Raw is War
St. Louis, Missouri
April 17, 2006
A sign of what's to come?
April 17, 2006
Give an “edge” to the Rated-R Superstar.
Edge outsmarted the Cerebral Assassin and speared him into oblivion on RAW in
front of an electric, sold-out crowd in St. Louis. And with the win, Edge, John
Cena and Triple H have all scored RAW Handicap Match victories. Now that all
three have made a statement and their claim to the WWE Championship, it all
comes down to the Triple Threat Match at Backlash on April 30.
To complete the trifecta, Mr. McMahon placed Triple H in a Handicap Match
against both Cena and Edge. But in the end, it was The Game who had his choice
of Superstars to smash with his trusty sledgehammer. With Edge playing possum,
Triple H chose to level Cena with the weapon. But as he turned he walked right
into Edge’s spear. The groggy referee recovered in time to count three as Edge
picked up an important victory with Backlash on the horizon.
Meanwhile, Mr. McMahon announced a new religion on RAW: McMahonism, where Mr.
McMahon is lord, master and god of all sports-entertainment. Quickly, RAW
Superstars Armando Alejandro Estrada and Shelton Benjamin began to “see the
light” and became Disciples of McMahonism — and both were handsomely rewarded.
Estrada wanted to unleash wrecking ball Umaga on HBK, and he got his wish.
Benjamin wanted intervention for his match against RVD at Backlash, which came
as well.
In the McMahon-made match, Umaga severely damaged Shawn Michaels before drawing
a disqualification for attacking the referee. Afterward, Mr. McMahon said he’d
finish off HBK himself, then tangled Michaels’ arms in the ring ropes. With HBK
helpless, McMahon went for a steel chair. But that’s when Michaels appeared to
receive some assistance from above. Lightning-quick explosions and a wall of
flame prevented an increasingly frustrated McMahon from reaching HBK to do
further harm. Eventually McMahon gave up and fled the building in shock and
disgust.
Just as unexpected was Shelton Benjamin’s opponent for a crucial,
stipulation-laden match on RAW. If Benjamin won, then Rob Van Dam’s “Money in
the Bank” briefcase would be on the line at Backlash; if Benjamin lost, then the
Intercontinental Championship would be on the line at the pay-per-view. The
catch was that Shelton’s Backlash opponent, RVD, got to pick the RAW mystery
opponent.
And the Superstar RVD picked came as a total surprise: Shelton’s former tag team
partner, Charlie Haas. A highly competitive match followed between to superb
athletes, but Haas ultimately shocked Shelton with a rollup victory. But after
Shelton converted to McMahonism, Lord McMahon placed RVD in a five-on-one match
against the Spirit Squad. The numbers eventually overwhelmed Van Dam, and as a
result he’ll have to put his coveted briefcase up for grabs at Backlash. Now,
it’s a “Winner Take All” Match where the victor will leave the pay-per-view with
both a “banked” world championship opportunity and the Intercontinental
Championship.
Also, Trish continued to play head games with Mickie James on RAW. Trish again
dressed and behaved exactly like Mickie — even giving Mickie the “present” of
Trish’s bound-and-gagged ex-boyfriend. But Mickie continued her equally
obsessive behavior, dressing like Trish and behaving as if it actually was her
boyfriend who had been abducted.
Big Show returned the favor as he chokeslammed Kane, but Kane ultimately rose
with a sadistic smile on his face. He also continued to react in a deranged
fashion to any mention — or perceived mention — of the release date of his
upcoming film, “See No Evil,” which opens on May 19.
In addition, Carlito took exception to former teacher Matt Striker taking
Carlito’s apple for his “classroom.” Declaring Striker “not cool,” Carlito spit
chunks of that apple in Striker’s face. But Chris Masters attacked Carlito from
behind, incapacitating him with The Master Lock. The two will clash at Backlash.
And J.R. had a sit-down interview with Chavo Guerrero, who quit after a
disheartening loss to Shelton Benjamin recently on RAW. Chavo affirmed his
decision to end his wrestling career, saying that he let down his fans, family
and Eddie Guerrero by losing the match dedicated to his beloved late uncle.
Matches
Kane def. Rob Conway
Charlie Haas def. Shelton Benjamin
Shawn Michaels def. Umaga (DQ)
Edge & John Cena def. Triple H (Handicap Match)
Spirit Squad def. Rob Van Dam (Five-on-one Handicap Match)