WWE Raw is War
Bridgeport, Connecticut
April 9, 2007
thanks to: wwe.com
Redemption
By Noah Starr
April 9, 2007
Shane McMahon seemed to have redemption on his mind when he arrived at the Arena
at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, Conn. WWE.com caught up with Shane upon arrival,
and he promised to make some serious impact.
And make an impact he did.
Moments after the smoke had cleared from the Raw opening pyrotechnics display,
Shane stepped into the ring. Only eight days after his father had his head
shaved bald at WrestleMania, the younger McMahon arrived to restore honor to his
family name.
“I am fourth-generation in this business,” Shane began, “and tonight is about
respect.” With that, he called out the Superstar responsible for the McMahon’s
family’s embarrassments: ECW World Champion Bobby Lashley, who strode to the
ring. Even Lashley’s imposing figure couldn’t deter Shane from making a shocking
announcement. Later in the night, Shane would put his hair on the line against
Lashley’s ECW World Championship!
When the time came for the two Superstars to meet in the ring, Shane put up a
solid fight before doing the unthinkable: cold-cocking the referee in order to
be disqualified! As WWE fans reacted to Shane’s shocking actions,
Intercontinental Champion Umaga, Armando Estrada and Mr. McMahon himself stepped
into the fray. After Umaga dealt out a huge amount of punishment to Lashley,
Shane topped it all off by nailing the ECW Champion in the head with a steel
chair. With Lashley laid out and bleeding, Mr. McMahon announced a match at
Backlash pitting the ECW World Champion against Umaga, Shane and the Chairman
himself for the ECW gold.
Shawn Michaels and Randy Orton met on Raw in a No. 1 Contender's Match for the
WWE Championship, which turned out to be one of the most physically draining
matches in recent history. Following a surprise appearance by Edge, HBK
accidentally knocked out the referee. Once another ref was on the scene,
Michaels dropped Orton with some Sweet Chin Music and fell on him for the cover.
Unfortunately, both of HBK’s shoulders hit the mat and both refs announced
different winners, cancelling each other out and leaving the status of the No. 1
Contender spot unknown.
The confusion was cleared up later, however, when Edge stirred up trouble in his
Cutting Edge segment. After the Rated-R Superstar claimed that Jonathan Coachman
had named him No. 1 Contender for the WWE Championship, Raw’s very special
Honorary General Manager, Michael Pena, stepped into the spotlight. Thanks to
WWE and the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Michael was able to live out his dream by
meeting all of his favorite WWE Superstars and announcing a Backlash match with
enough gusto to make even Theodore Long yell, “Holla!” Michael used his status
as Honorary General Manager to announce WWE Champion John Cena vs. Shawn
Michaels vs. Randy Orton vs. Edge at Backlash for the WWE Championship!
In other Raw action, Mickie James & Candice defeated Women’s Champion Melina &
Victoria. With some of the Sexiest Women on Television vying for spots in
Timbaland’s next music video, tensions are understandably high. Last week on
Raw, Mickie attacked Melina and seems to have her sights set on the Women’s
Championship.
Lance Cade & Tevor Murdoch also seem to have championship ambitions. After the
talented tag team defeated Ric Flair and his protégé Carlito, frustration set in
for the Southpaw from San Juan, who left the ring abruptly to the puzzlement of
the "Nature Boy."
There was nothing puzzling about the way the World Tag Team Champions, The
Hardys, defeated the World’s Greatest Tag Team in a non-title match. They'll
defend their gold against Cade & Murdoch in three weeks at Backlash.
Matches
Mickie James & Candice Michelle def. WWE Women's Champion Melina & Victoria
Cade & Murdoch def. Ric Flair & Carlito
Shawn Michaels vs. Randy Orton (No winner announced)
World Tag Team Champions The Hardys def. The World's Greatest Tag Team (Non-Title Match)
ECW World Champion Bobby Lashley def. Shane McMahon (Title vs. Hair Match; DQ)