Finally, a new show... not my best work, but i'm under a lot of stress...
Monday Night Raw
December 4, 2006
The show starts with a recap of Benoit’s attack on Steve Corino during their tag match last week, as well as Bryan Danielson securing himself a title shot at Vengeance by beating J.R. Ryder and Brian Kendrick. The pyro explodes and Mike Tenay and Al Snow welcome us and list the scheduled matches for the evening, including Justin Credible vs Bubba Ray Dudley for the Hardcore Championship, Lance Storm vs Tommy Dreamer for a shot at the Hardcore title, and Bryan Danielson vs Steve Corino, where if Corino wins he will also challenge Chris Benoit for the World Heavyweight Championship at Vengeance.
Victoria (with Stevie Richards) and Jazz vs Taylor Matheny and Daffney Unger
Match Background: Victoria is the reigning WWF Womens champion, and has been since 25 September 2006. Taylor attacked Victoria by surprise a couple of weeks ago and picked up a singles victory over Jazz last week. Daffney has not been seen on Raw in several months and was last known as “Lucy Furr.”
The Match: Running knee lift from Victoria. Victoria hits a piledriver on Daffney. That used to end matches, you know. Hooks the leg for a two count. Tag to Jazz. Jazz \ Victoria whip Daffney into the ropes and hit a double backdrop. Jazz slams Daffney down and motions to the crowd. There's a two count on the pin. Jazz hits a right hand. Daffney reverses a hip toss. Daffney scores with a big spinebuster. Daffney tags out to Taylor Matheny. Jazz tags out to Victoria. Spear by Victoria. Powerbomb on Taylor. Hooks the leg! ONE...TWO...NO! Big forearm by Victoria makes me want to go to the mirror and check MY teeth. Taylor counters a sleeper with a jaw breaker and is able to get free! Victoria walks into a side slam. Think about how much talent it takes to side slam someone. Nash can do it. Taylor Matheny floors Victoria...and climbs the turnbuckles. Diving Body Press!!! Taylor rolls up Victoria in a cradle, but Stevie Richards reaches into the ring and rolls Victoria over Taylor. The ref counts the 1…2….3!
My Opinion: I'll give this a ***1\4 rating. If I left it up to you, you'd probably think it was the greatest match ever! Keep trying...
Tenay: Taylor had Victoria beaten, if it wasn’t for that slimy Stevie Richards!
Snow: I do believe that counts as “outside interference.” It will be interesting to hear what Shawn Michaels has to say about this.
Winners at 7:12: Victoria and Jazz
Anger and Confidence
Jonathan Coachman is standing in the back with Steve Corino.
Coach: Steve, tonight you have a chance to become the co-number one contender for Chris Benoit’s World title. You went through a disgusting ordeal last week to get it.
Corino: That’s right, Coach. Shawn Michaels put me into a situation where I was completely helpless. All I have to say is to our GM is that I will not forget that. I will not forget being humiliated and beaten down to get my chance at the World title. But with that in mind, I am more motivated than ever right now. I will not have taken that beating for nothing. I will defeat Bryan Danielson tonight and I will win the World Championship at Vengeance. There is nothing anyone can do about it!
Coach: All the power to you, playa.
Corino: Keep it real, Coach.
Tommy Dreamer vs Lance Storm
Match Background: This will be a hardcore bout. The winner of this match gets a shot at the Hardcore Championship. This match is a result of Storm’s interference in Dreamer’s title match against Justin Credible last week. Storm attacked Credible, but allowed Credible to pin Dreamer anyways.
The Match: Trying to channel the spirit of Misawa, Tommy Dreamer ends up chanelling Lex Luger instead and nails a running forearm to the face, minus the steel plate, of course. Lance Storm reverses a hip toss. Lance Storm kicks the leg, knocks Dreamer down, and goes to work on it. Lance Storm misses a clothesline...and takes out the referee accidentally! DDT from the top rope by Lance Storm. That looked KILLER. Hooks the leg, but the referee is still out! Tommy Dreamer powers out of a Lance Storm headlock. Chair shot connects! Storm walks into a side slam. Think about how much talent it takes to side slam someone. Nash can do it. There's a two count on the pin. Tommy Dreamer scores with a standing spinebuster. Cover, ONE...TWO...NO! I honestly thought that match was going to end right then and there. Lance Storm elbows Tommy Dreamer in the face to break a hammerlock. Lance Storm belly to belly suplexes Dreamer through an upright table in the corner! Hooks the leg! ONE...TWO...NO! Tommy Dreamer fights out of a grapple. Tommy Dreamer moves in for the kill. Here it comes - Dreamer DDT. 1....2...3, it's finished. Tommy Dreamer offers a handshake to Storm...and he accepts it!
My Opinion: I really shouldn't drink when I'm reviewing matches. Especially with Scotsman, I can't drink nearly as much, so I try too hard. It was either ** or ****, but I guess I'll have to compromise and say ***.
Tenay: Tommy Dreamer has earned himself another shot at the Hardcore title!
Snow: And how nice, Dreamer and Storm shaking each other’s hands. The violence of this match has seemed to calm down any bad feelings between them.
Winner at 9:30 and #1 Contender for the Hardcore Championship: Tommy Dreamer
The Chase is On
Todd Grisham is standing by with Frank Shamrock.
Todd: Shamrock, this past Sunday on Heat, you won a four-man tournament to win a shot at the Intercontinental Championship at Vengeance. How do you feel about your chances of beating Matt Stryker?
Shamrock: I destroyed two fine competitors to get where I am tonight, I will make the best of this opportunity. I will make Matt Stryker my bitch. (Adam Hastey cuts in).
Hastey: That’s real cute, Frank. You get an Intercontinental title shot, while I suffer alone because our jackass GM suspended my tag partner! So it’s all great and wonderful that you’re going to destroy Stryker at Vengeance, but tonight, you have me. I am nobody’s bitch!
Shamrock: Yes, you are just a bitch in general.
Hastey: (Appalled) Well… um… your ass is mine. I’ll see you in the ring! (Exits).
Shamrock: Anyway, Todd, I’m going to have to make an example of Adam Hastey tonight. I’m going to pretend he’s Matt Stryker and that I have to beat him at all costs. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a match.
Adam Hastey vs Frank Shamrock
Match Background: Shamrock is heading for an IC title shot. Hastey is just pissed that Austin Lee is still suspended.
The Match: Double arm suplex by Frank Shamrock connects as Hastey hits hard. Double arm suplex by Frank Shamrock connects as Hastey hits hard. Bodyslam by Frank. Stun Gun from Frank Shamrock! I still can't believe that was Austin's finisher at one point. Frank Shamrock misses a clothesline. THERE IT IS! A legdrop to the BACK OF THE HEAD! I swear, that makes any match just a little bit better. I don't mind telling you that every time I see it, that's for sure. Superkick by Adam Hastey practically knocks out all of Frank Shamrock's teeth! Covers for a quick two count. Frank blocks a kick from Adam Hastey. T-Bone suplex by Frank, Hastey got folded in half to the point that he was almost able to fellate himself. Mighty impressive, don't you think? There's a two count on the pin. Corkscrew BRAINBUSTAH~! Hastey gets destroyed by it. Pin, but Hastey is out just before the three count. Adam Hastey is able to duck a clothesline attempt and connect with a counter clothesline. Standing leg lariat by Adam Hastey on Frank. Frank counters an arm wringer with an elbow to the side of the head. Frank drives a thrust kick into the chest of Hastey. Adam Hastey gets knocked to the ground by Frank. Guillotine Choke!!! Adam Hastey taps out! Matt Stryker comes running down the aisle, and gets into the ring! Matt Stryker spins Frank around. Matt Stryker hits the Stryker Driver! Frank Shamrock has been left down on the canvas.
My Opinion: I'll give this a ***1\4 rating. If I left it up to you, you'd probably think it was the greatest match ever! Keep trying...
Snow: Shamrock followed through on his word and beat the hell out of Adam Hastey!
Tenay: But now Matt Stryker is beating the hell out of Shamrock!
Stryker stands over Shamrock’s body and holds the IC title in the air.
Winner at 11:01: Frank Shamrock
CM Punk and Julio Dinero (with Raven and Alexis Laree) vs Randy Orton and John Jeter
Match Background: Orton and Jeter are facing each other at Vengeance.
The Match: Orton takes a back suplex. Orton tastes a high angle back suplex. If Spike Lee can sue TNN over the Spike TV nonsense, then Kurt Angle should be able to sue SOMEONE for that. There's a two count on the pin. Tag to Julio Dinero. Punk and Dinero whip Orton into the ropes and hit a double back elbow. Covers for a quick two count. Flying shoulder tackle by Dinero sends Orton CRASHING to the mat. Julio Dinero misses a clothesline. Spear by Randy Orton. There's a two count on the pin. Tag to John Jeter. Dinero takes a NICE hurrancarana from John Jeter. Pin, but Dinero is out just before the three count. Jeter hits a dropkick on Julio Dinero and gets right back up. Julio Dinero powers out of a John Jeter headlock. Dinero slams John Jeter down and motions to the crowd. Dinero tags out to CM Punk. Punk scoops and slams John Jeter. What's the difference between a scoop slam and a body slam anyway? Tag to Randy Orton. Punk drives a thrust kick into the chest of Orton. The referee loses control, and all four competitors end up outside the ring, brawling. On reaching ten, the referee calls for the bell! This is a double count out!
My Opinion: Solid bout, but they could do a lot better. ***
Tenay: All four men have counted each other out!
Snow: Look, now Raven is entering the mix.
Raven is helping Julio beat down John Jeter. Meanwhile, Orton and Punk are brawling, when Orton takes a chair and floors Punk with it. Raven, Julio, and Jeter are now on the ramp, and Orton comes charging and joins in on the beating of John Jeter! With Jeter down, Raven and Julio go after Orton (who the crowd now hates). Orton slides into the ring and starts taunting Raven and Julio. Unknown to him, CM Punk slides in the ring behind him with a chair. Orton turns around and Punk slams the chair over his skull and knocks him out. Raven and Julio enter the ring for the celebration and Raven raises Punk and Dinero’s arms in personal victory. After a few moments of laughing and such, CM Punk floors Raven with the chair! Mike Tenay and Al Snow are shocked and puzzled as Punk has turned on his long-time mentor! Julio stands there looking bewildered, but raises his arms up to try and protect himself from a chair shot from CM Punk. With both Julio and Raven down, CM Punk takes turns nailing each of them with the chair. Alexis Laree enters the ring and places herself over Julio’s body. Punk looks right into her eyes and suddenly he starts to smile. CM Punk brings the chair down again right onto Alexis Laree! He unleashes a barrage of chair shots on her before it’s over. Then finally, with John Jeter, Raven, Randy Orton, Julio Dinero, and Alexis Laree all spread out across the arena, CM Punk just leaves.
Tenay: What the hell did we just witness? First we saw Orton betray his partner AGAIN during the post match brawl, and then we saw CM Punk turn on the Gathering!
Snow: I haven’t seen violence like that in years!
No Contest at 8:54.
The Calm in the Storm.
In the backstage area, we see CM Punk returning to the locker room. The Raw stars all stare at him, almost in a nervous fashion. Punk storms past them, throws a shirt on, grabs his duffle bag and storms out. He shoves past Billy Kidman and Bubba Ray Dudley on his way out.
Meanwhile, Jonathan Coachman is standing by with Matt Hardy and Matt Stryker.
Coach: Matt Stryker, that was an outstanding beating you just gave Frank Shamrock earlier tonight.
Stryker: Thanks, Coach. Shamrock has no one to blame but himself. He’s off running his mouth about how he is going to “destroy” me at Vengeance? Don’t make me laugh! Tonight, I put him in his place and at Vengeance I shall do the very same thing.
Hardy: Damn right. Matt Stryker is an awesome champion and is the second best pick to hold a title, after me. I just want to use this interview time to announce that at Vengeance, I am going to hold an open challenge. Any one person in the Raw locker-room who is not scheduled to appear at Vengeance can come out and face me. This is my Christmas present to the boys in the back, by giving an undeserving cretin a chance to compete against a genuine main eventer in a pay-per-view setting. The era of Mattitude lives on!
Hardcore Championship: Justin Credible © vs Bubba Ray Dudley
Match Background: This will be a hardcore bout. This match is for the WWF Hardcore title. Justin Credible has been WWF Hardcore champion since 16 October 2006. Dudley defeat Adam Hastey to get this title shot.
The Match: Bubba Ray Dudley hits some punches. How generic. Credible counters an arm wringer with an elbow to the side of the head. Bubba receives some punishment by Justin Credible but with that horrid offense, we're the only ones truly being punished. Justin Credible misses a clothesline...and takes out the referee accidentally! Justin Credible scores with a crappy looking standing spinebuster. Could have been done a hell of a lot better though. Should have used an X-Box, they're much bigger. Massive backbreaker on Credible and I get happy flashbacks to Bret Hart's Five Moves of DOOM. Hooks the leg for a two count. Powerbomb on Credible. Hooks the leg! ONE...TWO...NO! Justin Credible pulls a mule kick out of nowhere. Credible rams Bubba into a table. Pinfall attempt: ONE...TWO...NO! Bubba blocks the suplex attempt and is able to hit the suplex instead! Bubba Ray Dudley moves in for the kill. Here it comes - Bubba Bomb. 1....2...3, it's finished. Bubba Ray Dudley remains in the ring, celebrating the victory.
My Opinion: It was close to a ** match, but I just can't stand too many blown spots. *3/4
Snow: Dudley just won the Hardcore title from that snake, Justin Credible!
Tenay: Bubba Ray Dudley could just be the person to bring some prestige back to the Hardcore title, which Credible had been clutching for almost two months!
Winner at 5:31 and NEW Hardcore Champion: Bubba Ray Dudley
The GM Has Some Words
Shawn Michaels enters the arena to a huge pop and dances his way down to the ring. He grabs a microphone.
HBK: What a night this has been! We’ve seen some tremendous wrestling, but a few sickening turn of events. First off, let me offer my sincerest apology to Alexis Laree for the behavior of CM Punk. Secondly, my apologies to Taylor Matheny for the behavior of Stevie Richards. As General Manager, it is my job to make sure these types of things do not happen and when they do happen, it is my fault. That is why I want to make things right. At Vengeance, Victoria is going to defend the Women’s Championship against Taylor Matheny, and Stevie Richards will be barred from ringside! Also at Vengeance, CM Punk is going to have to step into the ring and wrestle his “friend” Julio Dinero! This match will have no disqualifications, and Raven is welcome to be at ring-side. Lastly, I’ve been doing some thinking in regards to Adam Hastey’s desire for Austin Lee to come back. This is why I have booked him to face none other than myself at Vengeance. I will be naming a special stipulation for this match though, it will be a match that we do not get to see very often in wrestling these days. It is called a “clean match” where (gasp) two competitors fight it out and the better man wins! If Hastey can compete against me in the match without cheating, using dirty tactics, or even attempting to get himself DQed, I will let Austin Lee come back. However, if he tries any tricks, I will let Austin Lee sit out the remainder of his contract at home and we will never see him again! I am taking back the control of this show! We will never see baseball sneak attacks, nor will we see Stevie Richards interfering in a women’s match, and finally we shall never see CM Punk, or any other Raw superstar, treat a woman like a target ever again!
Tenay: Strong words from our GM, Vengeance is shaping up to be quite an emotional event!
Steve Corino vs Bryan Danielson
Match Background: If Steve Corino beats Danielson, the main event at Vengeance will become a triple threat match.
The Match: Danielson gets slammed down hard and winces in pain. Corino walks into a drop toe hold. STIFF high kick on Corino by Bryan Danielson. Steve Corino charges, Danielson moves, and the referee is knocked silly! Corino walks into a face crusher variation. Has anyone's face ever really been crushed by one though? Cover, but there's no one to count for Bryan Danielson! Corino pushes out of a Bryan Danielson hold. BAAACK Body drop by Danielson gets a bit of a pop from the crowd. Spear by Steve Corino. Hooks the leg for a two count. Spear! Danielson is down! Pinfall attempt: ONE...TWO...NO! I would have bought that as the finish! Danielson reverses a Steve Corino hammerlock. Danielson crushes Corino with a huge legdrop. Hooks the leg! ONE...TWO...NO! Corino blocks a kick from Bryan Danielson. Steve Corino ducks a Danielson clothesline and does a quick roll up. Corino has a handful of tights! The referee hasn't seen it: 1....2....3!! Steve Corino climbs each turnbuckle in turn, working the crowd as he celebrates his victory
My Opinion: *** for a solid match.
Tenay: So that’s how it goes then? At Vengeance, it will be Chris Benoit vs Bryan Danielson vs Steve Corino for the World title.
Chris Benoit appears on the stage, with a microphone.
Benoit: Congrats, Mr. Old School. You have just won yourself a one-way ticket to extreme pain and torture. That beating I gave you last week was just a sample of what I’m going to do to you at Vengeance. I sat down with Shawn Michaels earlier today and we actually had a civil conversation, just like real men do. He signed a match for us next week, where you, me, and that bastard you just beat are going to have a triple threat match before Vengeance! However, it’s going to be a triple threat tag team match, so we will all need partners. The torture starts early, Corino. Your suffering has been for nothing.
The show ends with Benoit holding up the World title.
Winner at 15:31: Steve Corino
