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Opening Segment – Legacy
We start the show off with Legacy standing inside the steel cage drawing major heat. Randy Orton has a mic and previews his match at Extreme Rules with Batista, saying there are no rules, and he can do whatever he wants. Then he announces that Vickie would grant him putting Batista in a steel cage match against a member of Priceless, which Orton would determine by flipping a coin. So he does, and we find out that Rhodes will be one to face Batista.
Rhodes takes the mic saying how his father has been in some of the best and most memorable cage matches in wrestling history, and that he knew what to do tonight. Orton tells people they’ll see [this] image at Extreme Rules as he exits the door and hops down onto the floor.
Then Ric Flair’s music hits and the Nature Boy comes out in an expensive suit as always, whoo’ing to the extent that I’m getting nervous he may have another heart attack :shifty:. He and Orton exchange words, he’s making his callout of Orton in a Parking Lot Brawl official. Orton keeps reminding him that he’s retired and it means he’s done with. Flair starts calling Orton a punk to the point that Orton accepts, telling Flair “This will be a night you never forget, because it will be a night you never remember.†Voices plays and we go to commercial.
Segment Rating: ***
Orton’s entire speech was solid. I particularly liked the way he did the forgetting/remembering bit. Really left us anticipating something more. Cody didn’t do too bad on the stick himself, but he’s still somewhat annoying to listen to, like, I don’t believe he believes what he’s saying.
Steel Cage Match - Batista vs. Cody Rhodes
Winner: Batista
Batista came out to an even louder pop than he’s been getting in recent weeks, as Cody is already in the cage. Cody tries to make a quick escape, but Batista traps him, does the powerful monster type shit the entire match. A couple slams, holding Cody’s head against the cage with his boot, shoulder thrusts, then the “mid-air†spear. Cody tries to climb out as Orton comes out to watch from ringside, but Batista grabs him and hits the Batista bomb, pins, and then taunts Orton from inside the cage.
Match Rating: **
Definitely lackluster. They could have at least given Cody a bit of offense like they’ve done with DiBiase vs. Batista. I hate that they’re making him out to be a complete tool when he’s definitely got potential. This is The Dream’s son… but it’s more evident he’s Goldust’s brother.
Backstage Segment – Big Show, Vickie & Chavo Guerrero
Vickie is talking about Show’s tag match tonight with Miz against John Cena and a mystery partner. Show talks about hating Miz and the way he talks all cocky with his fake win-streak and how disrespectful it is to Show. She let’s Show choose from a bag, and Chavo’s name is drawn. Chavo’s laughing the entire time (as though he’s going to help Show and Miz destroy Cena), Show tells him that he’ll hurt Cena tonight, and Chavo as well if he gets in his way.
Segment Rating: ½*
It served its purpose, but everything within the story bores me half to death. Vickie’s potential is outrageously being wasted, and Chavo might as well be a cardboard cutout, because he’s displaying no charisma whatsoever. And Show’s a bit confusing to me nowadays.
Diva’s Tag – Kelly Kelly & Mickie James vs. Maryse & Beth Phoenix (w/ Rosa)
Winner: Maryse & Beth Phoenix
Match begins with Mickie trying to hit Maryse who dodges and drops to the floor, Beth and Mickie start it off. There’s a couple dropkicks and pin attempts by Mickie. Kelly comes in and mounts some offense, hitting Beth with a hurricanrana and pin attempt. Beth ends up getting Kelly in a backbreaker, then there’s an exchange with everyone getting involved, Mickie with a body press from the top rope, Rosa interfering, a couple strikes, Kelly gets the advantage then Maryse turns up and DDT’s her, pinning her for the win.
Match Rating: *½
I guess for once, they displayed a bit more, but they ruined the build they could have capitalized on after last week with Maryse and Kelly Kelly maybe going a bit extreme. Decent for what it’s worth, but Beth looks like she’s nothing now.
Tag Team Match – Matt Hardy & William Regal vs. The Colons
Winner: The Colons
We find out if Hardy and Regal win, they get a future title shot. Primo and Regal start off with some good momentum swings, nice attacks. Hardy gets tagged in, he and Regal are cutting the ring in half and working well as a team. Eventually Primo makes the hot tag, Carlito has offensive, Matt knocks Primo out, then goes to use the cast on Carlito but hits Regal by accident. He get knocked off the apron by Carlito, who hits the backstabber on Regal and gets the pin. Hardy and Regal exchange words after the match.
Match Rating: **
Some good action, but the WWE is pissing me off with all these misses on #1 Contenders. Just name someone and get a good feud. Have someone attack the Colons, anything. Just get a damn storyline going for the Undisputed Tag Titles!
Parking Lot Segment – Ric Flair & Batista
Batista walks up as Flair is waiting in the parking lot. Flair cuts him off before he even gets the opportunity to speak. He tells him he misses being Ric Flair, wakes up wanting to be Flair, and do what he loves. He said he’d never retire, and he hates his position and misses it. He tells Batista he’s going to soften Randy up, and asks him to be his friend. He’s been in fights, he’s been beat up, he’ll get some shots in. He keeps tellin’ Dave [Batista] he’ll make him proud. They hug, and then cut out.
Segment Rating: **
I’ll give this one 2 because it was a good segment. Flair being added into this has been beneficial in my opinion. He’s got the emotion to sell these promos, and we’re left wondering his mindset, and who he’s with. Batista seems to be acting like Flair’s finished, Randy is burying Flair’s “Legacy†:shifty: and he’s calling out Orton to a parking lot brawl. Really anticipating what might be happening in this storyline.
Backstage Segment – Vickie Guerrero, Matt Hardy, and William Regal
Matt and William are asking Vickie for another shot, she’s exposing that those who do work for her get rewarded. She asks why she should; Matt blames Regal for the loss who blames Matt back. Matt whispers his plan into Vickie’s ear about her “match†with Santino tonight. She starts laughing and snorting (like a fucking pig).
Segment Rating: ½*
Even worse than the other storyline segment, but I’ll actually tune into this “match†to see what Hardy and Regal have in store for Santino.
Backstage Segment – Chavo working out, Cena walkby.
Chavo’s working out (as the segment title suggests), and (as the segment title suggests) Cena walks by. Chavo tells Cena he’s got his back, and guarantees a victory.
“Segment†Rating: ¼*
Again, what in the fuck is Chavo doing? Where does he stand? I’m too confused about this entire situation.
Tag Team Match with The Miz Pre-Match Promo – The Miz & Big Show vs. John Cena & Chavo Guerrero
Winner: John Cena & Chavo Guerrero
Miz comes out with a mic, calling Cena a brown-nosing sell-out who won over the hearts of millions of 9-year olds, and classes him with Hannah Montana. On the other hand, The Miz is in a class of his own. He’ll go 7-0 against Cena, and he’s Awesome… drawing GREAT heat.
We come back from commercial, Cena gets a big pop. He and Show start the match, Cena gets a few shots in on show, then a big side slam by Show onto Cena. Cena gets up and Show’s punching him in the body then delivers a big body slam. Show throws him outside the ring, and Miz gets out and starts beating him down, but Show demands he stops, they’re not gelling as a unit. Show starts working Cena down with a couple leg drops, Miz tags himself in pissing Show off. He gets a 2-count on Cena and then mounts an offensive in the corner. Cena gains momentum fighting back, burying Miz for the most part with his moves of doom. Cena goes for the AA, Show tags himself in, Cena doesn’t know it, neither did the ref. Show chokeslams Cena, ref kicks him out of the ring. Show pleads with Miz to tag him in, but Miz taunts him. Chavo tags himself in, Show lays Miz out with the big right, Chavo gets the pin. Then he celebrates with Cena, who hits him with the AA, then stands off with Show. They brawl, Cena goes up to the top rope, dives off, and gets punched by Show in mid-air. Show locks on the “camel clutch backbreaker†as Cole calls it, then stands over Cena calming down.
Match Rating: *½
This match seemed like complete filler. Miz’s promo was great, as he always is, but other than that, the match lacked. I don’t like this whole Show vs. Miz thing going on, don’t like Show vs. Cena, can’t understand Chavo’s involvement/role in anything anymore.
Backstage Segment Interview – Kofi Kingston & MVP
These two go back and forth giving each other praise. Kofi’s displaying intensity, focus, and determination. He tells MVP he’ll take that belt off of him so he has less weight to carry with whatsherface from The View. MVP says he respects him, but that doesn’t mean he won’t beat him.
Segment Rating: ***
A bit high for the duration of the segment, I know. But I was impressed with Kofi’s speech, focus, charisma, and his one-liner. MVP was played down a bit in his wit, but I still like this laid back face role for him. Seeing signs that he might be a tweener, but that’ll have to come with more popularity. Shock-value brings the rating up though, so don’t complain, asses!
Intercontinental Championship – Kofi Kingston vs. MVP (c)
Winner: Kofi Kingston
Both men come out to decent pops, nothing too loud, but they had some following. The match is high-intensity and fast-paced. They go back and forth with some nice moves. They trade pinfall attempts, then Kofi dropkicks MVP into the corner, jumps in his face showing him how close he was to winning, then does his taunt before commercial (GOD DAMN COMMERCIAL COCKTEASES!) We come back and MVP has the advantage, Kofi fights out with elbows, throwing MVP to the ropes and hits an elbow knocking MVP down (good classical exchange there). Kofi does his hop in the corner, MVP catches him, Kofi reverses with a rollup and near fall. MVP ends up hitting a running kick to the face (blink and you would’ve missed it) and gets a 2 count. Then goes for the Ballin’ Elbow for a 2-count. Then there’s an amazing counter after counter exchange, with a nice one by MVP barely ducking the L.I.P., and a few chain-wrestling pin attempts, and Kofi’s final reversal is too much for MVP. Kofi gets a 3-count clean win.
Match Rating: ***¼
This match was incredible. With MVP needing something to do at Extreme Rules and Hardy/Regal looking to be tied up in something else, I’m looking forward to some form of a rematch. Awesome match, great exchanges, good momentum turns, both men taunting a bit, playing to the crowd. This may have been one of the best matches on Raw since the Draft. Nice to see Kofi with the strap in a clean victory, a close victory, which didn’t take away from MVP. Good to see sportsmanship and MVP passing the belt.
Backstage Segment – Orton & Ted DiBiase
Orton’s taping his wrists, and Ted walks up. He asks Orton why he’s doing this (fighting Flair). Orton asks if he’s doubting him. Ted reminds him he’s got everything to lose, and Flair’s got nothing to lose. He asks Orton what if he gets injured? Orton says he’s got it all under control. Ted pauses and then chuckles a bit, and then reminds Orton that’s what Cody said and walks off. Orton looks more intense.
Segment Rating: **
It seems they’re letting Ted do a bit of driving now, developing his character within Legacy a bit further. I didn’t get a sense of dissension or anything of the sort. This segment really pushed the storyline a bit further. Really getting interesting. Ted’s decent with the speech.
Vickie Guerrero vs. Santino Marella
Vickie comes out to major heat; carrying two buckets of hog slop (all hail the Godwins!). Santino comes out, grabs one of the buckets, and backs Vickie into a corner. Regal and Hardy run down, and Santino spins, throwing the slop everywhere (mainly all over Regal). He tries to attack Matt, but gets beat down. Hardy uses his cast, and they leave Santino laying in the ring. Vickie grabs the other bucket of slop and dumps it all over Santino, then scoops some and throws it on him, then stands with one foot on his chest laughing.
“Match†Rating: *
Once again, I’m tired of all this, but thank God for the throwback unintentional tribute of hog slop buckets! The beatdown kinda sucked though, so nothing was really worth it.
Segment – Lawler & Cole in the cage promoting Extreme Rules.
Rating (?): *
For promotional purposes, but they already promoted the cage at the beginning.
Then we cut to…
…MACHO MAN DVD PROMO (WITH FOOTAGE)!
Promo Rating: *****
I’m pumped for this now! DVD is going to be awesome. Can’t wait to put it in and see Vince nowhere in this DVD (except ringside :shifty:)
Parking Lot Brawl – Ric Flair vs. Randy Orton
Orton is searching for Flair, he can’t find him. He hears a noise and hops a railing, searching between cars. He walks out in the open and we see Flair sneaking down along the cars. He attacks Randy from behind, ripping his shirt and chopping him. Orton hits a knee. Flair regains the offensive and slams Orton into the bay door and chops him some more. They fight around, Orton tosses him into some equipment boxes. He picks him up and Flair fights back. He puts Orton on another equipment box, then pushes him sideways into some more equipment and a table (which Randy busts his head open on). They fight down a hallway and we get the first view of blood on Orton (HELL YES! +* in the rating for this fight)! They make their way into the arena, fighting below the stage. Orton fights back, getting a nice stomp on Flair’s head on the floor, and then they work over to the ramp. Orton’s got Flair down and does the Orton Stomps. He gets ready to throw Flair off the stage, but Flair stops him and hits a low blow back kick. He then stomps on Orton’s head. Flair picks Orton up and chops him down the ramp, Orton’s got blood flowing down his head and chest. Flair throws Orton against the cage (oh, so THAT’s why they brought it back down!) and then they fight around it. Flair puts Orton on the announce table, gets on it, and stomps Orton’s nuts (edgy). Then he locks Orton in the Figure 4 on the table, but Priceless comes out and start beating down Flair. They take him around the cage, slamming him against it and the barricade. Then they throw him in the cage and beat him down. Orton gets in, and has ‘em lock the cage behind him when they get out. He’s beating down Flair and Batista comes out, trying to get in the cage. Orton RKO’s Flair, and Batista gets mad. Orton stares Batista down as he starts to back up. Batista realizes and tells Randy not to do it, and he’s going to break him in half. Orton runs in for the punt (which hit pretty good, but kinda grazed) on Flair! Orton transfers from the punt to his emotionless adrenaline-fueled staredown with Batista, who keeps telling Orton in an upset voice that he’s going to tear him apart. Orton starts to grin, taunting Batista from the cage. (And while I may be mistaken) Batista says it again, but this time as we’re cutting, he calls Orton a piece of shit!? Did I hear that right?
“Segment†Rating: ****½
Yes, this segment was incredible. From almost every aspect of the brawl, to the blood, to the attack, to locking himself in the cage, to the RKO, to the staredown and the punt, and the final staredown at the end. I loved everything about the ending to Raw, and Orton punting Flair gave the skeptics even more to wonder about Flair’s position and role in WWE right now. Will he be out and return in a few weeks and get revenge. Will this inspire Triple H further? Will Batista be fueled enough to win at Extreme Rules? Could Flair still side with Orton regardless?
Match of the Night: Kofi Kingston vs. MVP (as a match since we can’t count unsanctioned).
Everything about this match was solid. The segment prior built up just fine, the action was great, the end was perfect. Everything was solid in this match, and MVP wasn’t hurt by the result.
Best Segment: Parking Lot Brawl
I’m skeptical about calling this a segment, it is borderline between that and a match, but it’s in comparison to the opening, which I feel we can tie together anyways. People are mad about Flair for no reason. He’s adding to this storyline where it was lacking. The Naych is still one of the best promo guys around, and he’s still one of the best performers around. The fact that it was a street fight made it appealing, then adding some blood for once (whether it was planned or not) made it all the more enjoyable and added a sense of realism to it. The ending really shocked me, and swayed me in a different light on the situation. You’d figure Orton could stop if he didn’t want to hurt Ric, or maybe out of some salvaged amount of respect for the man, but he’s a loose cannon, and when you pull the trigger, accident or not, the gun shoots. I love where Orton’s at in this portion of this storyline. Ric definitely saved it.
Show Rating: ***½
Definitely an improvement from where Raw’s been. The Vickie/Show/Cena/Chavo/Santino and the tag team stuff is really hurting Raw right now, but Show vs. Cena on Sunday one-on-one should be decent. Other than that, Legacy/Flair/Batista is enjoyable. MVP & Kofi are on fire. Miz being tied in with the Show stuff put a damper on his fire but it’s one down week.
We start the show off with Legacy standing inside the steel cage drawing major heat. Randy Orton has a mic and previews his match at Extreme Rules with Batista, saying there are no rules, and he can do whatever he wants. Then he announces that Vickie would grant him putting Batista in a steel cage match against a member of Priceless, which Orton would determine by flipping a coin. So he does, and we find out that Rhodes will be one to face Batista.
Rhodes takes the mic saying how his father has been in some of the best and most memorable cage matches in wrestling history, and that he knew what to do tonight. Orton tells people they’ll see [this] image at Extreme Rules as he exits the door and hops down onto the floor.
Then Ric Flair’s music hits and the Nature Boy comes out in an expensive suit as always, whoo’ing to the extent that I’m getting nervous he may have another heart attack :shifty:. He and Orton exchange words, he’s making his callout of Orton in a Parking Lot Brawl official. Orton keeps reminding him that he’s retired and it means he’s done with. Flair starts calling Orton a punk to the point that Orton accepts, telling Flair “This will be a night you never forget, because it will be a night you never remember.†Voices plays and we go to commercial.
Segment Rating: ***
Orton’s entire speech was solid. I particularly liked the way he did the forgetting/remembering bit. Really left us anticipating something more. Cody didn’t do too bad on the stick himself, but he’s still somewhat annoying to listen to, like, I don’t believe he believes what he’s saying.
Steel Cage Match - Batista vs. Cody Rhodes
Winner: Batista
Batista came out to an even louder pop than he’s been getting in recent weeks, as Cody is already in the cage. Cody tries to make a quick escape, but Batista traps him, does the powerful monster type shit the entire match. A couple slams, holding Cody’s head against the cage with his boot, shoulder thrusts, then the “mid-air†spear. Cody tries to climb out as Orton comes out to watch from ringside, but Batista grabs him and hits the Batista bomb, pins, and then taunts Orton from inside the cage.
Match Rating: **
Definitely lackluster. They could have at least given Cody a bit of offense like they’ve done with DiBiase vs. Batista. I hate that they’re making him out to be a complete tool when he’s definitely got potential. This is The Dream’s son… but it’s more evident he’s Goldust’s brother.
Backstage Segment – Big Show, Vickie & Chavo Guerrero
Vickie is talking about Show’s tag match tonight with Miz against John Cena and a mystery partner. Show talks about hating Miz and the way he talks all cocky with his fake win-streak and how disrespectful it is to Show. She let’s Show choose from a bag, and Chavo’s name is drawn. Chavo’s laughing the entire time (as though he’s going to help Show and Miz destroy Cena), Show tells him that he’ll hurt Cena tonight, and Chavo as well if he gets in his way.
Segment Rating: ½*
It served its purpose, but everything within the story bores me half to death. Vickie’s potential is outrageously being wasted, and Chavo might as well be a cardboard cutout, because he’s displaying no charisma whatsoever. And Show’s a bit confusing to me nowadays.
Diva’s Tag – Kelly Kelly & Mickie James vs. Maryse & Beth Phoenix (w/ Rosa)
Winner: Maryse & Beth Phoenix
Match begins with Mickie trying to hit Maryse who dodges and drops to the floor, Beth and Mickie start it off. There’s a couple dropkicks and pin attempts by Mickie. Kelly comes in and mounts some offense, hitting Beth with a hurricanrana and pin attempt. Beth ends up getting Kelly in a backbreaker, then there’s an exchange with everyone getting involved, Mickie with a body press from the top rope, Rosa interfering, a couple strikes, Kelly gets the advantage then Maryse turns up and DDT’s her, pinning her for the win.
Match Rating: *½
I guess for once, they displayed a bit more, but they ruined the build they could have capitalized on after last week with Maryse and Kelly Kelly maybe going a bit extreme. Decent for what it’s worth, but Beth looks like she’s nothing now.
Tag Team Match – Matt Hardy & William Regal vs. The Colons
Winner: The Colons
We find out if Hardy and Regal win, they get a future title shot. Primo and Regal start off with some good momentum swings, nice attacks. Hardy gets tagged in, he and Regal are cutting the ring in half and working well as a team. Eventually Primo makes the hot tag, Carlito has offensive, Matt knocks Primo out, then goes to use the cast on Carlito but hits Regal by accident. He get knocked off the apron by Carlito, who hits the backstabber on Regal and gets the pin. Hardy and Regal exchange words after the match.
Match Rating: **
Some good action, but the WWE is pissing me off with all these misses on #1 Contenders. Just name someone and get a good feud. Have someone attack the Colons, anything. Just get a damn storyline going for the Undisputed Tag Titles!
Parking Lot Segment – Ric Flair & Batista
Batista walks up as Flair is waiting in the parking lot. Flair cuts him off before he even gets the opportunity to speak. He tells him he misses being Ric Flair, wakes up wanting to be Flair, and do what he loves. He said he’d never retire, and he hates his position and misses it. He tells Batista he’s going to soften Randy up, and asks him to be his friend. He’s been in fights, he’s been beat up, he’ll get some shots in. He keeps tellin’ Dave [Batista] he’ll make him proud. They hug, and then cut out.
Segment Rating: **
I’ll give this one 2 because it was a good segment. Flair being added into this has been beneficial in my opinion. He’s got the emotion to sell these promos, and we’re left wondering his mindset, and who he’s with. Batista seems to be acting like Flair’s finished, Randy is burying Flair’s “Legacy†:shifty: and he’s calling out Orton to a parking lot brawl. Really anticipating what might be happening in this storyline.
Backstage Segment – Vickie Guerrero, Matt Hardy, and William Regal
Matt and William are asking Vickie for another shot, she’s exposing that those who do work for her get rewarded. She asks why she should; Matt blames Regal for the loss who blames Matt back. Matt whispers his plan into Vickie’s ear about her “match†with Santino tonight. She starts laughing and snorting (like a fucking pig).
Segment Rating: ½*
Even worse than the other storyline segment, but I’ll actually tune into this “match†to see what Hardy and Regal have in store for Santino.
Backstage Segment – Chavo working out, Cena walkby.
Chavo’s working out (as the segment title suggests), and (as the segment title suggests) Cena walks by. Chavo tells Cena he’s got his back, and guarantees a victory.
“Segment†Rating: ¼*
Again, what in the fuck is Chavo doing? Where does he stand? I’m too confused about this entire situation.
Tag Team Match with The Miz Pre-Match Promo – The Miz & Big Show vs. John Cena & Chavo Guerrero
Winner: John Cena & Chavo Guerrero
Miz comes out with a mic, calling Cena a brown-nosing sell-out who won over the hearts of millions of 9-year olds, and classes him with Hannah Montana. On the other hand, The Miz is in a class of his own. He’ll go 7-0 against Cena, and he’s Awesome… drawing GREAT heat.
We come back from commercial, Cena gets a big pop. He and Show start the match, Cena gets a few shots in on show, then a big side slam by Show onto Cena. Cena gets up and Show’s punching him in the body then delivers a big body slam. Show throws him outside the ring, and Miz gets out and starts beating him down, but Show demands he stops, they’re not gelling as a unit. Show starts working Cena down with a couple leg drops, Miz tags himself in pissing Show off. He gets a 2-count on Cena and then mounts an offensive in the corner. Cena gains momentum fighting back, burying Miz for the most part with his moves of doom. Cena goes for the AA, Show tags himself in, Cena doesn’t know it, neither did the ref. Show chokeslams Cena, ref kicks him out of the ring. Show pleads with Miz to tag him in, but Miz taunts him. Chavo tags himself in, Show lays Miz out with the big right, Chavo gets the pin. Then he celebrates with Cena, who hits him with the AA, then stands off with Show. They brawl, Cena goes up to the top rope, dives off, and gets punched by Show in mid-air. Show locks on the “camel clutch backbreaker†as Cole calls it, then stands over Cena calming down.
Match Rating: *½
This match seemed like complete filler. Miz’s promo was great, as he always is, but other than that, the match lacked. I don’t like this whole Show vs. Miz thing going on, don’t like Show vs. Cena, can’t understand Chavo’s involvement/role in anything anymore.
Backstage Segment Interview – Kofi Kingston & MVP
These two go back and forth giving each other praise. Kofi’s displaying intensity, focus, and determination. He tells MVP he’ll take that belt off of him so he has less weight to carry with whatsherface from The View. MVP says he respects him, but that doesn’t mean he won’t beat him.
Segment Rating: ***
A bit high for the duration of the segment, I know. But I was impressed with Kofi’s speech, focus, charisma, and his one-liner. MVP was played down a bit in his wit, but I still like this laid back face role for him. Seeing signs that he might be a tweener, but that’ll have to come with more popularity. Shock-value brings the rating up though, so don’t complain, asses!
Intercontinental Championship – Kofi Kingston vs. MVP (c)
Winner: Kofi Kingston
Both men come out to decent pops, nothing too loud, but they had some following. The match is high-intensity and fast-paced. They go back and forth with some nice moves. They trade pinfall attempts, then Kofi dropkicks MVP into the corner, jumps in his face showing him how close he was to winning, then does his taunt before commercial (GOD DAMN COMMERCIAL COCKTEASES!) We come back and MVP has the advantage, Kofi fights out with elbows, throwing MVP to the ropes and hits an elbow knocking MVP down (good classical exchange there). Kofi does his hop in the corner, MVP catches him, Kofi reverses with a rollup and near fall. MVP ends up hitting a running kick to the face (blink and you would’ve missed it) and gets a 2 count. Then goes for the Ballin’ Elbow for a 2-count. Then there’s an amazing counter after counter exchange, with a nice one by MVP barely ducking the L.I.P., and a few chain-wrestling pin attempts, and Kofi’s final reversal is too much for MVP. Kofi gets a 3-count clean win.
Match Rating: ***¼
This match was incredible. With MVP needing something to do at Extreme Rules and Hardy/Regal looking to be tied up in something else, I’m looking forward to some form of a rematch. Awesome match, great exchanges, good momentum turns, both men taunting a bit, playing to the crowd. This may have been one of the best matches on Raw since the Draft. Nice to see Kofi with the strap in a clean victory, a close victory, which didn’t take away from MVP. Good to see sportsmanship and MVP passing the belt.
Backstage Segment – Orton & Ted DiBiase
Orton’s taping his wrists, and Ted walks up. He asks Orton why he’s doing this (fighting Flair). Orton asks if he’s doubting him. Ted reminds him he’s got everything to lose, and Flair’s got nothing to lose. He asks Orton what if he gets injured? Orton says he’s got it all under control. Ted pauses and then chuckles a bit, and then reminds Orton that’s what Cody said and walks off. Orton looks more intense.
Segment Rating: **
It seems they’re letting Ted do a bit of driving now, developing his character within Legacy a bit further. I didn’t get a sense of dissension or anything of the sort. This segment really pushed the storyline a bit further. Really getting interesting. Ted’s decent with the speech.
Vickie Guerrero vs. Santino Marella
Vickie comes out to major heat; carrying two buckets of hog slop (all hail the Godwins!). Santino comes out, grabs one of the buckets, and backs Vickie into a corner. Regal and Hardy run down, and Santino spins, throwing the slop everywhere (mainly all over Regal). He tries to attack Matt, but gets beat down. Hardy uses his cast, and they leave Santino laying in the ring. Vickie grabs the other bucket of slop and dumps it all over Santino, then scoops some and throws it on him, then stands with one foot on his chest laughing.
“Match†Rating: *
Once again, I’m tired of all this, but thank God for the throwback unintentional tribute of hog slop buckets! The beatdown kinda sucked though, so nothing was really worth it.
Segment – Lawler & Cole in the cage promoting Extreme Rules.
Rating (?): *
For promotional purposes, but they already promoted the cage at the beginning.
Then we cut to…
…MACHO MAN DVD PROMO (WITH FOOTAGE)!
Promo Rating: *****
I’m pumped for this now! DVD is going to be awesome. Can’t wait to put it in and see Vince nowhere in this DVD (except ringside :shifty:)
Parking Lot Brawl – Ric Flair vs. Randy Orton
Orton is searching for Flair, he can’t find him. He hears a noise and hops a railing, searching between cars. He walks out in the open and we see Flair sneaking down along the cars. He attacks Randy from behind, ripping his shirt and chopping him. Orton hits a knee. Flair regains the offensive and slams Orton into the bay door and chops him some more. They fight around, Orton tosses him into some equipment boxes. He picks him up and Flair fights back. He puts Orton on another equipment box, then pushes him sideways into some more equipment and a table (which Randy busts his head open on). They fight down a hallway and we get the first view of blood on Orton (HELL YES! +* in the rating for this fight)! They make their way into the arena, fighting below the stage. Orton fights back, getting a nice stomp on Flair’s head on the floor, and then they work over to the ramp. Orton’s got Flair down and does the Orton Stomps. He gets ready to throw Flair off the stage, but Flair stops him and hits a low blow back kick. He then stomps on Orton’s head. Flair picks Orton up and chops him down the ramp, Orton’s got blood flowing down his head and chest. Flair throws Orton against the cage (oh, so THAT’s why they brought it back down!) and then they fight around it. Flair puts Orton on the announce table, gets on it, and stomps Orton’s nuts (edgy). Then he locks Orton in the Figure 4 on the table, but Priceless comes out and start beating down Flair. They take him around the cage, slamming him against it and the barricade. Then they throw him in the cage and beat him down. Orton gets in, and has ‘em lock the cage behind him when they get out. He’s beating down Flair and Batista comes out, trying to get in the cage. Orton RKO’s Flair, and Batista gets mad. Orton stares Batista down as he starts to back up. Batista realizes and tells Randy not to do it, and he’s going to break him in half. Orton runs in for the punt (which hit pretty good, but kinda grazed) on Flair! Orton transfers from the punt to his emotionless adrenaline-fueled staredown with Batista, who keeps telling Orton in an upset voice that he’s going to tear him apart. Orton starts to grin, taunting Batista from the cage. (And while I may be mistaken) Batista says it again, but this time as we’re cutting, he calls Orton a piece of shit!? Did I hear that right?
“Segment†Rating: ****½
Yes, this segment was incredible. From almost every aspect of the brawl, to the blood, to the attack, to locking himself in the cage, to the RKO, to the staredown and the punt, and the final staredown at the end. I loved everything about the ending to Raw, and Orton punting Flair gave the skeptics even more to wonder about Flair’s position and role in WWE right now. Will he be out and return in a few weeks and get revenge. Will this inspire Triple H further? Will Batista be fueled enough to win at Extreme Rules? Could Flair still side with Orton regardless?
Match of the Night: Kofi Kingston vs. MVP (as a match since we can’t count unsanctioned).
Everything about this match was solid. The segment prior built up just fine, the action was great, the end was perfect. Everything was solid in this match, and MVP wasn’t hurt by the result.
Best Segment: Parking Lot Brawl
I’m skeptical about calling this a segment, it is borderline between that and a match, but it’s in comparison to the opening, which I feel we can tie together anyways. People are mad about Flair for no reason. He’s adding to this storyline where it was lacking. The Naych is still one of the best promo guys around, and he’s still one of the best performers around. The fact that it was a street fight made it appealing, then adding some blood for once (whether it was planned or not) made it all the more enjoyable and added a sense of realism to it. The ending really shocked me, and swayed me in a different light on the situation. You’d figure Orton could stop if he didn’t want to hurt Ric, or maybe out of some salvaged amount of respect for the man, but he’s a loose cannon, and when you pull the trigger, accident or not, the gun shoots. I love where Orton’s at in this portion of this storyline. Ric definitely saved it.
Show Rating: ***½
Definitely an improvement from where Raw’s been. The Vickie/Show/Cena/Chavo/Santino and the tag team stuff is really hurting Raw right now, but Show vs. Cena on Sunday one-on-one should be decent. Other than that, Legacy/Flair/Batista is enjoyable. MVP & Kofi are on fire. Miz being tied in with the Show stuff put a damper on his fire but it’s one down week.
