By Wade Keller, PWTorch editor

KELLER'S WWE RAW REPORT
JUNE 28, 2010
PHILADELPHIA, PA.
AIRED LIVE ON USA NETWORK

[Q1]

-A clip aired on the NXT rebels attacking Vince McMahon last week at the end of Raw. Then they went cold to Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler at ringside. Cole said the attack by the group who now wish to be known simply as "Nexus" made headlines across the world (that's what he said), and the McMahon family is keeping Vince McMahon's condition quiet. He read the statement by the new Raw G.M. "who wishes to remain anonymous."

-Sheamus walked out with his WWE Title belt. He said he's watched the footage of what the Nexus group did to McMahon last week. He said he finds it disgusting. He said as champion, he felt it was worth saying something on behalf of the company: "The Champ is here!" he yelled with a smile. He said the "Nexus lads" got involved in his match, but everyone know he would have beat Cena regardless and remained WWE Champion. Some fans chanted "Cena! Cena!" He said one thing is now clear - Cena is not the no. 1 contender for his championship because Cena used his rematch clause already. He said he's thankful no longer does he have to see those tacky orange t-shirts or those tacky "Never give up" slogans or the annoying "Cena" chants or hear him make fun of his beautiful Irish skin by calling him "a human jar of mayonnaise." He added: "I hate you, Cena, I hate you." He said he's in the back of the queue and will never get a shot at his title ever again. Cena's music then interrupted Sheamus.

Cena danced onto the stage and headed to the ring with a smile. Sheamus said he isn't going to get another shot at his title, so what's he doing out there. Cena said he knows that, but came out for a different reason. He said he wants to ask him for help. Cena said since Sheamus is champion, Nexus is coming after him next. He called him the human jar of mayonnaise and a block of cream cheese. He said they don't like each other, but they should work together for one night only. Cole then got the email chime and stood in front of a podium marked with a "WWE G.M. Logo" and a laptop on a podium. The G.M. said he won't rule against the Nexus group this week, but will wait to hear Wade Barrett made his case first. He said in the mean time if the NXT crew attacks any WWE wrestlers, they'll be fired, but no WWE wrestlers can initiate contact with the NXT crew or else they'll be suspended. Cole read the statement as if he were really invested in the content of the announcement. He's not doing this half-heartedly.

Cena sarcastically thanked the G.M. He said they learned that Sheamus is a pretty good guy and a pretty good dude, but since they can't fight Nexus, maybe they should start Raw with a championship match. The email chime sounded. Cole got up to the podium and said he has just been informed that WWE Champion Sheamus will indeed be in action tonight against Mark Henry. The crowd booed. Cena said his life is being ruined by the Internet and he hasn't been so upset since his mom canceled his subscription to Warcraft. He told Cole to have the G.M. email personally. He looked bashful as he said his email is "candypants564@gmail.org."

[Q2]

The email chime sounded again and Cole said in three weeks a new PPV will debut called "Money in the Bank" featuring two MITB matches, one from Raw and another from Smackdown, and the winner gets a title shot against the champion of that brand for up to a year. Cole said the participants will be revealed later in the show. Sheamus lost patience and walked out of the ring. The cage hanging from the rafters lowered over the ring. Cole said the G.M. says that since last week's title match ended inconclusively, at MITB Sheamus will defend against Cena in a cage to assure there is no outside interference. Sheamus was fuming at ringside. Cena yanked off his shirt and posed and clapped in excitement. [c]

-WWE Fact: Over 100 million video clips have aired at YouTube.com/WWE already.

-The Harty Dynasty (Tyson Kidd & David Hart Smith) & Natayla were scheduled to face The Usos & Tamina. The Usos and Tanita attacked Kidd, DHS, and Natalya before the bell. They left them lying at ringside. Lawler said he was confused about whether the match even began. It was quite apparent it hadn't started yet.

WINNER: No match began.

-Josh Matthews interviewed R-Truth backstage. He asked them about Nexus. Truth said don't fire them, it's too easy, just leave them at the WWE zoo because he's the zoo keeper "and that's the truth." [c]

-A clip aired of the Vladimir Kozlov-Santino Marella dance-off.

[Q3]

1 -- VLADIMIR KOZLOV vs. SANTINO MARELLA

All lite comedy wrestling with Santino showboating early and Kozlov dominating with a headbutt to the chest and a belly-to-belly for an early two count, then Koz finishing Santino with a chokeslam. Kozlov attempted to help Santino up, but Santino collapsed twice in comedy spots that made Koz laugh.

WINNER: Kozlov in 2:00.

-Afterward, Regal walked out and congratulated Koz, then attacked Santino. Kozlov, who had walked toward the back, returned to the ring and kicked Regal. Fans cheered as Regal stormed away. Koz helped Santino up and shook his hand, then helped him to the back.

-Matthews interviewed Great Khali and his manager Ranjin Singh backstage. Khali spoke, and Singh was supposed to interpret. Singh, though, didn't like what he heard, so he said: "You know what? Great Khali says he's a big stupid giant. And Khali says his manager is really tired of protecting him and if that group that calls themselves the Nexus came right now, the Great Khali would run." Khali seemed to sense something wasn't right. [c]

-Cole introduced Rob Zombie. He said he loves his new song, as if anyone believes Cole had ever heard it before. Lawler said he reminds him of the Liberty Bell because he's cracked. Groan. Cole said the first Raw guest host was one year ago this week. He said he is there because he loves sick and twisted things such as the Money in the Bank ladder match. He announced the participants: Randy Orton, The Miz, R-Truth, Chris Jericho, Evan Bourne, Ted DiBiase, John Morrison, and Edge. He said everyone's name with enthusiasm other than Edge.

Edge showed up on the big screen and said he hasn't heard from him since he called him personally to tell him he was dumping his song as his entrance music. Zombie said he wanted to set the record straight. He said he's sorry to say that he took his song back from him because he couldn't stand to let him destroy it any longer. He said he's glad he's there to say it to him. He dropped the mic and played to the crowd. Edge asked if that was it, if he scared away the horror director. Edge said all that matters is he won the first-ever Money in the Bank ladder match and then he went on to cash it on Cena and win his first WWE Title. Edge threw to a video clip of Edge winning the MITB ladder match. Ah, we got to hear Jim Ross's voice again instead of just read his blog.

Edge said he did it to Undertaker and he'll do it again. He talked about his experience in the MITB format and said he'll strike against the Viper with a ladder before the Viper can strike him. He said at the end of the night everyone will be staring up at him. The email chime sounded.

Cole walked up to the podium and read another message. He asked for everyone's attention. The crowd booed. He said tonight's main event will feature all eight participants in the MITB ladder match: Edge & Miz & DiBiase & Jericho vs. Bourne & Morrison & Truth & Orton in an eight-man tag team mega-match. Cole is reading those statements as if he wrote them.

-They showed Henry walking toward the entrance tunnel.

[Q4] [c]

2 -- SHEAMUS vs. MARK HENRY

I know WWE "isn't pro wrestling," but 50 minutes into the show and the only action in the ring so far has been about 90 seconds of comedy wrestling from Santino and Kozlov. Henry was joined on the stage by his NXT Rookie, Lucky Cannon. Sheamus got in early offense and settled into a chinlock. Henry turned momentum and overpowered Sheamus, including the splash for a two count, stopped when Sheamus put his leg on the bottom rope. Sheamus rolled to the floor. Henry pressed Sheamus and threw him into the ring. Sheamus then gave Henry a thrust kick to the face for the win.

WINNER: Sheamus in 3:00. Good basic TV win to establish Sheamus is a decisive level higher than Henry.

-Matthews interviewed Nexus backstage. They said they can't touch WWE Superstars, but they can still create havoc. Skip Sheffield punched a production assistant because he looked at him the wrong way. They surrounded Matthews, laughed, and then the cameras cut away before we could find out whether he was next. Matthews just hung his head.

-Lawler plugged that the eight-man tag match was up next. [c]

[Q5]

-Jerry Lawler stood in the ring and announced the release of the Ricky Steamboat DVD tomorrow. Steamboat then walked out to the ring. Lawler said a few wrestlers from the back wanted to pay tribute to him. Out walked Arn Anderson, Mike Rotunda, Michael Hayes, and Dean Malenko. Malenko said he can't wait to kick back this week and rewatch some of the greatest matches of his career. Malenko joked that for msot of those matches, he wasn't even born yet. Rotunda said as a friend, when all the money rolls in from the DVD, be sure to pay the taxes. Hayes said they didn't wrestle a lot, but since he hasn't had much TV time lately, he just came out to strut. He strutted and moonwalked, then hugged Steamboat.

Anderson said it's pretty impressive to stand in the ring with so much legendary talent. He said wrestled Steamboat a hundred times and never beat him once, but he's very proud that every time he stepped in the ring with him, something magical happened, "and you made it happen, my friend." He said he's very special. He said when people talk about the best five of all time, names will be dropped like Triple H (Arn knows the WWE Rules well), Undertaker, and Shawn Michaels, but he's never seen anyone better with anyone better than him. He said Steamboat's highlights can't fit on three DVDs. Interesting, but not surprising, to see Ric Flair left off the all-time greats list by Arn. That's the punishment that comes with leaving the company and working for the "competition." As Steamboat began to speak, he was interrupted by the Nexus group.

They made their way to the ring slowly. The veterans took off their jackets and rolled up their sleeves as if they were ready for a fight and somewhat confident. Lawler stayed in the ring, so it was six legends against six former rookies. (They storyline was Wade Barrett was in Stamford, Conn. meeting with the anonymous G.M.) For a while they held them off, but eventually they ragged Arn out of the ring and beat on him, then threw him into the ringpost. Then they dragged Malenko out of the ring and threw him into the ringside barrier. Then they jumped Rotunda from behind and dragged him to the floor for a beating. That left Lawler, Steamboat, and Hayes in the ring. The G.M.'s ruling that no WWE Superstars could initiate contact against the Nexus group sort of explains why none of them came out to help the legends, but they could have at least run and slid them some chairs to use or something. It dragged on a bit here, but finally the Nexus group swarmed the remaining legends and beat them down. The last was Steamboat, and they spent a long time beating him down. The whole segment start to finish went 16 minutes, the beatdown by Nexus nine of those minutes.

[Q6] [c]

-Cole threw to a highlight package on what just happened with Nexus attacking the legends. Cole asked if anyone was safe around there. Apparently he is. He always finds a way to slip away. He called them "The Nexus, The Connection, or The Network." The they showed Steamboat being taken out on a stretcher in a neckbrace. Cole said it looked like a natural disaster struck. The other Legends struggled to rise and make their way to the back. Cole said the Legends aren't considered Superstars, so the G.M.'s proclamation regarding Nexus attacking them doesn't apply. He said if people were wondering why no one from the WWE locker room came out to make the save, he reminded viewers that the G.M. said they'd be suspended if they did that "so their hands were literally tied." Well, not really "literally tied." And what does it say about the WWE locker room that they'd watch Steamboat get beaten down simply to avoid a suspension? Some friends, huh? At least WWE tried, but it does make the locker room look like lousy people that they wouldn't risk a suspension to save the Legends from a brutal beating. [c]

-The WWE Fact touted John Cena's charity work for the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

3 -- ALICIA FOX & MARYSE vs. EVE & GAIL KIM

Matthews joined Cole at ringside to take the place of Lawler. He handled play-by-play as Cole shifted to his NXT role as color analyst. Fox pinned Kim after a legdrop to the back of her head.

WINNERS: Fox & Maryse in 3:00.

[Q7] [c]

-More clips of the Nexus attack on Vince last week and the Legends this week. Matthews said next week they'll find out "what actions will be taken, if any" against Nexus. Cole said he expects "major, major things to he handed down toward the Nexus next week."

-Ring intros took place for the main event. Edge, Jericho, Miz, and DiBiase came out first. Then Truth, Morrison, Bourne, and Orton. [c]

[Q8]

4 -- EDGE & CHRIS JERICHO & THE MIZ & TED DIBIASE vs. R-TRUTH & JOHN MORRISON & EVAN BOURNE & RANDY ORTON

Rapid tags and lots of quick sequences in the opening seven minutes. Then they cut to a break. [c] They showed that during the break Jericho used a ladder against Morrison, then pretended he was hit. Edge and Morrison battled for a while. Edge went for the speaer, but Morrison side-stepped him. Edge flew into the turnbuckle and both were slow to get up. Morrison milked the hot tag. Edge grabbed his leg. Morrison hit Edge with an enzuigiri, then Jericho and Bourne hot-tagged in at 14:00.

[Q9 - Overrun]

Bourne hot-tagged in Orton just as Jericho hot-tagged DiBiase. Orton struck DiBiase with an instant RKO for the win out of nowhere.

WINNERS: Orton & Morrison & Bourne & Truth in 15:00.

STAR RATING: **1/4 -- Okay action start to finish, but with eight wrestlers, tough to really get any storyline within the match going. Even Bourne managed to execute a hot-tag better than anyone else. He takes the most basic moves, adds a little something, and takes them to a new level.

-Afterward Edge attacked Orton from behind. The babyfaces made a comeback, with Morrison launching Bourne onto Jericho at ringside. Miz attacked Morrison from behind. Cole said each Superstar is marking his territory and wanting to be the one to win Money in the Bank. Miz set up the ladder and climbed to the briefcase. Orton tipped the ladder over and Miz dropped over the top rope. Orton climbed the ladder as Cole asked if that would be the scene in three weeks at the Money in the Bank PPV. Orton grabbed the briefcase and held it in the air.

FINAL THOUGHTS: If Cole turns out to be the heel anonymous G.M. and ends up leaving the announce booth, and if NXT is dropped this fall, does Matthews become the new lead announcer on Raw? He's got seniority on Todd Grisham and perhaps more of Vince's confidence right now. The only other in-house candidate would be Joey Styles, who works behind the scenes in the WWE.com department. Or else Jim Ross could be brought back, and it's just a matter of time for him to return as the voice of Raw. Just some thoughts.

NOTE: Brock Lesnar defends his UFC Heavyweight Title on Saturday against Shane Carwin, his first title defense since last year. Get full details, breaking news, and pre-fight coverage and predictions at our sister site, MMATorch.com.

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