Raw is War
Kansas ExpoCenter, Topeka, Kansas
October 2, 2006
Checkmate
By Brett Hoffman
October 2, 2006
On one incredible night in Topeka, John Cena and D-Generation X provided the RAW
highlights of one of the most memorable Mondays in sports-entertainment history.
DX had a great night, removing Jonathon Coachman from the building and seizing
control of RAW. But John Cena had a better night, as he once again defied the
odds by successfully defending the WWE Championship against his bitter rival,
Edge.
It’s a rivalry that has dominated the RAW landscape for the better part of ten
months. The hatred began on one cold night in January at New Year’s Revolution
when Edge cashed in his Money in the Bank contract for the right to finish off
an already exhausted John Cena and capture his first WWE Championship. Since
that night, the two have been at each other’s throats in a constant battle for
RAW’s richest prize.
On Monday night, the rivalry reached its boiling point as the two met in the
only structure that could contain their animosity: a 15-foot high Steel Cage.
The rules of the Steel Cage are simple: pin your opponent, make him submit, or
escape the confines of the unforgiving steel before your opponent.
Cena was once again facing seemingly insurmountable odds. The champ’s arm was
bandaged heavily due to a beating suffered at the hands of SmackDown’s King
Booker, Finlay and Sir William Regal just days ago, but as usual, Cena was
offering no excuses.
The match was every bit as competitive as the first 10 months of the rivalry, a
back and forth chess match with each man utilizing their strengths and
capitalizing on their opponent’s weaknesses in the struggle to gain the
advantage.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
The momentum changed hands on numerous occasions and each man made several
attempts to climb out of the imposing structure. At one point, Edge attempted to
climb out of the cage, but was stopped by Cena, who promptly suplexed him back
first off the top rope to the mat below. The Chain Gang leader followed up with
the signature Five-Knuckle Shuffle, and attempted to put Edge away with the F-U.
However, after ten months of battle, Edge had the move scouted and countered
with a modified backbreaker.
The change in momentum inspired Lita to get involved, but the fiery Diva never
made it into the ring. Instead, ringside Referee Marty Rubalcaba blocked her
entry and ejected the former Women’s Champion from the building, all as a
dejected Edge looked on from the ring. During the commotion, a steel chair made
its way into the ring, and that very chair would lead to Edge’s eventual
downfall.
As the combatants battled for the chair, referee Jack Doan found himself in the
wrong place at the wrong time, and took an inadvertent blow which rendered him
temporarily unconscious.
Edge seized control of the chair and swung for the fences, but Cena ducked and
grabbed the chair to deliver a knockout blow not seen since the days of Mike
Tyson’s prime. Cena immediately locked in the STFU, but with the referee
disabled, there was nobody left to ring the bell. Seconds later, Edge received
temporary aid in the form of tag-team specialists Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch.
The cowboys hit the ring and took out Cena with the Sweet and Sour and proceeded
to try and pull Edge out of the ring to victory… but D-Generation X had other
plans.
Triple H and Shawn Michaels succeeded in evening the score. Michaels put the
finishing touches on DX’s evening when he leveled Trevor Murdoch with Sweet Chin
Music, propelling him towards the cage door, which in turn slammed right into
Edge’s escaping cranium.
The jolt sent Edge back into the ring, where Cena was waiting for him with an
explosive F-U and a three-count. Once again, Cena survived unbelievable odds to
score an unlikely victory, all in proving himself to be the consummate fighting
champion. RAW has seen its share of breath-taking matches in the past, but few
have had as much emotion, or as much on the line as the battle endured by John
Cena and Edge.
Nearly two hours earlier, the show opened with D-Generation X in the ring,
reminding fans of the plight of the McMahons. Those McMahons, who have still yet
to show their face since the beating they experienced at Unforgiven, were again
away from RAW to recover from their injuries. Instead, the McMahons sent
Jonathan Coachman, who interrupted DX’s rant to try and restore order to Monday
nights.
Coachman told DX that he was running the show, and ordered them into an
immediate four-team Tag Team Texas Tornado Match. The opposing teams, Charlie
Haas & Viscera, Cade & Murdoch, and The Highlanders, quickly headed towards the
ring, each hoping to make their name with a single victory over the McMahon’s
hated rivals.
The rules of the Texas Tornado match are as follows: the first team to score a
pinfall or submission wins. DX made quick work of an overwhelming six-on-two
disadvantage, delivering their signature Sweet Chin Music/Pedigree combination
to score the pin on Charlie Haas. After the match, Coachman attempted to regain
control.
“It’s not over yet,” said a beleaguered Coachman. “You may have won the battle,
but you haven’t won the war. I still run this show…”
Coachman’s words fell on deaf ears as DX proceeded to threaten him, and follow
through with their plans to run the Executive Assistant out of the building. For
the next hour, DX stalked Coachman through the building, sending him on a wild
race through the Divas locker room, to an eventual encounter with the corpulent
Big Dick Johnson. Eventually, time ran out on Coachman as he was shown the door
and the bottom of a dumpster on his way out of the Landon Arena.
DX and John Cena weren’t the only ones to have a great Monday night. Jeff Hardy
got a third chance at Johnny Nitro’s Intercontinental Championship after his
first two were ruined by outside interference. On this night however, Hardy
proved that sometimes, the third times the charm.
In their first two encounters, the risk-taking Hardy came within seconds of
capturing the coveted gold, but both times, Melina’s interference on behalf of
Nitro saved the day. On this night, Hardy again had his A-Game, and once again,
Melina tried to interfere on behalf of her charge. This time however, Melina
appeared to injure herself in the process, taking herself out of equation and
allowing Hardy to capitalize and put Nitro away with Swanton Bomb for the
victory. The win capped an emotional rollercoaster ride for Jeff, who went from
sitting at home just a few months ago, recovering from trying events in his
personal life, to the newest holder of the prestigious Intercontinental
Championship.
In other championship news, the second opening round match of the tournament for
the vacant WWE Women’s Championship was held on Monday night. The gold was
vacated following Trish Stratus’ dramatic victory in her final WWE match. Last
week, Lita advanced to the second round with a victory over Candice Michelle.
This week, she was joined in the second round by Mickie James, who countered
Victoria’s attempt to steal a victory into a sunset flip for the win. Prior to
the match, DX spiced things up by ordering the Divas to compete in lingerie.
The Divas weren’t the only ones to wear lingerie on Monday night. The Spirit
Squad were informed by DX of a new “dress code” on RAW, which was to be put into
effect immediately for Nicky’s match with WWE Hall-of-Famer Sgt. Slaughter. The
dress code turned The Spirit Squad’s already controversial male cheerleading
uniforms into female cheerleading uniforms, leaving little more than a piece of
fabric to cover the enthusiastic grapplers… “pom-poms.”
The new dress-code, combined with further embarrassment and ridicule from DX,
provided all the distraction that the Sarge needed to surprise Nicky with a
roll-up and pick up a stunning win over the World Tag-Team Champion.
Also, in a return match from Unforgiven, Randy Orton proved himself to be RAW’s
coolest Superstar when he reversed a cross body attempt by Carlito into a
pinning combination, grabbing the tights to score another impressive victory.
And, in a warm up for his huge “Loser Leaves RAW” match on next week’s RAW
Family Reunion, Umaga made quick work of Snistky. The Samoan Bulldozer dominated
the foot-loving big man to send a message to the Big Red Machine.
Next week, RAW will celebrate its family reunion in grand fashion with a special
three-hour program starting at 8 p.m. ET, and only on USA.
Matches
Sgt. Slaughter def. Nicky
Umaga def. Snitsky
Jeff Hardy def. Intercontinental Champion Johnny Nitro (new champion)
WWE Champion John Cena def. Edge (Steel Cage Match)
DX def. Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch, Viscera & Charlie Haas and the Highlanders (Texas Tornado Match)
Randy Orton def. Carlito
Mickie James def. Victoria