WWE RAW
September 21, 2009
Little Rock, AR
Commentators: Michael Cole & Jerry ?The King? Lawler
Report by: Hunter Golden of WrestleView.com
DX’s theme music hit and they came out to a big pop. They put over the Hell in a Cell pay per view. They put over their experience in the hell in a cell match, with Michaels winning the first one, and Triple H winning more hell in a cell’s than ever. They mocked the fact that Legacy had never competed in a Hell in a Cell and as a result, wouldn’t be able to hang with them. They promised that at Hell in a Cell, this whole issue would come to an end.
The Legacy’s music hit and Cody Rhodes came out to the ramp.
Triple H vs. Cody Rhodes
Cody swooped in on Triple H and laid a ton of boots to Triple H’s mid section. Triple H tried to reverse the momentum only for Rhodes to block the punch and block an Irish whip attempt. Rhodes laid more boots to Triple H in the corner before back up and charging the Game, only to crash into the ring post.
Triple H flung Rhodes back into the post a second time and then a third, softening up Cody’s shoulder a good deal. He wrapped Cody up in a cross face, forcing Cody to crawl for the ring ropes top side. Rhodes crawled out to the outside, only to get zapped with a Triple H drop kick through the ropes.
****Commercial****
We came back to Cody ripping away on Triple H’s face. Triple H attempted to fight out but got caught with a swinging neck breaker for a two count. Rhodes continued to be a step ahead of Triple H, stomping him in the corner before picking him up to land a right hand to the face. Rhodes got a near fall off some Dibiase interference while the official was tied up with Shawn Michaels.
Rhodes locked in another rear chin lock, and again, Triple H rose to his feet and fought out. Rhodes went to the top rope for a moonsault and connected for a two count. Rhodes began to jaw jack with Michaels, which was a bit of a mistake. Triple H began fighting back with rights and lefts and then was able to successfully back drop Rhodes out to the floor. Rhodes goaded Michaels, attempting to get him to chase him, and HBK obliged. Michaels saw the trap, but didn’t have enough time to react and was double goozled to the floor. They smashed Michaels off the announce table before Cody went to tend to Triple H.
The Game caught a big boot and attempted a pedigree, but Dibiase rushed into the ring to cut them off.
Winner: Triple H via DQ
Rhodes and Dibiase took care of both Michaels and Triple H. They went to put Triple H’s head in a chair and stomp on it, but Michaels chased them off with a sledge hammer.
****Commercial****
Cederic the Entertainer came out and introduced himself. Santino joined him and did a little bit of a stand up comedy for us all. Poor Santino bombed. Chavo Guererro came out and after Cedric and Santino made fun of him, Chavo blamed all his losses to Hornswoggle on ‘punk’ guest hosts like Cedric and challenged him to a match. Santino accepted on behalf of Cedric, who didn’t look overly thrilled about the idea.
Back stage, Josh Matthews is interviewing The Miz. Kofi Kingston jumps him from behind and takes back his US title belt.
****Commercial****
The Miz vs. Evan Bourne
The two locked horns and reached a slight stalemate after two go-rounds. Bourne hit a drop kick and then a kick to the small of Miz’s back. He charged Miz in the corner only to get flap jacked into the corner and planted with a big boot to the face for a two count.
Miz slapped on a camel clutch that turned into a back rack. Bourne fought out and hit some kicks to Miz’s legs, only for Miz to out power him and hammer him to the mat with rights before laying some boots in. Miz whipped Bourne hard and went for a lariat only to almost get rolled up for a two count.
Miz hit a huge snap neckbreaker before face washing Bourne on the middle rope. He continued to work over the neck, before loading Bourne up for a suplex and getting a two count. Miz slapped on a rear chin lock, and then transitioned it again into a back rack.
Miz hit a few more boots before pummeling Bourne on the ring apron. Bourne dragged Miz into the ring buckles to break the hold and hit some kicks. Miz countered with an Irish whip only to hit a huge lariat in the corner. He went to the top rope only for Bourne to crotch him. Bourne loaded him up and hit a big top rope hurricanranna. He climbed up to the top rope on the opposite bucvkle and went for the big shooting star press, only to get hit with the Miz’s face buster for the win.
Winner: The Miz via pin fall
Randy Orton was in the back with Legacy. He congratulated them on doing a number on DX and being on the cusp of ending them. He told him all he had was a contract signing tonight. He could handle it. He gave them the night off.
****Commercial****
King is out in the ring for the Hell in a Cell contract signing between John Cena and Randy Orton. Cena and Orton came out to the ring. Lawler asked them to ask civil and that there would be a no physicality rule in effect. King ran down the stips. He said Orton could take his rematch in Hell in a Cell, or forfeit his title rematch entirely. Orton signed the contract and kicked Lawler out of the ring.
Orton turned to Cena and said Cena thought he had him at his lowest, weakest point. He said Cena was wrong. He said he was more dangerous than ever. He said he would do whatever it takes to get his title back. Orton said he’s been there before, and he knew what it took to win. He said after this match, Cena would never be the same. Cena rose to his feet. He began mocking Orton, that there was nothing he could do to him that’d make him worry about Hell in a Cell. He said he wasn’t the one who should be worried. Orton should be.
Orton said he couldn’t RKO Cena tonight, but he knew two guys who would do it for him. Chris Jericho and Big Show came down to the ring and jumped Cena. Mark Henry and MVP ran in to make the save. Cedric makes a six man tag match for the main event.
****Commercial****
Mickie James vs. Beth Phoenix
Alicia Fox is ringside watching the match.
Beth went for a stun gun right off the bat only to eat a neck breaker. Mickie hit a drop kick that sent Beth to the outside. She mounted the top rope and hit a top rope plancha before taking a swat at Alicia ‘Just because’.
Beth capitalized on the distraction and slammed Mickie into the ring post. Phoenix brought Mickie into the match and hit a glam slam for the win.
Winner: Mickie James via pin fall
Alicia scissor kicked Mickie after the match and posed with the belt.
****Commercial****
US Championship
Kofi Kingston vs. Jack Swagger
They opened the match brawling. Kofi attempted the kip up punches in the corner only for Swagger to slam him. While this was going on the Miz showed up at ringside again and made off with the US title. Swagger chased Miz down and clotheslined him. They didn’t announce a winner.
Winner: No Contest
****Commercial****
Cedric the Entertainer vs. Chavo Guererro
After a brief exchange, Cedric dissapeared united the ring and a bigger ‘Cedric’ emerged on the other side. After military pressing Chavo into the ring and hitting him with a big lariat, big Cedric went under the ring and a mini-Cedric came out and hit a tadpole splash. Cedric then popped back into the ring and made the pin.
Winner: Cedric the Entertainer via pin fall
****Commercial****
Lillian Garcia gave a farewell speech before the main event.
****Commercial****
John Cena, MVP and Mark Henry vs. Big Show, Chris Jericho and Randy Orton
Cena and Jericho started off trying to brawl back and forth. They ran interference on Cena on the outside to briefly gain control. Orton tagged into the match and got back body dropped, and Cena made the hot tag to MVP.
MVP came in and hit a belly to belly overhead throw before hitting a chono kick. MVP hit the ballin’ elbow for a two count before Show stepped on his head. Show tagged into the match and went to work on MVP, hitting a throw and a series of body blows. Orton tagged in and slapped on a side headlock before hitting a series of body stomps on MVP. After a scuffle, MVP was able to break free and hit a hot tag to Mark Henry. Henry tagged in and hit a series of headbutts on the heels. Cena grabbed Big Show and dumped him over the top rope but got tangled up dealing with Show after the fact. While the official attempted to separate them, Jericho chop blocked Henry, enabling Orton to hit an RKO for the win.
Winners: Randy Orton, Big Show and Chris Jericho via pin fall
Show Thoughts– Tonight was kind of a mixed bag. Nothing really seemed to flow all that well, but in a weird, round about way, things still worked out OK.
After all, there was plenty to like. The DX-Legacy feud has been good for all parties involved. Grumpy, yet vulnerable Triple H and HBK have been excellent since deciding that now would be a great time to start giving their opponents lots of offense. To be truthful, its been the first time I’ve really enjoyed them in a long, long time.
John Cena’s promo tonight was a really great promo that probably wasn’t delivered as well as it could have been, but is a great step in the right direction for the character. Part of the problem with Cena is that they book him as Superman and an underdog all at the same time and to be frank, that’s too much of a mixed message. This is the same dude that’s cut through the WWE roster the past four years like a hot knife through butter. Making Cena an underdog is like saying Alex Rodriguez should bat 8th. Its stupid. I want cocky, brash, ace Cena. I LIKED him burying Orton tonight. It makes sense. Turn Cena into the Mt. Everest to climb. Let people take different approaches to trying to beat him. Turn him into a more slappy version of Jumbo Tsuruta and give him lots of young kids to whomp on. The delivery wasn’t there like it could have been, but the promo’s content and general tone were spot on.
Cedric the Entertainer gets an ‘average’ from me. He certainly wasn’t bad, but he overly effective, either. It was almost like this show was one of those Russian Matrushka doll, where it was like two separate layers that made up the same thing. Cedric was his own angle tonight, almost used entirely separate from the rest of the show. It was nice comedy for what it was, but wasn’t anything more than that.
The rest of the show was more or less ‘there’. The challenge heading forward is going to be framing the two main event Hell in a Cell feuds as being different enough to sell them. I noticed they seemed to be very conscious of the overall tone in the two feuds. Its going to take a bit of tweaking to make the next few shows not see so repetitious.
Overall Grade: C+
Quick Results
Triple H def. Cody Rhodes
The Miz def. Evan Bourne
Beth Phoenix vs. Mickie James
Kofi Kingston vs. Jack Swagger went to a no-contest
Cedric the Entertainer def. Chavo Guererro
Randy Orton, Chris Jericho & Big Show def. John Cena, MVP and Mark Henry
Who’s Hot, Who’s Not?
Biggest Pops
1. DX
2. John Cena
3. Mark Henry & MVP
4. Kofi Kingston
Most Heat
1. Randy Orton
2. Chris Jericho
3. Big Show
4. The Legacy
Match of the Night: Triple H vs. Cody Rhodes **3/4
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: John Cena 21-12-4, 47 points. (Last Week: 1) — Tonight was one of the best promos Cena’s ever cut. I was worried in the beginning, but the brash, ace-champion Cena came out to play before the end of the promo, just like the one we saw back in 2007. The character needs to evolve from the underdog to a confident, dominant champion, IMO.
United States Champion: Kofi Kingston 19-5-2, 37 points (Last Week: US Champion)— This feud with the Miz isn’t really going anywhere. They need to give these guys some more interaction and promos. Its time for Kofi to prove himself in a real feud.
1. Randy Orton 14-14-5, 37 pts. (Last Week: WWE Champion)– Looked pretty good. A lot of people get really uneasy with how he’s booked to look so sinister one week and rather bungling the next, I thought he was OK tonight. No one gets body work and mannerisms like Orton.
2. Big Show 9-11-1, 16 Points (Last Week: 4)— Quiet night for Show tonight. Glad to still see him more or less touring the major brands.
3. Triple H 8-7-3, 12 Points (Last Week: 2)– Triple H is looking as good as he ever has as a baby face. While some people might not think that that’s much of a compliment, I do. When Triple H gives a lot of offense, his matches are way, way, way better.
4. Cody Rhodes 12-13-3, 17 points (Last Week: 5)–Triple H gave Cody plenty of room to get in plenty of offense. He looked great. The DX feud, shockingly, has done a lot for these two.
5. Ted Dibiase, Jr. 11-10-3, 13 Points (Last Week: 6)–See Rhodes.
6. Mark Henry, 10-3, 18 Points (Last Week: 3)— He was relatively limited in term of his time in the ring, but his hot tag was pretty fantastic.
7. MVP 11-9-2, 19 Points (Last Week: 7)–The Jericho feud’s done a lot for him. He’s really emphasized selling lately, which I think is step #1 towards becoming a viable baby face worker. So far, I like what I’m seeing.
8. Shawn Michaels 10-4, 15 pts. (Last Week: 8)— Decent character acting in a managerial role from HBK tonight, but not much else.
9. The Miz 7-9-2, 12 Points (Last Week: 7)— I thought tonight was one of the Miz’s better individual performances. He has very good ring instincts, moves right for body parts, tries to stay focused in the ring. Its just a shame they haven’t given much of a chance to work with someone better than him for longer than five-ten minutes.
10. Evan Bourne, 4-6, 7 Points (Last Week: 10) — Decent match tonight out of Bourne. He moves so well in the ring. Of all the guys on this brand right now, he’s the guy I’d like to see moved the most. I think if freed up, he’d get over.
OTHERS
Chris Masters 0-2-1, 0 Points (Last Week: NR)
Santino Marella 4-3, 9 points (Last Week: NR)
Jack Swagger, 4-7-2, 7 Points (Last Week: 10)
Carlito Colon 5-9-1, 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 7-0-0, 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 1-15-0, 1 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)