On Monday, August 21, 2006 at 11:23 PM EST WWE RAW
August 21, 2006
Bridgeport, CT
Commentators: Jim Ross & Jerry “The King” Lawler
Reported By: Hunter Golden of WrestleView.com
A video putting over last night’s Summerslam aired.
WWE Champion Edge’s music hit the arena and he came out to the ring minus his championship belt. Edge said he had waited for this night his entire life. He said everyone bought tickets tonight thinking he wouldn’t be WWE Champion, but they were wrong. He said despite overwhelming odds stacked against him, he emerged from Summerslam victorious. He said he was still our WWE Champion.
He asked if he was the champion, where was his championship belt and where was his lovely companion Lita? Lita popped up on the titan tron and she had the title belt out in the harbor near the arena. Edge asked her to get rid of the last remnants of Cena and she obliged by tossing the WWE title belt into the nearby river.
Edge said it was time for a new era, the Rated R era. With that some smoke poured from the ceiling and from it, Edge pulled what was Cena’s old spinner belt, except with a rated R logo in the place of the old WWE logo. He asked if there were any real challengers out there to his title.
Jeff Hardy’s music played and he came out to the ring. Edge ran up one side and down the other calling him and his brother talent-less and that if he wasn’t careful, he’d ruin Jeff’s career much like he did Matt’s. Jeff took a swing, flooring the champion and then a nice corkscrew dropkick to put him on his back. Jeff climbed the ropes looking for a Swanton, but Edge rolled out of the ring and ran off to the back. Jeff played to the crowd a little more to end the segment.
****Commercial****
8-Man Tag Match
The Spirit Squad v. Eugene, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, and the Highlanders
The Odd Squad and the Highlanders attempted to storm the ring, but were cut off by the ‘Squad. Johnny and Eugene traded arm bars before Johnny took the advantage by bullying Eugene to the corner and hitting some kicks to the guy. He whipped Eugene to the opposite buckles and missed the follow up. Eugene hit an airplane spin before tagging in Robby who hit a drop kick and caught a near fall.
Mikey distracted Robby enough to enable Johnny to hit a drop kick and tag in Kenny who hit a leg drop on his way in for a near fall. Kenny hit a spinning wheel kick and went for another cover but again got two. Mikey tagged in and hit a springboard moonsault with the help of Kenny for yet another near fall.
Mikey immediately clamped in a rear chin lock on Robby before bullying him to the corner. Robby tried to fight his way out of the corner but numbers were not in his favor. Mikey tagged in Nicky who hit a nice leap from forearm to the face of Robby.
Nicky put in a neat looking hold that raked Robby’s eyes before gathering him and tagging Kenny back in. Kenny landed some punches and followed them up with some stomps and an elbow drop. Kenny pressed his advantage, hitting a swinging neck breaker. Jim Duggan attempted to knock the now-top-rope perched Kenny but was fought off. Kenny went for the leg drop off the top but he missed.
Rory tagged in and began to clean house with clubbing blows and a nice shoulder based back breaker. Eugene and Hacksaw jumped in and chaos ensued. Rory was left in the ring with two members of the Spirit Squad. One was yanked out by Robby who quickly leapt into the ring. The Highlanders nailed Mikey with a springboard inverted suplex and Rory made the cover for the win.
Winners: The Highlanders, Eugene, and Jim Duggan via pin fall
Edge was in the back and pounding on Vince McMahon’s door. He walked in and Coach was inside. Edge said he didn’t want Jeff Hardy to make an impact at his expense. Coach asked him if he wanted to defend his title tonight. Coach said the boss gave him a little leeway and said that he’d get Jeff Hardy in a non-title match tonight. Coach went back to work just as Vince walked in. He asked if DX had showed up tonight. Coach said they hadn’t and resumed working out. Vince said he was in a foul mood and told Coach to get out.
Shane said their loss last night should be expunged from the records. Vince said he was in a gnarly mood tonight.
****Commercial****
Todd Grisham was in the back with Randy Orton. Grisham said Orton wasn’t all that successful at Summerslam. Orton said he was screwed at Summerslam last night and said he’d take out his aggression on Ric Flair. Carlito popped up and said he didn’t care about what happened to Randy last night. He said last night Hogan getting his hand raised was cool. Orton said at least he was on the show and he wasn’t anything more than an apple. He demanded more respect from Carlito next time he interrupted his interview.
Triple H was reading a magazine and said we were probably wondering where he was after overcoming the McMahon’s plan last night. They said they couldn’t help but see Vince’s plane following up overhead as they were driving to Bridgeport today. HBK did a plane Schick. Triple H said they came to a private air terminal and said they had to see it for themselves. They said there was a little bit of an incident that took place.
The cameras cut to Triple H and HBK in Vince’s private jet. HBK accidentally scratched the plane’s paint and Triple H admonished them for it. They walked down to the ground and HBK asked him if he thought Vince would notice. Triple H said no and they turned to the plane, which was spray painted with a giant DX on the side. Vince was furious in the back.
****Commercial****
Trish Stratus v. Victoria
Victoria hit an elbow to the face right off the bat before Trish came out aggressively sending Victoria to the outside with a drop kick. Trish flung herself over the top rope before ramming Victoria’s back into the ring post. Trish planted Victoria with a clothesline immediately afterwards that got a near fall.
Trish went for a stratus-faction but Victoria countered it into a big back breaker. Victoria planted Trish into the mat before picking her up and getting caught in a head scissors. Trish went for another pin but Victoria kicked out. Victoria drove a knee into Trish’s temple before scaling the ropes.
Trish met her on the middle rope and hit a nice look hurricanranna off the top rope. Victoria hit a boot to the gut and went for the widow’s peak but Trish countered it into the status-faction for the win.
Winner: Trish Stratus via pin fall
Vince McMahon’s music hit and he came out to the ring and both Trish and Victoria got out of dodge. He told the crowd they must’ve enjoyed what he did to his plane. He said it was a thirty million dollar aircraft and that these people encouraged this kind of de-generacy.
He said DX sucked and in a few minutes, they’d have their fun. He said we’d stand right here and we’d watch DX get arrested.
****Commercial****
We came back to Raw with McMahon eagerly awaiting the arrest of DX. We panned to Triple H and HBK not at the airport, but at WWE headquarters who were on the top of the building. They gave a little schpiel before revealing a giant DX grafitti mark on the side of the WWE building. Vince looked like he was going to have a heart attack.
Vince slowly walked away from the ring as the chants chanted ‘goodbye’ to him. Vince started to almost cry as he walked up the ramp.
Edge v. Jeff Hardy is next!
****Commercial****
Vince was in the back with Shane walking and saying “I can’t believe it”. Mick Foley pulled him over and smiled at him and asked him how he was doing. McMahon said that Foley called him ‘Vince’. Foley said he wasn’t having much of a great night himself and showed him his wounds from last night’s Summerslam match. Vince said for the record, he didn’t like him and second, he couldn’t call him Vince. He said maybe tonight Foley could join a special club, The “Kiss My Ass Club”. He said if Foley didn’t smooch his backside, someone was going to get fired. Shane told him to pucker up and walked off.
Edge v. Jeff Hardy
Hardy came right at Edge, drop kicking him through the ropes and then flying over the top rope and body pressing him to the floor. Jeff continued his assault, going for a pin fall but only getting a two count. Edge tossed Hardy off the ropes and tossed him to the outside of the ring.
Edge flung Hardy into the ring steps before tossing him back into the ring. Edge planted Hardy with a kick to the face before goading the crowd for a bit. Edge punched away at Hardy, sending him to the mat and followed up with a leg drop. Edge brought Hardy to the ring post and stretched his back across it from the outside of the ring.
Edge whipped Hardy to the belt, but caught a boot on the way in. Hardy followed with a clothesline and went for the Swanton bomb, but Edge rolled out of the way. Hardy dropped a leg drop and managed a near fall. Hardy came charging at the Champion, but Edge countered with a powerslam and got a near fall of his own.
Edge rammed Hardy’s face into the turnbuckles before Hardy came spinning off the ropes with a cork-screw senton, catching the champion off guard. Hardy got another near fall before the two exchanged blows in the middle of the ring. Hardy sent Edge off the ropes and took him down on his way back through and another near fall ensued.
Hardy pressed the advantage, assaulting Edge in the corner before nailing a twist of fate. Hardy scaled the ropes and hit a Swanton Bomb. He went for the cover but Lita pulled Edge’s foot under the ropes breaking up the cover attempt. Lita clocked Hardy in the face causing the Disqualification.
Winner: Jeff Hardy via DQ
John Cena quickly came running down to the ring and chased Cena out through the crowd hitting him with clubbing blows the entire way. The security force attempted to break the two up, but Cena tossed them off only to get flung into a garage door. The two locked horns and fell out through the door to the outside of the arena as we went to commercial.
****Commercial****
We came back to John Cena looking to FU Edge into the harbor. Cena tossed Edge into the bulletin board on the pier before tossing Edge into a tree. Cena proceeded to choke Edge out with a hose. Security again attempted to pry Cena off of Edge who brushed them aside again. Edge fought back a little bit before getting tossed into the Long Island sound.
****Commercial****
Mick Foley was in the back with Melina. She thanked him for last night. Foley said he couldn’t live with himself being involved in the Kiss My Ass club. Melina said she didn’t know what she would do without him. She said whatever choice he made, she’d support him 100%.
WWE Intercontinental Championship
Johnny Nitro v. Kane
The two locked horns before Nitro clamped in a headlock but he was shoved off and shoulder blocked to the ground. Kane stalked the champion who was promptly big booted to the ground. He whipped the champion in and went for his side walk slam but Nitro flipped out of the hold. He avoided the challenger’s charge into the corner and hit some punches.
Kane shoved him off but Nitro kept coming, snap-maring him on the ropes. He came back in, looking to do further damage, and was smashed into the corner and slipped over onto his face. Kane mounted the top rope and hit his flying clothesline.
Umaga came running down to the ring and hit an inverted Flat Liner to lay Kane out.
Winner: Kane via DQ
Umaga hit his Samoan Spike, which laid Kane out. Kane eventually sat out but Umaga hit a kick to the chest and two running head butts to Kane’s sternum. Umaga climbed the ropes and came off the second, hitting a Samoan spike, causing Kane to bleed out of the throat. Kane coughed up blood as Umaga stood over him victorious.
A video recapping Summerslam aired.
****Commercial****
A recap of last week’s Diva Search finals aired, showing Leyla’s big win.
A preview for John Cena’s new movie “The Marine” aired. The movie will be coming out in October.
Randy Orton v. Ric Flair is next!
****Commercial****
Randy Orton v. Ric Flair
Orton came right at Flair who caught him coming in with some chops to the chest. Flair missed a running back elbow and Orton caught a shot to the gut and followed it up with a vertical suplex. Orton followed up with a clothesline, which was botched at first, but eventually sent Flair to the outside.
Flair attempted to get back in the ring, but Orton drop kicked the Nature Boy to the outside. Orton suplexed Flair on the outside before raking Flair’s forehead with his boots. Orton continued to punish the already battered Flair with punches to the head before tossing Flair back into the ring and stomping away.
Orton kept up the assault, stomping on Flair’s gut and sending him back to the outside. Orton whipped Flair into the ring steps. Flair was bleeding again, from his wounds from last night. Orton tossed Flair back into the ring and stomped away at what was left of Flair. Orton jawed with the crowd a little bit which allowed Flair to get to his feet and fight back with some chops.
Flair missed a back body drop attempt and was met with a boot to the face. Orton nailed his RKO and got the pin fall victory.
Winner: Randy Orton via pin fall
Orton continued his assault after the match, beating the hell out of Flair on the mat. The assault prompted the referee to reverse the decision.
Winner: Ric Flair via DQ
Orton looked to go for another RKO but was saved by Carlito who came running to his aide. Carlito hit his springboard reverse elbow which sent Orton to the outside.
Footage aired of the history behind the “Kiss My Ass Club”.
The Kiss My Ass club is next!
****Commercial****
McMahon was back in utter lunacy. He called Foley out and said this was the first time he ever saw someone bring a date to the Kiss My Ass Club. Foley said he wouldn’t kiss Vince’s ass. He said he loved the WWE and his job but he didn’t need it. He said maybe people didn’t notice, but he saved a fortune on haircuts, a used mini van, and his flannel shirts. He said McMahon couldn’t fire him.
McMahon said he never said he was going to fire Foley, but it would be ‘someone’. He said Melina would get fired if Foley didn’t kiss his ass. He asked Foley what it was going to be. Foley said nobody was worth kissing Vince’s ass, except Melina. Vince got ready to do his deal.
Melina stopped Foley and pleaded with him to not do this. Foley said he had his career and that Melina had an entire career ahead of her. He said this was a small price to pay for her friendship. He said he’d kiss McMahon’s ass, go to the store, buy a bottle of mouthwash and a bigger bottle of hard alcohol. Foley screamed at McMahon demanding he take his pants down. McMahon obliged.
Foley kissed his ass and further admonished him. Foley jaw jacked with McMahon some more before Melina low blowed him and left him on the mat. McMahon said just like DX, they had two words for him, and Melina took the mic and said ‘You’re Fired’. Foley looked like he was going to cry.
McMahon gloated on his way up the ramp. Vince congratulated Foley on joining the club. He walked off to the back talking about his ‘aschles’ and the different ass-handling he’d received over the years. Vince said he and Shane were going to forget all about last night.
Vince left the arena and then handed off the mic. He stepped to the outside. He said DX may have broken him. Vince complained about the HQ and the plane. Vince said they were going to go to the hanger and see the plane. Vince admonished the limo driver for not wearing a tie. The limo drove away but there was a chain attached to the back wheels and when the car went forward, the wheels came out from under the car. The driver went to check on the two as they fumbled out of the door. Vince didn’t realize what had happened at first until he saw the DX painted on the opposite side of the limo. Vince went nuts kicking the car and screaming. Vince eventually broke down crying. RAW THOUGHTSThe Good-- There were some good things that happened tonight, and the booking worked for the most part.
First off, hats off to Edge and John Cena, and though I hate to admit it, creative, for saving this program. The two put on a very good match last night at Summerslam and followed it up with a good angle to keep this going. Good booking. The two finally appear to be melding a little bit in the ring together.
Jeff Hardy’s return was booked well minus the fact that he didn’t get a win. They played off the history between the Hardy’s and Edge and generated a little heat there. The ending kind of forgot all about Jeff however. So I’m mixed, but he looked pretty solid in his first WWE night worth of work in three years.
The Bad-- Tonight there was just flat out way, way too much McMahon-DX stuff. This feud is going to go stale and in a hurry if it didn’t a month ago. Maybe it’s just me, but there’s only so much mileage they can get out of this feud before people are going to tune it out. McMahon’s segments took up a third of the broadcast tonight and that’s just far too much. It seriously took away from the show as a whole.
While I’m very excited for the Orton-Carlito feud, I’m not impressed with the fact that they used Flair as more or less a door mat to kick off the feud. Sure, Flair was supposedly tired from last night, but let’s get real. This guy just put on the feud of the year and won what a lot of people consider to be the best match of the Summer. Now he gets squashed out? Meh, they can do better.
The Ugly-- Big ouch of the night goes to Mick Foley, who gets one heck of a send off after the efforts he’s put through this year. Gotta love wrestling.
Oh P.S. The new title belt sucks.
Overall C- -- I am left VERY mixed in general about tonight’s show. The Edge-Cena feud is really heading back in the right direction while the McMahons-DX feud is just getting beyond tired and old at this point. Seeing as McMahon fired Foley on the air, why not just fire DX if they piss him off so much? I’m excited for the Carlito-Orton feud, although the opening wasn’t very well done. While I think a lot of the essential stuff was accomplished tonight, the modes for doing so weren’t up to par. Average show.
Quick Results
The Higlanders and the Odd Squad def. The Spirit Squad
Trish Stratus def. Victoria
Jeff Hardy def. Edge
Kane def. Johnny Nitro
Ric Flair def. Randy Orton.
Who’s Hot, Who’s Not?
Biggest pops
1. John Cena
2. DX
3. Mick Foley
4. Ric Flair
Most Heat
1. Edge
2. Vince and Shaen McMahon
3. Randy Orton
4. Melina
Match of the night: Edge v. Jeff Hardy *1/4
Power RankingsWWE Champion: Edge (Last Week: WWE Champion)—What a difference two weeks makes. Edge looks much better now. The chicken champion can be effective if done the right way and WWE has played their cards well in the last two weeks, especially the last two nights, with Edge who looks far stronger than he did just a week or two ago.
Intercontinental Champion: Johnny Nitro (Last Week: Intercontinental Champion)—I’m somewhat relieved that Nitro retained tonight and the IC Championship wasn’t used to prop up Umaga. He looked great again tonight.
1.John Cena (Last Week: 1)—Cena’s really starting to get back to where he was around this time last year. His chasing the title has been good but it’s a question of whether Edge is entirely to credit for that or not.
2. Umaga (Last Week: 2)—Umaga remained out of action this week and had no real movement at Summerslam either. However, he retains his spot and looks as if he’s headed to what may be a surprisingly strong feud with Kane.
3. Ric Flair (Last Week: 4)—Flair put on one hell of a match last night and got a win tonight, although after being pretty much squashed. I’d move him to #2, but because of the way he was manhandled tonight, he only gets a one spot bounce.
4. Triple H (Last Week: 5)—I suppose with the wins over the McMahons, I can finally move him up a spot, but the character is still entirely direction-less with this feud.
5. HBK (Last Week: 6)—Sure, we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt as well. Nothing really worth mentioning going on. Orton’s tailspin moves him up a spot though.
6. Randy Orton (Last Week: 3)—Gets beat by Hogan then technically loses to his second geriatric in as many nights. The feud with Carlito should be good, but it doesn’t really do anything at all for Orton, who now seems to be headed nowhere as well. The feud is sure to be good, but a loss in this program will be a sure-fire sign that WWE may not be so big on the legend killer anymore.
7. Carlito (Last Week: 7)—Carlito stays put this week, but is in a prime spot to really go somewhere with this pending feud with Randy Orton. If he gets a win here, it’s going to be a big, big deal for the youngster, who was BTW, scary over at Summerslam last night in Boston.
8. Kane (Last Week: 9)—Slowly plodding his way up the rankings but will more or less serve as a stepping stone to Umaga for the time being.
9.Jeff Hardy (Last Week: NR)—A win over the WWE Champion is a win. Decent debut although I felt as if they could have done a little more with his return.
10. Mick Foley (Last Week: 8)—Spends his last week in the top 10 after losing to Flair and getting fired. Hell of a way to be ushered out the door.
Dropping Out: Shelton Benjamin (Last Week: 10)