship Wrestling (WCW) an ...

, and retained it against Ric Flair. Later that night however, Van Dam and Flair defeated Triple H and

in a

tag team match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

, when Van Dam pinned Triple H. On the September 9 episode of ''Raw'', Van Dam defeated Jericho,

Jeff Hardy Jeffrey Nero Hardy (born August 31, 1977) is an American professional wrestler and musician. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Hardy is widely considered one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all-time and is regarded ...

, and

Big Show Paul Donald Wight II (born February 8, 1972) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as an in-ring performer, and as a commentator for its web television show, '' AEW Dark: Elevation,'' under ...

in a fatal four-way elimination match to become the number one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship. On the September 16 episode of ''Raw'', Triple H cost Van Dam his

WWE Intercontinental Championship The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, currently defended on the SmackDown brand division. It is one of two secondary championships for WWE's main roste ...

against Jericho and in retaliation, Van Dam attacked Triple H during a title match with Hardy. Another main feud on the SmackDown! brand was between SmackDown! General Manager,

and Raw General Manager

. It all started when

Billy and Chuck Billy and Chuck were a professional wrestling tag team of Billy Gunn and Chuck Palumbo who performed in WWE, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) from 2001 to 2002. They were two-time World Tag Team Championship (WWE), WWE World Tag Team Champions. ...

had a commitment ceremony on the September 12 episode of ''SmackDown!''. The priest of the ceremony was later to be revealed as Bischoff in disguise. He had Billy and Chuck attacked by 3 Minute Warning, setting up a tag team match scheduled for Unforgiven. If 3 Minute Warning won, Stephanie would be forced to participate in "Hot Lesbian Action" with two other women. Had Billy and Chuck won, Bischoff would have had to kiss Stephanie's buttocks. Another feud on the Raw brand was between

and

for the

WWE Women's Championship WWE (formerly the WWF, WWWF, and its predecessor, Capitol Wrestling) has maintained several women's professional wrestling championships since acquiring The Fabulous Moolah's NWA World Women's Championship in 1984. Whenever brand division has be ...

. Four months prior, Holly and Stratus began a feud which lead to a Women's Championship match between the two at

King of the Ring King of the Ring was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and WWE Network event produced by WWE, a Connecticut-based professional wrestling promotion. The PPV event was held annually in June and was established in 1993 when the promotion ...

in which Holly defeated Stratus to win the title. On the June 24 episode of ''Raw'', Holly proclaimed that she had bought dignity and respect back to the Women's Championship by not being a "tramp who sleeps her way to the top" referring to Stratus. On the July 15 episode of ''Raw'', Holly successfully defended her title against Stratus. On the September 2 episode of ''Raw'', Stratus and

Bubba Ray Dudley Mark LoMonaco (born July 14, 1971) is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and Impact Wrestling under the ring name Bully Ray. He was previously known as one-half of The Dudley Boyz tag te ...

defeated Chris Nowinski and Holly in a

mixed tag team match Much like the singles match, tag team professional wrestling matches can and have taken many forms. Just about any singles or melee match type can be adapted to tag teams; for example, hardcore tag team matches are commonplace. Tag team ladder ...

Event

Before the event aired live on pay-per-view, a dark match took place in which

Rey Mysterio Óscar Gutiérrez (born December 11, 1974), better known by his ring name Rey Mysterio, is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand. Widely regarded as one of the greatest prof ...

defeated

Chavo Guerrero Salvador Guerrero IV (born October 20, 1970) better known by his ring names Chavo Guerrero and Chavo Guerrero Jr., is an American professional wrestler. He has previously worked for World Championship Wrestling (WCW), World Wrestling Federati ...

Preliminary matches

The first match was between

The Un-Americans The Un-Americans (originally known as The Anti-Americans) were a heel Canadian professional wrestling stable in World Wrestling Entertainment who were active from 2002 to 2003. The stable was originally composed of three Canadian wrestlers: La ...

( Lance Storm, Christian,

William Regal Darren Kenneth Matthews (born 10 May 1968), better known by the ring name William Regal, is an English retired professional wrestler. He is known for his over 20 years spent in WWE, as both a performer and an on-screen authority, and for his t ...

and

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

) and Kane,

Goldust Dustin Patrick Runnels (born April 11, 1969) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Dustin Rhodes. He is best known for his multiple tenures with WWE ...

, Booker T and

. After a brawl between the teams occurred Storm performed a Superkick on Kane for a near-fall. Storm attempted a second Superkick on Kane but Kane countered the move and pinned Storm after a Chokeslam to win the match. The second match was for the

between

and Ric Flair. During the match, Flair targeted Jericho's left leg. Jericho missed a Lionsault on Flair, which further injured Jericho's left leg. Whilst a trainer distracted the referee, Jericho revealed that he was faking his injury and applied the Walls of Jericho on Flair. Flair submitted, resulting in Jericho retaining the title. The third match was between

and

. Edge performed an Edgecution on Guerrero but Guerrero placed his foot on the bottom rope to void the pinfall. Guerrero exposed a Turnbuckle, which Edge later collided with. Guerrero pinned Edge after a Sunset Flip Powerbomb to win the match. The fourth match was between

and

3-Minute Warning 3-Minute Warning was an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of cousins Matt Anoa'i and Eddie Fatu, most notable for their time with WWF/E under their ring names of Rosey and Jamal, respectively. As they were the members of th ...

( Rosey and

Jamal Jamal ( ar, جمال ''/'') is an Arabic masculine given name, meaning "beauty",Jamal
at BehindTheName.com and a surna ...

) (with

Rico The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization. RICO was en ...

). Jamal attempted to perform a Pop Up Samoan Drop on Gunn but Gunn countered the move into a Fameasser on Jamal. Rico distracted Gunn, leading to Gunn confronting Rico. Jamal pinned Gunn after a Pop Up Samoan Drop to win the match.

Main event matches

The fifth match was for the World Heavyweight Championship between

and

. After a back-and-forth match, Triple H knocked the referee down. Triple H attempted a Pedigree on Van Dam but Van Dam countered the move and performed a Five Star Frog Splash on Triple H. After Van Dam checked on the referee, Triple H performed a Low Blow on Van Dam. Triple H attempted to hit Van Dam with a sledgehammer but Van Dam performed a Spinning Heel Kick on Triple H. Ric Flair interfered, retrieving the sledgehammer. Flair appeared to hit Triple H with the sledgehammer but Flair hit Van Dam with the sledgehammer, turning Flair heel. Triple H pinned Van Dam after a Pedigree to win the match. The sixth match was for the

between

and

. Stratus pinned Molly after a Stratusfaction to win the match and the title. The seventh match was between

and

. Benoit performed a Diving Headbutt on Angle for a near-fall. Benoit applied the Crippler Crossface on Angle but Angle countered the hold into an Ankle Lock on Benoit. Benoit countered the hold into the Crippler Crossface but Angle again countered the hold into an Ankle Lock on Benoit, with Benoit touching the ropes to force Angle to break the hold. As Angle applied the Crippler Crossface on Benoit, Benoit attempted to touch the ropes but Angle pushed the ropes away. After the referee argued with Angle, Benoit pinned Angle using the ropes for leverage to win the match. The main event was for the

between Brock Lesnar (with

Paul Heyman Paul Heyman (born September 11, 1965) is an American professional wrestling manager, former promoter, photographer, and executive. He is currently signed to WWE, appearing on the SmackDown brand as manager for Undisputed WWE Universal Heavyweig ...

) and

. During the match, the referee was distracted, allowing Lesnar to hit The Undertaker with the title belt, which caused The Undertaker to bleed. After Lesnar collided with the referee, who was knocked down, The Undertaker performed a Chokeslam on Lesnar.

attempted to interfere but The Undertaker performed a Last Ride on Hardy. Lesnar pushed The Undertaker, causing The Undertaker to knock the referee down, and attempted to hit The Undertaker with a chair but The Undertaker performed a Big Boot into the chair, causing the chair to hit Lesnar, and hit Lesnar with the chair, causing Lesnar to bleed. After Lesnar attacked the referee, the referee ruled the match a double disqualification. After the match, The Undertaker threw Lesnar through the stage set.

Aftermath

While the 2002 Unforgiven had featured wrestlers from both Raw and SmackDown!, the 2003 event was held exclusively for the Raw brand.

Results

References

External links

Official website
{{WWEPPV, Unforgiven 2002 in Los Angeles Professional wrestling in Los Angeles 2002 Events in Los Angeles 2002 WWE pay-per-view events September 2002 events in the United States