Vengeance 2005

[Lionheart]

Intercontinental Champion Carlito def. Shelton Benjamin
Shawn Michaels def. Kurt Angle
Victoria def. Christy
WWE Champion John Cena def. Christian and Chris Jericho
Kane def. Edge (w/Lita)
World Heavyweight Champion Batista def. Triple H (Hell in a Cell)

[Lionheart]

Six days after losing the Intercontinental Championship to Carlito, Shelton Benjamin challenged to the new champ for the same title that he held longer than any other Superstar in a decade. Early on, it appeared as though Benjamin was going to have no problem reclaiming the championship. In fact, Benjamin was so dominant that Carlito even tried to walk away from the match, willing to accept the countout loss. Benjamin, knowing that the championship could not change hands on a countout, chased down Carlito and threw him back in the ring.

From there, Benjamin was able to land a flying lariat and springboard bulldog. Carlito, unbelievably, was able to survive both monster moves. In an act of desperation, Carlito then exposed the top turnbuckle in one of the corners. Not long after, Benjamin missed a Stinger Splash, landing head first into the exposed steel. Carlito, with a fistful of tights, was able to take advantage and pick up the pin to retain the championship.

To many, the Shawn Michaels - Kurt Angle WrestleMania 21 classic seemed impossible to duplicate. HBK and Angle, however, silenced those skeptics en route to another instant classic.

Angle, the winner of the WrestleMania 21 encounter, dominated much of the early goings. HBK's resiliency, however, helped him survive a devastating suplex on top of the Spanish announce table, a powerbomb onto the top turnbuckle and the ankle lock.

On top of all this, HBK was tossed over the top rope out to the outside. The impact appeared to have severely injured HBK's knee. Michaels' will to win, however, would not let him give up. Once back in the ring, HBK caught Angle, who was coming off the top rope, with Sweet Chin Music. Michaels followed it up with a successful pin, evening the Angle-HBK rivalry at one.

Victoria had to reach deep down into her bag of tricks to pull out a victory over the resilient Christy Hemme. After hitting Christy with everything she had, Victoria was forced to cheat to win, grabbing the ropes for extra leverage to get the pin.

Prior to the underhanded pin, Christy fought back from an amazing level of offense from Victoria that included the fiery red head’s neck getting dropped over the top rope.

The first of two Vengeance World Championship matches saw John Cena defend the WWE Championship against Christian and Chris Jericho in a Triple Threat Match.

Early in the match, Tyson Tomko earned himself an ejection from ringside due to his constant interference. Christian’s “problem solver” didn’t go quietly. He even interjected in the championship match later on – with the referee’s back turned, Tomko ran from the locker room and flattened Cena. Christian quickly covered the champ. Cena somehow managed to get his shoulder up before the count of three.

From there, Cena mustered enough energy to hoist Christian for the FU, knocking Jericho out of the ring in the process. The rest was academic, as the referee counted Christian’s shoulders down for the three count. John Cena had successfully defended the WWE Championship in his first RAW pay-per-view.

It's been a tough several weeks for Kane. It all started going down hill when Kane’s wife, Lita, turned her back on her husband to reveal a sordid love affair with Edge.

Not only did Lita making her feelings toward Edge public break Kane’s heart, it also cost the big man an opportunity at the World Heavyweight Championship, as her actions came in the finals of the Gold Rush Tournament.

Kane was finally able to gain some measure of revenge when he fought off much Snitsky interference to pin Edge after delivering a huge chokeslam.

Triple H and Batista walked through Hell Sunday night at Vengeance, and neither will ever be the same again.

Hell in a Cell, which is already considered a device of disaster by many, became even deadlier at Vengeance when Triple H and Batista introduced numerous weapons to the match. A steel chain, sledgehammer, steel chair wrapped in barbed wire and the displaced steel ring steps all found their way into the ring. Each of these weapons, though just as legal as a wristlock inside Hell in a Cell, played a major role in bloodying both Superstars.

In the end, Batista somehow managed to get up from the Pedigree before the referee could count his shoulders to the mat for three. A shocked Triple H soon fell victim to a spinebuster on the steel ring steps, followed by a Batista Bomb. The fatigued World Heavyweight Champion then fell atop The Game while the ref counted to three.

After a grueling encounter, Batista was able to hold on to the World Heavyweight Championship and hand Triple H his first loss inside Hell in a Cell.