Can we continue our streak of absolutely fantastic Summerslams and continue to make it difficult to narrow things down to top fives at the end? We open this Summerslam with Lilian Garcia absolutely killing the national anthem (in a good way). YES! We get a corny beach promo ahh man no we don’t we get a traditionally great promo video for the elimination chamber. You know when it was a structure that was special and not a network special that we see every year? Oh man I forgot Eric Bischoff kissed Linda McMahon that’s well awkward. We have Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler here to do Raw commentary and Michael Cole and Tazz doing Smackdown commentary. The Main Events are fantastic Kurt Angle and Brock Lesner and the Elimination Chamber I can’t wait let’s do this.
Dudley Boys vs. La Resistance (World Tag Team Title Match): Buh Buh is out with an american flag and the crowd is hot for them. Well I know why the Dudley’s have an american flag it’s because they are facing a French tag team duh. We open this match with La Resistance getting the upper hand early and the crowd chanting we want tables LOUD and early. Buh Buh’s chops are crazy loud and I’m so impressed with how well he moves for a guy his size.The crowd is REALLY behind the Dudley’s in this match. We have LOUD USA chants during this match for well you know the Dudleys who are known for being american hero’s. Buh Buh finally gets the hot tag to D’Von and they hit WAZZZUP and the Dudley’s hit the 3D finisher however the ref gets pulled out the ring. We have a guy that looks like he works around the ring come in with a camera and hit D’Von and La Resistance wins. Spike then comes out after the match and he gets laid out. La Resistance stands tall as champions at the end.
Undertaker vs A-Train: Quick poll for anyone watching did you like the “end is now” theme for Undertaker? I really feel that this Undertaker is closest to his personality. I’m not sure how Undertaker get’s stuck in some of these Summerslam matches but he had Test N Albert back to back years. Talk about a guy who has had some doozy of gimmicks Prince Albert, A-Train and Tensai. Sable is out with A-Train and I wonder if she’s with Brock at this point. I actually like Tazz and Cole on commentary and man Undertaker really know’s how to lay in his shots. We have A-Train working on Undertakers ribs throughout the match and “Big Evil”starts laying in punches and goes into the patented snake eyes and big foot attempt. Both men end up down after a double clothesline. We get some back and forth until Undertaker lays out the referee with a clothesline.A -Train hits what Cole calls a bicycle kick and he goes and get’s a chair and guess what it ends up bad for A-Train who gets a big boot into chair into face. A-Train kicks out and Undertaker hits a chokeslam to a massive ovation and gets the pin-fall victory. After the match he starts a last ride however Sable comes in and starts rubbing her hand on Undertaker chest which leads to him grabbing Sable by the throat. Stephanie McMahon is out and looking fantastic and spears Sable and starts punching her in the mush until A-Train pulls Sable out the ring.
Eric Bischoff vs. Shane McMahon: I’m always game for a Shane McMaon Summerslam match just go back and watch Blackmon or Test they are great. Shane McMahon may be the coolest guy to make an entrance in WWF/E of all time. Shane comes out with a fury of fists and elbows and just laying it into Bischoff. This isn’t much of a wrestling match as much as a Shane is kicking Bischoff’s ass match. Coachmen then interferes with a chair and blasts shane across the back a few times. They grab the bell so no one can ring it I guess if you can’t ring the bell the match can’t end? Bischoff changes the match into a no disqualification falls count anywhere match and Coach throws Shane into the stairs. We now get a slight comedy handicap match type match where Shane keeps getting up and kicking out. Austin now comes out to even things out and Shane has the win however picks Bischoff back up before the three and puts Bischoff onto an announce table. The crowd goes bonkers for Shane clearing off the table. Shane jumps to the top rope and drops a BEAUTIFUL elbow on Bischoff and gets the win on the outside. Austin is laughing in the ring at Bischoff losing and goes to get Shane. Austin asks for beer and the crowd goes nuts for Austin and Shane drinking beer together in the ring. Shane is a BIG DUDE as he stands taller than Austin and isn’t much smaller than him either.
Chris Benoit vs. Tajiri vs. Rhyno vs. Eddie Guerrero (US Title Fatal Four Way Match) : I’m realizing watching these back I love absolutely everything about Benoit. His theme, his look and his moveset is awesome. Rhyno is in great shape in this match and i’m all in on this matchup and could sneaky steal the show. Eddie is out in a lowrider that looks like it came right out of pimp my ride. The US title is low key an amazing looking title in my opinion. Rhyno takes control early in this match and goes for a quick pin before it gets broken up and we get a melee again. All three men now get their piece of Guerrero. We get some constant action with each man going for a pin but getting broken up after a two count. Then clearing the ring out so it’s one on one for the most part. Tajiri’s kicks look like they hurt as much as Benoits chops who I believe has the best chop of all time (Sorry Ric). We get each guy getting some high spots and now everyone is going into full blown signature move spot. Rhyno goes for a spear on Eddie however he’s holding the US title. Eddie goes up top for a frog splash but Tajiri kicks him off the top rope. Tajiri goes up top but Benoit hands him upside down and hits the diving headbutt onto Rhyno. Tajiri escapes the tree of woe just before a three count. Benoit and Tajiri end up going over the top rope and leaves Guerrero to hit a frog splash onto Rhyno to retain his title. Really fun match between four incredible workers.
Brock Lesner vs. Kurt Angle (WWE Title): I don’t think we could fully respect the magnitude of this match at this time. These are two of the most “legitimate” badasses in WWF/E history going for the title. This is a rematch from their Wrestlemania mega. Angle looks to be in fantastic shape for this match and if we got this match at this point in their careers in today’s WWE it would be looked at so much bigger. Referee asks both men to shake hands and they are like nah i’m good. These two start this match mat wrestling and trying to gain the upper hand. The commentators put over their accolades as amateurs. Neither man really gets the upper hand and Angle outsmarts Lesner multiple times as he tries to overpower Angle. They start battling inside and now outside up the ramp and Lesner starts to use his power on the outside of the ring. We get more back and forth and Lesner starts to gain control and hits the damndest belly to belly as he just kind of throws Angle over his head. Angle continues to outsmart Lesner but Lesner continues to get the upperhand using his strength. Lesner now pretty much dominates most of the match with Angle getting control just for a moment before getting cut off. Angle then hits the german suplex trifecta. This match is fantastic and I feel like although the crowd isn’t going nuts they are watching in amazement. Both men use lots of suplexes on each other and they look great with both men selling there asses off for the other. We get a referee bump and Angle locks in the Ankle lock and looks like he is never going to let go. The referee is still down and out comes Vince McMahon with a chair and blasts Angle in the back. Brock hits a one legged F5 and Vince tells him to go for another F5. Lesner goes for another however Angle counters into the ankle lock and Lesner gets to the rope however Angle pulls him off the ropes three times. Lesner is in the middle of the ring and he taps out Angle has one and the fans go crazy. What an incredible match between two really fantastic superstars. After the match Vince attempts to attack Angle however Angle gets the best of Vince.
Kane vs. RVD (No Holds Barred Match): How awesome did Kane look in 2003? He really should have had a WWE or World title run. Man in 2003 the theme music was absolutely amazing I could rock this shit all day. RVD opens the matchup getting the upperhand until Kane cuts him off with a big clothesline. We get some fighting outside the ring and Kane gets a mega ladder from under the ring and has some trouble bringing it into the ring. RVD scales the apron and uses the ladder to hit Kane in the face. RVD is so fluid in the ring and everything just flows right into the next move. RVD takes a SICK bump as he and Kane go over the top rope and lands solidly on his back and the back of his head. The No Holds Barred stipulation is being used well and not overdone like a ‘99 hardcore title match. Kane pushes RVD off the top rope onto a set of stairs and then clocks him with a ladder in the face. Kane contorls most of this match using his power and RVD seems to take a ton of bumps to the outside in this match. Kane then flies from the top rope to the outside and misses RVD and lands kind of awkwardly. RVD gets some sick chair shots on kane including one with a drop kick. Now we get a Vanterminator with the chair in his hand. The crowd is all on there feet however he misses and Kane drops RVD with a tombstone on the stairs. Kane brings RVD back in the ring and gets the win.
Randy Orton vs. Kevin Nash vs. HHH vs. Goldberg vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho : Randy Orton is out first and man even as a young gun is there anyone that looks more the part of a superstar than Orton? Nash is out next and he looks great for his age. Man HHH looks like a million dollars with that title around his waist and Ric Flair trailing him. YES! We get the entire Goldberg entrance and to be honest he probably should have entered first but i’m nitpicking here. The crowd is completely behind Goldberg as they chant his name during the entrance. Goldberg is everything the WWF/E hoped Ken Shamrock would be. An extremely intense badass guy that the audience falls in love with, WCW succeeded with that WWF/E did not. Are you aware that Chris Jericho defeated the Rock and Stone Cold in the same night? Next out is HBK and you know what’s amazing he pretty much had two separate careers and it’s possible neither of them could be touched by anyone. Jericho and HBK start this match with some mat wrestling and we get loud Goldberg chants during this match. It’s clear who the fans want to win this match and it’s not anyone named anything but Goldberg. We get some good back and forth and now we have Randy Orton in the ring who hits a text book cross body and dropkick. Orton dominates both Jericho and HBK for a bit until HBK lays him out with some punches and then catches an enziguri from Jericho. Jericho gets Orton on the outside and leaves him laying and locks the Walls of Jericho onto HBK as the fourth man enters and its Nash. Nash goes right after Orton and throws him right into the cage and then lays Jericho out and bloodies him with a shot into the cage.. Nash utilizes his power to takes on all four men however HBK hits Nash with a superkick and Jericho rolls him up for the elimination. We now have Orton, Jericho and HBK all on the ground as the countdown clock starts again and HHH enters the match. He walks right into a superkick as he tries to leave his pod. Now Nash Jackknife Powerbombs Jericho and Orton before finally leaving the ring. We now have all four legal men out cold and Goldberg waiting to enter the match. Finally Goldberg is set to enter and he comes in to a massive ovation and punching everyone in sight. He presses Orton and then drops him into a powerslam. Jericho and HBK try to double team him however they both catch a double clothesline. SPEAR on Orton and Orton is eliminated. Goldberg press throws Jericho into the cage and that looked like it hurt like hell. Jericho now gets speared through the pod glass and that didn’t look good Jericho is one hell of a guy to take that bump for him. The crowd is going absolutely mad for Goldberg who looks completely unstoppable. Goldberg ducks an attempted Superkick from HBK hits a spear and a jackhammer and HBK is eliminated. Jericho is now eliminated after a spear and jackhammer. We are now down to Goldberg and HHH and the fans are rabid. HHH who had locked himself back in the pod, gets attacked after Goldberg breaks the glass. Goldberg begins to wear out a bloody HHH. Goldberg sets up for the spear however HHH somehow has a sledgehammer and hits Goldberg in the head with the sledgehammer for the victory. Orton comes back in with handcuffs and they begin to try and kill Goldberg. The fans are not happy about the finish of this match as they wanted to see Goldberg win the title here.
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This was a good not great Summerslam. Was really a two match card with everything else being pretty good. Calling the match of the night is tough however i’m going to go with Brock Lesner vs. Kurt Angle it’s not that the elimination chamber is bad however I just enjoyed the roller coaster the WWE title match took me on. As I head into the last thirteen Summerslam’s it kind of feels like we are coming down from the peak of the mountain and i’m interested to see where we go from here. Until Summerslam ‘04 be awesome.
