Monday, June 5th, 2006
Mellon Arena
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
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Triple H is sitting backstage and in walks Shane McMahon. Shane advises Triple H to go reason him or else things will get worse.
Paul Heyman introduces the man who will defeat John Cena on Sunday, Rob Van Dam. Coach then brings on John Cena. RVD and Heyman put over how much Cena is going to get booed out of the building. Cena says that he respects everything everything that ECW gave this business. Let's be honest, it isn't that much. They sign the contract and Cena wishes him luck. Before Cena leaves, Heyman tells him that Cena's first taste of ECW won't be Sunday, it will be Wednesday in a battle royal. He brings out a few of his ECW originals with Terry Funk, Sandman, Tommy Dreamer and Balls Mahoney. Cena starts a brawl and Cena gets pummeled. Out comes Sabu and he hits a botched splash that was supposed to be a leg drop with a chair on Cena. Out comes Big Show and a bunch of jobbers. This was a pretty good segment that kind of reminded me that the Cena/RVD build was pretty light overall. The other surprise was that the ECW performers really didn't get much of a reaction.
Carlito vs. Shelton Benjamin
Carlito comes out hot and then hits a dropkick. Benjamin hits Carlito with a kick to the head and then hits Snake Eyes. Shelton's mama would be proud. They try to do a back-and-forth type of thing, but the crowd isn't really buying it. Carlito hits a springboard elbow for a 2 count, but then Shelton hits a Samoan Drop. He misses with the splash in the corner and then Carlito does a flip off the top rope over Shelton and hits the Backstabber for the victory in the non-title match. They just didn't know what to do with either of these guys and they somehow kept ending up fighting each other. Spoiler alert: This is the longest match of the night.
Match Rating: *3/4
Triple H is at Mr. McMahon's office and walks in, but it's Coach instead. Vince comes in after the commercial break and honestly I start to instantly lose interest. It's amazing how little I care about his character any more. He says something about Triple H fighting Big Show next and if he wins, he doesn't have to join the club.
Triple H vs. Big Show
These two actually did have a solid match at New Year's Revolution earlier in the year. Show goes after Triple H, but then Triple H ducks Show and he goes to the floor. Out come the Spirit Squad and they attack Show, causing Triple H to lose by disqualification. I did not see that coming.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Triple H is back and screaming at Vince. Vince tells him that he now has no alternative.
Eugene vs. Matt Striker
Wow, they're bringing out the big guns tonight. Striker questions why Eugene would want another match after what he did to him last time. Eugene says he has a tutor and it's Hacksaw Jim Duggan. Striker attacks Eugene while he's talking to Duggan and he hits a draped DDT for a 2 count. Eugene quickly fights back and hits the airplane spin. He goes for the Rock Bottom, but it gets countered into a neckbreaker. Duggan distracts Striker with a "U-S-A" chant. Eugene hits him with the three point stance clothesline and steals the victory. After the match, Striker throws Eugene into the steps and Duggan sends him to the back after threatening to hit him with the 2x4. Then out of nowhere, out comes Umaga and he attacks Duggan. Armando Alejandro Estrada gives Umaga the sign and he hits the Samoan Spike. This was whatever.
Match Rating: 3/4*
Kurt Angle is here, as Vince continues to run him ragged. He only gets a few words in before he is interrupted by Mick Foley. They go back and forth and then Foley brings out Edge. Edge tells Angle that he's going from the penthouse to the outhouse by going to ECW. Angle says he's changing ECW forever and then takes Edge down. Foley stops him and gets an Angle Slam. Angle fights off Edge and out comes Randy Orton and hits a RKO out of nowhere on Angle. This is the first time Orton has appeared in weeks.
During the commercial break, Randy Orton accepts Angle's challenge at One Night Stand.
Cade and Murdoch are in the ring and Murdoch tells Kane that tonight he's facing his tag team partner tonight.
Lance Cade vs. Kane
Kane destroys Cade for a few minutes and then the mask shows up on the screen again. This time Kane walks away and to the back. Cade gets the countout victory in an all time classic. Murdoch gets on the mic to celebrate the victory and they show Kane yelling backstage. The lights go out and they show the other Kane behind him. He attacks the real Kane and then throws a trash can at him. This really makes no sense.
Match Rating: 1/4*
We get the first vignette for the Highlanders.
Johnny Nitro vs. Charlie Haas
Haas with his beard here looks like a slim version of Steve Williams. The matches on this show are really random and the crowd hasn't been hot partly because of it. Nitro throws Haas out of the ring and gets a little help from Melina. Nitro goes for a springboard move, but it looks like maybe a miscommunication, so he just jumps in the ring that way. Haas battles back with a back suplex and I'm starting to feel bad for these guys. Haas hits a couple of clotheslines and a monkey flip that at least gets a reaction out of the crowd due to Nitro's landing. Melina comes in the ring and fakes an injury. It distracts the ref and Haas, Nitro rolls him up and gets the victory. So Nitro loses to Cena in a few minutes last week and this week needs a distraction roll up to beat Charlie Haas. Talk about confidence. The match was fine for what it was, but the crowd was dead silent.
Match Rating: *
They show Lillian Garcia being helped to the back after being accidentally knocked off the ropes by Charlie Haas as she was getting out of the ring.
Victoria vs. Beth Phoenix
Mickie James comes down separately after Victoria is already in the ring. They really thought it was a good idea to follow up that match with this one? I'm not going to pretend I am someone who has experience writing a wrestling show, but this one just seems like it wasn't very well thought out. Beth hits a dropkick and gets a 2 count. Beth hits a side suplex and Mickie gets on the apron. Trish pulls Mickie off the apron. Victoria rolls her up, but she has the tights, so no count there. Beth hits the Michinoku Driver and gets the victory.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Vince and Shane are talking and Vince wants to make sure the job gets done tonight. Vince then offers to show Shane a preview.
JR and Lawler hype up One Night Stand. Lawler then makes fun of Tazz some more and accepts his challenge.
Shane approaches Triple H and Triple H isn't happy. Shane tells him there's nothing to worry about. Triple H swaps out his water bottle when Shane is on the phone. They then chug the waters together.
Vince and Shane are out in the ring now. This show can't end soon enough. Triple H is pretending to be under the influence and Vince calls him out for it. He passes out and Vince pulls down his pants. Shane then passes out. Triple H sneaks back up as Vince realizes what has happened. Triple H gives him a Pedigree and this awful episode is finally over.
How did this show ever get approved by anyone? This was so bad and the worst part is that Raw has been solid over the past few weeks. This episode hardly had any wrestling, matches that no one cared about and a stupid storyline arch throughout the show. Big thumbs down here.
Overall Rating: 28%
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