Raw is War
Witchita Falls, Texas
September 19, 2005
8-Man Mayhem
September 19, 2005
WWE Champion John Cena joined forces with “The Showstopper” Shawn Michaels, the
largest professional athlete in sports today Big Show and the man that will
never die Matt Hardy, comprising one of the most imposing teams ever. But the
team of Olympic Gold Medalist Kurt Angle, the massive Snitsky, owner of the
unbreakable Master Lock Chris Masters and Mr. Money in the Bank Edge were just
as formidable. With all of that talent thrown together in one ring, something
had to give.
This massive match started out with both teams trying to utilize quick tags to
take advantage of their opponents. Masters was able to hook in his impenetrable
Master Lock on Hardy early on, but Big Show came in and changed that in a hurry
as the Wichita Falls crowd went crazy. Hardy endured attacks from Edge and
Snitsky, but he would not die. He was able to land the Twist of Fate on Snitsky,
giving him enough time to make the tag to Shawn Michaels. Snitsky also made the
tag to Angle. HBK jumped out to an early advantage but missed a top rope elbow.
Angle pounced on the fallen Michaels and viciously applied the Ankle Lock. HBK
refused to tap and Big Show came in to make the save. As chaos erupted in the
ring, Angle was able to Angle Slam Big Show out of the ring as the giant took a
hard fall to the concrete floor.
Edge, Masters and Angle continued to work on HBK’s leg. HBK desperately tried to
reach his corner for the tag on several occasions. Finally, he was able to make
the tag to Big Show who cleaned house with a series of clotheslines and massive
headbutts. Big Show went for the chokeslam on Snitsky, but it was blocked with a
low blow as the referee was distracted. Edge connected on a spear and then his
teammates joined him in a group beat-down of Big Show. But Big Show showed
superhuman strength and shrugged them all off with ease. Big Show’s teammates
came to his aid and this time they cleaned house. Big Show then press slammed
his own teammate, Hardy, to the outside into Masters and Snitsky. Edge snuck
back into the ring and tried to take out Cena with his briefcase, but Cena
avoided the shot and took him down. After hitting the Five Knuckle Shuffe, Big
Show hit a thunderous chokeslam. Cena, Hardy and Michaels joined Big Show, and
all four men covered Edge for the 1-2-3.
That match alone made for another fantastic edition of RAW, but the excitement
and surprises didn’t stop there. General Manager Eric Bischoff kicked off the
show by coming to the ring with his own version of the WWE Championship belt
with him, complete with Angle’s name engraved on it. Bischoff brought Kurt Angle
out to the ring as well, and went on to say that Cena has shown a flagrant
disregard for his authority and he was about to do something about it. Just as
he was about to strip Cena of the Championship and name Kurt Angle the new
Champion, Mr. McMahon’s music hit and the Chairman made his way to the ring.
McMahon was going to come out later in the show with some news on WWE
Homecoming, which will take place in two weeks on Oct. 3 on USA, but after
hearing Bischoff, he was prompted to come out earlier. Mr. McMahon claimed that
Bischoff didn’t have the authority to strip Cena of the Championship, so since
Angle won by disqualification at Unforgiven, and the Championship cannot change
hands via DQ, John Cena was still the WWE Champion. To make matters worse for
Bischoff, McMahon also used his power as Chairman to make a match for WWE
Homecoming. The WWE Championship will be on the line as Cena takes on none other
than Bischoff!
After getting that piece of business out of the way, Mr. McMahon whipped the
Wichita Falls crowd into a frenzy informing them that among the past WWE
Champions that will be on hand Oct. 3 will be Mick Foley, Triple H, Hulk Hogan
and Stone Cold Steve Austin.
Speaking of champions, one night ago, Ric Flair added the title of
Intercontinental Champion to his legendary resume, which already included 16
World Championships. Flair said his new piece of hardware means just as much to
him as any other championship, and he celebrated the win appropriately by
partying all night long and then a little longer with four lovely ladies who
were in attendance at Unforgiven. After all of that partying, though, he had to
face Carlito in a rematch on RAW.
Flair showcased his amazing recovery abilities, as he was able to go toe-to-toe
with Carlito once again. Even though Carlito was able to severely injure Flair’s
eye, causing it to swell so much that it was almost shut, Flair was able to keep
coming back. Flair even managed to hit a top-rope maneuver for the
second-straight night – a maneuver that has hardly worked for him throughout his
entire career. Flair was able to hook in his Figure Four Leglock as well, and
with the ref’s back turned, used the ropes for added leverage, causing Carlito
to tap. The Dirtiest Player in the Game is still the man.
After the match, Maria interviewed Ric Flair, but he was rudely interrupted by
Carlito. The two went at it again, but this time Masters attacked Flair as well
and hooked in the Master Lock. After releasing the hold, Carlito spit apple bits
into Flair’s face adding insult to injury.
Plus, WWE Woman’s Champion Trish Stratus was in singles competition on RAW for
the first time since April. Accompanied to the ring by Ashley, Trish showed no
ring rust in defeating Torrie Wilson, who had Victoria and Candice in her
corner. After the match, however, Victoria and Candice joined Torrie in
dismantling Trish and Ashley.
One half of the new World Tag Team Champions, Trevor Murdoch, took on The
Hurricane in singles action as well. After hitting his head on the middle
turnbuckle, The Hurricane showed the ill-effects of the stinger he suffered at
Unforgiven and Murdoch capitalized with a DDT for the win. And Tyson Tomko was
impressive yet again, dismantling another opponent with his devastating Yakuza
kick, causing the match to be stopped.
Matches
Intercontinental Champion Ric Flair def. Carlito
World Tag Team Champion Trevor Murdoch def. The Hurricane
Women's Champion Trish Stratus def. Torrie Wilson
Tyson Tomko def. Eddie Craven
WWE Champion John Cena, Shawn Michaels, Big Show & Shawn Michaels def. Kurt Angle, Edge, Chris Masters & Snitsky