2002 was a very eventful year for the WWE. Well, the WWF, as they had been known at the start of the year. The company were forced change their name from the WWF to the WWE in May after losing a lawsuit against the World Wildlife Fund. The last event to be presented under the WWF name was Insurrextion on May 4th. The year kicked off with a bang with the return of Triple H at Madison Square Garden on the pre-Royal Rumble Raw. The Rumble match saw Mr. Perfect's first WWF appearance since 1996. Goldust also made his return to the promotion during the match and impressed officials so much that he too was offered a contract. But Goldust and Perfect were nothing compared with the shock arrival of the nWo. The re-emergence of Hogan, Nash and Hall sent the backstage area into chaos. Steve Austin, in particular, was unhappy about it and rejected the offer of a Hogan match at WrestleMania. That honour went to The Rock, who was totally upstaged by the Hulkster. Throughout the rest of the year there were plane rides from hell, infamous walkouts, stunning returns and the ascendancy of some very talented wrestlers. 2002 was an eventful year for the company, alright, but as newsworthy as it was there are still some things that you might not have known about.
