Monday Night Raw – June 13, 2005: Sheriff Austin Rides Again
IMG Credit: WWE
Monday Night Raw
Date: June 13, 2005
Location: Broome County Arena, Binghamton, New York
Attendance: 3,300
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler
It’s the night after One Night Stand and that likely means no Eric Bischoff tonight due to ECW giving him an all time beating. We’re less than two weeks away from Vengeance and that means it’s time for the hard push towards HHH vs. Batista inside the Cell. Steve Austin is here as the guest star tonight to deal with Muhammad Hassan and Daivari so let’s get to it.
Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.
Opening sequence.
Here’s Austin to get things going. Austin thanks the fan for their welcome but gets right to the point. There is a man who feels like he has been failed by the system and has been given the shaft over and over. Therefore, Austin is here for his unbiased opinion so let’s get the defendant out here right now. The USA chants are on in a hurry and Austin calls Hassan and Daivari sand people. Austin doesn’t like the two of them, which Hassan says makes them like everyone else. Hassan is here because he demands justice, though Austin thinks he’s a little too close.
We see a package of Hassan being discriminated against and….the guy kind of has a point on this one. Hassan says that is all the proof he needs so Austin uses Hassan’s head scarf to wipe the spit off his face. Austin: “I think you are a piece of garbage.” However, Hassan has been wronged by the system so tonight, he’s getting an Intercontinental Title shot. Shelton Benjamin is ready in the back and Austin is going to be the enforcer. Hassan is rather pleased with this one.
Intercontinental Title: Shelton Benjamin vs. Muhammad Hassan
Shelton is defending and we’re joined in progress with Hassan driving him into the corner and the fans chanting for Austin. Shelton is right back with right hands in the corner but gets dropped face first onto the buckle. A snap suplex drops Shelton again and Hassan strikes the pose. The chinlock goes on for a few seconds before Hassan takes him outside for a posting.
Hassan’s chair is taken away though, meaning it’s an abdominal stretch instead of rather extreme violence. That’s broken up so Shelton flips out of a suplex and grabs a neckbreaker. The slugout goes to the champ and a backdrop gets two but Hassan is right back with a reverse Eye of the Hurricane for two of his own. Shelton comes back again so Daivari comes in, only to get dropped down again. Hassan gets in a low blow and grabs the camel clutch…but Austin breaks it up for the DQ.
Rating: C-. The match wasn’t great but the ending made sense. They don’t need to put the title on Hassan yet and he can have his rematch at Vengeance as the complaining continues. Austin breaking up the cheating finish was the kind of thing he should have done and it isn’t something that needs to be continued. Hassan is finally getting somewhere, though it still isn’t exactly great stuff.
Post match Austin announces Hassan as the winner and has some beer with Shelton.
Coach and Eric Bischoff are in the office (WHY IS BISCHOFF HERE AFTER THAT KIND OF A BEATING??? And he’s not even looking hurt!) with Bischoff not wanting to hear about ECW. Coach leaves and Chris Jericho comes in to complain about Christian getting the World Title shot at Vengeance. Tonight, he’ll beat up Christian to prove his point. HHH comes in and has a staredown with Jericho, who doesn’t seem impressed.
With Jericho gone, HHH wants to know who the Draft pick is tonight. Whoever the new pick is, they get to go face to face with Batista tonight. Whatever is going to be said, it better not interfere with the match at Vengeance. HHH yells a lot about how no one is stopping him from getting the title back and that’s about it. Even Bischoff seems sick of the never ending HHH stuff.
Here’s Chris Masters for the Masterlock Challenge. This week it’s $11,000 so here’s Sgt. Slaughter to lose after the traditional, insults, Cobra Clutch and cheating.
Long video video on Batista vs. HHH.
We look back at John Cena debuting and setting up tonight’s tag match.
Tyson Tomko/Christian vs. John Cena/Chris Jericho
The fans are WAY behind Cena here as the Canadians slug it out to start. Jericho gets the better of that without much effort and it’s off to Tomko. That means a kick to the head and it’s off to Cena for the first time to a big reaction. An elbow to the face and a suplex give Cena two and it’s Tomko and Christian being sent outside as we take a break. Back with Christian shouldering Cena down for two but Jericho tags himself in to keep things fresh.
Tomko comes in for a spinwheel kick that misses so badly that even the camera cut can’t save it. Some powerful clubbering puts Jericho down but he sweeps Christian’s legs and hammers away. The reverse DDT gives Christian two but an enziguri gets Jericho out of trouble and over to Cena for the hot tag. Tomko gets hiptossed and Christian gets punched out of the air, followed by the ProtoBomb and FU to put Tomko away.
Rating: C. Just a match really but you can almost guarantee something coming up from Jericho and Cena. Jericho has needed a heel turn for a long time now and that would probably be best for everyone. If nothing else, a triple threat might be a better way to protect Cena in the big match atmosphere, as he hasn’t shown that breakthrough regular singles match just yet.
Post match Jericho jumps Cena and lays him out to officially turn heel, as he should be doing. Cena gets sent into various steel objects and the fans are not happy.
The Diva Search auditions have taken place. Coach and Christy Hemme were there to explain how important this really is. Various shots of various parts of swimsuits are shown. Ashley Massaro pops up in a few cameos. This goes on for a very long time and the finalists are here next week.
Jericho asks Bischoff if that was good enough and the Vengeance title match is….still Christian’s, who pops up to yell. Make it a triple threat instead. Cue Cena to run in and go after Jericho, showing the good fire as he tends to do.
Maven vs. Viscera
A VERY happy Lilian Garcia is here with Viscera. Maven starts fast and manages two off of a missile dropkick but it’s a swinging Boss Man Slam and a splash to crush Maven flat. The newly named Visagara….is something we’re moving on from as fast as possible. The chokebomb finishes Maven quick.
HHH and Ric Flair aren’t worried about the Draft pick.
Kane vs. Sylvain Grenier
Kane hammers away in the corner to start as it’s time to let off some of that Edge/Lita steam. A boot in the corner keeps Grenier in trouble but he pokes Kane in the eye and gets in a dropkick. Kane sits up though and the beating is on, capped off by the chokeslam. Two more chokeslams finish Grenier in the way it should.
Post match Kane loads up the pyro but here’s Lita to interrupt. She says Kane should be used to people not being satisfied in the lack of a bang. Lita brings out Snitsky and says the whole lost baby is forgotten. She even thanks Snitsky for getting rid of the demon spawn and offers a thank you while stroking his beard. Snitsky: “MY PLEASURE!” That’s it for Snitsky so Lita brings out Edge, now her fiance. The wedding is going to be next week and Lita will get to see the real one eyed monster.
Here are HHH and Flair to deal with the Draft pick, with JR not understanding why HHH needs to be here. HHH talks about how he’s going to win the title back at Vengeance because he’s in charge, so get the new pick out here. That would be…..Kurt Angle, and hopefully we can forget the whole Sharmell/Booker T. deal. HHH doesn’t look happy as Angle talks about how what HHH said would apply to anyone coming over from Smackdown.
Well almost anyone that is, because HHH is no longer #1 around here. Angle and Flair get in a WOO off and HHH nearly loses it over “gimmick infringement.” HHH says he calls the shots around here but Angle brings up making Shawn Michaels tap out the same night HHH lost to Batista.
There goes HHH’s jacket (showing off a drenched shirt) so he can say that at least he was a champion at Wrestlemania. While HHH was off flying around the world, Angle was getting beaten up by Booker T.’s wife. Angle: “Let’s just say I have a thing for other people’s wives.” He brings up his affair with Stephanie McMahon, with HHH saying that everyone did something with her so it doesn’t matter.
Back to the point, Angle wants to face Batista the night after Vengeance…so here’s Batista to respond. Batista didn’t like Angle suggesting that he would choke, and after last night, Angle shouldn’t talk about anyone choking. HHH immediately starts playing them against each other and tries to get the match set up next week. Batista sees what’s going on but agrees anyway. We seem done but here’s Shawn Michaels for the first time since Wrestlemania. Vengeance, rematch set, brawl, show over.
Overall Rating: D+. The ending segment was pretty good but by the time this show was done, I couldn’t remember what else had happened. I don’t know if the whole thing was rushed because of the ECW show, but Vengeance, which has a decent looking card, isn’t really sparking yet. That’s what happens when HHH vs. Batista was the only thing getting any attention until tonight and that’s not a great way of going about things. Hopefully that gets taken care of next week, but it looks like they have their work cut out for them. Not a very good show overall, but the good moments were strong.
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