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| Reported by Ernest I Aguilar |
It's been two weeks since I've written a report, due to a vacation last week, and I have absolutely no idea what happened at last night's "Money In The Bank" pay-per-view.
I wanted to treat myself and have a true natural reaction with the following questions: Who is the Smackdown winner for the World Title shot? Who is the Raw winner for the World Title shot? Who is the World Heavyweight Champion? Who is the WWE Champion? Most importantly, did C.M. Punk stay, or go and did John Cena get fired? (I don't think so on the latter). Will Zack Ryder make an appearance? (That was random, but it would be nice too!)
I'm turning on Raw right now to find out...
Introduction Segment: Arena Promo
WWE Chairman, Vince McMahon (in a pink over-coat, no less) walks to the ring accompanied by John Laurinaitis, who is the head of talent relations. Michael Cole and Jerry "The King" Lawler welcome us to Raw and proclaim that there is NO WWE Championship. (Wow, I am truly surprised they actually went through with it).
All the WWE Raw roster is shown in the back, watching on the T.V. (Note: Alberto Del Rio has the MITB briefcase - meaning he won the match. Not my pick, I voted for a long-shot but interesting Alex Riley).
In the arena, the Green Bay crowd chant "C.M. Punk", to which Vince says he will never again say that man's name. Vince says that Punk walked out on everyone, from the fans, to the boys in the back, to everyone in this ring.
He puts over the WWE as an entity and that NO ONE is bigger than itself. So tonight, there will be an eight-man elimination tournament to crown a new WWE Champion. (And hopefully, a new WWE Belt!).
The matches: Rey Mysterio VS. United States Champion Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger VS. R-Truth, Kofi Kingston VS. Alberto Del Rio, and Alex Riley VS. The Miz (my pick).
Vince tells us that John Cena is not here because of he let everyone down and there will be "severe consequences." Other than that, have great night!
At the commentary booth, Cole & Lawler inform us that Cena believes he is already fired according to his words on twitter. More to follow throughout the broadcast.
We get right to it, as The Miz VS. Alex Riley is up next!
Commercials.
Match #1: Single - The Miz VS. Alex Riley (WWE Championship Tournament)
Highlights:
- Alex taunts Miz by going after his injured knee, but Miz catches him with a take down and quick roll-through
- Riley kicks Miz square in the knee and begins to hammer away on it, even smashing on the ring post
- A-Ry attempts to lock in a Boston Crab submission, but Miz kicks off and holds his knee in pain
- Miz moves out of the corner, as Riley dives into the post. A quick roll-up for a 2 count!
- Riley counters with a knee-to-the-back-of-the-head and shoulder-blocks
- Spinebuster for two by Alex!
- Miz gets caught in a Texas Cloverleaf submission (which Cole incorrectly calls a Sharpshooter) but crawls to grip the bottom rope for a break
- A-Ry tangles with referee Scott Armstrong, allowing Miz to sneak behind with the Skull Krushing Finale (Front-face Russian Legsweep)
- Miz covers for the 1 - 2 - 3!
Winner via Pinfall: The Miz
Miz celebrates his advancement while R-Truth is shown walking backstage. His match with Swagger is following the ads.
Ads.
A video package for John Morrison is played, and Cole says he is on his way back to Raw.
Match #2: Single - R-Truth VS. "The All-American-American" Jack Swagger (WWE Championship Tournament)
Highlights:
- Lockup by both men and headlock from Swagger
- R-Truth lands a near-fall with a Victory Roll
- Belly-to-Belly Suplex by Jack for a 2-Count!
- Backdrop from Swagger for another 2!
- R-Truth is setup for the Swagger Bomb from the corner, but he kicks out of the subsequent pin attempt!
- Truth ducks a clothesline with splits and nails a back-kick for a nearfall!
- Truth misses his Scissors kick and gets caught in the Ankle Lock, however he reverses it into another Victory Roll for a 3-count this time!
Winner via Pinfall: R-Truth
So, now The Miz and R-Truth have advanced in the Tournament. After the commercial break, it is Kofi Kingston VS. Alberto Del Rio
Commercials.
Match #3: Single - Alberto Del Rio ("Mr. Money In The Bank") VS. Kofi Kingston (WWE Championship Tournament)
(Note: Del Rio rolls out in a 1983 Excalibur Roadstar - worth over $100,000)
Alberto takes the microphone and cuts a promo. His name has changed...it is now "Mr. Money In The Bank - Alberto Del Riiiiooooooo!" He won the Ladder match and he now has his right for a title shot anytime, any place he wants.
He then blames John Cena for everything and not being able to do the job. Del Rio hopes Cena gets fired and preaches himself to be the new leader of the WWE, and it is his destiny to be the WWE Champion.
Alberto's music plays again and his personal ring announcer, Ricardo Rodriguez makes his return, announcing in Spanish that A.D.R. is the MITB winner.
Up next is the actual match!
Ads.
Highights:
- Lockup and kicks-in-the-corner by Del Rio to start off
- Shoulder-block to take-down Kofi by Alberto
- Kingston flys around the ring and jumps Del Rio in the corner and punches away at him
- Alberto misses his dropkick to the outside and Kofi follows him with a Suicide Dive! (Cole puts over how much the WWE Title means with a move like that - nice touch!)
- Enziguri by Del Rio for a two-count!
- Mr. MITB stomps away on Kingston and clamps in a rear-chinlock
- Kofi moves out the way of another dive from Del Rio and starts to fire up with chops and dropkicks
- Tilt-a-whirl backbreaker from Alberto and a two-count!
- A.D.R. goes for the Cross-Armbreaker, but Kofi reverses, which Del Rio reverses, and finally Kingston again with a Sunset Flip for the win! (Nice sequence)
Winner via Pinfall: Kofi Kingston
Kofi celebrates his upset win as Del Rio is in disbelief and anger. Kofi joins R-Truth & The Miz, as well as either Rey Mysterio or Dolph Ziggler - their match is next!
Commercials.
A "Summerslam Recall" airs and the first one is a classic match from Wembley Stadium in 1992 - "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith (late) VS. Bret "The Hitman" Hart. Obviously, I am not recapping this match, but anyone who reads this needs to watch it for one of the greatest Intercontinental Championship matches and sentimental moments in pro-wrestling.
Segment #2: Backstage Promo
Josh Matthews is interviewing the most recent winner of the WWE Championship Tournament, Kofi Kingston. Kofi tells us that tonight is a new beginning and he will become the new WWE Champion. 1 down, 2 to go - boom!
Match #4: Single - Rey Mysterio VS. WWE United States Champion Dolph Ziggler w/ Vickie Guerrero (WWE Championship Tournament)
Highlights:
- Dolph punches away on Rey to begin the match
- Rey with a Headscissors/Armbar takedown combo then flys outside to the floor
- Ziggler throws Mysterio down with a Flapjack on the mats and tosses him back into the ring for a two-count
- Stump-Puller Stretch by "Perfection", but Rey reverses into another Victory Roll (there are a lot of those tonight!), but Dolph counters with a pin of his own, only for a two!
- Ziggler reverses a Hurricanrana into another Flapjack, however misses a splash-in-the-corner
- Kick-to-the-head by Mysterio for a nearfall!
- Seated Senton off the top rope by Rey but Dolph ducks a subsequent kick and hits Mysterio in his left knee to take control again
- Mysterio drives Ziggler head-first into the middle turnbuckle and sets up Dolph for the 619
- Dolph ducks and slams Mysterio with a reverse Powerslam
- Rey gets another Hurricanrana into 619 combo, followed by a top-rope Rocket Splash for the 1 - 2 - 3!
Winner via Pinfall: Rey Mysterio
Great match! The final four are Mysterio VS. R-Truth & Kofi Kingston VS. The Miz
Backstage, Vince McMahon and John Laurinaitis are talking over something with the tournament brackets displayed on their screen.
Ads.
Match #5: Divas 7-7 Tag-Team Match - A.J., Gail Kim, Eve Torres, Beth Phoenix, Natalya, Kaitlyn, & WWE Divas Champion Kelly Kelly VS. Melina, Maryse, Rosa Mendes, Alicia Fox, Tamina, Nikki & Brie Bella
Highlights:
- Beth Phoenix & Rosa Mendes begin, with Beth hitting a clothesline and suplex
- It all breaks down with the Divas brawling outside, while Phoenix hits her finisher, the GlamSlam, on Mendes to get the win!
Winners via Pinfall: Beth Phoenix, A.J., Gail Kim, Eve Torres, Natalya, Kaitlyn, & WWE Divas Champion Kelly Kelly
The point of the above was? Seriously. Up next is back to the real point of the show - The Miz VS. Kofi Kingston to continue the WWE Championship Tournament.
Commercials.
Match #6: Single - Kofi Kingston VS. The Miz (WWE Championship Tournament)
Highlights:
- Lockup and Kofi forces Miz into the corner to start
- Quick roll-up and Crossbody by Kingston
- Kofi rolls through a Sunset Flip and high-stomps Miz
- Miz counters and drops Kofi leg-first on the top-rope
- Kofi fights out of a rear-chinlock and kicks Miz in his injured leg
- Springboard elbow by Kingston for a 2!
- Dropkick-to-the-head, Miz kicks out!
- High Crossbody off the top-rope by Kofi and gets 2 1/2!
- Kofi is amping up but Miz rolls under the rope for a break
- Miz catches Kingston and gives him a jawbreaker on the ropes
- Kingston reverses a Skull Krushing Finale into another Victory Roll, but only gets 2!
- Miz duckss Kofi out of the corner and hits the S.K.F. front-face Russian Legsweek for the win!
Winner via Pinfall: The Miz
The Miz hobbles to the back (bloody tooth and all), and he will face either R-Truth or Rey Mysterio
Segment #3: Backstage Promo
Scott Stanford is with R-Truth, who says he deserves to be WWE Champion. The conspiracy kept Truth from the Money In The Bank, but it won't from the WWE Championship. Tonight, the title is "going to get got!"
Ads.
Segment #4: Video Package
Another montage for Tough Enough winner Andy Levine airs. This time, he gives us a look at hard life back in his hometown.
Match #7: Single - Rey Mysterio VS. R-Truth (WWE Championship Tournament)
Highlights:
- R-Truth kicks Rey down and attempts a quick cover
- He punches away on Mysterio in the corner
- Suplex by Truth and another cover for a 2
- Ground-front-facelock by Truth, wearing down Rey
- Mysterio holds onto the ropes and then springboards into an armdrag, sending R-Truth to the floor. Mysterio follows up with a Suicide Dive to go to commercials.
- Back from ads, R-Truth now has Rey in a rear chinlock.
- Calf-kick for a 2 by Truth!
- R punches at Mysterio on the mat and gives a lateral press for 2-count
- Truth nails Rey with the Lie Detector. 1 - 2 - kickout by Mysterio!
- Suplex/Front-Face-Drop combo by R-Truth for a nearfall!
- R-Truth runs at Mysterio in the corner, but Rey counters with a drop-toehold into the second turnbuckle
- Springboard Crossbody, ducks a Scissors kick, and rolls through a Sunset Flip to deliver a kick-to-the-head on Truth
- Suplex/Stunner combo from Truth and a cover, but Mysterio grabs the ropes to break the pin attempt
- Rey finally dispatches R-Truth with a Springboard Headscissors, 619, & Rocket-Man Splash for the 3!
Winner via Pinfall: Rey Mysterio
Rey is excited as he will now face The Miz in the finals for the WWE Championship, which is right now!
Commercials.
Match #8: Single - Rey Mysterio VS. The Miz for the WWE Championship (WWE Championship Tournament FINAL)
As Rey Mysterio (still in the ring) is being officially introduced, Mr. McMahon struts to the ring.
He says that due to time constraints, the match will now postponed until next week, and Vince has to do something more important right now.
(Note: Official match result: No contest due to postponement)
He reiterates that NO ONE is more important than the WWE and no denying the contributions of John Cena. However, there are difficult decisions to make and the following is one of them. In time, Vince will be thanked. The crowd is chanting "C.M. Punk" throughout the promo.
Vince wants to get this over with, but John Cena's music blares and he walks to the ring, saluting the boss and the fans. Cena says he is not going to say or do anything stupid. Instead, Cena is OK with what Vince wants to do, since he won't have to go through what Shawn Michaels did - referring to the fact that he was labeled as the guy who screwed Bret Hart, amongst all his great accomplishments in the ring.
Cena compared that situation to the same one with C.M. Punk. He did not want to be the guy who screwed Punk. Cena denies that he was going to be Vince's patsy and congratulates Punk on a hell of a match. John says he wasn't going to play along, since if he did, the WWE Championship would've been meaningless.
Cena produces a scenario that Vince has around 8 months to produce another superstar opponent to face The Rock at WrestleMania XXVIII, while John walks out with his pride & dignity. He tells Vince that he loves the WWE and truly believes he belongs.
However, if McMahon forces Cena to walk tonight, Cena will walk right onto another person's television show, "brotha"! (Hint, hint!), and one thing that Cena will not do is kiss his ass.
Just as Vince is going to tell John something, it's time to play the game! Triple H's music plays and "The Game" (in a suit) walks to the ring with a business-demeanor on his face. Vince now smiles, and HHH whispers something in his ears.
The "Cerebral Assasin" gets a microphone and announces that there was a board of directors meeting this morning. Apparently, the board is concerned about the current situation. More specifically, the board is concerned about Vince and his latest decisions.
They have filed an injunction with a "vote of no confidence" against him, and "the family" agrees. The board has also appointed a new person to take over the day-to-day operations of the WWE - Triple H. (The crowd cheers, wildly for Cena now).
HHH tells Vince that he is not firing John Cena, or do anything else. Triple H humbly informs Vince that he is relieved of his duties (and the crowd not so humbly chants "Hey, hey, Goodbye"!).
Both HHH & McMahon are tearing up in the ring, as "The Game" tells "Pa'p" he loves him and he is "sorry." Triple H walks out to the stage, looks back, and then to the backstage area. Vince is left alone in the ring, with a tear running down his face. The crowd now does a turn and gives him a standing ovation and applause, complete with a "Thank you Vince" chant to close Raw.
Reporter's Rumblings - By Moe Tapp
Well, that was...different - at least the ending. Overall, I thought the show was pretty good and me not finding out the results of last night's PPV paid off, since I was truly surprised they took the title off Cena. Good for them for pulling that trigger, even if only for one week. (We'll see what happens next week as far as the final WWE Championship Tournament match).
Since the only two things to write about tonight are the tournament and closing segment, I shall touch on both briefly. The tourney was a better idea instead of the usual "Battle Royal", and we have not had one in a long while. However, I do think they could've mixed it up a little, and given Alex Riley another of the wrestlers (I.E. Dolph or Del Rio) to win over and have him VS. either Miz or R-Truth in the final.
I say this because he is pretty "hot" right now with crowd reaction and the clean pinfall to Miz did not make much sense. To give credibility though, Miz should be in the final (as is), since he is the only decent main-event heel, other than A.D.R., who has the MITB briefcase and is good to go anyway.
Speaking of "hot", on a quick side note, no Zack Ryder sighting? What's up with that?
As stated above, the ending of Raw tonight was intriguing. I knew out-right they would not fire Cena (didn't even have the slightest speculation), however I did not see the way it played out coming or where it will go from here. Personally, I think it's a stretch, since deep fans like me know darn well that Vince is still in control of EVERYTHING, but kudos to them for trying something different.
Coming out of tonight, here is my predictions for the next couple of weeks. Rey Mysterio wins the WWE Title, only for A.D.R. to cash in his MITB case and win the Championship himself. Then some how, as usual, Cena automatically becomes the #1 Contender and will face Del Rio at Summerslam.
As far as Vince & Triple H, either the Raw A.G.M. will be dropped or revealed to be either man, or the whole situation will be swept under the rug (I'm sure after a little "tribute" to all Vince has done next week) and we start fresh on August 1st. Let's see if I can get three for three with these thoughts by 08/01/11!
Until next week, as always, keep reading and Be Excellent Wrestling-Online Readers & WWE Fans!
I wanted to treat myself and have a true natural reaction with the following questions: Who is the Smackdown winner for the World Title shot? Who is the Raw winner for the World Title shot? Who is the World Heavyweight Champion? Who is the WWE Champion? Most importantly, did C.M. Punk stay, or go and did John Cena get fired? (I don't think so on the latter). Will Zack Ryder make an appearance? (That was random, but it would be nice too!)
I'm turning on Raw right now to find out...
Introduction Segment: Arena Promo
WWE Chairman, Vince McMahon (in a pink over-coat, no less) walks to the ring accompanied by John Laurinaitis, who is the head of talent relations. Michael Cole and Jerry "The King" Lawler welcome us to Raw and proclaim that there is NO WWE Championship. (Wow, I am truly surprised they actually went through with it).
All the WWE Raw roster is shown in the back, watching on the T.V. (Note: Alberto Del Rio has the MITB briefcase - meaning he won the match. Not my pick, I voted for a long-shot but interesting Alex Riley).
In the arena, the Green Bay crowd chant "C.M. Punk", to which Vince says he will never again say that man's name. Vince says that Punk walked out on everyone, from the fans, to the boys in the back, to everyone in this ring.
He puts over the WWE as an entity and that NO ONE is bigger than itself. So tonight, there will be an eight-man elimination tournament to crown a new WWE Champion. (And hopefully, a new WWE Belt!).
The matches: Rey Mysterio VS. United States Champion Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger VS. R-Truth, Kofi Kingston VS. Alberto Del Rio, and Alex Riley VS. The Miz (my pick).
Vince tells us that John Cena is not here because of he let everyone down and there will be "severe consequences." Other than that, have great night!
At the commentary booth, Cole & Lawler inform us that Cena believes he is already fired according to his words on twitter. More to follow throughout the broadcast.
We get right to it, as The Miz VS. Alex Riley is up next!
Commercials.
Match #1: Single - The Miz VS. Alex Riley (WWE Championship Tournament)
Highlights:
- Alex taunts Miz by going after his injured knee, but Miz catches him with a take down and quick roll-through
- Riley kicks Miz square in the knee and begins to hammer away on it, even smashing on the ring post
- A-Ry attempts to lock in a Boston Crab submission, but Miz kicks off and holds his knee in pain
- Miz moves out of the corner, as Riley dives into the post. A quick roll-up for a 2 count!
- Riley counters with a knee-to-the-back-of-the-head and shoulder-blocks
- Spinebuster for two by Alex!
- Miz gets caught in a Texas Cloverleaf submission (which Cole incorrectly calls a Sharpshooter) but crawls to grip the bottom rope for a break
- A-Ry tangles with referee Scott Armstrong, allowing Miz to sneak behind with the Skull Krushing Finale (Front-face Russian Legsweep)
- Miz covers for the 1 - 2 - 3!
Winner via Pinfall: The Miz
Miz celebrates his advancement while R-Truth is shown walking backstage. His match with Swagger is following the ads.
Ads.
A video package for John Morrison is played, and Cole says he is on his way back to Raw.
Match #2: Single - R-Truth VS. "The All-American-American" Jack Swagger (WWE Championship Tournament)
Highlights:
- Lockup by both men and headlock from Swagger
- R-Truth lands a near-fall with a Victory Roll
- Belly-to-Belly Suplex by Jack for a 2-Count!
- Backdrop from Swagger for another 2!
- R-Truth is setup for the Swagger Bomb from the corner, but he kicks out of the subsequent pin attempt!
- Truth ducks a clothesline with splits and nails a back-kick for a nearfall!
- Truth misses his Scissors kick and gets caught in the Ankle Lock, however he reverses it into another Victory Roll for a 3-count this time!
Winner via Pinfall: R-Truth
So, now The Miz and R-Truth have advanced in the Tournament. After the commercial break, it is Kofi Kingston VS. Alberto Del Rio
Commercials.
Match #3: Single - Alberto Del Rio ("Mr. Money In The Bank") VS. Kofi Kingston (WWE Championship Tournament)
(Note: Del Rio rolls out in a 1983 Excalibur Roadstar - worth over $100,000)
Alberto takes the microphone and cuts a promo. His name has changed...it is now "Mr. Money In The Bank - Alberto Del Riiiiooooooo!" He won the Ladder match and he now has his right for a title shot anytime, any place he wants.
He then blames John Cena for everything and not being able to do the job. Del Rio hopes Cena gets fired and preaches himself to be the new leader of the WWE, and it is his destiny to be the WWE Champion.
Alberto's music plays again and his personal ring announcer, Ricardo Rodriguez makes his return, announcing in Spanish that A.D.R. is the MITB winner.
Up next is the actual match!
Ads.
Highights:
- Lockup and kicks-in-the-corner by Del Rio to start off
- Shoulder-block to take-down Kofi by Alberto
- Kingston flys around the ring and jumps Del Rio in the corner and punches away at him
- Alberto misses his dropkick to the outside and Kofi follows him with a Suicide Dive! (Cole puts over how much the WWE Title means with a move like that - nice touch!)
- Enziguri by Del Rio for a two-count!
- Mr. MITB stomps away on Kingston and clamps in a rear-chinlock
- Kofi moves out the way of another dive from Del Rio and starts to fire up with chops and dropkicks
- Tilt-a-whirl backbreaker from Alberto and a two-count!
- A.D.R. goes for the Cross-Armbreaker, but Kofi reverses, which Del Rio reverses, and finally Kingston again with a Sunset Flip for the win! (Nice sequence)
Winner via Pinfall: Kofi Kingston
Kofi celebrates his upset win as Del Rio is in disbelief and anger. Kofi joins R-Truth & The Miz, as well as either Rey Mysterio or Dolph Ziggler - their match is next!
Commercials.
A "Summerslam Recall" airs and the first one is a classic match from Wembley Stadium in 1992 - "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith (late) VS. Bret "The Hitman" Hart. Obviously, I am not recapping this match, but anyone who reads this needs to watch it for one of the greatest Intercontinental Championship matches and sentimental moments in pro-wrestling.
Segment #2: Backstage Promo
Josh Matthews is interviewing the most recent winner of the WWE Championship Tournament, Kofi Kingston. Kofi tells us that tonight is a new beginning and he will become the new WWE Champion. 1 down, 2 to go - boom!
Match #4: Single - Rey Mysterio VS. WWE United States Champion Dolph Ziggler w/ Vickie Guerrero (WWE Championship Tournament)
Highlights:
- Dolph punches away on Rey to begin the match
- Rey with a Headscissors/Armbar takedown combo then flys outside to the floor
- Ziggler throws Mysterio down with a Flapjack on the mats and tosses him back into the ring for a two-count
- Stump-Puller Stretch by "Perfection", but Rey reverses into another Victory Roll (there are a lot of those tonight!), but Dolph counters with a pin of his own, only for a two!
- Ziggler reverses a Hurricanrana into another Flapjack, however misses a splash-in-the-corner
- Kick-to-the-head by Mysterio for a nearfall!
- Seated Senton off the top rope by Rey but Dolph ducks a subsequent kick and hits Mysterio in his left knee to take control again
- Mysterio drives Ziggler head-first into the middle turnbuckle and sets up Dolph for the 619
- Dolph ducks and slams Mysterio with a reverse Powerslam
- Rey gets another Hurricanrana into 619 combo, followed by a top-rope Rocket Splash for the 1 - 2 - 3!
Winner via Pinfall: Rey Mysterio
Great match! The final four are Mysterio VS. R-Truth & Kofi Kingston VS. The Miz
Backstage, Vince McMahon and John Laurinaitis are talking over something with the tournament brackets displayed on their screen.
Ads.
Match #5: Divas 7-7 Tag-Team Match - A.J., Gail Kim, Eve Torres, Beth Phoenix, Natalya, Kaitlyn, & WWE Divas Champion Kelly Kelly VS. Melina, Maryse, Rosa Mendes, Alicia Fox, Tamina, Nikki & Brie Bella
Highlights:
- Beth Phoenix & Rosa Mendes begin, with Beth hitting a clothesline and suplex
- It all breaks down with the Divas brawling outside, while Phoenix hits her finisher, the GlamSlam, on Mendes to get the win!
Winners via Pinfall: Beth Phoenix, A.J., Gail Kim, Eve Torres, Natalya, Kaitlyn, & WWE Divas Champion Kelly Kelly
The point of the above was? Seriously. Up next is back to the real point of the show - The Miz VS. Kofi Kingston to continue the WWE Championship Tournament.
Commercials.
Match #6: Single - Kofi Kingston VS. The Miz (WWE Championship Tournament)
Highlights:
- Lockup and Kofi forces Miz into the corner to start
- Quick roll-up and Crossbody by Kingston
- Kofi rolls through a Sunset Flip and high-stomps Miz
- Miz counters and drops Kofi leg-first on the top-rope
- Kofi fights out of a rear-chinlock and kicks Miz in his injured leg
- Springboard elbow by Kingston for a 2!
- Dropkick-to-the-head, Miz kicks out!
- High Crossbody off the top-rope by Kofi and gets 2 1/2!
- Kofi is amping up but Miz rolls under the rope for a break
- Miz catches Kingston and gives him a jawbreaker on the ropes
- Kingston reverses a Skull Krushing Finale into another Victory Roll, but only gets 2!
- Miz duckss Kofi out of the corner and hits the S.K.F. front-face Russian Legsweek for the win!
Winner via Pinfall: The Miz
The Miz hobbles to the back (bloody tooth and all), and he will face either R-Truth or Rey Mysterio
Segment #3: Backstage Promo
Scott Stanford is with R-Truth, who says he deserves to be WWE Champion. The conspiracy kept Truth from the Money In The Bank, but it won't from the WWE Championship. Tonight, the title is "going to get got!"
Ads.
Segment #4: Video Package
Another montage for Tough Enough winner Andy Levine airs. This time, he gives us a look at hard life back in his hometown.
Match #7: Single - Rey Mysterio VS. R-Truth (WWE Championship Tournament)
Highlights:
- R-Truth kicks Rey down and attempts a quick cover
- He punches away on Mysterio in the corner
- Suplex by Truth and another cover for a 2
- Ground-front-facelock by Truth, wearing down Rey
- Mysterio holds onto the ropes and then springboards into an armdrag, sending R-Truth to the floor. Mysterio follows up with a Suicide Dive to go to commercials.
- Back from ads, R-Truth now has Rey in a rear chinlock.
- Calf-kick for a 2 by Truth!
- R punches at Mysterio on the mat and gives a lateral press for 2-count
- Truth nails Rey with the Lie Detector. 1 - 2 - kickout by Mysterio!
- Suplex/Front-Face-Drop combo by R-Truth for a nearfall!
- R-Truth runs at Mysterio in the corner, but Rey counters with a drop-toehold into the second turnbuckle
- Springboard Crossbody, ducks a Scissors kick, and rolls through a Sunset Flip to deliver a kick-to-the-head on Truth
- Suplex/Stunner combo from Truth and a cover, but Mysterio grabs the ropes to break the pin attempt
- Rey finally dispatches R-Truth with a Springboard Headscissors, 619, & Rocket-Man Splash for the 3!
Winner via Pinfall: Rey Mysterio
Rey is excited as he will now face The Miz in the finals for the WWE Championship, which is right now!
Commercials.
Match #8: Single - Rey Mysterio VS. The Miz for the WWE Championship (WWE Championship Tournament FINAL)
As Rey Mysterio (still in the ring) is being officially introduced, Mr. McMahon struts to the ring.
He says that due to time constraints, the match will now postponed until next week, and Vince has to do something more important right now.
(Note: Official match result: No contest due to postponement)
He reiterates that NO ONE is more important than the WWE and no denying the contributions of John Cena. However, there are difficult decisions to make and the following is one of them. In time, Vince will be thanked. The crowd is chanting "C.M. Punk" throughout the promo.
Vince wants to get this over with, but John Cena's music blares and he walks to the ring, saluting the boss and the fans. Cena says he is not going to say or do anything stupid. Instead, Cena is OK with what Vince wants to do, since he won't have to go through what Shawn Michaels did - referring to the fact that he was labeled as the guy who screwed Bret Hart, amongst all his great accomplishments in the ring.
Cena compared that situation to the same one with C.M. Punk. He did not want to be the guy who screwed Punk. Cena denies that he was going to be Vince's patsy and congratulates Punk on a hell of a match. John says he wasn't going to play along, since if he did, the WWE Championship would've been meaningless.
Cena produces a scenario that Vince has around 8 months to produce another superstar opponent to face The Rock at WrestleMania XXVIII, while John walks out with his pride & dignity. He tells Vince that he loves the WWE and truly believes he belongs.
However, if McMahon forces Cena to walk tonight, Cena will walk right onto another person's television show, "brotha"! (Hint, hint!), and one thing that Cena will not do is kiss his ass.
Just as Vince is going to tell John something, it's time to play the game! Triple H's music plays and "The Game" (in a suit) walks to the ring with a business-demeanor on his face. Vince now smiles, and HHH whispers something in his ears.
The "Cerebral Assasin" gets a microphone and announces that there was a board of directors meeting this morning. Apparently, the board is concerned about the current situation. More specifically, the board is concerned about Vince and his latest decisions.
They have filed an injunction with a "vote of no confidence" against him, and "the family" agrees. The board has also appointed a new person to take over the day-to-day operations of the WWE - Triple H. (The crowd cheers, wildly for Cena now).
HHH tells Vince that he is not firing John Cena, or do anything else. Triple H humbly informs Vince that he is relieved of his duties (and the crowd not so humbly chants "Hey, hey, Goodbye"!).
Both HHH & McMahon are tearing up in the ring, as "The Game" tells "Pa'p" he loves him and he is "sorry." Triple H walks out to the stage, looks back, and then to the backstage area. Vince is left alone in the ring, with a tear running down his face. The crowd now does a turn and gives him a standing ovation and applause, complete with a "Thank you Vince" chant to close Raw.
Reporter's Rumblings - By Moe Tapp
Well, that was...different - at least the ending. Overall, I thought the show was pretty good and me not finding out the results of last night's PPV paid off, since I was truly surprised they took the title off Cena. Good for them for pulling that trigger, even if only for one week. (We'll see what happens next week as far as the final WWE Championship Tournament match).
Since the only two things to write about tonight are the tournament and closing segment, I shall touch on both briefly. The tourney was a better idea instead of the usual "Battle Royal", and we have not had one in a long while. However, I do think they could've mixed it up a little, and given Alex Riley another of the wrestlers (I.E. Dolph or Del Rio) to win over and have him VS. either Miz or R-Truth in the final.
I say this because he is pretty "hot" right now with crowd reaction and the clean pinfall to Miz did not make much sense. To give credibility though, Miz should be in the final (as is), since he is the only decent main-event heel, other than A.D.R., who has the MITB briefcase and is good to go anyway.
Speaking of "hot", on a quick side note, no Zack Ryder sighting? What's up with that?
As stated above, the ending of Raw tonight was intriguing. I knew out-right they would not fire Cena (didn't even have the slightest speculation), however I did not see the way it played out coming or where it will go from here. Personally, I think it's a stretch, since deep fans like me know darn well that Vince is still in control of EVERYTHING, but kudos to them for trying something different.
Coming out of tonight, here is my predictions for the next couple of weeks. Rey Mysterio wins the WWE Title, only for A.D.R. to cash in his MITB case and win the Championship himself. Then some how, as usual, Cena automatically becomes the #1 Contender and will face Del Rio at Summerslam.
As far as Vince & Triple H, either the Raw A.G.M. will be dropped or revealed to be either man, or the whole situation will be swept under the rug (I'm sure after a little "tribute" to all Vince has done next week) and we start fresh on August 1st. Let's see if I can get three for three with these thoughts by 08/01/11!
Until next week, as always, keep reading and Be Excellent Wrestling-Online Readers & WWE Fans!
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