The John Report: The WWE Raw Deal for 08/15/11 (Del Rio/Mysterio)
By John Canton
Follow me on Twitter at @johnreport
Live from San Diego, California this is the Raw Deal…
They aired still pictures from the ending of Summerslam to start the show. It only lasted about a minute. Then the theme song kicked in and they went to the arena shot. Looks like a full house in San Diego.
Triple H’s music starts us off. The announcers are Michael Cole, Jim Ross & Jerry Lawler. Hunter wants to apologize for Summerslam. He apologizes to Cena for not seeing his foot on the rope and that he’ll say it to face later. He talked about raising Punk’s hand as the WWE Champion. He says that while he’s a friend of Kevin Nash, he had nothing to do with him going into the ring. He said he left him tickets to be at the show, but he didn’t know he would jump into the ring. He said he invited him via text and that Nash said he would be there as long as he gets to tell the truth.
He says he didn’t know about Del Rio, but that’s how Money in the Bank works. He mentions promising us last week that we’d have one WWE Champion at Raw tonight and that’s what we have. Here he is…cue up Alberto Del Rio’s music. He walks down the aisle. No car. No Ricardo Rodriguez intro? That would have been great here.
Triple H was gone as Alberto Del Rio did his “my name is Alberto Del Rio…the Undisputed WWE Champion.” No “but you already knew that” line. That’s disappointing. He said it was his destiny. The crowd is booing him. He said he didn’t want to cash it in at Summerslam, but that destiny do whatever he wants. He says as champion he wants to represent us with respect, honesty and passion. The crowd is chanting “619″ during some of his speech. He mentions he’s going to face Rey Mysterio later tonight in Rey’s hometown. He calls Mysterio a Mexican icon, “I love Rey Mysterio” and then a 619 chant breaks out. “I love beating Rey Mysterio” is what he says to boos. Then he says when he wakes up he says he feels like beating Rey Mysterio every day. That’s what he’s going to do tonight in San Diego. He claims that after tonight Mysterio won’t be their hero because he will be their hero. I’m being told on Twitter that his nameplate isn’t on the title. After taking a closer look I can see that to be true. That’s weird.
That was a decent promo by Del Rio, but nothing special. I think it could have used some kind of retort from Mysterio to get the crowd even hotter for the match. The Triple H part was fine. At least it wasn’t as long winded as normal. This entire segment took 15 minutes.
They plugged Del Rio vs. Mysterio for the WWE Title later.
They showed Triple H walking into Cena’s locker room as they went to commercial.
(Commercial)
The “Did You Know?” was about WWE’s Military Outreach program.
R-Truth comes out to good heat. The announcers mention that it will be Truth vs. Morrison. Before the match, they had Morrison do a promo saying it would be a Falls Count Anywhere Match.
Falls Count Anywhere: R-Truth vs. John Morrison
This should be fun considering it’s FCA rules. “Bottom line is Morrison needs to win tonight,” says Ross. Morrison hits a clothesline to send Truth to the floor and follows it with a corkscrew plancha for a two count on the floor. Morrison used the barricade to leap onto Truth with a kick to the face for a two count. Truth hit a front suplex on the floor for a two count of his own. Three minutes in we go to commercial with Morrison selling pain on the floor.
(Commercial)
Back from break, Morrison hit a running knee to the head while Morrison’s head was against the barricade. Truth used a series of knees and kicks to keep Morrison down while they are on the floor. He crotches Morrison on the barricade and then clotheslines him so that they go into the crowd. Truth gets a two count while they’re in the crowd. Back to the ringside area, Morrison gets a kick to the head for two. Morrison puts Truth on a chair, then he ran at him and knocked him out with a running knee for the win after 11 minutes.
Winner: John Morrison
Analysis: *3/4 It was a decent match, but it didn’t have much of a flow to it. It was do a move and then go for a pin except nobody bought any of the pins as legit nearfalls. They could have had a better match without the Falls Count Anywhere rules. Morrison’s finish was decisive, though. I guess that means the feud is over.
Backstage, they showed CM Punk arriving to the building. Ross suggested that he likely didn’t know that Nash would be there. I’m sure somebody could have texted him. It’s real to me, damnit. Haha.
(Commercial)
They showed a clip of Mysterio winning the WWE Title a few weeks ago as a way to remind us that Del Rio vs. Mysterio would be happening later.
The music of The Miz hits. He walks out in a suit. His hair is especially spiked tonight. Woo woo woo he spiked his hair. Miz says he’s out there to talk about Jared from Subway, who is in the crowd. He says he can be a better spokesperson for Subway than Jared could ever be. Why is Jared a celebrity? Of course Jared had a sub in his hand. Miz took it from him and plugged the oven crisp chicken sandwich. So they’re wasting a Raw segment by promoting a sponsor’s product. Lame. The “Subway sucks” chant is great, though. Miz says he’s going to be a champion again. “I’m the Miz and I’m Awesome.” That’s it? Then Miz took a bite out of the sub.
What a brutal segment. That was it? Does that mean they can skip the three minute commercials that are about to happen because that’s what we just saw. Miz needs a feud badly. I guess WWE wants to push Subway because they wouldn’t get it as a sponsor if they were TV14. Because they’re PG, more mainstream companies like Subway will be a sponsor. To those that hate the PG movement, you should hate Subway too!
Backstage, Kevin Nash arrived in a limo. We’ll hear from him later.
(Commercial)
The announcers mentioned that Triple H is there, so is CM Punk and Kevin Nash. They showed country singer Trace Adkins in the front row. They plugged his elbow.
Kelly Kelly’s music hit as Yelly Yelly walked out with the Divas Title as well as Eve. It’s a tag match. I’m hoping for Beth & Natalya. Instead it’s the Bellas. How many times have we seen this damn match?
Kelly Kelly & Eve vs. Nikki & Brie Bella
Kelly hits a bulldog early and then a PG stinkface on Nikki. I follow none of these women on Twitter because none of them are of interest to me. There’s a good shot of Kelly’s cleavage. That’s not PG, but I’m here to point things like that out. Kelly is turning into Yelly Yelly mode as she tries to sell the worst submission ever that involves pushing her foot back to her face. Tag to Eve. I guess that’s the hot tag. Now the Bellas cheat to take advantage, but Eve hits a neckbreaker that looked a little sloppy. Kelly took out the other Bella chick as Eve hit a moonsault to win. Match went about 3 minutes.
Winners: Kelly Kelly & Eve
Analysis: DUD Can we never see this match again? It’s a shame that we didn’t get to see Kelly YELLYIING UP! in the match.
After the match, Beth Phoenix’s music started up. Her and Natalya, wearing dresses, stared at Kelly & Eve. Lawler plugged that they would have words for Kelly on their Twitter accounts.
They showed a clip of Nash powerbombing Punk at Summerslam. We’ll hear from Nash next as we go to the top of hour two.
(Commercial)
Justin Roberts welcomes former WWE Champion, a four time WCW Champion and one of the most influential superstars in the history of WWE…Kevin Nash. No theme music. He’s wearing a black t-shirt and blue jeans. He’s rocking the black hair and black beard. Cole pointed out that he was the longest reigning WWE Champion of the 90s. Yeah, one of the worst years of WWE business ever.
Nash thanks HHH for being there. He points out that they’ve known eachother for nearly 20 years and that HHH is the Godson to Nash’s son. He mentions that during show he got a text from somebody. The text read: “Big man, no matter what happens in the main event, stick the winner for me.” He said he missed the business. What he did was business. Nothing personal. He said Triple H knows nothing about it. “I think we need to get on the same page, Triple H. That’s it, buddy. Just business.” Cue up Cult of Personality. The crowd pops huge for CM Punk.
“You expect me to believe that load of crap?” says Punk. He thinks that if HHH asked Nash to jump off a bridge would he? Punk thinks that would be good for business. Nash just stared at him. He thinks that HHH & Nash don’t know what’s good for business. He tells Nash that he has no idea what’s good business. Nash mentions that this is the first time they’ve spoke and he tells Punk he needs to watch his mouth. “I do and say whatever I want to whomever I please,” says Punk. Big pop for that. Nash told him his world just changed.
Punk says that the story Nash told is that HHH lied, but maybe Nash is the liar. Nash asks him if he wants to read his text. Punk read a text from his sister Shaline (no idea how to spell): “OMG Kevin WTF thought he was dead LOL.” That’s funny. Punk says he’s not pissed at Del Rio. He’s pissed at Triple H and Nash. Nash says that all HHH did was shake things up around there. Punk says “no I’m the guy that shook things up around here.” Crowd loved that one too.
Nash says that he did a lot for the business with Scott Hall in 1996 when he got guaranteed money for wrestlers. Nash ripped on Punk’s look. “Take a shower, hit the weights, get a clue.” Punk says he doesn’t care what name Nash is going by. He thinks it’s clear that Nash wants a fight, so they can fight right there in San Diego. Security guys blocked Punk’s entry to the ring.
Punk says he’s not surprised that HHH would have security watching Nash, but that means that HHH is probably available backstage so he’s going to find some answers that way.
That was a good 15 minute exchange. Nash was very heelish in the segment and the crowd didn’t like anything he had to say. He’s always been a gifted talker and that was the case here too. Punk’s lines drew big pops repeatedly. I tried to get every one of them written down, but it’s tough when they talk so fast. The gist of it is that we don’t really know who told Nash to do what he did. Punk thinks HHH was involved although there’s no proof of that. I liked the security touch. It was very similar to how they’d book Austin during his main event run, but it’s okay with me because Punk makes it work. We still don’t have concrete answers about who told Nash to do that. I like that. More unanswered questions is a good thing.
They showed Mysterio’s World Title win at Fatal Fourway last year as a way to promote Del Rio/Mysterio later.
(Commercial)
Backstage, Nash ran into John Laurinaitis. He tells Nash that what Punk said was unacceptable and Laurinaitis wanted to talk to Nash about something. They left to go talk in JL’s office. I missed Marty Funkhouser on Curb Your Enthusiasm this week, but at least we got the raspy voice on Raw. Funk man!
They recapped the Ziggler/Riley segment from last week’s Raw when Ziggler argued with Vickie. Ziggler & Vickie are at the announce desk. SAY IT TO MY FACE time as Riley comes out for a match. Jack Swagger comes out as his opponent.
Alex Riley vs. Jack Swagger
Swagger’s one of my favorites in the company, but his name could be Jack “The Jobber” Swagger to represent how they have booked him for the last year. Lawler makes fun of Vickie’s weight and Ziggler points out that she has the second best body at the announce table right now. The bickering between Ziggler & Guerrero continues at the announce table. Swagger hits a side suplex for two. The announcers rip on them while Vickie & Dolph continue to argue. Riley hits a spinebuster. The crowd is pretty dead for it. Riley hits a STO as Vickie’s pissed off with Ziggler. She takes off Ross’ hat and puts it on. Riley hits Swagger with a kick to the head. Vickie puts the hat on the referee. Riley was distracted by it. Swagger goes for the Gutwrench Powerbomb and he messes it up twice. He finally hits the Gutwrench Powerbomb for the win. Cole mentions that it’s Swagger’s first victory on Raw in over a month. Match went 4 minutes.
Winner: Jack Swagger
After the match, Ziggler stepped on Ross’ hat. I guess that was done to earn some boos from the crowd. I’m not even sure.
Analysis: 1/2* What the hell was that? The commentary was weird, the match had no semblance of order to it and then Swagger couldn’t pick up Riley for the ending. That was a messed up match. It left confused and wondering what they were trying to accomplish.
They showed a clip of Mysterio beating Miz to win the WWE Title tourney from July.
(Commercial)
If you missed my Summerslam recap the link to that is here. I loved it. Second best PPV of the year after Money in the Bank.
Backstage, Vickie was walking. Jack Swagger walked up to her and kissed her butt, saying she has managed World Champions in the past. He tells her that she looks great, she’s a great manager and he lists off managers of the past like Heenan & Blassie. They all had multiple clientele. He says maybe she should expand her roster. In other words, he wants her to manage him. If it means a push for Swagger then I’m a fan of that.
They aired the same Summerslam Axxess video package that aired at the Summerslam PPV. They do Summerslam in Los Angeles every year as a way to suck up to Hollywood. No idea if Melina was in a parking lot trying to sneak into any of the events.
Backstage, there’s CM Punk. He runs into Stephanie McMahon in a locker room. She looks good for somebody in her mid 30s and after having three kids. She says she’s sorry for what happened to Punk at Summerslam and that “in the end people always get what they deserve.” What could she mean?
(Commercial)
Back from break, Kofi Kingston comes out for a tag match. His partner is Evan Bourne. They plug WWE Night of Champions, which is the next PPV in September in Buffalo. The music of Michael McGillicutty & David Otunga start up. Cole mentions Shawn Michaels tweeting about ordering somebody to attack somebody via a text. Cole wondered if he was serious. I saw the tweet. It was not serious.
Michael McGillicutty & David Otunga vs. Evan Bourne & Kingston
They barely talked about anybody in the match until a minute in because they were talking about the main angle. Lawler made a joke about Vickie Guerrero expanding. Yep, he made a fat joke. Didn’t they just air a “Be A Star” anti-bullying promo? They sure did. The heels work over Bourne. At one point McGillicutty punched Bourne, whiffed by a lot and Evan still sold it. Bourne is great. Lawler wants to see M&O do something special. That was odd, but you know why they can’t be special? Because Otunga sucks. McGillicutty is okay, but his name is awful and he doesn’t have charisma. The crowd is dead for this. Bourne makes the comeback and Kingston busts out some explosive offense. He misses a corner splash, but gets the boots to the face. Nice top rope clothesline that Otunga breaks up. Ross calls it a “vintage” save to make fun of Cole because Cole was making fun of his accent. Kingston puts down McGillicutty, Bourne gets the tag and hits the Air Bourne Shooting Star Press for the pinfall win.
Winners: Kingston & Bourne
Analysis: *1/4 Typical booking with champs losing a non-title match. Very boring until the hot tag to Kingston. The offense of McGillicutty & Otunga just isn’t good. Ross suggested that Kingston & Bourne team up on a permanent basis. I’d like that. They should turn them into a permanent team because it’s better than making them jobbers. They’re both too good for that. It’s a way to improve the tag division too.
They show Mysterio in the locker room getting ready. Crowd pops huge for the hometown hero. That Del Rio vs. Mysterio match is next.
Still no sign of Cena, by the way. He’s in his locker room apparently, but not showing his face. Wouldn’t he be mad about losing the WWE Title because of a referee error? That’s a little odd.
(Commercial)
The “Did You Know?” was the Social Networking stat: WWE has more Twitter followers than Disney, Coca-Cola, Microsoft, McDonald’s and AT&T. All of those companies have more money than WWE. What do you think WWE would rather have?
Ricardo Rodriguez introduces us to the new WWE Champion Alberto Del Rio. He comes out in a red Ferrari. It’s expensive. I like that Del Rio is actually wearing the title unlike most people. Punk did it too, so that’s good. There’s still no name plate on Del Rio’s title. Not a fan of the champion getting introduced first although with it being Rey’s hometown that makes sense. The crowd is really hot for Mysterio as they chant 619, which is of course the area code for San Diego. It’s 10:50pmET as we start this match.
WWE Title: Alberto Del Rio vs. Rey Mysterio
Del Rio dominates early, whipping Mysterio into the corner. Rey comes back to set up for the 619 only for Del Rio to slip to the floor. You could tell Rey is limping. His knee injury, which has plagued him for many years and required multiple surgeries, is supposedly really bad. He had a MRI last week. We don’t know the results, but it’s possible that he’ll miss some time in the near future.
(Commercial)
Back from break, they tell us that Del Rio was dominating during the break. Mysterio comes back with some of his usual offense and then hits a DDT off the top rope to a big pop. The announcers should stop comparing this crowd to Chicago at Money in the Bank because Chicago kicks this crowd’s ass. Mysterio gets a rollup for two. He did two in a row. Del Rio slows it down, Mysterio fights out, Del Rio charges and Mysterio moves. Del Rio goes leg first to the floor. Pain bump there. Mysterio hits a seated dropkick and then an Asai Moonsault on the floor. He throws Del Rio to the floor, hits a Senton off the top and goes for a 619. Del Rio counters with a clothesline as we reach the 10 minute mark. More offense by Del Rio. He put Mysterio on the top rope and hit an enziguri that sent Mysterio crashing down.
Del Rio was going for the Cross Armbreaker, but Mysterio countered with a rollup for two. The crowd’s chanting “619″ to support Rey. Mysterio hits a headscissors, then connects with the 619 and he goes to the top rope. He misses his splash. Del Rio got the knees up. He cradles up Rey and pins him for the three count after 13 minutes of action.
Winner: Alberto Del Rio
Analysis: **1/2 Decent match although we’ve seen better from there. You can tell Mysterio gutted it out with the knee injury.
Post match, Del Rio attacks Mysterio’s arm. He bent it back over the ring ropes. Then he banged it into announce desk. He went back in the ring where he applied the Cross Armbreaker. I assume that’s your injury angle to Mysterio.
John Cena came running out to help Mysterio. I guess he got tired of sitting in his locker room for two hours. He says he has a lot of reasons to be pissed off. He says he could be mad at HHH, but he’s pissed off at Del Rio. He says Del Rio’s not a real champion because of the way he cashed in. “You are not a champion, you are a target.” He says that holding onto the gold makes every person he knows his enemy. He says Punk earned the right to be champion while Del Rio cashed in the briefcase to get lucky. He tells Del Rio that if he defends against him he won’t be so lucky. “You’re about to find out that your destiny is John Cena whipping your ass.” Ass? No poop jokes. I guess he’s serious. The show ends there.
It was a very strong promo from Cena. He has more edge to him than he did before because the poopy joke guy wasn’t very entertaining. That was better. He should be mad. The question is why wait two hours to show that anger? I guess it set him up in the hero role because he saved Rey from further injury.
Three Stars of the Show
1. Alberto Del Rio – Congrats to the new champ. He had a pretty good showing.
2. CM Punk – He had some solid lines in his promo with Nash.
3. Kevin Nash – He did well in his return heel promo.
Mysterio deserves props too for working through the obvious knee problems.
4 out of 10
Last week: 6.5
2011 High Score: 9.1 (March 28)
2011 Low Score: 4 (Jan. 10/May 9)
2011 Average: 5.81
Last 5 Weeks: 4, 6.5, 5, 7.5, 6
What an odd show. I’m giving it a 4. This is the first misstep in quite a while for Raw. The Punk/Nash segment was pretty good, but otherwise there wasn’t a whole lot that left me impressed. Both the Riley/Swagger and Otunga/McGillicutty vs. Kofi/Bourne were both flat matches. We saw the same divas tag match we’ve seen too many times in the last few months. The main event was pretty good except that we’ve seen it many times and they had better matches in the past. Cena wasn’t on for two hours of the show even though he was in the building, which is a little weird.
We have no idea where things are headed as far as the WWE Title goes. I would guess that it’s likely that it will be Del Rio vs. Cena vs. Punk at Night of Champions although that’s just me assuming.
I just finished up my seventh post in the last nine days. I have some days off work this week, so I’m going to be taking a bit of a writing break too although I have some major projects I’m working on too. Those will get posted in September at some point. I will come back on Saturday with the next edition of Canton’s Corner.
How would you rate 08/15 Raw on the 1-10 scale?
Thanks for reading.
John Canton – john@thejohnreport.net
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