WWE Vengeance 2003
July 27th, 2003
Denver, Colorado
WWE Champion: Brock Lesnar (since 3/30/03)
WWE Tag Team Champions: Shelton Benjamin & Charlie Haas (since 7/7/03)
WWE Cruserweight Champion: Rey Mysterio (since 6/5/03)
Commentators - Michael Cole & Tazz
This is the first Smackdown solo PPV of the brand split era.
1) Chris Benoit vs. Eddie Guerrero - United States Tournament Finals
My god. This was fucking great. They really let these two go out here and work an almost 20 minute barnburner to kick this show off. People talk about all time great openers and I’ve never heard this one brought up, but I’d say it should be in the conversation. The only flaw this has may just be personal preference, but in the final few minutes, things seemed to lose focus and shift toward a ton of false finishes and nearfalls and even some interference as Rhyno runs down. He seems to be trying to help Benoit as Eddie tries to cheat, but instead TURNS AND SPEARS BENOIT. And as a result, Eddie steals the win. I did not expect that. But yeah, this was fantastic, check it out if you haven’t seen it. One of the best WWE matches of the year.
Match rating - ****1/4
Backstage, Vince has some flowers and pretends they’re for Steph, but they’re actually for Sable.
2) Jamie Noble vs. Billy Gunn (w/ Torrie Wilson)
