Welcome to the seventh instalment from 2003 of Tybo Talks… Fifteen Years Ago – Vengeance 2003
I started this a full year ago when I thought it would be a good idea to start a ’15 Years Ago’ series. Twelve months and over 500 hours of wrestling later I’m starting all over again with 2003.
If you want to read my Tybo Talks… 2002 series CLICK HERE!
(This is possibly the best most comprehensive series I have ever done, and loved it!)
If you want to read my Tybo Talks… 2003 (so far) CLICK HERE!
The idea was simple, with the ease of access to pretty much all of WWE’s back catalogue on the WWE Network I thought it would be cool to change it up a bit and do some classic review and drop them on the day they were held. Where better to start than 15 years ago. The plan is to review every PPV of 2003 while watching all Raw and Smackdown episodes in between.
Now before I go any further, I’m not really going to explain the matches move for move. No one needs that, the PPV is on the WWE Network. This is going to be my thoughts on the booking and general thoughts about the matches and the event.
The Stats
This is the third annual Vengeance PPV, but this is the first ever Smackdown exclusive PPV
Venue – Pepsi Centre. Denver, Colorado
Attendance – 9,500
Theme Song – Price to Play by Staind
The opening vignette is all the superstar telling you why it was ‘worth it’, Vince McMahon saying its ‘All about control’. It’s a cool promo video for the event.
United States Championship: Tournament Finals – Eddie Guerrero vs Chris Benoit
Fun Fact: The United States Championship’s return was announced on the 200th episode of Smackdown.
Its rare that you can say that an opening PPV will be the Match of the Night but with this, it no doubt has the potential. Both guys know each other so well, with wrestling each other all over the world and being great friends, there is no way this can be bad.
The match is a perfect mix of mat wrestling, with a slow methodical pace but technically perfect. Then frustration from both guys, with Eddie even doing the third amigo (three amigo suplexes) of the top rope. There is also a touch of classic Guerrero comedy when he tries to cheat to win with what we all love Eddie for (I’m not going to say, but it’s worth watching).
It all ends when Rhyno comes down and double crosses Benoit, to cost him the win. Even with everything going on this is still a great match and will take a very solid match to beat it for Match of the Night. Winner – Eddie Guerrero (and New United States Champion)
Backstage – Vince and Steph McMahon are arguing over Linda (Vince’s Wife and Steph’s Mother) who was Tombstoned on Raw by Kane. Vince is going to Raw on Monday. Its good to see an acknowledgement of the other brand.
Indecent Proposal Match: Billy Gunn vs Jamie Noble (If Noble wins Torrie Wilson must spend a night with him)
Jamie Noble has recently come into money because his great auntie died. What does a dirty redneck do with too much money, he offers Torrie Wilson money for a night of ‘passion’. Torrie decided that if Noble can beat Billy Gunn (Torrie’s current squeeze) then she will sleep with Noble on Smackdown. It’s hard to see a women’s revolution in 2003.
Fun Fact: Torrie Wilson is actually a few weeks away from marrying Smackdown superstar Billy Kidman at this point.
The match itself is actually great. It’s easy to forget just how good both Noble and Gunn are in the ring. Gunn’s size and strength and Noble’s size and speed complement each other very well in this match. This match is without a doubt a hidden gem of 2003. After a miss-queue between Torrie and Gunn, it’s Noble who gets the victory. Torrie’s response was clear… ‘Oh Shit!’. Winner – Jamie Noble
Backstage – Funaki interviews APA about their ‘Bar Brawl Invitational’, there is a bar set up next to the stage.
APA Bar Brawl Invitational
There are everyone and no-one in this match. The Basham Brothers, Matt Hardy, John Morrison, Brother Love, Doink, Jordan and even the Brooklyn Brothers. The rules are simple, last man drinking wins.
Brother Love gives a long (long) promo, then this becomes all-out mayhem. There is ‘wood’ and ‘glass’ everywhere until Bradshaw finally gets the win. This is completely random and completely pointless. Is anyone else not shocked there was only one of these? Winner – Bradshaw
Tag Team Championship: Sheldon Benjamin & Charlie Haas (C) vs Ray Mysterio & Billy Kidman
Fun Fact: Although they may seem like a random team Mysterio and Kidman are former WCW Tag Team Champions.
I’m not happy that the cruiserweight championship has been pushed to the side, if you want Mysterio and Kidman to go after the Tag Championships, that’s great but have Mysterio drop the Cruiserweight Championship first.
Mysterio and Kidman won a fatal four way to get this match, as you would expect they both work a fast-paced match, with a lot of high-flying speed. The ‘Worlds Greatest Tag Team’ show a different side to their abilities and the spend a lot of the match keeping up with the cruiserweight team.
The main downfall in this match is Mysterio and Kidman don’t feel like a legitimate team whereas Benjamin and Haas are the real deal, this doesn’t mean the match isn’t enjoyable and fun to watch, I just never believed Mysterio and Kidman could capture the gold. Winner – Sheldon Benjamin & Charlie Haas
Stephanie McMahon vs Sable
I’m not sure what to say about this one. Sable returned as Steph’s assistant (Steph is Smackdown GM) as appointed by Vince McMahon. This is classic Vince being an absolute dog and leaching off a diva, this time its Sable, and she is loving it.
The match is exactly what you would expect, Sable is over-sexual to the point if it being embarrassing and Steph has come a long way from here to her recent match at Wrestlemania 34.
There is some back and forward between the two, and a lot more wrestling moves than you would expect from the former women’s champions. It all ends when A-Train (not an actual train) runs right through Steph in what looks like a bad bump. Winner – Sable
Undertaker vs John Cena
This may be 15 years before their ‘match’ at Wrestlemania34 but the build isn’t a million miles away from each other. This is all about respect. Cena is calling himself a veteran and a legend although he has only been on the main roster for a year, whereas ‘Taker is a legitimate legend.
This feels like a forgotten gem of a match, with all the ‘first time ever’ and ‘dream match’ we hear about this is never mentioned. I suggest everyone go back and watch what the recent Mania match could have been.
Cena is the heel, and ‘Taker is the veteran teaching him a lesson in respect. Cena is a perfect heel, his is different, interesting and believes in the ‘Dr of Thuganomics’ gimmick. At this point, I never thought he would be the face of the company on the best run in WWE history but its great to go back and see just how much potential he had.
The match is great, its competitive with a great pace, with solid heel work from Cena. There is the right amount of back and forth to make you believe Cena could pull out the win. After ‘Taker starts spitting blood the pace slows but both give it everything they have, and both take the other to the limit. After a rookie mistake from Cena, he gets hit with the Last Ride. Winner – Undertaker
This match was easily the Match of the Night up to this point.
Vince McMahon vs Zack Gowen
There is no denying that this was a controversial storyline, Zack Gowen is a one-legged and Vince spend months mocking and attacking him, with zero remorse. The short story of Gowen is that he had cancer when he was 8 years old and needed his leg amputated to survive.
Fun Fact: John Laurinaitis signed the wrong one-legged wrestler, if that wasn’t bad enough Zack Gowen was already on TV when he did it.
Honestly, for all the flack that McMahon got for this storyline, you have to wonder if Gowen would have ever gotten an opportunity like this without this feud.
The most amazing thing about Gowen is that he can do moves that half the two-legged wrestlers can’t do, moonsaults out of the ring, top rope leg drops, to name a few. Vince basically toys with Gowen for the bulk of the match, garnering a lot of heat.
Is this a great match? No, it’s not, but it is far better than expectations, this isn’t really about the match, it’s more about the story of a boy wanting to live his dream and overcoming the odds. Vince plays the evil boss standing in his way better than anyone could. Shockingly even after Vince take a monstrous chair-shot to the head (and is literally pissing blood) It’s Vince that gets the win. Winner – Vince McMahon
Gowen still gets a standing ovation when the match is over, and so he should.
WWE Championship: Brock Lesnar (C) vs Kurt Angle vs Big Show
They make a point of saying this is a no DQ match more than once, but all triple threat matches are no DQ, so this one is going to get colourful.
Angle has recently been out injured with a broken neck, while he was out him and Lesnar became friends. So, when he came back to Smackdown it made sense to have Angle and Lesnar in some great friendship segments.
Big Show is the dominant, destructive heel, personally, I think this is the best Show of his WWE career. It’s not long before weapons are out, and Show is getting pinballed between two trashcan lids. Although friends, Lesnar and Angle know what at stake, and will take the other out to win the gold.
Although there is non-stop action between the three, there seems to be very little chemistry between them, and the pace seems off. That is until Show gets Angle Slammed through the announce table. Angle vs Lesnar is fantastic, it’s so good that I almost forgot Show was in the match until he hits a double chokeslam that is.
After more back and forth between the three, its Angle with a monstrous Angle Slam that finishes the match. Winner – Kurt Angle (and New WWE Champion)
Overall
This was a solid PPV, especially considering it was a Smackdown exclusive PPV. Vengeance was far better than Raw’s Bad Blood PPV effort last month. Honestly, there wasn’t a truly terrible match on the card, well except APA’s Bar Brawl but I’m still not sure what that even was.
Even the matches you would think would be terrible were actually watchable, these would obviously include Sable vs Steph and Gowen vs Vince.
The United States Championship Tournament Finals were a great opener, and although the WWE championship match picked up towards the end, the Match of the Night must go to Undertaker vs John Cena. The story they told was simple but executed to perfection. For a first solo Smackdown venture into PPV, this was a great success.
Vengeance – 3.5 / 5
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