411’s LIVE Raw Coverage 12.13.04 | Edge Vs Orton (Part 2); HHH, Flair, Batista

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On the outside, they brawl. Orton puts Edge back in and starts to send him headfirst into a corner. We get a replay of the clothesline. Orton gts a snapmare and locks in a chinlock. The crowd wants an RKO instead, but Orton works the chinlock regardless. Edge writhes in pain for about a minute before breaking at the ropes. Orton keeps the heel offense going with a punch in theh corner. Orton uses a cross-corners whip and charges, but Edge uses Chioda as a human shield, bails, heads back in, and watches Orton follow him like a dumbass. Edge uses punches once Orton reenters and knocks Orton outside with a baseball slide. Edge recovers from his injuries. Orton gets up onto the apron, and Edge just spears him back off. Edge heads back outside to keep the beating going. This prompts another “You tapped out” chant. Edge puts Orton back in after minimal stomping and covers for two. Edge thinks he deserved three and slaps the mat three times to illustrate that fact. He goes back to stomping Orton. Edge uses a series of elbows. He goes to the mounted punches. Edge locks in a rear naked choke with a bodyscissors. Chioda: “What do you say, Orton? Huh? You wanna tap, Orton? You want me to ring the bell? No?” What a guy. The crowd wants an RKO. Edge puts his hand on the forehead and turns it into a sleeper. Orton fights it and gets to his knees after struggling for a long time. He gets to his feet. He gets two punches to the gut. That almost gets him a slugfest. Her uns the ropes and hits a cross body for two. Edge ducks a clothesline, and they hit each other with a double clothesline. Chioda starts the 10-count, which gets to 9 before they get up at the same time. Edge hits a dropkick and heads up top. (I never noticed until now just how great Edge is at selling lightheadedness. Awesome. JR points it out as Edge is on the top turnbuckle). Edge tries the dreaded Flying Nothing, perhaps a dropkick, but we never find out as Orton meets him with a dropkick of his own. Orton gets to his feet first and the crowd is dying for an RKO, but Edge gets the first shot with a forearm. Orton fires back with a right. They trade rights three times before Orton gets a bunch of punches in a row and a clothesline. Orton hits the 3.0 for two. Edge charges Orton in the corner, but Orton hits him with a Jack Brisco roll for two. Orton tries a clothesline… but Edge ducks and hits the Edge-O-Matic for two. Edge takes his sweet time pulling Orton to his feet and Orton tries the RKO out of nowhere, but Edge blocks and hits a backslide… with the ropes… for two. He’s visibly frustrated, and complains to Chioda for a second, before charging Orton in the corner and getting hit with Snake Eyes. Orton gets a schoolboy for two. Edge runs the ropes right into a powerslam from Orton and now he feels it. Orton goes up top. He lines it up, but the cross body misses! Feel the instincts. Edge lines up the spear as Orton gets to his feet. But Orton meets the spear with a drop toe hold! Orton tries the RKO – blocked! Edge tries Edgecution – blocked! Orton reverses to another RKO attempt, and THIS one connects! One – two – three – winner.

Winner: Randy Orton via pinfall (17:48)

It was a bit slow in the middle, but that was a nice, intense match, and the finishing sequences definitely worked for me. Solid opener, and I love the clean finishes. Any non-50/50 booking is cool with me.

Backstage, Ric Flair counsels Triple H (movie star, bestselling author, best wrestler alive, only real World Champ) on how to convince Bischoff to give him his belt. Dave Batista thinks that’s a bad idea – he suggests that HHH not beg to anybody. Instead, he suggests that HHH dominate the tag match tonight. He thinks HHH shouldn’t tell Bischoff who the greatest wrestler today is – he shouuld show him. Flair likes that idea. HHH smiles and gets it. Thumbs way up to the booking of the Batista turn so far.