Raw is War

Kansas City, Missouri
October 22, 2001

Just 24 hours after No Mercy, RAW emanated live from the Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Mo.!

Hand in hand, Vince and Linda McMahon walked to the ring as RAW kicked off! Although the two had reportedly been going through divorce proceedings for the past 10 months, they seemed to be quite the happy couple as they made their way to the ring.

Vince introduced his wife to a huge ovation, and admitted that he had been busy over the past two and a half months, going through a lot of therapy in the process. He said he had sat back and watched Stephanie and Shane try to dismantle the greatest sports-entertainment franchise ever created -- but he wasn't going to sit back any more. He said tonight, he would take care of some business.

But first, he said he needed a personal jump start. Vince was then about to kiss his wife, when Shane McMahon and Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley walked out to the stage, looking like they were about to puke.

Shane said it made him sick to see two old people kiss. Stephanie told her parents -- who she called old prunes -- to dry up and blow away. She told her parents to move to Florida with the rest of the elderly people.

Vince said they'd thought about that, but that now probably wasn't the time. He said he and Linda hadn't had everything handed to them on a silver platter, unlike Shane and Stephanie. He said they had earned what they had by taking calculated risks, and Vince was in Kansas City to take another calculated risk.

Vince said he'd had it with this Invasion crap. He suggested that it come to a head once and for all. He suggested that Survivor Series should really be a matter of survival. He said that one match would determine which entity would finally survive. He proposed a winner-take-all, survival of the fittest contest.

Shane and Stephanie talked in private for a moment. Shane said he would be happy to put it all on the line at Survivor Series.

Vince then proposed that tonight should be the beginning of the end for the Alliance. He said they had done a good job of acquiring championships, but it was time to end that too. He said he wanted to talk about Stone Cold Steve Austin, but Shane cut him off, pointing out that Vince had blasted Austin in the back of his head with a chair, giving Austin a concussion and 12 staples, and rendering the Rattlesnake unable to compete.

Stephanie said that new WCW Champion Chris Jericho would be there to compete on RAW. But Vince cut her off and said that since Austin wasn't there, Y2J was already booked in a tag match to beat the Dudley Boyz and bring the Tag Championship back where it belonged. He then named Jericho's tag partner for the night -- The Rock!

Shane then threw out a challenge of his own. Shane said he would kick Vince's ass right then and there, and Shane was walking to the ring when WCW Commissioner William Regal came out to try and stop him. Vince asked what was stopping Shane, and Shane said that he wouldn't do it in front of Linda.

Linda then grabbed the mic and asked Vince what had happened to their kids -- where had they gone wrong? She said her daughter was a man eater, and their daughter was a wuss.

The opening match on RAW was a divas tag match-up, as Lita and Trish Stratus took on Mighty Molly and Ivory. At one point, Trish nailed Molly with a stunning top-rope hurricanrana! Lita soon hit Ivory with the Twist of Fate, and then nailed the moonsault to score the pin!

Vince and Linda talked backstage, and Rob Van Dam entered their locker room. Vince introduced RVD to Linda, and then said he wanted to talk business. Vince said the Federation was his life, and said he wanted RVD to be part of his company. RVD said he didn't know, and didn't like all the talk about taking sides. Vince said that RVD was either with him or against him, and asked what it was going to be. RVD said he was fine where he was at right now -- just being RVD. Vince said that with all due respect, tonight, RVD could defend the Hardcore Championship against the Big Show. RVD seemed worried at the proposition.

Matt Hardy walked backstage, and knocked on a door, looking for Lita. Instead, he found a nearly naked Trish Stratus. Trish said she hadn't seen Lita, and Matt congratulated her on the win. Trish then excused herself to take a shower, and Matt smiled. Lita then walked in, and Matt congratulated her on the win. Lita said she would go shower, but Matt stopped her, and said they should go find a secluded area and shower together. Lita said she liked the idea.

Commissioner Foley entered Commissioner Regal's office, and started throwing his stuff all over the place, and setting up his own stuff! Foley said they should share an office to enjoy all the action on RAW. Foley said he had made a few matches, including Tajiri against Kidman for the WCW Cruiserweight Title, and Bradshaw against The Hurricane for the European Championship. Mick said they should vow to have no run-ins and clean finishes too. He then set up Sarge and his game of Connect Four as Regal stared on in shock!

Kurt Angle congratulated Edge on his IC Title win at No Mercy. Angle said he never really liked Christian anyway, that he was the world's ugliest pretty boy. Edge said imagine how ugly he would be after the con-chair-to on top of the ladders. As they walked, Rhyno gored Edge into a steel door!

Foley and Regal watched on, and Regal laughed at what had happened. Foley suggested that Regal make a match with Rhyno putting the U.S. Title on the line against Angle. Regal made the match, saying Rhyno would rip Angle apart!

Tajiri -- accompanied by Torrie Wilson -- challenged Kidman for the WCW Cruiserweight Championship. The match was made all the more interesting by the fact that Kidman and Torrie are former flames. Tajiri used his educated feet to wear down the champion, and scored with the handspring elbow. Tajiri also soon locked Kidman in the Tarantula! But Kidman ducked when Tajiri went for the kick to the head, rallying back with a sit-out powerbomb. Moments later, Tajiri nailed the kick to Kidman's head and scored the pin to capture the title, much to Torrie's delight!

Diamond Dallas Page made his return to RAW, sporting a huge smile for the Kansas City crowd. Page he had come to deliver a message they could all relate to -- losing! He said he also had a message for all the superstars who lost at No Mercy. He said those superstars needed to know that losing wasn't a bad thing -- it was a good thing! He said that when you lose, you learn -- you learn to eat smarter, train harder, and improve the way you live your life.

Suddenly, out came Kane! Kane -- who lost to Test at No Mercy -- stared down DDP, who shouted, "It's Kane!" DDP said that Kane's interruption wasn't a bad thing, it was a good thing, because Kane was a perfect example of his message tonight. He pointed out Kane's loss to Test, and that Kane had been on the losing end most of his life. He pointed to Kane's face for example. He said -- with a smile -- that Kane had mangled flesh for a face. But he said that was a good thing, because Kane got to wear a mask all the time! He said people loved masks! Page said the coolest thing was that no one could see what Kane really looked like, which was good, because women would vomit and children would scream.

That was all Kane could take. He grabbed DDP and gave him a monstrous chokeslam!

Next up, Rhyno defended the U.S. Title against Kurt Angle. As the crowd chanted "USA," the two men did some trash-talking and then hooked it up. Rhyno initially targeted Angle's neck and ribs, wearing down the Olympic hero. Rhyno even set up Angle in the corner and gored him up against the turnbuckles! Soon after, Angle went for the ankle lock, but Rhyno got to the ropes. Rhyno tried to wear Angle down with a series of sleepers, but Kurt battled back, nailing Rhyno with a series of suplexes. Angle soon nailed the Olympic slam, but was too weak to capitalize right away, so the match continued.

Angle then went for a moonsault but missed, and Rhyno hit the Olympic hero with a gore, as both men were knocked to the outside.

Rhyno threw Angle back into the ring, and went for the pin, but shockingly, Angle kicked out of what was the second gore he took in the match-up! As the "USA" chants continued, Angle locked on the ankle lock, and Rhyno tapped out!

Kurt Angle is the new U.S. Champion!

The Hurricane then defended the European Championship against Bradshaw of the APA. Hurricane was accompanied to the ring by Mighty Molly. Hurricane was clearly at a size disadvantage against Bradshaw, and was hoping to utilize his Hurri-powers to overcome that disadvantage. Molly tried provoking Bradshaw on the outside, but the big Texan was focused on the champion. Hurricane soon got cocky, and tried to use power moved on Bradshaw -- but Bradshaw just outmuscled The Hurricane! Molly soon went up top and flew, but Bradshaw caught her and tossed her around like a rag doll! Hurricane then went for a clothesline, but it didn't affect Bradshaw. Bradshaw then nailed the Clothesline from Hell to win the European Championship!

Foley bragged to Regal in the commissioners' office, and told Regal that it was a hell of a night for the Federation. He said that he would give Hurricane a title rematch. Regal said the Federation might be on a role, but RVD would retain, and so would the Dudleys. Foley then shouted "Connect Four!" and when Regal pointed out that Foley was playing with himself, Foley laughed about what Regal had just said!

The Brothers of Destruction -- Kane & Undertaker -- battled Booker T and Test. Test hit the boof to the face on Taker, but Kane broke up the fall. From there, the Alliance isolated Undertaker, but Taker was soon able to tag in Kane, who cleaned house! The Big Red Machine even gorrilla-pressed Test over his head! The match deteriorated into a pier-six brawl, with Test and Kane remaining in the ring. Kane hit a neckbreaker, but Booker broke up the pinfall. With Taker outside the ring -- after being thrown head-first into the steps -- Kane hit a chokeslam on Booker. He was about to hit one on Test, but Test powered out and went for the pumphandle. But Taker kicked Test, Kane reversed, and hit the tombstone on Test to score the pinfall!

RVD was walking to the ring when he ran into the Big Show. He looked in awe at the size of his challenger, and the two men then headed to the ring for their Hardcore Title match.

That match was up next, and Big Show used his size to his advantage in the early-going. Show looked for the chokeslam early on, but RVD kicked his way out of it. The fight spilled to the outside of the ring, where RVD used his aerial assault to wear down the Show. RVD went under the ring and grabbed a garbage can and fire extinguisher, along with a steel chair. Van Dam went outside the ring to get Show, but the 500-pounder battled back and gorrilla-pressed Van Dam from the outside into the ring!

In the ring, RVD hit Show with a garbage can to the head, which did nothing but anger the big man! Show then punched a chair into Van Dam's head. He went for another chairshot, but RVD blinded him with a fire extinguisher and hit the Van Daminator. A Five-Star Frog Splash later, RVD pinned the Show to retain his title!

Maven welcomed the fans at WWF New York to RAW. He talked about upsetting his mentor -- Tazz -- last Thursday on SmackDown! Maven thanked the Federation for having the opportunity to compete on SmackDown! He said he was a perfectionist, and said he was far from perfect. Maven said he got lucky when he beat Tazz, but had a long way to go. He said he would be going to the Federation's farm system, and would be back one day. Suddenly, Tazz snuck up from behind and choked out Maven!

Foley and Regal talked, and Foley suggested that Tazz was taking too much credit for the success of WWF Tough Enough. He suggested that they put Tazz in the ring with Al Snow on SmackDown! to see who the real star of Tough Enough was, which Regal agreed to! Foley then ran down the night's activities, and said he had a sneaking suspicion that Rock and Jericho would win the Federation Tag Team Championship.

Jericho was getting ready for the match when Rock entered his locker room. Rock congratulated him on his win at No Mercy, but told Y2J to remember that there would be a rematch one day. But he said tonight, it was about taking the Tag Titles from the Dudleys -- that tonight was about the Federation! He asked Jericho if he was still WWF, and Jericho said he was WWF forever! Rock said that the only thing Jericho had to be concerned with was the two of them laying the smack down on the Dudleys' candy asses! Jericho then gave Y2J a token from their match last night -- the nameplate where it used to say "The Rock" on the WCW Title! Rock laughed, and said he had a gift for Jericho -- seeing as how they would one day have a rematch, he gave Jericho a chair, saying he would need it the next time they met up!

The main event on RAW was a World Wrestling Federation Tag Team Championship match, as the Dudley Boyz -- accompanied by Stacy Keibler -- defended against The Rock and WCW Champion Chris Jericho. Despite their earlier tension, Rock and Jericho worked together well as the match got underway. But at one point, Y2J tagged in Rock, and the two bumped into each other, creating some tension.

Stacy Keibler distracted the ref, allowing the Dudleys to double-team Y2J. The champions were in control, and set their sights on isolating Jericho in their corner and wearing him down. But finally, Jericho made the tag to Rock, who kicked some Dudley ass! He hit the spinebuster on D-Von, and went for the People's Elbow, but Bubba broke it up.

The People's Champion laid the smack down on Bubba though, and then nailed the People's Elbow, although Bubba broke up the fall. Jericho hit Bubba with a bulldog, and Y2J went to hit D-Von with a missile dropkick, instead hitting Rock!

The Dudleys then threw Jericho to the outside and went for the 3-D, but Jericho tackled Bubba, and Rock hit the Rock Bottom on D-Von, pinning him for the win, much to Shane's and Stephanie's dismay!

The Rock and Chris Jericho are the new World Wrestling Federation Tag Team Champions!

Rocky presented Jericho with the tag title, and with the WCW Title! Backstage, Vince and Linda celebrated their night with a kiss as RAW went off the air!