Royal Rumble

This is an interesting PPV as it contains what I consider to be both the best and worst of the year. In one corner we have the Angle/Benoit match that was so good the entire arena gave it a standing ovation. This is my personal MOTY for 2003, a technical classic up there with all the other greats. We also have the Jericho/HBK feud start to build with Jericho eliminating HBK from the Rumble via cheating, this would climax with a 5-star match at WrestleMania two months later after it simmered a bit. Finally we also have the Rumble match, the first one after the brand extension, which actually made it more interesting as we saw RAW talent "compete" against SmackDown talent in a quasi-brand war.

On the bad side of things, we got a Steiner/HHH match which is great for getting yourself to sleep just by counting the botched moves instead of sheep. Then we have the Torrie Wilson/Dawn Marie match which, thankfully, ended their feud over Torrie's "dead" father Al Wilson but we had to go through this dud of a match.

Then we have the one curtain-jerker match with Big Show/Brock Lesnar and a midcard match with Dudley Boyz/Lance Storm & William Regal to round everything out, resulting in a PPV that is stangely balanced between good and bad.

This was not a very exciting PPV.

First match sees Big Show taking on Brock Lesnar. Everyone knew that Lesnar was going to win, so it was no surprise when he won.

Next up the WWE demonstrates it doesn't give two hoots about the World Tag straps as Lance Storm and William Regal defend their titles against The Dudley Boyz in a boring match.

Then Torrie Wilson takes on Dawn Marie in a stepmother vs stepdaughter farce! Please gimme a break!

Next up One of the best matches I have seen in my 13 years as a wrestling fan. Chris Benoit takes on Kurt Angle in a fantastic battle. Even though Angle won and kept his title, Benoit got a deafening ovation from the crowd afterwards!

Then Triple H defends his WWE heavyweight title against Scott Steiner, which just doesn't live up to the billing. This bore the arse off me and I think a Mae Young vs Heidenreich match would have been better.

Then the Royal Rumble takes place. I've seen better. Lesnar won but everyone knew that.

Overall, not good!

Lesnar vs Show - 6/10 Wilson vs Marie - 1/10 Tag Team titles match - 4.5/10 Angle vs Benoit - 10/10 Steiner vs HHH - 2/10 Rumble match - 6/10

I'll admit that this era of WWE is not my favorite. The Raw/Smackdown bifurcation never thrilled me and I felt like the business at the time was filled with rather generic "stars". Even so, I found this Royal Rumble 2003 PPV to be at least fairly entertaining (if not quite a bit higher for those who grew up in this era of WWE).

Some further thoughts...

-Lesnar/Big Show as a "play-in" match for Rumble participation is an entertaining concept, and both big men put on a great match.

-Dudleyz/Storm-Regal, Steiner/HHH, & Angle/Benoit are not necessarily my cup of tea, but they are decent enough matches and I can easily see where bigger fans of those individuals will find them more entertaining than I.

-The Rumble itself is the best in a few years. The bottom-roster talent might be a bit thin, but the entire narrative builds to a great conclusion that sets up well for the upcoming Wrestlemania.

Overall, I enjoyed this event much more than the previous 3-4 major PPVs. While not exactly "my era stuff", I can see a level of quality here that others may enjoy far more.

The 2003 Royal Rumble will be remembered for two reasons.. Kurt Angle Vs Chris Benoit was a classic match and the Triple H Vs Scott Steiner was one of the worst matches ever witnessed at a p.p.v. The 'actual' Rumble was quite good but we have seen better in recent years.

The only thing that makes this PPV worth watching is Benoit Vs. Angle. A classic match which is in my opinion Match Of The Year quality.

But for the rest of the matches, well...Steiner Vs. HHH was bad, as predicted. The Brock Vs. Big Show match and the Dudley Boyz Tag match were below average at best.

The Rumble match had potential and was good. At least until it came down to the last 6 men. Then it just turned bad and fast. And who ever wrote that finish should be fired. One of the worst finishes in the Royal Rumble history.