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August 4th

On this day in history in ....

1966 - Fritz Von Erich defeats Johnny Valentine in Fort Worth, Texas to win the NWA American Heavyweight Title for the second time.

1976 - Seji Sakaguchi & Strong Kobayashi defeat Tiger Jeet & Gama Singh to win the National Wrestling Federation Asian Tag Team Title in Tokyo, Japan.

1983 - Tatsumi Fujinami defeats Riki Choshu via countout to win the WWF International Heavyweight Title in Tokyo, Japan at Sumo Hall.

1984 - Super Medics I & III defeated Invaders I & III in San Juan, Puerto Rico for the WWC World Tag Team Title.

1989 - Cactus Jack & Scott Braddock defeat Jeff Jarrett & Matt Borne for the World Class Wrestling Association World Tag Team Championship in Dallas, Texas. The belts would soon become the USWA World Tag Team Championship.

1990 - Lance Idol & Rick Valentine defeat Super Medics I & III in Caguas, Puerto Rico to win the WWC World Tag Team Title.

1997 - WCW stomped WWE in the Monday Night Wars. Nitro, headlined by Lex Luger defeating Hulk Hogan for the WCW World Heavyweight Title, Dallas Page defeating Ric Flair via disqualification, and Chris Benoit defeating Syxx via disqualification, did a 4.4 rating. Raw earned a 2.7 rating, headlined by Dude Love defeating Owen Hart, Triple H vs. Vader ending in a double countout, and The Godwins defeating The Headbangers.

2001 - Race Steele defeats Cody Hawk in Batavia, Ohio to win the HWA Title for a third time.

2003 - Raw earned a 4.0 rating. Here is Tim Whitehead's original report on the show:

The 8/4 episode of RAW IS SLOW aired live from Vancouver. There was a good match in the second hour, but much of the show was either boring or badly booked.

The opening montage featured highlights of Shane McMahon's return last week, where he triple chairshotted Kane.

Shane came out to a decent pop to start the live broadcast. He promised to finish what he started with Kane, and to make his life a living hell. Some would say Kane's life has been a living hell since the Katie Vick angle. Shane had barely gotten started when Eric Bischoff arrived. The crowd called him an "a**hole". I guess they were familiar with him. Bischoff said he understood how Shane feels, and claimed to be appalled at what Kane did to Linda McMahon two weeks ago. He asserted that he would have stopped Kane that night if it weren't for the fact that Linda earlier had given him the night off and sent him home. Bischoff also recalled how Kane chokeslammed him off the stage a few weeks ago. He said he hates Kane and would love to see Shane get revenge on him. But, alas, Bischoff reported that Vince McMahon has ordered a Kane vs. Rob Van Dam match for SummerSlam. Shane said that was fine, since he didn't want to wait till SummerSlam. He was ready to fight Kane right there in Vancouver. But, alas again, Bischoff said Vince was angry that Shane punched him last week, so he's ordered that Shane not be allowed to fight Kane at all. Bischoff gave Shane the option of leaving the arena on his own, or being hauled out by security. Shane called Bischoff a parasite and dared him to make him leave. Bischoff reminded everyone that he's a black belt and got in Shane's face. At this point, Steve Austin came out to start the "what" nonsense. Austin at first pretended to side with Bischoff, for no apparent reason. He told Shane he'd better leave or Bischoff would kick his ass using his black belt skills. He said Bischoff has a thing for Linda and alleged that he privately said nice things about her breasts. Austin then stopped the pretence and sided with Shane, offering to grant him a no holds barred match against Bischoff. Bischoff said he can't fight Shane because the new rules ban general managers from physically battling the talent. Austin said Shane isn't a contracted WWE superstar, so the rules don't apply. Bischoff again refused to fight, but then got a smirk on his face and reversed himself, saying he would be glad to fight Shane. There was a lot of reversing in this opening segment, which was too long, by the way. It was agreed that Shane would fight Bischoff no holds barred in the main event.

A commercial aired for the Freddy vs. Jason movie. I think the one marrying the producer's daughter will win.

Bubba Ray Dudley defeated Rene Dupree in 2:40. Bubba started on offense, but Sylvan Grenier interfered to give Dupree control. Bubba came back with a neckbreaker and a crossbody off the second rope. Grenier got in the ring and tried to lariat Bubba, but he ducked and Dupree took the blow. D-Von got Grenier's French flag and clocked Dupree with it, allowing Bubba to score the pin after a Bubba Bomb. Dupree juiced from the flagpole shot. No heat for most of the match.

Triple H was relaxing backstage, resting his groin, which was legit injured in the dark match against Goldberg after last week's RAW. Randy Orton asked about the injury, and Ric Flair joked that three pretty female therapists have been helping HHH's groin heal. Considering who HHH is planning to marry, a groin injury could indeed jeopardize his career. Anyway, Bischoff stormed in, all agitated. He wanted to cut a deal with HHH.

Footage aired of last week's Australia tour.

Randy Orton defeated Scott Steiner in 4:09. Orton claimed that more people came to the arena to see his nipples than to see Stacy Keibler's. Well, maybe some of the ladies did. I hope he isn't planning to get implants. The match began, and it had no heat. Jerry Lawler & Jonathan Coachman took the opportunity to report that Jim Ross is recovering well and may be back next week. Steiner suplexed Orton, who rolled out to the floor. Orton used Stacy as a shield to get an advantage over Steiner. Steiner delivered a somewhat clumsy powerslam. Steiner did his push-ups after an elbow drop. Orton appeared to be in trouble after taking another suplex, but Test ran in. Steiner pounded Test and dumped him from the ring, but the distraction was enough to allow Orton to hit the RKO and score the pin.

HHH & Flair were watching Orton's win on a monitor. Bischoff wanted their attention, and kept asking HHH if they had a deal. HHH agreed to the deal, and told Bischoff to calm down and not wet his pants. Lawler & Coach, of course, wondered what the deal was.

Rosey told Hurricane he's ready to become a superhero. But Hurricane said his hurrisenses tell him otherwise. He indicated that Rosey still has a long way to go. Christian walked up and said Rosey's superpowers must consist of being able to eat a stack of cheeseburgers in a single bound. Christian (who was scheduled to wrestle Hurricane) took credit for injuring Booker T on the Australian tour. Rosey held up a box with the "s**t" logo on it. He said it was his superhero kit. Hurricane repeated that Rosey wasn't ready for superhero status. Rosey said, "We'll see about that," after Hurricane left. This angle is kind of silly, I guess, but they've managed to give Rosey some personality.

Shane was shown doing warm-up exercises in preparation for his bout against Bischoff.

Bischoff, delighted that he cut a deal with HHH, encountered Rodney Mack. He boasted that a guy such as himself always plans ahead. Austin arrived and sent Mack away. Bischoff bragged that HHH would be in his corner for the match against Shane. In return, Bischoff had made the HHH vs. Goldberg match at SummerSlam into a no-DQ bout. That way, Flair & Orton could interfere legally to help HHH. Austin was angry over this. Bischoff claimed that if Austin hadn't delayed so long last week (actually two weeks ago) in accepting Linda's new rules for staying on as general manager, he might have been able to stop the deal, but now he can't do a thing about it. That made no sense at all.

This week's WrestleMania Recall was Jeff Hardy coming off a ladder to put Bubba Ray Dudley through a table in 2000.

Christian beat Hurricane in 2:14. Lawler said Rosey could be the Incredible Bulk as a superhero. Hurricane hit a spinning headscissors and somersault splash to the floor. Hurricane hit a crossbody for a near fall. Christian blocked the chokeslam and ducked to avoid the shining wizard. Christian scored a pin out of nowhere with a roll-up using the tights. Christian got a lot of cheers since he's Canadian. After the match, Hurricane told the ref Christian used the tights, and the ref called Christian back to question him about it. Since when is that the policy? Christian returned and attacked Hurricane. Just as Christian was about to hit the unprettier, Rosey arrived. He was wearing a T-shirt with "Super Hero in Training" written on it in plain lettering, a mask, and had a tablecloth for a cape. He laid Christian out. Hurricane was impressed, and they posed together as heroes, though Rosey had to be reminded to stand behind Hurricane, since otherwise he blocked him out of the camera's view with his girth.

A police van arrived carrying the shackled Kane.

Hour two began with Goldberg defeating Ric Flair by DQ in 4:38. This should have been the main event, but it was downplayed the entire first hour since neither guy is a McMahon. HHH came out and did color commentary. Lawler noted Goldberg's impressive ring entrance and HHH said he's all show and no go. Flair chopped Goldberg, who no sold. Goldberg tossed Flair across the ring. Flair sneaked in a chop block and went to work on one of Goldberg's knees. Goldberg fought back, backdropping and powerslamming Flair. Flair, who got a ton of cheers, raked Goldberg's eyes. Flair went to the top, but got slammed off as usual. Orton ran in at this point and hit Goldberg with a chairshot for the ultra-lame DQ. Orton & Flair doubled on Goldberg as HHH casually strolled down to the ring. HHH retrieved the sledgehammer from under the ring and hit Goldberg in the gut with it. He was about to hit him again when Shawn Michaels made the save. Jericho then ran in to a huge babyface pop and went after Michaels. Kevin Nash arrived and the momentum shifted to the babyfaces, so the (supposed) heels retreated to the floor. As if this wasn't enough, Austin showed up on the ramp top, and yes, the "whats" started yet again. Austin said he couldn't change Bischoff's decree making the HHH vs. Goldberg SummerSlam match no-DQ. But he said he could add to it, so he turned that match into an Elimination Chamber match with HHH, Goldberg, Michaels, Jericho, Nash, and Orton. Okay, let's forget the logic, or lack of it, involved in allowing Austin and Bischoff to make all these rulings unilaterally, each one-upping the other. Let's instead ask why the Elimination Chamber is being brought back after less than a year. That's one of those special gimmicks that's special precisely because it's very rare. HHH is legit injured, so he presumably can't go long in a singles match, so this protects him, since he can stay on the sidelines and then lose on a fluke. But if Goldberg is supposed to go over, and that may or may not be the case, he needs to go over in a decisive manner, such as a quick, clean singles win. HHH's injury already provides him with some cover for losing, so why not lose straight up in a quick match? Because the boss' son-in-law doesn't lose like that, that's why. Anyway, back to the action, Flair tried to wallop Goldberg with a chair, but Goldberg speared him.

Terri interviewed Slamball commissioner Pat Croce at ringside. He was putting over his league when Jericho ran back into the ring and tried to attack Michaels & Nash, who were still hanging around for some reason. I guess they didn't see that "no loitering" sign. Jericho took Michaels down and pounded him, but Nash laid Jericho out with a jackknife. The crowd cheered Jericho like crazy here.

Backstage, a medic attended to Flair, who was selling Goldberg's spear like crazy. Bischoff came in and asked HHH if their deal was still on. HHH said it would only still be on if Bischoff could overrule Austin and cancel the Elimination Chamber plans for SummerSlam. Bischoff said he couldn't do that. Someone needs to officially explain exactly how power is divided between Austin and Bischoff. I mean, why doesn't Bischoff have the power to add to Austin's decree, such as stipulating that HHH can only lose the title if he's pinned 18 times by each of his five opponents? But since Bischoff couldn't go any further, HHH said the deal was off and he wouldn't be there to back Bischoff up against Shane.

Trish Stratus beat Molly Holly by DQ in a women's title match in 2:24. They traded quick two counts. Trish did a headscissors takedown and a dropkick. Molly bumped to the floor. Trish went out after her but was attacked by Victoria for yet another cheap DQ. Victoria went for some sort of slam on Trish, but she lost her and Trish ended up landing on Victoria's leg. There was a weak post-match fight with Victoria (who was now limping) arguing with Molly, though they both went after Trish again. Gail Kim ran in and threw Molly and Victoria from the ring. She helped Trish up but then turned heel on her and beat her up. Damn, they're ruining Kim's career before it even starts.

Shane attacked the police van carrying Kane. The van no sold every one of his blows, as if Vanamania was running wild. There were a bunch of cops there guarding the van, and about half of them hauled Shane off. kicking and screaming.

Lance Storm admitted that he's boring and needs help. Well, marrying the boss' daughter might help, but she's already taken. Storm asked Goldust for help. Goldust was happy to be of service, and promised to show Storm how to have fun. This should lead to some entertaining vignettes.

Bischoff approached the van and told the remaining officers that Shane overpowered the cops who hauled him off. So they all went off to help their fellow officers fend of this maniac from Greenwich who manhandles cops four at a time. This left the van unguarded, making the Vancouver police department look incompetent as hell. I guess they were all rookies since half that city's force got wiped out in that Ecks vs. Sever movie last year. Bischoff then pulled the key to unlock the police van from his pocket. How did he get the key? And if he had it, how were the cops supposed to let Kane out when the time came? And why was Kane even there, since he didn't have a match scheduled and Vince had banned Shane from wrestling him? See, I can't even wait for the rhetorical questions at the end to ask these things.

Rob Van Dam defeated Chris Jericho in 11:25. Jericho was cheered again, which guaranteed he'd lose. They started a little slow but it built very well. RVD hit a spinkick and a thrust kick. Jericho went for a charge in te corner but hit the post and bumped out to the floor. RVD dived out but Jericho moved and RVD hit the security barrier. Jericho slammed RVD on the floor and went on offense inside the ring, scoring several twos. RVD suplexed Jericho out to the floor for a big bump. Back in the ring, RVD blocked the walls and scored two on a cradle. Jericho scored two after a kick. RVD hit a spinkick and went for the rolling thunder, but Jericho got his knees up. Jericho went for a lionsault but RVD rolled clear. Jericho then rolled clear when RVD tried a frog splash. Jericho hooked the walls but the ref forced him to break the hold when he got caught using the ropes. RVD then laid Jericho out with a kick and scored the pin after a split-leg moonsault. Good match! And it did make sense for RVD to win since he faces Kane at SummerSlam, though that match could end up being changed due to some angle involving Shane. Jericho threw a tantrum afterward, claiming his loss was due to a conspiracy, blaming it on Nash for jackknifing him earlier, which left him at less than 100% here presumably. He called Nash a big, stupid son of a bitch and challenged him to a hair vs. hair match, saying Nash's hair is his most prized possession, so he plans to take it from him. That should prove interesting.

Bischoff was seen smiling broadly. The police van was shown empty.

Eric Bischoff beat Shane McMahon in the no holds barred match in 3:22. Bischoff brought one of the tech guys in the ring before the match and sparred a little with him, showing off his karate skills. Shane arrived. Bischoff flattened him with a few kicks. Shane tackled Bischoff and began punching him. Kane started down the ramp. Shane immediately forgot about Bischoff and went after Kane on the floor. Shane was acting totally crazed and had Kane reeling for a few seconds with wild punches and kicks. He choked Kane with a cable. Kane overpowered Shane, gave him the boot to the face, and posted him. He then gave Shane a tombstone piledriver on the stairs. Kane rolled the unconscious Shane back into the ring, where Bischoff easily pinned him. Bischoff had a bloody nose, presumably from an errant punch. The show ended on a flat note, as this match wasn't very good, and Bischoff simply walked over to the broadcast desk and demanded half-hearted high fives from Lawler & Coach to conclude the program.