The Biggest Star: 2003

[Little Jerry Lawler]

2003 was a rough year for the WWE. HHH had his reign in terror on RAW in which he defended his title against Booker T, Scott Steiner, Kevin Nash, and Goldberg. You saw Kane unmasked for the first time and went crazy which resulted in one title shot and burying the Undertaker. On Smackdown, Angle and Lesnar traded the belt back and forth. However, the biggest star of 2003 was none of the above mentioned wrestler.

The biggest star in 2003 was Vincent Kennedy McMahon

When I first watched Wrestlemania 19, I thought it was a great PPV. Looking back, it was overrated. Angle and Lesnar wasn't a real draw and while Jericho vs. HBK was good, it wasn't a classic. Booker T vs. HHH was average as was Undertaker vs. Big Show and Albert. To me, the real draw of that PPV was Hogan vs. McMahon which in my opinion was the second best match.

Later in the year, McMahon feuded with the crowd favorite in Zach Gowen which subsequently led to McMahon slapping some sense into Lesnar and turning him heel. McMahon was at ringside during Lesnar's and Angle's Summerslam match and even received an Angle Slam on his birthday no less. His "affair" with Sable led to an I Quit between him and his own daughter which was clearly the focus of No Mercy. He also interfered in the Lesnar/Taker match resulting in him facing Taker in a Buried Alive match at Survivor Series.

McMahon was the most interesting person that whole year in the WWE and while it can be deemed asinine to have a non-wrestler be the main focus of anything, you have to admit that he made for some interesting television.

So do you think Vince was the biggest star in 2003 or was it HHH, Angle, Lesnar, or somebody else?

 

[cbreezy]

i would have to say goldberg. wasnt he in the main event or world title picture from april all the way through december? so ya bill goldberg far and away

 

[nwo1234life]

The biggest star would have to be Brock Lesnar cuz he was the face of the WWE from 2002-2004 which was the Ruthless Agression Era.

 

[TheProfessional]

I'm going to have to go with Goldberg.
Sure there was Triple H and Evolution, but that became dull.
And although I always see people around here complain about his time in WWE, I certainly feel Goldberg took over 2003.

He debuted in April and dominated the Rock, then Jericho.
He went on to Feud with Evolution.
Completely dominated that crap Elimination Chamber at SummerSlam, only to lose to a Cheating Triple H.
Then he won the World Title a Month later at Unforgiven.
He then lost it at Armageddon in December. That was however, the end of the year 2003.

So, I'm taking Bill Goldberg.

Lesnar dominated Smackdown, but I felt that 2002 was more his year,
And Triple was champion on RAW for all but 3 months.
Nevertheless, Goldberg was the one going out there to crazy reactions,
and being Involved in Major storylines and feuds that people were caring about.

I will say though, that you made some good points about Mr. McMahon.
He certainly had a lot of Impact, especially since he was doing it all on Smackdown. Which for some reason, people care less about.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

I'm going with Brock Lesnar. Lesnar had a great year in 2003. His title matches were superb, and he had to have one of the most dominant reigns as champion in recent memory.

Triple H's reign as World heavyweight Champion wasn't all that memorable. I think he was working through an injury around Summerslam, but still, his best stuff as World Champion happened against HBK.

Goldberg's true dominant days occurred during WCW. Sure he took the world title away from Triple H during his reign for a while, but when I think about Bill Goldberg and dominance, I think about the streak and WCW.

Now Vince did have the match with Hogan at Wrestlemania, which is a personal favorite of mine. We were anxious to see how this, because "who created Hulkamaina?" has always been a hot topic. The match delivered, and the ending was great as Hogan destroyed McMahon at the end with a series of leg drops. These were some of the glory days as far as evil Vince goes, but when I think about the sinister version of Vince, I think back to his stuff against Stone Cold or The Rock. That's when he was at his best.

 

[Hitman80]

I seem to recall Chris Jericho being one of the main reasons to watch Raw that year, he had some great matches and entertained throughout.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

I don't see how it could've been anybody other than Eddie Guerrero. Nobody was getting the heat he was that year. Not even Vince McMahon.

It was Triple H's worst year ever. Lesnar vs. Angle vs. Big Show vs. Undertaker vs. A-Train produced some good matches, but how many were truly that memorable? Goldberg was a comparative failure and Kane was still shit.

Eddie didn't do that much ever, but at least he was massively over doing not much.

 

[Hazardous]

im all for Vinny Mac there. i dont think i have ever been as bored then in 2003. yes, jericho was great, as was angle, never liked Goldberg or Lesnar much, dont care if they were the 2 big guys in the company, Undertaker was great, and i can NOT believe i am saying this... ugh.. John Cena was pretty damn good in '03.

but no one has ever been able to play the crowd like Vince Mcmahon. and this was a good year for it. beating up a kid with one leg? yeah, that'll get you some heat. beating up your daughter? and hulk? more heat. (some of that might have been '04)

 

[The Mark of Zur-En-Arrh]

All in all across the whoe year? Then yeah i'd have to go with Vince as well.

Brock and Kurt were putting on wrestling clinics alongside guys like Benoit, and Eddie was gaining all the momentum he needed to be champion in the first 1/4 of 2004.

Kane probably had the best face run as well as the most significant development to his character since it's inception, plus this was also the last year you could really describe him as at his physical peak.

Goldberg came and was Goldberg.... big whoop. Without the whole undefeated streak, what was so great about they guy? Honestly, what?

And HHH managed to turn 'be the mentor of the new guys' to 'be the guy who's champion constantly thanks to the new guys you're supposed to be mentoring'.

But Vince McMahon was killing Hulkamania, beating up disabled people, having yet another on screen affair, beating up his own daughter in a match, surrounding himself with muscle bound heavys, and even wrestling some brutal matches against seasoned veterans and sometimes even winning!

2003 was the year of Vince. It was the year that he started to truly live up to his 'Satan himself' description, but it was also the year before the storylines surrounding him became utterly ******ed i.e. McMahonism, and his henchmen being total *****es i.e. Spirit Squad.

He may not have put on the best matches, but in terms of character development and truly gripping angles, Vince McMahon was the character to pay attention to throughout 2003.