Service with a slam
By Ed Williams III
July 10, 2006
From the way Monday night’s RAW began, it looked like former WWE Champion John Cena was in for a night he’d rather soon forget. But when it was all said and done, Cena took matters into his own hands and invaded Edge’s hotel room and manhandled the WWE Champion just five days before their huge showdown at Saturday Night’s Main Event.
RAW kicked off with a highly competitive match between former Intercontinental Champion Shelton Benjamin and Cena. To make matters even more interesting, though, Edge and Lita came to ringside and sat at their custom-made Rated R Superstar table and provided some commentary for the match. Benjamin used his unparalleled athleticism to push Cena to the limit, but in the end, the Dr. of Thuganmics was able to catch Benjamin with an FU and followed it up with an STFU for the win. As soon as the bell rang, Cena sprinted to the outside and leapt over the Rated R Superstar table and attacked Edge. It looked as though Cena was going to have his way with his arch nemesis, but before Cena could get back in the ring, Lita grabbed his leg, allowing her man Edge to recover. Edge dismantled Cena, and left him laying in the ring after the Edgecution and a spear. After the attack, Edge informed the crowd that he and Lita were leaving to watch the rest of the show “anywhere but here.”
Throughout the rest of the night, Edge and Lita were shown at their hotel. When Edge and Lita first got there, their hotel room wasn’t quite ready, so after berating the front desk clerk, the Rated R Superstar and his woman went to the bar to down several mimosas. After their room was finally ready, the happy, and seemingly intoxicated, couple ordered a room service spread that was big enough to serve 10, let alone just the two of them. But one key ingredient was missing – the champagne. A few minutes later, there was another knock on the door, but instead of the champagne, it was an enraged John Cena hell-bent on getting revenge. Cena ravaged Edge like a human tornado, thrashing him throughout his entire room. By the time Cena was done with Edge, there wasn’t a piece of furniture Edge hadn’t been bashed into or even broken with his own body. If that didn’t send a message that Cena is ready to win back his WWE Championship at Saturday Night’s Main Event, then nothing will. Will Edge be able to recover in time to successfully defend his WWE Championship, or will Cena end Edge’s second championship reign just like he did the first?
Cena wasn’t the only one to have a huge night on RAW. Surprisngly, Eugene picked up arguably the biggest win of his career when he defeated Mr. McMahon and his son Shane in an Ultimate Handicap. He needed some help from D-Generation X, but a win’s a win. In fact, RAW just further proved the old adage that you should be careful what you ask for. On Sunday, WWE.com reported that Mr. McMahon gave DX an open invitation to Shawn Michaels and Triple H to show up at RAW in Sioux City, Iowa. At first glance, it seemed like a terrible idea, but after considering how much DX embarrassed the Chairman from outside the arena last week, it seemed like there was a method to Mr. McMahon’s madness. For a while, though, it appeared as though DX might not even show up.
Regardless of whether or not DX was going to show up, Mr. McMahon and Shane were ready to teach them a lesson, and they were going to do it with Eugene. After seeing Eugene laugh at last week’s embarrassment of the Chairman, Mr. McMahon and Shane berated the lovable Eugene and informed him they would meet up in an Ultimate Handicap Match. Later in the night, the McMahons gave Eugene a present – a brand new DX T-shirt. Eugene was thrilled at first, but after revealing that his favorite color was green, just like DX, Shane poured green paint all over his head. Then the father and son duo added insult to injury by cleaning off Eugene’s head in the toilet.
Being in an Ultimate Handicap Match is a tough enough task in itself, but before the match even began, the entire Spirit Squad came to ringside to provide moral, and of course, physical support to Mr. McMahon and Shane. Eugene was holding his own for a while, but the numbers were just too much to overcome. The Spirit Squad dismantled Eugene and set him up on the Rated R Superstar table, while Shane was perched on the top rope ready to squash his foe. But before he could, DX’s music hit, and the rebellious duo showed that they had accepted their open invitation after all. Not only did they show up, but they seemed to know exactly what Mr. McMahon was up to.
The Chairman kept trying to get DX to stand in the middle of the stage, but Shawn Michaels and Triple H kept walking to each side of the stage. After all, it was DX who covered the McMahons and the Spirit Squad in feces when they were in the middle of stage, so they knew exactly what not to do. It looked as though they were going to grant Mr. McMahon his wish and stand right where he wanted them, but they moved at the last second and a net fell from the sky, apparently intended to trap the defiant Superstars. With Mr. McMahon so distracted with DX, Eugene was able to recover from his beating and rolled up the Chairman for the 1-2-3. Thanks to DX, Eugene had defeated Mr. McMahon, Shane and the entire Spirit Squad. Another week, and another embarrassing night for Mr. McMahon. Will the Chairman finally get his revenge at Saturday Night’s Main Event when DX faces the Spirit Squad in an Elimination Match, or will Shawn Michaels and Triple H continue to get the best of the Chairman?
Plus, the 2006 $250,000 Diva Search Contest got underway Monday night. All eight finalists had the opportunity to introduce themselves to the audience and explain why they are the best choice to become the newest WWE Divas. Get a full recap of what went done with the contestants.
Does the 16-time World Champion, and one of the greatest Superstars of all time, have one more Championship run in him? Well, he’ll have his chance at ECW on Sci Fi when he goes one on one against ECW World Champion Big Show. ECW representative Paul Heyman dropped in on RAW and interrupted Ric Flair. Heyman said that lately Flair had been talking about hardcore wrestling, but Heyman said he likes to think of it as extreme entertainment. Then, the new ECW Champ, Big Show, strode to the ring. He informed Flair that there’s only one man walking the planet that can claim to have been a WCW, WWE and ECW Champion, and that one person is himself.
“There’s nothing more extreme than standing in an ECW ring and looking me in the eye,” said Big Show.
With that, Flair accepted. But then Heyman came up from behind him and distracted the Nature Boy. Big Show took advantage and nearly broke Flair over his knee with a vicious Cobra Clutch Backbreaker and then literally flung him out of the ring. Is this a sign of things to come, or can Flair recapture the magic once again to become ECW Champion?
Before Heyman even came to the ring, though, Flair was in a verbal sparring match with Mick Foley. Foley and Flair have been going back and forth over the last month or so, but their hatred goes back several years. Both Superstars have had disparaging remarks about each other in their books, and even after their Two-Out-of-Three Falls Match at Vengeance, there are still unresolved issues. Flair won that match, but Foley beat the living hell out of him after the bell rang and left him a bloody mess.
Flair came to the ring to talk about Foley, and just as he was calling him a glorified stuntman, the Hardcore Legend appeared on the Titan Tron and had a message of his own. Foley gave an impassioned speech and called Flair out as a hack. He said that while flair was “talking out of the side of his ass” and having his book ghostwritten, Foley filled up 760 pages of notebook paper and poured his heart and soul into his New York Times Best Seller. Flair said that Foley always took the easy way out, but the Hardcore Legend brought up an incident in 1994 to refute that point. At that time, Ric Flair was actually Mick Foley’s boss and in charge of his career. The incident took place in Munich, Germany, and part of Foley’s ear literally fell off. An official rushed the ear to the back, where Flair told him to put it on ice, and when he looked to the ring, Foley was still wrestling – not exactly the easy way out, according to Foley. Flair demanded to go at it with Foley hardcore, but Foley said that after beating him so badly at Vengeance, and seeing his family cry, Flair no longer means anything to him, and he wouldn’t grant him a rematch. Will Foley live up to his words, or will these two legends of the squared circle go one more round? Only time will tell.
Two of RAW’s hottest Divas were also in action, but there wasn’t much pretty about their very physical confrontation. A couple of weeks ago, Melina told Trish that she was the RAW’s top Diva and Trish was just a name from the past. Trish tried to refute that comment with physicality, but Johnny Nitro put a stop to that. Luckily for Trish, Carlito made the save. The following week Carlito challenged Nitro for the Intercontinental Championship, and looked to have things going his way. But Melina interfered, intentionally causing a disqualification. This time, Trish came to Carlito’s rescue. But tonight, the Divas had their own match. There was so much viciousness behind every punch and kick, you could tell these two sexy Divas wanted nothing more than tear each other limb from limb. It looked as though Trish had the advantage, but Nitro distracted her from outside, allowing Melina to score the roll up pin. Carlito dashed to the ring to make the save before any further damage could be done. But at Saturday Night’s Main Event, all four of them will have the chance to settle the score in a tag team match.
Speaking of Saturday Night’s Main Event, the legendary Hulk Hogan will be making his big return to the NBC special, and Randy Orton said that he can’t wait to officially introduce himself to the WWE Hall of Famer as the Legend Killer. Orton proceeded to finish off Val Venis in near-record time, and then added that he can’t wait to introduce himself to Hogan’s daughter Brooke as well. Perhaps Jerry “The King” Lawler said it best when he noticed, “That was one evil smile.” What will happen when the Legend Killer introduces himself to the legend of all legends?
Plus, after weeks of fighting over the affection of Lilian Garcia, Viscera and Charlie Haas met in one on one action. In the middle of the match, Lilian got into the ring and pleaded with both Superstars to stop fighting. She said that she just wanted to be friends with both of them. With that, Haas raked Big Vis across the face, temporarily blinding him. Then, thinking she was Haas, Viscera hoisted Lilian up and sent her crashing to the mat with a thunderous Samoan Drop. Both Superstars looked concern at what had just accidentally happened, but then they looked at each other and smiled before exiting the ring. Lilian certainly wasn’t smiling, though, as she was motionless in the ring and had to be stretchered out.
And The Highlanders were in action, and for the second straight week, their opponents were Matt Striker and Rob Conway. Last week Striker refused to tag in during the match, allowing Conway to be defeated. They apparently had patched things up this week, and Striker even started the match. RAW’s teacher looked very strong in the early goings of the match, showing off his amateur wrestling skills. Then he tagged in Conway, telling him that’s how you’re supposed to wrestle. Conway, however, ended up suffering the loss once again, and Striker was not too pleased. During WWE.com Unlimited, Striker berated Conway, telling him that he has a lot to learn. When Conway turned his back on Striker, the teacher leveled him with a neck breaker and vicious DDT.
Matches
John Cena def. Shelton Benjamin
Melina def. Trish Stratus
Highlanders def. Matt Striker & Rob Conway
Viscera vs. Charlie Haas (no-contest)
Randy Orton def. Val Venis
Eugene def. Mr. McMahon & Shane McMahon (Ultimate Handicap Match)
