Reported by Hunter Golden of WrestleView.com
On Monday, January 2, 2006 at 11:24 PM EST

WWE Raw
January 2, 2006
East Rutherford, NJ
Commentators: Joey Styles, Jerry “The King” Lawler, & Jonathan Coachman
Reported By: Hunter Golden of WrestleView.com

The opening pyro hit and Styles welcomed us all to Jersey for tonight’s show. They ran down the card for the evening.

Lilian Garcia introduced Mr. McMahon and the boss came sauntering down the ramp towards the ring.

Vince said that last week he announced a zero tolerance policy that he wouldn’t ever take any crap from anyone ever again. He said he wouldn’t take crap from the crowd, Shawn Michaels or anyone. “Translation: No more Mr. Nice Guy”. He said that HBK said he needed to grow up and move on last week. McMahon said he should have fired HBK and spat in his face. He said he’d move on alright, that he’d move on for himself, not for the fans. He said from now on it was all about him. He said that was exactly why tonight’s match was a first blood match. He wanted to be amused.

He said he also made the match we were about to see. He motioned over to Lillian and she introduced Kane. His opponent would be Shawn Michaels.

McMahon demanded the music be cut and said that there was a stipulation. He said if HBK uses the super kick, he’d be disqualified.

Kane v. Shawn Michaels

Kane came at HBK but he reversed it in the corner. HBK came flying off the ropes but got caught by Kane. He fought out of his grip and chopped the big man into the corner. Kane reversed it and planted HBK to the canvas with a big right hand. He gathered Michaels and after landing some more punches, brought HBK out to the middle of the ring for a scoop slam, but it was reversed into a cradle for a two count.

HBK came running off the ropes and got a sunset flip but only got a two count. Kane hit an uppercut which floored Michaels and then proceeded to choke him on the mat with his boot. Kane landed a big right hand and HBK responded with some right hands of his own. Kane eventually got the better of the exchange before pushing HBK into the corner. Kane choked HBK on the corner and brought him out to the center of the ring for a scoop slam.

He sent HBK to the buckles against with a hard Irish whip after getting a one count on a cover attempt. HBK fought back however and managed to chop the big man up and over the top ropes before launching himself over the top ropes and into Kane. Vince McMahon came around interfere but HBK saw him. The two exchanged some words before Kane caught Michaels with another uppercut and sent what was left of him back into the ring.

****Commercial****

Kane backed HBK into the corner trying to break free of a sleeper hold attempt. It took him two attempts but eventually he broke free, but Michaels jumped right back on. Kane eventually just lifted Michaels up over his shoulders and planted him with a back suplex. Kane missed the elbow drop follow up and Michaels scaled the turnbuckles, but got caught on the way down with a Kane shot to the gut.

Kane choked away at Michaels on the mat before hitting a big leg drop. Michaels kicked out of the cover attempt before Kane began ripping away at his face. Kane hit some shots to the back before choking HBK out on the ropes. After smashing Michaels in the chops, he went for the cover attempt and only got a two count.

The crowd brought HBK back to life, who fought out of the reverse chin lock with some elbows and chops. The two exchanged shots against the ropes until HBK hit his running knee lift and some chops. HBK was quickly sent off the ropes though and got set up for the choke slam. HBK wiggled out and after a squabble in the corner, was able to hit his flying forearm, leaving both workers laid out on the mat.

Michaels nipped up the same time as Kane and hit his atomic drop followed by an implant DDT. HBK only got a two on the cover attempt and followed it up quickly with a neck breaker. Michaels again came running off the ropes and Kane caught him yet again, this time with a huge big boot to the face. With Michaels on the mat, Kane went up top but missed the flying lariat. Michaels hit two consecutive clotheslines before going to the top himself. HBK connected with the elbow but had to dream up something else instead of sweet chin music.

Michaels tuned up the band anyways and McMahon interrupted saying if he used the move, he’d kick him out of the Elimination chamber match on Sunday. HBK asked McMahon why he was doing what he was doing and turned around just in time to get planted by a Kane choke slam. Kane made the cover for the pin fall victory.

Winner: Kane

McMahon came up the ramp and Todd Grisham came out. McMahon whispered something to Grisham before posing for himself.

****Commercial****

Over the break we learned that Michaels would be the #1 entrant into the elimination chamber on Sunday.

Coach then aired a clip of a beef that Gregory Helms apparently has with Jerry the King Lawler. Helms seemed pretty ticked off and insisted that Lawler was trying to make a joke out of his career. Helms said he’d deal with him and shut him up. Coach said it looked like King just got punked out. Lawler went to defend himself before Helms came out to the ring.

Helms said it wasn’t a surprise that Helms was talking trash about someone. Helms said that unlike King, when he had something to say, he says it face to face. He said he knew there was a little spring left in the King and that he should come into the ring and hear him out. He said it was a little different face to face. He said if anyone should be made fun of for being ridiculous and looking like a Joke, it was King.

King said while he was the Hurricane he was at least half way entertaining. He said Helms wasn’t a Hurricane or a Tropical Depression anymore, he was just another guy who sucks. Helms slapped King and King returned the favor. King challenged Helms to a match at New Year’s Revolution. Helms didn’t really reply and instead just retreated up the aisle.

Coach put over the coming amateur video footage that will show of Flair’s road rage incident. Styles put over the first blood match between WWE Champion John Cena and Kurt Angle later tonight.

****Commercial****

A clip aired of Elimination chamber matches past.

Vince was in the back with Mickie James asking her about the Trish kiss last week. Shawn Daivari and Kurt Angle came storming in and McMahon told them both to shut up. Angle said he was worried about biased officiating from the officials this week after his comments about the troops.

McMahon said he wanted to see Angle bleed profusely tonight. Or anyone for that matter. Angle said he loved violence as much as McMahon. Angle said he’d make Cena bleed so bad, McMahon would have to take him to the hospital. He said this year he wouldn’t take any crap and that he’d make HBK tap out on Sunday as a personal favor to McMahon.

Mickie started to talk to Mr. McMahon some more before we went back to the arena.

Todd Girsham was in the back with Trish Stratus who was running up and down stairs. Grisham asked her about the kiss and how it made her feel. Trish said she felt uncomfortable but she knew what she needed to do in order to keep her belt a full year. He asked her if it was mind games, and Trish said she didn’t know and that she had to hit the showers.

****Commercial****

Maria was trying to get people to kiss before Victoria’s music hit and she came down to the ring with Candice and Torrie.

Maria asked the ladies if they wanted to be on the kiss cam. Victoria asked her if she had a good new year’s because she didn’t. She asked Maria where she was for the party. She said she was probably too stupid to realize they had a match scheduled for tonight.

Victoria v. Maria

Victoria tossed Maria out of the corner after a nasty beating. She put her in a surfboard before planting her with some kicks and choking her out on the ropes. Victoria whipped her into the ropes and Candice attempted to interfere but Maria fought her off.

Victoria tossed Candice to the buckles but missed the follow up splash. Maria rolled up Victoria and got the pin fall.

Winner: Maria via pin fall

After the match the three women attacked her and Victoria ripped off her clothes and then laid the boots to her. Ashely came flying down to the ring and speared the hell out of Victoria but got planted with a double “D”dt by Candice and Torrie. The three left Ashley and Maria in the ring and celebrated as they walked up the ramp.

Lita was walking with Edge in the back. “The Cutting Edge” is next!

****Commercial****

Over the break Mr. McMahon announced a match for New Year’s Revolution that would be a gauntlet bra and panties match. It’d be involving all the ladies in the ring previously.

Trish was in the shower and Mickie looked like she wanted to apologize. She said she didn’t want Trish to get the wrong idea about last week and apologized. Maria handed her her towel and commented on her ‘boobs’.

Edge came out to the ramp with Lita and stood on a platform near it with a mic. He said for the past couple of weeks he had caught a lot of flak for his treatment of Ric Flair. He said people had asked him why he has treated Flair the way he has. He said to all of those people, that they were full of crap. He had two reasons. The first was that he was a one of a kind rated R superstar whether there was a Ric Flair or not. He said the second reason was that everything he had seen was true. He said he had the video footage to prove it.

A very funny clip of Edge impersonating the road rage incident of Ric Flair’s aired. He chopped a guy and put him in the figure four on the side of the road.

Edge said that people were laughing at Flair not with him. Whether it was his road rage incident or his divorce, he was pathetic and Lita wished him the worst in the proceeding. Edge said he was going to rescue the Intercontinental title from his pathetic, useless life.

Flair showed up on the ramp and went after Edge. The two brawled down the ramp and Flair clubbed away at Edge’s head. Flair gathered Edge after a beat down and went to put him in the figure four but Lita hopped on his back. He tossed her off and slapped her in the figure four as Edge took off. Edge came back to retrieve Lita and Flair celebrated in the ring.

****Commercial****

Shelton Benjamin v. Chris Masters

The two locked up and Masters rushed Shelton into the corner. He landed some right hands before sending him off the ropes. Shelton caught crucifix pin attempt but only got two. He rolled Masters up again but only got two again. Masters went for a standing suplex and Benjamin attempted to counter but got laid out with a big clothesline.

After dropping a big leg drop, he went for the cover but only got a two count. Masters scooped up Shelton and dropped him on the buckles. The two exchanged some punches in the corner with Benjamin getting the better of the exchange. He whipped Masters in and hit a splash and followed up with a clothesline. Shelton hit a vicious knee lift before hitting a spinning wheel kick. He went for the cover but Masters got a leg on the rope.

Shelton punched away at Masters before hitting a running clothesline. He got another two count on the cover before catching some shots to the gut. Shelton got caught by Masters who attempted the master lock but Shelton hit a neck breaker and again couldn’t get the cover. Masters whipped Shelton off the ropes but missed a clothesline and got caught in the Master lock. Shelton tried desperately to break the hold but it was to no avail as Masters dragged him out to the middle of the ring and Benjamin passed out.

Winner: Chris Masters via submission

A clip of more Elimination Chamber highlights aired.

****Commercial****

A video of the house show that Ben Rothlesburger attended aired.

Triple H’s music hit and he came out to the ramp.

He said there were a lot of people who talk about things, but they don’t get the job done when the talking ends. Unlike them, he said, he makes them happen. He said he assesses the situation and comes up with the plan to make the result favor him. When he executes the plan he nails it every time no pun intended of course. He said everything he does is pre meditated and that he’d take any moment and make it an opportunity to benefit him. He said it didn’t matter where it was, he got it done.

He showed another clip of him breaking Show’s hand last week. Something got screwed up and Triple H made a funny and decided to wing it. He said that for those of us that didn’t know it, he jabbed him in the eye with a pen and broke his hand. He said nothing was funnier than someone else’s misfortune. He said he knew Show didn’t think it was funny and he knew it wasn’t funny. He said it was serious. He said Show stuck his nose in his business and he kept pushing his luck. He said Show would find out that there was an old saying that was as true today as it used to be, that the bigger they are the harder they fall.

Show’s music hit and he came out with a huge cast on his right hand. Triple H laughed at him as he walked down the ramp. Triple H got out of the ring and grabbed a steel chair. Show charged him and punched the chair out of the way and tossed a monitor at the game. He smashed the table with the cast and now Show had a hammer of his own in his right hand. Show stated the Game as he retreated up the ramp.

The Smackdown rebound aired.

****Commercial*****

Shelton Benjamin was in his locker room when his mother walked in. She said she didn’t want to hear excuses. She said Shelton was getting soft and that she didn’t raise ‘no soft boys’. She said Benjamins didn’t take beatings, they gave them and she’d be on his backside until she saw an improvement. She told him to get into the shower because he stinks.

Another video aired of the elimination chamber from last year’s New Year’s Revolution pay per view.

The announce team was ogling the damage done by Big Show before they ran down the New Year’s Revolution card.

****Commercial****

Cena got on the mic after being introduced and got a few boos. He said it was 2006 and he was back. The fans booed him pretty bad. He ran down the line and insulted everyone in the chamber.

****Commercial****

First Blood Match
John Cena v. Kurt Angle

We came back to Angle suplexing the heck out of Cena to the delight of the crowd. He laid Cena out three times before Daivari exposed the turnbuckle pad. Angle beat on Cena on the mat. Cena blocked the attempt on the turnbuckle ring and fought back but got planted on a hip toss. Cena back body dropped Angle over the top and to the floor.

Cena pursued Angle and rammed his head into the steel steps. He chased Angle around the ring until they ended back inside. Daivari came up from behind and plastered Cena with Angle’s gold medal, leaving the champ in a heap.

Angle came to the outside and rammed Cena’s face off the apron and tossed him into the ring. Angle came right back and hit a belly to belly overhead suplex to plant the champ on the mat. Angle stomped away on Cena before elbowing him in the head desperately trying to make Cena bleed. He smashed Cena’s head off the turnbuckle ring and Cena tried to cover up his face.

Angle took the straps down and killed Cena with a big Angle slam. He stepped to the outside of the ring and grabbed a steel chair and brought it back into the ring. Cena ducked the chair shot attempt and fought back with some punches and hit his shoulder block. Cena grabbed the chair but Angle rolled out of the ring. Daivari jumped on Cena’s back but Cena threw him off.

Angle jumped Cena from behind and stomped away at him. He missed with a shot and Cena went for the FU but it was countered into a sunset flip and into the ankle lock. Cena kicked Angle off into referee Chad Patton, knocking him senseless.

Cena retrieved the chair and went to hit Angle but Daivari came back from behind. While Cena took care of Daivari Angle picked up the steel chair and plastered Cena. Cena was bleeding badly as Angle punched away on his head.

Angle backed off for a second to size Cena up for of all things, the FU. Cena wiggled out and avoided the inziguiri and got the STFU. Chad Patton came to however and noticed the blood and called for the bell.

Winner: Kurt Angle

Cena wouldn’t let go of the STFU until Daivari pried him off. Masters and Carlito jumped in and went to work on Cena. Angle called them off and clamped on the master lock. Out of nowhere, Masters clamped on the master lock and Carlito went after Daivari. Kane’s pyro hit and down he came. Kane came right for Masters and planted him with a choke slam and then did the same for Carlito. Daivari got the slam next. Out of nowhere HBK popped up and hit sweet chin music. HBK stared down Cena who was still bleeding badly. HBK turned his body to the side and went to plant Cena but got caught in the FU. All six men were laid out in the middle of the ring as we went off the air.

---

RAW THOUGHTS
The GOOD: The Triple H-Big Show segment was very, very well done tonight. All the major points of the feud were addressed and the deciding factor was introduced. Great blow off for New Year’s Revolution.

It’s been nice to see the Women’s division get a nice little push. Something more than just the title and two women who can’t wrestle but want to getting some airtime.
The Masters-Shelton match was also pretty decent. Surprisingly decent in fact. Give Masters a good opponent and he can hold his own. Oh yeah, Momma’s here. Look out.

The BAD: What happened to WRESTLING on a WRESTLING show? Is it too much to ask?

I’m also a little disappointed in the hasty build to Helms-Lawler. Nothing better for Helms to do other than beat up Lawler?

The Flair-Edge feud doesn’t seem to have any legs either. A decent attempt at making Edge look like a jerk face, but it didn’t come off the way I’d hoped.

The UGLY: Nothing was particularly ugly just the hasty build of a lot of these matches. The Elimination Chamber seems to be a few bland interlacing feuds with some also rans. No indication of underdogs or anything. Very bland and no incentive to buy the show.

I’m all for John Cena as much as the next guy but it’s becoming increasingly evident that he’s getting stale with even the marks. They liked some of his insults, but WWE may want to consider taking the belt off him Sunday to freshen him up a bit.

OVERALL-C : A much better show than last week, but still I was left with no sense of progression given a few moments in the show were actually pretty decent. Too much promo, not enough show. Angle-Cena did deliver however.

QUICK RESULTS

Kane def. Shawn Michaels
Maria def. Victoria
Chris Masters def. Shelton Benjamin
Kurt Angle def. John Cena

Biggest Pops
1. Mr. McMahon
2. John Cena
3. Shawn Michaels
4. Big Show

Most Heat
1. Kurt Angle
2. Triple H
3. Chris Masters
4. Mr. McMahon

Match of the Night: John Cena v. Kurt Angle-- **3/4

Power Rankings:

WWE Champion: John Cena (Last Week: WWE Champion)—Cena got a pretty nasty reception tonight from the New Jersey crowd this week. I’ve supported Cena for quite a while but the longer he holds this title, the worse this could get. It’s something to seriously consider heading into the chamber on Sunday.

Intercontinental Champion: Ric Flair (Last Week: IC Champion)—Another flat week for Flair who’s limited of course because of legal proceedings. The Edge match should be interesting enough and hopefully will be the end of what has been a stale feud thus far.

1.Triple H (Last Week: 1)—Triple H’s program with Big Show is really carrying the brand right now. A feud that is entirely logical and has been well executed in every respect. Hopefully, boys in the back are watching.

2.Shawn Michaels (Last Week: 2)—The McMahon feud thing doesn’t seem to be holding much water in my eyes. They seem to be trying too hard. However by some chance in hell Cena DOESN’T walk out with the WWE title this Sunday, Michaels would be the logical choice.

3.Chris Masters (Last Week: 3)—Masters looked good this week. He put on a good match and hopefully we’ll get a big spot or two out of him on Sunday. This is a learning experience for him so it’ll be interesting to see how he fits into the match on the whole.

4.Kurt Angle (Last Week: 5)—Now THAT is how you look intense. Angle, instead of being Cena’s bitch was exactly the opposite this week and put on the best match the two have had since the inception of this feud. Good week for Kurt and badly needed.

5. Big Show (Last Week: 6)—Again, the program with Triple H has been the best executed program WWE has put on in a while. Everything is logical and makes good sense and has been entertaining to boot. This is how you book a giant.

6.Kane (Last Week: 7)—Kane’s been set up nicely to play the monster for the chamber but I wouldn’t expect him to do much else then provide some big spots. A clean win over HBK always helps. Well, sort of clean.

7.Carlito (Last Week: 4)—After being pushed pretty hard the last three or four weeks, it was natural they’d chill on him a bit for the sake of Masters. Quiet week for Carlito.

8.Edge (Last Week: 8)—I’m glad to see Edge start to show something resembling personality these days but something just seemed awfully forced this week. I don’t think the IC title helps him any, but he may be the guy who ends up with it. Flair not being able to talk hasn’t helped things in this feud.

9.Shelton Benjamin (Last Week: 9)—Momma’s here. Should get a decent heel run and hopefully WWE doesn’t screw this up. It’s make or break time for Shelton’s career over the next few months. It’s important the Momma angle gets off on the right foot.

10.Gregory Helms (Last Week: NR)—I’m making a call that Helms will be Intercontinental Champion in a month or so. The Lawler thing could’ve had some more build up but at least it’s a start. WWE have faith in him or he wouldn’t be on the pay per view.

Dropping Out: Chavo Guererro (Last Week 10)

Any Questions, comments, or feedback send email me at Raw@wrestleview.com.

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