WWE Bad Blood (June 2003)

From Houston, Texas; Your Hosts are Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler

Opening Match: The Dudley Boyz v Rodney Mack and Christopher Nowinski: D-Von Dudley starts with Rodney, as I just realize this is not the same Rodney from the Mean Street Posse. Sad face. Quick tag to Nowinski (sporting the bastard son of Virgil and Undertaker's faceguards), but he quickly runs into a shoulderblock from Bubba Dudley. The Boyz double up and destroy poor Chris, but Mack pulls him out of the way of a D-Von corner charge, and then posts him for good measure. They cut the ring in half on D-Von, but Nowinski misses a 2^nd rope elbow, and Bubba gets the tag. He's a donut shop of fire to trigger a four-way brawl, and Nowinski manages to whack Bubba with his mask for the pin at 7:08. The Dudley's didn't look into this, but neither was I, so let's call it even. ¼*

Stacy Keibler Managerial Services Match: Scott Steiner v Test: Because 'Stacy's Tasty Pussy Match' would have been too adult even for 2003, I guess. Unintentionally hilarious start, as Scott tries diving off the apron at Test to keep him from touching Stacy, but accidentally trips, and falls flat on his face. And Test sells it anyway. Luckily, the camera angle didn't expose that one too badly, because a different angle would have made that one of the all-time worst botches. Scott destroys him, so Test hides behind Stacy, then throws her at Scott to turn the tide. Test whips him into the steps, then rolls him in, while rubbing his ass to try and entice Stacy. I'm no lothario, but I don't think that's what works. Test hooks a sleeper to daze Steiner, then heads up for a flying axehandle, but gets caught in a sloppy overhead suplex. Scott comes back with a pair of clotheslines and a sloppy powerslam, but walks into a full-nelson slam for two. Test adds a pump-handle slam, but gets countered into an inverted DDT for two. Scott goes for another powerslam, but Test values his ability to walk too much, and counters into a pump-handle slam for two. Test tries to pull off the turnbuckle pad, but Stacy gets in the way, so he plants a big boot on Steiner instead, getting two. He grabs a chair to finish the job, but it backfires, and Scott hits the Flatliner for the pin at 6:28. Lots of sloppiness from Steiner, but it was energetic. *

WWE Intercontinental Title Match: Christian v Booker T: Weird conversation from JR and Jerry to start, as they get into an awkward bit about what a good job Booker T's mother did raising him. Booker controls Christian with a front-facelock early on, and hits a spinebuster for two. Christian snaps his neck across the top rope to turn things around, and slaps on a chinlock. They're trying, but these two just don't have any chemistry. Christian tries a 2^nd rope shoulderblock, but gets caught in a flapjack, and Booker bodypresses him. Sidewalk slam gets two, and a savate kick gets two. Stungun sets up an inverted DDT for two, but Christian escapes a sunset cradle, and hits a uranage for two. Booker manages a small package for two (Wait, I thought black guys didn't have small... never mind), and hits an axekick. Missile dropkick gets two, and the Houston sidekick follows, so Christian bails. He decides to walk and save the title via countout, but the referee decides if he doesn't come back in, he loses the belt anyway. Christian is a step ahead, however, and simply comes back, and blatantly uses the title belt as a weapon to get himself disqualified at 7:53 - thus saving the title. Stupid referee, he could have gotten Booker the same end result without having to get whacked in the face with a piece of metal. Not quite as painfully shitty as their Insurrextion match, but that's not exactly high praise. ¼*

World Tag Team Title Match: Rob Van Dam and Kane v La Resistance: RVD starts with Rene Dupree, and wins a lockup battle with a schoolboy for two. RVD with an inside cradle for two, but a cheap shot from Sylvain Grenier stops a monkeyflip, and Dupree DDTs him for two. He's trying, but Rob Van Dam is just not the guy to guide green rookies through matches, sorry. The challengers cut the ring in half, but RVD somehow, some way, escapes a chinlock, and tags Kane. He's a house of arson, and we have a four-way brawl. Man, we're just flying through this match, aren't we? Not that I'm complaining, but still. The champs control, but a miscommunication ends in Rob taking a double-team, and eating the pinfall at 5:49. Basically the same match as Insurrextion, but with a different finish. ½*

Goldberg v Chris Jericho: Jericho’s tights are extra... South Beach... tonight. Goldberg charges right at him, and they spill out of the ring. Chris hides behind the referee on the way back in, but Goldberg moves him aside, and forward-powerslams him. Chris stupidly tries trading punches with Goldberg in the corner, and gets tossed around, the press-slammed onto the top rope. Back out to the floor, Goldberg press-slams him onto the rail, but a spear misses, and Goldberg crashes through a clearly gimmicked piece of the rail. Still, I appreciate the thought behind the spot. And plus, turning the camera in that direction gives us a nice shot of a hilarious 'Please Goldberg: Go Away' sign. Jericho with a missile dropkick on the way back in, and Goldberg is bleeding. Off of what? Jericho delivers a single-arm DDT, and slaps on a fujiwara armbar, but Goldberg escapes, and bicycle kicks him. Inverted atomic drop sets up a rotating superkick (Jericho is a brave man to take that move), but a scrapbuster is countered with another single-arm DDT for two. Or, at least, that's what I think that sequence was SUPPOSED to be, anyway. The match completely falls apart as both guys suddenly get lost and stumble around, with Chris hitting a sloppy dropkick that Goldberg looked like he wasn't expecting at all. Bulldog sets up a lionsault for two, and another bulldog sets up another lionsault, but Goldberg 'catches' him in a tilt-a-whirl slam. Again, that's what I think that sequence was meant to be, moreso than what it actually was. Spear sets up the Jackhammer, but the shoulder acts up, and Jericho blows him low. Walls, but Goldberg escapes, and another spear sets up a Jackhammer for the pin at 10:59. Well paced, and Goldberg sold the shoulder quite well, but a very sloppy overall performance. *

Shawn Michaels v Ric Flair: Shawn's got on the cool lone star tights from Royal Rumble '97 for the occasion. Both guys taunt each other with struts out of reversal sequences to start. What the fuck is up with Flair's hair here? It was still downright thick a year earlier, and now suddenly he's looking like his 2015 self. Is it possible to 'roid through osmosis? Because that would certainly explain a lot, given who Ric was hanging around with in 2003. More reversal sequences, until Shawn paintbrushes him, and clotheslines him out to the floor for a plancha. Back in, Flair suckers him into the corner, and unloads chops. You'd think Shawn would have seen that coming. Criss cross ends with Shawn hooking a side-headlock, but Flair gets into the corner to break, so Shawn chops him instead. Ric clips the knee to end that game, and drops a shin onto it. Ric tenaciously keeps after the knee, and slaps on the Figure Four, but Shawn makes the ropes. Ric keeps going with a kneebreaker, but Michaels counters with an enzuigiri, and hits a backdrop. Ric tries going to the top, but gets slammed off, but manages to catch Shawn's leg as he tries the Superkick. He sweeps him into the Figure Four, but Michaels counters with a cradle for two to disorient him, then sweeps him into his own figure four. Ric escapes, and tries a side suplex, but Shawn counters with a rollup for two - reversed by Flair for two. Bad sequence follows, as Shawn whips Flair into the corner for an ugly Flair Flip, and Ric takes so long running across the apron and to the top off of it that it would be literally unbelievable if Shawn didn't counter his flying axehandle. Thankfully, he does, but it still looked terrible, and exposing. Shawn with a superplex, and he goes out to get a table - putting Ric through it with a flying splash on the outside. That was a weird segue. Back in, it gets Shawn a two count, so Ric blows him low in such thunderous fashion that it takes the referee out, too. Gang bang! Shawn pops up before he can capitalize, however, and backdrops him to setup a flying elbowdrop. Superkick hits, but Randy Orton runs in with a chair to take Michaels out, and Flair pins him at 14:20. This wasn't bad, but definitely disappointing. It never really lived up to the hype, and was kinda all over the place, with no real flow or psychology, but just a bunch of spots strung together. * ¾

Main Event: World Heavyweight Title Hell in a Cell Match: Triple H v Kevin Nash: Mick Foley acts as the special guest referee for this. HHH tries fronting, but Nash laughs at his silly blue tights, and big boots him out of the ring for a ram into the cage wall. Hunter manages to snap his throat across the top rope on the way back in, but Nash quickly shrugs him off into the corner, and starts throwing elbows and knees. He means business! Clothesline puts Hunter back on the outside, and Kevin tosses him into the cage again a few times. Nash with a backdrop on the floor, then takes him back in for more elbowsmashes in the corner. We're only a couple of minutes in, and the crowd is dead silent. Not a good sign. And it's not that this match is even particularly bad, or anything. They just aren't invested in either guy, or this feud. Sidewalk slam gets two, and Nash grabs a chair for some abuse. Back out, Nash rams him into the cage, and whips him into the steps. Nash tries a Powerbomb out there, but Hunter grabs the mesh to block, and slugs his challenger down. HHH pulls a toolbox out from underneath the ring, and whacks Nash's knee with a hammer. Well, that would certainly be effective. He adds a shot to the head with it, but ends up getting into a fight with Foley over it to give Nash plenty of time to blade. Hunter grates his face into the mesh to work the cut, then grabs a screwdriver out of the toolbox on the way back in. Barbed wire 2x4 comes next, as this is turning into a series of weapon shots, with some occasional wrestling sprinkled in. Nash gets it away from him, and draws blood with a shot. Nash pounds him in the corner, then hits a pair of cross corner clotheslines, and a snake-eyes for two. HHH whacks him with a soapbox to stop the effort. Kinda makes sense that he'd always have one of those handy. He grabs a sledgehammer, but Foley protests, so HHH shoves him aside. He grabs the steps, but Nash counters a charge with a drop-toehold for two. HHH whacks him with a chair, then hits Foley with it as well - which seems like kind of a flawed plan, considering Mick's required to end the match. Also, because, since when is a fucking chair shot enough to stop Mick Foley? And, indeed, Mick pops right back up, and slaps a Mandible Claw on Hunter. HHH blows him low to stop that effort, but that allows Nash to recover, and smack him with the steps. He covers, but Foley is down, so no count. Nash hits the Powerbomb while Mick recovers, but it only gets two. Nash goes for another one, but Hunter uses the sledgehammer to block, and the Pedigree finishes at 21:03. Nothing special, but this was okay. *

BUExperience: This was the first brand exclusive pay per view, and while the concept was good in theory, the RAW guys alone just didn’t have a good enough show at this point to carry an entire pay per view on their own. Nothing really terrible here, just boring, and forgettable.  

DUD