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Total Nonstop Action Wrestling iMPACT: Raven vs. Rod Steele: (07.30.04) - TNA Wrestling emanates from Universal Studios Orlando Florida at the Impact Zone as Raven makes his way out to the ring. Raven is dressed in Arabian garb so as to mock Sabu and the heritage of his uncle, "The Original Shiek" Ed Farhat, as Raven has "FEAR ME SABU" scrawled on his torso in black grease paint as the one and only confrontation between the two of them will take place next Wednesday night on TNA's "Night of Revenge" PPV. Raven makes his way into the ring and mocks Sabu's mannerisms as Raven drops to the corner of one of the hexagonal ring post corners to await his opponent, Florida's Rod Steele.
Steele makes his way into the ring as Raven drops The Sheik's garb. The match quickly goes to the outside as Raven overpowers and outbrawls Steele to the ringside rails. Raven hits the triad side Russian leg sweep on Steele who is completely overpowered and decimated by the maneuver as Raven drags him back in the six-sided ring to hit The Raven Effect DDT for the pinfall victory in 1:16. Raven then gets up and does Sabu's point to the stars mannerism in one last dig at the Homicidal, Suicidal and Genocidal maniac from Bombay.
WINNER: Raven via Pinfall
At the close of the match-up, Sabu runs down to ringside with a chair and slides into the ring. Raven intercepts him and kicks the chair out of his hands and pounds him down with boots. Raven whips Sabu to the ropes and tries a lariat, Sabu ducks and does a springboard dropkick on Raven, knocking him down. Raven gets up, but Sabu takes a page out of his protege RVD's notebook and slams the chair at Raven's face. Raven ducks out of the ring and Sabu hits Raven with a tope suicida onto the mat below knocking both men down. TNA's blackshirt security run to break up the melee as the fight continues they cut away.
Later, Sabu does a backstage vignette mocking Raven's Crucifix and snarling indicating he'll take the enigmatic one out. We then see a shot of Sabu from behind with his turban and robe, but it's Raven who strips it off and does the Crucifix, growling into the camera -- "Quote the Raven, nevermore!"
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Total Nonstop Action Wrestling on PPV: Raven Segment w/ Sabu & Sonjay Dutt: (07.28.04) - Forty minutes into the pay-per-view a long recap of the Raven-Sabu feud is played. The footage highlights points of conflict between the two such as Raven’s verbal confrontation of Sabu after he beat up Sonjay Dutt, the effigy, the backstage shots of Sabu with the photograph of his uncle, the audio of Mickey Doyle confronting Sabu in regards to Raven having disrespected Sabu, Sabu’s crucifix pose, their conflict on Impact!, and so on and so forth. The montage ends with the audio from Raven’s last ppv promo: “Welcome to the terrordome. Quote the Raven, nevermore.”
After the montage we return to a shot of the ring. Mike Tenay is standing front and center with a microphone in hand.
Tenay: “Ladies and Gentlemen, for months Sabu has turned the other cheek. We understand that certainly there is a history between Sabu and Raven. They took an oath of loyalty -- a promise that was made to Sabu’s uncle, the Sheik, that Sabu and Raven would never fight each other in the ring. Last week on Impact! we saw that Sabu accepted the challenge. He’s accepted the fight. And most importantly he has accepted a match for next Wednesday night, right here at the Asylum, it’s going to be Sabu versus Raven , one on one.”
“Sabu vows that this will be the one and only meeting between himself and Raven. He promises that once he gets the one-two-three -- once he defeats Raven -- that’s it -- the feud, the rivalry -- it’s done, it’s over with. That’s next Wednesday. But at this time, allow me to introduce to you one of the participants in this match-up that’s been years in the making. Let me introduce to you: Raven.”
Raven’s “Scream” theme plays as the camera pans to a shot of the entrance ramp. Raven is nowhere to be seen. Eventually the camera pans back to the other side of the arena where Raven is entering through the crowd. In addition to his usual kilt and t-shirt attire, Raven is also sporting a turban and a shiny metallic robe similar to that of Sabu’s. Raven has also brought a garbage can with him.
Raven: “Mike Tenay, get out of my ring! You should not antagonize someone who has a propensity for disproportionate violence!”
Tenay then leaves the ring, grumbling as he returns to his seat at the commentary desk.
Raven: “Sixteen years! Sixteen years I have been a god in this sport! Sixteen years! Sixteen long bloody years I have waited -- I have waited to pummel Sabu into oblivion! And for sixteen years (Raven gets down on his knees and points to the sky, mocking Sabu) for sixteen years he has avoided me citing some oath he made to a stale, rotting corpse. Is that your hero? Is that your homicidal, suicidal, genocidal madman?!? No! That man is a coward. For sixteen years I have wanted to do this! Now you are going to try to make me do this on your terms -- next week, one time -- one time only? No, no. You are not going to steal from me my revenge, on your terms. This is gonna be on my terms, and we are gonna do this right now. “
“Sabu, I know you’re lurking in the building. I know you’re hiding in the shower, in the shadows, even in the showers -- scared, terrified, ready to run at the word ‘boo.’ Do you know what I’ll do? I will make sure that you come out... because this is you dead Uncle’s (Raven takes off the turban and throws it in the trash can)... this is your dead Uncle’s (Raven takes off the robe and throws it in the trash can) this is your dead Uncle’s... (Raven removes a red plastic gasoline can from the trash can) This is not your dead Uncle’s (he holds up the gas can. He then pours the contents of the container on the effects in the trash can)... A little gasoline on there. You know what? I don’t think that’s going to be enough -- you see what a coward Sabu is. He doesn’t care about the Sheik. He doesn’t give a rat’s ass about the Sheik. All he cares about is running from Raven. So, I’m going to have to up the ante. I’m going to do something that may be a little unhinged... it may be a little unfair... but I don’t care.”
Raven has by this time gotten out of the ring and is lifting the ring apron to retrieve something from under the ring. He pulls out a large (person-sized) black bag. He throws what is obviously a body-bag on the apron and rolls it into the ring.
Raven is on his knees in front of the bag, which he begins to unzip: “Maybe you won’t come fight me for the Sheik’s clothing. Maybe you’ll come save your little buddy?” As Raven unzips the bag it is obvious that Sonjay Dutt is inside, bound at the hands and feet with duct tape over his mouth. Raven pulls Sonjay out of the bag by the hair and drags him over to the edge of the ring where the camera man is standing. “Maybe you’ll come save your little buddy? Look at that eye! Look at the eye I dug!” The camera then shows us Sonjay’s blackened eye. Raven then drags Sonjay over to the garbage can and shoves him in head first. Raven then pours gasoline on Sonjay to the desperate protests of Tenay and West who proclaim in unison “Not the gasoline! Not the gasoline! No!”
Raven: “Shut up! Shut Up! Sabu you have ten seconds to get out here! (Raven hold up a very large wooden match) Ten, Nine, Eight, Seven, Six, Five...”
The lights go out.
Raven: “Three, Two, One...”
The lights come back on and Raven and Sabu stand face to face in the ring. Raven shoves the trash can aside as Sabu does the crucifix pose. Sabu lands the first punch. Raven recoils but then rebounds, landing a punch of his own. The two men exchange blows. A referee and a member of the security team enter the ring to separate the two men. Raven shoves aside the referee. Sabu pushes away the security guy. Raven and Sabu return to the center of the ring to exchange more blows. More referees enter the ring, Raven shoves them away. The refs and the security personnel regain their footing and manage to separate Sabu and Raven, albeit briefly. Both men break free simultaneously. Somehow Sabu has acquired a chair, which he throws at Raven, hitting Raven squarely in the head. Raven rolls out of the ring and staggers around on the floor for a moment while security rushes to restrain him. Sabu stands in the ring, first pointing at the sky, and then mocking Raven with the crucifix pose.
Sabu sets up the chair for his dive off the top rope. As he crosses the ring to gain momentum for the jump the refs and security try to restrain him, but it is to no avail. Sabu runs across the ring, jumps from the chair to mount the ring post and goes flying out to the floor nailing Raven in the process. Raven crawls back up the entrance ramp and away from Sabu as again security attempts to separate them. We are left with a shot of security restraining Sabu as the confrontation is over, for this week.
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Total Nonstop Action iMPACT: Raven vs. Romeo: (07.23.04) - Raven makes his debut on TNA's iMPACT this week in his first nationally televised appearance on cable TV since leaving WWE in 2003. Mike Tenay and Don West run down Raven's re-emergence on TNA Wrestling on PPV from Wednesday July 21st after weeks of mindgames as Raven appeared after a blackout choking Sabu and putting him through a table. Raven challenged Sabu to face him on the PPV but Sabu has been reluctant due to his promise to his late uncle The Sheik whom he promised he would not attack Raven because of their bond in common training.
Raven's opponent for the match-up makes his way down to the ring in the former Kid Romeo, now just Romeo, formerly one-half of the WCW Cruiserweight Tag Team Champions in 2001. Dale Oliver's "Scream" hits the P.A. and Raven makes his way down to the hexagonal TNA ring to face Romeo. Raven does a Crucifix on the ropes and the Fox Box hits with the 10 minute time limit countdown as Raven slumps in the corner. Romeo seems unsure as to what to do and Raven the ring general takes control early in the match-up. They go to the outside and Raven hits a side Russian legsweep onto the guardrail on Romeo. Raven repeats this twice in succession, making sure to run in the ring quickly so he doesn't get counted out. Romeo is dazed and confused and gets a ricochet clothesline off the ropes from Raven, who then follows it up with a Mr. Wrestling II kneelift. Romeo cringes in agony as Raven lays in wait and snaps on a side headlock and drops Romeo with the Raven Effect for the 3 count and the win in his iMPACT debut.
WINNER: Raven via Pinfall.
At this point, Raven gets up and does the Crucifix pose in the middle of the ring. Sabu then makes his way to ringside. Raven spies him and walks to the guardrail and the two have an intense face-off. Raven slaps Sabu and Sabu walks away, only to run up the rail and hit Raven with a body splash. The two square off in an impromptu brawl which is broken up by TNA Blackshirt security headed by Don Harris as TNA cuts to the back.
As the show closes out, we hear from Raven who challenges Sabu for Wednesday on PPV:
"Sabu, Wednesday night, beware the Raven Effect -- short trip, bad landing."
Raven does the Crucifix as the picture fades out.
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Total Nonstop Action Wrestling on PPV: Raven Appearance: (07.21.04) - It is at the end of the no-disqualification match between Sabu and Abyss just as Sabu has mounted the ledge, formerly used as Raven’s perch, in order to splash Abyss, who is laid out on a table on the ground below, the lights go out. The arena is black for a moment. When the lights finally come back up there is a noose around Sabu’s neck, and Raven is attempting to strangle him with it. Inevitably, Sabu stumbles / is pushed by Raven off of the scaffolding and lands on the table, which does not break. Raven then climbs down to the scaffold and dives off, landing an elbow on Sabu’s midsection. He throws Abyss over Sabu for the pin.
Later on in the evening, Scott Hudson is backstage with Raven.
Hudson: “Raven, it’s been the talk of TNA for the last four weeks -- the mysterious absence -- just where have you been, Raven?”
Raven: “Where is Raven? Where is Raven? I suppose Sabu has been racking his feeble brain, trying to imagine when and where I would show up next. But praying, praying for divine intervention that I had retired or been in a car wreck or something equally debilitating. But where I’ve been, what lies behind, what lies ahead are tiny matters compared to what lies within. And what lies within, Sabu, is 24-carat non-negotiable, irrefutable cowardice. I remember, his uncle, the Sheik, asking me -- no, pleading with me -- why would Allah treat him so cruelly -- to give him such a sniveling, crying, whining, crybaby of a nephew, when he could have had a deity like myself? My only consolation is that the Sheik is no longer alive to bear witness to this tragedy. Ultimately, however, Sabu, you’re just a bit player in my adventures, a walk-on role, an insignificant. So, Friday at Impact!, Sabu, it’s time for you to play your little part. Fight or Flight, Sabu. Fight or Flight. Fight or Flight, Sabu. Fight or Flight. Welcome to the terrordome. Quote the Raven, nevermore.”
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Total Nonstop Action Wrestling on PPV: Raven Involvement vs. Sabu: (07.16.04) - About 40 minutes into the show we get our Raven moment. Sabu and Sonjay Dutt have just lost to Goldilock’s team of Abyss and “Baby Bear” Alex Shelley (Shelley pinned Dutt). Sabu and Abyss are still fighting outside the ring, finally, Sabu mounts the turnbuckle, as if to splash Abyss on the floor when the lights go out. It is just dark for at least a minute with Tenay wondering “who pulled the plug?”
The arena is still blackened, but there is the occasional strobe of light as the camera pans through the arena. Raven’s voice emanates throughout the arena (this is essentially three promos spliced together):
“The Sheik is dead. Long live Raven. (echo) Long Live Raven ...
Fight me ! Fight Me!!!!!!
Quote the Raven, nevermore.”
We then catch a shot of an effigy of the Sheik which is ‘hung’ (as in noose around the neck) in one of the dancer’s cages. They play the audio again:
“The Sheik is dead. Long live Raven. (echo) Long Live Raven...
Fight me ! Fight Me!!!!!!
Quote the Raven, nevermore.”
The lights come back up and Abyss is standing in the center of the ring. He’s got Sabu in the ‘torture rack’ position. He then does a sit-down backbreaker (called the Shock Treatment) on Sabu. Sabu crawls away from the ring, but Abyss drags him back and powerbombs him on a table while Tenay and West remark on the symbolism of Raven’s presentation
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