Post by hbkjason on Oct 4, 2019 1:26:20 GMT -5
Wrestling Memories WWE Insurrextion 2003
Last week I talked about my first live event that I went to and this week I am talking about another live event. In my Hell in a Cell post, I talked about how in 1997 I managed to convert my then 9 year old cousin into a wrestling fan. In 2002 I actually moved away from Scotland to North East England to go to Sunderland University so I never saw my cousin as much, but in 2003, WWE Insurrextion was taking place in Newcastle which was like a 15-minute train ride from where I lived. I knew I had to get my cousin to come with me as he had not seen the WWE live yet.
Look, I know to many people that these UK PPV events were a waste of time. I managed to go to many of them such as One Night Only, Capitol Carnage, Rebellion 99, 00 and a few more. I always had a great time and looked at them as a house show with much better production values. I know that we get WWE TV over here a couple of times per year now and I know I am in the minority, but I would take a Rebellion or Insurrextion over a TV taping any day.
I called my uncle and asked if it would be cool if my cousin came down to stay for the weekend so I could take him to the show. The train from Edinburgh to Newcastle was a straight shot so I said for them to put him on in Edinburgh and I would meet him in Newcastle. They agreed and while he was a teenager, he was super excited and so ready for his first live WWE show.
This would be the last of the WWE UK PPV events and I am so glad it was at Newcastle. Not just because it was so close to where I lived. The Newcastle Arena is perfect for wrestling. It only holds around 8-10 thousand people and if you are in the stands there is literally not a bad seat in the house. I have been to over 10 WWE shows in this arena and I always go for the seats by the entrance as you get the great view of the ring and the wrestlers coming to the ring.
For this show, we were sitting about 5 feet from where JR and the King were doing their commentary. The actual show I will admit was not the greatest live event I had been to, but being there with my cousin and getting to experience his first WWE show with him was great. A few matches like Christian vs Booker T and RVD & Kane vs La Resistance were fun, but this was a show that was 100 percent about the main event!
Before I get to the main event I have to talk about the highlight of the show for my cousin. We got a special Chris Jericho Highlight Reel on this show with Stone Cold Steve Austin as the guest. Austin was my cousin’s hero, hell he even got sent home from school when he was like 10 for wearing a Austin shirt with a skeleton giving the middle finger. This highlight reel was hilarious and featured Austin giving Jericho and Bischoff the business. My cousin flipped out at seeing Austin and so did I.
The main event for WWE Insurrextion 2003 was Triple H with Ric Flair in his corner vs Kevin Nash with Shawn Michaels in his corner. I had not seen HBK live since 1997 so this was freaking awesome! It was a street fight and even though this was just a UK PPV. Nash, HHH, HBK and Flair went all out to put on a great match. In 2003 I did not have a digital camera, I just had a normal uses film kind of camera and this sucked! I got some great pictures, but I blew most of my film during the entrances for HBK, Nash and HHH. Oh, what a mistake this was.
You see part of the match saw the action come to the announcers table, which as I said was five feet away from where I was sitting. I had blown all my film and was not able to capture any of it. Man, I wish I had the phone that I have now back then. Still, despite missing some great shots. I loved this match and it was very, very exciting to see live. I actually loved the HHH vs Kevin Nash feud that happened in 2003 and always felt they should have put the belt on Nash even if it was just for one month. It would have certainly broken up the reign HHH was having at the time.
After the show, we took the Metro back to Sunderland and it was a great atmosphere as there were a ton of wrestling fans on it. My cousin still talks about this event to this day and fondly remembers getting to see his hero, Stone Cold Steve Austin live. While it was not the best show I have been to from a wrestling point of view, it is one of the best from a personally point of view.
Thanks for reading and I would love to hear about your thoughts on this event and shows you took family members to.
