The Raw Report (03/05/07): HBK vs. Orton; Edge vs. Cena; Guest Ref Announced for Battle of the Billionaires
Submitted by Chad Matthews on Monday, March 5, 2007 at 9:08 PM EST





The Raw Report (03/05/07)

The show opened with HBK stretching in the backstage area. John Cena walked up to him and they shared a brief stare down. Cena wished him luck in his match against Randy Orton. HBK wished Cena luck against Edge. Cena said there was something else. Before he could say anything more, HBK cut him off and said that he knows he’s turned on all his partners in the past. Michaels said it was different with Cena. Cena wanted to know how it was different. HBK said maybe it wasn’t different. Cena said that despite all the budding tension, he’s got his back if something goes wrong with Orton tonight. HBK said he didn’t need his help. (CMV1 note- the stupid feed cut out right after that, advertising some stupid St. Louis Blues nonsense…sorry)


Match 1: Shawn Michaels vs. Randy Orton (w/ Edge)
-(CMV1 note- prior to the match, JR and King showed highlights of Edge running out on Orton after having reason to believe that Randy blasted him in the back with a title belt). Edge assured Orton that he had his back. Orton got first strike points and repeatedly punched HBK in the face. Michaels came back with a swinging neckbreaker, a jumping face stomp, and a back drop. He followed by clotheslining Orton over the top rope. Michaels tossed Orton back into the ring and chopped him in the corner. Randy came back with a boot to the face and a hard right hand. Several clubbing blows followed, as Orton tried to gain some momentum. The two then traded blows, but Orton raked Shawn’s eyes. Michaels scored a knee lift soon after, but Orton backdropped him over the top rope to regain control. We then got a dreaded mid-match commercial break, but that was to be expected. Back from the break, HBK went for a dropkick, but Orton countered into a Boston Crab. Michaels struggled, but eventually reached the bottom rope. HBK quickly latched on a sleeper hold, but Orton countered into a backdrop. Michaels countered the counter into a cross body pin. HBK followed with an attempted baseball slide, wanting to take out Edge. However, Edge moved. HBK went back up to the apron, but Orton caught him, drug him b/t the second and top ropes and planted him with a spike DDT (while his feet were still hanging on the ropes). Orton continued his dominance with a dropkick in the corner and a jumping knee drop in the center of the ring. Unable to score the decisive fall, Orton locked on a rear choke. HBK eventually got back to his feet and broke the hold. He caught Orton with a back drop, leaving both lying. They made it to their feet and HBK scored with a flying forearm. He kipped up and connected with an inverted atomic drop and a body slam to set-up the flying elbow drop. Michaels took the risk and scored with the top rope elbow. He then set-up for the superkick. HBK went for it, but Orton countered and went for the RKO. Michaels countered and pushed Orton into the ref, but Randy still came back with a diving clothesline. Edge tried to help Orton, handing him the tag title belt. Unfortunately for him, the ref saw it. Orton tried to plead with him and the distraction allowed HBK to roll him up for the win. HBK defeated Orton at 11:29. After the match, Orton and Edge had a quick little argument, but Randy refocused long enough to drop HBK with an RKO onto a chair. Cena made the save before Rated-RKO could do anymore damage. (CMV1 rating- ** ¾) (CMV1 note- man, that over the top rope backdrop bump that HBK took was just unnecessary, but he’s the man for doing that. Good match b/t those two. Orton has gotten back to where he was at this time last year, having good matches on pretty much a weekly basis. HBK is, of course, HBK)


An “All Grown Up” promo for Wrestlemania focused on Batista…


Mick Foley hyped his book, citing its controversies…


JR and King showed highlights of Lashley beating Hardcore Holly in a cage match on ECW, plus the aftermath with Bobby jumping thru a section of the cage onto Umaga…


Backstage, Vince asked Armando what kind of mood Umaga was in. Armando said there’s wasn’t anything to worry about. Coach said that Vince looked stressed. Vince said he wasn’t stressed…and wasn’t worried about the Board of Directors choice for special ref. He said that he tells them what to do, so he’s confident they’ll choose his son, Shane, as he suggested.


Match 2: Jeff Hardy vs. Intercontinental Champion Umaga (w/ Armando)
-(CMV1 note- this is Jeff’s rematch for the title). Umaga removed a section of the floor padding before the match. He immediately gained control as the bell rang, but Jeff came back with a diving dropkick that knocked Umaga thru the ropes, a double boot, and a somersault plancha to the outside. Hardy then scored with a diving clothesline off the ring steps. Back in the ring, Umaga dropped Jeff with a strong clothesline to regain control. He buried his backside into the challenger’s chest…and then he did it again. As the crowd chanted for him, Jeff scored with a jawbreaker. However, Umaga came right back with a clothesline. He then placed him in the tree-of-woe and drilled him in the face with a jumping headbutt. Jeff found himself lying helpless in the corner. Umaga charged and blasted Hardy with a running rear smash. He then called for the Samoan Spike…and that was all she wrote. Umaga retained at 4:02. (CMV1 rating- ½ *). (CMV1 note- a gloried squash to put Umaga completely over as a monster for Lashley to ultimate take down at Mania)


JR and King introduced highlights of Donald Trump choosing Lashley to be his representative, plus the subsequent brawl b/t Lashley and Umaga. Other highlights included the footage from ECW and Lashley’s refusal to accept McMahon’s monetary offer to back out of the match (which happened on SD)…


At the premiere of “Wild Hogs,” several celebrities said that they’d like to see Donald Trump get his head shaved…


Backstage, Carlito and Ric Flair were interviewed. They were asked how they felt about facing each other tonight in an effort to determine the final spot in the MITB ladder match. Flair said he had more passion; Carlito said he’d do everything necessary.


Further backstage, Vince talked to Shane on the phone. He wanted to know the news. Shane was on his way to the arena. Vince told Coach that he resembled Donald Trump.


Tomorrow night on ECW, RVD battles Elijah Burke…


Chris Masters got set-up for the Masterlock Challenge. Hacksaw Jim Duggan was the competitor (ZZZzzzzz). Masters easily won…


JR and King showed highlights of the first 20-minutes of the show, specifically showcasing the backstage HBK-Cena interview, the end to the HBK-Orton match, and the aftermath.


Backstage, HBK said he’s got Cena’s back tonight. Cena said he didn’t need his help…


Vince McMahon power walked to the ring, making sure to stop by the barber shop set-up on the ramp. McMahon hyped a contract signing for next week b/t he and Trump. He said if Trump gets in his face, he’ll bitch slap him. At that point, Eric Bischoff (yeah, seriously) came to the ring. Vince wanted to know what the hell he was doing there. Bischoff said he wasn’t the ref, so not to worry. EB said since he lives in Phoenix, he just wanted to stop by and say hello. He said he was looking forward to seeing Donald shave Vince’s head. At that point, Eric left, but Mick Foley came to the ring wearing his referee shirt. Vince thought Mick was the special ref, so he kissed his ass. He gave Foley his job back and gave him access to come back to Raw and plug his book. Foley took full advantage of the situation. He even goaded Vince into paying his room service bill. Ultimately, though, Foley revealed that he was not the guest ref for Wrestlemania, but rather for a rib eating contest b/t Charles Barkley and the Phoenix Suns mascot down the road at a restaurant. Vince excused him and demanded that the real guest ref make his presence felt. At that point, Shane McMahon finally made his way to the ring, putting his father’s mind at ease. However, Shane didn’t appear to have good news. Shane said that they didn’t get their choice for special ref. At that point…Stone Cold Steve Austin’s music hit and the place went nuts! Austin made his way to the ring, as Vince looked on in stunned silence. After the Rattlesnake made his patented corner to corner middle-fingered salutes, Vince offered him a handshake. Austin laughed, walked away, and requested some beers. Stone Cold walked around drinking beer, as JR hyped him as the special ref. Steve eventually threw beer in McMahon’s face. (CMV1 note- damn good segment…that was a nice touch bringing back two of Vince’s former rivals before finally revealing Austin. In the midst, Foley got his job back, opening up a chance for him to wrestle at Mania. Not having Austin say anything was a nice touch, as there’s really no reason for him to talk at this point. It reinforced his limited role, but he still made an impact with just his appearance)


The Marine is still out on DVD (in case you forgot)…


Backstage, Mick Foley was talking to the Phoenix Suns gorilla. Ron Simmons walked up and said, “Damn!”


Match 3: Falls Count Anywhere Match- Women’s Champion Melina vs. Mickie James
-(CMV1 note- Ashley was the guest ring announcer…she’s got a good voice for announcing). Mickie got things going with a baseball slide before Melina ever got into the ring. Melina tossed James into the security wall and ran to the back. Mickie gave chase and caught up to her in the backstage area. James tossed her into a table and later into a door. They fought into the women’s locker room, where James tossed Melina over a couch. The divas around and on top of the other divas. Candice, Maria, Victoria, and Torrie all got involved. The camera man got knocked down and the picture was gone, so we got a commercial break that wasn’t really expected. Back from the break, Mickie and Melina battled back to the arena. The rolled around on the ramp. Melina eventually got in a quick strike and ran back into the ring. She took control with a series of hair pulls into facebusters, but Mickie came right back with a few of her own. James then scored w/ the Perfect Plex for a near fall. They battled to the second rope. Mickie went to the top and went for a hurricanrana, but she fell on her neck and shoulder area. Melina made the quick pin. Melina retained at 7:23. After the match, Ashley pushed Melina and tended to Mickie. (CMV1 rating- ½ *) (CMV1 note- well, I need to see a replay, but I can confidently say that Melina is a sloppy worker. I’m not saying it was her fault that Mickie fell on her head, but that match was sloppy and bad).


This week on SD…Taker vs. Finlay and Kane vs. Batista…


Match 4: Money in the Bank Qualifier- Ric Flair vs. Carlito (w/ Torrie)
-A lock-up to start, with Carlito grabbing a headlock. Flair broke the hold, but Carlito knocked him down with a shoulder tackle. Moments later, Carlito backed him into the corner and thrusted his shoulder into Flair’s gut. Naitch came back with a series of chops, but CCC stopped his momentum with a back drop and a dropkick. Carlito followed with a suplex and a series of chops. Flair came back with an inverted atomic drop, a knife edge chop, and a back elbow smash. He followed with a jumping knee drop and applied a rear chinlock. Carlito came back with a springboard back elbow. At that point, the Great Khali came out and destroyed both of them. Carlito and Flair fought to a no-contest. After the match, Khali yelled that he wanted Kane. (CMV1 rating- ½ *) (CMV1 note- decent action until that big oaf came out and disrupted things. I was hoping that Orton might not get in and that maybe he and Edge could wrestle at Mania…maybe for a spot in MITB. I don’t know, but I’m hoping Carlito or Flair still gets in. Otherwise, I don’t think the Mania card is strong enough to be Mania worthy. The top four matches all look damn good, but what’s the rest of that four hours going to consist of? Orton vs. Edge would be a very good addition with a nice back story. Oh well, I guess it’s back to just being marginally excited)


Stone Cold Steve Austin will be on ECW tomorrow night…


The 4th member of the 2007 Hall of Fame induction class is…Nick Bockwinkel. (CMV1 note- nice to see him get in. I bet 75% of the current audience has no f-in clue who he is, though)


Backstage, Orton approached Edge. Edge wanted to know if Orton had his back tonight. Orton said that he was sorry, but he had a meeting with Coach. Thus, Randy said he simply did not have Edge’s back tonight…


Cena came out to the ring for the match, but MNM showed up. Edge made his entrance soon after, got on the mic, and said he couldn’t perform in front of this crowd tonight because, as a Civil Right’s Activist, he felt uncomfortable wrestling before a group of bigots. However, since Johnny Nitro’s great great grandma is black, Edge figures he should get the chance to beat up Cena.


Match 5: WWE Champion John Cena vs. Johnny Nitro
-Mercury got involved at the start of the match, giving Nitro the chance to take early control. Nitro dominated the first few minutes, but Cena made his usual comeback. After connecting with the Prototype spinning back drop, Cena scored with the Five Knuckle Shuffle. However, when he went for the FU, Mercury came in and gave him a chop block. MNM and Edge ganged up on Cena after the ref called for the bell. HBK came out to make the save, but stopped before entering the ring. He turned around and walked toward the back. However, he changed his mind and made the save. Cena defeated Nitro via DQ at 3:21. (CMV1 rating- ¼ *) (CMV1 note- well, other than HBK’s appearance, that was a horrible final segment. I cannot stand when they change an advertised main-event. I won’t speculate what plans must have changed, but that created for a bad final 10-minutes…again, outside the HBK-related stuff)



All in all…This was an on-and-off Raw. It started well with the HBK-Cena-Orton-Edge happenings, and then it lulled for about a half-hour (where nothing was accomplished). It picked back up during the announcement of the special ref, but then lulled for another 35-45 minutes (where again, nothing was accomplished). Carlito-Flair will probably be forgotten, or Orton will sneak into MITB now, strengthening an already stacked match, but weakening a speculatively horrible mid-card for Mania 23. The end of the show, w/ the change of the main-event and the reason behind it, was really stupid. HBK helped end the show on a high note, as that feud continues to kick ass, but what a jumbled mess of a Monday Night Raw that was. Except for 3 segments, I thought it was a really poor showing. I’m going to bed with memories (that I’m not fond of) from 2006 dancing in my head. Thus, I give tonight’s show a 3/10 …





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