The January 26, 2004, episode of took place at the Giant Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania. This was the first episode of Raw following the 2004 Royal Rumble and was defined by the historic "brand jump" of the Royal Rumble winner and the return of a legendary figure to confront Key Event: The Brand Jump In a landmark moment for the brand extension era, Chris Benoit
“I’ve beaten everyone on SmackDown! I’ve beaten Brock Lesnar. But the one title that has eluded me… the one man I have never broken… is the World Heavyweight Championship. Triple H… I’m coming for you.” wwe raw january 26 2004
The most significant development of the night occurred when Chris Benoit , who had won the Royal Rumble as a member of the SmackDown roster, appeared on Raw. The January 26, 2004, episode of took place
A solid mid-card filler match that served to make Randy Orton look like a future world champion. The Hurricane (Gregory Helms) got in his usual comic relief spots—eye pokes and the “Eye of the Hurricane”—but Orton was in full “Legend Killer” mode. But the one title that has eluded me…
: Benoit utilized a loophole in his contract to challenge Raw’s World Heavyweight Champion, Triple H , for a title match at WrestleMania XX .
In the opening contest of the night, Chris Benoit took on the World’s Strongest Man, Mark Henry. This was strategic programming. Benoit had won a #1 Contender’s match for the WWE Championship on SmackDown! a few weeks prior, but rumors were swirling that he was unhappy on the blue brand and wanted to chase Triple H.
Instead, Orton handed the hammer to Triple H. Triple H smashed Foley in the ribs. Evolution stood tall, bloodied and victorious.
