WWE Survivor Series 2003 Review

Match 1: Traditional Survivor Series Elimination - Team Angle (John Cena, Chris Benoit, Bradshaw, Hardcore Holly & Kurt Angle) vs. Team Lesnar (The Big Show, A-Train, Nathan Jones, Matt Morgan & Brock Lesnar)
Crazy to go back and watch this to see how much star power the company had at the time with this match being the curtain jerker. Obviously, the main focus was around the WWE Champion in Brock Lesnar and the main challenger in Kurt Angle as the two had epic matches throughout the calendar year. This match just seemed so rush, almost like they just wanted to get this match out of the way for the rest of the card. The eliminations came so fast and so suddenly that it was hard to digest them and really get an idea of what was going on. The first two eliminations came so fast that it was practically a 4 vs. 4 match. What really stood out to me was Brock Lesnar's elimination. I have no problem with Chris Benoit making him submit but there wasn't a big deal behind it. It kind of just happened and the reactions were pretty nonexistent. Finally, the match came down to John Cena hitting an FU on The Big Show to seal the win for Team Angle. Always thought Cena giving the FU to Show at WrestleMania XX was the first time he had hit it on him. Would have been pretty cool if they just teased it until then. Regardless, it was still a nice opening match.
Winners: Team Angle
Rating: ***1/4

Match 2: Women's Championship - Molly Holly (c) vs. Lita
For all the credit the women get in 2016, Molly Holly and Lita were definitely no slouches themselves. They had a pretty good match here for the very limited time they were allotted. Lita really knew how to work with the audience and as did Molly Holly. Both were great in their roles here as Molly Holly drove Lita into an exposed turnbuckle corner for the finish. Like I said, it was a good match but could have been much better if they were given more time. Give these ladies some credit.
Winner: Molly Holly
Rating: *1/2

Match 3: Ambulance - Kane vs. Shane McMahon
Even in 2003, Shane McMahon was still living his daredevil lifestyle by challenging the crazy Kane to an Ambulance match. I loved the way they booked Kane as a heel in 2003. From him unmasking himself and it leading to a feud with Shane was perfect. As goofy as some of the stuff may be, it was all in good entertainment. They brought out all the tricks for this match that saw the fight spill out to the backstage area where Shane "rammed" a car into Kane. From Shane taking a plunge off the top rope onto the announcers table or Shane jumping off the ambulance and kicking Kane in the face, they wanted to hold nothing back for this one. But like the first match of the night, I felt like the spots came too fast and they didn't allow the audience to really digest what was happening. Things felt rushed and while it was still a lot of fun to watch, it wasn't the climactic ending we were all hoping for. Kane eventually hits a Tombstone on the ramp and sends Shane to the hospital in the ambulance. A lot of goofiness and a lot of fun for this one.
Winner: Kane
Rating: ***

Match 4: WWE Tag Team Championships - The Basham Brothers (c) vs. Los Guerreros
Feel bad for The Basham Brothers, that gimmick they were running was the weirdest. But I guess I shouldn't forget that the year here was 2003 so the odd gimmicks were still out and about. Also, Chavo Guerrero was actually relevant as he gelled nicely with Eddie Guerrero. Pretty good match here but definitely had moments that had me scratching my head. The referee had zero control over the match and the constant run-ins were getting distracting. The Bashams pick up the win after a handful of tights on the pin and steal the win in the Guerrero home state of Texas. As good as you would expect from both teams, nothing to blow you away but it certainly served its purpose.
Winners: The Basham Brothers
Rating: **1/2

Match 5: Traditional Survivor Series Elimination - Team Bischoff (Chris Jericho, Mark Henry, Christian, Scott Steiner & Randy Orton) vs. Team Stone Cold (Booker T, The Dudley Boyz, Rob Van Dam & Shawn Michaels)
Stone Cold Steve Austin's problems with Eric Bischoff reached its peak during the fall of 2013 and the two looked to settle the score here at Survivor Series. If Stone Cold's team wins, his agreement to not physically harm anyone that doesn't provoke him ends. However, if Bischoff's team wins, Stone Cold is gone from the WWE. While I still felt that this match was a tad similar to the opener in that some of the pins felt rushed, the pacing and action definitely had me more on the edge. The match really turned another gear when Shawn Michaels was left to fend for himself and his team. As soon as you saw the blood pour out of his skull, the tension was brought to another level. The crowd was definitely on the edge and roaring for Michaels to score the win for Austin and a victory seemed inevitable when Austin hit a Stunner on Orton before beating the crap out of Bischoff to the backstage area. However, Batista appears out of nowhere and hits a nasty Batista Bomb on Michaels! Orton covers and the match is over! Exciting stuff with Jim Ross taking the match to another level. Never mind the mini segment that happened after the match, nobody really believed that Austin was done with the WWE. But damn, that finish was great.
Winners: Team Bischoff
Rating: ***1/2

Match 6: Buried Alive - The Undertaker vs. Mr. McMahon
This has to be one of the more bizarre feuds in 2003 as Mr. McMahon made things personal with The Undertaker and a Buried Alive match was ignited. From the start, this was an absolute mauling from The Deadman as blood poured fast and hard out of the skull of Mr. McMahon. Undertaker brought the action to the outside as what seemed like gallons of blood continued to pour out of the chairman of the board. The sound of Undertaker smacking McMahon's cranium with a shovel was just brutal to the eyes and ears. However, the direction of the match completely changed once they spilled the action to the grave. McMahon was able to low blow Undertaker into the grave before Undertaker fought back and escape. Once Undertaker dropped McMahon into the grave, he looked to have things in the bag until he climbed into the front loader before an explosion erupts and out comes brother Kane. Kane beats the living hell out of Undertaker and helps McMahon bury Undertaker alive. Can you just imagine the WWE doing something like this in 2016? The amount of blood was crazy, even for 2003. ** for the display of violence and storytelling. Perfect way to begin their 2003-2004 feud with the WrestleMania culmination.
Winner: Mr. McMahon
Rating: **

Match 7: World Heavyweight Championship - Goldberg (c) vs. Triple H
Who would have guessed that 13 years later, Goldberg would return to the WWE and face Brock Lesnar of all people in the main event at Survivor Series. But before that, people tend to forget this match in 2003 that had all kinds of steam behind it. Something about this match just felt underwhelming, the steam they had between the two here and for it to fall flat on its face like this was disappointing. What I did like was they didn't make this like your typical Goldberg match. He didn't truly dominate that match from the start and was selling his ankle injury nicely throughout. Even with the help of Batista and a sledgehammer, Triple H wasn't able to prevail as Goldberg's Spear was too much for The Game. A fairly short main event match here that went just under 12 minutes as it felt like they were trying to cram as much as they could within those 12 minutes. Felt more like WWE's way of sending the fans home happy for a big PPV before Triple H eventually regaining the strap a month later.
Winner: Goldberg
Rating: *3/4

Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
The Traditional Survivor Series Elimination matches both helped boost this event but weren't enough to save it. The crowd was just too dead and the action in the ring just wasn't at all that great. While there were a couple cool moments like Kane burying The Undertaker and Goldberg closing out the show over Evolution, this definitely goes down as one of the weaker Survivor Series events.
Rating: 5.75/10