Too many cheap finishes! (WWE - Backlash 2003 (DVD))

Member Name: shaneo632

Product:	WWE - Backlash 2003 (DVD)
Date:	05/11/09 (5 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Epic main event

Disadvantages: Too many frustratingly cheap endings

Backlash 2003 opens with a Tag Team Championship match, between Los Guerreros (Eddie and Chavo Guerrero) and the champions, Team Angle (Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas). It has a cheap finish, but mostly it's a good technical bout.

Secondly, Sean O'Haire, in his short-lived Devil's Advocate gimmick, faces Rikishi. Roddy Piper's appearance as O'Haire's manager is key; and again, we have a cheap finish, but it's a nice reference to his segment with Jimmy Snukka decades ago.

The third match is a World Tag Team Championship match between The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray and D-Von Dudley) and the champions, Kane and Rob Van Dam, with Chief Morley (aka Val Venis) as the special guest referee. Morley's placement is somewhat incongruent really, but this is another good technical match that is AGAIN ended with a cheap finish.

The next match is for the Women's Championship, where Jazz challenges Trish Stratus for the strap. Stratus had been advised prior to the match not to wrestle by doctors, but evil Raw GM Eric Bischoff forces her to, making the result a foregone conclusion; it would have been nicer if Jazz had won on her own merits, but it's still a nice change.

Next, we have The Big Show versus Rey Mysterio. The match is less than five minutes and therefore not very compelling, but it does feature a rather brutal and unforgettable moment after the match is over involving Mysterio and a stretcher.

Sixth, we have the WWE Championship match between John Cena and the champion Brock Lesnar. Although Cena may not be much of a wrestler, this is a brutal fight that goes back and forth, and despite us knowing who will probably win, it's fun to watch.

Next is a six-man tag team match between Triple H, Ric Flair, and Chris Jericho against Shawn Michaels, Kevin Nash, and Booker T. This is one of the show's best matches, but again, it ends with a CHEAP FINISH, making that the fourth on the card!

The much-hyped main event saw Goldberg versus The Rock, with these two mega-stars going head to head. It's a match as epic as its build-up, although it could have been a bit longer.

Summary: A strange event