[loopydate]

APRIL 26, 2004 - MONDAY NIGHT RAW

Kurt Angle's theme hits the speakers to kick off RAW, and the crowd rises to its feet, and out comes the new World Champion. Red, white, and blue balloons and confetti fall from the ceiling as he hits the ring and grabs a microphone. He's about a minute into a celebration promo when he's interrupted by the man he beat last night, Chris Jericho. Last night, Jericho had his first taste of the main event in months... and he loved it! And he knows that he's probably not the #1 contender at the moment, but until Angle gives him a rematch, he's going to make his life a living hell!

Coming off that 96% segment, we get yet another dud show. Yay! Ugh. Our opening contest pits Lance Storm against The Ministry's rookie monster Damien. Storm tries to use his speed and experience to his advantage, but Damien is just too strong, finishing him off with a Chokeslam for the win. After the match, Damien chases Storm up the ramp and lays him out with a massive clothesline.

Last week, Johnny Stamboli cost Booker T a match against his NBT teammate Chuck Palumbo, only to have Val Venis hit the ring to break things up. Tonight, the score should be settled in a tag-team match! The veterans work over Palumbo early, keeping him isolated from Stamboli. He finally manages to make the tag, and The Bull is a house of fire, pummeling Booker. Val gets the hot tag, but the tag experience of the Natural Born Thrillers is just too much as they put him away with the Kiss of Death. Afterwards, Val and Booker jump them, sending them to the floor. Well, apparently the score isn't settled.

The Ministry come to the ring next to a chorus of boos. Undertaker leads the way with his WWE Tag Team Title belt strapped around his waist, followed by his partner Big Show, Kane, and Damien. The four monsters take up most of the ring, and it's a truly imposing sight. Taker calls for the microphone. "Over the last three weeks, one man has been on a mission of acceptance. RAW is a dangerous place for a man to stand on his own, and he has wisely sought the assistance of others to make a name for himself. Lance Cade was rejected by La Resistance and the Natural Born Thrillers, and last night at Backlash, he attempted to ingratiate himself with The Ministry by attacking Rhyno during his match with my brother, Kane. Despite the fact that he wound up giving Rhyno the victory, I applaud Cade's initiative." He proceeds to call Cade out to the ring. Cade looks like he's in Heaven, that he's finally found a place he belongs. But, with one signal from Undertaker, The Ministry pounces, pummeling Cade into the mat. After a trio of chokeslams from his underlings, Undertaker hits a Tombstone and crosses his arms over his chest, leaving him resting in peace in the center of the ring. The crowd is all over The Ministry for taking their frustrations out on a relatively helpless Cade.

Rob Van Dam came up just short in his bid to win the United States Title from Sean O'Haire at Backlash last night, and he hopes to bounce back against O'Haire's Natural Born Thrillers stablemate Mark Jindrak. RVD controls a majority of the match, putting him away with his trademark flying kick off the top rope. After the match, O'Haire appears in the ring and hits the Prophecy, leaving RVD laying. Clearly this feud isn't over.

WWE Tag Team Champion Big Show is out next for a match against one-half of the former champions, Charlie Haas. These two put on a pretty disappointing match that the crowd is nonetheless pretty in to. In the end, Haas lays Show out with a big kick to the face before surprising him with the Haas of Pain! Show is right in the middle of the ring, and he just can't get to the ropes, so he... TAPS OUT! Haas pulls off a huge upset!

Backstage, Rhyno is warming up, and he cuts a brief promo about the fact that he's so close to the main event that he can taste it. He was held back by the Dangerous Alliance on SmackDown, and since he's come to RAW, he's had to deal with The Ministry. But now that it appears they have shifted their sights to Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin, he's finally, for the first time in almost a year, got a clear path to the title. And he's going to start that run tonight.

Rhyno comes out for his match against Chris Benoit, and it's a doozy. Great action from both men with a number of killer spots. The match ends with Rhyno setting up for a suplex, but Benoit catching him with an undetected low blow, then rolling him up with a small package for the cheap win. After the match, Edge hits the ring with a chair and lays his rival out.

Edge grabs the microphone and issues Benoit a challenge for a rematch at Judgment Day. A woozy, yet angry Benoit agrees to it.

In a follow-up to our earlier Haas/Show match, it's Shelton Benjamin vs. Undertaker! Decidedly average match that gets a huge crowd reaction (and a low rating because of the stupid dud show) ends with the distracted referee missing Kane accidentally clothesline his own brother, allowing Shelton to lay UT out with a Superkick for the win! After the match, the Brothers of Destruction go after Benjamin until Charlie Haas hits the ring, and the World's Greatest Tag Team chase off the Brothers of Destruction.

Our main event pits the two biggest stars on RAW - World Champion Kurt Angle and United States Champion Sean O'Haire - against each other in a one-on-one contest. Good back-and-forth match ends when Angle prepares to clamp on the Angle Lock, but is blindsided by Chris Jericho! Jericho clamps on the Walls of Jericho as the referee calls for the bell. Rob Van Dam hits the ring to chase off O'Haire, and Angle gets the advantage on Jericho, and the two stand together in the ring as their rivals run off as RAW goes off the air.