RAW
January 20th, 2003
Dunkin’ Donuts Center
Providence, Rhode Island
 
Dark Matches:
 
1. Johnny “The Bull” Stamboli and Jeff Starr defeat Sly and Dave Danger.
2. Sean O’Haire defeats Rob Beeghley.
 
1/26 Sunday Night Heat taping:
 
1. Rico pins Aaron Stephens.
2. Molly Holly pins Jacqueline.
3. Christian pins Spike Dudley.
4. Maven pins Christopher Nowinski.
 
Actual Show:
 
We see the opening video for RAW.
 
Your hosts are Jim Ross and Jerry “The King” Lawler.
 
Triple H and Ric Flair come down to the ring as Triple H asks who the World Heavyweight Champion is and for those who didn’t watch last night, he is still the champion and he is still the Game as he went 30 minutes with Scott Steiner and at the end, he made Steiner look so bad and embarrassed him that he had to hit him with a sledgehammer to save face. He says that Steiner is a disgrace to the business and this company as there won’t be a rematch only for Scott Steiner to come down to the ring, and he says that he didn’t come out here to talk as he is here to finish what he started last night and the title belongs to him. He says that he wants his rematch tonight and Triple H says there’s nothing he would like more than to embarrass him one more time tonight, and he says that he has a doctor’s note as it was Steiner who hit him with the sledgehammer twice and the note says that he’s not cleared to wrestle tonight. Flair takes the mike and says that if Steiner wants some competition for tonight, he has his man Batista who will tear him apart and then Batista comes down to the ring, and Triple H attacks Steiner who reverses a whip and he hits a clothesline on Triple H before knocking Flair down. He clotheslines Triple H over the top to the floor and Batista gets on the apron only for Triple H and Flair to pull him down and they head to the back.
 
Commercial break
 
1. Rob Van Dam pins Jeff Hardy with a backslide at 3:56.
 
Analysis: We kick off this edition of RAW with a pretty interesting matchup. RVD had eliminated Jeff in the Royal Rumble the night before and Jeff looks to get a bit of revenge here. Both men get a big pop from the crowd and they are pretty split for the whole match. The two men lock up to start with RVD working on the arm and he takes Jeff to the mat as Jeff nips up and takes control, and he avoids a legsweep only for RVD to hit it on the second try only to miss an elbow and Jeff misses a somersault legdrop. RVD misses a kick and both men have a standoff as Jeff gets a kick in and hooks a headlock with RVD whipping him off, and Jeff counters a hiptoss with a jawbreaker and he gets a kick in as RVD reverses a whip into the corner and Jeff hits a headscissors. He hits a dropkick on RVD who rolls outside to regroup and Jeff rolls outside as well as he runs the barricade only for RVD to trip him up, and RVD leaps onto the barricade and hits a legdrop to the back of the head as he stomps on Jeff and throws him back into the ring. He attempts a slingshot only for Jeff to catch him with a dropkick and he pounds on RVD as he hits a flying clothesline for a two count, and he hooks a rollup for a two count and both men trade momentum as Jeff hits a back elbow and trips RVD up. He hooks a modified rollup for a two count and RVD reverses a whip into the corner as Jeff goes up top and hits Whisper in the Wind for a two count, and RVD counters a whip and hoists Jeff onto his shoulders as he hits a rolling senton and springboard moonsault. He goes up top only to miss the 5-Star Frog Splash and Jeff drives his knees into RVD’s face as he goes up top, and he hits the Swanton Bomb for a two count and looks for the Twist of Fate only for RVD to hook a backslide which gets the three and he wins the match. The match itself was decent as both men worked hard for the 4 minutes they got and put on a decent match. The crowd was into the match and popped for RVD when he won. RVD gets the win over Jeff and both men move on. Grade: 2
 
After the match, RVD offers a handshake only for Jeff to slap his hand away and he clotheslines RVD over the top to the floor, and he grabs a chair only for the ref to stop him from using it and Jeff heads to the back.
 
We see Christian and Christopher Nowinski backstage as Christian says that he made a mistake by trusting Edge in the Rumble as Eric Bischoff walks up to both men, and they ask him about the big surprise and Bischoff says this bombshell is the biggest thing he’s done since arriving and they will have to wait just like everyone else.
 
Commercial break
 
We see Scott Steiner walking down the hallway as Randy Orton comes up to him and says he saw what happened last night, and he says that Steiner said he would leave World Champion but didn’t and some people are just dead wrong. He says that the doctor said he would be out for a year though he will only be out a third of the time and he wishes him luck against Batista, but then Steiner grabs him and shoves him against the wall as he says he will send him back to his doctor and Orton says he’s only at 95% and can’t afford a setback as Steiner says he’s a 100% asshole.
 
We see Chief Morley in Eric Bischoff’s office with referee Nick Patrick as Morley says he wants to improve the relationship between Bischoff and the referees, and he says that the Dudleyz won the tag titles last night as he wanted to talk to him about the job he did in that match. He says that he wants Patrick to watch some footage and give himself an honest performance as he says this has nothing to do with the Dudleyz attacking him last night, and he replays the footage from the Royal Rumble last night as Patrick says he didn’t see the brass knuckles and he made a mistake. Morley says that Patrick needs to publicly apologize and he tells him to come with him as they leave the office.
 
Commercial break
 
Chief Morley and Nick Patrick come down to the ring as Morley says that they are here so Patrick can make a public apology for the mistake he made last night, and Patrick says that he made a mistake by missing the brass knuckles and he formally apologizes to everyone. Morley says now that he’s made his apology, he is now asking him to reverse the decision and award the match to Lance Storm and William Regal as Patrick says that company policy states all decisions stand and he can’t reverse it, and Morley says that he respects that and he has no choice but to call the Dudleyz to the ring right now. He says that when he says now, he means it as the Dudleyz come down to the ring and Morley says that since Patrick admitted to making a mistake, he wants them to do the right thing and forfeit the titles back to Storm and Regal immediately. D-Von says he must be out of his damn mind and he is getting nothing as on behalf of he and his brother, Morley can go to hell and Bubba says that they are not forfeiting the titles as it was Regal who brought the brass knuckles into the ring. Morley says that’s why he came down to the ring in the first place to stop Regal from using them and Bubba says that’s a load of crap, and he says that everyone in Providence agrees and Morley demands the belts now before they regret it. He says that he is the chief-of-staff and Bubba asks if he’s for real as he is nothing more than a kiss-ass, washed-up ex-porn star as Morley again demands the belts, and Bubba says that he doesn’t regret punching him last night and D-Von doesn’t regret hitting Storm with the knuckles. He says that there is one thing that they do regret which is not taking Mr. McMahon’s advice and Morley says McMahon isn’t here tonight, and he reaches for one of the belts only for D-Von to knock him down and Bubba says that Vince said he wanted to hear him tell D-Von to get the tables. D-Von goes outside and pulls a table out as Bubba pounds on Morley and D-Von slides the table into the ring, and they set it up and look for the 3-D as Storm and Regal come out of the crowd and get in the ring. They knock the Dudleyz down and Storm hits D-Von in the head with one of the belts as Regal pounds on Bubba on the mat, and Storm and Regal hit a double flapjack that puts Bubba through the table as Morley takes the mike and says they will have a tag team title match right now.
 
2. Lance Storm and William Regal defeat the Dudley Boyz when Regal pins Bubba Ray at :15 to win the World Tag Team Championships.
 
Analysis: Our next match on the card is our lone title match of the night. The Dudleyz won the tag titles the night before from Storm and Regal only for Morley to try and force them to forfeit the belts, but the Dudleyz refused and got taken out by Storm and Regal as Morley makes this impromptu match to further punish them. Morley forces Nick Patrick to start the match and Regal goes for the quick pin as Patrick is forced to count three and we have new champions. Obviously, there wasn’t a match as Storm and Regal destroyed the Dudleyz and took advantage to take the titles back. The crowd was into the Dudleyz, but are not happy when Regal and Storm won. Storm and Regal regain the titles from the Dudleyz thanks to Morley though this issue isn’t over yet. Grade: N/A
 
Commercial break
 
We see a shot outside the Dunkin’ Donuts Center.
 
3. The Hurricane and Trish Stratus defeat Steven Richards and Victoria when Stratus pins Victoria at 2:59.
 
Analysis: Our next match on the card is our second tag match of the night. Stratus and Victoria were still going at it and they face off here in another tag match with Hurricane and Richards as their partners. Stratus and Hurricane get a good pop from the crowd while Victoria and Richards had solid heat as heels. Hurricane and Stratus waste no time and attack Richards and Victoria to start the match with Stratus sending Victoria to the outside and Hurricane pounds on Richards, and Richards reverses a whip and both men block a hiptoss attempt as Hurricane hits an armdrag and Richards rakes the eyes. He hits a slam on Hurricane as Victoria tags in and has a staredown with Hurricane before shoving him repeatedly, and she slaps Hurricane in the face and Hurricane grabs her by the throat as he ducks a shot and hits a clothesline on Richards. Stratus tags in and hits a Lou Thesz press on Victoria as she pounds on her on the mat and Victoria reverses a whip into the corner, and Stratus catches Victoria in a headscissors and tries to leap onto her shoulders though they collapse to the mat and Stratus gets a two count. She pounds on Victoria and kicks at her repeatedly in the corner as she pounds on her until Richards hotshots her on the top rope, and Victoria hits a superkick on Stratus for a two count and tosses her to the mat by her hair as she hits a slam and goes out to the apron. Stratus avoids the slingshot somersault legdrop only for Richards to come in and prevent her from tagging though the ref shoves him back, and Hurricane tags in and hits a pair of clotheslines on Richards as he hits a hiptoss on Victoria until the ref forces him out because he didn’t see the tag. Richards grabs Stratus and looks for the double-arm DDT only for Hurricane to hit the Shining Wizard on Richards, and Stratus ducks a shot and kicks at Victoria as she hits the Stratusfaction which gets the three and she wins the match for her team. The match itself was decent as both teams worked hard and put on a basic match. Hurricane and Stratus looked decent as a team while Victoria and Richards were hitting their groove as a team, and they had good chemistry as Stratus gets another win over Victoria. The crowd was into the match and popped for Stratus and Hurricane when they won. Stratus and Hurricane get the win over Victoria and Richards as both teams move on. Grade: 1
 
We see Eric Bischoff in his office on the phone looking to speak with Vince McMahon though he only talks to his secretary as he says that he wants her to let him know about his bombshell which will light Vince up.
 
Commercial break
 
We see a vignette for Sean O’Haire.
 
Eric Bischoff comes down to the ring and says that he can tell by the looks of everyone here that they are dying to find out what his bombshell is, and he says that they aren’t alone because Vince McMahon himself is watching from his home and is just as excited. He says that last week, Vince told him to grab RAW by the throat and shake it to its foundation as he says that he wasn’t sure what he would do, and he says that he then went to RAW’s 10th Anniversary and he had a vision as we see highlights from the show of Steve Austin being named RAW Superstar of the Decade and Vince accepting the award. Bischoff says that you have to ask yourself why the greatest Superstar in RAW history wasn’t invited to the ceremony, and he says that he knows why and that is because Austin walked out on Vince as we know Vince’s side of the story and we also know Jim Ross’ side. He says that we’ve heard from all the Superstars except for Austin and he wants to fix that because as of 8AM this morning, he stopped the presses of RAW Magazine and he will give Austin a chance to tell his side of the story. He says that’s not the bombshell nor is it the only great idea he got and we see footage from the 3/22/99 RAW of Austin driving the beer truck into the arena and spraying the McMahons and the Rock with beer, and he says that only one man that can grab RAW by the throat and shake it to its foundation as he wants to invite Austin to make his return at No Way Out and he wants to welcome him back home to RAW.
 
Commercial break
 
4. Booker T and Goldust defeat 3-Minute Warning (w/ Rico) when Booker pins Jamal at 9:24.
 
Analysis: Our next match on the card is our third and last tag match of the night. Booker and Goldust were cruising in the tag division and look to get a win here over 3-Minute Warning, who were in a slump and look to get back on track here. Booker and Goldust get a big pop from the crowd while 3-Minute Warning have decent heat as heels. Goldust starts off the match with Jamal and they lock up with Jamal shoving Goldust back as they lock up again with Goldust hooking a headlock, and Jamal whips him off and neither man goes down when they collide as Goldust ducks a shot and attempts a sunset flip before avoiding a sitdown splash. Goldust hits a clothesline on Jamal and gets a shot in on Rosey as he works the arm and tags Booker as they hit a double back elbow for a two count, and Booker pounds on Jamal who catches him ducking with a kick and he hits a clothesline on Booker before hooking a submission on. Booker escapes the hold with an armdrag only for Jamal to hit another clothesline and he pounds on Booker in the corner, and he whips Booker into the other corner and Booker catches him with a boot to the face as he hits a side kick and Goldust tags in. He goes up to the middle rope and nails Jamal as he hits an armdrag and a legdrop to the arm before tagging Booker, and he continues to work the arm until Jamal gets a knee in and pounds on Booker before tagging Rosey. He kicks at Booker in the corner and pounds on him as he hits a headbutt only for Booker to duck a shot and he gets a kick in, and he hooks a headlock on Rosey and goes behind him as he works the arm until Rosey catches him with a back elbow. Booker hits a spin kick on Rosey for a two count and Rosey gets a shot in as Jamal tags in only for Booker to hit a spin kick on him, and Goldust tags in and hits a clothesline on Jamal as he knocks Rosey to the floor and hits a backdrop on Jamal. Rosey gets in the ring and Goldust kicks at him as he hits an uppercut and he ties Rosey up in the corner, and he looks for Shattered Dreams only for Jamal to hit a superkick and Rosey hits a big splash on Goldust for a two count. He throws Goldust into his corner and 3-Minute Warning double team him as Rosey chokes Goldust on the ropes and Rico gets a shot in from the floor, and Goldust tries to battle back only for Rosey to get a shot in and he tears at Goldust’s face as he hooks a submission on. Goldust fights to his feet and breaks the hold only for Rosey to catch him with a knee to the ribs and Jamal tags in as he stomps on Goldust for a two count, and he goes back to the submission on Goldust who fights to his feet and breaks the hold as Jamal catches him in a powerslam for a two count. He pounds on Goldust in the corner and whips him into the other corner as Goldust catches him with a boot to the face and Jamal misses a charge as he hits the post, and Booker gets the hot tag and fires up on Rosey in the corner as he hits a clothesline on Jamal and a spin kick on Rosey. Jamal pounds on Booker who ducks a shot and he hits a flying forearm on Jamal as Rico gets on the apron, and he avoids a side kick from Booker who gets crotched on the top rope and 3-Minute Warning attempt a double team only for Booker to catch them ducking with a double DDT. Booker does the Spinaroonie and hits a spinebuster on Jamal for a two count as Rosey breaks it up and Goldust pounds on Jamal, and Rosey pounds on Booker and whips him into the corner only to miss a charge as Jamal sends Goldust to the outside and hits a superkick on Booker. Rosey hits a slam on Booker and Jamal goes up top as Goldust gets on the apron and Rosey knocks him to the floor, and Jamal misses the big splash and Rico gets on the apron as Booker avoids a charge from Rosey who knocks Rico to the floor. Booker hits a side kick on Rosey and Jamal ducks a side kick as he presses Booker up though Booker lands on his feet, and he gets a kick in and hits the scissors kick which gets the three and he wins the match for his team. The match itself was decent as both teams worked hard and put on a decent tag match. Booker and Goldust were hitting their peak as a team while 3-Minute Warning were hitting their stride, and they had decent chemistry as Booker and Goldust get the clean win. The crowd was into the match and popped for Booker and Goldust when they won. Booker and Goldust get the win over 3-Minute Warning as both teams move on. Grade: 2
 
We see highlights from the Royal Rumble.
 
Commercial break
 
5. Test (w/ Stacy Keibler) and Chris Jericho wrestle to a no contest at 7:03.
 
Analysis: Our next match on the card is a pretty interesting matchup. These two men fought in the Rumble with Test eliminating Jericho in an upset and Jericho comes here looking for revenge. Test gets a good pop from the crowd while Jericho was red hot as a heel. Test wastes no time and hits a clothesline on Jericho to start the match as he pounds on him in the corner and whips him into the other corner, and he hits a backdrop on Jericho and pounds on him as Jericho ducks a shot and Test sends him over the top with Jericho skinning the cat back into the ring. Test hits a press slam on Jericho and splashes him in the corner as Jericho pulls the ref in between him and Test and he rakes the eyes, and he goes up to the middle rope and hits a missile dropkick on Test as he kicks at him and pounds on him on the mat. He chokes him on the ropes and slams down on his back as he hits a back suplex and kicks at Test before hitting a snapmare, and he hooks a submission on Test who fights to his feet and breaks the hold as Jericho reverses a whip into the corner only to miss a charge and he rams his shoulder into the post. Test hits a clothesline and a back elbow on Jericho as he pounds on him in the corner and whips him into the other corner, but Jericho catches him with a boot to the face and Test catches him in a tilt-a-whirl powerslam for a two count. He pounds on Jericho who counters a whip only for Test to get a kick in and he hits a powerbomb on Jericho for a two count, and he looks for the big boot which Jericho ducks only for Test to backdrop Jericho over the top to the floor. Test goes outside as well and Jericho begs off as Test pounds on him and looks for the pump handle powerslam though Jericho escapes, and he sends Test into the post and grabs a chair as Test avoids the swing only for Keibler to get hit with the chair as the ref throws the match out. The match itself was decent as both men worked hard and put on a decent match. Jericho was hitting his stride by this point while Test was still pretty serviceable and they had decent chemistry, but the ending came out of nowhere with Keibler getting taken out and the match just ending. The crowd was into the match and Test, but are not happy with the ending. The match ends with no winner and this issue isn’t over yet. Grade: 2
 
After the match, Test checks on Keibler as officials and EMTs come out with a stretcher while Jericho watches from in the ring, and the EMTs put a neck brace on Keibler and place her on the stretcher as officials force Jericho to the back.
 
Commercial break
 
We see the EMTs still tending Stacy Keibler at ringside and then they take her to the back.
 
We see footage from earlier today of Al Snow and the Tough Enough III finalists at the World.
 
We see Batista and Ric Flair backstage as Flair says that Batista is ready to take down Scott Steiner tonight and he is going to be a big player, and he says that everything he dreamed of has led to tonight and it’s his time.
 
6. D-Lo Brown (w/ Teddy Long) pins Tommy Dreamer with the Sky High in a Singapore Cane match at 3:42.
 
Analysis: Our last match before the main event is a pretty interesting matchup. Dreamer has been floating in the midcard and looks to get a win in his specialty match here against Brown, who was still complaining about being held down and looks to get a win here. Dreamer gets a decent pop from the crowd while Brown had tepid heat as a heel as he comes out with referee Teddy Long who cuts a promo about Brown being held down. Dreamer wastes no time and hits Brown in the back with the cane to start the match as he slingshots him into the ring, and he hits Brown in the back with the cane again only for Brown to hold the ropes on a whip as he slides outside to regroup. Dreamer hits a baseball slide on Brown and goes out to the apron as he comes off with another cane shot to the back, and he swings for Brown’s head though Brown avoids it and he hits a clothesline on Dreamer as he stomps on him. He grabs the cane and hits Dreamer in the back and ribs with it as he throws him back into the ring and chokes him with the cane, and he hits Dreamer with the cane twice and chokes him with it again as he hits a slam on the cane for a two count. He beats on Dreamer with the cane and aims for his head only for Dreamer to block the swing and he hits a clothesline on Brown, and he beats on Brown with the cane and puts it on him as he hits a legdrop that drives the cane into Brown for a two count. Brown counters a whip only for Dreamer to get a knee in and he hits the DDT as he grabs the other cane and goes up to the middle rope, but Brown catches him coming with a shot to the ribs with the broken cane and he uses the cane to hit the Sky High which gets the three and he wins the match. The match itself was decent as both men worked hard and put on a basic match. Brown was still serviceable by this point while Dreamer was starting to slow down, and they had decent chemistry as they used the canes effectively with Brown getting the win. The crowd was into the match and Dreamer, but are not happy when Brown wins. Brown gets the win over Dreamer and both men move on. Grade: 1.5
 
We see Scott Steiner walking backstage.
 
Commercial break
 
7. Scott Steiner defeats Batista (w/ “Nature Boy” Ric Flair) by disqualification at 1:29.
 
Analysis: After a long and interesting night of wrestling, we come to our main event. Steiner wanted another shot at Triple H due to what happened the night before, but instead he is forced to face Batista. Steiner gets a good pop from the crowd while Batista had decent heat as a heel. The two men square off to start the match and they lock up with neither gaining an edge as they exchange shoves and lock up again, and Batista hooks a headlock and Steiner whips him off as neither man goes down when they collide twice and Steiner ducks a shot before knocking Batista down. Steiner ducks a shot and pounds on Batista in the corner as Batista counters a whip by getting a kick in and he whips Steiner into the corner, and he splashes him only for Steiner to catch him in a belly-to-belly suplex as Randy Orton runs down to the ring and nails Steiner which draws the DQ and Steiner wins the match. The match itself was nothing much as both men did what they could for the time they got and it was more about Orton getting involved. The crowd was into the match and Steiner, but are not happy with the ending. Steiner gets the win over Batista by DQ and this issue isn’t over yet. Grade: .5
 
After the match, Steiner grabs Orton and backs him into the corner as Flair gets in the ring and grabs Steiner from behind, and he pounds on Steiner who no-sells his shots and he hits a clothesline on Flair as he looks to put him in the Steiner Recliner until Batista gets back in the ring. Steiner pounds on him in the corner as Triple H runs down to the ring and nails Steiner from behind before pounding on him on the mat, and Orton gets back in the ring and stomps on Steiner along with Batista as they hold Steiner up and Triple H pounds on him which busts him open. Flair drops a knee on Steiner’s groin and Orton continues to stomp on him along with Batista as they hold him up again, and Triple H gets in Steiner’s face and yells at him as he slaps him in the face and continues to pound on him. Triple H then hits the Pedigree on Steiner and the four men stand tall as we go off the air.
 
Final Analysis: Overall, this edition of RAW was a pretty basic edition coming off a solid Royal Rumble. RAW’s side of the Rumble was a mixed bag as they were still inferior to Smackdown on that night, and this show almost felt like a bit of a reset as we continue down the Road to WrestleMania. We did have a title match as Storm and Regal once again rule the tag division while RVD, Hurricane, Stratus, Booker, Goldust, Brown, and Steiner get big wins, and the matches were pretty basic as the big things on this show was the tease of Steve Austin’s return and the formation of a new faction. 2003 is already off to an interesting start for RAW as they were still trailing behind Smackdown and we will see how they come back heading into No Way Out. As for this show, it is a pretty basic show coming off the Rumble. Final Grade: C-