The Undertaker vs Kurt Angle vs The Rock (WWE, 7-21-2002)

WWE Vengeance, Detroit, MI

This is a request via Ko-fi. Undertaker is defending the WWE undisputed championship, which had been a bit volatile in ’02, going from Chris Jericho to Triple H at WrestleMania in March, then to Hulk Hogan in April, then to Undertaker in May, when everyone realized first how flat the HHH babyface return was, and then how dumb it was to stick the top belt on Hogan in 2002.

The bell sounds and they stand around. Rock and Undertaker talk trash, Angle is the third wheel here. Angle tries to wave their attention toward him, then shoves them both a little. “I’m Kurt Angle! You will pay attention to me!” So they double up on Angle to start the match.

Taker sends Angle off the ropes, hits him with a boot, and Rock clotheslines Angle out. Undertaker and Rock alone, Taker laying in the SOUPBONES in the corner. Rock off the ropes, Taker commits the cardinal mistake, Rock takes advantage. Taker off the ropes, ducks a clothesline, hits a leaping clothesline coming off the other side. Rock reverses another whip, and Taker crashes into Angle trying to get back into the ring. Rock sends Taker out, and Angle whips Taker knees-first into the steps.

Angle and Rock in the ring. Angle ducks a clothesline and hits a release German, which JR calls a belly-to-belly. Angle with stomps in the corner and a boot choke. Chop from Angle. Another to follow up. And then a third. Rock turns Angle around in the corner and lands four sloppy, Charlotte-like chops, but gets hit with an actual belly-to-belly.

“Angle sucks” chant kicks up. Angle tries to send Rock to the corner, Rock blocks but walks back into a belly-to-belly again. “How ’bout number three?!” He goes for it again, Rock counters and hits a DDT for two. Angle bails to the floor, Rock follows him out and pursues. Angle’s face slammed into the steps, but he whips Rock into the barricade and clotheslines him down. Then Taker comes in and clotheslines Angle.

Taker considers whom to go after, and chooses Rock, because they have the more personal issue here. SOUPBONES from Undertaker. Back into the ring, stomp from Undertaker and a ram into the top turnbuckle. Right hand again, then a kick to the gut. Rock stuck in the corner, Taker measures him and unleashes a roundhouse right to the head. A second try is blocked and Rock fires back with a series of right hands, hits the ropes, and walks into a sidewalk slam for two.

Angle back on the apron, Taker knocks him off, but he turns around into a chokeslam from Rock! Cover, two, Angle breaks the pin. Angle stomping on Rock, then pulls him up for nine straight right hands. Rock sent off the ropes, but he hits Angle with a clothesline, apparently Angle had no plan. Ankle lock from Rock! Angle counters out, and Angle hits the Rock Bottom on Rock! Cover, Undertaker breaks it with a legdrop.

Taker targets Angle this time. Into the corner, back elbow and a right hand from Undertaker, then another. Angle sent off the ropes, he blocks and goes for the Angle Slam. Undertaker counters and hits the Angle Slam on Angle! Cover, two, Rock breaks the pin.

Rock and Taker fighting again, Taker sends him off the ropes and hits a back elbow, but Rock kips up and hits a clothesline. Angle charges, Rock sidesteps and sends him to the floor. SPINE ON THE PINE on Undertaker. Rock off the ropes, People’s Elbow connects, but Angle pulls Rock out of the ring and drops him chest-first on the commentary desk. Angle sprints into the ring and tries to steal the cover, gets two.

Angle with a couple of right hands and kicks to the gut, stomping Undertaker down in the corner. Boot choke from Angle. He breaks before the five count. Undertaker springs to life and lands a strike combo in the corner, ending with a headbutt. Kick from Taker, he moseys to the opposite corner and charges in with a clothesline. Angle slumped over, Taker kicks him in the gut again. Whip to the other side is reversed, Angle charges and misses, shouldering the ringpost.

Taker follows Angle out and beats him up some more, ramming him into the ringpost. Rock back and spits some water in Taker’s face to blind him for a moment, then unloads right hands. Rock takes Taker back over to the commentary desk but gets his head bounced off of it for his trouble. Rock laid out on the table, Taker goes back to Angle on the other side of the ringside area.

Taker with a couple of right hands. Angle busted open from the ringpost. Angle laid out over the apron, head hanging out under the bottom rope, and Taker hits the legdrop there. Angle just dripping blood on the canvas and ring skirt. Taker with a headbutt as they go back into the ring.

Undertaker grabs the wristlock on Angle and goes up top — Old School connects, but instead of a forearm to the back, it’s a punch to Angle’s wounded forehead. Rock breaks up the pin and fires right hands at Taker, including the spit and roundhouse finish. Taker sent off the ropes, cardinal mistake from Rock, DDT from Undertaker gets two.

Outside, Angle has fetched a chair but he’s stumbling around, losing blood. Taker waits for Rock in the ring — GOOZLE. But Angle comes from behind, and Taker turns around and punches him, knocking the chair loose. Angle gets volleyed by right hands between Rock and Taker. Rock goes for the Rock Bottom, Rock gets GOOZLED again, but he kicks Undertaker in the nuts, and Rock stumbles into Earl Hebner. That allows Angle to SMACK THE FUCK out of Undertaker with the chair. Angle Slam on Rock! But Angle can’t cover quickly. Everyone but Angle is out of it (Hebner’s back up, it wasn’t a proper ref bump) — he covers Taker, gets two. He rolls over and covers Rock, gets two again.

Rock and Angle back up, Rock takes Angle down and puts on his very bad sharpshooter, not as awful as it sometimes was. Angle screaming in pain, bleeding, but Taker kicks Rock in the head to break the hold. Taker sets Rock — Last Ride hits! Cover, two, Angle breaks it at the last second with the ankle lock on Undertaker!

Undertaker gets out, and goes for the Last Ride on Angle, but Angle counters in mid-air with a version of a triangle choke, without the arm trapped. Angle lifted and power bombe,d but he holds on and now he’s got the arm in there. Taker is passing out. Arm drops once, twice, and Rock breaks the hold, hitting Angle in the back.

Angle turns around, Rock Bottom attempted, Angle counters with the ankle lock! Rock counters with a rollup for two! Angle misses a clothesline and runs into a GOOZLE. Chokeslam from Taker on Angle, Taker turns to Rock, ROCK BOTTOM! 1, 2, NO! Undertaker barely gets a shoulder up and blocks Hebner’s arm from hitting the mat a third time!

Angle rolls up Rock, two count again! Rock gets up into a boot from Taker, Taker is hit with the Angle Slam! Angle drops the straps and he’s FIRED UP! ROCK BOTTOM ON ANGLE! 1, 2, 3! Taker BARELY misses breaking the pin!

Rating: 4.5/5. My God, what an action-packed match this was. I remembered it being good, but not quite this good. The move stealing stuff was cute if a little weird, because there was so much of it in a short period of the match. But this is a great, frantically-paced three-way match. Angle was great in three-ways, maybe the best WWE three-way wrestler there ever was, and this is up there for best three-way matches you’ll ever see on pure action and execution from all three guys. This was the seventh WWE title win for the Rock, a record at the time. Rock was chosen as a transitional champion to pass the belt to Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam before leaving to do more movies, as his WWE career was coming to an end so he could go be a big Hollywood movie star, a career that actually panned out. Rock did come back early in 2003, and pretty much wrapped his WWE career up there after a few pay-per-view matches with Hogan, Austin, and Goldberg.