In some ways, WrestleMania XX was the greatest event in the history of sports entertainment. In other ways, it was simply the calm before the storm. Eight days after WrestleMania, on one of the most wild nights in the storied history of RAW, it all began, again ... over and over again. And by the end of the night, the foundations of both RAW and SmackDown! were rocked with several shocking changes as a result of the draft lottery ordered by Mr. McMahon. Now there are new World Tag Team Champions, Triple H is on SmackDown!, Edge is on RAW, and there is no current SmackDown! General Manager!
The night was headlined by a shocking turn of events involving Triple H and now former SmackDown! General Manager Paul Heyman took full advantage of the situation by convincing Mr. McMahon to set up a match for the WWE Championship between Triple H and Eddie Guerrero, a SmackDown! main event during RAW! The match featured a dramatic conclusion when Evolution came to aid Triple H for perhaps the final time. Suddenly, all hell broke loose when both locker rooms emptied as a Civil War of sorts began! When RAW went off the air, order had not been restored as the battle had only just begun.
The conclusion to RAW was indicative of an evening of shocking surprises as nobody on either roster was exempt from the draft lottery. So when Heyman himself was drafted by RAW, the now former SmackDown! GM decided he was better off quitting entirely than working for Eric Bischoff and, as a result, the trade deadline has been extended until 9 PM ET Tuesday evening by Mr. McMahon, when a new SmackDown! General Manager will be named and all trades will be announced.
In the ring, the night was headlined by three Championship Matches. While both the World Heavyweight Championship and WWE Championship remained in place, there are new World Tag Team Champions. The Evolution duo of Batista & Ric Flair regained the Championship as they defeated Rob Van Dam & Booker T. The match would prove to be RVD's final one on RAW as he was later drafted to SmackDown!
It was simply a wild night that not only changed many careers but changed the faces of both RAW and SmackDown! What will the first night out for the "new" RAW bring? How will the RAW Superstars react to the changes? Who will be the first to target the new additions to RAW? Only one way to find out -- watch RAW next week at 9/8 CT on Spike TV!
PICKED TO GO FROM RAW TO SMACKDOWN!: Rene Dupree Mark Jindrak Triple H and Chyna (collective unit) Rob Van Dam Theodore Long Spike Dudley
PICKED TO GO FROM SMACKDOWN! TO RAW: Shelton Benjamin Nidia Rhyno Edge Tajiri Paul Heyman
Match Results: Chris Jericho w/ trish defeated Rene Dupree
Kane defeated Rico
Christian w/ trish defeated Spike Dudley
Batista & Ric Flair defeated Rob Van Dan & Booker T to win the World Tag Team Championship
Chris Benoit defeated Rhyno
Eddie Guerrero defeated Triple H w/ chyna via disqualification
