Raw is War
Detroit, Michigan
March 22, 2004
A CAREER CHANGING NIGHT
In some ways, WrestleMania XX was the greatest event in the history of sports
entertainment. In other ways, it was simply the calm before the storm. Eight
days after WrestleMania, on one of the most wild nights in the storied history
of RAW, it all began, again ... over and over again. And by the end of the
night, the foundations of both RAW and SmackDown! were rocked with several
shocking changes as a result of the draft lottery ordered by Mr. McMahon. Now
there are new World Tag Team Champions, Triple H is on SmackDown!, Edge is on
RAW, and there is no current SmackDown! General Manager!
The night was headlined by a shocking turn of events involving Triple H and now
former SmackDown! General Manager Paul Heyman took full advantage of the
situation by convincing Mr. McMahon to set up a match for the WWE Championship
between Triple H and Eddie Guerrero, a SmackDown! main event during RAW! The
match featured a dramatic conclusion when Evolution came to aid Triple H for
perhaps the final time. Suddenly, all hell broke loose when both locker rooms
emptied as a Civil War of sorts began! When RAW went off the air, order had not
been restored as the battle had only just begun.
The conclusion to RAW was indicative of an evening of shocking surprises as
nobody on either roster was exempt from the draft lottery. So when Heyman
himself was drafted by RAW, the now former SmackDown! GM decided he was better
off quitting entirely than working for Eric Bischoff and, as a result, the trade
deadline has been extended until 9 PM ET Tuesday evening by Mr. McMahon, when a
new SmackDown! General Manager will be named and all trades will be announced.
In the ring, the night was headlined by three Championship Matches. While both
the World Heavyweight Championship and WWE Championship remained in place, there
are new World Tag Team Champions. The Evolution duo of Batista & Ric Flair
regained the Championship as they defeated Rob Van Dam & Booker T. The match
would prove to be RVD's final one on RAW as he was later drafted to SmackDown!
It was simply a wild night that not only changed many careers but changed the
faces of both RAW and SmackDown! What will the first night out for the "new" RAW
bring? How will the RAW Superstars react to the changes? Who will be the first
to target the new additions to RAW? Only one way to find out -- watch RAW next
week at 9/8 CT on Spike TV!
PICKED TO GO FROM RAW TO SMACKDOWN!: | PICKED TO GO FROM SMACKDOWN! TO RAW: | |
Rene Dupree | Shelton Benjamin | |
Mark Jindrak | Nidia | |
Triple H | Rhyno | |
Rob Van Dam | Edge | |
Theodore Long | Tajiri | |
Spike Dudley | Paul Heyman |
Match Results:
Chris Jericho defeated Rene Dupree
Kane defeated Rico
Christian defeated Spike Dudley
Batista & Ric Flair defeated Rob Van Dan & Booker T to win the World Tag Team
Championship
Chris Benoit defeated Rhyno
Eddie Guerrero defeated Triple H via disqualification