By Wade Keller, PWTorch editor

KELLER'S WWE RAW REPORT
JUNE 14, 2010
CHARLOTTE, N.C.
LIVE ON USA NETWORK

[Q1]

-The show opened with a excellent video package recapping last week's show-closing, buzz-generating attack. They didn't completely edit out Daniel Bryan, and included him kicking Cena in the head, but he certainly wasn't featured.

-Wade Barrett stood center-ring. Who let him into the arena after what he did to the non-wrestlers at ringside last week? He opened by saying, "For those of who you don't know me, my name is Wade Barrett." He said he won season one of NXT and the reason he is standing in the ring now is because the G.M. of Raw demanded that he apologize for his actions last week. Good, they explained why he was allowed in the ring. He said he wanted to invite all of the NXT athletes to the ring so they could do it properly. Lawler muttered, "Yeah, where are those guys?" Michael Cole said, "They came from out of nowhere last week." They walked to the ring through the crowd. Cole said, "This is not a safe situation. You saw what these guys did last week." Lawler said they attacked Cena eight-on-one. Now there are just seven. Cole talked about what they did last week. Lawler then urged Cole to leave with him because he didn't trust them. They left with security through the crowd. Lawler shot them a death stare.

Barrett told Heath Slater to apologize. He said, "Absolutely not. I would do it again in a heartbeat." Barrett asked Justin Gabriel to apologize. "Never. I still have goosebumps from what we did last week," he said. Barrett asked Skip Sheffield to apologize. He said: "No apologies, no regrets." Then Michael Tarver: "The look of fear on everyone's eyes last week" fulfilled his dreams. He said he won't apologize and he wondered if anyone could make him. Barrett told Darren Young to apologize. "Not a chance. I had the time of my life last week," he said. Then David Otunga said: "Apologize for what? After the way we were treated, they should apologize to us, you know what I'm saying."

Barrett said it appears to be unanimous. He said the problem with NXT is they were treated like dirt and like animals. He said sooner of later, if you treat people like animals, they'll begin to behave like animals. He said he was made to change in a locker room no bigger than a broom closet and participate in ridiculous challenges and at the mercy of overzealous WWE Pros. "And worst of all we had WWE management who saw fit to change the rules on us on a moment's notice and eliminated us on a whim and who, to be quite honest, tried to make an international joke of all of us." He said nobody was laughing after Raw last week. He said they beat the living daylights out of the WWE Champion. Bret Hart's music interrupted him.

Bret said where he comes from, eight-on-one doesn't make you tough, it makes you a coward. He said last week he attacked John Cena, C.M. Punk, the Straight Edge Society, security, a ring announcer, a time keeper, and a Hall of Famer. Barrett said Daniel Bryan sympathized with what Bret just said and actually felt remorse. "Let me assure you, you will never see Daniel Bryan here again." Well, that was tidy and probably should end speculation Bryan's firing was part of a storyline. Barrett asked him what his point was. Bret said despite everything, Cena will be at the Fatal 4-Way PPV next Sunday whether he likes it or not. Barrett shot back, "This has nothing to do with John Cena." He said it's not the fans they have an issue with, either. He said it has to do with WWE management. He said despite a few overzealous WWE Pros, they don't have a problem with WWE wrestlers, either. He said they could spend all night arguing, but they need to get down to business.

Barrett reminded Bret he has a contract to get a title shot at any WWE PPV of his choosing. He said the group of men behind him have demands of their own. Otunga said they all want contracts, they want their own locker room, and they demand first class accommodations and travel all around. He threatened that if they don't, last week is just the beginning. Barrett said Mr. McMahon warned him he would have tough decisions, but this one is easy. He said standing behind him are highly polished young athletes who could be the future of the company and he could change history by giving them contracts. Bret said it's his job to find fresh young talent, but with that in mind, his answer for them is no. He said he won't sign any of them.

Barrett said he's making a big mistake. Bret said he already made a huge mistake by attacking Cena on Raw last night. He said he won't sign any of them and, the truth is, on account of their actions last week, Barrett is no longer the next breakout star. He said he is withdrawing his contract giving him a title shot at any WWE PPV because, "You're fired!" He said as for the rest of them, they can leave the ring or else he'll call the police and have them physically removed for trespassing. "Get out! You're all through. You're done, whether you like it or not."

(How long before people begin thinking Dixie Carter's surprise she's losing sleep over is the NXT fired rookies showing up on Impact as part of a co-promotion storyline?) The next chapter in this storyline, when it's been in various formats in the past, is for the heels to do something so heinous that a top babyface such as Cena or a group of top stars demands of Bret that he reinstate them for one match so they can get their hands on them. (Had the WCW-WWE merger been handled like this, even without roughly six of the top eight names in the company at the time of it being dissolved and sold for scrap to WWE, it could have made some real money, although this should also make some good money for WWE if they keep handling it well. Writing of Bryan the way they did will disappoint some who wanted him to be "the story" of this show, but WWE really needed to shift away from him being a distraction, and they did that brilliantly by making him an afterthought. )

(The missing lines from Bret's speech were: "Wade, had you apologized, that would have been well and good, but I didn't expect that. I expected this. You're ungrateful and your actions last week will not go without consequences. I didn't want you in the ring so you could apologize. I don't care if you apologized or not. I just wanted the wrestlers in the back, the fans, Cole and Lawler, the time keeper, the ring announcer, and everyone else you assaulted last week to see your reaction when I inform you of this news. You and the rest of your cohorts are fired. You get no title shot. You will now leave this arena or be arrested." Without that, it came across like Bret might have accepted an apology from them for what they did last week. He needed to say that wouldn't have mattered.)

[Q2] [c]

-Cole threw to a replay of Bret announcing his firing of the NXT Rookies. At ringside Lawler said he is happy to see the looks on the faces of those wrestlers. He said you have to earn respect, you can't bully yourself into a job. Lawler said good riddance. Cole said now hopefully Bret can concentrate on Sunday's Fatal 4-Way. Cole said Cena has only a 25 percent chance of defending his title (which, if I haven't mentioned it yet, is not true because not every wrestler is equally good). Cole and Lawler said they were happy and relaxed now that the NXT Rookies were fired.

1 -- R-TRUTH vs. THE MIZ vs. JOHN MORRISON vs. ZACH RYDER

Morrison sunset flipped Miz off the ring apron and into Ryder at ringside at 2:00. They cut to a break. [c] More four-way action with near falls and constant action.

[Q3]

At 7:00 it was Miz and Ryder in the ring with Morrison and Truth knocked out at ringside. Miz hit a running clothesline in the corner. Morrison yanked Miz to the floor and clotheslined him. Ryder hit Truth with the Rough Ryder. Morrison knocked Ryder out of the ring and then hit Truth with Starship Pain (he needs to stop overshooting on that). Miz stole the pin, though, to win the U.S. Title. Cole called it genius by Miz. Cole said this shows odds are not in the champion's favor to retain the gold in a four-way match. At least in this match the champ was pinned. It really belittles the title to have the champion not involved in the finish of a match involving a title changing hands.

WINNER: Miz in 9:00 to regain the U.S. Title.

STAR RATING: *3/4

-Cole plugged Sheamus vs. Randy Orton was coming up later on the show.

-Josh Matthews asked Orton backstage for an update on his shoulder injury. Orton said anything can happen in a four-way match. He predicted a title changing hands. He said the status of his shoulder will be obvious later against Sheamus. Matthews asked for his thoughts on the NXT attack. He said part of him respects their making an impact by doing something sick and twisted. He said part of him also thinks they're nothing but a bunch of punks. "If you ask me, they either deserve to be fired or have their brains beat in. Considering they only got fired, I think they got off lucky." []c

-A video aired of Big Show on the set of the USA Network original series "Royal Pains." Actor Paulo Costanzo talked about working with The Big Show. The Raw cohost, the star of USA Network's "Royal Pains" original series, Mark Feuerstein, chatted with the Bella Twins backstage. Feuerstein told them The Big Show will be on Royal Pains on Friday. He explained the premise of the show to them. Ted DiBiase said he wants Feuerstein to make him guest cohost and if he does that, he'll give him a new car. Feuerstein said he has integrity and so the answer is no. DiBiase said he isn't asking him. Feuerstein said while he'd love to let him guest cohost with him, the fact is that there is no chance he'll let him do that, "you spoiled little daddy's boy." He got braver when he noticed Show had walked up behind DiBiase. He got in DiBiase's face and cut a promo on him. DiBiase and Virgil noticed Show. Show asked them if they're asking for trouble. Show suggested a match between the four of them. He called Feuerstein "Main Event Mark." DiBiase said, "Deal." Feuerstein said he wrestled a little, but he was better at ice skating. He leaped into Show's arms. In walked the Bella Twins, who were not impressed. Show said, "Next time, you catch me. Much more impressive."

-They showed Cena walking backstage. Cole said that's the first time they've seen him since the "ferocious attack" at the hands of the NXT "graduates." Oh, they're graduates, rather than one winner and seven rejects/losers now.

[Q4] [c]

2 -- CHRIS JERICHO vs. EVAN BOURNE

Cole said a star has been born in Evan Bourne. Lawler said he wouldn't want to be Bourne given the mood of Jericho. Cole bragged that WWE.com last Monday night had more visitors than NBA.com, MLB.com, and ABC.com. He said over a half million votes were cast last Monday. Jericho went after Bourne aggressively at the bell. Bourne fought back with rapid-fire offense, but Jericho stopped that with a clothesline. Bourne kicked out of a pin attempt at 2:00 after a Code Breaker. Cole and Lawler were surprised. Jericho then kicked away at Bourne in the ropes. The ref warned Jericho to back off, then DQ'd him. Afterward Bourne surprised Jericho with a kick and then hit Air Bourne. Nice to see Bourne spared from being jobbed out, especially with them explaining Jericho was upset over what happened last week. His push might be for real and not a one-week whim.

WINNER: Bourne in 3:00 via DQ.

-Cole plugged that comments from Cena were up next. [c]

-WWE Fact: Last Monday, WWE.com had an astounding 10 million pageviews during Viewers' Choice Raw.

-Cena made his full ring entrance.

[Q5]

-Cena entered the ring and with a very serious tone said that he was given the night off. He thanked Bret for having his best interests in mind, but after what happened last week, he believes his best interest is handling things the only way he knows how. He thanked Bret for not caving into the "ridiculous demands of this group of, quite frankly, radicals." (Does that count as a Chris Benoit reference?) He said demands such as theirs should never be put up for negotiation. He said there's a portion of him that admires what those "young men" did last week. He said desperate times call for desperate measures. He said they needed to make a statement and nobody wears a bigger target than the WWE Champion. He said he is used to that. He said their plan was almost brilliant, but their problem was with WWE management, not the WWE Universe, so why did they try to take Raw away from the fans. He said they just made five million new enemies. He said by destroying the sacred ground that is a WWE ring, they entire locker room wants their heads on plates.

Cena said firing Barrett will not fix this problem. Cena said if this group was lawless enough for interrupting Raw, getting arrested for a misdemeanor is the worst of their worries. He said they've been thrown out of the arena, but he hopes they are watching. He said he is going to the Fatal 4-Way to defend his title and he will be on the Raw after the Fatal 4-Way and he will demand each night for them to come out so he can finish this. He said now, since they are fired, they have nothing to lose. He said he will not press charges against them. The NXT gang made their way through the crowd to ringside.

They leaped over the ring apron. Lawler ran into the ring. So did Bourne, Truth, Regal, and Santino. Cole said the WWE locker room has come out to support Cena. A brawl broke out. Where were they last week? I guess that storyline loophole is being ignored. Other WWE wrestlers ran out including Mark Henry and Orton. "Reinforcements protecting the turf," Cole said. Edge speared Barrett at ringside. Sheamus even joined in, holding a steele pope. The NXTers retreated through the crowd. Cole said solidarity and unity chased them out of the arena. They showed WWE wrestlers chasing the NXT wrestlers out of the arena and into the street. [c]

-Lawler and Cole gleefully recapped the previous segment. "That felt good!" declared Lawler. Lawler said one of them might have been arrested for speeding leaving the arena.

-Matthews caught up to Sheamus backstage. He asked him why he came to the aid of Cena. Sheamus said he didn't want a bunch of NXT Rookies getting in the way of his WWE Title shot on Sunday. Plus, if someone is going to take out Cena, it's going to be him, not them.

-During ring intros for the women's tag match, Cole announced Eve Torres, Gail Kim, Maryse, and Alicia Fox will be in a Fatal 4-Way match at Sunday's PPV with the Divas Championship at stake.

[Q5]

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

Fox went for a kick in the corner, but she missed and kicked Maryse off the apron instead. Eve then finished Fox with a neckbreaker for the win.

WINNERS: Eve & Kim in 3:00.

-Cole announced that Miz would now have to defend his newly won U.S. Title against R-Truth, who is invoking his rematch clause on Sunday. He also plugged Cena & Orton vs. Edge & Sheamus. Lawler said Cena has insisted on performing tonight.

-"Main Event Mark" warmed up by bouncing against Big Show's chest backstage. Lawler made fun of Feuerstein's arms, saying it looked like a string hanging from his shoulder, although I saw more muscle definition in Feuerstein's arm than Lawler's at any time in his career. [c]

-A WWE Classics on Demand clip aired of Pedo Morales vs. Magnificent Muraco from the Spectrum. Muraco used a foreign object to KO Morales after a ref bump. Muraco was the fourth IC Champion ever.

4 -- THE BIG SHOW & "MAIN EVENT MARK" FEUERSTEIN vs. TED DIBIASE & VIRGIL

Cole plugged the Fatal 4-Way match with Show vs. Jack Swagger vs. Rey Mysterio vs. C.M. Punk. Yeah, what's Show doing on Raw, again? Show called Main Event Mark his "best friend." Show opened with a butt-butt, a headbutt, and a stink-face against DiBiase. Show yanked Virgil up from ringside by grabbing his head with one hand. When he tried to leave, Main Event Mark threw him back into the ring. Show tagged Mark into the ring after chokeslamming Virgil. Mark then did The Worm, called by name by Cole, and made the cover and scored the pin. Afterward, DiBiase looked humiliated. He entered the ring and shoved money in Virgil's mouth.

WINNERS: Show & Feuerstein in 3:00.

[Q7] [c]

5 -- WILLIAM REGAL vs. SANTINO

Vladimir Kozlov came out to be a special referee for the match. Lawler and Cole talked about how proud they were of the WWE Superstars banding together. Cole said Santino watched Karate Kid this weekend to learn some new moves. Regal avoided Santino's weak kicks and then worked over his arm. Lawler said there is someone for everyone because a woman told him this weekend how handsome Regal is. "I've never seen him with a pleasant look on his face. He always looks like he smelled something bad." Santino got in a leverage pin on Regal out of nowhere. He yanked on Regal's tights to win. Regal was upset with Vladimir for not seeing the rules infraction.

WINNER: Santino in 1:00.

-Bret walked onto the stage to his music. He said he wanted those three wrestlers to stand on stage with him. He said he asked every WWE Superstar to stand on the stage because he refused to let history repeat itself again. "Not on my watch," he said. Regal, Santino, and Vlad walked onto the stage. The other wrestlers from the back joined them including The Great Khali, Goldust, The Hart Dynasty, Yoshi Tatsu, and others who were not on Raw. Viewers must wonder why they're there and dressed. [c]

-WWE Fact: WWE.com had more visits last Monday than NBA.com, MLB.com, Apple.com, NFL.com, MTV.com, and Disney.com. Just once I wish they'd brag about how WWE.com had more hits than PWTorch.com and MMATorch.com.

6 - EDGE & SHEAMUS vs. JOHN CENA & RANDY ORTON

Each of the wrestlers walked past Khali and Henry on their way to the ring, making them look comparatively small. The match began with 9 minutes left before the top of the hour. The crowd (well, the women and kids) loudly chanted "Cena! Cena!" when he was about to lock up with Sheamus. Lawler said he doesn't know what to tell people when they ask about the status of Triple H, who was taken out by Sheamus in April. Lawler noted the difference in skin tone between Orton and Sheamus. I can't wait for Sheamus to wrestle Darren Young. Lawler said Orton may be at risk of having a chronic condition where his shoulder pops out of joint just waving at somebody. Cole said he first injured the shoulder a few years ago. They went to wide shots of the WWE Superstars gathered on the stage. Orton pounded the mat with his good shoulder as he rallied against Edge. Edge bailed out to ringside, so they cut to a break at 3:00. [c]

Cena battled Edge after the break, popping the crowd with a barrage of punches and a fast suplex for at two count. Edge took over and snapped Cena's neck over the top rope. Then he tagged in a fresh Sheamus. Sheamus threw Cena into the ring barrier, then held him to the mat for a few minutes.

[Q5 - Overrun]

Cena stood up with Sheamus holding onto his head. He almost reached Orton for a hot-tag. Sheamus tagged in a fresh Edge at 12:00. Edge blocked a sudden Attitude Adjustment attempt, then slammed him to the mat and set up a spear. Edge charged, but Cena moved. Cena then hot-tagged Orton just as Edge hot-tagged Sheamus. Orton showed off his new hot-tag babyface moves. He powerslammed Sheamus and then did the Greg Gagne head-wiping-with-the-arms celebration dance. He gave Sheamus a DDT off the middle rope, then dropped to the mat and pounded the mat carefully with his fists. Edge came up behind Orton. Orton gave him an RKO. Sheamus surprised Orton with an axe handle to stop Orton's rally at 14:00. Sheamus gave Orton a backbreaker for a two count. Lawler wondered if Orton was favoring his shoulder. Edge crawled back onto the ring apron as Sheamus put Orton in an armlock. At 15:00 Sheamus tagged in Edge. Orton made a comeback and knocked Sheamus off the ring apron. Edge took Orton down with a drop toe hold. Long TV main event. Orton hot-tagged Cena at 17:00. Cole said it was vintage Cena. The lights in the arena then went off.

They abruptly cut to the backstage area where the NXT gang were tossing around apparatus backstage. They dragged Bret into a limo and drove backward, smashing out its taillight as it rammed into several cars on purpose. All seven NXTers were watching, so the driver was a mystery. The smash-up derby continued for a while, then they dragged Bret out of the limo and said they want an answer from him by Sunday. It's a decent hook to tie Sunday's PPV into the NXT angle.

FINAL THOUGHTS (7.5): Good show. The opening segment with Bret Hart and the NXT rebels was one of many ways to effectively follow-up on this angle. Many people will have a vision for what they wanted this week to be like, but this was definitely acceptable and largely well done. There was more good wrestling than usual, too, throughout the two hours, and minimal involvement from the guest host and corny comedy.

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