We now move into the "branded pay-per-view" era of the WWE, as Raw and SmackDown each got to host their own monthly event, before combining their powers at the Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series. Bad Blood was the first non-UK show to be exclusive to one brand, and featured three star-studded matches, to be capped off with a showdown between Kevin Nash and Triple H inside Hell in a Cell. It's no secret that I haven't been a fan of what those two have produced in their matches thus far, with their Judgment Day match turning out to be a slow, plodding affair that ended in a deflating disqualification finish. That being said, Triple H does have a record of turning out great matches inside the Cell, so I'm willing to give that a match a chance, in the hopes that it can offer some redemption to their otherwise lackluster feud.
- Bad Blood 2003 comes to you from the Compaq Center (now the Lakewood Church Central Campus) in Houston, Texas, which hosted the first Royal Rumble event in 1989, and had recently played host to the SmackDown taping that took place two days after the September 11th attacks in 2001. Jim Ross and Jerry "The King" Lawler are on the call.
- Our opening contest is a tag match, as the Dudley Boyz take on the oddball tandem of Christopher Nowinski and Rodney Mack. Nowinski and Mack are working together because of the former Harvard grad's allegiance to Mack's manager, Teddy Long, becoming Long's first Caucasian client. Teddy is also attempting to recruit D-Von Dudley to join their cause, and it seems as if D-Von's loyalties might be called into question as Long continues to work his magic. These two teams put on a fairly unimpressive match, save for Nowinski taking a big bump on a missed elbow splash, and Bubba's middle rope crossbody did get a big pop. Bubba and D-Von combine for the Wazzup headbutt, and Teddy then hops up on the apron for a chat with D-Von, distracting Bubba, who gets brained in the back of the head by Nowkinski's protective facemask, which he had been wearing due to a recent surgery on his nose. Nowinski makes the cover to get the win, but whatever the plans were for his role in Teddy's faction, they would never be realized, as Nowinski's days in wrestling were numbered. He would be forced out of action after suffering with post-concussion syndrome, and retired a year later, going on to become a pioneer in the field of concussion research and has done a lot of great work to advance our understanding of just how dangerous that injury can be. Big props to him.
- Stacy Keibler and Test are now fully on the outs, with her putting her managerial services on the line in a match between her boyfriend and Scott Steiner, who infamously begins this match by botching a dive off the apron onto Test. That was certainly a bad omen for what the rest of the match had in store, as neither man has much chemistry with the other. The wrestling may have been bad, but I did enjoy Test's heel work, mocking Steiner's push-ups and flexing at Stacy, who responds with the most disgusted look she possibly can manage. Test is just wonderful is this antagonistic bastard role, and draws so much heat for his treatment of Stacy, who might be the most sympathetic babyface on Raw thanks to this storyline. That doesn't really translate for anything positive for Steiner, though, who obviously doesn't feel comfortable working the WWE style, and though he gets the win with a flatliner, it's clear that Stacy and Test are the story here, not him, which is massively disappointing considering the amount of hype that surrounded Steiner just six months ago.
- Booker T got cheated out of the Intercontinental Championship last month at Judgment Day, with Christian being eliminated in the battle royal but still winning the gold anyway with the referee knocked out at the time of his elimination. Booker gets a great chance to become champion here at Bad Blood, as Booker is from Houston and gets a huge pop for his entrance. These two midcard workhorses have a perfectly fine match, with Booker getting most of the offense and a lot of near falls. Christian makes Booker look great, taking a big bump on a back body drop and leaping into a flapjack. Booker has the match in hand after an Axe Kick with Christian draped across the top rope, followed up by a missile dropkick and the Spinaroonie, to the delight of the crowd. Christian elects to just leave, grabbing his title belt and walking up the ramp, but referee Jack Doan threatens to strip Christian of his gold if a ten count is reached. I don't why Doan has the authority to make that call, and the moment is immediately ruined when Christian hits Booker with the belt, getting disqualified, which I guess Doan can't overturn for some reason. These constant cheap escapes for Christian don't do much for me, I realize the booking is trying to build anticipation to Booker finally getting the big win and this allows their feud to stretch out overall multiple months, but each time Booker fails, it just slowly diminishes his star.
- La Resistance just made their debut as a team last month, and are already getting a considerable push, taking the World Tag Team Championships away from Kane and Rob Van Dam here at Bad Blood. This match was used to further the tension between Kane and RVD, with Van Dam accidentally hitting Kane with a dive to the outside. Rene Dupree and Sylvain Grenier then plant Van Dam with the Bonsoir, claiming the gold in shocking fashion. The match wasn't anything interesting outside of the finish, but what would follow for Kane provided a brand new direction for his stale character, as he would lose his mask after putting it on the line for a world title match. I'll talk more about the unmasking of Kane and his booking in the aftermath later on, but it does this otherwise flat match some historical importance.
- The wrestling world began to take serious notice of Chris Jericho during his one-sided feud with Goldberg in WCW, with Jericho displaying his boundless charisma in segments mocking Goldberg, seemingly building to a match where Jericho would be absolutely pulverized for his cheek. But Goldberg didn't want to work with Jericho for various reasons, and personal animosity between the two simmered in the years that followed. Now, with both men on the same roster, they finally get the chance to have their match, and while the WWE still failed to present Goldberg as the world-ending destroyer he was before, this was still a marked improvement over his match at Backlash. Early on, Goldberg crashes through the barricade attempting a Spear, and Jericho gets a chance in this match by working the right shoulder of Goldberg, which Goldberg sold surprisingly well. Jericho keeps the pressure on by slamming Goldberg's biceps into the post, then applying a seated armbar, and I was disappointed that JR and Lawler didn't reference Jericho's infamous "1004 Holds" promo on commentary, as the armbar ended up being at least half of those holds. Goldberg has to resort to using more of his kicks, only occasionally able to use his upper body strength. Jericho lands the Lionsault, and Goldberg connects on the Spear, though the impact does further damage to his bad shoulder, resulting in a failure to execute the Jackhammer. Jericho hits a low blow and locks in the Walls of Jericho, which the smarky crowd greets with loud "Y2J" chants, letting their distaste for Goldberg be known. Goldberg escapes the hold using pure leg power, a cool spot to showcase just how much of a physical specimen he is, and a second Spear connects. Goldberg manages to complete the Jackhammer, relying on his left shoulder to carry most of Jericho's weight, picking up another win. Again, Goldberg would have definitely been better suited to just slaughter Jericho here, but both men did tell a compelling story, and the fact that Jericho was shown to be so close to Goldberg's level does give him a bit of a boost.
- The never-ending feud between Shawn Michaels and Triple H has been on the backburner for the past few months, with Shawn managing Kevin Nash at Judgment Day, and facing Hunter's main ally, Ric Flair, in a match here at Bad Blood. It's always a treat to see two of the greatest performers of all-time lock up, and while Flair was long past his peak, he hung in there with HBK in an entertaining battle. Both men start the match with some mind games, each taking it in turn to do a strut, before Ric lands a chop block and gets the Figure Four in early. Shawn, ever the artiste, decides to do a very dramatic grabbing of the bottom rope to force a break, then gets a Figure Four of his own in after Flair blocks Sweet Chin Music. Flair gets free with an eye poke, classic Flair, and Shawn lands a superplex. Shawn decides to set up a table, and while he's doing so, a random man runs at Michaels, taking a Sweet Chin Music to the jaw. It's Randy Orton, here to support a fellow member of Evolution, which has yet to completely take over Monday nights, but will soon. Shawn takes to the skies to drive Flair through the table with a twisting crossbody, and with both men back in the ring, Ric tries another classic move, attempting to gain space with a mule kick that accidentally catches referee Earl Hebner instead. Shawn runs through his trademark finishing sequence, landing the flying forearm and following with a kip-up, connecting with a flying elbow drop and the Sweet Chin Music. But with Hebner still down, Orton returns to blast Shawn in the head with a chair, placing Flair on top of Michaels so Earl can make the three count. This wasn't the greatest match of either man's career, and they would have a much more memorable showdown five years later, but it was entertaining, and provided a launching point for Orton's slow push up the card.
- Main event time, as Triple H and Kevin Nash enter Hell in a Cell, with Helmsley's World Heavyweight Championship at stake and Mick Foley as the guest referee, after all the sanctioned officials refused to get in the same ring with Hunter, who blasted Earl Hebner with a sledgehammer last month and ended Tim White's career in Hell in a Cell last year after a bump into the steel. After two straight poor showings on pay-per-view for these two men, this was a huge step up, as they clearly saved their best for this pivotal third in-ring encounter. A big part of the improvement in quality was the lack of actual wrestling, as the two men opt for weapon spots instead, a wise choice. Nash hits Triple H with a chair and chucks a set of steel steps at the champion's head, and Hunter responds by opening a toolbox and smacking Nash in the knee and head with a hammer. Nash is already opened up, and Triple H quickly goes to work turning Nash's forehead into a bloody mess, grinding the challenger's face into the Cell and ripping at his flesh with a screwdriver. The graphic violence continues with a barbed wire 2x4 is introduced, a middle finger from Triple H to Foley, as that's one of Mick's favorite weapons. Nash hits Triple H in the head with the 2x4, and sets it up in the corner to drop Triple H into it with a Snake Eyes. Triple H trades back by driving a wooden crate into Nash's head, but Foley won't allow Triple H to use his trusty sledgehammer. The champion and referee get into it, and Nash evades an attack with the steps by Hunter, hitting a drop toe hold that results in the champion eating steel. Triple H has had enough of Foley, and blasts both the referee and Nash with chair shots to the head, but Mick gets right back up and brings out Mr. Socko, putting Triple H in the Mandible Claw for the biggest pop of the match. Nash gets a dramatic near fall a few minutes later, countering a Pedigree, catapulting Triple H into the 2x4 in the corner and landing the Jackknife Powerbomb. Triple H just kicks out, and cracks Nash in the face with his sledgehammer, hitting the Pedigree on the second attempt to end it. This was a visceral display, with the absolute carnage going a long way to make up for how disappointing the past few months of programming had been, though it's not going to be considered the best Cell match any time soon. I did think there were a lot of problems with selling in this match, as if you read through my recap here, you'll notice a lot of offense traded back and forth, with Triple H, Nash, and Foley all routinely shaking off damage to get to their next spot. The ending epitomized that, as Triple H quickly recovered from the Jackknife to win the match shortly thereafter.
5/10
Bad Blood delivered three solid matches to close out the show, while the undercard was completely forgettable, filled with matches that would be considered too uneventful for an episode of Raw, let alone a full price pay-per-view. What really dragged this event down was the same complaint I had for Judgment Day, and that was the long segments between Steve Austin and Eric Bischoff. They had a "Redneck Triathlon" that took up so much time during this show, and while I felt their banter was more entertaining than last month, and at least it included some real action this time, with Austin throwing Eric into a pigpen to win the third event, it was still a largely dull addition to this show that would've been better spent of actual wrestling instead.
Next time on Henry's Pay-Per-View Reviews: Vengeance 2003, where Brock Lesnar defends the WWE Championship against the Big Show and a returning Kurt Angle. See you soon.
- Henry
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