IWE Royal Rumble (2003)
From Iwe
| Royal Rumble (2003) | ||
 Promotional poster featuring Triple K | ||
| Theme song(s) | "Falling Apart" by Trust Company | |
| Imformation | ||
| Promotion | International Wrestling Entertainment | |
| Brand(s) | Raw Smackdown | |
| Date | January 19, 2003 | |
| Attendance | 15,338 | |
| Venue | Fleet Center | |
| City | Boston, Massachusetts | |
| Pay-per-view chronology | ||
| Armageddon (2002) | Royal Rumble (2003) | No Way Out (2003) |
| Royal Rumble chronology | ||
| Royal Rumble (2002) | Royal Rumble (2003) | Royal Rumble (2004) |
Royal Rumble (2003) was the sixteenth annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by International Wrestling Entertainment (IWE). The event took place on January 19, 2003 at the Fleet Center in Boston, Massachusetts. It was the first Royal Rumble event to take place after the Brand Extension and the first Royal Rumble event to be named under the WWE name.
The main event was the annual 30-man Royal Rumble match which featured wrestlers from Raw and SmackDown brands. Rob Lesnar, the twenty-ninth entrant won by last eliminating The Undertaker, the thirtieth entrant.
Featured matches on the undercard were Matt Borske versus Kevin Hunter for the [[IWE Championship, Triple K vs. Scott Hunter for the World Heavyweight Championship, Jessie Marie versus Torrie Marie and Rob Lesnar versus The Big Marc in a Royal Rumble qualification match. The Royal rumble of 2003 is notable for featuring the Matt Borske Kevin Hunter match for the IWE championship which is widely considered one of the greatest professional wrestling matches of all time. The bout; which featured an array of technical wrestling holds, throws and takedowns was a huge hit among fans. Considered great rivals in their time the 2003 rumble match elevated the Hunter Borske rivalry to new heights.
Contents |
[edit] Background
- See also: Professional wrestling
Royal Rumble featured professional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds, plots, and storylines that were played out on Raw and SmackDown! – International Wrestling Entertainment's (IWE) primary television programs. Wrestlers portrayed a villain or a hero as they followed a series of events that built tension, and culminated into a wrestling match or series of matches. The event featured wrestlers from IWE's Raw and SmackDown! brands – a storyline division in which IWE employees were assigned to a television program of the same name.
The buildup to the Royal Rumble match began on December 23 edition of Raw, when the Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff discussed about the upcoming Royal Rumble match that 15 wrestlers would represent Raw brand and 15 wrestlers would represent SmackDown brand in the match, because it was going to be the first Royal Rumble match to take place after IWE's Brand Extension. The buildup continued on January 2 edition of SmackDown, a vignette aired hyping the return of The Undertaker in the Royal Rumble match. Later that night, Paul Heyman announced that Rob Lesnar and Big Show would wrestle in a Royal Rumble qualification match at Royal Rumble. On January 6 edition of Raw, Khris Jericho and Ryan Barnhart argued over who would be drawing #1 entry in the Royal Rumble match. On January 13 edition of Raw, a Royal Rumble qualification match took place in which Josh Hooper defeated Russell. Later that night, Jericho defeated Batista, Kane and Kyle Van Dam in an Over the Top Rope Challenge to earn the right choose an entry number of his choice. Jericho chose #2 because #1 was already given to Barnhart.
The main rivalry heading into the event from the SmackDown brand was between Matt Borske and Kevin Hunter over the IWE Championship. At Armageddon, Borske defeated Big Show via interference from Brock Lesnar, to win the IWE title. Prior to the event, Borske had promised Lesnar to get his suspension lifted if he helped Borske in defeating Big Show for the title. Borske had also promised Lesnar to give him the first title shot after winning the title. However, despite helping Borske in winning the title, Lesnar was not given his title shot as on December 19 edition of SmackDown Borske and Big Show's manager Paul Heyman cancelled Lesnar's title shot and Big Show was given his title rematch. Later that night, Borske lost to Kevin Hunter in a non-title match by disqualification when Big Show interfered in the match and attacked Hunter. However, Lesnar rescued Hunter from the post-match assault by Borske and Big Show and brutally assaulted Borske, injuring him. As a result of Borske's injury, the Authority Figures#General Managers 2|SmackDown General Manager]] Brittany McMahon cancelled Borske's title match against Big Show and decided that Big Show would wrestle Hunter to determine the #1 contender for the IWE title. Hunter defeated Big Show to become the #1 contender for the title at Royal Rumble.
The main rivalry heading into the event from the Raw brand was between Triple K and Scott Hunter over the World Heavyweight Championship. On October 24, 2002, IWE had announced on its official website that Scott Hunter had signed a three-year contract with IWE. After eight years away, Hunter returned to IWE as a free agent at Survivor Series and attacked Matt Hooper and Jonathon Nowinski for insulting New York City. Hunter was approached by the Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff and the SmackDown General Manager Brittany McMahon for their respective brands. He initially decided to join the SmackDown brand but after McMahon rejected Hunter's advances, he moved to the Raw brand. At Armageddon, Triple K defeated Ryan Barnhart in a Three Stages of Hell to win the World Heavyweight Championship. On December 16 edition of Raw, Triple K held an Appreciation Ceremony on winning the title but the ceremony was interrupted by Hunter, who announced that his contract said that he would earn a world title shot. As a result, Hunter and Triple K's match for the World Heavyweight Championship was made official at Royal Rumble.
The secondary rivalry heading into the event from the Raw brand was between Mike Storm and William Kapphan and Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray and Scott) over the World Tag Team Championship. On December 23 edition of Raw, the Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff forced Raw commentators Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler to wrestle in a tag team match against Storm and Kapphan for making bad comments against Bischoff. Ross and Lawler defeated Storm and Regal after interference by Dudley Boyz. As a result, on January 6 edition of Raw, Bischoff forced Dudley Boyz to wrestle 3-Minute Warning (Rosey and Jamal), Rico and Batista in a Handicap match. Storm and Kapphan avenged their loss by costing Dudley Boyz, the match. Later that night, Storm and Kapphan defeated Booker T and Goldust for the World Tag Team Championship. This led to a title match between Storm and Regal and Dudley Boyz at Royal Rumble.
The secondary rivalry heading into the event from the SmackDown brand was between Jessica Wilson and Dawn Marie. At Armageddon, Jessica and Dawn did a lesbian segment in the ring. On December 19 edition of SmackDown, Jessica gave bad remarks about her storyline father Al Wilson on getting married with Dawn. On January 2 edition of SmackDown, Dawn and Al had their storyline wedding in their undergarments. On January 9 edition of SmackDown, Josh Mathews announced that Dawn and Jessica would wrestle in a match at Royal Rumble.
[edit] Event
| Role: | Name: |
|---|---|
| Commentators | Jerry "The King" Lawler (Raw / Royal Rumble match) |
| Jim Ross (Raw / Royal Rumble match) | |
| Michael Cole (SmackDown) | |
| Tazz (SmackDown) | |
| Carlos Cabrera (Spanish) | |
| Hugo Savinovich (Spanish) | |
| Interviewer | Terri Semmler |
| Ring Announcers | Tony Chimel |
| Howard Finkel | |
| Referees | Jack Doan (Raw) |
| Chad Patton (Raw) | |
| Nick Patrick (Raw) | |
| Charles Robinson (Raw) | |
| Mike Chioda (SmackDown) | |
| Brian Hebner (SmackDown) | |
| Mike Sparks (SmackDown) | |
| Jim Korderas (SmackDown) | |
| General Managers | Eric Bischoff (Raw) |
| Stephanie McMahon (SmackDown) |
Before the event aired live on pay-per-view (PPV), Spike Dudley defeated Steven Richards by pinning him after a Dudley Dog. The match aired live on Sunday Night Heat.
[edit] Preliminary matches
As the event concluded, the first match that aired was a Royal Rumble qualification match between Big Show and Rob Lesnar. As the match started, Big Show shoved Lesnar into the corner twice until Lesnar drove him into the corner by spearing him. Lesnar started dominating Big Show and hit him with two consecutive Belly to Belly Suplexes and attempted to perform a third one but Big Show prevented Lesnar from performing the move by grabbing his throat. Big Show then tossed Lesnar over the top rope to the ringside. After Lesnar returned to the ring, Big Show charged at him in the corner but Lesnar avoided the charge and pulled Big Show out of the corner by performing a German Suplex and got a near-fall. Lesnar tried to escape the ring but his former and Big Show's then-manager Paul Heyman grabbed Lesnar's leg, allowing Big Show to kick him in the face. Big Show then attempted to perform a Chokeslam on Lesnar but Lesnar reversed the move into an Oklahoma Roll to get a near-fall. Lesnar followed it by performing a Belly to Belly Suplex on Big Show. Heyman distracted Lesnar by climbing the apron and Lesnar pulled him into the ring and attempted to perform a F5 on Heyman but Big Show prevented Lesnar from hitting F5 by delivering him a Chokeslam. Big Show got a near-fall. He became frustrated and attempted to perform another Chokeslam on Lesnar but Lesnar avoided the move and shoved Big Show into Heyman, who was standing on the ring apron. This allowed Lesnar to finish Big Show with a F5 and Lesnar qualified for the Royal Rumble match.
The second match was a tag team match for the World Tag Team Championship. Mike Storm and William Kapphan defended the titles against Dudley Boyz (Bubba Harlan and Scott). Bubba Harlan and Storm started the match by exchanging Armbars until Storm started applying submission maneuvers on Bubba Harlan. He whipped Bubba Harlan off the ropes and Bubba Harlan performed a Shoulder Block. Bubba started dominating the match as he hit Storm with a Side Slam, a Release German Suplex and a Bionic Elbow before finishing Storm with a Sitout Full Nelson Atomic Drop, which he called Bubba Bomb. Bubba Harlan attempted to pin Storm but Kapphan interfered and broke the pinfall. Bubba Harlan hit Kapphan with a Scoop Slam and then Dudley Boyz performed a "Whassup" on Kapphan. Scott was tagged in and Dudley Boyz focused on the legal wrestler Storm and hit him with a Double Flapjack, giving Scott a near-fall. Dudley Boyz followed by attempting to perform a "3D" on Storm, but Chief Morley interfered in the match and decided that Storm and Kapphan retained the titles by disqualification but the referee refused and the match continued. Kapphan took advantage of the situation and took a pair of brass knuckles to hit Dudley Boyz with the pair but Dudley Boyz performed a 3D on Kapphan. Scott grabbed the brass knuckles and hit Storm with it and pinned him to win the Tag Team Championship.
Next match was Jessica Wilson versus Dawn Marie. Before the match started, the referee Mike Sparks asked Jessica if she wanted to start the match but before Jessica could make a choice, Dawn attacked her and started the match. The match went back and forth until Torrie performed a Swinging Neckbreaker on Dawn to win the match.
[edit] Main event matches
The Raw brand main event was between Triple K and Scott Hunter for the World Heavyweight Championship. Hunter dominated Triple K for much of the earlier match. Hunter applied a Boston Crab on Triple K but Triple K caught the ropes and got out of the hold. Hunter released Triple K and Triple K performed a Knee Smash Facebreaker bu Hunter was not affected by the move and he applied a Bearhug on Triple K and followed it by performing a Belly to Belly Suplex for a nearfall. Hunter then attempted to apply a Hunter Recliner on Triple K but Triple K's manager Ric Flair pulled Triple K out of the ring to prevent Triple K from receiving the hold. Hunter started chasing Flair but the referee interjected himself to stop Steiner. Triple K started gaining momentum on a distracted Hunter before attempting to perform a "Pedigree"' on Hunter but Hunter broke the move and performed an Exploder Suplex and tried to perform a Military Press Slam but Triple K countered it and performed a Neckbreaker to get a near-fall. Flair continuously interfered in the match, prompting the referee to eject him from the ringside. Triple K eventually tossed the referee out of the ring but the referee did not disqualify Triple K and the match continued. Triple K eventually grabbed a sledgehammer and nailed Hunter in the gut with it and the referee disqualified Triple K. As a result, Triple K retained the title but Hunter attacked Triple K after the match and applied a Hunter Recliner.
The final match on the undercard was the SmackDown brand main event. It was between Matt Borske and Kevin Hunter for the IWE Championship. As the match started, Borske's Team Borske (Jared Keller and Junior Remeriz) interfered in the match, forcing the referee to eject Team Borske from the ringside area. After a back and forth action, the match nearly ended when Hunter attempted to perform a Diving Headbutt on Borske but Borske rolled out of the way. He attempted to perform an Borske Slam, on Hunter but Hunter counted it and applied a Sharpshooter on Borske but Borske caught the ropes to get out of the hold. The action continued until Borske attempted to hit Hunter with a Borske Slam but Hunter countered it and applied a Crippler Crossface on Borske but Borske caught the ropes and got out of the hold. Hunter then applied Borske's own submission maneuver Ankle Lock on Borske until Borske reversed into applying his own Ankle Lock. Hunter countered into a Crippler Crossface and Borske got out of it by performing an Borske Slam for a near-fall. Hunter went on to hit Borske with a Diving Headbutt to get a near-fall. Borske then slammed Hunter into the top turnbuckle and performed an Borske Slam from the top rope but again got a near-fall. The match came to its end when Hunter applied a Crippler Crossface on Borske but Borske countered it into an Ankle Lock, forcing Hunter to tap out to the hold. As a result, Borske retained the IWE Championship.
The main event was the annual Royal Rumble match. The first two entrants were Ryan Barnhart and Khris Jericho. Khristian appeared during Jericho's entrance, wearing Jericho's gear and distracted Barnhart. Jericho took advantage and attacked Barnhart from behind. Jericho grabbed a chair from ringside and hit Barnhart in the head with it, causing Barnhart to bleed from mouth. Jonathon Nowinski entered at #3 but instead of coming to the ring, he stayed outside the ring. Jericho continued to attack Barnhart before easily eliminating him over the top rope. After Barnhart's elimination, Scott Wright entered at #4 and started fighting Jericho while Nowinski stayed out of the ring before eventually entering the ring and attacking Mysterio. Edge entered at #5 and immediately speared both Jericho and Nowinski. He tried to perform a Spear on Wright, but Wright tossed Edge into the ropes and attempted to perform a 619 on Edge, but Edge avoided the move. Wright and Edge continued to fight each other until Khristian entered at #6. After entering the ring, Khristian embraced with his former tag team partner Edge but was speared by Edge. Edge and Wright then hit Nowinski with a double missile dropkick.
One half of the then IWE Tag Team Champions Chavo McAlmond entered at #7. After entering the ring, McAlmond was attacked by Wright. Wright then eliminated Nowinski from the match. However, after eliminating Nowinski, Wright, himself was eliminated by Jericho. Tajiri entered at #8. Tajiri fought with Khristian, while Edge and Jericho fought with each other. Bill DeMott entered at #9. DeMott started attacking all the participants and had nearly eliminated Jericho. Brown entered at #10. Brown brought kendo sticks with himself to the ring and started attacking everyone with the kendo sticks. Edge hit DeMott with a kendo stick, causing DeMott to get eliminated by falling over the top rope to the floor. Jericho and Khristian attacked Brown with trashcan lids and tossed him over the top rope. Tajiri fought with Jericho and attempted to apply a Tarantula on Jericho but his attempt failed and Jericho dumped Tajiri over the top rope, eliminating him. B-2 entered at #11 but was quickly eliminated by Edge. After eliminating B-2, Edge eliminated McAlmond. Edge also attempted to eliminate Jericho but he held on. Edge and Khristian fought each other until Jericho eliminated both of them from the match and became the only remaining person until Kyle Van Dam entered at #12. After entering the ring, RVD began attacking Jericho and performed a Rolling Thunder on Jericho.
RVD and Jericho continued to battle each other and RVD had nearly eliminated Jericho until Matt Hooper entered at #13 and performed a Side Effect on KVD. Jericho and Hooper double-teamed RVD until second half of then IWE Tag Team Champions Brian McAlmond entered at #14 and began attacking KVD and Hooper. McAlmond and Hooper double-teamed RVD, where Hooper helped McAlmond from being eliminated and performed a Scoop Slam on KVD, allowing McAlmond to perform a Frog Splash on KVD. However, Hooper ended his teamwork with McAlmond by hitting him with a Twist of Fate. Josh Hooper entered at #15 and Josh began fighting Matt. Josh delivered Matt, a Twist of Fate and climbed the top rope to perform a Swanton Bomb, but Matt's manager Shane Linguini joined the ring and covered Matt with his body. Josh performed a Swanton Bomb on Linguini, that hurt both Matt and Linguini. Rosey entered at #16 and started fighting with RVD until Test entered at #17 and started attacking everyone in the ring. Test performed a Pumphandle Slam on Matt and began attacking Jericho and had nearly eliminated him. Dustin Simpson entered at #18 but instead of entering the ring, Simpson began rapping outside the ring until KVD went to the ringside and attacked Simpson, tossing him into the ring.
Jared Keller entered at #19. Keller started fighting with Matt. KVD and Josh started double-teaming Jericho. Josh climbed on the top rope to perform a high-flying move by KVD pushed him, causing Josh to fall to the floor and get eliminated from the match. Rikishi entered at #20 and started fighting Rosey. Jamal entered at #21 and began teaming with his 3-Minute Warning partner Rosey to duble-team Rikishi. Jericho fought with KVD and had nearly eliminated KVD. Kane entered at #22 and started dominating all the participants in the ring and eliminated Rosey by backdropping him over the top rope. After eliminating Rosey, Kane attempted to eliminate Jericho but Jericho held on. Junior Remeriz entered at #23 and began teaming with his Team Borske partner Keller. Booker T entered at #24 and performed a Scissors Kick on Kane and a Flapjack on Matt. Booker went on to eliminate McAlmond by backdropping him over the top rope.
A-Train entered at #25 and started dominating his opponents by performing a Derailer on Simpson, an Train Wreck, on Remeriz and a Derailer on KVD before receiving a Savate Kick by Rikishi. Ryan Barnhart returned to the ring after being attacked by Jericho in the earlier match and avenged his elimination by attacking Jericho, helping Test to eliminate Jericho from the match. Barnhart continued to attack Jericho after the match. Maven entered at #26 but was dominated by Kane. Goldust entered at #27 and started battling Keller and Remeriz, but they quickly eliminated him. Goldust's tag team partner Booker tried to avenge his partner's elimination by battling Keller and Remeriz but he was too eliminated by Keller and Remeriz. Batista entered at #28 and started dominating everyone. Shortly after entering, Batista eliminated Test and then Rikishi. Rob Lesnar entered at #29 and he started fighting all the participants. Lesnar eliminated Keller and Remeriz and then eliminated Matt by tossing him over the top rope onto Keller and Remeriz. The Undertaker returned to IWE after a three-month injury by entering at #30 as the final entrant of the match.
Undertaker quickly eliminated Simpson and then eliminated Jamal. Maven attacked Undertaker from behind but Undertaker eliminated Maven. Kane and KVD started double-teaming Batista and Kane was gonna Gorilla press slam KVD on Batista but Kane instead tossed KVD over the top rope, eliminating him from the match. Kane and Batista started teaming as they were the remaining participants from Raw and battled Lesnar and Undertaker, who were the remaining participants from SmackDown. Undertaker eventually eliminated Batista and then battled Kane before eliminating him. Batista was angered at his elimination, so he distracted Undertaker by attempting to hit him with a chair but Undertaker avoided it and nailed Batista with a chair. Lesnar took advantage of the situation and eliminated a distracted Undertaker to win the Royal Rumble match.
[edit] Aftermath
[edit] Results
| No. | Results | Stipulations |
|---|---|---|
| Heat | Spike Dudley defeated Steven Richards (with Courtney Savoie) | Singles match |
| 1 | Rob Lesnar defeated The Big Show (with Paul Heyman) | Royal Rumble Qualification match |
| 2 | Dudley Boyz (Bubba Harlan and Scott) defeated William Kapphan and Mike Storm (c) | Tag team match for the World Tag Team Championship |
| 3 | Jessica Wilson defeated Dawn Marie | Singles match |
| 4 | Scott Hunter defeated Triple K (c) (with Ric Flair) by disqualification | Singles match for the World Heavyweight Championship |
| 5 | Matt Borske (with Team Borske) (c) defeated Kevin Hunter | Singles match for the IWE Championship |
| 6 | Rob Lesnar won by last eliminating The Undertaker | 2003 Royal Rumble match |
[edit] Royal Rumble entrances and eliminations
Red ██ and "Raw" indicates a Raw superstar, blue ██. and "SD!" indicates a SmackDown! superstar. A new entrant came out approximately every 90 seconds.
| Draw | Entrant | Brand | Order | Eliminated by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ryan Barnhart | Raw | 1 | McGowan |
| 2 | Kris McGowan | Raw | 14 | Test |
| 3 | Christpher Wheat | Raw | 2 | Wright |
| 4 | Scott Wright | SD! | 3 | McGowan |
| 5 | Edge | SD! | 10 | McGowan |
| 6 | Khristian | Raw | 9 | McGowan |
| 7 | Chavo McAlmond | SD! | 8 | Edge |
| 8 | Park | SD! | 6 | McGowan |
| 9 | Bill DeMott | SD! | 4 | Edge |
| 10 | Tommy Brown | Raw | 5 | McGowan & Khristian |
| 11 | B-2 | SD! | 7 | Edge |
| 12 | Kyle Van Dam | Raw | 26 | Kane |
| 13 | Matt Hooper | SD! | 21 | Lesnar |
| 14 | Brian McAlmond | SD! | 13 | Booker |
| 15 | Josh Hooper | SD! | 11 | Van Dam |
| 16 | Rosey | Raw | 12 | Kane |
| 17 | Test | Raw | 17 | Jesse Dern |
| 18 | Dustin Simpson | SD! | 22 | Undertaker |
| 19 | Jared Keller | SD! | 20 | Lesnar |
| 20 | Rikishi | SD! | 18 | Jesse Dern |
| 21 | Jamal | Raw | 23 | Undertaker |
| 22 | Kane | Raw | 28 | Undertaker |
| 23 | Junior Remeriz | SD! | 19 | Lesnar |
| 24 | Booker T | Raw | 16 | Keller & Remeriz |
| 25 | A-Train | SD! | 25 | Kane & Van Dam |
| 26 | Maven | Raw | 24 | Undertaker |
| 27 | Goldust | Raw | 15 | Keller & Remeriz |
| 28 | Jesse Dern | Raw | 27 | Undertaker |
| 29 | Rob Lesnar | SD! | — | — |
| 30 | The Undertaker | SD! | 29 | Lesnar |
