WWE Monday Night Raw – May 26, 2003
Venue: Mobile Civic Center, Mobile, AL
Attendance: Approximately 7,000 fans
Broadcast: TNN (Live)
Commentators: Jim Ross & Jerry “The King” Lawler
Opening Segment: Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair, Triple H, Eric Bischoff
The show kicked off with Shawn Michaels introducing Ric Flair, praising him as the greatest wrestler alive. Michaels challenged Flair to a match to test himself against the standard-bearer. Flair accepted, but before things could escalate, Triple H interrupted, questioning Flair’s loyalty and reminding him of their Evolution alliance. Eric Bischoff then announced that while HBK vs. Flair would happen at Bad Blood, tonight’s main event would be HBK & Flair vs. Triple H in a handicap match.
Match 1: Booker T vs. Test (w/ Stacy Keibler)
Booker T faced Test, accompanied by Stacy Keibler. The match saw back-and-forth action, with Test attempting the Meltdown, but Booker countered with a missile dropkick. A pivotal moment occurred when Test used Stacy as a shield, leading to a brief distraction. Scott Steiner interfered to check on Stacy leading to Booker T securing the victory with his signature axe kick at (5:19) and Steiner and Stacy Keibler walked off together leaving Test fuming in the ring.
Rating: What can you really say about this? The focus was more on Stacy than the actual match—which, honestly, was probably the right call. Booker is in the middle of a title chase, so giving him a clean win makes sense. Still, it doesn’t do much for Test, who isn’t gaining any momentum by taking another clean loss.
Backstage Segment: We cut backstage to Steve Austin, black eye and all, casually mentioning that Booker T might finally be coming around. Suddenly, Triple H walks in. He spots the shiner and asks about it—Austin deadpans that he slipped in the shower while singing. Without missing a beat, HHH launches into full-on suck-up mode, complimenting Austin on everything from his toughness to his leadership. But Austin isn’t having it. He shuts it down: the match is still on. That’s when HHH changes tactics, smugly claiming Austin always wanted to be like him. Confident as ever, he says he’s winning tonight. But the bigger question? Who’s going to snap him back to reality when it’s all said and done?
Match 2: Val Venis vs. Steven Richards (w/ Victoria)
Trish Stratus was on commentary for the match as Val Venis took on Steven Richards, who was accompanied by Victoria. Before the match, Venis humorously announced his plans to start an adult film company, casting Victoria in the lead role. The match featured several near-falls, with Venis ultimately winning after executing the Money Shot at (2:26)
Rating: 2 Stars. A decent match while it lasted, but too short to give it a thorough review. This match was mostly to further the feud between Trish Stratus and Victoria.
Backstage Segment: Jonathan Coachman interviewed Kevin Nash backstage. Nash expressed confidence, stating that Triple H was worried about their upcoming match at Bad Blood. He appeared calm and collected, emphasizing his readiness.
Backstage Segment: Christian kicks things off by taking a jab at the town, saying it sounds like it was named after a gas station. Before he can keep going, Goldust strolls in, stumbling through what sounds like a challenge. But before he can finish, Booker T steps in and shuts it down, confidently declaring that he’s winning the title soon enough.
Backstage Segment: Stone Cold and Eric Bischoff are at it again, trading verbal jabs over who deserves the credit for presenting Bad Blood. Both men are convinced it’s their name that should be front and center. In the middle of the argument, Austin pauses to drop a key announcement: any active military personnel will get into the event for free—a rare moment of agreement, as even Bischoff can’t argue with that. But the truce doesn’t last. They quickly pivot back to clashing egos and finally settle on one thing—they’ll compete at Bad Blood in some form or fashion. What exactly that means is still up in the air, but the challenge is set. The bickering continues until Austin, clearly done with the nonsense, exits the scene. His reason? He’s headed out to hear Lillian Garcia sing “America the Beautiful,” leaving Bischoff stewing behind him.
In Ring Segment: Lillian Garcia, La Resistance, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin
Lilian Garcia begins singing “America the Beautiful,” delivering a heartfelt performance—until, right on cue, La Résistance interrupts. The French duo saunters out, oozing smugness, and wastes no time trashing American patriotism. The crowd’s already boiling, and it doesn’t take long for the glass to shatter.
Stone Cold storms down to the ring and delivers a pair of Stunners, one for each member of La Résistance. The crowd erupts. Austin grabs the mic and cuts a classic promo, praising the U.S. military for defending the freedoms that let him drink as much beer as he damn well pleases. He invites Lilian back to finish the song with him—and they do, arm in arm, before Austin cracks open some cold ones in celebration.
Backstage Segment: Ric Flair is warming up backstage as a masked man watches.
Match 3: Goldust vs. Christian
Christian jumps Goldust right out of the gate, hammering away in the corner with heavy right hands. But the veteran Goldust turns the tide quickly, planting Christian with a bulldog to slow things down.
Momentum shifts again when Goldust misses a crossbody and crashes hard to the floor, giving Christian the opening to choke him across the middle rope. Back inside, Christian grounds things with a chinlock, trying to wear the Bizarre One down.
Goldust powers back to his feet and lands a stiff elbow to the jaw, earning a near fall on the Intercontinental Champion. He looks for the Curtain Call, but Christian counters smoothly into a reverse DDT—only gets two. Goldust rallies with a flurry of punches in the corner, rocking Christian, but the referee steps in to stop Shattered Dreams. No matter—Goldust scoops up Christian and nails a big powerslam to score the clean pinfall over the champ at (4:03).
Rating: Oh yes, this was definitely essential for hyping up the Intercontinental Title match on Sunday. Booker T already earned his shot by winning a battle royal, only to get screwed out of the title. So naturally, let’s have Goldust pin the champion clean a week before the pay-per-view — because nothing says “momentum” like the champ taking random losses. Will Goldust be added to the title match? Probably not. Maybe he gets a shot later, but really, what was the point of this timing?
Match 4: Rodney Mack w/Theodore Long vs. Bubba-Ray Dudley
Rodney Mack and Theodore Long are out here for the 5 minute White Boy Challenge. The White boy ? Bubba-Ray Dudley. Bubba chops away in the corner but gets punched in the face for his efforts. We’re already in the chinlock as JR wishes Freddie Blassie a speedy recovery from last week.. Mack clotheslines him down but gets caught in a release German suplex for two. A neck breaker and the Bubba Bomb get the same but Teddy gets on the apron for a distraction. Cue Christopher Nowinski to knock Bubba cold with the protective mask (which he was carrying, though you would think he could have brought something a bit harder) and Mack grabs the choke for the win.
Backstage Segment: La Resistance is understandably upset about being ambushed earlier, so Bischoff steps in and books Sylvan Grenier vs. Rob Van Dam in a flag match for tonight. If Grenier wins, the Frenchmen get a tag title shot at the pay-per-view. Because of course, nothing says “earned opportunity” quite like getting beat up by Austin and then immediately rewarded. This was really the best way they could set up a title match?
Backstage Segment: Triple H calls out Ric Flair, accusing him of losing his edge and not being the same man he once was. That’s all Flair needs to hear — he launches into a classic, fired-up tirade, strutting, shouting, and reminding the world (and HHH) that he’s still the man. Woooo included, naturally.
Match 5: Flag Match: Sylvain Grenier w/Rene Dupree vs. Rob Van Dam
It’s a flag match, where the goal is to grab your own country’s flag to win. Early on, a slick chain wrestling exchange sends both guys stumbling toward the wrong flags—so much for strategy. Rob Van Dam knocks Grenier to the floor with a stiff kick, but instead of heading for the flag, he opts for a flashy spinning leg lariat to the back. Maybe the French are playing smarter than the Americans tonight. Back inside, RVD fires off some shoulder thrusts in the corner.
Grenier makes a break for the flag, but Rob cuts him off—only for Rene Dupree to sneak in a cheap shot that floors Van Dam. RVD fights back and nails a top-rope flip dive… right into the referee, because of course we’re doing a Dusty Finish in a flag match. Rob manages to grab the flag, but with the ref down, no one sees it. Dupree knocks it loose before Kane storms in and cleans house—until he eats a flagpole to the face. With the chaos cleared, Dupree hands the flag to Grenier, who claims the win while the crowd collectively groans.
Rating: La Resistance earning a title shot? Totally fine. Winning a flag match on Memorial Day? No problem there either. But the way they backed into this opportunity couldn’t have been handled any worse. If the plan was to have them go over, maybe don’t have Austin rough them up beforehand—it kills any momentum they might’ve had. They’re not exactly a well-established team yet, so instead of building them up properly, we just hand them a win and fast-track their push. Because apparently, that’s how you get over these days.
In-Ring Segment: Chris Jericho’s Highlight Reel with Goldberg
Time for the Highlight Reel, and it looks like Jericho’s set keeps getting a little fancier each week. He hypes it up as the hottest segment in wrestling, promising to prove it next week when The Rock appears as his special guest. The crowd doesn’t exactly erupt, so Jericho pivots, reminding everyone he tried to run over Goldberg—because, in his words, nobody wants Goldberg around anyway.
Jericho recalls taking Goldberg under his wing back in WCW, only for it to inflate Goldberg’s ego even more. Then Jericho jumped ship, became a star, and Goldberg faded into the background. Now Jericho throws down the gauntlet for a match at Bad Blood. Cue Goldberg, who marches out to return fire—but instead of getting the last word, he eats a face full of pepper spray and a surprise spear from Jericho. It’s definitely a step up in profile from Christian, but Goldberg still isn’t exactly lighting things up in WWE just yet.
Match 6: (Main Event): Handicap Match: Triple H vs. Ric Flair & Shawn Michaels
Triple H ambushes Shawn from behind to kick things off, but a quick clothesline drops the champ. Shawn fires back with a middle rope crossbody and rains down punches, as the writing’s already on the wall for Flair’s inevitable heel turn—though calling it a “turn” might be generous at this point. HHH goes for the Pedigree, but Shawn counters with a backdrop, then nails Sweet Chin Music barely two minutes in. That sets up the hot tag to Flair… who immediately decks Michaels without hesitation. Meanwhile, backstage, the masked man ambushes Nash with a steel chair. Back in the ring, one Pedigree later, and Shawn’s done at (3:14).
The masked man storms the ring alongside Nash, only to turn on him and lay him out with a beating. Off comes the mask—and it’s Randy Orton, joining the assault to close the show.
Rating: Well that sure happened. Triple H walks away looking like a mastermind, while Flair’s teased turn—something that actually had some momentum—ends up just being another setup in HHH’s bag of tricks to build heat for his feud with Kevin Nash. This was never really a match; it was an angle disguised as one. And surprise, surprise—Flair was with HHH the whole time.
Final Analysis: There’s a reason 2003 is often looked back on as a low point for WWE. The storytelling here wasn’t just lazy—it was chaotic and rushed. In just one night, we got a heel turn, a masked man debut and unmask, and a main event that barely qualified as a match. Add in Christian losing clean for no real reason and Austin beating up La Resistance right before they’re supposed to get a push, and you’ve got yet another weak episode in what’s become a frustratingly long streak of them.
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