Survivor Series 2003 Review

Survivor Series 2003 Review


This was the first ever PPV I watched all the way through. Well either this or Fully Loaded 1998, but I don't even remember any of that. I may be a little biased with the ratings due to the nostalgia but I'll try my best not to be.



John Cena / Chris Benoit / Bradshaw / Hardcore Holly / Kurt Angle vs Big Show / A-Train / Nathan Jones / Matt Morgan / Brock Lesnar
These elimination matches are always a great way to kick off a show and this was no exception. Holly is immediately eliminated by DQ. A-Train quickly follows after a clothesline from hell. Bradshaw taken out with a chokeslam. 1 minute in and there's been 3 eliminations. Morgan taken out with an angle slam. Nathan taps to the ankle lock. Angle taken out with an F5. Angle's time in the bout was way too short. Lesnar surprisingly taps out to the crossface.Cena hits the FU to win the match. Fun match to open the show. ***


Austin and McMahon share a funny moment backstage.



Lita vs Molly Holly
The Women's Title is on the line here. This was five months before poor Molly would end up being shaved bald. The women's matches were noticeably funner than they are ten years later. The difference here is that fans actually react to the match. Molly gets the win with the exposed turnbuckle. Entertaining match. **1/2



Kane vs Shane McMahon : Ambulance Match
This was voted the worst feud of 2003. I don't know about you, but I really enjoyed it. Maybe it's because I'm a mark for Kane. I enjoyed both this and their Last Man Standing match. I thought both were a lot of fun and I still think that. Underrated. Right at the start of the match, Kane seems to land right on his head. Some brutal bumps take place next to the ambulance. Kane wins after a tombstone. Fun match. ***



Los Guerreros vs The Basham Brothers
This match showed signs of the split of Los Guerreros that would take place shortly after this PPV. They really were a good tag team. Just a shame that Chavo didn't really have a great singles run. Shaniqua is a pretty scary looking gal. The S&M gimmick of the Basham's was just wrong. Unspectacular tag match but it was entertaining. Bashams win with a roll up. **1/2



Shawn Michaels / Booker T / Rob Van Dam / The Dudley Boyz vs Chris Jericho / Christian / Scott Steiner / Mark Henry / Randy Orton
Now this is a classic elimination style match. Shawn gives us an amazing performance, although what else would you expect? Steiner eliminated first with a book end. Booker follows quickly, after geing slammed by Henry. The 3D and five star frog splash eliminates Mark Henry. RKO takes out RVD. D-Von eliminated next. Unprettier takes out Bubba. 3 on 1 now. Superkick eliminates Christian. Roll up eliminates Jericho. Awesome match, and HBK deserves some sort of acting award. Batista interferes to cost HBK the match. Great stuff here. ****1/4



Undertaker vs Vince McMahon : Buried Alive Match
If you want to sit down and watch a match that mainly features Vince McMahon getting his ass handed to him, then this fight is for you. Vince barely got any offense in here until the end, but that was the point. Fun just to watch Vince being beaten up. Taker's final match with the biker gimmick. Kane interferes to bury Taker, leading to his Deadman return at Wrestlemania XX. *



Goldberg vs Triple H
It was obvious at this point that the Goldberg experiment just wasn't working out. It felt like these two had had too many matches against each other, and I think this was only the second. Just felt boring. The Austin/Bischoff match should have been the main event. This felt more like a Raw match. Very sloppy too. Goldberg hits the jackhammer to retain. *1/2



6/10. Not the great event that I remembered, but it was still enjoyable. The two Survivor Series style matches were enjoyable, with one being a must-see match. The ambulance match was a lot of fun too. The lackluster main event brings it down as well. All in all an entertaining event.