Armageddon (2003)

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Armageddon
TD Waterhouse Centre
Attendance12,672[1]
Buy rate200,000
Tagline(s)Evolution of The Game
Pay-per-view chronology
← Previous
Survivor Series 		Next →
Royal Rumble
Armageddon chronology
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2002 		Next →
2004

The 2003 Armageddon was the fourth

TD Waterhouse Centre in Orlando, Florida
.

The

Batista
.

The event grossed US$450,000 with 9,000 ticket sales and received 200,000 pay-per-view buys. Armageddon was met with a generally negative critical reception. The event was claimed to be a "flop" by

Canadian Online Explorer's professional wrestling event section. They rated the overall event a one 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.

Production

Background

TD Waterhouse Centre in Orlando, Florida. It was the fourth event in the Armageddon chronology and featured wrestlers exclusively from the Raw brand.[3][4]

Storylines

Kane faced Goldberg and Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship

The main feud heading into the event was between Goldberg, Kane, and Triple H over the World Heavyweight Championship. At Survivor Series, Goldberg retained the World Heavyweight Championship against Triple H.[5] On the November 17 episode of Raw, Kane became involved in the feud between Goldberg and Triple H after attacking Goldberg following a Handicap match.[6] On the November 24 episode of Raw, Kane interfered in a title match between Triple H and Goldberg. After the match, General Manager Eric Bischoff scheduled Goldberg to defend the World Heavyweight Championship against Triple H and Kane in a Triple Threat match at Armageddon.[7]

Another primary feud heading into the event was between

Christian.[8] On the November 17 episode 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.[6] On the December 8 episode of Raw, Co-General Manager Mick Foley appointed himself as the special guest referee for the match.[9]

One of the predominant matches on the card was

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.[7]

Event

Other on-screen personnel[4]
Role: Name:
English commentators Jim Ross
Jerry Lawler
Spanish commentators Carlos Cabrera
Hugo Savinovich
Ring announcer Lilian Garcia
Referees Charles Robinson
Mike Chioda
Jack Doan
Earl Hebner
Chad Patton

Before the live broadcast of the event began, Rico defeated Heidenreich in a match that aired on Sunday Night Heat, a 30-minute pre-show for the event.[4] The event began with Lilian Garcia singing the United States National Anthem.[4]

Preliminary matches

Rob Van Dam lost his Intercontinental Championship to Randy Orton

In the opening match,

scissors kick to win.[3][4]

Next,

rolling thunder by Van Dam. Ric Flair, who accompanied Orton, attempted to interfere many times but was stopped by Foley. Orton pinned Van Dam after an RKO to win the match and the championship.[3][4][10]

In an

Christian faced 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.[3][4]

After this,

Superkick and pinned Batista. However, replays showed that Batista's shoulder was up, while Michaels was the one who had his shoulders on the mat. Batista initially believed that he had won the match.[3][4]

Next,

Maven and Matt Hardy came out for their scheduled match but attacked one another outside the ring. Hardy threw Maven into the ring, where a furious Batista attacked Maven and executed a powerbomb. As Maven could not compete, the referee canceled his match against Hardy.[3][4]

Main event matches

A

D-Von Dudley) then eliminated Jindrak and Cade and the team of Test and Scott Steiner. Co-General Manager Eric Bischoff, however, introduced Ric Flair and Batista as the seventh and final team to compete. Flair and Batista eliminated the Dudley Boyz to win the match and begin their first reign as World Tag Team Champions.[3][4][11]

Next,

Molly Holly defended her title against Ivory. Holly pinned Ivory while holding onto her tights for extra leverage to win the match and retain the title.[3][4]

In the

spear on Triple H and attempted to get the pinfall, but Kane broke up the attempt and chokeslammed Goldberg after Triple H low blowed the latter. Batista came down and pulled Kane out of the ring, which allowed Triple H to pin Goldberg[3][4] to win the title.[12]

Reception

The event grossed $450,000 with 9,000 ticket sales,[1] and received 200,000 buys, which was less than the 300,000 buys the previous year's event received.[13] 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.[13] Armageddon was met with a generally negative critical reception.

Canadian Online Explorer's professional wrestling section claimed that the event was a "flop", rating the overall event a one out of ten.[14] The Triple Threat main event match was rated a one and a half out of ten, while the match between Batista and Shawn Michaels received the highest match rating—an three and a half out of ten.[14]

The event was released on

Amazon.com was three out of five stars.[19]

Aftermath

Shawn Michaels began to pursue the World Heavyweight Championship after the event

Randy Orton defeated Rob Van Dam at the event to begin his first reign as WWE Intercontinental Champion, which lasted seven months,[10] the longest reign in over seven years at the time.[20] 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 chair and attacked Foley up the entrance stage.[21] Orton pinned Foley in a Handicap match at WrestleMania XX,[22] and defeated him in a Hardcore match to retain the title at Backlash 2004.[23] Orton finally dropped the title to Edge at Vengeance in July 2004.[20]

Triple H started to feud with Shawn Michaels. At the Royal Rumble, Triple H and Michaels fought to a draw in a Last Man Standing match for the World Heavyweight Championship.[21] The two faced 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.[22] Benoit ended the storyline between the three at Backlash, when he defeated Michaels and Triple H in another Triple Threat match.[23]

Batista and Ric Flair's first World Tag Team Championship reign lasted two months, as they lost the titles to Rob Van Dam and Booker T in February.[24] Christian defeated Chris Jericho at WrestleMania XX.[22] After the match, Trish Stratus, Jericho's on-screen girlfriend at the time, turned on Jericho and joined Christian.[22] Jericho, however, went on to defeat the two in a Handicap match at Backlash to conclude their storyline.[23]

While the 2003 Armageddon was held exclusively for the Raw brand, the 2004 event was held exclusively for SmackDown!.[25]

Results

No.Results
Triple threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship
19:28
(c) – the champion(s) heading into the match
H – the match was broadcast prior to the pay-per-view on Sunday Night Heat

Tag Team Turmoil match

Eliminated[1] Tag Team[1] Entered[1] Eliminated by[1] Time[1]
1
Robért Conway and René Duprée
) 		2 Rosey and The Hurricane 03:16
2
Rosey and The Hurricane
 1 Mark Jindrak and Garrison Cade 03:34
3 Val Venis and Lance Storm 4 Mark Jindrak and Garrison Cade 07:17
4
Garrison Cade
 3 The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley) 11:29
5 Test and Scott Steiner 6 The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley) 16:38
6
The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley
) 		5 Evolution (Ric Flair and Batista) 20:48
N/A Evolution (Ric Flair and Batista) 7 Winners

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Armageddon 2003 results". Pro Wrestling History. Archived from the original on June 23, 2008. Retrieved August 4, 2008.
  2. ^ Martínez, Sebestián (December 11, 2020). "Jim Ross reveals why WWE did not celebrate the 2001 edition of Armageddon". Solo Wrestling. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Keller, Wade (December 14, 2003). "12/14 WWE Armageddon PPV: Keller's ongoing "virtual time" detailed coverage". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved August 4, 2008.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Armageddon 2003 (DVD). Stamford, Connecticut: WWE Home Video. 2003. WWE58226.
  5. ^ a b Survivor Series 2003 (DVD). Stamford, Connecticut: WWE Home Video. 2003. WWE58224.
  6. ^
    Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on July 18, 2012. Retrieved August 4, 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link
    )
  7. ^
    Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on June 29, 2012. Retrieved February 25, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link
    )
  8. World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original
    on April 10, 2007. Retrieved August 4, 2008.
  9. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on June 29, 2012. Retrieved August 4, 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link
    )
  10. ^
    World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original
    on March 29, 2008. Retrieved August 4, 2008.
  11. World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original
    on February 16, 2012. Retrieved August 4, 2008.
  12. World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived
    from the original on July 24, 2008. Retrieved August 4, 2008.
  13. ^
    World Wrestling Entertainment
    Corporate. February 14, 2004. Retrieved August 4, 2008.
  14. ^
    Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on June 29, 2012. Retrieved August 4, 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link
    )
  15. For Your Entertainment. Archived from the original
    on February 7, 2009. Retrieved August 4, 2008.
  16. ^ "WWE – Evolution Of The Game: Armageddon DVD". CD Universe. Retrieved August 4, 2008.
  17. ^ "WWE Armageddon DVD sales". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 7, 2009. Retrieved August 4, 2008.
  18. ^ "WWE Armageddon DVD sales". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 7, 2009. Retrieved August 4, 2008.
  19. ^ "WWE Armageddon (Evolution of The Game) 2003 (2003)". Amazon. Retrieved August 4, 2008.
  20. ^ a b Vengeance 2004 (DVD). Stamford, Connecticut: WWE Home Video. 2004. WWE57024.
  21. ^ a b Royal Rumble 2004 (DVD). Stamford, Connecticut: WWE Home Video. 2004. WWE58264.
  22. ^ a b c d WrestleMania XX (DVD). Stamford, Connecticut: WWE Home Video. 2004. WWE55878.
  23. ^ a b c Backlash 2004 (DVD). Stamford, Connecticut: WWE Home Video. 2004. WWE55880.
  24. World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original
    on March 31, 2008. Retrieved August 4, 2008.
  25. ^ Martin, Finn (January 21, 2005). "WWE Armageddon (2004)". Power Slam Magazine, issue 127. SW Publishing. p. 24.

External links

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