Jesse’s WWE RAW Report: Summerslam Looming
By Jesse Castleman
With two weeks remaining until SummerSlam, Raw kicks off from San Antonio, Texas. This is Jesse, and I am here once again to fill you in on all the Raw action WWE has to offer us on Monday Nights. The show starts off with Edge entering into the ring. He explains to the audience that the audience has let him down. He doesn’t respect John Cena. He doesn’t trust Chris Jericho, and he doesn’t have any faith in the Big Khali.
He barely knows R-Truth and John Morrison. He needs to do things his way. And Edge challenges Wade Barrett tonight. Out comes R-Truth to whassup. Truth steps into the ring and tells Edge that the problem is much bigger than Wade Barrett. R-Truth explains that Edge won’t listen to Cena, but that he WILL listen to him. Truth continues by explaining that Edge and R-Truth are fighting for what they love: wrestling. If they don’t fight, then Nexus wins. He tells Edge that the truth is that Edge needs to get his head out of his ass and come to his senses to help the WWE fight off Nexus at SummerSlam. How do you kill a snake? You chop its head off, because the rest of the body shrivels when the head is cut off.
Blinks before things get out of hand. GM email: Edge will wrestle Wade Barrett next! R-Truth wishes Edge luck, because he’s on his own. Barrett is down, Edge brings him in the corner, and whips him into the opposite corner. Edge hits a spear and covers Barrett, but he kicks out. Irish whip, and Barrett hits Edge with a big boot to knock him onto the apron, then another to knock him to the floor. Barrett kicks Edge around, then chokes him on the ropes. He covers Edge, who kicks out, and then Barrett locks a hold on Edge’s head. Edge fights out of it, but both men hit a clothesline to knock each other down. With Edge and Barrett down grabbing their necks, both get back up and Edge hits a flying clothesline, knocks Barrett down, Barrett breaks out of an Edgecution, misses a punch of Edge, then Edge hits an Edge-o-matic on Barrett. Near fall for two. Edge goes to the top rope, but Barrett catches Edge in a fireman’s carry. Edge breaks out and hits an Edgecution! Then Edge moves to the corner for a spear. He waits for Barrett to get up, but Barrett rolls out of the ring wisely. As Barrett taunts Edge, the rest of Nexus run down the ramp, and then Edge jumps out of the ring and runs through the crowd to get away from Nexus. Barrett signifies that Edge barely escaped, and Nexus watches on from the barrier as Edge exits view.
Edge is asking everyone backstage for John Cena. When Edge finds him he blasts Cena for neglecting to save Cena. Cena just explains that he didn’t show up because Edge didn’t want any help. Edge says good luck to Cena, and quits the team. Next to Cena is Chris Jericho, who explains that Cena needs to quit the team because he’s more of a cancer to WWE than Nexus. Jericho tells Cena to quit HIS team. Jericho asks for a match tonight. Cena rebuttals that Nexus is laughing at them because they are doing exactly what they want. Jericho again asks Cena yes or no to the match tonight. Cena obliges, and walks away from Jericho.
Khali and Morrison talk backstage, and Morrison wishes Khali luck against his match against Ted DiBiase. Tarver clears things up with Khali by slyly explaining that they didn’t attack Khali out of disrespect, but only because he was part of Cena’s team. Then Otunga falsely informs Khali that Cena will replace Khali on their team if he loses to DiBiase tonight. Tarver offers a final reminder that Nexus’s door is open if he wants to join them. Khali’s translator offers a final translation, and Khali shakes his head. Commercial.
Back from the break to Gail Kim, Eve Torres, and Natalya in the ring. Out comes the team of Tamina, Jillian, and Diva’s champion Alicia Fox. Kim starts off against Jillian, who quickly takes Kim down and then proceeds to toss her across the ring by the hair. Continuing her assault on Kim’s hair, she picks up Kim and drops her into a backbreaker. Near fall, then Jillian drags Kim by the hair to the corner. Fox tags in and hits a bridge suplex on Kim. Near fall for two. As Fox attempts to tag Jillian in, Kim counters and hits Fox with a big flapjack. In comes Natalya, who hits a clothesline, then a suplex on Fox. Natalya then hits a body slam and a beautiful bridge suplex on Fox. 1, 2, then Tamina breaks up the count. Kim then jumps over the ropes and hits Tamina with a splash Back in the ring, Natalya tries to lock a Sharpshooter on Fox. Tamina distracts Natalya, who knocks her out of the ring, and as Natalya screams at Tamina to stay out of the ring, Fox hits a devastating finisher on Natalya. This one’s over. Then Fox claims that we are all witnesses to the best Diva’s Champion in WWE history, as she has beaten all of her opponents. Melina interrupts Fox, making her return from an injury, and had to give up her title because of it. Fox tries to flee the ring, but Jillian catches her, throws her back in, and Melina hits a face plant on Fox. After screaming, “I’m back,” Melina hits her finisher on Fox, and Melina stares over the knocked-out Fox, perhaps setting a title match up for SummerSlam. Melina looks fresh, and an exciting match between the two should take place, if that is indeed in the cards. Sheamus is shown backstage, on his way to the ring, after the commercial break.
Back from the break, WWE Champion Sheamus is making his entrance. King explains that he doesn’t want to like the guy, but he’s just too impressive to look past. Sheamus’s opponent, Goldust, hits the ring next. Sheamus has learned a lot from Goldust from his time in ECW. The bell rings and the match begins as Sheamus backs Goldust into the corner. He slaps Goldust, and then Goldust hits punches and clotheslines on Sheamus. Goldust drops down to hit Sheamus in the face, but Sheamus kicks Goldust hard. Sheamus hits Goldust with an Irish Curse backbreaker. Goldust is down, and Sheamus is waiting. Sheamus delivers a big bicycle kick to Goldust’s face. After taunting, he sets up Goldust in a powerbomb, he hits the crucifix powerbomb on Goldust! Sheamus easily covers Goldust for the victory. After an impressive victory, Sheamus grabs the microphone, exclaiming the difference that a year makes. After a year ago in ECW, making a name for himself by wrestling Goldust, Sheamus has become dominant. Sheamus is the WWE Champion now, whether anyone likes it or not. He wasn’t lucky to win a brief case like the Miz, or be a third generation superstar like Randy Orton, to get his shot at it; Sheamus earned hit. He even beat Triple H, ending his career. Sheamus claims to do it again at SummerSlam. He says he doesn’t want the audience’s respect or credit, because all he needs is what he already has: the WWE Championship. His music hits and he holds up his WWE Championship, then Cena and Jericho are shown walking backstage. Their match must be up next.
The loser of the next match will be kicked off of WWE’s team at SummerSlam. Jericho enters first in his attempt to fizzle Cena’s ego and leadership. Cena’s music hits next, and the crowd pops big-time as he enters. As Cena watches his team crumble before his eyes, he will try to preserve the team that he assembled by beating Jericho tonight, now. The match begins with Jericho and Cena circling each other. They lock up, and Cena backs Jericho into a corner. Jericho cheap shots Jericho, and takes control. Jericho hits a suplex on Cena and taunts him. Cena now fights back with some right hands. Jericho evades a flying cross body from Cena, and Cena tumbles to the outside of the ring. Jericho follows him and whips Cena shoulder first into the steel steps. Jericho calls Cena an idiot, and tells him to stay down. Jericho reenters the ring, and the Crowd chants for Cena as he lies crumbled on the mat. Cena jumps back into the ring just before the 10 count expires. Jericho chokes Cena on the middle rope, then stands on his back and continues to choke him, before the referee breaks it up. Jericho hits a big right hand on Cena, but Cena finds some adrenaline by fighting back, but Jericho ultimately knocks him down. Jericho hits a seesaw on Cena’s neck in the bottom rope, and then applies a headlock onto Cena. Jericho yells at Cena to give up, but the crowd begins chanting for Cena, and Cena breaks out. Cena evades Jericho, who runs into the corner. Jericho is then bombarded by Cena, and Cena knocks Jericho down, goes for the 5 Knuckle Shuffle, but Jericho hits a Codebreaker before Cena can finish off the maneuver, knocking him out of the ring. Jericho rolls Cena into the ring and covers him for the victory, but Cena kicks out after 2. Jericho looks disappointed, and Jerry Lawler and Michael inform us that the match will continue after a commercial break.
Back from the break, Jericho punches Cena down, and places his hand to his ear to taunt the audience. Jericho flips Cena down and attempts to apply a Walls of Jericho. Cena counters out, and Cena now props Jericho up for an Attitude Adjustment, which Jericho falls out of. Jericho then flips Cena over the ropes to the outside. When Cena returns to the apron, Jericho jumps off the ropes and hits a dropkick, knocking Cena down to the mats again. Jericho slaps Cena, tells him to stay down, and a stupid man. Jericho throws Cena into the ring, goes to the top rope, hits a flying lariat, and hooks Cena’s leg for the cover. Cena kicks out at 2, and Cena, who knocks Jericho into the corner, strikes Jericho. Cena misses a bulldog, and Jericho hits a lionsault on Cena, but Cena kicks out again! The resilient Cena is dazed in the corner, and Jericho hits a clothesline on Cena. Jericho props Cena up on the top rope, sets up a superplex, but Cena hits a head butt and a big right hook on Jericho to knock him down into the ring. Cena jumps off the top rope and hits a fameasser onto Jericho. Cena grabs his left knee, and sets Jericho up for a Walls of Jericho, which he locks Cena into. Cena looks as if he’s about to tap, but rolls out and locks Jericho into an STF, which Jericho quickly taps to. Cena never quite had the STF locked into Jericho though, so some controversy surrounds this match. Jericho looked to have tapped to quickly, and perhaps his heart wasn’t completely in the match. Jericho walks off, pissed, and Cena asks Jericho to stop, explaining that the crowd has just witnessed an incredible match between two of the best wrestlers in the WWE. Cena explains that he doesn’t want Jericho to leave, and he tells Jericho that he is the best at what he does. After Jericho looks back, Cena says that the choice is his, because he doesn’t want to beg. Cena continues to explain the scenario to Jericho: either Jericho reenters the ring, and lets bygones be bygones, or he lets everyone down, including himself, by walking out on Cena. After toying with the idea, Jericho takes a step to the ring as the crowd cheers him on wildly. But Jericho has second thoughts, and makes his way back up the ramp and backstage, the crowd booing with some serious heat all the while. Jericho is out, and Cena and the audience display their disappointment as Raw takes a commercial break.
Edge is shown backstage, and Jericho enters his locker room. After asking Edge if he had seen what had happened, Edge tells Jericho he respects him for what he did. Jericho agrees, and adds that he respects Edge for quitting the team. Edge says that they have been through a lot together. He says they could own the place. Edge says that maybe they should let bygones be bygones. Jericho shakes Edge’s hand and they embrace. Blinks! Cole has received another email from the GM: Next week Edge and Jericho will face Cena and Bret the Hitman Hart next week on Raw in a lumberjack match. In addition, Nexus will stand at ringside as the lumberjacks! Jericho and Edge are shown again, looking concerned.
Josh Matthews interviews Randy Orton backstage. Matthews asks Orton if he is concerned with his match against Sheamus after his words and display earlier tonight, but Orton reminds us that he beat Triple H too. Orton says he will beat the Miz tonight, and then he will do the same thing to Sheamus at SummerSlam.
Back on Raw, the Great Khali enters with his translating manager. Ted DiBiase enters next with the lovely Maryse, and the two make their way into the ring. DiBiase removes his Million Dollar Belt, and the match begins, DiBiase slaps Khali’s chest, but Khali only looks angered, and beats down DiBiase in the corner, with a big slap onto DiBiase’s chest. DiBiase takes Khali’s knees down, but Khali lifts DiBiase up, and down, then Khali kicks DiBiase in the corner. Just as he chokes DiBiase, Maryse distracts the ref, and DiBiase backs Khali into a corner, beating on him. Barrett and Sheffield walk out, and they distract DiBiase at ringside. With DiBiase distracted, Khali locks his hands on DiBiase’s head from behind with force. DiBiase looks as if he will pass out, and he eventually submits to Khali’s move. Nexus looks on as Khali stares them both down.
Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg guest host tonight’s taped edition of Raw, and the two stars in the upcoming movie “The Other Guys” interact with the Bella Twins. A funny segment, ending with
Awesome! The Miz is in the house, with his United States Championship and his Money in the Bank briefcase. Miz tells Randy that he made a big mistake RKOing the Miz last week. The best-case scenario at SummerSlam is for Randy is to win the WWE Championship, but the Miz will still cash in his agreement and take the belt away from him afterwards. It will be his moment, because he is the Miz, and he… is… awesome… Orton waits for the Miz to finish his speech, and then he hits the ring. The crowd gives Orton a nice pop, and the bell rings. Miz and Orton stare each other down, and lock up. Orton backs Miz into the corner, but then Miz backs Orton into the next corner. Cheap shot, then Miz assaults Orton, whips him into the opposite corner, but Orton clotheslines Miz hard. Orton then stomps on Miz’s midsection twice, and takes a few seconds to stomp the Miz’s face in. Orton misses a knee drop, and he grabs his knee. Miz capitalizes on the injury and stomps Orton, ultimately chocking him in the corner. Miz hits Orton with a couple of punches to the head, then runs into Orton’s right boot. Orton seesaws the Miz into the bottom rope. Orton hits the knee on the MIz’s face, and then the Miz kicks out of a cover. Whip, and Miz holds onto the ropes. But Orton clotheslines the Miz over the top rope. Orton amps up the crowd with a taunt, but crowd’s cheers turn into boos as Sheamus steps onto the top of the ramp. Sheamus watches onto the match as Raw takes a commercial break.
Back to the action, and Orton is pounding on the fallen Miz’s chest. Orton applies a headlock, but the Miz elbows Orton’s midsection and breaks out. Miz boots Orton hard in the face, and Orton goes down. The Miz is on the attack now, kicking Orton, hitting him with a few right hands to the face, and booting Orton again in the face. Cover for two, then Miz applies a headlock, and a brief eye rake, to Orton. Orton breaks out, and nails a vintage backbreaker on the Miz. Sheamus is still watching on, and Orton is still clutching at his knee while Miz is down. Miz tosses Orton face first into a turnbuckle and proceeds to stomp and choke Orton in the corner. Miz backs up to the opposite corner and hits a big running clothesline of Orton in the corner. The Miz covers Orton, who again kicks out at two, then the angered Miz pummels Orton, but referee Mike Chioda breaks it up and tells Miz to use open fists. Orton hits Miz with a surprise uppercut, but the Miz knocks Orton down again. Picking him back up, Orton counters a punch, and begins fighting at Miz. the Miz is caught into a scoop slam, then Orton catches the Miz and sets him up for a rope-hung DDT. Miz somehow escapes the maneuver, and tosses Orton over the top rope to the mats below. The Miz doesn’t waste any time and rolls Orton back into the ring. Miz catches Orton and hits a back breaker and a DDT onto Orton. After the combination, The Miz covers Orton for the victory, but Orton again kicks out before the 3-count. Miz misses a clothesline, bounces off the ropes, and Orton miraculously hits the Miz with an RKO! 1-2-3, and it’s over. Sheamus runs down to the ring after Orton’s victory, but Orton readies himself and taunts Sheamus before he can enter the ring. The two stare each other down as Raw comes to an end.
Entertaining show this week, with great matches and a returning superstar in Melina. With solid performances from just about every wrestler this week, things are shaping up well leading into SummerSlam. We have a few question marks that I’m sure will surprise us: namely Edge and Jericho’s situation, and whether they will be replaced on Cena’s team. Match of the night goes to John Cena vs Chris Jericho. Waves of emotion and a quick plotline kept this match moving and entertaining. A controversial ending kept this from being PPV quality
Props to:
EDGE for creating an entertaining match with WADE BARRETT. This really made Barrett look as if he could hold his own in the ring. It’s unfortunate the rest of Nexus entered the match, as a victory for Barrett would have catapulted him to the bubble of superstardom, in my opinion.
JOHN CENA and CHRIS JERICHO for enthralling the crowd in their match tonight. Serious chemistry going on, everything just kind of flowed for them.
SHEAMUS, who looked dominant. The crucifix powerbomb was refreshing, as it is something I haven’t seen in a long time (shades of Scott Hall). Adding a legitimate finisher to Sheamus’s arsenal suddenly makes his character a bit more serious, doesn’t it?
NATALYA for absolutely beating down her opponents and making good use of her precious television time.
Match Ratings:
Edge vs Wade Barrett: 3 ½ stars
Gail Kim, Eve Torres, and Natalya vs Alicia Fox, Jillian, and Tamina: 3 stars
Sheamus vs Goldust: 2 stars
John Cena vs Chris Jericho: 4 stars
The Great Khali vs Ted DiBiase: 2 ½ stars
The Miz vs Randy Orton: 3 ½ stars
Questions will be answered next week prior to SummerSlam on Raw. Check back next week for the answers in the Ringside Raw Report. Until next week, peeps.