WWE International Sunday Night Heat Report - (Benoit vs. Richards)

Reported by Steve Knight of WrestleView.com
On Sunday, February 20, 2005 at 4:16 PM EST

WWE International Sunday Night Heat Report
Aired: 1pm on Sunday, February 20, 2005 on Sky Sports 3
Ring announcer: Lilian Garcia
Commentators: Todd Grisham and Marc Lloyd

The opening video plays.

Maven vs. Val Venis
Venis gives his towel to a fine-looking lady at ringside before locking up with Maven in the ring, where he forces him to the corner until referee Jack Doan calls for the break. As the 'Maven sucks' chants start, he gets annoyed and goes to cheap shot Venis but changes his mind at the last minute and chooses to hide in the corner again. They finally lock up a second time, with Venis working the armbar and turning it into a hammerlock. Maven gets to the ropes but then elbows Venis in the face behind Doan's back. He then goes for a whip off the ropes, but Venis reverses it and delivers two of his patented knees at the ropes followed by the side Russian legsweep and the Venis grind and elbow drop for 1. He then chops Maven in the corner and delivers ten punches before going for an Irish whip. Maven pulls short though and pokes Venis in the eye before delivering a hard Irish whip of his own, knocking Venis off his feet. He then delivers a series of elbow drops and kneedrops to the back before mocking Venis with his own grind and then slapping him in across the head. Maven then delivers a second Irish whip, bounces off the ropes and delivers a hard forearm to the back for 1. A suplex gets 2 before Maven stomps away on Venis and then puts him in a modified Camel Clutch with a knee in the back. Venis eventually elbows free but Maven gets right back on him with a reverse chinlock on the mat. Venis fights out again with a series of rights to the gut, only for Maven to cut him off again with a boot to the face. He then whips Venis off the ropes and goes for a back-bodydrop, only for Venis to stop short and deliver a reverse neckbreaker. He then blocks a right hand and unloads on Maven with some rights of his own and then some chops. Maven reverses a whip attempt but Venis maintains control with a running clothesline, a running reverse elbow, another clothesline and then a big spinebuster after bouncing Maven off the ropes. Sensing victory, Venis goes up top and goes for the Money Shot, only for Maven to get his knees up. As Venis tries to get his wind back, Maven comes up from behind and hits his devastating modified backbreaker (Rico's old finisher) for the 1-2-3.

Winner: Maven

A nice little match with some good psychology from Maven, who spent most of the match softening up Venis' back for the finish.

Tonight's main event - Chris Benoit vs. Steven Richards.

Next - Shelton Benjamin faces Gene Snitsky on RAW.

A video promoting the WWE Smackdown! Wrestlemania Revenge Tour's visit to the UK airs.

We are then shown highlights from RAW, where Gene Snitsky blew his chance to win the Intercontinental Championship from Shelton Benjamin after cracking a steel chair over his head and losing via DQ. If this feud leads to Snitsky winning the title, I think I might have to kill myself.

The Don't Try This At Home video airs.

Commercial.

The Hurricane and Rosey vs. The Heartbreakers
OVW tag team The Heartbreakers get their own funky music and full entrance in this one. Complete with pink feather boas and headbands, these two are like Billy and Chuck camped up to the extreme, if that were possible. As much as I liked Rico, he didn't even come close to this. The new boys are Jon Roselli and Tom Materran (or something like that, Grisham needs to learn to speak more clearly), but in OVW they're actually called Romeo Roselli and Antonio "The Promise" Thomas. Anyway, completely bemused by their antics, The Hurricane asks the crowd 'wassup wi dat!?' before locking up with Thomas. Hurricane cinches in a headlock but Thomas shoves him into the ropes. Hurricane rebounds and leapfrogs him, only for Thomas to grab a handful of ass. Hurricane promptly shits himself and runs off, leaving Thomas to dance and laugh on his own in the ring. Roselli then tags in and locks up with Hurricane before working the go-behind, but Hurricane becomes concerned that Roselli is enjoying the hold a little too much and breaks it at the ropes. He then tries to tag in Rosey, but the big man refuses and drops off the apron. Hurricane locks up with Roselli again and cinches in another headlock, only for Roselli to shove him into the ropes again. Hurricane rebounds with a shoulderblock though and runs the ropes, but Roselli stops him in his tracks by pulling off another gay dance followed by Hurricane's own pose. He asks the superhero 'wassup wi dat!?', so Hurricane pokes him in the eye. Roselli recovers and delivers an Irish whip to Hurricane, but he gets his elbow up on the corner charge, hops up to the second rope and drops Roselli with the Overcast. Thomas charges the ring but Rosey enters as well and levels him with a running clothesline. The faces then steal The Heartbreakers' feather boas and mock their dancing, allowing the heels to deliver a pair of shoulders to their opponents' guts on the ring apron, followed by a pair of sunset flips. Both faces hold on though and sit on their opponents to break up the pin attempt. As the referee restores order, Roselli clips Hurricane's knee from behind and tags in Thomas. The two then slam Hurricane's back into the corner before Thomas gets a 1-count. He then unloads with a series of right hands on the mat before running his knee across Hurricane's face. He then whips him off the ropes and drops Hurricane with a reverse elbow for another 1-count. Roselli tags back in and The Heartbreakers deliver a double wishbone split for yet another 1-count. Roselli then locks in a seated surfboard/reverse chinlock combination until Hurricane fights out with a series of right hands. He then runs the ropes and aims a kick at Roselli, who catches it and spins Hurricane around, allowing him to deliver the Cactus Clothesline and make the hot tag to Rosey. The big man unloads on Roselli with a big shoulderblock followed by a reverse elbow off the whip. He then clotheslines the interfering Thomas and sends him into the corner, where he wipes him out with a low reverse Avalanche. A sidewalk slam to Roselli is next before Hurricane tags back in. The Rocket Launcher splash is next and it's all over for The Heartbreakers.

Winners: The Hurricane and Rosey

Good, fun match. The Heartbreakers could be effective as either heels or faces, although their gimmick is so desperately old now.

Later - we see what came of Batista's chat with fellow Evolution member Ric Flair. "The Animal" told "The Nature Boy" that if WWE Champion John Bradshaw Layfield showed up on RAW, he would take care of him without the aid of their leader, World Heavyweight Champion Triple H.

The Christian video airs.

We then catch clips from RAW, where Randy Orton defeated Christian in an outstanding match with the RKO. I'm sure WWE knows how valuable Christian is, he deserves to be even higher up the card in my view.

A video promoting the WWE RAW Wrestlemania Revenge Tour's visit to the UK airs.

Molly Holly vs. Victoria
Before the match begins, Grisham hypes the encore presentation of No Way Out, which will be shown tomorrow (Monday) night at 9pm on Sky Sports 3. The two women lock up to start, with Victoria working the go-behind before delivering a waistlock takedown followed by a front facelock. She then bridges over while maintaining a reverse chinlock but then flips back again a couple of seconds after. Molly breaks the hold with a shoulder to the gut and then cinches in a headlock before taking Victoria down to the mat, where she gets a 1-count. Victoria fights up and breaks the hold with a series of right hands before shoving Molly into the ropes and then scoring with RVD's leapfrog, splits and monkey flip combo. She then hits a bodyslam and goes for the dancing moonsault, but Molly gets her knees up. She then kicks Molly in the gut and boots her through the bottom rope and to the outside, where she charges her back into the apron a couple of times before rolling her back inside. She stays at ringside though and pulls Victoria's back into the post before rolling back in for 2. She then stomps on Victoria and delivers a couple of elbow drops followed by a snap suplex for another 2-count. She then slaps on a Camel Clutch before eventually breaking it by slamming her backside into Victoria's back. A backbreaker gets 2 for Molly before she slams Victoria's head into the mat and cinches in a modified Camel Clutch, similar to the one Maven performed on Venis earlier on. After a while Molly gets bored and shoves Victoria back down to the mat, only to then miss with an elbow drop off the ropes. Victoria seizes the opportunity and delivers a boot to the gut before blocking a right hand and working a backslide pin for 2. A jacknife pin gets another 2 before Victoria unloads with a series of right hands followed by a clothesline. She then whips Molly off the ropes and takes her over with a back-bodydrop. Victoria then lands a boot to the gut and goes for the Widow's Peak, only for Molly to fight out of it by tangling her legs in the ropes. As Victoria turns around, Molly guillotines her over the middle ropes, climbs up top and hits the Molly-Go-Round for the victory.

Winner: Molly Holly

Great match, the women always work really hard, which is why the current influx of useless tarts is really starting to piss me off. At No Way Out, we get to decide who our favourite diva is out of Joy Giovanni, Michelle, Rochelle and Lauren. Are we allowed to vote they all get fired along with the rest of the RAW divas? Give me Gail Kim vs. Jazz any day.

Tonight's main event - Chris Benoit vs. Steven Richards

Next - We see whether Triple H obeyed Batista's wishes to tackle JBL by himself if he came to RAW.

The Triple H video airs.

We then catch highlights from RAW, where Edge defeated Batista by DQ after JBL's limo pulled up outside the arena, prompting Triple H to get in the ring and shove down the referee. After telling "The Game" and Ric Flair to stay out of it, Batista went in search of the WWE Champion, only for Triple H to have to shove his Evolution teammate out of the way when the limo tried to run Batista down. After dusting himself off, Batista announced he was on his way to Smackdown!, alone.

We then catch highlights from Smackdown!, where JBL and his cabinet awaited the arrival of Batista. When he did finally get there in his beautiful sports car, "The Animal" decided to smash the shit out of JBL's limo with a baseball bat before hightailing it when WWE Tag Team Champions The Basham Brothers and Orlando Jordan went after him. This left JBL open to an attack from The Big Show until the cabinet returned to assist their leader. Batista then returned and destroyed the whole cabinet, apart from JBL who stared him and Show down from the ramp.

This week on RAW - the Batista Contract Signing. Will he stay with Eric Bischoff's RAW and face Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship at Wrestlemania 21? Or will he decide to join Theodore Long's Smackdown! and face either JBL or The Big Show for the WWE Championship?

Commercial.

Steven Richards vs. Chris Benoit
Before the match starts, Grisham hypes the WWE RAW Wrestlemania Revenge Tour's visit to England again. Okay, we get the point! The two men lock up to start, with Benoit hitting a quick armdrag. They lock up again and Benoit twists the arm around. Richards reverses it but then Benoit hits a fireman's carry takeover and slaps on a wristlock. Richards breaks it with a right hand and twists the arm around but Benoit breaks it with a single leg trip, only for Richards to grab the ropes. They lock up again and Benoit forces Richards into the corner, where he misses a big chop attempt. They lock up again and Benoit cinches in a front facelock before working the go-behind. Richards reverses it but Benoit drops out of the hold and then cinches in a headlock. Richards bounces him off the ropes but Benoit rebounds with a shoulderblock followed by a right hand. Richards delivers a right of his own but Benoit reverses a whip attempt, lands a boot to the gut but then misses the chop again. Richards responds by slapping Benoit's chest and then shoving him, but Benoit responds by finally landing some devastating chops, a right hand and yet more chops. Richards turns the tide with a poke to the eye and a turnbuckle shot but Benoit reverses an Irish whip. Richards gets both feet up on the corner charge though and floors Benoit. He then unloads with a series of right hands and stomps on the mat before scoring with a reverse neckbreaker followed by a kneedrop/choke combination. He then delivers a right hand and a chop of his own.

Just thought I'd stop there to point out something Grisham said about Richards. Speaking about his ECW days, The Grish said: "Richards has been through some wars, literally!" Now correct me if I'm wrong, but I can't recall the time Steven Richards was involved in military combat.

Anyway, back to the match. Another chop by Richards fires up Benoit, who hits another one of his own before Richards cuts him off with another eye poke. He then unloads with a series of rights to the gut before laying Benoit over the middle rope, running the ropes and jumping on Benoit's back, staying there to choke him over the rope. A bodyslam gets 2 for Richards before he slaps on a seated full nelson, but Benoit eventually elbows free. Richards tries to stop his momentum with a right hand, but Benoit unloads with some chops. Another right by Richards fails when Benoit hits one of his own, whips him off the ropes and decks him with a running sledge. A back suplex gets 2 before Benoit delivers three rolling German suplexes for another 2 as Richards gets his foot on the ropes. Benoit then runs the ropes and baseball slides Richards to the outside. Richards guillotines Benoit over the top rope though and calls for the Steven Kick, only for Benoit to catch it and turn it into the Crippler Crossface for the submission win.

Winner: Chris Benoit

Another good match. Richards deserves a lot better than being on Heat every week and I hope Benoit's time at the top is not over yet.

End of Show.

That's it for this week. You may have noticed I've put a few of my own opinions in this week, so if you don't agree with them, do agree with them or just want to say hi, steviek20@hotmail.com is where you do it.

I'll see you on the day of Wrestlemania 21.