[loopydate]

JANUARY 19, 2004 - MONDAY NIGHT RAW

Last week, Shawn Michaels, the #1 contender for the World Title, turned his back on his friend and WrestleMania opponent The Rock. What looked like a friendly rivalry going to the granddaddy of them all has turned into bad blood. How will Michaels' actions affect RAW tonight? And Mister McMahon is expected to be here tonight with a huge announcement for No Way Out.

The show kicks off with two superstars badly in need of a win. Both Booker T and Kane have struggled mightily over the last couple of months, and a win tonight could help them get back on track as the Road To WrestleMania XX (the 19th anniversary of WM!) continues. Both men get in a fair amount of offense, but their desperation to prove themselves the better man winds up with them both being disqualified, and they brawl all the way up the aisle.

Backstage, Eric Bischoff announces that if these two want each other so bad, they'll get their chance to go one-on-one again at No Way Out!

Hurricane is looking to get an official shot at Matt Hardy's Intercontinental Title, but after back-to-back losses, he needs to bounce back to keep himself in the conversation. Tonight, his chances look pretty good as he takes on La Resistance's Rob Conway. Hurricane dominates early with a series of acrobatic kicks, aerial maneuvers, and a big legsweep. Conway takes control and hits a big elbow for two, but Hurricane fights back with more high-flying moves. They then brawl for a bit before Hurricane nails a DDT to set up the Eye of the Hurricane for the win! After the match, the Intercontinental Champion appears in the ring out of nowhere and nails Hurricane with the Twist of Fate, and now Matt Hardy Version 1.0 is standing tall!

Mickie James is in her locker room when she's approached by Trish Stratus. Trish hasn't really had a chance to say so yet, but thanks for helping out when Gail Kim was trying to take her out after that tag match a few weeks back. Mickie's showing a lot of potential, and she's going to be one of the biggest things to hit the Women's Division in quite some time, as long as she knows who her friends are and stays away from the bad seeds. WWE's a dangerous place. It's good to know somebody's watching your back.

The World Tag Team Champions the Dudley Boyz are facing a new threat on the horizon from Vitamin C, but tonight they take on Test and William Regal. The Dudleyz double-team Test for the early part of the match until Bubba misses a legdrop, allowing Test to hit a big powerslam and tag in Regal. Regal outwrestles Bubba until he can land a shoulderblock to tag in D-Von. Regal tags in Test at the same time, but is too dazed to stop his partner from being taken out with the 3D! After the match, Vitamin C hit the ring and jump the Dudleyz! Jericho nails D-Von with the Lionsault, then both members of Vitamin C put Bubba through the announce table!

Backstage, a limo pulls up, and the crowd begins booing like mad. It rolls to a stop, the door opens, and out steps Vince McMahon himself. He's got a lot on his mind tonight. What is he going to announce for No Way Out?

Val Venis and Rico have one of the most unique relationships in World Wrestling Entertainment. Months ago, Rico became fixated with Val because of Val's... professional acumen. When Val started being stalked late last year, he accused Rico of being the one. Last week, however, it was revealed that it had been Ric Flair's animal Batista who was attacking Val. Rico has time and again come to Val's rescue, and tonight they team up for the first time as the Sin City Swingers to take on Vitamin C. This is an excellent match with lots of near falls and quick tags. However, during one moment of confusion, Batista hits the ring and levels Rico with a chair! As he slides out of the ring, Jericho capitalizes with the Walls of Jericho, and Rico taps out. Batista slides back in and prepares to hit Rico with the Batista Bomb, but out come the Dudley Boyz! They're bandaged and they're hurt, but they now have the numbers advantage, and Batista and Vitamin C hit the road.

Rico asks for a microphone and tells Batista that if thinks Rico is just out for the paycheck, he's got another thing coming. And he's got it coming at No Way Out!

It's champion versus champion next as the World Champion The Rock takes on the Intercontinental Champion Matt Hardy Version 1.0 in a non-title match. Matt takes control early, but Rock starts to fight back with some high-impact moves and a couple of near falls. Both guys get in a lot of offense, and Matt is looking like a million bucks, and the crowd is eating it up, but in the end, Rock finishes it with the Rock Bottom.

Our main event tonight pits the "reformed" Shawn Michaels against Mister Monday Night ROb Van Dam. The last time these two tied up, RVD pinned HBK in the semifinals of the IC Title Tournament. HBK is looking for revenge tonight. Michaels takes a page out of RVD's book and leads off with a series of kicks, but RVD takes to the air to gain control. HBK goes for the submission with a full nelson, and follows up with a top-rope DDT for a long two-count. Back-and-forth brawling now until HBK manages to hit his top-rope elbow drop to set up for Sweet Chin Music and the win!

.....NO CHANCE! The crowd comes unglued as Mister McMahon makes his way to the ring for the first time in several months. He's been very impressed lately with the way things have run in his absence. New stars are elevating themselves, and old stars are revitalizing their careers. Some Superstars decided that they were too good for this company, and are struggling to find work for a greatly-reduced paycheck and for companies that no one has ever heard of. This is a great time to be the chairman of World Wrestling Entertainment, and the build-up to WrestleMania XX is giving me goosebumps. Now, last week on RAW, something very unexpected happened in the main event. Shawn Michaels proved once again why he can't be trusted, betraying yet another in a long line of partners and friends when he attacked The Rock. HBK may have put his name back in the pantheon of wrestling gods by winning his third Royal Rumble, but we'll see how he does on the biggest stage.

Meanwhile, on SmackDown!, Brock Lesnar continues to showcase the dominant strength, speed, and athleticism that put him on the Chairman's radar two years ago. He has torn through all challengers for his gold, but just four days ago, a new challenger emerged from the pack. John Cena is everything WWE fans should come to expect from this new era in World Wrestling Entertainment - he's strong, he's athletic, and he's entertaining. And the Cena/Lesnar showdown at WrestleMania could be the match that puts both men in the conversation with men like Hogan, Michaels, Austin, Rock, Andre, Savage, Flair, Undertaker... The sky is the limit for these two men, and Mister McMahon can't wait to see how high they climb.

Which brings me to my announcement tonight. Both RAW and SmackDown! have tremendously exciting title matches scheduled for WrestleMania, but we still have the little matter of No Way Out, just five weeks away. And as a WrestleMania preview, I've decided that the main event of No Way Out should showcase all four of the WM title match particpants. So, at No Way Out, it's going to be the World Champion The Rock teaming up with the #1 contender for the WWE Title John Cena to take on the #1 contender for the World Title Shawn Michaels and the WWE Champion Brock Lesnar. Bragging rights are at stake, and so is the all-important momentum heading into the biggest night in these four men's careers. Rocky, Shawn, Brock, John... I'm giving you the ball. Run with it.

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