Raw Recap 07.30.07

A recap of Monday Night Raw from Tucson, AZ:

Raw opened with highlights of last week's Raw where Coach determined Randy Orton to be #1 contender for John Cena's title at Summerslam. The show ended with Orton delivering the RKO to Cena, just after Cena defeated Umaga, Cade & Murdoch in a handicap tag match.

John Cena came out onto the ramp to a receptive crowd. Cena discussed Summerslam and Orton as his #1 contender for the title. Cena said Orton's been studying the playbook because he made a statement just like Great Khali and Bobby Lashley did in the past when they used their finishing moves on him in the ring. Cena told Orton to turn to the final page of the playbook where the outcome is always the same. Cena began to say "The Champ is -" when Carlito's music came on and Carlito came out onto the ramp interrupting him.

Carlito with mic in hand began walking down the ramp and told Cena he's the first guest on the newly unveiled "Carlito's Cabana". WWE staff set up 2 chairs and a hammock in the ring along with apples and coconut drinks. Carlito proceeded to say that he beat Cena to win the US Championship when he first got to WWE. Cena said it was like 3-4 years ago this happened and make a few jokes towards Carlito. Cena said it's time to celebrate on Carlito's Cabana. Carlito started to complain that Randy Orton had the #1 contender spot handed to him. Just then, Mr. Kennedy's music came on and Mr. Kennedy came down to the ring with a mic in hand.

Kennedy gave reasons why he should be #1 contender. Carlito and Mr. Kennedy started to argue in the ring as Cena walked up the ramp. Cena then yelled that Orton should be #1 contender because he earned it, even though Cena doesn't like him. Cena told Mr. Kennedy he needs to step up and prove he's a top competitor on Raw. Cena baited Kennedy into challenging Bobby Lashley tonight. Cena then told Carlito that he's done nothing since beating him 3 years ago. Cena then told Carlito they would fight each other tonight and he better be prepared.

Replay shown of Maria and Mickie James' tag team match, where Maria's team won thanks to Santino Marella's interference to trip Melina and Beth Phoenix.

Maria, Mickie James & Candice Michelle vs. Beth Phoenix, Jillian Hall and Melina

Melina, Jillian and Beth waited in the ring for the other divas to arrive. Maria came down to the ring with Santino, who Jim Ross said is more than just a friend lately it seems. Maria started off battling Jillian, gaining momentum and tagging in Mickie. Mickie had control over Jillian but got rammed back into the corner so Melina could tag in. Mickie tagged in Candice and the 2 divas doubleteamed Melina yanking her legs down. Melina finally escaped to bring in Beth Phoenix. Beth did a cartwheel move dropping an elbow on Candice. Beth Phoenix ran over and knocked Mickie James off the side apron. Maria was able to tag in and started to take control of the match, clotheslining down her opponents. Maria went for a pin but Beth Phoenix came in to kick her off. Finally all 6 divas got into the ring and started to fight. Mickie James and Candice spilled to the outside of the ring, as Melina, Beth and Jillian were able to distract the ref while doubleteaming Maria for a finishing move. Melina scored the pinfall victory when the ref finally turned around. Santino seemed upset and confused about Maria losing the match as the 3 divas left.

Winners: Melina, Beth Phoenix and Jillian Hall win via pinfall over Maria, Mickie James and Candice Michelle.

Promo shown for the return of Triple H. HHH is set to return at Summerslam in several weeks.

Santino Marella vs. Umaga

After Raw came back from break, Santino Marella was in the ring with a microphone. Santino yelled at a ref in the ring, then started telling the crowd the cheating in WWE is worse than the NBA. Santino said just like the NBA it's the referee's fault for what happened to Maria in her last match. Santino said no official will stop him. Just then Umaga came walking down the ramp with his Intercontinental belt. Umaga got into the ring as Santino was saying he has no problem with Umaga. Santino finally gave the mic to the referee, who then said "ring the bell". Umaga started to beat down Santino immediately after the bell, and then put him into the corner. Umaga ran at a seated Marella in the corner, smashing into Marella's head with his hip. Umaga then did a sidewalk slam with Marella and went for a pin but pulled up. Umaga stood Marella up and used the Samoan Spike to knock him back down to the mat. Umaga with the pinfall victory.

Winner: Umaga wins via pinfall over Santino Marella.

Todd Grisham interviewed King Booker and Queen Sharmelle backstage. Grisham asked Booker's thoughts on his match tonight with Jerry the King Lawler. Booker yelled at Grisham for referring to Lawler as a king. Booker said he hopes Triple H is watching at home, so he will see what happens to those calling themselves a king. Booker said he wants HHH to see Jerry Lawler bow down to King Booker tonight. Sharmelle then pronounced Booker as "King Booker!" before they exited.

Coach shown backstage on a cell phone discussing tonight's match between Cena and Carlito. Just then Cody Rhodes entered Coach's office. Coach said he wanted to see Cody about what happened to his father last week. Coach then said they would review what happened last week and had footage shown of what Orton did on Raw. After the footage, Coach asked Cody how his father's doing. Coach said he doesn't want the same thing to happen to Cody that happened to his father. Coach said if Cody lays 1 finger on Randy Orton tonight he won't have a career in WWE any more. Coach said Cody is 0-2 so far and he needs to win if he's going to be on Raw. Coach said if Cody can win his upcoming match, he's allowed to stay, but if he loses he'll be let go. Cody thanked Coach for showing him that footage and left angrily.

Todd Grisham interviewed Randy Orton who told Grisham he is feeling good tonight. Orton said he's dressed to wrestle tonight, but nobody wants to face him. Orton listed off his recent wins as well as being youngest champion to win the title. Just then Sgt. Slaughter came and interrupted the interview and challenged Orton, calling him a maggot. Slaughter then told Orton "you're dismissed maggot!".

Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler confirmed the matches tonight between Cena and Carlito and Kennedy and Lashley. They confirmed that Coach made the match between Randy Orton and Sgt Slaughter official as well.

Daivari vs Cody Rhodes

Daivari yelled incoherently at the crowd in the ring until Cody Rhodes finally came down to the ring. Daivaria ran at Cody to start the match and started to try to punch away at him. Cody turned the tide as he punched back and toss Daivari to the ropes. Daivaria turned momentum back his way when he elbowed Cody in the corner. Daivari kept Cody down to the mat with a neckhold. Cody stood back up and backed Daivari into the corner. Daivari tried to run at Cody from the corner, but Cody ducked and then hit Daivari with a flying clothesline. Cody landed a bulldog on Daivari off the ropes. Cody with a powerslam on Daivari followed by a DDT to claim a pinfall victory.

Winner: Cody Rhodes wins via pinfall over Daivari.

Lashley shown walking backstage, on his way out to the ring for his upcoming match against Mr. Kennedy.

Mr. Kennedy vs. Bobby Lashley

Kennedy came down to the ring and grabbed the mic from overhead. Kennedy told the crowd he is the real #1 contender, Mr. Kennedy...Before Kennedy could say his name a second time, Lashley appeared on the ramp with his theme music. The match started with the 2 men grappling in the center of the ring. Lashley eventually used his strength for 2 quick takedowns on Mr. Kennedy. Kennedy got back to this feet and the 2 men started to punch and kick each other back and forth. Lashley tossed Kennedy to the corner and ran at him. Kennedy jumped up but Lashley caught him on his shoulder. Lashley continued to dominate, landing a vertical suplex on Kennedy. Lashley prepared for the spear. As he ran at Kennedy, Kennedy rolled out of the ring. Lashley followed Kennedy outside the r ing, where Kennedy then kicked Lashley into the steel steps. Kennedy waited for Lashley to get back into the ring and started kicking him. Kennedy focused on the injured shoulder to keep Lashley down to the mat.

Lashley finally stood up and whipped Kennedy to the corner. Kennedy climbed the top rope and Lashley came over to climb up. Kennedy able to grab Lashley and yank him down against the ropes. The ref then checked on Lashley who's shoulder seemed severely injured. Lashley said he'd continue and Kennedy went over to exploit the injury more. Lashley finally was able to use his arm to throw Kennedy across the ring. Lashley took control of the match clotheslining Kennedy several times. Lashley went for a spear again, but Kennedy brought up his knee, catching Lashley's shoulder. Kennedy then took advantage of the fallen Lashley and scored a pinfall win. Kennedy ran up the ramp and then backstage. Kennedy then returned with a mic in hand to announce himself as the winner. Referees attended to Lashley inside the ring.

Winner: Mr. Kennedy wins via pinfall over Lashley.

Snitsky shown with dark music playing. Snitsky said his matches are like no other, because his opponents pain is his pleasure.

Jim Ross announced that during commercial break the refs and Jerry Lawler assisted Bobby Lashley up the ramp. Ross said Lawler was preparing for his upcoming match with King Booker. Ross discussed how the Booker vs Lawler match came about, and footage was shown of the past few weeks events. King Booker arrived to the ring with Queen Sharmelle for the next match as Raw went to break.

Promo shown for the return of HHH after his leg/knee injury. The promo said HHH would be rebuilt better than he was before.

Jerry the King Lawler vs. King Booker

Ross discussed how Lawler is one of the most honored champions in wrestling history. The match started with the crowd chanting "JERRY" as Booker then got in his face. Booker started off trying to play headgames with Lawler, until Lawler caught Booker with a right hook. Booker managed to back Lawler into a corner where he started to attack. Lawler fought back and hammered away at Booker in the center of the ring. Booker retreated to a corner. Booker finally got in a cheap shot thumb to Lawler's eye to try to take control, but Lawler continued to punch back, forcing Booker to the corner. Booker was whipped to the corner and Lawler ran at him. Booker took advantage by elbowing Lawler. Booker then began to punch away at Lawler down on the mat.

Booker continued to dominate the match, and went for a scissors kick on Lawler. Lawler avoided the kick then gave Booker a series of punches, knocking him down. Lawler dropped an elbow on Booker and went for a pin. Booker managed to put his leg on the bottom rope before 3. Booker able to regain control of the match, catching Lawler in the face with a superkick. Booker started to hammer away at Lawler in the corner, despite the ref warning him to stop. The called for the bell due to Booker not heeding his warning. Despite losing the match, Booker kicked Lawler one more time in the corner of the ring. As Booker began to back up the ramp with Sharmelle, Lawler ran up the ramp and attacked Booker, knocking him down. 4 referees intervened, leading Lawler backstage as Queen Sharmelle tended to the fallen Booker.

Winner: Jerry Lawler wins due to disqualification of King Booker.

Ad shown for WWE magazine's August issue featuring the return of Rey Mysterio.

Cryme Tyme vs. John Mason and Brandon Gadsen

JTG started off against John Mason with several takedowns, until Mason tagged in his partner. JTG tagged Big Chad in. Gadsen received a few hard clotheslines down from Chad followed by a powerslam. Cryme Tyme then did a doubleteam move to finish off their opponents quickly. Chad went over and celebrated by hugging Lillian Garcia.

Chad and JTG brought mics into the ring. JTG and Chad then started doin a "Money Money" chant in the ring with the crowd. Chad announced they would be selling some shiny white wrestling boots, right now. Chad then kicked their fallen opponent in the head, and JTG removed his white boots. Chad said the bidding starts at $10,000. Chad and JTG started walking around the ring with the boots offering them to the crowd and dropping the price. JTG and Chad signed the boots and then started to offer them to the crowd for $40. A man finally gave Cryme Tyme two twenty dollar bills in exchange for the boots.

Winners: Cryme Tyme wins via pinfall over Mason and Gadsen.

Promo shown for Summerslam featuring highlights of various superstars and divas.

Jerry Lawler returned to the announce table with Jim Ross, where Ross congratulated him saying he was proud of him.

Sgt. Slaughter vs. Randy Orton

A replay was shown of Cena winning his match against Umaga, Cade and Murdoch last week, followed by Orton sneaking into the ring to RKO him. Orton started the match off punching and kicking Slaughter. Slaughter began to grab at his leg which Orton had kicked. Orton knocked Slaughter to the mat and started to stomp on his hand. Jim Ross noted that Orton's strategy was to take away Slaughter's ability to use the Cobra Clutch. Orton put Slaughter into a tight headlock and forced him back down to his knees on the mat. Slaughter got an adrenaline rush and started to elbow Orton in the stomach. Orton tried to run off the ropes but Slaughter clotheslined him down. When he got back up, Slaughter caught Orton in a Cobra Clutch. Orton finally was able to grab the top rope and then gave a cheap shot to Slaughter. Slaughter stumbled back to the mat, and then Orton RKO'd him when he got back up. Orton scored the pinfall victory to finish the match.

Orton was about to leave the ring but then turned and smirked back at Slaughter who was trying to get back up. Orton then ran and delivered a hard kick to Slaughter's head after the bell, similar to what he did to Dusty Rhodes last week. Several referees and WWE staff came down to the ring to attend to Sgt Slaughter. Orton smiled from outside the ring, looking in at the fallen Sgt Slaughter.

Winner: Randy Orton wins via pinfall over Sgt. Slaughter.

When Raw returned from break, Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler said Slaughter was taken away on a stretcher and showed footage. Randy Orton remained at ringside seated in a chair next to the announcer's table to watch the next match.

Carlito vs. John Cena

Cena and Carlito grappled and Cena then tripped Carlito down and went for a STFU. Carlito managed to roll away to the corner. Carlito then was able to kick Cena in the stomach and started to kick and punch Cena in the corner. Cena managed to escape and toss Carlito to the other corner, then did a bulldog off the ropes. Carlito rolled out of the ring to regroup. Cena came out of the ring and looked at Orton then chased Carlito back into the ring. Carlito tried to kick Cena and gain control of the match, but Cena reversed things.

Cena suplexed Carlito to the mat then stared out at Orton. As Cena went back to Carlito, Carlito kicked Cena then threw him to the ropes. Cena caught Carlito and sidewalk slammed him down. Carlito gained momentum again by moving out of the corner as Cena ran at him. Carlito kept Cena down on the mat in a headlock. Cena got back to his feet and pulled Carlito's hands off him. Cena then took control of the match with several flying shoulders into Carlito. With Carlito down, Cena did the "You Can't See Me" and went for the 5 Knuckle Shuffle. Orton came over to the side of the ring, distracting Cena. Cena then ran over to knock Orton off, but Orton got away. With the ref and Cena looking out at Orton, Carlito snuck up behind Cena and did the "Backstabber". Carlito then captured the pinfall victory. After winning, Carlito took a bite from an apple and spit in Cena's face. Cena pointed at Carlito as Carlito backed up the ramp smiling.

Winner: Carlito wins via pinfall over John Cena.