Monday Night RAW
Bridgeport, CT
June 21, 2010
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry “The King” Lawler
Reported by: David Stephens of WrestleView.com
Are you ready? Then stop questioning your heart and join me, because it is time for Monday Night RAW!
Vince McMahon makes his way out to the ring to kick off this post-Fatal Four Way PPV Edition of RAW. Vince says that everything that has gone wrong over the past couple of weeks can be blamed on one person. This person? Bret Hart. Vince notes that Hart fired Wade Barret which infuriated NXT 7, failed to hire extra security, and did not ensure the protection of the show. Vince says that as the Chairman of the WWE, Vince needs to release Bret Hart from his duties as General Manager. Bret, you’re fired!
Vince says that after firing Bret, we are brought to an even bigger announcement. Vince says that the new General Manager wishes to remain anonymous. All orders will be given by the new GM through a computer sitting at the commentators booth. Vince says that Michael Cole will be in charge of addressing the WWE Universe every time an order comes in through the computer. Vince goes on to continue speaking, but a sound is heard, and Cole stands up to read the first proclamation from the mysterious, new, super-secret GM. Cole announces that by order of the new General Manager, all members of NXT 7 have been hired, and will address the WWE Universe later tonight.
Vince starts to head out of the ring, and Sheamus’ music hits. Once he enters, Vince introduces him as the NEW WWE Champion to the audience in attendance. Sheamus tells McMahon, that he is sorry, but this was not the way that he wanted to win the WWE Championship. More than anything, he wanted to prove at the PPV that he deserved the Title by defeating three of the best Superstars in the world. BUT, that did not happen. Because of this fact, Sheamus announces that he cannot accept the Title under those conditions, and holds out the belt to forfeit it to Mr. McMahon.
Vince goes to grab it, but Sheamus takes it back! He says…. but I will anyway! Sheamus says that it is a glorious occasion. He has a message to the NXT 7 – thank you! He thanks them for interfering in his match, taking out Bret Hart, attacking the roster, and giving him the opportunity he needed to win. However, before they start to gloat, he wants them to realize that he could have won the Title without their help. Regardless of what they think, the only statement made last night was by Sheamus winning the WWE Championship for the second time.
John Cena’s music hits, and he saunters out to the ring to an uproarious ovation. Cena says that Sheamus was doing so much thanking, that he felt like it was Thanksgiving. So, Cena wants to keep the thanks going. He tells Cole to thank the new GM for hiring the NXT 7, because now he doesn’t have to worry about them showing up, he knows they will. He also thanks the “human jar of mayonnaise”, Sheamus, for pointing out that he won the Title, because that means he gets a rematch. Cena thanks the city of Bridgeport, because he says there is no better place for a rematch. Sheamus says that the rematch will NOT be happening tonight. Sheamus tells Vince to get Cena out of the ring, or else Sheamus will do it himself.
The e-mail indicator sounds, and the GM commands that Sheamus defend the Title against Cena tonight! McMahon says that it doesn’t get any better than that. The GM-mail sound hits again, and it is herby decreed that to ensure no shenanigans occur, Mr. McMahon will be the special guest referee!
****Commercial****
Evan Bourne v. Chris Jericho
Before the match gets underway, Jericho grabs a mic and says that he has an announcement to make. Not just to Bourne, but to all of the parasites in attendance. Jericho says that if he doesn’t win this match tonight, he is going to walk out of the WWE forever!
The match starts with Jericho taking it straight to Bourne with a series of kicks and punches. Bourne slides under Chris and goes for a quick roll-up. Jericho kicks out. Evan goes for another roll-up, and Jericho kicks out yet again. Jericho rolls out of the ring to collect his bearings as we head to commercial.
****Commercial****
We come back from commercial as Bourne goes for another roll-up attempt. Jericho kicks out, and then sends Evan to the outside of the ring. The referee starts the count, and Bourne makes it back in the ring with only a second to spar. Jericho pounds on his face, and then lifts Evan up for a suplex. Evan counters into a crossbody pin! Jericho kicks out.
Evan is whipped into the ropes and connects with a clothesline. Bourne follows with a high knee, and then throws Chris into the corner. He connects with a running knee, and then goes for a pin. Jericho escapes. Evan looks to take advantage, but Jericho starts to lock on the Walls of Jericho. With a flash back to F4W, Evan counters into the Guillotine DDT. Jericho kicks out of the pin.
Chris is not going to let history repeats itself, and picks Bourne up in the air. He connects with a slam, and then crunches Bourne with a backbreaker. Instead of allowing the high flyer to fall to the mat, Chris holds him in the backbreaker position for a stretch. Evan escapes, and runs with all of his might to the corner where Jericho has taken refuge. Chris punches Bourne, and perches on the seconds rope. Evan leaps up into the air and scoops him down with a gravity defying hurricarana. Bourne goes for the cover, but Chris kicks out.
Bourne bounces off the ropes and looks to connect with the double knee takedown. Just like last night, Jericho counters into the Walls of Jericho. Tonight, however, Bourne cannot so quickly get to the ropes. Eventually, he is able to get to the ropes for the break. Bourne heads to the apron, and kicks Jericho in the head. He has Jericho on his back, and set up for the Shooting Star Press. Jericho plays possum for a moment, and then gets his knees up for the counter! Jericho bounces to his feet and connects with the Code Breaker! This match is over!
Winner via Code Breaker: Chris Jericho
After the match, Jericho helps Bourne to his feet. It looks as though he may go to shake his hand, but instead shoves the young star back down to the mat. Despite the negative roars from the crowd, Jericho heads to the back with his head held high, and his arm held up in victory.
****Commercial****
In the back, Vince McMahon is on his phone. He is talking to Mr. Super-Duper-Secret General Manager. Vince says that he likes surprises, but stresses that HE doesn’t want to be surprised again like he was when he was made referee for tonight’s main event.
We head to a locker room where Virgil is looking quite depressed. Dibiase comes into the shot and apologizes to Virgil for the way he treated him in the ring last night. That being said, his services are no longer needed. Ted says that he has upgraded. Maryse appears in the shot, and on the arm of Dibiase. She says something in her usual French way that makes it sound demeaning without providing a translation for those watching that aren’t privy to such language intellect. Virgil asks what Ted is going to do without him for protection. Ted glances coyly at Maryse and says, “go to the drugstore”. An intense stare takes place between Virgil and Dibiase. The former body guard tells his former employer that there will come a time when Ted will regret this decision, because Ted will need him.
Josh Mathews is in the back with The Hart Dynasty. Natalya says that what happened to Bret was completely unacceptable. Tyson says that the last time Bret was released from the company, an argument could be made that both sides were at fault. This time, there is no excuse for what happened. Natalya says that the NXT 7 should be put into jail for what they did, not rewarded with contracts. Smith chimes in to say that they won’t let it happen again. Natalya says that tonight is her debut match on RAW, and she is going to dedicate the match to her Uncle Bret. Natalya tells Josh that “these Harts won’t stop beating”.
A shot of an SUV limo is shown arriving at the arena.
****Commercial****
Natalya w/ The Hart Dynasty v. Tamina w/ The Usos
Tamina starts the match be pushing Natalya into the corner. Natalya springs back with a huge clothesline. The Usos cause a bit of a distraction, and Tamina lifts Natalya up into the air for a Samoan Drop. Natalya counters into a Sharpshooter attempt
—-
From the entrance ramp, NXT 7 appears and comes down to surround the ring. Wade grabs the microphone and says that he knows that the Dynasty is upset by what has happened, but they are here to apologize. The Usos have cleared out from ringside, so it looks like this match has ended in a No Contest.
NO CONTEST
Before Wade can explain the actions of NXT 7, Tyson flies out of the ring with a plancha! Smith slides out of the ring to follow after for support. The numbers games is unfortunately far too great, and it takes only seconds for The Hart Dynasty to find themselves laid out. Wade enters the ring as we head to commercial.
****Commercial*****
Back live, David Otunga has the mic. He says that NXT 7 would like to apologize for their actions. They only did what they did because they love the WWE. They would do anything to get noticed. Heath Slater takes over. He says that the attacks the past couple of weeks have not been personal, and they want to say sorry. There are even certain individuals that they would like to specifically apologize to at this time. Gabriel starts by apologizing to Bret Hart. He says that he hopes Hart will be okay after their actions against him. Gabriel also apologizes to Tyson Kidd & David Hart Smith. Their actions tonight, were only done as an act of protection.
Darren Young is the next to speak. Young says that he would like to apologize to John Cena. Back on NXT, Young was known as the “Black Cena”. Darren goes on to say that on behalf of NXT 7, Cena WILL get his Title back. Skip Sheffield says that he wants the WWE Universe to treat him they way they did back on NXT. He tries to get them to join in with his hold catch phrase of “yup, yup, yup, what it do?”, but that doesn’t go so well. Skip also apologizes to any children that got scared. Michael Tarver is next and he speaks as the voice of a single parent. He apologizes to his children for the actions that they observed him partake in over the past couple of weeks. He says that they did what they needed to do in order to achieve their dreams.
Wade Barret is the last to speak. He says that many have asked why he would risk a contract and PPV shot to back the actions of NXT 7. He says that it all comes down to loyalty. This group decided long ago that they would have fun on NXT, but that they would be loyal to each other and make it in the WWE. Wade is proud to announce that the new GM has not only reinstated his contract, but also reinstated his Title shot. Wade then says as a warning to Sheamus that they made a target out of John Cena, and that is the only reason he currently holds the Title. Wade says that thanks to his Title shot, he can take the Title from Sheamus at any point. He says this all as a warning to the pale warrior. Wade says that the group is all united, and that they have formed a “nexus”. A new theme song plays for the group, with lyrics highlighting their unity as one.
(This is the first time the phrase “nexus” has been used on WWE TV in reference to the group, but I will hereby refer to NXT 7 as the Nexus due to the fact that WWE has trademarked the term, and thus it will henceforth be the name of the group)
****Commercial****
We are set to have a match with John Morrison v. Ted Dibiase, but before the match Ted makes his way out to the entrance ramp. He is accompanied by Maryse and apologizes because he knows that they were supposed to have a match tonight. However, he has more important things to do, but he found a suitable replacement.
John Morrison w/ Eli Cottonwood v. Zack Ryder w/ Titus O’Neill
The match starts with both guys squaring off in the middle of the ring. Morrison connects with a beautiful dropkick to send Ryder to the mat. Morrison heads to the ropes for a springboard maneuver, but Ryder knocks him off to prevent the attack. Zack hits a very hard clothesline on the Shaman of Sexy. Ryder then slides the head of Morrison under the ropes, and connects with a leverage lift. Ryder goes for the cover, but John kicks out.
Fully in control, Ryder locks on a rear headlock. Zack is really drawing out the crowd as John is stranded in the middle of the ring far away from the sanctuary of the ropes. Morrison somehow manages to escape, and kicks Ryder in the face to send him to the mat. Zack heads to the apron for a reprieve, and dodges a Morrison kick. Ryder rolls into the ring and looks to hit Morrison with his finisher, but Morrison counters into a power bomb! Morrison connects with Starship Pain, and this match is over!
Winner via Starship Pain: John Morrison
In the back, John Cena is walking around with an angry look on his face. Josh Mathews asks John what he thinks about the apology of the Nexus. Cena scoffs at their notion that it was “nothing personal”. Cena says that they made him a target, and so it is going to be up to him to settle the score. But tonight, he is focused on winning back the Title.
Vince enters the shot, and says that there will be no excuses tonight. Cena will have no excuses, and Sheamus will have no excuses. It is McMahon’s job to ensure that fact as the special guest referee, so there will be no excuses. Did I mention there would be no excuses?
****Commercial****
Mixed Tag Match
The Great Khali & Eve Torres v. Alicia Fox & Primo Colon
The match starts off with Khali & Primo. Or at least, that was the plan. Primo tags in Alicia Fox. Since this is a mixed tag match, this brings in Eve. The beautiful Eve Torres hits a snapmare take down, and then locks on a side headlock. She has Fox in the middle of the ring, and looking far too frail for a chance at escape. Torres is the one who causes the break by pushing Fox into the ropes. Eve bounces off the ropes, flips over Alicia, and sends her crashing to the mat. Alicia takes out Eve’s legs, and goes for a quick cover. Not even close.
Alicia is gloating for some unknown reason, and it looks to cost her. Eve swipes, but misses, so Alicia kicks Eve and goes for a cover. Eve kicks out. Alicia backs Eve into the corner, but fails on a splash attempt. Eve counters, and then takes to the top rope. Eve leaps for a picture perfect moonsault! Eve goes for the cover, and this match is over – no! Primo comes in for the save.
Primo seems to forget that he is in a match, and takes a moment to see if he can’t get a kiss from the former Divas’ Champion. This brings Khali into the ring, and things to do not look good for Primo who wishes to be far away from this match. Like a coward, Alicia Fox has already headed to the back with the Divas’ Title. Khali hits the Punjabi Plunge, and this match is over!
Winners via Alicia Fox being-a-coward-and-abandoning-her-tag-team-partner: Eve Torre & The Great Khali
****Commercial****
Randy Orton makes his way out to the ring to address the WWE Universe. He says that he accepts the apology of Wade Barret. Randy even hopes that Wade will be the next WWE Champion, because it would be that much easier for Orton to win it back.
The Miz’s music hits, and he makes his way out to the ring. Miz says that he is tired of seeing Orton in the main event. Instead, it is the time for the Miz to take the Title! He says that it is time for him to do what no one else in WWE history has been able to do, hold both the US & WWE Championships! Miz says that the reason this is going to happen is because of an industry secret. Miz says that the secret is this, “I’m the Miz, and I’m” — Miz kicks Orton in the gut! Miz starts to attack Orton with a series of punches, but gets caught by a snap scoop slam. Orton is setting up for the RKO, and is pounding on the mat. Miz slides to the outside to save himself.
Edge comes out of nowhere and hits a spear on Orton! Edge grabs the mic and cryptically tells Orton that, “now the real fun will begin”.
****Commercial****
WWE Championship Match
Sheamus v. John Cena
The match starts with both competitors staring each other down. Sheamus slings Cena with an Irish Whip, and then clotheslines him down to the mat. Sheamus hits a neckbreaker and goes for the cover. John kicks out. The crowd is going crazy with a “let’s go Cena, Cena sucks” chant. Sheamus haphazardly throws Cena out of the ring.
****Commercial****
Back in the ring, Cena is charging towards Sheamus. The pale warrior moves out of the way, and Cena goes crashing shoulder first into the steel post. Sheamus takes a moment to collect himself. He tries to hit a knee on Cena, but misses. John runs into the ropes and bounces with force towards Sheamus, but gets caught by a clothesline. Sheamus goes for the cover, but Cena kicks out.
Cena is on the apron, and Sheamus grabs his neck. Sheamus uses his tree trunk like arms to crush the chest of Cena with a punch. Lawler calls Cena Superman, but notes that the Nexus is his kryptonite. Sheamus hits him with another hammer blow from inside the ring. Sheamus tries for a third time, but this time Cena is able to use his strength to break the hold. He enters the ring and punches Sheamus in the face. Cena bounces off the ropes and looks to go for clothesline, but Sheamus does as well! Both competitors are down on the mat.
Cena dodges a punch, and goes for the Attitude Adjustment. Sheamus counters and hits a scoop slam. Sheamus goes for a cover, Cena kicks out. Sheamus tries again, but again Cena kicks out. Sheamus sets up for the big boot, but Cena dodges and hits a running shoulder block. John sets up and hits the side slam. It’s time for the 5 Knuckle Shuffle, and Cena connects! Cena lifts Sheamus up for the AA, but Sheamus counters into the Irish Curse Back Breaker! Cena kicks out of the cover.
Sheamus looks to for a power bomb, but Cena hits a drop toe hold, and locks on the STF. Sheamus manages to squirm his way to the rope. Sheamus slides out of the ring to catch his breath. Cena is not going to let him, however, and follows after. Sheamus grabs Cena and whips him into the steel steps! Sheamus collects Cena, and rolls him back into the ring.
Sheamus goes for the pin, but Cena kicks out. Sheamus heads back out of the ring, and picks up the steel steps. Sheamus sets them up on the ramp about 15 feet from the ring. Sheamus rolls back into the ring to stop the count, and then grabs Cena. Sheamus ships Cena had first into the steel steps that he had set up! Sheamus picks Cena up, and then rolls him back into the ring. Sheamus sets up for the running big boot, and connects!
Before Sheamus can go for the cover, The Nexus hits the ringside area. Sheamus and the commentators bail.
NO CONTEST
Vince basically counts the number of Nexus guys, and decides that there is nothing he can do about them, or so it would seem. They grab Cena and throw him over the commentator’s booth. Vince grabs a mic, and heads into the ring. Vince tells the Nexus that he told them to stop, and so they need to calm down. Vince calls them into the ring. McMahon introduces them to the WWE Universe as fantastic athletes.
Vince looks to be taking credit for everything that has happened. The Nexus taking out Cena, Bret Hart, Jerry Lawler, Cole, et. al. Vince says that next week, the GM is going to reveal something. Vince starts to panic as he looks around and sees some very angry looks on the face of the Nexus. He laughs and says that they just about had him there for a second. He regains his stance and says that this about wraps up tonight’s RAW. The Nexus surrounds him, and does not look happy. Vince drops the mic — and they attack him! The Nexus decimate the Chairman of the WWE! They stomp, pound and humiliate Vince. They lay him in the middle of the ring, and Justin Gabriel takes to the turnbuckle. The former FCW Champion leaps into the air and connects with an amazing 450 splash. The Nexus clear out of the ring, and a production manager calls for help as we go off the air.
RAW Thoughts
Let me be the first to say it, this mysterious General Manger angle is fantastic. I expect A LOT of speculation to occur over the next couple of weeks in regards to the identity of the GM. In my personal opinion, there is a very strong possibility that the creative has not actually selected someone to fill the role yet. Thus, they can build up a person, without them actually existing. They can keep it going for a couple months and then “reveal” the identity to a huge reaction, without that person having had to actually be involved in the product. That’s genius!
Sheamus was a sly bastard with the whole Title forfeit tease angle. I loved it.
Bourne and Jericho put on a pretty impressive match tonight. Yeah, I guess you could complain that they kept a lot of spots from last night’s PPV, but whatever. When all was said and done it was a solid match that propelled the storyline. That is the point of a wrestling match… right?
So Ted Dibiase decided to replace Virgil with Maryse. Before anyone even starts to say that this was a dumb move, I want the record to reflect that I would have done something very similar. Maybe I would have chosen Tiffany or Kelly Kelly, but I definitely understand where Dibiase is coming from. Hey, I’m a 21 year old male, what do you expect me to say?
Not much to say about the RAW solo debut of Natalya considering the fact that it was interrupted by the Nexus only a minute into the match.
How on earth did Alicia Fox win the Divas’ Title. I would rather have Vickie Guerrero & Santin(A) as co-holders of the Title than to have to watch Fox wrestle each week. The more time she is in the ring, the less I want to watch women’s wrestling. Couldn’t they have at least given the Title to someone who doesn’t fall over every time the wind blows? Seriously, has she EVER eaten?
The Miz v. Orton could be a really fun program… or is it Edge & Orton? Was Miz just a clever distraction devised by Edge so that he could hit Orton with the Spear? Will this lead to a feud between Miz & Edge over the right to fight Orton so that Randy has time to heal from injury? Only time will tell.
I thought Vince was the special guest referee? Guess he decided just to be an enforcer.
The match itself was actually pretty solid. Obviously it ended in a no contest, but Sheamus looked fantastic. Cena was absolutely destroyed, which might not have hurt him, but definitely helped Sheamus.
The apology of the Nexus was kind of lame to be honest. I really just have to let this one play out for a couple more weeks because right now all of the excitement I had only two weeks ago is completely gone. I think that a fairly large part of my loss of excitement was brought about by the release of Daniel Bryan. The drama and speculation around his release took away so much of my attention from the angle itself, that I really just don’t care that much about the rest of the guys. It’s like I need to find a way to reconnect with the Nexus, because they lost my attention. Apologizing to the WWE Universe and acting like a bunch of wusses is NOT going to help regain my interest.
Their actions at the end of RAW really helped their cause. I do need to take a second to point out the fact that Justin Gabriel has an amazing 450 splash. I’m one of the biggest Paul London fans you will ever find, and I will admit that openly, but I really love Gabriel’s 450 splash.
I was starting to get really worried that Vince was going to be behind their actions. If he was, it would have been the final nail in the Nexus coffin of lame. Instead, they held true to their war cry of being anti-establishment, and took out the chairman of the board. It was about the only move that they could have done in order to propel the angle to the next level, and escape a path of stagnation.
Send me some e-mails, and have a safe week everyone!
So that’s RAW…. Love it? Hate it? Disagree with everything I said? Just want to chat wrestling? I’m always up for reading your thoughts and do my absolute best to reply to every message I get. Send them over to me at david@wrestleview.com.
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