» On Tuesday, March 22, 2005 at 12:08 AM EST WWE RAW 3-21-2005
Commentators: Jim Ross and Jerry “The King” Lawler.
Live! From Birmingham, Alabama
Reported by: Hunter Golden of WrestleView.com
The opening pyro hit and JR and King welcomed us to Raw and prepped us for the first match: Shawn Michaels v. Rob Conway.
Shawn Michaels v. Rob Conway
HBK came out to a huge ovation as JR and King ran down last week’s “rocker’s” reunion. The two started up and HBK put Conway in a headlock. Conway countered and whipped HBK into the ropes and hit him with a stiff shoulder and followed with some stomps to the back. Conway went for the same set but missed as HBK slid out underneath the ring. Michaels pulled Conway out of the ring and knocked him down with a punch. HBK rolled back under the ropes as Grenier tended to Conway on the outside. Michaels used a sling shot over the top rope to knock both to the floor.
Once back in the ring the two exchanged chops on the outside before Conway whipped HBK hard into the buckle, causing HBK to spill over the top turnbuckle. Conway distracted the ref while Grenier knocked Michaels in the chest with his flag. Conway took advantage, pulling Michaels back into the ring and covered for a two count. The show went to commercial with Conway standing over HBK.
******Commercial*******
We came back to the action with Conway holding HBK in a pretty painful reverse chinlock. HBK rallied the crowd and countered. As he was gaining the advantage, he missed a shoulder block on Conway and went over the top rope but skinned the cat to get back into the ring. Michaels chopped Conway once before getting caught in Conway jawbreaker. Conway beat Michaels on the floor before HBK fought back, exchanging chops with Conway. Michaels then caught his second wind and hit a flying forearm followed by some chops and a back body drop. Sylvain Grenier then appeared on the apron and Michaels quickly dispatched the other member of La Resistance with a forearm to the head. After a scoop slam, Michaels scaled the ropes and hit his flying elbow. Michaels then tuned up the band and nailed Conway for the cover and the victory.
Winner: Shawn Michaels via pinfall.
JR and King then put over the Michaels-Angle match and showed a promo video of Kurt Angle and the history behind his assention to WWE greatness. The video was basically a giant highlight reel that tried to get over Angle’s ruthlessness.
Backstage, Tajiri and William Regal were walking Christy Hemme and Lita around. Christy said she was excited for her upcoming six man tag team match. In a more humorous moment, Christy offered to show Tajiri her kicks, and Tajiri said no, with memories of last week’s groin shot.
The six-man inter-gender tag team match is next!
*****Commercial*****
We’re back on the air with JR and King and they announce that Sylvester Stallone, of Rocky fame, will induct Hogan into the Hall of Fame. They also plugged his reality show “The Contender”.
Christy Hemme, Tajiri, and William Regal v. Molly Holly, Maven, and Simon Dean
Christy came out and JR and King put over her recent playboy shoot. Right after Maven, Dean, and Molly came in, WWE Women’s champion Trish Stratus made an impromptu arrival at ringside to check out the action.
Regal and Dean started off with Dean putting Regal in a hammerlock. Regal countered with a take down and put Dean into a headlock. He knocked Dean down for a cover and a kick out at one. Regal tagged in Tajiri and hit a double team drop toehold followed by a Tajiri leg drop. Tajiri was then tripped up by an interfering Maven who was eventually tagged in by Dean. Maven started with some stomps and then what looked like some really stiff punches before smashing Tajiri off the mat. Maven then tagged in Dean and they did some push-ups before Dean went for a cover and got a 2 count. Dean applied a front facelock which Tajiri almost fought out. Dean went to hit Regal and then turned around to be met by a spinning Tajiri kick. Tajiri tagged Christy and now we’re looking at Molly and Christ.
Molly took immediate action hitting a few axe handles before Christy regained the advantage with some kicks. Molly countered with a knee to the mid section and picked up Christy who countered into a sunset flip. Christy got a near pinfall before Dean interfered. Once order was restored, Molly went for a slam and the molly go round but missed. Christy quickly slapped Holly in the twist of fate and nailed it. Cover, 1,2, 3.
Winners: Christy Hemme, William Regal, and Tajiri via pinfall
After the match, JR and King put over the women’s title match.
Backstage, Triple H was walking out to the arena as JR said he had ‘something to say’.
*****Commercial*****
When we came back from commercial, they showed a Stone Cold clip from 1998 with Vince McMahon and put over the Piper’s Pit appearance at Wrestlemania 21.
Triple H’s music then hit and he came out to some pretty serious heat. Triple H pulled up a chair. Triple H talked about his sacrifices and how much he’s done for the business. He talks about what he went through taking Batista and Orton up through the ranks. He puts over Evolution again and went as far as to say they were unstoppable. But he admits they were wrong. Triple H pointed out that the irony was the only thing that could stop evolution was evolution itself. He said the jealousy and greed or Orton and Batista led to their demise. Hunter said that Orton was on top of the world during his time in Evolution. But now, Hunter said, he is squabbling for the scraps off the table at Wrestlemania. He goes off He pointed out that when Orton was in Evolution, he was a star…. Just like Batista. Triple H said that Batista had enough to beat Cena or JBL for the title but instead that Batista decided to turn on him instead. He insisted Batista wouldn’t win because he wasn’t good enough. Triple H pointed out that he was 10 time World Champ. He pointed out that the guy who said “I am a wrestling god’ is a joke. He insisted he was only one guy considered to be the man and he insisted it was him, Triple H talked about good and bad decisions and that Batista made a bad one. Triple H said that he was making Batista’s match with Kane a lumberjack match. He put over some lines about nurturing an animal to its health. He said sometimes they get sick and this time, not even congress was going to be able to keep Hunter from taking Batista off of life support at Wrestlemania 21. He concluded by saying he would “put the animal down’.
******Commercial*******
JR and King went on for a while about the six-man ladder match at Wrestlemania 21.
Chris Jericho and Shelton Benjamin v. Christian and Edge (w/ Tyson Tomko)
Christian and Jericho started off the match but it didn’t take long for the match to overflow to the outside. Jericho launched himself over the ropes with Shelton following up right behind him. Christian and Benjamin eventually ended up back in the ring where Christian hit a decent neckbreaker on Shelton before tagging in Edge and then tagging him back out just as quick. Eventually Benjamin was able to fight back and hit the tag to Jericho who came in and hit a big double bulldog on both Edge and Christian. Jericho hit a lionsault on Christian then tried to put Edge in the Walls of Jericho before Tomko distracted him.
*****Commercial******
When we came back from the break, Benjamin was battling with both Edge and Christian. The whole match was chaotic and eventually Jericho got hit in the stomach by a big Tyson Tomko boot at about the same time Shelton Benjamin hit a stinger splash on Christian. Eventually Benjamin caught a shot to the head from Christian with the ring bell while the referee was distracted. Edge made the cover for the win.
Winners: Edge and Christian via pinfall
After the match, the heels tried to attack the faces and Benoit came running in attempting to save the day. As he was beating down on Edge and Christian he was hit with a vicious ladder shot from behind by Tyson Tomko.
*******Commercial******
Ric Flair was backstage pumping up the lumberjacks telling them that Batista could have gone to Smackdown! And that they could have had the chance at the title at Wrestlemania. He also said he was looking for someone to step up and that there was an opening in Evolution.
Batista was backstage in his dresser room when there was a knock on the door. Raw GM Eric Bischoff entered and apologized about the Lumberjack match later that night. He also said he’d be proud of Batista if he won the World Heavyweight Championship at Wrestlemania. Batista sort of laughed and said that Bischoff should run for office. Bischoff said it was funny that Batista brought that up because there was an election in his hometown a few weeks ago. Batista laughed and shook his head and said ‘na.. you’d make a better card salesman”.
Orton was backstage with Stacy Kiebler. He asked her to accompany him to the ring because he had a message for the Undertaker.
*****Commercial******
Orton was in the ring and played a clip of his illustrious career and talked about his slapping the Undertaker last week on Smackdown!. Orton said he had a message for the Undertaker. RKO on Stacy. Orton just stared down at Stacey with a sick stare. The referees came to the ring to tend to Kiebler as Orton walked back up the ramp. JR and King called him sick and put over the fact that if Orton could hurt his own girlfriend, that it was unimaginable what he’d do to the Undertaker.
*******Commercial*******
Another video package showing Hulk Hogan’s victory over Randy Savage at Wrestlemania V.
Tyson Tomko v. Chris Benoit
JR and King put over the happenings earlier in the night when Tomko attacked Chris Benoit. Tomko came out fast, kneeing Benoit (whose ribs were taped) out of the ring. He threw Benoit back in the ring and went after him before having his charge countered into the three Germans. Benoit went on the attack and hit his headbutt off the top rope and covered for a two count. Tomko quickly would gain the advantage and landed a plethora of punches. Tomko backed up to set up his big boot but it was quickly countered into the crippler crossface. Tomko fought off Benoit’s “ripping and tearing’ for about ten to fifteen seconds before tapping out.
Winner: Chris Benoit
Muhammad Hassan and Daivari interrupted Shawn Michaels mid conversation. Hassan said he knew nothing of the adversity he had to face on a daily basis. Hassan went on about how he was entitled to be on the Wrestlemania 21 card because he had never been pinned. Michaels then cut off a screaming Daivari and said that he had a problem with Hassan because he always felt like he was entitled to everything when he deserved nothing. Michaels, however, said he’d give Hassan the chance to prove himself next week on Raw.
******Commercial*******
JR and King came back chuckling about how funny the latest new Wrestlemania 21 trailer was and asked us to check out wwe.com to vote for our favorite one.
Triple H’s music then hit and he was followed out to the ringside area by the lumberjacks as JR and King put over the upcoming match between Batista and Kane.
Kane v. Batista is next!
*******Commercial********
Triple H joined JR and King in the announce booth just in time to get the news that Hunter would be facing Batista in a ‘face off’. It was also made official: Shawn Michaels will face Muhammad Hassan next week on Raw.
Batista v. Kane --- Lumberjack Match
Batista came out to a really big pop and sauntered over to the announce side of the ramp to taunt Triple H and Ric Flair. The two started up in a lock up which ended up being backed into the corner. Kane eventually got the advantage but had an Irish whip reversed and was caught in a Batista powerslam. Batista then got distracted by Daivari on the outside and was caught by Kane who hit Batista and threw him back in the ring. Kane followed with a big boot followed by an elbow. Kane went for a big shoulder block but was eventually caught by a big Batista Clothesline. Batista backed Kane into the corner but had an Irish whip countered. La Resistance persisted to double team Batista in the corner. When Batista finally escaped their grasp he was met by a Kane DDT in the middle of the ring. Kane choked the Animal out on the bottom rope before taking him to the corner and working him over a bit before another big Irish whip with a follow up clothes line. Kane went for the cover and only got 2. Batista fought back a bit but was knocked back down with a shot to the throat. Kane hit another big left before choking Batista out on the ropes with his leg. Kane continued to punch on Batista in the corner before Batista ended up fighting back, backing Kane into the corner. He went for another whip but it was again countered by Kane who followed up with a big sidewalk slam. Kane went to the top rope but was met by Batista. Batista soon turned the tables hitting Kane with a sumplex and his big lariat clothesline. Batista covered but only got two. Batista picked up Kane but got caught in and set up for a choke slam. Batista powered out of it and tried to hit a Batista bomb. Kane escaped after the two collided coming off the ropes. Kane was on the outside and proceeded to club the entire outside lumberjacks. Batista went to help out before he was jumped by La Resistance and Masters. Kane was jumped inside the ring by Edge, Christian, and Tyson Tomko. Batista eventually propelled La Resistance and Masters away. He tossed Maven into the steps and came back in and was met by Edge who he hit a big spinebuster on. Batista, however, had his momentum stopped as he got hit with Kane’s chokeslam. Kane covered and only got a two count. He went to finish off Batista who had got to his feet by now but got caught in the big spinebuster. Batista took full advantage and set Kane up for the Batista bomb. He hit the move and covered Kane for the 1, 2, 3.
Winner: Batista via pinfall
Batista then got on the ropes and taunted Triple H who looked on in disbelief as the show went off the air. RAW THOUGHTS
The Good—Orton looks like he’s going heel. But again, it was difficult to tell because of the way JR and King put him over afterwards. I thought that added to the mystery a bit though. Orton is actually a little interesting again and it should be fun to see it all unfold. Nice to see Orton with a bit of an edge again.
I was also enjoyed the constant involvement and interaction with the six participants in the ladder match. Very well done and they all had a little tie in here and there. Well done.
Triple H’s promo was gold tonight. Absolutely the best promo I’ve heard him cut in the past year or two.
The Bad—Again, this week, no interaction between Angle and Michaels, who look to be having some sort of silly wrestling pose down through television glass. The video package was great and all, but there just isn’t any interaction between these two. With their ring skills rapidly depleting, you’d think they’d turn to their great skills on the mic to get this feud more over. I guess not.
Christy Hemme doesn’t look ready to be in a women’s title match either. She looked pretty poor tonight with the exception of four moves. I’ll cut her the slack on this, but not WWE ‘s booking team, who have two other very talented females who could have and would have stepped up.
The Ugly—I’m usually not alarmist, but the Batista-Triple H feud is losing momentum fast. Now Batista looked damn powerful tonight and they did a good job of getting Batista over more. It definitely didn’t help the feud though. Then the whole teasing a new member in Evolution thing with no follow through was another ‘what?” moment.
Overall—I liked tonight’s show. Not too over the top and every feud was built at least a little bit. I am worried about the Batista-Triple H feud and I’m becoming increasingly antsy about Christy Hemme in a Wrestlemania match. Other then that, it was a lot of okay, and some not okay.—Grade: C+
Quick Results
Shawn Michaels def. Rob Conway
Christy Hemme, William Regal, and Tajiri def. Molly Holly, Maven, and Simon Dean
Edge and Christian def. Shelton Benjamin and Chris Jericho
Chris Benoit def. Tyson Tomko
Batista def. Kane in a lumberjack match
Who’s Hot, Who’s Not
Biggest Pops-
Batista
Shawn Michaels
Chris Jericho
Most Heat-
Triple H
Randy Orton
Edge and Christian
Match of the Night: Shelton Benjamin & Chris Jericho v. Christian & Edge (**1/4)
Any Questions, comments, or feedback email me at Raw@wrestleview.com