The Raw Review – 21st June 2010
21/06/2010
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Quick Links
Match 1: Evan Bourne Vs. Chris Jericho
Segment 2: Donning the Stripes
Segment 3: More Hirings and Firings
Segment 4: The Hart Dynasty Interviewed
Match 3: John Morrison Vs. Zack Ryder
Segment 5: John Cena Interviewed
Match 4: The Great Khali & Eve Vs. Primo & Alicia Fox
Main Event: John Cena Vs. Sheamus
The Raw Review
Segment 1
Time for Answers
Hey everyone and welcome to tonight’s Raw coverage!
I’ll be taking a week off as of next Monday, so the Weekly Rundown will be more than a little late between the 28th and the 5th, but I’ll try my best to catch up upon my return, but more on that later!
Mr. McMahon is here tonight and as promised last night at Fatal 4 Way, it looks like he’s got some answers for us.
He pins the blame for last night’s chaotic ending squarely on Bret Hart, saying he made poor decisions in firing Barrett and dismissing the other NXT Rookies, and that not showing up last night just because of a few bumps and bruises just wasn’t acceptable.
He relieves Bret of his G.M duties, breaking out into a wry smile as he uttered the words ‘You’re Fired’.
So, with Bret out of the picture we’ve got a new G.M, who prefers to remain anonymous and will instead relay his decisions to Michael Cole by e-mail, who will then stand up and announce it.
As Vince continues to talk Michael Cole’s laptop tinkles, and he interjects to announce that all 7 Season 1 NXT Rookies have been hired, and will address the WWE Universe later tonight.
McMahon begins to leave the ring when the NEW WWE Champion Sheamus begins to make his way down the ramp.
I can’t see the reason for all the Sheamus-hate at the minute. So he’s been pushed a little fast, that’s not his fault and I can’t really see a flaw in his ring-work or promo delivery.
Let’s face it, there have been worse guys to hold World Championships *cough*Khali*cough* and I’m prepared to give him a chance.
He tells McMahon that he didn’t want to win the WWE Championship in the way he did last night. He says that he wanted to prove his worth at the top of the WWE by beating 3 top Superstars to win the gold.
With that in mind he says that he can’t accept the Championship, handing it over to the boss to a small cheer from the attending audience.
However, as Vince goes to take it, Sheamus snatches it back and breaks out into a huge grin.
He says that it doesn’t matter how it happened, because he’s the new champion and that’s all that counts.
Sheamus thanks the NXT guys for everything they have done so far, seemingly forgetting that they chased him up the ramp at the end of Fatal 4 Way.
He tells them not to get carried away though, as he could easily have won the match on his own.
As he goes on to boast about claiming the top gold for the 2nd time in his short career John Cena hits the ring, looking surprisingly upbeat for someone who lost his title just 24 hours ago.
Cena does his usual up/down voice thing, saying that with all the thanks being given he may as well join in.
He thanks McMahon for hiring a new G.M, the new G.M for hiring the NXT guys and Sheamus for winning the Fatal 4 Way, because now he gets a 1 on 1 re-match with him, which he wants tonight!
Sheamus tells Cena that there will be no WWE Championship match tonight and asks McMahon to get rid of Cena, before he does it himself.
*TINKLE*
The G.M’s second announcement is that Sheamus will defend the WWE Championship against John Cena.
Cue massive whooping from the crowd.
*TINKLE*
This time the G.M has added a special Guest Referee… Mr. McMahon.
Vince seems quite pleased with the decision, as does Cena as the segment ends, leaving Sheamus looking more than a little annoyed.
It wasn’t really an opening segment full of impact, but it was certainly one of the most enjoyable ones I can remember watching in recent weeks.
Match 1
Singles Match
Evan Bourne
Vs.
Chris Jericho
As GRuz often says; here’s the rubber match!
Or is it?
As Jericho jumps up onto the apron he has a microphone in his hand. He says that he demanded this re-match to prove not only to Bourne, but to all the parasites in the crowd, that he still has what it takes, and if he doesn’t win tonight he’ll walk out of the WWE… FOREVER!
I had a feeling that’s where this whole Jericho feeling dejected thing was going, and I really hope it doesn’t happen.
Wild theory, but Jericho has been linked with the NXT Rookies in recent weeks all over ‘the internet’. Is it mere coincidence that Jericho puts his career on the line on the same night a ‘mystery’ General Manager takes over and seemingly favours the NXT guys?
Probably.
This was the stand-out match for me last night at Fatal 4 Way, and this wasn’t far off being as good, although it didn’t seem to have quite the same pacing in the early stages that the PPV bout did.
Jericho would be a huge loss to WWE programming, being (for me at least) one of the most consistent guys in the business since his return a few years back, which is why I was pleased to see him grab the win after a CodeBreaker.
This was a very good match to kick off the show, and it actually made me warm to Bourne a little.
After the bell Jericho walked back over to Bourne and helped him up off the mat, before shoving him back down to maintain his heelish status.
Chris Jericho wins by Pinfall.
Segment 2
Donning the Stripes
Backstage Vince McMahon is sitting next to a referee’s shirt, chatting on the cell to the new G.M of Raw.
He congratulates him on the decisions he has so far made, but then tells him that although he has been granted complete control over Raw, he should refrain from springing surprises on the Boss.
Segment 3
More Hirings and Firings
Elsewhere backstage Virgil is sitting in the locker rooms looking sorry for himself.
DiBiase enters and apologises for his actions last week, but then tells him that his services will no longer be needed as he has decided to ‘upgrade’.
Enter Maryse.
Virgil tries to persuade DiBiase to let him keep his job, but to no avail.
Segment 4
The Hart Dynasty Interviewed
Josh Mathews asked The Hart Dynasty how they felt about McMahon’s actions tonight.
They claim that Bret has once again been rail-roaded out of the company and this time there was no fault on his side at all.
Further to that they say that the NXT guys shouldn’t have been hired, but instead should have been arrested for their actions last week.
They vow to keep fighting for Bret’s honour and declare that ‘these Harts won’t stop beating’.
Match 2
Divas Match
Natalya (w/The Hart Dynasty)
Vs.
Tamina (w/The Usos)
This was meant to be Natalya and Tamina’s respective début match on Raw, but it looks like they’ll have to wait a little longer as the N’Vasion swarmed ringside moments after it began.
Barrett grabbed a microphone and said they were here to apologise to The Hart’s, but Tyson Kidd fired the first shot by leaping over the top rope to take out two of them.
The numbers caught up quickly with The Harts though, and it didn’t take the NXT guys long to take them out of the picture.
After commercials David Otunga apologises for their actions over the past few weeks, but claims that they only did it because of their love for the WWE.
He says that now they have contracts things should return back to normal.
Heath Slater takes the microphone and apologises again, saying that they have a few people in particular to apologise to.
Justin Gabriel takes the microphone and apologises to Bret Hart, but says that he painted them into a corner, then extends that apology to Tyson Kidd and David Hart Smith, saying that he hopes they can now get on in the future.
Darren Young is next up, and he apologises to his look-a-like John Cena, actually even making reference to how similar they look.
He says they went after the top guy in the WWE just to make an impact and speaking for all of them he says that he knows Cena will get the gold back.
Sheffield takes the stick next and apologises to the crowd, trying to get them to join in with his catchphrase again, which doesn’t work.
He hopes that all the parents and children around the world will forgive and forget.
Michael Tarver takes over and apologises for his kids for his actions, then says that anyone would have done the same in their situation.
Barrett takes the microphone and explains why he aligned himself with the other NXT guys when he already had what he wanted, and quite simply the answer is loyalty.
He said that they decided long ago that they would all get contracts at the end of NXT, and would no longer allow WWE management to dictate to them.
He says that they have all formed a bond that will never be broken, or a ‘Nexus’ (faction name? I preferred The N’Vasion) and in other news his PPV title shot has been re-instated as well.
He turns his attention to Sheamus, telling him that regardless of what he said earlier on, they are the reason he has the WWE Championship, and they could easily focus on him just as simply as they did to John Cena, so he should wipe the smug smile from his face.
Barrett finished up by saying that when he decided to take his title shot, he WOULD become WWE Champion.
Match ends in a No Contest.
Match 3
Singles Match
John Morrison (w/Eli Cottonwood)
Vs.
Zack Ryder (w/Titus O’Neil)
This match was originally scheduled to be Morrison Vs. DiBiase, but just before the match Ted came out from the back and explained that as he has his hands full with Maryse, Zack Ryder would be taking his place.
That’s handy, given Morrison and Ryder are semi-feuding on NXT.
It’s amazing to see how fast Zack Ryder has climbed through the ranks, while John Morrison has simultaneously tumbled down them.
About a year ago Morrison was buzzing around the edges of the title picture on Smackdown, before moving on to the IC title, taking the belt from Rey when he had to take a 30 day suspension.
At about the same time Ryder seemed lucky if he picked up a win in the opener on ECW.
Now they are about the same level, and based on the past 6 months or so I’d say that Ryder looks more likely to pick up some gold than John Morrison at the minute.
Morrison pulled out a close win in this match, and I’ll be interested to see more from them, as it was a good back and forth bout.
John Morrison wins by Pinfall.
Segment 5
John Cena Interviewed
Backstage Cena seems to be going somewhere in a hurry when Josh Mathews catches up to him.
He asks Cena what he made of the NXT apology earlier tonight.
Cena said that although they claimed it was nothing personal, they put his career in jeopardy, the WWE product in jeopardy, and cost him the WWE Championship.
He said that they talked about loyalty to each other, but he’s loyal to the company and the WWE fans, so their apology hasn’t been accepted, but tonight he’s more focused on reclaiming the WWE Championship.
Mr. McMahon appears in his striped shirt and warns Cena that there will be no excuses for him or Sheamus tonight, and one way or another the best man will win.
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Match 4
Mixed Tag Team Match
The Great Khali & Eve
Vs.
Primo & Alicia Fox
This seems like an odd pairing for a rivalry; Primo and Khali.
This all started last week on Superstars, when Khali seemingly took offence at the way Primo cheated to beat Yoshi Tatsu.
Khali has dispatched the likes of Batista, Undertaker, Kane and John Cena in the past, so I’m not really buying the idea that perennial Superstars fodder Primo is going to cause him problems.
Usually in this kind of situation where there is a big name against a relative newcomer (eg. The Miz Vs. John Cena or Chris Jericho Vs. Evan Bourne) the newcomer picks up the win, or at least loses valiantly, and it does wonders for his rep.
That didn’t happen here though, as after Primo tried to steal a kiss from Eve, Alicia Fox left the ring and left Primo to his fate; The Punjabi Plunge and the 1..2..3.
The Great Khali & Eve win by Pinfall.
Segment 6
Vipers Pit
Apparently Randy Orton has requested some air-time, although for what reason no one seems quite sure as he makes his way to the ring.
It quickly becomes apparent that John Cena and The Hart Dynasty are not the only ones who have a problem with the ‘Nexus’.
Orton says that as they now have contracts, it’s only going to be a matter of time before he punts them all in the skull.
He tells Wade Barrett that he accepts his apology and hopes that he does win the WWE Championship, because he’s looking at the man who will take it from him.
The Miz’s music hits and the United States Champion interrupts.
He says that he’s sick of seeing Orton’s face in the main event, sick of seeing Orton hit the RKO and sick of seeing The Viper. Period.
He gives Orton props for some of his achievements in the WWE, but says that there is one thing that Orton hasn’t done, and in fact no one in WWE history has done, and that’s hold the U.S and WWE Championship at the same time, so the next championship shot is his.
Miz cheap shots Orton once he’s in the ring, but the tables turn and The Viper begins to set up for the RKO.
The Miz gets out of dodge just in time, then from nowhere, Edge appears in the ring and hits a Spear!
Edge grabs the microphone and rather ominously tells Orton that the real fun begins now, before leaving.
Main Event Match
WWE Championship Match
John Cena
Vs.
Sheamus (c)
Special Referee: Vince McMahon
Well we’re at the WWE Championship match already and there’s still a huge chunk of the show left to run.
While the guys make their entrances, has anyone noticed something different about tonight’s show?
Yup, that’s right!
As well as Bret being canned, it looks like the Guest Host thing has also been kicked into touch.
As much as I enjoyed it in the early days, I have to say I’m quite glad.
It had gotten old, and pointless as soon as they took all G.M responsibilities away from them.
It turns out Vince is playing more the part of a special enforcer than special referee in this one, patrolling the outside of the ring while Jack Doan I believe it is, manages the reffing duties in the ring.
I expect he’ll be taking a bump at some point in this match.
Michael Cole spent a long while at the start of the match talking about Triple H and how he may never return to the WWE, something that I noticed they did at Fatal 4 Way quite a bit too.
During the entrances the crowd seemed to be pretty pro-Cena, but after five or so minutes a huge ‘Cena Sucks’ chant erupted, quickly countered with a ‘Lets Go Cena’ from the opposition.
This was another good in-ring display from Sheamus for the most part. I can understand why people may not like him, he’s leapfrogged a lot of guys in the company, allegedly because he’s quite pally with Triple H, but I struggle to see why people can’t respect that he’s better than a lot we’ve seen at the top of the tree in the past.
Maybe it’s just because Americans can’t stand the thought of a ‘fella’ from the UK having the gold, but if Vince et al have got over that, I don’t see why it should be a problem.
Maybe that’s not the reason at all, I just can’t come up with any other.
I admit I haven’t always liked The Celtic Warrior, and I’ve been quite vocal about that in the past, but I can see the improvement he’s made since moving to Raw, and I just think we should give the guy a chance.
Anyway, before we have to change our name to SheamusBlog.co.uk I’ll stop, and get back to the match.
Sheamus dominated for the majority of the match, while Cena had the odd flurry of ‘Hoganism’, hulking up and hitting a string of big moves, before taking a beating yet again.
Cena came close with the STF, but Sheamus was able to make it to the ropes and seconds later hurl the former champion into the steel steps on the outside.
After failing to score the pinfall, Sheamus took to the outside and dragged the whole steel steps setup half way up the ramp, standing it on it’s end.
He then took Cena out there and hurled him into it, before bringing him back to the ring to call for the Pump Kick, which he hit.
Then, just as it looked like Sheamus was closing in on a victory the NXT guys hit the ring, chasing The Fighting Irishman away and turning their focus on Cena, throwing him over the announce table before dumping it on top of him.
Mr. McMahon, who was of no use during the invasion, grabbed a microphone and jumped in the ring, telling the Nexus to stop what they were doing.
He called them into the ring with a smile on his face, then told the crowd to take a good look at the extra-ordinary athletes in the ring.
He says that he can’t take full credit, but he can take partial credit for all their actions over the past few weeks, calling for a round of applause for himself.
He says that next week the new G.M is going to reveal something, but before he can finish his sentence he turns to see the Nexus glaring at him with apparent intent.
Vince delivers one of his trademark ‘gulps’, but then Barrett starts smiling and the Boss laughs, saying they almost had him going.
As McMahon laughs and the crowd chant for Daniel Bryan, their faces turn once again and they surround him.
They then beat the crap out of him, much to the crowds amusement, as the show went off-air and a NXT chant rather bizarrely broke out in patches around the arena.
Tonight’s Raw seems to have had an old fashioned feel to it, if that’s the right way to describe it.
Less pointless, jokey segments, and more actual substance.
Long may it continue!
Match ends in a No Contest.
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