Raw is War

Atlanta, Georgia
March 1, 2004

A ROCK & SOCK REUNION
 

More than a decade after establishing himself as perhaps the most hardcore superstar to ever enter the ring, Mick Foley is still gaining a legendary status by embracing the unconventional. After months of humiliation at the hands of Evolution and only two weeks after a savage assault that even left the Hardcore Legend scared, Foley entered RAW with revenge on his mind. And moments after entering the ring to face off with Evolution once again, Foley proved that when you are the Hardcore Legend, 13 can be a lucky number as 13 days before WrestleMania, Foley’s luck has never been better and Evolution’s may have just run out.

In 13 days, on the biggest stage of them all, the Rock & Sock Connection will reunite when Foley & The Rock will face Evolution’s Randy Orton, Batista & Ric Flair in a Tag Team Handicap Match. When Foley received no help from the back two weeks ago as Evolution nearly destroyed him during one of the most vicious assaults in the history of sports entertainment, Foley turned to perhaps the one man he can truly trust. On RAW, The Rock made his appearance and proclaimed that at WrestleMania, the most electrifying tag team match-up of all time will take place, and that Evolution just agreed to, "the ass-kicking of a lifetime."

Speaking of WrestleMania XX, the news regarding the upcoming pay-per-view event came fast and furiously on RAW as three additional matches were added to what is an already loaded card. First, after Victoria scored yet another pinfall on Molly Holly during a tag team match that saw Victoria & Lita victorious over Holly & Jazz, an enraged Holly demanded a match for the Women’s Championship at WrestleMania. After proclaiming that she would “do anything” to regain the Championship, Stone Cold Steve Austin held Holly to her words by adding a stipulation. Not only will Holly challenge Victoria for the Women’s Championship, but should Holly lose the match, she will be forced to shave her head!

Also, the World Tag Team Championship will be on the line at WrestleMania when Rob Van Dam & Booker T – who defeated Matt Hardy & Test on RAW – will defend the Championship in a Fatal Four Way Match. Two of the opponents are already known – Garrison Cade & Mark Jindrak -- who defeated the Hurricane & Rosey to advance to WrestleMania, and La Resistance. However, the third will not be known until this Sunday when the Dudley Boyz meet Val Venis & Lance Storm in a Qualification Match on HEAT. Tune into HEAT this week and find out who will be the final team for this match at WrestleMania!

Finally, it seems as if the brewing tension between Christian and Chris Jericho will come to a head at WrestleMania when the two will meet one on one. On RAW, Christian entered the set of The Highlight Reel thinking that Jericho was not in attendance due to his knee injury. After announcing the WrestleMania match, Christian was stunned to find that Y2J was in fact in attendance after all. The two engaged in what was a preview of things to come and it appears as if thanks to Christian's attack on Trish Stratus a week ago, the friendship is over and WrestleMania could be a grudge match for these two.

In other action, the question as to whether or not Shawn Michaels & Chris Benoit could co-exist as a team was answered with unfortunate results for Michaels and Benoit. The two were unable to work as a team for most of their match with Batista & Randy Orton, and not only did they lose the match, but they also fell victim to an attack from Triple H after the match. After both HBK and Benoit fell victim to the Pedigree … will the trio competing for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania be able to stay apart for one more week before they finally get the chance to face each other in the ring? Watch RAW next week to find out!

RAW also saw the reaction of Stone Cold Steve Austin to last week’s assault by Brock Lesnar. Austin made it clear that he will call the match between Lesnar and Goldberg at WrestleMania, “right down the middle,” but he will not be afraid to use force with either man if such force is necessary. Austin’s statement brought out Mr. McMahon, who tried to criticize Austin for last week’s actions. As seems to be the usual case in the long-standing Austin-McMahon rivalry, Austin seemed to get the last laugh when he chased Mr. McMahon to his limo via his ATV and actually ran over the limo! However, Austin’s ATV was later towed away. Was Mr. McMahon behind this? Will Mr. McMahon continue to antagonize Austin leading up to WrestleMania? Stay tuned to find out!

The final stop on the Road to WrestleMania is Bridgeport, Connecticut where RAW will air live next week. Will The Rock & Sock Connection make an appearance? How will Evolution react to the challenge they will now face? What other 11th hour developments for WrestleMania XX will take place? Only one way to find out … watch RAW next week at 9/8 CT on Spike TV!

Match Results:

Victoria & Lita defeated Molly Holly & Jazz

Garrison Cade & Mark Jindrak defeated Hurricane & Rosey

Randy Orton & Batista defeated Shawn Michaels & Chris Benoit

Rob Van Dam & Booker T defeated Matt Hardy & Test