SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
The following report was originally published on PWTorch.com 15 years ago this week…
WWE Raw virtual time ongoing review
Aired June 23, 2003
Live from New York, N.Y.
Broadcast live on TNN
Report by Jason Powell, PWTorch assistant editor
1st Quarter Hour
The opening montage aired… Jim Ross introduced the show and said it was coming from “the cathedral” or sports entertainment, Madison Square Garden. Jerry Lawler introduced himself and joined Ross in hyping Triple H vs. Kane as the show’s main event…
(1) Test & Christian beat Scott Steiner & Booker T (w/Stacy) at 3:11. Late in the match, Test shoved Steiner into Stacy. Steiner turned around and Test drilled him with the Big Boot for the win. Afterward, Stacy sold an ankle injury at ringside…
Highlights aired a Kane vs. Undertaker match from October 1997…
[Commercial break]
The WWE.com poll of the night asks whether Kane will win the World Hvt. Title or be unmasked…
(2) Maven beat Christopher Nowinski (w/Teddy Long) at 0:31. Long cut a promo before the match. Ross pointed out that the rivalry between the two wrestlers started during their time on Tough Enough. Long’s pre-match promo actually lasted longer than this match, as Maven got the win with a roll up and bridge for the pin…
A shot aired of Evolution arriving at the building in a limo…
(Commentary: Two forgettable matches opened the show.)
2nd Quarter Hour
[Commercial break]
As Chris Jericho walked to the ring for the Highlight Reel, Ross credited him with taking Goldberg to the limit at Bad Blood. Jericho took the mic and went for cheap heat by mocking the New York accent. Jericho aired highlights from last week of Steve Austin taunting Lance Storm with “boring” chants. “What kind of a general manager would treat such a tremendous piece of talent so horribly?” Jericho asked before introducing Storm as his guest for the evening. Storm walked to the ring carrying a piece of paper as the crowd chanted “boring” at him.
Storm announced that he would read a prepared statement. “As we all know, nobody enjoys a good laugh more than I do,” Storm read. “But last week, Steve Austin overstepped his bounds. I am an athlete, pure and simple. My ability inside this ring should be more than enough to entertain the masses. If you want bells and whistles, I suggest you attend the circus… I would appreciate it if you would stop chanting boring.”
Suddenly, several crew members entered the ring and started removing the set. Austin appeared on TitanTron and said Jericho and Storm were boring the MSG audience to death. Austin said he was simply trying to give Storm a motivational speech last week. Austin announced that he’d booked Jericho & Storm in a match against a couple of guys who know a thing or two about moving furniture…
(3) The Dudleys beat Chris Jericho & Lance Storm at 8:16. The announcers explained Austin’s joke about moving furniture was in reference to the Dudleys use of tables. The teams traded offense in the opening minutes of the match.
3rd Quarter Hour
Storm locked Bubba in a front face lock, which drew more “boring” chants from the crowd. Later, the Dudleys hit their Whassup spot, which really got the crowd going. Seconds later, the Dudleys worked up the crowd even more with the “D-Von, get the tables” call. The heels came back and prevented D-Von from getting the tables, but the Dudleys eventually hit 3D on Storm for the win…
(Commentary: For those readers who may not remember, Storm & Jericho worked as The Thrill Seekers in Smoky Mountain Wrestling.)
Ross hyped Shawn Michaels & Kevin Nash vs. Ric Flair & Randy Orton for later in the show…
[Commercial break]
Highlights aired from a Raw episode held five months ago of Kane running to the back after his mask was removed during a tag match. The announcers pointed out that Kane has gone out of his way to protect his identity over the years. For a second, I thought they were going to drop the storyline of Kane’s face being disfigured, but Lawler brought it up a few seconds later…
Backstage, Randy Orton read Ric Flair an excerpt from Mick Foley’s book. Flair and Orton then discussed their tag match and Triple H’s title match…
La Resistance came to the ring for a non-title match. Sylvain Grenier asked the crowd to honor the French flag while he and Rene Dupree performed the French national anthem. The wrestlers took turns singing the song as the show went to commercial break…
4th Quarter Hour
[Commercial break]
The French team was still singing when the commercials concluded. Hurricane came out and exchanged words with the French team, who told him to find an American partner. Hurricane said he had a partner who spent his entire career beating “maggots”…
(4) La Resistance beat Hurricane & Sgt. Slaughter at 1:58. The live crowd popped big for Slaughter, but the thrill only lasted a few seconds. Slaughter got the crowd back later by locking in the Cobra Clutch on Grenier, who reached the ropes to break the old. As the ref was telling Slaughter to break the hold, Dupree snuck in the ring and hit Slaughter with one of the tag title belts. Dupree covered Slaughter and scored the pin…
A shot aired from backstage of Kane looking at himself in a mirror…
A recap aired of Austin asking what happened to the old Kane…
After the video, Kane was still looking at himself in a mirror…
[Commercial break]
Steve Austin walked to the ring for a promo and hyped WrestleMania XX for next March at MSG. A WrestleMania XX logo sign was unveiled above the stage. Austin said WrestleMania is another story for another day. Austin introduced Mick Foley to end the first hour…
(Commentary: A slow first hour of Raw. The first hour had more matches than usual, but only the Dudleys vs. Jericho & Storm was given enough time to make an impact.)
5th Quarter Hour
Steve Austin told Mick Foley he wanted to give him something. Foley took a step back in fear of the Stunner, but Austin assured him that was not it. Austin gave the cue for Al Snow, Tommy Dreamer, Rob Van Dam, Bubba, D-Von, and Spike Dudley, who walked to the ring carrying a glass case with the WWF Hardcore Title inside. An video tribute to Foley’s career aired. Austin presented Foley with the case carrying the title belt. “Damn, I almost forgot how good I really was,” Foley said in response.
Suddenly, Vince McMahon’s music started playing and he walked to the ring with a scowl on his face. Vince said he was going to tell Foley what Austin, the crowd, and everyone else was thinking. After a long pause, Vince dropped the heel act and said, “Thank you.” Foley forced a hug on Vince and then took the mic.
Foley said it was an honor to be in the ring “with so many great performers and Al Snow.” Snow faked a laugh for Foley and shot him a look. Foley recalled sitting in MSG and watching Jimmy Snuka give the fans a thrill and said he believes he gave the fans a similar thrill throughout his career. Foley said he’s had a blast appearing on WWE television recently and hopes that he’ll be welcome in a WWE ring the next time he appears on WWE TV. Foley wrapped up the segment by reciting the last line of Frosty the Snowman and hugged everyone in the ring as the show cut to break…
[Commercial break]
6th Quarter Hour
(5) Shawn Michaels & Kevin Nash beat Ric Flair & Randy Orton at 13:16. Before the match, Nash made his entrance and showed less charisma than Lance Storm does when he delivers the “If I could be serious for a moment” line. In a funny spot that will get some complaints from readers, Nash no-sold Flair’s chops in the corner and then pulled him to the ground after Flair went for an Irish whip.
[Commercial break]
7th Quarter Hour
In the end, Michaels hit Flair with Sweet Chin Music for the pin. A decent match that pleased the live crowd…
(Commentary: What I don’t like about Michaels pinning Flair is that it almost eliminates the need for a rematch from the two. The crowd was pretty flat for the tag match intros and I can’t blame them. Michaels never cut a promo to put over his PPV loss to Flair as something he wanted to avenge. And if Michaels doesn’t care about revenge, and Nash doesn’t care about much of anything by the looks of it, then why should the fans care?)
A video recapped last week’s Kane storyline…
A live shot aired of Kane warming up for the main event…
[Commercial break]
Highlights aired from “during the break” of Foley signing a copy of “Tietam Brown” for Vince. Flair and Orton walked past Foley, who taunted Flair by saying, “Nice match, Naitch” and then Orton by saying, “Way to prove yourself, Randy.” Flair took offense and took a swing at Foley, who returned the favor. Foley pulled Mr. Socko out of his pants and gave Flair the Mandible Claw. Orton attacked Foley from behind and eventually threw him down a flight of steps. Vince walked back into the picture, smiled, and said he needed a janitor to clean up the mess…
(Commentary: Looks like WWE is building toward a future Foley vs. Vince match.)
(6) Bill Goldberg beat Rodney Mack (w/Teddy Long) in a White Boy Challenge at 0:26. Before the match, Long issued an open challenge for anyone willing to face Mack in a White Boy Challenge. Goldberg’s music played and he walked onto the ramp. Mack charged Goldberg, who was standing in the sparks of his fireworks. Goldberg spotted Mack and speared him. Goldberg beat Mack to the ring and then gave him the Jackhammer for the quick win…
(Commentary: How nice of Jim Ross to finally mention that this was Bill Goldberg’s debut at Madison Square Garden. It’s not Ross’s fault, but it’s too bad no one bothered to hype Goldberg’s MSG debut until he was making his entrance. If WWE is going to build up running shows at MSG as major events, than Goldberg’s debut at the building should have also been treated as a monumental event with the intent of trying to pop a rating. All of that said, Goldberg’s MSG debut played out very well.)
8th Quarter Hour
Backstage, RVD wished Kane luck in his title challenge. After RVD walked away, Kane smashed the mirror he had been looking at himself in…
[Commercial break]
A WrestleMania highlight showed Stephanie McMahon’s taking a Pedigree from Triple H at the 2002 WrestleMania…
(7) Triple H (w/Ric Flair) beat Kane to retain the World Hvt. Title at 11:28 (Kane was forced to unmask per the match stipulations). Before the match, Ross referred to Kevin Nash as “Smashmouth” for the second time tonight. Either Ross has a new favorite word, likes really sappy pop bands, or he’s trying to get over Nash’s new nickname. Kane and Triple H brawled into the crowd. Flair entered the ring and distracted the referee, which set up Triple H hitting Kane with a chairshot behind the ref’s back.
[Commercial break]
9th Quarter Hour
Late in the match, Kane hit a top rope clothesline on Triple H, who stumbled backwards into referee Earl Hebner. The ref stood up, was quickly bumped again, this time for a while. Flair ran in and tried to interfere, but Kane quickly disposed him to ringside. Triple H tried to attack Kane from behind, but Kane saw him coming and got the better of the situation. Kane covered Triple H, but the ref was still bumped. A second ref ran out and made the count, but Triple H kicked out. Kane threw the second referee out of the ring. Triple H came back with a Pedigree, but Kane kicked out for a big pop. Triple H went for another, but Kane backdropped him. Flair ran in (the ref was still down) but Kane got rid of him again. Kane set up Triple H for a chokeslam, but Randy Orton ran out and attacked Kane from behind. Triple H recovered and hit the Pedigree on Kane for the win.
Afterward, Eric Bischoff walked onto the stage and ordered Kane to remove his mask. Kane tried to oblige, but was attacked from behind by Orton. Rob Van Dam ran out and helped Kane clear Triple H and Flair from the ring. While standing in the ring with RVD, Kane teased removing his mask twice but stopped. Kane turned his back to the camera and unmasked, also removing a wig in the process. Kane turned around and revealed his “scarred” face and half-head of hair (similar to The Missing Link from World Class). Kane grunted in shame and then chokeslammed RVD to end the show…
(Commentary: I thought we were headed for a bait and switch when Orton stopped Kane from unmasking by jumping him from behind. Fortunately, Kane delivered on the match stipulation by removing his mask. The wig (and partially shaved head) was a nice touch.)
NOW CHECK OUT THE PREVIOUS 2003 FLASHBACK: 15 YRS AGO – USA Championship Wrestling (6-13-03): Styles and Bagwell in bar argument, Raven vs. Bagwell, Ray Gordy (w/Michael Hayes) vs. David Flair, Morton vs. Eaton, Duggan vs. Barbarian, Styles vs. Kash
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