Global Warning 2002: WWE's Forgotten Stadium Show In Australia
- Tomás Cunha
- Oct 16
- 9 min read
Nowadays, WWE hosts Premium Live Events all over the world. Just in the last 60 days, they packed arenas for Clash in Paris and Crown Jewel: Perth. A few months from now, Saudi Arabia will host the Royal Rumble. International events are heavily promoted showcases now, but that hasn't always been the case. In the Attitude and Ruthless Aggression Eras, one-off UK-exclusive shows (Insurrextion, Rebellion, Capital Carnage, etc) were the closest we got to an international pay-per-view - despite rarely being acknowledged on TV and never being treated as canon.
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In August 2002, WWE put over 56,000 butts in seats at Colonial Stadium in Melbourne, Australia for a special stadium show headlined by The Rock, Triple H and Brock Lesnar in a triple threat match for the WWE Undisputed Championship. It feels more like a modern international Premium Live Event than a forgotten tour stop, especially with a star-studded main event like that, yet many fans have never even heard of it. And with WWE back in Australia in October 2025, there's no better time to discuss this show.
Without any further ado, let's travel back to 2002 and revisit WWE Global Warning in Australia!
Date | Held In | Attendance | Main Event | Cagematch Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
August 10, 2002 | Colonial Stadium (Melbourne, Australia) | 56,734 | The Rock Vs. Triple H Vs. Brock Lesnar |
Why Was WWE Global Warning 2002 So Significant To Australians?
Simply put, Australia was starving for WWE. The company had only toured the country in 1985 and 1986 up to that point. It had been nearly two decades since the last time the then-World Wrestling Federation held a show in Australia. That was halfway into Hulk Hogan's first reign as WWF Champion (who wasn't part of those tours, by the way)! That was long before The Rock or Stone Cold Steve Austin became global icons. By 2002 the Attitude Era had come and gone, and an entire generation of Australian fans had grown up loving WWE without experiencing it live.
In other words, this wasn't casual interest but rather pent-up demand. Unless they were willing to hop on a plane for God knows how many hours to America, Australian fans had no way of seeing WWE in person. So, when tickets went on sale for Global Warning 2002, they vanished. When you rewatch Global Warning, the atmosphere makes it feel like a WrestleMania or a SummerSlam. And for those 56,734 fans in attendance, this was their WrestleMania - their one chance to show WWE management that Australia deserved far more.
The fans did their part. But that leads to the real question: how does Global Warning 2002 actually hold up today?
WWE Global Warning 2002 Full Results
Match | Stipulation | Winner(s) | Time | Cagematch Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Rikishi Vs. Rico | Kiss My Ass Match | Rikishi | 2:32 | N/R |
Jamie Noble Vs. The Hurricane | WWE Cruiserweight Championship Match | Jamie Noble | 8:45 | |
The Un-Americans Vs. Rey Mysterio & Billy Kidman | World Tag Team Championship Match | The Un-Americans | 9:10 | |
Chris Jericho Vs. Edge | Singles Match | Edge | 12:49 | |
Stacy Keibler Vs. Torrie Wilson | Bra & Panties Match | Torrie Wilson | 4:45 | N/R |
The Rock Vs. Triple H Vs. Brock Lesnar | WWE Undisputed Championship Triple Threat Match | The Rock | 14:35 |
Note: Global Warning 2002 was released on home video, but not in full. Three matches (Randy Orton & Mark Henry vs. Reverend Devon & Deacon Batista, Billy & Chuck vs. Hardcore Holly & Chavo Guerrero and Kurt Angle vs. Test) never aired.
Looking at the card on paper, Global Warning wasn't treated like a throwaway overseas show. It's not a WrestleMania line-up by any stretch, but you'd struggle to find many cards from that era boasting that main event plus Edge vs Chris Jericho. Even some of the undercard matches, namely the World Tag Team and Cruiserweight Championship bouts, wouldn't have looked out of place on a proper WWE pay-per-view in 2002.
Stephanie McMahon Kicked Off The Show
Stephanie Was SmackDown's General Manager At The Time
Global Warning started with then-SmackDown General Manager, Stephanie McMahon, walking out to deliver a shockingly brief promo. Stephanie welcomed everyone to the show, reminded the crowd that WWE had returned to Australia after 18 years and promised they were there to leave a mark. And that was it. Where were these one-minute promos during the Authority era, Steph!?
Rikishi Vs. Rico
Kiss My Ass Match
The first match on the card was a Kiss My Ass match between Rikishi and Rico. The two had been feuding on SmackDown for months, even holding the World Tag Team Championship for a cup of coffee. However, the reign only lasted a couple of weeks, as Rico helped his clients, Billy & Chuck, regain the straps in a rematch. While a Kiss My Ass match would never fly in this day and age, it worked here because Rico had heat and the fans wanted him to pay for what he'd done.
Rikishi made quick work of Rico, brushing off a series of nice kicks from the "stylist" before putting him away in less than three minutes. Rico tried to back out of the stipulation after the bell, only to take a Stinkface to one of the loudest reactions of the entire night. Rikishi then brought two kids into the ring to dance with him. Was this a classic? Of course not. But the fans in attendance just wanted to celebrate WWE after almost two decades without a show, and Rikishi was the perfect wrestler to get the party started.
Jamie Noble Vs. The Hurricane
Jamie Noble Retained The WWE Cruiserweight Championship In Australia
Next up was a Cruiserweight Title bout between Jamie Noble and The Hurricane. Noble became the champion a couple of months earlier at King of the Ring, pinning Hurricane after Nidia pushed his foot off the ropes. Noble had knocked off Billy Kidman in a successful title defense at Vengeance in July, but the former champion wasn't done. The Hurricane got another shot at Global Warning in Melbourne, Australia.
They started off slowly but kept the crowd invested the whole time. The pace picked up in the second half of the match, with each man getting a few close nearfalls. The audience thought Hurricane had this one in the bag after he delivered an impressive swinging neckbreaker off the top rope. However, the impact ended up hurting both men, and the challenger gave the champion more than enough time to recover.
Much like at King of the Ring, Nidia ended up being the difference maker here as well. She jumped onto the apron right after Jamie Noble kicked out of that super swinging neckbreaker. It distracted Hurricane, who went after Nidia. However, that allowed Noble to sneak in a backslide with his feet on the ropes for leverage, stealing another win to retain the championship.
The Un-Americans Vs. Rey Mysterio & Billy Kidman
Christian & Lance Storm Retained The World Tag Team Championship
There's a reason why Billy Kidman didn't wrestle Jamie Noble for the Cruiserweight Championship in Australia. Kidman was busy teaming with WWE newcomer Rey Mysterio to take on the heat magnets known as The Un-Americans (Christian & Lance Storm) for their World Tag Team Championship. The gimmick might've been aimed at Americans, but Christian and Storm didn't exactly receive a warm welcome in Australia either!
As for a fan favorite, Rey Mysterio - barely weeks into his WWE main roster career - was treated like a true superhero. The fans came alive every time Mysterio was tagged in, eager to see what athletic move he'd pull off next. Kidman, himself a former Cruiserweight Champion, was right there with him for every high spot. While this felt like a glorified house show bout at times, particularly during the heat spot, it was still pretty entertaining and it wouldn't have felt out of place on an actual pay-per-view.
Chris Jericho Vs. Edge
This Was Global Warning's First Marquee Match
Edge vs Chris Jericho was the first true marquee singles match on the card, featuring two future Hall of Famers wrestling in front of an Australian crowd seeing them live for the first time. Chris Jericho was already a former WWE Undisputed Champion, and while Edge hadn't reached that level yet, he was having the best singles matches of his career as a member of the SmackDown Six.
The two had been involved in a program throughout the summer, culminating in a Steel Cage Match (won by Edge) on the July 25 episode of SmackDown. By this point, Jericho had already been drafted to Raw, where he was about to start a feud with the legendary Ric Flair heading into SummerSlam, making this match with Edge something of a SmackDown swansong for Y2J.
The match itself delivered exactly what you'd expect from two pros who knew exactly how to work a massive stadium. Jericho controlled most of the action with his usual arrogance, mocking the crowd and dictating the pace. Edge's comebacks drew huge reactions and the place erupted when he ultimately defeated Jericho. This was a really good match that proved Edge could hang - and win - against a big name in front of a large crowd.
Stacy Keibler Vs. Torrie Wilson
Bra And Panties Match
This was the Ruthless Aggression Era, so of course WWE had to book a Bra and Panties match in front of nearly 57,000 fans in Australia. Say what you will about this kind of match, and of course we'd never see this in today's WWE, but it was simply a different time.
Stacy Keibler and Torrie Wilson were two of the most popular Divas at the time, yet their job was to have a light-hearted segment before the big main event. And that's exactly what they delivered. Every near-strip spot got a loud pop, so it worked exactly as intended. Torrie eventually got the win, the fans had a good time, and by the end of it, everyone was ready for the big main event.
Main Event: The Rock Vs. Triple H Vs. Brock Lesnar
Triple Threat Match For The WWE Undisputed Championship
This was the kind of main event you'd expect on a major pay-per-view, not a one-off house show. The Rock was the reigning WWE Undisputed Champion, having recently defeated The Undertaker and Kurt Angle in a triple threat match at Vengeance. Brock Lesnar, four short months into his WWE career, was already the number one contender after winning King of the Ring, with a singles Undisputed Title shot waiting in the main event of SummerSlam. Triple H, on the other hand, had just turned heel again after a six-month face run that included winning the Undisputed Title in the main event of WrestleMania 18, and he was hungry to regain the strap.
There was a big fight feel in Australia, and from the opening bell it was clear who Australia came to see. Every time The Rock threw a simple punch, the stadium reacted like he'd hit the Rock Bottom or the People's Elbow. Triple H received a mixed reaction, as he was respected and well established but not universally loved, which felt true to The Game's character at the time. Brock Lesnar wasn't on their level yet, but the people took him seriously. The match followed the classic WWE triple threat formula, with periods of one-on-one action while the third man recovered on the outside, but the star power elevated it.
The final stretch was built around finisher teases, and it wouldn't be totally unfair to call it a "finisher spamming" kind of match. But WWE was careful with the booking, especially when it came to Brock Lesnar, who was about to win the title a few weeks later. Instead, The Rock pinned Triple H after delivering a Rock Bottom, giving Australian fans the feel-good ending while protecting The Next Big Thing ahead of the main event of SummerSlam. Paul Heyman getting attacked afterwards was the cherry on top. This was no Match of the Year contender or anything like that, but it gave the fans in Australia what they'd never seen - a real WWE main event with top stars fighting for the top prize.
Legacy Of WWE Global Warning 2002
The Show Deserves More Recognition
Although Global Warning quietly lived on the WWE Network for years, WWE has rarely acknowledged the show and it's been treated more as a curiosity than anything else. It happened, it drew 56,734 fans... and it disappeared from the company's narrative. But all those fans in Melbourne proved something that night.
They proved an international show could sell out major stadiums/arenas. Today, WWE takes some of its Premium Live Events to Australia, Europe and the Middle East. But long before any of that happened, there was Global Warning 2002: a full-scale stadium show with an atmosphere that would make several WrestleManias feel like regular episodes of Raw or SmackDown.
After this event, WWE returned to Australia every single year up until the COVID-19 pandemic put a stop to that streak. That alone shows just how impactful Global Warning 2002 was.
Now it's your turn to speak.
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