That sounds pretty funny. For some I thought of Cena knocking people out with brass knuckles while Noble used a chair to attack people's legs like a weird high and low combo.
Except SmackDown had Vince's "Reign of Terror" where he got away with (among other things) getting Hogan fired twice, bullying a one-legged wrestler, getting his daughter fired as SmackDown GM, and burying the Undertaker alive.
For a B-show PPV, it's a pretty darn good one overall. I'm kinda surprised Brian didn't mention the moment where Taker's bike stalled at the entranceway and he had to legit walk to the ring since it wouldn't start.
@@jonathanturbide2232 You're the one who's way off. You can clearly tell his bike stalled because he spends an awkward amount of time fiddling with the starter.
"You ever use sex oil? I use Casteroil gtx, drive hard!" Tazz is a load of fun on commentary. He and Excalibur on Dark are clearly not being produced and are having the time of their careers.
Just a day ago on dynamite when mjf couldn't get his shirt off he said "shirt's got him in a wristlock". He's genuinely impeccable with his one liners.
Tazz has the greatest nonsensical commentary ever. He can call an entire match just saying absolute absurd stuff and make it the most entertaining part of the match. He's a legend!
@@tyrone5969 I'd agree had I not seen Bobby Heenan just laughing at Schiavone an entire match for saying Jim Duggan was smart and educated. Love Tazz though
This was such an awesome time in wrestling. Smackdown HCTP came out right around this time too. The roster was stacked. 2003 is an underrated year in WWE’s timeline.
Ah here's come the pain what a game. Feel bless to be a 10-11 year old playing that everyday and enjoying the beginning of the ruthless aggression era. My opinion smackdown 2002-2003 was the best wrestling period I have ever seen
Eddie and Chris were always wonderful opposites to me. I always saw Eddie as a baby face even when he was heel, and I always saw Chris as a heel even when he was a baby face. It was in how they carried themselves, how they moved and wrestled. Always an absolute banger whenever they got in there and mixed it up.
I think it was Eddie's charisma and cheeky smiling thag made fans see him as funny baby face. Benoit was always that serious and vicious character who never smiled so you could easily see him as a heel bad guy
Vengeance 2003 shows why Smackdown was the superior brand over RAW between 2002 and 2003. I would rather watch anything involving the Smackdown Six, Prime Brock Lesnar, John Cena on the rise, the Cruiserweight division, and other things over anything involving the Reign of Terror on RAW.
Agreed. I remember trying to follow both shows to see what’s going on. Raw was all Triple H super show. Smackdown was way better because of the Smackdown six.
Triple h had amazing feuds and matches with Shawn Michaels, Chris Benoit, Randy orton and Batista during his Reign of terror(2002-2005), but also he had garbage feuds and matches with Scott Steiner, Kane and booker t. So to me reign of terror was mixed.
The theme for this PPV was so awesome. “The more you take, the more you blame, but everything still feels the same. The more you hurt, the more you strain, the price you pay to play the game.” 💜
That Stephanie/ Sable match is hilarious to watch without context. 6ish months ago when I first got Peacock I was watching random old PPVs and went with this one. Seeing the "cat fight" occur, then (seemingly) completely randomly, Prince Albert trucks Stephanie over out of NO WHERE. I laughed so hard dude.
Zane: The only person that looked good at the end of all of this was Stephanie McMahon herself who showed everyone how tough and tenacious and badass she can be which will be awesome if she were a wrestler which she is not
@@12345Yeah Like, who? Better than Ivory, Jacqueline, Lita, Victoria, Jazz, Gail Kim, Nidia, or Trish who were all active or semi active around this time? I can think of Sable, Torrie, Jackie Gayda, Shaniqua and Stacy (and possibly Hiroko Suzuki) who were also active around this time and as much as she's terrible, Sable has had better matches than Stephanie. Shaniqua at least had a look. And at least Torrie was respectful to the business. That's more than half the roster that are just better than Stephanie on any given day?
@@12345Yeah Who was pushed like top talent? I just made a list of a lot of talented women who were all better than Stephanie so I'm not sure your point?
I remember watching 1:49 on PPV and on Eddie Guerrero's "Cheating Death, Stealing Life" DVD and it never gets old. IMO, 1:49 is the most underrated opening match in WWE history. Thank you, Eddie Guerrero and thank you, Chris Benoit, for always putting awesome matches on every promotion that you guys worked together (from New Japan to WWE).
Honestly, of all the brand exclusive or B show PPVs back then, I think Vengeance was the one that was pretty reliably good to great. 02, 05 and 06, from what I remember all had great matches on them.
Interesting fact; Sable would use that exact pose for her hype packages the entire 2003-04 run. Wrestlers would get in and film something once every few months for variety, but Sable couldn't be bothered.
There was a match between them on Smackdown in 2004 when John was feuding with GM Kurt and Taker was feuding with Paul Heyman. It was the match that sold me on John Cena being a future main eventer.
In my humble opinion, Unforgiven 2006 is the best "B" PPV of all time. The three main matches (DX vs. The McMahons and Big Show, Trish vs. Lita, and Edge vs. Cena) all delivered and the undercard was fantastic stuff. The only 'skip' on the show is the World Tag Team Championship match.
I remember that Jamie Noble storyline where it actually had all four of them having an orgy or something. Then afterwards all four became buddies with Gunn and Noble even being a tag team for awhile. Wrestling!
Although I loved the AE days most, 2003 has a special place in my heart. The lively and exciting tag team division. Each show had a distinct atmosphere and tone. Multiple stars on each brand. Vince was a chad on mic and full of charisma. Angle, Edge, Eddie, Rey were evolving constantly. Kane was still masked (first half of the year). PPVs were energetic. Goldberg made his debut. Rising stars like Orton, Cena and Lesnar were becoming established. Honourable mention to Torrie Wilson for introducing me to puberty.
I'm the same 2002 was just OK 2004 was a bit rubbish from March onwards but 2003 was just satisfying television, both brands did well this year, it was a peak year sandwiched by 2 mediocre years
I don’t think you remembering this right. Edge was out most of 2003 with an injury and so was Orton with them having to restart the Evolution storyline a couple times because of it. Orton doesn’t get going until July 2003
And the dvd opening menu had it and I fucked my two copies up that I had listening to that song on repeat on my portable DVD player way before I ever got a tablet or now a phone man the good old days!
Vengeance 03 for me is the best Smackdown ppv of the entire ruthless aggression era and considering that it was the first ever one for the blue brand, it's a fantastic show from top to bottom. Undertaker Vs John Cena was a great meeting of old school Vs new school Billy Kidman and Rey Mysterio Vs World's Greatest Tag Team titles was an exciting match with lots of great back and forth action Eddie Guerrero Vs Chris Benoit for the US title was a great opener with two of the best technical wrestlers in the world and in my opinion, it helped Eddie on his path to becoming one of the most popular wrestlers of all time Brock Lesnar Vs Kurt Angle Vs Big Show for the WWE title was a fantastic triple threat match that showcased all 3 wrestlers at the top of their game, lots of hard hitting action and I was so happy that Angle won the title overall a fantastic show and I thought 2003 was the best year ever for Smackdown
I agree with you but to me 2003 had it's highs and lows especially with Bishoff being a pain in the butt and it was so McMahon heavy they were so involved in other storylines.
'03 had its peaks and valleys as we had the SmackDown Six on one side and Triple H's Reign of Terror on the other. Take the good with the bad, I suppose.
We were in the process of switching tv providers so I wasn’t able to watch Bad Blood, we pretty much didn’t have a tv for a couple weeks. But my dad made it up to me by making sure to order Vengeance. Far better show in my opinion, so it worked out.
Hey JM there are lots of videos that have been taken down for whatever reason I don't know if you have to be a patreon or not to view them like Halloween havoc 1998 has been taken down and put back up several times I want saint Valentine's day massacre but I can't find it I'm sure it's out there somewhere
First ppv I got on DVD and I watched it so much as a kid the disc was scratched. Everything from the time period to the stage to the theme song. Iconic ppv
Thanks for reviewing this Z-Man, haven't finished watching it but, I have to say that this is my favorite B-Show PPV, solid matches and an overall fun show. Also I really think that the Cena-Taker feud cemented Cena as one of the torch-bearers of the company.
@@CSC52698 it can work R-Truth, APA, T-Bar APA, Brother Love, Shayna Bayzler, Viking Raiders, Street Profits, The Miz (only to get kidnapped by Dexter Lumis again), Reginald, Akira Tozawa and his ninjas, Sheamus, Drew McIntyre
Showed this PPV to some friends that love wrestling the other month cause I've been saying for years it was one of my favorites. Glad to see it get the recognition it deserves. Would love to see you review Vengeance 2005, another nearly perfect PPV.
Eddie Guerrero's characterization was interesting during this period: He played all 3 roles to perfection. Whether as a Babyface, Tweene,r or Heel, We, The WWE Universe, just couldn't get enough "Latino 🌹🔥Heat" !
Benoit vs Guerrero was the first match I showed my wife while dating in 2008. She never became a fan. But she stopped thinking of wrestling as only silly phony shit. She saw that it had some physical merit.
I remember during the Cena vs Angle feud, Kurt Angle dressed up as John Cena and dissed him and he brought out his impersonator who proceeded to mess with Angle just to mock Cena
I attended that show in Denver. Was my first ever wwe show. Its different watching it live. Then on tv. Because your so used to listening to the commentary. I loved it. John was awesome. Because he came out and did a meet and greet. After the show. Thanks for covering it. Brings back alot of awesome memories.
Hey I was at this show! Fucking amazing! Had box seats positioned in the middle behind the ring, about mid level. Amazing view. Was my first ever live wrestling show, my mom got our family tickets from work for free. I’ll never forget that night. Unless it was a crazy good look alike, to this day we’re almost sure we saw John Cena in the lot after the show.
This was the first ppv I've ever been to and the only wrestling show I ever went to with my dad. That and the fact a lot of my favorites were on this card made this one really special for me. I'm glad Zane thought so too.
I’ve been waiting for you to do this show for so long. Literally the week you announced you cut off nominations on patreon I watched this show and was going to nominate it! Finally it’s about time you did this show cause it’s one of the best I’ve ever seen
The match between Brock, Angle & Big Show is my most favorite Triple Threat Match of all time. Nothing has come as close to perfection for that stipulation ever since.
Goodbye old background. In the Rey Mysterio match with the 619, I wouldn't be surprised if the reaction was legitimate. You've got to remember he was just about a year in the company at this point. He was still kind of new to most fans. And honestly, Rey Mysterio in WWF is a completely different person than Rey Mysterio Jr in WCW. So even if you knew Rey from then, he was completely different at this point.
Eddie Guerrero is mad that Tajiri scuffed his car up so he proceeds to throw him through windshield of same car thus destroying it worse … Yup makes sense to me 😂
Billy Kevin and Rey Mysterio versus the world's greatest tag team is a very very hidden gem I couldn't tell you how much every time I tell people to go watch that match cuz that match was fantastic on top to bottom
This was the first wrestling PPV I ever saw live and it was during a rough time in my family. Having us all together watching the show (and taping it for preservation) was a wonderful experience. Undertaker's my favorite wrestler and 9 year-old me was ecstatic that he won, Angle winning the WWE Title was a pleasant surprise, Price To Play was a _great_ theme song choice, it was a fantastic night of wrestling. You aren't kidding about the quality of the roster, either. That and the storytelling (...for the most part) makes 2003 one of my favorite years in WWE history, particularly for SmackDown. God, what a time to be a fan. Wish I could go back.
The odd thing about the segment on Smackdown with Noble, India, Gunn, and Torrie is that Noble and India turn face after this and Noble and Gunn form a shortly lived tag team. 😂
1:38 "I am the Dream Killer, The reaper of souls, I am the only one who can see the BIG Picture! Take your freak-friend-gimp with you!" Truly EVIL Vince as his best 7:11 Tazz uses Castrol GTX 9:20 Pre-JBL Bradshaw 10:03 All The Stars! 10:29 Brother Love's bad joke 13:32 AIRHORN! 14:03 The gasp before the POP 27:15 SOB!
You f bomb. You do not use black and white filters when a wrestler is busted open. Your dialog isn't ruined by constant censorship by blanking out everyday words. Your content provides a FULL experience and i enjoy it in a form it's meant to be in. This seperates you from 90% of UA-camrs now. I wish i could give you a couple thousand likes per video. I hope your content remains like this and helps fight back against over censorship.. I give your channel 5 out 5 stars... "JUST A JOY TO WATCH!"
The weirdest thing about this whole PPV to me was that Billy Gunn's hair was like 4 times longer than it was on any Smackdown prior to this and on every Smackdown after this.
Thanks and safety to ya as always mate! That first match with Eddie and Benoit is still my favorite match on that PPV as well! Holy crap that APA invitational is still great! Xp
the tag team match reminded me of the finals of the new tag team champions at No Mercy 2002 Kurt Angle and Benoit vs Edge and Rey Mysterio great memories
I love how Zane just casually IDs the Easter Bunny as Damien Sandow (in his WWE debut, technically), despite this predating his original run in WWE as Idol Stevens by three years! It's amazing how long some people have been in the business, since Sandow/Stevens only just retired a couple of months ago. Also, Stephanie McMahon's run as Smackdown GM was honestly my favorite part of her career. It's amazing how, after years of being such a detestable heel, she became absolutely believable & likable as the young GM who wanted to prove that she could legit take on Eric Bischoff's Raw & be taken as a serious businessperson. Also, I'll fully admit that, back in the day, I had a minor crush on Steph at this point (I was a Junior in High School, so sue me)... Maybe it was dying her hair blonde that did it.
Oh Zane, Paul Heyman wasn't the head booker of SmackDown by the time this PPV rolled around, because there's no way in hell he would wanna push Billy Gunn.
Best B-Show? I don't know about that. Just a few off the top of my head that I preferred over this: In Your House: Canadian Stampede, Backlash 1999, No Mercy 1999, Backlash 2000, Judgment Day 2000, Fully Loaded 2000, No Mercy 2002, Backlash 2004, Vengeance 2005, Unforgiven 2006, and Money in the Bank 2011.
Vengeance 2002 is a pretty good show with a blockbuster triple threat WWE title main event, John Cena’s first WWE PPV win and of course, Lesnar wrestled for a title that isn’t a World title!
The funny thing about Nidia from Tough Enough is that I only remember her existence when she's mentioned in reviews. I haven't even finished typing this comment and I'm already beginning to forget who she was.
The Norm Macdonald bit during the bar room brawl made me smile so big man. Excellent taste, that shit was hilarious. One of my favorite norm moments of all time.
Pretty great timing with this review since we see the debut of the wwe us title line up with a sort of resurgence for midcard titles in wwe. As far as I remember, your timing always been pretty conveniently spot on. Also kind of sweet that Eddie's gear for this match looks like the same he'd wear for winning the wwe title the next year. Nice little coincidence.
03-04 Vince was a character! I call this version of him "Demon Vince" because he was just so evil lol. I will never forget that segment he did with Paul Heyman, where he completely lost his mind.
Zane: Zach Gowan made his debut as a fan of hulk Hogan but then he became a fan of mr America for reasons, excuse me for a moment (Brian grabs a Hogan book and punches it)
I remember not having cable, but basic cable, and UPN, was channel 12, and I never missed an episode of Smackdown. Then WWE Bottom Line would air on Saturdays at 12am, and that's how I stayed caught up on Raw. I also remember during commercials breaks for Bottom Line, "Hot Girls, Pick up the phone" ads would air. I never called.
There's an alternate timeline where Cena and Noble form The Hilfigers and dominate the tag team division for the next decade.
That sounds pretty funny. For some I thought of Cena knocking people out with brass knuckles while Noble used a chair to attack people's legs like a weird high and low combo.
2003 was one of the best years to watch SmackDown. It was such a pallette cleanser compared to Triple H's "Reign of Terror" on Raw
Smackdown was definitely the better show that year. It was biblical, man.
Except SmackDown had Vince's "Reign of Terror" where he got away with (among other things) getting Hogan fired twice, bullying a one-legged wrestler, getting his daughter fired as SmackDown GM, and burying the Undertaker alive.
now WWE is slowly trying to be good.
@@ReveiwKing999 don't get me
started on the ahem kiss my ass
contest.
@@ReveiwKing999 that "reign of terror" didn't involve cutting the legs out from upper card talent like rvd, booker t, and kane.
For a B-show PPV, it's a pretty darn good one overall. I'm kinda surprised Brian didn't mention the moment where Taker's bike stalled at the entranceway and he had to legit walk to the ring since it wouldn't start.
...Deadman walkin!
@@jonathanturbide2232 You're the one who's way off. You can clearly tell his bike stalled because he spends an awkward amount of time fiddling with the starter.
@@kushclarkkent6669underrated comment
"You ever use sex oil? I use Casteroil gtx, drive hard!"
Tazz is a load of fun on commentary. He and Excalibur on Dark are clearly not being produced and are having the time of their careers.
Just a day ago on dynamite when mjf couldn't get his shirt off he said "shirt's got him in a wristlock". He's genuinely impeccable with his one liners.
Tazz has the greatest nonsensical commentary ever.
He can call an entire match just saying absolute absurd stuff and make it the most entertaining part of the match.
He's a legend!
@@tyrone5969 I'd agree had I not seen Bobby Heenan just laughing at Schiavone an entire match for saying Jim Duggan was smart and educated.
Love Tazz though
*Castrol.
He was hella funny cuz he took lawyers perv gimmick and was like bro. I'm mocking u
This was such an awesome time in wrestling. Smackdown HCTP came out right around this time too. The roster was stacked. 2003 is an underrated year in WWE’s timeline.
to bad most of em didn't make
it on there like nidia an Jamie noble.
but made raw2.
Smackdown HCTP great game
The best days were long gone by then. Once Cena debuted it was all downhill. It was never the same.
Smackdown was HOT FUEGO on 2002, Raw was mid
Ah here's come the pain what a game. Feel bless to be a 10-11 year old playing that everyday and enjoying the beginning of the ruthless aggression era. My opinion smackdown 2002-2003 was the best wrestling period I have ever seen
Eddie and Chris were always wonderful opposites to me. I always saw Eddie as a baby face even when he was heel, and I always saw Chris as a heel even when he was a baby face. It was in how they carried themselves, how they moved and wrestled. Always an absolute banger whenever they got in there and mixed it up.
Eddie had the same problem that SCSA Austin had by the end of his career. Nobody wanted to boo those guys cause they loved them so much
Eddie carried himself like someone you want to hang with even if he lied, cheated and stole. Lol. Chris just carried himself like a dangerous dude.
I think it was Eddie's charisma and cheeky smiling thag made fans see him as funny baby face. Benoit was always that serious and vicious character who never smiled so you could easily see him as a heel bad guy
Incorporation of Norm Macdonald in this is just one of many reasons I love Brian
Vengeance 2003 shows why Smackdown was the superior brand over RAW between 2002 and 2003. I would rather watch anything involving the Smackdown Six, Prime Brock Lesnar, John Cena on the rise, the Cruiserweight division, and other things over anything involving the Reign of Terror on RAW.
Agreed. I remember trying to follow both shows to see what’s going on. Raw was all Triple H super show. Smackdown was way better because of the Smackdown six.
Triple h had amazing feuds and matches with Shawn Michaels, Chris Benoit, Randy orton and Batista during his Reign of terror(2002-2005), but also he had garbage feuds and matches with Scott Steiner, Kane and booker t. So to me reign of terror was mixed.
Smackdown on UPN was the shit. That opening with the rap music made it look like legit. Total night and day. Good memories, man.
It's very debatable. I liked both.
Smackdown was so much better than Raw from 2002-early 2004. Raw had some good times/wrestlers/rivals here and there. Smackdown was just better.
The theme for this PPV was so awesome.
“The more you take, the more you blame, but everything still feels the same. The more you hurt, the more you strain, the price you pay to play the game.” 💜
“Who booked him to be such a badass” why brother Love dId 😂😂😂
Lol Pritchard had his nose so far up McMahons arse. He felt them Grapes..... No fruit lol
PPV theme songs in 2003 were amazing, this was no different. Staind - Price to Play 👌
That Stephanie/ Sable match is hilarious to watch without context. 6ish months ago when I first got Peacock I was watching random old PPVs and went with this one. Seeing the "cat fight" occur, then (seemingly) completely randomly, Prince Albert trucks Stephanie over out of NO WHERE. I laughed so hard dude.
To see early Brock Lesnar just casually doing a running power bomb on Big Show is mind blowing.
Big Show hits The Final Cut, or as Cole calls it: "There it is!"
Might just be the funniest thing Brian said all year.
One of the most underrated PPV. 2003 was a wild time.
lmao SHAWN MICHEAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLs
Oh shit its Shawn Michaels
Isn't that when you were wrestling in jeans?
Zane: The only person that looked good at the end of all of this was Stephanie McMahon herself who showed everyone how tough and tenacious and badass she can be which will be awesome if she were a wrestler which she is not
Yet when she does perform it's better than half the women's roster.
@@TravestyJunction not really
@@12345Yeah Like, who? Better than Ivory, Jacqueline, Lita, Victoria, Jazz, Gail Kim, Nidia, or Trish who were all active or semi active around this time?
I can think of Sable, Torrie, Jackie Gayda, Shaniqua and Stacy (and possibly Hiroko Suzuki) who were also active around this time and as much as she's terrible, Sable has had better matches than Stephanie. Shaniqua at least had a look. And at least Torrie was respectful to the business. That's more than half the roster that are just better than Stephanie on any given day?
@@JeremiahEcks777 nope. wrong. She was pushed like a top talent, but she wasn't
@@12345Yeah Who was pushed like top talent?
I just made a list of a lot of talented women who were all better than Stephanie so I'm not sure your point?
I remember watching 1:49 on PPV and on Eddie Guerrero's "Cheating Death, Stealing Life" DVD and it never gets old.
IMO, 1:49 is the most underrated opening match in WWE history.
Thank you, Eddie Guerrero and thank you, Chris Benoit, for always putting awesome matches on every promotion that you guys worked together (from New Japan to WWE).
Honestly, of all the brand exclusive or B show PPVs back then, I think Vengeance was the one that was pretty reliably good to great. 02, 05 and 06, from what I remember all had great matches on them.
When you said Rob Conway’s name his entrance theme immediately played in my head 😂
Rob Conway: From a “conquistador” to a French sympathizer to a French-Canadian tag team wrestler to a World Champion (in the NWA)
Just look at meeee
AIN’T I A SIGHT TO SEEEEEEEYUHHHH!!??
@@LouSassoleSledgecock_IIIThe whole damn world wants to look like me...but they don't
Interesting fact; Sable would use that exact pose for her hype packages the entire 2003-04 run. Wrestlers would get in and film something once every few months for variety, but Sable couldn't be bothered.
then after that she becomes Brock's
bitch.
Aannnnnnnd the rest is history.
@@nemopouncey3827 batch?
Her "career" was a joke that no one but Vince & Russo got. And even then it stunk
Based Sable big leaguing the production team
She couldn't be bothered?? Why doesn't that surprise me.......
Always love Classic PPV Reviews from this era cause its when started watching wrestling in general.
Cool
Little bits like "There it is!" and Kidman powerbomb really makes your reviews next level
There was a match between them on Smackdown in 2004 when John was feuding with GM Kurt and Taker was feuding with Paul Heyman. It was the match that sold me on John Cena being a future main eventer.
funfact: John Cena put's down
deadman Inc in his song word life.
@@nemopouncey3827 "new deadman inc, and we about to make you famous"
@@editnosmirc4489 yep.
@@editnosmirc4489 wonder why taker
never responded to that?🤷
In my humble opinion, Unforgiven 2006 is the best "B" PPV of all time. The three main matches (DX vs. The McMahons and Big Show, Trish vs. Lita, and Edge vs. Cena) all delivered and the undercard was fantastic stuff.
The only 'skip' on the show is the World Tag Team Championship match.
People who moaned about Nikki Cross and Piper Niven being booked like goofs over the past couple of months should check out the Highlanders.
I remember that Jamie Noble storyline where it actually had all four of them having an orgy or something. Then afterwards all four became buddies with Gunn and Noble even being a tag team for awhile. Wrestling!
Sometimes you just gotta fuck your problems out
to bad jamie only made raw 2.
now he's an official breaking up
fights in WWE.
I laughed out loud at this
@@nemopouncey3827 He was in Wrestlemania 21 on Xbox as well
Although I loved the AE days most, 2003 has a special place in my heart.
The lively and exciting tag team division.
Each show had a distinct atmosphere and tone.
Multiple stars on each brand.
Vince was a chad on mic and full of charisma.
Angle, Edge, Eddie, Rey were evolving constantly.
Kane was still masked (first half of the year).
PPVs were energetic.
Goldberg made his debut.
Rising stars like Orton, Cena and Lesnar were becoming established.
Honourable mention to Torrie Wilson for introducing me to puberty.
I'm the same 2002 was just OK 2004 was a bit rubbish from March onwards but 2003 was just satisfying television, both brands did well this year, it was a peak year sandwiched by 2 mediocre years
I don’t think you remembering this right. Edge was out most of 2003 with an injury and so was Orton with them having to restart the Evolution storyline a couple times because of it. Orton doesn’t get going until July 2003
I remember the match card promo set to Stained's "Price to Play" shown on the Smackdown before the event. That really pumped me up for the show.
And the dvd opening menu had it and I fucked my two copies up that I had listening to that song on repeat on my portable DVD player way before I ever got a tablet or now a phone man the good old days!
staind sucks, trashy generic shit rock
I loved the Smackdown Just Bring It reference you made when you said The LAAAST RIDE 2x just like Michael Cole lol
Sable vs Stephanie: two former Women’s Champions colliding.
That’s a sentence I just typed
Vengeance 03 for me is the best Smackdown ppv of the entire ruthless aggression era and considering that it was the first ever one for the blue brand, it's a fantastic show from top to bottom.
Undertaker Vs John Cena was a great meeting of old school Vs new school
Billy Kidman and Rey Mysterio Vs World's Greatest Tag Team titles was an exciting match with lots of great back and forth action
Eddie Guerrero Vs Chris Benoit for the US title was a great opener with two of the best technical wrestlers in the world and in my opinion, it helped Eddie on his path to becoming one of the most popular wrestlers of all time
Brock Lesnar Vs Kurt Angle Vs Big Show for the WWE title was a fantastic triple threat match that showcased all 3 wrestlers at the top of their game, lots of hard hitting action and I was so happy that Angle won the title
overall a fantastic show and I thought 2003 was the best year ever for Smackdown
2003 was a great year imo
I agree with you but to me 2003 had it's highs and lows especially with Bishoff being a pain in the butt and it was so McMahon heavy they were so involved in other storylines.
Smackdown in 2003 was decent. Raw was horrible lol.
Unless you watched RAW.
'03 had its peaks and valleys as we had the SmackDown Six on one side and Triple H's Reign of Terror on the other. Take the good with the bad, I suppose.
RAW was shit, but it was all worth it just for SmackDown
Eddie Guerrero had a stellar 2003 on Smackdown!. 2× WWE Tag Team Champion, US Champion.
We were in the process of switching tv providers so I wasn’t able to watch Bad Blood, we pretty much didn’t have a tv for a couple weeks. But my dad made it up to me by making sure to order Vengeance. Far better show in my opinion, so it worked out.
Hey JM there are lots of videos that have been taken down for whatever reason I don't know if you have to be a patreon or not to view them like Halloween havoc 1998 has been taken down and put back up several times I want saint Valentine's day massacre but I can't find it I'm sure it's out there somewhere
First ppv I got on DVD and I watched it so much as a kid the disc was scratched. Everything from the time period to the stage to the theme song. Iconic ppv
"SONOVABITCH!" Your Big Show impressions leave me in stitches 🤣
I'm a bit younger so this was around the peak of my fandom and I absolutely loved this event. Incredible from top to bottom
Vengeance 2005, Unforgiven 2006 and Money in the Bank 2011 are among the best B level PPVs of all time.
CM Punk hometown pop at Money In The Bank 2011 was insane
I'd put Backlash 2007 on that list, too.
@@Cursed_Mark I second this as Backlash '07 is one of my favorite PPV's.
Stephanie McMahon was in Goddess mode in 2003. Wanted her more than any Diva on the roster.
Big ol' Facts
Hahah same 😂
From 2000-2003 she was a babe
Fact
It’s the bitchy face and attitude. It def works for her. Love it.
Ruthless aggression Vince was the most evil Vince.
True. In the Attitude Era he was just a dick but Ruthless Aggression Vince was straight up vile.
It seems 2024 vince is the most evil vince
@Deaaathhhhhhhh lol yeah absolutely 🤦🏾♂️
“Take your freak friend gimp with you” made me spit out my water 😭😭😭😭
I love Benoit’s no sell on the frog splash cause he’s already laid out from the gore. So he just lays there unconscious lmao
Thanks for reviewing this Z-Man, haven't finished watching it but, I have to say that this is my favorite B-Show PPV, solid matches and an overall fun show. Also I really think that the Cena-Taker feud cemented Cena as one of the torch-bearers of the company.
Jamie Noble, both on-screen and off, is so incredibly underrated
J and J Security
Where's he now i wonder
@@jackburton2680 he a pretty prominent backstage agent. Putting matches together for the talent.
The 24/7 title would be perfect for Bar Room Brawl. That and the bungee match. Great review!
With the talents they have now? Could be interesting, but I would pass.
@@CSC52698 it can work R-Truth, APA, T-Bar APA, Brother Love, Shayna Bayzler, Viking Raiders, Street Profits, The Miz (only to get kidnapped by Dexter Lumis again), Reginald, Akira Tozawa and his ninjas, Sheamus, Drew McIntyre
@@sleezboy992 I would feel sorry Drew McIntyre.
@@CSC52698 if I lost a big match and title too, I would hit the bar
@@sleezboy992 ouch.
Showed this PPV to some friends that love wrestling the other month cause I've been saying for years it was one of my favorites. Glad to see it get the recognition it deserves. Would love to see you review Vengeance 2005, another nearly perfect PPV.
Eddie Guerrero's characterization was interesting during this period: He played all 3 roles to perfection. Whether as a Babyface, Tweene,r or Heel, We, The WWE Universe, just couldn't get enough "Latino 🌹🔥Heat" !
“Smack down was supposed to be the more family friendly show, right?” Lol
Smackdown! was still a PG show even during the Ruthless Aggression era
Benoit vs Guerrero was the first match I showed my wife while dating in 2008. She never became a fan. But she stopped thinking of wrestling as only silly phony shit. She saw that it had some physical merit.
Brother Love randomly being a badass in the bar room brawl was hilarious 😂😂😂
I love this show. And lemme tell you something, you are in for a wild ride with no mercy 2003. I was there in person. Great review Mr. Zane.
I remember during the Cena vs Angle feud, Kurt Angle dressed up as John Cena and dissed him and he brought out his impersonator who proceeded to mess with Angle just to mock Cena
I attended that show in Denver. Was my first ever wwe show. Its different watching it live. Then on tv. Because your so used to listening to the commentary. I loved it. John was awesome. Because he came out and did a meet and greet. After the show. Thanks for covering it. Brings back alot of awesome memories.
Hey I was at this show! Fucking amazing! Had box seats positioned in the middle behind the ring, about mid level. Amazing view. Was my first ever live wrestling show, my mom got our family tickets from work for free. I’ll never forget that night. Unless it was a crazy good look alike, to this day we’re almost sure we saw John Cena in the lot after the show.
This was the first ppv I've ever been to and the only wrestling show I ever went to with my dad. That and the fact a lot of my favorites were on this card made this one really special for me. I'm glad Zane thought so too.
Back when WWE PPVs had their own theme and entrance set-up 🔥
I’ve been waiting for you to do this show for so long. Literally the week you announced you cut off nominations on patreon I watched this show and was going to nominate it! Finally it’s about time you did this show cause it’s one of the best I’ve ever seen
The match between Brock, Angle & Big Show is my most favorite Triple Threat Match of all time. Nothing has come as close to perfection for that stipulation ever since.
JBL, Angle and Big Show at Royal Rumble 2005
Goodbye old background.
In the Rey Mysterio match with the 619, I wouldn't be surprised if the reaction was legitimate. You've got to remember he was just about a year in the company at this point. He was still kind of new to most fans. And honestly, Rey Mysterio in WWF is a completely different person than Rey Mysterio Jr in WCW. So even if you knew Rey from then, he was completely different at this point.
I love it when you review early Ruthless Aggression era ppvs (2002-03). Keep em coming!
Eddie Guerrero is mad that Tajiri scuffed his car up so he proceeds to throw him through windshield of same car thus destroying it worse … Yup makes sense to me 😂
Kurt's singlet over here is my favorite wrestling outfit ever
My favorite is the one from Armageddon 2000
Or as Cole calls it the “there it is!” Lmao I almost spit out my drink.
Billy Kevin and Rey Mysterio versus the world's greatest tag team is a very very hidden gem I couldn't tell you how much every time I tell people to go watch that match cuz that match was fantastic on top to bottom
4:31 Eddie's Frog Splash always looked so smooth.
you gotta do Vengeance 2002 next! it's one of my personal favorite PPVs.
This was the first wrestling PPV I ever saw live and it was during a rough time in my family. Having us all together watching the show (and taping it for preservation) was a wonderful experience. Undertaker's my favorite wrestler and 9 year-old me was ecstatic that he won, Angle winning the WWE Title was a pleasant surprise, Price To Play was a _great_ theme song choice, it was a fantastic night of wrestling.
You aren't kidding about the quality of the roster, either. That and the storytelling (...for the most part) makes 2003 one of my favorite years in WWE history, particularly for SmackDown. God, what a time to be a fan. Wish I could go back.
The odd thing about the segment on Smackdown with Noble, India, Gunn, and Torrie is that Noble and India turn face after this and Noble and Gunn form a shortly lived tag team. 😂
The theme song of this PPV was awesome, Staind - Price to Play. Still one of my favourites.
Automatic thumbs up for the Norm MacDonald homage. "All the stars are here"
Apparently, Torrie Wison likes guys named "Billy" 🤣😂
1:38 "I am the Dream Killer, The reaper of souls, I am the only one who can see the BIG Picture! Take your freak-friend-gimp with you!" Truly EVIL Vince as his best
7:11 Tazz uses Castrol GTX
9:20 Pre-JBL Bradshaw
10:03 All The Stars!
10:29 Brother Love's bad joke
13:32 AIRHORN!
14:03 The gasp before the POP
27:15 SOB!
You f bomb.
You do not use black and white filters when a wrestler is busted open.
Your dialog isn't ruined by constant censorship by blanking out everyday words. Your content provides a FULL experience and i enjoy it in a form it's meant to be in. This seperates you from 90% of UA-camrs now. I wish i could give you a couple thousand likes per video. I hope your content remains like this and helps fight back against over censorship..
I give your channel 5 out 5 stars...
"JUST A JOY TO WATCH!"
The weirdest thing about this whole PPV to me was that Billy Gunn's hair was like 4 times longer than it was on any Smackdown prior to this and on every Smackdown after this.
Thanks and safety to ya as always mate! That first match with Eddie and Benoit is still my favorite match on that PPV as well! Holy crap that APA invitational is still great! Xp
Kidman really was underrated and under utlilized
8 months or 7.5 months later at WrestleMania XX inside Madison Square Garden, Benoit & Guerrero had a Champion's Embrace in the middle of the Ring.
the tag team match reminded me of the finals of the new tag team champions at No Mercy 2002 Kurt Angle and Benoit vs Edge and Rey Mysterio great memories
I love how Zane just casually IDs the Easter Bunny as Damien Sandow (in his WWE debut, technically), despite this predating his original run in WWE as Idol Stevens by three years! It's amazing how long some people have been in the business, since Sandow/Stevens only just retired a couple of months ago.
Also, Stephanie McMahon's run as Smackdown GM was honestly my favorite part of her career. It's amazing how, after years of being such a detestable heel, she became absolutely believable & likable as the young GM who wanted to prove that she could legit take on Eric Bischoff's Raw & be taken as a serious businessperson. Also, I'll fully admit that, back in the day, I had a minor crush on Steph at this point (I was a Junior in High School, so sue me)... Maybe it was dying her hair blonde that did it.
I love that you are adding titles to these.
Your Norm Macdonald clipping warms my heart❣️
Oh Zane, Paul Heyman wasn't the head booker of SmackDown by the time this PPV rolled around, because there's no way in hell he would wanna push Billy Gunn.
Been waiting so long for this review!!
TWGTT vs Rey and Kidman is always my answer when people ask me my pick for the most underrated match.
One of my favorite ppv of all times the triple threat, Eddie vs chris, and the tag team match it was just a joy watching it back as a kid
Best B-Show? I don't know about that. Just a few off the top of my head that I preferred over this:
In Your House: Canadian Stampede, Backlash 1999, No Mercy 1999, Backlash 2000, Judgment Day 2000, Fully Loaded 2000, No Mercy 2002, Backlash 2004, Vengeance 2005, Unforgiven 2006, and Money in the Bank 2011.
Vengeance 2002 is a pretty good show with a blockbuster triple threat WWE title main event, John Cena’s first WWE PPV win and of course, Lesnar wrestled for a title that isn’t a World title!
The funny thing about Nidia from Tough Enough is that I only remember her existence when she's mentioned in reviews. I haven't even finished typing this comment and I'm already beginning to forget who she was.
Oh, goody. A match with Sable.
Said no one ever.
That poor kid Cena, getting BURIED by the Undertaker. His career might never recover from this!
The Norm Macdonald bit during the bar room brawl made me smile so big man. Excellent taste, that shit was hilarious. One of my favorite norm moments of all time.
Pretty great timing with this review since we see the debut of the wwe us title line up with a sort of resurgence for midcard titles in wwe. As far as I remember, your timing always been pretty conveniently spot on.
Also kind of sweet that Eddie's gear for this match looks like the same he'd wear for winning the wwe title the next year. Nice little coincidence.
03-04 Vince was a character! I call this version of him "Demon Vince" because he was just so evil lol. I will never forget that segment he did with Paul Heyman, where he completely lost his mind.
This and Vengeance 2002 are some of my favorite early RA era PPVs. And both had Kurt in the Triple Threat main event with the WWE title.
Zane: Zach Gowan made his debut as a fan of hulk Hogan but then he became a fan of mr America for reasons, excuse me for a moment (Brian grabs a Hogan book and punches it)
I remember not having cable, but basic cable, and UPN, was channel 12, and I never missed an episode of Smackdown. Then WWE Bottom Line would air on Saturdays at 12am, and that's how I stayed caught up on Raw. I also remember during commercials breaks for Bottom Line, "Hot Girls, Pick up the phone" ads would air. I never called.
Yeah SmackDown is THE perfect show especially on a school night. 😁😁😁😁😁
@@wave201988 yep. I had my VCR set to record, just in case I fell asleep. Very rarely would I miss an episode.
I miss UPN
My buddy had this on DVD when we were young and we rewatched it all the time... Good memories.
Dude I'm cracking up at that spot on Just Bring It "the LAAAAST ride!" 😂😂
Kidman is such an underrated wrestler. Easily one of the best cruiserweights in history.
Brian's entire mentioning of Albert during that segment has me laughing far harder than I should
The JBL stuff you compiled there would not at all feel out of place in "Its always sunny in philadelphia!"
Amazing stuff.
The original plan was for the ppv was Mr America vs Vince McMahon so it's crazy to think we could have seen them fight twice on a ppv in a 2003.
This brings back a lot of nostalgia. Back when I started watching WWE in May of 2003, and was a casual fan.