On Monday, July 3, 2006 at 10:57 PM EST WWE Raw
July 3, 2006
Philadelphia, PA
Commentators: Jim Ross and Jerry “The King” Lawler
Reported By: Hunter Golden of WrestleView.com
A video recapping the D-X & McMahon nonsense from last week aired.
Shawn Michaels and Triple H were walking into the arena from the outside. They were met by Jonathan Coachman and a group of security guards blocking the entrance. Triple H asked him to step aside. The Coach said he’d love to, but apparently the two didn’t read WWE.com which said that the two were banned from Raw tonight. The two asked what they ever did to Vince to deserve this. Coach again asked them to leave. Triple H put his arm around HBK and the two said there wouldn’t be any problems.
The opening pyro hit and here we go. The IC Championship will be up for grabs tonight as Johnny Nitro will take on Carlito. They also put over the tag team main event, which will feature RVD, later tonight.
Edge’s music hit and he came out to the ring with Lita in tow. Edge told the people to ‘mark it down’ because he would own this summer. He said tomorrow night he would go into the hardcore surroundings of ECW and he would defeat RVD for the title. He said he would go on to successfully defend his title at Saturday Night’s Main Event. He said RVD was like the Philadelphia Phillies; bland, overrated, and has no heart whatsoever. He said Cena was like the Eagles; he was good, but just not good enough to be a champion. He said himself on the other hand, he was just like Tyrell Owens, he just wants to get the hell out of this town. He said this was his summer. He said his lovely Lita would beat Torrie Wilson’s butt tonight and show her what a real cover girl would look like.
He said tonight he’d be in his tag team match later and had his partner with him. John Cena’s music hit and out came John Cena to the ring. Edge called the interruption impolite. Cena jumped Edge right off the bat and chased off Edge. RVD’s music hit and he came out as well with a mic.
He said he had this match last week with John Cena and since then all he heard about was how close John Cena came to making him tap out. He said they would never know what would have happened last week. RVD said he was a fighting champion. He told Cena to forget about the tag team match and offered Cena a shot at his WWE Championship. Edge told them to hold up. Edge said that was garbage because he’d lose his title shot. RVD said he was right, that Edge wouldn’t lose his shot. He said why not do Saturday Night’s Main Event tonight; Edge v. Cena v. RVD for the title tonight. Edge said he couldn’t wait to win his second title in front on these Neanderthals from Philadelphia.
A limo pulled up outside the arena and out stopped Mr. McMahon. He sneered at the driver before making his way into the arena and being greeted by Coach. McMahon told Coach to be quiet. All he wanted to know was whether DX was here or not and Coach told him they weren’t. He told Vince that DX left once Coach informed them of what was going on. Vince walked in, talking with Coach, before a car with a bunch of loud women pulled up outside.
****Commercial****
Torrie Wilson v. Lita
Lita smacked Torrie down to the mat. Lita connected with a side Russian leg sweep before getting a near fall. Lita continued to work over Torrie stomping away before Torrie gave her a slap to the face that woke up Lita. Torrie hit some drop kicks and some clotheslines before hitting a clothesline follow up to an Irish whip. Torrie went for her stink face, but Lita moved out of the way and hit her DDT to win the match.
Winner via pin fall: Lita
Vince was in the back talking to Coach. Again, he asked Coach if DX was here or not. He wanted to know why his facilities were not working. Coach said it was the fourth of July weekend and a lot of people had the day off. Vince said he never had a day off in his life and wanted to know what was going on and sent Coach off to go find out.
****Commercial****
The Spirit Squad v. Jim Duggan, Eugene, Val Venis, Viscera, & Snitsky
Venis and Nicky started off and Nicky mugged Venis and dragged him to the corner before getting Micky into the match. Venis reversed a suplex attempt and tagged in Eugene who got planted with a wheel kick by Johnny. Johnny went for the cover but only got two. He bullied Eugene to the corner before tagging in Kenny.
Kenny went to work hitting some axe handles to the back and hitting a nice looking drop kick before going for a cover and getting a near fall. Mitch tagged in and attempted a pin as well but then broke the fall himself and began punching away at Eugene. Johnny tagged back in and hit a single punch before Nicky came in and got raked away at the ‘special superstar’s’ face.
Kenny tagged in and missed Nicky in the corner. Snitsky got the hot tag and began mauling the entire Squad before hitting the exclamation point sidewalk slam on Kenny. The Squad broke up the tag attempt and all hell broke lose. Duggan got tossed as well as Venis. Eventually the Squad remained in the ring with Snitsky. Kenny and Johnny hit a Senton and Leg drop combo from the top rope to gain the victory.
Winners: The Sprit Squad via pin fall
DX was out in the parking lot having a tail gate party. They had the grill and everyone and their mother there. One of the WWE Road Crew came over named Terry and Triple H had the girls flash him. HBK went to go get a Mr. Fuji autograph. He said the Squad could stay inside and continue to smell like poopie, or come out there and face them. They told the Squad to suck it and that ended the segment.
****Commercial****
The Highlanders v. Rob Conway & Matt Striker
The Highlanders weigh 34 stones. Awesome.
Rory and Striker started off and Rory planted him with a big head butt before planting Striker with some punches and draping his kilt over his head. Striker grabbed Rory’s beard before Robby broke it up. Rory continued to use the underside of his kilt to do all sorts of interesting stuff.
Robby tagged in with Conway and Conway fought back with a back suplex. Striker ditched Conway and went to the back while the Highlanders nailed Conway with the ‘Stop Drop’ for the victory.
Winners via pin fall: The Highlanders
Triple H was outside with Candice. She wanted to know what was in the truck that HBK was standing on. Triple H said that was a TV truck while gagging. Candice persisted in talking before she got convulsions too. Once they stopped two busty women came out from under the table.
****Commercial****
HBK and Triple H led a group of ladies into the production truck. They began playing around with some equipment and joking with Dave the production guy. The two began to push buttons at the abandoned station.
Vince was in the back furious that he had to use a public bathroom. Triple H and HBK caught site of this on the cameras and put Vince’s wee wee session all over the TV screen. Coach came running in and Vince accidentally whizzed all over Coach’s leg. Coach let him know he was all over world wide television. He flipped out and stomped out of the bathroom.
****Commercial****
Vince showed up in the ring and said last week was the most embarrassing day of his life. He said as a result of that he barred DX from the arena tonight because of it. He said after the camera gag though, that he had enough. He kept talking but the sound kept getting cut off. DX was playing with the controls in the back. He said he was going to take care of DX.
He said no one would embarrass him like that again. All of a sudden the speed of his voice sped up and McMahon sounded thoroughly ridiculous. Just as he began to lose his cool, the mic was radically lowered. He said he wasn’t Barry White and that he sounded like Darth Vader. A fart noise rang out and he said it wasn’t him. He said it was that damn DX and said they had no respect.
He said what they really were were children. All of a sudden a green tele-strator pen drew a chicken and it said he loved cock. The crowd began to cheer ‘you love cock’ at McMahon. Triple H sounded out over the PA system and aired a video of McMahon getting showered in poo last week. McMahon began calling for Coach.
Coach was in the back devising a scheme to get DX out of the production trailer in the back with Security. HBK opened the door right on his face. Vince was furious.
He said DX had a ticket punched for Saturday Night’s Main Event. He said they would face the Spirit Squad in an elimination match up. He asked DX what their reaction to that was an all of a sudden the sound of laughing people aired. Vince said that was fine that he’d have something to cheer about. The sound of crickets chirping was played. He asked them to play his music so he could leave. He left the ring just in time for his old music video to play again.
****Commercial****
WWE Intercontinental Championship
Johnny Nitro v. Carlito
The two locked up in the middle of the ring before Nitro backed Carlito into the corner. He faked a thumb to the eye and pelted Carlito with a forearm to the face. Carlito hit a hurricanranna and decked the champion before getting caught in an inverted DDT. Nitro hit a leg drop and went for a cover but only got a two count.
Nitro clamped on a rear chin lock but Carlito fought his way out. Nitro whipped Carlito to the buckles and hit a drop kick. As he celebrated his move, Carlito came out and hit a clothesline , a running knee lift, then another running knee lift. Carlito hit the springboard elbow but Melina jumped up on the ring apron. Carlito went to dispose of her and Nitro pounced. Carlito ducked out however and hit Nitro with his back cracker. He went for the cover but Melina jumped in to save Nitro and cause the DQ.
Winner via DQ: Carlito
Trish came running into the ring to make the save and dumped Melina to the outside. DX replayed Trish running to the ring just like they did Melina getting into it.
WWE Champion Rob Van Dam was in the back with Paul Heyman. Heyman said he respected him so much but no champion ever took on his schedule. He said that it was enough that it was their rules, but this was a triple threat match. He said that it scared the hell out of him. RVD said he understood his concerns, but he believed in himself and ECW.
****Commercial****
We met the quarter finalists for the Diva search.
Coach was in the back with a bag of ice on his head. Vince walked in and said he didn’t care about how much pain he was in. Vince told him to go get his limo because he was leaving.
HBK interrupted Estrada’s speech to plug their new T-Shirt.
Umaga v. Scott Wright
Umaga went right at Wright and landed a huge power bomb into the turnbuckles before hitting his diving head butt. He lined Wright up and hit his running bump butt. Umaga picked his carcass up and hit the Samoan Spike and got the cover for the win.
Winner via pin fall: Umaga
Estrada got back on the mic just in time to have a burp noise sound out over the PA system. It happened three more times before they went to the back and showed McMahon getting back in his limo.
McMahon got into his car and fire works went off in the inside. McMahon came tumbling out with black soot all over his face. Triple H and Shawn Michaels approached him with sparklers and flags. They said maybe next week Vince will let them into the arena.
****Commercial****
Randy Orton came out with a mic in hand. He said Brooke Hogan’s music video did a lot for him last week. He said there was no getting around it, he thought she was hot. He said it was his understanding that Hogan was going to pick a date for his daughter. He said if things go her way, she’d find out first hand why he was a legend. He said if Hogan had a problem with that, he could find out why he was a legend killer.
Edge was in the back with Todd Grisham. Edge said he was unprepared but ready for the match. He said he’d walk out a champion.
****Commercial****
WWE Championship
Rob Van Dam v. Edge v. John Cena
Cena and RVD went right at Edge in the corner. Cena and RVD began to squabble over who got to beat up Edge. Cena whipped Edge to the buckle and RVD hit a reverse wheel kick in the corner and returned the favor for Cena who hit a suplex on the rebound. The two tossed Edge out to the ring side area and they stared each other down.
****Commercial****
We came back just in time for RVD to flatten Cena with a kick. RVD placed Cena on the top turnbuckle but Edge jumped them from behind and Cena was sent to the floor. Edge went for the cover but got caught with his feet on the ropes. RVD attempted a small package that was unsuccessful and followed up with a rolling thunder and yet another near fall.
Edge was tripped up by Cena on the outside. Cena tossed Edge to the stairs but almost immediately was nailed by RVD with a flying senton. RVD got another near fall. Cena ducked under from an Irish whip follow up and Cena caught RVD and almost got an FU. RVD fought out and Edge nailed him with a clothesline. Cena went for a vertical suplex but RVD caught him mid air and nailed both.
Edge and Cena teamed up and hit a double flap jack and turned around just in time to flatten each other with a double clothesline. All three men got back to their feet and began whaling away at each other. RVD gained the advantage and floored Cena with a step through windmill kick. Edge dumped RVD hard over the top rope. Cena came back at Edge with his clotheslines and shoulder blocks.
Cena hit the five knuckle shuffle on Edge and got ready for the FU. Edge however, held on to the top rope but Cena FU’d Edge to the floor. Lita came in but got FU’d to the mat. RVD snuck in just in the knick of time and planted Cena with a Van Terminator. RVD went for the frog splash but Cena avoided it.
Cena got to his feet finally and Edge was shown crawling with the title belt on the outside. Cena went for the FU and connected. Cena got up to go for the cover, but Edge nailed him in the noggin with the title belt and got the cover to win the WWE title.
Winner and NEW WWE Champion: Edge
Edge celebrated in the aisle as the show went off the air.RAW THOUGHTSThe Good—Well, the fact that the WWE title changed hands tonight comes as little surprise. RVD’s future in the company is certainly in question after being arrested on Drug possession charges this weekend. It’s going to be interesting to see whether Edge’s reign ends up being transitional again, or if he actually gets a legitimate run this time. God knows it’s over due, but WWE needs to stick with him this time, instead of using the title as a tool to continue pushing Cena.
DX was funny in parts, but took up entirely too much of the show tonight. WWE needs to be sparing in how they book these guys. At this rate, I think people will grow tired of them in fairly short order. They were involved, in some way, in virtually every single segment. That’s overkill for me.
The Highlanders kill me. I love them. I’m a mark.
The Bad—Jeez, the matches stunk tonight. The IC championship match seemed very rushed and the rest were horrible squash matches. Very little was progressed, etc. Oh yeah, the Diva Search just bores me to tears.
The Ugly— Enough of the pee pee and poo poo. Honestly it’s funny now and then but jeez it was total overkill tonight.
Overall C - Everything came off as very flat to me tonight. Given the events of the weekend it’s not huge surprise, but still, everything just seemed aimless. The Foley and Flair program was flat out cut out of the show tonight and we didn’t get to see Kane either. IMO, am excusably bland Raw.
Quick Results
Lita def. Torrie Wilson
The Spirit Squad def. Jim Duggan, Eugene, Viscera, Val Venis, & Snitsky
The Highlanders def. Rob Conway & Matt Striker
Carlito def. Johnny Nitro
Umaga def. Scott Wright
Edge def. Rob Van Dam & John Cena to WIN the WWE Championship
Who’s Hot, Who’s Not?
Biggest pops
1. Degeneration X
2. Rob Van Dam
3. John Cena
4. Carlito
Most Heat
1. Edge
2. Vince McMahon
3. Johnny Nitro
4. Randy Orton
Match of the night: RVD v. Edge v. John Cena *3/4
Power Rankings:
WWE Champion: Edge (Last Week: 1) —It’s fair enough to say this is completely overdue, but again, I remain skeptical about Edge being champion for an extended period of time. This really seems like a ploy to hot shot the belt over to Cena for Summerslam and given the events of the weekend, it hurt the heat this title change SHOULD have received. The crowd seemed like it could have cared less and honestly, that’s a shame.
Intercontinental Champion: Johnny Nitro (Last Week: 10)—Decent performance tonight, but seemed rushed in the ring. I think he and Melina make a great combo and this can continue to have some heat if they stick with him long enough to make him a viable champion.
1. John Cena (Last Week: 2)—Cena moves up more for RVD’s major league F___ up than his own accord. He’ll stay in this spot in all likelihood through Summerslam.
2. Rob Van Dam (Last Week: WWE Champion)—What a week for RVD. Not in the good way. You go from being on top to being as close to fired as you possibly could come. I’ve not sympathy for the guy either. When you have that much going for you, you don’t toss it away to get high in a car. It’s a shame, but I’ve little sympathy.
3. Triple H (Last Week: 3) —More poopie, stuff like that. Nothing of real substance to warrant the Game moving up the ladder at all. Nothing to warrant moving him down either.
4. Umaga (Last Week: 4) —Another win, but not much /* from the big man. Hopefully, WWE will put him in some sort of program with some sort of meaning in it. I can’t justify putting him in the top three until then.
5. Randy Orton (Last Week: 6) —Moves up a bit with a bland promo that served its purpose. Looks like we’re going to get Orton-Hogan at Summerslam. If Randy goes over, look out.
6. Shawn Michaels (Last Week: 5) —More of the same this week and I don’t expect him to move up any time soon due to injury. Expect him to camp around the 5-7 spots for the next month or so.
7. Ric Flair (Last Week: 7) —Out of action this week.
8. Carlito (Last Week: 9) —Carlito gets a solid DQ win over the IC Champion and progresses his feud with Nitro at a slow, but steady clip and finally giving us a feud worth having for the title.
9. Shelton Benjamin (Last Week: 8) —Not in action this week.
10. Mick Foley (Last Week: 10)—Not in action this week.
Dropping Out: None