On Tuesday, July 18, 2006 at 12:14 AM EST WWE Raw
July 17, 2006
San Antonio, TX
Commentators: Jim Ross and Jerry “The King” Lawler
Reported By: Hunter Golden of WrestleView.com
D-X’s music hit and out they came to the ring. The crowd was uber-hot for the duo. Triple H hold everyone to hold on a second because he didn’t know they were supposed to wear the new shirts tonight and HBK plugged the new shirt. Triple H said he couldn’t help but notice that Vince McMahon was in a really bad mood. HBK said the rumor mill said that he and Triple H had something to do with it. Triple H said he didn’t understand that. He asked the crowd if they thought they did anything bad to Vince and they responded that they didn’t. HBK said he agreed with the crowd, but Vince and Shane were still really ticked off at them. Triple H said no one wanted the two of them to fight Vince and Shane right now. Triple H asked the people of San Antonio if they wanted to see that, and they did. So they ‘made’ the match before Triple h asked if they could really do that or not.
Vince McMahon’s music hit and he came out with Shane. Vince called DX ‘degenarate, juvenile, delinquents’. He said they didn’t run things around here, that he and Shane did. They said they were sick of DX making fools out of them week in and week out. He said it wasn’t what the people wanted; it was about what they wanted. He said tonight in that very ring, Shawn Michaels would go one on one with his son Shane. The crowd chanted DX until Shane said ‘shut up’. He told HBK his impression of him a few weeks back sucked. He said he had more god-given talent in his body than HHH or HBK combined. He asked HBK if he would have Triple H in his corner and that he wanted to have Vince McMahon in his corner. He said San Antonians wouldn’t only remember the Alamo, they’d remember Shane McMahon pinning HBK.
A video package of Umaga was played. He will be taking on John Cena later tonight.
****Commercial****
Grisham botched the introductions saying this was for the Cruiserweight Championship.
#1 Contender’s Match for the Intercontinental Championship
Carlito v. Shelton Benjamin
The two locked up in the middle of the ring before Shelton clamped on a side headlock and took Carlito down into a cover attempt. He dragged Carlito over and slapped on an arm wringer which evolved into a hammer lock. Carlito shimmied out with a roll up attempt which Shelton kicked out of.
Carlito fought back with some left and rights and missed a follow up to the opposite corner. Carlito flipped out of the buckles but got plowed over with a big boot to the face. Shelton went for the cover but Carlito managed to kick out. Benjamin leaned in with a rear chin lock which Carlito eventually fought out of.
Carlito got leveled with a clothesline which was followed up with some punches to the head. Shelton cinched in the rear chin lock again and again, Carlito fought out. Carlito hit a nice million-dollar knee lift and followed up with a lariat. He pressed the advantage, hitting a springboard back elbow and got a near fall.
Carlito went for the back cracker but Shelton fought out. Shelton rolled up Carlito and went for the ropes but couldn’t reach them. Carlito reversed the hold and grabbed the nearby ropes himself to score the victory.
Winner & NEW #1 Contender: Carlito via pin fall
JR and King put over Cena’s near victory against Edge at Saturday Night’s Main Event and a video package with highlights from the match aired.
****Commercial****
Carlito met up with Trish in the back. He said he would be checking out her match. He checked Trish out as she walked away.
Trish Stratus & Torrie Wilson v. Victoria & Mickie James
Special Guest Referee: Candice Michelle
Torrie and Mickie started off the action and Torrie took the early advantage hitting a clothesline and body slam before Victoria jumped in and nailed Torrie from behind. Mickie took the advantage before tagging in Victoria.
Victoria hit a nice scoop slam before going for a standing moon Sault, which was met with some knees to the gut. Trish tagged in and hit some chops against the ropes before getting caught in the air and driven hard into the turnbuckles. Mickie James tagged in and missed the follow into the corner before hitting the status-sphere on Victoria. Candice tossed mickie out of the ring enabling Trish to hit the Stratus-faction and the cover for the win.
Winners: Torrie Wilson and Trish Stratus via pin fall
Maria was in the back with Alejandro Estrada and Umaga. Estrada said Cena’s career was in a downward spiral ever since he lost the WWE title. He said it’d continue later tonight. Maria asked him if he thought it was Umaga’s biggest match in his career. Umaga kind of looked around before Estrada interrupted and said the wrecking ball would come down right on top of him.
****Commercial****
Mick Foley was at WWE HQ and gave a hearty hello to his fans. He said he wasn’t here to talk about Melina or Katie Couric. He said Ric Flair was on the show last week bragging about beating Ric Flair two straight falls at Vengeance. He said he remembers bloodying Flair at the show and asked Flair what kind of non sensible world he lived in. Foley said he heard Flair’s open challenge and said he would never fight Flair in a rematch.
JR and King put over the fact that Lillian wasn’t here tonight. They replayed footage from last week in which Viscera planted Lillian with a Samoan drop.
Maria was in the back with Haas and Viscera. She asked them if they could explain their actions last week and Haas said they could, but Viscera said they wouldn’t.
A video package aired putting over the Diva boot camp from last week’s Smackdown. One of the finalists will be voted off tonight.
****Commercial****
The Highlanders v. Steel & Simpson
Steel and Simpson jumped the Highlanders at the bell but got rushed to the corner. The two whipped the two off each other before Rory tossed Simpson to the outside. He went for a cover but he kicked out. Robbie tagged in and landed a battering ram. Steel tagged and went for a sunset flip, but Robbie pulled up his kilt and sat down on his head. Rory tagged in and tripped up his opponent while Rory dropped and elbow. The two hit the Scot drop shortly thereafter and scored the victory.
Winners: The Highlanders via pin fall
After the match the two cut a promo. They said they traveled from Scotland to win championships. They challenged the Spirit Squad for the World Tag Team Championships. They said they may wear kilts, but unlike the Spirit Squad, they have something underneath.
A promo for ECW on Sci Fi aired.
****Commercial****
DX met up with the Highlanders backstage. Triple H and HBK welcomed them to America and said they should meet Vince because he loved to meet new talent. They told them to go in and just sit down and make themselves comfortable. They said Vince was a little hard of hearing so they needed to speak up. They said he was big on the male bonding stuff and they needed to pat him on the butt and whatnot. They shook hands before the Highlanders moved down the hall.
Matt Striker was in the ring with a chalk board. He said tonight’s lesson was about mathematics. He said the Texans couldn’t figure out the simple Edge > Cena equation on the board. He said maybe his guest would know something about it, and introduced John Cena.
Striker asked Cena if he knew what the equation meant, he said it meant that after SNME, that it was mathematically proven that Edge was greater than Cena. Cena snatched the mic out of Striker’s hands and called him a stupid bastard. Cena said he’d ‘spell’ this out. He said it meant he crushed Edge at SNME and that the ‘skank’ Lita cost him his title. He said he snapped and that meant that tonight he’d have to kick someone’s ass.
John Cena v. Umaga
The two went right at it with Cena gaining the early advantage. Umaga whipped Cena to the buckles but missed the follow up and Cena hit a hard side suplex. Cena assaulted Umaga in the corner with punches and kicks. Umaga turned the tables however and tossed Cena through the black board. The bell rang to start the match.
Umaga broke a piece of wood over Cena’s back before chopping Cena back to the canvas. Cena fought back with some punches before getting punched in the neck. Umaga hit a body slam on the former champion and followed up with a big knee drop. Umaga punched away on Cena in the ropes before getting DDT’d. Cena went for the STFU but Umaga quickly went to the ropes. Umaga beheaded Cena with a big clothesline before hanging him up in the corner upside down.
Edge made his way down to the ring. Umaga hit his running head butt. Umaga set up his running bump butt but Cena avoided it and went right for Edge on the outside. Umaga took advantage and whipped Cena hard into the steel ring steps. Umaga tossed what was left of Cena back into the ring. He mounted the ropes and went for his flying splash but no one was home. Cena hit a running shoulder block and rushed Umaga to the buckles and hit his inverted suplex. Cena hit the five Knuckle shuffle on Umaga but Estrada interfered. Edge ran in and as Cena was going for the FU, but Umaga cut him off and nailed Cena with the Samoan Spike and gained the pin fall.
Winner: Umaga via pin fall
Edge laughed at Cena while Umaga celebrated over the remains of the former champion.
The Highlanders were eating some food in Vince’s office in the back. He asked them what the hell this was all about. They began yelling into Vince’s ear introducing themselves. He asked them why they were yelling at him, he was Vince McMahon and he did the yelling. He yelled at them to leave his office.
****Commercial****
Randy Orton came out to the ramp.
Randy Orton v. Eugene
Orton immediately clamped on a headlock and then a drop toe hold, taking Eugene down. He posed for the crowd before the two circled up again and Orton landed some punches. Eugene slipped out of a hold and posed like he was Orton but got nailed with a clothesline. Orton went right at Eugene, hitting hit inverted back breaker and quickly nailed his foe with an RKO and got the cover for the win.
Winner: Randy Orton via pin fall
After the match, Orton said Eugene should never take advantage of the McMahons. He said just like he would never take advantage of Hulk Hogan’s daughter, Brooke. He said that she was one pretty girl. He guaranteed that he would pick up a copy of her CD in a few months. He said that song she sings about ‘us’, was one of his favorite hits. He said this was his all time favorite hit. He showed a video recap of his pummeling of Hogan at Saturday Night’s Main Event. Orton posed for the crowd some more, ending the segment.
****Commercial****
Mick Foley was back again. He said he would give a shout out to Melina. He said he wanted to talk about Flair’s hardcore match on ECW last Tuesday. He said Flair performed well, but it was all in vain. He said regardless, he’d get no rematch. He said he had nothing to prove to Flair anymore. Foley sang a Michael Jackson song “You’re Out of My Life” and gave a ‘woo”.
Ric Flair came out to the ramp and came down to the ring.
Flair said in case no one knew, and people possibly missed, he said he got his ass kicked last Tuesday night and showed footage from his match last week. He said that was an ‘ass whipping and a half’. He said it wasn’t his first and would never be his last. He called Mick Foley fat and that he wanted him in a hardcore rules match anywhere.
Johnny Nitro’s music hit and Nitro and Melina came out to the ring.
Nitro asked Flair what was up. He said he might not know this, but he and his girl were good friends with Mick Foley and told Ric he didn’t get it. He said Flair was out of Foley’s life and he meant nothing to him. He said he could stand out here all night and challenge him, but he wouldn’t get an answer from Foley. He said he would get an answer from him. Melina woo’d in his face and Nitro assaulted Flair on the mat. He slammed Flair to the mat but missed his leg drop. Flair chop blocked Nitro and chopped him. Naitch styled a bit before going for the figure four. Melina tried to interfere and Flair tossed her off the apron and Melina looked like she hurt herself.
Flair apologized to Melina but told her to tell Foley ‘woooo’.
The Diva Search contestants are on their way to the ring.
****Commercial****
Diva Search—First Elimination
Annice, Milena, Erica, Monica, Layla, JT, Jen, and Amy came out to the ramp. Miz said it was the moment of truth. Layla won immunity on Smackdown last week. Amy was eliminated. She cried before throwing out thongs to the crowd. Touching. This Friday night on Smackdown, there would be a Diva Dance off.
Vince was in the back with Shane. He said tonight they’d clean out DX. He said after tonight, never ever would they be made fools out of. He turned around and had an “I love cocks” sign on his back. Vince called them bastards. Shane shook his head and turned around and had a sign on his back that said ‘Me too”.
****Commercial****
Triple H told everyone to suck it, then HBK did the same.
Shawn Michaels w/ Triple H v. Shane McMahon w/Vince McMahon
We came back with the match underway and HBK hitting a suplex on McMahon. HBK hit a back body drop before clothes lining Shane over the top rope. Michaels hit a spring board moon sault onto Shane on the outside before landing some punches for good leverage.
HBK mounted the buckles but was met upon his decent by a Shane McMahon shot to the gut. McMahon went for a kick, but Michaels caught him and punched him in the face. Vince jumped up on the apron long enough to give Shane the opportunity to regain the opportunity. Shane hit a clothesline and danced around the ring. He hit an inverted atomic drop before landing two clotheslines. He hit a scoop slam before ascending to the top rope to try and land an elbow and succeeded.
Shane ‘tuned up the band’ but HBK caught the kick. He punched Shane in the face before hitting his flying elbow. He nipped up and hit his own inverted atomic drop and punches. He hit his scoop slam and went to the ropes himself and hit his flying elbow. HBK tuned up the band but Vince grabbed his foot. Triple H chased McMahon off and chased him up the ramp. The Spirit Squad ran into the ring and jumped HBK.
Winner: Shawn Michaels via DQ
The Squad mugged Michaels after the bell and fought off Triple H. They went for High Spirits but Michaels landed on his feet. The Squad jumped him again though, and finally hit the move. Shane grabbed a chair and nailed Triple H in the back on the outside of the ring. He grabbed a second chair which he propelled into the ring. They set up the two chairs before Triple H came in with his sledge hammer and cleaned house. Michaels snapped to and began cleaning house with a chair too.
Vince and Shane stood at the top of the ramp astonished that their plan didn’t work.RAW THOUGHTSThe Good— Believe it or not, Umaga and John Cena put on a more than watch able match tonight that I quite enjoyed. It really put over Umaga’s character, at least in my opinion, despite the interference. Everyone was protected and more than one goal was met in the match. Decent booking.
The Highlanders kill me. I love them. I’m a mark.
I am really enjoying the Flair-Foley feud despite the occasional hiatuses the feud takes from week to week. Melina got hurt and Foley will likely take the match with Flair because of it. It’s nice to see a feud where depth means something. They’ve cut some great promos and hopefully, the match will turn out to be something fun at Summerslam.
The Bad—While I think the Hogan feud is something that could potentially catapult Orton into legitimate superstardom, I just can’t buy the fact that Orton is a threat to him. Hogan does this a lot. I can’t possibly see him winning at Summerslam. Orton really needs to win a feud, IMO and maybe the timing of this is a little off. Who knows. Maybe I’ll warm up to this more. Here’s just to hoping WWE does the right thing and put Orton over.
DX is just really beginning to wear on me, but, as will be inevitable, fans will get a kick out of seeing them. It’s like a rock band on a reunion tour so people will pop for them. HBK seems really awkward and Triple H just seems really out of place. Hopefully this’ll be shelved after Summerslam. There’s only so much (fill in the blank) McMahon v. Shawn Michaels I can watch.
The Ugly— You could hear a gerbil fart tonight at the reaction the Diva Search got. I guess ratings supposedly go up for this but I’ll guarantee you it’s not anyone who actually watches wrestling. The most touching part was the thong tossing. I was genuinely touched.
Right.
By the way, Todd Grisham was a nightmare as ring announcer tonight.
Overall C - While I think a lot got done again on Raw tonight, I just find myself not all that energized by the programs heading into Summerslam, minus Foley-Flair. DX is tired and takes up a half hour on their own and that takes away from not only the angle and their program, but the show as a whole. Edge needs flat out, to be used a ton as champion, much like he was during his brief reign in the winter. Umaga could use a feud as well. I think he’s ready. I’m more ambivalent about what WWE isn’t doing rather than what they are doing right now.
Quick Results
Carlito def. Shelton Benjamin to become the #1 Contender for the IC title
Torrie and Trish def. Victoria and Mickie James
The Highlanders def. Steele & Simpson
Umaga def. John Cena
Shawn Michaels def. Shane McMahon
Who’s Hot, Who’s Not?
Biggest pops
1. D-generation X
2. John Cena
3. Carlito
4. Ric Flair
Most Heat
1. Vince McMahon
2. Randy Orton
3. Edge
4. Umaga
Match of the night: Umaga v. John Cena **1/4
Power Rankings:
WWE Champion: Edge (Last Week: WWE Champion) —It’s funny that I see almost an exact repeat of what we saw this winter between Edge and Cena as this feud is being built up entirely with Cena chasing his title. That’s the story, nothing /*. If put in a gimmick match, the main event at Summerslam could be great for both, but unfortunately, I see Edge serving as not much more than a pawn to either hot shot the belt back to Cena, or inevitably dropping it before he gets his due. Here’s to hoping that doesn’t happen. His reign(s) as champion remind me so much of the Chris Jericho reign in early 2002 it’s almost scary.
Intercontinental Champion: Johnny Nitro (Last Week: IC Champion)—Nitro wasn’t all that bad on the stick tonight. His character certainly has mileage, but I’d like to see WWE really drag this feud with Carlito out and have Nitro escape a few times before he’s finally caught. These two have good chemistry. Don’t waste it because of knee-jerk booking.
1. John Cena (Last Week: 1)—After much internal debate, I’ve decided to keep Cena in this position as he’s really the only legitimate title contender for Edge’s championship right now. Cena is world’s better chasing the belt and it now seems as if the crowd are finally getting behind him and buying him once again.
2. Umaga (Last Week: 4)—Umaga, IMO, put on his first good match tonight and came out looking very strong despite not getting a clean win over Cena. His gimmick is catching on finally and Estrada is a ‘love to hate’ manager that can work the stick well. He’s ready for a real program, but with the lack of faces on WWE programming, he’s kind of stuck. He impressed me enough tonight though. Kudos to him.
3. Randy Orton (Last Week: 5) —Orton’s feud with Hulk Hogan could potentially be huge for him, however I just can’t buy him winning it yet. No doubt though, WWE has huge plans for Orton in the second half of this year and it appears as if the Hogan feud is going to be the launching pad for it.
4. Shawn Michaels (Last Week: 6) —HBK picks up yet another aimless win over a McMahon, but this DX thing isn’t taking him anywhere. He moves up virtually by default.
5. Triple H (Last Week: 4) —Drops beneath Michaels purely because he just hasn’t seen too much action. I miss the “king of kings’.
6. Carlito (Last Week: 8) —Carlito is really getting over with the fans. His ring work has improved leaps and bounds and WWE are finally reaping the benefits of keeping him in the ring virtually every week since he arrived on Raw in June of last year. He and Nitro should be an interesting match up at Summerslam. Hopefully, Carlito will continue to chase this title into the early fall. It’d probably be best for both characters at this point.
7. Ric Flair (Last Week: 7) —Flair is struggling to really move up at all, but his performances have been absolutely outstanding and while many people may balk at this, he may be the wrestler of the year thus far in WWE based on the entire year’s worth of work. Flair has been awesome this year and done tons with practically zero move set.
8. Mick Foley (Last Week: 10) —Foley has been cutting some of the best promos he’s done in years. This Flair feud has the depth that many other programs in WWE sorely lack. Great feud for these two to work and will only get better heading into Summerslam.
9. Shelton Benjamin (Last Week: 9) —Had WWE been using more credible workers, Shelton wouldn’t be here. He’s a mid card jobber for the long term it seems.
10. Matt Striker (Last Week: NR)—Why don’t they use this guy a bit more? He would make a great addition to the Raw IC title picture, although that circle could probably use a face more than a heel. Nonetheless, I’ve enjoyed his stick work thus far.
Dropping Out: None