The official wrestling sim topic

[loopydate]

OCTOBER 18, 2004 - MONDAY NIGHT RAW

Tonight's RAW kicks off with the latest chapter between the leader of the Natural Born Ministry (who will be introducing their Survivor Series lineup tonight), Sean O'Haire and the man who shocked the world by taking the World Title from him last month, A-Train. The crowd is loving this feud, even though their in-ring chemistry leaves a little bit to be desired. O'Haire hits a fallaway slam, then a scoop slam, but Train gets a foot up on an avalanche attempt. Train works over O'Haire with punches, driving him into the corner. The official attempts to pull Train back, which gives O'Haire the opportunity to pull out a pair of brass knuckles. Train charges, and gets blasted! Unfortunately, O'Haire isn't sneaky enough and the ref sees it and calls for the bell. Once Train shakes the cobwebs loose, they brawl back up the ramp and out of sight.

Backstage, Big Show is in Eric Bischoff's office with the WWE Tag Team Titles. A video plays of Kane being laid out by the Ministry last week. Bischoff informs Show that he is incapable of defending the belts tonight against La Resistance, a shot La Res earned last week by defeating the World's Greatest Tag Team. Bischoff gives him a choice - find a partner, or it's a handicap match!

The challengers are in the ring, awaiting Show and his partner (?)'s arrival. Show makes his way to the ring with the belt and introduces his new partner... Payne! The monstrous brawler makes his way to the ring and shakes Show's hand. Good match, but the live crowd is still a little confused why Kane isn't out there (yay, pre-tape!). As Payne looks about set to put Dupree away, Johnny Stamboli and Chuck Palumbo hit the ring with chairs, and blast Payne behind the ref's back! Dupree clamps the Figure-Four on Payne, but he's out cold and it's just a formality. The ref calls for the bell and awards the belts to La Resistance, and the crowd is absolutely shitting on the title change. After the match, Palumbo and Stamboli go to work on Show and Payne, continuing the fledgling rivalry.

Eric Bischoff is backstage, and he has something to say to Paul Heyman. "Paul, I have to tell you, I have to admire the fact that - despite the fact that I almost single-handedly put you under four years ago - you keep coming back for more. What I don't admire is that you seem to be taking this so personally! Paul, you may hate me, and aligning with Shane McMahon is a wise move on your part if you want revenge, but you're just another employee. And while I may not have bought your ass in 2000, I own it now, because as long as you're under WWE contract, you work for me. And you can rouse all the rabble on SmackDown! that you want, because my predecessor made the mistake of signing you to a long-term contract. But you have no authority, and you can't touch me on Monday nights. And you can throw all the 'ECW Originals' at me you want, but the fact is - just like you - they were big fish in a small pond, and now that they're on my programming, my boys are going to crush them just like Nitro did to RAW for so long."

Last week, Randy Orton cost the World's Greatest Tag Team a shot at the WWE Tag Team Titles in a bid to get at his longtime rival Shelton Benjamin. WGTT has issued a challenge for tonight, and Orton has selected the Ministry's rookie monster Damien as his partner. This should be good! And it is, as Orton and Damien show impressive chemistry for two men who've never teamed before. Eventually, Orton heads up top for what will likely be a cross body, but Damien accidentally hits the ropes in an attempt to get at Benjamin, who then takes advantage of Orton crotching himself to hit the Dragon Whip for the win. After the match, Orton grabs Damien and gets in his face over the mistake.

Trish Stratus recently beat Mickie James to become the new Women's Champion. Tonight, Mickie faces Jazz, with the champ as the special referee! Mickie controls most of the match until Jazz gets her into a corner and starts raining down fists. Trish starts to utilize her five-count, and as Jazz lands her tenth punch, Trish calls for the bell. Jazz flips her shit over the DQ loss and locks in an STF, putting the champ out cold.

Rhyno and Rob Van Dam make their way down to the ring for a tables match against Canadian Violence, prompted by last week's altercation. They say they realize that they're marked men now that they've allied with Shane and Paul, drawing Bischoff's ire. Well, you know, that's fine, because we're bringing in some backup of our own. A guy Rob knows well. From the back, we can hear the unmistakable shrill whistling of... oh, dear God... The crowd (the smart ones anyway) flip their shit as Bill Alfonso (!!!!!) makes his way down the aisle and jumps around the ring like... well... Bill Alfonso.

Canadian Violence makes their way to the ring for the tables match next, and they're visibly distracted (who wouldn't be?) by Alfonso's presence at ringside. It's an exciting match with some old-school ECW moments. In the closing moments, RVD sets up Benoit for a piledriver on a table, but Benoit backdrops out of it while Rhyno blasts Jericho with a spinebuster. RVD sets Benoit back up atop the table, then heads up top and hits a split-legged moonsault to put him through it for the win! After the match, Benoit and Jericho get revenge, leaving their rivals laying.

Backstage, the Natural Born Ministry is gathered around Sean O'Haire who runs down the Surivor Series team they're putting up in four weeks. O'Haire is bringing Damien, Undertaker, Palumbo, and Stamboli with him to the PPV, and he lets Taker work in his "Rest in peace" line since he doesn't want to tell us anything we don't already know.

It's an elite six-man tag match next as WWE Champion The Rock teams with Eddie Guerrero and Rico to take on Brock Lesnar, Christian, and Jeff Hardy. The announcers hype the multi-man aspect of the match as a preview for the type of action we'll see at Survivor Series, even speculating that these six would have to be among the favorites to advance to the War Games main event. Eddie Guerrero gets the triple-team treatment from the heels until Rico gets a hot tag and the babyfaces work over Lesnar for a bit until Christian tags back in to the match and puts Eddie away with an Unprettier.

And now for our main event, pitting two members of the Elite who've been in a long-term feud against each other. It's John Cena and Tajiri live int his very ring! Once more, they put together a very good match, and Cena eventually picks up another big win with the F-U to send the fans home happy.

[loopydate]

OCTOBER 25, 2004 - MONDAY NIGHT RAW

It's the last RAW of October, just three weeks away from the Survivor Series. Tonight, a new team is announced, an old rivalry ends, two titles are on the line, and more rivalries than you can shake a stick at!

We open with an unusual singles match, as the hated Randy Orton takes on the equally hated Damien. Last week, Damien inadvertantly cost himself and Orton a tag match against the World's Greatest Tag Team, and Orton looks for revenge against the rookie monster tonight! Good solid match that the crowd doesn't even seem to mind (even though they usually shit on heel-heel matches). Eventually, Damien sends Orton off the ropes and - unbeknownst to the referee - Shelton Benjamin blasts Orton with a steel chair to send Orton into a Damien roll-up for the three-count. After the match, Benjamin hops into the ring and - ignoring his former rival Damien - pounds on Orton for the weeks of attacks Orton has perpetrated against him. Eventually, Benjamin walks away, leaving his rival out cold.

Up next is a six-man tag match I fucked up while booking. It was supposed to be A-Train, Big Show, and Payne representing their Survivor Series team against NBM members Palumbo, Stamboli, and Jindrak, except I accidentally clicked Kane instead of Payne because I'm so in the habit of putting him in matches with Show. So, even though he's selling the attacks from NBM that put his "future in jeopardy" a couple of weeks ago, he's in there banging. Crap. I'm an idiot. Jindrak hits Splash Mountain on Train after Sean O'Haire interferes.

Afterwards, O'Haire grabs a microphone and continues the assault, this time verbally. He talks about how Train was supposed to be a walk in the park after he "won" the #1 contender tournament, but he's proven to be a thorn in his side. And the more he thinks about it, the more he understands it. Everyone has that one rival that for whatever reason - despite not being on the same level - they just can't seem to shake. Superman had Lex Luthor, an alien god against a bald guy in an office. Hulk Hogan had Paul Orndorff. And now Sean O'Haire has A-Train. Well, in the end, Superman always saves the day, Hogan always won the feud, and Sean O'Haire is going to finally derail the A-Train. But I'm not telling you anything you didn't already know.

The Rock and Undertaker, two of the biggest stars of the last fifteen years, battle it out. Well, not so much a battle. Punches, slam, full nelson slam, DVD, and Rock Bottom, and The Rock wins a squash that gets a 71% match quality? This game is weird...

The Women's Title is on the line next in a triple-threat match as Trish Stratus defends against Mickie James and Jazz (who feels she was screwed by Trish in a contender's match that Trish was officiating. It's a good match, though Mickie seemed to phone it in a bit. Trish winds up hitting the Stratusphere on Jazz to retain.

Earlier tonight, Shelton Benjamin interjected himself in Randy Orton's business. Tonight, he teams with his longtime partner Charlie Haas to take on Elite members Brock Lesnar and Jeff Hardy. Can he put his issues with Orton behind him? Not easily, because Orton returns the favor by hitting SHelton with a chair to allow Lesnar to roll him up. After the match, Orton joins Lesnar and Hardy in beating WGTT down.

"Here come the moneeeeeeeeeeeeeey..." The crowd goes nuts as Shane McMahon makes his way to the ring. He talks a bit about his ongoing feud with Eric Bischoff, but his primary reason for being out there is to introduce the next Survivor Series team. Rey Mysterio's music hits, which leads to another big reaction. Rey leads his team to the ring, including The Hurricane, Jamie Noble, Chavo Guerrero, and Nova. What an exciting collection of cruiserweights. These are Reyes de Lucha Libre (Kings of Wrestling)!

ECW alumni Rhyno and Tajiri come out next for what promised to be a brutal encounter, and more than lived up to it! One of the best matches either man has put on in a long time, but unfortunately we don't get a clean finish. Rhyno blasts Tajiri with the Gore and looks to be about to pick up the win when the World Champion Chris Jericho hits the ring and locks him in the Walls of Jericho. The referee calls for the bell, but Jericho and Tajiri continue the beating until John Cena hits the ring to clear them out and make the save.

Cena remains in the ring after the break, because he's got a match with Christian next. Tajiri gets some revenge while the ref's back is turn, blasting Cena with the Kick of Death allowing Christian to get the cheap win. After the match, it's once again two-on-one, but Eddie Guerrero gets a turn to make the save, driving off the heels.

Finally, our Trinity Of Interference comes to an end as Eddie takes on Jericho. Eddie takes Jericho down with a big kick and looks about to pick up a big non-title win with the frogsplash, but Christian hits the Unprettier to result in the DQ. After the match, Vitamin C go to work on Eddie until Rhyno comes out to even the score once again.

Our main event is a Ladder Match for the United States Title! Since Rob Van Dam and Chris Benoit pulled off a lot of ladder-related moves, I'll let the game tell you how the match went: Flying elbow by Rob Van Dam from the top of the ladder. Super kick by Rob Van Dam. Chris Benoit powers out of a Rob Van Dam headlock. Benoit drives a forearm into the chest of RVD. Stun Gun from Chris Benoit! There used to be this blonde guy in WCW in the early 90's who used that...i wonder what happened to him? Face-first suplex onto the ladder from Benoit. Benoit drives a thrust kick into the chest of RVD. RVD backdrops Chris Benoit out of a piledriver attempt. Lightning kick by RVD on Benoit. Benoit walks into a face crusher variation. Rob Van Dam hits a rolling kick on Benoit. RVD hits a face jam on Chris Benoit onto the ladder. Benoit drops out the back of a Rob Van Dam bodyslam attempt. Gut buster, RVD hits hard. Chris Benoit nearly kills RVD with a released tiger suplex. Chris Benoit floors Rob Van Dam. Here it comes...Crippler Crossface! Rob Van Dam is almost unconscious with pain! Chris Benoit goes up ladder and grabs the prize for the win. Chris Benoit climbs each turnbuckle in turn, working the crowd as he celebrates his victory.

[Evil Vito]

Originally Posted by loopydate Up next is a six-man tag match I fucked up while booking. It was supposed to be A-Train, Big Show, and Payne representing their Survivor Series team against NBM members Palumbo, Stamboli, and Jindrak, except I accidentally clicked Kane instead of Payne because I'm so in the habit of putting him in matches with Show. So, even though he's selling the attacks from NBM that put his "future in jeopardy" a couple of weeks ago, he's in there banging. Crap. I'm an idiot. Jindrak hits Splash Mountain on Train after Sean O'Haire interferes.

[Evil Vito]

A bit of a lengthier Raw write-up than I'm accustomed to, but I have a shitload of storyline development plus a bunch of big announcements from the new GM. I've borrowed (and am slightly altering) an idea that I remember Loopydate using a few years ago. The next few weeks should be fun to book.

---

WWE Raw – June 21, 2010
New Sheriff in Town

To say this episode of Raw was monumental might be an understatement. A familiar face has shocked the WWE Universe by returning in the role of Raw General Manager. Not only did he make some major announcements for the next several months, but this show also set up participants for some major matches at the next PPV telecast, as well as the return of an iconic WWE Superstar.

Shawn Michaels introduced as Raw General Manager, Huge Announcements Made
About three months after being retired as an in-ring competitor by The Undertaker, the Heartbreak Kid made his return to television. He told the fans that he had been on the shortlist of candidates for the GM job for a couple of months now, and when he was offered the position he simply couldn’t decline. Although he stressed that his in-ring career was finished, the era of Shawn Michaels as GM will be a wild ride, starting with some major announcements tonight. He had spent the past week conversing with SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long, they’ve listened to the fans - and as such they have come up with some new ideas.

First off, after the overwhelming popularity of the Money in the Bank match – the decision has been made to give it its own PPV on July 18th. Raw and SmackDown will hold their own 6-man MITB ladder matches, and in turn, there will now be two men that hold the honor of being “Mr. Money in the Bank”. With 2 MITB briefcases running around, who knows what sort of chaos will break out? Qualifying matches will take place this week, and in an effort to ensure some fresh faces are involved, no current champions will be allowed to qualify.

And secondly, with the overwhelming popularity of concepts such as the Fatal Four Way PPV, the recently-concluded United States Title Tournament, the keeping of W/L records in NXT, AND the global popularity of the ongoing World Cup, a new concept is being introduced starting next week. The WWE World Cup – 32 men, 16 per brand will compete with the winner being crowned at this year’s Summerslam in August. The winner will receive a brand new championship – the WWE Television Championship.

Much like the Unified Tag Team Champions, the Television Champion will hold the right to compete on both Raw and SmackDown. However, the belt comes with a stipulation. The Television Champion will be forced to defend his gold on every Raw, SmackDown, and PPV until he loses the belt. This prestigious honor can only be held by a true fighting champion. More details on the inaugural WWE World Cup will be posted on WWE.com in the very near future.

Raw Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Justin Gabriel def. Wade Barrett (DQ)
With the NXT competition over, all of the participants were free to sign wherever they wanted. Raw was fortunate enough to sign the two finalists, who had a re-match from last week’s NXT Finale. Barrett couldn’t seem to put Gabriel away, so he pulled a trick out of fellow Englishman William Regal’s book and waffled Gabriel with a pair of brass knuckles that were stored in his trunks. However, referee Jack Doan noticed and proceeded to disqualify the NXT winner, much to his chagrin. Justin Gabriel qualifies.

Raw Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: The Miz def. Goldust
The Miz seemed to be a bit angrier than usual, his typical smugness replaced with disdain. This extra tenacity showed in this contest. As per usual, the veteran Goldust was no walk in the park, but a slight misstep led to his undoing, as Miz picked up the victory and the MITB qualification following a Skull Crushing Finale.

Confrontation between The Miz and Bryan Danielson
Following the win, The Miz seemed to get his sly smile back. However, before he could rattle off on the microphone, he was cut off by Bryan Danielson. Danielson informed The Miz that for four months he’s been wanting to kick his head in and force him to tap out to the “Cattle Mutilation”, and last night he did just that. He’s accomplished what he wanted to, and now he’s ready to move on from The Miz and go to the next stage of his career. Danielson then announced that with the NXT rookies now being free agents, he will be signing with SmackDown. Danielson then left, leaving an image of The Miz tapping out on the Titan Tron.

Raw Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Evan Bourne def. Primo
MITB appears to be a match tailor-made for somebody like Evan Bourne, and in just a few weeks he will get the chance. Primo has been down on his luck recently, and despite a solid showing it still was not enough to ground the high flyer. Evan Bourne qualifies following the awe-inspiring Shooting Star Press.

The Cutting Edge with special guest John Cena, WWE Title Match set for Money in the Bank
New WWE Champion Edge had no problems inviting former John Cena onto his show to mock him incessantly over what happened the previous night. Cena congratulated the Ultimate Opportunist, but also reminded Edge of two things. 1) Cena did not take the defeat, and 2) Cena has a guaranteed re-match clause. Much verbal sparring took place between the two men, before they both agreed to face each other at Money in the Bank for the WWE Title, followed by an uneasy handshake.

Raw Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Zack Ryder def. R-Truth
In what many would deem an upset, Zack Ryder has picked up his first victory on Raw over the fan-favorite R-Truth. R-Truth fought back from a good start from Ryder, and appeared to be on the brink of victory. However, United States champion Ted DiBiase emerged and distracted the referee from the apron. Then from the crowd emerged Michael Tarver, who landed another right hand on R-Truth. Ryder picked up the pieces and delivered a Zack Attack, advancing to MITB three seconds later.

Mark Henry Shocks the WWE Universe
Following the contest, it appeared as though Ted DiBiase and Michael Tarver were going to continure their assault on R-Truth before being run off by The World’s Strongest Man Mark Henry. Henry helped Truth to his feet, only to inexplicably clothesline him. Henry picked up a helpless R-Truth and delivered a World’s Strongest Slam before leaving with DiBiase and Tarver. What’s the meaning of this?

Raw Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: John Morrison def. Chris Jericho
These two men never fail to put on a show, and tonight was no exception. Either superstar seemed like they would be a perfect fit for the MITB style. This was an extremely close match with no one superstar gaining an advantage. About 15 minutes in, Morrison avoids a Codebreaker, leaving Jericho to land flat on his back. Morrison hits the Starship Pain for the victory to qualify.

Unified Tag Team Title Match set for Money in the Bank
As Chris Jericho argued with referee Charles Robinson over a supposed fast count, Wade Barrett came out. While he agreed that both of them were screwed out of their rightful spots in Raw’s MITB – Barrett holds a sort of Money in the Bank on his own. By winning NXT, Barrett is allowed a title match of his choosing at a WWE PPV. Since Barrett feels Jericho was a great mentor, it would be his honor to tag with him against The Hart Dynasty in a Unified Tag Team Title Match at Money in the Bank. Jericho clearly liked the idea, and shook Barrett’s hand. He has taught him well.

Raw Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Randy Orton def. Sheamus
With five slots in the MITB Ladder Match, these two men who came up on the short end of the stick last night had a chance at redeeming themselves. After staving off Orton’s early attacks, Sheamus battled back and appeared to be in line to connect with a Bicycle Kick. Just then, the familiar sound of Motorhead filled the arena as the crowd got on their feet. Out from the back emerged “The Game” Triple H after a lengthy absence. Triple H stared at a shocked Sheamus from the rampway, and when he turned around, he walked right into the RKO. Randy Orton qualifies for MITB, and Triple H has gotten back Sheamus for putting him on the shelf. What will happen as a result of all of this? Tune in next week!

[loopydate]

NOVEMBER 1, 2004 - MONDAY NIGHT RAW

The first show of November, just two weeks before Survivor Series, is one of the biggest of the year! Three major feuds will come to an end as Chris Jericho defends the World Title against Rhyno in a Hardcore Match, A-Train and Sean O'Haire battle it out one last time inside a steel cage, and John Cena and Tajiri's final battle will end when one man can draw first blood! Plus, one more SS team is introduced, and an exciting challenge is issued!

But first, a pair of former WWE Women's Champions go toe-to-toe as Mickie James takes on Jazz! Decent quality match, but the fans get into it, as both of these Divas are definitely on the rise. Mickie lands a tornado DDT on Jazz, but before she can go for a cover, former WCW wrestler/valet Daffney hits the ring! She hits Mickie with a Frankenscreamer, and the ref calls for the bell. Jazz and Daffney double-team Mickie, and it looks like Mickie's in for even more trouble when Gail Kim's music hits, but to the surprise of everyone in attendance, Gail actually helps drive Jazz and Daffney off. There's an uneasy look between Mickie and Gail as they stand tall.

The announcers run down the Survivor Series card when Christian's music hits, and Captain Charisma makes his way to the ring. He grabs a microphone and introduces his five-man team for the Survivor Series. He introduces an exciting young team that's made up of Randy Orton, Test, Carlito, and Nunzio! A great young nucleus of talent that's going to make things tough for whoever goes up against them!

Up next is a very exciting one-on-one encounter between the Elite's Brock Lesnar and former U.S. Champion Rob Van Dam. Both guys put on a tremendous match, with RVD making a strong case for getting himself into the Elite. Eventually, though, Lesnar puts RVD away with the F5.

Shelton Benjamin heads to the ring for our next match, but before it starts, he cuts a promo on Randy Orton. Short and sweet to help cover up for Shelton's charisma issues, but it definitely looks like this feud is coming in for a landing.

Benjamin's opponent is the United States Champion Chris Benoit. It's an exciting match, but it's cut short as Orton hits the ring and blasts Shelton with the RKO, allowing Benoit to pick up the win. The two heels beat Shelton down after the bell.

One of the great success stories of the last year has been the Natural Born Ministry's rookie monster Damien. But he has a tough challenge ahead as he takes on the WWE Champion, The Rock! Damien possibly puts on the best performance of his career, but it's ultimately not enough as the champ puts him away with the Rock Bottom. After the match, Damien gets a measure of revenge as he chokeslams The Rock and leaves him laying.

Undertaker continues his surprising run of quick losses next as he takes on Eddie Guerrero. Eddie hits a pair of dropkicks, a running senton, and Diamond Dust to set up the Frogsplash. What has gotten into the Dead Man lately?

After the match, Eddie grabs a microphone from ringside and issues a challenge to Christian. The two of them have been tearing the roof off of every arena they've been in over the last couple of months, and they've accomplished their original goal of working their way into the Elite. But the back-and-forth is getting old, and it's time to put this to rest. Starting Friday night on SmackDown!, let's do a best-of-three series. Friday night, next Monday, then if neither of us can pick up two wins in a row, then next Friday night, we end the whole thing in an Iron Man Match! Christian comes out on the ramp and accepts the challenge. This is going to rock!

A steel cage lowers from the ceiling as the first part of our triple main event kicks off. It's A-Train versus Sean O'Haire one last time inside the cage! Decent match that the crowd is way into. Eventually, O'Haire takes the advantage and puts Train away with the Prophecy, putting him out long enough to climb up and over the top of the cage for the win!

John Cena and Tajiri's First Blood match is up next, and it's just as exciting as the rest of their battles. When this feud started, Tajiri was the upstart, gunning for the former WWE Champion trying to establish a name for himself. Now as a card-carrying member of the Elite, Tajiri put the finishing touch on his resume for a title shot by blasting Cena in the head with a lead pipe, splitting him open and picking up the win! After the match, a bloodied Cena extends a hand to Tajiri, showing incredible sportsmanship after this brutal war.

And now for our main event. Rhyno has been chasing the World Heavyweight Championship for eight months since coming to the red brand, and the WWE Title for about six before that. The Manbeast has been thwarted at every attempt, but now that he's got Chris Jericho in his match, a Hardcore Match, maybe he can turn things around in his favor! Before Rhyno can even make it into the ring, Jericho hits an Asai moonsault onto him on the floor with a steel chair. He blasts him with a kick for two. He goes for a piledriver, but Rhyno backdrops out of it, then hits a slam and a spinning neckbreaker for two. He uses a monitor from ringside to lay Jericho out for two more. He hits another clothesline, then attempts an avalanche only to eat Jericho's boot. Jericho hits a running senton for two, then a slingshot senton for two more. Legsweep by Jericho, who then hits a springboard kick sending Rhyno into a table. Jericho charges, but gets a foot to the face, then another slam. Rhyno hits a standing spinebuster to pop the crowd. An injured Jericho staggers to his feet... GORE! GOOOORE! GOOOOOOOOOORE! Rhyno hooks the leg. One! Two! Three! NEW WORLD CHAMPION! The crowd comes unglued as Rhyno goes to each corner in turn, raising the World Title belt to the crowd, emotion wracking his face, and the last image of RAW is Rhyno strapping the belt around his waist, soaking in the adoration of the crowd.

[loopydate]

NOVEMBER 1, 2004 - MONDAY NIGHT RAW

Quick recap since I'm still annoyed by what happened yesterday.

1) William Regal over Charlie Haas with the Power of the Punch.
2) Gail Kim and Mickie James over Daffney and Jazz when Mickie hit Jazz with a tornado DDT.
3) A-Train, Big Show, and Payne over Chuck Palumbo, Johnny Stamboli, and Sean O'Haire when Stamboli taps out to the Payne Killer.
4) Shane McMahon introduces Stratus' Faction Survivor Series team (Trish Stratus, Mickie James, Gail Kim, Lita, and Victoria)
5) Randy Orton over Shelton Benjamin in a falls-count-anywhere match with the RKO to end their feud.
6) Damien over John Cena thanks to interference from Undertaker, The Rock makes the save.
7) Canadian Violence over Rhyno and Rob Van Dam when Benoit pins Rhyno after Rhyno managed to not tap out to the Crossface/Walls combo.
8) Brock Lesnar cut a promo on Rey Mysterio and their Last Man Standing match on SmackDown!
9) The Rock over Tajiri with the Rock Bottom. Afterwards, Tajiri gets revenge with a chair shot.
10) Christian over Eddie Guerrero with the Unprettier to even their best-of-three series at 1-1.
11) Christian closed out the show by cutting a promo on his Iron Man match with Eddie on Friday night.

[loopydate]

NOVEMBER 15, 2004 - MONDAY NIGHT RAW

"I'm ba-ack!" The arena is buzzing with a big-event feel tonight. Last night's Survivor Series may have been disappointing from a critical standpoint, but it has opened World Wrestling Entertainment wide. Anything can seemingly happen, and with the Chairman of World Wrestling Entertainment Eric Bischoff opening the show, it almost certainly will. "This is the time of year when my predecessor would have been talking about the Road To WrestleMania. Well, it's a little early for that, my friends. Instead, I'd like to take everybody back. Back to a day when the wrestling industry was divided down the middle. Before WWE wasn't the only game in town. Every spring, WWE broke box-office records with WrestleMania, but three months earlier, World Championship Wrestling put on a show that routinely showcased the best and the brightest of that roster. So, ladies and gentlemen, I am proud to announce that in six weeks, we will see the return of Starrcade on pay-per-view! And I want to find out the best man to challenge for one of the world titles, and I hit upon another of my brilliant ideas from WCW. Tonight, I've asked both the RAW and SmackDown! rosters to show up, but didn't tell them what for. Well, tonight we're going to put everyone to the test to find out who really most deserves to be the #1 contender. Tonight, World Wrestling Entertainment... and Eric Bischoff... proudly presents World War 3! Three twenty-man battle royals, and the winners will meet in tonight's main event in a triple-threat match for a shot at a champion of their choosing at Starrcade!"

Back from the first commercial, twenty men are in the ring for our first WW3 battle royal. The first casualty of the War is New Generation's Trent Acid, taken out by Tajiri. Test takes out Tommy Dreamer next, then Jeff Hardy eliminates Brian Kendrick. WWE Tag Team Champion Sylvan Grenier is taken out by Chris Kanyon. The Hurricane eliminates Shawn Stasiak next, then Tajiri becomes the first to pick up multiple eliminations when he takes out Test. The rookie monster Damien eliminates Big Show while Show's partner Payne is taken out by Mark Jindrak, and the Natural Born Ministry is rolling! Unfortunately, that ends quickly as Akio dumps out Jindrak. Damien gets his second elim as he takes out Vito Thomaselli, and we're down to ten (50 overall). Damien continues to dominate, eliminating Rico. Eddie Guerrero takes out Hardy next, while Tajiri eliminates Bubba Ray Dudley. Chris Jericho eliminates Kanyon next, and Damien's run comes to an end courtesy of Hurricane. Tajiri gets his fourth elimination as he bundles out his former Kyo Dai partner Akio, and then there were four. Eddie eliminates his one ally when he takes out The Hurricane, but Chris Jericho does the same to Tajiri. Eddie hits a rolling kick on Jericho, then hits the Frogsplash to weaken Jericho enough to dump him to the floor for the win!

Backstage, John Cena and Christian are in each other's faces, both bragging that they're going to win WW3 tonight. Of course, it's a highly entertaining war of words between two of the best promo guys in the business. Could this be building to something?

Eddie Guerrero has already clinched his spot in tonight's WW3 main event, and another spot is about to be filled as twenty more WWE superstars look for their opportunity! For the second straight match, a member of the New Generation is the first casualty as Rob Van Dam eliminates Christian York. In a shocker, Undertaker is the second man out, courtesy of John Morrison. Shelton Benjamin, riding a high from last night, takes out Mark Henry next. Matt Hardy Version 2.0 takes out Fred Williams. In a bit of a surprise, BJ Whitmer eliminates the monstrous Kane! Hardy gets his second elimination, sending Chavo Guerrero to the floor. Brock Lesnar eliminates his old Minnesota Stretching Crew partner Shelton Benjamin next. Dave Batista eliminates Morrison, then Johnny Stamboli. Hardy takes out Whitmer, and it looks like he and Bats are running this match! Lesnar takes out D-Von Dudley next, and Bats continues to dominate, eliminating Rene Dupree. Lesnar looks to stake his spot as the dominant superstar in this match as he eliminates RVD. Billy Gunn eliminates Carlito just to remind people he's still there, which is a mistake, since Batista just eliminates him. Hardy gets his fourth elimination, tying Batista by eliminating him. John Cena eliminates Tom Howard (?!?) who lands awkwardly at ringside, apparently injuring his neck! The remaining superstars put on a good triple threat match until Lesnar eliminates Hardy. Lesnar finishes his dominance of the match by eliminating Cena for the win!

After the match, Shelton Benjamin and Undertaker continue to brawl at ringside. Apparently one said something to set the other off, and they continue to battle it out until an army of officials rush out to break it up!

Backstage, Rhyno is with Bill Alfonso, and they cut a promo about Brock Lesnar. Brock's made it to the triple threat finale tonight, and Rhyno hopes he wins. He hates Brock's guts going back to what happened last year when he turned down Paul Heyman's invitation to join the Dangerous Alliance. At this time last year, it looked like Rhyno was on the verge of beating Lesnar to win the WWE Title. A year later, here Rhyno is with the World Title, and Lesnar's on the outside looking in. Brock, I hope you win!

But who will join Lesnar and Eddie Guerrero in tonight's main event? John Layfield is the first man out of the last battle royal as he's eliminated by Sean O'Haire. Randy Orton then eliminates Rob Conway. Former World Champion A-Train takes out William Regal next, followed by Matt Stryker. Rey Mysterio takes out Zach Gowan before he can do any damage. Orton gets his second elimination, taking out Lance Storm. Nunzio eliminates Funaki, then Chris Benoit eliminates Chuck Palumbo. After an exciting cruiserweight exchange, Nunzio takes out Nova. Orton eliminates Jay Briscoe next to leave ten men in the ring. O'Haire takes out Haas next, then Benoit does the same to Nunzio. Train's run comes to an end, courtesy of Orton. Benoit eliminates O'Haire next, then Christian does the same to Paul London and Orton. Benoit is next out, thanks to Christian. Amazingly, Avery Thompson has managed to fly under the radar throughout the entire match, but no longer as Rey eliminates him only to get blindsided by Christian who dumps Rey to the floor to win the match!

Afterwards, Chris Benoit gets in Mysterio's face, and they look like they're about to fight, but they eventually walk away after an intense stare-down.

Matt Hardy Version 2.0 is backstage, and he issues a challenge. Eddie Guerrero and Christian put themselves on the map by putting on an incredible series of matches over the last couple of months. And he's decided that his time is now, and it's time to make that name. And the guy that's most like him in that regard is Paul London. So, Paul, if you want to start making a name for yourself, let's do it at Starrcade!

In a bonus match before our main event tonight, it's a battle of the top champions in WWE as World Champion Rhyno takes on WWE Champion The Rock! It's a really solid match with some good back-and-forth action. Amid some confusion, Tajiri sneaks into the ring with a steel chair and blasts Rock with it, allowing Rhyno to hit the Gore to pick up the win! After the match, Rhyno realize what's happened, and he goes after Tajiri, hurling him over the top rope to the floor!

And now for our main event! Eddie Guerrero, Brock Lesnar, and Christian have outlasted 57 other WWE Superstars tonight to earn this match, and the winner will get a title shot at a champion of his choosing at Starrcade! Eddie and Christian carry most of the match, but in the closing moments, Chris Jericho hits the ring and clamps on the Walls of Jericho on Eddie! He leaves before the ref can notice him, but it gives Lesnar the opening he needed, as he covers Guerrero for the win! Brock celebrates his win while the announcers speculate on who he'll challenge. We'll find out this Friday on SmackDown!

[loopydate]

NOVEMBER 22, 2004 - MONDAY NIGHT RAW

After a spectacular week of WWE television, RAW looks to continue that trend with a huge main event with John Cena challenging Chris Benoit for the United States Title! Plus, the #1 contender tournament for a shot at Trish Stratus' Women's Title kicks off, a six-man tag match featuring three of the huge matches already signed for Starrcade on December 26th, and an appearance by WWE Chairman Eric Bischoff to discuss the fate of the Intercontinental and World Tag Team Titles!

We kick off with a triple-threat match to kick off the Women's Title contender tournament as Mickie James, Jacqueline, and Shaniqua go at it. Good crowd reaction because Mickie is insanely over, but the match itself isn't anything to write home about. Mickie hits Jacqueline with the Mick Kick to pick up the win and advance to the semifinals.

Payne has been on a roll since his recent debut, but tonight he butts up against one of the most brutal competitors on the RAW roster, William Regal. Payne picks up the win with a powerbomb, but Regal retains some heat, laying him out with the Power of the Punch after the bell.

A video plays hyping the WWE Tag Team Champions La Resistance. I'd love to get these guys over, 'cause I don't have a lot of high-overness tag teams.

Two men who have been struggling in the midcard lately, Charlie Haas and Sean O'Haire, do battle next to try and regain some momentum. It's a pretty solid match, but both guys have lost a step or two during their slide down the card. Eventually O'Haire puts Haas away with the Prophecy to pick up the win.

ECW Originals Lance Storm and Tommy Dreamer have been engaged in a mini-feud with NBM members Chuck Palumbo and Johnny Stamboli for months now, and their in-ring chemistry continues to impress tonight. Lots of back-and-forth action until Lance Storm blasts Palumbo with a superkick to get the three-count.

United States Champion Chris Benoit is backstage, and he's got a huge title defense tonight against John Cena, but first he wants to talk about the tag match from Friday night when Rey Mysterio pinned him. Benoit's going to be on SmackDown! this week, and Mysterio had better watch his back because last week was a fluke, even though everybody seems to think Rey has Benoit's number. Friday night, he's going to prove them wrong.

The Women's Title contender tournament continues, and we now know that the winner of this match will face Mickie James in two weeks on RAW. Gail Kim and Jazz put on a pretty solid match that allows both Divas to show off their skills until Jazz manages to get Gail to tap out to the STF.

Rob Van Dam and Shelton Benjamin are two of the most exciting stars on RAW, and tonight they take on two of the most violent, the Natural Born Ministry's Undertaker and Damien! Really good match that lets all four guys get their spots in. During a moment of confusion, Randy Orton hits the ring and blasts RVD with the RKO behind the ref's back allowing Damien to pick up the cheap win. After the match, Orton joins the Ministry members to triple-team RVD and Shelton, mostly focusing on Van Dam.

Eric Bischoff is backstage and he once again has the Intercontinental and World Tag Team Titles with him. He mentioned on Friday that the process to determine new champions would begin this week on SmackDown!, and he's here to announce the specifics. First, the tag titles will be up for grabs in a triple threat match as a trio of former champions go at it. It's going to be the Dudley Boyz against Los Guerreros against the Metro Connection! Also this Friday, sixteen of the top Superstars will begin a tournament that will culminate at Starrcade and a new Intercontinental Champion will be crowned!

The first half of our double main event is up next as Eddie Guerrero teams with the top champions in WWE, Rhyno and The Rock to take on their respective Starrcade opponents Chris Jericho, Brock Lesnar, and Tajiri! The faces use quick tags to isolate Jericho early, but once Jericho makes a tag to Tajiri, the heels manage to triple-team Rhyno for a while. Eventually, Eddie and Jericho wind up in the ring and Guerrero hits a swinging DDT to pick up the win!

And now for our main event! Big match feel for Benoit versus Cena, but unfortunately it's marred by interference from Christian, which sets up Benoit to clamp on the Crippler Crossface to pick up the submission victory. Benoit holds up the title as RAW goes off the air.

[loopydate]

NOVEMBER 29, 2004 - MONDAY NIGHT RAW

A huge eight-man tag main event has been signed for the last show of November, plus the last two semifinal spots in the tournament to crown a #1 contender for Trish Stratus' Women's Title at Starrcade will be determined, and a huge contest pitting two of RAW's top stars against each other as Rob Van Dam takes on Randy Orton!

We open the show with a one-on-one match pitting the Natural Born Ministry's rookie monster Damien against former stablemate Big Show! Damien controls most of the match until Show fights back with some pretty weak offense. Damien eventually picks up the win with his chokeslam, then lays Show out with a chair afterwards.

Damien's mentors and the co-leaders of the NBM head out next as Sean O'Haire and Undertaker take on the World's Greatest Tag Team! Undertaker is in control of the match until Shelton Benjamin manages to get away and attempt a hot tag. He gets tagged, all right, but it's by a big right hand from his partner Charlie Haas! Haas hops down from the corner and walks away, leaving Shelton to get chokeslammed and pinned. Haas returns to the ring and hops up onto the second rope and signals for Undertaker and O'Haire to set up a table in the middle of the ring. Undertaker picks up Shelton for a suplex, but passes him up to Haas, who puts his best friend through the table with a superbomb! Benjamin is completely out! What has Charlie Haas done?!?

Undertaker grabs a microphone from ringside and gets down on Shelton's level. "For too long, you have been a nuisance to us. You were the first to defeat our rookie monster. We took your tag titles, but you gave us hell trying to get them back. Tonight, the rise of the Ministry begins again, and I've proven that I can get to the things and people that are closest to your heart. But at Starrcade, I'm coming for your soul! And you will not rest in peace!"

The divas tournament continues next as two of WWE's most unusual women do battle. It's Lita against Daffney for a spot in the semis! They have a pretty good brawl that Lita ends with the Litarana to move on.

EWR keeps suggesting that I put A-Train and William Regal against each other. Not sure why because they don't really mesh well. Meh. Train picks up the win with the Derailer.

Mickie James is backstage, and she cuts a promo on her match with Jazz next week in the semifinals. The elite Diva definitely has her sights set on getting her title back, but she knows that she has to get through Jazz. And Jazz has given her trouble before, but next week, Mickie is focused, and she's going to prove that she belongs in the Elite!

The last quarterfinal match in the divas tournament is up next as Victoria takes on Molly Holly. This is probably the best match of the tournament thus far, and Molly picks up the win with a big flying crossbody to advance to face Lita next week.

United States Champion Chris Benoit has a big match coming up at Starrcade against Rey Mysterio, but tonight he's got a tune-up against ECW Original Tommy Dreamer. Tommy gets in a little offense, but winds up taking a big lariat to set up for the Crippler Crossface. Tommy has no choice but to tap out, then he's helpless to defend himself from a series of stomps as Benoit is clearly sending a message to Mysterio!

Randy Orton comes to the ring for his match with Rob Van Dam and he has a proposition. Five weeks between now and Starrcade, and we both need to prove that we belong among the Elite of World Wrestling Entertainment. Best of five series, starting... now!

RVD comes out, and the match is on! It's a great one, and if this is the start of a best-of-five series, I can't wait for the rest of it! Eventually, Van Dam strikes first, hitting the Five-Star Frogsplash to go up 1-0!

Our main event pits eight members of the Elite against each other, including three Starrcade previews! It's WWE Champion The Rock, World Champion Rhyno, John Cena, and one-half of the World Tag Team Champions Eddie Guerrero against Tajiri, Brock Lesnar, Christian, and Chris Jericho! Cena takes most of the abuse from all four heels, but it lets all of them get in some high spots without them taking away momentum from the champs on the babyface side. Rhyno picks up the win for his team with the Gore to send the fans home happy.

[loopydate]

DECEMBER 6, 2004 - MONDAY NIGHT RAW

Tonight's main event is a massive fatal fourway among some of the most (for lack of a better word) elite members of the Elite! Plus, a huge non-title match pitting Christian against World Champion Rhyno, a four-team elimination match to determine #1 contenders for La Resistance's WWE Tag Team Titles, a semifinal match in the #1 contender tournament for the Women's Title, the second match in the best-of-five series between Rob Van Dam and Randy Orton, and Eric Bischoff has decreed that a new member of the Elite will be determined tonight in a RAW versus SmackDown! match pitting Shelton Benjamin against Matt Hardy Version 2.0!

And it's a fucking dud show. Sigh. William Regal beat A-Train with the Power of the Punch.

The four-team elimination match for a shot at La Res pits former champions Big Show and Kane against ECW Originals Lance Storm and Tommy Dreamer against Palumbo and Stamboli against NBM co-leader Sean O'Haire and Mark Jindrak. Dreamer puts away Stamboli with a piledriver for the first elimination, only to get speared by Jindrak to set up Jindrak and O'Haire versus Show and Kane. Show pins Jindrak following the Showstopper to set up Big Show and Kane against La Resistance for the belts next week!

In a battle of rookie monsters, Payne takes on Damien. The crowd is way into it, and the match is solid, but the dud show turns what should have been about a 75 overall into a 67. I still don't understand why it hates RAW so much. Eventually, new NBM member Haas hits the ring and lays out Payne, clamping on the Haas of Pain. Damien picks up the pieces for the cheap win, then Haas pummels Payne with a steel chair after the bell.

Bill Alfonso cuts a pretty typical nonsensical promo for Rob Van Dam to hype up the second match in his best-of-five series with Randy Orton. RVD is up 1-0, and after he wins tonight, he'll be ready to put this thing away next week.

Fortunately, it's another hell of a match between the two that manages an 81 on a dud show, which is pretty impressive. Orton picks up a clean win with the RKO to even things up at one apiece.

Up next is a match for a spot in the Elite, pitting RAW's Shelton Benjamin against SmackDown!'s Matt Hardy Version 2.0. Once again, the match is so good that the dud show can't bring it down too far. Eventually, though, Shelton's chances are ruined by the interference of his Starrcade opponent the Undertaker, who makes him take the Last Ride. Hardy picks up the cheap win and a spot in the Elite, but the story of the match is the Shelton/Taker feud, as Taker picks up Shelton for another pair of Last Rides before walking off, leaving his rival laying.

The next match was supposed to pit Tajiri against Lance Storm until I realized I'd already used Lance, and so I was forced to throw poor Fred Williams at the buzzsaw. Fortunately, Tajiri shows mercy and finishes him off quickly with the Kick of Death. After the match, WWE Champion The Rock hits the ring and blasts his Starrcade challenger with the Rock Bottom!

Our first berth in the #1 contender's match for the Women's Title is going to be decided tonight as Mickie takes on Jazz. Disappointing match, but the Elite Diva hits her tornado DDT to pick up the win and advance to face the winner of next week's Lita/Molly Holly match!

Chris Benoit is backstage, and his descent into madness seems to be continuing. He cuts a promo on Rey Mysterio, taking him to task for interrupting his "business" Friday night with Mickie James. I'm a family man, Rey, I would never hurt a woman. I was trying to prove that she had no place in that ring with me, but you interrupted me before I could make my point. In 20 days, I'm going to show you the error of your ways when I rip your arm right out of its socket!

Rhyno and Christian are in the middle of a very exciting match when Rhyno's Starrcade opponent Brock Lesnar hits the ring and blasts him with the F-5, resulting in a DQ finish. After the match, John Cena's music hits, and he makes his way to the ring to make the save.

And now for our main event! It's WWE Champion The Rock versus co-World Tag Team Champion Eddie Guerrero versus John Cena versus Chris Jericho in a battle of arguably the four biggest stars in WWE! Solid match with all four guys getting in their spots, but eventually Eddie picks up some momentum going into his Starrcade match with Jericho by pinning him with the frogsplash!