WWE RAW Report
Aired LIVE! From Des Moines, IA
October 25th, 2004
Reported by: The Worm, rajah.com RAW reporter
Welcome to Monday Night RAW! We're coming off the heels of Taboo Tuesday, and I for one wanna find out what's going to happen. Tonight, the NEW Intercontinental Champion, Shelton Benjamin, will be defending his IC title in a rematch against Chris Jericho. Will Shelton be a one week wonder or will he defeat Chris Jericho for the second time in a row?
RAW opens by replaying the Eugene vs. Eric Bischoff match from Taboo Tuesday. Bischoff begins by ambushing Eugene from behind and kicking the hell out of him. Eugene gets angry when Bischoff goes to slam his head into the turnbuckle. Bischoff feigns an injury, only to kick Eugene in the head. Eugene "Hulks" up and then delivers an airplane spin followed by a straight kick to the face. Eugene ends the match by doing his best Hogan impersonation and dropping the leg.
Afterwards, we learn that the voters decided that the stipulation will be the loser gets their head shaved. The Coach tries to change the stipulation, but Vinnie Mac comes out with an angry look on his face. Eugene is excited to see him and they fast forward to where Bischoff is forced to get his head shaved, unless he wants to be fired.
Bischoff is livid as Eugene shaves his head. The Coach tries to leave, but Vince calls him back and punishes him for trying to change the stipulation by making him wear a dress. Bischoff and The Coach argue, and you can see that Bischoff dyes his hair as you can see his gray roots. Vince calls him a phony SOB and chases The Coach back up the ramp.
That's it for the recap, and Eric Bischoff is now coming down to the ring with a golf hat on his head. He's got the stick and let's hear what he has to say.
He's sick and he's tired. He was brought into this job as GM of RAW to make changes and make an impact and every time he does, someone including his nephew Eugene breaks it off and shoves it down his throat. He's sick and he's tired of things like getting his head shaved (rips off the hat) happening to one of the most important names of the industry (puts hat back on). So if anyone thinks they can do a better job of running RAW than Eric Bischoff, then fine because tonight, for the first time, he's giving himself the night off. Tonight, the inmates are running the asylum and they remind everyone of the IC title rematch between Shelton Benjamin, the new IC Champ and Chris Jericho as we go to commercial.
Evolution's music hits and it's the remaining trio of Flair, Batista, and Triple H making their way down to the ring in suits. I'm sure they're gonna try to run the show, so don't expect a whole lot of good to come from this. (Notable Sign: Samoa Joe = The REAL World Champ!)
Let me ask you a question, the fans loved having the power at Taboo Tuesday. Tonight, since Bischoff has taken the night off, he's taking it upon himself to name Evolution as the ones running the show (just as I thought). It's not because Triple H is the champ, but there is strength in numbers and might is right, that means Evolution is in charge. No one in the back can tell them any different and with that in mind, we're gonna have one hell of a night and it starts like this: Ric Flair - you can have anything you want (Flair hugs Triple H). Flair wants Randy Orton again, and Orton was only lucky when he beat Flair at Taboo Tuesday. Flair is the only legend and he'll stay a legend. Orton's a punk who's lucky to walk the aisle.
Flair begs Triple H for Orton, and I for one think it's time for Flair to stop sucking Triple H's dick. Triple H orders Orton vs. Flair to happen tonight and they are interrupted by the Legend Killer himself.
Orton wonders if he heard Triple H order him to face Flair, and if that is the case, he doesn't take orders from anyone. He beat Flair last week and he can do it again. Flair says he's still a legend. Orton says that he proved one thing last week, and that he is a legend killer. Just because Bischoff isn't here, doesn't mean Evolution has full reign (RKO chants start up). No one's gonna listen to what Evolution has to say. Flair wants Orton, Orton wants the World Heavyweight Title. Triple H says that Orton's attitude is the type that'll get him his ass kicked. Triple H is in a good mood and wants to cut a deal. Orton wants the title, and Triple H is ready to defend it provided Orton beats Flair again.
Orton is sounding pretty cocky, and Triple H takes it one step further. He'll pencil his name in for the main event at Survivor Series. However, if Orton loses, he'll never get a shot at the World Heavyweight Title again for as long as Triple H is the champion.
Flair gives one of his stupid shouting speeches before Orton agrees to the task laid before him. We hear comments from the announcers regarding the success of Taboo Tuesday and our first match will be Shelton Benjamin defending his IC title against Chris Jericho as we go to commercial.
Gotta love that new Smackdown vs. RAW commercial. The newest game will have voiceovers and get this, online play! YAY! I know I'll be picking that up, and I can't wait to kick your guys' asses. >:-)
I'll return in a few minutes as this dull sense of hunger is eating away at me. I might miss something, but I will start from whereever we're at when I return.
The WWE Slam of the Week recaps Benoit winning the tag titles from La Resistance at Taboo Tuesday after Edge leaves the arena.
Match #1 (IC Title) - Shelton Benjamin (C) vs. Chris Jericho:
Just a comment before I go get something to eat, is it just me or is Des Moines seem like a big Ring of Honor supporter? I saw a sign for Samoa Joe, and I just spotted one for CM Punk. Someone clear things up for me.
Returning from making something to eat, I arrive in the middle of a commercial.
RAW comes back on with Jericho in control of Benjamin and no sound whatsoever. Jericho has a backbreaker submission locked on and Benjamin fights out of it as the sound returns. Shelton punches Jericho, but as he bounces off the ropes, Jericho comes back with his 180 neckbreaker.
Jericho kicks Benjamin in the back and goes up top. Benjamin punches Jericho and he climbs up to deliver a frankensteiner and both men are down. Jericho is up first and the two exchange blows. Jericho whips Benjamin and Benjamin clobbers the challenger with a flying forearm followed by clotheslines. Benjamin goes for the pin, but Jericho kicks out. Jericho is whipped, but grabs the ropes. Benjamin is lifted up and over, only to be met with a springboard dropkick. Back in the ring, Jericho delivers a hard clothesline and goes for a pin. Benjamin kicks out, and Jericho decides to work him over in a corner. Benjamin whips Jericho, but Jericho kicks out. Benjamin goes the for the T-Bone, but to no avail, so he has to use the Northern Lights suplex instead. Jericho kicks out, but bridges up and turns it into a backslide. Benjamin kicks out and goes for an inside cradle. Several reversals later, Benjamin wins it by rolling up Jericho to counter the Walls.
Winner: Shelton Benjamin
Post-match, Jericho confronts Benjamin and proceeds to argue with him. Jericho offers a hand and Benjamin shakes it. Jericho is being a good sport about this and it was a hard fought match. However, before Benjamin can celebrate his win, Captain Charisma arrives on the scene and attacks Shelton Benjamin. Christian hits the Unprettier and holds up the IC title.
Backstage, we see the Coach and Bischoff hanging out as we go to commercial.
Back on RAW, Evolution has confronted Christy Hemme and Flair says she looks like the type of woman they could take out all night long. Christy has plans, but Triple H offers her a job. We see Jericho walking by and Triple H confronts him. I can't tell you what they're saying as the sound has just cut off. The sound is still bad as it returns, but we see Maven and Benoit arriving on scene, as well as Rhyno, Tajiri, Hurricane and Rosey to find out if there's a problem. Like the cowards they are, Evolution backs off as we go to the announce table.
We go back to Taboo Tuesday to recap the tag title match. Edge doesn't want any part of it as he really wanted to face Triple H. During the match, Edge leaves the building while Benoit is left to fend for himself. During the World title match, Evolution tries to interfere, but HBK delivers the SCM. Edge ends up entering the ring and costing HBK the title.
Up next will be an interview with HBK & Edge as we go to another commercial.
JR is in the ring, and we learn that Edge refused to show up in Des Moines live. We see Edge on the Tron and JR wants to know how he justifies his actions. He says that the title wasn't HBK's to win, it was Edge's. He'll spell it out for the last time. He defeated Triple H, he's defeated HBK and Benoit in a triple threat match, but he didn't get voted in. He figures HBK only got the shot due to sympathy. Edge came back from a broken neck, a groin injury, and anything you name, he's come back from. When he went to his hometown of Toronto, Edge was booed out of the building because the fans were taking him for granted (Notable sign: Edge Was Robbed). Edge will only appear on RAW when he's ready to.
Next up, it's HBK and the crowd has gone wild. HBK had knee surgery on Friday, and he comes down to the ring with crutches. (Another notable sign: It Shoulda Been Edge). I guess Des Moines loves Edge, but Edge isn't there to see all the support. Tough break for him, I guess, as I would have loved to see him win the title at Taboo Tuesday.
JR says he doesn't deserve to stand in the ring with a surefire Hall of Famer. JR leaves the ring, and HBK has the stick. Well hello Des Moines, Iowa!
HBK listened to what Edge had to say and if Edge's injuries were over a 20 year span, he'd have been seen as tough and gritty. Since it was a 6 month span, it only makes him seem careless and fragile. HBK goes on about Taboo Tuesday and how the whole locker room was filled with an excitement that he hasn't seen in the 2 1/2 years he's been back. He believes it's all due to the fact that the fans had control over what happened (I saw another ROH sign that simply said ROH).
HBK answers a chick that's been yelling at him while he was speaking, and he comments on the crowd and the adrenaline rushes you get when you're showing off in the ring. They knew HBK was injured, but the fans still wanted to see HBK vs. HHH just one more time. He then comments about what the back had to say after HBK finished the match and the honest answer is that he didn't do what he did because he has a John Wayne complex or to think he was tough. He did it because the fans voted for him, and he didn't see how he could not go out there and perform and he gave the fans the true HBK. (Loud HBK chants fire up)
HBK wants to challenge everyone in the back to be there for the fans when the fans were there for the performers. When he came back from back surgery, he did it for him. This time, when he comes back from his injury at 100%, he's not coming back for himself, he'll be back for the fans. HBK gives a good farewell speech as he prepares to take time off to rehab from surgery. He thanks the fans and bids them a good night.
Later to come: Ric Flair vs. Randy Orton
The camera cuts back to the stage as we see HBK getting a standing O from the crowd as we go to commercial.
Backstage, we see Maven with the Grish. Maven requested the interview and he's said that if the inmates are running the asylum, he's tossing out the rulebook. He's stepping up tonight, but before he can finish, Batista interrupts. Maven asserts himself and challenges Batista to a match by ending it with a weak-looking slap to the face. Batista is on his way to the ring and I guess it's our next match.
Match #2 (Singles) - Maven vs. Batista:
Maven begins by taking it Batista. Batista shoves him off and follows it up with a boot to the face. Batista clubs away at Maven, and now Maven is back in control. He tries to whip Batista, but to no avail. Maven is tossed into the corner and nailed with a clothesline.
Batista chokes Maven with his foot and as Maven gets up, Batista pounds on his back and the ref tells Batista to get him off the ropes. Batista suplexes Maven onto the ropes and kicks him off the apron.
On the outside, Batista slams Maven's head into the steel steps and picks him up. Maven recovers, slides out, and slams Batista's head onto the security barrier.
Batista picks up Maven and throws him onto the apron. Maven rams his shoulder into Batista's gut and he is trying to mount some offense. Maven hits a dropkick and a flying forearm. Batista recovers, picks up Maven and runs him into the turnbuckle.
The end comes as Maven pulls off an upset of a lifetime by countering a Batista Bomb into a rollup.
Winner: Maven
Post-match, Batista storms up the ramp, but Benoit and Jericho come out to defend their buddy. Batista smiles as Jericho and Benoit raise Maven's arm. Maven deserves a push, and if this is the beginning, then it better be a good one.
Commercial Break
We see a clip featuring Mark Henry & Chris Nowinski working with Smackdown Your Vote to get people registered to vote.
The announcers recap Snitsky vs. Kane @ Taboo Tuesday where Snitsky puts a chair around Kane's throat and stomp down on it from the top rope (like Kane did to HBK a long time ago).
Regal is making his way down to the ring, but before he can get down there, Snitsky ambushes him from behind and attacks him mercilessly. I was interrupted by the doorbell, but when I return, Snitsky has pinned Regal and we see officials and Eugene come down to help him. Snitsky says he's done what no man has ever done, and that is destroy the monster Kane and he'll destroy anybody else in the RAW locker room.
According to Lyndsey, a Rajah.com reader, she said that the only thing I missed while I took my roommate to get his car was a segment where Trish confronted Lita and said she ruined both Matt Hardy's and Kane's careers. If there's anything else I missed between the Snitsky thing and the main event, feel free to fill me in.
Main Event (Singles) - Ric Flair vs. Randy Orton:
Orton gives Flair a hard stare and Flair doesn't seem to look too confident.
They lock up and Flair locks on a headlock. Flair is whipped, but he takes down Orton. Orton comes back with a hip toss and a scoop slam. Flair comes back with a gut to the cut and a chop to take the young one down. Orton is clubbed in the gut with a right and Flair tosses him out. Orton quickly gets back in and he is pissed. He works Flair over in the corner with punches and kicks to the gut. He whips Flair and delivers a back body drop.
Flair should really start wearing a shirt when he wrestles, his rubber body disgusts me and Orton delivers another back drop to Flair and he sounds like he's having an orgasm. Flair hits a thumb to the eye and whips him across the ring. Orton clotheslines Flair out of the ring and Flair's bandage is coming off. He rips it off and the two exchange blows. Orton suplexes Flair on the mat and gets back into the ring to break up the count.
Flair is rolled back in and Orton goes for a pin, but Flair kicks out. Orton whips Flair into the corner and continues to connect with more punches. Flair stumbles out of the ring and flops. Flair is whipped into the opposite corner, but he ducks out of the way to send Orton shoulder first into the ringpost. It's time for our last commercial break, folks.
The two are exchanging blows, but fast forwarding, we see Flair hitting an elbow on Orton to break his momentum. Flair goes up top, but Orton tosses him off. Orton goes up top for a cross body, but Flair moves out of the way and it appears Orton has injured his knee. Flair takes advantage of this by hitting a chop block.
Flair puts Orton's leg on the ropes and jump down onto his knee and he continues to work on it. Flair cinches in a leg lock, but gets up when Orton grabs the ropes. Flair hits another chop block and this time locks on the Figure Four leglock. Orton is struggling to fight out of it, but it appears he is slowly reversing the pressure. Flair breaks the hold, but how much damage has been done?
Flair goes for another Figure Four, but Orton rolls him up. Flair kicks out and the two exchange blows. Orton is seething as he whips Flair and hits another back drop. In the corner, Orton goes up top and starts the 10 punches. Flair stumbles out of the corner, only to be met with a dropkick. Orton goes for a pin, but Flair kicks out. Flair is whipped yet again, but this time Orton connects with a powerslam.
Orton signals for the RKO and he delivers, but Batista interferes. Benoit, Maven, and Jericho come out and beat down Batista, but from out of nowhere, Triple H comes out and nails Randy Orton with a steel chair as Orton is dangling in between the ropes. Triple H tosses Flair back in and Flair is gonna steal this one.
Winner: Ric Flair
Post match, Flair and Triple H are backing up the ramp, but Maven, Benoit, and Jericho come back out and they send Triple H and Flair running like a scalded dog. Before they can escape, they are met by Hurricane, Rosey, and Eugene. Try another corner: Rhyno, Tajiri, and Shelton Benjamin.
Evolution has been cornered in the ring and Flair backs up into Randy Orton. Flair turns around and the look is priceless. Flair is hit with an RKO and Triple H tries to escape, but the faces grab him and toss him back into the ring. He pleads for mercy, but the crowd is alive than they ever been as a dish of poetic justice is about to be served. Triple H goes after Maven, but Maven blocks it and punches him. Benoit connects with the rolling Germans, followed by Jericho with his Lionsault, and Orton gets pumped up by everyone else. Benoit, Jericho, and Maven lift up Triple H and after a moment, Randy Orton delivers the RKO.
This has been one of the coolest RAWs so far, with Evolution FINALLY getting a taste of their own medicine as the tables have been turned and Triple H gets the ol-fashioned Evolution (so-to-speak) beatdown as RAW heads off the air.
END OF SHOW
Okay, I have something to address. I just got some hate mail from a reader who calls himself Indichet that says this:
"Fuck you man, you always got to do something when reporting for Raw
P.S YOU SUCK WORM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
I want you guys to be aware that I try to not be busy when I do the RAW report each week, but things do happen. How lame would it be if I told someone that I couldn't help them because I had to do this report? I'm only volunteering my services to Rajah.com when I do this report. I'm not getting paid to do it, so there aren't any obligations for me to continue it. The only reason I do continue to do it is because it's something I enjoy. I like doing the best I can to provide the most detailed coverage that I possibly can so that you readers don't miss what happens on RAW each week. I don't want you guys to think that I have nothing better to do than sit in front of the TV for two hours each week, because I do have a life outside of doing this. I also attend college and I work third shift as well.
The next time someone wants to send me hate mail, don't be so damn ignorant about what you say in it.