Swwerve

In the May 9, 2005 edition of WWE Raw, the King of the Ring tournament is put on hold as Triple H demands a rematch against World Champion Batista. Elsewhere, Stevie Richards and Simon Dean face the tag team of MNM.

Triple H isn’t interested in the King of the Ring

Triple H and Ric Flair made their returns to RAW for the first time since Triple H lost the World Championship to Batista at WrestleMania 21. Triple H was surprised to learn that General Manager Mick Foley had entered him in the King of the Ring tournament against Tajiri.

Triple H said he was working on a contract to face Batista for the World Championship when he received the news. He’s already “been there and done that,” defeating Foley to become the 1997 King of the Ring. Since then, he’s become a 10-time World Champion.

Guys like Triple H don’t follow the lines of a tournament bracket. The line starts with him.

Triple H said Batista was good for one night, but his championship reign isn’t legitimate until he proves he’s definitively better than Triple H. Instead of competing in the King of the Ring, Triple H wanted to work with Foley on securing the biggest World Championship match in RAW history: Triple H vs. Batista II.

Mick Foley walked out and immediately rejected the rematch.

Foley gave Triple H credit for being a multi-time World Champion and the benchmark for greatness in the current era of WWE. He even accepted the dig about losing to Triple H in the King of the Ring. However, Foley saw nothing at WrestleMania 21 to suggest a rematch would produce a different result.

Triple H lost clean as a whistle. Maybe it was time to accept that running through the RAW roster was no longer a given.

Foley said the unintended consequence of building Evolution was that RAW had now evolved. Young and motivated wrestlers were hungry for stardom, threatening Triple H’s dominance.

Maybe Foley was wrong. Maybe Triple H had trained and found something that would make a difference against Batista. If so, he could prove it by winning the King of the Ring.

Foley gave Triple H a choice: fight tonight or don’t worry about fighting at all.

An irate Triple H threatened to walk out, declaring that RAW was nothing without him. Foley stared into his eyes.

“Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.”

Triple H stormed away as Flair abandoned the microphone and chased after him.

Backstage: Ric Flair talks to Triple H

Triple H was preparing to leave the arena when Ric Flair caught up with him.

Flair was just as angry, calling Foley a jealous, glorified stuntman trying to wield power over Triple H. Still, Triple H couldn’t walk away.

Foley was building RAW in his own vision, and that vision didn’t include Triple H. The King of the Ring was Foley’s olive branch.

Flair knew Triple H was the greatest wrestler of all time. Becoming the first two-time King of the Ring winner would make that greatness undeniable. Flair wished he could still compete at the highest level himself. If he would fight to regain his respect, Triple H should be willing to fight to regain his throne.

Backstage: Mick Foley talks with Tajiri

Cameras caught Mick Foley speaking with World Tag Champion Tajiri. Foley apologized, admitting he thought he could convince Triple H to compete. Instead, Foley would postpone Tajiri’s tournament match and arrange a new main event.

Tajiri erupted in Japanese.

Before Foley could respond, Ric Flair arrived and announced that Triple H would compete after all.

Foley was thrilled, and Tajiri nodded in approval before saying something to Flair in Japanese.

Flair told Tajiri to get his words together before talking to “The Nature Boy.”

Foley admitted he had no idea what Tajiri said either, but it sounded like Triple H might be in for the fight of his life.

Backstage: Stevie Richards and Simon Dean speak

Stevie Richards and Simon Dean prepared for their upcoming tag team match. Richards said the Shane Twins had been impressive, but after tonight, they would know there was real competition in the tag division.

Dean seemed distracted.

Richards flatly asked whether Dean was okay with him competing in the King of the Ring.

Dean insisted he was. Richards had impressed Foley with his newfound drive and performance at Backlash.

Richards pushed back on the word “newfound.” The drive had always been there. He finally had an opportunity to show it.

Richards didn’t want his tournament opportunity to interfere with their team. Dean again insisted they were fine and said he was proud of his friend.

Tag Match: Stevie Richards and Simon Dean defeated MNM (Joey Mercury & John Morrison)

The Shane Twins unexpectedly watched from behind the announce table as Stevie Richards and Simon Dean faced MNM.

Richards started the match, but Dean quickly tagged himself in and unleashed some flashy offense, including a Nova Blast on Morrison. The announcers wondered whether Dean felt pressure to impress after being excluded from the King of the Ring.

Later, Dean took control again and played to the crowd, even ripping off his shirt after hitting a splash on Morrison at ringside and a rolling cutter on Mercury.

But Dean’s showboating cost him.

A blind tag from Morrison caught Dean off guard, allowing MNM to hit the Snapshot. Richards broke up the pin and eventually tagged himself in before hitting the Stevie-T for the victory.

As the Shane Twins left ringside, Todd Grisham asked for their thoughts. Todd congratulated Richards and Dean but wasn’t particularly impressed.

Inside the ring, Richards raised Dean’s arm in victory.

Dean looked disappointed.

King of the Ring Quarterfinal: Triple H (with Ric Flair) defeated Tajiri (with William Regal)

An excited Tajiri slapped hands with fans on his way to the ring. In contrast, Triple H made a slow entrance, looking disinterested in having to compete.

That attitude quickly became a problem.

Tajiri caught Triple H off guard with a flurry of kicks and strikes, forcing him to retreat to ringside. Ric Flair tried to settle Triple H down while William Regal warned Flair against getting involved.

Triple H returned to the ring hoping to slow the match, but Tajiri continued frustrating him with his speed. Triple H retreated again, only for Tajiri to launch himself through the ropes with a suicide dive onto both Triple H and Flair.

Triple H finally gained some control, but Tajiri refused to stay down. After narrowly avoiding a Buzzsaw Kick, Triple H hit a back suplex and facebreaker before quickly attempting the Pedigree.

Tajiri countered with a basement dropkick to the knees.

The announcers questioned why Triple H was already so desperate to end the match.

Triple H rolled outside again. Tajiri attempted an Asai moonsault, but Flair pulled Triple H out of harm’s way, sending Tajiri crashing to the floor.

Regal immediately attacked Flair.

Officials removed both men from ringside, leaving Triple H alone with Tajiri.

Triple H capitalized with a high knee before attempting a pin with his feet on the ropes. Tajiri still kicked out.

Triple H argued with the referee, giving Tajiri an opening to hit a chop block and trap him in the Tarantula. Tajiri then went for another Buzzsaw Kick, but Triple H ducked and caught him coming off the ropes with a spinebuster.

This time, Triple H didn’t hesitate.

He hit the Pedigree and pinned Tajiri.

Flair returned to help Triple H to the back while Regal helped Tajiri to his feet. The crowd applauded Tajiri’s performance as he raised his arms and sprayed mist into the air to close RAW.