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