Raw Homecoming was a television special that was broadcast live on October 3, 2005 on the

USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...

. It was named as such because it was the first edition of

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

's flagship show ''

Monday Night Raw ''WWE Raw'', also known as ''Monday Night Raw'' or simply ''Raw'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that currently airs live every Monday at 8 p.m. ET on the USA Network in the United States. The show fe ...

'' to air on the USA Network since 2000, after airing on Spike TV (currently known as the

Paramount Network Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Media Networks. The network's headquarters are located at the Paramount Pictures studio lot in Los Angeles. The channel was or ...

) for the previous five years. The card featured six matches (including a

dark match Professional wrestling has accrued a considerable amount of jargon throughout its existence. Much of it stems from the industry's origins in the days of carnivals and circuses. In the past, professional wrestlers used such terms in the presence o ...

) and multiple segments featuring many returning legends and former superstars. The undercard saw a 30-minute Iron Man match between

Kurt Angle Kurt Steven Angle (born December 9, 1968) is an American retired professional wrestler, Wrestling at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Men's freestyle 100 kg, Olympic gold medalist in American freestyle wrestling, and former Collegiate wrestling, ...

and

Shawn Michaels Michael Shawn Hickenbottom (born July 22, 1965), better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE as Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative. Widely regarded as one of ...

end in a draw, and

Edge Edge or EDGE may refer to: Technology Computing * Edge computing, a network load-balancing system * Edge device, an entry point to a computer network * Adobe Edge, a graphical development application * Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed by ...

defeat

Matt Hardy Matthew Moore Hardy (born September 23, 1974) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He is best known for his time with WWE. With his real life brother Jeff, Hardy gained notoriety in WWF's tag team d ...

in a " loser leaves Raw"

Money in the bank ladder match The Money in the Bank ladder match is a multi-person ladder match held by the professional wrestling promotion WWE. First contested at WWE's annual WrestleMania event beginning in 2005, a separate Money in the Bank pay-per-view was established ...

. The main event saw

John Cena John Felix Anthony Cena ( ; born April 23, 1977) is an American part-time professional wrestler, actor, and former rapper. He is currently signed to WWE. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he is tied w ...

defeat Raw General Manager

Eric Bischoff Eric Aaron Bischoff (born May 27, 1955) is an American television producer, professional wrestling booker, and performer. He is best known for serving as Executive Producer and later Senior Vice President of World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and ...

to retain the

WWE Championship The WWE Championship is a world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, representing the Raw brand division. It is one of two world titles on WWE's main roster, alongside SmackDown' ...

. The episode averaged a viewership of 4.4 million.

Background

The card consisted of seven matches, including one

, that resulted from scripted storylines and had results predetermined by WWE's writers on the

Raw Raw is an adjective usually describing: * Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made * Raw food, uncooked food Raw or RAW may also refer to: Computing and electronics * .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

. Storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television shows, ''Monday Night Raw'' and '' SmackDown!''. ''Raw'' first aired on January 11, 1993, and since became the longest-running weekly episodic program in television history with no reruns. On June 28, 2000,

Viacom Viacom, an abbreviation of Video and Audio Communications, may refer to: * Viacom (1952–2006), a former American media conglomerate * Viacom (2005–2019), a former company spun off from the original Viacom * Viacom18, a joint venture between Par ...

, the parent company of

UPN The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that launched on January 16, 1995. It was originally owned by Chris-Craft Industries' United Television. Viacom (through its Paramount Television unit, which pr ...

, which aired ''

WWF SmackDown! ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time Zone, ET on Fox Br ...

'', won the rights of all WWF programming (including ''Raw Is War'') for $12.6 million after the World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc. (WWFE) sued USA Network over the

right of first refusal Right of first refusal (ROFR or RFR) is a contractual right that gives its holder the option to enter a business transaction with the owner of something, according to specified terms, before the owner is entitled to enter into that transaction ...

contractual dispute ruled in Delaware court. The new television contract and the subsequent purchase of competitor WCW led to many changes in WWF's programming content. ''Raw Is War'' premiered on TNN on September 25, 2000. After five years, on March 10, 2005, Viacom and WWE decided not to go on with the agreement with Spike TV, effectively ending ''Raw'' and other

WWE programs This is a list of broadcasters airing WWE premier weekly television programs (Raw and SmackDown) and Premium Live Events. United States Broadcasters International broadcasting rights Note See also *List of professional wrestling televisio ...

' tenure on the network. On April 4, 2005, WWE announced a three-year deal with

NBCUniversal NBCUniversal Media, LLC is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate corporation owned by Comcast and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States. NBCUniversal is primari ...

to bring ''Raw'' back to its former home, the USA Network, with two yearly specials on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

and a Spanish ''Raw'' on

Telemundo Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language Terrestrial television, terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Television and Streaming#NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a divi ...

. The final ''Raw'' aired on Spike TV on September 26, 2005.

Matches

Dark match

Before the event officially started,

Shelton Benjamin Shelton James Benjamin (born July 9, 1975) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under his real name. He is also known for his work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and Pro Wres ...

defeated Tyson Tomko in a match taped for ''

Heat In thermodynamics, heat is defined as the form of energy crossing the boundary of a thermodynamic system by virtue of a temperature difference across the boundary. A thermodynamic system does not ''contain'' heat. Nevertheless, the term is al ...

''.

Preliminary matches

The opening match of the evening was a 30-minute Iron Man match between

and

. Angle delivered a top-rope Angle Slam for a three-count and the first point. Michaels pinned Angle with an inside cradle to make the score 1–1. Angle forced Michaels to tap out to the ankle lock to make the score 2–1. Michaels delivered '' Sweet Chin Music'' to make the score 2–2. In the match's climax, Michaels hit a ''Sweet Chin Music'' and was about to pin Angle before time ran out, rendering the match a draw. Michaels offered Angle to go into sudden death overtime, but Angle refused and walked out. Next,

(with Lita) took on

in a loser leaves Raw

ladder match A ladder match is a type of match in professional wrestling, most commonly one in which an item (usually a title belt) is hung above the ring, and the winner is the contestant who climbs a ladder and retrieves the item. The ladder itself becom ...

for Edge's

Money in the Bank contract The Money in the Bank ladder match is a multi-person ladder match held by the professional wrestling promotion WWE. First contested at WWE's annual WrestleMania event beginning in 2005, a separate Money in the Bank pay-per-view was established ...

. After a back-and-forth match, Edge tied up Matt in the ropes and Lita assisted in holding him there. He then scaled the ladder to retrieve the briefcase. Afterwards, Matt was escorted out of the arena by security guards. The next match was

Triple H Paul Michael Levesque (born July 27, 1969), better known by the ring name Triple H, is an American business executive, actor, and retired professional wrestler currently serving as the chief content officer for WWE. He is widely regarded as on ...

and

Ric Flair Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American professional wrestler. Regarded by multiple peers and journalists as the greatest professional wrestler of all time, Flair has had a career spanni ...

taking on Carlito and

Chris Masters Christopher Todd Mordetzky (born January 8, 1983) is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) under the ring name Chris Adonis as a member of Strictly Business. He is a former two-time National Ch ...

. In the end, Triple H pinned Masters after hitting the ''Pedigree'' to win. While celebrating after the match, Triple H abruptly turned on Flair and hit him with a sledgehammer, marking the end of

Evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

after more than two years since 2003. The fifth match was a bra and panties match between

Trish Stratus Patricia Anne Stratigeas (; born December 18, 1975) better known by the ring name Trish Stratus is a Canadian professional wrestler, actress and yoga instructor. She is currently signed to WWE. Often regarded as one of the greatest Women's Per ...

and

Ashley Ashley is a place name derived from the Old English words '' æsc'' (“ash”) and '' lēah'' (“meadow”). It may refer to: People and fictional characters * Ashley (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name ...

Candice Michelle Candice Michelle Beckman (born September 30, 1978), better known as Candice Michelle, is an American retired professional wrestler, model and actress, best known for her time with WWE. After spending years modeling and acting, Candice Michelle ...

Torrie Wilson Torrie Anne Wilson (born July 24, 1975) is an American former professional wrestler and model. She is best known for her time in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE, previously the World Wrestling Federation). As a fitness competitor, Wilson won ...

and

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. Stratus removed Wilson's pants to win the match for her team. The penultimate match was a

six-man tag team match Much like the singles match, tag team professional wrestling matches can and have taken many forms. Just about any singles or melee match type can be adapted to tag teams; for example, hardcore tag team matches are commonplace. Tag team ladder m ...

featuring wrestlers from the SmackDown! brand.

Batista Batista is a Spanish language, Spanish or Portuguese language, Portuguese surname. Notable persons with the name include: * Batista (footballer, born 1955), Brazilian football player * Dave Bautista, American actor and professional wrestler, also ...

Chris Benoit Christopher Michael Benoit (; May 21, 1967 – June 24, 2007) was a Canadian Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He worked for various pro-wrestling promotions during his 22-year career including most notably the WWE, World Wrestlin ...

and

Rey Mysterio Óscar Gutiérrez (born December 11, 1974), better known by his ring name Rey Mysterio, is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand. Widely regarded as one of the greatest profes ...

were due to face

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

Eddie Guerrero Eduardo Gory Guerrero Llanes (October 9, 1967 – November 13, 2005) was an American professional wrestler. He was a prominent member of the Guerrero wrestling family, being the son of first-generation wrestler Gory Guerrero. Eddie Guerrero is ...

and

John "Bradshaw" Layfield John Charles Layfield (born November 29, 1966), better known by the ring name John "Bradshaw" Layfield (abbreviated to JBL), is an American retired professional wrestler and football player. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on ...

(JBL), however Raw General Manager

would appear on stage and cancel the match immediately after it started, rendering it a

no contest ' is a legal term that comes from the Latin phrase for "I do not wish to contend". It is also referred to as a plea of no contest or no defense. In criminal trials in certain United States jurisdictions, it is a plea where the defendant neith ...

. The match did take place on Smackdown that week.

Main event

The main event saw

defend the

against Eric Bischoff. Despite early offense by Bischoff and interference by Kurt Angle, Cena managed to mount a comeback and quickly defeat Bischoff to retain. Following the match, SmackDown! General Manager

Theodore Long Theodore Robert Rufus Long (born September 15, 1947) is an American former professional referee and manager known for his work for WWE and WCW serving as an on-screen authority figure. Long began his career in the National Wrestling Alliance ...

would send out the entire SmackDown! roster to invade Raw as revenge for Bischoff cancelling their tag team match earlier.

Results

Iron Man match

References

External links

* {{WWE 2005 in professional wrestling 2005 American television episodes 2005 television specials 2000s American television specials Events in Dallas 2005 in Texas October 2005 events in the United States Professional wrestling in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex WWE Raw