| Date: June 7, 2003
| Venue: Telewest Arena | City: Newcastle, England
| Attendance: 10, 000

| tweet me: @BastionBlogger 

Insurrextion is the annual pay per view held in the United Kingdom and this year, like last, it’ll be the Raw brand representing the WWE. Oddly the show hasn’t been mentioned on Raw so you wouldn’t know it was happening but it is and the likes of Triple H, Booker T, Chris Jericho and Stacy Keibler are on the poster. Expect matches that are continuation of the current feuds on the Raw brand, feuds like Triple H/Kevin Nash, Booker T/Christian and Kane & RVD/La Resistance.

In dark matches prior to the show, Maven beat German wrestler Christian Eckstein and The Hurricane defeated Lance Storm.

A video package kicks us off with shots of the likes of Kevin Nash, Chris Jericho, Eric Bischoff and Scott Steiner. It’s mostly Triple H, Kevin Nash and Chris Jericho though. Time’s are changing according to the voiceover. Austin and Bischoff present Insurrextion. The final ever Insurrextion pay per view. Jim Ross welcomes us to Newcastle, he’s join by Jerry Lawler.

Jazz (c) vs. Trish Stratus – Women’s Championship Match

This is the fourth singles pay per view match between these two ladies. Jazz has won 2 of the previous matches and Trish has won once. Teddy Long is present with Jazz. Teddy Long asks everyone to give Jazz a standing ovation before the bell. Both ladies were on the 2002 Insurrextion card in a match that Trish and Jacqueline beat Jazz and Molly Holly. Jazz gets the first roll up for the first near fall of the night. Trish takes Jazz down with a waistlock takedown and then hits a couple of arm drags and a victory roll for a two count. Stratus hits a clothesline for a near fall and a dropkick for another two count. Trish hits some forearms and chops but Teddy Long grabs Trish’s leg to distract her and give Jazz the advantage.

No woman in history has fought as many PPV matches as Trish to this point. Jazz hits her with a legdrop with some great elevation. That earns her a near fall. Interesting that they’ve kicked the show off with a Woman’s match, they never usually do that for PPVs. Jazz applies a chinlock. Jazz beat Trish for the gold at Backlash. Trish gets out of the chinlock and hits a Lou Thesz Press. Jazz reverses an Irish whip into the corner but misses with a splash. Trish rolls Jazz up for a two count but Jazz is up first and knocks Trish down with a clothesline. Jazz then slingshots Trish into the middle rope. Jazz hits some chops and kicks in the corner and then a fishermans suplex for a two count. Jazz applies a Boston crab but Trish is close to the ropes and grabs on to them.

Trish gets back into the match with a neckbreaker but both girls are down. Jazz is first up but Trish fights her off with some big forearms and then her trademark hurricanrana for a two count. Jazz goes for a clothesline but Trish ducks it with her matrix like move and then hits Jazz with a chick kick but only for a two count. Trish then goes for Stratusfaction but Jazz reverses it into a side suplex for a near fall. Trish attempts another chick kick but Jazz reverses it into a Boston crab. Trish manages to get out of it and then locks on a Boston crab of her own and then Trish applies an STF! That’s Jazz’s own finisher! Victoria then comes running down to the ring distracting the referee! Teddy Long gets in the ring, grabs Trish and throws her into the ringpost! Jazz hooks the leg of Trish and the referee turns round and counts the three for the win! A bit of a screwy finish but the match between the two girls was a good one.

Rating: 7/10

There’s a VT next showing how Christian won the Intercontinental Championship at Judgment Day at the expense of Booker T.

Christian (c) vs. Booker T – Intercontinental Championship Match

It’s a first time meeting between these two men on pay per view. Christian has a 1-1 record at Insurrextion PPVs whilst Booker T has a 1-0 record. With this match scheduled for Bad Blood next week you’d think they would come up with something more creative for this show. This is Christians 50th PPV match, he’s only the 15th man in history to reach this milestone. It’s his first pay per view match with short hair. A “we want Edge” chant breaks out. Booker T holds up the Intercontinental title and gets a big pop. Christian gets the first move in with an arm drag. Two big title matches to kick off Insurrextion. Booker T applies a headlock which Christian gets out of,  but Booker takes him back down with a clothesline, powerslam and then a clothesline out of the ring.

Christian gets back in the ring and hits a cheap shot to take the advantage but Booker T gets back into it with a reverse elbow. Booker then goes back to the headlock and takes Christian down to the mat with it. Christian gets out of the hold and scrapers out of the ring to avoid a kick. Booker catapults Christian into the top turnbuckle and then schoolboys the champion for a two count. Booker T then hits some hard chops in the corner and then a back body drop for a two count. Christian pokes Booker T in the eye and then drops him on the top rope. Christian hits a dropkick for a two count and then applies a chinlock. Booker T gets out of it and then goes for an axe kick but Christian ducks it and Booker goes over the top rope to the outside.

Back in the ring and Christian hits a neckbreaker for a near fall. Christian then applies a chinlock again. Booker gets out of it and Christian goes up to the middle rope but Booker T catches him with a kick as he flies off. Both men get to their feet and Booker hits some chops, a flying forearm and a side slam for a two count. Booker then hits his trademark roundhouse kick for another near fall. Christian goes for his reverse DDT but Booker counters it into a back body drop. Booker T then goes for the Book End but Christian gets out of it and hits his reverse DDT for a near fall. Christian runs at Booker T who hits him with a flapjack. Booker then gives us a Geordie Spin-a-roonie! Christian attempts to throw Book out of the ring but the challenger lands on the apron.

Booker hits his trademark scissors kick on the top rope on Christian but Christian flies back into the referee. Booker then pins Christian but the referee is down and Christian kicks out of it. Booker attempts to hit his finisher but Booker T rolls him up which Christian counters into a roll up of his own! Christian grabs onto the bottom rope and the referee counts the 3! It’s another non-clean finish for a heel champion but it is a win for Christian none the less.

Rating: 6/10 

Stone Cold Steve Austin is backstage and walks into Teddy Long. Austin isn’t happy that Teddy Long interfered with Jazz’s match. Austin then adds Spike Dudley and Teddy Long into the Dudley Boyz vs. Rodney Mack and Christopher Nowinski match later. Teddy Long isn’t happy about it. Kane then appears and stares at Austin who asks him if he’s got a problem. Kane walks off.

We get some footage from Raw with Rene Dupree beating Kane and Stone Cold Stunnering Kane after the match.

Kane & Rob Van Dam (c) vs. La Resistance (Sylvain Grenier & Rene Dupree) – World Tag Team Championship Match

This is a first time meeting between these two teams on pay per view just 8 days before they meet against at Bad Blood. RVD and Kane both have a 1-0 record at Insurrextion pay per views. Jim Ross says that RVD is looking for some high times against La Resistance. High times indeed. La Resistance go into this match undefeated in PPV. Van Dam and Rene Dupree kick off the match and Van Dam hits some arm drags to take the early advantage. Dupree cheap shots RVD but Van Dam hits him with a spinning heel kick and a monkey flip. Dupree tags out to Grenier and RVD tags Kane. Kane lays into Grenier with right hands and elbows. Dupree takes a cheap shot on Kane and some double teaming gives La Resistance the advantage. Grenier tags Dupree who shuffles from left to right but gets hit with a big right hand.

Van Dam tags in and hits Dupree with a kick off the top rope. He then hits a standing moonsault on Dupree and rolling thunder on Grenier. Van Dam then hits a big plancha on both members of La Resistance. Again Dupree hits a cheap shot on Van Dam allowing Grenier to reverse a suplex into a DDT for a near fall. Dupree tags back in and lays into Van Dam with some hard elbows. Quick tags between La Resistance who take it in turns to lay into RVD. Grenier then applies a chinlock which Van Dam gets out of but Grenier makes sure he doesn’t make the tag. Grenier tags Dupre who also locks on a chinlock. Van Dam gets out of it and hits Dupree with an enzeguri before tagging out to Kane.

Kane takes Dupree down with clotheslines and then the same with Grenier. He hits Dupree with a sidewalk slam and then heads to the top before nailing Grenier with a clothesline. Kane lines Grenier up for a chokeslam but Dupree attacks him from behind. La Resistance then hit Kane with a double spinebuster. Van Dam breaks up the cover and all four men go at it. Dupree takes RVD out of the ring but Kane knocks Dupree down with a clothesline before hitting both members of La Resistance with a chokeslam. RVD then comes off the top with a 5 star from splash on Grenier for the three count! RVD and Kane win the match and go on to Bad Blood where they’ll defend the titles against La Resistance again!

Rating: 6.75/10

Al Snow is backstage with Goldust. Snow asks Goldust what we can expect from him tonight in his match against Rico. Goldust cuts an entertaining promo.

Goldust vs. Rico

It’s the first non title match of the night and a first time meeting between Goldust and Rico on pay per view. It’s an Insurrextion debut for both men too. Goldust takes down Rico early. A “you screwed Bret” chant breaks out aimed at Earl Hebner. Goldust chases Rico around the ring. Rico hits a hiptoss but Goldust takes Rico down with an arm drag. Rico then hits some martial arts kicks but Goldust hits him with an inverted atomic drop and a clothesline for a two count. Goldust hits another arm drag and applies an armbar. Rico gets out of it with a poke in the eye and then a kick to the face for a two count.

Rico drops a couple of elbows for a two count and then applies a full nelson. Goldust gets out of it with some elbows and then attempts a flying forearm but Rico ducks it and Goldust falls to the outside. Rico rolls Goldust back into the ring after smashing his face off the side of the ring. It’s these sort of matches you don’t get on a normal pay per view. Whether that’s a good or bad thing I don’t know. Both men hit some right hands but Rico takes the advantage with some more martial arts kicks. There’s a couple of near falls from both men before Rico goes back to work with elbows and a rake to the eyes. Rico applies a chinlock but Goldust gets out of it and hits a backslide for a near fall. Rico is back up and drops a couple of elbows for a near fall. Rico heads to the top but Goldust rolls out of the way of a moonsault.

Goldust is first up and hits a bulldog on Rico for a two count. Goldust then sets up Rico for shattered dreams which would surely be a disqualification if he hits it and so the referee stands in the way. That gives Rico time to get out of the ropes and he hits Goldust with a kick but Goldust fights back, hitting a butt bump, his trademark uppercut and then a chokeslam type move for a two count. Goldust lays in ten big right hands but Rico drops him on the top turnbuckle and hits a neckbreaker. Rico rolls up Goldust with his feet on the ropes and only gets a two count. Goldust then hits a powerslam out of nowhere and gets the 3! Goldust beats Rico out of nowhere.

Rating: 3.75/10

There’s a VT up next for “Classy” Freddie Blassie who passed away last week.

Chris Jericho is out next for the Highlight Reel. Jericho calls everyone a tosser. He does do his research into British slang. Jericho says he’s glad that Liverpool won the city of culture award and then shows how unhappy he is with the highight reel set that Newcastle has provided. Jericho even takes a shot at Bobby Robson, the Newcastle manager. Jericho then introduces his guest for the Highlight Reel, Eric Bischoff! Bischoff insults the crowd but they pop when Stone Cold Steve Austin makes his way out. Austin says that he has changed the main event between Triple H and Kevin Nash to a street fight. Austin then Stunners Jericho and Bischoff to end the segment.

Ric Flair and Triple H are backstage and although Flair isn’t happy about the match becoming a street fight, Helmsley says that he ends it tonight.

Rodney Mack, Christopher Nowinski & Teddy Long vs. Bubba Ray, D-Von & Spike Dudley

This 6 man tag match marks PPV in-ring debuts for Rodney Mack and Teddy Long. Bubba Ray & D-Von have 0-2 records at Insurrextion PPVs whilst Spike has a 1-0 record. A “We Want Tables” chant breaks out at D-Von and Rodney Mack start the match. Rodney, previously of Da Baldies in ECW, takes D-Von down early but D-Von gets back into it with an arm drag and dropkick before applying an armbar. Mack then tags in Nowinski who gets hit with a spinning elbow from D-Von. D-Von tags in Bubba Ray after Nowinski slapped Bubba. Rodney and Teddy Long refuse to tag in so Bubba Ray hits Nowinski with a spear before laying into Rodney Mack and then clearing the ring. Bubba Ray then throws Spike out on top of Nowinksi and Mack.

Another “Tables” chant breaks out and Bubba Ray teases Nowinski before hitting him with a neckbreaker for a two count. Bubba Ray then tags in Spike who hits some right hands on Nowinski and then a flying head scissors and a dropkick. Spike goes for a cross body but Nowinski catches him and ties him up in the ropes, laying in some boots. Nowinski tags in Rodney Mack and they hit Spike with a hard Irish whip. Mack hits a stalling suplex on Spike for a two count and then tags in Teddy Long. Long stomps on Spike and then quickly tags back out to Nowinski. Nowinski applies a bear hug to Spike. Nowinski is looking for his first PPV win tonight. Nowinski hits a clothesline on Spike and then attempts a splash from the middle rope but Spike gets his knees up. Spike tags in Bubba Ray who hits a back body drop on Nowinski, a sidewalk slam on Mack and then a Samoan Drop on Nowinski. Bubba Ray and D-Von hit a double flapjack on Nowinski.

Nowinski saves Teddy Long before Bubba Ray can get to him. The Harvard graduate then swings his mask at Bubba Ray but Bubba ducks it and takes Nowinski down with his trademark jabs. The Dudley Boyz then hit the Wassup drop on Rodney Mack. Bubba Ray calls for the tables and D-Von obliges. Spike hits a stomp on Rodney Mack from the top for a near fall. Spike then goes for the Dudley Dogg but Rodney Mack counters it into a powerslam. Rodney Mack then tags in Teddy Long to make the cover but Spike kicks out. Mack attempts a clothesline on Spike but Spike ducks and Mack nails Long! Spike then covers Teddy Long and gets the 3! The Dudley Boyz win tonight. Nowinski and Mack attack the Dudley Boyz after the match and set up a table but Bubba Ray and D-Von 3D Nowinski right through it!

Rating: 5/10

There’s some footage shown from Raw with Test pulling Stacy Keibler in the way of a baseball slide.

Scott Steiner vs. Test – Val Venis special guest referee

Val Venis is first out as the special guest referee for this match. Val then introduces Stacy Keibler. Stacy takes over ring announcer duties for the following match. Test attacks Steiner before the bell. It’s a first PPV match between these two men before they meet against at Bad Blood next week. Steiner takes Test down with a clothesline and then does some press ups next to him. Test exits the ring and Steiner follows but Test uses Stacy to get in a cheap shot on Steiner. Back in the ring and Test chokes Steiner with his boot in the corner. Test follows that up with a clothesline and then grabs Vals towel to cover Stacy up at ringside. Steiner lays in some right hands to Test but Test takes Scott down with a clothesline.

Test locks a sleeper on Steiner which Steiner gets out of with a suplex. This is Scott Steiners 10th PPV match. Stacy takes off her towel and then throws it in the face of Test which distracts him long enough for Steiner to hit him with clotheslines and a northern lights suplex. Steiner hits a belly to belly suplex for a near fall and follows it up with some chops and big right hands. Test hits a full nelson slam from nowhere and pins Steiner using his feet on the ropes for leverage. Val Venis spots it and he and Test end up getting into a shoving match. Test attempts to take off the turnbuckle cover and Stacy gets up on the apron. Test then shoves Steiner into Stacy before taking Steiner down with a running big boot for a two count.

Test grabs a chair from the outside but Keibler grabs it off him! That distracts Test long enough for Steiner to drill Test into the mat with some sort of DDT/suplex hybrid which is enough for the three! Scott Steiner defeats Test tonight, could this be a prelude to Bad Blood?

Rating: 5.75/10

There’s a VT next showing the history between Triple H and Kevin Nash.

Triple H (c) vs. Kevin Nash – Street Fight For World Heavyweight Championship

This is the second match between Triple H and Kevin Nash on PPV. Nash won the previous battle by disqualification at last months Judgment Day. Shawn Michaels is in the corner of Nash whilst Ric Flair is in the corner of Triple H. Triple H has been in the main event of all four Insurrextion PPVs, he has a 1-2 record at the event. Triple H has been champion since December. He’s also the only man to have wrestled on all 6 PPVs so far in 2003. Nash lays into Triple H in the early going with forearm shots before clotheslining the champion out of the ring. Ric Flair then gets involved on the outside, choking Nash until Shawn Michaels chases Flair off and smashes him into the ringpost. Flair is of course busted open. Flair manages to fight Michaels off and then goes after Nash again but Nash takes both Flair and Triple H down with a clothesline. Flair and Michaels battle up the entrance ramp as Nash lays into Michaels on the outside of the ring.

Triple H rams Nash into the barricade as referees escort Flair to the back. Triple H then attempts something on the entrance ramp but Nash counters it with a back body drop. Nash then picks up a chair and swings it into the back of Triple H before throwing the World Heavyweight Champion off the stage and into the area where the commentators sit. Nash starts taking the announce desk apart but Triple H smashes his face into the desk. Nash then throws Triple H back into the ring and hits him with a big boot before dropping an elbow on him for a two count. Triple H takes Nash down with a chop block. Triple H works on the knee of Nash, swinging it into the ringpost. The two then battle to the outside where Nash throws Triple H into the ring steps before throwing the steps into the ring.

Triple H drops Kevin Nash on the top rope and then picks up the steps but Nash drop toe holds The Game, dropping him face first into the steps. Nash then picks up the steps and rams them into the face of the champion. Triple H is bleeding from the forehead and so Kevin Nash targets the wound, laying in some big right hands. Nash hits a sidewalk slam for a two count. Nash accidentally throws Triple H into referee Earl Hebner before crushing the referee with a splash. Nash motions for the Jackknife but Triple H hits him with a low blow. The “Wooo’s” then ring out as Ric Flair runs down the entrance ramp with a chair. Nash fights him off but Triple H picks up the chair and swings it into Nash’s face. Triple H covers Nash but the referee is down. Another referee slides into the ring but Nash kicks out.

Triple H then hammers the referee. Flair and Triple H lay into Nash and then Shawn Michaels returns and fights Flair off. Michaels then hits Triple H with some big right hands before throwing him out of the ring and going back to Ric Flair. Michaels takes Flair down with sweet chin music. Triple H grabs a sledgehammer from under the ring but Michaels knocks it out of his hand. Michaels then goes for sweet chin music on Triple H but Triple H ducks it and hits him with the Pedigree. Triple H then turns around into Nash who hits the champion with the Jackknife. The referee is still down though and out comes a third referee. Flair pulls the referee out of the ring and so Nash lays into Flair with a big boot. Nash sets Flair up for the Jackknife but Triple H smashes the sledgehammer into Nash’s face. Triple H then covers Nash and referee Earl Hebner counts the 3! Triple H wins the match, retaining his World Heavyweight Championship. But the two will meet against next week at Bad Blood.

Rating: 7.25/10

Well, that was the final ever Insurrextion pay per view. My first impressions were that it was a shame to see matches that are scheduled for next weeks Bad Blood pay per view. I liked the way the show kicked off with Trish Stratus and Jazz. A really strong match and nice to see the ladies kick things off. Teddy Long getting involved would be be the theme of the night, landing him in big trouble later. Jazz retains her title, as is the case in most PPV matches in the UK. It was back to back dirty wins as Christian beat Booker T to retain his Intercontinental Championship. This is of course a prelude to their match at Bad Blood and it wouldn’t surprise me if the match next week finishes in a similar way. This was another decent match.

The tag team title match was one of the matches of the night but again, it’s a match we’ll see at Bad Blood. RVD and Kane won the match and it was a match that wasn’t a continuation of the current storyline with RVD and Kane not seeing eye to eye. I don’t think the match will be ending like this at Bad Blood. The Goldust/Rico match that followed was the first non-title match of the night. It wasn’t very good but it was nice to see different wrestlers that you wouldn’t usually expect to see on pay per view. The Highlight Reel wasn’t the best besides some of Jericho’s insults. The 6 man tag that followed was OK, you don’t often see the Dudley Boyz together as a three these days and it was humourous to see Teddy Long in action. There’s something quite cringey about Teddy Long. He took the pinfall from Spike and then Nowinski got put through a table.

Scott Steiner beat Test with a move I’ve not seen before. This match was OK but could’ve been better. Based off a few things I noticed in this match, I’m inclined to think that Test will beat Steiner at Bad Blood. Hopefully the match between the two will be better at Bad Blood but I won’t hold my breath. In the main event Triple H beat Kevin Nash as you’d expect. Like with the other heel champions, Triple H retained by cheating. Well, it’s not cheating in a street fight but Triple H using a sledgehammer is hardly fair. It was a fun match, especially with Michaels and Flair getting involved. Triple H takes his World Heavyweight Championship into Bad Blood. Good match between these two.

Overall Rating: 59.28/100 (ranked 56th out of 151)

Match Of The Night: Triple H vs. Kevin Nash
Worst Match Of The Night: Goldust vs. Rico
Surprise Of The Night: Teddy Long in action
Worst Booking Of The Night: So many matches on the Bad Blood card
Superstar Of The Night: Triple H
Insurrextion 2003 Will Be Remembered For: Triple H, Kevin Nash, Shawn Michaels and Ric Flair all involved in the main event