Raw is War

Washington, D.C.
July 19, 2004

GETTING THE EDGE
July 19, 2004

Edge took a page out of the Evolution playbook Monday night, beating Randy Orton for the second straight time with a nifty backslide and a little leverage from the ring ropes.

The Legend Killer hoped to reduce the five-time Intercontinental Champion to another T-shirt statistic, and he seemed a three-count away after a low blow and an RKO. But a groggy referee was slow to make the count, and Edge mustered enough energy to barely kick out. When Orton went to his finisher again, Edge reversed it into a winning — and slightly illegal — pinning predicament.

While the fans in Washington were treated to a highly competitive Intercontinental Championship defense, those live in Pittsburgh next week will witness the biggest RAW contest of the year.

In a 60-minute Iron Man Match that begins promptly at the top of the hour, Chris Benoit will defend the World Heavyweight Championship against Triple H. Whoever scores the most decisions in the allotted time will walk out with the title. But one question remains: Can the Crippler even walk after the vicious beating taken at the hands (and feet) of Batista? Early in Monday’s Benoit-Batista bout, it was clear that the Evolution member was taking his cues from The Cerebral Assassin. Rather than even attempt a cover, Batista simply continued to assault Benoit with illegal chokes and skull-crushing kicks. Batista repeatedly defied the referee’s orders while Benoit was tangled in the ring ropes, eventually leaving the official no choice but to call for a disqualification. The attack continued after the bell, punctuated by a ring-jarring Batista Bomb. Unable to walk under his own power, Benoit had to be helped from ringside. It was just what The Game ordered only seven days before a championship match of epic length.

The animal Batista also made his presence felt during a match between Kane and Chris Jericho — leveling Y2J with an all-too-familiar whirlwind clothesline. Capitalizing while deep in the D.C. crowd, Kane covered Jericho for the “Falls Count Anywhere” victory.

Jericho appeared to have earned a count-out victory early on, but a resentful RAW General Manager had different ideas. Eric Bischoff wasn’t the least bit amused after a Jericho prank led to the Diva hopefuls trashing Bischoff’s office. So, he seized the opportunity to get back at Y2J by ordering the match vs. Kane to continue with the unusual match stipulation.

After watching the 10 Diva Search finalists strut their stuff and tear apart Bischoff’s office, which one gets your heart rate revved up? Take a closer look through WWE.com and be sure to vote for your favorite before time runs out.

Match Results:

Sylvain Grenier (with Robert Conway) defeats Tajiri (with Rhyno)

Tyson Tomko (with Trish Stratus) def. The Hurricane (with Stacy Keibler and Superhero Rosey)

World Heavyweight Champion Chris Benoit def. Batista (DQ; non-title match)

Kane def. Chris Jericho (Falls Count Anywhere)

Intercontinental Champion Edge def. Randy Orton