RAW RESULTS 25/07/2011 ** SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS **

First topic message reminder :

“Yes, sir, we promised you a great main event…”

We immediately open the show with the WWE Championship match! Not a bad way to get going.

WWE Championship Tournament Final: Rey Mysterio vs. The Miz

Most of the roster is watching in the back. Big match intros occur as they should. Feeling out process to start and Rey takes over with some speed. Miz counters a rana to launch Rey into the top turnbuckle to change momentum. It's probably a good thing that they waited a week to let them rest up. Corner clothesline gets two for Miz. Knee to the ribs gets the same.

Miz sends him to the floor and adds a baseball slide to keep Rey down. The fans are totally behind Rey here as is probably expected. With Rey on the apron facing down Miz misses a kick but gets sent into the steps shoulder first. Both guys are down as we take a break. Back with Miz holding a chinlock and the third anti-politics line from the announcers. Miz takes him to the corner but Rey fights him off and goes up.

Seated senton hits and Rey speeds things up. Springboard spinning cross body gets two. Miz drills him in the ribs but a sunset flip doesn't work. Rey can't kick him in the head with that swinging kick and Miz grabs a DDT for two. A big boot gets the same. It's been about 80-90% Miz in this match. Victory roll gets two for the masked man. A dropkick to the knee looks to set up the 619 but Miz ducks.

Miz tries a powerbomb near the ropes but Rey counters into another rana attempt. That doesn't work as Miz hits a pretty sweet slingshot sitout powerbomb for a close two. Miz loads up the Finale but Rey climbs up onto the corner and elbows his way out of it. He gets caught in the Tree of Woe though and Miz drives in some knees. A charging knee hits the buckle though and Rey hits a rana to set up the 619. Top rope splash gives Rey the title clean at 13:20.

Rey Mysterio The Miz @ 13:20 - Top rope splash

Rating: B-. Not bad here but it wasn't quite epic or anything. This felt like any TV main event. It's a good match but Rey just hit his finishers and won the title. I did like the selling of the knee from last week which is a very nice touch. Either way, good stuff here and fine for a TV title match.

Post match Rey gets kneed in the back and HERE'S ALBERTO TO CASH IN! Rey dives on him though and Alberto picks up his case and runs. That wasn't a cash-in he says due to the bell never ringing. That's true so it makes sense.

HHH will give a State of the WWE Address tonight.

The roster congratulates Rey in the back and he gets champagne poured on him. Cena, who looks like a foot taller than Rey, shakes his hand and says good job. Rey says it was worth it and that he's going home to his family with the gold.

We get a shortened version of HHH and Vince last night.

Dolph Ziggler vs. Evan Bourne

Dolph has a new somewhat slower rock version of his theme. Pretty sure this is non-title. Yeah it's non-title. Bourne gets a shot to the head to send Dolph to the floor for a bit. Back in the ring Dolph avoids an enziguri and hits a Fameasser for two. Dropkick gets the same and we're off to a chinlock. Splash misses in the corner and here comes Bourne. Jerry makes what is I believe the fourth political/Obama reference of the night. Shooting Star misses and there's the Zig Zag. No cover though as he puts on the sleeper and we're done at 3:27.

Dolph Ziggler b. Evan Bourne @ 3:27 - Sleeper

Rating: C. This was fine. This is also what Ziggler needs: wins over guys that he should be able to beat where he has to work a bit to get them. Not every match with a midcard champion has to result in an upset. You get an ok match out of it and Ziggler looks a bit more credible. Nothing to complain about there.

Kofi vs. Alberto tonight.

The Keith Stone beer guy hits on the Bellas and uses a marker to tell them apart. The other isn't happy and now there's a full tattoo on his arm.

Maryse/Melina vs. Kelly Kelly/Eve Torres

At least they all look good. Eve and Maryse start and Eve hits a downward spiral and then dances before trying a standing moonsault for two. Maryse gives her a Stinkface and Kelly comes in. Everything breaks down and Melina misses a charge, allowing the K2 to end it at 2:51. Thank goodness I don't have to rate it. Match was AWFUL but the girls looked good.

Kelly Kelly/Eve Torres b. Melina/Maryse @ 2:51 - K2 to Melina

R-Truth is talking to HHH and we can't hear what's being said. The Address is next and there's a major return promised.

Cee Lo Green will be performing at Summerslam. Because all the other concerts at wrestling events have gone so well you know?

Here's HHH and it's time for the State of the WWE Address. This place is awesome and let's thank Vince for it. However he's not here to talk about the past but rather the futuer. Tonight there's a new WWE Champion and his name is Rey Mysterio. However, tonight there's going to be ANOTHER WWE Championship match tonight. Rey is going to defend against.....John Cena. Oh dear.

Also there has been someone who the WWE Universe has been asking about all week. Cue CM Punk's chant. Someone is coming back to Raw tonight.....and it's not Punk. Cue JR of all people who is back on Raw. Cole throws down his headset and stands on the announce table as JR is next to King. Cole talks to HHH and says JR is the walking dead, not the future. He's done everything the company has asked for but the one thing he won't do is sit there with this hayseed. He makes fun of JR and asks why he's here. JR is fat and his restaurants failed don't you know.

HHH asks if Cole is done. His first inclination was to fire Cole and bring JR back. The problem is that Cole has a huge severance package so it's not worth it to fire him. However, if Cole wants to leave that's cool but he'll be in breach of contract and will forfeit all future earnings. Cole has the rest of the night off and he has until Friday to decide. If he's on Smackdown, he'll keep his job but if he's not there then good luck in your future endeavors. Cole sits down and says he doesn't quit. HHH says not so fast because you have a match tonight.

Cole is told he's next and that his gear is in the back. Here's R-Truth who says it's out with the old and in with the new. He says HHH has been part of the conspiracy since Day One and now HHH is the man. Little Jimmy cost him his match at Capitol Punishment and spiders and heights cost him MITB. Truth wants to know what the boss is going to do about the conspiracy. HHH wants to know who Truth is talking to: him, or the guys next to Truth.

Truth keeps talking to people that aren't there and HHH does the same. Now the invisible people are about to fight. Truth calls HHH crazy and the crowd gets a good laugh out of it. Truth says HHH is the Game but he's not playing. Truth drops the mic and leaves. HHH: "Hey all of you stop!" HHH says he re-signed another guy and he wanted a piece of Truth. Heeeeeeere's Jomo, for some reason not in a shirt. Wait was Morrison fired or something? They fight on the ramp and Morrison takes over, hitting Starship Pain to stand tall.

Here's Michael Cole in HHH attire, complete with King of Kings as his music and a bottle of water. Oh my oh my. He eve does the water spritz. And his opponent is.....

Michael Cole vs. Zack Ryder

Oh my again. JR actually calls Ryder an internet sensation. Rough Ryder and we're done in 28 seconds.

Zack Ryder b. Michael Cole @ :28 - Rough Ryder

Kofi Kingston vs. Alberto Del Rio

This is a rematch from the tournament last week where Kofi got the clean upset win. Ricardo is back now. Alberto is in white not. He takes Kofi down almost immediately and gets a dropkick to the back of the head for no count. Kofi tries to speed things up and gets a cruficix into a sunset flip position for two. Alberto is sent to the floor and runs as Kofi teases a dive. Kofi is all fired up as we take a break.

Back with Alberto working on the arm. We get a clip from the break of Alberto hitting the running enziguri to Kofi while he was on the top, injuring the arm. Kofi starts his comeback and hits some kicks and a jumping clothesline to set up the Boom Drop which hits. Trouble in Paradise misses and there's the Codebreaker to the arm for two. Pendulum kick by Kofi sets up a victory roll for a VERY close two as Alberto grabs the rope. I thought that was it. Del Rio heads to the floor but catches Kofi with a guillotine over the top. Cross armbreaker goes on and we're done at 7:18.

Alberto Del Rio b. Kofi Kingston @ 7:18 - Cross Armbreaker

Rating: C+. Pretty decent little match here with Del Rio looking dominant again. Last week was a fine example of how you can lose and not lose your heat. Alberto looks fine here and him beating Kofi here is a nice rebound win for him because he did it clean. I hope that's a sign of HHH's time on Raw because sometimes (not always) clean wins are far more helpful than cheating ones.

HHH will be on Smackdown. Awesome.

Miz wants to know why Cena has a title match tonight. He says Cena got all of us into this situation in the first place. Miz thinks things have gone from bad to worse with Cena around now and that Cena should have been fired last week. The face of the WWE has no face. Oh and Miz will be on George Lopez on Wednesday. HHH has made mistakes and Miz isn't thrilled with them.

Raw World Title: John Cena vs. Rey Mysterio

There's a bigger border on the belt now. Cena comes out post break. There's a Divas Battle Royal next week on Raw. Rey gets a kick to the leg to start and there's a second one. They're kind of feeling each other out to start. There are three more of them but Cena runs Rey over with a shoulder block for two. Rey gets a sunset flip kind of move for two and grabs a headlock.

Cena gets a belly to back to escape and gets two at the same time. Rey goes for the knee again but Cena dodges. He misses a charge though and hits the buckle chest first, falling to the floor. The dueling chants begin and Rey hits a springboard flip dive to the floor. Rey speeds things up but gets his head taken off by a clothesline. Back in and Cena gets a waistlock but Rey gets up and hits a DDT for two.

STF doesn't work as Rey gets to the ropes. 619 is caught and Cena tosses him onto his shoulder for that sitout powerslam for two. Here comes Cena's ending sequence but Rey fires off a dropkick to block a shoulder. Nice counter and it's remarkable how few people have blocked that before. Rey tries to speed it up but his spinning cross body is caught in an FU attempt which is also reversed.

Both guys are down and Rey drop toeholds him into the buckle. Seated Senton hits but Cena tries to roll through into the STF. Rey counters into an STF of his own. Cena gets up on one leg into an AA position but the leg gives out and Cena collapses, right into 619 position. It hits this time and Rey goes up top for the splash but it eats knees. Rey tries a rana out of the corner but Cena shoves him off in something resembling a powerbomb.

Cena loads up the top rope Fameasser but it turns into a leg drop on a standing Rey which only gets two. The fans are WAY into this too and I can't blame them as it's been a solid match. Cena sets the AA but Rey elbows out of it. Another 619 is set up but Cena catches him in the AA and is champion again at 12:47. I can live with this I think.

John Cena b. Rey Mysterio @ 12:47 - Attitude Adjustment

Rating: B. Solid stuff here as Cena got to show off his power and how effective it could be. I'm not sure what more they could do given the amount of time they had. Rey's STF was a cool addition which we haven't seen before on Cena, or at least not that I can remember. Good stuff here as both guys usually bring it in big matches.

Cena helps Rey up and celebrates with the title but some music starts up. It's a song called Cult of Personality........PUNK IS BACK! Cena holds up his title. Punk holds up his title. They stare it down as the show ends with Cena leaving.

Overall Rating: A+. This was a pretty excellent episode of Raw. We had history making stuff, a new champion, a pair of returns, no truly bad matches (the boobs and legs of the Divas make up for their weak wrestling) and a good HHH segment. I like where things are going here and things worked well here. This was one of the better Raws in awhile and I liked it quite a bit

I thought that entrance music was bloody awful! I loved his old one and thought it fitted perfectly with the Chicago crowd's reaction at MITB.

I haven't seen any ROH though in fairness so maybe that's key to it.

Yeah his 'new' theme is great but possibly the wrong time to debut it in WWE

Raw was pretty decent overall. Punk's return was too early IMO

It removes the significance of the ending of MITB. I'll miss his 'fire burns' music though

The new theme would have been good if he was going through a gimmick overhaul, fire burns suited him so much better

I remember their was a big shout for him to use this when he created the SES

I know that all day long I've had it stuck in my head!

Likewise.

Maccs did you know who it was going to be when the music hit?

{And during the few moments that we have left
We want to talk right down to earth
In a language that everybody here can easily understand}

Look in my eyes
What do you see?
The cult of personality

I know your anger, I know your dreams
I've been everything you want to be
Oh, I'm the cult of personality

Like Mussolini and Kennedy
I'm the cult of personality
The cult of personality
The cult of personality

Neon lights, a Nobel prize
When a mirror speaks, the reflection lies
You don't have to follow me
Only you can set me free

I sell the things you need to be
I'm the smiling face on your TV
Oh, I'm the cult of personality
[ From: http://www.elyrics.net/read/l/living-colour-lyrics/cult-of-personality-lyrics.html ]

I exploit you, still you love me
I tell you, one and one makes three
Oh, I'm the cult of personality

Like Joseph Stalin and Gandhi
I'm the cult of personality
The cult of personality
The cult of personality

Neon lights, a Nobel prize
When a leader speaks, that leader dies
You won't have to follow me
Only you can set you free

You gave me fortune, you gave me fame
You me power in your God's name
I'm every person you need to be
Oh, I'm the cult of personality

I'm the cult of, I'm the cult of
I'm the cult of, I'm the cult of
I'm the cult of, I'm the cult of
I'm the cult of, I'm the cult of personality

{Ask not what your country can do for you
The only thing we have to fear is, fear itself}

The new entrance was pretty good but I will miss the guitar shredding This Fire Burns.

I wish they hadnt edited Cult of Personality. The best bit is the intro right before the singing, which they've cut half of out.

Edit: Plus, I can rock that Poopie on Expert on Guitar Hero. Like a boss.

i remember this music from when he was in ROH was awesome. they deny their not involved with ROH but all the links are their. Kings of wrestling being signed , CM Punk using his old ROH music and calling himself the "best in the world" which was conveniently the last ROH ppv that's just been.

Anyone a bit disappointed to see Punk back so soon? Not that his absence was a good thing but surely much more could have come from him leaving with the title than have him back a week later to feud for it with the same guy he's just won it from?

And heres hoping its a long stay on play by play for good ol' JR!

That rhymes too!

MidnightToker wrote:
Anyone a bit disappointed to see Punk back so soon?

Yes! They could have strung it out for another couple of weeks, maybe shooting out of arena again like they did with the Comic Con appearance. Or they could have gone the other way with it and had NOTHING for a couple of weeks so people actually wondered if his contract was actually up.

just cant help but think they've gone back a step with this, from punk v cena at mitb, and all the buzz around it, back to punk v cena with no "win or you're fired" or "i'm leaving with the title" type stuff, they might as well be fighting over a spilt diet soda

They don't need any stupid stipulations, you have the golden boy of the company vs the working class hero in a winner takes all undisputed title match, if that doesn't draw you in as a viewer nothing will

Punk is one of the best assets of the WWE at the moment and leaving him out of shows in the run up to the second biggest PPV of the year wouldn't make sense.

Definitely don't agree, it would sell the story and build hype and anticipation, I would however demand he showed up at SummerSlam or he would officially forfit the title, not having him on screen after how freaking hot he became would be enough to entice people to pay to see him and hear what else he's got to say, I would use RAW to show him doing stuff outside the WWE lhke the segment at Comic Con ect...

I enjoyed Raw, matches were quite decent and compared to the Raw's of say a few months ago it's a marked improvement.

Only problem I had with it is that the whole thing seemed like having 3 weeks of Raw crammed into 2 hours. Mysterio wins the title, then loses it to Cena which brings out the return of Punk. Imo they should have gone with Miz vs Mysterio main event, then had the Cena win next week and either bring out Punk next week or the following week so he could denounce Cena's reign as phoney (all points probably made by others at some point on here).

Still an enjoyable Raw and Cena with 2 decent matches on the run, who would have thought it!!

P.S. I love it when wrestlers use the opponents finisher on them, Rey's STF was a pleasant surprise and reminded me of the times when The Rock would stunner Austin, or Austin would Rock Bottom The Rock.

P.P.S That Cult of Personality tune is quality, downloaded it as soon as i finished watching Raw!!

I too think it may be a little early for Punk to be back on screen, but this doesn't necessarily mean he will be back week in week out does it? Could just be a reminder that Cena is not the true Champ.

Probably a bit fussy but one thing that I was thinking about. Cena being is the business surely would know whos music that was when it hit, yet he stood there confused thinking whats all this about (as did I as I never saw ROH). Wouldn't it have been sold better and helped with the confusion if he had stood there shocked?

Also the fact that Punk came out to his ROH music rather than WWE music could hint to his contract still not being signed?

MIG wrote:I too think it may be a little early for Punk to be back on screen, but this doesn't necessarily mean he will be back week in week out does it? Could just be a reminder that Cena is not the true Champ.

Probably a bit fussy but one thing that I was thinking about. Cena being is the business surely would know whos music that was when it hit, yet he stood there confused thinking whats all this about (as did I as I never saw ROH). Wouldn't it have been sold better and helped with the confusion if he had stood there shocked?

Also the fact that Punk came out to his ROH music rather than WWE music could hint to his contract still not being signed?

I like the idea of this. Although i like that Cena played it confused. If there was a massive pop from the music then shocked would have been right (just like if the glass had broken or if you smellllll...) but as only some people cheered then confused was probably right. Punk took his time, making everyone else confused too and then BAM out he came.

Maybe he came back this week to keep the momentum going? Either way i enjoyed it.. "I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack"

Punk definitely has an air about him at the moment. He is owning the WWE and he knows it.

With the RoH teasers that are coming out at the moment, might this lead to a final blow off match at Survivor Series, Team Cena (with WWE guys) vs Team Punk (with RoH guys, Kings of Wrestling, Colt Cobana and one more)?

Gregers wrote:

Ent wrote:I thought raw was pretty terrible to be honest.

After a month of excellence we had routine matches, jr back, cole back on mic and in ring, cena as champion again, botches galore etc etc.

Punks return made no sense at all, after all the build up and the shock of him leaving MItb with the belt- he comes out to a new song says nothing and the show ends.

They really need to pull it out of the bag next week, major damage done this week IMO.

Did we watch the same show?

Raw was awesome last night, Punk and Cena both as 'WWE' Champion is a great move, Ryder beat Cole. JR is back on Raw. All of the matches (except the Divas) were really good, Mysterio vs Cena and Miz vs Mysterio were both great TV main events. No damage done at all, Raw is back moving in the right direction.

Let me guess you complain when Raw has very little in ring action. Well last night we had Mysterio vs Cena, Mysterio vs Miz, ADR vs Kofi, Bourne vs Ziggler, in ring action from Ryder. We also had the return of JOMO to reignite his feud with Truth, and finally Punk returned.

Do you see yourself as a proud member of the IWC?

No, I usually defend Raw as it usually makes sense.

Punk is back way too early at least cena was in the crowd when he was 'fired'. Ryder got 28 seconds in ring and he and Cole botched the rough ryder. Cole on the mic and in ring again, unfortunately he still gets heat from the crowds because this angle is stupidly stale. JR back again a waste of TV time. Both Mysterio and Cena WWE champ in 1 night (Cena 8 days after he lost the title).

R Truth was good, despite over playing his gimmick so HHH could do unfunny impressions. I appreciate the number of matches but I disagree the quality was good, they were average RAW main event standard with Miz Mysterio being the classic face gets hammered on, no sells the beating and hits his doom sequence.

All in all it was 50/50 between good and bad this week with the bad being awful and the good being the right side of average, a poor raw in my opinion - I know people will disagree because Punk made an appearance.

the-gaffer wrote:They don't need any stupid stipulations, you have the golden boy of the company vs the working class hero in a winner takes all undisputed title match, if that doesn't draw you in as a viewer nothing will

I disagree, they had that a fortnight ago, now they have the same thing over again having already disregarded both stipulations.

I thought I heard Cena say "Is this Alberto?" when Punk's music hit. I had a feeling that Del Rio might come out after the match, although it wasn't his music I was slightly confused who would come out. I think it could have worked well if Punk had stayed out of the picture longer (maybe if he'd been in the crowd this RAW, he could have even walked out just before or during Cena/Mysterio), but it's too early to say WWE have messed this angle up, it could still work. Depends where they go from here.

Only just got chance to comment on the show and am very surprised at the positive reaction it has got.

I thought that WWE have taken two steps forward recently, but this show is one step backwards. There was no reason to crown two new champions in one night, if they wanted the title on Cena then there was no reason for Rey to win it. They should have had something at the beginning of the show or even just after the match saying that the winner will face Cena because of his rematch clause.

Triple H hasn't lasted one week being serious, instead he immediately went into an unfunny comedy role, and his time in the ring lasted far too long. There is no reason to bring back JR now, as Cole and Lawler were established and I don't think JR will add anything substantial.

The Punk moment saved the show in terms of reaction, but even that wasn't enough to stop me being throughly dissapointed with a very poor RAW IMO.

There is no reason to bring back JR now, as Cole and Lawler were established and I don't think JR will add anything substantial.

Cole and Lawler are the reason JR was needed. Now JR's back turn Lawler heel and send Cole backstage to interview Tatsu on Superstars

I like Cole though and I think he is much better since his heel-turn. Lawler has been dreadful for years even when he was paired with JR who I think is overrated and has also not been at the same standard that people associate him with for a long time.

true, for me Lawlers been shoite since he came back after the alliance thing. JR was chuffed to have him back after working with Heyman. Cant stand a coupla best buds on commentary. If he can be bothered to get good again id turn him heel and go with him and JR

I'd rather have a heel Cole and a face JR and get shot of Lawler altogether. I think we're going to see a set up similar to Smackdown with Lawler as face colour commentator, JR as play by play and Cole as heel colour commentator, which I suppose is okay, but I just can't stand Lawler anymore.