PWTorch.com - RAW FLASHBACK: Raw 11 yrs. ago features two matches - Battle Royal and 60-minute Iron Man Match, plus big Summerslam set-up

Torch Flashbacks
RAW FLASHBACK: Raw 11 yrs. ago features two matches - Battle Royal and 60-minute Iron Man Match, plus big Summerslam set-up

Jul 26, 2015 - 3:30:12 AM

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WWE Raw Flashback - 11 yrs. ago
July 26, 2004
Pittsburgh, Pa.
Aired on Spike TV
Report by Wade Keller, PWTorch editor

Coach eliminated one of the Divas Search candidates to start the show... Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler introduced the show.

Edge came out to his music, followed by Randy Orton, Chris Jericho, Matt Hardy, and Kane. There were already many wrestlers in the ring. Eric Bischoff stepped out and told the wrestlers that the winner of an unannounced battle royal would win a World Title shot at Summerslam...

(1) Randy Orton won a 20-man battle royal at 21:20. Eliminations were William Regal, Tyson Tomko, Chuck Palumbo, Val Venis, Matt Hardy, Hurricane, Steven Richards, Rodney Mack, Rosey, Robert Conway, Sylvain Grenier, Tajiri, Ric Flair, Rhyno, Kane, Maven, Batista, Edge, and Chris Jericho. During the match, Jericho eliminated Edge. Edge didn't look pleased. Jericho looked at Edge as if he regretted doing it, but it was part of the rules of war. The finishing few minutes saw Jericho and Orton both teeter on the verge of elimination. Good battle royal, especially the final few minutes. (**3/4)...

Coach had the remaining Raw Diva candidates each try to seduce Kamala, making a special cameo. The segment went on forever as Kamala kept slapping his tummy and the women showed no improvisational skills as they just giggled and half-heartedly came on to him... Ross and Lawler previewed the Iron Man match between Chris Benoit and Triple H, then went to the Democratic Convention with Ivory interviewing Stacy Keibler and Linda McMahon. Stacy spoke intelligently in a rehearsed-sounding manner about how she cared about health care and the economy... Coach then M.C.'s as each Raw Diva candidate walked on stage as a voting phone number was listed for each...

Flair and Batista congratulated Orton backstage, but then Orton gulped when Triple H walked in. He didn't seem pleased with the prospect of another Evolution member getting a title shot against him, should he win the Iron Man match, at Summerslam. Orton said it would be an honor to wrestle Hunter at Summerslam, then wished him luck. Hunter said, "I'm the Game, I don't need luck"...

(2) Chris Benoit defeated Triple H in a 60 minute Iron Man match by a 4-3 margin to retain the WWE World Title. Logically played out and well executed, but not particularly exciting most of the time. In the end, Eugene came out through the crowd to offset interference from Ric Flair and Batista. He got a huge pop and KO'd Hunter with a chair.

This set up Benoit vs. Orton for the World Title at Summerslam 2004...

PWTORCH #819 COVER STORY
Orton about take elevator ride to the top tier of WWE
By Wade Keller, Torch editor

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Monday night on Raw, Randy Orton won a battle royal that announced to all WWE fans that he was headlining Summerslam, challenging for Raw's World Hvt. Title. With Chris Benoit retaining the World Hvt. Title against Triple H later in the show in their Iron Man match, that sets up a Benoit vs. Orton title match getting co-top billing with Smackdown's WWE Title match between Bradshaw and Undertaker.

There is also a buzz that Orton may win the title at Summerslam, and then hold it until WrestleMania next year where a long-awaited Orton vs. Hunter match could take place. (Editor's Note: This was half-right. Orton won the title at Summerslam, but dropped it to Hunter one month later at the next PPV.)

Orton, like The Rock over five years earlier, joined the WWF as a smiling babyface who was ridiculed by many fans, but seen by management as a potential prodigy. Orton hasn't necessarily been on a fast-track to the top since, getting a smooth and steady push, climbing each rung of the ladder himself rather than being shoved up faster than fans were willing to tolerate. During his time off while recovering from an injury, he cemented his conceited persona and showed everyone that he was a natural on the mic.

The question headed into this year was whether he had what it took to move to that next level inside the ring. While John Cena, his peer over on the Smackdown roster, has struggled to elevate his game in the ring to top tier status, Orton lately has erased all doubt.

His feud with Mick Foley moved him near the top tier, his matches with Edge proved he was ready for the top tier, and his title win presumably over Benoit will officially move him into the top tier. Everyone within WWE see Orton as "the real deal," and with youth on his side at just 24 years old, he is the future of WWE in many ways.

It was just a few years ago that Chris Benoit was seen as a member of the young generation of wrestlers who deserved a run on top. He's gotten it this year, during a down time in WWE's business. Now, not long removed from being considered an up-and-comer, he's about to hand the World Title he worked his whole career for to a wrestler who was still diapers when he began his pro career.

Orton, as champion, will inherit a ready-made top level feud with Triple H, although odds are they will stay away from it for a while, letting it simmer for as long as possible. He is also the first long-term World Champion prospect who will have risen from mid-carder to top tier since the brand split. That means that, as other wrestlers rise over at Smackdown, he will have true "dream match" potential with a number of them, match-ups that have never taken place before in any meaningful place on cards.

Orton can work as a babyface or as a heel. Fans are already cheering for him, and already hints have been dropped that Triple H is going to be the insecure person in their relationship as the Evolution power structure shifts with Orton holding the title--a title that WWE has done a great job establishing "means more to Triple H than anything else in the universe." The stage is set for Orton to break away from Evolution and feud with Ric Flair and Batista right away. The stage is being set for Edge to turn heel so Orton can revisit his feud with him with the roles reversed. The crowd reaction to their matches has already dictated that Orton should be the babyface and Edge should be the heel.

Orton will give WWE Raw a fresh star on top, someone who marks in some ways the official start of a new era, since a wrestler will be on top who wasn't around during the previous boom period. Although Triple H isn't anywhere near retirement and isn't ready to step down from his perch as the top dog on Raw, Orton may be in a position to be the top babyface for years to come. And with so much wrestling in his pedigree, he's unlikely to decide his real career aspirations lie elsewhere anytime soon.