The "Freeola Customer Forum" forum, which includes Retro Game Reviews, has been archived and is now read-only. You cannot post here or create a new thread or review on this forum.
Well, 2003 wasn’t the greatest of years for the WWE. The brand split escalated to a new height with 4 PPV’s for Raw, 4 for Smackdown and 4 both together. This started in June with the first Raw PPV, Bad Blood. Things also went bad at the end of the year for UK viewers, when Armageddon was not shown there. It was the first PPV since 1997 that was not shown in the UK. Let’s get into the review, which will be in 4 parts so it is easier to read.
The champions heading into the Royal Rumble were as follows:
Raw World title: Triple H
Raw Tag Titles: Regal and Storm
Women’s title: Victoria
Smackdown World title: Kurt Angle
Smackdown Tag titles: Los Guerreros
Cruiserweight title: Billy Kidman
So, we head to the Royal Rumble on the 19th January. The problem with the Rumble nowadays is that the WWE already have a plan for their main event at Wrestlemania so when the Rumble comes around, the winner is usually very easy to spot. This was the case again in 2003. The Rumble was a Sky Box Office PPV so there was no chance of me buying it.
The Rumble kicked off with Big Show V Brock Lesnar, a continuation of the feud in which the Big Show won the title off Lesnar. Brock won and we’d see him later on. The Raw tag titles were next and Regal and Storm defended the titles against the Dudleyz. Brass knuckles and Chief Morley wasn’t enough to stop the Dudleyz taking the titles. To our despair, we had to sit through the entire Al Wilson saga and the match between Dawn Marie and Torrie Wilson. Torrie wins and we gladly move on.
HHH is up next defending his World title and I do mean his literally. His opponent was Scott Steiner. In a total roll reversal, Steiner got boos and HHH got cheers although nothing could stop this match getting consigned to hell when a DQ ended the match, leading to both participants getting booed out of the arena. Next we have the utterly amazing Angle V Benoit encounter for the Smackdown World title. Not only was this match a wonderful display of wrestling, Benoit received a standing ovation for his efforts. Sadly, it wasn’t enough as Angle walked out the winner, cementing his status as the WWE’s best wrestler.
The finale was, as tradition dictates, the Royal Rumble. This is where we find one half of the main event for Wrestlemania. Will it be a Raw guy or a Smackdown guy? The result was obvious as Brock walked out with number 29 and wins the Rumble after dumping out the Undertaker, after he dumped out Batista and Kane in the final 4.
The Rumble PPV was saved by the match of the year candidate, Benoit V Angle. The Rumble itself was better than the 2002 one but still not one that would stand out as one of the best of all time. If you ever get the chance, watch Angle and Benoit. It may have been forgotten since it was at the start of the year but it is a wonderful display of wrestling.
No Way Out was the next PPV on the 23rd February and only one month away from Wrestlemania 19. Before that, we saw Regal and Storm regain the Tag titles after Chief Morley used his power and a cheap attack and stupidly quick match resulted. Also, Team Angle, Haas and Benjamin, won the Tag titles off Los Guerreros a couple of weeks before No Way Out.
No Way Out is the PPV that tries really hard to get people to watch the programming all the way up to Wrestlemania and, hopefully for them, continue watching. We expect the hard sell but did it really work?
No Way Out kicked off with Chris Jericho facing Jeff Hardy. Jeff was later fired a week before Backlash. There were no surprises in seeing Jericho win here in a good contest and HBK ran in to save Jeff from a further beating, setting up a Jericho/HBK feud for Wrestlemania. The Raw tag titles were on the line next when Regal and Storm took on the ‘Unlikely’ duo of RVD and Kane. The ending saw Kane’s mask shift a couple of millimetres and he ‘accidentally’ chokeslams RVD for Regal to pick up the win and retain the titles. We go to the Cruiserweight title match where Kidman defends against Matt Hardy, who had to drop 10 pounds to make the weight ‘allegedly’. Matt Hardy wins the title with a little help with Shannon Moore. It was then time to make your cup of tea while the Undertaker faces Big Show. The Undertaker wins with a Triangle Choke, which was pretty lame.
The usual show stealer follows as pretty much anything with Angle and Benoit going against each other takes the match of the night honours. Team Angle, featuring Angle, Haas and Benjamin take on Benoit and Lesnar. This was really the beginning of the wonderful run that showed Haas and Benjamin to be real players on Smackdown. It was bad news for Team Angle though as Benoit takes the submission win over Haas.
We get bored witless next as HHH defends his title against Steiner… AGAIN! The fans have turned on Steiner so much that they were booing him during his entrance. HHH keeps the title and wins with the Pedigree, or as I like to call it, the Talent Suppresser. Next is the dud match, if you can call it a match, between Bischoff and a returning Austin. In a heavily one-sided contest, Austin wins after 3 stunners.
The main event saw Hulk Hogan take on The Rock in a Wrestlemania rematch. The fans had turned on The Rock at this point and it was the first showing of the helicopter entrance video. It ruled, especially live. The result was a total screw job finish win for The Rock after the ref slipped The Rock a chair. This set up Hogan V Vince at Wrestlemania.
No Way Out could not be saved by Jericho, Angle or Benoit as they pushed the stuff that was rubbish right down our throats. No Way Out was a failure, which was an ominous sign for Wrestlemania.
So, Wrestlemania. It’s the one PPV that every wrestler aspires to get to. To wrestle in the main event is obviously a special thing and they will give more than usual effort to make it a success. Regal became ill soon after No Way Out and Morley was instated, by himself, as champion with Lance Storm. It was the only title change heading into Wrestlemania, if you can call it a change.
Wrestlemania began on Heat when the team of Morley and Storm took on the Unlikely Duo of RVD and Kane. In what was a bizarre match, RVD jobbed again when it looked like the Dudleyz were going to turn face again but stayed heel when Bubba dropped an elbow on RVD. Yes, RVD was beaten by an elbow. Well, it works for The Rock.
Wrestlemania actually begins with Matt Hardy defending the Cruiserweight title against Rey Mysterio. Matt Hardy defends in a short match, which is strange considering it’s a 4-hour show. The Undertaker was scheduled to team with Nathan Jones in the next match against A-Train and Big Show but they couldn’t put Nathan Jones in the biggest PPV of the year, so they played an injury angle. The Undertaker had to go it alone and he beat A-Train with the Tombstone to keep his undefeated record at Wrestlemania.
The Women’s title was on the line next as Victoria defends against Trish and Jazz. Trish wins the title in not a bad women’s match. After that, we see the Smackdown tag titles being defended by Team Angle against Los Guerreros and Rabid Rhyno (cool name eh?). In a fast paced, but ultimately short encounter, Team Angle walked out still the champs when Shelton stole a win over Chavo.
Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho were next in what could easily have been match of the year, if Shawn was in his prime. He wasn’t in his prime but this was still a good match. Shawn picked up a rollup win and we were thrown the possibility of a Jericho face turn. Alas, it was not to be as Jericho went low after the match.
After Limp Bizkit and the catfight, it’s HHH title time as he defends against Booker T. There was a lot of speculation that Booker might actually get the title here but it was Talent Suppresser time once again and he made sure that Booker came off bad by waiting an eternity to pin Booker after the Pedigree. Next up, Vince V Hogan or as Scott Keith called it, The Nursing Home Street Fight. Apt, I think. Hogan wins the match with 3 leg drops after surviving an attack from a returning Roddy Piper, the evil French ref that cost him the match at No Way Out and Vince’s ‘dangerous’ attacks. It was way too long but quite funny. Shane comes down to the ring after the match but does nothing.
The Rock and Austin were up next. We were all in hope that it could match the Wrestlemania 17 encounter but I don’t think anyone really knew how bad Austin’s neck was. Austin hasn’t wrestled a really competitive match since, although an appearance at Wrestlemania 20 seems likely. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Austin back for one last match as he lost this match against The Rock although it took 3 Rock Bottoms to keep him down for 3. The Rock was carrying Austin here.
The main event was Angle V Brock Lesnar for the Smackdown World title. Angle was protected going into Wrestlemania and a few people thought that this could be Angle’s last ever match. Angle went into this match all guns blazing and carried Lesnar to a great match. It won’t win match of the year but it was still great. The ending was botched and improvised as Brock went for the Shooting Star Press and he landed on his head. A cover from Angle got 2 and an F5 wins the match and the title for Brock. To say that Brock could have broken his neck is an understatement and Brock looked visibly dazed and confused after the match. Angle disappeared for surgery and returned after just 6 weeks. Unfortunately, this was just the start of the problems for Angle.
Wrestlemania was a successful PPV in that the matches were pretty good but it didn’t get great buyrates compared to previous years. From now on, WWE goes on the hard sell for Wrestlemania 20. Will it be the greatest PPV of all time? Only time will tell. That is the end of Part 1. Part 2 will focus on the run up to the PPV split and the first Raw PPV, Bad Blood. How did the WWE react to Wrestlemania?
See you in Part 2. Thanks for reading.
The champions heading into the Royal Rumble were as follows:
Raw World title: Triple H
Raw Tag Titles: Regal and Storm
Women’s title: Victoria
Smackdown World title: Kurt Angle
Smackdown Tag titles: Los Guerreros
Cruiserweight title: Billy Kidman
So, we head to the Royal Rumble on the 19th January. The problem with the Rumble nowadays is that the WWE already have a plan for their main event at Wrestlemania so when the Rumble comes around, the winner is usually very easy to spot. This was the case again in 2003. The Rumble was a Sky Box Office PPV so there was no chance of me buying it.
The Rumble kicked off with Big Show V Brock Lesnar, a continuation of the feud in which the Big Show won the title off Lesnar. Brock won and we’d see him later on. The Raw tag titles were next and Regal and Storm defended the titles against the Dudleyz. Brass knuckles and Chief Morley wasn’t enough to stop the Dudleyz taking the titles. To our despair, we had to sit through the entire Al Wilson saga and the match between Dawn Marie and Torrie Wilson. Torrie wins and we gladly move on.
HHH is up next defending his World title and I do mean his literally. His opponent was Scott Steiner. In a total roll reversal, Steiner got boos and HHH got cheers although nothing could stop this match getting consigned to hell when a DQ ended the match, leading to both participants getting booed out of the arena. Next we have the utterly amazing Angle V Benoit encounter for the Smackdown World title. Not only was this match a wonderful display of wrestling, Benoit received a standing ovation for his efforts. Sadly, it wasn’t enough as Angle walked out the winner, cementing his status as the WWE’s best wrestler.
The finale was, as tradition dictates, the Royal Rumble. This is where we find one half of the main event for Wrestlemania. Will it be a Raw guy or a Smackdown guy? The result was obvious as Brock walked out with number 29 and wins the Rumble after dumping out the Undertaker, after he dumped out Batista and Kane in the final 4.
The Rumble PPV was saved by the match of the year candidate, Benoit V Angle. The Rumble itself was better than the 2002 one but still not one that would stand out as one of the best of all time. If you ever get the chance, watch Angle and Benoit. It may have been forgotten since it was at the start of the year but it is a wonderful display of wrestling.
No Way Out was the next PPV on the 23rd February and only one month away from Wrestlemania 19. Before that, we saw Regal and Storm regain the Tag titles after Chief Morley used his power and a cheap attack and stupidly quick match resulted. Also, Team Angle, Haas and Benjamin, won the Tag titles off Los Guerreros a couple of weeks before No Way Out.
No Way Out is the PPV that tries really hard to get people to watch the programming all the way up to Wrestlemania and, hopefully for them, continue watching. We expect the hard sell but did it really work?
No Way Out kicked off with Chris Jericho facing Jeff Hardy. Jeff was later fired a week before Backlash. There were no surprises in seeing Jericho win here in a good contest and HBK ran in to save Jeff from a further beating, setting up a Jericho/HBK feud for Wrestlemania. The Raw tag titles were on the line next when Regal and Storm took on the ‘Unlikely’ duo of RVD and Kane. The ending saw Kane’s mask shift a couple of millimetres and he ‘accidentally’ chokeslams RVD for Regal to pick up the win and retain the titles. We go to the Cruiserweight title match where Kidman defends against Matt Hardy, who had to drop 10 pounds to make the weight ‘allegedly’. Matt Hardy wins the title with a little help with Shannon Moore. It was then time to make your cup of tea while the Undertaker faces Big Show. The Undertaker wins with a Triangle Choke, which was pretty lame.
The usual show stealer follows as pretty much anything with Angle and Benoit going against each other takes the match of the night honours. Team Angle, featuring Angle, Haas and Benjamin take on Benoit and Lesnar. This was really the beginning of the wonderful run that showed Haas and Benjamin to be real players on Smackdown. It was bad news for Team Angle though as Benoit takes the submission win over Haas.
We get bored witless next as HHH defends his title against Steiner… AGAIN! The fans have turned on Steiner so much that they were booing him during his entrance. HHH keeps the title and wins with the Pedigree, or as I like to call it, the Talent Suppresser. Next is the dud match, if you can call it a match, between Bischoff and a returning Austin. In a heavily one-sided contest, Austin wins after 3 stunners.
The main event saw Hulk Hogan take on The Rock in a Wrestlemania rematch. The fans had turned on The Rock at this point and it was the first showing of the helicopter entrance video. It ruled, especially live. The result was a total screw job finish win for The Rock after the ref slipped The Rock a chair. This set up Hogan V Vince at Wrestlemania.
No Way Out could not be saved by Jericho, Angle or Benoit as they pushed the stuff that was rubbish right down our throats. No Way Out was a failure, which was an ominous sign for Wrestlemania.
So, Wrestlemania. It’s the one PPV that every wrestler aspires to get to. To wrestle in the main event is obviously a special thing and they will give more than usual effort to make it a success. Regal became ill soon after No Way Out and Morley was instated, by himself, as champion with Lance Storm. It was the only title change heading into Wrestlemania, if you can call it a change.
Wrestlemania began on Heat when the team of Morley and Storm took on the Unlikely Duo of RVD and Kane. In what was a bizarre match, RVD jobbed again when it looked like the Dudleyz were going to turn face again but stayed heel when Bubba dropped an elbow on RVD. Yes, RVD was beaten by an elbow. Well, it works for The Rock.
Wrestlemania actually begins with Matt Hardy defending the Cruiserweight title against Rey Mysterio. Matt Hardy defends in a short match, which is strange considering it’s a 4-hour show. The Undertaker was scheduled to team with Nathan Jones in the next match against A-Train and Big Show but they couldn’t put Nathan Jones in the biggest PPV of the year, so they played an injury angle. The Undertaker had to go it alone and he beat A-Train with the Tombstone to keep his undefeated record at Wrestlemania.
The Women’s title was on the line next as Victoria defends against Trish and Jazz. Trish wins the title in not a bad women’s match. After that, we see the Smackdown tag titles being defended by Team Angle against Los Guerreros and Rabid Rhyno (cool name eh?). In a fast paced, but ultimately short encounter, Team Angle walked out still the champs when Shelton stole a win over Chavo.
Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho were next in what could easily have been match of the year, if Shawn was in his prime. He wasn’t in his prime but this was still a good match. Shawn picked up a rollup win and we were thrown the possibility of a Jericho face turn. Alas, it was not to be as Jericho went low after the match.
After Limp Bizkit and the catfight, it’s HHH title time as he defends against Booker T. There was a lot of speculation that Booker might actually get the title here but it was Talent Suppresser time once again and he made sure that Booker came off bad by waiting an eternity to pin Booker after the Pedigree. Next up, Vince V Hogan or as Scott Keith called it, The Nursing Home Street Fight. Apt, I think. Hogan wins the match with 3 leg drops after surviving an attack from a returning Roddy Piper, the evil French ref that cost him the match at No Way Out and Vince’s ‘dangerous’ attacks. It was way too long but quite funny. Shane comes down to the ring after the match but does nothing.
The Rock and Austin were up next. We were all in hope that it could match the Wrestlemania 17 encounter but I don’t think anyone really knew how bad Austin’s neck was. Austin hasn’t wrestled a really competitive match since, although an appearance at Wrestlemania 20 seems likely. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Austin back for one last match as he lost this match against The Rock although it took 3 Rock Bottoms to keep him down for 3. The Rock was carrying Austin here.
The main event was Angle V Brock Lesnar for the Smackdown World title. Angle was protected going into Wrestlemania and a few people thought that this could be Angle’s last ever match. Angle went into this match all guns blazing and carried Lesnar to a great match. It won’t win match of the year but it was still great. The ending was botched and improvised as Brock went for the Shooting Star Press and he landed on his head. A cover from Angle got 2 and an F5 wins the match and the title for Brock. To say that Brock could have broken his neck is an understatement and Brock looked visibly dazed and confused after the match. Angle disappeared for surgery and returned after just 6 weeks. Unfortunately, this was just the start of the problems for Angle.
Wrestlemania was a successful PPV in that the matches were pretty good but it didn’t get great buyrates compared to previous years. From now on, WWE goes on the hard sell for Wrestlemania 20. Will it be the greatest PPV of all time? Only time will tell. That is the end of Part 1. Part 2 will focus on the run up to the PPV split and the first Raw PPV, Bad Blood. How did the WWE react to Wrestlemania?
See you in Part 2. Thanks for reading.
Topic deserves a GAD. Well done GP.
Nice one GP
Thanks for the comments. I thought I had better do something for the forums over the next few days. My room is being redecorated later on today so I'm going to try and keep connected. Hopefully, part 2 will be soon.
Good review...except for the constant comments about HHH! Boo to you GP! 1 would be fine but no, you had to keep saying it. Apart from that, it was top class :D
Jú§t Tinká wrote:
> Do you ever sleep DW?
I thought we established this like weeks ago? Sleep-typing. Duh.
> Do you ever sleep DW?
I thought we established this like weeks ago? Sleep-typing. Duh.
Ye Olde DW wrote:
> The constant HHH bashing is brilliant stuff too, I'm sure it'll spark
> another fun heated discussion between Lipey and lalakers.
The Talent Suppressor. I love it :-D
I like your reviewing style very much, keep it up hehe
> The constant HHH bashing is brilliant stuff too, I'm sure it'll spark
> another fun heated discussion between Lipey and lalakers.
The Talent Suppressor. I love it :-D
I like your reviewing style very much, keep it up hehe
Do you ever sleep DW?
Very, very in-depth review of the PPVs. Excellent stuff, part two will be just as good, if not better.
The constant HHH bashing is brilliant stuff too, I'm sure it'll spark another fun heated discussion between Lipey and lalakers.
Thanks for this Matt, it kicked ass.
The constant HHH bashing is brilliant stuff too, I'm sure it'll spark another fun heated discussion between Lipey and lalakers.
Thanks for this Matt, it kicked ass.
Well, 2003 wasn’t the greatest of years for the WWE. The brand split escalated to a new height with 4 PPV’s for Raw, 4 for Smackdown and 4 both together. This started in June with the first Raw PPV, Bad Blood. Things also went bad at the end of the year for UK viewers, when Armageddon was not shown there. It was the first PPV since 1997 that was not shown in the UK. Let’s get into the review, which will be in 4 parts so it is easier to read.
The champions heading into the Royal Rumble were as follows:
Raw World title: Triple H
Raw Tag Titles: Regal and Storm
Women’s title: Victoria
Smackdown World title: Kurt Angle
Smackdown Tag titles: Los Guerreros
Cruiserweight title: Billy Kidman
So, we head to the Royal Rumble on the 19th January. The problem with the Rumble nowadays is that the WWE already have a plan for their main event at Wrestlemania so when the Rumble comes around, the winner is usually very easy to spot. This was the case again in 2003. The Rumble was a Sky Box Office PPV so there was no chance of me buying it.
The Rumble kicked off with Big Show V Brock Lesnar, a continuation of the feud in which the Big Show won the title off Lesnar. Brock won and we’d see him later on. The Raw tag titles were next and Regal and Storm defended the titles against the Dudleyz. Brass knuckles and Chief Morley wasn’t enough to stop the Dudleyz taking the titles. To our despair, we had to sit through the entire Al Wilson saga and the match between Dawn Marie and Torrie Wilson. Torrie wins and we gladly move on.
HHH is up next defending his World title and I do mean his literally. His opponent was Scott Steiner. In a total roll reversal, Steiner got boos and HHH got cheers although nothing could stop this match getting consigned to hell when a DQ ended the match, leading to both participants getting booed out of the arena. Next we have the utterly amazing Angle V Benoit encounter for the Smackdown World title. Not only was this match a wonderful display of wrestling, Benoit received a standing ovation for his efforts. Sadly, it wasn’t enough as Angle walked out the winner, cementing his status as the WWE’s best wrestler.
The finale was, as tradition dictates, the Royal Rumble. This is where we find one half of the main event for Wrestlemania. Will it be a Raw guy or a Smackdown guy? The result was obvious as Brock walked out with number 29 and wins the Rumble after dumping out the Undertaker, after he dumped out Batista and Kane in the final 4.
The Rumble PPV was saved by the match of the year candidate, Benoit V Angle. The Rumble itself was better than the 2002 one but still not one that would stand out as one of the best of all time. If you ever get the chance, watch Angle and Benoit. It may have been forgotten since it was at the start of the year but it is a wonderful display of wrestling.
No Way Out was the next PPV on the 23rd February and only one month away from Wrestlemania 19. Before that, we saw Regal and Storm regain the Tag titles after Chief Morley used his power and a cheap attack and stupidly quick match resulted. Also, Team Angle, Haas and Benjamin, won the Tag titles off Los Guerreros a couple of weeks before No Way Out.
No Way Out is the PPV that tries really hard to get people to watch the programming all the way up to Wrestlemania and, hopefully for them, continue watching. We expect the hard sell but did it really work?
No Way Out kicked off with Chris Jericho facing Jeff Hardy. Jeff was later fired a week before Backlash. There were no surprises in seeing Jericho win here in a good contest and HBK ran in to save Jeff from a further beating, setting up a Jericho/HBK feud for Wrestlemania. The Raw tag titles were on the line next when Regal and Storm took on the ‘Unlikely’ duo of RVD and Kane. The ending saw Kane’s mask shift a couple of millimetres and he ‘accidentally’ chokeslams RVD for Regal to pick up the win and retain the titles. We go to the Cruiserweight title match where Kidman defends against Matt Hardy, who had to drop 10 pounds to make the weight ‘allegedly’. Matt Hardy wins the title with a little help with Shannon Moore. It was then time to make your cup of tea while the Undertaker faces Big Show. The Undertaker wins with a Triangle Choke, which was pretty lame.
The usual show stealer follows as pretty much anything with Angle and Benoit going against each other takes the match of the night honours. Team Angle, featuring Angle, Haas and Benjamin take on Benoit and Lesnar. This was really the beginning of the wonderful run that showed Haas and Benjamin to be real players on Smackdown. It was bad news for Team Angle though as Benoit takes the submission win over Haas.
We get bored witless next as HHH defends his title against Steiner… AGAIN! The fans have turned on Steiner so much that they were booing him during his entrance. HHH keeps the title and wins with the Pedigree, or as I like to call it, the Talent Suppresser. Next is the dud match, if you can call it a match, between Bischoff and a returning Austin. In a heavily one-sided contest, Austin wins after 3 stunners.
The main event saw Hulk Hogan take on The Rock in a Wrestlemania rematch. The fans had turned on The Rock at this point and it was the first showing of the helicopter entrance video. It ruled, especially live. The result was a total screw job finish win for The Rock after the ref slipped The Rock a chair. This set up Hogan V Vince at Wrestlemania.
No Way Out could not be saved by Jericho, Angle or Benoit as they pushed the stuff that was rubbish right down our throats. No Way Out was a failure, which was an ominous sign for Wrestlemania.
So, Wrestlemania. It’s the one PPV that every wrestler aspires to get to. To wrestle in the main event is obviously a special thing and they will give more than usual effort to make it a success. Regal became ill soon after No Way Out and Morley was instated, by himself, as champion with Lance Storm. It was the only title change heading into Wrestlemania, if you can call it a change.
Wrestlemania began on Heat when the team of Morley and Storm took on the Unlikely Duo of RVD and Kane. In what was a bizarre match, RVD jobbed again when it looked like the Dudleyz were going to turn face again but stayed heel when Bubba dropped an elbow on RVD. Yes, RVD was beaten by an elbow. Well, it works for The Rock.
Wrestlemania actually begins with Matt Hardy defending the Cruiserweight title against Rey Mysterio. Matt Hardy defends in a short match, which is strange considering it’s a 4-hour show. The Undertaker was scheduled to team with Nathan Jones in the next match against A-Train and Big Show but they couldn’t put Nathan Jones in the biggest PPV of the year, so they played an injury angle. The Undertaker had to go it alone and he beat A-Train with the Tombstone to keep his undefeated record at Wrestlemania.
The Women’s title was on the line next as Victoria defends against Trish and Jazz. Trish wins the title in not a bad women’s match. After that, we see the Smackdown tag titles being defended by Team Angle against Los Guerreros and Rabid Rhyno (cool name eh?). In a fast paced, but ultimately short encounter, Team Angle walked out still the champs when Shelton stole a win over Chavo.
Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho were next in what could easily have been match of the year, if Shawn was in his prime. He wasn’t in his prime but this was still a good match. Shawn picked up a rollup win and we were thrown the possibility of a Jericho face turn. Alas, it was not to be as Jericho went low after the match.
After Limp Bizkit and the catfight, it’s HHH title time as he defends against Booker T. There was a lot of speculation that Booker might actually get the title here but it was Talent Suppresser time once again and he made sure that Booker came off bad by waiting an eternity to pin Booker after the Pedigree. Next up, Vince V Hogan or as Scott Keith called it, The Nursing Home Street Fight. Apt, I think. Hogan wins the match with 3 leg drops after surviving an attack from a returning Roddy Piper, the evil French ref that cost him the match at No Way Out and Vince’s ‘dangerous’ attacks. It was way too long but quite funny. Shane comes down to the ring after the match but does nothing.
The Rock and Austin were up next. We were all in hope that it could match the Wrestlemania 17 encounter but I don’t think anyone really knew how bad Austin’s neck was. Austin hasn’t wrestled a really competitive match since, although an appearance at Wrestlemania 20 seems likely. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Austin back for one last match as he lost this match against The Rock although it took 3 Rock Bottoms to keep him down for 3. The Rock was carrying Austin here.
The main event was Angle V Brock Lesnar for the Smackdown World title. Angle was protected going into Wrestlemania and a few people thought that this could be Angle’s last ever match. Angle went into this match all guns blazing and carried Lesnar to a great match. It won’t win match of the year but it was still great. The ending was botched and improvised as Brock went for the Shooting Star Press and he landed on his head. A cover from Angle got 2 and an F5 wins the match and the title for Brock. To say that Brock could have broken his neck is an understatement and Brock looked visibly dazed and confused after the match. Angle disappeared for surgery and returned after just 6 weeks. Unfortunately, this was just the start of the problems for Angle.
Wrestlemania was a successful PPV in that the matches were pretty good but it didn’t get great buyrates compared to previous years. From now on, WWE goes on the hard sell for Wrestlemania 20. Will it be the greatest PPV of all time? Only time will tell. That is the end of Part 1. Part 2 will focus on the run up to the PPV split and the first Raw PPV, Bad Blood. How did the WWE react to Wrestlemania?
See you in Part 2. Thanks for reading.
The champions heading into the Royal Rumble were as follows:
Raw World title: Triple H
Raw Tag Titles: Regal and Storm
Women’s title: Victoria
Smackdown World title: Kurt Angle
Smackdown Tag titles: Los Guerreros
Cruiserweight title: Billy Kidman
So, we head to the Royal Rumble on the 19th January. The problem with the Rumble nowadays is that the WWE already have a plan for their main event at Wrestlemania so when the Rumble comes around, the winner is usually very easy to spot. This was the case again in 2003. The Rumble was a Sky Box Office PPV so there was no chance of me buying it.
The Rumble kicked off with Big Show V Brock Lesnar, a continuation of the feud in which the Big Show won the title off Lesnar. Brock won and we’d see him later on. The Raw tag titles were next and Regal and Storm defended the titles against the Dudleyz. Brass knuckles and Chief Morley wasn’t enough to stop the Dudleyz taking the titles. To our despair, we had to sit through the entire Al Wilson saga and the match between Dawn Marie and Torrie Wilson. Torrie wins and we gladly move on.
HHH is up next defending his World title and I do mean his literally. His opponent was Scott Steiner. In a total roll reversal, Steiner got boos and HHH got cheers although nothing could stop this match getting consigned to hell when a DQ ended the match, leading to both participants getting booed out of the arena. Next we have the utterly amazing Angle V Benoit encounter for the Smackdown World title. Not only was this match a wonderful display of wrestling, Benoit received a standing ovation for his efforts. Sadly, it wasn’t enough as Angle walked out the winner, cementing his status as the WWE’s best wrestler.
The finale was, as tradition dictates, the Royal Rumble. This is where we find one half of the main event for Wrestlemania. Will it be a Raw guy or a Smackdown guy? The result was obvious as Brock walked out with number 29 and wins the Rumble after dumping out the Undertaker, after he dumped out Batista and Kane in the final 4.
The Rumble PPV was saved by the match of the year candidate, Benoit V Angle. The Rumble itself was better than the 2002 one but still not one that would stand out as one of the best of all time. If you ever get the chance, watch Angle and Benoit. It may have been forgotten since it was at the start of the year but it is a wonderful display of wrestling.
No Way Out was the next PPV on the 23rd February and only one month away from Wrestlemania 19. Before that, we saw Regal and Storm regain the Tag titles after Chief Morley used his power and a cheap attack and stupidly quick match resulted. Also, Team Angle, Haas and Benjamin, won the Tag titles off Los Guerreros a couple of weeks before No Way Out.
No Way Out is the PPV that tries really hard to get people to watch the programming all the way up to Wrestlemania and, hopefully for them, continue watching. We expect the hard sell but did it really work?
No Way Out kicked off with Chris Jericho facing Jeff Hardy. Jeff was later fired a week before Backlash. There were no surprises in seeing Jericho win here in a good contest and HBK ran in to save Jeff from a further beating, setting up a Jericho/HBK feud for Wrestlemania. The Raw tag titles were on the line next when Regal and Storm took on the ‘Unlikely’ duo of RVD and Kane. The ending saw Kane’s mask shift a couple of millimetres and he ‘accidentally’ chokeslams RVD for Regal to pick up the win and retain the titles. We go to the Cruiserweight title match where Kidman defends against Matt Hardy, who had to drop 10 pounds to make the weight ‘allegedly’. Matt Hardy wins the title with a little help with Shannon Moore. It was then time to make your cup of tea while the Undertaker faces Big Show. The Undertaker wins with a Triangle Choke, which was pretty lame.
The usual show stealer follows as pretty much anything with Angle and Benoit going against each other takes the match of the night honours. Team Angle, featuring Angle, Haas and Benjamin take on Benoit and Lesnar. This was really the beginning of the wonderful run that showed Haas and Benjamin to be real players on Smackdown. It was bad news for Team Angle though as Benoit takes the submission win over Haas.
We get bored witless next as HHH defends his title against Steiner… AGAIN! The fans have turned on Steiner so much that they were booing him during his entrance. HHH keeps the title and wins with the Pedigree, or as I like to call it, the Talent Suppresser. Next is the dud match, if you can call it a match, between Bischoff and a returning Austin. In a heavily one-sided contest, Austin wins after 3 stunners.
The main event saw Hulk Hogan take on The Rock in a Wrestlemania rematch. The fans had turned on The Rock at this point and it was the first showing of the helicopter entrance video. It ruled, especially live. The result was a total screw job finish win for The Rock after the ref slipped The Rock a chair. This set up Hogan V Vince at Wrestlemania.
No Way Out could not be saved by Jericho, Angle or Benoit as they pushed the stuff that was rubbish right down our throats. No Way Out was a failure, which was an ominous sign for Wrestlemania.
So, Wrestlemania. It’s the one PPV that every wrestler aspires to get to. To wrestle in the main event is obviously a special thing and they will give more than usual effort to make it a success. Regal became ill soon after No Way Out and Morley was instated, by himself, as champion with Lance Storm. It was the only title change heading into Wrestlemania, if you can call it a change.
Wrestlemania began on Heat when the team of Morley and Storm took on the Unlikely Duo of RVD and Kane. In what was a bizarre match, RVD jobbed again when it looked like the Dudleyz were going to turn face again but stayed heel when Bubba dropped an elbow on RVD. Yes, RVD was beaten by an elbow. Well, it works for The Rock.
Wrestlemania actually begins with Matt Hardy defending the Cruiserweight title against Rey Mysterio. Matt Hardy defends in a short match, which is strange considering it’s a 4-hour show. The Undertaker was scheduled to team with Nathan Jones in the next match against A-Train and Big Show but they couldn’t put Nathan Jones in the biggest PPV of the year, so they played an injury angle. The Undertaker had to go it alone and he beat A-Train with the Tombstone to keep his undefeated record at Wrestlemania.
The Women’s title was on the line next as Victoria defends against Trish and Jazz. Trish wins the title in not a bad women’s match. After that, we see the Smackdown tag titles being defended by Team Angle against Los Guerreros and Rabid Rhyno (cool name eh?). In a fast paced, but ultimately short encounter, Team Angle walked out still the champs when Shelton stole a win over Chavo.
Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho were next in what could easily have been match of the year, if Shawn was in his prime. He wasn’t in his prime but this was still a good match. Shawn picked up a rollup win and we were thrown the possibility of a Jericho face turn. Alas, it was not to be as Jericho went low after the match.
After Limp Bizkit and the catfight, it’s HHH title time as he defends against Booker T. There was a lot of speculation that Booker might actually get the title here but it was Talent Suppresser time once again and he made sure that Booker came off bad by waiting an eternity to pin Booker after the Pedigree. Next up, Vince V Hogan or as Scott Keith called it, The Nursing Home Street Fight. Apt, I think. Hogan wins the match with 3 leg drops after surviving an attack from a returning Roddy Piper, the evil French ref that cost him the match at No Way Out and Vince’s ‘dangerous’ attacks. It was way too long but quite funny. Shane comes down to the ring after the match but does nothing.
The Rock and Austin were up next. We were all in hope that it could match the Wrestlemania 17 encounter but I don’t think anyone really knew how bad Austin’s neck was. Austin hasn’t wrestled a really competitive match since, although an appearance at Wrestlemania 20 seems likely. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Austin back for one last match as he lost this match against The Rock although it took 3 Rock Bottoms to keep him down for 3. The Rock was carrying Austin here.
The main event was Angle V Brock Lesnar for the Smackdown World title. Angle was protected going into Wrestlemania and a few people thought that this could be Angle’s last ever match. Angle went into this match all guns blazing and carried Lesnar to a great match. It won’t win match of the year but it was still great. The ending was botched and improvised as Brock went for the Shooting Star Press and he landed on his head. A cover from Angle got 2 and an F5 wins the match and the title for Brock. To say that Brock could have broken his neck is an understatement and Brock looked visibly dazed and confused after the match. Angle disappeared for surgery and returned after just 6 weeks. Unfortunately, this was just the start of the problems for Angle.
Wrestlemania was a successful PPV in that the matches were pretty good but it didn’t get great buyrates compared to previous years. From now on, WWE goes on the hard sell for Wrestlemania 20. Will it be the greatest PPV of all time? Only time will tell. That is the end of Part 1. Part 2 will focus on the run up to the PPV split and the first Raw PPV, Bad Blood. How did the WWE react to Wrestlemania?
See you in Part 2. Thanks for reading.