Monday
Night Raw
July 7, 2008 – Recap by Sassy
Last week on Raw
CM Punk turned in his Money in the Bank briefcase and
defeated The Rated R Superstar Edge in less than one minute to become the new
WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
In a non-title match, Mickie James, WWE Women’s
Champion, defeated Jillian in two minutes.
In a non-title tag team match, WWE Tag Team Champions Cody
Rhodes & Ted Dibiase defeated Darren Wade & Steve Anthony in 1 minute.
In a WWE Intercontinental Championship rematch,
Kofi Kingston retains the WWE Intercontinental Championship by defeating
Y2J Chris Jericho in two minutes.
CM Punk defends his newly won WWE World Heavyweight
Championship for the first time against John Bradshaw Layfield and retains the
title by defeating JBL in 7 minutes. I
should add that John Cena and Cryme Tyme appeared to take out JBL’s personal
security team during the match.
Monday Night Raw is broadcast on the USA network from New
Orleans, LA
Ringside announcers: Michael Cole & Jerry “The
King” Lawler
Ring announcer: Lillian Garcia
Backstage interviews: Todd Grisham
The audience sees a replay of CM Punk’s WWE World
Heavyweight Championship title victory over The Rated R Superstar Edge and
Punk’s defense of his title later that night against John Bradshaw Layfield
with John Cena and Cryme Tyme running interference outside the ring. Stephanie
McMahon is now on camera to tell everyone that Shane asked everyone last week to
pull together and she is asking everyone to do the same.
The arena is dark and when the lights come on, Friday Night
Smackdown General Manager is in her wheelchair in the center of the ring, mic in
hand. She has as much trouble being heard over the crowd at Raw as she does on
Smackdown. She is protesting the loss of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
She says she will not leave the ring until CM Punk surrenders the title to her
and that she demands an apology. CM Punk does appear wearing the title belt –
looks great on him, too – and he enters the ring. Punk grabs a mic. She
accuses Punk of stealing the championship from Edge. Punk says he didn’t do
anything to Edge that Edge hasn’t done to others. She blames Punk because Edge
has called off the wedding. Punk says he’s sure she can find someone else to
marry. Punk tells her to go after The Great Khali. She gets out of her
wheelchair and slaps Punk across the face before sitting back down. Punk says
she just bought herself a one-way ticket back to Smackdown but John Bradshaw
Layfield’s limo appears and JBL gets out of the limo, surprise, surprise, with
a mic in his hand. JBL tells Punk he just bought himself a one-way ticket to the
end of his brief championship reign. JBL accuses Punk of cheating to keep the
title. JBL tells Punk that today he will leave champion because he is again
challenging Punk for the championship. Punk tells JBL he had his shot and he
lost. John Cena appears to get himself into the mix – he’s the one that kept
JBL’s personal security team out of the match between JBL and Punk last week.
Cena tells JBL usually he is very pathetic but now he’s even more pathetic.
Cena tells JBL they don’t play the blame game. Cena tells JBL to shut his
mouth and listen to the new champion. Cena says the McMahons aren’t there and
technically no one is in charge. Cena says they need to figure this out like
men. Cena says there are two of them that want to face Punk for the title at The
Great American Bash and they should settle it as men and it should be JBL faces
John Cena for the Number One Contender spot. The Animal Batista appears at the
top of the entrance ramp and heads to the ring. Batista congratulates Punk just
as Cena did. Batista says he wanted to come out and say hello to his good friend
Vickie Guerrero and then tells her to get lost. Batista then says that Punk
could grab the title because of what Batista did and then JBL gets in front of
Batista. Cena gets in the middle and says it should be John Cena vs. JBL vs.
Batista in a triple threat match for the number one contender spot. JBL
doesn’t like it so Cena says it will be Batista vs. Cena and JBL decides that
he will be in the triple threat match. The Big Red Machine appears and heads to
the ring. Kane doesn’t bring a mic to the ring, he just takes JBL’s away
from him. Kane says that he wants in, too. Punk says there goes the idea of the
triple threat but it looks like it’s going to be a fatal four-way. We go to
commercial break.
Rey Mysterio from San Diego, CA weighing 175 lbs
Vs.
Santino Marella from Italy weighing 222 lbs.
Marella comes out shoving but Mysterio pokes Marella in the
eyes. Marella has Mysterio down and he goes for the cover but he only gets a two
count. Marella tries for another cover and this time he gets a one count.
Mysterio doesn’t seem to have lost his fan base my moving to Raw from
Smackdown. Marella ducks the 619 and drops Mysterio with a clothesline. Marella
again goes for the cover and gets a two count. Mysterio jumps in the middle of
Marella’s chest and then goes for the cover, getting a two count. Mysterio
kicks Marella into the ropes, hits the 619 and goes up to the top to deliver a
splash and go for the cover this time getting the three count. Time: 3 minutes.
Winner: Rey Mysterio with a 619 and
a splash
Marella certainly made Mysterio look not only good but great
in Mysterio’s first match since his return to WWE. We go to commercial break.
Todd Grisham is backstage with Punk. Grisham asks Punk who he
wants to win the match tonight. Punk says that…because Snitsky shows up to
tell Punk that he won the title by a fluke. Punk says he will face Snitsky in
the ring tonight to show Snitsky why Punk deserves to be champion. Cena is
backstage with Mickie James and Kelly Kelly shows up. James says that Kelly is
the newest Raw diva. We go to commercial break.
Tag Team Match
Layla & Jillian (who are already in the ring)
Vs.
Mickie James, WWE Women’s Champion & Kelly Kelly
James should be thrilled being the best, maybe the only,
women’s wrestler in the ring. Time: 4 minutes of my life I will never get
back.
Winner: Mickie James & Kelly
Kelly
JBL’s limo pulls up but the driver gets out and runs to the
back and we go to commercial break.
JBL walks into the arena past his limo.
Looks like his driver must have forgotten him. We’ve had falling
lights, sound interference and John Cena comes out of the back of the limo with
a crow bar. Cena says that the limo can’t pass limo laws. And Cryme Tyme
appears out of the other side of the limo with baseball bat and lead pipe in
hand. For JBL’s protection, the three of them “fix” JBL’s limo. Cena
wishes JBL luck in the fatal four-way tonight. Best lookin’ limo I ever saw
and I don’t even live in Louisiana! CM Punk appears and sees the limo. I think
he likes it, too. We go to commercial break.
CM Punk from Chicago, IL
WWE World Heavyweight Champion
Vs.
Snitsky from PA weighing 307 lbs.
If Punk delivers the GTS on Snitsky, I want him to help me
move furniture next week. Punk didn’t move fast enough and Snitsky has Punk
down. Snitsky body slams Punk to the match and goes for the cover but Punk kicks
out. Snitsky has Punk in a bear hug but Punk breaks out of the hold to get
caught by an elbow as he comes off the ropes. Snitsky goes for a leg drop but
Punk gets out of the way and delivers a boot to the head. Another boot to the
head and Snitsky is down. Punk springboards off the top rope and takes Snitsky
down to the mat. Punk delivers a high knee and a bulldog. Punk DOES deliver the
GTS, goes for the cover and gets the three count and the win. Time: 3 minutes.
Winner:
CM Punk with a GTS
Punk made it a one sided wrestling match but Snitsky
doesn’t wrestle. It was a short match but that may have been a good thing for
Punk. Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels is heading toward the arena and we go to
commercial break.
The audience sees a video of the feud between Michaels and
Y2J Chris Jericho. Michaels comes to the ring. Michaels has a bandage over his
eye and says that Jericho challenged him to a match at The Great American Bash.
Michaels says that he accepts the challenge. Jericho appears with Lance
Cade in tow. The audience is chanting HBK but some poor guy in the front row is
trying to chant Y2J and be heard over everyone around him. And there’s a lot
of talk about how Jericho will never be like Michaels. We go to commercial
break.
Charlie Haas from Dallas, TX weighing 249 lbs. (already in
the ring)
Vs.
Kofi Kingston from Jamaica weighing 218 lbs.
WWE Intercontinental Champion
I realize that Kingston needs a showcase since he won the
title but Haas is too good of a ring worker to be a fall guy for someone else.
Haas hasn’t been on Raw for quite some time and to see him in this match is a
little difficult to watch. Time: 3 minutes.
Winner: Kofi Kingston with a high
kick.
I was not impressed with this match. It should have taken
more time and there should have been much more interaction between the two
opponents. After the match Paul Birchill appears to beat up Kingston. We go to
commercial break.
Fatal Four-Way Number One Contender’s Match
The Animal Batista from Washington, DC weighing 290 lbs.
Vs.
John Bradshaw Layfield from NY
Vs.
The Big Red Machine Kane weighing 323 lbs.
Vs.
John Cena weighing 240 lbs.
The match begins and we go to commercial break. Back to the
action, well, for a short time and we go to another commercial break. Back to
the ring again, Kane and Batista are down, Cena delivers the FU to JBL and goes
for the five-knuckle shuffle but Kane takes Cena down with a clothesline. Kane
and Batista are facing off in the ring and JBL gets involved and is taken down
by Batista. JBL drops Batisa with a clothesline but Cena has a submission hold
on JBL but Kane now has Cena and JBL in a chokehold. Now it’s Cena and JBL
outside of the ring battling it out on the floor. Cena gets sent into the steel
steps and Kane and Batista battle it out in the ring. JBL has the steel steps to
take out Cena with a smash to the skull. Kane is on the floor with JBL and he
sends JBL over the guardrail and into the audience. Kane goes up to the top and
misses the clothesline as he comes off, but Batista nails Kane with a spear,
goes for the cover and gets the three count. Total match time: 7 minutes.
Winner: The Animal Batista
With the two commercial breaks in the middle of the match, I
lost interest in the whole thing. Batista will face CM Punk for the WWE World
Heavyweight title at The Great American Bash.
Kane is in the center of the ring and he doesn’t look
happy. He rolls out of the ring and takes it out on the steel steps. Then Kane
pounds on the announcer’s table. Kane then nails some guy with a kick who is
standing next to the announcer’s table and throw the timekeeper over the
announcer’s table. Garcia screams and runs. Kane looks at Cole and has Cole by
the jacket, dragging him over the table and into the ring. Cole doesn’t run
fast enough. Kane keeps asking if he is alive or is he dead but Cole doesn’t
understand the question. Kane has Cole to his feet and as Kane goes for the
choke slam, Lawler comes in to make the save. Kane has Lawler down and is
pounding on him. Cole has rolled out of the ring and I don’t think he’ll be
coming in to save Lawler. Kane delivers a boot to Lawler’s head and then
leaves the arena.
WWE SMACKDOWN / JULY 4
Wrestling Bodyslam . Com