WWE TV Reports 8/4 Powell's WWE Raw Live Coverage: The Mike Adamle Era begins, Batista and John Cena vs. Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes By Jason Powell Aug 4, 2008 - 10:00 PM Email This Article | Printer Friendly Page Send Us News & Results | Back to Main Listing WWE Raw on the USA Network Live from Knoxville, Tenn. [Q1] The show opened with a shot of Mike Adamle, who was wearing glasses, standing on the stage. Adamle introduced himself as the new general manager of Raw. He told a story about a man who worked in a circus atmosphere and wasn't very good at his job. Adamle said first looks can be deceiving. He said that man was Ronald Reagan. He said Regan acted with a monkey, while he worked mistakenly referred to Jeff Hardy as Jeff Harvey. The crowd booed Adamle and chanted, "You suck." He mentioned that there is a petition on the WWE message board that asks for his resignation. He said the fans have those right as Americans (what about the worldwide users?), but he'd rather live in the land of opportunity. Adamle announced that there would be three championship matches during the show: Ted BiBiase and Codey Rhodes vs. John Cena and Batista for the World Tag titles... Before he could announce the other matches, JBL walked onto the stage. "Mr. Adamle, I want to be the first person to come out here and congratulate you on becoming the new general manager of Raw. JBL flaunted the latest magazine that features his wife on the cover, and has an article on the two of them inside. JBL congratulated Adamle on creating the Cena vs. Batista, then encouraged him announce C.M. Punk vs. JBL for the World Title at Summer Slam. Before Adamle could say anything, Chris Jericho ran out wearing a suit and said he's the person who deserves a title match. JBL and Jericho made their cases for the title match and then began bickering. Adamle booked C.M. Punk vs. JBL and Jericho in a handicap match. If one of the heels pins Punk, they get a title shot at Summer Slam. If Punk wins, neither JBL nor Jericho gets a title match... Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler chimed in for the first time and hyped the Shawn Michael interview, and the tag title match for later in the show... [C] Powell's POV: Adamle was better than expected in his new role. I didn't hear any obvious blunders. He was careful with his words and appeared to be looking down at the notes he brought up with him on a regular basis. He appears to be playing it straight and did not come across like a bumbling fool. The direction of his character could change as time goes on, though. If nothing else, I'm sure WWE officials are thrilled with the heat he received from the live crowd. [Q2] 1. Kofi Kingston pinned Paul Burchill (w/Katie Lea) in 3:45 to retain the Intercontinental Title. Before the match, the announcers congratulated the viewers for making Raw the No. 1 rated show in the world last week among male viewers. Good action in the match. Kofi hit the Trouble in Paradise and scored the clean pin. After the match, Katie distracted Kofi. Burchill tried to take advantage of the distraction, but Kofi spotted him and tossed him to ringside. Kofi followed Burchill to the back and then Mickie James came out for her title defense against Katie... [C] Powell's POV: I'm not happy about seeing Burchill lose. However, both of these guys need wins and I'd rather see the creative team pick a definitive winner and deliver clean finishes than do parity booking that help either wrestler. 2. Mickie James pinned Katie Lea Burchill to retain the WWE Women's Title in 4:00. The match was joined in progress after the commercial break. The crowd was really into the action. Mickie won with her DDT finisher. [Q3] Afterward, Beth Phoenix attacked Mickie and left her lying. Good power moves by Beth. Santino walked onto the stage and clapped. Beth walked to the top of the ramp to meet him. She smiled as he continued clapping. She grabbed his ass and then struck her pose. He turned and sheepishly slapped her ass... A backstage shot aired of John Cena talking with Cryme Tyme. The announcers talked over whatever it is they were saying backstage... [C] Backstage, Mike Adamle thanked Stephanie via telephone for the new gig and said, "Congratulations on the baby." Of course, we never heard Steph's voice. Santino and Beth approached Adamle and asked for title matches at Summer Slam. Adamle said there was only room for one more title match on the card. He gave them the option. They bickered a bit. Adamle booked them in an "Adamle Original" mixed tag match against Kofi and Mickie and said it will be a winner takes all match, meaning the winning team takes the WWE Women's Title and the Intercontinental Title... A Cena video aired... Backstage, Todd Grisham interviewed Batista. He said he likes the idea of fighting for the tag titles, but he's not crazy about teaming with the guy he's facing at Summer Slam. He suggested that Cena stay out of his way... Powell's POV: They're trying to get over the term "Adamle Original." They used it to describe the handicap match and the mixed tag match at Summer Slam. I'm okay with what they've done so far, but I have a feeling it's going to lead to some really bad gimmick matches... [C] [Q4] Layla danced in the ring. They cut from that to video footage of Jamie Noble hitting on Layla earlier in the day. She told him that she doesn't associate with losers. Back live, William Regal walked to the ring wearing a suit. He said he wanted to remind everyone who he is. "My name is William Regal, and I am your king," Regal said. Regal tried to continue, but Noble's music interrupted him. Noble walked intently to the ring and then attacked Regal. Layla darted to ringside. A few referees ran out and stood between Regal and Noble... A shot aired of C.M. Punk. The announcers hyped that his match was coming up after the break... An ad for ECW hyped a live edition of The Dirt Sheet with Mark Henry and Matt Hardy... [C] As JBL was walking to the ring, the announcers hyped the magazine with JBL and his wife in it. They said the article focussed on her being one of the 50 most powerful women in the world... [Q5] 3. JBL and Chris Jericho defeated C.M. Punk in a handicap match in 11:00. If one of the heels scores the pin, then he challenges Punk at Summer Slam. If Punk wins, then neither heel gets a title shot. Jericho debuted a new boots and trunks look. Before the bell, Adamle appeared on the big screen and announced that the match had a 10-minute time limit. He stated that if there was no winner, the Summer Slam match would be a triple threat match. The announcers tried to sell it as if none of the three wrestlers involved in the match would want to be in a triple threat match. The heels worked against one another, so this match was essentially a three-way with the major difference being that the heels can't pin one another. After breaking up pinfalls, JBL and Jericho finally just started slugging one another. Late in the match, Jericho caught Punk in the Walls of Jericho, but JBL broke it up. With Punk still lying on the mat and Jericho standing on the ring apron, Jericho grabbed JBL by the held and pulled him down over the ropes. JBL bounced off the ropes and his momentum caused him to fall on top of Punk. JBL hooked Punk's leg and scored the pin with one second remaining on the clock... Powell's POV: Really good match. The live crowd is into just about everything tonight and they popped for just about everything in this match. Very entertaining. A shot aired of HBK preparing for his interview... [C] [Q6] Highlights aired of the most recent Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels pay-per-view match... Cole and Lawler interviewed HBK "via satellite from San Antonio, Texas." He said he would be meeting with the doctors on the Friday before Summer Slam. He said he would be at Summer Slam to announce his intentions. "For the first time in my life, I'm going to listen to the doctor's advice," he said. He said he'd compete if he could, but he's prepared to walk away if they tell him he's risking permanent damage. HBK said he loves performing for the WWE fans, but his family is the one thing he loves more. Michaels said Jericho may have been right when he said HBK should stay home with his wife and family. Lawler told HBK to do what's best for HBK... Powell's POV: It looks like we won't be getting an HBK vs. Jericho match at the pay-per-view. I'm fine with that. One can only assume that whatever HBK does at the pay-per-view will set up another meeting between him and Jericho for September. Well done promo delivered in just the right tone... The announcers recalled Matt Striker losing his teaching job because he used his sick days to wrestle. In the ring, Stiker stood in front of a chalkboard with his name written on it. He spoke briefly, only to be interrupted by Kane's entrance music... 4. Kane squashed Matt Striker in 1:30. Kane brought his burlap sack with him. The match was all Kane, who won with a chokeslam. After the match, Kane walked to ringside and the production crew ran away from him. He grabbed a mic and returned to the ring. "I've been in a bad place lately," he said. "I'm better now." He held up the burlap sack, looked at it, and said, "He's not alive. He's dead." His music played and he continued to stare at the burlap sack... [C] Powell's POV: I thought Kane was a heel. Now he's facing Striker and getting cheered like made by the hot Knoxville crowd. Strange. [Q7] Highlights aired from Smackdown of the Edge and Mick Foley segment. Awesome... Cole and Lawler ran through the pay-per-view card... A Batista video aired... Backstage, Cena was watching the video on a monitor when Todd Grisham approached him and asked him for his thoughts on teaming with Batista. Cena went on a long rant about Batista, never facing Batista, Batista and Undertaker claiming they stole a pay-per-view, Batista being draft to Raw, Raw not being big enough for the both of them, etc. Grisham finally told him to shut the f--- up and just answer the question. OK, that last part didn't really happen. Good promo from Cena... [C] [Q8] Backstage, Kelly Kelly told Mike Adamle that he was doing a great job. Adamle said he had another Adamle Original. He said he had an idea on how he could take Kane's burlap sack from him next week if he doesn't want to reveal its content... 5. Batista and John Cena defeated Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase to win the World Tag Titles in 14:15. After some standard action, Batista charged shoulder first toward the corner and smacked it on the ring post. [C] The heels worked over Cena and fought off several of his comeback attempts. [Overrun] The heels continued to work over Cena while Batista waited in his corner for the hot tag. Cena got there at one point, but Batista ignored his extended hand and let the heels continue to work over Cena. Eventually, Cena hit a side slam on DiBiase and then walked to his corner and slapped Batista's face for the tag. Batista entered the ring and roughed up the heels. Batista set up DiBiase for the powerbomb. Cena entered the ring and knocked Rhodes to the floor at ringside. Batista hit the Batista Bomb and then pinned DiBiase. Afterward, Batista handed Cena one of the tag titles. He raised it into the air. Batista waited a minute and held his belt over his head. They did this a few more times with each man trying to get the better crowd pop. They met in the middle of the ring and exchanged words while Cole talked about the game they were playing. Cena raised the belt one last time, smirked at the camera, and then went back to talking to Batista to close the show... Powell's POV: I'm not surprised to see the feuding babyfaces win the tag titles. No, it doesn't help Cody and Ted, but this certainly isn't the first time that Vince has put the tag titles on reluctant babyface tag champions. Adamle did a better than expected job as the general manager, but there was nothing particularly newsworthy about his performance. I'll have a lot more to say about the show tomorrow in the WWE Raw Hitlist and in the Dot Net Member Exclusive audio review of the show. To become a member for only $5 per month, visit the Dot Net Members' Signup Page. 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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