WWE Monday Night Raw
August 15, 2011
San Diego, California
Report by: Mike Tedesco of Wrestleview.com
“Yes, sir, we promised you a great main event…” The WWE video leads us into the show.
The show kicks off with a still photo of Triple H missing John Cena’s foot on the bottom rope as he counted the pin that made CM Punk the Undisputed WWE Champion. Kevin Nash then ran in, hit Punk with a Jackknife Powerbomb, and left through the crowd. Alberto Del Rio ran down and cashed in his Money in the Bank. Del Rio kicked Punk in the head and pinned him to become the NEW Undisputed WWE Champion.
The Raw video plays and we’re brought into the arena with some fireworks. Michael Cole’s voice is the first we hear. He’s at ringside with Jim Ross and Jerry “The King” Lawler.
Triple H’s music hits and the Chief Operating Officer of the WWE walks out. Triple H says a lot of people are upset at the way things went down at Summerslam last night and he understands. Triple H apologizes to the WWE Universe and John Cena for making a mistake. He watched the footage from last night and saw that Cena’s foot was clearly on the bottom rope. Later tonight he’ll look Cena in the eye and apologize. CM Punk and John Cena had a great match. If he hadn’t screwed it up he’s not sure who would have won. Things happened the way they did and he had no problem raising the hand of the new Undisputed WWE Champion CM Punk.
As for what happened after the match was over, a lot of people are speculating about his involvement in that. Triple H wants to assure everyone that he had nothing to do with that. Yes, he is friends with Kevin Nash and has been for years. Nash called him and asked for some tickets to Summerslam. That’s the last he spoke to him. Triple H had no knowledge that Nash was going to jump the rail and attack CM Punk. Triple H hasn’t spoken to Nash, but he’s invited him, via text, to come here tonight and explain himself. Nash responded that he would only if he’s allowed to tell the truth.
As far as Alberto Del Rio cashing in Money in the Bank, he didn’t know anything about it but that’s just the way that works. Triple H promised the world that when Summerslam was over there would no longer be two champions. There would be only one Undisputed WWE Champion. Triple H introduces him.
Alberto Del Rio makes his way to the ring with his WWE Championship in hand. Triple H leaves him in the ring. Del Rio tells us what his name is… and he is the Undisputed WWE Champion. Del Rio says he’s been saying this for weeks and weeks – it was his destiny to be the WWE Champion. Del Rio says he’ll be honest and he’ll do this just because he loves us. It was never his intention to cash in Money in the Bank at Summerslam. Destiny does whatever she wants. After what Kevin Nash did, he couldn’t resist. Some people are just born to be great. Del Rio says we know that he is the greatest of the great. As our champion, he wants to represent every single one of us with respect, honesty, and passion.
Del Rio says he just wants to be our champion. Tonight, he’s going to be in the lobby signing autographs for the people. If they want, he’ll take pictures with all their kids. As a champion, he will be a champion for the people. Tonight, for his very first title defense, he’ll face former champion Rey Mysterio. When they told him that he would face Mysterio in his very first title defense, he was happy because we all love Rey Mysterio. Mysterio is a Mexican icon. He loves Rey Mysterio. Del Rio says he loves beating Rey Mysterio. There’s your classic cheap heat in the guy’s hometown. Del Rio says he started his career by beating Mysterio. Every time he wakes up, he asks himself what he feels like doing. Today, he feels like beating Rey Mysterio and that’s what he’ll do in San Diego. He’ll beat the little chihuahua. They better change their area codes. No more 619. Tonight, they’ll have a true hero – Alberto Del Rio!
They plug Alberto Del Rio defending his WWE Championship against Rey Mysterio later tonight. Triple H is backstage and he enters John Cena’s locker room.
-Commercial Break-
R-Truth makes his way to the ring to a remix of his old theme song. As Morrison makes his way to the ring, they have a picture-in-picture promo with Morrison. Morrison says he’ll give the Little Jimmies something to cheer about.
Falls Count Anywhere Match
R-Truth vs. John Morrison
They lock up and jockey for position. R-Truth kicks and punches him down in the corner. Morrison tries punching back but R-Truth hip tosses him. R-Truth misses a leg drop but counters a Morrison break dance leg drop with a roll up. They trade pins until Morrison clotheslines R-Truth over the top rope. Morrison hits him with a corkscrew plancha for a two count. Morrison punches him around ringside. Morrison goes for a clothesline, but R-Truth splits under it. Morrison comes back by using the barricade to hit the Flying Chuck for a near fall. Morrison kicks and goes for a suplex, but R-Truth blocks it. R-Truth then hits him with a sit-out front suplex for a near fall outside the ring!
-Commercial Break-
We come back from the break to see R-Truth pin Morrison outside the ring for a two count. During the commercial, Morrison was doing the ten punches when R-Truth dumped him over the top rope. R-Truth beats him down at ringside and takes in the boos from the crowd. R-Truth backs up and hits a running knee to Morrison’s face, sandwiching him into the barricade for a near fall. R-Truth covers again for another near fall. The crowd chants, “Little Jimmy” and R-Truth flips out. R-Truth hits a running kick and punches away at Morrison. R-Truth crotches Morrison on the barricade and clotheslines him into the crowd. There’s an Ultimate Warrior impersonator at ringside that I love.
R-Truth sends Morrison into a wall and covers for a near fall. R-Truth throws Morrison over the barricade. As R-Truth goes back over to ringside, Morrison hits him with a pele kick for a near fall. R-Truth throws him into the steps and gets one of the announcer’s chairs. Morrison quickly clotheslines him down for a near fall. Morrison suplexes him into the chair and hits him with a running knee for the win.
Winner by Pinfall: John Morrison
Match Rating: * 1/2
CM Punk is seen arriving backstage. He does not look happy.
-Commercial Break-
They show footage from WrestleMania 22 when Rey Mysterio won the World Heavyweight Championship in a Triple Threat Match against Kurt Angle and Randy Orton. Mysterio will take on Alberto Del Rio for the WWE Championship.
The Miz’s music hits and he makes his way to the ring. Miz says he’s out here because he’s been asked by someone to say hello to someone in the audience. That person is Jared from Subway. They show Jared at ringside and the crowd boos him. Miz says he’s only doing this because Jared is a big Miz fan. Miz says he’s not a fan of Jared’s. Miz thinks he can do Jared’s job better than he can. Miz could be a better spokesperson for Subway than he could ever be. Miz goes up to him and grabs the sandwich. Miz does a promo for Subway and their Chicken Crisp Sandwich. Miz actually did a really nice job with this. Miz says that’s better than anything Jared has ever done.
Miz gets back in the ring and says the only reason the oven crisp chicken sandwich is because of him. Miz says he’s the star and if we’ve heard anything, he wants us to hear this – he will be a champion again because he’s The Miz and he’s AWESOME. Miz takes a bit of the sandwich as his music plays.
A limousine pulls up and out comes Kevin Nash. Nash makes his way backstage.
-Commercial Break-
Trace Adkins is shown at ringside.
Kelly Kelly & Eve Torres vs. The Bella Twins
Kelly starts it out against one of the Bella Twins. They lock up and Kelly backs her to the corner. Kelly kicks and chokes her with her boot. Kelly hits a head-scissor takeover and a bulldog. Kelly hits a stinkface and taunts but Nikki kicks her. Nikki takes her down and tags in Brie. Brie takes her down and tags in Nikki. They trade tags a bunch of times and one of the Bellas hits a rolling senton on Kelly for a near fall. The Bella applies a leg lock and makes the sole of Kelly’s boot touch her face. Kelly kicks her away and hits a flapjack.
Eve is tagged in. She ducks a clothesline and hits a dropkick. Eve hits a clothesline and knocks the other Bella off the apron. Eve goes into the ropes and the other Bella sweeps her feet. Eve counters a suplex and hits a neckbreaker. Eve goes to the top rope and Kelly takes the other Bella out with a Thesz Press. Eve hits a moonsault for the win.
Winners by Pinfall: Kelly Kelly & Eve Torres
Match Rating: 3/4 *
Beth Phoenix’s music hits and she comes out with Natalya. They’re wearing dresses and heels. They sarcastically applaud the two divas in the ring. Lawler announces that Beth Phoenix will have something to say to them tonight… via Twitter.
Kevin Nash will be out next.
-Commercial Break-
Kevin Nash makes his way to the ring with no music. Justin Roberts really builds him up by mentioning all his title reigns and called him one of “the most influential and charismatic superstars ever”. Nash gets in the ring and grabs a microphone. Nash says he’d like to thank Triple H for giving him a chance to come here tonight and explain his actions from last night. For those who don’t know, he and Triple H have been close friends for the past twenty years. He’s also the godfather to his son.
Last night he asked Triple H if he could have tickets to Summerslam and he said yes. Nash was watching and he got a text before the main event. The text asked if he could do a favor and stick the winner for him no matter what happens. When a friend asks him to do something, he does it. It had been a long time since he had been in the ring and he missed it. He’ll never forget the thrill he had at the Royal Rumble. What he did to CM Punk was business. Now Triple H says he had nothing to do with it. Nash says he wants to get on the same page with Triple H. It was just business.
CM Punk’s music hits and he comes out to the stage. Punk asks if Nash expects him to believe that load of crap. Punk says Nash and Triple H are best friends. For weeks he’s been hearing Triple H says he’s doing what’s right for business. Punk asks if Triple H asked Nash to jump off a bridge, would he. Punk thinks that would be good for business. Punk says he’s always had a suspicion that Triple H doesn’t know what’s good for business and neither does Nash. Now the proof is in the ring – Nash has no idea what good business is. Nash says this is the first time they’ve ever spoken. Nash warns Punk to watch his mouth. Punk says he needs to watch the show. Punk does whatever he wants to whomever he pleases. Nash says his world has just changed.
Punk says the story Nash just told clearly points out that Triple H is a liar… but maybe he’s telling the truth. Maybe Kevin Nash is the liar. Nash asks if he wants to see the text on his phone. Punk asks if Nash wants to see the text from his little sister – “OMG Kevin Nash. WTF. Thought he was dead. LOL.” Punk says it’s just Nash’s career that’s dead. Punk says what Nash did last night pissed him off. Punk says he’s pissed at a lot of people, but not Del Rio. He’s done it before and Del Rio picked the right spot. This represents that triple H is the COO and he’s bringing his cronies back. Nash says Triple H is shaking things up. Punk says he shakes things up. Nash says Punk is only an indy guy and has only been in two main events in five years. Nash makes fun of his title reigns.
Punk says Nash knows nothing about talent and it’s not 1994 anymore. Nash says they can go to 1996 when he changed the business with Scott Hall. They made sure that guys like Punk got him guaranteed money. Nash wants a “thank you”. As far as he’s concerned, if a guy like Punk who looks like a chef at a waffle house is a champion then he needs to get a clue and hit the weights. Punk says he likes waffle houses. Punk says Nash put his hands on him and that’s not good. Punk says he’d rather walk into WWE as CM Punk and leave as CM Punk than leave as Oz, Vinnie Vegas, and Diesel. Punk says if Nash wants to fight then they can fight. Punk comes to ringside and security puts a line between Punk and the ring.
Punk says he’s not surprised that Triple H has deemed his buddy Kevin Nash as an untouchable. If they’re here watching Nash’s back then no one is backstage with Triple H watching his back. Punk says he’ll go find out from the COO himself. Punk goes up the ramp.
They show footage of Rey Mysterio winning the World Heavyweight Championship at last year’s Fatal Four Way. Mysterio will fight for the WWE Championship later tonight against Alberto Del Rio.
-Commercial Break-
Kevin Nash goes into Triple H’s office and doesn’t find him there. John Laurinaitis walks in and says Triple H is in a meeting with CM Punk. Kevin Nash asks if he can believe the nerve on CM Punk. Laurinaitis says he can’t believe how Punk spoke to him last week. Laurinaitis invites him to his office to discuss some things.
They show footage of Vickie Guerrero walking out on Dolph Ziggler last week.
Dolph Ziggler and Vickie Guerrero are bickering on commentary as Alex Riley makes his way to the ring for a match.
Alex Riley vs. Jack Swagger
They circle the ring and lock up. Swagger backs him to the corner and stomps him down. The referee backs him up and Swagger taunts the crowd. Riley grabs him and punches away. Swagger reverses a whip to the corner but misses a splash. Riley follows up with a big clothesline. Swagger kicks him in the knee and hits a clothesline. Swagger hits a Vader Bomb for a near fall. Swagger punches away at him and under-hooks the arms, looking for a submission. Swagger clubs away and hits a nice back suplex for a near fall. Swagger applies an overheard wristlock. Riley fights up and punches out. Swagger kicks him down and goes for a running boot but Riley counters with a spinebuster.
Riley hits a pair of clotheslines and a reverse TKO. Vickie gets up from commentary and steals JR’s hat. Riley covers in the ring for a near fall. Vickie puts the hat on as Riley hits a running boot to Swagger. Vickie gets on the apron and puts the hat on the referee. The referee yells at her, which distracts Riley. Swagger attacks him and goes for a Gutwrench Powerbomb. Swagger had A LOT of trouble getting him up.
Winner by Pinfall: Jack Swagger
Match Rating: 3/4 *
Dolph Ziggler gets up from commentary and stomps on JR’s hat. I think I can almost hear Vince McMahon laughing through their headsets. JR is doing a great job of making Swagger seem like a legit bad guy. That’s why this guy is so important.
They show footage of Rey Mysterio winning the WWE Championship from The Miz last month.
-Commercial Break-
Vickie Guerrero is walking backstage when Jack Swagger walks up to her. Swagger thanks her for what she did. Swagger says she’s managed World Champions and says Edge would be nothing if it weren’t for her. Dolph Ziggler would be nothing if not for her. Swagger says she looks tremendous and says she’s a great manager. Swagger says Bobby Heenan and Freddie Blassie had multiple clienteles. Swagger says she should expand her roster.
They show footage from Summerslam Axxess.
CM Punk is walking into his locker room and he finds Stephanie McMahon there. Stephanie says she’s sorry he lost. Technically he never won since Cena’s foot was on the rope. In the end, people always get what they deserve.
-Commercial Break-
Kofi Kingston & Evan Bourne vs. Michael McGillicutty & David Otunga
McGillicutty starts out against Kingston. They lock up and McGillicutty backs him to the corner. McGillicutty punches but Kingston comes right back with punches. Bourne is tagged in and they hit a double team head-scissor takeover. Bourne scares Otunga off the apron and turns into a dropkick from McGillicutty. McGillicutty tags in Otunga but the referee doesn’t see it. Otunga is finally tagged in and he clotheslines him down. Otunga hits a body slam and stops Bourne from tagging in. Otunga hits the one move he does well: the short-arm clothesline. Otunga hits it again and covers for a near fall. His move-set is exhausted now.
McGillicutty is tagged in and they hit some double-team punches. The commentators are talking about Otunga and McGillicutty having no competition and never putting the titles on the line. These discussions are long overdue. McGillicutty whiffs on a punch and suplexes Bourne for a near fall. McGillicutty applies a side headlock but Bourne elbows out. McGillicutty clubs away at him and goes for a punch but Bourne ducks and tags in Kingston.
Kingston hits a springboard clothesline and some of those slaps. Kingston misses a splash in the corner but hits a pendulum kick. Kingston hits a cross-body but Otunga breaks up the pin. Kingston counters being thrown out of the ring and dropkicks Otunga out. McGillicutty pushes him into Bourne, tagging him in. Kingston hits Trouble in Paradise and Bourne follows with a Shooting Star Press for the win.
Winners by Pinfall: Kofi Kingston & Evan Bourne
Match Rating: * 1/4
Rey Mysterio is seen in his locker room. The WWE Championship Match is next.
-Commercial Break-
Ricardo Rodriguez is in the ring to announce the WWE Champion Alberto Del Rio to the ring. Del Rio drives into the ring in a nice Ferrari.
WWE Championship Match
Alberto Del Rio (c) vs. Rey Mysterio
They lock up and Del Rio gets a waist lock applies. Mysterio gets his own applied. Del Rio tries to get out but Mysterio rolls him up for a two count. Mysterio gets another roll up for a two count. Del Rio quickly kicks him in the knee and stomps away at him. Del Rio sends him sternum first into the turnbuckle. Del Rio sends him to the ropes but Mysterio slides through the legs and hits a head-scissor takeover. Del Rio is in position but gets out of the ring before Mysterio can hit the 619. Del Rio regroups at ringside.
-Commercial Break-
We come back from the break to see Mysterio trapped in the body scissors. During the commercial break, Del Rio front suplexed Mysterio into the barricade. Mysterio elbows out of the body scissor and hits a drop-toe-hold into the turnbuckle. Mysterio hits a running dropkick to the face and goes to the apron. Del Rio cuts him off on the top rope but Mysterio punches him off. Mysterio then hits a really nice tornado DDT and both men are down. Mysterio ducks a clothesline and hits a springboard cross-body for a near fall. Mysterio gets a sunset flip for a near fall. Del Rio stops the onslaught with a running kick. Del Rio gloats and covers for a near fall.
Del Rio goes back to work on the ribs. Del Rio applies a body scissor and a chin lock for good measure. Mysterio punches out of this again and kicks him in the face. Del Rio punches and goes into the ropes for a senton but Mysterio moves. Del Rio flies out of the ring and hits the ground with a splat. Mysterio runs and hits a baseball slide. Mysterio gets on the apron and hits an Asai Moonsault. Mysterio puts Del Rio in the ring and goes to the top rope. Mysterio this a seated senton and a head-scissor, putting Del Rio into position. Del Rio clotheslines him before he can hit the 619 and covers for a near fall.
Del Rio shoves him to the corner and eats some boots. Mysterio charges into a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for a near fall. Del Rio punches away at him and taunts the crowd. Rodriguez is seen clapping at ringside. Del Rio puts Mysterio in the corner and hits a bunch of thrusting shoulders. Del Rio puts him on the top rope and hits a nice springboard enzuigiri for a near fall. Mysterio surprises him with a roll up for a VERY close near fall. Del Rio quickly dropkicks him back down. Del Rio goes for his Arm Bar but Mysterio counters with a hurricanrana. Mysterio hits the 619 and goes for a top rope splash but Del Rio gets the knees up! Del Rio covers to retain the title!
Winner & still WWE Champion: Alberto Del Rio
Match Rating: ** 1/2
Del Rio kicks Mysterio after the match is over. Del Rio puts Mysterio’s arm over the rope and hits an arm breaker. Del Rio smashes his arm off the announcer’s table and applies the Cross Arm Breaker. The referee struggles to get him off. John Cena runs down and breaks this up. Cena punches away at Del Rio. Del Rio gets out of the ring and runs up the ramp with Rodriguez.
John Cena says he’s had one hell of a weekend. Whoever saw Summerslam knows he should be pissed off. He’s not mad at Triple H. He’s pissed off at a scumbag like Del Rio. He and Punk tried to bring integrity to the WWE Championship and then Del Rio goes into business for himself. Cena says he is not a champion – he is a target. That destiny is going to make every person he knows his enemy. Cena says Punk earned the right to become champion. Del Rio cashed in his case and got lucky. Eventually he’ll have to defend the title and if it’s against Cena then he won’t be so lucky. His destiny is John Cena whipping his ass.
Quick Match Results
John Morrison def. R-Truth in a Falls Count Anywhere Match
Kelly Kelly & Eve Torres def. The Bella Twins
Jack Swagger def. Alex Riley
Kofi Kingston & Evan Bourne def. Michael McGillicutty & David Otunga (non-title)
Alberto Del Rio def. Rey Mysterio to retain the WWE Championship
Bump of the Night: R-Truth’s sit-out front suplex on the outside!
Match of the Night: The WWE Championship Match ** 1/2
Mike’s Thoughts
I like they way they opened up Raw. Triple H said that he had nothing to do with Kevin Nash and that he would apologize to John Cena. He announced that Nash would be out later in the night. They’ve done a great job over these past few weeks of laying down the hook to get you to keep watching the show until the end. Alberto Del Rio came out and cut a pretty funny victory promo. Del Rio is a great character and he had me rolling. That’s about all he did there.
I was surprised that they started out with an unadvertised Falls Count Anywhere Match with John Morrison and R-Truth. This seemed like the blow-off to this very small rivalry. It was super spotty, but that’s how these matches are supposed to be. However, because Morrison’s matches are always super spotty, this just didn’t seem that thrilling or dazzling. They did some nice things but nothing that I’ll remember by next week.
The Miz’s promo was just filler. There’s really not much to say about it other than Jared, the Subway guy, sucks. Subway is great – Jared… not so much. The same goes for the Diva segment. I really could have used a beat down from Beth Phoenix to make that interesting.
I really enjoyed the Kevin Nash/CM Punk promo spot. There’s still more questions than answers from this. Someone probably stole Triple H’s phone. It could be Del Rio. It could be Stephanie. It could be Johnny Ace. It could be anyone. I love that we have no idea what’s going on here and I’ll be watching next week to find out more. The promo work was fun and they got me laughing a few times. Nash seemed a little nervous and sluggish out there at times. It seems like they’re heading toward a Nash/Punk match. That might not be as horrible as everyone might think.
Jack Swagger vs. Alex Riley happened. The commentary was pretty funny and seemed to be the main focus. Afterward they took another opportunity to annoy JR and stomped on his hat. Ross, for his part, did a great job of making Swagger seem like a real jerk and did more to put him over than they’ve done in quite some time.
The tag team match was a waste of time. At least they’re putting it on the air that these guys never defend their titles and they have no competition. Perhaps they’re going to start bringing back some tag team specialists. Hey, I can dream can’t I?
The main event was pretty good. I was expecting a big schmozz finish so you can imagine my surprise when Del Rio got the clean win. Just think – last week this guy was losing to CM Punk clean and not looking like much of a threat. Now he’s the champion. John Cena ran down after Del Rio seemingly broke Mysterio’s arm and cut a super intense promo. I’m not hating on PG or anything like that. I’ve just got to point out that they’ve been kind of distancing themselves from it these past few weeks. They’re really pushing the borders of PG. From Cee Lo Green doing that motion with his fingers while dancing with the Divas to CM Punk’s remark about Stephanie’s hand, it seems like the borders are being pushed to the max. Cena’s promo was reminiscent of what made him so popular in the first place. It was intense as hell and made him sound like a total badass. I thought it was great and a breath of fresh air from his usual promos.
I think Dave Stephens should be back next week. He had some technical difficulties tonight. Thanks for following Raw with me over the past month or so. Keep following me on Smackdown every Friday!
Final Rating: ** 3/4
You can follow me on the Twitter here or e-mail me.
E-Mail – MikeTedesco@wrestleview.com
Be sure to check out the Win-Loss Record of your favorite WWE Superstar on the main page! Also be sure to check out my Smackdown recap this Friday!
Thanks for reading!