WWE TV Reports 6/30 Twilling's WWE Raw Live Coverage: Jim Ross says farewell to Raw, Chris Jericho vs. Kofi Kingston, McMahon family issues update on Vince's condition By Rich Twilling Jun 30, 2008 - 10:01 PM Email This Article | Printer Friendly Page Send Us News & Results | Back to Main Listing WWE Raw on the USA Network Live 6/30/08 from Oklahoma City, OK [Q1] A video aired recapping the stage collapse from the end of last week’s show. Shane McMahon appeared on camera. He said Vince McMahon was a boisterous WWE chairman, but he was a private person outside of work. Due to this, the McMahon family will not be forthcoming with Vince’s condition. He asked everyone to pull together in this time of uncertainty… The opening video aired followed by a fireworks show. Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler welcomed us to the show. King plugged the Kofi Kingston vs. Chris Jericho match… Jim Ross’ music hit and he made his way to the ring amidst a huge and prolonged ovation. He was genuinely taken aback with the reception. J.R. said he was happy to be home. The fans popped. He said he was happy to embark on a new journey being the play by play announcer on Smackdown. The fans booed. J.R. asked his fans to come along with him as they raise hell on Friday night. Ross gave a special thank you to Jerry Lawler. He then asked the fans to give Michael Cole the same respect they gave him. The fans booed and Cole smiled it off. J.R. talked about his experiences in Oklahoma City, including those with Vince McMahon, without mentioning the Kiss My Ass Club by name. He said Vince was probably a Longhorn fan and despite their differences, nothing would ruin this night for him. Ross said he would never forget this night. He asked people to come over to Smackdown with him. He mentioned that the fans should eat more barbecue. All of a sudden, Edge’s music hit. He, Zach Ryder, and Curt Hawkins came down the ring, all wearing the same shirt and blue jeans. Edge said no one cares about J.R. He said no one cares about the Sooners, his relationship with King, and then he gave a “Hook Em Horns.” He said Ross could call Edge’s Hall of Fame career. He would have to learn to say “Edge wins, Edge wins, Edge win,” instead of “Stone Cold, Stone Cold, Stone Cold.” [Q2] Ross threw down the microphone. Edge sent Ryder and Hawkins to the back with J.R. and proclaimed the farewell address over. Edge said Raw, the supposed flagship show, was without a general manager, The Undertaker, and a world champion. Edge said the top Raw stars would never challenge him for the title and unless it was a draft show, the fans would never see Edge on Monday night again… As Edge walked to the back, Batista’s music hit and he met Edge on the stage. Edge ran back towards the ring and tripped. Batista laid a huge attack on Edge that spilled over the guardrail and into the crowd. He threw him back into the ring area. He slammed Edge’s head into the announce table four times before ramming him into the ring steps. Edge retreated into the ring but Batista showed no mercy. He hit a powerbomb on Edge (not a Batista Bomb, he did not sit down) and looked at him before walking to the back. As he arrived at the top of the stage, C.M. Punk’s music hit and he came out with a referee. He cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase… 1. C.M. Punk defeated Edge in :11 to win the World Heavyweight Championship. Punk handed the briefcase to the referee. Lillian made the announcement. Punk hit the GTS for the win and just like that, we have a new champion… As Punk celebrated, Edge retreated to the back… [C] Twill’s Two Cents: That was the longest segment I have ever seen on this show. The J.R. farewell address was fantastic. I was hoping the Edge interruption would lead to him dropping the title, but Punk winning was both surprising and logical. Is there any doubt that Smackdown is now the number one show (in the eyes of WWE)? I bet Edge wishes he would have stayed home. Overall, that was a very nice segment. Back from commercial, they rehashed what went down before the break involving Batista, Edge, and the new World Heavyweight Champion, C.M. Punk… [Q3] 2. Mickie James defeated Jillian in a non-title match in 2:14. Jillian sang her theme coming out. King said she spoke five languages but could not sing in any of them. Jillian immediately worked on Mickie’s arm and shoulder knowing she hurt it at the PPV last night. I could have sworn I heard Jillian ask Mickie if she was alright and Mickie said, “Yeah.” Mickie fought her way back into the match and hit the Mick Kick (spinning superkick) for the win… Twill’s Two Cents: The whole match was sort of weird; maybe Mickie was really hurt and they sent them home early. Rey Mysterio was shown making his way through the backstage area… [C] Cole plugged the Intercontinental Championship rematch between new champion Kofi Kingston and Chris Jericho. The announcers talked briefly about the draft, including obtaining Rey Mysterio with the first pick. Mysterio then came out the ring, complete with cool new pyro, sort of a fast set of fireworks going straight up from outside to in and then back out again… Mysterio congratulated Punk on bring the World Heavyweight Championship back to Raw. He then said it was weird to say that because his entire career had taken place on Smackdown. He was surprised when he was drafted, but he likes being on Raw. Santino Marella came out and welcomed Rey to Raw. He said people who hide behind a mask are very ugly, very stupid, or “the Batman.” Santino showed everyone the current WWE Magazine cover with Rey on the cover. He said, “It is like you are saying, ‘look at me, I am Rey Mastreo, I am taller than Hornswoggle, I like cookies.’” [Q4] He said he submitted a photo to WWE Magazine, but they turned it down. It was a shot of Santino naked on a bed holding a flower. He told Rey to mind his own business or things could get bad for him. He told Rey he could say something if he wanted but “to do so in a language we can all understand.” Rey hit Santino with the microphone followed by the 619… King plugged an interview with C.M. Punk. They then ran a commercial for the new Ric Flair Definitive Collection DVD set, which looks damn good. This will include the footage after Raw that did not air during the farewell to Flair ceremony… [C] Twill’s Two Cents: Santino was funny here. Rey will get to discard some ring rust before moving up the card. Decent segment. Back from commercial, they aired the Edge footage again to segue into the Punk interview. Todd Grisham interviewed Punk backstage. Punk treated it like an awards’ show. He thanked Batista, his family, the fans, and said he feels awesome. JBL approached Punk. Twill’s Two Cents: Oh shit. JBL called Punk a paper champion. He asked if Punk was proud to defeat a defenseless man. Punk said he was proud to be a champion, the champion. JBL challenged Punk to put the belt up against him tonight. Punk said yes. JBL nodded and walked away… [C] Twill’s Two Cents: I want a title shot too! I don’t deserve one but neither does JBL. [Q5] They aired a Smackdown plug; the show airs of course on July 4th… John Cena’s music hit and he made his way out to the ring. Cole confirmed the Punk vs. JBL title match for later in the show. This crowd has been hot all night and Cena heard mostly cheers during his entrance. Once things calmed down a bit, they booed him. Cena said he loved surprises and classic moments. He said he told everyone his match vs. Triple H at Night of Champions would be a classic moment. Even though he lost, he is proud of his loss because he knows he and Triple H are the two best in the business. Cena put over C.M. Punk. He said he had the brains to win the championship and the guts to keep it. Cena, trying to be funny like The Rock, named off a bunch of former lower card WWF/E guys before adding his name to the end of the list. He found that to be a good idea. He did the “what does the crowd want?” in asking them if they would rather see him or JBL wrestle Punk for the title tonight. JBL’s music hit and he walked out to the stage. He said Cena would not be wrestling Punk and he declared Martial Law on WWE. He said he could not have Cena in the building. He brought out six douchebags, his personal security, and proclaimed he was running things now since Vince was out of commission. He sent the security to the ring to remove Cena. Cena did a decent job of fighting off the security, but JBL entered the ring and punched Cena in the face multiple times. As Cena was forced to the back, he briefly fought back a couple of times, but he was eventually thrown out of the building as JBL yelled at him… [C] Twill’s Two Cents: Well, Cena costing JBL the match later is the best we can hope for right now. Punk could win clean, but I don’t see WWE booking that. [Q6] They aired footage of Cody Rhodes and Ted Dibiase winning the tag straps last night. For the entrance they used Dibiase’s music, but both men were in the video… 3. Cody Rhodes and Ted Dibiase defeated Two Jobbers in a non-title match in 1:13. Cole called it a title match but King corrected him. The champs made quick work of their opponents. Cody took the microphone and gave a good promo saying he carried Holly. He said people as talented as him do not pay dues. Dibiase called him and Rhodes priceless… They plugged Punk vs. JBL. In the graphic, they put a horrible looking picture of the belt over Punk’s regular picture… [C] Twill’s Two Cents: I like Dibiase and Rhodes together. They are like a less flashy version of Miz and Morrison. Rhodes needs to lose that nose ring. Backstage, Katie Lea and Paul Burchill complained that she was not the Women’s Champion. Paul told her to stay there and stay out of trouble while he took care of things. Immediately, Jamie Noble approached her and officially introduced himself. He said he was going to take over Raw “prison style.” He said he was going to find the biggest guy in the locker room, stand up to him, and draw a line in the sand. [Q7] Katie said Jamie would get his chance. Kane was standing behind him. Noble told Kane to stay out of his bag and to keep his hands off of his Larry the Cable Guy tapes. He recited a joke as he looked for approval from Katie. Kane grabbed him by the throat but Jamie kicked him and ran away. Jamie ran out to the ring area. Kane came out to his theme music. Noble actually brought the attack to Kane and was able to save some face. Kane finally chokeslammed Noble onto (not through) the announce table… Chris Jericho was shown walking through the back in anticipation for his match… [C] Twill’s Two Cents: Noble is hilarious. He should just randomly hit on girls every week if they are not going to let him work. Jericho came and said WWE.com said he was “Y2Jaded.” He found that to be clever. Jericho continued to make good points regarding Michaels. He said every time Michaels attacked him, he ended up on the ground clutching his eye. Jericho challenged Michaels to a match at The Great American Bash. He said since Michaels took something from him, he was going to take something from Michaels. He said for Michaels and Kofi Kingston, the worst was yet to come… Kofi made his entrance with the belt over his shoulder and not around his waist… [C] Twill’s Two Cents: Good promo by Jericho. He has been spot on during this feud with Michaels. I like the “worst is yet to come” catchphrase. 4. Kofi Kingston defeated Chris Jericho (with Lance Cade) by disqualification to retain the Intercontinental Championship in 2:35. The match time will be approximated since the match was already underway when the show came back from commercial. [Q8] Both men exchanged kicks and nearfalls in the first 90 seconds. Jericho hit a bulldog and lionsault for a two count the two minute mark. Jericho picked up Kofi for a vertical suplex, but tights himself. The referee disqualified Jericho. Jericho argued with the referee before attacking Kofi after the match… [C] Twill’s Two Cents: That DQ call was weak. They showed the footage of Punk winning the title once again. They showed some new footage of Edge blaming the loss on Hawkins and Ryder. He slapped them around a little bit and forced them to drive him away… JBL rode out in his limousine and entered the ring for his title match… [C] 5. C.M. Punk defeated JBL to retain the World Heavyweight Championship in 5:32. Lillian gave JBL an in-ring introduction, but Punk was introduced as he came to the ring. Punk wore the belt and his nameplate was affixed to it already. [Overrun] After the bell rang, JBL’s personal security came out to the ring. JBL worked over Punk in the corner. The fans chanted “C.M” or “Cena;” I could not tell. I hope it was the former. Punk hit a nice armdrag and knocked JBL to the floor with kicks. Punk followed and took a closeline for his troubles. Cole said it would only be a matter of time before JBL won the title. King said no matter what happens, Punk could at least say he was the World Heavyweight Champion. That leads me to believe he will retain the title. JBL locked in a sleeper, but Punk regained the advantage with a kick followed by an ensiguiri. He hit the corner knee and bulldog for a long two count. JBL scored a nearfall with a fallaway slam. John Cena and Cryme Tyme came down and brawled with JBL’s security. JBL was distracted and this allowed Punk to hit the GTS for the win. After the match, Punk jumped over the top rope onto the security team… Twill’s Two Cents: Whew. The match was passable and Punk leaves Raw as the World Heavyweight Champion. I did not think I would be typing that and I will much more to say in my blog tomorrow. Feel free to let me know your thoughts on the show. On top of that, today was a big day at Dot Net as we now offer an ad-free site. The response has been positive thus far and we hope everyone is enjoying the new site. As always, you can email me at dotnetrich@gmail.com. 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