ALL ABOUT
THE BENJAMIN
They said
he was too young. They said he lacked experience. They said that Shelton
Benjamin never had a chance. But on his very first night in his very first
match on RAW, Shelton Benjamin not only stunned his Evolution detractors ... he
left them gasping in awe when he pinned Triple H's shoulders to the mat. The
victory was a huge boost to Benjamin's career. It will be interesting to see if
he can carry this momentum into next week.
One thing
did seem to go Triple H's way, however, when he was added to the World
Heavyweight Championship Match at Backlash. The previously announced match
between Chris Benoit and Shawn Michaels will now be a Final Encounter Triple
Threat Match between the three participants in the WrestleMania
main event. With this being the final encounter, who will gain the upper hand
during the weeks leading up to Backlash? Watch RAW to find out!
Amazingly,
the night could have been far worse for Evolution. Earlier in the evening, the
new World Tag Team Champions -- Batista & Ric
Flair -- defended their Championship against Benoit & Michaels. While the
weeks leading up to WrestleMania brought tension and
strife between Michaels & Benoit when they teamed together, it seemed as if
it was a different story this time around. Michaels & Benoit worked
brilliantly together and seemed to score the pinfall
to win the World Tag Team Championship. As they celebrated an upset win of
their own, guest referee Johnny Nitro (the former Johnny Spade) ruled that
Flair, who had been pinned, was not the legal man in the ring and the match was
ordered to continue. The emotions of the reversal were too much for Michaels
& Benoit to handle and within minutes they were disqualified
for punching Nitro.
RAW also
saw several other developments regarding the upcoming Backlash pay-per-view
event. First, the much anticipated one on one match between Mick Foley and
Randy Orton will finally take place, and it seems as if the match will be on
Foley's terms. Not only will the Intercontinental Championship be on the line,
but Evolution will be banned from ringside and the match will have
Hardcore/Street Fight Rules. Also, thanks to his attack on Eric Bischoff last
week, Edge will face Kane at Backlash. Finally, Chris Jericho -- after gaining
a measure of verbal revenge on Trish Stratus during the Highlight Reel -- will
have a WrestleMania rematch with Christian.
With
Backlash less than three weeks away, can Evolution rebound from a difficult
night? Will Triple H recover from the upset loss to Shelton Benjamin? What is
next for Benjamin after the biggest win of his career? What other developments
for Backlash will take place? Only one way to find out ... watch RAW next week
at 9/8 CT on Spike TV!
Match Results:
Nidia defeated Molly Holly
Rhyno defeated Lance Storm
Ric Flair & Batista defeated Chris Benoit &
Shawn Michaels via disqualification
Tajiri defeated Kane via countout
Shelton Benjamin defeated Triple H