Wasted opportunity?
January 30, 2006
At the Royal Rumble, Edge went from Money in the Bank to bankrupt when John Cena regained the WWE Championship. As Monday Night RAW came on the air from Orlando, Florida, the Rated R Superstar said that the loss was a fluke and announced that he would be invoking his rematch clause on RAW.
In the main event, the current and former champion slugged it out once again. At one point, Cena sent Edge flying off the top rope into the announce table, but the challenger came back and sent Cena outside the ring thanks to a spear. Edge tried everything to put The Champ away, but Cena kicked out of everything Edge threw at him. After Cena came back and hit the Five Knuckle Shuffle, Edge slithered out of an F-U attempt and sent Cena crashing into referee Mickie Hensen.
With the referee down, Edge hit Cena with a low blow and another spear, but there was no one to count the pinfall. Lita then went and grabbed the WWE Championship, but as she and Edge conspired, Cena recovered and hoisted Edge up for the F-U again. Lita ran in, nailing her own man with the championship as he lay perched on Cena’s shoulders. A revived Hensen saw this and called for the bell, and what looked like a mistake turned out to be a blessing as Edge was awarded the victory by disqualification thanks to Lita’s actions. However, while he won the match, the WWE Championship does not change hands on a disqualification, leaving the Rated R Superstar without the gold.
Earlier in the night, Triple H told Maria that Rey Mysterio’s victory in the Royal Rumble Match must have been an act of God, as even Rey’s friend Eddie Guerrero couldn’t have helped him overcome The Game and win the Rumble. The Game said he was upset that his guaranteed shot at WrestleMania was gone, and he couldn’t take it out on God, Eddie Guerrero or even Mysterio. Instead he promised to do the “next best thing” and take out his frustrations on Chavo Guerrero.
Early in the bout, Chavo kept Triple H off guard by using his speed and working on the arm of The Game. However, Triple H was able to backdrop Chavo over the top rope to take the advantage, and proceeded to work on Chavo’s back and neck. Chavo managed to make a comeback, channeling Eddie’s spirit by hitting the Three Amigos. He went for the Frog Splash, but The Game moved away and Chavo hit the mat hard. The Game then nailed the Pedigree, and that was enough to pin Chavo for the victory.
The budding hatred between Shawn Michaels and Mr. McMahon continued as well. As the night began, Mr. McMahon said he guaranteed HBK’s luck would run out in the Royal Rumble, and he may have abused his power a little bit. HBK interrupted the Chairman, who reminded him that an interruption was how their whole situation began in the first place. HBK told Mr. McMahon that he wouldn’t quit, hit Mr. McMahon or go back to the HBK of old, because any of those actions would adversely affect him. Mr. McMahon agreed, and surmised that HBK was screwed more than Bret Hart ever was, but wouldn’t fire HBK because he didn’t think it would be good for business.
HBK then tried to appeal to Mr. McMahon’s business sense, and challenged him to settle their differences in the ring. The Chairman was enraged by the challenge, but HBK egged him on by asking if his grapefruits had shriveled up. An indignant Mr. McMahon, now even madder, said he was afraid of no one, and would only get in the ring on his own terms. He then dared HBK to commit career suicide and hit him, and as HBK pondered the thought, Shane McMahon attacked him from behind with a chair. Father and son then gloated as their plan came to fruition and HBK lay on the mat in pain.
Tensions also continued between Chris Masters and Carlito on RAW. Before their match with Kane & Big Show for the World Tag Team Championship, Carlito apologized to Masters for double-crossing him in both the Elimination Chamber and the Royal Rumble. He told The Masterpiece that RAW was different, as they had a chance to become champions, and he had no reason to double-cross him a third time. Carlito asked Masters if they were cool; Masters responded by slapping Carlito, but then said they were cool.
When the match began, Carlito & Masters showed good teamwork, as the challengers proceeded to work on Kane’s left arm and shoulder. Masters applied the Master Lock on Kane, but Kane managed to turn him in the direction of Big Show, who clobbered The Masterpiece with a right hand and forced him to drop the hold. Show then tagged in and cleaned house, but Carlito pulled down the ropes to send Show crashing to the floor. Masters managed to get the Master Lock on Kane once again, but dropped it to attack Show when he returned to the ring. Kane then blocked a third attempt at the Master Lock, and with Carlito down on the outside, the champions hit a double chokeslam on Masters to pick up the victory.
After the match, Carlito was unhappy with the referee’s decision and got physical about it. Rob Van Dam came out to run Carlito off. RVD had defeated Snitsky earlier in the night in his first RAW match in nearly two years, and it was no secret that Carlito was in his sights as well. After running Carlito off, Maria caught up with Van Dam backstage. RVD recounted Carlito’s attack on him back in June, and said that he would take Carlito out because he was no stepping stone.
In a happier moment, Mickie James prepared a celebration for Trish Stratus on RAW. Mickie brought out the Spirit Squad to give Trish a cheer, and set up a cascade of balloons and confetti for her idol. As Trish tried to set the record straight, Ashley came out and told Mickie that Trish thought she was a psycho. A clearly hurt Mickie asked Trish if this was true, but before Trish could respond, Mickie got mad and left the ring. However, she would run back in and spear Ashley, triggering a catfight. Ashley ended up on top, but when Trish went to pull her off, Mickie seized the opportunity and nailed Ashley with a Mick Kick. Mickie then told Trish that she knew the Women’s Champion cared for her, and left ringside beaming as Trish tended to the fallen Ashley.
Also, after defeating Goldust, Shelton Benjamin ran into Ric Flair backstage. Benjamin told Flair that his confidence had returned, and it was only a matter of time before he came to get his Intercontinental Championship back.
Matches
Edge def. WWE Champion John Cena (DQ)
World Tag Team Champions Big Show & Kane def. Carlito & Chris Masters
Triple H def. Chavo Guerrero
Rob Van Dam def. Snitsky
Shelton Benjamin def. Goldust
