[This week's new disclaimer. Will the tumult currently affecting the WWE also cause havoc with E3W? Well, for the moment, I say no, since I'd like to think that Steve Austin wouldn't hate my booking enough to walk out. I mean, he's the champ here, and that should make him happy, right? So, unless this all turns out to be a shoot and Austin is let go, we're going to keep him plugged into the storylines.]

June 17 - RAW
ARCO Arena
Sacramento, California

The pre-show package centers on the KOTR tournament, culminating with the announcement that Eddy Guerrero is the third Horsemen.

The show opens with the Canadians coming out onto the stage. Before discussing KOTR, Jericho announces that they want to bring out a close personal friend of theirs, who might not be Canadian, but he's a champion nonetheless. Glory be, the funk's on me; it's Shaq, wearing one of the snappy Canadian Pride hockey jerseys that we've been selling on the shopzone web site. Needless to say, a huge chorus of boos reign down on him, including probably one long-haired, Pokemon-loving recapper who we comped for the show. Jericho says thanks his good friend Shaquille for coming by tonight, since he loves this place so much. More boos. Winner stick together and I'll be a winner at KOTR, especially after I dispose of Eddy Guerrero tonight, Horseman or not.

Backstage, we see the Godfather's escorts talking with Dean Malenko. He tells them that the Godfather arrivered earlier tonight and should be in his dressing room. They say they haven't seen him yet and he's not in there.

Match 1: KOTR Round 2: Eddy Guerrero vs. Chris Jericho - Edge and Christian try to interfere, but they are stopped by Regal and Benoit. This allows Shaq, who came to ringside with Jericho, to slip Y2J a chair and while the ref is distracted, Eddy gets clocked and then pinned.

Backstage, there's a meeting of the Dangerous Alliance. Heyman says there will be no favoritism toward either men in the match. Val says that all he wants is a fair chance against Paul E's fair-haired boy. Lesnar says he doesn't need any help beating some Ron Jeremy reject. The two get nose-to-nose as we go to break.

Match 2: KOTR Round 2: Val Venis vs. Brock Lesnar - Well, the match is clean, for a while, before they start punching and kicking. Val manages to put Lesnar in the Nagata Lock, but as Val is talking to the ref, Heyman pulls Lesnar toward the ropes. Val breaks the hold and scrambles up to the top for the Money Shot. But, right when he's about to come off the top, Heyman pushes him off. Ross is stunned. Lawler is stunned. Lesnar quickly wins with the Spider Bomb, but Ross wonders about the future of the Dangerous Alliance after Heyman's actions.

Backstage, Arn is talking to Malenko when the escorts come running up screaming. They say there' something wrong with the Godfather. Malenko says he'll handle it and goes off with the chicks. Arn deadpans into the cameras, "He can't stay no to the ladies."

After the commercial, we find Malenko outside the dressing room with the escorts. He knocks on the door, but there's no answer. Malenko slowly opens the door and finds the room dark, lit only by candles. He looks around and then, coming out the bathroom, is the Godfather, only it's not the Godfather. It's, God help us, Papa Shango. The girls run out again and Malenko just shakes his head.

Match 3: Chavo Guerrero/Rey Misterio vs. Shannon Moore/Billy Kidman - The heels go over here, with Moore pinning Misterio with the Viagra driver.

Backstage, the Hurricane is at craft services when he's approached by Shaq. Shaq says that he loves superheroes, but the Hurricane is no match for Superman. Hurricane starts speaking in comic book geekese, when Lance Storm shows up. He says comics are fine, but the ring is no place for the Hurricane and his stupid gimmick. This quickly leads to a match for Storm's Jr. Heavyweight title later in the show.

Match 4: Raven vs. David Flair - Raven goes over with the DDT.

Top of the hour, here comes Austin. He's tired of waiting for the PPV to get his hands on Angle and wants him tonight. Flair comes out and says that he's not giving away his PPV main event for free tonight, but he will give Austin a match vs. Shelton Benjamin.

Backstage, the Alliance is fuming. Angle wants Austin tonight too. Finally, Venis bursts through the door, which Ivory had been blocking. He asks Paul what's go on and he said no hard feeling, it's just business. And Brock Lesnar is the Alliance's Blue Chip. Val nods and walks out.

Match 5: Jr. Title - Lance Storm vs. Hurricane - Storm comes out with Shaq. Storm wins easily with the Maple Leaf. Shaq spends most of this match jawing with fans at ringside.

Backstage, Edge and Christian are called into Flair's office. He tells them that the tag team titles need to be defended and if Edge's shoulder isn't match-ready, they'll have to give up the titles. Edge pulls out a piece of paper that Flair starts reading. It says that the Canadians are envoking "the Demolition rule," and any member of the team can defend the tag belts. Flair shakes his head because there's nothing he can do about this. HE says that someone will be defending the belts on the PPV.

Match 6: Austin vs. Benjamin - Mostly a quick match, ending with the stunner. After the match, Austin pours beer on Benjamin and dars Angle to come out. Angle gets to the stage, but Heyman and Lesnar drag him to the back.

Match 7: KOTR Quarterfinal: Jericho vs. Lesnar - Before the match, Flair bans everyone from ringside. The match ends with a ref bump and Lesnar on the top rope, ready to do the Shooting Star on Jericho. But, from out of the crowd, comes Val Venis. He pushes Lesnar off the top and then revives the ref. Jericho rolls him up (pulling the tights) and gets the win. Then the chaos starts. The Canadians ans the Allliance hit the ring and start brawling. If that weren't enough, so do the Horsemen. There's a pier-six brawl going on in the ring as we go off the air.