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Raw Pre-Show 6/30/14 from WWE Studios.
– Our new panel is hosted by Byron Saxton, Booker T, and Alex Riley and apparently from now on it’ll be hosted from WWE Studio, at least according to Riley… Some satellite issues within WWE as the feed looks snowy early on…
– 25% off everything on WWEShop.com for the entire duration of the Raw Preshow…
– Highlights of both MITB matches are shown, namely the finishes.
– Exclusive interview from last night, Tom Phillips interviews Seth Rollins. The panel discusses Rollins controversial win, and his chance at a WWE title shot over the next year…
– Recap of Usos retaining the titles against the Wyatts from last night…
– Renee Young interviews the Usos from the site of Raw… We learn that tonight the Usos and Sheam-Us will take on the entire Wyatt Family… Renee doesn’t know how to respond… But she’s much better in this roll than trying to run the panel…
– Recap of Daniel Bryan last night and a potential second surgery. We get the Bo Dallas interruption as well… Panel discusses the future of Daniel Bryan…
– Final talk on how the Authority feels about John Cena winning the WWE title… Very uneventful show, but made complete sense as a post PPV discussion. Not a fan of them moving from the arenas to a studio, really takes a lot away from the “feel” of the show… Anything to save a buck…
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WWE Raw 6/30/14 from the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut
– The Authority kick off Raw, large “CM Punk” chant early on, which I find odd… Stephanie takes some digs at Daniel Bryan and his lengthy time away from the ring… The Authority then put over Seth Rollins winning the MITB contract… HHH moves on to Cena winning the WWE Title… Trips then introduces Cena, who clearly doesn’t have a big fan base here in Connecticut… Cena immediately tries to play favorites with the crowd by stating he will give Bryan a title shot when he returns…
Stephanie McMahon announces that John Cena will be on the cover of the WWE 2k15 video game… A big banner drops of the cover with Cena on it… Cena appreciates it but he questions their intentions, especially after their being upset after Cena won the title last night… John calls their smiles today phony…. HHH starts talking in thug… Which… actually… Is pretty funny…
Things calm down, HHH says he’s cool with Cena being the face of the company, but he needs to do things the easy way, HHH’s way… Cena says he would rather do things the hard way….
HHH then decides to put Cena in a Fatal Four Way match at “Battleground” with Randy Orton, Kane, and Roman Reigns… Why Roman Reigns? That doesn’t even make sense from a storyline standpoint… Weren’t the Authority livid just last week for Vickie giving Reigns a chance to participate in a title match at MITB? And tonight it’s Cena and Reigns vs. Kane and Orton…
Cena mentions Stephanie in a pool of crap like four different ways, none of them get a response from the crowd… Nobody cares…
HHH warns Cena, that if he somehow survives the Fatal 4 Way at Battleground, there’s always a PLAN B…. Seth Rollins then comes out with the briefcase, passing Cena on the stage…
-Commercial Break-
1. Rob Van Dam vs. Seth Rollins. It’s ALL RVD for the first 5 minutes of the match, Rollins rolls outside to escape 3 different times… Finally, RVD follows him out and runs into a clothesline on the floor… Rollins takes over as we head to break….
Back from break, Rollins has a half crab on RVD… Rob manages to spin out and escape… RVD coming back with all sorts of kicking spots and Rolling Thunder gets 2… Split legged moonsault gets 2… Rollins tries the powerbomb in the corner, but RVD counters with a huracan rana into the corner… RVD goes up for the Frog Splash, but Rollins rolls outside, and Rob dives out onto Seth!!!
Rollins rolled inside, RVD tries to follow in but Seth does some funky spot and gets RVD twisted on the apron… Curb Stomp follows and its over in 12:30…
Best RVD match since he’s been back… Rollins certainly knew how to set Rob up for his spots… Good stuff…
– Renee Young interviews Seth Rollins in the ring post match… Seth reminds us he’s the MITB winner, but he’s cut off by Dean Ambrose on the Titan Tron… Dean tells Seth, anytime he decides to cash in the MITB, Ambrose will be there to prevent it…
-Commercial Break-
– It’s Lana and Rusev… More USA bashing… We lie to our children about America being the greatest nation, but Russia is the true super power… Some Putin on the screen, my 6 year old laughs at Putin’s name, as I’m sure many do… “USA” chants…
Well I’ll be damned… Jack Swagger and Zeb Colter are out to confront… Been waiting for this… Colter runs down Lana and Rusev, and talks about Freedom of Speech, and they said what they wanted to say, but now it’s Zeb’s turn… Zeb references Boris and Natasha from Bullwinkle and Rocky, and most of the crowd has no idea… Colter says a REAL AMERICAN can stop the Rusev Crush… Colter gets the fans to chant along “We the People”, USA chants again follow…
Swagger steps forward, Lana holds Rusev back… “Lets go Swagger” chant for Christ sake… First time I’ve EVER heard that… Lana leaves the ring, but Rusev charges Jack… Swagger with a couple of armdrags and Rusev tossed to the floor… Rusev is pissed but Lana holds him back… Swagger calls him on, crowd keeps chanting for Swagger… Wow… this is like the first foreign heel vs. American face gimmick that has worked in over 20 years… to my recollection anyway…
-Commercial Break-
2. Sheamus & The Usos vs. The Wyatt Family. Sheamus is out with the U.S. Title, completely forgot he was champion… Match started 5 minutes before the second hour, so we’ve had one whole match in the first hour… We’re 30 SECONDS into the match and we’re off to commercial with the Usos in charge… So, yeah… One match in the first hour…
Back from break, some back and forth, Sheamus hits the 10 forearms to Rowan and then dives off the top rope outside onto both Rowan and Harper… Powerslam by Sheamus on Rowan, but Wyatt distracts and Rowan clotheslines Sheamus out of the ring…Harper with a NASTY ass big boot to Sheamus on the floor, and the Wyatts take over… Long heat on Sheamus, Wyatts all over him… Crowd doesn’t care at all, Sheamus bores the fans like no other, even when he’s getting beat up… Fans chanting for anything and anyone EXCEPT for in the match… Sheamus finally tags to Jey Uso and the crowd give a care again… Jey dumps Harper outside and dives out onto him… Back inside, Jey hits an enzuigiri to Harper’s face and gets 2… Rowan stops the count, but Sheamus hits Rowan with the BROGUE KICK… Jimmy Uso dives out onto Rowan….
Sheamus turns around into a Rock Bottom from Bray Wyatt, but Wyatt gets dumped by Jey Uso… Jey then turns around into a clothesline from hell by Harper for the end, at 13:00….
Wyatts win…
– Tom Phillips with Nikki Bella backstage… He wants Nikki’s reaction about Brie being ejected last night… Stephanie interrupts to announce the Bellas vs. Cameron and Naomi… Then Stephanie remembers that Brie is fired, so it turns into Nikki Bella vs. Funkadactyls in a handicap match…
-Commercial Break-
– Bo Dallas asks for 60 seconds of silence for Bad News Barrett and Daniel Bryan, due to their injuries… Bo kneels in silence… The fans do not… Bo’s kneeling goes on forever… Hilarious… This goes on for OVER a minute… Crowd is pissed… Job well done!!!
We go back and see the interaction between Bryan and Bo from last night… BO-Lieve!!! BO-Leave!!!
3. Nikki Bella vs. Naomi and Cameron. Handicap Match. Nikki all over Cameron to start… Naomi tags in and lays out Nikki in no time… Funkadactyls win in like a minute… Crappy, and the crowd didn’t give a crap…
Immediately after the match, Cameron shoves Naomi for getting the win… The two shove each other and Cameron walks off…
– Update on Bad News Barrett… Next…
-Commercial Break-
No pun intended, we get some bad news… Barrett is injured enough that he will be out for “months” and is being stripped of the IC Title… A Battle Royal will determine the new IC Champion at Battleground… So Dean Ambrose doesn’t defend the US Title for like 8 months and keeps the belt, but Barrett gets stripped immediately… Okay…
We learn Cesaro is the first name in the US Title Battle Royal… That’ll do wonders for him…
According to a little corner window promo, Kingston is also in the IC Title Battle Royal… There’s a shock…
4. Cesaro (w/Paul Heyman) vs. Kofi Kingston. I’ll say it now to save time later… Poor Kofi… Okay, match starts… Kofi with some solid offense to start things off, but Cesaro catches a high cross body and turns it into a backbreaker… Cesaro takes over… All over Kingston, teases the Swing, but when the fans applaud he decides not to… He’s a heel you see… Kingston tries a comeback, but takes a European uppercut to the back! Cesaro tosses Kofi to the floor as we head to commercial…
Back from break, Kingston HAS ALREADY WON THE MATCH… WTF??? They couldn’t even get him the win on TV?? There’s not even an excuse for that… Match went around 7 or 8 minutes…. Cesaro attacks Kofi and takes the fight outside… Cesaro catches Kofi jumping off the steps with a European uppercut and then throws him across the announce table RIGHT INTO MICHAEL COLE… Damn… Cesaro then tosses Kingston into the crowd with a running military press… Cesaro then beats on Kofi in the crowd and tosses him back to ringside and repeatedly rams him into the post before killing him with another European uppercut…
We go back to the finish, Cesaro tries a powerbomb, but Kofi flips over behind into a roll up for the win… Then he got his ass beat for winning… That’s effective… Sarcasm… In reality, that helped nobody IMO…
– Backstage Santino is having a part, news to me… but nobody shows up… Adam Rose arrives and promotes TWISTED TEA… Alcohol on Raw? Oh my!! The Rosebuds party with Santino and Adam Rose… Santino and Rose love the Twisted Tea… Hopefully they don’t wrestle drunk!!! Actually, hopefully they do…
– Back to ringside, Cole is still shaken up from taking a shot from Cesaro during the post match brawl…
-Commercial Break-
NO CHANCE IN HELL HITS!!! Vince McMahon is here!!! Oh my!! It’s Vince… It’s Vince… Vince Sandow!!! Damien Sandow dressed as Vince, sways to the ring and starts cutting a token Vince promo as Vincent Kennedy McMahon-dow… Lots of Vince words and mannerisms… “Vince” places Sandow into the IC Title Battle Royal…
Stephanie appears on the Titan Tron, and she is PISSED at Sandow… Stephanie introduces another man in the Battle Royal, THE GREAT KHALI… And Sandow has to wrestle Khali right now…
5. The Great Khali vs. Damien Sandow. Khali walks in, chops Sandow over the head… and pins him… Match was like 6 seconds…
Okay…
The former WWE Champion returns… Next.
-Commercial Break-
And the returning WWE Champion is…………….
The MIZ….
Miz returns to almost NO response and he’s dressed for Hollywood…
And as he begins to cut a generic heel promo, BOTH people I am talking to on instant messenger almost simultaneously tell me that Miz is a Douche… So there you have it… Miz won’t leave the WWE until he main events WrestleMania again… So let’s make that happen next year…
Right in the middle of the promo… PYRO… EXPLOSIONS…
CHRIS JERICHO!!!!!!
Miz doesn’t look happy… Crowd is though… “Y2J” and “Welcome Back” chants for Jericho… Miz mocks Jericho coming back for “3 weeks in his stupid light brite jacket”… Miz starts trash talking Jericho and puts himself over… Jericho just hits a Code Breaker and shuts him up…
Jericho welcomes us to Raw…. is…..LIGHTS GO OUT!!!!!
THE WYATTS ARE IN THE RING!!!!!!
Crowd is eating it up… Jericho nails Bray, but the Wyatts attack… Rowan and Harper take Jericho out, then Bray lands SUSTER ABIGAIL!!!!
Some great transitioning here… From Miz’s return, to Jericho’s return, to an instant main event feud… All in one angle… It’s like an ECW segment done right…
Good TV right there… I was starting to worry about the Wyatts getting lost… So glad to see this happen for everyone involved…
-Commercial Break-
And from Awesome to…. Fandango… Way to keep the show momentum going… But he’s fighting Dolph, so that’s cool…
6. Dolph Ziggler vs. Fandango (w/Layla). Fandango all over Ziggler to start, but Dolph makes the comeback… Then Summer Rae steps into the ring and starts kissing Ziggler… Fandango looks on in jealousy… Ziggler then kisses Summer back… Fandango questions Summer, and Ziggler with the Zigzag from behind for the win in 2:00…. That was nothing more than a way to escalate the Fandango angle, not to put Dolph over…
-Commercial Break-
7. Rybaxel vs. Stardust & Goldust. Yes, again… Ryback and Axel beat the crap out of Goldust straight out of the gate…Stardust is running back and forth on the apron, and Cody is just wayyyyyyyyy to into this Stardust thing… Mr. Brant Holl chimes in with a Zinger about Cody’s wife portraying “Angel Dust”… Anyway, Stardust with the hot tag… cleans house… Hits a Flat Liner/Downward Spiral/Mic Check looking move on Axel for the win in 5:00…
-Commercial Break-
– WWE Divas Champion Paige cuts a promo… She’s a lady of few words, and I see why… She says she knows some Divas think she doesn’t belong in WWE, that she belongs in NXT… But she’s here to say…. LIGHT IT UP….
AJ LEE IS BACK!!!! AJ IS BACK!!!! What the hell is going on tonight…. Pregnant Much? No abortion jokes please… AJ’s return is wayyyy more over than Miz… Not that I’m shocked…
“CM PUNK” CHANTS GALORE…. AJ agrees that Paige belongs in WWE… AJ thanks Paige for her reality check, but now she’s back for her title… Paige plays heels, stating nobody wants to see her defend against AJ Lee tonight… The fans say otherwise… and we have a match!!!
8. Divas Champion Paige vs. AJ. AJ jumps on Paige, but Paige beats the crap out of AJ… Paige screams it’s her house now, but AJ catches her with an inside cradle… AND AJ WINS THE TITLE in 2:00!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
AJ skips off with the belt… Paige cries in the ring as AJ celebrates on the stage…
Let the CM Punk return rumors resume…
-Commercial Break-
– Smackdown will feature Sheamus’ US Title “4th of July” Challenge… Whatever that is… Forgot to mention earlier that it’s Cesaro vs. Ziggler on Main Event also…
9. John Cena & Roman Reigns vs. Kane & Randy Orton. And we’ve got HHH at the announce table… Cena and Orton start out with the old feeling out process… Reigns and Kane tag in, Roman disposes of Kane to the floor and we’re off to commercial…
Back from the final break, and Orton is on top of Reigns… Reigns battles back and knocks Randy silly… Kane checks on Randy, Reigns goes outside after Kane and drives him into the barricade, but Orton clotheslines Reigns from behind…. Now the heel team works over Reigns… Roman eventually counters with a Samoan drop on Kane, hot tag to Cena… All that John Cena offense follows… 5 knuckles to Orton, but Randy counters an AA and tags in Kane… Same offense on Kane, 5 knuckle shuffle, but Cena stands up into an RKO!!!! But Reigns tosses Orton to the floor, and a SUPERMAN PUNCH TO KANE….
Orton and Reigns fight their way up the ramp and into the back… Back at ringside, Kane tosses Cena into the steps… Kane keeps beating Cena up outside and apparently that makes a DQ in about 12:00 or so…
TOMBSTONE ON CENA…. Crowd actually chants “One More Time”… Referee Charles Robinson and the trainer play it as if John Cena is Dead, from a Tombstone… And here comes Seth Rollins to cash in… Sure…
And what a surprise… It’s Dean Ambrose!!! Ambrose attacks Rollins before the match can start… Ambrose and Rollins fight off into the shadows of the arena…. HHH is pissed off and grabs the briefcase… HHH hands Kane a chair to end John Cena, but Roman Reigns returns just in time to save Cena and Reigns SPEARS Kane… Reigns stares down HHH to end the show…
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WWE Raw “Backstage Pass” Post Show
– Back to WWE Studios… Lame… We go back and watch Ambrose screw Rollins out of cashing in… The panel discusses Ambrose playing a factor in Rollins cashing in for the future… And move on to discuss the Authority and John Cena issues created tonight…
– Renee Young interviews her boyfriend…errr Dean Ambrose… Good Ambrose promo, he compares himself to a Twinkie and a Cockroach… Which means he will live forever… Good promo honestly…
– Miz returns, Jericho returns, Wyatts attack discussion…
– Renee Young with AJ Lee… Nana nana na-na, she won the title back, beotches!!!
Booker wants to talk about the Jericho and Goldberg fight, but we’re out of time… Damn it…
That’ll do it, Happy 4th everyone!!!
Just a quick heads up people…. I WILL NOT be here next week… Yes, sad to say after six straight months of doing the Raw Report, I will be missing next week… The wife is off on vacation next week and we have some pending plans for Monday night… I will be recording Raw and posting a report later in the week just for my own sake, but I won’t be here next Monday night…
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