| Armageddon | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Promotional poster featuringTriple H | |||
| Promotion | World Wrestling Entertainment | ||
| Brand | Raw | ||
| Date | December 14, 2003 | ||
| City | Orlando, Florida | ||
| Venue | TD Waterhouse Centre | ||
| Attendance | 12,672[1] | ||
| Buy rate | 200,000 | ||
| Tagline | Evolution of The Game | ||
| Pay-per-view chronology | |||
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| Armageddon chronology | |||
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The 2003Armageddon was the fourthArmageddonprofessional wrestlingpay-per-view (PPV)event produced byWorld Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was held exclusively for wrestlers from the promotion'sRawbrand division. The event took place on December 14, 2003, at theTD Waterhouse Centre inOrlando, Florida.
Themain event was aTriple Threat match for theWorld Heavyweight Championship betweenKane,Triple H, and championGoldberg. Triple H won the match and the World Heavyweight Championship after pinning Goldberg following achokeslam from Kane. Theundercard includedRandy Orton winning theIntercontinental Championship fromRob Van Dam,Evolution (Bautista andRic Flair) winning theWorld Tag Team Championship from theDudley Boyz, andShawn Michaels defeatingBatista.
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" byCanadian Online Explorer's professional wrestling event section. They rated the overall event a one out of ten. When the event was released onDVD, it reached a peak position of second onBillboard's DVD sales chart for recreational sports. It remained on the chart for four consecutive weeks.
Armageddon was established in1999 asWorld Wrestling Entertainment's (WWE) Decemberpay-per-view (PPV) and was held every year except in 2001.[2] The 2003 event was held on December 14 at theTD Waterhouse Centre inOrlando, Florida. It was the fourth event in the Armageddon chronology and featured wrestlers exclusively from theRawbrand.[3][4]
The mainfeud heading into the event was betweenGoldberg,Kane, andTriple H over theWorld Heavyweight Championship. AtSurvivor Series, Goldberg retained the World Heavyweight Championship against Triple H.[5] On the November 17 episode ofRaw, Kane became involved in the feud between Goldberg and Triple H after attacking Goldberg following aHandicap match.[6] On the November 24 episode ofRaw, Kane interfered in a title match between Triple H and Goldberg. After the match,General ManagerEric Bischoff scheduled Goldberg to defend the World Heavyweight Championship against Triple H and Kane in aTriple Threat match at Armageddon.[7]
Another primary feud heading into the event was betweenRandy Orton andRob Van Dam over theWWE Intercontinental Championship. Van Dam won the title on the September 29 episode ofRaw by defeating then-championChristian.[8] On the November 17 episode ofRaw, during a match betweenRic Flair and Van Dam, Orton interfered and executed anRKO on Van Dam. Later that night, Orton was granted an Intercontinental Championship match against Van Dam at Armageddon.[6] On the December 8 episode ofRaw, Co-General ManagerMick Foley appointed himself as thespecial guest referee for the match.[9]
One of the predominant matches on the card wasBatista versusShawn Michaels. Their feud first started when Batista attacked Michaels during hiselimination match at Survivor Series, withSteve Austin's career on the line, costing Team Austin the match.[5] On the November 24 episode ofRaw, Eric Bischoff scheduled a match between the two for Armageddon.[7] Later that night, Michaels andChris Jericho defeated Batista and Ric Flair in atag team match. Towards the end of the match, Jericho turned on Michaels andsuperkicked 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 apowerbomb on Michaels.[7]
| Role: | Name: |
|---|---|
| Englishcommentators | 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 thelive broadcast of the event began,Rico defeatedHeidenreich in a match that aired onSunday Night Heat, a 30-minute pre-show for the event.[4] The event began withLilian Garcia singing theUnited States National Anthem.[4]
In the opening match,Booker T facedMark Henry. Henry controlled most of the match, as he was able to execute aspinebuster and apply varioussubmission holds on Booker T. Booker T executed ascissors kick to win.[3][4]
Next,Rob Van Dam defended theWWE Intercontinental Championship againstRandy Orton withMick Foley as special guest referee. The match contained many notablespots, including anelevated spike DDT by Orton on Van Dam, and arolling 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 anIntergendertag team match billed as the "Battle of the Sexes",Chris Jericho andChristian faced off againstTrish Stratus andLita. The match went back and forth, as each team was able to gain the advantage. In the end, Christian pinned Stratus with aroll-up to win the match for himself and Jericho.[3][4]
After this,Shawn Michaels wrestledBatista. Near the end of the match, Batista executed a series of spinebusters on Michaels and attempted a powerbomb but Michaels escaped the attempt and executed aSuperkick 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 andMatt 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]
ATag Team Turmoil match for theWorld Tag Team Championship followed. Two of the overall seven teams started the match, with another team entering the match once one was eliminated.The Hurricane andRosey started the match againstLa Résistance (Robért Conway andRené Duprée). Hurricane eliminated La Résistance after pinning Conway following aSuper Hero Splash. Seconds after the elimination,Mark Jindrak came into the ring and rolled up The Hurricane to eliminate him and Rosey. Jindrak andGarrison Cade then faced off against the team ofVal Venis andLance Storm. While Venis was performing avertical suplex attempt on Jindrak, Cade clipped Venis's legs, which in turn caused Jindrak to fall atop of Venis, scoring a pinfall for his team. TheDudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley andD-Von Dudley) then eliminated Jindrak and Cade and the team ofTest andScott Steiner. Co-General ManagerEric Bischoff, however, introducedRic 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,WWE Women's ChampionMolly Holly defended her title againstIvory. Holly pinned Ivory while holding onto her tights for extra leverage to win the match and retain the title.[3][4]
In themain event,Goldberg defended theWorld Heavyweight Championship againstKane andTriple H in a Triple Threat match. The match was evenly divided between the three, as every man was able to gain the advantage. Kane performed a Chokeslam onto the broadcast table on Goldberg and Triple H put Goldberg through the broadcast table with an elbow drop off the barricade. In the end, Goldberg performed aspear on Triple H and attempted to get the pinfall, but Kane broke up the attempt andchokeslammed Goldberg after Triple H low blowed Goldberg. Batista came down and pulled Kane out of the ring, which allowed Triple H to pin Goldberg[3][4] to win the title.[12]
The event grossed $450,000 with 9,000 ticket sales,[1] and received 200,000 buys, which was less than the 300,000 buys theprevious 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—a three and a half out of ten.[14]
The event was released onDVD on January 20, 2004.[15][16] The DVD reached a peak position of second onBillboard's DVD sales chart for recreational sports on February 12, 2004.[17] It remained on the chart for four consecutive weeks, until on March 6, 2004, when it ranked twentieth.[18] The DVD was also reviewed by customers; the average customer rating fromAmazon.com was three out of five stars.[19]
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 theRoyal Rumble, Foley eliminated Orton from theRoyal 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 atWrestleMania XX,[22] and defeated him in aHardcore match to retain the title atBacklash 2004.[23] Orton finally dropped the title toEdge atVengeance 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 aLast 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 theCrippler 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, the2004 event was held exclusively forSmackDown!.[25]
| No. | Results[1][4] | Stipulations | Times[1] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1H | Rico (withMiss Jackie) defeatedJon Heidenreich | Singles match | 1:28 | ||||
| 2 | Booker T defeatedMark Henry (withTheodore Long) | Singles match | 9:20 | ||||
| 3 | Randy Orton (withRic Flair) defeatedRob Van Dam (c) | Singles match for theWWE Intercontinental Championship withMick Foley asspecial guest referee | 17:59 | ||||
| 4 | Chris Jericho andChristian defeatedTrish Stratus andLita | Tag team match | 6:37 | ||||
| 5 | Shawn Michaels defeatedBatista (with Ric Flair) | Singles match | 12:28 | ||||
| 6 | Evolution (Ric Flair and Batista) won by last eliminatingThe Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray andD-Von) (c) | Tag Team Turmoil match for theWorld Tag Team Championship | 20:48 | ||||
| 7 | Molly Holly (c) defeatedIvory | Singles match for theWWE Women's Championship | 4:23 | ||||
| 8 | Triple H defeatedGoldberg (c) andKane | Triple Threat match for theWorld Heavyweight Championship | 19:28 | ||||
| |||||||
| Eliminated[1] | Tag Team[1] | Entered[1] | Eliminated by[1] | Time[1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | La Résistance (Robért Conway andRené Duprée) | 2 | Rosey and The Hurricane | 03:16 |
| 2 | Rosey and The Hurricane | 1 | Mark Jindrak and Garrison Cade | 03:34 |
| 3 | Val Venis andLance Storm | 4 | Mark Jindrak and Garrison Cade | 07:17 |
| 4 | Mark Jindrak andGarrison Cade | 3 | The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley) | 12:29 |
| 5 | Test andScott Steiner | 6 | The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley) | 16:38 |
| 6 | The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley andD-Von Dudley) | 5 | Evolution (Ric Flair and Batista) | 20:48 |
| N/A | Evolution (Ric Flair and Batista) | 7 | Winners | |