The Raw Review - 19th July 2010
19/07/2010
Hello and welcome the Raw Review.
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Quick Links
Match 1: Randy Orton Vs. Chris Jericho Vs. Edge
Segment 1: Former Friends, Bitter Rivals
Segment 2: Wade Barrett Interviewed
Segment 3: John Cena Interviewed
Segment 4: The Fate of the WWE Championship
Match 3: Sheamus Vs. Evan Bourne
Segment 5: The Miz Interviewed
Match 4: Santino & Kozlov Vs. Regal & Ryder
Main Event: Wade Barrett Vs. Mark Henry
Closing Segment: If You’re not Nexus…
The Raw Review
Match 1
Triple Threat #1 Contendership Match
Randy Orton
Vs.
Chris Jericho
Vs.
Edge
For the second weekly show running we’ve got a match to kick off the show rather than a segment, and what a match it is, for a shot at the WWE Championship come SummerSlam.
This line-up could EASILY main event pretty much any Pay Per View on the calendar, so I was pretty sure we’d see some Nexus involvement sooner rather than later, but we didn’t.
King and Cole delivered the usual Triple Threat spiel, you can lose without being pinned, alliances are often temporary etc.
Edge and Jericho formed said alliance in the early stages, picking apart Orton until he reversed a Double Supplex into a Double DDT to turn the flow of the bout.
However, just as he began to set up for an RKO, Edge reversed it and shoved him right into a Jericho CodeBreaker.
Jericho covered and Edge broke up the cover, signalling the end of their teamwork.
After a period of domination from Jericho, a recovering Orton managed to catch him with a rope-assisted DDT and get a near fall, broken up by Edge once more.
I have to admit I’m pleasantly surprised how long this one was given to go, considering how these guys wrestled a brutal Money in the Bank match just 24 hours previous and how easy it would have been for the writers to just throw in some Nexus interference within the first few minutes.
I’d even go as far as to say this was the most exciting match I’ve seen on Raw this year, with non-stop action and edge-of-the-seat stuff.
The end was no different either and saw Orton hit both men with RKO’s, before covering Edge to get the 1..2..3.
Brilliant, simply brilliant.
Randy Orton wins by Pinfall and becomes the #1 Contender for the WWE Championship.
Segment 1
Former Friends, Bitter Rivals
After the commercials Edge is still in the ring and ranting.
He demands Jericho come to the ring so they can ‘finish things once and for all’.
He talks about how they have been costing each other matches, championships and months of their career through injuries for the past 11 years, and they should end it tonight.
Jericho tells Edge that things will end tonight, for The Rated R Superstar, then crows about how he has Nexus in the palm of his hand due to his hefty involvement in their success, and that they would end his career if they attacked.
Edge counters by saying that he thinks The Nexus would rather shut up the person claiming to be behind their success, and back him up as he has a lot more to offer them.
The Nexus hit the ring and Barrett tells them to stop arguing between themselves because The Nexus would be very lucky to have either of them as an ally.
They then tell Edge that Jericho was right and they could easily end his career, beating him down while Jericho bounces around celebrating.
However Jericho’s joy is short lived, as Barrett then tells him that Edge was also right, and they do want to shut up the guy who is claiming to be behind their success.
The Nexus beat Jericho down too while Barrett screams about learning nothing from the veteran Superstar, then leave the ring to raucous booing from the crowd.
Segment 2
Wade Barrett Interviewed
As The Nexus pile into their dressing room Josh Mathews approaches Wade Barrett.
After describing The Nexus as ‘the most powerful group in the history of the WWE’ (bit of an exaggeration I think) he asks how they would fare in singles competition against The Worlds Strongest Man.
Barrett asks Mathews if he is quaking in his boots, then says that Henry will be too when he gets a positive.
After the interview Sheamus approaches Barrett and says he has a business proposition for him.
Barrett asks him to step into his office, opening The Nexus dressing room door.
Sheamus refuses and Barrett tells him to suit himself, disappearing inside.
Segment 3
John Cena Interviewed
Following the commercials King and Cole talked to John Cena on the titantron.
Cole asked him for his thoughts on what happened in the main event at Money in the Bank.
Cena says he brought it upon himself by not shaking Barrett’s hand a few weeks ago on Raw, and he now realises that no single man can stop them.
He makes out like he’s going to join Nexus tonight, requesting to meet them in the ring later.
Match 2
Divas Championship #1 Contender Match
Eve
Vs.
Maryse (w/Ted DiBiase)
The Million Dollar Son joined the commentary team for this match, to sing the praises of his latest, greatest valet, and of course his own.
To be honest he made this match watchable. Had he not been on the commentary table I would have whizzed through it, but to be honest there wasn’t a lot to whizz through.
Eve hit a Flying Chuck type kick and covered Maryse for the 3. However, Maryse’s foot was clearly on the rope and DiBiase was quick to take this up with him after the bell.
With DiBiase distracted John Morrison hit the ring and took advantage, dropping him with a kick and finishing things off with a Starship Pain.
Oh joy, another Eve/Alicia Fox match to look forward to.
Lets just hope this decision gets reversed.
Eve wins by Pinfall and becomes the #1 Contender for the Divas Championship.
Segment 4
The Fate of the WWE Championship
The Celtic Warrior kicks off this segment by blathering on about his ‘dominance’ over John Cena.
He then explains to everyone that he has demanded a truce with The Nexus as in less than a year they have become the two most dominant powers in the WWE.
He says that they have agreed to keep out of each others business from now on, and without interference from The Nexus Randy Orton doesn’t stand a chance of becoming WWE Champion.
He vows to be the longest WWE Champion of all time but The Miz’s music cuts him off and walks proudly to the ring with his bright red briefcase.
He tells Sheamus that although he might be rid of The Nexus problem, he now has a Miz problem.
Miz says that being in possession of the Money in the Bank briefcase means he controls the fate of the WWE Championship, and from now on he’ll be watching him closely, waiting to pick his spot.
He paints a picture of a few situations, including a main event spot at WrestleMania, then goes to spout his catchphrase only to be cut off by Sheamus, who tells him that he is nothing.
*TINKLE*
Cole takes to the podium and announces that if The Miz wants to cash in his title shot tonight he should stick around the ring a little longer, as Sheamus will be in action right now against … Evan Bourne!
Match 3
Singles Match
Sheamus
Vs.
Evan Bourne
The Miz took the G.M’s advice on board and pulled up a seat at ringside for this match.
Sheamus immediately looked for the Pump Kick (I refuse to call it the Brogue Kick) at the start of the match, but missed and spent the next five minutes or so taking a beating from the up-and-coming high flyer.
However it wasn’t long until he took back control and began to dominate by hitting high impact moves, generally tossing the little guy around the ring.
Bourne turned the tables once more with some fast paced reversals and kicks, but failed to hit Air Bourne as Sheamus slithered out of the ring.
On the outside Sheamus threw Bourne head first into a camera (which I don’t think was supposed to happen), then hit him with a low blow as he got back into the ring before striking with a Pump Kick to score the 1..2..3.
Immediately after the bell The Miz struck, blasting the WWE Champion with his briefcase before wrapping it over his back and hitting a Skull Crushing Finale onto it.
He then handed his briefcase over to the official and told him he was ready to cash in!
However, while the referee attempted to gain some sort of conciousness from Sheamus, R-Truth’s music hit and he ran The Miz off from ringside, with his Money in the Bank contract still in tact.
Yet another reason to hate R-Truth.
The crowd were cheering like maniacs when the Miz decided to cash in.
Sheamus wins by Pinfall.
Segment 5
The Miz Interviewed
Backstage Josh Mathews asked The Miz how he felt about what just happened.
The Miz claimed that R-Truth had just cost him the WWE Championship, then assured Mathews that there would be plenty more opportunities and some point in the next year he would claim the gold.
Following a SummerSlam recall Sheamus is shown walking backstage with a bag of ice on his head, when Randy Orton calls after him.
Orton tells him that carrying the WWE Championship makes him a target and regardless of who has the belt come SummerSlam, he’s going to hit them with an RKO and take it.
Match 4
Tag Team Match
Santino Marella & Vladimir Kozlov
Vs.
William Regal & Zack Ryder
It’s time to look at the G.M odds again, and although there haven’t been any real clues on the show there has been a drastic change in the standings this week!
Here are this week’s odds:
Abraham Washington - 5/1
Shawn Michaels and/or Triple H - 12/1
Roddy Piper - 15/1
Stone Cold Steve Austin - 18/1
Stephanie McMahon - 30/1
Good Ole’ JR - 45/1
Michael Cole - 50/1
Shane McMahon - 100/1
Mick Foley - 1000/1
With JR being ‘punished’ for daring to show his face at a UFC event, his odds of being the anonymous G.M have dropped considerably.
As for this match, I felt more than a little dejected that two of my favourite Superstars (Regal and Ryder) jobbed to the joke of a tag team that are Santino & Kozlov.
Santino Marella & Vladimir Kozlov win by Pinfall.
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Main Event Match
Singles Match
Mark Henry
Vs.
Wade Barrett
Per announcement by the Raw G.M, none of the other Nexus members are allowed at ringside for this match.
Sadly Mark Henry isn’t really the biggest threat Barrett could have faced on Raw tonight and at no point did I ever expect a result other than a victory for the Nexus leader.
However, I didn’t expect Barrett to pick the guy up on his shoulders and hit his brutal unnamed finishing manoeuvre.
Sure, he kinda botched it and it didn’t look as good as it does when he does it to a smaller man, but full respect to the guy for lifting that kind of mass on his shoulders for any time at all.
The Nexus hit the top of the ramp in order to distract Henry, who had looked dominant up until that point, then piled into the ring after the bell for their confrontation with Cena.
Wade Barrett wins by Pinfall.
Closing Segment
If You’re not Nexus…
Michael Tarver took up speaking duties at the start of this segment, telling Cena they would only consider entering talks with him if he came to the ring and apologised for decimating both Darren Young and himself over the past few weeks.
Darren Young’s hair seems to have taken the brunt of Cena’s attack, it no longer has that ’straight up’ quality it used to possess.
Cena hits the ring and thanks Barrett an Co. for meeting him in the ring.
He talks about how The Nexus have cost him two WWE Championship matches without any reasonable explanation, and admits that he should have made a truce with them like Sheamus has a long time ago.
He apologises to them and asks for the same deal that The Celtic Warrior got earlier in the night.
Barrett rejects the proposal, saying that he isn’t looking for peace, but rather allegiance.
He offers Cena a place in The Nexus, outlining the perks of being part of a cut-throat stable that is the future of the WWE.
Barrett tells Cena it isn’t really much of a choice, as ‘If you’re not Nexus, you’re against us’, then asks him for his answer.
After a long pause Cena shakes his head and refuses, much to the adulation of the attending audience.
Barrett says that leaves him with two options, either he runs like a coward or stays and takes a beating.
Cena leaves the ring and the crowd almost instantaneously turn on him, booing as he heads up the ramp.
As he nears the top Cena turns and tells The Nexus that whether he has help or not, he will take each and every one of them down.
He explains that the peace offering was a test, and as they said no he’s recruited himself some help, namely a team that will take down The Nexus at SummerSlam.
Cena brings out his team, which consists of:
- Edge
- John Morrison
- R-Truth
- The Great Khali
- Chris Jericho
- Bret Hart
That’s right, Bret’s back again!
The All-Stars run The Nexus out of the ring and stand dominant as the show goes off the air.
Nice ending, I’d have to pick Edge or Jericho to turn at SummerSlam if someone’s going to, although I’d love it if they finally turned Cena, but it won’t happen.
The
®AW
Material
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Randy Orton became the #1 Contender for the WWE Championship by beating Edge and Jericho in a Triple Threat.
®
The Nexus beat down Jericho and Edge.
®
John Cena suggested he might join The Nexus tonight.
®
Eve became the #1 contender for the Divas Championship in a controversial finish (See Match 2.)
®
John Morrison attacked Ted DiBiase after the Divas #1 Contendership Match.
®
The Miz came within a whisker of cashing in his Money in the Bank contract, but R-Truth ruined his plans (See Match 3.)
®
Randy Orton assured Sheamus he would take the WWE Championship at SummerSlam.
®
John Cena formed an ‘All-Star’ Team to face The Nexus at SummerSlam.
®
