WWF RAW 8/7/2000

Written by: Adam King

WWF RAW IS WAR
Monday, August 7th, 2000

Live from Madison Square Garden in New York, NY

List of WWF Champions at the time:
●  WWF World Heavyweight Champion: The Rock (6/25/2000)
●  WWF Intercontinental Champion: Val Venis (7/06/2000)
●  WWF World Tag Team Champions: Edge & Christian (6/25/2000)
●  WWF European Champion: Perry Saturn (7/23/2000)
●  WWF Hardcore Champion: Steve Blackman (6/29/2000)
●  WWF Women’s Champion: Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley (3/30/2000)
●  WWF Light Heavyweight Champion: Dean Malenko (4/27/2000)

~ Raw comes on the air with highlights of the Triple H/Stephanie McMahon/Kurt Angle wackiness on Smackdown. We then find Stephanie pacing in the parking garage waiting for her husband, just like he did for her last Thursday.

~ After that we get to the intro with Jim Ross welcoming us to the show along with Jerry “The King” Lawler. Tonight Rikishi faces X-Pac, Matt Hardy teams with the Acolytes against Edge, Christian and The Big Show, The Dudleys do battle with the Right To Censor and Eddie Guerrero & Too Cool will take on Trish’s trio.

~ Things kick off with The Rock making his way to the ring for our gabfest and doesn’t seem to be in a good mood. Rock starts off by bringing up how Chris Benoit pinned him on Smackdown after Shane McMahon hit him with a chair on Thursday. Rock figures Shane is trying to tell him that Benoit was screwed out of the title and thus should be WWF Champion, or maybe Shane wants Benoit to get another title shot at SummerSlam. Rock says he could care less what they think and that he’s done going back and forth with Benoit so if he wants another WWF Title match he can have it tonight. Naturally it doesn’t take long for Shane and Benoit to make their way out to the stage to answer Rock’s challenge. Benoit grabs a mic and says everyone saw beat Rock for the WWF Championship at Fully Loaded all by himself only to have the title stripped from him by Commissioner Mick Foley. Benoit feels it’s all good then accepts Rock’s offer to beat him and become WWF Champion tonight, daring Rock to prove him wrong. Shane takes the mic and is also in favor of having Rock vs. Benoit tonight but wants a special stipulation attached. Shane brags about what he and Benoit did to Rock on Smackdown and even shows footage of it on the TitanTron. Shane says it’s not enough for Benoit to take Rock’s title, they want him to suffer the same fate as all their other targets so he demands the title match be fought with no disqualifications. Rock says he has no problem with that then runs down Benoit and Shane before saying he’s not losing his title tonight and finishes with the usual stuff.

~ Backstage Kurt Angle meets with Commissioner Mick Foley who’s set up his office in a forklift this time around and mentions the title match that was just made. Foley says if Rock wants to face Benoit tonight he’ll allow it. Angle brings up how he won his Olympic medals during the summer so he wants to be the #1 contender at SummerSlam. Foley marvels at Angle’s enthusiasm then brings up Angle’s accomplishments as well as the subsequent celebrations. Foley then makes fun of Angle hugging Stephanie after their win before saying he’ll take his request under advisement.

~ Back form break Stephanie is still waiting in the garage when a limo pulls up and Triple H climbs out of it. Stephanie wants to talk about her and Angle but Triple H asks her for some space, just like she did last Thursday. Triple H then tells Stephanie their personal stuff is starting to interfere with their business so he feels it’ll have to wait. Triple H asks where to find the Commissioner’s office and walks off by himself after Stephanie points out the way.

• Rikishi vs. X-Pac

X-Pac comes out by himself as we see Road Dogg watching this latest “friendly rivalry” match from the back. X-Pac gets in the first shots but Rikishi shoves him away and X-Pac comes back but Rikishi shoves him again and decks him. Rikishi whips X-Pac then lowers the head and X-Pac geos for a Sunset Flip but can’t get Rikishi over. Rikishi misses the sitdown splash and X-Pac kicks him down in a corner then follows up with the Bronco Buster. X-Pac chops Rikishi in the head and kicks away at him then comes off the ropes but runs into Rikishi’s Diamond Cutter. Rikishi squashes X-Pac in a corner with the running butt splash and this time is able to give him the Stinkface as Road Dogg laughs at it from the back. Rikishi superkicks X-Pac then drags him in position for a Banzai Drop and climbs the up ropes but Road Dogg runs out and nails Rikishi below the belt for a DQ save. (2:57) After all why have Rikishi actually win the match when Road Dogg can help X-Pac avoid a job instead, no? Road Dogg helps X-Pac out to the floor but the DX’ers then go back in and lay the boots to Rikishi. *

~ Backstage we find Mick Foley talking on the phone to someone when Triple H demands a moment of his time. Triple H says Joe told him about the WWF Championship match and wants to challenge the winner at SummerSlam but Foley tells him that Kurt Angle already beat him to the punch with his own reqest for the pay-per-view title shot. Foley feels Angle is taking Triple H’s wife and wants his spot so he’ll also take Triple H’s request under advisement. Triple H walks off disappointed while Foley beeps the forklift horn a few times as we go to commercial.

~ Back from break we get the latest in the Godfather’s women leading their campaign against the Right to Censor.

~ Backstage Triple H storms into his lockerroom and Stephanie is eager to talk about this thing with Kurt Angle but he’s too busy griping about Angle asking Foley for his shot at the WWF Championship at SummerSlam. Triple H says he’s tired of this thing with Kurt Angle, that each and every week there’s something else involving him. Triple H then says he’s done talking, and if he sees Angle anywhere in this building tonight he’s beating him up.

~ Out in the arena Steven Richards leads the Right To Censor to the ring but first gets on the mic and talks about mayor Rudolph Giuliani cleaning up New York and making it safer and acceptable for tourists. Richards says he and his crew will follow Giuliani’s example and fight to make the WWF a more wholesome place. As the Godfather’s women once again make their way out to ringside, Richards says as long as the Right to Censor exists the WWF won’t have violence, vulgarity or scantily-clad women. Richards then invites anyone who has a problem with it to discuss it further when the Dudleys make their way out. Bubba Ray gets on the mic and says what the people of New York want to see is the RTC going through a table.

• The Dudley Boyz vs. Bull Buchanan & The Goodfather (w/Steven Richards)

The Dudleys rush the ring and pair off with the RTC’ers who get the early advantage and whip both of them but the Dudleys both his clotheslines. Bubba clotheslines Goodfather over the ropes while D’Von faces Buchahan and goes for a whip and Buchanan reverses but D’Von comes back with a flying clothesline. Bubba tags in and helps D’Von whip Buchanan into a shoulderblock then follows up with a running splash for a two count. D’Von tags in but Buchanan jabs the eyes then Goodfather tags in and helps Buchanan whip D’Von into a elbow. Goodfather slams D’Von to the mat and hits a series of elbowdrops then goes for a running legdrop but misses. D’Von goes for a whip but Goodfather reverses it and Richards trips D’Von allowing Goodfather to hit a boot. Goodfather plants D’Von with a back suplex for a near fall then works him over and whips him into a corner. Goodfather then goes for the Ho Train but D’von sidesteps it and hits a flying forearm and both men are down. Both men crawl toward their corners and Goodfather tags in Buchanan while D’Von makes the tag to Bubba. Bubba connects with a pair of clotheslines then whips Buchanan and hits a backdrop. Bubba draws Goodfather in then sets Buchanan up while D’Von climbs to the top rope and connects with the “Wassup” headbutt. Goodfather comes in but Bubba powerslams him then sets him up and D’Von hits the “Wassup” on him as well. The Dudleys whip Buchanan and hit the 3D and Bubba covers but Richards comes in and breaks it up for a DQ. (3:24) Not much but the crowd was pretty into it. *

Richards has words with Bubba but finds D’Von standing behind him allowing Bubba to slam him to the mat. Bubba then sets Richards up while D’Von climbs to the top rope and goes 3-for-3 with the “Wassup” headbutts. The Dudleys bring a table in the ring and set it up as the Godfather’s women hop the rail to ger a closer look. Bubba hops to the middle rope ready for D’Von to hand Richards over but Goodfather nails him with a board and the RTC’ers take out D’Von as well. Richards goes out and brings one of Godfather’s ladies (that would be Victoria) in the ring. Buchanan then sets her up for a powerbomb through the table but Goodfather steps in. Instead Goodfather asks to do it himself so Buchanan hands Victoria over and Goodfather kills her with a vicious powerbomb through the table!! The RTC’ers raise their hands and depart while the other woman tends to her friend in the table wreckage.

~ Backstage Kurt Angle is admiring Stephanie’s Women’s title belt while Stephanie admires his gold medals in return. Stephanie then tells Angle about Triple H being mad at their celebration on Thrusday and his request for a title shot. Angle asks Stephanie if Triple H raised his voice to her before suggesting he needs to go through sensitivity training. Stephanie then gushes and thanks Angle for being such a good friend and the two shake hands as we go to commercial.

~ Back from break we get an exterior shot of MSG as JR hypes the Rock/Benoit title match.

~ Backstage we find Triple H in his lockerroom when Just Joe comes in, once again trying to stir things up. Joe tells Triple H that the boys are saying Kurt Angle could be the one guy that could take him out should they go at it and Triple H responds to that news as you might expect before kicking Joe out of the room.

~ We then get a replay of the Goodfather powerbombing his former employee through a table earlier. I’ll said this, hopefully the WWF really helped Victoria prepare to take that bump.

• Too Cool & Eddie Guerrero (w/Chyna) vs. Val Venis, Test & Albert (w/Trish Stratus)

Everyone files out when Val pulls Eddie out of the ring before the bell and piledrives him onto the floor. Too Cool and Chyna check on their partner but Eddie is not moving so it looks like he’s out of this match. Scotty 2 Hotty and Grandmaster Sexay try to go with a 3-on-2 disadvantage and Test and Albert beat on them then whip them but Scotty fakes out Test and avoids a boot then backdrops him over the ropes. Sexay slides under Albert and backdrops him over then goes out after him while Scotty dukes it out with Val. Val whips Scotty into a corner and charges but Scotty sidesteps him then comes off the ropes with the bulldog. Scotty then connects with the Worm already but Albert comes back in and nails Scotty with a bicycle kick. Test drops Sexay on the steps while Val pounds on Scotty and whips him but both men clothesline each other. Bothe men crawl to their corner but with Sexay and Eddie both out on the floor there’s no one for Scotty to tag. Suddenly Chyna runs up to the apron and accepts a tag from Scotty and the referee allows her to come in? I guess the referee is permitting Chyna to substitute for Eddie or something. In any case Chyna hammers Val with forearms then slams him to the the mat. Albert grabs Chyna with a Full Nelson as Test tries to come in but Chyna escapes Albert with a low mule kick then straddles Test on the top rope. However Val clotheslines Chyna down then tags Albert in. Test whips Albert into an Avalanche on Chyna then follows up with a boot. Val tags in and climbs to the top rope looking to hit the Moneyshot but Sexay has recovered and bumps the ropes causing Val to straddle the turnbuckle. Scotty then pulls Test out to the floor and those two go at it while Sexay also fights it out with Albert nearby. Val plants Chyna with a Fisherman’s suplex but the referee is too busy trying to restore order to count the pin. In all the confusion Eddie has recoverd enough to climb to the top rope and nails Val with the Frogsplash. Eddie rolls back out of the ring in pain while Chyna drapes an arm over Val and gets the pin. (3:50) I guess this means Eddie and Chyna both have pinfalls over the Intercontinential Champion. Chaotic and confusing but still entertaning. **

~ Backstage Kurt Angle gets a visit from Just Joe in his lockerrom who tells him that Triple H is going crazy, that he’s disrespecting his accomplishements and has even reportedly reduced Stephanie to tears. Angle is not happy and has Joe tell Triple H he’ll be waiting to slap a submission hold and make him cry like a baby.

~ Back from break Stephanie McMahon head to the ring because we haven’t had our McMahon-Hemlsely promo yet. Stephanie gets on the mic and aplogizes to Triple H for what happened between her and Kurt Angle on Smackdown. Stephanie claims she and Angle are just friends and that they just got a little too excited after they won the match. Stephanie says she didn’t know she was doing anything wrong but realizes shouldn’t have hugged Angle for so long then asks Triple H to come out and hear her apology. Triple H does make his way to the ring in a foul mood and Stephanie tells him that she’s sorry for being so impatient and too hasty in getting angry and making assumptions. Stephanie says the reason for her irrational behavior is she’s jealous and that promits a disagreement from the crowd. Stephanie explains when people in marriages fight and get jealous it really means they love and care about each other then tells Triple H that she loves him more than anything in the world before asking him for his forgiveness. Triple H considers it as the crowd begs him to say no but instead the Helmsleys embrace and the crowd boos loudly. Stephanie continues on the mic saying now that their personal life is in order they need to concentrate on business and that she wants to smooth things over so business can be successful. Stephanie then decides to bring Kurt Angle out and Triple H is back to being furious as Stephaine tries to hold him back while Angle comes out with a smirk on his face. Angle takes the mic and tells Triple H he just wants to do the right thing then claims he and Stephanie were simply caught up in the heat of battle and that their hug didn’t mean anything. Angle assures Triple H that he respects his wife and marriage while echoing Stephanie’s claims that they’re just friends. Triple H says Angle have Stephanie fooled but he knows he’s full of it and threatens him if he comes near his wife. Stephanie quickly pushes Triple H back and begs him to shake Angle’s hand, saying he’ll do it if he really loves her.

Angle offers a hand and Triple H considers it when Commissioner Mick Foley hits the ring to stir things up again. Foley tells the three of them that they need to look at all the relevant information before deciding to forgive or not. Foely says that includes video evidence and shows the hug from Smackdown on the TitanTron and offering comments. Triple H starts after Angle again and Stephanie quickly steps in between trying to keep her husband and friend apart. Foley says he’d love to see Triple H and Angle beat each other up and decides to make it happen in the Garden tonight by booking them in a #1 contender’s match, with the winner getting a WWF title shot at SummerSlam. Foley tells everyone to have a nice day and departs while Triple H and Angle exchange angry words with each other. If you’re wondering that segment only took 13 minutes.

~ Chris Benoit and Shane McMahon are shown heading to the ring as is The Rock as we go to commercial.

• WWF World Heavyweight Title: The Rock © vs. Chris Benoit (w/Shane McMahon) – No Disqualifcation Match

Shane and Benoit are out first but Rock comes in through the crowd and surprises Benoit to start us off. Rock whips Benoit into a corner and clotheslines him down then works him over before hitting a Dragon legwhip. Rock goes right into the Sharpshooter but Shane comes in and clotheslines Rock from behind to bail out Benoit. Shane whips Rock and hits a jumping elbow then heads out. Benoit works Rock over in a corner with chops then goes for a whip, Rock reverses him into the opposite corner then charges at him but eats an elbow. Benoit comes out when Rock powerslams him for a two count but Benoit comes back and hits a back suplex. Benoit stomps Rock out to the floor then goes after him and for a whip but Rock revereses him into the steps. Shane clotheslines Rock and Benoit throws him into the ringpost then both men make their way back in the ring. Benoit stomps Rock in the head and hits a snap suplex for a two count then hits a backbreaker for another two. Benoit then drapes Rock on the middle rope and allows Shane to choke him. Rock starts fighting back when Benoit dodges the Smackdown and goes for a backslide but Rock slips out of it and slaps Benoit in the Crossface. Benoit manages to escape from it and hits a German suplex then holds on and hits the second German suplex. Benoit goes for the thrid but Rock fights out of it then hits his own German suplex and both men are down. Both men are up and Benoit goes for a whip but Rock reverses and plants Benoit with a belly-to-belly suplex. Rock covers Benoit and we hear the referee counting a two before we see Shane has pulled him out of the ring. So Rock goes out and chases Shane in the ring but Benoit cuts him off with an elbow then slams him to the mat. Benoit climbs to the top rope and connects with the diving headbutt but hurts himself and only gets a two count. Benoit argues the count before stomping Rock out to the floor then goes out and hits him with some chops. Benoit goes for a whip but Rock revereses it and sends him right into Shane who goes flying over the barricade. Rock tosses Benoit back in the ring and plants him with the Spinebuster then follows up with the People’s Elbow. Rock covers Benoit but Shane barely makes it in for the save. Shane grabs a chair but Rock stops him from using it and knocks him over the ropes with the Smadckdown. However Benoit comes up and puts Rock in the Crossface. Shane then comes back in the ring and starts laying the boots to Rock as Rock tries desparately not to submit. However some pyro goes off and Chris Jericho runs down the ramp looking for payback for getting taken out. Jericho pounds away at Benoit and powerbombs him on the chair then holds on for a second powerbomb on the chair. Shane tries to interject but Jericho chases him out of the ring and over the barricade into the crowd. In the ring both men get to their feet but Rock plants Benoit with a Rock Bottom and gets the pin to retain. (8:12) Overbooked finish aside, still another very good match from these two guys. ****

~ Back from break we get a replay of Chris Jericho making his return and costing Benoit the WWF championship. We then find Shane and Benoit griping to Mick Foley about Jericho’s interference and demanding he be punished. Foley then offers to punish Jericho by putting him in a match where two world-class athletes can both beat him up. Shane and Benoit accept it… until Foley says he’s adding Jericho to the Triple H/Kurt Angle #1 contender’s match. Shane balks saying that’s not much of a punishment (and I have to agree) but Foley stands by his ruling.

~ Out in the arena Tazz comes out to the stage for an unscheduled appearence to talk some noise on the mic. Tazz starts off by putting over New York as his hometown and calls himself a native New Yorker just like the fans, but while the fans have to scrape together what they can to feed their kids, he has it made in the game of life. Tazz laughs at the jeers saying he expectes it because they’re conditioned to boo the bad guy and don’t know better. Tazz then mentions someone he’s expected better from then heads out to the announce table and singles out Jim Ross. Tazz mentions JR called him a piece of garbage at Fully Loaded and laughed at him getting the Stinkface last week then gets in JR’s face asking if he has a problem with him. Tazz calls JR a redneck scumbag and JR stands up as does Lawler but Tazz tells Lawler this is between him and JR. Tazz continues taunting Ross and pops his hat off then asks JR if he wants to fight and slap his face. Tazz says he’d love to slap JR’s face but God beat him to it. Ouch! Finally JR has had enough and smacks Tazz in the face and Tazz laughs at it before begging JR to slaps his face again. JR rears back for another shot but Lawler catches his arm … then steps forward and pops Tazz in the face himself. Lawler is ready to go at it but the referees come out and hold Tazz back as we suddenly go to commercial. Pretty cool segment there that helped Tazz look like a real bad dude and the crowd ate it up, showing the WWF is at least trying to salvage his push.

~ Back from break JR tries to apologize for his unprofessional conduct with Tazz a few momnets ago but Lalwer assures him that he has nothing to apologize for and that he’s always though that Tazz was a jerk.

~ We then get clips of the latest XFL press confence saying the eighth and last team will be in New York/New Jersey. We also learn the eight teams will play a 10-game schedule and use special black footballs, because they’re extreme.

• Matt Hardy & The Acolytes vs. The Big Show, Edge & Christian (w/Shane McMahon)

Matt’s still looking for revenge for E&C taking out Jeff last week and has enlisted the Acolytes against Shane’s trio. JR mentions Lita and Jeff Hardy aren’t here because Lita is helping Jeff recover from last week’s chairshot. Matt rushes the ring followed by the Acolytes and goes after Edge while the others head out to the corners. Matt sompts away at Edge and goes for a whip, Edge revereses it but Matt comes back with a tornado DDT. Matt decks Chrsitian then gets in a shot on Show but it has no effect and Show responds with a headbutt. Edge lays the boots to Matt befoe tagging Christian in and E&C whip Matt and hit a double sidewalk slam. Christian covers Matt but Bradshaw breaks it up so Christian continues the assault. Matt starts fighitng back and comes off the ropes when Christian goes for a powerbomb but Matt slips out and hits a Russian legsweep. Bradshaw gets the tag and boots Christian then hits a boot on Edge and takes it to both men with right hands. Show comes in but Faarooq helps Bradshaw double-team him then whip him and hit a double shoulderblock. Show rolls out to the floor and Bradshaw works Christian over in a corner while Faarooq takes over on Edge. Faarooq sets Edge up for the Dominator but Show brings a tag title belt in and waffles him for a DQ already. (1:38) Barely qualified as a match. Show nails Bradshaw with the belt when Matt climbs to the top rope but Show catches him into a powerbomb. NR

Just then Kid Rock fires up and The Undertaker appears on the stage making his return from two weeks ago. Taker rides down the ramp on his motorcycle and drops Edge and Christian with rights leaving him and Show. Taker goes in the ring and unloads on Show before hitting a boot that sends Show tumbling over the ropes. Shane then comes in with a flying clothesline on Taker but it has no effect and Taker tosses him over the ropes. Taker chases Shane up the ramp on nis motorcycle and Shane leaps off the stage and onto the scaffolding. Show goes after Taker on the stage but Taker wails on him and punches him closer and closer to the edge. Taker pulls out a chain and wraps it around Show’s neck then tosses him off the stage through a table below. Taker looks down at the fallen giant then tells Shane he’s next as we go to commercial.

~ Back from break we get a replay of Undertaker getting his revenge on Show by throwing him off the stage. We then get footage of Shane jumping into his limo during the break and peeling out of the building into the night. We now see the paramedics tending to Show backstage but Show seems pretty out of it. As you might have guessed the bookers decided Big Show wasn’t in good enough shape to go in the ring so they wrote him out, ending his comeback after just two weeks.

~ Backstage Triple H his preparing for his match in his dressing room when Chris Jericho flies in and attacks him. I didn’t even know that feud was still going on, but whatever. The referees pour into the room the try and separate the two of them as we go to commercial again.

~ Back from break we get a replay of Jericho jumping Triple H even through we just saw it less than three minutes ago. We then find Triple H hunting for Jericho backstage but he comes across Kurt Angle instead and bumps into him. Angle tells Triple H to take some anger management classes but Triple H shoves him again and storms off.

~ We then cut to nearby WWF New York and find Chyna and Eddie Guerrero coming out of a limo ready to party.

~ Chris Jericho is then shown making his way to the ring … as we go to yet another commercial break.

~ Back from break we get clips of The Rock appearing at the Republican National Convention this past week, just in case you missed it on Smackdown.

• Triple H (w/Stephanie) vs. Kurt Angle vs. Chris Jericho – #1 Contender’s Match

The winner of this match gets The Rock at SummerSlam, though I still don’t see how Jericho getting a chance to win a pay-per-view title shot is punishment. JR also claims Jericho suffered “career-threatening” injuries, even though Jericho was gone for only 10 days. After Jericho and Angle are in the ring Angle offers him a handshake but Jericho responds by spitting in his face. Triple H comes out next but hs music is cut off by The Rock who heads to the announce table for commentary. Jericho goes after Triple H to start and goes for a whip but Triple H reverses it and tosses Jericho over the ropes. Triple H turns to Angle and exchanges shoves with him but Jericho comes in and knocks their heads together. Jericho takes it to both men and whips Angle into an elbow then turns and clotheslines Triple H over the ropes. Jericho backdrops Angle over the ropes then knocks Triple H off the apron with the springboard dropkick. Triple H and Angle look ready to duke it out on the floor when Jericho leaps over the ropes with a pescado on both men. Jericho rams Triple H into the steps and rolls him back in then climbs to the top rope and hits a missile dropkick. Jericho covers Triple H but Angle makes the save then goes for the Olympic Slam but Jericho lands on his feet. Jericho takes Angle down and turns him in the Walls of Jericho and Triple H watches this with amusement before he breaks the hold. Jericho goes for a whip but Triple H reverses it and hits the high knee. Angle stomps Jericho down in a corner but Triple H shoves him aside so he can get some stomping on Jericho. Angle shoves Triple H back and they exchange words but that allows Jericho to fight back against Triple H. Jericho whips Triple H but Triple H comes back with the facebuster then covers him but Angle pulls Triple H off. Angle decks Triple H then whips Jericho into a belly-to-belly suplex and covers him but Triple H makes the save. Triple H tosses Angle over the ropes then suplexes Jericho but Angle makes it back in and breaks up the pin.

Triple H unloads on Angle and goes for a whip, Angle reverses it but lowers the head and Triple H kicks the face. Angle comes back with a clothesline but in turn eats a clothesline from Jericho who then clotheslines Triple H. Jericho works Angle over with chops and goes for a whip, Angle reverses it but Jericho hits a flying forearm. Jericho goes to whip Triple H who reverses him into a corner but Jericho comes out with a spinning heel kick. Jericho trips Angle causing him to headbutt Triple H below the belt and turns and drills Angle with a bulldog. Jericho goes for the Lionsault but Triple H clubs him in the back mid-flight. Triple H sets Jericho up for the Pedigree but Jericho counters and catapults Triple H into the ringpost then hits the Lionsault on both opponents. Jericho hurts himself on the move and tries to cover Triple H and Angle simultaneously but they both kick out. Jericho climbs to the top rope but Triple H shoves Earl Hebner in the ropes stradling Jericho on the turnbuckle. Triple H goes up after Jericho but Angle goes up as well and both men hit Jericho with a double back superplex. All three men are down but Triple H and Angle both drape an arm over Jericho and Hebner counts 1..2..3! The bell sounds the end of the match but no music is playing and everyone including Rock is asking who won. While Hebner is discussing this with Stephanie, Triple H and Angle start going at it again and exchange shoves. Stephanie tries to separate the two when Hebner raises both their hands saying they each have a claim. (6:46) This is almost how last year’s SummerSlam main event was set up. Still a pretty good match that deserved a few more minutes. ***½

Anyway Rock decides to head in the ring and tees off on Triple H before planting him with the Rock Bottom then turns to Angle and hits him with a Rock Bottom too. Stephanie spins Rock around and slaps his face then goes for another slap but Rock blocks it and hits her with a Rock Bottom to complete the trifecta. Rock then poses but we’re all still wondering who will face him at SummerSlam as the show goes off the air.

Conclusion: Finally, a good show with stuff actually happening. The first hour may not seem like much with two long promo segments and a trio of subpar matches, though you do get Victoria’s infamous bump. Things really kick up in the second hour with a great Rock/Benoit match, a good main event and a cool segment with Tazz and JR. Plus we finally saw some significant build toward SummerSlam since the bookers aparently remembered this is the second biggest show of the year coming up. While the show would have benefitted with a few minutes added to some of the matches and some better finishes, it’s still a very good episode of Raw.