Raw Report for January 31, 2005
by Richard Trionfo
Last night, Batista won the Royal Rumble and a shot at the main event at Wrestlemania 21 in Los Angeles. With both brands in town for a dual taping, will we see the build to Wrestlemania with some inter-brand matches?
We are live from San Jose, California and your announcers are Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler.
It is Game Time as Triple H comes to the ring, and he is joined by Ric Flair. Hunter does the three piece GameFountain. Flair gets on the mic and he says that there was once a man who was so good at what he did, that he knew he was the greatest. Then along came Shawn Michaels, and then the word arguably came about. The greatest of all time now exists, and there is no doubt that it is, after last night, Triple H. Hunter gets on the mic and he tells Orton ‘so much for destiny’. Hunter says that he is destiny, and he controls destiny. Hunter says that he does not have to say how great he is because everyone knows it. Hunter is here to talk about something else, and it was almost as great as his night. Hunter says that it was something special, and he will tell his kids that he was there. It was the night they unleashed the beast. It is time to bring out the man who went through twenty-nine other men and won the Royal Rumble . . . Batista. Hunter says that he heard some talk about controversy with last night’s Rumble. Hunter mentions that Batista took John Cena and threw Puff Daddy out of the ring a total of three times. If that is not dominance, he does not know what dominant is. Hunter says that Batista knows what he thinks about him, and he tells Batista that he is proud. Hunter says that Batista is at the top of the mountain because of loyalty. Hunter says that Batista was a huge mass of man walking around in a t-shirt and jeans, but now he is well dressed and living large, just like Hunter told him. Now it is time for Batista to join Hunter and Flair as Royal Rumble winners. Hunter says that greatness gravitates to greatness, and as a product of Triple H, what do you expect. Hunter says it will be his personal honor to do what he said he would do. Hunter wants to make it official, and it will be Evolution’s night to see him defeat the World title against Batista. Hunter says that it is time. Batista gets the mic and says that he loves hearing what Hunter thinks about him. We go to footage from last night of Bradshaw talking about Batista, but says that he has been through fire, and if he wants to go to Smackdown and face him at Wrestlemania, he has an open contract. He may look like Tarzan, but he will feel like Jane. Bradshaw says that he is a wrestling god, and as good as Batista is, he is not in Bradshaw’s league. Hunter gets the mic back and he says that it must have been the champagne, because Hunter is the wrestling god. Hunter tells Bradshaw that if Batista wanted his title, it would be done. Hunter threatens Bradshaw that Batista will take his title. Hunter says that it will be him against Batista at Wrestlemania. Evolution leaves the ring. We go to commercial.
We are back and it is time for our first match as the Intercontinental Champion, Shelton Benjamin, comes to the ring. His opponent is Simon Dean. Dean with forearms to Benjamin’s neck followed by knees. Simon tries for a suplex, but Benjamin floats over. Benjamin with a flying shoulder block. Simon goes into his bag, and the ref takes something from him. While the ref is not looking, Shelton tries for the Stinger Splash, but he leaps into the bag. Simon comes off the second rope and he catches Dean for the T-Bone Suplex, but Simon blocks it. Shelton tries for a super kick, but Simon blocks it. Simon spins Shelton and Benjamin hits a Dragon Whip for the three count. After the match, Simon gets a mic and says the only reason Shelton won was because Shelton used the Simon System. Shelton returns to the ring and hits the Stinger Splash followed by a T-Bone power slam.
We go to the Eric’s Office and Hunter wants to hear the right words from Eric. Hunter wants to know who put the Bradshaw interview on the TitanTron. Eric says the last thing he wanted to do is lose Batista to Smackdown. Hunter threatens Bischoff, and Eric says that he does not respond well to threats. Hunter says that he is the champ, and he calls the shots. We go to commercial.
We are back with a Wrestlemania Recall: Butterbean and Bart Gunn from 1999.
It is time to earn the quarter million dollars so Christy comes to the ring to shoot some t-shirts into the crowd.
It is time for Edge to come to the ring, and he wants a mic. Edge wants to know what Christy is doing, and he tells her not to play dumb with him. Edge says that he is not going to stand in the back and watch her embarrass him. Edge tells Christy to show everyone the shirts that she is shooting into the crowd. Christy shows a t-shirt for Wrestlemania 21. Edge wants to know if she is trying to rub it in his face that he came so close to winning the Royal Rumble last night. Edge says that he dominated and lasted longer than anyone else. He was in the final three. Edge says that he also beat Shawn Michaels last night. Edge says that he has no problem embarrassing her. From out of nowhere, Shawn Michaels comes to the ring. Shawn gets a mic and he wants to talk about being embarrassed. Embarrassing is having to come out and look Edge in the eye and say that Edge got one by the Heartbreak Kid. Michaels also says that it is embarrassing to have to change mics in the middle of his promo. Then he talks about being eliminated by the man who eliminated him in the Royal Rumble. Then Kurt Angle busted his head and put him in the Ankle Lock. Shawn says that last night was not a good night for him. Shawn says it might be some pent up frustration. Shawn says that he is looking to alleviate some of that frustration in San Jose. Shawn mentions that he has a tag match already, but he does not mind pulling double duty again. Shawn wants a rematch. Edge says that Shawn and the crowd would love to see that, but it isn’t happening. Edge says that he has nothing to prove since he beat Michaels last night. Edge wants Shawn to shake his hand, just like Shawn said he would. Edge offers his hand, and Shawn shakes it, but then he gives Edge some Sweet Chin Music. Shawn leaves the ring as we go to commercial.
We are back with a moments ago moment of Edge and Michaels in the ring with Shawn giving Edge some Sweet Chin Music.
It is time for our next match and out first is Maven. His opponent is Hurricane. Maven with a kick to Hurricane followed by an arm bar. Hurricane reverses and then hits a shoulder block and a Hurri-Pose. Hurricane with a jumping leg lariat. Maven catches Hurricane off the rope and hits a side slam followed by kicks to Hurricane’s back. Maven with a forearm to Hurricane’s kidneys. Maven continues to work on Hurricane’s back in the ropes and then gives Hurricane a belly-to-back suplex. Maven with a rear chin lock. Hurricane with a clothesline as Maven comes off the ropes. Hurricane punches Maven and then hits a European uppercut followed by a back body drop. Hurricane tries for the Blockbuster, but Maven ducks. Maven with a back breaker for the three count.
Michelle and some other Diva walk down the hall and talk about Batista. They open the door to the women’s locker room. They scream because Snitsky is standing in the women’s locker room. Snitsky says that he is looking for someone, but the girls say that the person he is looking for is probably not in there. Gene says that he likes their shoes and he walks into a commercial.
We are back and the cage is still above the ring. Do you remember last night when photos of Heidenreich wrestled photos of Taker only to be interrupted by interference from photos of Gene Snitsky? Then we saw photos of Kane come out of the casket. Do you remember seeing photos of Kane and photos of Snitsky fight in the back.
We go to the Bischoffice where Eric is asking Coach why nobody has seen anyone responsible for the tape. From out of nowhere, Teddy Long hollas and playas to show some love. Eric blames Teddy for the video footage. Bischoff says that he is not going to let Teddy take Batista. Teddy says that he has nothing to do with the footage. Teddy reminds us about last year when Benoit went to Raw after the Rumble. Teddy Long says that he is going to use that loophole to get Batista to come to Smackdown to wrestle Bradshaw at Wrestlemania. Teddy says that it might even be Big Show who faces Batista. Teddy reminds Eric about the main event at No Way Out in a barbed wire steel cage match. Eric tells Coach to get Teddy Long kicked out of the arena.
We go to Stacy Keibler with Randy Orton. Stacy tells Randy that the match last night was awesome, but what about the concussion and his knee. Randy says that he is in pain, but it is his passion. Orton says that he was knocked out last night, but he will become world champion again. Orton says that he will have the title again. However, tonight, he has to prove something else. He will show Triple H and Ric Flair that he is still ‘The Legend Killer’. Randy walks away.
We see Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho walking in the back as we go to commercial.
We are back with footage of Conway threatening Batista with the Quebec flag, and Batista planting it near Conway and Grenier’s rears.
It is time for our next title match and it will be for the Tag Titles. It is time to Countdown as Chris Jericho comes to the ring first. Out next is his partner, Chris Benoit. Do you remember three weeks ago when Benoit and Jericho beat the Christian Coalition? It is time for the Tag Champs to come out, and they do not have their flags. Jericho and Conway start things off. Conway with a knee and forearms to the neck. Jericho with a back elbow followed by a belly-to-back suplex. Jericho with a chop and punch. Conway with a sunset flip, but Jericho rolls through and tries for the Walls. Benoit tags in and he kicks Conway. Benoit with a double axe to the neck. Grenier tags in and he punches Benoit, but Benoit punches back and then chops Grenier in the corner. Grenier with a hard Irish whip followed by a clothesline to the back of Benoit’s neck. Grenier with a gutwrench into a shoulder back breaker. Conway tags in and he works on the shoulder, but Benoit with the Crossface on Conway, but Grenier breaks it up. Jericho knocks Grenier out of the ring. Grenier tags in and hits a knee drop. Grenier knocks Jericho off the apron, but Benoit with a back body drop. Benoit gets to his corner, but Jericho is still on the floor. Conway with a belly-to-back suplex to Benoit. Benoit with an enzuigiri to Conway and both men are down. Jericho tags in and so does Grenier. Jericho with a shoulder block followed by a drop toe hold. Jericho with a springboard drop kick to Conway. Jericho with a flying clothesline on Grenier followed by a bulldog. Jericho tries for the Lionsault, but Grenier moves and Jericho lands on his feet. Conway with a clothesline to the back of Jericho. Benoit with a German to Conway. Grenier knocks Benoit out of the ring. Jericho chops Grenier and then he blocks a drop kick and has Grenier in the Walls. Conway comes in with the belt and Jericho puts Conway in the Walls. Grenier and Benoit fight inside the ring. Benoit and Conway fight outside the ring while Jericho has Grenier in the Walls, but Conway with a clothesline to the back of Jericho’s neck. The ref calls for the bell and he declares the match a double disqualification. We go to commercial.
We are back with the Chris Masters video package.
It is time for Muhammad Hassan (with Khosrow Daivari) to come to the ring for his match. Hassan has a mic. Hassan says that he does not deserve this, or what happened to him last night. He calls what happened ‘discriminatory’. Time to see the footage of eight WWE wrestlers uniting to kick Hassan’s ass. Hassan says that is all the evidence he needs. It is a metaphor of how America has ganged up on him and his Arab-American brothers. He mentions that he is portrayed in the arena and in Newsweek as the bad guy. He told Bischoff that he has challenged anyone who did that to him last night, as well as any American who disagrees with him. Daivari gets on the mic, and from out of nowhere, Sergeant Slaughter comes out. Daivari gets in Slaughter’s face and throws him down. Hassan attacks Slaughter, but Slaughter puts Hassan in the Cobra Clutch. Hassan with a hard Irish whip and a kick to Slaughter. Hassan and Slaughter exchange blows. Hassan with a bear hug. Slaughter punches Hassan and then hits a clothesline. Hassan with the WMDDT followed by the Camel Clutch and Slaughter taps out.
We see Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit in the back. Benoit wants to know why Jericho didn’t make them tap from the Walls. Jericho and Benoit are nose to nose. Jericho says that he wants to see Benoit’s best as we go to commercial.
We are back with the Wrestlemania Gump video.
We go to Hunter in the Evo-Locker Room and Flair enters. Hunter says that he really wants to wrestle Batista at Mania, and Flair agrees that it will be a great match. Hunter says that there might be a problem. He expects it to be great, and maybe Hunter is being too selfish. What if Teddy Long offers a lot of money to Batista to wrestle Bradshaw. Why should Hunter hold Batista back? Why not have him make money and wrestle Bradshaw. Hunter says that is a championship that Batista could win. What if Batista had the WWE title. They would run the industry. They would own Raw and Smackdown. Flair likes and says that is why he is the champ.
He’s back and it is time for Eric to walk the ‘Longest Yard’ under the Titantron. Eric makes an announcement about Raw being broadcast from Japan. Eric says that he has three special matches to announce. First, based on what happened in the back, Chris Benoit will face Chris Jericho in a Submission Match. Second, William Regal has used the rematch clause and has a new partner. Regal will team with Tajiri against La Résistance for the tag titles. Third, Triple H will wrestle Edge for the World Title.
It is time for our next match as Randy Orton comes to the ring. Out next is his partner, Shawn Michaels. Do you remember last night when photos of Shawn Michaels eliminated Kurt Angle? How about when photos of Kurt Angle eliminated Shawn Michaels and then put him in photos of the Ankle Lock? We go to commercial.
We are back and it is time to Evolve as Triple H and Ric Flair (with Batista) come to the ring. Orton and Flair start things off. Orton with a side head lock followed by a shoulder block and a slap by Orton. Michaels with a slap and Flair does the ‘I am not a Stuntman’ Flair Flop. Flair with chops to Orton in the corner. Orton responds with punches of his own. Orton with an Irish whip and a back body drop. Hunter tags in and Orton blocks a punch and responds with one of his own. Orton with an Irish whip and back body drop followed by more punches. Michaels tags in and he hits a double axe from the second turnbuckle. Michaels chops Hunter, and then Flair comes to the corner, but Michaels punches him. Hunter punches Michaels. Michaels and Hunter exchange blows in the corner. Michaels goes up top for the punches of ten, but he is stopped at six for an inverted atomic drop. Hunter puts Michaels on the top turnbuckle. Hunter goes up, but Michaels punches him off. Michaels with an elbow drop. Orton and Hunter get in the ring. Michaels clotheslines Flair outside the ring and Orton clotheslines Hunter outside the ring. Orton sends Hunter into the steps and Michaels with a back body drop to Flair outside. Batista throws a chair into the ring and then he gets on the apron with another chair. The ref sends Batista to the back. Batista attacks the ring steps with a chair and then he walks to the back, but with a smile on his face as we go to commercial.
We are back and Flair struts into the corner and then he chops Michaels. Michaels blocks a punch and then he responds with more chops. Flair with the ‘I am still not a stuntman’ Flair Flop. Michaels suplexes Flair from the apron back into the ring. Michaels chops Flair in the corner and then it is time for the almost Flair flip. Michaels goes off the ropes, but he runs into a knee by Hunter. Hunter gets in the ring and he hits the Arn Anderson Spinebuster on Michaels. Flair punches Michaels in the ribs. Flair with punches in the corner and Michaels goes down. Hunter kicks Michaels in the ribs. Hunter with an abdominal stretch on Michaels, but Michaels escapes. Flair prevents Michaels from making a tag. Michaels and Flair exchange blows. Flair with an elbow when Michaels charges. Flair climbs the ropes, and since it is Ric Flair, Michaels slams him to the mat. Orton and Hunter tag in and Orton cleans house. Orton with a drop kick to Hunter and a back body drop to Flair. Orton with a power slam to Hunter followed by a back breaker to Flair. Orton punches Hunter in the corner. The ref pulls Orton off Hunter, but Flair jumps on the ref, knocking him out. Orton with an RKO on Flair and everyone is down. Orton is out, and Hunter stands over him. Hunter sets up Orton for the Pedigree, but Michaels with Sweet Chin Music. From out of nowhere, Edge comes in the ring. Michaels moves and Edge SPEARS Hunter. Michaels knocks Edge out of the ring. Orton rolls on top of Hunter and he gets the three count. After the match, Michaels checks on Orton to make sure that he is OK.
It is time to go back to the choke slam from the Titantron stage and the aftermath. We go to commercial.
We are back and the cage is down. Snitsky is already in the ring, and it is not our fault that we missed his entrance. It is time for his opponent to come to the ring. Out comes Kane. Snitsky with a knee to Kane. Kane punches Snitsky and then tries to send him into the cage, but Snitsky blocks it. Snitsky and Kane exchange punches. Double shoulder block and both men are down. Kane with a clothesline. Kane climbs the cage, but Snitsky pulls him down. Snitsky punches Kane and then sends him into the turnbuckle. Snitsky chokes Kane. Snitsky tells them to open the door, but Kane stops him. Snitsky punches Kane and then runs his face into the cage. Snitsky sends Kane into the cage. From out of nowhere, Trish walks to ringside. Snitsky climbs the cage, but Kane gets up and he pulls Snitsky back down. Kane with an Irish whip followed by a side slam. The cage opens, but Snitsky pulls Kane back in. Kane tries to crawl out, but Snitsky pulls him back in. Kane with a gourdbuster and both men are down. Kane and Snitsky try to climb the cage and then Kane sends Snitsky’s head into the top of the cage. Snitsky goes down. Kane with the Jumping Clothesline from the top turnbuckle. Kane goes out the door, but Trish tries to slam the door into Kane’s face. Kane brings Trish back into the cage. Kane has Trish up for a choke slam, but Snitsky with a big boot and a two count. Snitsky pushes Trish out of the cage. Snitsky walks out of the cage and he brings the door into the cage. Kane with a big boot into the door and Snitsky goes down. Kane wedges the door against the turnbuckle and then he drops Gene’s Snitskys on the door. Kane with a choke slam on the door and the three count. We go to credits.
Source: PWInsider.com
