Raw thread / Spoilers (4th July)

Lord TSC

WWE Raw taping: Ongoing coverage of the taping for the July 4 edition of Raw (spoilers)

Dot Net staffer Will Pruett is at the WWE Raw show in Las Vegas, Nevada and is sending in updates on the taping for the July 4 edition of Raw.

The Raw opening was shown, followed by opening pyro. They announced a Triple Threat for No. 1 contendership featuring Del Rio vs. Truth vs. Mysterio. Plus, Riley vs. Miz as well.

John Cena out to open the show. Cena spoke about the decision to suspend Punk. He says that WWE's choice sucks. He said he would never do what Punk wanted to do with the championship. He said Punk should not have been suspended for what was said.

Cena mentioned the Daniel Bryan firing and WWE officials confiscating signs. Cena is upset that Punk can't speak his mind. Cena is defending the freedom of speech. Cena said he wants answers from Vince McMahon about this situation and that he is on his way here and promises to be in the building. He said they'll talk it out in the ring tonight. Cena said that he wants to face Punk at MITB.

The MITB case is hanging above to ring.

1. Eve and Kelly Kelly beat The Bella Twins. Kelly pinned one of the Bellas. An okay match, but a lot of fans left the building after the Cena promo.

Truth was backstage on the phone with Flo the Progressive auto insurance girl about his instability. Scott Stanford asked about Truth's No. 1 contender match. Truth said he planned to hurt someone and someone was gonna get got. Del Rio approached and was called Senior Jimmy. Del Rio said he was destined to be the new WWE Champion.


2. David Otunga and Michael McGillicutty beat Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov. McGillicutty pinned Santino with a swinging neckbreaker.

Zack Ryder entered immediately following the tag match and said "Woo woo woo, you know it" and walked to the back. Then they hyped the MITB match with the exact same participants despite the No. 1 Contenders match tonight.

Cena and McMahon's confrontation was hyped graphically.

The Miz was interviewed backstage and complained about not being in the No. 1 contenders match tonight. He said Riley abused the opportunity Miz gave him. Miz said it ended tonight for Riley and delivered his Awesome catchphrase.

3. Sgt. Slaughter vs. Jack Swagger is in progress. Yep, you read that right, Sgt. Slaughter. Swagger won a short match after his corner splash off the second rope. He went to apply the ankle lock post-match, but was attacked by Evan Bourne, who raised Slaughter's hand post match. Then Slaughter led the fans in The Pledge of Allegiance. Yay patriotism.

Alberto Del Rio made his entrance (minus the car) for the No. 1 contenders match.

4. Alberto Del Rio beat Rey Mysterio and R-Truth in a Triple Threat match to become No. 1 contender. Del Rio won when Rey tapped to the Cross Arm Breaker. A good 15-20 minute TV match that will most likely be the top of the second hour next week.

Dolph and Vickie came out for a promo with a United States themed cake in the ring. Vickie asked the fans to stand and sing happy birthday to Dolph. She sang to massive heat from the fans. Dolph said that these people have no idea how great it is to witness him in his prime. Dolph said the United States Title is the only title that matters and that he is all you need to make Raw perfection.

Kofi Kingston came out to the ring and said it's messed up for Dolph to have a party and not invite him. Kofi said Dolph can't beat him without Vickie in his corner. Kofi backed Vickie into the cake, then she ended up with her face and arm in it also when Kofi kicked Dolph into her.

5. Alex Riley beat The Miz. The crowd was dead for this match. The fans here aren't buying Riley, who won around 15 minutes in with a backslide when Miz was going for a reverse DDT. Not a bad match, but the fans weren't into it.

After the match, Miz attacked Riley. Miz threw him outside the ring and slammed him into the barricades and stairs. Miz gave Riley a big kick over the announce table and looked emotionally distraught.

John Cena's music played but he didn't come out. It stopped and out came Mr. McMahon to a decent reaction. He said that the C.M. Punk suspension has gotten out of hand and the camera man fixed his tie. He said Punk deserved to be suspended for what he said. He said this was about what was right for the fans. McMahon said he really suspended Punk because he wanted limo service and wanted to be on DVDs and such and he wasn't worthy. He then said he fired Punk because he deserved it and he is a punk.

Cena came out to a big reaction even in his third appearance tonight. He asked Vince if that was it? He accused Vince of kicking Punk to the curb and Vince said Punk kicked himself to the curb. Cena said Vince believes in free speech and Vince confirmed it. Cena then made fun of Vince's walk and said that Vince took everyone down because he's a fighter. He wondered why Vince wasn't a fighter now and said he wants to fight Punk. He said if Vince doesn't feel like fighting, he should hang it up.

Vince said he really suspended Punk because be doesn't want to take a chance on Cena. He doesn't want to risk Cena losing to Punk and losing the title and taking it to another organization. He said he will not be embarrassed. Vince said he's afraid of Cena not beating Punk. Cena said he wanted this match regardless of Punk's status. Cena said if he was a fan, this sounds like the match of the year to him. He asked if Vince would suspend him for saying something Vince didn't like.

Vince told Cena not to piss him off. He said not to be Hogan or any of the guys before him. Vince said he doesn't believe Cena can beat him. Cena said to take a chance and give the people what they want. Vince said he doesn't give a damn what the people want, it's his company and he does what is right for them.

Cena said he gets it. He then said it's not what he signed up for. He said he busts his ass for Vince and he believes the belt stands for something. He said Vince is worried that the belt is meaningless, but by sending Punk away he made it meaningless. Cena handed the belt to Vince and walked out. Vince stopped him and followed him up the ramp. He stood face to face with Cena on the ramp and said Punk is reinstated and he has the match.

Vince said that if Punk walks out of Chicago with the title, he is firing Cena.

Great promo to end next week's Raw!

Big Daddy Cool

Teamshadowclan wrote: »

WWE Raw taping: Ongoing coverage of the taping for the July 4 edition of Raw (spoilers

Vince said that if Punk walks out of Chicago with the title, he is firing Cena.

Great promo to end next week's Raw!

and after all punks great work, if there was a chance we didnt know what might happen at the ppv, we do now :rolleyes:.

drayme

Teamshadowclan wrote: »

Cena is upset that Punk can't speak his mind. Cena is defending the freedom of speech.

*BARF*

drayme

Also way to telegraph that someone is cashing in their MITB

jmolloy

Teamshadowclan wrote: »

Vince said that if Punk walks out of Chicago with the title, he is firing Cena.

Great promo to end next week's Raw!

not necessarily giving away the ending he said if punk walks out with the title, MITB winner can cash in on Punk neatly sidestepping the issue

grames_bond

You have to admit they have told this story briliantly! kudos wwe!

Its just more annoying now that we know punk won't be winning! (especially with Mr Destinyyyy as the new #1 contender)

Lord TSC

Something that hits me is Del Rio won a number one contender's match and then was immediatly overlooked...so I can see him winning MITB and using it, running a whole "You can't stop destiny" stichk...

JP Liz V1

Could Del Rio be added to Punk and Cena's WWE title match now?

Garseys

Well we all know what happens when Cena is fired don't we?:rolleyes:

Either way, I cannot wait to see what happens in Chicago at MITB!

GTR63

Its getting impossible to take any firing angle seriously after the Cena debacle last year.As for Cena's imput with the promo it sounds pure phoney & cheesy.Freedom of speech as if anyone has that in wwe never mind america. I find it strange that they'd allow Punk to bury them just to get a likely short term spike in ppv buys.Del Rio winning the no.1 contender match has me scratching my head wondering how they are going to explain that.Why put him in the MITB if he already is intitled to a WWE Title match.

Lord TSC

OH! New theory...

Punk and Vince are working together. Vince helps Punk win the WWE title, leading to the two forming a new style of Corporation, which leads to Stone COld coming back to reignite his feud with Vince and face Punk at Mania.

GTR63

I've had enough of Vince to last me a lifetime if Punk vs Austin ever happens it'd be better without Vince.I hated when Austin turned heel at Mania not because I was a naive Austin fan it was just that the McMahons were involved way too much then.If Punk & Vince are in it together it could end up with heaven forbid Stephanie,Spongebob Cenapants & HHH all involved.

Charlie Haughy

For those that cant wait for next week to see the Vince vs Cena promo, heres a decent quality fan video of it for now:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IRwLb7gKFA

Eire-Dearg

"Re hire CM Punk you punk!"

CMpunked

Cenas whole "freedom of speech" bit i dont mind as this is going to be shown on the 4th of july, so a little bit of patriotism reminding should be in order.

TBH im surprised there wasnt a ton more USA-USA-USA moments for next week.

jmolloy

bit more out their this theorey but cena's reportedly carrying a lot of injuries so maybe a vinnie mac firing put's him off tv for maybe 3 months. punk has a ready made feud with hhh of the back of last night if you need a big marquee match for summerslam and then rock rejoins around survivor series aiming to get cena back for mania 28 and rock takes out punk for the belt along the way (a royal rumble for the belt limited in ring stuff needed) leading to rock been champ going into mania 28 v cena

jaykhunter

Two things...

Teamshadowclan wrote: »

Vince said that if Punk walks out of Chicago with the title, he is firing Cena.

A bad move IMO - it confirms that the whole thing is a work. IMO adding another stipulation to the match actually subtracts from it. Like if Cena faces Rock @ WM28 for the world title - it actually gets in the way.

The other thing is that Cena was fired last year - remember? No? That's because he didn't miss even a damn hour from RAW; despite Barrett getting him fired. WWE completely bottled it so their new stipulation holds absolutely no water, and in turn drags down the legitimacy of Punk's storyline.

gimmick

If you wish to discuss the fallout from CM Punks promo, do so here please, so as not to congest the Raw thread.

thebostoncrab

After watching Raw I don't think the Cena-fired stipulation homes in the result at all. Maybe Punk wins, and Cena gets fired as Punk and Vince join together as others have said.

This leads to The Rock coming back and demanding Cenas return so they can have their Wreatlemania match up. Rock says that only one man has been able to truly dominate Vince and could help get Cena back, and it's Austin. Austin vs. Punk is lift off.

Or maybe MITBs both winners try cash in, and fail, or they succeed. Or maybe Cena wins. The result could be anything!

irish_stevo815

So what was the point of the No. 1 Contenders match then? It would have been better for R-Truth to win the triple threat, then he could continue his "conspiracy" thing after Vince reinstates Punk as No.1 contender.

Ridley

irish_stevo815 wrote: »

So what was the point of the No. 1 Contenders match then?

To add legitimacy to the Punk suspension.

irish_stevo815

Ridley wrote: »

To add legitimacy to the Punk suspension.

Yeah i get that, but is Del Rio just gonna stand down and as No.1 contendor??? Guess he is gonna go on to win MITB and try cash it in that night

Rjd2

thebostoncrab wrote: »

After watching Raw I don't think the Cena-fired stipulation homes in the result at all. Maybe Punk wins, and Cena gets fired as Punk and Vince join together as others have said.

This leads to The Rock coming back and demanding Cenas return so they can have their Wreatlemania match up. Rock says that only one man has been able to truly dominate Vince and could help get Cena back, and it's Austin. Austin vs. Punk is lift off.

That is plausible however the problem is the next PPV is Summerfest, and their is no chance they will leave Cena of that at all, maybe if it was B list PPV they might, but not one of the big4 especially with Buyrates for most PPV's in the toilet this year.


I expect Punk may win and Del Rio will cash in that night or on Raw and thus we get what everyone expected for a Summerfest main event, Cena v Del Rio v Masters for the World Title.

irish_stevo815

Rjd2 wrote: »

I expect Punk may win and Del Rio will cash in that night or on Raw and thus we get what everyone expected for a Summerfest main event, Cena v Del Rio v Masters for the World Title.

??????????

thebostoncrab

irish_stevo815 wrote: »

Rjd2 wrote: »

I expect Punk may win and Del Rio will cash in that night or on Raw and thus we get what everyone expected for a Summerfest main event, Cena v Del Rio v Masters for the World Title.

??????????

Masters = $$$

grames_bond

He's a licence to print money!!

Rjd2

I very much doubt, Vince would be naive enough to leave the the undisputed King of Superstars of such an important PPV.

Max Power1

thebostoncrab wrote: »

Masters = $$$

I see WWE planning this one as such:

Completely ruin the punk angle
Cena is all powerful
chris masters neglected

........

profit?

sky88

no dont include masters showtime percy watson is what the wrestling business needs

JP Liz V1

I would have liked to see Punk show up in the crowd

The Volt

I can see Vince screwing Cena here alright. That's not a heel turn on Punk's behalf, it's a heel turning... well... more heel. I like it

jaykhunter

JP Liz V1 wrote: »

I would have liked to see Punk show up in the crowd

That's why Cena did the day/weeks after he was fired and Punk gave out about it no end. I'd hate to see it tbh. If somebody's fired they should stay the hell off TV.

You too, Jarrett! :pac:

Gosh Volt if we get the Russo WMX-7...... Seems really beneath Punk. He'd be playing 2nd fiddle to an old, overused heel. A lackey. Maybe he could compete for Vince's hugs

The Volt

o one truly knows what is going on with CM Punk. What if.....and this is just a fantasy scenario....Punk has re-signed and wins the title this weekend, leaving McMahon to have to swallow his pride and do something truly embarrassing on Raw to get Punk to keep his title in Vince's company and not take it elsewhere. Vince then blames this all on Cena which leads to Vince, Punk, and The Rock making Cena's life a living Hell until Mania. Could this work?


Time is running out on a Cena/McMahon feud. All of the other top stars have done it.

Lord TSC

Watchin the Cena/Vince promo and got to give credit where it's due, Cena is doing a great job setting up and building up this PPV. If it wasn't for how burned I've been in the past, I might actually be really excited for it <_<

Africa

Story hasnt fallen flat so im happy thus far.

Decent wrestling on Raw as well, the triple threat was decent.

SlickRic

Cena is a class act.

whatever about his character, and his proneness to being robotic in the ring, i reckon he's an absolute gem around the locker room, as well as one of the best talkers right now, if he has the right material (whether he or someone else writes it, before we get into that debate!)

Mr. Guappa

With Zack Ryder making an appearance after the Nexus match this week and Drew McIntyre complaining last week about being overlooked, could we see Punk lead a new stable of overlooked stars?

Possible members:
CM Punk - leader.
Zack Ryder - writes itself really.
Drew McIntyre - been hinted at previously. Plus they can use his chosen one moniker as a nod to the "brass ring" comment that Punk made.
R-Truth - he would be a bit of a loose cannon within the group but Punk taps into his conspiracy paranoia and Truth aligns with the group.
The Kings of Wrestling - Punk cuts a promo about how WWE management wanted to send these guys to Florida to learn how to "wrestle" and he has brought them to Raw
McGillicutty & Otunga - could remain as henchmen or be attacked and ousted from the group by Hero & Castagnoli.

jaykhunter

i'm not really down with stables for people with gimmicks because they'd quickly lose their identity. I wouldn't like to see Ryder drop his broski gimmick and put on a black t-shirt and be one of Punk's lackys. Same with Truth. That said it'd do good for non-great mic workers and newbs as well. Drew Mac would be perfect.

Of course rounding up the ROH lads would be cool too - that's just a IWC wet dream though...

g021283

Hello guys, my take on the cena/punk story line goes like this...2 possible outcomes. First one is Vince and Punk are in this together and they screw Cena. Second and the best imo, Punk beats Cena for the title in the last match of the night. He celebrates for a while, then just as he is about to leave the WWE with the belt - the miz or mysterio (or whoever won the ladder match eariler) comes out - demands their title match and beats punk before he can feck off with the belt!!!

DM_7

Despite knowing what happened on RAW this week well in advance I was so excited to see Vince and Cena do some verbal sparring. It was a joy.

The idea of Cena, Punk and Vince all in the ring at the same time is really exciting.

nasty_crash

Cena was good on the mic the other night yes but i thought it was a bit cringe - seems like the wwe were trying to put cena over with the people who have been booing him for years!! like any1 that is a punk fan is more than likely not a cena fan and i think that it was a very put cena over with the punk fans!!
Dont get me wrong it was a good promo and with an exciting end to it - but it does leave me wondering what there gonna do - i do think there might be punk signing a new contract (he apologised on his twitter for his outburst!! he said he was in i dont care anymore mode - and then he apologised - urgh!!) and after he wins the match with cena for the title he turns around and says that he set Cena up that he always had a contract ready to sign or something to that effect - set up revenge for cena to get the title back!!

grames_bond

nasty_crash wrote: »

he said he was in i dont care anymore mode - and then he apologised - urgh!!

his "i dont care anymore" was about not caring what the wwe do to him - its not like they can fire him!

his apology was something totally different - it was in relation to something that happened at a house show - he used a homophobic slur and apologised for using it - totally justified and nothing wrong with it (the apology that is)