WWE RAW
October 12, 2009
Indianapolis, IN
Commentators: Michael Cole & Jerry ?The King? Lawler
Report by: Hunter Golden of WrestleView.com
Chris Jericho is in front of the camera. He announced that at Bragging Rights, there?d be a 7 on 7 tag team match to determine which brand was superior. He said he was elected to be the Captain of the Smackdown team and he would be choosing his team. Guest host Nancy O?Dell interrupted him and informed him that they don?t start Raw with people like Jericho? they kick it off with DX.
DX’s music hit and Triple H came out to the ring. The time keeper came in and ran the laps around Triple H in HBK’s stead, before Triple H shooed him out of the ring and prepared to speak. He went through his routine and let us know that Shawn ?had to stay home tonight?. He said he?d go ahead and pick the Raw team himself tonight. But first he had to call his friend and embarrass him. He called HBK’s phone and we got a self-sung message before they had a conversation about his sick daughter and some awkward moments.
Triple H went to move along on the agenda, before Big Show and Chris Jericho’s music hit and they came out to the ring. They had some back and forth while Jericho put over the Smackdown brand. Triple H made fun of Smackdown having great wrestling like the kind the Great Khali did. Jericho interrupted him and put himself over some more before Triple H interrupted them and bred some dissention between the heels, saying that Show just followed. Show responded by saying he was the one who carried his team. Jericho didn?t like the remark and asked him what he said and Show said he wasn?t the one who got pinned last week.
The two went at it verbally back and forth before Show said he didn?t want to be on team Smackdown, he wanted to be on team Raw. Triple H said that was great, but there weren?t any open spots. He said to get on the team he?d have to earn his way on. Show said he understood that and asked him what he had to do. Triple H said Raw GM Nancy O?Dell had decided there?d be a match tonight between Show and Jericho. And it?ll take place right now? both are beside themselves.
****Commercial****
Big Show vs. Chris Jericho
Jericho was placed in the corner by Show a few times as the big man more or less mocked him. Jericho grabbed a go behind only for Show to toss him off with ease. Jericho tried a chop, but it didn?t get him anywhere. Show turned him around and chopped him hard in the corner.
Jericho tried to leave the ring, but Show reached over the top rope and lifted him easily into the ring. Jericho slapped Show and as Show veered back, Jericho attempted a code breaker. Big Show sat him easily on the top buckle before Jericho slapped him yet again. Show lost it and cuffed Jericho, sending him splatting to the outside of the ring. Jericho writhed in pain, making Show think that he had injured his partner. Show went to check on Jericho who tried to trick him into getting a count out win. Show caught him at the last minute and threw him to the floor. Show leapt in under the bottom rope and beat the count.
Winner: Big Show via count out
Maria Menudo is in the back with Cody Rhodes and Ted Dibiase. She let them know their qualifying match would be later tonight. They?d be facing each other in a triple threat match.. with John Cena as the third opponent.
****Commercial****
WWE Divas Championship
Mickie James vs. Jillian Hall
The two locked horns and they exchanged arm drag attempts before Mickie hit a thesz press and some punches. She hit a big drop kick for a two count, before looking for the implant DDT. She almost caught a roll up win until Jillian splatted her with a power bomb for the win and the title!
Winner and NEW Divas Champion: Jillian Hall via pin fall
After the match Jillian sang with her belt. Nancy O?Dell came out to the ramp and announced that she had made a major trade with Smackdown involving Divas. The good news was Jillian was staying on Raw. The bad news is that the new acquisition would get a title shot? right now?
WWE Divas Championship
Jillian Hall vs. Melina
Melina came in and immediately went for her finisher but botched it horribly. She then hit the sunset buster for the win.
Winner and NEW Divas Champion: Melina via pin fall
****Commercial****
Triple H is on the phone with Shawn Michaels. HBK’s music starts playing and Hornswoggle shows up dressed up like Michaels. Triple H is freaked out because he said if Shawn sees it, he?ll go nuts. Michaels starts yelling into the phone. Hornswoggle kicks the HBK cardboard cutout and then tells Triple H to ‘suck it? and scampered off.
Santino is with Maria Menudo and Nancy O?Dell. Beth Phoenix busts into the room angry about being traded to Smackdown. She cornered Maria and wants her in the ring later tonight. Santino interjects himself into the fray and said they?d gladly take her on, even though the two women don?t look thrilled.
****Commercial****
John Cena vs. Cody Rhodes vs. Ted Dibiase
Cena quickly went after Cody and clotheslined him to his back before Whipping Dibiase and looking for a bulldog only for Cody to deck him. Cena fought back with some right hands and connected with a sidewalk slam on Dibiase, before dispatching Cody to the outside. Cena looked for an FU, only for the Legacy to hit a double-goozle on the former champion.
The two worked over Cena on the mat with stomps Eventually Cody hit a bulldog Ted hit a big running knee after which the two heels began talking trash. The two hit a double drop kick to Cena’s chest before closing in on him and hitting a double Irish whip. The two kept on double teaming Cena, choking him out on the middle rope.
Cena leapt out of a Dibiase slam attempt and knocked Cody off the apron only for Ted to decapitate him with a clothesline for a two count.
****Commercial****
The match continued as Dibiase was thrown into the ring post. Cody hammered away on Cena’s face for a two count, before booting the former champion in the face. The Legacy tried a double suplex only for Cena to counter. Cena backed up Dibiase with rights and lefts only for Cody to try and jump him from behind. Cena fought him off before slapping an STFU on Dibiase. Randy Orton popped up and slithered to the outside of the ring.
Cena popped up to deal with him, only for Cody to roll up the waiting Ted.
Winner: Cody Rhodes via pin fall
The Legacy fought afterwards with Orton trying to play peace maker. Nancy O?Dell popped up on the titan tron and said she?d solve all of this. She said Rhodes and Dibiase would team up later tonight to get over their spat? against Randy Orton and John Cena.
****Commercial****
Jack Swagger vs. MVP
Swagger opened things up with an Irish whip before missing a splash. MVP fought back with lefts and rights, backing Swagger into the opposite corner. Swagger sucker punched MVP and threw him into the ring post before going to work on the shoulder.
Swagger slapped on a top wrist lock that MVP eventually fought out of. He connected with a belly to belly and motioned for the ballin? elbow for a two count. Swagger avoided the elbow though and hit a kick to the gut and a gut wrench power bomb for the win.
Winner: Jack Swagger via pin fall
Orton and the Legacy are still arguing backstage.
Kofi Kingston is on the way to the ring for a match against Evan Bourne.
****Commercial****
Kofi Kingston vs. Evan Bourne
Bourne hit a spinning kick for a two count before going to work on Kofi’s leg. Kofi fought out of the hold and hit the SOS but only got a two count out of it. Evan countered with a series of two kicks before heading to the top rope for the SSP. Bourne dodged a Kofi counter only to get hit by Trouble in Paradise in mid air.
Winner: Kofi Kingston via pin fall
Maria Menudo and Nancy O?Dell are with Triple
H. Chavo comes in and wants to know what’s going on with Hornswoggle. They go back and forth a bit before Maria kicks him in the nuts.
****Commercial****
Kelly Kelly, Gail Kim & Maria Menudo vs. Beth Phoenix, Alicia Foxx and Rosa Mendes
Gail and Alicia started things off, before Maria took a quick a quick tag, and the two hit a double back elbow. Maria hit a few nice looking takedowns and a sunset flip before Alicia hit her with a kick to the gut. Beth tagged in and stared down Maria who kicked her in the gut and slapped her before bolting out of the ring.
Kelly Kelly tagged in and ate a big tilt a whirl back breaker, before Rosa tagged in. Kelly countered with a bulldog. Rosa staggered to the corner to try and cheap shot Maria before Maria ducked down and hung her up on the top rope. Kelly hit the pancake leg drop for the win.
Winners: Kelly Kelly, Gail Kim & Maria Menudo via pin fall
****Commercial****
The new US Champion The Miz came out to the ramp. He said at Bragging Rights, the Smackdown IC champion will take on the Raw US champion. He said that’s right, he?ll be facing his former partner. He ran down his former partner before ending the promo.
****Commercial****
Before the match, Randy Orton said he talked to next week’s host Snoop Doggy Dogg, and that Cena would be competing in one of the biggest matches of his career next week.
Randy Orton & John Cena vs. Cody Rhodes & Ted Dibiase
Orton is standing down on the floor. The Legacy jumped Cena and began beating him down in the corner. Cody was left in the ring and began stomping away on Cena. Dibiase tagged in and the two hit a double suplex for a two count.
Dibiase hit a right hand only for Cena to fight back with some punches. Cena came bounding off the ropes but ate a power slam for a two count. Cody tagged in and slapped on a rear chin lock. Cena powered out and Cena tagged Orton while Orton wasn?t paying attention, forcing Orton into the match.
Rhodes tried to roll up the champion and only got a one count. Dibiase tagged in and tried two roll ups himself before Orton tagged Cena. The two almost came to blows before Cena ducked under the Dibiase chare and hit a pair of shoulder blocks. Orton tagged in attacked his own partner. Dibiase however, got greedy and rolled up Orton for the pin.
Winners: Cody Rhodes & Ted Dibiase via pin fall
Orton was livid at his two minions, and stood against the ropes furious. Cena sneaked up on him and FU?d him.
The commentators announced that next week, John Cena will face Triple H.
Show Thoughts–You can say what you want about the Raw booking and I?d probably not disagree with you. It’s been pretty bad. They haven?t been able to really cultivate new stars, they frequently change directions, makes moves for the sake of it, swap the belts around to the point where no one really knows what’s important and what isn?t important?.. and in spite of it all still seem to put on a pretty entertaining Monday night show.
A real help has been the guest host concept, which while its broken up anything resembling a long-term booking plan, it has produced a lot of interesting television match ups. There are nights where they go the ‘southern? route and elect to put together the super-hot baby face-heel tag team main events. Then there’s night’s like, well.. tonight’s show that just seem to be out of the lab of some mad scientist.
The heel tag team champions wrestled the opening match of the night before someone whose been little more than a comedy act won the Divas Championship? before losing it minutes later. Two dudes who?ll beat each other retarded for an hour on pay per view were forced to team up, and take on the bad guy’s flying monkeys. And oh yeah, the midget was dressed up like Shawn Michaels and the celebrity guest host with no athletic background of formal training, looked more competent in the ring than the entire Divas roster has on the show in the last seven months.
I guess you would say it was one of those nights.
Still, it all ended up being pretty entertaining stuff. I?ll admit, I was very excited at the prospect of a Jillian Divas title run, as I find her hilariously entertaining. I?ll take her flubbing the occasional move and having heaps of personality over someone like Beth Phoenix, who despite the fact that she executes moves well, has zero clue how to string them together into a competent match structure. Or Mickie James, whose been embarrassingly bad the past few months. Apparently, I?m not the one who thought that.
Everyone seems to have an endless laundry list of issues. Jericho and Big Show don?t like each other much anymore, but also dislike DX. The Legacy dislike Cena, but maybe they dislike each other more. Everything’s crazy these days.
The mid card is beginning, finally, to take some shape. Kofi Kingston is an interesting piece of the puzzle. As over and as protected as he is, I?ve yet to be really convinced he’s a main event. Sure, he’s over now, but despite some peaks of brilliance here and there, hasn?t been able to pull it all together in the ring. To be blunt, sometimes he can look really good, other times, it’s really bad. He hasn?t even had a real program yet. So I?m interested to see how this quasi-push goes. I don?t doubt the ?E will push him, but I don?t know if he’s got the tools for success yet.
I?m glad they?re skipping that whole mid card title non-sense with Jack Swagger. I?m sure he?ll stay undefeated until the end of the year if they can help it. I?ve said it in the past, but athletic wrestlers can be great, but also problematic, as they often get TOO caught up in being, well athletic, instead of just letting the story of a given match show it. That doesn?t seem to be a problem at all with Swagger. He works with a great grappling base, while incorporating in a variety of interesting slams to keep things interesting. He’s not excellent on the mic, but he’s totally serviceable. At this point, in this Raw mid card, he’s the most complete package they?ve got. Also, he fills a gaping hole for a main event grappler that the WWE hasn?t had since Kurt Angle left.
Despite all that, that’s not why I?m so high on him. I?m high on him because he seems to have a genuine willingness to learn that’s pretty unusual in younger wrestlers. He’s willing to be carried and work within the guidelines his opponents give him. He’s learning match structure, what works and doesn?t work, taking it all in, and working his way up at the same time. Attitude is everything in anything. If you don?t have a positive will to learn, you won?t go anywhere. Swagger’s got that and IMO, that’s what separates him from the rest of the pack. The talent is there. The need is there, Sooner rather than later, Swagger will be there too.
At the same time, I?ve got concerns about MVP. He really seems to have plateau?d as a worker. He’s got charisma and can cut an OK promo, but I have yet to see him have even a remotely interesting match with someone at his skill level. In fact, I haven?t seen him have many good matches with people above it. Jericho and Matt Hardy clicked with him, but then again, who doesn?t with those guys? He’s got a lot of support amongst fans and seems to be a chic pick amongst aficionados, but I?ve yet to see much of anything to really warrant the praise.
Overall, the show was good tonight. The guest host segments were done well and as bizarre as the booking was, it still all managed to be pretty entertaining in the end.
Overall Grade: B+
Quick Results
Big Show def. Chris Jericho
Jillian Hall def. Mickie James to WIN the WWE Divas Championship
Melina def. Jillian Hall to WIN The WWE Divas Championship
Cody Rhodes def. John Cena & Ted Dibiase
Jack Swagger def. MVP
Kofi Kingston def. Evan Bourne
Kelly Kelly, Gail Kim and Maria Menudo def. Beth Phoenix, Alicia Foxx and Rosa Mendes
Ted Dibiase & Cody Rhodes def. John Cena & Randy Orton
Who’s Hot, Who’s Not?
Biggest Pops
1. Triple H
2. John Cena
3. Kofi Kingston
4. MVP
Most Heat
1. Randy Orton
2. The Miz
3. Chris Jericho & Big Show
4. Jack Swagger
Match of the Night: Chris Jericho vs. The Big Show *1/2
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 15-15-5, 41 pts. (Last Week: 1)– Weird night for Orton tonight. They?re working him in the Cena feud as well as this sub-story of the Legacy split. It’s going to be interesting to see where they go with this.
United States Champion: The Miz 8-10-2, 16 Points (Last Week: 9)— The Miz’s mic work has been pretty fantastic. A pretty quiet night for him for the most part, but the encounter between him and the Miz will be an interesting gage as to where they?re at.
1. John Cena 21-15-5, 47 points. (Last Week: WWE Champion) — Cena had a busy night tonight. He looked pretty good. He was primarily on the sell tonight and to be truthful, I think they should have worked some more offense into his matches. Cody and Ted, even with each other, struggle to keep long beat down segments interesting.
2. Triple H 9-7-3, 15 Points (Last Week: 3)– While I?d say on the whole, the 2009 DX reunion has been a heck of a lot better than the 2006 version, it’s still really bizarre watching a 40 year old father of two act like he’s 20.
3. Big Show 12-12-1, 20 Points (Last Week: 2)— Right now, Big Show really is the best big man worker in the world. Literally everything he’s in, he’s good. While him and Jericho didn?t tear the house down, they really set up the two well and what their roles are as characters in the ring.
4. Shawn Michaels 12-4, 19 pts. (Last Week: 8)–see Triple H.
5. Cody Rhodes 14-14-3, 20 points (Last Week: 4)–While both are progressing nicely, they still struggle with extended control segments. This makes me a bit concerned, especially for the one that ends up a heel once they split the two up. I?m not really sold on either guy being a top-notch singles guy yet.
6. Ted Dibiase, Jr. 12-12-3, 14 Points (Last Week: 5)–See Rhodes.
7. Kofi Kingston 21-6-2, 42 points (Last Week: 7)— I?m really interested to see where they go with Kofi here. He’s been hugely protected and is featured on TV week in and week out. He’s also over. But is he REALLY ready for a main event feud yet? He hasn?t had a single ?real? program with anyone, let alone prove that he can really go in the ring. He’s had flashes of potential here and there, but then there are other nights where he’s a real mess.
8. Mark Henry, 11-4, 19 Points (Last Week: 6)— Not in action.
9. Jack Swagger, 7-8-2, 13 Points (Last Week: 10) — This whole ?I won?t lose a match the rest of the year? storyline is a great way to slowly work him into the main event scene. Of all the guys in the mid card, Swagger, IMO, has the most potential and the ability to fill a need in the main event scene.
10. MVP 12-11-2, 20 Points (Last Week: 9)–I?m wondering if MVP really has much more than mid card potential. He’s got decent charisma as a heel. He cuts a decent promo.. but that’s really it. He’s just ?decent?. I?ve really yet to see him do anything worthwhile with anyone other than an elite-level worker.
OTHERS
Chris Masters 1-3-1, 1 Point (Last Week: NR)
Evan Bourne, 4-8, 7 Points (Last Week: 10)
Santino Marella 4-4, 9 points (Last Week: NR)
Carlito Colon 5-10-1, 7 Points (Last Week: NR)
Primo Colon 4-9-1, 4 Points (Last Week: NR)
Brian Kendrick 1-6-0, 2 Points (Last Week: NR)
Hornswaggle 7-1-0, 10 Points (Last Week: NR)
Jerry Lawler 1-0, 1 points (Last Week: NR)
Festus 1-1-0, 1 Points (Last Week: NR)
Chavo Guerrero 2-16-0, 2 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)
Batista 9-4, 18 Points (Last Week: MOVED TO SMACKDOWN)
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)