By Wade Keller, PWTorch editor

WWE RAW REPORT
FEBRUARY 2, 2004
LIVE FROM STATE COLLEGE, PA.

-Clips aired of last week's surprise debut of Chris Benoit. After the opening montage, Jim Ross previewed the big main events of Goldberg vs. Kane and Shawn Michaels vs. Randy Orton. Coach joined Ross and Jerry Lawler.

-Chris Jericho hosted his "Highlight Reel" segment. He said his guest, Benoit, has been more exposed recently than Janet Jackson's right breast. Jericho said Benoit now has to deal with all of Evolution and Eric Bischoff. Benoit said he appreciates the words of warning, but he is aware of what he has to deal with on Raw. He said he came to Raw to prove he is the best. He said no one is going to stop him from winning the title at WrestleMania. Jericho asked Benoit about his rep for not being able to win the big one. Jericho introduced a clip of Ric Flair at the Royal Rumble telling Benoit he can't win the big one. Flair then came out. Ross called him perhaps the greatest world champion of all time. Flair called Benoit the best technical wrestler of all time and a physical specimen second to none. He said, though, Benoit is known in his world as a "runner up." "Every time you reach up and go for the brass right, it gets away," he said. "This isn't Smackdown, this is Raw and there's only one guy around here who rules the roost, and that's Triple H, the World Heavyweight Champion. He lives by the motto that I made famous: "To be the man, you've got to beat the man, and that ain't gonna happen." Triple H's promos are so much better when Flair gives them. Benoit said Triple H is the man, but at WrestleMania 20 he will have the privilege of fighting the man. He said he couldn't think of a better privilege in the mean time than to face Ric Flair one-on-one. Flair took a step back and said, "No way, I'm just out here talking."

Eric Bischoff stepped out onto the stage. He told Benoit that he is not Paul Heyman because he strives to have a healthy working relationship with all of his talent. He said with that in mind, he said Jericho would team up with Christian against Ric Flair & Batista later for the tag titles. Bischoff then said since Benoit wants to show the Raw audience what he can do in the ring, he should stay in the ring for his first Raw match coming up right after the break.

[Commercial Break]

1 -- CHRIS BENOIT vs. MARK HENRY

Henry overpowered Benoit in the early minutes. Benoit hit Henry with a top rope shoulder block at 2:00 but only staggered Henry. When Hunter walked to the ring, Benoit quickly put Henry into his Crippler Crossface and scored the tapout win. Coach said Benoit passed his first test. Hunter gave him mocking applause. A close-up of Benoit showed snot dangling from his nose.

WINNER: Benoit at 2:48.

STAR RATING: 3/4* -- Served its purpose. Since Henry was losing a short match and they didn't want him to lose all credibility, he was booked to dominate the match otherwise. That's fair. It also made Benoit making him tapout mean more since Henry seemed like a formidable foe up until that point.

-A commercial aired for WrestleMania 20 where Vince McMahon said regarding the show, "Where it all begins again."

[Commercial Break]

-Steve Austin approached Shawn Michaels backstage. Austin said there is something about him that seems different about him. He asked if he was down because Benoit was taking his place on Raw as the top contender. Austin said he believes he deserves a rematch. Austin said he's never said no to anything asked of him. Michaels yelled, "What do you want from me? Benoit won the Rumble. He's in, and I'm out." Austin told Michaels if he wants to have a shot at the title, "do something about it!"

-Lawler told Coach and Ross he wondered what Michaels could do. Ross said last week would be a night Randy Orton would never forget. Clips aired of Foley.

-They showed Mick Foley arriving at the arena. Test confronted him about taking his spot at the Rumble. Orton then attacked Foley from behind with his IC Title belt. Orton then bent over to check on him and said, "Make no mistake, Mick, you are my bitch."

[Commercial Break]

2 -- RENE DUPREE (w/Rob Conway) vs. RICO (w/Miss Jackie)

This "Virtual Heat" match is usually reserved for halfway into the second hour, not halfway into the first. Interesting format change. Rico told Conway to back off when he began walking toward Jackie at ringside. That gave Dupree a chance to jump him from behind. Lawler said he has confirmed that Hugh Heffner is looking to sign two WWE Divas for another photo shoot. A little bottom of screen ad hyped Steve Austin's book and WWE.com's article on Benoit. That's a new subtle crosspromotion technique. Dupree applied a chinlock at 2:45. Jackie cheerlead the crowd, but the crowd didn't respond much to Rico. Hard to understand why considering the awesome job WWE has done keeping Rico from being perceived as a jobber with a joke of a gimmick. Rico dropped down to escape the chinlock, then gave Dupree an inverted atomic drop. Rico then backdropped Dupree and then gave him a jumping roundhouse kick to the head for a two count. Stacy interrupted the match at 4:45, coming out to her music, distracting the two wrestlers momentarily. Conway interfered on Dupree's behalf, but Stacy then distracted Dupree by shaking her ass from the ring apron. Rico then finished Dupree with a wheelkick for the win.

WINNER: Rico at 4:56.

STAR RATING: *

-After the match Stacy said she and Jackie would be great in Playboy. Stacy and Jackie then danced with each other in a seductive way. They looked like they had been practicing all afternoon.

-They showed Trish Stratus warming up backstage. Christian was reading Rolling Stone's cover story on the Beatles. Christian said the Beatles would have been so much better if Yoko Onno hadn't gotten involved. Trish said that's not how it happened. Christian said if he was Paul McCartney he wouldn't have waited for Yoko to ruin the band, he would have smashed her head in before she could break up the band.

[Commercial Break]

-Another "WrestleMania 20: Where It All Begins Again" commercial aired.

-A segment aired on Smackdown Your Vote with Linda McMahon telling the youth of America that the future is in their hands.

-Before the Molly Holly vs. Trish match began, Eric Bischoff came on the big screen and said he scheduled the match prematurely because Trish isn't even the no. 1 contender for the Women's Title. He said he has a match for her instead. Kane's music then played and he walked to the ring. Ross acted with outrage. Coach even said he that was something he didn't want to see. Trish stood in the ring looking worried. If I were her, I would have run and run fast. Kane lifted Trish for a chokeslam. Jericho made the save. Trish then did what she should've done in the first place - ran for her life to the back! Kane then gave Jericho a chair to the knee and then rammed him crotch-first into the ringpost. Jericho grabbed at his knee at ringside as referees tended to him. Ross said Kane vs. Goldberg was next.

[Commercial Break]

-Backstage a trainer tended to Jericho, who was still in tremendous pain. Trish ran in to check on him. Christian then barged in and said Jericho shouldn't be playing hero to a woman when they have a tag team title match scheduled later. He told Trish she's already caused enough damage and should get out of there. Jericho stood up, suddenly feeling okay to stand, and got in Christian's face and told him not to talk to Trish or him that way.

3 -- KANE vs. BILL GOLDBERG

Ross said the match wasn't going to be pretty. Goldberg returned Kane's early attempt at offense with a barrage of forearms in the corner. When the ref scolded Goldberg, Kane fired back with an uppercut. Goldberg fired back with a shoulder tackle and some knees followed by a big boot. Kane shot back with a big boot of his own. Not one of those moves was called by the announcers since Lawler and Coach were engaged in a debate about something else. It doesn't exactly make the moves in the ring seem important if the announcers in the opening seconds during high impact moves between two powerhouses in WWE meeting on TV in a singles match for the first time ever is ignored by the announcers. Kane settled into a chinlock at 2:00. Goldberg came back with a powerbomb at 3:30 followed by two clotheslines each time Kane stood up. Kane fired back with a clothesline. The lights in the arena went out (you knew this was coming), then lightning struck the ring (according to Ross) and another horror movie like vignette aired. Kane was mesmerized. The lights came back on. Goldberg caught an unsuspecting Kane with a Spear. As he celebrated, smoke filled the ring. Goldberg coughed and rolled out of the ring. Kane set up old-school Undertaker style and rolled out of the ring. Ross said, "This is surreal, freaking bizarre." Kane retreated through the crowd and then the signal from the arena went to static and then black.

[Commercial Break]

4 -- MATT HARDY vs. BOOKER T

Matt Facts: "Matt's chest hair grows swiftly" and "Matt nevers run out of gas while driving." After last night's stellar singles match on Heat between these two, the best Heat match in ages, they got rewarded with a chance to do more of the same on Raw, but probably with much less time. Hardy dropped Booker over the rope throat first early, then hit a clothesline in the corner followed by a bulldog. Matt applied a chinlock at 3:15, but Booker fought out of it with a series of elbows. Booker caught Matt with a boot to the face, but Matt ducked a wheel kick, then gave Booker a Side Effect for a two count. Hardy then set up his finisher, but Booker elbowed out of it. Matt kicked Booker in the gut, but Booker fired back with a sidewalk slam. Both men were slow to get up at 4:30. Booker gave Matt a hook kick to the face and scored a near fall. hardy reversed Booker into the ropes, but Booker came off with a jump spin wheel kick for a near fall. Matt dropped Booker head-first into the middle turnbuckle and then went for a pin with his feet on the ropes. The ref caught it before counting to three. Booker caught Matt with a boot to the face, then signalled for the Spinaroonie. Then he went for a his wheel kick, but Hardy ducked it. Booker then kicked Matt in the gut and gave Hardy a scissors kick. He covered a KO'd Hardy for the clean win. Ross said, "I don't understand what has happened to Matt Hardy." It looks like they're doing a "losing streak" angle with Hardy that will lead to some type of character shift for him, perhaps reuniting him with Lita as a babyface.

WINNER: Booker T at 6:28.

STAR RATING: **1/4 -- Good rapid-fire paced TV match.

-Michaels and Orton had a verbal exchange backstage and a staredown.

[Commercial Break]

-Triple H walked to the ring to a full intro routine. He talked about facing Benoit at WrestleMania. He said he would show Benoit what it means to be the absolute best at what you do. Not exactly an electrifying promo. Hunter is so "all business" and slow paced in his promos that they do more to lull you to sleep than make you want to see him get beat up. He talks like Sonny Siaki wrestles, as if there's no hurry to get anywhere quickly.

5 -- TRIPLE H vs. SPIKE DUDLEY

When Spike walked out, Ross made a comment that Hunter beating Spike isn't exactly
going to prove much to Benoit. Coach and Lawler talked about Goldberg's desire to get revenge on Brock Lesnar. When Hunter turned his back on Spike at the start, Spike attacked him from behind. Hunter immediately came back with a high knee followed by some punches in the corner. Ross plugged that next week would feature the official contract signing for Hunter vs. Benoit, plus Benoit vs. Flair. Hunter finished Spike with an awkward Pedigree.

WINNER: Hunter at 1:24.

STAR RATING: 1/2* -- Just a squash.

[Commercial Break]

-A clip aired of Brock Lesnar's anti-Goldberg promo from Smackdown last week.

-Steve Austin presented Goldberg with a ticket to sit front row at Smackdown this week. He told him he will be representing not just Raw, but "the good name of Stone Cold." He told Goldberg, "Don't do anything I wouldn't do." The crowd laughed at that, knowing that meant anything goes.

6 -- BATISTA & RIC FLAIR vs. CHRIS JERICHO & CHRISTIAN -- World Tag Team Title match.

Coach said Christian is right that women just get in the way. The heels doubled on Christian in the opening minutes. When he hot-tagged in Jericho, he managed to sustain some offense. When he went for the Lionsault, though, his knee gave out of on him. At 3:45 he applied a Walls of Jericho on Flair. Batista rammed Christian into the ringpost at ringside, distracting the ref from seeing Flair tapping out. Batista then gave Jericho a cheap shot to his knee. Flair then applied the figure-four and Jericho tapped out.

WINNERS: Flair & Batista at 4:42.

STAR RATING: *1/2 -- Pretty basic action, but nice storyline built throughout the show with Jericho's knee. Is that the first time in WWE TV history that someone tapped out to Flair's finishing hold?

[Commercial Break]

-A WrestleMania Recall from 1996 showed Shawn Michaels coming to the ring via a cable.

7 -- SHAWN MICHAELS vs. RANDY ORTON

A nice opening few minutes with great execution on a lot of little things. Michaels applied a side headlock, and the whole time it appears he was trying to squeeze it harder and Orton appeared to be trying to get out of it. That's a change from the last decade or so where a headlock looked like two wrestlers resting and at best making phony looking straining faces. Orton and Michaels exchanged chops and punches. Orton took out the ref with a misguided dropkick after Michaels moved. When Orton brought his IC Title belt into the ring, Austin drove out on his ATV with a back-up referee. He then loaded the original ref, still groggy and limp, onto his ATV and drove him to the back. That's a fun creative use of Austin in the "Raw Sheriff" role. Orton looked complete befuddled at his plan being foiled. Michaels went after Orton, but they tumbled over the top rope and to the floor. Michaels held his knee in pain as they cut to a commercial.

[Commercial Break]

Back from the break, Orton had Michaels in a center-ring chinlock. They showed a replay of Orton giving Michaels an inverted neckbreaker during the commercial break. Michaels fought out of the chinlock with some elbows, but Orton caught him with a knee as he came off the ropes. Orton reapplied the chinlock at 9:00. Michaels punched out of it. Michaels cradled Orton for a surprise two count. Orton fired back right away with a clothesline for a two count. Orton then went back to the chinlock with a knee in Michaels's back. There are so many mat holds to choose from, one headlock and three chinlocks is a bit heavy on holds that for decades fans have grown to see as nothing more than restholds. Why not make things more interesting with some matholds that look different and new. Michaels came back with a sleeper at 11:00. Orton quickly backdropped out of it and scored a two count. Coach plugged his special WrestleMania 20 skullcap that he was wearing. Ross said it looked like he was wearing a condom. Ross was frisky tonight, really battling Coach by in a way that seemed more good spirited and less frustrated than in the past. Perhaps they're developing a chemistry. It helps that most of the time Coach isn't walking over Ross's attempts to call the match. Coach is adding a divisive voice to what had become a very agreeable pair in Ross and Lawler. Michaels came with a top rope elbow (which has never looked nearly as good as Randy Savage's for some reason). He then stomped the mat in the corner, which got the crowd excited but also told Orton what to look out for. Orton blocked the kick and went for an RKO. Michaels escaped the RKO, but Orton then gave him a DDT. Mick Foley then walked out at 13:15. Michaels scooped up a distracted Orton from behind for the pin out of nowhere.

WINNER: Michaels at 13:25.

STAR RATING: **3/4

-Foley beat up Orton in the ring, then clotheslined him over the security wall and brawled with him into the crowd. The rest of Evolution ran to ringside. Hunter sent Flair and Batista to chase after Orton and Foley. Meanwhile, Hunter nailed Michaels with a clothesline and a series of punches. Benoit ran to the ring for the save. Benoit stood right up to Hunter, who began to back down. "What's stopping you, Champ?" said Ross. "Has The Game lost his guts?" Coach said everyone knows Hunter has the guts just as Hunter backed out of the ring. He trash talked Benoit all the way to the back. Once Michaels got back on his feet, Benoit offered him a handshake. Michaels accepted. The two had a respectful staredown.

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