#243: Brock Lesnar vs. Big Show, WWE Smackdown (6/12/2003).
This is a request brought to me by one of my buddies from work. If you know your history, you can probably guess why he requested this one. If not, strap in – the surface is about to get pretty rocky.
This is for Brock’s WWE Championship.
Brock and Show had been feuding on and off since the fall of 2002, and for the most part, their matches had been pretty good. Brock was a beast in 2003, and Big Show was having a career year in ring wise in 2003. The less said about the Burrito Segment with Eddie Guerrero, however, the better.
Lesnar rushes Show to start things out, forcing him into the corner with shoulder tackles. Show fires back with a clothesline to get a quick nearfall. Lesnar looks for a belly to belly, but Show counters with a headbutt. He knees Lesnar in the corner, and hits a loud chop to the chest. Lesnar kicks Show out of the corner and hits a lariat that doesn’t drop him. Lesnar drops the ropes and sends Show to the outside. The champion follows him, and continues his attack.
Show reverses a whip into the steel steps, and sends Lesnar crashing into them. Back inside the ring, Lesnar kicks Show in the midsection, but gets caught in a side walk slam. Show covers, and Lesnar kicks out. Show grabs the leg and applies a Half Crab submission. Hey, Big Show is doing an impression of Bryan Danielson – he’s a submission master! Lesnar makes the crawl, and gets to the bottom rope to break the hold.
Lesnar blocks a splash in the corner, and hits some clubbing blows to Show’s back. Lesnar hits a German Suplex to Show, and that never not looks impressive. Kick to the midsection, and Lesnar goes for the F5, but he can’t maintain the weight due to the work Show had done to the back earlier. Lesnar tries to punch his way back in the lead, but Show quickly drops him with a clothesline. Show looks for the Chokeslam, but Lesnar escapes. Show hits a big boot and then a leg drop that would make Hogan blush. Lesnar kicks out.
Show sets up for the Chokeslam, and he hits it! He makes the cover, but Lesnar kicks out! Show is pissed, and he removes his straps! Show looks for it again, but now he brings Lesnar to the turnbuckle. Show is climbing up to the top rope, with Lesnar still gripped around the throat. Lesnar punches his way free, and now he joins Show on the top turnbuckle. He grabs Show, and hits a suplex, and the entire ring breaks! The turnbuckles have broken, and the ropes aren’t up! The ring has imploded!
Both men are down, as the referee is calling for help backstage. Obviously, this match has been called off, because both men are not able to continue. The match is remembered for the ending, which was cool as fuck then, and is still cool now. I was 10 years old when I watched this match at my grandma’s house, and I remember jumping up and down on her bed because I was so hyped! I also remember her telling me to to go to bed because I had school in the morning. Not cool, Grandma!
The ending aside, the match itself is pretty good, too. The only time I can remember not liking a match between Lesnar and Show was their match at the 2003 Royal Rumble. Otherwise, these two always had nice, sluggish bouts, and this was no different. It was on the short side, and not a ton of stuff happened, but what did happen was awesome. I wouldn’t call the match itself required viewing, but the ending has to be seen if you’ve never seen it yourself. It’s super cool, and I’m almost 100% positive that Tazz’s reaction on commentary was genuine, and they kept it in for effect.