Monday, February 28th, 2005
Dunkin' Donuts Center
Providence, Rhode Island
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As soon as we are on the air, Triple H's music hits. Triple H asks if anyone actually thinks he is afraid of Batista. We get fired up Triple H tonight and that's a good thing. Triple H finishes his rant and out comes The Hurricane. Triple H attacks him as he enters the ring. Triple H is pummeling him on the outside. Triple H then nails Hurricane with a Pedigree on the steel ramp. He picks up his title and a mic. He warns Batista that if he steps foot in this arena. he is going to destroy him. So there was a referee, but the match never started.
Chris Benoit vs. Muhammad Hassan
Benoit looks to be working a little snug to begin here. Benoit then begins to chase Daivari around the ring, but Hassan is hiding and nails him with a clothesline. Benoit fights back and hits 2 German suplexes. Benoit then inadvertently elbows the ref. Daivari hands Hassan the ring bell. Benoit hits another suplex, but Hassan still has the bell. Benoit is now going up top for the diving headbutt, but he hits the bell. The ref gets up and does a slow count and Benoit gets up. That seemed kind of weird. Hassan then hits a low blow and the ref rings the bell for a disqualification. I'm guessing Hassan missed the bell spot and Benoit called an audible.
Match Rating: **1/4 (out of 5)
They announce Hulk Hogan as an inductee into the Hall of Fame.
Batista has entered the arena. Coach runs up to Batista and tattles on Triple H. Batista says that when he sees him, he will thank him for unleashing the animal.
Triple H is standing there watching TV and Flair is telling him Batista is there. Flair wants him to go after him, but Triple H says he has a better idea.
Intercontinental Championship Match
Shelton Benjamin vs. Gene Snitsky
I guess this is the big blow off to the two sickening chair shots to the head for really no reason. Snitsky goes right after Benjamin, which tells me this is not going to be very long. Snitsky botches a counter into a suplex, but hits enough to make it work I guess. Benjamin counters the pump handle slam with an inverted DDT. Snitsky follows up with a big boot and grabs a chair. Shelton ducks and Snitsky loses the chair. Shelton then hits a huge DDT followed by a Stinger Splash. T-bone suplex and that is all. So those absolutely horrific chair shots to the head were all just a build up for a 3 minute match? Yeesh.
Match Rating: *
They announce that Piper's Pit is back at WrestleMania 21 and that his guest will be none other than Stone Cold Steve Austin.
John Walters vs. Chris Masters
Masters gets a very slightly better reaction this week than last. Masters makes quick work of Walters and slaps on the Master Lock for the win. Not much to say here. For a guy they built up for a pretty long time (in WWE time), they never really seemed to have a plan for him.
Match Rating: 1/4*
JR is in the ring to interview Batista. Batista says that Raw is all about Triple H. When Randy Orton won the title, when Batista won the Royal Rumble, it was still all about Triple H. Batista was nowhere near what he would eventually become on the mic here. Out comes Triple H and Flair. They surround the ring, but Batista knocks down Flair. Triple H walks out and Batista hits a spinebuster to Flair. Triple H teases coming in again and the crowd is chanting "Batista". Triple H retreats again and Batista gives the double thumbs down before hitting Flair with a Batista Bomb. The live crowd enjoyed the segment, so it came off well.
Triple H is in the back yelling at Eric Bischoff. They announce Batista vs. Ric Flair for next week to an underwhelming response from the crowd.
Chris Jericho vs. Maven
Jericho quickly starts working on Maven. Jericho hangs him out to dry on the top rope, then hits him with the springboard dropkick. Maven gets a short bit of offense before Jericho hits a step up enzaguri and then a dropkick off the top rope. Jericho puts the Walls of Jericho in and that's all. That was a pretty big burial of Maven there.
Match Rating: *
Jericho grabs a mic and says that everyone wants to make an impact at WrestleMania and he is no different. He announces that he has an idea that involves 6 men and a ladder. This is the birth of Money In The Bank, but he doesn't get into anymore detail than that.
They show the A Few Good Men WrestleMania commercial starring John Cena and JBL.
Christy Hemme is here to unveil her Playboy cover. She does to a mild applause and then Trish and her black eye are on their way down to the ring. Trish doesn't like her stealing her spotlight and begins putting spray paint over where it says "champion" on the cover. She then attacks her and spray paints her back. Classy segment.
Candice Michelle and Stacy Keibler are with steroid man Billy Graham. Randy Orton then joins them and they have an awkward conversation. You would never know that Graham was ever a good talker watching this segment. Graham tells Orton to be unique and special. Orton then puts down a SmackDown magazine with Undertaker on the cover.
Edge is with Maria said he beat HBK last time he was overlooked and he will make sure Michaels doesn't make it to WrestleMania.
Street Fight
Edge vs. Shawn Michaels
They start the match immediately, which is how every street fight should start. Michaels uses his belt as a weapon. Both guys are wearing street clothes and JR is hyping it as a "come as you are" street fight. This was a match I have really been looking forward to watching again because I really don't remember it that well. While I was pretty big into wrestling at the time, later on in 2005 I really became even more obsessed than I was here. HBK grabs a camera from a fan and takes a picture of a struggling Edge. Michaels is pulling a ladder out from under the ring, but then Edge nails him with a trash can in the head. Edge hits a DDT into the chair and now Michaels is busted open big time. We're talking almost Eddie Guerrero at Judgment Day bad, except this one is on cable TV, not pay-per-view. Edge is climbing to the top rope, but Michaels throws the ladder at him and sends him off the top and to the floor. Michaels tries a suicide dive, but gets caught on the middle rope. Thankfully Edge was able to catch him there. I have to think the big boots had a little to do with that one. Edge climbs almost to the top of the ladder and hits a big splash on Michaels, but only scores a 2 count. Michaels hits a slingshot on Edge right into the ladder. HBK then absolutely wails on Edge with a chair to the head. I probably say this with every review from this era, but I am so glad that I no longer have to watch that in modern day wrestling. Michaels gets his second wind and then nails Edge with a kendo stick to the head. He hits the elbow off the top rope and is tuning up the band. Edge ducks and then uses a chair for a low blow in a clever counter. Edge is bringing in a second chair and setting him up for a one man con-chair-to but Michaels gets out. Edge hits a spear, but only gets a 2 count. Edge is now tuning up the band, goes for the spear, but Michaels hits him with Sweet Chin Music for the victory. As soon as the match is over, Kurt Angle comes out of nowhere and destroys Michaels in an awesome moment. Angle then tells a laid out Michaels that he accepts his challenge. That was a really good main event, even if it's hard to watch the shots to the head here in 2019.
Match Rating: ***3/4
Well, that was a memorable episode featuring a really good main event, the birth of Money In The Bank and Muhammad Hassan's best match to date. It also featured an awful Trish Stratus/Christy Hemme segment and a few too many squashes. However, the bulk of it was entertaining and the street fight is definitely worth watching.
Overall Rating: 68%
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