WWE RAW
August 10, 2009
Calgary, AB
Commentators: Michael Cole & Jerry ?The King? Lawler
Report by: Hunter Golden of WrestleView.com
WWE Champion Randy Orton was in the middle of the ring talking about how he heard rumors that he was worried about facing John Cena at Summerslam. He said he was only going to say it once. He said he bullied Jeremy Piven for the same reason he could bully the fans. It was because he could. He does not answer to the fans.
John Cena came down pretty ticked off. He ran down all the things he said he was tired of hearing Randy Orton say. The two had a back and forth, heated exchange. Cena backed Orton up before The Jericho/Big Show music hit.
Jericho got a huge reaction from the crowd and both began running down the champion and the #1 contender. He told Cena that the two would have a match tonight. Orton gave Cena a goofy look and went to leave, but Show cut him off and let him know he had a match tonight as well ? with him.
****Commercial****
#1 Contenders Match ? WWE Divas Championship
The girls ran through a ton of really sloppy set spots in the beginning of the match. Gail ended up on the advantage and tried to topple Kelly in the corner after nailing her with missile drop kick. The two duked it out on the buckles before Beth tried a double Canadian back breaker. Kim hit a tope to the outside on Alicia before Beth finally got taken out on the top rope.
They came back into the ring and it came down to Alicia and Gail. Gail hit a face buster and scored the win.
Winner: Gail Kim via pin fall
Sgt Slaughter came out to the entrance ramp and said he wanted everyone to take part in a salute to the Canadian flag, much to the crowd’s pleasure. They showed a picture of the Canadian flag on the titan tron before a cross-out appeared on it. Slaughter cut a full blown heel promo on the entire country of Canada, talking about how much he thought the Canadians took American protection for granted and how if it weren’t for us, they’d speak Russian and French. He then led the crowd in a stirring rendition of the pledge of allegiance.
****Commercial****
Evan Bourne vs. Jack Swagger
Swagger came right at Bourne and began clubbing away at his back. Swagger went to whip Bourne who dropped down and tripped him up before giving him a stinging drop kick to the head. Bourne tossed himself over the top rope and hit a double knees senton.
Bourne went for a monkey flip, but Swagger held his knee out and Bourne flat-backed onto it. Swagger pounced on the back injury, and worked a bow and arrow hold. Bourne flipped out of a back suplex attempt and before gathering some momentum and hitting a running lariat for a two count.
Bourne climbed the top rope and came bounding off looking for a hurricanranna but Swagger caught him. Bourne countered the counter so to speak and got a two count on a roll up. Bourne got overpowered in the corner, as Swagger chucked him hard into the corner before hitting the doctor bomb. Three seconds later, this is over.
Winner: Jack Swagger via pin fall
Swagger crowed a bit after the match before MVP cut him off and came down to the ring and challenged him to a match. The two went back and forth a bit before MVP pushed him down. Swagger took off under the ropes and walked off up the ramp.
****Commercial****
Triple H went to a diner.. He finds HBK in the back, whose flipping burgers.
Sgt. Slaughter comes out and says he brought someone to sing the Canadian national anthem. Jillian Hall comes out and sings ?God Bless America?.
****Commercial****
Raw Contract on a Pole Match
Eugene vs. The Calgary Kid
Kid tried to trick Eugene at first before Eugene cut him off from scaling the pole. Eugene hit the people’s elbow and went for the contact but the Kid cut him off. The two duked it out on the top rope before Kid pushed him off and grabbed the contract.
Winner: The Calgary Kid
After the match the Calgary Kid hit a reality check on Eugene and took off his mask. Its the Miz. He’s back on Raw.. again..
****Commercial****
Show backed Orton up to the corner and began connecting with big body blows. Orton staggered around on the mat until Show picked him up and stuck him a front face lift that began to wear the champion down with ease.
Show continued to completely manhandle the champion, throwing him across the ropes. At one point, he choked Orton so badly in the corner that he ended up walking him over the corner and then dumping him over the top rope.
Orton scrambled into the ring and was able to hit a thumb to the eye and swing some momentum. He hit the suspended DDT off the ropes and went to work with a Garvin stomp. Orton hit a running knee before attempting an RKO, but Show tossed him off like a baby. He nailed Orton with a choke slam, but Orton got a foot on the ropes.
Show loaded up the right hand, but Orton ducked under and flew out the outside. He feigned getting back into the ring, but elected not to.
Winner: Big Show via count-out
Triple H is with HBK in the kitchen. HBK’s trying to make up excuses as to why he’s happy. His grill catches on fire and he goes to tend to it.
****Commercial****
Chris Masters vs. MVP
Masters tossed MVP back and slammed him to the mat hard before laying the boots to him. He hit a drop kick and went for a cover attempt for a one count. He sat MVP up and dropped two big elbows to the shoulder before working a stretch plum.
MVP fought out of the hold and began fighting back with forearms and elbows. He hit a big face buster before amping the crowd up and going for the ballin’ elbow. MVP missed the Chono kick and Masters looked for the Masterlock. MVP rolled through and hit a playmaker for the win.
Winner: MVP via pin fall
****Commercial****
Triple H and HBK are back at the cafeteria. His boss is giving him grief and so HBK kicks him in the face. The annoying girl from earlier in the night is outside. HBK goes and kicks her too.
Sgt. Slaughter comes out and says he brought back a friend to help some Canadian fans. He introduces Bret Hart, who of course doesn’t come out. Instead, we hear a ‘hoooo’ and Jim Duggan comes out and down to the ring.
****Commercial****
Mark Henry & Hornswoggle vs. The Legacy
Henry took two straight rights to the face and shrugged them off before looking for an avalanche. Henry tossed the young heels around for a while and eventually was able to hit the world’s strongest slam. He tagged in the eager Hornswoggle, who wanted a tad pole splash. He went for the move but Ted moved out of the way. Henry was more or less gawking on the ring apron, before Cody drop kicked him in the legs off the apron. Ted hit dream street on Hornswoggle, and that was that.
Winners: The Legacy via pin fall
After the match, Jericho was in the back when Show cut him off from doing an interview to chat. Jericho started spouting off about how dumb Canadian fans were and how they’d be cheering him tonight. Josh Matthews let him know that the cameras were on.
****Commercial****
Chris Jericho vs. John Cena
The two hit each other in a criss cross. Cena hit a side headlock take over that Jericho quickly fought out of. Jericho hit a hard Irish whip on Cena and an elbow to the face for a one count. Jericho began kicking Cena around on the ground before locking on a modified sleeper.
Cena fought out of the hold and hit a big spear, before signaling for the five knuckle shuffle, but Jericho rolled him up for a two count. Cena kicked out and Jericho hit a cross body but Cena rolled through and looked for an FU. Jericho countered out and slapped on the walls. Eventually Cena rolled through and slapped on the STFU, and almost got the tap out, but Randy Orton showed up in the ring and the ref called for the bell.
Winner: No Contest
After the match Orton took out Jericho and stared down Cena. Big Show came running in and took out Orton. Sgt Slaughter came out and said next week’s main event would be Cena & Orton vs. Jericho & Show. Cena and Orton took out Show and then hit an elevated RKO on Jericho as we went off the air.
Show Thoughts– The WWE is such a weird bag these days. On an individual, show-to-show basis, this brand really puts on fun shows almost weekly. Usually in a batch of 7 to 8 shows, you get one stinker, but there’s more than enough to make up for it, or so it seems. The matches are good, the promos are usually good and even the comedy spots don’t seem out of line.
So why is it that every week I watch this show and feel like its gone nowhere?
Watching Triple H and Shawn Michaels pretend to be 18 all over again was just surreal to me for whatever reason. Not in so much as its a ‘yay, DX is back’ or a ‘boo, DX is back’ way, but rather a ‘god, nothing changes on this show anymore’. The more I thought about it, the more I got a little worried.
There’s been a lot written about this main event scene on Raw and how tedious a situation they’re in at the moment. We have Triple H, John Cena and Randy Orton seemingly fighting an endless cycle of feuds with no one fresh to step into the picture. What makes it worse, is that there aren’t enough guys on the roster to help bridge the gap to those guys, so building new, fresh guys is more of a challenge than ever.
What’s even WORSE is that none of the guys at the top of the card, except for Cena, really have any clue whatsoever when it comes to putting over younger talent. It ain’t a political thing. Its a talent thing. I’ve seen countless guys encounter Triple H in various spots on the card and I’ve watched many of them stall out, but particularly the really young ones. I don’t think its a political situation even as much as it is a ‘the guy doesn’t know how to do it’ situation. Orton has some great spots, great offense, he’s come around in terms of his overall aura, but he’s just not ‘there’ to me yet as a guy who can carry people. I’ve yet to see him really take a guy at equal or lesser talent levels and take him to something super memorable. I just haven’t.
I’ve seen LOTS of that from Cena, in particular his matches with Khali, Lashley and Umaga in 2007, but also at a lower level with guys like Jack Swagger and Mike Knox. The problem with using Cena that way is you need a main event guy. So if not Cena, then who? Orton hasn’t gotten the job done, partly it being his fault, partly Triple H being clueless as to how to put over younger wrestlers effectively. So outside of Cena, there isn’t anyone.
And before you say it, don’t mention Shawn Michaels. Kicking Vlad Kozlov in the head… the same head that had been put over as this unstoppable weapon for months that had put down Triple H and the Undertaker… after flat no-selling the guy’s back work.. Michaels really isn’t that great of an elevational talent. He’s had his moments. But still. He ain’t that guy, either.
Has Mark Henry been great since coming over? Sure. But he shouldn’t be prancing around with Hornswoggle killing time. Right about now, he should be in a Summerslam program. With someone like a Finlay or some other gate keeper, but alas, that doesn’t exist on Raw right now. Jack Swagger’s been good. So has Evan Bourne. But is the two of them trading wins week in and week out doing a whole heck of a lot to move them in any kind of meaningful direction? How does Swagger get up ended by a feisty Bourne, only to snowplow him the next week, only to come back the NEXT week and pretend like the last week didn’t happen? How’s that gaining heat for Swagger? How’s that gaining face heat for Bourne? Its just trading wins.
Chris Masters has looked pretty slick and more than anything, very motivated. MVP looks lost as a face and these two are apparently feuding, but there isn’t much about it and I don’t really know why they’re mad at each other. Masters won easily a few weeks ago, only for MVP to win easily this week.
The Miz got taken off TV last week only to be put back on this week. He gets 15 minutes of mic time a night but gets smooshed in nearly every match he’s had. What kind of message are we trying to send, here?
So here we are, full circle, with Triple H and Shawn Michaels bringing back something for no other reason than ‘why not?’ What’s this going to do for THEM? What’s it do for Cody or Ted? Where do we want them afterwards? A month ago, Triple H was trying to devour Randy Orton’s uterus. Four months ago, Shawn Michaels was staring the Undertaker in the face, and living to tell the tale. Now…. Shawn Michaels is dressed up like the Sweedish chef, talking funny, throwing tater tots and kicking little girls in the face. Triple H is there to laugh along.
The show thoughts? It was a good show. It was entertaining. Most of the matches were perfectly fine. But why go into it? We seem like we’ve stalled here. Trades aren’t going to fix it. Its hard to make new stars if you don’t have any older stars competent enough to help the younger guys.
Sometimes, I wonder why I even care about ‘omg—–da product~’ sometimes, but this week’s episode just made me tilt my head a bit to the side and think.
Overall Grade: B
Quick Results
Gail Kim def. Alicia Foxx, Beth Phoenix & Kelly Kelly
The Calgary Kid def. Eugene
Big Show def. Randy Orton
MVP def. Chris Masters
The Legacy def. Mark Henry & Hornswoggle
John Cena vs. Chris Jericho went to a no contest
Who’s Hot, Who’s Not?
Biggest Pops
1. Chris Jericho
2. Bret Hart’s music
3. John Cena
4. Gail Kim
Most Heat
1. Randy Orton
2. Sgt Slaughter
3. Jillian Hall
4. The Legacy
Match of the Night: Big Show vs. Randy Orton **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 11-10-5, 29 pts. (Last Week: WWE Champion)— Great match with Big Show tonight. The picked and chose their spots tonight well. Orton’s offense was believable and clean. Show was Show. I’d love to see more of these guys on pay per view down the road.
United States Champion: Kofi Kingston 16-4-1, 29 points (Last Week: US Champion)— Not in action.
1. John Cena 18-10-4, 40 points. (Last Week: 1)– Good week for the most part with Cena. I always enjoy him in these more blood-feud, OMGHEAGAINSTDAWALL~ stuff. I like his intensity. Him and Jericho I swear could call each other’s spots in their sleep.
2. Triple H 4-6-3, 6 Points (Last Week: 2)–Um, nice T-Shirt?
3. Big Show 6-8-1, 11 Points (Last Week: 4)–Of the guys they have geared up towards the top of the card, I hope they consider giving him a title shot. I’d love to see him and Orton for the title, the only problem being that I just can’t see them doing a heel-heel program.
4. Mark Henry, 6-1, 12 Points (Last Week: 3)— The tomato outfit and the hat should really be gone. The way the match went tonight, it looks like that could more or less be the end of it, but holy smokes, get the Strawberry Shortcake outfit off the TV screen. It just doesn’t fit him.
5. Cody Rhodes 11-9-3, 14 points (Last Week: 5)— OK for what they did tonight. I fear for these two though, DX is right around the corner.
6. Ted Dibiase, Jr. 10-7-3, 11 Points (Last Week: 6)–See Rhodes.
7.) Jack Swagger, 3-4, 6 Points (Last Week: 10) — Another solid match with Bourne tonight. I wasn’t a fan of the springboard/Bourne burns on the back breaker thing, but the rest was pretty solid/decent stuff.
8. The Miz 3-7-2, 5 Points (Last Week: 5)— I guess he’s back but he’s gotta really bring the shovel to get rid of all the dirt on top of him.
9.) MVP 6-6-2, 10 Points (Last Week: 10)–MVP is a huge Chono fan, that much is obvious, and he works like him too. The issue is that Chono was mostly a heel. MVP’s a baby face and still works like a heel with heel crash n burn spots to boot (always missing the Chono boot in the corner, etc). He’s got to learn how to sell a little more.
10.) Evan Bourne, 2-4, 4 Points (Last Week: 9)— In a re-write of the re-write, they get it, uh.. right. Bourne loses, but looks competent. Hopefully they keep him in these matches as the touring guy in the mid card looking to pick up some wins and momentum a little longer. I’m curious to see how he’d work with the Miz.
OTHERS
Batista 8-4, 16 Points (Last Week: NR)
Chris Masters 0-1-1, 0 Points (Last Week: NR)
Santino Marella 4-2, 9 points (Last Week: NR)
Shawn Michaels 6-3, 10 pts. (Last Week: NR)?
Carlito Colon 5-7-1, 7 Points (Last Week: NR)
Primo Colon 4-8-1, 4 Points (Last Week: NR)?
Brian Kendrick 1-6-0, 2 Points (Last Week: NR)
Hornswaggle 4-0-0, 7 Points (Last Week: NR)
Jerry Lawler 1-0, 1 points (Last Week: NR)?
Festus 1-1-0, 1 Points (Last Week: NR)
Chavo Guerrero 1-9-0, 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: NR)
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)
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