WWE Monday Night Raw
Sacramento, CA
August 9th 2010
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry “The King” Lawler
Report by: David Stephens of Wrestleview.com
Are you ready? Then stop questioning your heart and join me, because it is time for Monday Night RAW!
Bret Hart’s music hits and the WWE Hall of Famer makes his way down to the ring. He says that he has spent the past two weeks training like a mad man up in Calgary to prepare for Summerslam. Meanwhile, team WWE has been falling apart. He calls out Edge and Jericho to come down to the ring to talk things over.
Jericho’s music hits and he comes down to the ring. He tells Bret to dazzle him and say that he is the best at what he does in an attempt to get him to rejoin. Bret says that he doesn’t want to say any of that crap. All he wants is for Jericho to man up and rejoin Team WWE. He tells Jericho that this is his chance to do the right thing and not let the fans down.
Jericho says that after all of those words, the answer is still no. The reason Bret wants him and Edge to come back is because he doesn’t want to get his butt kicked later on tonight. Jericho only cares about the fact that later tonight he will be able to beat Bret Hart and prove that Hart is a hypocrite just like all of the fans in attendance.
Edge’s music hits and he comes down to the ring. Edge asks Chris what is the matter with him. They grew up idolizing Bret. Chris trained in the dungeon and Edge had his poster on his wall. So as far as Edge is concerned, he is on Bret’s side. He goes to shake Bret’s hand. And the tries to kick him in the gut! Bret catches the leg and goes for the Sharpshooter! Jericho rakes his eyes and he and Edge slip out of the ring.
Natalya runs down into the ring and is very upset. The big screen shows the locker room backstage. Nexus has ambushed the Hart Dynasty and Tyson Kidd and David Hart Smith are on the floor. Wade says that it looks like the Dynasty won’t be the replacements for Team WWE. Natalya and Bret start to run towards the back.
****Commercial*****
In the back, the trainers are with the Hart Dynasty. Bret gets up to leave, with chair in hand. He says that he is going to take care of matters himself. Cena enters and begs Bret not to leave. He says that the Nexus would want that to happen as their goal is to pick everyone off one by one. John is off to make sure the rest of the team is still together, so he is headed to talk to Khali. He tells Bret to stay put and take care of his family.
The Miz v. Evan Bourne
The two lock up, and Miz is the first to gain control with a punch to the face. Evan tries to recover with a couple of kicks, but a boot to the face sends him to the mat. Miz grabs the chin of Bourne and throws his forearm hard across the chest of Bourne. Cover attempt, but Evan kicks out.
Miz is stalking Bourne and takes him down with a rear headlock. Evan tries for a high kick, but Miz swats him down to the ground. Bourne is getting to his feet in the corner, and Miz connects with a dynamic splash. Cover attempt but Evan kicks out.
Miz again goes for a submission, this time with a chinlock. Miz is looking for a suplex, but Evan counters with a knee to the head. Bourne sets in a couple of kicks. Bourne leaps from the second rope backwards and connects with a hurricarana. Wow that was awesome.
Miz recollects himself and kicks Evan in the gut. From here all it takes is a skull crushing finale to wrap up this match.
Winner via Skull Crushing Finale: MIZster Money in the Bank
After the match Miz proclaims that it doesn’t matter who wins the belt at Summerslam, because HE will be the WWE Champion.
*****Commercial****
Melina v. Alicia Fox
Fox starts by lifting up Melina and setting her up in the corner. Fox grabs her hair and throws her into the middle of the ring. Melina grabs Fox and drops her onto her knees. Melina hits several punches and then avoids a punch with a Matrix dodge. Fox heads outside the ring to catch her breath. Melina follows after but gets hit with a clothesline.
With both competitors back in the ring. Fox grabs the hair of Melina and drops her into the middle of the ring. Fox hits an ugly backbreaker, and goes for the pin. Melina kicks out. Fox continues to grab the hair of Melina and finally the ref yells at her. Fox goes for a headlock, but Melina is able to escape. Alicia picks up Melina for a modified torture rack. It seems to be working, but Melina twists her body and hits the Last Call Sunset Bomb!
Winner via Last Call Sunset Bomb: Melina
Josh is in the back and asks Khali which side he is going to be on after speaking with Cena. Khali responds WWE. Khali then grabs the mic and goes on a rant. Josh apologizes to Khali, but since his translator is not here tonight, asks if he could he repeat it in English. Khali responds that tonight, he wants Wade Barret one on one!
****Commercial****
During the commercial there were two GeneralMail Alerts. First, Melina will face Alicia Fox for the Women’s Champion at Summerslam. Second, Khali will face Barret in action later tonight.
In the back Jericho says that he is afraid that they may have bitten off more than they can chew. Edge counters by pointing out that they have survived many years of huge names that have come and gone. Not only are they survivors, they are architects. By taking out Cena and Hart, they will in effect make it so that there is no match at all.
Elsewhere in the building, John Morrison and R-Truth are talking about the fact that they need to find two replacements. Mark Henry saunters in saying that they don’t need two, they just need one. Consider his match tonight an audition.
Nexus is in their locker room watching the monitor. They all shake their heads as we go to commercial.
****Commercial****
Ted Dibiase w/ Maryse v. Mark Henry
Before Henry can even make it into the ring, Nexus ambushes the World’s Strongest Man, and then run out of the arena. It looks as though the Nexus is targeting all possible replacements for Team WWE.
In the back, Sheamus is walking with his Title as he is set to confront Randy Orton next.
****Commercial****
Sheamus makes his way down to the ring to cut a promo on putting himself over. He then tells the crowd to watch the promo on the big screen. Sheamus says that the footage proves that he is afraid of nobody in the WWE. So now, he is calling out Orton so that he can tell him face to face.
Orton’s music hits and he makes his way down to the ring. Sheamus says that he is surprised Orton accepted his invitation. Orton says that he knows Sheamus may be able to hurt people, but claiming that him not getting in the ring with Randy last week shows that he is full of it. He had the chance to be taken seriously. He says that Sheamus had the opportunity last week and he blew it, just like he is going to do at Summerslam. Randy says that Sheamus can make up all of the excuses he wants to, but the fact remains – Sheamus has never beaten him.
Sheamus says that he is wrong. Sheamus puts over his wins against HHH and Cena. Orton says that he isn’t HHH and he certainly isn’t John Cena. Sheamus says that he also isn’t the WWE Champion. After Summerslam, he is going to go to the back of the line just like Cena, and he’ll never got a shot against him for the Title period.
Orton says that he will defeat Orton at Summerslam, and walk out as still the Champion. Orton says that if he wants to redeem himself for last week, then he needs to do something about. The two look each other hard in the eyes.
*GeneralMail Alerts*
If anyone interferes in the Summerslam match, then they will be suspended indefinitely. Furthermore, if Orton loses there will be no rematch, and he will go to the back to the line. However, if Sheamus is not scared then he agrees that Sheamus should do something about it right now.
Sheamus stares at Orton but shakes his head. He starts to head out of the ring, and then fakes a punch. Sheamus then starts to exit the ring for real. Orton gets to his feet and decides to attack Sheamus. Sheamus counters with a Title shot to the head. He then goes for the Bro Kick, but Orton counters with a neckbreaker. Orton then heads to the corner, and is looking to hit the punt. He charges, but stop s himself short. He then slides out of the ring, and picks up the WWE Title.
****Commercial****
Percy Watson, Kaval & Lucky Cannon v. Husky Harris, Alex Riley & Michael McGillicutty
We start with Percy Watson and Mike in the ring. Percy jumps high into the air to dodge an attack, and then gets smacked strong in the face. Riley gets the tag and comes into the ring. Riley locks on a headlock. Watson is trying to escape, but Alex throws him down to the mat. Watson connects with a great kick, and then tags in Kaval!
Kaval is in the ring and goes for a splash. Riley tries to the throw him out of the ring, but Kaval connects with a dragon sleeper on the ropes. Kaval leaps high into the air. Lucky Cannon comes flying in the ring and leaps outside of the ring. Kaval goes for a sunset flip on Riley, but Husky is tagged into the ring. Husky hits the standing Senton bomb, and picks up the win.
Winners via Senton: Husky Harris, Alex Riley and McGillicutty
After the match, Sheamus flips out and attacks all of the NXT stars. He grabs the mic and says that what just happened was a message to the WWE audience, the General Manager, and Orton.
****Commercial****
John Morrison & R-Truth v. William Regal & Zack Ryder
Truth and Regal starts things off in the ring, but Regal quickly tags in Ryder. Zack hits a dropkick and goes for a failed cover. He then locks on a rear headlock. Truth escapes and tags in his partner. Morrison comes into the ring strong. He grabs Ryder and hits a beautiful flipping Russian leg sweep. Regal runs into the ring to break the cover. Truth comes in and sends both himself and Regal to the outside. Morrison hits a springboard kick which plants Ryder on the mat. He jumps up and Starship Pain connects, and this match is over!
Winners via Starship Pain: Morrison & R-Truth
****Commercial****
Eve & Gail Kim v. Maryse & Jillian v. The Bellas
Well, there is a huge waterslide set up at the entrance ramp. Um, the Divas are all wearing one pieces and not bikinis. This is complete crap.
Santino and Kozlov are the guest referees for this match. Santino appears to be more the referee, with Kozlov on the outside as the enforcers. I’m sorry, I just can’t bring myself to recap this match. I’m one of the PG supporters, but this is just crap. There is far too much clothing for this to be a summer spectacular. Hell, they wear more with their normal outfits.
Winners via Crossbody: The Bellas
After the match, Tamina came down to the ring to flirt with Santino. Kozlov just laughs as he heads to the back.
Khali is in the back preparing for his match against Wade Barret. Out of nowhere, the Nexus appear and jump the Punjabi playboy.
****Commercial****
The full Nexus is standing in the ring. Wade has the mic and says that he has been informed that the Wade v. Khali match is no longer on. He says that after Summerslam, the WWE will change forever. Once they defeat Team WWE they will achieve more than anyone around here can possibly imagine. Skip says that Hart will join Ricky Steamboat and McMahon as victims. After the match, Bret will never be seen again. They won’t just beat their opponents physically, but destroy them mentally. Otunga warns anybody in the locker room considering joining Team WWE to think about what the Nexus has done to everyone on the path to joining the team. Because you are either Nexus, or you’re against us.
In the back, Hart and Cena are walking to the ring. Miz comes up says that with the team decimated, it was only a matter of time before they came to him for help. He makes both of them ask him. He says that he will give the answer come Sunday.
***Commercial****
John Cena & Bret Hart v. Chris Jericho & Edge
Nexus Lumberjack Match
Edge and Cena are the first two competitors to square off. Edge knocks him to the ground with a kick to the gut. Cena turns it around with an Irish Whip into the corner. Edge bounces back and gets hit with a cheap shot from Hart. Edge regains his composure and throws Cena outside of the ring. Nexus goes to town on Cena before throwing him back into the ring. Jericho is tagged in by Edge. Chris throws Cena right back outside! Nexus takes their time in beating him up before throwing him back into the ring. They roll him back into the ring, and then Jericho throws him right back out.
Cena appears to be decimated only 3 minutes into the match. Chris looks to throw him back outside, but John reverses and throws out Chris! Jericho is covering his head, but Nexus doesn’t touch him. A relieved Chris heads back into the ring. John tries for the Attitude Adjustment, but Chris counters into a Walls. John breaks free and goes for a shoulder block, but flies straight out of the ring. Cena punches a member of Nexus in the face, and then rolls back in.
Chris bounces off the ropes, but accidently hits Wade. John throws Chris out of the ring. And this time, they attack Chris! Things are starting to go crazy! Hart and Cena grab Gabriel and give him a couple of punches! Chris and Edge bail to the top of the ramp. All 7 members of the Nexus now enter the ring and face off against Bret and Cena. Morrison and R-Truth run down to the ring for back up. They now stare down Nexus, but are still outnumbered. Edge and Chris stare each other down, thoughts racing wildly through their minds. Finally, they realize what must be done and run down to join Team WWE!!!! It’s time for a brawl! All hell breaks loose as Team WWE clears the ring. The Nexus head through the crowd to make their escape. Team WWE celebrate in the ring only 6 days away from the Summerslam show down.
Raw Thoughts
The opening segment was pretty straightforward, but did what it needed to do to set up the rest of the evening. This is in the theory one of the most important RAWs of the year, and it did its part in setting up what should be a high impact Summerslam.
Fantastic way to kick off RAW tonight with the Bourne and Miz match. I’m still very impressed by the hurricarana that Bourne pulled off. I’ve seen a lot in my travels, but never the move delivered in quite that way. Sure Bourne lost, but it did not make him look all that weak. I don’t think that the Miz will cash in the case at Summerslam. I could be wrong, but I really want him to hold on to it and continue to use it for promo and ego purposes.
The women’s match got a decent amount of time tonight. Fox looked pretty good out there. (yeah yeah I know you are shocked to hear me say that) But, that modified torture rack did look pretty sweet. Oh, and she lost. That’s awesome! I’m picking Melina to win at Summerslam.
The NXT match was pretty pointless. I don’t think it really helped the audience get to know any of those guys at all. Plus getting squashed by a main eventer certainly doesn’t help their cause.
The Morrison & R-truth v. Regal and Ryder match was very quick, but Morrison was on fire tonight. That flipping leg sweep was insane! Good match. Not really sure if it had a purpose, but who cares? It was a fun match.
I really love the strategy of Nexus that was employed tonight. They have depicted these guys as not only being brutal savages, but also added a mind game element. By going after the individuals in line to join Team WWE they have established themselves as an intelligent force to be reckoned with.
The Divas Summertime Spectacular was a complete disgrace. THEY WEAR LESS CLOTHING IN THEIR NORMAL RING GEAR!!!! What a waste of my time.
I fully expected to give some predictions in the recap this week, but I am stumped. There is almost no match in which I know the answer. I would say that I believe Sheamus is going to retain. But, that’s kind of a tossup.
Nice ending to RAW, though certainly not that surprising. I don’t have a problem with it because it still came across very strong. The question remains heading in to the PPV, who will be number 7? With Khali laid out, it is anyone’s guess.
The Nexus looks as if there is no way to pick against them, which makes me really wonder whether it’s a risk to pick them. I have a rule when it comes to predictions. I am the Dean of WrestleView in predictions for a reason. I’m that damn good (or really lucky, but for ego reasons I’m going to pretend I’m awesome). The problem is that picking Nexus goes against one of my cardinal PPV predictions rules. NEVER pick against John Cena. So I will most likely be going with Team WWE, but wow this could go either way. I absolutely love when outcomes are hard to predict, it makes the whole show that much more exciting to watch!
I do read every single e-mail you guys send, and really appreciate hearing your thoughts. Send me some e-mails, and have a safe week everyone!
So that’s RAW…. Love it? Hate it? Disagree with everything I said? Just want to chat wrestling? I’m always up for reading your thoughts and do my absolute best to reply to every message I get. Send them over to me at david@wrestleview.com.
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