WWE Raw (6/30/2008)

[The Ghost of bps21 0]

I LOVE that Edge got beat for his title the same way that he did it TWICE to someone else. I'm just starting the show now. It's nice to see someone completely fresh with the belt. It's something that you just don't see as often as you probably should.

[sluggo 0]

Batista doesn't have to turn because he's already a heel on Raw. Remember, Batista got boo'd on Raw and cheered on Smackdown. Since the HBK match (which he played a heel), Batista hasn't had any interaction with none of the Raw guys other than Triple H last week. A PPV is coming up and all the top heels are either busy or injured.

 

 

You know...

 

Edge could use his rematch stip like all good heel champs do.

 

As far as Cryme Tyme and Cena goes, it's about damn time. Cena hasn't had a posse since Red Dog. JTG and Shad are the new Red Dog and B Squared. I've been waiting for the old Thuganomics Cena to interact with Cryme Tyme for over 2 years. Rather it be a freestyle contest backstage or CT questioning Cena's street cred. Now all we need is for the old Cena character to fully return so he can stop being The Marine.

[RedJed 0]

Yeah, this stuff tonight was good, real good. I figured Punk's chance would be coming soon, but not THIS soon! They actually made him look really strong by the end of the show, too. I don't know why, but I'm thinking that may have been JBL's possible rub to the brand's champ much like he did with Rey back right before he retired as I'm thinking he may take another break soon, if these rumors are true about his back. A GM role would be perfect for him, as has been said.

 

And what can you say about Cena and Cryme Tyme? I like the pairing alot, actually. If it's going to be just comedy en masse with that group, though, I will probably be let down long term. But if they actually come across a little more harkin to what Cena's old gimmick used to be, I'm down for that. Cena has little to no edge to his character anymore, and this stuff is just what might help that.

 

I'm glad they made up for a boring ppv last night with a show like this. I was pretty "eh" about things after last night's show. But that's certainly changed now, good to see the company going a bit off the typical paint by numbers system and spicing things up a bit with Punk as world champ, more than likely Batista going heel on him down the road here because he's pissed he basically beat Edge for Punk's benefit, and alot of other interesting scenarios possible for the rest of the summer here and everything.

 

Any initial thoughts on what might be lined up for GAB? I thought they would build that a little tonight, but there was plenty of other stuff they went with. I'm betting on Punk v. Edge and HHH against, hmmm, good question.

 

And surprised they didn't make much of a spectacle on the show relating to the Vince angle last week either.

[jotumare 0]

And surprised they didn't make much of a spectacle on the show relating to the Vince angle last week either.

 

well, Vince not being there was the catalyst of all the "anarchy" in the show imo....JR saying good bye, Batista and his vengance on Edge, Punk cashing in, JBL and his Martial Law, Cena and CT going against JBL's Law...."prision rules" etc..

 

it played a huge part on today's show, altough i agree they didn't make it a spectacle (thank god)

[DCH 0]

I just watched the daily motion and man did I mark out despite knowing he would win it. Jesus Christ that was awesome. I have always been a Punk fan, and thought that losing clean to Chavo in an ECW title match meant the end of the line for Punk. Boy, I never saw this coming. Notice how Batista paused for second at the ramp before walking off, that could spell the start of their feud. I seriously want Punk to win clean against a monster heel like Batista on PPV instead of jobbing it out and disappearing back down to the IC title scene.

[Hawk 34 0]

The really intriguing thing about Raw right now is that they have so many possible directions to take with the top shelf guys that isn't revolving the same matches and same situations.

[Enigma 0]

I love how everyone here suddenly loves WWE and wants to suck Vince McMahon's dick.

 

Have fun when Batista slaughters him at Great American Bash.

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

I picked the wrong night to miss RAW

 

 

UGH!

 

 

I picked the wrong week to quite sniffin' glue.

 

The one thing that really irked me about RAW was how they telegraphed Punk retaining the title, specfically Lawler's commentary. He kept talking about how he had a good feeling, how Punk got himself into it, etc. Plus, there was a commercial break b/w ring intro's, and that feels a bit "throw away" to me, and not something they'd do with a big time, "meant to be taken seriously" title match.

 

I was taping RAW and came home at 10:15 and sat down to start watching thinking, "Oh, nothing important could have happened." And then Cole starts talking about "new World Champion CM Punk," so the moment was spoiled for me. I should pay attention to those nagging doubts. I feel so regarded.

 

I think the finish was more telegraphed by John Cena being "thrown out of the building". That's carny for main event run in. It was the good kind of predictable though, led to a fun spectacle at the end of the show. I actually agree with cabbageboy in his view of how Punk as champion worked - ANYONE can get heat as a credible challenger now. That's probably not great for box office if the marks view the champion as a guy that has to squeak out of a win over The Miz, but it could make for some exciting TV.

[The Ghost of bps21 0]

Punk lost clean to the Miz not that long ago.

 

All comers are believable threats right now. That's what I like about it. Every win would establish Punk as a good champion...as opposed to what we usually get with the same guys trading title reigns. Smackdown may have the bigger names in the main event picture...but damn do I find Raw's far more interesting.

[Noah Fentz 0]

For those of you that thought this was a good Raw, you're still high on the adrenaline of the opening segment.

 

Since the end of the opening segment, it was nothing more than a let-down. An incredible opening sets the pace for an incredible show, and they simply didn't deliver.

 

The Jillian/Mickie match was useless, as all diva matches are.

 

JBL challenging was good. It establishes what most veterans should be thinking about a "punk" champion.

 

The Jericho DQ was an insult to any wrestling fans intelligence.

 

Kane/Noble was the comedy relief of the show, and served it's purpose.

 

Cena returning with Cryme Tyme was pathetic, at best.

 

The Good: Punk wins title.

 

The Bad: The rest of the show.

 

The Ugly: A DQ for something EVERYONE knows is a five-count, at worst.

 

 

[Noah Fentz 0]

Oh yeah, almost forgot...

 

Jobbers on RAW?!?!

 

But, good promo for Dibiase and Rhodes after the useless match.

[muzz 0]

I liked the call back to Edge winning the title after Mark Henry destroyed the Undertaker, with both Henry and Batista walking up the ramp while Edge/Punk passed them to pick up the pieces.

[Obi Chris Kenobi 0]

Jamie Noble was awesome, someone said it fell flat, but I liked it. As for the whole of Raw, its the first one in a while I haven't skimmed through to find an interesting segment. Watched it from start to finish, found it interesting and 'well built up' in a 2 hour kind of way. Only thing that concerns me is that people were chanting for Cena during CM Punk's match, before Cena came out, which showed little interest in backing up CM Punk. Also, when CM Punk went to finish the match everyone was watching Cena and Cryme Tyme attack the security.

[DCH 0]

I love how everyone here suddenly loves WWE and wants to suck Vince McMahon's dick.

 

Have fun when Batista slaughters him at Great American Bash.

 

That's what I'm worried about. He will most probably disappear back into the IC title mix soon after jobbing to Batista. Lets jsut hope WWE understands the fans and keep Punk with the belt for longer than 2 months and keep him on the ME scene

[Noah Fentz 0]

"The-powers-that-be" like Punk, due to his "clean" image in a sea of steroid abusers.

 

Let's face it, things are going to change in the coming years, and physiques like Batista's and HHH's , just to name a couple, are going to be history. With all the pressure the WWE has been/will be getting, they are going to have to stick with their wellness policy.

 

CM Punk was pretty much declared a role model in the heat of the 'roid rage controversy. He'll be holding that belt for some time to come, as the major players fight amongst themselves for the shot at him. I can see a decent reign, with everyone else feuding and taking the attention away from Punk and the title.

 

I will absolutely VOMIT, if Cena gets it back any time soon. As much as I respect his in-ring ability, I see his title reigns as desperate attempts to get him over with the fans. If it hasn't happened yet, I don't think it ever will.

[TheFranchise 0]

I'm never deleting this RAW off of my DVR.

 

Straight Edge Means I'm World Champion!

I'll just add my $0.02

 

Two reasons i'm actually absolutely pissed about this.. I get Sky+ (basically DVR to us) installed NEXT monday.

Thinking Raw wouldn't be worth watching tonight, I went to bed at 1.45am, 15 minutes before Raw started.

 

I'm just about the biggest CM Punk fan/mark in the world.

 

I watched this show via download this morning before reading the results (like I do every time I dont watch live) and even after the talk of Punk cashing in at the PPV Sunday night, when batista laid him out, I STILL hadn't clicked on that Punk would come out. Like a few people mentioned, with Lillian/Referee messing around, it occured Punk would indeed not win his MITB match, like people have speculated for so long.

 

But him winning was possibly the biggest markout moment i've ever had, bigger than WM20's ending, bigger than Summerslam 2002's street fight, maybe even bigger than No Way Out 2004's main event with Guerrero winning.

 

Like others, I thought he was losing it to JBL later on, with JBL giving that promo Sunday night, I thought Punk might just transition from Edge to JBL.. I was even too scared to watch the match, as lame as that sounds, but once Cena and his Cryme Tyne goons came out, I knew he'd be okay to keep the title.

 

Basically, speaking just on my behalf, I won't miss a Raw live while CM Punk is holding the title.

 

Thankyou, WWE.

[Lt. Al Giardello 0]

I love how everyone here suddenly loves WWE and wants to suck Vince McMahon's dick.

 

Have fun when Batista slaughters him at Great American Bash.

 

Thank you for your insightful input Enigma!

[Obi Chris Kenobi 0]

I love how everyone here suddenly loves WWE and wants to suck Vince McMahon's dick.

 

Have fun when Batista slaughters him at Great American Bash.

 

Thank you for your insightful input Enigma!

 

He never posts anything original, it was probably copy and pasted from Meltzer's MSN or something.

[Sertac 0]

Well I don't post often in here... but CM Punk is the freakin' World Heavyweight Champion! I think I marked out like a lot of guys here and it was just amazing to see CM Punks name on the World Title. I just hope that he gets what he deserves now, after these good reactions from the crowd - and he's getting them for months now - a good reign as champion.

 

Oh, and here is a signature I made a couple of minutes ago - Whoever wants to use it can use it.

 

[DerangedHermit 0]

"The-powers-that-be" like Punk, due to his "clean" image in a sea of steroid abusers.

 

Let's face it, things are going to change in the coming years, and physiques like Batista's and HHH's , just to name a couple, are going to be history. With all the pressure the WWE has been/will be getting, they are going to have to stick with their wellness policy.

It's almost like when after years of Hogan and Warrior having the belt, they finally put it on Bret, a smaller, cleaner, technically proficient rising star.

[Spaceman Spiff 0]

I will absolutely VOMIT, if Cena gets it back any time soon. As much as I respect his in-ring ability, I see his title reigns as desperate attempts to get him over with the fans. If it hasn't happened yet, I don't think it ever will.

Cena's not over? That's...pretty ridiculous ("regarded", if you will).

[Black Lushus 0]

whether it's good heat or bad heat, Cena gets a huge reaction...I'd say his closest rival as far as crowd reaction goes is Vickie Guerrero, of all people.

[TheBigSwigg 0]

[Thanks for the Fish 0]

Punk needs to lead off the show with a promo segment next week. I think he needs to explain that he had too much respect for HHH or Cena to use it at NOC, but Edge is a dick and one the title twice by using MITB at the most opportune times, so what goes around comes around. Punk's promo ability will go a large way in seeing how long he possibly keeps the title. It could be transitional and he could lose it at GAB, or they could give him a summer run and have him lose it at Summer Slam. It's one month or two, but he's not going to hold it long, I hope he gets to defend it every week against the upper midcard types just to make him a fighting champion.

 

I think there is a possibility that they keep Cena and Batista out of the title picture for the summer, since they're already pegged to wrestle each other at WM25, barring injury.

[Spaceman Spiff 0]

(pic of wildly overrated guy & Rey)

 

Yeah, that wasn't very funny (neither was his whole bit last night). One of the downsides to watching Raw in real time (like I did last night) is that I can't fast-forward over Santino's segments.

[TheFranchise 0]

I thought that was an awesome pic.

[Spaceman Spiff 0]

I was referring more to the moment captured in the pic, not the pic itself.

[Thanks for the Fish 0]

Dibiase and Rhodes are going to flop as champions because they don't have any over competition. I guess they could feud with Cryme Tyme, and Holly is likely to come back for revenge with a tag partner, but neither will get the interest. Unless they have plans for Spanky and/or London as singles, they probably should have kept them together on Raw. Of course both probably deserve a singles opportunity and their tag run was stale always losing since moving to Raw, but Raw is really hurting for tag teams right now.

 

Edge's entrance during the JR segment was kickass as well. He steps through the smoke and a step or two behind him his jackals emerge wearing the same clothing. That had to be my favorite "little thing" on Raw last night.

[bob_barron 0]

I love how everyone here suddenly loves WWE and wants to suck Vince McMahon's dick.

 

Have fun when Batista slaughters him at Great American Bash.

 

Uh-oh, Enigma smells the gay again!

 

Even if he does lose at the Bash, it doesn't change the fact that it was a great holy shit moment on RAW. So shut up

[bob_barron 0]

Jamie Noble was awesome, someone said it fell flat, but I liked it. As for the whole of Raw, its the first one in a while I haven't skimmed through to find an interesting segment. Watched it from start to finish, found it interesting and 'well built up' in a 2 hour kind of way. Only thing that concerns me is that people were chanting for Cena during CM Punk's match, before Cena came out, which showed little interest in backing up CM Punk. Also, when CM Punk went to finish the match everyone was watching Cena and Cryme Tyme attack the security.

 

I think that's because they wanted Cena to come out and even the odds so Punk didn't get screwed. The live reports said that Punk was over huge by the end of the night.

 

And Cena haters, it's tired. You cannot like him all you want, but don't say stuff that isn't true