WWE TV Reports 9/1 Powell's WWE Raw Live Coverage: Championship Scramble match previews with two battle royals, two big names return, WWE Diva back in action By Jason Powell Sep 1, 2008 - 10:00 PM Email This Article | Printer Friendly Page Send Us News & Results | Back to Main Listing WWE Raw on USA Network Live from St. Louis, Mo. [Q1] A graphic noted the death of Walter "Killer" Kowalski... Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler introduced the show... Randy Orton's music played and he walked to the ring wearing a sling on his left arm. The announcers noted that they were in Orton's hometown. He still received a heel reaction. "I believe that a brand is only as strong as it's champion," Orton said. He stated that when he was champion, Raw was the best brand in WWE. "Now, Raw is an absolute joke." Orton ripped Beth Phoenix for running around like a "lovesick teenager." Orton said Beth is in love with "the weakest Intercontinental Champion" in history. Orton said Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes are worthless. He said if a couple guys stole his belt, he'd track them down and take them back. Orton said the real problem with the Raw brand is World Champion C.M. Punk. He said when he won his first title, Punk was a no-name wrestler, working in a no-name promotion. Orton mocked the way Punk won the title. "I would love to challenge C.M. Punk tonight and take back what is mine, but I can't do that because I'm not medically cleared." Randy said it won't be long until he's cleared and he vowed to take back his belt and make everyone forget about Punk. Punk's entrance music hit and he walked to the ring and stood nose to nose with Orton. A "C.M. Punk" chant from the live crowd broke out. Punk said Orton's comments gave him a headache. Punk said it doesn't matter how he got the title, what matters is that he still has it. Punk said he doesn't ride his motorcycle at three in the morning and injure himself. Punk said Orton is now an afterthought. Punk said Orton is jealous. Orton referred to Punk as pathetic. Punk told Orton to walk the aisle and let him know who the joke of a champion is after his match on the show and at the pay-per-view. Punk implied that Orton is the only pathetic person in the ring. Orton said the conversation would continue in the future. Orton left the ring and then JBL's entrance music played and he joined Punk in the ring. JBL said fairy tales are not real. It took him a long time to say that he'd be capturing the World Hvt. Title at the pay-per-view on Sunday. JBL pointed out that he didn't have to beat Punk to win the title. [Q2] Kane's music played and he walked to the ring with a mic in hand. "I've been to hell and I didn't see a clothesline anywhere," Kane told JBL. Kane said "Little Rey Rey" won't be appearing later in the show or in the pay-per-view main event. "I made sure of it," he said. Batista joined the others in the ring. He acted like he was going to talk, but instead he dropped the mic and speared Kane, while JBL attacked Punk. Batista stood up and speared JBL. Once Punk stood up, Batista speared him. Cole hyped the five men in the Raw version of the Championship Scramble would face off in a battle royal later in the show... [C] Powell's POV: I'm surprised that Orton was allowed to mock how bad Raw has become. Granted, he's a heel making heel comments, but there's definitely some truth in what he said about some aspects of the brand. It's hard to take JBL seriously given that he's the only guy who really loses to Punk. Overall, a good segment. Orton looked smaller than usual, but he was much better than usual on the mic, presumably because he believed what he was saying regarding how bad Raw has become since he was injured. The announcers hyped that there would be a preview of the ECW Championship Scramble in the form of a five-man battle royal later in the show... John Cena's music played. The announcers acted surprised. Cole said Cena had successful surgery last week. Charlie Haas walked stormed onto the stage dressed like Cena. He headed to the ring and said, "The Haas is here"... 1. Kofi Kingston pinned Charlie Haas in 1:40. Kingston dominated the match and hit Trouble in Paradise for the win... The announcers hyped that Chris Jericho and Shawn Micahels will sign a contract for their unsanctioned pay-per-view match later in the show... [C] [Q3] Backstage, Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase confronted Randy Orton about his previous comments. Orton asked if Cody remembered the first time they met when he slapped his father across the face. Cody said he did. Orton slapped him across the face hard. DiBiase held Cody back. Orton gave them a pep talk... Backstage, Mike Adamle thanked Teddy Long and Tiffany for joining him at Raw. He hyped the battle royals and said he hoped they could make it a Labor Day tradition on Raw, "kind of like the Jerry Lewis telethon without the kids." Kane entered the ring and demanded to know why Adamle advertised Mysterio. Adamle said he did it because he hoped Mysterio would get the message that he is needed on Raw... Ring introductions for the ECW battle royal took place... [C] 2. Mark Henry (w/Tony Atlas) beat Matt Hardy and Finlay (w/Hornswoggle) and Chavo Guerrero (w/Bam Neely) and The Miz in a five-man battle royal. Chavo turned on Miz and tried to eliminate him. Henry walked over and dumped Chavo and Miz over the top rope. Hardy and Finlay teamed up and tried to eliminate Henry, but he fought them off. Henry eliminated Finlay. Hardy went for the Twist of Fate, but Henry picked him up and dropped him to the floor... [C] Powell's POV: Quick and painless. Henry eliminated all four opponents. He was so dominant in this match that I'm concerned he'll lose on Sunday. [Q4] A shot aired of Chris Jericho going over a contract with his lawyer while Lance Cade looked on... 3. Jamie Noble pinned William Regal in 1:45. Layla is sitting at ringside. Noble tried to talk to her over the mic, but Regal's music interrupted him. Regal dominated the match, but Noble caught him with a school boy and scored the upset. Layla looked surprised at ringside. A shot aired of Mickie James talking with Kelly Kelly backstage. Cole hyped that a six-diva tag match is up next... [C] In the ring, Jillian Hall sang a Nelly song... Ring introductions for the six-diva tag match took place. Beth cut a promo in the ring in response to Orton's earlier comments. She was interrupted by Candice Michelle's entrance music... [Q5] 4. Candice Michelle and Mickie James and Kelly Kelly beat Jillian Hall and Beth Phoenix and Katie Lea. The match was built around Candice and Phoenix they were working together when Candice got hurt. After a back and forth exchange, Candice pinned Beth. Powell's POV: This was choppy live according to our correspondent's report, but they did a nice job of cleaning it up in post production. A video recapped the Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho feud... [C] Santino Marella came to the ring and rebutted Orton's earlier comments. He debuted the "Honk-A-Meter," which noted that he's only 62 weeks behind Honky Tonk Man for the longest Intercontinental Title reign in history. Funny... [Q6] 5. Santino Marella beat D-Lo Brown in a non-title match in 0:90. Brown was in control of the match, but he missed a frogsplash, giving Santino the pin. Afterward, Santino celebrated at ringside and yelled, "I hate you, D-Lo, I hate you"... [C] Powell's POV: The Honk-A-Meter? Comedy gold. A WWE Classic moment featured Steve Austin hitting the Stunner on Vince McMahon for the first time... Cryme Tyme vs. The Miz and John Morrison never got started. The two teams met at ringside. Morrison did a hilarious impersonation of JTG's dance and then a brawl broke out. Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase ran out and attacked Cryme Tyme. They grabbed their belts [Q7] Backstage, DiBiase and Rhodes walked past Orton with their belts draped over their shoulders. They patted the belts and walked away after getting a look of approval from Orton... Josh Matthews interviewed Mr. Kennedy and Mickie James at the Xcel Center "in Minneapolis." No squeaking from Candice this week... Powell's POV: The X is in St. Paul! Matthews got it right by saying they were in the Twin Cities, but the graphic mistakenly read Minneapolis. Backstage, Todd Grisham interviewed Batista, who said his game plan for the battle royal was to "destroy everyone"... The announcers ran through the Unforgiven pay-per-view lineup... Batista and JBL made their ring entrances... 6. Kane beat Batista and JBL and C.M. Punk in a four-man battle royal in 4:25. Randy Orton sat at ringside for the match and glared at Punk when he made his entrance. Rey Mysterio didn't come out to start the match. Punk eliminated Batista and the announcers sold it as him "taking advantage again." They sold it the same way when Punk eliminated JBL seconds later. The match came down to Punk and Kane. They traded some offense until Punk hoisted Kane on his shoulders. Kane fought out and then tried to dump Punk over the top, but he hung on. Punk springboarded toward Kane, who grabbed him by the throat and eliminated him. Punk fell in front of Orton, who was seated near the announcers' table. They had another face-to-face moment. Punk picked up a water bottle and used it to soak Orton. Two referees pulled Punk away while Orton stood there. [Q8] Rey Mysterio's music played and he headed to the ring. Rey avoided a boot from Kane and began working over Kane's left leg. Kane climbed onto Kane and punched him repeatedly. He dropkicked Kane's knee and set up for the 619, but Kane moved and headed to ringside. Rey followed and went for a powerbomb, but Kane caught him. Rey slipped out and sent Kane face first into the ring post. Rey continued to dominate the fight. "Kane manhandled," Lawler said. The live crowd was hot for the exchange and was definitely happy to see Rey... [C] Powell's POV: I'm already looking forward to the Punk vs. Orton feud. Good buildup. A brief video showcased Chris Jericho punching Rebecca Michaels... Chris Jericho walked to the ring, where a table was set up with lawyers on each side. Jerry Lawler hosted the segment and explained that the two men were signing a contract that absolved WWE and both wrestlers from what injuries they may incur during their unsanctioned match. Lawler introduced HBK, who came out to his usual huge pop. Both wrestlers sat down. HBK glared at Jericho, who rubbed his hands together and avoided eye contact. Lawler noted that MIke Adamle said the match would be called off if there was any physicality between Jericho and Michaels. Jericho signed the contract as the fans chanted "HBK." Micahels took the contract and signed it and continued glaring at his opponent. Lawler tried to wrap up the segment, but Jericho took the mic and interrupted. He wanted to know why there was so much security at ringside. HBK said it wasn't his security. Jericho and HBK dismissed the security guards, the lawyers, and Lawler. [Overrun] Jericho said he sat down his kids and promised them that he'll never end up like Michaels. He said he forbade them from watching Unforgiven because of the brutality. Jericho said he's going to end HBK's career. "I'm going to show all these people what happens to a man who lives his life like you do," Jericho said. Jercho recalled HBK telling Flair that he'd put him out of his misery at WrestleMania. He said he'd put HBK out of his misery at Unforgiven. "And I'm not going to say I'm sorry," continued Jericho. "I'm going to finish you off forever." Michaels continued to glare across the table at Jericho, who was only inches away. Michaels leaned forward and said, "I take comfort in the fact that your wife and children won't be watching," he said. "Mine won't either. But someday, somday I'm going to tell them about all this. I'm going to tell them about the day their father was this close to walking away. And although it's considered a strength to turn the other cheek, sometimes you've gotta look evil right in the face and spit in it's eye." HBK said he'll have no regrets about what happens to Jericho. "Unforgiven, it's an appropriate name, isn't it, Chris? Because I will never forgive you for what you've done to me, Chris. But I only hope that someday God can forgive me for what I do to you." Jericho leaned forward and they continued to glare at one another. Jericho stood and Michaels did the same and then removed his jacket. Lance Cade entered the ring. Michaels spotted him and punched him. HBK attacked Cade near the ropes. He lunged through the ropes to attack Jericho, missed him, and fell to ringside. Michaels got up and headed back inside the ring to continue his attack on Cade. He stopped and glared at Jericho, who was backing up the aisle to close the show... Powell's POV: HBK took a nasty spill when he lunged at Jericho. I assume that's the spot he suffered the injury, but I'm not sure since he didn't seem to be favoring his arm when he returned to the ring. No mention was made during the show of HBK's injury. Overall, this show was much better than recent episodes of Raw. A solid go-home edition for the Unforgiven pay-per-view. I'll have a lot more to say about the show in Monday's WWE Raw Hitlist. 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