WWE RAW
August 17, 2009
St. Louis, MO
Commentators: Michael Cole & Jerry ?The King? Lawler
Report by: Hunter Golden of WrestleView.com
Freddie Prince Junior came out to the ring and put over how big of a WWE fan he was. He said tonight he was going to have both the Divas title and the US title on the line. He talked about bringing Summerslam a few weeks early before some brooding, dark music hit and a man in the ?I know what you did last summer’ garb came out to the ring. He did the hole dog & pony show before revealing himself as Santino Marella. Marella acted out various Freddie Prince Jr. roles before trying to finagle his way into Prince’s next film project. Prince convinced Marella to go back to the backstage area and practice some more, just so he could get rid of him.
WWE Champion Randy Orton’s music hit and he came out to the ring. He said he didn’t want to team with Cena and compete tonight. Prince rebutted, saying Orton was from St. Louis and they were in St. Louis. Orton said he was confusing him with someone who cares. He demanded he be taken out of the match. Prince said he respected Orton, but he wasn’t Piven or Green. He said he couldn’t bully him around like he did them. He said he WILL team with Cena tonight and he WILL face Jericho & the Big Show.
Orton nodded as Prince blew him off and walked away. Orton grabbed him from behind and hit him with an inverted back breaker and left Prince in a heap on the mat as he walked up the ramp.
****Commercial****
US Championship
Kofi Kingston vs. Carlito
The two started off exchanging whips off the ropes. Kofi partook in a few too many leapfrogs and Carlito hammered him from behind. Kofi sprawled out on the bottom rope, as Carlito came running in and hit a drop kick that sent the champion to the floor.
****Commercial****
When we returned from break, Carlito hit a big boot and got a near fall. He bullied Kofi to the corner and began stomping away on him in the corner. After a near fall, Carlito got frustrated and shot him into the ropes and flat backed him with a back elbow. He slapped on a rear chin lock before Kofi countered out of a body slam attempt and hit a side Russian leg sweep.
Kingston whipped out a rubix cube for a near fall before coming off the ropes and hitting the boom boom double leg drop for a two count. Kofi looked for a splash in the corner but Carlito dodged him. Kofi countered back with a cross body block for a two count. The two slugged it out before Kofi hit a huge right uppercut for another near fall.
Carlito reversed a whip in the corner before hitting kip-up legs. He looked for the springboard cross body, but Carlito rolled him over and got a hot near fall. Kofi looked for trouble in paradise but got nailed with a neck breaker for another near fall. Carlito looked for the back stabber, but Kofi countered out and hit trouble in paradise for the win.
Winner and STILL US Champion: Kofi Kingston via pin fall
****Commercial****
A video aired putting over D-X’s ‘greatest moments’.
The Miz came out to the ring. He said he was banned from Monday Night Raw two weeks ago, but now he’s back with a new look. He said he would be embarking on the greatest comeback in wrestling history. He said he was going to be the new United States Champion, so Kingston had better look out.
****Commercial****
The Miz vs. Evan Bourne
Miz backed Bourne into the corner and began putting the boots to him in a big way. Bourne wiggled out of a body slam attempt and hit a flying forearm. Bourne followed up with a high double drop kick for a two count.
Bourne missed the Miz in the corner who came exploding off the ropes with a big lariat. Miz kicked away at Bourne’s back before hitting a sweeping right hand. Miz threw on a torture rack, bending Bourne back as far as he could. He stuck to the back area, before moving to the corner and slamming Bourne’s head off the buckle. Miz hit his running clothesline before looking for a double axe handle off the top rope. Bourne caught him with wheel kick that sent the Miz reeling to the outside. Bourne hit a tope that left both men laid out.
After coming back to the ring, Bourne hit his standing moonsault for a two count before dragging Miz to the corner to look for the SSP. Bourne went to the top, but Miz cut him off. Bourne jumped onto his shoulders to look for a hurricanranna, but Miz caught him and hit his modified face buster for the win.
Winner: The Miz via pin fall
****Commercial****
DX’s limo arrived in the back and Shawn and Triple H began walking through the back. They encountered Jillian singing and Santino on the way back through. The went out to the arena where their music hit to a big pop from the crowd.
DX ran down how great it was to be back, etc. before getting ready to do their ‘suck it’ thing. Just as they got going, Dibiase and Rhodes popped up out of nowhere and the two laid in a big time beat down of the two, at one point taking Michaels’ cowboy boot and laying both out. Dibiase got on the mic and said ‘to answer your question… yes. We ARE ready.’
****Commercial****
WWE Divas Championship
Mickie James vs. Gail Kim
Mickie grabbed an arm wringer that Gail reversed. Mickie cartwheeled out before the two traded arm drags and did the drop kick mirror spot. Kim fought in with forearms before getting whipped to the corner. Mickie tried to counter the double let kick in the corner but Gail pushed her back and looked for a roll up. Mickie kicked out and tried a brain buster before they did mirror roll up spots.
Kim got tossed with a hurricanranna before hitting Mickie with one. Gail hit a spear in the corner before looking to the top rope and sailing off with a missile drop kick for a two count. Mickie tried a submission before Gail looked for another roll up. Gail missed a cross body off the top rope before Mickie looked for the DDT but something got botched. Mickie hit a whiff kick and that’s over. Holy smokes, that was terrible.
Winner and STILL Divas Champion: Mickie James via pin fall
John Cena was in the back with Todd Grisham. He cut a promo on how he thought Randy Orton was a whiner. Big Show and Jericho walked in and said Cena had better re-evaluate his own problems, because they would get even with him tonight. They said he might not make it to Summerslam.
****Commercial****
MVP vs. Jack Swagger
MVP went right after Swagger in the corner and chasing him to the outside. Swagger got back into the ring and went equally as hard at MVP where he got disqualified. MVP re-jumped him and again chased him off.
Winner: MVP via DQ
Freddie Prince Junior is in the back making his way gingerly back to the ring.
****Commercial****
Falls Count Anywhere
Chavo Guererro vs. Hornswoggle
Chavo chased Horsnwoggle under the ring and then to the back. He looked for him in the back before opening a door and getting a paint can in the face. Horsnwoggle popped up and pinned him.
Winner: Hornswoggle via pin fall
Chavo came to and Mark Henry was there. Henry promised it wasn’t him who did it and he walked off. Then Makauley Culkin showed up. Yeah, that’s not a joke.
****Commercial****
John Cena & Randy Orton vs. The Big Show & Chris Jericho
Before the match started, Freddie Prince showed up and said he took a page out of Orton’s book. He was making this a lumberjack match. And they were handpicked by him and all had one thing in common: they don’t like Randy Orton.
****Commercial****
We came back to Cena in a Big Show bear hug. Cena fought out of the hold and came off the ropes only for Show to flat back him with a shoulder block. Cena crawled to the corner, and Orton outstretched his hand and then pulled it back. Show scooped up Cena and smacked him with a man-sized chop in the corner before charging the crumpled Cena. Show missed Cena, enabling Cena to tag Orton HARD.
The two jaw jacked only for Orton to get speared and sent to the outside. Henry picked him up and dumped him back into the ring. Show went to work, hitting a big right hand to the mid section before picking up what was left of Orton and connecting with a sit out leg drop.
Jericho tagged into the match and hit a kick to the mid section before flailing away with right hands while in the mounted position. Jericho worked a sleeper hold which Orton broke but he couldn’t tag Cena. Big Show tagged in and dropped a HUGE leg drop which crumpled up Orton on the mat. He hit a vertical suplex before punching Orton on the mat.
Orton went for a senton, but Orton got out of the way. Orton got inches away again, only for Jericho to cut him off yet again and slap on a rear chin lock. Orton tried fighting back with punches, only for Jericho to cut him off. Jericho looked for a lion sault, but whiffed, enabling Orton to crawl for the tag. Orton finally made the tag and Cena came in a house of fire.
Cena hit the shoulder blocks and then the inverted powerbomb. He pumped the crowd up and went for the five knuckle shuffle, but Show grabbed him by the throat on the apron. Jericho charged Cena only to collide with Show. Cena caught Jericho in the FU and connected for the win.
Winners: John Cena & Randy Orton via pin fall
After the match, Orton sneaked up on Cena and hit him with an RKO. Henry cleared him out of the ring and chased him, only for Show and Jericho to jump Cena. The lumberjacks came to his aid, only to get obliterated by Show. Cena popped up and cleared the ring. Weird.
Show Thoughts– Tonight’s show flowed a heck of a lot better than the last few weeks have.
Freddy was a pretty good GM whose obviously got some investment in the company and that came across well on TV. The opening promo might have been the best one cut by a guest host yet. The angle was strong and it didn’t completely take over or distract from what needed to happen, so all things considered it was a success.
The DX stuff was done very well, which was a pleasant surprise to me. Mark my words, by the way they ran the angle tonight, expect the match on Sunday to get a far better reaction than it would have had DX done their usual squash routine. I’m hoping they give the Legacy a good dirty win on Sunday to keep the heat up before building to the inevitable DX comeback. I think the most important thing is establishing the Legacy as a credible threat before making this a more involved feud.
John Cena seems to be an odd dude of late. He’s like a see-saw. When his ring work is off the charts, his character work ain’t great. The opposite has held true lately, where his character work has been pretty good, while his selling has become incredibly and uncharacteristically lazy. Nonetheless, I’m looking very forward to the Orton feud. They’ve taken a similar approach to their 2007 program where the Summerslam build was light and afterwards the feud picked up. So far, so good.
The one real bone of contention I had tonight was the atrociously bad women’s match. I know people are high on Mickie James but I just don’t see it. She executes moves well, but she just throws stuff out there and hopes that it sticks and, well… it rarely does. I dunno what it is about the divas division in general, but it seems like its gotten really Indy-spot heavy lately where they work the corny mirror spots and convoluted submission spots. Its like someone picked up three years worth of Jersey All Pro tapes and let them have at it. Its been bad.
Also ‘not good’ is Mark Henry’s push. Why would you take a guy who moved 800,000 viewers in two of the first three weeks he was on the air on your brand and then stick him in a silly get up and make him a side show to Hornswoggle? I ‘get’ Hornswoggle.. he’s a merchandise machine for sure. But Henry? He’s got top star potential. Take advantage.
Other than that though, it was a pretty decent show. Nothing mind blowing, but it did what it had to.
Overall Grade: C+
Quick Results
Kofi Kingston def. Carlito to retain the US title
The Miz def. Evan Bourne
Mickie James def. Gail Kim to retain the Divas title
MVP def. Jack Swagger
Hornswoggle def. Chavo Guererro
John Cena & Randy Orton def. Big Show & Chris Jericho
Who’s Hot, Who’s Not?
Biggest Pops
1. DX
2. John Cena
3. MVP
4. Kofi Kingston
Most Heat
1. Randy Orton
2. Chris Jericho
3. The Legacy
4. The Miz
Match of the Night: The Miz vs. Evan Bourne **1/4
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
WWE Champion: Randy Orton 12-10-5, 30 pts. (Last Week: WWE Champion)— Orton was pretty good tonight. I don’t’ think the finish of the tag match did him any favors, but his stuff with Prinz was solid enough for it to be a good night for him. Funny to see him work the face in peril segment which was actually pretty solid stuff.
United States Champion: Kofi Kingston 17-4-1, 31 points (Last Week: US Champion)— Kingston was OK. His striking is starting to come around after taking seemingly forever to do so and the overall ebb and flow of his matches have been a lot better.
1. John Cena 19-10-4, 41 points. (Last Week: 1)– For the better part of the last two years, Cena’s been the best selling worker the WWE’s had, but in the last few months, he’s been awful. Pops up from an RKO and then ejects everyone and their mother out of the ring like nothing happened. Not good.
2. Triple H 4-6-3, 6 Points (Last Week: 2)–Refreshing twist on the DX feud. Really the most compelling way to go is to keep giving Cody and Ted the early upper hand through Summerslam and perhaps afterwards. They need to be established as credible threats to Michaels and Triple H, and it’d help out a great deal. Good first night for this program.
3. Big Show 6-9-1, 11 Points (Last Week: 3)— Show’s offense is almost always the highlight of his matches it seems. I love the basic body shots and the slam variations he’s developed. He fills the downtime with taunting and crowd interaction pretty well, too.
4. Cody Rhodes 11-9-3, 14 points (Last Week: 5)— The beat down went as well as it could for them tonight. For two guys who aren’t usually that great at putting dudes over, this was a pretty solid segment for HBK and Triple H, and did the trick. Still, I think these kids need a win in a big win to stay interesting.
5. Ted Dibiase, Jr. 10-7-3, 11 Points (Last Week: 6)–See Rhodes.
6. Mark Henry, 6-1, 12 Points (Last Week: 4)— They were on such a roll with this guy and now he’s basically a dwarf’s side-kick. Hopefully we see him wrestling next week to get him back on track. People wonder why its hard to build stars on Raw… well… a dude moves 800,000+ viewers two out of his first three weeks on the show and he gets a goofy outfit and a side kick.
7. The Miz 4-7-2, 7 Points (Last Week: 8)— I like the overhaul. He needed it. The idea of setting a goal for him to meet as well can help erase the memory of the Cena burial.
8.) MVP 7-6-2, 12 Points (Last Week: 9)–Eh, OK match but this kid is still wrestling baby face matches as a heel. He still needs time. I wouldn’t spend too much time pushing him until he shows some signs of improvement.
9.) Jack Swagger, 3-5, 6 Points (Last Week: 7) — Kind of wandering in the wilderness right now. Of the Raw mid carders, I think he’s got the most upside. Hopefully they can move him on to something interesting after the MVP mini-program.
10.) Evan Bourne, 2-5, 4 Points (Last Week: 9)–He’s getting jobbed, but he’s on TV every week. Hopefully they find some way to credibly push him. His talent is obvious.
OTHERS
Batista 8-4, 16 Points (Last Week: NR)
Chris Masters 0-1-1, 0 Points (Last Week: NR)
Santino Marella 4-2, 9 points (Last Week: NR)
Shawn Michaels 6-3, 10 pts. (Last Week: NR)?
Carlito Colon 5-8-1, 7 Points (Last Week: NR)
Primo Colon 4-8-1, 4 Points (Last Week: NR)?
Brian Kendrick 1-6-0, 2 Points (Last Week: NR)
Hornswaggle 5-0-0, 9 Points (Last Week: NR)
Jerry Lawler 1-0, 1 points (Last Week: NR)?
Festus 1-1-0, 1 Points (Last Week: NR)
Chavo Guerrero 1-10-0, 1 Points (Last Week: NR)
Jamie Noble 0-3, 0 Points (Last Week: NR)
Jim Duggan 0-0, 0 points (Last Week: NR)
Eugene 0-1-0, 0 Points (Last Week: RELEASED)
Matt Hardy 3-8-0, 4 Points (Last Week: TRADED TO SMACKDOWN)
William Regal, 3-10, 4 points (Last Week: TRADED TO ECW )
Goldust 2-1-0, 2 Points (Last Week: TRADED TO ECW)
Kane 7-7, 12 Points DRAFTED TO SMACKDOWN?
Mike Knox 3-3 4 points (Last Week: DRAFTED TO SMACKDOWN)
JTG 2-4, 2 points (Last Week: DRAFTED TO SMACKDOWN)
Big Shaad 2-3 2 points (Last Week: DRAFTED TO SMACKDOWN)?
Charlie Haas 0-0, 0 points (Last Week: DRAFTED TO SMACKDOWN)
Dolph Ziggler 0-3, 0 Points (Last Week: DRAFTED TO SMACKDOWN)
CM Punk 9-7, 17 Points DRAFTED TO SMACKDOWN
Rey Mysterio 11-6, 22 Points DRAFTED TO SMACKDOWN
Chris Jericho 6-7 13 pts. DRAFTED TO SMACKDOWN
JBL 1-6, 4 points (Last Week: 7) RETIRED
Mr. Kennedy 1-0-0, 1 Points (Last Week: RELEASED)?
Sim Snuka 1-0, 1 Point (Last Week: RELEASED)