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Check back after Raw for a very special interview by
the inimitable James Guttman.
Who will his guest be?
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Welcome to WWI's ongoing coverage of tonight's Raw, live from the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California.
Last week we saw the beginning (and the end) of the Trump Era. Amid that chaos we learned which matches would be contended at the Bash, which began (and ended) last night up the road in Sacramento. The matches may be over, but don't count on any lingering hard feelings to be over yet. Nope, that's what Monday Night Raw is for.
Michael Cole and Jerry "The King" Lawler welcomed viewers to the show.
Mister McMahon came out and teased the crowd about the possibility of getting their money back, a la Donald Trump. As if. However he said he would implement one of Trump's ideas, the weekly guest host. This week's guest host would be none other than the Animal, Dave Bastista.
Randy Orton's music hit and put an end to the warm fuzzy feeling of having Batista back. Orton came out with Legacy and suggested that Batista get to steppin'.
Batista said that as guest host, he could do anything he wanted, including firing the three of them. They should deal with it.
He also called for a Night of Champions Tourment tonight, featuring matches between Triple H and MVP and The Miz and John Cena.
Orton whined about getting hit in the head with a sledgehammer last night, which Batista mocked with crocodile tears. Then he reminded Orton that Raw had acquired several new superstars during the brief Trump Era, and said that Orton would be facing three of them in a gauntlet match tonight.
(Commercial break)
Michael Cole said that MVP had accompanied The View's Sherry Shepard to the BET Awards in Hollywood last night.
(1) Night of Champions Tournament Match #1: MVP vs. Triple H.
Triple H was wearing a large bandage on his thigh and seemed to be favoring it during this match. MVP capitalized on the injury and went for covers several times. However, it was theh injured Triple H who Pedigreed and pinned MVP for the win. Imagine that.
(Commercial break)
(2) Triple Threat Tag Team Championship Match for the Unified Title: Edge & Chris Jericho vs. Primo & Carlito Colon
Jericho said that despite his vow to never appear on Raw again, his massive talents had brought him back. Edge contradicted him and said it was he who had approached Smackdown General Manager Teddy Long and demanded that they be recognized as an official tag team. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
The Colons were tired of the jawing and got right down to business. Before Primo was done, Edge and Jericho were both on the outside on their butts.
(Commercial break)
Back from the break and Jericho was in control. Edge tagged in briefly, then Jericho was back in. Hot tag by Primo to Carlito. Very sloppy spear by Edge; nonetheless, Carlito was pinned and Edge and Jericho retained their titles.
(I could swear Teddy Long said it was going to be a Triple Threat Tag Team Match. Hmmm...)
(Commercial break)
Orton was fussing at Legacy because of the match Batista had put him in. They turned around and there was Batista, who told Cody and Teddy that if they interfered in Orton's match in any way, they would be fired by his very own self as the All Powerful Guest Host.
(Commercial break)
(3) Night of Champions Tournament Match: The Miz vs. John Cena.
Miz started the match with fierce determination on his face, but Cena soon wiped that look off his face.
Miz rallied, but Cena went for a cover. Back and forth it went, with Miz stepping up his game.
(Commercial break)
Back from the break and Miz had Cena around the neck. But the Miz got impatient and Cena got his second wind. Near falls by the Miz, but they were unsuccessful. Miz got Cena in a sleeper; would Cena tap out?? Miz gave it all he had but Cena gave him a five-knuckle shuffle and an STF to take the win.
Good match. Cena won, but good for the Miz for taking it to a new level.
Next week's main event will be Cena vs. Triple H in the finals of the Night of Champions.
(Commercial break)
Teddy told Orton and Cody that all would be fine. His father, Ted DiBiase, the Million Dollar Man, would be guest host next week. "How does that help me now?" Orton wanted to know. Typical.
(4) Divas Four-Way Match: Kelly Kelly vs. Mickie James vs. Beth Phoenix vs. Rosa Mendes.
Maryse came out to scout the talent and answer questions about the Miz and his infatuation with her.
Better than your average Diva match, with all four trying to choke each other out at the same time at one point.
This match would determine the No. 1 Contender for the next PPV, and Mo-reece was hoping it would be Kelly Kelly.
Beth Phoenix threw herself out of the ring when a move seemed to go awry and it looked rather awkward.
Mickie James pinned Rosa, and Mickie and Mo-reece pantomimed some trash talk as the show went to break.
(Commercial break)
Promo for the Summer Slam Reading Jam which is being conducted in connection with the nation's libraries and WWE. (Some of my best memories of summer as a child were of going to my local library and devouring the mystery section.)
(5) Big Show vs. Kofi Kingston.
Kofi pretty much got his behind handed to him. The ref determined it was a double count out, as neither could beat the bell back into the ring. I'd say this was probably a filler match, as it was full of big, lazy moves by Big Show which seemed destined to kill time.
(Commercial break)
(6) Three-on-One Gauntlet Match: Randy Orton vs. Evan Bourne & Jack Swagger & Mark Henry.
Orton headed to the ring slowly, suffering from last night's Triple Hellacious Death Match, or whatever that thing was called.
Evan Bourne was first, and Orton managed to gather up enough strength to beat Bourne and continue on to face the other two opponents. That said, it's wonderful to have Evan Bourne on Raw now. He is an awesome talent!
Jack Swagger was the next opponent. Like Bourne before him, Orton had to beat him in order to get to opponent number 3. He did it creatively, by standing on the apron and letting himself be counted out. Randy Orton was puzzled, as were we all. Swagger grabbed a mic, and said on his first night on Raw, he wanted to leave a lasting impression. Then Swagger headed up the ramp with a smile on his face.
The last opponent was Mark Henry, who also grabbed a mic. He'd always respected Orton and also wanted to make an impression on his first night, too. However, the impression he wanted to leave was different. Randy got down on his knees and begged Henry not to hurt him. But Henry picked him up and threw Orton through the air and pinned him for the win. Yep, that was quite an impression.
A smiling Batista came out on the stage and was pleased with the outcome of the gauntlet match.
The Trump Era may have been brief, but it's left a lasting impression.