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The following report originally published 20 years ago this week here at PWTorch.com.
WWE MONDAY NIGHT RAW REPORT
JANUARY 31, 2005
LIVE FROM SAN JOSE, CALIF.
REPORT BY WADE KELLER, EDITOR
-Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler introduced the show. They previewed the top matches on the show.
-Triple H walked out with Ric Flair. Flair said he used to be called the greatest, then “arguably” was added when Shawn Michaels reached his peak, but now there is “no arguably.” He said after last night, he has become the “measuring stick” for all pro wrestlers. He called him the greatest wrestler alive. Triple H then took the mic and said something special happened last night that people will be talking about for years – that being the night the Beast won the Royal Rumble. He then introduced Batista. Batista entered the ring in a suit and sunglasses. Ross observed he received a great ovation.
Triple H said he eliminated John “Puff Daddy” Cena three times. He put him over huge. Then he looked at Batista and said, “I’m proud of you. I am. Look at you, everything you’ve accomplished. This is what we talked about from the beginning. Getting to the top of the mountain.” He then said what got him there, it was “loyalty.”
He said when he found him he was a huge mass of man wearing a t-shirt and jeans not knowing where to go or what to do. He put him over for having a Bentley, jets, women, “it all.” He said just like Flair, and just like The Game, now he is a Royal Rumble winner. Flair applauded for Batista, as did many fans. He said he is a product of Flair and Triple H, “so what did you expect.”
He said it will be his personal honor to do the one thing he said he was going to do: “Let’s make it official, at WrestleMania, in the greatest match in the history of the business, because it will be my privilege and my honor to walk to the ring and defend the World Heavyweight Championship against you. It’s what we’ve always dreamed of, big man. It’s time.” He finally handed the mic to Batista 12 minutes into the show.
Batista laughed and said, “That’s great,” with a chuckle. “Triple H, The Game. I love hearing what you think about me. Now let me tell you what I think about you.” Then the big screen began playing an interview with JBL, who was bad-mouthing Batista. “If Batista wants to come to Smackdown and if Batista wants to face me at WrestleMania, he has an open invitation. He’s built like Tarzan, I will make him look like Jane.” He said he has come to the conclusion that he is a “wrestling god.” He admitted it might be the champagne talking. He concluded Batista is not in his league.
Hunter took the mic back and said there is only one god in wrestling and “you’re looking at him.” He called JBL “Foghorn Leghorn.” He said Batista could take the belt in a split second. He told him to be careful what he runs his mouth about. “Let me state this for everybody to hear. No one is going to ruin Evolution’s night. WrestleMania is going to be our night. This man against The Game for the World Heavyweight Championship. That is that. Now let’s go.” Hunter then walked out of the ring, and Batista didn’t have a chance to talk. Hunter had to encourage Batista, who was slow to follow, to catch up to him on the ramp. Ross and Lawler wondered why the JBL interview played. They said this was just the start of one of the greatest Raws ever.
(Keller’s Analysis: Good opening segment. They’re delaying the gratification of Batista’s gradual babyface turn, throwing more clever suggestive twists and clues into Batista’s attitude. Hunter was very good on the mic. The introduction by Flair is Hunter continuing to play into the image that he needs to have his ego reassured constantly that he’s the greatest even though it’s obviously not the case at this point. It makes sense, though, to market him as that because after all, they’re trying to sell his matches as the biggest ever at this point.)
[Commercial Break]
1 — SHELTON BENJAMIN vs. SIMON DEAN
Dean almost won when he held up his bad as Shelton went for a Stinger Splash. Benjamin kicked out, then finished off Dean with his T-Bone Suplex. After the match, Dean said the only reason Shelton beat him is because Shelton uses the Simon System. Shelton returned to the ring, Stinger Splashed him, and gave him another T-Bone.
WINNER: Shelton at 1:23
STAR RATING: 1/4*
-They cut backstage where Hunter was telling Bischoff to tell him what he wants to hear. Hunter said he wanted to know who played the JBL promo. Bischoff said the last thing he wants is to lose Batista to Smackdown. Hunter said if he finds out he was working a back door trade, “so help me god, I will ruin your life.” Bischoff said, “I don’t respond well to threats. Who the hell do you think you are.” Hunter made fun of Bischoff’s haircut and his “power suit,” adding that he called the shots around here. When Hunter walked away, Bischoff smiled and said, “We’ll see about that.” So the mystery begins: Did the obvious take place, and Hunter arranged to have the JBL promo air because he fears Batista and doesn’t want to face him at WM, so he’s trying to get him worked up into facing JBL at WrestleMania, or is there another force at work?
[Commercial Break]
-The WrestleMania Recall showed Bart Gunn being KO’d by Butterbean.
-Ross plugged the cage match between Kane and Gene Snitsky as the camera showed the cage hanging above the ring. Christy Hemme then shot off the t-shirt gun, sending t-shirts into the crowd. It’s nice to play an important role at your workplace.
-Edge then walked out with a serious look on his face. He slid under the ring without banging his leg and suffering a knee injury. Edge said, “Don’t play dumb with me. Do you think I’m going to stand in the back and let you embarrass me like this?” Christy denied knowing what he was talking about. He told her the t-shirts she’s shooting out were meant to embarrass him. He told her to unravel one. She did, and it said, “WrestleMania XX1.” Lawler said there was something wrong with Edge. He demanded to know if she was rubbing it in his face that he came so close to winning the Royal Rumble the night before.
Edge said he dominated the match, lasted 40 minutes, longer than anyone, eliminated five wrestlers, and was among the final three. “I dominated!” he said. He said earlier he also beat the Show Stopper. He said if she wants to embarrass him, he has no problem embarrassing her. She cowered in the corner. Shawn Michaels walked out. Ross said he got robbed out of the Royal Rumble match.
Michaels entered the ring and said he was embarrassed by losing to him. “If that wasn’t worse,” said Michaels, using strange syntax. He then caught a new mic and threw away his other mic. He then joked that it’s also embarrassing to have to switch mics on live TV. He then said it was also embarrassing to be eliminated from the Royal Rumble by Kurt Angle and end up with a busted head and locked in the Ankelock. He said last night wasn’t a good night for him, and he wants to alleviate his problems later on the show. He said he already has a tag team match scheduled, but since he pulled double-duty last night, he’d like to do it again. He asked for a rematch “right here, right now.” Edge said, “You’d like that, wouldn’t you? All of you would like that – Edge vs. HBK 2. Well, forget it.” Edge said he had nothing to prove. He’s done with him.
Edge asked Michaels if he was man of his word because he previously promised to shake his hand if he won. He held out his hand. Michaels hesitated, then shook his hand with a grimace. As Edge began to tell Michaels to get the hell out of his ring, Michaels superkicked him to the mat. Edge laid flat on his back KO’d on the mat. Ross said later, “The Dream Team” of Michaels & Orton would face Flair & Hunter. A very good segment that acknowledged Michaels losing the night before without drawing attention to Edge using the ropes for leverage, which for the majority who didn’t see it on PPV, means Edge beat one of the legends of WWE. Good delivery by both Edge and Michaels. They did a nice job keeping the feud alive for house shows.
[Commercial Break]
2 — MAVEN vs. HURRICANE
Lawler said Maven guaranteed that he would have won the Rumble had he been in it. Ross said that’s a hard thing to guarantee. Ross said Maven is getting a little haughty. Lawler said being brash and cocky is okay if you can back it up. The crawler at the bottom of the screen re-announced that Steve Austin had signed a three picture deal with WWE. Ross wondered if there was any possibility that Batista would jump to Smackdown. Lawler said it would be terrible to lose him. Ross once again explained that the winner of the Rumble can face either champion. He added that he had no idea how the JBL Smackdown promo made it on the air. Hurricane went for his blockbuster, but Maven ducked and then finished Hurricane with a double-knee driver into Hurricane’s back for the win. Lawler said Maven is on a roll with a win tonight and a win over Rhyno last night.
WINNER: Maven at 2:49.
STAR RATING: 1/2*
-Two of the Raw Divas talked backstage about JBL’s cocky comments. Then they saw Snitsky in the women’s locker room. They asked him what he was doing there. The women began shaking in fear. Snitsky complimented their shoes. The camera stayed on the two women a few extra seconds, just because the director apparently likes to test their acting limits for sport. The women did a nice job not looking completely ridiculous for those few extra seconds.
[Commercial Break]
-Ross talked about how Snitsky and Kane showed up during the Heidenreich vs. Undertaker match at the PPV.
-Bischoff told Coach he wanted him to figure out who was behind the tape of JBL airing. Teddy Long showed up in the office. Bischoff accused him of trying to steal Batista from Raw. Long said that is exactly why he was at Raw. Long, though, said he had nothing to do with the tape of JBL playing earlier. Bischoff didn’t believe him. Long said he has made Batista a tremendous offer to come to Smackdown and compete at WrestleMania 21 for the WWE Title. Long said it might be Big Show, not JBL, defending the title because Show was facing JBL for the title in a barbed wire steel cage match. There’s a sneaky plug for the February PPV. Bischoff send Coach out to find out more info on the situation.
-Stacy Keibler asked Randy Orton if he was ready to wrestle given the concussion he suffered and his knee being hurt. Orton said his passion is wrestling and he has to wrestle under less than ideal circumstances sometimes. Orton said one day he will hold the World Title again, but tonight he has a chance to prove he is still the Legend Killer when he faces Flair and Hunter later.
-They showed Chris Jericho & Chris Benoit approaching the entryway to face La Resistance for the World Tag Team Titles. After what happened last week, they better win – quickly.
[Commercial Break]
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3 — LA RESISTANCE vs. CHRIS BENOIT & CHRIS JERICHO – World Tag Team Title Match
Ross said it’s not often that tag team champions are embarrassed like La Resistance were last week. Lawler said they vowed not to let something like that ever happen again. Ross said he’d like to think that La Resistance just had a bad week last week. I give them credit for acknowledging the squash last week and trying to rehab the image and credibility of the tag champs. Ross even added that he talked to both of the tag champs earlier and he said they seemed more focused than usual due to what happened last week. Because Smackdown is being taped after Raw goes off the air, there are more Smackdown-oriented signs in the crowd than usual. Benoit hot-tagged Jericho at 3:45. He did his silly dance in the ring after scoring some quick offense. Four-way action ensued briefly. Jericho then went for the Walls of Jericho on Grenier, but Conway entered with the title belt. Jericho fended him off, then applied the hold. Grenier then broke it up. The spot seemed messed up with bad timing as Benoit entered the ring and Grenier turned to him. Ross even acknowledged the match turned into a bit of a mess. Benoit beat on Conway on the floor as Jericho turned Grenier into the Walls of Jericho. Conway then nailed Jericho from behind. The ref called for the bell.
WINNERS: No DQ at 6:18.
STAR RATING: 3/4* — What a freakin’ mess. The crowd booed not just the decision, but the botched finishing sequence. Ross was almost at a loss. This show so far would have benefited from being taped so some editing could be done to fix a few miscues.
[Commercial Break]
-Muhammad Hassan and Khosrow Daivari walked to the ring. When Lawler brought up the Iraq elections, Ross said these two don’t represent any countries overseas. Lawler complained about having to be so “politically correct” when talking about them. Hassan complained about the discriminatory injustice gang attack at the Rumble the night before. Daivari ranted. They challenged any American to come out and face them Sgt. Slaughter talked out with a glad in hand. Ross mentioned that he had been inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame last year.
4 — SGT. SLAUGHTER vs. MUHAMMAD HASSAN
Sarge applied a Cobra Clutch at the start. Heidenreich, take notes. Hassan, though, quickly shoved Sarge sternum-first into the turnbuckle and began stomping away on him. Fans chanted “USA, USA.” Sarge, who looked to be in better physical shape than he’s been in years, tried to fight back. When Hassan applied a bearhug, Ross again said that Hassan doesn’t represent Arab-Americans. Sarge punched out of it and then hit his clothesline (a bit feeble compared to his prime years). Hassan, though, reversed Sarge into a face-first drop and then applied the Camel Clutch for the win. Someone in the crowd held up a sign that read, “That’s Racist.” Lawler said that might be Hassan’s sweetest victory to date.
WINNER: Hassan at 2:20.
STAR RATING: 1/2*
-Jericho told Benoit they should have won the match. They went nose to nose. Jericho asked to see Benoit’s best. Benoit said they bring out the best in each other. Awkward segment. If that wasn’t live, I would encouraged another take.
[Commercial Break]
-The Eugene-Forrest Gump commercial aired.
-Hunter asked Flair if perhaps he’s being selfish by wanting so badly to face Batista. “Why shouldn’t he go to Smackdown and make that money and wrestled JBL for that championship. I mean, that’s a championship he could win. If he went to Smackdown and took the WWE Championship from JBL, we’d own this whole industry.” Oh, what about Jeff Jarrett and Austin Aries? Flair told Hunter, “That is why you are the champ. You are a genius. I would have never thought of that. You are the Cerebral Assassin. That is great!”
-Eric Bischoff stepped out and said that next week for the first time ever Raw would be taking place in Japan. The crowd booed for some reason. He said he had three major matches to announce. He said Benoit would face Jericho one-on-one in a submission match. He also said William Regal was exercising his rematch clause and found a new partner, so he and Tajiri would challenge La Resistance for the tag team titles. And finally, Triple H would have to defend against Edge, “just to show Triple H who calls the shots around here.” He then announced that the huge tag match was next.
-Introductions took place for Michaels and Orton. If Orton’s goal is to get over as a babyface, and at this point that may not be the plan, he needs to stop twirling around like he thinks he’s “all that” when he walked onto the stage. It’s not something 85 percent of WWE’s viewing audience is going to cheer.
[Commercial Break]
5 — RANDY ORTON & SHAWN MICHAELS vs. RIC FLAIR & TRIPLE H (w/Batista)
Ross said Orton was wrestling against recommendations due to the concussion the night before. They’ve done a nice job mentioning it without stressing it so much that the average viewing would think it would factor into the match. Ross said he wished the JBL promo hadn’t interrupted Batista just as he was about to share his feelings on Triple H. Orton began against Flair and took early control with a barrage of punches in the corner followed by a backdrop, prompting a huge high-pitched scream from the crowd. Hunter tagged in, then Michaels tagged in. Michaels hit Hunter with a top rope elbow. Four-way action broke out. Orton whipped Hunter into the steel steps as Batista distracted the ref. Batista then grabbed a chair for no apparent reason and bashed it against the ringside steps, then climbed the stairs. The ref ordered him to the back. Batista threw a fit. The crowd cheered a bit at first, then booed. Batista bashed the chair into the stairs a few more times. As Batista left, the camera caught him smiling, as if he was happy to be forced to leave ringside so he wouldn’t be counted on to interfere on behalf of Flair & Hunter.
[Commercial Break]
Ross screamed, “We’re live as hell!” as they returned from the break. Michaels was working on Flair, who ended up taking his face-first collapse which popped the crowd. They showed Orton seeming to lose a little focus when standing on the ring apron. Michaels ended up in the enemy corner and got choked illegally by Flair. Flair tagged in Hunter at13:00 and seconds later Michaels hot-tagged Orton. Orton cleaned house on Flair and Hunter. As Orton worked over Hunter in the corner, the ref admonished Orton. Flair kneed Orton from behind and knocked Orton head-first into the turnbuckle. Orton came back and gave Flair an RKO. Orton laid flat on his back and didn’t move. His eyes seemed vacant. Ross said Hunter was surveying the territory. He then lifted Orton and set up a Pedigree. Michaels gave Hunter his Sweet Chin Music. Edge ran into the ring and went to spear Michaels, but instead speared Hunter. Michaels then tackled Edge out of the ring. Orton, looking like Troy Aikman on the sidelines after his 15th concussion, draped his arm over Hunter’s chest and the ref counted to three. Michaels held Orton’s head in his lap and called for help after the match.
WINNERS: Michaels & Orton at 16:00.
STAR RATING: *** — Good match with a finish that nicely set up next week’s Edge vs. Hunter match and furthered the Orton concussion storyline. Orton did a good job selling the concussion syndrome. It’s an interesting approach to take with him at this point.
[Commercial Break]
6 — KANE vs. GENE SNITSKY
At 2:30 Trish Stratus walked to the ring. Kane hit Snitsky with a top rope clothesline at 4:30, then began to escape the cage. Trish slammed the door on his face. Kane grabbed her and dragged her into the ring. He set up a chokeslam on her, but Snitsky kicked him in the face to break up the chokeslam. Snitsky then helped Trish out of the ring, and then he thought of stepping down, but instead yanked the door off of the cage (making it seem too easy, as if it weren’t much of a feat at all; he should have hammed it up more before it broke loose). Kane kicked the door into his face, then set it up in the corner. Kane gave Kane an atomic drop crotch-first over the side of the door. “Snitsky’s been neutered,” said Ross. Kane then slammed the door on the mat and chokeslammed Snitsky on it. The ref counted the pin. The show ended with Kane celebrating his win. Ross and Lawler signed off with one final plug for Raw in Japan next week.
WINNER: Kane at 6:45.
STAR RATING: *1/4 — What’s you’d expect from these two during the first five minutes. The finishing sequence was satisfying. It didn’t feel like a bigger match than the previous tag.
OR CHECK THIS OUT AT PROWRESTLING.NET: WWE touts the box office success of the Royal Rumble
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