Royal Rumble (2003) - Event - Main Event Matches

Main Event Matches

The Raw brand main event was between Triple H and Scott Steiner for the World Heavyweight Championship. Steiner dominated Triple H for much of the earlier match. Steiner applied a Boston Crab on Triple H but Triple H caught the ropes and got out of the hold. Steiner released Triple H and Triple H performed a Knee Smash Facebreaker but Steiner was not affected by the move and he applied a Bearhug on Triple H and followed it by performing a Belly to Belly Suplex for a nearfall. Steiner then attempted to apply a Steiner Recliner on Triple H but Triple H's manager Ric Flair pulled Triple H out of the ring to prevent Triple H from receiving the hold. Steiner started chasing Flair but the referee interjected himself to stop Steiner. Triple H started gaining momentum on a distracted Steiner before attempting to perform a Pedigree on Steiner but Steiner broke the move and performed an Exploder Suplex and tried to perform a Military Press Slam but Triple H countered it and performed a Neckbreaker to get a near-fall. Flair continuously interfered in the match, prompting the referee to eject him from the ringside. Triple H eventually tossed the referee out of the ring but the referee did not disqualify Triple H and the match continued. Triple H eventually grabbed a sledgehammer and nailed Steiner in the gut with it and the referee disqualified Triple H. As a result, Triple H retained the title but Steiner attacked Triple H after the match and applied a Steiner Recliner.

The final match on the undercard was the SmackDown brand main event. It was between Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit for the WWE Championship. As the match started, Angle's Team Angle (Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin) interfered in the match, forcing the referee to eject Team Angle from the ringside area. After a back and forth action, the match nearly ended when Benoit attempted to perform a Diving Headbutt on Angle but Angle rolled out of the way. He attempted to perform an Angle Slam, on Benoit but Benoit countered it and applied a Sharpshooter on Angle but Angle caught the ropes to get out of the hold. The action continued until Angle attempted to hit Benoit with an Angle Slam but Benoit countered it and applied a Crippler Crossface on Angle but Angle caught the ropes and got out of the hold. Benoit then applied Angle's own submission maneuver Ankle Lock on Angle until Angle reversed into applying his own Ankle Lock. Benoit countered into a Crippler Crossface and Angle got out of it by performing an Angle Slam for a near-fall. Benoit went on to hit Angle with a Diving Headbutt to get a near-fall. Angle then slammed Benoit into the top turnbuckle and performed an Angle Slam from the top rope but again got a near-fall. The match came to its end when Benoit applied a Crippler Crossface on Angle but Angle countered it into an Ankle Lock, forcing Benoit to tap out to the hold. As a result, Angle retained the WWE Championship. After the match, the crowd gave Benoit a standing ovation for his effort.

The main event was the annual Royal Rumble match. The first two entrants were Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho. Christian appeared during Jericho's entrance, wearing Jericho's gear and distracted Michaels. Jericho took advantage and attacked Michaels from behind. Jericho grabbed a chair from ringside and hit Michaels in the head with it, causing Michaels to bleed from mouth. Christopher Nowinski entered at #3 but instead of coming to the ring, he stayed outside the ring. Jericho continued to attack Michaels before easily eliminating him over the top rope. After Michaels' elimination, Rey Mysterio entered at #4 and started fighting Jericho while Nowinski stayed out of the ring before eventually entering the ring and attacking Mysterio. Edge entered at #5 and immediately speared both Jericho and Nowinski. He tried to perform a Spear on Mysterio, but Mysterio tossed Edge into the ropes and attempted to perform a 619 on Edge, but Edge avoided the move. Mysterio and Edge continued to fight each other until Christian entered at #6. After entering the ring, Christian embraced with his former tag team partner Edge but was speared by Edge. Edge and Mysterio then hit Nowinski with a double missile dropkick.

One half of the then WWE Tag Team Champions Chavo Guerrero entered at #7. After entering the ring, Guerrero was attacked by Mysterio. Mysterio then eliminated Nowinski from the match. However, after eliminating Nowinski, Mysterio, himself was eliminated by Jericho. Tajiri entered at #8. Tajiri fought with Christian, while Edge and Jericho fought with each other. Bill DeMott entered at #9. DeMott started attacking all the participants and had nearly eliminated Jericho. Tommy Dreamer entered at #10. Dreamer brought kendo sticks with himself to the ring and started attacking everyone with the kendo sticks. Edge hit DeMott with a kendo stick, causing DeMott to get eliminated by falling over the top rope to the floor. Jericho and Christian attacked Dreamer with trashcan lids and tossed him over the top rope. Tajiri fought with Jericho and attempted to apply a Tarantula on Jericho but his attempt failed and Jericho dumped Tajiri over the top rope, eliminating him. B-2 entered at #11 but was quickly eliminated by Edge. After eliminating B-2, Edge eliminated Guerrero. Edge also attempted to eliminate Jericho but he held on. Edge and Christian fought each other until Jericho eliminated both of them from the match and became the only remaining person until Rob Van Dam entered at #12. After entering the ring, RVD began attacking Jericho and performed a Rolling Thunder on Jericho.

RVD and Jericho continued to battle each other and RVD had nearly eliminated Jericho until Matt Hardy entered at #13 and performed a Side Effect on RVD. Jericho and Hardy double-teamed RVD until second half of then WWE Tag Team Champions Eddie Guerrero entered at #14 and began attacking RVD and Hardy. Guerrero and Hardy double-teamed RVD, where Hardy helped Guerrero from being eliminated and performed a Scoop Slam on RVD, allowing Guerrero to perform a Frog Splash on RVD. However, Hardy ended his teamwork with Guerrero by hitting him with a Twist of Fate. Jeff Hardy entered at #15 and Jeff began fighting Matt. Jeff delivered Matt, a Twist of Fate and climbed the top rope to perform a Swanton Bomb, but Matt's manager Shannon Moore joined the ring and covered Matt with his body. Jeff performed a Swanton Bomb on Moore, that hurt both Matt and Moore. Rosey entered at #16 and started fighting with RVD until Test entered at #17 and started attacking everyone in the ring. Test performed a Pumphandle Slam on Matt and began attacking Jericho and had nearly eliminated him. John Cena entered at #18 but instead of entering the ring, Cena began rapping outside the ring until RVD went to the ringside and attacked Cena, tossing him into the ring.

Charlie Haas entered at #19. Haas started fighting with Matt. RVD and Jeff started double-teaming Jericho. Jeff climbed on the top rope to perform a high-flying move but RVD pushed him, causing Jeff to fall to the floor and get eliminated from the match. Rikishi entered at #20 and started fighting Rosey. Jamal entered at #21 and began teaming with his 3-Minute Warning partner Rosey to duble-team Rikishi. Jericho fought with RVD and had nearly eliminated RVD. Kane entered at #22 and started dominating all the participants in the ring and eliminated Rosey by backdropping him over the top rope. After eliminating Rosey, Kane attempted to eliminate Jericho but Jericho held on. Shelton Benjamin entered at #23 and began teaming with his Team Angle partner Haas. Booker T entered at #24 and performed a Scissors Kick on Kane and a Flapjack on Matt. Booker went on to eliminate Guerrero by backdropping him over the top rope.

A-Train entered at #25 and started dominating his opponents by performing a Derailer on Cena, an Train Wreck, on Benjamin and a Derailer on RVD before receiving a Savate Kick by Rikishi. Shawn Michaels returned to the ring after being attacked by Jericho in the earlier match and avenged his elimination by attacking Jericho, helping Test to eliminate Jericho from the match. Michaels continued to attack Jericho after the match. Maven entered at #26 but was dominated by Kane. Goldust entered at #27 and started battling Haas and Benjamin, but they quickly eliminated him. Goldust's tag team partner Booker tried to avenge his partner's elimination by battling Haas and Benjamin, but he was too eliminated by Haas and Benjamin. Batista entered at #28 and started dominating everyone. Shortly after entering, Batista eliminated Test and then Rikishi. Brock Lesnar entered at #29 and he started fighting all the participants. Lesnar eliminated Haas and Benjamin and then eliminated Matt by tossing him over the top rope onto Haas and Benjamin. The Undertaker returned to WWE after a three-month injury by entering at #30 as the final entrant of the match.

Undertaker quickly eliminated Cena and then eliminated Jamal. Maven attacked Undertaker from behind but Undertaker eliminated Maven. Kane and RVD started double-teaming Batista and Kane was gonna Gorilla press slam RVD on Batista but Kane instead tossed RVD over the top rope, eliminating him from the match. Kane and Batista started teaming as they were the remaining participants from Raw and battled Lesnar and Undertaker, who were the remaining participants from SmackDown. Undertaker eventually eliminated Batista and then battled Kane before eliminating him. Batista was angered at his elimination, so he distracted Undertaker by attempting to hit him with a chair but Undertaker avoided it and nailed Batista with a chair. Lesnar took advantage of the situation and eliminated a distracted Undertaker to win the Royal Rumble match.