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August 1st
On this day in history in ....
1963 - Eddie Graham defeats Hiro Matsuda for the (Florida) Southern Heavyweight Title in Jacksonville, Florida, beginning his fourth reign with the title.
1972 - Devon is born.
1974 - Bulldog Bob Brown defeats Harley Race in Kansas City, Kansas for the Central States Heavyweight Title. This ended Race's sixth reign with the belt, and started Brown's fifth title run.
1982 - Harley Race defeats Jumbo Tsuruta for the NWA United National Heavyweight Title (now part of the All Japan Triple Crown) in Tokyo, Japan. This ended Tsuruta's fourth reign with the belt.
1983 - Jim Crockett Promotions ran Greenville, SC with the following results:
Vinnie Valentino defeated Tom Lintz
Gene Anderson defeated Mike Davis
Mike Rotundo defeated the Assassin
Jake Roberts defeated Rufus R. Jones
Bob Orton Jr. defeated Dory Funk Jr.
Ric Flair & Ricky Steamboat defeated NWA Tag Team Champions Jack & Jerry Brisco via disqualification
1984 - Jim Crockett Promotions ran Columbia, SC, with the following results:
Vinnie Valentino defeated Kurt Von Hess
Nikita Koloff defeated Barry Hart
NWA TV Champion Tully Blanchard defeated Pez Whatley
NWA Tag Team Champions Don Kernodle & Ivan Koloff defeated the Renegade & Mark Youngblood
Ricky Steamboat defeated Wahoo McDaniel via disqualification
1985 - Jim Crockett Promotions ran a doubleshot, featuring the following results:
Mount Holly, NJ at the Burlington County Vo-Tech High School featuring the following results:
Denny Brown fought Stoney Burke to a draw
Pat Tanaka defeated Gerald Finley
Ron Bass defeated the Barbarian via disqualification
Manny Fernandez defeated Superstar Billy Graham
NWA TV Champion Dusty Rhodes defeated Abdullah the Butcher via countout
Huntington, WV:
Rising Sun #1 defeated Ricky Reeves
NWA National Tag Team Champions Arn & Ole Anderson defeated Johnny Weaver & Sam Houston
NWA U.S. Champion Tully Blanchard defeated Starship Eagle
Jimmy Valiant defeated Paul Jones in a dog collar match
NWA World Tag Team Champions The Rock N' Roll Express defeated Ivan & Nikita Koloff
NWA World Champion Ric Flair fought Magnum TA to a draw
1986 - Jim Crockett Promotions ran San Antonio, TX, healined by Baby Doll & The Rock N' Roll Express defeating Jim Cornette & NWA World Tag Team Champions The Midnight Express, Bobby Eaton & Dennis Condrey
1987 - Bill Watts' UWF held their final "Superdome Extravaganza" at the Superdome in New Orleans. Watts' had run several supercards at the Superdome over the years, with it peaking in the early 80's, when Mid-South Wrestling (as the promotion was known then) drew up to 30,000 fans for shows with Junkyard Dog, Ted DiBiase and the Freebirds. This show drew 5,000 fans, up from two previous Dome shows Watts had run, but far less than the peak events. Watts would soon sell the promotion to WCW. Here are the results:
- Shane Douglas defeated Gary Young.
- Davey Haskins defeated Mike Boyette.
- Terry Gordy defeated The Angel Of Death.
- Terry Taylor defeated Steve Cox.
- Barry Windham defeated Shaska Watley.
- Rick Steiner defeated Chris Adams in a Taped Fist match.
- Sting defeated The Enforcer.
- Tim Horner & Brad Armstrong defeated The Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton & Stan Lane) via disqualification.
- Dusty Rhodes & Steve Williams defeated Eddie Gilbert & Dick Murdoch in a Double Bullrope match.
- The Fabulous Freebirds defeated Black Bart, Big Bubba Rogers & The Terminator in a First Blood Elimination Steel Cage match, in which wrestlers were eliminated when they were busted open. Order of elimination was: Buddy Roberts, The Terminator, Michael Hayes, Black Bart, Bubba Rogers. Terry Gordy was the sole survivor.
1987 - Jim Crockett Promotions ran Richmond, VA at the Coliseum before 7,500 fans, featuring:
Thunderfoot #1 & Sean Royal defeated the Italian Stallion & Nelson Royal
Ivan Koloff defeated Todd Champion
The Barbarian defeated Kendall Windham
Jimmy Valiant & Bugsy McGraw defeated the MOD Squad
Jimmy Garvin defeated Manny Fernandez
Nikita Koloff defeated NWA U.S. Champion Lex Luger via disqualification
NWA World Tag Team Champions The Rock N' Roll Express defeated NWA TV Champion Tully Blanchard & Arn Anderson
Ron Garvin defeated NWA World Champion Ric Flair via disqualification
1988 - Jim Crockett Promotions ran Milwaukee, WI at the Mecca, featuring the following results:
Dick Murdoch defeated the Russian Assassin
Jimmy Garvin defeated Rick Steiner
Al Perez defeated Kendall Windham
Larry Zbyszko defeated Tim Horner
Bugsy McGraw defeated Rip Morgan
Ricky Morton & Brad Armstrong defeated the Sheepherders
The Fantastics, Bobby Fulton & Tommy Rogers defeated NWA U.S. Tag Team Champions The Midnight Express, Bobby Eaton & Stan Lane in a non-title bunkhouse match
NWA World TV Champion Mike Rotundo defeated Nikita Koloff
Dusty Rhodes, Lex Luger, Sting, & the Road Warriors defeated NWA World Champion Ric Flair, NWA US Champion Barry Windham, NWA Tag Team Champions Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard, and JJ Dillion in Wargames - The Match Beyond.
1989 - NWA ran a TV taping in Baton Rouge, LA at the Centroplex featuring the following results:
The New Zealand Milita, Jacko Victory & Rip Morgan defeated The Dynamic Dudes, Shane Douglas & Johnny Ace when Morgan pinned Ace after Victory hit Ace in the face with a canteen behind the referee's back; it was later stated Ace sustained a broken cheek bone as a result of the blow
Brian Pillman pinned Norman (w/ Teddy Long) with a roll over as Norman had a fit on the mat; after the match, Long slapped Norman and ordered him to go after Pillman, with Norman then ramming Pillman into the ringpost and hitting a splash off the middle turnbuckle after Long laid Norman's giant key across Pillman's chest
1991 - WCW ran St. Louis, MO at the Arena, featuring the following results:
WCW U.S. Tag Team Champions Michael Hayes & Jimmy Garvin defeated Tracey Smothers & Steve Armstrong
Richard Morton defeated Robert Gibson
WCW World TV Champion Steve Austin fought Bobby Eaton to a draw
Dustin Rhodes & Big Josh defeated Arn Anderson & Larry Zbyszko via disqualification
WCW World Champion Lex Luger defeated Barry Windham
Sting defeated Nikita Koloff in a Texas Death Match
PN News, Yellow Dog (Brian Pillman under a mask) & the Junkyard Dog defeated the Diamond Studd, Johnny B. Badd & Black Bart
Ron Simmons & EL Gigante defeated The Hardliners, Dick Murdoch & Dick Slater in a steel cage match
1992 - WCW ran Philadelphia, PA at the Civic Center, featuring the following results:
Bobby Eaton pinned Michael Hayes (substituting for Larry Zbyszko, selling the arm injury he sustained on TV)
Madusa pinned Heidi Lee Morgan
Dustin Rhodes pinned Greg Valentine with the bulldog; stipulations stated the match could only end following Rhodes' bulldog or Valentine's figure-4
WCW TV Champion Steve Austin fought Barry Windham to a draw
Rick & Scott Steiner defeated Unified WCW and NWA World Tag Team Champions Steve Williams & Terry Gordy in a non-title match
Ricky Steamboat pinned Cactus Jack in a falls count anywhere match
Sting & Ron Simmons defeated WCW World Champion Big Van Vader & the Super Invader
Nikita Koloff pinned WCW U.S. Champion Rick Rude in a non-title match
1996 - W*ING Kanemura defeats Masato Tanaka in a tournament final in Shiodome, Japan to become the first FMW Independent World Heavyweight Champion.
1996 - WCW ran Beaumont, TX at the Civic Center featuring the following results:
Konnan defeated Michael Wallstreet.
Alex Wright (sub. for Chavo Guerrero Jr.) defeated Terry Taylor (sub. for Psychosis)
Big Bubba defeated John Tenta
Eddie Guerrero defeated Chris Benoit
WCW Cruiserweight Champion Rey Mysterio Jr. defeated Dean Malenko via reverse decision; Malenko originally won the match and title after hitting Mysterio with brass knuckles
Public Enemy defeated the Nasty Boys in a Streetfight
Randy Savage defeated WCW U.S. Champion Ric Flair; Flair originally won with his feet on the ropes for leverage but the bout continued with the title not at stake
WCW World Champion the Giant defeated WCW World TV Champion Lex Luger
1997 - Extreme Championship Wrestling ran Rostraver, PA at the Ice Garden featuring:
John Kronus defeated Louie Spicolli
Nova defeated Barry Hardy
Tracy Smothers & Little Guido defeated Los Cholos
ECW TV Champion Taz defeated Wolfie D
Axl Rotten defeated Chris Chetti
Mikey Whipwreck & Spike Dudley defeated Bobby Duncum Jr. & Jason
Shane Douglas & Bam Bam Bigelow & Chris Candido defeated Buh Buh Ray &, D-Von, & Big Dick Dudley
Rob Van Dam defeated Balls Mahoney
Sabu defeated Tommy Dreamer
1997 - New Japan Pro Wrestling ran Tokyo, Japan at Sumo Hall with the following results:
Takashi Iizuka & Kazuyuki Fujita defeated Kendo Kashin & Tatsuhito Takaiwa at 9:20 when Takaiwa submitted to Iizuka
Shinjiro Ohtani & Koji Kanemoto defeated Jushin Liger & El Samurai at 17:24 when Ohtani pinned Liger
Tatsumi Fujinami & Osamu Kido defeated Riki Choshu & Kengo Kimura at 9:06 when Kido pinned Kimura
Satoshi Kojima pinned Lord Steven Regal at 9:45
Hiroyoshi Tenzan pinned Tadao Yasuda at 10:31
Scott Norton pinned Junji Hirata at 6:31
Masahiro Chono defeated Michiyoshi Ohara at 18:39 via submission
The Great Muta pinned Manabu Nakanishi at 10:25
Shinya Hashimoto defeated Kazuo Yamazaki at 11:35 via submission
1998 - WCW ran Little Rock, AR at Barton Coliseum featuring the following results:
Lizmark Jr. & Silver King defeated Damien & Ciclope
Ernest Miller defeated Terry Taylor
Fit Finlay defeated Chris Adams
Jim Duggan defeated Kendall Windham
Raven defeated Perry Saturn
Brad Armstrong defeated WCW Cruiserweight Champion Chris Jericho in a non-title match
Lex Luger defeated WCW U.S. Champion Bret Hart via disqualification in a non-title match when Scott Hall interfered; moments later, Kevin Nash made the save
Kevin Nash & Lex Luger defeated Scott Hall & WCW U.S. Champion Bret Hart
1999 - WCW ran Battle Creek, MI at the Kellogg Arena, featuring:
Vampiro defeated Chris Adams
The Barbarian defeated Lash Laroux
Jerry Flynn defeated Dave Taylor
Disco Inferno defeated Vincent
Perry Saturn defeated Kanyon
Jim Duggan defeated Curt Hennig via disqualification
Sting & Booker T defeated WCW World Tag Team Champions Diamond Dallas Page & Bam Bam Bigelow in a non-title match
2000 - WCW ran Terre Haute, IN at theHulman Center for a WCW Thunder taping, featuring:
WCW U.S. Champion, WCW Cruiserweight Champion, & WCW Hardcore Champion Lance Storm defeated Juventud Guerrera; only the cruiserweight title was on the line
The Wall pinned David Flair
Elix Skipper pinned Billy Kidman
Sean O'Haire pinned Shawn Stasiak
WCW U.S. Champion, WCW Cruiserweight Champion, & WCW Hardcore Champion Lance Storm defeated Norman Smiley; only the hardcore title was on the line
Buff Bagwell pinned Shane Douglas
Mike Awesome pinned Kanyon
WCW U.S. Champion, WCW Cruiserweight Champion, & WCW Hardcore Champion Lance Storm pinned Ernest Miller; only the U.S. title was on the line
WCW World Champion Booker T, Sting, & WCW Tag Team Champions Kronik defeated Jeff Jarrett, Vampiro, the Great Muta, & the Demon in an elimination match
Gen. Rection, Chavo Guerrero Jr., & Lash LeRoux (w/ the Wall & Major Gunns) defeated Cody Hawk, Race Steele, & Anthony Murphy
Rey Mysterio Jr. & Disco Inferno (w/ Konnan, Juventud Guerrera, & Tygress) defeated Chris Harris & Matt Stryker
The Great Muta defeated WCW Tag Team Champion Brian Adams
2010 - TNA ran Concord, NC at the Cabarrus Arena & Event Center featuring an appearance from Ric Flair before the main event. Jeremy Borash introduced guest referee Mick Foley, who talked about the wrestling legacy of the Carolinas. Ric Flair then came to the ring and put down Concord, saying "Being in Concord on a Sunday night isn't my idea of a good time." He warned Foley to call the match right down the middle. Rob Van Dam pinned A.J. Styles after a Five-Star Frog Splash to retain the TNA World Heavyweight Title. Mick Foley was the guest referee was hit with a low blow by Ric Flair, who came to the ring with Styles. Foley later laid Flair out with Mr. Socko.
Other results from the show saw:
Ink, Inc. Jesse Neal & Shannon Moore defeated Beer Money, James Storm & Robert Roode when Moore pinned Roode.
Douglas Williams pinned Jay Lethal with the Chaos Theory to retain the TNA X-Division Title.
Madison Rayne defeated Angelina Love to retain the TNA Knockout Title. At one point in the match referee Earl Hebner got in Rayne's way as she was whipped into the corner. Rayne stopped herself and yelled at Hebner, but Love then pushed her into the referee's arms and Hebner laid a big kiss on her. Hebner then did a Ric Flair-style strut to a big pop from the North Carolina crowd.
Jeff Jarrett pinned Desmond Wolfe after hitting the Stroke.
2011 - WWE broadcast Raw. Richard Trionfo filed the following TV report:
This week’s show starts off with a look back at Money in the Bank with Vince McMahon’s comments about what would happen if CM Punk left the Allstate Arena with the WWE Title. We then see highlights of the match that was won by CM Punk. We move to last week’s Raw when Rey Mysterio won and lost the WWE Title in the course of two hours. After John Cena thought that he had won the WWE Title, he was confronted by the man who never lost the WWE title with his Summer of Punk music. How will Triple H’s second week in charge go?
We are live from Indianapolis, Indiana and your announcers are Jim ‘Elvis is Dead’ Ross, Jerry ‘Type’ Lawler, and Michael ‘Glamour Boys’ Cole.
The crowd chants for CM Punk as we get the weekly storm of pyro.
CM Punk makes his way to the ring with THE WWE title belt.
Punk has his mic to address the fans. Punk says that THE CHAMP is here. Punk takes his traditional position in the center of the ring to address the WWE Universe. Now the $64,000 Question. After everything that he did and said, why did he come back. Punk asks for everyone’s time to tell a story. Punk says that he knew for a long time that his contract expired on July 17, 2011 so he was thinking about this momentous change for over a year.
Punk says that he loves the place that he works. He just hates the people in charge. He could have resigned and dealt with the soul crushing status quo. Or he could speak his mind and cause some change in its wake. Punk says that he spoke his mind and he caused a bit of a change. The domino effect took place. The next night on Raw, Vincent K. McMahon was relieved of his day to day duties. Punk says that is tangible change that can be felt in the air. He asks for some of the credit, but he says that credit also goes to the fans. He says that the fans have been fed scraps. Punk says that he is here to make it fun again for everyone.
Punk says that he might be unpredictable or unorthodox but he wouldn’t want it any other way. As proud as he was of backing up everything that he said, he said that the voice of the voiceless needed to be heard. Punk says that the people needed to hear it. He says that he came back with a megaphone and other media outlets. Punk says that he cannot change this place or this industry sitting at home on his couch in Chicago.
Punk says that he made the call to come back, even though he hates being on the phone. Punk says that his timing couldn’t have been better. We are already back to the status quo because John Cena is parading around as the WWE Champion. John Cena is as much WWE Champion as the guy in the front row with his replica title belt. Punk says that the fan has a belt, but he has a Championship title.
Punk says that it is more of the same old same old. No matter the outcome of a bogus tournament that was held during his time off, not matter who believes that he should be getting a rematch. Punk says that he is holding the most important title in the world. This shows that without a shadow of a doubt, he is the best wrestler in the world. He says that he is the one and only WWE Champion.
Punk is interrupted by Triple H and Punk acknowledges that it is time to play the game.
Punk wants everyone to give it up for H-H-H who is the C-O-O. Hunter thanks everyone for the warm reception and he will address the WWE Title situation.
Hunter wants to explain why he resigned Punk. Hunter says that it came down to business because it was good for business. That is the same reason why he brought back JR. That is the same reason why he brought back John Morrison. It was good for business. As COO, it is his job to try to give them what they want. The WWE Universe wanted CM Punk so he put his personal feelings aside and he gave them CM Punk.
Punk acknowledges the ‘personal feelings’ comment. Punk doesn’t want Hunter to hide behind the suit and he wants Hunter to explain his personal feelings for CM Punk. Hunter says that they are irrelevant, but he thinks that Punk is a smug, overrated, attention seeking guy who puts a little too much stock in his hype. Hunter says that shouldn’t be a problem.
Punk asks Hunter if it is like looking into the mirror. Punk says that he is a bit of a jerk. Punk says that it is not up to him to decide if he is overrated. Punk says that he wishes that Hunter would have said that he hates Punk’s guts but he knows what kind of a commodity Punk is. Punk says that Vince and his yes men screwed the pooch with talent. Punk mentions guys like Batista, Mick Foley, Chris Jericho, and Brock Lesnar.
Punk says that Hunter didn’t want to see him go anywhere else, but he couldn’t afford seeing Punk go anywhere else.
Hunter wants Punk to tell the truth why he resigned.
Punk says that he said that he wanted to facilitate change. Hunter says that another way of looking at it was that Punk was doing it for himself. He wanted to hear his own voice. What if the pipe bomb goes off and nobody is around to hear it. Without the WWE, the ‘pipe bomb’ and Punk really mean nothing. Hunter says that Punk did that for his own ego.
Punk says that is a 50/50 maybe and Punk prefers 100% truths. Punk says that he is THE WWE Champion.
Hunter says that Punk is the WWE Champion but so is John Cena. That is a situation that he will settle later tonight.
Hunter starts to leave the ring, but he wants Hunter to wait around and he tells the people in the truck to stop the music. Punk says that he is just getting started. Just because he signed his name, it doesn’t mean that he is going to shut up and toe the company line. He isn’t going to promo class or media training. Punk curtsies to the ego that is Hunter Hearst Helmsley. He talks about Hunter hogging the spotlight over people who deserved a spotlight. Even when Hunter was carrying Shawn’s bags, he was pushing people around. Punk asks Hunter how many times did he say I just don’t think he has what it takes while lying in bed with his wife. No matter what Hunter is wearing, he is the same man that he has always been. He is a bully who likes to throw people around and push them. He tells Punk to watch out who he pushes because he likes to push back.
Hunter tells Punk that he is the first person to say that he has a massive ego. That massive ego is telling him to slap every single rotten tattoo off his fat ass. Hunter says that he is not going to do that because it is bigger than that. Hunter says that he took the job as COO for the fans. That comes with certain responsibilities and rules. He might not like them, but he respects them. Hunter says that he will not break those rules. Hunter strongly suggests that Punk doesn’t break them either.
Punk asks ‘Or What’? Is he going to beat him up? Is he going to fight him? Is he going to punch him in the face? Does he have to ask his wife for permission first?
Punk leaves the ring.
Rey Mysterio is in the back and he is getting ready for his match later tonight. John Morrison flips over Rey and he gives Rey his t-shirt.
We go to commercial.
We are back and Kelly Kelly is at the announce table.
Match Number One: Divas Number One Contender Battle Royal featuring Eve Torres, Nikki Bella, Brie Bella, Alicia Fox, Tamina, Natalya, Kaitlyn, AJ Lee, Melina, Gail Kim, Beth Phoenix, and Rosa Mendes
Melina is thrown out of the ring as soon as things start. Rosa Mendes is also eliminated while Alicia Fox tries to eliminate Natalya. Tamina eliminates Kaitlyn. Beth works over Tamina while the Bellas work on AJ Lee and Eve. AJ is eliminated. Eve with a Thesz Press on Alicia in honor of the current champion. The Bellas with a double drop kick to eliminate Natalya. The Bellas work over Beth and we go to commercial.
We are back and nothing has changed because we still have five women in the match. Beth fights off the Bellas. The Bellas continue to work over Beth. Eve is sent to the apron but she fights off Alicia. Alicia slides to the floor and she eliminates herself.
Eve with an elbow and then she avoids a kick from Nikki. Nikki sends Eve into the turnbuckles. Nikki punches Eve while she is in the ropes. Eve is eliminated. Beth grabs both Bellas and then she eliminates them both.
Winner: Beth Phoenix
After the match, Kelly comes into the ring and she hugs her opponent at SummerSlam. Then Beth grabs Kelly and throws her out of the ring. Beth throws Kelly into the ringside barrier and then Beth grabs a mic.
Beth tells Kelly that her days as the perky cut blonde bimbo are officially done.
Miz is in the locker room taping his wrists for his tag match against Rey Mysterio and John Morrison. Truth enters and he asks Miz what’s up. Miz asks Truth who he is talking to. Truth tells Miz that they are the same. Miz disagrees. Truth asks Miz if he said that Triple H being in charge is a mistake. Miz points out that we have two champions. Truth interrupts Miz and suggests that it is a c-o-n-spiracy. Miz tells Truth that because they are tag team partners, they don’t have to share the same viewpoints. Miz talks to himself and he wonders why he is talking to himself.
Truth asks Miz if Hunter was going to bring Punk back all the time, why were they in a title tournament. Truth tells Miz that he is gonna get got.
We go to commercial.
We are back and Michael Cole mentions that The Rock first used ‘It doesn’t matter’ in Indianapolis.
Josh Mathews is with a WWE Champion John Cena. Josh asks John about CM Punk’s comments. Cena says that Punk is not afraid to speak his mind. You live by the sword you die by the sword. Cena says that Triple H has an important decision about the future of the WWE Championship tonight. Cena says that he will probably be there to see what Hunter has to say.
As Miz comes to the ring, we see footage of his appearance on George Lopez.
We see highlights of Rey’s title win from last week.
Match Number Two: Miz and R Truth versus John Morrison and Rey Mysterio
Miz and Morrison start things off and Morrison goes after Truth on the apron but Truth goes to the floor. Morrison with a flapjack and kip up. Morrison with a forearm to Truth that knocks him off the apron. Morrison’s focus on Truth allows Miz to connect with a clothesline and then he kicks Morrison. Miz with a suplex for a near fall. Miz tries for a slam but Morrison sends Miz into the turnbuckles and Morrison trips Miz before tagging in Rey who hits a seated splash from the turnbuckles for a near fall.
Rey with a head scissors that sends Miz to the floor. Rey with a baseball slide that sends Miz into the announce table. Rey sends Truth to the floor and then Rey hits a seated splash off the apron on Truth. Morrison with a corkscrew plancha on Miz as we go to commercial.
We are back and Truth with a rear chin lock on Rey as Rey tries to make the tag. We see footage from the commercial break when Miz hit a sit out driver on Rey. Truth with an abdominal stretch on Rey. Truth with a forearm to the back and Miz tags in. Miz with a snap mare and a running boot to the head for a near fall. Miz with an elbow to the chest and then he applies a reverse chin lock. Rey with an elbow to Miz and a punch to Truth. Rey kicks Miz and then hits an enzuigiri and Miz falls to the mat. Miz with a kick and a DDT to Rey for a near fall as he keeps Rey from making the tag
Truth tags back in and he puts Rey in a rear chin lock. Truth punches Rey while in the hold but Rey with a back heel kick but Truth hit the Lie Detector for a near fall. Truth stops Rey from making the tag and Truth tags Miz back in. Miz kicks Rey in the chest and then Miz has something to say to Rey about trying to make the tag. Rey punches Miz and goes through Miz’s legs but Miz keeps Rey from making the tag. Miz with kicks to Rey followed by an Irish whip. Miz hits the Awesome Clothesline and then he goes up top but Rey hits him with a drop kick as Miz comes off the turnbuckles.
Both men are down and Rey is able to make the tag and so does Truth. Morrison with a few clotheslines followed by a leg lariat. Morrison with a drop kick to Miz followed by a standing C4 on Truth for a near fall. Morrison puts Truth in the corner and Miz pulls Truth out of the way. Morrison misses Starship Pain. Rey with a dive onto Miz. Morrison with an enzuigiri that sends Truth into the ropes. Miz stops Rey from hitting the 619 and Miz throws Rey over the barrier. Morrison with a springboard round kick to Miz that knocks him off the apron. Truth hits Shut Up for the three count.
Winners: Miz and R Truth
After the match, Miz picks up Morrison and hits the Skull Crushing Finale.
Truth comes into the ring with a bottle of water and he wants to give Morrison a drink. Truth hits Morrison with the water bottle.
Josh Mathews is in the back with Triple H and Josh brings up the opening segment with Punk. Hunter asks Josh if he has shaved today. Hunter says that he has been in this business for twenty years. Punk thinks he dropped the big bomb by mentioning his wife, but that has been going on for ten years. He tells Punk to get some new material. Hunter says that it is fine if John Cena wants to come out for his decision. Hunter tells John Cena that he should keep this strictly business if he comes out to the ring tonight.
We go to commercial.
We are back with a SummerSlam Recall: Honky Tonk Man versus Ultimate Warrior at the 1988 edition of the Summer Extravaganza.
United States Champion Dolph Ziggler and Vickie Guerrero make their way to the ring. Vickie throws out a quiet excuse me but since people wouldn’t pay attention, Vickie throws out a more emphatic one.
She says that with all of the controversy over the two WWE Champions, she is with a man who has proven that he is more superior than John Cena or CM Punk. Vickie introduces her client, Dolph Ziggler.
Dolph says after his victory last week, he told everyone to ‘follow that’. That was directed to every WWE Superstar under contract. That means that no one will ever have his skills, his technique, his talent, or his charisma. As a matter of fact, he is more of a man than anyone in this arena or in the locker room.
Alex Riley’s music plays and he makes his way to the ring. Riley asks if Dolph is such a man, why does he hide behind a woman . . . or in Dolph’s case, Vickie Guerrero.
Vickie says that thanks to her, Dolph is a former World Champion, a former Intercontinental Champion, and the current United States Champion.
Riley makes his way to the ring and he tells Vickie ‘excuse me’. Riley says that Dolph makes a good point. Riley asks Dolph when was the last time that he accomplished anything on his own. Riley says that Dolph reminds him of someone he knows. He says that the Miz hid behind him and Dolph hides behind Riley. Riley tells Dolph if he wants to be a real man, he should drop Vickie. Riley asks Dolph if he is going to be exposed for what he really is. . . a bleach blonde arrogant fraud.
Dolph tells Riley that he doesn’t belong in here with him and he doesn’t even know who Riley is. Dolph takes off his jacket and belt before going to the floor.
We go to commercial with Zack Ryder and Santino Marella walking in half the screen while David Otunga and Michael McGillicutty walk in the other half.
We see footage from last week of Zack Ryder destroying Michael Cole last week.
Match Number Three: Santino Marella and Zack Ryder versus David Otunga and Michael McGillicutty in a Non Title Match
Santino and Michael start things off and Santino with a hip lock take down. Michael with kicks and then he sends Santino into Otunga’s boot. Otunga tags in and Michael with a running elbow while Otunga with a clothesline into the corner. Otunga with knees to the midsection followed by a slam. Otunga with an elbow drop and he gets a near fall. Otunga with a waist lock but Santino with punches followed by a Santino stunner. Ryder and Michael tag ina den Ryder with a flying elbow and a forearm. Michael runs into knees in the corner and then he goes after Otunga. Ryder with a running boot to the head and Otunga breaks up the cover.
Santino puts on his Cobra sleeve and Otunga goes to the floor. Michael hits Santino from behind. Michael misses the Rough Ryder and then Michael with an back breaker and Otunga with a forearm from the turnbuckles for the three count.
Winners: Michael McGillicutty and David Otunga
We go to commercial.
We are back and remember to watch Haven on Friday after Smackdown because Edge will be on the show.
We go back to footage from the opening segment tonight between Triple H and CM Punk.
CM Punk is in the locker room with Josh Mathews. Josh asks Punk if he has any idea what Hunter’s decision is going to be. Punk says that his Magic 8 Ball was uncertain. Punk says that he was testing Hunter earlier tonight and he passed with flying colors and he hopes that it will all be business. Punk says that he had one of the best title matches against John Cena and Punk points out that he won and is the champion.
We see highlights from last week when Alberto Del Rio defeated Kofi Kingston thanks to the cross arm breaker.
Match Number Four: Alberto Del Rio with Ricardo Rodriguez versus Evan Bourne
Bourne avoids Del Rio and hits a rana but he runs into a boot from Del Rio and Del Rio with a kick to Bourne for a near fall. Del Rio wraps Bourne’s arm in the ropes and then he drop kicks the shoulder. Del Rio gets another near fall. Del Rio with a snap mare followed by an arm bar. Del Rio with a tilt-a-whirl back breaker for a near fall and then he kicks Bourne.
Del Rio with a hammer lock followed by a power slam for a near fall. Del Rio with the arm bar on Bourne as he applies more pressure on the shoulder. Bourne gets to his feet and then he kicks Del Rio in the leg. Del Rio with a head butt to stop Bourne. Del Rio with a suplex that is stopped by knees from Del Rio. Bourne with a series of kicks followed by a knee to the head. Bourne goes up top but Del Rio with a step up enzuigiri and then he picks up Bourne and floats over into the cross arm breaker and Bourne taps out.
Winner: Alberto Del Rio
After the match, Del Rio puts Bourne back in the cross arm breaker but Kofi Kingston comes to the ring and Del Rio releases the hold and heads to the back with Ricardo Rodriguez.
Triple H is walking in the back as we go to commercial.
We are back and the WWE Universe feels that John Cena is the real WWE Champion by a 54/46 margin.
Triple H makes his way to the ring. Hunter says that he thought about this for a long time. For the first time in WWE history, there are two WWE Champions. John Cena and CM Punk. Both have legit reasons why they should be considered WWE Champions. Hunter says that he is going to.
John Laurinaitis comes to the ring and he introduces himself. He says that he is the Executive Vice President of Talent Relations, a job he took over from Jim Ross. He says that it is his job to sign talent and manage contracts.
Hunter wants to know when this became career day. He asks John what he wants. John says that Hunter has been a part of the WWE Corporate structure for a short period of time. John says that he has been working with Hunter’s father in law for more than ten years. He says that he knows how Vince thinks and how he would want Vince to handle things. He tells Hunter to strip John Cena of the WWE Championship.
John Cena comes out and he says that tonight’s decision is going to be a huge one. He says that there is a big decision to think about. He says that John has been with Vince so long because John is the ‘yes man’ that CM Punk talked about. Cena says that Laurinaitis wanted to have the bell rung like Vince did but he stopped John halfway.
Cena says that he will lose the title in the ring, not because some goon who used to ride a skateboard doesn’t like him.
Laurinaitis says that Cena is out of line. He made his decision because CM Punk beat him.
Cena says that John brings up Money in the Bank a lot. Cena says that his favorite moment at Money in the Bank was punching him in the face. Cena says that he liked it so much, maybe he should do it again. Cena says that is what he is going to do.
Hunter says that he doesn’t have a problem with that so Laurinaitis leaves the ring.
Cena asks Hunter if he is going to listen to him and strip John of the title. Since Cena beat Hunter at Wrestlemania 22, does that mean he can strip Hunter of the title of COO.
Hunter tells Cena that he is not going to strip Cena of the title because his claim for the title was legit.
Hunter says that he didn’t talk to Hunter until after ComiCon. Punk did not give him the contract until after Cena won the title.
CM Punk interrupts Triple H and says that Hunter isn’t going to strip Cena of the title so will he strip Punk of his title when he beat him at Money in the Bank? Will it be back to the status quo where we put smiles on people’s faces while Punk finds a urinal to throw up in.
Hunter tells both of them to stop whining like little girls. Hunter tells Cena not to call him Hunter because he is his boss.
They are going to settle it his way. At SummerSlam John Cena will face CM Punk to determine the Undisputed WWE Champion.
Punk and Cena stand in the center of the ring. Punk drops his mic and then he holds his championship title over his head. John Cena drops his mic and he holds his title belt over his head while his music plays.
Punk goes to the turnbuckles to get his music to play. Cena returns fire on the other turnbuckle. We go to credits.
This week’s episode of Raw reminded me a lot of last week’s episode of Smackdown. It was very heavy on promos and light on wrestling. While there was not a lot of wrestling, they tried to start a few new feuds going into SummerSlam. Triple H looks like he is going to have a position of prominence on each show and we will see if people are going to think that there is too much Triple H on their televisions. We saw the WWE Championship situation resolved and everything will be fixed by SummerSlam. This was a show that started off strong but as the night progressed there were only a few things that I thought were effective. There were two surprises on this week’s show and I will discuss those later in this column.
Overall, this was an average show only because the show started off so strongly.
Here are my thoughts on this week’s show:
The WWE Championship Controversy
It took until the end of the show, but we found out that John Cena and CM Punk will meet at SummerSlam to determine who the true WWE Champion is. However, before we found out from Triple H, there were some other developments involving the two men in the match and the man who made this match.
The show started off with a recap of everything that happened related to CM Punk and John Cena since Money in the Bank. After the recap, CM Punk came to the ring to explain why he came back to WWE after talking about how he was done with the company before Money in the Bank. I thought Punk had a very good promo at the start of the show. He continues with the ‘voice of the people’ concept even though he is not trying to be the fan favorite. Punk came off as honest in his assessment based on what he said before Money in the Bank. Punk made a good point that even though he talked about the change in the WWE, John Cena has a title so how much has really changed?
I also liked how Punk told the fan in the crowd that he had a belt while Punk said that he was holding a championship title. It made me think of the video that Punk did for Jimmy Kimmel.
Punk and Hunter had a good back and forth in the opening segment. A lot of the things that Punk said sounded like something that Triple H would have said when he was part of DX.
I liked that Hunter gave his side of the story and it was not exactly the same as what Punk said. It sets up the anti-authority figure in Punk a la Steve Austin, but he is also being portrayed as someone who is doing this for his own ego as much as what he claims are altruistic methods.
I thought the best part of the opening segment was the part when Punk asked Hunter to tell everyone what he really thinks of him when Hunter said that he looked past his personal feelings to resign him. I also liked the way that the segment ended with Punk keeping Hunter in the ring and then after Hunter told Punk that they all have to follow the rules or things will happen, Punk went through his rhetorical questions about what would happen to him. I was not surprised that he played the Stephanie card and while many have brought up Hunter’s marital situation, Punk seems like someone who doesn’t care and will take it right to the line of what is acceptable.
I thought the segment at the end of the show was okay, but not as good as the opening segment. While the opening segment had that ‘Attitude Era’ style where there was an edge, this segment felt too 2009 to 2010 Raw for me. I don’t know if it was the presence of John Laurinaitis in the segment because I definitely thought that he took away from the interaction between Hunter and John Cena.
I thought Hunter’s line about how this wasn’t career day when Laurinaitis talked about how long he had been working for Vince. I was waiting for a comment about how Laurinaitis took Jim Ross’ job as head of Talent Relations, but it did not come off as well as I thought it could have. I was hoping that Hunter would have pointed out to Laurinaitis that John has always been the lieutenant while Hunter is the general.
I liked that Cena did not come out and cut an ‘I love working for WWE’ promo and he supported what Punk had said about the yes men in the company and said that Laurinaitis was the ultimate yes man. Cena also talked about his decision to punch Laurinaitis at Money in the Bank and how he was looking to do what was best for the lineage of the title so he is showing that he cares about doing what is right more than retaining the title.
The best part of the segment at the end of the show was when Cena talked about how he enjoyed punching Laurinaitis so much at the pay per view that he wanted to do it again tonight and how Hunter wasn’t going to stop Cena.
I thought Punk was okay at the end of the show when he figured that since Cena was not going to be stripped of the title that it had to be him.
The posing with Punk’s championship title and Cena’s belt was okay and the change of music from Cena’s music to Cult of Personality was funny the first few times, but by the tenth change, I think the sound guy was looking for Mark Henry to finish him off?
While you expected Cena versus Punk at SummerSlam because it is the number one pay per view of the summer, I was really hoping that they would hold this match off for a few more months. They could build the controversy over the title and even have Cena ‘defend’ the title while Punk does the same. It could cause Alberto Del Rio confusion over who to cash in against because should he risk the briefcase while there are two titles. While I don’t mind Punk being back on television so soon after Money in the Bank, I don’t like that he is going to wrestle to defend his title so soon.
The Divas
This is where the two surprises on this week’s show took place. The first surprise was that the Divas match went to a commercial break because the average Divas match on Raw or Smackdown usually doesn’t have enough time to mention who is in the match before it is over. The other surprise was that Beth Phoenix was the one who earned the title match against Kelly Kelly at SummerSlam.
Since the Divas battle royals have to be booked differently than the men’s battle royals in WWE because they allow eliminations any time the women leave the ring, you get some eliminations that are unexpected or look like they were accidental.
It was nice of Melina and Gail Kim to show up because I think Melina was eliminated while the bell was still ringing at the start of the match (I have to give Quincy Hughes from the message board credit for that one) and Gail’s elimination was done without the cameras filming it.
I was trying to figure out when Maryse was eliminated but apparently she is suffering from an injury according to her Twitter account (thanks to Cable V for forwarding that info) so it meant that our thirteen Diva match was down to twelve.
When there were a lot of Divas in the match, there really wasn’t anything that was noteworthy that took place. I thought the ‘why did they do that move’ spot of the match was when Alicia tried for a baseball slide when she was battling with Eve because she slid past Eve and went to the floor, eliminating herself.
I thought the finish of the match was good with Beth having a Bella on each arm, reminiscent of the old photo of Andre the Giant with multiple women hanging from his arms to show how strong he was.
The personal excitement of Beth winning was enhanced when she had enough of Kelly Kelly stealing her spotlight by coming into the ring for what should become a new tradition in the WWE (if not all of wrestling) with the champion coming into the ring to hug their number one contender. Beth was not going to have any of Kelly’s good cheer and Beth decided to do what Kharma wouldn’t. It was something that I thought had to happen with Beth or Natalya which I am hoping will become the feud over the Divas Title.
One last thing about the Divas. Of the fourteen (which appears to be thirteen with Maryse’s injury) Divas who are active in WWE, please do not put them at the announce table with a microphone that can be heard by anyone else. With the overall commentary on the show lacking this week because of the three man booth, Kelly made you long for the bickering between Cole and Booker on Friday nights.
It looks like Alex Riley has moved on from the Miz
I was worried that since it appears that Rey Mysterio has replaced Alex Riley in his feud with the Miz that they were not going to capitalize on the reaction that Riley is getting. It looks like he is moving on to the United States title picture.
I thought Riley was okay with his promo this week, but it was better than the promo from Vickie or Dolph. Riley had some good points about how Ziggler has needed help to get the United States Title so what would happen if Vickie was not involved. Riley held his own with Ziggler and Vickie on the mic and he had a lot of poise in the ring.
I thought that Vickie was good during this segment and I loved how she tried to be polite with the first ‘excuse me’ but when the fans would not oblige, it was the old Vickie Guerrero demanding respect with a vintage ‘excuse me’. I don’t know if Vickie’s comments really helped Dolph’s cause because by mentioning all of the titles that Dolph had on Smackdown, it only reinforces that he has not achieved the same level of success since coming to Raw.
I liked that Dolph reminded us about his ‘follow that’ comment from last week. If this was while he was on Smackdown, I could see it meaning more but since he has not reached that level on Raw, people who did not see his work on Smackdown would not have any reason to believe what Ziggler is saying.
Maybe it is a pattern that you are a protégé of the Miz but when you finally get a singles push, you have to wrestle for the United States Title because that is what happened with Daniel Bryan last year.
This could be a good feud and I am looking forward to what they can do at SummerSlam if they make this match official. I think that Ziggler is more technically sound in the ring than Miz so it might help Riley even more than the Miz feud.
Would the last tag team in the WWE pull the plug on the Division?
I have lamented many times about the state of the tag team division in WWE and I don’t think it can go anywhere but up. With the typical pattern for a tag team in the WWE being 1) they have some success, 2) one of the members of the team gets jealous; 3) the team breaks up; and 4) the Tag Team Division suffers. You can replace number three with ‘someone on the team gets released’ as well. This has happened with Hart and Kidd, Barreta and Croft, Archer and Hawkins, Gabriel and Slater, and many other teams in WWE.
The Usos had a chance to break the mold and do something with their new entrance, but they were defeated relatively easily against the tag champs. They also had a team with Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov but over the last three weeks, Kozlov has had different tag team partners. While the issue has been discussed on Superstars because they aren’t arguing over petty matters, nothing was said about Kozlov handling his tag team partner wrestling with someone else.
This week’s match was too short to really have an opinion, but based on the length of the match and the ease by which Marella and Ryder lost, it was not a good match. It also did not help that if Otunga and McGillicutty were trying for the Demolition finisher, Otunga did not do an elbow drop.
The Three Man Booth on Raw
When Triple H brought back Jim Ross I was thinking that Ross and Lawler would do Raw while Cole would stay on Smackdown and work with Josh Mathews and Booker T where Josh would want to call moves but know that he couldn’t say much with Booker and Cole arguing for most of the show.
Instead we got a three man booth and it felt like the days when they had three different announce teams on WWE pay per views because of the brand split. While you have to suspend belief that Lawler and Cole can co-exist, you really have to suspend it to think that Lawler and Ross would want to deal with Cole together.
While it was not as bad as an episode of Smackdown where if they call five moves in the entire two hours (because Josh is unable to get a word in), there were very few moves called by Jim Ross. The positive of having Jim Ross doing the commentary is to get his announcing style and that includes having moves called while advancing storylines.
I hope that if they keep the three man booth, they will be able to incorporate more of what is good (Jim Ross’ commentary) into the program. If they cannot use Jim Ross properly, please considering making Cole exclusive to Smackdown.
Other Thoughts on the Show
Getting back to CM Punk for a moment, it is fun to hear Punk’s comments under his breath because he got in a number of good ones. When Triple H’s music played during the opening segment, Punk said that it must be time to play the game. Then when Hunter was going to leave at the end of the opening segment, Punk stopped Hunter and he commented that he enjoys listening to some Motorhead. It definitely helps to pay attention to Punk’s promos for those pearls.
I thought John Cena had the line of the night when he asked about John Laurinaitis’ skateboard. It was something I expected to hear from Punk, but it was definitely a great comment.
It may have been by default, but the best match of the night was the tag match with Rey Mysterio and John Morrison versus R Truth and Miz. Before I discuss the match, I want to talk about the pre-match segments with the two teams. I was not a big fan of the Mysterio/Morrison segment with Morrison flipping over Rey to give him his shirt. When I saw Morrison coming out from the background, I was partially hoping that Morrison would accidentally clip Rey. I thought the segment with Miz and Truth was better and I liked how Miz questioned Truth talking to himself and then at the end of the segment Miz is talking to himself. They were working together but they were not necessarily best friends. Truth made some good points about how Hunter wasn’t looking out for them because they were put into a tournament when Punk was already coming back to the company so it was a fraud
Getting back to the match, I thought there was some good action from all four men. It made sense for Morrison to want to get revenge on Truth and that he would go after Truth on the apron. I also liked that when he did it, it cost his team because Miz was able to take advantage of the situation. They did a good job working on Rey during the match and keeping him from making the tag, even thwarting Rey’s attempt to go through Miz’s legs to make the tag. I also liked that when Morrison missed Starship Pain after Miz pulled Truth out of the ring, Morrison landed on his chest instead of landing on his feet.
I thought Morrison got lucky on the corkscrew plancha before the commercial break because it looked like Miz had to move closer to the ring in order to have Morrison hit him.
Since Truth and Miz believe in conspiracies, would they be Jesse Ventura’s favorite tag team?
The Del Rio/Bourne match was okay but also too short. While Bourne got in some offense, Del Rio controlled the match. I liked the way that Del Rio worked on the arm throughout the match to set up the cross arm breaker. The use of the ropes for extra pressure on the arm as well as the slam while he had Bourne’s arm in a hammer lock was good and shows that Del Rio is working ring psychology into his matches. The only issue I had with the match was that it was not longer.
They were also able to continue the Del Rio/Kingston feud with the post match attack by Del Rio and Kofi coming out to make the save. I think if they give them time, this could be a good match.
I like that Josh Mathews got a lot of time on the show to do interviews. Maybe Josh should be called the Voice of WWE since he does interviews on Raw and does commentary on Superstars and Smackdown.
Recommended Segments: The CM Punk/Triple H segment at the start of the show; R Truth and Miz versus Rey Mysterio and John Morrison; Alex Riley’s promo.
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