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| Survivor Series 2003 - American Airlines Center - 11/16/03 |
Speaking of shows that piss me off, take a look at this rather homely little number. Survivor Series 2003 was quite a mixed bag of random nuts that could've been pretty awesome if reimagined by persons of sound mind. Like most of what happened in 2003 WWE, the good stuff was really fantastic, but you had to wade through some of the most ill-conceived and/or half-assed drivel to get to it.
Let's start with the main event, as WWE decided to. Yes, the opening match of this show was the traditional elimination bout involving the WWE Champion (which at the time was still the top belt in the company, in spite of what Triple H wanted everyone to think). Brock Lesnar led a team of The Big Show, A-Train, Matt Morgan, and Nathan Jones (seriously, he was still employed even after having been removed from the WrestleMania card for being so bad in the ring) against Kurt Angle, Chris Benoit, Bob Holly, Bradshaw, and an up-and-coming breakout star by the name of John Cena. This was far and away the match I was most looking forward to, and it not only opened the show, but was given a paltry 13 minutes. I'd like to repeat that: a ten-man elimination match involving the WWE Champion (and US Champ for that matter) opened the show, and was only given thirteen minutes. To kick things off, Bob Holly (who had just returned after sustaining a real-life neck injury in a 2002 match against Lesnar) shoved the referee and was disqualified before the match even started. So already they failed to deliver the advertised match, as it was now a handicap elimination bout. Sorry, but that's basically a bait-and-switch. Next, both A-Train and Bradshaw were eliminated within the first minute. Isn't that special. After twelve more minutes of rushed action unbecoming of what should've been the main event of the show, Chris Benoit made Lesnar tap and John Cena pinned Big Show to win the match, setting up challengers for both Smackdown singles belts. Aside from a few good minutes, this more or less sucked.
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| Probably the most disappointing elimination match ever. |
Next, Molly Holly (paying tribute to the recently deceased Crash Holly by wearing a CH armband) defeated Lita to retain the Women's Title. This was fine for what it was.
The third slot was originally supposed to go to the Cruiserweight Title match between Tajiri and Jamie Noble, but instead they booked a completely purposeless altercation between Eric Bischoff and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, bumping the aforementioned match to the preshow. They exchanged heated, poorly delivered insults and eventually Cuban got RKOd by Randy Orton. I am almost without words. They actually cut a Title match from a show people paid real money to see, to make room for a staged argument involving two non-wrestlers, one of whom had no association with WWE. If WWE can produce any credible evidence that this segment helped their business or future ratings in any way I will sign over the deed to my house.
The actual third match was Kane vs. Shane McMahon, making this the sixth PPV of 2003 to feature at least one McMahon in a match (and the third PPV of the year to feature TWO McMahons wrestling). I dunno what this family was smoking in 2003 that made them think people were climbing over each other in the hopes of seeing WWE's owners pretend to fight other people (or each other). Just unreal stupid. Anyway this was an Ambulance Match, or as I like to call it, a Casket Match. Same rules except with an ambulance doubling as a casket. This stunk other than featuring another Shane-should-be-dead highspot.
For some reason they booked a forgettable Tag Title match between Los Guerreros and The Basham Brothers (one of the most nondescript teams I can recall). This was your standard free TV match and didn't warrant inclusion on this card.
Finally a PPV-worthy bout broke out as Team Bischoff (Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, Christian, Scott Steiner, and Mark Henry) faced Team Austin (Shawn Michaels, Rob Van Dam, Booker T and The Dudley Boyz) in an elimination match for control of RAW. Over the previous six months or so RAW was run by co-GMs, Steve Austin and Eric Bischoff, whose bickering yielded some pretty amusing segments but got tiresome after a while. Finally it was decided they would each assemble a team with the winner becoming the sole GM. For 27 minutes WWE reminded us all how good the Survivor Series concept could be. This match was full of excellent action and drama, and came down to Shawn Michaels alone against Orton, Jericho and Christian. A horribly bloodied Michaels fought valiantly, eliminating Jericho and Christian before finally succumbing to Orton. Steve Austin was then forced to step down and gave a heartfelt farewell speech. Of course he'd be back on TV a couple months later as the RAW "Sheriff," so in the end this match meant very little. But it's still one of the best-ever Series matches.
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| Probably the most unexpectedly awesome elimination match ever. |
Time for McMahon circlejerk #2 of the evening, as Vince took on The Undertaker in a Buried Alive match. This amounted to little more than an extended squash. Taker bloodied Vince in the opening seconds and spent the next eleven minutes pummeling him, only to be attacked by Kane in the closing moments, allowing Vince to win. Yup, Vince booked himself to beat The Undertaker. So let's see, Vince McMahon holds a WWF Title win over Triple H, a Royal Rumble win over Steve Austin, and a Buried Alive Match win over The Undertaker. This is the pro wrestling booking equivalent of bending in half and blowing oneself. For the record this sleep-and-nausea-inducing hokum was only about a minute shorter than the Lesnar elimination match, and LONGER than the main event of this show......
.....which ended up being the Goldberg-Triple H World Title rematch. Remember their match at Unforgiven 2003? Photocopy it, take out the novelty of a first-time dream match, and throw in a bunch of failed run-ins, and you have this. Goldberg retained despite Randy Orton, Batista, and Ric Flair all attempting to interfere. So one could argue that if the Title wasn't going to change hands and this match wasn't going to really one-up the first encounter, that it probably shouldn't have gone last.
There was really only one reason to watch Survivor Series 2003, and no matter how much they'd like to believe it, it wasn't to see a McMahon wrestle. Outside of the RAW elimination match, which is pretty incredible, this show was mostly comprised of hot garbage. Between Vince and Shane each fighting a Brother of Destruction, Triple H and Goldberg having another go through the motions, and the Smackdown elimination match getting comically shortchanged, there's crap oozing out all over the place here.
Best Match: Team Austin vs. Team Bischoff
Worst Match: Undertaker vs. Vince McMahon
What I'd Change: Alright, ready? Put the Smackdown elimination match on last and change the teams as follows: Brock Lesnar/Big Show/A-Train/Shelton Benjamin/Charlie Haas (how were Haas & Benjamin not booked??) vs. Kurt Angle/Chris Benoit/John Cena/Los Guerreros. Give that match 25 minutes and watch the fireworks. Move Triple H-Goldberg to the semi-main slot. It wasn't good enough to be last. Combine the Vince-Shane nonsense so it's Vince/Kane vs. Taker/Shane, and make that a Tag Team Buried Alive match. And put the Cruiserweight Title match back on the show. Then you have a streamlined six-match PPV with two great elimination matches, one of which is the main event.
Most Disappointing Match: Team Angle vs. Team Lesnar - I'm still pissed at how far this fell short of expectations.
Most Pleasant Surprise: Team Austin vs. Team Bischoff
Overall Rating: 4/10
Better than WrestleMania XIX and/or SummerSlam '03? - Negatory.
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2002
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