#49: Triple H vs. Scott Steiner, WWE Royal Rumble (1/19/2003).
This is for Triple H's World Heavyweight Championship.
Hot take: I thoroughly enjoyed the build to this match. I liked it as a kid, and I think it works today. The story is that Triple H is back on top after defeating Shawn Michaels at Armageddon in December of 2002 to not only earn his second World Championship, but also end Michaels' only World Title run during his 2002-2010 comeback tour.
Steiner's WCW contract finally expired, and he made his way to WWE. He chose Raw as his brand, and he immediately went after The Game. These two did everything to intimidate the other: Arm Wrestling, a battle of posing, Push ups - you know, typical wrestling build!
Despite how fucking lame this machismo bullshit was, I was hyped as hell for this. As a kid, this felt like a big deal, and I was ready to see these two tear each other apart.
Oh boy.
They trash talk face to face before the bell rings. Strike exchange to start things out. Big right hand drops Triple H. Huge chops to Triple H in the corner. Clubbing forearms to the back by Steiner, and a clothesline. Gorilla press Slam by Steiner, and Triple H rolls to the outside.
Huge clothesline by Steiner. He sends Triple H into the barricade, and follows with big right hands. Steiner sends Triple H back first into the barricade and the Ring apron. Suplex into the Ring from the apron by Steiner gets a 2 count.
More chops in the corner. A hard Irish whip into the turnbuckle follows. Steiner with a back elbow, followed by a Boston Crab. Hard elbows to the back of the head. Facebuster by Triple H, and Steiner just shrugs it off. Bearhug is next. Belly to Belly by Steiner.
He tries for the Steiner Recliner, and Ric Flair pulls Triple H out of the Ring. More chops in the corner. Triple H boots Steiner down. Big stomps from HHH to Steiner's chest. On the outside, Steiner gets sent shoulder first into the steel steps.
A swinging neckbreaker by Triple H gets a 2 count. He drives his boot into Steiner's face, and Flair chokes him with his jacket. Triple H avoids a clothesline to hit a neckbreaker. Triple H forces Steiner's throat into the middle rope, and Flair also chokes him into it as well.
Triple H tries for the Pedigree, but Steiner counters and catapults him into the turnbuckle. A Belly to belly follows. Triple H counters a powerslam into a Neckbreaker for 2. Suplex by the champion. Triple H comes off the middle rope and lands into a Belly to Belly by Steiner. Both men trade blows and Steiner hits a series of clotheslines. Back body drop follows.
Another Belly to belly, and another. Hey look - another! The crowd is starting to catch on: Steiner might be gassed. He sends Triple H face first into the turnbuckle. Another Belly to belly, and it gets a 2 count. The crowd is starting to get pissed. A very sloppy double arm Suplex gets a 2, and the fans shit all over that.
Triple H goes to the top, and Steiner meets him up there with a Super plex. Steiner only gets 2 off of that. Triple H and Flair look to leave and take a countout loss. Steiner follows them, and clubs both of them down. The ref tries to detain Flair, and Triple H tries for a title shot to the head. Steiner counters and sends the belt into his face.
Triple H is busted open now. Steiner sends him face first into the Ring post. In the Ring, Another Belly to belly, and the fans are getting restless. Triple H crawls over the barricade and into the crowd, and Steiner follows. He brings him back over and he sends Triple H over the announcers table.
Steiner does push ups in front of a crawling Triple H in the Ring. More punches in the corner. Flair wants the match stopped because of the bleeding. That's ironic, coming from the bloodiest wrestler of the 1980s! Triple H rolls away, and Steiner brings him back in. Triple H throws the ref out of the Ring intentionally. Earl Hebner goes to ring the bell, but he refuses. He tells them both to Wrestle, or as Hebner says "wrassle!"
Steiner with another Belly to Nelly. That only gets a 2. More punches to the head, and Flair is going ballistic at ringside. Triple H sneaks in a low blow. He goes for a roll up and Steiner kicks out. The fans approved of the roll up. Not a good sign for super babyface Steiner.
Triple H grabs the sledgehammer and brings it in the Ring. He throws the ref aside and hits Steiner in the ribs for the disqualification. The fans rightfully boo that shit. They're pissed. The ref stops Triple H from causing further damage, and Steiner takes the hammer and hits Triple H in the ribs, then to Flair, and then to the head of Triple H. Steiner seems pissed at the fans. They feel the same.
-Steiner Recliner to a bloody Triple H back in the ring. Refs, agents, and Eric Bischoff come out to beg Steiner to let go. He finally does, and he drapes the championship over a fallen Triple H. Once again, the fans boo the shit out of Steiner.
Welp. That layout sucked and the ending was dry as fuck. In hindsight, this isn't as bad as I remember. I think what causes this match to suffer is the fact that it went on way too damn long. You cut this match off in 4, 5 minutes? You got something. Steiner dominates Triple H, takes the title, has a brief run with it, then drops it back to Triple H in time for WrestleMania due to shenanigans from the about-to-be-announced Evolution.
This was 17 minutes of repetitive, lethargic, and uninspiring work. Steiner was clearly gassed - and a foot injury did him no favors. Also, bringing him back as a babyface was a bad move. This character worked in WCW because he was a heel.
Oh, and this is Triple H in 2003. So, unless you're Shawn Michaels, you aren't getting shit out of him. This just didn't work. But I firmly believe that if it was shorter, it would've benefited greatly. It could've hidden Steiner's weaknesses, and given fans a shock finish. Instead, we got...well, we got this.