Raw is War
Ford Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
September 25, 2006
SmackDown beatdown
By Zack Zeigler
September 25, 2006
In front of a raucous Oklahoma City crowd (which included University of Oklahoma
head football coach Bob Stoops and country musician Toby Keith), John Cena’s
night went from bad to worse in a hurry.
Cena easily came out on top of his No Holds Barred Match with Lita – even with
one hand tied behind his back. Unfortunately for The Champ, by the time he left
Ford Arena, he was severely beaten and embarrassed by World Heavyweight Champion
King Booker, Sir William Regal and Finlay -- the same three Superstars Cena will
face on SmackDown this Friday in a Six Man Tag Team Match.
Cena’s match with Lita came about when former WWE Champion Edge accepted the
match for Lita after Cena made a comment regarding how easily he’d be able to
defeat her in that situation. Lita wasn’t too pleased with her boyfriend making
that decision for her, but she went along with it regardless of her gut
instinct.
Perhaps Edge had something in mind to help protect Lita in the match, but Mr.
McMahon’s Executive Assistant Jonathan Coachman informed the Rated-R Superstar
that in Mr. McMahon’s absence, he’d be taking over. Edge smiled at the
announcement, but he wasn’t happy much longer. Coachman said that going along
with the Chairman’s philosophy to avoid predictability, if Edge interfered in
the match he’d lose his rematch clause and would forfeit his opportunity to take
on Cena for the WWE Championship.
Lita stood little chance against the champion, and after a quick FU, Cena was
able to get the three-count. But afterwards, the beating the WWE Champion
suffered at the hands of the SmackDown thugs seemed to last forever. With Cena’s
arm still tied behind his back, he was virtually helpless to defend himself. His
vulnerable arm was the target of Regal, who also eye gouged and dropped hard
punches to Cena’s mouth. Finlay used his shillelagh to blast Cena in the face
and in the back of his head, but it was King Booker who made it all worse. He
demanded his loyal SmackDown subjects to bring a nearly unconscious Cena to kiss
his royal feet. After Finlay and Regal shoved the champion’s face into the World
Heavyweight Champion’s gnarled feet, the humiliation Cena must have felt is
unthinkable. To the WWE Champion’s credit, he never gave up trying to resist
their demands… but his resistance only caused him to be beaten worse by Regal
and Finlay.
When the three SmackDown vagrants left the ring, Edge couldn’t hold back his
laughs. Never mind that his girlfriend was smashed into the mat by an FU from
Cena, the Rated-R Superstar saw an opportunity to cash in his rematch clause.
“Well John, it looks like you just got your ass kicked and it looks like you’re
going to get your ass kicked on Friday on SmackDown. More importantly, you’re
going to get your ass kicked next week because I’m going to invoke my rematch
clause. Next week on RAW, [it’s going to be] you and me, one-on-one, in a
15-foot high steel cage. Now, can you see that?” mocked the former WWE Champion.
After the beating he suffered on RAW, can Cena recover in time to compete on
SmackDown? Will he be healthy enough to battle Edge in a Steel Cage Match in his
first championship defense since winning it at Unforgiven? Will Lita have any
animosity for her boyfriend’s disregard for her well being?
Prior to the main event match, Coachman threw a curve ball at everyone when he
introduced his former mentor and former boss, Eric Bischoff. Bischoff answered
the question that WWE.com raised when he was spotted wandering around Ford Arena
– “What is he doing here?”
The answer wasn’t to verbally abuse Mr. McMahon for “unceremoniously and
unjustly” firing him. It was to inform the WWE fans that prior to being fired,
he signed a book deal with WWE and that book, Controversy Creates Cash, was now
complete.
“I tell the truth about a lot of things, most of which will piss off Vincent
Kennedy McMahon,” said Bischoff.
He claimed his tenure in sports-entertainment changed the entire landscape of
the business.
“RAW in its current form wouldn’t exist without me. There would be no DX without
the nWo (referring to a faction in WCW),” he said.
Once Bischoff got into the details of his book that “told the truth about Mr.
McMahon,” that was all Coachmen needed to hear before rudely cutting him off.
That wasn’t exactly the interview Coachman was hoping for from his former boss.
At Unforgiven, Trish Stratus won the Women’s Championship and then retired,
causing the Women’s Championship to be vacated. To determine who will be
succeeding Trish, a tournament was set up to crown a new Women’s Champion.
Before facing Cena, Lita had a match with Candice Michelle…sort of. Coachman
gave Lita the opportunity to choose her own referee for the match. She chose her
boyfriend Edge, who smashed Candice with a spear almost immediately after
signaling for the bell. That allowed Lita to get the easy cover and advance in
the tournament.
Even with Mr. McMahon convalescing, DX didn’t catch a break from Coachman
either, as he informed them that they’d be competing in a gauntlet involving
three separate teams. Coachman obviously hasn’t forgotten what D-Generation X
has done to Mr. McMahon; the worst came at Unforgiven when Shawn Michaels and
Triple H beat the WWE Chairman – and his son Shane – into a bloody pulp and
embarrassed him so severely by shoving his face into Big Show’s bulbous (and
naked) backside that it caused both McMahons to require time way from RAW to
recover.
In the Gauntlet Match, DX made quick work of their first opponents, the
Highlanders. The two Scotland natives seemed taken aback by The Game and HBK,
but DX knew their goal was to win. After a surprise dose of Sweet Chin Music to
Rory McAllister’s face, Triple H and HBK welcomed their next opponents, Viscera
and Charlie Haas.
Again, DX was victorious but it took more work than the first match. Dealing
with the 500-pound Viscera alone would cause any Superstar to have to exert a
massive amount of energy, but The Game and Shawn Michaels were able to discard
them after a Pedigree to Haas and Sweet Chin Music to Viscera.
Their next opponents were a different story. Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch were
fresh and primed for a fight as they charged the ring. The southern duo looked
meaner and nastier than the other two teams, and were obviously willing to do
anything it would take to win—including using a steel chair When the referee saw
DX try to counter with a chair of their own he signaled for the bell and ended
the match with a double disqualification. Cade & Murdoch have shown DX that
they’re hungry to brawl, and have consistently been a thorn in Triple H and
HBK’s side over the past few weeks. Do Cade & Murdoch have it in for DX, or are
they simply trying to make their presence on RAW known by targeting two of the
most accomplished Superstars in WWE?
Coachman didn’t just use his authority to give DX a Gauntlet Match or to keep
Edge from interfering in the Cena’s match with Lita. He also used his newfound
authority to stop Shelton Benjamin from complaining about his lack of
championship opportunities because of his skin color.
Benjamin whined to Coachman that he is the most athletic Superstar in WWE but he
is being held back because he is black. So, to give Benjamin a chance to prove
he’s as talented as he claims, Coachman set up a match with Jeff Hardy. In the
match, Benjamin showed his athleticism, but also proved he’s certainly not the
most experienced. Benjamin took his time after a winded Hardy attempted a move
and missed. The nonchalant attitude of Benjamin cost him the match, as Hardy was
able to surprise his opponent with an inside cradle for the win.
Not all of Coachman’s orders were followed, though. In an open act of defiance,
the undefeated Umaga disobeyed his warning to stay out of Kane’s
Intercontinental Championship match with Johnny Nitro. When Kane went to drop
Nitro with a Tombstone, Umaga rushed into the ring to attack the Big Red
Monster. The victory was awarded to Kane for the Samoan Bulldozer’s
interference, which was done in retaliation for Kane’s abduction of Armando
Alejandro Estrada last week on RAW. The Big Red Monster is known for his
vengeful side, which leaves one question: what will he do to retaliate? And what
about Coachman? Will he make an example of Umaga and his manager Estrada? Does
he even have the authority to do so?
Plus, Super Crazy and Carlito defeated Chris Masters and Randy Orton in a tag
team match. Carlito was able to land a Back Cracker on Masters for the pinfall.
After the match Orton pretended to leave the ring but was actually stalking
Carlito, waiting for the right opportunity to land a blindside attack on him.
When the time came, the Legend Killer delivered a painful RKO to Carlito.
Also, Ric Flair defeated Mikey of the Spirit Squad. Last week on RAW, Flair was
able to defeat Johnny while the remaining four members of the Squad weren’t at
ringside. This week, he proved he can win while they are all surrounding the
ring. Now that Flair has defeated two members of the Squad, what will they have
to say about their performance (or lack thereof) against the “Nature Boy?” Is
Flair’s experience simply too much for the young World Tag Team Champions to
handle?
Matches
Jeff Hardy def. Shelton Benjamin
Carlito & Super Crazy def. Chris Masters & Randy Orton
D-Generation X vs. Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch (Double DQ; Gauntlet Match, Part Three)
Kane def. Intercontinental Champion Johnny Nitro (DQ)
Ric Flair def. World Tag Team Champion Mikey
D-Generation X def. The Highlanders (Gauntlet Match, Part One)
D-Generation X def. Charlie Haas & Viscera (Gauntlet Match, Part Two)
Lita def. Candice Michelle (Women's Championship Tournament Match)
John Cena def. Lita (Cena had one arm tied behind his back)