WWE Raw is War
Portland, Oregon
February 15, 2007
thanks to: wwe.com
Battling Billionaires
By Louie Dee
February 15, 2007
Challenges were made, gauntlets were thrown and WWE Legends were laid out on a
wild and wacky Raw Thursday Night in Portland, Ore.
Donald Trump promised a business proposal for Mr. McMahon, and boy did he
deliver. As Raw kicked off, “The Donald” made his way to the ring to speak with
the WWE Chairman. After exchanging some “pleasantries” with Mr. McMahon, The
Donald shocked the world by challenging Mr. McMahon to a match at WrestleMania
23. The Chairman refused, citing an alleged injury suffered at Unforgiven, but
Trump was ready with a counter proposal. It was accepted, and there will be a
high-stakes Battle of the Billionaires at WrestleMania. Trump and McMahon will
both select a representative to do battle; if Trump’s representative wins, The
Donald will shave Mr. McMahon’s head, but if the Chairman’s pick is victorious,
McMahon will shave Trump’s head. Read more…
Raw Thursday Night also saw quite possibly the biggest main event in Raw
history. WWE Champion John Cena teamed with World Tag Team Championship partner
Shawn Michaels and their No Way Out opponents, Batista & Undertaker, to take on
Rated-RKO, Montel Vontavious Porter and Mr. Kennedy. Prior to the match, Edge
rallied his team by telling them that the opponents all had something that they
should have gotten: a chance to main-event WrestleMania. Meanwhile, when Grisham
caught up with Michaels before the match, HBK insinuated that his team of
champions would hold it together on Raw before their upcoming battles at No Way
Out and WrestleMania 23.
It was a back and forth battle, but when Orton and Undertaker were officially
tagged in late in the bout, all hell broke loose. The Deadman tried to clean
house, but all eight men ended up battling in the ring. When HBK tried to give
Orton some Sweet Chin Music, the Legend Killer ducked and Michaels nearly hit
the Phenom. Undertaker grabbed Michaels' foot, but instead of attacking his own
partner, he turned to chokeslam MVP. Orton then used the opportunity to shove
HBK into the Deadman, sending Undertaker to the floor. While the Legend Killer
gloated, however, Michaels tuned up the band; Orton got some Sweet Chin Music,
and Michaels scored the winning pinfall.
Once the match was over, though, the team of champions disintegrated. The Phenom
re-entered the ring, and after a brief stare down with Michaels, Undertaker
viciously chokeslammed him. Cena rushed to his fellow World Tag Team Champion’s
aid, but ended up being crushed by a Batista Bomb, and Cena & Michaels were left
beaten as the SmackDown duo stood tall. Is this scene a harbinger of things to
come at No Way Out, or will the World Tag Team Champions be able score one for
Raw?
In front of his hometown crowd, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper made his first Raw
appearance since being diagnosed with cancer. Piper received a huge ovation from
the WWE fans in Portland, and had the pleasure of introducing the first member
of the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2007: Dusty Rhodes. Rhodes also received a
thunderous ovation as he headed to the ring, but before Piper or Rhodes had much
of a chance to speak, Umaga hit the scene. When all was said and done, Umaga’s
path of destruction included two more victims, as the two Legends were left
gasping for air courtesy of a pair of Samoan Spikes. In what may have been the
ultimate act of disrespect, the Samoan Bulldozer became a big dark cloud and
rained on what should have been a sunny day for both the current and future Hall
of Famer. Read more…
Last week, Ric Flair verbally laid into Carlito, telling the young Caribbean
Superstar that he was lazy and had no passion. When Flair reiterated those words
this week, Carlito showed his passion by challenging Flair to a match. Once
inside the ring, the Caribbean Superstar showed a fire that he hasn’t shown in
weeks. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to unseat the wily veteran. Moments after
the “Nature Boy” used the ropes to avoid Carlito’s Back Cracker, he rolled up
the Caribbean Superstar for the three count. Carlito seemed both angry and
surprised at his loss, and Flair and the WWE fans feared the worst when he
grabbed the “Nature Boy” as he was leaving the ring. Instead of a fight,
however, Carlito extended his hand in a gesture of good sportsmanship. He and
Flair then shook hands to a nice ovation. Have Flair’s recent words and actions
finally helped Carlito turn a corner in his young WWE career?
Intercontinental Champion Jeff Hardy was in action, taking on Chris Masters. It
was a non-title match, but Masters would earn a future title opportunity with a
victory. Once he secured the Master Lock on Hardy, it looked as if a golden
opportunity was headed his way; instead, after fighting the Master Lock for well
over a minute, Hardy was able to maneuver his body over the top rope, which
forced Masters to release the hold within the referee’s five-count. When “The
Masterpiece” went to suplex Hardy from the apron back into the ring, the
champion escaped his clutches and rolled him up, earning the three-count and the
victory over the surprised Masters.
Speaking of title opportunities, Melina helped her cause in getting a Women’s
Championship Match when she and Johnny Nitro defeated Super Crazy & Women’s
Champion Mickie James in a Mixed Tag Team Match. It seemed as if James & Crazy
had the match all but sewn up, but Mickie was distracted by watching Nitro send
Crazy into the ring post. This gave Melina the opening she needed, allowing her
to gouge Mickie’s eyes and pull her down by the hair into a pinning combination
for the victory.
Later, Melina in fact did get to announce that she would face James for the gold
next week, but her scheduled interviewer never showed up. Just as she asked what
could be more important than her, everyone found out; Todd Grisham was actually
with Ashley, who gave the WWE fans a sneak peek at her Playboy magazine photo
shoot. The video was only one part of the preview, as Ashley will unveil her
Playboy cover Friday night on SmackDown.
Also, The Great Khali picked up an impressive victory over Eugene. The Special
Superstar offered Khali a stuffed animal as a token of friendship, but the
Punjabi monster shrugged it off before making short work of his overmatched
opponent.
Matches
Melina & Johnny Nitro def. Women's Champion Mickie James & Super Crazy (Mixed
Tag Team Match)
The Great Khali def. Eugene
Intercontinental Champion Jeff Hardy def. Chris Masters (non-title)
Ric Flair def. Carlito
WWE Champion John Cena,
World Heavyweight Champion Batista, Shawn Michaels & Undertaker def. Edge, Randy
Orton, Montel Vontavious Porter & Mr. Kennedy