5/15/04 - Raw Brand House Show, Spokane, Washington
By: Wes Andrews, rajah.com reader
-To the crowd's dismay, Jonathan Coachman was the ring announcer throughout
the night.
1. The Hurricane & Rosey defeated La Resistance after an airplane
spin/fallaway slam by Rosey on Grenier, followed by a splash from Hurricane.
(Eugene had distracted La Resistance by running away with their flags). ***
2. Chuck Palumbo defeated Stevie Richards. Lots of "boring" chants here;
crowd unwilling to cheer for Richards. DUD
3. Matt Hardy defeated A-Train via roll-up. Quick match, but a nice win
for Matt. *3/4
4. Garrison Cade defeated Val Venis via brass knuckles. Even with the
Coach on his side, Cade isn't over. **1/2
5. 4-Corners match for the Women's Title: Molly Holly pinned by Victoria
and Jazz pinned by Gail Kim via simultaneous crucifixes. Then, Victoria
finishes Kim with a fallaway slam. **
6. Batista defeated Shelton Benjamin with some help from the ropes. Mixed
reaction for Batista; lost of Evolution fans in attendance. ***1/4
7. Chris Jericho defeated Tyson Tomko via escaping the cage. In what may
have been Tomko's WWE wrestling debut (?) Jericho carried the match as Tomko
didn't look impressive. The "steel cage" set up was a flimsy, 8-ft model,
poor compared to the one used on TV. **3/4
8. Intercontinental Title match: Randy Orton defeated Edge via rollup after
a Batista distraction. During the match, Orton mooned the crowd (a la HBK).
***1/2
9. Lita defeated Trish Stratus via DDT. Kane came out after the finish
which led into the main event. **1/4
10. World Heavyweight Championship match: Chris Benoit (I'm still not used
to him being billed from Atlanta instead of Edmonton) defeated Kane after
countering Kane's flying clothesline into a Crippler Crossface.
Surprisingly good match. Then again, it was Benoit. ***3/4
Fans got their money's worth overall, but the title matches were too
predictable; some could have been non-title matches to keep the element of
surprise.
Biggest pops:
1. Jericho
2. Eugene
3. Benoit
Biggest heat:
1. Coach
2. Trish Stratus
3. La Resistance (for interrupting the American national anthem)
