Hall’s WWE Raw Review 5.2.05

WWE Monday Night Raw
Date: May 2, 2005
Location: FleetCenter, Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 6,500
Commentators: Jerry Lawler, Jim Ross

It’s the night after Backlash, and Batista is still the World Champion. That comes after Batista defeated HHH for the second straight time, which means Batista is going to need another opponent. That should make for something interesting here, and it’s why we’re watching this one. Let’s get to it.

Batista flirts with Christy Hemme in the back when Eric Bischoff comes in to interrupt. Starting tonight, we have the Gold Rush Tournament to crown a new #1 contender, with the matches announced when the wrestlers come to the ring. That works for Batista, with Bischoff giving him the night off. Batista wants a match, though, and offers to face Bischoff, who panics over the thought.

Opening sequence.

Gold Rush Tournament First Round: Christian vs. Kane

Tyson Tomko and Lita are here, too. Kane knocks him off the apron to start, so Christian tries some right hands. That earns him another trip out to the floor, but this time Christian sends Kane face-first into the steps. Back in, Christian chokes on the rope, but Kane pops up and slugs away without much trouble. The chokeslam is countered into a sleeper, which is broken up as well. Kane goes up, so Tomko offers a distraction, which fails miserably again. The chokeslam gives Kane the pin at 4:45.

Rating: C+. This was quick and to the point, with Kane getting to smash through Christian and his hired help, which is all this needed to be. Kane was getting on a nice roll at this point, and he’s the kind of star who can be reheated no matter what he’s doing, as his size and power were enough to carry him. That was on display again here, even against someone like Christian.

Post-match, Christian leaves, and Tomko goes after Kane, who gets in another chokeslam.

In the back, Christian runs into Ric Flair, who says HHH will win the tournament.

We look at Hulk Hogan and Shawn Michaels teaming up to defeat Muhammad Hassan and Daivari at Backlash.

Here are Hassan and Daivari for a chat. Hassan blames the unfair WWE for the loss last night. People like Michaels and Hogan need to be held accountable for what happened, but so does Daivari. Hassan blames the loss on Daivari and slaps him in the face a few times. With that, Hassan goes to leave, and Daivari crawls after him like a loser.

Here is Viscera to hit on Lilian Garcia, but Simon Dean of all people cuts him off. Dean says Viscera needs to lose weight, and the Simon System could help him a lot because Viscera is fat. And ring the bell.

Viscera vs. Simon Dean

Viscera hammers him down to start and hits a big forearm to the chest in the corner. An elbow gets two on Dean, who gets knocked out of the air. The big splash finishes Dean at 1:30.

Post-match, Viscera reminds Garcia that he is back on the market. The Black Market that is.

Stacy Keibler is in Stuff Magazine, and Eric Bischoff approves. Bischoff goes on to find HHH in his office, earning him a rant about how the tournament is nonsense because HHH should be the World Champion. Bischoff isn’t scared, but HHH says Batista is on borrowed time.

Shelton Benjamin isn’t worried about who he’s facing, but here is Chris Jericho (Benjamin beat him at Backlash) to offer some threats. Benjamin isn’t worried, but Jericho talks about how he wants the World Title back. That at least gets Jericho a wish of good luck.

In Memory Of Chris Candido. It’s always weird to see that in the middle of a show, but it’s certainly better than nothing. That was a rough one as well, as he had cleaned up his life and then passed away due to getting injured and having complications.

Gold Rush Tournament First Round: Shelton Benjamin vs. Shawn Michaels

Here we go, and Benjamin’s Intercontinental Title isn’t on the line. Benjamin is stunned seeing Michaels come out, and the fans/commentary know this is going to be special. They go to the mat, and Michaels realizes he’s in over his head in an amateur wrestling test. Back up, and Michaels’ headlock doesn’t work very well, so Benjamin wrestles him into the ropes again.

A running shoulder takes Benjamin down, but he snaps off some armdrags to frustrate Michaels again. Benjamin’s headlock is a bit more effective, so Michaels shoulders him down into a rollup with his legs for two. Back up and a Cactus Clothesline puts both of them on the floor, and Michaels is in trouble again as we take a break.

We come back with Benjamin reversing a belly to back superplex into a crossbody to leave both of them down. Back up, and they slug it out until Benjamin starts firing off some clotheslines. A backbreaker gives Benjamin two, but Michaels hits the forearm. Michaels nips up….and so does Benjamin, giving Michaels one heck of a WHOA reaction. Benjamin climbs over him into a sunset flip, setting off a pinfall reversal sequence for two each.

A Stinger Splash looks to set up the exploder, but Michaels backdrops him down again. The superkick misses as well, and Benjamin hits the Dragon Whip (JR: “I HEARD IMPACT! I HEARD IMPACT! I SAW TEETH!”) for two of his own. Benjamin takes him up top but gets shoved down for the big elbow.

Sweet Chin Music is loaded up, but Benjamin catches it and kicks him in the head for two more. You can hear the fans breathe hard as that was a heck of a shot. Back up, and Benjamin jumps from the mat to the top (geez) for an awesome-looking spinning clothesline. That’s only good for two more, so Michaels sends him to the apron, where Benjamin springboards into the all-time highlight reel Sweet Chin Music to give Michaels the pin at 14:44.

Rating: A-. This is the reason I did the show, as it’s my favorite match of all time. I remember watching this live and happened to tape it for whatever reason. It’s a match I kept watching over and over for a good while, and eventually I started to pick up on some more things with the whole thing.

The idea here was that Benjamin was on the roll of his career and was red hot at this point. He seemed ready to move up to the next level and needed that one match/moment to get him there. Michaels was the kind of person who could make that happen, and while it didn’t exactly work, this is pretty easily the apex of Benjamin’s career. It’s that good, but there is more to it than just the great action, and that’s what makes it special for me.

One night, I was watching this match back, and I realized something. Michaels had spent the majority of the match trying to keep up with Benjamin, but he just couldn’t do it anymore, as Benjamin was faster and more athletic than even Michaels, who is one of the best of all time in those areas. The point of the ending was that Benjamin tried one too many big moves and got caught by the veteran.

That’s the idea of the match: Michaels isn’t the same athlete he was before, and Benjamin has surpassed him, but now Michaels is older and smarter. It’s like Michaels was fighting a younger, better version of himself….and that’s it. After hearing the idea for years but only kind of getting it, this is the match where I actually understood the concepts of psychology and storytelling in wrestling. It was my first step into a much larger world, and it just happened to come in a fantastic match. This is still great, with that finish being an all-time ending. Check this out if you’ve never seen it, or again if you have, as it’s worth the time.

Post-match replays show that Michaels hit that to perfection. Michaels shows some respect to the still out-cold Benjamin.

Edge brags about beating Chris Benoit in a Last Man Standing match at Backlash. He’s ready to move on to face Batista because his Money In The Bank contract means he can face him twice in a row, which guarantees him a win. Edge doesn’t seem thrilled with the realization that he could lose his title shot if he is sent to Smackdown in the Draft. With nothing else to say, he goes over to see Victoria and Lita, who don’t think much of him.

Tag Team Titles: Hurricane/Rosey vs. La Resistance

La Resistance is challenging. Rosey shoves Grenier down to start and sits on his chest for a bonus. A cheap shot sends Rosey outside, though, and the villains take over back inside. Conway gets two off a Hart Attack, but Rosey rolls over for the tag off to Hurricane to clean house. A side slam/Eye Of The Hurricane combination to Grenier retains the titles at 3:40.

Rating: C-. Yeah, the Tag Team Titles were hardly in a good place at this point, and it’s pretty clear that it’s not going to get any better anytime soon. There’s just no reason for there to be two sets of titles, as the company flat-out did not have the ability to back them up. How interesting was a match between these teams going to be? Based on this…not very much.

SmackDown Rebound, featuring Eddie Guerrero turning on Rey Mysterio.

Gold Rush Tournament First Round: Edge vs. Chris Jericho

Jericho works on the arm to start, but gets reversed into a headlock. An attempt at going up top doesn’t work for Jericho either, as Edge shoves him down to the floor, followed by a side slam for two back inside. The double arm crank goes on back inside, but Jericho cuts off a charge with a hot shot.

A hurricanrana and enziguri give Jericho two each, and the frustrated Edge goes outside. Edge picks up the Money In The Bank briefcase, only to have Jericho knock it away. The spear attempt is countered into the Walls, sending Edge straight over to the rope. Now the briefcase shot can rock Jericho, with a missile dropkick giving Edge two. The spear finishes Jericho at 8:10.

Rating: B-. That’s quite the abrupt ending, as I was expecting the match to go on for about another five minutes. Jericho was in a weird spot at this point as he was just floating around waiting for something to do, which is quite odd given how big of a star he could be. Edge was clearly on the rise, though, and that briefcase was quite the deadly addition for him.

Here is Chris Masters for the Masterlock Challenge. No one has come close to breaking it, and since no one in New York could do it, why would he believe anyone in Boston could do it either? He’ll do it anyway, with the prize of $4,000, a Curt Schilling Red Sox jersey, and a Tom Brady autographed football. The fan comes in, can’t escape, and Masters wins.

Gold Rush Tournament First Round: HHH vs. Chris Benoit

HHH, with Ric Flair, knows this isn’t good. An early crossface attempt is broken up with an elbow to Benoit’s face, so he tries the Sharpshooter. That’s blocked as well, and HHH has to roll outside to avoid another crossface. HHH sends him hard into the corner and hits a heck of a clothesline to the back of the head.

We take a break and come back with HHH hammering away as Benoit’s eyes are bugging out of his head. HHH grabs a sleeper to cut off a comeback attempt, with Benoit being sent outside. Back in, Benoit grabs the rolling German suplexes, and they’re both down. There’s the Swan Dive, which connects but also knocks Benoit a bit silly.

The delayed cover gets two, so Benoit goes for the Sharpshooter. That earns him a distraction from Flair, with the referee getting bumped. A low blow cuts Benoit down, so here is Batista to take HHH out. The Sharpshooter goes on, and Batista pulls the rope away, leaving HHH to tap at 13:29.

Rating: B. There is something so fun about seeing HHH get beaten up, especially by two of his rivals at the same time. While he is all but guaranteed to get back into the title picture sooner or later (because, you know, HHH), he had quite the setback here, and it’s not like Benoit going over him was some big stretch. That’s the perk of having a former World Champion around, as it’s not like Benoit was in over his head here, and that made him more valuable for a spot like this.

Benoit celebrates, and Batista mocks HHH to end the show.

 

Results
Kane b. Christian – Chokeslam
Viscera b. Simon Dean – Big Splash
Shawn Michaels b. Shelton Benjamin – Sweet Chin Music
Hurricane/Rosey b. La Resistance – Side slam/Eye Of The Hurricane combination to Grenier
Edge b. Chris Jericho – Spear
Chris Benoit b. HHH – Sharpshooter

 

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8.5

The final score: review Very Good

The 411

This is a two match show but when do you get something like that on Raw? The Benjamin vs. Michaels match is an all timer for the show and the main event is rather good as well. Putting the first round of the tournament on the same show was a fine way to go for a week as you get one big name vs. big name match after another. Normally I would say the rest of the show wasn’t great but there wasn’t much else in there in the first place. Heck of a show here, especially due to it only being two hours and not overstaying its welcome.