» On Monday, May 16, 2005 at 11:42 PM EST WWE Raw May 16, 2005
Live! From Omaha, Nebraska
Commentators: Jim Ross and Jerry “The King” Lawler
Reported By: Hunter Golden of Wrestleview.com
The opening pyro hit and JR and King welcomed us to the show, putting over the finals of the ‘Gold Rush’ tournament later tonight between Kane and Edge.
Shelton Benjamin & Chris Jericho v. Mohammed Hassan and Daivari
The action went back and forth with Benjamin and Jericho controlling the early going. Shelton hit a big Stinger splash in the corner. Eventually, Hassan gained the advantage working over Benjamin for the first three minutes. Eventually Benjamin made the tag to Jericho who came in and hit a big cross body on Hassan, nearly gaining the pinfall had it not been for a Daivari save. Benjamin came leaping in to take out Daivari. Jericho tried to clamp the Walls of Jericho on Hassan, but had to fight off a very persistent Daivari. Jericho went at Daivari but turned around to get nailed by Hassan’s over-drive face buster finisher and covered for the 1, 2, 3.
Winners: Mohammed Hassan & Daivari via pinfall
****Commercial****
Chris Benoit was in the back with Tajiri. Benoit said that Paul Heyman had called him earlier and invited him to take part in the ECW One Night Stand pay per view in June. Tajiri said that Heyman had also called him. Benoit said that he wanted to have a match with ECW rules later that night. Tajiri agreed
Eric Bischoff was with Ric Flair and said that he was refusing to call Triple H and call him back to Raw. Flair tweaked and Bischoff told him to deal with it. Flair stormed off and ran into Batista in the hallway. He said that all the problems in his life were a result of Batista’s actions. Batista insisted that it had little to do with him and that Triple H’s problems were all a result of Triple H’s actions. Batista said he didn’t owe Evolution a thing and only owes gratitude to Flair because he was who he got his start with. Flair seemed slightly taken aback. Batista invited Flair to hang out and that he had a tribute for Ric Flair. He tried to do some woos and Flair chuckled countering with his own woo. Batista then told Flair he was the man and the segment ended.
****Commercial****
Ric Flair v. Christian
The two teased hands, and Flair went into his styling and profiling. Christian then sent Flair into the ropes and knocked him down with a shoulder block and did his own strut. Flair gouged Christian’s eyes, but was sent into the ropes and nailed with a back body drop. The action spilled into the corner with the two exchanged chops and punches. Flair eventually gained the advantage and knocked down Capt. Charisma and scaled the ropes. He was caught and tossed down to the mat with a hard slam. Christian went on the offensive hitting an Irish whip before nailing Flair over the top rope and to the outside with a clothesline. Tomko interfered while Christian distracted the ref. Back in the ring Christian sumplexed Flair and got a two count on the cover. The two ended up exchanging shots again with Flair again gaining the advantage with his hard chops. Christian wobbled and then hit the ground much like the Flair flop. Flair went for the figure four but was tripped up by Tomko. Christian rolled him up but was caught by the ref holding the ropes. The ref started the five count and in the midst of doing so, Flair reversed the roll up and grabbed the tights and got the 1, 2, 3 and the win.
Winner: Ric Flair
After the match Tomko and Christian protested the pinfall and eventually jumped Flair double teaming him. All of a sudden Batista’s music hit and he tore his way down to the ring. He pummeled Tomko but eventually Christian jumped in and gained a brief advantage before Batista countered with a huge clothesline. He nailed Tomko with the spine-buster before nailing a Batista bomb on both Christian and Tomko in succession. Flair and Batista stared at each other as Batista went to exit the ring and walked up the ramp. Flair was back in the ring looking on confused.
Lita and Christy were in the back, and the two were wishing each other good luck. Edge came storming in and said he needed to speak with Lita. He told her that he wanted Lita to tell Kane what he did to Shawn Michaels was nothing compared to what he was going to do to Kane tonight. He told Lita he’d defeat Kane and go on to face Batista for the World Heavyweight Championship.
****Commercial****
Christian was in the back bemoaning his loss to Ric Flair. Maria came in and asked him if he was hurt. He called her an idiot and told her to get out of here. He told Tomko that the deal with Flair wasn’t over, not by a long shot.
Chris Master’s music hit and he did his usual poses at the top of the ramp before waking down to the ring.
He grabbed the mic and said that we’d get another edition of the master lock challenge tonight. He upped the purse to $2,000 and a one way plane ticket to anywhere in the United States, saying that after all, nowhere was worse than Omaha, NE. He picked a man out with a funny beard, wearing a Batista shirt. The guy sat down and Masters clamped on the master lock. He jerked the person around for a little while before the fan tapped. Steven Richards then leaped out of nowhere and went right after Masters.
The brawl spilt out onto the floor before heading back into the ring. A chair was slid into the ring and Masters took off talking smack moving off the ramp.
Edge was in the back warming up and was all of a sudden choked by Kane. Kane told him that if he ever talked to Lita again, he would ‘end him’. He said he could ‘bank on it’ and released him and Edge was left gagging up against a wooden pallet.
****Commercial****
ECW music hit and they put over the upcoming ECW rules match.
Chris Benoit v. Tajiri—ECW Rules Match
Benoit started off with some boots to the midsection and a few chops. He whipped Tajiri into the corner but Tajiri avoided the follow up and caught Benoit in the tarantula. Tajiri went for some strikes but was caught with some Benoit chops. Benoit went for an overhead belly to belly sumplex but Tajiri landed on his feet and hit a hard kick. Benoit ended up out side the ring where Benoit slammed Tajiri’s head off the steps hard before going shopping for some weapons. Benoit pulled out a ladder from under the ring and threw it under the ropes and went to go retrieve Tajiri who was out on his feet. Benoit put Tajiri on a table outside the ring as Benoit set up the ladder up in the ring. Benoit scaled the ladder and looked on as the crowd went berserk. He motioned for the head-butt, but Coach came out to the ring and had the match stopped. Benoit looked on as Eric Bischoff’s music hit the arena and Bischoff grabbed the mic.
Bischoff ended the match saying that it was made while he was busy and without his knowledge. That met a chorus of boos from the Omaha crowd. Bischoff said he’d never sanction an ECW match and never would. He said that ECW was pure garbage. Bischoff then went on to ‘ban ECW from Raw”. He said it couldn’t be chanted in the building, discussed in the locker room, and if he saw one ECW sign in the locker room, he’d have it confiscated. He prohibited any member of the Raw roster to take part in the ECW pay per view and banned all three letters from Raw. He said he’d show up at the pay per view with a group of Raw superstars to put an end to the ECW forever.
Winner: No contest
Candice Michelle was in the back getting ready for her lingerie pillow fight against Christy Hemme.
****Commercial****
Christy Hemme v. Candice Michelle—Lingerie Pillow Fight
The two disrobed and mounted the pink bed in the middle of the ring. Candice sporting pink and black with Christy wearing teal blue. The two grabbed the pillows and exchanged “blows” in the middle of the ring. Christy eventually hit a shot that exploded the pillow and pursued Candice. Candice then tipped over the bed and chased Christy outside the ring. Christy seemed a little dis-oriented and went and grabbed another pillow. Candice eventually threw Christy Hemme into the corner but Christy did a neat looking leap frog and rolled up Candice for the ‘win’.
Winner: Christy Hemme via pinfall
Viscera’s music then hit the arena and he made his way down to the ring in a suit. JR put over Viscera’s two big appetites; one for groceries and one for women. Viscera grabbed the mic and said that the lingerie pillow fight really turned him on. He said everyone knew what happened when big Vis was turned on as he swerved his hips. The two ladies ran out of the ring terrified. Viscera shook off the gesture and said that there was only one thing that really turned him on and that was Lillian Garcia. He said he saw three things; Himself, Lillian, and a ‘nice plush bed’. He said there was only one thing missing from the situation as he made his way over to her. The missing thing was some food. He went up to a woman in the crowd and planted one on her lips. He took her cotton candy as the woman looked smitten with him. He made his way back over to Lillian and asked her to come to the ring with him so he could show her a few surprises.
Viscera asked her to spruce up the bed and put a few pillows on the bed. He dusted off some of the spilt feathers off the bed and laid down on the bed. He invited her to join him on the bed. Lillian sat on the corner of the bed. Viscera said he like his women nice and relaxed. He offered Lillian some cotton candy as he licked it in a kind of weird way before handing it to her. Lillian ate some of the cotton candy as Viscera compared himself to the cotton candy, that he’d melt in her mouth too. He asked for the lights to be turned down and had some music played. Some old seventies music played (Can’t get Enough of Your Love Babe by Barry White) and Viscera began to sing to a huge pop from the crowd. Lillian smiled as Viscera asked her if she liked his singing. Viscera then gave Lillian his hotel room key and invited her to his hotel later tonight in room 469 and said he’d be waiting. The Barry White music hit again and Viscera laid back on the bed as he watched Lillian leave the ring.
Kane was in the back with Lita as Lita was questioning whether or not she should be out at the ring tonight because Edge really freaked her out. Kane wanted her out there badly because he wanted her to see him beat Edge . Lita thought it was good and then planted a huge kiss on Kane.
****Commercial****
King and JR came back and JR put over the big brief case shot last week gave HBK a concussion.
A video package then aired recapping the gold rush tournament.
The brackets were shown and JR put over the fact that the winner would face Batista next Monday night in Green Bay, WI.
Shelton Benjamin was in the back with Chris Jericho and asked him if he was okay after tonight’s match. Jericho said that when you’ve been around as long as he has, losing a match doesn’t bother you much anymore. Jericho put over all his media accomplishments as well as being the first Undisputed Champion. He handed a “Fozzy” CD to Shelton and invited him to the concert. He said losing the match was ‘no big deal’. Jericho left as Benjamin looked on befuddled.
****Commercial****
World Tag Team Championship
Team Hero w/ Stacy Kiebler v. Maven and Simon Dean
Rosey and Maven started off the match circling each other. Maven charged in with some forearms before clamping on a headlock. Rosey quickly threw him off and hit him with a huge power slam. Hurricane jumped in and Rosey dropped him on Maven. Maven eventually countered and hit a dropkick and a short cover. Simon Dean was tagged in and hit a slam before getting a one count on the cover. Dean put Hurricane in a front face lock before tagging in Maven and hitting a double sumplex. Maven then went to work hitting Hurricane with some hard punches to the back of the head. Dean was tagged back in and hit a back kick and a snap mare take down before clamping on a reverse chin-lock. Hurricane fought back and eventually hit a knock down clothesline. Rosey was tagged in and he hit two right hands on Maven before hitting a huge back body drop. Dean came in but got caught in a body slam. Rosey repeated the punishment on Maven and plopped the two on each other. Rosey went for a choke slam but Dean and Maven fought out of it but got distracted by Stacey Kiebler outside the ring. Rosey decked Simon Dean sending him to the outside while scooping up Maven for a sidewalk slam. Hurricane dove back in the ring and grabbed the head and hit a combination reverse DDT and sidewalk slam. Hurricane got the cover and the victory.
Winners: Team Hero via pinfall
****Commercial****
We came back to the air with some photos of the new entrants in the 2005 Raw Diva search.
Randy Orton’s music then hit and he came out on the ramp and made his way down to the ring.
Orton grabbed the mic and said that it was bad enough that he was out of action because of his injured shoulder. But what he thought was worse that he had to listen to people ask him when or whether he was going to be ‘bumped’ to Raw or Smackdown!. He told everyone to shut their mouths that he had something to say. He said that he couldn’t be drafted that he was on the injured list. He blamed two men; Batista and the Undertaker. He said that Taker would pull strings and stay on Smackdown and avoid him. He told Batista to protect his world title because when he came back, he’d be gunning for him. He said he’d be the new World Champion and write his own ticket to the hall of fame and do it ‘right here on Raw’. Vince McMahon’s music then hit the arena to a colossal pop.
McMahon strutted down to the ring and stomped up the steps as usual. Vince grabbed the mic and asked Orton what the hell has happened to him. He said his neck was a stack of dimes and his clothes were all hanging off of him. Orton blamed it on his shoulder injury. Vince said that talk was cheap, but not as cheap as his new haircut. He said that no one was exempt, everyone was eligible and that included Orton. Orton cut back in and told him that he needed to realize who he was talking to.
He said that he was the man who would carry the company and make more money than John Cena and Batista combined. He asked him what the date of the draft was. Vince reminded Orton that it didn’t matter which ring he would be in, he’d still be in HIS ring. He said the draft would be starting in Orton’s hometown in St. Louis and that it would go all night long.
JR put over the draft information on WWE.com and the upcoming gold rush tournament finals.
****Commercial****
Gold Rush Tournament FINALS--Kane v. Edge
Kane charged at Edge but missed. Edge hit a right but Kane stalked him to the other corner. The same thing happened again before Kane finally nailed Edge and dropped him on his back before moving him into the corner. He hit some punches before hitting a huge sumplex. Kane choked Edge on the mat with both his hands and hit knee before working Edge back into the corner and landing some more big punches. Kane choked Edge on the ropes before whipping Edge to the opposite corner. Kane charged in but Edge avoided the attempt and pummeled Kane in the corner. Edge tried to whip Kane, but couldn’t drag the big man out of the corner. He was tossed out over the top rope and to the floor. Kane pursued him and hit a few punches and dropped Edge on the guard rail. Kane tossed Edge back into the ring and hit a kick to Edge’s head.
Working Edge back into the corner, Kane hit some reverse elbows before Edge just crumpled. Kane whipped Edge into the ropes but was met with a stiff kick. Kane countered with a punch but as he went for Edge was caught with a hangman on the ropes. Edge tried to strike with Kane again but had both blocked and was choked. The ref started to count and Kane pushed him aside but Edge hit a low blow. And landed on the mat. Edge flew into the ropes and hit a baseball slide dropkick that knocked Kane out of the ring to the floor. We went to commercial with Lita checking on Kane outside the ring.
****Commercial****
We came back to Edge working Kane on the mat with some sort of leg lock. Kane grabbed the ropes but Edge stomped the leg as he released the hold. Edge then clipped Kane’s legs and stomped it all over the ring. Kane squeaked out underneath the ropes and went right after Kane’s leg outside the ring. Back in the ring, Edge jumped off the ropes and stomped on Kane’s knee. Kane fought back with some kicks but was met with another shot to the knee by Edge. Edge jumped down on the knee and then went back to work on the knee putting it back in that leg lock while punching at it. Kane used his healthy leg to fight out of the hold and made it back to his feet. Kane hit some big right hands and backed Edge into the corner where he hit right hand after right hand before hitting an uppercut. Kane backed off and hit one running clothesline before getting caught by Edge. Edge quickly scaled the ropes but was met with another big punch. Kane went for the cover but only got a two count. Kane then dropped Edge on the turn buckle and then the big clothesline for another close two cover. Kane whipped Edge into the ropes but Edge dodged the Kane kick and hit his reverse sit out face buster. Edge then set up for the spear but was caught in a choke slam. Edge countered out of that though and hit his edg-u-cation DDT but only got a two count. Edge went for another spear and again missed. But caught Kane trying to counter. Kane wobbled back but mustered up enough to catch Edge with a back sidewalk slam. Kane stood up and laughed but Edge got back up and shoved Kane into the ref. Edge went immediately for the briefcase but missed. Kane went to the top, but Lita tossed the brief case into Edge’s possession. After distracting Kane on the top rope, Kane went to hit a clothesline but got met with a huge briefcase shot by Edge. Edge made the cover and 1,2, 3 victory.
Winner: Edge via pinfall
After the match Lita and Edge celebrated inside the ring and made their way up to the ramp. Kane sat up just in time for a big Edge and Lita lip lock. JR tweaked, calling Edge a ‘bah gawd damn harlot!” as the show went off the air.
RAW THOUGHTS
The GOOD-- Loved the Lita heel turn even though many smarks probably saw it coming a mile away. Casual fans will be very surprised however, which means there’s going to be added interest in Edge’s character.
Raw GM Eric Bischoff was excellent in his mic work tonight. They’ve started some great, gradual buildup to the ECW show.
Say what you want to say about Viscera. Yes, he’s a bad wrestler, and yes the sex machine fat guy gimmick has been done to death. But honestly, tonight was one of the funniest segments I’ve ever seen.
On the whole, tonight was a great night for stick work.
By the way, Triple H was mentioned a grand total of three times all night.
Christian jobbing wasn’t great, but he’s getting tons of television time.
The BAD-- I’m really hoping this draft works out well. I’m just skeptical about it lasting a whole month. For the unpredictability that it may bring, it could also throw some serious wrenches in story-lines. I’ll give it a chance though.
Randy Orton seemed to struggle to get much of a reaction outside of telling people to shut up. He got booed a bit, but not a lot. He got cheered a bit, but not a lot. There were definite hints of him heading to Smackdown.
The matches as a collective whole tonight were pretty poor. The WWE is trying so I’ll give them that, but all Kane did tonight was punch, kick, and repeat. WWE television matches are so rudimentary at this point it’s almost not even worth watching.
The UGLY-- God Dammit get the ‘divas’ off my television screen. Period.
As much as I like Team Hero, I for some reason, can’t buy them as tag team champions with their gimmick. It’s so past it’s time it’s a little ridiculous. Both guys, IMO, are decent workers, especially Helms, but I just can’t buy the super hero thing.
Overall—B-- Tonight had some really excellent mic work. Christian was good as always, Flair was good as always, Viscera was hysterical, Jericho was good, Edge and Kane were great too. Heck, even Shelton Benjamin and Batista held up their end of the bargain tonight. Bischoff was pure gold. Great stuff on the mic. Again, the WWE uses their time effectively. We have a lot going on with both brands right now. There’s build towards the draft, the ECW pay per view, next week’s title match, Kane-Lita-Edge, Batista-Flair-Triple H, Jericho-Benjamin, Benjamin-Hassan, Viscera is getting mic time, and there even appears to be a mini feud brewing between Sylvain Grenier and Robert Conway. Bischoff is at odds with this ECW thing, there’s a lot to talk about which is a good thing. For once, the World Heavyweight Championship isn’t the only thing being covered on a Monday night. Kudos for that. The story lines, are slowly improving. Here’s to hoping the WWE picks up a bit of their TV in ring work.
Quick Results
Hassan & Daivari def. Chris Jericho & Shelton Benjamin
Ric Flair def. Christian
Chris Benoit fought Tajiri to a No Contest
Christy Hemme def. Candice Michelle via pinfall
Team Hero def. Simon Dean & Maven
Edge def. Kane to win the Gold Rush Tournament
Who’s Hot, Who’s Not
Biggest Pops
1. Vince McMahon
2. Viscera
3. Batista
4. Ric Flair
Most Heat
1. Edge and Lita
2. Christian
3. Eric Bischoff
4. Muhammad Hassan & Daivari
Match of the Night--Christian v. Ric Flair *3/4
Any Questions, comments, or feedback send email me at Raw@wrestleview.com