By James Caldwell, Torch assistant editor

WWE Raw Live Report
July 6, 2009
Taped 6/29 in San Jose, Calif.

The show opened with Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler welcoming us to the show with John Cena vs. Triple H in a #1 contender's match. Winner gets Randy Orton for the WWE Title at Night of Champions.

In-ring: Lilian Garcia introduced the Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase as the special guest host. DiBiase came out sporting the Million Dollar belt. Ted DiBiase, Jr. and Cody Rhodes then came out to stand next to him on stage. Junior was smiling from ear to ear. Once DiBiase and Legacy hit the ring, DiBiase paused for some loud cheers. DiBiase said he wrote a check to make sure he's running the show tonight. Cue up the cackling laugh.

DiBiase posed the question of what this means for tonight. He said this gives him an open forum to plug the greatness in the ring: Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase, Jr. DiBiase said there might not be any title matches before Night of Champions, but he can still have some fun tonight. He booked Legacy vs. Edge & Jericho in a tag title match for Night of Champions. DiBiase also booked Cody Rhodes vs. Mark Henry. DiBiase then took the time to publicly address his son. He knows his son told off Orton at The Bash, but then made amends. He said his son had a look in his eye that showed knowledge that Randy Orton is holding him down. He's more talented and a more gifted athlete with Orton just using him. DiBiase booked a match for tonight to make a statement. Open up eyes. Change careers. Randy Orton vs. Ted DiBiase. He told him he's not only going to face him, but beat him. Cody and Ted weren't too happy. Cue up the cackle. Unified tag champs Chris Jericho and Edge then came to the ring for a staredown before going to break.

[Commercial Break]

Smackdown plug: Rey vs. Jericho IV one more time. ... In-ring: Jericho and Edge were still in the ring. Colons then came out to face the champs in a non-title match. They showed a replay from last week of Carlito blaming Primo for their tag title loss. Hit-you-over-the-head teasing...

[Q2]

1 -- Unified tag champions EDGE & CHRIS JERICHO vs. CARLITO & PRIMO COLON -- non-title match

Match started with the champs cornering Carlito before Primo finally took a hot tag at 4:00. He busted out plenty of aerial moves before hitting a springboard crossbody block on Edge for a two count. Primo went for a springboard moonsault, but Edge cut him off and trapped Carlito in the ropes to land successive punches. Carlito helped Primo out of the ropes, then Edge bumped Carlito when Primo moved. Carlito argued with the ref, then Jericho and Edge combined for a codebreaker and spear combo on Primo for the pin and the win.

Edge was hobbling on that bad knee post-match. Meanwhile, Carlito was upset. Hotheaded Carlito tried to collect himself in the ring, then he suddenly grabbed Primo and chucked him into the ringpost. Announcers said Carlito snapped as he beat the crap out of Primo on the floor. A little tough brotherly love. Carlito flung Primo across the announce table, then he walked up the stage pouting while the fans booed. Carlito grabbed his hair on stage as Primo sold an arm injury on the floor.

WINNERS: Edge & Jericho in 5:00. Okay tag match. Ending was off, but it set up the ending they wanted with Carlito snapping on Primo. We'll see where this leads to. (3/4*)

Backstage: Ted and Cody were talking, then Randy Orton asked Ted what he's going to do about this match-up tonight. Orton told him this isn't good. He said losing won't accomplish anything. DiBiase said he could beat him. Orton told him not to let his pride get in the way. DiBiase shot back that his dad was a heck of a lot better than Orton's father and he's going to beat him tonight. DiBiase walked off, leaving Cody to try to play peacemaker.

[Commercial Break]

Announcers: Cole and Lawler talked about the 15-person trade. Evan Bourne, Gail Kim, Jack Swagger, Mark Henry, and Alicia Fox to Raw. Segue to a divas tag match. Gail Kim and Mickie James came out and the announcers plugged Maryse vs. Mickie for the Divas Title at Night of Champions.

[Q3]

2 -- Divas champion MARYSE & ALICIA FOX vs. MICKIE JAMES & GAIL KIM

Gail took control early working on Alicia. She snapped off a head scissors and continued her assault on Alicia before Alicia cheated to gain the advantage. Alicia and Maryse then began working on Gail in their corner. Gail tried to make a tag, but Maryse cut her off. Maryse and Gail battled, then Gail landed a sort-of falling away boot to the chin for the pin and the win. Afterward, Mickie stood tall in the ring over Maryse on the floor to continue building to the title match.

WINNERS: Gail & Mickie in 4:00. Not much to this. Surprising how little action Mickie had in the match, but they seem to wanted to give Gail some exposure her first night back on Raw. (1/2*)

Backstage: Ted DiBiase, Sr. was getting a pedicure in the Raw GM office, then Cody Rhodes barged in. He wanted to thank him for everything in life. You're so great. Cody pulled out a handful of money tried to bribe DiBiase, but he offered to read Cody's mind that he really doesn't want to face Mark Henry tonight. DiBiase tried to hype up Cody. Blood is thicker than water. Son of a plumber. Cody started to sing "I'm a common man." DiBiase cut him off and said he despises Dusty Rhodes. Why would he want anything to do with a common man? DiBiase said the fact that that bloated, fat, dancing fool is in the Hall of Fame while he isn't is a travesty. He told Cody to get lost or he's going to put him in polka dots like his old man.

Main event plug: Cole and Lawler plugged Cena vs. Hunter tonight. Minimal hype thus far on the show.

[Commercial Break]

In-ring: Cody Rhodes came out not happy about having to face Mark Henry after Henry beat Randy Orton last week. Henry then came out to a piped-in positive crowd reaction. Cody took a deep breath and tried to think about those polka dots.

[Q4]

3 -- MARK HENRY vs. CODY RHODES

Cody shook off an early attack, then tried to go up top for a cross-body splash, but Henry easily caught him and slammed him hard to the mat. Cody rolled to the floor to catch his breath, then he started to leave the ring to be counted out. Cody clutched his ribs and the ref reached a ten count. Henry wins.

WINNER: Mark Henry via count-out in 2:00. Set-up for more Cody-DiBiase interaction. Match was just there to set up the follow-up. (n/a)

Backstage: They showed John Cena warming up for the #1 contender match coming up.

ECW plug: Christian vs. Kozlov in a #1 contender match to the ECW Title against Tommy Dreamer. Show is Thursday night. Four hours of TV.

[Commercial Break]

In-ring: We hear voices. Randy Orton came out with the WWE Title belt over his shoulder. After his entrance, Orton stood in the ring and shook his head. Ted DiBiase, Jr. came out to face his teacher.

4 -- WWE champion RANDY ORTON vs. TED DIBIASE, JR.

DiBiase was firmly in control after two months. He ripped off a nice arm drag, then hit a dropkick that sent Orton to the floor to recover. DiBiase screamed down at him to come beat him. Cut to break with Orton recovering.

[Commercial Break]

Back from break, Orton was in control after slamming DiBiase into the ring steps during the break. Orton kicked DiBiase across the chest, then stood over him shaking his head in disgust. Orton began his methodical Orton Stomp routine, but he missed with a knee drop and DiBiase rolled him up from behind for a two count. Orton cut him off right away, though, to prevent a comeback.

[Q5 -- second hour]

Orton began toying with DiBiase by landing a kick, then he set him up for the patented horizontal DDT across the middle rope after taking a long time to think about what he was going to do to his protege. Orton made a cover, but DiBiase kicked out, upsetting Orton even more. Vintage Orton was Cole's call after a knee drop connected. Orton then settled into a patented chinlock. He tried to hit an RKO moments later, but DiBiase blocked with a sunset flip for a two count. DiBiase then executed a nice powerslam for a two count. Lawler told him not to get frustrated, then DiBiase attempted the Dream Street legsweep, but Orton slipped under DiBiase's grip and nailed the RKO in center ring. Orton with the pin for the win. He then lingered over DiBiase to rub in the victory. Orton accepted his title belt, then left the ring as DiBiase recovered in the ring. Orton looked back into the ring and saluted him as DiBiase began shaking from the mouth in anger over losing to Orton.

WINNER: Orton in 11:00. Good storyline to the match. I like that they're effectively testing the water on a babyface program for DiBiase. Like last week against Evan Bourne, Orton was able to give a lot of offense to a younger opponent to make the other wrestler look credible before pulling out a win. DiBiase had a good showing with a higher level of intensity throughout the match. (**)

Backstage: Triple H was walking down the hallway, then Josh Mathews interrupted his gait for an interview. Hunter, upset with this disturbance, said "epic" describes him vs. Cena tonight. Hunter said he doesn't care who he has to hurt or go through to get what he wants and that includes John Cena.

[Commercial Break]

BET Awards: They showed footage of MVP and Sherri Shepherd on the Red Carpet at the BET Awards eight days ago in Los Angeles. They included clips of celebrities talking up MVP and Sherri.

In-ring: MVP was in the ring for the VIP Lounge. Weak intro. MVP said big things popping and little things stopping tonight. Insert random piped-in noise. MVP referenced Donald Trump to a mixed piped-in reaction. He said Trump's trade brought Jack Swagger to the Raw brand. Cue up Swagger's music for him to be the guest on the Lounge this week. Swagger came out sporting jeans and a button-down t-shirt. MVP simply smirked in the ring while watching Swagger do his cocky entrance. Swagger was given admittance past the velvet rope and he entered the ring to show himself off. Lawler said he has a Something About Mary hairdo. Keep it PG, King.

[Q6]

Swagger didn't want to take a seat. MVP said he brought him out to the Lounge to ask him about coming over to Raw. Swagger wanted to interrupt, so MVP cut him off to take control of the segment. He asked Swagger what it felt like to be a fraud by getting himself counted out against Randy Orton last week. Swagger said he's a two-time, two-time All-American at OU. He said MVP spent time at Florida state... not the university. Swagger said MVP spent ten years behind bars and accused him of being a fraud. He said the only thing MVP is MVP of was a prison b-ball game. MVP said Swagger doesn't know him.

MVP said he doesn't hide his past. When he was a juvenile, he ran the streets and made some bad decisions. Now that he's a WWE star, he uses his influence to make sure kids don't make the same mistakes he made. MVP said he accepted his sins and paid his debt to society. He said there's a huge difference between them. MVP took his jacket off, then the ice on his neck and wrist, and approached Swagger. He said he's never been afraid of a fight. Nose-to-nose confrontation. Swagger didn't flinch. Close-up on the scruffy beard. Crowd with an "MVP" chant. Swagger then slowly backed away like a robot one step at a time before standing behind a couch. He said he doesn't fight people below him and he doesn't fight criminals. Swagger dropped out of the ring. MVP said what's obvious is that Swagger doesn't fight at all. He challenged him that if he ever wants to be a man, he'll be right here in the VIP Lounge straight up ballin'.

Backstage: DiBiase talked to DiBiase, Jr. about having a great match out there. Son told dad that he set him up to fail. "It's still all about you, isn't it?" Ted, Jr. said. Dad lowered his head and said it's not that at all. Son then reared back and slapped the crap out of his dad. (Nice enhanced sound effect.) "Thanks a lot ... dad," he said before walking off. Father DiBiase took off his glasses to sell pain and sadness.

[Commercial Break]

In-ring: U.S. champ Kofi Kingston came to the ring for a singles match. Evan Bourne then came out to face him. This could be good depending on how long they're given. Cole told Lawler to catch his breath before the match starts. Lawler opted to cough up a lung instead.

5 -- KOFI KINGSTON vs. EVAN BOURNE

Bourne tried an enziguiri kick early, but Kofi ducked and slapped on a half-Boston crab. Bourne managed to grab the bottom rope for a break. Kofi then grabbed a side headlock and grounded Bourne. Good opportunity for Kofi to show some more offense than just the aerial moves. Kofi then sprung off the second rope with a flying knee smash on Bourne followed by an elevated dropkick. Kofi tried a Stinger Splash, but Bourne blocked with a knee to the gun. Bourne quickly hopped to the top rope and followed with a Shooting Star Press on Kofi's face for the pin and the win.

[Q7]

Post-match: Bourne helped up Kofi to give him some love. Big Show's music hit and Kofi told Bourne to hit the bricks. He wanted a piece of Kofi. Show quickly thwarted Kofi, then threw Bourne away when he tried to help. Bourne tried to kick Show again, but Show tossed him across the ring. Kofi tried to chop the giant down, but Show knocked Kofi down before leaping across the ring with a spear on Bourne. Show began a methodical attack on Kofi before slapping on the Camel Clutch. Show had enough and dropped Kofi on the mat. Bourne was out cold. Show walked out grumpy.

WINNER: Bourne in 3:00. Just not much chemistry between Bourne and Kofi. They seemed to be trying to do the same moves at the same time. I couldn't help but think about Kevin Nash's "vanilla midgets" line when watching Show squash Kofi and Bourne. Not sure what the point of this is because Kofi and Bourne weren't helped at all, but I'm trying to reserve judgment.

[Commercial Break]

Backstage: Josh Mathews brought in John Cena, who slapped Josh hard on the back before Josh began his line of questioning about facing Hunter tonight. Cue up Cena's "talk in a low tone" promo to build this up as a WrestleMania quality match.

In-ring: Triple H came out first for the main event. Hunter was mid-ring intro when they cut to break. ... SD plug: Rey vs. Jericho IV. It all comes down to this.

[Commercial Break]

In-ring: Hunter was in the ring talking to the crowd before he stopped to wait for Cena's entrance. Cena came out focused and determined while the announcers set the stage for the match.

[Q8]

6 -- TRIPLE H vs. JOHN CENA -- #1 contender match

Bell sounded and Cole said they're not the best of friends, but have respect for each other. They went nose-to-nose to start. Hunter turned his head for a "Hogan at WM18 reaction." Cena turned his head for a "Rock at WM18 reaction." They locked up and Cena landed an arm drag that upset Hunter. They had another stare down and Hunter did all the talking. They backed away and then locked up again. Hunter landed a series of right hands, but Cena fired back. Boo/Yay for Cena/Hunter. Cena then dumped Hunter to the floor with a clothesline over the top rope. Cena tried to follow with an FU on the floor, but Hunter dumped him on the ground. They cut to break.

[Commercial Break]

Back from break, Hunter was in control. Fans were on Hunter's side as he worked over Cena and the announcers discussed the punishment both men have taken the past few weeks going back to Extreme Rules and The Bash. Cena made his comeback at 10:00 and set up the Five Knuckle Shuffle to a round of boos. Cena tried to follow with the FU, but Hunter blocked with a flurry of right hands. Hunter followed with a facebuster across his knee, then Cena ran into a spinebuster. Hunter wanted a Pedigree, but Cena blocked, only to have Hunter slap on a sleeper hold. Cena did the "slowly power out of the Masterlock" spot to escape the sleeper, then he slapped on a sleeper of his own. Hunter started to fade, but Hunter super powered out and slammed Cena to the mat.

[Q9 -- over-run]

Ref began a ten count on both men as they tried to pull themselves up to their feet. Hunter with a right. Cena with a right. Hunter with a right. Yay. Cena with a right. Boo. Cena with another right. Boo. After trading bombs, Cena fired off the ropes and hit a facebuster. He tried to follow with the STFU, but Hunter grabbed the bottom rope. Hunter then tried to finish him off, then Cena tried the FU. Neither man could gain an extended advantage during the series of counters and reversals. Suddenly, Cody and Ted ran into the ring and jumped both men, prompting the match to be thrown out. Cena and Hunter then fought them out of the ring and stared off against each other.

WINNER: No Contest in 18:00. Excellent match. The initial feeling-out process was well done and the ending counters/reversals/crowd involvement sequences were well done. One of Hunter's better non-gimmick matches this year. Cena was good too engaging the crowd even if they were clear on him being the heel in the match. (***1/4)

Post-match: Orton came out on stage and stood next to Legacy. He declared that he won't be facing either man at Night of Champions because they both lost. Ted DiBiase came out on stage and said he sees things a bit differently. He said neither man lost. He booked a triple threat match because his opinion carries a lot more weight than Orton's tonight. Orton vs. Cena vs. Hunter for the title at Night of Champions. Orton threw his head back in disgust while Cena smirked in the ring and Hunter huffed and puffed. End show.

Notable not on the show at all: The Miz.

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