7-4-11 Raw results & thoughts

Coverage and thoughts on the July 4, 2011 taped episode of Raw

         

The show starts with a graphic announcing Rey Mysterio vs. Alberto Del Rio vs. R-Truth for the number one contender slot since CM Punk was “suspended” last week. They also announce Alex Riley vs. The Miz.

John Cena comes out and talks about CM Punk being taken out of the Title match mentions the 3 Way match. He says that WWE will go forward as if Punk was never there. Cena doesn’t go for that decision and he feels that Punk said what he believed in. He says that doesn’t agree with Punk, but he feels that he has the right to express his opinion. Cena than says that he wants answers from Vince tonight and that he wants to face CM Punk at Money In The Bank. This was a really good promo from Cena. If only more of his promos were like this.

Kelly Kelly & Eve Torres vs. The Bella Twins. Kelly & Eve pick up the win when Kelly gets the pin. This was a good back and forth match.

Scott Stanford interviews R-Truth and Truth mentions that he beat Cena already and shouldn’t have to be in the 3 way and goes on about everything being a conspiracy. Truth bumps into Alberto and he tells Truth that it is his (Alberto’s) destiny to be WWE Champion. Good promo from Truth and the bit with him and Del Rio was good too.

Santino Marella & Vladimir Kozlov vs. WWE Tag Team Champions David Otunga & Michael McGuillicutty. Otunga & McGuillicutty get the win when McGuillicutty pins Santino. This was a decent match.

After the match Zack Ryder came out on the stage and said “Woo, woo, woo. You know it.” Then he walked out.

Scott Stanford interviews The Miz. Miz says that he should be in the number one contender match tonight. He says that he isn’t because of Alex Riley. He then says that he brought Riley to Raw and tonight he will take him out.

Evan Bourne & Sgt. Slaughter are in the back and Jack Swagger comes in and rags on Slaughter. Swagger challenges him and Slaughter accepts. This was ok. I liked Swagger’s part of the segment.

Sgt. Slaughter vs. Jack Swagger. Swagger gets the pin. After the match Swagger locks the Ankle Lock and Slaughter and Evan Bourne makes the save. Sgt. Slaughter then leads the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Rey Mysterio vs. Alberto Del Rio vs. R-Truth. Del Rio wins when he makes Rey tap. So Alberto is the new number one contender. This was a really great match!

Dolph Ziggler & Vickie Guerrero are in the ring having a 4^th of July celebration because Dolph is the U.S. Champion. Vickie wants the fans to happy birthday to Dolph. The fans don’t bother and Vickie sings. Dolph says that he is the best superstar in WWE today and he is at his peak. Dolph says that while he is U.S. Champion, that is the only Title that matters. Kofi Kingston then comes out and tells Dolph that he can’t beat him without Vickie at ringside. Dolph says that he is at a higher level than Kofi is and he tells Kofi to split. Vickie gets pushed into the cake and Kofi & Dolph then brawl. This was a decent segment. Vickie is really good at playing the heal.

Alex Riley vs. The Miz. Alex Riley gets the pin. After the match Miz attacked Riley, throws him into the barricade and it breaks rammed him into the ring steps, then punt kicked him over the announce table. This was a good match too and the post match beat down by Miz was really a good way to Miz to get his heat back.

Vince comes out and says that CM Punk deserved to be suspended. He says that Punk wanted too much money for his new contract and that he is standing by his decision to suspend Punk. Cena then comes out and he says that Vince loves freedom of speech and that he still wants to face CM Punk at the PPV. Cena tells Vince that if he doesn’t feel like fighting then he should hang it up. Vince said that he suspended Punk because he doesn’t want to take the chance of Punk leaving WWE with the Title. Cena says that Vince is afraid to let Punk wrestle. Cena talks about the match some more and Vince tells Cena not to piss him off and tells him not to be like Hulk Hogan. Cena then tells Vince that he should give the people what they want and makes a speech to Vince. Then Cena gives Vince the Title and walked out. Vince tells Cena to hold on and he follows him up the ramp. Vince reinstates Punk and Cena-Punk Title match is on again. Vince tells Cena that he will be “fired” if Punk wins the Title. Where does this leave Del Rio? Will he, Mysterio and Truth be in the Money In The Bank Match like it was originally announced? This was a really good segment. Cena was again really good with his promo. Vince was hit and miss, but this was still good.

I thought this was a really enjoyable show overall! The highlights were Cena’s promos (I can’t believe I actually typed that) and the Alex Riley-Miz match along with the post match beat down and the Mysterio-Truth-Del Rio match!