Raw Recap 06.23.08

Raw Recap from San Antonio, TX:

Raw kicked off its special 3 hour draft show with the 3 different commentary teams: Jim Ross & Jerry Lawler of Raw, Mike Adamle & Tazz of ECW, and Mick Foley with Michael Cole for Smackdown. Lawler announced that each match on the show will be an inter-brand match, with the wrestler(s) from the winning brand earning their show a draft pick. The password for Million Dollar Mania was revealed as "Night of Champions".

Triple H (Raw) vs. Mark Henry (SM)

Raw battled Smackdown for the first pick in the 2008 draft. In the matchup, Henry was able to overpower HHH for much of the contest. The Game kicked out of several pin attempts by Henry. Henry tried to seal the deal by coming off the ropes to splash HHH, but Hunter rolled away. As Henry staggered to his feet, HHH was able to hit the Pedigree and pickup the pinfall victory, earning Raw the #1 pick.

Winner: Triple H wins via pinfall over Mark Henry to earn Raw the #1 draft pick.

#1 Draft pick Raw drafted Rey Mysterio (from Smackdown).
Raw received Rey with the first pick, and Mysterio headed down to the ring. In the ring he and Triple H shook hands with Rey eyeing the prized WWE title.

Vince McMahon came to the top of the ramp to award the first cash prize in Million Dollar Mania for the show. Vince said 5 winners tonight get $100,000, with 1 lucky winner getting $500,000! Kelly Kelly came to the ramp to help Vince dial the lucky Raw viewer for $100,000, then Kelly Kelly did a celebratory dance on the ramp.

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Backstage Triple H welcomed Rey to Raw in a locker room. John Cena entered and did the same shaking hands with Rey. Rey left the scene and Cena confronted HHH for last week. Cena said he came to HHH's aid, but HHH turned on him. Triple H told Cena to stay out of his business because the title fight is personal now. Triple H told Cena he isn't as good as him, and until he beats him for the WWE title, he's nothing.

Finlay & Hornswoggle (SM) vs. Carlito & Santino (Raw)

Raw battled Smackdown for the 2nd draft pick of the night. In the match, Finlay was ready to strike Santino with the shilaleigh. Santino grabbed it and the ref saw him. The ref grabbed away the shilaleigh and while Santino was distracted, Finlay grabbed him for the Celtic Cross, slamming him down. Hornswoggle finished things off with the Tadpole Splash off the corner ropes to get the pinfall.

Winners: Finlay & Hornswoggle win via pinfall over Carlito & Santino.

#2 Draft Pick: Smackdown drafted Jeff Hardy (from Raw) Hardy came to the top of the ramp to his theme music, with Hornswoggle and Finlay applauding him from the ring. Smackdown's commentary team celebrated the pick. Randy Orton was shown watching it all on a flat screen TV backstage with his arm in a sling.

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Vince had Randy Orton come out to the ramp to help with the next cash prize giveaway. Orton spoke about his injury and return, vowing that whoever is WWE champ when he returns will face him and lose. Orton said he was in no mood to give away money, then went backstage. Vince gave away $100,000 and also informed fans of tonight's main event pitting Edge vs. Cena.

Hardcore Holly & Cody Rhodes vs. Chavo Guerrero & Bam Neely

ECW took on Raw in this contest to determine who received the 3rd draft pick. Ted Dibiase Jr. joined Jerry Lawler at ringside to watch the match, and refused to reveal his mystery partner for the tag team title match.

During the draft pick match, Rhodes ran over to knock Bam Neely off the apron. Chavo got tossed over the ropes, but managed to hang on, then used a headscissors to pull Rhodes over the top rope. As Chavo was on the apron, Holly was able to grab him from there and pick him up for an Alabama Slam to win it.

Winners: Hardcore Holly & Cody Rhodes win via pinfall over Chavo & Bam Neely to earn Smackdown the 3rd draft pick.

#3 Draft Pick: Raw received CM Punk (from ECW).
Mr. Money in the bank came out to the apron with briefcase in hand in another great pick for Raw.

Chris Jericho shown backstage walking on his way out to address the Raw crowd.

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Chris Jericho arrived to the ring to the boos and jeers of fans in attendance. Jericho continued to discuss how fans have turned on him, and have cheered a dishonest wrestler like Shawn Michaels. Y2J said he is no longer allowing fans to cheer for him anymore. Jericho had footage shown of Michaels backstabbing various partners and friends since 1992, such as Marty Jannetty, Diesel, Hulk Hogan, John Cena & Batista. Jericho told the crowd only one other wrestler is like Y2J and that's Lance Cade. Cade appeared on the Titantron and said he was the brightest student to come out of Shawn Michaels Wrestling school, then said he realizes HBK was pretending to be his friend when he will ultimately backstab him. Next Jericho showed his attack on Michaels 2 weeks ago in the Highlight Reel. According to Jerry Lawler, Michaels suffered a bad eye injury.

Jericho continued trying to insult and trash talk HBK in the ring. All of a sudden, Michaels' theme music hit and HBK came charging down to the ring. Michaels had bandaids around his hurt left eye, but still tackled down Jericho in the ring. The two continued fighting, landing outside. Outside the ring, Jericho managed to trip HBK, causing him to hit face first into the announce table. Michaels writhed around on the floor holding his already hurt eye as WWE staff came to attend to him. Jericho smiled as he admired the pain he caused HBK.

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Miz & Morrison (ECW) vs. Matt & Jeff Hardy (SM)

Prior to the match with Miz & Morrison in the ring, Vickie Guerrero came to the top of the ramp with Ryder & Hawkins. Vickie said they were originally scheduled to face Miz & Morrison but due to recent transactions she changed it. The reunited Hardys came out to a loud fan response to fight in the draft pick match.

In the match, Matt Hardy had the advantage on Morrison. After a leg drop off the corner on Morrison, Matt was ready for a pin. The Miz distracted the referee enough to allow Morrison to roll up Matt from behind, then pull his tights to secure a pin. ECW stole the match and their first draft pick.

Winners: Miz & Morrison win via pinfall over Matt & Jeff Hardy.

#4 Draft Pick: ECW drafted Matt Hardy (from Smackdown).
In a surprise pick, the United States champion Matt Hardy moves from Smackdown to ECW. Matt and Jeff were reunited just briefly for Raw as members of Smackdown.

Vince McMahon introduced the Natureboy, Ric Flair to help him give away a cash prize. Flair dialed up a lucky Raw viewer who won $100,000, then got to hear a Ric Flair "WOOOO!"

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Mickie James & Melina vs. Natalya & Victoria

Smackdown and Raw battled it out again for a draft pick. In this contest, Melina was up on the corner, and Victoria was able to shove her off to the outside. Melina landed badly on her ankle and fell to the ground. Mickie James came over to defend her from Natalya and Victoria. The ref eventually called for a double DQ because of the melee and awarded both Raw & Smackdown draft picks.

Winners: No winners as match was ruled a double disqualification. Both Raw & Smackdown received draft picks.

#5 Draft pick: Smackdown drafts Jim Ross (from Raw).

#6 Draft pick: Raw drafts Michaels Cole (from Smackdown).

The two announcers with longtime tenure on the respective shows swapped places, as Cole took a seat next to Lawler and Jim Ross went to sit with Mick Foley. Ross seemed speechless at the latest move, with Michael Cole telling Lawler he called all but 2 matches on Smackdown for the past 10 years.

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Raw returned with footage of Melina's injury. It appeared Melina hurt her ankle, then was helped to the back as two WWE officials carried her up the ramp.

The Great Khali came out to help Vince McMahon give away the next $100,000 prize. Vince announced Khali as a star of "Get Smart", then held up the new Rock 3 disc DVD. The first person called for the cash prize told Vince it was a wrong number, then hung up on him. The next caller won $100,000 and got an earful from Khali.

John Cena (Raw) vs. Edge (SM)

A longtime feud was reborn on Raw, as Edge and Cena faced off for the next draft pick. The match went back and forth, with each man attempting to finish off the other. Edge escaped several FU attempts and the STFU submission. The two ended up fighting on the outside. Cena was able to grab Edge up on his shoulders and began to walk up the steel steps. Edge slid off Cena, then tried to ram him into the steel post. Cena blocked the move then knocked Edge back to the outside. Cena barely got in the ring to beat the ref's 10 count, giving him the win.

After Cena's win for Raw, Batista came charging down to attack Edge outside the ring. The Animal brought Edge into the ring and kept the fight going, until Edge escaped up the ramp.

Winner: John Cena wins due to a countout of Edge.

#7 Draft pick: Raw drafted Batista (from Smackdown).
With Batista already in the ring, Cena gave him a look as did Edge who smiled at him from the top of the ramp.

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Backstage, Edge was shown talking to Vickie Guerrero about how they won't have to worry about Batista on their show anymore. Vince McMahon came in and reminded them both that Batista will still challenge Edge for the title at Night of Champions. Vince added in that before the night's over, maybe Edge will be drafted to a new show. Vickie became upset at the idea with Edge trying to calm her down.

Tommy Dreamer (ECW) vs. MVP (SM)

Dreamer had momentum as he pounded away on MVP from the corner ropes. MVP was able to slip underneath Dreamer, then kicked his one leg, causing Dreamer to fall. Dreamer got up in the corner, but MVP was able to deliver a running kick to win it. Smackdown earned the next draft pick.

Winner: MVP wins via pinfall over Tommy Dreamer.

#8 Draft Pick: Smackdown drafted Umaga (from Raw).
The Samoan Bulldozer came down to the ring as Smackdown's newest member and attacked both Dreamer and Colin Delaney in the ring. Umaga did the hip splash on Dreamer in one corner, the na vicious side slam on Delaney.

JBL (Raw) vs. Kofi Kingston (ECW)

Kofi started to gain control of the match with his quickness and aerial moves. However, when Kofi jumped off the corner at JBL, JBL was able to swat him down from mid-air. JBL waited for Kofi to get up then hit the Clothesline from Hell off the ropes. JBL won Raw the #9 draft pick with the win.

Winner: JBL wins via pinfall over Kofi Kingston.

#9 Draft Pick: Raw drafted Kane (from ECW).
Kane came out to the top of the ramp with the ECW title, then made the corner ring posts explode with fire around JBL.

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Mr. McMahon gave away another $100,000 cash prize. This time the winner was someone in attendance at Raw. A girl was shown on her cell phone who delivered the correct password to win.

Tri-Brand Battle Royal for 2 Draft Picks

Three teams of 5 wrestlers battled on behalf of Raw, ECW & Smackdown. For Raw it was Cena, HHH, CM Punk, Batista & Kane. For Smackdown it was Edge, Big Show, Great Khali, MVP & Jeff Hardy. Representing ECW were The Miz, John Morrison, Matt Hardy, Chavo Guerrero & Shelton Benjamin.

At one point in the match, it came down to a face off between ECW's Big Show and the Raw & Smackdown teams. Show was able to beat down all opponents who came at him, including Kane, Cena & Triple H. It came down to 4 members each from Smackdown and Raw, with just Matt Hardy and Chavo remaining for ECW's roster. Matt and Jeff Hardy went at it, with Jeff eventually kicking Matt off the apron.

Edge, Big Show and MVP remained for Smackdown, with Triple H, Batista, Jeff Hardy & Kane remaining for Raw. The battle continued as Triple H rammed Jeff Hardy off the side apron. A bloody Batista was able to spear down Edge, but was picked up by Big Show. Batista held on to Show who soon punched him down to the outside. Kane came up to Show and went for a chokeslam. Show blocked it and eventually hit Kane over the ropes. With Cena and Triple H remaining they went at Big Show. Show was able to get a double suplex and bring both men to the mat. Edge still remained laying in a corner of the ring. Triple H and Cena worked together and pushed Show over the top ropes. With Triple H looking out at Show, Cena clotheslined the Game over the top. Edge took advantage as Cena kept looking out at an angry HHH. Running over, Edge grabbed Cena and tossed him out over the ropes to win the match for Smackdown. Smackdown received the final 2 draft picks of the night.

Winner: Edge wins the tri-brand battle royal on behalf of Smackdown to earn the last 2 draft picks.

#10 Draft pick: Smackdown drafted Mr. Kennedy (from Raw).
Kennedy arrived to the top of the ramp and began pointing down at Edge in the ring. The next pick started up on the Titantron.

#11 Draft pick: Smackdown drafted Triple H (from Raw).
A shocked HHH began to point over at Cena after the announcement was made, still upset about what just went down in the ring.

Mr. McMahon gave away the night's final cash prize of $500,000! Vince congratulated the fan who was ecstatic. Suddenly out of nowhere, part of the Raw set fell to the top of the ramp near Mr. McMahon. Vince seemed startled but stayed over at the podium with the money. All of a sudden, part of the ramp gave way, and Mr. McMahon fell down with the box of cash. Vince got to his feet, but a part of the scaffolding suddenly fell and came down on top of where Vince was. Triple H, John Cena, Edge and other wrestlers and staff rushed over to help. Eventually, Vince was strapped to a stretcher with a neck brace. Mr. McMahon was moving and responding by speaking to staff as they pushed the stretcher out and Raw ended.