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TNA
Raw from JHawk's Beak (4/26/2004)
Posted by Jared "JHawk" Hawkins on Apr 26, 2004, 22:22
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Raw from JHawk's Beak (4/26/2004)
by Jared "JHawk" Hawkins
Welcome to....Raw is JHawk!
OK, enough with the 1999 Chris Jericho references.
Tonight: But 2004 Chris Jericho should be here to respond to the appearance of Tyson Tomko. And more importantly than that, what will be Evolution's reaction to losing the World Tag Team Championships to Edge and Chris Benoit last week? My guess is they're pissed, but apparently the reaction's the only thing on the show worth hyping. And who knows? Maybe we'll have some of those pesky match things.
Segment 1
Johnny Nitro's been added to the picture of Eric Bischoff in the opening.
Last week, Chris Benoit and Shawn Michaels agreed to a title match for next week, leading to Benoit and Edge winning the World Tag Team Titles later in the evening.
Live from the Kansas Expocentre in Topeka, Kansas, home of the Cactus Jack-Van Hammer falls count anywhere match! Good Ol' JR and The King are here to call all the action! The main event: Chris Benoit and Edge vs. Ric Flair and Batista in a rematch from last week. But first!
Tag Team Contest scheduled for one fall: Lita and Victoria (WWE Women's Champion) vs. Good Golly Miss Molly Holly and Gail Kim
This was set up at Backlash when Molly and Gail jumped their opponents after their Women's Title Match, and of course, last week Molly choked Victoria out in getting herself disqualified. Gail and Victoria start, and Victoria quickly gets the standing moonsault for a count of 1. Tag to Molly, who chokes Victoria with her boot. Modified neck vice. Victoria fights back with elbows and punches, but Molly throws her down by the hair. Tag to Kim, who utilizes the hair Beell. Elbow to the shoulder. Victoria with a side headlock, and Gail counters with a back suplex. A series of stomps. Gail draws Lita in, which distracts the referee and allows double teaming. Headscissors with an armbar, and Gail Kim apparently learned how to wrestle in her time off. Lita has to come in to make the save. Victoria kicks Kim away and makes the hot tag to Lita, and she's on fire. Flying headscissors to Molly, followed by a Russian legsweep, and a back suplex to Gail Kim gets 2. Molly gets the wig knocked off, and Lita gets the DDT to Kim for the pin at 4:19. 3/4* Postmatch, Molly runs in and takes Lita down with a backbreaker...and here comes Kane to finish what he tried to start last week. He stalks Lita...and strokes her hair? And he sniffs her. A smile...licking the lips...and he puckers up...and Lita ducks whatever Kane was trying to do (it looked like he was going to bite her neck like Dracula instead of kissing her) and runs to the back. She runs backstage and bumps into Matt Hardy v.1.0, who vows that he'll make Kane pay for what he did last week when they face each other tonight. They look into each other's eyes...and Lita screams and runs as Kane attacks Hardy backstage and beats the holy hell out of him until officials make the save.
COMMERCIAL BREAK
They actually did a pretty smart thing with the match. They kept Victoria in the match for the most part to get as much out of it as possible. I'm not sure I can figure out where they're going with the Kane-Hardy-Lita triangle though. They're definitely teasing a Hardy-Lita reunion, but what is Kane's obsession with Lita? Don't get me wrong, I like the segment and I like Kane being used as the monster, but I'm not sure I see the logic in Kane continuing to focus on Lita.
Segment 2
We're back with Coach in the ring. Unlike the Jayhawks, the Coach is a Kansas native who doesn't choke, and if he doesn't get treated like the returning hero he is, he'll start busting heads in the parking lot. Out comes Tajiri Yoshihiro. And he speaks! In English, no less! "You are not winner. You are liar!" He wants a rematch tonight. Coach doesn't want it, but what he does want is two egg rolls, some beef lo mein with chicken teriyaki on the side, and if he hurries, Tajiri can keep the change. Tajiri responds with kicks to Coach's leg and head, and here comes Garrison Cade...and here comes Hungry Hungry Hippos because Heaven forbid these damn midcarders get a chance to get over. He applauds Tajiri...then low blows him and throws him out of the ring. "Nothing personal, just wrong place, wrong time." He wants to know how Shawn Michaels has a title shot next week since he tapped out to Benoit at Edmonton and all. He does actually raise a valid point. And didn't Hunter save Shawn at WrestleMania as well? Therefore, Triple H should get the shot. Tajiri crawls back into the ring, and like HBK, he's doesn't know when to quit. Tajiri sprays green mist into Hunter's eyes to a huge pop.
COMMERCIAL BREAK
Not bad, actually. They were able to build the Tajiri-Coach storyline (even though I don't know why they'd want to) while hyping next week's title match, and they're probably adding a Hunter-Tajiri match to the show later on based on what we saw as well. Sure, there's no way in hell Tajiri wins that match if it happens tonight, but he gets at least some sort of advantage on Triple H, and we get some sort of logical buildup for it.
Segment 3
Moments ago, Tajiri blinded Triple H with the green mist.
The trainer leads Hunter to Eric Bischoff's office, and Hunter yells at a plant thinking it's Bischoff. Eric Bischoff agrees to give Hunter a match with Tajiri as soon as he gets his eyes flushed out. Hunter agrees but says Bisch will give him his match with Benoit...but Bischoff has already left.
One fall: Rob Conway (w/Sylvain Grenier) vs. The Man Beast Rhyno
And Eugene Dinsmore wants to do some commentary. JR: "You'll fit right in here with us." Eugene mentions that Pat Patterson was French-Canadian and the first Intercontinental Champion...then is all "Ooo, a flag, pretty." Conway with a side headlock. Throw-off, slide underneath, and a slap. Eugene pretends to be an airplane as Rhyno takes Conway down with a belly-to-belly suplex for 2 and William Regal takes Eugene's spot on commentary. Conway side steps Rhyno and sends him to the outside. Back into the ring, and Conway with a reverse neckbreaker for 2. A series of punches. Hey, that's a new referee! Choke against the ropes, and then Grenier gets a shot behind the referee's back. That leads to Conway going for two covers and getting two near falls. Elbowdrop, then into a chinlock. Rhyno with a couple of punches, but Conway pulls him down by the hair. Corner whip and a cllothesline for 2. Eugene is in the tech area and accidentally sets off some pyro, which distracts Conway long enough for Rhyno to hit the Gore and get the pin at 4:07. So THAT'S how the pyro went off during RVD's match on SmackDown! *
COMMERCIAL BREAK
This actually wasn't too bad until the pyro went off to set up the finish. A bit slow with Conway wisely trying to wear the bigger Rhyno down, but that certainly could have been the first four minutes of a decent 8-10 minute match. We're finally getting a little bit of a Rain Man feel out of the Eugene character, and if that little bit of a character tweak can translate into some good wrestling matches, maybe this gimmick will work after all.
Segment 4
Kane vs. Matt Hardy is scheduled to happen should Hardy be able to compete. And Benoit and Edge meet Flair and Batista for the World Tag Team Titles tonight.
La Resistance yells at Johnny Monday Nitro, and we get a challenge for tonight. William Regal tells Nitro Eugene's not ready, so Nitro gives him two weeks to get ready as it will be Conway vs. Eugene.
Todd Grisham hypes the WWE Experience, debuting Sunday at 10am and guaranteed to suck, then tries to interview Edge and Chris BenOIT. The Holy Bible Kid immediately comes out to remind Benoit about his title defense next week, and Benoit assures him it'll be his last shot. Edge wants the focus to be on tonight, and Benoit says tonight is the final nail in Evolution's coffin.
One fall: Christian (w/Trish the Bitch and Tyson Tomko) vs.
COMMERCIAL BREAK
Expect some "hilarious" vignette on Regal trying to train Eugene next week. But hey, at least we're getting episodic television by setting up future events on each show. Smart move out of the Bill Watts playbook. We're also setting up the potential out for the Edge/Benoit title reign...Benoit's focus could be on the match with HBK and not the match tonight. If that's the case, does it lead to an Edge heel turn and/or an Edge-Benoit title match?
Segment 5
Christian wants to go through a list of his accomplishments.
1. A win over Chris Jericho at WrestleMania XX.
2. Taking Trish Stratus away from Jericho.
3. Acquiring Tyson Tomko as the ultimate problem solver.
All that's left is the World Heavyweight Championship. And nothing's...
One fall: Christian (w/Trish the Bitch and Tyson Tomko) vs. Grand Master Sexay
Christian attacks from behind very early. Punches and kicks and forearms. Choke against the ropes. Sexay with some punches and a flapjack. Enzuigiri for 2. Punches by Christian, then the mounted corner punches. Christian runs into Grand Master's foot. Sexay avoids an inverted DDT and clotheslines Christian over the top rope. He rolls Christian inside and climbs up top for the Hip Hop Drop, but Christian crotches him onto the top rope and his the Unprettier for the pin at 2:38. 1/2* Tomko comes in and lays Sexay out, but here comes Y2J+4, or more accurately his entrance video. Tomko is sent down the aisle, so Jericho comes through the crowd and knocks Christian out of the ring. Jericho goes after Trish, but Tomko pulls her out of the ring, and Christian restrains Tomko from hitting the ring.
Triple H vs. Tajiri is next!
COMMERCIAL BREAK
Well, this segment served its purpose in adding more fuel to the fire of the Jericho-Christian/Trish feud, and the ultimate payoff has to be Y2J maintaining an extended Walls of Jericho on Trish or the entire feud's a waste. We've yet to see if Tomko can actually wrestle (I saw him in a dark match in November and wasn't impressed), and I have to think this feud can't last any longer than the June pay-per-view at this point.
Segment 6
One fall: Hungry Hungry Hippos vs. Tajiri Yoshihiro
Triple H is still trying to get the mist out of his eyes. Tajiri leapfrogs over a charging Triple H and gets an early advantage, but Triple H quickly takes control. Chokehold. Right hand. Corner whip, and Hunter runs into a superkick that gets a count of 2. A series of martial arts kicks to the quads, and a cover for 2. Whip, reversal, and Tajiri with a handspring elbow for a near fall. Hunter to the outside for a Tastykake break, and Tajiri follows. Knee to the midsection by Triple H, but Tajiri quickly uses the ringsteps to his advantage. Tajiri rolls into the ring and asks for a countout...and Mike Chioda restarts the count. Um...I thought that was only if Tajiri tried to keep Hunter from entering the ring. Hunter reenters the rings at 9. Low blow, Tajiri avoids the Pedigree and kicks away, but he runs into a Triple H spinebuster. A series of kicks to the midsection. Hard corner whip. And another one. Tajiri coming back with more kicks, and a spinning heel kick gets yet another near fall. Hunter into an abdominal stretch. Tajiri reverses and locks in the octopus (and JR doesn't know the name of it), and Hunter powers out of it. A series of stomps by Triple H, and a boot choke. Another boot choke. Tajiri catches Hunter coming in with a kick and goes for the Tarantula, but HHH dumps him over the top rope. Hunter talks to Chioda, and Tajiri hits a missile dropkick that takes HHH and Chioda down. Tajiri misses the mist and eats a clothesline. Chokehold as Chioda comes to. There's a Pedigree that deflates most (but not all) of the crowd, and Hunter gets the pin at 8:22. Contrasting styles, but they both busted their asses here. *1/2
COMMERCIAL BREAK
The contrasting styles kept this one from being anything better than an average match, but give Triple H some credit for making Tajiri look as if he might have a shot, even if nobody truly believed it. I've certainly seen worse efforts out of both of these men, but I don't know if there's anywhere for Tajiri to go from here unless it's back to Heat to blow off the feud with Cade.
Segment 7
Earlier tonight, Kane scared the hell out of Lita and ended up beating up on Matt Hardy.
One fall: Kane vs. Matt Hardy v.1.0
Matt Facts: "Matt always meets his deadlines". Better than half of the so-called journalists in the world. Hardy does limp his way to the ring. He tries to go right after Kane, but Kane is simply too fresh and too powerful. Choke against the ropes by Kane. A series of stomps and a boot choke. Corner whip, and Hardy hits the middle turnbuckle shoulder first. A series of punches by Kane. Corner whip, and Kane runs into a boot. A series of punches, but Kane stops the rally with a hard uppercut. Choke Slam, but Kane doesn't want to go for the pin. Another Choke Slam, and Chad Patton begs Kane to go for the pin. He's not done yet, as he wants the Tombstone, but Lita comes in and begs Kane not to do it. Kane drops Hardy and grabs Lita by the hair, and this time he does want to kiss her...and he does. Kane then leaves the ring with a smile on his face as Lita goes to check on Hardy. No decision as we cut to break at 3:39. 1/2*
COMMERCIAL BREAK
Didn't Kane learn after Chyna and Tori that women and big scary monsters just don't go together? What good could come of this for Kane? Apparently Lita still loves Matt in order to be willing to do that just to save him. This is like Love Story. If you like that sort of mush.
Segment 8
Last Wednesday, Victoria helped such luminaries as Hillary Rodham Clinton try to get young people to vote. That one dude was WAY too happy to hold the women's title belt.
Jerry Lawler is in the ring to discuss the importance of reading. Or at least looking through the 2004 Divas Swimsuit Issue. Let's look at some of the pictures, including a very nice one of Stacy Keibler. Well, you know me, I'm a leg man. And the Diva DVD comes out tomorrow, and cue My Future Wife. I'm not in Kansas anymore, but by God I wish I were now. Lawler says a very special guest wanted to see her assets up close and personal: WWE Hall of Famer Harley Race. Harley gets a kiss, and I'm actually jealous of a man with an artificial hip. And cue Randy Orton, and if you don't know where this is going, you've been paying absolutely no attention the last six months. Orton heard Lawler call Race a "legend", and the crowd is starting a nice "Harley" chant. Orton has the gall to claim he's accomplished more in two years than Race ever did. He's going to do to Race what he did to Mick Foley. He spits in Race's face and barely avoids Race's punch (and Race seems surprised that Orton moved). Race tries to hop the guardrail, but here comes All About Shelton Benjamin. A brief brawl, and there's a clothesline followed by a Stinger Splash. A hard right hand sends Orton running.
But Evolution isn't done for the night, as Ric Flair and Batista meet Chris Benoit and Edge for tag team gold later tonight.
COMMERCIAL BREAK
This was nice and all: Recognizing a Hall of Famer and getting an Intercontinental Title contender into the mix. But wasn't this supposed to be Edge's role just a week ago? Were we really supposed to forget that Edge and Orton had a confrontation just last week? Don't get me wrong, I'm glad they remembered to put Benjamin in the mix this week, but it feels forced after forgetting about him completely last week.
Segment 9
We are live in Topeka.
Let's go the SmackDown Rebound and relive Thursday night's show.
This is the 570th episode of Raw, but episode #571 features Chris Benoit vs. Shawn Michaels for the World Heavyweight Championship.
The Man WHOO! and Batista are ready. Hunter already won, Randy was *this close* to destroying another legend, and all Batista can think about is making Benoit and Edge pay for last week. He promises it'll never happen again, as the titles come back to Evolution. Flair: "All I got to say about that is WHOO!"
COMMERCIAL BREAK
Batista actually gets some promo time, and he didn't do too bad a job. He needed to sound upset and get his point across, and he did that. If Batista can learn how to put on some good matches on a consistent basis, maybe he'll have a future in this business that doesn't require every smark to hate him for weighing over 275 pounds.
Segment 10
One fall for the World Tag Team Championship: The Man WHOO! and Batista vs. Edge and Chris BenOIT (champions)
Flair and Benoit start. Chain wrestling sequence to start. Stalemate leading to a decent reaction from the crowd. Lockup, Benoit pushes Flair in the corner and begins chopping away. Corner whip, backdrop. Flair with a kick to the knee, which quickly becomes the focal point of the attack. Batista tags in but misses the elbow, and Benoit begins to pound away. Tag to Edge, who kicks Batista in the corner. Turnbuckle smash. Batista with a hard clothesline. Choke against the turnbuckle. Corner whip and a clothesline. Cover with a chokehold. Tag to Flair, who kicks away at Edge. Side headlock. Shoulderblock, but Edge takes Flair down with a shoulderblock and puts on a leglock. Batista makes the save, and Flair knocks Edge down with a chop. Edge avoids the kneedrop and locks Flair in his own figure-four leglock. Flair's shoulders go down for 2. One punch by Flair breaks the hold. Tag to Benoit, and Flair begs off into the corner...and kicks Benoit coming in. Benoit immediately comes back with some chops, and you knew Flair was doing the header at some point, and there it is. More chops by Benoit, and another face-first header. Snap suplex by Benoit, but Flair with a thumb to the eye. Tag to Edge, who does the count along mounted punches, which is stopped by an inverted atomic drop. Tag to Batista, who telegraphs a backdrop and gets met with a kick and a clothesline. Tag to Benoit, who chops away at Batista. Benoit counters Batista's suplex with a back suplex, and there's the tag to Edge. Batista avoids a spear and gets a knee to Edge's back. Out of the ring goes Edge, and Flair rams the broken arm into the ringpost.
COMMERCIAL BREAK
A similar start to last week's match, with the fan favorite tag team in control early. Now hopefully the challengers will actually focus on Edge's arm for the remainder of the match rather than ignore it halfway into the match like they did last week.
Segment 11
Batista whips Edge into the corner but runs into a big boot, and then Batista gets sent face first into the corner. Hot tag to Benoit, and Benoit whips Batista into the ropes and clotheslines him. A backdrop for Flair, and a snap suplex for Batista...and a thumb to the eye by Flair. Top rope, and of course, that doesn't work. Rolling Germans to Batista. Signaling for the diving headbutt, and it connects. Crippler Crossface, and Flair makes the save with a kick to the back of the head. Flair with the knee to the ribs, then back to his corner like nothing happened. Tag to Flair. Hard corner whip. Kneedrop. Chops. Punches. Corner whip, and a tag to Batista. Vertical suplex. Knee to the back. A "let's go Benoit" chant as Batista focuses on the back. Half Boston crab. Tag to Flair, who covers for a series of 2 counts. Chop for 2. Small package for 2. Chop for 2. Tag to Batista. Running powerslam for 2 near falls. Tag to Flair. Chops, and Benoit trying to fight back. Benoit with a backslide for 2. Exchanging chops, but Flair uses a drop toehold and tags in Batista. Batista avoids a German suplex, but he doesn't avoid an enzuigiri, and both men are down. Tags on each end, and Edge is all over Flair with clotheslines. Backdrop, and a spinning heel kick to Batista. Flair wuth a thumb to the eye, but Edge with a flying forearm. All four men brawl in the ring, and Batista takes Benoit down with a spinebuster. Edge knocks Batista over the top rope. Flair goes to figure-four Benoit, but Edge is the legal man and takes Flair down with a spear for the pin at 19:07. **1/2 In comes Triple H, and he immediately targets Benoit. Batista grabs a chair, but Shawn Michaels comes in and hits Batista with it. He goes for Triple H, but he hits Benoit instead. Hunter going for the Pedigree, but HBK backdrops him over the top rope. Edge in, and he's arguing with HBK over the chair shot, and HBK pleads his case. Edge seems to believe it, but Benoit doesn't, as he locks in a sharpshooter as HBK turns around. Edge tries to help cooler heads prevail and talks Benoit into releasing the hold.
END OF SHOW
I wish I knew exactly how much Flair and Batista worked the arm during the break, because that could affect the rating by half a star either way. As it was, I saw it as slightly better than last week's match, thanks largely to the fact that there were actually some attempts to win the match and an original finish. That's a very weak way to build toward next week's title match though, and what I don't like is it makes Benoit look like the bad guy in the entire situation since the chair shot was an accident.
Overall, Raw continues the streak of decent or better shows with a solid overall effort. Everything for the most part made sense, and while there wasn't a standout match to anchor the show, I certainly wasn't bored at all over the course of the show. Put in a great match somewhere in here and I'd be willing to praise this show to no end. As it is, a solid effort, and somehow I'm more interested in a show that's two months away from a pay-per-view than a show that's three weeks away from a pay-per-view.
But you're all free to send feedback and tell me what you think, and don't forget to vote in the final four of the TSM Mat Madness II tournament.
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