SRT Episode 14: Summerslam 2003 (Review)

Ladies and Gentlemen, summer is finally upon us! Which means crazy times at the beach, having all kinds of fun with your friends, and….. WWE burying one of the biggest stars in WCW history out of pettiness? I guess that’s what Vince McMahon thought summer meant back in 2003. Which in this case, it’s time to review it 16 years later! So without further ado, let’s review one of the best, yet one of the most infamous pay-per-view broadcasts of all time, Summerslam 2003!

Summerslam 2003 logo (Credit to Wikipedia and WWE for the image)

Match 1: La Resistance vs The Dudley Boyz – WWE World Tag Team Titles:

To kick off the 2nd biggest PPV of the year, live from the America West Arena in Phoenix, the fans were treated to a World Tag Team Title match between the Dudley Boyz, and the foreign villain team known as La Resistance. While that doesn’t sound like a hot open on paper, the crowd in the arena was very much into this match, as it had been built up for weeks on television. The Dudley Boyz were positioned as a team that embodied patriotism and a spitting image of everything Americana, while La Resistance were the classic evil opposition from France who believed their country was superior to the Red, White and Blue. The intensity in the match fit the storyline, as the blistering hot Phoenix crowd reacted to everything each team did throughout the contest. Bubba Ray Dudley was especially a bright spot in the match with his physicality and believability, bringing the fight to anyone who dared wave a French flag in that 20 foot ring. Bubba Ray and Devon may have lost to the foreign menaces and were attacked further after the fact by a “cameraman”, but they vowed they would be back to get their revenge in their post-match interview. They were defeated tonight, but this was far from over.

Match Rating: 3/5

Match 2: The Undertaker vs A-Train:

What followed an opener with a classic, traditional story was something more typical of this era in wrestling, as The Undertaker had the deck stacked against him by the evil Mr. McMahon, giving Big Evil the near 400 pound A-Train to try and defeat on his own. It was an uphill battle for the motorcycle-riding leader of Deadman Inc, having to use every last bit of his energy just to get his bigger foe up for any type of move that he tried, including his patented Chokeslam that he had to do twice just to get the massive A-Train down on the mat. Sable, who accompanied A-Train to the ring (and was on the PPV poster), tried her best to thwart Undertaker’s efforts to defeat his adversary, but it all blew up in her face. As the old saying goes, “The bigger they are, the harder they fall”, and fall they both did. A-Train was defeated, and Sable was held in a choke by Taker long enough for her to get much-needed comeuppance by Stephanie McMahon, who rushed to the ring with revenge on her mind. Revenge was sweet for the Lord of Darkness and the daughter of the Boss.

Match Rating: 3/5

Shane McMahon vs Eric Bischoff match graphic (Credit to WWE for the image)

Match 3: Shane McMahon vs Eric Bischoff:

So far, this show has been your typical WWE fare at the time, with traditional storylines and matches that coincide with the simple story being told. However, the violence and physicality would start picking up with this next match. Shane McMahon, the son of legendary promoter Vince McMahon, would face the former president of the now-defunct WCW, Eric Bischoff in a fight that you would not expect from two men who weren’t formally trained in professional wrestling. Weapons were used from both men and the physicality was equal, but once Johnathan Coachman got involved, Shane clearly became the underdog. It became a 2 on 1 situation with a McMahon of all people fighting from underneath and all seemed hopeless. It seemed very certain that Eric Bischoff would claim a victory over the McMahon family once again, until the glass shattered. Stone Cold Steve Austin walked down to the ring like only he could, with a sea of humanity losing their minds and his co-GM Bischoff standing in disbelief. The Texas Rattlesnake saved the day for a man that he once considered his enemy not too long ago, and the fans in Arizona that night couldn’t be happier to see it.

Match Rating: 3/5

Chris Benoit vs Eddie Guerrero vs Tajiri vs Rhyno match graphic (Credit to WWE and bastionblogger on WordPress for the image: https://worldwrestlingtimeline.wordpress.com/2017/09/17/summerslam-2003/ )

Match 4: Eddie Guerrero vs Chris Benoit vs Rhyno vs Tajiri- WWE United States Championship:

Throughout the night, this audience had been exposed to Soap Opera-level storytelling and generally lots of brawling. However, what they would see next was an absolute contrast to everything else they had seen on this show. Four of the best wrestlers on SmackDown would square off in a battle for not only the United States Championship, but their right to say that they are the best wrestler on the SmackDown brand. Chris Benoit, Tajiri, “The War Machine” Rhyno, and “Latino Heat” Eddie Guerrero are all revered as some of the best, but who was gonna walk out on this night with a title around their waist? That, we would find out, as all four men brought their absolute best to this, not a single waste of motion from any of them as they all were looking to win this and position themselves above the rest of the pack. Intensity and drama was high, and at times it was a technical masterpiece to behold. It captured the imagination of every die-hard wrestling fan who attended or tuned in on PPV television with every move, every hold, every time that these men threw caution to the wind. Chris Benoit would especially throw caution to the wind, as he hit Tajiri with a powerbomb over the top rope that sent him to the ringside floor, and did one of the most gruesome versions of his Diving Headbutt that anyone’s ever seen. Which was no big deal at the time but knowing what we know about his brain now, it’s really hard to watch. Overall just phenomenal.

Match Rating: 4/5

Kurt Angle vs Brock Lesnar match graphic (Credit to Luke Norman on Amino and WWE for the image: https://aminoapps.com/c/wrestling/page/blog/rivarly-rewind-22-brock-lesnar-vs-kurt-angle/V7H7_u5XwzW1v6BavZL86ge6x1QJe8 )

Match 5: Kurt Angle vs Brock Lesnar- WWE Championship:

This match was the 5th contest on the card, and I’d be lying if this wasn’t every bit of 5 stars. It was a match fitting for a show as big as Summerslam. WWE Champion and 1996 Olympic Gold Medalist Kurt Angle, versus a man that needs no introduction, the 2000 NCAA Division 1 Champion and youngest ever WWE Champion, “The Next Big Thing” himself, Brock Lesnar. Two men with a chip on their shoulder as large as the Grand Canyon, wrestling each other in what was an incredible display of athletic ability. It was an emporium of overhead throws and German suplexes, and neither man gave an inch, struggling with every fiber of their being to take the other man down and make sure they’re victorious and carry a title with fifty years of lineage over their shoulder. Mr. McMahon shows up and tries his best to make sure his psychopath of a beast wins the title from Angle, but much like almost every villain on this PPV, it backfired, and the future WWE Hall of Famer would get the win, making Brock Lesnar submit and keep his title, at least for another month.

Match Rating: 5/5

Match 6: Rob Van Dam vs Kane:

After two masterful displays of technical wrestling and peak intensity, this next match was another brawl, as “The Big Red Machine” Kane faced Rob Van Dam in a No Holds Barred match to settle their differences. What caused this issue you ask? Oh yeah, Kane had to unmask months beforehand, turned psychotic and eventually kidnapped RVD. Not just kidnapped him, but tried to set him on fire. Putting two men who have that kinda history in a No Holds Barred match is what RAW General Manager Eric Bischoff thought would solve an issue between two men that could’ve become attempted murder, especially when Kane himself set his lead commentator on fire not too long before. Hey, guess that’s wrestling, am I right? Good match however, and it was what you would expect from both men in this situation. They both had vengeance on their mind, and in this instance, revenge was a dish best served hot, as Kane hit Rob Van Dam with a Tombstone Piledriver on the steel steps, rendering him incapacitated just enough for him to be rolled back into the ring for the pinfall victory.

Match Rating: 3/5

Elimination Chamber Match Graphic (Credit to WWE for the image)

Match 7: Triple H vs Randy Orton vs Chris Jericho vs Goldberg vs Shawn Michaels vs Kevin Nash- Elimination Chamber match for the World Heavyweight Championship:

You know that thing I said in the beginning of this review about WWE burying one of the biggest stars in WCW history out of pettiness? Well, that’s exactly what happened in the main event right here. Goldberg, the “Millennium Man” himself, was a hot commodity in WCW (which was WWE’s chief rival promotion until they were purchased in 2001), at its height and was still on the minds of many fans when he made his WWE debut in 2003. This Phoenix crowd especially had him on their minds, as they desperately wanted to see him become the World Heavyweight Champion by this point in his WWE run. For most of this match, it seemed like the fans’ prophecy was gonna be coming to fruition, as he destroyed every man in this Elimination Chamber match. One by one, he picked them all apart, including Chris Jericho, who was speared right through a chamber pod and was left in his own obliteration. All of them ended up being eliminated except one man named Triple H, the defending World Heavyweight Champion. Triple H hides in his own pod, keeping the door shut as long as he could until Goldberg kicked through the glass, leaving him no choice but to fight this monster of a man. Goldberg destroys Triple H and gets ready to spear him in the middle of the ring for the win, when Ric Flair passes a sledgehammer to his Evolution stablemate through the chains of the chamber. That sledgehammer ended up landing on the skull of Goldberg, which led to his defeat. A defeat that caused the audience to revolt, and after all of Evolution assaulted a handcuffed Goldberg, everybody in the building and everyone watching at home was left scratching their heads as to why WWE did this. However it became clear that this happened because Vince McMahon held a grudge over his rival company that by this point, had been dead for two years. Ridiculous to say the least.

Match Rating: 3.5/5

Overall Show Rating: 4/5

Well, this was fun to look back on to say the least. Some of it still holds up to this day, while other stuff leaves me in bewilderment as to why they made the decisions they made. Overall a good show. However, my next review will be even better, as it will be a little “extreme”. With that said, this is Spazomaticc signing off, and remember, Rasslin’ Thoughts are perfectly normal and okay.