Monday Night Raw – June 5, 2006: The Face Looks Good On Him
IMG Credit: WWE
Monday Night Raw
Date: June 5, 2006
Location: Mellon Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 11,000
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler
It’s the go home show for One Night Stand and that’s a big deal, but at the same time, it is interesting to see what ECW is going to do when they come back full time. Last week, things got interesting when Paul Heyman announced that Kurt Angle would be joining the show. I could certainly go for more from Paul Heyman this week and hopefully that is what we get. Let’s get to it.
Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.
Shane McMahon comes in to see an anxious HHH, who is not looking forward to possibly joining Vince McMahon’s club. HHH is ready to explode but Shane says go talk to Vince and it’ll be fine.
Opening sequence.
It’s time for the contract signing between Rob Van Dam and John Cena for this Sunday. Paul Heyman is here with Van Dam and…well Cena doesn’t have any friends. Emcee Jonathan Coachman hands over the contracts, with Van Dam talking about how the title is changing in six says. It’s not just changing hands, but it’s also changing names to the ECW World Title. Cena’s Chain Gang isn’t going to be there at One Night Stand, which sends Heyman into a rant about how the ECW fans are going to be waiting to rub it all into Cena’s face.
Cena, barely able to contain his laughter, asks about the passionate fans before saying he is one. He isn’t going to be just handing over the title jack, but everyone knows that Van Dam is going to fight. Cena has fought and bled to keep it too though, so Van Dam better be ready. This soldier is locked in and ready to fight and they both sign. We get a handshake but Heyman says Cena has something else to do first. There is going to be a WWE vs. ECW battle royal so now it’s time for Cena to get a little preview.
Cue a bunch of ECW guys to surround Cena, who looks cool with it. Cena: “Hey Paul Heyman, let me guess: these guys are all here for John Cena autographs right?” Cena says he’s going down swinging so the fight is on until Sandman canes him in the head. Sabu grabs a chair and drives him through the table until Big Show and a bunch of other guys come in for the save. They’re doing something different with ECW this year and that’s a good idea. If nothing else, it makes more sense to have them go after Cena in a big swarm like this as no one is going to buy Cena as being in trouble against one or even two of them.
Carlito vs. Shelton Benjamin
Non-title. Shelton knocks him down to start and fires off some knees in the corner. Carlito fights up and snaps off a dropkick, only to get kicked in the face for his efforts. We hit the early chinlock as Lawler thinks Carlito’s hair is a cry for help. That’s broken up for some clotheslines and the springboard elbow to Shelton’s jaw gets two. Shelton misses the Stinger Splash and the Backstabber gives Carlito the clean pin.
Rating: C-. Not much to see here, other than the champ losing clean in about four and a half minutes of course, because Shelton isn’t allowed to look impressive for any extended length of time. I’m still not wild on Carlito but they have to push someone as the next challenger and this is about as logical of a move as they have.
Video on See No Evil.
HHH reluctantly goes into Vince’s office but finds Coach, who goes to get Vince. The fact that there is a large photo of Shawn Michaels being forced to join the Club isn’t exactly encouraging. Post break, Vince comes in to talk about how awesome of a time he had in New York earlier this week, including a special sand blasting of a certain area. HHH shrugs that off and says this isn’t happening. That sends Vince into a rant about how HHH needs to lead the locker room by example, but we have a plan B. Instead, HHH can face the Big Show and if he wins, the whole Club thing is off the table. Let’s just have that match….now.
HHH vs. Big Show
HHH slugs away in the corner but charges into a gorilla press. Show gets low bridged to the floor though….and here’s the Spirit Squad to jump him for the DQ, meaning HHH’s Club deal is still on.
Post break HHH storms into Vince’s office and blames Vince for that, but Vince says a deal is a deal. If HHH doesn’t do it, he never gets any title shot ever again.
Eugene vs. Matt Striker
Before the match, Striker asks why Eugene thinks he can win. Eugene says he has a tutor, so here’s Jim Duggan of all people. Striker jumps Eugene from behind and hits a quick DDT for two. The chinlock goes on so Duggan starts the EUGENE chant, which means the comeback is already on. An airplane spin dizzifies Striker but he counters the Rock Bottom into a neckbreaker. Duggan’s flag waving distracts Striker though and Eugene hits a three point clothesline for the fast win.
Post match Striker sends Eugene into the steps…and here’s Umaga to jump Duggan. Destruction ensues.
Here’s hometown boy Kurt Angle for a chat. Angle knows he’s part of ECW but nothing was going to stop him from being here in Pittsburgh. Cue Mick Foley to interrupt and this could be interesting. Foley isn’t happy with Angle going for the blatant cheap pop like that because that’s his deal. Angle asks if Foley had a bunch of cash waved in his face to turn on ECW and says everything Ric Flair said about Foley was true. Angle: “WOO!” Foley brushes that off and says that he heard Angle was having an open challenge at One Night Stand. Paul Heyman said it though so it’s probably a lie. Angle: “Oh it’s true Mick, it’s d*** true!”
Angle knows Foley is in his tag match, but come answer the challenge and get another paycheck like a hair prostitute. Angle: “Speaking of hairy prostitutes, hi Lita!” Cue Lita to whisper something to Foley. That would be a special introduction, as here’s Edge as well. Edge talks about shaving Angle’s head and compares Angle to the Pittsburgh Steelers, but he’s really more like the Pittsburgh Pirates. Like, Willie Stargell for instance. Not the All-Star version of him, but the rotting corpse which has been dead for five years.
The trio gets in Angle’s face so Angle threatens to break Edge’s ankle. Edge: “Ok wrestling machine.” Edge talks about Angle’s history with ECW and thinks he would have been a better pick for ECW. He’s the #1 contender to the WWE Championship though and Angle won’t last two weeks in ECW. Angle promises to change the face of ECW and goes for Edge’s ankle. The Angle Slam cuts off Foley and the ankle lock has Edge in trouble until Lita makes the save. The trio bails so it’s Randy Orton running in for an RKO to drop Angle.
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During the break, Orton said he was accepting the challenge after Angle put him on the shelf for sixty days. I didn’t know Angle came in suspension form.
Lance Cade vs. Kane
Kane knocks him around without much effort to start and decks Trevor Murdoch off the apron for a bonus. The side slam sets up the chokeslam….and the lights go red with the old Kane mask appearing on screen. The mask says to come back so Kane walks up the ramp for the countout.
Cade and Murdoch celebrate so we got to the back where Kane says come fight him. The costumed Kane pops up behind him and beats the unmasked Kane down.
The Highlanders are coming but first it’s time for some shenanigans in New York. I liked these guys.
Charlie Haas vs. Johnny Nitro
Haas runs in and hits the ropes, knocking Lilian Garcia off the apron in a heap. Melina looks down at her and we cut to a shot of Haas in a hurry. Haas knocks Nitro into the corner to start but gets dropkicked outside. Melina rakes the eyes for a bit and Nitro kicks him in the back for two.
Nitro forearms to the back and grabs a cravate as the LILIAN chant begins, mainly because she is being helped to the back. Lawler manages to blame this on ECW as Haas monkey flips Nitro down onto his face. Haas rains down right hands in the corner until Melina comes in, intentionally falls down, and grabs her ankle. This is enough of a distraction for Nitro to grab a rollup for the pin, making Haas the dumbest wrestler in….well at least this week.
Rating: D+. That distraction ending was pretty awful as Haas looks like the biggest numskull imaginable. There wasn’t anything to the match either with Haas being his usual self and Nitro somehow needing help to beat him. Nitro’s Raw tenure hasn’t gone well, but at least he isn’t losing again.
Back from a break and we see Lilian being taken to the back after being knocked to the floor. Justin Roberts is taking her place.
Victoria vs. Beth Phoenix
Mickie James and Trish Stratus are here as well. An early distraction lets Victoria hammer away to start and a kick to the ribs sends her into the ropes. There’s a knee to the back for two more but Beth is back with a snap suplex. Some clotheslines set up a dropkick for two and Beth nails a side slam. Mickie offers a distraction though and Victoria grabs a rollup with tights (which are pulled WAY out of position) for two. Beth is right back with a Michinoku Driver for the pin.
Rating: C-. The match itself was just there, but what mattered here was Beth broke her jaw at some point but finished the match anyway. That would be it for her for over a year on Raw as she would need a bunch of surgeries and then get sent back to OVW for a bit. She hid the injury rather well, but she was grabbing her face as soon as the match was over. As you should probably do.
More on See No Evil.
Vince is looking forward to humiliating HHH again and tells Shane about the special treatment he has been giving his….it’s called an a**ial. Moving on.
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We look back at ECW beating John Cena down earlier.
Jerry Lawler has been hearing from Tazz for years and knows how bad a man Tazz is. Bad at wrestling that is because you aren’t allowed to choke in wrestling. ECW isn’t known for following the rules though, like you must be this tall to ride the roller coaster. Tazz says he has one last match in him, so Lawler promises to make One Night Stand Tazz’s last stand.
One Night Stand rundown.
HHH yells at Shane and says he isn’t doing this. Shane says Vince just wants respect and wants HHH to stand up to him. He hands HHH a water and calls Vince, but HHH switches waters with Shane because he’s not that stupid. Shane says everything is fine.
Here are Vince and Shane for the Club initiation. Vince runs down the history of the Club and talks about its various members, including Jim Ross and Shawn Michaels. With the required JR insults out of the way, here’s HHH, downing his water on the way to the ring. Vince says HHH can be the leader of the locker room by doing the right things as HHH starts looking a little shaky. HHH starts staggering and falls down, which Vince thinks means he needs to do some kissing. The pants come down but Shane collapses and HHH pops up. There’s the Pedigree (with the camera making sure to catch Vince’s full thong shot) to end the show.
Overall Rating: C-. They’re going hard with the ECW stuff, but it didn’t really feel like anything got a ton of focus here. There are some big matches set for the card but the idea is more that ECW is coming rather than focusing on any one match. That’s a good way to go and something you didn’t get last year with the original reunion. I like the direction so far and while this wasn’t the most focused show, I want to see the pay per view and that’s what matters most.
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Was Charlie Haas knocking Lillian Garcia to the floor a shoot that was later turned into an angle, or was it part of a storyline the whole time? I ask that because they seemed to not dwell on it and cut away from it when it happened, whereas they usually focus on something like that when it’s part of a storyline.
I think it was just an accident.