IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: November 7, 2005
Location: Allen County War Memorial, Fort Wayne, Indiana
Commentators: Jonathan Coachman, Jerry Lawler, Joey Styles

Taboo Tuesday has come and gone with the big development being Ric Flair beating HHH in something of an upset. Other than that John Cena is still Raw World Champion and in need of a next challenger. The Raw vs. Smackdown feud is certainly not done thougu and Survivor Series is coming up this month with the brand vs. brand theme. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Joey Styles is quickly introduced as the new commentator.

Most of the roster is around the ring and here’s Eric Bischoff for a chat. He’s looking forward to Raw vs. Smackdown at Survivor Series but he has two more matches to announce: HHH vs. Ric Flair in a Last Man Standing match and John Cena defending the Raw World Title against Kurt Angle. As for the Raw team against Smackdown, Big Show and Kane are already in, along with captain Shawn Michaels.

That leaves two spots, so someone needs to step up. Carlito says he’ll do it and promises no more Cabanas because he’s a wrestler. Shelton Benjamin: “Are you high?” Shelton says he deserves the spot so let’s have a qualifying match tonight. Trevor Murdoch thinks he and Lance Cade should be in the match and want their rematch for the titles tonight. Bischoff is game and makes it a hardcore match.

Since Bischoff is handing out matches, Gregory Helms wants one with Rosey and Mickie James wants….a round of applause for Trish Stratus. Bischoff: “Uh….yeah. Whatever.” With that out of the way, Bischoff brings in Edge and Lita because he forgot they were here. Bischoff remembers them walking out on Raw last night so he sends them to Smackdown where Edge can face Batista in a street fight this week. That sends them off, complete with the Goodbye Song.

Survivor Series Qualifying Match: Carlito vs. Shelton Benjamin

Joined in progress after a break with Carlito working on a wristlock. Shelton backdrops him to the floor in a heap though and hits a running Blockbuster off the apron. He comes up holding his knee however and it’s time to stomp away. Carlito starts cranking on the leg so Shelton gets smart by pulling on the hair to escape. A toss into the air lets Carlito crash onto his face and the comeback is on, including clotheslines.

Shelton gets two off a bridging northern lights suplex but the top rope clothesline misses. Carlito grabs a DDT for two more (Joey: “Look, his hair is standing on end!”) but Shelton is right back with a Samoan drop. A dropkick to the knee cuts Shelton down again and we hit the half crab. That’s countered into a rollup but Carlito counters the counter and grabs the rope for the pin.

Rating: D+. It’s the same pains that I’ve had for months now about Shelton and Carlito being the one to beat him makes it even worse. We’re long past the point of the pin not being clean meaning anything as this was another dull match with Carlito winning because WWE saw all of his charisma (which did exist) but nothing to go with it.

Trish Stratus tries to talk to Mickie James about Taboo Tuesday but Mickie cuts her off because they have a tag match tonight.

Trish Stratus/Mickie James vs. Victoria/Candice Michelle

Mickie and Victoria start things off and a quick low bridging from the apron sends Mickie outside. Victoria gets in an elbow to the back and Trish gets knocked off the apron to get her all annoyed. Everything breaks down and Candice is driven into Victoria in the corner. The referee gets rid of Trish but Victoria gets in a shot with Candice’s magic wand for the cheap pin.

Rating: D+. They kept it moving well enough to not be a complete disaster and the addition of Mickie is one of the best things that could have happened to the division at the moment. Trish vs. Mickie is being built up very slowly and that’s something that could make it a big deal. Now as long as they can keep interest up until the match, they could be fine, but that’s easier said than done.

Video on the Raw World Title match at Taboo Tuesday.

Video on Taboo Tuesday.

Big Show and Kane have the most scripted conversation I’ve seen from this era to establish that Kane wants to hurt Cade and Murdoch. This was awful.

Gregory Helms vs. Rosey

Rosey starts fast with some clotheslines and forearms to the back but Helms sends him face first into the middle buckle. That’s too much for Rosey who pounds him back down but misses a Vader Bomb. An enziguri (called a Shining Wizard) finishes Rosey in a hurry.

Tag Team Titles: Kane/Big Show vs. Lance Cade/Trevor Murdoch

Cade and Murdoch are challenging and this is hardcore, much to Joey’s delight. Murdoch wheels out the shopping cart full of weapons and we’re ready to go in a hurry. The threat of a kendo stick sends Cade running while Show chokes Murdoch in the corner. Show gets low bridged to the floor though and Kane gets trashcan lidded out of the air.

That’s it for Cade and Murdoch though as Show is back in, meaning it’s time to clean house in a hurry. They go outside with Murdoch getting a trashcan put over his head for a big boot from Kane. Show clotheslines Cade on the stage and it’s a double chokeslam through the announcers’ table to retain.

Rating: C-. This was as short as it should have been and they kept things in the right setup. There was no reason to go with anything other than Big Show and Kane dominating, which should be the case every time they’re in the ring. Don’t bother with anything more than the two of them wrecking people until someone steals the pin and the titles one day.

Kurt Angle comes out for a match but doesn’t like the YOU SUCK chants. He’s so upset that he says we’re doing this again and goes to the back. His music plays again and there are those chants a second time. Angle gives them ONE MORE CHANCE but then has to rant at them for not having good family values. They are abusing both the First Amendment and ANGLE HIMSELF. We hear about everything Angle has lost for these people so he’s not going to take it anymore. These people suck and he’s out of the main event tonight. Well that’s abrupt.

Post break, Bischoff says Angle can’t do that. If he needs Angle out there though, there needs to be a handpicked referee.

Here’s a bandaged HHH to sit in a chair on the stage for the next match.

Intercontinental Title: Ric Flair vs. Rob Conway

Flair is defending and insists on being introduced as “the man that beat HHH at Taboo Tuesday” to really get under HHH’s skin (Flair would be great at that kind of thing). Flair hiptosses him to start so Conway tries to pick up the pace. You don’t try to leapfrog Flair though as he’s waiting on Conway and pokes him in the eye. Conway gets in a few shots in the corner, only to have Flair go with the testicular claw and some chops. Flair’s top rope shot to the head connects and the Figure Four, with a grab of the rope of course, retains the title.

Rating: C-. Just a match here and there isn’t much to be said about the whole thing. Flair winning over Conway is fine and Conway could have been anyone at this point. They’re doing a nice job of making Flair look like he still has it and it’s not like Conway’s push was even still alive at this point.

Post match HHH is at ringside with a chain but Flair fights him into the crowd for a crash through a table.

Smackdown Rebound.

Lita flashes Bischoff to get Edge out of the street fight but he throws her out.

Shawn Michaels/John Cena vs. Kurt Angle/Chris Masters

The fans chant YOU…..something that is beeped out for one of the more annoying things you’ll see for a good while. Angle also has a guest referee with….the returning Daivari of all people. We’re joined in progress after a break with Masters pulling Shawn down by the hair for some VERY fast two counts.

Angle comes in and gets double elbowed for not even two as Daivari takes some sweet time. Cena’s release fisherman’s suplex gets one more so Cena yells a lot while tagging in Shawn. Shawn starts in on Angle’s arm as the fans are back with that chanting again. Angle gets him into the corner though and it’s back to Masters for the bearhug. Leg cranking and a forearm to knock Cena off the apron have Angle in control but he walks into a DDT.

That’s enough for the hot tag to Cena and house is cleaned in a hurry. A cheap shot from the apron lets Angle get in a backbreaker for another very fast two. Cena suplexes his way to freedom and it’s back to Shawn for the house cleaning. The top rope elbow is loaded up but Daivari doesn’t mind Masters getting in a chair shot tot he ribs. Shawn takes the chair away though and that’s a DQ.

Rating: C. Fine enough for the idea of a match like this and you can see Survivor Series from here. Part of the problem is that Angle feels like a filler feud for Cena, but he’s coming up on his third pay per view title shot. Shawn vs. Masters could continue as tension on the Survivor Series team but other than that, this isn’t exactly inspiring stuff.

Shawn and Cena get chaired down (including a shot from Daivari) to end the show with Joey losing his freaking mind.

Overall Rating: D+. I really wasn’t feeling this one as the focus was on almost everything but the Survivor Series match, leaving us focusing on either a lot of rematches or stuff that wasn’t all that interesting in the first place. I need something a little more than that to carry a show and while this wasn’t terrible, it also wasn’t all that good and I wasn’t interested in a lot of what they had going on.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: August 8, 2005
Location: Mellon Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 11,000
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Jonathan Coachman

We’re less than two weeks away from Summerslam and the card is looking decent at best. You can see most of if not all of the card, but at the same time they have a few things left to set up or at least push. If nothing else, we need Hulk Hogan to actually respond to Shawn Michaels and that is going to take place tonight. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Eric Bischoff trying to stack the deck to get the World Title off of John Cena last week, complete with Carlito and Chris Jericho managing to pull defeat out of the jaws of victory. Jericho did manage to bust Cena open and steal the title though, in a move that almost always works.

Opening sequence.

Here are Eugene and Christy Hemme for the Gold Medal Invitational, but first Eugene, in a Hulk Hogan shirt, needs to talk about how awesome Hogan is. Christy says this is about Eugene though and does the GIVE ME AN E deal, only to have Kurt Angle interrupt. Angle says he’s the hometown hero this week and he’s getting his medals back.

As you might guess, the fans are not happy with Eugene here and Angle saying Pittsburgh doesn’t need Hulk Hogan when they have him makes it even worse. They even get in an argument over whether or not Eugene is a gold medalist because that’s what these fans want to hear. Eugene isn’t happy with Angle swearing so we start in a hurry.

Eugene vs. Kurt Angle

Angle kicks him into the corner to start but stops to yell at the referee. A backbreaker gets two on Eugene, who drives Angle into the corner. The referee takes a shot to the back of the head but Eugene says it was Angle and the referee believes him. A shot to the face drops Eugene as we’re already halfway through. Eugene is sent face first into the buckle and that’s enough to fire him up again. Angle grabs the release German suplex to cut that off in a hurry but the Angle Slam is escaped. Instead Angle charges into the referee and that’s a DQ to keep the medal on Eugene.

Post match Angle destroys Eugene but Hogan makes the save, with Angle, the HOMETOWN HERO, getting beaten up again. Who thought this was a good idea? I mean other than Hulk of course. Posing ensues and the fans don’t seem overly interested.

Shelton Benjamin vs. Chris Masters

Lawler and Coach shushing JR during Masters’ entrance works for some reason. Masters grabs a headlock to start so Benjamin takes him down with a dragon screw legwhip. A slam puts Benjamin down but Masters nearly botches the elbow drop as Shelton tries to roll away. The bearhug goes on as JR is sounding a little uncomfortable with how much Lawler and Coach enjoy looking at Masters. Shelton is back with a jawbreaker and running kneelift to set up a high crossbody for two. A sleeper doesn’t work well though as Masters kicks him low, setting up the Masterlock for the win.

Rating: D. I know I bring this up a lot but WHAT HAPPENED TO SHELTON??? He holds the Intercontinental Title for the better part of a year and then he’s putting over everyone on the roster. Unless there was some sort of a backstage issue, I really don’t get the moves here, but it’s rather annoying and frustrating at the same time.

A very pleased Angle leaves Bischoff’s office. He’s got another shot at the medals at Summerslam but there’s no time limit, so Angle can hurt him as much as he wants.

Rob Conway isn’t worried about Viscera and hits on Maria a bit. Viscera comes in and asks Conway if he’s part of the Village People and belts out some YMCA. A brawl nearly starts but Viscera threatens Visagra before leaving. JR: “Is that what you’re taking King?”

We recap Matt Hardy’s invasions, leading to him being rehired last week.

Edge and Lita think rehiring Matt is brilliant because now he can do whatever he wants to Matt at Summerslam. Matt’s promo last week was pathetic because he should have been able to manage so much more after what he had been through. Edge points to his eyes and says this is passion and intensity. Lita left Matt for him after Matt never proposed in six years.

See, Matt should really be thanking Edge because he had never gotten reactions like this until he rode Edge’s coattails into the main event. Edge was facing main eventers while Matt was defending the Cruiserweight Title. Matt is here now because his girlfriend fell in love with a main eventer. We’re thirteen minutes into Matt’s fifteen minutes of fame and time is up at Summerslam. Very intense promo from Edge, whose facials were awesome as usual. I’m not sure how much the average fan is going to care, but it was some great delivery and much more of an insider’s promo than usual.

Rob Conway vs. Viscera

Conway tries some big forearms in the corner to start so Viscera hits the overhand chop to cut that off in a hurry. There’s a swinging Boss Man Slam, allowing Viscera to hit the hip swiveling. Conway dropkicks the knee and drops some elbows on it, only to get pulled into the Visagra. Back up and Viscera tries a slam, only to have the leg give out so Conway can fall on top for the pin. Conway is good in the role but they don’t have long to waste him in matches like this. He doesn’t have a lot of depth to his character and if it’s all stuff against people on Viscera’s level, fans aren’t going to be interested for long.

Hurricane/Rosey/Stacy Keibler vs. Heartthrobs/Victoria

Antonio punches Hurricane in the face to start so Hurricane takes him down with a fireman’s carry. Romeo comes in for a double Russian legsweep and a jumping elbow gets two. The Throbs miss a double dropkick and it’s Rosey coming in to no reaction. Stacy offers a little shake though and everything breaks down, only to have Victoria slam her into the barricade. A double STO finishes Rosey back inside. I know the Tag Team Titles don’t have the best history but this has to be close to the bottom of the whole lineage. They haven’t been defended in weeks and this is practically the whole division.

It’s time for the Highlight Reel, with the pyro seemingly going off later than expected as Jericho gets cut off mid-sentence. His guest this week is Eric Bischoff, who of course is Jericho’s close friend. They shake hands a few times, leaving Bischoff to talk about how Cena’s music career (including his music video premiering tonight) is the only thing he’ll have left after Summerslam.

Jericho has his own music video, showing him beating down Cena last week to Fozzy’s To Kill A Stranger. Bischoff isn’t happy with what happened last week though and that is due to referee Chad Patton, who counted the pin when Jericho was taken out. Patton comes out and gets slapped around by both of them, setting this up.

Chad Patton vs. Chris Jericho

Bischoff is referee and Patton actually drives Jericho into the corner to start before the beating is on. Patton loses most of his shirt and here’s Carlito to make it worse. Jericho chokes away and chops Patton against the ropes, leaving Carlito to get in some shots on the floor. A spinebuster into the Walls make Patton tap, with Bischoff taking his time to call for the bell.

Post match Jericho won’t let go so here’s Cena for the save (including a mistimed flying shoulder to Carlito, which hits him in the knee).

Post break Bischoff makes Cena vs. Carlito/Jericho.

And now, in case this show hasn’t been enough of a waste of time, it’s the Diva Search. We do get some good news: this stupid thing is over next week and Kristal is cut. Earlier today, everyone else had the chance to get the fans’ votes but things weren’t going to go according to plan.

Ashley gave her phone number but took a pie to the face to cut things off.

Leyla was holding up a sign and suggesting she was sans clothing when a pie to the face showed that wasn’t the case.

Elizabeth talked about having the fans’ support and didn’t really stop when the pie hit her.

Matt Hardy vs. Snitsky

Hardy starts slugging away early on and kicks Snitsky in the face for the first knockdown. A spinebuster cuts Hardy off and there’s a clothesline to put him down again. There’s a suplex so Snitsky can beat on his chest, setting up a side slam for two. The pumphandle slam is countered though and Snitsky misses a big boot in the corner, setting up a Twist of Fate out of the corner for the pin.

Rating: D. And that’s it for Matt’s chances at meaning anything as he was just a guy here. He was a bit more aggressive but it’s not like this was any star making performance. The run-ins were good, but I really wouldn’t have had him get in the ring until Summerslam. Not a good match and it killed Hardy’s aura.

Post match Edge runs in to jump Matt but referees break it up.

Post break Matt jumps Edge but gets pulled away again.

Here’s John Cena’s new music video for the song Right Now.

It’s time for the big main event argument as Hulk Hogan and Shawn Michaels go face to face, with Jerry Lawler moderating. Lawler asks if Shawn is jealous but Shawn talks about Hogan being nice enough to show up here for a change. Hogan’s life offers nothing Shawn could want because Hogan can’t touch him in this ring. All of Hogan’s personality means nothing at Summerslam because Hogan can’t hold a candle to him.

Hogan is asked about the Larry King segment but Shawn cuts him off to say that Hogan has to deal with the truth for the first time ever. Shawn is the first person who won’t buckle in front of Hogan because no one is going to fire him. He’s been fired so many times but WWE keeps bringing him back because this place doesn’t exist without him. Hogan finally cuts him off and says Shawn is making this too personal. If Shawn wanted a match, all he had to do was ask. Instead Shawn cheap shotted him, and all Hogan had to do was call Bret Hart to hear about that.

The Bret line was good but Shawn is carrying every bit of these promos and the feud as a whole, which is going to make the reactions at Summerslam rather interesting. It’s almost hard to get annoyed at Shawn here as he is saying a lot of things that are very true, but Hogan is going to do his usual stuff at Summerslam and get cheered because he’s Hogan (fair enough). Shawn is the more interesting one here though and that’s making things a little more interesting.

Overall Rating: D-. The interesting thing here was that while the show could have been worse, it felt like a complete waste of time. There are three big Raw matches taking place at Summerslam but how interesting are they going to be? Hardy lost a ton tonight because he was mostly just his old self, Jericho vs. Cena is a lame Austin clone and Shawn vs. Hogan sells itself. The rest of the show was awful and it remains clear that there is nothing outside of the three Summerslam matches going on around here.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: July 25, 2005
Location: Gund Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Attendance: 7,000
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

We are officially on the road to Summerslam and that means it’s time to crank things up. Now granted that doesn’t mean much of a change around here as a lot of the matches have already been set up or at least made clear. Tonight we’re getting a Diva Search segment plus a battle of the bands between Chris Jericho and John Cena, because we’re just lucky that way. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap looks at last week’s nightmare of a lumberjack match.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Kurt Angle for his Kurt Angle Invitational but he isn’t in the mood to waste time. Therefore, get the opponent out here right now. This brings out….Christy Hemme? Angle is rather confused but likes the idea, suggesting they start in the referee’s position. Christy says don’t flatter yourself because she has another opponent in mind, and he happens to be from Cleveland.

Kurt Angle vs. Eugene

It’s Eugene’s first match since January due to the knee injury. Angle doesn’t get it as Eugene isn’t from Cleveland. That means Eugene takes off his jacket to reveal a Cleveland Browns jersey, but Kurt isn’t convinced. A Duck Season/Rabbit Season bit doesn’t work either but Kurt says Eugene is making him mentally challenged too. Angle jumps him from behind and we start fast with Angle ripping off the jersey. Wouldn’t that be an improvement?

Anyway, Kurt chokes with the jersey and hits him with crossface shots to the jaw as the dominance is on in a hurry. The fans get on Angle as he unloads in the corner but a ram into the buckle wakes Eugene up. The comeback is on as we only have thirty seconds left. Angle blocks the Stunner and there’s the Angle Slam but the ankle lock is rolled through, sending Kurt outside and Eugene beats the clock.

Rating: D+. What do you say to this? It’s a squash until Angle slips on a banana peel to lose to a returning comedy guy. Christy being in Eugene’s corner doesn’t fix a lot of his problems, like the fact that he’s still Eugene. It was nice to get a payoff though, even if it might not be the best idea in the world.

There’s a mini Viscera. What else do I need to say to that?

John Cena comes in to see Eric Bischoff and talks about thinking he was Scott Baio for a while. Now though, he knows he’s the WWE Champion. Bischoff wants a more down to earth champion though and calls Cena white trash. Cena: “Ooooh.” Bischoff calls all rappers scum and slime and turns around as the camera zooms in on him. We wait for it to zoom out for the big surprise, so after promising to make Cena miserable, we pan over to see….that Cena has left.

Viscera/Cloacas vs. Antonio/Pocket Rocket

Yes it’s a mixed tag and Pocket Rocket is a mini Heartthrob. Rocket takes over to start and gets in the dancing as Coach and Lawler get in the jokes you would expect. The beating keeps going for a few minutes until the cheating fails, allowing Viscera to come in off the hot tag. Viscera beats up both Heartthrobs, stares at Rocket for punching him, tosses Rocket to the floor and lets Cloacas hit a splash on Antonio to set up the pin.

Rating: F. Nope.

The ambulance arrives, because we need Edge vs. Kane in a stretcher match.

We get a tribute to Lord Alfred Hayes, who passed away earlier in the week. It’s almost strange to see him as a wrestler.

Bischoff puts Shelton Benjamin in a handicap match instead of the No DQ/No Countout match he wanted against Carlito. Shelton has to face Gene Snitsky and Chris Masters, which he says is like Bischoff’s breath: it stinks.

Maria thinks Chris Jericho is here with Fozzie Bear and wants to know if the other Muppets are going to be here. Jericho isn’t pleased and asks what a limp biscuit is and rips on Cleveland. He’s ready for the battle of the bands.

It’s time for the battle of the bands with Cena, accompanied by Trademarc and Bumpy Knuckles, performing Bad Bad Man live.

Post performance, here’s Jericho to say that was awful. This isn’t the crowd for Fozzy to perform in front of though, because this crowd is biased against him. Therefore, Cena wins by default but he’ll lose at Summerslam. Jericho leaves and Cena and company perform My Time Is Now. This is in no way shape or form an excuse to see the Diva Search girls dancing in swimsuits in the back.

Shawn Michaels sees himself in a mirror and screams for makeup.

Bischoff makes Cena vs. Carlito. If Carlito can beat Cena tonight, he can have a title shot next week. Carlito finds this cool, especially since Jericho can be referee

Here’s Shawn, in the heelish suit, for a chat. Shawn promotes Hogan Knows Best to silence (Shawn: “Then you’ve seen it.”) but doesn’t want a reality show. He doesn’t want to be a rapper or a rock star or an actor. No he’d rather be the best in-ring performer the WWE has ever seen. Hogan is living off a reputation he created twenty years ago but Shawn is out there every night proving himself all over again. Hogan lives in a million dollar home built off the sweat of every fan at home.

After all that though, the best Hogan can give you is some posing, which Shawn demonstrates. Shawn says this building is quiet because the people in the back are freaking out. He’s shooting you see, but you can’t fire him because he’s the Summerslam main event. If you wanted the old HBK, you’ve got him. Years from now, people are going to remember him as the icon. So whatcha gonna do when Shawn rolls over you at Summerslam?

We look at Eugene winning again. Next week: the Eugene Invitational.

Snitsky/Chris Masters vs. Shelton Benjamin

Snitsky jumps Shelton during Masters’ entrance but gets clotheslined to the floor in a hurry. That means the big flip dive from Benjamin and both villains are taken down. Back in and Snitsky pounds Shelton down in the corner so Masters can grab a front facelock. Shelton finally kicks him away so Snitsky gets in a cheap shot. Snitsky demands the Masterlock so on it goes….and Shelton is out.

Rating: D. Remember about a month and a half ago when Shelton looked ready to jump up to the next level? I’m not sure if he’s gotten a pin since then and it doesn’t look to be anything better going forward. At least he’s getting a feud away from Carlito, but Masters might not be the brightest future.

Post match the beating continues so Big Show makes the save.

It’s Diva Search time and Cameron is out. This week’s contest is a hot dog eating contest and it takes them the full minute to finish a single hot dog. Since there is a tie, Leyla has to win a thirty second eat off for immunity. I can only hope, but this felt like they knew they needed to pull the plug and didn’t give it much time this week. Please let that be the case because I can’t take much more on this show.

Kane vs. Edge

Stretcher match with Kane jumping him from behind during the entrances. The beating starts around the ring with Kane ramming him into various things, including the barricade and the steps. It’s too early to get Edge across the line though so Kane throws him down the ramp instead.

Back from a break with Kane in trouble for a change but the Edgecution is broken up. Kane hits the top rope clothesline but Lita takes a chair away from him. That means the spear to cut Kane down, only for Edge to realize it’s not that simple. Kane gets back up so Lita kendo sticks him in the knee.

Edge’s hard stick shot to the head puts him back down and gives us the smallest….well it’s not a trickle…..we’ll say dot of blood I can ever remember. Kane sits up to block the Pillmanizing and chairs Edge off the top. A chokeslam drops Edge onto the stretcher but Lita is right there with the briefcase to Kane’s back. Edge saves Lita from the chokeslam onto/off of the stage and a briefcase to the head is enough to give Edge the win.

Rating: D+. This was another example of the same thing that they’ve done a few times now and I don’t need to see it again. It’s beyond clear that this is heading for Matt Hardy vs. Edge but we can’t do that because Kane vs. Edge can’t end already. Just let it end already because it’s completely done at this point.

Post match Kane pops up and Tombstones Lita on the stage. As luck would have it, we have a stretcher right there. As Edge panics, Matt runs down for a few shots but security breaks it up.

Post break Lita is being loaded into the ambulance but Kane pops in again, punches out a cop, and steals the ambulance. Coach: “When is enough enough?” I’d love to hear WWE answer that.

Carlito vs. John Cena

Non-title and Bischoff is watching from the stage. Cena knows he’s in trouble here but backdrops Carlito anyway. Carlito gets in a shot to the face to put Cena on the floor Jericho is willing to count and even takes away Carlito’s chair. The distraction lets Cena hit his clothesline for a fairly slow one count.

Another shot lets Carlito take over in the corner and an elbow gives him two, with the same speed from Jericho. Carlito hits a flapjack for two and the chinlock goes on. A neckbreaker gives Carlito two more but Cena is back with the fisherman’s suplex. Carlito runs him down again and we’re in another chinlock. The knee to the ribs gets two but Cena fights up. The FU is loaded up but Jericho kicks Cena low and hits the Lionsault to give Carlito the pin.

Rating: D+. The idea here was that Jericho was calling the match down the line and for some reason JR bought it. Jericho yells at Cena as usual earlier in the night, referees fairly with the evil boss watching for eight minutes and then the turn (Was it a turn?) is shocking? I can go with the idea of throwing in the mini feud with Carlito to give them a bridge to Summerslam, but the shock and awe at Jericho being himself is a little much.

Overall Rating: D-. This was a rough one with nothing good in the ring, a bunch of stuff that felt like it was there because no one else was watching, and whatever that Viscera stuff was. Some of the matches could have been worse but with nothing good all night and a bunch of stuff that made my head hurt, the show is as close to a failure as you can get without going all the way over the line.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: July 18, 2005
Location: Wachovia Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 6,000
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Jonathan Coachman

We’re getting closer to Summerslam and that means things are picking up with some of the bigger stories. You can guess a lot of the Raw matches from here and that means they have a clear directive going forward. Now the question is how well they can make those goals work. Let’s get to it.

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

Lilian Garcia announces an Intercontinental Title match but here’s Eric Bischoff to cut her off. We see a clip of John Cena giving him an FU last week and that’s not cool with Bischoff. He’s thought about firing Cena but instead he has some better punishment. Tonight, it’s Cena vs. Gene Snitsky in a lumberjack match. Sounds like punishment to me.

Opening sequence.

Intercontinental Title: Carlito vs. Shelton Benjamin

Benjamin is challenging and the title can change hands via countout. Carlito knocks him into the corner for some stomping to start but Shelton nails a running clothesline and the Stinger Splash. The springboard shoulder puts Carlito on the floor so he considers leaving, only to pause so Shelton can hit the clothesline off the apron. Shelton gets caught on top though and Carlito stomps away in the Tree of Woe. We hit the waistlock to stay on the ribs but Shelton fights back up and hits the Dragon Whip. That’s fine with Carlito, who hits him low for the DQ, because we need to do this AGAIN next week.

Rating: C-. I’m completely over seeing these two fight and now they’ve set up another rematch. Shelton should have come off his huge Intercontinental Title reign and moved up to the main event scene but instead he’s stuck coming up short to Carlito over and over. The match wasn’t even good and you could guess the ending as soon as they mentioned the countout stipulation.

We look at Shawn Michaels’ explanation and superkick to Roddy Piper from last week.

It’s Kurt Angle Invitational time but first, Kurt talks about how he gave us some drama last week. He was never in any danger of losing to Matt Striker but let the clock get down to a second left to make the fans believe they could see a miracle. Like the Eagles winning the Super Bowl! Anyway get the opponent out here. Cue Matt Striker again, who calls himself Matt Martel again, this time claiming to be from Philadelphia. The fans cheer for him because HE SAID THE CITY’S NAME! Angle explains the whole thing and calls out the lies so there’s no match. Or maybe we can, with Angle jumping him from behind.

Kurt Angle vs. Matt Striker

Angle hits an uppercut but Striker pulls a choke out of nowhere to put Angle down. That stays on for about a minute and a half until Angle throws him off. The Angle Slam and ankle lock finish Striker at 2:35. I have no idea why they needed to do the exact same deal again but with less drama.

It’s Diva Search time, but before we get to the elimination, we need thirty seconds each to hear who they would vote off.

Ashley: Cameron, because she would be better off on a runway in Paris.

Leyla: Simona, because she doesn’t have what it takes to be a Diva.

Summer: Simona, because she belongs on the cover of Vogue instead of being a Diva.

Kristal: Elizabeth, because she’s too talented of a dancer and actress to be here.

The BORING chants began right around here in case you were wondering.

Elizabeth: Kristal, because she is a great painter and should explore that instead.

Simona: Summer, because she would make a great lingerie model instead.

Cameron: Ashley, because she’s tough and hardcore and would be better as a street fighter.

Simona is voted off as at least these things are getting a little shorter each week.

The Boogeyman is still coming.

Kerwin White, with his golf club, is in Bischoff’s office. Eric suggests that White try Scottsdale, Arizona for all of its golf courses. White: “That’s a little too close to the border.” Chris Jericho comes in so White leaves, allowing Bischoff to thank Jericho for standing up to him last week. Jericho has an idea of how to stick it to Cena: a BATTLE OF THE BANDS next week! So we’re getting concerts and the Divas in one week? And this is their BEST idea of how to draw an audience?

Shawn Michaels isn’t worried about Hulk Hogan being here tonight. He gave the fans what they wanted by having Hogan wrestle one more match so now let’s see what Hogan has.

Masterlock Challenge for $20,000, Rosey accepts and loses, Masters says it doesn’t matter how big you are, Big Show comes out, Masters turns it down, takes about seven minutes total.

Edge isn’t worried about facing Kane in a cage tonight but it’s going to keep all of the other psychotic losers out. He has spent the last six months listening to geeks on keyboards telling them how to live their lives and that’s CENSORED. Of note: Edge refers to Lita as his girlfriend, meaning the whole engagement deal is over. So much for trying the wedding again.

Here is Hulk Hogan to respond to Shawn Michaels’ challenge from last week. We pause for the long form Hogan chants before Hogan can thank the fans for making Hogan Knows Best the highest rated premiere ever on VH1. Last week, Shawn Michaels superkicked him to get his attention. Well now Shawn has it, but if he wants an answer to his challenge, come see him face to face.

Cue Shawn to apologize for stealing just a bit of Hulk’s thunder, but that’s what he’s all about. He would get in the ring to join Hulk but if he did, we would have to wait another two weeks for Hogan to wake up from some more Sweet Chin Music. Shawn has heard people promising to end Hulkamania for years but it has never happened.

So what makes Shawn different? Then it hit him: he has never faced someone with the unbridled passion that Shawn possesses. No one has taken Hogan to that other level because everyone falls prey to the myth of Hulkamania. Shawn doesn’t see it though and thinks if Hogan accepts the challenge, he’s going in there with the main event, the icon and the showstopper.

Hogan talks about paying the price in this business WAY before Shawn started wrestling. When Shawn was graduating high school, Hogan was selling out the Philadelphia Spectrum. The challenge is accepted for Summerslam and Hogan hits the catchphrases. This wasn’t very good, as Hogan vs. Michaels isn’t exactly a match that needs a big, epic story. It kinds of sells itself and they would have been better going in that direction.

Jericho gives the lumberjacks a pep talk, encouraging them to get a little physical with Cena if they’re given the chance.

Kane vs. Edge

In a cage with Lita at ringside. Hold on though as Matt Hardy jumps the barricade before the match and tries to get at Edge but security takes him down. Edge even gets in a kick to the ribs and a lot of beeping ensues. We’re joined in progress with Kane cutting off an escape attempt but getting taken down with the Edgecution. This time it’s only good for two as Kane is right back up with the uppercut and side slam.

Edge is back up to catch Kane on top and they slug it out until Edge hits a spear against the cage. A splash against the cage makes it worse but Edge still has time for a quick kiss from Lita. Kane is busted open a bit but he’s fine enough to throw Edge face first into the cage. There’s another side slam and the top rope clothesline connects, giving us a very bloody smile. Edge tries to get out over the top, earning himself a crotching on the rope.

A running big boot sends Edge head first into the cage again but a low blow breaks up a chokeslam attempt. Another attempt at a climb is countered with a hard powerbomb for two but Edge sends him into the cage again. The spear gets two so Edge crawls to the door, only to get pulled right back in. Lita slips him the briefcase but it’s a chokeslam to put them both down. Kane goes up, leaving his back open for some briefcase shots. A big briefcase shot to the head lets Edge climb out for the win.

Rating: C. They hit each other a lot, they did their signature stuff, and there was no reason to believe that Kane was ever going to win. As soon as Matt Hardy showed up again, Kane became obsolete in this feud, which isn’t much of a fall as he was hardly a big deal for Edge over the last few weeks. Just get on to Matt so Kane can do something else.

Smackdown Rebound.

Maria asks John Cena if he’s worried about fallen trees in his lumberjack match. Cena makes penis references and asks Maria to go get his flannel shirt. Maria leaves and after a confused face from Cena, he makes some gay jokes about Bischoff and Jericho and promises to be violent.

Next week: a Battle of the Bands and Edge vs. Kane in a stretcher match. Why? Well what else are they going to do?

John Cena vs. Snitsky

Non-title lumberjack match. Snitsky gets smart (I’m surprised too) by sending Cena outside for the short form beating. Cena sends him outside for a change and it’s exactly what you would expect. Back in and Cena hits a backdrop, only to be sent outside again for a second beating. Cena is so annoyed that he dives outside again and tries his luck but gets sent into the barricade.

We take a break and come back with Cena in a cobra clutch after another beating during the commercial. A spinebuster puts Cena down again but he starts the comeback, only to get pulled outside by Jericho. That means some rams into various things so Snitsky can hit another cobra clutch. Cena comes back again but has to deal with Jericho, meaning it’s a heck of a clothesline to give Snitsky two.

The chinlock goes on so Cena comes back AGAIN, this time with Kurt Angle running in to break it up while the referee is distracted. The lumberjacks beat Cena up again to give Snitsky two so Cena grabs a DDT. Cue Shelton Benjamin and Big Show to lead the charge of some good guys to go after the lumberjacks. With everyone else gone, Cena FU’s Snitsky for the pin.

Rating: D-. They could have shaved off ten minutes or so from this and done almost the same thing. Cena was trying as hard as he could here but Snitsky’s peak ring time is about four minutes. I’m not sure how many times they did the same sequences (lumberjack beatdown, rest hold, Cena gets cut off by interferences) but they had me running out of patience in a hurry. Really boring match that felt even longer than it was.

Jericho is stunned to end the show.

Overall Rating: D. This show was a really weak effort as they seemed to be repeating almost everything (Carlito vs. Shelton, Striker vs. Angle, the Diva Search, Kane vs. Edge) and nothing was worth seeing. It was almost like they took the week off here and the last half was really hard to sit through. This was one of the weakest shows they’ve had in a long time and I don’t particularly want to see how bad next week is going to be.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: July 11, 2005
Location: Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey
Attendance: 9,000
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

We’re a week removed from the earth shattering split of Shawn Michaels and Hulk Hogan, whose friendship dated back all of two months (with about six weeks off in the middle). Tonight we start the build towards what is almost guaranteed to be a big time Summerslam match, but there is one more important thing to deal with: one of the interchangeable women in the Diva Search is going home! Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Shawn superkicking Hogan last week. It may not be the best angle but that really is a dream match and a battle of the generations.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Carlito to start things off with Carlito’s Cabana. Everyone is talking about Carlito and his show and last week, his guest was Hulk Hogan himself. Carlito knows that the fans want answers so here is his guest this week: Shawn Michaels. Well that would be the case if Shawn had turned Canadian, started wearing sunglasses and become Chris Jericho. Carlito isn’t sure what is going on but offers to let Jericho sit back and have an apple.

Jericho isn’t having that because he’s on a roll right now and therefore should be running this show. It’s time to clear things up a bit, meaning Jericho wants the Jeritron 5000 down here so it can be the Highlight Reel. Jericho tries to bring out Shawn instead, but Carlito cuts it off and says Jericho is too fat to be the host of this show. Love handles are NOT cool you see. Jericho calls him gordo and dubs himself Chris Canadian Cool. He refers to Carlito as Sideshow Bob and knows Shawn doesn’t want to be on an amateur talk show like this one. Shawn would want to be on Johnny Carson’s show, not Carson Daly’s.

Jericho tells Shawn to get out here right now but it’s RODDY PIPER instead. Roddy takes us further into the past by calling Carlito Buckwheat before saying that tonight, Shawn is in Piper’s Pit. So we just spent nearly fifteen minutes arguing which talk show someone is going to be on. Shouldn’t the bigger issue be why we have so many talk shows?

Video on the Asian tour.

Chris Masters vs. Tajiri

Fallout from Tajiri misting him two weeks ago. Masters jumps him at the bell to start and the beating is on in a hurry. Tajiri kicks his way out of trouble and the handspring kick to the face puts Masters on the floor. The ECW chants start up as Tajiri kicks him down for two more. A tornado DDT is blocked so Tajiri kicks him in the head for another two instead. The Tarantula is countered into a faceplant and the Masterlock finishes Tajiri.

Rating: D+. Tajiri’s kicks are always worth a look/listen but what else were you looking for here? Masters is just so boring and there is no way around it. It isn’t helping that he has been around here for months now and his big win is over Tajiri. They haven’t done him any favors and it’s getting less interesting every week.

Gene Snitsky comes in to see Edge and Lita as they are watching their wedding video. After a few highlights, Edge asks Snitsky some help with Kane tonight. In exchange, Snitsky can have Lita’s…..feet. He tries to suck her toes as a preview but that’s too far for Edge and Lita. Snitsky has to complete his mission first and then they’re all his. I REALLY don’t want to know who came up with this but I do want whoever it was to stay far away from the writing room.

We see HHH being taken out of the Cell two weeks ago.

Intercontinental Title: Shelton Benjamin vs. Carlito

Carlito is defending after having beaten Shelton in back to back title matches. Shelton punches him down to start and a suplex gets two. The dropkick is good for the same but Carlito is back with his own dropkick. Shelton is right back up though, meaning it’s time for Carlito to take a breather.

Back from a break with Shelton fighting out of a chinlock so Carlito sends him outside in a heap. The LET’S GO SHELTON chants get on Carlito’s nerves so he stomps away and grabs another chinlock. With that broken up, Carlito chokes away on the ropes for a good bit instead. The third chinlock goes on, which really shouldn’t be the case in a match that has been going for ten minutes.

Rating: D+. Too many chinlocks in a short match can hut things a good bit, as can just walking out to retain the title. That being said, it does fit Carlito so it doesn’t come out of nowhere. I’m not sure how this warranted a trilogy either, but odds are we’re going to see it again soon and that isn’t exactly appealing.

John Cena and Eric Bischoff are arguing in the back.

Here is Cena for a chat so we’ll start with the sucking up to the crowd. He’s glad to be here but hang on because we need some cheer soaking. Now though, Cena needs to worry about Y2 Cheap, who was talking about beating Cena up last week. That’s not how Cena remembers it though because Jericho believes he can take the title anytime.

Cue Bischoff, who doesn’t seem happy about….well anything really. Bischoff shrugs off the fans and says Cena will defend the title whenever Bischoff says so. Cena really doesn’t like that tone and thinks he’s being provoked but here’s Jericho to interrupt. Bischoff calms things down in a hurry and gives Jericho the Summerslam title shot. As you might expect, Jericho is rather pleased and calls Cena a thug.

That’s too far for Cena, as tends to be the case for him. Jericho cuts him off and says that he’ll be the biggest star in WWE and sell EVEN MORE RECORDS. Cena knows Jericho is looking forward to living off the cheap sauce in cheap land but he’d rather fight right now. That’s a no, but Jericho does promise to win the title. With Jericho gone, Cena gives Bischoff the AA to blow off some steam (Bischoff holding the mic and begging until he hit the ground was great). It was a good exchange, though Jericho doesn’t exactly come off like a major challenge to the title here.

It’s time for the first Diva Search elimination. That would be Alexis, who is actually a pretty blonde if you can believe that. With that out of the way, it’s time for a talent competition and egads take me now.

Ashley has been training to wrestle so she monkey flips Christy Hemme.

Leyla has to wait for the referee who prevented her wardrobe malfunction last week because she wants to dance for him. As expected, it ends in a low blow.

Summer backflips into the splits, and then does it again because it took about five seconds out of sixty.

Krystal, who is dressed as a French painter, including a mustache, pulls off her clothes to reveal a swimsuit and then pours paint over herself so she can roll around on some paper.

Elizabeth dances, albeit with a police theme so she handcuffs Christy to the ropes and spanks her.

Simona pulls out a sword and gyrates in front of Coach.

Cameron gives Christy a lap dance. Christy: “I think she’s done that a few times.” Coach: “Christy I think you’ve done that a few times.”

Every time I think that they’ve hit the all time low point of wasting time, we get something like this. Sweet goodness this was AWFUL as they continue to manage to make good looking women in little clothing feel worthless.

Here’s Kurt Angle for the debut of the Kurt Angle Invitational on Raw. He explains the rules (three minute time limit, the opponent only has to survive to win the gold medal) and brings out this week’s opponent: Matt Striker, a former teacher who called in sick to be able to go wrestle. Angle has already beaten him once in Philadelphia (in February), though Striker says he’s from New York here. Angle: “Man you lie a lot!”

Kurt Angle vs. Matt Striker

Feeling out process to start until Angle takes him down into a Fujiwara armbar. Angle uppercuts him in the corner and hits a hard belly to back suplex as we hit the halfway point. Striker gets in some right hands but walks into an overhead belly to belly. The straps come down but Striker sends him shoulder first into the post with less than a minute to go. Angle gets back in with about twenty seconds left so Striker hammers away in the corner. A low blow has Angle in trouble but he picks the ankle and makes Striker tap with a second left. I knew the ending and they had me wondering how they were going to pull it off. That takes talent.

Kane laughs at the idea of getting to face Edge.

Edge and Lita are on the way to the ring when MATT HARDY runs in from behind him and gets in a few shots. The fans take a second to realize who it is but then go nuts when they figure it out. Lita screams at Matt, who stares back at her but then runs out the door when security shows up. This was a heck of an angle and one of the best bits of shock value I’ve seen from them in months.

The Boogeyman is coming as the generation’s cast continues to grow.

Kane vs. Edge

The fans start chanting for Hardy as Kane hammers away in the corner. Edge manages to send him outside for some forearms to the back but Kane gets in an uppercut. The fans are still gung ho for Matt, even as Kane hits the good looking side slam. There’s the top rope clothesline but Kane goes after Lita, drawing in Snitsky for the DQ.

Kane and Snitsky brawl into the crowd and it’s Matt running in from the other side to go after Edge. They brawl a bit until referees break it up with Matt heading to the floor. Matt calls Edge a b****** and Lita a w**** before saying something about Ring of Honor until security takes him down. I’m not sure I would have done both segments in one night but DANG this worked and felt like the first must see angle in a long time.

We look at Shawn turning on Hogan again.

Here’s Roddy Piper for Piper’s Pit to wrap things up. He doesn’t waste any time with wacky references before bringing Shawn out for the explanation. Piper asks why Shawn did it last week and hands him the mic for the explanation (alas without a congratulation because turning on Hogan would be a very Piper thing). Shawn talks about spending twenty years trying to give the fans something to remember. No one has left them with more Wrestlemania memories than him or had a bigger impact on the direction of this industry than he has.

Back at the Hall of Fame, Shawn heard the ONE MORE MATCH chants so he knew what he had to do. Shawn sacrificed himself to give the fans what they want. Now he knows Hogan will have one more match and…..pause for the HOGAN chants….that Hogan will be immortal, but Shawn sees it differently. In this instance, perception is not reality because at Summerslam, it’s Shawn vs. Hogan. At Summerslam, Shawn will prove that immortality has a price.

Piper still wants to know WHY though because Shawn can’t fool him. It was the fans who made him a four time World Champion. Piper remembers Shawn asking him for advice when he was coming up and Piper told him how to make the main event because Shawn was worth it.

Now though, Piper is ashamed of him and wants to know why Shawn threw everything away. Shawn says he’s given his answer and is ready to go but Piper says get back in here. Piper says Shawn is a coward so there’s the superkick, allowing Shawn to go into serious mode. The slow walk up the ramp ends the show. This didn’t give a very detailed explanation but I’ll take something like this over “I don’t owe you a thing” every day.

Overall Rating: D+. This was a show where the angles carried things but there was only so much they could do to get around Snitsky’s foot fetish, the Diva Search thing and a bunch of matches that felt like nothing more than filler material. The angles kept things going well enough, but they need to fix up the rest of the show if they really want things to work. The Hardy thing was outstanding though and exactly what they were looking for, as well as something the show needed.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: June 13, 2005
Location: Broome County Arena, Binghamton, New York
Attendance: 3,300
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

It’s the night after One Night Stand and that likely means no Eric Bischoff tonight due to ECW giving him an all time beating. We’re less than two weeks away from Vengeance and that means it’s time for the hard push towards HHH vs. Batista inside the Cell. Steve Austin is here as the guest star tonight to deal with Muhammad Hassan and Daivari so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here’s Austin to get things going. Austin thanks the fan for their welcome but gets right to the point. There is a man who feels like he has been failed by the system and has been given the shaft over and over. Therefore, Austin is here for his unbiased opinion so let’s get the defendant out here right now. The USA chants are on in a hurry and Austin calls Hassan and Daivari sand people. Austin doesn’t like the two of them, which Hassan says makes them like everyone else. Hassan is here because he demands justice, though Austin thinks he’s a little too close.

We see a package of Hassan being discriminated against and….the guy kind of has a point on this one. Hassan says that is all the proof he needs so Austin uses Hassan’s head scarf to wipe the spit off his face. Austin: “I think you are a piece of garbage.” However, Hassan has been wronged by the system so tonight, he’s getting an Intercontinental Title shot. Shelton Benjamin is ready in the back and Austin is going to be the enforcer. Hassan is rather pleased with this one.

Intercontinental Title: Shelton Benjamin vs. Muhammad Hassan

Shelton is defending and we’re joined in progress with Hassan driving him into the corner and the fans chanting for Austin. Shelton is right back with right hands in the corner but gets dropped face first onto the buckle. A snap suplex drops Shelton again and Hassan strikes the pose. The chinlock goes on for a few seconds before Hassan takes him outside for a posting.

Rating: C-. The match wasn’t great but the ending made sense. They don’t need to put the title on Hassan yet and he can have his rematch at Vengeance as the complaining continues. Austin breaking up the cheating finish was the kind of thing he should have done and it isn’t something that needs to be continued. Hassan is finally getting somewhere, though it still isn’t exactly great stuff.

Post match Austin announces Hassan as the winner and has some beer with Shelton.

Coach and Eric Bischoff are in the office (WHY IS BISCHOFF HERE AFTER THAT KIND OF A BEATING??? And he’s not even looking hurt!) with Bischoff not wanting to hear about ECW. Coach leaves and Chris Jericho comes in to complain about Christian getting the World Title shot at Vengeance. Tonight, he’ll beat up Christian to prove his point. HHH comes in and has a staredown with Jericho, who doesn’t seem impressed.

With Jericho gone, HHH wants to know who the Draft pick is tonight. Whoever the new pick is, they get to go face to face with Batista tonight. Whatever is going to be said, it better not interfere with the match at Vengeance. HHH yells a lot about how no one is stopping him from getting the title back and that’s about it. Even Bischoff seems sick of the never ending HHH stuff.

Here’s Chris Masters for the Masterlock Challenge. This week it’s $11,000 so here’s Sgt. Slaughter to lose after the traditional, insults, Cobra Clutch and cheating.

Long video video on Batista vs. HHH.

We look back at John Cena debuting and setting up tonight’s tag match.

Tyson Tomko/Christian vs. John Cena/Chris Jericho

The fans are WAY behind Cena here as the Canadians slug it out to start. Jericho gets the better of that without much effort and it’s off to Tomko. That means a kick to the head and it’s off to Cena for the first time to a big reaction. An elbow to the face and a suplex give Cena two and it’s Tomko and Christian being sent outside as we take a break. Back with Christian shouldering Cena down for two but Jericho tags himself in to keep things fresh.

Tomko comes in for a spinwheel kick that misses so badly that even the camera cut can’t save it. Some powerful clubbering puts Jericho down but he sweeps Christian’s legs and hammers away. The reverse DDT gives Christian two but an enziguri gets Jericho out of trouble and over to Cena for the hot tag. Tomko gets hiptossed and Christian gets punched out of the air, followed by the ProtoBomb and FU to put Tomko away.

Rating: C. Just a match really but you can almost guarantee something coming up from Jericho and Cena. Jericho has needed a heel turn for a long time now and that would probably be best for everyone. If nothing else, a triple threat might be a better way to protect Cena in the big match atmosphere, as he hasn’t shown that breakthrough regular singles match just yet.

Post match Jericho jumps Cena and lays him out to officially turn heel, as he should be doing. Cena gets sent into various steel objects and the fans are not happy.

The Diva Search auditions have taken place. Coach and Christy Hemme were there to explain how important this really is. Various shots of various parts of swimsuits are shown. Ashley Massaro pops up in a few cameos. This goes on for a very long time and the finalists are here next week.

Jericho asks Bischoff if that was good enough and the Vengeance title match is….still Christian’s, who pops up to yell. Make it a triple threat instead. Cue Cena to run in and go after Jericho, showing the good fire as he tends to do.

Maven vs. Viscera

A VERY happy Lilian Garcia is here with Viscera. Maven starts fast and manages two off of a missile dropkick but it’s a swinging Boss Man Slam and a splash to crush Maven flat. The newly named Visagara….is something we’re moving on from as fast as possible. The chokebomb finishes Maven quick.

HHH and Ric Flair aren’t worried about the Draft pick.

Kane vs. Sylvain Grenier

Kane hammers away in the corner to start as it’s time to let off some of that Edge/Lita steam. A boot in the corner keeps Grenier in trouble but he pokes Kane in the eye and gets in a dropkick. Kane sits up though and the beating is on, capped off by the chokeslam. Two more chokeslams finish Grenier in the way it should.

Post match Kane loads up the pyro but here’s Lita to interrupt. She says Kane should be used to people not being satisfied in the lack of a bang. Lita brings out Snitsky and says the whole lost baby is forgotten. She even thanks Snitsky for getting rid of the demon spawn and offers a thank you while stroking his beard. Snitsky: “MY PLEASURE!” That’s it for Snitsky so Lita brings out Edge, now her fiance. The wedding is going to be next week and Lita will get to see the real one eyed monster.

Here are HHH and Flair to deal with the Draft pick, with JR not understanding why HHH needs to be here. HHH talks about how he’s going to win the title back at Vengeance because he’s in charge, so get the new pick out here. That would be…..Kurt Angle, and hopefully we can forget the whole Sharmell/Booker T. deal. HHH doesn’t look happy as Angle talks about how what HHH said would apply to anyone coming over from Smackdown.

Well almost anyone that is, because HHH is no longer #1 around here. Angle and Flair get in a WOO off and HHH nearly loses it over “gimmick infringement.” HHH says he calls the shots around here but Angle brings up making Shawn Michaels tap out the same night HHH lost to Batista.

There goes HHH’s jacket (showing off a drenched shirt) so he can say that at least he was a champion at Wrestlemania. While HHH was off flying around the world, Angle was getting beaten up by Booker T.’s wife. Angle: “Let’s just say I have a thing for other people’s wives.” He brings up his affair with Stephanie McMahon, with HHH saying that everyone did something with her so it doesn’t matter.

Overall Rating: D+. The ending segment was pretty good but by the time this show was done, I couldn’t remember what else had happened. I don’t know if the whole thing was rushed because of the ECW show, but Vengeance, which has a decent looking card, isn’t really sparking yet. That’s what happens when HHH vs. Batista was the only thing getting any attention until tonight and that’s not a great way of going about things. Hopefully that gets taken care of next week, but it looks like they have their work cut out for them. Not a very good show overall, but the good moments were strong.

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

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

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

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: June 6, 2005
Location: Savvis Center, St. Louis, Missouri
Attendance: 10,000
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

It’s time for the start of the Draft and that is the kind of thing that can change a lot about the company in a hurry. The first Draft pick is going to be revealed on the Highlight Reel and that could make for some interesting interactions. Other than that we have the build towards HHH vs. Batista in the Cell and it’s also the go home show for One Night Stand. Let’s get to it.

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

Eric Bischoff is very, very happy with the first Draft pick. It’s the biggest Draft pick ever but here’s Coach to warn him that Paul Heyman could be here tonight. Bischoff: “Who cares?”

Opening sequence.

Here’s Chris Jericho for the Highlight Reel as we’re starting fast. Jericho hypes up the new acquisition and says they’re going to have a hard time topping his debut six years ago. We’re not wasting any more time though because here’s the first pick: WWE Champion John Cena, officially making him the next big thing in the company. Both Jericho and Cena are happy to be “hurr” (their word) but Jericho brings up both titles being on the same show.

The last time that happened, Jericho beat them both in the same night. Jericho talks about how they’re both becoming media superstars, though he is a little bit above Cena. If Cena wants to be a big music star though, he might have to alienate some wrestling fans. That won’t be happening but Cena says if anyone wants some, come get some. Cue Christian and Tyson Tomko with the Canadian saying he can’t believe what he’s seeing.

The cheers Cena is getting reminds him of the cheers of another fraud in this town: Mark McGwire. Christian: “This is my show Cena, so go take a stroll. Canada in the house, cause that’s how I roll.” Cena makes fun of him for the old Brood offense (hey now that was awesome) and says Christian was sucking something other than blood. Tomko is Christian’s life partner but Cena can beat them both at once. That means a five second pose with a one fingered You Can’t See Me and it’s Cena and Jericho cleaning house. Get the tag match ready.

Intercontinental Title: Muhammad Hassan/Daivari vs. Shelton Benjamin

Benjamin is defending and this is the result of a threatened lawsuit from Hassan after Batista beat up Hassan and Daivari. Only Hassan can win the title here. Hassan takes Benjamin into the corner to start but gets powered out as the USA chants begin. Daivari gets draped over the top but the distraction lets Hassan get in a cheap shot. A nasty running knee to the face puts Hassan down but Daivari’s distraction sets up the Downward Spiral to give Hassan the pin. Hang on though as the foot is on the rope and we keep going after a break.

Back with Shelton fighting out of a chinlock and hitting a tackle for a double knockdown. The Samoan drop plants Hassan again but he’s up fast enough to save Daivari from a choke. Hassan sends him shoulder first into the post and it’s off to the armbar. Daivari comes in and stomps away for two before working on the other arm for a change. The comeback doesn’t seem that hard and there’s the Stinger Splash to Daivari. Hassan is sent outside and the exploder to Daivari retains the title.

Rating: D+. They went with the false finish a bit too early and it made the rest of the match feel a little dull as they weren’t going to have Shelton get pinned twice, even if the first one didn’t count. Hassan is fine for a challenger here, but I’m not sure how much it is going to help him to stick with the “they’re all against me” stuff.

We recap the setup to HHH vs. Batista in the Cell before their contract signing tonight.

William Regal comes up to see Tajiri in the back. Tajiri denies being involved with Paul Heyman and Regal forbids him from being involved with One Night Stand. Chris Benoit comes up and Regal blames him for confusing the poor lad Tajiri. Benoit talks about ECW’s place in history but Regal says it’s sad to see how far Benoit has fallen. Benoit says ECW gave him a chance when no one else would (I find that a little hard to believe.) so Regal tells Tajiri to pick a side. Tajiri: “ECW! ECW! ECW!”

Bischoff and Coach aren’t worried about ECW but here are Hassan and Daivari to complain about the INJUSTICE in the match. Bischoff says there will be a one man committee here next week to address Hassan’s issues in the ring: Steve Austin.

Chris Masters vs. Val Venis

Masters is already getting caught by the same problem that Hassan had at first: these feuds against low level opponents aren’t going to draw any interest and they come off as a waste of time more than anything else. Venis jumps him during his entrance and slugs away, including sending Masters into the buckle to start.

A half nelson slam gets two and they head to the floor, only to have Masters get in a pretty low kick to slow Venis down. Venis is fine enough for a rather delayed one off a fisherman’s suplex. The Blue Thunder Bomb and spinebuster get two each but Masters shoves him out of the corner in a big crash. The Masterlock goes on and after a quick fight, Venis is done.

Rating: D+. Venis was trying here (as he almost always was) but it’s 2005 and you’re only going to get so much interest out of a Val Venis match. It also doesn’t make Masters look very good to have to struggle against Venis, who beat him up for most of the match before getting caught at the end. That being said, the idea of Masters being in a big time match at the moment sounds rather disturbing.

Ric Flair gives HHH a pep talk before the contract signing. He needs encouragement for that?

It’s time for the contract signing with Bischoff running the show and the ring full of security. Before we get to that though, Bischoff dares Paul Heyman to show up here because ECW was a failure. Why was it a failure? It’s because it didn’t have something like the Cell or a star like HHH. After HHH comes out, Bischoff has a big announcement: should either HHH or Batista be drafted to Smackdown, the match still takes place. HHH doesn’t care about the Draft because no one is better than him on either show.

We get a highlight package of HHH inside the Cell, which I’m sure he just had laying around. With that out of the way and some more threats from HHH, here’s Batista to say HHH is done talking. He isn’t afraid of HHH or the Cell so HHH needs to be ready to pay for his sins. They both sign and HHH says that was Batista signing his own death warrant. Batista: “Good!” They’ll have to kill each other to win and it’s a tense face to face with more threats to wrap it up.

We look back at Cena’s debut.

Victoria/Heart Throbs vs. Hurricane/Rosey/Christy Hemme

Fallout from Victoria snapping on Christy last week and Stacy is out with Hurricane and company. Hurricane and Thomas start things off and it’s a suplex to give Hurricane an early two. Roselli comes in for a double Russian legsweep and a double suplex lets Roselli thrust the hips. For some reason that’s enough for a tag to Victoria so Christy has to come in as well. Hurricane kicks Victoria away and makes the tag anyway because they don’t know the rules all too well. The catfight is on and everything breaks down and it’s a DQ with Christy choking Victoria too much.

Rating: D. Yeah this was nothing, though Christy can certainly snap when she needs to. The problem is that she isn’t a wrestler and can’t do anything beyond the catfighting, which is understandable given how she got here. She is intense though and seems to be trying and I’ll take that over someone just showing up and looking desperate for their contract to expire.

Cena is in Bischoff’s office but won’t shake the boss’ hand. Bischoff gets straight to the point: next week it’s Cena/Jericho vs. Tomko/Christian. We get more gay jokes before Cena is offered a spot on the anti-ECW team. That isn’t Cena’s deal so Bischoff offers to have his back. Cena doesn’t play politics so Bischoff issues threats, meaning we hear about Raw vs. Nitro again (fair enough here as it’s just over four years ago). If Bischoff wants a friend, see one of the other Draft picks because you won’t see him.

Smackdown Rebound.

We look at Edge and Lita flushing Lita’s wedding ring last week.

Kane comes out for a match but here’s a smiling Edge instead. Edge has good news and bad news: Kane won’t be facing him tonight but he will be facing him at Vengeance. As for tonight, Edge has a better idea. Cue Lita, wearing what can only somewhat be described as a top. Lita is excited about going to Vengeance in Las Vegas and once Edge beats Kane, they’ll go get married at one of those all night wedding chapels. Kissing ensues and Kane is annoyed.

Sidenote: Kane would beat Simon Dean in a quick match during the break.

Sabu will be at One Night Stand.

Chris Benoit vs. Gene Snitsky

ECW Rules and Coach is on commentary. Benoit wastes no time in grabbing a trashcan lid to hammer Snitsky down and lets get some trashcans as well. Snitsky gets in a few shots of his own but has to trash can lid his way out of a Crossface attempt. The trashcans are wedged into the corner and a hard whip sends Benoit back first into both of them.

Snitsky stays on the back but misses a big boot to crotch himself on the top. It’s table time and the fans are rather pleased all over again. Some rolling German suplexes rock Snitsky again and it’s time to put him on the table. The Swan Dive is broken up though and a shot to the head puts Benoit outside. Cue the Dudleys (with Bubba in the old school glasses) for the first time in a long time for a 3D through the table and the no contest.

Rating: C-. This was better than I was expecting, which is both surprising due to it being Snitsky but not surprising due to it being Benoit. Snitsky worked the back for a few minutes until the storyline ending and that is better than what you get with almost any Snitsky match.

Post match the Dudleys run off through the crowd.

Post break Coach sends the cops to arrest the Dudleys in the back. Paul Heyman shows up and gets arrested too, despite being invited to the show. Heyman pesters Coach into saying he doesn’t want to drop the charges so the cuffs come off. After Heyman talks the Dudleys out of fighting the cops, a challenge is made for the Dudleys to come to the ring.

Here are Bischoff, Edge, Christian and Tomko to the ring in a hurry. Bischoff laughs off the idea of the Dudley Boyz being Heyman’s big weapon because they’re just overrated. He and his buddies are ready to take the Dudleys out tonight so Bischoff doesn’t even have to show up at One Night Stand. We hear about some Smackdown crusaders who are joining Bischoff and company to end ECW once and for all.

Bischoff calls Heyman out so here they are coming from the crowd. Heyman rants about Bischoff having all of the resources but it never connected with the audience like ECW did. ECW never backed down to anyone so the Dudleys get in the ring. Bischoff waves the lower card reinforcements down to the ring so Heyman points to the crowd and the ECW theme starts. Cue a bunch of ECW guys (Tommy Dreamer, Rhino, the Hardcore Chair Swinging Freaks and Sandman) with Heyman sending the dogs after the Raw guys. ECW cleans house, including destroying Maven, to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. There are a lot of ways to look at this show and it made it kind of a confusing watch. First of all, the Raw stuff going on isn’t all that good with Batista vs. HHH feeling like a match that we just have to get through so HHH can take a break when he decides to take a break. It’s annoying, but Raw has been “his” show for so long that I guess he needs it, or at least was able to convince someone that he does. I’m sure the match will be fine, but when we’ve seen it twice in two months, it’s a bit tiresome.

Then there is Cena coming over, which feels big now but is almost destined to be a game changer. Cena has jumped way up the ladder since Wrestlemania with that I Quit match being his big coming out party moment. WWE needs some fresh faces on the show and Cena is more versatile than Batista. Cena isn’t at Batista’s level of star power yet (though the gap has shrunk in a hurry) but the potential is there and he has a much bigger upside, meaning he belongs on Raw.

Finally there’s the ECW stuff and that feels fun. That’s the biggest thing that I get every time that the show is mentioned. I want to see how the thing goes and that’s because they have made it feel like a cool moment. Above all else it feels like a celebration of ECW rather than a blatant cash grab. I mean, it is a cash grab but don’t be so obvious about it. Anyway, the bad slightly outweighs the good, but brighter days are ahead.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Main Event
Date: October 24, 2019
Location: Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, Cleveland, Ohio
Commentators: Byron Saxton, Dio Maddin, Mickie James

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

Opening sequence.

Mojo Rawley vs. No Way Jose

Hold on though as Mojo grabs a mic (on THIS show?) to insult the members of the Conga Line. There is a grown man in a cheeseburger costume and they’re following Jose? They need a real athlete and someone who earned his MBA at 21 years old. They slug it out to start until Mojo gets hiptossed to the floor. Back in and a high crossbody gives Jose two….but Mojo is right back with the running right hand in the corner for the pin at 1:28. What the heck was that? You’re cutting a MAIN EVENT match short? Normally I would have some hope for a story around here but I’ve moved on from something like that.

Post match Mojo says the Conga Line needs a real leader but he beats up the cheeseburger man for not following him. Mojo orders everyone else to leave and they eventually go. Dude did they just do an angle on this show???

Video on Bayley’s heel turn.

From Smackdown.

It’s time for MizTV with special guest Bayley, flanked by Sasha Banks, the latter of whom surprises Miz. Bayley and Sasha brag about the title change last week and we see a clip of Bayley’s new attitude, setting up the win over Charlotte. Thankfully the viral clip of the child crying is included. Miz asks Bayley what was up with that but she doesn’t owe anyone an explanation. Miz: “Are you Brock Lesnar? Is this your Paul Heyman?”

Banks brings up Miz being a fifth rounds draft pick, which Miz laughs off because he’s always relevant. Bayley talks about crying after losing the title to Charlotte but no one was there to hug her. She has put herself second for years to be a role model but they weren’t there when he needed them. The reality is that Bayley has outgrown these people so here’s some reality: life sucks and then you die.

Video on Tyson Fury vs. Braun Strowman.

We look at the OC jumping the Street Profits.

From Raw.

Street Profits/??? vs. OC

The Profits do their big, high energy entrance and the fans….don’t seem to care. It gets a bit better but this thing was tailor made for a small place like Full Sail and it doesn’t work here. There’s no mystery partner so the OC mocks them, suggesting that he’s invisible or imaginary. We see a clip of the brawl that set up the match and take a break. Back with….no one as a partner so AJ is on the floor to start.

The Profits waste no time in clearing the ring so it’s gallows coming in for a big boot. Everything breaks down and Ford comes in to clean house, only to get thrown over the top for a crash. Anderson hits a running knee from the apron to take him down again and we take a break. Back with Ford not being able to dive over and get the tag to Dawkins so the beating can continue. The chinlock goes on but Ford fights up and hits a double clothesline. Anderson gets a blind tag but gets sent outside, allowing the hot tag to Dawkins.

House is cleaned but Gallows pulls Anderson out of a Doomsday Device. Anderson’s spinebuster gets two on Ford but AJ gets yelled at for interfering. That means an ejection…..and here’s Kevin Owens to fight AJ, presumably being the third man. Anderson is so stunned that he backdrops Ford to the floor, with Dawkins making the tag on the way through the air. The big frog splash finishes Anderson at 13:03.

Rating: C-. They put WAY too much into this at once as you had a crowd who didn’t know the Profits and then the focus was taken off of them twice. This was spent looking to see who the partner was going to be, wondering why it was then a regular tag match and then having Owens come out to get the attention off of the Profits again. Giving them the win was the right call and the match wasn’t bad, but it was too much going on to showcase them properly.

Crown Jewel rundown.

Natalya vs. Sarah Logan

Natalya is no Dana Brooke. They take turns going to the mat for some early grappling until Natalya gets in an armdrag and strikes a pose. A rollup gives us an early standoff so Natalya grabs a quick abdominal stretch. Sarah smiles so the leg is picked up to make it even worse. The basement dropkick gives Natalya two but Logan kicks her to the floor and we take a break.

Back with Natalya fighting out of the chinlock but getting choked on the ropes for her efforts. The chinlock goes on again so Natalya fights out again for a double clothesline. The belly to back faceplant sends Logan to the apron and she gets in a kick to the face. Natalya blocks the Cloverleaf and kicks her away, setting up the Sharpshooter for the tap at 9:48.

Rating: D+. This is one of those matches that was technically fine but still not something that was going to be anything beyond a standard match. Logan has had nothing to do since the Riott Squad broke up while Natalya will be around WWE until the end of time. She’s going to be on and off of Raw every week and while that is acceptable, it may not be the most thrilling thing.

Video on Seth Rollins vs. the Fiend, starting in the Cell and moving on to Rollins lighting the Firefly Fun House on fire.

Here’s Rey Mysterio, still with his arm in a sling, for a chat. Rey thanks everyone for the love and support he and his family have received since Brock Lesnar took him out. He was thinking about retiring but now he has a new way of thinking because he wants to see Cain Velasquez take the WWE Championship and put another scar on Brock Lesnar. Paul Heyman pops up on screen to ask if Mysterio would say the same things if Lesnar was there in person.

Mysterio thought he had the perfect choice to go after Lesnar but Brock has spent nine years waiting for that day. Rey yells in Spanish but here’s Shelton Benjamin to ask how Cain got a title shot. Just for defending Rey’s kid when Rey couldn’t do it? Shelton and Brock are friends too because they roomed together at the University of Minnesota. Rey says Shelton has it all wrong but Shelton wants to know what happens if he shoves Rey around. Maybe one shove is a US Title shot and two is an Intercontinental Title shot.

Shelton asks where Cain Velasquez is….and here he comes, with Shelton realizing that he’s screwed up. Shelton can’t take him down so Cain tosses him to the mat a few times and hammers away, eventually choking Shelton for a quick tap. That….wasn’t very impressive and the fans don’t seem to care all that much.

Overall Rating: D. I can understand the idea of recapping a lot of the stuff from Raw and Smackdown but this show did little more than to remind you just how uninteresting Raw and Smackdown have been as of late. The stories haven’t worked and it’s like there is nothing to get excited about. Putting big wrestlers against outside athletes isn’t something that is going to get me fired up and the rest of the main stuff is looking towards Crown Jewel, which has a set of problems all its own. Bad show here, as somehow the Mojo Rawley thing interests me more than anything else.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: May 23, 2005
Location: Resch Center, Green Bay, Wisconsin
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

We’re on the way to the next Raw pay per view now that Smackdown’s show is over, but not before a big time show tonight. This week will see Batista defend the World Title against Edge, who has been lit on fire with a now heel Lita and a win in the Gold Rush Tournament. Other than that, it’s time to start the build to Vengeance, which seems a long way off. Let’s get to it.

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

We recap the Gold Rush Tournament finals with Lita turning on Kane to join Edge. I heartily approve of heel Lita, and JR’s line of “the dirty rotten bastard is going to wrestle for the World Title!” is pretty awesome.

Here are Edge and Lita, flanked by a bunch of security guard. Lita tells this room full of saints to go ahead and pass judgment on her. Women use their husbands like she did to Kane all the time, and can you really blame her? Maybe it started with the kidnapping, the forcing her into sex, being pregnant with his baby, the forced marriage and losing her baby? So yeah, she used her husband to get somewhere and all it took was a really gross wet kiss last week.

The fans start a pretty expected chant at her but she says don’t be jealous because she gets more action in a month than the rest of the crowd does in their entire lives. She never loved Kane (well duh) and while he was following her around like a puppy, she fell in love with a real man. Kane couldn’t satisfy her, just like any man she has ever been with. Well save for one, and that is the man she has been seeing behind Kane’s back for months now.

Edge knows everyone is jealous of them for how they look and what they do. He has the girl and tonight he’ll get the gold. Edge won at Wrestlemania, and tonight he claims his destiny by becoming World Heavyweight Champion. Bank on it. Kissing ensues and the fans care a bit. This worked as well as it could with a bad premise. There was no secret to the fact that Lita didn’t want to marry Kane in the first place and never loved him in the first place, so why should I be upset about what happened to him? He was so evil about six months ago and now he deserves sympathy? It doesn’t quite work that way.

Kane is rather….I guess the word is serious in the back.

Eric Bischoff is making funeral arrangements for ECW when Shelton Benjamin comes in. Chris Jericho isn’t here for their tag match so Bischoff turns it into a handicap match instead. They bring up the Draft, with both thinking John Cena would be a good addition. Benjamin thinks Bischoff going to Smackdown would be better. Eh, even if Bischoff goes to Smackdown, I can’t see him lasting that long over there.

Muhammad Hassan/Daivari vs. Shelton Benjamin

Shelton comes up swinging but gets punched down by Hassan. A blind tag brings in Daivari but Shelton sends Hassan outside and armbars Daivari without too much effort. The fans get behind Shelton, only to be cut off as Hassan gets in a trip from the floor. Hassan comes back in for a hard elbow to the face and the chinlock goes on. It’s back to Daivari, who spends too much time shouting and gets suplexed down for his efforts. Shelton faceplants Daivari and nails a running knee lift on Hassan. Daivari tries to bring in a chair and the distraction lets Hassan hit a Downward Spiral for the pin.

Rating: D. Just a quick handicap match here to give Hassan a win over the champ to set up what should be a title match down the line. The match was the usual mess of a short form handicap match and that all but guarantees that it’s going to be terrible. At least they also advanced Jericho’s issues, as a heel turn has seemed to be in the cards for a few weeks now.

Post break Jericho arrives and is told that his match already happened. He’s been busy with the Fozzy tour so he’s got a lot on his mind. Whenever he finds Bischoff, he’ll face anyone tonight because Jericho equals ratings.

Christian and Tomko are in the back when Edge and Lita come in. Edge says Christian is probably staying on Raw so he has an offer: if Christian were to help Edge win the title tonight, Edge might be willing to part with the Money in the Bank briefcase. Christian gets it and says maybe he’ll see Edge later.

Chris Masters vs. Stevie Richards

This is for retribution after Masters broke Richards’ nose. Richards slugs away to start but Masters snaps off a suplex. The ax handle is blocked and Richards explodes with right hands. Masters takes out the knee and it’s the Masterlock for the quick win.

Post match medics come out and check on Richards.

Bischoff sends Todd Grisham to find out how Kane is doing.

Here are some of the women who might be finalists in the Diva Search.

Chris Jericho vs. Sylvain Grenier

Grenier is here on his own. Jericho gets taken into the corner to start and the Walls attempt is broken up. Instead Jericho forearms him in the head and hits the enziguri to the forearm. Grenier gets in a clothesline but Jericho snaps him throat first across the top. The Walls finish in a hurry.

Rating: D+. They were smart to not have Jericho break much of a sweat over Grenier here as Grenier is likely to be on the endangered species list with La Resistance done. The match was short and to the point though and that’s as much as you can expect. Jericho’s teased heel turn is a good idea though as he’s been in limbo for a long time.

Post match here’s Shelton but Jericho drops to the floor and talks about everything he has going on. Sometimes you’re going to have to put up with him being a little late because he’s Chris Jericho. The Jericholics will always be on his side.

Here’s Eric Bischoff for the ECW funeral, complete with a barbed wire wreath. Bischoff gives a rather laugh filled history of ECW, talking about the Bingo hall and how the roster thought they were rebels. Then he crushed ECW and it died, only to have rumors of a reunion pop up again. Therefore, he’ll crush it again, with the help of some Raw volunteers who are going to show up to the Hammerstein Ballroom on June 12. The rant continues but here’s Vince McMahon to interrupt.

Vince is here because he has a vested interest in the future of ECW because he supposed ECW for years (which seems to be news to Bischoff). Vince knew that one day, the ECW stars could become WWE superstars, including Mick Foley, the Dudleys and Steve Austin. Bischoff isn’t pleased but Vince brings up the loans that ECW owed him, totaling nearly $600,000. That’s why he wants the ECW show to be a success, which is why he advertised them himself.

As for tonight, he’s going to present the ECW match that Bischoff canceled last week. See, the only brand that is really dead is WCW and Vince killed it himself. With Bischoff’s legs cut off, here’s Paul Heyman to talk about ECW instead, which gives us the always awesome visual of the three promoters in the same ring at once (I believe for the first time ever). Heyman says Vince may own ECW but Heyman controls it.

That brings him to Bischoff, who gets a rant about everything ECW did, including the cruiserweights and submission style, with Heyman holding up the ECW press pass every time he says everything. We hear about ECW being in your face and hardcore, with Bischoff being invited to see the show in person, with Heyman getting in the date of the show as he always does.

Vince loves the idea of a good old fight so may the best man win. Heyman says Bischoff has started a fire that he can’t put out. The wreath is set on fire and Bischoff looks worried. This just turned into a big deal and that’s a good thing as the show feels special. You could feel the anger that Heyman had for Bischoff here and it must feel great to him to have ECW back instead of WCW.

Steve Austin is in the remake of the Longest Yard.

Chris Benoit vs. Tajiri

ECW Rules so Tajiri jumps him from behind with the kendo stick on the stage. Benoit takes it away but gets the mist to the face so Tajiri can bring in some weapons. Tajiri whips him into a trashcan in the corner but Benoit is right back with the rolling German suplexes. The Crossface with the kendo stick gives Benoit the quick tap. Lawler keeps jumping on ECW and JR defends it, which is completely bizarre to hear.

Ric Flair thanks Batista for the save last week. He even wishes Batista good luck against Kane tonight.

Grisham goes to interview Kane, who talks about all the pain he has gone through over the years. This is the worst ever though and he is so hurt that he starts to cry. Kane doesn’t want this pain and wants it off of him. Instead he wants to give the pain to someone else.

Post break, Kane walks out.

Here’s Maria to interview Viscera, who is rather impressive looking in his suit. Maria invites Lillian into the ring because it’s clear that Viscera likes her. That’s true, though Lillian never showed up last week. He has a surprise for tonight though and asks for lights and music. Maria has to go get him a hot dog (Viscera: “Yeah I got a hot dog for you too baby.”) so Viscera can dance and eat at the same time. Lillian gets into it as the jacket comes off and the tie follows…..but then the pants come down. Cue Coach to demand that this be stopped immediately because Bischoff doesn’t need to deal with a sexual harassment lawsuit. Viscera is ordered to leave so it’s a beatdown for Coach, including the pelvic thrusting on the mat. Lillian gets pulled in for her kiss and she doesn’t seem to be complaining.

Raw World Title: Edge vs. Batista

Edge is challenging and has Lita with him. Batista takes him into the corner to start and powers his way out of a bad comeback attempt. With Edge on the floor, here are Christian and Tomko as we take a break. Back with Edge hammering away and getting in a shot to the ribs to send Batista outside.

They head back inside with Edge staying on the ribs with a bodyscissors. A spinwheel kick gives Edge two and we hit the chinlock, which gets switched into a sleeper. Lawler keeps going on about Lita’s top and JR goes into one of his great rants about how this isn’t about Lita. Batista’s arm drops twice and the comeback is on, only to have Edge nail a dropkick for the stop.

Edge goes up top but gets superplexed right back down and Batista is getting fired up. The referee gets bumped so Christian and Tomko come in for the beatdown. Cue Ric Flair for the save but Edge spears him down. Another spear gives Edge two so Lita slides in the briefcase, only to have Batista catch him with the Batista Bomb to retain.

Rating: C-. Well that happened. We spent three weeks on a tournament and the whole thing is more than likely a way to set up HHH vs. Batista III (Why else would Flair be involved?). Edge loses again, though the briefcase is going to be more than enough to keep him relevant. Not a very good match, but with so much going on, that isn’t exactly surprising.

Post match Batista helps Flair up and hugs him but here’s the returning HHH so Flair can hit Batista low. HHH has the sledgehammer and looks at the title like Edge looked at Lita earlier. The very long beatdown ensues, with Batista being busted open. HHH says they’re doing it again, but this time inside Hell in a Cell. A Pedigree onto the title ends the show.

Overall Rating: D+. The big segment in the middle was good but the rest of it was pretty dull as we need to fill in time before Vengeance with One Night Stand. Now that show sounds very good and is likely to be a blast, but it doesn’t do much good when so much of the roster has nothing to do with it so far. Hopefully things pick up soon because this wasn’t much of a show, including an underwhelming main event.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: May 16, 2005
Location: Qwest Center, Omaha, Nebraska
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

It’s time to wrap up the Gold Rush Tournament as Edge faces Kane for the #1 contendership to Batista’s Raw World Title. Normally that would be enough, but we also have Christian vs. Ric Flair in what should be a good one and Chris Jericho/Shelton Benjamin vs. Muhammad Hassan/Khosrow Daivari. They’re certainly bringing it for what was likely sweeps week so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence, now prominently featuring Shawn Michaels superkicking Shelton Benjamin out of the air.

The announcers run down the big card.

Muhammad Hassan/Daivari vs. Chris Jericho/Shelton Benjamin

Thankfully it’s just Daivari, which has a better ring than his full name. This was set up last week when Hassan and Daivari jumped both of them at separate times. It’s a brawl to start with Jericho whipping Shelton into the corner for a double Stinger Splash. We settle down to Jericho chopping Daivari and suplexing him down. Shelton comes in for a clothesline but Hassan grabs a backbreaker. It’s already back to Daivari for a double arm crank and then a chinlock to keep things slow.

Back up and Shelton’s clothesline isn’t enough for the tag thanks to Hassan’s diving save and it’s back to cranking on the arms. A Samoan drop gets Shelton out of trouble and Jericho comes in to clean house. The enziguri sets up a high crossbody for two on Hassan with Daivari making the save. That’s enough of a distraction for Hassan to hit his Downward Spiral for the pin.

Rating: C-. Hassan has certainly gotten a lot more watchable in recent weeks and a good portion of that is due to cutting down his mic time. It isn’t like the promos he’s giving have a lot of depth or variety to them so it’s a case of less being more. Daivari has been a big help as well as he can do a lot of the work in the matches, making this a good example of the pair being better than the solo act.

Post match Jericho storms off and Shelton is confused.

Chris Benoit and Tajiri are in the back. They’ve both been invited to ECW One Night Stand so tonight they’ll have an ECW Rules match for old times’ sake. William Regal comes up to find out what is going on so Tajiri explains in Japanese. Regal gets the whole thing but doesn’t care for the violence. Tajiri can go do it if that’s what he wants though.

We look back at the frustrated HHH leaving last week.

Coach literally runs into Eric Bischoff’s office with Ric Flair to tell him about the ECW Rules match. Bischoff doesn’t want to hear about it because Flair has to talk about how great HHH is. Flair demands Bischoff call HHH but that isn’t happening. If HHH wants to come back, HHH can make the call. Flair leaves and runs into Batista, who he blames for everything. How dare Batista cause HHH this many problems when HHH brought him into the business? Batista says it isn’t his fault and Flair got him started. They trade WOOs, with Batista’s being comically quiet.

Ric Flair vs. Christian

Feeling out process to start with Christian hitting a shoulder and offering his own strut. That just gets him a slap to the face so Christian grabs a backdrop. The slam off the top and a clothesline to the floor let Tomko get in a cheap shot. JR refers to this as physical molestation as Flair is thrown back in for two. A missed charge lets Flair chop away and it’s a Flair Flop from Christian. Tomko gets in a shot to break up the Figure Four so Flair grabs a rollup, the tights and the rope for the pin.

Rating: D+. This was a Flair showcase as he got to do all the greatest hits and show that they still work. The problem is that he pinned Christian, who was seemingly ready to break through to the other side and has lost twice in a row since. I’m not sure why WWE bothered setting him up like that to bring him back down, but WWE has done more questionable things before.

Post match Flair is cornered by Christian and Tomko so Batista comes out for the save.

Lita fires Christy up for her lingerie pillow fight until Edge interrupts. He tells Lita to warn Kane about what’s coming tonight, and you can bank on it.

Christian limps around backstage so here’s Maria to ask if he’s hurt. Christian: “Where did you get your journalism degree from? A box of Cocoa Puffs?” This isn’t over with Batista.

Here’s Chris Masters for the Masterlock Challenge. This time the prize is $6,000 and a one way plane ticket to anywhere in the United States, because anywhere is better than Omaha. The fan loses in near record time so here’s Steven Richards to go after Masters and chase him off with a chair. So yes, after a month plus of these things, their best idea is a Steven Richards feud.

Kane grabs Edge by the throat and says stay away from Lita.

Chris Benoit vs. Tajiri

ECW Rules and weapons are provided at ringside. Tajiri starts fast with the Tarantula as Lawler goes off with the insults on ECW as only he can. The handsprings elbow is countered into a German suplex but Tajiri flips out and kicks him in the head. They go outside with Tajiri going face first into the steps and that means it’s ladder time. Tajiri is laid on the table and Benoit climbs the ladder in the ring….but here’s Coach to stop the match on Bischoff’s orders. Bischoff comes out as well to officially end the match. Not long enough to rate but it was there to advance an angle more than anything else.

Post match Bischoff trashes ECW and bans any mention of ECW on Raw whatsoever. You can’t even chant for it! Also, the Raw wrestlers are forbidden from appearing at ECW One Night Stand. Bischoff is even going to show up with a bunch of Raw volunteers to end ECW once and for all. This is an expected reaction from Bischoff and should set up something fun at One Night Stand.

Christy Hemme vs. Candice Michelle

Lingerie pillow fight so the bed is in the ring. They fight and feathers go everywhere, including a trip to the floor just because. Christy wins with a sunset flip.

With the women still in the ring, cue Viscera in a suit because the pillow fight has turned him on. The hip swiveling sends Christy and Candice running, but Viscera would rather talk about Lilian Garcia. Viscera sees the two of them and that bed and he has an idea. He kisses a fan at ringside to get her cotton candy, with JR not liking the idea of Viscera having more sugar.

Lilian gets in the ring and Viscera tells her to put some of the pillows on the bed. He lays down and offers her some cotton candy, which he licks rather, uh, suggestively. Viscera has a surprise for her, including a pickle in his pocket. He pulls out a hotel room key and Lilian isn’t sure about this. Viscera: “Room four sixty nine.” That’s enough to make Lilian to fall off the bed and end a rather horribly entertaining segment. Yeah it’s bad but it’s the overly cheesy bad where they know what they’re doing.

Kane and Lita breathe at each other a lot and kissing ensues.

We recap the Gold Rush Tournament.

Shelton comes up to Jericho to make sure everything is cool. Jericho lists off some of his accomplishments and everything he has going on at the moment, including a plug for a Fozzy album.

Tag Team Titles: Hurricane/Rosey vs. Simon Dean/Maven

Hurricane and Rosey are defending and debut Super Stacy as their new manager. Rosey slams Maven with no problem to start as Lawler tries to figure out what Stacy’s name should be. Hurricane comes in and gets pulled into the wrong corner with Dean taking him down by the neck. A double suplex lets Maven get in some situps but Hurricane fights up and brings in Rosey to clean house. Stacy offers the distraction and it’s a side slam/Eye of the Hurricane combination to finish Maven.

Rating: D-. The champs won the titles ice cold and now they have Stacy Keibler as a manager. Stacy is one of those people whose value was pretty limited in the first place and it has gone through the floor over the last few years. Putting her on this team seems like an act of desperation and it really doesn’t bode well for the champs’ future.

Smackdown Rebound.

Here’s the still injured Randy Orton for a chat. People have been asking him if he is coming back to Raw or going to Smackdown. After telling the fans to shut up, he says he can’t be drafted because he’s injured. That’s because of Batista and the Undertaker, so Orton wants Batista to keep the title until he gets back to take it from him. Orton goes to leave so here’s Vince McMahon to cut him off.

Vince: “What the h*** has happened to you?” He mocks Orton for losing weight but Orton blames the shoulder surgery. Vince doesn’t want to hear about the injury because no one is exempt from the Draft. The Draft begins three weeks from tonight and it’s going on for a whole month this time around. Orton might be standing in a Raw ring for the last time so gain some weight and let your hair grow out again.

Gold Rush Tournament Finals: Kane vs. Edge

Lita is out with Kane. An early big boot drops Edge with JR saying it’s going to be a quick one so don’t make a sandwich. Kane grabs a suplex and chokes away but Edge hammers away in the corner. They fight to the floor with Kane taking over again as they’re firmly in first and a half gear.

Edge takes over with some forearms to the back and the referee gets bumped for a second, allowing Edge to hit a low blow. Back from a break with Edge working on the knee and taking it outside again to stay on said knee. The leglock goes on as this is hardly exciting stuff. Kane fights up and uppercuts him out of the air for two, setting up Snake Eyes for a bonus. The Edge-O-Matic cuts Kane down again but the spear is countered with a grab of the throat.

Edge grabs the referee to escape and the Edgecution gets two more. Kane tries a Tombstone but the ref gets bumped for real this time. The spear barely keeps Kane down and he kicks the briefcase out of Edge’s hands. Lita takes it away but slides it to Edge as Kane goes up, allowing Edge to knock Kane out of the air with a shot to the face. Lita wakes the referee up and Edge gets the pin and the title shot.

Rating: D. This wasn’t very good for the first place but the ending was good with the result, and the way they got there, being what they needed to be. Edge is the bigger star and putting him with Lita should be a great match. Kane is now more of a sympathetic face, or at least as sympathetic as you can be given how he and Lita got together in the first place.

Post match Lita jumps into Edge’s arms and goes evil, which always worked very, very well. Given what was going on in real life, they would have been crazy not to go this way. The big kiss on the stage ends the show as Edge and Lita channel their inner Christian and Trish from last year.

Overall Rating: D. There were some nice storyline additions on here but the wrestling was REALLY bad with the best match being a short and not very good tag match to open the show. I was thinking that this one would be the big show that made up for some of the previous weeks but we’re still waiting, which is becoming quite the problem.

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

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

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

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