Raw Recap 09.22.08

Raw Recap from Cincinnati, OH:

Raw kicked off with a ladder in the ring and the World Heavyweight title hanging above it. Chris Jericho made his way down to the ring after his theme music video and pyrotechnics. Jericho climbed to the top of the ladder and sat there discussing how at No Mercy he'll thwart Shawn Michaels attempts to re-write history and take away the title. As Y2J continued his speech, Randy Orton came to the ring to interrupt.

Orton told Jericho he only won the title due to Orton kicking Punk in the head at Unforgiven. Orton and Jericho got in each other's faces and Orton vowed to be champ again. Orton also added that if Jericho or any other superstar layed a hand on him, they'd be suspended by orders of GM Mike Adamle. Jericho told Orton he was done wasting his time with him, and exited the ring. Orton continued yelling as Jericho walked up the ramp with the title, and finally Orton tossed the ladder out of the ring.

Next, CM Punk made a surprise entrance and came to the ring to confront Orton. Punk tried to hold himself back, but suddenly slapped Orton in the face twice. As Orton fell to the corner, GM Mike Adamle rushed to the ring with a mic in hand. Adamle told Punk to cool down and then informed him since he violated his direct edict, Punk was suspended. Suddenly, Shane McMahon appeared from backstage to the cheers of the crowd. Shane came down to the ring and told GM Adamle he knows he's getting a lot of on-the-job training, and therefore he was overturning the Punk suspension. Shane told Orton to leave the ring, then said Punk can start off Raw facing Cody Rhodes. Shane also announced a main event tag match: JBL & Jericho vs. Batista and HBK.

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CM Punk vs. Cody Rhodes

Late in the match, Rhodes and Punk traded ankle lock submission holds. Punk wrenched the hold in tightly and Rhodes was able to stretch out in agony and grab the bottom rope. The ref screamed at Punk to break the hold and began counting. Punk broke the hold at the last moment possible. As Rhodes stood up, Punk slapped him several times, then used vicious kicks and knees on him. Punk delivered a knee to Rhodes in the corner, then went for a bulldog. Rhodes shoved Punk away, but Punk came right back to deliver the GTS for the win.

After the win, Manu and Ted Dibiase stormed the ring and attacked Punk. They had the upperhand until Kofi Kingston arrived to the ring to make the save.

Winner: CM Punk defeated Cody Rhodes viv pinfall.

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Members of the Cincinnati Bengals were shown in the front row of the audience. Michael Cole introduced the Smackdown Rebound. Highlights were shown from last week's show with Vladimir Kozlov attacking both Jeff Hardy and Triple H as he continues his search for better competition.

Backstage, Shane McMahon commended Mike Adamle on the job he's doing so far. Kane burst into the office saying its great Adamle is delivering Evan Bourne to him in a match tonight, but he still wants Rey Mysterio. Adamle said it's a done deal and the two will face off at No Mercy. Kane left but first told Shane to say hi to his mother. Shane filled Adamle in on the history between he and Kane.

A WWE staff member was talking with Kelly Kelly backstage, then left. Beth Phoenix and Santino Marella came up to her. Santino was wearing a face mask due to injuries from last week when Batista attacked he and Beth. Beth told Kelly Kelly she saw her laughing at what Batista did to them last week, so she requested a match against her tonight. Santino started mocking Batista's entrance, when Batista walked up behind him, startling Santino. Beth Phoenix told Batista she's gonna take care of his friend and if Batista interferes, Santino will take care of him. Santino took off running as his theme music began playing for his upcoming match.

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Santino Marella vs.

Highlights were shown of Batista delivering Spinebusters on both Santino and Beth Phoenix in the ring, one on top of the other. Santino wore a face mask to the ring, and demanded the Honk-a-Meter be shown. Honky Tonk Man was IC champ for 64 weeks and Santino has been champ for 5. Deuce's theme music came on to interrupt, as Deuce came to the ring.

Deuce went to work on Santino's face to exploit the injury, delivering a fist drop from off the ropes in addition to several other moves. Santino got up from the mat and attempted to whip Deuce to the corner quickly, but Deuce countered to send Santino over. Deuce punched Santino in the face again and fell back to the mat since he hit the hard mask. Deuce walked over and picked up Santino near the corner, but Santino was able to use his weight to fall over and roll up Deuce for a surprise pinfall.

Winner: Santino Marella wins via pinfall over Deuce.

Backstage, Rey Mysterio and Evan Bourne were shown walking together. Rey was giving Bourne tips on how to go against Kane in the ring.

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Subway Slam of the Week showed Kane brutally assaulting Rey Mysterio during their match. The ref called for the fight giving Rey the win, and Evan Bourne came down to help Rey knock Kane down to the mat.

Evan Bourne vs. Kane

Bourne used quick attacks to kick Kane down and targeted his legs to make Kane immobilized. At one point, Bourne tried to slide off Kane's back and roll him up for a pin, but Kane punched Bourne in the face to prevent it. Bourne continued the quick attacks, using dropkicks from the corners of the ring and knees to Kane. After getting Kane knocked over the top rope, Bourne did a reverse flip off the corner onto Kane on the outside. Bourne followed with a double knee to Kane inside the ring but failed at a pin. As Bourne came off the ropes, Kane tossed him up in the air, then delivered a vicious uppercut to him. Kane began dominating Bourne from here as he rammed his back into the corner, then turned it into a powerslam. Kane waited for Bourne to get up from the mat, then delivered a finishing Chokeslam on him.

Kane went to attack Bourne further after the bell, but Rey Mysterio was quick to come down to the ring. Rey tried to mount an attack against Kane and went for a jump move off the ropes, but Kane kicked him in mid-air then began destroying Mysterio in the ring. Kane left the ring with Rey down and the ref checking on him.

Winner: Kane wins via pinfall over Evan Bourne.

Backstage, Jamie Noble was asking Shane McMahon for just one more crack at William Regal. New superstar Dolph Ziggler came up and introduced himself to both men, shaking their hands. Ziggler left, then Randy Orton came up and Noble left the scene. Orton told Shane what he did earlier by overturning Punk's suspension was not cool. Orton said it'd be a shame if they got on each other's bad sides, because as 3rd generation superstars they are the most powerful in all the WWE. Shane agreed it would be a shame, then informed Orton he's a 4th generation superstar.

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Kelly Kelly vs. Beth Phoenix

Beth started off by brutally attacking Kelly, forcing her to the corner and whipping her to the opposite corner. Kelly landed an impressive move as she grabbed Beth's arm, got onto the top rope and flipped down into the ring to toss Beth down. Beth was able to finally regain control as she grabbed Kelly Kelly and tossed her into the corner. Beth used a submission hold to start wearing Kelly down on the mat. Kelly was able to get to her feet briefly, but Beth punched her back down.

Kelly mounted an offense again, dropkicking Beth down. At one point Beth tossed Kelly over her in the corner, but Kelly was able to land on her feet on the corner ropes. Kelly continued to come off the ropes to knock Beth down, but Santino grabbed her leg. Kelly turned to confront Santino and Beth went at Kelly. As Kelly moved, Santino jumped down from the apron to avoid contact. Kelly took advantage of the situation by getting a surprise roll up pin on Beth to win the match.

Afterwards, Beth held Kelly and Santino got into the ring to go at her. Batista broke up their attempts as he came down to the ring and Kelly escaped. Santino punched Batista but it had no effect. Batista pulled on Santino's mask, snapping it back against his face, then Speared Santino to the mat.

Winner: Kelly Kelly wins via pinfall over Beth Phoenix.

An episode of The Dirt Sheet with John Morrison and The Miz was shown where they mocked Cryme Tyme. Cryme Tyme was part of the vignette and called Miz and Morrison "Posers".

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Cryme Tyme vs. The Miz & John Morrison

At one point in the match, Morrison and JTG both were dow on the outside of the ring. Big Shad had the upperhand against The Miz in the ring. Shad picked up Miz for a long standing suplex, to slam him face first to the mat. Miz barely kicked out before 3. Miz and Shad continued to go at it, with Miz shoving Shad against the ropes. Shad caught himself and held onto the ropes, then began to elbow Miz away. Miz fell back and the ref checked on his condition. All of a sudden, Morrison got up from outside the ring, got on the apron and delivered a vicious kick to the back of Shad's head, allowing Miz to take the pinfall.

Winners: The Miz & John Morrison win via pinfall over Cryme Tyme.

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Chris Jericho and Lance Cade were meeting with Mike Adamle. Jericho told Adamle that Shane McMahon says and means two different things. Jericho suggested that Shane wants Adamle to come up with his own unique ideas. Jericho said he'd explain to Adamle exactly what should be done with the main event, as the camera cut back to the arena.

Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler discussed the matches for No Mercy including JBL vs. Batista, Rey vs. Kane, Undertaker vs. Big Show, Michaels vs. Jericho and Jeff Hardy vs. Triple H.

Video footage from earlier in the day was shown of Charlie Haas at Dave N Busters. Haas payed tribute to one of his all-time favorites, Mr. Perfect. Mr. Perfect's theme music was played as Haas put on a blonde wig and continually messed up various sports achievements he tried. Haas bricked several basketball shots, threw a golf club into a screen and crashed into a waiter carrying a food order.

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Batista & Shawn Michaels vs. JBL & Chris Jericho w/Lance Cade

Lillian Garcia announced that the match had been changed by GM Mike Adamle to a 2 on 3 Handicap match. JBL and Jericho had the added help of Lance Cade in the match.

The heels were able to effectively keep Shawn Michaels away from a tag to Batista. Cade, Jericho and JBL each took turns in the ring wearing Michaels down. JBL used a submission hold to stretch Michaels' back out against his knee. Michaels fought out and used a hip toss, but JBL quickly pushed HBK to the corner and tagged in Cade. JBL got back in again and hit Michaels with a cheapshot. Michaels started to come back and jumped at JBL off the ropes. JBL went for a fall away slam, but Michaels countered to bring JBL down. Both men layed on the mat and struggled to make a tag. Batista and Jericho tagged in, with The Animal running wild, clotheslining Jericho around the ring.

Batista hit a Spinebuster on Y2J, then punched Cade down on the apron. Batista put Jericho on his shoulder then tagged in HBK. Batista slammed Jericho to the mat, and Michaels did a flying elbow drop off the corner ropes. HBK set up for Sweet Chin Music. Jericho got up and Michaels went for the Superkick. Jericho avoided it and tried for Walls of Jericho submission. Michaels countered that and the two continued fighting. JBL got into the ring to break up an HBK pin attempt. Batista came in and he and JBL went to the outside.

In the ring, Michaels fought Jericho off to the point Jericho tagged in Cade. Jericho was down in one corner with Cade down in the other. Michaels waited for Jericho to stand and again tried for a Superkick. Jericho avoided yet again and managed to escape the ring. Cade as the legal man grabbed Michaels and hit his finisher to slam Michaels onto his back.

Winners: Lance Cade, JBL & Chris Jericho win via pinfall over Batista and Shawn Michaels.

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