SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
The following report originally published 20 years ago this week here at PWTorch.com.
WWE MONDAY NIGHT RAW REPORT
JUNE 20, 2005
PHOENIX, ARIZ.
REPORT BY WADE KELLER, EDITOR
–Q1–
-Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler introduced the show with a higher energy than usual. They hyped the Kurt Angle vs. Batista match and the Lita-Edge wedding.
-John Cena then came out. The cranted Cena. He said he’s trying to figure out how things work around there. He said one second he’s teaming with someone, and the next second they’re beating his ass. He said that’s okay, because WWE is like the wild, wild west. He said he respects Christian for coming at him to his face. He said Jericho, though, attacked him and tried to make it personal. He said if Jericho wants to do it, let’s do it. He called him to the ring. He said he’s feeling a little saucy, so forget Vengeance, let’s have a fight with Christian and Jericho right now. “So if you’re listening and you want some, come get some.”
Muhammad Hassan and Khosrow Daivari came out instead. He complained about being discriminated against. Cena cut him off, said his story is getting old, and then challenged him to a match. Hassan went nose-to-nose with Cena. Eric Bischoff stepped out and said he creates matches, and he would officially book them for later in the show in a WWE Title match. Cena said that was fine with him. Cena continues to show that he’s gaining confidence on his mic work. He really commands the attention of the crowd.
[Commercial Break]
–Q2–
-Eric Bischoff stood in center ring and said, “I am proud to say Raw has done it again. We are three for three.” He said first, though, he wanted to call out the reigning WWE Champion, Shelton Benjamin. Lawler said he wasn’t impressed with Benjamin at first because he had a “shady background.” Ross rightfully told Lawler he’s not one to talk about shady backgrounds. Isn’t that the truth. Bischoff told Benjamin that he’s held onto the IC Title longer than anyone else in nearly ten years. He congratulated him. Benjamin smiled.
Bischoff said the man he defeated, Jericho, had no idea who he was going to be facing that night. He said in a twisted sense of irony..” Benjamin yanked the mic out of his hands and said he thinks he knows where Bischoff is headed – that he’s facing the next draft lottery pick. “As opposed to listening to another boring Eric Bischoff speech, will the next lottery pick winner first come out, come out wherever you are,” said Benjamin. Out walked Carlito Cool. “Raw has hit the jackpot one more time,” said Ross, who talked about Carlito’s background as a second generation star.
1 — SHELTON BENJAMIN vs. CARLITO COOL — IC Title Match
A minute into the match, Shelton dove over the top rope toward Carlito at ringside, but he caught his leg on the top rope and, as Ross aptly put it, “crashed and burned.” The ref checked on Shelton as they cut to a break.
[Commercial Break]
–Q3–
They replayed the crash. Carlito maintained control inside the ring. Ross pointed out that the draft is from “random” drawings, something they’ve seemed to be shying away from lately. Benjamin made a comeback with a headbutt in the corner and a clothesline off the ropes leading to a soft two count. Ross pointed out that Benjamin seemed a bit off balance still. Benjamin gave Carlito a northern lights suplex for a two count at 8:00. Carlito came back with a DDT. Shelton fired back with a sunset flip into a cradle for a two count. Carlito then rolled up Benjamin and held onto the second rope for leverage to score the three count.
WINNER: Carlito at 9:30 to capture the IC Title.
STAR RATING: **1/4 — Basic passable match. The Carlito jump is a good move (and something I’ve been either predicting or recommending for a few weeks, too!). He’d be good anywhere, but I’m not shocked Carlito’s Cabana is being shifted to Raw – especially since expectations are Jericho will end up at Smackdown so he can bring the Highlight Reel there.
[Commercial Break]
-They showed Edge getting dressed for his wedding.
-They showed “Superstar” Billy Graham sitting in the front row, waving and smiling.
-Maria asked Carlito how he did it. Carlito looked her up and down and then disgustedly said, “How do you think? I pinned him 1-2-3.” He told her to get him an apple. When she brought him an apple, he took a bite and spit it on her.
[Commercial Break]
2 — VISCERA vs. SIMON DEAN
Simon told Viscera he looks like a “freakin’ moron.” He asked him, “Who do you think you are, Hugh Heffner.” He said he didn’t think it was possible for anyone to be fatter than Charles Barkley. He made fun of him for eating junk food. Viscera chopped away at Simon in the corner to jump-start the match. Viscera ended with a big splash and then rubbed up against Simon, then stood and gyrated. Ross said he was “riding him in the amateur position.” Viscera then gave Simon a “Viscera Driver” for the win.
WINNER: Simon Dean at 1:31.
STAR RATING: 1/4*
-Afterward, Viscera invited Lilian into the ring. She got into the ring and said, “Viscera, you and I, we’ve been moving pretty fast.” She asked him if since they’re going to be in Las Vegas on Sunday, perhaps they could move a little faster. She said she has a feeling that in Vegas, he’s going to get lucky and hit the jackpot. She initiated a kiss.
-A video aired on the WWE Diva contestants.
–Q4–
[Commercial Break]
-Todd Grisham interviewed Chris Jericho if the John Cena situation has renewed his interest in pro wrestling again. Jericho said people kept asking him why he hasn’t had any title matches. He also said Cena’s CD sales are bigger than his, but shouldn’t be because he’s not more talented or better looking. Christian interrupted and claimed Jericho was busy overlooking him again, just as he did at WrestleMania 20 when he defeated him. Christian predicted he would win the title. He said both his and Jericho’s albums such.
-Ross and Lawler were shown on camera, then they previewed the Hell in a Cell match. A video feature aired on the match.
-Backstage Kurt Angle told Bischoff he is going to prove he is “the man around here.” He said he is going to make Shawn Michaels tapout again, but this time he’s going to dedicate his win to a general manager whom he can respect. “That’d be you, Eric,” he said. “I can call you Eric?” Bischoff said, “Of course. It’s an honor to have someone of your stature and class here.” They shook hands and put their arms around each other. They argued over who was “the man.” “You are.” “No, you are.”
-The ring was transformed into a wedding chappel. Ross plugged that the wedding was next.
[Commercial Break]
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
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-The wedding of Edge and Lita took place. Edge watched Lita, who walked out in a revealing dress that Lawler called “classy.” A loud “We Want Matt” chant began. At that point they cut to a prepared video of Lita and Edge’s relationship. They went back to the ceremony. The priest, who kept screwing up his lines (he must be someone’s uncle or something who wanted a moment in the spotlight). He said there was a big, strange-looking man who wanted to have a moment to address the wedding. Edge and Lita looked worried it was Kane. Instead, Gene Snitsky walked out. He read a poem titled “It’s not my fault” which included the line that said, “It’s not my fault that Kane can’t get an erection” and “It’s not my fault you had a dead baby in your uterus.” The Justice said it was time for Edge and Lita to commit their love for each other. Edge pulled out a ring. He placed it on Lita’s finger.
Edge then said, “Lita, everyone knows me as Money in the Bank. Now you know me as Money in the Sack! Ha ha ha ha! And I know we’ve had some rough times because of a bald, sweaty monster. But you’ll be marrying a man, not a monster.” The crowd loudly chanted “Boring! Boring!” Lita put a ring on Edge’s finger, then talked over chants of “slut, slut slut.” She said: “I may have been unlucky in marriage, but I’ve never been unlucky in love. I never loved Kane. And I now know after falling in love that I have never been in love with any man.” She began to choke up. She said, “I don’t care what these people say, and it might hurt, but if falling in love makes me a slut, then I’m proud, I am proud to be the slut of the century.” She then turned her frown into a smile. The preist asked if there was anyone present who felt those two should not be joined in holy matrimony, “let him speak now or forever hold your peace.”
After a pause, Matt Hardy’s music played. Everyone stood and went crazy. Edge and Lita looked worried. Hardy didn’t appear. Lita and Edge began laughing. Lawler said, “J.R., they got us again.” Edge said, “Sorry, I just couldn’t resist.” The “We Want Matt” chants rang out. Edge told the priest he’d explain it all later. The justice then was about to declare them man and wife when Kane’s head popped out from under the ring. He knocked Edge out and then grabbed Lita by the throat. Edge returned and hit Kane with a forearm. Edge and Lita retreated. Kane destroyed the wedding chappel. Kane helped the priest to his feet, but then turned around and gave him a tombstone. His pryo then shot off. Edge and Lita looked on from the stage.
That was a great swerve. I’m not sure WWE should be playing up something they’re not going to make money off of at this point, but it does help take some of the juice out of the fan chants since Edge and Lita went ahead and acknowledged the situation in the storyline at this point. It also sets the stage firmly for Hardy’s potential eventual return to WWE by officially planting that seed. That was a fun, memorable TV moment for those privy to the entire situation. For those who don’t, it does make Kane out to be a bit of a letdown and distracts from the storyline by making fans think about Matt Hardy, when otherwise many of them wouldn’t have been. That whole segment once again was written on two levels, with Lita talking about having never loved another man.
–Q6–
[Commercial Break]
-Backstage Kane apologized for ruining their little wedding, and then said, “I’m baaaack!” Apparently that means he’s gotten over the emotions of losing Lita and now “the monster” part of him is back.
-Ross plugged Batista vs. Edge and John Cena vs. Muhammad Hassan as the next two big matches. Once again, Cena is playing second-fiddle to Batista on Raw despite both holding supposedly equal world titles.
-They went to a clip of Victoria attacking Christy Hemme three weeks ago, then Christy’s intense attack on VIctoria during her mixed tag match two weeks ago. Todd Grisham interviewed Christy backstage about the situation. She said everytime she thinks about “that bitch,” she just wants to rip her head off. She grabbed Grisham in a rage, then calmed down. Victoria then hit Christy from behind, breaking a glass object over her head. Victoria said, “I guess you’re right, Christy, I am a bitch.” Grisham reached down and touched her head, discovering she was bleeding. He called for help.
[Commercial Break]
–Q7–
-They showed Christy being tended to by paramedics backstage. She was conscious and didn’t remember what happened. The medics put a neckbrace around her neck.
3 — JOHN CENA vs. MUHAMMAD HASSAN — WWE Title match
When Daivari stood on the ring apron to interrupt his fistdrop sequence, he punched Daivari off the top rope and gave him an FU for a quick win.
WINNER: Cena at 2:19.
STAR RATING: 1/4* — Nothing much to it. Cena ended Hassan’s winning streak in a way that didn’t exactly build up Cena’s rep for beating someone who had never been pinned, but instead did so with such ease that it made the winning streak by Hassan out to be a complete fluke. I guess they wanted to leave nothing to chance with two wrestlers who sometimes haven’t delivered in the ring.
-As Cena celebrated on the ramp, Jericho attacked him from behind. Christian then came out just as Cena was making a comeback and took Cena down. The two heels stomped away at Cena. Jericho and Christian then went nose-to-nose. Christian then walked away as Jericho gave Cena one final boot.
[Commercial Break]
-A clip aired of the Cena attack in the previous segment. Christian was shown backstage telling two Divas that they were looking at the next WWE Champion come Sunday.
-A long segment aired on the finalists being chosen for the second WWE Diva competition. The segment was done American Idol style with Coach playing the role of Ryan Seacrest. Each of the chosen finalists were given a few seconds to talk about themselves on camera.
–Q8–
-Ross and Lawler announced that Carlito would defend the IC Title against Shelton Benjamin at Vengeance. They ran down the rest of the line-up.
[Commercial Break]
4 — BATISTA vs. KURT ANGLE
Angle put on a quick ankle lock. Batista quickly powered out. When Batista charged shoulder-first at Angle, Angle moved. Angle then applied an armbar. Batista lifted Angle and slammed him to the mat to break the hold. They went to ringside where Batista rammed Angle into the stairs. When Batista threw Angle into the ring at the 2:20 mark, Triple H and Ric Flair attacked Batista at ringside. The ref immediately called for the bell. Shawn Michaels ran to the ring and made the save. It felt like a show-closing angle except for the fact that it was still seven minutes before the top of the hour. Michaels backdropped Flair and Angle over the top rope to the floor. Batista clotheslined Hunter to the floor.
WINNER: Batista via DQ at 2:12.
STAR RATING: n/a
-Eric Bischoff stepped out and said, “No, no, no, no. That’s not how we’re going to finish it tonight.” He ordered a tag team match with Triple H & Kurt Angle vs. Batista & Michaels.
[Commercial Break]
–Q9–
5 — TRIPLE H & KURT ANGLE vs. BATISTA & SHAWN MICHAELS.
The match was joined in progress after the commercial break. Michaels and Hunter spent the body of the match battling each other, with Hunter on offense. Michaels was about to hot-tag Batista at 5:00, but Hunter tagged in Angle who cut Michaels off. Michaels used an enzuigiri to knock Angle down and then hot-tagged Batista at 5:15. Angle also tagged in Hunter. Batista beat up Hunter and fended off an attack by Angle. Batista took them both down with a clothesline. He then cahrged into opposite corners in succession, clotheslining both Hunter and Angle. Batista powerslammed Hunter for a near fall, which Angle interrupted. Michaels entered the ring and clotheslined Angle to the floor. Those two brawled at ringside and into the crowd. That left Batista and Hutner one-on-one. Hunter surprised Batista with a kneelift, but Batista came back with a spinebuster out of nowhere. He then shook the top rope and did the thumbs up/thumbs down bit. Flair charged into the ring, so Batista slammed him. Hunter then surprised Batista with a Pedigree and scored the pin. The show closed with Hunter trash-talking Batista on the mat.
WINNER: Hunter at 7:45.
STAR RATING: **1/4 — Good classic style tag match that did a good job building up in a paint-by-numbers and logical way two top matches at Sunday’s PPV.
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