The One and Only Raw Thread for 1/6/03

[Guest Slapnuts00]

PLANTS~!

[Guest tetsubeav]

You group of obvious plants, come on up.

[Guest Jobber of the Week]

They just hop over the barrier?

 

And they wonder why retards run into matches.

[Conspiracy_Victim 0]

It wouldn't have been as obvious if the camera hadn't shot to them before HHH even looked their way...

[Guest LatinoHeat]

Scorecards. WHOOOOOO.

[Guest HartFan86]

HHH is so full of shit...he can't get over as a heel cause HE FUCKING MAKES STUPID JOKES ABOUT WOMAN'S BOOBIES

[Guest jester]

That guy looks like Nash's brother.

[LaParkaYourCar 0]

Who are those guys?

[Guest Dmann2000]

Those couldn't be OVW guys could they nah....6 wrestler-type guys just happened to be sitting in the front row

[Guest AndrewTS]

Mr. Olympia? Oh Lord, HHH is living out his fantasy.

[Guest Slapnuts00]

Flair is the ring girl who holds up cards between rounds of course...

[Guest HartFan86]

I'm guessing these guys are Indy wrestlers.

[Guest wwF1587]

roiderrific picks by the game eh?

[ChrisMWaters 0]

OK...just curious...does this mean that HHH is Rick Rude and Scott Steiner is the Ultimate Warrior?

[Guest AlwaysPissedOff]

This is just so creepily homoerotic that my TV just turned pink...

[Guest jester]

Who else thinks these guys are all going to beat on Steiner?

[Guest the pinjockey]

God this is so fucking retarded. Screw you NFL for not having a 52 week regular season.

[Guest Slapnuts00]

This is just so creepily homoerotic that my TV just turned pink...

Mine just turned red! o wait that's Steiner's entrance...

[Guest tetsubeav]

Why does HHH sound like Archie Bunker on occasion? I just get that impression on occasion with how he talks.

 

Lawler and JR are having a bukkake session over there over this.

[LaParkaYourCar 0]

Maybe those guys are "Team HHH"?

[Guest AlwaysPissedOff]

That's one fugly shirt for Steiner. Who the hell designs this shit?

[Guest HartFan86]

Someone shoot me cause this shit is ridiclous.

 

Thank god talent like RVD, Jericho, Christian, Orton, etc. are in the main event.

[Guest bravesfan]

Since I don't know where to find SK's rants archived, here is the Dallas Raw with match listings, with a in-depth review from prowrestlingcolumns.com

 

RAW - 2/7/00 - The Radical Turn, 10-Man Mania

 

Of all the RAWs mentioned in this countdown, this show had the best combination of great wrestling matches, incredible crowd heat, outstanding storyline development, superstar elevation, and twists and turns than any other RAW. While a couple of segments were considered good, nothing else appeared less than that! A RAW like this one does not come often, as almost everything seemed to click on some waveform or another. If there was an indication that the WWF was in a Golden Age early in 2000, this show proved that beyond a reasonable doubt. Without Austin, Big Show, HBK, Vince or Shane McMahon, or even the Undertaker, this show still tore the house down. That should tell you something about the show and the roster the WWF had to give us this kind of show.

 

Background

 

HHH somehow defeated Cactus Jack at the Royal Rumble Street Fight, ranked ***** by nearly everyone, and was hated even more by the fans. Clearly the New Man and #1 heel in wrestling, more so since Vince McMahon in 1998, HHH soon found himself in the middle of a small feud with four new arrivals from WCW, Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko, Eddie Guerrero, and Perry Saturn, the Radicals, four friends of Foley. They lost their qualifying matches to gain a WWF contract on Smackdown, and it looked like the Radicals were about to head elsewhere. The Rock & Big Show were in the middle of a bitter feud over who really won the Royal Rumble, but was still good friends with Foley.

 

The Dudleys, then heels, had major issues with the Hardys and Edge & Christian, then faces, regarding Buh Buh Ray's sick desire to put women through tables, and would continue here. Kurt Angle continued his ignorant, 3Is, jackass attitude with various towns and other wrestlers, and was starting to get major heat; what he would do would only add more fuel to that fire. Meanwhile, Mae Young and Mark Henry were still a couple and Young was pregnant. The women's title was trying to regain a certain prestige, as Jackie held the belt during this time. And, Kane's recent betrayal from Tori sent him reeling and back to the institution to cope with his loss.

 

The Show

 

We begin the show with a what we thought to be a X-Pac match, but as soon as he arrives, so do the Radicals, in street clothes. All four of them get a big pop from the crowd, even though they both look dejected, over losing their opportunity to gain contracts with the WWF. All four thank the fans for their support, and ask for Cactus Jack to come out for a final goodbye. He does, and soon after, HHH and Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley show their ugly faces. What follows is one incredible promo between HHH and Cactus Jack, that makes the entire crowd go silent, so that they can hear the whole thing! The end result is that HHH gives Jack one last chance for the WWF Title, and while Cactus demands that the match be a Hell in a Cell Match, HHH rebuts and returns with his own demand that Foley put his entire career on the line. Both men accept the stipulations, and HHH begins to make his way to the ring, saying that now he wants a piece of Foley's ass. He then tells the Radicals, that either they can leave, or show appreciation to the man that gave them their opportunity, AND....their contracts. Then, in what many consider to be one of the best twists of this year, all four Radicals turn on Foley and attack him!! The entire crowd is in complete shock, as DX and the Radicals all pound on a helpless Cactus Jack. When we return from the break, we find HHH & X-Pac celebrating with the Radicals, and tells them that he, his best friend, and Malenko, Saturn, and Benoit will team up against Foley and any other 4 people he can find to join up with him. That, my friends, is how you do a swerve.

 

The New Age Outlaws vs. Edge & Christian for the Tag Titles. For months prior, E&C had problems trying to get crowd heat into their matches. So, imagine my surprise when the Dallas crowd was fired up for this match, and responded with every major move in this match! It went a good 6 minutes with plenty of action, not to mention crowd heat, and it was a big sign of things to come. Meanwhile, D-Von and Buh Buh Ray Dudley made their way to the announcing booth, where Buh Buh simply looked down on JR the whole match. The Dudleys interfered to cost E&C the victory and the championships, but E&C got their hands on the Dudleys for a little bit, as Buh Buh was hounding on JR, almost threatening to put him through a table! This would not be the end of this though.

 

Kurt Angle vs. Mark Henry. Henry's angle with Young was disgusting, but at times hilarious. Here, Angle comes out and berates Henry for failing to win anything in the recent Olympics as well as impregnating an elderly woman. An hilarious promo that led to a decent match between these two Olympic athletes. At the end, Mae Young, who was told by Henry earlier not to come down, comes to the ring anyway, and gives Angle a week forearm in the back. That makes Angle retaliate with the Olympic Slam on Mae Young!! Despite that cruel act, Angle celebrates like always, and continues doing so up the rap. Mae remains knocked out as she is taken backstage. There, after the break, she miraculously comes to, and goes on some sexual jargon that leads to her showing her puppies to the stunned and disgusted EMT in front of her! The look on the guy's face is priceless! Simply priceless!

 

The Acolytes vs. The Hollys in a Hardcore Rules Tag Match. This was a fun match to watch. Classic hardcore WWF-style match here, as both teams go to the back, into the bar area. One classic moment has Bradshaw taking a short break, as he goes to the bar, gets a plastic cup, and pours himself some beer! Lots of beverage and glass shots here, until Viscera, slipping on some beer on the way in, knocks Bradshaw with a 2X4, making the Texan fall through the nearby table, with one of the Hollys covering him for the pinfall victory. Crazy hardcore match, but something worth talking about afterwards.

 

Chris Jericho vs. Viscera for the IC Title. Another classic pre-match promo by Jericho here, as he calls Vis the love child of Mr. T and Fat Albert (lol!). Then, we are treated to a surprisingly decent match between these two guys, with some good heat as well. I'm telling you; things were just clicking for the WWF on this night! The match ends with a DQ as the Hollys interfere and, with Viscera, triple-team Jericho. Finally, the reinforcements arrive in the form of the Acolytes, who hit a double-suplex on Viscera!, popping the crowd in the process! After this, we find Michael Cole talking to the Radicals, after the break and a recap of the Radical Turn. The fabulous foursome, oddly standing in front of a locker room door with the name "Nash" written on the top of it, inform Cole that they were desperate for work and a contract, and that they had to join up with the group that had all the stroke in the WWF, the McMahon-Helmsley Regime.

 

Jackie vs. Luna for the Women's Title happens after we get a little preview of the XFL. AGAIN, another surprisingly decent contest, if short. Jackie goes over Luna, and then gets met with the Impaler by Gangrel to end the match! Vicious ending to a decent contest. Man, the WWF was simply on fire on this night. We then return from the break to see a great vignette for Tazz (expect some special commentary on him soon). After that, we go to...

 

The Rock! Rock’s promos as a heel are legendary, but as a face, this was hands-down one of the best promos he ever gave. When he asked Kevin Kelly, "Do you like....pie?" that was just the beginning, as he gave Kelly his first taste of Poontang Pie.....a Rock Poontang Pie T-Shirt over his head!! In this classic promo that you have to see to get the full force and entertainment of it, the Rock tells Cactus Jack that "what was once a 5-on-1 situation has now become 5-on-2!" Finally after degrading the Radical group, the Rock acknowledges that some major candyass whooping would happen tonight in Dallas if they smelled what the Rock was cookin'. I'm telling you, see this promo; you will not regret it!

 

The Godfather & D'Lo Brown vs. The Dudley Boys. The match was decent enough, but the main moment to remember was after the match. The Godfather gets injured, which prompts one paramedic named Barbara Bush (BB) to come check on him. This gets Buh Buh Ray a chance for some major relief, as he grabs her by the hair and drags her to the announce table. There's a table between the announce table and the ring set up, and Buh Buh Ray drags BB on top of the announce table, and was prepared to powerbomb her through the table in front of him! However, the fab 4, the Hardys, Edge & Christian, come out to her aid, and force the Dudleys to leave, while Buh Buh shouts that he was this close to doing it! Dudleys we so over as heels, they would later turn face some weeks later by accident.

 

Cactus Jack gives another one of his classic promos of 2000 in preparation for his match later in the evening and his retirement match at No Way Out. He goes on to say that he didn't ask for the Rock's help but he is not stupid enough to not accept it. He goes on to state that he will win the NWO match, and will go on to Wrestlemania because it was meant to be. That brings us to this...

 

Triple H, X-Pac, Chris Benoit, Perry Saturn, and Dean Malenko vs. Cactus Jack, Rock, and ???. To this day, people have still called this match the best Main Event of RAW this year, and one of the best ever. Ten-plus minutes of action is what we are given here, in this 10-man tag, that would also comprise of Too Cool and Rikishi to the Cactus Jack team. The heat for this match was simply incredible! Dallas was jacked up for this one, and it delivered. All 10 men got the chance to showcase their talent to a wide audience. The pops that arose for each face was fantastic. The Worm’s first real taste of popularity existed in this match, and Cactus Jack tore the house down when he went right after HHH. Of course, let’s not forget the hot tag to the Rock, who hit 2 spinebusters, and a Rock Bottom on X-Pac to an unbelievable set of pops! My God, why do I even bother?! What's the point in trying to call the PBP of the action in this match when SO MUCH damn stuff happened here?! The match ended in a big pier-sixer. Benoit's flying headbutt off the top rope on top of Grandmaster Sexay resulted in a pinfall victory for the heels. But the fighting continued, and when it appeared the Cactus squad would have the upper hand, out comes the NAO, with lead pipes nonetheless, laying out the entire face team. THEN...the lights go out. Very soon, we see a figure walk out in a red suit. IT'S PAUL BEARER!! The fans go ape$#!T!! Out comes Kane, and he means business. The entire group of SEVEN stop dead in their tracks at the sight of Kane marching down to the ring. Kane cleans house, and the McMahon-Helmsley Regime fall back, as we see Cactus, Rock, Too Cool, Rikishi, and Kane with Paul Bearer all in the ring at the same time with the heels backtracking as we fade to black.

 

The Aftermath

 

Top to bottom, this had the best overall wrestling action, storyline development, plot twists, and crowd heat than any other show that I can remember. This was a landmark RAW, and really signaled the beginning of the end of WCW for 2000. As Vince McMahon allowed the Radicals to show that they could handle the Main Event, the WWF stuffed it right in the face of WCW and made all four men instant stars in a span of just under 2 weeks. The Dudley-Table storyline was killer, the Acolytes' battle with the Hollys and Viscera was funny and exciting, and the Angle/Mae Young bits were outstanding, helping to make Mae do another funny bit with her sandbags and pushing Angle even more over as a heel. Those are just small examples of some classic moments and angles in the night. Of course the main focus was HHH, Cactus, the Radicals and The Rock. It also pushed Too Cool and Rikishi over big-time as major faces, which would result in Rikishi later becoming the IC Champion and Too Cool Tag Champions. What made this RAW so spectacular though was that with such an awesome twist and turn for the Radicals in the beginning of the show, they built it up and climaxed it perfectly with that 10-man tag.

 

While this RAW had so much stuff that made the show memorable and worth noting time and again, from the wrestling to the storyline shocks and twists, still, this show only managed to get #2. While it was landmark in that it signaled the end of WCW's dominance as a dynasty and showed WCW what kind of talent they lost because of petty politics, it was not able to break the position of #2. Why is that? That bears the question now of what RAW could have been more memorable, landmarked, and talked about than any other RAW.  

[Guest LatinoHeat]

this is sooooooo homo.

[Guest AndrewTS]

No offense to JotW or Annie...

 

But this is SOOOO fuckin' gay...I'm sorry.

[Guest HartFan86]

This is gay. I hope this loses ratings.

[Guest El Satanico]

There's clones of Nash, Mongo and Ron/Don Harris among those 6 guys.

 

The horror

 

The horror

[Guest Dmann2000]

OK...just curious...does this mean that HHH is Rick Rude and Scott Steiner is the Ultimate Warrior?

That sounds about right. And Flair is Heenan Besides Scott speaking makes about as much sense as Warrior

[Guest Slapnuts00]

The creepiest part is Flair and his facial expressions...

[Guest HartFan86]

Thanks bravesfan.

 

I thought HHH wasn't black.