WWE RAW
April 13, 2009
Atlanta, GA
Commentators: Michael Cole & Jerry ?The King? Lawler
Reported By: Hunter Golden of WrestleView.com
Batista’s music hit and he came out to the ring to a huge pop. He says it took him four months to get back into the ring. He said the one thing that drove him was retribution… for THIS. Batista showed a video of Orton punting him in the side of the head. Batista said all he could think about was that moment and the worst part of it was waiting, counting the days and seconds to get his hands on Randy Orton. He called Orton a Punk and demanded he come and face him like a man. Batista said he was going to tear the whole arena apart looking for him.
Orton didn’t come out. Batista went to go looking for him until Shane McMahon’s music hit. He said if anyone deserved a shot at Orton, it was him. Triple H’s music hit and he came down to the ring and took the mic. He said Shane needed to understand something right now. He said all this stuff that’s gone down between the two was because of him. He told Batista, with all due respect to him, all the things he did to Batista paled in comparison to what he did to his wife. He said he was the reason it was started and he would finish it.
EXCUSE ME~ rang out and Raw GM Vickie Guerrero came out and said she was the only one making matches around here. She said if they’re over zealous in the match, they could get counted out or disqualified. That would also mean Randy Orton would be the new WWE Champion. She said it might be their lucky night though because ONE of them could face Orton one on one. Next week. She said they’d have a handicapped tag against Cody Rhodes & Ted Dibiase tonight to determine who would face him next week. She wished them a good night.
****Commercial****
Rey Mysterio v. Evan Bourne
The winner gets the #1 pick in the draft.
The two felt each other out and grabbed a grecco roman knuckle lock. Bourne hit a monkey flip before the two exchanged rolling through moves until Rey ended up on the apron. Bourne tried a power bomb onto the floor, but Rey kicked him off and tripped him up and sent the youngster flipping into the barricade. He tossed Bourne into the ring and went for a cover.
Bourne hit a back kick and then a spinning back kick as Rey looked for a spring board maneuver for a two count. Bourne slapped on a chin lock that Mysterio fought out of, only for Rey to kick fight out of. Rey didn’t get far though, as Bourne hit a back kick to the head and a standing moonsault for a two count. Bourne went to the top rope but Rey cut him off and hit a hurricanranna. Two count. Rey was able to send Bourne reeling into the ropes and hit the 619 and the frog splash for the win.
Winner: Rey Mysterio via pin fall
As a result of the match, Raw gets the #1 pick in the draft.
RAW DRAFT PICK #1: MVP
****Commercial****
Kane v. Brian Kendrick
Kendrick slapped Kane at first and then bolted out of the ring. Ezekiel stood up to Kane but got waffled with a right hand. Kendrick tried to jump him from behind but got leveled. He hit a cheap shot and tried a sliced bread #2 but was brushed off easily and choke slammed.
Winner: Kane via pin fall
As a result of the match, Raw gets the #2 pick in the draft.
RAW DRAFT PICK #2: Big Show
Randy Orton stormed into Vickie Guererro’s office demanding to know why he had to have a one on one match with someone next week. He said on Smackdown, she could do that stuff, but this was Raw, and a completely different world. Vickie said she was entrusted by the board to make responsible decisions. She heard Randy’s concerns. She’s making it so the winner of the match faces Orton in a 3 on 1 handicapped match next week on Raw.
Jack Swagger stepped in at John Cena who was talking to someone. He went on to run down Cena, telling him tonight that he’d be teaching Cena a lesson. Cena made fun of his All American American gimmick and then said the only lesson tonight, would be him teaching Swagger some respect.
****Commercial****
Melina, Mickie James & Kelly Kelly v. Maryse, Michelle McCool & Natalya
Winner gets a draft pick.
The Smackdown divas couldn’t get along at first and the Raw divas took advantage. When everything calmed down, it was Michelle McCool and Mickie James 1 on 1. The two really laid in the shots before Michelle got the better of the exchange and hit some huge forearms. Mickie was eventually able to get a running snap mare and running drop kick for a two count. Michelle pushed her to the corner only for Mickie to hit her huricanranna.
Mickie went to the top rope only to get booted flat in the chest. Michelle made the cover and that’s it.
Winners: Michelle McCool, Natalya & Maryse via pin fall
SMACKDOWN DRAFT PICK #3: Melina
****Commercial****
Champion v. Champion Match
John Cena v. Jack Swagger
The winner earns two picks for his brand.
Swagger caught Cena’s leg and dumped him on his backside rather easily. Swagger shot for the mid section and picked up Cena and dumped him to the mat and grabbed a front face lock, working Cena around the mat at will. Cena popped up and hit a right hand before hammering a shoulder block in and sending Swagger to the outside. Cena chased the ECW Champion to the outside before hitting a bit clothesline. Cena gathered Swagger and went for a cover in the ring.
Swagger caught a kick on Cena’s chest and tackled him from behind and went for a cover for a two count. Swagger slammed Cena’s head off the buckles before sending him hard into the opposite corner with an irish whip. Swagger uncorked a big lariat that got him a one and a half count.
Cena fought back with right hands and backed Swagger up. He hit an irish whip but missed the follow up and Swagger was able to slap on a Full Nelson. Cena struggled to fight out of the hold and was able to break it enough to sneak in an elbow. Cena hit a running shoulder block and an inverted power bomb. Cena dropped a five knuckle shuffle before Cena loaded him up for an FU. Swagger grabbed the ropes though and slid off Cena’s shoulders and hit with a huge big boot for a near fall.
Swagger sent Cena crashing into the ring post and Cena was crumpled on the apron as we went to commercial.
****Commercial****
The two laid each other out with a clothesline and were being counted by the referee when we came back.
Cena hit some big body blows and then some punches, but Swagger grabbed a front face lock. Cena shot the leg but as he shot the leg, Swagger DDT’d him for a two count. Cena rolled out to the apron and ate a high knee on the way back into the ring. Cena flipped out of a Swagger body slam attempt, but Swagger was able to wrap him up with a running power slam.
Swagger got a little full of himself and went to hit a move hopping up the ropes only for Cena to be waiting for him on the way down and caught him in an FU and then an STFU for the win.
Winner: John Cena via pin fall
RAW DRAFT PICK #4: Matt Hardy
RAW DRAFT PICK #5: Triple H
Cena stood shocked in the ring only for Edge to jump him from behind and put a beat down in. Edge missed a spear and Cena went for an FU only for Edge to run up the ramp.
****Commercial****
Randy Orton is with the Legacy in the back. They’ve got a plan for the match tonight.
Santino is on his way to the ring. Which means some other brand will get a pick.
****Commercial****
Santino Marella v. The Great Khali
Beth came out and called Santino her little canollie. She said if Khali beats him tonight, Santina will be a guest on the Khali kiss cam next week.
Santino tried some in vain punches before clinging to the ropes for life. Santino tried a shoulder block but bit it hard. Khali chopped him on the head and that’s that. Khali’s making kissing gestures the whole time.
Winner: The Great Khali via pin fall
SMACKDOWN PICK #6: CM Punk
****Commercial****
John Morrison v. Kofi Kingston
Miz grabbed a headlock and was tossed off by Kingston. Kingston grabbed a headlock and got flung off the ropes and hit a shoulder block. Miz returned the favor before we got a criss cross where Kingston hit a drop kick. Kingston hit an arm bar take down.
Miz fought into the ropes, breaking the hold. Miz hit a key lock of his own and used the hair to pull Kofi back down before Kofi was able to flip out of the hold and toss him to the outside. Kofi feigned a tope before hitting a drop kick through the ropes. Morrison distracted Kingston long enough for Miz to capitalize with a drop kick of his own.
Miz went for a cover inside the ring before slapping on a rear chin lock. Kingston fought to his feet, but got hit with multiple knees and taken down to the mat. Kofi again fought to his feet, only for Miz to again cut him off and send him smashing into the top turnbuckle. Miz cover attempt for a two count.
Miz worked over Kofi’s back some more before slapping on a cravat. Kofi fought out of that hold and finally hit a leaping clothesline. Kofi dodged an Irish whip and hit a cross body that Miz countered for a near fall. Miz hit a knee lift for another two count. We got a big struggle for a back slide before Kofi hit a side Russian leg sweep and the boom boom leg drop for a two count.
Kofi went for a shining wizard and completely whiffed. Kofi was able to counter a roll up attempt into one of his own for a two count. Kofi went for a top rope cross body but Morrison pushed him off causing the DQ.
Winner: Kofi Kingston via DQ
RAW DRAFT PICK #7: The Miz
Miz & Morrison hugged in the ring before Miz blind sided Morrison and laid him out.
****Commercial****
Tri-Brand Battle Royal
Order of Elimination
Ricky Ortiz
Mike Knox (Mark Henry)
Chavo Guererro (Big Show)
Shaad Gaspar (Mark Henry)
R Truth (Mark Henry)
Primo (Big Show)
Tyson Kid (Big Show)
JTG (Mark Henry)
Carlito (Big Show)
MVP (Mark Henry)
Finlay (Edge)
Mark Henry (Big Show)
Big Show (Edge)
Winner: Edge (Team Smackdown)
As a result, Smackdown gets two draft picks.
SMACKDOWN DRAFT PICK #8: Kane
SMACKDOWN DRAFT PICK #9: Chris Jericho
****Commercial****
Christian v. Shelton Benjamin
Shelton whipped out a T-bone suplex right off the bat before laying in a big knee to the back of the head. Christian fought back with right hands before getting cut off with a knee lift. Christian tripped Shelton up and flipped over the ropes to slap Shelton in the face. Christian went to the top rope, but Shelton nipped up and hit a big greco roman throw.
Christian rolled to the outside but Shelton gathered him and went for a cover attempt. Shelton hit a body slam before driving the knee into the back and stretching Christian out on the mat. Christian fought to his feet but Shelton again cut him off. He went to the top rope looking for a back elbow, but missed by a mile. Christian threw some punches before dodging a back kick and looking for a kill switch. Shelton feigned an electric chair drop and hit a neck breaker. Christian reeled to the corner only for Shelton to attempt a stinger splash. Shelton missed and Christian connected with the kill switch for the win.
Winner: Christian via pin fall
ECW DRAFT PICK #10: Vladimir Kozlov
****Commercial****
Triple H, Shane McMahon & Batista are getting set for their big match tonight
****Commercial****
Matt Hardy v. CM Punk
The two locked up and after being broken up, Punk hit some kicks before finally laying in a vertical suplex. Punk hit several knees to the mid section and went for an irish whip with a follow, up Hardy backed up and dropped him face first to the mat.
Hardy kicked Punk in the ribs for a cover attempt. Side slam and then another cover attempt. Hardy slapped on an abdominal stretch and began hammering away on Punk’s mid section. Punk fought out and hit some kicks and strikes to Hardy’s mid section before hitting a running heel kick for a two count.
Hardy reversed an irish whip and went for a bulldog, but Punk pushed him to the opposite corner, hit a knee and a bulldog of his own for a two count. Matt hardy wiggled out of a Go 2 Sleep attempt and hit a side effect. Suddenly out of nowhere, Jeff Hardy showed up and jumped his brother.
Winner: Matt Hardy via DQ
RAW DRAFT PICK #11: Maryse
****Commercial****
Tommy Dreamer v. Chris Jericho
Jericho hit a shoulder block before getting hit with a hip toss. Dreamer sent Jericho to the outside and after chasing him for a bit got nailed with a stomp to the head. Jericho went for a vertical suplex but Dreamer blocked. They exchanged whip attempts before Jericho grabbed the upper hand.
Jericho stood on Dreamer’s head before slapping on a rear chin lock. Dreamer fought out and hit some clotheslines and an irish whip to the corner. Dreamer hanged Jericho upside down in the tree of woe and hit the big double drop kick. Dreamer went for the big DDT, but Jericho swept the legs and went for the Walls.
Dreamer pushed him off and got an inside cradle for a two count. Jericho charged Dreamer who hit a baldo bomb for a two count. Dreamer went to the top rope but Jericho crotched him. Jericho hit a right hand before scaling the ropes. Dreamer pushed Jericho off the ropes and came sailing off, only to get nailed with the code breaker. Three seconds later, its over.
Winner: Chris Jericho via pin fall
SMACKDOWN DRAFT PICK #12: Rey Mysterio
****Commercial****
Cody Rhodes & Ted Dibiase vs. Triple H, Batista & Shane McMahon
Shane took it to Cody and hit a back body drop for a one count. Shane hit some punches but Batista tagged himself in. Batista hit a big clothesline on Dibiase before hitting a run of shoulder blocks and then a bit boot to the skull.
Batista went for a power slam, but Triple H yanked Dibiase off for himself and tagged in. He hit some right hands in the corner for a two count. Triple H hit a spine buster for two count before Batista yanked Triple H off Dibiase on the pin fall because he wants Orton next week. Dibiase capitalized and tagged in Rhodes who stomped away with vigor on Triple H before tagging in Dibiase who went to work on the leg.
Dibiase backed Triple H up with some punches before Dibiase hit a nice standing drop kick for a two count. Cody Rhodes tagged in and went to work himself, on the leg, slapping on a step over toe hold. Rhodes dropped back and went for a cover or two, but they didn’t have much effect. Dibiase tagged in and slammed Triple H’s leg off the apron. He pounded on Triple H in the ring before going for a figure four. Triple H pushed him off. Dibiase prevented him from reaching the corner and tagged Cody.
Rhodes hammered away on the leg before gathering Hunter and looked for a dragon sleeper, but Triple H reversed it. Batista got the hot tag and took out the heels and hit a high back body drop on Dibiase. Shane hit a dive on Cody to cut him off before Batista psyched up. He loaded up a Batista bomb and nailed it only for Shane to break it up. Batista took exception and shoved Shane into the corner where Triple H tagged in. Shane jumped Batista while Triple H loaded up a pedigree on Dibiase and connected. Match over.
Winner: Triple H, Shane McMahon & Batista via pin fall
Randy Orton’s music hit and he came out to the ramp.
Show Thoughts— Whew. That was a long one. Well we now have a better idea of where things are going to be headed in the future thanks to the draft tonight.
Raw of course, got loaded up with talent this year, which wasn’t really that big of a surprise. They’ve essentially got six of the company’s top 8 stars on the show now and the main event scene appears to be pretty crowded, with WWE Champion Triple H and Big Show joining World Heavyweight Champion John Cena, Randy Orton, Batista and Shawn Michaels. This tells us a couple of things.
For one, I’d imagine that the World Heavyweight championship won’t be around the waist of John Cena very long, or at least we can assume that. Triple H & Randy Orton seems to be the central focus of the show, thus it would make sense that Cena drop hit belt so that Smackdown will have a World title. There are a number of ways they can go, with either Edge winning and taking the title to Smackdown with him at Backlash OR CM Punk doing what he did last year, cashing in the money in the bank and taking the world title to Smackdown. In all honesty, I’d probably err to the second possibility. Punk screwing Edge a second time would lead to an easy program heading into May and they can spend the summer more or less establishing Punk as a bona fide main eventer in a generally risk-free environment. Ratings won’t be going up on Smackdown, so why not?
The other thing the loaded main event scene on Raw gives us is A TON of high profile, big match ups for the remainder of the year. They have six big stars and can essentially keep a consistent revolving door going, pairing these guys up every two months or so, giving us big match ups down the line on a brand where they’ll get maximum exposure.
The mid card also got a pretty dramatic face lift, with the Miz, US Champion MVP and Matt Hardy coming over from Smackdown. With the main event scene pretty well locked in, they’ll really be able to flush out characters for these three, in addition to Kofi Kingston, with hopes of moving them next year to possibly consider bigger main event pushes for them. So essentially, they have their A level main eventers paired off with their B-level mid carders, while sending the pick of the litter mid carders to Smackdown to give it broad depth and provide those stars like CM Punk, with the opportunity to really cement themselves as main event stars, so they can possibly move them back over to Raw next year. ECW was kept largely the same and Vladimir Kozlov will be heading over there to do some rehab work. Plus there’ll be the supplemental draft, where ECW always does well, and I’d expect them to potentially pick up William Regal and another rehab project, Ken Kennedy to bolster its star power a bit.
Smackdown looks better than I thought it would, despite losing big draws in Big Show and Triple H. They gained Chris Jericho, who has a plethora of fresh match ups awaiting him, as well as Rey Mysterio, who never really felt like he fit in on Raw. CM Punk will likely be the centerpiece along with Jeff Hardy. With Shelton Benjamin, R-Truth and some bones picked from the supplemental draft, Smackdown could be just fine for what they’re going for in the long run.
So overall an interesting night, but a pretty decent one all things considered. While the Triple H-Randy Orton saga got continually weirder, they didn’t really focus on anything else long enough. What needed to be done was at least accomplished, with a big Wrestlemania rematch set up for next week.
Overall Grade: B+
Quick Results
Rey Mysterio def. Evan Bourne
Kane def. ‘The’ Brian Kendrick
The Smackdown Divas def. The Raw Divas
John Cena def. Jack Swagger
The Great Khali def. Santino Marella
Edge won the tri-branded Battle Royal
Christian def. Shelton Benjamin
Matt Hardy def. CM Punk
Chris Jericho def. Tommy Dreamer
Triple H, Shane McMahon & Batista def. Cody Rhodes & Ted Dibiase
2009 WWE DRAFT RESULTS
MVP (To Raw)
Big Show (To Raw)
Melina (To Smackdown)
Matt Hardy (To Raw)
Triple H (To Raw)
CM Punk (To Smackdown)
The Miz (To Raw)
Kane (To Smackdown)
Chris Jericho (To Smackdown)
Vladimir Kozlov (To ECW)
Maryse (To Raw)
Rey Mysterio (To Smackdown)
Who’s Hot, Who’s Not?
Biggest Pops
1. John Cena
2. Rey Mysterio
3. CM Punk
4. Triple H
Most Heat
1. Vickie Guererro
2. Randy Orton
3. Big Show
4. The Miz
Match of the Night: John Cena v. Jack Swagger ***
Points
4 Points= World Title defense/win
3 Points= Singles PPV Win
2 Points= Tag PPV Win
2 Points= TV Singles Win
1 Point= TV Tag Win
0 Points= Loss
World Heavyweight Champion: John Cena 8-5-1, 19 points. (Last Week: World Heavyweight Champion)— Cena’s got some company now atop the hill. It’ll be intresting to see what happends to both Cena and his title in the coming months as he’s part of a very talented, very packed Raw roster.
WWE Champion: Triple H 1-0-0, 1 Point (Last Week: WWE Champion)— Back on Raw, its time for him to settle in an help get Randy Orton over. Not himself.
United States Champion: MVP 0-0-0, 0 Points (Last Week: US Champion)— While MVP APPEARS to be a guy who has a real character fleshed out, as a babyface, he really doesn’t the residual exposure he’ll get being on the same show as so many big stars will really be a benefit. Its not TIME for MVP yet, but its coming for sure.
Intercontinental Champion: Rey Mysterio 11-5, 22 Points DRAFTED TO SMACKDOWN (Last Week: 4) — It was totally the right call sending this guy to Smackdown. He never quite ‘fit’ on Raw. He can go there, main event and be his usual amazing self.
1. Randy Orton 4-3-1, 9 pts. (Last Week: 1)— He’s got some work to do next week with Triple H. He’s potentially the centerpiece on which this show will be built over the coming months. The coming weeks might be the most important in his career to date.
2. Shawn Michaels 6-3, 10 pts. (Last Week: 2) — Not in action. But man, he’s the one guy I don’t see there being much ‘fresh’ stuff for. His return will mark the beginning of his final chapter in the company, or so he says. He’ll be fascinating to watch in the coming year.
3. Chris Jericho 5-5 10 pts. DRAFTED TO SMACKDOWN (Last Week: 4)— I don’t think a wrestler gained more from the draft than Jericho. There’s SO MUCH for him to do on Smackdown. There’s Edge, Taker, Jeff Hardy, a real title feud with Punk, Rey Mysterio… all of which is fresh. His character will likely end up back on Raw as I think he’ll be the guy that really gets cemented as a true absolute elite act in the company.
4. CM Punk 8-6, 15 Points DRAFTED TO SMACKDOWN (Last Week: 7)— It looks like the WWE’s ready to take the plunge with Punk. With ratings being where they’re at, an extended Punk reign wouldn’t be the risk it was last year. It’d establish a new main event star, in a company that’s going to have to do a lot of ‘making’ in the coming years. Of the young guys, I expect Punk’s stock to rise the most significantly in the coming year.
5. Kane 6-6, 9 Points DRAFTED TO SMACKDOWN (Last Week: 6) — He’ll be so much more useful on Smackdown at this point in his career. He’s a great utility guy in the sense that you can use him all over the card. He’ll certainly play gate keeper in the coming year, but with some potentially fresh programs out there, he’ll come across well, a lot more fresh and interesting.
6. Kofi Kingston 5-3, 8 points (Last Week: 6) — A lot of proverbial debris has been cleared in front of Kingston and they’ll be able to really hunker down and establish a character for Kingston. He’s not a guy ready for any kind of main event push, but he is ready and over enough to try and establish as a stronger mid card act.
7. Batista 1-0, 1 Point (Last Week: 10)–He’s really been plunged HARD into this Orton-Triple H saga. I hope there’s a strong plan heading forward for him, because you don’t want to use him as a wedge to the degree that he’ll be impossible to seperate from this if the angle heads south in the coming weeks.
8. Cody Rhodes 4-2, 4 points (Last Week: 8) — These two are going to finally get the chance to hash out some characters as well. Now’s the time to do it. If this HHH-Orton program focuses more on a gang war type formula as opposed to just the two main event guys, they’ll need to.
9.Ted Dibiase, Jr. 3-1-1, 3 Points (Last Week: 9)— See Cody.
10. Matt Hardy 1-0-0, 2 Points (Last Week: SMACKDOWN) – – Hardy’s got the ring ability to be a main event star, but we need to get to know this Matt Hardy heel character a bit (as does the WWE) before they commit to any sort of main event push.
OTHERS:
Big Show 0-0-0, 0 Points (Last Week: SMACKDOWN)
The Miz 0-1-0, 0 Points (Last Week: ECW)
Mike Knox 3-3 4 points (Last Week: NR)
William Regal, 3-5, 4 points (Last Week: NR )
Santino Marella 1-2, 2 points (Last Week:NR)
Sim Snuka 1-0, 1 Point (Last Week: NR)
JTG 2-4, 2 points (Last Week: NR)
Big Shaad 2-3 2 points (Last Week: NR)
Jamie Noble 0-2, 0 Points (Last Week: NR)
Charlie Haas 0-0, 0 points (Last Week: NR)
Dolph Ziggler 0-3, 0 Points (Last Week: NR)
Jerry Lawler 0-0, 0 points (Last Week: NR)
Jim Duggan 0-0, 0 points (Last Week: NR)
JBL 1-6, 4 points (Last Week: 7) RETIRED