Monday, July 25th, 2005
Gund Arena
Cleveland, Ohio
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Kurt Angle is here to kick things off and he's looking for some real competition. Out comes...Christy Hemme. She says it's not her who he's wrestling, but she is here to introduce Eugene. Eugene shows off his Cleveland Browns jersey to a big pop. They argue back and forth about being from Cleveland and then we have our match.
Kurt Angle Invitational
Kurt Angle vs. Eugene
Angle attacks him and goes right to work. Angle starts to get cocky and takes his time. Eugene starts to hulk up and fires back with some right hands. Angle comes back with a clothesline and the straps are down. Angle Slam and then he puts him in the Ankle Lock with about 15 seconds left. Eugene counters out of it and sends Angle through the ropes. The clock runs out and Eugene wins Angle's Olympic Gold Medal. He and Christy celebrate and then quickly get out of the ring to get away from Angle. Who would ever think that in back-to-back SummerSlam events that Eugene would face Triple H and then Kurt Angle?
Match Rating: 1/2*
Viscera is shown backstage next to his apparent tag team partner.
John Cena sneaks up behind Eric Bischoff. Bischoff calls Cena trash. Bischoff goes on a rant and then when he turns around he finds out that Cena was no longer there.
Mixed Tag Team Match
Antonio & Pocket Rocket vs. Viscera & Cloacas
Pocket Rocket starts off in control and then Antonio tags in and slaps Cloacas. He continues to dominate him and the crowd is absolutely silent. Antonio accidentally knees his partner, knocking him off the apron. Antonio hits an airplane spin slam, but misses the elbow drop. Cloacas crawls under Antonio's legs and tags Vis. Viscera hits a Samoan Drop, but then Romeo jumps on his back. Viscera knocks him off and clotheslines him out of the ring. For some reason that's not a disqualification. Viscera then picks up Pocket Rocket and launches him onto Romeo. Body slam by Viscera and then Cloacas tries to get on Viscera's back, but he stumbles. He tries again and hits a splash. That's all thankfully. It legit looked like this was Cloacas's first match. This was both terrible and unnecessary.
Match Rating: 0 stars
JR tells us that Lord Alfred Hayes passed away a few days ago, introducing a highlight package of his work.
Shelton Benjamin is back with Bischoff. Benjamin says that he deserves a rematch with Carlito, but Bischoff disagrees. He tells him instead he is getting a handicap match with Snitsky and Chris Masters. Benjamin says that is just like Bischoff's breath, it stinks.
Chris Jericho is with Maria and she says that she loves Fozzy the Bear. She asks if any of the other Muppets are coming. Jericho says that hip hop is manufactured music and that he's real music.
It's time for the battle of the bands. John Cena is out first. As far as wrestlers doing a hip hop performance, it was pretty good. Jericho comes out and insults the performance. Jericho refuses to perform because the crowd is already against him. Instead, he'll beat Cena at SummerSlam. Cena then breaks out a performance of his entrance song.
Bischoff is with Carlito to talk about Cena. Bischoff says that Carlito will face Cena tonight. Apparently if he wins tonight, he will face him for the title next week. He also throws in that Jericho will be the special guest referee.
Out comes Shawn Michaels to the ring. Michaels says that he would call out Hulk Hogan tonight, but he's out promoting his reality show. Michaels says that he is an old fashioned guy and wants to be the greatest in-ring performer in WWE history, not a TV or movie star. Michaels says that Hogan is doing the same tired routine he's been doing for 20 years. They said they want the old HBK back, well they got him and he won't lay down for Hogan at SummerSlam. Solid promo work there from Michaels as usual.
Handicap Match
Snitsky & Chris Masters vs. Shelton Benjamin
On a nerdy note, Snitsky was already in the ring, then Benjamin came out and then they had Masters come out last. I get why they did it, but I can't remember another time that they have done that unless it was a surprise partner. Even then, it would typically be announced right after their partner. Masters ducks a charging Masters and he falls out of the ring. Shelton goes up top and hits a somersault dive to the floor, taking out both opponents. Back in the ring, the heels quickly regain the advantage. Shelton slides under Masters and hits a Samoan Drop. He hits a Stinger Splash, but Masters grabs the ref and allows Snitsky to illegally attack Shelton. Masters puts on the Master Lock. Benjamin tries to escape by repeatedly backing Masters into the corner, but is unsuccessful. Shelton shows a second wind, but again Masters brings him to his knees and that's all. Snitsky encourages Masters to keep it going after the bell and out comes Big Show. Being the smart men that they are, instead of attacking Show as he slowly gets into the ring, they wait until he's in so that he can hit a big boot on Snitsky. Both men escape, as Show checks in on Shelton. The match was probably what a handicap match should be, but that doesn't always make for much of a match.
Match Rating: 1/2*
The Diva Search must continue I suppose. Tonight is a hot dog eating contest. They announce that Cameron is cut from the contest. Layla and Summer tie, so they do a 30 second eat off to finish. This is awful television. Layla ends up winning. Next week is a queen of the mountain competition. Whatever.
Stretcher Match
Edge vs. Kane
Kane attacks Edge from behind during his entrance. As per usual, a big "Hardy" chant has started. Kane continues the assault in the ring and then is back out throwing Edge into the steps. He places Edge on the stretcher and tries dragging him up the ramp. Edge starts to fight back, so Kane just drops him down the ramp into the ring. Back from commercial break and Edge is choking Kane with a cord. During the break Edge hit a DDT on Kane onto the steps. That seemed like a bigger move than usual that was missed due to commercial break. They go back in the ring and Kane hits a clothesline from the top rope. Kane gets distracted by Lita and Edge hits a spear and rolls him onto the stretcher. Lita hits Kane with a kendo stick and then Edge gets in on the action, cracking it over Kane's head. How many years do I have left until weapon shots to the head are no longer a thing? Edge goes up top, but Kane swings a chair at him and knocks him to the outside. Kane pulls him up by the hair and hits a chokeslam from the apron onto the stretcher. The stretcher is now on an angle, but Kane tries pulling him up the ramp anyways. Lita is at the top of the ramp and takes the briefcase and hits Kane in the back with it. Kane no sells it and starts going after Lita. Kane grabs her by the throat and goes to chokeslam her, but Edge is there to make the save. He hits him in the head with the briefcase and knocks him down by the stretcher. They lay Kane on the stretcher and Lita helps push it up. Kane sits up and grabs Lita, but Kane eats yet another briefcase to the head and that is all. After the match, Kane sits up again and throws Edge into the Raw set. He then grabs Lita and gives her a Tombstone on the stage. As Edge is checking in on Lita, out comes Matt Hardy to a big pop. These moments were so fun. Matt Hardy will forever be one of the most underrated performers in WWE history. This was the best match in this series.
Match Rating: **1/2
Back from commercial break, Kane is with Lita in the ambulance and gets in the driver seat and drives away with the back doors open.
Carlito vs. John Cena
Bischoff is up on the stage as the bell rings. Jericho broke the rules of being a wrestler referee, as his shirt isn't three sizes too small. Cena hits a huge back body drop, but then gets an elbow to the face. Carlito goes for a chair, but Jericho takes it away. Carlito counters Cena into a DDT for a 2 count. So far Jericho as been calling it down the middle. Carlito hits a dropkick and a neckbreaker for a 2 count. Cena hits a desperation suplex. Carlito is able to continue working on Cena for a little while until Super Cena makes his return. Five Knuckle Shuffle time and then he goes to follow it up with the FU, but Jericho hits him with a low blow. Jericho hits his running bulldog and a Lionsault, allowing Carlito to get the victory. Bischoff applauds the result as Jericho holds the WWE Championship belt. This was the usual Carlito match. So next week we will get a rematch, this time for the title.
Match Rating: *3/4
This wasn't the strongest episode of Raw, thanks to the Viscera segment and the Diva Search for existing. However, the battle of the bands segment was well done, Michaels' promo was strong and the Edge/Kane match was entertaining. The build for the top matches at SummerSlam continues to go well, while the rest just kind of continues to lack focus.
Overall Rating: 53%
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