#19
Triple H vs. Kevin Nash
Bad Blood ’03
I really enjoyed the story going into this match, likely because I was such a huge fan of “The Game” in 2003. In the weeks leading into the Hell in a Cell match, Triple H had assaulted several referees in his continued attempt to establish dominance over the entire RAW roster. When co-general manager Steve Austin made the official announcement, all of the referees refused to officiate the match, fearing for their lives. So when Eric Bischoff tasked him with finding somebody crazy enough to referee Hell in a Cell, Austin turned to the one man who wasn’t afraid…Mick Foley.
The match itself took place at the newly re-branded Bad Blood PPV (because somebody realized “Badd Blood” was a stupid name), and it was just OK. They gave them a proper amount of time to work – not as long as previous versions, but long enough to tell a good story – and Triple H was over big time as the top heel of the RAW brand.
Unfortunately, the fans were a lot more invested in Mick Foley than Kevin Nash as the challenger. Nash was almost an afterthought in the program, which spent more time addressing the Triple H/Foley drama from two years prior. I also hate when foreign objects like screwdrivers get involved in wrestling matches; you know they can’t actually use them, so it kills the suspension of disbelief when they are.
Understand, this isn’t a bad Hell in a Cell match. It has its moments, and if you liked the original nWo in the 90’s (and who didn’t?) it was good to see Big Daddy Cool come back to the main event of a wrestling show again. It just came across as split in its motivations, and wasn’t nearly as memorable as the ones that came directly before, and directly after.
