A Painful Truth: Raw Report For 06/29/09

Hi there, and welcome to your Raw Report for this week!

The Bash was a good PPV overall, with Raw superstars; John Cena, The Miz, Randy Orton and Triple H all involved, along with Legacy in a tag team match!

With this show being only 24 hours from The Bash, tensions must still be high!
Surely The Miz won't let things go with Cena, the man he claims to have beaten so many times?
What about Triple H? He went through hell, just to be thwarted by Legacy in his pursuit for the WWE title, despite being the one standing tall after the match!
And we also saw Legacy's first signs of struggle in their own ranks, with Ted Dibiase questioning Orton. They lost their tag match, to last minute entrants Edge and Jericho, but they came to the aid of their leader.

We're all set for a big show, so let's get going!

Show Recap:

We start the show with Mr. McMahon, once again owner of Raw, still talking about Donald Trump. He also announces that each week we will have a guest host as GM, and tonight's is none other than "The Animal" Batista. He makes his way to the ring, announcing a 4 man Night of Champion tournament for the Number one contender to the WWE Championship, he tries to continue, but out come Orton and Legacy. They threaten to attack him, but he says he will fire the three of them if they do. He goes on to book Orton in a 3 on 1 gauntlet match!

Match 1: Triple H Vs. MVP - Night of Champions tournament match
The match starts with MVP trying to go after Triple H's bad leg, and Triple H warning him off with stiff right hands. But MVP finally grounds Triple H, and goes straight after it, locking in a figure 4 and constantly working it over. Triple H breaks the hold, and tries for a Pedigree but MVP reacts quickly and takes him down again. Again, when Triple H tries for the Pedigree there is another counter by MVP and when Hunter tries to get up in the corner, MVP connects with a kick. The following cover is kicked out of at 2 and a bit. MVP tries for the playmaker, but The Game counters into a Pedigree, and he gets the 3 count.

The Winner: Triple H

A shot of the Night of Champions Tournament Ladder, and a bit of talk between the commentators, before we have the next match.

Match 2: Chris Jericho and Edge Vs. The Colons for the Unified tag belts
Before the match, Chris and Edge cut a quick promo, about how they became the Unified tag champions and how they can appear on all brands, even though they dislike Raw. They call themselves winners and the crowd losers before being interrupted by The Colons.

We start the match with Jericho and Primo in the ring, and we quickly get a nice, fast flowing set of moves going before throwing Jericho out of the ring onto Edge. Then, the Colons team up, and both do a dropkick/baseball slide to the outside on Edge and Jericho! During the break, Edge hung up Primo with a nice counter, and we come back to Edge and Jericho having a nice bit of momentum. After a bit of dominance, Primo counters a bulldog by throwing Jericho into the corner, and then tags in Carlito who makes an impact with a springboard dropkick! Carlito continues to take the fight to Jericho and lands a springboard moonsault, and gets a near fall. Jericho tries to fight back, going for the Walls of Jericho, but when he can't get it in he throws Carlito backwards. But Carlito shows great athleticism, bouncing off the turnbuckle and landing a crossbody, for another 2 count! Jericho manages to get up and tag Edge in, but when Edge goes for the spear Carlito counters into the backstabber. The resulting cover is broken by Jericho at 2, and when Edge gets up he lands a spear out of nowhere, and gets the 3 count.

The winners and still champions: Chris Jericho and Edge!

Next up, Orton is complaining about the Gauntlet match to Legacy. Batista walks in, and says if Legacy gets involved, they're fired on the spot. He leaves, with Orton fuming.

Match 3: John Cena Vs. The Miz - Night of Champions Tournament match
Miz tries to take the fight to Cena, but Cena gains control and hits a nice opening combo. But Miz fights back, and gets some offense in. But Cena again gains control, and gets a 2 count. Cena locks in a headlock, but Miz gets out with a cheap shot and begins some basic offense again and gets a nice neckbreaker in for a 2 count. Cena tries to fight back, but when his bulldog is counter Miz flips over the ropes and hangs Cena up with a very fluid move! We return to The Miz having Vena in a chokehold, and we are shown that during the break The Miz added a double axe handle to the back of Cena. This match is much more balanced than their match at The Bash last night. The Miz continues to dominate. He goes up the turnbuckle, but Cena tries to fight back and get the Attitude Adjustment. The Miz escapes, and sends Cena crashing to the mat! Two quick covers, and both were kicked out of at two. The Miz locks in a sleeper, but Cen powers up to a vertical base and runs him into the turnbuckle. Suddenly, out of nowhere Cena gets his combo of moves in, and it ends with the STF and he has Miz tapping!

The Winner: John Cena!

We now see Legacy in the dressing room, giving Orton a few tips for the match. Dibiase says that next week, the Million Dollar Man will be the guest host.

Match 4: Diva Fatal 4 Way Match: Kelly Kelly Vs. Mickie James Vs. Beth Phoenix Vs. Rosa Mendes
The match starts like a typical fatal 4 way, splitting into two 1v1's essentially. We then see Kelly Kelly and Mickie James fighting out in the ring, before Rosa interferes. Mickie James locks a sub hold on Beth Phoenix, and then the other two get involved, and there are 3 sub holds at once. Some back and forth action, there are a few covers, each resolving in a 2 count. Kelly Kelly and Mickie trade blows on Beth Phoenix, and it results in a 2 count. A nice DDT from Mickie on Rosa, and she gets the 3 count. She'll be going to night of champions!

The Winner: Mickie James!

Next, we see that the WWE is teaming up with libraries across the USA to improve education.

Match 5: Big Show Vs. Kofi Kingston
Big Show opens with a huge clothesline, and we start to see a typical Big Show match, with him dominating Kofi. Kofi manages to fight his way back in after a big move from a turnbuckle and we see a break in Big Show's dominance, but when he gets thrown out by Show, his spell ends. Big Show goes for a bench press, as the referee reaches seven in his count, but Kofi counters and pushes him into the ringpost. The referee reaches 10, with neither in the ring and we end with a double count out.

This match ended in a draw!

Match 6: 3 on 1 gauntlet match
The only superstar we know about is Orton. We found out who Raw got in Trump's trade, right now! His first opponent will be...Evan Bourne!!! Whilst Orton keeps a lot of control in the early going, Evan does get some nice counters in, to keep things flowing and relatively even. This continues into the middle parts of the match, as Orton's weight advantage keeps him in control. Bourne starts to increase the pace, taking Orton down, but when Orton gets him caught on the top turnbuckle, an RKO was enough for the first victory.

The next match, and newest member of Raw is...Jack Swagger!!! A quick move from Swagger, but he walks out of the ring, and lets himself be counted out. He takes a microphone, and says he's always liked Randy, and he wanted to leave a lasting impression. They shake, and the match is over.

Finally, the third addition to the Raw Roster is...Mark Henry!!! He says he's also always liked Orton, and how he wants to make an impression as well. He gets out the ring, but at 5 he says no and gets back in the ring. With Orton tired, Henry just dominates. Headbutts, splashes and slams all connect, before Orton goes for an RKO, but Henry counters into the World's Strongest Slam, and the three count follows!

The Winner: Mark Henry!

The show ends with Batista on the stage, being applauded by the fans and by Mark Henry.

Afterthoughts:

Tonight's show was good. The gauntlet match was a little disappointing, with only Evan Bourne really getting any real time. Big show Vs. Kofi was short, and the ending was poor, I thought. John Cena Vs. The Miz was the better of the two tourney matches, and Edge and Jericho gave a solid showing! Overall, I'd give it a 7, I think.

I'm definitely looking forward to The Million Dollar Man being the guest host, and Triple H vs. John Cena going at it for the chance to face Randy Orton at Night Of Champions.

Alas, I won't be reporting on it, however. I can no longer report on Raw, or hand in articles for the next six weeks, as things get busier and busier for me. I will be back though, I hope, though not as Raw reporter.

So, until next time,
Stay Safe