Submitted by Steve Knight on January 25, 2004 at 12:04 AM

Sunday Night Heat UK Exclusive
25-1-04, Sky One
By Steve Knight

Hello everybody, and welcome back to the UK-exclusive pre-Royal Rumble
edition of Sunday Night Heat. So without further ado, let’s get on with the
show!

As usual, Marc Lloyd and Jonathan Coachman welcome us aboard and send it in
to ring announcer Howard Finkel for our opening contest, which is –

Rosey vs. Ken Anderson*
The two go for a lock-up to start, but Anderson ducks out of the way and
then delivers a boot to the gut before twisting Rosey’s arm around. After a
series of right hands to the extended limb, Anderson twists it around again,
only for Rosey to break the hold by bouncing him off the ropes and then
dropping him with a shoulderblock. Rosey continues to run the ropes, hopping
over the fallen Anderson before ducking a clothesline attempt and then
flooring him with a big headbutt. Rosey then twists Anderson’s arm around
and delivers a hard left to the limb, flooring Anderson. Rosey maintains the
hold though and twists it round again. Anderson delivers a right hand and
tries to reach the ropes, but Rosey holds onto the arm and swings Anderson
flying to the other side of the ring. He then wraps Anderson’s arm over the
top rope in the corner and delivers a left hand to it before placing
Anderson in a hammerlock and shoving him shoulder-first into the
turnbuckles. Rosey then twists the arm around again and flips Anderson onto
the mat, where he slaps on a modified hammerlock.
When it looks like Anderson might escape the hold, Rosey lands a left hand
to the arm and then a right to the head before releasing the hold and
delivering an Irish Whip into the corner. Anderson gets his feet up on the
corner charge though, only to run straight into a bodyslam from Rosey. The
big man then goes for the SHIT legdrop, but Anderson rolls out to the apron
before he can hit it. As Rosey approaches him, Anderson guillotines him over
the top rope and then hops up to the second rope, looking for a
cross-bodyblock. However, Rosey catches him and delivers a devastating Gun
Stinger for the 1-2-3.
Winner: Rosey

Still to Come – Rob Conway vs. Steven Richards (w/Victoria)

Next – Stone Cold Steve Austin had something to say on RAW.

The RAW Superstars promo airs.

The Shawn Michaels/Triple H video package from RAW is shown again. At the
Royal Rumble, it will be Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels in a Last Man Standing
Match for the World Heavyweight Championship.

The Don’t Try This at Home promo airs.

Commercial

The Randy Orton/Mick Foley video package from RAW is shown again.

We then catch highlights from RAW, where Sheriff Stone Cold Steve Austin
sent out a message to Mick Foley to prove that he was not a coward by
attending the Royal Rumble. If he didn’t, then he would be breaking Stone
Cold’s Law, and Austin would ride his quad bike to Long Island, tie Foley up
to the back of it and drag him all the way to Philadelphia.

Still to Come – Mark Jindrak and Garrison Cade vs. Val Venis and Lance Storm

Next – Rob Conway vs. Steven Richards (w/Victoria)

The Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H, Last Man Standing Match, Royal Rumble promo
airs.

Rob Conway vs. Steven Richards (w/Victoria)
The two lock up to start, with Richards forcing Conway to the ropes. The two
maintain the lock-up but force each other into different areas of the ring
until finally breaking. They lock up a second time, with Conway working the
go-behind into a reverse waistlock. Richards reverses the hold though, only
for Conway to quickly break it with an elbow to the face. Conway then twists
the arm round and slaps on a wristlock, which Richards rolls out of before
twisting Conway’s arm instead. After Richards wrenches down on the arm a
couple of times, Conway tries to fight out with a right hand, only for
Richards to hit him with one back, as well as a few to the arm as well.
Conway eventually breaks the hold with a boot to the gut and cinches in a
headlock, but Richards fights back with a series of right hands to the side
before shoving Conway off into the ropes. Conway rebounds with a
shoulderblock, only to then run straight into a hiptoss from Richards for 2.
Steven twists the arm round again and places Conway in an armbar, but Conway
forces him into the corner, where he delivers a tight armdrag, only for
Richards to hold on and armdrag Conway straight after before going back to
the armbar on the mat. Conway eventually fights up and bounces Richards off
the mat, only to get floored by a shoulderblock on the rebound. Richards
then runs the ropes, hopping over the fallen Conway and running underneath
his leapfrog, before twisting Conway’s arm round once more and flipping him
onto the mat for a 1-count. Richards then twists the arm yet again and goes
back to the armbar.
Conway eventually fights up and forces Richards into the corner, where the
referee calls for the break. As Conway goes to walk away though, he decks
Richards in the corner with a cheap shot and then unloads with a series of
kicks to the ribs. He then delivers an Irish Whip into the corner, only to
miss the corner charge, allowing Richards to plant a right hand on him.
Richards then whips Conway off the ropes, only to miss a reverse elbow and
then a clothesline. Richards then runs the ropes himself and the two collide
with a double cross-bodyblock attempt in the middle of the ring, and both
men are down.
Conway is first to his feet, and he sends Richards into the corner with a
forearm to the back of the head. He then hits a couple more in the corner
before hitting a back suplex for 2 and then cinching in a reverse chinlock
on the mat.
With Victoria cheering him on, Richards eventually fights up, only for
Conway to maintain the hold and take him right back down to the mat again.
After a short while, Richards fights up again and breaks the hold by
flipping Conway onto the mat. However, it takes its toll on Steven, and
Conway cinches in the reverse chinlock again and takes Richards straight
back down.
Richards eventually fights up again and elbows his way free, only for Conway
to go back to the reverse chinlock yet again. This time though, Richards
breaks it with a reverse jawbreaker and then runs the ropes. Conway lands a
boot to the gut on the rebound though and goes for a Sympathiser Suplex,
only for Richards to reverse it and hit one of his own. Steven then unloads
with a series of rights to the gut and then goes for one to the head, but
Conway blocks it and delivers one of his own, so Richards runs the ropes
instead and decks Conway with a hard right hand. After another right hand,
Richards drops Conway with a clothesline and then whips him into the ropes,
taking him over with a back-bodydrop on the rebound. He then lands a boot to
the gut before running the ropes and drilling Conway with a swinging
neckbreaker. 1-2-kickout. Richards then takes Conway into the corner and
looks for some mounted punches, but Conway lifts him out into the centre of
the ring, only to then miss a clothesline and get drilled with an
Edge-O-Matic. 1-2-kickout. Sensing the end, Richards looks for the Stevie T,
but Conway charges him into the corner to stop it from happening and then
lands a boot to the gut followed by a DDT. 1-2-kickout. Conway then slides
out to ringside and grabs his French flag, only for Victoria to grab the
other end. A tug-o-war ensues, which Conway wins, but he turns right into a
boot to the gut from Richards, followed by an X-Factor for the 1-2-3.
Excellent match by these two underrated superstars.
Winner: Steven Richards

Still to Come – Mark Jindrak and Garrison Cade vs. Val Venis and Lance Storm

Next – Six men battled it out for the Royal Rumble’s No. 30 spot on RAW.

Commercial

WWE Rewind – Two weeks ago on RAW, Goldberg declared himself an entrant in
the Royal Rumble Match after defeating Matt Hardy Version 1 with the
Jackhammer.

We then catch highlights from RAW, where Goldberg, Intercontinental Champion
Randy Orton, Rob Van Dam, Booker T, Chris Jericho and Mark Henry took part
in the No. 30 Over the Top Rope Challenge, which Goldberg won after military
pressing Orton onto his fellow Evolution members, World Tag Team Champions
Ric Flair and Batista, at ringside.

Next – Mark Jindrak and Garrison Cade vs. Val Venis and Lance Storm

Commercial

Mark Jindrak and Garrison Cade vs. Val Venis and Lance Storm (w/two women)
Venis and Cade kick this one off with a lock-up, with Venis cinching in a
headlock. Cade breaks the hold by bouncing Venis off the ropes, but Val
rebounds with a shoulderblock and then unloads with a series of chops before
he twists Cade’s arm around and tags in Storm, who climbs up top and comes
off with a flying double axhandle to the extended limb. Storm then twists
Cade’s arm round himself and wrenches it down a couple of times before
taking him over in a Northern Lights position and then locking in a reverse
armbar on the mat. The referee counts Cade’s shoulders down for 1 before
Storm changes into a regular armbar. He then twists the arm round again and
slaps on a wristlock, but Cade breaks the hold with a knee to the gut and
then kicks Storm in the chest. After pushing Storm’s head around, Cade hits
an Irish Whip, only for Lance to hoist himself up and then shove Cade into
the corner. Cade then rushes out in anger, but Storm takes him over with an
armdrag before going back to the armbar on the mat.
Cade eventually fights up, so Storm twists the arm round again, only for
Cade to deliver a right hand and then slap on a wristlock. Storm turns the
momentum back his way with a series of slaps to the chest, before reversing
the wristlock, running to the ropes and performing a springboard bouncing
backflip to escape the hold. Cade angrily rushes out again and misses a
clothesline, allowing Storm to go for a springboard reverse dropkick.
However, Jindrak drops him with a left hand at the ropes, drawing Venis back
into the ring. As the referee tries to force him back out, Jindrak illegally
enters the ring and the two heels stomp away on Storm until Cade exits and
Jindrak chokes Lance on the mat. When Venis finally leaves the ring, the
referee confronts Jindrak about being the legal man, so Jindrak tags back
out to Cade to shut him up. Cade cinches in a reverse chinlock on arrival
and then hits a clubbing blow to the side of the head before tagging back
out to Jindrak. The two then whip Storm off the ropes, deliver a double boot
to the gut and then a double Russian Legsweep for 2. Jindrak then hits a
nice standing dropkick before taunting Venis in the corner with his own porn
star moves. Venis delivers a right hand in retaliation, which sends Jindrak
back into a schoolboy from Storm for 2. Jindrak then delivers a big
clothesline to cut Storm off, which also gets 2. He then drags Storm into
the corner and tags back out to Cade, who delivers a stomp to Lance and then
shoves him in the head. Storm tries to fight back with a right and left to
the gut, but Cade cuts him off with a right hand of his own, followed by
another stomp before placing him in a front facelock and tagging back out to
Jindrak, who comes in with a boot to Storm’s exposed chest before locking in
a neck vice that eventually changes to a reverse chinlock on the mat.
Occasionally Jindrak puts both of his feet up on the ropes behind the
referee’s back, and on one attempt gets a quick 1-count out of it.
Storm eventually fights up and elbows his way free, but Jindrak cuts him off
with a big headbutt and then chokes Storm over the middle rope with his
knee. As the referee admonishes, Cade guillotines Storm from the apron and
then comes back in illegally and delivers a boot to the head followed by a
snapmare before moving into a reverse chinlock on the mat with a knee to the
back. After delivering a quick kneedrop to the face, Cade tags back out to
Jindrak, who comes in with a stomp for a 1-count before going back to the
reverse chinlock himself and then back to the neck vice.
Storm eventually fights up and elbows his way free again, but Jindrak cuts
him off with a forearm to the back of the head that sends Storm into the
corner. Jindrak backs up and goes for his charging cross-bodyblock in the
corner, but Storm moves out of the way and Jindrak meets buckle. The two
then crawl to their respective corners, with Jindrak tagging in Cade and
Storm making the hot tag to Venis, who immediately ducks under a Cade
clothesline attempt and floors him with one of his own, followed by a double
reverse elbow. Cade then reverses a whip, but Venis rebounds with a heavy
shoulderblock and then decks Jindrak with a clothesline when he hits the
ring. Venis then delivers a boot to Cade’s gut and hits a twisting
neckbreaker for 2. Venis then unloads with a series of chops to Cade before
delivering an Irish Whip into the corner and following up with a clothesline
and then his patented half-nelson slam. 1-2-Jindrak makes the save, so Storm
comes back in and kicks him out to ringside, only to then miss a vaulting
bodypress. Meanwhile, Venis delivers a couple of right hands to Cade and
goes for a whip, but Cade reverses it and Jindrak trips Venis up at the
ropes. When he gets up, Cade delivers a bulldog for 2. Jindrak then gets
back in the ring and the two double team Venis with punches and stomps until
the referee forces Jindrak from the ring. Cade delivers a boot to the gut of
Venis, but Val reverses a whip attempt, only to then miss a clothesline on
the rebound. Cade then hops over the fallen Venis, only to run straight into
a leg lariat from Storm. With Cade down and out, Venis climbs up top and
hits The Money Shot for the 1-2-3.
Winners: Val Venis and Lance Storm

Lloyd and Coachman then quickly run down tonight’s Royal Rumble card, and
that’s that.

Well that’s all this week guys. Remember for fans in the UK, the Royal
Rumble and live Sunday Night Heat will be shown tonight (or probably last
night by the time you read this), on Setanta Sports (Sky Digital Channel
424, or something like that). It costs £15, but hey, this is the Rumble!

Seeya next week for Classics.
Steve (steviek@rajah.com)

*”Kamikaze” Ken Anderson (27), stands 6’2” tall and weighs in at 225lbs. He
hails from Minneapolis, MN and has worked for many different wrestling
promotions. He has held the ACW Heavyweight Championship and TV
Championship, and is a two time Tag Team Champion with Mike Mercury. He has
also held the UPCW Tag Team Championship with Big Daddy Loker.