WWE House Show 8/1/2003

Written by: Bob Colling

World Wrestling Entertainment House Show
Date: 8/1/2003
From: Sydney, Australia

The show starts off with a confrontation between Eric Bischoff and Stacy Keibler. The sound is off and on for some reason but the picture is really good. Anyway, after a few moments Kane makes his way down to the ring and Bischoff taunts Stacy. However, Kane turns on Bischoff because he doesn’t care and hits him with a choke slam. Kane grabs Keibler but Scott Steiner runs down to the ring and makes the save staring down Kane. Test also comes out and this leads to our first match of the evening. Kane attacks Steiner from behind hitting a side slam. Steiner is laid out with Stacy over him as Test casually enters the ring.

Opening Contest: Scott Steiner vs. Test: Stacy rolls to the floor and Test follows her to talk to her. She gets back in the ring and Steiner takes Test over with a suplex and a back elbow strike. Test bails to the floor and puts Stacy in front of him. Test shoves her into Steiner and cheap shots Steiner before returning to the ring. Test works over Steiner with a boot shot and hammers away on Steiner with right hands. Test chokes Steiner over the middle rope for a few moments. Test hammers away on Steiner in the corner followed by a choke. Steiner fights back with right hands but Test cuts him off with an elbow strike. Test clotheslines Steiner’s in the corner and does a few pushups. Test puts a sleeper hold on Steiner and Scott drops to a knee. Test elbows Steiner in the corner and comes off the middle rope but Steiner catches him with another suplex. Steiner drops Test with a couple of axe handle shots and chops Test in the corner. Test runs into a big boot and Steiner hit a belly to belly suplex for a two count. Test is begging off in the corner but Steiner doesn’t stop and hammers away on Test some more. Test atomic drops Steiner but Scott no sells it and clotheslines Test for a two count. Steiner does some pushups after an elbow drop. Test pokes Steiner in the eyes while the referee was out of position. Test drops Steiner chest first across the top rope before hitting a pump handle slam but Steiner kicks out at two! Test grabs Stacy on the apron and gets slapped. Steiner nearly wins after a reverse DDT. Test low blows Steiner with the referee again out of position. Test nails Steiner with a big boot but again Steiner kicks out at two. Test goes to the floor and grabs a steel chair. Stacy gets in the ring and Test shoves her down with the chair. Steiner ducks a chair shot and Test hits himself with the chair after hitting the top rope. Steiner takes advantage with a Flatliner and wins the match. (**. It’s not an awful match, but this certainly diminished Test as Steiner kicked out of his big moves. Test controlled most of the match since Steiner has proven to be quite limited at this point in his career. I probably would have put Test in a spot where he could have gone over.)

Second Contest: Steven Richards vs. Spike Dudley: Richards bails to the floor at the start of the match and gets back in quickly. Richards boots Spike in the midsection and continues with a scoop slam before taunting the fans. Richards knee lifts Dudley several times but Spike gets out of a slam attempt with a rollup for a two count. Spike goes for a few pin attempts but Richards gets out each time. Spike mocks Richards by giving him a back massage and Richards thought it was the referee until Dudley smacks him across the butt. Richards bails to the floor to regroup. Richards continues to bail from the ring and slows down the match considerably. Richards gets in the ring and poses, but Spike flexes a few times too. They go with a test of strength with Richards getting the advantage kicking Spike in the midsection. Spike stomps on Richards fingers and stomps Stevie several times in the corner. Richards dumps Spike to the floor to get the advantage. Spike gets back in the ring and is tossed to the floor again. Richards works over Spike on the apron to keep control of the contest. Richards takes Spike over with a snap suplex and punches Spike a few times. Spike gets out of a full nelson with a jaw breaker. Richards misses a splash in the corner and crashes to the canvas. Spike atomic drops Richards and hit a bulldog for a two count. Spike goes to the top rope but Richards stops him with an eye poke. Richards hooks Spike looking for a suplex but Spike bites Steven and shoves him off. Spike comes off the top to hit a double stomp. Richards counters the Dudley Dog attempt with a Death Valley Driver for a near fall. Dudley comes out of the corner with a head butt to Richards midsection. Richards counters a wheelbarrow attempt with a rollup and uses the ropes for leverage to win the match. (*1/2. Once they stopped with the stalling the match was okay, but I wasn’t all that entertained by it. I did like that Richards went over.)

Third Contest: Rodney Mack vs. The Hurricane: Mack shoves Hurricane at the start of the match but doesn’t follow up. Hurricane pokes Mack in the eyes and controls him with a headlock on the canvas. Mack shoulder blocks Hurricane but misses an elbow drop. Hurricane punches Mack a few times and dumps Mack over the top to the floor. Hurricane goes for a cross body on the floor and connects. Mack plants Hurricane with a power slam for a two count. Mack hits a double under hook overhead suplex but Hurricane kicks out at two. Mack controls Hurricane with a bear hug. Hurricane gets out of the hold and avoids Mack in the corner. Hurricane pummels Mack in the corner but is stopped by an atomic drop. Mack leaps off the middle rope hitting a shoulder block for a two count. Mack tries for a suplex but Hurricane counters with a neck breaker/elbow drop combo. Hurricane hammers away on Mack and connects with a few clotheslines. Hurricane gets a two count following a leaping neck breaker. Hurricane comes off the top hitting a cross body for a near fall. Hurricane misses a shining wizard and Mack plants him with a basic power slam for a near win. Hurricane comes off the middle rope hitting a neck breaker and waits in the corner. Hurricane hits the shining wizard and pins Mack! (**. I must have not been aware of how quick Mack lost momentum in the WWE. I was totally figuring that Mack would have won this match rather easily and instead does a clean job. It was kept fairly short and I enjoyed what Hurricane offered.)

Fourth Contest: Randy Orton vs. Val Venis: Oddly enough, they shake hands before the start. They have some kind of interaction with a female fan who touches Val’s abs in the ring. They trade a couple of go behinds until Val takes Orton down to the canvas. Venis knee drops the left arm of Orton several times. Val stands on Orton’s left arm and plays to the crowd before dropping backward. Orton rolls to the floor to recover. Val shoulder blocks and arm drags Orton to maintain control of the match. Orton sends Val into the corner but misses a splash and Val continues with arm drags. Val ties his boot and Orton nails him with a kick to the face to get the cheap advantage. Orton takes Val over with a suplex and continues to work over Val in the corner. Orton wraps Val around the ring post focusing on his back. Orton rolls Val back into the ring and gets a two count. Val tries for a suplex but Orton counters with a back suplex. Orton continues to control Val with a sleeper hold. Orton nearly wins with a snap power slam. Val hammers away on Orton but is met with a dropkick, which gets Orton a two count. Orton runs into an elbow strike in the corner and a boot. Venis comes out of the corner with a clothesline and backdrop. Venis hits a full nelson slam for a two count. Venis counters a sleeper with a spinning sit out power bomb for a two count. Orton plants Venis with a DDT for a two count. Orton continues to work over Venis with an uppercut but Venis comes back with a spine buster. Venis signals for the Money Shot as he heads to the top rope. Orton manages to crotch Val across the top rope. The camera goes ahead and Orton has won after an RKO. (**. Aside from not seeing the actual finish, it was a decent match.)

Fifth Contest: Victoria vs. Trish Stratus: Victoria shoves Trish down to the canvas at the start. Trish takes Victoria down to the canvas and gets a two count. Trish arm drags Victoria a few times and gets a two count after a cross body. They go to the floor where Trish rolls Victoria into the ring but is met with a shot to the midsection. Trish head scissors Victoria and gets a two count with a rollup. Trish works over Victoria with a series of chops. Trish comes off the ropes to hit an elbow drop for a two count. Trish gets tripped up by Steven Richards from the floor. Victoria tosses Trish across the ring by her hair a couple of times. Victoria works over Trish several times in the corner until Trish nearly wins with a rollup. Victoria clotheslines Trish to regain control of the match. Victoria rams Trish face first onto the canvas. Victoria controls Trish on the canvas with a sleeper hold. Victoria plants Trish with a swinging side slam but only manages a two count. Victoria slams Trish and goes to the apron missing a somersault leg drop back into the ring. Trish fights back with a few strikes in the corner but runs into a big boot. Trish takes Victoria off the middle rope with a hurricanrana and kicks Victoria a few times for a two count. Trish takes Victoria down with a Thez Press but gets stopped by a low blow. Victoria rolls Trish up but only gets a two count. Victoria distracts the referee as Richards tried to come off th stop but Spike Dudley shoved him off. Trish gets out of a back breaker attempt hitting a springboard bulldog for the win. (*1/2. They’ve had better matches for sure. It was just a basic match and likely sets up a mixed tag match during the tour.)

Sixth Contest: WWE RAW Tag Team Champions La Resistance vs. Dudley Boys: Dupree and D-Von start the match with Dupree going behind D-Von and letting go to do some jumping jacks. D-Von hip tosses Dupree a few times and along with bubba hits a double clothesline for a two count. Dupree works over D-Von in the corner with several strikes before tagging in Grenier. Grenier gets stopped by a shoulder block from D-Von who also hit an elbow drop for a two count. Grenier tries to knock Bubba off the apron but failed to do so. Bubba tags in and Grenier wants to shake hands but that doesn’t work. Bubba sends Grenier into the corner before hitting a backdrop. Bubba works over Grenier in the corner. Bubba rams Grenier’s head against the canvas a few times and splashes both champs in the corner. The champs are clotheslined over the top to the floor. Back in the ring, Grenier is working over Bubba after Dupree made the save on a rollup attempt. Dupree controls Bubba with a bear hug. Bubba tries to reach the corner to tag in D-Von. Bubba prevents his arm from falling three times and fits out of the hold. Dupree clotheslines Bubba after Bubba knocked Grenier off the apron. Grenier enters and continues to work over Bubba. Bubba hit a Bubba Bomb and tagged in D-Von. D-Von avoids Dupree who hit Grenier and nearly won with a rollup as the referee is pulled out. Bubba holds Dupree and they hit the What’s Up. D-Von looked like he went too far on his target. Grenier gets in the ring and hammers away on D-Von. Bubba jabs Grenier a few times and spears him causing them to go to the floor. Dupree whacks D-Von with a flag and wins the match. (*1/2. It seemed like it was a little clipped. The action wasn’t great and they relied on brawling.)

Seventh Contest: Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair: Michaels drop toe holds Flair and walks his back. Flair ends up flopping on his face and rolls to the floor to regroup. Michaels controls Flair on the canvas with a headlock. Flair backs Michaels into the corner and is slapped. Michaels bails to the floor and plays with the crowd. Michaels stops running the ropes and controls Flair with a headlock. Flair tries for a knee breaker but Michaels avoids it by keeping a headlock on Flair. Flair chops Michaels several times in the corner to get some momentum. Michaels comes back with strikes and backdrops Flair out of the corner. Flair is begging off and stops Michaels with an eye poke. Flair pokes Michaels in the eyes again and works over Michaels in the corner. Flair controls Michaels with his knee across Shawn’s throat. Flair keeps Shawn on the canvas with rest holds. Michaels gets up and trades chops with Flair followed by a backdrop. Flair drops Michaels with a back suplex and gets his feet on the ropes for a pin attempt but only gets a two count. They go back to trading chops. Flair stops Michaels with another sleeper hold. Michaels sends Flair to the floor to break the sleeper hold. Flair gets up to the top rope and is slammed off by Michaels. Michaels backdrops Flair but is stopped by a low blow as the referee was out of position. Flair locks in the figure four but isn’t going to get a submission. Michaels gets an inside cradle but Flair kicks out at two. Michaels nails Flair with a kick to the head. Michaels pulls down Flair’s tights on a sunset flip attempt. Michaels has the cover but Flair kicks out. Michaels backslides Flair for another two count. Michaels hits a leaping forearm shot and hammers away on Flair a few times. Michaels scoop slams Flair and heads to the top rope. Michaels hits an elbow drop off the top! Michaels goes to the corner setting up for Sweet Chin Music and he hits it for the win. (*. I didn’t like this match at all. Flair’s offense was incredibly boring and basic. Michaels was fine in his role. The action just left a lot to be desired.)

Eighth Contest: WWF Intercontinental Champion Booker T & Goldust vs. Chris Jericho & Christian: Christian is bouncing on the ropes until he falls off clearly on purpose to get the crowd to laugh at him. Christian starts the match against Goldust but quickly cowards into the corner. Christian misses a wild right hand as Goldust ducked the shot but doesn’t go on the attack. Christian hammers away on Goldust against the ropes. Goldust atomic drops and clotheslines Christian. Jericho enters and gets a butt shot to the face as Goldust gets a two count. Christian backs Goldust into the corner to deliver a few shoulder rams and taunts the fans. Goldust goes for an elbow shot but Christian runs away but is met with a throat thrust anyway. Booker tags in and hammers away on Christian with right hands. Booker backdrops Christian for a two count. Christian knee lifts Booker before tagging in Jericho who keeps control by ramming Booker head first into the corner. Booker comes back with a forearm shot to drop Jericho and continues with a clothesline. Goldust tags in and hammers away on Jericho a few times. Goldust punches Christian off the apron and Jericho bails to the floor. On the floor, Christian and Jericho hug on the floor until Booker comes over to attack them. Goldust hammers away on Jericho and jumps off the middle rope to deck Christian. Goldust misses a spear and hits the ring post shoulder first. Jericho maintains control stomping on Goldust. Christian gets in the ring and double teams Goldust while Booker is distracting the referee on accident. Christian keeps control working over Goldust’s arm with an arm bar.

Christian plants Goldust with an arm breaker for a two count. Jericho drops a few elbows to keep Goldust on the canvas for a two count. Goldust tries to make the tag but is pulled back to the middle of the ring. Goldust has a sunset flip but Jericho rolls through and goes for the Walls of Jericho. Goldust counters with an inside cradle for a two count. Jericho quickly hits a clothesline and tags out to Christian. Goldust backdrops Christian but Jericho yanked Booker off the apron to prevent the tag. Goldust runs into an elbow in the corner and Christian heads to the top rope. Christian gets caught in midair and slammed to the canvas! Goldust kicks Christian away and tags in Booker who punches Jericho several times. Booker nails Jericho with a spin kick and gets a two count. Christian helps Jericho out and sends Booker across the ring but Booker holds onto the ropes and allows Goldust to hit a double bulldog. Goldust sets Christian up in the corner for Shattered Dreams. Goldust kicks Christian in the nuts and drop toe holds Jericho head first into Christians groin. Booker hits a leaping side kick but can’t pin Jericho. Booker plants Jericho with a flapjack and tosses Christian over the top to the floor. Jericho hit a bulldog but misses a moonsault. Booker nearly wins after the scissors kick but Christian pulled the referee out. Goldust brawls with Christian on the floor. Jericho decks Booker with the title. Jericho has the cover and pins Booker for the win. (***. A fairly formula tag match but I enjoyed the action.)

Main Event: Rob Van Dam vs. Kane: The footage starts with Kane working over Van Dam across the apron and eventually hitting a side slam after sending RVD into the corner. Kane heads to the top rope connecting with a flying clothesline for a two count. Kane lifts RVD up by his throat and slams him down to the canvas for a two count. Kane clotheslines RVD in the corner to continue the offense. Kane lifts RVD up over his back and is choking RVD. RVD misses a spin kick but connects with his free leg. Kane gets dropkicked into the corner and dropped toe hold into the corner. RVD ducks a clothesline and comes off the middle rope with a kick. Kane rolls to the floor to regroup. RVD baseball slides Kane on the floor and takes Kane out with a somersault dive on the floor! Kane rolls RVD into the ring. RVD hit a step over heel kick and followed up with a rolling thunder splash! RVD goes for the cover but Kane kicks out at two. RVD elbows Kane in the corner and goes to the top missing a kick as he hit the referee on accident. Kane is up and signals for the choke slam. Kane is stopped by a low blow and a spinning heel kick. RVD goes to the top rope managing to hit the Five Star Frog Splash! The referee struggles to get up and that allows Kane to sit up and take advantage. Kane choke slams RVD and has the cover but RVD kicks out at two. Kane is fed up as he choke slams the referee, too. Another referee comes out and disqualifies Kane. So, Kane takes that referee out with a choke slam, too. RVD ducks a chair shot and kicks the chair into Kane’s face. RVD hammers away on Kane until Randy Orton comes out and attacks RVD. Ric FLiar and Shawn Michaels come down to the ring and they start to brawl. Hurricane comes out as well to work over Orton with strikes in the corner. Hurricane tosses Orton over the top to the floor and stands tall with Michaels and RVD. (**. It was a decent match between these two. This was a time where Kane was really interesting and seemed motivated. The finish was expected.)

Final Thoughts:
There isn’t anything redeeming on the show as it’s a lot of below average to average wrestling at best. The Australia crowd is usually really hot for the action since they don’t get live WWE wrestling on a regular basis. For me, this show gets a thumbs down.

Thanks for reading.