8/15 Powell's WWE Raw Live Coverage: Alberto Del Rio vs. Rey Mysterio for the WWE Championship, Triple H addresses C.M. Punk vs. John Cena finish and Kevin Nash's appearance

By Jason Powell

Dot Net Members will be listening to my audio review of WWE Raw tonight, and are already listening to the two-hour interview with Shane Helms that I conducted on Friday. Take advantage of our limited time $5 Summer Sale on Dot Net Membership. For all the details on the access codes you'll need to sign access to sale price, click here.

WWE Raw on the USA Network
Live from San Diego, Calif.

[Q1] The show opened with still shots from SummerSlam of C.M. Punk pinning John Cena (with Cena's foot on the ropes), Kevin Nash attacking Punk, and Alberto Del Rio holding up the WWE Championship... The opening theme song played... Michael Cole opened the show and said they head into the show with more questions than answers...

Triple H's music played and he walked to the ring for a promo. Justin Roberts introduced him as the COO. Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler checked in on commentary before Hunter started to talk. Hunter said a lot of people are upset over the way things went down. He said that's understandable.

Hunter apologized to the WWE Universe and John Cena. "I made a mistake," Hunter said. "No excuses." He said he watched the tape and Cena's foot was on the ropes. He said he would look Cena in the eye and apologize. He said Cena and C.M. Punk were having a hell of a match. He said that if he didn't screw it up, he's not sure who would have won.

Triple H said he didn't have a problem raising the hand of Punk. "As for what happened after the match was over, a lot of people are speculating about my involvement in that," Hunter said. He said he had nothing to do with it. He said he's friends with Kevin Nash and said he has been for years. He said Nash called, said he was in Los Angeles, and asked for a couple of tickets.

Triple H said he had no idea that Nash was going to attack Punk. He said he hasn't spoken with Nash, but he did text him and invited him to appear. He said Nash responded that he would do so as long as he was able to tell the truth. Triple H recalled saying there would be one undisputed champion.

Alberto Del Rio was introduced by Triple H. Del Rio walked onto the stage (no car) with the WWE Championship and without Ricardo Rodriguez. The announcers spoke at ringside and Cole heeled it up while praising Del Rio. Alberto introduced himself and he had the ring to himself, as Triple H was out of the picture.

Del Rio said it was never his intention to cash in at SummerSlam. He said he couldn't resist after seeing what Kevin Nash did. "What can I say, some people are just born to be great," Del Rio said. He said he is the greatest of the greats. Del Rio played it up like he was a man of the people and said he would be in the lobby signing autographs and taking pictures with the kids. He was booed.

Del Rio mentioned that he would be facing Rey Mysterio in his first title defense. He acted as if he was honored to face Mysterio. "I love Rey Mysterio," Del Rio said. The fans chanted 619. Alberto followed up by saying that he loves beating Rey Mysterio. He said he started his career beating him and said he wakes up every morning and says he feels like beating Mysterio...

Powell's POV: Where the hell was Ricardo Rodriguez? I expected to see him losing his mind while introducing Del Rio as the new champion. I guess it's worth noting that he got a babyface reaction with the Hispanic fans at one of the recent California house shows, so perhaps WWE didn't want to take any chances. A decent promo by Del Rio, but I felt like I've hard most of it before.

[Q2] [C] A graphic boasted that WWE offers free tickets to U.S. Military personnel...

1. John Morrison defeated R-Truth in a falls count anywhere match in 10:40. Truth had his "What's Up" music playing, but he didn't sing. Cole and Lawler both talked about how long Morrison has been waiting for this match. They clearly forgot that they watched them wrestle last freaking week! Truth was in control of the offense at ringside when they went to break. [C]

Truth was in control after the break. They showed footage of Morrison throwing punches on the ropes only to have Truth dump him to ringside during the break. They fought into the crowd and Truth remained on the offensive, but Morrison caught Truth with a kick as he was climbing over the guardrail and got a near fall at 9:40.

[Q3] Truth walked around the Anonymous General Manager podium and grabbed an office chair, but Morrison clotheslined him and then suplexed him onto the chair. Morrison followed up with a running knee and pinned Truth to win the match...

A shot aired of C.M. Punk walking at ringside... [C] An ad for Smackdown focussed on Randy Orton winning the World Hvt. Championship...

Powell's POV: Well, so much for the focus on putting heat on R-Truth. It lasted all of one week. They are just trading wins. The match was entertaining and they cranked up the intensity for the falls count anywhere stipulation. I guess this means the talk about Morrison being in the doghouse over Melina's actions can stop too.

Highlights aired of Rey Mysterio winning the World Hvt. Championship at WrestleMania 22. Back live, Ross hyped the Del Rio vs. Mysterio match for later in the show...

The Miz's music played and he headed to the ring dressed in a suit. Miz told the fans to give it up for that no good son of a bitch Jared from Subway. Noooooooo!!!!! Sure enough, that douche was sitting in the crowd with a sub in his hand. The Miz totally redeemed himself by saying that while Jared is a fan of his, he's not a fan of Jared. Welcome to the club, Miz.

Miz went to ringside and took 12 inches from Jared. Er, um, he took Jared's sandwich and delivered a sales pitch to prove he's better. Miz said oven crisp chicken sandwich will be trending because of him. Miz said he's a star and he will be WWE Champion again. He delivered his catchphrase. Miz took a bite of the sandwich and gave the thumbs up while Cole took a food related shot at Ross...

Powell's POV: Please, Subway, do the right thing and get rid of that jagoff. I don't care if they bring in Hornswoggle and have him grunt. Hell, hire Great Khali to pimp sandwiches. Just get that asexual f--- off my TV forever.

A shot aired of Kevin Nash exiting a limo backstage... [C]

Powell's POV: I hope the TNA production team was watching that camera shot. It's the same one they try to do with some of the bigger wrestlers like Matt Morgan and Crimson, but they usually keep the camera and about belt high, which completely defeats the purpose.

[Q4] A shot aired of country music artist Trace Adkins...

2. Kelly Kelly and Eve Torres beat The Bella Twins in 3:05. Eve hit a moonsault on one of the Bellas and scored the pin. Kelly and Eve hugged a lot until Beth Phoenix and Natalya came out. They ran down and beat Jared until he was unconscious. Okay, not really. I can dream. Rather, they just stood on the stage and clapped and then made mean faces...

Cole hyped that Kevin Nash was coming up after the break... [C] Another ad aired for Smackdown...

Justin Roberts introduced Kevin Nash. He listed his World Titles and called him one of the most influential superstars in WWE history. Nash came out wearing jeans and a t-shirt and had no music. Once in the ring, Nash thanked Triple H for letting him come to the show to explains his actions at SummerSlam.

Nash said he and Hunter have been friends for nearly 20 years. He said Hunter is the godfather of his son. He told the same story about Hunter leaving him tickets at will call. He said he was watching the show when he received a text. He said the text told him that "no matter what happens in the main event, stick the winner for me."

Nash implied that he was doing a favor for a friend in Triple H. He said what he did to Punk was business. However, when he got to the building at Raw, he found out that Hunter was claiming no knowledge. He said they have to get on the same page. He once again stated that what he did to Punk was just business.

[Q5] C.M. Punk's music played and he walked onto the stage. "Okay, you expect me to believe that load of crap?" Punk asked. He said he didn't believe that Nash and Hunter weren't on the same page. He asked if Hunter asked Nash to jump off a bridge would he do it. "Because that would be good for business," Punk said.

Punk said he now sees for himself that Nash has no idea what's good for business. Nash told Punk that he needs to watch his mouth. Punk said Nash needs to watch the show because he does what he wants and says what he wants to whomever he pleases. Nash said Punk's world just changed.

Nash asked if Punk wants to see the text message on his phone. Punk said he had a message from his sister. "OMG. Kevin Nash. Thought he was dead. LOL." He said his sister is normally wrong, but Nash is there in living color. "It's just your career that is dead, right?" Punk said.

Punk said he's pissed at a lot of people and Del Rio isn't one of them. He said he's done the same thing himself. He said Triple H is running the show and he's just bringing his cronies back. Nash said Punk has been in the company five years and has been in two main events. He asked if Punk had the belt three times in 20 days.

Punk said that really hurts coming from someone who knows so much about main event talent. He said Nash referred to the legendary Eddie Guerrero as a vanilla midget. He said it's not 1994. Nash said he should be thinking about 1996 when he changed the business and helped guys like Punk get guaranteed contracts.

Nash said Punk looks like a short order cook from a waffle house. He told him to take a shower and get a clue. Punk said he likes Waffle House. Punk said enough of the talking and the snarky comments. He said he's not afraid of a fight. Punk headed toward the ring to confront Nash, but a group of security guards lined up to block his path. Nash stood in the ring with a smirk on his face.

Punk said he's not surprised that Triple H deemed his buddy untouchable. Punk said that if security is protecting Nash, that means no one is backstage protecting Hunter. He said he was going to find him backstage and find out what was going on. Punk glared at Nash, who waved at him. Ross said Nash sounded like a whiner, and that's not the Nash he knows...

Powell's POV: A decent segment. Nash didn't bring his A-game on the mic. He seemed flustered by the early "What?" chants that the fans were giving him. He got better as it went on. As for the text message, who has access to Hunter's phone? Obviously, Stephanie is a strong candidate if it wasn't Hunter himself and maybe she picked his pocket when they shared that kiss backstage. I suppose they could also say it was a company phone and somehow Vince McMahon and/or John Laurinaitis also had access. Of course, the Nash character could also be lying about the text.

Backstage, Nash ran into John Laurinaitis, who said that Hunter was in a meeting. He expressed his frustration with the way Punk spoke to him, and said the way Punk spoke to Nash was totally unacceptable. Laurinaitis said there was something important that he wanted to talk to him about. They headed off together...

[Q6] 3. Jack Swagger beat Alex Riley in 4:20. Dolph Ziggler and Vickie Guerrero were on commentary. Lawler made fat jokes and Dolph fired back with fat jokes and they did nothing to help the match. Oh, Cole laughed, but that probably didn't help matters. Vickie stood up and took Ross's hat.

Vickie climbed on the ring apron and put the hat on the referee, which prevented him from counting a Riley pin attempt. Swagger took advantage and went for his powerbomb. After three tries, he finally got Riley up and hit the move for the 1-2-3. Cole noted that it was Swagger's first win on Raw in a month. Dolph stomped on Ross's hat and then put it back on his head...

Powell's POV: That segment was the shits. No one really gained anything, and everything involving Dolph, Vickie, and the announcers just distracted from the match. The important thing is that Vince McMahon is backstage laughing it up with his cronies because he messed with Ross again.

A Rey video showed him defeating The Miz to win the tournament to become the WWE Champion... Cole hyped the WWE Championship match... [C]

Backstage, Jack Swagger pushed Vickie Guerrero to think about expanding her roster of wrestlers. He said Bobby Heenan and Freddie Blassie had multiple clients, and she should consider doing the same. Vickie looked intrigued by Swagger's suggestion...

Powell's POV: I'm all for Vickie having a stable of wrestlers. For that matter, I'm all for the return of real managers. I just hope that more Vickie on Raw doesn't lead to more lame ass fat jokes from Lawler.

A video showcased some of the WWE SummerSlam week events...

Backstage, C.M. Punk continued to look for Hunter, and instead ended up in a room with Stephanie McMahon. She said she was very sorry for the way he lost the title. Then she said he technically never won because John Cena's foot was on the rope. Steph said it will be okay because people always get what they deserve. Steph left the room...

Powell's POV: They are doing a good job of running through the list of potential possibilities for the person that brought Nash to SummerSlam. 31 percent of the Dot Net voters believe Triple H was responsible. 27 percent point to Steph. 13 percent believe it was Vince McMahon. 11 percent picked Del Rio. Nine percent went with Laurinaitis. The other candidates I listed, including "others," received no more than three percent of the vote in our latest poll.

[Q7] [C] Another Smackdown ad aired...

4. Kofi Kingston and Evan Bourne defeated Michael McGillicutty and David Otunga in a non-title match in 4:40. The announcers acknowledged a Twitter message that Shawn Michaels wrote earlier tonight about calling in his own beatdown. Lawler noted that he'd like to see the tag champs defend their titles more often. Ross agreed. Bourne hit his finisher on McGillicutty and got the pin. "Maybe business will pick up now in the tag team division," Ross said...

Powell's POV: I guess this means we're going to see a tag title match between these two teams. All four guys need something to do, so a feud between the two teams would be fine with me. Sure, I'd like to see Kingston and Bourne pushed in more prominent roles, but I'm also being realistic.

A shot aired of Rey Mysterio putting his mask on backstage... [C]

[Q8] Justin Roberts set up the main event and then turned it over to wrestling god Ricardo Rodriguez, who looked a little cockier than usual. I guess he can be now that his guy is WWE Champion. Del Rio made his entrance in a Ferrari as Ricardo introduced him. Rey was out next to a big pop from his hometown fans...

5. Alberto Del Rio (w/Ricardo Rodriguez) defeated Rey Mysterio to retain the WWE Championship in 12:50. They're still calling it the undisputed WWE Championship. Cole said Mysterio has been preparing for Cena or Punk. Apparently, Rey is an idiot for not considering that Del Rio could cash in. It's not like he didn't tease it a few times. They went to commercial very early in the match. [C]

The guy who wears the crown and calls himself a king questioned why Del Rio has to flaunt his success. Yes, really. Del Rio went on the offense and the crowd rallied behind Mysterio.

[Overrun] Del Rio hit the great running enziguiri on the top rope for a near fall at 11:30. Mysterio came back with a roll up for a believable near fall based on the crowd reaction. Ross called the bulk of the action and the other two actually focussed on the match. Mysterio hit the 619 at 12:40. He went to the top rope and tried to follow up with the top rope splash, but Del Rio got his knees up and then pinned him.

Ricardo announced Del Rio as the winner. Del Rio sat in a corner of the ring with a smile on his face. He jumped up and kicked Mysterio. He wrenched Mysterio's arm on the ropes and continued to rough him up at ringside. Del Rio rolled Mysterio back inside the ring and applied the cross arm breaker.

John Cena ran out and made his first appearance of the night. Cena threw punches at Del Rio until he released the hold and ran off. Ricardo ended up with Cena's t-shirt and threw it back toward the ring. Cena took the mic and said he was coming off one hell of a weekend. He said he has a bunch of reasons he could be pissed off.

Cena said it's not Triple H he's mad at. He said he's upset with "scum bag" Del Rio. He said he and Punk left everything in the ring, and then Del Rio went into business for himself and now walks around with a smile on his face like he's some kind of champion. "You are not a champion," Cena yelled.

Cena said Del Rio is now a target. He said that belt makes everyone Del Rio knows the enemy. Cena said Punk earned the right to be champion, whereas Del Rio cashed in the MITB contract and got lucky. He said Del Rio will have to defend the title and if it's against him, he won't be so lucky. Cena said Del Rio is about to find out that "your destiny is John Cena whipping your ass"...

Powell's POV: A good match and it looked like they were going with a Mysterio injury angle, but Cena cut it off, so perhaps Mysterio is going to continue working on the knee. He is scheduled to be at Smackdown tomorrow night, but I'm not sure whether he's appearing on the show. Cena going right back in the title chase is disappointing. I was hoping they could find something else to occupy his time and keep him away from the title picture. Join Chris Shore and I for a member exclusive audio review of WWE Raw later tonight. Thanks for watching along with me.