Raw is Eddie
November 14, 2005 (Taped 11/13)

We open up the show with the entire locker room at the top of the stage, and Vince McMahon has the mic and says that tonight, we celebrate the life of Eddie Guerrero. The show must go on. The bell tols 10 times as shots of various superstars pass by. One of the most touching images I have ever seen ends this portion of the show as a father holds his weeping son close to him. With that, we fade into a video package set to "Hurt" by Johnny Cash. Upon returning from the video package, Vince kicks off the show with "VIVA LA RAZA!" A "Thank You Eddie" chant breaks out around the arena.

John Cena testimonial. He calls Eddie a good man, and lets everyone know that Eddie taught him to believe in himself and fight himself through his heart. Eddie had heart, more than anything and forced Cena to embrace it. Selfishly, we'll all miss him.

Remembering Eddie - Los Guerreros sprays Big Show down with a truck full of poop.

1 - Non-Title Match - The Big Show & Kane vs. MNM with Melina
It's the Raw Tag Team Champs vs. the Smackdown Tag Team Champs, however, neither is on the line. Show chops the fuck out of Nitro and pinballs him about the ring. Kane comes in and proceeds to do the same. Sidewalk slam and then Kane goes up top. Mercury pulls Kane to the floor and then Big Show pulls Mercury in. Nitro nails Kane with the tag team title on the floor. Nitro with the cover, but only a two count. Mercury tagged in and they double team Kane. Nitro back in, and shots to the face of Kane. Kane double suplexes MNM and then Show gets the tag and cleans house. Running ass to both members followed by a clothesline by Show. Melina distracts, but Show kisses Melina for like 10 seconds. Mercury gets nailed by Kane with the top rope clothesline and Nitro takes the double chokeslam. Show with the cover, and Show wins. 3/4*
Winners: The Big Show & Kane

Lillian Garcia testimonial. She shares a story about her and Eddie spending so much time together during Christmas in Iraq in 2004. Eddie was a very humble man. To close, she says good by to him in spanish and blows a kiss.

Remembering Eddie - During his feud with Kurt Angle, Eddie auctions off all of Kurt Angle's belongings.

2 - Kurt Angle vs. Shelton Benjamin
Fans chant "you suck" during his entrance. Boo at them chanting that on this night. Shelton with a springboard armdrag to start the match. Angle is enraged. You can tell that this is before Angle got off the roids because he's huge. Angle with the belly to belly overhead throw. European uppercut and stomps in the corner. The fans actually chant "Angle Sucks" during this match. Kinda tasteless if you ask me. Angle continues to dominate and knees Shelton in the midsection. Pinfall fails though. Backbreaker, pin, 2 count. Angle goes for a suplex, but Benjamin reverses into neckbreaker, but it's blocked, so Shelton hits a DDT out of desperation. Forearm shots to Angle and then Angle kicks Benjamin in the face. Angle out of the corner into a Samoan Drop. Benjamin goes for the T-Bone, but Angle trips him and goes for the Anklelock. Benjamin with the whiplash sidekick. Benjamin pins, but no dice. Shelton goes up top, but Angle goes for his running throw. Benjamin blocks it and hits his flying clothesline. Benjamin misses the Stinger Splash, and Angle hits the three German suplexes. Benjamin rolls through on a 4th attempt, but Angle hits the Angle Slam out of nowhere. He goes for the cover, but Shelton kicks out. Yes, of all people to kick out of it, Shelton does. Angle is pissed, so he goes up top for his moonsault. Shelton blocks it and hits a German suplex off the top rope and Angle flips in mid air. Shelton stalls, but finally covers, but Angle kicks out, barely. Shelton begins to bitch, and Angle trips him up and locks on the Anklelock and Shelton is foreced into submission. Considering the circumstances, this was a very fun match. ***
Winner: Kurt Angle

Shawn Michaels testimonial. Michaels says that he and Eddie were good friends, originally based off of Christianity. They never wrestled, but eventually, both men will wrestle for God himself one day. Michaels wishes him well and promises to see him again someday. It's a shame -- we were just a mere few days away from seeing the first encounter of any kind between Michaels and Guerrero at Survivor Series 2005. Who knows what could have taken place beyond that.

Remembering Eddie - Los Guerrero vignettes are shown. Those vignettes were so funny. This segways into random clips of Eddie lying, cheating and stealing.

Chavo Guerrero testimonial. He talks about how he and Eddie first wrestled each other when there were 4 and 7, respectively. He chokes up while talking about achieving their goals of becoming Tag Team Champs together. He calls Eddie his brother, and tells Eddie he loves him. Emotional stuff.

3 - "Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels vs. Rey Misterio, Jr.
Michaels with the hammerlock, Misterio rolls through and counters. Shoulder blocks and clotheslines miss. Misterio and Michaels share an exchange before coming to a standoff. Awesome seeing Michaels and Rey in the ring for the first time ever. Pace changes for the match as Michaels is forced to wrestle as the dominating star rather than the plucky underdog. Michaels continues to go to the headlock. Misterio missed a dropkick. Michaels catapults Rey over the rope, but Rey springboards into the seated senton. Rey on the offensive, but Michaels slams him down out of the corner. Chops by Michaels. Rey kicks Michaels in the face then goes for the 619, but Michaels moves, so Rey hits a hilo over the top rope instead. Back from a commercial break, which I thankfully didn't tape, and Michaels has Rey in the sleeper in the middle of the ring. Rey fights out, but Michaels lands on top of Rey for a pin then chops Rey to the mat. Backbreaker to Rey. Focus goes to the lower back. Tiltawhirl headscissors by Michaels, but Rey hits the springboard cross body and Rey does the Eddie shimmie and nails Michaels with a dropkick to the knee. Pinfall, but only a two count. Michaels hits the flying forarm, nip up to follow, of course. Atomic drop is blocked by Rey into a bulldog, and then he goes for the 619, but Michaels moves again, followed by a clothesline by HBK. Another exchange, finished with another clothesline. He goes up top for the elbow drop and hits it. Michaels up and Sweet Chin Music is coming. Rey rolls out of the way and then flips Michales into the ropes. 619 hits, finally and Rey drops the leg across the throat. Pinfall and he gets the win as Joey Styles orgasms! Awesome match here. Post match, both men hug and shake hands. You can read their lips as they both thank each other. ***1/2
Winner: Rey Misterio, Jr.

Batista testimonial. He's broken down and is in tears. In time of need, Eddie would pull out the bible and read inspirational scriptures to him. He was so funny, and Batista loved working with him. He cries some more, before the video ends and fades into the Johnny Cash video package once again.

4 - Interpromotional Divas Battle Royal - Ashley Massaro vs. Maria Kanellis vs. Christy Hemme vs. Victoria vs. Melina vs. Jillian Hall vs. Mickie James vs. Candice Michelle vs. Trish Stratus
To start, all the divas take off their Eddie Guerrero T-shirts and throw them into the crowd. Not much to cover here. They all tussle around a little bit and ultimately, it comes down to Maria, Trish and Melina. Maria gets double teamed and eliminated by Trish and Melina. Trish goes for the Stratusfaction, but gets tossed over the top, and eliminated by Melina. They actually kickstarted an angle with this elimination as Melina and Trish would go on to face each other at Survivor Series for the Women's Title. N/R
Winner: Melina

Rey Misterio, Jr. testimonial. For some reason, this was my least favorite testimonial of the night. It also was really long and seemed dull and void of emotion. I don't know, maybe I am an ass for saying these things. Whatever. It ends when Rey bows his head and pulls off his mask.

Remembering Eddie - Wrestlemania 20 where Benoit and Eddie celebrate in one of the greatest moments in the history of the business, bar none.

5 - Eugene vs. Simon Dean
Dean had awesome theme music and was a great character, IMO. They could have done more with him than they did. Eugene gets offered a protein bar and Dean rolls him up. They do push ups, but Eugene headbutts him and bites his ass. Monkey flip by Eugene. He goes to play on the Dean Machine (the motor scooter) when Dean attacks him from behind. Eugene ultimately hulks up airplane spins Dean. Eugene hits the Rock Bottom and gets the win. Even on the comedy scale, this was poo. Just one day later, Eugene would be found in a hotel room passed out on Somas. It would end all success he'd ever have in WWE. N/R
Winner: Eugene

Chris Benoit testimonial. Eddie was his best friend. He always led by example and used himself as an example when he overcame all of his obsticles. Benoit states that he loves Eddie and his family. Benoit eventually breaks down and says that Eddie made a giant impression on his life. He thanks Eddie for everything and tells him that he loves him and he'll never forget him. Quite possibly the saddest thing I've ever seen in my life. I mean that in a good way too, not an insulting manner.

Remembering Eddie - No Way Out 2004, the WWE Championship match. Need I say more?

Triple H testimonial. Puts him over as one of the best in the ring and out of it. He was a phenomenal person in every way. To him, Eddie was an inspiration due to overcoming his personal demons and obsticles. Triple H begins to cry, and I remember people actually saying that it was all fake, carrying on the HHHatred. So freaking annoying and stupid. "He's lied, he's cheated, and he's stolen all of our hearts."

6 - "Nature Boy" Ric Flair vs. William Regal
Regal elbows Flair in the corner to start but Flair chops out of it. Regal comes back with a European Uppercut. Hiptoss blocked by Flair and he locks on the abdominal stretch. While in the move, he distracted Flair by unlasing his boot. Regal with forearms to Flair which sends him into the Flair Flop. Uppercut to Flair sending him over the top to the floor. Chops are exchanged, chop block by Flair and the Figure Four gets locked on and Regal quickly taps. Short, but not offensive. 3/4*
Winner: Ric Flair

Stephanie McMahon testimonial. She recalls the first time she met Eddie back in 2000 when he jumped from WCW. She breaks down whilst basically explaining that she booked what was supposed to be his title win for that very evening.

Remembering Eddie - Back in 2000, Eddie wins the Intercontinental Title from Chyna by inadvertantly pinning her while giving her a hug.

7 - John Cena vs. Randy Orton with "Cowboy" Bob Orton
Orton is the only wrestler of the evening to not wear an Eddie Guerrero t-shirt, instead, opting to wear one of his own RKO shirts. He does, however, have on an armband. Orton with a headlock to kickstart the match. Orton's dominance continues, hitting numerous straight shots to the face and his inverted backbreaker, which is an awesome move. Another headlock as Cena chants break out. A mid ring collision takes both men out but Cena is up and hits multiple clotheslines followed by the Protobomb. 5 knuckle shuffle to follow. He pumps up the shoes and then goes for the F-U, but Bob Orton breaks it up causing a DQ. Yes, a DQ. The Ortons beat on Cena in the corner but Cena ends up cleaning house. 3/4*
Winner: John Cena

To close the show, Cena takes off the Eddie Guerrero t-shirt and drapes the WWE title across it in an extremely classy display.

Thoughts: Overall, the show was quite touching. It had emotion, it had comedy (in some forms) and it even had some solid matches worth watching over again. I know Raw is Owen is a show that people often speak of in high regard, but this was better than Raw is Owen overall. It's funny that both shows ended in strangely. Owen's tribute show with Stone Cold who disliked Owen after the botched piledriver. Then we had this show where the main event ended in a disqualification. On the whole, this was an enjoyable show. Even a year and a half later, it's emotional to me.

Nice write-up. I wish I had taped this but I was still in a state of disbelief I think. I remember tearing up a little during the Johnny Cash "Hurt" video, and then it really hit home around Benoit's testimonial.

I have this and the Smackdown tribute on tape somewhere in my room. I never could do a review because I'd get too emotional and I'm not sure if I'd be able to rate the matches properly.