The bright lights of FleetCenter in Boston, Massachusetts, shined down on WWE as the Royal Rumble brought mayhem, action, and excitement to a worldwide audience. I attended this event with some good friends, and it was quite the show, even though it was obvious to me that Brock Lesnar would win the Rumble to set up his match with Kurt Angle at Wrestlemania 19.

In my youthful years, I would wait outside the security gates on Causeway St. to catch a glimpse of the wrestlers entering the building on the off chance that one of them would hand out an autograph. I never obtained an autograph in all my years of attending events. However, I did witness Booker T and Rob Van Dam trade backstage passes for a bag of weed with a fan a few hours before the show.

I remember little about the Spike Dudley vs. Steven Richards on Sunday Night Heat, except for fans chanting “ECW, ECW” throughout the match. The opening match for the pay-per-view pitted The Big Show vs. Brock Lesnar, where the winner gained entry into the Royal Rumble match. Both men traded power moves back and forth until Lesnar landed the F5 for the victory. Big Show jumped Lesnar from behind in a jealous rage after the bell and injured his ribs, thus casting doubt over Lesnar’s participation later on.

The Dudley Boyz wrestle Lance Storm & William Regal in a match, with the usual bad guys getting the upper hand for most of the match until D-Von makes the hot tag to Bubba Ray. He cleans house and sets up Regal for D-Von’s dreaded “WAZZZZZ UUUUUP” headbutt from the top rope. They nailed Storm with the Dudley Death Drop and captured their 8^th WWE Tag Team Championship. Torrie Wilson beat Dawn Marie in a forgettable match, and fans were disillusioned with the entire angle due to the storyline involving the fake death of Torrie’s father, which was done in a dull and shameless manner.

Triple H defended the World Heavyweight Championship against “Big Poppa Pump” Scott Steiner, who was making his in-ring return to WWE. This was a WWE vs. WCW dream match that became a nightmare. Steiner got winded five minutes into the match and looked completely lost. Most wrestlers kick, punch, or clothesline, but Steiner threw suplex after suplex until Triple H got himself disqualified to end the match. The fans loved Steiner when he walked in and hated him when he left. This is why you never saw him near the main event again: if Hunter can’t pull a good match out of you, then Fuhgeddaboudit.

The WWE title match was next as Kurt Angle defended against Chris Benoit. This was the single greatest wrestling match I have ever seen in person. The fans inside the FleetCenter witnessed 20 minutes of wrestling poetry. Boston is usually funny regarding technical wrestling since we have been treated to many of the greatest moments in history. The fans were on the edge of their seats as these two gave it everything they had. What made this match unique is that it was a different style than WWE was used to producing.

Angle and Benoit had no restrictions on what they were allowed to do. At the 12-minute mark of the match, Benoit hit a release German suplex that turned Angle inside out and jacked the crowd out of their seats. Benoit applied his fifth Crippler Crossface, but Angle reversed it and secured the Ankle Lock for the fourth time in the match. Benoit used his legs to kick him away several times, but Angle held on like a pit bull. Angle pulled Benoit to the center and sat down on the leg, and with nowhere to go, Benoit had no choice but to tap out. 

This match represented the difference between Raw and Smackdown at the time. Raw was the show for big angles, while Smackdown was a wrestler’s wrestling show. The standing ovation Chris Benoit received after the match was a moment I would never forget, as he was the guy who was my professional influence as a wrestler. I also believe that ovation made Vince McMahon realize Benoit could be a world champion.

It is now time for the Royal Rumble!

15 Raw superstars and 15 Smackdown superstars duked it out, with the winner getting a title shot against their brand’s champion in the main event at WrestleMania 19. Even though it was one of the least memorable Rumbles in history, it did have its moments, including Chris Jericho’s MVP performance, eliminating Shawn Michaels almost immediately. Rey Mysterio and Edge came out early and delivered some action-packed moves.

Tommy Dreamer came in at #10 and turned it into a hardcore rumble with a trash can full of weapons, ala New Jack. The innovator of violence cleaned house with an arsenal of household items and hit Jericho with the mother of kendo stick shots. The sound reverberated like a gunshot as Jericho Nestea plunged to the canvas. Y2J got the last laugh as he made Dreamer his 6th elimination of the night. 

Rikishi came in at #20 and super kicked the hell out of everyone but was eventually eliminated by Batista. Shawn Michaels came back out to try and failed to illegally eliminate Chris Jericho but provided enough distraction for Test to big boot the Winnipeg native over the top rope and out of the Rumble. The heavy hitters started coming in with Lesnar at #29 and The Undertaker at #30. 

The final four came down to Lesnar, Taker, Batista and Kane. Undertaker eliminated Batista and then battled Kane before eliminating him. Batista was angered at his elimination, so he distracted Undertaker by attempting to hit him with a chair, but Undertaker avoided it and nailed Batista with a chair. Lesnar took advantage of the situation and eliminated a distracted Undertaker to win the Royal Rumble.

Overall, the 2003 installment of the Royal Rumble was a thumbs-in-the-middle affair. Raw was exposed while Smackdown reigned supreme. The Rumble sold the show, but the WWE Title Match stole the show with a performance that will be forgotten due to the scandal that scarred Benoit’s reputation forever. However, he wasn’t the only one in that match because it takes two to tango. I remember 1/19/03 as a great time with my best friends, and the night Kurt Angle proved that he was the best wrestler on the planet with a once-in-a-lifetime performance that will never be duplicated.