Last week, Chris Jericho retained the WWE Championship by defeating former Champ, CM Punk, in a steel cage match. Beth Phoenix delivered a slap to the face of Batista and got laid out for her trouble. Jamie Noble didn’t get the girl. Rey Mysterio defeated Kane via DQ. And Mike Adamle named Shawn Michaels as Chris Jericho’s opponent at No Mercy – Jericho will defend his belt against Michaels in a Ladder Match! Join us tonight for Raw’s 800th episode…
Your regular host, Paul Marshall, couldn’t be here tonight. So, while Mr. Marshall is out with partying with some hot chick, I’ll be taking his place this evening. Have a nice evening Paul!
Raw’s 800th episode is coming to us from Cincinnati, OH. Our ringside announcers are Michael Cole and Jerry “The King†Lawler.
The show opens with the WWE Championship belt is hanging above the ring, under – you guessed it! – a ladder! WWE Champion Chris Jericho enters the ring, mic in hand, and climbs to the top of the ladder in order to address the heckling masses. Chants of HBK break out. Jericho doesn’t look like a wrestling champion in that suit and tie. Jericho is complaining about his match at No Mercy against Shawn Michaels. Jericho says Michaels claimed Michaels invented the ladder match but Jericho says just cause Michaels says something that doesn’t mean that it’s true. Jericho says, on the other hand, Jericho is an honest man and he always tells the truth. Jericho says he has won three separate championships in a ladder match. Jericho then removes the belt and says that Jericho will still be the Champion after his match with Michaels. Jericho says he is better than Michaels. Randy Orton interrupts Jericho’s boasting. Orton tells Jericho if it wasn’t for Orton kicking CM Punk in the head, Jericho would not be champion now. Orton says that no matter who has the title after No Mercy, they will be on borrowed time. Jericho says Orton has a big mouth. Jericho then threatens to punch Orton. Orton says that Orton can’t hit anyone and no one can hit Orton or they will be suspended as per General Manager Mike Adamle. Orton says he always get what he wants but Jericho says he gets what he wants and he wants to get away from Orton so Jericho leaves the ring and heads up the ramp to the back as Orton keeps talking. Orton then picks up the ladder and throws it out of the ring. Oooh, that was impressive. Before Orton can leave the ring, CM Punk appears and heads to the ring. May I just say: GET HIM, PUNK! Punk DOES hit him and sends Orton to the mat but Adamle appears to break it up. Adamle backs Punk away from Orton and says that Punk has just defied him and as a result of his actions, Punk is suspended indefinitely. Shane McMahon then appears and heads to the ring, taking the mic away from Adamle. Shane says that what Punk just did was a receipt. Shane officially overrules Adamle’s suspension of CM Punk. Orton has a tantrum and tells Shane he can’t do that but Shane says that he can. Shane asks Orton to leave the ring. Shane says that since Punk is ready to go, he will start the show tonight and he will face Cody Rhodes. Shane says the main event tonight will be Chris Jericho teaming with John Bradshaw Layfield against The Animal Batista and Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels. Not normally a Shane McMahon fan, tonight he ROCKS! We go to commercial break.
CM Punk
Vs.
Cody Rhodes
One half of the WWE Tag Team Champions
The bell rings, the two lock up and go around the ropes. Rhodes breaks clean. Punk throws a boot but Rhodes get out of the way. Punk semi-breaks clean. Punk decides to take it outside on the floor. Rhodes comes off the top with a cross body block but Punk rolls him over and gets a two count. Punk delivers some nice punches before the referee breaks it up. The match turns into a slugfest until Rhodes whips Punk into the corner post. Punk goes for the GTS but Rhodes breaks away and rolls out of the ring. NOOOO! We go to commercial break.
Back from the break, Rhodes has Punk’s left leg and we see that during the commercial break, Rhodes took out Punk with a kick. Punk is up and cuts loose on Punk. There’s the high knee but he misses the bulldog. Punk delivers the GTS and goes for the cover, getting the three count!
Winner: CM Punk with a GTS, total match time 8 minutes
This was one great opening match. Punk was super intense and Rhodes didn’t do too bad in the ring either. After the match, Manu and Ted Dibiase appear to take out Punk but it’s Kofi Kingston to the rescue. We go to commercial break.
Back to the show…The Cincinnati Bengals are in the audience.
WWE Smackdown of the Week: Vladimir Kozlov going after Jeff Hardy.
Shane is backstage with Adamle. Kane appears. Kane tells Adamle he wants Rey Mysterio. Adamle says the match is already scheduled for No Mercy. As Kane leaves, Kane tells Shane to say hello to his Mom. Kelly Kelly is backstage. Beth Phoenix and Santino Marella appears. Marella is wearing some goofy looking apparatus on his face. Phoenix says that Kelly laughed at them last week and this week Phoenix will take care of it. Batista appears and Phoenix gives a little scream. Phoenix says if Batista even thinks about getting involved in her match, her boyfriend will mess up Batista’s face. We go to commercial break.
Back to Cincinatti, we see the recap of the altercation between Marella and Phoenix and Batista last week. Marella wants to talk about his Honk-A-Meter.
Santino Marella
WWE Intercontinental Champion
Vs.
Deuce
Marella calls Deuce “Fonzie†Deuce doesn’t take kindly to Marella’s comparison and he goes after Marella’s face. Deuce goes for the cover but only gets a two count. Marella rolls Deuce up and gets the three count.
Winner: Santino Marella, match time around 1 minute.
A cutsey short match. I do think Marella looks pretty silly in that face protector.
Evan Bourne is backstage with Rey Mysterio. Mysterio appears to be giving Sydal pointers on his upcoming match. We go to commercial break.
Don’t forgot Blatt Vs. ECW Tuesday night on Pulse Wrestling!
We’re back…for the WWE Slam of the Week – Rey Mysterio vs. Kane last Monday night. Kane gets disqualified and attempts to remove Mysterio’s mask but Matt Sydal comes out for the save.
Kane weighing 323 lbs.
Vs.
Evan Bourne weighing 183 lbs.
Representing ECW
Lawler tells us how great Evan Bourne is in the ring. We know that, Lawler, we know that! The bell rings and Bourne does a little sidestepping, delivering a nice boot to Kane’s shoulder. Bourne catches a boot to the abdomen but he is back on his feet and going after Kane’s legs. Kane delivers a boot the head of Bourne but misses the elbow and Kane meets the mat. Bourne tries for a roll up but Kane delivers a fist to Bourne’s face. Bourne sends Kane to the floor, Bourne to the top rope and he takes Kane down again. Kane manages to roll back into the ring first but Bourne is right behind him. Bourne goes for the cover and gets a two count but when he comes off the ropes, Kane delivers a right hand and Bourne is in trouble. Kane delivers a series of backbreakers and slams Bourne back first into the corner post before dropping Bourne with a power slam. Kane delivers the choke slam, goes for the cover and gets the three count.
Winner: Kane with a choke slam, match time 5 minutes
First Punk and now Bourne. These two wrestlers are great. Bourne is so fast you can’t take your eyes off of him for a second. After the match, Kane attempts to deliver further punishment to Bourne but Rey Mysterio charges to the ring. Mysterio receives a beating at the hands of Kane.
Jamie Noble is speaking to Shane backstage but Orton interrupts. Orton tells Shane he respects him but was Shane did earlier tonight was not cool. Shane tells Orton he respects him but Orton is getting off easy for what he did to Punk. Orton says it would be a real shame if he and Shane got on each other’s bad side. Shane says he is fourth generation, not third generation. We go to commercial break.
Check in on Thursday for Pulse Wrestling’s iMPACT report courtesy of Mark Neeley.
The Glamazon Beth Phoenix
WWE Women’s Champion
With Santino Marella
Vs.
Kelly Kelly
Phoenix has decided it’s more fun to beat up on someone than wrestler. Kelley uses some of the weakest kicks and hits in the world of women’s wrestling but she is taking some bumps. When Phoenix delivers an elbow it’s believable. Candice Michelle is backstage watching the match. Candice faces Phoenix at No Mercy for the Women’s title. Phoenix misses an elbow. Marella tries to trip Kelly, Phoenix almost nails Marella on the ring apron, Kelly goes for the roll up and gets the win.
Winner: Kelly Kelly with a roll up
After the match, Marella gets in the ring but Batista appears and heads to the ring to face Marella and Phoenix. Actually, it’s Phoenix that gets in Batista’s face. Marella takes a swipe at Batista and Batista delivers a spear. Phoenix climbs out of the ring and stands on the ring apron. Cole introduces a video of the battle between Miz & Morrison’s Dirt Sheet and Cryme Tyme’s Word Up. I’m glad they are the most watched things on wwe.com because this little clip wasn’t impressive. We go to commercial break
We’re back for the final 30 minutes of Raw. Metallica’s “All Night Long†will be the theme song for No Mercy.
Tag Team Match
John Morrison
&
The Miz
Representing ECW
Vs.
Shad
&
JTG
Cryme Tyme
The bell rings and JTG faces Morrison in the ring to begin the match. Miz makes his way across the ring to take down JTG but JTG goes for a cover. Morrison kicks out. Shad gets the tag. Morrison tags in Miz. Shad delivers a blow that sends Miz to the mat but Morrison pullsl Miz out to the floor. JTG comes across the ring and delivers a dive that takes down Miz and Morrison. We go to commercial break.
Back from the break, JTG is down on the matt and Morrison is working on JTG’s left arm. JTG tries for a counter roll up but Morrison kicks out. Morrison tags in Miz. JTG is still down on the mat and too close to the wrong corner. JTG tries to make it to the corner but a drop toe hold stops him. Miz tags in Morrison. Morrison tags in Miz but when they try for a double team, JTG makes it to Shad. Shad takes on everyone. Shad goes for a cover but Morrison is in to break it up. Miz tries for a roll up but he only gets a two count. Shad slams Miz to the mat and goes for a cover but he only gets a two count. Morrison and JTG are battling outside on the floor. Morrison delivers a kick to Shad’s head, Miz goes for the cover and gets the win.
Winners: John Morrison & The Miz
A nice fast paced match although the live audience wasn’t happy about the winners. We go to commercial break.
You can follow along with me on Pulse Wrestling with the live Smackdown report every Friday.
And back in Cincinnati, Adamle is backstage with Jericho and Lance Cade. Jericho tells Adamle that Vince McMahon doesn’t want a “yes man†and what Shane says isn’t what Shane means. And I think that means Adamle could be in trouble. Lawler and Cole run down the matches for No Mercy. Cole introduces a video of Charlie Haas who actually looks like Charlie Haas. Haas is paying tribute to Mr. Perfect. Haas then dons a blonde wig and doesn’t manage to do anything perfect. We go to commercial break.
It’s the last match of the evening! The question will be how much trouble Jericho has managed to get Adamle into with Shane McMahon.
2 on 3 Handicap Match
Chris Jericho
WWE World Heavyweight Champion
&
Lance Cade
&
John Bradshaw Layfied
Vs.
Batista
&
“Heartbreak Kid†Shawn Michaels
The bell rings and HBK is ready to go but Cade volunteers to face HBK. HBK wants Jericho but he’ll beat on Cade if that’s all he can get. HBK takes a shot at Jericho but JBL catches HBK with a fist. Cade tags in Jericho. Jericho and the ref get into a yelling match but it gives HBK time to come back. Jericho delivers a kick to the head and tags in JBL. Michaels manages a hip toss but JBL tags in Cade. Batista tries to get into the ring but the ref sends him back to the ring apron. JBL delivers a boot to the face to drop HBK and then turns and nails Batista on the ring apron. JBL goes for the cover and gets a two count. JBL attempts to deliver a fallaway slam but HBK delivers a DDT. Both men are down on the canvas. HBK tags in Batista who goes after Jericho was tagged in. Jericho gets caught in a spine buster. Batista tags in Michaels, Michaels comes off the top rope with an elbow and HBK sets up for sweet chin music but Jericho goes for the walls of Jericho. JBL comes in to break up the pin by HBK. Batista enters the ring but gets sent over the top rope by JBL. Batista delivers a spear as Jericho misses the lionsault. Cade gets tagged in. HBK takes down Jericho with a kick, Cade takes down HBK and gets the three count.
Winners: Lance Cade, Chris Jericho & John Bradshaw Layfield
This match did have a decent pace and Cade got to see more action than he has seen for quite some time in the ring.
Vinny Truncellito discusses CM Punk’s journey from the indies to WWE in his Alternate Reality column.
Thank you for joining us tonight. Paul Marshall will be back next week.
