WWE TV Reports 7/7 Twilling's WWE Raw Live Coverage: Who will be the first to challenge new World Heavyweight Champion C.M. Punk? Stephanie McMahon appears, Shawn Michaels confronts Chris Jericho By Rich Twilling Jul 7, 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 7/7/08 from New Orleans, LA [Q1] Footage aired of the demise of Edge last week on Raw, complete with Batista laying him out and C.M. Punk becoming the new World Heavyweight Champion. Punk went on to defeat JBL later in the evening with assistance from John Cena and Cryme Tyme… Executive Vice President Stephanie McMahon said Vince McMahon was still incapacitated and as a result, she pleaded with the entire roster and crew to work together tonight. Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler welcomed us to a show in a darkened arena. Sitting in the middle of the ring, Smackdown General Manager Vickie Guerrero said, “Excuse me!” about ten times. Vickie said she was there to protest C.M. Punk’s title win from last week and she was not leaving the ring until Punk relinquished the title to her. She demanded an apology. Punk’s music hit and he came out to the ring. Punk mocked Vickie with the belt as he posed to the crowd. Vickie asked Punk how he dare celebrate his title victory over a defenseless Edge. She said Edge is near a nervous breakdown and even called off their wedding. Punk said he inadvertently did Edge and Vickie a favor. He reminded everyone of the rules of Money in the Bank and said he saw an opportunity and took it. He said he did nothing to Edge that Edge did not do to others. Vickie said the difference was Edge’s opponents were not getting married. Punk said Vickie could find other people to marry. He said the Smackdown roster was full of young, good looking guys, like The Great Khali. He said they could honeymoon in New Delhi. Vickie stood and slapped Punk in the face. Punk said Vickie had just bought herself a ticket back to Smackdown. Punk started to roll Vickie into the corner when JBL’s music hit. JBL came to the ring and said he should be the World Heavyweight Champion. He said it took illegal interference to defeat him. JBL challenged Punk to a title match tonight but Punk said JBL had his chance and lost. JBL said he lost because one man had a vendetta with him. [Q2] John Cena came out to the ring with a goofy hat and gave a promo where he tried to be funny but failed miserably. Basically, he proposed a number one contender’s match with JBL. Batista’s music hit. He came out, congratulated Punk and said hello to Vickie. He mockingly apologized to her but said he hated her guts. Batista started to say Punk was able to cash in the briefcase because of what he did to Edge. JBL interrupted him and said no one cared what he thought. Batista told JBL if he cut him off again he would be seeing Batista’s hand in his face. Cena calmed everyone down and changed his proposal to a triple threat match between the three. JBL balked at the idea because he said he was in charge. Cena started to make the match with or without JBL. JBL finally relented and agreed to the match. Kane’s music hit, he came to the ring, and said he wanted in as well. All of a sudden, Rich Twilling’s music hit and he came out with Dot Net head honcho Jason Powell, and they were both added to the match. Just kidding. Punk announced a fatal fourway for the number one contender spot and wished everyone luck… Cole promoted Rey Mysterio vs. Santino Marella for tonight’s show; Rey’s first match on Monday Night Raw… [C] Twill’s Two Cents: The never-ending segment finally ended. Cena is so unfunny on the stick. JBL’s facials were funny. Other than that, the segment set up so new matchups with the same main eventers. I guess it served a purpose but it dragged and was predictable. 1. Rey Mysterio defeated Santino Marella in 2:54. Cole called Mysterio the biggest little man in the history of WWE as if it were an official title. Rey wore a sweet mask that did not have eye cutouts. Rey hit a hurricarana and tried a second, but Santino countered with a face plant. [Q3] Mysterio had Santino in position for a 619 but Santino hit a closeline. Rey hit multiple hard kicks followed by a double foot stomp for a one count. Rey hit a dropkick to Santino’s back, setting up for the 619 again. He was successful with it the second time around. He scored the pin after the top rope missile splash… Twill’s Two Cents: Rey looked great. I guess it is time to add him to tonight’s main event. Cole promoted Shawn Michaels confronting Chris Jericho tonight… [C] King plugged tonight’s main event. Backstage, Todd Grisham asked C.M. Punk who he wanted to win tonight. A light stand fell into the picture and two production guys grabbed it. Punk recollected himself and said he was rooting for someone. Snitsky approached Punk and said he was drafted to Raw last year but did not receive a title shot. He told Punk he did not deserve to be the champion. Punk challenged him to a match tonight so he could prove to Snitsky he is deserving of being the champion… John Cena and Mickie James were talking backstage about a barbecue. Kelly Kelly approached Mickie and told her it was time for their match. Mickie told Cena that Kelly is the newest Raw diva. Cena asked Kelly if Teddy Long let her out of her ECW contract. Kelly responded with, “We have contracts?!” They walked away. Cena looked into the camera and said, “God Bless America.”… [C] Twill’s Two Cents: A good way to sell the brand split is to joke about it and move people around without reason. Seeing Kelly in Monday nights is cool with me though. [Q4] Jillian Hall, with Layla looking on, sang a Britney Spears song in the ring. Multiple crowd shots were shown. Kelly’s music interrupted her… 2. Mickie James and Kelly Kelly defeated Jillian and Layla in 3:27. Mickie and Jillian started before Kelly tagged in and hit multiple hurricaranas. Cole said Kelly and Layla had a yearlong rivalry on ECW. Jillian worked over Kelly for awhile before Kelly countered a Jillian move into a victory roll for the win... Twill’s Two Cents: Cole put over how much Kelly has improved multiple times. He even called her a wrestler. We know Vince loves Kelly so I am sure he fed him those lines. Immediately after the match, JBL’s music hit and his limousine appeared at the side of the stage. Cole said the “titer” match was up next. The limo driver jumped out of the car and ran to the back… [C] JBL walked out from the back and found his limo to be locked. John Cena emerged from the limo and said the state of Louisiana is very strict about its requirements. Cryme Tyme came out of the backseat and ran off JBL. Cena instructed Cryme Tyme as they smashed the limo with bats or pipes. Cena said the authorities would be looking for a white limo that was not up to code, so they were going to give it a custom paint job. All three men spray painted the car. Cena wrote, “JBL is poopy.” Wow. Cena wished JBL luck as Cryme Tyme’s music played… Twill’s Two Cents: JBL is poopy? Did I seriously see that? Is Cena actually trying to be a dork? I did not like the actual segment, but I did like the usage of Cryme Tyme and the rub they are getting by associating with Cena. They are making a midcard tag team important. [Q5] Cole introduced the same footage showcasing the sequence of events that led to C.M. Punk defeating Edge to become the new World Heavyweight Champion as well as retaining his title in a match vs. JBL. Punk came out for his match and stopped to pose on top of JBL’s limo… [C] 3. C.M. Punk defeated Snitsky in a non-title match in 2:47. I swear Lillian announced Snitsky as “Shnitsky.” Lawler laughed right after she said that. Snitsky used his power to overwhelm Punk in the first 120 seconds. Punk hit a series of kicks followed an ensiguiri. He hit the springboard, top rope closeline followed by the high knee/bulldog combination in the corner. Punk lifted the “deadweight” of Snitsky to deliver an ugly GTS for the win… Twill’s Two Cents: Snitsky should be glad the cops do not arrest him every time he cashes a paycheck. The purpose of this match was to make Punk look strong as a fighting champion, but it really did not even accomplish that. Shawn Michaels made his way through the backstage area… [C] [Q6] Footage of the Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels saga aired, including some cool 90s footage of Michaels. The video concluded with Michaels aiding Kofi Kingston in becoming the new Intercontinental Championship at the expense of Jericho… Michaels came out to the ring and did not pose nor did he have pyro. His new shirt looks like something you could wear to the clubs. Michaels, responding to Jericho’s challenge, said he had two words for him. Some jackass yelled, “Suck it!” “I accept,” said Michaels. Jericho’s music hit and he, along with Lance Cade came out to the ring. Jericho said he knew Shawn would accept and in fact, he counted on it. He called Michaels an idiot for continuing to take beatings despite being hurt. Jericho asked Michaels why he would fight for the fans. He asked Michaels if the fans would pay his mortgage or for his children’s education if he ended up in the hospital. He called the fans worthless and said Shawn would be eventually forgotten. Michaels said he thought Jericho hated him for being a liar, but he was the most real person there was. He said he lived his life as an open book for the past twenty years. Michaels said he could leave the business today and he would never be forgotten. Jericho said the fans always give him a pass. Michaels said he was HBK. Jericho said it was not fair. Michaels agreed with Jericho and said it probably was not fair. He said Jericho was the epitome of success. He said he won every major title he ever went after, sold out arenas around the world, and did everything you could possibly do in the business, but he had no peace. He said no matter what Jericho ever accomplished, he would never be Michaels. They stood eye to eye as the show went to commercial… [C] Twill’s Two Cents: Great, great stuff. I hope Cade was watching closely, as well as the entire roster. That is how you sell a big match without physicality. That was emotional, truthful, and played off of history. Awesome segment. [Q7] Charlie Haas stood in the ring and waited for his opponent… Twill’s Two Cents: Charlie Haas? 4. Kofi Kingston defeated Charlie Haas in a non-title match in 3:18. Kofi ended an irish whip sequence with an amazing leapfrog and hiptoss. Haas kicked Kofi in the face with a sick looking toe kick. He continued to have the upper hand. Kofi came back with a high crossbody, dropkick, and that double leg drop he does. He followed it with Trouble in Paradise for the clean victory… After the match, Paul Burchill attacked Kofi from behind and hit the Curb Stomp. Backstage, Batista prepared for his match and some kid jumped in front of him and mimicked his machine gun entrance. He ran off and the security team followed closely. Batista laughed… [C] Twill’s Two Cents: The crowd did not react for Kofi at all. The fan thing was actually hilarious to me. Batista, JBL, Kane, and Cena came out in that order for the main event fatal fourway… [Q8] 5. Batista defeated John Cena, Kane, and JBL in a number one contenders match in 12:27. JBL attacked Cena as soon as he hit the ring. He immediately went for a cover but both Kane and Batista broke up the pinfall attempt… [C] Twill’s Two Cents: They could have used Punk on commentary. He would have been solid and it would help establish him as the top guy. Batista hit a spinebuster on JBL. Kane chokeslammed Batista but Cena broke up the cover. Cena picked up Kane for the FU but JBL kicked Cena in the face. Cena began to clean house and hit a FU on Batista. JBL broke up the pinfall attempt. Oddly enough, they went to commercial again… [C] Cena hit the belly to back suplex on JBL but Kane broke up the five knuckle shuffle with a huge closeline. Some kid could be heard yelling, “CENA!” Does he expect Cena to stop and answer him or what? Batista began to take out everyone and as he started to celebrate, JBL hit a mini-Closeline from Hell. Cena locked JBL in the STFU but Kane broke it up. Cena and JBL worked together to overpower Kane. They then fought to the floor, leaving Kane and Batista in the ring. JBL knocked out Cena with the ring steps. Kane went to the outside and took out JBL. He then went to the top rope and missed a closeline on Batista. Batista used the advantage to hit the spear and score the pinfall victory… After the match, Batista celebrated on his way to the back as Kane stayed behind and began throwing around things. He kept yelling and screaming at the announcers. He said something about someone being dead. He gave a big boot to the Best Grip and chased off Lillian Garcia. He grabbed Michael Cole and screamed, “Is he alive or dead? Is he alive or dead? Tell me! Tell me!” He threw Cole into the ring and Cole said he had no idea what Kane was talking about. That makes two of us. [Overrun] He picked up Cole for a chokeslam but Jerry Lawler took out Kane’s leg. Kane responded by beating the absolute hell out of King. He walked to the back and breathed really deeply… Twill’s Two Cents: I complained when Kane was drafted to Raw because I said he would become just another midcard guy. Well, this was a step in the right direction. Now, if someone could burn him, causing him to re-mask, we would be onto something. Raw was definitely not the show it was last week. It was not horrible but it was not great either. What did you think? Send your feedback to dotnetrich@gmail.com. BOOKMARK DOT NET AND ADD US TO YOUR RSS • HELP DOT NET: TAKE OUR ADVERTISER DEMO SURVEY CLICK TO RETURN TO MAIN LISTING OR SELECT A LINK BELOW FROM THIS CATEGORY WWE TV Reports Latest Twelve Articles 11/18 Twilling's ECW Live Coverage: Matt Hardy, Kofi Kingston, and Finlay vs. William Regal, Mark Henry, and Cody Rhodes; Jack Swagger vs. Tommy Dreamer in an Amateur Wrestling Challenge 11/17 Twilling's WWE Raw Live Coverage: Stephanie McMahon holds a Wrestler's Forum; Shawn Michaels and Rey Mysterio vs. The Miz and John Morrison; Randy Orton vs. C.M. Punk 11/17 Powell's WWE Raw Live Coverage: Stephanie McMahon answers wrestler questions, Randy Orton vs. C.M. 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