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Armageddon (2003)
Encyclopedia
Armageddon was the fourth Armageddon
professional wrestling
pay-per-view
(PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment
(WWE). It took place on December 14, 2003 at the TD Waterhouse Centre in Orlando, Florida
and was a Raw
brand
-exclusive event. All four championships exclusive to the Raw brand were contested for; three were lost while one was retained.
The main event was a Triple Threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship
between Kane
, Triple H
, and champion Goldberg
. Triple H won the match and the World Heavyweight Championship after pinning Goldberg following a chokeslam
from Kane. One of the predominant matches on the undercard was the defense of the WWE Intercontinental Championship
by Rob Van Dam
against Randy Orton
. Orton won the match and became the Intercontinental Champion after pinning Van Dam following an RKO. Another primary match on the undercard was Batista versus Shawn Michaels
, which Michaels won by pinfall after executing Sweet Chin Music.
The event grossed $
450,000 with 9,000 ticket sales and received 200,000 pay-per-view buys. The event was claimed to be a "flop" by Canadian Online Explorer
' s professional wrestling event section. They rated the overall event a six out of ten. When the event was released on DVD
, it reached a peak position of second on Billboard
s DVD sales chart for recreational sports. It remained on the chart for four consecutive weeks.
The main feud
heading into the event was between Goldberg
, Kane
, and Triple H
over the World Heavyweight Championship
. In November, at Survivor Series
, Goldberg retained the World Heavyweight Championship against Triple H. The night after Survivor Series, Kane became involved in the feud between Goldberg and Triple H after attacking Goldberg following a Handicap match. The following week, on the November 24 edition of Raw
, Kane interfered in a match between Triple H and Goldberg. After the match, General Manager Eric Bischoff
announced that Goldberg would be defending the World Heavyweight Championship against Triple H and Kane in a Triple Threat match at Armageddon.
Another primary biggest feud heading into the event was between champion Rob Van Dam
and Randy Orton
over the WWE Intercontinental Championship
. Van Dam won the title on the September 29 edition of Raw by defeating then-champion Christian. On the November 17 edition of Raw, during a match between Ric Flair
and Van Dam, Orton interfered and executed an RKO on Van Dam. Later that night, Orton was granted an Intercontinental Championship match against Van Dam at Armageddon. On the December 8 edition of Raw, Co-General Manager Mick Foley
appointed himself as the special guest referee for the match.
One of the predominant matches on the card was Batista versus Shawn Michaels
. Their feud first started when Batista attacked Michaels during his elimination match at Survivor Series, with Steve Austin
's career on the line. On the November 24 edition of Raw, Eric Bischoff scheduled a match between the two for Armageddon. Later that night, Michaels and Chris Jericho
defeated Batista and Ric Flair in a tag team
match. Towards the end of the match, Jericho turned on Michaels and superkicked him. Michaels landed on Flair as a result and got the pinfall to win the match for himself and Jericho. After the match, however, Batista executed a powerbomb
on Michaels.
A scheduled bout on the undercard was between Booker T
and Mark Henry
. The two were scheduled into a match after Henry eliminated Booker in a five-on-five Survivor Series elimination match at Survivor Series 2003.
of the event began, Rico
defeated Heidenreich
in a match that aired on Sunday Night Heat
, a 30-minute pre-show for the event. The event began with the singing of the "United States National Anthem
" by Lilian Garcia
.
The first match of the event was Booker T
versus Mark Henry
. Henry controlled most of the match, as he was able to execute a spinebuster and apply various submission holds
on Booker. Booker, however, executed a scissors kick and pinned Henry afterwards to win the match.
The match that followed saw Rob Van Dam defend the WWE Intercontinental Championship against Randy Orton with Mick Foley as special guest referee. The match contained many notable spots, including the execution of an elevated spike DDT by Orton on Van Dam, and the execution of rolling thunder by Van Dam. Ric Flair, who accompanied Orton, attempted to interfere many times on Orton's behalf, but was stopped by Foley. Orton pinned Van Dam after an RKO to win the match and begin his first reign as Intercontinental Champion. The third match was an Intergender
tag team match
billed as the "Battle of the Sexes". It saw Chris Jericho and Christian face off against Trish Stratus
and Lita
. The match went back and forth, as each team was able to gain the advantage. In the end, Christian pinned Stratus with a roll-up to win the match for himself and Jericho.
The next match was Shawn Michaels versus Batista. Near the end of the match, Batista executed a series of spinebusters on Michaels and attempted to execute a powerbomb. Michaels escaped the powerbomb attempt and executed Sweet Chin Music. He pinned Batista afterward to win the bout. After the match, Maven
and Matt Hardy
came out for their scheduled match. The two, however, attacked one another outside the ring. Hardy then threw Maven into the ring, where Batista still was. Batista attacked Maven and executed a powerbomb, which forced the referee
to declare that Maven could not compete and that his match against Hardy was canceled.
A Tag Team Turmoil match for the World Tag Team Championship followed. Two of the overall seven teams started the match, with another team entering the match once one was eliminated. Hurricane
and Rosey
started the match against La Résistance (Robért Conway and René Duprée
). Hurricane eliminated La Résistance after pinning Conway following a Super Hero Splash. Seconds after the elimination, Mark Jindrak
came into the ring and rolled up Hurricane to eliminate him and Rosey. Jindrak and Garrison Cade
then faced off against the team of Val Venis
and Lance Storm
. While Venis was performing a vertical suplex attempt on Jindrak, Cade clipped Venis' legs, which in turn caused Jindrak to fall atop of Venis. The referee counted the pinfall and eliminated Venis and Storm. The Dudley Boyz
(Bubba Ray and D-Von) then eliminated Jindrak and Cade and the team of Test and Scott Steiner
to supposedly win the match. General Manager Eric Bischoff, however, announced that Ric Flair and Batista
would be the seventh and final team to compete. Flair and Batista eliminated the Dudleys to win the match and begin their first reign as World Tag Team Champions. The sixth match saw WWE Women's Champion
Molly Holly
defend her title against Ivory
. Holly pinned Ivory while holding onto her tights for extra leverage to win the match and retain the title.
Next was the main event
, which saw Goldberg defend the World Heavyweight Championship against Kane and Triple H in a Triple Threat match. The match was evenly controlled between the three, as every man was able to gain the advantage. Towards the end of the match, Goldberg performed a spear on Triple H and attempted to get the pinfall. Kane, however, broke up the pin and executed a chokeslam
on Goldberg. Evolution member Batista came down and pulled Kane out of the ring, which allowed Triple H to gain the pinfall on Goldberg. Triple H won the match to begin his eighth overall reign as World Heavyweight Champion in WWE.
Randy Orton defeated Rob Van Dam at the event to begin his first reign as WWE Intercontinental Champion, which would last seven months, the longest reign in over seven years at the time. Orton began feuding with Mick Foley following the event. At the Royal Rumble
, Foley eliminated Orton from the Royal Rumble match. After being eliminated, Orton hit Foley with a steel chair
and attacked Foley up the entrance stage. Orton pinned Foley in a Handicap match at WrestleMania XX
, and defeated him in a Hardcore match to retain the title at Backlash 2004
. Orton finally dropped the title to Edge in July 2004.
Triple H ended his storyline with Goldberg and Kane, and started to feud with Shawn Michaels. At the Royal Rumble, Triple H and Michaels fought to a no-contest in a Last Man Standing match for the World Heavyweight Championship. The two would face off again, as part of a Triple Threat match, at WrestleMania XX. Chris Benoit
, the other participant in the match, forced Triple H to submit to the Crippler Crossface to win the title. Benoit ended the storyline between the three at Backlash, when he defeated Michaels and Triple H in another Triple Threat match.
Batista and Ric Flair's first World Tag Team Championship reign would last three months, as they would lose the titles to Rob Van Dam and Booker T in February. Christian defeated Chris Jericho at WrestleMania XX. After the match, Trish Stratus, Jericho's on-screen girlfriend at the time, turned on Jericho and joined Christian. Jericho, however, would go on to defeat the two in a Handicap match at Backlash to conclude their storyline.
received. The buys from Armageddon helped the promotion's pay-per-view revenue of $13.2 million, which was significantly lower than the prior year's revenue of $21.2 million. Canadian Online Explorer
s professional wrestling section claimed that the event was a "flop", rating the overall event a six out of ten. The Triple Threat main event match was rated a six and a half out of ten, while the match between Batista and Shawn Michaels received the highest match rating—an eight and a half out of ten.
The event was released on DVD
on January 20, 2004. The DVD reached a peak position of second on Billboard
s DVD sales chart for recreational sports on February 12, 2004. It remained on the chart for four consecutive weeks, until on March 6, 2004, when it ranked twentieth. The DVD was also reviewed by customers; the average customer rating from Amazon.com
was three out of five stars.
WWE Armageddon
Armageddon was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event, produced every December by WWE, a professional wrestling promotion based in Connecticut. The event was created in 1999, with its inaugural event taking place on December 12, 1999 at the National Car Rental Center in Sunrise, Florida...
professional wrestling
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
pay-per-view
Pay-per-view
Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...
(PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
(WWE). It took place on December 14, 2003 at the TD Waterhouse Centre in Orlando, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
and was a Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
brand
WWE Brand Extension
WWE, formerly the World Wrestling Federation and World Wrestling Entertainment , currently promotes its core business of professional wrestling through two "brands" named after their two major television shows Raw and SmackDown...
-exclusive event. All four championships exclusive to the Raw brand were contested for; three were lost while one was retained.
The main event was a Triple Threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship
World Heavyweight Championship (WWE)
The World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the SmackDown brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the WWE Championship of the Raw brand...
between Kane
Kane (wrestler)
Glenn Thomas Jacobs is a Spanish-born American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name, Kane. He is signed to WWE, appearing on its SmackDown brand, but is currently inactive due to injury....
, Triple H
Triple H
Paul Michael Levesque is an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling authority figure, WWE Executive Vice President of Talent and actor, better known by his ring name Triple H, an abbreviation of the ring name, Hunter Hearst Helmsley...
, and champion Goldberg
Bill Goldberg
Goldberg earned a scholarship to play for the University of Georgia Bulldogs football team where he served as a defensive tackle. He was taken in the 11th round, with the 302nd overall selection, in the 1990 NFL Draft....
. Triple H won the match and the World Heavyweight Championship after pinning Goldberg following a chokeslam
Chokeslam
A chokeslam refers to a type of body slam in professional wrestling in which the wrestler grasps their opponent's neck, lifts them up, and slams them to the mat. It is common in televised wrestling because it is simple and relatively safe, yet looks powerful on camera...
from Kane. One of the predominant matches on the undercard was the defense of the WWE Intercontinental Championship
WWE Intercontinental Championship
The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It is the original secondary title of the promotion. Currently, it is the secondary championship exclusive to the SmackDown brand...
by Rob Van Dam
Rob Van Dam
Robert Alexander "Rob" Szatkowski , better known by his ring name Rob Van Dam , is an American professional wrestler and actor who is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....
against Randy Orton
Randy Orton
Randal Keith "Randy" Orton is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE wrestling on its SmackDown brand...
. Orton won the match and became the Intercontinental Champion after pinning Van Dam following an RKO. Another primary match on the undercard was Batista versus Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels
Michael Shawn Hickenbottom , better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American television host and retired professional wrestler. He presents the Outdoor Channel show MacMillan River Adventures, and is currently signed to WWE, where he has served in an ambassadorial role since December...
, which Michaels won by pinfall after executing Sweet Chin Music.
The event grossed $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
450,000 with 9,000 ticket sales and received 200,000 pay-per-view buys. The event was claimed to be a "flop" by Canadian Online Explorer
Canadian Online Explorer
Canadian Online Explorer is a bilingual online news and information site from Canada.A subsidiary of Quebecor Media, Canoe.ca is a leading local and national interactive media provider of news, entertainment and services, helping to inform and connect Canadians...
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
, it reached a peak position of second on Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
s DVD sales chart for recreational sports. It remained on the chart for four consecutive weeks.
Background
Feud (professional wrestling)
A professional wrestling feud is a staged rivalry between multiple wrestlers or alliances of wrestlers. They are integrated into ongoing storylines, particularly in events which are televised...
heading into the event was between Goldberg
Bill Goldberg
Goldberg earned a scholarship to play for the University of Georgia Bulldogs football team where he served as a defensive tackle. He was taken in the 11th round, with the 302nd overall selection, in the 1990 NFL Draft....
, Kane
Kane (wrestler)
Glenn Thomas Jacobs is a Spanish-born American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name, Kane. He is signed to WWE, appearing on its SmackDown brand, but is currently inactive due to injury....
, and Triple H
Triple H
Paul Michael Levesque is an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling authority figure, WWE Executive Vice President of Talent and actor, better known by his ring name Triple H, an abbreviation of the ring name, Hunter Hearst Helmsley...
over the World Heavyweight Championship
World Heavyweight Championship (WWE)
The World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the SmackDown brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the WWE Championship of the Raw brand...
. In November, at Survivor Series
Survivor Series (2003)
Survivor Series was the seventeenth annual Survivor Series professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment...
, Goldberg retained the World Heavyweight Championship against Triple H. The night after Survivor Series, Kane became involved in the feud between Goldberg and Triple H after attacking Goldberg following a Handicap match. The following week, on the November 24 edition of Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
, Kane interfered in a match between Triple H and Goldberg. After the match, General Manager Eric Bischoff
Eric Bischoff
Eric Aaron Bischoff is an American entrepreneur, and professional wrestling booker and on-screen personality currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
announced that Goldberg would be defending the World Heavyweight Championship against Triple H and Kane in a Triple Threat match at Armageddon.
Another primary biggest feud heading into the event was between champion Rob Van Dam
Rob Van Dam
Robert Alexander "Rob" Szatkowski , better known by his ring name Rob Van Dam , is an American professional wrestler and actor who is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....
and Randy Orton
Randy Orton
Randal Keith "Randy" Orton is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE wrestling on its SmackDown brand...
over the WWE Intercontinental Championship
WWE Intercontinental Championship
The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It is the original secondary title of the promotion. Currently, it is the secondary championship exclusive to the SmackDown brand...
. Van Dam won the title on the September 29 edition of Raw by defeating then-champion Christian. On the November 17 edition of Raw, during a match between Ric Flair
Ric Flair
Richard Morgan Fliehr is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Ric Flair. Also known as "The Nature Boy", Flair is one of the most well-known professional wrestlers in the world....
and Van Dam, Orton interfered and executed an RKO on Van Dam. Later that night, Orton was granted an Intercontinental Championship match against Van Dam at Armageddon. On the December 8 edition of Raw, Co-General Manager Mick Foley
Mick Foley
Michael Francis "Mick" Foley, Sr. is an American semi-retired professional wrestler, author, comedian, actor, voice actor and former color commentator. He has worked for many wrestling promotions, including WWE, WCW, ECW and TNA. He is often referred to as "The Hardcore Legend", a nickname he...
appointed himself as the special guest referee for the match.
One of the predominant matches on the card was Batista versus Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels
Michael Shawn Hickenbottom , better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American television host and retired professional wrestler. He presents the Outdoor Channel show MacMillan River Adventures, and is currently signed to WWE, where he has served in an ambassadorial role since December...
. Their feud first started when Batista attacked Michaels during his elimination match at Survivor Series, with Steve Austin
Stone Cold Steve Austin
Steve Austin , better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American film and television actor and retired professional wrestler...
's career on the line. On the November 24 edition of Raw, Eric Bischoff scheduled a match between the two for Armageddon. Later that night, Michaels and Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho
Christopher Keith Irvine , better known by his ring name Chris Jericho, is an inactive Canadian-American professional wrestler, musician, songwriter, radio personality, television host, actor, author, and dancer...
defeated Batista and Ric Flair in a tag team
Tag team
Tag team professional wrestling is a variation in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. A tag team may comprise two wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of established teams who wrestle regularly as a unit and have a team name...
match. Towards the end of the match, Jericho turned on Michaels and superkicked him. Michaels landed on Flair as a result and got the pinfall to win the match for himself and Jericho. After the match, however, Batista executed a powerbomb
Powerbomb
A powerbomb is a professional wrestling throw in which an opponent is lifted up and then slammed back-first down to the mat. The standard powerbomb sees an opponent first placed in a standing headscissors position...
on Michaels.
A scheduled bout on the undercard was between Booker T
Booker Huffman
Robert Booker Tio Huffman , better known by his ring name Booker T, is a semi-retired American professional wrestler and currently signed to WWE, on its SmackDown brand, as part of the announcing team. Booker is best known for his time in both the World Wrestling Entertainment and World...
and Mark Henry
Mark Henry
Mark Jerrold Henry is an American professional wrestler signed with WWE, where he performs on its SmackDown brand as the reigning World Heavyweight Champion. He is a 1992 Olympian, and winner of the 2002 Arnold Strongman Classic...
. The two were scheduled into a match after Henry eliminated Booker in a five-on-five Survivor Series elimination match at Survivor Series 2003.
Event
Before the live broadcastLive television
Live television refers to a television production broadcast in real-time, as events happen, in the present. From the early days of television until about 1958, live television was used heavily, except for filmed shows such as I Love Lucy and Gunsmoke. Video tape did not exist until 1957...
of the event began, Rico
Rico Constantino
Americo Sebastiano Costantino is a retired American professional wrestler and wrestling manager of Italian origin. He is best known by his ring names Rico Costantino and Rico in World Wrestling Entertainment from 2001 to 2004...
defeated Heidenreich
Jon Heidenreich
Jon Heidenreich is an American professional wrestler, better known simply as Heidenreich. He is best known for his tenure with World Wrestling Entertainment, where he was a one time WWE Tag Team Champion with Road Warrior Animal as a part of the Road Warriors.-Early career:Prior to professional...
in a match that aired on Sunday Night Heat
WWE HEAT
WWE Heat was a professional wrestling television program produced by World Wrestling Entertainment...
, a 30-minute pre-show for the event. The event began with the singing of the "United States National Anthem
The Star-Spangled Banner
"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States of America. The lyrics come from "Defence of Fort McHenry", a poem written in 1814 by the 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet, Francis Scott Key, after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by the British Royal Navy ships...
" by Lilian Garcia
Lilian Garcia
Lilian Annette García , is a Spanish-American singer. She is best known as the former ring announcer for WWE's Raw brand. During her time in WWE, she became the first Diva to remain with the promotion for ten years.-Early life and career:...
.
Preliminary matches
Booker Huffman
Robert Booker Tio Huffman , better known by his ring name Booker T, is a semi-retired American professional wrestler and currently signed to WWE, on its SmackDown brand, as part of the announcing team. Booker is best known for his time in both the World Wrestling Entertainment and World...
versus Mark Henry
Mark Henry
Mark Jerrold Henry is an American professional wrestler signed with WWE, where he performs on its SmackDown brand as the reigning World Heavyweight Champion. He is a 1992 Olympian, and winner of the 2002 Arnold Strongman Classic...
. Henry controlled most of the match, as he was able to execute a spinebuster and apply various submission holds
Professional wrestling holds
Professional wrestling holds include a number of set moves and pins used by performers to immobilize their opponents or lead to a submission. This article covers the various pins, stretches and transition holds used in the ring...
on Booker. Booker, however, executed a scissors kick and pinned Henry afterwards to win the match.
The match that followed saw Rob Van Dam defend the WWE Intercontinental Championship against Randy Orton with Mick Foley as special guest referee. The match contained many notable spots, including the execution of an elevated spike DDT by Orton on Van Dam, and the execution of rolling thunder by Van Dam. Ric Flair, who accompanied Orton, attempted to interfere many times on Orton's behalf, but was stopped by Foley. Orton pinned Van Dam after an RKO to win the match and begin his first reign as Intercontinental Champion. The third match was an Intergender
Intergender wrestling
Intergender wrestling, also known as mixed wrestling is a type of professional wrestling match between a man and a woman, and may also refer to tag team matches with both men and women on each team....
tag team match
Professional wrestling tag team match types
Much like singles matches, tag team professional wrestling matches can and have taken many forms. Just about any singles or melee match type can be adapted to tag teams; for example, hardcore tag team matches are commonplace...
billed as the "Battle of the Sexes". It saw Chris Jericho and Christian face off against Trish Stratus
Trish Stratus
Patricia Anne Stratigias , better known by her ring name Trish Stratus, is a Canadian professional wrestler, actress and television personality currently signed with WWE. She is also a former fitness model....
and Lita
Amy Dumas
Amy Christine Dumas , known by her primary stage name Lita, is the lead singer for the band The Luchagors as well as a retired professional wrestler and WWE Diva active from 1999 to 2006....
. The match went back and forth, as each team was able to gain the advantage. In the end, Christian pinned Stratus with a roll-up to win the match for himself and Jericho.
The next match was Shawn Michaels versus Batista. Near the end of the match, Batista executed a series of spinebusters on Michaels and attempted to execute a powerbomb. Michaels escaped the powerbomb attempt and executed Sweet Chin Music. He pinned Batista afterward to win the bout. After the match, Maven
Maven Huffman
Maven Klint Huffman is an American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with World Wrestling Entertainment between October 2001 and July 5, 2005 under the name Maven. In 2008 he became a guest expert on the Home Shopping Network.-Early life:Maven was born to an African-American...
and Matt Hardy
Matt Hardy
Matthew Moore "Matt" Hardy is a semi-retired American professional wrestler. He is best known for his stints in World Wrestling Entertainment and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....
came out for their scheduled match. The two, however, attacked one another outside the ring. Hardy then threw Maven into the ring, where Batista still was. Batista attacked Maven and executed a powerbomb, which forced the referee
Referee
A referee is the person of authority, in a variety of sports, who is responsible for presiding over the game from a neutral point of view and making on the fly decisions that enforce the rules of the sport...
to declare that Maven could not compete and that his match against Hardy was canceled.
Main event matches
| Role: | Name: |
|---|---|
| Commentator | Jim Ross Jim Ross James William "Jim" Ross is a professional wrestling commentator, former professional wrestling referee, restaurateur, occasional wrestler, and former company executive of WWE, where he currently works as a commentator on the WWE Raw brand... |
| Jerry Lawler Jerry Lawler Jerry O'Neil Lawler is an American professional wrestler, wrestling commentator, musician, businessman, commercial artist and film actor, known throughout the wrestling world as Jerry "The King" Lawler. He is currently signed to WWE, working on its Raw brand as the color commentator and occasional... |
|
| Carlos Cabrera Carlos Cabrera Carlos Rodrigo Cabrera is a former newsman and currently employed with WWE, where he is one half of the company's Spanish announce team in which he is the play-by-play announcer. His longtime broadcast partner was the former Ecuadorian professional wrestler Hugo Savinovich, who was the color... (Spanish) |
|
| Hugo Savinovich Hugo Savinovich Hugo Savinovich is a former Ecuadorian professional wrestler, formerly employed with WWE, where he was one half of the Spanish announce team for the company's TV shows and pay-per-view events. He was a color commentator and partner of Carlos Cabrera and occasionally Marcelo Rodríguez. When he... (Spanish) |
|
| Ring announcer | Lilian Garcia Lilian Garcia Lilian Annette García , is a Spanish-American singer. She is best known as the former ring announcer for WWE's Raw brand. During her time in WWE, she became the first Diva to remain with the promotion for ten years.-Early life and career:... |
| Referee | Mike Chioda Mike Chioda Michael Joseph "Mike" Chioda, is a senior referee who is currently signed to WWE. While not refereeing, Chioda, as well as the other referees in WWE, help set up the arena before shows, constructing the ring and stage areas.-WWF:... |
| Jack Doan Jack Doan John Michael "Jack" Doan is a veteran professional wrestling referee currently signed with WWE.-Career:Doan joined WWE in October 1991 as a truck driver. From there, he took robes from Superstars at ringside, played music at shows, worked as part of the ring crew, and continued to drive the... |
|
| Earl Hebner Earl Hebner Earl William Hebner is a professional wrestling referee currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, and the twin brother of Dave Hebner... |
|
| Chad Patton | |
| Charles Robinson Charles Robinson (referee) Charles Shane Robinson is an American professional wrestling referee currently signed to WWE.- Beginnings and World Championship Wrestling :... |
A Tag Team Turmoil match for the World Tag Team Championship followed. Two of the overall seven teams started the match, with another team entering the match once one was eliminated. Hurricane
Gregory Helms
Gregory Shane Helms is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment where he wrestled as The Hurricane and Gregory Helms. He is also known for his time with World Championship Wrestling where he wrestled as "Sugar" Shane Helms...
and Rosey
Matt Anoa'i
Matthew "Matt" Anoa'i is a professional wrestler, best known for his time on the independent circuit under numerous ring names, and his time in World Wrestling Entertainment , where he competed as Rosey....
started the match against La Résistance (Robért Conway and René Duprée
René Goguen
René Goguen better known by his ring name René Duprée, is a French Canadian professional wrestler. Goguen is best known for his tenure in World Wrestling Entertainment, where he is a one-time World Tag Team Champion with Sylvain Grenier as the tag team La Résistance and a one time WWE Tag Team...
). Hurricane eliminated La Résistance after pinning Conway following a Super Hero Splash. Seconds after the elimination, Mark Jindrak
Mark Jindrak
Mark Robert Jindrak is an American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment...
came into the ring and rolled up Hurricane to eliminate him and Rosey. Jindrak and Garrison Cade
Lance Cade
Lance Kurtis McNaught was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment where he performed under the ring names Garrison Cade and Lance Cade....
then faced off against the team of Val Venis
Sean Morley
Sean Allen Morley is a Canadian professional wrestler better known by his ring name Val Venis, during his time with World Wrestling Federation, later known as World Wrestling Entertainment...
and Lance Storm
Lance Storm
Lance Timothy Evers known professionally by his ring name Lance Storm, is a semi-retired Canadian professional wrestler. He is best known for his work in World Wrestling Entertainment, Extreme Championship Wrestling, and World Championship Wrestling...
. While Venis was performing a vertical suplex attempt on Jindrak, Cade clipped Venis' legs, which in turn caused Jindrak to fall atop of Venis. The referee counted the pinfall and eliminated Venis and Storm. The Dudley Boyz
Dudley Boyz
Team 3D was a professional wrestling tag team, consisting of Brother Ray and Brother Devon, formerly sporadically joined into a stable by Brother Runt on several intervals...
(Bubba Ray and D-Von) then eliminated Jindrak and Cade and the team of Test and Scott Steiner
Scott Steiner
Scott Carl Rechsteiner is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Scott Steiner. Steiner is perhaps best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling alongside his older brother Rick as the Steiner Brothers and as a member of the New World Order...
to supposedly win the match. General Manager Eric Bischoff, however, announced that Ric Flair and Batista
Evolution (professional wrestling)
Evolution was a villainous professional wrestling stable on WWE's Raw brand between 2003 and 2005. At the height of its existence, the group consisted of Triple H, Ric Flair, Randy Orton, Batista and briefly Eugene....
would be the seventh and final team to compete. Flair and Batista eliminated the Dudleys to win the match and begin their first reign as World Tag Team Champions. The sixth match saw WWE Women's Champion
WWE Women's Championship
The WWE Women's Championship was a professional wrestling championship in the World Wrestling Entertainment promotion. Created in 1956, it was the oldest active professional wrestling championship in World Wrestling Entertainment history until its retirement in 2010 as a result from a unification...
Molly Holly
Nora Greenwald
Nora Kristina Greenwald , better known by her ring name Molly Holly, is an inactive American professional wrestler. Greenwald is best known for her appearances with World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment .Greenwald began her professional wrestling career in WCW, where she...
defend her title against Ivory
Lisa Moretti
Lisa Moretti is a retired American professional wrestler. She is best known for her appearances with World Wrestling Entertainment between 1999 and 2005 under the ring name Ivory...
. Holly pinned Ivory while holding onto her tights for extra leverage to win the match and retain the title.
Next was the main event
Main Event
Main Event is Australia's only pay-per-view channel. It transmits through Foxtel, Optus Television and Austar, which jointly own the channel...
, which saw Goldberg defend the World Heavyweight Championship against Kane and Triple H in a Triple Threat match. The match was evenly controlled between the three, as every man was able to gain the advantage. Towards the end of the match, Goldberg performed a spear on Triple H and attempted to get the pinfall. Kane, however, broke up the pin and executed a chokeslam
Chokeslam
A chokeslam refers to a type of body slam in professional wrestling in which the wrestler grasps their opponent's neck, lifts them up, and slams them to the mat. It is common in televised wrestling because it is simple and relatively safe, yet looks powerful on camera...
on Goldberg. Evolution member Batista came down and pulled Kane out of the ring, which allowed Triple H to gain the pinfall on Goldberg. Triple H won the match to begin his eighth overall reign as World Heavyweight Champion in WWE.
Aftermath
Royal Rumble (2004)
Royal Rumble was the seventeenth annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on January 25, 2004 at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
, Foley eliminated Orton from the Royal Rumble match. After being eliminated, Orton hit Foley with a steel chair
Folding chair
A folding chair is a light, portable chair that that folds flat, and can be stored in a stack, row, or on a cart.-Uses:Folding chairs are generally used for seating in areas where permanent seating is not possible or practical. This includes outdoor and indoor events such as funerals, college...
and attacked Foley up the entrance stage. Orton pinned Foley in a Handicap match at WrestleMania XX
WrestleMania XX
WrestleMania XX was the twentieth WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on March 14, 2004 at Madison Square Garden in New York....
, and defeated him in a Hardcore match to retain the title at Backlash 2004
Backlash (2004)
Backlash was the sixth annual Backlash professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on April 18, 2004 at the Rexall Place in Edmonton, Alberta and was a Raw brand-exclusive event...
. Orton finally dropped the title to Edge in July 2004.
Triple H ended his storyline with Goldberg and Kane, and started to feud with Shawn Michaels. At the Royal Rumble, Triple H and Michaels fought to a no-contest in a Last Man Standing match for the World Heavyweight Championship. The two would face off again, as part of a Triple Threat match, at WrestleMania XX. Chris Benoit
Chris Benoit
Christopher Michael "Chris" Benoit was a Canadian professional wrestler whose career and life ended in a murder–suicide...
, the other participant in the match, forced Triple H to submit to the Crippler Crossface to win the title. Benoit ended the storyline between the three at Backlash, when he defeated Michaels and Triple H in another Triple Threat match.
Batista and Ric Flair's first World Tag Team Championship reign would last three months, as they would lose the titles to Rob Van Dam and Booker T in February. Christian defeated Chris Jericho at WrestleMania XX. After the match, Trish Stratus, Jericho's on-screen girlfriend at the time, turned on Jericho and joined Christian. Jericho, however, would go on to defeat the two in a Handicap match at Backlash to conclude their storyline.
Reception
The event grossed $450,000 with 9,000 ticket sales, and received 200,000 buys, which was less than the 300,000 buys the previous year's eventArmageddon (2002)
Armageddon was the third Armageddon professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on December 15, 2002 at the Office Depot Center in the Ft...
received. The buys from Armageddon helped the promotion's pay-per-view revenue of $13.2 million, which was significantly lower than the prior year's revenue of $21.2 million. Canadian Online Explorer
Canadian Online Explorer
Canadian Online Explorer is a bilingual online news and information site from Canada.A subsidiary of Quebecor Media, Canoe.ca is a leading local and national interactive media provider of news, entertainment and services, helping to inform and connect Canadians...
s professional wrestling section claimed that the event was a "flop", rating the overall event a six out of ten. The Triple Threat main event match was rated a six and a half out of ten, while the match between Batista and Shawn Michaels received the highest match rating—an eight and a half out of ten.
The event was released on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
on January 20, 2004. The DVD reached a peak position of second on Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
s DVD sales chart for recreational sports on February 12, 2004. It remained on the chart for four consecutive weeks, until on March 6, 2004, when it ranked twentieth. The DVD was also reviewed by customers; the average customer rating from Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
was three out of five stars.
Results
| Results | Times | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday Night Heat WWE HEAT WWE Heat was a professional wrestling television program produced by World Wrestling Entertainment... |
Rico Rico Constantino Americo Sebastiano Costantino is a retired American professional wrestler and wrestling manager of Italian origin. He is best known by his ring names Rico Costantino and Rico in World Wrestling Entertainment from 2001 to 2004... (with Miss Jackie Jackie Gayda Jacquelyn Gayda-Haas is an American semi-retired professional wrestler and valet, best known for her work on World Wrestling Entertainment 's Raw and SmackDown! brands and in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as a TNA Knockout... ) defeated Heidenreich Jon Heidenreich Jon Heidenreich is an American professional wrestler, better known simply as Heidenreich. He is best known for his tenure with World Wrestling Entertainment, where he was a one time WWE Tag Team Champion with Road Warrior Animal as a part of the Road Warriors.-Early career:Prior to professional... |
Singles match | 01:28 |
| 1 | Booker T Booker Huffman Robert Booker Tio Huffman , better known by his ring name Booker T, is a semi-retired American professional wrestler and currently signed to WWE, on its SmackDown brand, as part of the announcing team. Booker is best known for his time in both the World Wrestling Entertainment and World... defeated Mark Henry Mark Henry Mark Jerrold Henry is an American professional wrestler signed with WWE, where he performs on its SmackDown brand as the reigning World Heavyweight Champion. He is a 1992 Olympian, and winner of the 2002 Arnold Strongman Classic... (with Theodore Long Theodore Long Theodore R. "Teddy" Long is an American professional wrestling manager and former referee who currently works for WWE on its SmackDown brand as its General Manager.-National Wrestling Alliance / World Championship Wrestling:... ) |
Singles match | 09:19 |
| 2 | Randy Orton Randy Orton Randal Keith "Randy" Orton is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE wrestling on its SmackDown brand... (with Ric Flair Ric Flair Richard Morgan Fliehr is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Ric Flair. Also known as "The Nature Boy", Flair is one of the most well-known professional wrestlers in the world.... ) defeated Rob Van Dam Rob Van Dam Robert Alexander "Rob" Szatkowski , better known by his ring name Rob Van Dam , is an American professional wrestler and actor who is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling .... (c) |
Singles match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship WWE Intercontinental Championship The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It is the original secondary title of the promotion. Currently, it is the secondary championship exclusive to the SmackDown brand... with Mick Foley Mick Foley Michael Francis "Mick" Foley, Sr. is an American semi-retired professional wrestler, author, comedian, actor, voice actor and former color commentator. He has worked for many wrestling promotions, including WWE, WCW, ECW and TNA. He is often referred to as "The Hardcore Legend", a nickname he... as special guest referee |
17:59 |
| 3 | Chris Jericho Chris Jericho Christopher Keith Irvine , better known by his ring name Chris Jericho, is an inactive Canadian-American professional wrestler, musician, songwriter, radio personality, television host, actor, author, and dancer... and Christian defeated Trish Stratus Trish Stratus Patricia Anne Stratigias , better known by her ring name Trish Stratus, is a Canadian professional wrestler, actress and television personality currently signed with WWE. She is also a former fitness model.... and Lita Amy Dumas Amy Christine Dumas , known by her primary stage name Lita, is the lead singer for the band The Luchagors as well as a retired professional wrestler and WWE Diva active from 1999 to 2006.... |
Intergender tag team match Intergender wrestling Intergender wrestling, also known as mixed wrestling is a type of professional wrestling match between a man and a woman, and may also refer to tag team matches with both men and women on each team.... |
06:37 |
| 4 | Shawn Michaels Shawn Michaels Michael Shawn Hickenbottom , better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American television host and retired professional wrestler. He presents the Outdoor Channel show MacMillan River Adventures, and is currently signed to WWE, where he has served in an ambassadorial role since December... defeated Batista (with Ric Flair Ric Flair Richard Morgan Fliehr is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Ric Flair. Also known as "The Nature Boy", Flair is one of the most well-known professional wrestlers in the world.... ) |
Singles match | 16:28 |
| 5 | Evolution Evolution (professional wrestling) Evolution was a villainous professional wrestling stable on WWE's Raw brand between 2003 and 2005. At the height of its existence, the group consisted of Triple H, Ric Flair, Randy Orton, Batista and briefly Eugene.... (Ric Flair and Batista) last eliminated The Dudley Boyz Dudley Boyz Team 3D was a professional wrestling tag team, consisting of Brother Ray and Brother Devon, formerly sporadically joined into a stable by Brother Runt on several intervals... (Bubba Ray and D-Von) (c) to win |
Tag Team Turmoil match for the World Tag Team Championship | 20:48 |
| 6 | Molly Holly Nora Greenwald Nora Kristina Greenwald , better known by her ring name Molly Holly, is an inactive American professional wrestler. Greenwald is best known for her appearances with World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment .Greenwald began her professional wrestling career in WCW, where she... (c) defeated Ivory Lisa Moretti Lisa Moretti is a retired American professional wrestler. She is best known for her appearances with World Wrestling Entertainment between 1999 and 2005 under the ring name Ivory... |
Singles match for the WWE Women's Championship WWE Women's Championship The WWE Women's Championship was a professional wrestling championship in the World Wrestling Entertainment promotion. Created in 1956, it was the oldest active professional wrestling championship in World Wrestling Entertainment history until its retirement in 2010 as a result from a unification... |
04:23 |
| 7 | Triple H Triple H Paul Michael Levesque is an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling authority figure, WWE Executive Vice President of Talent and actor, better known by his ring name Triple H, an abbreviation of the ring name, Hunter Hearst Helmsley... defeated Goldberg Bill Goldberg Goldberg earned a scholarship to play for the University of Georgia Bulldogs football team where he served as a defensive tackle. He was taken in the 11th round, with the 302nd overall selection, in the 1990 NFL Draft.... (c) and Kane Kane (wrestler) Glenn Thomas Jacobs is a Spanish-born American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name, Kane. He is signed to WWE, appearing on its SmackDown brand, but is currently inactive due to injury.... |
Triple Threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship World Heavyweight Championship (WWE) The World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the SmackDown brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the WWE Championship of the Raw brand... |
19:28 |
| Tag Team Turmoil match | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elimination # | Team | Entrance # | Eliminated by | Elimination move | Time |
| 1 | La Résistance (Robért Conway and René Duprée René Goguen René Goguen better known by his ring name René Duprée, is a French Canadian professional wrestler. Goguen is best known for his tenure in World Wrestling Entertainment, where he is a one-time World Tag Team Champion with Sylvain Grenier as the tag team La Résistance and a one time WWE Tag Team... ) |
2 | Rosey and The Hurricane | Hurricane pinned Conway after a Super Hero Splash | 3:16 |
| 2 | Rosey and The Hurricane | 1 | Mark Jindrak Mark Jindrak Mark Robert Jindrak is an American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment... and Garrison Cade Lance Cade Lance Kurtis McNaught was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment where he performed under the ring names Garrison Cade and Lance Cade.... |
Jindrak pinned Hurricane with a roll-up | 3:34 |
| 3 | Val Venis Sean Morley Sean Allen Morley is a Canadian professional wrestler better known by his ring name Val Venis, during his time with World Wrestling Federation, later known as World Wrestling Entertainment... and Lance Storm Lance Storm Lance Timothy Evers known professionally by his ring name Lance Storm, is a semi-retired Canadian professional wrestler. He is best known for his work in World Wrestling Entertainment, Extreme Championship Wrestling, and World Championship Wrestling... |
4 | Jindrak and Cade | Jindrak pinned Venis after Cade clipped Venis' legs during a suplex attempt | 7:17 |
| 4 | Jindrak and Cade | 3 | The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray and D-Von) | Bubba Ray pinned Jindrak after a 3D | 11:29 |
| 5 | Test and Scott Steiner Scott Steiner Scott Carl Rechsteiner is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Scott Steiner. Steiner is perhaps best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling alongside his older brother Rick as the Steiner Brothers and as a member of the New World Order... |
6 | Dudley Boyz | D-Von pinned Test after a Bubba Bomb from Bubba Ray | 16:38 |
| 6 | Dudley Boyz | 5 | Evolution (Ric Flair and Batista) | Batista pinned D-Von after a Batista Bomb | 20:48 |
| Winner | Evolution | 7 | |||