SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
The following report originally published 20 years ago this week here at PWTorch.com…
WWE Raw “Virtual Time” Alternative Perspective Coverage
November 29, 2004
Live from Baltimore, Maryland
Aired on Spike TV
Report by Mallory Mahling, Torch Team Contributor
Raw was live tonight from the 1st Mariner Arena in Baltimore, Maryland.
Jim Ross and Jerry “The King” Lawler welcomed viewers to the show.
Tonight Raw is Randy.
Most of the Raw roster was gathered in the ring waiting for the Battle Royal to get underway. Batista came out next, followed by Chris Jericho.
The next person out was…Mister McMahon. He said he knew the crowd was waiting for Triple H to come out and defend his title. That wasn’t going to happen, however. The Battle Royal would determine the number one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship which would take place later in the show.
(1) Over-the-Top-Rope Battle Royal with Edge and Benoit as disputed winners. There wasn’t much elbow room in the ring, so the contest began with a random punch fest, then focused on Viscera vs. Hurricane. Viscera (thank goodness) was the first elimination when a group ganged up and shoved him over the side. Tajiri eliminated Rhyno. Tomko went flying next thanks to Shelton Benjamin. The fans were getting into the chops of Chris Benoit and Ric Flair. Sylvain Grenier we eliminated next, followed by Maven when Eugene outfoxed him.
(Commercial break)
Back to the match. Jonathan Coachman had been eliminated during the commercial break. William Regal, Rosey, and Hurricane were eliminated next. Snitsky and Batista squared off, then turned their attention elsewhere. Batista eliminated Eugene and Tajiri and Christian. He also eliminated Ric Flair, who went ballistic, grabbing audience members in the front row by the scruff of the neck.
(Commercial break)
Jericho eliminated Snitsky. Six men were left in the ring: Stevie Richards, Jericho, Benoit, Batista, Edge, and Benjamin. The other five ganged up on Stevie and dumped him over the side.
Benjamin nearly had Edge over the side, but Edge reached deep down and pulled out a spear to use on Benjamin.
Jericho, Edge, Batista and Benoit were left in the ring. Jericho concentrated on Batista, while Edge and Benoit went at it. Batista threw Jericho over the side, then Edge speared Batista. Benoit suplexed Edge. Batista set Benoit up for a Batista Bomb, but Benoit reversed it. Edge came at them both with a spear, but it was Batista who landed on the floor.
Edge and Benoit were left. They were on the apron and fell off at the exact same time. Edge raised his hand in victory as Benoit jumped back into the ring and claimed victory. Two refs and the two contenders began to argue over who had won. Each ref had his own opinion. Who won?
Order of elimination:
– Viscera
– Rhyno
– Tyson Tomko
– Sylvain Grenier
– Maven
– Rob Conway
– Jonathan Coachman
– William Regal
– Rosey
– Hurricane
– Eugene
– Tajiri
– Val Venis
– Christian
– Ric Flair
– Gene Snitsky
– Stevie Richards
– Shelton Benjamin
– Chris Jericho
– Batista
– Chris Benoit/Edge
(Commercial break)
Moments ago, Edge and Benoit both claimed victory and an instant replay didn’t help. Mister McMahon told Orton that the decision would be his since he was General Manager for the night. Edge came rushing in to plead his case, and McMahon excused himself. Edge displayed quite the attitude trying to persuade Orton to give him the title shot. He said he’d think about it. Edge was about to explode; clearly Orton enjoyed twisting the knife.
Maven was whining to Benjamin in the locker room that he’d busted his butt for four years and had nothing to show for it. Eugene asked Maven for some help fastening his tag title belt and Maven went off on him. Regal stepped up and put Maven in his place. Maven responded by spitting on the floor.
Candice McBoob, the new make-up artist for Raw, asked Orton if her dress showed too much cleavage. Randy thought it was a lovely dress.
(What happened to Jan the make-up lady anyway?)
Benoit interrupted the fashion show with his thoughts on the disputed win. Orton said he had a huge announcement to make from the ring.
(Commercial break) Now we learn the ulterior motive for the disputed win. Log onto wwe.com and vote for who you think won.
Randy Orton headed to the ring for his announcement regarding the Battle Royal and the rest of the evening’s matches. He said the World Title would not be the only one on the line tonight. Regal and Eugene would defend their Tag Titles against La Resistance. (I believe Orton misspoke at this point about which title was being defended.) Also tonight there would be a legends match with Jerry Lawler, the birthday boy, facing Ric Flair.
As for who won the Battle Royal, the main event would be Edge vs. Benoit vs. Triple H in a triple threat match for the World Heavyweight Title.
Coach joined J.R. on commentary, since Lawler had gone off to get ready for his match.
Check out the latest episode of “PWTorch ’90s Pastcast” with Patrick Moynahan and Alex McDonald, part of the PWTorch Dailycast line-up: CLICK HERE to stream (or search “pwtorch” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe free)
(2) Tag Team Match: Victoria & Lita over Trish & Molly. You’re looking at the sum total of the Women’s Division–four divas. Several early covers by Trish on Victoria, then Molly tagged in and picked up where Trish left off. Lita rolled Molly up for a pin, but the ref was distracted and it didn’t count. Molly was vicious as she slammed Victoria around the ring. Victoria had a rip in her spandex shorts, which wasn’t getting any smaller. She tried to crawl over to Lita to make the tag, but Molly grabbed her and pulled her back. The hot tag was finally made to Lita, who suplexed Trish. Lita vs. Trish turned into a hair-pulling match, then Lita put Trish in a body scissors. Trish stood there waiting forever for Lita to kick her in the face, but Lita was dawdling. DDT by Lita on Trish for the win.
(Commercial break) WWE ThemeAddict is available everywhere now.
A number of Baltimore Ravens players were in the front row.
Hassan and Daivari were back with a review of all their complaints. Just in case we’d missed their point.
(3) Legends Match: Ric Flair over Jerry Lawler. The entrances with “Also Sprach Zarathustra” and the “Great Gates of Kiev” were just as classical as the participants, but probably won’t make it onto ThemeAddict, Part 2. Lawler strutted, Flair-style, and Flair took offense. Chops to Lawler. Hard ones. Chop. Strut. Chop. Strut. Flair with a knee drop on Lawler’s head. Lawler with right hands to Flair. Back body drop by Lawler, then he went up top and crashed down on Flair with a right hand. Then he did it again. Lawler apparently hurt his knee, and Flair started to put him in a Figure Four. Lawler countered win an inside cradle. Flair with another Figure Four on Lawler, who tried to turn him over. Flair grabbed the ropes for leverage and Lawler tapped out. Flair’s eye appeared to be swelling up.
Orton told Maria and Melina, yet another new diva, that they’d be displaying something in the ring tonight.
(Commercial break)
Shelton Benjamin had overcome much adversity to get where he is. This week we met his high school coach who taught him to channel his aggression into amateur wrestling.
Randy Orton was in the ring with Maria, Melina, and Candice. He said he wanted more hot women in the ring and called out Christy, and Baltimore’s own, Stacy Keibler, who came out to a good hometown pop.
Orton explained that the holidays were a time for giving, so he decided to give the audience the first ever Raw lingerie fashion show. Since there was no time for changing, he said they’d just have to strip in the ring. Imagine that. Melina was first and feigned being nervous. The crowd egged her on and she quickly got over her embarrassment and stripped like a pro. The same could be said for Candice. And Maria. And Christy, who had on the skimpiest of thongs. Randy was licking his chops. Next came Stacy, who asked Randy to help her with her zipper. Orton was drooling by this time, and asked for a group hug to conclude the fashion show.
Oddly enough, nobody was wearing granny panties.
(Commercial break)
Triple H, complete with fangs, explained his role in “Blade Trinity.” It opens Wednesday, December 8.
(4) Tag Team Title Match: William Regal & Eugene over La Resistance. Conway and Regal started things off, with Conway in control. Conway punched Eugene off the apron and onto the floor. Eugene tagged in with big right hands (at least the ones that connected). Airplane spin on Conway, then Eugene came off the ropes with a sledge. La Resistance with an Au Revoir on Eugene. Stunner by Eugene on La Resistance for the win. Eugene invited some kids into the ring to celebrate, and they dog-piled on Regal.
Suddenly Maven appeared, attacked Eugene, and slammed his head into the ring steps. I smell a turn.
(Commercial break)
Trish ran into Jericho in the hallway. He said this week, the Walking KOD (Kiss of Death) had beaten the Walking STD. He reminded Trish that next week Raw will be Jericho, and he told her she’d be defending her title against Lita.
All the underwear modeled by the divas is on the auction block at wwe.com.
Ric Flair told Batista that the two of them should have had a master plan to win the Battle Royal. Triple H walked in and asked them if they had his back in the upcoming triple threat match. “Sure,” said Batista, not meaning a word of it.
(Commercial break) The Rise and Fall of ECW is available now wherever videos are sold. If you’re lucky.
(5) Triple Threat Match for the World Heavyweight Championship: Edge vs. Chris Benoit vs. Triple H ended in a dispute over the real titleholder. Edge started by picking a fight with Benoit. As they went at it, Triple H found himself a spot in the corner out of harm’s way.
Triple H shoved Edge out of the ring and concentrated on Benoit. Chops to Triple H, then a suplex by Benoit. Edge was back in the ring and went after Triple H with right hands. Snap suplex on Triple H by Benoit, who then clotheslined Triple H and Edge out of the ring. Kamikaze dive by Benoit and all three were down on the outside.
(Commercial break)
Returning from commercial, Triple H was on the outside and Benoit was about to put Edge in the Sharpshooter. Triple H tried to interfere, but Benoit put him in a Crippler Crossface. Before Triple H could tap out, Flair and Batista ran out and interrupted the hold. Orton came out and ejected Flair and Batista from ringside.
Edge with a rollup on Triple H followed by a DDT, but Triple H refused to be pinned. The high knee of Triple H countered Edge’s attempted spear. Triple H went for a Pedigree, but Edge reversed it and catapulted the champ into the corner.
Benoit suplexed Edge, who landed right on Triple H’s face. Ouch! Benoit with the Sharpshooter on Edge. He tried to reach the ropes, but Benoit pulled him back into the center of the ring. Meanwhile, Orton was assaulted by Triple H at ringside.
Benoit flipped Triple H out of the ring, then turned his attention to suplexing Edge. Benoit signaled for the end, but Triple H tried to put him in a Pedigree. Benoit sent the champ to the outside. Benoit and Edge battled on the turnbuckle, where Edge fell off and knocked the referee down. Triple H was the only one who wasn’t out cold and he brought a chair into the ring. He started to paste Benoit with it, but Orton took it away and smacked Triple H with it, sending him over the guardrail.
Benoit grabbed Edge and wrapped an arm around his throat. Would Edge tap? No, but he rolled Benoit over, and with Benoit’s shoulders on the mat, the ref tapped the 1-2-3. Benoit inadvertently lost to Edge. But wait. Earl Hebner came out and gave the title to Benoit. Referee Chioda took the belt away and gave it back to a bloody Edge.
Meanwhile, Triple H recovered from the chair shot to find that there were two title holders, neither of which was himself. He’ll be doing a slow burn until next Monday night when this story continues.
OR CHECK THIS OUT AT PROWRESTLING.NET: Boxer Ricky Hatton looks back on being a guest GM on WWE Raw, says he punched a wrestler harder than he should have
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