IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: November 30, 2020
Location: Amway Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips, Samoa Joe

We are on the way to TLC and also on the way to new Thunder Dome at Tropicana Field in the next few weeks. That could make for some interesting changes along the way, though the biggest surprise is that last week’s show was actually good. I’m not sure how much reason I should have to believe that is going to repeat itself but maybe we’re in for a holiday miracle. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Alexa Bliss for A Moment Of Bliss with Randy Orton. After a clip of last week when the Fiend interfered and cost Orton his match against AJ Styles, Orton talks about how well he knows Bray Wyatt. He hasn’t met the Fiend yet, but he understands that Fiend wears his pain and suffering on his exterior. Orton on the other hand keeps all of his pain and suffering inside. They both hear voices too, but the Fiend’s voices are Orton’s. Bliss: “Well that’s not what he told me.”

Orton thinks he has gotten inside of Fiend’s head, which Bliss thinks is what the voices have told him. Or are they telling Orton lies? Who is manipulating who? The lights go half off and Orton asks if Bliss sees what he means. More of them go off and Bliss asks Orton the same thing. The lights come back up and Bliss has jumped into Orton’s arms as Fiend pops up. Orton hands Bliss to him (as Fiend seemed to be begging for her) and bails, before asking who is laughing now.

Commentary throws us to a package on Jeff Hardy vs. Elias as I wonder what they’re watching Fiend do at the moment. We actually see a clip of Hardy attacking Elias on Main Event, which is probably the first reference to the show on Raw in the last three years minimum.

We look back at Drew McIntyre eliminating Brock Lesnar from the Royal Rumble.

We recap Elias vs. Jeff Hardy. Elias accuses Hardy of running him over with a car earlier this year to put him out of action for several months. Various guitar shots have ensued so now it’s a Symphony of Destruction match, meaning hardcore with musical weapons provided.

Jeff Hardy vs. Elias

Symphony of Destruction with Hardy slugging away to start. They head outside with Elias’ jumping knee blocking a violin shot. Hardy drops him face first onto the apron and then sends him face first into a piano. Hold on though as the piano starts moving, revealing R-Truth inside. Cue the band of misfits to give chase, though Hardy and Elias pick some of them off for interrupting. They break guitars over Drew Gulak and Lince Dorado as we take a break.

Back with Elias loading guitar picks on his hand to punch Hardy in the head over and over. Joe: “He’s picking Hardy’s mind!” They go outside with Hardy being sent into the drums, only to send Elias right back into them. Back in and Elias cuts off a guitar shot but Hardy gets in a hurricanrana.

Elias gets in the guitar shot for two, as Hardy grabs the ropes (in a falls count anywhere match). They head back outside with Elias picking up part of the broken guitar and stabbing the speaker to electrocute himself (I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and say it was because of the guitar strings). Jeff gets in a cello shot to the back and hits a swanton through a table for the pin at 12:24.

Rating: C-. Electrical and rope break issues aside, this wasn’t quite as epic as they seemed to be hoping for. Above all else, the musical weapons made it feel more like a joke than anything else, thereby defeating a lot of the point. Throw in the 24/7 cameos and it wasn’t quite the most thrilling idea.

Hardy even gets a tambourine as a prize.

Riddle comes up to Keith Lee to talk about how cool it will be if one of them gets the title shot. He’s always wanted to hear Drew McIntyre talk alike he’s Fat B****** from Austin Powers and yes we get an impression. Lee vanishes in the meantime, probably falling into the void of the 18 years since that character was introduced.

New Day wants you to buy Cyber Monday merchandise.

We look back at three weeks ago when Mustafa Ali beat Ricochet thanks to a Retribution distraction.

Ali talks about Ricochet pushing the same boulder up the same mountain week after week. Ricochet has been lied to just like them so why isn’t he next to them? Slapjack says Ali has shown him the way and saw him for what he really is: a weapon for Retribution. Tonight, maybe Ricochet will see what Ali sees.

Slapjack vs. Ricochet

Ali is ringside. Ricochet uppercuts him into the corner and fires off a forearm, only to glare down at Ali. That’s enough for Slapjack to pull Ricochet out of the corner for two but Ricochet is right back with a dropkick. The standing shooting star press gives Ricochet two but here are Mace and T-Bar, who are dropped by Ricochet’s big running flip dive.

Back in and Ali shouts instructions to Slapjack as Dana Brooke comes out to slap Ali in the face. She yells about Reckoning attacking her as Ricochet kicks Slapjack in the face. Ricochet takes out the monsters again but gets caught in a swinging belly to back suplex for the pin at 3:30.

Rating: C. They were cranking up the action here, though there was a bit too much going on at once. That being said, it was nice to see Retribution keeping up the momentum as you kind of expect WWE to have them lose every chance they can. The match was the usual good enough stuff, though the idea of Retribution adding Ricochet is a little more intriguing.

Commentary IMMEDIATELY sends us to a look at Drew McIntyre defeating Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania.

And now, MizTV because we haven’t had a freaking talk show in an hour. After the usual Miz and Mrs. plug, Sheamus is brought out as this week’s guest. Sheamus wants to get this over with because they already have a match tonight. Miz and Morrison bring up Sheamus returning the McIntyre family chest a few weeks ago and ask why McIntyre forgot about Sheamus. That’s not cool with Sheamus, so Miz brings up how friends are supposed to act.

See, when Miz wins the title, Morrison gets the first title shot because that’s what friends do. So tonight, how about Sheamus turns on McIntyre and Miz gets the title? Sheamus laughs it off so Miz gets serious by bringing up Sheamus being WWE Champion five years ago. Now his career is a joke. That makes Sheamus take off his jacket and the beatdown is on. Miz and Morrison are taken out until Miz gets in a briefcase shot to leave Sheamus laying. I could go with not seeing a talk show again for a good eight months.

We look back at Lana saving Asuka from Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler last week.

Asuka and Lana fire each other up.

Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler bicker about last week’s loss.

Asuka/Lana vs. Shayna Baszler/Nia Jax

Non-title. Baszler grabs Lana in a waistlock to start but Lana reverses into a quick rollup. It’s off to Asuka as Lana holds the ropes open, which Nia clearly sees, charges at anyway, and then dives through the ropes to the floor. That was one of the most fake looking spots I’ve seen in a very long time. Lana and Asuka hit stereo suicide dives and we take a break. Back with Nia throwing Lana around without much effort whatsoever.

Shayna gets to work on the leg a bit before handing it back to Jax in a hurry. They head outside with Lana managing to post her, allowing the hot tag to Asuka. House is cleaned until Shayna and Asuka trade kicks to the head. Lana tags herself in and hits a high crossbody on Shayna, who pulls her into the Kirifuda Clutch. Asuka breaks that up with a sliding knee and Lana pins Baszler at 9:28.

Rating: D. This story is getting more and more grating every week as the Lana push goes down our throats harder and harder. Lana isn’t particularly good at anything and Jax is only slightly less worse, but we’re supposed to want to cheer for Lana because….and that’s where the story falls apart because there is still no reason to cheer for Lana. Yeah Nia is annoying and mean, but Lana is really bad at this wrestling thing and is only winning because of Asuka. Lana beating Jax or Baszler off a fluke doesn’t make her look like a hero. It makes her look like James Ellsworth in better gear.

Sheamus is banged up when Drew McIntyre comes in to say that looked fun. Sheamus isn’t sure why Drew didn’t come out there for the save but now it’s time to beat up those Muppets. Hey now. Sheamus is a Muppet so don’t tell him to beat up his family so close to the holidays.

Here’s New Day for a match but first, Kofi Kingston talks about how cool it is for Xavier Woods to be a host on the relaunched G4. Woods talks about how important video games are to him and thanks anyone who has ever supported him in any way. In a preview of his hosting gig, Woods recaps New Day beating the Hurt Business a few times, but here’s the Hurt Business with a rebuttal, because these teams can’t have a match without a five minute discussion first. MVP says they’re 2-2 against each other and Cedric Alexander says G4 better be a dream job because he’s about to end Woods’ wrestling career.

Cedric Alexander vs. Xavier Woods

Alexander jumps him before the bell and we take a break. We’re joined in progress with Alexander hammering away and driving in elbows to the back. Woods fights back to limited avail but manages to drop Alexander with a few shots to the face. The Honor Roll gets two on Alexander, who is back with a brainbuster for the same. Woods gets knocked outside but he counters a suicide dive by whipping Alexander hard into the barricade. Back in and Alexander quickly hits the Lumbar Check for the pin at 3:26.

Rating: C. I really could go for getting rid of WWE’s booking technique of having title matches where the champions retain and then continuing the feud anyway. New Day beat Hurt Business twice in three matches and yet we are still probably going to see a fourth match between them at the pay per view. Kind of like the Women’s Tag Team Title match, because WWE really does do these things more than once on the same show.

Alexander goes off celebrating without the Hurt Business for some reason.

Riddle annoys AJ Styles by calling him Skipper. Omos: “Skipper is his rabbit.” AJ wants to know why Omos knows that and why Riddle didn’t name his rabbit Hoppy. That’s Riddle’s turtle’s name but AJ is more like a rabbit anyway: good hops, soft and furry. AJ shoves Riddle and says tonight is serious.

We recap the opening sequence.

Keith Lee vs. Riddle vs. AJ Styles

The winner gets McIntyre at TLC for the title shot. AJ and Riddle are sent outside so Lee teases the big dive, sending the other two scattering in advance. Since Lee isn’t Nia Jax, he stops when he sees his target gone and the leapfrogs both of them back inside. A running crossbody gets two on Riddle and AJ is sent into Riddle in the corner. With AJ down on the floor, Lee stands on Riddle’s hand but AJ is back up to knock Lee outside. Riddle dropkicks AJ down to join him and then hits a springboard dive onto the two of them.

Back from a break with Riddle hitting a series of Brotons on Lee for one but the Floating bro misses AJ. It’s Lee’s turn to clean house again, this time throwing Riddle around with ease. Riddle slips out of the Spirit Bomb though and grabs a triangle, only to be swung into AJ while pulling on Lee’s arm.

Lee breaks it up and Riddle kicks him in the head, setting up the running forearms in the corner. A Pounce sends Riddle flying so it’s AJ finally getting to hammer on Lee. AJ gets caught on top so Riddle pulls Lee off, only have AJ hit a high crossbody for two on Riddle. Some jumping knees put Lee on the floor but it’s AJ hitting the Phenomenal Forearm to pin Riddle for the title shot at 13:59.

Rating: B-. It felt like a lot of triple threats we’ve seen before but the action was good and they went with the safe and acceptable ending. Riddle isn’t ready for the spot and Lee REALLY doesn’t need another big loss. That leaves you with AJ, who can take loss after loss and still be just fine so they went with the right call here after a good match.

Miz and Morrison are ready for the tag match.

Dana Brooke vs. Reckoning

Before the match, we get a quick promo from Mustafa Ali and Reckoning talking about how Brooke is going to be punished for putting her hands on Ali. Reckoning jumps her to start and hits a few shots in the corner. We’re already in the chinlock but Brooke fights up and makes the comeback. Ali gets on the apron but has to drop out of the way of the threat of r a right hand. Reckoning misses a kick to Brooke and gets rolled up for the pin at 2:24.

Post match, Ali yells at Reckoning because there is no losing around here.

Miz and Morrison (geez) come up to AJ and Omos in the back and offer him a peach pie for help against McIntyre tonight. AJ agrees, only because it would be easier to beat Miz to get the title. They’ll see AJ out there, but he does tell them to lave the pie.

MVP comes up to Riddle, who has a new idea: the Weed Bros Gardening Service. They’ll come over and get rid of all your weeds in a flash. MVP says Riddle’s ideas are stupid and shoves him away, meaning it’s time for a fight. Bobby Lashley runs in to jump Riddle and the Hurt Lock goes on.

Keith Lee comes up to Sheamus in the back and asks if he plans on turning on Drew McIntyre tonight. Sheamus says it’s none of his business.

Here’s McIntyre for a chat before the main event. He talks about doing everything he promised to do and says you can tell a lot about a man by looking into his eyes. He had Roman Reigns in trouble at Survivor Series but then Jey Uso had to get involved. Their paths will cross again and next time, he is taking Roman down. You can believe that. As for TLC, McIntyre is coming for AJ and retaining the title.

Miz/John Morrison vs. Sheamus/Drew McIntyre

AJ Styles is on commentary. Sheamus throws Morrison around to start and then gives him a rather large boot to the chest. McIntyre come in to run Morrison over and it’s ten forearms each to Miz and Morrison’s chests. Sheamus shouts at AJ to come get in here and goes outside to get in his face. Miz’s cheap shot doesn’t work but an Omos distraction lets Morrison hit a dropkick through the ropes.

We take a break and come back with Miz driving knees into Sheamus’ back and ripping at his face. Morrison comes in to knee Sheamus down in the corner and we hit the chinlock. That’s broken up in a hurry with the hot tag bringing in McIntyre to clean house. AJ does not exactly approve as McIntyre snaps off belly to belly suplexes and then nips up. The Claymore is loaded up but AJ comes in with the Phenomenal Forearm to McIntyre for the DQ at 9:50.

Rating: C-. Not much to this one as it was all about waiting around for the ending and then whatever they have planned for after the match. Miz and Morrison are a good tag team but both they and Miz’s briefcase are props in other feuds. Sheamus and McIntyre work well together, though I could go for a one off title match between them down the road.

Post match AJ has Miz and Morrison hit a bunch of finishers on McIntyre (I must have misses Sheamus being taken out) but Miz argues with Styles over bossing him around. McIntyre fights up and takes care of Miz and Morrison, leaving AJ to need Omos to get him out of trouble. Omos carries AJ away to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. This was not a horrible show but it certainly was a boring one. They did their thing of having the same matches that they have had before to set up another version of the same match, leaving fans to need to watch the same match they have already seen, only this time on pay per view. There were good things on the show though, with AJ vs. McIntyre being a good setup, Retribution only lost one of their matches, and Orton vs. Fiend is intriguing. They have some good ideas and goals, but they need to find a way to get there go well. Fix that and things will get better, because this didn’t quite work.

Results

Jeff Hardy b. Elias – Swanton through a table

Slapjack b. Ricochet – Swinging belly to back suplex

Lana/Asuka b. Shayna Baszler/Nia Jax – Sliding knee to Baszler

Cedric Alexander b. Xavier Woods – Lumbar Check

AJ Styles b. Riddle and Keith Lee – Phenomenal Forearm to Riddle

Dana Brooke b. Reckoning – Rollup

Sheamus/Drew McIntyre b. Miz/John Morrison via DQ when AJ Styles interfered

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: June 26, 2006
Location: Crown Coliseum, Fayetteville, North Carolina
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

It’s the night after Vengeance and a grand total of pretty much nothing happened on the show. Other than Johnny Nitro winning the Intercontinental Title, it was one of the least important shows that WWE has put on in a very long time. We do have something important tonight though, as John Cena gets his rematch against Rob Van Dam for the WWE Title. Let’s get to it.

Here is Vengeance if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

JR and King run down the card.

Women’s Title: Trish Stratus vs. Mickie James

Trish is challenging in her first match since Backlash when she badly injured her shoulder. Mickie goes right for the shoulder to start but Trish is out in a hurry. The threat of a hammerlock is countered into some right hands to the head and a spinebuster gives Trish two. A hurricanrana gives Trish two but Mickie kicks her in the face. The MickieDT retains the title in a hurry. Mickie spent almost as much time adjusting her top as she did fighting.

Post match here are Johnny Nitro and Melina, with Lawler being VERY glad to see Melina. Mickie leaves and Melina gives some insincere praise for the comeback match. Nitro is the only man holding singles gold on Raw and Trish is looking at the new top Diva in WWE. Trish goes after her but Nitro grabs Trish, drawing out Carlito for the save.

Post break, Carlito is ranting about Nitro when Trish comes up to thank him. Carlito rants in Spanish, which Trish agrees with in the form of “right, right.” Anyway she thanks him again and, in regards to the question on his short (spit or swallow), she whispers something in his ear, which he enthusiastically declares cool. Lawler is rather pleased by that result.

We look at DX tormenting Vince McMahon last week.

The Spirit Squad is ranting to Vince and Shane McMahon, but the latter tells them to watch tonight as the McMahons take care of DX.

We get some fan picks for Cena vs. Van Dam tonight.

Umaga vs. Kamala

This was set up after Umaga beat Eugene and had a staredown with Umaga. Armando Alejandro Estrada and Kim Chee are here too. Kamala chops away to start but gets knocked down, setting up the running hip attack in the corner to crush Kim Cheer for a bonus. The middle rope headbutt sets up the Samoan Spike to end the complete squash.

We go to the Diva Search casting special, featuring the Miz as emcee and Ashley Massaro as the big speaker. The Divas dance a lot and we see Brooke Adams, Layla El, Rosa Mendes and Maryse, none of whom are named. The finalists are out here tonight.

Here’s Torrie Wilson to unveil the summer Divas magazine. Believe it or not, the cover to the swimsuit magazine with Torrie Wilson is Torrie Wilson in a swimsuit. Cue Edge and Lita to interrupt and throw Torrie out in a hurry. Edge says he should be the star of the show and on the cover of magazines (the swimsuit may be implied). He should be the star around here and the fact that Rob Van Dam is defending against John Cena tonight is a joke.

If Edge doesn’t get a rematch, they’re leaving Raw. The fans think they suck so Edge and Lita leave through the crowd. Hold on though as they do stop by the merchandise stand where Edge takes his shirt (which should be in the center). They’re out the door, shirts in hand.

Here’s a banged up John Cena to talk about how One Night Stand wasn’t his finest hour. He could just storm through off with shirts under his arm or he could fight and earn a rematch. Tonight, he takes care of business.

Lance Cade/Trevor Murdoch vs. Viscera/Val Venis

It’s the return of Cade/Murdoch, who were a decent team while they originally lasted. Cade hammers Venis down to start but Venis gets in a right hand to the face. It’s off to Murdoch via a hot tag and an atomic drop into a big boot has Venis down again. Cue Charlie Haas to talk to Lilian Garcia and that’s not cool with Viscera. The hot tag brings in Viscera and house is cleaned in a hurry but Charlie kisses Lilian, allowing Cade and Murdoch to finish with a High/Low (which we only see on the replay).

Rating: D. The match was just there for the sake of the angle, as you might be trying to find out why Viscera, Lilian Garcia and Charlie Haas are getting a story. Points enough for trying something out of an accident if nothing else, though I’m not sure how many miles they can get out of something like this.

We see Brooke Hogan’s music video for About Us.

Randy Orton liked what he saw in said video.

Shane McMahon is so excites for the match against DX that he hits some furniture with a baseball bat.

Here’s HHH, as Vince McMahon, for a chat. HHH says he’s going to come out here and ramble incoherently before DX takes him the McMahons tonight. It will be more embarrassing than having his pants taken down, than losing to Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania, or even than the XFL (that gets a gasp). Last week, DX sent him a rooster, suggesting that he loves cocks. In reality, he loves great men like Dick Ebersol, Dick Chaney and Dick Clark. He loves them of any size, shape and color. HHH: “I’ll even do an Asian!”

Cue Shane McMahon, as played by Shawn Michaels, meaning it’s a lot of dancing as HHH does the Vince ear pull. Shawn says he is the product of Vince’s semen. He even has it on his business card. He brings up Vince’s eventual death, which sets off another round of dancing. HHH: “Son, are you mildly retarded?” HHH says Shane must be mistaken because Stephanie is getting all of Vince’s money. HHH: “Stephanie and that guy who knocked her up.”

After hearing about what a stud that guy must be, Shawn talks about how he just needs one more shot and he’s so excited that he has to dance. HHH yells in his face to stop, sending Shawn straight down. Actually dancing doesn’t sound like a bad idea, so hit that STAND BACK. This goes on for a long time but the Hulk Hogan bass solo is enough to bring out the real Vince and Shane.

Cue the Spirit Squad to join the McMahons for the beatdown, but never mind because DX drops a bunch of human waste on them (apparently it smells bad). HHH: “Don’t worry: because of Shawn, it’s holy s***.” JR: “It’s indescribable what DX has done to the McMahons!” You mean when they imitated them and then dropped fake human waste on them? The parody was funny for a bit but went on too long. Then the other stuff…..just wasn’t, as always.

We look at Mick Foley vs. Ric Flair from Vengeance, with Flair being left beaten and bloody.

Flair, from is home in Charlotte, says that everything Foley did last night was proof that everything Flair wrote about him was true. Vengeance is sworn and Flair was all fired up here.

Paul Heyman talks to Rob Van Dam because he’s worried about the title match against Cena. Tonight it’s under WWE rules in a WWE ring with a WWE referee. Rob says it’s cool and he’s got this.

More fans give their Cena vs. Van Dam picks.

Kane vs. Randy Orton

Kane powers him into the corner to start but Orton gets in a shot to the face and two off a dropkick. A big boot and running clothesline in the corner rock Orton, setting up the top rope clothesline. Kane loads up the chokeslam but here’s Costume Kane, who Kane jumps in the aisle and knocks down. The distraction lets Orton hit the RKO for the pin.

Rating: D+. Just a quick match that was more about the angle than anything else. Orton continues to be on a roll but there is only so much you can do with Kane vs. a fake Kane. The pay per view match wasn’t good in the first place so keeping the thing going doesn’t exactly sound great. Though at least it isn’t more See No Evil.

Post match Kane is back up and chokeslams Costume Kane twice in the ring and one more time on the stage. Kane drags him to the back and then to the back. Post break, Kane unmasks him (showing the bald head of Luke Gallows, though we don’t see the face) and throws him outside. If I remember right, the original plan was to say that Costume Kane was the real version and the one we had seen was a fake, but thankfully they realized that would have been even dumber than what we got so take the small wins where you can.

We see the Tough Enough finalists being selected (including a quick look at the Bella Twins). Brooke Adams is cut but Maryse makes it (there’s something awesome about Miz meeting his future wife being shown like this).

We look at Rob Van Dam winning the WWE Title from John Cena at One Night Stand under less than fair circumstances.

The Highlanders use a public restroom. Hilarity ensues and they debut next week.

Raw World Title: Rob Van Dam vs. John Cena

Cena is challenging and slugs away to start. Rob gets in a kick and heads up top, only to be shoved down hard in a crash as we take a break. Back with Rob fighting out of a chinlock and starting the slugout. That goes to Cena as well but this time Rob kicks him off the top instead. There’s the flip to the floor to drop Cena again and Rob hits a legdrop for two back inside. It’s time for a chair but Cena scores with the hard clothesline into the running shoulders.

The ProtoBomb into the Five Knuckle Shuffle looks to set up the FU but Rob slips out and hits a kick to the head. They slug it out again with Rob hitting another kick to the face, setting up a German suplex for two on Cena. The split legged moonsault gets the same and there’s the top rope kick to the face. Cena rolls away before the Five Star can launch and then gets his knees up to block Rolling Thunder. The FU sets up the STFU but Edge runs in for the DQ.

Rating: C+. They did what they could here and Cena was showing the fire that made him feel like a bigger star. The ending was a good way out if they weren’t going to change the title, but it didn’t exactly help Van Dam look like a star. Then again, just being champion doesn’t make Van Dam a bigger star than Cena and being beaten until Edge comes in is hardly some death sentence.

Post match Edge says he’ll see Van Dam tomorrow and leaves through the crowd.

Overall Rating: C. This was good enough but there are some things that aren’t exactly making me look forward to the future. Above all else, there is the Diva Search, which is going to be around for the next two months and bring the show to a grinding halt. I guess they need new models though. Other than that, Cena was showing fire and they are starting to plant seeds for Summerslam, but some of these things are not exactly making me interested in seeing where things are going. Not terrible, but the future isn’t looking bright.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: November 23, 2020
Location: Amway Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, Samoa Joe

We’re finally done with Survivor Series and that means it’s time to head towards Tables, Ladders And Chairs in about four weeks (and also in the new Thunder Dome at Tropicana Field). Tonight is probably going to be about fallout, though I’m not sure what that is going to entail from last night. Let’s get to it.

Here is Survivor Series if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of last week’s title change with Drew McIntyre regaining the WWE Title from Randy Orton.

Opening sequence.

Adam Pearce and Team Raw is in the ring to start. Pearce recaps last night’s results and thinks that the five of them deserve to be rewarded for their victory last night. Since AJ Styles was the captain last night (and he has a C on his vest this week), he should go first, but Sheamus says AJ isn’t his captain. Sheamus congratulates Drew for winning the title and says he was the MVP of last night’s match….but AJ cuts him off as well. Bickering ensues until Keith Lee says he should get the shot.

Riddle says that last night was sweet and since he beat King Corbin, he should be King Bro. Riddle: “Do I get a crown???” Then he can beat McIntyre and get the dope sword to go with his dope crown. Sheamus calls him dopey and Riddle says Sheamus can hold the crown and sword. Riddle brings up the Fire Face nickname and we get another round of bickering over the team’s nicknames.

Pearce goes to Strowman for the last word, but Strowman freaks out over being called “last but not least”. Pearce: “It’s a common expression!” Strowman grabs him by the suit and headbutts him down, sending the rest of the team into a frenzy as we take a break. This was a bunch of people arguing about things that no adults would ever actually argue about.

Earlier today, the Hurt Business trash talked their way into a Tag Team Title shot, with Cedric Alexander getting under Xavier Woods’ skin.

Tag Team Titles: New Day vs. Hurt Business

Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin are challenging for the Hurt Business. MVP demands controlled fury from Shelton as he starts with Woods. Shelton powers him down to start and gets two off a suplex. A jumping knee puts Kofi on the floor and we take a break. Back with Woods fighting out of a chinlock and making the hot tag to Kofi for the house cleaning. Shelton catches Kofi on top but Kofi shoves him away, allowing Alexander to get in an armdrag to the floor. Kofi can’t get back in and that’s a double countout at 7:58. Actually we’ll make that a regular countout win for the Hurt Business.

Hang on though as MVP says that’s not how it’s going because they don’t want that kind of a win. New Day isn’t sure about a restart but MVP shouting ARE YOU SCARED is enough to get them back in the ring. Back from a break and the bell rings (because they needed to stand around for four minutes) with Kofi and Shelton slugging it out. A big backdrop puts Kofi on the floor and he seems to be favoring his knee.

Back in and Alexander hammers away at the ribs before tying up the legs, thereby restoring my faith in his intelligence. Alexander goes old school with an Indian deathlock and then switches to a different leg crank. Kofi fights up and hits SOS but it’s still too early for the hot tag. Instead Alexander pulls him back down into another leglock, only to have Kofi slip out and limp over for the hot tag to Woods. A kick to the face drops Alexander but it’s back to Benjamin who gets two off an Angle Slam. Everything breaks down and Kofi flips onto Alexander, leaving Woods to grab a sunset flip for the pin on 22:48.

Rating: C. Well that was a little odd. I would have bet on the title change after the restart but they might be doing that thing where a team loses over and over and then wins the titles anyway because wins and losses don’t matter around here. The action improved in the second half but it wasn’t going to hold a candle to last night’s Street Profits match.

Pearce has a bump on his head and Strowman has been escorted from the building. If it was up to him, Strowman would be fired but he doesn’t have control over those decisions. Before he can make an announcement about the WWE Title, Bobby Lashley comes up and says they need to have a talk first. Pearce likes the sound of that.

Post break and post Lashley conversation, Pearce….is interrupted by Randy Orton, who seems to want to talk as well.

We look at the Strowman/Pearce deal again.

We look back at Lana being the sole survivor last night.

Lana thinks this is a dream come true and never wants to wake up.

We go back to Pearce, who announces a series of matches to set up a triple threat match next week for the next shot at Drew McIntyre. The first match starts now.

Riddle vs. Sheamus

They talk trash to start and Riddle takes him down by the arm. Sheamus fights up and grabs an armbar of his own, which is broken up with some right hands to the face. A hard clothesline out of the corner drops Riddle again but he sends Sheamus outside with some more shots to the face. That’s enough to frustrate Sheamus, who comes back in with a shot to the face. Riddle slugs right back but gets taken to the mat for some arm cranking from Sheamus.

They head outside again with Sheamus getting caught in an exploder suplex and the Broton gets two back inside. Sheamus catches Riddle on the apron though and that means ten forearms to the chest. The Irish Curse gets two but Sheamus misses a charge into the post. Riddle kicks away at the chest but Sheamus is back with an Alabama Slam as we take a break.

Back with Sheamus hitting a pump knee for two, only to have Riddle knock him to the floor. The springboard Floating Bro drops Sheamus again but he catches Riddle’s high crossbody back inside. A spinning release Rock Bottom gets two and we hit the Cloverleaf to stay on Riddle’s back. The rope is grabbed so Sheamus tries another ten forearms to the chest.

This set is countered into an armbar over the ropes and Sheamus’ throat is snapped across the top as well. Sheamus is right back with a heel hook and they forearm it out on the mat with the hold still on. Riddle uses the good leg to kick his way to freedom and the knee is fine enough to hit the Final Flash for two more.

Sheamus catches him on top though and it’s a super White Noise for a rather near fall. The Brogue Kick misses, but it’s mainly due to Riddle collapsing. Riddle manages a headbutt and a kick to the head, setting up a victory roll, but Sheamus reverses into the Cloverleaf again. That’s reversed as well though and Riddle rolls him up for the pin at 20:50.

Rating: B. These guys beat the heck out of each other for a long time and it was cool to see them surviving everything that the other threw at them. It made for a great use of a long match and instead of starting to feel long, it was drawing me in more and more. Very good stuff here and well done on making Riddle seem like a bigger deal again.

Lana runs into Asuka, who congratulates her for last night. Asuka might even give Lana a title shot tonight!

It’s time for the Firefly Fun House with Bray Wyatt and Alexa Bliss talking about something disgusting: friendship. That introduces us to a frog with a monocle, who no one recognizes. He’s Friendship Frog, and Bray thinks Bliss should show him what she’s going to do to Nikki Cross tonight.

Bliss asks for some help and Bray touches her forehead and whispers in her ear. Bliss whips out a mace and beats the frog so badly that slime comes out of his mouth. Therefore, it’s time for a moment of silence for Friendship Frog, complete with videos of him growing up, his high school yearbook, and his appearance here. He was born in 1980. Bray and Bliss crack up.

Women’s Title: Asuka vs. Lana

Lana is challenging…and here are Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler. Lana rolls her up for an early near fall but gets kneed in the face. Asuka slides to the floor and gets in an argument with Jax and Shayna, who jump her for the DQ at 1:00.

Post match Lana saves Asuka from going through the announcers’ table. Nia wants the tag match and that seems to be after the break.

First though: R-Truth thinks you should buy WWE Shop stuff on Black Friday. As he pitches it, Drew Gulak hits him with a Money in the Bank briefcase and gets two……and here’s well someone in a Fiend mask to say Yowie Wowie. It’s Akira Tozawa, who takes a 24/7 pillow.

Asuka/Lana vs. Shayna Baszler/Nia Jax

Non-title and joined in progress with Nia shoving Lana down and talking trash. That means the choking is on and Shayna comes in to work on Lana’s back. We hit the neck cranking for a bit before it’s back to Nia, who makes Lana beg for mercy. Lana slugs away to no avail and gets driven back into the corner.

Shayna stands on Lana’s head and pulls on her leg but Lana finally gets over for the hot tag to Asuka. House is cleaned in a hurry with a variety of kicks until Shayna gets in her own shot to the face for two. Nia pulls Lana off the apron and beats her up, only to miss a charge over the announcers’ table. Shayna grabs the Kirifuda Clutch through the ropes but gets rolled up by Asuka for the pin at 6:42.

Rating: D+. It’s nice that they’re finally getting somewhere with Lana fighting back against the bullies, but they have not found a way around the fact that Lana isn’t a likable character. She’s having bad things happen to her but that doesn’t mean I want to cheer her. Nia has gotten what’s coming to her so many times that it doesn’t mean anything either, but the bigger problem is Lana. Give me a reason to care about her, because otherwise it’s just Nia picking on someone who is rather annoying and bad at her job.

Riddle comes up to MVP, who isn’t impressed. Anyway, Riddle has some ideas for MVP’s business investments. Like pizza flavored yogurt. Or BRO-gurt. MVP cuts him off because Bobby Lashley doesn’t have time for this and no, he isn’t Riddle’s bro. He is willing to let Riddle pitch some ideas in a few weeks and maybe they’ll do some business. If not, maybe they’ll do some, ahem, BUSINESS.

We look back at Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre from last night.

Keith Lee vs. Bobby Lashley

Non-title and the winner goes on to the triple threat. Lashley’s headlock is countered into one from Lee and they fight over a top wristlock. That’s broken up as well so Lashley hits a running shoulder, earning himself a glare from Lashley. Lee hits the Grizzly Magnum in the corner but Lashley is back with a running clothesline. This time Lee growls at him but Lashley grabs the Downward Spiral for one.

The Hurt Lock is blocked and Lee clotheslines him out to the floor instead. Lee loads up a dive but gets blocked by MVP, meaning it’s time to give chase. Lashley gets in a cheap shot and drives him into the barricade. A fireman’s carry looks to drive Lee into the post, but it looks more like Lashley’s head gets crushed between Lee and the post as we take a break. Back with Lashley cranking on the arm and then grabbing a chinlock to change it up. Lee fights up with a clothesline but Lashley manages a suplex (it was better than the fireman’s carry).

The Hurt Lock is broken up again and Lee slugs him down without much trouble. There’s the Pounce to send Lashley outside and Lee hits a running crossbody. MVP posts Lee behind the referee’s back but Lee still beats the count. Back in and Lee’s arms are too big for the Hurt Lock so Lee gets on his back. That’s broken up with Lee dropping back on him….which draws in MVP for the DQ at 12:37.

Rating: B-. This was a total hoss fight and they did it as they should have. I know the ending might have felt stupid, but neither Lashley nor Lee need to be taking a fall so having Lee win via DQ is as good of a move as you can have. It’s better than either of them getting pinned and Lee continues to look strong for the second night in a row. Now just keep it up for a change.

Video on Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross being best friends and then being split apart due to the Fiend’s influence.

Nikki Cross talks about how she has tried to save Alexa Bliss but now it’s time to stop trying and start fighting.

Nikki Cross vs. Alexa Bliss

They talk trash to start and Bliss slaps her hand away, which she declares a win. Cross charges into a drop toehold so Bliss bails straight to the floor. The chase is on and Cross hits a headbutt to the ribs so they can head back in. Cross stomps away in the corner and then does the same on the mat for two. A Cannonball in the corner rocks Bliss again and Cross shouts a lot before shoving her down. Bliss looks at her hands and starts crying, which Cross actually falls for, earning herself the Sister Abigail for the pin at 4:17.

Rating: D. Cross is reaching a new level of gullible/stupid at this point and that is the kind of thing that makes her someone I want to cheer. Bliss has looked smarter, happier and more interesting the entire time. Then you have Cross, who just doesn’t get it and needs someone to smack her upside the head. The match was just there for the ending of course, and that’s ok in this story. Just get Nikki’s attention already.

We get the Undertaker video tribute from last night, set to Metallica’s Now That We’re Dead. This version includes a quick version of Undertaker’s Final Farewell from the end of Survivor Series.

Randy Orton vs. AJ Styles

For the final spot in the triple threat match. AJ goes straight for the rollup at the bell but Orton is back up so they can circle each other again. Orton sends him into the corner but AJ comes out with a shot to the throat for a breather. They head outside with AJ getting knocked up against the barricade, but Almos deposits him back on the apron. AJ hits a running kick to Orton’s face and then drops him onto the announcers’ table as we take a break.

Back with AJ hitting a chop block to take the knee out and put Orton down again. The leg cranking is back on but it’s too early for the Calf Crusher, as Orton rolls out and kicks him in the chest. Orton can’t hit a suplex but he can hit the backbreaker for two. AJ is right back with the Calf Crusher though, with Orton making it over to the rope after a lot of screaming.

The leg is fine enough to hit the snap powerslam for two on AJ but the RKO is blocked. Orton rolls to the floor….and we have Fiend lights. The lights come back up and Orton gets back inside, where he counters the Phenomenal Forearm and hits the hanging DDT. The RKO is loaded up and now the Fiend appears behind Orton, who looks terrified. Then the Fiend disappears and it’s the Phenomenal Forearm for the pin at 12:47.

Rating: C+. The Fiend stuff was good, even if it was another distraction finish. AJ moving on makes the most sense as we’ve covered Orton in the title hunt. Throw in that Orton vs. Fiend is a fresh match and the TLC card is a little more interesting. I’m curious to see how the #1 contenders match goes next week and that’s a nice feeling to have.

Fiend’s laughter ends the show.

Overall Rating: B-. I liked this show and given the way it was structured, I can’t say I’m surprised. This show had a goal of setting up the triple threat and that’s the direction they took throughout the night. There were some problems with the show and that is always going to be the case. For tonight though, it was nice to have something planned and then see them have a way to get there rather than throwing whatever they could out there and hoping to get to the result. Not a great show, but it was focused and that’s what matters.

Results

New Day b. Hurt Business – Sunset flip to Benjamin

Riddle b. Sheamus – Rollup

Asuka b. Lana via DQ when Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler interfered

Asuka/Lana b. Nia Jax/Shayna Baszler – Rollup to Baszler

Keith Lee b. Bobby Lashley via DQ when MVP interfered

Alexa Bliss b. Nikki Cross – Sister Abigail

AJ Styles b. Randy Orton – Phenomenal Forearm

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: June 19, 2006
Location: Blue Cross Arena, Rochester, New York
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

It’s the go home show for Vengeance but at the same time, it is still a show about building up ECW, which only debuted last week. I’m not sure how well that is going to go, but ECW is angry at Raw for invading their debut. An angry ECW could reach the level of moderately annoying so Raw might be slightly irritated. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Vince McMahon is in his office to open things up and says that there will be no DX reunion because tonight is the DX destruction. As he goes to leave, a delivery man brings him a chicken, because word on the street is he locks cocks. Vince tells him to go choke his chicken because he isn’t in the mood tonight. Now Vince leaves his office, runs into an alien who mimics his walk, and stares him down to make the alien leave.

Then he runs into some male strippers, including (I believe, as he is slimmer here) Big Dick Johnson for some oily dancing. With that out of the way, Vince runs into Dusty Rhodes, who plugs his DVD. Maybe the strippers want to buy one! Dusty goes off to see if they have any change and a deliveryman comes up to ask Vince to sign for a package. It’s a penis enlarger pump (the Pistol Pump), but Vince storms off, swearing to destroy DX. So what would have happened if Vince had gone the other way when he came out of his office? Or just not left?

Anyway, Vince comes out to the ring and promises to put his shoe in a certain part of HHH and use the same shoe to kick Shawn Michaels in the head. Cue Shane McMahon, who says Vince needs to leave because Stephanie McMahon is in labor. That’s enough to get Vince to leave, though he doesn’t seem happy. We follow them to the back, where Vince puts Coach in charge. Vince: “My daughter Stephanie has always had the worst timing of anyone I know. Now she’s in labor. THAT B****!” Vince and Shane leave in the limo as Lawler cracks up a bit.

Torrie Wilson had a swimsuit photo shoot for WWE Magazine. JR: “I’m subscribing.”

Torrie Wilson/Maria vs. Mickie James/Candice Michelle

Bra and panties match. Candice slams Torrie down by the head to start but a sunset flip lets Torrie rip her shirt off. Mickie comes in and takes off Torrie’s pants before doing the same to Maria. The tops come off as well to give Mickie the win almost by herself.

Post match Mickie decks Candice and rips off her shorts as well. Mickie throws in her own version of the Go Daddy dance. Then she goes too far by stealing JR’s hat (JR: “That’s going on eBay.” Mickie even rips the shirt off of a fan for a bonus.

Charlie Haas vs. Viscera

Before the match, Viscera gives Haas one more chance to apologize for hurting Lilian Garcia. For some reason Haas thinks it’s a good idea to say that he and Lilian went to dinner for the apology last week, which she accepted over some pillow talk. Lilian doesn’t seem to agree and neither does Viscera as he knocks Haas outside with one shot. Back in and Viscera wants details on the pillow talk (JR: “I don’t think you want to know that Charlie.”). There’s the corner splash….and here’s the Spirit Squad to jump both of them for the surprise no contest.

Post match the beatdown is on, with the Squad managing an Upsa Daisy on Viscera. The Squad says they know DX is back, but they want to get them out here right now for the fight. DX pops up on screen with Shawn Michaels freaking out about being down five to two (Shawn: “THEY’RE GONNA MURDERIZE US!”) but HHH says they’re just cheerleaders. DX will be out there tonight, but it’s on their terms. For now, HHH has two words for them: look up. Slime falls down onto the Squad, meaning a lot of slipping and laughter ensues. Shawn paints DX on the camera lens because he doesn’t value company property.

Post break, the Squad tells Coach to take care of DX. Vince’s plan will still be enacted so they can go clean up. Coach goes into Vince’s office and finds Paul Heyman waiting for him. Heyman says tonight could go worse because ECW is in a bus in the parking lot ready to tear Raw apart.

Heyman is here with an offer though: since ECW on Sci Fi was the highest rated show on cable last Tuesday, he wants to share the love with Raw. So tomorrow night, how about a dream tag match? How about Edge/Randy Orton vs. Kurt Angle/Rob Van Dam? Coach makes the match but Heyman isn’t done. For tonight, how about John Cena vs. Balls Mahoney? That’s on too.

With the slime being cleaned up, we go to Kane, who knows who the Costumed Kane is. He has known this guy since he was a kid and the guy is even more screwed up than he is. Kane won’t say what he did but he seems worried. This is going to be stupid isn’t it?

Umaga vs. John McChesney

Umaga kicks him into the corner before Armando Alejandro Estrada gets out of the ring. There’s the Tree of Woe headbutt into the running Umaga attack and the Samoan Spike finishes in about a minute. JR barely had time to announce Eugene vs. Umaga at Vengeance.

Post match Umaga sends him outside and Estrada grabs the mic but the fans say his name with him, making Estrada give up.

John Cena vs. Balls Mahoney

Paul Heyman is here with Mahoney, who has his chair with him. They go right for the slugout to start and Cena hits his release fisherman’s suplex for two. The fans are all over Cena as he hammers away in the corner, until Mahoney gets in a poke to the eye. Mahoney hits the snap jabs (without the chants) and a kick to the face gets two. Cena fights back with shoulders into the finishing sequence but Heyman slips in the chair. That doesn’t seem to matter as Cena ducks the shot and pulls Mahoney into the STFU for the tap.

Post match here’s Sabu for a lot of swearing and a beatdown on Cena, including a top rope legdrop through the announcers’ table. JR: “GOD D*** IT GET THAT TRASH OUT OF HERE!” Cena is busted open as the ECW guys leave. He stands up and has that look in his eye, so of course you know this means war.

Post break, JR is REALLY mad about Cena being attacked. Or maybe it’s the table being broken.

Randy Orton vs. Snitsky

I had forgotten Snitsky was still employed. Orton pokes him in the eye to start and adds the backbreaker. A knee drop gets two and we’re already in the chinlock. The fans seem to approve of Orton, even as Snitsky starts his comeback. There’s a side slam to plant Orton and a running shoulder drops him again. The pumphandle slam is countered though and it’s the RKO for the fast pin.

Post match Lawler talks to Orton, who is ready to take care of Kurt Angle at Vengeance. On Sunday, Vengeance will be his.

Here’s Carlito, who thinks what happened to the Spirit Squad was funny. Coach didn’t like it though and that means Carlito has a handicap match. That’s not cool, but Carlito winning the Intercontinental Title on Sunday sure would be.

Johnny Nitro/Shelton Benjamin vs. Carlito

Non-title and Melina is here with Nitro and Benjamin. Lawler rather likes Melina’s entrance, prompting JR to demand that he hand over the Cialis. Nitro starts with the team and hits an early shoulder block, making Melina squeal. Carlito ducks a right hand and hits a dropkick as Lawler wonders if Carlito’s hair slows him down.

Shelton comes in and gets caught with a belly to back suplex before losing a slugout. A knee lift into a clothesline gives Carlito two but Shelton kicks him down. Nitro makes a blind tag and gets in a fight with Benjamin. Carlito grabs a rollup but Nitro reverses and grabs the trunks for the pin. Another short match but it did make you think Nitro could steal a win in a triple threat.

Post match Carlito gives Shelton a Backstabber for his own building moment.

Coach goes into Vince’s office and finds a lot of DX graffiti, including on the Muscle and Fitness cover. DX comes in and points out the fact that the pictures have been replaced by some more anti-Vince shots. They’re going to sit back and watch the rest of the show with Coach. Lawler: “Let’s watch it too.” JR: “We are.”

Eugene didn’t recognize Maria with her clothes on but he’s ready to get revenge on Umaga for taking out Jim Duggan and Kamala. Rob Conway comes in to laugh at Eugene and gets destroyed for his efforts.

Vengeance rundown.

DX annoys Coach some more so he tells them not to do anything else tonight. Messing with him is like messing with Vince….so they throw him through the wall, take his pants down (Shawn: “What kind of a man wears a thong?”) and spray paint DX on….yeah you get the idea.

The Highlanders are still coming but have to break down the door to their hotel room. They do like the TV though, because it has adult titles. Rory: “We’re adults and we want the World Tag Team Titles!” They see something on TV and declare their love for America.

Edge vs. Ric Flair

Lita is here with Edge and Mick Foley is on commentary, promising to have a horrible match at Vengeance. Foley: “I can steal any pay per view show anytime I want. I’m just not going to do it at Vengeance.” Edge knocks Flair down to start but gets chopped out of the air and sent outside. Edge brings in a chair but neither that nor Lita’s distraction works. Instead, Foley grabs the Mandible Claw on Flair, allowing Edge to hit the spear for the win.

Post match here’s Rob Van Dam to take Edge and Foley out before bailing through the crowd.

The Spirit Squad rallies the locker room to destroy DX. I’d be scared of Matt Striker too.

Here’s DX for their official reunion, which does feel like a big deal after a long time away. HHH thinks he knows the answer but are you ready? They get in their catchphrases but Shawn is guilt ridden. Vince and Shane are on their way back to Connecticut….where Stephanie is in labor. HHH: “LIAR!” Apparently Stephanie is fine, but what idiot got her pregnant? HHH isn’t sure but the guy must be hung like a…..Shawn: “I think it’s time to veer into a cheap pay per view plug!”

We hear the details on Vengeance (Shawn: “You can call your local cable provider and order it, only on pay per view.”) before Shawn calls out the Spirit Squad. Cue the Spirit Squad, or at least the mini versions of them. They’re shoved down and HHH even hits a mini superkick before saying this is Shawn’s handiwork. HHH: “It came up just a little short.”

HHH has been thinking of cheerleaders as well so Shawn puts on a blindfold. Four cheerleaders come out to talk about how Vince is scared of DX and then reveal DX bras. HHH suggests they’re removed as well but here is the Spirit Squad, flanked by the locker room. Only Johnny and Nicky get in though as everyone else leaves, meaning the big beatdown is on. The mini Spirit Squad gets in and drops their pants, revealing SUCK IT painted in certain areas. Posing wraps it up.

Overall Rating: D+. Aside from some special shows, I don’t ever remember a two hour Raw where there was nothing to rate. The longest match was the handicap match at a whopping 2:50. Now that being said, you don’t have to have a bunch of long matches to make a good show, but this wasn’t a good show in the first place. Not only was everything jammed in, but nothing was really all that high quality anyway.

The problem here is they’re trying to do WAY too much at once and as a result, nothing is really working. This show tried to focus on ECW (which is doing a bunch of individual things), DX’s reunion, DX messing with Vince/Coach and the regular Vengeance build. That’s a very busy two hours and the show didn’t exactly work because nothing had the time to work.

Vengeance is feeling very rushed (because it is very rushed) and as a result, nothing is really registering. Edge vs. Van Dam is feeling like a match that has to be there rather than being there because it should be, Cena vs. Sabu could be moderately interesting and is anyone buying the Spirit Squad against a reunited DX? Foley trying to have a bad match against Flair sounds good, but the rest of the show is being built so fast that nothing is having an impact. Maybe the pay per view will work, but this was one of the most packed go home shows I can ever remember.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: November 16, 2020
Location: Amway Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Samoa Joe, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips

It’s a big night was we have a pair of title matches, but it is also the go home show for Survivor Series. Drew McIntyre is challenging Randy Orton for the WWE Championship while New Day defends the Tag Team Titles against the Hurt Business. Other than that, we have a chance to see Lana drive through a table nine times in a row yet still being mostly fine the next week every single time. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Drew McIntyre to open things up. After seeing a clip of his showdown with Roman Reigns from Smackdown, Drew talks about Survivor Series being a Thanksgiving tradition (ignore Vince’s voiceovers talking about it being a Thanksgiving Eve Night Tradition, only on pay per view back in the day). It’s a great holiday because you have all of the food and all of the people you care about, like all of these people here.

The Thunder Dome has brought a lot of people together so how about we see him Claymore Randy Orton and win the WWE Championship tonight? He’s also thankful for the doubters because you just keep going and, while holding up three fingers, tell them to read between the lines (V? Vader Time?). Before we get to the title match tonight though, Drew talks about going to visit Roman Reigns, who is so stuck on himself that he needs a Claymore of his own.

Cue Randy Orton on the Titantron to interrupt though because he wants to say what he is thankful for too. Orton is thankful for being a 14 time WWE Champion. but he’s also thankful that the fine he received for touching Adam Pearce didn’t hurt him. He has been fined and suspended more than any wrestler under contract. Heck he has spent more time on his couch on suspension than 80% of the roster has spent in the ring. After all that though, he’s still here and is still the greatest wrestler ever.

Orton is ready to retain tonight, with Drew cutting him off by talking about the three most dangerous letters in wrestling. They know each other so well that they are finishing each other’s sentences, but tonight there is no 16 foot high Cell for McIntyre to fall from. Hold on though as we’re still not done because Miz and John Morrison need to interrupt.

Morrison plugs Miz and Mrs. and Miz says they will be ringside for the title match tonight. McIntyre says that isn’t a good idea but Miz says the possibilities of change are endless. Miz says we might see a title change tonight and it might end up with Miz as WWE Champion. Why else would the Fiend not have shown up last week other than being scared of the Miz? Morrison says McIntyre needs to understand that change is coming and Miz says the impatience cost him the title in the first place. The threat of violence puts Miz and Morrison on the floor but Miz promises to laugh all the way to the bank tonight.

I like everyone involved in this segment but WOW this felt long. It’s the annual “HAHA I MIGHT CASH IN TONIGHT” speech that we have to hear for a few weeks (if not months) before nothing happens, followed by a lull into a false sense of security and then the cash in. It gets really, really old but it’s how WWE books the stupid thing every year because they found something interesting years ago and now that’s what we get far more often than not.

We look at Lana going through a table eight straight times.

Lana has requested a six woman tag and explains her thinking to Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax. After more bad acting and line reciting, Lana goes into her speech about how she deserves to be here and gets laughed at, with Nia saying Lana better not tag herself in.

Nia Jax/Shayna Baszler/Lana vs. Asuka/Dana Brooke/Mandy Rose

Lana tries to start so Baszler tags herself in and knees Brooke down. Brooke is thrown outside so Jax can beat her up some more. This draws Mandy Rose over, with Baszler stomping the already injured arm onto the steps as we take a break. Back with Asuka coming back in to strike away at Baszler and Rose having been taken backstage due to the arm.

Nia makes a save so Brooke jumps on her back to no avail. The Asuka Lock is broken up so Baszler gets the Kirifuda Clutch, only to have Lana tag herself in. The referee breaks up the Clutch and Baszler is annoyed, especially as Lana kicks Asuka in the head for two. Asuka hits a kick of her own and the Asuka Lock makes Lana tap at 6:59.

Rating: D+. I know WWE thinks there is going to be some big moment where Lana gets her redemption, but she keeps losing over and over again, making it really hard to care about her in the first place. I’m sure that doesn’t matter in WWE logic, but it doesn’t make for the most thrilling story. Granted the two months of putting Lana through a table hasn’t helped either. Also, that seems like a way to write Rose off and it wouldn’t surprise me to see Asuka working twice.

Post match, it’s #9, despite Nia teasing that Lana is welcomed to the team now. I still can’t wait for that miraculous moment where Lana does one thing and it makes up for the last two months plus of this stuff.

In a completely unique and separate story from the women’s Survivor Series team not getting along, we recap the men’s team arguing last week and coming to blows as a result.

The men’s team is arguing again, this time over nicknames, so AJ Styles offers them matching t-shirts. Lee: “Am I supposed to wear this on my bicep?” The rest of the team leaves but Riddle comes back with a nickname for AJ’s friend. AJ: “Don’t even look at him.” Riddle seems to call the giant Armos (or something like that) and AJ asks if they have been talking. AJ: “Of course not. You don’t even speak English.” Giant: “Of course I do.” AJ: “….I have so many questions.”

Reckoning jumps Dana Brooke in the back and lays her out. Well it would be an upgrade.

It’s time for the Firefly Fun House, where Bray Wyatt talks about how annoying Miz is. He’d go so far as to say Miz isn’t that nice. Bray wants to face Miz tonight, and Miz doesn’t want to see Bray’s bad side. It’s short notice, but Bray’s friends are here to prepare him for tonight. We get a TRAINING MONTAGE of Bray getting ready, including Bray training in agility (by being blindfolded and beating up his friends), spelling (Bliss: “Your word is jacka**.” Bray: “Jacka**. M-I-Z.”), and accuracy (throwing darts at Ramblin Rabbit, even scoring a Rabbit’s Heart (instead of a bull’s eye you see)). Bray is ready.

Here’s Hurt Business for a chat before the Tag Team Title match. MVP says Sunday is about the best vs. the best and there is no one better than the Hurt Business. On Sunday, Bobby Lashley will crush Sami Zayn and after tonight, the Hurt Business is ready to go defend their newly won Tag Team Titles. Cue New Day to interrupt with Kofi saying Montel Vontavious Portier is lying a lot. The best vs. the best means that it’s going to be New Day on Sunday so Kofi calls them the Jerk Business. Xavier gets in the catchphrase and calls the Hurt Business jerks too because everyone needs to talk tonight.

Tag Team Titles: New Day vs. Hurt Business

Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander are challenging for the Hurt Business. Cedric Gator Rolls Kofi to start but Kofi is back up with a running clothesline for two. It’s off to Woods for a fist drop for two but Shelton comes in for a hard shoulder. Woods scores with a discus forearm though and hammers away in the corner until Shelton shoves him down without much effort. A spinebuster gives Shelton two and Alexander’s dropkick gets the same.

The chinlock doesn’t last long either as Woods fights away and gets the hot tag off to Kingston. A high crossbody gets two on Shelton but the Boom Drop is countered into a buckle bomb. The powerbomb/top rope clothesline combination gets two on Kofi and we take a break. We come back with King fighting out of a chinlock but getting caught on top. Shelton gets shoved off the top though and it’s the top rope DDT to put them both down again.

The hot tag brings in Woods, who missile dropkicks Alexander down for two. It’s back to Kofi for the top rope double stomp on Alexander for two more with Shelton making the save. Kofi is sent outside and Alexander’s suicide dive….I guess connects, even though it was mostly him crashing into the barricade.

Another dive doesn’t go far enough and is more Alexander flailing to smack Woods in the head. Back in and Alexander hits a fast brainbuster for two with Woods having to make a save. Kofi scores with a surprise Trouble in Paradise to Alexander, setting up the Day Break (backbreaker/top rope double stomp from Woods) to retain at 16:49.

Rating: B. I wasn’t feeling this one before the break but it picked up a lot in the end. In a way I was hoping to see the titles change hands, but at the end of the day I can understand why they went with New Day vs. the Street Profits after it has been set up for a few weeks. The Hurt Business is going to be fine with Lashley as their ace, but having them win another big match might be a good idea.

Sheamus talks to Drew McIntyre about their history together and Drew’s Scottish ancestry. He even has a present for McIntyre, in a near treasure chest. It appears to be ring gear, which Drew says he never thought he would see again. Sheamus even throws in a sword for good measure and wishes Drew luck tonight.

Retribution talks about how even a pawn can overthrow a king and they are always a step ahead of their competition. They are ready for Team Raw tonight because Team Raw is all the same: spineless cowards waiting to stab each other in the back. All Retribution has to do is stand back and let the team self destruct. Mustafa Ali hopes the so called captain is there to watch.

Retribution vs. Team Raw

AJ Styles is on commentary. Riddle takes Slapjack down to start so it’s quickly off to T-Bar, who is taken into the corner. Keith Lee gets kicked off the apron so Riddle suplexes T-Bar down into the Broton for one (AJ: “He just kicked out at one? Wow.”). The fighting begins as Sheamus breaks up Strowman’s tag attempt and the argument is on, with AJ intervening but getting shoved into the giant as we take a break.

Back with Riddle in trouble and AJ complaining about the triple teaming. Ali comes in with some shots to the face and asks if AJ is watching this. A neckbreaker gets two on Riddle and a big boot is good for the same. Shatter slips out of an ankle lock in a hurry and a kick to the head sets up the hot tag to Lee. House is cleaned, including Lee swinging Shatter into the rest of Retribution.

Lee is sent outside where Mace and T-Bar hold Lee in place for a dive from Ali. That’s good for two back inside, with Lee powering out in a big way. Strowman runs people over on the floor as Lee spinebusters Ali. Sheamus tags himself in but so does Strowman, meaning the argument is on. Strowman shoves Sheamus over the top so Riddle tags himself back in, only to have Strowman shove him down. In the melee, Ali shoves Riddle into Strowman and gets the rollup pin at 12:04. That’s two Survivor Series preview matches and two blind tags that have backfired. Come on already.

Rating: C-. Good. These morons deserve to lose after having the same argument one week after another. I’m still not sure why WWE is expecting its fans to care that OH NO RAW MIGHT NOT BE ON THE SAME PAGE FOR A ONE OFF MATCH but that’s been the case for years. They try to build this up in a similar way every year and my goodness it makes things very tiring.

Nikki Cross says that was the Fiend talking last week instead of Alexa Bliss. She’s going to save her friend.

Jeff Hardy is annoyed at a flier Elias has put up asking for information about the car running him over back in May. Hardy says his flier making skills are as good as his music.

Post break Hardy comes in to yell at Elias and even grabs his beard while shouting that he’s innocent. Hardy threatens him with something a lot worse if Elias doesn’t quit talking. Hardy: “CAN I GET AN AMEN BROTHER???”

Here are Miz and John Morrison, with the former saying that there is no reason for him to fight Bray Wyatt tonight. They have both done some bad things to each other, like when Bray sent a demonic doll to Miz’s one year old daughter and then Miz said some mean things. They shouldn’t have the match tonight because they should team up in the main event. Miz wants the title and Wyatt wants Orton so they should combine forces.

Alexa Bliss comes out to say he says no, but here’s Nikki cross to say Fiend is bad for her. Bliss says she’s right and slaps the heck out of Cross so the brawl can be on. Cue Bray Wyatt as Cross leaves and Bliss is rather happy. Maybe Bray can get the idea through Nikki’s head already.

Miz vs. Bray Wyatt

Bray offers a handshake to start, saying he will forgive Miz. The handshake doesn’t go so well and Miz hammers away, only to get run over (Bray: “OOPSIE!”). Miz hammers him onto the ropes so Morrison can get in a cheap shot, earning himself a hard stare. Bliss glares at Morrison and Bray chokes Miz down. The head to the floor with Bray sending him into the steps and shrugging off a boot to the face back inside.

A top rope ax handle into a DDT works better for Miz, though Bray is up at one anyway. The YES Kicks wake Bray up again and he runs Miz over, followed by the release Rock Bottom. Morrison offers a distraction so Bliss runs him over the barricade. Miz hits the running corner clothesline….and Bray just stares at him. Sister Abigail is good for the pin at 4:45.

Rating: D+. So that happened, as Fiend continues to be standing off to the side and sneering at McIntyre and Orton doing their thing. The Miz stuff continues to be rather annoying, which I get is kind of the point, though I never need to hear another I MIGHT CASH IN tease as long as I live. Nothing match of course, mainly because Bray doesn’t need to sweat Miz no matter what.

Post match Bliss pops up with an evil smile and stands on the barricade. Bray and Bliss go to leave….and the Fiend’s lights hit. Fiend pops up on screen and they stare up at him.

We get a video on Orton vs. McIntyre, focusing on the road that both took to get here, including clips from their early careers. McIntyre has taken a hard road to get here while Orton has been willing to do whatever he needed to get to the top. We see Orton winning the title and after the beginning and middle, everything ends tonight.

We look at Dana Brooke and Mandy Rose being taken out earlier.

Adam Pearce announces that Brooke and Rose are out of Survivor Series (which commentary told us earlier). Their replacements are Lacey Evans and Peyton Royce, which is quite the upgrade….I think.

Asuka rants about no one being ready for her.

Survivor Series rundown. Tom says this is the one night of the year where Raw goes head to head. On the same show where we recapped Raw’s Drew McIntyre beating Smackdown’s Jey Uso.

Angel Garza talks about how the women of the world are the roses in the garden. He sees himself as the thorn protecting their beauty and will protect his special rose.

Nia Jax isn’t sure why Shayna Baszler stomped on Mandy Rose’s arm so hard. Baszler points out that Nia put Lana through a table four nine weeks before saying they’re the only ones who matter. Lacey Evans and Peyton Royce come in and say they should talk strategy but get glared away. Nia: “This is the worst idea since Quibi.” To be fair it had been a full thirty minutes since the team bickered.

Raw World Title: Drew McIntyre vs. Randy Orton

McIntyre is challenging and comes to the ring in a kilt with a big sword. They lock up to start and McIntyre wastes no time in hitting the Glasgow Kiss. A spinebuster puts Orton on the floor and he tries to leave, only to get caught in a hurry. Back in and the Claymore misses so Orton bails to the floor again. Orton picks up the title and goes to leave….but here’s Adam Pearce to say the match will continue with no countouts or disqualifications.

We come back with Orton hitting the backbreaker and rolling to the floor to grab a chair. Said chair is driven into McIntyre’s recently healed jaw and Orton takes him outside for a step shot to the head. After the stomp in the ring, Orton heads outside again and drops McIntyre onto the announcers’ table a few times without breaking it (McIntyre is no Lana).

McIntyre fights back and drops Orton onto the announcers’ table twice in a row and the thing still won’t break (McIntyre is also no Nia Jax). The Claymore misses and McIntyre slides onto the announcers’ table as we take another break. Back again with a table having been set up at ringside and McIntyre fighting out of a chinlock. The belly to belly overhead sets up the nipup but Orton catches McIntyre on top.

Orton gets two off the superplex but McIntyre gets the same off a backslide. There’s the Future Shock for two more and Orton is sent to the apron, with a right hand putting him through the table. That gets two back inside but the Claymore is countered into a powerslam. They head outside with Orton hitting the hanging DDT off of the announcers’ table. Back in and another hanging DDT drops McIntyre….who is right back up with the Claymore for the pin and the title at 23:49.

Rating: B. They got me on that ending as I would not have bet on the title change going down. It’s nice to see something like that happen for a surprise though and above all else, they give the fans a much more interesting Survivor Series main event. Orton winning the title again for such a short reign does feel like padding his stats, but at least we are back where we should be, and with quite the surprise. The match was good as you would have expected too, which is always a nice bonus.

McIntyre celebrates and tells Roman Reigns to make a seat at the table for him to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. I don’t remember the last time I saw a show as back and forth as this one. The wrestling was pretty good with the two title matches delivering, but e pluribus gads it was rough watching everything else. Survivor Series has been my favorite pay per view for a long time now and they have managed to make me dread the build most years because of stuff like this. So much of this show was spent bickering and arguing about how much the teams dislike each other and that’s not a good way to make a show seem important. It’s going to come and go and we’ll forget it, which isn’t a good sign.

Other than that though, I liked certain parts of the show (Money in the Bank stuff aside). I want to know where the Fiend stuff is going and the title change at the end was a great surprise. In other words, when they did stuff that doesn’t feel like the same storylines they wrote years ago being rehashed, it’s a much better show. Survivor Series needs to come to an end already, but at least the title change was nice.

Results

Asuka/Mandy Rose/Dana Brooke b. Lana/Nia Jax/Shayna Baszler – Asuka Lock to Lana

New Day b. Hurt Business – Day Break to Alexander

Retribution b. Team Raw – Rollup to Riddle

Bray Wyatt b. The Miz – Sister Abigail

Drew McIntyre b. Randy Orton – Claymore

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: June 12, 2006
Location: Bryce Jordan Center, State College, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 4,500
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

It’s the night after One Night Stand and that means we have a new WWE/ECW Champion in the form of Rob Van Dam. Sure it was a screwy finish, but that’s one of the places where ECW shines. That’s a big story in its own right, but we also need to get ready for Vengeance later this month. Let’s get to it.

Here is One Night Stand if you need a recap.

In Memory Of John Tenta.

Paul Heyman says that even though he isn’t an official official, Rob Van Dam is still the new WWE Champion. Tomorrow night on the debut of ECW on Sci-Fi, the WWE Championship will officially be rechristened the ECW Championship. Since Edge is the #1 contender, Van Dam will defend the title against him at Vengeance. Therefore, Edge, Lita, and all of you are invited to the debut show. Van Dam comes in to spin the title, which still says John Cena.

Opening sequence.

Randy Orton vs. Kane

So Orton is now on Raw. Orton gets in a right hand in the corner and manages to stomp Kane down in the corner. JR: “Kane was devastating in See No Evil. Maybe we can have a sequel here called Silence of the Slams.” A dropkick puts Orton down but Kane sits up and hits the big boot. The running clothesline into a side slam sets up the top rope clothesline but Orton blocks the chokeslam. Kane kicks him outside and they fight up the ramp for the quick double countout.

Rating: D+. This didn’t have time to go anywhere but it feels more like a means to set something else up in the near future. What we got here didn’t last very long and that’s probably a good thing given that this was a cold match with Orton just debuting on Raw. At least the See No Evil lighting seems to be over for no at least.

Post match they fight up to the stage until the Costume Kane shows up for the brawl with the real one. Costume Kane knocks the real one out to the floor for a crash.

Here’s Charlie Haas to talk about accidentally knocking Lilian Garcia off the apron last week. Lilian has a sprained wrist and Charlie is truly sorry, but here’s Viscera to interrupt. Viscera says that was very sweet and Lilian may accept the apology, but he doesn’t. The beatdown is on, including the big splash. Lilian isn’t sure what to think about this.

We recap Vince McMahon trying to get HHH to join his Club but HHH outsmarted the McMahons and by not drinking the drugged water, meaning Vince and Shane were left laying instead.

Jonathan Coachman is trying to make sure everything is perfect for Vince McMahon’s State Of The WWE Address tonight. The cameramen aren’t even in the right place!

ECW on Sci-Fi debuts tomorrow.

Jerry Lawler complains about Joey Styles costing him the match against Tazz. Then to make it even worse, Sandman attacked poor innocent Eugene.

Eugene is worried about Jim Duggan facing Umaga tonight. Duggan: “WAS BABE RUTH WORRIED WHEN HE FOUGHT GODZILLA ON TOP OF THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING??? Trust me, THAT HAPPENED!” He’s ready to fight tonight.

It’s time for the State of WWE, which means it’s time to talk about the return of ECW. In addition, Vince is not pleased with what happened between himself, HHH and Shane McMahon last week. The last person to cross the boss was Shawn Michaels, who isn’t in action anymore thanks to the Spirit Squad. Therefore, tonight HHH gets to face the Spirit Squad in a gauntlet match. After tonight, HHH will join Michaels on the highway to H***. Wasn’t that back in 1998?

Torrie Wilson vs. Candice Michelle

It’s a Wet N Wild match, meaning there are various water based implements in the ring and the winner is on the cover of the WWE Summer Special magazine. Naturally they’re both in white in case you didn’t get the idea here. They go back to back to start and start with the water guns before Candice throws her face first down onto the water balloons. Candice hits a backbreaker and puts some water balloons down Torrie’s clothes for a Vader Bomb.

That’s good for two and Lawler is way too happy about the kickout. Candice throws a bucket of water but stops for the Go Daddy Dance. A splash in the corner sets up another bucket of water being poured onto Candice, setting up the Stink Face. They go outside with Lawler being sprayed with the water gun and JR rather enjoying the visuals, calling it better than the Oklahoma State Fair. Back in and Torrie hits a facebuster for the pin.

Rating: D. I don’t think this really qualifies as a wrestling match for the most (Moist?) part and that’s fine. They weren’t trying to do anything here other than the obvious and in that regard, it worked rather well. They kept it short and in this case, Lawler’s commentary was as it was supposed to be. Not good of course, but looking for quality here is missing the point.

Trish Stratus hosted the inductions into the Canadian Walk Of Fame and kissed Pamela Anderson. This isn’t on the Network.

Commentary explains the various things required for Rob Van Dam to beat John Cena last week.

Video on Van Dam winning the title.

The Spirit Squad says it’s GAME OVER for HHH. I really hope that isn’t supposed to pass for clever at this point.

Spirit Squad vs. HHH

Gauntlet match. Actually hang on as here’s Vince McMahon to say we don’t need a referee right now. Instead we see what happened to Shawn Michaels when the Spirit Squad got their hands on him. Mikey starts for the team and gets clotheslined before the bell. The knee drop into the jumping knee to the face make it worse so Vince sends out Kenny. HHH beats up both of them with a neckbreaker and a spinebuster so it’s Johnny coming in as well.

The fans chant for DX as Nicky is here as well, making it 4-1. HHH is whipped into the steps and it’s time to wrap a chair around his knee. Vince: “Not on the knee. Break his d*** neck!” Mitch is called out to join the fray….but he comes sprawling out of the entrance because Shawn Michaels is back. Sweet Chin Music hits Mitch and Shawn goes to the ring to clean house. The Pedigree connects as well and DX is back, complete with stereo crotch chops. HHH even drops his trunks to make Vince’s eyes bug out as a bonus.

Rating: D+. There was a bell so this was an official match, but the wrestling wasn’t quite the point (again). It worked out well in getting Shawn back though, which was the point of the whole thing. Vince is going to need more than the Spirit Squad to give these two a challenge, but they’ll work fine for the first boss. The reunion was good as well, as that felt like a special moment.

Back from a break and Vince makes the Spirit Squad vs. DX at Vengeance.

Jim Duggan vs. Umaga

Eugene and Armando Alejandro Estrada are here as well. Duggan jumps him at the bell and hammers away but is quickly tied in the Tree of Woe. Eugene hands Duggan the board but Umaga kicks him in the head anyway. Umaga breaks the board over his own head and finishes in a hurry with the Samoan Spike.

Post match Eugene gets tied in the ropes and has to watch Umaga hit the running hip attack in the corner on Duggan.

See No Evil video.

Flair says he has been wanting to talk to Foley for three years and doesn’t care about One Night Stand. He wants to talk about the two of them, because Flair has heard what Foley has said about Flair’s comments on his wrestling career. The only person on Flair’s status around here is Joe Paterno so he is standing up for WWE against this ECW stuff.

For years, people like Flair, HHH, Shawn Michaels, Rock, Austin, Undertaker and Kurt Angle have wrestled their way to greatness. But then people say the greatest thing they ever saw was Foley going off the Cell and through a table. Flair: “We wrestle our way to greatness. You fall off a Cell and you’re great? That’s bulls***.” Foley says no one here cares about Flair vs. Race, Steamboat or Funk because that’s too old for them.

To Foley’s WWE fans, Flair’s thousand dollar suits will never match up to the Santa’s Village t-shirt and ripped flannel. Foley slept on a roof as WWF Champion to save a few bucks and what really bothers Flair is he can do nothing about it. This glorified stuntman could rip Flair apart so Flair takes the jacket off and backs Foley into the corner, but Foley cites his eye injuries from last night. Foley: “My eyes are so screwed up I might mistake you for Joe Paterno and start slapping the wrong old guy around!”

Foley leaves so Flair offers thumbtacks and a ladder if that’s what it takes to get Foley in the ring. That won’t work for Foley, but he’ll challenge Flair to a match at Vengeance, 2/3 falls. Flair can’t accept fast enough. I remember never liking this feud before so maybe watching it with fresh eyes will work better. This worked well and laid out the issues in the intense way you knew you would get from these two.

Johnny Nitro vs. Carlito

Melina is here with Nitro and Shelton Benjamin is on commentary, as he will be defending the Intercontinental Title in a triple threat against these two at Vengeance. Carlito grabs an armdrag and a hiptoss to start but goes outside when Melina steals his apple. Nitro uses the distraction to hammer away, with Melina getting in a headscissors from the floor. Carlito fights back up with a springboard elbow and a clothesline but Melina offers a distraction. That’s enough for Shelton to help block the Backstabber, setting up a standing shooting star press to give Nitro the pin.

Rating: C-. Very short by the book match here which worked fine as a way to set up the title match at Vengeance. It wasn’t about having a competitive match but Shelton screwing Carlito over makes sense. It’s nice to see Nitro added into the mix as well, though it makes his early struggles on Raw a little more confusing in hindsight.

Mickie James is rather amused by Beth Phoenix getting hurt last week. It’s amazing how many people get hurt for getting on her bad side. Ashley broke her leg and is on Smackdown, Trish Stratus has a bad shoulder and now Beth has to eat through a straw. Mickie and Beth grew up together but then Beth got really, really mean. Randy Orton of all people pops up to talk about the huge upset when Kurt Angle beat him. That was in ECW though so Angle should want a rematch at Vengeance under WWE rules. Spread the word.

The Highlanders are coming and raid the trash in Times Square.

We look back at the DX reunion.

Vengeance rundown.

Lita takes over interviewing duties for Maria and brings in Edge. He changed the face of wrestling last night by beating three ECW has beens and then costing John Cena the WWE Championship. Tomorrow night, the two of them will be at ECW but as for tonight, he’s facing Cena, who will never be WWE Champion again.

Stevie Richards, Justin Credible and Balls Mahoney are here to sit in the front row.

Edge vs. John Cena

Cena is serious tonight and double legs Edge down to start the fight in a hurry. They go outside with Edge going into the steps so Lita jumps on Cena for the DQ in less than a minute.

Post match the ECW guys jump the barricade so Cena cleans house with a chair. Cena says he got an awakening in ECW last night and since anyone can show up and do whatever they want, he’s going to be showing up on ECW tomorrow night as well. He likes this feeling and he’s going to have an extremely good time tomorrow.

Overall Rating: C. The wrestling was almost nothing here but this show did a good job of making me want to see tomorrow’s ECW show. That’s exactly what they were going for here and Vengeance is starting to look good as well. That’s a nice use of time tonight and I’m curious to see how they pull off both shows. Now that being said, the Raw stuff was actually pretty weak and the wrestling was just a step above awful, but I’m liking where things are going. Find a nice mixture of all that stuff and the show could be back on its roll in a hurry. For now though, nice job of building things up.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: November 9, 2020
Location: Amway Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, Samoa Joe

We are less than two weeks away from Survivor Series and that means it is time to find something to talk about for the show. So much of the build is spent on the Raw vs. Smackdown elimination match and there is almost nothing else going on. That doesn’t make for the most thrilling shows and unfortunately I don’t know if WWE is going to do much to fix it. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of Randy Orton attacking Drew McIntyre last week with the Fiend being somewhere on the outside looking in.

Opening sequence.

Here are Miz and John Morrison for MizTV. Miz is excited about tonight’s six man main event when the two of them team with Randy Orton against Drew McIntyre and New Day. Big things are happening, and Morrison thinks that might mean cashing in the briefcase. That’s a possibility, but also that Miz and Mrs. debuts this week. Miz wants to bring out the guests but here’s Orton to interrupt.

Orton isn’t happy because he wants to get his hands on McIntyre but now Miz is teasing cashing in the briefcase. He remembers the time when he threw Miz out of the locker room and then Miz went down to wrestle in the minor leagues. Orton turns his back on them and says try it but Miz says Orton needs to stop making it about himself.

It could go big for all three of them, because Miz and Morrison could get a Tag Team Title shot after tonight’s main event. Cue New Day to laugh off the idea and get in, where Orton hits a RKO on Kofi and Woods is sent outside. McIntyre runs in but gets hit with the briefcase and an RKO. Total mentions of the Hurt Business, who pinned New Day last week, or Orton’s match with Roman Reigns at Survivor Series for that matter: zero.

Survivor Series Qualifying Match: Riddle vs. Elias vs. Jeff Hardy

For the final spot on the team. Before the match, Elias talks about how he had a vision of becoming the final member of the team. For now though, he is going to sing a song and looks towards the entrance for the interruption. He does it a few more times and then starts, which finally draws out Jeff’s entrance. I chuckled a bit, which is destroyed as soon as I see that it’s actually Riddle instead of Matt Riddle.

They trade rollups to start until Riddle is sent to the apron. Elias knocks him outside and posts Riddle before running Jeff over. We take a break and come back with Elias hammering on both of them until Hardy hits back to back atomic drops. A quick Drift Away gets two on Hardy with Riddle diving in to make the save. Riddle kicks Elias down for two but can’t get Bro Derek on Jeff. Instead Elias knocks Jeff to the floor and it’s the Bro Derek to finish Elias at 8:49.

Rating: C-. Riddle (erg) is the best choice of the ones they had available here but it’s not like the Survivor Series match has any heat on it. I know this kind of thing happens every year but there is just nothing going on with this year’s version. I’m not sure how much better they can make it with just a few shows to go, but Riddle getting on the team helps a bit.

AJ Styles is in the back and says of course he’s happy with Riddle being on the team. Sheamus comes in to say he doesn’t like this. Styles is NOT his captain, and here’s Braun Strowman to say the same.

Retribution talks about how they respect Ricochet but the team has been forgotten. They were never given the chance and they will not stop until they shut you down. Noted. Now go lose again.

We look at the Hurt Business beating New Day last week.

Drew Gulak comes up to the Hurt Business and offers his services because the 24/7 Title could make the team that much better. MVP: “Are you serious?” They find out that Drew is wearing a clip on tie, which is due to needing to be ready to run to protect the title. The beating is on in a hurry….and here’s R-Truth to get the title back.

Veterans Day video.

Lana vs. Shayna Baszler

Lana looks scared to come to the ring and we see a montage of her being put through the announcers’ table time after time. Mandy Rose and Dana Brooke are on commentary. Lana jumps on Shayna’s back to start and gets kneed in the corner for her efforts. Shayna throws her around again but misses another knee in the corner. That means a kick to the face and the stomp to the arm connects. Another knee into the Kirifuda Clutch makes Lana tap at 1:50. As expected.

Post match Nia Jax loads up the announcers’ table but Mandy and Dana scare Shayna and Nia off. I’m having a bit of trouble buying that as realistic.

Post break Lana thanks Mandy and Dana, who tell her to stay out of their way.

Here’s AJ Styles for a Survivor Series team meeting. AJ, with his large friend, brings out the rest of the team (Keith Lee, Riddle Braun Strowman and Sheamus) and the arguments are on in a hurry. Strowman threatens to let Sheamus have these hands so Sheamus says bring it. Riddle says that AJ is the skipper, Lee (Riddle: “Happy birthday Keith!”) is Bro Lee and Sheamus is Fire Face, because his face gets rid. Sheamus: “So what’s your code name? Dopey?” Riddle: “Yeah!”

AJ cuts this off and says what they’re up against on Smackdown. Sheamus should be worried about Jey Uso and if Strowman isn’t paying attention, he’ll bow down to King Corbin. This gets their attention but they don’t like AJ saying he’s captain. AJ says he’s talked to Adam Pearce and tonight it’s Sheamus/Strowman vs. Riddle/Lee with himself as guest referee. Saxton: “This is going to be a catastrophe. This is never going to work.”

Keith Lee/Riddle vs. Sheamus/Braun Strowman

AJ Styles is guest referee and Sheamus bounces off of Lee to start. Riddle comes in to strike away in the corner but Sheamus drives him into the other corner to take over. Strowman comes in to step on Riddle’s hair and it’s already back to Sheamus to hammer away. AJ yells at Sheamus for getting too violent and Riddle accidentally knocks him down. Back up and Riddle does it again, meaning it’s time for Lee and Strowman to get in a fight of their own.

The large friend gets in the ring and we take a break. Back with Strowman chinlocking Riddle before hitting him with a toss suplex. Strowman’s charge hits post though (he never learns) and it’s Lee coming in for running splashes in the corner. Sheamus is thrown into Strowman and it’s a Spirit Bomb to put Riddle onto Sheamus in a crash. A heck of a clothesline drops Strowman for two but Sheamus is back with a jumping knee to Lee.

The Brogue Kick puts Lee on the floor but Riddle grabs a German suplex for two on Sheamus. Riddle goes after Strowman on the apron though and it’s Sheamus running him over again. The Brogue Kick is loaded up but Strowman tags himself in and throws Riddle around some more. The running powerslam is loaded up, though this time it’s Sheamus tagging himself in. A Brogue Kick knocks Sheamus off the apron and it’s a rollup to give Riddle the pin on Sheamus at 12:24.

Rating: C. This is rapidly approaching the levels of Money in the Bank for most pointless wastes of time in all of the WWE calendar. The matches aren’t bad but we’re sitting here watching these people argue over who is captain in a match where they can’t get physical with their opponents in a match over brand supremacy. If this is the best they can come up with for Survivor Series, maybe it’s time to come up with a very new concept for the pay per view.

Post match Lee and Riddle show some respect.

Alexa Bliss is playing with some flowers in the back when Nikki Cross comes up. She apologizes for not being there when Bliss needed her but Bliss says she’ll get Cross an invitation to the Fun House for a play date. Cross says Fiend is evil and it’s time to pick either her or the Fiend. Bliss blows flowers in her face and picks Fiend before walking away smiling. If Nikki didn’t get the hint before this, that’s not going to change her mind.

Next week: Hurt Business gets a Tag Team Title shot against New Day. Well at least they addressed it.

Here are MVP and Bobby Lashley to, believe it or not, talk about Survivor Series. MVP talks about the champion vs. champion match, where Lashley is going to show that the United States Title is superior to the Intercontinental Title. Lashley didn’t hear Sami talking on Smackdown because Sami knows what is going to happen at Survivor Series.

Cue Titus O’Neil of all people to interrupt, because he isn’t happy that his offer to join the Hurt Business was turned down. MVP says he respects O’Neil for his charity work and as a result he has a chance to walk away right now. Titus says he isn’t leaving and gets fired up to ask where the pride is in being US Champion if he won’t defend the title. Lashley says Titus can have a shot, but it’s going to be his first and last.

US Title: Titus O’Neil vs. Bobby Lashley

Lashley is defending and MVP says this is taking place above the ring rather than beneath it. Titus unloads on Lashley in the corner but Lashley runs him over. The Hurt Lock goes on and Titus taps at 1:08.

Sheamus rants about what happened in the tag match to Drew McIntyre. He can’t stand anyone on his team almost as much as he despises New Day. Drew does the clap and Sheamus calls him a lunatic. They talk about the old days when they teamed together and agree to have some pints together later.

Asuka vs. Nia Jax

Non-title. Before the match, we got to the back where Nia and Shayna Baszler argue over who the team leader is (AGAIN) with Nia saying she’ll dominate Survivor Series and then beat Asuka to become Raw Women’s Champion. The rest of the Raw women’s team is at ringside. Asuka starts fast with an Octopus hold into an armbar but Nia takes her to the floor. That means a swing into the barricade to drop Asuka hard and we take a break. Back with Asuka grabbing a guillotine choke but getting reversed into a suplex.

The running splash in the corner gets two on Asuka, who has to bridge out of the near fall. Asuka’s hurricanrana gives her two of her own and there’s the running hip attack for one. Nia is right back with a powerbomb but gets a little too cocky with the cover, allowing Asuka to grab a cross armbreaker. Lana and Baszler get on the apron with Baszler grabbing the Clutch so Asuka hip attacks both of them. The Samoan drop is loaded up but Asuka reverses into the Asuka Lock, drawing in Baszler for the DQ at 7:26.

Rating: C. This was every Nia match you’ve seen with someone trying to slay the giant. That has been the case for months now and it is probably going to be the case with every match Jax will be doing for months, because it’s all she does. I like Asuka a lot, but I feel like I’ve seen this same match from Nia since she was down in NXT. Find something new, because the impact is gone.

Post match Nia and Shayna clean house and it’s another Samoan drop to put Lana through the announcers’ table (eight). Nia says Lana should quit because she’s dragging the team down.

We look back at the opening segment.

R-Truth is defending the 24/7 Title in a seven way match, which he calls a 24/7 Title Seven Camera DQ Photo Shoot. After a quick correction, he wants to know what he’s supposed to do with the clip on tie.

Andrade says he is going to fight for every woman when he gets in the ring. This one woman though should get everything that he wants though and has a rose for her.

24/7 Title: R-Truth vs. Drew Gulak vs. Tucker vs. Erik vs. Lince Dorado vs. Gran Metalik vs. Akira Tozawa

Truth is defending and gets jumped to start. Everyone else brawls and Tozawa rolls Truth up to win the title at 28 seconds.

Post match Erik wins the title.

Gulak wins the title.

Tucker wins the title.

Gulak wins the title.

Tucker wins the title.

Gulak and Truth go after the title and the brawl breaks out until Metalik hits a top rope elbow to win the title.

Dorado turns on Metalik to win the title.

Truth wins the title and runs off.

Mustafa Ali vs. Ricochet

They go right at it to start with an exchange of early strikes. Ricochet starts flipping around and gets knocked down, meaning it’s off to an early chinlock. Back up and Ricochet scores with a backdrop but gets sent out to the apron. Ricochet pulls Ali out there with him and hits a headscissors to the floor. The rest of Retribution glares at Ricochet and Ali grabs a running….well we’re not sure as they couldn’t wait one more second before going to a break.

Back with Ricochet fighting out of a chinlock but getting caught with a running neckbreaker for two. Ricochet fights out of another chinlock and rolls some northern lights suplexes. He keeps spinning into a brainbuster for two and takes Ali up top, only to get caught in a super Backstabber (geez) for two more. Ricochet is back up with a reverse hurricanrana but goes up top for a very corkcrewy give onto Retribution. The Phoenix splash misses though and Ali grabs a Koji Clutch to knock Ricochet out at 13:57.

Rating: B-. Hokey freaking smoke Retribution won a match. I mean it only took five people to beat one and it was because Ricochet went after the team instead of going for the win but they did manage to win. That’s as good as you can get for Retribution here and somehow it’s a step in the right direction.

Adam Pearce tells Randy Orton that he is defending the title against Drew McIntyre next week on Raw. Orton shoves him up against the wall and says since Pearce is just a messenger, he can tell the staff to go to h***.

Randy Orton/Miz/John Morrison vs. Drew McIntyre/New Day

Morrison and Woods start things off with a quick double team putting Morrison down. Miz comes in and gets taken down as well, sending him over to Orton for a tag, though Orton is not exactly interested. Instead it’s back to Morrison, who gets taken down with a standing stomp. Everything breaks down and Miz and Morrison are sent to the floor. The big double dive takes them down again (though Woods seemed to get caught in the ropes and might not have made contact whatsoever).

Back from a break with Morrison hitting an Alberto double stomp to drive Woods into the apron. Morrison hits something like a Samoan drop on Woods so Miz comes back in, only to still not get a tag from Orton. The delay lets Woods fight up and bring in McIntyre to clean house. A double overhead belly to belly suplex sends Miz and Morrison flying, followed by the Future Shock to Morrison.

McIntyre stares down at Orton and begs him to make his day. Orton teases tagging in but walks away instead. Morrison hits a crazy flip dive onto Woods but the Flying Chuck is knocked out of the air with the Glasgow Kiss. The Claymore pins Morrison at 13:26, with McIntyre glaring at Orton during the cover.

Rating: C-. This was the latest match in a series tonight with very low stakes, if there were any there whatsoever. I know they’re teasing tensions between Miz and Orton, but unless that cash-in is taking place really soon (and to be fair it may be), I’m not sure how much interest there was in having these people fight. Orton vs. McIntyre has been set up for months now, while New Day and Hurt Business, who have a title match next week, didn’t even look at each other tonight. That should be an easy one, but I guess teasing a cash-in which might not come for months is more important.

Overall Rating: D. I know Raw is bad a lot more often than not, but this was a rare example where I really felt like I wasted my time. The wrestling was acceptable all night long and none of the matches were terrible (Ricochet vs. Ali was good) but I have no idea what almost any of this did to make me want to watch next week’s show or Survivor Series.

The Raw team is fighting over who is the real leader, and in case you haven’t heard that story enough, Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax are having the exact same argument. Riddle is now on the team, though is there any actual interest in that match? Lashley talked a bit of trash about Sami Zayn and then squashed Titus O’Neil. Lana has now been put through eight tables by Jax, but I’m sure that big moment where she does it once will be worth it. The main event was just there, as they desperately try to make me care about Money in the Bank and fail more miserably every time.

Survivor Series was mentioned in passing a few times and Fiend was nowhere in sight. It’s like Survivor Series is this weird pit stop they have to make on the way to their next show, and that is the case with far too many pay per views this year. Either find a better way to present Survivor Series or just make it whatever other generic pay per view your team of 38 writers come up with in ten seconds, because this is approaching Money in the Bank levels of wasting my time.

Results

Riddle b. Elias and Jeff Hardy – Bro Derek to Elias

Shayna Baszler b. Lana – Kirifuda Clutch

Riddle/Keith Lee b. Sheamus/Braun Strowman – Rollup to Sheamus

Bobby Lashley b. Titus O’Neil – Hurt Lock

Asuka b. Nia Jax via DQ when Shayna Baszler interfered

Akira Tozawa b. R-Truth, Tucker, Drew Gulak, Erik, Lince Dorado and Gran Metalik – Rollup to R-Truth

Mustafa Ali b. Ricochet – Koji Clutch

Drew McIntyre/New Day b. Miz/John Morrison/Randy Orton – Claymore to Morrison

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

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.

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.

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.

BUY THE WRESTLEMANIA DVD!

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.

BUY THE DUSTY RHODES DVD!

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.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: November 2, 2020
Location: Amway Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Samoa Joe, Byron Saxton

We’re on the way to the Survivor Series and that means we are in for some more building. Last week saw some of the Raw teams being set up but there are still a few spots to go. There is also a Guitar on a Pole match set for tonight, because that’s something we need to see. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of last week, focusing on the World Title situation.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Randy Orton to get things going. He talks about winning the title eight days ago and now he is the best of the best. That doesn’t do him justice though because eight days ago, he proved that he is the best, period. He is better than Edge, the Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair, John Cena and of course Drew McIntyre.

People have said that HHH took care of him when he started around here but eight days ago, he showed the entire world that he is the best. He is no longer the Legend Killer because he is now the best in the world. Cue Alexa Bliss to say he could be here. The Fiend’s lights come on but it’s Drew McIntyre with the Claymore to drop Orton instead. McIntyre dares Orton to give him his rematch and leaves. Cue Miz and John Morrison to cash in Money in the Bank but McIntyre breaks it up, saying no one is cashing in on Orton while he is around.

Post break Miz rants about how the briefcase was never cashed in. He is tired of not being treated with the respect that he deserves just because Drew can’t admit that his fifteen year journey is over. That’s why it’s time for someone else to become the new star of Monday Night Raw, so tonight, how about Miz/Morrison vs. McIntyre in a handicap match?

Here’s Elias for his match with Jeff Hardy, but first he needs to brag about how awesome his new album is. He can do some great things with his guitar, so tonight he is going to break it over Hardy’s back. We get an acoustic version of Amen, but here’s Hardy to cut things off.

Elias vs. Jeff Hardy

Guitar on a Pole, meaning you can climb the pole and use the guitar to win. Elias hammers away to start but it’s way too early to get the guitar. Instead Jeff pulls him down for a ram into the steps and there’s Poetry In Motion against the barricade. Hardy goes up but Elias throws a stool at him for the save as we take a break.

Back with Elias hammering and talking trash, followed by a jumping knee to the face to cut off the comeback. Hardy pulls him down for trying to go after the guitar though and the comeback sequel works a bit better. The legdrop between the legs has Elias down again and a hurricanrana cuts off Elias’ powerbomb out of the corner attempt. There’s the Twist of Fate and Hardy grabs the guitar for a shot rope shot to the back and the pin at 8:20.

Rating: D+. This was slow and one of the less necessary stipulations in a long time. Odds are this doesn’t wrap things up for the time being because one gimmick match is nowhere near enough for a feud to end. I’m not sure where they’re going with trying to find out who ran Elias down but it’s only so interesting of a story in the first place.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Dana Brooke/Mandy Rose vs. Nia Jax/Shayna Baszler

Jax and Baszler are defending and here’s Lana to watch. Jax drives Brooke into the corner for an early crushing so it’s off to Mandy for an Octopus of all things. Brooke comes back in to knock Jax down for two with Baszler making the save. It’s off to Baszler, who is taken down with a double suplex for two. She’s right back up to suplex Rose down and yell at Lana, allowing Brooke to hammer away in the corner.

The handspring elbow hits Baszler as well and it’s a bulldog for two, even with Rose cutting Jax off. Baszler goes after Lana though and gets dropkicked through the ropes. Another Lana distraction breaks up the Kirifuda Clutch, but Baszler kicks Brooke into Lana, setting up the Clutch to retain at 3:35.

Rating: C-. Slightly better match than I was expecting, though you probably shouldn’t be having the new up and coming team losing, especially when you factor in Lana helping against the champs. Mandy and Dana have come a pretty long way though and could be fine as a plucks face team, as the division could use a lot more regular teams.

Randy Orton promises to give Drew McIntyre an RKO to remind him what a predator looks like. This has to be their last match right?

R-Truth vs. Bobby Lashley

Non-title, but R-Truth is a little confused before the match: he thinks he is facing the Waterboy, Bobby Boucher. He even has his water bottle to get signed. Once Lashley comes out, Truth says they’re both champions so no one needs to get hurt. Truth lays down so Lashley can pin him, only to get in a few cheap shots. The spear cuts Truth down and the Hurt Lock finishes at 56 seconds.

Post match Lashley puts him in the Hurt Lock again to leave Truth laying. Drew Gulak comes out to steal the 24/7 Title but gets beaten up by Lashley as well. Lashley throws Gulak onto Truth to make him champion anyway. After leaving, Lashley comes back in and…leaves again.

We cut to the back where Lucha House Party wants to win the 24/7 Title but run into AJ Styles’ bodyguard. The House Party remembers they were going the other way actually.

Nia Jax does not want to hear about Lana, who put her in jeopardy tonight. Just because she put Lana through a table? If Lana is such a fighter, come fight her.

Here’s AJ Styles, with Jordan Omogbehin, for a chat. AJ talks about how Team Raw needs a leader to bring them together, like….well him of course. Is there really any other option? His intangibles have intangibles. In his first act as captain, he is introducing his team. We’ll start with Sheamus and then Keith Lee, with AJ saying that they are the best of the best. AJ doesn’t care who he has to face at Survivor Series but Lee cuts him off to say that he isn’t intimidated by AJ’s big friend. AJ tells Sheamus to set Lee straight but Sheamus agrees with what Lee said.

With AJ panicking, cue Braun Strowman to say he should be on the team too. Strowman gives his usual aggressively scripted statement about why he should be on the team after beating Lee clean and having all kinds of Survivor Series success. Cue Adam Pearce to say he can’t find a Survivor Series qualifying match for Strowman. Lee cuts them both off to ask what Strowman means by clean. Sheamus wants to know why Lee thinks his opinion matters around here. Sheamus is ready to fight Strowman right now so AJ says let’s have a triple threat. If Strowman wins, he’s on the team.

Sheamus vs. Braun Strowman vs. Keith Lee

AJ Styles is on commentary and if Strowman wins, he’s on the Survivor Series team. Strowman knocks Sheamus outside to start but Lee sends Strowman outside for a change. Sheamus’ shots to the ribs are cut off and Lee tries a running flip dive, which sees him hit his head on the apron on the way down for a nearly horrible result. Sheamus and Lee slug it out on the floor but Strowman runs them over at the same time.

A steps shot to the face drops Strowman again and Sheamus hits the forearms to Lee’s chest. Lee blocks one of the shots though and Sheamus is sent hard into the barricade. Sheamus grabs a choke though, only to have Strowman drive both of them through the barricade for a huge crash. Back from a break with Sheamus….armbarring Lee. That’s kind of a downgrade but that could apply to so many things around here.

Strowman comes in for the save but it’s White Noise to give Sheamus two. Lee catches Sheamus on top (not with his awesome rising up from NXT though, because that’s too cool for this show) but gets raked in the eyes. Strowman catches Sheamus on top in a superplex but Lee turns it into a Tower of Doom to put them all down. AJ is impressed as they take their time getting back up.

Lee hits his running crossbody on Strowman and then suplexes Sheamus for a bonus. A knee to the face gives Sheamus two on Lee but Strowman is back to knock Sheamus off the top. Lee’s big clothesline hits Sheamus for two but Sheamus is up with the Brogue kick to put Lee down. Strowman’s running powerslam finishes Sheamus at 14:33. AJ: “I GOT STROWMAN ON THE TEAM!”

Rating: C+. There were problems here (I shook my head at coming back from the big crash to an armbar) but Lee didn’t get pinned and they had the right ending. Strowman is going to be important in the Survivor Series match because he’s kind of made for the wrecking ball spot in a match like that. Just don’t let him talk and everything will be fine for the next few weeks.

Post match Strowman says he doesn’t like any of them but Sheamus hugs him. And then Brogue Kicks him. Lee decks Sheamus and they crash to the floor. AJ drops to his knees and shouts WHY for the melodramatic moment.

Angel Garza talks about making you feel real every time you see him. Your cheeks will go read and you will feel butterflies in your stomach. He feels the same way about someone and knows she feels the same way with those lips and smile. This rose is for you.

We look back at the opening brawl.

Drew McIntyre says Orton has a 6’5 handsome guardian angel. No one is taking that title from Orton except him, so Fiend can back off. McIntyre wants the dream match with Roman Reigns and tonight, it’s all about smiling faces, which he’ll make when he has a two for one special later: Claymores for all.

It’s time for the Firefly Fun House. Bray welcomes us in German and dedicates this week’s show to three important letters: RKO. Abigail: “After what he did to us, Randy Orton can go **** himself.” Alexa Bliss wants ten cents in the swear jar so she can go **** herself too. Bray talks about Orton being a bad man and we see some clips of Wyatt Family Compound being burned down.

Bray says he used those ashes to create a new world….and we get a much more dramatic look at the house burning down. It can’t be that simple though because He never forgets. We see the Fiend, but Bliss has been practicing a nifty trick. Bray puts his hand over her face and Bliss’ eyes go evil as she….spits out some of the Ghostbusters II slime? Bray: “OH S***!”

Nia Jax vs. Lana

Before the match, Lacey Evans and Peyton Royce say it’s time for Lana to go through the table again. During her entrance, Lana says it’s time to stop going through the tables. Nia drives her into the corner to start and Lana fights back, with commentary putting over how hard she fights and never gives up. A headbutt rocks Lana again and Nia shouts that this is what Lana wanted. Nia hits a slam and plants Lana with the Samoan drop for the pin at 3:10.

Rating: D. I’m almost scared to think of what we’re going to get with Lana as the underdog who fights to the end because she really isn’t that good. Throw in that everything about her screams villain and that she’s more of a call back to the model days of women’s wrestling in a lot of ways and this could be a tough sell. Maybe not Nia tough, but touch enough.

Post match, for the seventh time, Nia puts Lana through the announcers’ table.

R-Truth runs into the Hurt Business and walks away, even though they still have his water bottle.

Here’s the Hurt Business for the VIP Lounge. MVP talks about how great the team is and Bobby Lashley is ready for Sami Zayn at Survivor Series. Now that Retribution has been dispatched, it is time to collect payment, in the form of the Raw Tag Team Titles. Cue New Day to mock MVP for being old and praise Shelton for having such a successful career. Cedric will be here for a long time too, but New Day has been successful for a long time as well.

Kofi talks about all of the titles he has won, including the one title that Lashley never won. MVP brings up the eight second loss to Brock Lesnar and thinks Lashley can do it even fast. That surprises Kofi because he didn’t think the Hurt Business would be hurting his feelings. Oh and speaking of eight seconds, Lana says that’s how long Lashley can last. MVP mocks New Day for not being serious enough and dancing too much.

Shelton and Cedric are ready to dance on their faces but Woods says the Hurt Business is just another failed 2020 startup business. The only profits New Day is worried about is the Street Profits and Kofi hits a very high pitched catchphrase. I’m not sure what this really accomplished but it was long and felt like they were looking for a point somewhere in there.

New Day vs. Hurt Business

Non-title and MVP is on commentary. Woods grabs a suplex on Cedric to start things off as MVP agrees that the titles are silver instead of gold. Another suplex keeps Cedric in trouble until a quick tag brings in Shelton. Kofi is taken down in a hurry so it’s back to Cedric, who pounds away and tries a monkey flip, only to have Kofi land on his feet for some dancing. A monkey flip drops Cedric on his face and Kofi adds a dropkick.

The double tags bring in Shelton and Woods, with Woods dropkicking him off the apron. That’s fine with Woods, who takes both of them down and sends Shelton outside for a dropkick through the ropes. Back in and Shelton knocks Woods off the apron, setting up a whip into the barricade. Cedric scores with a superkick for two and we take a break. Back with Woods fighting up so Kofi can get the hot tag.

The Boom Drop gets two (and approval from MVP) but Cedric hits the Michinoku Driver for two of his own. Shelton gets two off a spinebuster to Woods, who comes right back with the middle rope DDT. It’s back to Kofi but the dive is cut off by Shelton tossing him into the air. The Neuralizer into Paydirt finishes Woods at 12:52.

Rating: C. You might think that challengers talking about getting a title shot and promising to take the gold would suggest that this would be a title shot but WWE doesn’t work that way. I’m sure New Day will get the big match against the Street Profits at Survivor Series, though it would make more sense to go with the title change first. Hurt Business has been great and could go with some more success, so let New Day transition them to another team again.

Nikki Cross comes up to Alexa Bliss to ask what happened. She knows it’s the Fiend doing this but Bliss is stronger than him. Nikki makes her turn around but Bliss’ eyes are all freaky, sending Nikki running. What part of IT’S OVER is not getting through to her?

Ricochet vs. Tucker

Mustafa Ali comes out to watch as Tucker throws Ricochet off to start. Some kicks to the face set up the Recoil to finish Tucker at 40 seconds.

Post match here’s Retribution to destroy Ricochet, with Ali looking on. Ricochet asks why Ali is doing this and Ali says it’s about punishment. A double spinebuster plants Ricochet.

Sheamus asks McIntyre to be the fifth man on the team but McIntyre says his mind is somewhere else right now. That’s cool with Sheamus, who wants McIntyre to kick Miz’s head off. That makes two rather face like statements from Sheamus tonight.

Drew McIntyre vs. Miz/John Morrison

Miz tries to hammer on McIntyre in the corner to start but is toss into the same corner. McIntyre shows him how to really beat someone up and then punches Morrison down for a bonus. Now it’s Morrison being pulled in but Miz sneaks in with a chop block. A double backbreaker has McIntyre in more trouble but he sends them outside anyway. The reverse Alabama Slam sends Morrison face first into the ramp and we take a break.

Back with Miz and Morrison managing to take it outside again and sending McIntyre hard into the barricade. Morrison’s springboard corkscrew splash gets one on McIntyre and we hit the chinlock. McIntyre fights up again and puts Morrison on the top rope. The elbows knock McIntyre into the Tree of Woe but McIntyre muscles himself up for a release German superplex.

McIntyre is right back up with the spinebuster, meaning Morrison has to shooting star press the cover for the break. Morrison is knocked outside again so Miz hits the Skull Crushing Finale for two instead. McIntyre knocks Morrison down again and hits the Future Shock on Miz. The Claymore is loaded up but Morrison pulls Miz outside. The big flip dive means it doesn’t matter and it’s the Claymore to finish Miz at 15:35.

Rating: D+. I like everyone in the match but it felt like they didn’t have much to do during the middle section, leaving them to do stuff more than once to fill in the time. This was more of an exercise in patience until McIntyre got the win, as there was no way he was losing again here, especially to Miz and Morrison. Even WWE isn’t screwing that up (so far).

Post match here’s Orton with the RKO to McIntyre. Orton poses but Fiend’s laugh ends the show.

Overall Rating: D+. I wasn’t feeling this show for the most part as the time got to be a major factor near the end. There was a lot of stuff that felt either long or like we were just killing time until we got to the important stuff. The build to Survivor Series often feels like it’s a few different shows at once and that’s what we’re doing here. Odds are there is going to be a big title match on TV in the near future though and that is going to be a better use of time than almost anything else they could do. This wasn’t a horrible show but it’s nothing you need to see for the most part.

Results

Jeff Hardy b. Elias – Top rope guitar shot to the back

Nia Jax/Shayna Baszler b. Mandy Rose/Dana Brooke – Kirifuda Clutch to Brooke

Bobby Lashley b. R-Truth – Hurt Lock

Braun Strowman b. Sheamus and Keith Lee – Running powerslam to Sheamus

Nia Jax b. Lana – Samoan drop

Hurt Business b. New Day – Paydirt to Woods

Ricochet b. Tucker – Recoil

Drew McIntyre b. Miz/John Morrison – Claymore to Miz

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: May 29, 2006
Location: Tacoma Dome, Tacoma, Washington
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

We’re on the way to One Night Stand and the top of the show is starting to take place. Given that it isn’t a traditional show, there is a good chance that we won’t be seeing much more than just the two main matches. I’m not sure what we’re going to see on the way there, but Rob Van Dam vs. John Cena needs some build. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We open with the traditional Memorial Day video. That’s always nice to see.

Here’s Vince McMahon to get things going. He gets to the point by saying that losing HHH was like losing one of his own (maybe not the best illustration on Memorial Day) and we see HHH hitting Shane McMahon with the sledgehammer two weeks ago. Shane is still recovering but he has a lot of headaches. As for everything else, Shawn Michaels is no more because of what the Spirit Squad did to him last week.

After looking at Shawn’s knee being destroyed, Vince talks to Shawn at home, suggesting that the fans are chanting various insults at him. There is always a place for Shawn in WWE though. Maybe he could set the ring up or be a timekeeper or something like that. We also look at HHH turning on the Spirit Squad last week, which has Vince flabbergasted. Vince is ready to see HHH’s true colors tonight, as he faces Kenny.

Other than that though, Vince needs to announce a new General Manager, but there is no one who fits the requirements. Instead, here’s his new Executive Assistant: Jonathan Coachman. Coach comes out to announce some matches tonight, including John Cena vs. someone he has never faced before, Edge vs. Big Show, with the winner getting a WWE Title shot at Vengeance, and Shelton Benjamin defending the Intercontinental Title against Kane. Coach thanks Vince for the chance but Vince orders him to get HHH in his office right now.

Intercontinental Title: Kane vs. Shelton Benjamin

Kane is challenging and knocks Shelton down before the bell to start fast. Shelton slips out of a suplex to start and hammers away, which earns him a big boot to the floor. We take a break and come back with Shelton holding a chinlock, thanks to posting Kane while we were away. Shelton kicks him in the head but Kane sits up and hits another big boot. There’s the side slam into the top rope clothesline.

The chokeslam is countered into a rollup but even the feet on the ropes isn’t enough to keep the title. The Dragon Whip is countered as well but the counter is countered into a spinning DDT. Shelton’s Stinger Splash hits Kane’s back so Shelton tries one to his face, which is countered into a chokeslam. That should be it, but here’s Kane’s old music and….a guy in a really bad Kane Halloween costume, complete with the old mask. The real Kane is even more confused and gets chokeslammed as the match was thrown out somewhere in there.

Rating: D+. What we got wasn’t too bad but I don’t see this Kane vs. Kane story going very well. The Undertaker vs. Undertaker idea didn’t work twelve years before this and something tells me that the modern version isn’t going to be better. If nothing else, at least find a better costume. Like the inverted red and black one which always looked great.

Post break, here’s what you saw pre-break, which might not be the best thing to remind the fans about.

Coach is looking for HHH but runs into Armando Alejandro Estrada, who offers Vince his services instead. With Coach gone, Viscera pins Estrada face first against the wall and swears vengeance on Umaga as I try not to imagine various thrusting motions.

HHH comes in to see Vince and tries to calm things down. Vince makes tonight’s main event a Spirit Jack match, with a Spirit Squad member in each corner. HHH: “You would do that for me?” He promises to bring a friend of his own, and happens to have his sledgehammer.

Umaga vs. Viscera

Umaga jumps him before the bell and sends Viscera face first into the ramp. They get in and the Samoan Spike finishes in thirty seconds. They kept cutting to Lilian Garcia because she and Viscera are still a thing.

More See No Evil stuff.

Torrie Wilson/Beth Phoenix vs. Victoria/Candice Michelle

Trish Stratus and Mickie James are the thirds. Beth and Victoria slug it out to start, with Lawler making “trading licks” jokes. Torrie comes in to help Beth with a double chop, followed by the Stink Face. Victoria slams her down and hands it off to Candice for a Vader Bomb. A dancing elbow gets two but another misses, allowing the hot tag to Beth to clean house. Beth knocks Victoria into Mickie and finishes Candice with a Michinoku Driver.

Rating: D. They did what they were trying to do here by introducing Beth and letting her get a win, though you can only get so far with Torrie and Candice working a good chunk of the match. They’re trying to do something new though and just adding Beth and Mickie is a great breath of fresh air. The division has needed that for years so maybe this can help.

Back from a break with Lawler ranting about how bad ECW, including several shots at Tazz, but here’s Rob Van Dam to interrupt. Van Dam doesn’t hit Lawler but does sit in on commentary, suggesting that Lawler hang up his boots like Tazz did. Wouldn’t that be just the same situation that Lawler is in now? Think this stuff through Rob.

John Cena vs. Johnny Nitro

Non-title and the Nitro, with Melina, push begins. That entrance really does make them seem like some of the biggest stars around. Melina gives Nitro a kiss on the cheek to start but Cena punches him in the face to get things going in a hurry. Nitro kicks him down and drops the breakdancing legdrop before hammering away in the corner. Lawler and Van Dam argue about ECW on commentary (you can tell Lawler really didn’t like it and that helps a lot) as Cena makes the comeback (about two minutes into the match), hits all of his signature stuff, and finishes clean with the STFU in a hurry.

Rating: D+. Well ok then. I understand that Nitro, a career tag guy so far, shouldn’t be beating or realistically even hanging with Cena, but maybe they shouldn’t put him against Cena in his singles debut. Aside from the legdrop and a few right hands, this was all Cena, who barely looked like he broke a sweat. I’m not sure I get this, as someone like Chris Masters or any other midcard heel would have been far more expendable and been able to do the same thing.

Cena and Van Dam have a staredown post match until Nitro sidesteps a charging Nitro to send him into Rob.

Here are Mick Foley, with the Hardcore Title, and Paul Heyman, at face to face podiums for a chat. Foley talks about Heyman calling him a prostitute last week and yeah Foley is guilty. If you’re here to see men of principles taking a stand, you’re in the wrong place. The only difference between ECW Mick Foley and WWE Mick Foley is Mick has traded up for a billion dollar pimp in Vince McMahon.

That brings him to One Night Stand, which is where Foley gets upset. How can ECW claim to be hardcore after he and Edge tore the house down at Wrestlemania? Either way, Foley wishes Heyman and his porn addicted, pot smoking band of Mick Foley wannabes with their show. Heyman says that would mean more if it didn’t come from a Terry Funk knockoff. Foley admits that Funk is the greatest wrestler he has ever seen and Dreamer was tough but they couldn’t do what he did. Heyman: “Pull a sock out of their crotch, put it on his hand and entertain Vince McMahon while he was in the hospital?”

Foley says Funk and Dreamer had “Bingo Hall Balls” because they would never venture to WWE (uh…..) and do what Foley did. Foley goes around to Heyman’s side and says you either left ECW as a drunk, a drug addict, a criminal or a corpse. Heyman just resents Foley for becoming the biggest star the industry has ever seen. That’s not true actually, as Heyman’s issue is that Foley is a w****.

However, Heyman wants Foley to understand the new vision for ECW. It isn’t just going to be about flaming tables and piledriving women (Heyman: “We’ll still have some of that.”) but as Foley knows, ECW is coming back full time (if that had been mentioned before, it was completely in passing). Anyone from Raw or Smackdown is welcome to jump over, but Vince has also given him two Draft picks, one from each show.

Foley says the Raw pick is going to be Rob Van Dam, because Rob really was, ahem, a high flier. Heyman: “The Kool-Aid comes in many forms Mick.” As for the Smackdown pick….Foley cuts him off, suggesting that it is going to be a scarred up Mick Foley ripoff. Actually it’s someone ECW has been wanting for some time and he’s here tonight: KURT ANGLE. Foley is ready to fight and is taken down in a heartbeat, setting up the Angle Slam to send Foley leaving.

There’s a lot to unpack here, and that’s a good thing. First of all, these two were the perfect picks for this argument as they are two of the best talkers ever and Foley can easily keep up with Heyman when he’s on. Heyman can get away with calling out Foley’s hypocrisy and make you believe every bit of it, which isn’t something everyone can do.

Then there’s the ECW relaunch, which is a pretty big deal of its own. Having big names come over will help it, but the one thing I always got out of it was that it wasn’t WCW, the AWA, WCCW or something else coming back or some new show. It was ECW, which does say something about the impact that it had. At the very least there was a nostalgia for it, which says a lot about a company that wasn’t really around that long. It’s cool to see it coming back, though I don’t know how much faith you could have put into WWE to do it right, even from here.

This Week In Wrestling History: Andre the Giant debuts, June 1, 1971. Dang it why can’t these clips be on the Network?

Edge vs. Big Show

Lita is here with Edge and the winner gets a World Title shot at Vengeance. JR: “This is a Wrestlemania like environment.” I don’t remember many #1 contenders matches at Wrestlemania. Edge ducks a chop in the corner to start and slugs away but the second chop attempt works rather well. Another chop puts Edge down but Lita grabs Show’s foot so Edge can slug away to no avail.

Show hits Snake Eyes but Edge manages to snap him throat first off the top. The charge sends Show head first into the buckle and Edge manages an Impaler. The spear is countered into a chokeslam attempt so Edge throws the referee down. Edge is sent outside and grabs a chair, which is swatted away. Lita gets in a low blow so now it’s a chair, setting up the spear to finish Show.

Rating: D+. We haven’t been having very good matches tonight but they are accomplishing their goals, which is much more important. Edge cheated over and over here but gets a title match out of it, which I’ll take over them just announcing his shot at Vengeance. This did what it was supposed to do and that is what matters most.

Yet another See No Evil video.

Smackdown Rebound.

HHH, with sledgehammer, runs into Vince, who takes the hammer away and says not tonight.

Kenny vs. HHH

The Spirit Squad is here too. HHH punches him down to start so Kenny bails to the floor. A neck snap across the top rope lets Kenny take over for all of a second before HHH runs him over again. The jumping knee to the arm region looks to set up the Pedigree but Mitch grabs the leg. Mitch is sent hard into the steps and some more of the Squad is knocked down as we take a break.

Back with Kenny still in trouble and HHH beating up the Squad for trying to help him up. The triple teaming puts HHH down for a change and Kenny gets two. A right hand into some choking from the floor sets up another right hand but Kenny is sent shoulder first into the post. More interference lets Johnny kick HHH in the face to give Kenny two and the group stomping is on again.

Back in and Kenny Tunes Up The Band but HHH counters (he’s seen it enough) with a DDT. A low blow cuts HHH down again though and it’s time to wrap the knee around the post a few times. Kenny starts pulling on the knee and drops some elbow but HHH kicks Mikey into the ropes to crotch Kenny down. The facebuster starts the comeback and HHH pounds away in the corner. There’s the spinebuster but the Pedigree attempt is broken up by more distractions. The next attempt is enough to finish Kenny off.

Rating: C-. While it was better than the rest of the matches on the show (the time helped a lot), this was a little bit too much HHH, as not only did he survive the 5-1 beatdown, but he won the match as clean as can be expected. It wasn’t the worst match, but HHH winning over these odds is kind of a lot to take.

Post match the beatdown is still on but HHH whips out a spare sledgehammer. HHH cleans house but here’s Vince to say next week, HHH joins his special club.

Overall Rating: D+. And there goes the hot streak, as they did advance stories in a logical way but it also included so many bad to very bad matches that the storyline stuff was overwhelmed. Throw in the double Kane thing and there was only so much that could be done. The Heyman/Foley showdown was rather good (as you might have guessed), but there were so many things that felt either shortsighted or just dumb that it was knocked backwards. Bad show, and hopefully not the start of a trend.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6