� On Tuesday, August 9, 2005 at 12:37 AM EST Icon and Legend face to face
August 8, 2005
Results courtesy of WWE.com
Only 13 days from their historic SummerSlam match, the legendary Hulk Hogan and “The Icon” Shawn Michaels went face to face in a scathing confrontation.
Michaels declared that none of The Hulkster’s personality or showmanship “will amount to a hill of beans at SummerSlam.” He added that he’s “going to be the first guy who doesn’t buckle under the image of Hulk Hogan.”
But Hogan fired back with some searing comments of his own, calling HBK the “king of cheap shots and backstabbing” and even evoking memories of the infamous Montreal Incident by saying, “As far as casting stones, all I’d have to do is call up Bret Hart.” Fans immediately voiced their opinions by chanting, “You screwed Bret!” Michaels immediately responded by telling the crowd, “Don’t you forget it.” Then, he pointed at Hogan and told him he was next.
Michaels effectively ended the event by KO’ing moderator Jerry Lawler with Sweet Chin Music, seemingly just as a means of intimidation. But Hogan went on the offensive, hitting the big boot and launching Michaels over the top rope. The two were still exchanging words when RAW went off the air.
Meanwhile, hometown Hero Kurt Angle may not have won back his Olympic gold medal on RAW from Pittsburgh, but he will get a match against Eugene at SummerSlam.
After Eugene won this week’s Invitational by disqualification, Angle got Bischoff to make the pay-per-view match — and this time there will be no time limit. Angle even declared that he’d end Eugene’s career on Aug. 21, just for kicks.
Angle couldn’t believe it when referee Mike Chioda DQ’d him amid confusion over an inadvertent collision, and he took out that frustration on Eugene. He hit an Angle Slam, but that prompted none other than Hulk Hogan to storm the ring and break things up. Hulkamania then ran wild through the Mellon Arena as The Hulkster and Eugene posed for the crowd. And in response, Hulk Hogan will face Kurt Angle next week on RAW.
Chris Masters’ impressive RAW record got even better on Monday, as he beat Shelton Benjamin with the devastating Master Lock. But it took some underhanded tactics to cinch in the hold.
“The Masterpiece” nearly found himself on the wrong end of a rollup early. Masters went for his full-nelson finisher, but Benjamin had it scouted, twisting it into a pinning predicament for a two-count. When Masters then almost got caught with the T-bone suplex, he felt the need to sneak a low-blow. With Benjamin then doubled over in pain, Masters was able to finally apply the Master Lock. The referee declared a submission victory seconds later.
Edge responded to Matt Hardy’s most recent verbal barrage, saying Hardy has been merely riding Edge’s coattails and Hardy’s 15 minutes of fame were about to end. “At SummerSlam, you’re going to witness legalized assault,” Edge said.
Edge took issue with security guards being posted at his and Lita’s door, declaring that he shouldn’t have to be sequestered from a regular RAW locker room just because Matt Hardy is re-hired. “At SummerSlam, I’m going to prove that you don’t measure up to me as a man in any way,” Edge added. He would later punctuate those remarks by assaulting Hardy right after his RAW match.
Hardy dropped Gene Snitsky with a modified Diamond Cutter, but he was then immediately attacked by an emotional Edge. Security separated the two, but no one will come between them at the pay-per-view on Aug. 21.
Y2J’s guest on the Highlight Reel was General Manager Eric Bischoff, who wanted to make an example out of a subordinate official. Bischoff called out Chad Patton, then slapped the young referee repeatedly for interfering in “his business.” Bischoff forced Patton to publicly apologize, then made a match between the “Ayatollah of Rock ‘N’ Rolla” and Patton… with Bischoff himself serving as referee. To make matters worse, Bischoff refused to enforce the rules, allowing Jericho to repeatedly choke Patton and for Carlito the deliver cheap shots from ringside. Y2J finally applied the Walls of Jericho and Patton promptly tapped, but Bischoff refused to end the match right away.
WWE Champion John Cena couldn’t take any more, rushing to Patton’s aid. He then hit Carlito with an FU dedicated to Jericho. Bischoff was so upset by Cena’s involvement that he made a Handicap Match for next week: It’ll be John Cena vs. Carlito and Jericho.
Cena fans also were treated to the world premiere of his new music video. The Champ always dreamed of being a WWE Superstar. His new music video, “Right Now,” told that story Monday night. To preview tracks and order Cena’s CD, click here.
Match Results:
Kristal is eliminated from the 2005 RAW Diva Search
Matt Hardy def. Gene Snitsky
Eugene def. Kurt Angle (DQ; Eugene Gold Medal Invitational)
Chris Masters def. Shelton Benjamin
Rob Conway def. Viscera
The Heart Throbs & Victoria def. The Hurricane, Rosey & Stacy Keibler (mixed tag team match)