PWTorch.com - RAW RETRO - C.M. Punk cashes in MITB & defends Hvt. Title on same show

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RAW RETRO - C.M. Punk cashes in MITB & defends Hvt. Title on same show

Jun 30, 2015 - 1:34:32 AM

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WWE Raw seven years ago today featured one of the most memorable opening segments over the last decade. It started with Jim Ross returning to his home market for a farewell speech, Edge interrupting to run down J.R., and Jerry Lawler, Batista attacking Edge, and then C.M. Punk cashing in his MITB briefcase on Edge to win his first WWE World Hvt. Title.

Punk even defended the WWE Hvt. Title on the same night, retaining against JBL in the Raw main event...

PWTorch Newsletter Cover Story
HEADLINE: C.M. Punk beats Edge for World Title on Raw - Cashes in Money in the Bank during a new-era initiating Raw show
Originally Published: PWTorch Newsletter #1032
By Wade Keller, PWTorch editor

What a difference 48 hours can make. From the start of the Night of Champions PPV on Sunday night to the finish of Raw on Monday night, a series of events happened that would be the equivalent of the 25th and 45th seeds of an NCAA Tournament making it to the finals.

At the start of Raw, the top Raw-associated champion was Kofi Kingston, who had upset Chris Jericho the night before at Night of Champions. It would have been difficult to imagine Raw ending with a less likely champion than Kofi, but it did.

C.M. Punk finished Raw as a World Champion with a 1-0 title defense record. Batista and Edge walked away belt-less and Triple H actually stayed off Raw after being drafted to Smackdown.

Edge appeared on Raw under the pretense of spoiling a Jim Ross Farewell speech in his hometown of Oklahoma City. As Ross's ten-minute speech began to wind down, Edge walked out, taking complete command of the room instantly with his presence and heel posturing and posing. Lawler wondered what they were doing there since they're not part of Raw. Lawler was disgusted with Edge interrupting his farewell address. I think Edge was rather polite to let Ross talk as long as he did before he interrupted.

Edge said: "Your arrogance never ceases to amaze me! What makes you think anybody cares about you, the Sooner, or gives a damn about you at all." He added sarcastically, "Hook 'em horns!" He said nobody cares about his relationship with Lawler or him. He called him "Barbecue Boy." He said he can truly start his Hall of Fame career now by coming to "my show, Smackdown." Ross stood there and took it. "Now you can start to call my future Hall of Fame career." He told him to switch from "Stone Cold! Stone Cold! Stone Cold!" to "Edge wins! Edge wins! Edge win!" He told him to try it on for size. Ross threw the mic to the mat. Edge noted J.R. is actually speechless for once. Edge asked Hawkins and Ryder to escort J.R. out of the building. Ross walked out of the ring on his own. Edge said his farewell address is officially over. Edge displayed a big smile center-ring, then said he had an ulterior motive for being there.

Edge said he wanted to point out to all of the Raw viewers, "this supposed flagship show," is missing a few things. He said Raw is missing a G.M., unlike Smackdown which has the best G.M. in the history of the industry. He called Vickie Guerrero the love of his life. He then bragged about banishing Undertaker from WWE. He said what Raw is missing most of all is a world champion. He said the Raw wrestlers such as John Cena and Shawn Michaels will never have a shot at his championship. He said they can challenge Triple H for the WWE Championship, but he wanted to make clear to them that unless it's a draft show, they will never see him on Monday nights again.

Batista stepped out onto the stage just as Edge reached the stage. Batista chased him to ringside, then rammed his back into the ring apron and rammed him shoulder-first into the ringpost. Cole said Batista it outraged at Edge's actions last night. They brawled into the crowd. Batista wouldn't let Edge escape through the crowd. Back at ringside, Batista swung Edge into the ringside steps. He followed with a Batista Bomb. Batista's music played. Batista walked to the back. Just then C.M. Punk ran to the ring with his Money in the Bank briefcase. He cashed it in. He then gave a beaten and battered Edge his GTS finisher for a pin, then celebrated the biggest title win of his career. (He had previously won the ROH World Title and the ECW World Title.)

Later JBL demeaned the nature of his title win and goaded him into defending the title later in the show so he could at least go to sleep a fighting champion rather than a fluke, paper champion. Punk would go on to defeat JBL after JBL was distracted by John Cena and Cryme Tyme walking toward ringside.

Raw seemed to set up an unlikely line-up for Great American Bash. C.M. Punk in a co-main event defending the title, Santino Marella vs. Rey Mysterio, Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels, Ted DiBiase & Cody Rhodes defending their newly won tag team titles, Triple H vs. Edge, John Cena vs. JBL, and Kofi Kingston perhaps defending the IC Title. It almost feels like the result of a random draw out of a hat compared to what would have seemed to be a realistic set of expectations just two weeks ago. The only official clue about the Bash line-up is a WWE.com graphic that shows Cena in front, Triple H and Batista in a row behind him, and Michaels and Punk behind them.

The Kofi win was overshadowed by Punk's, but it shouldn't be discounted as a significant move for WWE. He put in good showings on ECW TV the last couple months, standing out as a flashy, charismatic, memorable wrestler with "future star" as his label. Getting an unexpected early run with the IC Title could accelerate his becoming a significant contributor to the roster. Raw needed a shake-up and it got one.

[C.M. Punk artist Grant Gould (c) PWTorch]