RAW
May 5th, 2003
Metro Centre
Halifax, Nova Scotia
 
Dark Match:
 
1. Aaron Stevens defeated John Walters.
 
5/11 Sunday Night Heat taping:
 
1. Victoria (w/ Steven Richards) pins Jacqueline.
2. Maven pins Steven Richards (w/ Victoria).
3. Christopher Nowinski pins Mark Bartilucci.
4. Chris Jericho forces the Hurricane to tap out.
 
Actual Show:
 
In Memory of “Miss” Elizabeth Hulette 1960-2003
 
We see the opening video for RAW.
 
Your hosts are Jonathan Coachman and Jerry “The King” Lawler.
 
Stone Cold Steve Austin comes down to the ring with a briefcase and says that it’s good to be here tonight as he wanted to say thank you to Linda McMahon, and he says that Linda called him and asked if he wanted to be co-GM as he told her hell yeah he did. He says that he was going to take it easy and make it a low profile deal though he thought about it and realized he’s never done anything low profile, and he says that as a treat to himself he will throw the biggest beer bash in the history of RAW as he will drink all the beer he wants. He says that he wants to get down to business and there were things done while he was at home as there were some stupid ideas thrown out, and he says that one of them was when some jackass abolished the Intercontinental Title which is one of the most important titles he’s won. He says that at Judgment Day, there will be a battle royal where the winner will be the new Intercontinental Champion as he takes the belt out of the briefcase, and he says that the battle royal is open to all former IC Champions though he wants to do something here tonight. Just then, Eric Bischoff comes down to the ring with Chief Morley and says that he wants to make something clear for the record, and he says that he and Austin are co-GMs and Austin needs to understand that any decision made has to be agreed between them. Austin says that he thought this decision was the best and Bischoff says that Austin wants to bring back the IC Title at Judgment Day which he understands, and he says that everyone knows that he was the one that abolished the title though to prove to everyone that he is a team player, he will agree with Austin’s decision about the IC Title. He says that it is all about making things better as he has an announcement of his own which is that at Judgment Day, Triple H will defend the World Title against Kevin Nash and Austin says he has no problem with that. Bischoff says that Austin has surprised him and this might work out after all as Austin asks if he could make his other announcement, and he says that they are trying to make RAW the best show ever and he made a decision without Bischoff’s input. He says that he hired someone and he doesn’t have many friends though he wanted to bring in his good friend, Jim Ross who comes down to the ring and Bischoff says that if Austin can take it upon himself to hire Ross back, it will give him one more opportunity to fire Ross. Austin and Bischoff go back and forth about Ross as Austin says he trying hard not to lose his temper, and he says that he’s trying to maintain his composure though they can settle this like men and set up a match. He says that they could have a match with Ross’ career on the line and Bischoff says that Linda made it clear that they can’t lay a hand on each other, and Austin says that Bischoff is scared which Bischoff denies as Morley says his two cents is worth something as Chief of Staff. He says that he will wrestle on Bischoff’s behalf and he should be wrestling Ross himself which Bischoff agrees to, but Austin says that they are stupid and Bischoff asks who will wrestle for Ross as Lawler stands up and asks to be chosen which Austin agrees to and he says the match will be right now as Bischoff agrees and they shake hands.
 
Commercial break
 
1. Jerry “The King Lawler (w/ Jim Ross and Stone Cold Steve Austin) pins Chief Morley (w/ Eric Bischoff) with a fist off the middle rope at 4:00.
 
Stipulation: If Lawler wins, Ross earns his commentary job back
 
Analysis: We kick off this edition of RAW with a pretty big matchup. After Steve Austin tried to bring Jim Ross back and Eric Bischoff tried to block it, Lawler and Morley now face off here to determine if Ross stays or goes. Lawler gets a good pop from the crowd while Morley had decent heat as heels. Morley ducks a shot 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 pair of clotheslines and a backdrop. He hits a dropkick on Morley and pounds on him on the mat for a two count as Morley gets a knee in and pounds on Lawler, and he hits a backdrop on Lawler who catches him ducking with a piledriver for a two count and he goes up to the middle rope only to miss the elbow. Morley hits a trio of suplexes on Lawler and goes up to the middle rope as he drops an elbow on him for a two count, and he pounds on Lawler on the mat and rams him into the buckle twice as Lawler blocks a third ram and he rams Morley into the buckle twice. He pounds on Morley only for Bischoff to trip him up from the floor and Austin stalks Bischoff as Morley hits a DDT on Lawler, and he goes up top only for Ross to shove him off the top to the mat 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 decent as both men worked hard and put on a basic match. Lawler was still serviceable as a part-time wrestler while Morley was still serviceable as well, and they had decent chemistry as Ross makes the difference and helps Lawler wins. The crowd was into the match and popped for Lawler when he won. Lawler gets the win over Morley and Ross earns his job back as both men move on. Grade: 1
 
After the match, Ross and Lawler celebrate in the ring as Bischoff and Morley argue until Bischoff slaps Morley in the face and heads to the back, and Austin calls for Coachman to come down to the ring which he does and Austin grabs a mike. He says that Coachman has been doing a good job and thought he should congratulate Ross on getting his job back, and he says that they would make a great announce team and starts to say that three is too many though changes his mind and shakes all their hands. He then says that he changes his mind and says they only need two as he kicks at Coachman and hits the Stunner.
 
Commercial break
 
We see Eric Bischoff and Chief Morley backstage continuing to argue as Morley tries to apologize and Bischoff says that Morley embarrassed him, and he says that Morley is fired and tells him to get out as Morley walks away only to run into Steve Austin as he says that Bischoff fired him. Austin brings him back to Bischoff and asks what Bischoff is doing as Bischoff says that Morley embarrassed him, and Austin says that Bischoff has to talk to him before making these decisions though says that Morley is fired and walks away.
 
We see highlights from RAW last week.
 
We see Scott Steiner warming up in his dressing room as Test comes in and stands in front of him to pose in the mirror, and Steiner does the same until Stacy Keibler comes in and says they both look great though will look better as tag team champions.
 
Commercial break
 
2. Rob Van Dam and Kane defeat Scott Steiner and Test (w/ Stacy Keibler) when Kane pins Test at 5:51 to retain the World Tag Team Championships.
 
Analysis: Our next match on the card is our first title match of the night. RVD and Kane have been rolling as tag champions and face a tough challenge here in Test and Steiner, who have been gaining steam as unlikely partners and look to become champions. Both teams get a good pop from the crowd though they seem to side more with RVD and Kane. RVD starts off the match with Steiner and they lock up with Steiner shoving RVD into the corner as he gets a knee in and pounds on him, and he whips RVD into the other corner and catches him on a leap as he rams him into the corner until RVD slides off his shoulder. He sends Steiner into the corner and hits a spin kick as he hits the split-legged moonsault for a two count and kicks at Steiner’s legs, and he hits another spin kick which sends Steiner to the outside and then he hits a slingshot plancha onto Steiner on the floor. He throws Steiner back into the ring and pounds on him as Steiner catches him on a leap and hits a powerslam for a two count, and he hits a clothesline on RVD and drops an elbow on him as he does a set of pushups and hits a spinning belly-to-belly suplex for a two count. Test tags in and pounds on RVD as he rams him into the buckle and hits a series of back elbows in the corner, and he whips RVD into the other corner and splashes him for a two count as he hooks a submission on and RVD fights to his feet. He breaks the hold and ducks a shot as Test catches a kick attempt and ducks an enzurgiri before getting a kick in, and RVD escapes a powerbomb attempt and attempts a sunset flip as Test grabs him and hoists him up only for RVD to hit a dropkick. Kane gets the hot tag and hits a pair of clotheslines on Test as he ducks a shot and hits a sidewalk slam on Steiner, and he splashes both men in the corners and hits a big boot on Test as he clotheslines Steiner over the top to the floor. He goes up top and hits a flying clothesline on Test as he looks for the Chokeslam only for Steiner to get in the ring and he hits a modified suplex on Kane, and RVD goes up top and hits a side kick on Steiner as Test sends RVD shoulder first into the post and he falls to the floor. He gets a kick in and hits a pump handle powerslam on Kane for a two count as he looks for the big boot, but Kane ducks it and grabs Test by the throat as Steiner gets in the ring and Kane hits a clothesline on him. Test ducks a shot and hits a full nelson slam on Kane as he goes up top and drops an elbow on him for a two count with RVD breaking it up, and he pounds on Test who counters a whip and gets a kick in as RVD escapes the pump handle and avoids the big boot with Test hitting Steiner by mistake. Kane grabs Test by the throat and hits the Chokeslam as RVD goes up top and hits the 5-Star Frog Splash with Kane getting the three and they retain the titles. The match itself was good as both teams worked hard and put on a solid title match. RVD and Kane were hitting their stride as a team while Steiner and Test were also gelling well as a team, and they had good chemistry as RVD and Kane get a clean title defense. The crowd was into the match and popped for Kane and RVD when they won. RVD and Kane retain the titles over Steiner and Test as both teams move on. Grade: 2
 
Commercial break
 
We see a shot outside the Metro Centre.
 
We see Steve Austin in Eric Bischoff’s office putting a portrait of himself on the wall as several techs bring cases of beer into the office, and Bischoff asks about the beer and Austin says that he has to drink Canadian beer in Canada as Bischoff says he doesn’t have the budget for this. Austin says that he will handle the cost of the beer as the techs try to bring a desk in and Bischoff says the room is too small, and Austin picks the couch up and sets it on its side as Bischoff says that it feels like he’s getting shafted and Austin says he’s not invited to the beer bash.
 
We see Kevin Nash walking backstage.
 
Commercial break
 
It’s time for another edition of the Highlight Reel as Chris Jericho says that this show debuted as the hottest segment on RAW in years and this is the second edition, and he says the people here are digging him and he heard what Roddy Piper said last week as he says Piper needs to start losing weight because this is as entertaining as it gets. He says that he’s going to focus on Judgment Day as he brings up the battle royal for the IC Title and since he’s a 4-time IC Champion, he’s going to enter the battle royal and win the title so he can bring it home to Canada and at Backlash, he captained his team to victory. He says that his partner Triple H pinned Nash fair and square as we see the footage from Backlash and Triple H outsmarted Nash, and he says that Nash retaliated like a typical American thug by destroying the window of Triple H’s limo as we see the footage from last week. He says those windows are expensive and Nash has to pay for them out of pocket as he brings out his guest, Kevin Nash who comes down to the ring and he tells Jericho to shut up as he says he came out here for one thing. He says that he’s fought his friends though Triple H tried to end his career and he is still standing as he is right here, and he says that Triple H is a dead man as Jericho says that Nash isn’t his only guest as he brings out his second guest, Triple H who comes out on the stage. Jericho says it must be an honor for Nash to be in the presence of the World Champion as Nash gets a knee in and sends Jericho to the outside, and Triple H gets on the apron only for Jericho to get in the ring and he hits a low blow on Nash as Triple H gets in the ring and Jericho heads to the back. Triple H pounds on Nash in the corner and goes outside as he brings a chair into the ring and hits Nash in the back with it, and he puts the chair on the mat and sets up for the Pedigree only for Nash to escape with a backdrop and Triple H gets a shot in. He grabs the chair and charges at Nash who catches him with a boot to the face and they trade blows, and Nash gets a knee in and pounds on Triple H as he rams the knee into him repeatedly in the corner. He hits a series of back elbows and clotheslines him over the top to the floor as he goes outside himself and rips Triple H’s shirt, and he pounds on him and rams him into the timekeeper’s table as he continues to pound on him and throws him to the ground. He grabs a chair and swings it at Triple H who avoids it and Nash hits the post as Triple H kicks at Nash, and he pounds on him until Nash reverses a whip and he sends Triple H into the steps as he picks up in the steps and rams them into Triple H which busts him open. He stalks Triple H up the aisle and pounds on him as he rams him into the barricade and officials come out to separate them, and Nash grabs the belt and hits Triple H in the head with it as he takes out the officials only for Triple H to hit him in the ribs with a pole. He grabs another pole and hits Nash in the back with it as he grabs a light stand and slams it down onto Nash’s back, but Nash recovers and sends Triple H into the set as they head backstage and Nash continues to pound on him. Triple H grabs a monitor and hits Nash in the head with it as he pounds on him until Nash rams him into a garage door, and he pounds on Triple H until officials pull him off though Nash breaks away and he rams Triple H into an ambulance. The officials again try to keep Nash back as Triple H goes out into the street where he is nearly run over by a car, and the driver gets out and checks on him as Triple H throws him aside before getting in the car and driving away.
 
Commercial break
 
We see the officials regrouping on the street as Chris Jericho watches on until Steve Austin comes up behind him, and Austin says this is a mess and Jericho must be proud of himself as Jericho says he is proud and Austin says that Jericho is a main event talent. Jericho congratulates him on being the new co-GM and Austin says he is putting Jericho in the main event of RAW next week against Kevin Nash, and Austin walks away as Jericho flips out.
 
3. Booker T pins Lance Storm with the scissors kick at 2:35.
 
Analysis: Our next match on the card is a pretty basic matchup. Booker has been cruising a bit since Backlash and looks to get back on track here against Storm, who was floating in the midcard and looks to get a win here. Booker gets a good pop from the crowd while Storm also gets a good pop from his home country. The two men lock up to start with Booker hooking a headlock and he knocks Storm down as Storm rakes the eyes, and he rams Booker into the buckle only for Booker to get a shot in and he pounds on Storm in the corner. Storm reverses a whip into the other corner and Booker leaps over him as he attempts a sunset flip though Storm rolls through and hooks the Sharpshooter on, and Booker reaches the rope to force a break and Storm pounds on him as Booker catches him ducking with a kick. Storm hits a side dropkick for a two count and Booker counters a whip as Storm ducks a side kick and Booker hits a spinebuster for a two count, and he pounds on Storm who ducks a shot and Booker hits a flying forearm as he hits a clothesline and pounds on him. Both men counter a whip and Booker gets a knee in as Storm avoids the scissors kick only for Booker to hit a side kick, and he does the Spinaroonie only for Storm to hit a superkick for a two count and Booker counters a whip as he hits a flapjack and the scissors kick which gets the three and he wins the match. The match itself was decent as both men worked hard for the time they got and put on a basic match. Booker was hitting his stride by this point while Storm was hitting his peak as well, and they had good chemistry as Booker gets a clean win. The crowd was into the match and popped for Booker when he won. Booker gets the win over Storm and both men move on. Grade: 1.5
 
We see Stacy Keibler backstage as La Resistance walk up to her and say they just want to talk as she brings up what they did last week, and they say it was self-defense and her team dropped the ball tonight as she is aligning with a pair of ego-maniacs. They say that she should dump Test and Steiner for them and she should watch their match tonight before making her decision.
 
Commercial break
 
4. La Resistance defeat Tommy Dreamer and Spike Dudley when Sylvain Grenier pins Spike at 3:13.
 
Analysis: Our last match before the main event is our second and last tag match of the night. La Resistance made their debut last week attacking Scott Steiner and now make their in-ring debut here against Dreamer and Spike. Dreamer and Spike get a good pop from the crowd while La Resistance had decent heat as heels. Dreamer starts off the match with Dupree and they lock up with Dupree getting a knee in and he pounds on Dreamer, and Dreamer reverses a whip and hits a hiptoss on Dupree as he works the arm and tags Spike who goes up top and hits an axehandle. He continues to work the arm until Dupree gets a kick in and he hits a slam on Spike as Grenier tags in only to miss an elbow, and Spike hits an armdrag on Grenier and pounds on him as Grenier reverses a whip and Spike slides to the outside. He hotshots Dupree on the apron and returns to the ring as he pounds on Grenier who reverses a whip and Dupree pulls the ropes open with Spike flying to the outside, and he hotshots Spike on the barricade and throws him back into the ring as Grenier whips him hard into the corner for a two count. He hits a snapmare and hooks a submission on Spike who fights to his feet only for Grenier to yank him to the mat by his hair, and he gets a shot in on Dreamer as Dupree comes in and they hit a double team on Spike for a two count. Grenier goes back to the submission on Spike who fights to his feet only for Grenier to pound on him and Spike catches him with a headbutt to the ribs, and Dreamer gets the hot tag and fires up on La Resistance as he hits a spinebuster on Grenier for a two count with Dupree breaking it up. Dreamer catches Dupree ducking and ducks a shot from Grenier as he hits a DDT/neckbreaker combo on La Resistance, and Spike tags in and goes up top as Dreamer hits a slam on Grenier and Spike hits a double stomp on him. Dupree sends Dreamer to the outside and Grenier catches a kick attempt as Spike ducks a shot and La Resistance hit a double spinebuster which gets the three and they win the match. The match itself was pretty much a squash as Spike and Dreamer got a few shots in, but they put La Resistance over in just over 3 minutes. The crowd was into the match and Spike and Dreamer, but are not happy when La Resistance win. La Resistance get the win over Spike and Dreamer as both teams move on. Grade: 1
 
After the match, Dreamer checks on Spike as Dupree pulls out a Singapore cane and he hits Dreamer with it repeatedly, but then Scott Steiner runs down to the ring and hits a pair of clotheslines on La Resistance as he rams Grenier into the corner. Dupree nails Steiner from behind and they pound on Steiner until Test runs down to the ring and makes the save as they clothesline both members over the top to the floor.
 
Commercial break
 
We see Eric Bischoff in his office on the phone with Linda McMahon as he complains about what Austin has done to this point and he can’t work like this, and he says that he is trying to get along with Austin and to do what’s best for this show as he even gave Trish Stratus a title shot. He says that he has no choice but to raise the bar next week and he wants her to know that he meant what he said last week about mature women, but then she hangs up on him which he blames on Canadian cell service.
 
Terri Runnels interviews Christian, who says that he is the new People’s Champion as anointed by the Rock and he’s seen the magazine with Goldberg on the cover, and he says that tonight is not Goldberg’s night but his night and Goldberg got him twice though he is still standing. He says that he’ll be standing at the end of the night when he avenges Rock’s loss at Backlash and the people will be chanting his name, and he says that Goldberg will start a new streak tonight which will be a losing streak.
 
We see Trish Stratus warming up backstage.

Commercial break
 
5. Jazz (w/ Theodore Long and Rodney Mack) pins Trish Stratus after a belt shot at 2:34 to retain the WWE Women’s Championship.
 
Analysis: After a fairly quick and interesting night of wrestling, we come to our main event. Jazz had won the Women’s Title from Stratus at Backlash and after being humiliated by Bischoff last week, Stratus gets her rematch here. Stratus gets a big pop from her home country while Jazz was pretty hot as a heel. The two women lock up to start with Stratus backing Jazz into the ropes and Jazz turns it around in the corner as she gets a shot in, and she goes behind Stratus and takes her to the mat as she pounds on Stratus who hits a pair of armdrags. She leaps onto Jazz’s shoulders and hooks a victory roll for a two count as Stratus goes behind Jazz who blocks a rollup by sending Stratus into the ropes, and she hits a spin kick on Stratus and then she hits a slam and legdrop on Stratus for a two count. Stratus ducks a shot and hits a Lou Thesz press on Jazz as she pounds on her in the corner and whips her into the other corner, but Jazz catches her with a back elbow and goes up to the middle rope as she blocks the handstand hurricanrana and Stratus gets a shot in. She pounds on her in the corner as Long gets on the apron with his shoe though he slips and falls to the floor, and Jazz hits a powerbomb on Stratus and uses the ropes for a two count as Stratus counters a whip and gets a kick in. She hits the Stratusfaction on Jazz as Victoria runs down to the ring and distracts the ref as Stratus hits the Chick Kick on Victoria, and Mack slides the belt to Jazz and she hits Stratus in the face with it which gets the three and she retains the title. The match itself was decent as both women worked hard for the time they got and put on a basic match. Stratus was hitting her stride by this point while Jazz was also hitting her stride, and they still had good chemistry as Victoria ends up costing Stratus the match. The crowd was into the match and Stratus, but are not happy when Jazz wins. Jazz retains the title over Stratus though this issue isn’t over yet. Grade: 1
 
Commercial break
 
Christian comes down to the ring for his match and then Bill Goldberg comes down to the ring as Christian gets out of the ring, but then 3-Minute Warning and Rico come out on the stage as Rico says that he hasn’t forgotten what Goldberg did last week. He says that Goldberg attacked them and before Christian tears him apart, they will get a piece of him as the three of them are going to beat Goldberg from pillar to post and squeeze the breath out of him. He says that Christian can take it easy in that they will leave a bit for him and they will destroy the myth of Goldberg, and they run down to the ring and Goldberg hits a clothesline on Jamal as Rico kicks him in the back though Goldberg no-sells it. He catches a kick attempt and hits a spinebuster on Rico as Rosey pounds on Goldberg who gets a pair of knees in, and he hits a single underhook suplex on Rosey and Jamal pounds on Goldberg as he hits a Samoan drop and they stomp on him. Goldberg recovers and hits a double spear on 3-Minute Warning as he keeps Rico from leaving the ring and he gets a knee in, and he hits the Jackhammer on Rico as Christian brings a chair into the ring and he hits Goldberg in the back with it before getting out of the ring. He heads through the crowd as Goldberg takes the mike and yells for Christian only for Steve Austin to come down to the ring, and he says that he said he was going to drink some beer and he’s going to as he asks if Goldberg has a problem with that. Goldberg says he does have a problem with that and Austin says he knows what Goldberg’s problem is, and he says that next week on RAW it will be Goldberg and Christian in a match though Goldberg says that’s not good enough. Austin says that they can make it that Christian can’t run away so they will face off in a steel cage and Goldberg says he'll hunt, and Austin starts the beer bash as he hands Goldberg some beers and they do a toast as several fans come down to ringside and they all drink beer as we go off the air.
 
Final Analysis: Overall, this edition of RAW was a pretty decent episode that officially kicked off this new cooperation with Austin and Bischoff. Now that we had two GMs, it was going to be interesting to see the balance between the two and we got a little bit of that here as Austin began to integrate himself back into the fold. We did have two title matches as RVD and Kane still rule the tag division while Jazz still rules the Women’s division, and Lawler, Booker, and La Resistance get big wins, and the matches were pretty standard as the Judgment Day card took better shape here with Triple H/Nash and the battle royal announced. 2003 has been an interesting year for RAW to this point as after having just one GM, we now have two and we will see how that aspect shapes the show going forward. As for this show, it is a pretty basic show to bring Austin back into the fold as co-GM and to continue the build to Judgment Day. Final Grade: C-