wrestling / TV Reports
Raw From The Campaign Headquarters: 2.07.05
This is WWE Raw, (almost) live on February 6, 2005
You have a good take on things and it was a great read. Keep
up the great work, it is greatly appreciated.
– Laud in Edmonton
Brilliantly said, Laud.
[Flair’s] actions are much more like a comedy routine than any actual
wrestling. It’s actually a little sad to see him end his career like this,
if he ever does.
– Ralph Hill
Absolutely right. After years of loving Flair, I hate to see him become a WWE spot machine, pumping out the same moves night after night because that’s what the crowd pop for, rather than for the sake of putting on a good match.
Last Week
Raw From The Campaign Headquarters 1.31.05
– HHH attempted to manipulate Batista into fighting JBL at Mania
– Edge and Shawn carried on fighting
– Benoit and Jericho ARGUED~!
– Hassan beat Sgt. Slaughter
– Batista deliberately got himself sent away from the ring during a HHH + Flair tag match
– Kane beat Snitsky AGAIN in a cage match
The Preview
Three huge matches have already been announced by General Manager Eric Bischoff for RAW’s first-ever broadcast from Japan: Edge will get his first one-on-one match against Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship; Chris Jericho will face Chris Benoit in what is sure to be a brutal Submission Match; and William Regal & Tajiri will attempt to take the World Tag Team Championship from La Resistance.
I fear Jericho and Benoit will be too short to make anything of, but it is Japan, so who knows.
For months, Edge has complained that he hasn’t gotten a fair opportunity to be World Heavyweight Champion. When RAW emanates from Japan, there will be no more excuses. Edge will face 10-time and current World Heavyweight Champion Triple H, man against man. It’s time for Edge to put up or shut up. But this may be the worst possible time for Triple H to encounter Edge; he’s coming off an impressive, double-duty showing at the Royal Rumble and has never been more passionate about winning the world title. Can the Cerebral Assassin come up with a game plan to turn back a hungry challenger, and will Evolution be part of that scheme?
There’s no way Edge will win the title on a taped show, but it’ll be interesting to see anyway. I’d assume HHH will cheat, because he’s HHH, and to further Edge’s character.
Benoit and Jericho are no strangers to Japan. Their accomplished careers have included prolonged stays in that land, rich in wrestling history. The fans in Tokyo are sure to appreciate this match from two submission specialists. Will the night belong to the Crippler and his Crossface and Sharpshooter, or will the Walls of Jericho force Benoit to tap?
Aahhh… who am I kidding? It’s Benoit and Jericho, I’ll take what I can get.
In what is certain to be a special treat for Tajiri, he will challenge La Resistance for the World Tag Team Championship in his homeland. Will William Regal be able to regain the title with a new partner, or will La Resistance stomp out the challenge?
I’ve got no hopes for this match. La Resistance are dead on their arse, and I really don’t think the Japanese fans will get into them as heels in the same way.
I’m loving this Raw preview, though – it’s all about the matches. There’s no, “what will Kane say about Gene Snitsky” or “how will HHH react?” It’s all wrestling. Hope this sets the tone for the night!
Raw
We’re treated to an extra-long crowd shot to start, as the Japanese fans go absolutely mental. It’s been years since I’ve seen an American crowd do that. I love the guys that are smiling, and giving the thumbs down. That’s why I love wrestling fans.
And here’s Bischoff, who’s booed right off the bat. His translator is uber-over though. In a horribly slow paced intro, we’re told that it’s Flair vs. HBK tonight, Edge vs. Jericho for the title, and to open – Jericho vs. Benoit. And heeeere’s Benoit.
Match 1: Submission match: Chris Benoit vs. Chris Jericho
Straight in with the intensity, as they get in each other’s faces, grappling until they’re forced apart multiple times by the referee.
I hate that Lawler basically tells us it’ll be a Crossface or the Walls to finish, there’s plenty of other moves that could get the tap out. JR talks about their Japanese history, which is a good touch.
Benoit smartly goes to wear down Jericho’s arm, to weaken it for the crossface, but unfortunately this doesn’t last
We’re back to the two knowing each other well, as was built up in their first match of 2005, as Benoit avoids the springboard dropkick.
Commercial
Ugh, fuck mid-match commercials, especially on a taped show. Ridiculous. A nice match so far, anyway, with a serious lack of chops and punches to transition being a great thing. Their history and intensity together is showing up well.
Jericho is bleeding now from a Benoit headbutt. Well, it wouldn’t be Benoit and Jericho without blood.
20 years in the business and JR stills has to say, “that submission move there”.
The lack of sticking to their trademark WWE moves is making this match so much better than anything we usually get on Raw.
We get a nice referral back to their previous match where both guys climb the turnbuckle at the same time, and Benoit, realising he’s going to be superplexed off, desperately headbutts Jericho.
Again, Benoit does the one thing that makes me love him more than most of the roster – he struggles, and sometimes waits to get a move on. His sharpshooter attempt doesn’t work, so he waits.
Predictably, the lionsault doesn’t work, as Benoit gets his knees up. Jericho cleverly holds on though, which again is a sign of how well they know each other, but Benoit wrestles his way out – so Jericho catapults him to the corner. Another great exchange that will hopefully be played on in future.
Sadly, a rather abrupt crossface ends the match. Shame, as this could have gone on for another 20 minutes with EASE.
Post match, like their first encounter, we get a handshake and a mutual show of respect.
Commercial
Fluff segment shows the wrestlers on the plane and talking about the trip to Japan. I guess this is in lieu of interview & backstage segments tonight.
But HHH and Flair’s ridiculously wrinkly legs are backstage. Flair puts over how all of Evolution are going to win tonight. Huge pop for Batista’s name.
HHH is doubting whether Batista should go to SmackDown; him vs. Batista would be a great match. It’s a smart move on HHH’s part, as he’s obviously setting up Flair to be the one who thinks Batista’s move is a great idea… and it’s worked. HHH is going to let him know after his match with Edge.
Christian is with a reporter. Christian wants the reporter to ask Stacy about him, but his first question is – where is Randy Orton? Christian mocks Orton’s stupid fucking posing, and says that Orton isn’t the legend killer, because he’s never fought Christian. Christian challenges Orton to a match on Tyson’s behalf. Wow, Orton’s getting dropped to THIS program for Mania? Wow, he can’t have been that much of a disappointment, can he?
DAVE is… WALKING~! and gets a huge pop
I hate these segments too, where there’s no wrestling. It’s a price you pay, I guess, for a two segment match to open.
Commercial
Why the fuck is Maven getting mic time when he just gets destroyed every week? This is silly. They don’t even bother giving him a translator, though. DAVE cuts him off though, as his booking as a face goes into overdrive. I like the way they’re subtly moving him away from Evolution – not having him in the backstage segments, having Flair tag with HHH instead, and so on. When we get the final turn, it’ll be less of an, “oh.. um, right” than it was with Orton’s sudden turn.
Match 2: Maven vs. DAVE~!
Spinebuster and Batista bomb finish in about :30. Nothing match, waste of time.
Here’s another MYSTERY VIDEO OF DOOM as the Big Show says he’d kick the shit outta Batista at Mania. It’s great how HHH is obviously playing these, but they aren’t going all “NO I DON’T KNOW DAVE, I PROMISE I KNOW NOTHING” *WINK WINK* with it.
Another fucking commercial? Jesus.
Commercial
Can anyone hook me up with a decent speed torrent site to get 24 from? My last hookup started putting delays on new torrents, and I’m damned if I can wait.
Again, DAVE is… WALKING~! Into Bischoff. Dave is quite weak when it comes to emotion, he says he’s pissed off, and then wipes his nose. Bischoff stays perfectly in his character, as he knows Dave is more valuable to him on his show. Huge pop for the potential HHH vs. Batista match.
Match 3: World Tag Titles: La Resistance vs. Tajiri and Regal
Remember last time Regal was the hometown hero against La Resistance? Yeah. 🙁 It’d be dreadful for La Res to sneak away with the titles again, as Tajiri is getting the pop of the night and probably of his WWE career.
Regal is shown to have heart and determination as he fights back on his own in La Resistance’s corner.
Everything seems to be run in super-speed here, as Regal is the face in peril for all of about 2 minutes, and La Res blaze through their entire heel repertoire in another minute. Tajiri’s kicks are super over, as Conway sells them like death every time. This is the Tajiri show though, as he’s allowed to do everything from the tarantula through to the green mist.
Regal does nothing here, and La Res are just there to bump for Tajiri.
An excited Japanese promo from Tajiri post-match earns a great reaction, and he disappears through the crowd.
A hot crowd can make even the worst match tolerable, but they had their work cut out with this. It’s good to see La Resistance without the titles, finally (can you name one memorable match of theirs that didn’t feature Benoit?) Match was just a collection of Tajiri’s WWEized moveset and token heel offence. Bleh.
Commercial
Hall of Famers segment from SmackDown. It’s fantastic how it isn’t the “greats” who are inducted, it’s the “greats who are currently on good terms with Vince”, and some less-than greats.
Match 4: Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels
JR puts this over as a meeting of the legends. Just because they WERE good doesn’t mean anything now, James.
Straight in with fucking chops from Flair. Then, SHOCKINGLY a back body drop from HBK. I hate Parody Flair. A thumb to the eye, as we get one of the lesser seen Flair trademarks, but then it’s another backdrop on the outside. Flair with the begging for a timeout, and another thumb to the eye. Ugh, this is horrible. Chops, for fuck’s sake, fucking chops. Face first Flair fall, and we’re really building the Flair “eye spy” collection tonight.
Wait! Some legwork on HBK lasts for all of 20 seconds, before Flair has to return to the comfort zone of “Whooo”ing the crowd. Michaels sells the leg work a ridiculous amount, perhaps justifying Flair’s quick figure 4. And the figure 4 is not deadly, JR, you tit.
Quick prediction: HBK rolls it over.
I’m shocked, SHOCKED at this turn of events.
The leg work isn’t bad, to be fair, but the incessant chopping in between leg spots is irritating.
Every time HBK is down, I expect him to nip up. That’s bad.
Flair goes up top, and fucking Jesus can this guy just stop wrestling. HBK slammed him off, in another shocking moment.
Ah, here’s the nip up and no sell on the leg. Back frigging body drop, elbow drop and Shawn’s leg is totally healed. Sweet chin music is enough to finish Flair.
Shitty, shitty match. Flair’s weaknesses and insistence on doing the same spots has never been more evident, and Michaels no-selling the leg work was pathetic. The finish wasn’t built to in any way at all. Just a mess all around.
Commercial
Jerry Lawler is in the ring, as he patronisingly introduces some “Western culture” – an All American Diva Something. There’s no translation for the live fans here, which is good for them, I guess.
I still don’t know the dumb diva search whores apart.
It’s shitty how one week Victoria and Trish are all like super intense and shit, and then the next week, Victoria is just waving her body about. Just make her a wrestler or a generic hot lady.
Christy is one hyper cunt, by the way. Talking of which, if she does to Playboy, it’ll kill a lot of the interest in her. With people like Sable, there was so much build to wanting to see her naked, that it was fantastic when she finally did. Christy is just a shitty fast track.
Oh, back to the show – Simon Dean comes out to call the Japanese fans fat, as they sit there in total fucking silence, which is brilliant. A reaction for “sumo”, as Akebono gets up to kick his ass. Why the fuck did they fly Nova out for this shit anyway?
Having Dean call Christy fat is fucking ridiculous, and as insulting as that Fat Molly crap. Fuck whoever wrote this.
Lawler sticks up for the Divas and the fans, but there’s no reaction. I’m not sure the fans are understanding much of this.
Christie low blows Dean, just to continue his burial. Damn, Coach gets better treatment than this. I love that “Walk, Idiot Walk” blasts out as Christy skips round the stage like a tool. That whole segment was set up for what? Getting Christy, Victoria and that other one out there in hot clothes, and making Simon look like a tool? What a waste of air time.
55 days until Wrestlemania, folks!
Commercial
All of Evolution are backstage together, as HHH finally puts his master plan into action with Dave. He takes a backseat and lets Flair articulate everything to Dave. Dave’s going to think about it, but it’s a great idea.
We get one of those cryptic “you know what to do” for tonight.
Edge cuts another great intense promo. When he loses tonight, it has the potential to totally kill his character, unless there’s some smart (“I was *this* close, so I know I can do it”) booking. He’s sick of being overlooked in Evolution’s plans, but just 20 seconds before, they were making plans for dealing with him. He was too busy being crazy, though.
Another quick, shitty segment and it’s back to commercial. This sort of shit annoys me enough to not watch.
Commercial
More fluff about their tour.
Match 5: Randy Orton vs. Tyson Tomko
I’ve got bad feelings about this one already. Orton picks up his best reaction in some weeks. Tomko gets nothing. Christian surprisingly isn’t with him, so expect the run in later. I really dig the idea of Christian seeing himself as a legend, it’s consistent with who he is, and gives a decent enough reason for the Orton feud.
Orton gets an early chopblock, and the pin gets zero. Props to Tomko for not giving him a token two count.
Only a minute in, Christian is out with Stacy, and Orton gets another concussion from a huge clothesline. He really shouldn’t be in the ring if his head is in this state. It’s worth it to see him dead on his feet in a match with Tyson. The referee really doesn’t give a toss about Orton’s condition – real professional there.
Tomko smartly goes for head shots, jamming Orton’s head against the mat.
Orton manages to get some fight back, pulling out his reverse backbreaker thing. He goes mental with clubbing shots to Tomko’s chest, which is the sort of offence that makes sense for his condition. He gets a dropkick, but of course, hits his head again and fucks himself over.
A cheap roll up wins for Orton, which doesn’t make sense in the context of the match, and is a really cheap and meaningless finish. I’m not advocating a Tomko win, but having the referee throw things out because of Orton’s condition would make an interesting change and put more sympathy on Orton.
Post match, Christian hits him in the head and hits the unprettier. I like this slightly sadistic side to Christian, and that’s your Mania match set up. It’s funny to see Orton dropped into Jerichoesque death feuds.
Match was alright, nothing spectacular, with Orton’s concussion providing a twist that both guys worked well with.
Edge! HHH! Title! Japan! Next!
Commercial
During the break, Orton stumbled his way backstage like a drunken fool. The crowd (made up of a surprising amount of women) are in respectful shock.
In a nice move, JR and King run down our winners from tonight, replaying the tag title change. Something little like this makes the matches seem more important and more of a focus.
Match 6: World Heavyweight Title: Edge vs. Triple H
I dig the respect for the belt from the fans, and Edge’s slight walk towards it as the referee holds it up.
We get a Japanese style start, with a lot of side headlocks and headscissors. HHH even headstands out of one.
Spear in the corner hits, but HHH learns from this and moves from the next one. Knowing how much it fucked Edge up, he gives two more. Nicely done. The work on the arm continues throughout, but stops suddenly soon after the break.
Oh good – commercial
Commercial
HHH is working more babyface than Edge here, running through his customary spots.
Edge not paying attention when he spears, which was brought up last week as he speared HHH, is played up again as he KOs the referee with one. As the referee is down, Edge should have won the match, which I hope will be enough to spur his character on.
I hate how the officials will leave a referee out cold in the ring for ages and not do anything to help.
Here’s Dave, who knows what to do: Get rid of the chair that both men are crawling towards. HHH pushes Edge into Dave as he has his back turned, which is intended to build up more tension as to how long they can keep deceiving each other. Batista, however, spinebusters Edge, which is half strange because it’s helping HHH, and half understandable because Edge is a heel.
It’s not obvious whether Batista wants HHH to keep the title at this point. He’d have a much easier time beating Edge at Mania, but then maybe it’s not all about the belt. I’m sure all will become clear.
Do you even need to be told how Hunter wins?
A nicely worked match that didn’t seem to last as long as it did, which is rare for HHH and Edge. Nothing outwardly offensive in there either, but it did seem at points to just be killing time until the finish. I can’t see Edge being able to consistently work longer matches, but he’s got to be better at it than Orton and as much as I hate to say it, Batista.
Dave helps him celebrate as Raw goes off the air
Next Week
Nothing announced
Final Thoughts
In a week that’s so wrestling heavy, it’s a shame that it was mostly rubbish. Benoit and Jericho would have greatly benefited from being given easily twice as long, and everything else was throwaway crap. The lack of interviews and backstage segments was great, but why waste one of them on Simon Dean? Evolution got their customary handful of segments too – a week off from them would be nice. After the first 20 minutes, there was nothing to get excited about. There was very little in the way of storyline development, other than starting off Randy and Christian, and furthering Evolution’s World Titles. It was a special week though, just so Vince could make a huge bunch of money from the Japanese fans.
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Nik
