BTBOTM ~ WWE: The Gorilla Position ~ Vol. II

[EZ3]

THE ROAD TO BACKLASH
March 30, 2003 - April 27, 2003
Worcester Centrum in Worcester, Massachusetts​

A Series of [Un] Fortunate Events [MONDAY NIGHT RAW]
With just four short weeks between WrestleMania and the next pay-per-view, Backlash presented by Monday Night Raw, things were off to a hot start a mere 24 hours after the conclusion for the grandest stage of them all. After successfully defending his World Heavyweight Championship, Triple H - along with Evolution - gloated about the defeat of Stone Cold Steve Austin. It was a long promo to open Raw, drawing good heat from the audience, as Triple H outlined how he had once again proven that he was on another level in this business and was still at the very top. He predicted that Randy Orton and Batista would be inspired by what they saw last night, and that it would spur them onto their great success in the WWE - all because of his mentorship (and that of Ric Flair). Upon the titantron, Eric Bischoff would appear and congratulate the World Champion, and he confirmed that there was going to be a fatal four way match for the number one contendership later this evening to determine the challenger for Backlash. This has been advertised throughout the day and on WWE's website.

Bischoff announced that the match had been intended to feature Chris Jericho - however, the Highlight Reel was unable to get to the building due to travel issues and may not make it in time. Therefore, Bischoff had no choice but to organise a last-minute battle royal with the winner taking the final spot in the fatal four-way. The battle royal took place after the first commercial break and was won stunningly by Shawn Michaels! HBK escaped elimination with one foot hitting the floor ala 1995, and scored the victory with a superkick to Sean O'Haire. Later that same evening, Shawn Michaels would overcome the most unlikely odds and win the fatal four way - securing himself a title shot at Backlash. As Raw came to a close, Chris Jericho arrived at the arena and locked eyes with HBK. The following week, Shawn Michaels and Triple H signed the contract for Backlash - the two former friends going back and forth about their most recent battles at the end of 2002. Meanwhile, Chris Jericho pleaded his case to Eric Bischoff that he should be getting the shot at the title since he forced HBK to tap out at Wrestlemania, and if not for car troubles and a stupid driver, Jericho would’ve won the fatal four way. That argument ultimately fell on deaf ears, and Jericho was left to deal with a personal issue that sprouted an alternative path for him.

Evolution became involved during the last two weeks heading into Backlash. Shawn Michaels took on Randy Orton in a solid fifteen minute match which ended in a no contest due to the involvement of the Dudley Boyz and Batista. We saw a deeply personal promo between Shawn Michaels and Ric Flair - the former spoke about how much he had worshipped Flair growing up but now he was frustrated to see Ric assigned to be a lackey for someone like Triple H. This drew the ire of ‘The Game’ who promised to step out from the shadow of his former friend, once and for all, at Backlash. He had beaten Steve Austin at WrestleMania - something that Shawn had never done - and at Backlash he would finally put to an end the debate as to who was better; Triple H or Shawn Michaels.

Three’s Company, Honey [MONDAY NIGHT RAW]
Following a disappointing loss at WrestleMania, the WWE Intercontinental Champion, Christian was locked out of the office of the Raw General Manager when he tried to get a meeting. Christian was frustrated and yelled through the door that he would make it up to Eric. He cut a promo backstage with Kevin Kelly about how he was going to be the greatest Intercontinental Champion that this brand had ever seen - he was going to be a champion that Eric Bischoff could be proud of and that’s all that mattered. Rob Van Dam interrupted the promo and said that he had never seen someone kiss so much ass as Christian was going right now. Van Dam told Christian that the Intercontinental Championship was something he had always wanted as a kid, and now, with WrestleMania in the rearview, RVD had his sights set on gold.

The following week, Christian sat on commentary during one of Rob’s matches and oversaw his potential challenger get a solid win. Christian then snuck into the ring and hit Van Dam from behind with the title belt and proceeded to attack him. Fire then burst from the ring posts as Kane rushed down for the save and drove Christian from the ring, and sent him fleeing into the crowd - but without the title. The belt remained in the ring - which Kane picked up, looking at the title as if it was calling to him, and he raised it into the air to declare his intention of challenging for it again! The decision was made to have a number one contender's bout two weeks before Backlash - Kane vs. Rob Van Dam in a WrestleMania rematch - with the winner facing Captain Charisma at the pay-per-view.

Christian watched most of the match from the backstage area on a monitor. In the dying moments of the contest, Kane was looking set to win the bout until Christian rushed the ring with a steel chair and hit both men! The referee called the match a draw, unable to rule as to who was hit first, and had no other option but to throw the match out. Christian got on the microphone and said that since neither man won - he was going to have the night off and skip having to wrestle in Massachusetts. Eric Bischoff had a different opinion, however, announcing via the titantron that he had been stewing on a way to punish Christian for his failure at WrestleMania - and tonight he finally had the perfect idea. Since Christian loves getting involved in the affairs of Kane and Rob Van Dam, he is going to get a front row seat at the pay-per-view when he defends the Intercontinental Championship against BOTH men in a triple threat match! In the final week, Kane and Rob Van Dam had a segment in the locker room where the two friends discussed their recent matches, Rob saying he thought he was in trouble last week, and Kane sounding slightly irritated that he was robbed of actually getting a win over his tag partner. No matter what, they would fight fair on Sunday and see that one of them walked out with the title.

The Eighth Reign Lasts Less Than a Day [MONDAY NIGHT RAW]
For the eighth time in their career, the Dudley Boyz had captured the World Tag Team Championships after dethroning the Un-Americans just 24-hours earlier. With their backs against the wall, Bubba Ray and D-Von Dudley kept their tag team career alive and achieved their first ever WrestleMania victory. The night next on Raw, upon arriving at the building, Chief Morley informed the champions that their first title defence was going to be later in the evening. When asked their opponents would be that night, Chief Morley refused to answer and said that champions on Raw must always be ready for the unexpected and then wished the two men luck - laughing as he walked away gleefully. Later that evening, Johnny Stamboli and Chuck Palumbo (the FBI from Smackdown) were introduced as the opponents for the Dudley Boyz. We saw a hard hitting match with the Dudley Boyz ultimately surviving and retaining the belts after a 3D on Stamboli. Post match, Palumbo and Stamboli jumped the champions from behind and wore them down in frustration with a cheap assault.

The night looked complete until Chief Morley walked out onto the stage and announced that the FBI weren’t the challengers he had alluded to - as a Smackdown team can’t challenge for titles on Raw. He then introduced Randy Orton and Batista - Evolution, who were the real challengers! Orton and Batista dethroned an already half-beaten champions, ending the eighth reign of the Dudley Boyz and kickstarting their first reign as a team. For the record, the pinfall was secured by Randy Orton after he hit the RKO on D-Von. The following week, we saw a vignette of Randy Orton and Batista at a photoshoot with the newly won titles, and a group of hot models fawning all over them. Orton and Batista immediately became more smug on-screen, always making sure their titles were in shot of the camera and demanding that a referee open the ropes for them when they entered the ring for promos or matches.

The feud between the Dudley Boyz was hot leading into Backlash with it being a match of new school vs. old school. Bubba Ray cut a promo in the ECW arena off-site, talking about how he and D-Von shed blood to get to the top of the business while Orton and Batista have jumped on the backs of others. They have taken the easy road and wouldn’t have lasted two seconds in the land of extreme. When given the chance, the Dudley Boyz are going to rip Evolution’s head off their shoulders and leave them for dead in Massachusetts! In contrast, Orton and Batista did an offsite promo from the airport which showed them skipping the line for security and heading onto a private jet with a pretty stewardess. They spoke about how they didn’t need to wrestle in a bingo hall to make it in the business and that they, in their first reign, were already better than the Dudley Boyz after eight. On the last show before Backlash, Orton and Batista had a big brawl with the Dudley Boyz which ultimately saw Ric Flair eat a Dudley Death Drop through a table whilst the champions looked on having fled!

A More Traditional Champion, Please [MONDAY NIGHT RAW]
For the women of the Raw brand, Trish Stratus continued to reign at the top of the division as the WWE Women’s Champion post-WrestleMania. Her feud with the ‘Black Diamond’ Jazz was put on hold for the next four weeks - with Jazz moving to the side and continuing to work with local talents and beat them up to rebuild her as the monster challenger following her defeat at Wrestlemania. Trish cut a promo about having achieved her two big goals in the last two months; winning the title in Canada and defending it at WrestleMania. It has been a wild ride for her since February, and now she is wondering what is next? That’s when she revealed that she was going to be the cover of ‘Muscle Mag’ for May 2003 - and a HUGE cover dropped from banner role that was set up above the ring. That got a huge pop from the crowd but drew the ire of the champion’s next foe - Molly Holly.

Molly Holly was quick to the point, she hated what Trish stood for as a representative for the WWE and young women everywhere. Here she was proud of posing in a magazine like a piece of meat and doing so whilst holding the most important title in women’s wrestling. That made Molly sick and she needed to bring respect back to the division by taking that title from the woman who was prostituting herself for a quick buck! Trish accepted the challenge and told Molly she’d wrestle her anytime, anywhere and that they could do it right now! That wasn’t going to work for Molly, who faked accepting the bout immediately, striking Trish with a lariat and hitting a powerbomb onto the belt, before telling Trish that she’d see her at Backlash.

The following week, Molly Holly cut a promo outside of the arena with a barrel which had been lit on fire inside of it. She had a stack of Trish’s magazines and went off on how disgusting this woman was for parading herself around over and over. That wasn’t what someone should do - the WWE needed a traditional woman as the champion and Molly was going to bring back a higher level of standard when she beat Trish. During the promo, Trish Stratus showed up and tackled Molly, the two fighting on the cold pavement outside the arena until security pulled them apart. In the final week, Trish wrestled a match against a local talent and ran through them like it was nothing. She then marched over to the announce desk, put on a headset and shouted that she wanted Molly to listen up - “You’ve demeaned me for the past three weeks, you’ve humiliated me in front of millions on TV, you hit me when I wasn’t ready - yet you say I’m the one who doesn’t have any standards. I’m a four-time WWE Women’s Champion - you’re chasing me, Molly. Not the other way around. I’ll see you at Backlash… and I’m going to kick your head off, bitch!”

Rattlesnakes Do Not Like Authority [MONDAY NIGHT RAW]
A week after WrestleMania 19, we saw the first appearance of Stone Cold Steve Austin on Monday Night Raw. The Texas Rattlesnake made an entrance like only he can, driving a pickup truck out into the arena and climbing over the top of the down to the canvas inside the ring. Austin cut a promo about taking a week off but he thought it was time to get back to work and to doing what he does better than anyone else in the business - and that’s kick some ass. He made an open challenge to anyone back in the locker room who wanted to get into a fist fight with Stone Cold… nobody answered. He continued to goad the boys, saying he was beat up, run down, a washed up old man, ripe for the picking and someone could come and finish off what’s left of Stone Cold. Still, he got no answer until Chief Morley strolled onto the stage. With a level arrogance, Morley lashed Austin verbally due to Austin’s involvement in assisting the Dudley Boyz pre-WrestleMania, and said that Stone Cold had made an enemy out of this administration.

In response, Austin said he didn’t care if Morley liked him or not but if he wanted to come down to the ring and do all that talking he’d end up getting a Stunner - booyah! Morley continued to accuse Austin, saying that he still hadn’t learned that going against authority was never the right move, and Austin should know better, especially since so many of the people in the audience liked to emulate him. Before Austin could retort, he was attacked by Christopher Nowinski. The Harvard graduate attacking Austin long enough for Morley to join in and both men laid the boots to the Rattlesnake, forcing him to the outside of the ring. They posed in celebration in the ring for the moment until Austin grabbed a chair and set both men running for the hills. Morley and Nowinski cut a promo together later that same evening - cementing the latter’s alignment with the administration and Morley moving forward, as well as their intention of beating Austin into submission for his actions.

A handicap match was made for Backlash after the attack. It would be Morley and Nowinski against Steve Austin; 2 vs. 1 with Austin at the disadvantage. Over the next two weeks, Austin continued to defy the administration as he gave away a truckload of free merchandise - which Jerry Lawler pointed out, did not include Austin’s merchandise. Austin did a walk-through promo in the concession area, where he spoke with one of the workers and did a spot handing out free beers to fans from behind the concessions desk - advising to just charge it to the tab of Chief Morley and Monday Night Raw. One of his final antics involved Austin going into Morley’s office and replacing a big picture of Morley with one of himself. Austin would stun Nowinski on the final Raw before Backlash and drink a beer on top of the announce table to a rockstar reception from the audience whilst Morley fumed with rage.

Don’t Hate The Player, Hate The [Dirtest Player In] The Game [MONDAY NIGHT RAW]
One of the big shifts coming out of WrestleMania was the push for Booker T. He was left off the WrestleMania 19 card but featured heavily in the pre-show battle royal which earned him a lot of credibility with those backstage. On the Raw immediately after Mania, Booker T had a segment with his tag partner Goldust where they agreed to part ways for the moment to search for new opportunities, but remained on good terms and agreed to join up later down the line. Booker T approached Eric Bischoff about what he could do to put himself into the World Title picture, and was told that he had to start impressing the GM far more than he had been. Booker T took that personally and went out the following week and scored a win over D'Lo Brown. Post-match, Booker T went back to Bischoff and asked how that was for impressive, and was told that it would take a lot more than that to get into the top end of the competition.

Later that same night, Booker T was shown leaving the arena when he bumped into Ric Flair. The Nature Boy kept walking, but then stopped, he turned and shouted out to Booker T. Flair said that he couldn’t let this go and said that for a guy who was looking to get to the top of the WWE, he was sure as hell clueless on how to do it. Look at you right now, leaving the arena and the top guys are still preparing to go out there and wrestle in front of millions. If you want to be at the top, you'd best start watching what we do at the top and you learn how to hang with us! Booker T dropped his bags and said he could hang with any of them, including Shawn Michaels, Triple H and Ric Flair. That drew a laugh from Flair, he dismissed the notion that Booker T could beat him in a match and asked if he was serious. Booker T did not stutter. He confirmed again that he believed that if given the opportunity, he could and would beat any of them - and one day he would become a six time World Champion.

Flair reminded Booker that those were fighting words, and to be careful because he was standing across from a sixteen time World Champion. Booker refused to back down and told Flair that he’d go speak to Bischoff next week, and try to get a match booked. Flair told him to do just that and he’d meet him anywhere. The next week, Flair vs. Booker T was booked for Backlash, and Flair cut an in-ring promo alongside Evolution about how he was going to show Orton and Batista a masterclass in professional wrestling when he outclassed a man who could not tie his laces. Booker T, somewhat foolishly, interrupted and got into the ring with Flair and said that this was going to be a shock of a lifetime when he beat Flair in Boston. Orton and Batista jumped Booker T, and held him up as Flair slapped him across the face for disrespecting him.

In The Name of The Father [MONDAY NIGHT RAW]
Much of what happened on the night post-Mania has been covered at this point in the outline, but just to recap, Chris Jericho was supposed to be in the fatal four way to determine a number one contender for the World Championship at Backlash. He was delayed getting to the arena due to car troubles, which forced Bischoff to host a battle royal for Jericho’s spot in the four way, and that was won by Shawn Michaels - the man who lost to Jericho the night before. Jericho arrived at the arena as the show ended and had a staredown with Michaels to end Raw. After failing to get the result overturned or have himself added to the match the following week, Jericho was confronted in the ring by Goldust. At first it seemed that Goldust was coming down to the ring to cut short Jericho’s whining over being excluded from the World Title match but upon entering the ring, Goldust shocked the world when he slapped the taste out of Jericho’s mouth without saying a word.

Goldust then exited the ring and walked to the back. After a commercial break, cameras caught up with Goldust and he told the world that Chris Jericho disrespected his father, Dusty Rhodes, at WrestleMania and this was the first chance that he had to walk up to Jericho and teach him some manners. As far as he was concerned, the matter was now settled, but if Jericho opened his mouth about the Rhodes family again - then he’d get another slap to the face. The next week, Jericho marched to the ring and cut a somber promo about growing up watching wrestling and named his favourites including Roddy Piper, Bret Hart, Randy Savage… but he always hated that stupid fat slob Dusty Rhodes. The crowd roared with boos as Jericho blasted Dusty for being a loser and “failing to make it in WWE” and only thriving in a small pond like Jim Crockett Promotions and World Championship Wrestling. When it came to the big stage, Dusty and the rest of his stupid family were, in the eyes of Jericho, a bunch of failures.

This drew Goldust out again - this time not wearing any face paint as he marched down to the ring in street clothes. As he entered the ring, Jericho got the first strike in - nailing Goldust with a microphone to the back of the head. Jericho then attacked him and applied the Walls of Jericho until he felt enough time had passed. Grabbing the microphone, he said that this was a lesson in respecting your betters. You got the jump on me once, Dustin, but you can’t fool me twice. Step into this ring with me again and I’ll beat your ass even worse. The final week before Backlash, Goldust cut a promo in the ring and called out Jericho, he challenged him to a match at the pay-per-view, because he needed to stick up for his family. Jericho answered the challenge and accepted, saying he would love nothing more than to beat up one of Dusty’s kids. During the final promo between the two, Jericho promised to wear polka dots at Backlash on his tights.

***

Backlash - April 27, 2003
Worcester Centrum in Worcester, Massachusetts

World Heavyweight Championship Match:
World Champion, Triple H defends against;
The Heartbreak Kid, Shawn Michaels

Intercontinental Championship Match:
Christian vs. Kane vs. Rob Van Dam

World Tag Team Championship Match:
Evolution (Batista/Randy Orton) vs. Dudley Boyz

Women’s Championship Match:
Trish Stratus vs. Molly Holly

2-on-1 Handicap Match:
Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Christopher Nowinski & Chief Morley

Singles Match:
Booker T vs. Ric Flair

Singles Match:
Chris Jericho vs. Goldust

Intercontinental Championship Contendership Battle Royal:
Jeff Hardy, Justin Credible, Lance Storm, Mark Jindrak, Scott Steiner, Sean O'Haire, Test, The Hurricane, Tommy Dreamer & William Regal
​

Other Notes (Raw Only):

• Maven and Stacy Kiebler entered into a TV feud with Steven Richards and Victoria. Victoria attacked Stacy in the women's locker room unprovoked after Kiebler accidentally spilled a coffee on her. Maven was in the area outside of the locker room and ran in to break the fight up, grabbing Victoria which pissed off Richards, who attacked Maven the following week backstage after a verbal confrontation.
• Test began a slow heel turn when he failed to check-in on Stacy after the attack by Victoria. He refused to team with Stacy in a tag team match against Richards and Victoria due to a slight knee injury, but jumped at the chance to enter the Intercontinental Championship contender's battle royal - exposing that he was picking and choosing what to compete for.
• Chief Morley and Christopher Nowinski officially formed a tag team known as the Administration.
• Sean O'Haire is given TV time each week with at minimum a Devil's Advocate vignette but also appears on screen in the background of other segments speaking with various wrestlers and even crew members. He's seen speaking with Test about not wanting to risk injuring his knee for some little 'women's tiff' when there are bigger things out there for him. Which ultimately leads to Test's heel turn and the breakdown of his relationship with Stacy Kiebler.
• Vignettes begin to air hyping the debut of Gail Kim. Her debut is not given a timetable, but rumours are that she is expected within the next 2 months.
• Talks have begun regarding several potential mid-card talents on the independent scene, including Paul London and Steve Corino.

 

[Stojy]

Backlash - April 27, 2003
Worcester Centrum in Worcester, Massachusetts

World Heavyweight Championship Match:
World Champion, Triple H defends against;
The Heartbreak Kid, Shawn Michaels
Triple H retains here. Evolution is still just getting started, he's remaining champ.

Intercontinental Championship Match:
Christian vs. Kane vs. Rob Van Dam
RVD wins to further piss off Kane, meanwhile Christian will follow the thread of having issues with Bischoff.

World Tag Team Championship Match:
Evolution (Batista/Randy Orton) vs. Dudley Boyz
Dudleyz win by DQ. This feud is just getting started.

Women’s Championship Match:
Trish Stratus vs. Molly Holly
Wholesome Molly feuding with Trish was a big angle in 2002. Unless you've got something overly different plan, I'm not that interested in seeing it again in 2003.

2-on-1 Handicap Match:
Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Christopher Nowinski & Chief Morley
I know I mentioned Austin getting a World Title shot caught me off-guard, but I definitely didn't expect him to be in an angle with these guys straight after. Austin wins comfortably.

Singles Match:
Booker T vs. Ric Flair
Booker wins to continue to look good after not appearing on the main Mania card.

Singles Match:
Chris Jericho vs. Goldust
Jericho wins but it feels like we might get a return of 'The Natural' Dustin Rhodes here.

Intercontinental Championship Contendership Battle Royal:
Jeff Hardy, Justin Credible, Lance Storm, Mark Jindrak, Scott Steiner, Sean O'Haire, Test, The Hurricane, Tommy Dreamer & William Regal
Do it please. His 'Devils Advocate' gimmick is fun.

STEVE MOTHER FUCKING CORINO ASAP PLEASE!!!

 

[Wolf Beast]

Have to say, I think introducing the solo brand PPVs has hampered you a bit here - gone from stacked PPVs at No Way Out and WrestleMania (obviously) to a fairly underwhelming line up for Backlash with a lot of these matches feeling like placeholders before you get into the main stuff down the line. I'll combine comments on Mania in some of the predictions here.

World Heavyweight Championship Match:
World Champion, Triple H defends against;
The Heartbreak Kid, Shawn Michaels
Quite peculiar to go back to HHH vs HBK at this point, I feel, especially after Shawn lost at Mania. I know a lot of that played into the title equation here with Jericho missing the opportunity; I'd suspect HBK/Y2J will be revisited (Sidebar: shocked that you went with that as the opener for Mania with quite a few matches feeling better suited for that spot) at some point off the back of Michaels earning the shot in Jerichos absence ... but it won't be over the World Title. As Stojy said, Evolution is just getting started, and it most likely means TRIPLE H holds onto the gold for the foreseeable.

Intercontinental Championship Match:
Christian vs. Kane vs. Rob Van Dam
Kane and Van Dam probably just cancel each other out, CHRISTIAN steals the win and escapes with his title. Set up for the match is very basic - heel takes out both potential challengers resulting in having to face both is a set up that's been done many times, but the match should at least further the stuff between Kane and RVD in the future.

World Tag Team Championship Match:
Evolution (Batista/Randy Orton) vs. Dudley Boyz
No way The Dudleys win back the belts at this point, I feel. May well be time to move them aside; they got their big WrestleMania moment, they're a stale act, doesn't feel like there's much else you can do with them now. EVOLUTION retain.

Women’s Championship Match:
Trish Stratus vs. Molly Holly
TRISH retains; again, this comes across as a placeholder match for the title before you decide to pull the trigger on rematching Trish with Jazz to continue that program.

2-on-1 Handicap Match:
Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Christopher Nowinski & Chief Morley
Given how pissed off Austin was with his direction in '02 before walking out, this being his follow up to WrestleMania should really have him ready to walk out again. With it surely being his last run, he shouldn't be wasting any of his remaining PPV appearances on these kind of mid card matches - should be programmed with main event players only imo. And while I typically don't like the idea of one guy beating a tag team, it's Austin, and STEVE AUSTIN should be winning this.

Singles Match:
Booker T vs. Ric Flair
Looks as if BOOKER T will be going through all of Evolution to get to Triple H and be set up as his challenger for Bookers return home at Bad Blood - assuming you're not changing the location for these shows. That could feel like a big time match, assuming that's the plan.

Singles Match:
Chris Jericho vs. Goldust
Like Stojy mentioned, could wind up seeing Dustin Rhodes out of this. However, CHRIS JERICHO wins this match, he's got too much momentum right now and a loss to Goldust would destroy a lot of that.

Intercontinental Championship Contendership Battle Royal:
Jeff Hardy, Justin Credible, Lance Storm, Mark Jindrak, Scott Steiner, Sean O'Haire, Test, The Hurricane, Tommy Dreamer & William Regal
I'll be bold and say a SURPRISE ENTRANT wins the match.

 

[EZ3]

…

WWE BACKLASH
April 27 | Worcester Centrum in Worcester, Massachusetts

PYRO

Following the conclusion of the opening video package, Jim Ross welcomes the audience to what is expected to be a fantastic night of sports entertainment. They run down the card for tonight, Ross expressing his excitement for the epic World Championship encounter between Triple H and Shawn Michaels. For the King, he was looking forward to seeing Evolution’s first title defence in their rematch against the Dudley Boyz.

**RAP SHEET**

Entering the arena first, BOOKER T looks confident, steps out onto the stage, and is ready to kick off this pay-per-view event. Since WrestleMania, we have seen a new focus on the part of the former five-time WCW Champion, with his goal of returning to the main event scene at the forefront of his mind. He gets the first chance at stepping in the right direction tonight when he collides with a man who has made a career out of being on top of the card.

**ALSO SPRACH ZARATHUSTRA**

Out next is the dirtiest player in the game - RIC FLAIR, without any backup as every member of Evolution is in action tonight. Dressed in one of his trademark robes, Flair struts down to the ring, immediately talking smack to Booker T about the lesson he will be taught when the bell rings in just a few moments. When Flair reaches the ring, he demands that the official open the ropes for him, before entering the squared circle and doing a twirl to show off his newest robe to the extensive collection.

Singles Match:
Booker T vs. Ric Flair
​

The opening contest of the evening began with Booker T coming in hot with a quick succession of strikes to Flair, which seemingly caught him off guard. Flair stumbled back, his golden hair quickly a mess, as Booker T whipped him across the ring and hit a big jumping kick to knock down the Nature Boy! The crowd was hot as Flair popped back up - only to get sent over the top rope with a back body drop and result in him crashing to the floor on the outside of the ring. Booker T felt the energy in the building come rushing toward him. He dropped down to a knee and shook his hand, setting up for a spin-a-roonie! On the outside of the ring, Ric Flair chucked a fit at the arrogance of it all, seething that he had been displaced from the ring and had it rubbed in his face with a taunt so early on in the contest.

Over the next several minutes, Flair and Booker T wrestled a fairly even match. Flair raked the eyes at one point, pleading innocence to the referee when the crowd booed loudly at the replay on the titantron. He would then shove Booker T into the corner of the ring and chop away at his chest with his famous knife-edge chops, cutting through layers of skin with each strike and building Flair’s confidence. A chop block followed shortly after, Flair beginning to target the leg of his opponent to setup his lethal finishing move - the Figure Four Leg Lock. Flair made sure to return the favour of the taunt earlier as he did a little strut and a ‘Woo’ to a wave of boos from the audience.

After ten minutes of action, Flair took to the top rope trying for a high risk move. As always, he was cut off by Booker T and sent for a ride via a superplex! They both crashed and burned to the mat below - Booker T wrapping an arm over Flair for a nearfall. Selling the impact of the move still, Booker T was the first man to their feet, and he booted Flair in the mid-section and went for the scissor kick! Flair moved out of the way, kicked out the leg of Booker and tried for the Figure Four but Booker T kicked out of it. It was a scramble for a moment, Flair hitting the corner and rushing back toward his opponent, who caught him in position for the Book End! Flair fought back with elbows and broke free of the hold, it could go either way at this point. He tried for a knee breaker but Booker T punched wildly, fighting back, refusing to allow his leg to suffer any further damage, and he escaped - striking thereafter with the Book End! Booker T hooked the leg and scored a huge win in a great opening contest.

Spoiler: Winner

Winner: Booker T @ 11:37 via pinfall

A fantastic victory for Booker T - and one that is sure to impress the General Manager of Raw, Eric Bischoff. His goal is to advance toward the top of the card and with a win over the Nature Boy, that should position Booker T at the next level, and one step closer to a future shot at the World Champion. There can be no doubt after tonight, Booker T is going to be making waves in this post-WrestleMania season.

Booker T has his hand raised to a big cheer from the audience, whilst Flair rolls to the outside of the ring and heads up the ramp and is soon joined by Batista and Randy Orton who help get him out of the arena. With a moment to himself, Booker T climbs onto the second turnbuckle and poses for the audience, motioning around his waist and making his long-term goal clear to the audience and the rest of the Monday Night Raw roster.

***

Backstage, Eric Bischoff watches the show on a TV monitor and pays no attention to the camera. A knock at the door and Bischoff beckons them to enter - CHRISTIAN entering the scene. Bischoff almost immediately drops his head into his hands and tells Christian that there’s nothing to be said right now, and he’s not going to change his mind about the triple threat match for the Intercontinental Championship tonight. In response, Christian tells Eric that he’s not here for that, in fact it’s the opposite. He’s thought of the match and has come to realise that it’s a genius move by Bischoff, and one that he is thankful for now. The two men discuss how this will be Christian’s crowning moment when he beats both Kane and Rob Van Dam in one night and cements himself as the greatest Intercontinental Champion in history.

Bischoff agrees that this is a great opportunity and promises to be watching. Christian accepted that he let the General Manager down back at WrestleMania but after tonight, when he retains the gold, he hopes that Bischoff gives him another chance to be HIS champion. The two men part ways, Bischoff looking intrigued at the idea of Christian redeeming himself tonight after his failure last month.

***

We return to ringside for the next match…

**SLOW DEATH**

No theatrics for the challenger as MOLLY HOLLY makes her way down to the ring tonight. Dressed modestly and in all black, Molly sneers at the audience and rips a sign from the hands of a grown man with a lewd picture of Trish Stratus on display. Our commentators discuss how having Molly as the champion could shape the entire division with many following what the leader does. She’s determined to dethrone the woman who Molly argues is disgracing the title by the way she conducts herself outside of the ring.

**TIME TO ROCK & ROLL**

Here comes the champion, TRISH STRATUS on her way to the ring to defend the title she won back in February at No Way Out. The champion might be about to take part in a deeply personal bout but she still takes the time to engage with the crowd, high fiving and giving a few young children hugs as she walks down the aisle. For the fan with the ripped sign, Stratus walks over and takes a picture with them and gives the man a quick peck on the cheek - drawing a fake vomit motion from Molly Holly in the ring.

WWE Women’s Championship Match:
Trish Stratus vs. Molly Holly
​

The two women stepped into the middle of the ring, neither woman backing down from the other, their foreheads pressed against each other. Without warning Molly Holly threw a hard right hand and stunned the champion enough to allow the challenger to scoop her up and execute a body slam! Holly jumped into the mount position and hit a combination of shots to the chest of the champion. A sharp neckbreaker followed by the challenger, and she scored a nearfall in the opening minutes of the contest. Holly took a moment to gloat, drawing boos from the audience, as he stood in the middle of the ring and hit her old ‘Mighty Molly’ taunt. Stepping onto the back of the champion, Holly pulled back on the top rope for leverage and told Trish - “You can’t compete with me, you, bimbo! I’m going to break you in here.”

Trish got a moment to breathe when she ducked out of the way of a clothesline and fired back with a big spear! This forced Molly to the corner and the champion connected with a wheelbarrow bulldog just a few moments later. A nearfall for the champion followed and she brought more offense with a spinebuster, also a nearfall, and hurricanrana out of a powerbomb attempt by Molly Holly! The two women both went down at a double clothesline, and the contest hit a reset of sorts. The crowd began to cheer for Trish - building support for the champion as she pulled herself off the canvas using the ropes, and she got a boot up into the face of the incoming challenger! Molly stumbled back as Trish grabbed her by the head with a headlock - she jumped toward the ropes for Stratusfaction… only for Molly to spin her around into a Blue Thunder Bomb! The count was close but Trish got a shoulder up at the very last second.

A look of horror appeared on the face of the challenger - doubt creeping into her mind after the champion survived what can only be described as an ultimate counter. Holly punches the mat in frustration, pulling at her hair as the madness poisons her body, and the challenger questions what will it take to claim the title she so desperately covets? The heart of the champion cannot be denied, Trish getting back to her feet and eating a sidewalk slam from Holly - for yet another close count. After the nearfall, Molly signals for the end, waving the referee to get out of her way as she climbed the top rope. Molly was perched in position… but Trish hurried toward her and nailed the Stratusphere! Molly crashed to the canvas, clutching her lower back as she somehow got back to her feet. Unfortunately, the champion was ready and waiting, her target set, her aim ready - Chick Kick! Trish does as she promised and kicks Molly’s head off, and makes the cover thereafter for the win.

Spoiler: Winner

Winner: And STILL WWE Women’s Champion - Trish Stratus @ 06:12

The crowd jumps to their feet in excitement for the final count - Trish Stratus is still the WWE Women’s Champion and retains in a hard fought bout against Molly Holly. Trish leans against the ropes after the bell, selling how tough the contest was, before she’s handed the title belt and manages to raise it above her head to a roar from the audience.

While Trish exits the ring and celebrates with some of the fans at ringside… Lawler reminds everyone that there’s another woman out there who has been unstoppable lately. Ross quips that he must be alluding to the ‘Black Diamond’ Jazz, the same woman who was defeated at WrestleMania by Trish. While that’s a good point, Lawler maintains that the loss at WrestleMania has only provoked Jazz to be even more vicious than she already was, and he doesn’t know if Trish can overcome that.

***

VIDEO PACKAGE

A large medieval town is shown, people rushing through a crowded market as a town crier stands on a wooden box.

Town crier: Hear ye, hear ye!!! I have an announcement for thy Chairman of the Board!

A group of passersby stop and listen as the man unfurls a long piece of parchment with the WWE seal ripped open.

Town crier: It is by decree of the Lord Chairman, Sir Vincent Kenneth McMahon, that a tournament shall be held!

The crowd grew at the mention of the tournament, children rushing over and groups of men looking intrigued.

Town crier: Sixteen men from the lands of Raw and Smackdown will clash in a battle of wills, a test of strength and a war of intestinal fortitude.

The crowd is even bigger now as the town crier’s words begin to spread throughout the land.

Town crier: June 7th in the coliseum known as the Newcastle Arena!

The town crier spreads his arms wide and shouts.

Town crier: Men will fight, lives will be changed as they all battle to be called…

The camera zooms in on town crier as he flips the parchment around to reveal the event’s logo.

Town crier: KING OF THE RING!!!

WWE Presents: King of the Ring
LIVE from the Newcastle Arena in Newcastle, England
June 7th, 2003 - [A CO-BRANDED event]

***

Back at ringside, Jim Ross comments on the upcoming King of the Ring tournament, which will conclude across the sea in Newcastle, England. It’ll feature sixteen men with eight superstars from Raw and eight superstars from Smackdown competing until we have four men remaining in a single elimination tournament. The winner of the Raw bracket will face the winner of the Smackdown bracket in the final, which takes place at the pay-per-view, along with the two semi-final matches. No official start date for the tournament is given, but JR says to expect an announcement in the next few weeks for a list of participants.

… 5 …
… 4 …
… 3 …
… 2 …
… 1 …

**BREAK DOWN THE WALLS**

Entering first, CHRIS JERICHO slowly steps out onto the stage, his usual smugness increased even further when the camera zooms in on his tights - POLKA DOTS! The biggest jerk in the WWE has fulfilled his promise and has worn the famous polka dots of the ‘American Dream’ Dusty Rhodes tonight, and the boos from the live audience grow louder as Jericho slowly walks down to the ring, making sure everyone gets a good look at his attire for the evening. While Jericho walks to the ring, our commentators discuss how tonight must make Jericho feel - seeing the man he defeated at WrestleMania competing for the World Title, a spot he believes he deserves.

**GOLD-LUST**

It’s not the biggest pop in the world but Goldust gets a decent cheer from the audience upon his music hitting the speakers. In contrast to his opponent, Goldust jogs to the ring, wanting to get this started as soon as possible - and as he slides underneath the bottom rope - Jericho dives out of the ring. Goldust yells at Jericho to get back into the ring and face him like a man. That draws a smirk from the Highlight Reel, he’s not about to be pushed around by Goldust and he waves him off, walking around the ring as he wants to. The referee tells Jericho to get in so they can start the contest, to which Y2J rolls his eyes and nonchalantly climbs onto the ring apron and enters the ring, finally.

Singles Match:
Chris Jericho vs. Goldust
​

A highly personal issue comes to a head here tonight. The sound of the bell sees Goldust charge forward and throw some very stiff “worked” punches on Jericho until the referee jumps in between them. They have a quick chat, the referee warning Goldust that closed fists are still illegal. Round two begins and Goldust goes the same thing, throwing potatoes at Jericho with him now trapped in the corner until the referee pulls Goldust away - and issues a final warning. Do that again and I’ll call it. When Goldust moves toward Jericho for a third time, Y2J acts quickly and hits a dropkick to the knee of his opponent. A quick rolling neckbreaker followed from Jericho, and he checked in for a two count. On his knees, Jericho pounded away with punches of his own against Goldust, repaying the debt that had been started at the beginning of the match.

Jericho took control for the next few minutes and played the role of showboat as well. He dropped Goldust with a vertical suplex and placed a single boot on his chest for a pin attempt - which thankfully was not successful. A running bulldog followed shortly thereafter and Jericho also struck with a jumping senton from a standing position. Part of the story thread now, Jericho slapped Goldust across the back of his feet, kicking him across the temple as well - “You and your whole stupid family can’t disrespect me and get away with it. I shouldn’t even be in this match, I’m supposed to be winning the World Title tonight!”

Goldust fired up and cracked Jericho in the throat with a hard shot. He would land a DDT and then his big punt in the corner after positioning Jericho correctly. A series of nearfalls occurred for Goldust but he couldn’t put the Highlight Reel away. Feeling like this could be his chance, Goldust paid tribute to his father and went for the Bionic Elbow - but Jericho stuck a thumb in the eye! Blinded by the underhanded tactic, which drew the ire of the fans and a scolding from the referee, Jericho chopped Goldust’s knee out from under him. A few twists of the leg later, along with dragging his body into the middle of the ring, Chris Jericho applied the Walls of Jericho! The pain was etched on the face of Goldust as he tried to fight - his makeup falling from his face as beads of sweat hurried down. In the end, Jericho repositioned and placed his knee at the top of the spine and pulled back further, forcing a submission.

Spoiler: Winner

Winner: Chris Jericho @ 07:04 via submission

Every story does not always end with the good guys triumphing and this is one of those moments. With the same smirk on his face that he entered the arena with, Jericho releases the submission hold - waiting a few extra seconds to do so - and demands the referee raise his hand in victory. The heat from the audience is loud, Jericho soaking it all in as he walks around the ring shouting at the crowd that this wasn’t supposed to be his match, he should be closing the show, not the third match from the open.

Jericho rolls out of the ring and goes over to the announce desk where he takes the headset off of Jerry Lawler. He shouts, through big deep breaths, that this issue with the Rhodes idiots is dead and buried as far as he is concerned now. He has his eyes set on a bigger prize and after tonight the world will know exactly what he means by that. Ross asks for clarification but is ignored, Jericho choosing to take the final few seconds to hype himself up as the feed cuts to the backstage area.

***

In the interview spot backstage, Jonathan Coachman is standing by with the challengers for the WWE World Tag Team Championships later this evening - the DUDLEY BOYZ. He welcomes both men and asks how they feel about their chances later tonight. Bubba Ray takes the opening question, they feel confident and know that the reason they lost last time was because they were at a disadvantage. They had wrestled at WrestleMania, then on Raw before Orton and Batista stepped into the ring. Overall, the Dudley Boyz had to wrestle 3 times in less than 24 hours while Evolution only had one match.

D-Von chimes in, he says that they were good - great even - one time. Tonight, Evolution has to show everyone, including the Dudley Boyz, that it wasn’t a fluke. They are eight-time World Tag Team Champions, the most decorated team in the history of the business, so tonight is about getting the titles back that they should’ve never lost under fair conditions. Bubba joins in, he explains that’s the difference - the Dudley Boyz don’t stay down when things get tough. They get up and they kick some ass - tonight they are coming back for the titles and they are going to give Randy Orton and Batista the ass kicking off a lifetime. D-Von wraps it up by saying that if Orton and Batista want to learn about this business - get ready, because you’re about to be taken to school by the best tag team of all-time!

***

VIDEO PACKAGE

An image of an apocalyptic city, rumble everywhere, buildings empty and a light post flickering.

“THE END OF DAYS IS UPON US…”

The scene is without a single lifeform in the shot but we begin to hear the sound of something rumbling.

“HE SERVES AS JUDGE…”

In the distance, dust begins to kick up from the broken road.

“JURY…”

The sound continues to grow as the figure comes closer, driving something, as we also cut in clips of Smackdown’s finest including; Edge, The Rock, Brock Lesnar, Big Show, Rey Mysterio, A-Train & Billy Kidman.

“AND EXECUTIONER…”

The figure pulls up on his motorbike and steps off it, his long trenchcoat flapping in the wind as he scouts the destroyed landscape.

“HE WILL FIND YOU…”

The camera pans up from the man’s boot and reveals THE UNDERTAKER - dressed in all-black biker gear with sunglasses on.

“AND HE WILL BRING FORTH…”

Clips of The Undertaker throughout the years destroying people, focusing on his time spent in Hell in a Cell and other hardcore matches.

“YOUR PERSONAL…”

The Undertaker walks over to the collection of rubble, wiping it clear and sparkling back at him in the sunlight… is the WWE Championship.

“JUDGMENT DAY!”

WWE Presents: JUDGMENT DAY
LIVE from the Charlotte Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina
May 18, 2003 - [A Friday Night Smackdown EXCLUSIVE event]

***

We return to ringside now and seven out of the ten men in the battle royal have made their way down to the ring…

**COME ON**

The devil’s advocate himself, SEAN O’HAIRE enters the arena in his black trenchcoat and rubs his hands together with glee. His recent appearances on Raw have seen him trying to influence many members of the roster into indulging their innermost desires, and tonight he looks to embrace his desire by becoming the number one contender for the Intercontinental Championship.

**LOADED**

Rushing out onto the stage covered in face paint - JEFF HARDY brings with him an explosion of energy and excitement. Having recently embraced the crowd again after an ill-fated run as a heel, Hardy is back to his classic daredevil antics and seems positioned for a strong run into the future. He sprints down to the ring, jumps onto the apron and ascends the turnbuckle to a fair cheer from the live audience. Ross discusses how he’s known Jeff since he was a teenager and has always believed he has what it takes to be a major star.

**HOLLA IF YA HEAR ME**

The final participant of the match is SCOTT STEINER, who walks out onto the stage with his head down. The lights dim a little as a spotlight shines at the top of the ramp where Steiner strikes a pose and flexes his rather large arm. The Genetic Freak then makes his way down to the ring, counting how many men are inside the squared circle, preparing to toss all of them over the top rope and win this match. It’s been a rough start to 2003 for Steiner after losing twice to Triple H, but now he has a chance for a new path forward with a win tonight.

Intercontinental Championship Contendership Battle Royal:
Jeff Hardy, Justin Credible, Lance Storm, Mark Jindrak, Scott Steiner, Sean O'Haire, Test, The Hurricane, Tommy Dreamer & William Regal
​

A solid ten minutes are devoted to this contest with a few different story points flowing through. Test is joined by his girlfriend Stacy Kiebler, who didn’t look happy to be here during their entrance. On their way to the ring, Stacy repeatedly struggled to walk as quickly as Test demanded her to because she is selling the impact of the attack at the hands of Victoria from a few weeks ago. Test told her to toughen up and help him win tonight or else! During the match, Test would motion for Keibler to grab the arm of Jeff Hardy, who he had half over the ropes, but Keibler was too slow and Hardy broke free. A little bit later, Test ordered Stacy to get on the apron, his shouting scared her enough to do so, and it ultimately resulted in her being knocked to the floor by accident! As Stacy struggled to her feet, Test yelled at her again to hurry up and help him and she told him to go screw himself - officially breaking up with him! Test would then scream at her to get back to ringside as she left - and during this, he was thrown over the top rope by The Hurricane.

Scott Steiner had a solid performance which saw him eliminate Justin Credible, Mark Jindrak and William Regal. During this bout, Steiner and The Hurricane seemed to form an unlikely alliance and worked well with double team moves, and had great communication. It was pointed out by Ross, and he pondered if they could work together outside of this environment. He was part of the final four which also included Jeff Hardy, Sean O’Haire and Lance Storm. The first of these men to fall with Storm after Hardy caught his superkick and hit a Twist of Fate. Before Hardy could get off the mat to follow up, O’Haire rushed over and hit a spinning heel kick to the face of Storm to send him flying over the top rope. The next man to go out was the Genetic Freak - falling to the Widowmaker by O’Haire, and then being thrown over the top rope.

The match was down to two men; Jeff Hardy and Sean O’Haire. At this point, O’Haire called for a microphone from ringside. He spoke to Hardy and said that he needed to block out all the noise from the cretins in the arena. All that mattered was what stood right in front of him - a chance to give in to his true desire. Being a champion isn’t what Jeff wants, he just wants to go out and party, have a good time, live like a champion, but we all know that the responsibility of the title isn’t what Jeff covets. With a smile on his face, O’Haire offered Jeff the chance to eliminate himself and O’Haire would throw him the biggest party he could ever want - he’d buy him all the drinks he could ever hope to consume after the event. All he had to do was climb over the top rope and step down to the floor. With his sermon over, O’Haire waited for an answer - Hardy looked like he was agreeing, nodding his head, until he booted Sean in the stomach and tossed him over the top rope!

Spoiler: Winner

Winner: And the number one contender for the Intercontinental Championship - Jeff Hardy @ 10:22

There’s a big pop from the crowd now as Jeff Hardy stands alone in the middle of the ring, his music blasting over the speakers, and he lets out a scream of defiance! He did not bend to the will of the devil tonight - O’Haire’s sermon falling on deaf ears as replays are shown of the final choice, Hardy kicking O’Haire in the stomach and throwing him with both hands over the top rope. A quick shift in career trajectory since embracing the fans once again is not lost on Jeff Hardy. He exits the ring and goes over to fans in the front row, hugging many of them and tells them that this is for all of them who stuck with him.

The camera cuts to the other side of the ring, Sean O’Haire sitting on the outside of the ring laughing. For someone who has lost, he does not seem upset, as pointed out by Jerry Lawler. The devil’s advocate gets to his feet and offers Jeff a little round of applause before he turns and makes his way up the ramp. Back to the ring, Jeff Hardy climbs the turnbuckle and poses, the crowd cheering louder for him now after the win - and commentary reminding us that he now has a date with whoever leaves Backlash as the WWE Intercontinental Champion!

***

Switching to the backstage area, SHAWN MICHAELS is shown putting tape on his wrists in preparation for his main event match later on this evening. After the camera lingers for a few moments, we see a pair of boots come into the shot's frame. Michaels looks up and says that he wasn’t expecting a visitor. The camera pans out to reveal STONE COLD STEVE AUSTIN standing across from him, gym back over his shoulder, dressed in street clothes, not yet ready for his match.

Austin tells HBK that he was just walking by and he wanted to wish Shawn luck - and that if Shawn wins tonight, he’d expect a return of the favour he paid Shawn by agreeing to be his partner at No Way Out. At this point, Michaels stood up and extended his hand to Austin. He told the Texas Rattlesnake that any debt would be paid once he becomes the World Champion - and the first call he makes will be to Austin. They shake hands and the segment comes to an end with Austin exiting the room.

***

The camera then cuts to a “EARLIER TODAY” clip which shows the arrival of the World Heavyweight Champion, TRIPLE H. Flanked by the other three members of Evolution, Triple H exits a limousine and has a local worker from the arena carry his bags while he carries only the World Title belt itself. Ross and Lawler discuss the main event, going over how heated the rivalry between Triple H and Shawn Michaels has been since the return of HBK back in mid-2002. The biggest change since the original feud is the inclusion of Evolution and how they will factor into tonight’s main attraction.

***

Back to Lillian Garcia, who is ready to announce the next match…

**WE’RE COMING DOWN**

They are undoubtedly the most decorated tag team in the history of the business and tonight they are looking for their ninth World Tag Team Championship victory in the WWE. The half brothers, D-Von and Bubba Ray Dudley - THE DUDLEY BOYZ - march out onto the stage to a big cheer from the crowd as they fire them up, punching their fists into the air and calling for them to make a lot of noise. Ross highlights how unfair it was for the Dudley Boyz to compete three times within 24 hours, the day they lost the titles, and he believes that the challengers are more motivated than ever to take the belts back.

**LINE IN THE STAND**

The arrogance has been building for weeks and it’s on full display during the entrance of the World Tag Team Champions. With a wall of golden pyro behind them, Batista and Randy Orton - EVOLUTION - strut onto the stage to a wave of boos. Orton mocks the crowd by fake crying, telling them to shut up as he strikes a pose at the top of the ramp. In contrast, Batista is stern, unmoved by the cheers but does also pose, flexing his muscles and saying “boom”. Following behind the duo, RIC FLAIR hobbles out after his defeat earlier in the night. Lawler praises Flair for still being able to be by the side of these two young men, citing his influence and leadership. Ross calls it just another way for Evolution to potentially bend the rules, and make life harder for the challengers.

World Tag Team Championship Match:
Evolution (Batista/Randy Orton) vs. Dudley Boyz
​

A solid twelve minute tag team match between these four men. The newer team was looking to prove themselves as the fresh champions of the division against one of the cornerstones of the division. The crowd was behind the Dudley Boyz all the way and roared with cheers whenever they rallied against the three-man side they were competing against. It was no doubt a three-man team - Ric Flair being the third man on the outside of the ring. Whenever Flair could get involved, he would, grabbing feet, placing Orton’s leg on the rope and even jumping onto the apron to distract the referee when the Dudley Boyz made a tag at one point. Batista played the role of powerhouse throughout the contest, hitting big slams and at one point doing a military press with D-Von Dudley which was very impressive.

The finish to the contest saw Batista as the legal man against D-Von Dudley. They had battled it out and kept Batista out of the match as much as they could, knowing that the powerhouse was the biggest threat of the two youngsters. Batista had control over the challenger after he hit a spinebuster in the middle of the ring. The Animal fought to his feet and whipped D-Von into the ropes, and cracked him with an earth-shattering lariat! A big kick to the gut followed and Batista went for the big powerbomb! While up in the air, D-Von began to fight back, punching at the head of the champion and forced him to stumble back toward the corner. D-Von escaped the powerbomb and shoved Batista into the corner with Bubba Ray standing on the apron. The Dudley Boyz made a tag and together they hit the 3D - Bubba Ray was legal and he made the cover; D-Von tackled Randy Orton to stop him from breaking up the pin. The referee made a count of two and as his hand was coming down for the final three count… Ric Flair dove into the ring and broke the count! Forcing the referee to call for a disqualification!

Spoiler: Winner

Winner: The Dudley Boyz by Disqualification (STILL World Tag Team Champions - Evolution) @ 12:45

There’s a rush of boos from the audience as Ric Flair batters Bubba Ray with short punches even after the bell has been called. He throws off his jacket and lands a swift kick. On the outside of the ring, Orton and D-Von continue to clash. Orton gets the advantage after raking the eyes and he throws D-Von into the barricade with a loud thud. Shortly thereafter, Orton slides back into the ring, joining Flair and Batista, to attack Bubba. At the instruction of Flair, we watch as Orton nails the RKO on Bubba Ray, leaving him down and out for the night.

Drawing cheers from the crowd, D-Von rushes into the ring to try and defend his brother but it’s no use. Ross commends D-Von for trying but Lawler calls him a fool for thinking he could stand up against the might of Evolution. D-Von gets the same beat down post match and is eventually flattened by a Batista Bomb by Evolution’s animal. The three heels post in the ring, Batista and Orton smug as ever holding their title belts, whilst Flair stands in the middle proclaiming them the best tag team on the planet.

***

Our commentators are the focus of the shot for a moment as they prepare to deliver an advertisement segment when suddenly Jim Ross tells us we need to cut to the locker-room arena!

We cut to the women’s locker-room where TRISH STRATUS is getting her head slammed into a locker by JAZZ! The ‘Black Diamond’ has invaded Backlash and is assaulting the WWE Women’s Champion with no sign of slowing down. Jazz drags Trish by her hair across the room, picks her up over her shoulder and throws her head first into the locker. Trish slumps down against the lockers, no fight left in her as Jazz drives her BOOT RIGHT ACROSS THE FACE OF THE CHAMPION - DRAWING BLOOD! We’ve got blood on the face of the Women’s Champion at Backlash.

Jazz then leans down, yanking Trish by the hair and laughs in her face. She promises that this isn’t the end of the road for them. It’s just the beginning and this pretty little doll is going to get what is coming to her very soon. A threat or a promise, maybe both. Jazz declares that she is [un]officially the number one contender, because she damn well says so, and that she wants Trish on RAW for the belt sooner rather than later. This is nothing compared to the beating Jazz vows to give Trish if she refuses to meet the ‘Black Diamond’ in a rematch from WrestleMania. The segment ends with Jazz punching Stratus in the jaw one final time, and walking out - the camera lingering on the shot of our Women’s Champion, busted open and the title just out of her reach.

***

A quick video package airs for the DVD of WrestleMania 19 which hits stores this upcoming week! Relive all the classic matches and moments from the showcase of the immortals including the epic Battle in Seattle between Brock Lesnar and The Rock!

WRESTLEMANIA 19
AVAILABLE ON DVD - THIS WEEK!

***

Returning to ringside…

**SLOW CHEMICAL**

From the depths of hell itself, fire explodes across the stage and the arena is lit up in red lights as KANE emerges onto the scene. To a loud chorus of cheers, the Big Red Machine stomps his way down to the ring, ready to claim another title to his impressive list of accomplishments. After suffering a defeat to his tag partner at WrestleMania, Kane is on the hunt for his first pay-per-view victory of 2003 and the ever dangerous demon has shown he will not back down when confronted by his current tag partner either.

**ONE OF A KIND**

To an equal, if not a little bit louder, wave of cheers - ROB VAN DAM rushes out onto the stage and accepts the fanfare coming his way. He looks down at the ring and sees his tag partner but does not get any sort of acknowledgment from the man standing in the ring. Lawler outlines how RVD and Kane both being in this match could be the worst thing ever for the champion tonight. They could decide to eliminate Christian and then settle it between the two of them. Raising an interesting point, Ross says that it could also work in the champion's favour if RVD and Kane get in each other’s way.

**AT LAST**

The final man to make his entrance is the champion himself. His reception is not as kind, the crowd booing loudly and hurling insults, as CHRISTIAN struts out onto the stage slapping his chest. He slaps the title belt around his waist and shouts - “The captain is in the building! You know you love me - you’re my PEEPS!” He makes his way down to the ring and comes to a stop just outside of the apron. Inside the ring, Kane and Van Dam have locked eyes and are sizing each other up, leaving the champion as the odd man out - looking in at his challengers but them seemingly not even having him on their radar.

WWE Intercontinental Championship Match:
Christian vs. Kane vs. Rob Van Dam
​

A fun triple threat with Kane and Rob Van Dam teaming up during the early minutes of the contest. From the sound of the bell, Christian went from excited to furious when his attempt to get the tag partners to fight did not eventuate. It was a slow turn as Kane and Rob Van Dam faced off and then slowly turned toward Christian, and the tag partners bumped fists before grabbing Christian and tossing him into the corner. It was a beatdown for a few minutes with RVD and Kane working over Christian, hitting tag moves and both men taking turns to work over the champ by themselves as well. After a few minutes, Christian slumped to the ground and fell to the outside of the ring - which finally left Kane and RVD alone in the ring, and that set off the clash between the tag partners.

Christian would remerge in the match a few times, and get tossed right back out of the ring whilst Kane and Rob fought between themselves. He would get in his offense about halfway through the match, Christian working over Rob whilst Kane was knocked to the floor on the outside. The contest broke down with Christian hitting the Unprettier for a nearfall on Kane. Unable to accept that this wasn’t the end, Christian rolled to the outside looking for answers - pondering what he could do to put this match away and retain his title. Christian’s eyes turned to the timekeeper’s area and from there he pulled a steel chair, his eyes fixated on the weapon, and the crowd erupted with outrage at the sight of the champion looking to take the easy way out. He slid back into the ring and hit the chair against the canvas as Kane slowly got back to his feet - he was ready to strike!

Suddenly, RVD rushed in… Christian swung at him but missed! RVD knocked the chair from the champion’s hand and he picked it up to a roar from the audience. Van Dam pointed at Christian and said he was about to get it - he swung for the fences but Christian ducked… only for the chair to nail Kane in the face! Christian looked up and seized the moment, hitting RVD with a low blow and tossing him from the ring. The champion scurried into the cover and the referee made the count - 1, 2 and 3! Christian escaped with the title after pinning Kane because of a chairshot from RVD!

Spoiler: Winner

Winner: And STILL WWE Intercontinental Champion - Christian @ 13:06

AT LAST! Christian does not waste time after the bell sounds and he hears his music blasting over the speakers. Knowing that he’s stolen the victory, Christian snatches the title belt from the referee and flees from ringside, waving the title up in the air and shouting “YES!” like he’s just won the lottery. The focus on the champion dissipates as the titantron replays the finish of the match; Rob Van Dam swinging the steel chair and hitting Kane flush in the forehead with the chair. We see it from multiple angles, and the sound of the chair hitting Kane echoes throughout the speakers, and the camera zooms in on the facial reaction of Van Dam - utter shock the moment he does it.

We cut back to real time now, Kane sitting up in the ring as RVD climbs back onto the apron and calls for him. Kane looks over at his tag partner, shaking his head from the shot as he stands up - glaring at the titantron and then back to Rob. The tag partners chat from the ring to the apron - Rob enters the ring and approaches Kane. He lets Kane know that the chair shot was not on purpose and he was aiming for Christian. He argues that he stopped Christian from doing it himself moments earlier, and that he wanted to battle it out between the two of them. Kane hears him out, and then gives Rob… THE COLD SHOULDER… leaving the ring without responding and he heads up the ramp, leaving Rob to question what the state of their friendship is now.

***

Turning to the hallway of the arena, JEFF HARDY is shown walking toward the parking lot dressed in casual clothes following his victory in the battle royal. Now the number one contender for the WWE Intercontinental Championship - Hardy has a spring in his step, still flying high off his win earlier. As he approaches a door, we see a hand press against it and the camera slowly pans around revealing… SEAN O’HAIRE! Two men who collided in the battle royal tonight. O’Haire throws up his hands in a sign of peace, and tells Hardy that he just came by to say congratulations. He was impressed by how Jeff faced temptation tonight and didn’t give in - he overcame the most basic action man can fall to… sin.

Tonight, Jeff made the right decision for his career and he no doubt heard the crowd roar with applause. Hardy asks what’s the point, telling O’Haire that he has a car waiting for him. With an evil grin on his face, O’Haire offers Hardy some advice. It’s very easy to make the right decision one time, most people can even do it twice, but how strong a will does the great Jeff Hardy have? Can you truly look the devil in the face night after night and… just say no? Enjoy tonight, have a drink… but not too many now.

O’Haire exits to the left as Jeff Hardy shakes his head back and forth, muttering under his breath before leaving the arena.

***

**CHIEF OF STAFF**

It’s a two for one entrance with CHIEF MORLEY and CHRISTOPHER NOWINSKI walking out together for the upcoming handicap match. It’ll be two versus one with the advantage going to Morley and Nowinski as they look to beat down the Texas Rattlesnake tonight. Collectively known as the Administration, Morley and Nowinski argue back and forth with some of the fans as they head down to the ring, shouting that they are going to expose Stone Cold tonight and show the world that the Administration cannot be disrespected.

**GLASS SHATTERS**

The word thunderous is the only way to describe the reception for STONE COLD STEVE AUSTIN! Dressed in his trademark black tights, black boots and knee brace with his jacket - Austin steps out onto the stage. It’s his first match since WrestleMania, Austin taking a moment to listen to the crowd before he flips the bird toward the ring and marches down, ready to kick some ass tonight. Morley and Nowinski are ready in the ring, yelling at Austin to bring it on, which draws Austin in and he turns his walk into a run and he tackles Morley inside the squared circle!

2-on-1 Handicap Match:
Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Christopher Nowinski & Chief Morley
​

This is not a tornado match, but for the first minute it is contested with all three men in the ring as Austin peppers Morley with right hands from the opening bell. Nowinski tries to rip Austin off his tag partner but the rattlesnake elbows him in the face before driving his boot into the stomach of the Harvard graduate. Stepping over the body of Morley, Stone Cold tosses Nowinski into the corner and stomps a mud hole into him to the roar of the crowd. A few moments later, Morley comes at Austin with a shot to the back but Austin no sells it, grabs Morley and throws him on top of Nowinski and proceeds to stomp him in the corner and stacks both of them up! The crowd cheers as loud as they can as Austin climbs the turnbuckle and poses - his opponents stacked below him selling the impact of his moves.

The match would turn into a handicap match under standard rules shortly thereafter with Austin kicking Nowinski from the ring and working over Morley. The heels got the upper hand eventually; Morley raking the eyes of Stone Cold, tagging in Nowinski and the two of them hitting a double suplex. Nowinski wrestled a fairly standard set of moves, swinging neckbreaker, hip toss, jumping elbow drop and a flying cross body from the top turnbuckle. A good section of high impact moves to highlight Nowinski as a possible future star for Monday Night Raw. Morley would also get in some of his moves but Austin was far quicker to counter and regain the advantage in the match, which he held from that point on.

Austin would fend off both Morley and Nowinski rushing at him at the same time. The Texas Rattlesnake booting Morley in the stomach and doing the same for Nowinski. He then grabbed them by the head and smashed them into each other, causing Nowinski to stumble against the ropes before being clotheslined over the top rope! Austin then turned his attention back to the Chief of Staff, lined his target up and nailed the Stunner! Morley went down and Austin flipped him over, made the cover, for the three count and the win.

Spoiler: Winner

Winner: Stone Cold Steve Austin @ 09:16 via pinfall

Even with two against one, the odds seemingly stacked against him, Steve Austin has won the match! Sweat dripping from the back of his head, his hand brushing away a few drops from his brow, Austin stands up and has his hand raised by the referee in victory. On commentary, Ross declares that he’s still the toughest S.O.B in the business, and no level of authority can keep him down! He talks up how Austin has always done things to the beat of his own drum and Chief Morley learnt a lesson tonight - you cannot contain a Rattlesnake!

Morley and Nowinski huddle on the outside, both men crushed by the defeat, knowing that they had the advantage tonight and they let it slip through their fingers. Austin poses around the ring for a minute, calls for a beer and downs a can before exiting the ring - the crowd happy with their serving of Stone Cold tonight!

***

VIDEO PACKAGE

The sound of the dedicated theme song for the next Raw exclusive pay-per-view, Bad Blood, begins to play as various images appear on the screen. The first is a shot of Triple H walking through the halls right before a match with the World Heavyweight Championship wrapped around his waist.

“BACK OFF, I'LL TAKE YOU ON”

In a quick flash, we see Stone Cold Steve Austin hitting a Stunner on multiple people, standing tall and drinking beers in the middle of the ring to much fanfare.

“HEADSTRONG TO TAKE ON ANYONE”

Booker T makes his entrance to much fanfare, pyro bursting from the stage as the camera cuts to multiple signs in the arena held by fans which say his name.

“I KNOW THAT YOU ARE WRONG”

Clips of Shawn Michaels hitting Sweet Chin Music and posing in the ring.

“HEADSTRONG, WE'RE HEADSTRONG”

A montage of Evolution’s remaining members exiting a helicopter; Orton and Batista carrying the World Tag Team Titles.

“BACK OFF, I'LL TAKE YOU ON”

In rapid succession, we see clips of Jazz destroying local wrestlers and her continued path of destruction since returning to the WWE.

“HEADSTRONG TO TAKE ON ANYONE”

Kane hits a chokeslam; Rob Van Dam connects with the frog splash.

“I KNOW THAT YOU ARE WRONG”

A final clip is shown of Chris Jericho standing in the middle of an empty ring, the camera pans down his arm slowly… revealing a trail of blood.

“AND THIS IS NOT WHERE YOU BELONG”

WWE Presents: Bad Blood
LIVE from the Compaq Center in Houston, Texas
June 29, 2003 - [A Monday Night Raw EXCLUSIVE event]

***

TRIPLE H VERSUS SHAWN MICHAELS - VIDEO PACKAGE:

A history of the friendship between Triple H and Shawn Michaels is shown dating back to the later 1990’s where Triple H was the lackey of the Heartbreak Kid. It’s narrated by Jim Ross who outlines how these two were as close as brothers.

We are then shown the injury sustained by Shawn Michaels at the Royal Rumble 1998, which ultimately leads to the early retirement of HBK. In the following months (and years), Triple H ascends to the top of the wrestling business and takes the spot once held by his former friend.

Fast forward to 2002, Shawn Michaels returns and is betrayed by Triple H. A tale of jealousy, hatred and greed. We hear from Triple H who says that if Shawn was his friend he would’ve never come back. He came back to take away what Triple H earned, to strip him of his spot and make him a glorified errand boy. Not anymore - clips of Triple H and Shawn Michaels matches at the end of 2002, Triple H winning the 3 Stages of Hell match at Armageddon.

Post-WrestleMania 19, Shawn Michaels becomes the number one contender and sets his sights on Triple H’s World Heavyweight Championship once again. For the first time they will clash since the formation of Evolution - we see clips of Shawn being beat down by Evolution and Triple H claims that this group will surpass anything DX ever did, because they answer to him!

We see a final clip of Triple H and Shawn Michaels standing across from each other as the video package comes to an end.

***

For the final time tonight… we head back to the ring with Lillian Garcia standing in the ring.

**SEXY BOY**

The long walk down to the ring begins for the challenger, the man who has provided more show stealing moments than anyone else in the history of the WWE, the man they call - SHAWN MICHAELS! Ross puts over the way Shawn Michaels was able to bounce back from his disappointing loss at WrestleMania 19, turning heartbreak (pun intended) into opportunity and seizing the moment when confronted by it. Michaels continues his walk down to the ring, a smile on his face, doing a little dance and playing to the crowd. He’s no stranger to this situation - a main event match for a World Championship - this is a place he knows extremely well. Once in the ring, Michaels poses as pyro goes off behind him, then unclips his chaps and turns to face the entrance way… waiting for his former best friend.

**THE GAME**

It’s a LOUD rush of boos as the lights dim and out comes the World Heavyweight Champion, TRIPLE H, flanked by his mentor, RIC FLAIR. It’s just the two of them at the moment, Triple H leading the way with his water bottle in hand, and Flair marching right beside him. There’s a level of added intensity tonight, this feels different for ‘The Game’ as it’s a real chance at ridding himself of Shawn Michaels for good. If he can win here tonight, he might just send a permanent message to HBK that he cannot hang at the top level anymore.

World Heavyweight Championship Match:
Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels
​

The beginning of the contest begins with Triple H and Shawn Michaels walking toward each other into the middle of the ring. They have a staredown, nobody making a move, as the crowd chants for ‘HBK’ and Shawn begins to laugh. He asks Triple H if he can hear them - to which Triple H smushs Michaels in the face with his right hand and shouts - “You think I give a damn about them? This is you and me, Shawn. I’m going to put an end to this - to you! Come on!” They trade opening shots in the centre of the ring, Triple H whips him into the ropes and ducks down on the rebound but Michaels flips over him into a sunset flip pinning situation for a quick two count. Triple H pops right back up and Michaels fires off a superkick but the World Champ drops to the canvas like he’s avoided a bullet from a gun! Michaels acts quick and flips forward for a jackknife pin cover, also for a two count.

The middle section of the match saw Triple H slow this down as he targeted the back of the challenger. A backbreaker across the knee, followed by ramming Michaels into the edge of the ring apron on the outside, led to Triple H getting a nearfall after a spinebuster. A high spot of this section was Triple H catching a superkick, spinning Michaels around and attempting the Pedigree. Michaels slipped out, hit a back body drop but had his leg grabbed by Flair on the outside - which allowed Triple H to hit a lariat on Michaels over the top rope! Triple H took this chance to taunt the crowd, climbing the turnbuckle and yelling that he is the best in the business whilst Flair backed him up with praise.

The finish of the match was chaotic overall as Michaels and Triple H accidentally crushed the referee in the corner. Ref bump in a 2003 Triple H match? No! With the referee down, Michaels hit a superkick and made the cover but there was no count. The challenger tried to wake the referee but he had no luck. This opportunity drew in Ric Flair who ate a superkick of his own! Michaels was fired up, the crowd cheering him like mad… but Triple H grabbed him from behind and hit the Pedigree! With an arm over the challenger, the referee began to stir and was aware enough to begin a count… but it was only good for 2!

Triple H then got to his feet, realised that the referee still wasn’t fully recovered and he rolled to the outside to grab the title belt. Back in the ring, Triple H yelled for Shawn to get up - the challenger was slow to his feet… Triple H charged at him… and was nailed with Sweet Chin Music! The referee was halfway up to his feet, Shawn Michaels was about to make the cover until Chris Jericho invaded the ring and smashed Shawn in the head with a chair! He quickly pulled Triple H on top of the Heartbreak Kid and ran away through the crowd as the referee turned around and saw the champion covering the challenger! The zebra made a three count and declared the title for the champion.

Spoiler: Winner

Winner: And STILL World Heavyweight Champion - Triple H @ 17:34

THAT DAMN SON OF A BITCH!!! It wasn’t enough for Chris Jericho to defeat Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania but now he’s just screwed him out of the World Heavyweight Championship. Lawler declares that it’s no surprise - Jericho believed that he would’ve been in this spot had it not been for car trouble. He has held resentment about Shawn getting this spot ever since it was announced! The crowd is furious as replays show Jericho’s hit-and-run style invasion and how he pulled Triple H on top of the challenger. Ross is going nuts over this and calls Jericho every name he can legally say on air without getting thrown off by the pay-per-view providers.

Triple H takes a while but he is eventually able to roll out of the ring, clutching his World Championship which is handed to him by the referee. He’s joined by Randy Orton and Batista, the latter helps him stand up whilst Orton goes and grabs Ric Flair - also suffering the impact of a superkick late in the match. All four members of Evolution huddle at the bottom of the ramp; Lawler ponders how things might have turned out had Jericho not shown up at the end, to which Ross replies that we’d have a NEW champion.

Backlash comes to a close with Triple H (and Evolution) halfway up the aisle, the World Championship proudly hoisted in the air - the man holding it knowing he’s just barely survived tonight. Inside the ring, Shawn Michaels begins to come to, his head fuzzy and almost in a state of shock. Ross says that it is likely that the Heartbreak Kid doesn’t even know what the hell happened at the end of the match but he’ll soon find out. There may not be vengeance on his mind right now but he’ll see the replay - Shawn Michaels is going to find out that he was screwed out of the World Title by Chris Jericho… and that’s sure to create some bad blood between the two.

END OF SHOW​

 

[Stojy]

Backlash was a really solid follow up to that awesome 'Mania. Good stuff. A few things that stood out to me:

KOTR still hanging around (believe '03 is when it stopped being a thing IRL) makes me happy. Looking forward to you hopefully making a star through the tournament.

Loved everything about Jericho tonight. From his involvement in the main event, which he arguably rightly had a gripe with, through to the polka dot pants today to reference Dusty. Really great stuff with Jericho here, who was one of the character highlights throughout the night.

Based on our recent conversations, you probably know I'm happy with anything O'Haire is doing. This Devils Advocate character has so much potential and Jeff Hardy is the perfect victim. Love that you're playing the slow burn with it as well, Jeff resisting and winning tonight was the right way for this to start. Looking forward to how it develops after their segment together to.

Evolution/Dudleyz result caught me off-guard. I thought it would just be a Batista/Orton retain, but looks like this will continue. It doesn't overly excite me, but there's not much else happening in the tag division so I get needing to drag this one out.

IC Title match wasn't really about Christian, although I am curious how Bischoff reacts to him moving forward after their conversation earlier. A nice watch this space, but the big, obvious progression here is more RVD and Kane issues.

I also marked out for the Austin/HBK segment. Heel Shawn to end Austin's career would be something else...

Really enjoying this mate. Oh and I almost forgot, this is a tiny thing really, but I've seen you refer to Smackdown as Friday Night Smackdown quite a few times in this thread, but pretty sure it wasn't moved to Fridays until 2005/2006. Maybe I'm wrong, but it's something that caught my eye a few times.

The other thing is the Jazz attack was really good here tonight. The one negative of these monthly recaps is we probably haven't seen enough of her being more 'vicious' since Mania, which hurts the story a bit, but drawing blood on Trish is a pretty great 'holy shit' moment for this era of womens wrestling.

Really enjoying the way this is progressing.

 

[EZ3]

Thanks for the comments Stojy!

The Friday/Thursday thing was a slip on my behalf, which I picked up during the recap for Judgment Day. I will go back and edit it out of the previous posts and make sure it's correct (Thursday) moving forward.

The recaps are good for the overall storylines, but some of the smaller things do fall off the scope like Jazz continuing to destroy jobbers each week. I'm going to move to weekly shows after King of the Ring. It'll be a co-branded show which will let me recap for both brands up until a uniform date and then we can do weekly shows moving forward - which was always the plan after building a universe for a few months via the recaps.

Next recap is coming tomorrow. The road to Judgment Day will be finished tonight and I'll have it uploaded around midday/early afternoon.

A big thank you to everyone who has been reading along, leaving likes, comments and/or predictions. In our second month of the thread we've picked up the BTBOTM award in a great community with a lot of quality threads bouncing around. I appreciate everyone who takes the time to read this project and I'm having a lot of fun working on it. Cheers again!