For the past couple years, Survivor Series has regained it's place as one of the most important events on the WWE calendar. In 2001, it held the climax to the over-arching "Invasion" storyline, and in 2002, it saw the debut of the Elimination Chamber, and two world title changes. Now, after a long and largely underwhelming year on pay-per-view, 2003's Survivor Series has been stacked with a star-studded card, including the culmination to months worth of storytelling between Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and Eric Bischoff, Shane McMahon and Kane, and Goldberg and Triple H. All of the biggest names and feuds in the company are represented on this night, which features a Buried Alive match, an Ambulance match, and two traditional tag team elimination bouts, each filled with talent. My expectations heading in were fairly high, as there just seemed to be so much potential entertainment to be mined out of this show. Could the last major event of the year prove to the be the WWE's best?
- Survivor Series 2003 comes to you from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, the home of the Mavericks, and the first of a number of WWE pay-per-views to be hosted here, after the venue had been the site of multiple TV tapings since the start of 2002. Jim Ross and Jerry "The King" Lawler are on the call for the matches involving Raw talent, while Michael Cole and Tazz are the SmackDown team.
- The first of the two elimination matches opens the night, as this one features longtime rivals Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar each captaining a team to do battle. Angle has teamed up former enemy and tag partner Chris Benoit, in addition to Bradshaw, Hardcore Holly, and John Cena, the hottest property in the company and a newly turned babyface after taking Kurt to his limit at No Mercy. Brock has gone for size above all else, teaming up with a host of big dudes, including US Champion The Big Show, A-Train, future Impact Wrestling standout Matt Morgan, and the Australian behemoth Nathan Jones. This match just burns through eliminations, as Holly, seeking vengeance on Lesnar after the latter broke his neck the previous year, gets immediately disqualified brawling with the WWE Champion. Bradshaw takes out A-Train with a Clothesline From Hell, then falls to a chokeslam from Show. It settles down for a bit from there, as Benoit and Angle fight against the odds with some quality work, Benoit especially connecting well with the crowd as the scrappy underdog. Angle's triple Germans to Morgan were impressive, and the big men start clattering into each other, as Kurt eliminates both Morgan and Jones thanks to Jones accidentally hitting Morgan with a big boot, and Show clotheslining Jones. After Angle falls to an F-5, Benoit is tenacious in his assault on Lesnar, countering an F-5 into the Crippler Crossface. Brock is put into a position of vulnerability here, interesting to see, as he has to force a rope break and try a back cradle to get a surprise pinfall. Benoit won't give up, though, and forces Lesnar to tap to the Crossface, a big moment to set-up the "Rabid Wolverine" as the next top face on the blue brand. Benoit then chips away on Show, allowing Cena to get the star-making moment, cracking Show in the head with his chain, then dumping the big man with an F-U for the win. There were enough quality workers to hold this match together, and while some of the uber-quick elimination sequences went by a little too fast for me, the story beats got just enough time to stand out.
- Lita's triumphant return from neck surgery has carried her all the way into challenging Molly Holly for the Women's Championship, though there would be no fairytale ending on this night, as Molly scored a cheap win, knocking Lita unconscious via an exposed turnbuckle. The match itself was solid, as both women worked hard to get the challenger over. There were a couple moments sprinkled in for Lita to impress, like a release suplex followed by a kip-up, a cool bit of strength where she lifted herself to the top rope while seated in the corner, and a sit-out powerbomb that got a good pop. Lita kicking out of the Molly-Go-Round was also a highlight, and her roll-up of Molly after the turnbuckle had been unsheathed was another quality near fall. Good stuff.
- Kane and Shane McMahon's Ambulance match narrowly avoids tragedy twice just in the opening minutes, as first, the operator of the ambulance decides to drive forward just as Kane's pyro goes off, and then when the match starts, Kane is knocked to the floor, nearly landing flush on his head with his neck at a very awkward angle. Those two moments provided far more danger and suspense than the actual match, which was a fine weapons-based brawl that didn't do a whole lot to excite. Their brawl backstage was extremely slow, and lacked the intense violence to make it interesting, though Shane did get a portion of the crowd back into it by leaping off the ambulance to nail the Coast-to-Coast. Kane uses the ambulance as a weapon, smacking Shane's back and forehead into it, before finally finishing the feud off conclusively, nailing a Tombstone on the floor and tossing Shane into the back of the ambulance to win. Kane has cooled off significantly as 2003 has gone on, and the Shane feud did him no favors, as most fans just rolled their eyes at how much offense the golden child was allowed to get in. Personally, the matches these two had just did nothing for me, as they didn't have much chemistry, and couldn't live up to the insane hyperviolence presented in their segments on Raw, which had the benefit of not being live wrestling.
- Mark Cuban is here for a cheap pop, as the owner of the Mavericks shoves the smarmy Eric Bischoff, before going down to an RKO from Randy Orton. The WWE is clearly investing heavily in that move as a huge hook to Orton's character, and history tell us that was the absolute right call. Also, Cuban bumped really well for it, props to him for nailing his role.
- For some reason, the booking team is really committed to Doug and Danny Basham, as the two brothers successfully retain the WWE Tag Team Championships against Los Guerreros. Chavo and Eddie do their best to try and get something decent out of their bland opponents, with Eddie providing the highlight of the match by taking down both champions with a tandem armdrag and hurricanrana off the top rope. Shaniqua takes a Frog Splash from Eddie to a decent pop, but a miscommunication costs Chavo and Eddie, as the former accidentally kicks the latter in the head while delivering a tornado DDT. That allows Danny Basham to roll up Chavo to retain, and continues to build tension between Chavo and his uncle, who has been in a foul mood since losing his United States Championship.
- By far the most promising match of the night is the second elimination tag, as "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and Eric Bischoff, the co-General Managers of Raw, each have selected a team to compete against each other. If Austin wins, he's allowed to attack anyone on the roster without having to be physically provoked, but if Bischoff wins, Austin is fired, and the tremendous stakes for this match are raised even higher when you consider the talent involved. Austin has Shawn Michaels, Rob Van Dam, Booker T and the Dudley Boyz on his side, while Bischoff has selected Randy Orton, Christian, Chris Jericho, Scott Steiner, and Mark Henry. That's a lot of former and future world champions, and they've been given the time to tell an engaging story, booked to go almost half an hour. That allows for a more deliberate build to each elimination than in the opener, and it pays off in one of my favorite elimination matches ever. The early 10-15 minutes are slower, but toss in a few good character moments, like Stacy Keibler distracting Steiner to allow "Freakzilla" to be eliminated, payback after Steiner and Test formed a partnership built on harassing Stacy. Mark Henry gets a run, taking out Booker, needing to be taken down by a trio of former ECW alumni, as Bubba Ray, D-Von, and Rob Van Dam all jump on Mark to pin him after RVD's Five-Star Frog Splash. Sneaky devil Jericho stops another Frog Splash, dropping Van Dam into the ropes, and an RKO awaits him, as Randy Orton pins the Intercontinental Champion. But it's all overshadowed once the match comes down to Shawn Michaels against Orton, Christian, and Jericho. Shawn pours his heart and soul into the fight to save Austin's job, covered in blood after a blade job, but finding every possible way to stay in it until the bitter end. Shawn gives the crowd hope after countering Christian's Unprettier, taking out Christian with a Sweet Chin Music. Michaels and Jericho continue to showcase their awesomely smooth wrestling, with a sequence that ends with Shawn evening the odds after countering the Walls of Jericho into a roll-up. The fans are so ready for the ultimate underdog story, and go nuts when Austin runs in, as a ref bump allows him to drop Orton with a Stunner and chase off Bischoff. But in the end, it's heartbreak city, as Batista bails out his Evolution teammate, planting Michaels with a Batista Bomb that finally ends it, Austin only realizing that Michaels is in trouble moments before the ending. This was excellent, the performance of a lifetime from Michaels, who draws sympathy better than just about anyone in the business, and was on the top of his game here.
- Steve Austin then bids farewell after the match, expressing gratitude to the crowd and mentioning that his career began in Dallas, making this a fitting finale. Austin goes out the only way he ever could, attacking Jonathan Coachman and a team of security guards, though it doesn't get the roar of approval I'm sure the company were hoping for. This has really been a night of sour endings, and I just don't think they had recovered from the result in order to rally for Austin's hell-raising. Of course, this emotional speech from Austin didn't matter much in the long-term, since he would be making televised appearances again just months later, so it didn't end up packing much punch for me.
- Vince McMahon has stepped into his darkest timeline, as his abuse of power and pursuit of petty feuds against anyone that spoke out against him has led the boss into a seemingly unwinnable situation, a Buried Alive match against The Undertaker. This is almost a snuff film, as Undertaker obliterates McMahon in sickening fashion, the latter blading after literally one punch. Vince is just gushing blood as this match wears on, and it's hard to watch even as someone who has never been his biggest supporter. Vince is choked with a camera cable, takes a steel shovel to the skull, and has his ankle Pillmanized by the steel steps, as Undertaker relishes in the destruction. Both men finally end up near the burial site, where Vince actually gets some offense in, tossing dirt into The Undertaker's face, nailing a low blow, and whacking Undertaker in the sternum with the shovel. This isn't enough for McMahon to keep Undertaker down, but he has an ace up his sleeve. Kane's pyro goes off in Undertaker's face when the latter attempts to enter a front loader, and The Undertaker's brother completes the job, laying Undertaker out in the grave, allowing McMahon to take control to the machinery and bury "The Deadman" in six feet of dirt. The crowd is totally silent while Kane celebrates, posing over the grave with an arm in the air, a signature Undertaker move, before laughing maniacally rubbing the dirt around. I would guess their silence is a combination of apathy after yet another heel won, plus the obvious concern over the fact that a man was just buried alive, and confusion that there's somehow still another match after this.
- Main event time, as Triple H and Goldberg attempt to follow up actual murder with a bout for the World Heavyweight Championship. These two didn't manage to impress me much in their first clash at Unforgiven, and this was another underwhelming main event, made even more awkward by the tragedy of the last half-hour of the show. Most of the match focuses on Goldberg's leg, injured after Triple H put a bounty on the champion, which Batista collected, jumping onto a chair fastened around said leg. Goldberg sells the pain well enough, but the match slows to a crawl with Triple H in control and Goldberg gassing out. The champion foils all cheating on the part of Evolution, taking out Flair, Orton, and Batista with sledgehammer shots, before tossing the weapon to the side and finishing Hunter off with a Spear and Jackhammer. It's good to see Goldberg win clean, but it was another stinker of a match for him, and one that absolutely shouldn't have gone on last.
7/10
2003 Average: 6.54 (Up from 6.5)
Survivor Series 2003 packed a lot into 3 hours, and while not everything on the card was even remotely close to perfect, it was sure a memorable night. I wouldn't highly recommend anything other than Team Austin vs Team Bischoff, but the entire show definitely has high points throughout, so it wouldn't be the biggest waste of your time to watch everything.
Next time on Henry's Pay-Per-View Reviews: Armageddon 2003, where Goldberg defends the World Heavyweight Championship against Triple H and Kane. See you soon.
- Henry
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