Raw

Card Information:
 Held in: UTC ARENA
Location: TENNESSEE, UNITED STATES
          on December 2004 at 9:00pm

Interview:
Superstars in the ring, but why?
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Hollywood Hogan announces the first ever nWo membership battle royal, with the
winner becoming a member of the nWo.


[nWo Membership Battle Royal]: 20-Man Battle Royal:
Jamie Noble won a 20-man Battle Royal:
         x Regal threw out Batista after a bodyslam in 0:03:47
         x Rico threw out Bradshaw in 0:07:21
         x Faarooq threw out Rico in 0:07:53
         x U. Dragon threw out Faarooq after a slap in 0:12:34
         x Shamrock threw out T. Funk in 0:13:44
         x Christian threw out Angle after a slap in 0:16:42
         x Christian threw out Shamrock in 0:19:02
         x B. Kendrick threw out Rhyno in 0:20:21
         x Maven threw out Savage in 0:24:25
         x Regal threw out Maven in 0:32:27
         x Noble threw out B. Kendrick in 0:36:08
         x Douglas threw out Christian in 0:44:35
         x U. Dragon threw out Hurricane in 0:45:12
         x Noble threw out E. Guerrero after a kneelift in 0:45:25
         x U. Dragon threw out Douglas in 0:50:45
         x U. Dragon threw out Regal in 0:52:40
         x Edge threw out Piper in 0:53:32
         x Noble threw out U. Dragon in 0:58:33
         x Noble threw out Edge after a kneelift in 0:59:25
Rating: *** 1/2
[Nidia interfered against Shane Douglas.]
Click here to see highlights.

In a rather surprising finish, Jamie Noble ended up winning the Battle Royal
to become a member of the nWo.  After the match had finished, Hollywood Hogan
came to ringside and gave Noble his first job for the group, which was to beat
the heck out of Edge with a steel chair.


The Basham Brothers (Doug Basham and Danny Basham) defeated
The Dudley Boys (Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley) when Danny defeated Bubba
 by disqualification in 0:12:03.
Rating: *** 1/4
[Shaniqua interfered against Bubba Ray Dudley.]

The fans were incredibly disappointed to see the Dudleys get beaten by DQ, 
especially as it was Earl Hebner who made the call.  However, after the match,
the Dudleys got their revenge by putting Danny Basham through a table.


Interview:
Richards' message...
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Steven Richards issues a warning to Matt Hardy over his upcoming match with
Shawn Michaels.


Shawn Michaels defeated Matt Hardy by countout in 0:09:30.
Rating: *** 3/4
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Shawn Michaels got the victory, but only after Hardy had cold-cocked himself
by missing an over-the-top-rope move.  After the match, Steven Richards ran
down to ringside and went toe-to-toe with HBK.


The Big Show pinned Bret Hart with the Showstopper in 0:03:10.
Rating: *** 1/4

Despite the early efforts of the Hitman, even he couldn't survive the might
of the Showstopper.  Will this be enough to give the nWo the tag titles this
Sunday night?


nWo (Jeff Jarrett, Randy Orton and Scott Steiner) defeated
Triple H, Chris Jericho and AJ Styles when Jarrett defeated Styles by countout
 in 0:13:17.
Rating: ***
(Brock Lesnar no-showed.)

A second count-out of the evening occured, as AJ Styles was knocked out cold
on the outside by a Jeff Jarrett DDT.  As the nWo attempted a 3-on-2 attack on
their remaining opponents, Rob Van Dam ran down to ringside to even up the odds
for the WWE guys.  No word on why Brock Lesnar no-showed though.


Interview:
Benoit is ready for Hogan...
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Chris Benoit shows no signs of fear for his match with Hogan tonight, or Bill
Goldberg on Sunday.


Hollywood Hogan pinned Chris Benoit with the Big Leg Drop in 0:09:54.
Rating: ***
Click here to see highlights.

Hogan managed to pin Benoit, although Nick Patrick was certainly rather slow
with his counts on occasions.  Although disappointed by the loss, Benoit was
still able to hold his head high afterwards, still stating that the belt would
be his come Sunday.



Card rating: *** 1/4


Match observations: 

It was, all-in-all a very good night for the nWo here tonight.  It started with
them gaining a new member in Jamie Noble, and then continued with victories
for the Big Show, Orton, Jarrett and Steiner, and Hollywood Hogan himself, who
was able to pin Chris Benoit.  Despite the loss though, Benoit has no reason
to be down, as he could easily have won the match on more than one occasion.
It's safe to say that those two will meet again somewhere down the line.

While Shawn Michaels was able to get a small amount of revenge over Matt Hardy
here tonight, I'm sure he would have rather got a pinfall victory than a count
out, but in the long run, a win is a win.  HBK will have his hands full with
Steven Richards at Armageddon, but you can't help but think he'll still have
Hardy on his mind until he's able to put V1 down for a 3-count.

A disappointing return for the Dudleys here tonight, as they lost by DQ to the
Basham Brothers.  However, there won't be any disqualifications on Smackdown
this Thursday, when the teams will face off again, this time in a table match.
It'll be interesting to see which set of brothers gets wood on Smackdown.

Also scheduled for this Thursday is Steve Austin versus Ted DiBiase, as another
preview for Armageddon, as well as Jamie Noble's first match as a member of the
nWo.  He'll take on the last man that he threw out of the ring here tonight,
that man being Edge.  As it's the last show before Armageddon, expect things
to reach boiling point, with the potential for blood to spill and fires to get
out of control.

Next Show: Smackdown