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TNA
The Royal Treatment: RAW (8.16.04)
Posted by Peter Kostka on Aug 16, 2004, 23:33
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I didn�t see SummerSlam, but I�m aware of how people are complaining about the fans� attitude during some of the matches. Canadian crowds are well-known for not towing the company line and cheering/booing people no matter if it is relevant to the storyline (Hogan at WM X-8 is an obvious example). That�s the price WWE has to pay for all but killing kayfabe and thus creating more �smart� crowds. What they have to do is use things like booing Edge to their advantage, like they did with the Hart Foundation/Stone Cold angle in the late 90s, not chide the crowd, who pay money to attend the event, and have the right to boo and cheer whoever they want.
Live in London, Ontario, Canada
Your NEW World Champion Randy Orton walks to the ring as golden balloons and confetti drop from the ceiling. He soaks in the moment for a bit as an audible �Randy� chant erupts. Everyone thought he was in over his head last night, and didn�t have a chance against Chris Benoit, but guess who�s standing in the ring as the youngest World Champion in history? He asks for all the 24 year olds to stand up and take off their shirts, to show what the average is around the world, and shows how much more impressive his win was. People may think it was a fluke, but it was destiny. A video plays listing Orton�s accomplishments, including last night. He�s banged up, but he came out because that�s the kind of champion he is, one unlike other champions. �I am Randy Orton!� Get used to it, because the Randy Orton Era has begun. Chris Benoit music plays and he heads out to the ring. Orton knows that due to the contract, his first title defense will be against Benoit. Orton will be glad to�.in a few weeks when he�s healed up. Ah, but Benoit just visited Uncle Eric, and announces to a huge pop that the rematch is TONIGHT!
Thoughts: Strong, strong victory promo from Orton, as he is in his element when gloating about himself. Benoit even upped the intensity in his promo, pretty much putting Orton�s balls in a vice by not giving him even a day to recover. And now, Benoit is pissed.
All or Nothing match: Rhyno (w/Tajiri) vs. Sylvan Grenier (w/Robert Conway)
If Rhyno wins, he and Tajiri get a tag title shot at Unforgiven. If Sylvan wins, they�re out of the title picture for good. Rhyno tries to end it quickly, but Robert trips him up and dispatches Tajiri quickly with the Quebec flag while Sylvan works over Rhyno in the ring, hitting a flapjack and a kneedrop, stopping a rally by yanking Rhyno down by the hair and getting a chinlock. I see a �London wants the Deadman� sign. Way to keep up with the times, chester. Rhyno fights out and hits a powerslam for 2, followed by a belly to belly for another 2. Robert hops on the apron to distract Rhyno, which allows Sylvan a suplex, but Rhyno kicks out at 2. Robert gets the ref�s attention so Sylvan can sue the flag, but Tajiri pops up with the mist and Rhyno Gores him for the pin.
Rating: 2/10
Thoughts:
- To just ramp up the cheese factor (in a good way), an invitation is displayed while a Kane voiceover invites everyone to his wedding to Lita next week on RAW. Speaking of, Lita arrives at the arena and, after telling Coach that she wants to be left alone, is surprised by the heel Divas with a bridal shower. They come bearing gifts: Molly gives her birth control pills and condoms (since she likes to sleep around), Gail Kim has a framed picture of Kane and Lita�s first kiss and a picture of their baby (which looks like something from Conan�s �If They Mated� files), and Jazz offers something for those nights where Kane isn�t around (the box is vibrating, get it?). Lita gets all huffy and walks off, with Trish Stratus in pursuit. Trish runs into Victoria, and commends her on her performance (or lack thereof) in Diva Dodgeball, which earns her a slap in the face.
- Shawn Michaels� is returning��.sometime. Well gee; Kane crushed his throat a while back. I WONDER if he�ll want to do something about that. Kane seems awfully happy about the wedding, doesn�t he? Someone RUINING it would be such a shame, huh?
Victoria vs. Gail Kim
Victoria gets a monkey flip and standing moonsault early on, but Gail controls and turns a headscissors into a triangle choke, but Victoria gets a cover to break. Gail goes back in control as the crowd shows how much the match entertains them by breaking out the �You Screwed Bret� chant at Hebner. Victoria grabs the advantage back with an inverted atomic drop, but Gail counters the twirling sidewalk slam with a headscissors, but Victoria gets the Widow�s Peak for the pin, anyway. Trish comes out to get some, and Victoria brings it, but Tyson Tomko comes out and grabs her for a free shot from Trish. He presses her, but the �woman� in drag (welcomed by a �Stevie� chant) makes the save.
Rating: 1/10
Thoughts: Only thing worse than a bad woman�s match is a bad and pointless one. It never got off the ground, and only served to advance an angle better suited for Heat or something. Please come back to action, Trish!
Kane vs. Edge � (IC title match)
Apparently Kane got this match as a wedding present from Eric Bischoff. The confetti from Orton�s segment is STILL falling, by the way. Kane dedicates the match to Lita. Kane powers Edge around to start, but Edge ducks a boot and goes for the knee, wrapping it around the post, but Kane shoves him into the barrier and Lita heads down the aisle as we take a break.
Kane has a neckwrench on as we come back. Edge rallies, but Kane drops him on the ropes and drops a leg for 2. He hits the chinlock, and Edge tries to fight out, but Kane takes him down with a neckbreaker for 2. Edge comes back with an Edge-o-Matic for 2 and spears Kane off the apron, pounding on him on the floor. Back in, he nails a missile dropkick for 2 and goes for the DDT, but Kane escapes and hits a clothesline. He goes up, but Edge cuts him off and tries for a superplex, but Kane shoves him off into the ref before coming down on Edge with a clothesline. He readies the chokeslam, but Lita grabs his foot. Edge uses this to go for the spear, but Kane catches him with a boot, but Matt Hardy runs in with a Twist of Fate and Edge gets the spear for the pin. Kane stares at Lita and grabs a mic. You�d think he was angry about this, but he isn�t since he�s getting married next week, and later that night, he�s going to get him some. That earns him a slap, but Kane likes it rough, baby.
Rating: 5/10
Thoughts: Match was fairly nondescript, as they didn�t mesh all that well and Edge was pretty much used as a background character for the Lita/Kane angle. Kane is the saving grace of this whole thing with his giddiness at becoming a father and getting married. Really, if someone disrupts the festivities next week, he will be on Kane�s bad side SO FAST.
- Da Coach is with the wannabes, and they all want Carmella out since she�s been a bitch the whole contest and even skipped the Diva Dodgeball last night. She sheds a few tears, but she�s not the one leaving, Michelle is.
Thoughts: If you�ll let me care about this stuff for a minute, I have a sinking suspicion that they are purposefully making Carmella out to be a sympathetic character with all the other women hating her and all so people will vote for her. Not that I�m insinuating that this contest is RIGGED, mind you. Perish the thought.
Chris Jericho vs. Batista (w/Ric WHOO Flair)
Batista boots Jericho down to start and works him over in the corner, but Jericho pokes him in the eye and hits an axehandle. Flair trips him up and struts for the crowd while Batista works the head, but Jericho fights back and escapes a powerslam, nailing a forearm and running enziguri. He charges and Batista goes for a spinebuster, but Jericho counters into a roll-up and goes for the Walls, but naturally, Batista kicks him away. Flair hops onto the apron, so Jericho meets him with a springboard dropkick and a regular one for Batista. He hits the bulldog and goes for the Lionsault, but Flair pushes him off the ropes, drawing a DQ. Batista nails him with a spinebuster and Edge runs down, but Flair and Batista get in his way, so Edge just walks back up the ramp and watches as Jericho gets the �Tistabomb, retribution for when Jericho didn�t help him out last week.
Rating: 2/10
Thoughts: I�m kind of getting sick of this match up, and like Edge�s match, this did nothing but further an angle (the Edge-Jericho angle) and didn�t give us much in the ring. They even repeated spots from previous matches (countering a spinebuster into a roll-up, the powerslam escape).
- The wannabes whore themselves for votes.
- Orton prepares backstage, and HHH joins him. He notices that Orton is a bit apprehensive about facing Benoit, so he gives him a pep talk (which may be one of the strongest promos he�s ever given, no fooling), playing the role of Flair and telling him that he�s already beaten Benoit once, he can do it again. All he has to do is be Randy Orton. Besides, �Evolution is your solution.� Trust him. Really. He�s got nothing to worry about.
Chris Benoit vs. Randy Orton � (World title match)
Fired up, Benoit goes to TOWN on Orton, pounding him with chops and elbows. Orton yanks him to the floor, but Benoit just slides back in and keeps it up, hitting a snap fisherman�s buster for 2. Orton pokes him in the eye to control, but it�s no dice as Benoit counters a European uppercut into a backslide for 2 and puts him on top for a superplex for 2. Benoit is serving up a MAN-SIZED beating with cheese and onions here. They screw up a whip, but recover nicely and Benoit gets a knockdown for 2. He goes for the Sharpshooter, but Orton kicks him off and bails, so Benoit just follows him out and drops his knee on the steps as we take a break.
Quick thought: This is the perfect way for this match to go. Benoit is PISSED OFF about losing the title and Orton is the unlucky fellow that took it from him, so he�s got to take a whoopin� for it. This may be the strongest Benoit has looked in his WWE tenure.
Benoit has the Sharpshooter as we come back. Orton goes for the rope and after a struggle, grabs it to break, but Benoit doesn�t let up. He tries to suplex Orton to the floor, but Orton escapes and FINALLY gets some offense in and dropkicks Benoit into the barrier, hurting his knee (damaged in the Sharpshooter) in the process. He whips Benoit into the post and rolls him back in, but Benoit kicks out at 2. He drops his bad knee on Benoit, screaming in pain before getting another 2 count. He goes for the neck, dropping a leg and keeping it there before grabbing a chinlock, wrenching it in like he always does, which makes it look like more than a resthold. The ref checks Benoit�s arm, and Benoit rallies, but Orton clubs him in the neck and gutwrenches him into a neckbeaker, getting 2. Back to the chinlock, and the crowd cheers for Benoit as he rallies again, but Orton takes him down with another neckbreaker. Slugfest, and Benoit catches Orton with a knee to the gut, but Orton answers back with a backbreaker (the one where he bends the guy over his own back) and goes up. He tries the pump crossbody, but Benoit avoids it and nails the headbutt, but Orton kicks out at two. He nails the Germans and slaps on the Crossface. Orton tries to roll out of it a few times, but Benoit keeps it on and it�s looking like Orton�s a 24-hour champ, but the rest of Evolution run in and Benoit goes after them, allowing Orton to nail an RKO out of nowhere to retain. Batista rams Benoit into the post as Flair and HHH celebrate with Orton. Batista returns and picks Orton up on his shoulders in celebration. HHH smiles and gives Orton a thumbs-up as it looks like Orton�s on top of the world��
Until HHH drops the smile�..and turns his thumb down��and Batista electric chairs him to the mat. Oh yeah, IT�S OLD SCHOOL BEATDOWN TIME, BABY!!!!!!!! Punches!! �Tistabomb (while Batista screams �You�re nothing without us!!�)!! Pedigree!! Beltshot!!! J.R. and King Lawler are dead silent as Orton is a bloody mess. HHH poses with the belt over his body and we fade to black with JR (barely audible) saying: "Is Evolution...really the solution?"
Rating: 9.5/10
Thoughts: People might say that rating is too much, but I don�t care. Excellence all around. The match was crisp and if the Summerslam match was anywhere close to this, we�ve seen two very nice matches in two nights. Both men showed great fire out there and the crowd got completely sucked in. Orton took his beating like a MAN and dished it out in kind to Benoit. And that ending. Predictable? Yes. Not very original? Not really. But holy damn was it executed to a TEE. I kind of wanted them to string this along a little bit, but WWE desperately needs something hot to ride, and this angle just might do it if they don�t screw it up.
Final Thoughts: One of the best RAWs of 2004. The first hour might have kept it from being THE best, though. The Diva Search shit was kept to a minimum, each match actually had some meaning to it, and RAW has set up some very interesting storylines that they can work with over the next few weeks and months, which is what they need to do. Kudos, WWE, kudos. And, Randy Orton�s stock has risen DRAMATICALLY for me tonight. The opening promo, the title match, and the beatdown, some of the best TV WWE has put out this year. Look out, because we might have seen a new star made tonight. I�m dreading going back to SD in a few weeks now.
But that�s it for me this week. Send all feedback to this address.
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