Monday Night Raw – May 9, 2005: No Payoff

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: May 9, 2005
Location: Wachovia Arena, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 3,500
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

Tournament time continues this week as we move on to the semifinals in the Gold Rush Tournament. That should mean some good matches as the four left are more than good enough, though the whole point of this is to be Batista’s next victim. I have no idea how we’ll wind up with another HHH title shot, but you can all but bet on that being the endgame. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of the tournament starting last week, including the four first round matches.

Here’s HHH for the opening chat, because we need to hear from someone out of the tournament. Before he says anything this time though, HHH goes outside to yell at fans for reminding him that he tapped out. He eventually gets back inside to call the tournament bogus because he Pedigreed Batista and had him beat. The rematch should go to him but Eric Bischoff wants to control Batista and the World Title. If HHH gets one more shot, he’ll beat Batista just like that.

Cue Batista to mockingly apologize for the interruption, because he’s so afraid of HHH. Actually, what exactly is he afraid of? He’s already beaten HHH both times he’s faced him and then there was last week’s loss in the tournament. Maybe….HHH just isn’t good enough for another title shot. There goes HHH’s tie and he eventually says Batista’s title means nothing until he goes through HHH.

That doesn’t mean some Wrestlemania fluke but rather going through HHH. He is what matters in this business and he defines what Batista is and what he will become. If Batista is going to disrespect him, he’ll walk out right now and watch Batista fail from his big mansion. HHH walks out so Batista says he doesn’t need HHH because he’s already beaten him.

Post break, HHH storms out as Ric Flair tells him to stay. HHH tells Flair to come with him but Flair is going to stay and deal with this.

Here are Muhammad Hassan and Daivari with the latter still employed after being beaten down last week. Daivari sucks up to Hassan and issues the open challenge to make up for things.

Khosrow Daivari vs. Chris Jericho

Jericho chops away in the corner but misses a charge and goes shoulder first into the post. The logical armbar goes on for a bit but Daivari goes to the middle rope and gets punched out of the air. A flapjack into the enziguri looks to set up the Walls but Daivari makes the rope. Not that it matters as Jericho gets them on a few seconds later and Daivari taps in a hurry.

Post match Hassan lays out Jericho with the Downward Spiral and the camel clutch. Shelton Benjamin makes the save.

Christy Hemme asks Bischoff about the Draft and is told that the Divas are eligible to be drafted as well. See there’s a new Diva Search coming up and Bischoff hopes to find a more successful Diva. With that insult out of the way, La Resistance comes in to demand another title shot. This leads to an argument between Conway and Grenier so Bischoff puts them in a singles match each. That’s not a good selling point.

Flair leaves HHH a message about how awesome he is but here are Christian and Tyson Tomko to mock Flair for being so worried. It’s a shame that HHH isn’t going to be here tonight because no one can spit water on themselves. Flair: “I don’t like you.” A match is set up for later between Flair and Captain Courageous.

Classic Moment: Jerry Lawler wins the AWA World Title. If nothing else, it’s smart to remind fans that Lawler was a big time wrestler back in the day. How many younger fans wouldn’t know that?

Sylvain Grenier vs. Viscera

Twenty minute HHH segments, a squash and now this. Grenier’s face when he sees Viscera is a nice touch though. Conway leaves and Grenier tries a shoulder, which goes as well as you would have expected. The swinging Boss Man Slam lets Viscera mount him for the pelvic thrusts. A missed splash lets Grenier hit a missile dropkick for two but the spinwheel kick drops him again. The chokebomb ends Grenier in a hurry.

Post match Viscera takes a fan’s nachos and goes to hit on Lilian, saying they taste as good as she does. He has her announce him as the winner again, because that really turns him on. Viscera: “You want some of my nachos?” We get the Lady and the Tramp sharing of the nacho, with Viscera promising that she’ll love the main course. JR: “Why do I want to hear some Barry White all of a sudden?”

A rather pleased Lita comes in to see Kane, who is thinking about them. He hugs her rather forcefully (she doesn’t seem pleased, after weeks of being into him) and reminisces about the nine months they have been married. She likes the idea of him becoming World Champion with hints at fornication if he wins. Kane: “That’s what makes us such a cute couple.”

Gold Rush Tournament Semifinals: Kane vs. Chris Benoit

Lita is here with Kane. Benoit goes with the chops to start before going for the ankle. The Sharpshooter and Crossface attempts are blocked so we’ll try the chops again. Kane’s side slam gets two and we hit the neck crank. A clothesline takes Benoit down again for two and the chinlock goes on.

The big boot connects (and has Lita pleased) but the top rope clothesline is dropkicked out of the air. That sets up the rolling German suplexes and the Swan Dive for two and Lita is panicking. An enziguri into a baseball slide to the floor knocks Lita down and the knee is clutched. Benoit checks on Lita and gets decked from behind, setting up the chokeslam for the pin back inside.

Rating: C+. These two work well together but you can tell a lot of Benoit’s time has passed. Kane is fine for the monster who you push at various times and that’s what they’re doing here, though you can tell something is up with Lita. That could be interesting and I’ll take that above the same run of the mill stuff that often happens on this show.

Christian vs. Ric Flair

Actually hang on as Christian views Flair as a problem, and you know what that means.

Tyson Tomko vs. Ric Flair

Tomko clotheslines him down and gets an early two off a powerslam. Flair gets smart by going after the knee and the Figure Four is on in no time. Christian sneaks in to rake the eyes though and that’s an ejection, allowing Flair to hit Tomko low. The rollup (with trunks of course) is enough for the pin. There’s something so sweet about seeing Flair cheat to win.

Here are some of the people who might make the finals of the Diva Search.

We look back at HHH leaving.

Here’s Stacy Keibler for a completely necessary chat. She’s in Stuff Magazine and we get some clips from her shoot with Todd Grisham doing his best Lawler impression. She offers us a sneak peak in person but here are Simon Dean and Maven to interrupt. They seem to think that Maven is the better looking human and Maven critiques her physique while Simon puts together a shake. Stacy is ordered to drink the shake but she “accidentally” drops it. Cue Hurricane and Rosey for the save as this is really the best they can do for the Tag Team Titles.

Coach comes in to see Bischoff and talks about the upcoming ECW One Night Stand. Bischoff hates the idea because it’s all blood and thumbtacks and barbed wire and violence (the fans seem to approve). As the ECW chants start up, Bischoff promises to squash ECW again.

Rob Conway vs. Shelton Benjamin

Non-title. Conway jumps him during the entrance and says the title should be his. The stomping is on for an early one and a snap suplex is good for the same, meaning it’s already time for the chinlock. Shelton fights up without much trouble and backdrops him for two of his own. The exploder is blocked and Conway scores with a running knee lift. That’s fine with Shelton, who kicks him in the head and hits the springboard bulldog for the fast pin. I’d think that’s about it for La Resistance as an important team now, yes?

Post match Muhammad and Daivari lay out Shelton on the stage. That’s a logical next feud for Hassan and it’s not like Benjamin has anyone else to fight right now.

Here’s John Cena’s Bad Bad Man video.

Maria asks Shawn Michaels about his match with The Edge. After making fun of the mistake, Shawn praises Shelton Benjamin for last week and says if “The Edge” likes to whine, tonight he’ll be throwing the biggest hissy fit ever because Shawn is Money in the Bank.

Next week: Jericho/Benjamin vs. Hassan/Daivari, Christian vs. Flair and the tournament final. That’s a pretty good show.

Gold Rush Tournament Semifinals: Edge vs. Shawn Michaels

Joined in progress with Shawn sending Edge outside for the springboard spinning crossbody. Edge snaps him throat first across the rope to take over and it’s Shawn in trouble in a hurry. Back in and we hit the chinlock, followed by a neckbreaker and the chinlock again. Edge lets that go and heads up, only to get kicked out of the air. A knee lift gives us a double knockdown but it’s Shawn up first and hammering Edge down.

The top rope elbow connects (long one too) but Sweet Chin Music is countered into an electric chair which is countered into a victory roll to give Shawn two. Edge is right back with the Edge-O-Matic but the ref gets bumped, meaning there is no count off the Edgecution. Sweet Chin Music gets the same non-count so Edge gets up and clocks Shawn with the briefcase (putting a dent in the thing) for the pin.

Rating: C. This was a weird one as it felt like they skipped the entire intro and went straight to the big stuff at the end. Edge winning made the most sense as he has a more interesting story and giving him a pin over Shawn, even this kind of pin, sets up better possibilities. Besides, it’s not like Shawn losing is going to hurt him whatsoever.

Overall Rating: D+. The tournament matches were good and next week is looking great, but at the same time there were a lot of short matches here which didn’t mean anything and didn’t exactly go anywhere. That’s acceptable if next week’s show is worth the setup, but I’m not sure how much confidence I have in them to pull something like that off.

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:

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Monday Night Raw – May 2, 2005 (2019 Redo): My Favorite Match

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: May 2, 2005
Location: FleetCenter, Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 6,500
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

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

In the back, Batista is hitting on a rather receptive Christy Hemme when Eric Bischoff interrupts. We’re going to have a tournament for the #1 contendership to the World Title and he even has a name for it: the Gold Rush Tournament. No one will know who they are facing until the music hits. As for tonight, Batista can have the night off. Christy smiles but Batista wants to have a match tonight. He hints at wanting to face Bischoff, who screams at the thought. Batista laughs, because he’s an animal with a sense of humor.

Opening sequence.

Gold Rush Tournament First Round: Christian vs. Kane

Christian has Tomko with him so Kane counters with a limping Lita. One heck of a shove sends Christian to the floor and a big boot makes it even worse. Kane follows him but gets drop toeholded into the steps to give Christian a breather. A crossbody off the steps gives Christian two back inside, though it just seems to annoy Kane even more.

The reverse DDT gets two with Kane launching him off for the kickout. Christian’s raised boot in the corner earns him an attempted chokeslam but Christian escapes into a sleeper. That’s reversed into a side slam but Christian gets smart by going to the eye. Tomko gets on the apron so Kane sends them into each other, setting up the chokeslam for the pin.

Rating: D+. Well so much for Christian being ready for the monster push. They seemed interested in going somewhere with him and then he loses to Kane in less than five minutes. There was no one else they could put into that spot? Or have Kane win by countout or something? Why give Christian pay per view time last night if this is what you have planned for him the next night?

Post match Tomko jumps Kane and gets beaten down as well.

Post break, Christian runs into Ric Flair in the back. Ric mocks him for losing and “raps” that HHH is winning the tournament.

We get part of the opening video from last night’s show, focusing on the fans demanding ONE MORE MATCH from Hogan.

Here are Muhammad Hassan and Daivari for a chat. Daivari rants a bit before handing the mic to Hassan, who will not allow this injustice to continue. He is undefeated from Raw and yet he is still left out of the Gold Rush Tournament. It’s prejudice, but it’s also Daivari’s fault. Daivari took the fall last night and that isn’t cool, so Hassan beats him up. Hassan leaves and Daivari nearly crawls after him. Daivari is better in the ring and the rants are always energetic but these two need some rebuilding.

Here’s Viscera for a chat before his match. Last night he showed how physical he can be and his hunger for love. That brings him to Lilian Garcia, because he is a big man who likes to eat spicy. Lilian is a spicy Latina so Viscera wants to go south of the border tonight. Cue Simon Dean to interrupt to say women don’t want men who are this out of shape. Dean calls himself a Greek god but everyone here in Boston is fat. Those are fighting words.

Simon Dean vs. Viscera

Viscera throws him around to start and hits a splash to break Simon out of the Tree of Woe. An elbow misses so Dean goes up, only to get chokeslammed out of the air, setting up the splash for the pin.

Post match Viscera tells Lilian that he’s back on the market. The BLACK market.

Stacy Keibler and Candice Michelle oogle Stacy in Stuff Magazine, as good looking women tend to do. Bischoff comes up and likes the pictures before heading to his office. HHH is waiting on him and rants about the tournament, because he had Batista beaten last night. If we have to have a tournament, HHH better be in the thing. Bischoff can tell Batista that he is on borrowed time.

Shelton Benjamin isn’t worried about who he has to face because that’s what a champ does. Chris Jericho comes in to stare at the title but respect is shown. They’re both in the tournament and wouldn’t mind facing each other.

We get a quick graphic acknowledging the passing of Chris Candido. That’s better than they have done on some occasions.

We look back at Kane beating Christian.

Gold Rush Tournament First Round: Shelton Benjamin vs. Shawn Michaels

Non-title and this is a special one. Shelton’s taken back look when Shawn’s face is great as he didn’t expect something like this. JR loses it because this is going to be awesome, and yeah it’s almost impossible for it not to be. Shawn tries to wrestle him to the mat and finds out that’s not a good idea, meaning it’s straight to the ropes for a break. A hammerlock works a bit but Shawn tries taking him down again for the exact same result. You can see the look of “well that didn’t work” on Shawn’s face, though the fans are still completely behind him.

A headlock takeover works a bit better but Shelton is right back up with some armdrags for the early standoff. Shelton headlocks him down for a change, with Shawn trying some rollups to keep things from getting dull (so many people forget to do that). Back up and Shawn goes with a forearm to the head for the first real offense but it’s a Cactus Clothesline to put them both on the floor. Shawn gets the worst of it and we take a break with him still down.

Back from a break with Shelton reversing a belly to back superplex into a crossbody (a little better than coming back in a chinlock) to put them both down again. A Samoan drop gives Shelton a bit of an advantage but he can’t get back up. Some running clotheslines have Shawn in trouble and a backbreaker gives Shelton two. Shawn comes back with the forearm into the nipup but Shelton does a faster one of his own, giving us a great “YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!” look.

Some elbows break up the exploder and tries Sweet Chin Music but walks into the Dragon Whip (and a great one at that) for two. Shawn knocks him off the top and drops the elbow but can’t cover. Instead he pulls himself up and tries the superkick again with Shelton blocking this one with a high kick to the head. Just to show off, Shelton jumps from the mat to the top for a spinning clothesline and another two. Back up and Shawn sends him to the apron so Shelton tries a springboard…..to this day I have no idea what he was going for but it’s superkicked out of the air for the highlight reel moment and the pin.

Rating: A-. This is my all time favorite match and there are a few different reasons. Starting with what you can see in front of you, these guys were tearing it up for about fifteen minutes with Shelton being a different level of athlete but Shawn hanging in there until he caught Shelton trying for one big move too many and finishing him. Shelton’s athleticism was on full display here (that jump to the top for the clothesline was nuts) and it’s not like you lose much when you get pinned clean by Shawn after an instant classic. Outstanding match and well worth seeing if you haven’t, or again if you have.

The other reason this match means so much to me is it served as a big step forward in my wrestling fandom. For years I had heard about the concepts of psychology and storytelling in matches but they never really clicked. I was watching this a few years after it aired and I thought it was like an older, smarter Shawn wrestling himself from ten years ago: the young, athletic phenom who would do these big things because he could rather than if it made sense.

It was like a light bulb went off over my head as it was the first time I understood the idea of telling a story with a match. I had never really gotten the concept but it started to make sense, which was something completely new for me. It helped me start looking for things like that in matches from them on and it made me into a different kind of fan. Not every match is going to have something that specific, but once it clicks like that, it can change everything for you. Anyway, great match, watch it if you have time.

Shawn shows some respect and it takes a good while for Shelton to get up.

Edge is asked why he’s in the tournament when he already has a guaranteed shot. He brings up beating Chris Benoit last night so now he’s the real toughest man in WWE. As for why he’s in the tournament, of course he wants two title matches, because not even Batista can beat him twice in a row. The interviewer brings up an important point: if Edge gets drafted to Smackdown, he loses his shot because it’s for the World Heavyweight Title. This seems to be news to Edge, but he’ll be champion anyway. Edge leaves and goes to hit on Lita and Victoria, who aren’t interested. This actually doesn’t get a big chant/gasp from the crowd.

Tag Team Titles: Hurricane/Rosey vs. La Resistance

Hurricane/Rosey are defending. Rosey shoves Grenier down to start but it’s a quick low bridging to take him outside. That means a posting for two back inside and the stomping is on again. Rosey gets beaten up in the corner for a bit but manages to elbow his way out of trouble. The rolling tag brings in the Hurricane to clean house, including a middle rope hurricanrana for two on Grenier. Conway gets sent outside and it’s a side slam/Eye of the Hurricane combination to finish Grenier and retain the titles.

Rating: D. Hurricane and Rosey aren’t great as champions but they’re better than just about anyone else who could be in the spot. La Resistance has run its course and while they’re still fine enough as midcard heels, we’ve covered everything that could be done with them and I’m glad that we seem to be moving on. The problem is who in the world are we supposed to move on to?

Smackdown Rebound.

Gold Rush Tournament First Round: Chris Jericho vs. Edge

Jericho goes after a wristlock to start but Edge powers out for a standoff. Slapping and chopping have Edge in trouble against the ropes and in the corner but he’s fine enough to shove Jericho off the top. A ram into the elbow and an elbow to the back give Edge two and a backbreaker is good for the same. Jericho gets in a flapjack for the double knockdown and the running shoulders keep Edge in trouble. The running enziguri gets two but Edge gets in a shot to the face, meaning it’s time to grab the briefcase.

Edge can’t bring himself to do it though and Jericho dropkicks him to the floor. That means a slingshot dive but Jericho wastes some time by pulling the pad off the barricade. Some fans call this boring but seem pleased when Edge’s spear hits buckle back inside. The Walls go on but Edge is too close to the rope. He’s also close to the briefcase, which bashes Jericho in the head. A missile dropkick and the spear finish Jericho.

Rating: C+. Jericho is in a bit of a funk at the moment as his matches are still good but he doesn’t seem to be going anywhere or doing anything important. Edge winning was the only choice here as he has a story with the potential to have two title matches at once. The briefcase works well as a signature weapon too.

Happy Birthday Rock! I’m sure you’ll be here soon!

Chris Masters, Masterlock Challenge ($4,000, a Curt Schilling Red Sox jersey and an autographed Tom Brady football), plant, Masters wins. Takes about six minutes.

Gold Rush Tournament First Round: HHH vs. Chris Benoit

Benoit chops away and wins a slugout, setting up the first suplex. HHH bails from the threat of a Crossface and whips Benoit chest first into the buckle. A hard clothesline to the back of the head has Benoit’s eyes bugging out in one of the most deeply disturbing images I can remember in a long time.

We take a break and come back with HHH getting frustrated and Benoit’s eyes still all buggy, though not as bad as they were before. Benoit shrugs off a knee to the head and chops away again but gets pulled into a sleeper. The suplex gets Benoit out of trouble and, after ducking a clothesline (meaning we don’t get the scary eyes again), rolls the German suplexes.

The Swan Dive connects for a delayed two and it’s time to beat up an invading Flair. We get a ref bump and it’s a low blow to Benoit, but here’s Batista (in gear after being in a suit earlier) to lay out HHH and Flair. Everyone is down (with Benoit’s eyes all over the place again) until Benoit slaps on the Sharpshooter for the (eventual) win.

Rating: C. The match was good enough but egads those eyes are hard to get out of your head. Even if you ignore what would be coming for Benoit, that was one of the creepiest things I’ve seen in wrestling for a good while. Benoit making HHH tap (or anyone making him tap for that matter) is almost hard to fathom but it’s nice for a HHH break, as short as it is guaranteed to be.

Here are the updated brackets:

Kane

Chris Benoit

Shawn Michaels

Edge

Overall Rating: B-. This was actually a heck of a show with wrestling up and down the card (though the quality varies) with the instant classic being more than enough to carry it a long way. As overloaded as WWE has been with tournaments lately, this is a chance to give Batista a fresh challenger and that could help him a lot at the moment. Now granted it still looks like he’s feuding with HHH, but I wouldn’t put too much worry into something like that. Rather good show, with one match taking it to a different level.

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Backlash 2005 (2019 Redo): Hogan, Again

IMG Credit: WWE

Backlash 2005
Date: May 1, 2005
Location: Verizon Wireless Arena, Manchester, New Hampshire
Attendance: 14,000
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

It’s the follow up to Wrestlemania and that means we’re in for a rematch for the Raw World Title with HHH challenging Batista for the title. Other than that, we have the ultimate teaming of Shawn Michaels/Hulk Hogan vs. Muhammad Hassan/Daivari because we need a way to get to what is likely going to be Shawn vs. Hogan at a big show. Let’s get to it.

The opening video is a history of Hulk Hogan’s career, complete with fans shouting ONE MORE MATCH. Then Shawn needed his help and it’s time for the big tag match. The World Title gets some attention as well and thankfully it comes off as a double main event rather than one big match and the World Title as a secondary option. HHH thinks he can win if he hits the Pedigree, which is some mix of insightful and obvious.

Intercontinental Title: Chris Jericho vs. Shelton Benjamin

Benjamin is defending in a long form rematch after he took the title from Jericho in October. Shelton wastes no time in armdragging him into an armbar and a second one annoys Jericho even more. Back up and Jericho slaps him in the face, earning himself some right hands to the jaw. A suplex attempt puts Jericho on the apron so Shelton tries a sunset bomb, which is countered into a hurricanrana to the floor in a nice sequence.

They head back inside for the chinlock but Shelton breaks out in just a few seconds. The Stinger Splash to the back in the corner sets up a belly to back to give Shelton a breather but it’s Jericho back up first. The Lionsault misses so Jericho goes up top, only to have Shelton jump to the top for a superplex, because of course he can do something like that. Both guys get back up before a double clothesline puts them right back down.

It’s Jericho up first with a forearm and shoulder, followed by the running enziguri for two. Jericho tries to throw him over the top but Shelton springboards back in with a bulldog for his own two. A quick Walls attempt is blocked so Jericho catapults him into the corner, with Shelton landing on the middle rope.

The exploder gets two as Jericho has to get his foot on the rope and Shelton isn’t sure what to do. Shelton goes for another exploder but gets pulled into the Walls, meaning it’s his turn to grab the rope. The Lionsault almost hits raised knees but Jericho lands on his feet and tries the Walls, only to get cradled for the pin to retain Shelton’s title.

Rating: B. This was as good as you would have expected it to be with Jericho doing everything that he could do and helping make Shelton look like a star. At the same time, Shelton is on fire right now and showing off the freaky athleticism that made him one of the hottest things in wrestling. Very good opener here and it wouldn’t shock me if this was the best thing on the show.

Post match Jericho is frustrated and has nothing to say. Granted that might be because it was Todd Grisham asking.

Edge is ready to beat Chris Benoit tonight, just like he did in Money in the Bank. Tonight, he’ll be the Last Man Standing.

Tag Team Titles: Tag Team Turmoil

William Regal and Tajiri are defending in a bonus match. There are five teams and it’s the Heart Throbs in first and Regal and Tajiri in second. Romeo shoulders Regal down to start and it’s a cartwheel to frustrate him even more. Antonio comes in to work on the arm but you don’t do that to a British wrestler, as Regal flips out and brings in Tajiri for the kicks.

Tajiri grabs a double underhook and rolls Romeo around a bit before getting two off a butterfly suplex. Antonio comes back in but runs into a sunset flip out of the corner for the first elimination. Maven and Simon Dean are in third and the fight is on in a hurry with Simon dropping a leg on Tajiri (after some exercising of course). It’s off to Maven for some forearms, followed by the generic cheating in the corner. Simon grabs a front facelock as we talk about JR in a Speedo.

Thankfully we move on to anything else as Tajiri gets up and hits a spinwheel kick, allowing the hot tag off to Regal. Everything breaks down and the knee trembler finishes Simon. La Resistance is in fourth and JR has to try and figure out the USA chant given that the only American in the match is Rob Conway.

We settle down to Tajiri spinwheel kicking Grenier and Regal coming back in for some forearms. It’s already back to Tajiri, who looks winded less than eight minutes into a tag match. Regal comes back in for some knees as Lawler praises his stamina. Well to be fair we’re almost at nine minutes now. Everything breaks down and Tajiri can’t get the Tarantula, allowing Conway to roll Regal up and grab the trunks for the pin.

Hurricane and Rosey come in fifth and it’s a title match against La Resistance. Hurricane wastes no time in hitting a high crossbody for two on Grenier, followed by the Blockbuster for the same. A toss over the top rope gives us a nasty crash with Hurricane’s leg hitting the top of the post, though thankfully he’s fine enough to come right back in. The chinlock goes on for a few seconds but Grenier misses a middle rope elbow (which didn’t look good).

Rosey comes in to a rather nice reaction and it’s time to clean house again. A World’s Strongest Slam gets two but La Resistance is back up for a double spinebuster. Rosey shrugs that off and sends them together before climbing to the bottom rope. Hurricane climbs onto his shoulders and nails a huge splash for the pin and the titles.

Rating: D-. I’ve never been a fan of this kind of match as the longest fall was the final, which barely broke four minutes. There were four falls in just over thirteen minutes and Hurricane/Rosey win the titles after beating a cheating team who had already wrestled a fall. This is the best they can do for a Tag Team Title match? The division has never been a focal point but egads this is one of the low points.

We recap Edge vs. Chris Benoit. Edge damaged Benoit’s arm rather badly during Money in the Bank and Benoit hasn’t been happy since. They’ve had some rather hard hitting fights and now it’s Last Man Standing. It’s always cool to see them get a story out of a big cluster of a match, which is one of the major perks of such a match.

Edge vs. Chris Benoit

Last Man Standing. The fight is on at the bell (makes sense) and so are the YOU SCREWED MATT chants. Benoit chops him down in the corner but gets whipped chest first into the other corner so Edge can choke to his heart’s content. The spear is countered with a drop toehold onto the mat as Benoit might have thought Edge was a little closer to the corner. Edge kicks him in the face and they fight to the floor with Edge going for some trashcans.

That doesn’t work just yet and it’s time to head into the crowd for a lot more punching. Back in and Benoit grabs the Sharpshooter, which makes a lot of sense here. With that not working, Benoit rolls some German suplexes and a shaken up Edge bails for a bit. A running forearm knocks Edge off the apron to start the count again. The fans want tables but settle for Benoit’s dive through the ropes hitting a raised trashcan lid for a nasty crash.

Thankfully the fans seem appreciative as Edge pauses for a breather while Benoit remembers what planet he’s on. That’s good for an eight so they head back inside with Edge superplexing him onto a trashcan. Benoit is (mostly) up at nine so it’s time for Edge to destroy him with the trashcan lid. And now, just because of who is in here (and how Edge first hurt Benoit’s arm), we get a ladder set up in the corner.

Edge goes up and gets German suplexed right back off of said ladder for the big double knockdown. With Edge down, Benoit climbs the ladder but misses the Swan Dive to knock himself out again. Edge can’t follow up so Benoit grabs the Crossface to make him tap a second time.

More rolling German suplexes have Edge rocked but he manages to block one more and hit the Edgecution onto the Money in the Bank briefcase. That doesn’t work either so Edge spears him down, only for nine. Edge can’t believe it so he hits another spear for another nine. With that not working, Edge goes to the briefcase and pulls out a brick (ala Money Inc. at Wrestlemania IX) to knock Benoit cold for the win.

Rating: B. These guys beat the heck out of each other and Edge having the big weapon just in case he needed it was a good ending. Edge is someone who is going to have a last backup plan and that’s what he did here. Benoit tried to come in on his own and came close, whereas Edge was ready to do whatever it took to win. It’s a good way way to show the difference between the two and how much smarter Edge can be, which makes sense in this match.

Benoit has to be helped up and gets a strong ovation. Ignore the large section of empty seats on the shot of the cheering crowd.

In the back, Lita looks on approvingly in a subtle nod to real life. Kane comes in and Lita is ready to see him take out Trish Stratus and Viscera. Actually Lita thinks it would be funny to see Trish have to sleep with Viscera. Lita: “Can you imagine him naked?” She goes into detail of the whole act between the two and Kane dubs it disturbing. Kissing ensues.

And now, on a pay per view, Jerry Lawler gets to bring out some of the Divas to talk about the new Diva Swimsuit Issue. We see each of their favorite photos from the magazine and now it’s time for some questions. Before we can get to those, it’s Chris Masters interrupting and I’m not sure which is the better choice.

It’s time for a $3000 Masterlock Challenge as Lawler is back on commentary to complain about Masters interrupting his questions. Masters picks a muscular woman, which seems to surprise him as he thought it was a man. I guess he thought it was a man who REALLY liked chest day. Her name is Melissa Coates, who has wrestled in the indies for years. Masters puts her in the Masterlock and knocks her out in a hurry. This was a horrible waste of pay per view time, which you have to expect on a six match card.

Viscera is waiting outside Trish’s locker room so they can get to the ring and get it on like a steaming pot of neckbone. Trish: “Neckbone?” Viscera: “It’s a black thing. You’ll get used to it.” He has lingerie for her and a room booked for them, at a bed and breakfast for two of his favorite things. Trish says he still has to beat Kane.

Kane vs. Viscera

Lita and Trish are here too. Kane bounces off of him to start and gets dropped with a single clothesline. A missed charge in the corner lets Kane hit a running splash from behind as JR makes it clear that this won’t go long. Viscera gets sent outside for a top rope clothesline as the fans want Matt. Back in and some elbows keep Viscera in trouble as Lawler makes jokes about Viscera rising to the occasion later.

Viscera gets in a knee to the ribs, setting up the pelvic thrusting at Trish. The women get in an argument so Kane grabs Trish, allowing Viscera to crush him in the corner. A Samoan drop gets two and a Boss Man Slam is good for the same as the slow yet high impact offense continues. Kane gets in a DDT to set up the top rope clothesline and it’s Viscera’s turn to lay down for a bit.

The chokeslam is broken up and the head outside with Viscera splashing the post by mistake. Trish’s chair shot is broken up by Lita’s crutch and we get a rather effective evil smile from Lita. Back in and Viscera gets two off a sitout chokebomb but he stops to go after Lita. Tongue is extended so Kane kicks him in the….I’m not sure where but we’ll call it blubber. A chokeslam (well protected by some camera cuts) puts Viscera away.

Rating: D. You know, this could have been a lot worse. They didn’t try to do anything more than the high impact stuff and while it should have been about two minutes shorter, it was far from some disaster that will haunt fans for years to come. If nothing else the chokebomb and Lita’s evil smile worked well. I’ll call this a rather surprising result, even if it wasn’t very good.

Post match Trish yells at Viscera and says she never would have lowered herself to sleeping with him anyway. He’s a chicken eating loser you see. She’s going to find a man to take Viscera out and that man will get a lot of loving. Viscera bearhugs her down and hits a splash, setting up the hip thrusts to a rather big face pop. I don’t see this going anywhere positive. Trish does a stretcher job to fill in more time.

We recap Muhammad Hassan/Khosrow Daivari vs. Hulk Hogan/Shawn Michaels. Hassan and Daivari don’t like how America has treated them so they beat up Shawn Michaels. That meant Shawn needed a Real American and there just happened to be one who the fans had been begging for one more match. It’s a big deal for Hassan and Daivari, even though they have as much chance to win as I do of winning Ms. Nevada 1978.

Hulk Hogan/Shawn Michaels vs. Muhammad Hassan/Khosrow Daivari

The fans waste no time in starting the HOGAN chants as soon as Shawn’s entrance is done and the legendary hero pop blows the roof off of the place as soon as the music hits. We stall for a good bit for the sake of more cheering before Hogan and Hassan get things going. Hogan draws a line for him to cross and then shoves Hassan into the corner, meaning we hit the posing. The shoulder has Hassan sprawling into the corner and it’s a wristlock so Hogan can get in his grunting.

After a quick double teaming in the corner, Hogan beats them both up and drops Hassan with a clothesline. A poke to the eye allows Shawn to come in and there’s a double big boot to keep this one sided. Daivari gets in a few chops but Shawn shows him how to do them properly as the beating continues. Hogan comes back in and sends Daivari into the barricade and post for good measure. Back in and the greatest hits continue with some elbow drops and the boot rake.

More Shawn chops keep up the control and the top rope elbow means it’s already time to tune up the band. Hogan goes after Hassan though and the distraction lets Hassan get in a pipe shot to Shawn’s back. That’s good for two because Hassan and Daivari have no chance of winning here. Hassan drops some elbows on the back and Daivari pulls on both arms at once. With the match going nowhere, Lawler lists off some countries getting to watch the show live.

Shawn’s sleeper is countered with a quick backbreaker and it’s off to the worst camel clutch I can remember in a long time. Shawn powers up into an electric chair for the break and the hot tag brings in Hogan. The double noggin knocker sets up a big boot to Daivari but since the legdrop isn’t available (due to hip replacement), Hassan hits Hogan in the back with a pipe. That’s good for two, but more importantly it triggers the Hulk Up with the big boot hitting Daivari. Hogan gets rid of Hassan and Sweet Chin Music is good for the pin.

Rating: D+. This was a case where it depends on what you were looking for. The match wasn’t about having something competitive or really anything close to it. This was about getting Hogan out there and having him in a dream team with Shawn. It might not do much for Hassan and Daivari, but it’s not like the team is really working in the first place. It’s not like you can have Hassan and Daivari as a serious threat to these two anyway, so this was as good as it was getting.

Post match, a lot of posing ensues and they bring in a fan with a huge Hogan tattoo over his back. Yeah he’s rather out of shape but there’s something awesome about a mega fan like that getting the moment of a lifetime.

HHH promises to win the title with the Pedigree tonight.

Here are Christian and Tyson Tomko for a chat. Christian might be heading to Smackdown in the upcoming Draft, so this could be his last Raw pay per view. Therefore, he would like to address his fellow main eventers….in rap form. Batista has muscles to spare, but he has charisma like Tomko has hair, HHH and Flair have 26 titles between them and the world’s biggest nose and JBL has money but he’s boring.

That leaves us with John Cena, who talks like Snoop Dogg but looks like Corey Haim. That one even gets Tomko and Lawler is asking if JR got it. After the Draft, whether it’s Raw or Smackdown with JR or Michael Cole, Christian will be champion, because that’s how he rolls. This was funny stuff and Christian’s mega push seems imminent. The fans are certainly buying into him and that’s what matters most.

We recap Batista vs. HHH. Batista won the title at Wrestlemania and HHH wants it back because he never hit the Pedigree and knows that’s enough to put Batista away. It’s not much of a story but it’s all they have here.

Raw World Title: Batista vs. HHH

HHH is challenging and Ric Flair, who gets his own entrance, handles the introduction. They circle each other for a good while until Flair offers a distraction so HHH can hammer away. It’s too early for the Pedigree as Batista slips out, with HHH showing him how close it was. Some right hands in the corner have HHH in trouble but it’s also too early for the Batista Bomb.

A backdrop works just fine and a second gets Batista out of a second Pedigree attempt. They head to the floor instead with HHH driving him back first into the barricade for a flip over into the crowd. Back in and HHH’s chops have no effect so he turns Batista around and drives shoulders to the back for a painful looking shot. A hard whip into the corner hurts Batista’s back again and Flair gets in a few shots to earn his keep.

The spinebuster cuts off the comeback for two but one heck of a clothesline drops HHH. Batista knocks him to the floor without much effort and there’s the hard whip into the steps. Back in and the powerslam plants HHH again, meaning it’s time to shake the ropes. Flair offers a distraction though and HHH gets in a belt shot to counter the Batista Bomb ala the Last Ride and the sledgehammer at Wrestlemania XVII. The big clothesline hits the referee and the Pedigree connects immediately thereafter because of course it does.

Cue another referee (putting his shirt on as he runs down the ramp) as Batista hits the spinebuster for two. Some running clotheslines in the corner have HHH rocked but he kicks the referee low. Flair has to be dealt with again and the Pedigree is countered with a catapult into the buckle. That’s shrugged off for a low blow so HHH can hammer away in the corner, only to get Batista Bombed out for the pin (again, just like Wrestlemania XVII).

Rating: C-. There was a lot in this one and a good chunk of it was a bunch of stuff that felt like the finish. I’m not sure why they were going with so many big spots from a four year old Undertaker match but at least it’s being taken from a good match. The other problem was how much this felt like a HHH match/story instead of Batista’s. Heaven forbid we don’t go a month without a HHH moment, but the match itself wasn’t that bad.

Post match Batista poses as HHH shoves Flair and Pedigrees the referee. Just in case you had lost focus on what really matters you see.

Overall Rating: C. It came, it went, it was a show. This was one of those pay per views that felt like it was only there because a pay per view was scheduled. The Hogan match felt big and really, that’s about it. The main event came off like a long form house show match and nothing has really changed. That’s not to say it’s a bad show, as the opener and the Last Man Standing match are both good, but it’s a show that doesn’t feel important in any way. It’s time for something fresh and the fallout from Wrestlemania doesn’t quality. Perfectly watchable show, but nothing interesting or memorable aside from Hogan.

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Monday Night Raw – April 18, 2005: New York State Of Awful

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: April 18, 2005
Location: Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Attendance: 17,258
Commentators: Jonathan Coachman, Jerry Lawler

We’re less than two weeks away from Backlash and that means things are going to start picking up around here, including what should be a big deal with the show taking place in the Garden. Maybe Batista can get some significant time this week, assuming HHH is willing to let the World Champion in on his time. Let’s get to it.

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

Jim Ross is in Eric Bischoff’s office where the boss won’t let him out of his match with HHH. As a bit of a reprieve though, the match will be No DQ and Batista can be in JR’s corner. So yes, the World Champion is now playing second fiddle to an announcer facing HHH in the main event. I’m sure you can guess how the match is going to go, but is this really the best usage of the monster champion?

Opening sequence.

There’s no special MSG setup. I miss that thing.

Edge vs. Chris Benoit

Good thing these two are awesome together because they fight a lot. Benoit still has a banged up arm so Edge jumps him on the way in and pounds away. You don’t forearm Benoit in the back though as he’s right back with the rolling German suplexes to rock Edge. The Swan Dive misses though and it’s off to a chinlock with a knee in Benoit’s back. Thankfully Edge sees the big bandage on the arm and switches to an armbar instead.

That’s reversed into the Crossface but Edge is in the ropes soon enough. They head outside instead and Benoit clotheslines him over the barricade so they can fight into the crowd. It heads into the back with Benoit getting the better of it as the match is thrown out somewhere in there.

Rating: C. This was too short to matter or go anywhere (other than to the back that is) but it was more about setting up some big gimmick match down the line. Edge getting a nice win to really make him feel like a bigger deal is going to help him, as Money in the Bank doesn’t have quite the impact yet.

Referees and Sgt. Slaughter break things up.

Post break the Divas are looking at their swimsuit magazine (as large groups of good looking women do) when Edge and Benoit brawl through a door to break it up. Bischoff comes in to make a Last Man Standing match for next week.

Here’s Trish Stratus for a chat. She wants to talk about what happened with Kane and Lita last week so she would like Lita out here to clear the air. Cue Lita on a crutch and she gets the loudest booing in her career to date. Trish wants to make peace between the two of them but hang on as we pause for the YOU SCREWED MATT chants. After threatening to leave if the fans don’t calm down, Trish talks about how she loves Lita despite what has happened between them. Fans: “WE WANT MATT!”

Lita doesn’t buy it and doesn’t accept her apology. Much like Trish, payback is going to be a b****. The fans don’t react to that so here’s Kane as Lita hits Trish with her crutch. Kane chases Trish up the ramp but Viscera of all people comes out for the save. Crowd: “LET’S GO MABEL!” The Samoan drop and splash crush Kane and Viscera carries Trish off while licking his lips. Oh…..this isn’t going to go well in any form for anyone involved.

Post break Trish thanks Viscera, who puts her up against the wall and makes some, ahem, suggestions about how she can thank him. Viscera: “Glad to be of service, but I’ll be more glad when you service me.” There is talk of mixing business with pleasure but Trish would like to take it slowly. Viscera kisses her anyway and Trish looks rather shaken. Coach: “YOU GO BOY!”

Heart Throbs vs. William Regal/Tajiri

Non-title and oh the Heart Throbs. These two were one of the most over, popular teams that OVW (then known as the Heartbreakers) had ever seen as they were something close to male strippers and had a dancing manager named Mo Green. They came out to It’s Raining Men and the whole thing was so goofy and over the top that they became the hottest thing in OVW. It wasn’t going to work in a big arena or on Raw, but it’s hard not to be a little disappointed after what they did in OVW.

Anyway, they (Romeo and Antonio) dance out and Regal and Tajiri’s stunned looks are great. Romeo dances at Regal to start so it’s off to Tajiri. That means a Crane Kick pose so Tajiri grabs a wristlock to take Romeo down. Antonio comes in but gets taken into the corner for the tag off to Regal, who gets taken into the corner as well. Antonio pounds away at Regal’s back, which has a grand total of no effect. Tajiri comes back in and hammers away until Regal snaps Romeo’s throat across the top. A spinning sunset flip gives Tajiri the easy pin.

Rating: D. So as great as the gimmick is, there isn’t much that they can do once the bell rings. That’s kind of an important part and the lack of skill was on full display here. They’re perfectly watchable but it’s nothing beyond that and it was showing badly. I’ll take this result over the champs losing though so this could have been worse.

Post match the Heart Throbs beat the champs down. I wouldn’t be overly intimidated.

Batista isn’t here and JR is panicking.

HHH has dealt with Batista by talking to the limo company.

Muhammad Hassan doesn’t trust police who look at him strangely. He and Daivari aren’t worried about Hulk Hogan either because Hogan is just another selfish American.

Muhammad Hassan vs. Shawn Michaels

Shawn wastes no time in rushing the ring to start hammering away as the fans are WAY into Michaels here (not surprising). They slug it out and the fans switch over to a HOGAN chant. A running knee lift staggers Hassan but Daivari’s distraction lets Hassan get in his own shot.

Shawn’s back is driven into the apron to slow him down and we take a break. Back with Hassan hitting something like a reverse Eye of the Hurricane for two and commencing to choke. The chinlock goes on for all of a few seconds before Shawn makes the comeback with the usual. The top rope elbow connects but Daivari has to be slammed off the top and the DQ is on.

Rating: D+. Another not great in-ring performance from Hassan but he’s far better than he was a few months back. Having him against the bigger names helps a lot, though there is only so much that can be done when he doesn’t have the best matches. If they can figure out a way to mix up his promos a bit he could be a big deal, but for now it’s just a slow improvement.

Post match the beatdown is on until Hulk Hogan comes in for the save to blow the roof off the place. Posing ensues with Shawn wearing Hassan’s head cover. This goes on for a good while, but the reaction makes it worth it.

It’s time for the Masterlock Challenge with Chris Masters putting up $1000 cash to anyone in the crowd who can break his full nelson. The fan, named Roman, comes in and says he’s tough because he’s from New York. This goes exactly as you would expect it to.

Shelton Benjamin vs. Simon Dean

Non-title. Dean’s pre-match promo is broken up by Shelton’s entrance, which is probably best for everyone. Before the match, we get a clip from last week with Chris Jericho saying Fozzy’s new single is called Shelton Is A Little B****. Cue Jericho to say that he gets a title shot at Backlash, but he has something a little better. Jericho brings out Fozzy’s guitarist and actually performs Shelton Is A Little B****.

As the song goes on, Simon jumps Shelton from behind and goes up top, with the referee ringing the bell just before a top rope clothesline. What kind of a nitwit thinks that’s a fair start to a match? The chinlock goes on for a bit, followed by some stomping for good measure. Shelton fights up and hits a northern lights suplex for two to start the comeback. The Stinger Splash and exploder finish Dean in a hurry.

Rating: D. Oh come on, what could they have done to follow up on that song? Jericho stole the show here, as usual, and Shelton getting beaten up by Dean wasn’t the most thrilling idea in the first place. Shelton vs. Jericho should be good and I can go with the story, though I’d prefer more of that song.

Smackdown Rebound.

Vince wants to announce the return of a big idea but Christian cuts him off, saying that we know about the return of the Diva Search. That earns him the threat of unemployment, followed by the announcement of the return of the Draft in about a month. Christian likes the idea and thinks he should be sent to Smackdown to challenge John Cena. Vince thinks Christian belongs in the main event too, so next week he can face Batista.

Backlash rundown. That card has come together out of nowhere.

HHH promises to hit Batista with the Pedigree and get the title back at Backlash. Tonight, JR gets to find out what the Pedigree means. We get a video on the Pedigree and I have to wonder how long HHH has had this waiting.

Jim Ross vs. HHH

No DQ and no Batista as this is going to go badly. They stare at each other a bit with HHH offering a handshake, with Lawler knowing where this is going. A right hand to the stomach finally gives us something and it’s the slow beating, until JR manages to get in a shot to the face. HHH knocks him down again and yells at the referee as JR is busted open. Lawler says this isn’t fair as HHH has been World Champion more times than you can count. I think I can count to ten man.

JR loses his Oklahoma jersey and the slow beating continues as the crowd is just gone. Lawler has finally had enough (he must have gotten sick of the counting) and goes to the ring, which draws Ric Flair in as well. That earns Lawler a Pedigree of his own but here’s Batista’s limo (with Batista driving) to make something happen. Batista comes in for the save and counters the Pedigree, setting up a chair to HHH’s head. JR is pulled on top for the pin.

Rating: F. Well that was bad. What was the point of this supposed to be? Making it clear that HHH is an evil villain without making him have an actual match? I guess JR pinning him is supposed to be humiliating but it’s not like Batista beating HHH Up, especially with a chair, is that big of a deal. This should have been about two minutes long instead of eleven and, again, Batista gets a limited reaction because he doesn’t show up until the end of the show and the fans are dead from the bad match. What a great way to push the new champ.

The mild celebration ends the show.

Overall Rating: D-. What an awful show with the Heart Throbs being one of the highlights. The only decent match was Edge vs. Benoit, which was there to set up another match in the future. I don’t know if they were messed up because they were heading to Europe soon or what but this was a disaster on almost all grounds. Backlash is looking ok enough, but they need a much better TV show next week if they want it to have a chance. Horrible show here and one of the worst in a good while.

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Monday Night Raw – April 11, 2005: I Think I Remember Wrestlemania

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: April 11, 2005
Location: Mark of the Quad Cities, Moline, Illinois
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

Things should be getting back to normal around here as we are now into the regular shows instead of last week’s Wrestlemania fallout. Somehow that means more HHH this week, as last week he announced his rematch clause. Odds are that comes at Backlash at the end of the month, because we need to build to a HHH match you see. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Trish Stratus/Molly Holly vs. Victoria/Christy Hemme

Dang we’re starting with a match? Molly and Victoria fight over arm control to start with Victoria grabbing some armdrags. The dancing moonsault gets two and it’s off to Christy for the kicks to the leg. The splits legdrop gets two more but Trish gets in a cheap shot from the apron to take over. Trish comes in for a chop to the “chest area” as JR puts it, followed by a choke in the corner.

It’s back to Molly for a basement dropkick and we hit the half crab. That’s broken up and Victoria gets to come in for some elbows to the face. Trish breaks up the Widow’s Peak though, meaning it’s back to Molly for some hair takedowns. Another shot hits Trish and Molly’s handspring elbow does as well, allowing Christy to grab a rollup for the pin.

Rating: D. They’re trying with Christy and while it’s not working, they are in fact trying. I know the women’s division isn’t much at the moment but you can’t just throw someone out there with the bare minimum of training and expect it to work. She looks like she’s working as hard as she can so the fault isn’t with her, as she has no business being in this spot.

Not the worst match here, though it was Molly’s last regular match in the company. She hasn’t said why she left but it’s sad to see her go. While she wasn’t the most exciting member of the roster, she was always good for a solid performance and her backstage reputation is one of the best you’ll ever see. The division could use her here (or now) but she has more than earned the right to walk away.

Post match Trish gets knocked to the floor so here’s Kane to chase her off in revenge for what Trish did to Lita last week. Points for continuity at least.

We look at Randy Orton’s shoulder surgery in Birmingham, Alabama. It’s some graphic footage as we see the surgery taking place. They do a nice job of mentioning that Undertaker and Batista hurt the shoulder, which is always better than saying “oh he’s hurt and needs surgery”. He’ll be out about four months.

We go to the women’s locker room where Stacy Keibler is glad for what happened. Candice Michelle wants Batista to take her out and pin her. Maria agrees but they all freak out when Kane chases Trish inside. But they’re cool with the camera in there broadcasting live. They were watching the video on the monitor, so what was airing on the monitor when it was filming them and they were still looking at the monitor? These things keep me up nights.

Coach talks to Muhammad Hassan, who thinks Shawn Michaels should go home and watch some unfunny American sitcom instead of getting a beating. Keeping his promos short is better. The delivery is good but he repeats the same stuff so many times that it gets old.

Here’s HHH for a chat because it’s HHH and this is Raw. He hypes up Batista’s first interview as World Champion but he better enjoy it because it’s borrowed time. The rematch is signed for Backlash and while Batista was awesome at Wrestlemania, HHH will find a weakness before Backlash. HHH is ready this time now because Batista’s eyes have betrayed him.

There is one thing that Batista fears and it will make HHH an eleven time World Champion. That would be the Pedigree and all of this will be set right at Backlash. Cue Hurricane to interrupt, talking about how the last time he saw HHH, he was wearing a crimson mask. HHH calls him a green tomato, so Hurricane calls him out for beating up both he and Rosey a few weeks back. Tonight, it’s payback! As well as CLOBBERING TIME. The double team is on in a hurry with a splash in the corner and a double clothesline to the floor. HHH grabs a mic and says get a ref out here.

HHH vs. Rosey/Hurricane

The referee won’t let HHH use a chair so he gets knocked down again. We take a very early break and come back with HHH punching Hurricane down for two and grabbing a front facelock. The spinebuster plants Hurricane but he gets a boot up in the corner so HHH can stagger a lot. The diving tag brings in Rosey for the spinning legdrop and the running splash in the corner crushes HHH again. It’s back to Hurricane for a guillotine legdrop but he goes up again and gets crotched this time. Rosey gets tied up in the ropes like a goof and the Pedigree finishes Hurricane.

Rating: D. This was exactly what you had to expect here and there is nothing wrong with that. Hurricane and Rosey aren’t doing anything at the moment so having HHH beat them up doesn’t hurt anything. Rosey getting stuck in the rope was as perfect of a way for him to lose as you could get as he’s a big goof who can’t do anything right most of the time.

Post match HHH says that’s a warning for Batista, who is getting Pedigreed tonight. Rosey gets a Pedigree on the floor for a bonus.

Video on the Australia tour.

Batista and Chris Benoit have a moment backstage.

Chris Masters highlight package, because he’s done enough to have a highlight package.

Chris Masters vs. Seth Skyfire

Skyfire was a good hand from OVW around this time. Masters works on the arm to start before kneeing away in the corner. A heck of a toss sends Skyfire flying and he gets Polish Hammered out of the air. The Master Lock finishes Skyfire in a hurry as what sound like BORING chants start up.

Post match Masters offers to put up $1000 to anyone who thinks they can break the Master Lock. So he’s the modern Sgt. Slaughter?

We look at Muhammad Hassan attacking Shawn Michaels last week.

Shawn Michaels vs. Muhammad Hassan

Or not as Hassan does the old “beat this guy before you get me” deal, meaning it’s Daivari time instead.

Shawn Michaels vs. Daivari

The chase lets Daivari stomp away until Shawn starts chopping away so Hassan runs down. That’s enough for Daivari to snap his throat across the top and the beatdown is actually on, including a guillotine legdrop for two. The chinlock goes on for all of a few seconds before Shawn fights up and hits the forearm. Hassan breaks up the top rope elbow so Shawn goes after him, allowing Daivari to try and bring in the bell. That’s enough of a distraction for Hassan to hit Shawn low and give Daivari a fast pin.

Post break, Bischoff tells Shawn he can face Hassan and Daivari at Backlash but he has to get a partner.

It’s time for the Highlight Reel, with Chris Jericho being proud of how Money in the Bank (“My idea.”) went. However, something has been bothering him and that was the way he lost the Intercontinental Title to Shelton Benjamin. Therefore, let’s get his guest out there: Shelton Benjamin.

Shelton doesn’t think much of Jericho’s problems because he had a shot last week and lost. Jericho laughs off Shelton’s six months as champion because he’s held the title seven times (for a total of about six months between those seven reigns). Shelton makes it serious by saying he can take his fist and make more hits than the last Fozzy album so the fight is on. Neither came off great here, though the Fozzy line was good.

Smackdown rebound.

Kane finds Lita, who is VERY pleased with what he did to Trish. Kissing ensues, as we completely forget their previous history.

Here’s Shawn for a follow up chat. We get a patriotic speech about how his family has volunteered to go fight before and now he needs a partner who feels as passionately about this as he does. Shawn literally gets down on his knees and begs Hulk Hogan for one more match to a rather positive response.

Christian vs. Chris Benoit

Benoit has a bad arm and Christian has Tyson Tomko with him as usual. Hold on though as Edge comes out for commentary with JR being a bit surprised. Edge: “It takes him a while. The cowboy hat cuts off circulation.” Christian jumps Benoit to start and gets chopped down but an early hammerlock has Benoit in trouble. An enziguri sends Christian back into the corner as Benoit continues to improve when injured.

A trip to the floor goes badly for Benoit so Christian can choke away back inside. Benoit is right back again and takes it to the floor, only to have Christian go right back to the arm. The armbar goes on as Edge rants about how unfairly he has been treated. JR: “Wah wah. If your aunt was more amply endowed, she would be your uncle.” Benoit knocks him hard off the apron and into the barricade as we take a break.

Back with Benoit fighting out of an armbar but charging into a boot to the arm. Christian goes for the turnbuckle pad and the distraction means the small package only gets two. Tomko sneaks in a shot to the arm and JR rants about Edge not complaining about the cheating. JR losing his mind over stuff is almost always entertaining so I’ll take that.

The hammerlock goes on as Lawler complains about JR playing favorites. That’s a new development? Benoit pops off a German suplex but can’t follow up, meaning the armbar goes on. This lets Edge and Lawler tee off on JR for complaining about Christian and predicting all the ways JR will cheer for Benoit’s comeback. Back up and a hard collision gives us a double knockdown as Edge wants to know why Shawn Michaels gets praised for losing at Wrestlemania while no one is talking about his big win.

Benoit snaps off a suplex as Edge goes off about Benoit getting all of Edge’s chances last year. The Sharpshooter goes on but Christian is in the ropes pretty quickly. That’s fine with Benoit who rolls the German suplexes, only to miss the Swan Dive thanks to a Tomko distraction. An Unprettier attempt is countered into the Crossface so Edge takes a chair down to the ring. Benoit is already dealing with Tomko but is fine enough to dropkick the chair into Edge as well. That’s enough of a distraction for the Unprettier to give Christian the win.

Rating: B. This was a very good match that was elevated by the commentary. Edge and Lawler were scoring on JR every chance they had here and JR just had nothing to say to either of them because they were absolutely right. Edge is on a roll right now and that briefcase is making things more interesting than usual. Christian needed a win like this too and the match getting twenty minutes was almost hard to believe.

JR brings out Batista for his first interview as champion. Batista is ready to fight so HHH can come out here and try to Pedigree him. He isn’t worried about HHH, Edge and others gunning for him because it comes with being champion. He’s the predator and the World Heavyweight Champion so he’s on top of the food chain. If anyone wants to try and take his title, he’ll chew them up, spit them out, and enjoy doing it.

The fear HHH sees is in his own eyes because he is underestimating Batista again, and that will be his downfall. Batista doesn’t plan on being a ten time World Champion because he’ll be champion as long as he wants. Cue HHH from behind and the fight is on. A Pedigree attempt is backdropped over the top, so HHH grabs the mic and announces that he’ll face JR next week in Madison Square Garden. I would ask why but the response is just going to make my head hurt.

Overall Rating: D+. This was a complete one match show with nothing outside of the battling Canadians being worth much. Everything else was either bad or just uninteresting, with Chris Masters looking like the latest flop in a long line of them. Hogan/Michaels teaming together could be interesting, but that’s going to be a huge blow to Hassan. Just not a very interesting show, as Wrestlemania is already seeming like a distant memory.

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 – April 4, 2005 (2019 Redo): Before It Became A Thing

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: April 4, 2005
Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Attendance: 16,653
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

It’s the show after Wrestlemania and that means that means it’s time for the season premiere. Batista won the Raw World Title last night and hopefully changed things for a long time to come around here. We’ve seen the HHH show for so many years now and last year’s summer break with Chris Benoit on top didn’t really change anything. Maybe Batista can do a little better so let’s get to it.

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

We open with a nice long Wrestlemania recap video, cut together with the Gladiator trailer. That’s how the show should start.

And here’s HHH because the guy who lost the title is more important than the person who won the thing. HHH takes his sweet time talking and doesn’t like the BATISTA chants. He finally admits that he lost the title last night but rest assured that this is NOT the beginning of the Batista Era because Batista was great for one night. HHH is great every night so the title will come back to him. He’ll get his rematch, presumably at Backlash, and take the title back. At least it was short.

Intercontinental Title: Chris Jericho vs. Christian vs. Shelton Benjamin

Benjamin is defending and they’re all banged up. Christian tries to talk some trash to start and gets punched in the face for his efforts. Shelton isn’t sure who to go after so he knocks Christian down as well, only to get in an argument with Jericho over who gets to beat Christian up in the corner. Those are fighting actions to Jericho, who sends Christian outside and punches Shelton in the face.

Shelton’s crossbody gets two so Jericho bulldogs him down. Christian breaks up the Lionsault though and takes Jericho’s place, setting up a neckbreaker for two on Shelton. Jericho gets knocked off the apron and we hit the chinlock. With that going nowhere, Christian goes up top but the other two are right there for a Tower of Doom to put them all down.

Jericho enziguris Christian and grabs the sleeper drop on Shelton for two before rolling them both up at the same time for two more. Shelton is back up with a Stinger Splash for two on Christian with Jericho making a save. The exploder hits Jericho but Tomko pulls Shelton outside for a kick to the face to give Christian two. The Walls have Christian in trouble (Lawler: “DON’T TAP CAP!”) but Shelton springboards in with the bulldog to pin Jericho and retain.

Rating: B. I might have to raise the rating a bit just for DON’T TAP CAP. This was rather energetic with all three working hard and hitting their big stuff with a rather creative finish. You can’t just have people do their finishers all the time so throwing in a surprise like this is a welcome change. Shelton has been champion for a long time now and he’s gone from a surprise winner to an established guy as the title has done a lot for him, as it’s supposed to do.

Edge signs his Money in the Bank contract so Eric Bischoff is ready for the title match tonight. That’s not happening because Edge is saving it for later. This annoys Bischoff, who gives Edge a match with Chris Benoit instead.

Here’s Randy Orton for a chat. Orton says it wasn’t supposed to happen like it did because he came THIS close to making history. He even countered the chokeslam into the RKO but that wasn’t enough. That’s why he tried the Tombstone but he felt something snap in his shoulder and then he was looking up at the lights.

Then he was in the back, looking up at the monitor and seeing Batista as the new World Heavyweight Champion. That was different because he respects Undertaker but knows he’s better than Batista. This year alone, Orton has pinned Batista twice so tonight, he’ll do it a third time. Bischoff comes out to say it’s on, though non-title because HHH and Edge are already lurking around the next shot.

Women’s Title: Christy Hemme vs. Trish Stratus

Trish isn’t defending because she kicks Christy in the head before the bell. She knocks Lita down as well and attacks the bad knee again, all with the big grin on her face.

We see the full Eugene/Muhammad Hassan/Hulk Hogan segment from last night.

Gladiator trailer.

Here’s Shawn Michaels, limping down the ramp, for a chat. He has only had two loves in his life and those are his family and wrestling. Last night he gave it everything he had but couldn’t get it done. With that being said though, he has a question: would anyone like to see a rematch? The fans seem interested and that’s what Shawn was hoping to hear. He doesn’t know when, where or how it would happen but he’ll do whatever he can to give the fans what they want.

Cue Muhammad Hassan and Daivari to interrupt though and this isn’t likely to go well. Daivari rants a lot as Shawn sits on the top rope and doesn’t quite understand. Hassan switches to English and talks about Hogan returning last night before Shawn came up short in failing to steal the show. Instead Shawn tapped out and left as a disgrace in losing.

That’s enough to get Shawn’s jacket off so Hassan goes into his usual spiel. He accuses the fans of loving losers so Shawn punches him in the face so the fight is on. Daivari distraction lets Hassan get in a chop block though and the beatdown is on, including the camel clutch (instead of something on the leg). Shawn sells the heck out of the beating.

Edge vs. Chris Benoit

Benoit’s arm is badly damaged after last night. Feeling out process to start with Benoit having to keep the bad arm away. The snap suplex and a back elbow put Edge down but he gets in a shot to the bad arm. That’s enough to send Benoit outside for a breather, though he’s fine enough to send Edge into the barricade.

Back in and Benoit makes the mistake of using the bad arm and has to go outside again. Edge manages to snap the arm across the top rope and it’s time for some pulling on said arm. The armbar goes on and Benoit can’t even slam his way out of it. Benoit finally flips his way out and drops Edge but makes the mistake of trying the Swan Dive.

The crash is enough for Edge to get two and he baseball slides Benoit to the floor where he lands on the arm as we take a break. Back with Benoit’s arm in another (albeit different) armbar with the bandage having been pulled off. Edge gives up on that and goes up top, where Benoit chops away with the good arm.

Benoit’s top rope superplex brings him back down in a good looking crash. The Sharpshooter goes on but Edge makes the rope, so Benoit tries the Crossface. Benoit’s arm is WAY too hurt for that to work though and Edge takes him down with a flying armbar. The spear hits corner though and Benoit grabs a rollup for the pin.

Rating: B. They had a good story going here and you know the action is going to be more than enough to carry these two to something great. That’s exactly what happened here with Benoit fighting through the adversity and surviving until the end. Edge losing isn’t going to hurt him that much either as he has the briefcase for a long time and can absorb a loss here or there.

Post match Edge jumps Benoit and sends him into the steps before crushing the bad arm with a chair. JR is VERY furious about this, while Lawler says it’s like the toaster you get when you open a new bank account. All I got was a bank book and a debit card.

Here are Simon Dean and Maven for a chat. They’re not impressed by the Los Angeles fans because all they want to do is eat nachos and drink beer. That’s not healthy and Simon defies anyone to tell him otherwise. Cue the glass shatter and here’s Steve Austin to an eruption. Austin isn’t impressed with all of these products and doesn’t like someone putting down beer drinkers. After insulting their hair, Austin offers Simon a beer, which Simon will drink…if it’s low calorie.

They make a deal: Simon will drink a beer if Austin will drink a Simon Shake. Simon gets the beer but asks if Austin has a glass. After taking a few sips, it’s time to do some pushups to work off the calories. Austin makes him do a lot more before trying the shake, which he says tastes like garbage. Maven says it’s a man’s drink and throws it on Austin. Fans: “YOU F***** UP!” They’re right, as the beatdown is on and beer is consumed. Fine use of Austin on a show like this.

Kane comes up to Orton in the back and laughs at him for not being able to beat Undertaker.

Randy Orton vs. Batista

Non-title. Orton’s headlock works as well as you would expect so he takes Batista into the corner for some right hands. They head outside with Batista being sent into the steps as this isn’t exactly a great showcase of the new World Champion. Back in and Orton grabs a chinlock for a good while before Batista manages to fight up. The corner shoulders have Orton in trouble and his bad shoulder is sent hard into the post. Batista posts it again for good measure and it’s the spinebuster/Batista Bomb to finish Orton. That would be his last match until August.

Rating: D. What was that? Orton gets to beat him up for four minutes and then loses to the double finisher? We wait for an hour and forty five minutes to finally see the new champ and he gets beaten up for most of the match? Orton is on his way to the injured list for a good while and this is the spot they put these two in? I’m not sure I get this one.

HHH comes out to glare at Batista and signal that he wants the title to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This is before the post-Wrestlemania Raw became a bigger deal and that left us with a pretty energized show. What we got was a show was some good wrestling but little in the way of storylines. Other than HHH vs. Batista continuing, there wasn’t a lot going on here. That’s ok for a show like this though and what we got was certainly entertaining. Good show, and we can start everything that matters next week.

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

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2012/03/19/monday-night-raw-april-4-2005-needs-more-batista/

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

Smackdown – September 3, 2019: Run That By Me Again

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: September 3, 2019
Location: Norfolk Scope Arena, Norfolk, Virginia
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

The King of the Ring rolls on with another two quarterfinal matches. Unlike Raw last night, hopefully that means we can get all the way down to two semifinalists instead of three because Smackdown might be smarter than that. Otherwise, it’s time for another level of pushing towards Clash of Champions, which is sneaking up on us. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Sasha Banks returning and Bayley turning on Becky Lynch to join her last night.

Here’s Bayley to open things up with her usual entrance, including the tube men. The fans are rather happy to see her after what she did. Bayley doesn’t understand what people expected because she gives her whole heart out there very time. She wants the fans to feel the way she did when she was a kid and she’s trying to show the younger fans what it means to be loyal. That’s why she had Sasha’s back last night when it got rough.

She’ll prove that when she beats the selfish Charlotte at Clash of Champions, so here’s Charlotte to interrupt. Charlotte admits to being selfish but what you see is what you get. There is no hugging so Bayley should hug the title goodbye. Cue Sasha so Charlotte decks Bayley before fighting Banks. Bayley comes in with the chair though and they both beat Charlotte down.

King of the Ring Quarterfinals: Elias vs. Ali

Elias says being the biggest acquisition in Smackdown history isn’t enough so he wants to be King. Ali starts fast with some early near falls and a spinwheel kick sends Elias outside. The suicide dive is blocked though and Elias tosses him with a release suplex on the floor. Ali gets sent face first into the barricade and then over the barricade as we take a break. Back with Ali sending Elias outside and the second suicide dive attempt connects. The landing bangs up Elias’ arm so Ali hits a 450 onto the arm in a smart move.

A headscissors into a Crossface continues the intelligence but Elias gets out in a hurry. Elias manages a sitout powerbomb for two before grabbing a Stretch Muffler on the leg, complete with some stomps to the head. Ali heads outside and has to superkick a diving Elias out of the air. Back in and Ali misses the 450 (slowed down because of the leg) and a knee to the leg makes it even worse. Drift Away finishes Ali at 11:27.

Rating: C+. This was a side of WWE that you don’t get often enough with Ali and Elias both showing some intelligence. Both guys switched up their offense to go with what made sense here instead of going with their usual stuff that didn’t make sense in the situation. You don’t get that very often and it was nice to see here. Well done indeed.

Elias plays some guitar while sitting on the throne.

Samoa Joe promises to become king and make everyone bend a knee.

Aleister Black takes off his tie and says if the mountain isn’t coming to him, he’s coming to the mountain. He’s going to the ring to see if anyone is man enough to pick a fight with him.

Non-title and the result of an argument over who can take better photos. Cross gets caught in the wrong corner to start but manages to knock Deville out to the floor. A dropkick puts Mandy out there with her and a big dive from Cross sends us to a break. Back with Mandy shouting about how Cross will never look like her. That’s enough for Cross to fight over for the tag to Alexa and everything breaks down. Cross slips out of a double underhook from Mandy, leaving Bliss to DDT Deville. Twisted Bliss hits knees though and it’s back to Mandy for a High/Low and the pin at 6:56.

Rating: D+. Remember last night when I was praising WWE for not having their champions lose? It’s time for the comeback here as Bliss and Cross, who haven’t even been champions that long, get to lose here, likely to set up the rematch for Clash. You knew they were going to do something like that to set up a title match somewhere, because they just can’t help it.

Samoa Joe comes up to Chad Gable and makes short jokes about him, which he knows hurts Gable. That’s because Gable is weak mentally and there is no room for that in the kingdom.

Video on Erick Rowan being shown as helping in the attack on Roman Reigns. Rowan vs. Reigns is set for Clash of Champions.

King of the Ring Quarterfinals: Chad Gable vs. Andrade

Before the match, Zelina Vega says that she has nothing but respect for another vertically challenged superstar. She could see Gable winning the tournament if Andrade wasn’t in it, but he is so Gable has no chance. Gable wastes no time in wrestling Andrade down and a sunset flip out of the corner gets two. A monkey flip sends Andrade down but a second attempt is dumped to the floor as we take a break. Back with Gable getting two off a wrist clutch chickenwing suplex but Andrade’s Alberto double stomp gets the same.

Three Amigos, with an Eddie dance, are broken up and it’s Gable rolling some German suplexes. Andrade is right back with the third suplex but the double moonsault hits knees. Gable hits a great looking moonsault of his own for two and Rolling Chaos Theory connects….with Vega distracting the referee to break up a cover. That’s enough for Andrade to hit a rolling elbow to the face but the hammerlock DDT is countered into a rollup for the pin at 7:56 and a BIG reaction.

Rating: B. The crowd reactions were awesome here as the fans got into the story and wanted to see Chad, the underdog (you know, the former champion and Olympic wrestler), win here. That’s what they pulled off though and it was a really cool moment in the end. As a bonus, I’m not sure who wins next week as I can’t imagine either Elias or Gable actually going to the finals. There’s a good chance it’s still Baron Corbin winning but at least we have a possible surprise now.

Aleister Black vs. Shelton Benjamin

Open challenge from Black, who sits down to start and misses an early Black Mass attempt. A knee to the face sends Shelton outside instead but he gets in his own knee to rock Black. Back in and Black Mass finishes Benjamin at 1:53. Well that worked.

Drake Maverick and his wife hide in the boiler room and a bunch of people happen to be waiting for him. Bo Dallas manages to pin him for the title and the chase continues.

Here are Shinsuke Nakamura and Sami Zayn for a chat but Sami cuts the music so the fans can’t sing along. For now though, we’ll settle for this.

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. ???

Non-title with Sami on a live mic at ringside. The kicks to the face have the unnamed jobber in trouble but he punches Nakamura in the corner. That earns him a bunch of knees to the ribs and kicks to the face, plus the running knee to the ribs. Kinshasa finishes at 1:14.

Post match the B Team runs into the ring with the title but here are the Singh Brothers and Kalisto. Drake Mavericks rolls Dallas up for the title…..but R-Truth is disguised as a guard next to the throne and wins the title for the fourteenth time.

Here’s Daniel Bryan to demand an apology from Roman Reigns. The fans rather approve of Bryan, who thinks it means they finally understand him. People think that Bryan is guilty by association but now we know he had nothing to do with it. Bryan has never lied to anyone and he hates liars of all kinds. Therefore he wants and gets Reigns out here but Erick Rowan jumps Reigns from behind. A powerbomb sends Reigns into the post and the claw slam makes it even worse.

Rowan grabs the mic and says Daniel had nothing to do with this. He yells at Bryan for thinking he can control Rowan and offers to fight Bryan right now. Come slap him again like he did last week. Bryan isn’t sure what to do so Rowan talks about being proud of what he did to attack Reigns, which included attacking him with the car. What makes him most proud though is the pain that Reigns is going to feel at Clash of Champions. Rowan throws him outside and hits him with the steps, drawing Bryan over to slap Rowan again. The claw slam puts Bryan through the table to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. I’m not sure what to think about this show. There wasn’t anything bad on it but with the show over, I can barely remember anything special about the whole thing. It just kind of came and went without much happening as the show is in a steady as it goes stretch. You can almost bet on that being the case for the next month, which makes the rest of September feel rather long. It was a pretty good show, but nothing that there was just nothing that stood out. I’ll take it over a bad and boring show though and that’s better than what we had over the summer.

Results

Elias b. Ali – Drift Away

Chad Gable b. Andrade – Sunset flip

Aleister Black b. Shelton Benjamin – Black Mass

Shinsuke Nakamura b. ??? – Kinshasa

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 – March 28, 2005: The Home Stretch

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: March 28, 2005
Location: Fort Worth Convention Center, Fort Worth, Texas
Attendance: 7,300
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

It’s the go home show for Wrestlemania and odds are that means a lot of final pushes towards the show. You might see less action than usual as well as WWE won’t be wanting to risk any unnecessary injuries before the biggest night of the year. Batista and HHH are going face to face tonight so we’ll see where they go with their last chance. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Chris Jericho is in the ring for the Highlight Reel and of course there is a ladder in the middle with the briefcase above it. Jericho talks about making history by becoming the first Undisputed Champion and he’ll do it again by winning the first Money in the Bank ladder match. He knows what it feels like to be World Champion and he wants to feel it again. That brings him to his guests: Chris Benoit and Shelton Benjamin.

Jericho says the three of them are kind of friends but he’ll do whatever it takes to win the briefcase. That’s fine with Benoit, but what isn’t fine is Jericho saying he wants to win more than anyone. Shelton interrupts to say that he’s never been World Champion but he’s the only one with gold right now. Cue Christian and Tyson Tomko to say that they’re all lame and that Christian is winning on Sunday. Christian asks what will happen when he gets his first World Title shot. Shelton: “Probably get your a** beat by Batista or HHH.” That was funny.

Christian takes credit for winning two ladder matches at Wrestlemania so here’s Edge to interrupt. He had something to do with those wins but on Sunday, he’ll be winning his third on his own. Edge doesn’t want to hear about Intercontinental Titles or broken necks because he’s done all of that. He’ll do whatever it takes to win the title so Benoit lunges to start the brawl.

Chris Jericho/Shelton Benjamin/Chris Benoit vs. Tyson Tomko/Christian/Edge

Joined in progress with Christian coming in to hammer on Jericho in the corner. Jericho grabs a suplex and brings Shelton in for two off a very fast running shoulder. Benjamin fights out of the corner without much effort but Tomko catches him with a Boss Man Slam. The villains start taking over on Shelton as Lawler explains the details of the MITB contract. That sounds like old hat now, but explaining that someone could cash in on an injured champion at a moment’s notice was a new concept back then.

Shelton powers over to the corner but the referee doesn’t see it and the trouble continues. The chinlock goes on for a bit until Shelton fights up for a double clothesline. The diving tag brings Benoit in for a quick suplex into the Sharpshooter with Christian having to save Edge. Therefore, Benoit German suplexes Christian over and over but Edge crotches Benoit on top. A superplex brings the bloody Benoit (busted open off a headbutt to Tomko) down and we come back from a break with Benoit covered in blood.

He’s also fighting out of a chinlock and getting elbowed in the face for two with Benjamin making the save. Benoit is fine enough to headbutt Christian off the top and hit the Swan Dive, setting up the real hot tag to Jericho. Everything breaks down and Edge spears Tomko by mistake, only to have Shelton Dragon Whip Benoit by mistake. The exploder plants Christian but Tomko hits a heck of a big boot on Shelton. Jericho doesn’t mind and puts Tomko in the Walls for the win.

Rating: C+. This was your standard “get (almost) everyone in the big match in this match for a preview” and the talent in there made it worked. Tomko was a good enough Kane substitute as he was only in there for the power stuff. The good thing about having this much talent is you can throw them into any combination and get a nice match, which is what they had here.

Post match Christian brings in the ladder but here’s Kane to take everyone out.

When Harry Met Sally Wrestlemania trailer.

Eric Bischoff comes in to see Batista and makes him promise a lack of physicality when he and HHH face off tonight. Bischoff can’t afford an injury, so Batista says HHH shouldn’t get injured. Batista promises to not start anything tonight, but he’ll finish anything HHH starts. That’s enough for Eric, but he comes back to ask about Batista’s used car salesman last week. Bischoff brings up Batista’s movie trailer and thinks he could be a Hollywood star (the man knows talent). Batista appreciates that and thinks Bischoff reminds him of someone in Pulp Fiction. That would be the Gimp.

Trish, Christy (in a dress, with Lita), arm wrestling, Christy wins after delays, Christy wins a rematch, Trish nails Lita in the leg. Every one you’ve ever seen of these things.

Classic Steve Austin Moment: the beer truck.

Here’s Randy Orton for a chat. We see a clip of him attacking Stacy Keibler last week, earning Orton a mixed reaction. Perhaps from fans who are glad Stacy is gone? Last week, Stacy hesitated when Orton asked if he could beat Undertaker at Wrestlemania. Orton isn’t waiting because you’re either with him or against him and he wants no distractions. Undertaker is undefeated at Wrestlemania because everyone is beaten before they get into the ring. His future involves a Hall of Fame plaque, which says he beat Undertaker at Wrestlemania. The Undertaker is a legend but Orton is a legend killer.

The lights go out and we see a video counting down the Undertaker’s victims at Wrestlemania over the years. These Wrestlemania videos are always well done and they played a big part in making the Streak feel so important. Back in the arena, the posts catch on fire and Orton is scared to death on the floor. These segments have been good, but I’m not quite buying Orton as a threat after how far he’s fallen in the last few months.

Post break Kane comes up to Orton and sees through his confidence. Kane was lucky to escape two Wrestlemania matches against Undertaker. Orton says he knows what he’s getting into but Kane says Orton needs to prove that he isn’t scared of Undertaker. He has six days to prove it. So there’s a Smackdown segment.

Tag Team Titles: Simon Dean/Maven vs. La Resistance vs. William Regal/Tajiri

Regal and Tajiri are defending and it’s one fall to a finish. Dean and Maven hit a double hiptoss on Tajiri to start so Regal comes in for a double elbow to Maven. La Resistance make their own save so Dean can hit a swinging neckbreaker on Regal. The chinlock doesn’t last long so Grenier gets in a cheap shot from the apron but Regal is right back with a snap bell to back suplex. The hot (though you wouldn’t know it by listening) tag brings in Tajiri for a bunch of kicks, including a big one to pin Maven and retain the titles.

Rating: D. So that didn’t do much. These four were thrown on the show because they had nothing to do at Wrestlemania (save for maybe being in the battle royal), which doesn’t seem to matter despite Regal and Tajiri being champions. I know they’ve been around forever, but would dropping them be the worst thing? Just for now? Other than house show matches, do they really serve an important purpose?

Bischoff tries to convince HHH to stay calm tonight but HHH says Bischoff is forcing him into the ring tonight. HHH will stay calm but if Batista blinks at him in the wrong way, it’s on. These segments feel like filler but what else are they going to do on this show? Promote something else for Wrestlemania?

Smackdown Rebound.

Muhammad Hassan vs. Shawn Michaels

Hassan and Daivari do their usual stuff before the match and it’s a bit more over than usual in Texas. Hassan goes with a knee to the ribs to take Shawn down early and hammers away with right hands. Back up and Shawn is smart enough to stomp on Daivari’s interfering fingers as we take a break.

We come back with Shawn’s back in trouble as Hassan’s offense continues to not be impressive in any way. A back elbow gives Hassan two and the chinlock goes on. There’s a hard whip into the corner to hurt the back even more as they’re managing to kill a Texas crowd in a Shawn Michaels match.

More whips into the corner have Shawn’s back in more trouble and the USA chant proves Hassan’s point all over again. The camel clutch (loose, to be countered version) is broken up with a grab of the ropes and the fans….don’t seem to care. Shawn’s comeback is on with the atomic drop into the forearm into the nipup into the top rope elbow. Sweet Chin Music is loaded up for a very long time but Kurt Angle runs in for the DQ.

Rating: D. This was a great example of what happens when you’re just not that good. Hassan tries but his whole appeal is his gimmick, which isn’t that good either. It’s such a one note promo and idea and while it can work in small doses, we’ve heard the same promo about prejudice time after time. Then he gets in the ring and is so boring that there is no reason to care about anything he does. Even Shawn couldn’t lift him up so who else can make it work?

Post match Angle hits Muhammad by mistake and Shawn fights him off, sending Angle into the crowd as security comes out.

Bischoff tells security to be ready for the Batista vs. HHH brawl.

Wrestlemania Taxi Driver trailer.

Bischoff is in the ring to moderate the big showdown so here are HHH, Flair and Batista. HHH gets to go first and takes his time (shocking) to call Batista ungrateful. After everything HHH has done for him, this is how Batista repays him? No one knew who he was before he met HHH and now Batista is a star.

This goes on and on (shocking) until Batista gets to talk about how he’s going to win on Sunday. He does make sure to throw in some compliments to Flair, because we must praise Flair. Batista promises to take HHH out on Sunday so there goes the table. HHH slaps him in the face (so much for Bischoff’s warning) and security has to be dispatched, leaving Batista standing tall to end the show. That was about as uneventful as you could get, with Batista doing everything he has done before and HHH saying everything he has said before. It changed nothing for Sunday, but the match has been set for so long now that it doesn’t matter.

Overall Rating: D. I wasn’t into this one as they basically shut down everything for some of the same builds toward Sunday, which we’ve covered extensively in the last few weeks. The six man was good but that’s not enough to carry things. This was what happened when the big show is already set and has been for months now. I’m no more interested in watching Wrestlemania than I was before and I felt like I needed to get through this show more than enjoying it and that’s not good with six days to go.

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

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Smackdown – August 27, 2019: Score One For Easy E

IMG Credit: WWE

Smackdown
Date: August 27, 2019
Location: Raising Cane’s River Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Commentators: Corey Graves, Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton

The first round of the King of the Ring wraps up tonight and it’s getting pretty clear that Raw is the favored side. The talent pool just feels deeper over there as this show is going to include Shelton Benjamin getting a first round match. Maybe that would have been interesting fifteen years ago but it doesn’t quite work right now. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with the same video on Roman Reigns’ attacks that we saw last night.

Reigns promises a response to Daniel Bryan and Erick Rowan in the ring tonight.

Here’s Kofi Kingston for a chat, but first we see a video on Randy Orton’s attacks since Summerslam. Kofi has heard Orton calling him stupid but who got knocked out last week? Now Orton is trying to turn this personal and he’s bringing in the Revival to help him out. That means Orton is seeing the look when you mess with Kofi’s family so Kofi is ready for Clash Of Champions. Kofi starts the hip thrusts but Orton appears on screen to say STUPID over and over.

Earlier today, Orton was in his hotel room when someone knocked on his door and slid a letter underneath. Normally he doesn’t reply to fan mail but this one was different. It says that Orton is hurting Kofi and he needs to stop hurting him every night. Kofi isn’t just his hero because Kofi is his daddy. It’s from Kofi’s son Kai, and Orton realized that he is staying in the same hotel as Kofi’s family. Maybe he should pay them a visit. Kofi charges to the back and the fight is on in the gorilla position, with Kofi getting hit with the hanging DDT onto the concrete. Kofi is out cold and medics are requested. That was certainly a great THUD.

Post break, Big E. assures us that Kofi will be ready for Clash of Champions but after his match with Orton tonight, Randy might not be.

Recap of the first round of the King of the Ring.

King of the Ring First Round: Ali vs. Buddy Murphy

The winner gets Elias next week. Ali starts fast with a running hurricanrana to put Murphy on the floor. The running flip dive doesn’t work as Murphy catches him with a running knee to the face and we take an early break. Back with Ali catapulting him chest first into the corner and hitting a pop up dropkick to put Murphy on the floor again.

Murphy is right back with a shot of his own and that means the big running flip dive, which is quite the landing given Murphy’s size. Back in and Ali ducks the top rope Meteora, setting up the reverse hurricanrana for a close two. Murphy comes back with another knee to the face and a brainbuster for two of his own. The fans deem this awesome as the slugout is on, including Ali’s spinwheel kick. A tornado DDT from the apron back inside plants Murphy and Ali’s 450 is good for the pin at 9:09.

Rating: B. I can see why these two are the choice for the dark match so often. They beat the heck out of each other and it’s easy to cheer for either of them. That being said, it’s probably not a good sign for Murphy’s future if he’s losing clean in the first round of the tournament. Being able to have that kind of a match will keep him around for a long time though and he should be fine, albeit maybe not as fine as he looked last week.

They do the big respectful handshake.

Ember Moon comes up to Bayley, who seems to be worried about Charlotte. Moon doesn’t want to talk about Summerslam but also doesn’t want to hear about Charlotte being the face of the division. It’s all about bringing everyone up, so here’s Lacey Evans to say Bayley is bringing the title down. Egads it’s like the return of the summer. Bayley against Evans tonight.

Here’s the Miz to address Shinsuke Nakamura and Sami Zayn attacking him last week. Nakamura is a champion and Sami is a hanger on who couldn’t make it in the ring himself. Nakamura may be the King of Strong Styles but Miz is the man who made the Intercontinental Title relevant and he can do it again. The challenge is made for Clash of Champions but here’s a laughing Sami to interrupt. Sami says Miz still doesn’t get it because he has liberated Nakamura.

Instead of the King of Strong Style, Miz is the King of Soft Style. Miz throws out the challenge to face Sami right now but that’s a no. Miz goes after Sami but Nakamura jumps him from behind as Sami talks about how awesome the artistry is. Kinshasa against the LED board leaves Miz laying. Sami: “AHAHAHAHA!” They get inside with Sami talking about Miz’s lack of respect for artistry, setting up another Kinshasa.

Kevin Owens comes in to see Shane McMahon but finds Elias playing the guitar instead. There is no Shane tonight (yet his roving office was set up) so Owens leaves.

Bayley vs. Lacey Evans

Non-title. Lacey takes her time removing the glove but her cheap shot is blocked. An armbar doesn’t work very well for Bayley as Lacey slams her way out of it and kicks away in the corner. They head outside with Bayley hitting a running clothesline but here’s Charlotte for a distraction.

Back from a break with Bayley hitting a middle rope crossbody but getting caught in….a layout DDT I think? Lacey slams the arm onto the apron and the slingshot Bronco Buster gets two. A dropkick to the back gives Bayley a breather and some clotheslines have Lacey rocked. An Indian Deathlock of all things has Lacey….in the rope about two seconds later.

Lacey knocks her down again and hits a good looking spinning moonsault for two. Charlotte is NOT impressed as Bayley goes outside and manages a suplex off the barricade. Back in and Bayley gets more aggressive, including a knee to the head. The Bayley to Belly gets two so Bayley hits it again and drops the top rope elbow for the pin at 14:28.

Rating: C+. They had some time here and the match was entertaining enough but they still can’t get out of Charlotte’s shadow. Even if Bayley retains the title at Clash of Champions, how long before Charlotte gets a rematch and wins the title again anyway? They don’t have anything else for her to do though and this is about as good as they’re going to do.

Daniel Bryan and Erick Rowan aren’t leaving until they get an apology from Reigns.

Randy Orton vs. Big E.

Big E. isn’t playing and knocks Orton outside early on. Orton is thrown into various things, including over the barricade. Back in and Big E. does the spanking abdominal stretch, which isn’t exactly playing into the angry theme. Some hard running clotheslines keep Orton down as it’s completely one sided so far. Big E. misses the apron splash though, with his face bouncing off the apron in a nasty landing.

Orton drops him onto the announcers’ table and we take a break. Back with Big E. dropping him onto the table to even things up and it’s time for the belly to belly suplexes. Cue the Revival for a distraction and cheap shot from the floor, setting up the RKO to give Orton the pin at 8:43.

Rating: C. One of these days, WWE is going to open their eyes and see what they have in Big E. and strap a rocket to his back. Or at least they should, because there is almost nothing that he can’t do. The idea here was to have Orton continue to take out the New Day and while the idea of “Kofi can’t do it by himself” is played out, at least they’re actually doing something about it to set things up. If nothing else, the Revival should get the titles out of it.

Post match Orton and the Revival hit the super RKO.

Chad Gable is ready for his King of the Ring match when Shelton Benjamin comes up. Shelton can’t see him because he’s short.

We look at the weekend’s 24/7 Title shenanigans.

Elias is sitting on the throne and says none of the previous winners will be able to wear the crown like he can. But what would a bunch of Louisiana people understand about that? Cue Owens to jump Elias and hit the Stunner in the ring. Cue R-Truth to steal the title but Drake Maverick breaks it up and gets the title for himself.

King of the Ring First Round: Shelton Benjamin vs. Chad Gable

The winner gets Andrade next week. Shelton hits a spinebuster for a very early two and whips him hard into the corner for the same. One too many short jokes wakes Gable up though and he hits a running flip neckbreaker. A scary looking German suplex drops Shelton on his head but he’s right back up with a hard clothesline. Gable knocks him off the top but misses the moonsault, allowing Shelton to knee him in the face. Shelton’s powerbomb is countered into a very fast sunset flip for the pin at 3:43.

Rating: B-. That was a heck of a sub four minute match as they were hitting each other rather hard and packed a bunch into so little time. I was surprised that it was such a short match as it felt like something that would have needed twice as long. If nothing else, maybe we don’t have to listen to the short jokes anymore because that’s about as bad as you can get.

Here’s Roman Reigns for the apology to Bryan and Rowan. The two of them appear on screen with Bryan demanding his apology. We see a video of the forklift attack and Rowan is shown pushing some of the crates onto Roman. Bryan slaps him in the face, shouting about how he hates liars. With Rowan gone, Bryan comes to the ring and says he trusted Rowan for almost the last year and now he has been betrayed. Bryan comes to the ring and says he didn’t know what happened but it’s a spear to put him down to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This was a heck of a show with storyline developments and nothing bad throughout the show. What mattered here was getting things ready for Clash of Champions while also moving things forward in various places, including the main event and King of the Ring. I had a really good time with this show and it flew by for a nice plus. Very good show and easily the best of the Bischoff Era so far.

Results

Ali b. Buddy Murphy – 450

Bayley b. Lacey Evans – Top rope elbow

Randy Orton b. Big E. – RKO

Chad Gable b. Shelton Benjamin – Sunset flip

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

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Monday Night Raw – March 21, 2005: The Main Events Need Helmets

IMG Credit: WWE

Monday Night Raw
Date: March 21, 2005
Location: Jefferson Civic Center, Birmingham, Alabama
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

Wrestlemania is less than two weeks away and that means we’re in the final stretches of the build. That can be both good and bad as some of the stories can be interesting but at the same time, some of them are running on fumes and not that great. Tonight it’s another Pick Your Poison match with Batista facing Kane. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Shawn Michaels vs. Rob Conway

Sylvain Grenier is here with Conway while Shawn is on his own. An early Grenier distraction doesn’t do much as Shawn sends Conway outside and beats up both French guys. That means a big flip dive to the floor for a bonus as I’m not exactly buying Shawn as being in much danger here.

A cheap shot with the flag pole gives Conway two and we take a break. Back with Shawn fighting out of a chinlock and skinning the cat to avoid a nasty landing on the floor. They slug it out as Conway is getting in far more offense than you would expect here. Shawn makes the real comeback with the usual and drops the top rope elbow. A very hot crowd is pleased as Sweet Chin Music finishes Conway.

Rating: C. That was better than I would have expected with Shawn working hard in a match that doesn’t mean anything for him. That’s how you get a crowd more interested in Wrestlemania as if Shawn can do this against someone like Conway, what could he do against Angle? Rather nice surprise here.

Video on Kurt Angle, who has won everywhere he goes and will do so again at Wrestlemania. The ankle lock gets a lot of extra attention here.

Christy Hemme is ready to fight and has been working on her kicks. She offers to demonstrate to William Regal and Tajiri, who immediately cover their crotches.

Basic Instinct Wrestlemania trailer. That’s a bit of a flashback over the last few weeks.

Molly Holly/Simon Dean/Maven vs. Christy Hemme/William Regal/Tajiri

Oh this is going to hurt. Trish Stratus comes out (with her hair pulled back for a change, making her look like a shorter Michelle McCool) to watch as a bonus. Regal takes Dean down by the arm to start and runs him over with a shoulder for no count. Tajiri comes in and gets dropped by a cheap shot from Maven.

It’s Tajiri getting beaten up as JR tries to keep Lawler from talking about Playboy. Dean goes after Regal but gets kicked in the face by Tajiri, meaning it’s off to the women. A Trish distraction doesn’t do much good as Christy kicks away at Holly but Dean breaks up a sunset flip. Regal knees Dean to the floor and the Molly Go Round misses. The reverse Twist of Fate finishes Molly.

Rating: D+. Well it could have been worse. The whole point of this match was to showcase Christy and have her look good in her outfit while managing to do the one move that she needs to do for the title match. The Tag Team Champions were just kind of there, but that has been the case for years now with those titles.

Classic Steve Austin moment: Vince and the bedpan. Vince’s heart monitor freaking out in time with the beatdown was a great touch.

Here’s an angry HHH for a chat, but first he sets a chair in the ring. He can’t believe how underappreciated he is for everything he does for this business. Do you know what it took to make Batista and Randy Orton into stars? The two of them ruined their own careers with their bad decisions and look where they are now.

Orton is currently volunteering to put his head on the chopping block for the Undertaker at Wrestlemania. He groveled for nothing when he was in Evolution too, but at least he was a star, just like Batista. See, Batista could have made the right decision and gone over to Smackdown, where he could have beaten JBL and John Cena. Now Batista is coming to Wrestlemania and he’s going to lose there too.

Batista went to Wrestlemania once and then won the Royal Rumble so he knows how to win now? The problem for Batista is that he’s coming up against a wrestling god and now the big loss is coming. Last week, Chris Benoit was added to the list of people that Benoit has beaten when Batista picked his poison.

Tonight HHH gets to do the same, as Batista faces Kane in a lumberjack match. HHH gets to pick the lumberjacks of course and anything goes. He’s going to make a decision that needs to be made the animal will be put down. We get some references to the Terry Schiavo case to finally end this after nearly fifteen minutes of HHH’s slow talking about how awesome he is.

Chris Jericho/Shelton Benjamin vs. Edge/Christian

Remember the previous tag match that looked bad? This one doesn’t. Tyson Tomko is here with the Canadian team. Jericho’s headlock on Christian doesn’t get him very far to start so a shoulder gives him two instead. Christian gets knocked outside though and it’s a meeting with Edge and Tomko, allowing Shelton to bust out the big flip dive for the showoff moment.

Edge comes in so Shelton hammers away in the corner until Christian gets in a cheap shot from the floor. Christian’s neckbreaker gets two and we hit the chinlock. Shelton gets up and hits a kick to the head, allowing the tag to Jericho (which looked to have been a bit short). The Lionsault hits Christian but Jericho has to dropkick Tomko off the apron, allowing Christian to hit the reverse DDT.

Back from a break with Shelton coming in off the second hot tag and powerslamming Edge for two. Everything breaks down and the Canadians load up Poetry in Motion, only to have Shelton use Edge as a launchpad to clothesline Christian. Jericho drops both Edge and Christian but dives into Tomko’s boot. The Stinger Splash hits Christian but he’s right back with a belt to the head, setting up Edge’s spear for the pin.

Rating: B-. This Edge and Christian reunion has been a lot of fun so far as they have the natural chemistry but it doesn’t feel like a rehash of the same stuff they’ve done before. They’re different people now and it’s the two of them as singles stars instead of a regular team. You can throw any combination of the awesome upper midcard scene at them and get a good match, just like this one.

Post match Edge and Christian lay out Shelton but Chris Benoit runs in for the save. Tomko brings in the ladder to drop Benoit.

Ric Flair gives the lumberjacks a pep talk, saying that Batista ruined their careers by not going to Smackdown. Tonight can be their own Wrestlemania and they need a new member of Evolution.

A nervous Eric Bischoff comes in to see Batista, telling him that he had nothing to do with the lumberjack match. He’s worried that Batista won’t be happy around here after winning the title at Wrestlemania but Batista says he isn’t worried about it. Batista asks if Bischoff has ever considered running for office. It turns out Bischoff has considered running for mayor of his hometown in Arizona, which is what Batista is talking about. Batista leaves but comes back, saying maybe Bischoff should just be a used car salesman. This didn’t work very well.

Randy Orton has a box for Undertaker and wants Stacy Keibler with him when he goes to the ring.

Smackdown Rebound.

Here are Orton and Keibler for a chat. Orton is ready to add another moment to his legacy at Wrestlemania when he ends the Streak. We see what is in the box: a shirt listing off all of the legends that Orton has killed. He isn’t afraid of Undertaker (take a shot) and will do whatever it takes to win. We get a video on Orton killing various legends before Orton talks about wanting to kill Undertaker’s legend.

That brings him to Stacy, and something he has wanted to do for a long time. They kiss, and it’s an RKO to lay her out. I’m hoping that the big moment was supposed to be their first public kiss because I find it hard to believe that nothing has happened between those two otherwise. I know this probably sounded good on paper, but Orton and Stacy belonged together as much as Stacy did on a wrestling show.

Classic Hulk Hogan Moment: the Mega Powers Explode. Sylvester Stallone will be inducting Hogan for your celebrity appearance.

Tyson Tomko vs. Chris Benoit

Fallout from earlier and Benoit has taped up ribs from the ladder shots. Tomko hits a running knee to knock Benoit to the floor at the bell but Benoit is fine enough to roll some German suplexes. One heck of a Swan Dive (which Benoit might have left short) hits (maybe) Tomko but the banged up ribs means it’s only two. Tomko boots him in the head as Lawler shouts to WORK ON THE RIBS. Another big boot misses and it’s the Crossface to finish Tomko. Always listen to Lawler.

Muhammad Hassan comes up to Shawn (who always looks weird in a suit) to tell him that Shawn knows nothing about adversity. Hassan should be on Wrestlemania because he has not been pinned on Raw. Daivari rants a lot but Shawn cuts them off, challenges Hassan for next week and dubs himself Mr. Wrestlemania.

Wrestlemania trailer: Taxi Driver, featuring a bunch of people doing the famous line and Batista doing his best Jim Ignatowski bit.

Kane vs. Batista

No DQ lumberjack match with HHH on commentary. Kane shoves him into the corner to start but gets powerslammed right back. A Muhammad Hassan distraction lets Chris Masters get in a cheap shot on Batista and it’s time for the slow power brawl. Batista has to kick La Resistance away, allowing Kane to get in a DDT to put him down again. Kane chokes on the ropes but stops to kick Snitsky, allowing Batista to slam him off the top. A big clothesline gives Batista two as the fans are looking at someone who appeared to fall down.

The chokeslam and Batista Bomb are both blocked so Batista shoulders him outside. Snitsky and Viscera go after Kane with the latter posting himself like a moron. The rest of the lumberjacks go after Batista but Edge, Christian and Tomko beat up Kane. Batista gets back up, fights them off, kicks out of the chokeslam and hits his two moves for the pin.

Rating: D+. This was every lumberjack match you can think of and that’s neither good nor bad. What was pretty bad was the match itself, as Kane isn’t the best when he’s up against another monster. He wrestles rather slowly and it makes for some pretty dull matches. Batista winning was never in doubt as he probably won’t be losing a match for several months, let alone this one.

HHH is livid to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. The only thing that matters on this show is Batista vs. HHH as the other matches have been hyped up on either both shows or Smackdown alone. What we got here was good enough, but they’re running out of ways to hype up Batista vs. HHH in a pretty clear ending. Wrestlemania as a whole looks good, though the World Title matches have a limited hype ceiling and we reached that a few weeks ago.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

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