The 2003 Insurrextion was the fourth annual and final Insurrextion

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program guid ...

(PPV)

event Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of eve ...

produced by the American

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

World Wrestling Entertainment World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

(WWE). It was held exclusively for wrestlers from the promotion's

Raw Raw is an adjective usually describing: * Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made * Raw food, uncooked food Raw or RAW may also refer to: Computing and electronics * .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...

brand division. The event took place on June 7, 2003, at the

Telewest Arena The Utilita Arena Newcastle (formerly the Newcastle Arena, Telewest Arena and Metro Radio Arena) is a large indoor arena in the city of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Owned and operated by ASM Global and sponsored by Utilita Energy, it hosts m ...

in Newcastle, England and was broadcast exclusively in the United Kingdom. It was the only Insurrextion produced under the WWE name, as the promotion was renamed from World Wrestling Federation (WWF) to WWE just two days after the previous year's event. Seven matches were contested at the event, with two dark matches. In the main event,

Triple H Paul Michael Levesque (born July 27, 1969), better known by the ring name Triple H, is an American business executive, actor, and retired professional wrestler currently serving as the chief content officer for WWE. He is widely regarded as on ...

defeated

Kevin Nash Kevin Scott Nash (born July 9, 1959) is an American actor and retired professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE under a legends contract. He is best known for his tenure with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) where he performed under his r ...

in a Street Fight to retain the World Heavyweight Championship. In other prominent matches,

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

defeated

Booker T Booker T or Booker T. may refer to * Booker T. Washington (1856–1915), African American political leader at the turn of the 20th century ** List of things named after Booker T. Washington, some nicknamed "Booker T." * Booker T. Jones (born 1944) ...

to retain the

WWE Intercontinental Championship The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, currently defended on the SmackDown brand division. It is one of two secondary championships for WWE's main roster ...

, Kane &

Rob Van Dam Robert Alexander Szatkowski (born December 18, 1970) is an American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name Rob Van Dam (frequently abbreviated to RVD). He is best known for his tenures in Extreme Championship Wrestling ...

defeated La Résistance (

René Duprée René Emile Goguen (born December 15, 1983), better known by his ring name René Duprée (; ja, レネ・デュプリ, Rene Dyupuri) is a Canadian Professional wrestling, professional wrestler currently signed to Pro Wrestling Noah where he is a ...

and

Sylvain Grenier Sylvain Grenier (born March 26, 1977) is a Canadian TV host and semi-retired professional wrestler. He has been signed to WWE as a producer since 2020. He is best known for his time wrestling for WWE between 2002 and 2007 where he was part of L ...

) to retain the

World Tag Team Championship The world tag team championship is the name usually given to the primary tag team championships in professional wrestling promotions. Nomenclature The name of the promotion is often preceded to the term "world tag team championship" as the ...

, and in the opening bout,

Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

defeated

Trish Stratus Patricia Anne Stratigeas (; born December 18, 1975) better known by the ring name Trish Stratus is a Canadian professional wrestler, actress and yoga instructor. She is currently signed to WWE. Often regarded as one of the greatest Women's Per ...

to retain the

WWE Women's Championship WWE (formerly the WWF, WWWF, and its predecessor, Capitol Wrestling) has maintained several women's professional wrestling championships since acquiring The Fabulous Moolah's NWA World Women's Championship in 1984. Whenever brand division has be ...

. Insurrextion was discontinued after this 2003 event due to the promotion's discontinuation of UK-exclusive PPVs after this event. Following this event, WWE did not produce another pay-per-view outside of North America until 2018 with that year's

Greatest Royal Rumble WWE Greatest Royal Rumble was a professional wrestling pay-per-view and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw, SmackDown, and 205 Live brand divisions. The event took place on April 27, 2018, a ...

, which was held in

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

. The 2003 Insurrextion would also be the final PPV to take place in the United Kingdom until Clash at the Castle in 2022 and in England specifically until Money in the Bank in 2023.

Production

Background

Insurrextion was an annual

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

-exclusive

(PPV) produced by the American

professional wrestling promotion A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling that has little relationship to the rules of the amateur olympic form. "Promotion" also describes a role which entails man ...

(WWE), since 2000. The 2003 event was the fourth event in the Insurrextion chronology and was held on June 7 at the

in Newcastle, England. Like the previous year, it featured wrestlers exclusively from the

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

. It would also be the only Insurrextion produced under the WWE name, as the company was renamed from World Wrestling Federation (WWF) to WWE just two days after the previous year's event.

Storylines

The event featured nine

professional wrestling matches Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

and two pre-show matches that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers portrayed

villains A villain (also known as a "black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. ''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a character a ...

heroes Heroes or Héroes may refer to: * Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good Film * ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama * ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film Gaming * ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...

, or less distinguishable characters in the scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches.

Aftermath

The 2003 Insurrextion would be the final Insurrextion event, as WWE discontinued UK-exclusive PPVs after this event as the company began to periodically broadcast its weekly television shows, ''

'' and ''

SmackDown! ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Fox Deportes simulc ...

'', from the UK in 2004. WWE would not hold another PPV outside of North America until the

in April 2018, which was held in

and was the first in a series of PPVs held in that country. In September 2022, WWE produced its first UK PPV in 19 years as

Clash at the Castle WWE Clash at the Castle was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by the American promotion WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The event took place on Satu ...

, which was broadcast worldwide instead of only in the UK. The 2003 Insurrextion was also WWE's final PPV to be held in England until Money in the Bank in 2023.

Results

Other on-screen talent

References

{{WWEPPV, Insurrextion 2003 WWE pay-per-view events 2003 in England Events in England Professional wrestling in England WWE Insurrextion June 2003 events in the United Kingdom WWE Raw

Production

Background

Storylines

Aftermath

Results

Other on-screen talent

See also

References