Raw is War

Indianapolis, Indiana
May 22, 2000

RAW IS WAR kicked off live from Indianapolis as Mr. McMahon walked out to the ring to kick off the show. According to Mr. McMahon, Judgment Day had come for the McMahon-Helmsley Regime and they were justly rewarded. He then mentioned that The Rock had cheated in the Ironman Man match, going so far as to hire the Undertaker for protection. McMahon then commented that he would be surprised if The Rock would make it to the arena. However, should The Rock make it, he would face Road Dogg, X-Pac, Shane McMahon and Triple H.

Before the commercial break, Mr. McMahon was spotted walking backstage. Not long thereafter, The Rock attacked the Chairman, absolutely destroying him. The Great One then threw McMahon into a limo. The driver then took off with McMahon in the back.

The Hardys teamed up to take on T and A. Despite their larger appearance, the team of Test and Albert did well keeping up with the fast and furious style of Matt and Jeff. In fact, the duo was so quick that their sneaky double-teaming proved to be enough for the Hardys. Test and Albert won after a flying elbow smash by Test, despite Albert being the legal man. Unfortunately for the Hardys, the assets of Trish Stratus were too distracting for the referee to notice the blatant bending of the rules.

The European Championship was on the line next as Eddie Guerrero defended against D'Lo Brown. As the match started, it was clear that D'Lo was more focused than he has been in recent months. Unfortunately for D'Lo, the Godfather distracted him, costing him the match. Eddie retained the Championship.

Road Dogg and X-Pac then attempted to make it into the arena. However, The Rock caught them off at the pass, tossing them into the back of a truck and locking them in.

Kurt Angle, Edge and Christian took on Too Cool and Rikishi. Prior to the match, Angle and the Tag Team Champions poked fun at Indiana basketball. For each boo Angle received, Edge and Christian got two. On the flip side, the ovation Too Cool and Rikishi received was deafening. As was the case in the first match, the action was fast and furious. Too Cool and Rikishi seemed to have the advantage throughout the match. However, they fell victim to some very illegal double-teaming. The match ended when Edge nailed Scotty Too Hotty with one of the tag belts. Angle then rolled up Scotty for the win.

Shane McMahon, who proved to be quicker than a hiccup against Big Show at Judgment Day, came out to speak to the crowd. Despite nearly being drowned out by an explicit chant, Shane declared himself the giant killer. The Rock then came to the ring and chased Shane from the ringside area, beating him along the way.

The Intercontinental Championship was on the line next when Chris Benoit defended his title against Val Venis. Prior to the match, Jim Ross mentioned that Benoit is well on his way to becoming one of the greatest Intercontinental Champions of all-time. Benoit, who was competing with a bum knee, proved J.R.'s words true, as he looked very sharp in this match. On the other hand, Venis, whose physique resembles that of a Roman god, looked just as sharp as the Champion. Unfortunately for Val, all of his sharpness was for not. Benoit was awarded the match via disqualification when Hardcore Holly nailed Benoit with a steel chair. It was then that Chris Jericho's music played throughout the arena. In a sneaky fashion, Y2J got behind Holly and whacked him with a steel chair.

The second hour of RAW kicked off with a match between the Dudley Boyz and Bull Buchanan and Big Boss Man. The Dudleys, who are tougher than a two dollar steak, won the match after perfectly executing their patented 3D.

An upset Crash Holly went into the APA office to demand his money back, claiming they did not stick up to their end of the agreement. When Crash realized that he was not going to get his money back, he cracked a cold beer and poured it over Bradshaw's head. RAW went to commercial as Bradshaw ran off after Crash.

After the commercial break, Crash Holly took on Bradshaw in a hardcore match. This truly was a David and Goliath battle. In the end it was Goliath, or Bradshaw as the case may be, who got the win after a Clothesline from Hell.

An emotionally charged Shawn Michaels interview then aired on RAW. Shawn said that he saw the Undertaker interfering on behalf of The Rock, which is why he disqualified him. He then said that he did the best job that he possibly could and that he was sick of people questioning his judgment.

Next up, the WWF's resident pimp the Godfather teamed up with Essa Rios to take on the team of Perry Saturn and Dean Malenko. Prior to the match, Godfather offered Malenko two hos. Malenko obliged and left with the nice young ladies, leaving Saturn by himself to fight Godfather and Essa. It looked as though the two-on-one advantage was going to be too much for Saturn. However, a jealous Lita knocked Essa off of the top rope. Saturn took advantage of the move and quickly pinned Essa after a suplex.

The Rock then came out to address Triple H. The Great One claimed that even though he no longer wears the Championship, Triple H didn't beat him. The Rock then addressed the Undertaker, saying he did the right thing but at the wrong time… The Rock's time. Bringing his attention back to Triple H, The Rock then called out the Champion. Just 24 hours after the two biggest names in the game went 60 minutes, The Rock and Triple H came to blows. The battle quickly became a five-on-one encounter when Road Dogg, X-Pac, Shane and Vince joined Triple H. Before the war turned too ugly, the Undertaker appeared at the top of the ramp. The Regime attempted to stop Undertaker, but he destroyed them, instead. Meanwhile, in the ring, it was one-on-one in the between The Rock and Triple H. The two were engaged in a bitter war, highlighted by a Rock Bottom on Triple H onto the announce table, as RAW went off the air.