On Tuesday, September 20, 2005 at 12:22 AM EST WWE Raw
September 19, 2005
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry “The King” Lawler, and Jonathan Coachman
Reported By: Hunter Golden of WrestleView.com
The opening pyro hit and here we go.
Eric Bischoff’s music hit the arena and he came down the ramp with the old WWE Championship belt draped over his shoulder. He said there was some confusion surrounding the WWE Championship match last night between Kurt Angle and John Cena. He said he had a major announcement to make tonight but before he did, he needed to introduce a very special man, Olympic Gold Medallist Kurt Angle.
Angle came down to the ring and hit all four corners yelling that he was the new champ.
Bischoff said that last night Cena displayed a flagrant distaste for the rules and authority putting his hands on him last night. Bischoff said he could do something about it. He said by the powers vested in him by the WWE, he said he had stripped John Cena of the WWE Championship, and introduced to us the new WWE Champion to us before Mr. McMahon’s music hit the arena.
Bischoff said he was surprised to see McMahon here. Angle said he thought McMahon wanted to personally congratulate him on beating Cena last night at Unforgiven. McMahon congratulated him before turning back to Bischoff. Angle cut him off though and said he’d represent the WWE with the three I’s.
McMahon asked him who the hell named him WWE Champion. Angle pointed to Bischoff and said he did. McMahon said Bischoff knew he didn’t have the authority to strip Cena of the title and that there were only two ways the title could switch hands.
He asked Bischoff what happened at Unforgiven and Bischoff said Cena laid his hands on him. McMahon made fun of Bischoff before telling him that John Cena was still the WWE Champion. McMahon said he was now going to make his announcement.
He said there would be a homecoming in two weeks. Mick Foley, Triple H, Hulk Hogan, and Steve Austin will all be present. In three weeks, there would also be a WWE Championship match between John Cena… and Eric Bischoff.
Bischoff looked shocked as McMahon walked back up the ramp.
****Commercial****
JR and King put over last night’s Unforgiven pay per view.
Eric Bischoff was in the back pleading with Mr. McMahon as he walked out of the arena. McMahon said he’d think about canceling the match. Bischoff wished him all the best. McMahon then rolled down the window and said that he had indeed just thought about it, and that the match was still on.
Torrie Wilson v. Trish Stratus
Torrie was accompanied by Victoria and Candice Michelle.
Trish was immediately distracted by Victoria and was pulled to the outside. Torrie tossed Trish back in the ring and tossed her before kicking her twice. Trish countered with a punch to the gut and teed up for another one but Torrie took off out of the ring. She was cut off by Ashley though who turned her around and let Trish land a kick to the gut. Ashley hit a double clothesline before Torrie ended back in the ring. Trish whipped Torrie and went for the traditional ten punches, but Victoria interfered. Torrie tried to get the roll up but it didn’t work. Torrie admonished her accomplices outside the ring and Trish snuck up from behind with a roll up of her own for the pin fall and the win.
Winner: Trish Stratus via pin fall
After the match the trio of ladies jumped Trish and Ashley. Torrie hit her face buster and Victoria nailed a big widow’s peak on Trish.
Coach put over the Intercontinental Championship match between Carlito and the new champion Ric Flair later tonight.
A video putting over Triple H’s return October 3rd was aired.
****Commercial****
Trevor Murdoch v. The Hurricane
The two circled up before Hurricane came at Murdoch but got caught with a knee. Hurricane kept going though and spilled Murdoch into the corner and began pounding away on the World Tag Team champion in the corner. Murdoch ran out of the ring and came back in and got his hands stomped on. Hurricane hit a head scissors and then a few punches while Murdoch was on his knees. Murdoch pulled Hurricane into the corner and went to work on Hurricane. He hit a huge clubbing blow on Hurricane’s chest before clamping on a reverse chin lock and focusing on Hurricane’s neck.
Hurricane fought his way to his feet and the two traded blows on their feet. Hurricane landed some big right hands and a kick to the gut before sending Murdoch reeling with a running knee off the ropes. Hurricane slammed Murdoch and hit a nice looking missile drop kick off the top rope. The move appeared to take some energy from Hurricane as well. The two fought their way to their feet and Hurricane pressed a slight advantage. Hurricane mounted Murdoch in the corner and went for the traditional ten punches to the head, but Murdoch flap jacked him onto the corner turnbuckle and then hit a big DDT for the pin fall victory.
Winner: Trevor Murdoch
Todd Grisham was in the back with former IC champion Carlito. Carlito said he didn’t tap out, but he was just reaching for the ropes. Carlito said he wasn’t beat. He said tonight he’d beat Flair and win back his title and that it would be cool.
King put over the 8-man tag team main event later tonight!
A video for the Homecoming aired, citing the return of Mick Foley.
****Commercial****
Edge was in the back screaming at Eric Bischoff demanding that Matt Hardy be fired for putting his hands on Lita. Bischoff said it was painfully obvious that they couldn’t co-exist on Raw and he was tired of dealing with the two. Bischoff said that on Raw Homecoming, it would be Hardy-Edge in a ‘loser leaves Raw’ match. He also said Edge’s MITB contract would be up for grabs as it would be a ladder match.
Tyson Tomko v. Eddie Craven
Tomko backed Craven up into the ropes. Tomko hit a huge right hand and then booted the young Craven out to the floor. Tomko tossed Craven back in the ring and Craven fought back a little bit but then Tomko NAILED Craven with a big boot and KO’d the youngster.
Winner: Tyson Tomko by KO
A video aired recapping the happenings between Ric Flair and Carlito.
****Commercial****
WWE Intercontinental Championship
Ric Flair © v. Carlito
Flair landed a chop in the ring and Carlito threw a hissy-fit. Carlito came back, knocking Flair to the ringside area a little later. Flair managed to get back into the ring but Carlito met him with a plethora of stomps in the corner. Flair’s eye looked like it was swelling a bit and Flair came back with some chops. Flair went for the golden globes kick but the referee held him back. Carlito punched away at Flair and he did the face first flop out of the corner. Carlito went for the cover but only got a two count. Flair regained his bearings and chopped back. Eventually Flair grabbed Carlito’s apple took a bite and spat on Carlito’s face. Flair rammed Carlito’s head off the ring post and chopped him off the apron and to the floor. Carlito rolled around on the outside as we went to commercial.
****Commercial****
They showed footage of Carlito, during the break, ramming Flair into the ringside steps. he then settled into a chin-lock . Flair’s eyes were swollen by then Flair's left eyelid was badly swollen. Flair fought back with some more chops but after finally knocking the challenger down, flopped to the mat himself. He went for his elbow but Carlito rolled out of the way. Flair paused, let Carlito roll, and then dropped another one. Flair then scaled the ropes and Carlito came over to slam him. Flair punched him and then came off with a HUGE FLYING FOREARM. Two nights in a row. He clipped Carlito in the leg and as Flair pursued him on the mat, Carlito pulled Flair by the trunks and out of the ring. Eventually Flair croched Carlito on the middle rope and applied the figure four. Carlito tapped out to give Flair the victory.
Winner and STILL Intercontinental Champion, Ric Flair
Grisham interviewed Matt Hardy backstage. He talked about facing Edge over the past few weeks before HBK stepped in. Big Show came in after that, followed by WWE Champion John Cena. Cena touted each partner and said it was great to have a partner in Matt Hardy who ‘would not die’.
****Commercial****
Carlito came back and got all over Flair about his loss to him earlier tonight. Flair retaliated by decking Carlito. As the two went at it, Chris Masters jumped in, dumping Flair into the garage door and then clamping the master lock on him while Carlito took some free shots at him. The two left Flair in heap on the floor to end the segment.
****Commercial****
We returned to Raw with a replay of the Carlito-Masters-Flair incident before the break.
The Smackdown rebound aired, recapping the Orton-Undertaker match from last week.
****Commercial****
Kurt Angle, Edge, Chris Masters, & Snitsky v. John Cena, Matt Hardy, Shawn Michaels, & Big Show
We came back from commercial break with Cena doing a number on Edge. Cena got two close pin attempts before dragging Edge to the corner and tagged in Big Show who landed a huge head but. He walked over the back of Edge twice before picking him up. Edge got a thumb to the eye and quickly tagged in Chris Masters. Masters landed some kicks but got tossed into the corner and got hit with a huge chop to the chest. Matt Hardy tagged in and rammed Masters head into the near corner and tagged in John Cena, who landed a few punches. Masters countered a Cena punch and flung Cena into the ropes but missed a big boot. Cena went for a cover but got a one count. Masters eventually gained the upper hand, landing a vertical suplex to the WWE Champion.
Cena reversed a second suplex attempt and hit one of his own. Hardy was tagged in and the two traded punches. Hardy nailed Masters head into the buckle and charged into the corner and hit a running clothesline. He took Masters into the corner and tagged in HBK.
HBK had an Irish whip attempt reversed and was double over up side down in the corner. Masters hit a military press and a punch, knocking HBK into the corner. He whipped Michaels into the corner but was met with a reverse elbow. HBK went for a body slam but it was blocked and he hit one of his own. Masters missed the follow up elbow and HBK tagged in Hardy.
Masters tossed Hardy off the ropes but Hardy countered and hit a reverse DDT. Hardy immediately dragged Edge into the ring and the two brawled. Hardy hit a side-effect but was clamped into the master-lock immediately thereafter. Hardy began to fade before Big Show came in and made the head but save.
****Commercial****
We came back to Edge holding Matt Hardy in a rear chin-lock. Hardy fought his way to his feet and hit a few fists to the gut. Hardy came off the ropes but was flap jacked. Edge went for the cover but only got a one count. Snitsky was tagged in and hit a huge Irish whip with an even bigger clothesline follow up. Snitsky hit a big vertical suplex but only got a two count. Snitsky clamped on a rear chin lock, and a back body drop after that but got nailed with the twist of fate. Snitsky made the tag to Angle and Hardy to HBK.
HBK hit his punches, reverse atomic drop, and his body slam. HBK scaled the ropes but missed the elbow. Angle fought his way to his feet and went for an Angle slam, which was countered by HBK into a sunset flip. Angle countered that into the ankle lock. HBK failed the first time to dispatch of Angle .HBK fought out of the lock and tagged in Big Show. Show tossed Angle out of the ring as we went to commercial.
****Commercial****
We came back to seeing Edge with the edecution clamped in on Shawn Michaels. HBK broke the hold going into the ropes before Chris Masters was tagged in. Masters went to work on the left leg of HBK, dropping a knee and a few boots. Masters tagged Angle in who clamed on a rear choke and began raking away at Michael’s face. HBK fought his way to his feet and punched away at Angle’s gut before hitting a decent back suplex to the Olympic Gold Medallist.
HBK landed some right hands but had it eventually countered before Angle hit an Angle slam. Hardy made the save on the pin attempt. Angle clamped on the ankle lock but HBK kicked Angle off. Edge was tagged in and speared Cena off the apron. HBK hit a desperation enziguiri but got caught by an incoming Big Show.
Show took out the entire heel team, whipping Angle and Edge into the corner and nailing them both with an avalanche before doing the same to Snitsky and Masters. Show caught Snitsky in the choke slam but Snitsky hit a low blow and Edge followed with a spear. Show kicked out but then the whole heel team began pummeling him. Show tossed them all aside and a melee ensued with all eight wrestlers.
Show military pressed Hardy onto Snitsky and Angle on the outside of the ring. Cena hit the proto-plex and the five knuckle shuffle on Edge who missed a shot with his brief case. Big Show hit a big choke slam and the team piled on top of him with HBK perched on top and got the one, two, three victory.
Winners: John Cena, Matt Hardy, Big Show, & Shawn Michaels
Big Show perched HBK on his shoulders as the team celebrated in the middle of the ring. RAW THOUGHTS
The Good-- I have to admit I had a lot of fun with Raw tonight. We got two very entertaining matches and a TON of good story line direction. The eight man tag match, while no technical masterpiece by any means, was one of the more enjoyable Raw main events in recent memory.
Ric Flair has been GOLD the last three weeks. It’s nice to see Flair back to his old self at least in character. Right now I find myself not really caring if the only move he can do is a chop. Oh and by the way. Fear the top rope forearm.
The Bad-- I’m just not feeling the mini push that Tyson Tomko has been getting as of late. If you’re gong to push the guy, then do so. Don’t feed him no name jobbers.
The Ugly-- Nothing really all that hideous tonight, save for Murdoch’s face. Other than that I genuinely enjoyed Raw tonight. Again there are booking problems and the matches aren’t blow the roof off good, but what needs to be done is being done, which is providing a fun, enjoyable show.
Overall- B-- Again, a fun show tonight. No real quams. Story-line progression was good as were some of the matches. The build up to the return to the USA network has been great.
Quick Results
Trish Stratus def. Torrie Wilson
Murdoch def. Hurricane
Tyson Tomko def. Eddie Craven
Ric Flair def. Carlito to retain the Intercontinental Championship
John Cena, Big Show, Shawn Michaels, & Matt Hardy def. Kurt Angle, Chris Masters, Edge, & Snitsky
Who’s Hot? Who’s Not?
Biggest Pops
1. John Cena
2. Ric Flair
3. Matt Hardy
4. Mr. McMahon
Most Heat
1. Kurt Angle
2. Eric Bischoff
3. Edge
4. Big Show
Match of the Night: 8-Man Tag Match **1/2
Power RankingsWWE Champion: John Cena (LAST WEEK: WWE Champion)-- A relatively quiet night for the champion, although I for one think it may have been the most important night of his reign. Edge seems to be eking into the title picture. Look out for Taboo Tuesday. I have a feeling WWE is going to pull a swerve and put that title on Edge. Remember that MITB contract? They don’t want us to forget about it.
Intercontinental Champion: Ric Flair (LAST WEEK: 7)-- To be honest, there’s no one hotter on Raw as weird as that may sound. What’s been so good about Flair’s push here is that it’s focusing on all the things he can do that still entertain us like strut and act funny. He’s really limited in the ring, but his matches have been entertaining. Again, beware the flying forearm.
1.) Kurt Angle (LAST WEEK: 1)--Angle most definitely stays here with a win over the WWE Champion at a pay per view. I was however, disappointed with his performance last night. I think he’s been a little TOO intense for his feud.
2.) Shawn Michaels (LAST WEEK: 3)--Shawn Michaels won his match with Chris Masters, which keeps him around the top of the rankings. I expect the Masters program to possibly continue for a little while longer. I liked their work last night. The only question is right now, is what to DO with Michaels if they do indeed leave the program as it was left last night.
3.) Edge (LAST WEEK: 2)-- Edge drops down a slot but actually may be in a better overall position than he was last week. Yes, he lost last night and took a pin fall tonight, but I’ve got a feeling we’re going to see Mr. Hardy take off for Smackdown and that we’ll see Edge take the WWE title from Cena at Taboo Tuesday. WWE seems to be gearing up for a swerve. I think now is the time to do that while Edge’s heat is through the roof. I think that’s what we’re going to get.
4.) Big Show (LAST WEEK:5)-- Show gets two more pin fall wins, tonight over Edge. Raw is doing a good job of mixing Big Show into the show. No doubt about it, IMO, he’ll be the first challenger to whomever beats John Cena for that WWE title. Big Show is STILL undefeated since coming to Raw.
5.) Matt Hardy(LAST WEEK: 6)-- Hardy’s win last night may have cemented himself a huge push. Especially with this loser leaves town thing, I think even if Hardy loses, he comes out a winner. He got the win that counts, which was on pay per view. Edge will pick up the momentum and Hardy will go to a Show where he’s not clustered although I wouldn’t mind seeing him on Raw still. The taped atmosphere may do him some good, especially if Randy Orton wins that WWE title. Hardy may be in line for an eventual title shot. He was THAT over last night and tonight.
6.) Chris Masters(LAST WEEK: 4)-- Staying with the theme of everything tonight, Masters, despite the loss and despite the drop, is in the best possible spot for Masters at this point in time. He showed tremendous upside last night, standing toe to toe with HBK on pay per view. He’s not ready for the big time yet but I felt came away looking great.
7.) Carlito (LAST WEEK: IC Champion)-- Carlito’s career takes a HUGE downturn this week, as he ended up on the chopping block for a 50+ vet. If he doesn’t stay around the IC title, I’m worried about him. He needs to be in a match with someone who can carry him. He is going to need some wins.
8.) Snitsky (LAST WEEK: 8-- Snitsky stays here after a watchable ppv performance and more TV time. Little /*.
9.) Rob Conway(LAST WEEK: 9)-- Conway is quietly winning matches and no one is taking notice. Look at him as a wild card to take the IC title off of Flair in perhaps the not so distant future.
10.) Shelton Benjamin (LAST WEEK: NR)-- Benjamin gets an otherwise meaningless win last night and surprise, surprise. No follow through.
Dropping Out: Kerwin White (LAST WEEK: 10)
Any Questions, comments, or feedback send email me at Raw@wrestleview.com.