WWE Raw is War
Sioux City, Iowa
February 5, 2007
Tickets punched for
WrestleMania
By Brett Hoffman
February 5, 2007
On an explosive live episode of Raw from Sioux City, Iowa, tickets for
WrestleMania were punched, an Animal was Chokeslammed, two billionaires promised
to appear next week on Raw and the ECW Title was defended for the first time
ever on a Monday night, all as WWE continues to push full steam ahead on the
Road to WrestleMania.
In an extremely rare occurrence, the show opened with all three brands
represented in the ring as WWE Champion John Cena, World Heavyweight Champion
Batista and ECW Champ Bobby Lashley stood together, awaiting a decision from the
Deadman. It didn’t take long for Undertaker to make his decision, making a
demonic gesture towards Batista signifying his WrestleMania intentions as the
WWE fans roared in approval. A few minutes later, the Phenom would make an
emphatic statement, chokeslamming Batista to the mat and laying the groundwork
for what could be one of the most intense matches of each man’s storied careers.
The WWE fans’ approval of Undertaker’s decision was matched only by the approval
of Shawn Michaels, Edge and Randy Orton, all of whom made their way to the ring
with an agenda. With the WWE Championship’s fate still left to be determined,
the bitter rivals each staked their claim to John Cena’s gold. As the trio
argued in the ring, Mr. McMahon made his way towards the stage and made an
official ruling. The Chairman decided that HBK, Orton and Edge would meet in
Raw’s main event under Triple Threat rules, with the winner earning the right to
face Cena at WrestleMania.
As is usually the case when three bitter rivals the likes of HBK, Orton and Cena
get in the ring, the competition was as physical and intense as could be. All
three individuals poured out their soul in an attempt to earn the right to
headline sports-entertainment’s grandest stage. However, as Raw went off the
air, only one man could lay claim to the role of Cena’s challenger, and that man
was the Showstopper, Shawn Michaels. HBK took advantage of the Triple Threat
Rules, dishing out some Sweet Chin Music to Edge and pinning a previously fallen
Randy Orton to pick up the win.
As Raw went off the air, HBK and Cena stood face to face in the ring while
Undertaker and Batista did the same on the stage. On February 18th at
SmackDown’s No Way Out pay-per-view, WrestleMania opponents will be forced to
team up when Batista & Undertaker face World Tag Team Champions John Cena and
HBK.
Mr. McMahon was a busy man on Monday. Halfway through the show, he received word
from Executive Assistant Jonathan Coachman that a letter from Donald Trump had
arrived at the Tyson Events Center. The note from “The Donald” stated that he
would appear next week on a special Thursday night edition of Raw to make a
potentially “life-changing proposal” to the WWE Chairman. Mr. McMahon seemed
eager to accept, and suggested that Donald Trump may be granted access to join a
very special “club”. Which “club” does Mr. McMahon have in mind for the
billionaire reality TV star?
For the first time ever, the ECW World Heavyweight Championship was defended on
Raw. Bobby Lashley accepted the challenge of a motivated Kenny Dysktra, and made
the ECW faithful proud in the process as he disposed of his young opponent with
a thunderous Powerslam.
Lashley wasn’t the only Extremist in the building on Monday. By order of Mr.
McMahon, ECW Original Balls Mahoney was brought to Raw to face his hand-picked
opponent, Umaga. On a mission to extract revenge for the embarrassment Mr.
McMahon suffered at the hands of the ECW Originals last week on Sci Fi, the
Samoan Bulldozer feasted on Mahoney, punishing him from pillar to post en route
to a very impressive victory.
Lashley wasn’t the only champion in action on Raw either. Intercontinental
Champion Jeff Hardy took on his childhood hero, 16-time World Champion and
fellow Carolinian Ric Flair, with a very special stipulation on the line. If the
“Nature Boy” beat Hardy, he would earn a rematch with the championship on the
line at WrestleMania. Unfortunately for Flair, it wasn’t meant to be as Hardy
overcame an injury to his knee to surprise Flair with a roll up for the
three-count.
Monday was not a good night for Melina and her man, Johnny Nitro. The former
Intercontinental Champion was defeated by the red-hot Super Crazy, who used a
thrilling Moonsault to seal the deal.
Moments later, Melina challenged Mickie James for the WWE Women’s Championship.
Anticipating victory, the devious Diva ordered extra paparazzi to make the trip
to Sioux City for Raw to document her first-ever Women’s Title reign.
Unfortunately for Melina, the throngs of paparazzi ended up with a roll of
photos documenting her defeat, as Mickie James celebrated another successful
title defense. A furious Melina ordered Nitro to remove the photographers from
the ring as they continued to snap photos of the distraught Diva.
In other Raw action, The World’s Greatest Tag Team & Chris Masters scored a
quick victory over Carlito & Cryme Tyme after Shelton rolled up Carlito for the
pin. Later in the night, Carlito was lectured by a peeved and pissed Ric Flair,
who was angry that Carlito was not taking his role in the business seriously.
Matches
The World's Greatest Tag Team & Chris Masters def. Carlito & Cryme Tyme
Umaga def. Balls Mahoney
Super Crazy def. Johnny Nitro
Women's Champion Mickie James def. Melina
Intercontinental Champion Jeff Hardy def. Ric Flair
ECW World Champion def. Kenny Dysktra
Shawn Michaels def. Edge
and Randy Orton (Triple Threat Match)