WWE 2005

[Quick Trick]

Great Show, I'd give it 7/10.

I was hoping London would keep the title because I feel like he just got here, but it will be a nice rematch.

Now that Haas has beat Storm, it now gives him credibility to winning the US at somepoint.

MNM had to win to look like a strong tag-team. I like this feud and can't wait to see the outcome.

The Rock beat JBL, I was kinda confused about that. I don't know if I really want to see this feud pan out, it's been kinda weird to me.

Eddie beating rey means he can move on to better things, like facing Cena at summerslam, and maybe christian and rey will hoook up, that'd be cool.

Another classic from HBK and Angle, and looking forward to the final encounter at SS.

Cena also had to win this match. I like Christian having the chance for the belt, and hopefully he stays looming around the main event picture until you turn him face and have him win the royal rumble.

[alldaws1]

Lance Storm Injured

July 25th, 2005

At last night's Smackdown! pay-per-view, The Great American Bash, Lance Storm was injured during his match with Dawn Marie against Charlie Haas and Torrie. Storm was cut just below his eye when being thrown into the ring steps by Charlie Haas. The condition of the United States Champion is unknown at this time, but WWE.com understands that an update on Storm will be issued on Smackdown! this week.

WWE Releases Superstars

July 25th, 2005

World Wrestling Entertainment has come to agreements on the release of the following Superstars. WWE would like to wish them the best in their future endeavors.

• Garrison Cade

• Candice

• Marc Loyd

• Matt Morgan

• Kenzo Suzuki

• Hiroko Suzuki

• Shannon Moore

• Joy Giovanni

• Michelle McCool

• Lauren Jones

• David Heath (Gangrel)

• Marty Jannetty

• Nick Mitchell

• Ryan Reeves

• Spike Dudley

• Akio

• Scotty 2 Hotty

Also, World Wrestling Entertainment has come to agreements on the release of numerous Ohio Valley Wrestling wrestlers that had not yet been introduced to WWE viewers. WWE would like to wish them the best in their future endeavors.

[IAceI]

I'm sad to see Shannon Moore go, other than him the rest I'm not too bothered about.

Very nice Great American Bash alldawson, keep up the good work your booking is superb.

[Guest Crossface]

Great PPV,but firing Akio?

[Ben]

didnt lyk the ankle lock on angle part and him losing but ah well.. nicely done man

[Broderick]

Justice Smith stays! Excellent..

[syck]

Only if The Great American Bash could be that good tomorrow....

Anyways, the show was written very well, wasn't surprised by any of the results, aside from the fact that I was rooting for Super Crazy to take the gold. Other than that, I really have no complaints about the show.

[SmokeouT]

Fantastic show, this is quickly becoming my favorite diary. I'm happy Cena retained, but Christian definatly deserves another shot. I thought Dudley would definatly win the tables match, but this could lead to other great matches between the two teams.

[Guest blueblood]

I just got a chance to sit down and read GAB and it's was great. I think you should go that extra mile for PPVs it just makes it look more important then RAW and SD! I'm glad my Tag Team Retainted the Titles and that I won the prediction contest as well. (Y)

John Cena retaining the Title was not a surprise but I was hoping Christian would win it.

My two favorite matches were Eddie Guerrero Vs. Rey Mysterio Jr. and Kurt Angle Vs. Shawn Michaels. You were outstanding on those two holms. Great job!

(Y)

[alldaws1]

WWE The Great American Bash Buyrate

July 25th, 2005

The buyrate for WWE's The Great American Bash is in and has been confirmed as 0.68 - a total of 300,095 buys. The show rating was 79.3%.

'Primetime' Signs

July 25th, 2005

We can confirm that the WWE have signed former WCW and TNA star 'Primetime' Elix Skipper. Negotiations are believed not to have been going on very long as Skipper seemingly jumped at the chance of wrestling for the WWE. We expect Skipper to debut soon, it is unlikely that he'll spend any time in OVW.

Stratus Contract Sorted?

July 25th, 2005

There are rumours floating around the internet that Trish Stratus has finally signed a new contract with the WWE. We have not confirmed this at the present time, but keep checking back for more news on this story. Trish's contract ran out in early-mid June and she has been in contract negotiations since. After such a long time, if she has signed, speculation is running wild about whether she will still be recognised as the WWE Women's Champion. We expect to get confirmation on Trish's situation within the next couple of days, so stay tuned.

[Guest blueblood]

I hope you give Elix Skipper a good push when he arrives. Remember, Primetime kills.

I'm guessing he'll be on Smackdown! with the other Cruiserweights to add more to the division but you never know.

(Y)

[alldaws1]

WWE RAW Preview

July 25th, 2005

Last week in RAW's main event, Shelton Benjamin beat Ric Flair in the second match in the 'Gauntlet To The Game'. This week, Shelton faces his third and final opponent. If he wins he faces Triple H at SummerSlam, if he loses he doesn't get a shot at The Game. Who his opponent will be, only Triple H knows.

Speaking of Ric Flair, Triple H wasn't very happy with him last week. Taking The Game's advice, The Nature Boy has taken a couple of weeks off to 'get his head together'.

Big Show assaulted 'Y2J' Chris Jericho last week, Chokeslamming him onto the steel ring steps. We'll get an update of Chris Jericho's condition, but it is unknown whether he will be in attendance this week. The Big Show, however, will be in attendance as he goes one-on-one in a non-title bout against World Heavyweight Champion Batista!

The first match for SummerSlam was made last week as Bischoff announced Batista would face Edge for the World Heavyweight Title. While Batista takes on Big Show, Edge is scheduled to make an appearance. We'll see if he chooses to cross Batista's path, or vice versa, on Monday.

Also on last week's RAW, the recently formed team of Eugene and Heidenreich won a shot at the World Tag Team Championship. On RAW this week, Eugene goes one-on-one with one half of the reigning World Tag Team Champions, Maven.

Chris Benoit beat William Regal in singles action last week, but Muhammad Hassan had the last laugh by attacking both men after the match. Chris Benoit has requested interview time, we'll see what he has to say.

Mike Awesome won his first RAW match last week, beating Tyson Tomko. This week he has volunteered to take on La Resistance in a three-on-one handicap match! We'll see if this decision backfires on Monday night.

Don't miss RAW this Monday on Spike TV!

Confirmed Matches:

Batista vs. Big Show - Non-Title

Shelton Benjamin vs. ??? - Gauntlet To The Game

Eugene w/Heidenreich vs. Maven w/Simon Dean

Mike Awesome vs. La Resistance - 3-on-1 Handicap Match

Edited July 25, 2005 by alldawson

[The LBTN Express]

GAB was good, everything came off well. The only thing I didn't really like about it was London's loss as he could have had something bigger going with Juvi that ran into Summerslam where Juvi would have finally picked up the win. But I trust your judgement as you must have something else planned.

I'm sad to see Morgan go, he could have easily been used as a solid midcarder who'd eventually be built up to a main eventer. Morgan is awesome on the mic (RAVEX stats have him at about 60 I think or lower when they should be high 80's) and I thought you'd have been able to come up with something for him.

As for the new layout for PPV's, I can't say I liked them more than the usual write ups as I skipped most of the commentary, Rock's promo was good. So to sum that up I liked the other style better.

So all in all, it's still going good and I can't wait to see the fallout of GAB as well as the lead up to Summerslam.

By the way, loved the GAB graphics.

[Guest Prototype]

Good PPV! Juvi winning the CW title is good and could really push the division. I actually liked seeing JBL get some heat back with his attack on Rock. The rest of the PPV was solid. As for the format, I didnt really like commentary but the rest was fine.

[alldaws1]

WWE RAW

July 25th, 2005

---------------------------------------------------

WWE RAW

Show Level: Flagship

Length: 2 Hours

Time Slot: 9:00pm

TV Network: Spike TV

Brand: RAW

Tonight's Location: Nebraska

Affluence: 54.9%

Interested Population: 40,000

Casual Fans: 30,520

Hardcore Fans: 1,138

Pure Fans: 1,138

Old School Fans: 2,237

MMA Fans: 474

Womens Fans: 237

Popularity: 80.3%

---------------------------------------------------

Segment 1: RAW Recap

(8 Minutes)

To start off this week's edition of WWE RAW, we were shown a video recapping the events of last week's main event. The second match in the 'Gauntlet To The Game' was shown, where Shelton Benjamin took one step closer to getting Triple H one-on-one by defeating the sixteen-time World Heavyweight Champion, 'The Nature Boy' Ric Flair. The berating that Flair received from Triple H was also shown as 'Naitch' looked disappointed with himself.

Overall Rating = 82.7%

Segment 2: Later Tonight On RAW...

(5 Minutes)

We were welcomed to RAW, as usual, by Jim Ross and Jerry 'The King' Lawler from the commentary table near the stage. They told the viewers that Ric Flair had taken a couple of weeks off 'to get his head together' - some advice given to him by The Game, Triple H. We were also informed that Shelton Benjamin would continue the 'Gauntlet To The Game' tonight, but his opponent was, as of yet, unknown. Also on tonight's RAW, JR revealed, we would be seeing Mike Awesome take on all three members of La Resistance in a handicap match due to Awesome's request. Lawler told us he thought Awesome was a 'wacko' for volunteering for that match. The main event was also revealed, the World Heavyweight Champion Batista would be facing Big Show in a non-title match tonight.

Overall Rating = 76.6%

Segment 3: A New Manager

(3 Minutes)

We were taken backstage to see Eugene and Heidenreich, both in their wrestling attire, imitating their favourite WWE superstars of the past. Eugene did Hulk Hogan's poses as Heidenreich did the People's Eyebrow. William Regal then came into the picture wearing a suit. He dusted off part of his jacket as he came into view. Regal said he'd been looking for Eugene and Heidenreich. He said that together, they weren't the most 'matured' of tag teams - they were a little inexperienced. Regal then offered to accompany them to the ring from now on to make sure they 'got the most success' out of their team. Eugene seemed very eager to agree and Heidenreich did so as well. The two partners walked off together as William Regal let out a heavy sigh, shaking his head.

Overall Rating = 72.7%

Segment 4: Eugene w/Heidenreich & William Regal vs. Maven w/Simon Dean

(13 Minutes)

Eugene began the match brightly with Regal and Heidenreich shouting encouragement from ringside. He took Maven into the corner and delivered some shoulder thrusts before choking Maven. As Eugene choked Maven, Regal climbed onto the apron and told Eugene not to do it as it was not allowed. Eugene, chewing his thumbs nodded his head and turned back to the match, being driven to the mat by a Maven powerslam. Simon Dean got a couple of cheap shots in on Eugene as the match progressed, but he was scared away by Heidenreich quickly on all occasions. In the ring, Maven hooked up his opponent for a suplex, but Eugene countered into a small package that got a near fall. Then, out of nowhere, Eugene caught Maven with the Rock Bottom. Both men in the ring were down as Simon Dean picked up a steel chair from ringside. Heidenreich cut him off, though, grabbing the chair away from him. Heidenreich went to swing the chair, but accidentally hit Regal as he tried to stop him using the illegal object. The referee heard the shot and looked out to see what had happened as Simon Dean entered the ring and walloped Eugene with a tub of Simon System products. Maven grabbed Eugene and hit his inverted backbreaker to get the 3 count and the victory.

After the match, Simon System escaped down the aisle with their titles as Heidenreich checked on Regal and Eugene, screaming in frustration.

Winner: Maven

Match Reaction = 73.2%

Match Quality = 66.2%

Overall Rating = 75.2%

Segment 5: Shelton's Opponent?

(1 Minute)

We saw Triple H standing in the backstage area, looking disgruntled. Triple H was looking a few feet to the right of the camera and he started to talk to someone who we couldn't see, as the camera stayed focused on The Game. Triple H said he was desperate, he needed someone to beat Shelton Benjamin tonight and he knew that the person he was talking to could do it. The person must have agreed silently as Triple H grinned yet we heard no answer.

Overall Rating = 85.8%

Segment 6: Awesome Explains

(3 Minutes)

Mike Awesome made his way to the ring to a decent reception from the crowd. He took a microphone and told everybody that he had volunteered to face La Resistance in a handicap match because he believed he was the person that could shut them up. He took us back a couple of weeks on RAW when La Resistance said that they were taking over. Apparently Awesome was going to put a stop to that before it could even get started. He said that due to his exceptional talent, Awesome believed nobody would be able to bring down La Resistance by themselves except for him, and that he believed it to be his duty to do so.

Overall Rating = 57.9%

Segment 7: 3-On-1 Handicap Match

Mike Awesome vs. La Resistance

(12 Minutes)

Awesome dominated the beginning of the match, fighting off a triple team with ease and taking down each La Resistance member with big boots, right hands and clotheslines. After clearing the ring, the referee restored some order and Awesome battled Sylvain Grenier. Grenier just managed to escape an Awesome Bomb attempt, sliding out of the move and tagging in Rene Dupree. Dupree took Awesome by surprise and took him to the mat with a big clothesline and then a big back suplex. The numbers game then took its toll on Awesome as frequent tags between the stable-mates wore him down. Awesome did catch a break late on in the match, though, as Conway missed a clothesline and got drilled with a tilt-a-whirl slam. This gave Awesome the time to recuperate, which he did. Dupree and Grenier tried to intervene, but were both taken out, Grenier with an Awesome Bomb and Dupree with a clothesline over the top rope. Conway looked to attack but became the recipient of a vicious elbow and a DDT. Awesome then went up-top for the Awesome Splash, but he was cut off by Conway. As Grenier had the referee distracted, Dupree brought in the French flag. He went to swing at Awesome, but instead collided the pole with Conway by accident. Awesome took Dupree out of the equation and out of the ring with a clothesline before doing the same to Grenier. Awesome finished off Robert Conway with a devastating Awesome Bomb and he picked up the 3 count.

Mike Awesome rolled out of the ring, victorious as Grenier and Dupree consulted Conway, asking what happened. Conway pointed at Dupree indicating the awry flag shot, but he got slapped in the face by Rene. Grenier joined in on the berating until Conway had had enough, pushing away Dupree and leaving the ring looking extremely pissed off.

Winner: Mike Awesome

Match Reaction = 69.9%

Match Quality = 63.6%

Overall Rating = 75.8%

Segment 8: She's Coming Back

(2 Minutes)

A short video was played. It highlighted the successes of Trish Stratus' career and ended with a pink scrawl of writing that said 'Trish Returns... Soon'. The video got Jerry Lawler in a very excited mood.

Overall Rating = 77.0%

Segment 9: ??? vs. Carlito

(16 Minutes)

JR and 'The King' knew that Carlito would be in action tonight, but they didn't have a clue who his opponent would be. Neither did Carlito, the fans, or even Lilian Garcia, the RAW ring announcer. After a long and dramatic wait that followed Carlito's entrance, Rob Van Dam made his return to Monday Night RAW, apparently fully recovered from a knee injury he suffered many months back. 'Mr Monday Night' started the match by delivering some hard kicks to Carlito. Carlito then viciously dropkicked the knee of RVD, trying to re-injure it. Carlito went to work on the knee, using numerous leg locks and holds to do more damage. RVD showed his strength, though, powering out of a leg lock and connecting with a spinning heel kick right to the face of Carlito. Van Dam hit some shoulder thrusts in the corner and then a monkey flip, which got a 2 count. Carlito then fell victim to the Rolling Thunder and another near fall. Carlito tried to roll up RVD with a hold of his tights, but he only got 2. The referee went down as a result of a botched clothesline by Carlito, which lead to RVD grabbing a chair and hitting a Van Daminator for the 3 count and the win.

Van Dam celebrated the victory after the match, pointing to himself with his thumbs a few times as the crowd joined in. At the commentary table, Lawler reminded us that RVD had said he would be 'taking RAW to the extreme' when he was drafted the other week.

Winner: Rob Van Dam

Match Reaction = 76.4%

Match Quality = 59.2%

Overall Rating = 79.1%

Segment 10: Challenge From The Wolverine

(6 Minutes)

Chris Benoit made his way to the ring to huge cheers from the fans. He got on the microphone and said he had a challenge to issue. Benoit knew that Muhammad Hassan was not in the building, but he made the challenge anyway - a match at SummerSlam. 'The Crippler' said he didn't approve of Hassan's tactics, attacking Benoit from behind last week. He said that his challenge to Hassan had nothing to do with the Intercontinental Title, it was to do with shutting Hassan up. Benoit said he expected a response next week on RAW from the Intercontinental Champion, and he hoped that he made the right choice.

Overall Rating = 64.9%

Segment 11: Gauntlet To The Game (Match 3)

Shelton Benjamin vs. ???

(15 Minutes)

Shelton Benjamin made his way down to the ring, a focused look on his face as there always is. We waited for a few moments to see who his opponent would be and then we heard "It wasn't my fault!". Snitsky stomped down to the ring, Triple H following him and giving him instructions as he went. Snitsky slid into the ring and the ring bell sounded as he drove his fist into Shelton's head to get things underway. Shelton battled back with some chops and punches, but Triple H's encouragement urged Snitsky on and he delivered a damaging clothesline to his opponent. Snitsky dominated for the next few minutes as he bent the rules by choking Shelton on a few occasions. Triple H passed the ring bell to Snitsky while he distracted the referee, but Snitsky's attempt to use the weapon was ducked by Benjamin, who in return hit a superkick on his bigger adversary. Both men were down until the referee reached a count of 7. They exchanged blows, Benjamin getting the upper-hand, but was caught coming back off the ropes with a big boot. Snitsky looked to end it with a powerbomb, but was stunned when Shelton rolled a shoulder up at 2. Snitsky then connected with a powerful pumphandle slam, but once again Shelton got out of the pinfall attempt. Snitsky was shocked and he turned to Triple H, seeking some advice. Triple H grinned and signalled for Snitsky to use the Pedigree. Snitsky laughed and set up the move, but Shelton escaped from Snitsky's grip and took him to the mat with a Dragon Whip. Benjamin then took to the top rope where he hit a flying clothesline. He then nailed Snitsky with a springboard bulldog, but only after having kicked away Triple H who was trying to stop him. Snitsky staggered into the corner and was rocked with the Stinger Splash and then pounded to the mat with Shelton's T-Bone Suplex! Shelton got the 3 as Triple H ran his hands through his air, mouthing obscenities.

Shelton raised his arms in the air as he went back up the ramp, staring at Triple H who had entered the ring. The Game slapped Snitsky across the face for not getting the job done. Snitsky scrunched his face up and then knocked down Triple H with a big clothesline. Snitsky obviously didn't take too kindly to being slapped as he drilled Triple H with a pumphandle slam. Shelton chuckled from the ramp as he watched the preceedings, knowing he'd be facing Triple H at SummerSlam.

Winner: Shelton Benjamin

Match Reaction = 72.0%

Match Quality = 67.7%

Overall Rating = 69.8%

Segment 12: BIG Interview

(5 Minutes)

Todd Grisham was standing backstage, looking up. We soon found out why as the camera panned out to reveal Big Show standing next to him. Grisham questioned Big Show about his antics last week, Chokeslamming Chris Jericho onto the steel steps. Show said that what happened to Jericho is what happened when you get in The Big Show's way and he would not hesitate to do it to anyone else. Big Show snatched the microphone from Todd and looked into the camera. He said that tonight was about himself facing Batista in a non-title match-up. Show said he would wipe the mat with Batista tonight and that he'd be next in line for a title shot because he knew he could beat Batista easily. Big Show ended the interview by shoving the microphone back at Todd, who fell over due to the force exerted by Show. Big Show laughed and walked away.

Overall Rating = 66.2%

Segment 13: Main Event (Non-Title)

Batista vs. Big Show

(19 Minutes)

The main event began with a stare down that erupted into a brawl, both men exchanging hard blows that would probably have knocked a smaller man down. Batista connected with some forearms and a big clothesline for a near fall early on. Big Show fought back, waffling the champion with a big boot and then tossing him effortlessly over the top rope with a gorilla press. The fight spilled to the outside where Big Show slammed Batista off of the security barrier and then onto the steel steps. Back in the ring, Big Show drilled Batista with a lariat for a 2 count. Show looked to finish things with a Chokeslam, but Batista countered with a kick to the gut and a DDT to level things up. Batista draped an arm over his opponent but only got 2. Big Show was caught off guard by The Animal, who threw some hard shots at Show and took him down with a boot to the chest. Lita then appeared, climbing up onto the apron and distracting the referee. Batista turned to see Edge charging at him with a Spear, but the champion dodged and the Spear hit Big Show instead. Batista put Edge out of the picture with a Batista Bomb before re-focusing his attention on The Big Show. A Spinebuster and a 3 count later, Batista had won the match.

Before the World Heavyweight Champion could celebrate, Edge had re-entered the ring and started to beat down on him with Big Show. Edge hit the Spear and Big Show was about to lift Batista up for the Chokeslam when Chris Jericho slid into the ring with a chair, bandages wrapped heavily around his waist. He swung the chair, but Show and Edge had evacuated the ring already. Jericho swung the chair like a mad-man as Edge and Big Show retreated up the ramp. The crowd cheered for Jericho as RAW went off the air.

Winner: Batista

Match Reaction = 70.8%

Match Quality = 59.5%

Overall Rating = 71.3%

RAW Rating: 73.5%

Attendance: 9,315

[alldaws1]

Hoyt Signs For TNA

July 26th, 2005

Confirmation over Lance Hoyt's immediate future is in - he's signed a new, written contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. It's believed that the deal lasts until January of 2007. The WWE were reportedly looking closely at Hoyt in recent weeks, especially because of his size. But Hoyt remains TNA, at least until 2007.

[Guest Prototype]

Good Raw. The team of Eugene and Hedienreich with Regal could actually get over. Good to see Shelton win the gauntlet. His feud with Trips should heat up. I liked RVD beating Carlito. They could have a nice feud heading to SummerSlam.

[alldaws1]

WWE Looking For Tag Teams?

July 27th, 2005

It has been rumoured that the WWE are displeased with their current tag team division. On Smackdown! especially, it is many people's view that the tag team division is lacking. On Smackdown! there are just three regular teams, MNM, The Bashams and The Dudley Boyz which could make the race for the titles stale very soon. It's rumoured that they are looking at teams from the indy scene, possibly even giving a couple of old ECW teams a run - Doring & Roadkill, Mahoney & Rotten for example. We'll keep you updated on the situation.

[Ben]

Know it might be a little late but good move making Eugene & Hendenrich a tag team with good news that Trish might be resigning... keep up the good work m8

[alldaws1]

WWE Smackdown! Preview

July 28th, 2005

Last Sunday at The Great American Bash John Cena retained his WWE Title by beating Christian in a singles match. We'll hear from the WWE Champion this Thursday.

A WrestleMania 21 rematch at The Great American Bash ended with Shawn Michaels pinning Kurt Angle. Angle attacked HBK after the match, though. This rivalry seems far from over.

Eddie Guerrero was finally able to beat Rey Mysterio last Sunday, winning four falls to three in a thirty-minute Iron Man match. Eddie Guerrero will likely be in attendance on Thursday, albeit probably to gloat. Rey Mysterio, however, will not be at Smackdown! as he recovers from his match at the pay-per-view.

The Rock came out victorious at The Great American Bash as he defeated the self-proclaimed 'wrestling God', JBL. However, Rock was mercilessly beaten down at the hands of The Cabinet and JBL stood tall. We will get an update on The Rock's condition on Thursday. JBL, however, has requested time to speak on his victory. We'll hear from him on Smackdown!.

MNM narrowly escaped with the WWE Tag Team Titles at The Great American Bash, barely surviving a tables match against The Dudley Boyz. Will Smackdown! GM Teddy Long grant the Dudleyz another shot, or will another team state their intentions for the gold?

Lance Storm suffered an eye injury at last Sunday's pay-per-view in his mixed tag team match with Dawn Marie against Charlie Haas and Torrie. The seriousness of the injury has not been revealed yet, but we should get some sort of update on the U.S. Champion's condition this Thursday.

Also at The Great American Bash, Juventud shocked the world when he defeated Super Crazy and Paul London to become the WWE Cruiserweight Champion. We'll get the fallout from this match.

For all of the fallout from The Great American Bash, tune into Smackdown! this week.

Confirmed Matches:

None