Raw is War

Ft Worth, Texas
April 2, 2001

One day after Mr. McMahon helped Stone Cold Steve Austin defeat The Rock at WrestleMania X-Seven, RAW exploded live from Ft. Worth Texas!

Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley walked out to the center of the ring carrying a leather strap! She said that when Trish slapped Mr. McMahon at WrestleMania, Stephanie couldn't believe that Trish could do that after everything Vince had done for her! Stephanie said that she was going to get revenge later - in a whipping match! Stephanie then introduced the most important man in sports entertainment...her dad, Vince.

Federation Chairman Mr. McMahon came to the ring carrying a plush red box and he had a huge smile on his face. Vince said he was very happy because he had the great honor of handing the Federation Title to Stone Cold when he arrived! Mr. McMahon then addressed what had happened to him at WrestleMania - and he said he was not happy about Trish slapping him. He said that maybe he shouldn't be so happy with everything that happened in his match against Shane, but all's well that ends well, and Vince was very happy about Stone Cold beating The Rock! Mr. McMahon then talked about J.R.'s comment that Austin had sold his soul to the devil himself, but Vince insisted that he's not that bad. Vince then thanked a group of fans that had bought him a special gift, and he opened up his box and pulled out a cowboy hat! Mr. McMahon then stomped on the hat, saying that was what he thought of Texas!

At that, The Rock hit the stage and told Mr. McMahon that he was demanding a rematch for the title later on RAW! Vince said that would not happen, but the Great One said he'd find a way to make Vince change his mind and he ran down to the ring! Vince told Rock to calm down, because he wasn't going to give him his match, and warned The Rock that he'd better not touch him. Then, The Rock grabbed Vince and put him in the Sharpshooter! As Vince lie in pain on the mat, Rock asked Vince again if he had his title shot, and Vince finally said yes! As The Rock walked away, Vince added that the match would take place inside a steel cage!

In six-man tag team action, new European Champion Eddie Guerrero, Dean Malenko and Perry Saturn all teamed up against Test and the APA. Test picked up the win for his team after nailing Saturn with a big boot to the face.

As Commissioner William Regal spoke to his mother on the phone in his office, Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley came in to make sure Trish couldn't weasel her way out of the whipping match later. Regal reassured Stephanie that the match would go on as planned. A few moments later, Vince came in to ask Regal if he knew what to do during the whipping match. Regal said he did.

Michael Cole stopped Triple H as he was walking through the back and asked him about his loss to the Undertaker at WrestleMania. The Game said he wasn't taking anything away from Taker, because he did what he said he would do. Although Triple H lost, he said he loved every minute of it. The Game said he couldn't wait to get back in the ring with Taker - and next time, the outcome would be different. Cole then asked if Triple H knew that Vince was going to help Austin, the Game's bitter rival, win the title. Triple H angrily said, "What do you think?"

In their meeting room, Steven Richards spoke to the Right to Censor and told the group that they may have lost matches at WrestleMania, but they have not lost their convictions. Steven said later, they would show Kane why their convictions were so strong.

Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley went to the ring for her whipping match, and as Trish Stratus made her way down the ramp, Stephanie ran up and attacked her! The two eventually made their way back in to the ring, where Stephanie used her strap to try and choke out Trish! Trish finally got up and hit Stephanie with a bulldog, leaving Stephanie lying in the ring! Trish began whipping Stephanie with complete disregard! As Trish whipped Stephanie, William Regal slammed Trish and held her down so Stephanie could smack her! Then, Chris Jericho ran down to the ring and chased both Regal and Stephanie away!

In the back, Stephanie screamed at Regal about Jericho interfering in her match. Regal said he would team with Kurt Angle to punish Jericho in a handicap match!

In singles action, Crash took on Rhyno. Rhyno took the win after Goring Crash. After the match, Molly took out Rhyno with a Molly-Go-Round, but Rhyno got back up and Gored her as well.

Coach interviewed Debra in the back and asked about her reaction to Stone Cold winning the title, and she replied that she was just as shocked as everyone else. When Coach asked her if she knew about it beforehand, she said she couldn't talk about that!

A very proud Mr. McMahon came to the ring carrying the World Wrestling Federation Title. Vince said that the presentation of the title would begin in a few minutes. But first, Vince said that Stone Cold didn't sell out, he just did what everyone else in the world did on a daily basis - sucked up to their bosses. Then, Vince introduced Stone Cold! Austin came out to the ring and Vince handed him the title. Austin said that now that he had the title and that he had Vince in the ring, he asked if the crowd wanted him to whip Vince's ass! Austin said that it wasn't gonna happen! Then Austin explained why he did what he did. He said that he didn't owe anyone any explanations, and since the crowd wanted to cheer The Rock, he had something to say about that too. Stone Cold said that you just don't put "Mr.

McMahon" in the Sharpshooter, and no matter what happened, Austin would kick The Rock's ass later! In his locker room, Triple H watched on and he was obviously very unhappy.

In a Hardcore Title match, Val Venis challenged Kane. The action was brutal, with Val Venis trying his hardest to win the title in order to gain some more credibility for the Right to Censor. Kane retained his title after hitting Val with a clothesline from the top rope. After the match, the rest of the Right to Censor attacked Kane! Then, Undertaker ran to the ring to help out his brother, and the two left the entire Right to Censor writhing in pain in the ring.

As William Regal prepared for his match, Triple H demanded to know where Vince was. Regal said that he didn't like the Game's attitude. Triple H said that Vince screwed him over by helping Stone Cold win the title, and if he found out that Regal knew anything about Stone Cold and Vince's deal, he would kick Regal's ass too. Finally, after several threats from the Game, Regal told Triple H where Vince was.

Triple H finally found Vince, and asked him why he was keeping him in the dark. Vince told him to take it easy. Triple H said he wasn't going to take it easy because he'd spent the last year of his life beating down Stone Cold for Vince. Mr. McMahon said that Austin asked him for his help, and Triple H didn't. Before walking away, Vince added that Austin also walked out of WrestleMania a winner, something that Triple H didn't do.

In a Handicap Match made earlier by William Regal, the esteemed Commissioner teamed with Kurt Angle against Chris Jericho. Angle and Regal began the match by hammering down the Intercontinental Champion. Jericho kept attempting to make offensive maneuvers, but both Regal and Angle kept knocking him back down. After Kurt hit Jericho with an Angle Slam, he tagged in Regal, who wanted to make the cover, but Y2J kicked out! A frustrated Angle then hit Jericho in the back with a steel chair, and that was enough to allow Regal to make the pin. After the match, Angle put Jericho in the ankle-lock and Chris Benoit ran out to the ring, causing both Regal and Angle to retreat to the back. Jericho and Benoit then stared at each other in uneasy tension.

In a match-up pitting former friends against each other, 'The One' Billy Gunn took on X-Pac, who was accompanied to the ring by Justin Credible and Albert. As the referee was distracted, Albert slammed Billy and X-Pac made the cover for the pin and the win.

Live from WWF New York, Shane McMahon told J.R. that he had a great time at WrestleMania. He said that it might be unnatural for a father to beat on a son and vice-versa, but he was proud of what he did. Now that Linda was doing all right, Shane said he was going to focusing his attention on WCW. He said that now that his mother was back on his feet, he hoped Linda would hit him in a place that might hurt a little more than the gonads - he smiled as he said he looked forward to Linda cleaning out Vince's checkbook.

Michael Cole asked The Rock about Stone Cold Steve Austin. The Rock said that Austin knew damn well that he couldn't beat The Rock one-on-one! Rock said that at WrestleMania, The Rock kicked out after every Stunner, every chairshot and he noticed the look of panic on Austin's face. But when Vince came to the ring, Rock saw a look of relief. The Great One said that with the state of mind he was in right now, Austin had better watch out.

In a Steel Cage Match for the World Wrestling Federation Title, The Rock challenged Stone Cold Steve Austin. Before the match, Vince McMahon introduced Austin and accompanied him to ringside. The match began outside the cage, and The Rock bounced Austin's head off the announce table and the ring bell. Austin was quickly busted open, and the Great on continued to bounce Austin's head off the outside of the cage. Eventually, the two men made their way back into the ring, and The Rock had Austin pinned for a two-count.Austin got back up and Vince tossed a chair into the ring, which Austin used to hammer on The Rock. The Great One got back up and locked Austin in the Sharpshooter, and Vince distracted the referee as Austin tried to tap out for the first time ever! Then Rock then hit Austin with the People's Elbow, and as the ref made the count, Vince pulled him out of the ring! After more interference from Vince, The Rock pulled him in the cage and locked the door! As Rock went after Vince, Austin hit him with a low blow! As Vince and Austin pounded on Rock, Triple H ran out to the ring with a sledgehammer! The Game got in the ring and stared at Austin, and then the two of them turned and hit The Rock! Austin kicked the Great One as the Game nailed him with the sledgehammer! Then, Triple H hit The Rock with the Pedigree! The Game then stood up The Rock so Austin could hit him with a Stunner! Austin, Vince and Triple H all celebrated by drinking beer as The Rock lie in pain in the center of the ring as RAW went off the air!