WWE Armageddon ‘03

1. Booker T vs. Mark Henry – 6
2. Randy Orton vs. Rob Van Dam – 7
3. Christian and Chris Jericho vs. Trish Stratus and Lita – 3
4. Shawn Michaels vs. Batista – 5
5. Maven vs. Matt Hardy – 0
6. La Resistance vs. Hurricane and Rosey vs. Mark Jindrak and Lance Cade vs. Lance Storm and Val Venis vs. Dudley Boyz vs. Scott Steiner and Test vs. Ric Flair and Batista – Tag Team Turmoil – 4
7. Ivory vs. Molly Holly – 2
8. Kane vs. Goldberg vs. Triple H – 4
9. DVD Bonus: Jon Heidenreich vs. Rico – 1

Booker T and Mark Henry was so much better than it had any right being; I upped its score from the original mark I gave it, because how surprisingly satisfying it was. Following the opener, Orton and RVD performed near the top of their capabilities, having the undisputed match of the show. Things were off to a great start – would this trend continue?

The male versus female tag team bout wasn’t entirely bad, and about as good as could be expected. The women worked stiff, connecting with some decent shots; the worse thing about the match was Christian’s comical bumps, giving the match even less credibility. Shawn’s accustomed to working with larger guys, and is capable of carrying big stiffs to decent matches when he feels up to the challenge. He lead the green rookie through a match that showcased Batista’s limited strengths, in effect hiding his weaknesses, the biggest being that at this point he could barely wrestle his minuscule penis out of his trunks, let alone craft a believable wrestling match.

Maven and Hardy was a match signed earlier that night, and one I was interested in seeing come to fruition. Instead, it lasted all of a few seconds, before Batista, who was lurking at ringside, destroyed both competitors. The massive tag team fiasco worked on some levels, even if it was sloppy and unorganized. I could have also done without seeing Batista involved in a third match, but the writers had different plans, putting the titles on Batista and Flair in a reign that amounted to absolutely nothing.

Ivory and Molly was the most forgettable match of the show, a quick throwaway bout that nobody remembers. At this point, I’d rather watch Ivory sweep a Long John Silver’s restaurant with her tongue than attempt holding onto a wrestling career. I was curious and eager to see the main event, just because it had so many combustible elements in it. Yes, it was a train wreck of a match, but still entertaining in its own right. They totally botched the way they utilized Goldberg in WWE, and it’s interesting to watch the matches from his short stint there in retrospect. The DVD bonus match is a complete squash, that doesn’t even last two minutes. Ultimately, this show was better than I’d anticipated, as even some of the poorer matches were still entertaining. I don’t think that your collection will be hurting without it, but overall, we had a lot of fun watching this DVD and you’d likely do the same.