The Eruption was the third

professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program ...

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 eve ...

produced by

World Wrestling All-Stars World Wrestling All-Stars (WWA) was a professional wrestling promotion founded by Australian concert promoter Andrew McManus in 2001. The promotion was operated by McManus' International Touring Company. WWA was one of several promotions to com ...

(WWA). The event took place on April 13, 2002 at the

Rod Laver Arena Rod Laver Arena is a multipurpose arena located within Melbourne Park, in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The arena is the main venue for the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam tennis tournament of ...

in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The event aired in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

via tape delay on April 14, 2002. Nine

professional wrestling matches Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Gimmick, gimmick matches" in the Glossary of professional wrestling terms, jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick m ...

were contested at the event. Nathan Jones defended the World Heavyweight Championship against

Scott Steiner Scott Rechsteiner (born July 29, 1962), better known by the ring name Scott Steiner, is an American professional wrestler. Steiner is perhaps best known for his time in World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and has also wrestled for Jim Crockett ...

in the

main event 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 ...

, with

Sid Vicious Simon John Ritchie (10 May 1957 – 2 February 1979), better known by his stage name Sid Vicious, was an English musician, best known as the second bassist for the punk rock band Sex Pistols. After his death in 1979 at the age of 21, he remai ...

serving as the

special outside enforcer Special or specials may refer to: Policing * Specials, Ulster Special Constabulary, the Northern Ireland police force * Specials, Special Constable, an auxiliary, volunteer, or temporary; police worker or police officer * Special police forces M ...

. Steiner defeated Jones to win the title. In other prominent matches on the event, Sabu defeated

Crowbar A crowbar, also called a wrecking bar, pry bar or prybar, pinch-bar, or occasionally a prise bar or prisebar, colloquially gooseneck, or pig bar, or in Australia a jemmy, is a lever consisting of a metal bar with a single curved end and flat ...

in a

steel cage match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Gimmick, gimmick matches" in the Glossary of professional wrestling terms, jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick m ...

and A.J. Styles defeated

Jerry Lynn Jeremy Lynn (born June 12, 1963), better known by the ring name Jerry Lynn, is an American retired professional wrestler signed with All Elite Wrestling as a producer and coach. Lynn has worked for professional wrestling promotion, promotions ...

in the finals of a tournament to win the vacant International Cruiserweight Championship, which had been vacated when previous champion

Eddie Guerrero Eduardo Gory Guerrero Llanes (October 9, 1967 – November 13, 2005) was an American professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He was best known for his tenures in WWE, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and World Championship Wrestling ...

left WWA to join

World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

Event

Preliminary matches

The event kicked off live with a two-round tournament for the vacant International Cruiserweight Championship. In the first tournament match,

Nova A nova ( novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. All observed novae involve white ...

took on A.J. Styles. Near the end of the match, Nova attempted to perform a '' Kryptonite Krunch'' on Styles but Styles countered it into a ''

Styles Clash A facebuster, also known as a faceplant, is a Professional wrestling throws, takedown move in professional wrestling in which an attacking wrestler forces their opponent down to the mat face-first without involving a headlock or Professional wrest ...

'' for the win. In the next tournament match,

took on Chuckie Chaos. Chaos threw Lynn out of the ring with a bodyscissors and then dived onto him. Lynn then went to the ring and nailed a

cradle piledriver A piledriver is a professional wrestling Professional wrestling throws#Driver, driver move in which the wrestler grabs their opponent, turns them upside-down, and drops into a sitting or kneeling position, driving the opponent head-first into the ...

for the win. Next, Puppet the Psycho Dwarf took on Teo in a midget hardcore match. Near the end of the match, Teo put a garbage can on Puppet and hit a chair on the can. Teo then climbed a ladder and performed a splash from the top off the ladder onto Puppet for the win. Next,

Brian Christopher Brian Christopher Lawler (January 10, 1972 – July 29, 2018) was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is best remembered for his career in the World Wrestling Federation (now WWE), where he performed as "Too Sexy" Brian ...

teamed with

Ernest Miller Ernest Clifford Miller (born January 14, 1964) is an American actor and former professional wrestler who worked for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) better known by his ring name, Ernest "The Cat" Miller ...

to take on

Buff Bagwell Marcus Alexander Bagwell (born January 10, 1970) is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name, Buff Bagwell. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) from 1991 to 2001, where he was a f ...

and

Stevie Ray Laslon "Lash" Steven Huffman (born August 22, 1958) is an American semi-retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Stevie Ray. Stevie Ray is best known for his seven-year tenure with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) from 199 ...

in a tag team match. Near the end of the match, Christopher and Miller took Ray out of the ring with a clothesline and hit a double chokeslam to Bagwell and Christopher nailed a '' Hip Hop Drop'' to Miller for the win. Next,

Allan Funk Allan Eric Funk (born July 7, 1971) is an American professional wrestler who has previously worked in promotions such as World Championship Wrestling and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, often with comedic personas. He also competed in Lucha Li ...

took on Pierre Ouellet. Near the end of the match, Ouellet hit a ''

Cannonball A round shot (also called solid shot or simply ball) is a solid spherical projectile without explosive charge, launched from a gun. Its diameter is slightly less than the bore of the barrel from which it is shot. A round shot fired from a lar ...

'' and gained a near-fall. Funk mimicked

Hulk Hogan Terry Gene Bollea (; born August 11, 1953), better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE as a brand ambassador. Known for his flamboyance and massive physiq ...

's moves and mannerisms and hit a

big boot Big or BIG may refer to: * Big, of great size or degree Film and television * ''Big'' (film), a 1988 fantasy-comedy film starring Tom Hanks * ''Big'', a 2023 Taiwanese children's film starring Van Fan and Chie Tanaka * '' Big!'', a Discover ...

, a

piledriver Piledriver or pile driver may refer to: *Pile driver, a person trained to use the diesel hammer that drives piles into the ground for foundations and bridges *Piledriver (professional wrestling), a move used in professional wrestling Entertainme ...

and a

leg drop A leg drop or legdrop refers to an attack used in professional wrestling in which an attacking wrestler will jump and land his leg across a fallen opponent's chest, throat, face or head or in some cases, the groin/lower-abdominal area. The mov ...

to Ouellet for the win. Next, A.J. Styles took on Jerry Lynn in the final of the tournament for the vacant International Cruiserweight Championship. Near the end of the match, Styles prevented Lynn from hitting a superplex and tossed him down on the mat and nailed a '' Spiral Tap'' on Lynn to win the vacant title. Later, Sabu took on Devon Storm in a

. Near the end of the match, Sabu threw a chair at Storm and put him on a table. Sabu climbed the top of the cage and delivered a

moonsault A moonsault, moonsault press, or back flip splash is a Professional wrestling aerial techniques, professional wrestling aerial technique. It was innovated by Mando Guerrero. Much of its popularity in both Puroresu, Japanese and professional wrestl ...

but the table did not break, so he climbed the top of the cage again and hit a diving leg drop to drive Storm through the table for the win. The penultimate match of the event was an evening gown match between

Midajah Melinda Midajah Flores (; born March 23, 1970) is an American personal trainer, Model (profession)#Fitness models, fitness model, beautician, former Manager (professional wrestling), professional wrestling manager and actress, better known by her ...

and Queen Bea. Midajah hit a scoop slam to Bea and removed her gown for the win. After the match, Puppet and Teo removed Midajah's gown and she chased them away.

Main event match

Nathan Jones defended the

WWA World Heavyweight Championship The World Wrestling All-Stars (WWA) World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in World Wrestling All-Stars. It was the primary championship in the WWA. The title was sanctioned by WWA as their wor ...

against

in the main event and Commissioner

served as the

. Near the end of the match, Jones hit a chokeslam on Steiner and covered him for the pinfall but Midajah jumped on the referee to prevent the pinfall. Vicious then tried to hit a

powerbomb A powerbomb is a professional wrestling throw in which an opponent is lifted (usually so that they are sitting on the wrestler's shoulders) and then slammed back-first down to the mat. The standard powerbomb sees an opponent first placed in a s ...

on Midajah but several referees came to stop him from doing so. Steiner then hit Jones with the title belt and applied a '' Steiner Recliner'' on Jones to make him pass out to the hold and win the title.

Reception

Greg of ''DDT Digest'' praised A.J. Styles' matches against Nova and Jerry Lynn in the International Cruiserweight Championship tournament and Sabu's match against Devon Storm but criticized WWA's production of the pay-per-view event with weak storylines and weak performances. ''Crazy Max'' staff wrote "A pretty decent show here. The Styles/Nova match was a little to short to really get going but was good for what it was. The tag match was just awful with all four guys just totally sucking in the ring. I liked the three matches before the main event. The cage match being my favorite of those. The main event was ok. Obviously we weren’t going to get anything great from these guys but it was watchable yet again though we get a total clusterfuck of a finish."

Results

Tournament brackets

References

External links

The Eruption results at Pro Wrestling History
{{Professional wrestling in Australia 2002 in professional wrestling April 2002 in Australia Professional wrestling shows in Australia Events in Melbourne World Wrestling All-Stars events 2000s in Melbourne 2002 in Victoria (state)