Weekly Rundown: 22nd – 26th June 2009 (The Bash Edition)
Raw 22/06/2009
ECW 23/06/2009
Superstars 25/06/2009
Smackdown 26/06/2009
Jump to The Raw Review –>
Jump to The ECW Digest –>
Jump to The Superstars Recap –>
Jump to The Smackdown Summary –>
The Raw Review - 22/06/2009
Opening Segment
Trump Raw
Lillian Garcia introduces the new owner of Raw; Donald Trump. He makes his way out onto the stage and welcomes the crowd, before telling them it is their show and going over the big decisions he made last week (commercial free, Last Man Standing match etc.)
Trump then said that he would give every single person in the audience a FULL refund of whatever they paid. Alright for some I suppose, I wonder if he’ll pay my satellite bill…
Segment 2
Cena’s Reality Check
After Trump had left the stage Cena’s music played and he made his way to the ring. He kissed Trump’s ass for a while, told the crowd he had a match tonight against The Big Show, then turned his attention on The Miz.
A highlight reel of The Miz’s verbal attacks plays, then Cena asks him to come to come out and he eventually obliges.
They have a little back and forth before squaring up in the ring. Cena says instead of beating the crap out of him right now, he will give him a chance to shine in a 1 on 1 match at The Bash.
Cena goes on to say he has taken much worse without being rattled, using the example of 80,000 people telling him he can’t wrestle on the grandest stave of them all.
After some more talking and (surprisingly) a Cena chant, Miz hits a cheap left hook and then runs. Cena looks completely unphased and indicates ’6 days’ as the segment comes to an end.
We are then shown a clip from earlier today featuring Mr. McMahon. He seems to have engine trouble with his limo, claiming Trump has the good one and he’s been left with the back up.
Vince chews out the driver for a while and says he’ll wait as long as need be for a replacement to show up.
Match 1
Six Man Tag Team Match
Jeff Hardy, The Great Khali & Rey Mysterio
Vs.
Chris Jericho, Dolph Ziggler & Edge
C.M Punk joined the commentary team again, which instantly made me lose a little bit of interest. As good as he may be in the ring, he’s undeniably dull.
It wasn’t too long before things broke down, leading to a collection of plancha’s and flips which Khali tried to get involved in but was cut short by Edge.
A similar breakdown took place at the climax of the match, with everyone getting involved and attempting/hitting a collection of finishers before the ring cleared and Jeff was able to hit Ziggler with a Twist of Fate/Swanton combination to grab the win.
After the match Punk joined Hardy in the ring and raised his hand without the #1 contender realising just who it was. When Jeff finally realised he pulled his hand away and left the ring looking annoyed.
Jeff Hardy, The Great Khali & Rey Mysterio win by Pinfall.
Segment 3
Vince meets Santina
While looking for Donald Trump, Vince is approached by ‘Miss WrestleMania’; Santina Marella.
After some inane chatter Trump finally opens the door and informs Vince that his office has been moved down the corridor.
Trump then sees Santina and fires her on the spot, before Santino appears and ponders what he can do to get his sister’s job back, before deciding nothing was the best option and that she had a good run.
It looks like we’ve seen the last of Santina, tissue anyone?
Match 2
Singles Match
Primo (w/Carlito)
Vs.
Cody Rhodes (w/Ted DiBiase)
Before the match begins Primo and Carlito rip into Rhodes and DiBiase, making out they are nothing more than Orton’s errand boys and that they don’t stand a chance at The Bash.
Nothing outstanding here but at the same time nothing terrible. DiBiase and Carlito stayed out of things completely leaving Rhodes and Primo to fight it out in the ring. Both men hit some decent offence and it could have gone either way, but it was Rhodes who picked up the victory with a roll up and a hand full of tights.
Priceless seem to have the advantage going in to The Bash.
Cody Rhodes wins by Pinfall.
Segment 4
The New Office
Backstage the camera pans around a cluttered locker room before settling on Mr. McMahon, who seems disappointed with his new office.
Goldust and Hornswoggle appear and tell Mr. McMahon they are planning on giving Donald Trump his wig before placing it on Vince’s head to ‘see how it would look on another billionaire’.
He tells them to get out then finds his actual new office; a toilet stall with his name on it. Just when it looks like things can’t get any worse, Festus emerges from the cubicle, handing Mr. McMahon a newspaper on his way past.
Match 3
WWE Championship Last Man Standing Match
Triple H
Vs.
Randy Orton (c)
I’d been told before seeing this that it was an ‘absolutely amazing match’ so my expectations were instantly raised. I’ll let you know come the final bell whether I agree with that description, I’ve got a feeling I will.
It didn’t take long for things to spill out of the ring and soon after into the crowd.
Triple H maintained control of the match until Orton began focusing on his knee, which seemed to have taken a tweak when The Game flew over the top rope and to the mats outside.
Orton continued to exploit the knee injury with chop blocks and steel step shots, then put Triple H down for a 8 count with a brutal chair shot to the head.
The turning point seemed like it might come as Orton planned to RKO The Game through the announce table, only to receive a low blow. However, seconds later Orton avoided the Pedigree and landed the RKO, putting his rival down for a very long 9 count.
Triple H recovered again, punishing Orton with a back body drop onto the table and then a big shot with a T.V. monitor, before landing a Double A Spinebuster on the steel rampway that kept Orton down for a 9 count.
After more back and forth brutality including counts on both guys Triple H grabbed a ladder and ran at Orton.
The Legend Killer dodged out of the way and some anonymous crew member got completely wiped out, quite possibly accidentally as everyone including Orton/Triple H looked genuinely shocked and the referee instantly began calling for a trainer.
Orton grabbed the ladder soon after and used it to knock Triple H down, before wrapping it around the already damaged knee and stamping on it continually. After a referee count Orton set up the ladder and looked to be planning on using it as a launching point for a massive RKO, but The Game reversed it and landed a Pedigree on the steel.
The Pedigree seemed to do as much damage to Triple H as it did Orton and as much as he fought to get to his feet, even using the ladder, he couldn’t and the match ended in a double 10 count, meaning Orton retains the title.
Brilliant stuff and a very clever ending that will no doubt lead to another match between them at The Bash.
Match ends in a Draw.
Segment 5
The Art of The Deal
Once again The Miz attempts to flirt with Maryse only to be told he won’t get any of her attention until he does something impressive against John Cena.
After this Trump appears again, flanked by Divas who ‘assist’ him to the ring. He asks if everyone is having a good time before laying into Mr. McMahon a little more.
Trump toots his own horn again about the money back and no commercials thing, then announces that rather than having a General Manager he is going to appoint a different ‘celebrity guest’ to run the show each week.
He says that he is going to give the fans a lot more of what they want, with the piste’ de resistance being WrestleMania 26.
Mr. McMahon’s music then hits and he swaggers to the ring looking less than impressed. He complains to Trump about it being commercial free and that he hears he is going to make Raw ‘free’ each and every week. Trump confirms this and Vince says he’ll be bankrupt within 6 months if that was the case.
Trump says he paid a lot of money for Raw and can do what he wants, and aside from that a lot of his rich friends are interested in paying twice what he paid to take it off his hands.
Vince says he realises what has happened, Trump has bought Raw in an attempt to run him into the ground. He asks Trump to consider selling him Raw back for the same price he paid, then raises the offer by 25%, 50% and even 75% but gets knocked back each time.
Finally he agrees to give him double what he paid and Trump accepts.
Vince says if he ever sees him trying to meddle in his business again he’ll knock him on his ass, before delivering the immortal ‘You’re Fired’ growl and receiving a slap for his troubles.
The two are separated by security while King and Cole explain exactly what just happened. Hmmm, I expected it to run longer than that.
Segment 6
It’s Still Personal
Backstage Vince swaggers upto Legacy and tells Rhodes and DiBiase to hit the bricks. Once he has Orton on his own he tells him that he hasn’t even felt pain yet in comparison to what he has in store for him.
Orton says if Vince has any decency he’ll lay off after what he’s been through. Vince then tells him that he will meet Triple H in a 3 Stages of Hell match at The Bash. For anyone who hasn’t seen a 3 Stages of Hell match (it’s been a long long time), it’s basically 3 normal/stipulation matches shunted together into one with the winner being whoever wins 2 of the 3 bouts.
At the Bash it will be:
Fall 1: Singles
Fall 2: Falls Count Anywhere
Fall 3: Stretcher
Match 4
6 Diva Tag Team Match
Mickey James & The Bella Twins
Vs.
Maryse, Beth Phoenix & Rosa Mendes
The crowd had literally no interest in this match once it got past the entrances and to be honest I can’t blame them.
When you have a match and a segment that could quite easily have wrapped up a Pay Per View, never mind an episode of Raw, throwing out 6 Divas afterwards is going to struggle to get a reaction no matter how good they are.
I used this match as an opportunity to use the toilet (that’s the problem with 2 hour commercial free broadcasts) and when I got back Mickey James was just picking up the win over Rosa Mendes.
Mickey James & The Bella Twins win by Pinfall.
Main Event Match
Singles Match
John Cena
Vs.
The Big Show
Yawn. If it wasn’t for the fact I was writing this up I’d have probably turned off after the Trump/McMahon segment.
I can’t imagine what must have been going on in the meeting where they decided to put this at the top of the card and not the Orton/Triple H match. I suppose you could argue that the match for The Bash had to be announced after the Last Man Standing Match for it to work, but that could have easily been slipped in at the very end of the show.
If there’s a single saving grace it’s that by the time the bell rang to start this match Raw had already been on air 1hr 55mins so chances are it won’t run too long.
This bout was typical of all the Show/Cena matches to date, in that the giant controlled things while Cena tried his best to fight back, failing in almost every instance.
As usual Cena built his offence at the climax of the match, to the point where he once again picked Show up in preperation for an Attitude Adjustment. However, The Miz took this opportunity to make an impact, jumping on the apron and pushing Cena from behind, leading to him being squashed by Show’s giant mass.
The referee didn’t notice the interference due to Show’s immense size and seconds later he covered Cena for the 3 count.
After the match The Miz stood over Cena, mocking him. As much as I hope this is the end to the Show/Cena feud, I can’t see it ending in such a controversial way.
The Big Show wins by Pinfall.
Segment 7
The Game Isn’t Over
Backstage Orton is shown leaving the arena when Triple H jumps him from behind. The Game beats him down then lays him half into the trunk of his car, he then slams the lid down across his back before slumping next to him and telling him that things are far from over.
A very good episode of Raw although perhaps in the wrong order.
The ECW Digest – 23/06/2009
Opening Match
Singles Match
Evan Bourne
Vs.
Tyson Kidd (w/The Hart Dynasty)
As Bourne makes his way to the ring we are shown Mark Henry’s attack on Bourne last week while the commentary team explain that this is why he has his ribs so heavily taped tonight.
After trying to get involved in the match very early on the referee dismissed both David Hart Smith and Natalya from ringside, leaving two outstanding guys to fight it out in the ring.
Unlike his recent bouts with Henry, Bourne finally gets to take on someone with a similar fast paced, high flying style to his, and the match flowed much better as a result of it.
Bourne decided not to change his style in the slightest, despite the injured ribs. It turned out to be a good decision as he picked up the win with a Shooting Star Press in what was a great opener for ECW.
Evan Bourne wins by Pinfall.
Match 2
Singles Match
Finlay
Vs.
Zack Ryder
After some footage of his attacks on Christian and Dreamer last week Finlay makes his way to the ring while the crowd seem unsure how to react.
Once in the ring he grabs a microphone and explains that his attack was simply payback for the eye injury he suffered as a result of Christian and Dreamer bickering.
He began to talk about The Bash but Zack Ryder interrupted him and talked some trash about the upcoming match.
After knocking heads together Finlay began protecting his injured eye and Ryder immediately began to target the weak spot.
Finlay very graciously let Ryder dominate the majority of this match, making the young up and comer look very good in the process. However, come the end of the match the Fighting Irishman battled back and grabbed a pinfall out of nowhere as Ryder attempted to remove the turnbuckle cover to inflict more damage.
Finlay wins by Pinfall.
Segment 1
A Superhero is Born
After Matt Striker explains the concept of the ECW Championship Scramble scheduled for The Bash he sends things backstage where ace reporter Gregory Helms is waiting with Mark Henry and Tony Atlas.
Helms asks him about his match tonight but before he has a chance to answer a big…box thing falls over on a crew member in the background.
Henry turns to look and when he turns back Helms is gone. Seconds later we get a glimpse of the new-look Hurricane who helps to lift the big box thingy then vanishes.
Henry then turns back again and Helms has returned to wrap up the interview.
Main Event Match
Tag Team Match
Mark Henry & Jack Swagger
Vs.
Christian & Tommy Dreamer
Nothing overly exciting in this one and if I’m honest I spent most of the match doing other things while keeping an eye on things.
Christian had the match won until Tony Atlas pulled Swagger’s foot under the bottom rope. Christian and Dreamer then focused their attention on the Hall of Famer and moments later Swagger hit a Gutwrench Powerbomb to grab the 3 count for his team.
After the bell Henry hit Dreamer and then Swagger with Worlds Strongest Slams, leaving the ring as the only man standing and possible favourite for the Championship Scramble at The Bash.
Mark Henry & Jack Swagger win by Pinfall.
The Superstars Recap - 25/06/2009
Opening Match
Singles Match
Jack Swagger
Vs.
Evan Bourne
Bourne still has his ribs taped heavily and it’s no surprise that the All American American wasted no time in using this to his advantage.
The size difference between these guys is surprising, with Swagger making Bourne look tiny despite not being overly large himself.
Despite being the smaller man and carrying a significant injury, Bourne displayed yet more of his unique offensive style and controlled large portions of the match as a result.
Bourne almost grabbed what would have been considered an upset win, but Swagger had the presence of mind to roll out of the way of the Shooting Star Press before hitting a Gutwrench Powerbomb to grab the 3 count.
Jack Swagger wins by Pinfall.
Match 2
Singles Match
Dolph Ziggler
Vs.
Jimmy Wang Yang
Before the match begins Ziggler chats a bit about how he rendered 3 Diva’s speechless. He says that once he beats The Great Khali at The Bash no one will ever forget the name; Dolph Ziggler.
It shouldn’t be too tricky for even the most casual fan to pick the winner in this match.
In one corner there’s the up and coming, narcissistic, new-age Mr. Perfect who has recently picked up victories against the 7+ft Punjabi Giant, The Great Khali.
In the other there’s a very credible wrestler who has been restricted by one of the worst gimmicks in the WWE and hasn’t had a decent rivalry or even victory since he played Tajiri’s henchman Akio in 2003/2004.
Both men had a good match but it was inevitably Ziggler who picked up the win and keeps his momentum rolling going into The Bash.
Dolph Ziggler wins by Pinfall.
Segment 1
Kofi Kingston Interview
Backstage Josh Matthews interviews the U.S Champion Kofi Kingston.
He asks him about tonight’s triple threat match. Kofi says a champion should defend their title at every opportunity and although both men he faces tonight are at the top of their game he will still leave the arena with the belt.
Main Event Match
Triple Threat United States Championship Match
Kofi Kingston (c)
Vs.
M.V.P
Vs.
Matt Hardy
M.V.P and Kofi Kingston showed that when title belts are on the line there are no friends, fighting each other early on rather than teaming up to eliminate the cast-wielding Matt Hardy.
All three men had near falls interrupted by each other and it became obvious that to win the match one of the 3 were going to have to be taken out of the equation in a big way for one of the others to grab a victory.
Matt Hardy was a whisper away from grabbing the win when he hit a Twist of Fate on M.V.P but Kingston managed to rally and save his title, hitting Trouble in Paradise moments later to retain the belt.
A very solid triple threat and it’s a shame it wasn’t given a spot at The Bash.
Kofi Kingston wins by Pinfall and retains the U.S Championship.
The Smackdown Summary - 26/06/2009
Opening Segment
Vince on Smackdown
It’s been a while since Mr. McMahon has visited Smackdown, so I’d have to speculate this is something fairly important.
Vince begins the segment by asking the crowd if they are happy to see him, then endears himself to them by saying they smell.
He says it is the stench of fear and that they are afraid of people in authority, specifically bosses, as they are scared that they might lose their job.
He brings it back round to the altercation between him and Donald Trump last week, showing a clip from last week.
He then brings out Teddy Long and given the theme of the segment it doesn’t look promising for the long time G.M.
He tells Long to impress him with what is coming up tonight, saying he better make it good for his own sake. Teddy talks about the tag team main event planned for later on. Vince says that might be enough to impress the fans, but not the boss, so he better carry on.
Teddy then explains that it is going to be a ‘Rage in the Cage’ match and that C.M Punk will be the special referee.
Vince says he has decided against firing him on the spot, but is instead putting him on probation.
Match 1
Singles Match
R-Truth
Vs.
Shelton Benjamin
After Truth has rapped his way to the ring Shelton comes out and says he has a little truth of his own.
He calls R-Truth an underachiever and explains that unlike him, The Gold Standard graduated at the top of his class.
He finishes by saying that when he beats him tonight, Truth should hop and skip his way out of the arena, the WWE and The Gold Standard’s life.
Truth and Benjamin did what they have been doing for the past few weeks in tag contests, having a good match without really being ‘stand out’.
A lot like Shelton’s career when you think about it; numerous high profile matches, multiple tag, I.C and U.S Championship reigns but often overlooked in many respects.
R-Truth eventually grabbed the win with the ‘Lie Detector’, a Corkscrew-Elbow that shouldn’t really be winning matches, but then I suppose The Rock used to win with a glorified Elbow Drop, so there you go.
R-Truth wins by Pinfall.
Segment 2
McMahon and the Mask
Backstage Mr. McMahon and Teddy Long walk into Rey Mysterio’s dressing room. After mocking his size Vince wishes him good luck but says he thinks there’s a good chance he’ll lose the mask at The Bash.
He then says it’s a stupid mask and if Jericho stripped him of it it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.
Rey says something in Spanish and walks away, leaving Mr.McMahon wondering if he had cursed him. He then tells Long that from now on everyone only speaks English on Smackdown.
Match 2
Divas Tag Team Match
Michelle McCool & Alicia Fox
Vs.
Melina & Gail Kim
Due to having a lot more to write before The Bash I took the executive decision to spool through this match, but based on the first and last 30 seconds I don’t think we missed much.
The end of the match saw Gail Kim get hit with the Faith Breaker to give McCool and Fox the win and the momentum heading into the Bash.
Michelle McCool & Alicia Fox win by Pinfall.
Segment 3
McMahon and the Champion
Backstage Mr.McMahon and Teddy Long continue to ‘do the rounds’, this time bumping into World Heavyweight Champion C.M Punk.
Vince tells Punk he’s cool, reels off a list of his accomplishments then asks him how he does it. Punk tells him that it’s the Straight Edge lifestyle and McMahon asks him if it is all just an act.
Punk tells him it’s all for real and he gets his highs from crushing his opposition, something he’s sure Vince can relate to.
Segment 4
Word Up
We are treated to the first edition of Word Up on Smackdown.
Today’s word is ‘Jackin’: To rob a person of their possessions such as clothes, jewellery or personality.
Cryme Tyme are explaining how people ‘Jack’ personality when Jesse shows up acting just like them. They ask him what the hell he is doing and he says he is now down.
Shad and JTG then ‘Jack’ his chain and the segment ends.
Match 3
Singles Match
John Morrison
Vs.
C.M Punk
Morrison has come from wrestling mid-carders like Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas to wrestling Smackdown’s main eventers such as Edge, Chris Jericho and World Heavyweight Champ C.M Punk in little under a month.
It’s clear the Friday Night Delight is receiving a big push right now but what hasn’t been so clear is who he is actually going to have his first big feud with.
This was another good match for Morrison but not quite as impressive as the bout against Edge last week, partly down to the crowds indecisiveness on who to support with 2 faces meeting each other.
Morrison shocked a lot of people, including myself, by picking up a massive victory over the Heavyweight Champion in this match, winning with a roll-up after escaping the GTS for a second time in the match.
Punk gave the fans an indication on who they should have been cheering for after the match, shaking hands with Morrison before hoisting him up and hitting him with a GTS, seemingly out of pure frustration.
It seems like Punk’s heel turn is in full swing now and it’ll be interesting to see what happens when he is the special referee in tonight’s main event.
John Morrison wins by Pinfall.
Segment 5
Jericho Interview/ McMahon and the Challenger
Josh Mathews asks Jericho why he is so hell bent on de-masking Rey Mysterio. Jericho says it isn’t an obsession but an intervention, the mask is Mysterio’s drug and Jericho will do all he can to break that addiction.
He says he has been in the same situation before, thinking he needed the adoration of the fans. However then he realised the only thing he needed to be was a great wrestler, so he dumped all the catchphrases, witty retorts and flashy entrances, saving himself and becoming the best in the world at what he does.
He finishes the segment by saying that once he wins at The Bash, Mysterio and all his hypocritical fans will have to admit that he was right and it is exactly what Rey needed.
After we see the cage lowering Teddy and Vince run into Jeff as he is on the way to the ring. Teddy wishes him luck for tonight and The Bash then Vince says he can’t do the same as he doesn’t want Jeff to win.
He says with Jeff’s chequered past he doesn’t want him representing Smackdown. Jeff tells him to ask the fans who they want as champion, before saying he doesn’t need his luck and walking off.
Main Event Match
Rage in the Cage Match
Jeff Hardy & Rey Mysterio
Vs.
Edge & Chris Jericho
This should be a good match.
I can only remember a handful of Tag Team matches but the ones I do remember were great; packed full of unique offence and tactics.
I assume the inclusion of a special referee means that pinfalls and submissions are a possibility which is a bit of a shame, as a lot of the tactics in a tag cage match come from deciding whether or not one team member should escape and effectively leave their partner in a handicap situation.
As the match began it became clear this was slightly different to the tag team cage matches I had seen, with this literally being a normal tag match with a cage around it, as a pose to a 2 vs 2 tornado tag in a cage.
Mysterio tried to escape early and J.R explained that if either member of either team escaped the cage then that team would pick up the victory.
The match was indeed littered with fairly unique offence, with all 4 guys using the cage to their advantage in different ways.
Jericho again tried to unmask Rey, but was thwarted by Mysterio’s fighting spirit and the two continued to battle on.
Edge and Jericho worked well together as a team, isolating Mysterio very effectively and making frequent tags, while trying as best they could to prevent him scaling the cage at any and every opportunity.
Rey eventually made the tag and Jeff entered to battle with his long time rival Edge. However, a Spear meant for Hardy hit Punk, who as a result was unable to make a count when Jeff landed a Whisper in the Wind just moments later.
Hardy blamed Punk and spent a little too long focusing on him as after some pretty nice double-team offence from Jeff and Rey, Edge’s Spear finally hit it’s mark and he grabbed a win for his team.
After the match Punk grabbed a microphone and asked the crowd to put their hands together for Jeff Hardy. Strange mind-games from the World Heavyweight Champion.
Backstage Mr. McMahon and Teddy Long chat and Vince makes it clear that if Smackdown doesn’t perform well at The Bash there will likely be a new G.M on the blue brand sooner rather than later.
Edge & Chris Jericho win by Pinfall.
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