By Wade Keller, Torch editor

RAW REPORT
NOVEMBER 14, 2005
MINNEAPOLIS, MINN.

This edition of Raw was pretaped on Sunday, Nov. 13.

Target Center (photo by Greater Minneapolis CVA)

-Virtually the entire WWE roster stepped out onto the stage. They showed close-ups of various wrestlers crying including Chris Benoit, Shawn Michaels, Shelton Benjamin, Booker T, Gerald Brisco, Shane McMahon, and many others. Vince McMahon stepped in front of them, gave a brief speech about Guerrero's dedication to his craft, and then asked the crowd for silence during a ten bell salute. The crowd was silent for the ten bell salute. Classy opening.

-A music video then played with Johnny Cash singing "Hurt." Great music choice. The photo collage included childhood, teen, and wedding pictures.

[Commercial Break]

-A clip aired of Eddie Guerrero spraying Big Show with sewage.

-Joey Styles introduced Raw during Big Show's introduction. "If you're wondering what it takes to make a seven foot giant cry, it's the death of a friend, a loved one," said Styles. He said Raw would be dedicated to celebrating the life of Eddie Guerrero, adding, "The show must go on, and it will." (I can only imagine how bad Jim Ross felt that he wasn't able to broadcast this show or even be a part of it in some way.)

1 -- BIG SHOW & KANE vs. MNM - Raw vs. Smackdown Tag Champs

Styles noted that despite this being a battle of respective brand tag champs, tonight wasn't about winning and losing, but rather a show of passion by the colleagues of Guerrero. A minute into the match, Melina interfered to try to help MNM win. Big Show forced a kiss on Melina. Styles said, "Can you imagine the size of that guy's tongue!" Coach said only Styles would think of Big Show's tongue size.

WINNERS: Big Show & Kane at 3:38 after a double chokeslam on Nitro.

-Lilian Garcia talked about being with Eddie in Iraq and how grateful he was to the troops. He thanked the troops for their sacrifice and was humble and embarrassed by the soldiers thanking him for visiting. She said they got along great because they both spoke Spanish. She concluded, "Adios."

[Commercial Break]

2 -- KURT ANGLE vs. SHELTON BENJAMIN

The crowd chanted "You suck" at Kurt Angle as he came to the ring. Angle didn't play into it and seemed to be emotionally on the brink of losing his composure. Benjamin caught Angle on the top rope and back suplexed him to the mat. Angle did a full flip. After his win, Angle held up an armband with "EG" on it.

WINNER: Angle at 7:50 with the anklelock.

-Shawn Michaels talked about how he and Eddie shared in common their status as born again Christians. "He did something that nobody has ever been able to do in the history of this business, and that is bring everybody together in prayer in the name of Jesus. Eddie Guerrero left his last and greatest witness with us here today. Eddie, God bless you and I will see you again, my friend." He also said he never wrestled Guerrero, which is an amazing fact and terribly unfortunate. Michaels said they'll wrestle some day in the heavens.

[Commercial Break]

-A montage aired with Chavo and Eddie Guerrero doing their "lie, cheat, and steal" skits. "Sure, we lie, cheat, and steal, but at least we're honest about it," said Guerrero.

-Chavo's statement then aired. He talked about Eddie being the big brother he never had. He reminisced about their time as a team, which clearly Chavo's favorite time as a wrestler. He also told a funny story about how he and Eddie wrestled during intermission at their father's wrestling events in El Paso when they were 4 and 7. It turned out fans stopped going to buy concessions at intermission, so they had to stop doing it.

3 -- SHAWN MICHAELS vs. REY MYSTERIO

Unfortunately, at 4:30 they went to a commercial break.

[Commercial Break]

At 11:30 Michaels ducked a 619 attempt. He then went into his finishing sequence. When he went for Sweet Chin Music, Rey ducked and surprised Michaels with a huracanrana. He followed with a 619. Michaels took a signature bump. Rey then Dropped the Dime and scored the pin. Michaels flailed during the three count to escape, but then was knocked out and motionless for a minute after getting pinned. After Rey celebrated, he shook hands and hugged Michaels.

WINNER: Rey at 13:22.

-Batista talked about what Eddie meant to him. He was really broken up as he talked about how he still can't believe Eddie is really gone. He really put Eddie over as someone whom he really enjoyed working.

-The Johnny Cash song played again for another Guerrero highlight video.

4 -- WOMEN'S BATTLE ROYAL (Maria, Melina, Christy Hemme, Victoria, Ashley, Jillian Hall, Trish Stratus, Mickie James, Candice Michelle)

Maria spent the whole match trying to avoid any physical confrontation, looking quite scared actually. It was pretty funny. Late in the match, Mickie eliminated Victoria to save Trish from elimination, then celebrated her deed. It was then Melina, Trish, and Maria. Maria felt she had a fighting chance, but was then quickly eliminated. Trish set up Stratusfaction, but Melina grabbed the ropes and knocked Trish to the floor to win.

WINNER: Melina at 4:53.

-A teary-eyed Rey talked about what Eddie meant to him. He spoke some in Spanish. He said Eddie had a great presence and was a huge inspiration to so many. "I love you," he concluded. Then he broke down and cried, then yanked his mask off. Only the top of his head was exposed to the camera as he looked down.

[Commercial Break]

-A clip aired of Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit celebrating at WrestleMania 20.

5 -- EUGENE vs. SIMON DEAN

They did some comedy early with Eugene acting turned off by the smell of Dean's diet bar. They had a push-up contest. Eugene was fascinated by the Dean Machine (scooter) at ringside. Dean got in some offense, then Eugene hulked up and did an airplane spin. Eugene grabbed Dean by the waist from behind, but Dean held his power bands in the corner. They stretched and eventually Eugene let go. Dean flew into the turnbuckle. Eugene hit the Rock Bottom for the win.

WINNER: Eugene at 3:45.

-Chris Benoit talked about being Eddie's best friend. He said he knew him for 15 years. He could always count on Eddie to offer advice and talk him out of a troubled situation. He said he felt so much sorrow for Eddie's wife and kids. He said he missed Eddie so much. He broke down and cried. "You made such a great impression on my life and I want to thank you for everything you've given me. I was to thank you from my heart and tell you I love you and will never forget you because I will see you again. I love you, Eddie." He sobbed, stood, and walked away. Very moving.

[Commercial Break]

-Triple H spoke about how he'll remember how good Eddie was in the ring and how he could bring out so many emotions. "Personally, Eddie to me will always be remembered as an inspiration." He said Eddie had a lot of demons in his life, a lot of issues, and a lot of searching. "Eddie overcame all of that to be what he was or what he is," he said. "He overcame the problems he had in his personal life. He had two beautiful girls and a beautiful wife. Eddie had succeeded in life where so many others would have failed." He concluded, "I'm gonna miss ya, man." He wiped a couple tears, then said all he ever talked about were his wife and kids. He said some day Eddie would look down on the night proud that all the guys went out there and put on a show for him. He said that's what Eddie would have wanted. "He's up there lyin' to somebody, cheatin' somebody, and stealing all of our hearts. I'll miss ya' , man."

[Commercial Break]

4 -- RIC FLAIR vs. WILLIAM REGAL

Lawler said one of the great things about Eddie was he liked all types of people. "He even liked Coach," said Lawler. The announcers talked about all of the interbrand matches. They noted that Raw wrestlers would be on Smackdown on Friday.

WINNER: Flair with the figure-four tapout.

-Stephanie talked about meeting Eddie when he was thinking about jumping from WCW. She complimented his range as a performer. She cried. Then she told his family how much he loved them. "Eddie will always be a champion. I'll miss you Eddie. Everybody will miss you. And we love you."

[Commercial Break]

-Clips aired of Eddie Guerrero pinning Chyna to win the IC Title in a three-way match, but claiming he didn't mean to pin her. Eddie hugged Chyna backstage, begged for forgiveness, but then let a sinister grin sneak out.

5 -- JOHN CENA vs. RANDY ORTON

Cena got the biggest pop of the night live by a pretty good margin. Flair used to in Minneapolis, but the crowd more than ever consists of fans who weren't around during Flair's prime. At 3:30, as Cena set up an FU, Bob Orton attacked him from behind for the DQ. Cena punched Bob out of the ring and gave Orton an FU to end the show.

WINNER: Cena via DQ at 3:38.

-Nice tribune show. It felt 98 percent genuine and two percent borderline exploitative. That's about the best margin possible in this type of situation. Putting all angles and promos aside, having babyfaces win in most cases, and not even hyping matches ahead of time made it feel like it was about Guerrero, not anything else. Benoit's crying and outpouring of emotion was as memorable as anything you'll see on TV this year.

We welcome your 1-10 score and comments on this show for a "Raw Reax" feature in the Torch Feedback section of PWTorch.com. To contribute your thoughts on Raw, click here.

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