RAW Results January 26th:
WWE RAW opened up with footage of Mick Foley's return to the WWE at the Royal Rumble when he beat down Test and was forced into the Royal Rumble match by Stone Cold Steve Austin. After being forced into the Rumble, Mick Foley hit the ring and dominated Randy Orton, eliminating himself and Orton from the Royal Rumble match, costing Randy Orton the chance to go to Wrestlemania for the World Championship!
The fireworks went off in the arena and Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler kicked it off on commentary, just 24 hours removed from the Royal Rumble! Chris Jericho's "Originals" music hit in the arena and he made his way out to the ring. Chris Jericho got in the ring and took the mic and said normally, he'd be quite angry about the fact that Chris Benoit won the Royal Rumble and Jericho didn't, but he's actually OK with that because Chris Benoit is on Smackdown! and this is RAW is Jericho! And that means that the World Title shot at Wrestlemania is wide opened on this side. Since Jericho was the last member of the RAW roster in the Rumble and since Eric Bischoff still owes him his Survivor Series favor, the best way to cash that in is to give that World Title shot to Y2J! And he doesn't want to wait until Wrestlemania to get it because he wants to take Triple H downtown to Chinatown and win the World Title right here tonight in Hershey, Pennsylvania!
And then he's going to defend that belt in New Hampshire, take it down to Wyoming, over to Oregon and all over the United States and take it on home in New York City at Wrestlemania XX! Eric Bischoff's music hit in the arena and he made his way out to the ring as the General Manager of RAW! Eric asked Chris if he wants to use his Survivor Series favor for a shot against Triple H for the World Title? Is that right? Jericho said that's what he's hearing and what else he's hearing is about 10,000 Hershey, Pennsylvania people calling Bischoff an asshole! Bischoff said despite that fact, if that's what Jericho wants, then he's got it. But Chris might not want to do that because Bischoff has another match in mind for tonight. Instead of telling him about it, why not show it to him? On the Titantron, Eric Bischoff revealed a one on one match with Trish Stratus vs. Kane. Eric asked Chris if he thinks he's proud of the fact that he was the last RAW Superstar in the Rumble? He's wrong. He's not proud, he's embarrassed. Embarrassed because for the last two years, Smackdown! has won the Royal Rumble and that is unacceptable. So tonight, Jericho has a choice. He can either use his favor for a World Title shot against Triple H or he can use his favor to cancel the match between Trish and Kane. Now it can't be both, so what's it going to be? Eric told Chris that he can see it in his eyes. He still has feelings for Trish so consider the match canceled. But we're not done tonight, not by a long shot. You see last night, Chris Jericho and RVD were the last two RAW Superstars in the Royal Rumble and they dropped the ball. Chris was the last hope on RAW so now you're going to see how Eric Bischoff deal with failure because tonight, Chris Jericho and Rob Van Dam are going to team up and take on the World Tag Team Champions Ric Flair and Batista and the man who should have won the Royal Rumble, the Intercontinental Champion, Randy Orton. Tonight, it's three on two and by the way, that three on two handicap match is coming up next!
Handicap Match - Rob Van Dam and Chris Jericho vs. Ric Flair, Batista and Randy Orton
Rob Van Dam's music hit in the arena and he made his way out to the ring to team up with Chris Jericho in this three on two handicap match just made by Eric Bischoff and they will face Ric Flair, Batista and Randy Orton in this handicap contest!
Chris Jericho started the match off in the ring against Ric Flair and the two locked it up in the center of the ring and Flair put Jericho in a side headlock and Jericho attempted to whip Flair off the ropes but Flair held onto the headlock. Chris eventually broke it up and shoved Flair into the ropes.
Flair came back with a shoulder block to knock Chris Jericho down to the mat.
Chris Jericho came off the second rope with a missile drop kick on Randy Orton to knock him down to the mat and then he pinned him but only got a two count.
Rob Van Dam came off the ropes with a kick to the chest of Ric Flair to knock him down to the mat and then he hit him with the rolling thunder and pinned him for a two count as Randy Orton got into the ring and broke it up.
Chris Jericho knocked Batista down to the arena floor with a springboard drop kick and then he went to the ring apron and jumped at Batista on the outside but Batista caught him and gave him a vicious spinebuster on the outside of the ring.
Orton, Flair and Batista then surrounded Rob Van Dam in the center of the ring and RVD rolled under them to avoid a triple team as the show went to a commercial break.
After the spinebuster on the outside of the ring, Chris Jericho was having trouble getting up and he seemed to be way out of it as if he couldn't continue with the match as Rob Van Dam remained in the ring going at it with Evolution.
None the less, Chris remained on the outside of the ring trying to get back to the ring apron to continue the match.
Chris Jericho eventually got back into the match and seemed as though he was at full strength, just a bit slower than normal. Chris went for the Walls of Jericho on Batista but Batista powered out of it with his leg strength.
Batista went for the power bomb on Chris Jericho but Chris got out of it and took Batista down to the mat with a chop block and then he put Batista in the Walls of Jericho.
Ric Flair got in the ring to break it up but RVD knocked Flair down with a clothesline before he could.
RVD then gave Flair the five star frog splash and Randy Orton got in the ring and went for the RKO on Jericho but missed and then he went off the ropes and tried for it again and caught him and then Batista pinned Jericho for the three count to pick up the win.
All three members of Evolution left the ring together as Chris Jericho and Rob Van Dam remained in the ring in pain.
Randy Orton was shown with Eric Bischoff and Orton was complaining about losing the Royal Rumble because of Mick Foley. Orton said Foley ruined the chances of there being an All Evolution main event at Wrestlemania. It was his dream and he's learned from the best and he's that good. He's been hearing rumors all day that Foley is supposed to show up tonight. What Orton wants is permission to beat his ass. Bischoff told Orton that his permission has been granted but Stone Cold showed up. Stone Cold said the rumors he's been hearing is a Stone Cold fact. Mick Foley will be here tonight because Austin invited him. Randy can try to whip his ass all he wants but he probably won't be able to. But he can't do that until Foley gets ample time on the microphone to talk about the campaign ads that Orton has been running on TV and that's the bottom line because Stone Cold said so.
Chris Jericho was shown in his locker room and someone knocked on the door and it was Trish, thanking Chris for what he's done to save her from Kane. Chris said after all they've been through, that's the least he could do. He didn't want to see her get hurt. Trish thanked him and she said speaking of all they've been through, she's glad they understand how they feel about each other.
Chris asked what she means? Trish said she thinks they can have a good relationship and Chris said that's what he's thought the whole time. Trish said to be really close friends and Chris agreed, saying that's what he wanted the whole time, just to be her friend. (Chris did seem a little disappointed.) Trish noted that it wouldn't be friends like Jericho and Christian, going out on the town and stuff. Christian showed up and Trish left the room. Christian asked Jericho what the hell he's doing? Giving up a World Title shot for her? Chris Jericho said he thought Christian was his partner, where was he earlier tonight? Christian said he was in Bischoff's office, trying to smooth things over for Jericho. He's on very thin ice but he did manage to get them a match next week for the number one Contendership for the Tag Team Titles. Is he in or is he going to piss it away on some teenage crush? Christian told Chris to straighten up and get his damn head out of his ass!
Victoria and Lita vs. Molly Holly and Jazz
Victoria's music hit in the arena and she made her way out to the ring along with Steven Richards for a tag team contest with Lita against Molly Holly and Jazz, who was accompanied to the ring by Theodore Long.
Lita started the match off in the ring against Molly Holly and the two locked it up in the center of the ring.
Molly put Lita in a waist lock and Lita countered it into a waist lock take down into a front face lock down on the mat.
Victoria knocked Jazz down to the mat and then Victoria hit Jazz with a standing moonsault and a pin for a two count.
Victoria rolled Molly Holly up with an inside cradle and pinned her for the three count to pin the Women's Champion two nights in a row!
Triple H was slowly walking through the backstage area and he looked to be a mess after last night's brutal Last Man Standing Match against Shawn Michaels for the World Heavyweight Title! Of course as we saw last night, that match went to a draw and because Triple H was not defeated, he is still the World Heavyweight Champion.
Triple H's music hit in the arena and he made his way out to the ring as the World Heavyweight Champion. Triple H had two bandages on his head and the fans chanted "HBK, HBK" as he got ready to speak. Triple H said last night, two men stood in this ring, they scratched, they clawed, they fought and they bled buckets for what they believed in and that is the World Heavyweight Championship. Shawn Michaels said last week that the whole thing might come down to one second. Well when it came right down to it and that one second was a reality, Shawn didn't have what it took. He couldn't stand on his own two feet and that's why tonight, Triple H stands here before everyone and the world as still the World Heavyweight Champion!
The music of Shawn Michaels hit in the arena and he made his way out to the ring with a large bruise on his face and a bandage across his forehead, showing the result of last night's Last Man Standing Match. Triple H asked Shawn what he has to do to him? The fans heavily chanted "HBK, HBK" and Triple H asked what's it going to take? What does he have to do to Shawn Michaels? Hasn't he had enough yet? Shawn said "you and me, we haven't even gotten started yet."
Stone Cold Steve Austin's music hit in the arena and he made his way out to the ring on his ATV as the Sheriff of WWE RAW! Stone Cold took the mic and said just a second. It's a damn shame the Last Man Standing Match wound up in a tie because the rules say in the event of a tie, the Champion retains the title. The bloodshed, the brutality and the carnage that took place in this ring reminds him of something right out of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
Stone Cold said this once and he'll say it again, Shawn Michaels deserves a damn rematch. The problem is that he isn't out here to make matches. He's here to uphold the RAW. The rules state that the winner of the Royal Rumble goes onto Wrestlemania to face the Champion. The rules don't state which Champion that winner faces. Shawn wrestled his ass off last night and wrestled one hell of a match but he did not win the Royal Rumble, Chris Benoit did. So right now, he'd like the winner of the 2004 Royal Rumble to come out here to this ring!
Chris Benoit's music hit in the arena and he made his way out to the ring as the winner of the 2004 Royal Rumble and he stood face to face with Shawn Michaels and then he turned over to Triple H and took a look at him. The fans heavily chanted "Benoit, Benoit!" showing tremendous support for the Rabid Wolverine. Chris said he can tell he's the last person either one of them expected to see. Last night, both of them went through hell fighting for that World Heavyweight Championship. Well so did Chris Benoit. For 18 years, he fought to be the best. It took him 62 minutes to beat 29 men to get the opportunity to face the best at Wrestlemania. Now whether that's Shawn Michaels or Triple H, at Wrestlemania, Chris Benoit will fulfill his destiny and be the next World Heavyweight Champion!
"What the hell can that mean?" - Jim Ross. "Is Benoit saying he wants to wrestle for the World Heavyweight Title? Well that's what he's saying!" - Jerry Lawler.
Kane vs. Bubba Ray Dudley
Kane's music hit in the arena and he made his way out to the ring for a one on one match against Bubba Ray Dudley and apparently, none of the Dudley Boyz had anything to do with the Undertaker's music playing at the Royal Rumble and Bubba Ray is here tonight in an attempt to get some retribution for his brother Spike against Kane.
Bubba Ray got in the ring and he gave Kane a clubbing blow to the chest and Kane nailed Bubba with a hard right hand and Bubba fired away on Kane with some more clubbing blows to the chest to back him into the ropes.
Kane jammed his thumb into Bubba Ray's eye and that left Bubba in a ton of pain.
Kane got out of the ring and picked up the steel steps and tossed them into the ring and then lifted them up and rammed them into Bubba Ray's head to end the match in a disqualification.
D-Von Dudley stormed to the ring to make the save for Bubba and Kane nailed him as soon as he got in the ring and then Kane lifted D-Von up and gave him the tombstone piledriver.
As Kane got ready to set off his pyro ...
The Undertaker's music hit and a strange video played on the Titantron of a graveyard and of Kane burying the Undertaker amongst other things. This video was very reminiscent of the video played in the hit movie "The Ring" as it had a very strange feel to it.
Eric Bischoff was shown talking on the phone with Paul Heyman and Bischoff said he had no clue Chris Benoit was going to be here. But you know what? If Chris Benoit wants to come to RAW because it's a superior program, then Bischoff isn't going to be the one to stop him. Heyman said he doesn't know what kind of morons he deals with on RAW but he's the Smackdown! General Manager. He can't pull this over on him. Bischoff and Austin have been in on this since the beginning. They play the best game of good cop / bad cop he's ever seen. But from one General Manager to another, get ready because Heyman is going to sue Bischoff's ass. Heyman hung up and Coach showed up and Bischoff explained to Coach what just happened. Coach laughed at what Bischoff and Heyman were doing at the Royal Rumble and Bischoff took offense, asking Coach what he thinks about being put in a No Disqualification Match tonight against Goldberg?!