Raw is War
Uncasville, Connecticut
August 1, 2005
Beginning of the end?
August 1, 2005
John Cena walked out of the Mohegan Sun Arena as the WWE Champion, but how much
longer will the gold be around his waist?
Last week Carlito defeated John Cena with the help of special guest referee
Chris Jericho. The win earned him a rematch at RAW Monday night, this time with
the WWE Championship on the line. RAW General Manager Eric Bischoff tried to
stack the odds against John Cena one more time and appointed Jericho as the
referee once again. The GM also decided to come out to ringside to oversee his
diabolical plan.
Early on it looked like Cena wouldn’t have a prayer. But Cena somehow found a
way to kick out from Jericho’s speedy three counts each and every time. When his
fast counts weren’t getting the job done, Y2J decided to join Carlito for some
double-team maneuvers, throwing Cena shoulder-first into the ring post and
exposing the steel security railing for more punishment.
Cena absorbed this hellacious beating, and yet still made a Herculean comeback,
even hitting the 5-Knuckle Shuffle, and going for the pin. But Jericho just
stood in the corner with his arms folded, refusing to count. Cena tried to shake
it off and had Carlito up for an F-U, but Jericho kicked him. Cena then sent his
nemesis Jericho crashing into Bischoff, who was standing on the apron. With both
of them on the floor, the Dr. of Thuganomics hit the F-U on Carlito and a second
referee came in to make the three-count. Cena had just won the battle, but it
would be Bischoff and Jericho who would win the war.
With the match over, Jericho stormed back into the ring and delivered a crushing
low-blow for the second-straight week. The dastardly Y2J didn’t stop there as he
hit a suplex on the outside. Jericho then did his best Kenny Rogers
impersonation and assaulted a cameraman. He grabbed the camera and smacked it
off Cena’s cranium, busting him wide open. With Cena already wearing the
proverbial crimson mask, Jericho locked in the Walls of Jericho as Bischoff
started taunting the WWE Champion, slapping him around. Could this mean the
beginning of the end for John Cena’s WWE Championship reign? We’ll find out at
SummerSlam.
Earlier in the evening, Chairman Mr. McMahon had a special announcement for the
sold-out crowd at the Mohegan Sun Arena. McMahon started out by explaining to
the fans that it was a momentous and historic moment for RAW. It was the 636th
episode, which is a brand new record. Monday Night RAW has surpassed the likes
of Seinfeld, The Simpsons, and even Gunsmoke for the most episodes for a weekly
entertainment show in history. Mr. McMahon said that it might be a nice gesture
to thank the crowd, but he decided to thank himself instead. He stated that much
of WWE and RAW’s success is because he doesn’t let his admittedly large ego get
in the way of making good business decisions. Some of the good business
decisions that he brought up include hiring his arch-enemy Eric Bischoff and
bringing back a dead-and-buried company like ECW. He then said that he was ready
to make another good business decision as he announced that he has re-hired Matt
Hardy and he would be facing Edge one on one at SummerSlam.
Instead of thanking Mr. McMahon for bringing him back, Matt Hardy thanked the
fans. Hardy explained that he had previously been involved in a 6-year
relationship with Lita. While Matt was out of action with a serious knee injury,
one of his best friends, Edge, started having an affair with Lita. Hardy said it
was the fans who let everyone know how they really felt when they started
chanting “We Want Matt” at Madison Square Garden at an April RAW. He said that
Edge had destroyed his dream of having a family, and that he almost destroyed
his dream of being a WWE Superstar. At SummerSlam, Hardy said that it would be
kill or be killed and Matt Hardy will not die.
Hulk Hogan was recently on Larry King Live on CNN to help promote his reality TV
Show Hogan Knows Best and to also talk about how Shawn Michaels had betrayed him
and their upcoming match at SummerSlam. Shawn Michaels decided to poke some fun
at the appearance and did his best Hulk Hogan impersonation on a Larry King Live
parody. HBK poked fun at Hogan’s age and his alleged “politicking in the back”
as well as his used of the word “brother,” but after the fun and games, Michaels
was all business in the end. After delivering Sweet Chin Music to the Larry King
imposter, HBK looked right into the camera and said that Hogan has his own
reality show now, but that reality is going to kick him in the face at
SummerSlam HBK knocked out the camera man with another Superkick. Next week
Hogan will be face to face with HBK on RAW. You won’t want to miss Hogan’s
reaction.
Mohegan Sun Arena was also the site of the first ever Eugene Invitational. One
week after winning Kurt Angle’s gold medal, Eugene, with Christy Hemme by his
side, put his new prize on the line and called out Mohegan Sun’s hometown hero.
Kurt Angle answered the challenge, but Angle said he was from Pittsburgh, so
Eugene would not let him participate. Angle was confident that there was no way
Eugene could find a hometown hero on a Native American Reservation, but a blast
from the past answered the call in Tatanka. The former WWE Superstar gave it all
he had and sent Eugene reeling with a top-rope Tomahawk Chop. He then went for a
Samoan Drop, but Eugene countered and hit an Angle Slam. Then adding even more
insult to injury, Eugene slapped on the Ankle Lock. Angle became infuriated and
interrupted the match. Tatanka then joined forces with Eugene as the two
clotheslined Angle out of the ring. Next week RAW will be from Pittsburgh,
Angle’s hometown, so Kurt will have a shot to win back his gold medal.
RAW had another special guest as Rob Schneider, star of the new film Deuce
Bigalow European Gigolo, came to the ring for the Queen of the Mountain
Challenge for the 2005 RAW Diva Search Contest. The Queen of the Mountain
challenge was a jousting match as two contestants squared off on pedestals,
trying to knock each other off with jousting sticks. Ashley and Leyla went at it
first, and after two ties, Ashley prevailed. Elisabeth then defeated Kristal and
knocked off Ashley in the finals. But it’s up to you, the fans, to decide who
goes home next. This week it was Summer. Vote now for your favorite.
Big Show teamed up with Shelton Benjamin and defeated Gene Snitsky and Chris
Masters in tag team action. Big Show was able to shake off a big boot from
Snitsky and hit a Chokeslam for the win while Benjamin and Masters were brawling
on the outside. Rob Conway was also in action, defeating Val Venis.
Matches
Rob Conway def. Val Venis
Shelton Benjamin & Big Show def. Chris Masters & Snitsky
WWE Champion John Cena def. Intercontinental Champion Carlito to retain
Eugene def. Tatanka via DQ (Eugene Invitational)