WWE Heat Results: 1/25/04 By: Liz Sanders on 01/26/04
Heat Report for 1/25/2004
Report by: John Keane
Live from the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Your Hosts are Jonathan Coachman and Al Snow.
Your Royal Rumble Pre-game Show.
Coach and Al welcome us in as the crowd files into the arena. After a bit of hype for the Rumble itself, they remind us that another of tonight’s Main Events will see Shawn Michaels getting a shot at HHH’s World Championship in a ‘Last Man Standing’ match.
We cut over to Smackdown’s Josh Matthews and Rue, who go over the top matches on their side of the card:
1. Bob Holly challenges Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship.
2. Eddy Guerrero vs. Chavo Guerrero.
We get video hyping Eddy vs. Chavo. Long story short: After losing their tag team straps to Doug & Danny Basham, Chavo’s attitude toward his more popular uncle grew increasingly antagonistic. Things came to a head a few weeks ago-after coming up short in a re-match with the Bashams, Chavo snapped and beat the hell out of Eddy, badly busting him open in the process.
In the back, Michael Cole asks Eddy if he’ll able to keep his ‘Latino Heat’ under control when he gets in the ring with Chavo. Eddy tells him he’ll get the win in the proper, technique based manner-but after the 1-2-3, Chavo’s going to get his butt handed to him.
We’re informed that later on Heat, Victoria will go one on one with Women’s Champion Molly Holly (no mention of whether the title will be on the line-hey, don’t I remember Victoria winning a ‘#1 Contender’ match a while back?). Break.
Extreme Blast of the Night: From last Monday, Bubba Ray & D-Von Dudley treat Coach to a 3D through a table.
Back, Coach whines about his injured ribs, then predicts Ric Flair & Batista will get the easy win later on-they’ll be defending their World Team Championships in a ‘tables match’ with those damn Dudleyz.
We get a quick clip of the midnight CD signing held in NYC to hype the release of ‘WWE Originals’.
Outside the Smackdown roster’s dressing room door, Funaki waits-we’re informed the boys are being assigned their Rumble entrance spots. Mark Henry and his manager Theodore Long exit. They appear to NOT be real happy about the number Mark drew. Nonetheless, Theo appears very confident that his client will emerge victorious.
Coach and Al talk Rumble strategy before we break.
Wrestlemania Recall: From WM1, André the Giant defeats Big John Studd in a ‘$15,000 Body Slam Challenge’.
Back, Josh and Rue plug some products.
Funaki interviews Kurt Angle outside the SD dressing room (apparently Our Olympic Hero hasn’t yet been assigned his Rumble entry spot). Inquiry is made about the condition of Kurt’s eye (which was apparently ‘injured’ last Thursday). Kurt bravely claims he’ll fight through it just like he did when he won Olympic gold with a broken neck. He enters the dressing room after dedicating his upcoming Rumble win to the men and women of our armed services.
We return to Josh and Rue for Lesnar vs. Holly hype. Break.
Back, we get a view of the rapidly filling arena. Coach and Al get in some hype for HBK vs. HHH. We get video detailing the long relationship between the two, which has over the years run the gamut from ‘best of friends’ to ‘bitterest of enemies’. Tonight they (presumably) settle the score once and for all. Break.
Back, Josh and Rue chat about the Rumble. We’re reminded the winner will get a title shot with their rosters Champion at the big dance, Wrestlemania 20.
In the ring, Michael Cole and Tazz go over the Rumble rules. Short form: 2 men start, another enters every 90 seconds, when both of a competitors feet hit ground after being tossed over the top rope they’re eliminated. Tazz goes over his ‘Keys to Victory’…
1. Out of Sight, Out of Mind (i.e., stay out of the main line of fire).
2. Conditioning
3. Higher Number is your Best Friend.
…before attempting to use Cole to show the proper technique for tossing someone over the top-crowd boos when he’s gently returned to his feet inside the ring.
Back to Josh and Rue for more PPV hype. Jamie Noble challenging Rey Mysterio for the Cruiserweight Championship FINALLY gets a mention. Break.
Sting of the Night: From 1994’s Rumble, Bret Hart and Lex Luger are declared co-winners after going over the top simultaneously.
Coach and Al begrudgingly show us footage of Stone Cold Steve Austin signing his book in London, England.
We cut down to Raw’s Jim Ross and Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler at the announcers table. We see an empty seat at ringside-J.R. states it’s being held for Mick Foley. We’re reminded that last Monday ‘Sheriff’ Stone Cold ordered the Hardcore LEGEND (coward my butt) to attend tonight’s PPV, and promised to drag him to the arena personally if necessary.
Time for some of that rasslin’ stuff…
Heat match: Women’s Champion Molly Holly vs. Victoria, with Steven Richards. Chad Patton referees this non-title match.
Crowd quiet for the champ, mixed response for Victoria. Bell rings, Molly goes for the quick single leg takedown, Victoria sidesteps, we go to the lockup, Molly gets forced to the ropes, ref calls for the break. They comply (relatively) cleanly, we go to another lockup in the center of the ring, Molly goes behind, slaps on a hammerlock, Victoria reverses, Molly gets sent face first to the canvas. Victoria floats over into a lateral press, keeps Molly down for a 1-count. Both women up, Victoria slaps on the side headlock, Molly momentarily powers out, tries for a reversal, no luck, Victoria re-applies the headlock and takes Molly down for 2. Molly counters with a headscissors, headlock is broken, Victoria gets to her feet, somersaults over, keeps Molly down for 2. Molly bridges out into a backslide, Victoria down for 2. Victoria gets to her feet, issues a low dropkick that sends Molly rolling toward a corner. Victoria approaches, Molly sidesteps, tosses Victoria face first into 2nd turnbuckle. Molly lays in the boot choke, ref calls for the break. Molly hauls Victoria to her feet, scores with a snapmare takedown, goes off ropes, low dropkick to the face sends Victoria down for 2. Molly keeps Victoria matbound, lays in a rake of the face, ref again calls for a break. Victoria again gets hauled up, Molly whips her to corner, somersault back elbow connects, Victoria flops to the canvas, Molly covers for 2. Champ gets frustrated, Victoria eats canvas via a pair of hair-pull slams, Molly again goes for the cover, still just gets 2. REAL frustrated, Molly brings Victoria to a kneeling position, rear chinlock is cinched in, Victoria struggles to her feet, powers out, sends Molly down with a modified jawbreaker. Victoria slow to cover, just gets 2. Victoria gets to her feet, scores with the Oklahoma roll, still just gets 2. Both women up, Victoria ducks under a clothesline, goes behind, cinches in a waistlock, back somersault rollup gets 2. Both women up, Molly eats a trio of forearms to the face, each good for a knockdown, Molly staggers up into an old-school body slam, standing moonsault by Victoria gets 2. Both women up, Molly connects with a kneelift before grabbing a handful of hair, Victoria gets sent face first to the canvas. Molly ascends top turnbuckle, Victoria staggers up and joins her, sets for the superplex, Molly fires off elbows to the gut, Victoria drops to the canvas still on her feet. Molly again goes up top, Victoria charges in, forearm to the leg leaves Molly crotched up top. Victoria sets Molly on her shoulders, hauls her to the center of the ring, WIDOW’S FRIGGIN’ PEAK gets the 1-2-3!
Winner: Victoria.
Post-match Steven joins his lovely companion in celebration.
J.R. and the King get in some last-second Main Event hype, complete with video. End of show, the Royal Rumble is next.
