PWTorch.com - RAW RETRO: Hogan & Michaels & Cena in Raw main event 10 yrs. ago today, plus Flair vs. Angle on Raw, more

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RAW RETRO: Hogan & Michaels & Cena in Raw main event 10 yrs. ago today, plus Flair vs. Angle on Raw, more

Jun 27, 2015 - 2:16:42 AM

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The June 27, 2005 WWE Raw from Anaheim, California a surreal moment seeing three generations of top WWE stars - Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels, and John Cena - in the same ring together for a six-man tag match.

Cena was red-hot after winning the WWE Title in Los Angeles several weeks earlier at WrestleMania 21 and had just been drafted to the Raw brand in the June Draft. Of all three wrestlers, Cena had the biggest pop despite tremendous momentum behind Hogan. This was just before WWE set up the Michaels vs. Hogan match at Summerslam 2005 when Michaels turned heel. This moment in the ring in Anaheim was one of the defining moments in Cena's career...

WWE Raw Report
June 27, 2005
THE BIG STORY
Anaheim, Calif.
Originally Published PWTorch Newsletter #868
By Wade Keller, PWTorch editor

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Hulk Hogan made a surprise return on WWE Television when he was announced as the third partner to John Cena and Shawn Michaels for a six-man tag match against Chris Jericho, Christian, and Tyson Tomko. Hogan's return gave viewers a chance to watch three generations of WWE superstars in the ring together at one time with Cena paying the ultimate respect of giving Hogan and Michaels the ring for a series of pose downs following the expected victory over Jericho, Christian, and Tomko.

The finish came when Hogan gave Tomko the big boot followed by a leg drop for the victory. On commentary, Jim Ross summed up the special moment, "These are the nights that remind you of why you love the business."

MATCH RESULTS

(1) Big Show beat Gene Snitsky at 2:10 with the chokeslam. The match was scheduled to be Kane and the first Smackdown draft pick against Edge and Snitsky, but Kane chased Edge and Lita through the stands to the backstage area before the match could begin. Eric Bischoff decided to change the match to Snitsky against the draft pick, which turned out to be Big Show. (1/2*)

(2) Kurt Angle beat Ric Flair at 16:10 with the Anklelock. The match was set up earlier in the night when Ric Flair confronted Kurt Angle about being the best ever in the business. After calling himself a "mark" for Angle, Flair said he would counter Angle's offensive moves in the ring. During the match, Flair used several classic cheating tactics to counter Angle's mat wrestling offense, but by the end of the match, Flair didn't look confident or comfortable given his age and physical limitations. Kurt Angle fulfilled his dream of wrestling Ric Flair and the two put together an above-average grueling battle. (**3/4)

(3) John Cena & Shawn Michaels & Hulk Hogan beat Chris Jericho & Christian & Tyson Tomko at 6:30 when Hogan pinned Tomko following a big boot and leg drop. John Cena received a "superstar" crowd reaction. After the match, Cena and Hogan posed in the ring then Cena left to give Shawn Michaels the opportunity to pose with Hogan. (*1/4)

OTHER NOTES

RVD was introduced as the second Raw draft pick on the show during Carlito's Cabana. RVD was still wearing a knee brace to support his surgically repaired knee. RVD wore an "ECW" t-shirt and garnered several loud "RVD" and "ECW" chants from the crowd. RVD talked about his passion for pleasing the fans before Carlito attacked RVD's knee and spit in his face... Todd Grisham interviewed Batista backstage about his victory over Triple H at Hell in a Cell. Batista said Triple H took something from him in the match, but said it didn't matter because he was still wearing the World Heavyweight Title belt... Kane stalked Lita in her locker room and threatened to make her life a living hell for his own enjoyment... Chris Masters made Tajiri tap out to the Master lock in the Masterlock challenge...