7 Things You Should Know About WWE Royal Rumble 2003

5. The Angle/Benoit WWE Title Match Is An All-Time Classic

The Angle/Benoit WWE Title match at Royal Rumble 2003 is one of the best WWE Title matches ever. It's not a gimmick match with weapons and there aren't any crazy spots in it to make it that memorable, but if you just want to watch a great match then it's truly one of the best ever. Any time these two wrestled the match was great. They were two of the best technical wrestlers in the prime of their career, plus they had a solid storyline where they had issues because they were both so intense. They were actually tag champs together as unlikely partners a few months prior to this, so that led to this matchup. They had a very physical match for 20 minutes with each guy throwing a number of suplexes and they did some incredible submission moves as well. Their chemistry was so great that they could counter every submission move they had. Seeing the transitions from the Ankle Lock to the Crossface was incredible. Most wrestlers just aren't skilled enough to do that. It was cool to listen to the crowd get excited for the match as they went through a series of nearfalls. They really wanted the babyface Benoit to get the win, but it was Angle that ended up victorious with a vicious Ankle Lock that he finished by dropping to the mat applying the heel hook as well. After the match was over, Benoit received a standing ovation even as the loser. The fans in Boston really appreciated the classic battle that they saw. The match isn't celebrated because of Benoit's involvement and some fans probably don't want to watch anything with him in it, which is understandable. It was considered the match of the year for most people in 2003. It's still a tremendous matchup for those of you want to re-live it or may have forgotten about it. This PPV is remembered because the World Title was so bad and then it was followed by one of the best WWE Title matches ever.