Raw Recap 06.29.09

Raw Recap from San Jose, CA:

WWE Chairman Vince McMahon came onto the ramp to start Raw. Vince spoke about Trump's actions last week of holding a commercial-free show and giving all fans in attendance their money back. Vince said he can't do commercial free, but he could give all the fans there their money back. The fans went wild and Vince said "but I won't do that", sending the fans into a chorus of boos. Vince informed everyone that during Trump's reign last week he set up a 15 superstar trade between ECW, Smackdown and Raw. Vince also spoke of Trump's idea to have no formal GM, and have a guest host each episode of Raw. Vince said tonight's guest host will be The Animal Dave Batista. Batista came out in a suit with a special arm brace on his left arm. Michael Cole said Batista will be out of action for months.

Batista got into the ring and said tonight there will be a four man Night of the Champions tournament to determine Randy Orton's opponent for the WWE Title at Night of Champions. The matches will be The Miz vs. John Cena and MVP vs. Triple H. As Batista continued talking about being a guest host, all of a sudden Orton's music came on, and Legacy came to the ramp. Orton had a mic and asked Batista what's stopping them from coming down to tear the rest of him apart. Batista said not much except he'll fire all of them if they cross him. Orton talked about barely surviving "3 Stages of Hell" at The Bash last night. Batista told Orton not to worry because he wouldn't make him defend the title tonight, but he should be worried about the trade Trump made. Batista said there's 5 new superstars from Smackdown, but Orton only has to face 3 of them, in a 3 on 1 Gauntlet match tonight. Batista said he knows Orton loves 3 on 1 fights, so now he gets to be on the receiving end of one.

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Raw Rewind showed slideshows of the "3 Stages of Hell" match from the Bash, which went all 3 Stages. The final stage was the Stretcher match, and Orton had help from Legacy and a weapon to eventually put HHH on a stretcher and wheel him across the finish line. Despite the win, Orton got clocked in the head by the Sledgehammer and knocked out on the ramp along with Legacy.

MVP vs. Triple H
Night of Champions Tournament Match 1

Footage was shown from MVP accompanying Sheri Sheppard to the BET Awards last night.

In this first tournament match, MVP tried to take advantage of the fact HHH was so beaten up from last night. Triple H had the Pedigree at one point, but MVP countered and backdropped HHH. MVP was able to connect on a boot to Triple H in the corner, then brought HHH center ring for the Playmaker. Triple H blocked the move then put MVP into the Pedigree to win the match.

Winner: Triple H wins via pinfall over MVP to advance to the Finals of the Night of Champions Tournament.

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WWE Slam of the Week was from The Bash. In the Unified Tag Team Title match between The Colons and Legacy, Smackdown GM Teddy Long added the team of Chris Jericho and Edge to the match. Edge eventually made a blind tag to get in the match without Carlito seeing it. Edge hit the Spear and pinned Carlito to win the belts.

The Colons vs. Edge & Jericho
Unified Tag Team Title Match

Edge and Jericho came to the ring first, each with mics. Jericho began talking about how he vowed never to return to Raw again. Edge interrupted him saying Edge coached Jericho last night, and the two of them formed a united front because they weren't getting it done on their own. Edge said as Unified Tag team champs they can now appear on any show they want.

Late in the match, Carlito was able to hit the Backstabber on Edge, but the ref was distracted checking on Jericho and Primo. Carlito had a pinfall, but as the ref counted it Jericho rushed back in to shove Carlito off the pin. Primo came back in and took Jericho to the outside. Edge and Carlito remained in the ring, with Primo fighting Jericho. Carlito kneed Edge in the face then went to jump off the ropes for his elbow. Somehow Carlito got tripped up in the ropes and fell back, allowing Edge to gain the advantage and spear him as he got up. Edge took the winning pin to retain the titles.

After the match, Carlito asked Primo what went wrong. A replay showed that Jericho shoved Primo into the apron outside the ring which caused him to hit the bottom rope, making Carlito fall. Carlito and Primo continued arguing inside the ring about it.

Winners: Edge and Jericho win via pinfall over The Colons to retain the Unified Tag Titles.

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Cole and Lawler discussed The Bash Pay-Per-View. Backstage, Randy Orton yelled at Rhodes and Dibiase about the Gauntlet match asking who Batista thinks he is. Just then Batista walked up to them and said if Rhodes or Dibiase gets involved in the Gauntlet, they're fired.

Michael Cole and Lawler introduced a John Cena promo highlight reel video followed by footage of The Miz constantly mocking Cena and insulting him on Raw. Miz pretended to continually call out and win matches against Cena by forfeit. Miz and Cena finally fought formally at The Bash last night with Cena able to win rather easily.

The Miz vs. John Cena
Night of Champions Tournament Match 2

Miz tried to start off aggressive, but Cena soon took control after knocking Miz down with a shoulder off the ropes. Cena stayed in control until he ran into Miz' boot in the corner. Miz started to punch away at Cena on the mat, and continued to hammer away, but Cena was able to fight back and whip Miz to the ropes for a big backdrop. Cena eventually locked in a headlock on Miz. Miz got to his feet and pulled to the corner with Cena still applying the headlock. The ref got between them to break things up, and Miz hit Cena in the face with a sucker punch. Miz took control and suplexed Cena then applied a side headlock.

Out of nowhere, Miz was able to counter Cena's attempted at a bulldog off the ropes and shoved Cena away. Miz rushed across the ring and jumped over the ropes to snap Cena's neck against the ropes. Back in the ring, Miz continued to attack Cena in the corner, and the ref had to back him away. At one point, Miz went to the top ropes with Cena coming over to put him in the Attitude Adjustment up on the corner. Miz slid off and then put Cena in the Electric Chair to drop back to the mat. Miz continued his impressive and dominant performance as he jumped on Cena's back for a sleeper hold. Cena was able to back him into the corner, then regained momentum. After shoulderblocks and a slam to the mat, Cena hit the Five Knuckle Shuffle. Cena followed with several moves including a leg drop to the back of Miz' head off the corner, then locked in the STF to make Miz tap out.

Winner: John Cena wins via submission over The Miz to move to the Finals of the Night of Champions Tournament.

Next week on Raw it will be Triple H and John Cena battling to determine the #1 Contender for Randy Orton's WWE Title.

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Back in the locker room, Orton continued stewing about tonight's Gauntlet match. Dibiase was on a cell phone then came over to Rhodes and Orton smiling. He said his dad, the Million Dollar Man, will be next week's guest host on Raw. Orton asked how that helps him out tonight, then stormed off.

Kelly Kelly vs. Mickie James vs. Rosa Mendes vs. Beth Phoenix
Divas Fatal Fourway

Divas Champion Maryse came to ringside to observe the match. The match would determine her opponent for the Divas title at Night of Champions.

At one point in the match, Mickie put a headlock on Beth Phoenix, then Rosa grabbed Mickie and put a headlock on her. Kelly Kelly jumped up on Rosa's back to put a headlock on her as well. Beth hit a Powerslam on her protege Rosa, but Kelly came over to kick her off the pin. Kelly and Mickie hit a double shoulder on Beth. Kelly tried for a pin but Beth kicked out at 2. At one point, Mickie ws able to dropkick Beth to the outside. Rosa came over to attack Mickie, but Mickie fought back, and did her DDT move to pin Rosa.

Mickie and Maryse had a brief staredown at ringside following the match.

Winner: Mickie James wins the Divas Fatal Fourway to become #1 Contender for Maryse's Divas Championship.

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The WWE Summer Slam Reading Jam promo piece was shown discussing how WWE has teamed up with over 500 libraries worldwide to encourage more reading. Various superstars have been involved in the effort such as MVP and Layla.

Kofi Kingston vs. Big Show

If Big Show won this match he'd get a future US Title match against Kingston. Early on, Show knocked Kofi to the mat, and then began headbutting him. Kofi jumped up on Big Show in the corner at one point, with Show simply dumping Kofi outside the ring. Show continued slapping and hammering on Kofi on the outside as the ref counted. Show picked up Kofi in a press to toss him back in the ring, but Kofi slid off his back to shove Show into the ringpost. Neither man could beat the ref's 10 count so it became a draw.

Winner: Match ruled a double countout.

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Randy Orton vs. Evan Bourne
Gauntlet Match 1

Bourne was the first of 3 superstars revealed to have been traded to Raw. Bourne took advantage of the beaten up Orton by trying to use his high octane offense. Late in the match, Bourne was able to take Orton down with a double knee from the corner, then climbed back up on the corner for the Shooting Starpress. Orton got up and yanked the rope causing Bourne to land on his groin on the top rope. With Bourne sitting there, Orton grabbed him and did an RKO from off the ropes to pin Bourne.

Winner: Randy Orton wins via pinfall over Evan Bourne.

Randy Orton vs. Jack Swagger
Gauntlet Match 2

Jack Swagger was the next superstar revealed to have been traded to Raw by Trump. Early on, Swagger used a amateur wrestling move take down and was in control of things. For some reason, Swagger stepped out onto the side apron and just stood there, allowing the ref to count him out. Swagger smiled and asked for a mic, then got back in the ring. Swagger said he always liked and respected Orton, so on his first night on Raw he wanted to leave a lasting impression. Swagger shook Orton's hand and then left the ring, with a shocked Orton smirking.

Winner: Randy Orton wins due to countout of Jack Swagger.

Randy Orton vs. Mark Henry
Gauntlet Match 3

Henry got in the ring with a mic in hand. Henry said he always liked Orton and has a lot of respect for him. Henry said he wants to make an impression on his first night on Raw as well, and then started the match. Henry locked up with Orton to start the match, then shoved him to the mat. Henry also went out onto the apron and allowed the ref to start counting him out. At 5, Henry grabbed the ref's hand to stop the counting, then smiled over at Randy Orton, and began laughing. Henry waved his finger that the match wouldn't end like this. Henry got back in the ring as Orton sank in the corner. Orton tried to beg Henry not to continue. Henry picked up Orton and tossed him across the ring then started hammering on him in the corner. Henry whipped Orton corner to corner before a running splash on him. Orton went for the RKO with Henry shoving him to the ropes. From there Henry was able to pick up Orton and hit the World's Strongest Slam to get the pin.

Winner: Mark Henry wins via pinfall over Randy Orton.

Jerry Lawler and Michael Cole discussed how impressive Henry's debut was on Raw with him pinning the beaten up champ Orton. Henry seemed to be playing his win up pointing to fans with the face turn. Special guest host Batista came out on the ramp smiling down at Henry for the win. Mark Henry posed in the corners of the ring as Raw ended.

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