[loopydate]

JANUARY 5, 2004 - MONDAY NIGHT RAW


It's the last edition of RAW before the Royal Rumble, and the final three spots on the RAW side of the Rumble match will be determined tonight, plus we have a massive tag-team main event and plenty more Rumble build-up!

Just like SmackDown four days ago, tonight's show kicks off with Eric Bischoff making the World Title match between The Rock and Chris Jericho official.

The show kicks off with Divas action as Gail Kim, who will be participating in the triple-threat match for the Women's Title at the Royal Rumble, takes on Lita. Both women get in some offense before Gail hits her Diving Rana for the win.

Our next match is a six-man tag pitting all three Dudley Boyz against all three members of La Resistance. The Dudleyz dominate Rob Conway early with quick tags getting all three men into the ring. Conway manages to snap suplex Bubba and tag in Dupree, and from there La Res takes over with similar quick-tag success. D-Von gets a hot tag, but in the confusion, Christian hits the ring and hits the Unprettier behind the referee's back! When he turns around, Conway is covering D-Von for the win. Why did Christian just attack D-Von Dudley?

Triple H is trying to build momentum toward the Rumble match to get himself back into the main event, but his squash match against Lance Storm did more to damage Lance than it did help HHH. H wins it with the Pedigree.

Up next is a fatal fourway match for the final three slots in the Rumble match. How does that work, you ask? The man who is pinned or forced to submit is out, and the other three are in. (editor's note: this was supposed to be three separate one-on-one matches, but then I endeavored Steiner and Maven and mashed them all into this one) It's Nova versus Tommy Dreamer versus Val Venis versus Test! Nova and Test start off, and Test taeks control early until Nova tags in Dreamer. Dreamer brawls with Test until Test tags in Venis, who hits a spear and a slam. Tommy backdrops Val and hits a spinebuster, then tags Test back in. Test hits a pair of big clotheslines. The referee is trying to maintain order and doesn't notice Batista hit the ring with a chair! Test whips Val into Bats' chair, then plants him with the Big Boot for the win!

After the match, Batista continues to pummel Val with the chair, when all of a sudden, Rico hits the ring! Batista can see that Rico means business and high-tails it, leaving Rico to attend to Val. What the hell is going on here? Was Rico telling the truth all along? But we do know now that Test, Tommy Dreamer, and Nova have qualified for the last three Rumble slots.

It's more Divas action next as Trish Stratus and the Women's Champion Victoria take on Jazz and Molly Holly. Decent match made better by a hot crowd ends with Trish hitting Molly with Stratusfaction, but then getting jumped by Gail! Gail heads to the top rope for the Standing Rana, but out of nowhere comes new WWE Diva Mickie James! Gail bails off the top rope, and Mickie chases her through the crowd and out of sight.

Booker T has fallen on some hard times lately, with a mounting losing streak and losing a shot at the World Title at Armageddon. Tonight, he hopes to turn things around before the Rumble by taking on one of his 29 opponents, William Regal. Both men get in their share of moves, but the match is lacking something. In the end, Booker hits the Book End to pick up the much-needed win. After the match, he celebrates the victory.

The crowd has really settled down which doesn't bode well for Rob Van Dam and Kane, who are up next. They put on a good match, but there's just no reaction. RVD picks up the upset win with a flying kick off the top.

What's the best cure for a dead crowd? The new Intercontinental Champion Matt Hardy taking on Hurricane! These two have torn up every arena they've competed in over the last several months, and now that Hardy's the IC champion, you can bet that this will turn into a full-on feud! These two put on a spectacular match that ends with the champ hitting the Twist of Fate out of nowhere for the victory.

And in our main event, it's the New Mega-Powers - Shawn Michaels and the World Champion The Rock - taking on Christian and Rock's Rumble opponent Chris Jericho. "Vitamin C" controls the champion early with quick tags and double-teams until Rocky manages to hit Christian with a piledriver. Tag to Michaels, who slams Xian and lands his trademark flying elbow. Christian ducks a clothesline and hits a spinning neckbreaker, then tags in Y2J. Jericho hits a dropkick, then Rock tags into the match. HBK scoops up Jericho for a double-team move, but accidentally catches Rocky with one of Jericho's boots! HBK is forced out of the ring, and Jericho applies the Walls of Jericho! The champ has no choice but to tap out. After the match, HBK is apologetic, but Rocky is having none of it. HBK goes to leave, but Rock pulls him back into the ring. They have a long stare-down as RAW goes off the air.

In just six days, the Royal Rumble will be our next huge pay-per-view event. The Rock will defend the World Title against Chris Jericho! Victoria will defend the Women's Title in a triple threat against Trish Stratus and Gail Kim! Plus - Shawn Michaels, Matt Hardy, Christian, Hurricane, the Dudley Boyz, Tommy Dreamer, William Regal, Nova, Batista, Rob Van Dam, Booker T, Test, Triple H, and Kane will be RAW's representatives in the Royal Rumble match for a title shot at WrestleMania XX!