Vengeance 2003 Review

Vengeance 2003 Review


Here we have the first Smackdown only PPV. Were they able to put on a good show without Raw? Of course they did! But lets find out how good it is.



Eddie Guerrero vs Chris Benoit
Someone give a medal to the guy that put this as the opener. Great idea that was always gonna end well. This was for the newly (re)made US Title, though sadly it would end up redundant for the next ten years or so. Of course this was a great match, how could it not be with these two in the ring? This is why I watch wrestling, to see two very talented guys trying to prove who's better with a very entertaining match, and that's exactly what we got here, a great, technical bout from the masters of technical wrestling. Eddie cheating towards the end was great too. A classic match. ****1/4



Backstage the McMahon soap opera takes a pointless and boring turn as Vince acts like a dick. What else is new.



Billy Gunn vs Jamie Noble
This is an Indecent Proposal match. The fuck is that? Well I'm glad you asked: Noble was acting a bit rapey towards Torrie Wilson, so Torrie put her body on the line, and put her faith in Billy. Not the best guy to put your faith in. I suppose for every Guerrero/Benoit there's this. This storyline was creepy beyond belief, and didn't Nidia get a say in this? Well she did try to cost Noble the match so there's that. Noble really carried Billy here, and the match wasn't long enough to be too bad. Noble wins and is allowed to screw Torrie. Lucky bastard. *1/2




Backstage there's the APA, Funkaki, some Jack Daniels, and the Easter Bunny. Yes that happened.




The APA Invitational
What does an APA invitational even accomplish? A title shot? Doubt it. Even Brother Love and Doink the Clown make an appearance! This is worth the pointless segment already. A young John Morrison is in there looking like Elvis Presley.This is putting me in the mood for a fourth beer. Just a bar room brawl here, but it was fun to watch. No Rating.



Do you know what this show could use? Another awesome match. I think I hear one coming now.



Rey Mysterio & Billy Kidman vs The World's Greatest Tag Team
Tag Titles on the line. It would have been near impossible to follow the excellent opener, but these guys damn sure tried their best!  Might be the best WWE tag match of the year. Kidman's springboard shooting star press to the outside was freaking insane. Just fantastic action all throughout this match and every guy performed exceptionally well. Overall : awesome! Huge double team move gives Haas the pinfall. WWE needs to sign these guys again. Insanely fun match. ****



Stephanie McMahon vs Sable
Once again I guess the quality had to dip somewhere. This was announced as a catfight. No rules were announced except that there are no countouts. Vince made this match, and, unfortunately, the storyline would continue for another few months. Sable didn't look as good as she did in 1998. The crowd was into it, but it just wasn't good. It wasn't as bad as it should have been, but it was still pretty bad. Albert, I mean Tensai, sorry I mean A-Train interferes to give Sable the win. *



Undertaker vs John Cena
Funny how ten years later this is considered a big dream match for Wrestlemania. Cena would eventually get a win over Taker, but it definitely would have meant more if he had done it on PPV. Well I think the kid has done well for himself, so it didn't affect him too much. Cena did look good against the Deadman, and looked to be a match for him. Very good match. ***1/4



Zach Gowen vs Vince McMahon
Yes Vince McMahon is a dick, we get it. Vince winning this didn't help Zach's momentum. The match was pretty entertaining, as Vince is a natural heel, and Zach was a great underdog. After a chair shot, Vince had a nasty looking cut on his head and was pouring blood. Entertaining while it lasted, even if the wrong man won. **



Brock Lesnar vs Big Show vs Kurt Angle
WWE Championship is on the line. This was Angle's PPV return from his neck surgery that was supposed to keep him out for a year, so the fact that he came back after only a few months is amazing. All three guys were made to look like threats, especially Show, which is something that makes these triple threat matches great. The action was never slow and was never boring. Lesnar's powerbomb to Show was amazing. An awesome triple threat match, and one of the better ones I've seen. ****



9/10. A fantastic show that woukd have been the best of 2003 if not for Wrestlemania XIX. Three matches at four stars or above makes this an easy recommendation, but add in a very good  Taker/Cena match, and you've got one hell of a show. Only a couple of things drag it down, like the Indecent Proposal match and the pointless APA Invitational, but that doesn't stop it from being highly recommended by me.