11/25/2002: World Title Match: Rob Van Dam def. Shawn Michaels (C) by DQ in 8:54. This was Shawn, not long after he came back full-time after the back injury, so the announcers played that up as a concern big time. In fact, this was Shawn’s first non-stip singles match since Wrestlemania XIV against Austin, well over four years before this. I must say, this was one of the most (if not THE most) unflattering physical portrayals of Shawn in his career. He looked skinny, had an awful Dutch boy haircut, and while he wasn’t wearing his shit-brown tights associated with him in this run, he wore some long black tights that looked like they were too big for him or something. RVD was still learning how to work a more WWE style, so he crammed a lot of shit into this nine-minute match, with a lot of it coming off a little clumsy or off. The fans lightly chanted for both men, but this match was fairly dead considering where both men were slotted in 2002. At least the fans didn’t do a bunch of chants that sounded rehearsed, as would happen later on when John Cena became more of a thing. Without being able to perform the Shawn Michaels wild bumps he was known for before his four-year leave, it seemed he was still finding his way in terms of connecting with the crowd through facial expressions. RVD hit a couple of highspots by landing on Shawn’s injured back, including the frog splash, but that’s when Hunter ran out and pummeled RVD for the DQ and horrible finish. This was done because Hunter wanted to be the one to regain “his title” from Shawn. Oh, fucking yawn. This was a pretty disappointing match given the participants, and one that would have likely been much better a few years later. **