Raw is War
Birmingham, England
April 25, 2005
A DATE WITH A PEDIGREE
APRIL 25, 2005
Now Batista knows the damage a Pedigree can do.
With the odds stacked outrageously against him, World Heavyweight Champion
Batista still managed to beat Christian in the main event of Monday Night RAW.
But what followed was an overwhelming attack as Evolution and Christian
converged on the Animal. After fighting off the three-on-one assault for some
time, Batista was finally caught off guard by Triple H, who eventually landed
his Pedigree. A dazed Batista tried to get up but soon slumped back to the ring
mat. The Cerebral Assassin smiled seeing Batista suffering from the move’s
aftereffects. It was painfully clear that even Batista is not immune to the
Pedigree. If Triple H hits it this Sunday at Backlash, chances are he’ll be the
11-time world champion.
It wasn’t supposed to go down this way; it was meant to be Batista vs. Christian
one-on-one as “Captain Charisma’s” opportunity to show that he’s a main-event
caliber Superstar. Triple H had other ideas. He persuaded Jonathan Coachman to
amend RAW’s main event on behalf of stateside General Manager Eric Bischoff. The
new rules made Ric Flair the guest timekeeper, Triple H Christian’s “Problem
Solver” and Coachman the special guest referee. The changes mangled the match
with blatant interference and biased officiating on all fronts, but Batista
still dropped Christian with a Batista Bomb and forced the hand of an
unconscious Coachman down for three before things turned in Evolution’s favor.
Meanwhile, Edge first finished off veteran Val Venis with a spear. Then, “Mr.
Money in the Bank” battered his opponent into unconsciousness with an Impaler
DDT, modified Sharpshooter and Crippler Crossface. Seeing his finisher applied
to a helpless Venis was more than Chris Benoit could take. The Crippler ran to
the ring and hit Edge with three German suplexes, reminding him that as one of
the most gritty, determined Superstars in WWE history, Benoit cannot be
underestimated in their Backlash Last Man Standing Match.
After Chris Jericho defeated Sylvain Grenier with the Walls of Jericho, the
other half of La Resistance instigated a two-on-one beat-down of Y2J. Things
looked bleak until Jericho’s Backlash opponent, Shelton Benjamin, ran down the
ramp and evened the odds. Sensing they were losing control, La Resistance
retreated, leaving the Intercontinental Champion alone with the “Ayatollah of
Rock N Rolla.” After a brief stare-down, Benjamin surprised Jericho with a
T-bone suplex — giving him a taste of what he can expect when the two square off
this Sunday at Backlash.
Jonathan Coachman thought he was getting the interview of a lifetime with
legendary Hulk Hogan and “The Showstopper” Shawn Michaels. Instead, he was
thrown out by HBK to make way for none other than Mean Gene Okerlund. During the
coveted interview, the “Immortal One” said he’d teach the outspoken newcomers to
respect him and the U.S.A.
But Muhammad Hassan & Daivari sent a message of their own on Monday, shocking
the World Tag Team Champions William Regal & Tajiri in a non-title match. After
Hassan hit a modified STO, Daivari climbed to the top turnbuckle and landed a
soaring guillotine legdrop to the throat of Tajiri. The three-count came before
Regal could intervene, and Hassan and Daivari then proceeded to beat down Regal
and force him into the Camel Clutch, much to the disgust of the sold-out
Birmingham, England, crowd.
The Master Lock Challenge continued this week with a U.K. flavor, as Chris
Masters offered £1,000 to anyone who could escape his signature submission hold.
One member of the capacity crowd gave it his best shot, but he ended up
devastated and lying in a crumpled mass on the ring canvas.
Elsewhere, what has Trish Stratus gotten herself into? The Women’s Champion
found herself eating dinner with the 485-pound Viscera on Monday night — and as
the Brits would put it, he was rather randy. Viscera made it clear he was ready
for a nightcap, but Trish insisted that the big man first end the looming threat
of Kane at Backlash. Her nemesis Lita, however, is backing her husband the Big
Red Monster this Sunday. What will happen when two brute-force Superstars meet
on pay-per-view? And what will happen to Trish if Viscera gets the job done?
Watch Backlash on Sunday (8/5 PT; pay-per-view) to find out.
The next RAW Diva Search begins now.
MATCH RESULTS
Chris Jericho def. Sylvain Grenier
Muhammad Hassan & Daivari def. World Tag Team Champions William Regal & Tajiri
(non-title match)
Edge def. Val Venis
World Heavyweight Champion Batista def. Christian (non-title match)