Raw is War

New York City
April 18, 2005

GOOD OL' BATISTA
APRIL 18, 2005


Batista was a little late. But when the World Heavyweight Champion finally arrived at Madison Square Garden Monday, he wasn't happy.

Batista, whose limo driver got lost in New York City thanks to Triple H, raced into the ring to save J.R., who was getting beat into a bloody pulp by Triple H in a No Disqualification Match.

Batista once again reversed the Pedigree into a back body drop and then connected with a resounding chair shot to Triple H's head. Batista added insult to injury when he placed a barely conscious J.R. on top of The Game for the upset victory.

The much-anticipated Triple H-Batista rematch at Backlash just got a little more interesting.

Edge, who came to the ring with his "Money in the Bank" briefcase, had a brutal match with Chris Benoit. The Superstars even took the action to the bowels of Madison Square Garden, resulting in a Double Countout.

Upset over the lack of a decision in the RAW match , Bischoff made a Last Man Standing Match at Backlash between the two on May 1 to settle their long standing differences.

Shawn Michaels had another match with Muhammad Hassan. And with victory all but guaranteed after his flying elbow, Daivari interfered and both men attacked HBK to earn a DQ.

However, none other than Hulk Hogan raced down the ramp to aid HBK. After whipping up on Hussan & Daivari, the WWE Hall of Famer revealed he would indeed team with fellow legend HBK at Backlash for a tag team match against Hussan & Daivari.

Chris Jericho announced he would be facing Intercontinental Champion Shelton Benjamin at Backlash. And after Jericho took the mic to insult Benjamin with an accompanying guitar in the background, Simon Dean started his match with Benjamin.

Benjamin started slow but would go on to capture the victory 13 days before defending his championship against Jericho.

Meanwhile, Mr. McMahon made his first public appearance since the Royal Rumble, interrupting Christian's speech to tell the New York City crowd there would be another WWE draft in about another month.

Christian loved the idea, claiming he's been held back on RAW and that he deserves a chance to shine. Sure enough, Christian got it, as McMahon announced Christian would face World Heavyweight Champion Batista next week in the United Kingdom.

Chris Masters invited a fan - Roman from Queens - to try and break out of his Masterlock for $1,000. Roman never had a chance as Masters proved his point in commanding fashion.

Trish Stratus called Lita to the ring Monday. Stratus told Lita she was a like a sister to her and that she loved her, eventually apologizing to a stunned Lita. Lita wasn't in an accepting mood as she rejected the apology and clobbered Trish with a crutch while Kane came to the ring.

Kane stalked Trish up the ramp until Viscera appeared out of nowhere and destroyed Kane, hitting him with a big splash as he defended Trish's honor. Viscera even helped himself to a backstage kiss, demanding some time alone with Trish in return for his help with Kane.

RAW's newest tag team, The Heart Throbs, lost their WWE debut to World Tag Team Champions William Regal & Tajiri. After the match, Romeo and Antonio double-teamed Tajiri, sending a strong message.



MATCH RESULTS

Edge vs. Chris Benoit (No Contest)

Shawn Michaels def. Muhammad Hassan (By DQ)

Shelton Benjamin def. Simon Dean

Jim Ross def. Triple H