Forgotten Favorites 08.10.10: Survivor Series 2003 – Team Austin vs. Team Bischoff

Welcome back, wrestling fans. It’s time once again to relive those overlooked matches of years gone by, giving proper recognition to classics that haven’t quite gotten their due.

This week we’re going to take a look at a match that’s come up more than once so far in that little comment box at the bottom of this thing. Since I am always seeking out ways to please the people, I am acting on the voices of my most favored readers. This week, I did it for the people. I did it … for The Rock.

And so, it must be asked … who wants great wrestling?

Survivor Series – November 16, 2003
Survivor Series Elimination Tag
Shawn Michaels, Rob Van Dam, Booker T, and The Dudley Boyz vs. Chris Jericho, Randy Orton, Christian, Mark Henry, and Scott Steiner

WHY IT SHOULD BE REMEMBERED

Imagine you’re a young guy who’s just gotten the promotion of a lifetime. You’ve just been given one of the top positions of authority within your company after only putting in three years, and you are the envy of all of those who, until this point, hadn’t even considered you among their peers. One year later, in a cost-cutting move, you give the axe to what you perceive to be an under-performing cog in your company’s machine. Little thought is given to the act.

Three years later, the alleged under-performance of your discarded cog is proven wrong as it has recently pushed your closest competition to even greater levels of success than your own booming company. Then imagine five more years pass and suddenly you’re stuck working for the competition. Worst of all, that goddamn cog is coming back again, and it hasn’t forgotten the way it was treated so many years ago.

Imagine this, along with the intense fear that the thing you threw away eight years ago is coming to whoop your ass, and you, my friend, can know what it feels like to be Eric Bischoff.

On February 23rd, 2003, Stone Cold Steve Austin returned to World Wrestling Entertainment with a vengeance. In the nearly year’s worth of time that Austin had been away from the WWE, serious changes had taken place, most of which were owed to the radically different environment the company now offered with the development of the brand extension. One of the most insanely unexpected shake-ups to take place during Austin’s absence was the debut of Eric Bischoff on Monday Night Raw, a show which Bischoff would now helm as the General Manager. So when Stone Cold made his return to the Raw brand in February of 2003, he was settling back into an uncomfortably familiar position: working for Eric Bischoff. Austin sought to rid himself of all feelings of dirtiness caused by reporting to Bischoff, and he did this by opening a rather large can of whoop-ass on the GM at No Way Out.

The rivalry was fresh as far as WWE television goes, but this was an unofficial feud that had raged for years. By 2003, it had already become common knowledge within smarky circles that Austin and Bischoff hadn’t exchanged Christmas cards in quite some time. To say that Stone Cold was not pleased with the conditions of his termination from WCW would be an understatement.

I mean, when the guy is on some other television show within months trashing his former employer, the writing is very clearly on the wall for wrestling fans.

Stone Cold’s 2003 return wasn’t exactly one that was meant to be a permanent spot on the active roster. After his encounter with Bischoff at No Way Out, Stone Cold’s in-ring career came to a close in his final showdown with The Rock at WrestleMania XIX. One night later on Raw, lightning strike one more time when Eric Bischoff fired Austin, claiming his injuries made him a medical liability.

However, unlike the WCW firing — which saw eight years pass before Austin could confront Bischoff — this time around the Rattlesnake was able to earn his revenge in a much shorter period of time. On April 28th, Linda McMahon announced that Eric Bischoff’s “egomaniacal” behavior had warranted a review, and that a decision had been made to hire a second General Manager who would share duties with Bischoff, effectively dividing the General Manager’s duties 50/50 between two individuals. And who better to assume the position of Co-GM alongside Eric Bischoff than the man he had fired twice before?

As you might have guessed, the Co-GM journey was a bumpy ride for both Austin and Bischoff, who frequently clashed over decisions and match-making. Stone Cold’s love of drinking on the job and affinity for getting into brawls were not characteristics shared by the former President of World Championship Wrestling. The differences between the two men were perhaps never more apparent than at Bad Blood’s historic Redneck Triathlon in June.

But try as they might, Austin and Bischoff could not co-exist. One of their major sources of conflict was Stone Cold’s frequent opening of the cans of the whoop-ass, usually happening multiple times on any given evening and often times occurring without any physical provocation to Austin himself beforehand. This led to a rule set by Linda McMahon that banned Austin from putting his hands on any member of the Raw roster, unless, of course, he had been physically provoked himself. The villainous evil-doers of Raw, from Chris Jericho to Christian to Evolution, were ecstatic about this new ruling, and they reminded the Rattlesnake of his limitations whenever given the opportunity.

Not one to deal well with his ass-kicking abilities being taken away, Stone Cold looked for a way to make things right and to restore his right to Stunner any man, woman, or child he saw fit. His opportunity arose on the October 20th episode of Raw, when Eric Bischoff suggested that he and Austin represent opposing teams at the upcoming Survivor Series event. Each of the Co-GMs would select five men for their teams, and each stood to benefit tremendously if their representatives were victorious. If Austin’s team won, the Rattlesnake’s venom would be as deadly as ever, as the former WWE Champion would once again be free to beat the snot out of any WWE wrestler he felt compelled to destroy, regardless of physical provocation. The only catch was that if Bischoff’s team was successful at Survivor Series, then Stone Cold would be out of a job.

And so each of the GMs went about recruiting men for their team. Scott Steiner and Chris Jericho were Bischoff’s first two picks, followed by Christian and Mark Henry. The final member was the young yet quickly rising star of the relatively new Evolution, the still somewhat recently-christened “Legend Killer,” Randy Orton. Stone Cold’s first choice saw him subconsciously drawing on his days as the leader of the Alliance, as the five time WCW Champion Booker T was the first man named for Team Austin. Seeking the best of the best, Austin moved onto three gold-carrying members of the Raw roster, selecting Intercontinental Champion Rob Van Dam and World Tag Team Champions The Dudley Boyz.

But who was left for Austin to turn to for that crucial fifth spot?

And so, Shawn Michaels completed Team Austin, and the Rattlesnake had his five men that were to determine the fate of his career. Of course, things didn’t turn out exactly as Austin had planned them, but in the long run there was no harm seriously done. But we’ll get into that in a bit.

As for the match itself, this was a beautiful mix of blood and emotion, scoring exceptionally on every level that a classic Survivor Series match possibly can. First off, you’ve got ten guys who are already well established with the audience, all of which have histories among them that criss and cross through all sorts of title divisions. I wrote at length last week about the importance of shared histories between characters, and this Survivor Series match is overflowing with rivalries. Just to name a few, you’ve got the battles over the WCW Title between Steiner and Booker, the Intercontinental Title wars between Christian and RVD, and the ever-present feud between Jericho and HBK. Add on to that HBK’s then-recent confrontations with Orton and Henry, along with the ECW background of RVD, Bubba, and D-Von, and Good Gawd we’ve got all sorts of character history goodness offered up to us in just one five-on-five match.

With history like that, most of it being as recent as the year prior, the fans were already jacked to see these two teams collide. It’s the history of these characters that sees the match start with an extremely hot crowd, and it’s the execution of the match itself that keeps the people on their feet for the remainder of the match. There are the breakdown moments of all hell breaking loose, when the action spills to the floor and involves all of both teams’ members. There is the traditional “Hit the big man with multiple finishers and pile on” spot. There’s the eventual “insurmountable” heel advantage, along with the lone bloody warrior rallying the crowd at the end, making the fans believe that a miracle might just be possible. Top that all off with an unconscious referee and a dastardly run-in. The crowd was insane for this match, and the pops didn’t stop until the very end.

And so it is this match that I hope is fresh in the WWE’s collective mind when it comes time to set up the specifics of SummerSlam’s big elimination tag. While SummerSlam’s seven-on-seven affair doesn’t quite enjoy the star-power of 2003’s Survivor Series match, the result could very well end up being the same — that being a five-star match — provided the match sets itself up in a similar fashion to this week’s Forgotten Favorite. The Nexus doesn’t have any Chris Jerichos or Randy Ortons just yet, but their advantage has always been touted as being their ability to work incredibly well as a unit. They’re a group of a guys who have been promoted as unstoppable when they’re all working together, and this must play a part at SummerSlam. Cena playing the part of Shawn Michaels, becoming the lone team member fighting what are seemingly insurmountable odds, is what could put this match over the top. Hell, if they recreated Act III of this week’s Forgotten Favorite move-for-move, trading out HBK with Cena and Orton/Jericho/Christian with Barrett/Gabriel/Otunga, I would be in heaven. This Survivor Series match is a classic among classics, executed to perfection. Any match that might pay homage to it, while also getting over a new generation of stars, is okay in my wrestling book.

WHY IT ISN’T REMEMBERED

The result of the Survivor Series match, as important as it may have seemed at the time, ended up being completely worthless in about a month’s time. So much had been made of Stone Cold’s entire wrestling career being terminated at the hands of Team Bischoff, and yet, before 2003 was through, there was the Rattlesnake back as a regular on the Raw broadcast.

The above video is from the December 29th episode of Raw, where Austin returned to assume the role of Raw’s “Sheriff.” What that meant exactly … well, that’s still unclear. At the time, it appeared that it meant nothing more than Austin had the exclusive right to appear at any given time on Raw and make whatever authoritative decisions he saw fit. It also seemed that he was free to resume his role as Raw’s resident alcohol-fueled, ass-kicking machine, laying waste to anyone he saw fit at any time he deemed appropriate. It seemed to be that way, and, all these years later, the duties of “Sheriff” having never been explained, we can only assume that these were the duties of the Raw Sheriff.

The only problem here is that, with little explanation, the results of Survivor Series were completely pissed away. Both stipulations for the match — Austin’s firing or return to ass-kicking form — were stepped on, considering Austin’s “retirement” lasted a little over a month and he ended up getting what he wanted anyway. The emotional send-off was worthless, as was, essentially, the entire match itself. The two things that Austin had riding on Survivor Series — both his job and his freedom to destroy — were both handed over to him a little over a month after Randy Orton pinned Shawn Michaels, and it was like the five-on-five match had never even happened.

Still, the insanity of the whole Sheriff business aside, nothing can take away from the Survivor Series match itself. While the overall card wasn’t anything legendary, Team Austin vs. Team Bischoff was a classic among classics, and easily one of the best elimination tags of the sort-of modern era.

– –

BONUS MATCH(!)

No Way Out – February 23, 2003
Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Eric Bischoff

– –

Feedback! (or, the Backfeeding!)

If you are going with CM Punk/Elijah Burke matches may I suggest the 2 out of 3 falls match they had on ECW the night after the Benoit murders were made public. That match was unfairly forgotten.

Posted By: Spaghett

Good call, sir, as this was the match I planned to cover when it came time for Punk/Burke. You know all of my secrets.

May I suggest the RVD/Kane match where Kane broke out the tombstone on the ring steps?

Posted By: Richard Stamos

The only RVD/Kane match coming to mind is SummerSlam, and I’m not sure if that’s the one you’re referencing. It was a decent match, from what I remember, although Kane blowing a few spots does come to mind.

I was in the arena for Summerslam 05 and it was amazing how divided the crowd was during the Cena/Jericho match. Then again, this is the same crowd that booed Eugene out of the building against Kurt Angle.

Posted By: Guest#0173

I was there as well and the crowd was oddly hot all night long. I remember being astonished at the Cena hate that would eventually become the norm within a couple of months. That was a hell of a SummerSlam. One of my favorite live shows ever.

Not sure if it qualifies as “forgotten” but I would love to see you do an article on Foley vs. Orton at Backlash 04. That hardcore match was sick and is one of my personal favorite Mick Foley matches.

Posted By: Joseph M.

I love the hell out of that match and would love to cover it. I do fear the backlash (HAR! HAR!) that it may cause, as I too am not sure about its status as a Forgotten Favorite. Great match regardless.

I know you already covered this, but as good as Raw was in 2004, it still was behind Smackdown 2002/2003. But you know what the funny thing is? Smackdown 2004/2005 was TERRIBLE!!! The influx of Heidenreich, Mordecai, Kenzo Suzuki, the beginnings of JBL, Orlando Jordan pretty prominently featured, Bashams, Mark Jindrak, Luther Reigns, and Gunn-Holly Bomb…I actually thought SD! was gonna get cancelled back then.

Posted By: SS87

This was actually the time that the SmackDown cancellation rumors really got going, and yeah, it was an awful time for the blue brand. Even great workers like Eddie, Rey, RVD, and Booker couldn’t save what was a dreadful period of time for SmackDown.

May I suggest we focus on some matches that will educate the newer fans on what great wrestling is?
Can I suggest just about anything from the NWA during Crockett’s run?

Posted By: Guest#5995

Yeah, this goes back to the age thing. I don’t want to give a history lesson on anything that was before my time, partly because I think it’s wrong and partly because I might suck at getting all the details right. 411’s got a lot of guys who lived through the 80’s glory days, so I’ll leave the commentary on that time to writers who are more qualified. I think I fit into a certain niche fulfilling 411’s quota for catering to the Attitude generation, and I think I do this well enough. And no, before some comments jump to conclusions, none of this is a shot at any other writers. I loves me my 411 brethren.

You should do Hardys vs Dudleys from Royal Rumble 2000…

Posted By: Guest#3692

Definitely a match that gets looked over in favor of No Mercy ’99, WM 2000, and the TLC matches. I’m a big fan of the Royal Rumble Tables match, and you, sir, may have just selected a future column.

If you are going with CM Punk/Elijah Burke matches may I suggest the 2 out of 3 falls match they had on ECW the night after the Benoit murders were made public. That match was unfairly forgotten.

Posted By: Spaghett

That one is great,but I really think the JD 2007 one should be used if only one CM Punk/Elijah Burke match is used. It had the story of Punk destroying the new breed from the inside.

Posted By: Guest#8656

And so Judgment Day strikes again. I’m gonna have to go back and check both matches out one more time before I make any decisions. I encourage other readers to find more Punk/Burke matches so that I may be even more unable to make a decision.

Jerhico and Cena?

What have these two McMahon lackeys ever done outside of the WWE?

NOTHING!

Why should I care about a match involving two McMahon machine created jokes of wrestlers when I could watch Hulk Hogan on TNA?

Let’s stop with the pro WWE crap and turn this site into the source for all things TNA.

Posted By: Rich

Got to pay the troll toll to get into the boy’s hole.

is it this match that begun the cena hate? i remember when jericho and cena did singing concerts on raw prior to summerslam, jericho was cheered over cena. cena wasnt booed, but the crowd was on y2j’s side

Posted By: Guest#4797

It was definitely the first high profile match where the Cena hate was so overwhelming. I remember being surprised by it at the time when I was there live, wondering how it would come across on television, so it must’ve been somewhat new at that point.

Forgotten Favorite: Shawn Michaels -vs- Steve Austin at King of the Ring ’97. Good god almighty was that the shit.

Posted By: neverAcquiesce

I hate to say this because it makes me look like I’m 9 years old, but … again, another one that’s before my time. Just barely, but still, before my time.

I think people like to forget this match because it’s yet another example of SUPAH CEN-HURRRR

Posted By: AngryTas

Still, I think it’s a damn fine match, one where Jericho looks more than capable of holding his own. Cena’s domination of all things hadn’t gone to absurd extremes just yet.

I’m not sure if this is forgotten. This is also the night Cena-hate started.

Posted By: Guest#4533

As far as I know it hasn’t been featured on anybody’s career DVDs yet. Then again I haven’t checked out the list for the upcoming Jericho DVD, so all that may change soon.

– –

And now, in what will likely be a recurring segment in Forgotten Favorites, I would like to take a moment to recognize greatness. As you may or may not know, I do not only write for 411mania; I am also an avid reader of all things on the site. In addition to that, I am an avid reader of all posts by 411 commenters. In my reading travels, I often come across what I consider to be above average comments. I would like to give credit where credit is due, applauding commenters from all sections of 411mania, in a segment I will call …

LOLs, Trolls, and Blackened Souls – The Voice of the People!

Taken from:
Shane Douglas Talks Ric Flair, TNA and More
Posted by Chris Lansdell on 08.06.2010

You find it repugnant, yet you’d have no problem wrestling on it for the right price. Just load my lawn furniture in the back of my car and shut the fuck up.

Posted By: Guest#4495 (Guest) on August 06, 2010 at 03:44 PM

Taken from:
411 Fact or Fiction – Wrestling

Miz will be bigger than hogan/rock/austin combined

Posted By: Guest#8806 (Guest) on August 05, 2010 at 02:07 A

Taken from:
Sum 41’s Deryck Whibley Attacked by Three Men
Posted by Chris Lansdell on 08.06.2010

Hopefully they punched him sum 41 times.

Posted By: Kobra Kai (Guest) on August 06, 2010 at 08:46 PM

(And now my favorite … BEWARE! POTENTIAL SPOILERS AHEAD!)

Taken from:
Inception Review [2]
Posted by Erik Luers on 07.21.2010

Sadly, this is by far the most agonizingly horrible movie I have ever suffered through. The movie constantly switches between entirely unrelated scenes, where one moment you find the Stars skiing somewhere in Canada, then passed out in an old junky van, then passed out on the floor, then passed out in a Boeing 747, then having a big shootout. None of this is related, and none of the characters have any relation to one another. Most of the characters are totally undefined, so you never know who you’re watching, or whatever they might be doing. One moment you’ll see someone who is dead, then they’re committing suicide, then they’re happily interacting with some unknown character. It’s all crazy, and likely intentionally so, just to annoy normal people and rip off their money via the overpriced Admission Fee. The digital effects are very cheesey and unbelievable. No one in the movie is actually dreaming, so don’t accept or believe that angle. All of the outfits that the actress Ellen Page wears are ill fitting, especially her trousers. Very K-Martish, poorly cut. That Star fellow, Leonard Decrapio, is just horrible, with his ‘whisper’ style dialogue, much like some of those awful Documentary commentators you hear on the Discovery Channel. He doesn’t talk so much, as he hisses. Plus, nothing he says makes any sense, about being able to extract or impact peoples thoughts, and other similar sci-fi nonsense. He talks about foolishness like dreaming in layers, and not dying in your dreams, and similar dopey themes, while the only way he really loses consciousness is via illicit drugs that he scores from some nameless Latino bum that shows up. Also, there are his children, who repeatedly and annoyingly refuse to look at the camera, and this is disguised as some kind of cinematic wit. Just awful. Then there’s the Asian guy, who is a bad killer guy, but he actually never does anything in the movie, except walk around with blood coming out of his shirt, right where he got shot in the chest. How stupid, huh? They also have that actor Michael Caine, who shows up in the beginning and end, and does nothing except welcome his son home when he departs the Boeing 747 where everyone fell asleep while on board, again via illicit drugs from that unknown Latino guy. Essentially, the entire movie is about people on drugs, who are in a running gun battle, both in a white van and on skis in Canada. Bang, bang, bang, on and on and on. You just can’t wait for the movie to end, it’s so awful. In the end, the white van crashes on a bridge, and goes over the side. Most people die, except Leonard, Ellen, and a couple of others manage to swim to shore, and return home, completely normal, and none the worse for wear. Leonard and Ellen Page never even kiss, and this travesty scores 0.

Posted By: guest July 20 2010 (Guest) on July 20, 2010 at 10:15 PM

– –

That’s gonna wrap things up for this week. Next week we’ll go back in time one more time for a match that has yet to be determined, and you’ll get my SummerSlam reactions, which are likely very hotly anticipated throughout all of the IWC.

Until then, stay safe and out of Dundalk.