Raw KOTR Recap 04.21.08

Raw recap from Greenville, SC:

Raw opened with Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler announcing a huge 8 man tag match, including HHH, Cena Undertaker and Kane against Randy Orton, JBL, Chavo Guerrero and Edge. Also tonight, the 3 presidential candidates will give their comments to the fans, and Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama will face off in the squared circle. Lillian Garcia announced the first matchup for King of the Ring.

Chris Jericho vs. MVP
KOTR 1st Round

The US champ and IC champ met for their second match. Previously the two faced off on Smackdown in a great contest.

MVP attacked Jericho fast and took him down to the mat, but Jericho managed to get back to his feet fighting back. MVP started punching away at Y2J in the corner for a bit, until Jericho kicked him. Jericho followed with a suplex to drop MVP on the top rope and out of the ring, then used a slide dropkick. Y2J went out to toss MVP back in to the ring, but as Y2J entered MVP gave a boot to his head, then a DDT into the ring. MVP kept Y2J down in a submission hold for a bit, before Jericho stood back up.

MVP tossed Jericho to the ropes, but Y2J threw shoulder blocks. MVP suplexed Jericho after 2 more times off the ropes. MVP knocked Jericho down but failed at several pin attempts. Jericho managed to get up on the ropes, but MVP picked him up on his shoulders then dropped him on the mat. MVP tried to come off the ropes, but Y2J quickly got up to clothesline him down. Jericho gained momentum, using several moves including a bulldog. MVP moved away on the Lionsault, then went for the Playmaker. Jericho was able to counter MVP's move and turrn it into the Lion Tamer. MVP was nowhere near the ropes and tapped out, giving Y2J the first win of the night.

After the win, Jericho went up to the top of the ramp where the throne was and prematurely took a seat as if he were the King. CM Punk shown backstage getting ready for a match.

Winner: Chris Jericho wins via submission over MVP to advance to Round 2 of KOTR..

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CM Punk vs. Matt Hardy
KOTR 1st Round

Early on Hardy and Punk countered each other's moves, with Punk finally getting a swinging neckbreaker. In control, Punk tried for a quick pinfall then a headlock on Hardy. Punk continued using a headlock to keep Hardy down on the mat, but Matt soon got to his feet trying to fight back. Punk forced Matt to the corner where he continued to knee and punch him. Punk sat Matt on the corner, but Matt was able to headbutt Punk away and then connect with an elbow to Punk's head.

Punk shoved Matt to the corner for a knee to the face, followed by a bulldog. Punk tried to jump off the ropes to clothesline Matt, but Hardy caught him with a Side Effect. After a failed pin, Matt went for Twist of Fate, but Punk countered. Punk went for GTS and Matt countered. Eventually, Punk managed to roll up Matt into a pin holding his legs tightly for the quick surprise win.

Winner: CM Punk wins via pinfall over Matt Hardy to advance to Round 2 of KOTR.

JR looked at the KOTR bracket so far, which will have Jericho and Punk competing in Round 2. The other competitors are TBA.

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JR and Lawler showed a mock Barack Obama vs. Hilary Clinton match on Smackdown vs. Raw 2008. A video game simulated match went down with both politicians hitting moves on each other, but neither won.

JR said there is news on the Fatal Fourway as they showed last Monday's JBL vs. HHH match where Orton interfered. JBL recovered to knock both HHH and Orton out in the ring. JR noted that the Fatal Fourway match is now an "Elimination Match", where wrestlers will fight until just 1 is left.

JBL shown in a backstage promo discussing how Sunday he will have his coronation as WWE champ. JBL said he will do what he does best, survive. JBL listed off his history of dominating sports in High school, dominating finances, and owning his company. He held up a recent news article about his work on Fox and his new energy drink. JBL said he is news, and Sunday he will be news and WWE Champ.

Finlay vs. Great Khali
KOTR Round 1

Khali came to the top of the ramp, then went up and took a seat on the throne as Raw headed to commercial break. In the matchup between Smackdown stars, it was India vs. Ireland as JR noted. Hornswoggle accompanied Finlay to the ring and watched from ringside.

Khali quickly manhandled Finlay, clotheslining him down, then slamming him to the mat. Khali missed on an elbow drop, and Finlay tried to attack. Khali quickly grabbed Finlay around the throat and shoved him to the corner. Finlay fought back then tried to jump off the ropes, but was met by a huge boot. Hornswoggle got into the ring with a shilaleigh, but the ref quickly stopped him. Hornswoggle left the ring and scurried under the ring as Khali went to the outside to slam Finlay's leg against the ringpost. Khali disregarded the ref's count and instructions to stop, so the ref called for the bell. Khali continued slamming Finlay's leg into the post, and all of a sudden Big Show emerged from backstage.

Show walked down the ramp staring straight at Khali. Show walked around the ring to where Khali was. Great Khali walked off to the other side of the ring and Show got into the ring to look out at him. Khali and Show started to point and yell at each other, before Khali finally walked off up the ramp.

Winner: Finlay wins over Great Khali due to disqualification. Finlay advances to Round 2 of KOTR.

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Raw returned with WWE officials and a ref helping an injured Finlay to hobble up the ramp. The final match for KOTR was announced.

Hornswoggle vs. William Regal
KOTR Round 1

Hornswoggle was still helping his father up the ramp as the announcement for the match was made. Regal tried to take advantage by running up the ramp and grabbing Hornswoggle, then tossing him into the ring.

Regal stared down at Hornswoggle then ran over to knock him to the mat. Regal slapped a "Regal Stretch" submission onto Hornswoggle and the leprechaun quickly tapped out. Finlay ran back to the ring, hobbling and tried to help his son. Regal again took advantage and waited for Finlay to stand up, then kicked him in the hurt leg.

Winner: William Regal wins via submission over Hornswoggle to advance to Round 2 of King of the Ring.

Backstage, Shawn Michaels was shown walking. JR said up next Michaels will address his Backlash opponent, Batista.

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Highlights shown of WWE tour in places like Australia, Portugal, Spain and England. As HHH said it was "around the world in 14 days". Several fans were shown giving their comments about it all.

Shawn Michaels made his way down to the ring to give comments regarding Batista, his Backlash opponent. Michaels said the last thing he expected to do after beating Flair at Wrestlemania is to have to discuss facing one of Flair's best friends at Backlash. Michaels said he has just one question for Batista tonight, but wants it to be face to face. Batista soon appeared from backstage along with his music and pyro display.

Michaels said last week Jericho asked Batista a question, but Batista never gave his answer. HBK asked if Batista wanted to be the man who faced Flair at Mania. Batista asked if it would make Michaels feel better to be absolved of all blame, but it's not about that now, it's about them competing. Batista said he respects Michaels and where he's at, but doesn't like how he got there. Batista said he's sick of talking about it, but bottom line is at Backlash he's gonna finish things. HBK said he had a confession of his own to make, that he is "the man" whether anyone likes it or not.

Michaels wished Batista good luck for Batista saying he'd need it. HBK put his hand out and the two shook. As Michaels turned to leave, Batista kept the handshake and pulled Michaels back to stare eye to eye. The two continued the staredown in the ring. Batista walked forward and bumped shoulders with HBK before leaving the ring.

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A previously taped video message from Senator Hilary Clinton to the WWE fans was shown. Hilary said tonight you can call her "Hil-Rod". She said this election is a lot like King of the Ring, but she may be the "Last Man Standing". Hilary said you need a president who will go to the mat for you, and that's her. She said she's been knocked down before, but if things get a little tough she could deliver the "People's Elbow". Hilary said when it comes to standing up for the American people, she is "ready to rumble".

Carlito vs. Hardcore Holly

Holly was accompanied by Cody Rhodes, while Carlito was accompanied by Santino Marella. Holly threw an early headlock on Carlito, who shoved him to the ropes. Carlito used an armbar takedown, but Holly kicked him from the mat, then knocked him down. After a slam, Holly went for a quick pin. Holly dropped Carlito down on his knee, then clothesline Carlito to the mat. Off the ropes, Carlito caught Holly with a knee to the gut and then began to punch away at him. A submission move soon followed with Carlito wrapping his arms around Holly's neck.

Holly fought back to his feet then whipped Carlito to the ropes. Carlito recovered with a dropkick, then continued his assault. Carlito used yet another hold on Holly down on the mat, keeping his arms stretched behind his back. Holly soon got out of the hold and then began to punch away at Carlito. Holly gained momentum as he hit a dropkick on Carlito causing him to land on the top of the ropes. Holly went over and delivered a kick to Carlito "above the belt". Holly went for the Alabama Slam, but Carlito escaped and hit the Backstabber quick for the win.

After the victory, Santino started to mouth off on the mic insulting the tag champs. Cody Rhodes grabbed the mic from him and asked how to say in Italian "if you say one more word I'm going to smack you in the head with this mic". Santino answered but Cody soon smacked him in the head with the mic and all 4 men began to fight. Eventually Santino and Carlito escaped the ring to recover.

Winner: Carlito wins via pinfall over Hardcore Holly.

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Triple H shown in a backstage promo discussing the Fatal Fourway. Hunter said the four of them can keep talking and saying who's best, but it's all just words. HHH said this Sunday 3 men will fall and one will emerge as the best of the best and the WWE champion. HHH said it will be him who's left standing and it's up to his 3 opponents to prove him wrong.

CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho
Semifinals Match 1

Early on the two men grappled with several takedowns. Both men quickly got up to face off again. Punk began using kicks to Jericho's leg, then backed him to a corner. Y2J recovered to dropkick Punk, then suplexed him onto the top rope. Jericho tried for a springboard kick onto Punk, but Punk dropped out of the way. Punk tried to springboard into the ring onto Jericho, but Jericho dropkicked the top rope causing Punk to fall into the ring. Y2J tossed Punk to the ropes, but Punk delivered a solid kick, then clotheslined Jericho down.

The two men began to roll each other up for pins. Jericho got up and tried for the Walls of Jericho, but Punk countered to roll him up again. Punk was able to deliver an impressive Powerslam, but Jericho kicked out of yet another pin. Punk whipped Y2J to a corner then charged, but Jericho kicked back. The fight continued and Jericho was able to lock the Walls of Jericho in. Punk struggled to eventually crawl to the bottom rope and broke it. Jericho went to the corner ropes for a move, but Punk jumped up and delivered a kick to his head. Punk then grabbed Y2J off the corner and hit the GTS to grab the pinfall victory.

Winner: CM Punk wins via pinfall over Chris Jericho to advance to the KOTR Finals.

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Senator Barack Obama was shown in a previously taped message for WWE fans. Barack said it's a historic time not only because Randy Orton's reign as WWE Champ may come to an end, but because in this election we have a chance to end "Business as Usual in Washington". Obama said there's been too many special interests and divisions keeping everyone distracted from making progress. Barack said he has just one question for the American people: "Do You Smell What Barack is cookin?"

Finlay vs. William Regal
KOTR Semifinals

Finlay hobbled down to the ring with his injured leg taped up thoroughly. As the bell rang Regal quickly forced Finlay down to the mat and kept trying to go for the leg. Finlay fought him off using a backflip with his legs. The action spilled outside the ring and Regal shoved Finlay into the steel steps so his leg would hit. Back in the ring, Regal continued to go at the injury as much as possible. Finlay withstood the attack and was able to throw Regal into the corner of the ring shoulder first. Finlay continued his momentum, with Regal kicking and punching back.

After a failed pin, Regal came off the ropes to kick Finlay in the head. Regal slapped on the Regal Stretch submission causing Finlay to yell out. Finlay wouldn't tap out, but the ref soon called for the bell.

The finals of KOTR will feature CM Punk against William Regal.

Winner: William Regal wins via submission over Finlay to advance to KOTR Finals.

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A previously recorded message from Senator John McCain was shown for WWE fans. McCain said finally Mac has come back to Greenville. McCain said if you want to be the man, you have to beat the man. McCain also said if you want to pull out of Iraq he believes in No Surrender. McCain said he'd introduce Osama Bin laden to the Undertaker to win the war on terror. The Senator said he believes in America as the greatest nation in the world, and that WWE wrestling is about the freedom to fight for what they want. McCain said fans will decide the champion in November by simplying voting, and that's the bottom line because John McCain said so.

JR and Lawler ran down the matches for this weekend's Backlash PPV. John Cena was shown backstage in a promo for Backlash. Cena discussed his opponents for Backlash's Fatal Fourway. Cena told JBL if he keeps talking Cena will knock his teeth down his throat. Cena said HHH seems to have a grip so tight on the title that it doesn't matter who's in his way. Cena said he talks to send a message to the other 3 that he has a great chance to win the WWE title and they need to go through him to get there. Cena said "he's locked, loaded and ready to bring down the thunder".

The ring was shown being decorated with political decorations as JR and Lawler said we will see the in ring confrontation between Hilary and Obama next.

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A WWE initiative was shown as helping out kids with reading in the community. WWE received a 2008 Beacon Award for excellence in the community as well. CM Punk shown saying how much he enjoys participating in this campaign to get kids more into reading.

Democratic Primary Presidential Smackdown

A pair of Bill and Hilary Clinton look alikes came out as did a Barack Obama look alike. Bill and Hilary arrived to the ring to Hulk Hogan's All American theme music, while Obama came down to The Rock's theme song.

Hilary and Barack each made comments using references to Hulk Hogan and The Rock. The ref called for the bell, and Hilary took control first, using a leg drop to try to pin Obama. The fake Obama kicked out and used the "Barack Bottom" followed by an attempt at the People's Elbow. The fake Bill Clinton tripped fake Barack near the ropes. The ref counted as both fake Hilary and Obama were down on the mat. All of a sudden, Umaga's theme music came on and the angry Samoan came down to the ring.

Umaga entered the ring as the ref called for the bell. Umaga looked at Bill and Hilary and a fallen Obama. Umaga grabbed Obama and picked him up to deliver a vicious Samoan Spike. Bill Clinton tried to make peace with Umaga, but he wasn't having it. Umaga let out a yell and the fake Bill took off running up the ramp. Umaga grabbed Hilary, hoisted her up on his shoulders and slammed her down to the mat.

Winner: No winner due to Umaga's interference.

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JR and Lawler returned to recap the Political Smackdown and remind people of tomorrow's voting in Pennsylvania.

WWE Divas Ashley, Maria, Kelly Kelly, Cherry and Michelle McCool made their way down to the ring. Maria said last week something happened that they never thought was possible. Footage was shown of Mickie James picking up the surprise pinfall on Beth Phoenix last Monday to win the Women's Championship. Ashley then introduced the new WWE Women's Champion, Mickie James.

Mickie came to the ring holding up the title belt and hugging the other divas. Maria said they all wanted to say Congratulations. Mickie thanked them and said it sends the message to never quit or give up. As Mickie kept speaking, Beth Phoenix' theme music came on and Beth arrived to the ring with Victoria, Melina, Natalya Neidhart and Jillian Hall.

Beth said listening to this lovefest prompted them to come break it up. Beth Phoenix called Mickie's victory a "fluke" and said having these inferior divas with her is a "slap in the face. Michelle McCool went up to Beth and said "this is a slap in the face", then slapped her. All of the divas began to brawl in the ring, with the face divas eventually tossing the heels out. Beth and her fellow divas stood at the bottom of the ramp to yell at the other divas in the ring.

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A promo was shown to announce that next week Mr. Kennedy makes his return to Raw.

CM Punk vs. William Regal
KOTR Finals

It came down to Punk and Regal as the final 2 WWE Superstars in the tournament. After several kicks to Regal's head, Punk hit the bulldog, but Regal recovered to suplex Punk down. Regal followed up by stretching Punk's arms behind his back down on the mat. Regal continued to keep the hold on Punk despite a brief bit of offense from CM. Punk got to his feet and fought back by kicking Regal several times. Punk connected with right hand shots then a kick to the back of Regal's head. Punk went for the pin with Regal kicking out at 2.

Both men got back up and Punk lifted up Regal for GTS. Regal was close to the ropes and held the top rope to get back to the ring. Regal delivered a shot to the head of CM Punk, then tried for the Regal Stretch submission. Regal eventually locked the vicious hold onto Punk. Punk tried to fight out of it but had nowhere to go and soon tapped out. William Regal is now the reigning King of the Ring.

Winner: William Regal wins by submission over CM Punk to become the 2008 WWE King of the Ring.

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A commercial was shown for the upcoming Hardys DVD WWE - Twist of Fate: The Matt and Jeff Hardy Story

Cena, HHH, Kane & Undertaker vs. JBL, Orton, Edge & Chavo

Orton came to the ring first to talk about how sick he is of hearing others say they will leave Backlash as the new champ. Orton listed off all of the PPV's he's successfully defended the WWE title at including No Mercy, Armageddon and Wrestlemania 24. Orton vowed to remain WWE Champion after Backlash. When JBL got to the ring he and Orton began arguing. Chavo came out next but didn't intervene.

Edge came to the ring and tried to make peace between both men. Lawler mentioned the latest WWE magazine which features WWE Superstar Edge.

The matchup started soon after HHH, Cena, Kane and Taker each made their entrances. Taker started off against Edge, with Undertaker taking control quickly. Taker went Old School off the top rope then ran over and knocked Orton, JBL and Chavo off the apron. Raw headed to break with Undertaker picking up Edge in the ring.

As Raw returned, Chavo went for a pinfall on HHH. HHH kicked out but Chavo tagged in Edge. Edge ran at HHH for the Spear, with HHH moving away and then slamming Edge to the mat. Edge grabbed HHH's leg as he went to tag, but Triple H escaped to tag Cena. Cena took control and had Edge ready for a 5 Knuckle Shuffle. Orton distracted the ref and as Cena went against the ropes, Chavo pulled the top rope causing Cena to fall out.

The heels took advantage of Cena and began to each take turns beating on him. Orton held Cena in a sleeper but Cena stood and rammed Orton to the corner. Both men ran at each other and collided, falling to the mat. The ref counted both as they each rolled towards their corners for the tag. In came Chavo and Kane next, with Kane cleaning the ring, then the apron. Kane climbed the corner and jumped at Chavo, knocking him to the mat. Kane took the pin, but the heels came in to break it up. All of the men began to brawl. Everyone left the ring except Chavo and Kane. Edge got back to the ring and made a blind tag. Kane continued to fight with Chavo and hit the Chokeslam, but Edge caught him with a surprise Spear to pickup the pin.

After the match, Cena got into the ring and surprised Edge with an FU. HHH came at Cena and the two fought, with HHH setting up a Pedigree. JBL entered the ring and clotheslined HHH down. Orton came into the ring and began to jaw at JBL, but Undertaker had also entered. Raw ended after Taker did a double chokeslam on Orton and JBL, then stood in the ring.

Winners: Edge, Chavo, JBL & Orton win via pinfall over Kane, Undertaker, Triple H & John Cena.

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