SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
The following report was originally published on PWTorch.com 15 years ago this weekend…
WWE Raw house show report
May 7, 2004
New Orleans, La.
By Brad NK King, PWTorch.com reader
(1) Randy Orton pinned Shelton Benjamin to retain the WWE Intercontinental Title. Some nice back and forth action. In the end, Benjamin hit his whip into a spin kick only to see Batista run in which led to with Orton scoring the pin after Batista’s interference and spine buster slam. After the match, Orton hits the Orton Cutter RKO on Benjamin which led to Benoit and Edge making the save. Then the main event of Benoit & Edge vs. Batista & Orton was announced by the host for the night Coach.
(2) Grandmaster Sexay beat Chuck Palumbo after top rope leg drop,. The only nice move I remember was a scoop into a Samoan drop by Palumbo in this short match.
(3) Garrison Cade beat Val Venis. Cade got a small Big Bird chant from a few fans during the match. Coach congratulated his boy Cade after the match.
(4) Hurricane & Rosey beat La Resistance after a high crossbody by Hurricane. La Resistance tried to cut a promo on the crowd that struck up a U.S.A. chant, and towards the end of the match Eugene ran down to ringside where he distracted Conway. Conway then slapped Regal behind the head from the ring leading to Regal knocking him back with a nice left hand into the finish. Eugene celebrated with Hurricane and Rosey after the match in the ring by acting as if he was flying with Hurricane and Rosey following his lead.
(5) Christian beat Rhyno after interference from Tomko. Before the match Rhyno got some ECW chants from one section of the floor and a nice cheap pop after saying he wanted to “Gore the Whore” Trish Stratus (which was also on a sign in the front row) and destroy Christian in New Orleans. Rhyno received a roundhouse kick from Trish on the outside halfway through, but ended up pulling out a gore on Christian only to see Tomko enter and hit his weak front kick on Rhyno while Trish distracted the referee. This led to the pinfall win for Christian.
(6) Victoria & Nidia beat Molly Holly & Gail Kim after a Victoria Widow’s Peak on the blue-thong-wearing Gail. Kim Victoria was great with the crowd giving out hugs and receiving kisses from several fans while walking down with her championship. She pulled out her standing moonsault, twisting side slam, and Widow’s Peak to finish off Gail.
Before intermission Eugene entered the ring while the t-shirt gun guy was shooting shirts into the crowd. Eugene grabbed the shirt-shooter while Regal told him to put it down, and Regal even turned around so Eugene would not shoot him again. Then, Eugene turned the gun over to Coach who was announcing the shirt giveaway and Shopzone items available and shot him in the nether region. A ref at ringside said Coach needed time to recover, so there was our lead in to intermission.
(7) Kane beat Matt Hardy in about one minute via the chokeslam. Uneventful until after the match Lita ran into the ring to stop Kane from hitting the Tombstone on Matt on a chair. Matt V1 picked up the chair and blasted Kane in the back to allow he and Lita to escape from the oncoming Kane. After the match, while Kane was walking around the ring, he spit out into the crowd which almost landed in a young girl’s mouth standing in the front row. Close call.
(8) Chris Benoit & Edge beat Ric Flair & Batista to retain the World Tag Team Titles. Flair did not make the show, so the match was changed at the beginning of the card after Orton’s first match to Benoit & Edge vs. Batista & Randy Orton. Great tag team wrestling with frequent tags by Benoit and Edge at the start which slowed Orton until Batista entered and Evolution proceeded to destroy Edge in and out of the ring. Then Benoit made the tag and hit about four German suplexes, but missed a top rope headbutt on Batista, which led to Batista trying a powerbomb on Benoit. Benoit reversed the move into the Crippler Crossface at which point Batista tapped out.
After the match, Edge invited Coach to shake his hand on their way out, but called him out on a remark he made earlier in the show, which predicting that he and Benoit would lose the tag titles tonight. Edge pulled back his hand and threw Coach into the ring for Benoit who slapped on another Crossface to a huge crowd reaction. Benoit held up the World and Tag Team Title belts for a nice photo opportunity, then left the ring. Coach ended the show by walking out alone saying screw all of you.
Overall solid wrestling and effort throughout all the matches, with Orton-Benjamin, Rhyno-Christian, and the tag main event being the matches of the night. Also, Eugene was a MVP of the show adding some entertainment. Matches may not be in order because this was from memory. Only let down was no HBK, Triple H, or Flair to wrestle Benoit in a World Title match.
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