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This was originally published on PWTorch.com 20 years ago this week…
WWE Raw review
Aired June 21, 2003
Live from Los Angeles, Calif.
Broadcast live on TNN
1st Quarter Hour
The show opened with a video recap from last week of Kane setting Jim Ross on fire… Jonathan Coachman and Jerry Lawler introduced the show and hyped Kane vs. Rob Van Dam, and Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels for later in the show…
Eric Bischoff stood in the ring wearing a suit. He said that while everyone knows that he and Jim Ross have never been friends, no one deserves to be set on fire. After blaming Austin for Kane’s recent actions, Bischoff said Linda McMahon will be appearing on the show to fire Steve Austin.
Linda’s music interrupted Bischoff. She walked to the ring and said Steve Austin is not responsible for Kane’s actions, Kane is responsible. Therefore, Linda said, charges has been pressed against Kane and he is now under house arrest and will have to undergo a psychological evaluation. However, Linda said that Kane’s house arrest does not prevent him from going to work, so he would still be appearing on the show to face RVD. Bischoff sucked up to Linda by saying that he agreed with every word she said.
Steve Austin’s music interrupted Bischoff’s ass kissing. Austin stormed to the ring and told Linda that he will not apologize for anything he’s done as the co-general manager of Raw. Austin said that since J.R. didn’t want to press charges, he is willing to kick Kane’s ass. Bischoff said Austin’s attitude is exactly why Linda was there to fire him.
Linda interrupted Bischoff again and said that was not what she meant. She explained that Austin could no longer physically attack the wrestlers who work under him unless physically provoked. Austin asked if that means he will be fired if he seeks revenge on Kane. Linda confirmed that is what she was saying. Austin said he would have to think about it, so Linda gave him until next week to do that. Linda warned Austin that if he decides to resign, she will return full control of Raw back to Bischoff.
2nd Quarter Hour
After Bischoff gloated, Linda announced that she was also giving him the rest of the night off. Austin called for several beers to be thrown to him. He handed one to Linda, opened one for himself, and thanked Linda for the memories in the event that this turns out to be his last night as the co-general manager…
(Commentary: Maybe I missed it, but I could have sworn that Linda said charges had been pressed against Kane following last week’s show. Then, Austin came out and said Jim Ross refused to press charges against Kane. I suppose it’s possible that the county stepped in and pressed the charges. Either way, it’s still ridiculous of WWE to suggest that Kane would be allowed to set foot back in his place of employment after setting one of his co-workers on fire the week before.)
[Commercial break]
(1) Molly Holly & Victoria (w/Steven Richards) beat Gail Kim & Trish Stratus at 3:51. Before the match, Coachman wondered aloud who will fill in for Austin and Bischoff for the rest of the night. A shot aired of the stars of UPN’s “The Mullets” sitting in the front row. Lawler promised viewers an update on Jim Ross’s condition would be coming later in the show. In the end, Trish accidentally kicked Kim, who was pinned by Molly…
(Commentary: A rough outing for Gail Kim. She slipped on the top rope once and quickly recovered, only to blow another spot in which she was supposed to climb the turnbuckles while holding her opponent’s arm.)
After the match, Coachman and Lawler threw out the latest WWE.com poll which asks viewers to vote on whether Jim Ross should press charges against Kane. Lawler got all worked up when Coachman said Ross is at home recovering, because Lawler said Ross is in the hospital.
(Commentary: WWE has now given us three versions of the Kane-Ross storyline. First, Linda McMahon said charges have been pressed against Kane, presumably by authorities. Then Austin insinuated that Ross had refused to press charges. And now the announcers are telling us that Ross hasn’t decided whether or not to press charges. My head hurts.)
3rd Quarter Hour
[Commercial break]
Backstage, Terri told viewers that Kane would be escorted from his home and to the building by police officers. Apparently, Kane lives in the Los Angeles area. Chris Jericho interrupted the nonsense and cut a promo to set up his match against Shawn Michaels…
Backstage, Austin and Bischoff traded insults. Austin claimed that WCW went out of business. Bischoff fired back that the company had been bought. After a few more seconds of bickering, Austin flipped off Bischoff.
The latest version of the Evolution theme song (includes lyrics by Lemmy from Motorhead) played and the faction walked to the ring for a promo. Orton cut a promo in which he referred to himself as the “Legend Killer.” The announcers hyped Orton vs. Val Venis for after the break…
[Commercial break]
(2) Randy Orton (w/Ric Flair) beat Val Venis at 3:34. Triple H joined the announcers on commentary. After putting over Orton’s new “Legend Killer” persona, Hunter made fun of Jim Ross for stopping, dropping, but forgetting to roll. Lawler asked Triple H about the World Hvt. Title picture, and specifically asked who was next in line. Triple H said he’d already beaten everyone, so he would be hand-picking his next opponent. As for the match, after trading offense with Venis, Orton hit a Diamond Cutter-like move and scored the pin.
4th Quarter Hour
After the match, Triple H walked to the ring and had Orton model the new Evolution t-shirt, which reads “Paid, Laid, and Made.” Triple H bragged that he and his faction mates are the best in the business. Goldberg’s music played and he walked to the ring to a babyface pop and “Goldberg” chants. Goldberg said that while Triple H (actually, he referred to him as Hunter Hearst Helmsley) may think he’s untouchable, he’s next. The three Evolution members squared off to fight Goldberg, who removed his shirt and stood poised to take on all three members. Triple H called off the troops and told Goldberg they would meet on his terms…
(Commentary: The initial Goldberg-Hunter confrontation was a letdown. It seemed quick and rushed, and without Jim Ross around to establish it as a major happening, the segment came off as just another challenger getting in Triple H’s face. In other words, the segment lacked the monumental feel that it should have had.)
[Commercial break]
Backstage, Orton told Triple H and Flair that he would gladly take out Goldberg. Triple H and Flair told Orton to relax because they are going to make WWE wrestlers do things on their terms. Triple H told Orton that they had accomplished the first part of their plan, and now needed to focus on the second part, which he promised with result in everyone talking about Orton at the end of the night…
Chris Jericho made his ring entrance for his match against Shawn Michaels…
[Commercial break]
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5th Quarter Hour
(3) Chris Jericho beat Shawn Michaels via submission at 24:02. During the match, Coachman and Lawler actually spent time arguing over which one of them was more hip. I wanted to side with Lawler until he dished out a lame joke about Coach needing a hip replacement. Coachman also reiterated the (third) storyline that Jim Ross is still debating whether to press charges against Kane. He added that Kane had not arrived at the building yet, but was expected to arrive with a police escort. Late in the match, Ric Flair walked to ringside. Michaels spotted him and slid out of the ring, where he punched Flair. A few seconds later, Jericho locked Michaels in the Liontamer and the show abruptly cut to commercial while the announcers were in mid-sentence.
(Commentary: So far, this has been a good television match that suffered from a lack of creative support. Jericho only mentioned the match in passing during his Highlight Reel segment with Austin and Bischoff last week, Michaels never even appeared on last week’s show, and he didn’t receive any promo time to establish the match’s importance tonight.)
[Commercial break]
6th Quarter Hour
After the commercial, the announcers apologized for the show cutting away abruptly during the match. Ric Flair was still standing at ringside. As good as the first half of the match was, the second half blew it away. The live crowd was popping for everything and was totally into the match. Fortunately for the live crowd, they couldn’t hear Coachman make repeated references to Jericho being “The King of Bling Bling.” Late in the match, Michaels superkicked a chair that Jericho was holding into his face. Both wrestlers fell to the mat and the ref started to count them both down until Ric Flair climbed onto the ring apron. With Flair distracting the ref, Orton ran out and hit the Diamond Cutter onto a chair. Jericho went for the cover, but Michaels kicked out in a good nearfall. Jericho locked Michaels in the Lion Tamer, and after over a minute of trying to reach the ropes, Michaels tapped. An excellent match…
[Commercial break]
(Commentary: I give WWE some credit for actually acknowledging the poorly time commercial break that came while Jericho had Michaels locked in the Lion Tamer. The explanation wasn’t anything special, but at least they let viewers know that Jericho’s finisher is more important than the rest holds that are typically in play when the show cuts to commercial during a match.)
7th Quarter Hour
Lance Storm stood in the ring and said he was there to show off his talent to the Hollywood elite. Storm specifically asked Rob Reiner, who was sitting in the front row, to pay attention. Storm started to read a prepared statement, but was interrupted when the cameras cut backstage to show Kane arriving at the building. Sure enough, Kane was escorted by police, and to top it off, he was wearing shackles…
(Commentary: Okay, so the police escorted Kane to work in shackles, and are now going to set him free so that he can beat the hell out of another man? This storyline is absolutely absurd. And just when it appears it can’t possibly get any worse, WWE somehow manages to top themselves.)
[Commercial break]
Highlights aired of Terri, Ivory, and the APA visiting an overseas military base…
The announcers pushed the poll that asks viewers whether Jim Ross should press charges against Kane…
(4) Booker T beat Test for the WWE Intercontinental Title at 4:43. A shot aired of Christian watching the match on a backstage monitor. The live crowd was dead for this match and it was hard to blame them. After all, this match was not advertised ahead of time, nor were the wrestlers given any promo time to establish the importance of an Intercontinental Title match. Late in the match, Steiner walked onto the stage and sat down on a chair. Steiner motioned to the back and called out Stacy, who walked onto the stage and mocked Test by giving Steiner a lap dance. Booker snuck up behind Test and rolled him up for a nearfall. A few seconds later, Booker hit the Bookend on Test for the clean win…
A graphic noted that 62 percent of WWE.com voters feel that Ross should press charges against Kane…
A shot aired of Rob Van Dam warming up for his match with Kane. Yet another performer who didn’t receive promo time to build up his match tonight…
8th Quarter Hour
[Commercial break]
Backstage, the lower level babyface members of the WWE locker room had a discussion about Kane’s recent actions. The conversation shifted to Hurricane telling Rosey that he has Super Hero potential. Goldust entered the picture and suggested that Rosey be a Super Hero in Training. You know, SHIT. Ha, ha. The WWE creative team, namely Brian Gewirtz, is apparently so desperate for material that they are now resorting to using Vince Russo’s old gags…
Kane was escorted to the ring by a police escort…
[Commercial break]
(5) Kane fought Rob Van Dam to an apparent no-contest in 5:00. The wrestlers fought their way to the stage, where Kane punched out the referee.
9th Quarter Hour
Kane grabbed RVD by the throat and prepared to chokeslam him off the stage, but Linda McMahon, road agents (John Lauranitis, Arn Anderson), and referees ran out to stop him. Kane grabbed Linda by the throat. The agents tried to step in, but Kane knocked them to the ground with punches. Kane grabbed Linda again, but Jerry Lawler left the announcers’ table to stop him. Kane punched Lawler, and then turned his attention back to Linda. Kane grabbed Linda and gave her a tombstone piledriver on the stage. The agents recovered and gathered around Linda as the show went off the air…
(Commentary: What happened to the policemen who escorted Kane to the ring? Could someone explain why they didn’t run out and stop him from attacking Linda McMahon?)
CATCH UP ON LAST WEEK’S RAW FLASHBACK: 20 YRS AGO – WWE RAW REPORT (7-14-2003): Powell’s report on Jericho’s “Highlight Reel” with Eric BIschoff, Nash, Dudleys, Trish, Triple H, Flair, Austin, Christian
OR CHECK THIS OUT FROM PROWRESTLING.NET: 7/23 ROH Death Before Dishonor results: Powell’s live review of Claudio vs. Pac for the ROH Title, Athena vs. Willow for the ROH Women’s Title, Shibata vs. Garcia for the ROH Pure Title
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