RAW Results - 2/6/06 - Atlanta, GA - (WrestleMania 22 Tournament)
On Monday, February 6, 2006 at 11:38 PM EST Just a quick reminder that although WWE Monday Night RAW will not be airing live on the USA Network next Monday, February 13, RAW will be airing live in Canada on TSN, meaning that WrestleView.com will be providing live play by play coverage for RAW next week.
WWE RAW
February 6, 2006
Atlanta, GA
Commentators: Jonathan Coachman, Joey Styles & Jerry “The King” Lawler
Reported By: Hunter Golden of WrestleView.com
A video package aired putting over the contestants in the Road to Wrestlemania 22 tournament, which starts tonight.
The opening credits and pyro hit and here we go.
Coach, Styles, and King welcomed us to the show. Tonight we’ll see the uncensored Candice Michelle Super Bowl commercial in addition to the opening round of the road to Wrestlemania tournament.
Edge’s music hit and he came down to the ring with Lita. Edge grabbed the mic to a chorus of boos. Maria put over Lita hitting him with the WWE title last week. Edge cut her off an told her to shut up. He said that next week live on Raw, there would be a huge match for the WWE Championship next week between himself and John Cena. He wanted to know why he got a rematch and it was simple, that he beat John Cena last week.
He said the DQ happened when Lita hit him in the head with the WWE title. He said everyone asked him what’s going on with Lita and that maybe she is having second thoughts regarding him. He said the only person who could answer that question was Lita. He said hold on and that he was four moves ahead of everyone. He said none of it mattered because he got his shot next week. He said the winner of the tournament would be facing him. The crowd loudly chanted ‘you suck’ as he talked.
He turned to Maria and said that when she introduced him he shouldn’t introduce him as ‘former’ WWE Champion. She said he should be happy that he was a former champion. Lita said ‘I got this one babe’. Lita said Maria could take the mic and announce Edge as the future WWE Champion.
Maria begrudgingly announced Edge as the future WWE Champion. Out of nowhere HACKSAW JIM DUGGAN’S music hit the arena.
Duggan grabbed the mic and cut Edge off and told him to take it easy. He said he heard that McMahon was looking for a special guest referee for the title match next week. He said who better to call it straight down the middle then Jim Duggan. Edge went to talk and Hacksaw just started a USA chant for no reason.
Edge asked him what that had to do with anything. He said he had been making Lita’s life a hell. Duggan didn’t see the big deal and paused before saying all he called her was a….. and then gave a big ‘hooooooo’. Edge jumped Duggan and grabbed his 2 X 4 and nailed him with it. Lita cornered Maria and backed her into the buckles before slapping her. She picked her up and tossed her across the mat by the hair.
Edge lined her up for the spear before John Cena came running down to make the save. Edge and Lita bailed out of the ring and the two taunted Cena from the ramp to end the segment.
Chris Masters v. Kane in the first round of the Road To Wrestlemania tournament is next!
****Commercial****
Road To Wrestlemania 22 Tournament --- Quarter Finals
Kane v. Chris Masters
The two locked up in the middle of the ring. Masters backed Kane into the corner and had a punch blocked and countered. Kane slammed Masters head into the buckles and tossed him off the ropes and hit a back elbow. Kane missed the elbow drop and Masters capitalized with some punches before mounting Kane in the corner. Kane shoved Masters off and followed with a clothesline and teed off of Masters with some punches before Masters countered with a swinging neck breaker.
Kane sat up and took Masters by the throat and tossed him into the corner. He caught an elbow coming into the corner and was dropped on the turnbuckles. Masters looked for the master lock but Kane caught him with some big right hands and a boot to the face. Kane followed up with some Irish whips and a big side walk slam.
Kane ascended the ropes and came off with his clothesline but Masters caught the arm and went for the Masterlock. Kane fought out and almost caught the choke slam but Masters fought out. The two came off the ropes at each other and Masters again almost caught the master lock. Kane dropped Masters on the turnbuckles and as he came off the buckles, Masters quickly regained his bearings and went for the master lock. Kane dropped to his back to counter the hold but Masters just dropped down and grabbed the middle rope for leverage and scored the clean pin on Kane.
Winner: Chris Masters via pin fall
Edge was talking to Vince McMahon. He said that he thought Lita should be the special guest referee. McMahon said he thought she’d be a bit biased. Lita said she would do favors for him to persuade him. McMahon said he thought he was repugnant for doing that. He said he thought qualities like that were…. Interesting. He said he liked Edge’s drive.
He said tonight, they’d have a chance at naming the special guest referee. He said there’d be a match to determine who’d pick the special guest referee. He said it’d be a tag match pitting Lita & Edge v. John Cena & Maria.
Ashley was in the back getting ready for her match against Mickie James.
A clip aired putting over a special Thursday night Raw in two weeks.
****Commercial****
Special Guest Referee: Trish Stratus
Ashley v. Mickie James
The bell ring and the jovial James came at Ashley viciously. She stomped away on Ashley and kneed her back to the mat. James had an Irish whip reversed but caught Ashley coming in. Ashley avoided the head scissors and Mickie nailed Trish accidentally coming off the ropes. Ashley rolled Mickie up for the three count right after that and walked up the ramp with Trish.
Winner: Ashley via pin fall
Mickie looked confused after the match.
Ric Flair v. Triple H in the Wrestlemania 22 Tournament is later tonight!
****Commercial****
Over the break the Spirit Squad introduced themselves to us all.
Trish was in the back when Mickie James caught up with her and apologized for hitting her during the match. She said she came across overly passionate at times. She said she loved Trish as a friend. Jack, Trish’s new date came up, and was introduced to Mickie. Mickie looked despondent.
Shelton Benjamin was in the back with Mama. He said he was going to confront Ric Flair and tell him that he was going to win the Intercontinental Championship. He said he had called him a Mama’s Boy. Mama said that Shelton couldn’t just leave him because some super freak would bring some craziness to her. Shelton said she saw what happened to Viscera and Goldust when they messed with her. He said he’d be right back and walked off.
An action figure showed up over her shoulder and Eugene scared her. He said he saw her in a good movie called Big Mama’s House 2. He asked her if he could take her ‘Whig’ off. He said Big Mama ruled and Shelton came to the rescue. She slapped him for leaving her alone again. She said she needed some oxygen.
Flair-Triple H is next!
****Commercial****
The first Wrestlemania moment of the year aired which featured Kane giving the tombstone to Pete Rose.
Road To Wrestlemania 22 Tournament --- Quarter Finals
Triple H v. Ric Flair
Flair strutted around to start off the match. The two circled up and locked up in the middle of the ring. Flair tossed Triple H off a headlock and was met with a shoulder block. Triple H came off the ropes again but got caught in a side headlock take down. Triple H backed Flair into the corner and went to punch Flair but it was reversed and Flair landed some punches and chops before sending Triple H off the ropes and getting nailed with the Harley Race high Knee. Triple H went for the pedigree and Flair tossed him up and over the top rope and to the floor.
****Commercial****
Flair kept the pressure on HHH after the break. Eventually Flair clamped on the figure four leg lock and nearly got Triple H to tap, but he reached the bottom rope. The two got to their feet and exchanged blows before Flair mistakenly caught the referee with a thumb to the eyes. Flair was caught with a low blow. Flair fought back with some chops and punches but got nailed with a kick to the gut coming off the ropes. Triple H saddled up the pedigree and nailed it for the pin fall win.
Winner: Triple H via pin fall
After the match, the commentators plugged and aired the godaddy.com commercial Candice Michelle participated in. They also plugged her coming appearance on the Tonight Show later this week.
Maria was nervous about her upcoming match backstage. Cena came up and said things would be fine and kissed her. He gave her a pat on the backside to end the segment.
****Commercial****
Shawn Michaels came out to the ring for his QuarterFinal match against the Big Show. Mr. McMahon’s music immediately hit and he came out to the ring. He said tonight would be HBK’s lucky night. If he kissed his ass all around the ring he’d let him go. When Michaels refused McMahon didn’t seem overly upset and said that the lucky night would happen next week when Michaels would be required to show up for his own retirement party. He said since HBK was no longer a part of the active roster, he had to forfeit his spot in the Wrestlemania 22 tournament.
****Commercial****
Road to Wrestlemania 22 Tournament --- Quarter Finals
Big Show v. Shelton Benjamin
Mama distracted Big Show and Shelton sneaked up and absolutely plastered Show with a crescent kick and knocked the big man to the outside. Shelton came flying over the top rope but got nailed with a chop on the way down. Mama tried to get Big Show’s attention again and Show screamed her down. She clutched her chest and fell down on the outside.
In the ring Show caught Shelton in the choke slam and nailed it and got the cover for the victory.
Winner: Big Show via pin fall
Show realized what happened and looked concerned as the EMT’s looked at Mama. Shelton became aware of the situation and tried to get at her as the EMT’s held him back.
****Commercial****
Over the break Shelton’s Mama was carted off by the EMT’s.
Carlito was in the back with Todd Grisham. Todd asked him about his coming match with Rob Van Dam. Carlito responded in Spanish. Carlito said he taught RVD some respect last summer. He said he wouldn’t be getting even with Carlito tonight. He said he belonged in the main event of Wrestlemania and the company needed him there. He said that was cool.
The Smackdown rebound aired.
Road to Wrestlemania 22 Tournament --- Quarter Finals
Carlito v. Rob Van Dam
Van Dam chased Carlito around the ring and hit a big clothesline on the outside. Van Dam hit some forearms and tossed Carlito back into the ring. Carlito met RVD with some stomps but RVD quickly recovered and hit some kicks, which floored Carlito.
The two brawled to the outside again and RVD maintained control. He draped Carlito onto the guardrail and hit his cork screw leg drop.
****Commercial****
We came back to Carlito in control, attempting to wear RVD down with a reverse chin lock. Van Dam fought out of the hold but was met with a Carlito drop kick. Carlito got a two count on the cover attempt before stomping and punching away at Van Dam on the mat. Carlito choked RVD on the ropes before gathering him and whipping him into the ropes and hitting a reverse elbow. Carlito again went for the cover and only got a two count.
Carlito clamped on another chin lock, and again RVD fought out of it. RVD hit a low drop kick to the knees before hitting a big hip toss. He followed it up with Rolling Thunder twice. He went for the cover attempt but Carlito kicked out. RVD planted Carlito with a body slam but missed the springboard moon sault. Carlito rolled up RVD and held the tights but somehow RVD kicked out.
Carlito uncorked a springboard front flip senton and got a two count on the cover. RVD fought out of a waist lock but Carlito hit a major league lung blower to ground Van Dam again. Carlito again couldn’t get the cover and let the referee hear about it. Frustrated, Carlito went for a chair ringside. The referee stopped him and Van Dam hit a Van Terminator and followed it with a big five star frog splash for the pin fall victory.
Winner: Rob Van Dam
RVD celebrated with the crowd after the match as Styles put him over as the best wrestler to never win the WWE Championship.
Next week’s match ups are as follows: Chris Masters v. RVD; Triple H v. Big Show.
****Commercial****
Winner Picks the Special Guest Referee
Edge & Lita v. John Cena & Edge
Edge jumped Cena to get the match going but Cena got the upper hand quickly. Cena whipped Edge to the buckles twice before planting him with a fisherman’s suplex. Cena came at Edge but Edge ducked out of harm’s way and Cena crashed into the ring post. Edge forced Maria to tag in after planting Cena with a suplex.
On the outside Edge whipped Cena into the ring steps to put him out of commission. Edge tagged in Lita. Lita yanked Maria into the ring by her hair. Lita patted Maria on the butt before choking her out on the bottom rope as Edge mocked her. Lita stomped on Maria’s back before gathering her and planting a knee to her gut. Lita wrenched the arm and hit a Russian leg sweep.
Lita went for a spear of her own but missed and Maria caught the hot tag to Cena. Cena hit some punches and then his inverted suplex. Cena went for the five-knuckle shuffle but was distracted by Lita. Edge took the advantage and tagged in Lita who missed the hurricanranna and planted Edge with it.
Lita showed Cena her boobs and Edge missed a spear and nailed Lita. Cena tagged in Maria who scurried into the ring and covered Lita for the win.
Winners: John Cena & Maria via pin fall
Cena grabbed the mic and pointed out that he got to pick the special guest referee for the championship match next week. He said he found someone and that they were in town tonight. He said they had accepted. He said without further adieu, he’d introduce him.
The referee ended up being MICK FOLEY. Foley and Cena taunted Edge from inside the ring.
The Good-- Despite the “Ho” thing being a little overplayed, I actually enjoyed the opening segment with the Jim Duggan appearance. Next week’s match is a clear segue into the proposed Foley-Edge program for Wrestlemania 22 so it looks like that’s what we’re going to get.
Carlito has been whipping out some cool new stuff every week it seems and he’s finally getting somewhat of an interesting move set. Trick will be to see if he can start using those moves effectively to put on well thought out matches.
The heart attack thing, while a little overplayed, is an interesting thing to go at with the Shelton-Mama thing. Maybe this’ll give his character the edge it’s been lacking in recent months. I’m interested.
Although the match was clunky, I am happy that Chris Masters is working on as many counters for his Master lock as he can. He’s really starting to ground his work a bit. He doesn’t NEED to put on great matches right now, he just needs to develop and he’s doing all the right things.
Flair-Triple H impressed me again tonight.
The Bad-- To anyone that follows WWE in any capacity in the ‘smark’ role, this Wrestlemania tournament couldn’t be more painfully predictable. It’s so incredibly custom built for Triple H to win it’s almost scary with him resolving disputes with Flair and Big Show along the way. It’ll be RVD-HHH in the finals and it’s likely that someone’s screwing over RVD.
The Ugly-- As much as I appreciate Ashley’s willingness to actually gasp wrestle on Raw, she’s clearly not ready to be in the ring. The finishes of both Mickie James matches were absolutely awkward in every respect and that has to do almost exclusively with Ashley. A stint in OVW would do her wonders as I think she’s got all the potential in the world, but just doesn’t have the goods yet to deliver on TV in any other role other than eye candy.
Overall- B- -- I really liked how this show was planned out. The title tournament and angles sandwiched between the Edge-Cena program. It worked pretty well I thought. Nothing overly noteworthy but nothing overly bad either. Just a bland Raw on all accounts.
Quick Results
Road To Wrestlemania 22 Tournament—Quarter Final Results
Chris Masters def. Kane
Rob Van Dam def. Carlito
Triple H def. Ric Flair
Big Show def. Shelton Benjamin
Ashley def. Mickie James
John Cena & Maria def. Edge & Lita
Who’s Hot, Who’s Not
Biggest Pops
1. Shawn Michaels
2. Rob Van Dam
3. John Cena
4. Big Show
Most Heat
1. Edge
2. Carlito
3. Chris Masters
4. Triple H
Match of the Night: Ric Flair v. Triple H **1/4
Power Rankings:
WWE Champion: John Cena (Last Week: WWE Champion)—Cena got another so so reaction tonight and I have to admit I’m a little baffled. The fans don’t seem to be able to make their minds up one way or another and that should make management nervous heading into Wrestlemania. Again, this is all the more reason that Cena shouldn’t be headlining the show this year.
Intercontinental Champion: Ric Flair (Last Week: IC Champion)—Flair held his own again against Triple H tonight. He’s compensated for his otherwise immobile body with sound psychology and placing greater meaning on the few things he does do. I just wish they’d have him do SOMETHING other than wear the Intercontinental Championship around like a charm bracelet.
1.Edge (Last Week: 1)—Edge won’t be winning next week but I’m very, very interested to see how this whole Mick Foley program works out. Edge will obviously go over and it DOES cater to bumping, which is Edge’s strong suit. We’ll see how they go with the first step next week.
2. Triple H (Last Week: 2)—Triple H is going to win this tournament easily, but it’s interesting to see what else they’ll have him doing up until the Cena program starts up. Another strong outing against Ric Flair tonight.
3.Chris Masters (Last Week: 5)—Masters gets a respectable bump from me this week. He’s doing all the right things in order to turn himself into a competent worker in the ring. A win puts him into the semi finals for next week. RVD is a tough opponent for Masters and he’ll have to do a lot more moving. Should be interesting.
4.Shawn Michaels (Last Week: 3)—HBK’s feud with McMahon has been otherwise unmentioned by me tonight and really it’s not worth mentioning. I’ve seen this all before. It was Austin-McMahon from a few years ago. Horribly predictable although the execution has been sound.
5. Big Show (Last Week: 7)—Skips up a few spots after a good win this week. It’ll be interesting to see this whole Mama thing pan out if they decide to pursue Show in this role. Has the elements to also turn Show heel if need be.
6.Rob Van Dam(Last Week: NR)—RVD looked like RVD as usual tonight. High spots and lots of them. He’s wildly over and I think he may be in for a push in the recent future. If he’s not, considering his overness, WWE may want to consider doing so.
7. Carlito (Last Week: 7)—As mentioned above, Carlito uncorks a new move almost every week. He looked damn impressive tonight, but it’s going to be a matter of him piecing all these new moves into something that works logically if he’s to get to the next level. Strong outing again for Carlito however, and he’s still showing signs of improvement.
8. Kane (Last Week: 6)—Kane doesn’t seem to be doing much of anything these days. I know they had flirted with the idea of a Big Show program for him, but it seems far off right now for whatever reason. Just sort of meandering aimlessly throughout the mid card yet again.
9.Shelton Benjamin (Last Week: 8)—Shelton drops a bit this week but is still looking more and more solid every week. Mama is a good mouthpiece for him and the new look tights really help me get away from that Power Rangers picture I’ve had of him all these years.
10.Chavo Guererro (Last Week: 9)—No TV appearance tonight. No Change.
Dropping Out: None
Any Questions, comments, or feedback send email me at Raw@wrestleview.com.