Royal Ru(m)ble 2003 Thoughts There's no possible way they can screw up the Rumble! Or is there? 23.1.2003 by Big D

Well, so much for the Royal Rumble. This is probably my second favorite PPV of the year behind WrestleMania (did I mention I'm going?). Predominantly for the Rumble match itself. Often imitated, never duplicated.

Without any further ado, let's tally up the damage!

The Good:
Chris Benoit vs. Kurt Angle: Man, I was hoping this wasn't going to be a letdown after the bar has been set so high. But this match surpassed all my expectations, and is one of the best straight-up singles matches I have ever seen!

Dudleyz win the tag titles: Although the word "stale" is often tossed around when talking about these guys, anything has to be better than Regal. But since Raw has already passed, you know what happened. More in Raw Thoughts.

Lesnar vs. Big Show: This wasn't half bad! However, the fact that they realized that the match HAD to be short (I mean, this was imperative) was a tremendous benefit.

The Bad:
Undertaker returns: I was hoping against hope that they'd being back the old UT. Of course, they brought back the retarted 'dead man pedaling' gimmick. Ergh. I sensed a letdown from the crowd after his music started up. Maybe they wanted Austin, maybe (and judging by the TX signs) they wanted old UT. Poorly executed.

Dawn vs. Torrie: Knock this crap off already! I can't stress how much this sucks! And besides that, ship them to Raw where the women's division is! Arrrrrggggghhhh.

Announcing: I think a combination would have worked better here. Actually, I think anything would have worked better here. JR has just had it. If they can cut down on the shilling, maybe even "Fat Tony" Schiavone might work.

The logo: Go back to the classic! Why is the M shadowed? Ugh.

The Ugly:
I think you know what's coming next.

HHH vs. Steiner: Normally, I might give somebody the benefit of the doubt because of 'ring rust'. But this was a total debacle, way beyond terrible. However, not only did this expose Steiner as a potential fraud, it shows that HHH ABSOLUTELY CANNOT carry somebody who sucks to a great match. I mean, his success early on was established by wrestling against Foley, Austin, Jericho, and even though I think he sucks now, the Rock. And the ultra-lame finish did not help one bit. A blowoff match at a PPV is no place for a cheap DQ. But I did call the ending on this one, if that's worth anything.

All told, this show had some stuff that 'reeks of awesomeness' and some that just plain reeks. If they decide to put Angle/Benoit on another tape, get that one instead. It wasn't actively bad, but the HHH and UT stuff just left a bad taste in my mouth.

Comments? You know where to send 'em.