IMG Credit: WWE

Vengeance 2004
Date: July 11, 2004
Location: Hartford Civic Center, Hartford, Connecticut
Attendance: 7,000
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

It’s the final pay per view before Summerslam and that makes this one kind of a quick stop more than anything else. The main event is HHH getting yet another shot at the title because that’s his inalienable right. The wildcard this time is Eugene, who HHH has manipulated into thinking World Champion Chris Benoit is out to get him. I’m sure this will go according to plan. Let’s get to it.

The opening video looks at Benoit’s path to the title. HHH doesn’t like that Benoit is holding his title and tonight, it’s time to set things right.

Rhyno/Tajiri vs. Garrison Cade/Jonathan Coachman

This is mainly about Tajiri vs. Coach but I don’t think anyone was going to tolerate that on pay per view so this was set up on Heat. Coach freaks out upon seeing Rhyno as Tajiri’s partner. Appropriately enough, Coach and Rhyno start things off….with Coach tagging out five seconds later. Rhyno shoulders him down without much effort so Cade yells at the referee and slaps Rhyno in the face.

The beating begins in a hurry with Cade bailing to the floor to avoid the Gore. Tajiri comes in and hits Cade in the face before getting two off la majistral. A Coach distraction lets Cade get in a few shots though and Tajiri is in trouble for the first time. That means Coach gets to be on offense and somehow he’s more coordinated than a lot of full time wrestlers.

A double suplex drops Tajiri to give Cade two but Coach charges into a boot in the corner to set up the Tarantula. The mule kick is enough for the hot tag off to Rhyno so the pace can pick up. Tajiri tags himself back in as Rhyno is sent to the floor and it’s a handspring double elbow to Cade and Coach. There’s the mist to Cade (King: “Cade’s been mystified!”) and the big kick to the head gives Tajiri the pin on Coach.

Rating: D+. Fine enough for a Heat main event, but this wasn’t exactly pay per view worthy. At least they had something with some energy and a villain that the fans wanted to see get beaten up. That doesn’t make it a good idea though and it’s some time that could have been better used elsewhere.

Evolution has a meeting about Eugene and HHH says it’s cool. Flair isn’t convinced but HHH says when the time is right, Eugene….wait where is Eugene? They’re not sure if he’s here so HHH goes to find him. He does indeed find him, talking to Benoit, who tells him that Evolution only cares about HHH getting the title. Benoit tells Eugene to be careful and leaves. HHH isn’t pleased.

Batista vs. Chris Jericho

These two have been having some issues in tag matches so tonight it’s a regular match. Batista starts with the straight power by throwing knees to the ribs in the corner. Jericho gets smart by low bridging him to the floor, giving us a perfect summation of the match in a nutshell in the early going. A missed charge lets Batista pull Jericho outside for some shots to the head and a neckbreaker of all things gives Batista two. I’ve never seen him use that before or since and it was weird to see from him.

That’s followed by a seated half nelson as I wonder where all of this offense came from and went. Batista pulls him down into a regular full nelson but Jericho gets up and leverages him outside a second time. Back in and a dropkick to the knee staggers Batista so he forearms the heck out of Jericho in return. Again: power vs. intelligence and cunning. Jericho’s top rope back elbow to the jaw gets two, followed by Batista’s side slam for the same. It’s back to the back with back to back shots to the back, followed by a backbreaker. You can’t say Batista isn’t focused.

Jericho flips out of another backbreaker attempt (more intelligence) and hits a chop block. The Walls are broken up though and Batista hits the big spinebuster for two. The Batista Bomb is reversed into a rollup for two and Batista is getting mat at Jericho for not letting it end. Jericho bulldogs him down but the Lionsault hits knees. He’s fine enough to hit the running enziguri for a delayed two but it’s another spinebuster to destroy Jericho. The Batista Bomb is good for the pin, even with Jericho’s foot on the ropes.

Rating: C+. There was a nice story here with Jericho trying to outsmart the powerful Batista but not being able to overcome the huge power advantage. That’s a great rub for Batista who beat a former World Champion and never felt like he was in any real trouble at all. He’s becoming a bigger and bigger deal every single time and it’s not like Jericho is going to lose much by putting him over here. He’s Chris Jericho, and that’s going to keep him over no matter what.

An upset Eugene sits on Evolution’s couch and HHH starts up the manipulation machine, saying that Benoit is just lying to him to protect the title. Remember when Benoit hit him with a chair a few weeks ago? Tonight, they’re taking the title back, but first they have a surprise for Eugene. It’s an old Ric Flair robe, with Flair staring bullets through Eugene as he hands it over. The manipulation stuff is great, but I’m kind of dreading where it’s going.

Tag Team Titles: La Resistance vs. Ric Flair/Eugene

Flair and Eugene are challenging. Flair’s music cuts off O Canada and Flair looks so annoyed at having to be here. Eugene and Conway start things off and let’s have a WOO first. The second WOO comes after Conway is taken into the corner and Flair’s frustrations continue. A drop toehold lets Eugene grab a headlock in a Flair spot and it’s time for the chops. Flair: “THAT’S MINE!!!”

Grenier comes in and wants Flair but gets Eugene doing Flair’s shinbreaker instead. A few shots stagger Eugene and he does the Flair Flop in a funny bit. The Figure Four is broken up though and Eugene is kicked into the corner, allowing Flair to tag himself in and work off some annoyances. Flair WOO’s a lot and shows Grenier how to throw the chops and punches in the corner. A suplex drops Conway and there’s the strut, meaning NOW we go to school with the Figure Four.

Some easy cheating lets Grenier break it up though and now it’s Flair in trouble for a change. Grenier hammers away in the corner and hands it off to Conway, who actually wins a chop off. Flair can’t chop his way out of trouble and a backdrop gives Grenier two. The required chinlock, with Grenier kneeling to the side behind Flair for a unique style, goes on and the fans cheering for Flair in this situation still feels weird.

The front facelock keeps Flair in trouble and Conway runs around to pull Eugene off the apron for a ram into the steps. Back in and Au Revoir hits Flair but Eugene is all fired up for the save. Conway’s legs get wrapped around the post and Eugene pounds on Grenier in the corner but a shove to the referee draws the DQ.

Rating: C. Another perfectly fine match as Eugene knows how to do the Flair tribute act, which in this case makes a lot of sense. I’m glad they didn’t change the titles here as the wacky champions thing really isn’t necessary here when you already have HHH as the real big bad in the whole thing. La Resistance are fine as the heel champions and they can hold onto the belts in this role for a good while.

Post match Eugene hits a Stunner, Rock Bottom and People’s Elbow. Flair looks so annoyed as Eugene tries to hug him to make things better after the loss.

We recap Kane vs. Matt Hardy. Lita agreed to sleep with Kane to get him to leave Matt alone and got pregnant in the process. Matt is furious (and rightfully so), meaning tonight it’s a No DQ match so Matt can get revenge and Kane can have some fun.

Matt Hardy vs. Kane

No DQ and no countout. They start the fight in the aisle with Matt getting in a few right hands. The Twist of Fate on the announcers’ table is shoved away, with Matt nearly crushing a production guy in the process. Kane pounds away on the floor some more and then takes it inside for the first time for some choking in the corner. He switches it up to ripping at Matt’s face before cutting Matt down with a clothesline. Matt can barely stand so Kane asks why he doesn’t fight.

With Matt still down, Kane grabs a chair but gets caught with a Twist of Fate over the ropes. Kane’s feet get tied in the ropes so he’s hung upside down and there’s a bell shot to the head. The top rope legdrop to the back of Kane’s head connects and the Twist of Fate is good for two. Kane hits a chokeslam but would rather grab the steps than cover. Cue Lita (you knew this wasn’t ending until she came out) to beg for Kane’s forgiveness so he throws the steps down. Then he picks them back up, allowing Matt to hit them into his face with a chair for the pin.

Rating: D. This was Kane slipping on a banana peel to give Matt the win that doesn’t mean much. There’s nothing that is going to stop Kane from attacking Matt again and you can set up the bigger rematch at Summerslam from here. I haven’t been big on this whole story but I feel sorry for Matt after Lita had to save him again. Normally I would ask how much worse it can get but that’s never a good sign in wrestling.

In the back, Lita begs Matt to talk to him. Matt recaps the whole thing and asks her to stay away from the ring so both her and the baby can be safe. I’m sure she’ll listen too.

We recap Randy Orton vs. Edge. Orton has held the title for a long time now and has grown up during his reign. He’s becoming a bit too cocky though and Edge is ready to take a stand and become champion as he wants to run through Evolution.

Intercontinental Title: Randy Orton vs. Edge

Edge is challenging and JR gets in his stat of the night by saying the Intercontinental Title has changed hands more in July than in any other month. Doesn’t mean much, but that’s the kind of little trivia note that I like to hear. They trade headlocks to start as the fans are firmly behind Orton. Not what you would expect but I can kind of see the new version of Edge not being as popular. He’s been pushed pretty hard and hasn’t had the performances that made him a star since his return.

A crisscross goes on for a long time until Edge takes him down with another headlock. The threat of a dropkick sends Orton outside but Edge isn’t letting him walk up the ramp. Orton gets in a shot of his own though and suplexes Edge back in for two. As the champ rakes a boot over Edge’s face, Lawler has it figured out: Edge is jealous of Orton’s ability to get women. I’ll let you figure out how JR responds to that one. The chinlock goes on for a good while until Edge fights up with a clothesline to the floor.

Orton goes to get the title so Edge baseball slides him down and the fans are behind the champ again. A missile dropkick gives Edge two but the spear gets kicked away. Orton hits an elbow to the chest and now it’s a LET’S GO EDGE chant. Egads these people are fickle. Back in and Orton gets two off a legdrop to the back of the head as the announcers are rather confused by the crowd. Dude it’s a live wrestling crowd. Why would you expect them to make sense?

Orton chokes on the ropes and gets two off a dropkick, followed by another chinlock. A legdrop sets up another chinlock as they’re certainly dragging this one out. The fans accurately call this boring as the latest chinlock eats up two full minutes. Edge fights up and dropkicks Orton out of the air, followed by a neckbreaker to put both of them down again. A slugout goes to Edge and he gets two off a Russian legsweep. After shoving Orton off the top, Edge hits a high crossbody with the champ rolling through for two.

Orton pokes him in the eye and takes off a turnbuckle pad, which has to be some Flair influence. The Edgecution gets two more so Edge hammers away in the corner, only to get dropped face first onto the exposed buckle. That and a rollup with feet on the ropes are good for two but this time it’s Orton going into the buckle. The spear hits unexposed buckle but Edge is right back up with a whip into the steel, followed by the spear for the pin and the title.

Rating: B-. This was much more long than good as there’s a lot that could have been cut out to do the same match. The ending was really strong though and you could tell the fans were getting into things and wanted to see the title change. Even with the title loss though, you can tell that Orton is going to be getting a huge push as you don’t have him lose a long match clean like that without having something bigger planned. Good match, but much longer than it needed to be.

Orton gets the Goodbye Song because they really can’t make up their mind about what the heck they want.

Molly Holly vs. Victoria

#1 contenders match. Molly works on the arm to start as JR tries to figure out why she’s still wearing the wig. You would think it would have grown back in nearly four months. Victoria scores with a monkey flip but the shaking moonsault takes way too long. Instead it’s a moonsault press out of the corner for two on Molly so she heads outside with Victoria nearly screwing up a slingshot dive.

A trip sends Victoria’s face and shoulder into the steps for a near countout. Since that doesn’t work, Molly starts in on the arm with a seated armbar as you can’t fault the psychology here so far. A Fujiwara armbar keeps Victoria down but Molly misses an elbow. Victoria gets two off a powerslam but the arm gives out on the Widow’s Peak attempt. With the arm not an option, Victoria nails a superkick for the pin.

Rating: C+. Considering the spot they were in with this being an added match and in between the show’s two big matches, this had no expectations coming in and turned out to be a very nice match. It didn’t have any reason to be much but the girls did had a rather nice match with some psychology and good looking offense. Well done here in a very nice little surprise.

We recap HHH vs. Chris Benoit. HHH lost the title to Benoit at Wrestlemania and hasn’t really left the main event since. Now it’s time to get the title back and HHH has manipulated Eugene into being in his corner for this one, while Benoit is trying to convince Eugene of what’s really going on. The manipulation has been great on this story and while the fans aren’t exactly enamored with Eugene, it’s still good stuff.

Raw World Title: Chris Benoit vs. HHH

Benoit is defending and, as always, looks cool holding the title over his head on the stage. A fight over a lockup goes nowhere so Benoit armdrags his way out of a top wristlock. HHH’s headlock takeover doesn’t work so he tries it again and gets reversed all over again. Benoit finally gets sent into the corner and HHH….lets him get back up. It’s too early for the Crossface though and HHH gets outside for the breather. Back in and HHH scores with a jumping knee to the face, followed by a hard elbow to the jaw for two.

Instead of the face, HHH switches over to the back with a backbreaker before pulling Benoit out to the floor. Again he lets him back in though and it’s a snap suplex to take HHH down. A catapult sends HHH into the corner and a clothesline puts him on the floor. Benoit isn’t done and sends him into the steps as this is starting to pick up a few gears. Back in and Benoit misses the Swan Dive, setting up a heck of a Bret Hart chest first bump into the corner. HHH does it again for good measure and starts in with some kicks to the chest.

A release front suplex drops Benoit on his chest again and HHH does it again in a smart move. HHH puts a knee in the back and stretches both arms to stay on the chest as the targeting continues. They head outside with Benoit being whipped into the barricade, followed by another whip into the buckle for a few near falls. The abdominal stretch goes on and thankfully Lawler is right there to talk about how painful the hold is. Benoit reverses into one of his own but gets hiptossed down in short order.

The Sharpshooter works a lot better and HHH finally makes the rope, because just touching them a few seconds earlier didn’t count. HHH is in trouble so Benoit rolls the German suplexes. That’s enough to send HHH outside for the big dive through the ropes and they’re both down with the fans rather pleased. Back in again and this time the referee gets knocked out to the floor in a heap, which you had to know was coming. A Crossface attempt is countered into a DDT and they’re both down, allowing HHH to shout for Eugene. As Eugene comes out, HHH gets caught in the Crossface.

Benoit wisely shouts at Eugene to get the ref before flipping HHH back to the middle for the tap. There’s no referee so Eugene starts getting in, earning himself a big right hand from Benoit. That would be in the better safe than sorry category, though it lets HHH get in a low blow from behind. Now the Pedigree connects but there’s still no referee. Eugene brings in the chair this time as the referee is now face down on the mat.

Hang on though as Eugene grabs the chair, earning himself a shove to the floor and a lot of yelling. Benoit gets in a forearm to the face but has to chair down an interfering Batista and Flair. HHH kicks him in the injured chest but Benoit gets in a low blow so everyone is down. Now it’s Eugene with the chair and he’s not sure who to hit. Benoit grabs it as well but then lets go, sending it into HHH’s head. That’s enough for Benoit to grab a rollup and retain the title.

Rating: B+. I was digging the heck out of this until the Eugene stuff came into play but it wasn’t enough to derail everything. HHH was working on the chest for most of the match and then used it again in the end, though it was ultimately his own plans being a bit too big and evil that cost him. Benoit retaining is a good thing of course but I have a bad feeling I know where that ending is leading. At least it was a good, long match though and the ending was right, even with Eugene getting so much attention near the end.

Post match Benoit leaves so HHH can stare at a panicking Eugene to end the show. Make sure you end things on the real stars there guys.

Overall Rating: B. As usual, Raw is just that much better than Smackdown at the moment because the wrestling is that much better. While some of the storyline moves aren’t the best (again: Eugene), you’re almost guaranteed a few good matches on the show and pretty logical storyline progression. That might not be anything that reinvents the wheel but it gives you a good show, which is what this company needs after all the weekly messes on Smackdown.

Here’s the original review if you’re interested:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2014/09/28/vengeance-2004-a-forgotten-little-gem/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-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: July 5, 2004
Location: Winnipeg Arena, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

Eugene is in charge tonight and I think you know what that means. The chaos should be in full swing and Eugene is the kind of guy who can make something like that work well. He plays the character so well and actually comes off as the idiot savant that he’s supposed to be. Let’s get to it.

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

Eugene’s face has replaced Bischoff’s after the opening for a positive reception.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Ric Flair to join a bunch of other people, with a bunch of chairs, in the ring. We have Flair, Jerry Lawler, Coach, Tajiri, Tyson Tomko and Stacy Keibler and Chris Jericho, the hometown boy, comes out to join them. Eugene comes out to the stage in a blazer and jumps up and down a lot. He’s in charge tonight and wants everyone to have fun. Even Coach! For a special treat tonight, Eugene thought we should have a title match tonight. Jericho gets a loud cheer before Eugene announces that we’re playing Musical Chairs for the title shot.

Flair struts after Stacy and then shoves her down to steal her seat like any villain should do. That leaves us with Tomko, Jericho and Flair, but Ric does a bit too much strutting and is out as well. As the music stops, Jericho pulls the chair away and hits Tomko in the back before having a seat to win the Intercontinental Title shot tonight. This was the kind of fun, wacky thing that they need with Eugene in charge. It just freshens things up a bit, which is something Raw is dying for a lot of the time.

La Resistance vs. Rhyno/Val Venis

Non-title, which at least they’re getting right as of late. The non-champions charge the ring to start and the fight is on in a hurry. Conway gets sent outside and a double shoulder drops Grenier early on. Things settle down with Rhyno getting caught in the corner and choked a lot. The chinlock goes on for a bit until Rhyno scores with a flying shoulder. The hold was broken in there if that wasn’t clear. It’s off to Venis and everything breaks down in a hurry. Rhyno’s Gore is broken up by Grenier with a hard crotching against the post and Au Revoir finishes Venis.

Rating: D. As nothing as Rhyno and Venis were, this is the kind of match that La Resistance can use. They win a quick match and it’s not like they were in any real danger for most of the time. Venis and Rhyno weren’t going to be a threat to the titles and odds are they won’t team again after this, so it’s not like they have anything to lose.

Randy Orton isn’t happy with having to face Jericho tonight but Flair is more upset about playing Ring Around the Rosey. Uh, totally different game there Naitch. Come on. Eugene on the other hand is in his office: a bounce house. He asks Orton about that one time when Kane said he was Eugene’s friend and punched him before bringing up HHH. Batista is worried that Eugene is going to have HHH beat up Kane, but it’s going to be Batista vs. Kane instead.

Eugene: “You remember that one time when La Resistance beat Val Venis and Rhyno?” After Orton explains that it just happened, Eugene makes La Resistance vs. Flair and…..we pause while Eugene plays with action figures. Flair demands to know his partner and of course it’s Eugene. Flair lunges so Eugene retreats into the safety of the bounce house. Wacky fun.

It’s time for a change though, and this Sunday Edge is taking the Intercontinental Title. After that, Edge is taking the team out one by one. Someone has to take a stand and Edge is that man. HHH says that he’s heard it before but he’s still right here on top of the world. HHH: “Nothing changes.” The fight is on with Edge getting the better of it until Evolution chases him off. That’s one of the smarter face moves of the year, because even he’s not dumb enough to fight all four of them at once.

Kane vs. Batista

The power lockup starts us off until Batista hits a running clothesline in the corner. That just earns him a whip into the corner and a side slam for no cover. The spinebuster is no sold and Kane kicks him to the floor, drawing in Matt Hardy for the DQ. Just a means to an angle at the end.

Post match Matt wrecks Kane, sending him into the steps over and over.

Post break Matt says he’s happy with the idea of a No DQ match with Kane on Sunday because he can do even more than he did tonight. Lita is mentioned but Matt won’t talk about her. Instead he awkwardly stares at Todd Grisham for a long time.

Divas Search Los Angeles edition, with Christy Hemme appearing and having more charisma than anyone. Coach seems enamored with most of them in the swimsuit section and….well yeah.

Earlier today, Jericho was named a member of the Order of the Buffalo Hunt, the highest honor in Manitoba. Jericho with long hair in a suit is a weird visual.

Intercontinental Title: Randy Orton vs. Chris Jericho

Hometown boy Jericho is challenging. Orton gets taken down off an armdrag to start and Jericho throws in a little dance. A battle over a top wristlock doesn’t get Orton very far as he’s thrown into the corner to keep the pro-Jericho chants going. Jericho suplexes him down and gets two off the arrogant cover. Something out of the corner gets dropkicked out of the air though and we’re off to the neck crank as the fans think Orton sucks.

Not being happy with the chants, Orton sends Jericho to the apron but takes too long posing, allowing Jericho to come off the top with a back elbow to the jaw for two. The running enziguri gets the same with Orton getting his foot on the ropes. With that not working, Jericho backdrops him over the top and out to the floor. Cue Batista for a distraction and we take a break.

Back with Jericho hammering away in the corner until Batista low bridges him out to the floor. Jericho goes arm first into the post and the fans are all over Batista in a hurry. Back in and Orton starts kicking away before the light bulb goes off and he wraps the arm around the ropes. The armbar goes on for a bit with Orton pulling him back down by the air. Some knees to the arm keep Jericho in trouble and it’s right back to the armbar, though a different kind. It’s nice to see things get mixed up a bit as there’s no reason to have the same stuff over and over.

Back up and a double clothesline gives us a double knockdown and the fans have some hope. Jericho scores with a flying forearm but Orton cuts him off with the backbreaker. The swinging sleeper drop gives Jericho a near fall of his own but the shoulder gets sent hard into the post again. Orton’s high crossbody gets two and the fans are right back into it after the kickout. The bulldog drops Orton but Jericho has to dropkick Batista. He’s fine enough to counter the RKO into the Walls and the fans are going NUTS. Another Batista distraction breaks the hold though and Orton rolls him up with feet on the ropes to retain.

Rating: B-. The fans helped carry this one a little further than it would have gone otherwise and that’s not the worst thing in the world. Jericho winning the title was pretty much out of the question here but at least he didn’t lose clean, which can set up a rematch down the line. Orton still can’t make a full match like this work, but he’s getting the important parts, such as the strong finish, down.

HHH joins Eugene in the bounce house and they make an unspecified deal. That’s enough for HHH to leave with Flair helping him up. Apparently HHH was in there for twenty minutes and didn’t get around to breaking up the Eugene/Flair team. Flair: “We could lose! Or worse yet, we could win!” HHH’s plan is more about the World Title though, because tonight it’s Flair/HHH/Eugene vs. Edge/Benoit. Everyone will see his plan after tonight.

Smackdown Rebound.

Victoria vs. Nidia vs. Molly Holly

Envelope on a pole match with the winner getting a shot at Trish Stratus at some point in the future. Therefore, Trish is out on commentary along with Tyson Tomko. Nidia goes straight for the pole and gets pulled down just as fast. Molly knocks Victoria outside but gets elbowed off the top. The delay is enough for Victoria to get back up and kick Molly in the head to put all three down again. Molly knocks both of them to the floor and hits a slingshot dive on Victoria to keep her in trouble. Back in and Molly plants Victoria with a superplex but Nidia climbs up and gets the contract.

Rating: D-. This was just a step above the Vince Russo era with no particular reason for it to be a pole match, other than Nidia not being the best in the ring in the first place. I’m not sure why I’d want to see her get a title shot, but to be fair they need something fresh in the women’s division after the same matches over and over.

Post match Trish, with a broken wrist, comes out and says Nidia can have a shot when Trish is ready. Trish knocks her cold with the cast and says she’s ready.

Women’s Title: Trish Stratus vs. Nidia

Pin in three seconds to retain. Thank goodness they booked a match that they could blow off two minutes later. That’s just what the show needed.

Divas Search: Los Angeles, with unnamed women being worried about moving on to the next round. Candice Michelle and Christy Hemme both made the cut.

Vengeance rundown.

Trish and Tomko come up to Lita in the back and ask about morning sickness. Lita doesn’t say anything back so they leave, but not before this from Trish: “And they call me a sl**.”

HHH praises Eugene for his job tonight but brings up Edge wanting to tear Evolution down. Eugene doesn’t like that so HHH tells him about how Edge and Benoit represent everyone who has ever been mean to him. Tonight, Eugene needs to be mean to them. Hugging ensues and they agree to be best friends tonight.

HHH/Ric Flair/Eugene vs. Chris Benoit/Edge

Benoit wants to start with HHH but gets Eugene instead in a smart move from the villains. An early high five to Flair doesn’t constitute a tag so Benoit and Eugene try some technical work instead. Eugene is more than capable of hanging with Benoit though and drives him into the corner as JR goes into one of his trademark anti-HHH rants. Benoit reverses though and decks HHH and Flair, which isn’t something you do with Eugene around.

Eugene tries to come in but HHH holds him back so Flair can take over on Edge. It’s time to start working on the arm, with HHH telling Eugene to break the arm, which seems a step too far for him. The fans think Eugene sucks as HHH and Flair come in for a distraction as Edge tags Benoit. Therefore it’s Edge being dragged back into the corner so the beating can continue, including a Flair strut this time.

One WOO too many allows Edge to get in an enziguri and Benoit gets to come in and unload. The rolling German suplexes have HHH in trouble and the Swan Dive connects, with Flair breaking up the count in a hurry. Edge takes Flair to the floor but misses a charge to send him over the barricade.

Benoit knocks down both Eugene and the referee at the same time but is still able to knock a chair out of HHH’s hand. Eugene grabs the chair and pulls it back at Benoit, who manages to talk him out of it. HHH tries to Pedigree Benoit but gets reversed into the Sharpshooter for the unseen tap. At HHH’s urging, Eugene hits Benoit with the chair to break it up. The booing ensues as HHH pins Benoit.

Rating: C+. Another match focused on storytelling instead of the wrestling for the most part but the talent involved was more than enough to make it watchable. The Eugene push is starting to blow up in their faces though as there’s only so much that can be done before the fans just get tired of him. Eugene was a very fun character, but having him as the focal point of the show and involved in the top story is a bit much for someone like him.

Overall Rating: C+. This show was back and forth all night. It started off strong and had a pair of good matches, but stuff like the Divas Search eating up time and the Eugene story being hammered into our heads didn’t do it any favors. There is still good stuff going on around here, but very simply put, we need a break from HHH. Unfortunately, I can’t imagine that’s the case anytime soon.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-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 28, 2004
Location: Richmond Coliseum, Richmond, Virginia
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

With less than two weeks to go, it’s time to get focused on Vengeance. As it turns out, last week’s main event had no bearing on the pay per view as HHH is getting his World Title shot (I’m stunned too.) despite not beating Eugene. Other than that we have the continuing issues of Kane fathering Lita’s baby, which isn’t likely to get much attention tonight because Kane is getting a World Title shot against Chris Benoit. Let’s get to it.

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

Last week, WWE won some awards. Good for them.

We open with a recap of HHH vs. Eugene, featuring HHH snapping and beating him down, drawing in Benoit for the save. Benoit accidentally chaired Eugene though and got laid out by HHH to end the show. That’ll show Eugene for getting over without being named HHH.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Evolution to get things going. HHH says tonight’s main event doesn’t matter because he’s facing the winner at Vengeance no matter what. For tonight though, he’d like Eugene to come out here because they’re still friends. A nervous Eugene comes out, complete with a bandage with a drawn on smiley face. HHH talks about how there are mean people around here, like Chris Benoit. All HHH was doing was trying to prepare him last week because if HHH really wanted to hurt him, Eugene wouldn’t be here.

The reality is that Benoit can’t stand Eugene and wants to hurt him. HHH doesn’t usually talk like this, but Benoit is nothing but a jerk. HHH: “I said the J word!” Orton looks very confused as HHH tells Eugene that they’re still friends. Tonight, Eugene gets to be an honorary member of Evolution. That means a round of hugs but here’s William Regal to say it’s a trap. HHH brings up Regal to work for Bischoff to get rid of Regal in exchange for his job. HHH: “YOU MAKE ME SICK!” This brings out Bischoff, to make HHH vs. Regal with Eugene as guest referee.

Again, this story is fascinating in a way. The character work and manipulation of Eugene is very entertaining as you can see the character changes throughout and that’s making for some entertaining TV. That being said, there is the issue of why HHH is doing this in the first place. He has the title shot and he has Evolution. Is there really a reason why he doesn’t just have them beat the heck out of Eugene and make them leave? Sure Bischoff is going to be happy to see Eugene get crushed, but this seems to be taking the very long way around when there’s an easier path to get what everyone wants.

Chris Jericho/Edge vs. Randy Orton/Batista

Well it was good last week. Orton tags out instead of fighting Jericho so it’s a right hand to Batista’s face to no avail. Batista takes him down and hammers away with right hands to the head as the fire alarm seems to be going off. Evolution takes turns hammering on Jericho’s head as the alarm keeps going. Someone might want to look into that sooner or later. The alarm is finally cut off, drawing a round of applause from the crowd.

Batista gets two off a big side slam but Jericho dropkicks him into the ropes for a breather. It’s still way too early for the hot tag, which is fine as Edge did more than enough work in the first version. Orton’s dropkick gets two but he walks into the sleeper drop, setting up the hot tag to Edge. That means some house cleaning but you know this one is getting some time so it’s only the preliminary house cleaning. They’re not to full dusting yet you see.

The Edgecator has Orton in trouble until Batista saves, only to get double dropkicked to the floor. Edge hits a baseball slide and Jericho adds a sweet dive to drop Batista as we take a break. Back with Edge taking Orton into the corner but Batista comes in again for a running powerslam. Orton stomps away and drops some legs for two before handing it back to Batista for a seated full nelson.

That’s finally reversed with a ram into the corner but Orton is fine enough to slap on a bodyscissors. Edge finally fights up again and makes the hot tag off to Jericho so the pace can pick up. The bulldog sets up the Lionsault but Batista moves, leaving Jericho to stick the landing. Batista’s spinebuster is countered into a sunset flip with Edge dropkicking him down for the two. Back up and Batista blasts Orton with the clothesline but manages to kick out of the Walls. Edge spears Batista, setting up the Lionsault for the pin.

Rating: B. Are these people capable of having a bad match at this point? You could mix and match these guys for months for good matches, which is exactly what they’ve done to some great results. Jericho vs. Batista and Edge vs. Orton (the latter of which is already set) for Vengeance sound fine for me.

Post match the announcers talk about how impressive was that Jericho overcame a concussion to win here. If he had one, he certainly didn’t act like it.

Video on Kane announcing that Lita’s baby is his, wrecking Matt Hardy’s marriage proposal in the process. That’s such a horrible move and I love it. Lita’s crying line of “but the baby might be yours” makes it even better.

Flair comes up to HHH and asks about Eugene being an honorary member of Evolution. Flair: “It’ll kill our gimmick brother!” HHH explains the whole idea by saying that his deal with Bischoff is simple: get rid of Eugene and get a title shot at Vengeance. Flair brings up the obvious: why not just beat Eugene up right now and be done with it? Apparently HHH is going to use Eugene’s talents to get the title back. Then he’ll give Eugene what he deserves.

Now that’s more like it. The scheme is making things more complicated than they need to be and HHH is looking like a maniacal villain. Imagine that: actually explaining a crazy idea and not leaving your audience scratching your heads and hoping they just don’t ask a bunch of questions that point out all the holes in your story. HHH’s plan is pretty stupid, but it makes sense to him and that’s all that matters.

Divas Search video, this time from New York. Again, almost none of them are named, though Michelle McCool is seen.

A crying Lita can’t get in touch with Matt. Stacy Keibler comes in and asks what’s wrong. My goodness this woman gets dumber every week. Lita was trying to do what was right and explains that Kane was going to keep hurting Matt until Lita did what he wanted. She’s not sure who the father is.

JR is in the ring to interview Kane, though this time the ring is at least surrounded by cops. You know, those guys with such great track records in wrestling. Kane gets right to the point: there’s no one that is going to stop him if he decides to go after JR again. JR shrugs that off and asks about Kane attacking Shawn Michaels last week. Shawn robbed him of the World Title and since Shawn got in his way, it was time to make him suffer.

As for Lita, Kane just wanted something that he never had. He wants an offspring that he can mold to continue his legacy. Kane took every precaution to make sure Lita would get pregnant. This way Kane gets everything that he wants, including the World Title tonight. Oh yeah that’s another thing Kane has going on right now. Then in eight months, he gets to be a father.

JR brings up the chance that Lita’s baby is Matt so violence is imminent, only to have Matt run in for the save. Bischoff has to tell security to break it up. Matt gets dragged away and Bischoff says the main event isn’t being ruined. Since it’s so unfair to Kane, we’ll change the rules a bit. Tonight, Benoit has to win by submission only but Kane can win by pinfall, submission, countout or DQ. Kane has another evil smile.

William Regal vs. HHH

This is Regal’s first match in over a year and Eugene is guest referee. HHH drives him into the corner to start so Regal takes over with a hammerlock. Regal kicks away on the mat like a true villain should but Eugene asking for a clean break allows HHH to get in a right hand. Back up and Regal slugs away with HHH doing a faceplant. An exploder suplex gets two but Flair throws in some brass knuckles. Regal clocks HHH and takes them away but Eugene disqualifies him before he can actually use the knuckles. Eugene: “You weren’t supposed to do that!”

Rating: D. The wrestling wasn’t the point here as it was more about the angle advancement, which is starting to make me wonder. Eugene is already starting to feel like he’s in over his head here and if this all ends with HHH getting a definitive pin over Eugene, it’s going to be a bad idea at the end of the day.

Post match HHH shoves Regal into Eugene, sending him into a rage with a beatdown on Regal. HHH and Flair calm things down and Regal is left laying.

Sgt. Slaughter/Rhyno vs. La Resistance

Non-title. This is the last show before the 4^th of July so it’s as good as we can get. Slaughter is looking very lean here compared to some of his recent appearances. Rhyno is ready to fight early on and shrugs off some Conway chops. A hard shoulder puts Conway down but Grenier gets in a cheap shot from behind.

Slaughter is drawn in so the double teaming can continue, which you would think he would see coming. A neckbreaker gets two on Rhyno and we hit the chinlock. Rhyno fights up and hits a belly to belly, allowing the how tag off to Slaughter for the house cleaning. The Cobra Clutch is broken up but Conway makes the save with a DDT. Rhyno gets shoved off the top and it’s Au Revoir to finish Slaughter.

Rating: D+. All things considered, this was just a step beneath a miracle. Slaughter’s annual appearances are rarely anything to see but this was a watchable match. Having it be non-title helped a bit too as hearing that the titles are on the line makes me roll my eyes and go “this again?” more often than not. This didn’t feel as annoying and the match being a bit better helped too.

HHH tries to calm Eugene down but then brings up Benoit hitting him in the head with a chair last week. Then Regal shoved him down, even though Eugene didn’t do anything wrong. Kane chokeslammed him too. They hurt him, but Evolution will never hurt him. As much as the plan is convoluted, HHH has been nailing the acting part and comes off as totally evil.

Diva Search. Some made it, some didn’t, one was Michelle McCool.

Vengeance rundown. Jericho vs. Batista is confirmed.

Coach and Bischoff are in the office for some exposition. Bischoff will be off next week and therefore we need a boss. Since, you know, WE MUST HAVE A BOSS! Coach won’t be in charge though because Eugene will be running the show. That actually has a lot of potential.

We look back at Benoit having to pin Kane instead of winning with the Crossface.

Smackdown Rebound featuring the Great American Bash. Haven’t we suffered enough?

Raw World Title: Kane vs. Chris Benoit

Benoit is defending and can only win by submission while Kane can win by any means. The referee holds the title upside down, which is a lot more annoying than it should be. Kane loses an early slugout so it’s time to start in on the knee. The Sharpshooter is kicked away of course but Kane misses the big elbow. Benoit can’t get the Crossface so Kane throws him over the top.

Back from a break with Benoit chopping away in the corner but getting hit in the face. They head outside with Kane posting him for a bonus. That gets nine on the floor and two in the ring as I wonder why Kane doesn’t just destroy Benoit with a chair. Benoit can’t win by DQ so Kane can’t get disqualified, so what’s stopping him? Benoit sends Kane face first into the steps and JR LOSES IT on Lawler for asking about Kane’s kid again. I haven’t heard him yell that loudly in a long time.

Back from another break with Kane holding a chinlock before kicking him in the face to cut off a comeback. The chokeslam is countered into the Crossface but Kane gets up and slams him down for the break. A Tombstone attempt is escaped and Benoit rolls the German suplexes. Benoit hits the flying headbutt and covers but the referee reminds him of the rules.

With Kane down, Benoit goes up again but has to counter a chokeslam by snapping the arm across the rope. Kane goes shoulder first into the post and the Crossface goes on again. The roll over doesn’t work as Benoit holds on, even with both of them on their backs. That actually looks even more painful than the regular version and Kane taps to retain Benoit’s title.

Rating: B-. And that’s that for Kane. I’m kind of surprised at the chemistry these two have together and the matches have been a nice showcase for Benoit. The story here was fine and Benoit was in trouble at times, but the Vengeance title match being announced made it rather clear that the title wasn’t changing hands. It’s ok to have a match with a pretty obvious ending at times though and that was the case here.

Post match Kane chokeslams Benoit but here’s a very smiley Lita. She hands the title to Kane and raises his hand before kicking him low. Kane shrugs it off and loads up a chokeslam but lets her go because of the baby. Benoit hits him with the belt and poses to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. The wrestling was solid this week but I keep going back and forth on the HHH/Eugene thing. It goes against what made Eugene work but the bigger problem is it’s turned into a HHH story featuring Eugene than anything else. The performances have been very good though and the positives outweigh the negatives, which is more than you can expect in a lot of stories. It’s good for now, but I’m worried about where it might be going. The rest of the show was mostly good and nothing stood out as horrible, so I can definitely go with this after last night’s pay per view.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-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 21, 2004
Location: American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

It’s a big night here, at least in a way, as HHH is facing Eugene with a shot at Chris Benoit at Vengeance on the line. I’m not sure what happens if Eugene wins but I’m sure we’ll find out in a segment that probably goes on longer than it needs to. You can also guarantee all kinds of interference and shenanigans in the main event so let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap from last week with the setup to HHH vs. Eugene. Everyone but Eugene knows that HHH is up to something but Eugene believes HHH when he swears that they’re friends. Regal’s sneer during all of this is great as he and Jericho just don’t want to break Eugene’s heart.

Opening sequence.

We open big with the Rock making a surprise appearance, which certainly wakes the crowd up. Rock finally says he’s back home but is willing to stop for one more ROCKY chant. Since Rock is home tonight, he brought some friends and family, including his wife, mother and grandmother, to the front row. He also points out some Miami Dolphins and Miami Hurricanes with Rock making some jokes about the Dolphins’ defense. See, he’s standing in a ring right now, which the Dolphins might get one day.

As for tonight though, he’d like Eugene to come out here but gets Randy Orton instead. Apparently Eugene isn’t here yet because HHH is driving him over to the arena. Orton is glad that he and Rock are getting a chance to talk though, because all he can remember is beating Rock and Mick Foley at Wrestlemania. It’s too bad that Orton has surpassed Rock in every way but Rock doesn’t think much of him. He points out the rather rude chants the fans are shouting at Orton before praising Orton a bit.

Rock remembers meeting Orton’s dad and grandaddy but also remembers his own dad and granddaddy laying some smackdown. Even Rock’s grandmother beat up Orton’s grandmammy (and looks like she still could). Rock even remembers Randy as a kid, playing with a pretty little pony. Orton got so scared that he ran past Andre the Giant and Junkyard Dog but landed right on King Kong Bundy’s crotch. Rock is ready to fight right now but Orton isn’t ready.

That just gets him beaten up anyway but here’s Eric Bischoff to say not so fast and have Rock ejected. Rock leaves (To Bischoff: “No wonder WCW went out of business.”) and keeps the mic as he goes through the curtain, where he hits on Trish Stratus, makes fun of Tyson Tomko, takes off Molly’s wig, gives Hurricane and Rosey a doughnut….and then finds Coach.

Rock demands that Coach smile and then leaves him hanging. He goes to his waiting truck and guarantees that Eugene wins tonight. Back in the arena, Orton says to cut Rock’s mic, but Rock promises something bad happening in three seconds. That would be a spear from Edge which leaves Orton leaving as Rock drives away. This was really long and completely entertaining throughout, which is much better than a long HHH promo.

Bischoff demands that security keep Rock out when Chris Benoit comes in. Benoit begs for Eugene’s safety and even offers a title shot for HHH for the sake of letting Eugene out of this. Bischoff turns him down and threatens to have Benoit thrown out.

Women’s Title: Trish Stratus vs. Victoria

Trish is defending and has Tomko with him. Victoria wastes no time in knocking her down and hitting the standing moonsault. A trip to the floor lets Tomko offer a distraction though and Victoria gets knocked off the apron. Back in and Trish hammers away with some right hands as I keep thinking that the red steps in the crowd are empty seats.

Trish kicks her down and mocks the dancing (Jerry doesn’t seem to mind) but gets rolled up for two instead of trying the moonsault. A chinlock keeps Victoria in trouble for all of a few seconds until she gets up with a kick to the face. The moonsault connects but Tomko pulls Trish out at two. Back up and Trish grabs a rollup, and a rope, to retain.

Rating: C-. They were trying here, though the ending and the time didn’t do them any favors. This gets us past Victoria as the challenger trying to get her title back, which wasn’t going to be an interesting story in the first place. That being said, it’s better to have a lame story than no story at all, which tends to be the case more often than not.

Post match Victoria wants to fight some more but gets stared down by Tomko. A man in drag (clearly Steven Richards) pulls her out and a four way staredown ensues.

Diva Search: Chicago edition. An unnamed Maria Kanellis is included.

Recap of Kane destroying Shawn Michaels last week.

William Regal comes in to see Bischoff and asks him for mercy. That’s not happening because Bischoff has too many people to answer to, including his sister. He can’t fire Eugene because Eugene has to quit, and what better way to get him to do so than by having HHH beat him senseless? Regal snaps, saying that he may be a dirty rotten scoundrel but he loves Eugene. Bischoff likes his toughness and puts Regal back on the active roster, next.

William Regal vs. Kane

This is Regal’s first match in over a year (due to having a bad heart condition where the sides of his heart weren’t beating in time with each other) and he’s in street clothes. Regal meets him on the floor before the bell and slugs away but gets kicked in the face. That’s enough to knock Regal out and there’s no match.

Post break Bischoff tells Kane that since HHH is getting the title shot at Vengeance (Wait, then what is the point of tonight’s main event?) and that might be against Kane, who is facing Benoit for the title next week. Kane is pleased, but says he’s not done tonight. Evil laughter ensues.

More Divas Search stuff, this time with some of them moving on and some being cut. Maria (still unnamed) talks about how nerve racking it is. She advances, seemingly after saying all of two words. I believe Carmella DeCesare is included as well.

Randy Orton/Batista vs. Chris Jericho/Edge

Stuff like this has worked for months and it’s nice to see it continuing. Edge and Batista get things going with Edge having to go with quickness for a change. That just earns him some knees to the ribs in the corner and it’s off to Orton. Edge dropkicks him down in a hurry and a suplex gets two. That’s enough for Orton so Batista comes back in and hammers away in the corner. A slow charge lets Edge drop toehold him face first into the middle buckle though and that’s enough for the hot tag to Jericho.

Chris gets smart by knocking Orton off the apron and going for Batista’s leg but it’s way too early for the Walls. Instead it’s a running bulldog to set up the Lionsault (with Batista being so far across the ring that I didn’t think Jericho could reach him) with Orton making the save. Everything breaks down and the Canadians clear the ring, with Edge baseball sliding Orton. That leaves Edge on the floor though and Batista blasts Jericho with the big clothesline.

That’s enough for Jericho and he has to be taken to the back, leaving Edge down two on one as we take a break. Back with Orton grabbing a chinlock (well duh) as the fans are trying to cheer Edge to his feet. It’s a bit of a delayed reaction but Edge eventually gets up and grabs a small package for two. Orton misses a dropkick to make things even worse but there’s no one for Edge to tag.

There is someone for Orton to tag though and it’s off to Batista, who walks right into the Edge-O-Matic. That means it’s already back to Orton for the slugout with Edge getting the better of it. A double spear in the corner hits Batista and Orton at the same time and Batista is sent outside. The RKO is broken up and the regular spear gets two with Batista making a save. A Batista Bomb and the RKO finally put Edge (bleeding from the eye) away.

Rating: B-. The handicap part was a bit odd, until you remember that Edge and Jericho (along with Rock and Regal) are people who could help Eugene later and all four of them have been taken out. Evolution vs. the World (mostly meaning Canada) has been a winning formula for weeks now and this was more good stuff, though the lack of Benoit hurt things a little bit.

More from the Diva Search. This time they’re in swimsuits and some of them are dancing. I think you get the idea here.

Earlier today, a Congressman joined a voting rally with some WWE people, focusing on voters 18-30.

Stacy Keibler runs up to Matt Hardy and wants all the details on his Lita being pregnant. You know, because she’s been so close to the two of them over the years. Matt has a ring though and a proposal is imminent, but Stacy is sworn to secrecy. They really need to work on this secret stuff.

Smackdown Rebound.

Eugene, with HHH gear and wrestling figures, arrives in a limo with HHH and Ric Flair. He’s very happy and HHH promises another surprise.

Here’s Matt, who has been ecstatic for the last week, for….some reason that certainly wasn’t revealed five minutes ago. This year Father’s Day was a big deal for him because Lita told him she was pregnant, so he’d like Lita to come out here right now. Matt wastes no time in dropping to a knee and popping and popping the question….and here’s Kane on the screen to interrupt. He wastes no time either by announcing that the baby is his. Matt freaks out so Kane tells him to ask Lita about the truth. Lita can’t deny it and Matt looks a little….insane might be the right word. He walks off, as you might expect.

Post break, Lita tells Matt that the baby might be his and she did this to protect him. So he’s a weakling and MIGHT be a father? Dude, even I feel sorry for Matt right now. Lita cries as he walks away.

For the FOURTH TIME TONIGHT, it’s more from the Diva Search, with the finalists being announced. Most of them aren’t actually named, but I totally feel the connection to all of them. I guess this is supposed to be a mini reality show, but they don’t exactly seem to know how to make these things work. Ok so the swimsuit part worked for obvious reasons.

Eugene is warming up and wonders where Regal is. Evolution tells him not to worry about it when Bischoff comes in. HHH gives him a big speech about not worrying about it because Eugene is with Evolution. Eugene leaves and they all crack up.

Eugene vs. HHH

So…..I thought HHH had to win to get the title shot at Vengeance but since that’s already confirmed, I’m not sure what the point is here. Ric Flair is here with HHH. Eugene is star struck and does HHH pose on the apron with him. They shake hands to start and HHH hits a pretty soft hiptoss. Eugene is right back with a slightly harder one and HHH isn’t pleased. He’ll shake Eugene’s hand again though before slapping on a headlock.

Eugene powers out and shoves him down, meaning it’s time for a bunch of Hogan poses. The test of strength goes to Eugene and he cranks on Flair’s hand for a bonus. With nothing else working, HHH goes amateur but Eugene reverses into a belly to back suplex. HHH is furious on the floor as we take a break. Back with HHH getting armdragged into an armbar but he complains about the pain and Eugene lets go. That might be a first and something more people should try in the future. Who knew Eugene was a pioneer?

That’s finally enough for HHH as he decks Eugene with a right hand and the slow beating continues. HHH chokes in the corner and cuts off a comeback with a spinebuster for two. Some rams into the corner wake Eugene up though and that means an airplane spin for HHH. A top rope ax handle gets two and the Pedigree is countered with a backdrop.

The Rock Bottom and People’s Elbow send HHH outside as Eugene spins around in a circle. Flair gets punched down as well but HHH is back in with the Pedigree. HHH covers, only to have Bischoff come out and say that HHH needs to beat Eugene even more or there’s no title shot. That means a chair so here’s Benoit to make the save as the match is thrown out.

Rating: D. I’m still trying to figure out why the match was still happening if HHH was getting the shot anyway. Odds are it’s Bischoff and HHH doing favors for each other, but it would be nice to actually mention that instead of changing the story in the middle of the show. Anyway, this was just a step above a comedy match with Eugene doing all of his goofy stuff and HHH selling for him for a bit before laying him out to draw in Benoit for the save. It was a bad mixture of two styles and it didn’t work.

Benoit has to fight off the rest of Evolution but hits Eugene square in the head with the chair by mistake. The distraction lets HHH get in the low blow and the Pedigree to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. Well that was certainly something. You had the awesome Rock segment, two long matches with one being pretty good and the other being a rather bad mess with HHH and Eugene not exactly meshing, a whopping four Diva Search segments and a bunch of people talking about how Eugene was going to get destroyed. That’s a really weird recipe for a show and while there are parts of it that worked, the big story of Eugene vs. HHH didn’t work and that’s what dominated the show. But hey, at least HHH gets another title shot!

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-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 14, 2004
Location: Nutter Center, Dayton, Ohio
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

We’re past Bad Blood and Chris Benoit is still Raw World Champion. At the same time though, Shawn Michaels vs. HHH had the most epic finish to the most incredible, long running rivalry involving Shawn Michaels and HHH this year. Like really, the best thing ever and nothing will ever approach them. Let’s get to it.

Kane comes in to see Eric Bischoff to start. Bischoff thought Kane’s performance against Chris Benoit was good but they’ve had to name a new #1 contender. Kane isn’t happy but agrees to be a professional. The office is swiftly destroyed.

Opening sequence.

Jim Ross is in the ring to open things up and promises EXCLUSIVE FOOTAGE from last night’s Cell match, because it just needs to keep going. As for now though, we need to bring out Shawn and HHH to officially end the rivalry. Leave it to these two to need a closing ceremony. They’re both rather banged up and looking rather serious and stare each other down. JR says last night’s match will be remembered for generations to come but now it needs to end. They need to shake hands and move on with their lives (preach it brother).

Both guys are tentative but here’s Bischoff to cut them off with an announcement about the new #1 contender. Kane cuts that off though and kicks Shawn in the face before turning to HHH. As usual, HHH bails in time, leaving Kane to kick Shawn again. That’s not enough though as he Pillmanizes Shawn’s throat, drawing blood from the mouth. That should get rid of Shawn for a long time, which might be best for everyone involved.

Post break and Shawn is still getting medical treatment with JR just a step above the Owen Hart voice. Shawn gets oxygen and is taken out on a stretcher to a waiting ambulance, as we’re nearly half an hour into the show.

Trish Stratus/Tyson Tomko vs. Lita/Matt Hardy

We get team facts this week, including that Matt and Lita are not morning people but do like margaritas. The women start things off with Trish taking over off a headlock takeover. Back up and the Matrish ducks a clothesline so Lita elbows her in the face for two. So what if a champion almost got pinned? We need to talk about Shawn and HHH NEARLY SHAKING HANDS!!!

The men come in with Tomko not being able to catch a diving Hardy. Tomko forearms him in the back of the head for two and it’s off to the chinlock. That goes as long as you would expect so Matt reverses a powerslam into a tornado DDT. Trish tags herself back in and gets clotheslined by Lita as the pace picks up. An enziguri drops Trish again as everything breaks down. Matt hits a good looking dive onto Tomko, leaving Lita to DDT Trish for the pin.

Rating: D. Another not great match and another instance of the champion losing the night after she wins the title. I’m not sure how smart that is, but given the state of the women’s division at the moment, it’s not like there are many people with any real value. Tomko continues to look fine as a power guy, but not being able to catch Matt didn’t do him any favors.

HHH comes in to see Bischoff and wishes Shawn good health. As for the important part though, HHH should be #1 contender after winning last night. Bischoff doesn’t think so just yet, because HHH needs to beat Eugene next week. Dang it they were doing so well. HHH seems pleased.

La Resistance vs. Hurricane/Rosey

Non-title flag match, on Flag Day. This time though it’s just a regular match with the winners having their flag raised and their national anthem played. Rosey and Grenier start things off with the big man sending him into the corner for a leg lariat from Hurricane. That means a striking of the pose but Grenier picks him up for a double hot shot.

Conway comes in for the short form chinlock and Hurricane fights up in short order. The Blockbuster connects and it’s back to Rosey for the house cleaning. Rosey blasts them both with clotheslines as everything breaks down. Hurricane gets posted so Hurricane grabs a suplex on Grenier but Conway trios the leg for the Bobby Heenan finish to give Grenier the pin.

Rating: D. Short and to the point here as the French guys get another win, which should be the case in a regular match. It would have been one thing if this had been the capture the flag version but you don’t want the champs losing so soon. You know, like Trish did in the previous match.

The Canadian anthem plays, though it sounds like the short form.

Video on the Diva Search, including the explanation of a fan vote. Egads please get it over with fast.

A nervous Lita goes into the bathroom with a pregnancy test.

It’s Highlight Reel time with special guest Eugene, accompanied by William Regal. Eugene uses the set like a maze and holds his microphone upside down. Jericho says he and Eugene are both sexy beasts and Eugene is a bit embarrassed. It turns out that Eugene is a Jericho fan and his favorite moment is when he relieved himself in Regal’s tea. Eugene: “I did the same thing last week.” Regal’s response is as annoyed/hilarious as you would expect.

On to more serious things, Eugene is excited about getting to face HHH. Jericho says enjoy it while you can because HHH doesn’t like anyone and only cares about himself. The only reason Bischoff made the match was so HHH could beat him up and end his career. This brings out Evolution and Randy Orton has a present. HHH insists that they’re all his friends and Jericho is a mean liar. HHH is the biggest friend he has because he’s bigger than the Rock and Chris Benoit.

That brings us to the present: a HHH hat, a HHH shirt (goes on over the jacket) and an autographed picture from HHH. Finally, there’s an Evolution shirt and HHH has Eugene sign it for him. We even get a cameraman to take a photo with Eugene and HHH (HHH: “On three you’re gonna say Pedigree.”). There’s no attack, as instead HHH talks about how Jericho and Regal have been lying to Eugene. If they do it again, come tell HHH and he’ll take care of it. HHH talks up their match and says he knows he’ll have a great time.

Eugene and Regal leave so Jericho glares at HHH. Jericho knows what’s up and is going to be the first in line when Eugene beats him next week. HHH denies everything and promises to win tonight’s elimination match. Then he’s getting the title back, because he deserves it and Jericho knows that.

There’s a lot here and most of it is good. First of all, Eugene plays this character to perfection. You actually buy that there’s something wrong with him and it’s turned into one of the best played characters WWE has had in a long time. Then there’s HHH, who was nailing the condescending jerk who has things exactly where he wants them and knows it. As a bonus, Regal was great with his sneering as he and Jericho know exactly what’s going on but don’t want to crush Eugene.

That being said, I’m not so sure about having Eugene dealing with Evolution. I know he’s one of the hottest things in the company right now, but part of the reason is he’s a fun character and not someone to be taken seriously. I could see something like a match with Flair, who is the one member of the team that can absorb loss after loss. The rest though, especially HHH, is a big step up for him and it’s running a very big risk.

Stacy Keibler asks to borrow Lita’s elbow pads and the very nervous Lita admits that she’s pregnant. Of course Stacy is happy and says she and Matt will be great parents. Lita doesn’t her to tell anyone because she’s going to tell Matt tonight. Remember how many great things there were in the previous segment? Reverse all of that here.

Stacy Keibler/Nidia vs. Molly Holly/Gail Kim

In a rather selfish move, JR and Lawler talk about Lita being pregnant. Dude did you not hear her talking to Stacy on live television in front of millions of people? She didn’t want anyone to know yet! Nidia armdrags Gail down to start and a dropkick sends her into the corner for the tag off to Molly. A surprisingly good counter gets Nidia out of a wristlock but Molly takes her down and cranks on the arm. Stacy comes in for her variety of leg based offense and a slap, all while looking as unnatural as possible.

The front facelock goes on and the referee doesn’t see the tag to Nidia. He does see the tag to Gail, as Lawler can’t believe anyone would miss anything in a match involving four women. Gail works on the leg with a really unique leglock where she puts on something like a Figure Four but bridges up the legs look like an arch. Nidia makes a quick save so it’s back to Molly for a double clothesline. With Nidia knocks down, Gail puts on a Brock Lock with a headscissors to make Stacy tap.

Rating: D. Gail’s submissions were rather nice and that’s definitely a better style for her than the basic stuff she’s been doing. Stacy….just no. She’s not good in the ring and looks completely lost out there aside from kicking people in the ribs. She manages to make Torrie Wilson look skilled. That’s a really low bar to set but she’s pulled it off.

Smackdown Rebound.

Long video on the Cell match. My goodness Wrestlemania didn’t get this much coverage.

Somewhere around here, a five minute preview of the Joe Schmo Show aired. While that was taking place, Tajiri defeated A-Train.

We recap everything Kane has done tonight, including wrecking Shawn’s throat.

Evolution vs. Chris Benoit/Edge/Chris Jericho

That would be Batista/Randy Orton/Ric Flair (with HHH at ringside) and this is under elimination rules. Orton and Jericho start things off with Randy being taken to the mat for an early bow and arrow. Flair comes in to work on a hammerlock and drive Jericho into the corner for some shots to the back. It’s off to Batista for a powerslam as the picking apart of Jericho continues. Lawler keeps babbling on about HHH being Eugene’s friend, to the point where JR shouts about tapping out and says maybe HHH is, just to shut Lawler up.

Jericho gets over for the tag off to Edge, meaning the required backdrop to Flair. A clothesline puts Flair on the floor and a double dropkick does the same to Batista as we take a break. Back with Benoit getting out of trouble with some chops to Flair. Edge comes in so Flair is waiting on him with a thumb to the eye to take over again. A clothesline has Flair screaming about his neck and Edge makes it worse with some right hands in the corner. Benoit and Batista come in for the exchange of chops until Batista plants him with the spinebuster.

It’s back to Orton for a forearm to the neck as JR talks about Orton bragging today. He was even bragging about it on a CELL PHONE. Now you know it’s serious. Flair puts on an armbar, followed by Batista getting two off a suplex as the alternating continues. The beating goes on for so long that the announcers start recapping the show and talking about the Wright Brothers. Benoit kicks Batista away and brings Jericho back in for a failed Walls attempt.

The big clothesline takes Jericho down as well as the Canadians just can’t get much going here. Jericho gets in the enziguri though and everything breaks down. Edge’s spear and the Swanton sets up the Lionsault gets rid of Batista. Flair comes in next and kicks Jericho in the ribs as the fans give Batista the Goodbye Song. It’s quickly off to Orton for a rather aggressive chinlock with Lawler being way too happy with the cranking.

Jericho fights up and brings Edge back in but he charges into a raised boot. He’s fine enough to superplex Orton but HHH breaks up the spear. Flair goes up but gets slammed right back down, allowing the latest hot tag to Jericho. That means the running forearm as everything breaks down again. Jericho gets the Walls on Flair but HHH offers a distraction, meaning it’s the RKO to give Flair the pin, tying things up. Back from a break with Orton chopping Benoit as JR thanks the network for letting them stay on the air late.

Flair comes in and loses a strike off to Benoit (well duh) and takes a few shots from Edge as well, giving us the Flair Flop. The classic poke to the eye lets Orton come back in for another chinlock. JR is even talking about the angles of the chinlock, making me think Orton might use a few too many chinlocks. Edge fights up and hits a spinwheel kick as JR is way too happy to talk about how late the show is going. Benoit comes in again to exchange chops with Flair, followed by the rolling German suplexes.

Without a tag, Orton comes in as well, earning himself a German suplex of his own. It’s another tag to Edge to clean house (it must be the cleanest house in the world after all this) and a spear hits Flair. Unfortunately a low blow and the RKO hit Edge, giving Orton the pin to make it 2-1.

Actually scratch that as a quick Crossface makes Flair tap and it’s Benoit vs. Orton. Benoit is spent so Orton comes in and unloads with forearms to the chest but Benoit turns it into a slugout instead. More rolling German suplexes are blocked by elbows to the head….and the referee gets bumped. Benoit goes for the Sharpshooter but has to German suplex HHH. Now the Sharpshooter is enough to make Orton tap for the win.

Rating: A-. Now this worked. So often you’ll get a match that is just long instead of good but in this case you had both. These guys beat each other up and it really did feel like it was about survival by the end. Evolution vs. Canada N Pals is one of the best things to happen to this show in a long time and this was another great example. Really strong main event here and Benoit winning in the end is a great call.

Overall Rating: B. This worked very well for the most part with the long main event taking up about a fourth of the show and the Highlight Reel taking up even more time. The rest of the show, mainly meaning the Lita drama and that kind of weird tag match (You already have Trish vs. Lita for the title. Did we need to spend the time on Gail and Molly?), wasn’t worth seeing but the good stuff here was really good.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Smackdown Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Bad Blood 2004
Date: June 13, 2004
Location: Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Attendance: 9,000
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

It’s time for another Raw show and wouldn’t you know it, the main event is Shawn Michaels vs. HHH. This time it’s inside the Cell, with the question being how can they managed to make this match boring too. Other than that we have World Champion Chris Benoit defending the title against Kane and Shelton Benjamin challenging Randy Orton for the Intercontinental Title. Let’s get to it.

The opening video talks about the Cell, with the far lower matches on the card getting some attention as well. You know, the title matches.

Tag Team Titles: La Resistance vs. Chris Benoit/Edge

La Resistance is defending and sing O Canada in French with Edge’s music cutting them off. That’s rather unfair to some people who are just trying to spread some culture. Benoit, working a double tonight, gets quite the reaction. Edge and Grenier start us off and fight over some basic holds. It’s off to Benoit for a shoulder and a clothesline to put Grenier in some trouble, including a tag back to Edge.

Conway comes in as well and gets booed out of the building. Who knew he actually had some heat with the crowd? Benoit hits a belly to back suplex but Edge gets taken into the champs’ corner and things slow back down. A back first drive into the apron gets two and Grenier puts on a chinlock with a knee in the spine. Grenier drops a legdrop to the to the back of the neck and puts on another chinlock, with the referee very loudly telling Edge SIX.

With the hold not working again, Conway grabs a suplex and hammers away at the head. The fans chant USA, which would likely be for Conway. Dang people make up your minds. Edge finally gets in a spinwheel kick but the champs knock Benoit off the apron. A double suplex is countered into a double neckbreaker though and Benoit is right back up to take the tag anyway. The house cleaning is on and Conway saves Grenier from the Sharpshooter. Edge stops himself before spearing Benoit and Grenier gets caught in the Crossface, but here’s Kane to kick Benoit in the face for the DQ.

Rating: C. This felt like a slightly bigger than average Raw match and the ending is the right call as it ties into the World Title match and gives them a way out of the title change without having Edge or Benoit take a fall. La Resistance can carry the division for a little while and Edge and Benoit have more important things to do. Not a bad job here of getting out of this and everyone getting where they need to go.

Post match it’s chokeslams all around.

Coach is ready to take care of Eugene and Eric Bischoff ensures him that William Regal won’t be at ringside. Of course Eugene is only a few feet away and this time he heard what was said. Eric explains that he’s just trying to protect him. What if Eugene tore his quad like HHH or broke his neck like Benoit? Eugene can leave right now and go home or he can wrestle. The decision involves a very enthusiastic hug.

Chris Jericho vs. Tyson Tomko

Trish Stratus is here with Tomko. Jericho has bad ribs after Tomko powerbombed him through the announcers’ table a few weeks back. Tomko will have nothing to do with Jericho being tentative to start so he hammers Jericho down in the corner. A clothesline keeps Jericho in trouble but he’s right back with a middle rope dropkick. Another dropkick puts Tomko on the floor and Jericho posts him for good measure.

Back in and the required Trish distraction lets Tomko get in a gorilla press gutbuster. At least you can’t fault the logic. The bearhug goes on for a bit until Tomko lets him go but misses a charge in the corner. Jericho rakes the eyes to get out of the gorilla press (cheater) and a chop block takes Tomko down. Trish’s second distraction breaks up the Walls (better than breaking them down) so Jericho settles for a running enziguri and the pin instead.

Rating: C-. They were really smart to keep this one short as Tomko isn’t ready to go into the deeper waters. Jericho walked him through the match just fine and while it wasn’t anything special, they had a perfectly watchable match. They had to do something to get away from Jericho vs. Christian and for a one off short match, this was fine.

We recap Shelton Benjamin vs. Randy Orton. Shelton has pinned him a few times in tag matches but Batista pinned Shelton on Raw to end his winning streak. I’m not sure what the point of that is but at least he got the wins that mattered.

Orton brags about holding the title for so long, including six months from tomorrow and the longest reign in seven years. The fans aren’t happy with this Orton takes the mic and has the cameraman follow him into the arena as he brags about his accomplishments at 24 years old. Orton says they’re looking at real greatness right now and he’s one in a million, unlike the millions of people here. He’s a living legend and the Intercontinental Champion. This brings out Shelton, who says we can have the match right now instead of later. Nice job of mixing things up a bit, which happens so infrequently around here.

Intercontinental Title: Randy Orton vs. Shelton Benjamin

Benjamin is challenging and grabs a rollup for two less than five seconds in. A dropkick puts Orton on the floor and the fans are rather happy to see him. Back in and Orton scores with some right hands but gets clotheslined right back down to the floor. Shelton sends him over the barricade and then takes it back inside for two more off a second rollup. The Stinger Splash (and a very high one at that) misses so here’s Ric Flair for some support.

The chinlock has Benjamin down so he powers up with an electric chair for the break. Orton’s over the shoulder backbreaker into a neckbreaker (always loved that one) gets two and it’s off to the chinlock. With that having served its purpose, Orton goes up but misses the high crossbody. They slug it out and get some rather solid applause until Benjamin takes over with some clotheslines. The top rope version gets two and the Dragon Whip knocks Randy silly for a very delayed cover.

Shelton hits the exploder but Flair is right there to put a foot on the ropes. What a good legendary henchman. Benjamin throws Flair inside, gives him a Stinger Splash and puts on the Figure Four. Orton comes over for the save but Shelton manages to small package him without letting go of the hold for two. That one gets me every time I see it. Shelton goes up for the high crossbody but Orton rolls through and grabs the trunks to retain.

Rating: B-. This got the time to make it work and the ending keeps Shelton looking strong while keeping the title on Orton. Shelton has come a long way in just a few months and you can tell he’s going to be around as we keep going. Orton never even hit the RKO and Shelton had him in trouble for a lot of the match. Good storytelling here and the action worked as well.

Matt Hardy and Lita are in the back where Lita is getting ready for her Women’s Title match. Security comes in and Bischoff ejects Matt from the building. Matt leaves under threats of Lita being removed from the title match.

We look up at the Cell and JR promises the match is still coming. No they didn’t cancel the main event.

Women’s Title: Gail Kim vs. Trish Stratus vs. Lita vs. Victoria

Victoria is defending and it’s one fall to a finish. Everyone stares Trish to the floor to start but she pulls Lita out with her. Cue Tomko to stare Lita down as Victoria hits the dancing moonsault for two on Gail. Tomko interferes again and gets ejected, leaving Lita to hit the reverse Twist of Fate on Trish. Victoria makes a save and all four are back in. A hurricanrana drops Trish’s head on the mat, leaving Gail to put Victoria in the Black Widow.

Trish comes back in for the save and gets the taste slapped out of her mouth by Gail. Lita takes Gail down and awkwardly collides with Victoria in the corner to put all four down. Gail is up but misses a charge into the post, allowing Lita to snap her down with the DDT. Not that it matters as Trish runs in for the rollup to pin Lita for the title.

Rating: D. They were working hard and only botched a few things, which is an upgrade over some of the stuff they do most of the time. Victoria was WAY past her expiration date as champion and Trish has been the biggest name in the division for a long time now. They could only do so much with four women involved plus Tomko in less than five minutes so I can’t really complain that much about everything being rushed.

Jonathan Coachman vs. Eugene

No Regal with Eugene here. Coach is in a Michigan shirt to mock the Ohio State crowd. They shake hands to start with Coach trying to squeeze him down but getting sent to his knees instead. Coach whips him in but Eugene drops to his back and ties himself into a ball, which Coach rolls around the ring. Eventually Eugene sticks a hand out and pulls Coach down into a cover for two.

Another whip sends Eugene to the ropes so Coach drops down, with Eugene dropping right next to him. That means it’s time to ride Coach like a horse as Lawler is getting annoyed. The crisscross starts with Eugene dropping to the floor and accepting a teddy bear from a good looking blonde. Eugene brings it back in with him but gets knocked down, only to take Coach into a bodyscissors and roll him around the ring. The Junkyard Dog offense lets Eugene have some more fun and Coach bails to the floor.

This brings out a good looking woman in a swimsuit carrying a tray of cookies. Eugene goes to get some (cookies that is) but gets knocked into the plate instead. Back in and Eugene Hulks Up for an atomic drop, followed by the airplane spin. Now it’s Garrison Cade coming out to rip the head off the bear. Cade grabs Eugene but gets knocked down by Coach instead. The Rock Bottom and People’s Elbow finish Coach.

Rating: D. Well that was a lot. This could have been a straight match or without the cookie lady but instead they stretched it out and went on a lot further than they needed to. Above all else though, they went back to the comedy stuff here, which was exactly what they should have done in the first place. Longer than it needed to be, but the ending was done right.

Post match Cade and Coach take Stunners as Regal comes in to celebrate. Eugene steals his nose, but is nice enough to give it back.

We recap Chris Benoit vs. Kane. Benoit finally won the big one, then won the big rematch. Now it’s time for a title defense against anyone other than Shawn Michaels or HHH, so Kane won a battle royal to earn the shot. Kane has been more obsessed with Lita and Matt Hardy though, only seeming to remember that he had a title match on this week’s Raw.

Raw World Title: Chris Benoit vs. Kane

Benoit is defending in his second match of the night. Some very loud chops stagger Kane to start and Benoit kicks him into the corner with more aggression than you would usually see from him. Benoit goes to the middle and says bring it so Kane shoves him into the corner. A hard shoulder puts Benoit on the floor but he’s right back in with the enziguri. Kane blocks the Sharpshooter (not the Crossface JR) and uppercuts the heck out of the champ.

A big clothesline to the side of the head puts Benoit down and Kane drops him throat first across the top rope. After a neckbreaker, it’s off to a neck crank as Kane certainly has a logical path here. The comeback is cut off by an uppercut and a forearm to the neck prevents a Sharpshooter attempt. Kane sends him outside before bringing him back in for a rather hard clothesline. With Lawler asking if Kane can get a telethon tomorrow should he win the title, Benoit gets smart by going after the leg. That allows JR to get in the still wrong statement of “Kane won’t be 7ft if he’s on his back.”

The Sharpshooter is countered again but Benoit kicks his way out of a chokeslam attempt. Kane misses the big boot in the corner though and a running dropkick to the leg finally lets Benoit get the Sharpshooter. The dramatic crawl gets Kane to the rope so Benoit rolls the German suplexes instead. Kane sits up before the Swan Dive can launch so it’s back to the suplexes.

Now the Swan Dive can connect but Kane is up at the same time as Benoit. The Crossface is broken up as well and the chokeslam connects for two. Kane boots him down and heads up, only to dive into the Crossface (because Kane didn’t learn from Benoit, who was smart enough to come down when his opponent was starting to stir). The hold is broken through raw power so Benoit switches to the other arm and then goes with a rollup for the pin to retain in a smart move. Ignore the shoulder pretty clearly being off the mat.

Rating: B+. It takes something special to make Kane look energetic but Benoit pulled it off here. I love the ending of Benoit going for one thing throughout the match and then switching up when he knew the submissions weren’t going to work. That’s a very smart ending and it makes Benoit look more versatile at the same time. Really good match here with Kane looking like a monster who had more than one chance and Benoit working him way around him.

Post match Benoit says tonight, Kane learned that he’s for real. He actually looks at some of the highlights and acknowledges Kane’s power but says it took someone real to take him down.

The Cell is lowered. JR, get your ridiculous metaphors in now.

We recap Shawn Michaels vs. HHH, which exists because for some reason we just can’t escape it. Shawn tried to beat him last year, then went to a draw with him at the Royal Rumble, then didn’t win at Wrestlemania, then lost at Backlash. Now you might think that all these losses and draws (read as NOT WINS) would be enough to get Shawn out of the main event but that would be crazy talk. This is the big blowoff between the two of them, because the world was begging for it.

Shawn Michaels vs. HHH

Inside the Cell and HHH has the white boots again. They stare at each other for the better part of a minute to start, meaning HHH is in epic mode tonight. Thankfully they start fighting with the slugout in the corner until HHH elbows him hard in the jaw. Shawn is right back up with more right hands but HHH sends him outside. A ram into the Cell lets Shawn take over and they head back inside as the announcers talk about how both guys want this to be final. Oh I think there are more than just the two of them.

Shawn busts out the Ted DiBiase fist drop (cool) but charges into a boot and gets thrown outside. That just earns HHH a whip into the Cell and he’s busted open. Back in again and Shawn stays on the cut but his back seems to be giving him problems. HHH is smart enough to send Shawn hard into the corner, with JR saying that HHH is one of the strongest men in the history of WWE. Did Stephanie feed him that line? Some elbows to the back set up a suplex and backbreaker for two as frustration is setting in.

It’s chair time but Shawn kicks it away and sends HHH outside. Following him isn’t the best idea in the world though as HHH rams him into the Cell and the post over and over. Back in and a side slam onto the folded chair gives HHH two so he covers several more times to no avail. A chair to the back gets the same result but Shawn is up with a hiptoss to the floor. HHH comes back in to a low blow as this is still lacking the necessary intensity.

They’re beating each other up, but it doesn’t feel nearly violent enough. An atomic drop sends HHH back to the floor and Shawn whips him into the steps, which JR says must be the cousin of the Cell. Shawn tries a piledriver on the steps (nice little callback to the first Cell match) but gets backdropped onto the floor. HHH grabs a fresh chair (because….I have no idea really) and blasts the back again. The steps come in now but Shawn hits the flying forearm and nips up.

HHH hits him with the steps anyway and that draws more blood. Well that makes it feel a little more violent. That’s not enough of a reason to lay around some more so HHH hits him a second time. Of course Michaels kicks out and more blood flows, which is made even worse as HHH takes it outside again. Shawn’s face gets raked against the Cell and the spinebuster plants him back inside. Just because we need one, HHH grabs the sleeper but gets sent into the corner.

HHH tell Shawn to counter the Pedigree into the DDT, tries the Pedigree, and gets reversed into a DDT. It’s Shawn up after the next required nap with a chair to the head to bust HHH open even worse. We haven’t had enough stuff in here yet, so let’s bring in a ladder to hit HHH in the face as well. A whip into the ladder in the corner puts HHH on the floor, this time with Shawn raking his face into the Cell. Back in and HHH gets whipped into the ladder again for two but the top rope elbow misses.

They slug it out from their knees as JR points out that this is the longest Cell match in history. Naturally they collapse, because they need a nap after being in the match so long. Back up (again) and HHH sends him shoulder first into the post, allowing him to grab a table. Shawn comes back with some slow motion punches and puts HHH on the table. The elbow off the ladder through the table gets an eventual two and they’re both down again. Sweet Chin Music is blocked by a low blow and there’s the Pedigree.

That gets two and they pull each other up in what I’m sure is some kind of symbolism, but GET ON WITH THIS ALREADY! Now Sweet Chin Music connects for another delayed two and HHH is back up with another Pedigree. No cover due to the required nap, so it’s a third Pedigree to FINALLY give HHH the pin.

Rating: C+. What’s amazing is it’s not a bad match at all. The violence is pretty good, they had a nice story with Shawn’s back (at least for the first half), and it felt like the big ending to the rivalry. The problem is you could actually cut off half of the match and still do the same thing. There is WAY too much laying around and filling in time, plus so much stuff that was just added to make the match feel big (the ladder and the table are good places to start). The length is the problem here and it’s the best example I can think of for a match that is long for the sake of being long. Now never let them fight again.

Post match they’re both dead so Evolution comes to help HHH out. JR talks this up like the greatest, most brutal match of all time, even though it’s not even the most brutal Cell match in Shawn’s career. JR: “The longest running, most storied rivalry in WWE history has ended.” You know, this feud that isn’t even two years old and, if you count Elimination Chambers and triple threats, less than ten major matches against each other. Anyway Shawn gets the big heroic stand up moment to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. This was another good example of how these brands aren’t really able to do stand alone shows. There was a match that took up about an hour (counting entrances, video and post match) and the World Champion had to wrestle twice. The show was long enough at around two hours and fifty minutes but look at how much time they had to fill to get there.

The show itself isn’t that bad though. The title matches (save for the women) are almost all good and the Cell is fine enough, assuming you watch it at double speed or need something to put you to sleep. That Cell match drains the energy out of the show though as it’s over a third of the entire run time. There are far worse shows (last year’s Bad Blood was a disaster) but you’re better off stopping it after about an hour and forty five minutes. Now, just keep HHH and Shawn apart for good.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Smackdown Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Survivor Series 2004
Date: November 14, 2004
Location: Gund Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Attendance: 7,500
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, Tazz

We open with a video about the seventeen years this show has run already.

Cruiserweight Title: Spike Dudley vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Chavo Guerrero vs. Billy Kidman

Intercontinental Title: Shelton Benjamin vs. Christian

Team Angle vs. Team Guerrero

Kurt Angle, Carlito Caribbean Cool, Luther Reigns, Mark Jindrak

Eddie Guerrero, John Cena, Rob Van Dam, Big Show

Maven (the first Tough Enough winner and on Team Orton tonight in the biggest match of his career) offers to demonstrate his skills to Coach but Snitsky jumps Maven and busts him open. This would be how they would keep Maven out of a PPV main event for most of the match when they realized that he was in WAY over his head.

Heidenreich vs. Undertaker

Heidenreich comes out in a straightjacket because he might attack more plants, as had been his custom in recent weeks. Undertaker does the big long entrance to get the crowd back into things. He stares at Heidenreich for a few moments before the beating begins. A charge in the corner runs into a Heidenreich elbow but the Dead Man will have none of this being on defense stuff. Undertaker works on the arm but a Heyman distraction lets Heidenreich crotch Undertaker to break up Old School. He crotches Undertaker against the post again and we head to the floor.

The chokeslam is broken up and Heidenreich gets two off a Boss Man Slam. Then like an idiot, Heidenreich punches away in the corner while Undertaker arms are down. The obvious Last Ride only gets two though as Heidenreich grabs the rope. Heidenreich tries a sleeper but Undertaker is like boy please and suplexes out of it almost immediately. The chokeslam and Tombstone finish this quick.

Bischoff says Maven is out of the main event and if he allows Orton to add a replacement, HHH will complain and Eric will lose his vacation, which is the point of the main event.

Smackdown World Title: John Bradshaw Layfield vs. Booker T

Batista and HHH are ready for the main event.

Team HHH vs. Team Orton

HHH, Edge, Batista, Gene Snitsky

Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit, Maven

Ratings Comparison

Spike Dudley vs. Billy Kidman vs. Chavo Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio

Original: C+

Redo: B-

Shelton Benjamin vs. Christian

Original: B

Redo: B

Team Guerrero vs. Team Angle

Original: D

Redo: C+

Undertaker vs. Heidenreich

Original: D

Redo: D

Trish Stratus vs. Lita

Original: N/A

Redo: N/A

John Bradshaw Layfield vs. Booker T

Original: F

Redo: D

Team Orton vs. Team HHH

Original: B-

Redo: B

Overall Rating

Original: C-

Redo: B-

In a rare instance, I liked this a lot better the second time around.

Here’s the original review if you’re interested:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/11/13/history-of-survivor-series-count-up-2004-eyebrows-huffman-main-events/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Smackdown Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Survivor Series 2003
Date: November 16, 2003
Location: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
Attendance: 13,487
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, Tazz

This is another big one and it’s also a one sided show. The Smackdown offerings are about as uninteresting as they could be while the Raw side looks at at least marginally better. This isn’t a great show on paper and I have a bad feeling that it’s going to be even worse as it actually takes place. Let’s get to it.

Here’s the go home episode of Smackdown if you need a recap.

The opening video talks about surviving things such as the game, evolution, and the battles in between. That’s all this needed to be, especially with Austin vs. Bischoff being the real main event.

Team Angle vs. Team Lesnar

Kurt Angle, Hardcore Holly, Chris Benoit, John Cena, Bradshaw

Brock Lesnar, Big Show, A-Train, Nathan Jones, Matt Morgan

Cena is out first and raps about burying everyone, meaning Lesnar and Show need a bigger graves. He’s still new at this team thing because he wonders if he can trade his partners in for a one night stand with Sable. Holly wastes no time and attacks Lesnar before the bell, sending him into the steps and trying a full nelson to break his neck. He also shoves a referee, and gets disqualified before the match even starts.

The bell rings and a Clothesline from Bradshaw ends A-Train in less than thirty seconds to tie it up. The chokeslam gets rid of Bradshaw as we’re not even a minute in yet. Good idea actually, as it’s not like Bradshaw and Holly were anything more than warm bodies anyway. Cena comes in but can’t FU Big Show and gets thrown into the corner as the four remaining members start working him over. A Throwback to Lesnar gets two but more importantly it allows the hot tag off to Benoit.

The chokeslam is countered into a Crossface (always looks cool) with Lesnar making a save. It’s off to an abdominal stretch as things slow down again. The standing legdrop gets two on Benoit and it’s time for some double teaming on the floor. Angle and Cena have finally had enough and go over to make a save but Benoit is beaten down even more. Morgan comes in for some lumbering offense but a suplex allows the hot tag to Angle. That means a series of suplexes as everything breaks down. The Angle Slam eliminates Morgan to tie us up at three.

Show clotheslines Jones by mistake though and an ankle lock gets rid of Nathan less than thirty seconds later. An F5 gets rid of Angle with the first count coming as Jones’ elimination is still being announced. We’re down to Benoit/Cena vs. Lesnar/Show and Brock goes shoulder first into the post.

A Crossface has Lesnar in trouble but he reverses into a cradle for two. Benoit won’t be denied though and slaps it on again, this time with Lesnar’s feet reaching the ropes. The third attempt makes Lesnar tap and we’re down to two on one. Benoit drops Show with a top rope shoulder for two so Cena adds a chain shot and the FU for the pin.

Rating: C-. This was too fast for the most part but the real problem comes from the fact that so many people were involved in the first place. This really could have been a six man elimination tag (A-Train as the third villain) and it would have been better, but that’s not how these things traditionally work. Cena and Benoit winning in the end is the right way to go as Cena’s rocket push is being assembled, but at the same time there’s a lot of work left to do. Benoit vs. Cena, which could still happen, would be a benefit for both guys and that’s a good sign for the future. Unfortunately it wasn’t the best present, but at least it wasn’t long.

Vince McMahon comes in to see Shane and talks about how tonight, father and son are facing two brothers. He thinks it’s almost spiritual and asks Shane how he feels about that. Shane only feels sorry for Vince. The boss leaves and runs into Austin, who starts laughing. Then he stops and gets serious before walking away. These two have great chemistry even if it doesn’t make the most sense.

JR explains the exchange.

Women’s Title: Lita vs. Molly Holly

Lita is challenging after winning a #1 contenders match a few weeks back. Feeling out process to start as JR explains that these two have some contrasting styles. Lita gets knocked to the floor so Molly starts in on the back with some ax handles. We hit a dragon sleeper with Jerry liking her intensity. The handspring elbow in the corner keeps Lita in trouble and Molly stomps away.

A running corner clothesline rocks Molly and Lita rains down some right hands for her first real offense. Molly cuts her off with a side slam but Lawler would rather talk about Lita’s thong. A powerbomb out of the corner gives Lita a breather but the moonsault misses. The Molly Go Round gets two so Molly rips off a turnbuckle pad and sends Lita face first to retain.

Rating: D+. This was mainly Molly doing everything while Lita did a thing or two here and there. That’s not the most thrilling style in the world but Molly can be made into a good champion for a big name to take the title from later. Let her be built up for awhile instead of giving Lita the title immediately. It’s ok to wait now and then.

We recap Kane vs. Shane McMahon. Kane went nuts after losing his mask and after struggling to defeat Rob Van Dam, started tormenting Linda McMahon. Shane became the big star out of this because of course he did, including beating himself in a Last Man Standing match. Various attempted murders later set up this ambulance match, which is possibly the second most pushed match on the show.

Shane McMahon vs. Kane

Ambulance match with Shane charging straight at him for a crossbody to the floor. Shane knocks him onto the announcers’ table and hits him in the head with a monitor, setting up the big elbow to drive Kane through. That’s enough at ringside though so they head to the back, including the camera cutting out. That means we hit the pretape and come back with Shane pounding him down with a kendo stick.

Shane puts him in a security shack and jumps into an SUV to run Kane over again. Finding a well placed walkie-talkie, Shane tells someone to SEND IT, which means it’s time for an ambulance backstage. But is that the designated ambulance? That makes a difference you know. Instead of backing the ambulance up to the shack where Kane is down, Shane grabs a stretcher and wheels it twenty feet over, allowing Kane to grab him by the throat and slam Shane into a wall.

The camera goes out again and we pick it up with Kane knocking him back into the arena. Shane gets knocked into the front of the ambulance but manages to hit Kane in the face with the back door. What a sick sounding thud too. Kane is back up and sends Shane into the ambulance but another ram with the door gets Shane out of trouble. A tornado DDT on the floor plants Kane as they’re now near the grave for the Buried Alive match.

Shane puts a trashcan (good thing one was nearby) and a crashpad (same as before) and hits the Coast to Coast off the top of the ambulance to smash Kane’s face. That’s still not enough to wrap things up as Kane pulls Shane into the ambulance with him for more brawling. It’s Kane throwing Shane out though and then ramming him back first into the side. He javelins Shane’s head into the other side (you have to match you see) and a Tombstone on the floor is enough for the win.

Rating: D. This wasn’t as long as I was expecting but again, this doesn’t really do what they were likely shooting for with Kane. It makes two straight matches where Kane has had trouble beating up Shane McMahon. He can destroy Rob Van Dam but Shane gives him trouble? It didn’t work last time and it doesn’t work here. Now that he’s lost all of his heat though, you can pencil him in for a World Title match.

Brock Lesnar says he didn’t lose that match because his team lost it instead. Goldberg comes in for a staredown but Lesnar won’t wish him luck tonight. And so it begins.

Here’s the Coach, in a neck brace, for a chat. He assures his fans that he’s fine after the 3D from the Dudleys on Monday and he’ll be good to go soon. That seems to be it but hang on a second as Coach sees Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban in the front row. Cuban is ready to see Austin’s team win and insults referees of all kinds (he’s known for heavy criticisms of NBA referees). This brings out Eric Bischoff to invite Cuban into the ring, where a fight breaks out. Bischoff gets shoved down but here’s Randy Orton for an RKO to complete this waste of time.

Evolution is having a party with HHH in the middle of a good looking bunch of women. Ric Flair comes in to say they can have the champ later, which annoys HHH. Orton comes in, hits on the women, and brags about what he just did. Uh, congratulations?

Smackdown Tag Team Titles: Los Guerreros vs. Basham Brothers

The Brothers are defending after Eddie won a handicap match to earn the shot. Eddie and Chavo waste no time in slugging away until Shaniqua offers a distraction to slow things down. That doesn’t seem to matter much to the cousins as Eddie works over Danny to start things off. A dropkick gives Chavo two and there’s a headscissors/armdrag combination from Eddie to put both champs down.

Some double teaming (described by Cole as “classic Bashams”) takes over though and Shaniqua gets in a slam on Eddie for good measure. Back in and Eddie gets stomped in the corner, followed by a double vertical suplex for two. Eddie gets free with a headscissors and hands it back to Chavo, who is double flapjacked in short order. Chavo fights up but Twin Magic takes him down again. Everything breaks down and Chavo slams Shaniqua, followed by a quick spanking. That’s NOT cool with the champs so Doug grabs a rollup with Chavo’s tights to retain.

Rating: D+. Another TV level match here with Los Guerreros coming up short again as we get closer to their inevitable split. The Bashams aren’t a great team (though they have apparently have a classic period) but they’re serviceable for something like this. Get rid of the dominatrix stuff though as it’s not working, isn’t funny and makes Shaniqua look like the important part of the team, which misses the point entirely.

Replays show Chavo kicking Eddie down by mistake, meaning this is far from over.

JR doesn’t think Austin can handle this trusting people stuff and has never seen Austin this angry.

We recap Team Austin vs. Team Bischoff. They’re running the show together but Austin isn’t allowed to attack people at will anymore. On top of that, a lot of people are accusing him of ruining the show through his various antics. That doesn’t sit well with Austin, so it’s time for a winner take all match with the winner getting to run Raw on their own. The idea is Austin has to trust people, which goes against everything he believes in.

Team Austin vs. Team Bischoff

Austin: Shawn Michaels, Dudley Boyz, Booker T., Rob Van Dam

Bischoff: Scott Steiner, Mark Henry, Christian, Chris Jericho, Randy Orton

Coach, Stacy Keibler and the two team captains are at ringside. The fans want tables to start but have to settle with D-Von and Christian instead. D-Von shoulders him down to start but gets slapped in the face, triggering a bunch of right hands to the head. That’s not a nice response. Van Dam comes in for some forearms to the face and a kick to the jaw gets the same. It’s off to Jericho for some more luck, followed by Steiner whipping Van Dam hard into the corner to set up some posing.

Van Dam’s comeback is cut off by a belly to belly superplex but he’s able to get over to Booker for the hot tag. Things speed way up in a hurry and the scissors kick into the Spinarooni makes Bischoff face palm. Everything breaks down in a hurry and Steiner hits Booker low. The Recliner goes on but Stacy offers a distraction, setting up a reverse 3D. A Bookend is enough to get rid of Steiner and make it 5-4.

The World’s Strongest Slam gets rid of Booker a few seconds later to tie it right back up. Bubba comes in to try his luck and is sent hard into the corner. D-Von’s help doesn’t make things much better as the Dudleys are rammed together. Mark misses a charge though and it’s a 3D into the Five Star for the elimination. It’s off to Orton for a hard clothesline on Van Dam but Rob scores with a kick. Another Five Star is loaded up but Jericho makes a save, setting up the RKO to tie things up at three each. Jericho comes in and missile dropkicks D-Von down as JR and King wonder how things will go tomorrow night.

D-Von shoulders Jericho down for no count as Christian has the referee, setting up the sleeper drop for another elimination. This match is already better paced than the opener and here’s Shawn to pick things up all over again. Shawn pounds on Jericho in the corner and catches an invading Christian without much effort. Orton gets in a dropkick but stays down anyway as I guess he didn’t hit all of it. A double tag brings in Christian and Bubba with a backdrop getting two on the Canadian.

Jericho runs Christian over by mistake but a low blow sets up the Unprettier to get rid of Bubba. We’re down to Shawn vs. Christian/Jericho/Orton and Austin is starting to see how much trouble he’s in. Shawn punches away at Christian to start but some good old fashioned double teaming has Shawn in trouble again. Like there’s any other way this should go. Shawn is taken outside and catapulted into the post (you can see him blade on the wide shot) to bust open a GUSHER.

That and a suplex are only good for two back inside and Christian even steals his pose. Jerry: “That was a creepy little pose right there.” The Unprettier is broken up and a quick Sweet Chin Music gets rid of Christian. A frustrated Jericho comes in and gets two off a clothesline before handing it back to Orton. Shawn gets in a belly to back suplex but Jericho comes back in to take over again. As usual, JR is perfect at calling this kind of a story and Shawn getting two off a DDT has Jerry trying as hard as he can to believe in Shawn.

The Lionsault hits knees and Shawn pulls himself up but gets pulled into a Walls attempt. That’s reversed into a quick small package to get rid of Jericho and make it one on one (Lawler: “I BELIEVE I BELIEVE!”). Jericho isn’t gone yet though and caves Shawn’s head in with a chair shot. Why that isn’t a DQ on Orton isn’t clear but Shawn is done as Orton comes back in.

That’s only good for two and you can see the sigh of relief from Austin. Orton’s high crossbody hits the referee and here’s Bischoff to break up Sweet Chin Music. That’s too much for Austin so it’s a Stunner to Orton but he makes the mistake of beating on Bischoff a bit too much. They go up the aisle and here’s Batista to powerbomb Shawn, giving Orton the final pin.

Rating: B+. I love this match and always have. It doesn’t really pick up until Shawn is on his own but that’s what he’s done best throughout his entire career. He knows how to play the underdog better than anyone I’ve ever seen and you really can get behind the Lawler mindset of trying to believe here. As usual, Shawn is great in this role and it’s never too far to believe that he could pull this off (quick superkick, small package for two eliminations). Great stuff, but you might want to skip the first few minutes.

Austin is stunned at the loss because he placed his career in someone else’s hands and was let down. The bloody Shawn can barely stand and Austin congratulates him for giving it everything he had. Austin grabs the mic and talks about starting here in Dallas and going out here as well. Coach comes out to laugh and gets beaten up one more time with security getting the same treatment. Beer is consumed as a final goodbye. You know, assuming you believe that he’s gone for good this time.

We recap Undertaker vs. Vince McMahon. Undertaker wants the title one more time but Vince screwed him over at No Mercy. Therefore Undertaker wanted a Buried Alive match here, because that’s where you go from here. Vince then went into this weird spiritual thing, which really didn’t work or accomplish much.

Tazz’s key for Vince’s victory: AVOID THE HOLE! Good advice.

Vince McMahon vs. Undertaker

Buried Alive and Vince drops to a knee in prayer before the match. Undertaker punches him down to start and the beating is on in a hurry. Vince is already bleeding less than thirty seconds in as this is going to be one sided for a long time. The beating continues until Undertaker crotches him on the post to switch things up a bit. More low blows keep Vince in trouble and it’s time to go to the floor with Undertaker choking with a cord. Completely one sided so far, as you probably guessed.

Cole and Tazz try to explain the idea of Vince being punished for his sins, which I’m guessing are mainly about Stephanie. I mean, almost everything else is. Vince is thrown over the announcers’ table and it’s time to go to the grave. Well just Undertaker at this point and he comes back with a shovel. One heck of a shot to the head rocks Vince again and Cole declares it over. So much for Undertaker’s hot streak.

Vince’s ankle gets crushed by the steps and NOW it’s time to head to the grave. Vince finally throws some dirt in the eyes (his first “offense”) and a low blow keeps Undertaker in trouble. A shovel to the head puts Undertaker in the grave….for a few seconds. He pulls Vince in and goes to the front loader to drop the dirt but gets cut off by lightning. Cue Kane to beat up Undertaker and bury him (again) to give Vince the win.

Rating: D-. So yeah LOLVINCEWINS because of course he does. There was nothing to see here unless you like Undertaker destroying people and then having a surprise ending. The announcers treated this like Undertaker’s last match, because if there’s one thing Undertaker is known for, it’s going away for good. It’s more of a match than an angle, and there’s no way that’s how Undertaker is going out. Bad match but moderately entertaining beatdown.

Cole and Tazz are SHOCKED.

We recap the Raw World Title match. Goldberg won the title last month so HHH put a $100,000 bounty on his head. Batista returned and collected by breaking Goldberg’s ankle so tonight it’s about revenge and the title. There’s not much of a reason for this to main event but would you expect much else? Well save for Vince maybe?

Raw World Title: HHH vs. Goldberg

Goldberg is defending and is coming in with a bad ankle. HHH is looking as out of shape as I’ve seen him in years, probably due to his bad groin injury. Hang on a second though as Goldberg has to quickly dispatch Flair to make it a little more fair. They head outside in short order with Goldberg hammering away but the ankle gives out on a gorilla press attempt.

A chop block takes Goldberg down and we hit the meat of the match. Flair is back up as HHH sends Goldberg outside, meaning a distraction sets up a chair to Goldberg’s ankle. There’s another chop block back inside and the slow leg work continues with Flair getting in a few shots of his own. A knee drop keeps the ankle in trouble and we hit a half crab. At least he knows his low level submissions.

Goldberg grabs the rope and fires off some right hands to little avail. A limping clothesline works a bit better as Flair is beside himself. HHH takes him down again and calls for a Figure Four, only to be kicked into the referee. That means brass knuckles for a very near fall and HHH beats up the referee again. The sledgehammer is brought down but Goldberg kicks him down with the bad ankle.

Flair’s latest attempt at interfering gets him slammed off the top (JR: “It hasn’t worked in thirty years.”) and Goldberg grabs the hammer. A shot to the ribs drops Flair and an invading Batista and Orton are quickly dispatched as well. The Pedigree is blocked and Goldberg picks up the hammer again but throws it down. Instead it’s a spear and Jackhammer to retain the title like a real man.

Rating: D+. Well if you’re a fan of HHH working the ankle, have fun. Goldberg looks strong, but there have been so many other big matches tonight that this isn’t the strongest way to end things. I’ll give them points for giving Goldberg a push, but you’re crazy if you think HHH isn’t getting the title back within the next month. Just a messy brawl, but it could have been much worse. At least HHH didn’t need fifteen minutes of working the leg.

Overall Rating: C-. There’s some good and bad stuff on this show but the bad wins out in the end. Between the weak main event, not great opener and pretty terrible Vince vs. Undertaker match, there’s not enough to put with Shawn’s amazing performance. This was better than I was expecting though and that’s a nice relief. Both shows need something fresh on top and it actually seems to be happening on Smackdown. I’ll take one out of two, especially at this point in time.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Smackdown Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-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 31, 2004
Location: Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

We’re up north this time with a show that is likely to contain at least one Montreal Screwjob reference. Bad Blood is in less than two weeks and Chris Benoit is going to be defending against Kane. At the same time though, Kane has something going on with Lita, which we might get some more details on this week. It evens out though as Benoit will be defending the Tag Team Titles with Edge against La Resistance tonight. Let’s get to it.

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

Memorial Day video with Vince narrating in the proudest voice I’ve heard from him in years.

We recap HHH vs. Shawn Michaels being set up for the Cell, again as the World Title is left in the midcard scene.

Opening sequence.

Tag Team Titles: La Resistance vs. Chris Benoit/Edge

Benoit and Edge are defending. Lilian: “The first match on this special edition of Monday Night Raw is for the World Tag Team Titles!” That’s rather specific. The champs get a nice reaction but La Resistance gets a strong pop. Conway and Edge get things going with Edge grabbing the arm to take over and hand it off to Benoit. The champs keep taking turns chopping away in the corner until Conway gets a boot up to stop a charge.

Grenier comes in to a very nice reaction and it’s off to Edge’s arm for a bit. Even an armdrag gets a reaction as the announcers talk about Quebec being very different than anywhere else. An armbar goes on as Lawler becomes an advocate for the metric system. Edge clotheslines Grenier and makes the hot tag to Benoit, who puts the Sharpshooter on both Grenier and Conway. A save attempt earns Conway some rolling German suplexes but Benoit misses the Swan Dive.

This time it’s Edge making a save and the Crossface has Conway in trouble. Grenier makes a diving save to a big reaction (that’s still weird to see) and we take a break. Back with Grenier holding Benoit in a chinlock stomping away for bad measure. Benoit’s attempted enziguri hits Grenier’s shoulder and it’s Edge coming in to a pretty weak pop. His flying forearm and sitout gordbuster get slightly better reactions and everything breaks down. Edge spears Benoit by mistake and Au Revoir gives us new champions to an eruption.

Rating: C. There’s nothing wrong with this as Benoit and Edge were beating everyone in sight for the last few weeks and La Resistance beat them clean to a big reaction. It’s the right choice to go with it here as the fans wouldn’t have cared otherwise but it makes perfect sense to go with the title change in front of their home crowd. The match wasn’t half bad but the important part thing here is getting Benoit out of the tag scene when he has more important things to do.

The celebration heads into the crowd and is actually quite the moment.

Randy Orton doesn’t think Shelton Benjamin is in his league and couldn’t beat Orton on his best day. We see a clip of Benjamin pinning Orton last week in a tag match so Orton shouts about that being a fluke. Orton is getting awesome in this role.

William Regal is in Eric Bischoff’s office and praises him for the matches made tonight. Eugene comes in and Bischoff recaps his story so far. Bischoff is so impressed that Eugene can have another match tonight against a friend. Coach comes in but that’s not who Bischoff means. Actually Coach is going to have to apologize in public in the middle of the ring. Regal: “That’s one for the books isn’t it Eugene?” Eugene: “WWE Unscripted is a book.”

Here’s Coach in the ring for the apology but first he invites Eugene to join him. Eugene stumbles to the ring and Coach says he knows they don’t like each other. Coach insults him again before offering the handshake. That goes nowhere so Coach talks about all the friends Eugene has, like the Rock and Chris Benoit (Eugene imitates the headbutt). Even all the people here are his friends.

Post break Coach is still laughing in Bischoff’s office when Regal storms in with threats of violence. Bischoff threatens him right back with his firing and makes Eugene vs. Kane for tonight.

Victoria vs. Jazz

Non-title and Victoria is still dancing a lot. I have no issue watching Victoria dance, but it’s not exactly the kind of character you have as a long term champion. Jazz takes her down with ease and cranks on the neck. Back up and Victoria tries to drop down in front of her but gets elbowed in the back of the head for her efforts.

Some kicks in the corner are shrugged off so Victoria can hit the spinning middle rope crossbody for two of her own. Jazz is right back with an STF so Victoria has to slowly crawl to the ropes. A powerslam looks to set up the dancing moonsault but Jazz grabs a rollup with tights for two. Jazz tries a suplex but gets reversed into a suplex to give Victoria the pin.

Rating: D-. This was completely lifeless with nothing redeeming. The women’s division has died again as you have the one woman with the title and everyone else rotating in and out of title shots. There’s no story anywhere to be seen and it leaves everything and everyone feeling like a bunch of not very good filler.

Randy Orton vs. Shelton Benjamin

Non-title again and Orton has Batista in his corner. Benjamin takes him down with ease but Orton pounds away with forearms to the back. Back up and the pace quickens with Orton hitting a dropkick to stop a running Benjamin. A cheap shot from Batista lets Orton send him outside and that means the classic Orton pose, including Orton taking off the turnbuckle pad.

Before that can be used though, it’s a collision of the heads for a double knockdown with Orton being busted open just a bit. As the referee looks at Orton, Batista sends him head first into the exposed buckle. That’s only good for two and we take a break. Back with Orton holding a chinlock with an arm trap for a bonus. Shelton fights up but gets low bridged out to the floor as he just can’t get around the numbers game. This time Batista gets caught though and that’s an ejection.

Orton brings Shelton back in for a whip into the exposed buckle as Lawler is losing it over Orton bleeding. The chinlock goes on until the comeback starts with right hands and a backdrop. A powerslam gives Benjamin two with JR being perfect at making the big spots and near falls seem epic. Shelton rolls through a high crossbody for two more but Orton gets in his backbreaker for the same. Orton teases leaving and suckers Benjamin in for a right hand but walks into the exploder for the clean pin.

Rating: C. They did exactly what they were shooting for here but I’m not often a fan of having the singles match to set up the exact same match down the line. Shelton is getting a heck of a push but at some point he needs to win something that matters. The Intercontinental Title would be a great place to start, though I’d be a bit surprised if they actually took it off of Orton at the moment.

Stacy Keibler recaps the Diva Search concept and doesn’t do the division much good while explaining what a Diva does.

Here’s HHH for a chat. There won’t be a sneak attack this week because Shawn Michaels isn’t here tonight. That’s a shame too as if he was, HHH could put him away for good. Now he has to wait until Bad Blood in the match designed for the purpose of finishing this once and for all. HHH talks about how evil the Cell is and gives us a video on it, set to a cover of Time To Play The Game, which I’m pretty sure was used at Wrestlemania XVIII. Not bad. Certainly better than the nothing between Kane and Benoit.

Bad Blood rundown.

Bischoff tells Johnny Nitro to get Eugene.

Matt Hardy vs. Garrison Cade

Lita is here with Matt, who gets elbowed in the face to break up his early hammerlock. A hot shot gives Cade two and he starts in with the rights and lefts. The chinlock goes on as Lita starts playing cheerleader. It seems to work as Matt gets up and knocks Cade to the floor. That means a slingshot dive and a backdrop back inside, followed by the middle rope legdrop. The Twist of Fate finishes Cade.

Rating: D+. How weird is it to see a completely clean win in a match that isn’t a squash and only lasts a few minutes? Maybe it was expecting Kane to interrupt every few seconds but this was almost a weird one to watch. Cade has most of the tools that you need to be a perfectly acceptable wrestler, except the whole being named Garrison thing.

Smackdown Rebound.

Eugene comes in to see Bischoff, who tells him he knew what would happen with Kane earlier. It was just tough love you see, because Eugene doesn’t belong here. Eugene can prove him wrong tonight though, so he gives Bischoff a very sad hug. Bischoff just stares straight ahead, almost looking like he realizes what has to be done.

Clips of the European tour.

It’s time for the Highlight Reel but instead of Chris Jericho, it’s Trish Stratus and Tyson Tomko. Since Jericho is still injured, Trish will be hosting tonight. That means making a bunch of jokes about the French fans before we get to the highlight: Jericho being destroyed last week as Tomko put him through the announcers’ table. Trish wants to look at it again but here’s Jericho to beat up Tomko and put Trish in the Walls. Tomko makes a quick save and gorilla presses Jericho bad ribs first onto a chair. The chair is used to choke Jericho and Trish has a seat to make it even worse.

Kane stares at the camera without saying anything.

Kane vs. Eugene

Eugene ducks a few right hands to start and manages to take him down for one. That’s not cool with Kane, who blasts him with a clothesline so we can start down the expected path. A sunset flip doesn’t work either but Eugene does manage a drop toehold. Eugene’s top rope ax handle is uppercut out of the air and Kane gets three straight near falls.

Kane gets another two off a suplex and it’s time to choke. A headlock doesn’t help Eugene that much so Kane….chinlocks him. Eugene gets sent face first into the buckle to start the Hulk Up and slugs away, followed by a dropkick to put Kane on the floor. Kane throws in a chair and throws the referee down for the DQ as Eugene gets in a DDT on the chair.

Rating: F. Just a thought, but it might be a really bad idea to have the NUMBER ONE CONTENDER facing what is mostly a comedy character and not being able to pin him in a six minute match, eventually losing to him when the comedy guy lays him out at the end. Kane already has two stories going on and doesn’t need a third with less than two weeks to go before the title match. This wasn’t even that terrible of a match (it was really slow, but I’ve seen worse) but it was a really stupid way to go with Kane’s title shot, which has had almost no build so far, coming up.

Post match a furious Kane destroys Eugene but Benoit comes in before he can use the chair. The Crossface doesn’t work so Benoit grabs a chair to chase him off.

Overall Rating: C. This was far from a really bad show but you can tell that things have changed in a bad way after the last few weeks of great stuff. I don’t know if it’s Benoit turning into a glorified midcarder or WAY too much Kane and Eugene this week (you had to know it was coming as Eugene was getting over) but there was something missing here. It’s like they’ve lost the focus that was making the show work and that’s a bad sign.

Just a few weeks ago, you had Benoit and company vs. Evolution, who are the big bads around here. With Benoit shifting to Kane, it feels like he’s just being given something to do and that’s a big downgrade. Eugene is fun as a non-serious act but he was one of the big focal points here and that’s going to wear out his welcome in a hurry. The fans still like him, but that kind of an act doesn’t have a long shelf life overall and using so much of it in one night isn’t a good idea.

The problem they have isn’t likely to get better with next week as the go home show and I’m almost scared of what they’ll do after the pay per view is over. It’s still not bad and the show is more than watchable, but something is clearly missing and I think that’s going to get worse before it gets better. There’s about as much good as bad here, but the bad stuff here will make your head hurt.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Smackdown Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-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 24, 2004
Location: Metro Centre, Rockford, Illinois
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

We’re coming up on Bad Blood and we now have a World Title match. Last week saw Kane win a battle royal to become the new #1 contender to Chris Benoit’s World Title, but you know full well that won’t be the show’s biggest match. In the same battle royal, Shawn Michaels interfered to cost HHH his title shot. I think you know where this is going. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of everything I just said.

Eric Bischoff is in HHH’s locker room where HHH demands that Shawn be reinstated. Bischoff has already done that and announces the match between HHH and Shawn at Bad Blood. That’s fine with Shawn, who can have anything he wants. Bischoff leaves and HHH yells at Evolution, saying he wants some unity tonight.

Ric Flair vs. Edge

Orton is here with Flair, who starts with some strutting. They take turns hitting each other in the corner until Edge takes over with a backdrop. Flair gets sent to the floor and begs off back inside, only to get clotheslined down. Some right hands take Edge down and the knee drop gets two. Edge is right back up with some shots to the jaw and another backdrop but Flair pokes the eye. Even a blind Edge is able to knock him out of the air but Orton gets in a cheap shot to give Flair two. Cue Shelton Benjamin to take care of Orton, leaving Edge to spear Flair for the pin.

Rating: C-. The wrestling wasn’t much here but it gives us another step forward in Benjamin vs. Orton, which almost has to be the title match at Bad Blood. The perk of having a group like Evolution is you can throw a variety of people at them, including Edge and Shelton, both of whom are getting a nice rub as a result.

HHH and Batista are waiting on Shawn.

Earlier today, Vince McMahon had a bunch of women behind him to announce a reality show called the $250,000 Raw Diva Search. Have fun meeting the new generation that brought the women’s division down to new depths.

We look back at last week when Lita said yes to Kane.

Matt tries to find out what Lita was saying yes to but she still won’t say. They haven’t talked all week and he’s been worried about her. She’s been thinking about him and realizes she loves him. They kiss, and she wants to show him how much she loves him. Lita goes into her locker room to get her bag and finds (in addition to a camera waiting) Kane. Apparently something has happened between them but Kane said it was over. He says it is indeed over, allowing Lita to leave, without telling Matt what happened.

HHH and Batista go to beat up….Steven Richards as he arrives by mistake. Batista is sent to check on the rest of Evolution and HHH kicks Richards one more time to let off some steam.

La Resistance vs. Rosey/Hurricane

During the entrances, we’re told that Fabulous Moolah and Mae Young will be on the Tonight Show. I NEED to see this….I think. Rosey throws Conway to the floor to start and it’s off to Hurricane for a middle rope legdrop. Hurricane picks up the pace but gets low bridged out to the floor so the French beatdown can begin.

Conway works on an ankle twist until an enziguri gets Hurricane out of trouble. That’s enough for the hot tag to Rosey, who hits a running spinning legdrop on Grenier. Rosey rolls underneath a double clothesline (which you don’t see very often) and hits one of his own, allowing Hurricane to hit a high crossbody for two. The Shining Wizard misses though and Grenier gets in a cheap shot, setting up a rollup to finish Hurricane.

Rating: D+. Nothing wrong with a short match to get La Resistance over. Benoit and Edge need some regular teams to face and La Resistance, especially with Conway doing most of the work, is a perfectly fine choice. The match was short enough to not be too bad, though Hurricane and Rosey don’t have the same charm without their funny vignettes.

HHH is still waiting when Shawn pops up for the fight. Referees and security eventually break it up, though after both guys get in a few more shots.

It’s time for the Highlight Reel and Jericho is proud of himself for getting rid of Christian. The sexy beast is hot and so is his guest tonight. That would be Randy Orton, who is on fire right now. Orton comes out and Jericho praises him for holding the Intercontinental Title longer than anyone in the last seven years. Jericho lists off the names that Orton has killed, including Steve Austin, before moving on to Shelton Benjamin. That doesn’t do anything for Orton, because Benjamin is NOT getting a title shot.

That makes the next question obvious: why is Orton scared of Shelton? Orton doesn’t like that and it’s made even worse when Jericho cuts him off. Jericho says Shelton beat HHH and since HHH is a legend, Orton must want to face him. That’s too much for Orton, who wants to put Jericho on his list. The fight is on but Batista runs in. Cue Shelton for the save and I think you know where this is going, with Bischoff coming out to make the tag match.

Chris Jericho/Shelton Benjamin vs. Batista/Randy Orton

Joined in progress with Jericho headlocking Orton down and then turning it into a bow and arrow hold. Back up and a clothesline keeps Orton in trouble, which is made even worse by a tag to Shelton. Batista comes in as well and Shelton looks a bit nervous. Batista grabs him by the throat so Shelton kicks at the leg. That just earns him a heck of a clothesline and it’s Evolution taking over.

A neckbreaker gets Shelton out of trouble and the hot tag brings in Jericho to speed things up. The Walls are broken up so Jericho settles for a springboard dropkick to knock Batista off the apron. Now the Walls can go on but Batista makes the save, only to have Jericho dive onto both of them on the floor as we take a break. Back with Jericho in trouble, because that’s how WWE returns from commercials. Trish Stratus jumps in on commentary as Orton starts working on the arm.

Batista gets in his own arm cranking as Lawler keeps drooling over Trish. A crank of the arm cuts off Jericho’s comeback and it’s off to a shortarm scissors. Benjamin gets drawn in like a moron, allowing Batista to come in for a cross armbreaker. Jericho finally fights up and hits a springboard dropkick to drop Orton, setting up the hot tag to Benjamin.

House is cleaned as everything breaks down with a sunset flip getting two on Batista. That’s not cool with him though, so a hard clothesline takes Benjamin’s head off. Orton comes in and gets rammed into Batista for two off a rollup, followed by a powerslam for the same. Jericho cuts Batista off and it’s the exploder suplex to put Orton away.

Rating: B. Like I mentioned earlier, WWE can get miles out of this Evolution vs. everyone feud because they can do matches like this for months. Benjamin pinning Orton should be the logical way to set up the title match, which is the logical path for him after all those wins over HHH. Good match here, which is becoming commonplace on this show in this spot.

Post match Trish yells at Jericho, allowing Tyson Tomko to run Jericho over. Tomko powerbombs him through the announcers’ table for a bonus.

Here’s Kane to talk about how he’s envious of Chris Benoit for a variety of reasons. He wants to be the World Heavyweight Champion and live his dream life instead of a life of nightmares. That all changes at Bad Blood because he always gets what he wants.

Shawn is in Bischoff’s office, demanding that the match be the way he wants it. Bischoff agrees and here’s HHH to jump Shawn. Security finally breaks it up again.

Victoria vs. Molly Holly

Non-title and Gail Kim is here with Molly. Victoria spends a lot of time dancing on the way to the ring, which isn’t the worst thing in the world for a variety of reasons. Molly wastes no time in sending her to the apron where Gail pulls Victoria face first onto the apron. Back in and Molly grabs a double fish hook as the announcers talk about the Diva Search. A reverse cravate goes on and Victoria stays in trouble. There’s a running flip neckbreaker for a slightly delayed two but Victoria grabs a backslide for the same. Gail gets knocked off the apron and the Widow’s Peak finishes Molly in a hurry.

Rating: D. The women’s division is a mess right now as Victoria has cleaned the whole thing out, aside from Trish. The other problem is the talent isn’t exactly being treated as anything special. Is there really any reason for these two to be fight other than what happened two months ago at Wrestlemania? We need something a little better than that.

Post match Gail jumps Victoria and is quickly taken down by a Widow’s Peak of her own.

Smackdown Rebound.

Bischoff tells Johnny Nitro to round up the roster to act as security tonight.

Post break, Bischoff gives the locker room a speech about getting control back. If they don’t help, they’re all fired. Chris Benoit should not be in the same crowd as Val Venis and Hurricane.

We look back at the Rock/Eugene/Coach segment from last week. Still awesome.

Eugene is running around like a plane as William Regal is starting to warm up to him. When asked about Rock, Eugene goes into IF YA SMELL and Regal seems proud. They’re teaming tonight but Nitro comes in to say Regal isn’t cleared and can’t wrestle tonight. That’s too far for Regal, but the threat of Bischoff means it’s going to be a handicap match, unless Eugene can find a partner. Regal gives him a brief pep talk and the tag match is next.

Jonathan Coachman/Garrison Cade vs. Eugene/???

Eugene needs a partner for THESE TWO? He has one anyway and it’s….Chris Benoit. Egads they’re attaching a rocket to Eugene and it’s kind of awesome. The shocked face on Coach and the elation from Eugene make this even better. Eugene grabs the titles and starts running around so Coach trips him, which isn’t cool with Benoit. The early chopping has Cade in trouble and there’s the snap suplex. Eugene comes in and takes Cade down with a headlock without even taking the jacket off.

Cade hits Coach by mistake so we’ll go with a crisscross, setting up “HEY! WHAT’S THAT?” and a chop to Cade’s head ala Chief Jay Strongbow. It’s back to Benoit, who gets chopped and clotheslined in the corner by Cade. Coach comes in and Lawler knows it’s not going to end well. Everything breaks down and it’s an airplane spin to Cade. Benoit rolls some German suplexes on Coach and drops the Swan Dive. Eugene gets to hit one of his own for the pin and another big reaction.

Rating: C. There’s something so easy to cheer for about someone who has no business being here but succeeds anyway. Eugene is such a ridiculous concept but WWE has turned it into one of the most well done concepts they’ve had in a long time. This was especially strange to see if you watched Eugene in OVW, where he was basically a Benoit clone, down to using the rolling German suplexes and Crossface as his finishers.

Shawn and HHH are at it again. Good grief get a ring already.

Here’s HHH for the big showdown to end the show. He wastes no time in calling Shawn out so the fight is on. Shawn gets the better of it but has to deal with Evolution. Benoit and Edge come take care of the extras so here are some goons to try and break it up. Shawn gets in the dive onto the pile so more guys come out and finally separate them. Bischoff makes the big announcement of Hell in a Cell at Bad Blood. More brawling ends the show.

Overall Rating: B-. I’m having flashbacks to being a huge Eugene fan back in the day and it’s helping to fuel this string of very good shows. They’re building up new and actually interesting characters instead of slapping an ugly coat of paint on someone who wasn’t that great in the first place. It’s no surprise that Raw is smashing Smackdown every single week right now and why I’m really enjoying these shows week after week. Good stuff here, assuming you ignore the World Champion being treated like an upper midcard act with a non-existent feud with Kane for the pay per view. Fix that and the show is that much better.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Smackdown Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-reviews/

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

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