This week, we will be publishing two Royal Rumble PPV flashback reports every day going back to 1997 leading to this year's Royal Rumble PPV. At 11:00 a.m., we'll be publishing one PPV flashback. At 5:00 p.m., we'll be publishing a second PPV flashback. We're a day behind today, so look out for three Rumble Flashback reports today.

Monday - 1997 Rumble
Tuesday - 1998 Rumble & 1999 Rumble
Wednesday - 2000 Rumble
Thursday - 2001 Rumble & 2002 Rumble & 2003 Rumbles
Friday - 2004 & 2005 Rumbles
Saturday - 2006 & 2007 Rumbles
Sunday - 2008 & 2009 Rumbles
Sunday night - Live PPV coverage of 2010 WWE Royal Rumble PPV

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Royal Rumble PPV Flashback Report - 2003
January 19, 2003
Boston, Mass.
Originally published: Torch Newsletter #742 (VIP Sign-Up)
Report by Wade Keller, Torch editor

Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler introduced the program.

(1) Brock Lesnar pinned Big Show (w/Paul Heyman) at 6:05. Michael Cole and Tazz called this opening match. Lesnar hit two big overhead suplexes in the first two minutes, but then Big Show blocked a third attempt and sent Lesnar over the top rope. Lesnar hit his back on the ring apron on the way down. At 3:30 Lesnar fought back with a German suplex out of nowhere. Lesnar scored a two count and did a nice job pushing on Show's shoulders for extra leverage, making it seem like he was really trying to win. Nice touch of realism that a lot of wrestlers don't bother with. Heyman got annoying at ringside, so Lesnar turned to him. That gave Show a chance to regain the advantage. At 4:30 Show signalled for the chokeslam. Lesnar was slow to get up, but once he did, Show grabbed his throat. Lesnar turned it into an armdrag and a pinning combination for a near fall. Great reversal. Lesnar hit a belly-to-back suplex. Heyman got the ring apron again, so Lesnar yanked him into the ring. He set up an F-5 on Heyman, giving Big Show a chance to chokeslam him by surprise. Show scored a very near fall that popped the crowd. Show looked shocked and showed good fire as he yanked his strap down and set up another chokeslam. Lesnar escaped, shoved Show into Heyman on the ring apron, and then gave Show the F-5 (barely) and scored the pin. Great pop and really good opening match. Well above expectations. The perfect length for these two. They delivered a very good opener that the crowd ate up from start to finish. (**1/4)

Terri interviewed Chris Jericho backstage. He talked about his rivalry with Shawn Michaels... Ross and Lawler talked about Jericho's goal to return to the main event of WrestleMania...

(2) The Dudleys beat Lance Storm & William Regal at 7:26 to capture the WWE Tag Team Titles. The Dudleys seemed on the verge of victory after a Flapjack at 6:40. Sean Morley came to ringside and yapped at the ref. Meanwhile, Regal grabbed his brass knuckles and was going to use them, but the Dudleys caught him with a 3D first. Then D-Von grabbed the knux and KO'd Regal for the pin. Good energy, but the match seemed to be present mainly so there would be a title change of some kind on this show. (*3/4)

A recap aired of the Dawn Marie-Al Wilson-Torrie Wilson angle.

(3) Torrie Wilson pinned Dawn Marie at 3:35. They went after each other aggressively at the start, with Torrie getting the early advantage. Dawn stuck her boot out at a charging Torrie, but Torrie caught it. Torrie then flipped Dawn face-first to the mat. Dawn took Torrie down with an armbar with force. At 3:35 Torrie won clean with a neckbreaker. Torrie clutched her shoulder in pain afterward. Dawn rolled out of the ring and screamed at Torrie as she walked to the back. The finish seemed a bit anticlimactic coming out of nowhere. The two women gave a good effort with intense exchanges. (*)

Stephanie approached Eric Bischoff backstage. Bischoff was chatting it up with Randy Orton. Steph said she heard he was going to be replaced next month. She wondered what bombshell he was going to drop to try to save his job. Steph added that she had a bombshell for later in the week herself. Bischoff said she might lose her job, too. Steph said she is a McMahon and "blood is thicker than, in your case, urine." I didn't quite understand that twist of a cliche. Bischoff said money speaks, too. A very awkward exchange. Steph carries herself like she owns the world and it's not endearing.

A Sean O'Haire vignette aired where he said there's no reason to go to church. He said live life how you want and if there is a god, he will forgive you. Ross responded, "Quite an interesting perspective." To Ross I say: "Quite a non-interesting cliched response."

(4) Scott Steiner beat Triple H (w/Ric Flair) via DQ to retain the WWE Title. Earl Hebner gave a pre-match rules speech as Triple H and Steiner had a staredown. After some early action at ringside, at 3:45 Steiner went for a Recliner, but Hunter crawled to reach the bottom rope. Steiner then went to a bearhug. Hunter raked Steiner's eyes to escape, but Steiner quickly rebounded with an overhead suplex for a two count. Steiner again went for a Recliner, but Flair casually pulled Hunter by the feet under the bottom rope. Steiner left the ring to go after Flair. After some methodical offense from Hunter, Flair snuck in a quick choke as Hunter distracted the ref. Later, Hunter leaped off the second rope casually with no apparent move in mind right into the arms of Steiner, who then suplexed Hunter to the mat. The two stood in mid-ring and exchanged punches. Steiner took control and rammed Hunter's head into the turnbuckle. Steiner dropped Hunter in mid-suplex and the crowd booed Steiner's endurance. It was one of several moves in the match Steiner wasn't able to finish convincingly. Tough, unforgiving crowd, but you can't say Steiner didn't deserve the reaction. Steiner hit a superplex and scored a near fall. Hunter bailed out to ringside. Flair helped Hunter toward the back, so Steiner chased them down with a clothesline from behind. Steiner then went after Flair, who feigned that he wanted to go after Steiner, giving Hunter a chance to swing the title belt at Steiner. Steiner turned in time, stopped the belt blow, and rammed the belt into Hunter's forehead. Hunter came up bleeding, one of the tricks to trying to save a dying match. Steiner rammed Hunter into the ringpost and then back into the ring. The two briefly brawled in the crowd, another shortcut to saving a dying match. Then they brawled around the announce table briefly. Back in the ring, Steiner got in front of Hunter and did a series of push-ups. Steiner threw a series of punches at the bloodied Hunter in the corner. The ref appeared to be tempted to stop the match due to excessive bleeding by Hunter (even though it wasn't any worse than a typical blade job.) At 16:00, as Hunter was upset at the ref for not stopping the match (and saving his title), Steiner hit a belly-to-belly for a near fall. Hunter brought a sledge hammer into the ring and rammed Steiner in the gut with it prompting the DQ. The crowd erupted into boos as Ross said, "What else could he do?" Hunter attempted to swing the sledge hammer at Steiner's head from behind - a move that clearly would have killed Steiner, thus is completely unrealistic to even tease doing within the context of a wrestling show - but the ref grabbed it. Steiner ended up hitting Flair in the gut with the hammer. Steiner then put Hunter in the Steiner Recliner and wouldn't release. Several referees, Sgt. Slaughter, and Tony Garea attempted to intervene, but not until Bischoff ran to the ring and pleaded with Steiner to release did Steiner finally release. Steiner then dropped the title belt over Hunter's chest and held his arms up, looking for cheers. Instead, he was booed. He then stepped onto the second rope and posed, and the crowd was indifferent. Pretty bad match. The crowd reaction to Steiner (and his sloppy offense) was remarkable. (*)

(5) Kurt Angle beat Chris Benoit via tapout to retain the WWE Title at 19:48. Chris Benoit charged at Angle before the bell, but Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas attacked him. The ref ordered them to the back. At 5:40 Benoit applied the Sharpshooter. Angle crawled to the bottom rope to break up the hold. At 10:40 they hit each other with simultaneous hard clotheslines and both went down on their backs. At 15:50 Benoit hit a Victory Roll for a near fall. Angle followed with a back suplex. Benoit came back with an overhead suplex that flipped Angle several feet in the air. Exactly the opposite of Hunter-Steiner's "go away" heat, the crowd stood and applauded. Benoit then went to the top rope and flew most of the way across the ring with a headbutt. Cole and Tazz did a great job selling the move and the distance Benoit covered. Benoit covered Angle and scored a near fall that popped the crowd. Benoit went for another Crossface, but Angle blocked it and then flipped Benoit face-first into the turnbuckle. Angle then made the cover and scored another near fall that popped the crowd, which was really into every move of the match. Cole proclaimed, "This match could headline WrestleMania." Benoit locked on another Crossface at 18:30. Angle escaped and applied the Anklelock. Angle reversed it back into a submission anklelock. Benoit reached for the bottom rope, but Angle prevented him from reaching it. Benoit screamed in pain and tapped out at 19:48. Team Angle entered the ring and celebrated with Angle. Cole said even though sometimes they're critical of certain things Angle says and does, "he ‘brought it' tonight." Very good match. The crowd was into it every second. (****1/4)

They cut back to the ring where the crowd gave Benoit a standing ovation. He signalled the crowd and shed emotional tears as he rolled out of the ring and headed to the back as his music played. Why do I think the reaction Benoit and Angle got upon returning to the locker room was a bit different from the one received by Hunter and Steiner.

(6) Brock Lesnar eliminated Undertaker to win the Royal Rumble at 54:00. Order of entry was as follows: Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho, Christopher Nowinski, Rey Mysterio, Edge, Chistian, Chavo Guerrero, Tajiri, Bill DeMott, Tommy Dreamer, B2, Rob Van Dam, Matt Hardy (w/Shannon Moore), Eddie Guerrero, Jeff Hardy, Rosie (w/Rico), Test (w/Stacy), John Cena, Charlie Haas, Rikishi, Jamal (w/Rico), Kane, Shelton Benjamin, Booker T, A-Train, Maven, Goldust, Batista, Brock Lesnar, and Undertaker.

Highlights: Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler announced this match even though it included Smackdown wrestlers. Howard Finkle announced before the match that entrances would take place every two minutes, yet once the match began, it was once every 60-90 seconds. Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho began the match as the first two entrants. When Jericho's music played, Christian came out with his back to the crowd and posed as if he were Jericho. Jericho then blindsided Michaels from behind. He hit Michaels with a chair, bloodying him. Jericho eliminated Michaels at 2:30 as Nowinski provided a distraction at ringside. Ross said he wouldn't have seen that coming in a million years... Nowinski thought he had both Edge and Rey eliminated, but instead they stopped short of hitting the floor. As Nowinski celebrated, Rey and Edge went for simultaneous dropkicks on him. Rey hit first, so when Nowinski bumped to the mat, Edge landed on Nowinski's face. Nowinski sold it like his skull was crushed, but he was okay... Dreamer brought a trash can full of weapons to the ring with him. Fans chanted "ECW, ECW." The weapons were used against Dreamer... Matt Fact: We learned that "Matt strongly dislikes mustard"... When Jeff Hardy came out, Matt tried to talk him into friendship, but Jeff would have none of it. The two exchanged some rapid-fire spots. Jeff threw Matt over the top rope, but Shannon Moore lay on his back on the mat and pushed Matt up with his feet to keep him from falling all the way to the floor. Great spot. You see something new every year. Moore then entered the ring and lay on Matt to protect him from Jeff's splash. Jeff flipped onto Moore and Matt anyway... John Cena rapped for a minute on his way to the ring, finishing with, "My style is like a swollen penis, you can't beat me"... Booker did a Spinarooni which popped the crowd... Michaels ran back to the ring at 38:00 with tape on his forehead. He began punching away at Jericho. Test then threw Jericho over the top rope at 38:30. Michaels then leaped over the top rope onto Jericho at ringside. Michaels had to be held back by officials from further attacking Jericho... When Taker entered, he eliminated Cena, Jamal, and Maven. At this point, nearly 50 minutes into the match, remaining wrestlers were A-Train, Undertaker, Rob Van Dam, Brock Lesnar, and Kane. Kane and RVD eliminated A-Train together, then Kane eliminated RVD. The final four were Brock, Taker, Batista, and Kane at 50:00. With Kane and Batista knocked out in corners of the ring, Taker gave Brock a Tombstone piledriver. Taker then clotheslined Batista at 52:37 as soon as Batista rose to his feet. Taker and Kane stood next to each other, and seemed to be ready to work together, at which point Taker grabbed Kane and eliminated him. Brock then eliminated Taker at 53:57. Taker nodded at Brock from the floor, acknowledging that Brock got the best of him. Brock then celebrated. Taker entered the ring and shook Brock's hand, but signalled if Brock won the title at WM, he wanted a title shot. Brock signalled the crowd he wanted to win the title. An average Rumble, which means it was good, but not great. For order of elimination, see "WWE Newswire," pg. 2. (***1/2)

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