» On Monday, February 7, 2005 at 11:42 PM EST Historic Monday Night RAW
Feb. 7, 2005
Results courtesy of WWE.com
Edge waited his whole career for a one-on-one shot at the World Heavyweight Championship. And if you ask him, he’d say he still hasn’t gotten one.
Triple H took advantage of help from Evolution members Ric Flair and Batista to beat Edge during the first-ever RAW from Japan, eventually hitting the Pedigree for the win. But the result might have been different if Flair hadn't provided a distraction and Batista hadn’t delivered a spinebuster to Edge with the referee unconscious and a spear imminent.
Still, it can’t be overlooked that Triple H fought out of Edge’s signature submission, willing his way to the ring ropes to force the break. Ultimately, The Cerebral Assassin did what he had to do to — then let Evolution accomplish the rest. The result clearly left Edge even less satisfied than before getting this big opportunity in RAW’s main event.
William Regal wasn’t going to let the same thing happen during his World Tag Team Championship rematch against La Resistance. So, The Englishman brought an X-factor with him: Japan-native Tajiri. With the referee distracted late in the match, Tajiri displayed his superior agility by evading a flagpole swung by Sylvain Grenier. Tajiri used the opportunity to spray Grenier with the green mist, setting up his finisher. When Tajiri hit the Buzzsaw Kick, the 16,000-plus in attendance witnessed the crowning of new World Tag Team Champions.
The Saitama crowd also seemed to deeply appreciate a hard-fought Submission Match between two Superstars whose career path traveled through Japan 10 years ago. Chris Benoit forced Chris Jericho to tap to a second Crippler Crossface after bloodying his eye with a series of vicious headbutts.
Maven thought that Batista was “a fraud” — that if he had been in the Rumble, he would have been going to WrestleMania instead of Batista. Well, Batista put a big hole in that theory by dominating Maven and dropping him with a thunderous Batista Bomb. From start to crushing finish took Batista less than a minute.
But Batista’s celebration was cut short when yet another video aired showing a SmackDown! Superstar taking a shot at the man who will headline WrestleMania 21. This time, Big Show said in an interview that Batista is a “big fish in a small RAW pond.”
Will Batista jump ship to SmackDown! and challenge the WWE Champion in order to prove Big Show and JBL wrong? Or will Evolution’s animal take his shot at Triple H’s World Heavyweight Championship? Right now, it’s not even clear if Batista himself knows which way he’ll go. What is clear is that all these SmackDown! interruptions are beginning to get to the big man, who stormed up to Eric Bischoff to voice his displeasure. RAW’s General Manger not only promised to get to the bottom of it, he took the opportunity to pitch to Batista all the reasons why he should stay with the RAW brand. Triple H, however, seemed to hold the opposite view, seeing this as an opportunity for Evolution to hold both World titles simultaneously and dominate all of WWE.
Evolution’s dominance suffered a minor setback when “The Showstopper” stopped Ric Flair with a Superkick. The fans inside the Saitama Super Arena were treated to a match between two of WWE’s most storied and accomplished Superstars, and they didn’t disappoint. In the end, Flair had no answer for “Sweet Chin Music.”
Randy Orton now has cause for serious concern. He was able to beat Tyson Tomko on RAW. But the damage done during that match and a subsequent attack from Christian left Randy again seemingly suffering from post-concussion syndrome. He was concussed during the Royal Rumble and last week’s RAW, and perhaps he shouldn’t have competed in Japan — let alone fly. Orton may need to now take a step back and reassess his medical status before seeking retribution.
MATCH RESULTS:
Chris Benoit def. Chris Jericho (Submission Match)
Batista def. Maven
Tajiri & William Regal def. La Resistance (New World Tag Team Champions)
Shawn Michaels def. Ric Flair
Randy Orton def. Tyson Tomko
World Heavyweight Champion Triple H def. Edge