October 2004 | Week 1 | RAW
With Scott Steiner fired and vacating the IC title, a tournament has been created by Vince McMahon to crown a new champion. The six members of the intercontinental championship division: Bret Hart, Edge, Kane, Randy Orton, Rob Van Dam and Shawn Michaels will compete in a single elimination competition. Shawn and Bret as the elder statesmen have been given byes to the semi-finals so RVD and Edge will compete first tonight with Orton and Kane facing each other next week. RVD and Edge put on a good show in the opener but RVD was able to get the victory after hitting a pair of Five Star Frog Splashes on the Hardcore Champion, to advance to the next round to face Bret Hart.
► Show Spoiler
Winner: RVD by pinfall.
One half of the New Age Outlaws, Road Dogg, took on one half of the tag team champs nWo, Kevin Nash in this singles matchup. Road Dogg was giving Kevin Nash an ass whooping early on to the point where Nash had to roll out of the ring to get a breather. On the outside he attempted to chokeslam Road Dogg but that was countered. Road Dogg whipped Nash back into the ring and the nWo member went for the Big Boot but Road Dogg slipped under it and rolled him up for the victory. Afterwards an embarrassed Kevin Nash tried to cheap shot Road Dogg from behind while he was celebrating, but Road Dogg dodged it and then punched Nash out of the rings, furthering his humiliation.
► Show Spoiler
Winner: Road Dogg by pinfall.
The Hardcore Championship is typically just defended in one offs, but with Edge's recent impressive run with the belt, WWE decided to have a #1 contender's match for the next shot at it to raise its profile. Faarooq put up a good fight against Booker in this one, using his strength to keep the more athletic Booker grounded. But when Booker was able to counter a Dominator and hit him with the Axe Kick and then a Scissor Kick, it was simply too much for the APA leader as he was pinned to the mat. Booker's celebration was cut short though when Edge came out with a kendo stick and started assaulting him with it. He then stood over the laid out Booker T, and stated, "Nobody is taking this title from me, especially not you Booker. I may have lost my shot at the IC title earlier tonight, but that only makes me want to hold onto this one tighter. I will make you bleed, I will make you feel pain, and you will go home from Halloween Havoc in three weeks, with nothing.:
► Show Spoiler
Winner: Booker T by pinfall.
This was a technical showcase between two of the best ring generals in the WWE. Bret Hart got out to a hot start, outwitting Angle and even managing to lock him in the Sharpshooter early which the American Nightmare was able to break out of. Angle then was able to get on the offensive when action spilled to the outside of the ring and he caught Bret by surprise with an Angle Slam on the outside. He rolled Hart back into the ring but only got a two count so the match continued. Angle had the momentum now but Bret was able to counter an Ankle Lock into a last gasp effort at a Sharpshooter, but Angle escaped that one as well. Angle tried to go for the Angle slam when he popped back up but Bret countered it and hit him with a Piledriver to knock Angle out cold and get the win. After the match Eddie Guerrero came out and spoke, "Hey Angle, rough loss ese. But you know, Bret's more focused on the IC title so I guess you have nothing to worry about. But I was thinking. If Bret can beat you in a non-title match, maybe I, Latino Heat, can beat you for the real thing. Why don't we find out at Halloween Havoc huh, homes?" Angle didn't say anything he just raised the US title up and stared a hole in his challenger, but it was clear from that he would accept this challenge from Guerrero.
► Show Spoiler
Winner: Bret Hart by pinfall.
Batista still hasn't gotten over losing the Undisputed Championship a couple months back and wanted a shot at Lesnar to prove he's still the top dog in the WWE. That didn't happen. Batista definitely held his own early on, but his momentum was cut short when he went for the Batista Bomb way too early. Lesnar didn't even let him pick him up, then used his shoulder strength to send him flying. He then picked up Batista and hit him with THREE powerbombs before tossing him out of the ring. Lesnar then F-5'd Batista on the outside and rolled back in the ring waiting for the 10 count. Batista only let it get to 9 though before rolling in, but he was badly hurt and his defiance only served to piss off the champ. Lesnar hit him with another ruthless F-5 to pin him and get the victory. After the match, Hulk Hogan (no longer a member of nWo) of all people showed up on the ramp and applauded before speaking, "Real impressive Brock, seriously, to beat Batista like that? It's unheard of. You know, around here they call you "The Next Big Thing." And I agree, you are the future of this business, but guess what kid, I may be the past, but as long as I'm still about to lace up these boots, eat my Wheaties and shine up these 22 inch pythons this is still MY company. So tell you what, brother, if you really are next up why don't you put that title on the line against me at Halloween Havoc?" Brock walked down the ramp to get face to face with Hogan and reached out a hand appearing to be shaking on a match, but he pulled Hogan in and hit him with an F-5 before grabbing the mic himself and saying, "Nah old man, you're not worth my time," before walking backstage with Hogan in a heap on the ground.
► Show Spoiler
Winner: Brock Lesnar by pinfall.
