RAW
February 24th, 2003
Air Canada Centre
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
 
Dark Match:
 
1. Tyson Duxx and Mark Dulusk defeat Larry Greenwood and Synn.
 
3/2 Sunday Night Heat taping:
 
1. Victoria defeats Molly Holly.
2. Maven defeats Rico.
3. Al Snow defeats Bobby Rudd.
4. Rob Van Dam defeats Steven Richards.
 
Actual Show:
 
We see the opening video for RAW.
 
Your hosts are Jim Ross and Jerry “The King” Lawler.
 
Eric Bischoff comes down to the ring and says that despite what Steve Austin tried to do to him last night, he’s still standing and if anyone thinks RAW would start with Austin bragging about what he did, he’s banned Austin from the building. He says that it’s too bad because Austin will miss out on the main event tonight which will be a battle royal with the winner earning a World Title shot at WrestleMania, and he says that Austin may not feel his wrath tonight though he will next week in Long Island when he’s greeted by his own welcoming committee. He says that the other reason Austin isn’t here is because he wanted the spotlight on the biggest star of this industry, and then the Rock comes down to the ring and starts to say that he has finally come back to Toronto though says to run his mouth on everyone. He says that everyone has to hear what he has to say and he is now on RAW because he did Vince McMahon a favor last night by beating Hulk Hogan, and he says that Vince did him a favor by making him a free agent and he wanted to come to RAW and Toronto. He mocks the fans cheering him saying Toronto and says that it was here where it all began as he hasn’t forgotten, and he says the biggest travesty happened here in Toronto when the fans turned on him as last year at WrestleMania, 68,000 fans booed him out of the building. He says that Hogan is on Smackdown and won’t be here as he asks if they thought he would forget and let it slide, and he says it doesn’t matter what the fans think and he gets more pie in a week than any fan gets in a lifetime. He says that there is one thing that bothers him more than that which is the fact the fans didn’t vote for him being RAW Superstar of the Decade, and he says that they voted for Steve Austin because everyone loves him though he doesn’t and Austin is nothing compared to him. He says that there is only one true Superstar which is him and he’s the biggest thing to hit Canada because the Maple Leafs suck, and he says that there’s a battle royal happening tonight and he is joining it as he will throw everyone out of the ring and will go to WrestleMania to become World Champion if you smell what he is cooking.
 
Commercial break
 
Victoria and Steven Richards join commentary for the first match.
 
1. Jazz forces Jacqueline to tap out at 2:25.
 
Analysis: We kick off this edition of RAW with a pretty basic matchup. Jazz had pinned Jacqueline in the tag match last week and now Jacqueline comes here looking for revenge. Jacqueline gets a decent pop from the crowd while Jazz had solid heat as a heel. Jazz wastes no time and kicks at Jacqueline to start the match as she pounds on her and hits a slam only for Jacqueline to hit a headscissors, and she hits a dropkick on Jazz which sends her to the outside and Jacqueline goes outside as well as she hoists Jazz up and hotshots her on the apron. She pounds on Jazz and throws her back into the ring as she continues to pound on her and whips her into the corner, but Jazz hits a clothesline and a legdrop on Jacqueline for a two count as Jacqueline battles back until Jazz gets a knee in. She hoists Jacqueline up for a powerbomb though she drops her on her face in a nasty spot though Jacqueline quickly recovers, and she gets a kick in and pounds on Jazz who reverses a whip and Jacqueline catches her ducking with a kick. Jazz catches a kick attempt and snaps Jacqueline to the mat as she hooks a half Boston crab on Jacqueline who crawls for the rope, but Jazz transitions into an STF as Jacqueline taps out and Jazz wins the match. The match itself was basically a squash as Jacqueline got a few shots in, but she puts Jazz over strong in 2 and a half minutes. The crowd was in and out of it for the match and are not happy when Jazz wins. Jazz gets the win over Jacqueline and both women move on. Grade: .5
 
After the match, Jazz throws Jacqueline to the outside and takes the mike as she says that in case anyone forgot, the bitch is back as Trish Stratus comes down to the ring and hits a Lou Thesz press on Jazz before pounding on her. Victoria runs down to ringside only for Stratus to kick her to the floor as Jazz trips her up and pounds on her until officials break them apart.
 
Commercial break
 
We see footage from last Friday of Test meeting up with Girls Gone Wild.
 
We see Test and Maven watching the footage as Test says it was the greatest thing Stacy Keibler has done for him and Maven says he is the luckiest man in the world, and Test says that once Keibler found out about what GGW really was, she wasn’t happy though he says he did nothing wrong. Just then, Stacy Keibler comes in and asks what’s going on as Test tries to explain himself only for Chief Morley to then come in, and he says that he knows they were laughing at Eric Bischoff about what happened last night and they will compete in a tag match against Christian and Chris Jericho.
 
We see highlights from RAW 3 weeks ago of Evolution causing Goldust to be electrocuted.
 
We see footage from an interview Jim Ross conducted with Goldust as they discussed what happened and his condition.
 
Commercial break
 
Warner Bros. Slam of the Week: William Regal and Lance Storm retaining the World Tag Titles over Rob Van Dam and Kane last night at No Way Out
 
2. Kane (w/ Rob Van Dam) pins Lance Storm (w/ William Regal) with two Chokeslams at 2:23.
 
Analysis: Our next match on the card is a pretty interesting matchup. Storm and Regal escaped with the tag titles last night over RVD and Kane, and now Kane looks to get some revenge here facing Storm in a singles match. Kane gets a good pop from the crowd while Storm gets a mixed reaction from his home country. Storm goes behind Kane and jumps on his back to start the match as Kane rams Storm into the corner and pounds on him, and he whips Storm into the other corner and hits a press slam as he clotheslines him over the top to the floor. Regal checks on Storm and tries to distract Kane as Storm rolls back into the ring only for Kane to pound on him, and Storm slides under Kane and catches him with a back elbow as he hits a clothesline only for Kane to hit the big boot. He drops an elbow on Storm and hoists him onto his shoulder though Storm slides off and hotshots him on the top rope, and he pounds on Kane who reverses a whip into the corner and Storm catches him with a boot to the face. He goes out to the apron and hits a springboard dropkick for a two count as Kane sits up and Storm hits a low dropkick, and Kane sits up again and Storm pounds on him as he goes for the mask only for Kane to shove him to the mat. He grabs Storm by the throat and hits the Chokeslam as he pulls him up and hits a second Chokeslam which gets the three and he wins the match. The match itself was pretty much a squash as Storm got a few shots in, but he puts Kane over strong in 2 and a half minutes. The crowd was into the match and popped for Kane when he won. Kane gets the win over Storm though both men’s night isn’t over. Grade: 1
 
We see Evolution in their dressing room as they talk about Steve Austin coming back next week not being important and Orton says that he’s back in action tonight, and Ric Flair says that Triple H took it to a new level with his win last night and they need to win tonight to prove they are the evolution of the business.
 
Commercial break
 
Lugz Boot of the Week: Booker T pinning Triple H in the tag match last week on RAW
 
3. Scott Steiner and Booker T defeat Evolution (w/ “Nature Boy” Ric Flair) when Booker pins Randy Orton at 7:45.
 
Analysis: Our next match on the card is our first tag match of the night. Evolution had cost Steiner the World Title the night before and now Steiner teams with Booker here looking for revenge. Steiner and Booker get a good pop from the crowd while Evolution were pretty hot as heels. Booker starts off the match with Orton and they lock up with Orton backing Booker into the ropes and they trade blows, and Booker takes control and hits a side kick on Orton as he hits a sidewalk slam for a two count and continues to pound on him. Orton reverses a whip and Booker hits a flying forearm as he grabs the arm and hits a side kick before pounding on him, and Orton reverses a whip and Flair trips Booker up from the floor as Steiner chases him around the ring and to the back. Batista gets in the ring and hits a spinebuster on Booker as Orton stomps on him and tags Batista who pound on Booker, and he rams the knee into Booker in the corner and hits a pair of back elbows as he whips him into the other corner and splashes him for a two count. He rams Booker into the corner and tags Orton who pounds on Booker while Flair holds his leg from the floor and Orton hits a powerslam for a two count, and he stomps on Booker and rams the knee into him as Booker tries to fight back and he fires up on Orton. Both men counter a whip with Booker hitting a spinebuster as Batista gets in the ring and Booker ducks a shot before hitting a spin kick, and Flair gets on the apron as Orton and Batista drag Booker back to their corner and they pound and stomp on Booker. Batista hooks a bearhug on Booker who tries to fight out of the hold only for Batista get a knee in and he pounds on him, and Orton tags in and he continues to pound on Booker as he hits a snapmare and hooks another submission on. Booker fights to his feet and breaks the hold only for Orton to get a knee in though Booker counters a whip by getting a knee in, and he hits the scissors kick on Orton as Batista gets in the ring though Booker ducks a shot and hits a side kick. Flair gets on the apron again and distracts the ref as Orton and Batista again drag Booker to their corner and ram him into the corner twice, and Batista stomps on him as Steiner gets in the ring and hits a pair of clotheslines on both men before hitting a modified suplex on Orton. He hits a belly-to-belly suplex on Batista and pounds on Orton as he hits a press slam and Flair gets on the apron again, and Steiner pulls him into the ring and hooks the Steiner Recliner on Flair until Batista gets in the ring and breaks it up. He sends Steiner to the outside and hits a spear on Booker as he goes outside and pounds on Steiner before ramming him into the apron, and Orton goes up top and hits a crossbody on Booker who rolls through it which gets the three and he wins the match. The match itself was decent as both teams worked hard and put on a basic match that was basically a handicap match. Booker worked pretty much the whole match himself with Steiner never tagging in while Orton and Batista looked good as a team, and they had decent chemistry as Booker gets the clean win. The crowd was into the match and popped for Booker when he won. Booker and Steiner get the win over Evolution though their night wasn’t over yet. Grade: 2
 
We see highlights from earlier tonight.
 
Commercial break
 
4. Test and Stacy Keibler defeat Chris Jericho and Christian by disqualification at 2:15.
 
Analysis: Our next match on the card is our second and last tag match of the night. Test and Jericho were supposed to face off the night before only for Test to be replaced by Jeff Hardy, and now Test is forced to team with Keibler here against Jericho and Christian as punishment for laughing at Bischoff. Test and Keibler get a good pop from the crowd while Jericho and Christian get a mixed reaction from their home country. Test goes after Jericho only for Christian to attack him to start the match and he pounds on Test who reverses a whip, and Christian ducks a shot and Test hits a tilt-a-whirl powerslam as he scares Jericho to the floor and pounds on Christian in the corner. He whips Christian into the other corner and hits a backdrop as Jericho pulls Keibler to the floor with her face hitting the apron, and Test goes outside and chases Jericho into the ring only for Christian to knock him down and they stomp on him. Test hits a double clothesline and Jericho rolls outside as Test presses Christian up and Jericho brings a chair into the ring, and he jabs it into Test’s ribs and hits him in the back with it which draws the DQ and Test and Keibler win. The match itself was nothing much as Test does all the work until Jericho gets himself DQ’ed at the end. The crowd was into the match and Test, but are not happy with the ending. Test and Keibler get the win over Jericho and Chrisitan by DQ, but this issue isn’t over yet. Grade: .5
 
After the match, Jericho stomps on Test and Christian hits the Unprettier as Jericho pulls out a pair of handcuffs and he cuffs Test to the middle rope, and he goes outside and throws Keibler into the ring as Test struggles to break free and Jericho shoves her to the mat. He hooks the Walls of Jericho on her and Christian stomps on Test as Jeff Hardy runs down to the ring and attacks Christian who hits the Unprettier on him, but then Shawn Michaels runs down to the ring as Jericho releases the hold and rolls out of the ring while throwing the key to the cuffs in the ring. Michaels hits Sweet Chin Music on Christian and frees Test from the cuffs as he checks on Keibler and Jericho heads to the back.
 
Commercial break
 
We see a shot outside the Air Canada Centre.
 
5. Christopher Nowinski defeats Jeff Hardy by reverse decision at :16.
 
Analysis: Our next match on the card is a pretty interesting matchup. Jeff was coming off a tough loss the night before and looks to get back on track here against Nowinski, who was floating in the midcard and looks to get a win here. Jeff gets a good pop from the crowd as he is recovering from being attacked moments ago while Nowinski was pretty hot as a heel as he mocks Jeff for what happened. Jeff wastes no time and gets a kick in as he hits an inverted Twist of Fate to start the match before going up top, and he hits the Swanton which gets the three and he seemingly wins in record time though he continues attacking Nowinski and the ref reverses the decision and awards the match to Nowinski. The match itself was obviously not much as Jeff gets the visual win though snaps and ends up costing himself. The crowd was into the match and Jeff, but are not happy with the ending. Nowinski gets the win over Jeff via reverse decision and both men move on. Grade: N/A
 
Commercial break
 
We see Rob Van Dam warming up backstage as Kane walks up to him and says he can’t believe the nerve of the Rock to enter himself in the battle royal, and he says that he can’t wait to throw Rock out of the battle royal and then win the match to earn a title match at WM. RVD says that they will throw Rock out though he will be the one going to WM and Kane says he’ll see him out there.
 
We see the Rock in his dressing room on the phone with someone about Steve Austin and tonight as he hangs up and he grabs his guitar, and he starts playing until the Hurricane comes out of nowhere and says that Rock used to be an icon loved by millions yet he trashes the people tonight. Rock asks who in the green hell he is though he says he knows who he is and that’s the Hamburglar, and he says that he knows Hurricane is the resident superhero though he’s nothing compared to other superheroes. Hurricane says that there’s one superhero he knows he can beat and that’s the Scorpion King as he asks if Rock can fly and Rock says he can, and Hurricane says he will send Rock’s candy ass flying over the top rope in the battle royal.
 
Commercial break
 
6. Jerry “The King” Lawler pins Chief Morley with a fistdrop off the middle rope in a No-Disqualification match at 4:46.
 
Analysis: Our last match before the main event is a pretty interesting matchup. Lawler has been having issues with Morley and Bischoff for the last month and now he is forced to face Morley here in a no-DQ match. Lawler gets a good pop from the crowd while Morley was pretty hot as a heel. Morley ducks a lock up and knocks Lawler down to start the match as he pounds on him in the corner and stomps on him, and he chokes him with his boot only for Lawler to fire back with a clothesline and he knocks Morley down as he hits a backdrop. He drops a fist on Morley and pounds on him on the mat as he clotheslines him over the top to the floor and comes off the apron with a shot, and he rams Morley into the steps as Morley gets a back elbow in and he rams Lawler into the barricade before pounding on him. Lawler reverses a whip and sends Morley into the steps only for Morley to reverse a whip as he sends Lawler into the post, and Morley stomps on him and hoists him up as he rams Lawler’s back into the post and throws him back into the ring. He hits a trio of suplexes on Lawler for a two count and pounds on him as he kicks at him and rams him into the buckle, and he pounds on Lawler in the corner as Lawler tries to battle back only for Morley to catch him in a spinebuster. He goes up top and hits the Money Shot on Lawler though he goes outside and brings a chair into the ring, but the ref kicks the chair out of the ring and Morley stalks him as the Dudley Boyz come out of the crowd and get in the ring. They hit the 3-D on Morley and head back through the crowd as Lawler goes up to the middle rope and drops a fist on Morley which gets the three and he wins the match. The match itself was nothing much as it was more about the Dudleyz screwing Morley and Lawler getting some revenge. The crowd was into the match and popped for Lawler when he won. Lawler gets the win over Morley and both men move on. Grade: 1
 
Commercial break
 
We see Evolution backstage as Ric Flair says they need to make Triple H proud by eliminating everyone in the battle royal, and Randy Orton says that after what happened earlier tonight, Booker is his.
 
We see the Rock walking down the hallway.
 
Commercial break
 
7. Booker T wins a battle royal at 12:24.
 
Stipulation: The winner would earn a World Heavyweight Championship match at WrestleMania XIX
 
Participants: Booker, the Rock, Rob Van Dam, Kane, Jeff Hardy, Chris Jericho, Christian, Test, Lance Storm, the Hurricane, Maven, Al Snow, 3-Minute Warning, Evolution, Scott Steiner, Rodney Mack (w/ Teddy Long), Steven Richards, and Christian
 
Analysis: After a fairly quick and interesting night of wrestling, we come to our main event. With the WWE Title match at WM set, we now need to find out who will challenge for the World Title and these 20 men look to stake their claim. The faces get big pops from the crowd while the heels were pretty hot with Rock getting the most heat. Almost everyone goes after Rock to start the match as Jericho and Christian stomp on Test with Jericho throwing Test over the top and eliminating him, but Test gets back in the ring as Jericho leaps over the top and eliminates himself as Test chases him into the crowd. The remaining 18 men continue to brawl as Rock and Jamal have a staredown with Rock sending Jamal over the top, but he lands on the apron only for RVD to go up top and he hits a side kick that knocks Jamal to the floor and eliminates him. Everyone continues to brawl as Storm rams Maven into the buckle and Rosey tries to dump out Jeff while Steiner rams the knee into Rock repeatedly in the corner, and he and Dreamer stomp on Rock in the corner as everyone tries to eliminate each other. Dreamer tries to eliminate Rock though Rock battles back as he knocks Dreamer over the top and eliminates him, and Maven pounds on Rock who rakes the eyes and clotheslines Maven over the top to eliminate him. Kane tries to dump Storm as Rock pounds on Jeff and Richards tries to eliminate RVD with Kane hitting a back elbow on Hurricane, and Evolution stomp on Booker as everyone continues to brawl and Jeff tries to eliminate Rock as Steiner throws Richards over the top and eliminates him. Everyone continues to brawl as RVD tries to fight off Evolution though they double team until Kane attacks them, and Evolution end up sending RVD over the top to eliminate him as Booker pounds on Batista and Rosey pounds on Mack in the corner. Orton kicks at Jeff as Storm and Snow stomp on Hurricane and try to eliminate him until Batista nails Snow, and he knocks Snow over the top and eliminates him as Mack hoists Hurricane up only for Hurricane to escape a slam attempt. He ducks a shot and hiptosses Mack over the top to eliminate him as Rock mocks Hurricane behind him, and he pounds on Hurricane who battles back and he grabs Rock by the throat only for Rock to hit a low blow. He throws Hurricane over the top and eliminates him as Booker pounds on Rock and knocks him through the ropes to the floor, and Rock trips Booker up and pulls him outside as he rams him into the steps and post before throwing him back into the ring. Rock heads up the ramp and joins the commentary as Storm and Jeff battle on the apron and everyone continues to brawl, and Jeff pounds on Orton who backdrops him over the top and eliminates him as Steiner hoists Orton up before dumping him over the top and eliminating him. Batista then clotheslines Steiner over the top and eliminates him as Booker clotheslines Batista over the top to eliminate him, and Kane pounds on Rosey in the corner until Storm gets a shot in and he tears at Kane’s face as he and Rosey stomp on Kane repeatedly. They choke Kane with their boots and Christian pounds on Booker in the other corner as Rosey and Storm whip Kane into the other corner and Rosey splashes him, and Storm holds Kane from the apron and Rosey splashes him again as Storm tries to help Christian eliminate Booker. Rosey misses a charge in the corner and Kane clotheslines him over the top to eliminate him as Storm pounds on Kane in the corner, and Kane reverses a whip into the other corner and Storm catches him with a back elbow as he goes up to the middle rope. Kane catches him coming in and tosses Storm over the top to eliminate him as Booker hits a side kick on Christian, and Kane grabs Booker by the throat and hits the Chokeslam as Christian nails Kane from behind and pounds on him. Rock heads back down to the ring as Kane grabs Christian by the throat and throws him into the corner before pounding on him, and Christian ducks a shot only for Kane to hit the big boot and Christian ducks a shot as he jumps on Kane’s back. Rock gets in the ring and dumps both Kane and Christian over the top to eliminate both as we are down to two, and Booker fires up on Rock in the corner and Rock counters a whip as he gets a kick in and hits the DDT on Booker before nipping up. He rams Booker into the buckle only for Booker to reverse a whip as he sends Rock over the top and eliminates him to win the battle royal. The match itself was good as all 20 men worked hard and put on a solid battle royal. All 20 guys got some good time aside from Jericho and Test and it was a nice surprise to see Booker win as I think many expected Rock to win. The crowd was into the match and popped for Booker when he won. Booker gets the win and is headed to WM as all 20 men move on. Grade: 2.5
 
After the match, Booker celebrates and does the Spinaroonie as we go off the air.
 
Final Analysis: Overall, this edition of RAW was a pretty decent show coming off a bit of a disappointing No Way Out. With a little over a month to WM and nothing really set for that show aside from the WWE Title match, this was a good way to really kick start the build to the show on the RAW side. We had no title matches as Jazz, Kane, Steiner, Booker, Test, Keibler, Nowinski, and Lawler get big wins, and the matches were pretty standard as the highlights were Rock coming back to RAW and Booker having the best night of anyone. 2003 has been an interesting year for RAW as there doesn’t seem to be a clear direction for the show though with Austin and Rock back, it seems like there could be potential for RAW to shine. As for this show, it is a pretty decent show to really kick off the build to WM. Final Grade: C