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.

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.

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.

ROYAL RUMBLE 2003 from Boston, MA ratings out of 10

* Brock Lesnar vs Big Show (4) Lesnar wins to gain entrance to the Rumble match later in the show. Pretty much the same as their Survivor Series except with no title on the line in this one. Pretty standard and only memorable for Lesnar connecting the F5 on Big Show.

* Regal & Storm vs The Dudley Boyz (3) Duds win the titles here in a very uninspired match. Lasts maybe 5 minutes. Forgettable despite the title change.

* Torrie Wilson vs. Dawn Marie (DUD) Nuff said about this garbage. Instead of the logical brawl these two should have had, they went out there and tried to wrestle a technically sound match. Not a good idea. Skip this one.

* Triple H vs Scott Steiner (DUD) To quote Randy Quaid in Days of Thunder, this one looked like a "monkey screwing a football". Steiner proves that he is washed up. Helmsley did everything he could to sell his crappy array of clotheslines and suplexes. Crowd quickly turns on Steiner which would have made this match pretty funny had it not been so god awful to watch.

* Kurt Angle vs Chris Benoit (9) This is where to start watching the show. One of the best WWE title matches in a while. Couldn't quite give this one a 10 because of some of the headlocks early. Other than that, there are no other complaints about this match. If you're a wrestling fan, you can;t not like what these guys accomplished here.

* Brock Lesnar won the Rumble match (6) Its hard to grade these matches since they are so long and involve so many men. There were many good moments in this particular Rumble including Jericho's attack of HBK and HBK's eventual payback. Not a bad way to spend 60 minutes however I would have liked to a see a more dramatic finish.

1) Big Show vs. Brock Lesnar. Winner advances to the RR. It's all about power here, and these two have it. **1/2

2) Dudley Boyz vs. Lance Storm and William Regal (tag team titles). Not bad, but forgettable. **

3) Dawn Marie vs. Torrie Wilson. A poor match, made even worse by the disgustingly tasteless storyline on which it is based. *1/2

4) HHH vs. Scott Steiner (WH title). Anyone who still doubts that wrestling is fake should just take a look at Steiner's punches. Draggy match, pathetic DQ finish that the crowd boos heavily. *1/2

5) Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit (WWE title). Awesome match, but what else do you expect from the two best (by far) in the business? Mat wrestling, high-flying, suplexes, submission holds, reversals, reversals-upon-reversals, this one has everything. ***1/2

6) Royal Rumble Match. A fair rumble, it has its moments. Good show by Rey Mysterio at the start (when it's easier to notice the individual performances), but in my opinion the MVP of the whole match, considering the time he lasted in the ring and the amount of moves he did, is RVD. ***

Overall, if you just watch matches 1, 5 and 6 you won't be missing much. But definitely watch #5.