Raw is War
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
May 9, 2005
THE RUSH IS ON
MAY 9, 2005
It’s final. Two of RAW’s most determined (and arguably disturbed) competitors
will battle in the last match of the Gold Rush Tournament next week when Edge
faces Kane.
The last bracket was revealed Monday night in Wilkes-Barre, Penn., when “Mr.
Money in the Bank” got the better of “The Showstopper” in a renewed bitter
rivalry, and Kane took out Chris Benoit with a chokeslam.
First, The Rabid Wolverine met the Big Red Monster in a contrast of styles on
Monday night, but it was Lita who tipped the scales. When Kane’s wife went down
grabbing her injured knee, Benoit came to her aid. In doing so, he turned his
back on Kane, who smashed him in the back of the head. Immediately, all thoughts
went to the Backlash Last Man Standing Match, where Edge cracked Benoit in the
skull with a brick.
After being blasted in the same spot by Kane, Benoit never recovered. The
monster dragged Benoit back into the ring, picked him up by the throat and
chokeslammed him into the mat. With the pin that followed, Benoit’s chance to
advance in the Gold Rush Tournament and challenge Batista for the World
Heavyweight Championship vanished.
Next, HBK and Edge went toe-to-toe, and you could say that Edge robbed the bank
to steal a win. When Edge went to finish Michaels with a spear, he ran right
into “Sweet Chin Music,” but there was no ref to make the count after an
inadvertent collision earlier. HBK was forced to abandon the cover and attempt
to revive the referee, giving Edge time to move his coveted briefcase into
position for an attack. When Michaels went for a sunset flip from the outside of
the ring apron, Edge lifted the briefcase and slugged HBK square in the head.
The shot dented the briefcase, which Edge quickly kicked out of the ring, and
the groggy referee counted three.
With both semifinals in the books, the finals of the No. 1 Contender tournament
becomes Edge vs. Kane next week on RAW. If Kane can win, it’ll set up a battle
of two of RAW’s most powerful Superstars with the World Heavyweight Championship
on the line. If it’s Edge, he’ll have two guaranteed chances to win the World
Heavyweight Championship — something he said would then be “money in the bank.”
Former and 10-time World Heavyweight Champion Triple H wasn’t there to see any
of the semifinals unfold. When RAW General Manager Eric Bischoff refused to
cancel or interrupt the Gold Rush Tournament to give him a World Heavyweight
Championship rematch, The Game stormed off and left RAW in a limousine. Triple H
declared that he wouldn’t return until he got his championship opportunity, and
that both RAW and Batista would fall apart without him.
Regardless, the events left Evolution ally Ric Flair to his own devices Monday
night, and he chose to take out his frustration with the situation on Christian
and Tyson Tomko. Captain Charisma made a point of stopping to mock Flair’s
predicament (as the second time in two weeks the two had a confrontation), but
he picked the wrong time to mess with “The Nature Boy.”
In response, Flair challenged Christian to a match right there on RAW. But
Christian balked at the challenge, calling Flair a “problem,” when he just
happened to have a “Problem Solver” in Tyson Tomko. In the revised match that
followed, “The Dirtiest Player in the Game” took full advantage of a distracted
referee, blasting Tomko with a low-blow and then rolling him up with a handful
of tights. Now, Christian has a real problem — and no one to left to solve it.
Elsewhere on RAW, Daivari begged for forgiveness from Muhammad Hassan — even
getting down on his knees and pleading to be back in good graces. He attempted
to win a match for Muhammad as a show of loyalty, but he ran into the wrong
opponent: Chris Jericho. When Daivari attempted a hurricanrana out of the
corner, Y2J caught him and reversed the move into the Walls of Jericho. Daivari
promptly tapped from the excruciating pain. But afterward Hassan made his
presence felt, beating down Jericho with a sneak attack from behind. It took an
appearance from Shelton Benjamin — Jericho’s former opponent — to fight off the
brash newcomers. But little did Shelton know that those actions would put him on
Hassan’s short list for payback.
The malcontent team of La Resistance wanted a World Tag Team Championship Match
on RAW, but they turned on each other in a bickering spat in the GM’s office.
So, in spirit of Gold Rush Tournament, Bischoff gave them each a surprise
opponent on RAW so that they could show who actually was the stronger link of
the successful tag-team duo.
Robert Conway showed his relief when Sylvain’s opponent (not his) was revealed
to be none other than the 485-pound Viscera. Big Vis crushed Grenier with a
sit-down powerbomb before making yet another pass at RAW Diva and ring announcer
Lilian Garcia. But Conway’s demeanor changed dramatically when he realized his
opponent was Intercontinental Champion Shelton Benjamin. Shelton used a
springboard bulldog to put down Conway, making La Resistance 0-2 on the evening.
But after the match, Hassan and Daivari attacked the young Intercontinental
Champion, sending the message that nobody messes with their business on RAW.
In other news, Bischoff confirmed that the RAW and SmackDown! Divas are also
eligible for the upcoming draft lottery. The GM also lashed out in anger when he
was informed that ECW had bought a commercial on “his show” to promote their
“One Night Stand” pay-per-view on June 12. Bischoff declared, “Just like I did
when I ran WCW, I’m going to squash ECW like a bug.”
Announced for next week, it’s the finals of the Gold Rush Tournament when Edge
faces Kane. Will it be “Money in the Bank,” or will the husband and wife tandem
“get what they want” again. Regardless, World Heavyweight Champion Batista is
sure to be scouting his future opponent. Also, “The Nature Boy” will get the
match he really wanted, facing Christian one-on-one, and Chris Jericho & Shelton
Benjamin will get their chance at retribution when they face Muhammad Hassan &
Daivari in tag-team action.
MATCH RESULTS
Chris Jericho def. Daivari
Viscera def. Sylvain Grenier
Ric Flair def. Tyson Tomko
Kane def. Chris Benoit (Gold Rush Tournament semifinal)
Shelton Benjamin def. Rob Conway
Edge def. Shawn Michaels (Gold Rush Tournament semifinal)